The Trail of Tears Essay -- Personal Narrative Writing

The Trail of Tears I walked into the room on New Year’s Day and felt a sudden twinge of fear. My eyes already hurt from the tears I had shed and those tears would not stop even then the last viewing before we had to leave. She lay quietly on the bed with her face as void of emotion as a sheet of paper without the writing. Slowly, I approached the cold lifeless form that was once my mother and gave her a goodbye kiss. I looked around at everyone in the room and saw the sorrow in their eyes. My eyes first fell on my grandmother, usually the beacon of strength in our family. My grandmother looked as if she had been crying for a very long period of time. Her face looked more wrinkled than before underneath the wild, white hair atop her head. The face of this once youthful person now looked like a grape that had been dried in the sun to become a raisin. Her hair looked like it had not been brushed since the previous day as if created from high wispy clouds on a bright sunny day. Being my twin, Dylan gave me a slight look into what I looked like at the present time. The area around my brother’s eyes looked as though he was having a bad day with allergies. His face was as grim as a gargoyle’s, its stone eyes reflecting forever the scream that would never issue forth from its throat. Gazing upon my sister, it was as though she had been replaced by her complete opposite. Where once her face had been covered with smiles all of the time, her face was now contorted with grief, and it looked like she would never smile again. Her look could only be described as a small child who has lost a toy in the sand box. The machines to my right gave a loud hum as they continued to monitor my mother’s heartbeat, pulse,... ...that the body was in, once the contents of the room left, the room was no longer important. Once the room was empty, we no longer wanted to be there or associated with it. The same goes for the body; it was not that we really needed the body but the soul that was contained therein. The body was wanted but not really of great importance because of what was gone. Therefore, the lesson was that the body was a container for the soul and not all that important. If we had no need for the body to be happy, then the soul was what made us happy. We did not need the body and were reminded that the soul went on to another place which gave us reason to stop grieving and move on with our lives. Works Cited: Mckay, D. (2004, February 20). I ask myself why? Post Poems.com Retrieved February 21, 2004, from http://www.postpoems.com/ cgibin/displaypoem.cgi?pid=304934

Comparing The Murder of Duncan in Macbeth and The Assassination of Kennedy :: comparison compare contrast essays

Comparing The Murder of Duncan in Macbeth and The Assassination of Kennedy There is a man who is a head of state. He is a very powerful man and is well liked by his subjects. The people love him. Then he is suddenly, inexplicably murdered. Someone is blamed for the murder, but the entire country knows the accused are innocent and are tools used in a cover-up. Does this situation sound bizarre? Does it sound like some work of fiction? Well, it is. It is the beginning of William Shakespeare's Macbeth. However, it is much more than that. It is real life. It is the circumstances that surrounded one of the most surreal periods of time in United States history. It is the situation surrounding the assassination of one of the US's most revered Presidents, John F. Kennedy. These circumstances suggest that the events which occur in the play Macbeth are still possible. It is possible for the circumstances surrounding Macbeth to be repeated in modern day America because no protection provides absolute safety, some men are still willing to do what Macbeth did, and the ac t could still be covered up. No amount of protection provides absolute safety. In today's world, it is easier than ever to kill someone. Any person can buy a cheap pistol and kill someone. It is also easier to kill without being caught. There are long range rifles and remote control explosives that can be used as the murder weapon while the actual perpetrator is far away. Also, it is easier than ever to find a professional assassin who will kill anyone for the right amount of money. These latter methods could allow a person to commit murder and easily get away with it. Even though the actual murderer may be caught, the person financing the operation could get away untouched. In Macbeth, Duncan was well protected by his guards. However, he was still murdered. The guards were overcome through a simple trick. "The doors are open, and the surfeited grooms Do mock their charge with snores. I have drugged their possets..." says Lady Macbeth. She had drugged their drinks, and instead of guarding Duncan, they were asleep. Macbeth was easily able to sneak past them and kill Duncan. Every precaution available had been taken to insure Duncan's protection. It is not an easy task to get past two armed bodyguards in a cramped area. However, through some deceit, Macbeth was able to accomplish this. This reaffirms the statement that no protection is absolute. Perhaps the best example that no protection is infallible occurs in the

Prison Reform in the 19th Century

So, every time I re-read a source or try to write, I keep thinking back to what I am actually trying to argue. I've finally figured out my argument: Hawthorne portrayed Hollingsworth as a failure because he did not believe in the prison reform efforts of the time. I came to this through looking at a lot of parallels in my sources, and finding different reasons for why my hypothesis is true. The two types of prison reform in the early 1800s were meant to reform criminals through very strict methods. They were so strict that prisoners were not allowed to communicate at all. I think that the strictness of these systems was too harsh for many people. Also, these systems died out quickly because people started to realize that reforming criminals did not actually prevent crime itself. So, because Hollingsworth's school was never accomplished, Hawthorne is showing how these types of systems will fail. Advocates of prison reform were also very extremist. Like other reforms of the time, prison reform had advocates to only stuck to one idea. For example, people believed that the source of criminal misbehavior was the family. Thus, prison chaplains were brought in to inspire the criminals and be their new family. However, this idea of replacing an entire family with a chaplain was obviously not going to help criminals that much. But, everybody believed that religion was the only way to solve the problem. This extremism is shown through Hollingsworth – he does not want to believe in any other ideas. His failure is a warning against the extremism of prison reformists. One of my sources described how many of the reform movements failed in the early 1800s. Dorothea Dix helped improve insane asylums and hospitals, and was able to cause a vast increase in funds to help these causes. However, even with all the money that asylums got, they were not prevented from class discrimination. Depending on one's race, he/she would receive different treatment, and some would receive it faster than others. Also, many looked down on reform movements in general because they feared that constantly giving help would make criminals dependent on others. Thus, they would not know how to take care of themselves. Transcendentalists saw philanthropy in general as a threat to self-reliance. So, Hawthorne was disoriented with prison reform because the ideas behind the reform only caused more problems – like increasing class divisions and only hurting the poor more.

