Strategic management as science Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Strategic management as science - Case Study Example The report highlights differentiation strategies through marketing, the role of internal business culture, and a variety of methodologies which contribute to successful business strategy. The evidence would seem to suggest that strategic management is more of a science than an art. Michael Porter, a renowned strategic business expert, discusses his Five Forces model which recognises a variety of external forces which can significantly impact business direction. From a competitive viewpoint, this model suggests that the threat of substitute products can impact sales and growth success (Quickmba.com, 2008). Substitute products represent similar product offerings in similar marketplaces which can detract from sales success simply due to these products creating excess competition in a firm's market environment. Bean and Radford (2000) identify that product innovation, creating unique product offerings, is one method to overcome competition and will create a sense of differentiation in different consumer buyers. Innovation might be categorised as an art form, as this is often based on internal staff ingenuity, however innovation would seem to be more scientifically-founded as before an innovative product can be launched, examination of competing products and their function must occur. This requires analysis of the external competitive environment which is grounded more in scientific research on behalf of a company. With the high level of competition in a wide variety of different product markets causing problems with being able to compete successfully, innovation as a strategic tool would seem to point toward business success. Porter's model also identifies threats to businesses in terms of supplier power, such as the level of control which suppliers have over raw material delivery or the development of a low-cost distribution infrastructure. Cohen and Roussel (2005) offer that a successful strategic business practice involves designing a supply-chain metric which measures the impact of supplier power on the ability to launch new and innovative products. The first proposed task is to set up a supply chain strategy objective which examines costs and the feasibility of distribution in a method which is both efficient and satisfies budget restrictions. This again would point toward supply chain considerations as being more of a business science, as it involves face-to-face negotiations with different suppliers and a strategic analysis of the strengths and weaknesses along the existing supply chain network. The role of strategic management in regards to suppliers is to identify whether deficiencies exist in t he supply chain and work consistently to improve efficiency and budget. In terms of supply, luck and opportunism would seem to be aspects of business strategy which are not relevant to creating a workable supply network. From a marketing viewpoint, Porter's Five Forces model also recognises the threats stemming from different consumers in terms of their price flexibility (the

Rhetorical Analysis of Jfk Inaugural Speech Essay Example for Free

Rhetorical Analysis of Jfk Inaugural Speech Essay In early 1961, the United States of America was enduring racial tensions and inequalities on the home-front, as well as waging war against Communism and the Cold War internationally. Chaos and fear had penetrated the minds of the American people because the Cold War was near its pinnacle; the American people longed for a strong, reassuring leader. John F. Kennedy provided that reassurance in his Inaugural Address. Taking the current national and international turmoil into account, Kennedy sought to persuade the Nations people to Join in his efforts and unify together in order to achieve peace. The inaugural address is saturated with rhetorical strategies seeking to flatter the American People and utilizes words of encouragement to evoke unification. Kennedy was able to effectively establish a profound kairotic moment at which his discourse can make the most difference or have the most influence. The speech persuades the American people by providing motivating propositions through appeals to ethos, logos and pathos. Kennedys inaugural address plays to an irrefutably persuading rhythm. Strong, motivational verbs are Joined with sophisticated adjectives in a manner that would make the most nane speech capable of swaying an entire population. In order to capture the minds of the American people, Kennedy begins with an antithesis, calling his victory, a celebration of freedom-symbolizing an end, as well as a beginning. This statement is to ensure the people that they are embarking in a new era of reform and peace, the end of turmoil, and the beginning of prosperous tranquility. Similar to the Declaration of Independence, Kennedys speech emphasizes the unification of the country through the use of parallelism and Juxtaposition. Kennedy appeals to his udiences ethos through visions of freedom and American values. He does this through the Juxtaposition of freedom from the tyranny of man and the reliance of God to provide such freedom. By utilizing a quote from Isaiah, .. to undo heavy burdens and let the oppressed go free, Kennedy persuades all who listen to pursue freedom because it is both their God given right and their patriotic duty. Kennedy emphasizes his argument for patriotic unification by effectively using anaphora to break his pledges and propositions into segments. The repetition of declarative lements exemplifies his pledge that he will continue to pursue peace and encourage action. He declares, to those new states whom we welcome to the ranks of the free, and, to those peoples in huts and villages across the globe in order to evokes nationalistic feelings through the appeal to pathos. This pledge of calm persuasiveness exemplifies his stasis of remaining strong and unified amongst the division of tyranny. Kennedys choice of such language caused his audience to find it hard to disagree with such an amiable stance. He stated, United, there is little e cannot do in a host of co-operative ventures. Divided, there is little we can do, for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder. This statement exemplifies the importance of international and national unification. Due to the Cold War, Kennedy is extremely intent on bringing liberty to the world much more than protecting the liberties already present. However, it is evident that there was an underlying fear in his pledge; almost a plea to advisories for union and non violent where disagreeing with him would seem unpatriotic and weak, In your hands, my ellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe. Kennedy chose words such as, national loyalty, in order to evoke an appeal to ethos and logos and graves of young Americans to appeal to their pathos. He points to the resiliency of the United States and the need for the people to continue to support the ideals of freedom that ave seemed forgotten. The people were challenged to Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty. Kennedy successfully appeals to the pathos and ethos of the audience in order to establish his views of the inane strength and duty within all Americans. In the conclusion of his speech, Kennedy cleverly positions one of the most memorable quotes of history. While the audience is full of excitement and atriotic duty because of his previous statement calling for strength and faith, he pauses for a moment and states And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what you r country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country. This statement attenuates itself to the rhetorical instrument of kairos because the placement and the time in which Kennedy chose to speak the words provided its long lasting impact. The influence of this statement has persuading many Americans to act upon their own stasis and exemplify true freedom and strength for their country.

The Battle of Stalingrad :: essays research papers

The Battle of Stalingrad   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The battle of Stalingrad may have very well been the most important battle over the course of World War II. Not necessarily remembered for its course of fighting, the battle is more known for its outcome. Not only did the battle turn out to be a major turning point in the war, it may have saved most of Eastern Europe from incomparable destruction. The battle included two of the biggest political and military icons of their time, Stalin and Hitler.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  World War II was seen around the globe as a war to end all wars. Combat like this had never been experienced before and it was the largest scale battle in recent history. The death tolls for all sides skyrocketed to heights that had never been reached in any battle ever before. There was one man at the center of it all, one man who came to personify the root of living, breathing evil. That man was Adolf Hitler and to the rest of the world, he was a superhuman military machine who had no other goal but to achieve world domination through destruction. But the roots of the Battle of Stalingrad all began in 1941 when Hitler launched operation Barbarossa. Hitler’s powerful army marched across the east, seemingly unstoppable to any force. Stalin’s Red Army was caught completely off guard and their lines were completely broken apart. A majority of the country’s air force was destroyed when airfields were raided and many of the planes never even got t he chance to leave the ground. Hitler’s army finally came to Leningrad where the city was besieged. The city held for 900 days and never gave way to the relentless Germans. At the cost of 1.5 million civilians and soldiers, the Red Army stopped Hitler from advancing further and postponed his plan to sweep over the south. Another cause for the retreat of Hitler was the brutal Russian winter, which Hitler and his army were completely unprepared for and the icy cold deaths would continue to haunt the Germans.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The time would soon come for Hitler to seek out his revenge on the nation that delayed his imminent world domination. One year after the siege at Leningrad, Hitler’s once indestructible Axis power had begun to weaken. Hitler began to see his dream fading away. He realized that to maintain hope, he and his army must remain on the offensive, so he decided to go after his most glaring defeat, which was Russia.

Importance of Organisational Design

THE IMPORTANCE OF ORGANISATIONAL DESIGN AND ITS IMPACT ON ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR The impact of globalization and new technologies on business environment has made it vital for organisations to constantly reassess their structure. French et al (2008), stresses that an organisation should be able to design its tasks and delegate some duties so that it can achieve its mission and vision. It is necessary to explore the importance of organisational design and how it can help in understanding the behaviour of informal and formal groups.Organisational design refers to the roles and formal reporting relationships that exist within an organisation. According to French et al (2008), it is selecting and implementing a structure for an organisation. The structure of an organisation is the assigned interrelationships and networks that exist among organizational resources (Schermerhorn, Hunt and Osborn, 2005). Organisational structure can be flat or hierarchical, bureaucratic, organic or hybrid. There are arguments that organisations are now less hierarchical in structure (Molinsky et al, 2012).In contrast, there are several who claim that the modern organisational structures are still very controlling with top-down power (Diefenbach and Sillince, 2011). The purpose of the organisational design is to prepare a layout for which the objectives of the organisation are achieved as it is to align with the organisation’s core competencies. Organisational design has to flexible and must be in alignment with the organisation’s strategy (Goold and Campbell, 2002). When the organisational strategy changes, components of organisation design such as structures roles and functions should be realigned to cater for this change (Corkindale, 2011).If there is a misalignment of organisation design with the organisation’s strategy, the result will be frustrating as employee performance will not drive organisational goals. Every organisation has both formal and informal s tructures. The formal structure represents the different types of design (i. e. hierarchical, matrix, flat etc. ) where the positions are clearly distinguished while the informal structure is built on individual associations and social processes (Mullins, 2011). This informal order cuts across the formal structure and is needed to keep the formal structure in order.An organisational structure that emphasises the formal structure over the informal structure will lead to bureaucratic and rigid organisation. Also, organisation design dictates the communication and decision loop within an organisation. Huber and McDaniel (1986) argue that organisations design should be carried with the objective of facilitating organisational decisions. Poor organisation design might lead to top management totally detached from the base operation of the business, missing out crucial details on every day realities of the business.A good organisation design should provide us with an insight into the organ isational strategy, its communication and decision making loop and if it takes advantage of its formal and informal structures. Where the organisation design cannot provide these insights, it is most likely ineffective. Therefore Managers should always therefore strive to get feedback from the employees about the organisation structure and if it affects the ways they relate with one another and if it helps to fulfil their achievement needs (French et al, 2008).

Social Capital has been described as involving egocentric, weak ties and socio-centric types of relationships

