An Introduction to Macroeconomics

Homework #1 Problem #1 Q: Use the supply and demand framework in the labor market to explain why employment has grown rapidly in the United States in recent decades while at the same time there has been a slowdown in real-wage growth. A: With the growth of both supply and demand in the US, we can see that the quantity of labor needed has increased. In the same time the wages have not increased that much, because if we have an increase in both supply and demand we will have a shift to the right of the equilibrium, which basically shows an increase in quantity of labor but not wages paid.Problem #2 Q: In a small town of 100 people, there are 10 children under 16, 10 retired people, 60 people with full-time jobs, 3 people with part-time jobs, 3 full-time students over 16, and 4 full-time homemakers. The remaining people did not have jobs, but wanted jobs. All but one of these had actively looked for a job in the previous four weeks. What is the unemployment rate in this town? Show your work.A: 100 (total number of people) – 10 (children under 16) – 10 (retired) – 4 (homemakers who are not part of the labor force) – 3 (fulltime students) – 1 (not searching for job) = 72 people labor force 72 (labor force) – 60 (full time jobs) – 3 (part-time jobs) = 9 (unemployed but seeking jobs) Employment rate = employed/labor force = (labor force – unemployed)/ labor force = 63/72 = 0. 875 = 87. 5% Unemployment rate = unemployed/labor force = 9/72 = 0. 125 = 12. 5% Problem #3 Q: High Tech, Inc. produces plastic chairs that sell for $12 each. The following table provides information about how many plastic chairs can be produced per hour.Assume that apart from labor there are additional production cost of $2 per chair. How many workers will be hired if the hourly wage for workers is $70? A: # of Workers| Chairs Produced| Income| Prod. Cost| Wage| Net Income| 1| 10| 120| 20| 70| 30| 2| 18| 216| 36| 140| 40| 3| 24| 288| 48| 21 0| 30| 4| 28| 336| 56| 280| 0| 5| 30| 360| 60| 350| -50| There will be hired only 2 workers, because after one hour of production and paying for the work, with 2 workers the company will have the highest net income equal to $40. Problem #4 Q: A report indicated that the average real wage in manufacturing declined by 2% between 1990 and 2000.If the CPI equaled 1. 30 in 1990, 1. 69 in 2000, and the average nominal wage in manufacturing was $35 in 2000, what was the average nominal wage in manufacturing in 1990? A: Year| CPI| Nominal Salary| Real Salary| 1990| 1. 30| $x| $(y+2%)| 2000| 1. 69| $35| $y| Y=35/1. 69=20. 71 (Real Salary for 2000) Y+2%= 20. 71 + 20. 71*0. 02=21. 1242 (Real Salary for 1990) X= 21. 1242*1. 30=27. 4614 (Nominal Salary for 1990) Problem #5 Q: A labor contract provides for a first-year wage of $10 per hour, and specifies that the real wage will rise by 3 percent in the second year of the contract and by another 3 percent in the third year.The CPI is 1. 00 in the first year, 1. 07 in the second year, and 1. 15 in the third year. What dollar wage must be paid in the third year? A: Year| CPI| Nominal Salary| Real Salary| 1| 1. 00| 10| Y1=10| 2| 1. 07| X1| Y2=(Y1+3%)| 3| 1. 15| X2| Y3=(Y2+3%)| Y2 = 10+10*0. 03 = 10. 3 (Real Salary Second Year) Y3 = 10. 3 + 10. 3*0. 03 = 10. 609 (Real Salary Third Year) X1 = 10. 3*1. 07 = 11. 021 (Nominal Salary Second Year) X2 = 10. 609*1. 15 = 12. 20 (Nominal Salary Third Year)

Connections between everything is illuminated and into the wild Essay

A common theme in both Into the Wild and Everything is Illuminated is an archetype of this Eden a final destination of journey. For â€Å"Alex,† it was his Alaska, for Alex, Jonathan, and Alex’s Grandfather it was Trachimbrod. An Eden in literature is a final destination or state that a character, or set of characters in the case of Everything is Illuminated, strives to achieve or find. Both books have the characters searching for their Eden’s for their own personal reasons. â€Å"Alex† takes on his journey to get to his Eden for himself and his constant goal is to make it to his Alaska, his final adventure. Despite all the people he has met and all the amazing things he had done and all the memories he made in his mind he was only set on his Alaska. Ironically, for â€Å"Alex† his final Eden was also his final resting place and he was not able to get passed his Alaska. For the group in Everything is Illuminated, they are searching for Trachimbrod as their Eden for their Journey. The idea of an Eden is a very common archetype in literature throughout decades and decades of writing. An Eden can also be a person or a state of being that the main characters are searching for but in both these works the archetype forms as a physical location that the characters are searching for. Socio-political In both books, there seems to be a topic of written word and the effect of it on people as a huge theme throughout the novels. For Into the Wild, â€Å"Alex† is constantly referencing different novelists that he relates too as a source of inspiration and motivation but more importantly, â€Å"Alex† seemed to use these works of written word as almost a sense of security and closeness to the authors in desperate times of loneliness. Everything is Illuminated also holds a sense of bond through written word with how a portion of the book is written as a letter from Alex to Jonathan. In society, the actions of written words and novels creates a closeness and bonds that spoken word or just everyday conversations seem to lack. There is a stronger sense of permanence to written word that gives off a bond from reader to writer that other forms of conversation can not accomplish. In society, it’s easier for a reader to bond with a writer through their words because of how they can take the time to contemplate and try to understand what the author was trying to mean. In Into the Wild, after â€Å"Alex’s† death his books were found written all over and highlighted and all his feelings even his last dying thoughts were poured into these books. He obviously felt a bond with these authors in his months of isolation in Alaska, an even stronger bond then than at any other time.

How to Assemble a Cardboard Chair

Assembly Instructions 1. Retrieve a refrigerator box. Cut it open so that the box can lay flat on the floor. On one side of the box draw the hockey stick shape to the right big enough to fit your measurements and cut it out using a box cutter, kitchen knife or scissors (whichever you would prefer). 2. Use the hockey stick shape you cut out and trace it 4 more times on the other sides of the refrigerator box. Then, cut them out. You should have 5 of the shapes now. 3. Draw 3 inch lines 2 inches away from each other ll-around along the edges of 3 out of the 5 hockey stick shapes. Use your cutting utensil to slice the 3 inch lines creating slots along the edges.4. Count the amount of slots you have. Get a cardboard box and cut it open so that the box can lay flat on the floor. Then use a ruler or straight edge to draw 2 by 26 inch strips to cut out. Cut out as many strips of cardboard needed to fill each slot that was cut along the edges of the hockey stick shapes. 5. Line up the 3 hock ey stick shapes with the edges cut side by side 11 inches away from one another. . Place each strip in each slot. 7. Cut off the excess cardboard on the outside of the chair to make the sides smooth/flat. 8. Take the other two remaining hockey stick shapes and glue one to each side of the chair. 9. Retrieve another refrigerator box and cut it open so that the box can lay flat on the floor. On one side of the box draw the flower to the left big enough to fit your measurements and cut it out using the cutting utensil of your choice. 10. Take the cut out flower, place it onto another side of the refrigerator box, trace ONLY THETOP HALF of the flower and then cut that out. 11. Take the top half of the flower, place it onto another side of the refrigerator box, trace it, and cut it out. 12. Glue the big full flower to the back of the chair 13. Glue one of the half flowers to the seat of the chair and the other to the area where a person’s back would rest. Tip: If chair is being de corated, painted, or accessorized, please decorate, paint, and accessorize everything before gluing anything together. Otherwise, just follow each step exactly.

Financial Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Financial Management - Assignment Example Financial structure refers to the right side of the firms or organizations balance sheet detailing how the assets are financed including debt as well as shares. In other words, financial structure refers to the way in which the organizations assets are financed. Like all other organizations, Manchester fire and rescue service too have a financial structure. The finance of the organization are managed by departmental managers and consists of a team which manages the payroll of the service employees, control the annual budgets as well as provide general financial advice to the managers (Organizational Structure. 2011). The Manchester fire and rescue service in its budget in 2009-10 has set aside 0.9 million pounds for effective governance, 22.2 million for community fire safety, 0.4 million for emergency planning and civil defense, and 95.8 million for fire fighting and rescue operations. Majority of the funds necessary for the purpose would be available from percepts which is money th at is paid by the metropolitan district authority collected as part of council tax. Moreover it also receives funds through national non domestic rates which are businesses rates that are set up by and paid to the government and redistributed based on population. It also receives revenue support grant which is paid by the authorities from national taxation to provide funding to operate local services. Majority revenue share for the fire service organization is expected from national domestic rates. Revenues from percepts and revenue support grants follow. The financial allocations of Manchester fire and rescue services are done through financial annual budgets. Allocations and spending are strictly according to the preplanned budgets. The annual budgets expresses in financial terms the priorities determined by the members of the authority moreover it sets out the plans for service provision in the coming year. The budgets that are prepared reconsider objectives, reassess priorities as well as reexamine the way in which the service delivery is achieved currently. This is because the budgets that are prepared should be in line with the needs of the authority against the cost to local tax payers’ while operating along with governmental guidelines. To get allocation of funds from the government and its agencies all financial plans, allocations and spending should be done according to governmental guidelines. Therefore the authority has developed a three year financial planning process. The government also has a hand to determine the resources that pass through this three year process. The government has announced formula grant for the next three years starting from 2009 to 2011. The average increase in grants will be 1.4%. The collection fund surplus remains at 0.113 million pounds. Given all these increases, the Manchester fire and rescue authority has to frame its own strategies and plans to achieve the planning objectives on the basis of governmental pol icies. Governmental policies should be followed strictly because all major funding for operations are coming from the government. With regard to capital expenditure programme, replacements and upgrades requires resources in excess of supported borrowing approval from the government. There should be separate revenue budgets and capital expenditure programmes. The balance between the revenue and capital budgets is to be determined by the authority to achieve a balanced budget plan. The

