Fast food restaurant Essay Example for Free

Fast food restaurant Essay All such food is categorized as fast food which can be prepared and served quickly. Restaurants and kiosks provide fast food with precooked or preheated ingredients and usually served at a packaged form (Pollan, 2009). In the beginning, American hamburger and fries was considered as the traditional fast food but now the field has been widely diversified and food like pizzas, fish and chips, burgers from McDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken etc. are all considered fast food. Fast food market has shown an enormous and steady growth. In 2006 alone the market has reached to $102. 4 billion with an annual growth rate of 4. 8% (Adams, 2007). Fast food chains like McDonalds operate in more than 126 countries in six continents having more than 31,000 restaurants globally (Arndt, 2007). Burger King, another worldwide fast food chain, has operations in more than 65 countries of the world; KFC restaurants located over 25 countries, Subways is present in 90 countries with total 39,129 restaurants and so and so forth (Buthrie, Lin Frazao, 2002). However, according to most of researches, fast food is not at all fit for health and can cause serious problems. According to Marion Nestle, Chair of New York University’s Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health, â€Å"the increased calories in American diets come from eating more food in general, but especially more of foods high in fat (meat, dairy, fried foods, grain dishes with added fat), sugar (soft drinks, juice drinks, desserts), and salt (snack foods)† (Nestle, 2002; p. 10). This report discusses some positive as well as negative points of taking fast food. Reasons for popularity Before delving into the positive and negative aspects of fast food, it seems appropriate if we discuss the reasons of fast food popularity. The question is what compels the Americans to eat such poorly balanced food? The answer of the question is not simple and involves many factors. First of all, every culture has its own values, philosophies, and the way to react to the things occurring in their lives. These reactions depend upon the culture they belong too. In present family structure and busy life it has been observed that the increasing communication deficit between parents and children has created a gulf between parents and children. This changed life style, especially in low-income and single-parent families, has compelled the children to take unhealthy and junk food more often than required (Ritzer, 2000). Advertising also played a major role in increasing the fast food popularity in America. According to National Cancer Institute, â€Å"Commercial advertisers have learned that a consistent and prominent presence in the marketplace is key to achieving and holding market share† (National Cancer Institute, 2000). Statistics revealed that in 2004 the total expenditure of different food items including fast food restaurants was approximately $11. 26 billion. Fast food advertisers target ethnic minorities directly through their own media outlets and programs. Food items which are advertised for ethnic minorities are usually unbalanced and unhealthy as compared to the food advertised for general audience (Reyes, 2005). Research conducted in 2005 depicted that more than 52 percent of food items advertisement published in Hispanic fashion and social magazines were advertised unhealthy and unbalanced food as compared to 29 percent such advertisements published in general magazines (Duerksen et.al. , 2005). Fast food items advertising usually target children in order to create and establish brand loyalty at an early age (Wiecha et al. , 2006). Among the six brands which have enjoyed very strong recognition in children, four are related to food, i. e. Cheerios, McDonald’s, Pop-Tarts, and Coke (Comiteau, 2003). These companies relied on the fact that the children would emotionally connected to these companies even in their adulthood (Comiteau, 2003). Nevertheless, recent research shows that consumers prefer to buy fast food from supermarkets. Because they have the perception that supermarkets provide healthier food options ( Advertising and marketing very significantly influence the buying behavior of people and the notion cannot be rejected in totality that frequent use of this unhealthy food is a major cause of increasing obesity. According to a study, television advertisements and television viewing is directly associated with popularity of junk food (Bowman et al. , 2004). Advantages of using fast food The basic and most obvious advantage of fast food is its cost and speed. Fast food is very easy and quick to prepare and serve. As discussed above, the number of single parent household is continuously increasing in United States. Such single parents not only have to work to earn a respectable living but also have to prepare food for the family. For such persons fast food is an easy and cost effective solution. Fast food not only prepared at home easily but can also be ordered from fast food restaurants which usually have special offers and deals available to make it cheaper or more cost effective. Fast food comprises and enjoys the biggest chunk of food industry. It has, in United States alone, sale of $120 billion with the help of more than 200,000 restaurants. Fast food industry has been very successful in term of operation expansion by utilizing international franchising. The administration of different fast food companies have learned by the passage of time how to make the most of the sales potential of a fast food franchise by practically adopting an idea by giving it a functional methodology. This is one main cause why fast food franchises have been a symbol of success among the contemporary food businesses. Fast food industry gives minimal wages and financial benefits to their workers (McDonald’s Australia); nevertheless, it provides jobs to approximately 3. 5 million people.

