Research Methodology, Design and Process Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6000 words

Research Methodology, Design and Process - Essay Example Nursing practice, like other professions, has constantly been enriched and improved by research critical evaluation strategies. As a result, research critical evaluation involves the most effective means of collecting, analyzing, and evaluating information regarding any aspect in (nursing) practice (Stebbins 2006). The critically generated information becomes the basis of making decision in any field with the aim of improving or filling out the deficiencies that other materials demonstrate. Conducting research is a process that follows specific steps, where in most cases, it has been found seven critical steps are followed. The seven steps are: defining research question, asking for help, developing research strategy and locating resources to use in conducting the research, utilizing the most effective search techniques, reading critically, synthesizing and seeking meaning, understanding the scholarly communication process and citing sources, and lastly, evaluating the sources in the most effective critical way (Stebbins 2006). ... In addition, the review will involve establishing whether the author (s) state explicitly the ideas and information contained in the article; what contribution the article has on the topic it presents; and kind materials presented in the work. This is in addition to how the materials have been expressed and argue about the topic being presented; what alternatives exist in terms of arguing on the materials presented; the available and presentation of theoretical issues in the article; and lastly, the impersonal reaction/argument with regard to the article presented. Quantitative and qualitative research works are both utilized in the nursing practice, with the processes of critique evaluating these two types of information differing greatly. In this research project, critical evaluation of two articles will be conducted whereby, the quantitative critique review will be conducted on an article titled, ‘Measuring self-perceived public health nursing’, while qualitative crit ical review will be conducted on an article titled, ‘Barriers to, and facilitators of post-operative pain management in Iran Nursing’. The third article selected to be used in enriching information for the two articles is the article titled, ‘Delineating the role of a cohort of clinical research nurses in a pediatric cooperative clinical trials groups’. It should be known that the basis of article critical review and evaluation would largely be carried out within the precepts of purpose and objectives of the article, design process, and nature of the article, setting framework of the article, sampling procedure and technique, methods of investigations, research variables, findings, and applicability of

The role of agricultural sector as an accelerator for economic growth in Nigeria Essay Example for Free