NETFLIX Strategic Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

NETFLIX Strategic Analysis - Research Paper Example Smart televisions are getting better and every TV will eventually have Wi-Fi and applications, and will eventually be cheaper. Netflix continuously increases its global internet network as a result of the growth in technology. The company is expected that the company will in future offer more movies. It may also react to the expected increase in demand from customers by coming up with its own movie production company in order to have a variety of movies. The company has invested in marketing in order to attract people around the world to try Netflix. The company anticipates to spend approximately $500M in 2014 on marketing and $ 400M on technology development in order to improve its services. Considering these initiative, the company’s position in the next five years will be able to increase its market share because it is expected that the company will dominate the television show streaming and has a strategy of expanding quickly in order to stay profitable at a global basis (Hill, 2012). The company will be able to compete with companies like Google with its

Agents and Representatives in Budgeting Process Research Proposal

Agents and Representatives in Budgeting Process - Research Proposal Example The role of agents in budgeting is of great significance and, hence, should not be overlooked. During the preparations of the annual budgets and reports from all the state organs, profit, and non-profit enterprises, all the stakeholders are represented via agents. The representing agents should be individuals with deep understanding of finance and knowledgeable in accounting. It is the participation of all the agents representing the relevant institutions in the budgetary process that is commonly referred to as departmental agency budgeting (Goodman and Clynch, 2004). This process entails four major stages, namely: i. Comprehensive Fiscal Policy Formulation Under this umbrella, the overarching institutional objectives are formulated and determined. It is these policies that regulates the decision making process regarding aggregate expenditure and revenue of the firm. ii. Preparation and Enactment of the Budget It is in this stage that the government decides on proportions of financia l allocation to be advanced to each agent, and also the government outlines the purpose for which the funds are allocated to a given agent. The guiding principles relating to these are set out clearly by the legislations enacted by the state. iii. Budgetary Execution This is the actual stage in budgeting. It involves carrying out the stipulated expenditure as developed in the budget plan. It is in this stage that contractual agreements are signed between the budgetary committee and the contractors (Goodman and Clynch, 2004). iv. Accounting, Auditing, and Reporting This being the final stage in budgeting, it is the post-ante process of preparing the accounting records regarding revenues and expenditures executed by the organization within a given fiscal period. These records must have been audited by both internal and hired external experts/auditors to ensure that they meet the international accounting and auditing standards. The final reports (audited reports) are then presented to the financers, government agencies, ministers, the public and the parliament. Objectives of Budgeting The following are the key objectives of budgeting: Sound Macro-Fiscal Result: This forms the backbone to aggregate fiscal policy objective in budgeting. To ensure fiscal sustainability, sound fiscal policies must be put in place to regulate financial operations and to ensure that organization short-term debts are paid when they fall due. This policy also acts as macro-stabilizer to the economy by regulating taxation policies during boom and recession. Appropriate Expenditure Prioritization: This policy advocates for effective allocation of resources to those projects that are deemed socially profitable. The corollary under this objective is to avoid misallocation of resources especially to least priority sectors of the economy, but instead to maximize on the social gains. Service Efficiency and Effectiveness: This implies that the state services delivery is made more efficient and e ffective in a manner that is socially justifiable and acceptable by all the stakeholders. 1. Budget Overview Taking an example of HIV/AIDS funding program, during the financial allocation process, all the departments involved must have their representative on board.

Market research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Market research - Essay Example Henneberg (13) explores the challenges that have been faced by the US during the past decade make it a vital responsibility of the voters to bring about positive change as believed by everyone in the states. Thus, in the research, all these factors among other political reasons will be looked into in the subsequent sections. In the US, the race has always been between two parties, democrats and republicans. The democrat, incumbent president barrack Obama has been on the spot for various reasons against the republican mitt Romney, a white. O n the other hand, mitt has suffered blows in some of the Obama reactions to his allegations that bring him out in a negative way. Considering the ongoing campaigns, Obama tries to defend his seat by convincing them to add him more time to realize his impact but the opposition accuses him of not having utilized his term in office as expected and that he is a disappointment. These impacts on a significant number of voters differently thereby influen cing their probable choice the elections that are yet to come. Some of the significant states have chosen Obama over mitt Romney although by a slight margin. Data results by union times indicate that Obama is still leading in Florida, Ohio and Washington which are key regions in determining the final outcome. The choice of words has been giving mitt a major blow while it works well with Obama who is a better orator and has better choice of words to counter his rival. Race comes in as one of the dictators of the winner of the forthcoming elections. There are slightly more non white voters as there are white voters in the US. This indicates on how tricky it maybe for mitt considering that he is white while Obama is not. However, race in this case may not come in as plane as it is but as a redefinition considered as stereotype (Lipstz 76). Whites are the most likely to be adversely affected by this as the non whites may want to use the opportunity to prove that America belongs to all. As such, they will vote for Obama not because they like him but because they would like to have an alternative race other than white. The whites, on the other hand, may not vote for Obama considering that he has served for one term, and all did not go well with them since non whites have infiltrated and dominated America. This can be supported by the current demonstrations by some whites labeled â€Å"take back America.† most whites feel that America belongs to them so should be the leadership positions. However, this will be outbalanced by the relatively large numbers of the non whites who reason along the same line but to the opposite direction. The economic factors have been a major concern for the Americans since the world’s major economic meltdown that negatively affected the Americans during president Obama’s term. Mitt has at some point picked this as a campaign basis where he blames the Obama administration for the bad situation that befell the Americans . Obama, on the other hand, gives defensive reasoning of the same in an attempt to win the trust that he already lost. The trick in this case for him is that the government has had the issues to do with taxation and payment of bills. The other policy that acts as an indicator of the most likely winner of the election is the foreign policy that has been linked with the history. Obama successfully ended the war in Afghanistan and Iraqi but

1.Was the British Empire a force for good Essay

1.Was the British Empire a force for good - Essay Example nostalgia for a more civilized and benign Greater Britain through television programs, such as, This Sceptred Isle and Empire’s Children, while print critics openly condemn it as a blood-stained autocracy (Brendon, 2007). Historian Lawrence James argues, ‘ploughing a familiar furrow,’ but we should always be proud of the Empire that established stability, progress, and beneficial institutions in colonies. In this research paper, I tried to define British Empire’s role as good or bad and conclude that it was neither good nor bad, but complicated. One must argue that why there is controversy about it. Mainly, vast range of British Empire and its lasting impact epitomizes a period in which all of the non-Europeans were dominated by Europeans. Another reason for controversy about Empire is its vastness that defies simple summary, and therefore, perspectives on it also vary outrageously. It is possible for Empire’s admirers or opponents to pick some examples in order to prove that British rule, by and large, was good or bad, and its legacies as beneficent or demonic. Some assert that it was an engine of modernization, while others believe that it was a vehicle of exploitation (Jackson, 2013, p.4). As decolonization of European Empires precipitated in the 1960s, Jean-Paul Sartre wrote that, â€Å"†¦It was nothing but an ideology of lies, a perfect justification for pillage; its honeyed words, its affection of sensibility were only alibis for our aggressions† (cited in Jackson, 2013, p.4) while Niall Ferguson ar gues that British Empire was better than the other empires from the same period. The record of British Empire is not untarnished by any means, but it gave us global trade and the rule of law (cited in Jackson, 2013, p.4). In an effort to explore Empire’s credits, one may lead to the idea that British Empire was a liberal empire. It was established on the principals classically enunciated by Edmund Burke, who asserted that colonial government was a

Thomas Hobbes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Thomas Hobbes - Essay Example Man’s capriciousness is a threat to themselves and the desire for what others have gained in pursuit of the so-called equality without examining what can make them truly satisfied serves as self-destructive factors. Such claim could be further examined with Hobbes’s three principal causes of quarrel which are: competition diffidence and glory. The concept of the three principal causes can be associated with the example on man’s thrive to equality. In war, time hold a specific and essential role. c. Hobbes opined that time in war is as essential as time in weather. Bad weather cannot be measured with the amount of rain but the rainy days altogether; just as war where threat is not apparent in the battle itself but how long is it going to take for war to persist, because after the war, there is an assurance of peace. The state of war and argument is caused by man himself, and only he can make means to end it by making a pact or covenant in which both parties have t o observe. Section 2: Question 1 â€Å"J.J. Thompson claims...† According to J.J. Thompson, abortion is not always morally impermissible. She noted that a woman must be given the right to choose whether or not the baby should live, in case that the pregnancy was due to rape. She contends that the impermissibility of abortion is a case to case basis. And because of that argument she created thought experiments to further defend her view on that matter. There are few thought experiments she presented in her essay where one is an example analogous to pregnancy due to rape and the other is based on the concept of people-seeds. The first mentioned tells about you being kidnapped. A famous violinist needs your body so that he could live and so, he is ‘plugged’ into your body by some medical tube, where it should stay there for nine months (or more). The doctor said that you have no choice because until he recovers and removing the tubes would mean killing him. In the s ame way, pro-life views would say that abortion of pregnancy due to rape is still impermissible because the life in the womb is innocent, the same way as the violinist is innocent. Because of this, the woman in the example, and the woman being pregnant by rape has the same situation. Thompson further asserts that if right to life is given more weight than right to choose in any circumstance, it is just like saying that the person in the example does not have the right to remove the tubes from her body because it would mean murder; and murder is always and absolutely impermissible. The second thought experiment tells about â€Å"people-seeds.† Thompson argued that unwanted pregnancy even due to voluntary intercourse with contraception gives the mother the right to abort the baby because using contraception infers that the woman does not desire to have a baby. Thompson compared it to a person who puts in mesh screens so that pollens will not be implanted. If in case a seed drif ts in and takes its root, this gives the owner the right to remove it. Thompson’s arguments are direct to the point. She has clear associations which illustrate the points she wanted to express. However, she missed two points in her arguments which made her thought experiments unsuccessful. First, women have an in born motherly instinct and conscience and second, it is well documented that there is no 100% effective birth control method except for abstinence, so

