English Oral - Lady Windermere's Fan - Oscar Wilde Essay

English Oral - Lady Windermere's Fan - Oscar Wilde - Essay Example She confronts her husband but he instead invites the other woman, Mrs. Erlynne, to her birthday ball. Angered by her husbands unfaithfulness, Lady Windermere leaves her husband for another lover. After discovering what has transpired, Mrs. Erlynne follows Lady Windermere and attempts to persuade her to return to her husband and in the course of this, Mrs. Erlynne is discovered in a compromising position. She sacrifices herself and her reputation in order to save Lady Windermeres marriage. The book, Lady Windermere’s Fan was staged in St. Jhames Theatre in London as a play in February 1892. This was written at the request of George Alexander, actor-manager of the St Jamess Theatre in London. Wilde described it as "one of those modern drawing-room plays with pink lampshades". It was immediately successful, the author making the enormous sum of seven thousand pounds from the original run.1 Numerous characters in the play draw their names from places in the north of England: Lady Windermere from the lake Windermere, the Duchess of Berwick from Berwick-upon-Tweed, Lord Darlington from Darlington.The plays Broadway premiere on 15, 1892 at Palmers Theatre was also the first Broadway performance for stage and screen actress Julia Arthur, who played Lady Windermere. Lady Windermeres eavesdropping convinces her of her husbands fidelity. Also Mrs. Erlynnes sacrifice of her own reputation convinces her of the older womans virtue. Further adding to the dramatic intensity, the story often has the eavesdropper leave something behind in the room. Hamilton criticized the book; He is an English teacher at Gary Academy, an innovative private school in Gary, North Carolina. He explores how the wit in Lady Windermeres Fan contributes to the structure and meaning of the plot, while also investing the book with a satirical jab at high society. Likewise, Jacobs, one of the critics of Oscar Wilde, examines Wildes use of fantasy in exploring the

Homeland Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Homeland Security - Essay Example An evaluation of Department of Homeland Security demonstrates that in spite of its shortcomings, it is the best hope for protecting Americans from terrorists. Consequently, it is necessary to enhance its effectiveness and address the challenges that limit organizational efficiency. The Patriot Act was passed in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center (The Department of Justice, 2015). The widespread support for this tool was demonstrated by the huge bipartisan support. The Senate passed it 98-1 while the House voted 357-66 to approve its passage (The Department of Justice, 2015). The Act gave the Department of Homeland Security new tools to detect and neutralize terrorism threats facing the country. The tool allowed the Department of Homeland security to enhance the effectiveness of its existing tools by giving it more surveillance powers and making it possible to access business records without tipping the suspects (The Department of Justice, 2015). In addition, it made it possible for different security agencies to coordinate effectively. The approach enabled them to connect the dots to result in improved security outcomes. It is noted that the Act updated the law for it to be consistent with new technologies and emerging threats. It is also evident that the Act increased the penalties for the individuals and organizations that engage in terrorist activities. The Act also exudes varied controversies because many people believe that since it was passed forty-five days after the terrorist attack, it was not subjected to intense scrutiny (Diamond, 2015). The security agencies have also abused the Act to create a surveillance state. Interestingly, the increased surveillance led to the collection of colossal amounts of data that made it difficult for the security agencies to find valuable patterns. The revelations by a NSA analyst, Edward Snowden raised concerns about its

Discuss the development of Eddie Carbones character Essay Example for Free

Discuss the development of Eddie Carbones character Essay ‘’A View From The Bridge’’ is a play written by Arthur Miller in the mid-1950’s. Set during the Great Depression in around 1940, the play sees main character Eddie Carbone lead a stable life with his wife and niece in a tightly-woven community in Brooklyn, New York. Due to his sincerity, he is respected by the local community and he has his destiny plotted out for him. However, as the tragic play unfolds, Eddie makes a series of mistakes which affect his relationship with others and ultimately result in a catastrophe. Eddie Carbone is a traditional Italian-American, who earns his living as a longshoreman. He leads an ordinary life with his wife (Beatrice) and his niece (Catherine). Beatrice loves Eddie, this is shown when Beatrice says ‘’You’re an angel! God’ll bless you.’’