Final Project: Analyze a Sociological Issue

Axia college of university of phoenix| Final Project: Analyze a Sociological Issue| SOC 120 | | | February 15, 2009| Project: Analyze a Sociological Issue In this course you have learned about many different kinds of social problems and controversial issues in societies around the world and in the United States, such as poverty, social inequality, race and cultural discrimination, gender stratification, environmental damage, population growth, and urbanization. ? Due Date: Day 7 [post to the Individual forum] Write a 1,750- to 2,450-word paper examining the impact of a current social problem on a particular social group. You may choose a social problem and social group from the Suggested Social Problems and Social Groups List in Appendix A, or you can research a social problem and social group that is not in the list. However, if you choose your own, you will need to submit a request to the instructor by Week 4. Format the paper according to APA style. Cite 3 to 5 sources; at least two should come from the Online Library. You can also refer to the Recommended Web Sites list in the Electronic Resources section at the beginning of this syllabus for additional sources. Note: Sources other than those from the Online Library or the Recommended Web Sites list need to be approved by the instructor. Submit the paper as an attachment| Racial Discrimination and Hispanics in the United States Even though the population of Hispanic People is growing in the United States, the Hispanic People are still somewhat discriminated against. Growing up in the South West, I have seen many changes in Race and its role in the community I live in. Recent growth in immigration from Mexico has brought about many different feelings and faces to this community. Phoenix, Arizona has become a place of much racial diversity and racial tensions. Hispanic cultures are a prevalent part in Arizona and the Mexican people have become a major part of Arizona politics, I was talking with a Postal Delivery Person and he stated that most new occupants are of Hispanic Descent, and this trend seems to be on the rise. In this community the white race is still predominate but change will come in as the Hispanic Peoples will become more predominate than white, English speaking people, soon I will have to speak two languages, which in my case, I do. Conventional wisdom holds that Latin America is a highly discriminatory society. â€Å"Understanding the extent of such discrimination and exploring the channels through which it operates deserve special attention†. (Alberto Chong,   Hugo Nopo). (2008). Racial discrimination is a term used to describe unruly or unfair behavior afflicted on individuals based on their race. Historically, racism existed from ancient times, one particular race always tried to exert its supremacy over the others resulting in a concept known as racial discrimination. â€Å"Before I go any further, we need to know what makes up Hispanic America†. Mexican Americans: Mexican Americans have become a part of American and have given America much to brag about; through a growing political presence the Mexican community has brought a culture that is rich in heritage which is a vital part of modern America. Mexican Americans have attained socioeconomic and linguistic assimilation as well as legal status. Most are in pursuit of the American Dream of freedom and financial release. Dominican Americans: The native language of Dominicans is Spanish with English being a second language, many Dominicans hold fast to the Dominican Republic as their homeland and many Dominicans migrate back to their country where they were born. Immigration issues abound in this culture, many Dominicans come to America illegally by way of Puerto Rico; Dominicans enjoy living the American dream with the American culture already understood by many before they come to America. Puerto Rican Americans: Puerto Rico is a Commonwealth of the United States and has its own Constitution, Legislature and Governor, all subject to United States Executive Authority. English is taught in schools in Puerto Rico but Spanish is the primary language, due to Commonwealth status, all Puerto Ricans are American Citizens (considered migrants versus immigrants), much is debated in the political arena, with may advocating for full United States statehood and those who wish for complete independence from the United States. Cuban Americans: Many Cuban Americans have come to the United States through political exile, and many have settled in Miami, Florida and a significant number living throughout the United States. The Cuban American, coming to America, in Miami, have created a type of reverse assimilation into American culture, bringing about the terminology known as reverse acculturation, where the residents in Miami have accepted political dominance as well as the economic impact Cuban Americans have on this geographical area. From humble beginnings, earlier generations viewed as lower forms of society, worked hard and obtained citizenship that proved the resiliency of this Hispanic American. Religion has played a major role in most Hispanic American culture; the Roman Catholic Church has influenced many Hispanic Americans but a trend to move away from the Catholic Church, with many Hispanic Americans becoming Protestant, most being Baptist. At any case, Most Hispanic Americans are Religious, and this influences many in today’s Hispanic American culture. One would think that modern society would have learned how to cope with racial discrimination and especially with Hispanics and all the contributions that this Ethnic Group has given to the United States. As American society’s diverse population grows in the next Century the Hispanic Population will continue to grow as well as contribute to our Nation’s economy and society. Hispanic Americans have become a part of America, and have given America much to brag about; through a growing political presence the Hispanic community has brought a culture that is rich in heritage which is a vital part of modern America. Hispanic Americans have attained socioeconomic and linguistic assimilation as well as legal status. Most are in pursuit of the American Dream of freedom and financial release. In America’s case racial discrimination is a reality among Native Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans and other immigrant groups and in spite of the ethnic growth throughout America over the past 30 years, racial minority groups like Hispanics continues to struggle for full Equal Rights. Hispanic or Latin Americans make up 12. 