EC3--Movie, book, TV show, or song Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

EC3--Movie, book, TV show, or song - Essay Example Hunt Stevenson, the plants now former foreman, travels all the way to Tokyo in an attempt to convince the corporation to restart operations on the Hadleyville Plant. Owing to the desperate nature of the laborers, the corporation agrees to reopen the plant, but institutes changes that drastically affect the workers. The new contracts that the workers are issued clearly contradict the law. This movie is relevant to the topic, contract law, by virtue of highlighting the various issues that are associated with contract law. In the movie, the corporation’s management decided to change elements of their contracts with their workers, making the working conditions literally unbearable. The workers are denied the right to a union, receive lower pay rates than before, each have to learn all the jobs within the factory and are supposed to meet quality standards that are virtually impossible. The management later on decides to loosen up on the standards and harsh regulations that govern the workers on a day-to-day

Can Glee be called a musical in the classical sense Dissertation

Can Glee be called a musical in the classical sense - Dissertation Example This "Can Glee be called a musical in the classical sense?" dissertation describes particular features of the musical and analyze Glee to answer the question if we can count it as classical musical or no. The musical began as early as the 1600s, usually which was referred to as a narrative like opera. The main component was to create a hybrid model of the performances between acting and music. The narrative would depict the main ideals that were being told in the story, while the musical numbers were able to pause to reflect on the emotions and responses from the characters according to what was occurring within the plot. The musical numbers are able to take the viewer outside of the reality of what is occurring and break into the songs to show the other perspectives of what is occurring within the film. This is followed with narrative, performance and the dance gestures which follow each of the musical components as well as the overall structure of the musical. By adding in the hybr id expressions for the musical, there was the ability to have more creative expressions and freedom that allowed the viewer to understand the context of the narrative differently, either for entertainment or to deepen the meaning of the main film. The different concepts of the musical move beyond the interchanges of form and medium and into ways in which the musical is able to create a significant change to the overall feel of the performance. In both theater and film musicals, there is the use of music to change the context of the performance. ... he musical, there was the ability to have more creative expressions and freedom that allowed the viewer to understand the context of the narrative differently, either for entertainment or to deepen the meaning of the main film (Cohan, pg. 59). The different concepts of the musical move beyond the interchanges of form and medium and into ways in which the musical is able to create a significant change to the overall feel of the performance. In both theater and film musicals, there is the use of music to change the context of the performance and viewpoint of those that are watching the drama. The first component to this is the idea of repetition. The songs that are used in musicals comprise of three verses and choruses that are repeated in between the verses. When this goes outside of the traditional formula, then there is a noticed line which is repeated, known as the hook. The music then changes the context and meaning, specifically because the repetition is able to drive a theme for ward which couldn’t be heard or displayed in a regular narrative. The effect of repetition, combined with the several hybrid expressions intertwined with this, such as the gestures and dance, are then able to emphasize parts of the musical and create a different effect when speaking to the audience about the most important factors noted in a specific point of the musical (Kramer, pg. 180). The underlying component that is used with the musical then leads to the conventions of the musicals, specifically which becomes a synthesis of music / dialogue / dance and emotion combined with narrative. Instead of creating a linear form that is often expressed in other types of music, there is a focus on the hybrid definition of interchanging works, some which are used for emphasis, and others which

