Internet Access for Children Should Be Regulated by Legislation Essay

Internet Access for Children Should Be Regulated by Legislation - Essay Example While modern technology has had a profound effect on efficiency and economy it has at the same time encouraged a sedentary lifestyle that can have serious consequences for mental, social and physical development particularly for the youth.   For instance, liberal access to the internet has cut back on time so that individuals can obtain information with the mere click of the mouse.   Previously, information could only be obtained by inspecting print resources.   In this regard, the value of time has been lost since it is now possible to complete a number of tasks simultaneously. Certainly, the ability to complete a number of tasks at once is beneficial in terms of productivity and matching supply with demand for commercial entities.   However, the average young person can develop an unhealthy dependency on the internet to such an extent that it negatively impacts the value of his or her education.   For instance, a student with a reading assignment is more likely to give in to the temptation to read a summary of the book on the internet, rather than read the book itself.   Moreover, the internet also acts as a barrier to interpersonal relationships by providing a virtual world in which users subscribe to social networking.   Moreover, time spent on the internet is time spent away from friends, family, acquaintances.   The average child spends twice as much time on the internet than he or she does in a class room (Bennet 2009).   In this regard the internet culture is driving the development of the young so that they are deprived of interpersonal relationships, a key component for healthy social and emotional development (Altman and Taylor 1973, 28).   Time spent on the internet also means less time engaging in physical activities and the lack of exercise is linked to health problems in teens and young persons in general.   Jones and Bradley (2007) maintain that habits developed at an early age can have long term health consequences (433).à ‚   Specifically, a lack of exercise in adolescence and young people in general can lead to obesity and other health problems such as heart disease (Jones and Bradley 2007, 434)

Universal Design of Learning Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Universal Design of Learning - Case Study Example These instructional methods can be modifications or accommodations. An accommodation method implies an adjustment to the teaching practices to occupy change of setting and scheduling. Basically the accommodation focuses on the change of format according to the accessibility of the student. A modification method implies to modify the material as per students requirements. Modification depends on modifying the learning, level of difficulty, level of excellence required through that learning, the way of testing that excellence and any other aspect of learning. For example, in case a student is facing difficulty in reading or has visual impairments. The school may choose to provide him\ a book with big printed letters on it i.e. an accommodation method or may substitute the previous book with a short or easy book with same learning level i.e. a modification method. A school may choose to give him either one or both methods to make an effective design for learning. 1. It can be decided to give lesser subjects to students or shorten the length of each subject. The school may choose to skip less important course areas in devising strategy for weak students. Students with weak fine motor skills may be given to block letters to print and not joint cursive hand writing. The establishment of a good collaborative Universal design for learning needs commitment and cooperation by teachers, community and the school system. A good Universal design for learning takes time to be established and effective. It also requires understanding, monitoring and resources. However the biggest factor is time to plan, develop and evaluate the system as per its objectives. A good planning process is done at all levels including the class room level. The idea of Universal design for learning is usually thought at state level or district level. District level is the top most level of planning and ensures the availability of resources, assistance and appropriate time by the concerned

The Islam Controversy Essay Example for Free

The Islam Controversy Essay In the recent years, Islam has been closely associated with terrorist and violent actions, as well as lack of respect for women and their rights. There have been numerous ideas and beliefs about the Muslim faith and culture that are misconceived and misplaced. It is said the Muslims conquered everything by sword and fire- an idea that has built a belief that the Islamic faith and culture is rooted in terrorism and violence. On the other hand, there exist the true and ideal traits of the Islamic faith. These aspects are little known to most of the non-Muslim people; and the few who know them are more like brainwashed by the stereotypes about this culture and faith. Therefore, there is need to take a look at the things that have made Islam receive the perception it has today, and at the same time compare them with the ideal beliefs and pillars of the Muslim faith and culture. Having in mind that the population of Muslims has increased considerably with the past few years, it is vital to harmonize the perceptions non-Muslims have about Muslims with the true aspects of the Islamic faith. This can only be done by getting ample knowledge on both sides of the coin and getting real about them. It is a fact that Islam is a religion and culture characterized by unending controversy. The Muslim society on the other hand has come into light clarifying and justifying its stand in regard to the perceptions and stereotypes directed towards it.

