Theory of Knowledge Essay

Theory of Knowledge Name: Rigved Sawant Topic: ‘Role of language and reasoning in History. ’ What is history? History, as anyone would know is the study of the human past. It can also mean the period of time after which writing was found. It is a field of research which uses a chronological pattern to examine and analyze the sequence of events and it also very minutely determines the cause and effect of such events. Those who study or researches in history are called historians. For them to have clear knowledge of language to be used history is very important. What I mean to say is that language has an exceptional place in history. Language was and still is a vital tool for better communication. It not only conveys thoughts, ideas, but forges friendship, cultural ties, etc. Throughout history many have reflected on the importance of language in history. For example, the scholar Benjamin Whorf has noted that language shapes thoughts and emotions, determining one’s perception of reality. Without proper use of language we cannot convey our thoughts effectively. Language is very relevant to understand history. History is subjective based on who is telling it and language is the ‘teller’. For example, the history of slavery; from the slave master’s point of view slavery for him will be according to the language he uses to describe it. He would use a language which will describe chattel, property, free labor, political advantage. But for a slave, it would be the other way round. The language he would use would be of degradation, sorrow, pain humiliation, torture. Two different perspectives of the same event. Look at the Holocaust, the language used by a Jew to describe the events during the world war 2 will be different from a language a German soldier of the third Reich would use. As time progressed some of the important languages in which also many of the ancient artifacts were written have diminished. People don’t understand the importance of such languages. For example, Sanskrit, it was or I would like to put it as it still is the most prominent language of all times. Many of the modern languages were evolved from this language alone. Such artifacts are also tampered and their language could be misused. Historians have to take care of the language they use while making their claims. Reason or the faculty of reason is a mental ability found in human beings. We normally give reasons to things we claim. Reason is the means by which rational beings meaning human beings give explanation concerning cause and effect, true or false. It also explains or justifies some event or phenomenon. Through arguments and proper means of reasoning we can justify our thoughts. Reason can change our beliefs, traditions and attitude. Same like in language we also have to reason correctly to support our claims. Reasoning is very important for historians. If proper reasoning is not provided by them no one would believe their works. When people have different perspectives the essence of the true reasons gets lost in the altering of the tale being told which is clouded by different perceptions. History has being significant in being biased throughout, from beginning of mankind. One cannot say that there was no reason for the events that had catastrophic effects that dehumanized our civilization. History gets lost in translation as we may not know what actually happened. There have always been different versions to the same story but the fact remains the same; History has always been altered. For example, books published in India say that Akbar was a great king, whereas books published in Pakistan say that he wasn’t a great king. Holy books of India have also been tampered while being translated. Although history has been proven wrong many times it wouldn’t be possible to evolve into this era of technology without the prior knowledge of human civilization.

Men’s Wearhouse: Success in a Declining Industry Essay

Diagnosis: After reading the whole case, I believe that the hiring policy was not followed was the biggest problem. The reason that was because the regional and district managers did not really follow the way it should be. Since the company expanded rapidly, the managers had the pressure to fill positions quickly in order to run the company well. At the meanwhile, managers had to check a large numbers of applications from sales people from other retailers and it was really hard for managers to recognize who were potentially consultants, not clerks. Therefore, there was tendency to hire those who had more experiences. The company spent a lot of resources on training people who grew up in retail they lack of potential to be consultants and mentally being a sort of â€Å"clerk† kind and it would be less effective. Also when they face to customers they probably lack of passion and sluggishly during work. The long-term impact of the problem would be there were not enough employees qualified as consultants and clerks would not get promoted. And customers who were treated sluggishly would not come back, eventually would affect company’s reputation and sales volume in long-term Analysis: Since employees who grew up in retail they lack of potential to be consultants and mentally being a sort of â€Å"clerk† kind, therefore it would be hard for company to change their minds. By using SWOT analysis, I found out strengths of this company was the core idea that they are not just selling cloths but also understanding people, both your teammates and your customers. The weakness was not every employee understand this idea and treat customers the company wishes. Opportunities were their minds would be change after intensive training. Threat would be company spent extra resources on training. Recommendation: My suggestion on this problem is managers should be more responsible for hiring employees, and also they can get commissions if people who get promoted as qualified consultants. In the meanwhile, their wages would reduce if potential consultants perform badly in the future. By performance appraisal and sales data, superior mangers can make decisions on whether inferior managers get commissions or not. Outcomes: I expect mangers would follow the fundamental way to hire employees and they directly take responsibilities for their performance of those they hired. Mangers would be careful when they check the applications and since the employees have more consultant potentials than being a â€Å"clerk†, the company would save a lot of resources and spend these resources on more effective uses

American Pluralism Essay

Throughout history the United States has had immigrants flock to the united states in hopes of better opportunity. In the eyes of many ,the United States was land of prosperity and opportunity. This dream of becoming successful from nothing was known as the American dream . It built this nation into what it is today, which unfortunately is tainted with many negative aspects. President Clinton once said â€Å" The American Dream that we were all raised on is a simple but powerful one – if you work hard and play by the rules you should be given a chance to go as far your God-given ability will take you. † This coming from a man who was the president . However Clinton has neither â€Å"played by the rules† nor did he work hard. Clinton has made 80 million just off speaking , as well as his breaking the rules, which he is so famous for. Then how was this man, not hardworking and adulterous, become the American dream? Solely because the American dream is a myth, a fixed calculated lie. The American dream is just a notion to distract the less fortunate people that race, gender, and class control how much money you are going to make. A huge factor hinder people from acting out this dream is race. Race is socially constructed concept where groups of people of similar features and cultures are labeled . However races in our country still to this day are not treated as equals. For example, the average salary of a white person is above 45 according to the office personally management while ,a Hispanic is at 36 , black is at 37, and Asian is at 42, all for the similar jobs. However this is for the minorities who make it through the other hardships. For example one of these other hardships is â€Å" the school –to prison pipeline†. It is a foreign idea to most people because of how abstract it sounds. However the difference of funding in students directly affect attitude , dropout rates, and criminals. These students lack resources, qualified teaching, and rigorous advanced classes. Minorities are also punished worse, black children are suspended at least 2. 6 times to whites, thus leading to their 6 times more than whites rates of going to juveniles. In the eyes of an minority, school is a joke or a dream. Consequently there are few legal jobs that pay enough for a living without a high school diploma. This example is perfection under the school –to prison pipeline, giving the wealthy white leverage over minorities. Adding insult to injuries these injustices are replied with white advantages. as detailed in White privilege †White privilege is like an invisible knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports†(McIntosh. 45) In a just and perfect society we would all be equal, however the world we live in is very unequal. Not only is our world not economically equal , but racial either. Throughout America’s history there were an inequality among races. For example as a white person , you can be assured that the color of your skin wont effect the type of college you will be accepted to, as a minority that guarantee doesn’t exist. Thus how is a person of color supposed to make a proper and wealthy life for themselves if that door of education was never opened? This control of education keeps whites as the wealthiest race, and as such becomes a privilege only for them. How can such laws be kept in play if they hinder other races? The answer lies in politics. Due to white privilege, white people can expect to have people of their color to be accurately represented. This gives an huge hand in any legislature that can possibly effect minorities. Even in all these privileges, there’s an negative aspect that becomes paramount in our modern day society. These privileges cause a strenuous tension between races , because of the fabricated superiority that it gives whites over minorities. Hence, this so called â€Å"invisible knapsack† is only invisible to the user , and is in perfect sight of the oppressed. This just adds to the ocean of oppression felt by minorities proving race hinders the completion of the American dream. Male or female, seems like a simple question. However there is a world of connotations that come with such labels. Men and women have these values that are pushed upon them by society, confusing them to who they truly are. This Severely effects people who are confused on who they are ,because these â€Å"transgender† might just people who are just different personality wise. Furthermore it affects you more than mentally but also affects you economically. â€Å" The more economic resources such as education and job opportunities , are available to a group, the more they tend to be monopolized by men†(Lorber 246). The author is stating that women in general are qualified yet underpaid. This is entirely true , through every field of work you see women being paid less for the same or less work. Lorber believes socially that gender is a process of assigning rights and responsibilities. Men and woman see what is â€Å"expected† of them and assume the role is theirs, whether it be fair or not. This contradicts the American dream, because it preaches economic prosperity for all who work for it, and statistically women cannot reach that level. Hence, they hardly attempt to reach that high. How did they get to this point what defined these roles to one another , the answer lies among media. Advertisements, commercials, magazines. We are constantly bombarded with these pictures, voices, and idols . Anyone who looks normal or acts different is assumed to be a joke or outcast. Through these images we show our children how to act and to assign themselves personalities because of what their genetic makeup is. † It is this link with violence that makes the objectification of women more serious issue than with men. † (Kilbourne.263) This violence factor directly correlates with dominance. If you look through photos or magazines you can pick up a specific trend of nudity and pornography. Even more so , there is a constant jab at women , making them â€Å"inferior† With this sort of image growing up why would there be any motivation to be more than in those pictures? What is better than becoming rich? Being born rich is the most logical answer and this is how this 1 percent lives. The majority of this money, the . 1 % is old money. This money has been accumulated for hundreds of years and will be for hundreds more. The correlation of class and achievement of the American dream has been time and time proven. â€Å"Reality 6:All Americans do not have an equal opportunity to succeed. Inheritance laws ensure a greater likelihood of success for the offspring of the wealthy. †(Mantsios. 320) Yet another prime example of what class does for your chances at the American dream. The converse can also be enforced, without class it is a abnormality to live â€Å"the American dream†. The â€Å"American dream† is just something we can strive for but not truly reach. The American dream was known for our idea of Manifest destiny so we killed thousands of Indians because we thought of them as second class citizens. We have supposedly progressed ,transcending racism and sexism into an extinct ideas. However they just exist socially and economically now, just changing its brutality. These issues can’t be stopped through intellectual movements or programs, laws need to be enacted to change these process. These political figures need to stop thinking with their wallets and speak from their people. Without our changing of the law how are we supposed to become a more equal society. We live under a living document called the Constitution, if it promises our pursuit of property, now happiness , why can’t it assist us in the American dream. MLA Work cited page McIntosh, Peggy . White privilege: Unpacking the invisible knapsack. IndependentSchool. 1990 Mantsios, Gregory media magic :making class invisible. Rothenberg P. S. , ed. â€Å"Race, Class and Gender in the US† 3d ed. New York: Martins, 1995. Lorber, Judith. â€Å"Night to His Day: The Social Construction of Gender. † Yale University press. Yale college. 1994.