The role of agricultural sector as an accelerator for economic growth in Nigeria Essay 1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY Agriculture is a systemic and controlled use of living organism and the environment in the improvement of human condition. It also covers farming, husbandry, cultivation of plants, animals, and other life forms for food, fiber, bio-fuel, and drugs. Agriculture is the science, art, or occupation concerned with cultivating land, raising crops, and feeding, breeding, and raising livestock; farming (Dictionary.com). It also is the practice of cultivating and farming animals, food and other life forms that are used to sustain life. It is a science and was key to the rise of human civilisations as agriculture enabled man to be able to feed himself and produce surpluses (Ask.com). Economic Growth, defined as the increasing capacity of an economy to produce goods and services, compared from one period of time to another. Economic growth can be measured in nominal terms, which include inflation, or in real terms, which are adjusted for inflation. For comparing one economic growth to another, GDP or GNP per capita should be used to take into account population difference between countries (Investopedia). The growth of an economy is thought of, not only as an increase in productive capacity but also as an improvement in the quality of life of the people of that economy. The agricultural sector plays a major role in the provision of food, security of raw materials for industries, employment, market for industrial goods such as agro-chemical, tractor and fertilizers, and foreign exchange within the context of capital formation. Before oil, Nigeria had oil; with oil, she had additional opportunity of crops like groundnut, cocoa and rubber. These crops were cultivated in large quantities and exported to Europe and America in the pre-1960s and early-60s, (Nigeria’s founding fathers built the nation from agricultural resources; but since the days of the oil boom we have abandoned all the great opportunities that come with the business of Agriculture). With Military incursions into Nigerian government and the dependence on petroleum products as the foremost foreign exchange earner, the attention to the agricultural sector dwindled. Nigeria’s groundnut pyramids disappeared, the oil palm plantations vanished and farming went back to the subsist ent level. With an increasing population, it became increasingly difficult to feed the masses, and the  country resorted to importing food to supplement the ones grown at home. The agricultural sector has played a crucial role in the social and economic growth and development of Nigeria; however, its full potential has not been reached. In the last two decades, government has paid very little attention to the growth of the agricultural sector, though there has been increased farm output at great cost through major projects, massive investments in rural infrastructure and the introduction of modern seed varieties and chemicals. The agricultural sector is yet to boast of any contribution whereas about 75% of export earnings in the 1970s were from agriculture. Agriculture as a major sector of the Nigerian economy can provide up to 70% of the population with employment. The sector in recent times is being transformed by commercialization at the small, medium and large-scale enterprise levels. Major crops include beans, sesame, cashew nuts, cassava, cocoa beans, groundnuts, gum Arabic, kolanut, maize (corn), melon, millet, palm kernel, palm oil, plantains, rice, rubber, sorghum, soyabeans, and yam in the area of land cultivation, and Fish Farming, Piggery and Poultry in the area of animal husbandry, but this is yet to assure the nature of food security and enough foreign exchange earnings desired. Wikipedia recorded that in 1990, 82 million hectares out of Nigeria’s total land area of about 91million hectares were found to be arable, although only 42% of cultivatable area was farmed; leaving us with unused arable land of about 58%. In 2013, the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) was introduced by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture. The Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA) has a great potential in enhancing the role of agriculture as an engine of inclusive growth leading to rural employment, Wealth creation, and diversification of the economy. A major policy accomplishment in the sector is the liberation of seed and fertilizer supply, which had until now been controlled by the federal government, undermined the private sector and did not deliver the inputs to genuine farmers. Since September 2011, fertilizers and seeds are being sold by the companies directly to farmers. Lending commitments from commercial banks has been leveraged using guarantees issued by th e Ministry of Finance. In order to provide a legal framework for the establishment and perpetuity of staple crop processing zones, and transform the Nigerian agricultural sector with significant multiplier effects on the entire economy, an Act to provide a legal framework for the establishment of  Staple Crop Processing Zones (SCPZ) is currently being drafted prepared to the National Assembly for adoption. Agriculture has a stronghold in any economy, for without it, a country will always have to depend on foreign countries to feed her population thereby exposing herself to the issues of food security. Moreover, the growth in the agricultural sector could be a catalyst for national output through its effect on rural incomes and provision of resources for transformation into the industrialized economy. Therefore; it is clear that agricultural growth has played a historically important role in the process of economic development as evidence from industrialized countries like China and India. Countries that are just rapidly developing today have also indicated that the sector has been the engine that contributes to the growth of the overall economy like China. 1.2STATEMENT OF PROBLEM Agriculture is the single largest contributor to the well-being of the rural poor in Nigeria, sustaining about 86% of rural household in the country. Improved agricultural development and growth, can offer a pathway out of poverty. But until very recently, agriculture has suffered the effect of several decades of neglect. Nigeria’s agricultural policies have been inconsistent, uncoordinated and ad hoc. After very slow growth during the 1970s and 1980s, agricultural growth began to pick during the 1990s and, since 2000, has averaged 5.6 per annum. However, even with the rapid agriculture growth of the past decade, Nigeria still has one of the highest poverty rates in the world. A paradigm shift towards a sound evidence-based policymaking process is needed to promote more equitable, gender sensitive and environmentally sustainable growth in the agricultural sector. The recent food price surge has made this shift even more important. It is clear that Nigeria has an arable land of about 82 million hectares and only 48% has been farmed. It is also clear that the agricultural sector is sustaining about 86% of the rural household in the country. There has also been a lack of coordination of agriculture policies. The reason Nigeria still has one of the highest ratings of poverty in the world. This research work is targeted at reconciling the opportunity inherent in the Nigeria’s poor/rural population; vis-à  -vis the massive uncultivated arable land through small scale agricultural support from the government. It will further re-echo  existing solutions as well as provide additional information on our challenges in agriculture as a nation, with a view to providing thought provoking and inciteful analysis of the opportunities inherent in an agricultural based economy, particularly for a blessed nation like Nigeria with quality arable land, and enough water resources to support animal husbandry. 1.3OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The main objective of this research work is to study the roles of agricultural sector as an accelerator for the economic growth in Nigeria. Specific objectives: The study is aimed at: 1. Assessing the various policies and programmes used in promoting the agricultural sector in Nigeria, failures and successes. 2. Evaluating the performance of the agricultural sector of Nigeria over the years, that is1980-2012 and the way forward. 3. Making suggestions as to how the full potential of the sector could be realized in line with the successful policies and other developments. 1.4RESEARCH QUESTIONS This study seeks to find answers to the following research questions; 1. What are the roles of the agricultural sector in relations to the growth of the Nigerian economy? 2. What efforts has the government made to restore the agricultural sector in Nigeria? 3. What is the performance of the agricultural sector of Nigeria over the years? 4. What could be done to make the agricultural sector achieve its full potential? 1.5RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS The research hypothesis is to create a relationship between the growth on agricultural sector and the Nigerian economy as well as the inverse relationship between them. = Growthof the agricultural sector playsno significant roles in the economy. = Growthof the agricultural sector plays significant roles in the economy. 1.6SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The significance of this study depends on the fact that with an improved economy, Nigeria stands to gain in its effects towards economic growth. It is advantageous to both the government and citizens; in the sense that its  serves as a guide for future governmental policy on agriculture and when this is well implemented, we will notice that the welfare and standards of living of the citizens will be improved. 1.7THE SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY This study examines the timeframe of 1980-2012. The purpose of choosing this period is to empirically test the significance or the extent to which the agricultural sector contributes to the economy’s growth despite the several years of government’s neglect, and to re-emphasize the need to properly coordinate Government policies and reconcile the opportunity of our rural population with the available natural resources, particularly the arable land for optimum usage and the renewal effects towards stabilizing the agricultural sector. The performance of Nigeria’s agricultural sector shall be evaluated in detail as well as efforts of the government at restoring the sector examined. This study will also go further to discuss the major constraints on the performance of the Nigeria agricultural sector. The limitations are due to lack of available data information, time factor, and cost involved in carrying out this type of research. 1.8DEFINITION OF TERMS. i. Capital Formation; this can be defined as the transfer of savings from individuals or households to the business sector, directly through investment or indirectly through banks. ii. Husbandry; this is defined as the science of raising crops or food animals or the cultivation and production of edible crops or of animals for food. iii. Labour-Intensive; is a process or industry that requires large amount of labour to produce its goods and services. iv. Global Warming; an increase in earth’s average atmospheric temperature that causes corresponding changes in climate and that may result from the greenhouse effect. v. Greenhouse Effect; an atmospheric heating phenomenon, caused by short wave solar radiation being readily transmitted inward through the earth’s atmosphere but longer wave length heat radiation less readily transmitted outwards, owing its absorption by atmospheric carbon dioxide, water vapour, methane, and other gases; thus the rising level of carbon dioxide is viewed with concern. CHAPTER TWO 2.1 INTRODUCTION This section presents the theoretical, methodological and empirical review of literature. The theoretical review covers various theories on the subject matter, while the methodological review also cover various methodological issues used in the past studies and the empirical review present various findings that results from the methodologies. 2.2THEORETICAL REVIEW OF LITERATURE The study of economic history provides us with ample evidence that an agricultural revolution is a fundamental pre-condition for economic development (Eicher and Witt, 1964, Olusanmi, 1966, Jones and Wolff, 1969). The agricultural sector has the potentials to be the industrial and economic spring board from which a country’s development can take off. Indeed, agricultural activities are usually concentrated in the less developed rural transformation, redistribution, poverty alleviation and socio-economic development (Stewart, 2000). Agriculture can be advanced beyond its primary function of supplying food and its primary cultural sector has the potential to shape the landscape, guarantee the sustainable management of renewable resources of many rural areas (Humbert, 2000). In fact, through its different spheres of activities at macro and micro levels, the agricultural sector is strategically positioned to have a higher multiplier effect on any nation’s quest for socio-ec onomic and industrial development. It is very obvious that a sustainable agricultural growth has been highly instrumental in Brazil’s rapid rural transformation, the empowerment of Brazilian peasant and the alleviation of abject poverty. Interestingly, the Nigerian economy like that of Brazil during the first decade after independence could reasonably be described as an agricultural economy because agriculture serves as the engine of growth of the overall economy (Ogen, 2003: 231-234). From the stand point of occupational distribution and contribution of GDP, agriculture was the leading sector. During this period, Nigeria was the world’s second largest producer of cocoa, largest exporter of palm kernel and largest producer and exporter of palm oil. Nigeria was also a leading exporter of other commodities such as cotton, groundnut, rubber and hides and skin (Alkali 1977: 15-16). The agricultural sector contributed over 60% to the GDP in the 1960s and despite the reliance of the Nigerian peasant  farmers on traditional tools and indigenous farming method, the farmers produce 70% of Nigeria’s export and 95% of its food needs (Lawal 1997: 195). However, the agricultural sector suffered neglect during the hay days of boom in the 1970s. Ever since then, Nigeria has been witnessing extreme poverty. Historically, the root of the crisis in Nigerian economy lies in the neglect of agriculture and the increased dependence on a monoculture economy based on oil. The agricultural sector now accounts for less than 5% of Nigeria’s GDP (Olagboju and Falola 1996: 263). It is against this back drop that this paper sets out to draw comparative analysis from the Brazilian experience for possible replication in Nigeria. Such an approach is particularly feasible given the fact that Nigeria shares so much in common with Brazil in terms of a highly conducive agricultural climate, huge and diverse population as well as the availability of natural resources. 2.2.1MEANING OF ECONOMIC GROWTH According to Turrets (1987) â€Å"the economic growth of a country can be defined in various ways as an increase in gross domestic product, in real GDP or in per capital GDP†. It is clear therefore, that the rate of growth of the real GDP country. If we want to determine the growth in Nigeria for example, the rate of growth of its real GDP stands as the most appropriate measure. Alternatively, we can also examine the meaning of economic growth through the use of production possibility curve. A production possibility curve is used to depict the maximum quantities of two goods or types of goods that can be produced when all the resources of the country are fully and efficiently utilized. However, smith (1996) visualised that economic growth results from specialization of labour, application of new technology as well as through international trade. But one important fact to note is that, since economic activities tend to or shift outward, countries will always record a positive g rowth rate and sometimes negative, such as inward of country’s production possibility curve (PPC) (Clawer, Graves and Sexton, 1989).Nigeria’s economy had in some ears of the late1980s and through 1990s recorded some negative growth rate and in fact, still does till date and even beyond. 2.2.2AGRICULTURE AND ECONOMIC GROWTH Development economists in general and agricultural economists in particular,  have focused on how agriculture can best contribute to overall economic growth and modernization. Many early analyst (Fel and Rani, 1954; Jorgensen 1961; Hirschman 1958; Scitovsky 1954; Lewis 1954; Rosentein-rodan 1943), have highlighted agriculture because of its abundance of resources and its ability to transfer surpluses to the more important industrial sector. The conventional approach to the roles of agriculture in economic growth concentrated on agriculture’s important market-mediated linkages, and they are: i. Providing food for the expanding population with higher income. ii. Providing labour for an urbanized industrial work force. iii. Supplying savings for investment in industry. iv. Enlarging markets for industrial output providing export earnings to pay for imported capital goods and v. Providing primary material for agro processing industries (Timer 2002, Delgado et al 1994, Ravis et al 1990, Johnson and Mellor 1961). Rapid agricultural productivity growth is a prerequisite for the market mediated linkages to be mutually beneficial. Productivity growth that resulted from agriculture has had enormous impacts on food supplies and food prices and consequent beneficial impacts on food security and poverty reduction (Hazel and Hag blade 1993, Binswanger 1980, Hayami and Herdt 1977, Pinstrup Anderson 1976); Alston et al (1996), posit that because a relatively high proportion of any income gain made by the poor is spent on food, the income effect of research induced supply shift can have major multinational implications, particularly if those shift results from technologies aimed at the poorest producers. Agricultural productivity growth also triggers the generat ion of non-market mediated linkages between the agricultural sector and the rest of the economy. These includes the indirect contribution of a vibrant agricultural sector to food security and poverty alleviation, safely net and buffer role; and the supply of environmental services (FAO, 2004). While agricultures direct private contributions to form households are tangible, easy indirect benefits tend to be over looked in assessing rate of returns. Ignoring the whole range of economic and social contributions of agriculture underestimates the returns to investments in the sector (Valdes and Foster, 2005). Some empirical evidence exists on the positive relationship between agricultural growth (Valdes and Foster 2005). The transformation of agriculture from its  traditional subsistence roots induced by technical change, to a modernizing agricultural sector is a phenomenon observed across the developing world. Concluding, it is clear that agricultural growth has played a historically important role in the process of economic development. Evidence from industrialized countries that are rapidly developing today indicates that agriculture was the engine that contributed to growth in the non-agricultural sectors and to overall economic wellbeing. Economic growth originating in agriculture can have a particular strong