History Of Persuasion Rhetoric English Language Essay

History Of Persuasion Rhetoric English Language Essay Rhetoric, the study of how human beings use symbols to communicate( Foss, Foss, Trapp, 2002), is one of the oldest concepts of human communication in the Western World which dates back to the fifth century B.C( Baldwin, Perry, Moffitt,2004). This field of study marked the advent of speech communication. A pivotal concept studied in the field of rhetoric is Persuasion. Such is the prominence of this particular phenomenon in this discipline that, in present times, the study of rhetoric is generally considered synchronous to the study of persuasive communication.( Baldwin et al, 2004). Persuasion stems from the three cultures which make up the classical rhetorical theory. It all started with the sophists, a body of Greek teachers, who wrote handbooks which defined methods of producing and delivering persuasive messages. The act of sophists charging money for their services and their strong criticism by Plato perpetuated an antisophistic sentiment which lead to their subsequent demise. By this time ( 428 -348 B.C) Plato had come to the forefront and professed the necessity of finding the absolute truth( Baldwin et al, 2004). Platos student Aristotle constructed a philosophy which drew from the ideologies advocated by the sophists as well as Plato, providing a sort of middle ground between completely relative to absolute unvarying truth.( Baldwin et al, 2004, pg 78). In his masterpiece The Rhetoric, Aristotle speaks of the three essential elements of an effective persuasive speech: ethos, pathos and logos. Ethos is the moral character of the speaker, pathos is taking into consideration the feelings of the audience members and logos is the accuracy of logic and argument in the speech.( OHair , Wiemann,2009). The current literature review primarily focuses on the role of pathos in persuasive messages. But before progressing in that direction, the most fundamental question which needs to be addressed is : What is persuasion? Persuasion and Interpersonal Influence Persuasion, at its very core, is an attempt to influence without direct coercion ( Dillard, Pfau, 2002). Daniel OKeefe in his book Persuasion: Theory and Research smartly pointed out that success is considered to be ingrained in the concept of persuasion. To make a claim that I was persuaded means that the attempt of influence was indeed successful. This influence attempt can either be to bring in a complete change in attitude and beliefs which is inclusive of emotions and behavior of another person or to just preserve this attitudinal change. (Dillard et al 2002). The early research work conducted on persuasion has primarily been with respect to a large audience setup ( Miller 1987). However, with the realization that almost 80 % of the influence attempts occur in close relationships( Dillard,Knobloch, 2002) the focus on research work has steered towards interpersonal influence which, as the name suggests, focuses on the persuasive message production and effects( dillard , knobloch , 2002) in interpersonal relationships. One of the main differences which crops up between the study of rhetoric and the study of persuasion theories is the fact that research on rhetoric is primarily humanistic while persuasion takes a more social scientific bend trying to explicate the variables which enhance or inhibit the probability of success of a persuasive message (Baldwin et al 2002). Affect, Emotion, Mood and Feelings : Same or different? Some researchers use the terms affect emotion and mood interchangeably, but these terms need to be delineated for a better understanding of each of their roles in persuasive communication( Guerrero, Anderson , Trost, 1998). Affect refers to the experience of feeling or emotion. Emotions are considered to be internal and have a primary focus on affect. Moods are longer lasting feelings (which are not as concrete and specific as emotions ( Clore, Shwartz,Conway, 1994 ; Frijda,1986 in Jorgenson,1998). A more detailed description of the terms are accounted for below. Affect Definition: Origin: There have been two contesting views on the source of affect. Studies conducted by Dillard and Wilson(1993) explicated the message irrelevant affect where the affect itself bears no logical relationship to the content of the message , it has nothing to do with the message whatsoever ( Dillard, Pfau,2002). This type of affect takes into account the emotional state existing prior to the reception of a persuasive message which has a significant impact on the message processing by an individual(Anderson, Guerrero,1998). The other view on the source of affect, the message induced affect (Dillard, Wilson, 1993) is one where affect is considered a part and parcel of the message evaluation, when messages are designed in a way to evoke certain emotions and feelings which serve as the basis of acceptance of the advocacy(Dillard, Pfau,2002). Dillard and Wilson(1993) refer to it as direct effect as the emotion occurs in direct response to a given message(Jorgenson,1998, pg.406). Structure of Affect Dillard and Meijenders(2002) accounted for three models of affect on which I am going to focus on as well. The first model is the Bipolar Valence Model. According to this model, affect should be structured as a single continuum with positive affect on one end of the spectrum and negative affect on the other. This model suggests how the pre-existing affective states have a considerable effect on how the receiver processes the message. The mood as information hypothesis in this regard states that positive mood or affective state of a receiver encourages heuristic message processing while negative moods elicit cognitive processing. Mood management hypothesis( Wegener and Petty,1996) was formulated as a challenge to the mood as information hypothesis which states that information processing depends on the affective state of the receiver in a different way. If the receiver feels that elaborative processing of a positive message can enhance his mood, he will indulge in it. The second model is the Two Dimensional Model. Dillard and Meijnders(2002) account for two types of two dimensional models. One model has pleasure as one dimension and arousal as the second one. The conceptual allure of this circumplex is its ability to explain affective experience as blends of pleasure and arousal (Reisenzein, 1994 in Dillard, Meijnders 2002). Empirical evidence shows that increased arousal inhibits systematic processing of messages. The second model in this category has two systems as the two dimensions. One of them, the behavioral approach system, facilitates goal directed behavior. The other one, behavioral inhibition system discourages behavior which may lead to undesired negative results.(Davidson,1993 ;Gray,1990 in Dillard, Meijnders, 2002, pg 316). The third and final model named the Discrete Emotion Model distinguished emotions from one another on the grounds that they are characterized by varied systemic changes( Dillard and Meijenders,2002). The main function of this model is to elicit the fact that each emotion has distinct effects on a variety of persuasive outcomes.