. The word ‘’angel’’ suggests that Beatrice loves Eddie as she is comparing him to an angel. Furthermore, this shows the audience that Beatrice is a traditional woman as she is praising (therefore supporting) her husband. In the era they lived in, men and women were expected to follow the traditional values of their communities. Men were authoritative in the house and usually the breadwinners whilst women were housewives; women were expected to support and obey their husbands. Another member of Eddie’s family includes his niece, Catherine; whom Eddie is protective over. This is shown when Eddie says to Catherine ‘’Listen, you been givin’ me the willies the way you walk down the street’’. The word ‘’willies’’ suggests that Eddie feels uncomfortable with the way Catherine walks down the street. He feels this way because he has a close relationship with Catherine who looks up to him as a father-like figure. An important aspect of Eddie’s character that is presented to the audience is his attitude towards snitching. He feels strongly against snitching, this is shown when he insults snitchers by calling them ‘’stool pigeons’’, using this word suggests that Eddie thinks lowly of people committing such acts. Furthermore, Eddie warns Catherine of snitches when he asks Beatrice to tell Catherine the story of Vinny Bolzano (a teenager who snitched on his uncle to the Immigration Bureau). When Rodolfo and Marco arrive; troubles start to brew up and Eddie’s behaviour changes significantly. Eddie becomes more aggravated, this is shown when in the stage directions it says ‘’He is sizing up Rodolfo’’. This shows that Eddie is trying to taunt Rodolfo by comparing their heights (height is a symbol of power). In addition, when Eddie says to Beatrice ‘’he sings’’ (referring to Rodolfo), Eddie is suggesting that it’s not normal for a man to sing, he is attempting to suggest Rodolfo is gay. Eddie is in a way trying to put him down because he is jealous of Rodolfo’s relationship with Catherine. Another example of his sudden metamorphosis is that he has become more obsessed with Catherine. For instance, when Catherine and Rodolfo return from the Brooklyn Paramount, Eddie says to Catherine ‘’I don’t see you no more’’. This quote suggests that Eddie is obsessed with Catherine because he claims that he doesn’t see Catherine. Beatrice’s relationship with Eddie also deteriorates. This is shown to the audience when Beatrice says ‘’Everything ain’t great with me. When am I gonna be a wife again, Eddie?’’. This quote shows that the physical side of their marriage is falling apart because Beatrice is feeling ignored (due to Eddie’s obsession with Catherine). Initially, Eddie considers Marco to be a real man. This is shown when he says ‘’Marco goes around like a man; nobody kids Marco.’’. However, as the play gradually progresses; so does Eddie’s relationship with Marco. For example, in the scene with Marco and the chair, in the stage directions it says ‘’Marco is face to face with Eddie, a strained tension gripping his eyes and jawthe chair raised like a weapon over Eddie’s headEddie’s grin vanishes as he absorbs his look’’. The word ‘’vanishes’’ suggests that the situation is threatening, as the tension is so large that Eddie’s grin vanishes. This event symbolises that the relationship between Marco and Eddie has broken, more importantly it symbolises the start of Eddie’s downfall. By the end of the play, Eddie has changed drastically; he has become a completely different man. He has become a snitch even though he despised snitching at the start of the play. His close relationship with Catherine has ended as Catherine does not look up to Eddie as a father-like figure anymore; in fact she loathes Eddie, this is proven when Catherine says ‘’He’s a rat! He belongs in the sewer!’’. Also, Eddie’s relationship with Marco has deteriorated to such an extent that Marco accuses him of murder and spits in Eddie’s face. We know this because Marco says ‘’He killed my children’’! When Marco spits in Eddie’s face the community become aware of Eddie snitching and they are disgusted. His friend Louis ignores Eddie, this is shown in the stage directions which says ‘’Louis barely turns’’. Therefore Eddie’s main concern now is to get his reputation back, this is proven when Eddie says ‘’I want my name’’. He wants his reputation back because he has been humiliated when Marco spat in his face. In the end, Eddie refuses to listen to Rodolfo’s pleas and demands an apology from Marco. When Marco refuses Eddie takes out a knife but he gets injured himself and dies in the arms of Beatrice. From a highly-respected member of the community, Eddie manages to relegate himself to a disgraced member. Even his most loyal friends ignore him; all because of one error. Eddie is a hero in a Greek Tragedy, he made an error of judgement and he has to suffer immensely for it. Ultimately, he loses the love and respect of his niece Catherine; which is what he was fighting for.