impact in reducing poverty and hunger. Increasing employment and income in agriculture stimulates demand for non-agricultural goods and services, thereby providing a boost to non-farm rural income earners as well. 2.2.3AGRICULTURE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. The contribution of agriculture to economic development lies in: i. Providing more food to the rapidly expanding population increasing the demand for industrial product, and thus necessitating the expansion of secondary and tertiary sectors. ii. It can release workers needed for the production of non-agricultural goods and services. iii. It can provide a source of capital that can be invested in improved productive facilities in the rest of the economy (Timer 2002, Delgado et al 1994, Ravis et al 1996. Johnson and Mellor 1961). A progressive urban industrial economy contributes, in turn, to the rapid development of agriculture by expanding the market for agricultural products; by supplying the farm machinery, chemical fertilizers and so on, that raise the level of agricultural technology; by expanding productive employment opportunities for workers released from agriculture by technological change; and by making possible improvements in the quality of rural life by raising standards of consumption both in urban and rural areas (Binswanger, 1980). A rise in rural purchasing power, as a result of the increased agricultural surplus, is a great stimulus to industrial development. The market for manufactured goods is very small in an underdeveloped country where the peasant farm labourers and their families, comprising typically two goods in addition to whatever they need. There is lack of real purchasing power thus reflecting the low productivity in agriculture. The basic problem thus is low investment return caused by small size of the market. Increased rural  purchasing power caused by expansion of agricultural output and productivity will tend to raise the demand for manufactured goods and extend the size of the market. This will lead to the expansion of the industrial sector (Lewis, 1954). Moreover, the demand for such inputs as fertilizers, tractors, better tools, implements, irrigational facilities in the agricultural sectors will all lead to the greater expansions of the agricultural sector. Besides, the means of transport and communications will expand to urban areas and manufactured goods to the rural areas. The long run effects of the expansion of the secondary and tertiary sectors will be towards higher profits in them whether they are operated in the private or the public sector. These profits will tend to increase the rate of capital fo rmation through their re-investment. That is what Kuznets calls the â€Å"market contributions† of agriculture when it trades with other sectors of the economy. Underdeveloped countries mostly specialize in the production of a few agricultural goods for export. As output and productivity of the exportable goods expand, their exports increase and results in larger foreign exchange earnings. Thus agricultural surplus leads to capital formation when capital goods are imported with this foreign exchange. As development gains momentum due to industrialization, the proportion of agricultural export in the country’s total exports is likely to fall as they are needed in large quantities for domestic production of imported articles. Such articles are import substitutes and conserve foreign exchange. Similarly, increased marketed surplus of food grains leads to a net saving of foreign exchange, as the economy tries to achieve the goal of self-sufficiency in food production. Larger productions of food and export crops do not only conserve and earn foreign exchange, but also leads to expansion of the other sectors of the economy. Foreign exchange earnings can be used to build efficiency of other industries and help the establishment of new indus tries by importing scare raw materials, machines, capital equipment and technical know-how. Kuznets calls it the â€Å"product contribution† of agriculture which first argues about the growth of net output of the economy and the growth of per capita output. An underdeveloped needs large amounts of capital to finance expansion of the infrastructure and for the development of basic and heavy industries. In the early stages of development, capital can be provided by increasing the marketable surplus from the rural sector without reducing  consumption levels from population. According to Johnson and Mellor (1961) â€Å"an increase in agricultural productivity implies some combination of capital formation when it is reduced on the farm and employed in construction works†. But the possibility of utilizing unskilled surplus form labour on capital project requiring skilled labour is limited. The second possibility of increasing capital formation through reduced agricultural prices is also not feasible in the early stages of development when the rise in price is not feasible. Reduction in agricultural prices is not feasible. Reduction in agricultural prices is possible in the long run but democratic countries may not be able to follow this reasoning for political reasons. A more practicable solution is to stabilize the prices in farm products. The third possibility of increasing farm receipts is perhaps the best way for capital formation. This can be done by mobilizing increased farm incomes through agricultural income tax, land registration charges, s chool fees, for providing agricultural technical services and other types of fees that cover all or part of the farm population. But â€Å"political and institutional problems makes it difficult to translate the increased potential for saving and capital accumulation, made possible by increased agricultural productivity, into an actual increase in investment in underdeveloped countries. According to Wald, special assessments have had their widest application in the United States. In view of the fact that they are specially designed for financing such developed projects as irrigation works, flood control system and certain classes of roads, all of which are extremely important for underdeveloped countries like India that â€Å"the penalties of too light taxation on agriculture are a stagnating farm sector, a financially starved public sector and a retarded rate of economic growth in the country as a whole; (Wald, 1995). Thus countries were agriculture dominates, the taxation of agriculture in one form or another is essential for mobilizing agricultural surplus in order to accelerate economic development. Kuznets calls it the â€Å"factor of contribution† when there is a transfer of resources to the other sectors, these resources to the other sectors, these resources being productive factors. Agriculture also expands and diversifies employment opportunities in rural areas. As agricultures productivity and farm income increases, non-farm rural employment expands and diversifies. Landless and marginal farmers are primarily engaged in  non-agricultural pursuits which includes the manufacturers of textile, furniture, tools, handicraft, leather and metal processing, marketing, transport, repair work, construction of houses and other buildings, education, medicine and other services, as these activities satisfy local demand. Lastly, increase in rural incomes as a result of the agricultural surplus tends to improve rural welfare. Peasant starts consuming more food especially of a higher nutritional value in the form of superior quality cereals, eggs, ghee, milk, fruits etc. They build better houses fitted with modern amenities like electricity, furniture, radio, fan etc. provide themselves with bicycles, motorcycles, watches, readymade garments, shoe etc. they also receive direct satisfaction from such services such as schools, health centres, irrigation, banking, transport and communication facilities. Thus increased agricultural surplus has the effect of raisi ng the standards of living of the mass of rural people. 2.2.4NIGERIAN ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT Nigeria was and is still basically an agricultural country despite the fact that there is significant growth in the other sector of the economy since her independence in 1960. Agriculture remains the single largest sector of the economy since it provides employment to a large segment of the work force and constituting the main stay of Nigeria’s rural population. Since 1985, the percentage of gross domestic product attributable to agriculture has been maintained about 31%, well ahead of mining and quarrying, which includes crude petroleum and gas as well as whole sale and retail trade, which are also the other two major contributors to GDP in Nigeria. Before 1970, the agricultural sector has enjoyed a relatively abundant supply of farm labour and cultivable land for agriculture was able to respond quite steadily to a rising demand. An expansion of land under cultivation and increased absorption of rural labour constituted a ready means for output expansion. However, the 1970s o il boom saw a high rate of rural-urban population migrating, which resulted into supply demand imbalance in the food subsector, while traditional export declined sharply in both absolute and relative terms. From 1970, Nigeria’s agriculture has been characterized by excess demand over supply due to high population growth rate, stagnant declining economic growth, high rate of globalization, increased demand for  agricultural raw materials by an expanding industrial sector and the rising per capita income which is stimulated by an oil export revenue boom. The decline in production of tradable has raised serious domestic and external balancing problems. The output of domestic inputs using agro-allied firms is constrained by output fluctuation, which reduces the size of export revenues and market shares. This adversely affects the balance of payment. The agricultural sector was estimated to decline at an annual average of 0.43% between 1970 and 1985 while the periods between 1975 and 1978 recorded the highest level of decline of 7.88%. The agricultural export crop sub-sectors contribution to the total foreign earnings declined from an average of 58% in the 1960s to only 5.2% between 1971 and 1985. Indeed, by 1980, Nigeria had become a net importer of food and most of its tradable export crops had either disappeared from the export list or merely maintained an insignificant presence. As it were, the agricultural export sub-sector became increasingly unable to meet the raw material needs to the primarily processing industries and furthermore, inflationary pressure characterized the economy, general degeneration of rural life and rural urban migration. Notwithstanding, the observed agricultural decline, agricultural policy appeared to have been more active in the 1970s than in the 1960s. In the formal period, the government implanted successful programme like National Agricultural Food Production Programme (NAFP), Operation Feed the Nation (OFN) and green revolution programme, also banks assisted Agricultural Development Programme (ADP). Government also tried to improve marketing system for agricultural export crops by reforming the marketing board system in 1973, 1976 and 1977. Agricultural sector did not improve; as a result there was introduction of Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) in 1986, which necessitated the deregulation of exchange rates and abolition of marketing board system. 2.2.5AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION DURING THE STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT PROGRAMME (SAP) One of the most important debates the structural adjustment programme (SAP) has centred on the impact of the programme on agricultural sector. It was anticipated that the measures adopted under this programme will bring about increased domestic production of food and eventual elimination of food import, increase supply of manufacturing industries of agricultural raw materials such as cotton, cocoa, oil palm, rubber etc. was also anticipated (Obadan and Egbase, 1992). Also, the  diversification of export base of the economy would be enhanced with the increase in the agricultural prices and boom in the sector, production was expected to translate into rising rural employment, income and standard of living. Therefore, the agricultural production will be viewed from two perspectives, which is agricultural food production during SAP and agricultural export during SAP. 2.2.6AGRICULTURAL FOOD PRODUCTION DURING SAP Following the introduction of SAP in 1986, some writers have claimed that food production have been on the increasing sides. Since one of the expectations of complimenting this programme is to bring food and to make sure that the importation of food is eradicated. Iwayemi in 1994 found out that one of the positive developments in recent years is a merging trend of upward turn in the production of agricultural tradable (rice, soya beans and maize) and of the non-traded food category and cassava has performed impressively. Furthermore, it was discovered that immediately after the introduction of SAP, there were sharp increase in the prices of staples such as yam, cassava, rice, maize, etc. for instance the average market retail price in Kwara state rose from â‚ ¦450 per tonne to â‚ ¦560 per tonne in 1986 and â‚ ¦686 per tonne in 1986. Also, the average market price of rice in Kaduna state rose from â‚ ¦1500 in 1985 to â‚ ¦1700 and â‚ ¦2213 in 1992. These increases in the price of staples are adduced to high inflationary pressures resulting from SAP. Also Edgbai (1988)argued that the devaluation of the Naira following the advent of the SAP lead to spectacular increase in the prices of most agricultural inputs, implements and machinery. The percentage price increase of these inputs between 1985, the last pre-SAP year’s ranges between 50% and 70% using official prices subsequently there have indeed been increases in the producer prices of maize development. Finally, Iwayemi (1994) concluded that the most pressing problem in the sector is the lack of adequate production capacity to meet domestic food requirement of rapidly raising large population. 2.2.7AGRICULTURAL EXPORT DURING SAP The major aim of introducing SAP was to improve the agricultural export through the depreciation of the country’s currency. However, different researches hold different opinions concerning this. For instance, Obadan (1993) found out that SAP policy of exchange rate adjustment was an  important factor that positively affected supply of rubber and suggested that real depreciation of the naira for example, tends to stimulate rubber farmers to increase supply of export, thus talking advantage of the improved international competitiveness. In modern development, with the exception of rubber, the export elasticity of cocoa, palm kernel and processed or semi processed product with respect to change in exchange in Nigeria was generally of low order even in the long run. Hence, Obadan and Egbase (1992) concluded that export base production activities especially agriculture, have benefited from the SAP incentive arising particularly from naira to depreciation and trade liberalization. Thus, quantity of natural rubber exported rose from 32000 in 1985 to 108600 in 1991, changes in naira exchange rate significantly affected natural rubber supply under SAP. In contrast, Ajilim and Agba, (1986) claimed that there is over whelming evidence that SAP has very slim prospect for stimulating non-oil export e.g. cocoa. Also Dayo, (1996) discovered that the low elasticity estimate was due to limited volume of agricultural export earning in response to devaluation of the naira. Also, Ajayi (1988) and Osagie (1985) posit In that in Nigeria, exchange rate devaluation is stagnant and have no significant effect on the external trade balance because of low prices elasticity generally associated with the excess import and export demand functions. In other words Balogun (1987) estimated agricultural export function with exchange export has the redress and the result showed unresponsiveness of aggregate agricultural export to exchange rate, price and imported and agricultural input. He thus, concluded that the agricultural sector, which is dominated by smaller hold farming, is insulated from external trade variables or shocks. Finally, Obadan and Egbase (1992) argued that export base production activity, especially agriculture, have benefited from SAP incentives arising particularly from naira depreciation and trade liberalization, for example in response to the price and exchange liberalization, the quantity of natural exported rose from 32000tonnes in 1985 to 33000 in 1986 and 108800 in 1991 changes in naira exchange rate significantly affected natural rubber supply under SAP. However Obadan (1993) argued that the main objective of SAP has not been realized even though that the number of agricultural export have increase, the value is still in significant. 2.2.8THE EFFECT OF SAP AND THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. Warder (1995) analysed  the economic and political development on Nigeria’s agricultural sector including the application of the structural adjustment programme (SAP). He discovered that with the application of SAP, that the country was able to orient her agricultural production toward the production and exportation of cash crops while Husia and Farugee (1994) found out that for any developing country like Nigeria to experience the turn-around in our country, the country should establish and maintain macro-economic stability, eliminate discrimination against agriculture and take measures to remove anti export bias. Furthermore, Obadan (1994) stated that the agricultural sector during SAP was able to reverse negative gro wth of the economy during the early 1980s, because of more favourable more weather conditions and adoption of a floating exchange rate system which favoured agriculture deregulation of agricultural prices and the priority according to the implementation of the key public sector agricultural programs. Stanley (1987) added that SAP policy consisted of measures that are aim at achieving viability in the medium term balance of payment why the level and rate of growth of economy activity was maintained at the optimal level of operation. In addition Ojo (1988) stated that the effect of SAP on agricultural and rural development has brought about an increase in agricultural production and there was an improvement in rural development.He however, noted that the fundamental problems of Nigeria agriculture still persist. In contrast, since the theoretical bases of SAP is based on the invisible hand or market mechanism, Obadan and Ekuarhare (1993) opined that a Pareto system which required a free market economy may not be idea for a developing or even a developed country. This is because the market mechanism may faster efficiency but not equity. The price mechanism which is concerned with state resources allocation undermines economic growth and development in developing countries. ‘â €™consequently, without governments intervention in economic activities, the market leads to misallocation of present and future resource or at least to one which may not be in long run in the best interests of the society’’ (Torado 1977, 164 quoted in Obadan and Ekuarhare 1993). Finally, Obadan and Ekuarhare opined further that the fiscal monetary exchange policy mix contained in SAP is inter-consistent with economic recovery from a recession (from which the country has been battling due to external shock and the crisis of accumulation within the domestic bourgeoisie). Recovery  from this cyclical downturn characterized by below capacity nation production would require an increase in government expenditure to provide greater employment and increased social benefit. In other words, the deflation an economy coupled with deregulation and liberalization will not lead to an upturn of the economy. Therefore,Obadan (1993) discovered that the main objective of SAP has not been realized even though the number of non-oil manufactured agricultural export items have increased the value and is still insignificant. For instance, exchange in-flow from non-oil exports reduce from $557million in 1985(per SAP) to $538 million in 1987. It increased to $613 million in 1988 bu t reduced drastically to $406million in 1990 and by 1992; the sector only contributed 3.6% of the nation’s foreign exchange. The value of agricultural export which stood at an average of â‚ ¦408.7 million before declining sharply to â‚ ¦270.8 million in 1981-1985, owing largely to decline in cash crop producers. During SAP, export earnings grew to â‚ ¦1822.9 million in 1986-1990 for primary agricultural commodities such as tubers, fruits and spices coming on board. In addition, export of manufacturers and semi manufacturers of agricultural products which earned only â‚ ¦37.2 million in 1891-1985 recorded the sum of â‚ ¦214.9 million in 1986-1990 as Nigeria became exporter of textile, soap, detergent, beer, beverages and skin in addition to cocoa products. Emmanuel (2002) viewed productivity as the wealth of a nation. According to him, Nigeria is generously endowed with abundant natural resources. He further argued that if this enormous resources base is well managed, through increased productivity, the wealth of the nation is bound to increase. He argued that a farmer plants a seed and reaps several harvesting period, productivity has increased and the wealth of a nation has increased too. The mercantilists (18th century) argued that productivity in the agricultural sector contributed the least to the economic growth. They said that it only promoted domestic trade and did not fore see mechanization and modernization that took over manual labour in the agricultural sector, as agricultural commodities are not only traded domestically but exported to other countries. 