Eli Pritchard Essays (220 words) - County Fermanagh, Maguire

Eli Pritchard Prof. Steve Batham HIST 17B January 20, 2017 Irish in America Maguire's book The Irish in America seeks to dispel the harsh stereotypes the American Irish face using both the interplay of culture and prejudice. One of the most pertinent factors beyond culture in Maguire's The Irish in America is the persecution the Irish face as outsiders. In fact Maguire tells us that most Irish communities either,"openly deplored, or it was reluctantly admitted" the notion of alcohol abuse. By his account Maguire considers the birth of the Drunken Irish stereotype to be the side effect of biased American testimonials. The Irish were the largest ethnic group in America at the time so it's not hard to imagine the drinking myth came from the largely unreceptive Protestant majority. The more interesting of Maguire's two arguments is the how both the Irish and American culture intermingle. Generally Maguire paints alcohol as openly reviled by the Irish and as a large part of American society. In Maguire's opinion it is not a natural propensity for alcohol that might cause the appearance of the Irish drinking more, but a combination of a less restrictive faith and geniality. The other major factor at play is how alcohol has played a large part in American culture since its early use as a substitute for water.

Free Essays on The Failures Of Affirmitive Action

Once upon a time, there were two people who went to an interview for only one job position at the same company. The first person attended a prestigious and highly academic university, had years of work experience in the field and, in the mind of the employer, had the potential to make a positive impact on the company’s performance. The second person was just starting out in the field and seemed to lack the ambition that was visible in his opponent. â€Å"Who was chosen for the job?† you ask. Well, if the story took place before 1964, the answer would be obvious. However, with the somewhat recent adoption of the social policy known as affirmative action, the answer becomes unclear. After the United States Congress passed the Civil Rights Act in 1964, it became apparent that certain business traditions, such as seniority status and aptitude tests, prevented total equality in employment. Then President, Lyndon B. Johnson, decided something needed to be done to remedy these flaws. On September 24, 1965, he issued Executive Order #11246 at Howard University that required federal contractors â€Å"to take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed . . . without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin (Civil Rights).† When Lyndon Banes Johnson signed that order, he enacted one of the most discriminating pieces of legislature since the Jim Crow Laws were passed. Affirmative action was created in an effort to help minorities leap the discriminative barriers that were ever so present when the bill was first enacted, in 1965. At this time, the country was in the wake of nationwide civil-rights demonstrations, and racial tension was at its peak. Most of the corporate executive and managerial positions were occupied by white males, who controlled the hiring and firing of employees. The U.S. government, in 1965, believed that these employers were discriminating against minorities and believed that there was no be... Free Essays on The Failures Of Affirmitive Action Free Essays on The Failures Of Affirmitive Action Once upon a time, there were two people who went to an interview for only one job position at the same company. The first person attended a prestigious and highly academic university, had years of work experience in the field and, in the mind of the employer, had the potential to make a positive impact on the company’s performance. The second person was just starting out in the field and seemed to lack the ambition that was visible in his opponent. â€Å"Who was chosen for the job?† you ask. Well, if the story took place before 1964, the answer would be obvious. However, with the somewhat recent adoption of the social policy known as affirmative action, the answer becomes unclear. After the United States Congress passed the Civil Rights Act in 1964, it became apparent that certain business traditions, such as seniority status and aptitude tests, prevented total equality in employment. Then President, Lyndon B. Johnson, decided something needed to be done to remedy these flaws. On September 24, 1965, he issued Executive Order #11246 at Howard University that required federal contractors â€Å"to take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed . . . without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin (Civil Rights).† When Lyndon Banes Johnson signed that order, he enacted one of the most discriminating pieces of legislature since the Jim Crow Laws were passed. Affirmative action was created in an effort to help minorities leap the discriminative barriers that were ever so present when the bill was first enacted, in 1965. At this time, the country was in the wake of nationwide civil-rights demonstrations, and racial tension was at its peak. Most of the corporate executive and managerial positions were occupied by white males, who controlled the hiring and firing of employees. The U.S. government, in 1965, believed that these employers were discriminating against minorities and believed that there was no be...

