The Day Chocolate Case Report Essay Example for Free

The Day Chocolate Case Report Essay Introduction The following report discusses the company named the Day Chocolate company. In this report we will take a close look to the case of this company. The Day Chocolate company is different than other chocolate companies as it pays attention to the ones that are making the chocolate: the farmers. The day chocolate company buys all cocoa at Fair trade prices, which means that the farmers receive a guaranteed minimum price for their cocoa. One of the goals of the company is to bring Fair-trade chocolate into the mainstream market but also to produce this chocolate for an affordable price and with a high quality. In this days customers are paying more and more attention to the wellness of the farmers. The day chocolate company is responding well to this need of the consumers. By taking a substantial market share, and paying fare prices to the farmers, often living of just a few dollars a week or even less, they try to help the farmers. The origin of the day chocolate company lies in the United Kingdom. In 1997, together with NGO Twin Trading and The Body Shop, Kupua Kooko sets up the day chocolate company. By introducing the Divine Fair trade milk chocolate bar into the UK confectionary market, the first farmer owned Fair trade chocolate bar is available for the consumer. In a short time the company gained a considerable market share. In the upcoming chapters we will explain why this Fair-trade chocolate was such a success. The source of this success can be found by looking at the segment that Divine is operating in and looking at the trends in this segment. But we are also researching how Devine became such a strong brand and we are taking a close look at the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the company. Furthermore we are going to investigate the opportunities the Day Chocolate company has to expand their business across the domestic borders, here we will also search for the country which is most appropriate for the Day Chocolate company to settle. ? Consumer segment Day chocolate company To make a company more compatible you first have to decide who or what type of customer the company will serve. The best way to do this is to divide the market into segments of consumers, a process called market segmentation. After this is done, it is important to make the decision on which segments the company is going to focus. The day chocolate company is focusing on two main target groups. For each of these target groups they developed a brand, Devine and Dubble. The first target group the day chocolate company is focusing on is a group called ‘concerned consumers’. The consumers who fall into this group are paying extra attention to the environment and human rights. Therefore Fair trade products are developed to serve the needs of this type of consumers. The day chocolate company developed a Fair trade brand for this group, called ‘Devine’. In 1998 the company launched the Fair Trade chocolate bar on the market in the UK. The day chocolate company was one of the first companies to launch a Fair Trade chocolate bar. The price of this chocolate bar is slightly higher than the price of a normal chocolate bar, as the day chocolate company is paying the farmers a fair price for their cocoa. But the consumer finds human rights that important, that they are willing to pay that little extra for their chocolate. A third of all UK consumers have now recognized the Fair trade mark. The second target group the day chocolate company decided to focus on is children. In the beginning of 2000, the company announced a competition where children could come up with a new Fair trade chocolate brand, which would be especially developed for children. In October 2000 the brand Dubble was launched. Dubble is a crunchy Fair trade chocolate bar available for a lower price, this way children can buy the chocolate bar themselves. The day chocolate company also developed a website which is easily accessible for children, they can play games on it and read about Fair trade products. The brands Devine and Dubble are becoming more and more popular. They are for sale in all the top supermarkets in the United Kingdom. But the company also supplies chocolate for own label products in the Co-op and Starbucks. Up till now, the day chocolate company only sold its products within the UK and the USA Day chocolates strengths and weaknesses. Competitive advantage. A very influential factor for future success of the company as well as for the products it is selling it is called a competitive advantage. The competitive advantage can result either from cost advantage, pricing your product lower than that of other companies, or differentiation advantage, having a unique or a better quality product than other companies. Divine chocolate targets the second category, making use the differentiation advantage. Divine Chocolate is the first ever Fair-trade chocolate bar aimed at the mass market’ according to their own statement. The fair trade logo is what makes them stand out from other chocolate companies. By being widely available and well-priced, they make fare trade chocolate available for an ever/always growing public. Strengths and weaknesses One of the biggest strengths of how the Divine chocolate company handles their business is how they approach fair-trade. Besides paying $1600 per tonne of cacao, with the world price being as low as a $1000 per tonne, Divine pays a social premium of $150 dollars per tonne. This premium is being invested in local social projects, sustainable development of the area and better farming. This increases the wellbeing of the cacao planters, but also has a positive influence on Divine Chocolate. By investing in farming and social development, the cacao will be of higher quality. This approach also creates positive publicity for the company, and gives the buyers the feeling that they add to the wellbeing and development of cacao farmers and third world countries in general. An other strength of Divine Chocolate is their availability. By being the one of the biggest, Divine creates economies of scale. Because of this, the company can market chocolate for a lower price, making the company’s products available and affordable to more customers. Also, by being sold in places such as Starbucks, which has a very positive and well-known brand image, and being backed by charity organizations, Divine chocolate has become a reliable and well-known brand. Moving forward to threats and weaknesses the Day Company has a vulnerable reputation by selling the company’s products to very critic customers. The company should pay a lot of attention to whether the farmers are still receiving a fair price, and pay attention to their overall wellbeing. Next to this, they rely heavily on cacao supplies from Ghana, a country that is not situated in the most stable of regions, with civil wars and economic instabilities in the surrounding countries. If there are major issues to be dealt with, there is also a problem of ownership. Being owned and managed by three parties (Kuapa Kokoo, Twin Trading and Oikocredit), all having a big share in the company, it is important that they remain uniform in how to operate the company. ? Customer equity Customer equity is a way of measuring the performance of a company by customer loyalty. As Kotler and Armstrong state: ‘the total combined discounted customer lifetime values of all of the