Economic Growth And Development Of Nigeria Economics Essay

Economic Growth And Development Of Nigeria Economics Essay Agriculture is an important sector in the developing world. It contributes to economic growth and development as well as a major employer to majority of the people of Sub-Saharan Africa including Nigeria, especially those in the rural areas. This study investigated the role of agriculture to Nigerias economic growth and development. Secondary data were used for the analyses and were obtained from various publications of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Variables used for the estimations included overall gross domestic product (GDP) of Nigeria, agricultural GDP, government spending on agriculture, credit to agriculture and the population engaged in agriculture. The data cover the period between 1981 and 2010. Growth and Cobb-Douglas production models were estimated. The results showed that overall GDP, agricultural GDP, and government spending to the agricultural sector of Nigeria generally assumed upward trends during the period. Credit t o agriculture and government spending to the agricultural sector were the factors found to significantly influence the contribution of agriculture to national economic growth and development. It is concluded that agriculture continues to play important role in the economic growth and development of Nigeria. It is recommended that policies should be formulated to encourage the flow of more credit to the agricultural sector of Nigeria. Besides, it is important that the government of Nigeria to increase its spending on the agricultural sector since this positively and significantly influence the contribution of agriculture to national economic growth and development. 1.1 Background to the Study Nigeria is one of the largest countries in Africa, with an estimated population of about 158 million (World Bank, 2010). The country has highly diversified agro-ecological conditions, which makes it possible for the production of variety of agricultural products. Furthermore, agriculture constitutes one of the most significant sectors of the economy (Manyong, et. al., 2005). Agriculture in Nigeria employs about 70% of the working population and contributes with about 60% to the national income (Oluwasanmi, 1966). Its contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) accounted for about 40% in 2010 (CBN, 2011). During the early days of independence, Nigeria was and still is relatively self-sufficient in food production, and foreign exchange earnings from agricultural exports have been used over the years to support in financing imports needed for economic growth and development (Anderson, 1970). The role of Agricultural production in Nigeria is not only to provide the food needed to feed the rapidly growing Nigerian population, but also to provide the money and materials needed for industrialization and for bringing the country into the industrial and technical age (Oyenuga, 1967). In order to carry out this role, the agricultural system needs to be reorganized and new techniques of production have to be introduced, such as the use of more efficient implements, improved seed varieties and fertilizers. To do this, the country not only needs to co-ordinate its agricultural research projects and provides capital but also to make available trained field staff who can ensure the acceptance of these innovations by peasant farmers (Oluwasanmi, 1966). This is because majority of the peasant farmers live in rural areas where there is a high level of illiteracy and they hardly accept change. Despite the fact that Nigeria is buoyantly endowed with agricultural and other natural resources, the agricultural sector is still growing at a very slow rate. It is only a little over half of the countrys agricultural land is under cultivation (Manyong et al, 2005). Increased use of mechanization will help, but this is not going to be easy given that about 63% of the farms in Eastern Nigeria and 45% of them in Western Nigeria are less than an acre in size and many of them are much smaller (Oyenuga, 1967). The agricultural sector remained weak during the oil boom decade of the 1970s, and this accounted largely for the declining share of its contributions to economic growth and development of the country. The trend of the share of agriculture in national GDP reflects a substantial variation and long-term decline from about 60% in the early 1960s through to about 49% in the 1970s and only about 22% in the 1980s. It is believed that unstable and often-poor economic policies (of pricing, trade and exchange rate), the relative abundance of the sector and the negative impact of oil boom were all important factors responsible for the decline in agricultural sectors contributions to national economic growth and development. Since the oil boom of the 1970s, there has been a severe increase in the incidence and drama of poverty in the country as a result of the unstable performance of the agricultural sector, which employs majority of the poor. As a result of the dwindling performance of agriculture in the country, government have over many years formulated and implemented various policies and projects aimed at putting back the agricultural sector to its vital place in the economy. But with evidence from empirical literatures, no significant success has been achieved due to several problems confronting the performance of the sector (Yusuf, 2005). However, the contribution of agriculture in both gross domestic product (GDP) and non-oil GDP increased in the 1981-2000 periods. The share of total bank credit going into the agricultural sector increased rapidly between the 1981-1985 and 1991-1995 periods and then declined in the 1996-2000 periods. The share of the federal Governments capital expenditure going to the agricultural sector declined immensely over the periods. The share of total employment by the agricultural sector also declined. Generally, there was unstable growth performance of the agricultural sector between the periods 1981 to 2000, with some evidence of inconsistencies of trends, probably due to uncertainties in policies and policy implementation. Some of the problems leading to poor performance of the agricultural sector in the country include technical issues, resource constraints as well as socio-economic problems and organisational constrains. It has been observed that in past policies of the pre-structural adjustment period, sector-specific agricultural policies were made to improve agricultural marketing, to cut down production cost, and to enhance product prices as incentives for increased agricultural production. Important policy instruments are for agricultural commodity marketing and pricing, input supply and distribution, input price, Subsidy, land resource use, agricultural research, agricultural extension and technology transfer, agricultural mechanisation, agricultural cooperatives, agricultural water