5 percent of America’s population, but Hispanics always have been considered a minority group and continue to be discriminated against in the work place as well as seeking accommodation and gaining other public services. Since 911 things have gotten worse in states that border Mexico, for anyone with darker colored skin, according to National Catholic Reporter,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"At Ray Carrillo's welding yard in El Paso, Texas, neighbors talk about the Guard. They also talk about citizen militias like the Minutemen–a local one is called the Border Regulators–that have appeared. And they talk about the sheriff, who has detained more than 800 undocumented persons at roadblocks and turned them over to the Border Patrol. Deputies even asked U. S. citizens who looked Mexican to present papers, according to residents who say they were asked. In late October deputies confronted shop owner Jose Rodriguez, who had posted a handwritten sign in Spanish on his property warning neighbors of a renewed roadblock. Rodriguez's wife, Maria, said the family now felt â€Å"threatened. † A deputy had called for backup and more patrol cars arrived, according to the couple. â€Å"Now I am going to be here seven days a week,† they said the deputy insisted. When Rodriguez complained, â€Å"You're going to break my business,† a deputy said, â€Å"We're going to be here until you close your business,† according to the couple†. McConahay, M. J. (Nov 17, 2006). Hispanic residents wonder if they're friend or foe). As National security is a concern to every American Citizen, â€Å"including Hispanic Americans† We must differentiate between enemy and friend. In Maricopa County, the County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and County Attorney Andrew Thomas have enforced immigration laws and created a task force that targe ts illegal aliens and those who hire them and is of much debate among the Hispanic community in Arizona. The key racial issue in this area is illegal immigration and the effect this problem has had on violent crime in Maricopa County and rising crime in my neighborhood. According to a Maricopa County Attorney News Release, (October 2, 2008), â€Å"An analysis of all defendants sentenced for felonies in 2007 in Maricopa County Superior Court shows 18. 7% to in the United States illegally. Factoring in a random sample of those whose immigration status was initially unknown and later determined to be illegal, the study finds that number rises to 21. %†. This has a direct effect on me and those who are close to me because, it is not known if we should plan to defend our property and make it more secure. With increased problems due to increased migration from Mexico and other countries throughout Mexico, I may be forced to move to a different area where I and my family will feel more secure. The media in the Maricopa County area has different views on the issue of illegal immigration and the so called Illegal Immigration Round-Ups. With most of the media taking the safe route, there are a few that speak out against the County Attorney and the County Sheriff, claiming both are bias and use racial profiling as a means of locating illegal aliens in these Round-Ups. All of these statistics have a profound effect upon the Hispanic American community, when racial profiling continues even when the Hispanics of the United States have been here longer than many other racial groups, the law needs to reconsider how they move forward with security, and what many consider harassment. We can see this during World War II, when America viewed Japanese victories in the Russo-Japanese War reinforced the belief that the Western World was facing a yellow peril. For two decades, after the Russo-Japanese War many Americans believed that a United States war with Japan was inevitable. The image of the yellow peril was mirrored for Americans by the writings of various authors, newspaper editors, columnists, and movies in which Orientals were portrayed as sinister villains engaged in activities of vengeance and treachery. Many Japanese Americans were subjected to concentration camps in Arizona and throughout the Western United States. If American society does not take into account what happened during these dark years of World War II, we may see issues with Hispanics in America being forced to live in certain areas consigned to the Hispanic Community due to boarder tensions with Mexico and Latin Americas. According to the racial discrimination act, it is illegal to discriminate people in the areas of public life on the basis of their race. These areas include employment, housing accommodation, real estate buying, and provision of goods and services, accessing public places, using public transportation services and in advertising. Under this act, even an offensive or abusive behavior or language that is based on racial vilification is prohibited. In my opinion, it is difficult to accurately measure prejudice in America but to a certain degree, yes, prejudice can be measured. When I say â€Å"to a certain degree†; one cannot know for certain if the person is totally prejudiced against another race. My preference for people of my ethnic background does not make me prejudice. I believe the human race as a whole comes from one blood, but for some reason has taken on the different characteristics we now see in the diverse human race. Racial Tensions as well as Prejudice against those who have come to America in the last century have excelled for no apparent reason as we that make up modern America, that came to this beautiful country at one time or another, many racial groups have faced prejudice such as the Irish and Italian immigrants, African Americans, and the list goes on and on. It seems as though wherever human society is, there will always be discrimination against some group or groups. I believe we as American Citizens must come together (especially in these tough economic times) and create a wonderful diverse America, where â€Å"everyone† can be proud of the American flag and the land of the free as our ancestors who migrated to America did. Reference (s): Axia College of University of Phoenix (2008). Chapter One Through Sixteen, Society: The Basics, Eighth Edition by John J. Macionis (2006). Retrieved February 15, 2009, from Axia College, Week Six reading, SOC 120 Introduction to Sociology aXcess Web site. Axia College of University of Phoenix (2008). Racial and Ethnic Groups, Tenth Edition. Retrieved Feburary 15, 2009, from Axia College, Week Six reading, ETH 125 Cultural Diversity aXcess Web site. Alberto Chong,   Hugo Nopo. (2008). The Mystery of Discrimination in Latin America/Comments. Economia,  8(2),  79-115. Retrieved February 13, 2009, from ABI/INFORM Global  database. (Document ID:  1579566311). McConahay, M. J. (Nov 17, 2006). Hispanic residents wonder if they're friend or foe. National Catholic Reporter,  43,  5. p. 7 (2). Retrieved  February 15, 2009,  from  General OneFile  via  Gale: http://find. galegroup. com/ips/start. do? prodId=IPS Maricopa County Attorney News Release, October 2, 2008. Retrieved February 15, 2009 from: http://www. mcaodocuments. com/press/20081002_a. pdf Information about Hispanic Americans Retrieved Feburary15, 2009 from the following Web site (s): http://www. topuertorico. org/people. shtml http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Cuban_American http://www. mexicanamericans. com

