Do EU Trade Policies Help or Hurt Developing Countries Essay

Do EU Trade Policies Help or Hurt Developing Countries - Essay Example In numerous developing countries, the trend is shifting from trade liberalisation to economic independence (Candau & Jean 2006). The multilateral trading system is enduring from the instability of the economy while preferential agreements keep on flourishing. Nowadays, no developing country is withdrawing from this development. Even if the European Union (EU), which began with the enforcement in 1958 of a customs union, has been putting into effects preferential agreements for several years, other developing countries, particularly those in East Asia, did not aid the increase in the prevalence of preferential agreements (Hoekman & Prowse 2005). Nevertheless, in the recent decades, developing economies, such as China, have further strengthened this risky development. Because of the failure of the Geneva ministerial convention in 2008, there will be heightened need for PTAs (Hoekman & Prowse 2005). The issues raised in the recent decade will occur again. The absence of growth in the mu ltilateral stage will be considered as the major justification for preferential agreements and, apparently, this claim is currently more compelling than before (Falvey & Reed 2002). With the absence of any possible settlement on the Doha Development Round, the international economy is seasoned once again for a new batch of preferential agreements. However, policymakers should understand the risks that PTAs create for developing countries. Theoretically, preferential agreements rule out countries (Candau & Jean 2006). Liberalisation is PTAs’ deal and countries make compromises in them, yet these are exclusive to the signatories. Hence, preferential agreements exclude (Evenett 2008). Given this fact, the first most favourable solution would be to remove preferential agreements in general. Countries, without preferential agreements, could either agree in multilateral discussions on liberalisation plans or have unilateral trade regulations (Hoekman et al. 2008). Nowadays, neverth eless, this is not a possible suggestion. All countries would have to concur with the restrictions of PTAs. Hence, the challenge at present is to enforce mechanisms that lessen the unfavourable effects of PTAs, in particular on developing countries. This issue will be thoroughly discussed in this paper. Preferential Trade Agreements: Favourable or Unfavourable to Developing Countries? Several studies have investigated the effect of the trade preferences of EU on imports from developing nations. Majority have reported favourable outcomes, specifically for the preferences provided to the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states (Persson and Wilhelmsson 2007), which are aiming for sustainable development and reduction of poverty levels. Evenett (2008) emphasises that the effect of the EU Generalised Scheme of Tariff Preferences (GSP), which guarantees that exporters from developing countries are charged with lesser duties, relies on which of the EU GSP agreement that is concerned an d that the organisational expenditures related with acquiring level of preferences to that margins of preference of not below 4.5% are non-utilised (Nilsson & Matsson 2009, 5). Other scholars, such as Cipollina and Salvati (2008), study the effect of preferences of the EU in the industry of agriculture. These scholars reported that the preferential schemes of

Undercover Operations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Undercover Operations - Essay Example They could play lovers, prostitutes, drug dealers or crime bosses. Undercover work has facilitated the prosecution of criminals operating in a complex setting and uncovering of operations of criminal gangs. Despite its benefits to the society, some people are against the use of undercover work as a means of collecting evidence of crime. Some of the reasons they give are that its increase crime, do not respect privacy, involves deception, allows the government to do what it is prohibiting others to do among other reasons (Pollock, 2004). Personally, I support the use of undercover work by law enforcement officials. Although it involves unethical actions, it is also ethically justifiable. When it is examined from the utilitarian viewpoint, it is a noble-cause corruption in which the end-justifies the means. It leads to the good of the greater population and thus it is justifiable if it is used to obtain useful and important ends. For example, it is important in the prevention of crimes when there are specific hints and reasonable grounds to suspect that some people are planning a serious crime or have done it. It helps to uncover the truth, collect evidence and make arrests. Victims of some serious crimes do not report their experiences and rarely are such crimes reported. These include pornography rings, drug distribution networks and fences of stolen property. In this case, underground work is the best investigation tool. Undercover work is ethical when the targets are individuals or gangs who commit crimes they are aware that they could call for the use of deceptive police practices for example drug distribution. It could also be risky for the law enforcement officers to investigate some of the crimes openly and thus underground work justifies the use of special risks. In this case, it is ethical and justifiable as the best means towards the collecting of evidence and making arrests in some crimes. Pollock

The Day Chocolate Case Report Essay Example for Free

The Day Chocolate Case Report Essay Introduction The following report discusses the company named the Day Chocolate company. In this report we will take a close look to the case of this company. The Day Chocolate company is different than other chocolate companies as it pays attention to the ones that are making the chocolate: the farmers. The day chocolate company buys all cocoa at Fair trade prices, which means that the farmers receive a guaranteed minimum price for their cocoa. One of the goals of the company is to bring Fair-trade chocolate into the mainstream market but also to produce this chocolate for an affordable price and with a high quality. In this days customers are paying more and more attention to the wellness of the farmers. The day chocolate company is responding well to this need of the consumers. By taking a substantial market share, and paying fare prices to the farmers, often living of just a few dollars a week or even less, they try to help the farmers. The origin of the day chocolate company lies in the United Kingdom. In 1997, together with NGO Twin Trading and The Body Shop, Kupua Kooko sets up the day chocolate company. By introducing the Divine Fair trade milk chocolate bar into the UK confectionary market, the first farmer owned Fair trade chocolate bar is available for the consumer. In a short time the company gained a considerable market share. In the upcoming chapters we will