CRANBERY SUPPLEMENTS AS PROPHYLACTIC TREATMENT Assignment

CRANBERY SUPPLEMENTS AS PROPHYLACTIC TREATMENT - Assignment Example From the above parameters it may be anticipated that if cranberry supplements are really useful then the frequency of urinary tract infection will decrease, the symptoms of UTI like polyuria and hematuria will decrease, the diagnostic results will show normal count (5000-9000 cu mm) of WBC and reduced levels of C - reactive protein. The further anticipated outcome will be the reduction in the frequency of antibiotics prescribed or there will also be a reduced need to escalate the dosage and class of an antibiotic. This means that though infection may occur but it does not require the intervention with an antibiotic and the innate immunity of the body can take care of the situation. Further decreased need to escalate the dosage and class of an antibiotic also implicate that chances of antibiotic resistance would not be high, if cranberry supplements are administered (Lane and Takhar,2011) (Wang, Fang and Chen, 2012) The protocol will be evaluated with the help of statistical tests of significance and in this regard the â€Å"chi square test† will be performed. First of all stratified random sampling would be done to specify the sample sizes and the limits. Seven groups will be formed with the women in the age range of 18 to 67 years. These groups are 18-28 years, 29-38 years, 39—48 years, 49-58 years, 59-68 year, 69-78 years and 79-88 years. Data will be collected from the urologists who classify that these women are patients of recurrent urinary tract infections. Patients below and above the specified age range will not be included in the study. Further newly diagnosed patients of UTI will also be not included in the study. After selection of samples the patients in each group will be separated as the experimental arm and control arm. The patients of the experimental arm will only be administered cranberry supplements and the patients of control arm will receive placebo treatment. However as the study will

Consommation (in French) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Consommation (in French) - Essay Example Mais cette expà ©rience moderne est trà ¨s diffà ©rente de celle du passà ©, quand faire les achats à ©tait un processus plus long, qui demandait plus d’à ©nergie. Aujourd’hui, je suis sà »r que les produits procurà ©s dans le supermarchà © sont de bonne qualità ©, puisqu’ils sont bien rà ©glementà ©s et bien gà ©rà ©. Le stock contient une gamme varià ©e de produits, mà ªme des apparats à ©lectriques, qui sont moins cher que les autres produits dans les petits magasins. Je pense qu’il vaut mieux acheter des produits qui sont situà ©s sous le mà ªme toit ou je suis plus attentif à   ce que j’achà ¨te. Faire des courses est, donc, une expà ©rience rafraà ®chissante et facile. Mais quand j’à ©tais enfant, jhabitais dans une petite ville en Irlande dans les annà ©es quatre vingt, ou il ny avait pas de grandes chaà ®nes de supermarchà ©s. Ma famille et moi faisaient les achats le samedi matin dans un marchà © ou nous achetions nos fruits et nos là ©gumes; il prenait au moins quatre heures pour finir les courses. On trouvait du pain à   la boulangerie et de la viande à   la boucherie, ou les produits à ©taient toujours frais et personne n’à ©tait mà ©fiant de leur bonne qualità ©. En plus, ma mà ¨re parlait avec les autres clients, donc on sentait une forte sensation dappartenir à   la communautà © et les petites entreprises et commerà §ants à ©taient une partie de notre culture et notre identità ©. J’ai alors pris cette tradition avec moi et aujourd’hui, je vais aussi aux petits commerà §ants pour certains ingrà ©dients, comme pain, lait, fromage ou chocolat parce que ma famille en mange beaucoup. Maintenant, les petites entreprises ont disparu et ont à ©tà © remplacà ©es par les grandes chaà ®nes de supermarchà ©s. Toutefois, je ne suis pas triste; au contraire, jaime la convenance moderne. Je crois que les communautà ©s ont besoin dun centre commercial proche pour acheter les choses nà ©cessaires sans grand effort. Aussi, nous habitons dans une socià ©tà © multiculturelle et cest important

Development of a Business

Development of a Business Executive summary The proposed business will be a Production business named as â€Å"Sangay Tissue† in production and sales of tissue papers under sole proprietorship. The business is to be set up at Bjimina in Thimphu at Bjimina as the location for main production and supply site for the business and there are more population and ease of transportation and communication to other regions. The business will produce soft tissue which is durable compared to the existing tissue and which is not yet produced by anyone in the country. SANGAY TISSUE will provide quality tissue at a very reasonable price than the existing tissue, which is imported from India and Thailand. The proposed business is to provide full satisfaction to the customers and meet their needs by providing high quality, and cost-effective product. The mission of the business is to have â€Å"Continuous improvement in products and services to meet the customers’ needs†. Generally the customers are divided into three categories and they are heavy users like hotels, restaurants, resorts and canteen which will be mainly focused by the business. Light users like high income earners will also be focused as they use it in their residents. The business will also target and encourage remote people to use the product but not forgetting the individual customers who use tissue. Being a monopoly firm, almost all the Dzongkhag where there are more numbers of hotels, restaurants, resorts and canteen are targeted. However, initially, Thimphu, Paro, Punakha and Phuntsholing will be the most targeted areas to sell the product, since large number of hotels and restaurants are running well in these places. Marketing strategy of the proposed business is to emphasize the quality of tissue paper and to keep the price as much as low to increase the sales volume and receive repeated customers. To get into international market and to use the resources available is the firm’s target, working towards achieving it is the firm’s patience, gaining fame and goodwill for the business is the firm’s destiny and keeping up with the same or in fact better, is the firm’s continuous vision.With the business philosophy, given integration of inputs, the first priority, taking into account is the customers satisfaction and with continuous innovations, SANGAY TISSUE hopes to establish long term and steady business relations with most purchaser from home and abroad and seek mutual development. Project Profile Proposed Business Name SANGAY TISSUE Proposed Business Type Production(sole proprietorship) Proposed Financing Nu. 20,00,000/- Sangay tissue’s Vision To get into international market and to use the resources available is the firm’s target, working towards achieving it is the firm’s patience, gaining fame and goodwill for the business is the firm’s destiny and keeping up with the same or in fact better, is the firm’s continuous vision. Mission The proposed business is to provide full satisfaction to the customers and meet their needs by providing high quality, and cost-effective product. The business mission is to have â€Å"Continuous improvement in products and services to meet the customers’ needs.† The following are also the missions of the business beside the mentioned one: After the few years from the day of the establishment, to produce different sizes of tissue in different design as per the desire of the customers, to meet their requirements. To make efficient and effective use of the resources available without causing any harm to the environment. Objectives The main objective of the project will be aimed towards self-sufficiency and independent which is one of the pillar of GNH and rather than relying and depending on other country for such a small product like tissue. Besides there are objectives as follows: Human objectives: To create employment opportunity for those who are unemployed. To help employees in gaining experiences and skills. Economic objectives: To reduce import in the country, this is likely to make the balance of trade favorable, thereby increasing the national income in the economy. To mobilize the available resources. Keys to Success 1. Project location Since it is located in the capital of Bhutan, it is expected to be very suitable for the business where the business can have easy and direct access to get the raw materials. The chosen location is also expected to bear the following advantages to run the business efficiently and successfully: The business can get the Bhutanese laborers easily at cheaper rate since there are many local places where there are many native people who are unemployed. 2. Competition There is no existing tissue company in the country till now but import of the similar product from the nearby countries is in fact a competition. So the competitor as such allows the business to upgrade or improve the product. 3. Availability of resources The resources for the tissue making are unwanted waste of books or paper from offices and schools and the forest (woods) which are easily available in the country. So the business need not worry about the availability of the resources (raw materials). It can be obtained easily at cheaper rate. Since the TEE PEE business is more focusing on recycling the paper waste, this can be the competitive advantage of the business. 4. Availability of labor As the proposed business firm will be located at the capital it will be easy to get labor at a cheaper rate since there are many constructions taking place in Thimphu so it will be easy to get labor. 5. Low selling price The business is planning to sell its product at a low price compared to the competitors since the business don’t spent more money on the raw materials because the materials for the tissue production are easily achieved and the labor are also easily available in the capital (business location). SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths Advanced tools, equipments and Machine. Location of the Business. Weaknesses Lack of sufficient business information and research. Difficult to familiarize the brand name of the product. Initially, the business cannot produce variety of tissues in terms of style and design. Opportunities Can sell the product throughout the country. Can easily find the regular customer. Good labor supply. No competition. Availability of resources at cheaper price. Threats Competitor may arise. May lead to price war after existence of competitor. Forest rule and regulation. 1. Strengths Advanced tools, equipments and machine. Since the production is comprised of quite long procedure for which each machine is allocated for doing each work, these will make task easier and job gets done quickly and efficiently which will reduce manual work. Following such quality process will not only lead to mass production but it will also lead to division of work and so possibility of specialization, which will increase workers productivity. Location of Our Business. As the location is going to be located at the capital, the working atmosphere will be suitable since there will be ease of raw material and consumer. The place is very suitable because we can get raw materials nearby where the business need not have to bear much transporting charges. The business can get skillful labors from that region since people of that region have already got work experience. 2. Weaknesses Lack of sufficient business information and research. Since the proposed business is the first firm producing tissue in the country, the business doesn’t have any reference to look at the existing firm’s experience. Lack of information and experience can makes the business less confident in decision making and investment. Therefore, the business has to do lots of research to test itself which requires some investment, involving higher risk in leading to unproductive result. Difficult to familiarize brand name of our product. Even though the business is a monopoly in producing tissue, the business cannot differentiate the product from existing firm, since the business has to use same machine. Initially, the business cannot produce variety of tissue in terms of design and style. 