Agro- Processing Industry in India free essay sample

Table of Contents 1. AGRO-PROCESSING: AN INTRODUCTION3 2. GROWTH OF AGRO PROCESSING SECTOR3 3. GOVERNMENT POLICIES4 4. SWOT ANALYSIS FOR AGRO-PROCESSING INDUSTRY6 5. GOAL 20157 6. ORGANISATION-VAPCOL8 7. PRODUCT: CASHEW-NUT9 7. 1 Cashew industry in India: An Overview10 7. 2 Supply chain of Cashew product marketed by Vapcol11 7. 3 Value Addition Process12 7. 4 Sales and distribution and Marketing of Cashew nut12 REFERENCES13 List of tables Table 1: Agro-Processing Industries in India—Growth, Status and Prospects4 Table 2: Product-Portfolio of VAPCOL9 List of figures Figure 1: Cashew production, consumption, export, import trend 10 Figure 2: State wise domestic production trend11 Figure 3: Procurement channel of Cashew12 Figure 4: Flow chart of Cashew processing12 ? 1. AGRO-PROCESSING: AN INTRODUCTION As per definition, Agro processing is a set of techno-economic activities, applied to all the produces, originating from agricultural farm, livestock, aqua cultural sources and forests for their conservation, handling and value-addition to make them usable as food, feed, fibre, fuel or industrial raw materials. This specific sector has experienced expansion during last five decades, starting with a handful of facilities which were mainly operating at domestic/cottage level. We will write a custom essay sample on Agro- Processing Industry in India or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page If properly developed, agro-processing sector can make India a major player at the global level for marketing and supply of processed food, feed and a wide range of other plant and animal. The scope of the agro-processing industry encompasses all operations from the stage of harvest till the material reaches the end users in the desired form, packaging, quantity, quality and price. Agro-processing is now regarded as the ‘sunrise sector’ of the Indian economy due to its large potential for growth and likely socio economic impact specifically on employment and income generation. While up to 14 per cent of the total work force is engaged in agro-processing sector in developed countries directly or indirectly; in India, only about 3 per cent of the work force is involved in this sector. This reveals vast untapped potential for employment. Our country has diverse agro-climatic conditions and consumer preferences and hence it produces a vast variety of agricultural and livestock materials. The losses in farm produce in India on account of poor post harvest management have been assessed to be of a very high order. The estimated loss includes losses during storage, handling and milling/processing. By adopting proper agro processing technology, the extent of post harvest losses could be brought down to less than fifty percent of the existing level. The 2. GROWTH OF AGRO PROCESSING SECTOR Starting with a small number of processing facilities in 1950-51, a fairly well spread network of processing facilities has been developed in the Country. Agro-processing technology in India has been continuously making steady progress towards modernization. The table mentioned below gives information of the latest development trends in respect of major crops/crop groups. Table 1: Agro-Processing Industries in India—Growth, Status and Prospects Sl. No. CropRecent products, processes, trends and technologies 1Rice Fully automatic modern rice mills Partially cooked/quick cooking rice Breakfast cereals and value-added products Attractive packaging and branding 2Wheat Fully automatic roller flour mills Whole bran wheat flour, Fortified wheat flour Attractive packaging and branding Large number of baked products Automatic chapatti making machines 3MaizeCorn flour-packaged and branded, Baby corn Corn flakes and value-added products including ready-to-eat snacks (salted sweetened) Starch material, corn oil with specific consumer desired attributes Large, automatic corn processing plants Coarse- CerealsValue-added products including breakfast foods extruded fortified tasty products 5PulsesAutomatic processing units for pulses with driers, colour sorters and packaging unit Cold storing of processed pulses Snack foods and other value added products 6SoybeanProduction of full fat soy flour/enzyme active soy flour for bakery and fortified foods Ready-to-eat snack foods Source: agricoop. nic. in Major problems faced by Agro-processing u nits have been: (a) Low capacity utilization, b) Poor recovery of the finished product from the raw materials, (c) Problems of arranging adequate working capital and its management, (d) Low product quality and (e) Unreliable assured power supply. 