Wednesday, August 26, 2020
Ancient Egyptian Cuisine and Food Habits
Antiquated Egyptian Cuisine and Food Habits Among the antiquated developments, Egyptians delighted in preferable nourishments over most did, because of the nearness of the Nile River moving through a large portion of settled Egypt, treating the land with intermittent flooding and giving a wellspring of water to inundating yields and watering animals. The vicinity of Egypt to the Middle East made exchange simple, and thus Egypt delighted in staples from remote nations too, and their food was intensely affected by outside eating habits.â The eating routine of the antiquated Egyptians relied upon their social position and riches. Burial chamber works of art, clinical treatises, and antiquarianism uncover an assortment of nourishments. Workers and slaves would, obviously, eat a restricted eating routine, including the staples of bread and brew, supplemented by dates, vegetables, and cured and salted fish, yet the affluent had an a lot bigger range to look over. For well off Egyptians, accessible food decisions were effectively as expansive as they are for some individuals in the advanced world.â Grains Grain, spelt,â or emmer wheat gave the essential material to bread, which was raised by sourdough or yeast. Grains were crushed and matured for brew, which was less a recreational beverage but rather more a methods for making a protected refreshment from waterway waters that were not in every case clean. Antiquated Egyptians expended a lot of lager, for the most part prepared from barley.â The yearly flooding of fields close by the Nile and different waterways made the dirts very fruitful for developing grain crops, and the streams themselves were diverted with water system trench to water crops and support residential creatures. In old occasions, the Nile River Valley, particularly the upper delta area, was in no way, shape or form a desert landscape.â Wine Grapes were developed for wine. Grape development was received from different pieces of the Mediterranean in around 3,000 BCE, with Egyptians changing practices to their nearby atmosphere. Shade structures were generally utilized, for instance, to shield grapes from the extraordinary Egyptian sun. Antiquated Egyptian wines were essentially reds and were likely utilized for the most part for stately purposes for the high societies. Scenes cut in old pyramids and sanctuaries show scenes of wine-production. For average citizens, lager was a progressively commonplace drink.â Foods grown from the ground Vegetables developed and devoured by old Egyptians included onions, leeks, garlic, and lettuce. Vegetables included lupines, chickpeas, expansive beans, and lentils. Organic product included melon, fig, date, palm coconut, apple, and pomegranate. The carob was utilized restoratively and, maybe, for food. Creature Protein Creature protein was a less basic nourishment for old Egyptians than it is for most present day purchasers. Chasing was fairly uncommon, however it was sought after by ordinary people for food and by the well off for sport. Domesticated creatures, including bulls, sheep, goats, and pig, gave dairy items, meat, and results, with blood from conciliatory creatures utilized for blood hotdogs, and hamburger and pork fat utilized for cooking. Pigs, sheep, and goats gave most meat expended; hamburger was extensively increasingly costly and was devoured by ordinary people just for celebratory or ceremonial dinners. Hamburger was eaten all the more normally by royalty.â Fish trapped in the Nile River gave a significant wellspring of protein for destitute individuals and was eaten less as often as possible by the affluent, who had more prominent access to tamed pigs, sheep, and goats.â There is additionally proof the more unfortunate Egyptians expended rodents, for example, mice and hedgehogs, in plans calling for them to be prepared. Geese, ducks, quail, pigeons, and pelicans were accessible as fowl, and their eggs were likewise eaten. Goose fat was additionally utilized for cooking. Chickens, nonetheless, appear to have not been available in antiquated Egypt until the fourth or fifth hundreds of years BCE. Oils and Spices Oil was gotten from ben-nuts. There were likewise sesame, linseed and castor oils. Nectar was accessible as a sugar, and vinegar may have likewise been utilized. Seasonings included salt, juniper, aniseed, coriander, cumin, fennel, fenugreek, and poppyseed.
Saturday, August 22, 2020
Political Philosophy and Machiavelli Essay
Niccolo Machiavelli is most popular for his profoundly questionable thoughts on governmental issues. He started expounding on his political thoughts after the French attack in view of his longing to rejoin Italy after the fall of the republic. As a humanist, Machiavelli couldn't help contradicting the present strict based legislative issues that were set up at that point. His humanist thoughts permitted him to concentrate his political thoughts on human potential and accomplishment instead of strict subjects. Despite the fact that Machiavelli had a brutal view on the idea of people, his interesting comprehension of the connection among prudence and legislative issues set the fundamentals for current political theory, and a considerable lot of his thoughts can at present be seen in American governmental issues today. Before Machiavelli’s new thoughts on political theory, legislative issues had been contained around the thoughts of the Christian church. Governmental issues set up by the congregation depended intensely on great morals and righteousness. The congregation lauded pioneers that had characteristics, for example, trustworthiness, sympathy, celibacy, and dedication. Machiavelli dismissed great Christian qualities when pondering governmental issues and just considered characteristics that were helpful in safeguarding power. Machiavelli had an altogether different thought on the particular characteristics that a decent sovereign ought to have. He accepted that individuals in power that have idealistic characteristics could be effectively exploited. He saw these characteristics a great many people consider as great characteristics, as a shortcoming, which could mean the destruction of a state. He accepted that the congregation should just practice its privileges in the otherworldly domain and not in legislative issues. Since he felt that Christianity demolishes the state, he accepted that the congregation ought to have limited force in governmental issues. Subsequently bringing about his thoughts on isolating the congregation from state. The more Machiavelli’s thoughts on government wandered from the Christian goals, the more his thoughts on legislative issues started to mirror our present American government. This thought of the partition among chapel and state is just one of a few similitudes Machiavelli’s political thoughts reflects American government. Likenesses are found in the association of intensity through dread in the military. Additionally, his thoughts can be found in American governmental issues when our leaders settle on choices dependent on what is generally advantageous, regardless of whether it isn't generally the most upright activity. Likely one of Machiavelli’s most compelling thoughts on governmental issues was his conviction that it is smarter to be dreaded than to be cherished. In his eyes, being dreaded was attractive over being adored since the conditions of the world make it difficult to be both cherished and dreaded in arrangement. He comprehended it to be critical that the individuals regard his position and force with the end goal for him to have the option to keep up solidarity and devotion from his kin inside the state. The main way he accepted this to be potential, was to expel himself from sympathy and manufacture dread in the individuals through pitilessness. For whatever length of time that he had the option to abstain from being loathed, this permitted him to depend on what he could control. This thought it is smarter to be dreaded than to be cherished can undoubtedly be seen inside the American military. Incredible armed forces are not worked under kinship and great excellence. They are worked under dread and regard. As Americans, we have one of the most remarkable military powers on the planet. We don't accomplish this force by making different nations love us. In the event that we were essentially wanted to pick up regard, as opposed to dreaded to pick up regard, when the weight of contradiction emerged different nations would not stop for a second in the choice to assault. Inasmuch as we are dreaded we hold more control over the choice to make rash move against struggle. Through dread our military ensures our nations consistent security and success. Then again, with regards to our president’s remain on the topic of being adored or dreaded, no doubt they would take the contrary position on the issue. Our American presidents don’t appear to target being dreaded over adored. They fill our psyches with the attributes we find attractive. They target making us love, trust, and regard them. However, they by and large endeavor to accomplish this adoration through falsehoods. The administration needs us as residents to adore as opposed to fear, yet as a whole country, the administration targets staying a dreadful and ground-breaking power according to different countries. This prompts another distinction between American legislative issues, and Machiavellian thoughts. Machiavelli expressed, â€Å" it is legitimate to speak to things as they are in genuine truth, instead of as they are imagined†(p. 8). He needed to abstain from making a fanciful perfect society, as the Christian based governmental issues had before him. In this issue, our administration appears to mirror the Christian thought more than Machiavelli’s thought of truth. America’s presidential applicants make their battles as indicated by the measures each different ideological group would consider to be their optimal picture of government. These competitors make guarantees of immaculate morals and temperance, be that as it may, in the wake of being chosen into office, they once in a while finish these guarantees and thoughts of flawlessness that they have persuaded us to accept. They present us with these perfect attributes so as to get the mainstream vote, yet as Machiavelli has clarified, as a ruler so as to keep up thriving and security it isn't perfect to finish dreams of ethical pioneers. It would be pleasant if our leaders followed Machiavelli’s guidance and were direct and honest from the beginning. Since individuals don't decide in favor of the real world and would prefer to decide in favor of the fantasy, it doesn't work out his way in our majority rules system. Machiavelli’s thoughts on the centrality of goodness in governmental issues might be an aftereffect of the manner in which he sees human instinct. Since he has little expectation in the integrity of mankind, he doesn't hold pioneers to the profoundly positive characteristics that the congregation does. Machiavelli is notable for his negative perspectives on human instinct. Indeed, even today his name is still to a great extent connected with evil. He accepted all individuals to normally be thankless, flighty, liars, and swindlers. He even ventured to such an extreme as to allude to individuals as pathetic animals. I feel that Machiavelli’s thoughts are strong and very much idea out. In spite of the fact that, that doesn't imply that I totally concur with every one of his thoughts, particularly those on the idea of people. I won't give that mankind is normally abhorrent willed. I like to see the positive qualities in individuals, and to me it appears that the positive qualities in this world enormously exceeds the terrible. In any case, I additionally don't concur that Machiavelli is the despot that history has portrayed him. Generally speaking, I accept that the greater part of his thoughts planned for improving the prosperity of his state. Despite the fact that he appeared to be an abhorrent man I couldn't help suspecting that he generally had his state’s eventual benefits at the top of the priority list. As far as I can tell, his contrary comprehension of human instinct constrained him to take a gander at issues from an alternate point of view than a great many people of his time, and drove his thoughts behind the immateriality of temperate qualities in a political pioneer. A significant number of Machiavelli’s thoughts are reflected in American legislative issues. Machiavelli had faith in rehearsing the partition of chapel and state similarly as America does. He accepted that with dread came power, which is clear in the United States military. Albeit huge numbers of Machiavelli’s thoughts reflect American government there are a couple of contrasts between the two, for example, the characteristics that can be seen in presidential up-and-comers and how our legislature approaches the genuine truth. Generally speaking, Machiavelli’s thoughts on righteousness and dread, regardless of how insidious in nature, appear to appropriately esteem him the organizer of the advanced political theory that our legislature has been established off of still today.
