HRM case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

HRM - Case Study Example addition to the communication techniques, a comprehensive HR plan for a proposed M & A strategy should include human resource counseling, establishment and reorganization processes. It may have some financial implications upon the senior management, but it greatly enhances the chances of successful merger and acquisition. To address the consequences, the HR professionals should make the plan and estimate the cost of implementation of these processes and gain senior management’s consent for its approval. 3. To predict and minimize the potentially adverse outcomes, AOL and Netscape should have paid due consideration towards the cultural implications before and after the merger. Before the merger, AOL should have conveyed the possible changes in the nature of work after merger to the workforce. Most likely, the workers would have revealed that the step is not worth taking until AOL brings a major change in its workforce to suit the needs of merger. After the merger, AOL had two options; either to recruit such employees that could also sell high-end wines in addition to the beer, or revert to the old business and retreat from the

Summary of Health Articles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Summary of Health Articles - Essay Example Most of the women, especially those above the age of 75 were found to be dependent in more than one way. Singapore has the fastest growing elderly population in Asia and it is estimated to triple over the next twenty years. This rapidly aging region of the world is estimated to spend 11% of its Gross Domestic Product on solely health related costs. The major concern that warrants this study is the increasingly high cost of looking after the elderly. In The Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging, a study was performed to evaluate the quality of exercise prevalent in low income communities. This was done through having subjects perform 6 minute walk tests, checking their blood pressure, and analyzing the activities in their daily lives (ADL). The upper body strength of most individuals, as well as their estimated body fat at the beginning of the project, was not affected, but their blood pressure did tend to decrease. There was also a dramatic increase in lower body strength of these individuals. The results can be expected from a younger group of individuals, but part of its sociological value stems from its use on the elderly.

Challenges Faced By The Shipping Industry Economics Essay

Challenges Faced By The Shipping Industry Economics Essay Today, the shipping industry is still facing a hard period due to macro economic conditions. Most of the shipping entities are struggling to survive these difficult times. There are clear signs of economic recovery in the other sector but on contrary maritime industry has not shown any such indication of recovery form effects of havoc created by the latest economic tsunami. Seaborne trade is uncertain and that some challenging lie ahead for shipping and international seaborne trade. These challenges are further compounded by other developments of some regulations concern in the problem of maritime safety and the protection of marine environment. What kinds of current challenges to the maritime industry related to economic and development of maritime regulations, and how the maritime industry cope with those challenges will be described base on the reference studies. Challenges Facing from Economic Point of View The global maritime industry has presently been reeling under the impact of the ongoing economic crisis. It is expected to experience a few years of decline due to the overcapacity of ships, and a substantial reduction of shipment, resulting in a drop in tariffs. Overall, the shipping industry is witnessing a new trend of consolidation. Smaller companies, which are asset heavy, are merging with larger organizations in order to survive these difficult times. Observations indicate that the prospect of considerable improvements in trade volumes before the end of 2010 is unlikely. It can be safely assumed that the shipping industry will learn its lessons and emerge stronger from the current economic crisis. However, there is still a long way to go, at least three years, before the shipping industry bounces back to its earlier prosperous times and freight rates are rationally stabilized. (Frost Sullivan, 2010). Challenges Facing from Development of Maritime Regulations Most companies in this domain are struggling with the problem of positive cash flow. The major challenges facing the shipping industry not only stem from the economic standpoint, but also arise from strict enforcement of emission regulations and increasing safety and security issues. The Rotterdam rules are expected to replace the old Hague, Hague-Visby, and Hamburg rules. These regulations will provide fresh and fair legal rights to shippers and other cargo-interested parties. Shipping lines and terminal operators will be exposed to new legal claims system for damages, stolen goods, and shipment delays. The criminalization of seafarers is a prominent issue clouding the industry landscape. Seafarers are subjected to severe penalties and punitive charges for acts that have nothing to do with criminal negligence. In addition, carbon emission is a matter that will ultimately determine the future of the shipping industry. Emission control measures require the fitting of detectors and mak ing expensive changes in the machinery deployed on board. This exerts additional pressure on the shipping organizations that are already struggling. How Maritime Industry Cope with those Challenges Under the current circumstances, collaboration shows the way forward. Additionally, companies must look internally to eliminate non-value adding activities. Removing non-value-added waste or Muda from their value chains and focusing on customer satisfaction, which assumes greater importance during these testing times, has the potential to help companies to stay out of the red. Port authorities and operators must optimize utilization of existing capacities rather than building new ones and dealing with excessive idle capacities. Ramping up infrastructure capabilities to cater to regional needs will eventually lead to profitable operations. This applies to shipping companies that should strategically analyze the profit earned on each route, and reduce the number of services on the route where trade volumes are severely down. For survival in the shipping market, it is essential to maintain the flexibility required to take advantage of any emerging opportunities and to act on available m arket intelligence, says the analyst (Frost Sullivan, 2010). Major financial benefits will be associated with well-timed market activity the probability of shipping companies achieving the latter will be markedly improved through the undertaking of regular appraisals of markets and market prospects. Frost Sullivan. (2010). Maritime Industry: Strategic Insight into Current Issues and Future Outlook, from the World Wide Web: http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/1197139/ Review of maritime transport Against the background of a global financial crisis and economic downturn, growth in seaborne trade continued, although at a slower rate. While demand fell, the supply of new vessels continue to grow as the result of vessel orders placed before the financial crisis. It leds to an oversupply of tonnage and a decline in vessel prices. Prices for scrap metal in 2009 remain very low and many vessel owners have preferred to hold on and lay off their ships, hoping for better times to come. As a consequence of falling demand and increased supply, freight rates have fallen from their 2008 