3. GOVERNMENT POLICIES The Government has formulated and implemented several schemes to provide financial assistance for setting up and modernizing of food processing units, creation of infrastructure, support for research and development and human resource development in addition to other promotional measures to encourage the growth of the processed food sector. The Centre has permitted under the Income Tax Act a deduction of 100 per cent of profit for five years and 25 per cent of profit in the next five years in case of new agro processing industries set up to package and preserve fruits and vegetables. †¢Excise Duty of 16 per cent on dairy machinery has been fully waived off and excise duty on meat, poultry and fish products has be en reduced from 16 per cent to 8 per cent. †¢Most of the processed food items have been exempted from the purview of licensing under the Industries Development and regulation) Act, 1951, except items reserved for small-scale sector and alcoholic beverages. †¢Food processing industries were included in the list of priority sector for bank lending in 1999. †¢Automatic approval for foreign equity up to 100 per cent is available for most of the processed food items except alcohol, beer and those reserved for small-scale sector subject to certain conditions. †¢The Union Commerce Ministry has approved a brand promotion campaign for value-added â€Å"Made in India† cashew being launched in the West Asian market by March end. The campaign, mooted by Cashew Export Promotion Council of India (CEPCI), involves a financial assistance of US$ 344,787 by the Ministry. †¢Full repatriation of profits and capital has been allowed. †¢Zero duty import of capital goods and raw material for 100 per cent export oriented units. †¢Sales of up to 50 per cent in domestic tariff area for agro based, 100 per cent export oriented units is allowed. †¢Government grants have been given for setting up common facilities in agro Food Park. †¢Full duty exemption on all imports for units in export processing zones has been done. Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006 Till the year 2005, thirteen different laws were applicable on the food and food processing sector. †¢FSSA will be aided by several scientific panels and a central advisory committee to lay down standards for food safety. These standards will include specifications for ingredients, contaminants, pesticide residue, biological hazards and labels. †¢The law will be enforced through State Commissioners of Food Safety and local level officials. †¢Everyone in the food sector is required to get a licence or a registration which would be issued by local authorities. Under APMC Act ?Transaction outside the regulated mandis is prohibited by most states. ?The procurement of agricultural produce should not be facilitated directly from farmer’s fields. ?Most states do not encourage direct marketing and Contract Farming. ?The private sectors are not allowed to invest for the infrastructure improvement. ?The purchaser has to be a registered agent at the wholesale market Under Model Act ?There is no compulsion to sell through existing markets administered by the APMC ? This act enables procurement of agricultural produce directly from the Farm Gate ? This act enables contract farming and there is provision for direct sale of farm produce 4. SWOT ANALYSIS FOR AGRO-PROCESSING INDUSTRY 4. 1 Strength: †¢Raw material is available throughout the year †¢This sector is getting support from the government and is being socially accepted as an important area †¢There is vast domestic market for agro processing of different agric products †¢There is vast network of manufacturing facilities all over the country 4. 2 Weakness: There is high requirement of working capital in this industry. †¢The linkages between RD labs and industry are inadequately developed. †¢Remuneration is less attractive for talent in comparison to contemporary disciplines. †¢There is inadequate automation with respect to the information. †¢There is low availability of new reliable and better accuracy instruments and equipments management. 4. 3 Opportu nity: †¢Large crop and material base in the country due to agro-ecological variability offers vast potential for agro processing activities. Integration of developments in contemporary technologies such as electronics, material science, computer, bio-technology etc. offer vast scope for rapid improvement and progress. †¢Opening of global markets may lead to export of our developed technologies and facilitate generation of additional income and employment 4. 4 Threat: †¢This industry might have to face competition from global players †¢Trained manpower is shifting to other industries and other professions due to better working conditions prevailing there. Such shift may lead to shortage of manpower in agro-processing industry. †¢Rapid developments in contemporary and requirements of the industry may lead to fast obsolescence. 