( Dillard and Meijenders, 2002). Information Processing Models After the persuasive message has been disseminated, the audience member processes the information in different ways depending on factors such as the message features and audience members emotional and affective state. Different models of information processing are formulated based on these caharacteristics. Message Relevant Models : Elaboration Likelihood Model as well as Heuristic Systematic Processing ( as a dual process model as) postulate two distinct modes of message analysis. The Elaboration Likelihood Model of persuasion is an approach developed by Richard Petty,John Caciaoppo and their associates(1986a,1986b) which postulates that there can be two different routes to persuasion depending on the extent to which the argument is elaborated, by the central route or by the peripheral route( Anderson, Guerrero,1998). The central route is when the receiver of the message weighs the argumentative quality of the message and processes the message using sound logic and reason whereas peripheral route is when the receiver of the message uses cues such as mood(Anderson, Guerrero,1998) to react to the persuasive message. When the receivers motivation is low and he is unable to judge the cognitive aspects of the message, i.e., he performs low elaboration of the message, the receiver is then generally guided by simpler heuristic principles such as credibility, liking, and consensus (O Keefe, 2002). On the other hand, during extensive elaboration, the content of the mes sage takes predominance over the peripheral cues. Jorgensen(2002) argues that emotional appeals are more effective as persuasive tools during low elaboration and even brings about attitude change in the receiver, however such attitude change is more fleeting than those brought about by the central route processing.(authors, pg409). The Heuristic Systematic Processing model is also used to explain the message processing methods used by receivers of persuasive messages. According to this model, there are two ways by which a receiver will judge a message, either by Systematic processing or by Heuristic Processing. Dillard and Peck ( 2000) in their article on evaluation of Public Service announcements succinctly describe both approaches in this model with reference to how the audience perceives the persuasive health campaign messages. They state that systematic processing is contemplative analytic and responsive to the argumentative quality of the message while heuristic processing involves the usage of shortcut decision making rules called heuristics to make a faster decision. Many researchers have stated that affect serves as the basis of the heuristics in heuristic reasoning. Emotion is, perhaps, the psychological heuristic key to human survival( pg 735, persuasion handbook). WHEN ARE THE TWO USED? Appraisal Theory : The appraisal theory explains the simple causal sequence through which emotions arise in the following steps : the message is produced by the speaker, perceived by the hearer and then appraised by the hearer. The receiver makes a judgment call by appraising the message against the dimension of the resultant personal harm or benefit and depending upon the extent of the judgment, an emotion arises( iv). In a nutshell, this theory suggests that a message may engender emotions as a result of the receivers judgment or not evoke any emotions all together. Appraisal Pattern: Message Irrelevant Models Effect of Mood on Persuasion More than models, three hypotheses govern the explanation of how mood has a substantial effect on message processing. We have already discussed how the elaboration of a message affects the message processing by the receiver. Now, we shift our attention to the reasons behind the differing elaboration of the message by the receiver. As suggested by Blumenthal () , the mood regulation hypothesis states that cognitive information processing of a persuasive message is influenced by the receivers mood. If the receiver is in a positive mood , he is motivated to steer away from a deep analysis of the message for it might take him out of that good mood. Similarly , if someone is in a negative mood, he is more likely to evaluate the incoming stimuli more carefully. Thus positive mood involves heuristic cognitive processing of a communication message and negative mood is synchronous with the in depth systematic processing of the message. The motivational hypothesis also has a similar line of belief. It states that the use of peripheral or systematic processing to evaluate a message depends upon the mood of the receiver; if the person is in a certain mood, he might be predisposed to choose a certain method of message processing over another. For example the research conducted by Isen(1991) suggests that people in a good emotional state are more inclined towards low elaboration of a message as they just want to hold on to their positive mood( handbook). On the other hand, people in bad moods tend to be in a threatened mentality where in they want to judge every message carefully to be sure to not make costly judgments about the state of the world( Jorgensen). The motivational hypothesis also sheds light on the way the argumentative quality of the message is perceived in different emotional states. Recipients of strong arguments should be more persuaded when they are in a bad mood and conversely, recipients of weak argu ments should be more persuaded when they are in a good mood. This shows that the mood plays an instrumental role in deciding the acceptance of the message as well as its argumentative quality. The cognitive capacity hypothesis can be considered as an extension of the motivational hypothesis as together with asserting that affective states do influence the information processing capacity of the receiver it also states that these affective states may also interfere with the information processing. However it fails to state which affective state acts as the hindrance because under different circumstances different affective states can become the hindrance. This claim is elucidated by Dillard and Nabi(2006) when they posited that different emotional states can enhance or inhibit persuasive success and that under different circumstances the same emotional states may inhibit or enhance persuasive processes. Understanding that emotional appeals play an important and legitimate role in the process of persuasion is an important first step for communication researchers. Emotions: Emotion plays a major role in various forms of persuasive communication, from politics to health communication to advertisements. Aristotle stated that persuasion is accomplished by the interplay of three forms of rhetorical proof( real communication ph 461), ethos which reflects the speakers trustworthiness and moral character; logos which stands for a well reasoned and structured argument and finally pathos which denotes the audiences feelings. Even though everyday attempts of persuasion depend heavily on emotional appeals, emotion is the one variable which has had very little inquiry. There can be many reasons for this discrepancy. One of