explain why this Fair-trade chocolate was such a success. The source of this success can be found by looking at the segment that Divine is operating in and looking at the trends in this segment. But we are also researching how Devine became such a strong brand and we are taking a close look at the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the company. Furthermore we are going to investigate the opportunities the Day Chocolate company has to expand their business across the domestic borders, here we will also search for the country which is most appropriate for the Day Chocolate company to settle. ? Consumer segment Day chocolate company To make a company more compatible you first have to decide who or what type of customer the company will serve. The best way to do this is to divide the market into segments of consumers, a process called market segmentation. After this is done, it is important to make the decision on which segments the company is going to focus. The day chocolate company is focusing on two main target groups. For each of these target groups they developed a brand, Devine and Dubble. The first target group the day chocolate company is focusing on is a group called ‘concerned consumers’. The consumers who fall into this group are paying extra attention to the environment and human rights. Therefore Fair trade products are developed to serve the needs of this type of consumers. The day chocolate company developed a Fair trade brand for this group, called ‘Devine’. In 1998 the company launched the Fair Trade chocolate bar on the market in the UK. The day chocolate company was one of the first companies to launch a Fair Trade chocolate bar. The price of this chocolate bar is slightly higher than the price of a normal chocolate bar, as the day chocolate company is paying the farmers a fair price for their cocoa. But the consumer finds human rights that important, that they are willing to pay that little extra for their chocolate. A third of all UK consumers have now recognized the Fair trade mark. The second target group the day chocolate company decided to focus on is children. In the beginning of 2000, the company announced a competition where children could come up with a new Fair trade chocolate brand, which would be especially developed for children. In October 2000 the brand Dubble was launched. Dubble is a crunchy Fair trade chocolate bar available for a lower price, this way children can buy the chocolate bar themselves. The day chocolate company also developed a website which is easily accessible for children, they can play games on it and read about Fair trade products. The brands Devine and Dubble are becoming more and more popular. They are for sale in all the top supermarkets in the United Kingdom. But the company also supplies chocolate for own label products in the Co-op and Starbucks. Up till now, the day chocolate company only sold its products within the UK and the USA Day chocolates strengths and weaknesses. Competitive advantage. A very influential factor for future success of the company as well as for the products it is selling it is called a competitive advantage. The competitive advantage can result either from cost advantage, pricing your product lower than that of other companies, or differentiation advantage, having a unique or a better quality product than other companies. Divine chocolate targets the second category, making use the differentiation advantage. Divine Chocolate is the first ever Fair-trade chocolate bar aimed at the mass market’ according to their own statement. The fair trade logo is what makes them stand out from other chocolate companies. By being widely available and well-priced, they make fare trade chocolate available for an ever/always growing public. Strengths and weaknesses One of the biggest strengths of how the Divine chocolate company handles their business is how they approach fair-trade. Besides paying $1600 per tonne of cacao, with the world price being as low as a $1000 per tonne, Divine pays a social premium of $150 dollars per tonne. This premium is being invested in local social projects, sustainable development of the area and better farming. This increases the wellbeing of the cacao planters, but also has a positive influence on Divine Chocolate. By investing in farming and social development, the cacao will be of higher quality. This approach also creates positive publicity for the company, and gives the buyers the feeling that they add to the wellbeing and development of cacao farmers and third world countries in general. An other strength of Divine Chocolate is their availability. By being the one of the biggest, Divine creates economies of scale. Because of this, the company can market chocolate for a lower price, making the company’s products available and affordable to more customers. Also, by being sold in places such as Starbucks, which has a very positive and well-known brand image, and being backed by charity organizations, Divine chocolate has become a reliable and well-known brand. Moving forward to threats and weaknesses the Day Company has a vulnerable reputation by selling the company’s products to very critic customers. The company should pay a lot of attention to whether the farmers are still receiving a fair price, and pay attention to their overall wellbeing. Next to this, they rely heavily on cacao supplies from Ghana, a country that is not situated in the most stable of regions, with civil wars and economic instabilities in the surrounding countries. If there are major issues to be dealt with, there is also a problem of ownership. Being owned and managed by three parties (Kuapa Kokoo, Twin Trading and Oikocredit), all having a big share in the company, it is important that they remain uniform in how to operate the company. ? Customer equity Customer equity is a way of measuring the performance of a company by customer loyalty. As Kotler and Armstrong state: ‘the total combined discounted customer lifetime values of all of the company’s customers (†¦) the more loyal the companies profitable customers, the higher the firms customer equity. The Day Chocolate is actively binding with new customers and keeping in touch with them through social media like twitter and Facebook. They also have an annual poetry contest. By doing this, they become a lifestyle brand, and increase their customer equity Marketing mix The marketing mix is a theory based on four P’s, Product, Price, Place and Promotion. The product of Day Chocolate is, obviously, chocolate. They sell many different flavors of chocolate and special Christmas and Eastern products. All of these products have a fair-trade trademark, which means that Day Chocolate has paid a fair price for the cacao. The price of a Divine Chocolate bar starts at around 75p for a 45 gram milk chocolate bar. This price is about the same as comparable with other fair-trade products in the market. The price is significantly higher than non-fair-trade products. Divine Chocolate