News Media use and political Communication - you have to analyse a Essay

News Media use and political Communication - you have to analyse a paper that I am attaching - Essay Example The study aims to prove the importance of studying mediation in the study of the relationship between media and polities. A wide variety of literature ranging from Holbert & Stephenson 2003, Lazarsfeld, Berelsen & Gaudet 1948, McLeod, Kosicki, and McLeod 2002 are mentioned to show how intra-media mediation is overlooked in the traditional study of political communication and media. The writer finds the importance of his study in the fact that other studies in the same field have not taken intra-media mediation into consideration. The previous studies largely overlooked the fact that the relationships among various forms of media may enable media to function as mediators of each other. In fact, the study is an extension of the O-S-O-R model of media as the basis for the media-related political communication. However, this new work presents an O-S-S-R framework which allows one set of stimuli to influence another set of stimuli, thus taking the intra-media mediation into consideration. The benefit of this framework is that it can be expanded to include the multiple stages of variables located in between the two sets of stimuli and after the latter stimuli. The study is based on the assumption that the best predictor of a given type of media use at a later time is its use at a previous time. So, the research has its hypotheses to show the cumulative nature of media use. The first two hypotheses can be summarized as follows: Television/newspaper use at former time positively influences television/newspaper use at later time. Now taking into consideration the fact that the use of one form of media can lead to the use of other forms of media too, the third and fourth hypotheses take birth: television use at a former time positively influences newspaper use at a later time, and newspaper use at a former time positively influences television use at a later time. Another point of consideration is the fact that at the heart of presidential election campaign, increased kn owledge will be available through media about endorsement. So, the fifth and sixth hypotheses are: television news at a later time influences candidate endorsement knowledge, and newspaper use at a later time positively influences candidate endorsement knowledge. Now, to show the intra-media relationships, a combination of hypothesis are used: television news at a later time serves as a mediator in the relationship between television use at a former time and candidate endorsement knowledge, and newspaper use at a later time serves as a mediator in the relationship between newspaper use at a former time and candidate endorsement knowledge. In addition, television news at a later time serves as a mediator in the relationship between newspaper use at a former time and candidate endorsement knowledge, and newspaper use at a later time serves as a mediator in the relationship between television use at a former time and candidate endorsement knowledge. As a part of the study, the informat ion was collected in two phases. The first phase (the former time) was from July 21 to August 13, 2000 and the second phase (the later time) was from October 18 to October 31, 2000. The first phase was before the Gore-Bush debate of October 17 and the second phase was after Gore-Bush debate, or at the heart of the election campaign. The questions asked were related to the audience’

Global competition study of Accor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5500 words

Global competition study of Accor - Essay Example The rate of growth within the hotels and motels industry has been described as a generally promising one (Accor, 2013). As exhibited in figure 1, from 2009, the industry has recorded increase in industry value. The recorded growth notwithstanding, Hospitality Net (2012) lamented that the overall growth has been saturated around very few competitors. This means that until an individual company within the industry performs extraordinarily well, it would find itself within a growing industry but will not really be part of this growth. This is the reason it is extremely important and relevant that the current research be undertaken with the aim of analysing the strategic competitiveness of Accor. The selection of Accor is also of interest because it is considered as one of the leading contributors of the industry’s growth (Accor, 2013). It is therefore important to study the company so as to find ways in which the company can maintain its current competitive position within the industry. Accor is headquartered in Paris and a member of the Paris stock exchange with an operating ticker of AC. Due to its key financials, Accor is regarded as a major global hotel operator (Hotelier News, 2014). Among the 92 countries in which Accor operates, Europe is its largest market with nearly 3,576 hotels and 461,719 rooms in Europe alone (MarketLine, 2014). The target markets of Accor have been largely influenced by its two major segments which are hotels and other businesses. Under the hotel segment, there are targets with luxury, upscale, mid-scale, and economy target markets. As far as other businesses segment is concerned, there are target markets for corporate departments and casinos (MarketLine, 2014). Table 1 gives the key financials of the company from 2009 to 2013. When the key financials of Accor is graphically represented, it is possible to get the real impulse of why it is important for the project to be carried out. This is because the graph in