company’s customers (†¦) the more loyal the companies profitable customers, the higher the firms customer equity. The Day Chocolate is actively binding with new customers and keeping in touch with them through social media like twitter and Facebook. They also have an annual poetry contest. By doing this, they become a lifestyle brand, and increase their customer equity Marketing mix The marketing mix is a theory based on four P’s, Product, Price, Place and Promotion. The product of Day Chocolate is, obviously, chocolate. They sell many different flavors of chocolate and special Christmas and Eastern products. All of these products have a fair-trade trademark, which means that Day Chocolate has paid a fair price for the cacao. The price of a Divine Chocolate bar starts at around 75p for a 45 gram milk chocolate bar. This price is about the same as comparable with other fair-trade products in the market. The price is significantly higher than non-fair-trade products. Divine Chocolate also sells gift baskets on their own site, running from 10 to 40 pounds. The raw product, cacao beans, is imported from Ghana. Those beans are then shipped to America and the UK, where the cacao is turned into chocolate. Most of the sales of the finished chocolate bars is in the domestic UK market. The products are sold in all the large retailers and Starbucks. Co-op sells the Chocolate under their own label. The product gets promoted in many ways. Day Chocolate gets a lot of free publicity by simply being a fair-trade product. The positive things they do for the Ghanaian farmers have caused a lot of good, and free, publicity. Next to this, there is an annual poetry contest. Day Chocolate also advertises and samples new products to familiarize the public with there products. And last, Twitter and Facebook are extensively used to keep in touch with customers. Chocolate market trends In order to better understand the confectionary industry and mostly the chocolate market it is important that we take into consideration the general chocolate market trends from a few different national markets as well as from the global chocolate market. In the end of this section, chocolate market threats and opportunities will be examined in order to help build on the final section of this report, namely market expansion. Starting with USA, where Divine is present since 2006 only as a wholesaler, the following market trends have been distinguished: †¢Even with recession slowing down markets, chocolate sales have increased by 3% reaching 17$ bil in 2009. It is expected that the U. S. chocolate market will exceed 19$ bil in 2014. †¢Americans appreciate more the experience provided by chocolate than the simple consumption of it, chocolatiers making innovation one of their main goals. †¢Chocolate is seen as an affordable indulgence by the American consumers. Moving forward to the UK, where Divine satisfies customer taste for chocolate since 1997, similar market trends are recognized: †¢Chocolate represents the top snack choice for UK consumers and it is bought by 50% of the population †¢Consumer’s level of concernment regarding the provenience of the cocoa and company’s ethics has increased †¢The more affluent middle-class parents avoid buying chocolate for their children †¢UK chocolate consumers tend to buy a chocolate flavor for longer periods of time than trying new ones †¢About 40% of the consumers buy less chocolate for health reasons. When talking about the global chocolate market that seems to be growing steadily, m.uch of the growth is attributed to developing regions such as Eastern Europe, Russia, China and India. Moreover, India is suggested as turning out to be the most lucrative place of investment into the chocolate market by 2014. In the already developed world, the growth comes from product differentiation, niche sectors and Fairtrade products. Firms from the chocolate industry understand how much innovation counts for sustainability and huge investments are made to innovate chocolate products. Another interesting trend is represented by the per capita consumption of chocolate that tends to be slightly higher in Nordic and Scandinavian Countries than in other European countries. Opportunities Threats It seems that most of the opportunities and threats that the chocolate market is confronted with have much to do with consumer perception of the product. Firstly, regarding opportunities, for some consumers chocolate represents the ultimate comfort food, even being considered in different studies that chocolate works as an aphrodisiac or can be helpful against depression. Another opportunity is represented by the meaning of chocolate when it is offered as a gift. Many anniversaries, holidays, birthdays act as opportunities for chocolate to be bought and given as a gift. Secondly, moving to threats, chocolate is seen by some potential consumers as being unhealthy by making them gain weight and their children have an anxious behavior. Moreover, consumers question the ethics of the firm producing chocolate and provenience of the cocoa beans. ? Day Chocolate marketing recommendation. After discussing Day Chocolate brand’s strength and weaknesses, market opportunities and threats, it is conclusive that Day Chocolate has a bright future ahead by continuing to deliver satisfaction to its consumers through same products, but opportunities of becoming even more successful should not be overlooked. Firstly, the consumer is becoming more aware of the properties of the product, from the cocoa beans used for making the chocolate to the nutrition figures on the back of the wrapping and to the impact the buying of a chocolate bar, for example, would have on the land of provenience of the beans. Day Chocolate gives the consumer the opportunity of participating to developing of such areas as Ghana with the help of Fairtrade demonstrating that the company understands consumer concerns. By continuing to provide a means of consumer participation to Fairtrade and development of third world countries, Day Chocolate will definitely satisfy the niche of concerned consumers. Secondly, regarding the consumers concerned with the health issue of chocolate, Day Chocolate could easily promote a dark chocolate or a rice chocolate product relating it to the health benefits these types of chocolate present. This way the consumers will feel even more that their concerns are listened to and cared for, Day Chocolate improving customer relationship. Thirdly, when talking about the countries that present a considerable market increase in the latest periods of time, Russia, India, China, even Eastern Europe should be definitely considered as potential market targets and further research should be undertaken in order to see how profitable it would be to expand into one or more of these markets. Moreover, many economists argue that India will prove to be the most lucrative chocolate market by 2014. The matter of distance, cultural as well as psychic should not be overlooked when considering the markets mentioned above, even if the numbers are presenting tempting opportunities for Day Chocolate. The company did not expand so many times that necessary experience could be attributed to the firm’s advantages, a factor that makes us look for expansion to a closer, culturally as well as geographically, area in Europe. Moreover, when considering expansion as an alternative, significant data show that Scandinavian countries Germany have a great chocolate market that is growing