also sells gift baskets on their own site, running from 10 to 40 pounds. The raw product, cacao beans, is imported from Ghana. Those beans are then shipped to America and the UK, where the cacao is turned into chocolate. Most of the sales of the finished chocolate bars is in the domestic UK market. The products are sold in all the large retailers and Starbucks. Co-op sells the Chocolate under their own label. The product gets promoted in many ways. Day Chocolate gets a lot of free publicity by simply being a fair-trade product. The positive things they do for the Ghanaian farmers have caused a lot of good, and free, publicity. Next to this, there is an annual poetry contest. Day Chocolate also advertises and samples new products to familiarize the public with there products. And last, Twitter and Facebook are extensively used to keep in touch with customers. Chocolate market trends In order to better understand the confectionary industry and mostly the chocolate market it is important that we take into consideration the general chocolate market trends from a few different national markets as well as from the global chocolate market. In the end of this section, chocolate market threats and opportunities will be examined in order to help build on the final section of this report, namely market expansion. Starting with USA, where Divine is present since 2006 only as a wholesaler, the following market trends have been distinguished: †¢Even with recession slowing down markets, chocolate sales have increased by 3% reaching 17$ bil in 2009. It is expected that the U. S. chocolate market will exceed 19$ bil in 2014. †¢Americans appreciate more the experience provided by chocolate than the simple consumption of it, chocolatiers making innovation one of their main goals. †¢Chocolate is seen as an affordable indulgence by the American consumers. Moving forward to the UK, where Divine satisfies customer taste for chocolate since 1997, similar market trends are recognized: †¢Chocolate represents the top snack choice for UK consumers and it is bought by 50% of the population †¢Consumer’s level of concernment regarding the provenience of the cocoa and company’s ethics has increased †¢The more affluent middle-class parents avoid buying chocolate for their children †¢UK chocolate consumers tend to buy a chocolate flavor for longer periods of time than trying new ones †¢About 40% of the consumers buy less chocolate for health reasons. When talking about the global chocolate market that seems to be growing steadily, m.uch of the growth is attributed to developing regions such as Eastern Europe, Russia, China and India. Moreover, India is suggested as turning out to be the most lucrative place of investment into the chocolate market by 2014. In the already developed world, the growth comes from product differentiation, niche sectors and Fairtrade products. Firms from the chocolate industry understand how much innovation counts for sustainability and huge investments are made to innovate chocolate products. Another interesting trend is represented by the per capita consumption of chocolate that tends to be slightly higher in Nordic and Scandinavian Countries than in other European countries. Opportunities Threats It seems that most of the opportunities and threats that the chocolate market is confronted with have much to do with consumer perception of the product. Firstly, regarding opportunities, for some consumers chocolate represents the ultimate comfort food, even being considered in different studies that chocolate works as an aphrodisiac or can be helpful against depression. Another opportunity is represented by the meaning of chocolate when it is offered as a gift. Many anniversaries, holidays, birthdays act as opportunities for chocolate to be bought and given as a gift. Secondly, moving to threats, chocolate is seen by some potential consumers as being unhealthy by making them gain weight and their children have an anxious behavior. Moreover, consumers question the ethics of the firm producing chocolate and provenience of the cocoa beans. ? Day Chocolate marketing recommendation. After discussing Day Chocolate brand’s strength and weaknesses, market opportunities and threats, it is conclusive that Day Chocolate has a bright future ahead by continuing to deliver satisfaction to its consumers through same products, but opportunities of becoming even more successful should not be overlooked. Firstly, the consumer is becoming more aware of the properties of the product, from the cocoa beans used for making the chocolate to the nutrition figures on the back of the wrapping and to the impact the buying of a chocolate bar, for example, would have on the land of provenience of the beans. Day Chocolate gives the consumer the opportunity of participating to developing of such areas as Ghana with the help of Fairtrade demonstrating that the company understands consumer concerns. By continuing to provide a means of consumer participation to Fairtrade and development of third world countries, Day Chocolate will definitely satisfy the niche of concerned consumers. Secondly, regarding the consumers concerned with the health issue of chocolate, Day Chocolate could easily promote a dark chocolate or a rice chocolate product relating it to the health benefits these types of chocolate present. This way the consumers will feel even more that their concerns are listened to and cared for, Day Chocolate improving customer relationship. Thirdly, when talking about the countries that present a considerable market increase in the latest periods of time, Russia, India, China, even Eastern Europe should be definitely considered as potential market targets and further research should be undertaken in order to see how profitable it would be to expand into one or more of these markets. Moreover, many economists argue that India will prove to be the most lucrative chocolate market by 2014. The matter of distance, cultural as well as psychic should not be overlooked when considering the markets mentioned above, even if the numbers are presenting tempting opportunities for Day Chocolate. The company did not expand so many times that necessary experience could be attributed to the firm’s advantages, a factor that makes us look for expansion to a closer, culturally as well as geographically, area in Europe. Moreover, when considering expansion as an alternative, significant data show that Scandinavian countries Germany have a great chocolate market that is growing annually. In conclusion, the Day Chocolate company’s products offer great satisfaction for consumers concerned with fair trading and give them the opportunity of participating to the development of the lands of provenience for the cocoa beans. For consumers concerned with health issues new, health focused products could be marketed. After considering new products, new markets have also been considered. Alternatives are present both in Europe as well as outside Europe, but only the ones closer