resource and irrigation development. Macro policies, institutional policies and legal frameworks complemented sector-specific policies. The structural adjustment period was enhanced more by structural adjustment pol icies. Problems to agricultural policy strength include policy instability, policy inconsistencies, weak policy formulation, poor policy implementation, and harsh institutional framework for policy coordination (Idachaba, 2005). With reference from the dual economy model, early writers predicted economic development as a growth process that needs the re-allocation of factors of production from a weak, low-productivity agricultural sector to a modern and commercialized industrial sector with higher productivity and more returns (Lewis, 1954). As a primary sector, agriculture was seen to contribute significantly to economic growth and development by providing labor and food to the industrialization process. However, this idea was taken away by the era of the Green Revolution in Asia during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The possibility of restructuring traditional agriculture into a modern sector shows agricultures capability as a growth sector and its effective role in emphasizing broader d evelopment (Adelman, 2001). Although the advantage of connectivity between agriculture and non-agriculture in achieving the growth and development process had long been recognized (Hirschman, 1958, Johnston Mellor, 1961), post-Green Revolution economists stressed the role of agriculture in rural growth and development (Haggblade, Hammer, Hazell, 1991; Haggblade, Hazell, Brown, 1989; Hazell Haggblade, 1991; Hazell Roell, 1983). The vital advantage of agricultural growth on rural development was found to be effective in countries (e.g. Nigeria and other developing countries) where small farms dominated agriculture (Rosegrant Hazell, 2000). Therefore, given massive rural poverty and small-scale farming in Africa, the conventional wisdom of agriculture emphasizes a strong role for agriculture in African growth and development. With reference to the conventional wisdom of agriculture, it is important that policy objectives to promote the role of agriculture in economic growth and development in Nigeria should be realistic and capable of transforming a backward agriculture, and at the same time would also encourage industrial growth and development. The experience of other developing countries has shown that policies that promote industrial development at the expense of agriculture have resulted in food shortages and economic stagnation. Given Nigerias present stage of development, a large-scale industrialization scheme that will tend to shut out 70% of the population who are engaged in rural pursuits is not the best for the long-term interests of the country (Adeyokunnu, 1971). This is contrary to the idea behind early development strategies advocated by Rosenstein Rodan, Nurkse, and Hirshman among others, who emphasized industrial development as the main source of economic growth and development and were biased against the agricultural sector (Schiff and Valdes, 1998). This work is principally concerned with showing empirically the role of agriculture to economic and development of Nigeria. It draws on the long standing empirical studies on the role of agricultural sector to economic growth and development across the world. Widespread rural poverty in Africa and the success of Asias Green Revolution suggests that agriculture is a key sector for African development. Since almost all rural households depend directly or indirectly on agriculture, and given the sectors large contribution to the overall economy, it might seem obvious that agriculture should be a key sector in economic growth and development. Most African countries have failed to meet the requirements for a successful agricultural revolution, and productivity in African agriculture lags far behind the rest of the world. This has recently led to renewed debate within the international development community concerning the role of agriculture in African economic growth and development. This study will therefore contribute to the debate. 1.2 The Problem Statement Decline on the role of the agricultural sector in terms of its contribution to Nigerias economic growth and development in the last three decades made the government to establish different agricultural schemes and programmes to enhance agricultural productivity in the country, which includes River Basin Development Authorities, National Accelerated Food Production Project, Agricultural Development Project, Operation Feed the Nation, Green Revolution, National Directorate of Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructure, Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund, National Special Programme for Food Security, Root and Tuber Expansion Project as well as National Fadama I and II programmes. This shows that aagriculture has been an important sector in the Nigerian economy for many years, and is still a major sector even with the oil boom. Basically it generates employment opportunities for the growing population, reduces poverty and contributes to the growth and development of the economy. Economic history provides sufficient evidence that agricultural revolution is important and a pre-condition for economic growth and development, especially in developing countries like Nigeria (Woolf and Jones, 1969; Oluwasanmi, 1966; Eicher and Witt, 1964). The basis of the problem in the Nigerian economy is as a result of poor concentration of the agricultural sector by the Government towards focusing more on a mono-cultural economy based on oil. Agriculture was the mainstay of the Nigerian economy before the discovery, exploration and exportation of oil and over dependence on its revenue for economic expenditure. Agricultural export was contributing to GDP with about 72% between 1955 and 1969 before it fell down to 35% because of the oil crises of early 1970s (CBN, 2002). Nigeria used to be one of the world leading countries in the exportation and production of some major agricultural products between 1940 and 1950. There is evidence from statistics which shows that the export of agricultural products in Nigeria accounted for over 75% of total exports in 1960 (Ekpo and Egwaikhide, 1994). This has changed in recent times as economic growth and development of Nigeria in recent times solely depend on the earning from oil exports that account for over 95%, but contribute with less than 25% in the real gross domestic product (RDGP). This over dependence on oil has affected the countries market forces as well as its economic growt h and development (Okoh, 2004). Because crude oil is an exhaustible asset, it is not advisable for Nigeria to depend on it for sustainable economic growth and development. Therefore, the need to push into competitive market in advanced countries with our agricultural commodities has to be