annually. In conclusion, the Day Chocolate company’s products offer great satisfaction for consumers concerned with fair trading and give them the opportunity of participating to the development of the lands of provenience for the cocoa beans. For consumers concerned with health issues new, health focused products could be marketed. After considering new products, new markets have also been considered. Alternatives are present both in Europe as well as outside Europe, but only the ones closer to the home market would make most economical and managerial sense. Expansion. In the past years since the founding of the Devine Chocolate, the company has shown to be successful, obtaining a large market share, a excellent brand image, big profits, good business strategy, and the company’s success is still growing. The company has a good market position and it is not likely to be having large problems in the short term, as well as long term orientation. However, it is wise to keep on searching for opportunities to become even more successful in the future. Therefore a tempting and logical step would be to expand the company’s business across the domestic market borders. To make the expansion a success, the risk of failure should be low. Therefore the market should behave similar to the English chocolate market so that cultural distance does not represent too much of an impediment. Day Chocolate needs to search for such a market because the key of the company’s success is the fact that the English chocolate market consists of a large market for luxury chocolate and product awareness such as the Fair-Trade. Besides that, the flavor of the chocolate was adapted to the taste of the English consumers. This means looking for a market where consumers are willing to pay a relatively high price for luxury chocolate products, and have high product awareness. Studies by the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) have shown that the most chocolate is consumed by the north-western European countries and the Scandinavian countries. Below you find a list of the 15 countries with the highest chocolate consumption per person in 2005. Germany †¦ 11. 12 kilograms of chocolate per person (up 7. 8% from 2002), Belgium †¦ 11. 03 kgs (up 24. 2%), Switzerland †¦ 10. 74 kgs (down 1. 7%), United Kingdom †¦ 10. 22 kgs (up 2%), Austria †¦ 9. 43 kgs (up 18. 3%), Norway †¦ 8. 53 kgs (up 3. 1%), Denmark †¦ 7. 74 kgs (down 16. 3%), France †¦ 6. 78 kgs (down 2. 6%), Finland †¦ 6. 77 kgs (up 3. 7%), Sweden †¦ 6. 76 kgs (down 17. 1%), United States †¦ 5. 58 kgs (up 4. 1%), Australia †¦ 5. 31 kgs (up 22. 1%), Italy †¦ 4. 26 kgs (up 8. 1%), Canada †¦ 3. 90 kgs (no change), Poland †¦ 3. 67 kgs (up 11. 2%). The United States is the biggest chocolate market worldwide, however the facts mentioned above shows us that the consumption per person is very low. Besides the average consumption, we should keep in mind that this is the very first expansion of the company. It would not be wise to start expanding in the largest market in the world as the first expansion. The same goes for Russia, China and India. Those markets have very high potential but just like the U. S. Expanding to one of these countries has a very high risk because huge investments will be needed and when the expansion turns out the be unsuccessful the results will be far more dramatic than in case of an expansion in a smaller country, in northern Europe for instance. Besides those risk and consumption reasons, expanding in northern Europe first would be wise because those markets are similar in customer taste to the U. K. market. The northern European countries have a strong and stable economy so the consumers are willing to pay more for a better product. Furthermore, these consumers generally have a high level of products awareness, Day Chocolate would definitely benefit from this because of its brand image and Fair-Trade label. Next to the market significance, also the cultures are not very different. According to the cultural dimensions study by Geert Hofstede the cultural difference between for instance, the U. K. and Germany, is very low. Thanks to this low level of cultural distance it is easier for the company to sell the products, because advertising campaigns do not have to be totally different, and overall procedures will be smoother than in a country with a totally different culture. This also stimulates to expand in northern European countries because the chance of success is proven to be high, thanks to both cultural, as well as market significance. Looking at the taste of the consumers, expanding in Northern Europe would also be a good thing to do because the general taste of the consumers turns out to look very much the same as the taste of the U. K. consumers according to a study by the ICCO. When choosing one single country to be the first one to expand to, we would advice to start in Germany. There are several reasons why Germany would be a good country to start with. First of all, the German consumers are wealthy and are willing to pay extra money for better quality products and have a high level of product awareness. Next to that, the taste of the German consumers corresponds a lot to the U. K. consumer taste. Furthermore, there is a very low level of cultural distance, which makes it easier to market the products. Finally, German chocolate market is the biggest of Europe, however it is not too big for Devine Chocolate to expand to this country because it is not much bigger than the English one. And this expansion will succeed other northern European countries would be very easy to expand to. All these reason make us conclude that German is the ideal country to expand towards. ? Conclusion When looking back at all the different components of the company that we have examined there are several conclusions than can be drawn. First of all there are two well indentified target groups which the Day Chocolate company is aiming at. In the case of Devine chocolate it are ‘concerned’ consumers who are willing to pay more for a better product and have a high level of product awareness. The second target group, of Dubble, are kids. When looking at the growth of the global chocolate market and the forecasted growth of the market, the future is looking good for the Day Chocolate Company. However the number of competitors in the market segment of high-quality ‘fair’ chocolate products is going to rise in the upcoming years, therefore expansion would be a smart move. Also product diversification would be a smart move. The chocolate market suffers under the ‘health-issue’. Therefore other, healthier products need to be developed. The brand image of the company is excellent at the moment, but in the future large numbers of companies are going to try to copy this. Therefore it is extremely important for Day Chocolate to keep on promoting itself as product aware company, and it should emphasize on its help towards the farmers and their local projects. The company should expand outside of the U. K. and Germany would be the most appropriate country to start with. The market is big but not too big for Day Chocolate. The consumers are willing to pay extra for good products and have a high level of product awareness and their taste is very much the same as the English taste. Furthermore, the cultural distance is low and the geographical distance is small. All these reasons make Germany an ideal country to start expanding the Day Chocolate Company outside of the U. K.