Sunday, August 16, 2020
UK Students Turn to Ivy League
UK Students Turn to Ivy League The OE Blog With university courses being cut at drastic rates and tuition fees soaring to a whopping £9000, it is no surprise that more and more UK students are setting their sights on top US universities instead. Financial Incentives For the first time, trebled tuition fees have made the price difference between a UK and a US education negligible and students are responding accordingly, with record breaking numbers attending a recent US university fair in London. In addition, as bursaries for universities in England are squeezed and slashed, Ivy League institutions offer a beguiling package of generous support options. Many UK students from low income families find that an Ivy League university would be able to fund almost their entire tuition and accommodation costs, and many even offer extra incentives such as book grants and free flights home during the vacation. Oxbridge vs. Ivy League It’s not difficult to see the many attractions American universities hold for UK students. There are far more institutions to choose from within the elite ‘Ivy League’ group, allowing more variety and room for personal preference than the Oxford vs. Cambridge conundrum in the UK. In America, students can choose from prestigious institutions in exciting cities all over the country, from Harvard in Boston to Columbia in New York. Wider Subject Choice The American university system allows students to study a much wider variety of subjects alongside their main area of interest, which appeals to many who haven’t yet decided exactly what they want to do. You can ‘major’ in your chosen subject whilst still taking a range of courses in completely different academic disciplines, all of which will eventually contribute towards your final degree. This opportunity to tailor your course to suit your own personal interests and preferences simply doesn’t exist in the UK and is extremely appealing to many who wish to escape the rigid, restrictive university course choices available here. Postgraduate Opportunities With the UK economy embroiled in a seemingly endless struggle to recover from the recession and postgraduate employment at a record low, it is no surprise that many hope America will provide greener pastures after graduation. And for those planning to seek work in the US, trying to get into an Ivy League school just makes more sense than staying at home and paying extortionate prices for UK degrees with very little promise of financial reward at the end of the road. If you’ve been thinking about Ivy League applications, keep your eyes peeled for next week’s blog, ‘How to get into the Ivy League’. It will be full of top tips for UK students hoping to study across the pond!
Sunday, May 24, 2020
The Stereotypes of Homeless People - 1574 Words
The most influential person in an individual life happens to be the parents. Parents teach their children expected behavior, boundaries, and rules. Although, children are always more attentive to their parent’s behavior; something parents quite often do not realize. If the parents walk does not match their talk their; kids will not take in consideration what they have been taught. Kids always have that mentality of â€Å"if you did it, I will do it too because it is okay.†Children learn more from their parents character than their teachings; demonstrating that actions speak louder than words. Clearly, what individuals are exposed in their adolescents shapes their mentality affecting how they perceive situations and people. A lot of things†¦show more content†¦Stereotypes are assumptions that all certain types of individuals, gender, race, and even group of people are all the same. It is a hazy generalization influenced by numerous of sources such as, past expe riences, social media, acquaintances and the most influential family. Individuals understand and treat those being stereotyped by the way they were presented to them, even though the stereotypes may be wrong. Everyone is unique, so making the assumption that all individuals with the same profile looks are the same, can be wrong. Mistreating people because of the stereotypes can ruin second chances for those who are affected, in life. Stereotyping is very common in today’s society; a group that suffers intense stereotypes are homeless. There are times where everyone needs a second chance no matter where they come from and what they have done. Honestly, homeless need to stop being viewed as what they are not. Often homeless are seen as hobos. In reality, homeless and hobos are two different groups of people. Hobos are those individuals who choose to live in the streets; while, homeless are forced to live in the streets. Statistics have shown that â€Å"in the United States the number of homeless people is 1,750,000.†â€Å"Thirty-six percent are families with children, forty percent are Veterans, thirteen percent are women and forty-four percent are men.†Statics also demonstrate that the â€Å"monthly average income for those who still have a job is $348†Show MoreRelatedStereotypes Of The Homeless People1092 Words  | 5 PagesStereotypes of the Homeless People become homeless for a number of reasons. These reasons are that create the stereotypes against those who have nothing in life. To judge people by what they do is normal. After all, what better way is there to judge a stranger by his words and his actions. The problem is when the homeless get judged wrongly, they are also treated unfairly. These stereotypes prevent the government and the society from giving the homeless the type of assistance that best suits to themRead MoreHomelessness : Extreme Poverty And The Urban Housing Crisis913 Words  | 4 Pages2014 the National Alliance to End Homelessness collected that â€Å"578,424 people experiencing homelessness on any given night in the United States (â€Å"Snapshot of Homelessness). Most individuals believe that more individuals are single, but â€Å"216,197 are people in families,†and â€Å"362,163 are individuals,†(â€Å"Snapshot of Homelessness). Homelessness affects everyone, from families to individu als and veterans. In the veterans homeless population there is â€Å"currently over 2.2 million women Veterans in the UnitedRead MoreHomeless People And The United States1648 Words  | 7 Pagesany major U.S. city poses an all too familiar challenge: avoid the gaze of the scores of homeless people begging on the sidewalks. While you might spare some change to a particularly disheveled looking woman, or a couple trying to buy food for their dog, it is customary to keep your head down in fear of interacting with one of the violent, homeless drunks that litter city streets. Conflict between homeless people and the housed population is not a new phenomena in the United States. With one of theRead MoreHomelessness : Homeless People Are Dirty, Uneducated, And Dangerous1584 Words  | 7 PagesMany people throughout the world look at homeless people negatively, and that is some thing they do not deserve. People automatically assume homeless people are dirty, uneducated, and dangero us, but this is not always true. Many homeless people are war veterans and need help to get their life back on track, but they are too scared and hated to seek it. The stereotypes associated with homeless people make many people shy away from helping them and that is one of the reasons why they are really sufferingRead MoreOutside Your World: Analysis of Diversity in Socio-Economic Status1702 Words  | 7 Pagesto pretend to be a homeless person and then go into a public restaurant to have a meal. I chose this project because diversity frequently focuses on immutable characteristics such as race and gender, but so much of diversity is focuses on socio-economic status. In American society, socio-economic status can be a huge predictor of the treatment that people receive, and, clearly, homelessness is an indicator of the lowest socio-economic status possible. In addition, many homeless Americans have underlyingRead MoreStereotypes Of Homeless Are Based On Their Gender And Educatio n Level854 Words  | 4 PagesBased on my survey the stereotypes of homeless are based on their gender and education level. According to Oxford Dictionaries, homeless is a person without a home and therefore typically living on the streets (Oxford Dictionary). People that got surveyed around the mall are between the age range of 17 to 69. Women tend to have more sympathy, while men are straight forward towards the topic of homeless. Among the ten females that were surveyed, their age range from 20 to 68. Race varies from CaucasianRead MoreI Volunteered At The Pine Street Inn Essay968 Words  | 4 PagesSitting on the concrete of the Dunkin Donuts’, an old man holds a cardboard sign covered in black permanent marker. The sign reads, â€Å"HOMELESS, TRYING TO GET BY. ANYTHING HELPS. THANK YOU GOD BLESS.†He shakes his penniless Styrofoam cup, and in a strained voice he repeats to the passersby, â€Å"Have any spare change?†They would stop in astonishment, indignation, or forlornness and continue on their business. â€Å"Get a job!†screams someone. Another person tells him, â€Å"May God be with you.†But no oneRead MoreThe Perception of the Homeless1206 Words  | 5 PagesThere are over 3.5 million homeless people in the United States alone (National Student Campaign against Hunger and Homelessness). Within this amount of people there are challenges beyond not having a h ome that the majority of citizens with a home do not face. These include: thinking about appearance, quality and source of food, living space, and source of money. Those mentioned are just a few things that non-homeless people may overlook when thinking about the challenges of homelessness. As a nationRead More Stereotypes about Homelessness in America in Dumpster Diving by Lars Eighner669 Words  | 3 PagesStereotypes about Homelessness in America in Dumpster Diving by Lars Eighner Lars Eighners short essay, Dumpster Diving, reveals the stereotypes about homelessness in America. In order to confirm these known stereotypes about American culture, Eighner includes autobiographical accounts of the economically inferior class, as well as revealing his elitist rules that governs the life of a homeless person. According to Eighner, homeless people fall into the following categories, can scroungersRead MoreEmpathy Is Defined As, â€Å"The Power Of Understanding And1533 Words  | 7 PagesWant You to Know About Being Homeless in America, she writes, â€Å"I think there is a prevalent assumption in our society that homelessness is caused by an individual’s inability to make the right choices in their life†(Jayda Shuavarnnasri). Those assumptions are causing a daze between what is true and what people think about the homeless. While most homeless people do not choose to be homeless, outsiders often prejudge them as alcoholics, drug abusers, and lazy pe ople in general. This is far from the
Wednesday, May 13, 2020
Progressivism And Progressivism - 1108 Words