Social Capital has been described as involving egocentric, weak ties and socio-centric types of relationships. How might these concepts help to improve the way organisations generate new knowledge. Might some these concepts also act as a barrier to generating and sharing knowledge? Explain your answer. Introduction In contemporary, highly developing business environment, the success factors of many organisations have been affected with the rapid advancement in communication and ways of sharing knowledge. The knowledge economy has changed the basis of trading and doing business. Success and wealth of businesses no longer depends on their wealth of organisations but on the abilities and knowledge of their employees and the degree to which an organisation harnesses and develops those skills. The more effective the relationship between supplier and customer, the more successful an organisation is. This success depends on their abilities to operate in today's fast moving global marketplace. Defining the notion of Social Capital The notion of social capital first appeared in discussions of rural school community centers by Lyda Judson Hanifan's. Hanifan addressed the cultivation of good will, fellowship, sympathy and social intercourse among those that ‘made up a social unit.' More recently however, the work of Robert D. Putnam (1993, 2000) launched social capital as a focus for research and policy discussion. Putman defined the concept of social capital as â€Å"Features of social organisation, such as trust, norms and networks that can improve the efficiency of society by facilitating coordinated action† (Putnam, 1993). This definition of social capital can be criticised for adopting a single view, and being too narrow, as it ignores the fact that social capital can generate negative externalities as well as positive. Putman assumes ‘trust, norms and networks' to have positive outcomes for an individual, or a group however fails to recognise that it can be harmful for an organisation as a whole. Michael Woolcock on the other hand defined social capital as â€Å"the norms and social relations embedded in the social structure that enable people to coordinate action to achieve desired goals† This definition not only recognises both positive and negative externalities of social capital but focuses solely on sources of social capital, rather than also including the outcomes derived from it. One of the most famous examples where social capital is commonly referred to is in Silicon Valley (San Francisco). Silicon Valley is in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. It contains many high tech businesses that are supplying the global market with many innovating technologies and silicon microchips. In Silicon Valley, there is a very high level of knowledge held within individual firms, but this would be true whether they were located in clusters or in isolation. There is also a very high level of knowledge about the firms as well. This information is differentially more available to those in the Valley and in the network. This knowledge is not just technical, it is knowledge about who is a good manager or well connected. It is embedded in the social setting, a knowledge that comes from learning and being in the place where the knowledge is being used, and having an opportunity to use it in that setting. It is about knowled ge use and production in action. Social Capital – promotes knowledge sharing and communication Many contemporary theorists who conducted studies on social capital identified two differing perspectives within the concept. These concepts are socio-centric, and ego-centric. The socio-centric approach argues that the social structure of interpersonal contacts is important for organizational success (Sandefur and Laumann, 1998). A business can benefit from a strong social structure, by allowing employee cooperation that will enable flexibility and innovation. Knowledge sharing helps employees perform their jobs more effectively, retain their jobs, and guides them in personal and career development. It also rewards them for successful achievements, and brings more personal recognition so that knowledge sharing will become more practiced. By sharing and collaborating with others an employee is more likely to succeed in providing solutions to his/hers own jobs and by helping others achieve their objectives. The philosophy of modern knowledge management exponents is that ‘intrinsic motivation' is the only real motivator of knowledge sharing. This is where an individual, group or community are sympathetic to each other's goals, those of the organisation work for collective goals-if these are best achieved through sharing then this is what happens. Intrinsic motivation is making sure that individuals feel part of the business and culture through reward and recognition. The second perspective of social capital is concerned with the relationships between individuals. Sandefur and Laumann (1998) refer to this as the egocentric approach of social networks, where â€Å"an individual's social capital is characterized by their direct relationships with others and by the other people and relationships that they can reach through those to whom they are directly tied†. From this perspective, social capital is able to explain the differences in the success of individuals and firms in a competitive environment (Adler and Kwon, 1999). A learning organisation views its future and subsequent competitive advantage based on continuous learning and adaptive behaviour. It develops a culture and processes to improve its ability to learn and share both at an individual and organisational level. The main aim is to create a flexible, agile organisation able to handle uncertainty and then hopefully organisations will use this uncertainty to generate new ways of working, to build on this success and learn by mistakes. For example: a large multinational company, British Airways (BA) identified its culture as the biggest barrier it had to learning and sharing so it set out to create an environment where this was made easy. BA developed facilities for staff to access knowledge, libraries, have meeting rooms, training rooms that enhanced its culture. Therefore the facilitation of personal contacts and network, and the enhance role of training and development being a core was British Airways success for its new culture. Social capital – barrier to knowledge sharing and communication As developed in Ronald Burt's theory (1998), the socio-centric notion can act as a barrier to generating and sharing knowledge in an organisation. The socio-centric perspective includes the concept of power benefits acquired by individuals that control structural holes. This idea shows how certain individuals within an organisation may have power over groups of employees and act as the link between them. Such individuals are said to be ‘filling a structural hole', therefore their relative contacts have no direct contact with one another. This allows such an individual to have a certain level of manipulation over knowledge sharing between the two groups and benefit from the social capital derived from them. This can be both an advantage and disadvantage to the firm. It can be an advantage to the individual in that their social capital is increased, and that it allows the two departments to communicate ideas effectively. However the filling of structural holes with one individual could also act as a barrier to generating and sharing new knowledge within the firm. Because when implemented in a firm it means that individuals in different departments do not need to communicate between each other eliminating knowledge sharing within the individuals in each department. Within an egocentric network, sharing of knowledge can be one of the most difficult problems faced by knowledge organisations. In most organisations knowledge sharing requires a change in corporate culture, from ‘information is power' to ‘knowledge sharing build power.' Many organisations decide that the most effective way to encourage individual sharing appears to be through appraisal systems where individuals are asked to assess their own knowledge-sharing behaviours and consider their colleagues view of their sharing performance. The most obvious disadvantages are: an employee may fear senior experts or a supervisor. This fear can have an impact on the way the employee conveys his/her opinions. Another disadvantage is that employees can get compromising solutions from a group of experts with conflicting opinions. This would not give the knowledge engineer an accurate view of the knowledge needed. Also, there can also be a Lack of confidentiality as employees may feel threatened by knowing that their contributions will be shared with and evaluated or validated by other domain experts. However, the results of the appraisals may affect promotion and salary but their use is part of the development culture that includes knowledge sharing as a core competence. Conclusion Social capital has been described as a non-tradable form of capital that will depreciate if not used. Social capital increases in value through use, as relationships get stronger and weak ties are increased (Klaus Nielsen, 2003). In this article we have established that social capital is a rapidly growing notion, more commonly referred to by theorists when discussing issues of economics and organisational knowledge sharing. The concept has been criticised for the diversity of its definition, measurement challenges, and over-versatility (Woolcock and Schuller, 2000). These theorists concluded that social capital can have both a positive and a negative impact on the overall success of an organisation. Positive, in the aspects that a well working network of sharing knowledge can lead to innovation, and greater efficiency of the employees working relationships. Negative in the sense that strong social capital for an individual, or a group of employees does not necessarily guarantee a benefit on a macro scale for the organisation.

Twelve Books for College Students

Twelve Books for College Students Reading reaches a whole new level when you enter college: papers, reports, textbooks. Sometimes it’s difficult to keep up with all the readings, there’s still nothing like a good book to pass the time. We have a few titles to help you get through the semester, whether you’re looking to feel a little smarter, laugh or just feel inspired, we’ve got you covered. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s This Side of Paradise The novel is a classic tale of a recent Princeton grad coming to terms with how different the real world is from his privileged upbringing as he falls in love. This witty romance is Fitzgerald’s debut novel and a favorite among many. Not only will you relate, you’ll have some great quotes to share in your next English class. Anyone? Sigmund Freud’s Civilization and Its Discontents This is one book every college student should read to gain firsthand insight into the mind of Freud and society as a whole. Freuds ideas had a huge hand in shaping our current culture and will enlighten many of the views and philosophies you’re learning about right now. Isabel Allende’s In the Midst of Winter This novel, rated one of the best reads of 2017, chronicles several Brooklyn-based immigrants whose chance meeting in a minor traffic accident lead to a deeply, moving and reflective tale of love, life and humanity. It’s a timeless tale that takes you from Brooklyn to Brazil, 2017 to 1970 and all the places your imagination will go after you’re finished. Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities If for no other reason, A Tale of Two Cities of one of the literary masterpieces every adult should read, and with the novel taking place before and after the French Revolution, you’ll get a bit of history lessons in while you’re reading. Sprawling, passionate and poetic, this novel is a must-read. James Baldwin’s Go Tell It On the Mountain This American classic is lyrically sound, direct, powerful and compassionate. It chronicles a single day in the life of a fourteen-year-old boy coming of age in 1935 Harlem as the stepson of a minister. Baldwin’s first major work, this novel will touch you and challenge you page by page. Your professors will be impressed too. Josh Waitzkin’s The Art of Learning This is the book that will help you learn almost anything. This pro-self-educating non fiction book will keep you entertained and enlightened. Chessmaster Josh Waitzken will explain how to make mistakes work for you and ways to optimize your performance in any life or professional setting, key tips for this crucial part of your life. Mindy Kaling’s Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? The talented and super funny comedian has many quirky, comedic stories during her rise to fame and she shares them all with good-natured self-deprecating humor that puts today’s awkward social moments in great context. Her observations are sure to give you a good laugh. Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking A book about the year after the author’s husband died? Sound depressing, doesnt it? Not a chance! One of America’s greatest authors takes readers through a whirlwind of family medical emergencies, love and loss with an uncanny ability to share strength, enduring faith and perspective. Sheryl Sandberg’s Option B The subtitle to this book is Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy, three challenges every college student faces at some point in their journey. In this touching business book named one of the Best Books of 2017, Sheryl uses a massive loss to share her growth in learning how to overcome hardships, how to build compassion and help other people in times of crisis. Life lessons abound in this raw memoir. William Deresiewicz’s Excellent Sheep If you’re a student with good grades who feel you’re not â€Å"jumping through hoops,† this is a must-read. It shows how many top students often don’t think for themselves and instead fit the mold of the educational structures and expectations set by family, teachers and peers. This Yale professor will challenge your thoughts on education in the best way. B.J. Novak’s One More Thing If you like randomness this is for you. A quick read with great sections for a commute, or those boring moments in the bathroom, One More Thing takes you from a kid winning six-figures in a cereal box to a woman hoping to seduce Tony Robbins. Whether humor, strange, or inquisitive there’s something here for everyone. George Orwell’s 1984 If you haven’t already been made to read this book several times (or even if you Cliff-Noted through it in high school), now is the time. This classic and prophetic novel will have you feeling quite haunted by the similarities between today’s political and social climate and the dystopian depiction of the government in Orwell’s masterpiece. Have you read all of these books? Wow! Thats impressive.. and a bit terrifying. Heres the list with even more books to read. Enjoy!

buy custom Financial Reporting essay

buy custom Financial Reporting essay Deegan (2009) states that financial reports should represent faithfully the underlying transactions and events and should be neutral and complete. However, the question still remains whether we can really accept that accounting can be 'neutral' or objective. Transparency and compliance is the expectation of many in matters of financial reporting. There is a wide gap of communication in annual reports in matters of disclosure and compliance. In various aspects, it is a troubling report since it comprises information on public relations and results of finance (Ball, 2006). Even with the inclusion of sophisticated standards, the financial report still has traces of inconsistencies. The accountants, analysts and regulators with an understanding of finance complexities have taken an advantage of the situation and have compromised with the set standards. Transparency has thus been compromised in financial reports. Therefore, this essay seeks to state that some financial reports can no long er be regarded as neutral and will in most cases be compromised. Footnotes in financial reports have become too extensive and technically complex for individual investors. The complexity of the documents has made interpretation difficult. Individual investors have been struggling to bring sense out of the high volume of expert information. The footnotes are an inclusion that aims at satisfying the transparency legal form. It has however been used for the wrong reasons. Investors along with their accountants, regulators and analysts seek to use footnotes to provide authentic-world disclosures aimed at establishing direct solutions to simple although very crucial questions to the investor. Such issues include seeking to establish the viability of the investment on long-term basis. Again, it has also been used to establish the capital strength of the investment (Glen, 2005). Such inclusions in the financial report have led to some level of compromise which has interfered with the integrity of the documents (International Accounting Standards Board, 2 007). The main differences in the process of producing financial reports for companies in various countries have led to many problems. These begin right from the process of preparation, consolidation and the interpretation of the published financial reports. The efforts that have been put in place to harmonize the statements of finance in the reports on a global scale have been established by such bodies like IASC, the EU and even the IASB. All the same, they have not produced a significant change in the financial documents. The annual accounts of a company provide information concerning the financial status of the company. Even though the main objective is all the same in different parts of the world, there is a difference in the influences of these financial accounts. Thus, different countries have shown different approaches in coming up with their documents. One of the causes of major flaws in financial reports is the concern about financial provision. Companies have been increasing in scale. Private capital has thus become insufficient to support the company activities. Based on this fact, companies react differently to the increased need for money to finance these activities (Alexander et al. 2007). Some parts of the world like in America and UK saw shareholders as thesource of the needed extra funding. As a result of this, some companies relied more on equity funding. This is where problems begin to emerge. In companies where there is equity funding, the financial statements tend to have an orientation by the investor. The financial statements should make available the relevant information for the investor to come up with the best decision. However, the case is ever different from regions with companies relying on debt funding. The financial statements in this case normally have a creditor orientation. The information is very imperati ve as it tells whether a company will be in a position to pay debts or not. Different legal systems are a major cause of the differences realized in accounting practice. These differences account for the many flaws that are evident in financial documents. In such places like USA and England, there is a common law system. The system is established through case law and cannot provide specific regulations which could be applicable universally. Therefore, rules of accounting are set out by established private bodies in the accounting profession. The rules are not a section of the law. However, Spain, Scotland and France apply a Code Law system that offers a large set of rules that attempt to work for any kind of situation (Alexander et al, 2007). The regulations in accounting are in the hands of the federal government and in most cases set in the company law of the country. In such regions, financial reports have sometimes been reduced to a mere compliance to a set of legal requirements by the law. Well, the authenticity of the financial reports is in a worrying situation. Financial statements have been used in some countries to establish the taxable income of a company. In such a scenario, financial reports can be influenced by tax. This is mainly because a company will seek to cut down the tax imposed on them. This is mostly found in such countries where there is no an explicit approach of the investor in their financial reporting. Norway, Italy and Sweden are such examples where financial reporting relies on taxation (Alexander et al., 2007). Countries like Ireland and the Czech Republic have different accounts for purposes of tax. Therefore, the relationship is not that strong. All these differences highlighted above will have a big effect on accounting and the use of financial reports. Such differences will often lead to confusion in investors and ultimately affect the process of decision making in companies at large. To reduce any suspicion in these documents, harmonizati on is required so that the authenticity in financial reports can be maintained (Elliot and Elliot, 2004). Accounting reports reacts to the environment generally. It is thus logical to assert that various environments have different systems of accounting. On the other hand, similar environments have similar systems of accounting. This has led to the emergence of different standards in accounting. Financial reporting has different characteristics. They could either have shareholder or stakeholder orientation. In such places where shareholders tend to be the main users of reports of finance, high quality information is required. Investors do not really have the internal information needed for them to make important decisions. The lack of high qualiity information at such levels has left a lot of questions amongst investors. The confusion occasioned by the different standards used has compromised the quality of data available in financial reports. The pressure to have a disclosure of the information needed is higher than in such regions where those who offer funding can get access to interna l information. The information quality must really be very good regardless the geographical location. A standardization process is required to eliminate these shortcomings (Zingales, 2000). The representation of the companys financial situation is also a great concern in maintain transparency in the reports. As provided in the common law nations, financial reports must exhibit a just perception of the situation in a company. In code law nations, the focus is on compliance with the set legal requirements. Therefore, many accountants will manipulate data upon the request by the investor to attain compliance. This is usually done through a well planned collusion. The investor is ever ready to pay off the regulators and the analysts. The accounting handling of lease contracts have drawn a major concern. In the UK for instance, lease contracts can be accounted for in the company balance sheet while companies may not really be in possession of assets legally. All the same, a situation in which legal compliance has a greater influence, the lease contracts are usually kept off the balance sheet. This is because there is normally no legal ownership. This difference can have a ve ry big impact on the equity/debt of a particular company (Alexander et al., 2007). The need to harmonize financial reports is apparently obvious because it may possibly affect investors. The investors who look in between geographical locations in order to invest will greatly be influenced by the lethargy seen in financial reporting. Transparency has not really been described on an expanded level in financial reports. The kind of definition needed clearly includes the need to have harmony in the standards of financial reporting as well as the format. This will help investors to find similar sections of the financial report in a similar order from time to time. The lack of harmonization creates loop holes for fraudulent activities. The coherence of financial reports can be made possible with the establishment of a standard compliance procedure. Other changes will also be required in the footnotes. The main purpose of these footnotes was initially to provide support for the numerical information summarized in the financial reports. The lack of a standardized sequence in using the footnotes usually tends to be a difficult condition for the investors (Michael, 2006). Finally, since financial reporting has undergone a variety of changes, the authenticity of the reports needs to be maintained. It is clear that there is a lot of difficult in accepting that accounting can be 'neutral' or objective. There are a number of standards that have been employed in drafting financial reports and have put the entire process in question. It is evident that a standard harmonization procedure is needed to make financial statements easy to analyze. It is no doubt that financial reports have been greatly influence by legal systems of compliance. There is a lot of bias which needs to be addressed. Buy custom Financial Reporting essay