Government Spying Essay

Austin Bryan Period-1 http://www.globalsecurity.org/intell/library/news/2006/intell-060101-voa01.htm In some instances, governments believe that it is okay to spy on their citizens in order to preserve their freedom. I personally find this concept to be absurd. Living in a country that’s history is founded upon freedom of its citizens, and escaping oppression of tyrant governments, leaves me very skeptical on this concept. I believe that if the government is spying on its citizens it is actually taking away their freedom rather than preserving it. Living in an era of increasing technology has made it much easier for a government to spy on its citizens. Because of this, it has become a problem in many places around the world. Think about back in elementary school when you had pen pals from other countries. How would you feel if the government was able to intrude on your personal life just because you made contact abroad? For us in America, a government spying on its citizens sounds pretty crazy right? In 2006 president Bush did just that by enabling a â€Å"Government Phone Tap†. President Bush thought in order to preserve citizen’s freedoms that is was justified to tap into people’s phones and emails. The only people that were supposed to be the recipients of phone tapings where those who were making calls abroad, particularly to suspected al-Qaida connections. Not only is this a complete violation of peoples constitutional rights and privacy, but Bush also neglected the need for a warrant in this instance. To this day many immigrants from other countries come to America seeking asylum from oppressive governments. America is supposed to be a safe haven where people’s rights and privacy are protected under the constitution. Acts of government espionage upon its own citizens like this are completely unacceptable. I believe that the only way from a government to protect its citizen’s freedom is to respect everyone’s freedom regardless of circumstances.

Indian Agriculture Essay

Indian agriculture had reached the stage of development and maturity much before the now advanced countries of the world embarked upon the path of progress. There was a proper balance between agriculture and industry and both flourished hand in hand. This situation continued till the middle of the 18th century. The interference from the alien British govt. destroyed the balance and the economy of the country was badly shattered. Therefore Indian agriculture in the pre-independence period can be correctly described as a â€Å"subsistence† occupation. It was only after the advent of planning (more precisely the advent of the green revolution in 1966) that the farmers started adopting agriculture on a commercial basis. THE ROLE OF AGRICULTURE IN INDIAN ECONOMY 1. Share in national income: at the time of the First World War, agriculture contributed two-thirds of the national income. After the initiation of planning in India, the share of agriculture has persistently declined due to the development of the secondary and the tertiary sectors. At 1999-2000 prices, the share of agriculture in GDP at factor cost was 27. see more:non farm activities 3% in 1999-2000 and 21. 7% in 2005-2006. 2. Largest employment providing sector: in 1951, 69. 5% of the working population was engaged in agriculture. This percentage fell to 66. 9% in 1991 and to 56. 7% in 2001. 3. Provision of food surplus to the expanding population: the ninth Five Year Plan set a target of increasing the food grains production from a level of 199. 4 million tonnes in 1996-97 to 300 million tonnes by 2007-08 to meet the consumption requirement of India’s estimated population of more than a billion. 4. Contribution to capital formation: since agriculture happens to be the largest industry in India, it can play an important role in pushing up the rate of capital formation. The policies advocated are: a) Transfer of labor and capital from farm to non-farm activities. b) Taxation of agriculture in such a way that the burden on agriculture is greater than the governmental services provided to agriculture. c) Turning the terms of trade against agriculture b imposing price controls on agricultural products, taxation or the use of multiple exchange rates that discriminate against agriculture. 5. Providing raw materials to industries: agriculture provides raw materials to various industries of national importance, like, sugar industry, jute industry, cotton textile industry, etc. 6. Market for industrial products: since more than two-thirds of the population of India lives in rural areas, increased rural purchasing power is a valuable stimulus to industrial development. 7. Importance in international trade: for a number of years, cotton textiles, jute and tea accounted for more than 50% of export earnings of the country. With economic progress and consequent diversification of production base, the share of agricultural goods in total exports has consistently fallen. It fell from 44. 2% in 1960-61to 10. 2% in 2005-06. A growing surplus of agricultural produce is needed in the country to: i) Increase supply of food and agricultural raw materials at non-inflationary prices. ii) Widen the domestic market for industrial goods through increased purchasing power within the rural sector. iii) Facilitate inter-sectoral transfers of capital needed for industrial development (including infrastructure) iv) Increase foreign exchange earnings through agricultural exports. THE NATURE OF INDIA’S AGRICULTURE At the time of independence, India’s agriculture was in a state of backwardness. Productivity per hectare and per worker was extremely low. The techniques employed were age-old and traditional. Because of low productivity, agriculture merely provided ‘subsistence’ to the farmers and had not become ‘commercialized’. Approximately 45% of the total consumption of the farmers came from their own production in 1951-52. This highlights the low importance of money in the village economy. These reveal that Indian agriculture was backward and qualitatively traditional in nature on the eve of the First Five Year Plan. Some of the causes responsible for the above state of affairs are listed below: 1. Feudal relations of production: at the time of independence, three types of land tenure systems existed in the country-zamindari, mahalwari and ryotwari. Approximately 57% area of the country was under the zamindar system, ryotwari came second with 38% and mahalwari was restricted to only 5%. 