Exploring Gender Conventions in Film Essay

The American melodrama film, Mildred Pierce, directed by Todd Haynes, was based on the 1941 novel, written by James Cain. Mildred Pierce explores the roles of gender and class during the economic hardships of the stock market crash and the depression. This novel is a very effective representation of the 1930’s and 1940’s turmoil. An interview with Todd Haynes titled, â€Å"Something That is Dangerous and Arousing and Transgressive,† was done by Julia Leyda; and in that interview, Todd Haynes explains that women, â€Å"struggle with their embodiment, their identity, their social positions† (Leyda). James Cain created Mildred to be a woman who expressed many different attributes that women would not normally have during this time period and with the happening of the Great Depression. In his novel, Mildred represents a lower-middle-class woman who went through a divorce. Although she is a single parent in the beginning of the book, or as her friend Lucy calls it, a â€Å"grass widow,† she has the ambition to work and help Bert provide for their family. This book touches on a different aspect of gender expectations because during this time period many of the men did not have jobs and the women were the one’s working and earning money. This is evident through her ex-husband Bert, and her new husband (later in the film), Monty. Neither of them had jobs, she refers to them as loafs, and she does all that she can to provide for them. Mildred is embarrassed by some of the job offerings she got and does not want to disappoint her self-aggrandizing daughter. As mentioned in chapter five, it is obvious that Mildred fears Veda. The novel reads: She was afraid of Veda, of her snobbery, her contempt, her unbreakable spirit. And she was afraid of something that seemed always lurking under Veda’s bland, phony toniness: a cold, cruel, coarse desire to torture her mother, to humiliate her, above everything else, to hurt her. Mildred apparently yearned for warm affection from this child[†¦ ] but all she ever got was a stagy, affected counterfeit. (Cain 86) Mildred was constantly trying to impress Veda and her dreams of becoming rich, whereas in this family’s present state, it was almost impossible. Mildred even had to break down and beat Veda because she had been so vicious toward her when all Mildred ever did was bust her ass to earn enough money for her children. And for a while, Mildred even kept work a secret so that her own children would not have to worry about their family falling apart and finding out that they were lower middle class. One really important part of this book was when Mildred stood up to Veda and said, â€Å"You may not realize it, but everything you have costs money, from the maid that you ordered to go traipsing with you to the pool, to your food, and everything else that you have† (Cain 85). Mildred has a strong will to keep her family strong, but at the same time she faces two weaknesses: sleeping with men, and having a strong devotion to please her daughter Veda, who lives in a fantasy wishing she were upper-class. It is odd because she resorts to sex when she encounters stress and her sexual life is her sense of freedom; but when it comes to her work life, she is constantly on the edge and she does not indulge in it. Work is often what causes the stress in her life. In addition, Monty has the same fantasy as Veda and in the end of the film we see Mildred being pushed away from both of them, and eventually they end up together. Throughout the whole novel, Veda and Monty represent the upper-class and Mildred admires Veda so much because she is a reminder that there is hope to get to a better state during the depression. At one point in the novel Mildred even tells Veda that everything good happens on account of her. Haynes focuses on gender and class as huge themes in this film and he states that: what’s so fascinating about Mildred as a character is the way she has all of this potential for incredible productive and sexual success: a willfulness and a sense that she deserves it. Of course, there are all kinds of things she has to overcome initially, the sense of pride, before she can go out and get a job and work her way up the ladder and discover her innate talents[†¦ ] while at the same time being so thoroughly harnessed to a whole other set of terms that have everything to do with feminine identification and subjectivity, and mothering, and class. (Leyda) After Mildred accepts the fact that she must inherit a job, she becomes very good at what she does and she takes all of her domestic attributes and converts them into the work-field through taking up a job at a restaurant. Compared to the other women and families during the time of depression, many of them lost jobs, large amounts of money, homes, family, and many other things. With these important aspects on the line, Mildred remains strong and uses her willpower to overcome the obstacles thrown her way. This touches on class a lot and Mildred does a phenomenal job at keeping her family secure through this very tough time. As a lower middle class woman stuck in the depression, Mildred was very resilient and hard working toward recovering from the stock market crash and the depression which left her and her family with almost nothing. Another film that deals a lot with gender is the 2009 spine-chilling horror film Splice, directed by Vincenzo Natali. This film features two young genetic engineering scientists, Elsa and Clive, who are trying to discover a new protein for pharmaceutical purposes. The blog post on shaviro. com about this movie reads, â€Å"Splice never departs from being a genre film; but the way it twists genre conventions is powerful and original† (Shaviro). This movie reworks some of the themes and motifs that appeared in Frankenstein and Eraserhead. Throughout the entire film, Elsa seems to be the better educated of the two, but together they create a blob-like figure in each gender, and as they are developing they will soon be presented to their team to show them reproducing. While all of this was happening, Elsa and Clive decide that since they were successful with the first part of their experiment, they would like to make it more challenging and add human DNA to the specimen (although they were told not to because of the dangers) and see what the end result is. Once again, they are successful and they have now created a new creature with human DNA in it. Clive wants to kill it – which shows his aggressive and protective side, two qualities often found in males – but Elsa becomes very attached to it and obtains motherly qualities toward it – which is evidently linked to women gender expectations. Mentioned in the blog post, â€Å"Most of the movie is taken up with Elsa’s â€Å"mothering† of Dren, with Clive as the somewhat distant father figure. And this is where any prejudice that â€Å"mothering† might be â€Å"natural,† or inherently â€Å"feminine,† or inherently hardwired in Elsa’s, or any woman’s, genes, definitively breaks down† (Shaviro). Elsa convinces Clive to keep it alive so that they can â€Å"study it closely,† when all she really wants is to protect it like her own child – it does contain her own DNA after all. She has a horrific style of parenting in that she treats Dren with respect at one moment, and then flips the complete opposite the next. From the interview, the author says that, â€Å"There is clearly something narcissistic and self-obsessed here; all the more so when we learn that Clive wants to have a child, but Elsa is reluctant† (Shaviro). Elsa decides to play it safe and instead of bearing her own child, which would take her away from her work and give her less control, she genetically creates Dren a hybrid of animal DNA as well as her own. As it grows up, they must keep it a secret because they were never authorized to do so by their company. Clive grows very attached and attracted to Dren, but later finds out that Elsa put her own DNA into the creature and he is furious with her and realizes that this is why she had become so obsessive and protective over Dren. She even gets angry with Clive when he refers to Dren as a specimen and not a â€Å"she. † As Elsa and Clive are absentmindedly worrying about their own problems as a couple, the two creatures they created in the beginning, Fred and Ginger, undergo a weird switch. Ginger switches from a male to female while they are presenting their new specimen to their research team. In this part of the film Ginger and Fred (both males at this point) brutally murder each other instead of reproducing like intended, leaving the audience in shock with blood and guts flying freely. Because Elsa and Clive were so involved in Dren and had been neglecting their real experiment, everything went wrong. This goes to show just how restricted the gender expectations are among humans. It labels males as violent and aggressive, especially toward each other, which touches on the way society sees gay men and how unacceptable it appears to be. Another few actions that represent the expectations of gender are when Elsa treats Dren like her own child and forces a motherly figure, and when Clive has sex with Dren. This scene is really disturbing because one, the creature isn’t human, and two, Dren has some of his girlfriend’s DNA in her. Toward the end of the film things get even worse. Dren also switches from female to male and attacks a few people and then kills Clive with the retractable stinger in his tail, then he rapes Elsa and Elsa gets away and kills him before he does anymore destruction. This points out that men are very inclined to sex and are almost seen as uncontrollable. It also makes women seem more vulnerable, especially with Elsa being raped by Dren later in the film. In the very last scene of the film, Elsa is pregnant with Dren’s baby and is going to have the baby and give it to the company for more experimentation and does not seem to care, even though it is very crude. The interview reads, â€Å"Splice‘s focus upon a woman instead of a man as the â€Å"mad scientist† figure whose creations ultimately lead to catastrophe has been quite a point of contention† (Shaviro) and this is a different aspect to the movie Frankenstein, which was basically the same plot with a ale scientist and no technology. In conclusion the interview claimed, â€Å"Gender roles are oddly reinforced[†¦ ] The film entirely scrambles our sense of what is natural and what is artificial† (Shaviro). Splice is very twisted and touches on a lot of weird expectations that society has made out for men and women. It paints men to be very controlling, defiant, and drawn toward sex, and it paints women to be very motherly, protective of their c hildren, and caring toward others.

Lesson Plan for Student Centered Learning Strategies

Learning Strategies Lesson Learning Strategies Lesson According to Dr. Deshler, most students begin to experience a performance gap in the fifth grade (Laureate Education, Inc. , 2012a). The bridge to close this gap is built by changing the pedagogy of the teacher and the learning strategies of the students. The learning strategies taught to the students enable them to develop into independent thinkers and learners (Friend & Bursuck, 2009). Student-centered learning incorporates effective learning strategies with the mathematics curriculum and provides students with the means to meet their potential.Every sixth grade student learns to transition from multiplication with numbers to variables. This transition also includes a development from the distributive property of a monomial times a binomial to the product of two binomials. Finding the product of two binomials can be a daunting task, unless students are presented the material in connection with a learning strategy that they are a ble to master. The lesson, found in the appendix, is designed to facilitate the evolution of multiplication of monomials and binomials.It was taught to one struggling seventh grade student who is the product of social passing throughout her mathematical career. The mathematics was written to help the young lady succeed, despite other mathematical shortcoming that could stand in her way. The lesson was designed to begin with a review of mathematical vocabulary and the distributive property. Students learn better when new concepts are anchored to known or familiar ideas. The young lady has a solid understanding of the distributive property, but struggles with vocabulary.The warm-up program and Activity 1 provide the opportunity to align the vocabulary with the process that she has already mastered. This prior knowledge was then completed under a guided practice, with the student summarizing the process in her own words giving her ownership of the concept. The next step in the lesson w as to connect the distributive property to multiplying binomials. Although this is an effective method for simplifying these products, it requires more writing and can be time consuming. With these hindrances in mind, the lesson moved into teaching the multiplication of binomials using the FOIL strategy.FOIL stands for the product of the First terms plus the product of the Outer terms plus the product of the Inner terms plus the product of the Last terms. The lesson connected these products to the corresponding letters of the word. Another method was taught during the FOIL process and this method was the quickest for her to acquire. It entailed drawing the lines to connect the First terms, the Outer terms, the Inner terms and the Last terms. When drawn above and below the binomials, the lemonhead face is formed.After numerous examples of these methods were practiced, the student completed some on her own. At the end of our time together, she went home with 10 problems assigned throu gh our online mathematics program, Digits. Her score showed that she correctly worked 8 out of 10 problems correctly. Upon looking at her mistakes, both were errors in multiplying positive and negative numbers. According to Benson (2012), student-centered learning promotes authentic learning, helps students develop critical thinking skills and increases metacognitive awareness.By working through a well-developed lesson, teachers have the opportunity to teach, model and cue the use of various student-centered learning strategies (Laureate Education, Inc. , 2012 b). Students, with and without special needs, struggle to attain the skills learned throughout their educational careers. By becoming strategic learners, students are able to move past their difficulties through the incorporation of effective learning strategies. References Benson, S. (2012). The Relative Merits of PBL (Problem-Based Learning) in University Education. Online Submission. Retrieved April 2, 2013.Friend, M. , & B ursuck, W. D. (2009). Including students with special needs: A practical guide for classroom teachers (5th Ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill. Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2012a). Content Enhancements. [Webcast]. Baltimore: Author. Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2012b). Learning Strategies. [Webcast]. Baltimore: Author. Appendix Lesson Plan- Multiplication of binomials Standard: 6. EE. A. 3 Apply the properties of operations to generate equivalent expressions Warm-Up Problem (WUP) What do the following words mean?Product, sum, difference, binomial, increased by, decreased by Rewrite as 3(1+-2x) Rewrite as 3(1+-2x) Activity 1: Review the Distributive Property Directions: Multiply Ex. 1 4(5x + 7)Ex. 2 3(1 – 2x) 4(5x) + 4(7) 3(1) + 3(-2x) Rewrite as -8(-1+-9x) Rewrite as -8(-1+-9x) 20x + 28 3 + -6x = 3 – 6x Ex. 3 -2(6x + 11)Ex. 4 -8(-1 – 9x) -2(6x) + -2(11) -8(-1) + -8(-9x) -12x + -22 = -12x – 22 8 + 72x Activity 2: Tr y these on your own (OYO)! OYO 1 -5(x – 10)OYO 2 Write a brief summary of -5 (1x + -10)how to use the distributive property. 5(1x) + -5 (-10) -5x + 50 Activity 3: Multiply two binomials using the distributive property Ex. 5 (3x + 4)(x + 5)Ex. 6 (x + 3)(x – 12) 3x(x + 5) + 4(x + 5) x(x – 12) + 3(x – 12) 3Ãâ€"2 + 15x + 4x + 20 x2 – 12x + 3x -36 3Ãâ€"2 + 19x + 20 x2 – 9x – 36 (Continued on next page) Ex. 7 (3 – 2x)(2 – 3x)Ex. 8 (x + 2)(5x – 6) 3(2 + -3x) + -2x(2 + -3x) x(5x + – 6) + 2(5x + -6) 6 + -9x + -4x + 6Ãâ€"2 5Ãâ€"2 +-6x + 10x + -12 6Ãâ€"2 + -13x + 6 5 x2 + 4x – 12Activity 4: Try these on your own (OYO)! OYO 3 (3x -1)(2x + 5)OYO 4 (x + 4)(x – 12) 3x(2x + 5) + -1(2x + 5) x(x + -12) + 4(x + -12) 6Ãâ€"2 + 15x + -2x + -5 x2 + -12x + 4x + -48 6Ãâ€"2 + 13x + -5 x2 + -8x + – 48 Activity 5: Multiply two binomials using FOIL (x + a)(x+b) F multiply the FIRST terms in the parentheses + O multiply the OUTSIDE terms in the parentheses + I multiply the INSIDE terms in the parentheses + L multiply the LAST terms in the parentheses Ex. 9 (3x + 4)(x + 5)Ex. 0 (x + 3)(x – 12) = (x + 3) (x + -12) F + O + I + LF + O + I + L (3x)(x) + (3x)(5) + (4)(x) + (4)(5) (x)(x) + (x)(-12) + (3)(x) + (3)(-12) 3Ãâ€"2 + 15x + 4x + 20 x2 + -12x + 3x + -36 3Ãâ€"2 + 19x + 20 x2 + -9x + -36 Ex. 11 (3 – 2x)(2 – 3x)Ex. 12 (x + 2)(5x – 6) (3 + -2x) (2 + -3x) (x+2)(5x+ -6) F + O + I + LF + O + I + L (3)(2) + (3)(-3x) + (-2x)(2) + (-2x)(-3x) x)(5x) + (x)(-6) + (2)(5x) + (2)(-6) 6 + -9x + -4x + 6Ãâ€"2 5Ãâ€"2 +-6x + 10x + -12 6Ãâ€"2 + -13x + 6 5 x2 + 4x + -12 Activity 6: Try these on your own (OYO)! OYO 5 (3x -1)(2x + 5)OYO 6 (x + 4)(x – 12) (3x + -1)(2x + 5) (x + 4) (x + -12) F + O + I + LF + O + I + L (3x)(2x) + (3x)(5) + (-1)(2x) + (-1)(5) (x)(x) + (x)(-12) + (4)(x) + (4)(-12) 6Ãâ€"2 + 15x + -2x + -5 x2 + -12x + 4x + -48 6Ãâ€"2 + 13x + -5 x2 + -8x + â⠂¬â€œ 48Activity 7: Applications Christina has a square garden. When she increases her garden’s width by 3 meters and decreases its length by 4 meters, the garden’s area is 60 m2. What are the dimensions of the garden before she changed everything? Step 1: Draw a picture and label X+3 X+3 X X X-4 X-4 X X Step 2: Write an equation A = L * W 60 = (x+3)(x-4) Step 3: Guess and Check (answer is 9 m)