3. Opportunities Can sell our product throughout the country. Being a monopoly business, the firm can sell its product throughout the country. And in every Part of the country where there are restaurants and hotels, where the business can supply the product to them. The business can easily find regular customers. No competitors. Being a monopoly firm there will be no competition in the market unless new firm arises. So the business can win over the full share of the market for the product, therefore continuous mass production is possible. 4. Threats Competitors may arise. Since resources are available and after studying the firm’s new competitors may arise with new innovative and improve product and compete with the business in the market. Operational Plan for SANGAY TISSUE is as follows: 1. Equipment Si. No. Description 1 Pulper 2 Breaker 3 Beater / refiner 4 Washer 5 Refining equipment 6 De-flaking equipment 7 Screen 8 Cleaners 9 Four drainer machine 10 Head box or flow-box 11 Press 12 Dryer 13 Reeling, winding and sheeting equipment, 14 Handling equipment 15 Size press Machine 16 Cutting machine 17 Laboratory equipment 18 Auxiliary equipment 19 Boiler Capital items Cost in Nu. Machine Set (15,00,000+20% tax) 18,00,000 Computer and printer 20,000 Furniture, fittings and fixture -Table (3) 3000 -Chair (6) 4200 -Curtains 3000 Telephone (2) 4000 Modem 2000 Total 18,36,200 3. Tissue paper production process The raw materials (waste paper, waste cartoon, recycled paper) can be easily obtained from everywhere within Thimphu or other Dzongkhags. The intended business can obtain the waste paper or books from schools and offices, waste cartoon and other papers (Kuensel, newspaper, etc) from shops or resident. In order to convert the raw material into finished product a set of tissue paper machine is required which is the main and the basic asset of the business. So the proposed business will import all the materials needed from china as china deals in these tissue making machineries at an affordable price. The glue and the chemical needed will be purchased from India. As the proposed business is a partnership business with 5 partners, each partner will contribute some amounts and the rest will be taken loan from the bank. So basically the key supplier of all the machineries required will be China, India and the supplier of finance will be the five partners and the bank. Whereas the suppliers of raw materials would be the schools, shops, households and offices. The whole set of tissue production machineries will be purchased from Zhengzhou city Henam, China. One of the company officials can either go there or buy machineries or the company will deliver the machine within 30 days after fulfilling certain criteria which is much cheaper compared to the first option. About the glue and the chemical, it can be easily purchased from India. Diagrammatic representation of the whole process Firstly the raw materials for the proposed business are paper waste which will be easily available from schools, shops, household and offices. Paper waste includes books (text books, note books, magazines, etc), papers (newspapers, Kuensels, etc) and cartoon boxes which are useless. The second process is to collect them from the places mentioned above. These materials are also transported from different Dzongkhags to help keep environment clean and then the materials collected will be sorted out. The third process would be to clean the materials and recycle them to use for the next process. The fourth process will be to make the cleaned and recycled materials into pulp by using the chemicals and the glue. In the next process the pulp will be the raw material for the production process and it will go through various machines. There will be some more process namely, coloring the tissue into various colors and then the tissue will be cut into different sizes (refer appendix 1.ii) and this process will give the final output. SANGAY TISSUE will be produced as the finished good. After achieving the final product the tissue paper will be distributed to the customers such as shops, restaurants, hotels and individuals. It will be made known to the customers through advertisement on local channels, newspaper and internet where the business will create its own account or web page. Market analysis for SANGAY TISSUE Product description. Types of tissues. The types of tissues that SANGAY TISSUE will be producing are: Napkin (which will be mostly used by hotels and canteens) Toilet paper roll. Wet tissue (which will be produced in future) Types of packaging. Colour. Description/quantity Small Pink, White, Light blue, Yellow. The small package will contain 6 Number of toilet paper roll.(3 ply roll) Medium Pink, White, Light blue, Yellow. The medium package will contain 12 Numbers of toilet paper roll.(3 ply roll) Large Pink, white, Light blue, Yellow. The large package will contain 24 Numbers of toilet paper roll.(3 ply roll) The reason behind producing this particular product are: To use the waste paper in an efficient way. To reduce import and increase the export. To give value addition to the waste papers. To maintain healthy environment. 2) Target market SANGAY TISSUE production firm will be focusing 30% on hotels and 30% on restaurant as well. It is because more number of tissue paper is used by these two sectors. At present there are more number of hotels and restaurants in different Dzongkhags, in future there seem to be more restaurants and hotels coming up so that is why the business will sell 60% of its total product to restaurants and hotels. Another reason for selling more than half of the product to restaurants and hotels is that the amount of tissue is imported more by these sectors and the business’s target sectors are restaurants and hotels. 25% of the product will be available in the shops particularly in those Dzongkhags where there are more restaurants and hotels. From the shop anyone who wants to buy tissue paper can easily get it. Shops would be one of the channels of the proposed business to sell its product to the customers. 3) Competitive analysis The proposed business has many indirect competitors of tissue product that are imported from different countries (such as India, Thailand, China and etc) with price ranging from 25 to 55 and it is also available in different colors. The raw materials used by SANGAY TISSUE is the waste papers so therefore another indirect competitor can be the use of waste papers by the shopkeeper for the purpose of raping doma, the rural people using waste paper for sanitary purpose and the Greenery way using the waste materials for the recycling purposes. Marketing strategies 1. Product SANGAY TISSUE’s tissue paper will be eco-friendly tissue paper. This product will have no harm on the eco system since it will be entirely made by using waste paper so there is no cutting down of forest and moreover the raw materials used are the waste papers. There will be reduction in environment pollution because the proposed business will be making good use of all the waste papers. 2. Promotion In order to make SANGAY TEE PEE’s tissue paper known to the general public, the business will be distributing pamphlets to the people and the business will hire some dancers from the dance academy and attract many people through this process. At the end of the dance the employees of the business will distribute free samples to the people. The business will even advertise its product in the local channels. There will be a website created under the business’s name so that if anyone is interested in buying online, they can just contact the concerned people through it and get the product. There will also be free gifts provided when buying in bulk such as if anyone buys the large packet there will be a small packet free with it. 3. Place The product will be available from the retailers, wholesalers and shops. It will be available online on the company’s web site if the company generates sufficient revenue to diversify its operations efficiency. The business will also be selling the product directly to the customers. 4. Price The business will be demand oriented and competition oriented. The business will give more importance to the customer and focus on consumer taste and preferences. The business will use other competitors as a bench mark to fix the price of the product and will follow the pricing strategy of the competitors. 5. Exit strategy There is no guarantee that a business will be a success. If ever the proposed business fails or is not successful then the business will be liquidated in order to pay back the suppliers and the banks. The machineries will be sold to other production company who are carrying out the same production or the company will give the machineries in rent on monthly or yearly basis. The proposed business’s slogan Conclusion Since the intended business is operating within the country there will be creation of job opportunities for the Bhutanese people. By setting up of such business there will be reduction of import and the business can supply the product to the border area of India, which will help the government to generate the revenue. The resources for making tissues are unwanted waste of books or paper from offices and schools. There will be reduction in environment pollution because the proposed business will be making good use of all the waste papers. The business is focusing on recycling the waste paper and giving additional value to the waste which can be the competitive advantage for the business. The Product will have no harm on the eco system since it will be entirely made by using waste paper and won’t cut a single tree. So therefore due to this there are chances that the government may support the intended business like greener way company. The intended business has every opportunity to grow and expand in the future the company will tend to continue and expand with the team spirit and loyalty to customers with the quality product that the business is launching in the market. The product will give full satisfaction as it will satisfy the customers in matters of color, size, brand, technology and quality.

Conduct Books in the 18th Century Essay -- Literature

Conduct Books in the 18th Century Throughout history, conduct books have played an integral part in defining what cultures believed were acceptable and desirable behaviors, as well as representing the ideal person. In the introduction to The Ideology of Conduct, Nancy Armstrong and Leonard Tennenhouse attempt to show how literature and conduct books have been important in relaying these messages and shaping a history of sexuality through the ages. They also point out the interesting fact that these books of conduct have been aimed more at women and far "surpassed in quantity and variety" (Armstrong and Tennenhouse 4) similar types of literature for men. Some of the examples they list of types of conduct literature include pamphlets on marriage, books on manners and morality, and devotional manuals designated for women of the aristocracy. Even in our culture today this type of literature exists in the forms of advertisements, fashion magazines, and exercise books. Again, much of this type of literature is directed at women more than men, which these editors explain as an attempt to specify "what a woman should desire to be if she wishes to attract a socially approved male and keep him happy" (Armstrong and Tennenhouse 5). This makes sense because even today our society is patriarchal, constructed so that women many times have to count on financial support from a man. However, the introduction points out the irony of this, since not only is the desirable woman being defined, but also what a man should find desirable in a woman is defined. also note that this is not necessarily a contradiction, since "the gendered world of information we inhabit today reproduces and maintains the dominant view (Armstrong and Tennenhouse 5). ... ...n," women learn how to be more desirable for men in terms of today's standards. The focus seems to be on independence as well as sexual attractiveness, and although these qualities are quite different from those of the eighteenth century, they are still just as offensive. Just a few of the headings and articles give a clear idea of the messages being sent to women today: "Are you going too far to snag a man?" or "Bikini Body Bummers: Stretch Marks, Bikini Stubble, Flab, Back Acne--You name it, we help you banish it" and even "Cosmo's 10 Commandments" which include, among other things, "ditch the bitchy mood, fall for a nice guy, send thank you notes, keep underwear under cover, and never lose your cool." Even today conduct books remain an integral part of a culture's beliefs and ideals, documenting "a history of sexuality" (Armstrong and Tennenhouse 19) through time.