highs. The great number of disturbing incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships particularly off the Somali coast and in the Gulf of Aden have become an increasing concern not only for the maritime industry that is heavily affected by these incidents, but also for international organizations, including the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the United Nations. In the field of maritime and supply-chain security, efforts to implement and refine relevant legal instruments and standards are ongoing. Noteworthy environment related developments include IMOs continued commitment to making progress in a number of areas, including in relation to reducing emissions of greenhouses gases from international shipping and in its work towards the establishment of a relevant global regime. Assessing the costs of climate change impacts on ports and, more generally, supply chains, was seen as important. Understanding the implications for trade and development especially for developing countries needed to be enhanced and relevant studies should be carried out Climate change mitigation in maritime transport and the need to adapt to climate change impacts posed a particular challenge for geographically disadvantaged landlocked countries with significant population, especially for their already volatile trade and development prospects. In that context, further attention should be focused on the impact of potential mitigation measures and adaptation requirements for the trade and development prospects of landlocked developing countries, as well as LDCs [least developed countries]. In that context, financial and technical assistance, as well as capacity-building, were important. Having come through what many have described as the worst year in its history, the global maritime industry is looking towards better days. While the going remains challenging, there are positive signs that portend hope for the future. Freight rates are heading up on a strengthening global economy. The supply overhang of ships is less severe than earlier feared because of order cancellations and deferments, and slow steaming. The improved sentiment is trickling down to other sectors of the maritime industry. As we face the challenges in the year ahead, we see some encouraging signs of the world economy bottoming out and progress on a slow road to recovery. - Climate change is happening and its impacts are already being felt, in particular in the more vulnerable countries. Unchecked, climatic changes can reach tipping points resulting in disastrous and irreversible consequences for humanity. The wide-ranging impacts of climate change and their potential implications for development underscore the need for integrating climate considerations into development and transport planning and strategies. Thus, urgent, concerted and considered action is required at all levels to ensure effective control of GHG emissions and establish the requisite adaptive capacity, especially in developing countries. Like other economic sectors, maritime transport, which is vital to globalized trade, has a role to play in addressing this challenge. At the same time, access to cost-efficient and sustainable international transport services must be safeguarded and enhanced -especially for LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS. Against this background, and to contribute to the debate, deliberations at the meeting may help identify relevant policy actions that serve the purpose of climate change mitigation and adaptation in maritime transport without undermining transport efficiency and trade facilitation gains. One objective of the meeting is to gain a clearer vision of the format, scope and content of a potential new regime on GHG emissions from international shipping and help ascertain the economic and policy implications of various mitigation measures, including on trade competitiveness of developing countries. To this end, and with a view to providing substantive policy guidance in the context of UNFCCC conference in December 2009, discussions are expected to help, inter alia: (a) Assess impacts on/implications for transportation systems, in particular ports and ships; (b) Improve the understanding of required adaptation measures; (c) Explore the potential for synergies between transport and trade facilitation measures and climatepolicy, including in relation to technology; (d) Outline best practices in terms of mechanisms used to integrate climate change considerations into transportation policy, land use planning, as well as infrastructure investment decisions, and development strategies; and (e) Identify current climate change-driven cooperation mechanisms between maritime industry stakeholders and explore their potential expansion in developing countries. Maritime transport is a service rarely in demand for its own characteristics. As the demand for products increase, so the demand for transport facilities increases. Factors determining demand for maritime transport are: condition; price; competition; affordability; speed; quality; standards; comfort; reliability and most importantly safety and security. Marine transport encompasses all forms of transport by sea, intermodal links and inland ports but has certain fundamental differences from other modes of transport. Firstly it caters to a large degree for the freight market. Secondly, as it operates in an international environment, it is influenced by considerable competition and standards. Trends, developments and challenges to the Maritime Transport The international nature of maritime transport renders its vulnerable to the ever-changing world scene and this is a major challenge to the industry as tabulated below. 2.1 Globalization The freer movement of people, goods and information characterizes todays globalised world. It is a more interrelated world, whereby the actions in one part of the world have implications elsewhere. In tandem with the expansion of trade is the elevation of the importance of shipping as the major catalyst of global trade. The case in point is, mega shipping conglomerates and alliances, as well as global terminal operators exercise increasing power on global trade, the maritime transport sector and shipping matters at large. At the same time, there is concern that the forces of liberalization and competition sweeping through the maritime sector might compromise shipping standards. Challenges: be proactive in identifying trends and developments affecting maritime transport be comprehensive and inclusive in our approach to maritime matters be effective and efficient in responding to maritime trends, developments and incidents, within the framework of the IMO involve relevant government departments and stakeholders in the formulation and adoption of policy 2.2 Heightened maritime safety concerns Enhancing maritime safety through ensuring that each link in the chain of responsibility fully meets its obligations is a priority for the maritime community as a whole. An effective maritime administration is critical in ensuring an effective and efficient maintenance of maritime safety standards through proper co-ordination. Challenges: The challenge is to enhance technical, operational and safety management standards. A further challenge is to identify and evaluate factors influencing a safety culture and to turn them into practical and effective mechanisms for further developing a quality and safety culture throughout the maritime community. An existence of an effective and efficient SAMSA is critical in the enforcement of maritime safety standards. 