Conflicts in Frankenstein

Conflicts in Frankenstein The evident conflict is present throughout Mary Shelleys Frankenstein. Conflict, suspense and an elevating climax are three major components to a well-written novel. The components of conflict in a novel continually advance the plot and must always affect the main character in a way that portrays through the other characters in the novel as well. In Mary Shelleys Frankenstein, the components of conflict, suspense and climax are all demonstrated in a way that shows throughout the main character as well as the other characters in the novel. External and internal conflicts are both present in Victor Frankenstein from beginning to end. In the beginning of the novel, Victors mother dies, thus Victors coping mechanism consists of him becoming captivated by the thought of death, or rather driven by re-creating life using dead corpses. He then proceeds to create his own monster hoping to be the first man to re-create life. The monster turns out to be very unattractive and Victor decides to shun it and deprive it from the love and care it would need creating further conflict upon himself and his family. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦I thought that if I could bestow animation upon lifeless matter, I might in process of time (although I now found it impossible) renew life where death had apparently devoted the body to corruption. (Shelley 39) In this quote, Victor is stating that he is aware that this creature will be complete malice because his death has devoted the body to corruption yet, he doubts his creation for a similar reason. As a res ult of Victors neglect towards his monster, the monster becomes out of control and creates more conflict when he murders Victors younger brother William. If Victor hadnt neglected his creation, this intricate conflict wouldnt have been created. To add onto this conflict, Frankensteins monster inquires Frankenstein about making him a female companion who is equally unattractive so he does not have to continue to live in solitude and self-hatred. After refusing to do so in the beginning, Victor Frankenstein reluctantly agrees to this. After he has almost completed his monsters female companion, he realizes the future consequences of his current actions and destroys the female monster directly in front of his other monster. His monster becomes outraged and swears to Victor that he will be present on his wedding night, creating foreshadowing and suspense in the novel. The destroying of the female monster foreshadows what will end up happening on Victor Frankensteins wedding night, which we as readers assumed would mean Elizabeths death but Victor assumed as his own. This creates suspense in the novel because the readers now have to find out whether Frankenstein realizes this on time or if Elizabeth ends up dying a horrendous death. Mystery and suspense are built in well from the first page of the novel. The introduction of the external narrator using Waltons letters to his sister makes the reader feel like a spectator watching the story unfold from the outside. We, as the readers, do not experience the main characters point of view. Alternatively, we have the main character telling us what is happening. The use of numerous views from different characters gives us a perfect amount of information to create suspense as well. When we read the sections of the story from Victors point of view, we know that the monster has been created, but then we are l eft wondering where the monster has gone. When the novel switches to the monsters point of view, we comprehend his motives but we never know how he will handle the situations. We, as readers, do not know whether the monster will try to get his revenge or not. Another clever device used to enhance suspense is pathetic fallacy. In the beginning of Chapter 5, Shelley describes the setting as a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦dreary night [in] Novemberà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Shelley 42) which foreshadows dark upcoming events. The climax is the most important part of the novel seeing that it draws the readers attention to continue reading. The climax of Frankenstein occurs when the monster is first created. When this happens, Victor Frankenstein becomes aware of the mistake he made when making his monster. Near the end of the novel, there is a second climax when Victor is prepared to fight the monster on his wedding night, but the monster ends up brutally murdering Elizabeth. In the beginning of the novel, the climax is set in the Arctic. The setting is important to the climax because it portrays loneliness from the monsters first breath. The creature feels abandoned and isolated throughout his whole life. Another character that was affected by death and loneliness was Justine, whose father died leaving her to live with her mother, who did not treat her well. A parent who does not express their love towards their child is not a parent. This leaves the child as an orphan. Overall, Mary Shelley portrayed internal and external conflict, suspense and climax exceptionally throughout her novel Frankenstein. This novel puts the reader through many different perspectives to help us feel the emotion and struggle that every character had to deal with. The extent to which she portrays Victor Frankensteins conflict not only through Victor himself, but through every character in the novel aids us as readers to realize that the connection of conflict between characters is what makes a good novel. In the end, Mary Shelleys main theme of science makes the reader recognize the populations terror of scientific advancement. She portrays it through Frankenstein and shows that science may well be what will destroy mankind.