Bletchley Park Essay

Bletchley Park, code named ‘Station X’, was and still is a mansion 50 miles North-West of London. It was bought by MI5 as an evacuation site and code breaking centre for the German ‘Enigma’. Bletchley Park was bought by Admiral Sinclair, the Chief of MI6. There other posts, ‘Station Y’s’, which intercepted the messages from the Germans and in turn, when sorted, sent the messages to ‘Station X’. These listening posts were set up to steal German messages off the radio waves. ‘Station X’ relied on the availability of these intercepted messages to break. Most of the staff in the ‘Y Stations’ were women. Basically, the ‘Y Stations’ were to pick up the messages and ‘Station X’ was to use the messages to decode and break the keys. As the war progressed it became easier for the operators to find the right frequencies at the right times, when the German transmissions were being sent. The messages were recorded in Morse code. All the administrative staff worked on interception whilst the academics worked on the actual code breaking, like the mathematicians, cryptic crossword solvers and chess players. Most of the workers in general were young. Most of the admin staff was girls and women, most of them linguists, and the code breakers were mathematicians, as Enigma was breakable by maths and equations some were also just ordinary chess players. However, by the end of 1941 Daily Telegraph cryptic crossword solvers were also taken in, as well as some of the old code breakers around, from the G. C. & C. S. At first the Navy were too proud to be interested in the transmissions, but later realised just how important Bletchley Park was. Gordon Welchman was a young mathematician, from Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge; and it was he who was responsible for the reorganisation of Bletchley Parks’ work into a fully functional code breaking site. He also introduced a five-point plan that would increase the efficiency of the work being produced. This was: close co-ordination of radio interception, the analysis of the intercepted messages, breaking the Enigma and Non-Enigma keys, decoding the messages from the broken keys and then extracting useful information from the decoded messages. It was then that Denniston began recruiting the high quality staff that was needed. In early 1939 the construction started of wooden huts centred on the mansion. The first huts built were numbered 1,2,3,4 & 5. The Naval Section moved into Hut 4 alongside the mansion on the South side. When Hut 5 was completed the Army section moved there and the dining room became a mess room, where the military had previously used as their base at ‘Station X’. However, Knox, Jeffrey’s and Turing moved into the Cottage in the Stable Yard so that they could work better with less distractions. Not many of the first arrivals knew what they were doing and had very little experience, but learnt quickly. The new young operators also knew nothing about their foreseeable work. After the first arrivals, Denniston’s mathematicians arrived, but they did not get on well with the older more experienced code breakers. This was because the older code breakers felt â€Å"out-of-date† as the new lot were young and had a different method to code breaking. It became blatant that the biggest break-through was from the mathematicians from the first years of the war. They were getting closer and closer to breaking the Enigma. Messages were sent to other huts via a broomstick and a wooden tunnel that was constructed to increase secrecy between a few of the more important huts (later on the messages were blasted along the tunnels with compressed air), like Hut 6 and Hut 3. Although, Hut 6 paid little attention to the messages they received from Hut 3 as they just did their job and the other huts would do theirs. Most of the messages that arrived at Hut 3 seldom made sense. When the messages were complete they were sent down to MI6 HQ in London by van. Hut 4 was used to break other non-Enigma codes from other foreign countries which was only classed as semi-important messages/codes. If some of the messages from Hut 6 were important enough then they would be classed as ‘Ultra’ or ‘Top-Secret’. There was also a slim chance that any foreign spy could get into ‘Station X’. the military officials would be on site to determine the importance of the messages that came out of the ‘Huts’. Bombes were also developed, these were electrical devices that made it easier to take advantage of the clues given from the coded messages. Eventually these were developed into ‘Jumbos’ a larger and faster version, that were introduced into Hut 1, but in the early part of 1941 they were dispersed and move into the ‘Outstations and Hut 11†² Later on into the war many people started taking a great deal of interest in the work done at Bletchley Park. This was because of a major incident when a crucial war ship was lost to the Germans at sea, but the Germans managed to salvage it and recover all its information it carried. However, due to the Germans’ arrogance and ignorance they did not except that Enigma had been broken, and ignored the fact that many of their messages had been decoded. After this incident, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, visited ‘Station X’ and after many consistent letters funded the project, as the Huts sometimes ran out of the simple needs of pencils and paper. At this point the ‘Yanks’ came over to help the Allied, only after they were bombed by the Japanese. Along with the Americans came new technology, many more soldiers that were properly trained and machines that were in better condition and were all better quality. This gave the Allies the advantage at this point in the war as they now had extra supplies and reinforcements. The first computer was built as well making the work a lot faster for everyone, this was code-named Colossus, it was room size. In conclusion to this, ‘Station X’ provided lots of important information for the military to use to their advantage on the battlefield. This also enabled many lives of the Allies to be saved. Without these code breakers and broken keys the war may have turn in favour of the Germans, so deeply the work that was done at ‘Station X’ was truly important. Although Bletchley Park was originally bought as an evacuation site for MI5 it became the most important code breaking site before, during and after the war.

Self Fulfilling Prophesy: A Lesson to be Learned

Self-fulfilling Prophesy: A Lesson to be Learned Have you ever had an assumption or belief about someone come true? That is what defines a Self-fulfilling Prophesy. That is, when a person's expectations, thoughts, or beliefs manifest in such a way that in return they become true. These preconceived notions about other people influence how you act toward them and in return this will evoke a response from that person. This response then provides proof of the original expectations. Picking a college roommate can be a tricky thing to do.It eems that I have heard more horror stories about roommates than good stories. This may be attributed to the fact that people are more prone to talk about their problems and negative situations rather than their positive ones. However, my freshman roommate provided me with one heck of an experience. I met Dylan in high school. He attended an opposing school only thirty minutes away from mine. We recognized each other from the basketball court and numero us track events. We soon became friends when we were introduced at a high school party through a utual friend.As we became closer friends we both decided to attend Mississippi State University. I had lined up a roommate for freshman year with someone I grew up with, however due to a scholarship, he decided to attend a different school and left me without a roommate. When discussing this with Dylan, I was not aware that he did not have a roommate and we quickly decided to room together. Dylan and I had not known each other very long and even though he seemed to be a good friend and fit as a roommate, I still was weary of living with him.I had no specific reason to believe that we wouldn't get along but I still could not shake the feeling that things would not go swimmingly. After moving into our dorm, it did not take long for our friendship to take a drastic turn. During fall recruitment into the Greek system, Dylan and I Joined two separate fraternities. It wasn't long after Bid Day that Dylan dropped out of his fraternity. From then on it seemed as if he resented me for Joining a fraternity even though we had gone through recruitment together.He started anging out with an unruly crowd of people and it was not long after that he started neglecting his priorities. I eventually found out that the crowd he was hanging out with was known to dabble in various drugs and everything I did to help Just put us at greater odds. He began to get really sloppy by leaving his clothes and trash everywhere in our small living quarters. He seemed to have no regard for my belongings, or me for that matter. He was sleeping all day, staying out all night, and eating all my food when I was out of the room.When Christmas break came around he had a combined 67 absences in his classes and was carrying a 1. 2 GPA. I was looking for a polite way to tell him we needed to find new roommates when he called me a few days prior to Christmas. He told me that he was going to withdraw from the university and take a break from school. The experience I had first semester of my freshman year is a prime example of a self-fulfilling prophecy. I had a preconceived notion that Dylan and I would not get along as roommates and that notion came to

Romare Bearden

The art of Romare Bearden has been viewed and influential to many artists, musicians, political figures, scholars, and everyday people. Born in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1911, and soon moved to New York, also spending little time in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania, Bearden was raised in a middle class household where both his parents held decent jobs. At an early age Bearden was exposed to great diversity of artists, musicians and writers, his home was a frequent hangout spot for major figures such as Duke Ellington, Langston Hughes and many more. Art was not always the main focus of Bearden.He studied at Boston University where he played baseball and eventually after taking a few art classes he illustrated the cartoons in the Baltimore Newspaper. Bearden also traveled the world to places such as Paris and the Caribbean islands, which all influenced his work to come. He also served in the U. S. army. Being raised in the south and black Harlem New York during the Harlem Renaissance and c ivil rights would be the birthplace of Bearden’s diverse ideas and extraordinary talents. Bearden became the most original and famous due to his unique collages that he mastered in isolation working methods.This artwork was displayed in abstract complicated positions and showed intricate details made from magazine and newspaper clippings, as well as foil and different fabrics. Pablo Picasso, Jose Clemente, and Diego Rivera were a few artists that also influenced his work. Romare broke many boundaries and traditional ideas and expectations of artists. He put a unique twist on the already established European collage method by using different techniques such as quilt work, print, many fabrics, textures, nature, landscapes, oils water colors and of course photo montage.These techniques gave his art a personality a vibe a feeling that made views want more the pieces always had many details and messages. Romare Bearden’s art work was extraordinary enough that his work was s een in museums worldwide but also displayed in books, album covers, and even the city of Berkley, California has a public display in the city council chambers called The City and its People that incorporates the city’s diversity and culture. Romare’s pieces were also easy to relate with. The intersection of art and everyday life such as school, home, clubs and nature ere very obvious in his work, for example in The Block and the Block II his everyday life that he seen on the streets was displayed, from working people to kids playing to mothers looking out their windows holding their baby. He embraced the elements of popular culture at the time, jazz clubs, blues, social realism of African culture, religion and childhood memories were all displayed in his works The Blues, Train Whistle Blues, Palms Sunday Procession, and The Street to name a few. Romare Bearden suffered from bone cancer and passed away in 1988 as a world renowned African American artist, author, songwri ter, and award winner.Although he left his love for art many times, as many artists do, he took a journey and always found a way back to express his love of art embracing culture and society. His works grew and changed throughout his whole life picking up pieces as his environments changed. Bearden displayed the beautiful, the ugly, and the in-betweens of African and African American life with European and Spanish influences along the way. His works were improved and iconic, leaving you wanting to see more of what you have never have seen before.

Do you agree with Lord Nicholls' and Lord Millett's dissenting Essay

Do you agree with Lord Nicholls' and Lord Millett's dissenting judgments in Shogun Finance Ltd v Hudson [2003] UKHL 62 - Essay Example Lords Hobhouse, Philips and Walker took the position that the initial contract was void altogether so that the innocent third party lost the protection provided for by Section 27 of the Hire Purchase Act 1964.1 The three Lords, relying on Section 29(4) of the Hire Purchase Act, 19642 held that since the initial contract provided for the identities of the parties to the sale and the person to whom the goods had been delivered was not a party to the contract, that contract was void. Lords Millert and Nichols, dissenting, took an entirely different approach and asserted that the plaintiff delivered the goods to the person they mistakenly took to be a party to the contract, but was nevertheless the party with whom they intended to pass title to.3 Therefore the initial contract was merely voidable. The overall tone of the dissenting decision reflects a willingness to overcome doctrines of contract law in such a way as to avoid leaving two essentially duped and innocent victims of a fraudster pitted against one another with the result that the most disadvantaged victim is left with no claim. Although the arguments submitted by the dissenting justices raise questions of fairness and equity, the majority decision illustrates that overcoming that unfairness is not supported by tenets of contract law. The rulings of the majority of the Lords appear to take a severe position against the consumer who trades in second-hand goods, it makes practical sense, since the risks associated with these kinds of purchases can be avoided by purchasing goods from authorised dealers. This approach is not only consistent with principles of contract law, it is also consistent with common sense. Any person dealing in used or second-hand goods accepts certain risks, one of which is the risk of gaining bad title or no title at all. The position taken by the two dissenting Lords are too focused on consequences for the