2. Usurious capital and rural indebtedness. 3. Labor market dualism: because of the excessive pressure of population on land, wages in the agricultural sector tend to be considerably lower as compared to the modern (industrial) sector. This leads to a labor market dualism. Low wages in the agricultural sector lead to low per-capita income and this, in turn, results in low labor productivity. 4. Outmoded farming techniques. 5. Fluctuations and instability in crop output: even now, approximately 60% of gross cropped area continues to depend on rainfall. Therefore nature continues to play a major role in determining the role of agricultural production. 6. Diversities in the agricultural sector and the problem of generalization: different regions exhibit entirely different characteristics so that no one plan can be conceived for all agricultural regions of the country. CROPPING PATTERN IN INDIA By crop pattern, we mean the proportion of area of different crops at a point of time, changes in this distribution over a period of time and factors determining this change in distribution. Cropping pattern in India is determined mainly natural factors like rainfall, climate and soil conditions. However, technological conditions have also played an important part. Some significant facts about the cropping pattern in India are summarized below: 1. Food crops including cereals, millets, pulses, vegetables and fruits cover nearly three-fourths of total cropped area. Of the total area under food grains, a large proportion is occupied by cereals. Of the total area of 121. 9 million hectares under food grains in2005-2006, the share of cereals was 99. 5 million hectares (i. e. , 81. 6%) 2. Rice is the most important food grain crop in India. 2005-0 6 it was grown on 43. 5 million hectares, which amounted to 34. 7% of total area under food grains. This shows that rice is grown on more than one-third of the total area under food grains. 3. The second important crop in India is wheat. In 2005-06 wheat was grown on 26. 6million hectares, which comes to 21. 8% of the area under food grains. 4. The combined area under jowar, bajra and maize declined in percentage from 28. 6% in 1950-51 to 21. 4% in 2005-06. 5. Area under oilseeds was 10. 7 million hectares in 1950-51 and 19millio hectares in 1985-86. To achieve self-sufficiency in edible oils, the govt. launched a no. of programs in 1980s. As a result of these programs, area under oilseeds increased rapidly to 26. 2 million hectares in 1998-99. In 2005-06, area under oilseeds rose to 27. 7 million hectares. 6. In commercial crops, the area under sugarcane increased from 1. 8 million hectares in 1950-51 to 4. 2 million hectares in 2005-06. The area under jute increased from 0. 6 million hectares in 1950-51 to 0. 8 million hectares in 2005-06. Area under cotton rose from5. 9 million hectares in 1950-51 to 8. 9 in 2005-06. TRENDS IN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTIVITY Agricultural production has two components- food grains and non food grains. In the index no. of agricultural production, the weights assigned to food grains and non food grains are62. 9 and 37. 1 respectively. The most important component in the food grains category is rice (weight 29. 7), followed by wheat (weight 14. 5). In non food grains category, oilseeds constitute the most important group (weight 12. 6). Sugarcane carries a weight of 8. 1 while cotton carries a weight of 4. 4. As far as food grains output is concerned, the total production increased from 50. 8 million tonnes in 1950-51 to 187. 0 million tonnes in the eighth plan, and further to 202. 9 million tonnes in the ninth plan. However, because of draught conditions in the first year of the tenth plan, 2002-03, the food grains output declined to 174. 8 million tones but again rose to 213. 2 million tonnes in 2003-04. However in 2004-05, it fell to 198. 4 million tonnes and stood at 208. 3 million tonnes in 2005-06. In the non food grains group, jute and cotton show slow and halting progress in both the periods. However, the production of oilseeds rose considerably in the latter half of the 1980s and certain years of the 1990s. It increased from 12. 7 million tonnes in 1987-88 to 27. 7 million tonnes in 2005-06. Production of cotton rose from 8. 4 million bales in the seventh plan to 19. 6 million bales in 2005-06. Sugarcane registered a more or less steady growth during the entire period 1950-51 to 2002-03, but its production fell sharply in 2003-04 and 2004-05. However, in 2005-06, it bounced back to touch 278. 4 million tonnes. Over the period 1950-51 to 2005-06, yield per hectare of all food grains has increased by more than three times from 552 kgs per hectare in 1950-51 to 1,708 kgs per hectare in 2005-06. Most significant increase has been recorded by wheat with its yield increasing from 655 kgs per hectare in 1950-51 to 2,607 kgs per hectare in 2005-06. While the productivity of maize has increased significantly during recent years, the productivity of jowar and bajra has increased relatively slowly. Productivity of pulses was only 585 kgs per hectare in 2005-06 which was only slightly higher than the productivity in 1960-61. A comparison of productivity levels of Indian agriculture with the levels in other countries shows how low the productivity in Indian agriculture is. India happens to be one of the largest growers and producers of most of the agricultural crops, but ranks very low in terms of yield. For instance, it has the largest area under rice and wheat in the world and the second largest producer of these crops. However, in terms of productivity, its rank is only 52nd in the world in rice and 38th in wheat. Not only is productivity in Indian agriculture lower than that in other countries, it is much lower than the potential. The causes of low productivity in Indian agriculture can be divided in the following three categories: I. General causes. 1. Social environment: it is said that the Indian farmer is illiterate, superstitious, conservative and unresponsive to new and modern agricultural techniques. The social environment of the villages is often stated to be an obstacle in agricultural development. 2. Pressure of population on land: this is partly responsible for the sub-division and the fragmentation of the land holdings. Productivity on small and uneconomic holdings is low. 3. Land degradation: almost 43% of land suffers from high degradation resulting in 33-67% yield loss while 5% is so damaged that it is rendered unusable. II. Institutional causes. 1. Land tenure system: in this land tenure system, it is difficult to increase productivity through technological progress. Land reforms should precede technical changes. 