Pay Equity In Labor Force Movement Essay Example for Free

Pay Equity In Labor Force Movement Essay Debates about women’s rights at work and the gendered dimensions of employment inequality were notable and contested features of Canadian political discourse throughout the second half of the twentieth century. Concern about these issues took root during the 1940s, when women experienced dramatic shifts in their employment opportunities as a result of being drawn into and later jettisoned from the reserve army of wartime labor. Pressure to improve women’s employment conditions, particularly in the burgeoning public sector, recurred in the mid-1950s. However, it was in the 1960s, once the second wave of feminism took root in Canada, that women began to develop a sustained critique of the employment inequalities they experienced and pressure their governments to address the problem through policy innovation and change. (Westhues, 45-58) From the outset of second-wave feminism, women advanced analyses of employment inequality that took account of their labor in both the public and domestic spheres. As Brockman noted, activists â€Å"drew attention, as had never been done before, to the fundamental incompatibility between reproductive labor and child care, on the one hand, and paid work on the other, as well as to the profound consequences of this incompatibility. † (Brockman, 78-93) While liberal, radical, and socialist feminists approached this issue from different ideological vantage points, they shared a common belief that the causes of gender inequality in employment were not rooted solely in the workplace. Only, they claimed, if questions about women’s employment in the public sphere were addressed in tandem with questions about their labor in the domestic sphere would the gendered dimensions of employment inequality be fully understood. In particular, feminists thought that women’s maternal work had to be recognized in discussions about promoting gender equality in the workplace. As Westhues, a well-known socialist feminist, once argued, â€Å"As long as women have the primary responsibility for maintenance of the home and for child care, we will be less than able to pursue job opportunities and our domestic commitments will be used to justify discriminatory employment practices. † (Westhues, 45-58) Growing awareness of the need to link questions about production and reproduction in analyses of women’s economic position was by no means unique to Canadian feminism. It was, for example, well established in the early writing of second-wave feminists in Britain and the United States. What did, however, distinguish Canadian feminists from their counterparts in these other liberal democracies was an ability to work together, despite ideological differences, in order to advance this double-edged critique of gender inequality in employment. Right from the start of the contemporary women’s movement, Canadian feminists engaged with the state, demanding policies that recognized the link between women’s employment opportunities and the provision of child care. Canadian feminists lobbied both federal and provincial governments about the need to improve women’s employment opportunities and expand the provision of child care. It was in the federal arena, however, that women (outside Quebec) focused their demands for the development of policies that acknowledged the link between these two issues. In some respects, this federal focus was surprising. After all, only one-tenth of the Canadian labor force is regulated by the federal government, and even at the start of second-wave feminism both federal and provincial governments had been involved in employment opportunity and child care initiatives. Moreover, even though the federal government has the constitutional capacity to use its spending power to underwrite the provision of state-subsidized child care, it is the provinces that retain constitutional control over the delivery of this service. The federal focus of women’s campaigns was encouraged by the fact that the renaissance of Canadian feminism occurred within the context of a broader social project to achieve universal welfare guarantees, assured by the Canadian state. It was reinforced by the government of Canada’s decision to establish the 1967 Royal Commission on the Status of Women (RCSW) to inquire how best the federal government could ensure that women enjoyed â€Å"equal opportunities with men in all aspects of Canadian society. † It has since been sustained by the work of activists in national organizations, in particular the National Action Committee on the Status of Women (NAC), founded in 1972, and the Canadian Day Care Advocacy Association (CDCAA), established in 1982 and renamed the Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada (CCAAC) in 1992. However, despite a long history of feminist engagement with the federal state, women’s repeated campaigns for the development of policies to address the double-edged nature of gender inequality in employment, and the clear recognition of these demands in reports of royal commissions and task forces, the federal policy response has been uneven. Policies to eradicate sex discrimination at work and promote women’s employment opportunities have been developed and implemented in the federal policy sphere. By contrast, the federal government has not developed policies to promote a publicly funded system of child care in order to enhance women’s employment opportunities, save as emergency measures during the Second World War or as an element of broader initiatives to get â€Å"welfare mothers† out to work. Instead it has treated child care as a fiscal issue for which parents can receive subsidies through federal taxation. This paper examines why a double-edged interpretation of women’s employment inequality, which recognizes the public and domestic dimensions of women’s work, has not been fully absorbed into federal policies to promote gender equality in the sphere of employment. The analysis follows the development of debates about women’s rights at work from the period of reconstruction after the Second World War, when questions about eradicating employment discrimination against worker-citizens first emerged in Canadian political debate, through to the close of the twentieth century. It examines federal policy developments under Liberal and Conservative governments, showing that even though the reports of federal royal commissions and task forces encoded feminist demands for a double-edged attack on employment inequality, questions about promoting women’s employment equality and child care were continually driven apart in the federal policy process. Women’s Paid and Caring Work  While this is by no means the first time that scholars have considered the relationship between Canadian women’s work inside and outside the home, it is noticeable how the link between these two aspects of women’s labor was explored by historians and sociologists before being addressed by analysts of public policy. In the late 1970s, members of the Women’s History Collective at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education and the Clio Collective in Montreal pioneered research in Canada on how women’s labor had shifted from the unpaid domestic sphere into the world of paid employment. In the process, they unearthed textual and oral histories that demonstrated how, despite this transition, women still faced the double bind of a double-day in which they went out to work for pay and home to work for love. Their findings were reinforced in late 1970s and 1980s by sociological analyses of women’s work arguing that because women so often entered employment while maintaining primary responsibility for the care of their children, they frequently found themselves concentrated in low-paid, low-status employment. Despite the fact that historians, sociologists, and feminist activists drew attention to the â€Å"double ghetto† of women’s working lives, discussions about policies to promote women’s employment opportunities and improve the provision of child care evolved as distinct scholarly debates. The literature on policies to promote Canadian women’s employment opportunities emerged within the context of broader discussions and debates about the development of policies to root out discrimination in the workplace. By contrast, the literature on Canadian child care policy evolved around questions about the development, cost, and politics of implementing public policies to promote the welfare, education, care, and development of young children. In recent years, however, policy analysts have paid much greater attention to the link between women’s paid and caring work. Jacobs, 120-128) Nonetheless, no one has yet considered why Canadian government policies to promote women’s employment opportunities and improve the provision of child care have been developed at such different rates and, despite repeated calls to the contrary, not linked in the design of public policies to promote gender equality in federally regulated employment. This pattern of inquiry is understandable, given the discrete historical development of policies concerned with child care and those concerned with women’s employment. However, it unduly limits our understanding of the gendered dimensions of employment inequality in Canada and fails to capture the empirical reality of many women’s working lives. Double-Edged Nature of Women’s Employment Inequality Why did women’s double-edged demand for equal employment opportunities and child care emerge in Canada in the 1960s and 1970s? After all, from the mid-1950s Canada experienced one of the fastest rates of labor force feminization in the Western industrialized world. The decline of manufacturing industries and the concomitant growth of the tertiary sector in the 1950s and 1960s meant that while industries that had traditionally attracted men closed down, those demanding support skills that had long characterized women’s traditional domestic roles expanded. Moreover, in countries like Canada, where welfare states were being established, the growth in women’s employment intensified most quickly. The much trumpeted rise in female labor force participation rates did not, however, mean that women engaged in paid employment on the same terms as men. The occupational segregation of Canadian men and women persisted in both horizontal and vertical forms. In fact, this process intensified with the increased participation of women in the paid labor force. As a result, the vast majority of women found themselves working in poorly paid occupations, situated in the lower echelons of private companies and public sector organizations. Moreover, as Jacobs have noted, although the creation of welfare states meant that â€Å"women as a group had more employment opportunities open up for them than men† in the mid-twentieth century, the growth in women’s employment was in the part-time sector of the labor force, which was increasingly dominated by women in all OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries. Jacobs, 120-128) This simply intensified the inequalities of employment opportunity that women experienced because part-time work is concentrated in the least-skilled, lowest-paid, and most poorly organized sections of the labor force, where benefits are usually more limited than in the full-time sector. The rapid growth in women’s participation in part-time rather than fulltime employment reflects two other factors about the feminization of the Canadian labor force. On the one hand, it relates to the type of work that the service sector has generated and to the increasing flexibility demanded of its employees. On the other hand, it reflects the fact that the greatest increase in female labor force participation rates since the 1960s has been among women with young children. In the early 1960s, most female employees in Canada would leave the workforce when their first child was born and return only when their youngest child had entered school. By the mid-1980s most women with young children went out to work. Indeed, as Pendakur have noted, â€Å"By 1991 all traces of the reproduction function had disappeared with female labor force participation rates peaking in the major family-rearing age categories†. The double burden that women experience from juggling their employment while continuing to care for their children has been reinforced by the limited provision of subsidized child care spaces in Canada. In the late 1960s, when women began to pressure the federal government to address the minimal provision of child care for working women, federal subsidies for child care were limited to support for welfare mothers under the 1966 Canada Assistance Plan. This pattern changed very little in the course of the twentieth century, although federal subsidies to support child care for low-income families became increasingly tied to efforts to get mothers receiving welfare out to work. Although recent federal publications on the status of day care in Canada boast â€Å"a twenty-five-fold increase† in child care spaces since the government first gathered these data in 1971, in fact the proportion of children of working mothers who have access to regulated child care remains very low. As a result, most working parents remain highly dependent on informal, unregulated child care. Indeed, as Brockman noted, in the mid-1990s â€Å"children in informal child care arrangements accounted for eighty per cent of all child care used by parents in Canada. † (Brockman, 78-93) The federal state in Canada has addressed questions about promoting equal employment opportunities for men and women in the public sphere with relative ease but has failed to recognize that this project cannot be achieved without addressing the questions of child care that affect so many women’s working lives. While the reasons for this are complex, some insights from feminist theory may help us to begin this exploration. In recent years, a number of feminist theorists have discussed how the concept of worker-citizenship that took root as welfare states were developed in countries such as Canada did not take account of the different contexts in which women and men often assumed employment. (Pendakur, 111-120) As a result, when questions about promoting equal employment opportunities for men and women began to emerge in the 1950s and ’60s, they were framed in terms of women achieving the same opportunities as men. Indeed, Canadian have tried to develop a more nuanced concept of worker citizenship that not only respects the objective of equality of opportunity but also takes workers’ particular circumstances into account and, in the case of women, enables them to integrate their paid and caring work better. In the process, women have argued that a state that upholds the principle of gender equality must develop policies that take account of the interconnectedness of the public and domestic spheres and recognize the different contexts in which men and women often assume employment. Conclusion Nonetheless, although Canadian feminists have a long history of active engagement with the state, developed through a â€Å"visible and articulate women’s movement† that has successfully placed issues on the political agenda, the result, more often than not, has been that their demands have been contained within a limited set of reforms. As a result, those aspects of gender discrimination in the workplace that concern practices within the public sphere have been acknowledged through the introduction of anti-discrimination and employment equity policies. By contrast, women have had more difficulty getting their proposals for policies that transcend the public/ private divide, by linking questions of equal employment opportunity with those of child care, acknowledged in the federal policy arena. Despite their efforts to forge these links through two major royal commissions and other government inquiries, problems of gender inequality in employment are still primarily defined as issues located within the public sphere of employment. Without doubt, over the past thirty years there have been clear improvements in the position of women in the federally regulated section of the Canadian labor force. Nonetheless, women continue to cluster in the lower echelons of companies and organizations and remain under-represented in more senior positions. While this persistent pattern of inequality has many causes, paper shows how it reflects a federal policy process that concentrates on ensuring the comparable treatment of male and female employees once they have entered the labor market, yet, for complex reasons, repeatedly stalls on developing a more expansive approach to child care. As a result, federal policies to promote gender equality in the sphere of employment neglect the inequalities of access and participation that many women experience as they continue or resume employment once they have dependent children.