Course of GDL programme (Land law ) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Course of GDL programme (Land law ) - Essay Example The first requirement that is presumed not to be followed is of s.2 Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989, which states that a contract for disposition of land must be in writing and should be signed by each party to the contract. However from the fact it is seen that there has been conveyancing of property, thus it can be said that the registration of Brain as the new owner has taken place. In registered land, the key rights interest and title are illustrated by the register which consists of three parts, that is the property register, the proprietorship register and the charges register. The property register demonstrates the type of estate held by the owner and further gives facts of the property. The proprietorship register on the other hand gives the name of the registered proprietor and goes on to state any restrictions or limitations which have been placed on the proprietor to deal with the land. Finally, the charges register lays down third party rights which exist on the estate. Under the LRA 1925 the encumbrances that exist are classified into two categories, that is overriding interests, which bind the purchaser even if not mentioned on the register, and minor interests, which will be void against the purchaser unless the interests are protected through an entry on the register. The overriding interest that can be relied upon by Wanda is s.70 (1) (g) LRA 1925. Under the LRA 2002 it has been stated that a person's right of actual occupation will be construed as an overriding interest under the LRA 2002. This section consists of, 'The rights of every person in actual occupation of the land or in receipt of the rent and profits thereof, save where enquiry is made of such person and the rights are not disclosed'. It has been said that a person who does not have any legal or equitable right in land can get no benefit from s.70 (1) (g), nor can a person who not in actual occupation. (Strand Securities Ltd v. Caswell1). In Williams & Glynn's Bank Ltd v. Boland2 it was stated that 'it is the fact of occupation that matters' and 'physical presence on the land and not some entitlement in the law' is required. Further it has been stated that the purchaser will be bound by all the overriding interests that exist at the time of the date of registration. (Abbey National Building Society v. Cann)3 The courts have dealt with the issue of what happens if an occupier of the lan is absent for a temporary period in Chhokar v. Chhokar4, where a husband in order to divest his wife from claiming an equitable interest in the matrimonial home, carried on and completed a sale of property to his collaborator, while his wife was in the hospital. He then escaped with what he got from the proceeds. Finally when the wife returned she was refused her interest because of not being physically present on the land, at the time of registration. The Court of Appeal took into account of the fact that her furniture had been there at the house, thus it was held that she was in occupation and so the purchaser was bound by the overriding interest. This case would seem to have settled the issue, however there is a problem which has been said to be in existence, that is the courts did not make any reference whatsoever, of the LRA 1925, thus it

IT Project Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

IT Project Management - Research Paper Example In this instance, the company seeks to enhance the solidarity in the organization among the junior and the senior staffs (Parthasarathy, 2010). Virtual teams stand out to be much more successful in the company when the employees of the company gain access to such aspects of training, formation of the group and its efficient management. In this instance, the team members should have their freedom of work and also have well laid down systems of communication (Zofi, 2012). Top management forms the major stakeholders in any successful Information Technology project’s implementation. They ensure the smooth communication between the members of the firm with the top management. (Zwikael, & Smyrk, 2011). The management ensures that there is enough staff that can successfully run the project. In fact, if possible, there should be standby staff to offer coverage in cases where there could be an emergency or even sickness in some instances (Morris & Pinto, 2010). The management is the planners of the ideas or goals that ensure that the IT company runs as expected. They ensure that with the use of the least resources and time, the planned objectives takes place smoothly for the success of the IT firm (Zwikael, & Smyrk, 2011). It is very vital for the organization to be on the safe side all the time during its daily operations. In this case, the top management is always prepared to counter such eventualities in the organizations. (Zwikael, & Smyrk, 2011). There lacks a good relationship. There are also decision-making problems, style of leadership and also opposition from other members of the team who neither participate nor contribute towards the development of the team (Leon, 2008). The aspects of human resource management items like selection, training, and management can help the virtual teams reduce travel and relocation costs, and provide work/life balance and flexibility for employees (Khosrow-Pour,

Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Report - Essay Example The relevant costs of computing for Machine A in this scenario are therefore, purchasing price, less the discount allowed, then adding the delivery charge, installation charge and testing charge. Minor spare parts and service contract quotations are irrelevant in computation of the cost of the machinery. ii. IAS 16 provides for methods of depreciation on fixed assets. Under the straight line method, Machine B has an annual depreciation of 60,000 per year since it had an expected or useful life of 10 years. Since its acquisition date on June 2009 through to its revaluation in 2012, it had a carrying amount of 420,000 which is gained after deducting the accumulated depreciation through the first 3 years of its expected life. On a straight line basis and a remaining expected life of 4 years, the depreciation for Machine B is expected to be at 105,000 per year. The scope provides for a revision of the asset’s depreciation method, if the expected economic benefit to be consumed off it by the entity changes appropriately. iii. IAS 40 sets out the guidelines under which assets should be treated and the criterion for the treatment of investment property and also disclosures requirement in their reporting. Investment property is that which is held not for resale but for an economic benefit of the organization. It is that where future economic benefit is expected from. Under IAS 40, the company or organization is allowed to either use the fair or the cost model policy of accounting for these items. In fair value representation, the property (investment) is revalued where it is recognized as â€Å"an asset that could be exchanged between knowledgeable and willing parties in an arm’s length transaction† (Willey, 2011).   Since Building Y is an investment property, the revalued amount of 2million as at 31st December is the actual cost of the building at the end of this year. The increment in its value of 1 million should be treated as an income in the income statement for year 2011. Additionally, the buildings were revalued again and the investment property increased to 2.5 million. This should be treated by taking it as an income in the income statement at the value of 500,000, while reflecting the value of Building Y as 2.5 million at the end of year 2012. In the case of building Y, the scope provides the value of a fixed asset (such as Building X) to be treated on the fair value. In this case, the value should therefore be expressed on the current value less the depreciation. Revaluation amount should be computed and the current value is the amount shown on the balance sheet as the current value, while the gain in revaluation is shown on the credit of the balance sheet as a revaluation reserve. The revalued amount was done on the last day of the financial year and therefore be reflected on the following year 2012 as 2.5million. (b) Certain criteria should be followed when reporting these compilations of the costs of the asset s, their depreciation amounts and their revaluation treatments. The scope provides for a detailed schedule that should be followed in the presentation of these analyses and as well, their reporting should be detailed and reported accordingly. The relevance in comparing the costing of Machine A and Machine B, as well as the treatment of Building X an Building Y best explains the financial reporting of these different circumstances of each of the two different genres of fixed assets of an entity. i. Machine A is purchased at a discounted

Discussion 8 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Discussion 8 - Essay Example higher education tax credit of up to $2500, $25 increase in weekly unemployment benefit and $7 billion worth of broadband deployments in the rural areas (Bureau of Economic Analysis report, 2009). Demand refers to how much buyers are willing and able to buy whereas supply refers to how much producers are willing and able to deliver to the market. Buyers use their disposable income for investment and consumption. Disposable income is the amount that is left after income is taxed. The tax credit provided for by the stimulus package reduces the taxable income leading to a higher disposable income. Due to the increased disposable income, buyers increase their aggregate demand for goods and services and investments such as homes, cars, technology, good health and education. To meet the increased demand, producers increase production of the goods in question, hence increased aggregate supply. Consequently, the market equilibrium is met. For the ten years there will be observed increase in aggregate demand and supply reaching higher equilibrium points which translates to economic

The death Penalty versus Life Without Parole Research Paper

The death Penalty versus Life Without Parole - Research Paper Example 1. Development of capital punishment & life without Parole: Capital punishment or death sentence developed in United States â€Å"as society searched for more humane ways for killing its condemned† & as a substitute of the brutal ways that the society used throughout history to punish the offenders of society (Hess and Orthman 534). It evolved gradually with the â€Å"first electrocution in 1890, the invention of the gas chamber in 1923, the use of a firing squad and the adoption of lethal injections in 1977† (Hess and Orthman 534). Till 2005 â€Å"38 states and the federal government had laws authorizing capital punishment† whereas the minimum age for capital punishment set by 18 states & the federal government following the court’s ruling in Ropper v. Simmons(2005) was 18 (Hess and Orthman 534). Life imprisonment without parole developed in U.S. as a means to portray that the punitive statutory law was strict. As of 1996, 12 states with capital punishmen t had no life without Parole option, 20 six states of U.S. ... Table 1 Life without Parole (LWP) and capital punishment (CP) 1996, of United States (Adapted): States LWP CP State LWP CP Alabama Yes Yes Montana Yes Yes Alaska No No Nebraska Yes Yes Arizona No Yes Nevada Yes Yes Arkansas Yes Yes New Hampshire Yes Yes California Yes Yes New Jersey Yes Yes Colorado No Yes New Mexico No Yes Connecticut Yes Yes New York No Yes States LWP CP State LWP CP Delaware Yes Yes N. Carolina No Yes Florida Yes Yes North Dakota No No Georgia Yes Yes Ohio No Yes Hawaii Yes No Oklahoma Yes Yes Idaho Yes Yes Oregon Yes Yes Illinois Yes Yes Pennsylvania Yes Yes Indiana No Yes Rhode Island Yes No Iowa Yes No S. Carolina Yes Yes Kansus No Yes South Dakota Yes Yes Kentucky No Yes Tennessee No Yes Lousiana Yes Yes Texas No Yes Maine Yes No Utah Yes Yes Source: Keith D. Harries, and Deral Cheatwood, The geography of execution: the capital punishment quagmire in America.(Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 1997) 110. Print. In the table 1, it can be seen that 34 states out of 38 states accept capital punishment as a means of punishment to its offenders that is 89% (Approx.) of the total no of states. Whereas, in case of life imprisonment without Parole 25 states out of 38 states accept it as a means of punishment, thus amounting to 67% (Approx.) of the total no. of states. Hence, it can be noted that capital punishment had greater acceptance as a means of punishment in comparison to life imprisonment without parole. 3. Differentiation between capital punishment & life imprisonment without parole, as a means of punishment: In case of capital punishment the prisoner is permanently incapacitated from doing any harm to the society, whereas life imprisonment without Parole does not prevent the offenders from harming the inmates of the prison &

Marine Renewable Energy Market Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

Marine Renewable Energy Market Analysis - Essay Example Utilizing nature in the sense, using many natural elements only including various natural energy sources, humans have come up with many inventions and innovations. However, certain of these natural energy sources, have negative side-effects, which kind of destructs the nature or natural environment, from which it is accessed, thereby pushing the need to tap other eco-friendly renewable energy sources. Among them, Marine energy sources are proving to be a feasible and productive option. The United Kingdom not only has 50% of Europe's marine energy potential but the UK also is a prominent leader in the marine renewables market at the present. When these optimum exploitable wave resources as well as tidal stream resources are optimally tapped, it can provide sizable benefits to various sections or stakeholders. One of the key stakeholders is the government. With this sector being a small and upcoming one, it needs maximum support from the government to grow further. Government has been providing good financial support, but the view is, still more grants can be given by the government. This is particularly important in the context of high installation and operating costs involved with these wave and tidal projects. The capitals as well as operating costs are on the higher side, but with the development of technologies, it can reduce in the near future. In addition, this sector has potential for providing employment opportunities, but there are chances that other socio-economic structures in the vicinity of the projects could be affected. Technologies involved in this sector are manifold, and still it is in the development stage, with completely tuned devices and implementations still some years away. Thus, the UK Marine sector has good potential for growth, but still certain challenges exist. Contents 1 Introduction 1.1 Scope 4 1.2 Marine Renewable Energy 4 1.3 Marine Energy Development 5 1.4 Market Size and Growth 6 1.5 Key Competitors 7 2. Trend I: Interests of t he political Government 2.1 Government’s Role 9 2.2 Government’s funding 10 2.3 Need for more funding 10 3. Trend II: Economic Costs and socio-economic impacts 3.1 Installation and operating costs 11 3.2 Socio-economic costs 14 4. Trend III: Technology Development 4.1 Technologies Used 15 4.2 Technology with environmental perspective 16 5. Trend IV: Increasing Environmental Awareness 5.1 Negative impacts 16 5.2 Legislative backings 17 6. Conclusion 17 7. Appendices 20 8. References 21 1. Introduction 1.1 Scope This report will do an analysis of the external environment of the UK’s marine energy market using the PESTLE tool. Through the PESTLE analysis, the report will try to discuss not only the opportunities but also the threats that are prevailing in the marine energy market. By doing these analyses, the report will ‘glean’ four trends, which are visible now and importantly could be visible for the next three years in the marine energy market. The se trends as well as recommendations that can be implemented will provide an overview of the market, and could be helpful for the new entrants as well. The information for preparing this report was obtained from various online sources, which includes government reports, reliable websites, online books, etc. 1.2 Marine Renewable Energy Marine renewable energy constitutes into two sectors, Wave energy and Tidal energy. Wave energy is generated with the aid of wave movement. However, as wave movement and the resultant energy is irregular, a variety of infrastructures or prototypes are developed and installed in the sea to tap the energy. Devices are often separated by their location in the sea, particularly the depth of water. Figure.1 Wave energy (Carbon Trust 2006) On the other hand, Tidal