2.2.9AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION AND EXPORT The breakdown of agricultural production into its component parts reveals the problems during 1985 period. While food production recorded only a marginal  increase export crop production declined sharply. The inadequate domestic food production is reflected in Nigeria’s massive food imports, especially in the 1970’s to argument domestic supply. The supply in the production of some of Nigeria’s cultural export commodities was most worrisome for instance, Nigeria that was ranked as the world leading producer and exporter of palm oil in the 1960s had become the net importer of this commodity in the mid-70s. Similarly, Nigeria’s cocoa production, which reached its peak of 309000 tonnes in 1970-71, fell drastically to 160000 tonnes in 1985. The sharp turn down in the gross value terms of trade in agriculture was equally serious. The ratio of agricultural exports to food imports which stood at 143% in 1970-1975 suffered significant deterioration and reached th e lowest at 38% by 1976-1982. The performance of agriculture during the review period was underdetermined mainly by its neglect coupled with a chain of distributive created by the oil boom. 2.3THE METHODOLOGICAL REVIEW OF LITERATURE Several policies as well as policy instruments have been put to place over the year by successive government in Nigeria. Some had positive effect while the others had negative effects. Olayami (1985) identified three distinct agricultural policy era under which the agricultural sector developed for the past three decades, these includes; the 1960-1969 era, the 1970-1985 eras. These policies were targeted at improving the performance of the sector during this period. A review of these policies would be discussed; Agricultural policy during these periods was limited to marketing and pricing for which the marketing board was established. Actually, at the outbreak of World War 2 in 1939, government owned marketing boards were setup in British, West Africa to assure orderly marketing and to protect British supplies of raw materials (Adegbola and Akinbode, 1986). Government was involved in agricultural research and extension of services but the issue of self-sufficiency in agriculture for food and raw materials was not pursued. Also investment in agriculture with initiatives to improve employment was left to the initiative in farming. During this period, there was decentralised approach to agriculture with initiatives being left to the regions and the states while the federal government played a supportive role. Regional government were executing abhor policies, programme and  projects. There was no institutional federal responsibility for agriculture and there were no specific agricultural sector objectives. There were a number of policies and programme and some of them are discussed below; 2.3.1AGRICULTURAL MARKETING POLICY The agricultural marketing board system was used extensively in marketing agricultural products during this period. The system started with the establishment of a commodity marketing board in 1947 and for groundnut, palm produce and cotton in 1949. In 1954, the board became regionalized with one multi commodity marketing board for each of the regions, and later for each of the states. The board accumulated huge trading surpluses which were used to mobilize substantial savings for the government. These surpluses were generated at the expense of the stability of farmers’ income. The farmers’ income was kept low and with increasing risk on the farm declining world commodity prices of the mid 60s, there was an incentive for peasant increase production (Adubi, 1966). 2.3.2AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION PROJECTS The regional government of the east and western Nigeria stared this project and then later the north, to encourage the development of these crops. There financed from surpluses of the marketing boards. This was before the creation state, the UNIX oil palm plantation (now in Rivers and Cross Rivers), the Hushin rubber estates (now in Ogun state), and the upper Ogun cattle ranches etc. 2.3.3FARM SETTLEMENT SCHEME In the early 1960s the regional government assisted school leavers who were willing to go into agriculture establishment farm settlement scheme in places like Edo, Ilora, Ikenne, Ibadan and so on. The farm settlement were setup as model for other farmers who often look up practises being carried out by settlers and had easy access to farm equipment and services. However, due to non-ownership pattern of the scheme, farm and house power supply problems and the limited individuals’ holdings, most settlers were not committed. The owned land outside the greater settlement and mainly used the opportunity to obtain services through membership of a settlement scheme (Adegbola and Akinbode, 1986) 2.3.41970-1985 ERA (PERIOD OF MAXIMUM  GOVERNMENT INTERVENSION) Agricultural production started to decline towards the end of the decades of 1960s. Export crops outputs were stagnating while export volumes begin to decrease, and there was evidence of food shortages in the country. The 1963 G DP figures for example shows that agriculture crops, livestock, fishing and forestry accounted for 64% of total GDP and the average for 1960s decade estimated at 56%. Similarly, in the export sector, the percentage of agricultural produce was declining (Adubi, 1966). The problem of agricultural production decline was ascribed partly to the civil war and partly to the declining commodity process in the world market and the incentive to production due to taxation of the commodity board. There was therefore greater involvement of the government in agriculture. The expenditure of government and therefore for its investment increase in the sector specific sector emphasis of policy was on accelerating production of the staple food crops and some export crops. There was a fundamental shift in the strategy compared with the decade of 1960s and the federal government became more involved in the sector.The strategy taken, led to the launching of several special programme and projects. Also specialised in institutions were setup to ensure smooth implementation of the agricultural policies; the period witnessed many macroeconomic and sector specific policies, which directly or indirectly affects agricultural production. Many of the macroeconomic policies of the government had wide spread effect on agriculture, though not targeted at the agricultural sector, until there are some programme which includes marketing policy, input supply and distribution policy and input subsidy policy. Agricultural Development Projects (ADPs) and River Basin Development Authority (RBDA) were also established to promote agricultural developments. 2.3.5THE 1985-1999 ERA (SAP AND POST SAP PERIOD) With the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) in 1986, government admitted the failure of past policies to significantly improve the economy and reverse the declining trend of production in the agricultural sector. The SAP relied most especially on the agricultural sector to achieve the objectives of its far reaching refunds on diversification of export and adjustment of the consumption structure of the economy. The philosophy of SAP for the agricultural sector was that only the interplay of the market  forces could foster efficiency in the sector. The government was therefore expected to play minimal role for private sector initiative in the sector. Many of the policy measure adopted in SAP and macro in nature and those that affect agriculture also fall directly into fiscal, monetary, trade and exchange rate policies as well as institutional policy refunds. Many institutions such as National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Directorate of Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructure (DFR RI), National Agricultural Insurance Company (NAIC), National Land Development Authority (NALDA) were established to assist new farmers and promote agriculture development in the rural areas. Essentially, these policies and programme were implemented until 1999. The changes in the government during the review period 1985-1999 also led to modifications of some of the policies above, which essentially formed the major focus of government on agricultural development. 2.3.6THE NEW MILLENNIUM AGRICULTURAL POLICIES (1999-2003) At the inception of the new democratic administration in May 1999 and shortly before then, several institutional changes were made in order to realize the sector’s objectives and in line with its belief that agricultural and rural development are sine que non for improved economy recovery (Olamola, 2003) these includes the relocation of department of cooperatives. Division of the ministry of Water Resources to the ministry of agriculture all before 1999, the scrapping of the erst while National Agricultural Land Development Department, the scrapping of the Federal Agriculture Coordinating Unit (FACU) and the Agricultural Project Monitoring and Evaluating Unit (APMEU) and the setting up of Project Co-ordination Unit (PCU) and the stream lining institution for agricultural credit delivery with the emergency of the Nigerian Agricultural Co-operative and Rural Development Bank (NACRDB) and the peoples bank and the asset of the Family Economic Advancement Programme (FEAP). New inst itutions are also evolving to enable the Nigerian agricultural sectors respond to the imperative of the emerging global economic order. The new agricultural policy has a clear statement of objectives amid the structural transformation necessary for the overall socio-economic development of the country as well as the improvement in the quality of life of Nigeria. This objective reflects the current policy recognition of agriculture as a vital sector under the poverty reduction  programme (FMARD, 2003). The government also seeks to pursue the following specific objectives: i. Attainment of self-sufficiency in basic food commodities with particular reference to those which consume considerable shares of Nigerian’s foreign exchange and for which the country has comparative advantage in local production. ii. Increase in production and processing of exportable commodities with a view to increase their foreign exchange earning capacity and further diversifying the country’s export base and source of foreign exchange earnings. iii. Increase in production of agricultural raw materials to meet the growth of an expanding industrial sector. iv. Modernization of agricultural production, processing, storage and distribution through the infusion of improved technologies and management so that agriculture can be more responsive to the demand s of other sectors of the Nigerian economy. v. Creation of more agricultural and rural employment opportunities to increase income of farmers and rural dwellers, productivity absorbed and increasing labour force in the nation. These objectives are properly in agreement with the whole concept of agricultural sustainability and inter-linkage between agriculture and each of the relevant sectors of the economy. As it is usual with the specification of agricultural policy objectives from time immemorial, these objectives are clearly presented and are basically consistent with the overall strategy of diversifying the productive base of the economy for an increased foreign exchange generation, higher level of employment and productivity and improved economy recovery. Specification of policy objectives had been the most easily accomplished component of agricultural policy formulation in particular and development planning experience in the country in general. It is therefore not surprising that the specified objectives in the new policy document are indeed comprehensive and quite appropriate. 2.4POLICY EVALUATION It might be difficult to evaluate all the policies objectively given the space and the focus. However, evidence from some authors (Olayemi 1995, Olamola 1998, Garb 1998) has indicated minimal positive impact of these policies. Also, the performance of the sector is far from being fully satisfactory. The evidence of these is the decaying rural infrastructure, decline domestic and foreign investment in agriculture. In fact the  increasing withdrawal of manufacturing companies from their backward integrated agricultural ventures has reduced investment in the sector considerably. Input supply and distribution have been inefficient and most agricultural institutions are ineffective. The evidence of ineffectiveness is the scrapping in the year 2000 of some of the institutions established for agricultural production, a critical examination of the policies and there implementation over the years to show policy instability. This problem is not unconnected with the political instability in t he country. Between 1979 and 1999, the country has passed through five military and civilian regimes. In between the minister of agriculture at the federal level and the various commissioners for agriculture at the state level were changed several times on the average of one per two years. Several policy measures were stated and changed without sufficient rating for policy effect or result. 2.4.1POLICY INCONSISTENCIES. With respect to agricultural production, the sector has passed through several periods of production and unbridled opening up for competition. It has also passed through eras of no government and less government involvement in direct agricultural production. The consistencies of policy transparency, leads to poor implementation and mismanagement of policy instruments. 2.5EMPERICAL REVIEW Oji-Okoro (2011) investigate the contribution of agricultural sector on the Nigerian economic development and reveal that foreign direct investment on agriculture contribute the most (56.43), this means that for every unit of change in FDI on agriculture there is a corresponding change of 56.43 unit in GDP in Nigeria. Suleiman and Aminu (2010) conducted research on the contribution of agriculture, petroleum and manufacturing sector of the Nigerian economy and found out that agricultural sector is contributing higher than both petroleum and manufacturing sectors. The paper reveals that agriculture is contributing 1.7978 units to GDP while petroleum is contributing 1.14 units to GDP which is less than the contribution of agriculture. Awe and Ajayi (2009) conducted research on the diversification of the significant when the log of revenue from agriculture was tested on the revenue from agriculture. About 60 percent of the movement could be  explained in the relationship. The findings from the study further revealed that dynamic relationship exists between the revenue from the non-oil sector economic development. Ekpo and Umoh (2012) revealed that the contribution of agriculture to GDP, which was 63 percent in 1960, declined to 34 percent in 1988, not because the industrial sector increased its share but due to neglect of agriculture sector. It was therefore not surprising that by 1975, the economy had become a net importer of basic food items. The apparent increase in industry and manufacturing from 1978 to 1988 was due to activities in the mining sub-sector, especially petroleum. Muhammad and (2006) conducted study on production of agriculture in Nigeria and revealed that the negative coefficient of the value (-0.07) of the food imports indicates that as food import increases, domestic agricultural production decreases. This might be due to the fact that food importation exposes the local farmers to unfair competition by foreign producers who usually take advantage of economies of scale in production due to their access to better production technology. The positive coefficient (286.91) of t he GDP growth rate indicates that increase in the GDP also moves domestic agricultural production in the same direction. This shows that increased domestic economic activity has the impact of increasing the domestic agricultural production. This may be due to the fact that most economic activity in the country is related to agriculture. The result also shows that population increases has been a major contribution to domestic agricultural production in Nigeria with the coefficient (18424.73). This may be due to the fact that majority of the populace are engaged in agriculture, meaning more hand on the farm as population increases. The coefficient of consumer price index was positive (8.49). This shows that as consumer price increases domestic agricultural production also increases’, meaning that domestic agricultural production is positively related to increase in consumer prices. This may be due to the fact that increase in price stimulates supply on the farmer’s side leading to more production of food. More agro-processing activities must therefore be embarked upon in order that farmers may be able to dispose of their produce at fairly reasonable prices. The result of the coefficient (0.04) of government expenditure was positive, that is domestic agricultural production is positively related to increase in government expenditure, meaning that as government expends more on agriculture, domestic  agricultural production also increases. The reason why it was not significant might be due to the fact that government has not been investing so much on agriculture over the years.