Madame Loisel from “The Necklace” Essay

Madame Loisel is unhappy because she is ashamed of her social standing. Madam Loisel has always dreamed of a luxurious life with servants and such, and is unhappy because she is not wealthy. She becomes even more upset when she is invited to a ball. It upsets her because she thinks she has nothing to wear which is appropriate for the occasion. Then she is upset because she doesn’t have appropraite jewelry. However the base of both of those complaints is that she is unhappy in her social standing. She was a pretty and charming girl, who thought that she should have been born into a life of luxury. But instead, she was born with parents who were â€Å"employees.† Because of this, she was dissatisfied with everything about her life. She did not like the way her house looked, she did not like the food they had. She was not even satisfied with her maid because she wasn’t high class enough either. She thinks that if all her stuff were high class, she’d be happy. It is perfectly natural for people to want what they can’t have, whether it is an expensive item of some kind of forbidden fruit. Such is the case with Madame Loisel in Guy de Maupassant’s shortMme. Loisel was envious of her friend and anyone else who had more than what she had. She felt that she deserved these things. My first example of Mathilde Loisel’s selfishness is â€Å"She had no clothes, no jewels, nothing. And these were the only things she loved; she felt that she was made for them.† (p.133). These sentences show how materialistic Mathilde is and how selfish she is for caring only about gaining these things for herself. She didn’t show any care for her husband who despite their humble living, seemed to be a caring and loving husband who kept a positive attitude about things. She held her love for materialistic objects so high that it consumed her and occupied her mind. My second example of Mathilde’s selfishness is â€Å"Nothing. Only I haven’t a dress and so I can’t go to this party.

Characteristics of Business Leadership Assignment

Characteristics of Business Leadership - Assignment Example Paul Jobs, his father, was a machinist who gave young Jobs hands on experience with electronics and helped to fuel his curiosity and passion to work with electronics. It is during this time that the seed was planted and grew to make Jobs who he was, a global icon. Just to mention, Jobs had an adopted sister, Patti. Jobs was a cofounder and pioneer of Apple Computer Inc., Chief Executive of Pixar animation studios and founder of NeXT. His passion for electronics that started early in his life propelled him to admired heights in previously uncharted waters. Jobs helped to design the world of computer technology as we know it today. In his career, like many other successful of his peers, he had many challenges, most of which he managed to elude until he succumbed in October this year to cancer he had been fighting for 8 years. Steve Jobs was an inspiration to many in Silicon Valley as he saw potential in changing the approach on computer production and design of devices and equipment fo r corporate and industrial use. On his death, the computer world lost a brilliant mind, inventor and businessperson (Vivek, 2009). Steve Jobs did three main businesses in his life and at the time of his death, he was registered as an inventor or co-inventor of 342 United States patents and pending patents. All of these were geared towards improvement of the computing experience. In 1970, he and others formed Apple Computer Inc., but on leaving Apple in 1985 due to power struggles, his creative genius did not dampen but he went on to form NeXT computer and Pixar. The two firms were later acquired by Apple and Disney respectively. When starting his businesses, Jobs did not have much but his creative genius and genuine commitment to his hard work. The major challenges that Jobs faced during his business days included competition, power struggles, and hardship in selling his high quality and expensive products. As a startup corporation, the major competitor to Apple was IBM which had mo nopolized the market, making it almost impossible to sell Apple’s computers, though they were of a higher quality (Kahney, 2004). Competition between Apple and Dell computers resulted into a war of words between Jobs and CEO of Dell computers, Michael dell. Later, after Apple was up and running, a new CEO who did not like Jobs’ habit of innovating got him stripped of his duties on allegations of wastage of resources. Steve moved on to form other successful companies; NeXT and Pixar, and Apple had to enlist his services again to save it from an imminent collapse in 1996 (Kahney, 2004). 2. Analyze this business leader's leadership style and discuss how he or she has adapted to cultural differences and how he or she operates the business effectively in global markets Jobs was an aggressive perfectionist who tolerated nothing but the best from colleagues. Though a good boss, if one was not up to his standards, Jobs did not hesitate to terminate the employment, thought he d id so in the kindest words possible. Because of this, in 1993 he was termed by fortune magazine as America’s toughest boss. Employing only the best and being the best at what he did made him a trendsetter in innovation and style, in the growing computer world. Jobs had a hands-off policy when it came to his employees as he did not interfere with their innovation processes. He only communicated

How the eye is suited for the purpose of converting visible light into Essay - 1

How the eye is suited for the purpose of converting visible light into neural activity and how visual information is then conveyed to the visual cortex - Essay Example The paper will also highlight some of the challenges the eye faces while it performs its functions. The eye’s first adaptation to its interaction with light is referred to as the papillary light reflex. When responding to different levels of light, the rods and cons work independently but back up each other. This modus operandi espouses the eye’s adaptation to dark light.. While the rods are sensitive to light, they have the tendency to take a significant amount of time to adapt to darkness, in this case the rhodopsin, situated in the photoreceptors take full charge through photo bleaching. On the other hand, the regulation of the eye’s sensitivity eye’ s to light is espoused by the changes in the intracellular calcium ions. In order to adapt to light, the eye first adapts to the background so that it is capable of detecting and distinguishing the background objects; the entire process of adaption to light takes a period of approximately five minutes Whenever light is reflected on a surface or remitted from an object, the eye detects the light that first encounters the cornea; from here, it is then focussed to the lens. The lens in turn functions to vary the focus depending on the distance that exists between the eye and the object. The focal adjustment of the light by the lens is called accommodation. The lens alters its shape depending on the distance of the object; for objects that are distant, it elongates, flattens and pulls out whereas for objects that are close by, it only needs to assume its natural round shape for clear vision. The light first passes through the space between the cornea and the lens that is filled with fluid called aqueous humour. It consequently goes through the t pupil ‘s circular aperture that is surrounded by the iris diaphragm muscles prior to going through the lens (Jones, et al 2004). However, the quantity of light that passes through the pupil is determined by the pupil’s diameter a nd still goes ahead to be

Bullying Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Bullying - Essay Example Others group behaviors into several patterns, branding a number of those behaviors as bullying, illustrating that there are several ways to adequately deal with specified patterns of behavior. Like childhood bullying, workplace bullying entails the tendency of groups or individuals to employ persistent unreasonable or aggressive behavior against a subordinate or co-worker. Workplace bullying may include tactics such as humiliation and, verbal, physical, psychological and nonverbal abuse. This form of aggression is specifically challenging because, unlike the usual types of school bullying, bullies in the workplace frequently function within the developed policies and rules of the society and organization. In addition, bullying in the workplace is in most instances reported as having been carried out by management and takes a broad range of forms. Bullying may be overt or covert, may be known by the majority or may be missed by supervisors in the organization. Negative consequences of bullying are not restrained to the individuals who are targeted, and may cause decrease in an organization’s culture and worker morale (Randall, 2001). ... In addition, it is imperative to comprehend that bullying is typically perceived to be a pattern of behavior where a single or more actions will assist highlight that bullying is present. Bullying may include, and not limited to the following: Interfering with an individual’s work equipment or personal items; spreading malicious gossip or rumors; blocking applications for leave, training, or promotion; isolating or excluding an individual socially; criticizing an individual constantly or persistently; intimidating an individual; undeserved or unwarranted punishment; intentionally impeding or undermining an individual’s work; threatening abuse or physically abusing; belittling an individual’s views; eliminating areas of work without explanation; using profanity or yelling; persistently modifying work guidelines; developing a feeling of worthlessness; creating unattainable deadlines that will make the worker to fail; intentionally providing incorrect information or concealing significant details; assigning unbearable workload or duties so as to create needless pressure; making offensive statements or jokes; and invading an individual’s privacy by stalking, spying, or pestering (Rayner, Hoel & Cooper, 2001). Nonetheless, sometimes it is difficult to determine if bullying is taking place at the workplace. A number of researches assert that there exists a thin boundary between bullying and stout management. For instance, comments that are purposefully and are meant to offer positive feedback are frequently not perceived as bullying, but instead, are meant to help workers with their duties. Bullying has a number of negative consequences to the employees. Numerous workers value their jobs and do

How effective has the IMF been in helping countries in financial Essay

How effective has the IMF been in helping countries in financial difficulty - Essay Example On issuing loans to nations, the IMF makes the loan conditional on the execution of specific economic policies. The policies enacted may involve allowing failing companies to go bankrupt, putting higher interest rates in stabilizing the currency, reducing borrowing from the government and structural adjustment (Rogoff, 25). The big issue is that the structural adjustment policies make the situation to be worse. For instance, in the Asian crisis that happened in 1997, nations such as Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia were instructed by IMF to follow tight monetary policy and tight financial policies in reducing the budget deficit and strengthening exchange rates. Argentina was forced in the same financial restraint policy in 2001. This led to the damage of economy as there was a decline in public services investment. It is also seen that when IMF intruded in Kenya in the 1990s, it made the Central bank abolish controls over capital flows. The consent was that the decision made it easier for dishonest politicians to transfer money out of the nation’s economy. This reveals how IMF did not understand the dynamics of the nation it dealt with. In conclusion, in responding to the public demands in addressing the debt crisis of poor nations and offering debt reliefs, IMF introduced the Highly Indebted Poor Countries Inventiveness in 1996 (Feldstein, 18). This was a big disappointment because of the insufficient debt relief supplied and its SAP requirements. Before a nation became eligible for debt relief under the Highly Indebted poor nations, it was supposed to successfully complete six years of structural amendments. The objectives of Highly Indebted Poor Countries were not to sustain debts in the poor countries, but to minimize losses incurred by the rich

Examined Life + Judith Butler & Sunaura Taylor Movie Review - 1

Examined Life + Judith Butler & Sunaura Taylor - Movie Review Example The researcher states that the video "Examined Life + Judith Butler & Sunaura Taylor"   is very enlightening but at the same time disturbing because although contemporary society has become more embracing to people with disabilities or impairments, in the real sense, or from the perspectives of these disabled people, society is still the culprit that restrains them and confines them to a stereotyped image that as disables, there are vast opportunities, activities, and endeavors that are not simple available and accessible to them. For instance, at some point, Taylor indicated that society is somehow callous on people who need some help or assistance and are tended to be looked down upon. She cited that sometimes, she is apprehensive to seek some assistance in ordering coffee and demanding assistance and she had to sit in the park for hours just to gather the strength to do that. It is so sad to realize how society has been so selfish and have been totally indifferent to people who should have been accorded assistance without being told. The study of Neath clearly indicates that â€Å"impairments are often acquired as a result of social practices (e.g., war, interpersonal violence). There is a strong likelihood of a â€Å"disabling society† that disability will follow impairment†. The researcher believes that society imposes predefined mindsets and practices that exhibit attitudes of repression, a prejudiced predisposition in interacting with people who are physically challenged. The most disturbing input brought out by Butler was that a young man’s gait, due to its distinct peculiarity, paved a group of guys to kill him. It makes the author think that this is society’s response to the theory of survival of the fittest.