Research Proposal related to crime and prisoners issues

Related to crime and prisoners issues - Research Proposal Example The high demand for prison space has led to a relatively high population, despite the fact that the nation aims to construct new prison beds. This study will focus on prison overcrowding in the United States of America. Inmates’ data over the years will be studied carefully, as this is a concern due to the increased number as days pass by. Moreover, the cost of an inmate will be analyzed, as well as a choice to add new facilities. One particular prison will be selected, whereby the inmates and guards will be the research population. This paper will discuss critically how funding is a vital role in overcrowding and its impact on the prison system. Prison overcrowding impacts all criminal justice agencies. According to statistics, one of the largest prisons in the country is overcrowded and every one out of 99.1 adults is currently in prison. The generation-long growth of inmates’ population is not because of growing crime rates, but of changes in sentencing policy. The s kyrocketed population of American prisons severely strains the criminal justice system logistically and financially. Prison overcrowding has more than a few negative effects upon inmates. Studies have revealed that prison overcrowding leads to competition for limited resources, higher illness rates, increased recidivism, higher suicide rates, and aggression. In addition, the overcrowded conditions are degrading and dehumanizing for the inmates, this is incongruous to the contemporary correctional reforms, which insist on maximizing the opportunities to inmates. There are several ways to reduce prison overcrowding, more comprehensive alternative is house arrest and community service, which are alternatives to incarceration, and new prison buildings. In the year 1980, the number of inmates was roughly 500,000. In the year 2006, the number of inmates was 2,245,189. Currently, this

Whitness - White trash, white people Assignment

Whitness - White trash, white people - Assignment Example modern structure and reconstitutions of the white identity and its implications to various regional and national contexts where the white privilege is in effect and what this entails. The essay also attempts to understand the multiplicity of whiteness and its connections with other social structures more so for the social classes (Dwyer and Jones 209). Pay attention to the intertwining connection of racial categories and the power granting certain privileges to certain social categories and how it eventually affects attitudes towards certain racial classes (McCann 2). According to Ignatiev, â€Å"Whiteness is not a culture...Whiteness has nothing to do with culture and everything to do with social position. It is nothing but a reflection of privilege, and exists for no reason other than to defend it† (par. 3). For many years whiteness has generally gone under the radar remaining untouched and deactivated, mainly taken for granted in the social and popular discussions involving race. Many studies and works have shown on occasion that white is always an available and open choice when talking about race and more often than not whites have had the opportunity to glance at world through a sieve of racial responsiveness (Ramos-Zayas 76) but as such remains to be an invisible race. In films it is sometimes difficult to see whiteness depicted in the film as an ethnic class as it is difficult to perceive it in a sense that white power is secure in its hold on its position of authority (Dryer 126). Although upon closer inspection it comes up as empty, absent even dead or at the point of death, but one might realize that it is important to try to make some development in seeing whiteness as a cultural or ethnic category. Studies have often portrayed various groups as oppressed, marginal or subordinate including women, the working class, ethnic and other minorities like gay and lesbians, the disabled and the elderly. The urge to do such lies in the logic on how these social

Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Report - Essay Example All these were visiting artist from Kenya and most off the audience were Africans who had come to enjoy their music. The song that was played is known as Ogallo Nyakalaga. This is from the composition of Suzzana Owiyo who was also the main artist performing the song. It was the first time that the song was being performed and so many people who anxious to know how it would come out since she had talked a lot about it. This was an Afro-fusion song that combined the native Luo songs and instruments and tried to modernize it. Most of the attendees were also from the Luo tribe. The song was written in Native language and so it was hard for me to understand what she was saying but I could tell from the crowd what was going on. The song was also accompanied by the local afro-fusion dance which is a soft simple dance which involves the ladies dancing with the men but no contact is allowed. Afro-fusion music fuses traditional African music with modern music. It tries to make the African musi c modern through the use of modern instruments that were not used before and also through the use of modern dance and words. However most of the other styles of the song remain traditional with differences only coming at some points of the play. Another song that was played is known as Ndoa. The song was from Anayo a local Kenyan musician. The song was a mixed gospel with the lingala genre of music. The composition was from Anayo and the song involves vigorous dances with the dancers jumping up and down sweating. It has a song that was supposed to make the crowd in the party mood and make them feel that they were partying. One characteristic feature of this song is that it is fast and the beats are heard more than the words which were in Swahili. The other song that was played is known as Kisumu City. This song was played to praise the city of Kisumu. The song also had fast beats which were accompanied with the beats from the drum which was supposed to make the audience dance to the m. The dancing was also kind of rough with some men going to the extent of lifting up the ladies up. The guitar was used as an accompaniment in the concert. The guitarist used the technique of going high when the beats were low and sometimes going so low when the beats were high. This created a presence of the guitar in the crowd and made someone notice its presence. The guitar was also used to start the song and every song began with the guitar being played for almost 5 minutes before the other beats were introduced. The high point from my opinion in the performance was when the drums were used to add to the beats of the keyboard. This is when the beats were so high and the crowd also showed by the way that they danced. This was accompanied by low guitar plays and high verbal plays. The performance was good with the mixing of all necessary elements of music that made the night enjoyable. Most of the people who attended the concert looked certified and only few people left the place before the end of the time showing that they liked the performance. The audience also had lots of reaction to the performance by shouting whenever a performance was at its peak and also dancing to the beats of the song with the other dancers and performance. The audience sometimes sang the songs to go with how the performers were singing so that it looked like they already knew the songs. The order of the song was well planned. It started with slow smooth songs with very soft dances but as time went on, the pace of the beats

The history and geography of UAE and Dubai (a city of UAE) Essay

The history and geography of UAE and Dubai (a city of UAE) - Essay Example For instance, the Sheikdom in this region under the powerful Carmathians was able to conquer Mecca, the holy place of Islam. But gradually, the Sheikdom became disintegrated and the people once more turned towards piracy (say, became sea pirates). But in 19th Century, the people who lived in this region were powerful enough to challenge Omani and Muscat sultanates. The British intervention in 1800s transformed the whole area to that of a protectorate. For instance, the whole area was renamed by the British administration as Trucial Coast. But the British Administrators were not interested to consider the area as a colony. Instead, they considered the area as a protectorate which consists of 9 states. In 1971, the British control was withdrawn and the whole area became independent as a federation of states. The UAE is situated near to the Eastern side of Arabian Peninsula. Besides, UAE is the part of Gulf of Oman and the Southern Coastal area of Persian Gulf within the Middle East. The UAE shares border with Saudi Arabia in the West- Southern side, Qatar in the Northern side, and Oman in the Eastern side. The land in UAE consists of barren and desert areas. As pointed out, the location of UAE is in the Middle East Asia. In addition, the total area of UAE is 82, 880 sq km. Within this area, coastline consists of 1,318 km, and territorial sea under control is 12 nm (say, nautical mile). The exclusive economic zone within UAE consists of 200 nm. But Kenneth Katzman opines that the economic boom and foreign investment in Dubai within UAE was not helpful to overcome the aftereffects of the global economic crisis (Katzman 12). Basically, the climate of UAE is hot, but the Eastern mountain areas are comparatively cooler. The natural resources consist of petroleum deposit and natural gas. But there exist a number of natural issues like desertification and oil spill from oil wells. In addition, UAE acts the role of an important transit point

Identifying Methods of Assessing Organizational Culture Assignment

Identifying Methods of Assessing Organizational Culture - Assignment Example However, caution should be taken to ask only questions which are relevant to the topic of organization’s culture. If done as outlined, answers can be got from the interviewees and generalized for understanding the entire organization’s culture. On the other hand, while assessing organization’s culture qualitatively, I would suggest the use of survey. Here, a more scientific approach is applied in the examination of different aspects and elements of an organization’s culture (Lazidou, 2008). The records gotten from the studies are then analyzed and generalized as the findings for the whole organization. While doing it, measures should be taken to ensure that only closed ended questions are used. Valid results can be gotten from surveys conducted through the use of questionnaires, telephone conversations and face-to-face communications between the person conducting the assessment and the target respondents (Moody, Horton-Deutsch & Pesut, 2007). All the questions should be asked about different issues revolving around the organization’s culture. So, just like the qualitative interview, quantitative survey can be a very resourceful tool in evaluating the culture of an organization, but only if properly, ke enly, professionally and cautiously

Inflation and Consumer Price Indices Essay Example for Free

Inflation and Consumer Price Indices Essay A literature Review5 Methodology6 Statement Of The Problem6 Objectives Of The Study10 Summary and Conclusions10 Abstract Consumer price index has been confused by a lot of people in recent times. CPI, which is one of the most frequently used statistics to identify periods of inflation is also sometimes viewed as an indicator of the effectiveness of government economic policy. The government, business, labor, and private citizens uses price changes information provided by the CPI in the Nations economy to guide them in making economic decisions. The Consumer Price Index, as implied by the name is an index, or â€Å"a number used to measure change. Investopedia (Investopedia, N. D) defines CPI as A measure that examines the weighted average of prices of a basket of consumer goods and services, such as transportation, food and medical care. This paper attempts to explain what inflation is, types of inflation and how it is measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is the most commonly used measure of inflation. The paper also attempts to discuss the inflation behavior in Malaysia. Keywords: Inflation, Consumer Price Index, types of inflation. Introduction CPI and inflation has always been thought to be same because CPI is widely used as a measure of inflation. However the current rate of inflation is not given by CPI itself. To know the increase or decrease in the prices of goods nd services, the index must be used in the calculations. The Bank of Canada (2010) defined inflation as a persistent rise over time in the average level of prices in the economy. As demand for goods and services exceeds the economys capacity to supply those goods and services, prices tend to go up while an excess supply of goods and services tends to put downward pressure on prices. Its important to understand the difference between the many different types of inflation. When inflation is more than 50% a month, it is known as hyperinflation. There is no known history of hyperinflation in Malaysia, but it is known to have occurred in Germany (costantino bresciani-turroni, 1937) before World War II, and in Zimbabwe (michael wines, 2006) in the 2000s. Stagflation is when inflation occurs despite slow economic growth and the last time this happened in the U. S. was in the 1970s. When inflation affects different parts of the economy, its known as asset inflation because it affects just one asset. This occurred with stock portfolios when the Dow reached its peak (Google finance 2007) of 14,164. 43 on October 9, 2007. Asset inflation mostly occurs during oil-price shock. This is usually as a result of gas and oil demand predictions done by the commodities trader that the demand would go up during summer vacations. When traders become more concerned that oil supply would likely be cut off, just as during the Iran threat to close the Straits of Hormuz in 2012, (Aljazeera, 2012) traders will increase the price of oil. And as a result, price of food, which is usually transported long distances would likely be hiked. A literature Review Cheng and Tan (2002) examined in? ation in Malaysia using quarterly data over the period from 1973QI to 1997QII. The study used the Johansen (1988) cointegration, vector error-correction modeling, impulse response functions, and variance decomposition of the Sims (1980) approach. They included 11 variables in their analysis, namely CPI, money supply, interest rate, income, private expenditure, government expenditure, exchange rate, trade balance, capital in? ows, the rest of in? ation in ASEAN, and in? ation in the rest of the world. The empirical results of their study showed that external factors such as exchange rate and the rest of in? ation in ASEAN are relatively more important than domestic factors in explaining in? tion in Malaysia. Cunado and De Gracia (2005) examined the impact of various of oil price shock on in? ation in six Asian countries, namely Japan, Singapore, Korea, Philippines, Thailand, and Malaysia using quarterly data over the period from 1975Q1 to 2002Q2. The study also examined the asymmetries impact of real oil price change on in? ation. The study used the Johansen (1988) cointegration method and Granger causality test. The main results were that real oil price change has a signi? cant short-run impact on in? ation and becomes more signi? cant when real oil price shock is de? ed in local currency rather than in $US. Furthermore, the impact of real oil price change on in? ation is di? erent across economies in Asia. The real oil price change and in? ation relationship appears to be more signi? cant and more general than the real oil price change and output relationship for Asian countries. For Malaysia, the relationship between real oil price change and in? ation is less signi? cant. Moreover, there is no evidence of Granger causality from real oil price change in $US to in? ation. However, some evidence was found when real oil price change is measured in domestic currency. Also, some evidence was found for the asymmetric impact of real oil price change in $US and in domestic currency on in? ation. Methodology This paper uses data for a time span of 2005 to 2012 to analyze the inflation rate and also uses more data with a span of Jan 2011 to jun2012 to analyze the Consumer Price Index for that particular period in time. Statement Of The Problem The inflation rate in Malaysia has averaged at 2. 77 percent from the year 2005 to 2012. During this period, it would be noted from the graph below that, its highest inflation rate which is measured by Consumer price index was recorded at 8. 00 percent in July 2008. When compared to previous years, it is the highest recorded since 1986. Its lowest was also recorded at -2. 400 percent in July 2009. Exactly a year from the highest recorded.