2. Lack of credit and marketing facilities: Indian farmers continue to produce the same output even at more attractive prices. On account of lack o marketing facilities or non-availability of loans on fair interest rates, the cultivators are not able to invest the requisite resources in agriculture. This keeps the level of productivity low. 3. Uneconomic holdings: most of the holdings are not extremely small; they’re also fragmented into a no. of tiny plots so that cultivation can be carried on them only by labor intensive ways. This results in low productivity. III. Technical causes. 1. Outmoded agricultural techniques: most of the Indian farmers still use outmoded techniques. Wooden ploughs and bullocks are still used by majority farmers. Use of fertilizers and HYV seeds are very limited. Indian agriculture is traditional. 2. Inadequate irrigational facilities: almost 60% of the gross cropped area depends on rains. Rainfall is often insufficient, uncertain & irregular. Thus productivity is low in areas depending wholly on rainfall. Even in areas having irrigational facilities, potential is not fully utilized because of defective management. Also with the ever rising cost of irrigation, small farmers can’t make use of the irrigational facilities. Following are some of the measures to increase productivity: 1. Implementation of land reforms: even though the land reforms have been introduced in India in the post-independence period, the results from it are pretty unsatisfactory. Therefore special efforts have to be made by the State to implement those reforms forcefully. Unless this is done, the tiller won’t have any incentive to invest in land and adopt new agricultural techniques. Thus, land reforms are the foremost necessity. 2. Integrated management of land & water resources: almost half of country’s soil is degraded. There’s a huge loss due to water-logging, salinization and human induced water erosion. This proves the urgency of the integrated & efficient management of our land and water resources. 3. Improved seeds: this play an important role in increasing productivity. E. g. :- HYV of wheat in Punjab, Haryana & U. P. therefore the farmers should be educated in the methods of sowing, manuring and irrigating the new HYV seeds. 4. Fertilizers: improved variety of seeds requires heavy doses of fertilizers. Indian farmers use only a tenth of the required amount. Use of fertilizers in ample quantities can push up the productivity. 5. Irrigation: use of improved seeds & fertilizers require proper irrigational facilities. It can also make multiple cropping possible in many areas & thus increase the productivity. 6. Plant protection: most of the countryside farmers are unaware of the medicines and insecticides to face the challenge posed by diseases & insects. The govt. should maintain its own technical staff to carry out the spraying of pesticides & insecticides at nominal rates. 7. Farm mechanization: it is generally maintained through farm mechanization, agricultural production can be increased. It results in increase in productivity of land & labor, reduction in costs, saving of time & increase in economic surplus. 8. Provision of credit & market facilities: use of improved seeds, fertilizers, irrigational facilities, pesticides, machinery, etc. requires substantial money resources which small farmers don’t possess. Thus it is necessary to strengthen the credit-cooperative sector. The commercial banks should be encouraged to lend more to small farmers. Cooperative marketing societies should be promoted to ensure better prices to small farmers. THE GREEN REVOLUTION A team of experts sponsored by the Ford Foundation was invited by the Government of India in the latter half of the second Five Year Plan to suggest ways and means to increase agricultural production and productivity. This necessity arose out of the need to increase agricultural production in the ace of continuing stagnation of production on one hand, and rapidly increasing demand on the other. On the basis of the recommendations of this team, the govt. introduced an intensive development program in seven districts selected from seven states in 1960 and this program was named Intensive Area Development Program (IADP). A district selected under IADP was required to possess qualities such as assured water supply, minimum hazards (like floods, drainage problems, acute soil conservation problem, etc), well developed village institutions and maximum potentialities for increasing agricultural production within a short span of time. The seven districts selected were West Godavari in Andhra Pradesh, Shahabad in Bihar, Raipur in Madhya Pradesh, Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu, Ludhiana in Punjab, Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh and Pali in Rajasthan—the first four were selected for rice, the next two for wheat and the last one for millets. This program was later extended to remaining states also by selecting one district from each state for intensive development. In October 1965, the net was widened and 114 districts were selected for intensive development and the program labeled as Intensive Agricultural Areas Program (IAAP). The period of mid-1960s was very significant from the point of view of agriculture. New high-yielding varieties of wheat were developed in Mexico by Prof. Norman Borlaug and his associates and adopted by a number of countries. These high yielding variety of seeds required proper irrigation facilities and extensive use of fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides. This new â€Å"agricultural strategy† was put into practice for the first time in India in the kharif season of 1966 and was termed High-Yielding Varieties Program (HYVP). This program was introduced in the form of a packaged program since it depended crucially on regular and adequate irrigation, fertilizers, high-yielding varieties of seeds, pesticides and insecticides. Initially it was implemented in a total area of 1. 89 million hectares. In 1998-99, total area under HYVP was 78. 4 million hectares. This was 62. 6% of the total area under food grains (data for later years are not available). IMPACT OF GREEN REVOLUTION Throughout the period of the green revolution, population was increasing at a rate of over 2% p. a, constantly pressing on the margin of cultivation of traditional agriculture. I. Impacts on agricultural production: As a result of new agricultural strategy, food grains output increased substantially from 81. 0 million tonnes in the third Plan to 208. 3 million tonnes in 2005-06. HYVP was restricted to only five crops-wheat, rice, jowar, bajra and maize. Therefore, non-food grains were excluded from the ambit of the new strategy. The production of wheat increased from 11. 1 million tonnes in the third plan to 69. 5 million tonnes in 2005-06. The overall contribution of wheat increased from 13% in 1950-51 to 33. 