Presidential Candidates and the Death Penalty

Presidential Candidates and the Death Penalty Unlike past presidential elections, national interest in the candidates positions on the death penalty has waned, partly due to a decline in the number of states that no longer allow capital punishment. Furthermore, the rate of violent crimes in the United States has steadily decreased for 20 years, that is, until 2015 when, according to the FBI, the incidences of violent crime rose to 1.7 percent which included a 6 percent increase in homicides. History has shown that when the crime numbers are up, more people are pro-death penalty and interest in the position political candidates take on the issue becomes more important to voters. Lessons Learned A good example of rising crime statistics determining voter interest in the death penalty was the 1988 presidential election between Michael Dukakis and George H. W. Bush.  The national murder rate was averaging around 8.4 percent and 76 percent of Americans were for the death penalty, the second highest number since recording began in 1936. Dukakis was portrayed as being too liberal and soft on crime. He received a fair amount of criticism because he was opposed to the death penalty. An incident that many believe sealed his fate as losing the election occurred during an October 13, 1988, debate between Dukakis and Bush. When the moderator, Bernard Shaw, asked Dukakis if he would be in favor of the death penalty if his wife were raped and murdered, Dukakis replied that he would not favor it and reiterated that he was opposed to the death penalty all of his life. The general consensus was that his answer was cold and his national poll numbers plummeted the very night of the debate. Despite the fact that the majority in the U.S. is still in favor of the death penalty, opposition to state executions is rising: at 38 percent opposing the ultimate penalty for a crime, this is the highest level of opposition to capital punishment. Where do todays presidential candidates stand on the death penalty in the face of rising opposition against it? The  Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994   The  Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 was signed into law by President Bill Clinton. It was the largest crime bill in U.S. history. Along with adding major funding for  100,000 new police officers, it also banned the manufacture of many semi-automatic firearms and expanded the federal death penalty.   It has been said in retrospect, that the bill was also responsible for the large increase in African American and Hispanic incarceration. As the first  lady, Hillary Clinton was a strong advocate of the  bill and lobbied for it in Congress. She has since spoken out against part of it, saying that it is time to revisit it. While in the House, Bernie Sanders also voted in favor of the bill, but he originally supported a revised bill that abolished the federal death penalty in exchange for life sentences. When the revised bill was rejected, Sanders voted for the final bill that included the expansion of the federal death penalty. Spokespersons for Sanders have said that his support was due largely to the Violence Against Women Act and assault weapons ban.   Hillary Clinton Supports the Death Penalty (But Struggles With It) Hillary Clinton has taken a more cautious stand than Sanders. During the same February MSNBC debate, Clinton said that she was concerned about how the death penalty is handled on a state level and that she has a lot more confidence in the federal system. â€Å"For very limited, particularly heinous crimes, I believe it is an appropriate punishment, but I deeply disagree with the way that too many states are still implementing it,† Clinton said. Clinton was also confronted with questions about her views on the death penalty during a CNN-hosted Democratic town hall on March 14, 2016. Ricky Jackson, an Ohio man who spent 39 years in prison and came â€Å"perilously close† to being executed, and who was later found to be innocent, was emotional when he asked Clinton, In light of what Ive just shared with you and in light of the fact that there are undocumented cases of innocent people who have been executed in our country. I would like to know how you can still take your stance on the death penalty. Clinton again voiced her concerns, saying, The states have proven themselves incapable of carrying out fair trials that give any defendant all the rights that defendants should have... She also said she would breathe a sigh of relief if State Supreme Courts eliminated the death penalty. She then added that she still supported it in rare cases on a federal level for terrorist and mass murderers. â€Å"If it were possible to separate the federal from the state system by the Supreme Court,† Clinton added, confusingly, â€Å"that would, I think, be an appropriate outcome,† a statement some critics referred to as back peddling.   Donald Trump Supports the Death Penalty (and Would Likely Inject the Needle)    On December 10, 2015, Donald Trump announced to several hundred police union members in Milford, New Hampshire, that one of the first things he would do as president would be to sign a statement that anybody that kills a police officer would get the death penalty. He made the announcement after he accepted the endorsement of the New England Police Benevolent Association. One of the first things I would do, in terms of making an executive order if I win, would be to sign a strong, strong statement that will go out to the country- out to the world- that anybody killing a policeman, policewoman, a police officer- anybody killing a police officer, the death penalty. Its going to happen, OK? We can’t let this go. In  1989,  Trump  earned his pro-death penalty status after taking out a full-page ad in four New York City newspapers titled, BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY! BRING BACK THE POLICE! It was assumed that his actions were in reference to the May 1989 brutal rape of a woman who was jogging in Central Park, although he never made reference to the attack. Known as the case of the Central Park Five, the sentences of the  five males convicted of the rape were later vacated after serial rapist and murderer, Matias Reyes, confessed to the crime. The DNA evidence was reexamined and matched Reyes and it was the only semen found on the victim. In 2014,  the Central Park Five settled a civil case with the city for $41 million dollars. It has also been said that Trump was furious about it.

"Bullying in Schools" Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

"Bullying in Schools" - Assignment Example This conducts amounts to negative repercussions because some students end up dropping out of school while other resort to suicidal incidences. School authorities and parents are trying to curb this habit by watching their children at home and within the institutions. In this regard, bullying arises when one student intends to harm the other, victimize or provoke for self-fish interests. It is detrimental to the learners’ safety and development in the social setting since it reduces the self-esteem and study ethics. The central idea is that measures should be adopted to avoid the occurrences of bullying in learning facilities. Bullying in schools occurs in different aspects and forms, including online harassments, physical, emotional and verbal abuses. It is apparent that some bullies target their victims on electronic platforms where they harass them. This takes place on social media channels, especially between peers and classmates who interact frequently. Considering this, bullying can affect the mental health of adolescents who face harassment from peers (Langan, 2013). This is because the trauma stays with them into adulthood whenever they encounter similar treatments in their marriage lives. According to Langan (2013), the physical, emotional and verbal abuses are the prevalent forms in schools and can be performed by both boys and girls. This is because it is observed that boys engage more in physical abuses while girls use verbal and cyber harassments. This habit is also common among the popular students who take advantage of their influence to mistreat others. It happens in the presence of other students who influence the climate and the ability of the mistreatment to occur. This is because of the peer culture that makes it easy for the bullies to perform the bullying. It is also common that the different aspects of bullying normally happen during the transition periods from one stage to the other

Project proposal for up-gradation of our e-mail system Essay

Project proposal for up-gradation of our e-mail system - Essay Example The current system is a mix of five different e-mail systems being used across twelve departments. This has been found to be inadequate to meet the present and future demands of effective and uninterrupted communication. This proposal is aimed at integrating different systems into a single system by powering and installing a comprehensive communication package. LONG TERM OBJECTIVES: The objective of the project is to implement an integrated e-mail system by replacing the existing fragmented system that is currently being used. Once implemented, the new system will be capable of handling a comprehensive range of communication needs to support our growth. It is estimated that this system will be geared to handle all our future needs for a period of ten years. Expected Project results: All problems we had with the old e-mail system will be eliminated with the new software and hardware. The whole project will take ten days to implement and to become operative PROJECT SCHEDULE AND WORK PLAN: The project plan is given here in detail. The project costs and a Gantt chart is reproduced at the end. Till the process of the implementation of the project is over, the required staff will be required to work on all days including weekends. The following tasks are required for completion. a. a. Purchase of new software package: Five vendors were identified and a comprehensive review of their product and services had been done with the help of the IT department. It has been decided that the package sold by Company X will be most suitable for our situation. The company is willing to customize the whole software to our specifications. The review report will be made available to the stakeholders and the board of directors for final approval. Once approved, the contract can be signed in three days. b. Replacing obsolete hardware like modems, switches and routers. Our IT staff on the direction of the software vendor, has estimated that all communication hardware will have to be changed. Fifteen incompatible computers will have to be replaced. An additional ten nodes are also required to be purchased. Suitable vendors have been identified and are awaiting approval of the board of directors after review by the stakeholders. The whole process would take seven days to complete including installation. The old system will run concurrently till the new one becomes functional. c. Backup of all exiting communication received and sent so far: The new package has been designed to read the backup files of all existing communication stored in our systems. The backup will be done by our IT staff and it will take two days to complete. It will not seriously affect our day to day operations.

MGMT335 U5 IP Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

MGMT335 U5 IP - Research Paper Example receive an equal pay just like any other member who got the same skills and competence working under similar working environment without considering such factors as sex. The act may exhibit exceptions in instances where merit and seniority may lead to unequal pay especially when the quality of work differs (Andrews, 2007). The other indispensable law employers ought to observe is contained under Title VII of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964. The act provides immunity to employees from traits that tend to discriminate individuals based on color, sex, religion or nationality. The law works in organizations that have more than 15 employees working under the same environmental conditions. Employers also uphold the legislation contained under Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that provides immunity to qualified individuals with disability. The act prohibits employers from discriminating skilled and competent individuals from participating in promotion and hiring process due to their disability unless the condition is affecting the performance of the individual (Andrews, 2007). Employers are supposed to respect laws stipulated under The National Labor Relations Act that allow the workforce to vent their grievances without being discriminated. The workforce may form labor unions that they use as channels to communicate their discomfort once promoted or hired in a particular job group (U.S. Department of Labor, 2012). Employers should observe legislation that fall under The Employment Retirement Security Act of 1970. This act provides protections to the workforce when seeking their retirement benefit. Employers should not discriminate individuals when they express their rights to access their retirement benefits. Title VII of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973 forms the two exemplars of legislation that specifically deals with discrimination. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 provides