Fast food Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Fast food - Research Paper Example They are usually served in package form that is ready to be taken and brought out of the store, which is also known as takeout or takeaway. Fast food have gone a long way, since their start and rise to popularity in the early 1900s. According to the article entitled the History of Fast Food written by Tracy Wilson in TLC Cooking, their beginning goes a long way back since the time of the ancient Greek and Romans, as well as the people from the Middle East, India and in East Asia, which was usually served and provided to travelers and traders as well as the local people in the towns and villages. All over the ancient world, the fast food industry was just beginning. In Wikipedia, it can be observed that in the pre-modern city of Rome, there were several stands that sold various types of bread and wine to the local people. At the same time, in the East Asian parts of the world such as in China, Japan and Korea, there were shops and small stores that sold noodles. India also had fast fo od like restaurants and shops, which sold a lot of the Indian favorites such as Vada pav, a popular vegetarian dish that is still eaten widely, panipuri, a bite size crisp dipped in sauce and dahi vada, a yogurt like dish. Other parts of Europe also started serving these types of food that were served quickly such as in France and London. As the popularity of fast food started to rise in the eighteenth century, the drives in restaurants were introduced after the First World War. Based on the article from TLC Cooking, the first hamburger chain was not created until the early 90s when the very first meat grinder was invented to make burgers. White Castle, which is considered to be the second fast food restaurant and the very first hamburger chain, was first created in 1921 in the United States of America. However, at that time, people thought of fast food as street dishes that were dirty and of low quality so the creators and the founders of White Castle came up with different ways in order to change the mindset and the thinking of the people at that time. They changed the way the restaurant prepared and served their food, by making the preparation process of the different fast food dishes such as burgers seen by the customers themselves. This was to show how the food was being prepared and cooked for the different people who bought from their place. In addition to that, they painted the whole building white and even chose a name that would suggest cleanliness. Since the hamburger was White Castle’s main dish to serve, it became more and more popular in some parts of America, particularly in the Midwest and the East. After this breakthrough of the fast food industry, McDonalds, a very popular and famous fast food restaurant today, was created two decades later, in 1948. After this, more fast food chains that are widely known and loved today, also made their first opening. Some of these fast food restaurants that began their business in serving fast food d ishes were Taco Bell, Wendy’s and Burger King. From then on, fast food became increasingly popular throughout the country and then, after making several branches worldwide including Europe, Asia and the rest of the world, the popularity skyrocketed and the industry made hundreds of billions, attracting teenagers and adults, but most especially to kids and little children. These fast food chains such as

Review Of Intensive Farming Systems

Review Of Intensive Farming Systems The intensive farming systems of developed countries, such as United Kingdom seek to maximize yield through what is usually described by agricultural economists as Best Management Practice (BMP), which involves the most efficient use of all inputs, including fertilizers, herbicides, seed varieties, and precision agricultural techniques (Goulding et al, 2008). (BMP) Fertilizers have been central to this approach, which has resulted in a tremendous increase in productivity over that last 40 years. For example, the efficient use of improved fertilizers, combined with new varieties of wheat and the successful use of crop protection chemicals, has increased grain yields from 3 tons per hectare to approximately 10 to 11 tons per hectare today (Goulding et al, 2008). Moreover the current market economic incentives facing many farmers are likely to encourage excess fertilizer application (Scott, 2005). It is generally recognized that if eventually the adoption of market prices for most agric ultural goods without any subsidies became a reality, in order to be competitive with the lower production costs of developing countries in South America, Asia, Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union, the pressure to intensify even the most UNITED KINGDOM intensive production systems will as well become reality despite the negative consequences on the environment (Goulding et al, 2008). The purpose of this study is to examine the socio-economic determinants of intensity of fertiliser application in non-organic cropland farms in England using a panel data model (panel data). The quantitative and behavioural studies in agriculture are frequently based on the notion