2.3 Heightened maritime security concerns The unfortunate events of 11 September 2001 in the United States of America changed the manner and approach in which matters of maritime security were handled. The collective approach by the IMO in developing and adopting maritime security policies and measures has meant that shipping will no longer be the same again. There are equally growing concerns that the new measures should not unduly affect the efficiency of shipping and port operations, more so in an interconnected world highly dependent on sea-borne trade. The entire maritime community is hard at work to ensure full compliance with the provisions of the ISPS Code and changes to SOLAS. Challenges: The challenge is to promote the effective implementation of the new security measures, to instill a security consciousness in ship and port facility operations and at the same time, ensure the right balance is struck with trade facilitation, and that sea borne trade will continue to be smooth and efficient. 2.4 Heightened environmental consciousness There is growing public intolerance to environmental pollution from shipping incidents as experienced from several accidents. There is also heightened concern over the impact of global shipping activities on the environment, giving impetus to efforts, such as ensuring the preservation of aquatic systems and not allowing the introduction of harmful substances from ships in the marine environment. Challenges: The challenge in line with the global emphasis on sustainable development, is to be proactive in identifying and addressing maritime and shipping activities that could have an adverse impact on the environment; and To develop effective responses to maritime incidents to mitigate the impact on the environment, should they occur. 2.5 Safety of people at sea In line with the IMOs fundamental principle to protect the lives of all those at sea, the advent of large passenger ships with capacities of several thousand persons, and the continuing loss of seafarers lives at sea have heightened concerns over the safety of human life at sea and the success of search and rescue operations in case of distress. Such concerns include the safe operation of ships and whether current response capabilities to deal with emergencies are adequate. Challenge: The challenge is to ensure all that systems and infrastructure related to ensuring the safety of life at sea are adequate, including the welfare of persons working at sea and in ports. We need an effective and efficient MRCC5 2.6 Shifting emphasis onto people Human performance in all sections of the maritime industry is a major cause of maritime incidents. Advances in technology affecting the human element offer new opportunities that we can harness to enhance the human element in safer shipping. Challenge: Is to increase emphasis on the human element in safer and more secure shipping, port operations and continuously improve measures to enhance human performance in the maritime industry. 2.7Technology as a major driving force for change in the maritime transport sector Technological developments particularly in communications and information provide better opportunities for knowledge management to increase transparency and accessibility to information. Care should however be taken with regard to possible negative consequences that technology could bring. Challenges: To ensure that when adopting technological developments, they enhance maritime safety, security efficiency and protection of the environment; Ensure the proper application of technology in information management and provide enhanced access to that information by the shipping industry and others.

Covenant and Promise Essays -- essays research papers

COVENANT AND PROMISE †¢ BERITH = Hebrew word for covenant †¢ Berith is found in the earliest records in the Bible and is fundamental to Hebrew religion. In Latin it is Testamentum. †¢ The Old Testament and the New Testaments means the old and the new covenants. A covenant is a promise. †¢ Chesed = Hebrew word for the attitude of loyalty and faithfulness which both parties should observe towards one another in a covenant relationship. †¢ The covenant ‘chesed’ of God is so strong that it can never pass away. The Covenant with Abraham †¢ The records of ancient Israel were not written down until the time of King David, who had a court and a scribe. This was the time when Israel possessed the land of Canaan. †¢ The records were then redacted at later dates, significantly in the period of the exile (597BCE) †¢ There are two covenants recorded in Genesis made with Abraham. †¢ Genesis 15. Abraham is told to kill a selection of animals and is then put into a deep sleep. A flaming pot passes through. This is a ceremony to seal the covenant. The covenant was one sided, God made promises, Abraham received them. The Covenant with Abraham †¢ Covenant 2 †¢ Genesis 17 records the outward sign of the covenant, circumcision. This is still an important practise today. †¢ 17:9 God also said to Abraham: "On your part, you and your descendants after you must keep my covenant throughout the ages.This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you that you must keep: every male among you shall be circumcised. Circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and that shall be the mark of the covenant between you and me. †¢ 17:12 Throughout the ages, every male among you, when he is eight days old, shall be circumcised†¦ Thus my covenant shall be in your flesh as an everlasting pact. †¢ Scholars believe this is a later covenant influenced by the experiences of the exile. The Promises of the Covenant with Abraham †¢ Abraham is promised that he will be the father of... ...en the The Kingdom of God reigns once more on earth. Second Isaiah †¢ Another prophet of the exile. †¢ Absolute monotheism emerged during the period of the exile. †¢ If there is only one God, then he is also the God of the nations. †¢ Isaiah pictures a renewal of the covenant on return from exile at Jerusalem. †¢ Significantly all nations will come to worship Israel’s God. ISAIAH 40:1 Comfort, give comfort to my people, Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her service is at an end, her guilt is expiated; Indeed, she has received from the hand of the LORD double for all her sins. 40:3 A voice cries out: In the desert prepare the way of the LORD! Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God! 40:4 Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill shall be made low; The rugged land shall be made a plain, the rough country, a broad valley. 40:5 Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all mankind shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken. Peter Vardy â€Å"Covenant and Promise† 2000

Food Security or Food Sovereignty: the Case of Land Grabs Essay

The last decade has witnessed a serious change in the distribution and accessibility of food. In 2010 Ethiopia was home to 2.8 million people in need of emergency food aid; yet this country had concurrently sold more than 600,000 hectares of agricultural land to transnational companies that export the majority of their produce (Reuters, 2011; Economist, 2009; Green, 2011). Ethiopia remains a country facing great food insecurity, which is a lack of access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food (WHO, 2011); a paradigm that focuses upon the financial and distributive aspects of providing food. Although Ethiopia is just one of many countries facing this dilemma, it illustrates how the issue of food sovereignty is becoming increasingly as important as that of food security. This paper will address the role that sovereignty plays in light of mass foreign acquisition of land in countries which face high levels of food insecurity. The importance of food security and food sovereignty will be exemplified within the context of ‘land grabbing’ in a demonstrative case study of Ethiopia. Security or Sovereignty? The difference between food security and food sovereignty