Causes and Effects of Childhood Obesity Research Paper

Causes and Effects of Childhood Obesity - Research Paper Example According to the findings, obesity is impossible to hide and typically introduces a great deal of public humiliation every time the individual walks out the door. This element alone can cause lifelong severe psychological damage that significantly impacts the individual’s ability to live a happy, fulfilling life. However, the physical cost of being obese are much greater even than this. It is well-known that obesity can dramatically lower life expectancy at every age level. What might not be so well known is that there are at least 300,000 deaths in the United States every year that are the direct result of the person being obese. Even when life doesn’t seem threatened, people who are obese suffer a greater number of illnesses, have an earlier onset and more severe problems in their bones and joints and back region and are more lethargic than those who are not. Approaching epidemic proportions, identifying the causes and treatment of obesity is of utmost importance part icularly when working with children who have an entire lifetime ahead of them. Heredity significantly influences obesity. People who are genetically predisposed to being obese have a harder time trying to lose weight or to maintain the desired body mass. Children born into overweight families are often overweight even before they have the opportunity to try maintaining a healthy weight. Other contributing factors to the problem of obesity in children can include metabolic and socioeconomic circumstances, diseases, endocrine ailments, and medications Metabolism refers to how efficiently a person’s body burns up energy. Metabolic levels and hormonal balances differ widely from one person to another and both factor significantly in controlling weight.

Cell Phones and Radiation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Cell Phones and Radiation - Essay Example From this study it is clear that the technology of cell phone has eliminated the factor of geographical distances and made the general population more socially connected. The acceptance rate of the cell phone technology can be realized by the fact that from the year 1990 up till 2011, the worldwide cell phone subscriptions raised from 12.4 million to over 6 billion, penetrating nearly 87% of the world population (MobiThinking). Cell phone technology may not be all that safe. Amidst the life of convenience offered by cell phones, the potential threat the cell phone technology may have to the health of humans can get ignored. On October 19, 2012, the Supreme Court in Rome (Italy) gave a ruling wherein a â€Å"causal link† was found to exist between the mobile phone and the illness of an Italian Company’s Director Innocente Marcolini, 60. Marcolini was diagnosed to have developed a tumor (neurinoma affecting a cranial nerve) on the side of the head that he held his mobile phone to for 5-6 hours a day for 12 years.   As the paper outlines Cell Phone Radiations Cell phones use a type of electromagnetic energy called radiofrequency (or simply RF) energy for communication. RF are the radio waves and microwaves. On the electromagnetic spectrum, where the energy ranges from ones that have extremely low frequencies with long wavelengths to those that have extremely high frequencies with short wavelengths, the radio waves and microwaves lie between the two extremes. In the RF region, the frequencies are in the range of 3KHz to 300GHz. Microwaves are a category of radio waves located towards the higher end i.e. range starts from several hundred MHz to several GHz. In medical applications, one supportive use is in chemotherapy where the selective tumors are heated up. Electromagnetic radiations can be ionizing or non-ionizing. Ionizing radiations are high energy radiations that strip electrons from the atoms or molecules. E.g X-rays and Gamma rays. These radiations can cause molecular changes thus damage biological tissue (i.e. can effect DNA and genetic material). The non-ionizing radiations are low energy radiation that are not powerful enough to disintegrate atom structures. E.g. visible light, infrared radiation. RF radiations are non-ionizing radiations. RF energy heats up objects, therefore it has two types of biological effects; thermal and non-thermal. Thermal effects are those where the biological tissue heats up so rapidly that the body cannot manage or dissipate the energy.

Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft Essay Example for Free

Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft Essay Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft (ni e Godwin; 1797-1851), English novelist, daughter of the British philosopher and novelist William Godwin and the British author and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft. Mary was born in London. Her mother died ten days after her birth. Her father had many literary friends, and Marys childhood was populated by such figures as William Hazlitt, Charles Lamb, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. In 1812, Percy Bysshe Shelley and his wife Harriet joined their circle. Before Mary was 17, she and Shelley were meeting secretly by her mothers grave in St Pancras churchyard. After Shelleys separation from Harriet in 1814, he and Mary eloped to the Continent. In the eight years before the poets death, the couple lived an unconventional life, moving between Italy, England, and Switzerland, part of a bohemian set that included the poets John Keats and Lord Byron. Harriet Shelleys suicide in December 1816 allowed Mary and Percy to marry. They had four children together, but only one, Percy Florence, survived his parents. The loss of their first child affected Mary profoundly, and seems to have shaped the themes of her first novel, Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus (1818). Mary Shelley conceived this story in 1816, while staying on Lake Geneva as the guest of Byron. According to her introduction to the novel, their host challenged his guests to write a ghost story, and Frankenstein was the product of its authors unusually vivid nightmare. In combining Gothic terrors with extreme physical realism and a basis in the sciences of biology and electricity, Shelley founded the genre of science fiction. The novel is the story of Victor Frankenstein, a medical student who constructs a living being from the remains of dissecting-room corpses. Victors experiments dramatize the morality of the act of creation itself. He explains: I collected bones from charnel- houses; and disturbed, with profane fingers, the tremendous secrets of the human frame. Horrified by the result of his project, Frankenstein abandons the Creature, who wanders the countryside, tormented by his total isolation from humanity. The Creature persuades his creator to construct a second, female being, but Victor dismembers this before it can be brought to life. In revenge, the Creature murders Frankensteins bride. A chase across the world then ensues, Victor determining to pursue the di mon who caused this misery until he or I shall perish in mortal conflict. The Creature, despite his monstrosity, is an intensely tragic figure, and Shelley effects an uncanny merging of its personality with that of Victor, who considers it my own vampire, my own spirit let loose from the grave. A critical and popular success, the book was dedicated to William Godwin. After her husbands death in 1822, Shelley returned to England, where she settled with her son. She was granted a small allowance by her father-in-law, Sir Timothy Shelley, but this was temporarily withdrawn when she published Percy Bysshe Shelleys Posthumous Poems (1824). She spent much time editing and annotating her late husbands work, but, owing to Sir Timothys opposition, she was unable to publish the Poetical Works until 1839. Shelley published five other novels. Valperga (1823) is a romance of 14th-century Italy. The Last Man (1826) is an apocalyptic fantasy in which humanity is destroyed by plague. Set in a republican Britain of the year 2073, it traces the effects of global catastrophe on a small group of characters and their wider environment. The final section of the book sees its narrator, Lionel Verney, living in the ruins of a decimated Rome. The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck (1830) is a historical drama much influenced by the novels of Sir Walter Scott. Lodore (1835) and Falkner (1837) are domestic stories with strongly autobiographical elements. Another novel, Mathilda (1819), which tells the story of an incestuous relationship between a father and daughter, remained unpublished until 1959. Financing her sons private education, Mary Shelley continued to write essays and short fiction for periodicals such as the Keepsake. Between 1835 and 1838 she produced a series of scholarly biographies for the Lardners Cabinet Cyclopi dia series. The death of Sir Timothy Shelley in 1844 brought a new-found security to her life, but her closing years were troubled by threats of blackmail from embittered members of the Shelley and Byron families. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Mary Shelley section.

The Difficulty Limited and Extensive choices Essay Example for Free

The Difficulty Limited and Extensive choices Essay Abstract The conducted study is based on personal choice in limited and extensive choice experimental groups. It was conducted to further the research in choice overload and paralysis of the mind. The central aim was to assess if people in limited choice groups were more motivated to win, found it less difficult to choose and were more satisfied with their choice. Due to past research, results should indicate an evident slant for the limited choice group being more satisfied and finding it less difficult to choose. The  study recruited HPS121 students to participate in a limited and extensive choice experiment in context to hotels. There were 661 participants, each chose one hotel and where then surveyed using six questions; three demographic and three in regards to difficulty, motivation and satisfaction using a 7-point Likert scale. The findings supported the hypothesis and were consistent with past research. Satisfaction and difficulty of choice showed a statistically significant difference with limited choice groups finding it less difficult and ended more satisfied. Motivation wasn’t statistically significant however; the limited choice group were still more motivated to win. Society today has an explosion of choice and this study indicates that too much choice is causing choice overload and paralysis of the mind. Choice is great however, too much is damaging society. Social psychology is the study of how people or situations influence our feelings, thoughts and behaviour. Personal choice is a new study within social psychology and is highly important to research due to the ever-growing explosion of choices we are facing in today’s society. Schwartz (2006) discusses this stigma of more choice being attractive however; it’s decreasing people’s satisfaction and increasing paralysis of the mind. He states that extensive choice leads to greater expectations which leads to a decrease in overall satisfaction, self blame for not making the perfect choice, opportunity costs (i.e.; always wanting to do something that your not doing) and regret/anticipated regret. Mouse heart (2008) a radio host presenter spoke about the choice explosion occurring in today’s society with Hugh Mackay, who has conducted wide-ranging research on the issue of the paradox of choice. Hugh suggests that there is a rise of the options generation which are people ranging from 18-35 years of age who can be distinguished by the pace of change in their lives and how comfortable they are with the open option. Iyengar and Lepper (2000) conducted three studies into the research of limited and extensive choice that explored motivation and satisfactional differences between the two groups. Study one used a display of jams of which two could only be tasted. One condition involved a selection of six jams and the other a selection of 24 jams. The results were evident that the extensive group found it less motivating to buy any jam due to paralyses and choice overload. Study two Iyengar and Lepper (2000) involved essay topics of which the limited choice group chose from six and the extensive choice chose from 30. The topics were based on the film 12 angry men. Results showed in the extensive group that motivation was severly affected when it came to writing the essay and the quality was hindered. Finally study three involved chocolates and three groups, limited choice, extensive choice and no choice (control group). Fndings indicated that participants in the limited choice who tasted chocolate were far more likely to receive $5.00 worth of chocalate as payment for participating than the extensive group who mostly went for the money. The results are contradictory as people in current society have an abundant of choice and perceive it to be better, however; current research shows it may be more beneficial to limit choice. Our study tried to explore this in the motivation, satisfaction and difficulty differences across the two choice groups by conducting a study with six limited choice options and 24 extensive choice options. The study that Deakin university trimester two psychology students participated in was based on limited and extensive choice in context to hotels. This study aimed to replicate current findings on motivation and satisfaction and to test the hypothesis, a person who had fewer hotels to choose from would be more motivated to win the reimbursement, find it less difficult to choose and be more satisfied with their choice of hotel over participants from the extensive choice group. Method Deakin Hps121 students were asked to pick one hotel at which they would like to stay at and one lucky student would win a $400.00 reimbursement for there stay. Participants were split into two groups at random allocation. Half received a choice from six hotels (limited choice group) whereas the others received a choice from 24 hotels (extensive choice group). Once participants had chosen their desired hotel, they were asked a set of six questions, three of which were demographic and the remaining three were conducted using a 7-point Likert scale. Participants: Participants were from Deakin University studying Hps121 in trimester two. The study used a consequence sample randomly allocating participants into the two experimental groups, either extensive choice or limited choice. There were 661 participants in this study, 546 of which were female and 115 of which were male. The ages ranged from 18-66 years of age: (M=22.37 years, SD=7.51 years). Consent was gained through a disclaimer at the start of the survey, which stipulated and outlined the ethical issues. Materials: Photographs of four to five star hotels in Queensland, Australia, with descriptive words explaining the hotel were used. To test the hypothesis a 7-point Likert scale was used to indicate the participants satisfaction, motivation to win and the difficulty the experienced from choosing a hotel. Procedure: Students of Hps121 were asked to complete a survey at their discretion. One lucky student had the chance to win a $400.00 reimbursement for the hotel they chose in the study. Participants were then given a link to the survey  online via cloud Deakin. There was a consent form outlining the ethical issues and participants could either accept or decline to participate. The participants that voluntarily participated were then randomly categorised into the two experimental groups: one limited choice and the other extensive choice. Photographs of hotels that were four to five stars based in Queensland, Australia were then presented to the participants, the photographs had a few words description. The Limited choice group were able to choose from six hotels and the extensive choice group were able to choose from 24 hotels. After the participants had chosen they were then asked to complete a series of six questions, three of which were demographic based and asked for the student’s age, gender and also their student id number. The second three questions were based on a 7-point Likert scale that asked for the participant’s motivation to win, how hard their choice was and how satisfied they were with their choice of hotel. A t-test was then used to derive the results. In conclusion to the study conducted the extensive amounts of choice society is facing currently is damaging the population. Society is however built like this with technology ever growing and choices expanding everyday, therefore the population need to find a way to cope with the paralysis it’s causing. In any case the limited choice groups were far better off and showed higher rates of satisfaction, found it less difficult to make a choice and had slightly more motivation to participate. The study supported the findings from Schwartz, B (2006), Maushart, S (2006) and Iyengar and Lepper (2000). Showing us that extensive choice may be at first more appealing but not beneficial or appealing subsequently. References Iyengar, S. S., Lepper, M. R. When choice is demotivating: Can one desire too much of a good thing? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2000, 79: 995-1006. †¢Maushart, S. (Presenter). Multiple Choice, Episode 1 -For the Options Generation, the paradoxes of choice abound -like the couple who lived happily ever afterand then got married. [Podcast radio programme]. (2008, February 20) Sydney: ABC Radio National. Retrieved November 4, 2013 from http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200803/r229466_914710.mp3 †¢Schwartz, B. Too Much Choice. (2006, October 14) [Video] Retrieved November 4, 2013 from http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/barry_schwartz_on_the_paradox_of_choic e.html