to the home market would make most economical and managerial sense. Expansion. In the past years since the founding of the Devine Chocolate, the company has shown to be successful, obtaining a large market share, a excellent brand image, big profits, good business strategy, and the company’s success is still growing. The company has a good market position and it is not likely to be having large problems in the short term, as well as long term orientation. However, it is wise to keep on searching for opportunities to become even more successful in the future. Therefore a tempting and logical step would be to expand the company’s business across the domestic market borders. To make the expansion a success, the risk of failure should be low. Therefore the market should behave similar to the English chocolate market so that cultural distance does not represent too much of an impediment. Day Chocolate needs to search for such a market because the key of the company’s success is the fact that the English chocolate market consists of a large market for luxury chocolate and product awareness such as the Fair-Trade. Besides that, the flavor of the chocolate was adapted to the taste of the English consumers. This means looking for a market where consumers are willing to pay a relatively high price for luxury chocolate products, and have high product awareness. Studies by the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) have shown that the most chocolate is consumed by the north-western European countries and the Scandinavian countries. Below you find a list of the 15 countries with the highest chocolate consumption per person in 2005. Germany †¦ 11. 12 kilograms of chocolate per person (up 7. 8% from 2002), Belgium †¦ 11. 03 kgs (up 24. 2%), Switzerland †¦ 10. 74 kgs (down 1. 7%), United Kingdom †¦ 10. 22 kgs (up 2%), Austria †¦ 9. 43 kgs (up 18. 3%), Norway †¦ 8. 53 kgs (up 3. 1%), Denmark †¦ 7. 74 kgs (down 16. 3%), France †¦ 6. 78 kgs (down 2. 6%), Finland †¦ 6. 77 kgs (up 3. 7%), Sweden †¦ 6. 76 kgs (down 17. 1%), United States †¦ 5. 58 kgs (up 4. 1%), Australia †¦ 5. 31 kgs (up 22. 1%), Italy †¦ 4. 26 kgs (up 8. 1%), Canada †¦ 3. 90 kgs (no change), Poland †¦ 3. 67 kgs (up 11. 2%). The United States is the biggest chocolate market worldwide, however the facts mentioned above shows us that the consumption per person is very low. Besides the average consumption, we should keep in mind that this is the very first expansion of the company. It would not be wise to start expanding in the largest market in the world as the first expansion. The same goes for Russia, China and India. Those markets have very high potential but just like the U. S. Expanding to one of these countries has a very high risk because huge investments will be needed and when the expansion turns out the be unsuccessful the results will be far more dramatic than in case of an expansion in a smaller country, in northern Europe for instance. Besides those risk and consumption reasons, expanding in northern Europe first would be wise because those markets are similar in customer taste to the U. K. market. The northern European countries have a strong and stable economy so the consumers are willing to pay more for a better product. Furthermore, these consumers generally have a high level of products awareness, Day Chocolate would definitely benefit from this because of its brand image and Fair-Trade label. Next to the market significance, also the cultures are not very different. According to the cultural dimensions study by Geert Hofstede the cultural difference between for instance, the U. K. and Germany, is very low. Thanks to this low level of cultural distance it is easier for the company to sell the products, because advertising campaigns do not have to be totally different, and overall procedures will be smoother than in a country with a totally different culture. This also stimulates to expand in northern European countries because the chance of success is proven to be high, thanks to both cultural, as well as market significance. Looking at the taste of the consumers, expanding in Northern Europe would also be a good thing to do because the general taste of the consumers turns out to look very much the same as the taste of the U. K. consumers according to a study by the ICCO. When choosing one single country to be the first one to expand to, we would advice to start in Germany. There are several reasons why Germany would be a good country to start with. First of all, the German consumers are wealthy and are willing to pay extra money for better quality products and have a high level of product awareness. Next to that, the taste of the German consumers corresponds a lot to the U. K. consumer taste. Furthermore, there is a very low level of cultural distance, which makes it easier to market the products. Finally, German chocolate market is the biggest of Europe, however it is not too big for Devine Chocolate to expand to this country because it is not much bigger than the English one. And this expansion will succeed other northern European countries would be very easy to expand to. All these reason make us conclude that German is the ideal country to expand towards. ? Conclusion When looking back at all the different components of the company that we have examined there are several conclusions than can be drawn. First of all there are two well indentified target groups which the Day Chocolate company is aiming at. In the case of Devine chocolate it are ‘concerned’ consumers who are willing to pay more for a better product and have a high level of product awareness. The second target group, of Dubble, are kids. When looking at the growth of the global chocolate market and the forecasted growth of the market, the future is looking good for the Day Chocolate Company. However the number of competitors in the market segment of high-quality ‘fair’ chocolate products is going to rise in the upcoming years, therefore expansion would be a smart move. Also product diversification would be a smart move. The chocolate market suffers under the ‘health-issue’. Therefore other, healthier products need to be developed. The brand image of the company is excellent at the moment, but in the future large numbers of companies are going to try to copy this. Therefore it is extremely important for Day Chocolate to keep on promoting itself as product aware company, and it should emphasize on its help towards the farmers and their local projects. The company should expand outside of the U. K. and Germany would be the most appropriate country to start with. The market is big but not too big for Day Chocolate. The consumers are willing to pay extra for good products and have a high level of product awareness and their taste is very much the same as the English taste. Furthermore, the cultural distance is low and the geographical distance is small. All these reasons make Germany an ideal country to start expanding the Day Chocolate Company outside of the U. K.