may seem like mere semantics, but in the hyper-globalized world wherein transnational companies may privately own significant portions of arable land in countries facing food insecurity, it is not just a matter of word play. When these companies choose to export the entire crop grown on such lands and when the farmland has been taken from uncompensated smallholder farmers. Disparity of wealth and land ownership is not a new phenomenon. However, the degree to which agricultural lands are owned within areas of food insecurity makes food sovereignty as vital a factor as food security. An analysis of these concepts and their global implications is pressing, as over 963 million people do not have enough to eat. Most of them live in developing countries, and sixty-five percent of them live in only seven countries: China, India, Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Pakistan and Ethiopia (FAO, 2011). Furthermore, e ach year more people die due to hunger and malnutrition than to AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined (Global Food Security, 2011a). The World Food Summit, held in 1996, declared that ideal food security includes the global population, whereby all people have access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food, encompassing both the physical availability and the economic access (WHO, 2011). The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child both stipulate that it is the intrinsic right of all people to have access to food (United Nations, 1948; United Nations, 1990). However, the responsibility to enact these rights rests mostly on the nation-state, not the international community. On the other hand, some argue that repeated affirmations of human rights within the international realm do imply some global responsibility (Riddell, 2007). The theoretical ideal is, therefore, that food security exists when all people in all places have access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food. Clearly that theoretical aim has not been met. Furthermore, if current mechanisms are not facilitating the aim it may require consideration of entirely new models of how countries engage with one another (Pogge, 2002). Typical measurement of food security is limited to a specific place, such as a nation, city or household. USAID (USAID, 2011) uses the household as a measurement, whereas the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) programs are nationally operated, thus limiting the global goals and human rights to the nation-state. Food insecurity also exists in differing levels. One person may be facing a temporary bout of food insecurity, called â€Å"transitory†, while another may be consistently facing it, known as â€Å"chronic† food insecurity. Chronic food insecurity leads to high levels of vulnerability to hunger and famine. The achievement of food security does not necessitate that a country produce sufficient food supplies; but rather that a country is able to provide sufficient safe and nutritious food for its population. Thus, arises the question of food sovereignty: in a world of great economic disparity, will the food supplies of one region be given to another, even in the case where the local population faces chronic food insecurity? Food security means the availability and access to sufficient safe food, whereas food sovereignty involves both ownership and the rights of local people to define local food systems, without first being subject to international market concerns. An important distinction must be made between food sovereignty as a theoretical construct and food sovereignty as a movement. The food sovereignty movement considers that the practices of multi-national corporations are akin to colonization, as such companies buy up large tracts of land and turn local agricultural resources into export cash-crops. [1]As a movement, food sovereignty lacks direction and involves a great diversity of opinion and idea. As a model to re-consider and re-evaluate food, it highlights important challeng es and offers potential remedies to current challenges. Food sovereignty as a theoretical construct, which is the definition that will be used throughout this paper, relates to the ownership and rights of food growers and local communities. Food security and food sovereignty are increasingly of global importance, with concerns not limited just to the developing world. In the 2008 price spike, consumers in Great Britain saw a fifteen-percent rise in average food items, while the BBC tracked some items increasing in cost by more than forty-percent (Global Food Security, 2011a). In the twelve month period before the price spike, the cost of wheat increased by 130% and rice by 74% (ibid). The pinch of paying more for food in developed countries was expressed differently in many developing countries, such as the mass rioting in Yemen, Somalia, Senegal, Pakistan, Mozambique, Indonesia, India, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Haiti, Burkina Faso, the Philippines and Bangladesh. At the same time, the World Resources Institute records sustainable and consistent increases in per capita food production over the last several decades (World Resources Institute, 2011). USAID argues that food insecurity is often a result of poverty (USAID, 2011), while ownership, land rights and sovereignty are not mentioned as causal factors. While it is true that a direct relationship can be found between those who face food insecurity and those who are impoverished, that does not exclude other causes; such as, a lack of sovereignty or oppressive external factors. However, USAID does not take poverty alleviation and/or human rights as its prime reasons for engagement; rather its prime interests are to protect America and to create opportunities for Americans (Riddell, 2007). The European Union community has sought the improvement of food security for the least-developed countries through a plethora of national and international development bodies, while also engaging in massive e xport-based land acquisitions in those same regions (Graham, Aubry, Kunnemann and Suarez, 2011). Ironically, the aim of reaching the Millennium Development Goals (MGDs) with funding and support from the European Union is countered by European Union businesses as they engage in activities that displace and dispossess locals of their land and livelihood. Increasing commercial production does not mean an increase of local or national food security, in particular when these foreign companies are exporting entire crops. This may in fact, lead to increased food insecurity and higher levels of malnutrition and poverty (Ansoms, 2011). Surprisingly, even Harvard University has used its investments in land-acquisition deals (Vidal and Provost, 2011). â€Å"Land Grabbing† A â€Å"land grab† refers to those land acquisitions that have caused displacement, dispossession and disenfranchisement; or, according to the Institute of Development Studies, it may also more broadly refer to the mass purchasing of agricultural lands by transnational companies (Scoones, 2009). Land grabbing is occurring on a scale and at a rate faster than ever known before (Food First, 2011). When over one-hundred papers were presented at the International Conference on Global Land Grabbing in 2011, not one positive outcome could be found for local communities; such as, food security, employment and environmental sustainability (ibid). When such acquisitions occur in places of conflict, post-conflict and/or weak governance there is less monitoring and control and even greater negative impacts (Mabikke, 2011). Furthermore, large-scale land deals increase local food insecurity, as arable land produce is exported rather than reaching the local market; and smallholder farmers m ust purchase foods as opposed to