US Economic Policy Impact on Asian Economies Research Paper

US Economic Policy Impact on Asian Economies - Research Paper Example m the recession trap, the Federal Reserve undertook the policy of Quantitative Easing, since the value of bond price and interest rate in the market is inversely related. The high demand for fixed assets by the central bank had lowered the market interest rate in the economy of U.S. Thus, with the help of Quantitative Easing, the financial reserves available with the commercial banks increased and the banks could offer the accumulated reserves to the potential investors in the economy. Ultimately, the tool of Quantitative Easing helped to recover the economy of U.S. from the recessionary stage. However, it had been claimed by the U.S. government that the level of Quantitative Easing would reduce if the U.S. economy had generated a productive growth in the market. In the month of May 2013, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, had finally declared to taper quantitative easing (Eichengreen, 2011). As a result of this business decision undertaken by the Federal Reserve, the long term interest rates in U.S. increased and the foreign domestic stock market level declined to some extent. There were many public officials who claimed to defer the quantitative policy, but the Federal Reserve claimed that it was crucial for U.S. to rise from it’s near-zero interest rate trap. As the first step directed to end the Quantitative Easing, the Federal Reserve had lowered the bonds purchase in the economy. This resulted in lowering the demand for fixed assets in the market, thereby leading to the rise in the interest rate of the economy. However, presently, as a result of this initiative undertaken by the Federal Reserve, the demand for Dollar has significantly increased in the world market. This is because Dollar is a flexible currency and has a high value in the market... This research paper concentrates on the impact of U.S. economic policies on the Asian economies in recent years, following the financial crisis. After globalization, the state of commercial and non-commercial affairs of the different countries had become highly integrated with each other. The changing U.S. economic policy had negatively influenced the Asian countries initially, in the long run, the Asian nations will benefit from the U.S. growth. After the tapering of quantitative easing, investors who invest money in different economies fear that in future the supply of dollar would reduce in the market. This is the reason for which many investors, who had invested money in the different equity markets of several Asian economies, have started to withdraw these funds and reinvest them in the U.S. assets. The public authorities of a nation must forecast the long-term benefits of an economic policy instead of simply concentrating on the short run factors. History has proved that the growth of the developed nations has carved the path of evolution for the developing nations. Thus, the Asian countries should consider the long-term perspective and enhance its transactional relations with U.S. Despite the short run negativities, the changes in the U.S. economic policies have bestowed many benefits to the Asian nations. The rising investments of the Asian investors in the U.S. market have augmented the business competences and efficiencies of the domestic markets of the Asian economies

Mine kafon Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Mine kafon - Essay Example The mine detector has three major parts; the nucleus where the GPS tracking chip and all the other parts of Mine Kafon are attached. The legs are made using strong bamboo sticks and at the base the feet are attached. The feet are made using biodegradable plastic material and are designed to be heavy enough to tramp on landmines and also light enough to get the propulsion. The core of Mine Kafon is made using 17 kilogram iron casing, and is surrounded by several protruding bamboo legs. The core carries a GPS tracking unit equipped with a GPS chip used for tracking the mine detector. The GPS chip can be remotely controlled using mobile applications and hence a GPS map can be drawn to trace the path of minefields. The GPS data can be downloaded in real-time or accessed online. The data can be used to map the areas that have been cleared of landmines by the device. The legs act as the locomotion unit of Mine Kafon. The legs are made using strong bamboo sticks which are around one meter in length. The legs are attached to the core and act as a link between the feet and the core. The tip of the bamboo is slightly reduced to allow a perfect fit with the foot. The choice of material was made after considering the strength characteristics of bamboo and the weight properties. The feet also add weight to the mine detector, and are spaced in a manner that will enable air to blow through the inside of the feet, therefore enabling propulsion. With each detonation, Mine Kafon loses a few legs, like one or two and therefore under normal working conditions, the device will be able to destroy three or four landmines in a single journey. The feet form the most important part of Mine Kafon. It provides the suspension mechanism that enables the device to roll over rough terrain. The entire weight of the landmine detonator is about eighty kilograms, heavy enough to detonate a landmine. The foot is

Monitoring the glucose level as well as alteration in expression of Research Proposal

Monitoring the glucose level as well as alteration in expression of m-RNA and protien levels of glucose transporters(GLUT4) in d - Research Proposal Example The reduction of insulin activity removes the glucose transporter in the urine samples out of the body. This concludes that glucose level monitoring and the Vitamin D level monitoring is very important for the type 2 Diabetes patients.1 When the Vitamin D binds to the vitamin D receptor (VDR), a heterodimer is formed. This hetereodimer then binds to the DNA and initiates many cofactors leading to the increase in the transcription of the genes that are responsible for the production of the proteins that control the calcium homeostasis. Vitamin D regulates the insulin receptor gene expression at the genetic level. The mRNA that codes for insulin receptor gene is produced at large numbers by increasing the expression level. The increase in the insulin receptor will increase the binding of the insulin and makes the GLUT4 transporter gene translocation from the intracellular level to the plasma membrane. 2 This increase in flux increases the glucose metabolism and thus controls the type 2 Diabetes mellitus in humans.GLUT 4 contain the phosphate at the basal state. The phosphorylation of GLUT4 is mediated by the cyclic cAMP- dependent protein kinase inhibiting the glucose transport.2 Scientific Background: A study was carried out in the year 1993, to identify the genes that are responsible for the regulatory domain of the GLUT4 in the adipose tissue. The transcriptional regulation of the gene was studied in the murine C2C12 skeletal muscle cell line. Transient transfection of the 5’ and 3’ deletions of the GLUT4 5’ flanking DNA has identified a region of 281 base pairs present at the myotube-specific expression. 3 The total RNA was isolated and used for Northern Blot analysis and hybridization was carried out. This gene was then inserted into the luciferase EcoRI- DraI fragment plasmid and further analysis was carried out. 3 The GLUT4 mRNA was found to be dependent on the thyroid hormone. This region was also found between the -517 and -237 regio n. This 281 base pair region is found to play a major role in understanding the mechanism that controls the GLUT4 gene expression in the skeletal muscle. All these experiments were carried out in the rat model.3 The vitamin D deficiency is found to be associated with the impaired insulin secretion. When Vitamin D is supplied at sufficient level then it binds to the vitamin D receptors (VDRs) present in the pancreatic beta cells. VRD gene is present in the Chromosome 12-cen-q12. When allelic variations are done in the VDR receptor gene then glucose absorbance rate also varies. The genomic DNA was extracted from the four healthy individuals and the four SNPS at the intron 8 and Exon 9 was examined with the controls. 4 The peripheral blood samples were analyzed for the given SNPS at the VDR gene using the polymerase chain reaction and then by the restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). The restriction sites looked for were TaqI, ApaI, BsmI and Tru91SNP. 4 It was found that the genotypes were similar in both the patients and control. This concluded that VDR is not the major gene for the Type 2 Diabetes mellitus. Hence further research is necessary for finding the responsible gene for Type 3 Diabetes mellitus.4 The vitamin D is not only the factor that is responsible for the insulin resistance. There are other factors too. The 25- hydroxyl vitamin D (25(OH)-D) is found to be inversely proportional to the insulin resistance and the (25( OH)-D) concentration is determined in the serum for the analysis. The association between the

Mine kafon Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Mine kafon - Essay Example The mine detector has three major parts; the nucleus where the GPS tracking chip and all the other parts of Mine Kafon are attached. The legs are made using strong bamboo sticks and at the base the feet are attached. The feet are made using biodegradable plastic material and are designed to be heavy enough to tramp on landmines and also light enough to get the propulsion. The core of Mine Kafon is made using 17 kilogram iron casing, and is surrounded by several protruding bamboo legs. The core carries a GPS tracking unit equipped with a GPS chip used for tracking the mine detector. The GPS chip can be remotely controlled using mobile applications and hence a GPS map can be drawn to trace the path of minefields. The GPS data can be downloaded in real-time or accessed online. The data can be used to map the areas that have been cleared of landmines by the device. The legs act as the locomotion unit of Mine Kafon. The legs are made using strong bamboo sticks which are around one meter in length. The legs are attached to the core and act as a link between the feet and the core. The tip of the bamboo is slightly reduced to allow a perfect fit with the foot. The choice of material was made after considering the strength characteristics of bamboo and the weight properties. The feet also add weight to the mine detector, and are spaced in a manner that will enable air to blow through the inside of the feet, therefore enabling propulsion. With each detonation, Mine Kafon loses a few legs, like one or two and therefore under normal working conditions, the device will be able to destroy three or four landmines in a single journey. The feet form the most important part of Mine Kafon. It provides the suspension mechanism that enables the device to roll over rough terrain. The entire weight of the landmine detonator is about eighty kilograms, heavy enough to detonate a landmine. The foot is

CPOE,Electronic Signature, 3 Risk Management Recommendations for Assignment

CPOE,Electronic Signature, 3 Risk Management Recommendations for Nurses - Assignment Example Secure information management system ensures integrity and trust with individual and others’ personal information. In this case, enhanced security measures should be initialized. For example; biometric signing in and out, immediate automatic log out when a computer is idle, and always encrypt information so as to be accessed the intended recipient only. For this scenario, the nurse should have either completely attended to the first patient before diverting her attention to the next case or she could have called in another nurse or primary care practitioner and give instructions accordingly with proper documentation of the extent she had examined the patient. Alternatively she could have procedurally handed over to the next shift of nurses before leaving the hospital. The fact that data/ information in the Case Study health institution is never handle with the expected care and given proper security is the most troubling issue. Professionally information is the key to success, meaning therefore that all that information kept in this institution forms the background of good management. Ethically, medical information of either inpatient or outpatient should always remain a secret between the doctor/nurse and patient for that matter. However, this scenario demonstrated neither ethical nor professional ways of handling such information in that on arrival at work the following day she found addition of medical records done, inappropriate web access, gained access to the narcotics, and a print out copy of the assessment left in the patient’s