Competition Law And Monopsony Economics Essay

Competition Law And Monopsony Economics Essay Can a buyer be the biggest bully? The classical theory of monopsony answers this question. It envisions a market scenario with only one buyer, who can use his leverage to reduce the quantity of product purchased, thereby driving down the price that he has to pay. Seldom does a monopsonistic situation arise in the market, so much so that little has been thought till date about the potential adverse impact of such a scenario on market competition. Another reason for the antitrust analysts apparent neglect of the power on the buyers side of the market may be that such power tends to reduce the selling price of a commodity, thereby causing a prima facie increase in consumer welfare  [1]  , which has always been one of the traditional goals of competition law. The said lack of emphasis, unfortunately, remains blind to the symmetry of markets: for every seller there is a buyer. Therefore, just like sellers, buyers too may have market power. In course of this research project, the researcher intends to drive home the point that price fixing and other forms of collusion are just as unlawful when the victims are sellers rather than buyers. Also referred to as the flip-side version of monopoly  [2]  , monopsony can thus have valid antitrust concerns. The primary aim of this project is to analyze the theory of monopsony from an antitrust law approach. In the first chapter initial part of the project, the researcher has provided a brief description of the standard monopsony theory and the economic implications thereof. In the next chapter, the concerns of monopsony under antitrust law will be addressed with significant emphasis on the concept of abuse of dominant position. Finally, the researcher will give examples of judicial interpretation of monopsonies. All other forms of legislative remedies dealing with monopsony fall outside the scope of this paper. B. Classical Monopsony -What does It Entail? Pure monopsony can be looked upon as the demand-side analogue of the monopolist who is a single seller. It thus follows that just as the monopolist has market power in selling its products; the monopsonist has buying power in purchasing its necessities too.  [3]  The economic grievance towards both is therefore similar too -both cause social welfare losses. From a slightly different perspective, the social welfare effects of monopsony are analogous to those of monopoly -too few resources will be employed in the production.  [4]  At the point where supply intersects with demand, the value of the good, as measured by the demand price, equals the cost to society of providing that quantity as measured by the supply price. At this point, the employment level is optimal in a social sense because all of the gains from trade have been realized, and total welfare is maximized. However, the monopsonist will not hire this number of units because it is not privately optimal to do so; it will employ a smaller quantity. As a result, too few resources will be employed, as has been stated above and the monopsonist will finally forgo potential gains from trade opportunities.  [5]  Since the monopsonist forces a lower price upon suppliers, one may infer that its costs for conversion of the intermediate good into a final one will fall as a result and consumers (of that final good) will benefit through lower prices on the monopsonists output. However, the researcher would like to differ from such inference and point out that the monopsonist does not pass on said lower costs simply because the relevant costs for pricing decisions are marginal costs.  [6]  What the researcher intends to portray is that monopsony power is to the demand side of a market what monopoly power is to the supply side. Monopoly power is indicated by the ability of sellers to raise price above competitive levels, which requires the ability to limit output. Monopsony power, on the other hand, involves the ability of buyers to lower input prices below competitive levels, which requires the ability to restrict the quantity demanded of the input.  [7]  In either case, the quantity that would be exchanged is less than the quantity exchanged under competitive conditions, and the result bespeaks allocative inefficiency.  [8]  Furthermore, the fact that the reduced input prices enjoyed by the monopsonist do not lead to reduced output prices, is, frankly, ironical. On the contrary, when the monopsonist has market power in its output market, the reduced input prices cause higher output prices. C. Monopsonist Concerns- Abuse of dominant position The Indian Competition Act, 2002  [9]  aims at preventing practices which have adverse effect on competition, to protect the interest of consumers and to ensure freedom of trade carried on by other participants, in markets, in India.  [10]  It is important to note here that the Indian Competition Act, like most other legislations introduces the concept of abuse of dominant position. This means that it prohibits only abuse of power not the mere use of it.  [11]   There are primarily three stages in determining whether an enterprise has abused its dominant position. The first stage is defining the relevant market. The second is determining whether the concerned undertaking is in a dominant position in that relevant market. The third stage is the determination of whether the undertaking in a dominant position has engaged in conducts specifically prohibited by the statute or amounting to abuse of dominant position or attempt to monopolize under the applicable law.  [12]   The competition laws of the European Union, United Kingdom, Germany and India contain a general prohibition on the abuse of dominance by undertakings/enterprises. Article 82  [13]  of the Treaty of the EC, Section 18(1)  [14]  of the Competition Act, 1988, U.K., Section 4(1)  [15]  of the Indian Competition Act, 2002, Section 19(1)  [16]  of the German Act Against Restraints on Competition and Section 2  [17]  of the Sherman Act contain provisions on abuse of dominant position. 1. Defining Relevant Market The first step in determining whether an undertaking or firm has abused its dominant position is defining the relevant market which has two broad dimensions namely, the relevant product market and the relevant geographical market.  [18]   The Indian Competition Act, 2002, defines a relevant product market and relevant geographic market. Section 2 (t) defines the relevant product market as a market comprising all those products or services which are regarded as interchangeable or substitutable by the customer, by reason of the characteristics of the product or service, the prices and the intended use. Section 2 (s) defines the relevant geographic market as a market comprising the area in which the conditions of competition for supply of goods or provision of services are sufficiently homogeneous and can be distinguished from the conditions prevailing in neighbourhood areas. There is however, no such case either in India or in other countries, where such a definition has been challenged on the grounds that it takes into account supplier side abuse as only the views of the customers attitude towards substitutability of the goods is taken. Keeping this question aside and assuming that this problem is resolved by judicial interpretation, the other elements of abuse of dominance also need to be assessed. 2. Definition of a Dominant Position While the laws of numerous countries prohibit or declare illegal the abuse of dominant position or monopoly or attempt to monopolizen of certain conduct by undertakings in a dominant position, the manner in which dominant position, monopoly or substantial degree of market power is defined is different in different countries. The concept of dominance is broader than economic power over price. It is not the same as economic monopoly, although a monopoly would clearly be dominant.  [19]  This is a clear indication of the fact that dominance is recognised as cases even apart from monopoly and thus the possibility of characterising monopsony as down-stream dominance strengthens here. Explanation (a) to Section 4 of the Indian Act defines dominant position as dominant position means a position of strength, enjoyed by an enterprise, in the relevant market in India, which enables it to- (i) operate independently of competitive forces prevailing in the relevant market or (ii) affect its competitors or consumers or the relevant market in its favour. Unlike the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act  [20]  where a dominant undertaking had to satisfy a quantitative requirement of control over at least 1/4th of the total goods or services produced or rendered in India, dominant position under the Indian Act  [21]  is a position of strength enjoyed by an enterprise in the relevant market, in India which enables it to operate independently of competitive forces; or affects its competitors or consumers or the relevant market in its favour.  [22]   A number of factors are taken into account to determine whether a particular undertaking or group of undertakings is in a dominant position in the relevant market. The factors to be taken into account are inter alia market share of the undertaking or enterprise, barriers to entry, size of competitors and financial power of the enterprise.  [23]   However, the market share that a particular undertaking has in the relevant market is one of the most important factors to be taken into account to determine whether it is in a dominant position and under the laws of some jurisdictions, the existence of a market share of or above a specified level gives rise to a presumption of existence of a dominant position (although rebuttable).  [24]   In Hoffmann-La Roche Co. AG v Commission of the European Communities  [25]  , it was observed that the existence of very large market shares though a very important factor, is not constant and its importance varies from market to market according to the structure of these markets. The Court observed, Furthermore although the importance of the market shares may vary from one market to another, the view may legitimately be taken that very large shares are in themselves, and save in exceptional circumstances, evidence of the existence of a dominant position.  [26]   Competition authorities can utilise measures like buyer concentration and elasticity of supply, as well as performance measures such as profitability and relative bargaining power compared to the sellers, in order to assist them in the assessment of buyer power. The structure of the buyer and the seller markets must also be taken into account.  [27]  The number of firms is also essential in judging whether buyer concentration can provide a representative measure of buyer power. A small number of firms that account for a high share of purchases indicate that the buyer market is concentrated.  [28]   3. Abuse of Dominant Position The Indian Act does not prohibit dominance or the presence of market power per se, and sheer market power alone, or even market dominance, does not constitute abuse of dominance. Abuse of dominance occurs when a dominant firm, or group of firms, substantially prevents or lessens competition, by engaging in acts that aim to eliminate or discipline competitors, or simply to stop potential competitors from entering the market in question. The treaty of the EC does not contain an express definition of abuse of dominance but merely lists certain conducts which, if engaged in by a dominant undertaking will amount to abuse of dominance. In Hoffmann-La Roche it was observed that, The concept of abuse is an objective concept relating to the behaviour of an undertaking in a dominant position which is such as to influence the structure of a market where , as a result of the very presence of the undertaking in question , the degree of competition is weakened and which , through recourse to methods different from those which condition normal competition in products or services on the basis of the transactions of commercial operators , has the effect of hindering the maintenance of the degree of competition still existing in the market or the growth of that competition.  [29]   In Europemballage Corporation and Continental Can Company Inc. v Commission of the European Communities  [30]  it was observed that, Abuse may therefore occur if an undertaking in a dominant position strengthens such position in such a way that the degree of dominance reached substantially fetters competition, i.e. that, only those undertakings remain in the market whose behaviour depends on the dominant one. In the light of the fact that the existing antitrust legislation prohibits only abuses of power, the question assumes significance as to whether in cases of either monopoly or monopsony, it would entail an abuse of market power to use that power merely to influence price. Rationality suggests that the legislative prohibition should extend only to price-only effects. However, later cases will reveal how only price-effects are not enough and that a closer look must be taken to strike down abusive case of monopsony by the judiciary. D. Judicial Trends under Monopsony- A Concern for society? Recent surveys conducted in U.K.  [31]  have revealed that the current judicial trend is towards substantive analysis, instead of the bright line tests  [32]  that were in vogue before. As a result, judges are required to appreciate in entirety economic consequences of an action, lest they commit mistakes. For example, if judiciary uses initial impact on price as the test for prohibited conduct, monopsonistic behaviour may be excused, even when it ought not to be. Such a conclusion, although erroneous, may be reached at in the following cases: first, strictly from substantive perspective, judiciary may perceive lower prices as an indicator of the harmlessness of a practice. Moreover, procedurally speaking, injury suffered by sellers who have been compelled to sell their outputs at lower prices may not qualify as antitrust injury in the traditional sense. The researcher would in this context draw attention towards a recent controversy surrounding the matter of Balmoral Cinema v. Allied Artists Pictures,  [33]  which highlights the significance of proper economic analysis of monopsony scenario. In this case, the exhibitors (buyers) colluded to refrain from competitive bidding for films offered by distributors. While such an action might have fallen foul of standard bright-line antitrust analysis as a per se unlawful horizontal agreement to fix price, the judiciary held instead that the practice of the colluding buyers was simply causing lowering of prices paid by exhibitors to distributors, which might lower prices to movie-goers at the box office, thereby facilitating rather than undermining consumer welfare. Without delving into propriety of the judgement, the researcher would like to posit that it had come perilously close to equating lower prices with overall economic benefit. It is for this very reason that in the case of mono psony, the presence of lower prices should not end the analysis because there is no correlation between an initial decrease in prices and any overall long-run benefits to consumers. E. Conclusion The aforementioned analysis clearly indicates that there is a buyer for every seller and anticompetitive conduct by buyers can cause adverse economic consequences similar to those caused by sellers anticompetitive behaviour. However, the competition policymakers are yet to fully incorporate the symmetry of markets into their analyses, instead restricting their focus solely on seller-behaviour. Especially in a country like India, monopolistic tendencies are in essence sought to be curbed. It is highly doubtful if the courts would really read monopsony into the statute and declare it bad in law as well. The Indian judiciary must strengthen the economic foundations for dealing with anticompetitive conduct by buyers too. The requirement assumes all the more significance owing to the simple statement of fact that concentration of power on the buying side of a market almost inevitably causes a decrease in price, which may tempt a judge in turn to erroneously stop substantive analysis at th at stage, or declare that the plaintiffs have not suffered antitrust injury.  [34]   In course of this project, the researcher has sought to emphasize a few matters. First, lower input prices resulting from the exercise of monopsony power do not ultimately translate into lower prices to the monopsonists customers and increased overall consumer welfare. Thus, neither the substantive nor the procedural analysis should stop with the initial impact on input price. Second, the monopsony model typically employed in many economic texts and antitrust casebooks seriously understates the variety of consequences of the exertion of monopsony power. Finally, the long-run consequences of monopsony must not be ignored. Lower input prices in the short run may mean decreases in both future supply and in ultimate, overall consumer well-being. This conclusion has implications on the debate about whether the antitrust laws should be applied usingconsumer welfare or total welfare standard. Those espousing the consumer welfare standard believe that antitrust analysis should focus on the interests of consumers who purchase a final end product or output in the chain of distribution. In contrast, proponents of the total welfare standard argue that the antitrust laws should seek to maximize societys wealth as a whole rather than focusing on any one type of market participant. The fact that many courts and enforcers outside India have not been reluctant to condemn anticompetitive buy-side conduct, which potentially poses little or no direct threat to consumer welfare, suggests a willingness on their part to take into account the interests of all market participants. Perhaps this indicates some recognition by courts and enforcers that in the long run, monopsony can ultimately be just as harmful to consumers as anticompetitive conduct occurring in the output market. While the judicial decisions may not completely resolve the debate about the consumer welfare and total welfare standards, perhaps it helps to solidify to some degree what courts and enforcers have been suggesting all along-that conduct on the buy side of the market should be treated just as strictly as conduct on the sell side of the market. Thus, the researcher hopes that the Indian law and judiciary will develop, in light of these rulings abroad to set aside the traditional perception of sellers being largely immune to antitrust violations. F. Bibliography Statutes Competition Act, 1988, United Kingdom 6 Gesetz gegen Wettbewerbsbeschrà ¤nkungen, GWB (German Act Against Restraints on Competition,1956 6 Sherman Act, United States, 1890 6 The Competition Act, 2002, No. 12 of 2003 5 The Monopolistic and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969 8 Treaty of the European Communities, 2003 6 Cases Balmoral Cinema v. Allied Artists Pictures, 885 F. 2d 313 (6th Cir. 1989). 8 Europemballage Corporation and Continental Can Company Inc. v Commission of the European Communities, [1973] EUECJ C-6/72. 10 Hoffmann-La Roche Co. AG v Commission of the European Communities, ECJ, Case 85/76, Dated 13 February 1979. 9 Ilan Golan v. Pingel Enterprises Inc, 310 F.3d 1360, 1370 (Fed. Cir. 2002) 6 Image Technical Services Inc v. Eastman Kodak Co, (90-1029), 504 U.S. 451 (1992) 6 Queensland Wire Industries Proprietary Limited v. The Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited and another [1989] HCA 6; (1989) 167 CLR 177 6 United Brands Co and United Brands Continental BV v. The Commission of European Communities, (1978) 1 CMLR 429. 9 Works of Publicists and Authors Geoffrey A. Manne E. Marcellus Williamson, Hot Docs v. Cold Economics: The Use and Misuse of Business Documents in Antitrust Enforcement and Adjudication, 47 Arizona Law Review 609. 12 John J. Flynn, The Misuse of Economic Analysis in Antitrust Litigation, 12 Southwestern University Law Review 335. 5 Leon B. Greenfield Daniel J. Matheson, Rules v. Standards and the Antitrust Jurisprudence of Justice Breyer, 23 (3) Antitrust L. Journal 48 (2009). 11 Mark Furse, Competition Law of the EC and UK, 6th Ed, 2008, Oxford University Press. 10 Natalie Rosenfelt, The Verdict on Monopsony, 20 Loyola Consumer Law Review 402. 4 Remarks of Dr. Betty Bock at University College of London, 55 Antitrust Trade Reg. Rep. (BNA) 109 (July 21, 1988), 11 Richard J. Pierce, Is Post-Chicago Economics Ready for the Courtroom? A Response to Professor Brennan, 69 George Washington Law Review 1103 12 Richard Whish, Competition Law, 6th Ed, 2008, Oxford University Press. 9 Roger D. Blair Jeffrey L. Harrison, Antitrust Policy and Monopsony, 76 Cornell L. Rev. 297 3 Roger G. Noll, Buyer Power and Economic Policy, 72 Antitrust L.Journal. 589, 613 (2005) 4 Web Sources Competition Commission of India, Abuse of Dominance in Indian Comeptition Law, Available at www.competition-commission-india.nic.in//Abuse%20of%20Dominant.pdf, Last visited on 17 March 2011 6 David Waterman, Local Monopsony, Free Riding, and Antitrust Policy, April 1995, Prepared for Presentation at the Fifth Annual Conference of the American Law and Economics Association, May 12-13, 1995, Available at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=54865, Last visited on 17 March 2011. 3 Dobson Consulting, Buyer power and its impact on competition in the food retail distribution sector of the European Union, (1999), available at http://europa.eu.int/comm/competition/publications/studies/bpifrs/ , last visited on 17 March, 2011. 9 G.R. Bhatia, Abuse of Dominance, Available at www.competition-commission-india.nic.in//ABUSE%20OF%20DOMINANCE.pdf, Last visited on 17 March 2011. 5 G.R. Bhatia, Advance rulings that are awaited on issues under the Competition Act, 2002, Available at http://www.indialawjournal.com/volume3/issue_3/article_by_bhatia.html, Last visited on 17 March 2011. 6 John R.Wilke, Bully Buyers: How Driving Prices Lower Can Violate Antitrust Statutes, 27 January 2004, The Wall Street Journal, Available at http://bpp.wharton.upenn.edu/waldfogj/250/clippings/Monopsony/WSJ%201-27-2004%20Bully%20Buyers%20-%20How%20Driving%20Prices%20Lower%20Can%20Violate%20Antitrust%20Laws.pdf-, Last visited on 17 March 2011. 4 Mallika Ramachandran, Comparative Study: Law on Abuse of Dominant Position, Available at www.cci.gov.in//ComparativeStudyLaw_mallikaramachandran09022007_20080411100811.pdf, Last visited on 17 March 2011. 8 OECD (2005): Competition law and Policy in the European Union, http://www.oecd.ord/dataoecd/7/41/35908641.pdf, Last visited on 17 March, 2011. 7 OECD, Directorate for Financial, Fiscal and Enterprise Affairs Comm. on Competition Law and Policy, Buying Power of Multiproduct Retailers (1999), available at http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/1/18/2379299.pdf, last visited on 17 March, 2011 5 Raghav Dhawan, Countervailing Buyer Power as a defence in Dominance cases, available at http://www.cci.gov.in/images/media/ResearchReports/competitionlawprojraghav_20100119154458.pdf, Last visited on 17 March, 2011. 9 Surabhi Singhi, Competition Act, 2002 and its Relevance, Available at http://www.legalserviceindia.com/articles/compet.htm, Last visited on 17 March 2011. 6