Comparison of Education Reports of Behavioural Symptoms

Comparison of Education Reports of Behavioural Symptoms Running Head: Teacher, children, and parents reports of behavioral symptoms Comparison between teacher, children, and parents reports of behavioral symptoms associated with disruptive behaviors. Karelyn M. Gonzà ¡lez-Cruz, M.S., Josà © J. Cabiya., Ph.D., Lymaries Padilla, Ph.D. Jovette Sà ¡nchez, M.S. (The project/study described was supported by Grant Number 1 R24 MD00152-01, from the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities, National Institutes of Health. It’s contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.) Key Words: School age children, aggressive behavior, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, impulsiveness depression. Abstract The goal of the present pilot study was to compare the teacher, children, and parents reports of behavioral symptoms associated with disruptive behaviors using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule of Children-Parent version (DISC-P), the Diagnostic Interview Schedule of Children-Youth (DISC-Y) and the Bauermeister School Behavior Inventory (BSBI). The parents of 52 children consented to participate in the DISC-P and DISC-Y interviews. The results showed that parents and children had a moderate degree of agreement in answering symptoms of major depressive episode, symptoms of traumatic stress disorder, and symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder. The results also showed that teachers had a high degree of agreement with children in their report of disruptive symptoms while no agreement was found between teachers and parents reports. Teachers’ reports of disruptive behaviors such as irritability, hostility, distraction, and low motivation had a moderate correlation with children re ports of symptoms related to conduct disorders and ODD. These results might suggest that parents identify more efficiently affective disorders than teachers. On the contrary, teachers appear to identify more efficiently disruptive behaviors than parents do. Comparison between teacher, children, and parents reports of behavioral symptoms associated with disruptive behaviors Assessment of child psychiatric disorders traditionally relies on information obtained from multiple informants, usually the parent, the child, and sometimes others such as teachers and additional family members. These informants may provide different information about the presence, severity, and duration of a childs symptomatology or behavior (Achenbach, McConaughy, Howell, 1987). Several studies have compared parent and child reports of the children psychiatric symptoms in structured diagnostic interviews like the Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents (DICA; Herjanic Reich, 1982; Reich, Herjanic, Welner, Gandy, 1982; Welner, Reich, Herjanic, Jung, Amado, 1987), the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC; Edelbrock, Costello, Dulcan, Calabro Conover, Kalas, 1986; Loeber, Green, Lahey, Stouthamer-Loeber, 1989; Weissman et al., 1987), and the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-age Children (K-SADS; Chambers et al., 1985; Orvaschel , Puig-Antich, Chambers, Tabrizi, Johnson, 1982). These studies have documented low to moderate agreement between parents and children report of psychiatric symptoms. In general, these reports have found that parents report more behavior symptoms about their children than the children report about themselves, whereas children report having more affective and neurotic symptoms than their parents report about them (Edelbrock et al., 1986; Herjanic Reich, 1982). In addition, a meta-analysis of more than 200 studies examined agreement among informants, and reported moderate to poor agreement for most studies, including those in which agreement was assessed along symptom dimensions rather than by categorical diagnoses (Achenbach, McConaughy, Howell, 1987). Somewhat better agreement between parents and children has been observed in clinical samples when semistructured interviews were used by clinicians (Orvaschel, Thompson, Belanger, Prusoff, Kidd, 1982) and for externalizing as compared to internalizing symptoms (Reich, Herjanic, Welner, Gandhy, 1982). Asymmetrical reporting of certain types of symptoms has been found to be the most frequent source of disagreement. Parents tend to report externalizing behaviors or problems more often while children tend to report internalizing depressive or anxiety symptoms with greater frequency Edelbrock et al., 1986; Reich et al., 1982). In addition, a study completed by Bravo, et al. (2001) with a Puerto Rican sample found that parents were generally fair or moderately reliable informants when reporting about their children. Children (11-17 years) were excellent or moderately reliable informants on disruptive and substance-related disorders, but were unreliable when reporting about anxiety and depressive disorders. For lifetime diagnoses, they found that parents were fair reporters of their childrens conduct disorder, as well as substance-related disorders, whereas their children were excellent or moderately reliable reporting about most of these disorders. However, no study was found that have assessed the relationship between the teachers, parents and children report of clinical symptoms related to disruptive disorders. The goal of the present pilot study was to compare the teachers, children, and parents reports of behavioral symptoms associated with disruptive behaviors using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule of Children-Parent version (DISC-P), the Diagnostic Interview Schedule of Children-Youth (DISC-Y) and the Bauermeister School Behavior Inventory (BSBI). Method Participants Fifty two (26 boys and 26 girls) from ages 9 to 12 (mean age was 10) from the San Juan metropolitan area, who were referred by their teacher for disruptive behavior in the classroom, were administered a symptoms checklist based on the DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria for disruptive disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Informed consent to participate in the study was then requested from the parents of these children. The socioeconomic status of all of these children was low. The mean age was 10.06 (SD = 1.07). Of the 52 referred children, 17 children (9 boys and 8 girls) were evaluated with the DISC-Y. The mean age of this group was 10.12 (SD = 1.16). Instruments Bauermeister School Behavior Inventory (BSBI). This inventory consists of six scales for male children and five for female children completed by the teachers that evaluate anxiety symptoms, social alienation, depression, irritability-hostility, distraction-motivation and activity impulsiveness. Internal consistency fluctuates between .74 and .96; test-re-test reliability (four week period fluctuated between .52 to .89. This instrument was developed, validated and standardized for Puerto Rican population (Bauermeister, 1994). Computerized Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (C-DISC) (Shafer, D. et