that the family business is managed by a single decision-maker the person who exerts the financial and managerial control over the farm unit (Morris and Evans, 2004). This perspective derives from neoclassical economies and implies that decisions for the business are taken by a single entrepreneur (War and Lowe, 1994). However this study differs from much previous research into the estimation and clarification of the technical drivers responsible for fertilizer application by including variables that relate to both farmer characteristics and farm economic aspects. It will be followed an argument commonly accept in the literature that farmers tend to over-apply fertilizer from an agronomic perspective (i.e. , more than warranted to attain a given yield target) essentially given the uncertainty about environmental growing conditions (Sheriff, 1995; Scott, 2005). (apply mainly N). Nonetheless the author will have in mind that the fertilizer inputs into agricultural systems in the UNITED KINGDOM occur mainly via Nitrogen (Velthof et al., 1998) with the general objective to reduce the probability of poor yields and moreover increase the variance in profit. However, given the emergent apprehension with the impact of agriculture on environment and society, there has been a growing need to develop a more comprehensive definition of agriculture productivity (Pretty, 1998; Defra, 2002). Although government policies will not be addressed or recommended specifically, the author hopes to open a new channel for discussion. As Annan (2005) argues it is imperative to aim at a reasonable balance between the level of technical detail and the availability of meaningful data describing future development of new and improved categories of abatement options. Consequently contributing to reach the 10per cent inorganic fertilizer reduction by 2020 with consequent reductions in N2O emissions (Entec, 2004), and moreover contribute to UNITED KINGDOM reach the overall national target of 80per cent GHG reduction by 2050(ADAS, 2009).(reduce emissions) Agriculture and fertilizer Agriculture is one of the most successful sectors in terms of productivity growth, has outpaced the rapid growth in demand for its output for the past decades (Shaink el al, 2002). (agri success). This trend has provided hefty social benefits, such as increased the accessibility of agricultural goods usually at a lower price, provision of jobs and therefore rural sustainability, energy and also positive environmental effects, such as aesthetic value, carbon sequestration by soils and trees, and other additional benefits that are linked with good husbandry such as maintenance of natural habitats and countryside landscape (Shaink et al,2002; Scott, 2005) (social benefits / positive extern). However, is largely referenced in literature that the increased use of chemicals either fertilisers or pesticides in agriculture intensive systems is associated with hidden costs due to environmental pollution in soil, water and atmosphere -, consequently has amplified the negative social effects o n the natural environment (eg. Shaink et al,2002; Scott,2005 ) (pollution1). This argument is supported by an analysis of the externalities from UNITED KINGDOM agriculture made by Hartridge and Pearce (2001), finding that negative externalities amount to at least  £1 billion, and positive externalities offset approximately half of these negative effects (negative/positive external). Farmers and fertilizer application The main question rises once more, what are the fertilizer application determinants? For a typical farm manager, output is what matters most to the business survival and prosperity. Consequently, farmers apply fertilisers since they represent personal benefits in the form of improved outputs and incomes, however plants absorb fertilisers just up to their needs only, therefore surplus fertiliser over and above the needs of plants can cause harmful side effects (Scott, 2005) either on the farm profit or in the environment. (more/less fert plant). A given agricultural input bundle might result in wide diverse output levels according to the level at which random factors operate (Gallacher, 2001) (input output). Rounsevell and Reay (2009) clarify the previous argument stating that land use and therefore fertilizer application changes are driven primarily by farmer decisions, which are affected by the economic environment (output and input prices), soil features, crop and livestock yields, timeliness of field operations, availability of investment capital, subsidies as well as the socio-cultural attributes of individual farmersThe first driver is clearly an agronomic argument, since agronomists agree that crop nutrient uptake is higher in years with good growing conditions (Babcock, 1992), therefore if a farmer applies the optimal amount of fertilizer for mean growing conditions, and in a particular year those conditions are better than expected, there will be too little fertilizer and decrease in production. On other hand if weather conditions are not conducive, there will be too much fertilizer (Sheriff, 2005), thus a risk-neutral farmer applies fertilizer at a higher rate as long as the expected gain in profit from the increased yield is higher than the expected loss in profit from wasted fertilizer. Another hypothesis is proposed by Rajsic and Weersink (2008). They argue that while there may be agreement on the functional form of