considered, in order to achieve a prosperous economic growth and development in Nigeria (Thirlwall, 1999). Considering the large size of the Nigerian agricultural sector and its important role in the economy, positive reform and adjustment policies are needed in order to improve the overall performance of the countrys economic growth and development (Kwanashie et al., 1998). Besides the oil sector, agricultural sector contributes significantly to the Nigerian economic growth and development because of its rich resource base. Nonetheless, these endowments have to be used wisely so as to diversify the economy and reduce over dependence on the oil sector and on importation. As a result of unstable oil price and continues increase in the price of import goods, the Nigerian economy is not consistent. All these issues have negative effects on the countrys balance of payment, employment and other sectors productivity as well as the purchasing power of the people (Bukar, et al., 1997). At present, impact of the Nigerian agricultural sector to economic growth and development of the country is not as it was in the past periods (NPC, 2000). Nigerian agriculture is still traditional as it was in the pre-independence period (Adewumi and Omotesho, 2002). Even with the existence of the two major rivers in the country (river Niger and river Benue) the agricultural sector is still predominantly rain fed (NPC, 2004). Productivity in the Agricultural sector has declined seriously over the years and this has led to high incidence of poverty levels (Jeter, 2004). Results from the World bank data indicate that over 70% of Nigerians are living below the poverty line (less than $1 per day), showing that there has been an astronomical growth in the level of poverty in the country most of which is associated to poor agriculture since from independence up till today (Chigbu, 2005). Those engaged in farming are mostly rural people, cultivating small area of land using traditional tool s and getting low productivity (NPC, 2004). The problem therefore is that there is limited understanding of the role of agriculture in economic growth and development of Nigeria in recent times. This study seeks to address this gap by empirically examining the role of agriculture to economic growth and development of Nigeria. 1.3 The Research Questions The questions that this study sought to answer are: What are the trends and growth of agricultural gross domestic product (AGDP) relative to the overall gross domestic product (GDP) of Nigeria? What have been the commitments of successive governments in Nigeria to the agricultural sector in terms of public spending in the sector? What have been the contributions of agriculture to the economic growth and development of Nigeria over the past three decades? 1.4 The Research Objectives The main objective of this study is to examine the role of agriculture to economic growth and development of Nigeria. Specifically, the study seeks to: Describe the trends and growth of agricultural gross domestic product (AGDP) in relation to overall GDP of Nigeria. Examine the trends and growth of spending of successive Nigerian governments on the agricultural sector. Estimate the contributions of agriculture to economic growth and development of Nigeria over the past three decades. 1.5 Justification of the Study Policy makers can make use of the outcome of this study in multi-dimensional form. This can be done in terms of interwoven nature of rural employment with agriculture, food security and agricultural productivity. This is because the findings will provide the basis that economic growth and development in Nigeria should be led by agriculture and that the success of plans and policies implemented in the other sectors are depended on agricultural developments for their successful implementation. The outcome of the study will also help policy makers to critically examine the various key possibilities of promoting economic growth and development in Nigeria with regards to the role of agriculture in economic growth and development. Some of these which are of relevant to policy may include issues of: How different alternative economic growth and development states can be achieved using agricultural sectors contribution with the view to decide which one is the best. How societal welfare can be improved from a lower stage to a better stage using agricultural sectors contribution to the economy. How to identify all areas in which the agricultural sector fails and to consider corrective measures. How to evaluate different policy options that have been used to improve agricultural sector as well as determine their implications and consequences on the economic growth and development of Nigeria. How to provide a framework in which different agricultural growth policies can be compared using value judgement and common sense. How to make a critique of different postulates about how agricultural development policies can be improved so that it can provide a menu for better policy measures. 1.6 Scope and Organisation of the Study The scope of this study is to look at the role of agriculture to economic growth and development of Nigeria spanning the last three decades (i.e. 30 years). The study is organised into five main chapters. Chapter one is the introduction which consists of the background to the study, the problem statement, the research questions, the research objectives, the justification of the research and the scope and organisation of the study. Chapter two is the literature review which consists of literature on Agricultural Production in Africa and Nigeria, Agricultural Production and Economic Growth and Development, Commitments of governments to Nigerian agriculture, Agriculture as a Source of Employment for Poverty Reduction, Finally, summary of the literature review and conclusions. Chapter three is the methodology employed in order to achieve the research objectives which consists of profile of Nigeria, the theoretical and model specifications, data types and sources of data. Chapter four is presentation of the results and discussions. Chapter five is the summary of the findings, conclusion and recommendations. After this are the references and appendix. CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction This chapter presents an overview of the relevant empirical literature in the subject matter. The chapter is divided into five main subsections. The first subsection is presentation of Agricultural Production in Africa and Nigeria. The second subsection is presentation of Agricultural Production and Economic Growth and Development. Commitments of governments to Nigerian agriculture are presented in the third subsection. The fourth subsection brings to light literature on Agriculture as a Source of Employment for Poverty Reduction. Finally, summary of the literature review and conclusions drawn are presented in subsection five. 2.2 Agricultural Production in Africa and