Educational Disparity in India

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION â€Å"I have a heart full of dreams To emulate Lakshmi, my neighbour, Who merrily goes to school; To wear skirts in gorgeous colours; To become a Collector and travel in a car; But, alas, trapped in a heap of matchsticks I am still far from free! † Etymologically, the word education is derived from the Latin term educatio (â€Å"a breeding, a bringing up, a rearing), from educo (â€Å"I educate, I train†) which is related to the homonym educo (â€Å"I lead forth, I take out; I raise up, I erect†), from e-  (â€Å"from, out of†) and  duco  (â€Å"I lead, I conduct†).Education  in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any  experience  that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts. In its narrow, technical sense, education is the formal process by which society deliberat ely transmits accumulated knowledge, skills, customs and values from one generation to another, e. g. , instruction in schools. It means the development of character or mental powers by means of giving intellectual, moral and social instruction especially as a prolonged process.Indian society is characterized by its diversity be it in terms of religion, caste, region or language. This kind of diversity gives rise to people with very different kind of family backgrounds and demographic characteristics. Though diversity in any state is considered a healthy phenomenon but only when people of different caste, religion or region are provided with same kind of opportunities and growth prospects in terms of access to education, employment and other fundamental services. There should not be any kind of discrimination between individuals based on their caste, religion, region or sex.In this light, if we observe Indian society we find that, based on caste and ethnicity, it suffers from substa ntial inequalities in education, employment and income. If the inequalities are arising due to differences in level of efforts made by individuals of different backgrounds then it is morally acceptable but if inequalities are due to circumstances beyond the control of an individual such as caste, religion, region of birth, sex, ethnicity and so on, then it is deemed unethical and unacceptable and also calls for compensation in some form or other, from the society, to those who have suffered due to inferior circumstances.In the case of India this problem becomes much more relevant since historically the Indian society is severely divided into different caste, religion and other social group structures with several groups enjoying privileges more than other groups just because of their superior social status.So, as far as India is concerned, it is very important from the point of view of both academic interest as well as policy implication, to estimate the extent of inequality due to different circumstances of people as it will help in going to the root cause of prevailing income or wealth inequality, evaluating the age old government programs aimed at bringing equality in society, developing policies for bridging gaps between different sections of society and thus leading towards a state which is more just and equal. 1. 1 A BRIEF HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN INDIAMonastic orders of education under the supervision of a guru were a favoured form of education for the nobility in ancient India. The knowledge in these orders was often related to the tasks a section of the society had to perform. The priest class, the Brahmins, was imparted knowledge of religion, philosophy, and other ancillary branches while the warrior class, the Kshatriya, was trained in the various aspects of warfare. The business class, the Vaishya, was taught their trade and the working class of the Shudras was generally deprived of educational advantages.Secular Buddhist institutions cropped up alo ng with monasteries. These institutions imparted practical education, e. g. , medicine. A number of urban learning centers became increasingly visible from the period between 200 BCE to 400 CE. The important urban centers of learning were Taxila (in modern day Pakistan) and Nalanda, among others. These institutions systematically imparted knowledge and attracted a number of foreign students to study topics such as Buddhist literature, logic, grammar, etc.By the time of the visit of the Islamic scholar Alberuni (973–1048 CE), India already had a sophisticated system of mathematics. With the arrival of the British Raj in India the modern European education came to India. British Raj was reluctant to introduce mass education system as it was not their interest. The colonial educational policy was deliberately one of reducing indigenous culture and religion, an approach which became known as Macaulayism.With this, the whole education as well as government system went through chan ges. Educated people failed to get job because the language in which they got education had become redundant. The system soon became solidified in India as a number of primary, secondary, and tertiary centres for education cropped up during the colonial era. Between 1867 and 1941 the British increased the percentage of the population in Primary and Secondary Education from around 0. 6% of the population in 1867 to over 3. % of the population in 1941. However this was much lower than the equivalent figures for Europe where in 1911 between 8 and 18% of the population were in Primary and Secondary education. Additionally literacy was also improved. In 1901 the literacy rate in India was only about 5% though by Independence it was nearly 20%. Following independence in 1947, Maulana Azad, India's first education minister envisaged strong central government control over education throughout the country, with a uniform educational system.However, given the cultural and linguistic diversity of India, it was only the higher education dealing with science and technology that came under the jurisdiction of the central government. Hence the disparity existed and deepened. The government also held powers to make national policies for educational development and could regulate selected aspects of education throughout India. The central government of India formulated the National Policy on Education (NPE) in 1986 and also reinforced the Programme of Action (POA) in 1986.The government initiated several measures like the launching of DPEP (District Primary Education Programme) and SSA (Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, India's Initiative for Education for All) and setting up of Navodaya Vidyalaya and other selective schools in every district, advances in female education, inter-disciplinary research and establishment of open universities. India's NPE also contains the National System of Education, which ensures some uniformity while taking into account regional education needs. The NPE also stresses on higher spending on education, envisaging a budget of more than 6% of the Gross Domestic Product.While the need for wider reform in the primary and secondary sectors is recognized as an issue, the emphasis is also on the development of science and technology education infrastructure. CHAPTER 2 EDUCATION AND THE CONSTITUTION: SHAPING EACH OTHER Thinking about the interaction between the Constitution and education reveals that they are deeply interconnected, at profound levels of interdependence and complexity. Those connections are often strikingly visible, but are sometimes quite subtle. A fundamental interdependence was formed with the decision to formulate our governmental structure as a democratic republic.The Constitution created the necessity for adequate public education to prepare the citizenry to exercise the role of self-government. An educated voting public underpins a successful democratic structure, the importance of education to our democratic society. I t is required in the performance of our most basic public responsibilities. It is the very foundation of a responsible citizenship. Today it is the principal instrument for awakening the child to cultural values, in preparing him for later professional training, and in helping him to adjust normally to his environment.But it is not only our political system that is dependent upon a viable and successful educational system. Our economic system also proclaims its reliance upon well-trained and educated workers. And our social system rests on two largely accepted goals that each requires access to education – the â€Å"melting pot† which requires the successful absorption of diverse immigrant populations into a pluralistic social and cultural structure, and â€Å"upward mobility† which requires the permeability of class/caste barriers.Both goals are achieved substantially through the education system. 2. 1 LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK Article 45, of the Constitution of In dia originally stated: â€Å"The State shall endeavour to provide, within a period of ten years from the commencement of this Constitution, for free and compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of fourteen years. † This article was a directive principle of state policy within India, effectively meaning that t was within a set of rules that were meant to be followed in spirit and the government could not be held to court if the actual letter was not followed. However, the enforcement of this directive principle became a matter of debate since this principle held obvious emotive and practical value, and was legally the only directive principle within the Indian constitution to have a time limit.Following initiatives by the Supreme Court of India during the 1990s the Ninety-third Amendment Bill suggested three separate amendments to the Indian Constitution: * The constitution of India was amended to include a new article, 21A, which read: â€Å"The Stat e shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years in such a manner as the State may, by law, determine. * Article 45 was proposed to be substituted by the article which read: â€Å"Provision for early childhood care and education to children below the age of six years: The State shall endeavour to provide early childhood care and education for all children until they complete the age of sixteen years. † * Another article, 51A, was to additionally have the clause: â€Å"†¦ a parent or guardian [shall] provide opportunities for education to his child or, as the case may be, [a] ward between the age of six to fourteen years. The bill was passed unanimously in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian Parliament, on November 28, 2001. It was later passed by the upper house, the Rajya Sabha, on May 14, 2002. After being signed by the President of India the Indian Constitution was amended formally for the eighty sixth time an d the bill came into effect. Since then those between the age of 6–14 have a fundamental right to education. * Article 46 of the Constitution of India holds that: The State shall promote, with special care, the education and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, and in particular of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of social exploitation. † Other provisions for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes can be found in Articles 330, 332, 335 and 338–342. Both the 5th and the 6th Schedules of the Constitution also make special provisions for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. CHAPTER 3 VIDYA, VEDA, AND VARNA The 1990s were good years for education in India.According to the 2001 Census, the literacy rate for men, over the entire decade, increased by 11. 8 (percentage) points and that for women by 15 points with the consequence that in 2000, 57% of India's (over 15) popula tion was literate, with a literacy rate of 68% among men and 45% among women. Many of the issues relating to literacy are reflected in school participation, defined as the initial enrolment of a child at school. The net enrolment rate of children, aged 6-14, at school varies across the states of India ranging from 99% for boys and 98% for girls in Kerala, to 91% and 84% in Tamil Nadu, to 69% and 56% in Madhya Pradesh.All-India school enrolment rates, for boys and for girls, vary considerably between the Hindu, Muslim and the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe (hereafter collectively referred to as Dalits) communities: the enrolment rates for Hindu boys and girls are, respectively, 84% and 68% while for Muslim boys and girls they are 68% and 57% and for Dalit boys and girls they are 70% and 55%. In keeping more generally with recent research interest into issues of ethnicity and educational attainment in other societies the key question of inter-group differences in school enrolment rat e in India also needs further investigation.The raison d'etre is to examine whether, and to what extent, the enrolment of children at school in India are influenced by the norms, or other socio-economic characteristics, of the communities (Hindus, Muslims and Dalits) to which they belonged. There are two issues embedded in this study. The first is that inter-community differences between communities, in the school enrolment rates of their children, could be due to the fact that the communities differed in terms of their endowment of ‘enrolment-friendly' attributes. Call this the ‘attribute effect'.On the other hand, inter-community differences in enrolment rates could exist, even in the absence of inter-community differences in attribute endowments, simply because different communities, by virtue of differences in their norms, translated a given attribute endowment into different enrolment rates. Call this the ‘community effect'. The overall enrolment rate is, of c ourse, the outcome of both effects. The average probability of school enrolment is the sum of two (mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive) parts: one that is engendered by the ‘community’ effect and another whose antecedents are in the ‘attribute’ effect.The equation for the likelihood of being enrolled at school is separate for boys and for girls and, in each of the case, the variables differ as to whether the children are Hindu, Muslim or Dalit. Thus, the econometric estimates take cognisance of differences between the children both with respect to their gender and their religion or caste. The econometric estimates are based on unit record data from a survey of 33,000 rural households – encompassing 195,000 individuals – which were spread over 1,765 villages, in 195 districts, in 16 states of India.In many communities there is no tradition of sending children to school; more importantly, these traditions co-exist with well recognised and established social norms that condone child labour and accept out of-school children. Given that ‘the child is the father of the man’, children who do (or do not) go to school will, with a high degree of probability, grow up to be literate (or illiterate) adults. In turn, the life chances of an adult, and his or her children, will be greatly affected by whether or not he or she is literate.Consequently, if one is concerned with inter-community differences in economic and social outcomes, one should, as a corollary, be concerned with inter-community differences in rates of school enrolment. The determining variables used to specify the equations for the likelihood of boys and of girls being enrolled at school, were grouped as follows: 1. The communities to which the children belonged: Hindu, Muslim or Dalit. The respondents to the Survey were distinguished along caste lines as: Dalits (Scheduled Caste/Tribe) and non-Dalits. They were separately distinguished by reli gion as: Hindu, Muslim, Christian, etc.Consequently, membership of the two categories, caste and religion, could overlap: Dalits could be Hindu, Muslim or Christian and, say, Hindus could either be Dalits or non-Dalits. In this study, the two categories of caste and religion were rendered mutually exclusive by defining Hindus, Muslims, Christians (and persons of ‘other’ religions) as persons professing the relevant faith but who were not Dalits. No distinction was made by religion within Dalits though, parenthetically, it might be noted that over 90% of them gave their religion as Hindu.Because of the small number of Christians and persons of ‘other’ religions in the Survey, the analysis reported in this paper was confined to Hindus, Muslims and Dalits. 