A Study On Allahabad Tourism Essay

A Study On Allahabad Tourism Essay Known as Prayaga in the Vedic literature, as Tirth raj in the Puranas, and as Illahabas during the times of Emperor Akbar, Allahabad is situated at Triveni Sangam, or the confluence of the rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Sarasvati (which has now disappeared). It is an ancient belief that all sins get washed away when you enter this holy city. Various mythological stories are attached to this city. It formed the epicenter of the Indian Freedom Movement and has produced many of Indias leading political figures. Many important government offices are also situated in this city. It is also well-known for the Diocese of Allahabad. Allahabad is a city of mixed cultures. Awadhi is the dialect of Hindi spoken here. Places to See Allahabad is a both a historical and a popular center for education. Places you must visit at Allahabad are: The Sangam Maha Kumbh Mela (after every 12 years) Allahabad Fort Patalpuri Temple Ashoka Pillar Akshaya Vat Allahabad High Court Shivkoti Mahadev Temple Someshwar Mahadev Temple Anand Bhavan Allahabad Planetarium Allahabad Museum Patthar Girja Minto Park Khusro bagh Dashaswamedh Temple (on the bank of Ganges in Daraganj) Prayag Sangeet Samiti (A place in Civil Lines for musically oriented) Shopping Being a historical and religious center, shopping in Allahabad for ethnic jewelry, incense sticks, sandalwood, camphor, and vermillion, posters of gods and goddesses, and items made of brass can be a memorable experience. For the book lovers, Allahabad is a city of publishers. Where To Stay Allahabad caters to people of all economic strata. Some of the hotels that we recommend are: Kanha Shyam Hotel, Hotel Milan Palace, Hotel Saket, Grand Continental Hotel and Hotel Ajay International. How to Reach Allahabad For the international traveler, the best route to Allahabad would be to take a flight to New Delhi and then take any one of the innumerable trains from New Delhi to Allahabad. By Road: Allahabad is situated on the National Highways 2 and 27 and well-connected by roads in good condition to all the other parts of the state. You can either take a bus run by the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport or a private transporter. An eight-lane access known as Ganga Expressway is soon going connect Allahabad to other cities. By Rail: Allahabad is a major city on the railway map of India. Many rains ply to and fro. Some of them are the Shivganga Express (from New Delhi), New Delhi-Puri Express, Mathura Express (from Mathura). By Air: The nearest Airport is at Bamrauli (14 km) and Varanasi (120 km). There are regular flights from Delhi.

Feminist Re-reading of Henry Jamess Washington Square :: Henry James Washington Square

An Inappropriate Feminist Re-reading of Henry James's Washington Square The article "Re-producing James" is a defense of the feminist perspective in regards to Henry James's Washington Square. The article discusses the point of truth in words. Stating only (in a roundabout way) that the readers interpretation and perspective of reading the novel determines their understanding of the truth. The author Barbara Rasmussen, states that another critic, Ian Bell's perspective of Henry James's writing " 'exploits the ideological equipment of that which it opposes': patriarchal capitalism" (63). However, her only point seems to be that in Ian Bell's criticism as well as in Washington Square, the writing is completely phallic, capitalistic, and patriarchal. In defending the reading of Washington Square and Ian Bell's critical essays, from a feminist perspective, Rasmussen believes that it can change the way one sees these writings. She seems to think that James's and Bell's writings both depend on a "phallocentric exclusion of difference, but will themselves be just as complicit†¦in the face of patriarchal inadequacies" (66). Yet, this seems to be the contradiction that poses as the general project of a feminist re-reading of American Literature. This article was hard to read. Rasmussen was a bit roundabout at getting to her point, and once I finally figured out what she was saying, I didn't really care. I personally think that Rasmussen is a sexist woman with an over-rated opinion! She attacks both Bell and James and unjustly signifies that because the writings are from a male perspective, they are themselves sexist and phallocentric. She also implies that the feminist perspective, which she uses as no more than a title under which she can vent her own sexist attitude, is of crucial importance in reading James's Washington Square and Bell's perspectives. She believes that since she reads from the feminist perspective, she has more challenges and undertakings to recognize and deal with because of James's and Bell's use of phallic relations. One must not, however, take Rasmussen seriously. I felt that she was writing to please herself, and others like her who think that it is unjust, and sexist to write in a patriarchal manner. However, Washington Square was written in 1880 and was very much a patriarchal time. So of course, it would have been written in that perspective, especially since it was written by a man.