Characteristics of Criminal Homicides :: essays research papers

Michael Woodworth and Stephen Porter. (August 2002). In Cold Blood: Characteristics of Criminal Homicides as a Function of Psychopathy. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, Vol. 111, No. 3, 436-445. Overview   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This study examined the correlation between psychopathy and the characteristics of criminal homicides committed by offenders. Problem   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"It was hypothesized that the homicides committed by psychopathic offenders would be more likely to be primarily instrumental (I.e., associated with premeditation, motivated by an external goal, and not preceded by a potent affective reaction) or â€Å"cold-blooded† in nature (Pg. 436).† However, homicides committed by nonpsychopaths often would be â€Å"crimes of passion† associated with a high level of impulsivity/reactivity and emotionality. Method   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A sample of 125 Canadian offenders were selected for the study. The entire sample was examined in two different ways. First, dual coding was used on a random selection of 21 offenders. These people were asked questions and scored a number of points depending on their responses. All file information on these offenders were made available to the blind coder. Second, a set of 33 cases were randomly selected for dual coding. These cases were different because all details were not made available to the blind coder. Results   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The results confirmed the hypothesis; â€Å"homicides committed by psychopathic offenders were more instrumental than homicides by nonpsychopaths. Almost all (93.3%) of the homicides by psychopaths were primarily instrumental in nature compared with 48.4% of the homicides by nonpsychopaths (Pg. 436).† Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The authors’ conclusions from their study went to prove what they believed to be the outcome. Nothing was found to be shocking or a surprise when reviewing the end results.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I feel the authors conclusions â€Å"hit the nail right on the head.

Human Resource Management: Attraction, Motivation, and Retention Essay

Time has changed the way organisations operate. Contemporary organisations not only need to compete for reputation and tangible organisational resources, but also participate in the ‘war for talent’ (Bartlett & Ghoshal 2002). Bartlett and Ghoshal (2002) described the ‘war for talent’ as competing for talented and skilled workers by attracting them to work for the organisation as well as retaining their loyalty. Hence, this paper will focus upon three strategies of Human Resource Management (HRM), that is, attraction, motivation, and retention. It is important to address these because many of the Human Resource (HR) activities build upon these strategies to gain competitive advantage (Jensen 2005). Organisations can win the ‘war for talent’ and hence increase their competitive advantage by creating and maintaining loyalty within organisations, albeit sometimes requiring considerable investment, effort and commitment to overcome obstacles. This discussion will also form the basis of illustrating that HRM performs more than administrative duties and plays a vital role in determining an organisation’s success. Examples of organisations’ successes in attracting, motivating, and retaining employees will be illustrated throughout the discussion. This essay concludes with an analysis of the skills HR managers need to become a strategic partner in the organisation. Competitive advantage refers to an organisation maximising its strengths as a method to compete in the marketplace (Bartlett & Ghoshal 2002). This consists of cost leadership as well as differentiation in products and services (Global Reporting Initiative 2002). In addition, an organisation achieves competitive advantage by winning the ‘war for talent’, which is the ultimat... ...anagement in Australia: Strategy, people, performance 3rd., Sydney, Australia: McGraw-Hill. Dowling, P.J., Festing, M. & Allen D. Engle, S., 2008. International human resource management: Managing people in a multinational context 5th., Boston: Cengage Learning. Global Reporting Initiative, 2002. Sustainability reporting guidelines. Environment. Available at: www.globalreporting.org. Holland, P., Sheehan, C. & De Cieri, H., 2007. Attracting and retaining talent: Exploring human resources development trends in Australia. Human Resource Development International, 10(3) pp. 247-262. Jeffries, F.L. & Hunte, T.L., 2004. Generations and motivation: A connection worth making. Journal of Behavioural and Applied Management, 6(1) pp. 37-70. Jensen, E., 2005. HR’ s role in helping companies achieve high performance. Employment Relations Today, 32(2) pp. 39-52.