2. The regions in which the children lived: North; South; Centre; East; West. The Central region comprised Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh; the South comprised Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, K erala and Tamil Nadu; the West comprised Maharashtra and Gujarat; the East comprised Assam, Bengal and Orissa; and the North comprised Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. 3. The educational levels of the mothers and fathers of the children.These were classified as: illiterate; low, if the person was literate but had not completed primary school; medium, if the person was educated to primary level or above but had not passed the school-leaving examination (the matriculation examination, abbreviated, in India, to matric) administered at the end of ten years of schooling; high, if the person was educated to matric level or above. 4. The occupations of the fathers and the mothers. The mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive occupational categories were: cultivator, labourer, non-manual workers, and ‘unoccupied'. . Personal and household variables such as an index of the value of productive assets. 6. Village level variables relating to the general level of development of the village and, in particular, the provision of schools within the village. In terms of educational infrastructure, only 11% of the children in the sample lived in villages which did not have a primary school, though 50% lived in villages without anganwadi schools, and 30% lived in villages without a middle school within a distance of 2 kilometres.Of the children in the sample, 77% of boys and 64% of girls were enrolled at school. However, underlying the aggregate figures, there was considerable variation in enrolment rates by: region; community; parental occupation; and parental literacy status. In terms of region, enrolment rates were lowest in the Central region and highest in the South, the West and the North. However, in every region, except the South, enrolment rates for Hindu boys and girls were considerably higher than those for their Muslim and Dalit counterparts.In terms, of parental literacy, enrolment rates for children (both boys and girls) were substantially higher fo r children with literate parents relative to children whose parents were illiterate. When both parents were illiterate the gap between the enrolment rate of Hindu children, on the one hand, and Muslim and Dalit children, on the other, was considerable; however, when both parents were literate, the intercommunity gap in enrolment rates was almost non-existent. Lastly, in terms of ccupation, children whose fathers were labourers had the lowest rate of enrolment and children with fathers in non-manual occupations had the highest enrolment rate. These show that, with a handful of exceptions, the means of the factors were significantly different between the groups. In particular, a significantly larger proportion of Hindu children had parents who were both literate – and a significantly smaller proportion of Hindu children had parents who were both illiterate – compared to Muslim and Dalit children.In addition, a significantly higher proportion of Hindu children had fathers who were cultivators and a significantly higher proportion of Dalit children had fathers who were labourers: over half the Hindu children, in the relevant age-group, had fathers who were cultivators while, in contrast, well over one-third of Dalit children had fathers who were labourers. One reason that enrolment rates differed by community is that the distribution of the ‘enrolment-determining factors’ – region, parental occupation and literacy, availability of educational facilities – were unequally distributed between the communities.The other is that there were significant inter-community differences in ‘attitudes’ to education, both with respect to children in their entirety and with respect to boys and girls separately. 3. 1 The ‘Community Effect’: Religion and Caste as Influences on School Participation The NCAER Survey provides qualitative information on the reasons that parents gave for not enrolling their children at sc hool. Factors like ‘school too far’ or ‘school dysfunctional’ (‘demand-side’) did not play an significant role in non-enrolment; nor did their incidence vary across the communities.The incidence of demand-side factors – whereby family financial constraints or the fact that a child was engaged in non-school activity involving work either within or outside the home – was particularly marked for Dalit children: 34% of Dalit parents, compared with 29% of Hindu and 22% of Muslim parents, gave this as their reason for non-enrolment. These inter-group differences in the mean values of the ‘demand-side' reasons were significantly different between the communities.Another significant difference between Hindus and Dalits on the one hand and Muslims on the other, was in terms of the percentage of children who were not enrolled at school because their parents did not think education was important. This was 16% for Hindus and 17% for Dal its, but, at 23%, significantly higher for Muslims. The fact that some proportion of religious and caste groups consider education ‘unimportant’ suggests that Muslim religious and Dalit caste norms might matter for school participation.But, there are also several other explanations that might account for the lower enrolment figures for Muslims and Dalits which need to be located within the historical context of educational policy in India towards minorities. 3. 1. 1. Muslim Education in India In recent times the question of Muslims educational backwardness has been an important element of political and social rhetoric in India. Although Muslims are not alone in reflecting educational backwardness yet recent statistic shows they are one of the most backward communities in the field of education and literacy in the country.This fact is, no doubt, astonishing for those who know that the very first declaration of the Qur’an- ‘IQRA’ (to read) is about â⠂¬Ëœeducation’. And the Prophet of Islam, Mohammad (pbuh) termed education as basic obligation for every individual – male and female, the very first time in the history of mankind, in 610 (AD). However, this write-up endeavours to locate the educational problems of the post colonial Muslims in India and invites sincere review by the present academia to help practical enforcement of all educational plans to get Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) mission a success story by 2010.An important cause that may well affect Muslim education is the role of religious institutions and, in particular, the local clergy. It is conventionally argued that the status of women in Islam implies that Muslim parents may invest less in the human capital of their daughters than of their sons. Muslim parents may also be reluctant to send their children to government funded schools owing to the existence of alternatives in community based schooling (in the form of madrasas) and most particularly on a ccount of the lack of Urdu and Arabic language teaching in the formal system.Islam first came to India as early as 650 AD with the Arab traders, but it was only under Mughal rule, between the 12th and 17th centuries, that education was encouraged. The very first madrasa in India was established in 1781 by Warren Hastings and was called the ‘Calcutta Madrasah College for Muhammedans’. Madrasas were greatly encouraged under colonial rule in the 18th century and, in the second half of the 19th century, they were set up all over India by the Deobandis – a group of Muslims who were trained in the most orthodox madrasa in India, Darul-uloom in Deoband, founded in 1866.It was in this phase of their expansion that madrasas were funded primarily by individual contributions rather than by princely patronage and when they developed a formal institutional structure similar to western educational institutions, including their own presses for publishing in Urdu. In post-indepe ndence India, madrasas were allowed to be set up in India under Articles 30(1) and 30(2), which allows all minorities to establish educational institutions, and which also protects the property of minority educational institutions.In the 1990s, many madrasas have been set up, largely through funds from the Middle East, on the western coast of India and in the border regions of north-eastern India. Today, madrasas mainly teach the principles of the Islamic religion, including an elementary level of the reading of the Qur’an. The Indian government has tried at various times to encourage some madrasas to combine religious education with ‘modern’ subjects such as mathematics.For example, a programme was launched to modernise education in the madrasas in 1993, and some prominent madrasas such as the Darul-uloom in Deoband introduced reforms into their curriculum as a consequence. The Jamia Mohammadia Mansura in Malegaon, Maharashtra is reputed for its teaching of medi cal science, and the Darul-uloom Nadwar-ul-ulema in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh even teaches the English language and English literature as core subjects. However, although in some states such as Karnataka and Kerala, madrasas are a useful complement to the formal schooling sector, such efforts have not, in general, been successful.Urdu (which is spoken in only 3 countries of the world – India, Pakistan and Mauritius) is widely regarded by Muslims in India as ‘their' language. However, in post-independence India, Urdu was not given the status of a ‘modern Indian language’, despite the fact that a substantial proportion of Muslims and non-Muslims particularly in northern India use it as their primary language of communication; in schools Sanskrit was taught as the preferred alternative in the three-language (Hindi-English-Sanskrit) formula.This has had important implications for Muslim education in India particularly as it has tied the issue of education-provisio n with considerations of religious and political identity, and cultural autonomy. 3. 1. 2. Dalit Education in India In their analysis of school enrolment, Dreze and Kingdon found that Dalit children had what they term an ‘intrinsic disadvantage’ – they had a lower probability of going to school, even after controlling for other non-caste factors such as household wealth, parents’ education etc. Dalits – who, generally speaking, constitute the ‘untouchables’ of India comprise, approximately, 17. % of India’s population. Although, the practice of ‘untouchability’ is illegal in India, the reality of life is very different. Often, Dalits live in segregated colonies on the outskirts of villages, usually in the southern fringes because that is where the Hindu god of death, Yama, is supposed to dwell. Dalits are not allowed to use common crematoria. Sharecropping, a dominant form of agriculture in most parts of India is not common among Dalit households due to the concepts of ‘ritual purity’ observed by those within the caste system.More significantly, the practice of untouchability cuts right across religious boundaries, and is observed in day to day interactions not only by Hindus, but by Muslims, Christians, and other religious groups in India as well. Studies of education and caste in India show that the Dalits are less likely to send children to school. Acharya and Acharya [1995] report that the differences between Dalits and non-Dalits in dropout rates are very large: the dropout rates for Dalits are 17% higher than for others in Classes I-V, and 13% greater for those in Class I-VIII.The historical origins of inequality in the access to education by caste lie in colonial policy towards education. After 1835, education policy in the sub-continent was altered considerably by Macaulay’s Minute on Education which changed the dominant language of the curriculum to English, giving rise to what Nehru cynically termed an ‘education for clerks’. Western education both resulted in greater social prestige for the upper castes and greater inequality between castes.The success of the non-Brahmin movement in southern India meant that this inequality was addressed there by positive discrimination in favour of the non- Brahmins, in education and in jobs; however, this was not the case in other parts of India. The influence of religion and caste on school enrolment encompasses both sociological factors such as the role of cultural norms, and historical influences such as colonial and post-colonial policy towards education in India. Collectively, these non-economic factors might exert an important role on current schooling decisions, even after controlling for the economic factors that affect them.CHAPTER 4 THE RURAL AND URBAN DIVIDE India is a vast country with a large population of about 121 crores. About 70 per cent of the people live in villages. They ar e engaged in agriculture or small cottage industries. Though there has been rapid expansion of facilities for education in the urban areas, the rural areas have remained neglected to a great extent. The main reason for such lopsided expansion has been the attitude of our rulers. As in other matters, the urban vocal population has in this matter as well been able to get