In the early 1880’s a new movement began to rise, progressivism. Progressivism spread rapidly from the large cities that began to form across America, to the smaller towns that were beginning to go from agrarian paradises to more suburban landscape. These abrupt changes in society meant changes in social conduct, and norms must change with them. With factories on the rise many men were forced to work 12-16 hour shifts seven days a week with no benefits, breaks, or safety standards, progressivism was the driving force behind unions, public education, professionalism, skilled labor, government based services, and political and economic rights of the disadvantaged in America. The trade unions, better known as labor unions, got off to a rocky†¦show more content†¦The workers on strike attacked the mine guard’s camp later that week in retaliation. (Barkey) As Child Labor Laws came into effect in the early 1900’s many children were sent to public schools for the first time in their lives, as many schools were private up until then. (Brackemyre) These children had an opportunity many in their families did not, they learned â€Å"the three R’s, reading, writing, and arithmetic.†(Absten) This newfound education of the masses led to an uptick in professional careers, and skilled labor. This led to colleges being more widespread, and universities being easier to access for the average American. Working class families had the ability to send children to school instead of to hard labor jobs, and this meant longer life expectancies, as well as better quality of life. It set the stage for a new social age, the ability to live bet ter than your parents did before you, it gave a whole new meaning to the American Dream. This change in society showed as increasingly more children each generation chose less hard labor, and more professional jobs. This increase in professional work led to suburban areas outside of major cities popping up everywhere, these areas highlighted the lack of emergency services, law enforcement, and other government services. With many people living outside of the city where guards could break up trouble, but still in populated enough areas that trouble still found a way in, law enforcement became a necessity for manyShow MoreRelatedProgressivism Historiography Essay2107 Words  | 9 PagesAwesome Student Mrs. Aars CIS American History 15 March, 2013 My Take on the Progressives The common thought about progressivism before the 1950s were that it was a movement by the common people to curb the excessive power of powerful people such as urban bosses, corporate moguls, and corrupt officials. However, when George Mowry wrote his Progressivism: Middle Class Disillusionment, he challenged the common idea that the progressives were middle class citizens and instead considered them toRead More Progressivism Essay1891 Words  | 8 PagesProgressivism The Progressive Movement in the late nineteenth century, early twentieth century presented quite a situation for historians to conquer. At the turn of the twentieth century political questioning was the norm. Practically every historian that writes about this time period has a different opinion of what made up â€Å"Progressive Movement,†some even going so far to beg the question if it was actually a movement or if it was more of an â€Å"era.†The two are interchanged so often that theyRead MoreProgressivism Within Twenty First Century Learning1203 Words  | 5 PagesProgressivism within Twenty-First Century Learning By Josh Fix Submitted to the Faculty of Columbus State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education in Curriculum and Leadership Columbus State University Columbus, GA July 2015 By design twenty-first century learning prepares students to be successful, contributing citizens in the locale of today’s global society. Twenty-first century learning requires students to understand how to learnRead MoreEssay about Interpreting American Progressivism2954 Words  | 12 PagesInterpreting American Progressivism The period referred to as the Progressive Era in American history is one which historians often disagree over, and as in all areas of history, there are many theories surrounding the era which sometimes contradict each other. Historians are always aware of prominent theories within the field, and they often participate in an ongoing dialogue concerning their research. One of the first historians to make a major mark regarding the Progressive Era was RichardRead MoreProgressivism : A Great Number Of Urban Middle Class1722 Words  | 7 PagesThananun Prasertsup (Nine) History Research 420 Word Count: Progressivism in the Roosevelt Corollary From 1900 to about 1920, a great number of urban middle class people began to consider problems created by urbanization, class conflict, immigration, corruption, etc. This broad movement had large effects on American politics and the name of this time, known as the Progressive Era. Not only did the progressive movement happen in the era, Latin American economic crises also occurred. Venezuela wasRead MoreProgressivism And Progressivism925 Words  | 4 PagesTo begin the paper, I will give a summary of what progressivism is and what effect it had within the United States. Progressivism is defined as a movement that is to limit the social destructiveness effects of capitalism. Progressives look at capitalism as unhindered. That they need to extract from the markets in a capitalist system and to counterbalance the tasks that capitalism leaves such as terrible social effects. They wanted the public well being to be better off. Progressives overall did notRead MoreAdvantages And Disad vantages Of The Progressives1277 Words  | 6 PagesProgressivism, †¦unlike populism, whose grassroots appeal was largely confined to rural regions in the South and Mid-West, focused on the nation altogether, coming in all different forms. (Shi Tindall 778) The movement consisted of moral Christians who disliked politics. They believed that politics, †¦had become a contest between good and evil, honesty and corruption (Shi Tindall 778). Therefore, they believed the government should provide more, addressing the issues dealing with rapid urbanRead MoreThe Movement Of Stem Education1815 Words  | 8 PagesThrough philosophical foundations there emerges certain philosophies of education. Those philosophies of education can then be directly linked to issues/ problems in education today. This paper will take a detailed look at pragmatism and its link to progressivism. Then, an examination of how those principles have shaped the movement of STEM education will provide a co mplete overview of these early century physiological foundations to modern day education issues. There are principles and thinking withinRead MoreThe First Midterm Assignment During American History1500 Words  | 6 PagesIn other words the progressive movement was established to fix society’s ills that occurred in the late-19th century and early-20th century especially from the Gilded Ages, without including controversy and trying to please everyone’s needs. â€Å"Progressivism was wide-ranging impulse rather than a single organized movement, a multifaceted, often fragmented, and at times contradictory response to the urgent problems created by unregulated industrialization, unplanned urbanization, unrelenting immigrationRead More Populists v Progressives Essay705 Words  | 3 Pagesday of eight hours, postal banks, pensions, and the reform of immigration regulations are just some of the other views and beliefs of populists. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Progressives are activists in a political reform movement known as progressivism, which is a broadly based reform movement that reached its height early in the 20th cent. In the decades following the Civil War, rapid industrialization transformed the United States. A national rail system was completed, agriculture was mechanized
Wednesday, May 6, 2020
Strategic Branding on UK Broadband Services Free Essays
string(305) " review will consist of three parts: \(1\) Environmental Analysis, highlighting the recent deregulation and increasing competition within the industry, \(2\) Competitive Position of British Telecoms for the market segment of broadband services, and \(3\) Review of related literature on brand management\." Following the deregulation of the telecommunication industry in United Kingdom, a number of competitors and substitute products have emerged. With the mandate under the Communications Act 2003, the Office of Communication (OfCom) was established as a regulatory office for the UK communications industries, which includes television, radio, telecommunications, and wireless communications services. Its scope, under the Communications Act 2003, is as follows: 1. We will write a custom essay sample on Strategic Branding on UK Broadband Services or any similar topic only for you Order Now to further the interest of citizens in relation to communication matters, and 2. to further the interests of consumers in relevant markets, where appropriate by promoting competition. The British Telecommunications (BT) is one of the world’s leading providers of communications solutions and services, which operates in 170 countries around the world. In the United Kingdom, BT serves over 20 million business and residential customers with more than 30 million exchange lines, as well as providing network services to other licensed operators. Its BT Retail subsidiary is UK’s largest communication service provider, by market share, to the consumer and small business markets. It supplies a wide range of communication products and services, including voice, data, internet, and multimedia services (online BT. com). Once a nationalized company, BT plc has traditionally dominated the UK’s fixed line telecom market, controlling over 80 percent of the UK’s access lines, earning ? 8,507 million in revenues for 2006 (BT Annual Report 2006). However, the passage of the Communications Act 2003 has been intended to increase competition to the once monopolized of the fixed line industry in UK. Industry experts predicted that BT Retail’s share of the UK’s fixed line market will fall from 82 percent to 45 percent over the next decade as increased competition begins to bite. At the moment, around 93 percent of UK households have a fixed line, with eight in ten supplied by BT. However, despite the predicament of many industry experts, the benefits of increased competition has not been achieved as BT continue to have strong market dominance within the UK fixed line industry (Richardson 2005). Table 1. British Telecom’s Retail connections Year end 31 March 2003 2004 2005 2006 Total Retail connections (‘000) 29,566 29,661 29,630 28,293 Business 9,208 9,111 8,780 8,353 Residential 20,358 20,550 20,850 19,940 Source: British Telecom Group plc (2006). BT Group plc Annual 2005 Report. (United Kingdom: BT Group) [Online] Available: http://www. btplc. com/Sharesandperformance/Annualreportandreview/Annualreports/Cautionarystatement. htm Table 2. British Telecom’s Broadband customers Year end 31 March 2003 2004 2005 2006 BT Wholesale ADSL end users (‘000) 803 2,226 4,973 7,949 of which are LLU lines 3 11 41 356 of which are BT retail customers 439 967 1,752 2,584 Source: British Telecom Group plc (2006). BT Group plc Annual 2005 Report. (United Kingdom: BT Group) [Online] Available: http://www. btplc. com/Sharesandperformance/Annualreportandreview/Annualreports/Cautionarystatement. htm Despite the high penetration of fixed line business of British Telecom, the level of penetration for broadband services is still very low in the United Kingdom. Project Aims and Objectives The primary objectives of this dissertation will be to determine why many British consumers still opt to use the dial-up as internet connection in the United Kingdom and how companies can attract users to use broadband services. We also review the current market environment such as policies of Ofcom that could affect a company’s marketing strategy. The following is a list of objectives which the author aspires to accomplish in the dissertation: 1. A background study on the current internet access industry in the United Kingdom and prospects on the industry’s growth. 2. An exploration on the relevant theory on the impact of brand equity and brand positioning on company’s profitability and market share. 3. A proposal on effective branding approaches to mitigate the increasing competition with the deregulation of the telecommunication industry in United Kingdom. Importance and Relevance of the Research Primarily the research will be valuable to any business industry or body attempting to build on its business strategies, customer relations and competitiveness in a competitive industry. The research would make businesses more aware of the importance of business strategies in a very competitive industry. It gives you an idea about how businesses can know more about their markets segments and attract more markets. Secondary impact of the research will be on a long term scale, it will aid retail marketing initiatives. The trends of the industry and the markets will have a significant impact on the whole field in the future. The research may also be essential to other interested parties such as the educational institutions business universities, news papers and government. The paper will also be useful later on in academics for future references. The Overview of the Study The remainder of this study is as following statement: Chapter 2, Internet Access industry background and market analysis, will provide first a concise information on the industry market value, market segmentation, and leading companies. We will provide a strategic competitive analysis of the industry using Porter’s Five Forces of Competition and SWOT Analysis using BT Group. We will also briefly discuss Ofcom’s strategic review of the telecommunication industry and its effect on industry players in particular British Telecom. Review of brand management, will review related literature on the brand management such as brand equity and brand positioning. Identify the long-term effects of the effective brand positioning in increasing market share within the industry. Chapter 3, Methodology, will present the methods of collecting primary data from consumers and the chosen research method for the dissertation. Chapter 4, Results and Discussion, will present and discuss the results of the survey. The discussion will also relate the relevant literature and the results that have been obtained from the survey. Chapter 5, Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations, the â€Å"Summary†section will first provide a comprehensive summary of the major findings of this study. The â€Å"Conclusion†section will highlight