harvesting it on their lands (Food First, 2011). Lester Brown (2011) argues that land purchasing is a part of the global struggle to ensure food security. Food-importing countries are securing overseas supplies by attempting to control the entire supply-chain of food-stuffs, and thus avoid any potential problems that may arise in the process. Furthermore, he notes, that these deals are not only about food security but also water security. Countries such as Saudi Arabia used to produce much higher levels of wheat internally; however, due to declines in available fresh water these land deals have secured required sources of both food and water (Bunting, 2011). Woodhouse and Ganho (2011) argue that the role played by water access in land grabs cannot be under-estimated, including the competition between local and investor in acquiring access to water resources and to sustainable water usage, as well as coping with the problems of creating pollution and chemical run-off. Case studies in Ethiopia demonstrate that access to, and rights of, water sources disproportionately favor investors over local smallholder farmers (Bues, 2011). The United Nations director of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) called these land-lease deals ‘neo-colonialist’ (Economist, 2011b). This statement was echoed by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who warned of a new wave of colonialism (Associated Press, 2011). Madeleine Bunting (2011, p. 1) envisions a â€Å"dystopian future in which millions of the hungry are excluded from the land of their forefathers by barbed wire fences and security guards as food is exported to feed the rich world.† The wider view must, however, include the role of local/national government in facilitating, and in some cases encouraging, the sale of arable land and displacement of peoples. Other analysts have more cautiously labeled the vast selling of agricultural lands to investors as the third wave of outsourcing. The first wave consisted of investors looking for locations with cheaper labour. The second wave was the out-sourcing of middle-class jobs to places such as India because of its advances in information technology. This may be the third wave: the out-sourcing of growing and harvesting of food supplies to locations where there is cheap fertile land. Case Study: Ethiopia Ethiopia is an important case study as it has been claimed to be the epicenter of land deals (Vidal, 2011), and it has also been well known since 1984 as a place where extreme food insecurity exists. The nation is largely agricultural-based. Agricultural products account for 46% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 90% of its exports and 83% of its employment (USAID, 2010). Eight of every ten Ethiopians live in rural areas, a majority of its nearly eighty-million citizens. Average local land holdings are 0.93 hectare (USAID, 2010), which respectively contribute to household food security. Smallholder agriculture provides the most common livelihood for the vast majority of Ethiopians. In 2010 ten percent of Ethiopia’s citizens relied on food aid (Reuters, 2011). In the 2011 appeal for emergency food aid, the United Nations explained that emergency was caused by a shortage of rain in the Somali and Oromiya regions. In response, the Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said that within five-years the country will no longer need food aid, projecting above 10-percent annual economic growth rates. The Economist confirms impressive growth rates, although not as high as the government-published results. Between 2001 and 2010 the annual GDP growth rate was an impressive 8.4%, making it the world’s fifth fastest growing economy during that period (Economist, 2011a). Projections for 2011-2015 suggest average growth at 8.1%, the third fastest in the world (ibid). In contrast to these rosy predictions, USAID, which is one of Ethiopia’s largest donors ($600 million of food aid in 2009-10), outlines that successful agricultural development and food security requires â€Å"100% ownership and buy-in by the Ethiopian people† (USAID, 2010, p. 5). And yet, the Ethiopian government and transnational corporations are doing exactly the opposite, in displacing and dispossessing Ethiopians and handing over control and ownership to non-local corporations and governments. The Economist (2009) highlighted an interesting parallel in the $100-million Saudi investment to grow and export rice, wheat and barley on a 99-year land-lease in Ethiopia, while the United Nations World Food Program plans to spend $116-million, over a five-year period, providing emergency food aid to Ethiopia. In 2008 the Ethiopian famine was compounded as food continued to be exported and did not reach the local market (Dominguez, 2010). Yet fertile Ethiopian agricultural land continues to be leased for as little as $1 per acre (Bunting, 2011). According to Ethiopian government sources, over thirty-six countries have leased land within its borders (Vidal, 2011). Although estimates vary, it is thought that 60—80% of food production in Ethiopia is completed by women. Thus the role of gender is revealed by analysis of those affected by land sales and dispossessions (USAID, 2010). Of those who face the brunt of food shortages and insecurity in Ethiopia, most are women and children (USAID, 2010). Furthermore, areas of large-scale plantations are more likely to be poverty-affected than prosperous in respect to the local populations (Da Via, E. 2011). As a parallel example, case studies from Cambodia show that land grabs do not benefit local residents, and over time resulted in collective action by the local population against political and commercial interests (Schneider, 2011). The massive land-lease deals are not without their supporters, however. The technology transfer, increase in number of jobs and foreign investment are usually cited as having positive effects for the overall benefit of Ethiopia and its citizens. Ethiopian Ambassador to the UK, Berhanu Kabede (2011), published a response arguing that land-leases assist Ethiopia to move towards mechanized agriculture to increase production capability, and as such the government has set aside 7.4 million acres of agricultural land for land-lease deals. The Ambassador further notes that this is only a portion of Ethiopia’s arable land (ibid). The Ambassador highlights some of the positive environmental changes the Ethiopian government has made in recent years, including the planting of 1-billion trees, re-foresting 15-million hectares of land and a national plan to become carbon neutral by 2025 (ibid). Ambassador Kabede did not mention some of the negative impacts the vast land sales will have; such as, displacement of local farmers, uncompensated dispossession of their land, continued food scarcity as investors export what is grown, unsustainable resource use, and environmental damage to lands, atmosphere and water. Furthermore, the majority of the world’s poor are rural dwellers who engage in some small-scale farming. As a result of the dispossession of land and displacement of people, poverty levels will increase and more people will be forced to migrate away from agricultural areas to city-centers. World Bank studies (Riddell, 2007) confirm that the push for macro-economic development via liberalization of markets has detrimental effects on particular groups of society, particularly the poor. Guillozet and Bliss (2011) found that, although investment in the forestry sector is low in Ethiopia, the agricultural investments affect natural forests by mass clearing and burning. As a result, there are long-term negative impacts. Biodiversity is currently being reduced by the cutting and burning of hundreds of hectares of forest, as well as by the draining of swamps and marshlands (Vidal, 2011). Pesticides have also been shown, in Ethiopian cases, to kill bees and other unintended flora and f auna. Beyond the investment land itself the clearing of natural forests is affecting livelihoods on a much larger scale, by negatively affecting the wider ecosystems (Guillozet and Bliss, 2011). Such deals are neither agricultural development nor rural development, but simply agribusiness development, according to GRAIN (2008). An unpublished report that interviewed 150 local farm households in Ethiopia found that there is weak monitoring of investor activities from regional and national government. It also found that accelerated forest degradation resulted in loss of livelihood security for community members. Furthermore, in Cameroon, cases of land grabs demonstrate that the transnational investment in agriculture is a major obstacle to local livelihoods, traditional resource ownership and land rights, as well as to sustainable development (Simo, 2011). In yet another example, Rwandan land grabs have shown the move from traditionally owned and operated farms into large-scale corporate mono-crop cultivation has negatively affected livelihoods through loss of land as well as means of financial security, resulting in increased poverty levels and food insecurity despite overall macro-economic gains (Ansoms, 2011). An article in the Indian national newspaper, The Hindu, quotes the Ethiopian Prime Minister encouraging Indian investment who assured the Indian Prime Minister (then trying to encourage Indian investment in Ethiopia) that no land grabbing was occurring in his country (Varadarajan, 2011). However, highly productive agricultural lands are rarely left completely unused, which begs the question how vacant much of this land is. Darryl Vhugen (2011) and John Vidal (2011) both found that most land deals required involuntary displacement of small-scale farmers. Thus, these small-scale farmers in Ethiopia are left with neither land to cultivate nor an alternative source of income following their displacement. The Ethiopian government views international investment and land-lease deals as means to achieve economic development. In Madagascar, when 1.3 million hectares of agricultural lands were going to be sold to Daewod, the international community and local residents reacted in opposition, resulting in the government being overthrown (Perrine, Mathidle, Rivo and Raphael. 2011). The Ethiopian economic development model is one which seeks export-driven macroeconomic development at the expense of micro-level communities and residents, particularly those in remote regions. Ethiopian officials seem to use interchangeably the terms ‘empty’ and ‘unused’ with the word ‘uncultivated’, with little or no reference at all to the people who currently live on and use those lands. Thus, not only do levels of poverty a nd food insecurity increase but so too may political instability. The World Bank concludes that the risks involved with such land-lease investments are immense, and that land sales â€Å"often deprived local people, in particular the vulnerable, of their rights†¦ Consultations, if conducted at all, were superficial†¦and environmental and social safeguards were widely neglected† (Economist, 2011b, p.1). Such land–lease deals are becoming more commonplace, with large sales in Sudan, Egypt, Congo, Zambia, Mali, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Kenya, Madagascar, Liberia, Ghana, and Mozambique (Economist, 2009; Economist, 2011b; Vhugen, 2011). Although there are land deals taking place outside of Africa, over 50% of the estimated 60-80 million hectares of such deals in the last three years took place there (Economist, 2011b), approximately an area the size of France (Vidal and Provost, 2011). The largest land buyers include China, India, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia; yet some of the largest deals are done with W estern funding (Vidal and Provost, 2011). Cases from Sierra Leone show that a lack of knowledge-sharing with locals, along with a plethora of false promises, has led to social, environmental and economic loss. Addax Bioenergy received the use of 40,000 hectares to grow ethanol for export to the European Union (EU). Local villagers were in turn promised two-thousand jobs and environmental protection of the swamps. However, three years into the project only fifty jobs materialized, while some of the swamps have been drained and others damaged by irrigation (Economist, 2011b). Those jobs that did exist paid USD $2.50 per day on a casual basis (Da Via, E. 2011). Clearly these are not isolated cases and action is required to stem the tsunami of sales of land in food-insecure areas. Recommendations * Re-evaluate the system: Up to twenty-five percent of crops are lost due to pests and diseases and the developing world loses up to an additional thirty-seven percent of harvested foods due to problems in storage and transportation. Every day 4.4 million apples, 5.1 million potatoes, 2.8 million tomatoes and 1.6 million bananas are thrown in the garbage (Global Food Security, 2011b). Systematic shifts that address this loss may focus upon local sustainability and buy local movements, rather than relying upon export commodities and global transport for the sale and supply of food stuffs. This requires participation that includes local ownership and collective decision making. * Provide Sustainable Solutions: Much of modern agriculture is mechanized, using oil-based chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. This system of agriculture is not sustainable. It needs to be remedied with a more sustainable approach to agriculture – which can be just as agriculturally productiv e (Barker, 2007). On example of how sustainable initiatives can be promoted and supported is the Equator Initiative, which provides financial prizes and knowledge sharing for community-driven efforts that reduce poverty through sustainable use of biodiversity. As many smallholder farmers are engaging in de facto sustainable agriculture encouragement and support, such as the Equator Initiative need to be scaled-up. * Regulate Land Grabbing: The World Bank has proposed guidelines, but does not have the means or authority to enforce them (Bunting, 2011). In order guidelines to be enforced, such as those developed by the World Bank, national governments must be involved, for this to take place greater coordination on the international level and advocacy from the NGO and public sectors is required. Madagascar demonstrates the power of collective action, as does Sudan and Cambodia, yet long-term and effective change will require governmental enforced regulation. * Establish Good Governance: The purchasing of land and forced displacement of peoples occurs not solely due to transnational pressure, but with government approval. Citizens and the international community must encourage, and work towards, better governance decisions. An international f ramework for responsible investing could be created. However, such a framework would remain weak and ineffective unless adopted and enforced by national governments. In order to ensure that investments are beneficial for both the investor and the community, this framework must ensure that food security and livelihood protection for the local communities (Shete, 2011). Further encouragement can levied on governance in tying good governance to official development assistance, such systems have been developed and enacted by the World Bank and others. * Monitor and Penalize Environmental Damage: Companies must be more strictly monitored with regard to environmental damage, both by the public and private sectors (Nunow, 2011). Monitoring and evaluation of investments ought to be strengthened with regulation and policy by the relevant national