them could be the over emphasis of logic over emotion, researchers have always treated logic as a superior dimension in the construction of persuasive messages(Jergenson,1998). On the other hand Seibold, Cantrill and Meyers(1985 p559) point out that most of the times emotion is taken for granted. Since emotion is so effortlessly incorporated in most of our day to day persuasive messages that researchers just assume its effectiveness in the persuasive process rather than tes ting its operation( vi). Jorgensen(1998) posits the two competing notions of studying emotions: one of them states that emotion is not an integral part of the persuasion process rather it is a offshoot of the communicative process. In this view, emotions are looked upon as inherent states of the receiver, ones which do not have any direct relation with the persuasive message. The other view suggests that emotions are an integral part of the persuasive messages and emotional appeals are explicitly used to bring in attitude change thus accomplishing the primary goal of the persuasive process. Affect, Emotion, Feeling and Mood Affect refers to the experience of feeling or emotion. Emotions are considered to be internal and have a primary focus on affect. Together with this, emotions are also thought to be specific, focused and foregrounded in consciousness.(v) . The concept of emotion becomes clearer when seen in comparison with mood. Unlike emotion, moods are considered to be longer lasting feelings which may not be about anything specific. Instances like I am happy because I feel good , which do not have any sound and concrete reasons backing up the resulting emotion are considered to be moods. Moods are also not characterized by a specific outcome stimuli and even though mood seems to be something which is fleeting and diffusive, it does have serious effects on message information processing. (Geurrero, Andersen, troust,1998). Before we delve into that part of research, we will look a bit more in details on emotion. There are three ways in which emotions can be conceptualized : the discrete emotions approach, the prototype approach and the dimensional approach. The discrete emotion approach pivots around a central claim, emotions guide behavior(handbook of persuasion pg 318). As the name suggests, this approach considers each emotion to be discrete and also postulates that each emotion supplies a unique information manifesting distinct patterns of cognitive change( handbook). This means that if each emotion has a distinct pattern of behavioral change, then these emotions should also elicit distinct effects of persuasion. In the dimensional approach, emotions are categorized according to different dimensions like valence, activity and intensity. The prototype approach offers a middle ground position between discrete emotional approach and dimensional approach by categorizing emotions by a number of characteristics like valence, functions and expressions( pg 19 , guerrero, Anderson and trost). Emotional Appeal and Emotional Arousal: The meaning of appeal is to request for change. Emotional appeal is hence an appeal through emotions. Considering that emotional appeals are profusely implemented in everyday persuasive attempts, the limited attention and research on emotionality is astounding. There can be many reasons for this neglect. One of them could be the over emphasis of logic over emotion, researchers have always treated logic as a superior dimension in the construction of persuasive messages(Jergenson,1998). On the other hand Seibold, Cantrill and Meyers(1985 p559) point out that most of the times emotion is taken for granted. Since emotion is so effortlessly incorporated in most of our day to day persuasive messages that researchers just assume its effectiveness in the persuasive process rather than testing its operation( vi). Dillard and Wilson(1993) claim until the 1960s, research on emotions was negated by many of the social sciences on the grounds of it not being in accordance with the theory of logica l positivism. Although the recognition of the importance of emotion from a communication perspective( Jorgenson,1998) gained prominence in the 1980s.(Dillard and Wilson 1993). Through research it was realized that the effectiveness of persuasive messages in highly enhanced when the message incorporates both flawless logic as well as the effective arousal of the receivers emotions.(Arnold,1985). Emotional persuasion is this the method by which the message receiver is persuaded through the arousal of emotion or through appeal to expected emotion. Sometimes the message producers include emotional appeals in the messages, intending to arouse a certain sort of emotion in the receiver which would increase the effectiveness of the persuasive message. However, the interpretation of the message by the audience member may have three possibilities; after the receiver appraises the message, the intended emotion will be invoked in him; multiple emotions are invoked in the receiver or no emotions are evoked altogether. Thus the study of emotional appeals has been done by a trial and error method ( Jorgenson, 1998) and also challenges the principle of the CFM model(Nabi,1999) to an extent. The cfm model states that the message producers should firstly decide which emotion they want to evoke to achieve their persuasive goals and then construct the message in a way to reflect the core relational theme or the crux of that emotion. This model points out one of the processes of emotional arousal. Another generic way of arousing emotions is by incorporating a novel stimuli in the message. It has been observed that often times prior knowledge may inhibit emotional arousal(iii). There are certain emotional appeals which evoke negative emotions in the audience member for example fear appeals in specific health campaign messages. In such messages, when the emotional arousal is followed up with effective and feasible ways to overcome the fear, this strategy is very effective in increasing the persuasiveness of the message. For example, when a commercial on AIDS elicits fear in the audience member, the next step should be to also inform the audience member about safe sex, the usage of condoms and other preventive measures which reassures the audience member as well. Walton(1992) states that many a times emotional appeals in messages are either irrelevant, i.e. , it is not pertinent to the message being conveyed or they are used as tools to camouflage the weakness of an argument being presented to inappropriately influence the listener(vi). Thus, even though it is the receivers perception of the emotion induced message which guides his attitude and the subsequent action, the receiver should be careful of the way in which he reaches his conclusion about the persuasive message. Thus from the above observations it can be summarized that the efficacy of a persuasive message from the stand point of a receiver can be measured in three parameters : the credibility of the source , the effective emotional arousal by the message and finally the provision of feasible measures to cater to the emotion( vi). Structure of Affect and Future Research :