crop response to fertilizer, there will be differences in the optimal rate between locations. Numerous studies have reported that the maximum economic nitrogen rate varies spatially and that the degree of variability can be substantial (Carr et al., 1991). As a consequence there is a need to analyze the spatial variations in order to state the yield potential of the field and/or region, the underlying assumption is that yield potential is directly linked to the productivity of nitrogen, so fields with higher estimated output receive higher rates of fertilizer (Rajsic and Weersink 2008). Dai et al (1993), however, found that nitrogen and soil quality are complements, and soil quality uncertainty and nitrogen availability are linked which will increase nitrogen demand and consequently nitrogen input. Additionally Rajsic (2008), Sheriff (2005) and also Dai el al (1993) argue that one of the main causes for over-fertilisation might be related to the uncertainty about weather and soil characteristics that can lead both risk-averse and risk-neutral farmers to over-apply nutrients, therefore the decision to apply a little extra just in case is particularly appropriate if the cost of over-application is low compared to the cost of under application (Rajsic, 2008) (a little extra risk averse). This idea is supported by Sherriff (2005), arguing that farmers will apply more fertilizer than a crop can use due to a perception that the general recommendations are not appropriate for their individual situations. Smill (1999) argues that the application of N is fairly inefficient in most farms, since farmers are applying nitrogen at levels that exceed those suggested by either government extension services or by the optimal nitrogen appliance (Rajsic and Weersink, 2008) (N inefficiency). Approximately half of Nitrogen applied during a growing sea son is typically recovered in the crop biomass throughout that season, therefore this inefficiency represents a noteworthy cost to farmers and an important consequences for ecosystem and human health as Nitrogen moves beyond the farm level in several aqueous or gaseous forms, such as N2O(Matson et al., 1997, 1998; Galloway, 1998). In practice evidence suggests that farmers systematically over-estimate the impact of additional nitrogen relative to agronomists models and therefore they maintain their beliefs after seeing results from experimental plots (SriRamaratnam et al., 1987). If farmers perceptions are incorrect, these beliefs will lead to over-application, conversely if their sensitivity is correct, analysts may infer excess nutrient applications where none exist. Thus if weather, the relation between fertiliser prices and output prices and soil features are not main and/or the only drivers behind fertiliser application, which characteristics does the farmer have to apply more or less fertiliser compared to those with the same features and constraints? The effect of fertilizers on the environment The relatively cheap price of Nitrogen in relation to its yield improvement benefits, and allowing farmers substantial management flexibility, has been a central contributory factor in determining its overuse and consequently the environmental impacts reported below. It is known that Agricultural emissions of nitrous oxide have fallen by 13 per cent over the 10 years up to 2005 and the trend is continuing (DEFRA, 2007).However despite this reduction in the UNITED KINGDOM and other major developed countries, the major direct emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) are from agriculture methane (CH4) caused by enteric fermentation by ruminant livestock and manure management, and nitrous oxide (N2O) from soils (Gibbons, 2005). Additionally methane has a global warming potential 21 times greater than carbon dioxide while nitrous oxide global warming potential (GWP) is considered 296 times that of the same mass of carbon dioxide (Houghton et al., 2001), consequently fairly small concentrations of this gas are sufficient to induce drastic changes in the atmosphere. At current estimates N2O contributes about 7 per cent of the greenhouse gas emissions in terms of the GWP (Winiwarter, 2005). As a result, among the gases considered by the Kyoto Protocol, N2O i s ranked third in importance behind carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) (Winiwarter, 2005). Seinfeld and Pandis (1998) add that N2O is a very stable compound in the atmosphere, with a mean lifetime of 120 years, so the emissions will have an effect on the global concentrations in the atmosphere for many decades. The same authors argue that N2O is able to strongly absorb infrared light, thus it also exerts a considerable effect on the earths radiation absorption. Therefore is obvious the magnitude of nitrogen fertilization emissions has a dramatic effect on the environment. Approximately 1per cent of the anthropogenic Nitrogen input into agricultural systems is emitted as nitrous oxide, with agriculture as a whole contributing to 66per cent of total UNITED KINGDOM nitrous oxide emissions in 2006, 95per cent of it via direct emissions from agricultural soils (IPCC, 2006). In addition, fertiliser manufacturing is energy-intensive (Rounsevell and Reay, 2009). Carbon dioxide emissions from ammonia production most of which is for fertiliser use made up 0.3per cent (1.6 million tonnes) of UNITED KINGDOM CO2 emissions in 2006 (DEFRA, 2006). Nitrogenous fertiliser