The role of agricultural sector as an accelerator for economic growth in Nigeria Essay Example for Free

The role of agricultural sector as an accelerator for economic growth in Nigeria Essay 1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY Agriculture is a systemic and controlled use of living organism and the environment in the improvement of human condition. It also covers farming, husbandry, cultivation of plants, animals, and other life forms for food, fiber, bio-fuel, and drugs. Agriculture is the science, art, or occupation concerned with cultivating land, raising crops, and feeding, breeding, and raising livestock; farming (Dictionary.com). It also is the practice of cultivating and farming animals, food and other life forms that are used to sustain life. It is a science and was key to the rise of human civilisations as agriculture enabled man to be able to feed himself and produce surpluses (Ask.com). Economic Growth, defined as the increasing capacity of an economy to produce goods and services, compared from one period of time to another. Economic growth can be measured in nominal terms, which include inflation, or in real terms, which are adjusted for inflation. For comparing one economic growth to another, GDP or GNP per capita should be used to take into account population difference between countries (Investopedia). The growth of an economy is thought of, not only as an increase in productive capacity but also as an improvement in the quality of life of the people of that economy. The agricultural sector plays a major role in the provision of food, security of raw materials for industries, employment, market for industrial goods such as agro-chemical, tractor and fertilizers, and foreign exchange within the context of capital formation. Before oil, Nigeria had oil; with oil, she had additional opportunity of crops like groundnut, cocoa and rubber. These crops were cultivated in large quantities and exported to Europe and America in the pre-1960s and early-60s, (Nigeria’s founding fathers built the nation from agricultural resources; but since the days of the oil boom we have abandoned all the great opportunities that come with the business of Agriculture). With Military incursions into Nigerian government and the dependence on petroleum products as the foremost foreign exchange earner, the attention to the agricultural sector dwindled. Nigeria’s groundnut pyramids disappeared, the oil palm plantations vanished and farming went back to the subsist ent level. With an increasing population, it became increasingly difficult to feed the masses, and the  country resorted to importing food to supplement the ones grown at home. The agricultural sector has played a crucial role in the social and economic growth and development of Nigeria; however, its full potential has not been reached. In the last two decades, government has paid very little attention to the growth of the agricultural sector, though there has been increased farm output at great cost through major projects, massive investments in rural infrastructure and the introduction of modern seed varieties and chemicals. The agricultural sector is yet to boast of any contribution whereas about 75% of export earnings in the 1970s were from agriculture. Agriculture as a major sector of the Nigerian economy can provide up to 70% of the population with employment. The sector in recent times is being transformed by commercialization at the small, medium and large-scale enterprise levels. Major crops include beans, sesame, cashew nuts, cassava, cocoa beans, groundnuts, gum Arabic, kolanut, maize (corn), melon, millet, palm kernel, palm oil, plantains, rice, rubber, sorghum, soyabeans, and yam in the area of land cultivation, and Fish Farming, Piggery and Poultry in the area of animal husbandry, but this is yet to assure the nature of food security and enough foreign exchange earnings desired. Wikipedia recorded that in 1990, 82 million hectares out of Nigeria’s total land area of about 91million hectares were found to be arable, although only 42% of cultivatable area was farmed; leaving us with unused arable land of about 58%. In 2013, the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) was introduced by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture. The Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA) has a great potential in enhancing the role of agriculture as an engine of inclusive growth leading to rural employment, Wealth creation, and diversification of the economy. A major policy accomplishment in the sector is the liberation of seed and fertilizer supply, which had until now been controlled by the federal government, undermined the private sector and did not deliver the inputs to genuine farmers. Since September 2011, fertilizers and seeds are being sold by the companies directly to farmers. Lending commitments from commercial banks has been leveraged using guarantees issued by th e Ministry of Finance. In order to provide a legal framework for the establishment and perpetuity of staple crop processing zones, and transform the Nigerian agricultural sector with significant multiplier effects on the entire economy, an Act to provide a legal framework for the establishment of  Staple Crop Processing Zones (SCPZ) is currently being drafted prepared to the National Assembly for adoption. Agriculture has a stronghold in any economy, for without it, a country will always have to depend on foreign countries to feed her population thereby exposing herself to the issues of food security. Moreover, the growth in the agricultural sector could be a catalyst for national output through its effect on rural incomes and provision of resources for transformation into the industrialized economy. Therefore; it is clear that agricultural growth has played a historically important role in the process of economic development as evidence from industrialized countries like China and India. Countries that are just rapidly developing today have also indicated that the sector has been the engine that contributes to the growth of the overall economy like China. 1.2STATEMENT OF PROBLEM Agriculture is the single largest contributor to the well-being of the rural poor in Nigeria, sustaining about 86% of rural household in the country. Improved agricultural development and growth, can offer a pathway out of poverty. But until very recently, agriculture has suffered the effect of several decades of neglect. Nigeria’s agricultural policies have been inconsistent, uncoordinated and ad hoc. After very slow growth during the 1970s and 1980s, agricultural growth began to pick during the 1990s and, since 2000, has averaged 5.6 per annum. However, even with the rapid agriculture growth of the past decade, Nigeria still has one of the highest poverty rates in the world. A paradigm shift towards a sound evidence-based policymaking process is needed to promote more equitable, gender sensitive and environmentally sustainable growth in the agricultural sector. The recent food price surge has made this shift even more important. It is clear that Nigeria has an arable land of about 82 million hectares and only 48% has been farmed. It is also clear that the agricultural sector is sustaining about 86% of the rural household in the country. There has also been a lack of coordination of agriculture policies. The reason Nigeria still has one of the highest ratings of poverty in the world. This research work is targeted at reconciling the opportunity inherent in the Nigeria’s poor/rural population; vis-à  -vis the massive uncultivated arable land through small scale agricultural support from the government. It will further re-echo  existing solutions as well as provide additional information on our challenges in agriculture as a nation, with a view to providing thought provoking and inciteful analysis of the opportunities inherent in an agricultural based economy, particularly for a blessed nation like Nigeria with quality arable land, and enough water resources to support animal husbandry. 1.3OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The main objective of this research work is to study the roles of agricultural sector as an accelerator for the economic growth in Nigeria. Specific objectives: The study is aimed at: 1. Assessing the various policies and programmes used in promoting the agricultural sector in Nigeria, failures and successes. 2. Evaluating the performance of the agricultural sector of Nigeria over the years, that is1980-2012 and the way forward. 3. Making suggestions as to how the full potential of the sector could be realized in line with the successful policies and other developments. 1.4RESEARCH QUESTIONS This study seeks to find answers to the following research questions; 1. What are the roles of the agricultural sector in relations to the growth of the Nigerian economy? 2. What efforts has the government made to restore the agricultural sector in Nigeria? 3. What is the performance of the agricultural sector of Nigeria over the years? 4. What could be done to make the agricultural sector achieve its full potential? 1.5RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS The research hypothesis is to create a relationship between the growth on agricultural sector and the Nigerian economy as well as the inverse relationship between them. = Growthof the agricultural sector playsno significant roles in the economy. = Growthof the agricultural sector plays significant roles in the economy. 1.6SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The significance of this study depends on the fact that with an improved economy, Nigeria stands to gain in its effects towards economic growth. It is advantageous to both the government and citizens; in the sense that its  serves as a guide for future governmental policy on agriculture and when this is well implemented, we will notice that the welfare and standards of living of the citizens will be improved. 1.7THE SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY This study examines the timeframe of 1980-2012. The purpose of choosing this period is to empirically test the significance or the extent to which the agricultural sector contributes to the economy’s growth despite the several years of government’s neglect, and to re-emphasize the need to properly coordinate Government policies and reconcile the opportunity of our rural population with the available natural resources, particularly the arable land for optimum usage and the renewal effects towards stabilizing the agricultural sector. The performance of Nigeria’s agricultural sector shall be evaluated in detail as well as efforts of the government at restoring the sector examined. This study will also go further to discuss the major constraints on the performance of the Nigeria agricultural sector. The limitations are due to lack of available data information, time factor, and cost involved in carrying out this type of research. 1.8DEFINITION OF TERMS. i. Capital Formation; this can be defined as the transfer of savings from individuals or households to the business sector, directly through investment or indirectly through banks. ii. Husbandry; this is defined as the science of raising crops or food animals or the cultivation and production of edible crops or of animals for food. iii. Labour-Intensive; is a process or industry that requires large amount of labour to produce its goods and services. iv. Global Warming; an increase in earth’s average atmospheric temperature that causes corresponding changes in climate and that may result from the greenhouse effect. v. Greenhouse Effect; an atmospheric heating phenomenon, caused by short wave solar radiation being readily transmitted inward through the earth’s atmosphere but longer wave length heat radiation less readily transmitted outwards, owing its absorption by atmospheric carbon dioxide, water vapour, methane, and other gases; thus the rising level of carbon dioxide is viewed with concern. CHAPTER TWO 2.1 INTRODUCTION This section presents the theoretical, methodological and empirical review of literature. The theoretical review covers various theories on the subject matter, while the methodological review also cover various methodological issues used in the past studies and the empirical review present various findings that results from the methodologies. 2.2THEORETICAL REVIEW OF LITERATURE The study of economic history provides us with ample evidence that an agricultural revolution is a fundamental pre-condition for economic development (Eicher and Witt, 1964, Olusanmi, 1966, Jones and Wolff, 1969). The agricultural sector has the potentials to be the industrial and economic spring board from which a country’s development can take off. Indeed, agricultural activities are usually concentrated in the less developed rural transformation, redistribution, poverty alleviation and socio-economic development (Stewart, 2000). Agriculture can be advanced beyond its primary function of supplying food and its primary cultural sector has the potential to shape the landscape, guarantee the sustainable management of renewable resources of many rural areas (Humbert, 2000). In fact, through its different spheres of activities at macro and micro levels, the agricultural sector is strategically positioned to have a higher multiplier effect on any nation’s quest for socio-ec onomic and industrial development. It is very obvious that a sustainable agricultural growth has been highly instrumental in Brazil’s rapid rural transformation, the empowerment of Brazilian peasant and the alleviation of abject poverty. Interestingly, the Nigerian economy like that of Brazil during the first decade after independence could reasonably be described as an agricultural economy because agriculture serves as the engine of growth of the overall economy (Ogen, 2003: 231-234). From the stand point of occupational distribution and contribution of GDP, agriculture was the leading sector. During this period, Nigeria was the world’s second largest producer of cocoa, largest exporter of palm kernel and largest producer and exporter of palm oil. Nigeria was also a leading exporter of other commodities such as cotton, groundnut, rubber and hides and skin (Alkali 1977: 15-16). The agricultural sector contributed over 60% to the GDP in the 1960s and despite the reliance of the Nigerian peasant  farmers on traditional tools and indigenous farming method, the farmers produce 70% of Nigeria’s export and 95% of its food needs (Lawal 1997: 195). However, the agricultural sector suffered neglect during the hay days of boom in the 1970s. Ever since then, Nigeria has been witnessing extreme poverty. Historically, the root of the crisis in Nigerian economy lies in the neglect of agriculture and the increased dependence on a monoculture economy based on oil. The agricultural sector now accounts for less than 5% of Nigeria’s GDP (Olagboju and Falola 1996: 263). It is against this back drop that this paper sets out to draw comparative analysis from the Brazilian experience for possible replication in Nigeria. Such an approach is particularly feasible given the fact that Nigeria shares so much in common with Brazil in terms of a highly conducive agricultural climate, huge and diverse population as well as the availability of natural resources. 