Nigeria There is a growing argument over whether agriculture is still playing important role in economic growth and development in sub-Saharan Africa. Agricultures theorists explain that, in most of the African countries, only the agricultural sector has sufficient scale and growth-linkages to significantly influence aggregate growth and development. Achieving such growth and development will have to do with a large sector like agriculture, which accounts for one-third of gross domestic product (GDP) for the subcontinent as a whole, and an even larger share for two-thirds of African countries. Economists also explain that agricultures poor performance leads to inadequate investment and policies that are historically biased against the agricultural sector (Fan, Zhang, Rao, 2004; Schiff Valdez, 1992; Timmer, 2005). They show the large benefits from investing in rural infrastructure and agricultural technology, and the growth and development potential from catching up to the productivity leve ls of other developing countries. During the period from 1990 to 2004, African industry, including mining and mineral-based manufacturing, grew at 1.9% per year compared to 2.5% for agriculture (World Bank, 2006). This is an indication of the importance of agriculture to economic growth and development across Africa. By contrast, there are others who doubt whether or not agriculture can successfully generate sufficient growth and development in Africa today. This doubt shows the poor performance of agriculture, weak institutions for rural growth and development, and worsening agro-ecological conditions in most of the African countries (Collier, 2002; Ellis, 2005; Maxwell Slater, 2003). The large size of the agricultural sector may be the reason for Africas failure to grow and develop, especially since past experience forecasts a significant decline in the importance of agriculture over time in successfully developing countries (Collier, 2002). For those who argue that agriculture should not be put at the center of African growth and development, although the sectors sufficient growth and development linkages proved very strong during Asias Green Revolution, it may not be so much in Africa because of a more integrated global environment (Hart, 1998). Border prices determine food prices more than domestic supply when imports can enter freely, which reduces the need to invest in domestic agriculture to maintain urban food prices and real wages and hence industrial competitiveness. Under these conditions, it is difficult for agriculture to play important role of economy-wide growth and development as well as facilitating the economic transformation shown by theory or witnessed in the past successes of other developing countries. Agricultures skeptics therefore tend to be more concerned of African industry, emphasizing that mining and manufacturing may bring viable alternative sources of growth and development. Despite contrasting opinions on the relative importance of agriculture in generating overall growth and development, there should presumably be less contention surrounding the role of agriculture in poverty reduction, which is one of the key issues for achieving economic growth and development. This is especially so given the importance of agricultural incomes for Africas poorest populations. However, even among agricultures advocates, there are conflicting views over what should be the focus of an agricultural growth and development strategy for low-income Africa (Dorward, et al., 2004). Some suggest that the best opportunities for African farmers lie in high-value commodities and, given poor domestic demand in Africa, that production should focus on export markets. Small-scale farms are seen as irrelevant due to international competition and the growing difficulties of supply-chains for both domestic and foreign markets (Reardon, Timmer, Barrett, Berdegue`, 2003). It is argued tha t rural dwellers should plan on diversifying incomes away from agriculture (Ashley Maxwell, 2001) and focus on going to urban areas (Ellis Harris, 2004). On the other hand, others argue that rural income diversification has been a reality in Africa for many years (Barrett Reardon, 2000; Reardon et al., 2003) and has yet to achieve significant income growth. Furthermore, income diversification is not a significant positive phenomenon, especially if diversification is due to stagnant agricultural growth and development (Haggblade, Hazell, Reardon, 2002) or if migration is as a result of growth in low-productivity urban activities (Lipton, 2004). The biggest market benefits for majority of African farmers comes from domestic and regional markets for staples/food crops (Diao Hazell, 2004; Rosegrant, Paisner, Meijer, Witcover, 2001). 2.3 Agricultural Production and Economic Growth and Development Provision of sufficient food for the growing population puts agriculture at the center of current growth and development issue in developing countries. This is because the level of population growth in most developing countries is far more than the level of agricultural production and growth. Malthusian theory of population growth is becoming true in these countries; hence, the need to grow and develop agriculture to meet the food requirement of the people is very important. Looking at the Malthusian theory, if food supply fail to meet demand then food prices will rise. This will also have effect on workers wages and subsequently affect industrial profits, investment and overall economic growth and development in the society (Uniamikogbo, 2007). On the supply of raw materials to the industrial sector, agriculture have been seen as the major requirement for industrial growth and development because of the sectors role in providing the necessary raw materials for industries (Child, 2008; Uniamikogbo, 2007 and Abayomi, 2006). As a result of this, the need for increasing agricultural productivity has to be considered. There is the need therefore to put more emphasis on increasing domestic output rather than focusing more on the expansion of export to finance growing food export. This means that, agriculture is the most influential sector in developing countries. It should then make a significant contribution to the overall investment requirements needed by the industrial sector such as lowering the amount of raw materials supplied from abroad by increasing the output produced locally. Agriculture has been the main stay of the Nigerian economy providing employment and source of livelihood for the teeming population. It contributes with over half of the GDP of the Nigerian economy during much of post-independence in the country. Nonetheless, the role it plays in the economic growth and development of the country has gone down over the years due to the overwhelming and dominant role of the crude oil sector in the economy, on which the country extensively depends. With the high food demand in Nigeria, the country has to make use of its abundant natural resources and to take advantage of its current democracy to increase the volume of crop production towards satisfying the food and nutritional requirement of the rapidly growing population and to ensure food security in the country (Enoma, 2010) . Therefore, agriculture can be characterized as the source of national wealth and economic growth and development in Nigeria. Agricultural Development economists have researched significantly on how agriculture can best contribute to overall economic growth and development. Looking at Lewis theory of development, Todaro and Smith (2003) indicated that the underdeveloped economy consists of two sectors, which are the ancient and traditional agricultural sector characterized by zero marginal labor productivity and the modern industrial sector. In his historical approach to the process of economic growth and development, Rostow (1960) distinguishes five stages of economic growth and development, which are: Traditional society; Pre-conditions for takeoff; Take-off; Drive to maturity; and Age of high mass-consumption. According to Rostow, the take-off stage is the most important figure in the life of a society when growth becomes its normal condition. The significance and importance of the traditional society make a decisive breakthrough and a multiple interest gets built into the society structure with agricult ure playing significant role at this stage. From this theory, it is evident that agriculture plays a significant role in the first three stages of economic growth and development (Traditional society, pre-conditions for takeoff and takeoff stages). The agricultural sector greatly influences industrial and economic backbone from which a countrys economic growth and development can take off. Therefore, beyond reasonable doubt, agricultural activities are usually concentrated and more practiced in the less-developed countries where there is an urgent need for rural transformation, redistribution, poverty alleviation and socio-economic growth and development (Stewart, 2000). Indeed, agriculture has a significant role in an economy, without it a country will surely depend on importation from other countries to feed its population. The essential contribution of agriculture to economic growth and development has been an on-going subject of debate among development economist, several theorist argue that growth of the whole economy relies on the development of agricultural sector (Schuttz, 1964, Gollin, Parente and Rogerson 2002). The growth and development of the agricultural sector could result to national output increase through its effect on rural incomes and provision of resources for transformation into an industrialized economy (Eicher and Staatz, 1984; Dowrick and Gemmmell, 1991; Datt and Ravallion, 1998; Thirtle, Lin and Piesse 2003). Johnston and Mellor (1961) reported that agriculture improves and contributes to overall economic growth and development through various inter-sectoral linkages. Which include, provision of surplus labor to the industri al sector; supply of food for domestic consumption; creation of market for industrial output; provision of domestic savings and industrial investment and generation of foreign exchange from agriculture export earnings to finance import of intermediate and capital goods respectively. However, In addition to the above-mentioned direct market-based linkages, Timmer (1995) found out that agriculture indirectly contributes to economic growth and development through its caloric nutrient intake provision to the poor, food availability; stable food prices and poverty reduction. Going by all the debated arguments, it is clear that agricultural growth and development has played a historically important role in the process of economic growth and development. However, acts from developed countries as well as developing countries indicate that agricultural sector has been the engine that contributes to the overall growth and development of a countrys economy. Agriculture therefore plays an important role in achieving economic growth and development. 2.4 Commitments of Governments to the Agricultural Se

A Tale of Two Cities - Quotes Analysis Essay -- essays research papers

1.â€Å"It was the best of times†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Charles Darnay and Lucie Manette, in the wake of the French Revolution, blithely married in England. (Book II, Chapter 18) Their marriage forged the loving ties between the two, and brought children to their household. To them, to be able to live with their loved one and to be able to caress their children was the best. They were oblivious of the rousing wraths of the peasants in France, and the time to them could not have been better. 2.â€Å"It was the worst of times†¦Ã¢â‚¬  In Book II, Chapter 21, the Defarges and their supporters angrily stormed the Bastille and ruthlessly decapitated the governor of the prison. Although the breaching of the Bastille was not unwarranted, the inexorable murder of a man trying to do his duty reflected the merciless spirits of the rebels, mad and seething with rage like a bull. The act might have seemed inconsequential then, but soon it would rouse the bloody Revolution where even the suspected man would be killed. Indeed, the storming, and the murder of the governor, marked the beginning of â€Å"the worst of times,† when order was replaced with chaos, when peace was replaced with violence. 3.â€Å"It was the age of wisdom†¦Ã¢â‚¬  At Charles Darnay’s first trial in France on charges of being an emigrant, Dr. Manette cleverly used his camaraderie with the mad mobs to liberate Charles. (Book III, Chapter 6) Manette had been a wronged prisoner in the Bastille charged by Evremonde, and, using his eminence and his relationship with Darnay, he was able to manipulate the jury. The wisdom of Manette saved his son-in-law. 4.â€Å"It was the age of foolishness†¦Ã¢â‚¬  As the Revolution progresses, more people are executed per day, (â€Å"Fifty-two†, in Book III, Chapter 13) and the bloodthirstiness of t... ...uries befitting the state of a marquis in a luxurious age and country†¦ was conspicuous in their rich furniture†¦ diversified by many objects that were illustrations of old pages in the history of France.† (Book II, Chapter 9) The Marquis’s house was large, extravagant, and decorated – he had everything. 10.â€Å"We had nothing before us†¦Ã¢â‚¬  In Book I, Chapter 5, a cask of wine was spilt on the ground, and the people â€Å"suspended their business, or their idleness, to run to the spot and drink the wine.† The ravenous drinking of the people reflects their hungry stomachs, their emptiness – â€Å"devoted themselves to the sodden and lee-dyed pieces of the cask, licking, and even champing the moister wine-rotted fragments with eager relish.† Even a drop of wine was worth the effort. The nothingness that existed for most of the commoners would help incite the French Revolution.