The Challenge Of Population Growth In Africa Economics Essay

The Challenge Of Population Growth In Africa Economics Essay It is generally agreed that the challenge of population growth is one of the most serious obstacles to development faced by LDCs in the 21st century. In the long process of human history, the relationship between the production of material goods and human reproduction is always interdependent. Therefore, a certain economy is the foundation of the existence and development of human beings; meanwhile, the reproduction of human beings is the condition for the development of economy. The historical experience has proved that the population growth has to keep relative balance with the development level of economy; otherwise, the human society will be punished by nature certainly. It is undeniable that the fertility of Africa is always out of control since the independence of African countries. In 1970s and 1980s, the average fertility rate of Africa reached 6.8 and 6.7; however, it was still high was around 5.4 in 2004 [1]. Besides the high fertility rate, the size of African population has never stopped increasing. In 1960, the African population was 282 million, which was 9.3 ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ of the world population; however, in 2005, the African population had reached 906 million, which was 14.0 ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ of the whole population in the world [2], in the 45 years, the African population increased trebly. Since Africa has the highest population growth rate and the second largest population in the world, the population burden will put more pressure on the development of economy though Africa is always suffering from poverty. To get through difficult situations, the African countries have to recognize the negative effects of rapid population growth on the developme nt of economy. First, the poor capital accumulation is the bottleneck of development in Africa. The development of economy requires solid foundation, and the material capital is the motive force of the development. The classical economist, Adam Smith emphasized that the accumulation of capital was the precondition of specialization [3]. For African least developed countries, they have abundant resource and labor, and the capital input can determine the level of economic development. Either of low capital output ratio and poor capital accumulation will hinder the development. According to the demographers estimation, an 1 ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ increase on the population will lead the country to pay 3 ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ to 4 ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ of gross national income on the investment of additional population [4]. If more national income invests on the population growth, which means the investment on production will be limited strongly. As the rapid increase on the population in Africa, the structure of population is very you thful and the youth dependency ratio is always highest in the world [5]. Every year, African governments have to take a certain share of new output value to invest on the latest additional population, but Africa is also the region comprising many poorest countries. In 2000, the World Bank made public a name list of fifty nine poorest counties in the world, and thirty eight of them were in Africa [6]. Therefore, substantial fund have been ate by the large population, which leads to low saving ratio and large financial gap. The second negative effect of the large population on LDCs refers to the low quality of the population. In fact, the quality of population can determine the quality of labor directly, and human capital is always regarded as the key of the economic development. Theodore Schultz, the winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, believed that a health and highly educated population was playing an important role in a countrys development [7]. However, the high rise of African population really hinders the improvement of human capital. On one hand, the investment from governments on education has fall much behind the rapid population growth in Africa, which leads to extremely heavy pressure on the education, such as the shortage of educational expenditures and teachers, low school enrollment ratio, high illiteracy rate. In 2001, the UNESCO reported that Africa was the poorest continent in education where the literacy rate was less than 60 ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ [8]. On the other hand, sin ce the mid of 1970s, the African population growth rate was always going beyond the agricultural productivity rate, the self-sufficiency rate of grain and the per capita food expenditure kept decreasing. According to the Malthusian Population Trap, the universal tendency for the population of a country will grow at a geometric rate, however, the food supplies can expand only at a arithmetic tae [9]. Therefore, the food supplies can never satisfy the demand by rapid population growth in Africa. In fact, the African malnutrition population increased from 94 million in 1970s to 210 million in 1990s [10], and now the per capita food expenditure for African population reaches only 85 ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ of the standard set by United Nations [11]. Since the African economy really depends on the agriculture and the export of primary products, the physical labor is still needed in the most regions. So, we have to doubt such large unhealthy and uneducated population could make contributions to the ec onomic development in 21st century. Third, the LDCs have to face the high unemployment rate which is brought by rapid population growth. Todaro points that an excess of job seekers over job opportunities in the LDC economy is the one of the major negative consequences of population growth [12]. In fact, it is normal that every country has a certain amount of people are in unemployment, but once the proportion of unemployment is excess, the economic development will be hindered and the whole society will become instable. Since the independence of Africa, every year the population within working age is becoming larger, and the labor force growth rate has excessed the economy growth rate, the economic sectors cannot create enough job opportunities to fulfill needs. In 1990s, there were average 10 million African people seeking job per year, however, the economic sectors could only absorb half of the additional labor force [13]. Even though the largest economy in Africa, the unemployment rate of South Africa was 41.8 ¼Ã¢ € ¦ in 2002 [14]. We can imagine how terribly high the unemployment rate of other more backward African countries is. Therefore, substantial labor force cannot be made full use of in Africa which really hinders the enlargement of production scale and optimization of industrial structure, in return, the economic backwardness will increase the unemployment rate. Eventually, it is hard for the LDCs to get rid of the vicious circle which combines high employment rate and poor economy. In fact, the population growth is a neutral phenomenon, in the 3/4 time of 20th century, the development of economy was accompanied by the population growth. However, the rapid population growth can slow down the economy growth and hinder the improvement of living standard, especially for LDCs whose foundation of economy is quite weak. If LDCs really want to achieve the Millennium Development Goals in 2015, they should recognize the importance of education and health to control the rapid population growth immediately.