2.2.1MEANING OF ECONOMIC GROWTH According to Turrets (1987) â€Å"the economic growth of a country can be defined in various ways as an increase in gross domestic product, in real GDP or in per capital GDP†. It is clear therefore, that the rate of growth of the real GDP country. If we want to determine the growth in Nigeria for example, the rate of growth of its real GDP stands as the most appropriate measure. Alternatively, we can also examine the meaning of economic growth through the use of production possibility curve. A production possibility curve is used to depict the maximum quantities of two goods or types of goods that can be produced when all the resources of the country are fully and efficiently utilized. However, smith (1996) visualised that economic growth results from specialization of labour, application of new technology as well as through international trade. But one important fact to note is that, since economic activities tend to or shift outward, countries will always record a positive g rowth rate and sometimes negative, such as inward of country’s production possibility curve (PPC) (Clawer, Graves and Sexton, 1989).Nigeria’s economy had in some ears of the late1980s and through 1990s recorded some negative growth rate and in fact, still does till date and even beyond. 2.2.2AGRICULTURE AND ECONOMIC GROWTH Development economists in general and agricultural economists in particular,  have focused on how agriculture can best contribute to overall economic growth and modernization. Many early analyst (Fel and Rani, 1954; Jorgensen 1961; Hirschman 1958; Scitovsky 1954; Lewis 1954; Rosentein-rodan 1943), have highlighted agriculture because of its abundance of resources and its ability to transfer surpluses to the more important industrial sector. The conventional approach to the roles of agriculture in economic growth concentrated on agriculture’s important market-mediated linkages, and they are: i. Providing food for the expanding population with higher income. ii. Providing labour for an urbanized industrial work force. iii. Supplying savings for investment in industry. iv. Enlarging markets for industrial output providing export earnings to pay for imported capital goods and v. Providing primary material for agro processing industries (Timer 2002, Delgado et al 1994, Ravis et al 1990, Johnson and Mellor 1961). Rapid agricultural productivity growth is a prerequisite for the market mediated linkages to be mutually beneficial. Productivity growth that resulted from agriculture has had enormous impacts on food supplies and food prices and consequent beneficial impacts on food security and poverty reduction (Hazel and Hag blade 1993, Binswanger 1980, Hayami and Herdt 1977, Pinstrup Anderson 1976); Alston et al (1996), posit that because a relatively high proportion of any income gain made by the poor is spent on food, the income effect of research induced supply shift can have major multinational implications, particularly if those shift results from technologies aimed at the poorest producers. Agricultural productivity growth also triggers the generat ion of non-market mediated linkages between the agricultural sector and the rest of the economy. These includes the indirect contribution of a vibrant agricultural sector to food security and poverty alleviation, safely net and buffer role; and the supply of environmental services (FAO, 2004). While agricultures direct private contributions to form households are tangible, easy indirect benefits tend to be over looked in assessing rate of returns. Ignoring the whole range of economic and social contributions of agriculture underestimates the returns to investments in the sector (Valdes and Foster, 2005). Some empirical evidence exists on the positive relationship between agricultural growth (Valdes and Foster 2005). The transformation of agriculture from its  traditional subsistence roots induced by technical change, to a modernizing agricultural sector is a phenomenon observed across the developing world. Concluding, it is clear that agricultural growth has played a historically important role in the process of economic development. Evidence from industrialized countries that are rapidly developing today indicates that agriculture was the engine that contributed to growth in the non-agricultural sectors and to overall economic wellbeing. Economic growth originating in agriculture can have a particular strong impact in reducing poverty and hunger. Increasing employment and income in agriculture stimulates demand for non-agricultural goods and services, thereby providing a boost to non-farm rural income earners as well. 2.2.3AGRICULTURE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. The contribution of agriculture to economic development lies in: i. Providing more food to the rapidly expanding population increasing the demand for industrial product, and thus necessitating the expansion of secondary and tertiary sectors. ii. It can release workers needed for the production of non-agricultural goods and services. iii. It can provide a source of capital that can be invested in improved productive facilities in the rest of the economy (Timer 2002, Delgado et al 1994, Ravis et al 1996. Johnson and Mellor 1961). A progressive urban industrial economy contributes, in turn, to the rapid development of agriculture by expanding the market for agricultural products; by supplying the farm machinery, chemical fertilizers and so on, that raise the level of agricultural technology; by expanding productive employment opportunities for workers released from agriculture by technological change; and by making possible improvements in the quality of rural life by raising standards of consumption both in urban and rural areas (Binswanger, 1980). A rise in rural purchasing power, as a result of the increased agricultural surplus, is a great stimulus to industrial development. The market for manufactured goods is very small in an underdeveloped country where the peasant farm labourers and their families, comprising typically two goods in addition to whatever they need. There is lack of real purchasing power thus reflecting the low productivity in agriculture. The basic problem thus is low investment return caused by small size of the market. Increased rural  purchasing power caused by expansion of agricultural output and productivity will tend to raise the demand for manufactured goods and extend the size of the market. This will lead to the expansion of the industrial sector (Lewis, 1954). Moreover, the demand for such inputs as fertilizers, tractors, better tools, implements, irrigational facilities in the agricultural sectors will all lead to the greater expansions of the agricultural sector. Besides, the means of transport and communications will expand to urban areas and manufactured goods to the rural areas. The long run effects of the expansion of the secondary and tertiary sectors will be towards higher profits in them whether they are operated in the private or the public sector. These profits will tend to increase the rate of capital fo rmation through their re-investment. That is what Kuznets calls the â€Å"market contributions† of agriculture when it trades with other sectors of the economy. Underdeveloped countries mostly specialize in the production of a few agricultural goods for export. As output and productivity of the exportable goods expand, their exports increase and results in larger foreign exchange earnings. Thus agricultural surplus leads to capital formation when capital goods are imported with this foreign exchange. As development gains momentum due to industrialization, the proportion of agricultural export in the country’s total exports is likely to fall as they are needed in large quantities for domestic production of imported articles. Such articles are import substitutes and conserve foreign exchange. Similarly, increased marketed surplus of food grains leads to a net saving of foreign exchange, as the economy tries to achieve the goal of self-sufficiency in food production. Larger productions of food and export crops do not only conserve and earn foreign exchange, but also leads to expansion of the other sectors of the economy. Foreign exchange earnings can be used to build efficiency of other industries and help the establishment of new indus tries by importing scare raw materials, machines, capital equipment and technical know-how. Kuznets calls it the â€Å"product contribution† of agriculture which first argues about the growth of net output of the economy and the growth of per capita output. An underdeveloped needs large amounts of capital to finance expansion of the infrastructure and for the development of basic and heavy industries. In the early stages of development, capital can be provided by increasing the marketable surplus from the rural sector without reducing  consumption levels from population. According to Johnson and Mellor (1961) â€Å"an increase in agricultural productivity implies some combination of capital formation when it is reduced on the farm and employed in construction works†. But the possibility of utilizing unskilled surplus form labour on capital project requiring skilled labour is limited. The second possibility of increasing capital formation through reduced agricultural prices is also not feasible in the early stages of development when the rise in price is not feasible. Reduction in agricultural prices is not feasible. Reduction in agricultural prices is possible in the long run but democratic countries may not be able to follow this reasoning for political reasons. A more practicable solution is to stabilize the prices in farm products. The third possibility of increasing farm receipts is perhaps the best way for capital formation. This can be done by mobilizing increased farm incomes through agricultural income tax, land registration charges, s chool fees, for providing agricultural technical services and other types of fees that cover all or part of the farm population. But â€Å"political and institutional problems makes it difficult to translate the increased potential for saving and capital accumulation, made possible by increased agricultural productivity, into an actual increase in investment in underdeveloped countries. According to Wald, special assessments have had their widest application in the United States. In view of the fact that they are specially designed for financing such developed projects as irrigation works, flood control system and certain classes of roads, all of which are extremely important for underdeveloped countries like India that â€Å"the penalties of too light taxation on agriculture are a stagnating farm sector, a financially starved public sector and a retarded rate of economic growth in the country as a whole; (Wald, 1995). Thus countries were agriculture dominates, the taxation of agriculture in one form or another is essential for mobilizing agricultural surplus in order to accelerate economic development. Kuznets calls it the â€Å"factor of contribution† when there is a transfer of resources to the other sectors, these resources to the other sectors, these resources being productive factors. Agriculture also expands and diversifies employment opportunities in rural areas. As agricultures productivity and farm income increases, non-farm rural employment expands and diversifies. Landless and marginal farmers are primarily engaged in  non-agricultural pursuits which includes the manufacturers of textile, furniture, tools, handicraft, leather and metal processing, marketing, transport, repair work, construction of houses and other buildings, education, medicine and other services, as these activities satisfy local demand. Lastly, increase in rural incomes as a result of the agricultural surplus tends to improve rural welfare. Peasant starts consuming more food especially of a higher nutritional value in the form of superior quality cereals, eggs, ghee, milk, fruits etc. They build better houses fitted with modern amenities like electricity, furniture, radio, fan etc. provide themselves with bicycles, motorcycles, watches, readymade garments, shoe etc. they also receive direct satisfaction from such services such as schools, health centres, irrigation, banking, transport and communication facilities. Thus increased agricultural surplus has the effect of raisi ng the standards of living of the mass of rural people. 2.2.4NIGERIAN ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT Nigeria was and is still basically an agricultural country despite the fact that there is significant growth in the other sector of the economy since her independence in 1960. Agriculture remains the single largest sector of the economy since it provides employment to a large segment of the work force and constituting the main stay of Nigeria’s rural population. Since 1985, the percentage of gross domestic product attributable to agriculture has been maintained about 31%, well ahead of mining and quarrying, which includes crude petroleum and gas as well as whole sale and retail trade, which are also the other two major contributors to GDP in Nigeria. Before 1970, the agricultural sector has enjoyed a relatively abundant supply of farm labour and cultivable land for agriculture was able to respond quite steadily to a rising demand. An expansion of land under cultivation and increased absorption of rural labour constituted a ready means for output expansion. However, the 1970s o il boom saw a high rate of rural-urban population migrating, which resulted into supply demand imbalance in the food subsector, while traditional export declined sharply in both absolute and relative terms. From 1970, Nigeria’s agriculture has been characterized by excess demand over supply due to high population growth rate, stagnant declining economic growth, high rate of globalization, increased demand for  agricultural raw materials by an expanding industrial sector and the rising per capita income which is stimulated by an oil export revenue boom. The decline in production of tradable has raised serious domestic and external balancing problems. The output of domestic inputs using agro-allied firms is constrained by output fluctuation, which reduces the size of export revenues and market shares. This adversely affects the balance of payment. The agricultural sector was estimated to decline at an annual average of 0.43% between 1970 and 1985 while the periods between 1975 and 1978 recorded the highest level of decline of 7.88%. The agricultural export crop sub-sectors contribution to the total foreign earnings declined from an average of 58% in the 1960s to only 5.2% between 1971 and 1985. Indeed, by 1980, Nigeria had become a net importer of food and most of its tradable export crops had either disappeared from the export list or merely maintained an insignificant presence. As it were, the agricultural export sub-sector became increasingly unable to meet the raw material needs to the primarily processing industries and furthermore, inflationary pressure characterized the economy, general degeneration of rural life and rural urban migration. Notwithstanding, the observed agricultural decline, agricultural policy appeared to have been more active in the 1970s than in the 1960s. In the formal period, the government implanted successful programme like National Agricultural Food Production Programme (NAFP), Operation Feed the Nation (OFN) and green revolution programme, also banks assisted Agricultural Development Programme (ADP). Government also tried to improve marketing system for agricultural export crops by reforming the marketing board system in 1973, 1976 and 1977. Agricultural sector did not improve; as a result there was introduction of Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) in 1986, which necessitated the deregulation of exchange rates and abolition of marketing board system. 