5. GOAL 2015 ?Ministry of Food Processing Industries had commissioned a vision document for the growth of FPI sector. ?Processing of perishables is aimed to increase 20 percent. ?Value addition is aimed to increase to 34 percent from the present level of 20 percent. ?Share of agro processing industry in world trade has to be up from 1. 6 percent to 3 percent. 6. ORGANISATION-VAPCOL VAPCOL (Vasundhara Agri-Horti Producer Company Limited) is a Producer Company established under section 581A of the India Companies Act 1956 to market the products produced by its producer members across the country. VAPCOL is a multistate marketing company, which markets its product under the brand name of â€Å"VRINDAVAN†. Vapcol is promoted by BAIF (an NGO established in 1948 by Dr. Manibhai Desai to uplift the tribal farmers of south Gujarat). The products of Vapcol are a result of years of implementation of the Wadi programme initiated by BAIF. Wadi is a comprehensive programme for improving living standards of marginalised families in remote areas. Its mission is to satisfy its customer by providing consistent quality, service at reasonable price and thus provide remunerative prices and market to our producer owners. VAPCOL is engaged in food processing and marketing of fresh and processed fruits, nuts and vegetables produced in the operational areas of the member organisations. VAPCOL is primarily involved in establishing market linkages for various fresh and processed farm produce from the members. VAPCOL also facilitates the support to the member organisations to develop their supply chains, to implement producer oriented schemes and to take up value chain activities. VAPCOL producers group forms a complex of Cooperatives in Gujarat and Vibhags (Division) with no cooperative structure in Maharashtra. The producer groups from other states like Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Rajasthan are also part of VAPCOL. All the processing units of VAPCOL are spread across the country right from Gujarat, Maharashtra, MP, UP to Rajasthan. Table 2: Product-Portfolio of VAPCOL Product PortfolioMain ingredientsSuppliers and Area Market (Area coverage)Competitors Mango PicklesRaw mango, salt, Spices, Vegetable oilMember cooperatives, Valsad and NasikValsad, Navasari, PunePravin, Mothers Recipe, Nilons, Kamdhenu Mixed PicklesRaw mango, Lemon, Green chilli, carrot, salt, Spices, Vegetable oilMember cooperatives, ValsadValsad, Navasari, PunePravin, Mothers Recipe, Nilons, Kamdhenu Karvanda PicklesKarvanda, salt, Spices, Vegetable oilMember coop, Peint , NasikValsad, NavasariLocal unbranded pickles. Karela/Lemon/B186 PicklesLemon, salt, Spices, Vegetable oilOpen market purchase, Dharampur Market Valsad, Navasari, PunePravin, Mothers Recipe, kamdhenu Kesar Mango PulpKesar Mango, Preservatives, SugarMember cooperatives, Valsad and PeintValsad, Navasari, PuneLarge number of small players Alphanso Mango PulpAlpanso Mango, Preservatives, SugarMember cooperatives, Valsad and PeintValsad, Navasari, PuneLarge number of small players CashewRaw cashewMember cooperatives, Valsad and NasikValsad, Navasari, Pune, MumbaiLocal vendors getting the supply from Konkan region and Kerala Source: OTS study by PRM 31 participants . PRODUCT: CASHEW-NUT Raw cashew nuts grow on trees and a single nut is attached to and hangs below a false fruit or cashew apple. The most significant difficulty in processing cashew nuts is that the hard outer shell, which contains the edible kernel, contains caustic oil which can burn the skin and produce noxious fumes when heated. The oil (referred to commercially as CNS L, cashew nut shell liquid) contains 90% anacardic acid and 10% cardol. Cashew nuts are kidney shaped and brittle which makes it difficult to remove the shell without breakage. Whole white kernels are the highest grade and larger whole kernels fetch higher prices. In actually, a cashew is not a nut. Technically it’s a seed stemming from the bottom of the cashew apple grown on trees. Botanical name of cashew is Anacardium occidentale also known as â€Å"Nature’s Vitamin Pill†. 7. 1 Cashew industry in India: An Overview India is a major player on the cashew world stage. While cashew cultivation originated in Brazil, today cashew is cultivated in Asia, Africa and Latin America. In the year 2000, the total global area under cashew cultivation was around 4,000,000 ha, while the estimated average productivity was around 510 kg per ha and total raw 11 nut production was 1. 