al. 2000). The DISC is the most widely used and studied mental health interview that has been tested in both clinical and community populations. It is a comprehensive, structured interview that covers 36 mental health disorders for children adolescents, using DSM-IV criteria. The version used in this study was the most recent Spanish translation of the DISC-IV (Bravo et al., 2001), with parallel youth (DISC-Y) and parent (DISC-P) versions. The test-retest reliability of the DISC-IV has been reported in both Spanish and English-speaking clinic samples yielding comparable results (Bravo et al., 2001; Shaffer, Fisher, Lucas, Dulcan, Schwab-Stone, 2000). The disorders assessed by the DISC were: Generalized anxiety, Panic, Post-traumatic stress, Major Depression, Dysthymia, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity, Oppositional Defiant, Conduct Disorder, Alcohol Abuse / Dependence, Marijuana Abuse / Dependence, Nicot ine Dependence and other Substance Abuse / Dependence. Socio-demographic interview. The questionnaire used in the Research Scientific Institute at the Carlos Albizu University was administered. The questionnaire provides socio-demographic information about the child and his/her family. Procedures Teachers completed the BSBI after the parents consented to participate in the study. The project’s director selected advanced doctoral students in clinical psychology to be trained as interviewers. These students received two day intensive DISC workshops from trainers certified by the Columbia University original developers of the DISC. They were blind to experimental hypotheses. Interviewers contacted by phone the principal caretaker of each child to arrange for the DISC-P interview in the school. They administered first the DISC-P to the parent and afterwards they administered the DISC-Y to the child. The principal caretaker received an compensation of twenty dollars for their participation. The interviews took place in a classroom with comfortable chairs, illumination, tables, and non distractions. Quality control procedures were established to guarantee the integrity of the data gathering process. The project’s director conducted weekly meetings for the supervision of recorded practice DISC interviews according to the DISC instructions manual. The interviewers received recommendations from other trained DISC interviewers, specifically on how to deal with ambiguities, which did arise, and clearly define â€Å"do’s† and â€Å"don’ts† in various situations. Specific situations that lead to deviations from the interview were discussed in the weekly supervisions. Results The correlations between the quantity of symptoms of the different disorders on DISC-P and DISC-Y were as follows: symptoms of inattention on DISC-P and symptoms of inattention on DISC-Y was r = .57 (pr = .70 (pr = .64 (pr = .67 (pr = .75 (p The correlations between the BSBI distraction-motivation scale and ODD symptoms on DISC-Y was r = .87 (pr = .92 (pr = .64 (p Discussion The goal of the present pilot study was to compare the teacher, children, and parents reports of behavioral symptoms associated with disruptive behaviors using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule of Children-Parent version (DISC-P), the Diagnostic Interview Schedule of Children-Youth (DISC-Y) and the Bauermeister School Behavior Inventory (BSBI). Results indicated that parents reported more behavioral symptoms (such as ODD symptoms and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder symptoms) than the children reported. Also, parents reported more affective and anxiety symptoms than their children reported. Even more, the results on DISC-P and DISC-Y showed that parents and children had a moderate degree of agreement in answering symptoms of major depressive episode, symptoms of traumatic stress disorder, and symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder. The results also showed that teachers had a high degree of agreement with children in their report of disruptive symptoms while no agreement was found between teachers and parents reports. Teachers’ reports of disruptive behaviors such as irritability, hostility, distraction, and low motivation had a moderate correlation with children reports of symptoms related to conduct disorders and ODD. These results might suggest that parents identify more efficiently affective disorders than teachers. On the contrary, teachers appear to identify more efficiently disruptive behaviors than parents do. These results are consistent with previous research that documented low to moderate agreement between parents and children in their report of disruptive symptoms (DICA; Herjanic Reich, 1982; Reich, Herjanic, Welner, Gandy, 1982; Welner, Reich, Herjanic, Jung, Amado, 1987; Orvaschel, Thompson, Belanger, Prusoff, Kidd, 1982). In addition, a study with a Puerto Rican sample found similar results, in that parents were generally fair or moderately reliable informants about their children’s affective symptoms (Bravo et. al, 2001). One limitation of the present study was the small size of the study sample. The main reason for this was the fact that many parents that were contacted refused to participate in the study. One possible recommendation for future research is to develop specific strategies to engage more Puerto Ricans in order for them to participate in the phases of research with little immediate benefits that requires extended interviews or evaluations. These strategies could include increasing significantly the monetary compensation. Another strategy is to train the research assistants on specific ways of engaging the parents in a culturally sensitive manner like appealing to â€Å"familism† which Muir, et al. (2004) have found to be essential in engaging Latinos in general including Puerto Ricans in research. Nevertheless, engagement of Latinos including Puerto Ricans in research appears to be a significant challenge and future research needs to address this area by itself in a systematic and comprehensive manner. References Achenbach, T. M., McConaughy, S. H. Howell, C. T. (1987). Child/adolescent behavioral and emotional problems: implications of cross-informant correlations for situational specificity. Psychological Bulletin, 101, 213-232. Bauermeister, J. (1994). Desarrollo y utilizacià ³n del Inventario de Comportamiento Escuela (IDC-E) en la evaluacià ³n de nià ±os puertorriqueà ±os [Development and use of the Bauermeister School Behavior Inventory (BSBI) in assessing Latino children]. San Juan, Puerto Rico: Author. Biederman, J., Faraone, S. Mick, E. Moore, P. (1996). Child Behavior Checklist findings support comorbidity between ADHD and Major Depression in a referred sample. Journal of the American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, 35 (6), 734-742. Bravo, M., Woodbury-Farina, M. A., Canino, G., Rubio-Stipec, M. (in press). The Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children DISC): Its translation and adaptation in Puerto Rico. Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry. Bravo, M., Ribera, J., Rubio-Stipec, M., Canino, G., Shrout, P., Ramà ­rez, R. (2001). Test-retests reliability of Spanish version of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children DISC-IV. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 29(5), 433-444. Chambers, W. J., Puig-antich, J., Hirsch, M., Paez, P., Ambrosini, P. J., Tabrizi, M. A., Davies, M. (1985). The assessment of affective disorders in children and adolescents by semistructured interview. Archives of General Psychiatry, 42, 696-702 Cohen (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. (2nd.ed) Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Edelbrock, C., Costello, A. J., Dulcan, M. K., Calabro Conover, N., Kalas, R. (1986). Parent-child agreement on child psychiatric symptoms assessed via structured interviews. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 27, 181-190. Herjanic, B., Herjanic, M., Brown, F., Wheatt, T. (1975). Are children reliable reporters? Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 3, 41-48. Herjanic, B. Reich W. (1982). Development of a structured psychiatric interview for adolescent: Agreement between child and parent on individual symptoms. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 10, 307-324. Kashani, J. H., Orvaschel, H., Burke, J. P., Reid, J. C. (1985). Informant variance: The issue of parent-child disagreement. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 24, 437-441. Loeber, R., Green, S. M., Lahey, B. B. Stouthamer-Loeber, M. (1989). Optimal informants on childhood disruptive behavior. Development and Psychopathology, 1, 317-337. Orvaschel H., Puig-antich, J., Chambers, W. J., Tabrizi, M.A., Johnson, R. (1982). Retrospective assessment of prepubertal major depression with the Kiddie-SADS-E. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 21, 392-397. Orvaschel, H., Thompson, W. D., Belanger, A., Prusoff, B. A., Kidd, K. K. (1982). Comparison of the family history method to direct interview: Factors affecting the diagnosis of depression. Journal of Affective Disorders, 4, 49-59. Pliszka, S., Carlson, C. Swanson, J. (1999). ADHD with comorbid disorders: Clinical assessment and management. New York: Guilford Press. Reich, W., Earls, F. (1987). Rules for making psychiatric diagnosis in children on the basis of multiple sources of information: Preliminary strategies. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 15, 601-606. Reich, W., Herjanic, B., Welner, Z., Gandhy, P. R. (1982). Development of a structured psychiatric interview for children: Agreement on diagnosis comparing child and parent interviews. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 10, 325-336. Shaffer, D., Fisher, P., Lucas, C. P., Dulcan, M. K., Schwab-Stone, M. E. (2000). NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children Version IV (NIMH DISC-IV): Description, differences from previous versions, and reliability of some common diagnoses. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 39, 28-38. Weissman, M. M., Wickramaratne, P., Warner, V., John, K, Prusoff, B. A., Merikangas, K. R., Gammon G. D. (1987). Assessing psychiatric disorders in children. Archives of General Psychiatry, 44, 747-753.

An analysis of the Latin American Banana Industry

An analysis of the Latin American Banana Industry It is hard to believe that the bright yellow, delicious and nutritious banana has greatly affected Latin America and, in particular, Ecuador. As Latin America produces 83% of the worlds bananas, the majority of the bananas that Canadians consume are exported from there. Most of these are from Ecuador. (Hellin and Higman, 2002a:65) During my time in Ecuador, I ate a wild banana. It tasted nothing like the bananas that North Americans have access to all year round in the grocery store. It is because of my experience in Ecuador and the relationships that I formed with the indigenous people there, that I am very connected to this topic. The process of trading bananas that have been produced in Ecuador and then transported all over the world relates to the concept of comparative and absolute advantage, from the Classical liberalism theory (David Ricardo and Adam Smith) and Globalization. The primary goal in the classical liberalism theory is economic freedom. This could be achieved by rem oving all obstacles that could potentially get in the way of free trade and the market, such as regulation by the state. (Wagner 2010.) Globalization fits into the Classical liberalism theory as it functions around free trade, and therefore, requires the removal of obstacles such as tariffs. (Herold 2011.) It is because of the implications of Globalization and the concepts of comparative and absolute advantage, there has been an emergence of transnational corporations (TNCs) and multinational corporations (MNCs) in the Global south, for example, in Ecuador. In this paper, I argue that globalization, though may generally be positive development, can have a detrimental affect for the Global south, when it comes to the production of food commodities such as bananas. Theoretical Approach: The role of TNCs and MNCs in the processes of the banana industry are related to the concept of Comparative and absolute advantage from the classical liberalism theory. (David Ricardo, Adam Smith) Companies from the Global north (U.S and Canada) set up their production in the Global south, where the production of good quality fruit is less costly. The workers that work for these companies are paid substantially lower wages than workers in more developed economies where there are governmental regulations to provide standards of working conditions and wages. As mentioned in the article, Smallholder Banana Producers Need Policy Adjustments, Ecuador is an example of a country in the Global south that has a comparative advantage over other exporters in the banana industry. The European Union and the United States are the two major importers of bananas from Ecuador, due to Ecuadors fertile land, cheap labour and low chances of being impacted by storms that could potentially destroy the ban ana crops. (Hellin and Higman 2002a:29) Because Ecuador has this comparative advantage, the Global north will rely on them for bananas and not much else. As a result, this banana producing country must rely upon its trading partners in the developed world for providing other goods which are produced at substantially higher costs and therefore are very expensive for them and other developing countries. In the end, as mentioned in, Smith, Ricardo and the world marketplace 1776-2007, Back to the future, an imbalance of trade occurs between the Global north and Global south, where trade agreements between industrialized countries and the Global south are skewed against developing economies. In the majority of cases, the terms of trade between the Global north and Global south heavily favour the industrialized countries, therefore leaving slim pickings for the Global south (Sapsford, 2007). The Role of Multinational Companies in the Banana Industry Globalization has provided the opportunities for a diverse market of