the lion’s share.Many Universities, Colleges and institutions of higher learning have been established in big urban centres and cosmopolitan cities. The villages and small towns have had to be contented with primary, middle and high schools, with certain exceptions of Intermediate Colleges and a few degree Colleges. The villages have not got their due share in the facilities for education. Education has been a state subject, i. e. , a responsibility of the state governments in their respective jurisdictions. Expansion of education required huge sums of money.The State governments with their limited resources ha ve not been  able to allocate as much funds to education as they should have done. Rich agriculturists could afford to send their wards to cities for education. The rest of the poor and non-vocal motions of the population suffered. The nature of agriculture is ill loch that all the members of a farmer’s family have to work in the fields. Thus the children of farmers start helping their parents in agricultural operations. This is a great hindrance to the expansion of education in the rural areas.If an analysis is attempted, it will show that the illiterates in the rural areas far outnumber their counterparts in the cities. Further break-up would show that not only adults but even children in the age-group 5—15 in the villages do not avail themselves of the facilities for education, available in their neighbourhood. It is not that there are no schools in the villages. Schools are there, but they are not in adequate numbers. Children have to go a long distance to attend schools. These schools are not as well equipped as the schools in urban localities. There are very few school buildings.Classes are generally held either under a shed a tree or in the open. The low-paid teachers of these schools do not pay enough attention to their students. The illiterate parents are not very enthusiastic about the education of their children. Many children in the villages do not go to school at all. The parents of even such children, as are enrolled in the school, pay little attention to their education. They appear to be convinced of the futility of the schooling of their children. They rather engage their children as helpers in the agricultural operations, which they consider better utilisation of their time and energy.Not only children, but a majority of adult men and women in the rural areas are illiterate. This is one reason of their being negligent towards their children’s education. To them there appears no better future for their children even if t hey take education. The large scale unemployment is another factor responsible for their indifference to their children’s education. Lack of enthusiasm in the village people for the education of their children is due to several other reasons. First of all most of them are themselves uneducated.Secondly, the gains of education have not reached the villages. Villagers are conservative in outlook. They do not like sending daughters to schools abridging their practices. So far as their sons are concerned,  they do not find any direct correlation between their education and future progress. Very little attention is being paid to the education of adults in villages. There is no doubt that a little education or even literacy will generate much confidence among the rural adults, who would find it useful in their occupation as well as in general life.It would be interesting to note that the objective of providing free and compulsory education to all children up to the age of 14 coul d not be achieved because of inadequate resources for school buildings and teachers, non-realisation by parents of the beneficial value of education, and poverty. The pool of illiterates and drop-outs grows wider each year, even as governmental efforts are being reinforced. Two-thirds of the non-enrolled children consist of girls. A vast majority of non-enrolled children are again from weaker sections of the community, like Scheduled Castes, Schedules Tribes, Muslims and landless agricultural labourers.Such children constitute the hard core of the problem. They do not attend school, and even if they do, they drop out soon after joining school. | RURAL-URBAN disparities, particularly in post-colonial India, have for long been one of the causes of concern for the policymakers. The disparities are seen in all spheres of human life – economic and non-economic. The extent of disparities, however, differ from region to region. The long colonial rule in India had created an urban-ru ral divide.What causes great concern now-a-days is the sharp increase in the level of disparities after a few decades of planning, especially because planning was conceived as an instrument to narrow down rural-urban disparities. Rural India encompasses a little less than three-fourths of the country's population and is characterised by low income levels, poor quality of life and a weak base of human development. Nearly one-third of the national income comes from villages, but there is a significant rural-urban divide especially when it comes to education.Agriculture is the mainstay of most post-colonial countries. It supports roughly two-thirds of the workforce. But the lion's share of India's national resources is directed to the non-agricultural sector. This is the primary reason why a vast Indian rural population has been left uneducated or with lowest levels of education. The inability of the government to address issues such as gender bias is also an important factor which has brought about educational disparity The agricultural sector has been growing at less than half the pace of the other sectors.During the Seventh Plan, agriculture and allied sectors grew at a rate of 3. 4 per cent, while the national economy grew at 6 per cent. In 1997-98, there was a negative growth of 2 per cent in the agricultural sector, although the national economy grew by 5 per cent. The slower rate of growth of agriculture has serious implications for the rural-urban relationship. In an article in  Alternative Economic Survey, Kripa Shankar has shown that it results in the further widening of the divide, as the following data relating to agricultural and non-agricultural gross domestic product (GDP) at 1980-81 prices indicate.The GDP per agricultural worker was Rs. 2,442. 49 in 1950-51, followed by Rs. 3,196 in 1970-71 and Rs. 3,627 in 1995-96. The GDP per non-agricultural worker rose sharply from Rs. 4, 469. 63 in 1950-51 to Rs. 9,179 in 1970-71 and to Rs. 16,715. 08 in 1 995-96. There has been a further steep rise after the Central government accepted the Structural Adjustment Programme. While the GDP per agricultural worker rose from Rs. 3,544. 98 in 1990-91 to Rs. 3,627 in 1995-96, the per non-agricultural worker rise was from Rs. 14,660 to Rs. 16,715. 08 during the same period.The data tend to show that the ratio between the agricultural output per farm worker and the average output per non-farm worker, which was 1:1. 83 in 1950-51, rose to 1:4. 6 in 1995-96. The introduction of the policy of liberalisation has affected non-farm employment in rural areas. In 1997-98, the annual increase in non-farm employment in rural areas was 4. 06 per cent. In 1983-84 it was 3. 28 per cent. During 1999-2000 it came down to 2. 14 per cent. The consequence has been a very slow reduction in rural poverty. In 1993-94 it was 39. 6 per cent, in 1999-2000 the figure came down marginally to 36. 35 per cent. According to one estimate, the average income of an urban dwe ller is four times higher than that of a rural dweller. Rural deprivation becomes crystal clear if we look at the data on rural India's contribution to the GDP and what the rural areas get back. Rural contribution is 27 per cent but the return is 5 per cent. As a result of the decrease in the actual value of the income from agriculture, inflation being one governing factor, the rural population is unable to afford and finance the education of their family members.Besides, the large family demands have to be met by curtailing expenses on some front. In this kind of a case most of the expenses are curtailed in the educational front. The Human Development Report of India (1999) attempted to divide the rural and urban house-hold on the basis of their incomes as shown in the table. The income status is reflected in the per capita consumption expenditure. In 1999-2000 the per capita per month consumption expenditure on the rural areas was Rs. 486. 08 and in the case of urban areas it was Rs. 854. 96, according to HDR 2002.If we look at the poverty data, a similar situation is noticed. India, a developing economy of over a billion people, recorded a relatively high economic growth during 1980-2000, especially during the 1990s, a decade known for noteworthy structural economic reforms. This period also recorded a decline in the incidence of poverty and improvement in parameters of human development such as levels of literacy, health and nutrition conditions. Development policies focussed on enhanced and targeted public investments in programmes that facilitated improvements in the quality of life of the masses, but the isparity remains. The disparities in the social development sector are mind-boggling. Rural adult illiteracy is a matter of alarming concern. In 2001, the urban literacy rate was 80. 06 per cent but the rural literacy rate was 59. 21 per cent. Thus, the difference in rural – urban areas in terms of percentage points is 20. 85. Data released by th e Planning Commission show that among illiterate people aged 60 years and above, 78. 2 per cent live in rural areas. In urban areas the figure is 48. 2 per cent. Of the illiterate people who are 15 years and above but not beyond 60 years, rural areas have 55. per cent and the urban areas 25. 1 per cent. Of the school-going children in the age group of 5-14 years, 82. 4 per cent live in urban areas. The rural figure is 63. 3 per cent. Kerala has been able to bring this disparity down quite considerably – 93. 2 per cent in villages and 94. 3 per cent in urban areas. Policymakers are of late talking about the introduction of technology to improve the quality of life of the people by enhancing education. The bias of the state in favour of urban areas is evident from the per capita expenditure on basic services.According to the estimate of the Eleventh Finance Commission, per capita expenditure on basic services in rural areas during 1997-98 was Rs. 24, but in urban areas it was R s. 49. Rural India contributes 27 per cent to the GDP, but gets back only 5 per cent, which is less than one-fifth of its contribution. While the share of expenditure on urban poverty alleviation programmes in the total budgetary allocation by the Central government declined from 1 per cent to 0. 8 per cent during the period between 1990-91 and 2000-01, the per capita expenditure for urban poor increased from Rs. 11 to Rs. 8 during the same period. But for the rural poor, the per capita expenditure it is just one-eighth of this. In a post-colonial capitalist country like India, uneven rural-urban development or rural-urban disparity is not unusual. While it is almost impossible to bring it to an end, it is possible to reduce the disparity to a tolerable level. It may be recalled that Gandhi emphasised on rural growth and pleaded for village swaraj. He wanted the engine of India's development to start rolling down from the villages. But it became clear from the discussions in the Con stituent Assembly that it would not happen. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar characterised villages as â€Å"a sink of localism, ignorance and communalism†. Nehru felt that villages were culturally backward and no progress could be made from such places. Urban bias was clearly reflected in the attitude of the policymakers. This seems to be continuing unabated. Apart from taking steps to increase human development facilities in the villages, such as health and appropriate infrastructure such as roads and marketing facilities, there is the need for generating employment, which can better the living conditions of villagers and thereby enable them to finance education seeking process.We need to adopt a long-term policy, keeping in mind the requirements of the rural and urban areas. A close look at the development plan exercises tends to demonstrate that ad hocism permeates the policy processes. CHAPTER 5 GENDER DISPARITY IN EDUCATION There is little denying the fact that investing in human capi tal is one of the most effective means of reducing poverty and encouraging sustainable development. Yet, women in developing countries usually receive less education than men. More so, women in general enjoy far less employment opportunities than men.Any claims and efforts then, to remove poverty and make women independent, can show results only if they address the issue of gender inequality in education. In recent decades, there have been large gains, no doubt on comparable levels, in basic rights and opportunities, in life expectancy and enrolment ratios for women. But despite these gains, the stark reality has not changed. There still are large gender disparities in basic human rights, resources, and economic opportunity, and in political rights. So until India is able to address this issue of gender inequality and resolve it, the vicious cycle of poverty will continue to pervade.This is because poverty leads to and aggravates gender discrimination – it is in the poorer se ctions and nations that instances of gender biases and inequality are more evident. Women and girls are at the bottom of the social, economic and political ladder. Access to the means to influence the development process is a rare and a difficult possibility. And yet, by the same logic, gender discrimination hinders development. So while denial of basic rights (be it education, employment or health care for women) is detrimental to women, this denial, ultimately also harms the society, the nation at large too, by hampering development.Clearly, the gender gap in education that are widespread, is an impediment to development. The only solution to this is gender equality, which strengthens a country’s ability to grow, to reduce poverty and provide its people – men, women and children – a better life. Just because gender inequality is inextricably linked to societal norms, religion or cultural traditions, it should not be either a deterrent or an excuse to gender se nsitive development planning. India represents a picture of contrasts when it comes to education and employment opportunities for girls.Cultural, social and economic factors still prevent girls from getting education opportunities so the question of equality is still a mirage. However, the rural and the urban areas present a contrast. In the rural areas the girl child is made to perform household and agricultural chores. This is one of the many factors limiting girls’ education. Cleaning the house, preparing the food, looking after their siblings, the elderly and the sick, grazing the cattle and collecting firewood are some of the key tasks they have to perform.Households are therefore reluctant to spare them for schooling. Physical safety of the girls, especially when they have to travel a long distance to school and fear of sexual harassment are other reasons that impede girls' education. In the urban areas, however, there is a discernible difference in the opportunities th at girls get for education and employment. Though the figures for girls would still be low as compared to boys, what is heartening to see is that whenever given the opportunity, girls have excelled more than boys.For instance, in the Central Board of Secondary Examinations for grades 10 and 12, which are at an All India level, girls have for over a decade now, bagged all the top positions and secured a higher over all percentage compared to boys. In employment opportunities too, women in India today have stormed all male bastions. Be it piloting aircraft, heading multi-national corporations, holding top bureaucratic positions, leading industrial houses, making a mark as photographers, filmmakers, chefs, engineers and even as train and lorry drivers, women have made it to all hitherto considered male bastions in India.However, this is not reason enough for cheer. For the number of girls and women who have been left out of education and employment opportunities, still far outweighs th ose who have got them. And what needs to change this scenario, is not just governmental efforts but a change in societal norms, in cultural and traditional biases and in general mindsets of people. And in this the media, the civil society, and the youth, the women and girls have a lot to contribute. CHAPTER 6 GOVERNMENT SCHEMES FOR PROMOTING EDUCATION . 