Comparison On Higher Education Between China And America Education Essay

Comparison On Higher Education Between China And America Education Essay The paper is set out to compare the difference of higher education between China and America from educational ideology. The author points out that the main differences of higher education between China and America from educational ideology are displayed in entrance selection system, teaching method, concept of private and public university, curriculums, evaluation criteria to students, and education on students personal characteristics and morality. In conclusion, the paper holds that both China and America have to adopt different reform measures to advance the quality of respective higher education. Moreover, the integration of these two different higher educations is also very necessary, especially for the perfection and improvement of higher education of China. Keywords: Higher Education, Difference, China, America 1 Introduction China, as one of the Brick Countries, has shocked the whole world by its rapid development in recent decades. America, as NO.1 super power since the end of the Cold War, has remained its hegemony in the world in terms of many aspects, including national politics, economy, science, technology, culture, higher education, etc. Since higher education is the symbol of national strength of one country and a vital way of cultivating its talents for the future, we Chinese ought to compare our higher education system with Americas from educational ideology and then take advantage of Americas strong points and close the gap. Higher education is the important source of power of social development on the ground that it cultivates talents and provides human resources for the social development. Therefore, only through continual improvement of higher education can China finally achieve the great rejuvenation of China. 2 Comparison of Higher Education Between China and America The difference of higher education between China and America can originate from their different historic and cultural background. 2.1 Background of Higher Education 2.1.1 Historic Background The Chinese higher education of the ancient times is mainly based on Legalist and Confucian ideals. As a matter of fact, Confucius played an important role and has shaped the overall Chinese mindset for the past 2500 years. The mode of Chinese ancient higher education was The Unity of Higher Education and Politics-which reflects the combination of government and educational structure. From Han Dynasty, China carried out the rejecting the other schools of thought and respecting only Confucianism. Since ancient Chinese Empire regarded higher education as the foundation of empowering a country, Chinese held imperial examinations to select the talents regularly. In fact ¼Ã…’Imperial examination in Qing Dynasty has formed the integral and tightening system. The Burning of Opium Stocks in Humen in 1839 marked the eruption of The First Opium War and the opening of Chinese modern tines, which, however, ended with the failure of the Qing government and then made Chinese intellectuals disc over the numerous western advances in science and technology. This new information influenced the higher education system and curriculum a lot. It is widely accepted that the first modern Chinese university was established in 1895, right after the Sino-Japanese War (1894-95), which shifted the dominant influence in Asia from China to Japan. Beiyang University (now Tianjin University) was established in the city of the same name in 1895, followed by Qiushi Academy (currently Zhejiang University) in 1897, and Jingshi University (now Beijing University) in 1898. By the time the Peoples Republic of China was founded, there were 227 higher institutions in China. The Chinese higher education of contemporary times has gone through enormous changes. From 1967 to 1976, Chinas Cultural Revolution took another toll on Chinese higher education, which was devastated more than any other sector of the country. The enrollment of postsecondary students can be used as example to illustrate the impacts. The number dropped from 674,400 to 47,800. The decline in educational quality was profound. In 1977, Deng Xiaoping made the decision of resuming the National Higher Education Entrance Examination (Gao Kao), having profound impact on Chinese higher education in history. From the 1980s on, Chinese higher education has undergone a series of reforms that have slowly brought improvement. The historic background of American higher education, however, is quiet diverse from that of China on account of its much shorter history (only 236 years). Puritanism was a religious reform movement that arose within the Church of England in the late sixteenth century. In the early 17th century, thousands of English Puritans settled in North America, mainly in New England. Puritans value the higher education very much. Thus, American higher education at that time was certainly the matrix of Puritan thinking. In 1636, Harvard was founded as the first university by vote of the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, making it the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. The Ivy League is an athletic conference composed of sports teams from eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States ,which includes Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Yale University. The Ivy League, ranks among the top universities in both USA and worldwide, is well known as the symbol of American higher education. American higher education has gone through a great expansion and democratization over the past several decades. In 1900, only four percent of high school graduates attended college. Nowadays, 75 percent of high school graduates will continue their educations in colleges. American higher education opened to women in 1836.Some of the men school handled a subsidiary of the Womens College, such as Barnard College of Columbia University (1889) and Radcliffe College of Harvard University (1894). The girls gradually entered Medical and Legal vocational schools. In 1969, the Supreme Court mandatorily canceled the black-and-white segregated schools. Congress allocated large sums of money to reward the schools of enrolling both the black and white, trying to change the racial discrimination in education in the past three hundred years. According to statistics, in 1976, the black youths of school age in colleges and universities accounted for about 20% and white youths accounted for about 25%. 2.1.2 Social Background and Culture Tradition There are three important factors which exert intense influence on American higher education: Individualism, pragmatism, creative humanities. American higher education system emphasizes the actual effect and encourages their university students to expose themselves to social practice, which accounts for the equal social position of white collars and blue collars in America. The American university has set the progress of economy, the research of science and improvement of life standard together as three targets of higher education. American universities only set up the curriculums and majors meeting the needs of society. Moreover, students influenced by American higher education boast full creative humanities spirit. For example, the rise of Information Technology marked by some famous corporations in silicon valley such as Microsoft, Facebook , Apple are prominent evidences of the good result of American higher education of creative humanities spirit because all of those entrepreneu rs went to American universities, receive the higher education and then establish the corporation by their extreme creativities. With all these factors contemplated, the American higher education, to some degree, has caused Americas fast development, high technology and economic level. Chinese Higher education, however, is more collectivism, formalism and Copinism compared with that of USA. American higher education seeks diversity and individuation while Chinese ones chase unity. Therefore, Chinese students intend to interpret cases according to standard answers while American ones adopt critical thinking. In China, the reputation of ones Alma Mater can cast a great influence on the social position, occupation, even marriage because the brand of university is closely bound to Chinese typical faceproblem, which easily explain the different social position of white collars and blue collars. Chinese higher education also emphasizes the reform and improvement of higher education to meet the needs of social, economic and scientific development, but it changes so little and blindly copies too much from Americas instead of forming a perfect system suitable for Chinese current condition. 2.2 Differences of Higher Education 2.2.1 Different Entrance Selection System America has no uniform examinations for enrolling students.The five major parts of admission are ACT/SAT scores, GPA, College Application, Essay, and Letters of Recommendation. Not all colleges require essays or letters of recommendation, though they are often proven to increase chances of acceptance. American students can choose their major according to their own hobbies and the plans of development; they may also continuously finish all curriculums in universities or choose to have some gap years outside the campus till they want to come back to school and precede their higher education. To be different from the entrance selection standard of China, America has more flexible and objective one. However, the competition of The Ivy League is very fierce which demands more to students and it is quite difficult to attain the degree of a good university. On the contrary, China has a uniform system of selecting students for higher institutions by National Higher Education Entrance Examination (Gao Kao),once described asà £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ a powerful army single-plank bridgeà £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾.However, once one step into the gate of a university, it is easy to be accessible to the degree. Being different from the individualism of American students, Chinese students tend to be more of collectivism-which means they would choose their major by the standard of common value of Chinese society in stead of their interest. Thats why some prevailing majors such as economics, finances, management require much higher score than other majors. 2.2.2 Different Teaching Method In US, teachers duty is not what they have taught the students, but to help them construct knowledge. The teaching process takes the students independent thoughts and encourages them to propose something new and different. In the teaching method, emphasizing indefinite teaching methods, teachers encourage the students to participate in the teaching process, and even encourage them to challenge the academic authority. In this kind of free and loose environment, students can be more positive on studies and initiative concretion, applying theory to the practice easily. But in China, many teachers still adopt force-feed type teaching method. They teach with sweat streaming, while the students hear drowsily. This kind of teaching method, not only has violated the original intention of teaching and studying, but leads students comprehensive quality and the lifelong study skills to sell at a discount greatly. Teachers sing the one-man show in the teaching process phenomenon, while in the Am erican university this phenomenon is extremely rare. Whether students can make great progress or not, the teaching method plays an important role. 2.2.3 Different Curriculums In the United States, liberal arts colleges are schools emphasizing undergraduate study in the liberal arts. After four years of full-time study in general, students earned either a Bachelor of Arts degree or a Bachelor of Science degree. Liberal Education is an approach to learning that empowers individuals and prepares them to deal with complexity, diversity, and change. It provides students with broad knowledge of the wider world (e.g. science, culture, and society) as well as in-depth study in a specific area of interest. A liberal education aims to make students build up social responsibility, strong and transferable intellectual practical skills. Students could also grasp communication, analytical and problem-solving skills, and a demonstrated ability to apply knowledge and skills in working. American Universitys courses are made up of general education courses, professional foundation courses and elective courses. General education courses take up about 35% -50% and elective courses almost 1/3 among the whole courses, which aims to strengthen general education and endeavor to cultivate the comprehensive knowledge and skills to solve practical problems. Nevertheless, Chinas higher education, due to the limitation of economic and scientific level, focuses on implementing so-called the professional educationin other words, the employment education. It aims to affect ones value as a tool. Though the structure of course is close, the content and quality are far behind. General education courses or, we say public courses, including Politics, ideological and Moral class, Military Theory and P.E in Chinese university, are compulsory to whole students with a unified standard, accounting for about 18-24 credits; the applied foundation courses are mainly in English, Computers, Advanced Mathematics, and Chinese, accounting for about 20-26 credits. It is obvious implied that the proportion of general education courses is too low, the novelty is not enough and the system is so messy. Selective courses are neglected or regarded as something unimportant in China, whereas they are necessary and essential in American universities as an approach to getting exposure with other knowledge of other fields or majors. For want of basic attainment and general knowledge, Chinese graduates tend to become workers but not creators. China is globally well known as World Factory because Chinese higher education focuses the cultivation of labor skills. If China wants to trans fer from World Factory to world Designer, there will be a long way to go for the reforms and improvement of curriculums. 