8 million tonnes. India is the second largest country in the world cashew economy for area under cultivation as well as production of raw cashew nuts, second only to Brazil. Today cashew is cultivated on around 720,000 ha in India, yielding an output of 450,000 MT and an average productivity of 710 kg/ha. The cultivation of he crop is mostly confined to the western and eastern coastal areas of peninsular India. Kerala is the largest cashew producing states since long back but its share in total production in the country has decreased over the time. And Maharashtra has improved a lot in it cashew production. Production of raw cashew nuts in India Figure 1: Cashew production, consumption, export, import trend over the year from 1970-71 to 2001-02 Source: Based on the paper compiled from various publications of the Cashew Export Promotion Council of India, Kochi Figure 2: State wise domestic production trend Source: Based on the paper compiled from various publications of the Cashew Export Promotion Council of India, Kochi 7. 2 Supply chain of Cashew product marketed by Vapcol After looking at state wise production trend and the procurement area of cashew marketed by vapcol, it seems very strange that its procurement areas are those areas which do not produce cashew much. But it make sense for vapcol to procure the cashew produced in that area as it had been set up for the very purpose of marketing those products produced by the tribal farmers under the Wadi program initiated by BAIF. Procurement Village-level GVMs act as primary producer groups and procure raw cashew from farmers and transport to the nearest cooperative. GVMs do primary grading and sorting, according to laid down guidelines. Figure 3: Procurement channel of Cashew The cooperatives buy the sorted raw cashew at a pre-announced price and pay GVMs accordingly on a fixed date, with a commission per kg of procurement. The GVMs disburse payments to farmers, according to quantities sold. 7. 3 Value Addition Process After procurement of raw cashew from Wadi plot-holders and others at a redetermined price, processing is done in cluster-level cooperatives as follows. Figure 4: Flow chart of Cashew processing Inter-cooperative transfer of raw cashew is practiced to ensure that the processing activities continue beyond a few months in cooperatives where procurement has been inadequate, and to reduce the pressure on new processing centres, where labour may not be skilled enough to process the entire stock of r aw cashew procured. 7. 4 Sales and distribution and Marketing of Cashew nut Processed cashew is sold by cooperatives directly to wholesalers or marketed through the VAPCOL. After deducting marketing charges, it passes on the final price realised to each cooperative. VAPCOL sells cashew to wholesale traders, through its own retail outlets at Kaprada, Dharampur, Pune, and Sutarpada, and to large buyers like TRIFED, Mumbai Grahak Panchayat and Apna Bazaar. REFERENCES †¢Agro-Processing Industries in India—Growth, Status and Prospect R. P. Kachru (Asstt. Director General (Process Engineering), Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi) †¢http://www. scribd. com/doc/33781119/Agro-Processing-sector-in-India †¢OTS Report of VAPCOL

Free Essays on Guy Harvey

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Global Patterns of Earthquakes Achievement Standard Geography 91432: Analyse aspects of a geographic topic at a global scale. (Parshotam) Task 1: Describe the global pattern of earthquakes, including maps in your answer. An earthquake is defined by GNS Science, as a â€Å"sudden motion or trembling in the crust caused by the abrupt release of accumulated stress along a fault, a break in the Earth’s crust.†[1] As seen below from the map representing data between 2000 and 2008 there is a major peripheral pattern of ‘Global earthquake activity’ focused around the exterior of the earth’s tectonic plates. This is evident from the similarities in comparison to the second map below showing the ‘Global plate boundaries of the earth’.[2] These plate boundaries accurately follow the same shape, size and location of the thin red and bright multi-coloured linear outlining in the first, validating this claim. 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Other noteworthy countries include Papa New Guinea ranked 4th at 40, Mexico ranked 6th at 32, Alaska ranked 9th at 25, Peru ranked 10th at 23 Russia ranked 12th at 20 and New Zealand ranked 18th at 14; all countries included in the heavy earthquake activity regions. Also seen from the ‘Global earthquake activity’ map, there are scattered occurrences of shallow earthquake activity in the middle of the tectonic plates shown from the small distribution of red dots over E astern Africa for example. This is due to the global pattern of fault lines. The map seen on the next page shows the layout of earth’s major fault lines which explains this smaller scattered pattern of earthquake activity. The location of scatter follows the same alignment as the fault outlines on the ‘Major global fault lines’ map.