History of Japanese Art Essay -- Art History, Japan

Throughout many centuries, art has portrayed an exceedingly dominant role in Japanese culture. These forms of artwork varied from everything from pottery to clay figurines. Overall, the majority of Japanese art was and still is considered to be of high importance in Japanese history. However, the most intriguing and unique form of art was the Isho-ningyo and Iki-ningyo dolls, otherwise known as the "fashion doll" and the â€Å"living doll†. Both the Isho-ningyo and the Iki-ningyo were merely two of the plentiful assortment of dolls created by the famous Japanese artisan, Goyo Hirata, as items of â€Å"luxurious indulgence.† The Kintaro doll of Isho-ningyo type or Iko-ningyo type illustrates the significant advancements in Japanese doll art throughout history with the newfound technologies and composition attributed in each period. Japanese art has been practiced since 4,000 BC, otherwise known as the Jomon period. The Jomon is particularly known for creating the first forms of Japanese pottery. Although the Jomon period was thought to produce relatively simple artwork, the people of the Jomon were also the first to show the evolution of Japanese dolls. Essentially, this gradual step towards this treasure form of art was the Dogu, humanoid figures. Jomon period art gradually advanced throughout time with from the first creation of simple pottery, to storage vessels, and lastly to Dogu. Mainly, the technologies used during this time period consisted of clay, while the composition also consisted of simplistic designs such as coiling. This Japanese time period demonstrates the true beginning of the tr... ...ecause of the overall historical background and basic artistic characteristics. Although, the Isho-ningyo and the Iki-ningyo are not a part of the modern day era, they still show significant advancements that will eventually point the way towards modern day Japanese art. These particular dolls show aspects of modern day art characteristics because of their complexity in structure and overall appearance. Each Japanese period contributes the steps towards the qualities that make up modern Japanese art, but the particular artwork of the Isho-ningyo and the Iki ¬ningyo are the greatest contributors. Works Cited "Japanese Art." Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition, (2011): 1-2. BALFOUR, R, and S BALFOUR. "Japanese Dolls." Arts of Asia, 6.4 (1976): 67-74. Rimer, J. Thomas. "High Culture in the Showa Period." Daedalus, 119.3 (1990): 265- 278.