2.2.5AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION DURING THE STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT PROGRAMME (SAP) One of the most important debates the structural adjustment programme (SAP) has centred on the impact of the programme on agricultural sector. It was anticipated that the measures adopted under this programme will bring about increased domestic production of food and eventual elimination of food import, increase supply of manufacturing industries of agricultural raw materials such as cotton, cocoa, oil palm, rubber etc. was also anticipated (Obadan and Egbase, 1992). Also, the  diversification of export base of the economy would be enhanced with the increase in the agricultural prices and boom in the sector, production was expected to translate into rising rural employment, income and standard of living. Therefore, the agricultural production will be viewed from two perspectives, which is agricultural food production during SAP and agricultural export during SAP. 2.2.6AGRICULTURAL FOOD PRODUCTION DURING SAP Following the introduction of SAP in 1986, some writers have claimed that food production have been on the increasing sides. Since one of the expectations of complimenting this programme is to bring food and to make sure that the importation of food is eradicated. Iwayemi in 1994 found out that one of the positive developments in recent years is a merging trend of upward turn in the production of agricultural tradable (rice, soya beans and maize) and of the non-traded food category and cassava has performed impressively. Furthermore, it was discovered that immediately after the introduction of SAP, there were sharp increase in the prices of staples such as yam, cassava, rice, maize, etc. for instance the average market retail price in Kwara state rose from â‚ ¦450 per tonne to â‚ ¦560 per tonne in 1986 and â‚ ¦686 per tonne in 1986. Also, the average market price of rice in Kaduna state rose from â‚ ¦1500 in 1985 to â‚ ¦1700 and â‚ ¦2213 in 1992. These increases in the price of staples are adduced to high inflationary pressures resulting from SAP. Also Edgbai (1988)argued that the devaluation of the Naira following the advent of the SAP lead to spectacular increase in the prices of most agricultural inputs, implements and machinery. The percentage price increase of these inputs between 1985, the last pre-SAP year’s ranges between 50% and 70% using official prices subsequently there have indeed been increases in the producer prices of maize development. Finally, Iwayemi (1994) concluded that the most pressing problem in the sector is the lack of adequate production capacity to meet domestic food requirement of rapidly raising large population. 2.2.7AGRICULTURAL EXPORT DURING SAP The major aim of introducing SAP was to improve the agricultural export through the depreciation of the country’s currency. However, different researches hold different opinions concerning this. For instance, Obadan (1993) found out that SAP policy of exchange rate adjustment was an  important factor that positively affected supply of rubber and suggested that real depreciation of the naira for example, tends to stimulate rubber farmers to increase supply of export, thus talking advantage of the improved international competitiveness. In modern development, with the exception of rubber, the export elasticity of cocoa, palm kernel and processed or semi processed product with respect to change in exchange in Nigeria was generally of low order even in the long run. Hence, Obadan and Egbase (1992) concluded that export base production activities especially agriculture, have benefited from the SAP incentive arising particularly from naira to depreciation and trade liberalization. Thus, quantity of natural rubber exported rose from 32000 in 1985 to 108600 in 1991, changes in naira exchange rate significantly affected natural rubber supply under SAP. In contrast, Ajilim and Agba, (1986) claimed that there is over whelming evidence that SAP has very slim prospect for stimulating non-oil export e.g. cocoa. Also Dayo, (1996) discovered that the low elasticity estimate was due to limited volume of agricultural export earning in response to devaluation of the naira. Also, Ajayi (1988) and Osagie (1985) posit In that in Nigeria, exchange rate devaluation is stagnant and have no significant effect on the external trade balance because of low prices elasticity generally associated with the excess import and export demand functions. In other words Balogun (1987) estimated agricultural export function with exchange export has the redress and the result showed unresponsiveness of aggregate agricultural export to exchange rate, price and imported and agricultural input. He thus, concluded that the agricultural sector, which is dominated by smaller hold farming, is insulated from external trade variables or shocks. Finally, Obadan and Egbase (1992) argued that export base production activity, especially agriculture, have benefited from SAP incentives arising particularly from naira depreciation and trade liberalization, for example in response to the price and exchange liberalization, the quantity of natural exported rose from 32000tonnes in 1985 to 33000 in 1986 and 108800 in 1991 changes in naira exchange rate significantly affected natural rubber supply under SAP. However Obadan (1993) argued that the main objective of SAP has not been realized even though that the number of agricultural export have increase, the value is still in significant. 2.2.8THE EFFECT OF SAP AND THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. Warder (1995) analysed  the economic and political development on Nigeria’s agricultural sector including the application of the structural adjustment programme (SAP). He discovered that with the application of SAP, that the country was able to orient her agricultural production toward the production and exportation of cash crops while Husia and Farugee (1994) found out that for any developing country like Nigeria to experience the turn-around in our country, the country should establish and maintain macro-economic stability, eliminate discrimination against agriculture and take measures to remove anti export bias. Furthermore, Obadan (1994) stated that the agricultural sector during SAP was able to reverse negative gro wth of the economy during the early 1980s, because of more favourable more weather conditions and adoption of a floating exchange rate system which favoured agriculture deregulation of agricultural prices and the priority according to the implementation of the key public sector agricultural programs. Stanley (1987) added that SAP policy consisted of measures that are aim at achieving viability in the medium term balance of payment why the level and rate of growth of economy activity was maintained at the optimal level of operation. In addition Ojo (1988) stated that the effect of SAP on agricultural and rural development has brought about an increase in agricultural production and there was an improvement in rural development.He however, noted that the fundamental problems of Nigeria agriculture still persist. In contrast, since the theoretical bases of SAP is based on the invisible hand or market mechanism, Obadan and Ekuarhare (1993) opined that a Pareto system which required a free market economy may not be idea for a developing or even a developed country. This is because the market mechanism may faster efficiency but not equity. The price mechanism which is concerned with state resources allocation undermines economic growth and development in developing countries. ‘â €™consequently, without governments intervention in economic activities, the market leads to misallocation of present and future resource or at least to one which may not be in long run in the best interests of the society’’ (Torado 1977, 164 quoted in Obadan and Ekuarhare 1993). Finally, Obadan and Ekuarhare opined further that the fiscal monetary exchange policy mix contained in SAP is inter-consistent with economic recovery from a recession (from which the country has been battling due to external shock and the crisis of accumulation within the domestic bourgeoisie). Recovery  from this cyclical downturn characterized by below capacity nation production would require an increase in government expenditure to provide greater employment and increased social benefit. In other words, the deflation an economy coupled with deregulation and liberalization will not lead to an upturn of the economy. Therefore,Obadan (1993) discovered that the main objective of SAP has not been realized even though the number of non-oil manufactured agricultural export items have increased the value and is still insignificant. For instance, exchange in-flow from non-oil exports reduce from $557million in 1985(per SAP) to $538 million in 1987. It increased to $613 million in 1988 bu t reduced drastically to $406million in 1990 and by 1992; the sector only contributed 3.6% of the nation’s foreign exchange. The value of agricultural export which stood at an average of â‚ ¦408.7 million before declining sharply to â‚ ¦270.8 million in 1981-1985, owing largely to decline in cash crop producers. During SAP, export earnings grew to â‚ ¦1822.9 million in 1986-1990 for primary agricultural commodities such as tubers, fruits and spices coming on board. In addition, export of manufacturers and semi manufacturers of agricultural products which earned only â‚ ¦37.2 million in 1891-1985 recorded the sum of â‚ ¦214.9 million in 1986-1990 as Nigeria became exporter of textile, soap, detergent, beer, beverages and skin in addition to cocoa products. Emmanuel (2002) viewed productivity as the wealth of a nation. According to him, Nigeria is generously endowed with abundant natural resources. He further argued that if this enormous resources base is well managed, through increased productivity, the wealth of the nation is bound to increase. He argued that a farmer plants a seed and reaps several harvesting period, productivity has increased and the wealth of a nation has increased too. The mercantilists (18th century) argued that productivity in the agricultural sector contributed the least to the economic growth. They said that it only promoted domestic trade and did not fore see mechanization and modernization that took over manual labour in the agricultural sector, as agricultural commodities are not only traded domestically but exported to other countries. 2.2.9AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION AND EXPORT The breakdown of agricultural production into its component parts reveals the problems during 1985 period. While food production recorded only a marginal  increase export crop production declined sharply. The inadequate domestic food production is reflected in Nigeria’s massive food imports, especially in the 1970’s to argument domestic supply. The supply in the production of some of Nigeria’s cultural export commodities was most worrisome for instance, Nigeria that was ranked as the world leading producer and exporter of palm oil in the 1960s had become the net importer of this commodity in the mid-70s. Similarly, Nigeria’s cocoa production, which reached its peak of 309000 tonnes in 1970-71, fell drastically to 160000 tonnes in 1985. The sharp turn down in the gross value terms of trade in agriculture was equally serious. The ratio of agricultural exports to food imports which stood at 143% in 1970-1975 suffered significant deterioration and reached th e lowest at 38% by 1976-1982. The performance of agriculture during the review period was underdetermined mainly by its neglect coupled with a chain of distributive created by the oil boom. 2.3THE METHODOLOGICAL REVIEW OF LITERATURE Several policies as well as policy instruments have been put to place over the year by successive government in Nigeria. Some had positive effect while the others had negative effects. Olayami (1985) identified three distinct agricultural policy era under which the agricultural sector developed for the past three decades, these includes; the 1960-1969 era, the 1970-1985 eras. These policies were targeted at improving the performance of the sector during this period. A review of these policies would be discussed; Agricultural policy during these periods was limited to marketing and pricing for which the marketing board was established. Actually, at the outbreak of World War 2 in 1939, government owned marketing boards were setup in British, West Africa to assure orderly marketing and to protect British supplies of raw materials (Adegbola and Akinbode, 1986). Government was involved in agricultural research and extension of services but the issue of self-sufficiency in agriculture for food and raw materials was not pursued. Also investment in agriculture with initiatives to improve employment was left to the initiative in farming. During this period, there was decentralised approach to agriculture with initiatives being left to the regions and the states while the federal government played a supportive role. Regional government were executing abhor policies, programme and  projects. There was no institutional federal responsibility for agriculture and there were no specific agricultural sector objectives. There were a number of policies and programme and some of them are discussed below; 2.3.1AGRICULTURAL MARKETING POLICY The agricultural marketing board system was used extensively in marketing agricultural products during this period. The system started with the establishment of a commodity marketing board in 1947 and for groundnut, palm produce and cotton in 1949. In 1954, the board became regionalized with one multi commodity marketing board for each of the regions, and later for each of the states. The board accumulated huge trading surpluses which were used to mobilize substantial savings for the government. These surpluses were generated at the expense of the stability of farmers’ income. The farmers’ income was kept low and with increasing risk on the farm declining world commodity prices of the mid 60s, there was an incentive for peasant increase production (Adubi, 1966). 