Staging in Six Characters in Search of an Author :: essays papers

Staging in "Six Characters in Search of an Author" Pirandello's masterpiece, "Six Characters in Search of an Author" is well known for its innovative techniques of characterization, especially in the fullness of character as exhibited by the Stepdaughter and the Father, but it is especially renowned, and rightfully so, for the brilliant staging techniques employed by its author. Pirandello uses his innovative staging techniques specifically to symbolize, within the confines of the theater, the blending of the theater and real life. Chief among these, of course, is the way in which the author involves the audience in his production, to the point which, like a medieval audience, they become part of the action, and indeed, a character in its own right. The use of lines provided in the playbill was the first of its kind; never before had an author dared to ask the members of the audience to perform, even though unpaid, and indeed, paying for the experience themselves. But without those lines, how much less impressive would that moment be when the Director, understandably at the end of his rope with the greedy characters (who have been from the start trying to coerce him into writing a script for non-union wages), shouts "Reality! Fantasy! Who needs this! What does this mean?" and the audience, in unison, shouts back, "It's us! We're here!" The moment immediately after that, when the whole cast laughs directly at the audience, pointing at them in glee, is nearly unbearable for an audience, as shown b! y the riot after the first performance, when the audience not only ripped the seats out of the theater, but stole the popcorn. Pirandello also used a technique he inherited from the "Cirque de Soleil," involving a trapeze hung from the catwalk. But though the trapeze was not in itself his own invention, its use during the intermission as a means to annoy the audience was absolutely innovative. He had gotten the idea from watching the inhabitants at the mental institution in Switzerland where his wife was recuperating from a Venetian holiday. The Swiss hospital, renowned for its experimentation, had started a program of gymnastics, meant to boost the patients' self-esteem. The Stepdaughter's foray above the audience's heads, during the "intermission," is a direct reflection of that Swiss technique; no one before Pirandello had dared to use it in the theater before, but it not only symbolized neatly the problems with defining reality inherent in the text, but kept the audience from actually getting a rest during the intermission, since