consumption in the UNITED KINGDOM increased by nearly 300 per cent between 1961 and the late 1980s, regardless of the decline in agricultural land area (roughly 15per cent in the same time interval) indicating a large increase in application rates per unit area of land over this period (Rounsevell and Reay, 2009). As stated previously, fertiliser Nitrogen consumption gradually declined after 1990, reaching a rate of around 1.2 million tonnes per year in 2006 (DEFRA, 2008). As Smil (2000, 2001) argues, Nitrogen (N) is a key input in agriculture, therefore we cannot simply exclude or limit the application of it to meaningless values. We should instead open a new channel of discussion in order to improve or formulate new policies in an enhanced cost-efficient way that decreases damaging effects on the environment and improves farms profits. This can only be achieved if each of determinants of fertilizer application are well understood. Project scope UNITED KINGDOM agricultural features UNITED KINGDOM land use is still largely dominated by agriculture. In June 2008 about 77 per cent of the total land area of the UNITED KINGDOM, which represents approximately 18.8 million hectares, was used for agriculture proposes (DEFRA, 2008). This proportion is relatively large compared with the average of 50 per cent in the EU27, and 54per cent, 47per cent and 50per cent for France, Germany and Spain, respectively (Angus et al, 2009). Despite these figures, agricultures contribution to GDP and employment in the UNITED KINGDOM is low, at about 0.5per cent and 1.8per cent respectively (DEFRA, 2009). Of this area, about 28 per cent is allocated to arable cropping, including fallow land, and 67 per cent to grassland, mostly permanent pastures, and 58 per cent (10.2 million hectares) is considered lowland, defined as land less than 240m above sea level. (Angus et al, 2009). In England due to patterns of agricultural land constraints relative to soils and topography features, the majo r concentration of grassland and livestock farming is located in the North and West, and arable farming in the East and South (Angus et al, 2009). Consequently, the largest farms in the UNITED KINGDOM are concentrated in southern and eastern England (Ward, 2000). The agricultural sector in the UNITED KINGDOM is composed of over 300,000 holdings, varying widely in size and type, employing an assortment of different farming practices and use of inputs such as soil and water as well as fertilizers, land and waste management (DEFRA, 2009). One common aspect among the major countries in the EU is that the farming population is getting older. Eurostat show in 2000 that in UNITED KINGDOM only 5.2 per cent of farmers were under 35 years old, compared to 7.4 percent in 1990. The absolute number of under 35s had fallen over the last decade by 6,000 which represents more than one third. Over the same period, the proportion of holders with 65 years old and over had risen from 22.1per cent to 25 .3per cent (DEFRA, 2007). Regarding the educational level, between 1990 and 2005 there has been almost no change to the overall proportions, roughly three quarters of farmers have no formal agricultural training, with the remaining 25per cent equally divided between the higher education levels (DEFRA, 2007). Another important point relates to the fact that 38per cent of managers of the largest farms have proper agricultural education compared to just 7 per cent on the smallest farms (DEFRA, 2007). Personal Characteristics effects on farm efficiency In modern agriculture there is an increasing need to produce policy evaluation studies in order to be acquainted with the major drivers behind the decisions made by farmers within a socio-demographic context. Numerous studies that have identified a significant variation in the physical and financial performance achieved by farmers operating within the same economic and environmental constraints (Wilson et al, 2001;Rougoor et al, 1998). Therefore, it is pertinent to inquire the reason why this variation occurs. Kay and Edwards (1994) argue that in many occasions the variation in management is the cause of performance fluctuation (farm management). However, unlike physical factors of production (e.g. land, labour, and capital) management is not directly observable, consequently this causes difficulties to any analysis that attempts to explain the management influence on farm performance. Rougoor et al. (1998) defined management capacity into two components: personal feature (e.g., drives, motivations, social factors and education) and features of the decision-making process (e.g., procedures in planning, implementation and control of decisions). Moreover, it is argued that the decision-maki ng process is obviously influenced by the link of the factors stated above, and if any of them is excluded the cause of farm efficiency variation might be incorrectly measured (Wallace, 1974; Kay and Edwards, 1994; Poggi-Varaldo, 1998;Rougoor et al, 1998; Wilson et al, 2001) . Rougoor et al. (1998) highlights the argument that a manager may hold beneficial personal skills however fails to accomplish high performance due to a poor decision-making process. Previous research made by Huffman (1974) found a positive impact of human capital on allocative efficiency in agriculture. In particular, these authors argued that education diminishes the time needed to adjust to changes in production options and/or price