products, but at a cost. As Globalization increases, more MNCs and TNCs make their mark on developing countries by focusing on producing one commodity from those countries for the benefit of the company. As mentioned in the article, Bananas, the world trade of bananas is controlled by 5 major companies that control 80% of the market. These are: Chiquita brands, Dole Food Company, Del Monte Fresh Produce, Noboa and Fyffes. (Hamer, 2007) Although these five companies do not own the farms that produce the bananas for trade, they have control of the market for selling the bananas for export. As a result, they have the power to set a fixed price on the bananas, while controlling the wages paid to the producers. (Hellin and Higman.b. 5,11) The MNCs therefore control just under 90% of Ecuadors banana exports. Although there are independent producers of bananas in Ecuador, the majority of them sign contracts with these comp anies to guarantee a limited income, because having a low income is better than not knowing when you will be paid when competing in the open market. (Hellin and Higman, 2002a:65) This is another example of banana producers dependence upon multi national companies. Having to compete in the world wide market place for U.S farmers and markets is daunting for independent farmers, making them vulnerable to MNCs to swoop in and take advantage. The contracts that bind the MNC to the small farmers in Ecuador are very beneficial to the companies. While not directly controlling the farmers operations, the MNCs influence how farms are run by turning a blinds eye to working conditions and environmental management. As a result, because of their products low prices, farmers resort to using child labor with long working hours, or to neglecting the environment to meet production obligations. (Hellin and Higman:b.12) As farmers become more dependent on the MNCs, they are less likely to contradict what the company demands, or to take a political stand against them. (Hellin and Higman:b.12) The five multinational corporations mentioned above have substantial power in the banana industry by controlling the market of bananas and entering into lopsided contracts with farmers. They also have a large influence over politics and governments in countries where the farmers live. As the power that these companies have over third world governments is what caused the banana dispute between the European Union and the United States. The American banana exporting companies, with a vested interest in Latin America, encouraged the American Government to involve the WTO in the banana trade because of the preferential access that the European Union was giving to African, Caribbean and Pacific Country banana exporters (OPEC). (Hellin and Higman 2002a:5) These events are examples of how Globalization has had negative effects on the Global south, especially in the case of Ecuador. Scholars in, Could Developing Countries Take The Benefit Of Globalisation? argue that if certain countries in the Global South did not meet the criteria required of MNCs such as slack labor laws and nonexistent unions, they would pack up and head to the other countries, who are willing to enter into one sided relationships in order to have some employment. ( Foo and Bass cited in Could Developing Countries Take The Benefit of Globalisation?2006:731) Although employment is necessary for the economies of countries in the Global South to grow, there should be a limit as to what extent exploitation of the Global South and the workers is justified. Exploitation of workers in the Banana Industry: In the Global south, the exploitation of workers is increasingly a problem. Companies from the Global north move their companies to developing countries with lower wages to lower the cost of producing the commodities they sell to us. This is an issue for Ecuador. According to the article, Small Holder Banana Producers Need Policy Adjustments, the Ecuadorian government sets a minimum price that the MNC must pay the independent producer per box of bananas. This minimum price by itself barely covers the price of production. This results in farmers paying their workers at or below subsistent wages. The workers are afraid of losing their jobs, therefore they will not complain. If they were to complain, there would be many capable people waiting for jobs, as there are many unemployed people in these economies. This makes it easy for these companies to find replacement producers. (Hellin and Higman, 2002a:65) When the Chiquita fruit company, formally known as the United Fruit company, began using local farmers to produce their fruit in Colombia, there were many rules attached as to their business contracts. (Enforcing Business contracts in South America: The United Fruit Company and Colombian Banana planters in the twentieth century. Bucheli, 2004) As noted by Bucheli, in these contracts the United Fruit company had the option of not buying the fruit produced by the local growers; however, these growers could only sell their fruit to this company. These contracts guaranteed the protection of the United Fruit Company and left the fruit growers to deal with the risks and at the same time, if the fruit being exported was not up to standards, or if there was no demand for it, then the planters would receive no pay and could not sell the rejected fruit anywhere else. They would be forced to deal with the blemished fruit that was unsellable. The United Fruit Company created many rules in the contracts and were sneaky when it came to preventing fruit producers from joining f orces and forming their own company by issuing the contracts in a staggered manner; that is, the different producers at different times to hedge one farmers production against anothers. (2004) Not only do MNCs take advantage of the farmers producing bananas, but they also turn their backs on the immoral employment of children in the banana sector. Children are being employed in the banana industry from as young as eight years old, where they are put into jobs that require hard labor, the use of dangerous tools and exposure to pesticides and other hazardous fumes. Unfortunately, the Ecuadorian Government has not implemented strong labor laws to prevent this labor abuse of children, and therefore it will likely continue. (Ecuador: Widespread Labor Abuse on Banana Plantations. 