Social Contract Essay -- essays research papers

The purpose of a Social Contract is to keep society in order. Ways of keeping society in order are human rights, the constitution, police departments, and education in which all contributes in having a progressing society. Human rights have to be protected which are the first 13 or 14 amendments that’s states people’s rights. If humans didn’t have any rights of their own we would feel enslaved due to that we have no freedom. The Constitution contains laws that every human being has to follow unless if you live somewhere else other than the U.S. Police departments maintains society regarding the Constitution; even the police must obey the laws and their own rules. In addition, the education we take also sets examples of how we should always follow rules or laws. In classrooms we have rules that we must follow like listening to the teacher and so on.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The definition of a Social Contract and some other information is, a voluntary agreement among people defining the relationship of individuals with one another and with government and by this process forming a distinct organized society. Concern over the origin and conditions of political obligation was manifest even in the writings of philosophers and statesmen in ancient Greece and Rome. Such ideas were not systematically formulated, however, until the latter part of the 16th century, when Protestant philosophers sought a democratic principle with which to oppose the authoritarian theory of the divine right of kings. In the 17th and 18th centuries the theory of a social compact among individuals of a society was linked with the doctrine of natural law.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A setting for a social contract would be like in school, at home, basically everywhere you go which contains written and unwritten rules. At school students rights are commonly violated and yet some aren’t. For example, â€Å"articles about controversial subjects written for student newspapers are censored. Lockers and backpacks are searched without reasonable suspicion. Minority students are excessively pushed in lower track programs. Majoritarian religious practices are officially allowed by teachers and school administrators. Female students are excluded from certain extracurricular activities, and gay students are intimidated into silence. Teachers and administrators have a responsibility to provide a s... ...ot perform, but be careful to keep your promise.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  An example of a Social Contract is Evergreens S.C. and Rousseau’s Philosophy. In Evergreens S.C. under Right to Privacy he states, â€Å"All members of the college community have the right to organize their personal lives and conduct according to their own values and preferences, with an appropriate respect for the rights of others to organize their lives differently. All members of the Evergreen community are entitled to privacy in the college’s offices, facilities devoted to educational programs and housing. The same right of whether extends to personal papers, confidential records and personal effects, whether maintained by the individual or by the institution.† An example of Rousseau’s Philosophy or S.C. he stated, â€Å"Man is born free but everywhere is in chains.† These quotes are important to me because one states ones privacy in a community which is needed for people in order to function well in life, I mean you don†™t want to be spreading your information to many others especially important ones, and the other states that a man may be free but everywhere he goes he is chained by rules or laws to enforce.

Swingers Not Just On Playgrounds Anymore :: essays research papers

Swinger's Not Just on Playgrounds Anymore Dave's marriage had hit the rocks. His wife had lost interest in sex, and Dave did not know how to deal with it. He did not know whether she was bored with him or simply bored with sex. In his search for an answer Dave and his wife attended a swinger's party. This would eventually end Dave's marriage, but it would also lead him to greener pastures. "She did not want to share the lifestyle with me, and sharing is an important part of swinging. Swingers swing to enhance the relationship with their mate, not to destroy it," Dave said. Dave met his second wife more than 15 years ago at a swinger's party. The couple has now turned their lifestyle into their business. For the past nine years Dave and his wife Dawn have run their own swing club in the Chicago suburbs. "We own Couples Choice, and though it's listed as a swing club it's a lot more social than people imagine," Dave said. This socialness includes dances, special theme parties, dinners and vacations. The couples who attend are also interested in learning about relationships, meeting new friends and for exposure to something new. One of the most common misconceptions is that people come just to have sex. However, this is an option at Dave and Dawn's club. Their club is known as an ‘on-site' club. This means that Dave and Dawn provide bedrooms for their members' enjoyment. "Ours is an on-premise club. We have bedrooms where sex does take place, but only if it is consensual. We do not force our activities on anyone," Dave said. Dave adds that having sex is something most people associate with a swing club, but often this is not true. Bob McGinley, whose self-given title is the grandfather of swing, believes many people have misconceptions about swinging. He says swinging cannot be categorized as mate swapping or as group sex. In fact McGinley believes swinging cannot be put into a category at all. "Putting a label on the activity is wrong. People call us swingers because we have sex with someone other than our mate, but you don't call someone a tenniser because they enjoy hitting a ball over a net. Someone involved in swinging is also involved in many other things . . . it's really unfair to label that person a swinger," McGinley said. McGinley has been involved in the swinging lifestyle since 1969. He has since founded Lifestyles Organization in Anaheim, Calif. His organization holds a swing convention every year and this year he expects more than 3,000 to attend.

Study abroad or local university Essay

As the names state, study abroad and study locally are marked by lots of differences between them. When a student wants to study abroad, he needs student visa or permission whereas study locally in local universities doesn’t need one. When a student wants to apply for study abroad, he may have to clear some tests require proving his eligibility to study abroad. Studying abroad can be very expensive as a student has to shell out visa fee, application fee, flight charges, hostel fee and tuition fee. The fee per semester also burns a hole in the pocket of a student. Study locally does not call for any of such expenditures. One just have to pay the semester fee for the duration of the course opted for. However, it has some limitations attached to it. Most of the courses, people want to opt for, are not offered by local universities. So, students are left with only two choices, either- to choose from the plethora of courses the local university offers or move out to study abroad and study the preferred course. Study abroad increases the weight age of a candidate’s profile. For instance, if you are a student from Japan enrolled to study integrated course of communications and technology with Stanford, given if you pass the course with flying colors, back home it would increase the numbers of job openings and suitable remunerations for you. It is a general observation that most of the students prefer to study abroad for specialization in art and science stream. For instance, medical students prefer to study locally for their basic degrees such as M.B.B.S but when it comes for specialization and advanced medical study, say in oncology or plastic surgery, they prefer to study abroad. It is also advised that if you are looking for basic graduation degrees or elementary courses, study locally. You can save the expenditure to study abroad and get a higher exposure and advanced degree.