[4] This is exemplified from the red scatter, on the â€Å"Global earthquake activity’ map, throughout Ethiopia, Sudan, Kenya and South Sudan for example which corresponds with the fault line of the Central African Shear Zone fault system illustrated running through Eastern Africa. Task 2: Fully explain the factors and/or processes contributing to the global pattern of earthquakes. As defined by GSI Science earthquakes are releases of stress through the interaction of tectonic plates. These tectonic plates are compacted into a patchwork like arrangement to form the Earth’s lithosphere, its outer shell which is comprised of the crust and uppermost mantle (the individual layer of upper mantle which is closest to the surface of the earth). The plates are made up of several large plates being, the Eurasian plate, the North American plate, the African plate, South American plate, the Antarctic plate and the Pacific plate with a few other minor plates in between. Most plates range from 4 to 40 miles in width and consist of both continental crust and oceanic crust. Beneath the lithosphere of the Earth’s tectonic plates is a much hotter and softer layer, called the asthenosphere. A process occurs where due to the amount of pressure and extreme temperatures the rock of the asthenosphere is able to morph and therefore it moves and flows, creating convection currents from radiating hotspots centring from the inner earth which affect the movement of the plates, termed continental drift[5]. The diagram to the left illustrates the relation of levels which contribute to the movement of tectonic plates. This is very slow though, only up to 100mm per year. Due to the heat of the asthenosphere the lithosphere lying above is brittle and therefore susceptible to breaks in the form of faults. Earthquakes are created through three different forms of plate interaction: Convergence is one such interaction where two plates collide, and this region of meeting in the Earth’s crust is called a subduction zone or convergence boundary. When the two plates collide, one is forced to slowly scrape over, under or alongside the other. Resulting from the pressure of these movements, the crust gives way and a fault ruptures releasing an earthquake. During the collision of tectonic plates, the denser plate with more mass forces the lighter plate underneath it. This process is called subduction, hence subduction zone. The plate that is forced down is destroyed and is completely melted as it submerges into magma of the asthenosphere underneath the crust. This is how plate boundaries are altered over time. Volcanic activity is produced from subduction where, as the plate is forced down and melted due to the pressure and heat it turns into magma. Pockets of the magma created finds channels to the surface in the form of volcanoes. On December 26th 2004 an earth quake was generated off the coast of Sumatra when the India and Burma plate converged. The India plate was subducted and the India Ocean tsunami was triggered.[6] There are multiple situations where Convergence operates, where ocean crust interacts with oceanic crust, where oceanic crust interacts with continental crust and where continental crust interacts with continental crust seen in the following diagrams.[7] Seen from the diagram to the left where oceanic crust meets oceanic crust island arcs and deep marine trenched are formed which are examples of visible creases in the Earth’s crust as a result of subduction. Island arcs and oceanic trenches occur when both of the plates are made of oceanic crust. The Mariana Trench in Honolulu Hawaii is an example of a result from this process. Where continental crust meets continental crust spectacular mountain ranges are formed as both plates are too light to be sub ducted so the collision forces the crust upwards. The Himalayas mountain range and the Tibetan Plateau were results of this process when the Australian-India Plate collided with the Eurasian Plate north of India. Divergence is another type of plate interaction. This is a process where two plates separate from each other and a rift, a gap, is produced and widens eventually creating a rift valley, a larger linear rift. Divergent boundaries that occur between oceanic plates produce mid-oceanic ridges. In areas of rifts molten lava can rise and fill which cools reacting with the water and create new crust material, forming new landmasses potentially altering the landscape. Oceans can be formed when plates diverge and water fills the rift valley between the two land masses. This process is called sea floor spreading where the Red Sea exemplifies this process. Transformation is the third type of plate interaction which occurs when two plates slide past each other. From this movement the crust of both plates remains unchanged. However stress is stored in the plates from the friction of