the implications of the research findings. Finally, â€Å"Recommendations†will be proposed to on the possible approaches to effectively implement an effective branding strategy to mitigate the increasing competition in the telecommunications industry. CHAPTER 2: Review of Related Literature The literature review will consist of three parts: (1) Environmental Analysis, highlighting the recent deregulation and increasing competition within the industry, (2) Competitive Position of British Telecoms for the market segment of broadband services, and (3) Review of related literature on brand management. You read "Strategic Branding on UK Broadband Services" in category "Papers" In the Environmental Analysis section, the research will discuss the competitive landscape of the broadband market in UK, and define the nature of competition within the industry. The research will describe the role of Ofcom in promoting competition within the industry and specific market segment. The research will describe the market size, volume and growth of the industry. Second, the research will discuss the competitive position of the British Telecom in the market. It will provide an assessment of BT’s strengths and weaknesses and how BT has a very strong foothold of the market. Lastly, the review will also highlight the importance of brand management in growing the broadband services business of British Telecom. In this paper, we follow the framework of Delta model which has been proposed by Hax and Wilde. The Delta model defines three points (1) strategic positions that reflect the fundamentally new sources of profitability, (2) aligns these strategic options with a firm’s activities and provides congruency between strategic direction and execution, and (3) introduces adaptive processes capable of continually responding to an uncertain environment (Hax and Wilde II 1999). The Delta model integrates the structural analysis and value chain framework from Porter with the resource-based view on the Firm and complement those with new Extended Enterprise perspective and with offering Total Customer Solutions. The Internet Service Providers’ Association United Kingdom defines the internet access market consisting of total revenues generated by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) from the provision of narrowband and broadband Internet connection through both consumer and corporate channels (Datamonitor, 2007). The United Kingdom Internet access market generated total revenues of $8. 2 billion in 2006, this representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6. 4% for the period spanning 2002-2006 (Datamonitor, 2007). In a survey conducted by the Office of Telecommunications, 93 percent of homes currently own a fixed line phone, this proportion has remained stable at just over 90 percent for the last year. At least 4 in 5 households are using BT for their fixed line; however, at least a quarter of BT customers would consider using another supplier if they offered services of equal quality. Furthermore, 18 percent of the respondents mentioned barriers to switching as their reason for remaining with BT rather than positive reasons. These consumers were largely living in non-cabled areas with less choice of fixed line suppliers (Office of Telecommunications 2003). Brand name and the Quality of service The main reason BT customers gave for not switching to another operator was satisfaction with BT, this being driven by the fact that the vast majority of satisfied customers (72%) have never experienced any problems with their services. Generally, BT customers value the service quality and reliability above cost, suggesting that the trustworthiness of other suppliers alone is not sufficient incentive for these consumers to switch (Office of Telecommunications 2003). Barriers to switching A quarter of customers that would remain with BT if other suppliers offered an equal service, mentioned barriers as their reason for remaining with BT. This equates to 18 percent of all BT customers. The barriers mentioned included: switching being too much hassle, cost of switching, unaware of other suppliers, always used BT, and the additional services. The research, however, notes that the respondents are more likely to live in a non-cabled area – hence limited availability of alternative providers (Office of Telecommunications 2003). Key trends in the telecommunications industry The key word in today’s technology is convergence. In the last two years, global telecommunications company have been developing the next-generation voice services that could cut corporate call costs by automatically routing traffic between fixed line and mobile infrastructure (online ITWeek). One key development has been the development of Fixed Mobile Internet Convergence, where IT and media industry deliver both content and the infrastructure to consumers. The widespread adoption of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) has been a promising to consumers yet holds a mixed fate for the fixed line telecoms market. On a positive note, it offers cheap or often free long distance calling to consumers and can therefore boost market share. However, this may be at the expense of diverted traditional sales and loss of line rental and call revenue on fixed lines. On the other hand, VoIP take-up could spread with the proliferation of wireless broadband, as opposed to wireline broadband, which will serve to expand the fixed line market and encourage a more rapid take up of wireless technologies. The development of more sophisticated mobile phones and PDA also threaten to detract from fixed line sales as these devices develop the same quality of capabilities as fixed line services (online IT Week). Analysis of Competition The Delta Model builds on the structural analysis of Michael Porter to gain insight and understand the external factors determining the industry attractiveness and match it with the firm’s resources to be successful in the industry (Hax and Wilde II 1999). In his book Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors, Michael Porter discusses the five forces of competition in an industry. He illustrated the five competitive forces as: (1) Rivalry between competing sellers in an industry, (2) potential entry of new competitors, (3) the market attempts of companies in other industries to win customers over to their own substitute products, (4) the competitive pressures stemming from supplier-seller collaboration and bargaining, and (5) the competitive pressure stemming from seller-buyer collaboration and bargaining (Porter 1985). Porter’s five forces of competition is a widely used tool to determine the company’s current strengths and competitive position. Having a clear picture of the balance of power in a competitive industry will help in planning for a sustained growth in the industry. In the Figure 5, the researchers analyzed and plot the competitive forces in UK’s fixed line telecom industry (Porter 1985). Rivalry of Sellers: Moderate The UK market is relatively fragmented, with no one company dominant. For end users, switching costs are not very high, and in fact ‘customer churn’ is often cited as an issue that ISPs must cope with, particularly in the consumer market. A typical company offers a diverse range of communication-based services, such as TV and telephony, so success in the Internet access business need not be vital to its survival. Furthermore, rapid market growth means that players are not fighting to win a share of a static market from their competitors. Rivalry in this market is assessed as moderate. Buyer Power: Moderate ISPs offer their Internet access services to customers ranging from consumers to large corporations. As fairly similar services can be offered to customers of all sizes, the typical size is quite small. Switching costs are moderate, and include the time required to leave one contract and move to a competing contract. There is some differentiation: for example, one player may offer consumer Internet access as a standalone service, while another bundles it with cable TV services. Also brand loyalty may be significant if an ISP gains a particularly good (or bad) reputation among users. As the Internet has high penetration in the UK, corporate customers in particular will consider the service of vital importance to their business. Overall, buyer power is assessed as moderate. Supplier Power: Strong ISPs act as intermediaries between their customers and the telecommunication infrastructure that underpins the Internet (and telephony): ADSL lines, servers, packet switching software, and so on. Some ISPs, especially telecoms incumbents such as BT, own and operate an extensive physical network themselves. For these companies, key suppliers are manufacturers of the hardware and software involved, such as Cisco Systems. ISPs that do not own a network can purchasing wholesale access to the necessary infrastructure from an owner-operator, and then offer it at retail to end-users. For ISPs using this business model, key suppliers are BT and other network owners. While it is unlikely that ISPs of either type will integrate backwards, since the upstream businesses are very different to their own, most network owner-operators have already integrated forwards into the retail ISP market, and are competing directly with ISPs that do not own networks. Network manufacturers are not completely reliant on the ISP market for their revenues, as they can also operate in markets such as corporate intranet; network owners usually generate revenue from telephone services and their own ISP retail business as well as wholesale Internet access. Overall, supplier power is strong. Threats of New Entrants: Strong The threat of new entrants is strong. New players will be attracted by the continuing strong growth rates in this market. The physical infrastructure needed is usually already available. For example, a cable TV company can move into the Internet access market by making use of the cable network it has already installed; while players without their own infrastructure can buy access to telecom networks. This reduces the capital requirements for market entry – although customer demand for ever-increasing bandwidth may mean that investment in infrastructure will be needed for future growth. Retaliation in terms of price competition is very likely in this market, and new entrants need to differentiate themselves from incumbents – not an easy task when selling a commoditized service that can be specified completely with a few parameters such as bandwidth and downtime. Threats of Substitute: Weak The threat of substitutes is weak: the Internet has developed as rapidly as it has because it is itself a substitute for many other services and products. These include traditional forms of advertising, news providers, music (and increasingly video) physical media such as CDs and DVDs, ‘bricks and mortar’ outlets for supplying goods and services, and communication services such as mail and telephony. The benefits of these older substitutes are assessed as small, as the Internet alternatives have clearly demonstrated their popularity with consumer and corporate customers. However, to take two examples, for consumers with concerns over the security of online financial transactions, or businesses who wish to advertise to segments of the population who are not online, the older substitutes may retain advantages. British Telecom’s Competitive Position A company’s strategy consists of the competitive efforts and business approaches that managers employ to please customers, compete successfully, and achieve organizational objectives. It represents management’s answers to such fundamental business questions as whether to concentrate on a single business or build a diversified group of business, which cater to a broad range of customer or focus on a particular market niche. A strategy thus reflects the managerial choices among alternatives and signals organizational commitment to particular products, markets, competitive approaches, and ways of operating the enterprise (Hooley et al. 2001). Sustainable competitive advantage as argued by John Kay is only achieved if the company has distinctive capabilities or resources that its competitors does not have. Kay (1999) argues that resources can be considered as unique or reproducible. A unique resource, for example the brand name of BT, can be considered as an important asset that can be a basis of sustainable competitive advantage. A reproducible resource and capabilities, on the other hand, pertains to assets that can be easily copied or reproduced by competitors and does not offer the company the distinctive competitive advantage. A good example of a reproducible resource would be the process of delivery voice calls. Many are now able to voice call services on their own and can learn the process more