Barbed Wire By Mary Emeny :: essays research papers

Mary Emeny’s poem, â€Å"Barbed Wire,† depicts war as a negative force, destroying every decent aspect of human existence. Written during the Vietnam War, the work displays Emeny’s negative views on war. In one way or another everyone experiences and identifies with the presence of war. Although some wars are fought for justifiable reasons, every war tears into the lives of those undeserving. The tragic effects of war consume the innocent creating an unconquerable path of entanglement. The physical effects of war overwhelm the naà ¯ve causing pain and suffering. Initially, war entangles the lives of youth, destroying the innocence that they experience as an aspect of their life. The girl â€Å"glid[ing] gracefully down the path† (1) and the boy â€Å"rid[ing] eagerly down the road† (9) have their enjoyable realities striped by the harshness of war. Likewise, war enters women’s lives creating turmoil. The woman who works â€Å"deftly in the fields† ( ) no longer is able to experience the offerings of life. The â€Å"wire cuts,† ( ) pushing her away from the normal flow of life. In addition, man undergoes tragic obstacles as a result of war. â€Å"A man walks nobly and alone† ( ) before the horrible effects of war set in on his life causing disruptions. War enters the life of man destroying the bond man shares with his beloved environment ( ). Although a great deal of physical effects exist in Emeny’s work, the spiritual consequences of war serve as the most devastating ones. The will and spirit of those amidst the harshness of war diminishes because of the seriousness of war. Prior to the complexities of war, the â€Å"spirit flees gleefully to the clouds,† ( ) illustrating the freedom one expresses without repression. As soon as the â€Å"wire catches,† ( ) or the war commences, and intervenes with the lives of innocent bystanders, the innocence is lost. Furthermore, the hearts of the untainted human beings experience demolition due to the irrationality of war. Before the tragedy of war enters the picture, a heart â€Å"goes openly to the street,† ( ) showing the freedom that one possesses until the â€Å"wire snares,† ( ) and the sense of innocence disappears. Significantly, as a direct result of the entanglement of war, man’s mind suffers pain and misfortune. A man’s min d â€Å"grows in searching† ( ) preceding the brutality of war, exhibiting the ability of man to explore his surroundings without interference.