moving past and aggregates until the amount of stress surpasses the threshold. Energy is released suddenly in a shift of the plates in opposite directions relative to each other and an earthquake occurs. The earthquake impact is focused on an epicentre location. An example of this is the San Andreas Fault running through California resulting from the friction created from the Pacific Plate and North American. This fault is responsible for the linear pattern of red on the South West of Coast of the United States seen on the ‘Global earthquake activity’ map. As previously stated earthquakes are not only active on tectonic plate boundaries but also fault lines. Fault lines are created due to stresses in the earth’s crust and fractures occur where rock has been disturbed, which can range in length from metres or thousands of kilometres. Fault lines are considered active â€Å"if a fault shows evidence of having moved at least once in the past 100,000 years.†[8] With this the fault is hazardous and a risk of earthquake activity. Once a fault line has been formed future earthquakes are conducted along it. With the exception of earthquakes which take place at a depth of 600km+ all earthquakes are channelled along fault lines. Spectacular mountain ranges such as the Southern Alps can be created also as a result of this process where thousands or millions of years of repeated earthquake activity along one major fault line, the Alpine Fault, build up into extreme dislocations of crust. Different to the earthquake activity generated along plate boundaries seismic waves are produced along fault lines through the rapid interaction of the opposing parallel crust.[9] A process is a sequence of related actions which modify or maintain an environment. There are several processes which crust along fault lines carry out to generate seismic waves and subsequent earthquake activity.[10] [11] Where the two crusts of a fault line are being pulled apart the interaction is termed ‘Normal faulting’. In this situation the hanging wall, which is the crust positioned higher shifts downward, lower than the footwall, the crust which is initially positioned lower. ‘Reverse faulting’ occurs on horizontal ground when the two crusts are instead being compressed together resulting in the hanging wall shifting upwards, over the footwall. Where reverse faulting occurs on sloped land, it is known as thrust faulting. Crusts on ‘Strike slip’ faults shift sideways, laterally past to each other. This type of faulting is unique in comparison to Normal and Reverse as there are no hanging walls or footwalls due to this being on a strike, horizontal ground, instead of a dip so the fault is on vertical ground. All three types of fault processes can be seen in an ‘Oblique slip’ where a combination of these shifts occurs. Strike slips are both right lateral and left lateral. Task 3: Explain in detail and evaluate the social and economic significance for people affected by earthquakes. Over time, earthquakes have had a range of impacts on the cultural and natural landscape of the world with both positive and negative consequences. The people most affected by these impacts are the people living in the countries which lie on the plate boundaries and fault lines. New Zealand’s natural landscape has been largely affected by earthquakes and is a prime example to showcase the long term results. Beautiful scenery such, as the Southern Alps, can be created and be of great economic significance for a country by contributing to the tourism industry as a popular feature. This is specifically seen in Queenstown, a location with much mountainous relief where snow sports like snowboarding and skiing is available and popular. Where these spectacles are created they can be of major significance to the country as this is a long term effect which has the potential to earn large amounts of income for the country’s GDP and be a permanent anchor for the tourism industry which it has proven to be in New Zealand. This effect is beneficial socially also as mountains such as these are available for use for the world to enjoy, however only the countries which the mountains are in will prosper economically. Earthquakes are also capable of causing large scale death and injuries when occurring in an region of high population density. This was demonstrated by the 2010 earthquake in Haiti on January 12th where there were over 300,000 people injured and an estimated 220,000 casualties.