The origin and significance of diversity Essay Example for Free

The origin and significance of diversity Essay Introduction Ants FormÄ «ca are arguably the most successful organisms presently on earth. They evolved from a wasp like common ancestor approximately 150 million years ago(2006 Chuck Lydeard)1. Due to their long ecological dominancy amongst insect and short life span they have undergone a high rate of adaptive radiation. Leading to a reasonably large amount of species and inter- species diversity. There are at least 12000 different species of Formicidae (2008 Edward O. Wilson)2 which have colonised almost every landmass on the planet(Alice S. Jones 2006)3 This unique dominancy and prevalence means that Ants presently account for an incomparable 15 to 20%(2000 Ted R. Schultz)4,3 of the worlds terrestrial animal biomass. FormÄ «ca exhibit eusociality, they have complex rigid social roles and interactions. They form colonies varying form a few hundred to super colonies with billions of individuals. Ants prevalence is often over looked due to their size and nature. The time when we most notice their vast numbers is when it starts affecting us; but to put it in perspective there are around 1.7billion ants for every person in Scotland(2006 Edward O. Wilson) 5,6. History of OriginThe Origin of the Ant stems back even further than we originally thought. A new D.N.A. study which included researchers from Harvard University states that they evolved around 140 to 168 million years ago in the Jurassic or Cretaceous period1. This is significant when we analyze how Ants became so successful and diverse. They evolved from the same common ancestor family as wasps called Vespoidea (1999 Denis J. Brothers)7 the similarity is clear in the family velvet ant (Mutillidae,) [See figure 1] which is actually a wasp but exhibits ant like qualities. They originally evolved in a rain forest type climate living predominantly amongst large herbivores. Indeed this is where we see the greatest number of FormÄ «ca and variation in species at present3,4. For a long time Ants were scarce making up only around 1 percent of the insect population(2000 David Grimaldi and Donat Agosti)8. However around 100 million years ago with the appearance of flowering plants the r-sel ection species experienced a high rate of evolutionary radiation. As a result of this period of adaptive radiation, ants ecological dominancy increased: 20-40% of insects found in fossil deposits from the middle of the Tertiary period are ants8. Flowering  plants were the key to the ants increased population; they created a much wider range of niches and thus reduced competition amongst insects, which lead to an increase in insects that ants could utilise as a food source(2006 Moreau CS.)9 Over time ants exhibited complex symbiotic relationships. I noted a good example of this in the Edinburgh Botanic Gardens(Ä ¦). The Acacia sphaerocephala [See figure 2] is tree native to Central and South America it exhibits a symbiotic relationship with an ant species Pseudo myrmex sphaerocephala. Its thorns are hollow and perfect for the ants to live in protecting them from predators which could disrupt their colonies if on the ground. In turn this mutualistic relationship benefits the tree as the ants guard it from other leaf eating insects. The eusociality social structure exhibited by FormÄ «ca is significant to its success. Instinctive genes inherited from its common ancestor Vespoidea give rise to its social colony structure. This is also still seen in most wasps which evolved from the same ancestral family. Diversity within FormÄ «ca-QueensFormÄ «ca display a specific, highly organised, affective social colony structure. Diversity within species of Ant is based on the needs of the colony. The colony is even looked at as an organism in itself (a Super Organism) for the purpose of some field work. Individuals have specific development pathways which lead to specific roles such as, Soldiers, Workers, Drones, Queens, Foragers and food stores (repletes). The development into these different classes is determined mostly by environmental factors such as nutrition and hormones. Yet in a few studies genetic variation has been found between castes. These genetic changes are small a change in one gene which can, for instance, decide whether a colony has one or multiple queens. However in most cases all ants start with the same genes with the exception of males. Ants generally have 4 development stages, egg, larva, pupa and adult(2002 Myrm)10. The larvae (see figure 3) are only capable of some minor movement, such as bending their head toward a food source. It is in the larval stage where differing the level of care and nourishment leads to different development pathways. When resources are low most larvae will develop into sterile female workers. Only if the developed colony has an abundant food supply will worker ants map selected larvae using pheromones. These then receive better nourishment than others which  triggers select genes to activate(1978 Edward O. Wilson.)11 These larvae develop into, normally winged, sexually mature female ants (See figure 4)which leave to find a male (Drone) and start a new colony. In some colonies for whatever reason there is no queen; in this case a female worker (all ants apart from drones are female) becomes fertile and lays fertile eggs. The Queens main role is to allow gene flow in the gene pool. She mates with one or more males from other colonies before starting her own. This is t he only sexual interaction between ants from different colonies. This important role exhibits the significance of variation within a species. Diversity within FormÄ «ca-DronesWorkers generally cannot mate yet because of the haplodiploid sex-determination system in most species they have the ability to lay unfertilised eggs that become fully fertile haploid males. This system means that offspring created from the combination of a sperm and an egg develop as a female (Worker or Queen) and an unfertilized egg develops as a male. This results in males having half the number of chromosomes compared to females (males are haploid). This system means that a drone (See figure 5) has no father and cannot have sons however he has a grandfather and is able to have grandsons. The Jack Jumper Ant Myrmecia pilosulas (See figure 6) genome is enclosed on a single pair of chromosomes as males are haploid they only have 1 chromosome, the lowest amount identified for any animal. ( 1986 Michael W. J. Crosland Ross H. Crozier)12 Interestingly Myrmecia pilosula have a venomous poison and cause more deaths in Tasmania than spiders, snakes, wasps, and sharks combined.(2008 Killer Ants T.V.)13 The only purpose of drones is to mate with a queen so she can start a new colony when this is complete he dies. Diversity within FormÄ «ca-WorkersWorkers carry out every other role in ant society. Depending on their age and a number of environmental conditions, including the state of the colony, workers can be soldiers, nurses, farmers, repletes and more, depending on the species. Ants are the only taxonomic group to evolve into specific eusocialit roles with age. This creates a very clear and significant diversity within species. Soldiers are often older workers which develop powerful mandibles. In contrast to workers soldiers are a lot larger; in the species Pheidologeton diversus the dry mass of a  soldier can be 500 times that of a worker. The difference is most prevalent in the army ant genus Dorylus(See figure 7.) Due to seasonal food shortages they leave their temporary ant hill and march in columns of up to 50 million individuals. Columns are ordered with workers being flanked and protected by the larger soldier ants(1991Bert Hà ¶lldobler)14. The soldiers create a defensive moving wall allowing the workers to safely and swiftly move through the corridor (at around 20 meters an hour.) A clear example of the diversity within a species is found in the genus Myrmecocystus. It is literally a living food store, workers feed another worker until its abdomen swells and it gets too large to get out of the chamber it is in. They are termed repletes (See figure 8) and are used by the colony to survive in times of reduced resources such as; food, water and nutrients(1993 Randy C. Morgan)15. Diversity between different species of FormicaFormicas ecological dominance has driven diversity between species to reduce competition. To allow successful resource partitioning and acquisition of new resources there are vast differences in the physical abilities of different species. A resent example of this is the study of the species Odontomachus bauri (Trap Jaw Ant) by Andrew Suarez (an ecologist and entomologist at the University of Illinois) in late 2006. Through the use of high speed cameras (about 10,000 times faster than those used to film movies) the speed of the ant jaws closing was able to be measured. It is, by a clear margin, the fastest self perpetuated moment in the animal kingdom with speeds exceeding 144 miles per hour. Even more interesting is the power involved in this movement the jaws accelerate at 100,000 times the force of gravity. This results in the movement being completed very quickly, the movement could be repeated approximately 2300 times in the time it takes you to blink: exerting a force up to 500 times the ants body mass(2006 Andrew Suarez)16. This diversity gives the ant a competitive advantage over other species. They use this ability to kill pray, attack predators and to flee from predators. As when the jaws close against the predator or ground the ant gets propelled away. An example of very specific diversity is that of leaf cutter ants Myrmicinae. They farm specific fungi as food sources in their colonies. Gathering specific leaves to feed the fungi and carrying antimicrobial  bacteria to stop infection or competition for their specific fungi. However a more unique and resent discovery in Formica diversity is Polyrhachis sokolova (See figure 9) discovered in Australia in 2006 in mangrove swamps it is the only ant found to swim and nest under water. They survive in air pockets and by swimming to the surface to breath (2006 Dr Simon Robson)17. Not much more is known about them and research is ongoing. They clearly demonstrate the level of diversity and its significance in avoiding and reducing competition between ant species. Conclusion To conclude Formica are exceedingly diverse both within and between species. They exhibit very specific roles within their colonies so much so that the entre colony can be viewed as a single organism. They have been present on earth for a comparably long time. During this time they have diversified amongst species creating many complex and delicate symbiotic relationships with other organisms. However the impending threat of climate change coupled with deforestation and loss of habitat could threaten ant species. With a body I work with- the IPCC (international panel on climate change) predicting that Climate change alone is expected to force a further 15%- 37% of species to the brink of extinction within the next 50 years.(2006 IPCC.)18 There may be a serious impact on the biodiversity of ants due to their many obligate host habitats and specific dependency on other organisms. References 1 http://news.bio-medicine.org/biology-news-3/Ancient-ants-arose-140-168-million-years-ago-7286-1/2 http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/15/science/15wils.html3 http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2007/08/ants/did-you-know-learn4 http://www.pnas.org/content/97/26/140285 http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=17930206 http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/press/2007-news/scotlands-mid-year-population-estimates.html7 Phylogeny and evolution of wasps, ants and bees 233- 249. 8 http://www.pnas.org/content/97/25/136789 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1660119010 http://www.antnest.co.uk/cycle.html11 Caste and ecology in the social

Special Admissions High Schools in New York City: Unequal Opportunites for Everyone :: Free Essays Online

Special Admissions High Schools in New York City: Unequal Opportunites for Everyone As a teenager growing up in New York City a major part of your life is the high school that you attend. New York City is filled with high schools, public, private, and parochial. Within the public school system in addition to "regular" public schools there are also special admission and magnet schools. Although these schools are all technically part of the same system, there are very great differences and disparities between them. As a student at a special admissions public school I was very aware of the problems that existed at my school, but also took for granted the advantages my school had over "regular" public schools. Our ceiling was falling down, we had no windows or ventilation, and we had teachers that didn't teach, but we also had a computer network, beautiful grand pianos, small classes, a Jazz Chorus that took a trip to Europe, AP courses, and a ridiculous number of graduates attending Ivy League universities. Some of the "regular" public schools might have had windows, but that was really the only advantage, after that we had them beat by quite a lot. I grew up across the street from two high schools. One of them, Fiorello Laguardia High School, is a special admissions public school for students who are gifted in the performing or visual arts. The student population at Laguardia is relatively diverse with students of all races attending, although the majority of the students, as at all of the NYC special admissions high schools, is white and Asian. The other high school, Martin Luther King jr. High School is a "regular" public high school. The population is almost entirely African American and Hispanic with a very small minority of Asian students. In Manhattan, as in many areas of New York City, where one attends high school has little to do with where one lives. Almost everyone takes some combination of busses and/or subways every morning and afternoon. Because of this, the problems cannot really be blamed on districts. The disparities between schools has much more to do with who attends the school than where the school is located and the income of the population of that area. Technically, according to Marty Schwartzfarb, an educator in the New York City Public school system, all of the high schools run by the New York City board of education are supposed to be receiving exactly the same amount of money per student.

Ferdinand Magellan :: essays research papers

Ferdinand Magellan was bornabout 1480 in Sabrosa of a noble Portuguese family. His parents, who were members of nobility, died when he was about10 years old. At the age of 12, Magellan became a page to Queen Leanor at the royal court. Such a position commonly served as a means of education for sons of the Portuguese nobility.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At the court, Magellan learned about the voyages of such explorers as Christopher Columbus of Italy and Vasco da Gama of Portugal. He also learned the fundamentalsof navigation. In 1496, Magellan was promoted to rank of squire and became a clerk in the marine department. There, he helped outfit ships for trade along the west coast of Arfica.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Magellan first went into sea in 1505, when he sailed to India with the fleet of Francisco Almeida, Portugal’s first ruler to that country. In 1506, Magellan went on an expedition sent by Almeida to the east coast of Africa to strengthen Portuguese bases there. The next year, he returned to India, where he participated in trade and in several naval battles against Turkish fleets.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1509, Magellan sailed with a Portuguese fleet to Malaka, a commercial center in what is now Malaysia. The Malays attacked the Portuguese who went to shore, and Magellan helped rescue his comrades. In 1511, he took part in an expedition that conquered Malaka. After this victory, a Portuguese fleet sailed farther to the Spice Islands which were called the Molucca Islands. Portugal claimed the islands at this time. Magellan’s close personal friend Francisco Serraro went along on the voyage to the Spice Islands and wrote to Magellan, describing the route and the island of Ternate. Serrao’s letters helped establish in Magellan’s mind the location of the Spice Islands, which later became the destination of his great voyage.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Magellan returned to Portugal in1513. He then joined a military expedition to Morocco. On this expedition, Magellan would suffer a wound that would make him limp for the rest of his life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After returning to Portugal from Morocco, Magellan sought the support of King Manuel 1 for a voyage to the Spice Islands. The best maps available had convinced Magellan that he could reach the Spice Islands by sailing south of South America. Magellan beleived such a route would be shorter than the eastward voyage around the southern tip of Africa and across the Indian Ocean. However, Manuel disliked Magellan and refused to support the proposed voyage.