Analysis of T.S. Eliots The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock Essay

Analysis of T.S. Eliot's The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock' demonstrates the effects of social and economic pressure in the life of a Victorian man. T.S. Eliot shows us, in an ironic monologue, how the reality of age and social position paralyzes his character with fear. The poem opens with six lines from Dante?s ?Infernio?. This particular stanza explains that the speaker is in hell and the message can only be told to someone else in hell. The speaker tells us that it is OK for the listener to hear the message, since in order to hear you must already be in hell and no one ever returns from there. So the message will never leave. I believe Eliot uses this message to infer that only a reader who understands the loneliness and desperation of Prufrock can truly understand the poem. However, in my research, I have found as many different interpretations of the poem as I have found readers. Most agree; however, that Prufrock is speaking to the reader when he says ?you and I?(Line 1). Many readers also agree that Prufrock is a lonely man, but what type of company he desires seems to vary greatly. Interpretations include sex, social company, long term love, and even death. I believe Prufrock yearns for the sense of belonging, both with a female and with his society. He struggles with issues of sex, age and social change.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The beginning lines of the poem(1-25) paint for a very descriptive picture of the street where Prufrock is walking. It also alerts the reader of Prufrock?s distaste for this area and this society. He describes it as ?have deserted?,?muttering?.?one-night cheap hotels? and ?sawdust restaurants?.(5-7) He contrasts that with his destination of a ?room where women come and go/Talking of Michelangelo?(13). Prufrock doesn?t give the reader much insight into his thoughts until line 26. From this line forward, we get a glimpse of what it must be like to be Prufrock. He tells us ?There will be time, there will be time/ To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet?(27-28), indicating repression. He must ?prepare? himself mentally to be able to put on the correct social image before he makes his ?visit?(12). The rest of the poem simply reinforces his struggle between the way he would like to be and the reality of his life. He begins to ponder the ?overwhelming question?(11) ... ...e is ?almost ridiculous--/ Almost, at times, the Fool.?(118-119)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although many of the comments and interpretations of ?The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock? that I have read seem to believe that the last 4 stanzas are a sign that he may break out of his shell. I believe it is the surrender of all hope and the recognition of the inconceivability of his desires. I think lines 120-130 are Prufrock?s way of telling us of the dream of youth that he will leave behind. He will not ?wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled?(121) nor ?wear flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.? These are the customs and actions of young passionate men. Men whose physical appearance and less stuffy lifestyle will attract the ?mermaids?(124). He concedes ?I do not think that they will sing to me.?(125) Prufrock leaves us with the thought of how life and society can force us from our dreams and sink us with reality. ?We have lingered in the chambers of the sea/ By sea-girls wreathed with seeweed red and brown/ Till human voices wake us, and we drown.?(129-131) Works Cited: Eliot, T. S. ?The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.? Collected Poems 1909-1962 . New York: Harcourt Brace, 1963.

Roman Empire and Nero

Explain the role and contribution of Seneca to the reign of Nero Seneca was the personal advisor of Nero during his reign. He was a stoic philosopher who played a vital role in the running of the empire. Seneca contributed in many aspects of Nero’s reign by introducing reforms, bringing stoicism into practice and playing a key role in the senate. Seneca aided in important decision-making. He led Nero down an appropriate path, particularly when Nero became extremely erratic. He served Nero well and made an excellent contribution during his reign.Seneca understood the problems of Rome so he was able to introduce reforms, which benefited the people. He made conditions for slaves more humane, introduced fiscal reform and introduced a more enlightened administration in Britain. This positively contributed to the empire as he had the happiness of the people in his best interest. By introducing reforms that pleased the people he gained popularity for both himself and Nero. This was b eneficial for Nero as the people of the empire could look back on Nero’s reign years later and reflect on the good decisions and excellent reforms that had taken place during the period.Tacitus says â€Å"Nothing in human affairs is more unstable and precarious than power unsupported by its own strength. † This quote by Tacitus shows us just how great the impact of Seneca was. It is telling us that without Seneca, Nero may have had the power, but had no support to advice him to make the correct decisions. Seneca was the strength to Nero’s power. Seneca composed Nero’s first speech to the senate. This speech offered additional power to the senate and shows that Seneca was contributing to the reign of Nero right from the very start.The speech also promised to return to what life had been like under Augustus. Of course, the empire was considered a Republic during the Augustan period and the people cherished this time. Seneca and Nero were looked upon favoura bly when they promised to return to a time of happiness. Therefore Seneca helped encourage an excellent start to the reign of Nero. Stoicism influenced the writing of Seneca for Nero as he wrote â€Å"on clemency† which encouraged Nero to rule leniently. Stoicism is particularly shown as he writes â€Å"†¦worthy to do the ork of the gods upon the earth† It is known that the Roman’s were very religious, so to do the work of the gods would be seen as ethically and morally right to Seneca. These traits are one of the beliefs of Stoicism, reflecting his influence. This contributed to Nero’s reign as it meant that Nero came across as a self-controlled, morally right stoic man who would run the empire leniently and satisfy the people of Rome. Satisfied Romans meant that they would continue to give their support to Nero during his reign. Seneca worked efficiently with the senate allowing Nero to remain popular within the senate.A key role that Seneca played was to ensure that the Neronian government had good relations with the senate. He did this very effectively. This was an excellent contribution to his reign as it allowed Nero to remain popular within the senate, as well as with the people. Remaining popular among Rome meant that he had the support of its people and could continue to rule effectively with Seneca by his side. Seneca’s influence was particularly shown as he wrote the speech Nero gave where he declared his administration for the senate and his desire that they resume their ancient function.Seneca’s successful speeches helped contribute to the healthy relationship between Nero and the senate as he told them what they wanted to hear. He also issues coins, which were a further indicator of the good relations between Nero and the senate. Credit for this successful relationship must go to Seneca who put the words into Nero’s mouth and was able to satisfy the senate by giving them what they wanted. A co operating senate meant that the empire was able to run much better during Nero’s reign.Further on in Nero’s reign, Seneca began to see a change. He grew more erratic and extreme. From here it became the role of Seneca to curb his enthusiasm. Tacitus describes this job as â€Å"To direct his deviations from virtue into licensed channels of indulgence. † The shows that Seneca fulfilled his job by avoiding activities that would result in scandal. Nero’s frustration grew out of many of his liberal ideas failing and it was the role of Seneca to alert Nero about his policies if they were ineffective or bad policy.Although Seneca was unable to change the personality of Nero and his behaviour, he was able to contribute to the outcome of his actions. Seneca benefited the empire by avoiding decisions, which would consequence in revealing Nero’s awful erratic side. This benefited the empire in that Nero was still able to be favoured as the Romans did not see the worst of his erratic and extreme personality, as well as stopping Nero from making rash decisions that would not help his reign by informing him when policies or ideas were not recommended.Seneca’s contribution was beneficial for all aspects of Nero’s reign. He was able to advise Nero on important decision-making and was able to put a stop to Nero introducing policies and ideas that would not benefit his reign. Seneca provided a voice for Nero and was able to tell the Roman people wanted to hear and in turn earned their support. Seneca’s introduction of new policies and creating of stoicism contributed further to increasing the success of the empire, as well as the success of Nero.Seneca provided the strength to Nero’s power and without his contribution the reign of Nero would not have been as delightful. Seneca was able to make people dream of a â€Å"Republic† which further forced their support onto Nero. He also played a role in creating and maintaining a healthy relationship with the senate so that through Nero’s reign they were able to run the empire in collaboration. The role and contribution of Seneca was vital to the success of Nero, he acted as an excellent advisor to the emperor, particularly through giving a stoic voice to Nero.

How to Mix Acid and Water Safely

How to Mix Acid and Water Safely When you mix acid  with water, its extremely important to add the acid to the water rather than the other way around. This is  because acid and water react in a vigorous exothermic reaction, releasing heat, sometimes boiling the liquid. If you add acid to water, the water is unlikely to splash up, however, even if it did, its less likely to cause injuries than if you make the mistake of adding water to acid. When you add water to acid, the water boils and  the acid may splatter and splash! Extra Caution With Strong Acids This rule is particularly important if you are working with strong acids that react completely with water. Mixing sulfuric acid and water is particularly risky because any splashed acid is corrosive enough to immediately burn skin and clothing. When mixing sulfuric acid or another strong acid, start with a volume of water large enough to absorb the heat of the reaction. Add the acid in small amounts of volume and stir thoroughly prior to adding more. Just Remember: Add the Acid An easy way to remember the rule  is Add the Acid. Protective Gear and a Fume Hood Because of the risk of splashes and the release of dangerous fumes, acids and water should be mixed inside a fume hood. Protective goggles, gloves, and a lab coat should be worn. If Acid Splashes In most cases, an acid splash should be treated by immediately rinsing the affected area with running water. Acid splashes on a lab bench or other surfaces may be neutralized by adding a weak base solution (e.g., baking soda in water). Although a strong base will neutralize an acid more quickly than a weak base, a strong base should never be used because the reaction between a strong base and acid releases a great deal of heat.