2002) Workers Unions are a way of implementing regulations on working conditions and protecting workers rights. In Ecuador, Unions are found in the more formal sectors of work, which does not include the Banana Industry. These formal sectors are where the minority of Ecuadorian workers are employed, where an education is required. As a result, the majority of workers in Ecuador are not protected by these regulations and laws. (Ecuador Working Conditions) All of these examples portray how the American companies interested in the fruit of a developing country are only interested in profits and are prepared to take advantage of the disadvantaged circumstances of the local producers to maximize their returns, even if this leads to the degradation of the environment and the local population. Effects of the Banana Industry on the environment and health: With the increase of MNCs entering Latin America and exporting bananas, the environment and health of the workers within these countries has greatly decreased. As stated in the article, Major Concerns of Developing countries: Applications of the Precautionary Principle in Ecuador, Globalization has been one of the key reasons for the introduction of hazardous materials into Latin America. If the market remains open for free trade, it becomes very difficult to control what materials enter these countries and therefore hazardous substances are introduced into these countries to increase production. As well, the article states that it is much more difficult for developing countries to implement ways to prevent the impacts of hazardous chemicals to the environment and the society. MNCs knowingly take advantage of this by moving their companies to countries such as Ecuador, where they have not yet implemented rules against using certain bio-hazardous products. This leads to certain chemic als that have yet to be tested for safety reasons to be legally sold and then used improperly. (Harari.H, Freire and Harari.F 2005:249-254.) According to Ecocertification of Ecuadorian Bananas: Prospects for Progressive North-South Linkages, the production of Bananas is one that requires the heavy use of pesticides and other environmentally degrading fumes. These are necessary to keep up with the increasing rate of production that is required by the small farmers. (Castillo et. al. 2000; Clay 2004; Henriques et al. 1997; Muenos-Carpena et al. 2002 cited in Ecocertification of Ecuadorian Bananas: Prospects for Progressive North-South Linkages. 2007:262) The use of pesticides is not only harmful to the environment, but also to the workers. Hamer discusses in his article, Bananas, that even if workers wanted to complain about the impacts of the practice of these companies on their health, the company would more likely end up firing the workers rather than admit their faults. (2007) Unfortunately because there is a lack of education on how to properly use the pesticides, the risks that come along with these harmful sprays are even more toxic to the workers, as many of them do not receive the proper protective equipment. (Henriques et al.1997 cited in Ecocertification of Ecuadorian Bananas: Prospects for Progressive North-South Linkages 2007:262) As well, because of the large rainfall in Latin America, it is necessary to spray the banana plants repeatedly with pesticides, as the rain washes the pesticides off of the plants into the soil. According to the World Wild Life Fund, The banana industry produces more waste than any other agricultural sector in the Global south. (Hamer 2007: 24-27) In view of the fact that its climate and environmental conditions are more suitable for the production of bananas, the entire world relies on the Global south for their production. As the Global south produces more bananas, the greater will be its contribution to the decline of its environment. Globalization can lead to many positive events, such as uniting the world and bringing people closer through a freer flow of information, trade and ideas. In the production of bananas, however, Globalization has had a number of negative effects in those countries which grow them. Multi national and Trans national corporations continue to have huge amounts of power which allow them to virtually ignore any laws or regulations stand in their path of making a profit. In the end, the Global south and in this case, Ecuador suffers, as their workers are exploited and paid low wages while engaging in farming practices that degrades the environment.

Existentialism Essay -- essays research papers

Existentialism, which spread rapidly over continental Europe after the First World War, is essentially the analysis of the condition of man, of the particular state of being free, and of man's having constantly to use his freedom in order top answer the ever- changing and unexpected challenges of the day. According to the Existentialists, the starting point of every philosophical investigation is concrete human existence. That means that human personality in itself should point the way to the absolute value of reality. A single definition of existentialism is impossible. Definitions, provided by dictionaries are only part of what existentialism is about. †¦central to each definition is the assertion that existentialism is a theory or statement about the nature of man's existence. (1) The term is so difficult to define because, unlike other terms, existentialism is not universal. In other words, there are no two existentialists, which share exactly the same values or beliefs. Al though, here is one major theme: a stress on individual existence, subjectivity, individual freedom, and choice. There are two kinds of existentialist; first those who are Christian, and on the other hand the atheistic existentialists. Many unfamiliar with the subject people associate existentialism with atheism, but they are wrong. The truth is that the majority of existentialists are not atheists. Sartre, which we place among atheists, stress that central concern of philosophy is human existence. He says that human being is a special kind of consciousness (being-for- itself). Everything else is matter (being-in-itself). He believes that human being has no God-given essence and is absolutely free and absolutely responsible. According to him, anguish is the result of the absolute freedom and responsibility. He also says that human existence is absurd and unjustified. Therefore, the goal of human being is to justify his/her existence.(2) Sartre believes that there are those in our history who have established a religion to reassure nothing more than what he calls a "fundamental project ." That means that when we become anguished by the affairs of life we pursue a fundamental project in attempt to flee this anguish. He says that we try to make ourselves Gods in hopes that others would see us divine, and hold us in higher regard. To pursue a fundame... ...ice and this choice was his and his alone. This shows us again that we always have choices, no matter what we might use as an excuse. 1) Barnes, Wesley. "Is Existentialism Definable?" The Philosophy and Literature of Existentialism. Woodbury: Barron's Educational Series, Inc., 1968 2) Douglas W. Shrader, Ashok K. Malhotra. "Pathways To Philosophy". Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, 1996. p. 83-86, 87-93, 97-100 3) Sartre'sThoughtsOnPersonality,http://library.thinkquest.org/18775/sartre/pers.htm 4) As above 5) Roberts, David E. "Introduction" Existentialism and Religious belief" New York: Oxford University Press, 1959. 6) Robert C. Solomon. "The Big Qestions" Harcourt Brace College Publishers, New York, 1998, p.241-273. 7) Soren Kierkergaard,ysiwyg://16/http://www.fortunecity.com/263/exist/kierk.html 8) Existentialism And Soren Kierkergaard, http:www.tameri.com/csw/exist/kierk.html.