Physically Visiting the Markets and Use of Telephone/Mobile Phone

Marketing of Major Fish Species in Bangladesh: A Value Chain Analysis a power of fishries industry loaded with more documents Physically visiting the markets and use of telephone/mobile phone are the common sources of collecting market information for all value chain actors. Fellow traders are also a source of market information for the value chain actors except processing plants. Processing plant and LC paikers mainly depend on email/internet to obtain market informationMd. Ferdous Alam Research Fellow, Institute of Agricultural and Food Policy Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia Md. Salauddin Palash Assistant Professor Department of Agribusiness and Marketing, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh Md. Idris Ali Mian Professor, Department of Agribusiness and Marketing, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh Madan Mohan DeyProfessor, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, USA November 2012 _____________________________________ A report submitted to Food and Agriculture Organization for the project entitled A Value-chain Analysis of International Fish Trade and Food Security with an Impact Assessment of the Small-scale Sector Marketing of Major Fish Species in Bangladesh: A Value Chain Analysis Table of Contents Section |Section title |Page | | |Glossary of terms |iv | | |Abbreviation |v | | |Weights, Measures and Conversions |v | | |Local and Scientific names of the species of fish considered |v | | |Acknowledgements |vi | | |Executive Summary |vii | | 1 |Introduction †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |1 | | 2 |Statement of the Problem †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |2 | | 3 |Methodology †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |3 | | 4 |Results and Discussion †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |5 | | 4. 1 |Overview of fish marketing practices †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ | 5 | | 4. 1 |Buying and selling †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |5 | | 4. 12 |Grading †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |10 | | 4. 13 |Storage †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |11 | | 4. 14 |Transportation †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |11 | | 4. 15 |Financing †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |13 | | 4. 6 |Market Information †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |15 | | 4. 17 |Packaging †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |16 | | 4. 18 |Pricing †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |17 | |4. 2 |Fish Marketing Channels †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |17 | |4. 3 |Characteristics of Market Participants †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |21 | |4. 4 |Value addition costs by different actors †¦ †¦ †¦ â € ¦ |23 | |4. | Marketing Margin †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |28 | |4. 6 |Distribution of Value Addition Cost and Net Profit †¦ †¦ †¦ |32 | |4. 7 |Intermediaries Share to Consumers’ Taka †¦ †¦ †¦ |33 | | 5 |Conclusion †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |34 | | |References †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |39 | List of Tables Table |Title of tables |Page | |1 |Distribution of samples from different areas †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |5 | |2 |Percent of tilapia fish transacted by value chain actors †¦ †¦ †¦ |6 | |3 |Percent of Rohu fish transacted by value chain actors †¦ †¦ †¦ |6 | |4 |Percent of Catla fish transacted by value chain actors †¦ †¦ †¦ |7 | |5 |Percent of Pangas fish transacted by value chain actors †¦ †¦ †¦ |8 | |6 |Perc ent of hilsha fish transacted by value chain actors †¦ †¦ †¦ |8 | |7 |Percent of shrimp transacted by value chain actors †¦ †¦ †¦ |9 | |8 |Sources of finance of major carps, pangas, and tilapia fish |14 | | |Farmers and intermediaries †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ | |9 |Sources of finance of hilsha fish Farmers and intermediaries †¦ †¦ |14 | |10 |Sources of finance of shrimp farmers and intermediaries †¦ †¦ †¦ |15 | |11 |Sources of market information for Farmers and intermediaries †¦ †¦ |15 | |12 |Pricing methods followed in selling fish in Bangladesh †¦ †¦ †¦ |17 | |13 |Total marketing cost of different intermediaries involved with major carps, pangs and tilapia marketing | | | |†¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |24 | |14 |Total marketing cost of different intermediaries involved with hilsha marketing | | | |†¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |25 | |15 |Total marketing cost of different intermediaries involved with shrimp marketing†¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ | | | | |27 | |15 |Total marketing cost of different intermediaries involved with shrimp marketing (continued) | | | |†¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |27 | |16 |Marketing margin of Aratdar involved with major carps, pangs and tilapia marketing | | | |†¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |29 | |17 |Marketing margin of Inter-district Paiker involved with Pangas fish marketing | | | |†¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |30 | |18 |Marketing margin of Paiker involved with major carps, pangas and Tilapia marketing | | | |†¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |30 | |19 |Marketing margin of Retailer involved with major carps, pangas and tilapia marketing | | | |†¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ 30 | |20 |Average net marketing margin of different intermediaries for major carps, pangas and tilapia fish | | | |m arketing in Bangladesh †¦ †¦ †¦ |31 | |21 |Average net marketing margins of different intermediaries involved with hilsha fish marketing | | | |†¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |31 | |22 |Average net marketing margin of different intermediaries involved with shrimp marketing in Bangladesh | | | |†¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |32 | |23 |Percentage distribution of value addition cost and profit by intermediaries and fish marketing system| | | |†¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |33 | |24 |Share of intermediaries to in consumer’s Taka according to distribution channel †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ | | | |†¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |34 | List of Figures Figure |Title of figures |Page | |1 |Mode of transport used by farmers and intermediaries for movement of major carps, pangs and tilapia | | | |†¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |11 | |2 |Mode of transport used by farmers and intermed iaries for movement of Shrimp †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ | | | |†¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |12 | |3 |Mode of transport used by farmers and intermediaries for movement of Hilsha †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ | | | |†¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |13 | |4 |Value chains of major carps, pangs and tilapia | | | |in Bangladesh †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |18 | |5 |Value chains of hilsha in Bangladesh †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |19 | |6 |Value chains of shrimp in Bangladesh †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |20 | |7 |Components of costs for carps, pangs and tilapia †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |26 | |8 |Components of costs for Hilsha †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |26 | |9 |Components of costs for Shrimp †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |26 | List of Boxes Box |Title of Boxes |Page | |1 |Gradin g practices of different species of fishes †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |10 | |2 |Packaging practices of fish marketing in Bangladesh †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |16 | Glossary of Terms |Arat |Generally an office, a store, or a warehouse in a market place from which an Aratdar conducts his | | |business | |Aratdar |Main actor in the fish distribution system.An Aratdar arranges or negotiates sales for the sellers | | |on a commission basis. He often acts as a wholesaler. He is also a main provider of fisheries credit | | |to the fishers | |Paiker/Bepari |A Paiker is a middleman in the fish marketing chain; often covers the assembly function in the chain,| | |acting as Dadandar at the same time; depending on the location sometimes also referred to as | | |wholesaler or retailer. They are also called Bepari |Nikari |A Nikari is an informer middleman who does not have the ownership of fish but sets a bridge between | | |buyers and sellers and receive commission from Farme rs and fishers | |Faria |Farias are intermediaries usually operating in the hilsha marketing process who purchases small | | |quantity of fish from fishermen far away from the market and carry it to the terminal point and sell | | |it to Aratdar or retailer | |LC Paiker |These intermediaries purchase hilsha fish from fishermen through Aratdar and export to overseas | | |market. They are authorized LC (Letter of Credit) holder to export. | |Account Holder |They are intermediary and operate in the shrimp supply chain. They act as the commission agent and | | |constitute the major profit making actor in the shrimp value chain. Account Holders are very powerful| | |as they are the party who supply shrimp to the processing plants. Processing plants are made to buy | | |shrimp from the Account holders only. |Dadan |This is a kind of loan given to the fishermen by Aratdars and mohajans (traditional money lenders) | | |on condition that fish are required to be sold to them compulsorily. Som etimes prices are | | |predetermined | |Koyal |Koyals are persons who conduct the auction for the Aratdars. They organize the auction by offering | | |initial price of the lot to the assembled buyers. They then loudly inform the prices offered by the | | |buyers before the auction participants. The process is repeated by them until final price is fixed | | |up. | Abbreviations Acronym |Full title | |FAO |Food and Agricultural Organizations of the United Nations | |DoF |Department of Fishery | |ADB |Asian Development Bank | |FGD |Focused Group Discussions | |LC |Letter of Credit | |NGO |Non-government Organizations | |Tk |Taka, Bangladesh Currency | |USDA |United States Department of Agriculture | Weights, Measures and Conversions Exchange rates (Jan 2011) 1 US dollar ($) = Tk75. 00 1 Maund = 40 Kg Local and Scientific names of the species of fish considered Local name | Scientific name | |Rohu | Labeo rohita | |Catla | Catla catla | |Pangas | Pangasius hypophthalmus | |Tilapia | Ore ochromis nilotica | |Hilsha | Tenualosa ilisha | |Giant Tiger Shrimp | Penaeus monodon . | |Giant River Prawn | Macrobrachium rosenbergii | |Vennamei (whiteleg) shrimp | Litopenaeus vannamei | | | | AcknowledgementsThe authors wish to thank the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and Norwegian Agency for International Development (NORAD) for the technical implementation and funding respectively of the project entitled â€Å"A Value-chain Analysis of International Fish Trade and Food Security with an Impact Assessment of the Small-scale Sector†. We are also grateful to Dr. Audun Lem, Senior Fishery Industry Officer, Policy and Economics Division, Fisheries and Aquaculture Department of FAO, Rome, for providing overall administrative support in conducting the project activities. The authors express sincere appreciation to Professor Dr.Trond Bjorndal, Director, CEMARE, the University of Portsmouth, UK for his keen interest in this value chain paper. His critical comments and professional suggestions have been highly helpful in organizing the paper. Prof. Dr. Daniel V Gordon of the University of Calgary, Canada deserves appreciation for his suggestions and comments during the value chain study workshop held in Japan, which helped the authors to organize the paper. The authors express sincere appreciation to the graduate students of the Faculty of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, for conducting the field surveys in various fish markets.The opinions of the participating members of the focused group discussion conducted in Khulna have been highly valuable and the authors thank them for their input. The different fish market intermediaries, who by sacrificing their valuable time, participated in the survey are also highly appreciated. Finally, the first author expresses deep sense of gratitude to the Institute of Agricultural and Food Policy Studies and the Universiti Putra Mal aysia for approving him to be involved in this project. Executive Summary Background of the project Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations is implementing a research project entitled a value-chain analysis of international fish trade and food security with an impact assessment of the small-scale sector with the financial support of NORAD.The objective of the project is to achieve a better understanding of the dynamics of relevant value-chains in international fish trade and arrive at policy recommendations. The project aims at analyzing the distribution of benefits in the value-chain and the linkages between the relative benefits obtained as well as the design of the chain. The project also aims at making comparisons between domestic, regional and international value-chains with the view to understand better how developing countries can increase the value derived from their fishery resources. Twelve countries (10 developing and 2 developed countries) are parti cipating in this project including Bangladesh. This report is based on the cross section component of the value chain analysis of Bangladesh fish marketing. Objectives of the studyThe study addresses the overall fish marketing system of Bangladesh with particular emphasis to the extent of value addition during the process of marketing of rohu, catla, pangas, tilapia, hilsha and shrimp. The specific objectives of the study are to: i) identify different marketing channels and intermediaries involved therein and their roles in fish marketing, ii) determine the extent of value addition in terms of costs in successive stages of fish movement, and iii) determine marketing margins of the intermediaries. A related, complementary study deals with price transmission mechanism across seafood value chain in the country (Sapkota-Bastola et al. 2012) Location of study and dataThe study is conducted in i) Trishal, Bhaluka and Muktagaca upazila (sub-district) under Mymensingh district of north-cent ral Bangladesh, ii) Dupchacia sub-district under Bogra district of northern Bangladesh, iii) Dumuria sub-district under Khulna district of southern Bangladesh, iv) Sadar sub-district of Chandpur district of south-central Bangladesh, and v) Jatrabari area of Dhaka district. A combination of participatory, qualitative and quantitative methods is used for primary data collection. Total sample size of the study is 200 comprising of 35 Farmers, 75 brokers and marketing agents, 5 depot owner, 2 processing plants and 73 retailers. Value chains (marketing channel) The longest supply chain involves six intermediaries for live Pangas (fish farmer, nikari, paiker, aratdar, retailer and consumer).Two supply chains identified for carps and tilapia involve five intermediaries (fish farmer, aratdar, paiker, retailer and consumer) and 4 intermediaries (fish farmer, aratdar, retailer and consumer) respectively. Supply chain of hilsha comprises of six intermediaries, namely fishermen, aratdar, paiker , aratdar, retailer and consumer for the distant domestic market. Two other identified channels for hilsha marketing involve respectively five intermediaries (fishermen, aratdar, paiker, retailer and consumer) and four intermediaries (fishermen, aratdar, retailer and consumer) for the local markets. The overseas hilsha marketing channel involves four intermediaries namely, fishermen, aratdar, LC paiker and overseas consumers.Domestic supply chains for shrimp marketing involve four intermediaries (shrimp farmer, aratdar, retailers and consumer) for local market and five intermediaries (shrimp farmers, aratdar, paiker, retailer and consumers) for distant markets. Three overseas supply chains are identified for shrimp marketing. The involved intermediaries are at most six, namely, shrimp farmer, aratdar, bepari, account holder, processing plant and overseas consumer. Characteristics of intermediaries Fish farmers and fishermen are the first link in the fish marketing channels. They are the supplier of fish to the market. Nikari (informer) is a middleman who does not have the ownership of the product but establishes a bridge between buyers and sellers and receive commission from farmer @0. 