[12] Depending on the magnitude of the earthquake and the location of where it happened to be able to cause the necessary destruction in order for such wide spread death and injury to occur. But when the full effects of an earthquake are felt the social impacts are extreme, seen in the figures previously mentioned. This is a long term effect as the pain suffered from losing a loved one will stay with the victims of the earthquake for the rest of their lives. The physical pain endured can also be intense when the case is severe so because of this the victims will be much more affected by death and injury than the other people of the world in unaffected countries. I believe this effect to have greater significanc e over that of a hindered economy where as the statistics have shown, regions can improve their economy and standard of living in a reasonably short time and the effects will be reversed, however death and serious injury such as amputation can never be reversed. Earthquakes have proven to also be detrimental to the economy of the country affected by destroying valuable exports or urban features and environments which cost to be rebuilt and replaced. An example of this effect is seen where as a result of the demolition of the February 2011 earthquake in Christchurch the New Zealand economy shrunk by an estimated 6%-8% which â€Å"is equivalent to the economic impact from severe recession.†[13] It is also noted that, coupled with the economic impacts of the September 2010 earthquake the fall in New Zealand’s GDP was around 8%-11%.Similar to the effect of death and injury this impact focuses mainly on the people living in the affected country. It varies in terms of being a major impact or not seen in the paragraph below it can be short term and is possible to reverse if the economy is strong enough to be resilient. From the effects a recession as the economic consequences were compared to, there will be falls in employment, dispos able income and savings etc. but this also depends on the magnitude of the earthquake and the harshness of the destruction. Surely economies can be crippled as a result of the destruction of an earthquake, which Christchurch’s was not and therefore it did not remain at that level of severity due to redevelopment. It can be a major impact to the extent of death and injury but in more economically developed countries it is not. As previously mentioned strong earthquakes which occur in dense urban areas, like cities, wreak much destruction where the seismic waves generated are able to collapse the buildings and infrastructure. This is exemplified from the results of the Haiti earthquake where â€Å"over 188,383 houses were badly damaged and 105,000 were destroyed.†12 Mental and emotional damages such as trauma, fear of another earthquake and the stress of rebuilding and carrying on with life ensue as consequentially1.5 million people were left without a home. This meant many families were faced with the struggle to survive and eventual relocation of their lives. This with the additional loss of incomes for people who lost their business and places of work and hindered of opportunity for kid’s education, where it is recorded 4000 schools were destroyed or damaged, shows earthquake pose as severe threats to the social wellbeing of the world. This impact is major also and again limited to the vict ims of the event. People’s livelihoods are being endangered and therefore this effect is as serious as death and injury. Homelessness, job losses, lack of education are all risking the futures of the victims where it is a possibility, if the earthquake occurred in an less economically developed country the economy may not be as resilient as that of an more economically developed country. People in LEDC’s are more vulnerable to fall into poverty after a major earthquake. Redevelopment, however, is a beneficial economic effect that earthquakes can make. Multiple factors of a city or country’s economy can be positively impacted such as the availability of new job opportunities. This is as workers will be employed to clean up and clear the debris and rubble from the left over destruction and construction/development firms will be in heavy demand in order to rebuild the damaged and levelled areas. Where employment rises there will be an increased demand for goods and services as more households are willing and able. From this more income can be taxed tax giving the government revenue and ability to aid in the redevelopment and expand the economy which is seen as $16 billion has been generated as a result of Christchurch’s redevelopment increasing New Zealand’s Real GDP. The economic growth made possible by earthquake redevelopment is validated by the statistic that 9 months after the February earthquake the Christchurch economy was g rowing between 1-3% every 3 months, more than the national economy growth. Rejuvenation of an economy is positive and major impact. As seen in Christchurch it can lift a city and it’s people out of despair and it will soon be restored as a major New Zealand city. However as mentioned before redevelopment has varying levels of success and is not