Information Warfare Essay -- essays research papers

As we entered the third wave, we traded in our pens and notebooks, for keyboards and CPU’s. A simple wire connected from a phoneline to a modem to your CPU, brings the whole world into your hands. And you into the worlds hand as well. Political realism is defined as doing what is necessary for survival. One must depend on themselves, because no one else will look out for them. Information Warfare has become a massly used tactic by individuals as well as companies looking out for their own survival, in a world of commerce, and politics. Information Warfare is an innovative and dangerous new way to harm your opponents. When one thinks of warfare the mind is usually bombarded by thoughts of M16’s, grenades, and hand to hand combat. In this new era of technology that we are living in warfare has come to mean so much more. Information warfare is the use of any type of information used to injure your opponent’s progress and further your own. The power of Information Warfare spans a broad scope of uses, from the gathering information about companies, to personal blackmail. It’s used not only by individuals against other persons, but companies and even the nation as well. As the third wave, defined by Tofflers, becomes more widely spread across the nation and world we can only expect a far larger usage of such technological tactics, being used in the home, workplace, and even international politics. Schwartau’s definition of Information Warfare is, “the use of information, and information syst ems as both weapons and targets in a conflict,'; (Schwartau 12). We are now living in a time when knowledge is power, and what is knowledge made up of? Quite simply, information.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Information Warfare is not only becoming more rampantly used among people, but they are using different types as well. There are three different classifications of Information Warfare. The first one deals with personal information warfare. This is inclusive with all the information that is available about an individual. Class two deals with corporate information warfare, which involves how information effects companies, businesses, and all economic interests. Of all the classes the third one has the broadest margin. The third class is global information warfare. This purpose of this class is to deal with all a... ... being able to visit such cites that would have pornography, and/or other material unsuitable for youngsters. The school has installed a program so that if the kids were to access prohibited cites an automatic alarm would notify Education Queensland’s network administrators. By taking control of the cites that the children can visit, the school system is helping to keep the children from visiting undesireable cites.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are programs available to those parents who feel it is necessary to monitor their childs use of the Internet. Cybersitter can be purchased for around $39.95, and can help to regulate your web browser keeping your childs access to the world wide web restricted. There is even and option in which incoming and outgoing e-mails for inappropriate material.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  While it is possible to intercept and not allow such things on the internet on the Internet such as pornography, or material containing racist or violent content, in order to really do so the entire net would have to be controlled. An important question that has to be asked is who will do the monitoring, and what will they base their criteria on.

Legislations that affect school work Essay

Identify and summarise five pieces of legislation (to include codes of practice) which schools have to follow. Explain how each of these affect work in schools. Legislation refers to the actual law enacted by a governing or legislative body at national or local level. There are legislations for more or less all aspects of life but we are particularly going to discuss the ones that affect schools. These laws are produced and implemented in order to protect children and the people who work with children. Legislations ensure their safety and make sure their rights are respected. Code of practice is a practical guide that provides ways on how to effectively work under legislation. The Code of Practice is not a legislation itself that is why schools are not legally bound to follow them. Examples include: †¢Special Educational Needs Code of Practice for Wales. †¢Safeguarding Children: Working Together Under the Children Act 2004. Let us now look at five different legislations and how they affect work in schools. 1. The Data Protection Act 1998: The Data Protection Act means that schools need to make sure that all the information they hold is kept securely on site. If its paper storage it should be locked in filing cabinets. If the information is electronic it should be on password-protected computers. This legislation bounds schools to use this information only for the purpose it was collected and not share it with unauthorised people. It affects schools and staff in many ways e.gs as a teaching assistant it puts a responsibility on us to make sure that pupil information is confidential and if it needs to be shared with adults working with a particular pupil (like a speech therapist), we have the parental consent to do it. 2. The UN Convention on Rights of Child 1989: The UN Convention on Rights of Child 1989 was ratified in the UK in 1991 and adopted by the Welsh Government in 2004. It is made up of 54 articles covering rights to survival, protection, and development of children. It can be summarized by saying it protects children from any form of discrimination. Children have a right to know and access the relevant information about themselves. They have the freedom to practice their own beliefs and come together and enjoy as groups. It states that all children  have an equal right to education and a right to privacy. They have the right to express their views and feelings. Children with disabilities have a right to lead full and independent lives and they have a say in the decisions that affect them. This legislation has a major impact on schools as it bounds the staff and teachers to listen to what the child has to say. E.g. a teacher cannot just make a decision about a child on their own just because he/she is an adult. They have to respect the wishes of the child. This law gives children a voice and control over their lives. It empowers children and brings in confidence but at the same time it can be used by a child in a negative way and teachers may find it hard to discipline a child and to deal with a behaviour problem. That is where the Code of Practice comes in as a useful tool and tells what to do in a particular situation. 3. The Education and Inspections Act 2006: The Education and Inspections Act 2006 is intended to represent a major step in ensuring that all children in all schools get the education they need to enable them to fulfil their potential. The Act provides greater freedoms to schools, including the possibility of owning their own assets, employing their own staff, setting their own admissions arrangements etc. This gives local authorities more responsibility for managing schools. This law gives staff a clear statutory right to discipline students. By law, all state (not private) schools must have a behaviour policy in place that includes measures to prevent all forms of bullying among pupils. This policy is decided by the school. All teachers, pupils and parents must be told what it is. School staff needs to be well aware of the policy. Although these legislations must be followed but the Children Act overrides all other laws when it comes to safeguarding children. 