50 Taka/kg in the study areas in case of major carps.Faria, another type of intermediary, is found in hilsha marketing system who purchases a small quantity of fish form fishermen far away from the market and carry it to the terminal point and sell it to aratdar or retailer in the study areas. Paiker or bepari handles large volume of fish. They purchase fish from fish farmers at farm or through aratdar in the local market and sell them to the retailers through aratdar or commission agent in secondary market. LC paiker (licensed trader/exporter) purchase hilsha fish from fishermen through aratdar and sell (export) their entire product to overseas market. Aratdars negotiate sales of fish on behalf of the producers/ seller. Aratdars arrange selling of fish through an auctioning sys tem and receive a commission. Aratdars often act as a supplier of dadan.Shrimp depot owners are the permanent shopkeepers having their own premises and staffs in markets and act as the middle functionary between farmers and commission agents. Their shops (establishments) are called ‘Depot’. This group of traders mostly offers dadon – cash as loans to farmers, in return for buying the shrimp at a pre-fixed price, which may be well below the market level. Account holders act as the commission agent and constitute the major profit making actors in the shrimp value chain. They finance paikers and farmers and give credit to the processing plants. Retailers, the last intermediaries of fish marketing channel, do not have any permanent establishment but they have fixed places to sit in the market places or wandering with hari (aluminium pot) on head from door to door. Buying and sellingFarmers (producers) sell 5-12% of rohu, catla, and tilapia directly to paikers and 85- 95% is passed on to aratdar and subsequently purchased by paiker . Only a small portion is sold directly to retailers. For pangas, farmers sell 54% to paiker directly, 46% indirectly to paiker via aratdar and only 3% to retailers. Hilsha shows a different picture where fishers sell 16% to faria directly. Most intermediaries purchase fish from aratdars. In the study, 24% goes to faria, 16% to paikar, 12% to LC paiker and 32 % to retailers via aratdars. For shrimp, major portion (65%) is sold to bepari and paiker through aratdar. Depot owner is also an important party for the farmers to sell shrimp. Paikars and retailers transact (buy and sell) most of the traded fish through aratdars.Thus aratdar is the most important intermediary in the fish marketing chains and is only involved in negotiating sales on behalf of the sellers on a commission basis. In general, farmer/fisher, aratdar, paiker, and retailers are the important intermediaries playing notable role in the marketing of fish. Account holders are intermediaries and operate in the shrimp supply chain. They act as the commission agent and constitute the major profit making actor in the shrimp value chain. Account holders play a significant role in shrimp marketing. Marketing functions Grading Grading is an important activity in fish marketing as different sizes of fish fetch different prices.Grading facilitates buying and selling of fish. Most fish are graded on the basis of size (weight). However, in the case of hilsha, location (source of capture/catch) is also a factor in the grading procedure. Hilsha harvested from river (river Padma) and from sea (called fishes from Nama’s) are often differentiated in terms of their prices. Usually, hilsha caught from Padma river fetch higher price. Fish are graded into three categories namely, small, medium and large depending on size (weight). However, weights across species vary depending on species graded. Shrimp has a different grading system than fish. Her e grading is based on number of pieces forming one kg. StoragingThe storage function is primarily concerned with making goods available at the desired time. It enables traders to obtain better prices for their products. Being a highly perishable commodity, fish requires extremely specialized storage facilities matching the seasonal demand. In the shrimp industry, only the processing plants use proper storage systems in order to be able to export to the world market. Other intermediaries use only ice to transport fishes from one place to another. Surprisingly, no refrigerated van is used in Bangladesh to transport fish. Live pangas is transported from one place to another place using water in the plastic drums. TransportingFish farmers and intermediaries use various modes of transportation such as van, rickshaw, truck, passenger bus, pickup, Nasimon (locally made pick-up type van for transporting passengers and goods), head load etc, to transfer products from the producing areas to t he consumption centres. Ice is used while transporting the fish as most carriers are non-refrigerated. Rohu, catla, hilsha and other assorted fish often are sold in the urban areas with refrigerated vans to a very limited scale by the DoF, BFDC and some private firms. Financing Most of the fish farmers/ fishermen, aratdars, paikers and are self-financed. Other sources of finance for the farmers are banks, friends and relatives, and dadon. Aratdars and paikars also borrow from banks, NGOs, and friends and relatives.However, finance of hilsha fishermen come totally from aratdar/mahajon (who provides dadan). Fishermen receiving dadon from aratdars/mohajans are bound to sell their produce to them, sometimes at predetermined prices, which in most cases are lower than prevailing market prices. Farmer, aratdar, bepari and retailer involved in shrimp transaction are self-financed. Depot owners use a combination of own fund, bank, NGO and aratdars for shrimp financing. Paikers use dadon from aratdars besides their own fund to run their business. Account holders partly and processing plant owners mostly depend on bank loans to accelerate the business operations. Market informationPhysically visiting the markets and use of telephone/mobile phone are the common sources of collecting market information for all value chain actors. Fellow traders are also a source of market information for the value chain actors except processing plants. Processing plant and LC paikers mainly depend on email/internet to obtain market information. Packaging ‘Bamboo, tied with rope and polythene is used by farmers, paikers and retailers of major carps, pangas and tilapia fish for packaging. Agents also use plastic drum to transport fish (mostly pangas) in live form. Now a day’s ‘plastic crate’ is commonly used by all types of intermediaries in Bangladesh. Steel and wooden’ box are used in hilsha fish marketing by paikers, beparis and LC paikers. ‘Box†™ made of cork sheet is widely used by Account holders and processing plant owners in shrimp marketing and LC paikers in hilsha fish marketing. Pricing Depot owner, bepari and account holder of shrimp marketing chain follow prefixed prices set by the processing plants. Farmer, aratdar, paiker, LC paiker, and processing plants practice open bargaining, auction and going market prices method for fixing price of their products in varying degree. Retailers follow open bargain for selling their fish to consumers. Value addition Value is added when products pass different stages and move from one intermediary to another.The different cost components required for successive movement of fish are transportation, basket packaging, icing, wages and salaries, aratdar’s commission, house rent, security, electricity, telephone, personal expenses, tips-donation, wastage, dadon cost, government taxation, subscription for cooperatives (for hilsha), export packaging (shrimp). Total value add ed cost per maund (40 kg) is Taka 953. 13 for carps, pangas and tilapia; Taka 3707 for hilsha and Taka 5036 for shrimp. For carps, pangas and tilapia. The top three cost components are transportation, aratdar’s commission, and icing. For hilsha, the cost items are aratdar’s commission, transportation, and basket (packaging). For shrimp, the top three cost additions are aratdar’s commission, transportation, and salaries for shrimp. Marketing marginNet marketing margins per maund of carp, pangas and tilapia for farmers, aratdars, inter-district paikers, paikers and retailers are Tk3257, Taka 54, Taka 194, Taka 337 and Taka 633 respectively. The net margins of hilsha are Taka 297 for aratdars, Taka 228 for inter-district paikers, Taka 902 for LC paiker, Taka 520 for paiker and Taka 1223 for retailers. Farmer’s net marketing margin per maund of shrimp is Taka 20366 followed by processing plant (Taka 1650), retailer (Taka 1524), paiker (Taka 1417), depot owner s (Taka 1006), bepari (Taka 720) and aratdar (Taka 201). Retailers enjoy the lion’s share of the total marketing margin. Distribution of value addition cost and profit For major carp, pangas and tilapia, major cost and profit are borne by paikers (32. 03 % of the total cost) and retailers (51. 8 % of the total net profit) . For hilsha and shrimp marketing, major costs are incurred by inter district beparis, LC paikers, paikers and fishermen but major net profits are reaped by retailers and processing plant owners . Farmers in shrimp marketing bear the major marketing cost (23. 70 % of total cost) because they have to pay the aratdar’s commission. Farmers’ share of consumer Taka Farmers’ share of the consumers prices for different fishes seem to be reasonable except for hilsha fish. Farmer received 67%, 72% and 76% share of the consumer’s Taka for major carp-pangas-tilapia, shrimp (overseas value chain) and shrimp(domestic value chain) respectively. However, for hilsha, the major share (46%) of consumer Taka goes to mahajon, and fishermen receive only 31%. Price spread per kg ranges from Taka 39. 83 to Taka 177. 50. Conclusions and recommendations The study reveals that the value chain of major carps, pangas, tilapia, hilsha and shrimp are long and very complex. Fish flows to a number of channels from the producing centers. Fish sold in a particular market may originate through more than one channel. There are involvements of many intermediaries in the channel. Involvement of some intermediaries seems to be redundant whose presence just adds a cost to the consumer and a loss to the fisher.Fish purchased by consumers in Bangladesh mostly consists of the primary product and does include limited marketing services. Non-existence of good road and transport networks with the landing (assembling) centers deprive small-scale artisanal riverine fishers to get fair price due to their inability to sell directly to the assembling points/l anding centers Contact fish farming arranged by some super stores tend to reduce the existence of number of intermediaries making the channel shorter. Bulk of the fish sold in the markets is unprocessed. An emerging new phenomenon in fish marketing in Bangladesh is the availability of fish in super markets, who are increasingly becoming important retailers.Beparies and paikers bear the most cost of marketing while retailers enjoy the lion’s share of the profit. Farmers receive relatively higher share (approximately 70%) of the retail value for all species under study except for hilsha. Though fish marketing in Bangladesh is beset with a number of problems, there have been a number of positive changes that are expected to improve fish marketing environment in the country. These positive drivers include, i) the shift from subsistence to commercial fish farming, ii) emergence of super-markets, and iii) a changing social attitude towards fish marketing, as it is increasingly cons idered as a less dishonourable job as was thought in the past.Although private bodies control the most of fish marketing, for better fish marketing, government should also play active role in providing physical facilities like refrigerated storage, refrigerated vans, good market places with related facilities like water, ice, electricity, drainage facilities and sitting arrangements etc. Development of road networks is greatly needed, which is a responsibility of the government. Monitoring needs to be done to ensure that market regulations are be strictly followed. 1. Introduction Large number of different types of water bodies both inland and marine makes Bangladesh one of the most suitable countries of the world for freshwater aquaculture. The freshwater inland aquaculture production in Bangladesh is the second highest in the world after China (FAO, 2009).The total annual fish production is estimated at 2. 90 million tonnes in 2009-10 (Bangladesh fiscal year: 1 July-30 June), of w hich 1. 35 million tonnes (46. 62%) are obtained from inland aquaculture, 1. 02 million tonnes (35. 53%) from inland capture fisheries, and 0. 52 million tonnes (17. 85%) from marine fisheries (DoF, 2010). The main production systems for freshwater aquaculture in Bangladesh are extensive and semi-intensive pond poly-culture of Indian major carps and exotic carps, which account for 80% of the total freshwater aquaculture production. The remaining 20% are mainly from catfish, tilapia, small indigenous fish and rice-fish farming (ADB, 2005). Presently, 1. million people are engaged full time and 12 million as part time in fisheries sector in the country for livelihood and trade. Another 3. 08 million fish and shrimp farmers are cultivating fish both at subsistence and commercial level (Shah and Ahmed, 2006). In Bangladesh, fish farming is currently one of the most important sectors of the national economy. Within the overall agro-based economy of the country, the contribution of fish p roduction has been considered to hold good promise for creating jobs, earning foreign currency and supplying protein. About 97% of the inland fish production is marketed internally for domestic consumption while the remaining 3% is exported (Hasan, 2001).A large number of people, many of whom living below the poverty line, find employment in the domestic fish marketing chain in the form of farmers, processors, traders, intermediaries, day laborers and transporters (Ahmed et al. 1993, Islam, 1996; DFID, 1997; Kleih, 2001a? 2001b). Traditionally, people of Bangladesh like to eat fresh fish. However, chilled and dried fish are also marketed currently in large quantities in the towns and cities. Utilization and marketing distribution of fish is around 70 % fresh fish, 25% dried, and the other forms of locally processed fish include fermented products and frozen products (Islam et al. 2006). The export market of value added products is highly competitive, involving changes in type of pro ducts, forms and packaging as well as consumer behavior.Export of fish, shrimp and other fishery products were considered as non-conventional items before the independence of the country. It has increased many-folds during the last decades and the country is earning foreign exchange to minimize the trade gap. In this case the dried coastal and marine fish, the marine finfish and organism even other than fish, could be on the top of the list of export earning items (Kamal, 1994). Bangladesh exported fish and fisheries products worth Taka 32,106 million in 2009-10 of which frozen fish and shrimp shared more than 90% of the total exports of the fishery products and attained 3. 7% of total export earnings of Bangladesh (Bangladesh Bank, 2011).Since fish production in Bangladesh is increasing over the years, its disposal pattern is very important as growers, wholesalers, retailers and consumers- all are affected due to value addition in the marketing process. For the sustainability of th ese stakeholders, fish marketing studies are very necessary. Thus, the present study is conducted to examine the fish marketing system, supply chain and value addition to determine the pulling factors for enhancing production, processing and marketing of different species of fishes in Bangladesh. 