very quickly and easily; however, what differentiate BT is its extensive network infrastructure which it has built over the years to gain scale economies, and build on their strategic brand name (Kay 1999). In understanding the sources of competitive advantage, Hooley Broderick (1998) introduced two fundamental approach in creating sustainable competitive advantage based from Micheal Porter’s Competitive Advantage. Micheal Porter suggests that companies undertake two roads towards establishing itself as a market leader. First, a company can position itself through cost leadership or differentiation. The former strategy requires that a company to operate more efficiently, thereby lowering its operational cost relative to its competitors. The later strategy requires that a company identify a resource that add value for the customer and modify the product or service in a way that will entice the customer to buy (Hooley Broderick 1998). Hunt and Morgan (1996) recommends a resource-based model as a way to investigate competency and superior firm performance through a more intimate integration of organizational theory, marketing and economics. Furthermore, strategic resource improves a firm’s performance over time. If a firm mobilizes unique and immobile resources to create sustainable competitive advantage, then a firm can enjoy generating greater economic rents than competitors in the industry. In addition, the resource-based theory asserts that distinctive competencies of a firm can ultimately result to superior outcomes and performance (Luo, Sivakumar, Luo 2005). Kay (1999) also defined the three primary sources of sustainable competitive advantage as: (1) the market’s barriers to entry; (2) a unique firm history and experience which has transformed the firm and industry; (3) the tacitness of relationship with customers or suppliers. In this section, we assess BT’s competitive position in the market using SWOT Analysis to identify its sources for competitive advantage. SWOT Analysis As we have analyzed the competing forces that could affect the overall success of BT in the fixed line telecom industry in UK, we also recognize the need to be able to identify the strength and weakness of BT as well as external opportunities, and threats. Exhibit 3 illustrates a SWOT analysis of BT strategic capabilities. The value of the SWOT analysis is its ease of use, its simplicity, and its flexibility. In addition, SWOT analysis allows the synthesis and integration of various types of information which are generally known but still provides the possibility to organize and synthesize recent information as well. The insight to be gained in performing the SWOT analysis is the understanding of the core competency of the company that would give it a distinctive competitive advantage over its rival. More importantly, it provides the groundwork on (1) how the company’s strategy can be matched to both its resource capabilities and its market opportunities, and (2) how urgent it is for the company to correct which particular resource deficiency and guard against to particular How to cite Strategic Branding on UK Broadband Services, Papers
Monday, May 4, 2020
The most difficult decision I have made and its personal effect free essay sample
In 2011, I joined Company ABC as a business development manager. A mining company, this experience gave me the opportunity to expand my knowledge and experiences beyond the realm of marketing. I enjoyed my work there greatly and learned a lot about both the mining and energy industries. In 2012, Company ABC transferred me to a sister company that was solely focused on coal mining. I accepted the transfer happily as I believed it would continue to offer opportunities to grow within the industry. Additionally, the vast amount of resources and compensation from the company allowed me to engage in higher-level business with larger corporations. My primary responsibility at this time was to secure strategic partnerships and financial resources as a means of expanding our research and development programs and expanding our coal mining operations. I was also tasked with researching alternative renewable energy sources to more wholly develop the company’s projects. We will write a custom essay sample on The most difficult decision I have made and its personal effect or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page I enjoyed a great deal of success at this time and, more importantly, able to save a great deal of money in preparation for my MBA. Despite the growth the company saw at this time and my own personal gains, I was faced with a very difficult decision. Often my superiors would encourage me to engage in unethical business practices to secure partnerships and contracts that were more lucrative. This included bribery, unethical consideration, or the giving of gifts to persuade clients and associates. While the prospect of personal financial gain was very tempting to me, I knew that if I followed my superiors’ directives I could never be truly proud of my work. Against the advice of co-workers and family alike, I chose not to follow a path that would make me ashamed or guilty about my work. I decided to leave the company shortly after this problem arose choosing instead to follow a path I could be proud of. Shortly after leaving, I joined Company XYZ. While the opportunity for growth within the company and the amount of compensation is much less, I know that the quality and proper nature of the work is much more fulfilling in the end. While I reflect on my time with Company ABC and their sister company, I have fond memories and will be grateful for the opportunity and amount of learning I enjoyed in such a short period. However, that experience also taught me there is no amount of money that can cover up a lack of pride in your work.
Sunday, March 29, 2020
An Insight to Small Business Professor Ramos Blog
An Insight to Small Business Small businesses are corporations, partnerships, and sole proprietorships that have less employees along with revenue because they are not the same size as a â€Å"regular†corporation that operates on a larger scale. Small businesses offer services such as convenient stores, small grocery stores, restaurants, bakeries, hairdressers, tradespeople such as carpenters and electricians, photographers, and some small-scale manufacturing such as toy manufacturing, being a smart phone accessory maker, or a plastic container manufacturer. Most small businesses are sole-proprietor operations meaning they provide low income for doing things like selling prepared hot food on the street. Small businesses can range from fifteen employees to no more than five thousand. According to Jason Nazar’s contributed statistics in Forbes, there are almost 28 million small businesses in the United States, with approximately 543,000 of these new businesses starting up each month. United States small businesses employee nearly 60 million people, which is nearly 40 percent of the private workforce, and they have generated over 65 percent of new jobs since 1995. Firms with fewer than one hundred employees actually hold a wide variety of the over all small business employment (see Figure 1 for the ratio between firm size to employment).  https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/March_April_2016_FINAL_508_compliant.pdf Aside from the small businesses that maintain full-time or part-time employees, there are businesses that employ nobody other than the owner themselves. A nonemployer business is one that has no paid employees, annual business receipts of $1,000 or more and must pay federal income taxes. Most nonemployers are self-employed individuals operating very small unincorporated businesses, depending on the owners source of capital (money). Nazar states that around 75 percent of all United States businesses are nonemployer businesses and that around 80 percent of these non-employee businesses reported less than $50,000 in receipts which is considered low income even though over 22 million are self-employed and can take in all revenue made. These statistics show that it can be extremely challenging to invest into your own small business venture, but sometimes the ambition does prove to pay off in the long run. Even though starting up your own small business may require a lot out of you physically and mentally, the financial cost of starting up is not as large as Americans make it out to be. The annual cost of starting up a small business can be as low as $3,000, however most home-based franchises cost $2,000 to $5,000 to start. If you’re someone who is interested in a career focused on web design or computer programming then you can even start your small business online, which can be most beneficial for networking connections through social media or running a website. According to eMarketer, an online digital marketer, there was a 24.8 percent increase in the annual Online Small Businesses, the global worldwide sales reached $2.304 trillion and online businesses accounted for 58.9 percent of those sales (Pilon). As online business continues to be a larger factor of the retail market around the world, getting your business ideas online can be a convenient way to network with people a round you and if you’re lucky all that you really need to get your business started is that first good connection. Online businesses are growing at double digit rates and you need to be able to capture the public’s attention and expose your latest online business ideas to encourage growth within your own business. If you have started a small business then I’m sure you have struggled with some sort of lack in cash flow which is a very common difficulty that business owners experience. In 2014,  220,000 establishments (small businesses) started in the United States and 205,000 exited the United States due to not having enough revenue (Nazar). Every business has its own financing needs; experts have some tips to help you figure out how much cash you will actually need to start your own small business. Entrepreneur Drew Gerber, who started a technology company, a publicity firm and a financial planning company, estimates that an entrepreneur will need six months’ worth of fixed costs just to start their own small business. Gerber instructs, â€Å"Have a plan to cover your expenses in the first month, Identify your customers before you open the door so you can have a way to start covering those expenses†. One of the main reasons most small businesses fail is that they simply run out of cash. Writing a business plan without basing your forecasts on reality often leads to an unfortunate, and often unnecessary, business failure. Without the benefit of experience or actual historical financials, it’s easy to overestimate a new company’s revenue and underestimate costs (McCahon). Twenty percent of small businesses fail in their first year, thirty percent of small businesses fail in their second year and fifty percent of small businesses fail after five years. Finally, thirty percent of all small businesses fail in their tenth year in business (Georgia McIntyre). There are many reasons why small businesses fail but a few things that tend to do harm are: Capital access (access to money), cash flow, lack of demand, and poor management. One of the major problems with small businesses is capital, as of 2015, seventy-three percent of small business owners weren’t able to access enough capital for their business ( https://www.fundera.com/blog/what-percentage-of-small-businesses-fail). This means that even if the money existed in a business account, a business owner cannot access it when needed for business operations, making it extremely challenging to run your business efficiently. California governmental agencies, small business organizations and state legislators come together every year to recognize that owning and starting your business is hard work. This annual event honors a few of the millions of small business that serve as â€Å"the economic engine of California†. Small businesses are engrained in California’s communities and economy contributing to 75 percent of California’s gross state product and over half of the states private sector jobs. â€Å"California Small Business Day†also allows business owners from across the state to connect with other business owners in an effort to learn from or gain insight from fellow entrepreneurs. According to a small-town and successful business owner, John Hackney, â€Å"This business can either make or break you, you have to be willing to sacrifice everything you have in order to start your own business.