4. Children Act 2004: Children Act 2004 is an updated version of the Children Act 1989. The Children Act 1989 allocated duties to local authorities, courts, parents and other agencies to ensure children are safeguarded and their welfare is promoted. (Wikipedia.org ‘Children Act 1989’). It centres on the idea that a child’s welfare is paramount and comes before everything else. Wherever possible, children must be cared for by their own families and that adequate  support is available for parents and children in need. The law suggests that professionals should work in partnerships with parents at every stage. The Children Act 2004 introduces multi agency approach to safeguarding children. Detailed information is available for people in the ‘Working Together Document’. The idea behind the Act is to promote co-ordination between multiple official entities to improve the overall well-being of children. The 2004 Act also specifically provided for including and affecting disabled children. This Act promotes the achievement of the five outcomes of ‘Every Child Matters’ framework, that are: †¢Stay safe. †¢Be healthy. †¢Enjoy and achieve. †¢Make a positive contribution. †¢Achieve economic well-being. This legislation has a huge impact on schools and on the way they address issues of care, welfare and discipline. Teachers and the support staff’s work has been affected directly by the act and they need to have training or guidance in its implementation. 5. The Equality Act 2010. On 1 October 2010, the Equality Act 2010 replaced all existing equality legislation such as the Race Relations Act, Disability Discrimination Act and Sex Discrimination Act. It protects the children and staff from being discriminated. It also extends protection to pupil who are pregnant, have recently given birth or who are undergoing gender reassignment. In Wales the Act applies to all maintained and independent schools, including Academies, and special schools. The Act makes it unlawful for the responsible body of a school to discriminate against, harass or victimise a pupil in relation to admissions, in the way it provides education, in the way it provides pupils access to any benefit, facility or service, or by excluding a pupil or subjecting them to any other detriment. Teachers now have to make sure that children with disabilities or additional needs are also included in and have access to all activities so there is no form of discrimination. (gov.uk ‘Equality Act 2010’)

Hypocrisy in Catcher in the Rye Essay

Holden Caulfield is one of the most hypocritical characters in literature. He spends the entire book complaining about all of the ‘phonies’ around him when in truth he is one of the biggest phonies of all. Throughout the novel, there are many events where Holden exemplifies his hypocrisy. There are three primary examples. Holden first displays hypocrisy when he met Earnest Morrow’s mother on the train on his way to New York. Also, when he speaks about Stradlater’s sexual advances and his own. Finally, excellent examples of Holden’s hypocritical actions are the several times he goes to the bars while in New York. Holden boarded a late train to New York where an attractive older woman chose to sit right next to him instead of any of the other seats in the cart. The woman noticed Holden had a Pencey Prep sticker on his suitcase and asked if he went there and if he knew her son, Ernest Morrow. Holden says yes and the woman was very happy and sweet. However, Holden truly exemplifies his own personal phoniness when she asks him what his name was. Holden quickly said, ‘Rudolf Schmidt,’ who was actually the janitor at Pencey. Holden then started, â€Å"shooting the old crap around a little bit† (Salinger 71). Holden told some of the most absurd lies to Mrs. Morrow about her son. He referred to Ernest like they were good friends when he said, † Old Ernie† He’s one of the most popular boys at Pencey† (73). Then Holden † Really started chucking the old crap around† (73). Holden then starts telling lies about the class elections and how a bunch of kids wanted old Ernie to be president, and that he was the unanimous vote, and how he thought he’d really be able to handle the job (Salinger 74). Meanwhile, when Holden thinks about Ernest Morrow, he referred to him as â€Å"doubtless the biggest bastard that ever went to Pencey, in the whole crumby history of the school† (71). This alone shows how even though Holden has a problem with people who are fake to him; he has no problem being fake to other people. Also, when Mrs. Morrow asks why he is leaving Pencey early, he lies once again and says he is going for an operation on a brain tumor. This one quick event in the novel shows how Holden doesn’t recognize his own absurd hypocrisy and creates double tandards for him and others without any regard to what he is actually doing. At Pencey, Holden has a roommate named Stradlater, whom Holden thinks is a promiscuous jerk that has a very easy time getting girls. In the beginning of the story, Holden complains about Stradlater calling him names such as a sexy bastard because of the way he uses girls so loosely and freely for his own sexual pleasures. However, Holden later contradicts himself when he becomes ‘a little horny’; he decides to call a girl named Faith Cavendish. Holden has never met Faith but had heard of her at a party from one of his friends. Holden called her because his friend told him that she didn’t mind having sex with people just for fun. This directly goes back to what he says about Stradlater creating yet another double standard between him and others. This example of hypocrisy from Holden truly shows his disregard for his opinions on other people and how they compare to his own actions. Holden furthers his phoniness when he accepts an offer for a prostitute to visit him in his room. Although he did not use the prostitute for sex and instead tries to talking to her, he still shows how he doesn’t realize that what he is doing is actually becoming the image of a man he detested. Another significant example of Holden’s phoniness can be seen several times in the novel when he goes to bars to try to pick up women and drink whiskey. Holden loves his smart, younger sister phoebe, and his perfect, diseased brother, Allie, because they haven’t grown up or lost their innocence. Holden loves little kids but doesn’t like adults because they’re all phonies to him. Holden also doesn’t like the idea of women or anything sexual. That is why he wants to be â€Å"the catcher in the rye† (224). Holden’s personality shows that he is terrified of growing up and that he wants to maintain his innocence as long as possible, yet he constantly tries to keep the image of an older, suave man in order to get women and alcohol at the bars. Instead of maintaining his innocence, he desperately tries to look older in order to get alcohol and in one case pick up several women, completely disregarding his morals. One of Holden’s biggest judgments of people is if they’re a phony or not. Holden thinks that adults, movies, and anything mainstream is phony. He doesn’t like his brother D. B. because he went out to Hollywood to write movies and that makes him a phony. Holden also thinks religion is phony, but yet he loves Jesus. Holden accuses just about everything in the world around him as being phony, but in actuality, Holden is the biggest phony of all. He is very hypocritical of people and things. He claims he hates the movies but yet whenever a new one comes out, he must go see it, and he doesn’t like religion but yet when he visits nuns, he likes them a lot and doesn’t think they’re phonies. Holden is a hypocrite throughout the entire book but never admits to being a phony himself. As a reader, this makes it quite difficult to trust Holden. Since Holden is our narrator, all of the people he mentions are views of them through his opinion, and since he isn’t trustworthy, the reader has to be doubtful of the information Holden gives. Some might argue that Holden just likes to lie. Holden Caulfield is one of the biggest hypocritical characters in literature.