2. Statement of the Problem The value chain describes the full range of activities which are required to bring a product or service from conception, through the different phases of production and delivery to final consumers (Porter, 1980; Kapilinsky and Morris, 2000).Value-chain analysis looks at every step a business goes through, from raw materials to the eventual end-user. The goal is to deliver maximum value for the least possible total cost (Investopedia, 2011). Market chain analysis aims to provide information on profitability for the various agents along the market chain (Ferris et al. , 2001). Economic value chain analysis describes the range of activities required to bring a produc t to the final consumer and, in the case of international products, the extent to which intermediaries/agents gain from participating in the chain (Jacinto, 2004). A traditional food industry value chain consists of the producer, processor, wholesaler, exporter, importer, retailer and consumer.There are mainly three sets of reasons why value chain analysis is important (Kaplinsky and Morris, 2000). These are: i) with the growing division of labour and the global dispersion of the production of components, systematic competitiveness has become increasingly important, ii) efficiency in production is only a necessary condition for successfully penetrating global markets, and iii) entry into global markets which allows for sustained income growth – that is, making the best of globalilsation- requires an understanding of dynamic factors within the whole value chain. Fish is a highly perishable commodity and its quality deteriorates very rapidly.Therefore, its quality cannot be kep t unaffected for human consumption for a long time. Production and consumption areas are also widely separated. Consumers of this country normally like indigenous carps, shrimp, catfish and other small species as food fish. Production of cultured fish can be increased by making best utilization of the existing inland resources through modern and scientific methods of fish culture and fishing techniques. But the ultimate consumers have to depend on an effective marketing system to be able to purchase fish at reasonable prices. Similarly, successful and sustainable fish culture also depends on an effective distribution system.Analysis of value chains requires detailed micro-level data, which are not available in Bangladesh and are often difficult to obtain in most countries. The present study takes the first steps to collect primary data and to identify the marketing channels and value addition of tilapia, pangas, rohu, catla, shrimp and hilsha in Bangladesh. This study analyzes how m arket intermediaries operate along seafood value chains, and demonstrates how the revenue from seafood trade is distributed over the entire seafood value chain. This report also provides information on aquaculture/fisheries products in Bangladesh to support the statistical report linking the value chain in fish supply.Finally, this study is expected to also provide some useful information to traders, fish farmers and policy makers to help them formulate programmes and policies related to the concerned fish production and marketing. A related, complementary study (Sapkota-Bastola et al. 2012) provides an in-depth analysis of the linkage between various segments in the seafood value chains in the country. The report is organized in 5 sections. Following introduction in the first section and problem statement in the second section, the third section presents methodology followed in the study. Results and discussions are discussed in section 4. Concluding remarks and future fisheries va lue chains are provided in section 5. 3. MethodologyThe study was conducted in i) Trishal, Bhaluka and Muktagaca sub-districts under Mymensingh district of north-central Bangladesh, ii) Dupchacia sub-district under Bogra district of northern Bangladesh, iii) Dumuria sub-district under Khulna district of southern Bangladesh, iv) Sadar sub-districts of Chandpur district of south-central Bangladesh and v) Jatrabari area of Dhaka district. These areas have been identified as the most important sources for pangas (Pangasius hypophthalmus), rohu (Labeo rohita), catla (Catla Catla), tilapia (Oreochromis nilotica), hilsha (Tenualosa ilisha) and shrimp/prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii, Penaeus monodon, and Litopenaeus vannamei). Primary data were collected from fish market agents of Trishal, Valuka, Muktagaca and Mechua Bazar of Mymensingh district, Dupchacia and Fate Ali Bazar of Bogra district, Kharnia, Dumuria, Rupsha, 5-No. hat and Moylapota Bazar of Khulna district, Station, Pal Bazar a nd Biponibag of Chandpur district and Jatrabari, Shanir Akhra, Ajompur and Abdullahpur Bazar of Dhaka district for the study. Surveys were conducted for a period of three months from November 2010 to January 2011. These surveys involved the inspection of the study areas in terms of fish distribution and marketing systems. A combination of participatory, qualitative and quantitative methods was used for primary data collection. A total of 4 Focus Group Discussion (FGD) sessions were conducted with actors involved in fish distribution channel (1 FGD in each area). Table 1 shows the sample intermediaries from different study areas. In this study, purposive sampling technique was used for selecting the sample. Total sample size of the study was 200.The interview schedules were prepared according to the need of the objectives of the study. In order to collect data, one set of interview schedule for all actors involved in value addition process was prepared. The draft interview schedule w as pre-tested amongst a few respondents by the researcher themselves. In this pre-testing much attention was given to elicit new information which was originally not designed to be asked and filled in the draft interview schedules. Thus, some parts of draft schedules were improved, rearranged and modified in the light of the actual experiences gained from the field tests. Then the final interview schedules were prepared based on the result of the pre-test.After the collection of data they were scrutinized and carefully edited to eliminate possible errors and inconsistencies contained in the schedules while recording them. The first step was to look into the data of each and every interview schedule to ensure consistency and reliability with the aims and objectives of the study. After completing the pre-tabulation task, they were transferred to an Excel sheet from the interview schedules. In this study tabular technique was followed to illustrate the whole scenarios of fish marketing . The sum, mean, averages, percentages, gross costs and margins etc. are the simple statistical measures employed to examine the value chain analysis of different species of fishes. Table 1. Distribution of samples from different areas |Study Area and fish species | | | | | | | |Respondents | | | |Mymensingh |Bogra |Dhaka |Chandpur |Khulna | | | |Pangas/ |Pangas/ |Pangas/ |Hilsha |Hilsha |Shrimp |Total | | |tilapia/ rohu/ catla|tilapia/ rohu/|tilapia/ rohu/ | | | | | | | | |catla/ hilsha | | | | | | | |catla | | | | | | |Farmer |10 |5 | |5 |5 |10 |35 | |Paiker |15 |4 |3 | |10 |3 |35 | |Total |56 |29 |25 |20 |29 |41 |200 | 4.Results and Discussion 4. 1 Overview of fish marketing practices 4. 11 Buying and selling Fish marketing practices in Bangladesh is the combination of a series of functions or services that are performed by several institutions and market participants like marketing agents, brokers, wholesalers, retailer, exporter and manufacturer in order to transfer the product s from farm-gate to the ultimate consumers both at home and abroad. Marketing system may be thought of as the connecting link between specialized producers and consumers (Kohls, 2005). An efficient marketing system is essential for earning fair profit for the fish farmers and traders.Marketing functions may be defined as major specialized activities performed in accomplishing the marketing process of concentration, equalization and dispersion (Kohls, 2005). In the study areas, the whole marketing of fish has been broken down into various functions such as buying and selling, transportation, grading, storaging, weighing, financing, market information and pricing. The activities involved in the transfer of goods are completed through buying and selling functions. Aratdars do the functions of negotiation between buyers and sellers of fish and help them at their own business premises on receipt of commission. They do not take the ownership of the products.Tilapia fish farmers sell 85% o f their fish to paiker through aratdar, 12% to paiker directly and the final 3% to retailer. Paikers sell 77% of their fishes to retailers and 23% to retailers through aratdars. Retailers sell the entire fish to ultimate consumers. Paiker of tilapia fish purchases 92% from farmers through aratdar and 8% directly from farmers. Retailer purchases 89 % from farmers through aratdar and 11% from farmers. Consumer purchases 100% of tilapia from the retailers in the study area (Table 2). Table 2. Percent of tilapia fish transacted by value chain actors | |Purchase from (%) |Sold to (%) | |Value chain actor| | | |Farmer | |Paiker |8 |92 | | |Farmer | |Paiker |8 |92 | |Value chain actor|Farmer | |Paiker |11 |89 | | |Farmer | |Paiker |50 |50 | | |Fisher men | |Faria |100 |- |- |- |- | |Retailer |- | | |Farmer |Faria |Farmer via Aratdar|Bepari |Depot owner |AC Holder |Retailer | |Faria |100 |- |- |- |- |- |- | |Depot owner |40 |20 |40 |- |- |- |- | |Paiker |- |- |100 |- |- |- |- | |Bepari |- | - |100 |- |- |- |- | |A/C Holder |30 |- |- |50 |20 |- |- | |Processing plant |- |- |- |- |- |- |- | |Retailer |- |- |20 |80 |- |- |- | |Consumer |- |- |- |- |- |- |100 | Source: Field survey, 2010. Table 7. Percent of shrimp/prawn transacted by value chain actors (Cont†¦. | |Sold to (%) | |Value chain |Faria |Retailer via Aratdar | |actor | | | |Rohu |Weight |Large: 2. 5 kg above, Medium: 1. 0 kg to 2. 5 kg, Small: Less than 1 kg | |Catla |Weight |Large: 3. 0 kg above, Medium: 1. 5 kg to 3 kg, Small: Less than 1. 5 kg | |Tilapia |Weight |Large: 300 gm above, Medium: 150 gm to 300 gm, Small: Less than 150 gm | |Pangas |Weight |Large: 1. 5 kg above, Medium: 1 kg to 1. kg, Small: Less than 1 kg | |Shrimp |Weight |Golda: U-5, 6/8, 8/12, 13/15, 16/20, 21/25, 26/30 | | | |Bagda: 8/12, 13/15, 16/20, 21/25, 26/30, 31/40, 41/50 | |Hilsha |Weight |Large: Above 1 kg, Medium: 800gm to 1000 gm, Small: Less than 800 gm | | |Location |Catching from river, Catching from sea | Source: Field sur vey, 2010. 4. 13 Storage The storage facilities help buyers and sellers to reduce the wide fluctuation of prices between peak and lean seasons. The storage function is primarily concerned with making goods available at the desired time and enables traders to receive better prices for their products. Because of high perishability, fish requires extremely specialized storage facilities matching the seasonal demand.Only the processing plants in the shrimp industry use proper storage systems for export to the world market. Other intermediaries use only ice to transport fishes from one place to another. Surprisingly, no refrigerated vans are used in Bangladesh to transport fish. Live pangas is transported from one place to another using water in the plastic drums. If the distance is long, water is then changed twice or thrice depending on the distance. Though all intermediaries use ice during marketing, their use of ice in fish is not scientific for which quality of fish gets affected. W hile retail selling, some use ice and some do not. 4. 14 TransportationTransportation is a basic function of making goods available at proper place and it creates place utility. Perishable goods must be moved as early as possible from the producing centre Figure 1. Mode of transport used by farmers and intermediaries for movement of major carps, pangas and tilapia Source: Field survey, 2010. Figure 2. Mode of transport used by farmers and intermediaries for movement of shrimp Source: Field survey, 2010. to the consumer centre. So transportation is essential for highly perishable commodities like fish. Adequate and efficient transportation is a cornerstone for the modern marketing system (Kohls and Uhl, 2005, p. 319).In the study areas, the fish farmers and intermediaries use various modes of transports such as van, rickshaw, truck, passenger bus, pickup, Nasimon (locally made pick-up type van for transporting passengers and goods), head load etc, to transfer product from the produci ng areas to the consumption centre. Figures 1, 2 and 3 show different modes of transport used by the intermediaries to transport fish from one place to another. 4. 15 Financing The financing function is the advancing of money by someone to carry on the business. For effective operation, financing is of crucial importance in the whole marketing system of fish. The source of finance for the value chain actors in the study areas are shown in Tables 8, 9 and 10.Table 8 shows that most of the fish farmers, aratdars, paikers and retailers of major carps, pangas and tilapia are self-financed. Other sources of finance for farmers are banks, friends and relatives, and dadon. A minor portion of Aratdar’s sources of finance are banks and friends and relatives. Paikers take loan from banks, NGO and friends and relatives. In addition to the use of their own fund, retailers also borrow from NGOs and friends and relatives. Figure 3. Mode of transport used by the farmers and intermediaries f or movement of hilsha fish Source: Field survey, 2010. Table 8. Sources of finance of major carps, pangas and tilapia fish farmers and intermediaries Sources of finance |Market participants (%) | | | |Farmer |Aratdar |Paiker |Retailer | |Own fund |86 |96 |82 |76 | |Bank |9 |3 |11 |0 | |NGO |- |0 |5 |16 | |Friend and relatives |4 |1 |2 |8 | |Dadon from Aratdar |1 |0 |0 |0 | |Total |100 |100 |100 |100 | Source: Field survey, 2010.Table 9 shows that most of the fish aratdar, bepari, paiker and retailer of hilsha are self-financed. Other sources of their finance are banks, NGOs, friends and relatives and dadon. It is worth mentioning that finance of hilsha fishermen come totally from aratdar/mahajon (who provides dadan). This dadon of the aratdars /mohajans makes fishermen very vulnerable as it is tied up with conditions. Fishermen receiving dadon from aratdars/mohajans are bound to sell their produce to them, sometimes at predetermined prices which in most cases are lower than the prev ailing market prices. Moreover, they also deprive the fishers while weighing the produce. About one-fourth of the LC paikers business is run by bank loans. Table 9.Sources of finance of hilsha fish farmers and intermediaries |Sources of finance |Market participants (%) | | |Fishermen |Aratdar |Bepari |Paiker |LC Paiker |Retailer | |Own fund |3 |90 |95 |80 |74 |99 | |Bank |0 |9 |5 |10 |24 |0 | |NGO |0 |0 | |0 |2 |1 | |Friend and relatives |0 |1 | |0 | | | |Dadon from Aratdar |97 | | |10 | | | |Total |100 |100 | | |100 |100 | Source: Field survey, 2010. Table 10 shows that in the case of shrimp, most of the farmers, aratdar, bepari and retailers are self-financed. Depot owners use a combination of own funds, bank loans, NGO and aratdars for shrimp marketing. Only 20% of depot owners procure loans from banks while 5% and 3% received from NGOs and dadon giving aratdars respectively. However, a majority of depot owners use their own fund for the business. 34% of the paikers take dadon Ta ble 10.Sources of finance of shrimp farmers and intermediaries |Sources of finance |Market participants (%) | | |Farmer | | |Farmer |Depot owner |Aratdar | |Basket |Bamboo, Rope and Polythene |40 kg |Farmer, Paiker and Retailer | | | |20 kg |Retailer | |Drum |Plastic |40 kg |Farmer, Paiker | | | |20 kg |Retailer | |Crate |Plastic, Polythene |40 kg |Depot owner (shrimp), Paiker, Bepari, Account holder | | | | |(Shrimp), Retailer | |Steel box |Steel sheet |250 kg |Paiker, Bepari (hilsha) | |Wooden box |Wood, Polythene |160 kg |Bepari, Paiker, LC paiker (hilsa) | |Box |Cork sheet |40 and 20 kg |LC Paiker (hilsha), Account holder, Processing p