1 The Growth of Centrally Directed Projects The national policies of 1968 and 1986 were developed through processes led by the Government’s Ministry of Education and subsequently its Ministry of Human Resource Development and involving widespread consultation at the state level. While the centre always contributed funding to the states through the planning commission process and annual incremental plan allocations, implementation responsibility lay squarely with the state authorities until 1976.From 1977, implementation responsibility lay jointly de jure with the state and the centre and through the 1980s and the 1990s central government became gradually to play a much more directive role in programmes for primary, through the modality of projects. Up to the 1980s there had been little or no foreign involvement in the planning and funding of programmes in basic education. But from the 1980s, and some years before the production of the 1986 national policy on education, a small number of foreign funded projects, designed to improve access to and the quality of primary education, were initiated in various states.These would become the forerunners of the more expansive District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) of the 1990s and the country-wide Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) programme of the 2000s. 6. 1. 1 The Andhra Pradesh Primary Education Project One of the first projects was the Andhra Pradesh Primary Education Project (APPEP) started in 1984 through a programme funded jointly by the Government of India, the UK government and the State Government of Andhra Pradesh. Starting in eleven districts and 328 pr imary schools the project was planned to reach all 48,000 schools in the state.A large scale construction programme designed to increase access to schooling was accompanied by a comprehensive human resource development programme for teachers, teacher educators and education administrators, the provision of materials to support activity-based learning and professional support for teachers on a continuous basis through teacher centres. 6. 1. 2 The Shiksha Karmi Project In the state of Rajasthan, the Shiksha Karmi Project (SKP) commenced in 1987 through a collaboration between the Governments of India and Sweden and the Government of Rajasthan.Literacy rates were lower than in Andhra Pradesh, especially among girls and women, and the SKP sought to counter teacher absenteeism in remote schools, increase enrolment, especially among girls, and reduce dropout. An innovative strategy was the substitution of frequently absent primary school teachers by a two resident Shiksha Karmis (educatio nal workers). This approach was inspired by a small scale project run and funded locally during the 1970s by an NGO, the Social Work and Research Centre (SWRC), in which three experimental primary schools were run by village youth trained as they worked as teachers.Between 1978 and 1986 the experimental programme was expanded gradually to new sites with support from SWRC and other NGOs and the government of Rajasthan. The success of the small scale projects prompted the desire to expand the Shiksha Karmi idea on a larger scale. In 1987 foreign involvement and funding was formalised through an agreement for a ‘six-year’ joint venture between the governments of India and Sweden. 6. 1. 3 The Lok Jumbish Project Shortly afterwards, in 1988, the first draft of an even more ambitious project in the same state – the Lok Jumbish (People’s Movement) Project – was drafted.With three core components – the quality of learning, community involvement and t he management of education – it sought to transform the mainstream system in Rajasthan by building from it and interacting with it. Involving a politically radical strategy and complex design, the leaders of LJ saw it as ‘developer, demonstrator, catalyst and transformer of the mainstream education system from the outside’ (Lok Jumbish Joint Assessment, 1993). Many of its ideas were drawn from SKP and its predecessors, and, like SKP, it attracted financial support from the Government of Sweden, but on a much larger scale.Like the large scale Andhra Pradesh Primary Education Project before it LJ was another example of a three way relationship between the central government, the state government and a foreign agency. LJ gave substance to the 1992 National Policy of Education’s declaration that the Government of India: will, in addition to undertaking programmes in the Central sector, assist the State Governments for the development of programmes of national importance where coordinated action on the part of the States and the Centre is called for.LJ also gave substance to the framework evolved in 1991 by the Central Advisory Board of Education for the availing of external assistance for basic education projects (Lok Jumbish Joint Assessment, 1993:74-76). In the case of LJ however, the partnership involved a fourth agency – the Lok Jumbish Parishad (LJP) – a non-governmental agency based in Jaipur, Rajasthan that worked alongside the state government. Indeed, were it not for the work and drive of those who established LJP, the Lok Jumbish project would probably never have materialised, nor would some radical elements of the programme have emerged.LJ had three major components – community involvement, the quality of learning and the management of education. The component envisaged for improvements in the quality of learning was not especially radical, even if it posed implementation challenges. It involved the traini ng of teachers and teacher educators, a curriculum and pedagogy reform led by the framework of minimum learning levels (MLL), and a system for professional support.The Programme for Community Mobilisation was more radical and involved the mobilisation of the community through public debate, the sharing of information and knowledge to create informed decisions and village household surveys to establish the numbers of children not attending schools and the reasons for non-attendance. Mobilisation involved the establishment in the village of a core group who became an activating agency for the village, the involvement of women’s groups in education decision-making and the involvement of male and female adults in the design of school buildings, construction and maintenance. . 1. 4 The District Primary Education Programme Already by the early 1990s the government had decided to launch the District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) across seven states with support from a range of foreign donors. From an educational planning perspective DPEP represented a shift from removing supply side constraints to a greater focus on quality improvement. In 1994 DPEP was launched in the 42 mostly educationally disadvantaged districts in seven states.The DPEP strategy was drawn in tune with the national objectives of universal access, retention and achievement of minimum levels of educational attainment with a focus on girls and children belonging to socially deprived and economically backward sections of the society. Besides the achievement of the quantitative and qualitative targets within the stipulated period, the major thrust of the DPEP is to promote the decentralised management with active involvement of stakeholders that will have a considerable impact on the sustainability of the project beyond its life cycle.A senior administrator recalled the growing political will for basic education around this time. In contrast to some other sectors, education, and in particul ar universal elementary education (UEE) enjoyed consensus with respect to its value and to its need for financial investment. Since the early 1990s there has been a sustained approach from parties of all political hues in their support for UEE and the states themselves ‘have been trying to outdo each other’ (interview with the author). Barring some issues of governance in one or two states there has been a clear shift in the level of support for UEE.Political relations between the centre and the state are generally good, reinforcing an underlying push for reforms in UEE. Rarely are there any discordant views about how to move forward on the ‘easy’ elements of provisioning e. g. infrastructure. Discord revolves around how fast or slow state governments proceed (interview with the author). Evaluations of the impact of DPEP on a range of education performance indicators suggest that disparities in enrolment and retention were reduced the most in those district s with the lowest female literacy levels. In all 42 districts the percentage increase in female enrolment was 12. %. In the districts with very low female literacy rates the gain was 13. 2% and in districts with low female literacy rates it was 16. 2%. Positive change in the share of scheduled caste and scheduled tribe enrolment to total enrolment was also highest in those districts with the lowest female literacy rates. These enrolment gains were accompanied by reductions in the pupil:teacher ratio, in the pupil:classroom ratio and in repetition rates. While the centre promoted the DPEP programme, states also continued to innovate and to launch major programmes designed to support improvements in access to education.One example was the Midday Meal Programme for children in the lower primary grades introduced in Karnataka in 1995. The programme involved a dry ration of three kilograms of rice per month for each child enrolled in the school. The idea grew out of a huge grain surplus that was going to waste. Although the surplus did not continue, the scheme, once introduced, would continue. Inspired in part by a popular midday meal programme in the state of Tamil Nadu some 25 years earlier, the Karnataka scheme would become a central government initiative in 2004. Dry rations were replaced by a cooked meal and central government funding of 1. rupees per child per day were matched by 0. 5 rupees by the states. In principle the fund covered cooking costs, fuel, pulses and vegetables, salt and masala. In 2008 the programme was extended to the upper primary grades country-wide. Some 120 million children were fed on a daily basis in one million schools. Analysis of evidence generated from the PROBE survey conducted in the Northern states of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh in the late 1990s indicated the positive impact of midday meal programmes on school participation in rural areas, especially among girls (Dreze and Kingdon, 2001). 6. 1. 5 Sarva S hiksha AbhiyanThe generally positive perception among many stakeholders of the results of DPEP across seven states led on to an even larger nationwide programme, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA). Translated from Hindi as ‘education for all movement’, SSA describes itself on its official website as: An effort to universalise elementary education by community-ownership of the school system. It is a response to the demand for quality basic education all over the country. The SSA programme is also an attempt to provide an opportunity for improving human capabilities to all children, through provision of community-owned quality education in a mission mode.In terms of the international discourse, SSA is the Government of India’s main programme for the delivery of Millennium Development Goal 2, the achievement of universal primary education by 2015. In terms of the national discourse it gives substance to the 2002 constitutional amendment on elementary education as a fundame ntal right. Its aim is to universalise by 2010 an improved quality of education for all children in India aged between the ages of 6 and 14 (Ward, forthcoming). Interestingly SSA’s self-description on the web employs the concept of ‘political will’.It describes itself as ‘an expression of political will for universal elementary education across the country’. SSA has certainly enjoyed ‘will’ and push from the centre. A senior bureaucrat commented that since SSA was a centrally sponsored scheme, the centre was pushing it very strongly. But political will and ownership at the level of the state is also important. The source of funding is key to will and ownership at state level. During the time of earlier DPEP the centre funded 85% of expenditure and the states 15%. SSA has introduced a tapering formula such that by the end of 2011/12 the ratio should be 50-50.SSA is further described as: * A programme with a clear time frame for universal elementary education. * A response to the demand for quality basic education all over the country. * An opportunity for promoting social justice through basic education. * An effort at effectively involving the Panchayati Raj Institutions, School Management Committees, Village and Urban Slum level Education Committees, Parents' Teachers' Associations, Mother Teacher Associations, Tribal Autonomous Councils and other grass root level structures in the management of elementary schools. A partnership between the Central, state and the local government. * An opportunity for states to develop their own vision of elementary education. In 2001 its performance targets (on the website described as objectives) were defined ambitiously as: * All children in school, Education Guarantee Centre, Alternate School, ‘Back-to- * School' camp by 2003; All children complete five years of primary schooling by 2007 * All children complete eight years of elementary schooling by 2010 Focus on element ary education of satisfactory quality with emphasis on education for life * Bridge all gender and social category gaps at primary stage by 2007 and at elementary education level by 2010 * Universal retention by 2010 The Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS) referred to in the first target was introduced originally in 1977 under the title of the Non Formal Education Scheme. That scheme enjoyed only limited success and was re-launched in 2000 (GoI, 2002:29).Its aim was to provide further coverage in small habitations with no schools within a one kilometre radius. The current scheme targets out-of-school children in the 6-14 age group and uses strategies such as bridge courses, back-to-school camps, seasonal hostels, summer camps, mobile teachers and remedial coaching. For the last several years, many of these EGS centres have been upgraded to the full status of primary schools, but concerns remain about the quality of education which they offer as well as their long-term sustainability. 