†He claims that the initial starting phase of your business will be one of the hardest periods of growth that you have to overcome through the entire process. Hackney also advises that if you plan your costs, don’t underestimate the expenses, and never forget that they can rise as the business grows, it’s easy to overlook costs when you’re thinking about the big picture, but you should always be very precise and thorough when planning for your fixed expenses. He also strongly believes that when your employees are appreciated and treated with respect, then you are sure to succeed in maintaining a loyal, hardworking staff. Ideals like these reveal why small businesses are so important and even endearing. We can come to the conclusion that even though starting your own business may seem to be one of the hardest things, it can also be equally as rewarding and beneficial.  California Small Business Association, â€Å"California Small Business Day 2018†, Business Wire (English). 06/19/2018, Article Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=truedb=bwhAN=bizwire.c85292394site=ehost-live Richard Schwinn: PhD, Research Economist, â€Å"2016 State Small Business Profiles Released with Fresh Design†, The Small Business Advocate: Office of Advocacy, Vol. 35, No. 3, March- April 2016 Retrieved from https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/March_April_2016_FINAL_508_compliant.pdf Jason Nazar, â€Å"16 Surprising Statistics About Small Businesses†, Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy, Sep 9, 2013 Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonnazar/2013/09/09/16-surprising-statistics-about-small-businesses/#269ebc195ec8 â€Å"Small Business†, page issues Retrieved from https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_business Georgia McIntyre, â€Å"What is the Small Business Failure Rate?†, What Percentage of Small Businesses Fail? (And Other Need-to-Know Stats), August 29, 2018 Retrieved from  https://www.fundera.com/blog/what-percentage-of-small-businesses-fail Sammi Caramela, Startup Costs: How Much Cash Will You Need? April 12, 2018 https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/5-small-business-start-up-costs-options.html Cynthia McCahon, Founder and CEO of Business Plan Software, â€Å"One of the Many Reasons Small Businesses Fail is because They Simply Run Out of Cash.†, April 12 2018 https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/5-small-business-start-up-costs-options.html Drew Gerber, Entrepreneur, April 12 2018 https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/5-small-business-start-up-costs-options.html John Hackney. Business owner, The Lakefront Taproom. (August 2018). Personal reference. (909)336-8443 United States census, Nonemployer Statistics, â€Å"Nonemployer Definitions†, https://www.census.gov/epcd/nonemployer/view/define.html Annie Pilon, Small Business Trends, â€Å"50 Online Business Ideas†, July 5 2018, https://smallbiztrends.com/2016/11/online-business-ideas.html
Saturday, March 7, 2020
A critical reading of the western, referring to Jim Kitses Notes on the Western
A critical reading of the western, referring to Jim Kitses Notes on the Western By 1960, the production of Westerns in Hollywood had entered a decline from which it never recovered. Although for a time in the mid sixties the supply was augmented from an unexpected source, as the Italians found new ways to inject life into a dying genre. This was witnessed in the "spaghetti" westerns of Sergio Leone such as The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly(1968), but this proved to be a short lived phenomenon, and by the seventies, Hollywood was struggling to produce a bare score of westerns per year. In the eighties, with production declining still, the death of the genre was produced on all sides. By the nineties, the western girded itself for one last stand, witnessed in the frontier western of Dances With Wolves(1991) and the revenge western Unforgiven(1995), which director Clint Eastwood attempted by sheer effort to get the genre back on its feet. However the predicted full scale revival failed to materialise.English: A Japanese poster for Akira Kurosawa's Se...We can specula te on the reasons for this decline. Edward Buscombe, who has written profusely on the western, believes the decline of the studio system resulted in the decline of the staple Western form, the B film, during the 1950s. More recently he goes on to say, the change in production patterns means now catering for the changing demographics of the cinema audience, the majority of whom are now too young for a genre that always venerated age. The younger audience is attracted to other genres- horror, science fiction- that offer many traditional satisfactions of the western without the dated historical baggage that now seems increasingly irrelevant in the 21st century. The changing attitudes of society, especially in terms of sexuality and ethnic difference, have left the classic Western marooned in its nineteenth century values.The death of the Western genre mirrors the...
Wednesday, February 19, 2020
17th century baroque dress Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
17th century baroque dress - Essay Example The baroque dresses initially consisted of bobbin lace, and had falling collars. The patterns continued to evolve and get bolder. By the middle of the 17th century, the laces in the dresses had become straight edged, and they had patterned flowers. The flowers were arranged in a symmetric way. The designs of the baroque dress were to continue to change and evolve through the century. During the last quarter of the 17th century, there was the development of lighter lace. The lace had more scrollwork and smaller flowers. It also had an abundance of frothy points. The women’s clothes during the late 17th century period mostly resembled the one piece gowns, although they mainly consisted of a skirt and a top that were sewn together at the middle. The design of the dresses was meant to ‘stuff up’ the female figure. The designers during this period begun to come up with elaborate dress textiles that changed depending on the seasons. The period also saw the constant crea tion of new and textured designs. The designs and textures of the dresses was underwent tremendous changes during the 17th century period. From the early 17th century to the mid 17th century, the high wasted baroque dresses that had characterized the earlier 17th century were replaced by dresses with long waists in the mid 17th century. The gowns were typically two piece gowns, with bodices and skirts.The bodice and the skirts were however in most cases sewn together at the waist. The gowns were also open at the front center.
Tuesday, February 4, 2020
Piracy Off Coast of Somalia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words
Piracy Off Coast of Somalia - Essay Example The Northwestern region of Somalia declared themselves independent in 1991 and in 1998 the Northeastern region established the Puntland State of Somalia. (Ould-Abdallah, 2008). In 2002 local leaders in Baidoa also established a Southwestern State of Somalia. Background shows that before 1990 piracy was not a serious problem on the coast of Somalia. There were a few small incidents with fishing boats, leisure craft and ships, but nothing serious. However, in the 1990s a more organized form of piracy was seen in armed groups attacking vessels claiming to be Coast Guards protecting territorial waters of Somalia. This form of piracy expanded in 2000 to any seafaring vessels that came within or even close to Somalia’s territorial waters. The pirates boarded the vessels and held both ship and sailors hostage for ransom. (Ould-Abdallah, 2008). Interestingly, the pirates are not concerned with cargo or reuse of the ship; they are only concerned with obtaining the ransom. The ships are sailed to one of the bases where the pirates can obtain supplies while demands are being communicated. Since the pirates are armed, it is very difficult to attempt a rescue. The process is very open and they feel very secure that the ransom will be paid to bring the hostage situation to a safe conclusion. (Ould-Abdullah, 2008). The following research information deals with what is going on now, why we are involved, the costs, United States policies, and possible alternatives. Why Piracy in Somalia: Somalia is ravaged with social upheavals, human hardship and environmental challenges. Piracy has become a way to make quick money that is more appealing than any other means of income. There is some risk involved, but the benefits have shown to outweigh the risks. There have been few arrests and fewer injuries suffered by the pirates. (Ould-Abdullah, 2008). The country suffers from poverty, unemployment, environmental drawbacks, and low incomes. There have been lost resources due to dro ught and illegal fishing as well as security and political issues that allow piracy to continue in Somalia. Until someone comes up with a better solution for income generation and the pirates are dealt with more severely, it will continue. It is important to note that the pirates firmly believe they have every right to attack illegal vessels that are in their territorial waters. They feel that their fishing resources are being stolen daily by vessels from Europe and Asia. This has been going on for years; however, nothing has been done about it internationally. Therefore, the Somalia pirates believe their actions are warranted to control the injustice. (Ould-Abdullah, 2008). â€Å"Some pirates have claimed they act as a de facto coast guard, protecting Somalia from illegal fishing and dumping of toxic wastes.†(Minter; Volman, 2009). However, most will admit that they do it for the financial gain, even though some used to be fishermen. In the article by William Minter and Dan iel Volman in June 2009 they contend that piracy alone will not likely provoke U.S. intervention even if U.S. citizens are captured. Most of the captured hostages have been from the Philippines and other developing countries. The shipping companies see the ransom as minor expenses compared to the economic situation worldwide. (Minter; Volman, 2009). In an article by Mark Doyle in 2006 he states that the problem is generally off the long eastern coastline of
Monday, January 27, 2020
A Study On The Khmer Rouge History Essay
A Study On The Khmer Rouge History Essay In Cambodia about 1.5 million people were killed in the mid 1970s. The Khmer Rouge were responsible for all the action that took place during that time. The Khmer Rouge believed in communism. They wanted everyone to be equal. The Khmer Rouge was led by Pol Pot and his brothers. The Khmer Rouge ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. According to the Wikipedia article 1/5 of the countrys total population (estimates range from 850,000 to 2.5 million) under its regime, through execution, torture, starvation and forced labor (Wikipedia Khmer Rouge[1]). Also According to the same article, The leaders were mostly from middle class families and had been educated at French universities (Wikipedia Khmer Rouge[2]). The Khmer Rouges idea of communism was bad for the country of Cambodia. The Khmer Rouge relocated people, put all of the people in Cambodia to work as farmers in labor camp and changed the lifestyle of the country. The Khmer Rouge made the people work hard labor, killed a lot of people, and they brainwashed the country telling by them that communism was good for them. The Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia in 1975 and put all the people to work in hard labor and changed the way of life. Pol Pot led the Khmer Rouge. When they took over Cambodia they closed down everything and relocated people. For example in the Khmer Rouge article the author writes, New people driving them in all directions from the capital and other cities. It forcibly settled townspeople among the rural base peopleand put them in agricultural labor camps without wages, right, or free time (Khmer Rouge[3]). This shows that the Cambodians did not have any rights when the Khmer Rouge was ruling. This is important because the Khmer Rouge wanted everyone to work on farms and enslaved the people. The Khmer Rouge let many Cambodians die from starvations and the Khmer Rouge executed people. For example, in the article Khmer Rouge, it says, by the early 1979 approximately 650,000 people, or one quarter of the new Khmer died from execution, starvation overwork, disease, and denial of medical care (Khmer Rouge[4]). This shows that the Khmer Rouge had a lot of power and they could do anything to the people. This is important because the Khmer Rouge didnt care about the people. The Khmer Rouge wanted everyone to be poor and have no society. According to the Wikipedia article, The Khmer Rouge attempted to turn Cambodia into a classless society by depopulating cities and forcing the urban population into agricultural communes. The entire population was forced to become farmers in labor camp (Wikipedia Khmer Rouge[5]). This shows that everyone had to work in the farms and everyone have the same job. This is important because the Khmer Rouge wanted to