2.3.2AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION PROJECTS The regional government of the east and western Nigeria stared this project and then later the north, to encourage the development of these crops. There financed from surpluses of the marketing boards. This was before the creation state, the UNIX oil palm plantation (now in Rivers and Cross Rivers), the Hushin rubber estates (now in Ogun state), and the upper Ogun cattle ranches etc. 2.3.3FARM SETTLEMENT SCHEME In the early 1960s the regional government assisted school leavers who were willing to go into agriculture establishment farm settlement scheme in places like Edo, Ilora, Ikenne, Ibadan and so on. The farm settlement were setup as model for other farmers who often look up practises being carried out by settlers and had easy access to farm equipment and services. However, due to non-ownership pattern of the scheme, farm and house power supply problems and the limited individuals’ holdings, most settlers were not committed. The owned land outside the greater settlement and mainly used the opportunity to obtain services through membership of a settlement scheme (Adegbola and Akinbode, 1986) 2.3.41970-1985 ERA (PERIOD OF MAXIMUM  GOVERNMENT INTERVENSION) Agricultural production started to decline towards the end of the decades of 1960s. Export crops outputs were stagnating while export volumes begin to decrease, and there was evidence of food shortages in the country. The 1963 G DP figures for example shows that agriculture crops, livestock, fishing and forestry accounted for 64% of total GDP and the average for 1960s decade estimated at 56%. Similarly, in the export sector, the percentage of agricultural produce was declining (Adubi, 1966). The problem of agricultural production decline was ascribed partly to the civil war and partly to the declining commodity process in the world market and the incentive to production due to taxation of the commodity board. There was therefore greater involvement of the government in agriculture. The expenditure of government and therefore for its investment increase in the sector specific sector emphasis of policy was on accelerating production of the staple food crops and some export crops. There was a fundamental shift in the strategy compared with the decade of 1960s and the federal government became more involved in the sector.The strategy taken, led to the launching of several special programme and projects. Also specialised in institutions were setup to ensure smooth implementation of the agricultural policies; the period witnessed many macroeconomic and sector specific policies, which directly or indirectly affects agricultural production. Many of the macroeconomic policies of the government had wide spread effect on agriculture, though not targeted at the agricultural sector, until there are some programme which includes marketing policy, input supply and distribution policy and input subsidy policy. Agricultural Development Projects (ADPs) and River Basin Development Authority (RBDA) were also established to promote agricultural developments. 2.3.5THE 1985-1999 ERA (SAP AND POST SAP PERIOD) With the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) in 1986, government admitted the failure of past policies to significantly improve the economy and reverse the declining trend of production in the agricultural sector. The SAP relied most especially on the agricultural sector to achieve the objectives of its far reaching refunds on diversification of export and adjustment of the consumption structure of the economy. The philosophy of SAP for the agricultural sector was that only the interplay of the market  forces could foster efficiency in the sector. The government was therefore expected to play minimal role for private sector initiative in the sector. Many of the policy measure adopted in SAP and macro in nature and those that affect agriculture also fall directly into fiscal, monetary, trade and exchange rate policies as well as institutional policy refunds. Many institutions such as National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Directorate of Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructure (DFR RI), National Agricultural Insurance Company (NAIC), National Land Development Authority (NALDA) were established to assist new farmers and promote agriculture development in the rural areas. Essentially, these policies and programme were implemented until 1999. The changes in the government during the review period 1985-1999 also led to modifications of some of the policies above, which essentially formed the major focus of government on agricultural development. 2.3.6THE NEW MILLENNIUM AGRICULTURAL POLICIES (1999-2003) At the inception of the new democratic administration in May 1999 and shortly before then, several institutional changes were made in order to realize the sector’s objectives and in line with its belief that agricultural and rural development are sine que non for improved economy recovery (Olamola, 2003) these includes the relocation of department of cooperatives. Division of the ministry of Water Resources to the ministry of agriculture all before 1999, the scrapping of the erst while National Agricultural Land Development Department, the scrapping of the Federal Agriculture Coordinating Unit (FACU) and the Agricultural Project Monitoring and Evaluating Unit (APMEU) and the setting up of Project Co-ordination Unit (PCU) and the stream lining institution for agricultural credit delivery with the emergency of the Nigerian Agricultural Co-operative and Rural Development Bank (NACRDB) and the peoples bank and the asset of the Family Economic Advancement Programme (FEAP). New inst itutions are also evolving to enable the Nigerian agricultural sectors respond to the imperative of the emerging global economic order. The new agricultural policy has a clear statement of objectives amid the structural transformation necessary for the overall socio-economic development of the country as well as the improvement in the quality of life of Nigeria. This objective reflects the current policy recognition of agriculture as a vital sector under the poverty reduction  programme (FMARD, 2003). The government also seeks to pursue the following specific objectives: i. Attainment of self-sufficiency in basic food commodities with particular reference to those which consume considerable shares of Nigerian’s foreign exchange and for which the country has comparative advantage in local production. ii. Increase in production and processing of exportable commodities with a view to increase their foreign exchange earning capacity and further diversifying the country’s export base and source of foreign exchange earnings. iii. Increase in production of agricultural raw materials to meet the growth of an expanding industrial sector. iv. Modernization of agricultural production, processing, storage and distribution through the infusion of improved technologies and management so that agriculture can be more responsive to the demand s of other sectors of the Nigerian economy. v. Creation of more agricultural and rural employment opportunities to increase income of farmers and rural dwellers, productivity absorbed and increasing labour force in the nation. These objectives are properly in agreement with the whole concept of agricultural sustainability and inter-linkage between agriculture and each of the relevant sectors of the economy. As it is usual with the specification of agricultural policy objectives from time immemorial, these objectives are clearly presented and are basically consistent with the overall strategy of diversifying the productive base of the economy for an increased foreign exchange generation, higher level of employment and productivity and improved economy recovery. Specification of policy objectives had been the most easily accomplished component of agricultural policy formulation in particular and development planning experience in the country in general. It is therefore not surprising that the specified objectives in the new policy document are indeed comprehensive and quite appropriate. 2.4POLICY EVALUATION It might be difficult to evaluate all the policies objectively given the space and the focus. However, evidence from some authors (Olayemi 1995, Olamola 1998, Garb 1998) has indicated minimal positive impact of these policies. Also, the performance of the sector is far from being fully satisfactory. The evidence of these is the decaying rural infrastructure, decline domestic and foreign investment in agriculture. In fact the  increasing withdrawal of manufacturing companies from their backward integrated agricultural ventures has reduced investment in the sector considerably. Input supply and distribution have been inefficient and most agricultural institutions are ineffective. The evidence of ineffectiveness is the scrapping in the year 2000 of some of the institutions established for agricultural production, a critical examination of the policies and there implementation over the years to show policy instability. This problem is not unconnected with the political instability in t he country. Between 1979 and 1999, the country has passed through five military and civilian regimes. In between the minister of agriculture at the federal level and the various commissioners for agriculture at the state level were changed several times on the average of one per two years. Several policy measures were stated and changed without sufficient rating for policy effect or result. 2.4.1POLICY INCONSISTENCIES. With respect to agricultural production, the sector has passed through several periods of production and unbridled opening up for competition. It has also passed through eras of no government and less government involvement in direct agricultural production. The consistencies of policy transparency, leads to poor implementation and mismanagement of policy instruments. 2.5EMPERICAL REVIEW Oji-Okoro (2011) investigate the contribution of agricultural sector on the Nigerian economic development and reveal that foreign direct investment on agriculture contribute the most (56.43), this means that for every unit of change in FDI on agriculture there is a corresponding change of 56.43 unit in GDP in Nigeria. Suleiman and Aminu (2010) conducted research on the contribution of agriculture, petroleum and manufacturing sector of the Nigerian economy and found out that agricultural sector is contributing higher than both petroleum and manufacturing sectors. The paper reveals that agriculture is contributing 1.7978 units to GDP while petroleum is contributing 1.14 units to GDP which is less than the contribution of agriculture. Awe and Ajayi (2009) conducted research on the diversification of the significant when the log of revenue from agriculture was tested on the revenue from agriculture. About 60 percent of the movement could be  explained in the relationship. The findings from the study further revealed that dynamic relationship exists between the revenue from the non-oil sector economic development. Ekpo and Umoh (2012) revealed that the contribution of agriculture to GDP, which was 63 percent in 1960, declined to 34 percent in 1988, not because the industrial sector increased its share but due to neglect of agriculture sector. It was therefore not surprising that by 1975, the economy had become a net importer of basic food items. The apparent increase in industry and manufacturing from 1978 to 1988 was due to activities in the mining sub-sector, especially petroleum. Muhammad and (2006) conducted study on production of agriculture in Nigeria and revealed that the negative coefficient of the value (-0.07) of the food imports indicates that as food import increases, domestic agricultural production decreases. This might be due to the fact that food importation exposes the local farmers to unfair competition by foreign producers who usually take advantage of economies of scale in production due to their access to better production technology. The positive coefficient (286.91) of t he GDP growth rate indicates that increase in the GDP also moves domestic agricultural production in the same direction. This shows that increased domestic economic activity has the impact of increasing the domestic agricultural production. This may be due to the fact that most economic activity in the country is related to agriculture. The result also shows that population increases has been a major contribution to domestic agricultural production in Nigeria with the coefficient (18424.73). This may be due to the fact that majority of the populace are engaged in agriculture, meaning more hand on the farm as population increases. The coefficient of consumer price index was positive (8.49). This shows that as consumer price increases domestic agricultural production also increases’, meaning that domestic agricultural production is positively related to increase in consumer prices. This may be due to the fact that increase in price stimulates supply on the farmer’s side leading to more production of food. More agro-processing activities must therefore be embarked upon in order that farmers may be able to dispose of their produce at fairly reasonable prices. The result of the coefficient (0.04) of government expenditure was positive, that is domestic agricultural production is positively related to increase in government expenditure, meaning that as government expends more on agriculture, domestic  agricultural production also increases. The reason why it was not significant might be due to the fact that government has not been investing so much on agriculture over the years.