Ghost Stories :: essays research papers

I’ve always believed in ghosts and spirits. Perhaps it was because it amused me, or perhaps it was because I’ve been stuffed with ghost stories ever since I was old enough to comprehend them. I’ve been around a lot of people who grew up in remote areas of the world. You know, the place where electricity doesn’t exist, and running house water is just a myth. Well, anyway, I’ve heard many ghost stories from them, mostly drawn from their actual encounters and experiences. These stories were pass on to me on many different occasions. Like say†¦ around a campfire, a mid-night drive across towns, or just under the dim candlelight of my friends’ basements.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of my friends’ stories was about his dad. You see, back in those days when my friend’s father was just teenager, water was a rare commodity. At every dawn, he had to leave his home with two vases on either side of a stick on his shoulders to get drinkable water from the village’s well. The walk was about two miles. People did not live close to each other in those days, they lived on their farm, and every house was quite far from each other. There wasn’t any pavement, or cement street, roads were simply made out of rocks, and mud, and dirt. And the only mean of transportation was cows. Nevertheless, my friend’s dad always stopped by his neighbor’s house, the two boys grew up together and they’ve always walked alongside each other to get water. When Mr. Shoe, my friend’s dad, was fifteen, his friend died of malaria, so from then on; he had to walk to the well by himself.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One day, while coming back from the well, Mr. Shoe heard running footsteps coming from behind him. So he stopped and turned around, no one was there. The footsteps then slowed down to a jog, and then to a walk, then it stopped next to him. He was puzzled, but he wasn’t scared, so he kept walking. The footstep started again, but this time it was next to him. The footstep’s pace matched Mr. Shoe pace evenly as he walked down the street.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The tall grass that was growing on either side of the street, he recalled, drooped down and turned purple that day. It seemed dead and somehow†¦ evil. The sun did not rise yet, and the moon still hung stubbornly on the cloudless night.

Morality and Lagoon Literary Essay

The Lagoon is a story about a man who visits an old friend; they had been fighting in a war and became good friends since then. Nevertheless, a long time had passed without knowing much about each other, and these friends have a lot to talk about. The consequences of a selfish decision seem to doom the life of a man who suffers pangs of conscience. A story written by Joseph Conrad, who is considered one of the greatest novelists of the English Literature, shows how vulnerable and unstable the human morality can be. What sort of desire would make a man betray his own brother? The selfish desire of a man who pursued love, happiness and peace with her beloved woman would be one of the answers. â€Å"There is a time when a man should forget loyalty and respect. Might and authority are given to rulers, but to all men is given love and strength and courage†. (Page 8) The strong love he felt for her, made him to go beyond the limits. His beloved brother supported him; he bravely became selflessly involved in his brother ´s love venture for they had always been very loyal to each other since they were children. Therefore, selfishness and cowardice were stronger than brotherhood. Arsat was so focused on escaping with his woman that he seemed to forgot how much he loved his brother, he did not noticed it, he was risking his life and also the others ´. â€Å"There is half a man in you now – the other half is in that woman. I can wait. When you are a whole man again, you will come back with me here to shout defiance. We are sons of the same mother†. (Page 9) But these words seemed to have been ignored by him, because what he seemed to have had in his mind was not love really, but obsession. â€Å"I longed to be with her in a safe place beyond the reach of men’s anger and of women’s spite. My love was so great, that I thought it could guide me to a country where death was unknown, if I could only escape from Inchi Midah’s spite and from our Ruler’s sword†. (Page 9) Thus, his obsessed mind led him to the despicable betrayal of his brother who loved him. When the plan was being executed by the three of them, the situation turns out really bad. His brother was about to be caught by the guards and the weak loyalty he had for his brother in that moment of doubt and fear, was influenced by his selfish obsession which encouraged him to push the canoe and scape without his brother. His brother was left to his fate in spite of the desperate shouts he cried. â€Å"! I am coming! The men were close to him. I looked. Many men. Then I looked at her. Tuan, I pushed the canoe! [†¦]I heard him cry my name twice; I never turned back†. (Page 10) He could bear all those years without thinking on what he had done to his brother because of his woman, but she was about to die and now he seems to be dying too. The day he betrayed his brother, seemed to have doomed the rest of his life and certainly it did. His woman was suffering of a strange disease and died. He desperately tried to recover her but his efforts were useless. And the past comes back to his mind every moment. Although he hopes to find his road to follow, he may not escape from his conscience, a nightmare he will have to face till the day of his death.