Rural Tourism

A BRIEF ANALYSIS ON THE STATUS OF RURAL TOURISM IN INDIA REFERENCE: GIMRM024 Table of Contents Abstract2 Initiatives6 Issues Faced8 Infrastructure10 Finance 11 Impact12 The Way Forward13 Bibligography14 ABSTRACT Tourism is one of the primary catalysts in generating sustainable livelihood in India. India’s vast rural diversity and heritage offers tremendous opportunity for rural tourism. The idea of rural tourism was born out of the need to provide first-hand experience of living in rural areas to the urban population and also as supplementary income for the local population. The Ministry of Tourism in its Outcome Budget for 2011-2012 has emphasized on the need of giving greater focus to rural tourism with the objective of creating employment, with specific emphasis on the upliftment of the status of women and to encourage local arts and handicraft. Rural tourism has the potential of carrying the additional burden of uplifting poverty and reducing migration towards urban areas. This research paper aims at studying the status of rural tourism in India, looking into some initiatives that have already been undertaken, both by the Ministry (The Choti Haldwani Project at the foothills of Nainital) and by organisations (NGO ViaDesh, Delhi and Himalayan Homestays, Ladakh) in different parts of India and the way forward. The paper concentrates on the following major areas: 1) Initiatives undertaken 2) Problems faced while trying to establish such initiatives 3) Infrastructure developed for this purpose ) The finances involved 5) The impact of such initiatives 6) Its co-relation with eco-tourism and agri-tourism 7) Future plans The government of India along with UN Development Programme (UNDP) has drafted policies and implemented some on the same lines by associating and granting funds to NGOs. Rural tourism will go a long way in realising some of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) laid out by the UNDP, to be achieved by 2015. â€Å"The air is soft and balmy. The wild flowers are in full bloom, and the butterfly is on the wing. The grasshopper is singing his ceaseless song, and the bees are humming a chorus thereto. † These are excerpts from Ruskin Bond’s novel â€Å"Mussoorie & Landour, Days of Wine and Roses†. Such is the beauty of the Indian landscape. Tourism in India is the biggest service industry contributing 6. 23% to GDP and providing a host of employment opportunities. With 5. 58 million Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in 2010 and a provisional number of 2. 92 million during the first half of 2011, the tourism industry is pegged to grow at a rate of 9. 4% annually over the next decade. It’s linkages with a myriad of sectors in the economy, like transport, construction, handicrafts, manufacturing, horticulture, agriculture, etc. , makes it a potential economy driver, while also becoming an effective tool for poverty alleviation and ensuring growth with equality. The focus, thus, is now on rural tourism, an avenue that provides immense possibilities and opportunities for inclusive growth and equality in rural India. The Ministry of Tourism (MoT) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have collaborated in an initiative named the Endogenous Tourism Project – Rural Tourism Scheme (ETP-RTS) on rural tourism. Initiated in 2003, the project identified 36 sites across India, where a number of pilot projects have been initiated to assess the impact of this kind of tourism in these areas. The principal objective of the project is to focus on sustainable livelihoods and at the same time aims at the convergence of issues such as gender equality, empowerment of women, youth and other disadvantaged sections and working towards cultural sensitivity and environmental sustainability. This paper will look into one such government initiative, Choti Haldwani, which is a community based tourism project. Apart from government initiatives, numerous NGOs have been involved in different forms of rural tourism, be it agri-tourism, treks, homestays, workshops with locals etc. In the NGO space, this paper cites the example of ViaDesh, a social enterprise, based out of Delhi that arranges expeditions and treks in Uttarakhand, the Himalayan Belt (Kargil, Leh, Ladakh etc) and Rajasthan. This paper also briefly looks at Himalayan Homestays, an initiative by the Snow Leopard Conservancy (SLC), The Mountain Institute, local tour operators and villagers living in important snow leopard areas. Traditional tourism, concentrated in coastal and mountain resorts, urban and cultural centres, has proven that tourism can bring enormous benefits to the economy, society and environment of a certain area. However at the same time there is a realization that certain parts of the country have been left behind in development. Rural tourism could be the harbinger of change in such a scenario. In recent years demands for holidays in small villages and the countryside has increased significantly in many rural regions of the world. The challenge for rural tourism then is to focus on providing sustainable livelihoods in rural areas all while preserving the traditions, cultures and values that exist in these areas, instead of trying to â€Å"urbanise† the area. INITIATIVES Choti Haldwani Choti Haldwani, better known as Jim Corbett’s village, is located in the Nainital District of Uttarakhand. Bought by Corbett in the early 1900s, this was the last village he stayed in before migrating to Kenya after Independence, donating the land to the 40 families residing in Choti Haldwani at that time. The village has now grown in population with 138 families making Choti Haldwani their home, and earning their livelihood mainly from agriculture. In 2001, Choti Haldwani was one of the four villages chosen to implement a community-based tourism (CBT) project. The CBN (Corbett National Park, Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary, Nainital) Tourism Initiative was designed to develop a framework for conservation and tourism by making use participatory processes that seek to engage stakeholder groups for planning, to help develop a common vision, build ownership, and buy in from various stakeholder groups for plans and projects. Many consultations and deliberations later, the USP of the village was discovered. This led to the formation of the Corbett Heritage Trail (which included historical sites like Corbett’s house, the historical gun of Tejsingh and Moti’s House to name a few). ViaDesh ViaDesh (established in 2010) is a social enterprise based out of Delhi. Its philosophy is engrained in its name – ViaDesh literally translates to â€Å"by way of country†. Founded by Jamal Mohammad and aimed at promoting village life and providing sustainable livelihood options, Viadesh promotes itself as a unique holiday planner committed to giving a transformative experience to both the tourist and the host. ViaDesh works towards building partnerships with villagers, and forging relationships with them through community interaction. The expeditions and treks give the tourist a first-hand experience of rural living. They are exposed to the unique and rich village culture that every village brings with it. Villagers turn into guides, narrating stories from the village and sharing their own experiences with the tourists. Tourists also bear witness to the different folk songs and dances, gathering together with the village folk. Home-stays are arranged for tourists in some of the houses within the village itself. By doing this, ViaDesh ensures that the tourist is involved, from early morning, in every facet of village life. Starting from collection and preparation of fodder for animals to cooking food, to even plucking apples and apricots from plantations and planting herbs like oregano, tourists get hands-on experience of rural living. Rural locations offer an idealized release from stress and the opportunity to re-engage with a simpler, quieter way of life that offers rest and relaxation. Himalayan Homestays Himalayan Homestays is an Initiative by Snow Leopard Conservancy (SLC), The Mountain Institute, local tour operators and villagers living in important snow leopard areas. The need for this initiative was felt due to the rising disparity between the rural and the urban communities due to the fact that the tourism boom in Ladakh offered little opportunities to the rural people. The rural community was also facing the problem of diminishing livestock population due to Snow leopards. Hence they offered tourism as a solution to promote conservation as well as to combat livestock loss. Villagers defined the Himalayan Homestays in the following way: â€Å"A traditional village based Ladakhi Homestay would share their traditional way of life and values with visitors provide traditional food, in an eco-friendly environment that requires little initial investment. (Source – Redefining Tourism: Experiences and Insights from Rural Tourism Projects in India) The project was implemented with various guidelines for selecting locations to setting minimal facilities such as a separate room for tourist to a toilet (with door). Also 10% of the money generated was to be divulged into the conservation fund for village activities. Initially, for setting up, they assessed the demand and preferences of the tourist by conducting a survey for the location choice, food and accommodation option as well. Interestingly, the choice was local food was rated highly. Capacity building measures such as training the youth as nature guides. To avoid hygiene issues, community members were trained on cooking and cuisine as well. The main aim of SLC was community empowerment and hence it was decided that the tourists would be shared on rotation basis. For the homestays, which were far off, and where the tourists were unwilling to go, they were trained for additional services such as Parachute cafes, Guides etc. ISSUES FACED Rural tourism as a whole is a sensitive issue to deal with since it deals with people and also their livelihoods. The rural people are skeptical about the kind of invasion that happens due to rural tourism. While implementing rural tourism many issues have cropped up. It is necessary to understand that the issues faced by the government are different from private and non-governmental entities. a)Finance: It deals with arranging as well as managing finances for any project. This aspect is prevalent in all initiatives from the government. Here the government has struggled to route funds flow whereas private players have found it difficult to arrange funds for the project. If the funds flow issues crops up at the beginning of the project then it becomes difficult to keep the local community engaged as they tend to lose interest as well as trust in the initiative. b)Pace of the Project: It is an important issue that needs to be addressed. It has been observed that private entities have tried to build upon strong finances. This has resulted in very little time for institutions as well as the local community to reflect on their performance and also absorb this transition. In a fast paced project, the players fail to understand that this is a sensitive issue where resources and money are of equal importance. The pace of project should be best decided by the local communities involved as it would be help them adapt to their role. c)Partner Agencies: This issue is predominantly associated with the government where the implementing agencies differ in vision and also their work ethics. The government needs to understand that different agencies behave differently and hence the outcome of the projects would also vary. )Local Community: The basic motto of this project was to eradicate poverty and envisage an empowerment campaign. Many a time it has been observed that the richer community in the village gets all the control while the poorer sections takes a backseat, as they are deprived of minimum requirements for a tourist such as separate homestays or even proper education. Here the government needs to ensure that these people are involved in group activiti es where they could learn and also contribute. Also, conscious measures should be taken to incorporate the marginalized communities into the success story. Government as well as private players should make sure that inclusive growth takes place and hence the beneficiary is the entire village and not select individuals. e)Hygiene: Hygiene is an issue which has made foreign as well as domestic tourists hesitate in turning an eye to rural tourism. Basic facilities such as bathroom and sanitation have been a cause of concern for tourists. The players should make sure that proper training should be given to handle these things so that the village does not lose out. )Issues from Tourists: Tourists, many a time, tend to compare rural tourism with general tourist spots and hence get bogged down by the results. Tourists are not able to connect with the rural theme which results in loss of interest. Also, sometimes issues like food and lifestyle tend to be a hindrance in the project. Sometimes, the traditional and cultural beliefs of the rural people prevent them from catering to the needs of the tourists. g)Cultural and Environmental Pollution: Tourism is a phenomenon which also brings with itself the ill effects. If not implemented properly, it can lead to destruction of the very basic cause of rural tourism i. e. the cultural heritage. Also, with hordes of tourists pouring in, the environment is at risk. Moreover, sometimes there should be strict control at some places because there are traditions and cultural beliefs of people that will prevent them from catering to all that the tourists may require and even the tourist would know that this is what he can expect in a village and accordingly will prepare them before coming to that village. The major issue faced by the Choti Haldwani community was visibility. It gets lost in the mad rush of tourists from Corbett to Nainital. With the Himalayan Homestays initiative gaining popularity, many other institutions have also tried to tap into the market. But in the process, the focus has shifted from community development to profit making. It also did not consider the capacity of the community, hence impacting the social structure. Also, the influx of many tourists eventually led to negative influence on the environment. With the difficult terrain, many of the homestays would not get sufficient number of tourists. This led to disparity between the villagers. INFRASTRUCTURE A key aspect in setting up different facilities was the formation of the Corbett Gram Vikas Samiti that coordinated with the project team (mainly from Forest Department and consultants) and took up implementation of work at the village. This ensured that the inhabitants of the village had a say in the development of the village as a tourist site. Proper footpaths were organised, information signboards were set up, an entry gate set up and renovations at the various heritage sites carried out. To support the Heritage Trail, the following activities were carried out 1)Training of guides: Interested people were asked to register for training as guides, but since not many tourists opted for the walk, the number of guides is dwindling, but there still is hope with a number of women interested in undergoing training as guides. 2)Identifying homestays: Presently only two families provide homestays. Although the concept of homestays is fast catching up with the community, the facilities within the homes is a hurdle, as these houses are installed with the traditional Indian toilets. Unlike ViaDesh, new houses are thus being built with better facilities for the tourist. Homestays rents and dining are very nominal at the rate of Rs 250/- a day with Rs. 60/- per person for 3 meals. 3)Establishing a souvenir shop: The Moti Souvenir Shop, run by the village committee, ran into trouble initially with very little funds and limited knowledge on how to run and what to sell at the shop. Eventually, with the aid of the committee, Haldi (turmeric) was bought from a lady, which was powdered and sold at the shop. The profits are given out to the lady, which has resulted in other items like pulses and spices being sold at the shop. Also, with the help of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), three self-help ladies groups were started, who supply products like jam, jellies and pickles to the shops. In addition to this, handmade hankies , scarves, bed sheets, dupattas and sweaters from Ranikhet were sold at the shop. 4)Information kiosks: In a small section of the souvenir shop, a computer with internet connection has been set up, with a trained person manning it. Although introduced for the tourists, this has benefitted children more, as they are provided computer education with a fee of Rs. 200/-. ViaDesh’s policy is simple – no construction of new structures and the promotion of indigenous lifestyle. In an attempt to preserve the natural environment of the village and to inhibit urbanization of villages, ViaDesh, in partnership with the villagers, arrange for homestays within the village. One room in selected houses is refurbished to cater to the tourist lifestyle, which is taken care of by the residents. ViaDesh has installed eastern-style toilets in all homestays to give tourists the actual feel of rural life. Apart from this, hosts are trained about hygiene and cleanliness standards that need to be adopted. They are also trained to follow hygiene while cutting vegetables and preparing food. ViaDesh has tried to work around the available resources and provide a comfortable experience for the tourist. As such physical infrastructure was not built for the Himalayan Homestays project unlike mud houses in other places. The trust had decided on tourists sharing the rooms with the villagers. Hence, there was a need for virtual infrastructure to attract tourists and spread awareness. The trust tied up with local operators to market Himalayan homestays. It was a conscious effort that the local operators chosen would think as well as work in parallel towards the community. This move also helped in briefing the tourists about the norms to avoid confrontation at the later stages. The trust also developed a website to tap the tourist seeking a similar experience on the internet. To tap walk-in clients, the trust had designed posters and maps as well. It was decided that 10% of the fund would be shared with the conservation fund. Conservation fund was used for various community works such as preserving wildlife, tree plantation etc. FINANCE ViaDesh, being a fledgling organisation, is a self-financed enterprise. Initial investment for setting up rooms, toilets etc. was made by Jamal. Participants' project donations also help to ensure that funds are available throughout the year to maintain the work done by the teams. These funds are either channelled through ViaDesh’s own charity, Sustainable Tourism Trust, or partner charities. ViaDesh donates 10% of its profits from travel to community development projects in host areas, with a focus on health and education. The investment involved at Himalayan Homestays was only Rs. 500/- for one home as the people would be thoroughly trained in various aspects of tourism (as guides and drivers). Also, the tour operator charged Rs. 50/- for spreading awareness about the homestays. The villagers would get Rs. 300/- per tourist per night, which would be directly paid to the homestay provider, to avoid clashes with agents or guides. IMPACT The Choti Haldwani project has managed t o keep alive the history and legacy of Corbett. For the tourists visiting the National Park, Choti Haldwani adds another dimension to understanding Corbett. Even though the benefits (economics of it) are limited the motivation is very high. The interest & enthusiasm shown, the coming and working together of the community in a cohesive manner is another critical aspect of this initiative which is a significant reason why the community has been able to sustain this engagement. New jobs and supplementary sources of income have been created, with more opportunities in the offing. There has also been active participation from women in the SHGs that were formed in collaboration with WWF. While ViaDesh is still trying to evaluate its impact on villages, the potential impact of this venture and such ventures like this are enormous. It gives the locals an alternate source of income, from homestays, guides, drivers, porters and trekking activities. This in turn prevents the migration (which is rampant in rural areas for lack of better opportunities) of people to cities. ViaDesh ensures that the money earned from homestays etc. is given to the female member of the household, thus promoting woman empowerment. ViaDesh aims for these communities to build their capacity to make things, from handicrafts to eatables like jams, and for them to be able to sell such quality items in the city market. Initiatives like this also squash the myth that rural community is not open to change. With tourists coming in and staying with the locals, there is mutual benefit from such initiatives. It’s a mutually enriching experience. ViaDesh also aims at setting up quality education and health centres within the area from the funds set aside from profit for such a purpose. Himalayan Homestays has had a positive impact on the villagers. The additional income from the homestays was helpful in buying ration in lean season and even sending children to the school. It also helped villagers in protecting their livestock and build predator-proof pens. The income gave much deprived decision power to the women community of the villages. The tourism activity increased local participation with the fact that many parachute cafes and local businesses propped up. The flow of tourists also instilled a sense of pride in the local people for their culture and lifestyle. In a way, this activity also helped preserve Ladhaki culture as people can now take pride in displaying the distinct Ladhaki decor and cuisine. The community on a whole has had an increased awareness of hygiene. The tourism activity also helped in checking migration of youth towards city. Homestays helped in the overall personality development of the villagers as the interaction with foreign tourists increased. Some of the added benefits for the villagers were the utilization of conservation fund, adoption of waste management practices and tree plantation activities. A change of attitude was seen in the villagers towards the snow leopards as they are now the attractions for the tourists to visit this place. The homestay experience for the tourists helped in learning about Ladakhi cultures through nature treks and its cuisines. THE WAY FORWARD The way ahead for the Samiti at Choti Haldwani is now to work and continue development on the initiatives already undertaken, and also start new programmes like organic farming and bullock cart rides to further expand and provide different sustainable employment opportunities for the locals. ViaDesh intends to move further into different villages and start similar projects like the ones already established. At the same time, ViaDesh aims at phasing its operations out of the existing locations, thus making these villages self-sustainable, with a well-established education and health system running. The idea of converting a livelihood problem into tourism initiative has worked well for the community based around the Himalayan Homestays initiative. Also, this project shows how rural tourism is related to eco-tourism and agri-tourism. This project has helped the community in its economic upliftment through measures such as these, while keeping the local culture intact. This project has also helped in protecting snow leopards and generating an alternative source of income through it. It shows how a balance can be maintained between tourism and ecology. Rural tourism has immense potential in the overall development of the economy, while preserving the rural structure, cultures and keeping traditions intact. Government initiatives should constantly monitor the progress of the projects that have already been initiated, continuously identifying bottlenecks and obstacles, to ensure the smooth functioning of such initiatives. Rural Tourism can help achieve some of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that aims at ending poverty by 2015. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1)Redefining Tourism – Experiences and Insights from Rural Tourism Projects in India ( © Ministry of Tourism, Government of India / UNDP India 2008) 2)www. viadesh. com 3)www. himalayan-homestays. com 4)Performance of Tourism Sector during July 2011, Ministry of Tourism 5)Annual Report 2011 Ministry of Tourism 6)Equations Annual Report, 2009-2010 Rural Tourism A BRIEF ANALYSIS ON THE STATUS OF RURAL TOURISM IN INDIA REFERENCE: GIMRM024 Table of Contents Abstract2 Initiatives6 Issues Faced8 Infrastructure10 Finance 11 Impact12 The Way Forward13 Bibligography14 ABSTRACT Tourism is one of the primary catalysts in generating sustainable livelihood in India. India’s vast rural diversity and heritage offers tremendous opportunity for rural tourism. The idea of rural tourism was born out of the need to provide first-hand experience of living in rural areas to the urban population and also as supplementary income for the local population. The Ministry of Tourism in its Outcome Budget for 2011-2012 has emphasized on the need of giving greater focus to rural tourism with the objective of creating employment, with specific emphasis on the upliftment of the status of women and to encourage local arts and handicraft. Rural tourism has the potential of carrying the additional burden of uplifting poverty and reducing migration towards urban areas. This research paper aims at studying the status of rural tourism in India, looking into some initiatives that have already been undertaken, both by the Ministry (The Choti Haldwani Project at the foothills of Nainital) and by organisations (NGO ViaDesh, Delhi and Himalayan Homestays, Ladakh) in different parts of India and the way forward. The paper concentrates on the following major areas: 1) Initiatives undertaken 2) Problems faced while trying to establish such initiatives 3) Infrastructure developed for this purpose ) The finances involved 5) The impact of such initiatives 6) Its co-relation with eco-tourism and agri-tourism 7) Future plans The government of India along with UN Development Programme (UNDP) has drafted policies and implemented some on the same lines by associating and granting funds to NGOs. Rural tourism will go a long way in realising some of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) laid out by the UNDP, to be achieved by 2015. â€Å"The air is soft and balmy. The wild flowers are in full bloom, and the butterfly is on the wing. The grasshopper is singing his ceaseless song, and the bees are humming a chorus thereto. † These are excerpts from Ruskin Bond’s novel â€Å"Mussoorie & Landour, Days of Wine and Roses†. Such is the beauty of the Indian landscape. Tourism in India is the biggest service industry contributing 6. 23% to GDP and providing a host of employment opportunities. With 5. 58 million Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in 2010 and a provisional number of 2. 92 million during the first half of 2011, the tourism industry is pegged to grow at a rate of 9. 4% annually over the next decade. It’s linkages with a myriad of sectors in the economy, like transport, construction, handicrafts, manufacturing, horticulture, agriculture, etc. , makes it a potential economy driver, while also becoming an effective tool for poverty alleviation and ensuring growth with equality. The focus, thus, is now on rural tourism, an avenue that provides immense possibilities and opportunities for inclusive growth and equality in rural India. The Ministry of Tourism (MoT) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have collaborated in an initiative named the Endogenous Tourism Project – Rural Tourism Scheme (ETP-RTS) on rural tourism. Initiated in 2003, the project identified 36 sites across India, where a number of pilot projects have been initiated to assess the impact of this kind of tourism in these areas. The principal objective of the project is to focus on sustainable livelihoods and at the same time aims at the convergence of issues such as gender equality, empowerment of women, youth and other disadvantaged sections and working towards cultural sensitivity and environmental sustainability. This paper will look into one such government initiative, Choti Haldwani, which is a community based tourism project. Apart from government initiatives, numerous NGOs have been involved in different forms of rural tourism, be it agri-tourism, treks, homestays, workshops with locals etc. In the NGO space, this paper cites the example of ViaDesh, a social enterprise, based out of Delhi that arranges expeditions and treks in Uttarakhand, the Himalayan Belt (Kargil, Leh, Ladakh etc) and Rajasthan. This paper also briefly looks at Himalayan Homestays, an initiative by the Snow Leopard Conservancy (SLC), The Mountain Institute, local tour operators and villagers living in important snow leopard areas. Traditional tourism, concentrated in coastal and mountain resorts, urban and cultural centres, has proven that tourism can bring enormous benefits to the economy, society and environment of a certain area. However at the same time there is a realization that certain parts of the country have been left behind in development. Rural tourism could be the harbinger of change in such a scenario. In recent years demands for holidays in small villages and the countryside has increased significantly in many rural regions of the world. The challenge for rural tourism then is to focus on providing sustainable livelihoods in rural areas all while preserving the traditions, cultures and values that exist in these areas, instead of trying to â€Å"urbanise† the area. INITIATIVES Choti Haldwani Choti Haldwani, better known as Jim Corbett’s village, is located in the Nainital District of Uttarakhand. Bought by Corbett in the early 1900s, this was the last village he stayed in before migrating to Kenya after Independence, donating the land to the 40 families residing in Choti Haldwani at that time. The village has now grown in population with 138 families making Choti Haldwani their home, and earning their livelihood mainly from agriculture. In 2001, Choti Haldwani was one of the four villages chosen to implement a community-based tourism (CBT) project. The CBN (Corbett National Park, Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary, Nainital) Tourism Initiative was designed to develop a framework for conservation and tourism by making use participatory processes that seek to engage stakeholder groups for planning, to help develop a common vision, build ownership, and buy in from various stakeholder groups for plans and projects. Many consultations and deliberations later, the USP of the village was discovered. This led to the formation of the Corbett Heritage Trail (which included historical sites like Corbett’s house, the historical gun of Tejsingh and Moti’s House to name a few). ViaDesh ViaDesh (established in 2010) is a social enterprise based out of Delhi. Its philosophy is engrained in its name – ViaDesh literally translates to â€Å"by way of country†. Founded by Jamal Mohammad and aimed at promoting village life and providing sustainable livelihood options, Viadesh promotes itself as a unique holiday planner committed to giving a transformative experience to both the tourist and the host. ViaDesh works towards building partnerships with villagers, and forging relationships with them through community interaction. The expeditions and treks give the tourist a first-hand experience of rural living. They are exposed to the unique and rich village culture that every village brings with it. Villagers turn into guides, narrating stories from the village and sharing their own experiences with the tourists. Tourists also bear witness to the different folk songs and dances, gathering together with the village folk. Home-stays are arranged for tourists in some of the houses within the village itself. By doing this, ViaDesh ensures that the tourist is involved, from early morning, in every facet of village life. Starting from collection and preparation of fodder for animals to cooking food, to even plucking apples and apricots from plantations and planting herbs like oregano, tourists get hands-on experience of rural living. Rural locations offer an idealized release from stress and the opportunity to re-engage with a simpler, quieter way of life that offers rest and relaxation. Himalayan Homestays Himalayan Homestays is an Initiative by Snow Leopard Conservancy (SLC), The Mountain Institute, local tour operators and villagers living in important snow leopard areas. The need for this initiative was felt due to the rising disparity between the rural and the urban communities due to the fact that the tourism boom in Ladakh offered little opportunities to the rural people. The rural community was also facing the problem of diminishing livestock population due to Snow leopards. Hence they offered tourism as a solution to promote conservation as well as to combat livestock loss. Villagers defined the Himalayan Homestays in the following way: â€Å"A traditional village based Ladakhi Homestay would share their traditional way of life and values with visitors provide traditional food, in an eco-friendly environment that requires little initial investment. (Source – Redefining Tourism: Experiences and Insights from Rural Tourism Projects in India) The project was implemented with various guidelines for selecting locations to setting minimal facilities such as a separate room for tourist to a toilet (with door). Also 10% of the money generated was to be divulged into the conservation fund for village activities. Initially, for setting up, they assessed the demand and preferences of the tourist by conducting a survey for the location choice, food and accommodation option as well. Interestingly, the choice was local food was rated highly. Capacity building measures such as training the youth as nature guides. To avoid hygiene issues, community members were trained on cooking and cuisine as well. The main aim of SLC was community empowerment and hence it was decided that the tourists would be shared on rotation basis. For the homestays, which were far off, and where the tourists were unwilling to go, they were trained for additional services such as Parachute cafes, Guides etc. ISSUES FACED Rural tourism as a whole is a sensitive issue to deal with since it deals with people and also their livelihoods. The rural people are skeptical about the kind of invasion that happens due to rural tourism. While implementing rural tourism many issues have cropped up. It is necessary to understand that the issues faced by the government are different from private and non-governmental entities. a)Finance: It deals with arranging as well as managing finances for any project. This aspect is prevalent in all initiatives from the government. Here the government has struggled to route funds flow whereas private players have found it difficult to arrange funds for the project. If the funds flow issues crops up at the beginning of the project then it becomes difficult to keep the local community engaged as they tend to lose interest as well as trust in the initiative. b)Pace of the Project: It is an important issue that needs to be addressed. It has been observed that private entities have tried to build upon strong finances. This has resulted in very little time for institutions as well as the local community to reflect on their performance and also absorb this transition. In a fast paced project, the players fail to understand that this is a sensitive issue where resources and money are of equal importance. The pace of project should be best decided by the local communities involved as it would be help them adapt to their role. c)Partner Agencies: This issue is predominantly associated with the government where the implementing agencies differ in vision and also their work ethics. The government needs to understand that different agencies behave differently and hence the outcome of the projects would also vary. )Local Community: The basic motto of this project was to eradicate poverty and envisage an empowerment campaign. Many a time it has been observed that the richer community in the village gets all the control while the poorer sections takes a backseat, as they are deprived of minimum requirements for a tourist such as separate homestays or even proper education. Here the government needs to ensure that these people are involved in group activiti es where they could learn and also contribute. Also, conscious measures should be taken to incorporate the marginalized communities into the success story. Government as well as private players should make sure that inclusive growth takes place and hence the beneficiary is the entire village and not select individuals. e)Hygiene: Hygiene is an issue which has made foreign as well as domestic tourists hesitate in turning an eye to rural tourism. Basic facilities such as bathroom and sanitation have been a cause of concern for tourists. The players should make sure that proper training should be given to handle these things so that the village does not lose out. )Issues from Tourists: Tourists, many a time, tend to compare rural tourism with general tourist spots and hence get bogged down by the results. Tourists are not able to connect with the rural theme which results in loss of interest. Also, sometimes issues like food and lifestyle tend to be a hindrance in the project. Sometimes, the traditional and cultural beliefs of the rural people prevent them from catering to the needs of the tourists. g)Cultural and Environmental Pollution: Tourism is a phenomenon which also brings with itself the ill effects. If not implemented properly, it can lead to destruction of the very basic cause of rural tourism i. e. the cultural heritage. Also, with hordes of tourists pouring in, the environment is at risk. Moreover, sometimes there should be strict control at some places because there are traditions and cultural beliefs of people that will prevent them from catering to all that the tourists may require and even the tourist would know that this is what he can expect in a village and accordingly will prepare them before coming to that village. The major issue faced by the Choti Haldwani community was visibility. It gets lost in the mad rush of tourists from Corbett to Nainital. With the Himalayan Homestays initiative gaining popularity, many other institutions have also tried to tap into the market. But in the process, the focus has shifted from community development to profit making. It also did not consider the capacity of the community, hence impacting the social structure. Also, the influx of many tourists eventually led to negative influence on the environment. With the difficult terrain, many of the homestays would not get sufficient number of tourists. This led to disparity between the villagers. INFRASTRUCTURE A key aspect in setting up different facilities was the formation of the Corbett Gram Vikas Samiti that coordinated with the project team (mainly from Forest Department and consultants) and took up implementation of work at the village. This ensured that the inhabitants of the village had a say in the development of the village as a tourist site. Proper footpaths were organised, information signboards were set up, an entry gate set up and renovations at the various heritage sites carried out. To support the Heritage Trail, the following activities were carried out 1)Training of guides: Interested people were asked to register for training as guides, but since not many tourists opted for the walk, the number of guides is dwindling, but there still is hope with a number of women interested in undergoing training as guides. 2)Identifying homestays: Presently only two families provide homestays. Although the concept of homestays is fast catching up with the community, the facilities within the homes is a hurdle, as these houses are installed with the traditional Indian toilets. Unlike ViaDesh, new houses are thus being built with better facilities for the tourist. Homestays rents and dining are very nominal at the rate of Rs 250/- a day with Rs. 60/- per person for 3 meals. 3)Establishing a souvenir shop: The Moti Souvenir Shop, run by the village committee, ran into trouble initially with very little funds and limited knowledge on how to run and what to sell at the shop. Eventually, with the aid of the committee, Haldi (turmeric) was bought from a lady, which was powdered and sold at the shop. The profits are given out to the lady, which has resulted in other items like pulses and spices being sold at the shop. Also, with the help of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), three self-help ladies groups were started, who supply products like jam, jellies and pickles to the shops. In addition to this, handmade hankies , scarves, bed sheets, dupattas and sweaters from Ranikhet were sold at the shop. 4)Information kiosks: In a small section of the souvenir shop, a computer with internet connection has been set up, with a trained person manning it. Although introduced for the tourists, this has benefitted children more, as they are provided computer education with a fee of Rs. 200/-. ViaDesh’s policy is simple – no construction of new structures and the promotion of indigenous lifestyle. In an attempt to preserve the natural environment of the village and to inhibit urbanization of villages, ViaDesh, in partnership with the villagers, arrange for homestays within the village. One room in selected houses is refurbished to cater to the tourist lifestyle, which is taken care of by the residents. ViaDesh has installed eastern-style toilets in all homestays to give tourists the actual feel of rural life. Apart from this, hosts are trained about hygiene and cleanliness standards that need to be adopted. They are also trained to follow hygiene while cutting vegetables and preparing food. ViaDesh has tried to work around the available resources and provide a comfortable experience for the tourist. As such physical infrastructure was not built for the Himalayan Homestays project unlike mud houses in other places. The trust had decided on tourists sharing the rooms with the villagers. Hence, there was a need for virtual infrastructure to attract tourists and spread awareness. The trust tied up with local operators to market Himalayan homestays. It was a conscious effort that the local operators chosen would think as well as work in parallel towards the community. This move also helped in briefing the tourists about the norms to avoid confrontation at the later stages. The trust also developed a website to tap the tourist seeking a similar experience on the internet. To tap walk-in clients, the trust had designed posters and maps as well. It was decided that 10% of the fund would be shared with the conservation fund. Conservation fund was used for various community works such as preserving wildlife, tree plantation etc. FINANCE ViaDesh, being a fledgling organisation, is a self-financed enterprise. Initial investment for setting up rooms, toilets etc. was made by Jamal. Participants' project donations also help to ensure that funds are available throughout the year to maintain the work done by the teams. These funds are either channelled through ViaDesh’s own charity, Sustainable Tourism Trust, or partner charities. ViaDesh donates 10% of its profits from travel to community development projects in host areas, with a focus on health and education. The investment involved at Himalayan Homestays was only Rs. 500/- for one home as the people would be thoroughly trained in various aspects of tourism (as guides and drivers). Also, the tour operator charged Rs. 50/- for spreading awareness about the homestays. The villagers would get Rs. 300/- per tourist per night, which would be directly paid to the homestay provider, to avoid clashes with agents or guides. IMPACT The Choti Haldwani project has managed t o keep alive the history and legacy of Corbett. For the tourists visiting the National Park, Choti Haldwani adds another dimension to understanding Corbett. Even though the benefits (economics of it) are limited the motivation is very high. The interest & enthusiasm shown, the coming and working together of the community in a cohesive manner is another critical aspect of this initiative which is a significant reason why the community has been able to sustain this engagement. New jobs and supplementary sources of income have been created, with more opportunities in the offing. There has also been active participation from women in the SHGs that were formed in collaboration with WWF. While ViaDesh is still trying to evaluate its impact on villages, the potential impact of this venture and such ventures like this are enormous. It gives the locals an alternate source of income, from homestays, guides, drivers, porters and trekking activities. This in turn prevents the migration (which is rampant in rural areas for lack of better opportunities) of people to cities. ViaDesh ensures that the money earned from homestays etc. is given to the female member of the household, thus promoting woman empowerment. ViaDesh aims for these communities to build their capacity to make things, from handicrafts to eatables like jams, and for them to be able to sell such quality items in the city market. Initiatives like this also squash the myth that rural community is not open to change. With tourists coming in and staying with the locals, there is mutual benefit from such initiatives. It’s a mutually enriching experience. ViaDesh also aims at setting up quality education and health centres within the area from the funds set aside from profit for such a purpose. Himalayan Homestays has had a positive impact on the villagers. The additional income from the homestays was helpful in buying ration in lean season and even sending children to the school. It also helped villagers in protecting their livestock and build predator-proof pens. The income gave much deprived decision power to the women community of the villages. The tourism activity increased local participation with the fact that many parachute cafes and local businesses propped up. The flow of tourists also instilled a sense of pride in the local people for their culture and lifestyle. In a way, this activity also helped preserve Ladhaki culture as people can now take pride in displaying the distinct Ladhaki decor and cuisine. The community on a whole has had an increased awareness of hygiene. The tourism activity also helped in checking migration of youth towards city. Homestays helped in the overall personality development of the villagers as the interaction with foreign tourists increased. Some of the added benefits for the villagers were the utilization of conservation fund, adoption of waste management practices and tree plantation activities. A change of attitude was seen in the villagers towards the snow leopards as they are now the attractions for the tourists to visit this place. The homestay experience for the tourists helped in learning about Ladakhi cultures through nature treks and its cuisines. THE WAY FORWARD The way ahead for the Samiti at Choti Haldwani is now to work and continue development on the initiatives already undertaken, and also start new programmes like organic farming and bullock cart rides to further expand and provide different sustainable employment opportunities for the locals. ViaDesh intends to move further into different villages and start similar projects like the ones already established. At the same time, ViaDesh aims at phasing its operations out of the existing locations, thus making these villages self-sustainable, with a well-established education and health system running. The idea of converting a livelihood problem into tourism initiative has worked well for the community based around the Himalayan Homestays initiative. Also, this project shows how rural tourism is related to eco-tourism and agri-tourism. This project has helped the community in its economic upliftment through measures such as these, while keeping the local culture intact. This project has also helped in protecting snow leopards and generating an alternative source of income through it. It shows how a balance can be maintained between tourism and ecology. Rural tourism has immense potential in the overall development of the economy, while preserving the rural structure, cultures and keeping traditions intact. Government initiatives should constantly monitor the progress of the projects that have already been initiated, continuously identifying bottlenecks and obstacles, to ensure the smooth functioning of such initiatives. Rural Tourism can help achieve some of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that aims at ending poverty by 2015. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1)Redefining Tourism – Experiences and Insights from Rural Tourism Projects in India ( © Ministry of Tourism, Government of India / UNDP India 2008) 2)www. viadesh. com 3)www. himalayan-homestays. com 4)Performance of Tourism Sector during July 2011, Ministry of Tourism 5)Annual Report 2011 Ministry of Tourism 6)Equations Annual Report, 2009-2010