ratios. An additional factor that might explain the farm efficiency variation is the farmers age. Burton (2009) emphasises the strength of age as an indicator since age reflects the level of experience which might be a complement or even a substitute of education. In order to demonstrate the significance of education in this subject, Lockhead et al (1981) presented a detailed survey of studies analysing the effect of farmer education on farm management efficiency using the results from 37 data sets, investigating the effect of institutional education and non-formal education. They concluded that in 31 of these data sets, institutional education was found to have a positive and significant effect, and 8 of which provided evidence th at non-formal education was also significantly positively related to productivity. An additional reason for more efficient input and output combinations being attained by more educated farmers is given by Welch (1978) and further by Gallacher (2001), both arguing that optimum firm size is correlated with education as it relates to optimum scale of production, usually the higher education level obtained, the larger the size of the farm being managed. In this study, it will be exploit formal education as one of the explanatory causes in the possible efficiency dissimilarity between two or more farms with the same constraints, due to the difficulty in accurately measuring non-formal education. However, the author is conscious that the final outcome might be ambiguous since these two forms of education are usually complements (Lockhead, 1981; Mook, 1981; Asfaw, 2004). Data Source Farm Business Survey The FBS is widely recognised as the most comprehensive and independent survey of farm incomes and provides an authoritative data source on the economic and physical performance of farm businesses in England and Wales. It is undertaken each year by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the National Assembly for Wales (NAW). In England, the survey is conducted by a consortium of seven FBS Research Centres Universities of Cambridge, Newcastle upon Tyne, Nottingham and Reading, and Askham Bryan, Duchy and Imperial Colleges, led by the University of Nottingham. Its members work in partnership, using uniform standard practices in reporting their findings to ensure consistent data quality, accuracy and validity. The principal function of the Farm Business Survey (FBS) is to inform the UNITED KINGDOM Government and EU agricultural policy makers of the current financial state of the different sectors of UNITED KINGDOM farming. The FBS also provides full management accounting data on the agricultural activities of farm businesses, location, physical and environmental characteristics of the farm and several measures of non-agricultural activity, such as farm household characteristics. The survey uses a sample of farms that is representative of the national population of farms in terms of farm type, farm size and regional location. Since 2005/06 approximately 2400 individual farms took part in this survey of which roughly 2000 are English (the rest being from Wales). Results are compiled using accredited documents and personal interviews and written up into Farm Business Survey yyyy/yy. .

Free Essays - Response to Kingstons Woman Warrior :: Maxine Hong Kingston Woman Warrior Essays

A Response to Kingston's Woman Warrior Sometimes, I must admit, I look at my mother and wonder where she is coming from, what in the world she is thinking, and why does she act the way she does. I can not possibly be like her because, as I tell myself, if I catch on to her weird behavior now, I will be able to catch it in myself before it is "too late." The funny thing is that I am sure that she did and still does the same thing in regards to her own mother. What is even worse is that I see my mother becoming like her own mother, despite my mother's hopes that she is not like my grandmother. Does this, then, mean that I am going to be like my mother or that I am already like her? Why does this thought frighten me? Kingston herself seems to be struggling with these questions as she writes The Woman Warrior. In the chapter "At the Western Palace" she is writing largely from her mother's perspective and, through this process, perhaps learning more about the way in which she behaved as a child towards her mother. Her mother frequently tries to compliment her children yet all that they do is run away, leave to go to another room. It is as if they can not be bothered by their own mother's words, the pride that she has for them. Instead of reveling in her words and love, they want to hide, to protect themselves from her words, from having to deal with her. What must it have been like for Kingston to have to write this about herself, to realize the ways in which her words and actions have distanced herself from her mother? But then Kingston's own words continue to make the mother seem like the outsider, the one who was different from everyone else, making her mother appear again as the one who is the ghost. The children, even her own husband, merely appeared to humor her, making no effort to want to learn about the Chinese culture and therefore not caring to know about their own mother. How often have we done the same with our own mothers, not bothering to talk to her, merely humoring her because we can not be bothered to make the time to really care about what she wants?