have a low class society and everyone has to be the same as one another. Having a classless society was important to Pol Pot. He did not want people to become rich. He feared that people with money would be able to gain power. So, Pol Pot decided to abolish the currency system, which made it impossible to become rich. Furthermore, he took the land away from the people and did not allow anyone to own land. The people of Cambodia had nothing. While the people had nothing, the Khmer Rouge had power and they had full control of the country. They could force people to do things and they could change the lifestyle of Cambodia. The Khmer Rouge killed a lot of people. The Khmer Rouge killed those who were not pure Cambodian. For example in the Khmer Rouge article it says they killed ethic Vietnamese, ethnic Chinese, ethic Thai, Cambodian christens, Muslims, and Buddhist monks (Wikipedia Khmer Rouge[6]). This shows that the Khmer Rouge didnt want to have a mixed race Cambodians. This is important because the Khmer Rouge wanted one race pure Cambodians. This was similar to Hitler when he killed all the Jews. Pol Pot and his followers executed and tortured anyone who was not pure Cambodians. He shot them in the head, he cut off their arms, he tore their eyeballs out, and beheaded many non pure Cambodians. He did this because he believed that they were not worthy to be human beings. He devalued them and treated them worse than animals. Pol Pot and his followers were filled with hate and anger. The Khmer Rouge also killed educated people. For example, in the Khmer Rouge article it says they killed professional and intellectual in practice this included almost everyone with an education (Wikipedia Khmer Rouge[7]). This shows that the Khmer Rouge didnt want educated people around. This is important because they might form a group and tell everyone that communism is bad then everyone going to be against it. Pol Pot and his followers didnt want the people of Cambodia to be educated. They were afraid that if the people were educated, they would be harder to control. They didnt want the people of Cambodia to resist what they were doing. The Khmer Rouge believed that the best way to control the people is by keeping them uneducated and ignorant and to use force with anyone that showed resistance. The Khmer Rouge also killed people who were against communism and the Khmer Rouge didnt want capitalism in Cambodia. Pol Pot did not want a free market in his country. They wanted agriculture and farming as a way to bring the country of Cambodia to prominence. He did not want Cambodia to have any western influence. Because the previous government had affiliations with France, anyone with ties to the previous government were killed. For example in the same article it says they killed anyone with connections to the former government or with foreign governments (Wikipedia Khmer Rouge[8]). This shows that the Khmer Rouge didnt want to have any connection with other government. This is important because the Khmer Rouge want to have control of the country. Therefore while Khmer Rouge was in power they killed all non-pure Cambodians, forced people into agriculture, killed people with an education, took away land and they didnt want anyone the have connection with the government. The Khmer Rouge believed in communism. According to the definition in Wikipedia, communism is a socioeconomic structure and political ideology that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless society based on common ownership and control of the means of production and property in general (Wikipedia Communism[9]). This is important because the people of Cambodia believed that the Khmer Rouge would bring a classless society to the country. Furthermore, the people of Cambodia believed that every citizen in Cambodia would participate in the decisions making process in both political in economic spheres of life. However, the Khmer rouge had a different agenda. The Khmer Rouge was able to get the support of the Cambodian people based on the vision of a classless society that allows every Cambodian citizen to participate in the decisions making process both politically and economically. However, when the Khmer Rouge got into power, their actions were far from what the y promised for the people of Cambodia. They brainwashed the people and told them that communism is good for the country. Communism is people who want everyone in the country to be the same and equal. They want everyone to have the same job and same everything. The Khmer Rouge told the people everyone gets paid the same or they might not get paid at all, everyone have access to heath care, public assistance and everyone goes to the same school. The Khmer Rouge made it sound good for the people and the Cambodians thought they were going to have those things and all the benefit. But the Khmer Rouge didnt deliver the promise they made to the people. The Khmer Rouge separated families killed people, put them to work hard on the farms, and tortured people. Some people argued that it was beneficial to have the Khmer Rouge in control of the government and country of Cambodia. The Khmer Rouges leadership provided independence from France and loosened the control from other countries. The people of Cambodia believed that if they were independent from other countries they would have peace in their country and they will not have war. Furthermore, the supporters of the Khmer Rouge believe they could be a prosperous and financially independent country. Therefore, According to An Independent Cambodia article, They broke diplomatic and trade ties with virtually all countries and launched a program to achieve self sufficiency through rice production as the great kingdoms of Angkor had done(An independent Cambodia[10]). This is important because the Khmer Rouge wanted to bring independence and freedom to Cambodia. Therefore the Khmer Rouge wanted Cambodia to be independent from the other countries and they wanted the people of Cambodia to live fr ee healthy and prosperous lives. However, the Khmer Rouge brought pain and stress for the people of Cambodia. There were no benefits for having the Khmer Rouge in the country. They killed people, took away any rights, and they put the people to work as slaves. Although Cambodia had independence from other countries, the people of Cambodia continued to suffer. The people were forced to work on rice field up to 18 hours per day. The workers were rarely fed and were not paid any wages. Furthermore, many people were executed, tortured, and force to separate from love ones. The Khmer Rouge brought destruction, pain, and did not provide the freedom and prosperity it promised its citizens. The Khmer Rouges leadership and idea of Communism was bad for the country of Cambodia. It brought nothing but bad things to the country. The Khmer Rouge put people to work hard labor. Many people worked in the rice field. They worked like slaves and they didnt get paid. Furthermore, they didnt have any freedom; they did not have a choice. They were forced to work on rice fields against their will. If they didnt comply, they were executed, tortured, or beaten badly. The Khmer Rouge relocated people and separated families and forced them to work at different places. The Khmer Rouge killed a lot of people. The Khmer Rouge wanted all the Cambodian to be pure meaning that they didnt want to have mixed racist they only wanted everyone to be one race and they killed educated people. The Khmer Rouge brainwashed people saying that communism is good for the countries but that really didnt happen. Instead the Khmer Rouge put the Cambodians in labor camps and killing people. The Khmer Rouges rei gn in Cambodia was a horrific time period for many Cambodians. Wikipedia Khmer Rouge pg7 Wikipedia Khmer Rouge pg7 Khmer Rouge Khmer Rouge pg4 Wikipedia Khmer Rouge pg8 Wikipedia Khmer Rouge pg9 Wikipedia Khmer Rouge pg9 Wikipedia Khmer Rouge pg9 Wikipedia Communism pg1 An independent Cambodia pg4
Sunday, January 19, 2020
Rural-Urban Linkages, Their Role in Sustainable Development
Although policy makers and the development community have widely used the phrase â€Å"rural development. The concept of rural development has changed significantly during the last 3 decades. Until the 1970s, rural development was synonymous with agricultural development and, hence, focused on increasing agricultural production. This focus seems to have been driven primarily by the interests of industrialization to extract surpluses from the agriculture sector to reinforce industrialization. With the focus on increasing agricultural production, the stated objective of most countries was to promote smallholder agriculture. Over time, this smallholder agriculture-centric concept of rural development underwent changes. By the early 1980s, according to Harris, the World Bank defined it as â€Å"†¦a strategy designed to improve the economic and social life of a specific group of peopleâ€â€the rural poor. Four major factors appear to have influenced the change: increased concerns about the persistent and deepening of rural poverty; changing views on the meaning of the concept of development itself; emergence of a more diversified rural economy in which rural non-farm enterprises play an increasingly important role; and increased recognition of the importance of reducing the non-income dimensions of poverty to achieve sustainable improvements in the socio economic well-being of the poor. The establishment of the Millennium Development Goals has significantly reinforce d the concerns about non income poverty. With the paradigm shifts in economic development from growth to broadly defined â€Å"development,†the concept of rural development has begun to be used in a broader sense. It is also more specific, as Harris noted â€Å"in the sense that it focuses (in its rhetoric and in principle) particularly on poverty and inequality. †In more recent years, increased concerns on the environmental aspects of economic growth have also influenced the changes. Today’s concept of rural development is fundamentally different from that used about 3 or 4 decades ago. The concept now encompasses â€Å"concerns that go well beyond improvements in growth, income, and output. The concerns include an assessment of changes in the quality of life, broadly defined to include improvement in health and nutrition, education, environmentally safe living conditions, and reduction in gender and income inequalities. â€Å"Today there seems to be a universal consensus that the ultimate objective of rural development is to improve the quality of life of rural people. As the concept of rural development changed so has the focus and approach to tackling and planning for rural development also change. Thus as already explained, today rural development is an integrated concept that that requires an integrated approach to development . thus the focus now is on sustainable development; hence an integrated sustainable rural development strategy is used to plan for rural development. However in order to successively design a strategy for integrated sustainable rural development, one must take into consideration rural-urban linkages because of the significant role it plays in sustainable rural development. Before proceeding with a discussion about the role that rural-urban linkages play in integrated rural sustainable development strategy, it may be necessary to define rural-urban linkages. In general, â€Å"rural-urban linkages†refers to the flow of (public and private) capital, people (migration, commuting) and goods and services (trade) between rural and urban areas. It is important to add to these three economic flows, the flow of ideas, innovation and information. These rural urban linkages could be expanded as; * The movement of people between rural and urban households many of which are of circular nature. These include temporary migration(as in seasonal moves ) and labour migration including weekly commuting; * The more permanent migration of people from rural to urban areas and vice versa. * The movement of people operating from a single rural urban household as in daily commuting or school trips, shopping and short term visits. * The movement of resources such as money and remittances, commodities and services. * There is also the more permanent type of linkages found mostly in infrastructure such as roads railway lines water and electricity telecommunication etc. Over the past few years, interest in the linkages between urban and rural areas has increased considerably. This is clear, for instance, from the activities of the United Nations. The Habitat Agenda, adopted at the second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) in Istanbul in 1996, states that â€Å"policies and programmes for the sustainable development of rural areas that integrate rural regions into the national economy