4% in 2005-06. Thus, wheat has remained the mainstay of the green revolution over the years. The average annual production of rice rose from 35. 1million tonnes in the third plan to 91. 0 million tonnes in 2005-06. The production of course cereals-jowar, bajra and maize-continues to remain static or has moved very slowly upwards. As far as pulses are concerned, their production was 11. 7 million tonnes in second plan, which rose to 13. 1 million tonnes in 2005-06. But even this is less than the requirement of pulses in India estimated at 17 million tonnes. The bulk of vegetable oil production in India is derived from nine cultivated oilseeds, namely, groundnut, mustard, sesame, safflower, nigerseed, soyabean, sunflower-forming the edible group-and linseed and castorseed forming the inedible group. The total production of oilseeds averaged 8. 3 million tonnes in the fourth plan and 11. 4 million tonnes in the sixth plan. To achieve self-sufficiency in edible oils, the govt. launched a series of measures towards the end of the sixth plan and the seventh plan. As a result of these, the average annual production of oilseeds rose from 11. 4 million tonnes in the sixth plan to 24. 7 million tonnes in 1998-99. This is also termed as the â€Å"yellow revolution†. II. Economic impacts of the green revolution i. Crop areas under HYV seeds needed more water, fertilizers, pesticides and certain other chemicals. This spurred the growth of the local manufacturing sector. Such industrial growth created new jobs and contributed to the country’s GDP. ii. The increase in irrigation created a need for new dams to harness monsoon water. The water stored was used to create hydro-electric power. This in turn boosted industrial growth and improved the quality of life of the villagers. iii. India paid back all the loans it had taken from the World Bank and all its affiliates for the purpose of green revolution. This improved India’s credit worthiness in the eyes of the lending agencies. III. Impact on labor absorption The adoption of new technology has reduced labor absorption in agriculture. In a large number of states, especially in those regions where there was abundant availability of labor, the growth of output was too slow to generate adequate employment opportunities. In high growth rate regions, labor was not plentiful and wage rate was high. The sudden rise in demand for labor in these areas induced mechanization and labor saving practices in general. Also, the HYVP is basically a land saving technology. By increasing the yield per acre, the new technology makes it possible to increase food production out of a given amount of land. This tends to increase the demand for labor. On the other hand, mechanized processes tend to reduce the demand for labor. In addition, the very dynamic possibility of increasing yields may itself encourage mechanization and in turn decreases the employment of labor. In recent years, a significant development in the pattern of rural labor absorption has been a shift away from crop production and into rural non-farm activities like agro-processing industries and other rural industries. IV. Political impacts of the green revolution India transformed itself from a starving nation to an exporter of food. This earned admiration for India in the committee of nations, especially in the third world. The green revolution was one factor that made Mrs. Indira Gandhi (1917-1984) and her party, the Indian National Congress, very powerful political force in India. [BOX: HIMACHAL PRADESH TOPS AGAIN IN IMPLEMENTATION OF 20 POINT PROGRAMMNE 17th July 2009 :Himachal Pradesh has done it once again. Yes, it has maintained the first position in the implementation of Twenty-Point Programme amongst all the States in the Country by attaining 92 percent achievement up to February during the financial year 2008-09, the last but one month of the financial year. This achievement is two percent more than the Gujarat, four percent Uttrakhand and five percent Andhra Pradesh the four top States that had been ranked in the implementation of this programme. The main thrust of the Twenty Point Programme is poverty alleviation, employment generation housing, education, family welfare & health, protection of environment and other schemes having a bearing on the quality of life, especially in rural areas. Under Employment Generation Programme, 8, 17,364 job cards have been issued in the State during the period thereby generating employment of 1. 54 crore man days by giving wages worth Rs. 171 crore . Under Individual Swaranjayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojna percent achievement of the State had been 517 as 8619 individual swarojgars have been assisted against a target of 1886 fixed for the year. Karnataka follows Himachal Pradesh in it whose percent achievements are 470. This speaks about tremendous performance of the State. Under Swaranjayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojna the achievement of the State is 318 percent. As many as 3486 individual ST Swarojgaries and 5612 individual women swarojgaries have been assisted from April, 2008 to February 2009 under this scheme. ] AGRICULTURAL FINANCE AND MARKETING Agriculture is an unorganized profession. Its success and failure depends, o a large extent, on climatic factors. Further, it’s not always possible to distinguish between productive and unproductive loans of the farmers. Because of these factors, banks did not show much interest in advancing loans to agriculture and allied activities for a long time and farmers were forced to depend on money-lenders and mahajans. NEED FOR AGRICULTURAL FINANCE Credit needs of the farmers can be examined from two different angles: i) On the basis of time : Agricultural credit needs of the farmers can be further classified into three categories:- a. Short term loans are required for the purchase of seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, feeds and fodder of livestock, etc. the period of such loans is less than 15 months. Main agencies of granting of short term loans are the moneylenders and co-operative societies. b. Medium term loans are generally obtained for the purchase of cattle, small agricultural implements; repair and construction of wells, etc. the period of such loans extend from 15 months to 5 years. These loans are generally provided by moneylenders, relative of farmers, co-operative societies and commercial banks. c. Long term loans are required for effecting permanent improvements on land; repayment of old wells, etc. The period of such loans extends beyond 5 years. Such loans are normally taken from Primary Co-operative Agricultural and Rural Development Banks (PCARDBs). ii) On the basis of purpose : Agricultural needs of the farmers can be further classified into the following categories: a. Under productive needs