2.2.4 Different Concept of Public and Private University America boasts more than 1500 public universities and the number of private ones is up to 1600. Chinese public higher institutions take up 87 ¹Ã‚ ª, whereas the private ones is as low as 13 ¹Ã‚ ª. In USA, the most prestigious schools are almost private ones such as Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University, Columbia University, the University of Chicago, Duke University and Stanford University. China underestimates the position of private universities because the enrollment mark is comparatively low. However, for want of high qualified private universities, China confronts intense obstacles in the path of the strategy of strengthening the country by education on the ground that private universities possess the flexible management, sufficient funds, free academic surroundings and excellent faculties which are exactly the shortage of public universities. The income of America private universities is mainly form four channels: the tuition, the government funding, the sponsorship of alumni and the sales and service of patent. The sufficient fund and free academic surrounding make it easy for American private universities to support scientific research, establish the new subjects and attractive great masters in each field. Moreover, private universities are not only successful educational institutions but also the cores of industries. The rise of Silicon Valley depending on Stanford University and the boom of high-tech industry around Boston attributed to IMF can be illustrated as two good examples. 2.2.5 Different Evaluation Criteria to Students The standard of inspecting the students of American high institutions is the capability to analyze and solve the problems, but not the ability of mechanical memorizing, which means American students do not need to cram up before final examinations. Chinese universities, however, adhere to the principle of learning everything by rote, especially for preparation of final examination. What is far worse is that high score becomes the one and only standard of evaluating students in China. It can be predicted that this kind of one-sided evaluation criteria has written off lots of students creativities, enthusiasm and desire to do better. American students are allowed to take some pieces of cards in the fixed size recording intricate expressions and theories to attend the final examinations. The aim of examination is very clear in American universities: it is practice but not memorizing. Some expressions would even be listed on the paper because reciting of expressions is not required, which is so incredible in China. As long as students work out the questions correctly, they would attain the due score. In China, the situation turns out to be opposite. As a matter of fact, the examination emphasizing mechanical memorizing has seriously ruined the students enthusiasm of studies, leading to excessive attention to pure theory and neglect the real practice of knowledge. The score of final examination accounts for different proportion in GPA between Chinese universities and American ones .GPA stands for Grade Point Average and it is a standard method of measuring academic achievement. The way of calculating GPA in American universities is distinct from that of China. The GPA of American universities are made up of many parts and the final examination is just one of it. One wouldnt get low GPA even though he or she plays below par as long as the assignments have been finished perfectly according to the teachers requirements, because the score of final examination only occupies 35% in the calculation of GPA, however, which closes to 70% in most Chinese universities. The standard of American universities is more objective and fair as the evaluation to students. It is high time that China abandoned the old and ossified evaluation criteria to students. There is still a long way to go before rote learning and test-taking turn into innovation by far. 2.2.6 Different Education on Students Personal Characteristics and Morality In America, volunteering and community service are two important standards of measuring ones personal characteristics and morality. Though technically not a requirement, many colleges make community service an unofficial requirement for acceptance. However, some colleges prefer work experience over community service, and some require that their students also continue community service for some specific number of hours to graduate. American universities encourage students to participate in the social and through which raise their citizen consciousness. Volunteering is also an essential part while enterprises employing new staffs, so American students are very willing to be volunteers. Certain academic honor societies such as Delta Epsilon Sigma have rejected 4.0 GPA students that lacked community service experiences on their applications because they honor community service so much. In China, volunteering and community service are not as important as in America. Chinese universities have never set the time of volunteering and community as one of the requirements of getting the diploma. However, the awareness of volunteering and community has increased by leaps and bounds. For example, 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and 2010 Shanghai World Expo has witnessed the function of volunteers, and most of them are university students. In order to continue the volunteering sprit of 2010 Shanghai World Expo, Shanghai has set up many city volunteers service stations in the tourist attractions to provide the service for tourists, which offer a good opportunity to university students. Rare as social activities are in China, Chinese university has endeavored to improve the personal characteristics and morality by making more volunteering chances. 3 Prospective of Chinese and American Higher Education 3.1 Reform Measures for Chinese Higher Education Education reform in China has reached a new and crucial stage. The driving force is the need to produce an increasingly knowledgeable workforce equipped to handle the challenges of an economy that is not only growing extremely rapidly, but also becoming increasingly diversified and sophisticated. The latest reforms are outlined in a comprehensive plan formally called State Guidelines for Medium-to-Long-Term Education Reform and Development Plan between 2010 and 2020, otherwise known as the Development Plan.1 A second round of national discussion of the Development Plan has just been completed, and more than 30,000 suggestions were collected, reflecting national involvement in such an important issue. This plan is enormous and comprehensive, and is based on studies of various educational models. Two aspects for higher education reform are key: a relaxation of central control, and opening up of the college admission process. The Development Plan specifically calls for the government to release central control, give universities autonomy, and allow presidents and faculty to run their schools. The Development Plan states that it will change from the one-exam-decides-all method to a thorough evaluation of a student as a whole person using multiple tests and factors. The plan is divided into four sections. Each section covers several chapters and each chapter includes numerous issues. Section One describes the plans overall strategy. Section Two lays out missions to accomplish and goals to achieve. Section Three outlines the reform of the educational infrastructure. Section Four provides measurements to ensure implementation. Six chapters are devoted to specific measures, which include the following: strengthening the quality of teaching faculty; increasing the government funding of education to 4% of GDP by 2012; completing education laws and regulations; and ensuring every step of the reform meets the laws and regulations. In order to accomplish these missions and goals, the Development Plan encourages educational institutions to design their own reform programs and policies. (Guo-hua Wang ,April 20,2010) 3.2 Reform Measures for American Higher Education In his State of the Union address, President Obama laid out a blueprint for an economy thats built to last an economy built on American manufacturing, American energy, skills for American workers, and a renewal of American values. As an important part of keeping the American promise alive, the President called for a comprehensive approach to tackling rising college costs. In todays global economy, a college education is no longer just a privilege for some, but rather a prerequisite for all. Reforming student aid to promote affordability and value: To keep tuition from spiraling too high and drive greater value, the President will propose reforms to federal campus-based air programs to shift aid away from colleges that fail to keep net tuition down, and toward those colleges and universities that do their fair share to keep tuition affordable, provide good value, and serve needy students well. These changes in federal aid to campuses will leverage $10 billion annually to keep tuition down. Creating a Race to the Top for college affordability and completion: The president will create incentives for states and colleges to keep costs under control through a $1billion investment in a new challenge to states to spur higher education reform focused on affordability and improved outcomes across state colleges and universities. A first in the World competition to model innovation and quality on college campuses: The president will invest $55 million in a new First in the World competition, to support the public and private colleges and non-profit organizations as they work to develop and test the next breakthrough strategy that will boost higher education attainment and student outcomes Better data for families choose the right college for them: The president will call for a College Scorecard for all degree-granting institutions, designed to provide the essential information about college costs, graduation rates, and potential earnings, all in an easy-to-read format that will help students and families choose a college that is well suited to their needs, priced affordably and consistent with their career and educational goals. Federal support to tackle college costs: The president has already made the biggest investments in student aid since the G.I Bill through increases to the Pell grant, and by shoring up the direct loan and income-based repayment programs. This reform will reward colleges that are succeeding in meeting the following principles: Setting responsible tuition policy, offering relatively lower net tuition prices and/or restraining tuition growth. Providing good value to students and families, offering quality education and training that prepares graduates to obtain employment and repay their loans. 3) Serving low-income students, enrolling and graduating relatively higher numbers of Pell-eligible students.( The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, January 27, 2012) 4 Integration of Chinese and American Higher Education China launched curriculum and teaching reform in the 1990s, resulting in great interest in studies of American university curriculum reforms and instructional systems. When China launched the 211 Project and 985 Project, this served as a great spur to Chinese studies of American research universities. New York and Duke University are building campuses in Shanghai, offering full-time programs to students there, and executive education courses are already a proven success, Harvards Senior Executive Program in Shanghai among them. There have been many joint venture programs with American colleges on the campuses of Chinese higher institutions; however, the trend toward larger-scale initiatives seems clear. In the mean time, America should also learn from China. America has always taken a laissez-faire approach to higher education-in many ways, with excellent results. But it may wish to consider whether new competition justifies a new approach. China may soon outpace the United States not only in the number of university graduates it produces, but also in the world-class universities it creates. From 1995 to 2000, levels of the Chinese government invested about $20-billion in select universities to improve their facilities and curricula. In the following years, 38 of those universities received additional money. For example, two top institutions, Peking University and Tsinghua University, each received $225-million from 1999 to 2003. American college leaders should prepare themselves psychologically for a world in which a key success factor will be partnerships with Asian universities. The good news is that Asian institutions welcome such new partnerships. 5. Conclusion Higher Education is the backbone of a country on the ground of sustaining its development through fostering talents. Without any shadow of doubt, both China and America lay great emphasis on higher education, by different form and method, though. China, as one of the emerging power in the Asian-Pacific region, ought to learn a lot from America, including higher education, in terms of entrance selection system, private universities, the position of higher educational function, evaluation criteria to students and the education to students personal characteristics and morality and campus culture .Both these two countries shoulder great responsibility to higher educational reform in the future to confront the fierce competition.