government and by international bodies. NGOs and communities can take inspiration from others who have taken transnational companies to court, and won. National government need to recognize the short-term benefits do not out-weight the long-term environmental damage, and seek compensation to rectify violations. The scale of land acquisitions demonstrate that such regulations will likely not significantly deter investments and investors, as efforts to do so in Tanzania demonstrate (Pallangyo, 2007). * Develop Rural Agriculture: Currently less than one percent of smallholder farmers use irrigation techniques in Ethiopia (CSA, 2009). An improvement in this regard will allow for increased productivity as well as year-round water availability. Facilitation of loans for the purchase of pumps (as smallholder farmers often lack financial resources to make such investments), as well as access to internal markets with infrastructural developments can improve community-driven and locally-owned productivity. * Undertake Land Reform: Changes on the national level will require land reforms, ownership reforms and recognition of traditional land rights. Such land reforms and rights have been evolving in Madagascar, following the rejection of the Daewod land-grab deal and the installation of a new government. Tanzania has also enacted progressive rights for recognizing traditional land title (Locher, 2011). This can also be done in conjunction with FAO, FIDA, UNCTAD and World Bank recommendations to guarantee and respect local land rights (Perrine, Mathidle, Rivo and Raphael, 2011). Wily (2011) identifies consistent and persisting failures of land rights and ownership caused by the leasing of lands without consent of customary owners. Concluding Remarks As highlighted by the Ethiopian case study, it becomes readily apparent that the forced relocation of rural farmers will likely increase the numbers of people living in poverty. Consequently, there will be an increase in the numbers of people in need of emergency food aid. Aggregate data on food security will not measure the importance of food sovereignty, nor do the data take into account unjust practices and environmental damage. The majority of Ethiopians are subsistence farmers, and depriving them of their land, rights and livelihood neglects the importance of human rights and environmental protection. One means to achieve the goal of national food security, as well as a reduction of required emergency food aid, is to increase effectiveness of rural farms. Communities themselves must engage and be active in resisting forced relocation and dispossession of their land and rights. Examples of such resistance include that of Madagascar and the Southern Sudanese movement, which advoca tes land belongs to the community and requires its involvement (Deng, 2011), as well as active community resistance to land grabs in Cambodia (Schneider, 2011). Communities must seek to be participants in the discussion, to be involved in the process and to voice their concerns. Food security of the wealthy at the expense of the impoverished will not work and requires new approaches. The prospect of attaining sovereignty over land and the food grown on it encourages smallholder farmers to continue their livelihood while seeking to increase overall food security. â€Å"In most poor nations, there are large gaps between actual and potential agricultural yields. But the best route to closing this gap usually is not super-sized farms. In most labour-intensive agricultural settings, small farms are more productive than large farms. They could become even more productive – and as a result likely minimise unrest – if developing country governments provide these family farms with secure land rights that allow farmers to invest in their own land and improve their harvests.† (Vhugen, 2011, p.1). The World Bank’s 2010 report found that land grabs ignored proper legal procedures, displaced local peoples without compensation, encroached on areas beyond the agreement, had negative impacts on gender disparity, were environmentally destructive, provided far fewer jobs than promised, leased land below market value and routinely excluded pastoralists and displaced peoples from consultations (Da Via, 2011). Furthermore, the World Bank concludes: â€Å"many investments†¦failed to live up to expectations and, instead of generating sustainable benefits, contributed to asset loss and left local people worse off than they would have been without the investment† (World Bank, 2010, p. 51). Adopting food sovereignty as a concept and approach will not solve these problems. However, it does allow for an expanded analysis of the complex issues at hand. No easy solution exists as neoliberal economics and structurally-adjusted trade liberalization conflict with human rights; as global food security is confronted by local food and land sovereignty; and, as the Washington Consensus is challenged by the Peasants’ Way. â€Å"It would be no exaggeration to suggest that the outcome of these convulsive transformations and contestations constitutes one of the greatest moral and political challenges of our times† (Makki and Geisler, 2011, p. 17). Challenges, however, are no reason to accept injustice and abuse of human rights. Actors with roles to play on every level can be a part of the solutions proposed above. Re-evaluating the food system and developing sustainable solutions begin on individual levels and are supported on the international marketplace. Regulation of land grabbing, improving governance, undertaking land reform and the monitoring of environmental damage rest more heavily upon national and international actors; yet these process can be driven locally with support from the international community, as demonstrated by the cases of Sudan and Madagascar. This is a call for action lest we find ourselves â€Å"academic Cassandras who prophesy the coming plagues, but do little to avert them† (Farmer, 2001, p. xxviii). References Ansoms, A. 2011. The ‘bitter fruit’ of a new agrarian model: Large-scale land deals and local livelihoods in Rwanda. International Conference on Global Land Grabbing 6-8 April 2011 University of Sussex, UK. Associated Press. 2011. Clinton warns Africa of ‘new colonialism’. [online] Available at: [Accessed 12 June 2011]. Barker, D. 2007. The Rise and Predictable Fall of Globalized Industrialized Agriculture. The International Forum on Globalization: San Francisco. Brown, Lester. 2011. World on the Edge. Earth Policy Institute: London. Bues, A. 2011. Agricultural Foreign Direct Investment and Water Rights: An Institutional Analysis from Ethiopia. International Conference on Global Land Grabbing 6-8 April 2011 University of Sussex, UK. Bunting, M. 2011. How Land Grabs in Africa could herald a new dystopian age of hunger. [online] Available at: [Accessed 24 May 2011]. CSA. 2009. Large and medium scale commercial farms sample survey 2008/09 (2001 E.C.). Central Statistical Agency Statistical Bulletin 446. Da Via, E. 2011. The Politics of â€Å"Win-Win† Narratives: Land Grabs as Development Opportunity. International Conference on Global Land Grabbing 6-8 April 2011 University of Sussex, UK. Deng, D. 2011. ‘Land Belongs to the Community’ Demystifying the ‘global land grab’ in Southern Sudan. International Conference on Global Land Grabbing 6-8 April 2011 University of Sussex, UK. Dominguez, A. 2010. Why was there still malnutrition in Ethiopia in 2008? Causes and Humanitarian Accountability. Journal of Humanitarian Affairs, 21 February 2010. Dwyer. 2011. Building the Politics Machine: Tools for Resolving the Global Land Grab. International Conference on Global Land Grabbing 6-8 April 2011 University of Sussex, UK. Economist 2011b. When others are grabbing their land. [online] Available at: [Accessed 24 May 2011].