Causes of Mass Wasting and Landslides

Causes of Mass Wasting and Landslides Mass wasting, sometimes called mass movement, is the downward movement by gravity of rock, regolith (loose, weathered rock) and/or soil on the sloped top layers of the Earth’s surface. It is a significant part of the process of erosion because it moves material from high elevations to lower elevations. It can be triggered by natural events like earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and flooding, but gravity is its driving force. Although gravity is the driving force of mass wasting, it is impacted mainly by the slope material’s strength and cohesiveness as well as the amount of friction acting on the material. If friction, cohesion, and strength (collectively known as the resisting forces) are high in a given area, mass wasting is less likely to occur because the gravitational force does not exceed the resisting force. The angle of repose also plays a role in whether a slope will fail or not. This is the maximum angle at which loose material becomes stable, usually 25Â °-40Â °, and is caused by a balance between gravity and the resisting force. If, for example, a slope is extremely steep and the gravitational force is greater than that of the resisting force, the angle of repose has not been met and the slope is likely to fail. The point at which mass movement does occur is called the shear-failure point. Types of Mass Wasting Once the force of gravity on a mass of rock or soil reaches the shear-failure point, it can fall, slide, flow or creep down a slope. These are the four types of mass wasting and are determined by the speed of the material’s movement downslope as well as the amount of moisture found in the material. Falls and Avalanches The first type of mass wasting is a rockfall or avalanche. A rockfall is a large amount of rock that falls independently from a slope or cliff and forms an irregular pile of rock, called a talus slope, at the base of the slope. Rockfalls are fast moving, dry types of mass movements. An avalanche, also called a debris avalanche, is a mass of falling rock, but also includes soil and other debris. Like a rockfall, an avalanche moves quickly but because of the presence of soil and debris, they are sometimes moister than a rockfall. Landslides Landslides are another type of mass wasting. They are sudden, fast movements of a cohesive mass of soil, rock or regolith. Landslides occur in two types- the first of which is a translational slide. These involve movement along a flat surface parallel to the angle of the slope in a stepped-liked pattern, with no rotation. The second type of landslide is called a rotational slide and is the movement of surface material along a concave surface. Both types of landslides can be moist, but they are not normally saturated with water. Flow Flows, like rockfalls and landslides, are fast moving types of mass wasting. They are different however because the material within them is normally saturated with moisture. Mudflows, for example, are a type of flow that can occur quickly after heavy precipitation saturates a surface. Earthflows are another type of flow that occur in this category, but unlike mudflows, they are not usually saturated with moisture and move somewhat slower. Creep The final and slowest moving type of mass wasting is called soil creep. These are gradual but persistent movements of dry surface soil. In this type of movement, soil particles are lifted and moved by cycles of moistness and dryness, temperature variations and grazing livestock. Freeze and thaw cycles in soil moisture also contribute to creep through frost heaving. When soil moisture freezes, it causes soil particles to expand out. When it melts though, the soil particles move back down vertically, causing the slope to become unstable. Mass Wasting and Permafrost In addition to falls, landslides, flows and creep, mass wasting processes also contribute to the erosion of landscapes in areas prone to permafrost. Because drainage is often poor in these areas, moisture collects in soil. During the winter, this moisture freezes, causing ground ice to develop. In the summer, the ground ice thaws and saturates the soil. Once saturated, the layer of soil then flows as a mass from higher elevations to lower elevations, through a mass wasting process called solifluction. Humans and Mass Wasting Although most mass wasting processes occur via natural phenomena like earthquakes, human activities like surface mining or the building of a highway or shopping malls can also contribute to mass wasting. Human-induced mass wasting is called scarification and can have the same impacts on a landscape as natural occurrences. Whether human-induced or natural though, mass wasting plays a significant role on the erosion landscapes all over the world and different mass wasting events have caused damage in cities as well. On March 27, 1964, for example, an earthquake measuring a magnitude of 9.2 near Anchorage, Alaska caused almost 100 mass wasting events like landslides and debris avalanches throughout the state that impacted cities as well as more remote, rural regions. Today, scientists use their knowledge of local geology and provide extensive monitoring of ground movement to better plan cities and aid in reducing the impacts of mass wasting in populated areas.

The Salem Witch Trials essays

The Salem Witch Trials essays The year, 1692, the place, Salem, Massachusetts, with children in the area acting weird, townspeople banded together and went on a witch-hunt. Many societies over the years have accused people of studying witchcraft and lurking in dark places however, several innocent people lost their lives that year in what would be known as the Salem Witch Trials. Before we get too into detail lets examine the details involved in tracking down the wrongly accused. The focus will mainly be on a woman named Sarah Good, her life before, during the trial, and her emotions up until the day she was executed, as well as the charges against her, how she defended herself, and the evidence found to convict her. Sarah Good, wife of William Good of Salem, and daughter of a prosperous Wenham innkeeper, John Solart, never had it good to begin with. After her father took his own life, when she was just 17, her widowed mother quickly remarried, leaving her without a share of her fathers estate. Later on she married a man named Daniel Poole, who died a short while later, leaving her only in debt. Her second and final husband, William Good, had to help her pay her debt leaving them homeless in the end when she was brought to trial. Sarah was one of the first three women to be brought in at Salem on the charge of witchcraft, after having been identified as a witch by Tituba. Tituba was another lady accused of witchcraft, though she was the most different. She was a black slave from South America and the housekeeper for the Parris family, in which one of the children Eliza, who said the witches had possessed her. Sarah Good fit the stereotype of a witch quite well. Good's habit of scolding and cursing neighbors who were unresponsive to her requests for charity generated a many testimonies at her trials. At least seven people testified as to her angry muttering and general bad attitude after they refused to help her. Particularly damaging to Sara...

The Importance of Digital Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

The Importance of Digital Security - Essay Example The most essential need of every single organization is the digital security. Most importantly, the effective internet security has become a dire need for any kind of organization, small, medium or large which use the information technology and web based services to carry out their work in an easy and effective manner. As these organizations depend upon the internet, the implementation of internet security and monitoring of networks inside the organization has increased dramatically. The risks of security have increased to a great extent after the launch of broadband internet. Now-a-days, the home users and professionals, both are using this kind of internet connection. The different companies, be it private, public, non-government organizations, they all are depending upon the internet for the exchange of information. Internet also serves as the major means of communication between different channels. The risks of leakage of information and hacking of security have increased with th e dependency of organizations on the internet. KINDS OF THREATS Based on the goals and purposes of the attacks on any digital system, the threats can be categorized as STRIDE. It is an acronym which categorizes different types of threats. STRIDE stands for: Spoofing It gains access to a system by using a false identity. It can be done by using stolen user credentials or using a false IP. Tampering As data flows between two computers, it can be altered in an unauthorized manner. Repudiation These attacks are difficult to prove as the users deny that they performed any specific action. Information Disclosure When private data is unwontedly exposed, it is called information disclosure. Denial of Service It is the process that makes a system or application unavailable. Elevation of Privilege It happens when personnel with limited privileges takes up the identity of a privileged one, and performs certain privileged actions (McClure & Kurtz, 2009). Network Threats Routers, switches and fi rewalls make up the infrastructure of network. They are the gatekeepers that guard the system and applications from intrusions and attacks. The networks threats are as follows: i. Information gathering ii. Sniffing iii. Spoofing iv. Session Hijacking v. Denial of Service Information Gathering The attackers or hackers first scan the ports. After the identification of the ports, they detect the types of devices, operating system and versions of

The Language of Fashion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Language of Fashion - Essay Example The paper "The Language of Fashion" talks about the language of the fashion and describes the portrait of The Arnolfini Wedding. The two people in the portrait are richly dressed up, despite the season their outer garments shows the linings of fur and laces. These furs appear of expensive variety. The man in the picture is shown wearing a hat of plaited straw dyed black. The tabard, he is wearing is faded purple and underneath he wears doublet of patterned material probably silk damask. The women dress is equally immaculate with elaborate dagging (cloth folded and sewn together, then cut and frayed decoratively) on her sleeves and long train. Her blue under dress is also trimmed with white fur. The renaissance women have special love for jewels and gems but the lady in the portrait is adorning only a plain gold chain with plain gold earrings. A look at the room shows pristine interiors, another sign of wealth on display, the brass chandelier is huge and elaborate .The convex mirror a t the back with the wooden frame and scenes of The Passion appears to be larger than the usual mirrors used during the age, another sign of wealth. A further sign of luxury appears in the bed linings and hangings. The chair and the table placed against the wall shows exquisite carvings. The oriental carpet on the floor also represents the rich taste of this merchant. It is not unusual to see this limitless display of wealth among the rich middle class of that time. The rich style and fashion is evident.

Empirical research Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Empirical research - Coursework Example The brands of pizza hut, KFC, Mexican food restaurant of Taco Bell and Long John Silver outlets are among the few brands that have been acquired by all these restaurants owners. Over the past years, Yum has been involved in many mergers and acquisitions and this raised a concern of wanting to know more and therefore will express it in an ‘expounding’ study in form of exploration to tackle the causes and effects of Mergers & Acquisition in franchising. It is clear that, in as much as many companies have a variety of reasons for joining with mergers and acquisitions not all mergers get to succeed. Research show that, those who get lucky to succeed, do not get rates greater than fifty percent, from the two different methods used to evaluate on the success of acquisition or a merger. Among the chosen methods, the commonest one used is quantitative where; the performance rate in the share of the companies merging is taken and compared with that of the results of associate companies that want to merges with it. The other method is qualitative, and is usually evident when particular representatives of the companies are interviewed to see whether the merger can be proved successful. Businesses that join the scheme of mergers and acquisitions normally target the economic benefits, which are taken to be a way to grow benefits in synergy and a decrease in costs and form a grounds or room for mergers and acquirers to make a number of decisions. This is one drive that keeps the urge for companies to get involved in acquisition or merger. It refers to an event the combined company makes a lot of profit than the total of the two separate companies. When a merger or acquisition has a positive acquisition value (NAV), it is supposed to be economically. The NAV is defined as Mclean (2003), If this is positive, then the merged