as effective in some cases as others. Along with economic growth, resulting from mass redevelopment, locations affected by earthquake activity can become more modern and beautiful which will in turn attract high levels of population, increasing population density and again employment. Landmarks of historical significance can be lost as a result of earthquakes such as bridges of churches. This loss can cause much grief to those who valued the landmark’s significance and it can also be detrimental to the location’s sense of identity as such features can play a large factor in the region’s history and significance as a place. An example of this is Christchurch’s cathedral which was more than a century old, built in the second half of the 19th century was damaged beyond safety and therefore was demolished. This is not a major impact when considering the horrific possibilities of widespread poverty and mass death. Also to some history may not be as important as it is to others and if the landmark is not a key point in the country’s GDP, loss of it will not create serious negative economic consequences. This however is long term as history can never be rebuilt or recreated entirely. [1] http://www.gns.cri.nz/Home/Learning/Science-Topics/Earthquakes/Earthquakes-at-a-Plate-Boundary [2] http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange1/current/lectures/evolving_earth/evolving_earth.html [3] http://www.world-earthquakes.com/index.php?option=ethq_statistics [4] http://www.gsi.ie/Education/Geology+for+Everyone/Plate+Tectonics.htm [5] https://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Asthenosphere.html [6] http://www.gsi.ie/Education/Geology+for+Everyone/Plate+Tectonics.htm [7] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convergent_boundary [8] http://www.gns.cri.nz/Home/Learning/Science-Topics/Earthquakes/Earthquakes-and-Faults/When-is-a-Fault-Active [9] http://www.gns.cri.nz/Home/Learning/Science-Topics/Earthquakes/Earthquakes-and-Faults [10] http://www.gns.cri.nz/Home/Learning/Science-Topics/Earthquakes/Earthquakes-and-Faults/Different-types-of-Faults [11] http://geology.about.com/library/bl/blnutshell_fault-type.htm [12] http://www.dec.org.uk/haiti-earthquake-facts-and-figures [13] http://ccdu.govt.nz/faq/economy

Role of Calculators in Schools :: essays research papers

For adults, math is used in many ways, from configuring sales tax and tips to figuring gas mileage and averages; but for children it sometimes seems as if the only time for math is for homework and tests. The initial purpose for schools in this department is for the students to see and understand the practical uses of it, however it is controversial that the use of teaching with calculators changes this idea. In the short essay Ditch the Calculators, the author Diane Hunsaker insinuates that the overuse of calculators in math class defeats the ultimate goal of education: expanding the mind and increasing students abilities to function as contributing members of society. As society enters the twenty-first century it seems that teaching and learning has an entirely new perspective. It seems as though the new technologies that are introduced in school, computers and calculators, are not producing the same effects that learning without them once had. As a college level student I feel th at, from my own experience, I am an advanced math student because the rules and principles were drilled into my memory and not that of a calculator at a young age.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Depending on one’s perspective, the use of calculators at the elementary school level is seen as either the solution to or cause of many of the problems affecting math education in this country. It has been known for a long time that early experience is able to shape the brain and behavior. In the stages of learning at a young age, to fully grasp a concept, a child must understand the principles how and why in order to apply any significance or relation to anything. This particularly applies to such a subject as that of math. Diane Hunsaker expresses her view as well in the following quote: â€Å"Math is as much about knowing why the rules work as knowing what the rules are† (668). It seems that Hunsaker is saying that before rules can be applied, there must be a foundation for them. This concept for math, and in general, trains the mind by exercising thinking skills. It is apparent that she agrees by examining her direct statement, â€Å"Math train s the mind.† By this she also goes on to say, that by the ability to exercise these particular thinking skills that students are learning to think logically and rationally. I must say, that having the ability to think logically and rationionally in controlled situations has allowed me to progress outside the classroom.