The Silver Linings Playbook Chapter 32

Letter #3-November 18, 2006 Dear Nikki, As soon as I read your letter, I had my mother check out The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the Collingswood Public Library. Eager to enjoy a literary book with a happy ending, I read the entire work in one sitting, which required me to forgo sleep for an evening. I don't know if Tiffany read you the parts in my diary about my black friend Danny, but this book would make him go wild, as Twain uses the n-word more than 200 times. I know this because after reading the first few chapters, I started over and kept a running tally. Every time Twain used the n-word, I made a mark on a piece of paper, and when I finished the book, there were more than 200 marks! Danny says that only black people can use the n-word, which is sort of a universal truth nowadays, so I am surprised the school board allows you to teach such a book. But I did like the book very much. Even though Tom Sawyer should have told Jim he was free right away, I was so happy for Jim at the end of the novel when he gained his freedom. Also, the way that Huck and Jim stuck together through bad times reminded me of Danny and Pat getting each other's backs in the bad place. What really struck me was how Huck kept struggling with the idea that God did not want him to help Jim run away, because Jim was a slave. I realize people had different values back then, and that the church and government approved of slavery, but Huck really impressed me when he said if helping free Jim meant going to hell, he would go to hell. When I read your letter, I cried for a long time. I know I was a bad husband, and I am not mad at you for cheating on me or leaving me or even remarrying. You deserve to be happy. And if you are married now, your getting back together with me would be a sin, because it would mean that we would be committing adultery, even though I still think of you as my wife. These thoughts make me feel dizzy, as if I am spinning out of control. These thoughts make me want to bang my fist against the little white scar above my right eyebrow, which itches every time I get confused or agitated. To use your metaphor †¦ since I can remember, I have been driving on a dark highway, passing endless dashes and lines. Everything else has only been a pit stop – family, Eagles, dancing, my workouts. I have been driving toward you the whole time, only desiring one thing – our reunion. And now I finally realize I'm trying to woo a married woman, which I know is a sin. But I don't think you un derstand how hard I worked for this happy ending. I am very fit, and am now practicing being kind rather than right. I am not the man you were married to for all those lonely years. I am a better man. A man who will take you dancing and will give up sports entirely – coaching and Eagles – if that makes you happy. My conscience tells me that I should not continue to pursue these feelings, but your telling me to read Twain's novel made me think that maybe you were giving me a sign. Huck thought he shouldn't help Jim escape, but he followed his heart, he freed Jim, and that is what led to the happy ending. So maybe you are telling me in an indirect way that I should follow my heart? Why else would you specifically recommend The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to me? Also, our time together wasn't all bad. Maybe the end was grim, but remember the beginning? Remember college? Remember when we drove to Massachusetts in the middle of the night? It was the Friday after midterms and we were watching one of those travel shows on PBS, because we both thought we would travel back then. All our friends had gone to the rugby house for a party, but we stayed in together for a night of pizza and wine on the couch of my town house. We were watching that show about whale watching off the coast of Martha's Vineyard, and you asked me if they made wine in Martha's Vineyard. I said the New England growing season would be too short to get the proper types of grapes, but you insisted that there must be a vineyard there if the island was called Martha's Vineyard. We had this really heated fake argument – laughing and hitting each other with pillows – and then suddenly we were in my old Taurus, driving north. I'm sure you didn't think I was really going to drive you all the way to Massachusetts without a change of clothes or toiletries, but soon we were over the Tappan Zee Bridge, and you were smiling, and I was holding your hand. We never made it to Martha's Vineyard, but we spent a pretty wild weekend in an economy motel just outside of Cape Cod. Do you remember walking on the beach in March? Our lovemaking smelling like decades' worth other people's cigarette smoke as we enjoyed each other over and over in that motel room? Remember how when we jumped on the mattress, smoke seemed to leak out the sides? The lobster dinner we splurged for at that cheesy restaurant called Captain Bob's, where the waiters wore eye patches? We always said we were going to return to Massachusetts, take the ferry, and see if Martha's Vineyard actually had vineyards. Why didn't we do this then? Probably because we had class on Monday morning. But I wish we had taken that ferry when we had the chance. What was the worst thing that could have happened? We would have missed class. It seems so silly now to drive all the way to Cape Cod with the intention of taking the ferry to Martha's Vineyard only to spend the weekend in an economy motel on the mainland. What I'm trying to say is that maybe we can still take the ferry, Nikki. Maybe it's not too late. I know this is all so complicated right now. But there must be a reason that we are in contact again. There must be a reason that I lost my memory and then was filled with a vicious need to improve myself. There must be a reason if Tiffany was able to arrange this letter exchange. All I'm asking is that you keep the possibility of a reunion open as we continue to communicate through our liaison. My therapist Cliff says he feels as though I am poised for a breakthrough, and he feels he has stabilized my violent tendencies with medications. I know that in my writings I mentioned spitting out many of my meds when I first came home, but I am taking all my pills now and can feel my mental health stabilizing. Every day I feel as though I am getting closer to regaining my memory of our demise. And no matter what I remember – no matter what really happened between us – it will not change how I feel about you. You are living with another man, you are remarried – what could be worse? I still love you. I will always love you and am only now ready to prove my love for you. I hope this note was concise enough, as I tried very hard to keep it under five pages and was successful. I miss you so much, Nikki. Every freckle on your beautiful nose. Love, Pat, Your Sexy Stud Muffin (Remember that from the wedding video?)