Observations about the communication skills Movie Review

Observations about the communication skills - Movie Review Example This simply backs up what came out of her mouth—she doesn’t really want to be having this conversation. This can be seen further on in the conversation when the teacher correctly states that a joint effort is needed between the two of them in order to fix Timmy’s behavioral problems. Mrs. Smith gets all defensive by saying that there are no problems at home and it must only be a problem at school. This is reinforced by the way that she crosses her arms over her front. There is no need for her to act in this way because the teacher is not looking to attack Timmy at all. She only wants to help, but Mrs. Smith is misinterpreting it as an attack on Timmy. Mrs. Smith would do what any parent would do when they felt that their son was under attack. Mrs. Smith then attempts to deflect the focus of the conversation back to teacher by saying that she hates Timmy and is out to get her son. This technique shows that Mrs. Smith is feeling vulnerable and perhaps a little guilty for the behavior of Timmy. By shifting the focus away from Timmy and onto the teacher, Mrs. Smith is able to portray a situation where the teacher is in fact the problem. The teacher deflects this attack, although she is a little hurt by it. This is shown when she folds her hands, again suggesting a defensive position. Both of them do not feel comfortable in the room, although they both argue their points strongly. Mrs. Smith seems to know a lot about Timmy’s performance at school even though she does not get to see it firsthand. The conversation conveniently switches to an argument about Timmy’s learning disabilities and whether or not he should be receiving special attention at school. The teacher then concedes the point by saying that she will see what she can do for him by referring him to the gifted and talented kids program. Mrs. Smith would do well to listen to what the teacher has to say and then coming up with a

Write a reflection journal according to the questions that I will Movie Review

Write a reflection journal according to the questions that I will upload - Movie Review Example Through this method, she was able to give importance to each kid by letting them realize that they all had a role in the success of the project. Ms. Stewert’s method of teaching showed that she respected each child’s opinions. She gave them freedom to express whatever is on their mind, maybe interjecting only when necessary. She did not impede on the child’s self-discovery of things around his environment. Her teaching method showed that she believes that the opinion of the child should take precedence and must be nurtured and allowed to be developed. She encourages children to feel at ease even if they make mistakes. After observing Ms. Stewert’s style of teaching with regards to people with disabilities, I think that she believes that children will learn by experiencing the world around them. By introducing Rebecca to the children, she was able to let them understand and learn about people with disabilities. Although indirectly, she somehow showed them that each one is different yet each one has rights and duties in society. She made the children realize that it is important to respect every person no matter what their stature, age or physical appearance

Business Plan to Sell Oil Rigs in MENA Region Essay

Business Plan to Sell Oil Rigs in MENA Region - Essay Example However, the success rate of a new business is expected remain high, if entrepreneurs is able to develop a realistic and achievable business plan by analysing and assessing the associated risk and by framing a set of effective and plausible strategies. This paper will present a brief business that will include product and company features, market and cost analysis with project timeline of the start up business. 2. Product Feature and its Advtantage The product is the start business is the oil rig machines which are basically a drilling machine to explore the underground oil and natural gas. These machines are huge in size that creates hole within the Earth. Oil rigs are installed and used at site where oil is supposed o deposited under the ground. Generally, the oil rigging machines are available in different sizes run by any of the one power system i.e. diesel engines or electrical generators. The oil rig offered by the new start up venture will be very help for the oil exploring co mpanies as it will be able to run on both types of power system in accordance to the available resources. Besides, its new technology used for rotation system and for circulation system will be very cost effective as installation cost will be very low and will be quite productive in term of its cost including its maintenance cost and power cost. 3. Company Description and Formation The name of the new start up company is OilTech Pvt. Ltd and it will be engaged in the manufacturing and selling of the newly develop oil rigging machines. Primarily, OilTech will be based in MENA region and will also be situated in this region as a large number of buyers will be available in this region. OilTech Pvt. Ltd will be formed by joint venture with an existing engineering company who is engaged in manufacturing of the heavy engineering products. OilTech and engineering-based company will have 40% stake each and rest 20% of the capital will obtained through loans from banks or other sources. Cert ain amount of loan will be very helpful in tax benefits and higher return on equity. Joint venture with engineering-based company will very helpful for the OilTech as it will be able to use the technological expertise. 4. Market Analysis and Target Market MENA region includes the Middle East and North African countries and these countries are highly enriched with mineral oils and gas. The most of these countries are oil-based economies and hence, a large of buyer of oil rigging machines will be available. However, market competition this region is expected to remain high as a number of oil drilling company companies and seller of oil drilling or rigging are present. Moreover, many oil and natural gas producer companies buys the oil drilling machines from the other countries like China, Germany, U.S. etc. Some of the potential and key competitors for OilTech are Allegheny Crane, Focus Oil Tools, Korea National Oil Corp, Parker Drilling, Proforma Safety LLC etc. These competitors also offer services for oil drilling and maintenance services to the oil exploring companies (Rigzone, â€Å"Website Listings†). OilTech is newly formed company and hence, it will enter in the market by targeting the small oil and gas producing companies. Considering the features of the product offered by OilTech will be low cost and will also incurs lower maintenance cost that strives to add value to profitability and efficiency. With the increasing demand of the oil and gas in the World economy, the demand of the oil drilling

Law Enforcement Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Law Enforcement - Assignment Example In this regard, the project aims to respond to six questions after selecting a state and recording pertinent information relative to criminal activities in the area. To achieve the objective, the state of New York is examined for violent criminal incidents, such as murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault for the period 2006 to 2009. Law Enforcement 1. Select a city, town, or municipality in the United States and examine trends in criminal activity over the last 3 years. Analyze reported crime statistics for major/minor offense categories such as murder, robbery, rape, and CREATE A TABLE OF THE RESULTS. ... What are the overall patterns of crime that you see in the selected town or city? What have you learned by the data? From the data, one learned that in the state of New York for the years 2006 to 2009, majority of violent crimes is reflected in the area of aggravated assault, followed by robbery. Only a negligible amount was recorded in rape and the least in murder. Most notable however, was that the total number of violent crimes have been exhibiting a declining trend from the period 2006 up to 2009. On the other hand, for minor offenses like property crimes, the trend manifests predominance of larceny representing more than 75% of total crimes in 2006 and reaching to 75% in 2009 with the least crime in motor vehicle theft representing only about 10% in 2006 and further declining to 7.5% of all property crimes in 2009. Is there a pattern? In what direction are the trends going? What crimes are on the decline or rise? While it was seen from the chart, there is no clear apparent patte rn in the incidents of violent crimes. The number of incidents for aggravated assault, for example, manifests an up and down pattern where the assaults from 2006 increased, then decreased in 2008 before increasing again in 2009. The same goes with other violent crimes, where the number of incidents increase and decrease intermittently. However, from the total violent crimes, it was eminent that the total number has been manifesting a decreasing trend or pattern since 2006. For minor offenses, the overall manifested trend as exhibited in the total property crime is declining for the period under review and larceny dominating the property offense classification. 3. What are the surprises and usual results in the data that you analyzed? Actually, for a city as New

Business Plan to Sell Oil Rigs in MENA Region Essay

Business Plan to Sell Oil Rigs in MENA Region - Essay Example However, the success rate of a new business is expected remain high, if entrepreneurs is able to develop a realistic and achievable business plan by analysing and assessing the associated risk and by framing a set of effective and plausible strategies. This paper will present a brief business that will include product and company features, market and cost analysis with project timeline of the start up business. 2. Product Feature and its Advtantage The product is the start business is the oil rig machines which are basically a drilling machine to explore the underground oil and natural gas. These machines are huge in size that creates hole within the Earth. Oil rigs are installed and used at site where oil is supposed o deposited under the ground. Generally, the oil rigging machines are available in different sizes run by any of the one power system i.e. diesel engines or electrical generators. The oil rig offered by the new start up venture will be very help for the oil exploring co mpanies as it will be able to run on both types of power system in accordance to the available resources. Besides, its new technology used for rotation system and for circulation system will be very cost effective as installation cost will be very low and will be quite productive in term of its cost including its maintenance cost and power cost. 3. Company Description and Formation The name of the new start up company is OilTech Pvt. Ltd and it will be engaged in the manufacturing and selling of the newly develop oil rigging machines. Primarily, OilTech will be based in MENA region and will also be situated in this region as a large number of buyers will be available in this region. OilTech Pvt. Ltd will be formed by joint venture with an existing engineering company who is engaged in manufacturing of the heavy engineering products. OilTech and engineering-based company will have 40% stake each and rest 20% of the capital will obtained through loans from banks or other sources. Cert ain amount of loan will be very helpful in tax benefits and higher return on equity. Joint venture with engineering-based company will very helpful for the OilTech as it will be able to use the technological expertise. 4. Market Analysis and Target Market MENA region includes the Middle East and North African countries and these countries are highly enriched with mineral oils and gas. The most of these countries are oil-based economies and hence, a large of buyer of oil rigging machines will be available. However, market competition this region is expected to remain high as a number of oil drilling company companies and seller of oil drilling or rigging are present. Moreover, many oil and natural gas producer companies buys the oil drilling machines from the other countries like China, Germany, U.S. etc. Some of the potential and key competitors for OilTech are Allegheny Crane, Focus Oil Tools, Korea National Oil Corp, Parker Drilling, Proforma Safety LLC etc. These competitors also offer services for oil drilling and maintenance services to the oil exploring companies (Rigzone, â€Å"Website Listings†). OilTech is newly formed company and hence, it will enter in the market by targeting the small oil and gas producing companies. Considering the features of the product offered by OilTech will be low cost and will also incurs lower maintenance cost that strives to add value to profitability and efficiency. With the increasing demand of the oil and gas in the World economy, the demand of the oil drilling