Chivalry in Chaucers Canterbury Tales Essay -- essays papers

Chivalry in Chaucers Canterbury Tales In his Canterbury Tales, Chaucer fully explicates the cultural standard known as curteisye through satire. In the fourteenth century curteisye embodied sophistication and an education in French international culture. The legends of chilvalric knights, conversing in the language of courtly love, matured during this later medieval period. Chaucer himself matured in the King's Court, and he reveled in his cultural status, but he also retained an anecdotal humor about curteisye. One must only peruse his Tales to discern these sentiments. In the General Prologue, he meticulously describes the Prioress, satirically examining her impeccable table manners. In the Miller's Tale Chaucer juxtaposes courtly love with animalistic lust, and in various other instances he mentions curteisye, or at least alludes to it, with characteristic Chaucerian irony. These numerous references provide the reader with a remarkably rich image of the culture and class structure of late fourteenth century England. "Wel coude she carye a morsel, and wel keepe / That no drope ne fille upon hir brest. / In curteisye was set ful muchel hir lest."(General Prologue, 130-2) Here, in the description of the Prioress, Chaucer mocks her etiquette by so specifically describing it, and in doing so he also mocks her conception of sophistication. For Chaucer, sophistication represented more than table manners and "Frenssh†¦ of Stratford at the Bowe."(General Prologue, 124,5) Curteisye required an intimate, first hand knowledge and experience with French culture. This Prioress had learned her French in an English convent school, hardly the equivalent to Chaucer's travels in France. Chaucer creates the feeling that the narr... ...tion of courtly flirtation. Usually when a character speaks in courtly language, the author biases his word choice to French, since French was the formal language of the Court and people associated with the Court spoke French-derived English on a daily basis. Chaucer avoids that practice here and selects words based in Germanic-derived English, or Anglo-Saxon. Words like "ich," "wille," and "spille" and others persisted from Old English, and Chaucer's use of them through Nicholas gives the passage a decidedly rough tone, corresponding to Nicholas' sensual actions. Nicholas' language might have been courtly, but his intentions were definitely not as delicate as French. Chaucer utilized satire throughout the Canterbury Tales, and he illustrated as much about his culture, and especially curteisye, with his satire as he did with the stories and characters themselves.

Comparing the Effectiveness of Four Common Techniques

Comparing the Effectiveness of Four Common Techniques Used to Treat Nocturnal Enuresis Tiffiny H. Winters Clarion University of Pennsylvania Abstract The proposed research is designed to combine 1 pharmaceutical treatment technique and 2 common behavioral interventions and assess the effect they have on the frequency of night-time wetting in children between the ages of 5 and 10 years old who suffer from nocturnal enuresis. I will randomly assign 120 child participants to one of six treatment groups which test them on varying degrees of the independent variables.Participants will be tested for a period of 30 days prior to the intervention application to determine a baseline rate of occurrence of enuresis, then tested again for 30 days while applying the intervention strategies to determine if there is a significant change in the frequency of the occurrences. I predict that the groups receiving the behavioral training paired with the anti-diuretic medication will have fewer episodes o f enuresis in a shorter amount of time during treatment, and have a slight increase in instances of regression after ceasing treatment.I also predict that the treatment groups that do not receive the anti-diuretic will have a slower rate of progression during the experiment, but the progression will stay primarily steady after treatment has ceased. Comparing the Effectiveness of Four Common Techniques Used to Treat Nocturnal Enuresis Nocturnal enuresis is a common childhood disorder, but can be a potentially distressing experience for children and parents alike.It has been defined as an â€Å"involuntary voiding of urine during sleep, with severity of at least twice a week, in children over 5 years of age, when not provoked by congenital or acquired defects of the central nervous system or by the direct physiological effect of substances such as a diuretic† (American Psychiatric Association, 2000); Butler & Gasson, 2005). This disorder has many stressful consequences for a ch ild, such as feeling like, or being treated as a social pariah, suffering a rollercoaster of emotional turmoil, a significant lowering of their self-esteem, and feelings of ncomprehension and helplessness. The prevalence of nocturnal enuresis in children ages 5 to 10 years old, according to The American Psychiatric Association (2000), are as follows: * Approximately 5% – 10% in 5 to 6 year olds * Approximately 11% – 18% in 7 to 8 year olds * Approximately 1. 5% – 5% in 9 to 10 year olds Prevalence rates are also higher for males than for females at all age points (Butler & Heron, 2008). At the present time, many empirical studies and reviews of different treatment strategies for nocturnal enuresis have been conducted.Prominent researchers from both the psychological and medical communities are making important contributions to the ongoing question of what types of interventions work best for the children who suffer from this disorder, which tends to bridge both the psychological and medical fields. This can cause complications for the results of the research, because each field traditionally produces its own literature on the studies that they do, and therefore the results aren’t always all-encompassing.However, experimenters are attempting to close this gap with new approaches that combine and compare treatments such as the dispensing of pharmaceuticals to patients, and some practical behavioral interventions. The behavioral interventions that will be used in this experiment are fairly common in the current research for treatment of nocturnal enuresis. Retention Control Training (RTC) came about due to the medical evidence that some children suffering from this disorder had reduced bladder capacity, and thus couldn’t hold a normal amount of fluid in their bladders throughout a typical night of sleep.RTC expands a child’s bladder capacity by having the child drink high amounts of fluid while delaying urination for as l ong as possible and trying to increase the amount of holding time each time. The thought is that this will cause the bladder to expand, and progress the child up to a relatively normal length of time between urinations. According to