The Droughtlander – Essay

Name: Abeir Wasim Teacher Name: Mr. Ferguson Course Code: ENG-2D1 Due Date: Friday, December 2nd, 2011 Carrie Mac’s novel The Droughtlanders, is about twin brothers Seth and Eli Maddox. They are Keylanders brought up within the privileged and protected Eastern Key. Keylanders, the boys are told, must keep within their walls to avoid the filth and disease spread by the Droughtlanders-those who struggle to survive on the parched land between the Keys. But when Eli is introduced to an underground rebel group, Triskelia lead by his own mother, his whole world falls apart.To find truth in all lies he has been told, he ventures out into the Droughtlands. Seth, on instinct, prepares to follow Eli and bring him back dead or alive, earning him glory and honour. Throughout the experiences in the Droughtlands, Eli and Seth Maddox change socially, mentally, and physically which leads to new self-recognition. Eli and Seth discover they both change socially through the course of their time in the Droughtlands. At first, Eli shows his disgust to the Droughlanders when he says to his own mother, â€Å"Aren`t you going to explain?Aren`t you going to report that you touched a Droughtlander? I saw you, Maman! You kissed her! † (10) After time in the Droughtlands Eli gets used to the people and realizes how bad they suffer because of them. He helps Nappo’s little brother Teal recover from the skin-eating sick and develops a close relationship with Zari. This proves how Eli’s attitude toward the Droughtlanders changes by the end of the novel. Eli portrays his anger at his mother just for touching a Droughtland woman. He does not even know why his mom is with one but demands a full explanation.When Eli is faced with leaving the Keys to find the rebel group Triskelia, he realizes how wrong his attitude was. Eli’s own lost sister, Sabine, is a Droughtlander. As he spends time in their land he discovers a new and more homely family. Before, Eli though t of them as objects worse than filth. Yet after new experiences his feelings for the Droughtlanders turn him against his own father, which pushes him to join the rebels. On the way to Triskelia Eli aids two Droughtland brothers dying of hunger and thirst. Eli helps them by providing water, which is very scarce, and allows them to accompany him on his journey to find Triskelia.Along with his rebellious behaviour, Eli finds himself talking to people that he never imagined, he even develops an interest in a Droughtland girl named Zari. Eli considered himself as a person open and kind to everyone. So because he changes socially with his experiences and meets the outsiders, it leads him to self-recognize himself as a person who is racist and does prejudges people. Seth having to confess his sins in front of Triskelia admits, â€Å"I bought my way onto the Droughtland regiment so that I could hunt down Eli myself. I raped six Droughtland women. I stole from many Droughtlanders, I donâ⠂¬â„¢t know how many.I resented the girl who saved my life. I thought she was beneath me. When I started to love her, I didn’t tell her and that was very, very wrong of me. †(314) Seth demonstrates how his social status was before he was out casted in the Droughtlands. He was able to buy his way in to the high military rank. Seth shows that he thought of himself as being better than everyone else. As a Keylander he was able to openly rape six Droughtland women. This passage also shows Seth’s relationship with his brother. He risks his own honour by buying his way into the military just to hunt Eli down by himself.As Seth admits his wrongs he starts to really recognize everything he did. Seth came to love Rosa, even though she was a Droughtlander. A month before he used Droughtlanders as target practice in training. This shows how the worth of them changed in his mind. Seth was someone to never regret what he did, especially what he did to a Droughtlander. His tim e in the Droughtlands changed his social feeling and how he expressed himself. Eli and Seth’s experiences in the Droughtlands changed the way they interacted with the Droughtlanders as well as the way they showed loyalty to their own land.You can only change the way you act or interact with other humans when you actually face them. Eli and Seth find this the hard way as they grew up learning that all Droughtlander were worthless. But, because of their want for the truth, that led them to change what they thought of their own people. Eli and Seth recognize that they themselves were wrong. It was because of their people the Droughtlands were even formed. Because of what they experienced in the Droughtlands, Eli and Seth change socially which leads them to self-recognize themselves as being completely different.Seth who thought himself to be courageous, heroic, and powerful learns when he is faced with reality outside the protection of his father and land, he is really scared an d has no real power. Seth and Eli change mentally due to their experiences in the Droughtlands. Riding in the wake of his regiment Seth â€Å"could not stop thinking about the girl and her baby. Were they lying dead on the dirt floor of the shabby hut? Had they died because of him? He hadn’t expected the Droughtland to be like this. He hadn’t expected that he’d care about them at all. What was happening to him? What was wrong with him?Was he even cut out for this at all? (167) Seth thinks back to what he was trained about, â€Å"These people were the enemy, or so he’d been taught. And his father was his hero. Right? And the Guard was the bastion of justice. But it just wasn’t that clear anymore. † (315) Before actually stepping into the Droughtlands, Seth has dreams of dominance and blood spill of Droughtlanders. After three days training in the Droughtlands, Seth realizes his mind is not giving in to what he is assigned to do. For him, bei ng a part of the Guards was honouring, now he considers it punishment from his father.Seth becomes confused as he battles with his mind trying to confirm to himself what he was taught by the Keylanders was right. It ends as a losing battle, the murder and cruelty he sees makes Seth question his once thought inevitable courage. This leads him to recognize the truth about his father and himself. He realizes what he knew about the Keys was all a lie and the truth was before him. Eli watches Seth cry in pain and confusion of what was going on, Eli forwardly says, â€Å"It’s all making sense now, isn’t it? And you didn’t believe me!Look at you, you stupid bull-headed†¦ Eli tried to remember Seth ever crying before, but