we can include all credit requirements which directly affect agricultural productivity. b. Farmers often require loans for consumption as well. Most of the farmers do not have sufficient income to sustain themselves. Therefore they have to take loans for meeting their consumption needs. Institutional credit agencies do not provide loans for consumption purposes. Accordingly, farmers are forced to fall back upon moneylenders. c. In addition to consumption, farmers also require loans for a multiplicity of other unproductive purposes. Since institutional agencies do not grant credit for such unproductive purposes, farmers have to seek assistance from moneylenders and mahajans. SOURCES OF AGRICULTURAL FINANCE AND THEIR RELATIVE IMPORTANCE Sources of agricultural finance can be divided into two categories: 1. Non-institutional sources 2. Institutional sources The non-institutional sources are the following- * Moneylenders * Relatives * Traders * Commission agents * Landlords The institutional sources comprise the Co-operatives, Scheduled Commercial Banks and Regional Rural Banks (RRBs). As far as co-operatives are concerned, the Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACSs) provide mainly short and medium term goals and PCARDBs long term loans to agriculture. The Commercial Banks, including RRBs provide both short and medium term loans for agriculture and allied activities. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is the apex institution at the national level for agricultural credit and provides refinance assistance tot eh agencies mentioned above. The Reserve Bank of India, as the central bank of the country, plays a crucial role in this sphere by giving overall direction to rural credit and financial support to NABARD for its operations. The first institution established and promoted was the institution of co-operative credit societies. By the end of 1976, there emerged three separate institutions for providing rural credit, which is often described, as the multi-agency approach. In 1982, NABARD was set up. India now has a wide network of rural finance institutions (RFIs). There are more than 30,000 commercial bank branches, 14,000 regional rural banks and about 1,00,000 rural credit co-operatives. As a result of the efforts undertaken by the govt., the share of non-institutional sources in rural credit, which was as high as 92. 7% in 1951, fell to 38. 9% in 2002. The share of moneylenders fell from 71. 6% in 1951 to 26. 8% in 2002. The share of institutional sources in rural credit rose correspondingly from 7. 3% in 1951 to 61. 1% in 2002. NATIONAL BANK FOR AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT (NABARD) The most important development in the field of rural credit has been the setting up of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) in July 1982. It took over from Reserve Bank of India all the functions that the layer performed in the field of rural credit. NABARD is now the apex bank for rural credit. And therefore, it doesn’t deal directly with farmers and other rural people. It grants assistance to them through the co-operative banks, commercial banks, RRBs, etc. NABARD’s credit to State Co-operative banks, State Governments and RRBs outstanding in 2004-05 was Rs. 8,577 crore which rose to Rs. 12,763 crore in 2005-06.

Characteristics Of Heavyweight Methodologies Information Technology Essay

Characteristics Of Heavyweight Methodologies Information Technology Essay Software is part of modern society for over 50 years. Software development began as a chaotic business and is often cited as the code and fix. The software program was written without much of the plan and design of the system. Also, it was set with many short term decisions. That’s fine for small systems, but as systems grow it turned out as increasingly difficult to add new features and bugs were harder to fix. This style of development was used for many years until this was replaced by an alternative: Methodology. This imposed a disciplined process for software development in order to make software development more predictable and efficient. Traditional methods are based on the work plan and begin to extract a complete set of documentation requirements, the architectural and high level of project development and control. Because of these serious aspects of this method has become known as heavy. Some practitioners realized this software development process frustrating. As a result, several consultants have independently developed methodologies and practices to adopt and respond to inevitable changes they have experienced. These methods and practices are based on multiple components, a technique that was introduced in 1975 and which became known as an agile methodology. Agile methodology is gaining popularity in the industry, although they compromise a mix of accepted and controversial software engineering practices. Software industry is likely to prove that the specific features of the project, such as the purpose, scope, requirements, resources, architecture and size will determine the methodology that fits those best. Dynamic and heavy or perhaps a hybrid of the two. In the past few years, anecdotal evidence and success of practicing professionals suggests that effective methods are effective and suitable for a variety of situations and environments. However, empirical studies are urgently needed to assess the effectiveness and possible use of agile software development methods. Heavyweight methodologies Heavyweight methodologies are considered the traditional way of software development. These methods are based on the following series of steps such as defining requirements, solution building, testing and deployment. Heavyweight methodology requires defining and documenting a stable set of requirements at the beginning of the project. Waterfall approach emphasizes a structured progression between certain phases. Each stage consists of a term set of activities and tasks that must be met before the next stage can begin. The phases are always named in different ways, but the basic idea is that in the first phase tries to capture what the system will do, its system and software, in the second phase determines how it will be designed. The third stage is where developers start writing the code; the fourth step is testing the system and final phase focuses on tasks such as training and documentation. However, in engineering practice, the term waterfall is used as the generic name for all subsequent methods of software engineering. Waterfall Model Life Cycle Unified Process All  activities,  including  modeling, is  divided into  workflows  in the  Unified Process  (UP) and takes place  in an  iterative  and  incremental manner. In this process the process is divided into four phases. The below diagram depicts the stages of this process: