Immigration and Population Growth Essay Example for Free

Immigration and Population Growth Essay Immigration is when someone or people move to a country from another country. It can be due to various purposes like a student going for study, getting married to a national of another country or to take up an employment. Immigration has been known to cause population growth. Population growth is the quantifiable change of population in an area. Immigration can be defined into two that of high skilled personnel and that of low skilled personnel. Economic impacts of immigration depend on the skills of immigration. The impacts are felt by both the country from which the people are moving from and the country they are going to. Negative Impacts Immigration and population growth causes scarcity of resources. Economics standard definition is the allocation of scarce resources among competing ends. Immigration and population growth makes the task more difficult because it create more competing ends hence bad economic outcome. In other terms if there are more people living in the same land with the same amount of resources then there will be fewer resources and land available per person thus less wealth. There is also overburdening on the infrastructure talk of roads, social amenities like water, hospital beds and others. They existing facilities cannot cope with the increasing population growth before we put into consideration immigration (Holzer, 2005). Immigration and population growth cause wages decrease, this is due to increased labor supply. An increase in labor supply relative to capital supply and supply of natural resources will in a free labor market cause wages to fall. Unemployment is the other major impact of immigration; the local residents miss jobs to the immigrants who come to their country. These create more risk of unemployment. Shortage of affordable housing, this may lead to people living from hand to mouth due to increased cost of living. It in turn reduces chances of investments. Most of the income goes to up keep hence little savings and investment. Environmental degradation due to the huge population growth results to massive loss of biodiversity and wide spread degradation of the landscape. This leads to salinity of t he soil and topsoil erosion this have adverse effects on the productivity of the nation. All these have impacts on the economy in that no people can work while hungry and food is a key element of economic development. If reduced it causes a decline in the work output hence on income of a nation (Nilsson, 2005). Positive Impacts Immigration and population growth produce increased and cheap labor. Many business and public service make use of the skills and hard work of immigrants. Immigrants may never mind the amount of work they do and money they are being paid. This increases the productivity of a county in that they work for more hours and do the kind of jobs the normal civilians of a nation may not be willing to take. This increased productivity improves the income levels of a country hence the living standards are increased. The immigrants are paid declined wages due to saturation of laborers in the market hence the cost of production is low this leads to increased profit to the industries hence to the nation. Immigration increases the economy in terms of labor demand, thus creating new vacancies. Immigration improves the way of life of the residents of the country they move to; they carry out duties that are a bother to the residents like dish washing, cooking, laundry work and many more. Immigration of high skilled personnel fills the labor and skills shortages. These increase the productivity of a country. The skills also improve existing skills and train others hence labor force of a country and reduced threat of immigration (Rowthorn, 2004). Conclusion In conclusion immigration and population growth are interrelated and are beneficial though they also have negative impacts.The benefits depends on the type of skill immigrating. References: Holzer, H. J. , (2005): Economic Impacts of Immigration. Retrieved on 6th Jan, 2009 from: http://www. urban. org/UploadedPDF/900908_Holzer_111605. pdf Nilsson, T. , (2005): Negative economic impacts of immigration and population growth. Retrieved on 6th Jan, 2009 from: http://www. pc. gov. au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/9572/sub009. pdf Rowthorn, R. , (2004): The Economic Impact of Immigration. Retrieved on 6th Jan, 2009 from: http://www. civitas. org. uk/pdf/Rowthorn_Immigration. pdf

Brand Impact On Consumer Buying Behavior

Brand Impact On Consumer Buying Behavior Branding psychologyConsumer driven approaches is widely adopted by the companies in order to enhance countless emerging needs of modern customers. Branding becomes a crucial activities of consumer driven approach and its aim to build a loyal customer base and creation of an effective brand image. In this document, the author presents a research report complied after analyzing the effects of branding on the consumer purchase decision. The research had been carried at the shopping centre called Shoppers Stop in India. The research had attempted to find whether there is positive relation between the positive effect of the brand and the consumer purchase decision. There are so many parity products out there that the only way to differentiate yourself from the others is to create an aura, an image, around your brand. Consumers need a road map; they need to find a way to get from their need to a product purchase thats simple, easy, not full of a lot of noise, and most brands get lost somewhere between the shelf and the consumer mindset. -Karen Benezra, editor of Brandweek The paper also discusses the literature the importance of branding and the consumer purchase decision. It details the research rationale along with the research philosophy, the approach used, the context, sample and procedure. As well as It discussed the significance of the proposed research along with its limitation. A provisional work schedule is also provided. Aims The aim is to determine the extent of the correlation between the activities of branding and consumer purchasing as well as put into perspective the main functions and values branding can offer companies in term guiding valued customers through the often complex process of purchase decision-making. Thus the basic research question would be, how does branding affect the consumer purchase decision? Objectives This research will have the following objectives: To assess whether positive feelings towards a brand will translate into a consumer purchase decision. To establish the changes in the relationship between branding and consumers purchasing decision when other factors such as price are introduced. To examine the consumers tendency to recommend brands and its effect on purchasing decisions of their friends and family. Chapter 2: Literature Review Origin of Branding in Market. After the First World War, the whole world economy was under Great Depression during 1930s and also gives rise to socio-economy problems because of impact of war wages on the people and hence left a dent in peoples pockets and curbed the desire of society to spend and consume. Strangely, the Second World War and the period after the war had seen a different pattern in manufacturing industries that a increased capacity to produce goods whereas the society was left with an ingrained desire to be frugal. Bass Company, the British brewery, claims their red triangle brand was the worlds first trademark. Lyles Golden Syrup makes a similar claim, having been named as Britains oldest brand, with its green and gold packaging having remained almost unchanged since 1885. Source: http://www.quaffale.org.uk/php/brewery/578 What is Branding? The word Brand the Germanic root meaning is burn. In commercial market branding is all about the product attributes that make a lasting impression in a customers mind. As per Karl Marx, people make their own decisions about who to be, how to live, and what to buy, but under circumstances shaped by brands advertising, marketing and publicity. Thus a brand exploits the underlying attribute that is storytelling and emotions which are the buying behaviour. James Walter Thompson published a house ad explaining trademark advertising, in 1900. Thus Branding was coined for the first time with commercial explanation. Mr. Thompson appeared as the philosopher of Branding by drawing a straight line between the manufacturer and the consumer. Source: http://library.duke.edu/specialcollections/hartman/guides/jwt-history.html Human civilization is dependent upon signs and systems of signs, and the human mind is inseparable from the functioning of signs-if indeed mentality is not to be identified with such functioning. Apple Logo Design Apple was selected as main form of branding depending upon the company name. Initially, the logo depicted a small apple shape sitting under a tree with Apple Computer Co set into the frame of the picture. It is this apple that has continued to be used. The first logo design was perceived to be a bit too complex and hard to view, so Regis McKenna worked on the logo some years later and added a bite mark to symbolize the concept of seduction of the customers and the marketplace in general. Next, the monochrome version was replaced with the rainbow-colored logo as a reference to the Biblical story of Adam and Eve in which the apple represents the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. It brings to mind that people must pursue their dreams. While this was not initially a deliberate goal, it did encourage business and consumers to consider the Apple brand for the first time and was successful in generating increased profits.Source: Charles Morris, Foundations of the Theory of Signs. Source: http://www.logoorange.com/logodesign-A.php A brand is an end result. Branding is the process by which a brand comes to be. A brand is many, many things, but it is never an accident. Present Day Branding. A branding provides a platform for consumer choice process. Todays market offer different products among thousand for similar offerings, this complexity makes the users to follow their choice that have satisfied already in past. The pattern of this consumer behaviour was also supported by Assael in 1993 with a concept that in a situation of low-involvement of consumer, the consumers completely rely on past consuming experience; hence it provides a clue that consumers with minimum purchasing areas could be targeted by advertisement campaigns. Thus consumer plays a key important role product branding process in current market. Even nowadays a good number of consumer emotionally attach with the brand that helps to understand the impact of image among consumers. With this a natural differentiation concept was introduced by Adcock in 1998, with differentiation process , the company start developing a set of unique differences that help to provide a distinctive identity among other products in market. Hence, differentiation provides a cutting edge for the branding of product in present competitive market. As per Prof. Kevin Lane Keller, author of Strategic Brand Management: The trend in marketing of brand depends upon the changes in the environments around the consumers. A social, cultural, political, economic and technological environment changes the life of human and with this the branding need to adopt the trend for example Online Marketing Social Networking Online-Media such as Face book, MySpace, Google. A corporate social responsibility and sustainability impacting the product image. Philip Kotler in 1999, a brand captures consumers attention through a Six Dimensions of Brand: Attributes A brand will communicate specific attributes, such as prestige. Benefits A brand strengthens a products attributes by communicating a set of benefits that makes it more attractive. Values A brand represents a companys core value and belief system. Culture A brand is representative or targets a target audiences socio-cultural characteristic. Personality A Brand Project behavioural personality patterns of targeted consumers. User A brand can emulate the end user. Identification of Branding Differences step by step Difference 1: A Visual difference, Symbols and logotype. In the seventies, when the phrase generation was being coined and used in any number of contexts such as in movies, music, technology etc, Pepsi annex the beverage style of young adult segment of the inhabitants and dubbed them the Pepsi Generation, in an endeavour to make Coca-Cola seem old and staid. In the 1980s, Coca-Cola executed what was perhaps the most celebrated marketing mistake in history, discontinuing production on its core product, the most recognizable brand name in the world; in favour of a more Pepsi-like formula it dubbed New Coke. This Grand Canyon-size blunder eventually worked in the companys favour when consumers revolted with startling vehemence and Coca-Cola quickly announced it would bring back its revered product, now under the name Coca-Cola Classic. Sales rebounded, and more media attention was lavished on the Cola Wars. The campaign also managed to underline the loyalty and affection so many consumers had for original Coca-Cola-which might very well have been the goal of the company to begin with. Coca Cola eventually dropped the word Classic from its name, and remains the most widely recognized brand in the world to the present. Difference 2: Culture (Hofstedes onion) Difference 3: Personality (Aaker) Difference 4: Identity and positioning (Kapferer) Brand Equity and Brand Loyalty. Consumer Buying Behaviour : Branding a influencing factor What influences consumers to purchase products or services? The consumer buying process is a complex matter as many internal and external factors have an impact on the buying decisions of the consumer. When purchasing a product there several processes, which consumers go through? These will be discussed below. 3- COMPONENTS OF BRANDING Branding is a process of creating a product or company identity a personality creation and development by a number of differential professionals with same objective or goal. 1. Advertising. Its a wonderful thing to create a unique, user-friendly brand that the public is sure to embrace. However, if the public doesnt find out about the brand-and much of the public will find out through advertising-all that effort, time, and money will go to waste. The look and attitude of the advertising also help define the brand in the publics mind. Nike is well known for spending millions on celebrity endorsements for advertising. Its ads are legendary, and its swoosh logo is known the world over without a word being said. 2. Marketing. In devising the personality of the brand and determining how it will be presented to the public, marketing, which is usually done in-house and through consultants, helps to create the entity that the brand will become. Its a fine thing to own the recipe for Oreo cookies, but if you decided to sell the recipe and not the cookies, you would be making a very large marketing mistake. Marketing is not just selling; it knows what to sell and how to sell it as part of a larger plan. What marketing does is to determine the proper audience for a product, and then deliver to that audience what it wants. The target demographic can be as narrow as 15-year-old boys living in the suburbs, or it can be literally anybody. That will depend on the product. But once the demographic is identified, marketing professionals analyze it, make sure the characteristics of that demographic are compatible with the product, and then emphasize the strengths of the product. The strengths of the product here are very specific: They are the strengths that will best convey the personality the demographic wants to see in it. For example, if Philips had tried to market its flat-screen TV to an audience over 65, which traditionally is not warm to change, it might not have been successful, no matter how innovative the product may have been. Instead, the company aimed its ads at people in their twenties and thirties, emphasized the newness and difference of the product, and had a great success. 3. Public relations. If advertising is the juggernaut of public attention, public relations is the stealth bomber. PR generates publicity for the brand, helps solidify the publics opinion of the brand, and defines the brand-all without being perceived by the public A lot of clients dont understand the difference between Branding, PR, advertising and marketing, says Rob Frankel, author of Revenge of Brand X. Personally, I prefer PR to advertising. I like PR because a lot of my Branding program is based on third-party endorsement. Its way more credible and fast-acting than when you pay for ads. Problem/Need Recognition for Future Branding How do you decide you want to buy a particular product or service? It could be that your DVD player stops working and you now have to look for a new one, all those DVD films you purchased you can no longer play! So you have a problem or a new need. For high value items like a DVD player or a car or other low frequency purchased products this is the process we would take. However, for impulse low frequency purchases e.g. confectionery the process is different. Q. What are the new branding challenges and opportunities especially nowadays with the global economic crisis? The current economic crisis presents many challenges but also much opportunity for brand marketers at the same time. Research has show that in past recessions those firms that have been willing to invest in their marketing have emerged in a stronger position than those firms that have cut back spending and reduced their marketing investments. Obviously those marketing investments must be wise ones. Perhaps the most important branding consideration in tough economic times is to establish perceptions of good value. Being seen as low priced or less expensive is not necessarily the answer, the more important consideration is that consumers feel that they are getting appropriate value from a product or service. Value is basically all the benefits the consumer realizes versus all the costs that he or she incurs. It is important to view and these benefits and costs broadly. Benefits include the perceived monetary value of all the bundle of economic, functional, and psychological benefits th at customers expect from a product. Similarly, costs are not restricted to the actual monetary price but may reflect opportunity costs of time, energy, and any psychological involvement in the decision that consumers might have. Top marketers in a recession will be sure to develop marketing programs and activities that optimally balance that equation so that consumers feel the collective benefits outweigh the collective costs as much as possible. That my involve framing the brands costs and benefits so that they are seen in the most positive light possible. Q. What would you single out as the most important message out of your extensive experience in studying brands? The most important message for marketers these days is to make sure they have a deep, rich understanding of consumers and how they think and feel about brands and their products and services. It is so fundamental and may seem obvious, but unfortunately many marketers still fall way short on that score. Consumer Buying Behaviour Q. What is the future of branding? Brands will always be important given their fundamental purpose to identify and differentiate products and services. A good brand makes peoples lives a little easier and better. People are loyal to brands that satisfy their expectations and deliver on its brand promise. In an increasingly complex and busy world, the ability of a brand to simplify consumer decision-making is powerful. The predictably good performance of a strong brand is something that consumers will always value. What will change, however, is the means by which firms will build those brands. Marketers must always be adopting state-of-the-art branding practices to ensure that their marketing programs and activities reflect the always changing economic, cultural, technological, social, and legal environments. There are 4-Types of consumer buying behaviour: Assael 1987 Purchasing Experiences High Involvement Low Involvement Significant differences between brands Complex buying behavior Variety-seeking buying behavior Few differences between brands Dissonance-reducing buying behavior Habitual buying behavior Source: Assael 1987, Consumer Behaviour and Marketing Action, 6th edition, p. 67 There are four types of consumer depending upon the degrees of involvement and degree of differentiation amongst the brands as per Assael. A displaying Complex Buying Behaviour Pattern is a group of consumer who prefer to expand their beliefs regarding a particular product as a primary step and hence this process will lead them to develop positive attitudes regarding the product. Dissonance-Reducing Behaviour of consumer is classified as the trend in which consumers are highly involved in the purchasing experience but unable to compare among the brand of products offering similar services or features. Thus differentiation becomes the key point as consumers asks for the features or functionalities or price comparison among the brand but in a market which display low differentiation of brands, the consumer purchasing behaviour is influenced by convenience. Displaying Habitual Buying Behaviour is a behavioural pattern as a result of consumers condition where the consumer buying decision depends on the product information acquired passively or the information embedded in their mind via review electronic media or promotional efforts, also the user shows low-level of involvement products. Variety Seeker Buying Behaviour, the consumer buying reaction occurs because of low-involvement in a market that displays high levels of product differentiation , thus they prefer to follow Brand Switching , in order to satisfy their need for diversification. Chapter 4: Survey, Analysis and Findings Introduction The survey was performed in India at Shoppers Stop Mall (New Delhi Ansal Plaza Branch), which has many branches across the country at major cities and in United Kingdom, at St. Anns Shopping Centre (Harrow, London). The survey template was design to understand the relation between a product brand and consumer, in a sense that how much they trust or rely on the brand that they go for the product, in short the impact of branding on consumer purchasing decision. The research was to understand the influence of Brand in a developing and developed country. As the one could easily conclude that the consumer in developed country focus on more on brand image as the brand image define the quality of product whereas consumer in developing focus more on the need rather than quality for example a consumer in India purchasing a television will first look for the price and then maximum features within the price also the product should belong to reliable brand this is one of the key reason that even though India has certain level of free trade open market relation with china , still the Chinese cheap product unable to penetrate the Indian market. Questionnaires There are 150 and 180 interviews have performed in India and UK respectively, the pie chart display the same. The Number of interviews conducted with respect to different age group, the column chart below represent about the survey conduct in India at shoppers stop mall. The below graph display the number of interviews conducted, focusing the age group in UK at St. Anns Shopping Centre. In our survey we have put more focus on the young generation and middle-age group to understand their psychology while purchasing a product and how its being influences by the brand of the product. We also get to know the preference made by female and male group in India and UK. The female group in India and UK both spend their most of their shopping time in costumes and they prefer detail analysis or observation between different brands and they could easily compromise on the brand. Which brand do you use? Brand P Brand Q Brand R Brand S In case of others, please specifyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Age group? 16- 24 24 35 35- 50 50-70 What to you perceive to be the key attributes of a brand and what do you associate it with? Quality Price Status Personality Aesthetics To what extent brands are important to you? Very Important Important Neither Important nor Unimportant Not Very important Not at all Important 5. How does the Made in trademark influence your buying? Very Much Not much Doesnt Matters Matters Strongly Matters What is the key difference between International and Domestic brands? Quality Price Variety Services Does Culture difference play an important role in regards to your buying decision? Agree Strongly Agree Depends Disagree Strongly Disagree Do you agree shopping is different in abroad then in India? Yes No Do you feel changing market of fashion and technology plays an important role in your buying decision? Yes No What product of that particular brand do you use? Product 1 Product 2 Product 3 Product 4 In case of others, please specifyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. How long have you been using this product? 1 year 2 year 3 year 4 year 5 year In case of others please specifyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ How did you first chance upon the product? Advertising Word of mouth Display In case of others, please specifyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Please suggest, if you want to make any changes to the product and why? Are you satisfied with this brand? Extremely satisfied Satisfied Fairly Satisfied Not at all Satisfied Which Cosmetic product brand you prefer? Olay Dove Grainier A combination of mixed product brand. How long have you been using the product XYZ? First Time Regular user Never. What made you use the Product XYZ the very first time? Advertising Word of Mouth Display at shop If anything else, please specifyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Have you ever used competitors product? Yes No. If you have used competitors product, then please confirm which product is better in the following terms: Quality Quantity Brand Name Are you: Male Female How did you receive this product? Gift Purchase If other, please specify? How did hear about the sale of this product? Advertising-Newspaper, radio, TV Friend / family Article / magazine Store Others, specify__________________________________ From which store did you made the purchase of this product? Specify. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ How many different brands did you look out for this product? Specify. ___________________________________________________________ Findings In developing nations such as European countries, a different trend has been seen because of globalisation and free trade, the market is flooded with many products offering similar features and because of competition, the price of the product has fallen down, European industries has to reduce their cost of goods sales by compromising with the quality of materials or setting up manufacturing industries in developing or poor nation where the quality of production much more oriented towards manufacturing the product instead of manufacture quality product , for example Automobile industries , the number of automobile industries has gone down significantly in past 50 years. As per the research performed by KPMG for Automobile industries, the future of automobile industries will not only be characterized by origin of OEMs. Recommendations Convergence: A Business Concept The concept convergence has already entered into the market with innovation ideas of doing business, in automobile industries; e-Mobility and Car-sharing business are the best example the convergence of brand and business ideas, e-mobility provides convergence between Fiat OEMs and Power Suppliers and Car-Sharing e.g Deutsche Bahan is the convergence between OEMs and mobility providers. From this we could able to figure out that convergence and innovative business ideas not only helps the Brand Convergence A New Business Player Convergence example: E-Mobility and Car-Sharing Assembled Product: Combination of Branded Products In coming future, one could imagine of a product developed like an IT product, for example an IT product such as cloud computing systems , IT for green , Client computing , Advance Analytics (Business Intelligence software) is a combination of many software product provided by different brand leaders. This could be a future business concept across all products , one could think of his own car made up of worlds different brand leaders. Conclusions Recommendations Personnel Reflections

Focus On The Victoria Climbie Inquiry Report Social Work Essay

Focus On The Victoria Climbie Inquiry Report Social Work Essay In his statement to the House of Commons when presenting Lord Lamings Inquiry Report into the death of Victoria Climbià ©, on 28 January 2003, the Secretary of State for Health, Alan Milburn, said: It is an all too familiar cry. In the past few decades there have been dozens of inquiries into awful cases of child abuse and neglect. Each has called on us to learn the lesson of what went wrong. Indeed, there is a remarkable consistency in both what went wrong and what is advocated to put it right. Lord Lamings Report goes further. It recognises that the search for a simple solution or a quick fix will not do. It is not just national standards, or proper training, or adequate resources, or local leadership, or new structures that are needed. I will give an overview of the inquiry. I will also give an overview of the themes, lack of accountability right through the organizations to the most senior level and staff not adequately trained in child protection. I will analyse and critique these themes in relation to agency policy, legal requirements, research, practitioner knowledge and the voice of the service user. Previous inquiries and there link to this inquiry will be discussed along with have we learned any lessons from this. The failure to implement a legal, ethical and political framework to inform current best practice will be utilized. I will reflect on the implications of evidence informed practice and how this will inform future social work practice. This paragraph will provide a summary of the events leading to the death of Victoria Climbie, and establish why there was a need for the inquiry. From the report (Lord Laming, 2003) we know that Victoria Climbie came to England with her great-aunt, Marie-Therese Kouao in April 1999. Within a year, she was dead. On 25th February 2000, Victoria died of hyperthermia at St Marys Hospital, Paddington. She was just eight years old and had 128 separate injuries to her body. On 12th January 2001, her great-aunt Kouao and her boyfriend, Carl Manning, were convicted of murder. The level of cruelty experienced by Victoria was truly horrific, with daily beatings using several different implements. Her final days were spent living and sleeping in an unheated bathroom in the middle of winter, where she was bound hand and foot, lying in her own urine and faeces in a bin bag in the bath. The secretary of State set up the independent statutory inquiry into her death, under the Chairmanship of Lord La ming, in April 2001, to establish under section 81 of the Children Act 89 the concerns with the functions of the local authority social services committees and the way they relate to children. The inquiry wanted to examine the way in which local authorities in respect of their social services functions and identify the services sought or required by, or in respect of Victoria, Marie-Therese and Carl. This section will now aim to analyse and critique the key theme I have identified that emerged from the inquiry report which is lack of accountability right through the organizations to the most senior level and staff not adequately trained in child protection. Lord Laming (2003) points out There were at least 12 key occasions when the relevant services had opportunities to successfully intervene to help Victoria, but had failed to do so. Within the Report Lord laming (2003) states That not one of these interventions would have required great skill or made heavy demands on staff, sometimes it needed nothing more than a manager doing their job by asking pertinent questions or taking the trouble to look in a case file. He continues to states Lord Laming (2003) There can be no excuse for such sloppy and unprofessional performance. As Lord Laming (2003) commented Not one of the agencies empowered by Parliament to protect children in positions such as Victorias emerged from the Inquiry wi th much credit, what happened to Victoria, and her ultimate death, resulted from an inexcusable gross failure of the system. Lord Lamings (2003) expressed His amazement that nobody in the agencies had the presence of mind to follow what are relatively straightforward procedures on how to respond to a child about whom there is concern of deliberate harm. The Inquiry Report (Lord Laming, 2003) highlighted widespread lack of accountability through the organisations as the principal reason for the lack of protection afforded to Victoria. Who should be held responsible for these failures? As Webb (2002) states: Lord Laming was clear that it is not the hapless and sometimes inexperienced front-line staff to whom he directs most criticism, but to those in positions of management, including hospital consultants, I think that the performance of people in leadership positions should be judged on how well services are delivered at the front door. Professor Nigel Parton (2003) points out that Too often in the Inquiry people justify their positions around bureaucratic activities rather than around outcomes for children. Frankly, I would be the very last person to say that good administration is not essential to good practice. Professor Nigel Parton (2003) continues to state that Good administration-and we did not see a lot of it, I have to say-i s a means to an end. I cannot imagine in any other walk of life if a senior manager was in charge of an organisation and that organisation was going down the pan-to put it crudely-in terms of sales and performance that someone would say My role is entirely strategic, do not hold me to account for what happens in the organisation. People who occupy senior positions have to stand or fall by what service is delivered at the front door. The Inquiry Report Lord Laming (2003) highlighted the apparent failure of those in senior positions to understand, or accept, that they were responsible for the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of local services. As Rustin (2010) states Lord Laming pointed to the yawning gap in the differing perceptions of the organisation held by front line staff and senior managers. Lord Laming was unequivocal that the failure was the fault of managers whose job it should have been to understand what was happening at their front door. As the Report Lord Laming (20 03) pointed out, some of those in the most senior positions used the defence no one ever told me to distance themselves from responsibility, and to argue that there was nothing they could have done. Rustin (2004) states this was not a view shared by Lord Laming. Rustin (2004) also continues to state that Lord Laming went even further in evidence to us, telling us forcefully that, in his view, accountability of managers was paramount, and that the front line staff were generally doing their utmost. In addition to the fundamental problems of a lack of accountability and managerial control, it was also apparent in the course of the Inquiry Lord Laming (2003) that other failings existed in all aspects of practice. This section will evaluate previous inquiries and how they link to this inquiry and have any lessons been learned from them. As Rustin (2004) states: As with many previous inquiries into child protection failures, Maria Colwell (1973), Jasmine Beckford (1984), Tyra Henry (1984 ) and Kimberley Carlile (1986) it was clear that the quality of information exchange was often poor, systems were crude and information failed to be passed between hospitals in close proximity to each other. As the Report commented Lord Laming (2003) Information systems that depend on the random passing of slips of paper have no place in modern services. The evidence from another report, Maria Colwell, who had died in January of 1973 pointed to similar weaknesses, which were found in Victorias report these weaknesses were, lack of accountability and staff not adequately trained (Corby et al, 2001). Inquiry reports are sources of evidence to inform social work practice and even though they have many weaknesses within them as illustrated. Professor Nigel Parton (2004) points out that In many respects public inquiries have proved to be the key vehicle through which changes in policy and practice have been brought about over the last thirty years in relation to child protection policy and practice in this country. Professor Nigel Parton (2004) continues to point out that Rather than public inquiries being ignored, they have been fundamental to the way child protection operates. In this respect, they are as much a part of the problem as they are the solution. Have lessons been learned from the many public inquiries over the previous thirty years. It was as if states Professor Nigel Parton (2004) The frontline professionals, and the key organisations and agencies who have responsibility for children and families were quite incapable of learning the lessons and, crucially, putting these into practice in such a way that such horrendous tragedies could be avoided. It is hoped by many, therefore, that the report by Lord Laming, and the changes brought about as a result, will mean that this will be the last report of its type. This section will address the other theme I have highlighted adequate training. The question of adequate training and supervision for staff working in all the relevant agencies were also an issue identified in the Inquiry. Professor Nigel Parton (2004) points out that In Haringey, for example, it was observed that the provision of supervision may have looked good on paper but in practice it was woefully inadequate for many of the front line staff. Professor Nigel Barton (2004) also points out that nowhere was this more evident than in the fact that in the final weeks of Victorias life a social worker called several times at the flat where she had been living. There was no reply to her knocks and the social worker assumed, quite wrongly, that Victoria and Kouao had moved away, and took no further action. As the Laming Report (Lord Laming, 2003) commented, It was entirely possible that at the time Victoria was in fact lying just a few yards away, in the prison of the bath, desperately hoping someone might find her and come to her rescue before her life ebbed away. This section will now look at the failure to implement the legal and political framework within the inquiry report. Lord Laming within the report (Lord Laming 2003) told us that he continued to believe that the Children Act 1989 was basically sound legislation. His recommendations do not argue for a major new legislative framework. However, Lord Laming (2003) states he did not believe that the Act was being implemented in the way that had been envisaged for it, and, in his view, there was a yawning gap at the present time between the aspirations and expectations of Parliament and the certainty of what is delivered at the front door. Rustin (2004) states In the absence of adequate managerial accountability, front line workers were obliged to make crucial strategic decisions, for example about the use of the Children Act, and between using sections 17 and 47 (relating respectively to a child in need, and a child in need of protection). The sections of the Act had been developed with th e intention of as pointed out by Rustin (2004) Of recognising the different needs of children. How the sections were being applied on the ground however as stated by Lord Laming (2003) is Quite different, far from employing the section of the Act that would best meet the needs of the particular child and their circumstances, what they were actually doing was using these sections to restrict access to services and to limit the availability of services to people. The Children Act, Lord Laming (2003) argued to us Should be about promoting the well-being of children, not about putting labels around peoples neck. Lord Laming (2003) went on to suggest that Front line workers were being forced into making decisions that should properly have rested with management and policy decisions. This raised major questions about the role of public services and the basic principles that should underpin them, as (Lord Laming 2003) stated We need to stand back and say that we need to discover the basic principle that the public services are there to serve the public, not just some of the public and not just some people who can get through eligibility criteria, or who are sufficiently persistent. Therefore services must be more accessible and they must be more in tune with their local communities. If, as Lord Laming believes Kirton (2009, p.17) states The Victoria Climbià © case was not unique, but highlighted widespread and major deficiencies in the implementation of the Children Act, this raises issues that Government should address. I believe that the Children Act 1989 remains essentially sound legislation. However, there is concern as pointed out by Professor Nigel Parton (2004) That the provisions of the Act which sought to ensure an appropriate response to the differing needs of children are being applied inappropriately, used as a means of rationing access to services, and have led to section 17 cases being regarded as having low priority. The Laming Inquiry (Lord Laming 20 03) recommended that consideration should be given to unifying the Working Together guidance and the National Assessment Framework guidance into a single document, setting out clearly how the sections of the Act should be applied, and giving clear direction on action to be taken under sections 17 and 47. Within this section I will discuss the ethical framework. It is important to include the issues of social class and gender, which were not evident in the Victoria Climbià © inquiry. However, it is issues around ethnicity and race that are more evident. However, the diversity referred to is incredibly complex. This is illustrated at various points states Webb (2002) For example: At the time Victorias case was handled in Brent, all the duty social workers had received their training abroad and were on temporary contracts. (In Brent) at least 50 per cent of social workers time was spent working on cases of unaccompanied minors. As Webb (2002) states There was evidence that Haringey has one of the most diverse populations in the country, with 160 different languages spoken locally, a long tradition of travellers settling in the borough and a high proportion of asylum-seeking families (9 percent of the total population). Within the report Lord Laming (2003) points out that In relation to all the London boroughs involved there were high levels of poverty and deprivation, diverse ethnic, cultural, linguistic backgrounds, as well as the diverse backgrounds of the workers themselves. In many respects, it seems Victorias situation was not unique in these respective boroughs. Webb (2002) indicated The impact of increased global mobility, more specifically the rapid increase in asylum-seeking families, together with the diverse backgrounds of the workers themselves increasingly seems to characterise work in many metropolitan areas. This has a particular impact states Webb (2002) On the nature, stability and cohesion of local communities. It is worth noting that, compared to the Maria Colwell case, no referrals are noted in the Victoria Climbià © case from neighbours or other members of the community apart from the child minder Mrs Cameron. We are not simply talking about diversity here but incredible compl exity. Kirton (2009) argues that Not only does it pose major linguistic challenges but also it poses major challenges for statutory departments in relation to the familial and cultural identities of those with whom they work and to whom they have responsibility. Issues around racism are clearly important here, however they cannot be reduced to a simple black and white community and cultural divide. This section will reflect on the implications of evidence-informed practice (EIP) and the usefulness of the inquiry to inform the development of future social work practice. Often, in hindsight, those who put people at risk are blamed for the misfortune and harm they cause. (Kirton, 2009) This is arguably the most signi ¬Ã‚ cant professional context in which EIP has emerged. According to Munro (1998) Social workers rely on vague assessments and predictions, rather than considering what is more or less probable. In everyday life decisions have to be made on a limited evidence base and professional decisions are also at best problematic. There are numerous unexpected and complex outcomes in social work, many of which rest on having to make judgments under conditions of uncertainty. (Kirton, 2009) The main problems associated with making effective decisions in social work as stated by Kirton (2009) include: risk and uncertainty, intangibles, long-term implications, interdisciplinary input and the politics of different vested interests pooled decision making and value judgments. Decision analysis has developed as a statistical technique to help overcome these kinds of problems. Decision analysis is closely related to risk assessment and actuarial practices. Evidence-informed practice and policy are self-explanatory. They involve the adoption of evidence-based protocols and use local standards for conducting social work practice and developing organizationally speci ¬Ã‚ c policies. (Webb, 2002) It has been suggested that evidence-informed protocols feed directly into the practitioner context to provide guidelines for carrying out EIP. Essentially evidence-informed practice and policy in social work will entail the explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the social care of service users. This de ¬Ã‚ nition is widely used and derived from Sackett et al.s Evidence-based Medicine (1996). A pragmatic approach as stated by Sa ckett (1996) Has been adopted here, which regards the practice of evidence as integrating practitioner expertise with the best available external evidence from systematic but multiple research methods. The implementation model outlined is the idea that the practice-based process begins with the evidence rather than the individual or groups of clients. Clearly the application of evidence-informed practice and policies will be governed by the economic scope of social work agencies in terms of resources and the development of an evidence-informed infrastructure. (Kirton, 2009) Sackett (1996) points out that At a local level it will also be dependent on incremental learning and accumulative professional development which are likely to be facilitated by the practice research networks and evidence-based brie ¬Ã‚ ngs discussed above. In this essay I have analysed and critiqued two key themes from the inquiry, lack of accountability right through the organizations to the most senior level and staff not, adequately trained in child protection. I have also analysed and critique these themes in relation to agency policy, legal requirements, research, practitioner knowledge and the voice of the service user. I have linked previous inquiries and discussed have we learned any lessons from these inquiries. I identified the failure to implement a legal, ethical and political framework to inform current best practice will. I also reflected on the implications of evidence informed practice and how this will inform future social work practice. A closing quote to finish from the Secretary of State, Alan Milburn (2003) It has felt as if Victoria has attended every step of this inquiry, and it has been my good fortune to have had the assistance of colleagues whose abilities have been matched by their commitment to the task of doing justice to Victorias memory and her enduring spirit, and to creating something positive from her suffering and ultimate death.

The Characteristics Of Shakespeares Comedies :: essays research papers

The Characteristics of Shakespeare's Comedies Shakespeare wrote many different forms of literary works and one of them is comedy. At the end of his professional life he had written four famous comedies which were later called his "romances". Shakespeare's comedies were not primarily love stories but they all included a love plot. His romances all had the happy ending of a comedy, but in a way they hinted on violence (Prentice Hall Literature). His focus and emphasis was clearly towards the structure and language of his comedies, which made his comedies quite distinct from others. The ideas and concepts also made his comedies designated, as we experienced it in one of his most famous comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream. The structure of Shakespeare comedies is common in all his comic drama. The play goes through three phases. In the first stage there is order and discipline. Then it goes through a situation where there is chaos and disorder. Finally in the third stage order is restored again and the play ends in a festive ending. In the beginning of A Midsummer Nights Dream we see that Theseus has entire control over the people in Athens and he is getting ready to wed Hyppolita, queen of the amazons. Then quickly the whole situation changes when Lysander and Hermia flee into the forest and complications start to build up. The play ends with a joyful ending, when daylight has returned, the duke and duchess and the four lovers are united in the bonds of marriage and they are entertaining themselves with dance and music. Their world of love has come to its proper order. The language was evidently the main reason why Shakespeare's comedies were more amusing than other comedies of his time. He used many techniques to illustrate humor, and sometimes we have to know the inner meanings to find it comical. The play of words or puns were very popular in the comedies of Shakespeare. Quince makes a good pun when he mentions the French crown. It is a pun because it could have more than one meaning, it could mean gold coins or also baldness which is often caused by treatments of STD. Another good example of a pun is what Lysander says to Hermia "For lying so, Hermia, I do not lie". This example shows how good Shakespeare was at playing around with words as he uses the word lie in two different ways. Lie could mean both lying down or not telling the truth. Some of these puns show a lot of facetiousness and wit. Lysander says to Demetrius "You have her father's love.

Formation of the Greek Empire :: essays research papers

"Our constitution is called a democracy because power is in the hands not of a ministry but of the whole people." Pericles was one of the many people who helped shape Ancient Greece to what we know of it today. The famous Greek Empire has bits and pieces from each ruler or group of people who once occupied it: the Mycenaean's, Dorian's, Pericles, Phillip 2, and Alexander the Great. In ancient times, Greece wasn't a united country but more of a group of lands where Greek-speaking people lived. Around 2000.B.C. the Mycenaean?s settled on the Greek mainland seeking to form a civilization. Already having the geography provide to the Greek culture, they put in many ideas and developed a writing system with the help of the Minoans, a group of people who were native to the Greek mainland. They fought a ten-year war against Troy known as the Trojan War. Although they were victorious, the weakened civilization collapsed and a new group of people, the Dorian?s took Greece into what is known as the Dark Age of Greece. Being less advanced than the Mycenaean?s, the writing system was dropped and a new way to tell history was formed through word or epics. Two major city-states or polis formed: Athens and Sparta. Athens developed a limited Democracy, which was ruled by the people through representatives. This proved to be most efficient because all people were treated equal ly. Its was kept under control with a set of laws that harshly punished citizens for even the simplest crimes created by Draco in 621B.C. Solon came into power in 594 B.C., and took out Dracos? wicked methods by making four social classes based on wealth and abolishing debt slavery. Around 500 B.C., Cleisthenes created the Council of Five Hundred in which council members were randomly chosen by only citizens could be in a limited democracy. He also rearranged the social classes formed by Solon into ten groups based on where a citizen lived rather on wealth. Education in Athens was only given to males and when they became of age they then went on to serve in the military. Athens honored cultural things such as art and literature. Sparta was a military state run by an oligarchy government or rule by a small group of citizens based on wealth. Social order in Sparta consisted of citizens, noncitizens and helots. Sparta had the strongest army in Greece.

Case Analysis: “No Frills” Air Fares

Business Economics Case Analysis: â€Å"No Frills† Air Fares Distinguish between the demand curves for National Airlines, Eastern Airlines and the Airlines industry. The above analysis requires an understanding of: (i) Why is the demand curve downward sloping? (ii) Can price have the same effect on the demand between the firms and at industry level? (iii) What would be the effect of changes in income and other prices on the demand curve of a firm? iv) Calculate the price elasticity of demand for National and Eastern Airlines. (v) Which elasticity measurement (Point vs. Arc) is appropriate for National and Eastern Airline? Explain â€Å"No Frills† Air Fares As the 1974-1975 recession made inroads into passenger traffic loads of the major airlines, National Airlines persuaded the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) to let it try an experiment with a discount of as much as 35 % from normal coach fares on certain of its regularly scheduled routes. National, in an effort to build up its load factor, tied its discount fare proposal to the offering of â€Å"no frills† service during the flight, including doing away with complimentary meals, snacks, soft drinks, and coffee so as to reduce costs and partially offset the lower-priced fares. However, passengers using the â€Å"no frills† plan could selectively purchase these items in-flight if they wished. The no frills fares were offered only Mondays through Thursdays. The CAB gave the go-ahead to National to experiment with the no frills fare, with the proviso that National study the plan and report back at a later date. Eastern Airlines and Delta Airlines, both competitors of National on some of the routes where National proposed to implement no frills fares, were also permitted to use the discount fares for a trial period. In its report to the CAB on the results of the no frills approach, National maintained that 56 % of the 133,000 passengers who used its no frills fare from mid- April through June 30, 1975, were enticed to travel by air because of the discount fare plan. According to National, the new passenger traffic generated by discount fares increased its revenues by $4 million during that period. National said that its figures were based upon an on-board survey of 13,500 passengers and presented one of the most exhaustive studies ever conducted for a CAB investigation. J. Dan Brock, vice president for marketing for National Airlines, was quoted at a news conference as saying that the fare had been an â€Å"unqualified success,† had created a new air-travel market, and had generated more than twice the volume of new passengers required to offset revenue dilution caused by regular passengers switching to the lower fare. He said the stimulus of the fare gave National a net traffic gain of 74,000 passengers during the initial 21/2 – month trail. But he also cautioned that the success claims he was making for the no frills fare did not mean that low fares were the answer to the airline industry’s excess capacity problems. Yet Brock did go so far as to state that â€Å"what no frills has proved†¦ is that a properly conceived discount fare, offered at the right time in the right markets with the right controls, can help airlines hurdle traditionally soft traffic period. Eastern Airlines reported a much different experience. Eastern said its studies showed that only 14 % of the 55,200 of its passengers who used a no frills fare between mid-April and May 31 represented newly generated traffic, with the remaining 86 % representing passengers diverted from higher fares who would have flown anyway. It said that the effect of the fare in the six major markets it studied was a net loss in re venue to Eastern of $ 543,000 during the initial 11/2 months. At the same time Eastern attacked the credibility of the National Airlines’ survey, noting that its own data were based upon an exhaustive and scientific blind telephone survey among persons who did not know the purpose and sponsor of the survey. Eastern claimed that this type of study was more apt to produce unbiased results that National’s on-board surveys. Other airlines joined Eastern in challenging National’s survey results in the CAB’s hearing to decide whether the no frills fares should continue to be allowed. Delta Airlines, for example, claimed that the no frills fare did not even come close to offsetting the dilution its experienced in revenues. Other airline officials observed that while National Airlines might have succeeded through its heavy promotion of the no frills fares in diverting some business from ther carriers, they felt that National‘s claims of generating many passengers who otherwise would not have flown were â€Å"preposterous. † Those airlines in direct competition with National on the routes where the discount fares were tried were vehemently opposed to continuing the discounts. In their view the no frills approach constituted â€Å"economic nonsense. † They announced a policy of matching National’s discount fare only where forced to for competitive reasons.

Critical Analysis on Bonded Labour System Analysis Act, 1976

Critical Analysis on Bonded Labour System (abolition) Act, 1976 SALIENT FEATURES OF THE BONDED LABOUR SYSTEM (ABOLITION) ACT, 1976 †¢ This Act provides for the abolition of the system of bonded labour. It freed unilaterally all the bonded labourers from bondage with simultaneous liquidation of their debts. †¢ The Act does away with every obligation of a bonded labourer to repay any bonded debt; it also dispenses with the future liability of repaying a bonded debt.The law provides that (a) no suit or other proceedings shall be instituted in any Civil Court for the recovery of any bonded debt (b) every attachment made before the commencement of the Act for the recovery of any bonded debt shall stand vacated and (c) such movable property shall be restored to the bonded labourer. †¢ The district and sub-divisional magistrates have been entrusted with certain duties/responsibilities towards implementation of statutory provisions.Under Section-13 of the Act, Vigilance Commit tees are required to be constituted at the district and sub-divisional level for implementation of the provisions of the law. They are composite bodies with representatives from different cross sections of the society and have a life of 2 years. †¢ Registers containing the names and addresses of all freed bonded labourers, their vacation, occupation and income, details of the benefits received are required to be maintained under the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Rules. The Act provides for imprisonment up to 3 years and fine up to Rs. 2000/- to whoever compels any person to render any bonded labour and whoever advances any bonded debt. An offence detailed surveys in their States. The same information was submitted to the Supreme Court by the State Governments in the form of affidavits in 1997. ?One ILO project namely â€Å"Prevention of Family Indebtedness with Micro Finance Scheme and Related Services† is being implemented in three States, namely Andhra Pradesh, Tami l Nadu and Karnataka.The objective of the project is to induce existing micro finance institutions to develop, test and offer savings and loan products, particularly tailor-made for vulnerable families at the risk of getting into debt traps. The prime focus of the project is on preventing marginal families from falling into debt bondage and also to ensure sustainable rehabilitation of freed bonded labourers. Based on its experience, a model could be considered for replication or application in other parts of the Country. Liability to repay bonded debt to stand extinguished.On the commencement of this Act, every obligation of a bonded labourer to repay any bonded debt, or such part of any bonded debt as remains unsatisfied immediately before such commencement, shall be deemed to have been extinguished. After the commencement of this Act, no suit or other proceeding shall lie in any civil court or before any other authority for the recovery of any bonded debt or any part thereof. Ever y decree or order for the recovery of bonded debt, passed before the commencement of this Act and not fully satisfied before such commencement, shall be deemed, on such commencement, to have been fully satisfied.Every attachment made before the commencement of this Act, for the recovery of any bonded debt, shall, on such commencement, stand vacated; and, where, in pursuance of such attachment, any movable property of the bonded labourer was seized and removed from his custody and kept in the custody of any court or other authority pending sale thereof, such movable property shall be restored, as soon as may be practicable after such commencement, to the possession of the bonded labourer. Property of bonded labourer to be freed from mortgage, etc.All property vested in a bonded labourer which was, immediately before the commencement of this Act under any mortgage, charge, lien or other encumbrances in connection with any bonded debt shall, in so far as it is relatable to the bonded d ebt, stand freed and discharged from such mortgage, charge, lien or other encumbrances, and where any such property was, immediately before the commencement of this Act, in the possession of the mortgagee or the holder of the charge, lien or encumbrance, such property shall (except where it was subject to any other charge), on such commencement, be restored to the possession of the bonded labourer.If any delay is made in restoring any property, referred to in sub-section (1), to the possession of the bonded labourer, such labourer shall be entitled, on and from the date of such commencement, to recover from the mortgagee or holder of the lien, charge or encumbrance, such mesne profits as may be determined by the civil court of the lowest pecuniary jurisdiction within the local limits of whose jurisdiction such property is situated. Authorities who may be specified for implementing the provisions of this Act. The State Government may confer such powers and impose such duties on a Dis trict Magistrate as may be necessary to ensure that the provisions of this Act are properly carried out and the District Magistrate may specify the officer, subordinate to him, who shall exercise all or any of the powers, and perform all or any of the duties, so conferred or imposed and the local limits within which such powers or duties shall be carried out by the officer so specified.Vigilance Committees. Every State Government shall, by notification in the Official Gazette, constitute such number of Vigilance Committees in each district and each Sub-Division as it may think fit.Each Vigilance Committee, constituted for a district, shall consist of the following members, namely: — (a) the District Magistrate, or a person nominated by him, who shall be the Chairman; (b) three persons belonging to the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes and residing in the district, to be nominated by the District Magistrate; (c) two social workers, resident in the district, to be nominated by the District Magistrate; (d) not more than three persons to represent the official or non-official agencies in the district connected with rural development, to be nominated by the State Government; (e) one person to represent the financial and credit institutions in the district, to be nominated by the District Magistrate. Act to have overriding effect. The provisions of this Act shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any enactment other than this Act, or in any instrument having effect by virtue of any enactment other than this Act. Agreement, custom, etc. , to be void. – On the commencement of this Act, any custom or tradition or any contract, agreement or other instrument (whether entered into or executed before or after the commencement of this Act), by virtue of which any person, or any member of the family or dependant of such person, is required to do any work or render any service as a bonded labourer, shall be void and inop erative. CONSTRAINTS Bonded Labour System is a dynamic problem; it can occur and reoccur at any point of time in any industry or occupation. †¢ Once the bonded labourers are identified and released, in case they are not immediately rehabilitated, they become even worse off as compared to the situation when they were bonded and were at least able to survive by getting two square meals. †¢ Contrary to the traditional perception that bonded labour is confined to the agricultural sector alone, it can also occur and reoccur in any form of economic activity such as, agriculture, brick-kiln, stone quarries, carpet weaving, pisciculture, etc. , CONSTITUTIONAL AND LEGAL PROVISIONS The Constitution of India guarantees to all its citizens- justice, social, economic and political, freedom of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship, equity of status and opportunity and fraternity, dignity of individual and unity of the Nation. †¢ Under Article 23 of the ConstitutionTraffic in human beings and beggar and other similar forms of forced labour are prohibited and any contravention of this provision shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law. †¢ Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Ordinance was promulgated. Which was later on replaced by the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976. CENTRALLY SPONSORED PLAN SCHEME FOR REHABILITATION OF BONDED LABOURIn order to assist the State Governments in their task of rehabilitation of released bonded labourers, the Ministry of Labour launched a Centrally Sponsored Scheme since May, 1978 for rehabilitation of bonded labourers. Under this Scheme rehabilitation assistance of Rs. 20,000/- per freed bonded labour is provided, which is shared by the Central and State Governments on 50:50 basis; in the case of the Seven North Eastern States, 100% central assistance if they express their inability to provide their share. The Scheme also provide for financing of the following activities. †¢ Rs. 2. 00 lakh pe r sensitive district can be provided to concerned state government to conduct survey for identification of bonded labour once in three years. †¢ Central assistance of Rs. 10. 00 lakhs every year can be sanctioned to every tate government to undertake awareness generation activities relating to bonded labour system. †¢ Rs. 5. 00 lakh per year can be sanctioned to every state government to study impact of existing land-debt related issues affecting bonded labourers and the impact of poverty alleviation programmes and financial assistance provided by various Government sources so far. Besides above the States Governments have also been advised to integrate/ dovetail the Centrally Sponsored Scheme for rehabilitation of bonded labour with other ongoing poverty alleviation schemes such as Swaran Jayanti Gram Swa Rojgar Yojana (SJGSRY), Special Component Plan for Supreme Court, Tribal Sub-Plan etc.Accordingly, the rehabilitation package provided by the concerned Stated Government s for the freed bonded labourers includes the following major components: (i) Allotment of house-site and agricultural land; (ii) Land development; (iii) Provision of low cost dwelling units; (iv) Animal husbandry, dairy, poultry, piggery etc. ; (v) Training for acquiring new skills; developing existing skills; (vi) Wage employment, enforcement of minimum wages etc. ; (vii) Collection and processing of minor forest products; (viii) Supply of essential commodities under targeted public distribution system; (ix) Education for children; and (x) Protection of civil rights.INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANISATION AND FORCED/ BONDED LABOUR †¢ There are two ILO Conventions, Convention No. 29 concerning Forced or Compulsory labour (1930) and Convention No. 105 concerning Abolition of Forced Labour (1957). Government of India has ratified both the Conventions. †¢ Before the 89th Session of the International Labour Conference (June 2001) the Director General of ILO submitted a global repor t on ‘Stopping Forced Labour’. This report contained references regarding incidences of bonded labour in India on the basis of survey conducted by the Gandhi Peace Foundation and National Labour Institute and also the estimates of some other NGOs.The Gandhi Peace Foundation and the National Labour Institute conducted a survey in 1978-79, which had estimated the number of bonded labour as 2. 6 million. This survey was based on a random sample drawn from a total of 4,50,199 villages in the ten selected States. Finally, 1000 villages from out of the 4,50,000 villages were selected. Every 450th villages in the census list of villages of each State starting with a random number was selected for the survey. The findings of the survey in respect of the above 1000 villages were multiplied by 450 to find out the total number of bonded labourers in ten States. Since the methodology adopted by the Gandhi Peace Foundation was not scientific the Government have not accepted their es timates.The need for having authentic data on number of bonded labourers in India was emphasized. It was urged that comprehensive and authoritative survey might be conducted in this regard. †¢ From the Government side, it was stated that the Government has strong will and intent to abolish and totally banish the bonded labour system from every nook and corner of the country. It was indicated that the Government of India’s estimates of bonded labour, as also reported in the following pages, were based on the information submitted by the concerned State Governments after conducting detailed surveys in their States. The same information was submitted to the Supreme Court by the State Governments in the form of affidavits in 1997. One ILO project namely â€Å"Prevention of Family Indebtedness with Micro Finance Scheme and Related Services† is being implemented in three States, namely Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The objective of the project is to induce e xisting micro finance institutions to develop, test and offer savings and loan products, particularly tailor-made for vulnerable families at the risk of getting into debt traps. The prime focus of the project is on preventing marginal families from falling into debt bondage and also to ensure sustainable rehabilitation of freed bonded labourers. Based on its experience, a model could be considered for replication orapplication in other parts of the Country.