Milk And Dairy Industry Uk Economics Essay

Milk And Dairy Industry Uk Economics Essay The  area of Great Britain and Northern Ireland  (commonly known as the  United Kingdom) is the sovereign state  located near northwest coast of  continental Europe. It is an  island country  spanning with an  archipelago, accumulated with the northeast part of  Ireland, and many small islands.  Northern Ireland  is the only part of the UK  with a land border, sharing it with the  Republic of Ireland.  Apart from this land border, the UK is surrounded by the  Atlantic Ocean, the  North Sea, the English Channel  and the  Irish Sea. The largest island, Great Britain, is linked to  France  by the  Channel Tunnel. (Wikipedia Information.net) SOME POLITICAL FACTS ABOUT THE COUNTRY The United Kingdom is a  constitutional monarchy  and   unitary state  consisting of four  countries:  England,  Northern Ireland,  Scotland  and Wales.  It is governed by a  parliamentary system  with its  seat of government  in  London, the  capital, but with three different  national administrations in  Belfast,  Cardiff  and  Edinburgh, the capitals of Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland respectively. SOME ECONOMICAL FACTS ABOUT THE COUNTRY The UK is a  developed country, with the worlds  sixth largest economy  by nominal  GDP  and the  seventh largest  in  purchasing power parity.  It was the worlds first  industrialized  country  and the worlds  foremost power  during the 19th and early 20th centuries,  but the economic cost of two world wars and the decline of its empire in the latter half of the 20th century diminished its leading role in global affairs. The UK nevertheless remains a  major power  with strong economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence. It is a  nuclear power  and has the fourth highest  defense  in the world. It is a  Member State  of the  European Union, holds a permanent seat on the  United Nations Security Council, and is a member of the  Commonwealth of Nations,  G8,  OECD,  NATO, and the  World Trade Organization. (Wikipedia Information.net) The Dairy industry contributes  £6.8 Billion which is about 10% of GB GDP.   The contribution has been steadily rising over many years. The industry contains many different specialist sub-sectors and, increasingly, changes in technology have led to changes in the nature of jobs within the industry. The trend towards fewer, more skilled and better-paid employees , necessitates a significant further investment in education and training. United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Flag Royal coat of arms Anthem:  God Save the Queen[1] The United Kingdom (dark green) shown in relation to the European Union  (light green) and other areas of  Europe(dark grey) Capital (and largest city) London 51 °30à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ²N  0 °7à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ²W Official languages English  (de facto) Recognized regional  languages Irish,  Ulster Scots,  Scottish Gaelic  ,  Scots,  Welsh, Cornish (wikiPEDIA INFO.NET) REVIEW OF THE MILK AND DAIRY INDUSTRY INTRODUCTION The dairy industry represents around 18% of the gross agricultural output of the UK, and dairy farmers are an important and sizeable part of the National Farmers Union NFUs farming membership. Dairy farmers have endured difficult times in recent years, notably with regard to farm gate profitability. Soaring prices on the world dairy commodity markets in 2007 resulted in rises in farm gate prices, totaling an average increase of 8ppl by the autumn. This has created optimism in the dairy industry and allowed most farmers to start breaking into a profit. However, there are ten years of underinvestment and debt to make up for and farmers now need a sustained period of higher prices to enable some long-overdue investments in their businesses. While the outlook of the British dairy industry is broadly positive, the confidence of dairy farmers remains fragile. Production costs have risen massively in the last twelve months. Higher feed, fertilizer and fuel costs are eroding the benefits of higher prices. In addition to this are the substantial infrastructure costs that dairy farmers face under the proposed revisions to the NVZ (Nitrate Vulnerable Zones) Action Program. With these issues in mind, this document provides a background briefing to the dairy farming sector and looks at the future challenges and prospects. Britains Dairy Farmers Dairy farmers in the UK are amongst the largest and most competitive in the European Union. Dairy farms are situated across the UK, but are concentrated mostly in areas where the climate encourages favorable conditions for grassland farming. In recent years milk production has gravitated towards the West and South West of England, West Wales and Northern Ireland. The number of dairy farmers in the UK has fallen dramatically, and continues to decline. In 2001 there were 26,110 registered production holdings in England and Wales. By February 2009 this had fallen to 12,465. This figure represents a 5% fall on February 2008 figures, and therefore reflects the continuing pattern of decline. Until recently, for every farmer leaving the industry another farmer was willing to expand. Consequently, the average size of dairy herds in the UK has increased from 72 cows in 1999 to 95 in 2010. At the same time, genetic and management improvements in dairy cattle have seen the average cow increase milk production from 5,000 litres a year in 1993 to 9609 liters in 2011. In recent years however, the industry has seen a decrease in production, suggesting that either larger milk producing herds are leaving or the number of herds expanding has decreased. (Wikipedia Information.net , The Dairysite.com) A Brief History of the British Dairy Industry Since the 1920s- 1994, the market for raw milk was managed by four statutory milk marketing boards (MMBs). One Board bought and sold all wholesale milk from farms in England and Wales. The MMBs were wound-up in the early 1990s allowing existing farmers to sell milk either to new farmer co-operatives created in their place or directly to dairy processing companies. The co-op, Milk Marque, was created for broker milk sales in England and Wales. In the early days following the abolition of the Boards, dairy farmers enjoyed a relatively prosperous time as milk prices had increased to 27 pence per litre (ppl). However, the rise in milk price coincided with a unique set of economic circumstances driven by Black Wednesday and the UK pulling out of the Exchange Rate Mechanism, which devalued the Pound against major EU currencies that had increased the value of EU market support and the competitiveness of UK dairy produce. Prices started to slide in 1998/9 and more and more producers opted to leave Milk Marque to supply dairy companies directly who offered a higher price as an incentive to join. Around the same time, a legal case was brought against Milk Marque by milk processors through the then Dairy Trades Federation, who argued that MM was operating as a complex monopoly and was abusing its dominant position in the raw milk market. In 1999, the Monopolies and Mergers Commission produced a report supporting the case brought to the Office of Fair trading by the DTF. The result of this case led to the break-up of Milk Marque. In its place, three daughter co-ops Milk Link, Axis and Zenith were set up in 2000. In recent years these businesses have consolidated, Axis brands merging with Scottish Milk brands to form First Milk and Zenith with a small milk co-op, the Milk Group to form Dairy Farmers of Britain. The Dairy Industry in modern times The dairy industry had seen remarkable consolidation at all levels in the last decade. While there were over 100 milk buyers in the country, six large dairy companies dominate the GB market. The largest dairy companies are: Dairy Crest The Company buys approximately 2.4 billion litres every year from 1,400 direct supplying dairy farmers, the majority of whom are located in southern, central England and South Wales (as well as some milk brokered from milk co-operatives, especially FirstMilk). Dairy Crest manufactures liquid milk and a range of dairy products, including cheese, milk powder, desserts, butter, and cream. Its best known brands are Cathedral City and Country Life. Arla Foods -Swedish/ Danish farmers co-operative of approx 9,400 members, operating as a wholly-owned subsidiary in the UK. The company focuses on supplying fresh milk to retailers as well as managing dairy imports from Scandinavia and New Zealand. UK has a workforce of 6,300 and processes 2.3 billion liters milk at 13 plants, supplied mostly by the Arla Foods Milk Partnership, a farmer group of around 1,600 members. Dairy Farmers of Britain Farmer co-operative with around 2,600 farmer members, predominately located in the North of England and Wales. DFB makes a broad range of products including liquid milk, cheese, butter, ingredients and desserts, both for supermarkets and own brand. DFB also supplies milk to other dairy companies and runs eight separate processing sites and sixty distribution depots. Robert Wiseman Dairies Private dairy company that specializes in processing and delivering fresh liquid milk throughout Great Britain. It operates from 6 major processing dairies in Aberdeen, East Kilbride, Glasgow, Manchester and Droitwich Spa and a new dairy in Bridgwater, Somerset. The company has developed relationships with a number of major supermarket groups, resulting in more than 70% of its sales to multiple retailers. Milk Link Farmer co-operative essentially making cheese, ingredients and desserts. Milk Link supplies all the UKs major food retailers, many of its largest food processors, and food services organizations. It is the UKs largest cheese producer, with the bulk of its members being located in the South and South West of England. First Milk Farmer-owned business, with 2600 farmer members, formed in 2001, from the merger of two leading dairy groups. As well as supplying other dairy companies (notably Robert Wiseman Dairies in which it has a 15% stake and Dairy Crest) with milk, the company owns creameries in Cumbria, West Wales and the Scottish islands. There are also a large number of small to medium sized local or specialist processors such as Lactalis/ McLelland, Belton cheese, J Heler, Muller Dairies, Fresh ways, Medina Dairies and a small number of milk buyers that operate largely as intermediaries, supplying milk to a range of different markets. (http://www.ipaquotas.com/dairyfarmer.htm) The Current Dairy Market- The UK The British dairy market is observed as a domestic market. The UK is around 90% self-sufficient in milk and dairy produce and half of all raw milk is sold as fresh liquid milk. In the past, much of this would have been sold on doorstep rounds. Now the highest proportion is sold through major multiple retailers. Cheese takes up a further 28% of the market. Consumption of liquid milk had been declining until recently where statistics indicate stabilization in consumption, with increasing demand for low fat milks. Utilization of milk by UK dairies 2010/11 (million litres) The concentration of the industry on liquid milk and failure to add value has had important consequences for British dairying. The industry has, to some extent, become more commoditized and struggled to capitalize on real growth markets. It has also seen the value of imports increase compared to the value of exports with recent estimations that the deficit. OBJECTIVES OF THE REPORT The following objectives will be covered in the report in detail: To study the Milk production in U.K. To study the reasons for decline in milk production Pricing factors for the industry Challenges faced within the industry To analyze the milk and its products consumption in the British families (Via Survey Method) Milk production in U.K. Deliveries to dairies in the 2010/11 milk year totaled 15,212 million litres. Adjusting this figure for the presence of a leap year gives total milk deliveries of 16,176 million liters, the lowest cumulative figure since deregulation and around 500 million liters (4.2%) down on the five year average. 5 year average daily 2010/11 average daily Looking at average daily deliveries by month shows the milk year started off relatively well with April deliveries only 0.9 million liters per day less than the five year average. This was a result of a mild spring encouraging good grass growth and early turn out. The three months from May to July were the wettest on record which was one of the factors that led milk deliveries in July to fall to an average of 35.4 million litres per day. That was three million liters per day (7.8%) lower than the average for the month. This deficit decreased towards November with better weather and prices. However the effect of the earlier poor weather on silage quality and rising feed prices appears to have impacted on milk deliveries in the final four months of the milk year with daily deliveries averaging 3.5% lower than the five year average. The UK dairy industry employs more than 23,800 across 600 workplaces nationwide. It includes the operation of dairies and the manufacture of dairy products, such as iceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ cream. There are many wellà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ known companies, such as Yeo Valley Farms, Danone, Dairy Crest Ltd., Unilever iceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ cream and Wensleydale Dairy Products. 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 Key facts: There are 23,800 people working in the dairy industry, of which: 87% of the workforce is in the operation of dairies and cheese 14% in the manufacture of iceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ cream The industry represents 6% of those employed in Great Britains food and drink manufacturing sector. 36% of the workforce is 45 years or older. 45% of the current workforce will be eligible for retirement within the next 20 years. 13% of the workforce has a degree or equivalent qualification . The highest qualification for much of the workforce is GCSE grades Aà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ C (20%) or A Levels (13%). 19% of the workforce has no qualifications. Workforce statistics Number of UK employees: 23,800 Number of UK employers: 600 Gender: 76% male 24% female Ethnicity: 92% of the workforce is white, 5% Asian/British Asian and 3% Black/Black British 2,300 migrant workers (nonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ UK nationals) are estimated to be working in the industry Age: 26% of the workforce is aged 16-30 years 14% is 30-34 years 15% is 35-39 years 13% is 40-44 years 22% is 45-49 years Disability: 7% of the workforce has some form of work limited disability. [N.B. Data derived from Labour Force Survey, 2010 and Annual Business Inquiry, 2009.] Reasons for decline in milk production In most instances in the dairy industry, increases in production costs have offset/negated any efficiency gains made by expanding producers. More recently, this logic has been tested as milk production has gradually fallen over the last 5 years. 