6. 1. 6 The Right to Education BillThe most significant change in national policy on access to elementary education in recent years was the Right to Education Bill. Although a number of states have had compulsory education acts on their statues for many years, some from before independence, these acts had not been formulated in a way that rendered them ‘justiciable’ i. e. no-one could be prosecuted if those rights were not met. In 1992, the Indian government signed the International Convention of the Rights of the Child. An important legislative spur came in 1993 when the Supreme Court ruled in the Unnikrishnan vs.State of Andhra Pradesh [1993 (1) SCC 645]. The Supreme Court ruled that Article 45 of the Constitution which asserted the obligation of the state to provide free and compulsory education up to age of 14 sh

American Dream or American Nightmare – Essay

American Dream or American Nightmare America and its people have upheld the concept of the â€Å"American Dream. † The meaning of this concept has changed and altered throughout the years. As stated in the Declaration of Independence, every man has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Multitudes of movies and books have depicted their personal versions of this single ideology. All having a stereo typical, happily ever after ending, but is this so-called dream even possible. I believe the American Dream is slowly dying out. In today’s society, families are struggling to make ends meet, and to ensure a good future for their children. Once upon a time the American Dream was everyone’s reality; however now this fantasy is just that, a far off fairytale, as families fight just to provide basic living needs. â€Å"A family of four earning $22,050 a year is living below the federal poverty line (Huffman). † According to this quote a salary of $22,050 a year can barely manage to keep up with the livelihood of a family of four; whereas an income of that amount ten years ago would have placed families in the middle class bracket. Over the years American household living costs have greatly increased, causing family to sink lower on the economic level. With monthly bills such as utilities, rent/house payment, groceries, and car payments, and average American family can find themselves in debt quickly. The basic American Dream boasts of prosperity and wealth. In actuality, Americans are realizing the difficulties of being financially secure every month. It doesn’t stop there. To make things more difficult, parents must worry about being able to guarantee a decent future for their children. Even though public schooling is free for kids, they have other necessities like clothing and school materials. With parents barely making ends meet with bills for the household, children will suffer by having to wear inexpensive clothing and using hand me down things. â€Å"For struggling parents, keenly aware that adolescents agonize over the social pecking order,†¦, there is a small sense of failure in telling a child she cannot have what her classmates take for granted (Johnson 183. † A parent will want their child to strive towards the highest education possible, but with that comes more expensive costs. The competitive job market today forces people to attend college, just to ensure they will land a job in a secure career field. It’s a deadly Catch 22 with young adults entering the working world. Yet they must go through this battle to be able to support themselves, because parents just can’t afford to put money into a savings. With families lacking the means to give future generations to look forward to, Americans moral is decreasing. Our perfect American family ideal that this is a land of wealth and opportunity has become endangered. ————————————————- America searches frantically for answers from the government and all other sources to fix the declining economic issues. This nation needs to be reminded what the definition of the American Dream originally was. Not being able to provide for your family while working and children who are not taught the correct values when growing up, will as a result diminish the American dream. Some remain optimistic about this concept, but I remain firm in my belief that if something isn’t done about this growing problem then the fate of this country will be in real danger. ————————————————- Works Cited Huffman, Mark. â€Å"Having a Job May Not Be Enough to Make Ends Meet† Common Dreams. 1 Apr 2011. Web. 9 Jan 2012. Johnson, Dirk. â€Å"When Money is Everything, Except Hers. † Introduction to College Reading and Writing. Svetlana Lynch. Boston: Pearson, 2006. 182-186. Print.

Ethical Concerns of Genetic Re essays

Ethical Concerns of Genetic Re essays Ethical Concerns of Genetic Research Throughout the course of the last several centuries, science and religion have been at odds with one another. During the Enlightment era, much conflict arose as to what constituted Earth- its shape, size and position in relation to the sun. In the 19th century, the squabble over evolutionist theory versus that of creationism (an argument that continues today) ensued. However, in the last decade or so, a new roadblock in the always-narrowing rift between scientific theory and theological theory has arisen: the debate over genetic research. Many conservative figures oppose certain types of genetic research, feeling the fate of ones offspring should be left to the divine; others contend that man should be able to do anything capable with technology. Since 1978, 100,000 babies have been born via Assisted Reproductive Technology {Clonaid}. In the early days IFV (Invetro Fertilization) was not accepted by many conservatives. It was first viewed as the modern day return of the notoriously inhumane Nazi scientific experiments {Masci 475}. Today IFV is considered a socially acceptable method for infertile parents to have children. In 1997, Dr. Ian Wilmut successfully cloned the first sheep named Dolly. This breakthrough has caused a black and white view of genetic research {Masci 151}. More recently the human Genome was decoded in the summer of 2000. This means that man now knows the genetic language (commonly referred to as the language of God) and can now, literally, read the book of human life {Masci 212}. Stem cells research has also recently been debated. Stem cells are cultured from embryos and have been proven to cure paralysis and many more neurological disorders {OHESCR}. All the above-mentioned scientific breakt hroughs seem to be positive miracles that will only better humanity. The truth of the matter is, all these medical advancements...

Starbucks Coffee Business

Starbucks Coffee Business Introduction Starbucks started its coffee outlets in 1971 at Seattle. The founders of the company included Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegel, and Gordon Bowker. Howard Schultz joined Starbucks in 1982 as the heading of marketing and overseeing retail division (Thompson and Gamble, 1997). Schultz had a different vision for the company.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Starbucks Coffee Business specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More He wanted to create a community of coffee consumers. Under Schultz’s leadership as the CEO and chief global strategist, Starbucks has become the world’s largest coffee retail outlet. It is gaining international presence in most emerging economies due to reorganization of the company’s business strategy since 1987. Starbucks has grown as the premier coffee retailer with happy employees, quality coffee products and satisfied customers. The report focuses on the Starbucks’ Global Quest 2006: Is the Best Yet to Come? in order to develop a strategic management proposal for the company’s board of directors. The proposal focuses on the future of the company through an economic assessment, marketing assessment plan, a financial plan, an organizational structure recommendation, and supporting rationale. An Economic Assessment Today, Starbucks is a strong company in the US and other regions as shown through its success. Hence, the company needs to expand to other emerging markets. This expansion would require understanding of economic factors in the coffee retail business. The coffee retailer would be able to seize opportunities in emerging economies early enough to make it a market leader. The BRIC countries would be critical for the Starbucks’ global growth in years ahead because of the large number of a growing middle class with disposable incomes. The expansion will ensure that Starbucks gets new customers, follows its global customers, and become s cost-effective in its operations. Although the company is already in some parts of the global market, it will have to consider economic factors as it expands into other BRIC countries because they could have both short-term and long-term effects on the Starbucks’ global quest. Specifically, Starbucks will evaluate inflation rates, tariffs, interest rates, monetary policies, economic growth, freedom of conducting business, and exchange rates.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In addition, the company will also have to evaluate unemployment rates in foreign countries, qualified labor, and labor costs. Still, the company will have to focus on changes in political leadership of various countries because these changes in leadership may or may not encourage foreign investments due to rigid policies. Starbucks will evaluate entries into new markets. It shall have t o consider a Greenfield foreign direct investment or a strategic alliance. Foreign entries would be easier through strategic alliances rather than a Greenfield investment. In this regard, Starbucks would evaluate what other partners can bring to the business. Local firms already understand the local market, culture, and business activities than Starbucks. Starbucks will have to consider reputable firms in the coffee retail business, with good brand names, and firms that show strong relationships with coffee consumers. Starbucks will also have to review its position in the global retail coffee market and available opportunities. The global expansion presents significant opportunities for the company in terms of revenue growth and customer retention. Starbucks can take the advantage of the growing middle class and create communities of coffee consumers around the globe. The BRIC countries also have growing populations with large numbers of coffee consumers. On this note, it must focus on India and Brazil. However, Starbucks must account for consumers’ preferences in these countries. The international coffee prices have risen considerably. This has attracted other big brands like McDonald’s into the retail coffee business. Starbucks must face fierce future competitions and fluctuating coffee supplies in the global markets. Any interruption could have negative impacts on the brand’s name. In other words, the company must have reliable suppliers in order to cater for its globe strategies and a huge number of coffee consumers. The study shows that the Asian market is growing rapidly, particularly China. Starbucks must focus on expanding its outlets to other areas within China. This shows that economic elements favor the company’s growth strategies.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Starbucks Coffee Business specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Although Starbuck is likely to fac e competitions in the future, effective global strategies will ensure that the company maintains its leadership position in new markets. Starbucks would achieve competitive advantages through its expertise, employees, and product positioning strategies. Conversely, Starbucks must note that international markets could be repulsive against high prices. On this note, the company will have to review its premium coffee prices in order to meet the prevailing economic conditions of various countries. The quest for a global strategy also involves considerable costs. The company will have to evaluate whether it is cost-effective to venture into some globe markets. It will also review entry requirements and any factors that could hinder its smooth operations. A Marketing Assessment Plan From the Starbucks’ global quest, the growth has been impressive. The company’s goal would be to maintain its image in all markets in which it shall operate. Starbucks has recognized that it has a huge growth potential in oversea markets. For this reason, the company should accelerate growth, promote its brand, maintain its global leadership position, and become a globally respected brand. The company must formulate new growth strategies and a marketing plan for the global market. Starbucks must look for strategies that would allow it to continue to explore new opportunities in foreign markets. For instance, it can acquire small coffee shops in foreign countries and develop its brand. This strategy may help the company to avoid negative publicity or total rejection as witnessed in Primrose Hill, London (Kotha and Glassman, 2003). The market analysis shows that Starbucks commands a large share of the market. Coffee retail business is likely to improve globally, and this presents a good opportunity for the company to grow too. The growth may even be resilient to changes in economic situations like recession. The company must continue to provide great services to its consumers in order to maintain them and attract new ones.