he couldn’t. †(307-308) Eli again shows his new found confidence, â€Å"He’d worked hard to look like this. He wasn’t about to let Seth deflate him now. He steeled himself. Afraid I might beat you up now? †(329) Eli shows that he mentally changes with the comfort of new friends and newly found courage. Eli develops confidence that he never had before. At home, Seth could do anything he wished to Eli, hit him, or almost shoot him. Eli never had the mental strength to stand up for himself.He always thought of himself to be below Seth. With the challenges Eli faces in the Droughtlands he became confident of his ability to survive on his own. As Seth always saw Eli cry, now in reverse Eli was seeing Seth cry. Eli finds that Seth is nothing to be scared of; he develops strength in his mind to face him when he needs to. With the difficulties adjusting to the Droughtlands Seth and Eli find they change mentally. Eli becomes more confident in his abilities and does not allow Seth to further deflate him. Eli learns that only he can put himself below Seth.Seth changes mentally as he goes through states of confusion. He loses his own self-esteem because he realizes that Eli was right about their father . The time he spends as a Guard only confirms that he was in fact wrong to believe Keylanders were good. Due to the mental change Eli and Seth go through they find parts of themselves they never knew existed. Eli thought of himself as being small, powerless and without courage to face anything. But he proves himself wrong as he changes mentally which leads to the new self-discovery of him actually having bravery, intelligence and realization of the truth.Seth also has a moment of self- recognition; his mental change causes him to realize himself to be caring, considerate and conscious of unjustness to those around him. Before, with the structured set up of the Keylands, Seth thought good of his arrogance and believed it didn’t matter how others were treated. Eli and Seth change physically from the harsh environment of the Droughtlands. As the twin brothers get dressed for the final circus performance Seth stares at Eli’s image and says, â€Å"Where did you get those m uscles? † Eli reply’s â€Å"It’s all the circus stuff, probably. Go for it, Seth. Hit me with your scathing wit. Seth blankly reply’s, â€Å"No. I’m not†¦you don’t have to†¦it’s just that I have to admit, is you had bet me, before everything, that you’d ever be stronger than me, I would’ve bet everything I had that that would never happen. Now look at me. I’ve been scrawny ever since the sick. † (329) This shows how much the two characters change from the beginning of the book. Eli was always considered small no matter how much he resembled Seth who was muscular. With their time in the Droughtlands, Eli became strong as he trains for the circus. He unlocks his full potential without Seth agitating him constantly.Seth converts to become weak, non-muscular and scarred on his body because of the sick he faces. Eli, with his new physical body almost feels superior to Seth now because he knows that he is now stronger. Seth, on the other hand, accepts that he would lose to Eli in a fight. No matter how much Seth regrets this, he knows he cannot change the way he is now. Eli notices his change in appearance, â€Å"As far as looks went, his skin was tanned despite his efforts to stay out of the sun, the filth that went along with his daily life in the Droughtlands. His hair was still shorter than most Droughtlanders. † (127) While Rosa admires her skills in ealing Seth as a lifeminder she notices â€Å"Seth had been very muscular, never mind heavy, the day the Guard had left him behind. He’d since wasted away from the sick, and the wounds had ravaged his skin. He looked more like a Droughtlander now, or almost. His hair was still too short. † (207) As Eli finally meets up with Seth he has â€Å"another look†¦ He hardly looked like himself, the greasy hair, the scars, and the pale blue pallor of shock. †(302) The twins both notice how their physical a ppearance changes from their life in the Keys to the Droughtlands. Eli finds he can easily pass for a Droughtlander.With the limited access to water, filth stains him like a bad sun tan. Seth’s entire body changes as the sickness of the Droughtlands embodies him and leaves his skin bathed in scars. The once dashing and attractive Seth melts away like a body that decays. Besides the scars, Seth’s hair is drenched in grease and face still in shock of how he changed. Without the water that their own land stole they realize how unlucky the Droughtlanders were, and it was their fault. Without the luxuries of just bare necessities, Eli and Seth find the difference between themselves and the Droughtlanders is defined by one month of time.The twins both physically change in ways that they never could have bet on. Eli finds he changes for the better as he became physically stronger. Seth finds his arrogance is not of any help when he deals with hardship. He physically becomes w eaker than Eli, but learns to accept it. It is because of the challenges they faced in the Droughtlands that Eli and Seth changed physically. This also led them to self-recognize there true abilities and resistance. Eli thought he was physically weak but realized after working hard he had the ability to become strong and also realized his own appearance to be attracting.Seth discovers he is not as strong, muscular, and good looking as he thought he was. With the disease that he endures he finds he has the physical ability to barely survive. He recognizes his self-esteem has shrunk greatly due to his physical change. The Droughtlander novel shows how two ordinary kids can change so much from experience. Eli and Seth Maddox are proof of exactly that. They changed socially, mentally and physically as their journey in the Droughtlands continue. This leads them to recognize themselves to what they really are as either being stronger or weaker than the expected.The Keylanders and Droughtl anders are demonstrative examples of how countries like America and Afghanistan are in terms of power and order. Americans have power over countries like Afghanistan. They are very similar to the Keylanders as they have more access and provision of good health care, clean water and better education. While Afghanistan is more like the Droughtlanders who are lacking in those basic needs. It is clear that Carrie Mac meant to send a message of how these two societies resemble countries on our world today. How do two places both on Earth manage to bring such a gap of difference?