2011 was an exceptionally bad year due to the additional effects of poor weather on grazing conditions and winter forage quality. Cumulative production to March 2011 stood at just 13,215 million liters, which was 2% lower than last year and represents a production figure not seen since the 1974/5 milk production year. In addition, in the 2010/11 milk production year, the UK was a massive 986m liter (7%) under quota. Research suggests that the falling trend of milk production in the UK will most certainly continue in the short term. The low level of confidence has led to reductions in producer numbers and a reduction in the number of farmers willing and able to expand further. Coupled with this, the industry has suffered many years of underinv estment due to a sustained period of low milk price. In light of the challenges ahead in the form of environmental regulation, coping with the impacts of disease and higher variable production costs it is likely that we will see further contraction in the industry in the immediate future. Recent price increases have however brought some confidence back to some producers in increasing milk production on their holdings. The 2010 Farmer Intentions Survey from Dairy Co revealed that 37% of dairy farmers intend to increase milk production, yet 7% of dairy farmers intend to exit the industry in the next two years. This forecasted increase in production on some farms, coupled with a reduction in the number of dairy farmers will result in a further fall in milk production by 2012/13 in Britain of 0.6%. Pricing factors for the industry Milk pricing and profitability are the biggest issues affecting dairy farmers. The average farm gate milk price for 2007 was 20.66 ppl with a February 2008 average milk price of 25.62 ppl. This reflects a much needed 8ppl increase on the average farm gate price of just 18ppl in 2006 which has increased drastically in 2011/12 by 48ppl. Since the mid 1990s, the industry has seen a general decline in dairy farm profitability and massive restructuring has taken place at farm level. To cope with Low Prices, farmers have sought efficiency gains to remain profitable largely through increasing herd size and cutting costs where feasible. In the past a combination of factors has driven farm gate milk prices including: Prices for internationally traded commodity dairy products EU market support Exchange rates The balance between the supply of raw milk and the level of demand for milk products Weak negotiation, due to structure of industry The costs of manufacturing milk EU and world commodity markets have been seen historically as the biggest driver in raw milk prices. They are still influential and are the biggest reason behind the well documented increases in milk prices in the UK and elsewhere in 2011. However, the British dairy market is essentially domestic, which should limit the exposure to commodity market forces The British retail market for dairy products is fiercely competitive. In respect of the cheese market, for example, regular tendering is the norm and with large quantities of cheese imported from Ireland and other EU member states, there is fierce competition to secure supply contracts. Costs of Milk Production It is notoriously difficult to establish average production costs, however over the last three years production costs have increased dramatically as a result of oil, fertilizer and feed price increases and the escalating cost of farm labor. The First Milk/Promar report of March 2009 suggests that the true cost of production for UK dairy farmers is estimated to rise to 36.64ppl in the next year, not accounting for any profit margin. Challenges faced within the industry Access to raw material is key to global position Milk production is highly regulated by quotas and mobility of raw material is difficult Raw milk is perishable and cant be transported long distances Milk production is challenging: no compromises on food safety, labour intensive and milk is collected daily Seasonality of production leads to overcapacity Requires long term investments on farm and industry level Competitiveness of the dairy processors is increasingly decisive for the pricing of raw material milk to farmers Better regulation and simplification Flaws are identified, but results are not satisfactory Slow decision-making process Lack of predictability Horizontal regulations concerning feed, hygiene, claims and labelling New regulations for animal welfare and quality labelling? Milk specific regulation: drinking milk, spreads and preserved milk Route to market Access to world market Global players include different geographical regions in their business strategies, but SME ´s have difficulties in approach. Specific support mechanisms could be helpful Industrial policy is made too much on terms of agricultural policy Technical and sanitary measures are barriers to trade: animal disease outbreaks, divergent analysis and sampling methods, zero tolerances, milk products and animal health standards Innovations Innovations have been and are essential in improving the global competitiveness of dairy industry and creating value added products Innovations in the future are more and more linked to the health and well-being of consumers. This means that more scientific evidence is needed for marketing of these products EU should create and improve platforms to support such development in research. The Technology Platform on food research, called Food for Life is a good example of such development and creating science based innovations Claims are essential and needed for marketing and consumer communication of these new products. This means that approval of claims should not prevent or slowdown this development European level programs in science and research (7th framework program) are essential in boosting the science-based innovations in open environment. Probiotic dairy products are good examples of commercial success in this area SME ´s should have easier access to these programs Environmental Challenges Among the biggest challenges facing UK dairy farming is how the industry interacts with the environment. The industry is working hard to ensure that any environmental risks associated with milk production are minimized and to deliver positive environmental improvements. Some notable achievements include a 13.5% reduction in methane emissions from livestock since 1990 and a reduction in overall fertilizer usage in dairy farming by 46% since 1997. Over 35% of farmland managed for dairy farming in the UK is now in an ELS environmental stewardship agreement. Action on farm is being co-ordinate through the Environmental Plan for Dairy Farming (EPDF). The EPDF promotes integrated solutions to tackling the sectors environmental problems, i.e. solutions that tackle more than one environmental issue and are easy for farmers to implement such as nutrient management plans. In addition to the EPDF, the development of an industry Roadmap for the dairy sector in England identifies the environmenta l impacts of producing and consuming milk across the supply chain and sets targets for mitigating and reducing those impacts. Critically, the Roadmap promotes better understanding of the social, economic and environmental benefits of milk and aims to achieve a balance between productivity and environmental improvement, thus securing the long term sustainability of dairying. Other Challenges Animal health and welfare continue to be high priorities for the dairy industry. The UK dairy industry adopts the highest standards of animal health and welfare, monitored primarily through the Assured Dairy Farms (ADF) scheme, of which 95% of UK dairy farmers are registered. The England Cattle Health and Welfare Group (ECHAWG) also provide a forum for the veterinary profession, farmers, industry bodies and government to work together to tackle health and welfare issues such as Johnes Disease, mastitis ,lameness, bovine Tuberculosis, an increasingly serious issue for many dairy farmers and, most recently, Bluetongue. FINDINGS Analysis via survey method to detect the rise and fall in the consumption of milk and its products! This analysis was carried forward by using the survey method thereby utilizing the questions given in the form of a questionnaire to assess the participants on the total consumption of the milk and its products in the uk. A sample of 50 participants was drawn from the population for further analysis. A sample figure of the questionnaire is given below- The procedure of the experiment that adopted the survey method as a means of reaching its destination has drew the following findings. According to the survey, 38% of the individuals preferred first milk as a brand over other milk brands and least no of people preferred milk link as a brand. This difference between the preferences must have existed due to pricing of the products, its quality, advertising and its availability. Another interesting fact that emerged was preferences of individuals for choosing the type of milk and it was found out that 42% of people preferred whole milk over other milk types followed by least preference for skimmed milk with only 24%. This difference obviously existed due to quality difference and tastes of the milk types. Another fact that was found out was individuals preferences for powdered and bottled milk that showed a positive percentage for bottled milk with 78% and very little preference for powdered milk. This must be existent due to quality reasons of the milk and the freshness (preservatives vs. fresh milk). The end part of the survey dealt with the family preferences for milk consumption in the UK. It was noticed that maximum no of individuals purchased the milk on alternate basis resulting in 46% from the total. And the numbers of individuals consuming milk within the families are also ranked as high as 42% which reflected that all of the family members drink milk and its products almost on daily basis. It was interesting to note that most of the individuals went by the price of the milk compared to the quality of milk which meant that they usually compromised over the quality over the price thereby resulting in gains for companies that provided milk at a cheaper cost compared to others. Lastly it was asked as to which product of milk apart from its pure form was preferred the most and it was noticed that 46% of the British families preferred cheese product of milk and least preferred the butter 12% which shows the British preference of dairy products depending on their cuisines and dishes made in their homes. By the end of survey finally it was found that most of the individuals preferred milk as an essential nutrient for their daily breakfast needs (64%) compared to any other meal of the day which reflects the energy source and dietary supplements provided by the milk maximize the most over other food supplements. RECOMMENDATIONS FARMERS à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Know your cost of production and Add value by maximizing your contract. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Make use of the NFUs inputs monitor and challenge suppliers to seek out best deals. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Offer farmers proper milk contracts, in line with the NFU template, that provide long term stability and transparency on terms and price. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Be transparent about costs, markets and milk prices. Show how you are improving efficiency and cutting costs at the factory. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Promote the Red Tractor prominently, on front of pack, on all branded dairy products. RETAILERS AND FOOD SERVICE à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Food service sector to extend commitments to sourcing assured, British products to all dairy products and promote the Red Tractor to clients. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ All major retailers to increase the number of British, Farm Assured dairy product lines offered to consumers. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Retailers to promote the Red Tractor prominently, on front of pack, on all own label dairy products. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Retailers to establish direct, dedicated relationships with dairy farmers supplying British, own label cheese lines. GOVERNMENT à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ All government departments to adopt the NFU model clause and specify use of Red Tractor in its procurement contracts. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Establish a milk production taskforce to examine the reasons behind, and the solutions to, our falling milk production trend. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Make farmers aware of the support and funding streams that are available to them through the RDPE. RDAs to ensure that these funds are easily accessible. BANKS à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Banks to honor long term, established relationships with clients. Pass on base rate cuts in full and support farmers including tenants to invest for the future. NFU (NATIONAL FARMERS UNION) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Maintain the call for an independent body to take the politics out of animal disease and resist any attempt by Defra to transfer costs onto the industry. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Continue lobbying to improve milk contracts offered to farmers by milk buyers. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Maintain scrutiny on input costs to ensure that changes in prices are being passed down to farmers. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Lead a positive campaign to promote the benefits of dairy farming and the importance of productive British agriculture. CONCLUSION The outlook for the British dairy industry is broadly positive. Despite the irrefutable pressures that farmers continue to face, the future prospects for British dairy farmers is bright. Milk producers are efficient and operate in a prosperous, well-populated country, with strong traditions of consuming dairy products. Demand for many dairy products, worldwide, is increasing as a result of economic and population growth. Climatic factors appear to be pegging production in traditional export areas and the EU may be well placed to capitalize on world market growth in the long run. But there remain many significant short-term challenges.