Friman (2008), RTC has had up to a 50% overall success rate. However, more recent studies are debating that these results may be negligible, and believe that other methods are more evidence-based and should be considered instead.The process of Dry-Bed Training (DBT) is one of the oldest, best-known, and most evidence-based treatment packages for enuresis (Friman, 2008). The process consists of following a strict schedule of waking the child up at night until he or she learns to wake up alone when needed. This program is usually implemented for a period of 7 nights, and then the process is repeated. DBT is typically completed in less than 4 weeks, with relapse rates of only about 40% (Brown, Pope, & Brown, 2010). A Urine Alarm is a key component in this t reatment, as well as cleanliness training and a positive reinforcement through a token system.A Urine Alarm is a device that is either placed underneath the child in the form of a mat, or as a sensor inside of the child’s pajamas that works by using a moisture-sensitive system that, when upon sensing dampness from urine, it sends a charge to a buzzer or alarm that is strong enough to wake the child (Friman, 2008). The alarm is an adverse stimulus, which leads to a conditioned avoidance response (startling the child) which leads to muscle contractions in the pelvic floor and neck of the bladder, ceasing the flow of urine when the child wakes.This leads to the child associating the feeling of a full bladder to the feeling of being awakened, and they will wake eventually without the help of the alarm. According to Mellon & Houts (2006), several reviewed studies and well-controlled experiments have established the basic urine Alarm as an effective treatment for nocturnal enuresis , alone or in combination with other treatment components, and the average success rate (14 consecutive dry nights) is 77. 9%, and has an average 6 month relapse rate of 15% – 30%.Despite the arguable efficacy of these behavioral interventions, reviews of the recent literature show that the common healthcare practice among physicians and pediatricians is to treat enuretic children with medication rather than putting behavioral interventions to use (Friman, 2008). The two most commonly prescribed to treat this disorder are anti-depressants and anti-diuretics. I will not be addressing the components of the anti-depressant prescriptions, as it does not directly involve my xperiment. The anti-diuretic that is typically prescribed is Desmopressin, a synthetic version of Vasmopressin, which is the body’s naturally occurring anti-diuretic hormone. According to a review by Brown, Pope, & Brown (2010), the rationale for using this drug is that there is evidence that children wi th nocturnal enuresis may not have the same nocturnal increase in Vasmopressin as children that do not suffer from enuresis.Desmopressin works by decreasing night-time urine production, and typically reduces the episodes by 50%. And although Desmopressin typically has a more rapid onset of dry nights than the Urine Alarm, removal of the drug almost always results in the child reverting back to the wetting behavior. In comparing this drug and its benefits to other behavioral treatments, it has been found in many studies to have better results when the drug therapy is used concurrently with one of the behavioral interventions previously discussed.For example, according to Brown, Pope, & Brown (2010), recent literature shows that the Urine Alarm, when used in conjunction with anti-diuretic medication, leads to more dry nights earlier in the conditioning process, and a longer lasting performance after treatment has subsided. Also, there have been many studies comparing several of the af orementioned common behavioral techniques to one another, as well as the combined power of using more than one technique concurrently to enhance the speed and permanence of the desired results.Also, studies have been done here in the United States, as well as abroad in many other countries, such as Australia, the United Kingdom, and many others. However, according to their review on studies done in this field of research, Brown, Pope, & Brown (2010) assert that â€Å"The medical and psychological literatures and studies completed regarding this problem have proceeded relatively independent from one another, and there has been little to no interconnection between the US and international studies, resulting in a lack of discourse and integration among researchers investigating treatment outcomes for enuresis. In general, many researchers agree that the current research and scope of the experiments have been very limited, and perhaps even insufficient. The focus of my proposed study w ould be to bridge this gap that others have been stepping around, and bring some of the conflicting variables to light in one controlled study. The proposed research is designed to combine 1 pharmaceutical treatment technique and 2 common behavioral interventions and assess the effect they have on the frequency of night-time wetting in children between the ages of 5 and 10 years old who suffer from nocturnal enuresis.My study would allow the individual treatment techniques to be compared under standard conditions without any other form of combined treatment or medicines, and it would also show the efficacy of each treatment technique when it is paired with the anti-diuretic Desmopressin, which has been shown to have remarkable results in the short-term treatment of episodes of enuresis, but is coming up short in the long-run battle against this disorder.I will randomly assign the participants to one of six treatment groups: (1) will receive Retention Control Training (RCT) paired wi th a daily dose of Desmopressin; (2) will receive Retention Control Training with no medication; (3) will receive Retention Control Training paired with a placebo; (4) will receive Dry-Bed Training paired with a daily dose of Desmopressin; (5) will receive Dry-Bed Training with no medication; (6) will receive Dry-Bed Training paired with a placebo.Participants will be tested for a period of 30 days prior to the intervention application to determine a baseline rate of occurrence of enuresis, then tested again for 30 days while applying the intervention strategies to determine if there is a significant change in the frequency of the occurrences. Participants will also be tested a final time 30 days after ceasing the interventions for a period of 2 weeks to determine how quickly each group regressed, if any did so.This would lead to many avenues of further research toward finding the best way to treat this problem, and also perhaps pave those avenues with a much stronger foundation tha n the one that has been going back and forth between the medical and psychological disciplines throughout the research that has been done thus far. I am predicting that the groups who receive