require strong local and national institutions for the lanning and management of human settlements that place emphasis on rural-urban linkages and treat villages and cities as two ends of a human settlements continuum. †(UNCHS, 1997: 93-94). however, Studies of rural urban linkages indicate that the nature of the linkages differs from one place to another and differs for different sectors in the same place. It is equally necessary to identify successful practices that promote local rural and urban development and alleviate poverty, using rural-urban linkages, and to build the capacity of rural and urban local governments to review, adapt and replicate such practices. The growing understanding and the pool of good practices should form the basis for capacity building of local governments. Among the above linkages the ,focus would be on the point 1 and 4 that’s the migration and the economic exchange of goods and services and their implication on rural development . this is because they are among the important rural urban linkages necessary for integrated sustainable rural development. These would be dis cussed shortly. To begin with the economic exchange between urban and rural areas can be beneficial or detrimental to either or both areas . hus with economic links between rural and urban areas, the extent to which economic development in the one area benefits or obstructs economic development in the other area. For instance an exclusive focus on rural areas would result in an under-investment in urban areas and this would limit the growth of the urban sector and its ability to absorb the rural labour surplus. Likewise an exclusive focus on urban development would produce similar results, because it would accelerate rural-urban migration and reduce food production per capita (Richardson, 1987: 210). Reardon (n. d. : 8-9) distinguishes three stages in the development of rural non-farm sector and of rural-urban linkages: †¢ During the first stage, rural non-farm activity tends to have a production or expenditure linkage with agriculture while farming directly employs a large share of the rural population. Rural non-farm activity tends to centre on the countryside itself, with little dependence on rural-urban links. Rural non-farm activities are mainly home-based and small-scale production of goods, mainly sold locally. During the first stage, agriculture tends to depend on local supplies of farm inputs and services and on local processing and distribution of farm products, usually carried out by small to medium-scale firms. †¢ A greater mix of situations characterizes the second stage. The mix includes activities based on linkages with agriculture as well as on other, separate activities (e. g. tourism, mining and services), although the latter did grow out of a historical rural non-farm sector based on linkages with agriculture. The share of rural population dependent on farming is lower than during the first phase. Rural-urban links as the basis for rural non-farm employment have a greater weight than in first stage with nascent sub-contracting of rural companies by urban or foreign businesses and a rapid rise in the labour force commuting between the countryside and rural towns and intermediate cities. †¢ The third stage shows an intensification of the characteristics that differentiate the second stage from the first stage. There is a greater weight of urban-rural links manifested by the greater importance of more advanced forms of business linkages, such as subcontracting arrangements and labour commuting. A number of other tendencies also characterize this stage: the expansion of subcontracting beyond light durables to medium durables. The great heterogeneity of the non-farm sector in rural areas implies that there is little scope for general, broad, policy prescriptions. This observation may well provide an important lesson for our thinking about the process of policy formulation. A wide variety of interventions may be required to promote the non-farm sector, each tailored to specific local conditions. Decentralized decision-making may be necessary: mechanisms should be devised whereby local information flows upwards so that the localized bottlenecks are relieved and specific niches can be exploited (Lanjouw, 1999: 9). From the above it can be realised that, rural-urban linkages can play an important role in economic development and poverty alleviation in urban and rural areas. However,it is important to recognize that the nature of the rural-urban linkages differs from one place to another and from one function to another. As Douglas (1998) has pointed out, a particular urban centre may play a crucial economic role for the surrounding rural areas in one respect, while the rural area may completely bypass that same urban centre and link directly to more distant urban centres and cities in other respects. It is, therefore, dangerous to generalize about the nature of rural-urban linkages and to base policy interventions on such generalizations. What is necessary is the recognition of (a) the existence a regional economy as a reality, rrespective of administrative boundaries, and (b) the need to develop knowledge about such regional (i. e. sub-national) economies (World Bank, 2000). The development of this knowledge should be demand-driven, as urban and rural local governments come to recognize their shared interests and constraints. The political impetus for this process of knowledge development may be t decentralization. In order to distribute economic and social opportunities equitably, the Government s hould strengthen grassroots economies that can provide sustainable incomes for the rural population. The Government should establish economic clusters that link rural and urban areas, and the cluster-based economic development should be consistent with the economic potentials, preferences and functions of each area. Another important rural urban linkage that has immense implication for today’s rural development is the rural urban migration. Thus the movement of people between rural and urban households . these include temporary migration and labour migration. Rural-urban migration reduces population pressure in the rural areas and, thereby, should improve economic conditions and reduce rural poverty. However, disparities between urban and rural areas in terms of income and employment and the availability of basic infrastructure and services persist. Urban areas offer more and better opportunities for socio-economic mobility of the poor and rural-urban migration, therefore, will continue. Labour migration could result in shortage of labour force for productivity in the rural areas which would intend result in low productivity and underdevelopment in the rural areas. Whereas the urban areas may not also be able to absorb the all the labour from the rural areas ,resulting in unemployment and increase in sanitation costs and government expenditure. it also increase population pressure in urban areas resulting in pressure on the few social amenities in urban centres. in this case, rural urban migration has more adverse effect on rural development. In addition to the above, Circular and temporary migration is already a common pattern in many countries, but working and housing conditions in the urban areas may not always be conducive to this form of migration. Housing is often an acute problem for temporary migrants who prefer to rent rather than to own housing, because they feel that their home is in the rural areas. Temporary migrants are sometimes not entitled to urban services and this makes their life in the urban areas more difficult than necessary. Local governments and private employers in the urban areas should accept temporary rural-urban migration as inevitable and perhaps even as desirable, and they may consider measures to facilitate such forms of rural-urban migration. For instance, Remittances are a crucial component of rural households’ incomes and a key element of the continued links between migrants and their home areas across all wealth groups. In northern Mali, migrants’ remittances have become probably the most important source of family cash, and are used for consumption and for the purchase of consumer goods such as radios and bicycles, but also for the purchase of agricultural inputs or for investment in livestock. In southeast Nigeria, it would be socially unacceptable for migrants not to send remittances and gifts: financial support to their parental households has greatly contributed to making young women’s migration socially acceptable. Most importantly, remittances and gifts ensure that migrants can maintain a foothold in the home area, and that they will be welcome upon their return. Gaile (1992: 134) argues that the problem is not urbanization as such, because the urban areas need to absorb the additional rural labour. The problem is that migrants have only a limited choice when migrating, because most local economic development occurs in one or a few large cities. He points out that the problem is really â€Å"under-urbanization†, i. e. the underdevelopment of the urban system. The major impediment to the working of the general market and the consequent development of a labour market is the undersupply of centres of sufficient minimal size to provide sites for market development. The above implies that in developing a strategy for sustainable rural development projects that encourages the bridging of gab between rural and urban areas should be considered. This would help reduce rural urban migration. Besides, major effort is required to ensure that the urban areas can absorb the growing urban population and that urbanization will not result in an urbanization of poverty. Small and medium-sized towns can play an important role in the urbanization process by absorbing rural-urban migrants. For instance Economic development in small towns can have a positive impact on the economy of the surrounding rural areas, if the increase in purchasing power results in the purchase of agricultural and non-agricultural products from the surrounding rural areas. This will obviously depend on the types of products produced, their quality and cost and their competitiveness compared to products from other parts of the country (and elsewhere). The development of the local urban economy may also lead to a reduction in rural-urban migration to the larger urban centres and the city and redirect migration flows to smaller urban centres. This in the long run led to sustainable development in both the rural and urban areas. Conclusion and Recommendations From the above discusions, it can be observe that there is growing interdependence of urban and rural areas that reduces the significance of the rural-urban distinction. The flow of people, capital, goods, services and ideas between urban and rural areas, made possible by improvements and cost reductions in communication and transport, is reinforcing the existing rural-urban linkages and more than ever conditions and developments in the urban areas have an impact on the rural areas and vice versa. Rural residents adopt urban lifestyles and occupations; small settlements require urban infrastructure and services; residents of rural areas commute between rural and urban areas; industries move to rural areas; urban waste pollutes natural resources in the rural areas; and agriculture in urban areas is becoming important for both economic and environmental reasons. It is, therefore, an anachronism that governments still design policies and programmes that are focused either on urban or on rural areas, but rarely on both. Rural and urban communities need to have an interest in each other’s conditions, and policy-makers need to consider these when formulating policies and programmes for sustainable rural development. Coordination of decision-making and cooperation between authorities of urban areas and their surrounding rural areas are critical to ensure that the development of urban areas and rural areas support each other. However, the continuing integration of rural and urban areas requires more than simply coordination and cooperation, it requires planning that incorporates rural and urban development. Such regional planning should not be an urban-centred exercise as it often has been in the past. Rural and urban areas need each other and each can benefit when the other’s needs are met. Backward linkages and forward linkages between agricultural production and industry and services can foster positive rural-urban interactions and a virtuous circle of development. However, policies that encourage such mutually reinforcing linkages need to overcome the traditional separation between rural and urban planners. They also need to avoid generalizations and be grounded in the specifics of the regional context (Tacoli, 1998: 13).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)