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Starbucks will have to consider new products to cater for consumers who do not prefer dark roasted coffee. This would increase its customer base and revenue growths. However, this process requires a thorough market study. In the global quest, the company must maintain the design of its coffee outlets and its brand in order to provide consumers with the same environment available in the US. The quest for the global market will require the company to differentiate its market. Marketing segmentation would ensure that Starbucks has different products for various coffee consumers. Marketing segmentation would ensure that the company caters for low-income earners, students, and other consumers who may not be able to afford premium coffee. This is a strategic marketing strategy in new markets, which would ensure that Starbucks draw new consumers from various segments of the market. The company will formulate new target market strategies in new locations. Starbucks must never forget that it will expand into emerging economies in which high prices may not attract its target consumers. The company will have to review its prices downwards in order to accommodate these segments. Many consumers would like to have premium coffee, but high prices have been major hindrances. The company should diversify with regard to locations in order to accommodate majorities. Emerging markets have discerning coffee consumers, who may prefer good coffee but do not go for premium coffee due to pricing. Starbucks will conduct a constant industry analysis in order to determine the rate of growth, competitions, and changes in external conditions. From the study, the coffee industry has grown steadily as global sales and revenues rise. The company must study the international patterns of coffee consumption in various locations in which it intends to run new outlets. Although Starbucks holds the leading position in the retail coffee market, the company must understand impacts of competition on i ts business growths. It must understand the fraction of the market segment that buys from its competitors. In new markets, Starbucks will outdo the small local brands. Although they present competition challenges, small local coffee outlets shall retain a small share of the market because small brands in foreign markets do not present biggest threats to Starbucks. The case study shows that Starbucks has been able to establish close and intimate relationships with its customers. The company has been able to experience such a growth because of its employees, who have established close relationships with customers. Starbucks believes that happy employees lead to happy customers, increased revenues, and growth. In this regard, the company should focus on quality coffee and services and implement favorable employment policies in all its global market outlets. The company believes that happy employees are critical for its success and competitive advantages. Therefore, the company must con tinuously review its employment practices and improve them if necessary. This is a culture of empowering employees in order to ensure that they are productive. Starbucks employees in other parts of the world will have to receive generous compensations, training, and employee stock ownership just like others in the US. The company will also focus on multiple channels of product distribution. In other words, Starbucks must rise above its stand-alone retail outlets and offer new areas of distributing coffee to its consumers. Hence, it must consider other popular spots like supermarkets, airports, banks, and office buildings among others. The company will have to seek for strategic partnerships with service providers, suppliers, grocery stores, airlines, and other firms, which can distribute coffee to consumers throughout their designated areas. The company will also improve its corporate social responsibilities, particularly in areas in which it sources its coffee. This is important fo r reducing the notion that Starbucks pays poorly to farmers (Kotha and Glassman, 2003). It will improve the focus on environments, workers’ welfare, and children’s rights. Any controversies about the company’s interactions with these critical parts of the supply chain could damage its global reputation. For instance, there should be no negative publicity that the company exploits farmers while making huge profits from the same coffee. On this note, the company must improve its public relations and manage bad publicity, particularly by paying attention to the media. The company will have to focus on the use of technology to retain its customers. In the future, many consumers will use technologies and social media for interacting and conducting online purchases. Online platforms will drive customers’ feedback and by extension customer service. They will be able to post and criticize the company openly. The company will have to integrate effective online pla tforms and loyalty programs to drive customers to its outlets. Online platforms will also act as distribution channels for Starbucks. In addition, these are also strategies for improving customer loyalty, growing the brand, providing excellent values, and customer convenience. They also result in increased revenues and profits for shareholders. Technology will be a differentiating tool for Starbucks. The social media, mobile apps, loyal cards, and e-gift cards will differentiate the company and drive the global growth for Starbucks (Starbucks Unveils Accelerated Global Growth Plans, 2012). On the same note, Starbucks will use technologies to enhance efficiency in product delivery and develop quality products. It will invest in advanced coffee equipment. These are coffee machines with precise technologies to maximize the coffee flavor at an ideal temperature during preparation. Technologies will create competitive advantages for Starbucks because not many competitors will have the fi nancial strength required to acquire such equipment. They will enhance product management and operational details of the company. A Financial Plan Today, Starbucks’ business and financial activities are healthy. This gives the company an opportunity and a better position to execute its global strategies. The company generates enough revenues and profits, which can support its growth plan in all continents. This would make the company one of the most successful coffee retails globally. Table 1: Income Statement (2009-2012) – these growths over the years indicate that the best is yet to come for Starbucks 2012 2011 2010 2009 Period End Date 09/30/2012 10/02/2011 10/03/2010 09/27/2009 Stmt Source N/A 10-K 10-K 10-K Stmt Source Date 09/30/2012 11/16/2012 11/16/2012 11/22/2010 Stmt Update Type Original Updated Updated Updated Currency Code USD USD USD USD Â   Total Revenue 13,299.5 11,700.4 10,707.4 9,774.6 Â   Cost of Revenue 5, 813.3 4,915.5 4,416.5 4,324.9 Gross Profit 7,486.2 6,784.9 6,290.9 5,449.7 Â   Selling, General and Administrative 4,719.3 4,344.2 4,176.5 3,878.1 Depreciation, Amortization and Depletion 550.3 523.3 510.4 534.7 Special Income/Charges 0.0 0.0 53.0 332.4 Other Operating Expenses 429.9 392.8 279.7 264.4 Operating Expenses 5,699.5 5,260.3 5,019.6 5,009.6 Â   Operating Income 1,997.4 1,728.5 1,419.4 562.0 Â   Net Interest Income -32.7 -33.3 -32.7 -2.1 Other Income/Expense, Net 94.4 115.9 50.3 0.0 Pretax Income 2,059.1 1,811.1 1,437.0 559.9 Â   Provision for Income Tax 674.4 563.1 488.7 168.4 Minority Interest 0.9 2.3 2.7 0.7 Net Income 1,383.8 1,245.7 945.6 390.8 Â   Dividend Per Share 0.68 0.52 0.23 0.00 Tax Rate 0.327522 0.310916 0.340084 0.301144 Â   Basic EPS 1.83 1.66 1.27 0.53 Diluted EPS 1.79 1.62 1.24 0.52 (Starbucks Corporation, 2013) Starbucks will expand globally in order to succeed and grow its balance sheet, revenues, and profits. However, this process will bring about many issues, specifically financial. Starbucks will have to focus on global budgeting, forecasting, planning, and reporting. In addition, the company will also have to conduct financial risk assessment and promote global accountability (Castellina and Jan, 2012). The company will conduct workforce planning, maintain profit and loss accounts, balance sheet, and financial planning in different systems. Moreover, it will have to set global sales targets. However, these financial details may present challenges because of their fragmented nature. They are likely to increase operational costs, maintenance costs, and compliance costs. These are internal issues. On the other hand, Starbucks will also have to deal with fierce competitions from coffee retails in foreign markets and others at home. These competitions will also exert financial pressure on the company. Starbucks will not rely on the traditional annual budget alone. Instead, it will be flexible and track daily sales to quarterly sales in order to understand financial growths in foreign countries. This may also require a knowledgeable financial team and efficient financial tools. Starbucks will also meet many, global statutory requirements, including employees’ welfare and benefits, GAAP, and IFRS. This implies that the company will need to integrate all its financial activities at various levels and consolidate financial reports for reporting. In short, Starbucks will invest in financial tools, which would streamline financial management and reporting in order to improve efficiency. An Organizational Structure Recommendation The complex nature of global operations may require slightly different organizational structure. Figure 1: Proposed Starbucks global organizational structure This is a Starbuck’s basic structure of managing home and global operations. The company’s senior managers and executives will control all operations from the head office at Seattle, Washington. The district managers will be responsible for domestic operations in their designated states or areas. As the company expands to different continents, it will introduce regional managers or presidents to oversee operations across different continents or regions. Regional presidents and district managers will report directly to senior executives at Seattle. The store managers may take the role of the outlet chiefs, and they work alongside shift supervisors. Shift supervisors may also assume the role of chiefs in their absence. Starbucks has other employees below the supervisors, who will be responsible for running daily operations of the company. These are baristas. The company also has licensed stores, which would be strategic areas like bookshops, airports, grocery stores, and in locations where Starbucks may not be available. Starbucks will still control all licensed stores and other distributors. Moreover, they must maintain all Starbucks’ standards and stringent company’s guidelines. Starbucks must approve all their products. This is critical for protecting the Starbucks’ brand globally. Starbucks considers all employees who work in retail outlets as partners. The company believes that this is an integration process for all employees into the system irrespective of their role or title in the company. Partners are responsible for repeat business, happy customers, excellent services, products, and other activities that involve contact with customers. Supporting Rationale Since Howard Schultz took over Starbucks, it was clear that the company would grow significantly. However, it was not until 1990s when industry observers noted that the company was expanding rapidly. The company focused on domestic expansions within a specific period. Starbucks aimed to be the most recognized coffee retailer in the world. As a result, the company has achieved global recog nition and established itself as the most respected coffee brand. Today, the company has expanded its operations to several continents with many retail outlets. Financially, the company can achieve global expansion because it has the capital for strategic partnership, joint ventures, or as a sole investor. Management has focused on improving the ways in which the company does business globally. As a result, Starbucks has increased its presence in most of the emerging economies. Financial statements indicate that the company is still profitable despite widespread investments in new ventures. Strategic alliances and licensed stores have facilitated the company’s growth and profitability. From the analysis of economic factors, the industry is favorable and most foreign countries encourage foreign investors. This presents good opportunities for Starbucks’ global expansion strategies. The company’s marketing plan recognizes critical areas for its global expansion. It has premium products. However, Starbucks has learned to adjust prices to fit emerging economies where high prices may hinder acquisition of new customers. The market mix has worked for Starbucks while the focus on technologies has improved customer services and operations. Starbucks controls the largest market share in the coffee retail business. Hence, competition may not be a major hindrance to expansion and profitability. Schultz believes that the company must strive for the best in order to develop and maintain the global brand, take meaningful risks, and establish new market segments. From such risks, the company has developed elegant coffee outlets, developed better rewards, and compensation for employees and improved customer satisfaction. Starbucks has provided a new line of products in order to create new experiences for customer and attract potential coffee consumers. Such new products have resulted in new coffee products, which have attracted customers who were not coffe e consumers. Starbucks continues to search for new strategies for the global expansion in order to establish its coffee brand as the most recognized and respected globally. References Castellina, N., and Jan, W. (2012). Effective Financial Management for International Expansion. Retrieved from prophix.com/common/pdf/whitepapers/aberdeen-effective-fin-mgmt- for-international-expan.pdf Kotha, S., and Glassman, D. (2003). Starbucks Corporation: Competing in a Global Market. Retrieved from http://faculty.bschool.washington.edu/skotha/website/cases%20pdf/starbucks_Int l%20copy.pdf Starbucks Corporation. (2013). Retrieved from http://investing.money.msn.com/investments/stock-income- statement/?symbol=SBUX Starbucks Unveils Accelerated Global Growth Plans. (2012). Retrieved from http://finchannel.com/Main_News/Business/120790_Starbucks_Unveils_Accelera ted_Global_Growth_Plans_/ Thompson, A., and Gamble, J. (1997). Starbucks Corporation. Retrieved from mhhe.com/business/management/thompson/ 11e/case/starbucks- 2.html