the behavioral training paired with the anti-diuretic medication will have fewer episodes of enuresis in a shorter amount of time during treatment, and have a slight increase in instances of regression after ceasing treatment.I also predict that the treatment groups that do not receive the anti-diuretic will have a slower rate of progression during the experiment, but the progression will stay primarily steady after treatment has ceased. Method Participants The sample (N=120) will consist of 20 children (10 boys; 10 girls) at each of six age levels (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10yrs old) who meet the American Psychiatric Association (2000) criteria to be diagnosed with nocturnal enuresis. Wetting must occur at least 2 times per week for at least a period of 3 months and have a negative impact on other a reas of functioning, and must not be due to the effects of a substance or be caused by another medical condition. ) All participants will be assigned randomly into one of six treatment groups. Participants will be selected on a voluntary basis from an ad placed in the local newspaper, and also by doctor referral through email notification sent to local doctor’s offices advertising information about the study that I will be conducting.Informed consent will be obtained from parents of all of the participants, and consent forms and release forms will also be signed before participating in the procedure. Letters of explanation and consent forms will be sent to parents or guardians of the children, and they will be asked to return these by mail. To ensure confidentiality, participant names will be removed from any interviews and data entry recordings, and participants will be identified only by a numerical code. Participants, medical personnel, parents, and all others involved wil l be well informed that no information will be released about individual participants.Participating children will receive an age-appropriate gift approved by their parents upon completion of the experiment as a thank-you for participating. Apparatus/Materials Materials that will be needed and used are as follows: * Basic physical form completed by family physician for each participant. * 120 basic clip-on Urine Alarms. * Approximately 1200 doses of Desmopressin. (40 children, 1 tablet each before bed every night for 30 nights. ) (Can also be requested in nasal spray form. ) * Data sheets to record all procedures and episodes of wetness per night. * Approximately 1200 doses of a basic sugar pill to administer as a placebo. 40 children, 1 tablet each before bed every night for 30 nights. ) * Age-appropriate gift for each child given upon completion of the experiment. (120 total) Procedure An ad will be placed in the local newspapers to attempt to collect volunteers to participate in t he experiment, as well as an email offering information about the study will be sent to all local pediatricians’ offices asking them to inform any of their patients that may qualify and meet the guidelines about the study that I am conducting, and that they would be welcome to participate if they desire to.Participants will be interviewed at their convenience at a location that they are comfortable with, and will be asked to answer simple background questions dealing with the criteria for the experiment, and will also be informed about all aspects of the experiment before they consent to their child or children participating. Once all participants have been selected and all required paperwork has been returned, the parents will be instructed on how to monitor their child’s episodes of enuresis for the next 30 nights and shown how to record them on the data sheets that I will provide to them.Each parent will be provided a standard Urine Alarm and be instructed on how to use it to notify them throughout the night when their child wets to bed. (They can be programmed to notify the parent instead of waking the child. ) The parent will then keep as accurate of a record as possible of the episodes during this 30 day period to establish a baseline of performance for each child. (The Urine Alarms will be re-collected after this 30 day period has concluded. Then, after the initial 30 day testing period has ended, each child will be randomly separated into one of six treatment groups: (1) will receive Retention Control Training (RCT) paired with a daily dose of Desmopressin; (2) will receive Retention Control Training with no medication; (3) will receive Retention Control Training paired with a placebo; (4) will receive Dry-Bed Training paired with a daily dose of Desmopressin; (5) will receive Dry-Bed Training with no medication; (6) will receive Dry-Bed Training paired with a placebo.The parents will receive very thorough and easy to understand instructi ons on the treatment procedure that their child has to follow, and will be given a telephone number to contact me at any time day or night throughout the experiment if they have any questions, concerns, or if their availability to participate in the experiment changes. The parents will not have any knowledge about the use of a sugar pill as a placebo, as to eliminate any participant reaction bias. I will collect the data from each parent at the end of every week, during both 30 day periods.After the experimental 30 days has come to an end, I will collect all materials that were being used by the participants, compile the data that was collected and get it ready to analyze, hand out the gifts to the children for participating, conduct a closing interview of each parent and child to clear up any loose ends or questions that they may have, and to also ensure that no aftercare is needed for any parent or child that participated, and then thank them for their involvement and hard work. R eferences American Psychiatric Association. 2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. (4th ed. ). Washington, DC: doi: 10. 1176/appi. books. 9780890423349 Brown, M. L. , Pope, A. W. , & Brown, E. J. (2010). Treatment of primary nocturnal enuresis in children: A review. Child: Care, Health, and Development, 37(2), 153-160. doi:10. 1111/j. 1365-2214. 2010. 01146. x Butler, R. J. , & Gasson, S. L. (2005). Enuresis alarm treatment. Scandinavian Journal of Urology and Nephrology, 39, 349-357. Butler, R. J. , & Heron, J. (2008).The prevalence of infrequent bedwetting and nocturnal enuresis in childhood: A large british cohort. Scandinavian Journal of Urology and Nephrology, 42, 257-264. Friman, P. C. (2008). Evidence-based therapies for enuresis and encopresis. The Handbook of Evidence-based Therapies for Children and Adolescents: Bridging Science and Practice, II, 311-333. doi: 10. 1007/978-0-387-73691-4_18 Mellon, M. W. , & Houts, A. C. (2006). Nocturnal enuresis: Ev idenced-based perspectives in etiology, assessment and treatment. (pp. 432-441). New York, NY: Springer Publishing.