The Heart Essay -- Biology

â€Å"The heart† The Heart is a very important organ in the body. It is what keeps your blood flowing and your organs going. It is a tireless muscle that pumps more than two thousand gallons of blood every day. The blood that is pumped is filled with nutrition and oxygen (Colombo 7). It travels through out your body in less than sixty seconds. So it needs to be taken extra good care of. When abuse is put on the body, the heart’s performance is not at its best. The Heart is a major organ that needs loving and care. Everyone has only one and by abusing it, they are cutting their live span little by little. People can live their lives freely but how they choose to live them could be the difference between life and death. The heart is a pump with four chambers made of their own special muscle called cardiac muscle. Its interwoven muscle fibers enable the heart to contract or squeeze together automatically (Colombo 7). It’s about the same size of a fist and weighs some where around two hundred fifty to three hundred fifty grams (Marieb 432). The size of the heart depends on a person’s height and size. The heart wall is enclosed in three layers: superficial epicardium, middle epicardium, and deep epicardium. It is then enclosed in a double-walled sac called the Pericardium. The terms Systole and Diastole refer respectively and literally to the contraction and relaxation periods of heart activity (Marieb 432). While the doctor is taking a patient’s blood pressure, he listens for the contractions and relaxations of the heart. He also listens for them to make sure that they are going in a single rhythm, to make sure that there are no arrhythmias or complications. The heart muscle d oes not depend on the nervous system. If the nervous s... ... initiative to live longer by doing a few extra steps, or eating cheerios instead of a thick juicy donut. It may not seem like much but it is. The Heart is a major organ that needs loving and care. Everyone has only one and by abusing it, they are cutting their live span little by little. People can live their lives freely but how they choose to live them could be the difference between life and death. By eating healthy, exercising, people can live longer lives. People who smoke, drink, and don’t exercise normally have to look forward to a lot of testing such as: cat scans and x-rays. They get to go through surgeries, such as: Bypasses and stents. Eventually doctors can no longer do any more for them but place them on machines that will continue the heart’s job. Why not choose to live life to the fullest and take care of one of the body’s most important organs.

Defects of Agriculture

DEFECTS OF AGRICULTURAL MARKETING IN INDIA Preface The term agricultural marketing is composed of two words -agriculture and marketing. Agriculture, in the broadest sense means activities aimed at the use of natural resources for human welfare, and marketing connotes a series of activities involved in moving the goods from the point of production to the point of consumption. Specification, the subject of agricultural marketing includes marketing functions, agencies, channels, efficiency and cost, price spread and market integration, producers surplus etc.The agricultural marketing system is a link between the farm and the non-farm sectors. Introduction In India Agriculture was practiced formerly on a subsistence basis; the villages were self sufficient, people exchanged their goods, and services within the village on a barter basis. With the development of means of transport and storage facilities, agriculture has become commercial in character, the farmer grows those crops that fetc h a better price.Marketing of agricultural produce is considered as an integral part of agriculture, since an agriculturist is encouraged to make more investment and to increase production. Thus there is an increasing awareness that it is not enough to produce a crop or animal product; it must be marketed as well. The importance of marketing in agriculture is very well illustrated by saying, â€Å"that a good farmer has one eye on the plough and the other on the market†.This is true when agriculture is mainly for subsistence; and now, even Indian agriculture is becoming commercialized. In these days of commercial agriculture, it will be more fit to say, â€Å"a good farmer has only his hands on the plough but the eyes on the market’ Since agriculture constitutes a major part of the economy, marketing of agricultural products also assumes considerable importance in our context. Agricultural marketing involves in its simplest form the buying and selling of agricultural produce.This definition of agricultural marketing may be accepted in olden days, when the village economy was more or less self-sufficient, when the marketing of agricultural produce presented no difficulty, as the farmer sold his produce directly to the consumer on a cash or barter basis. However, in modem times, marketing of agricultural produce is different from that of olden days. In modem marketing, agricultural produce has to undergo a series of transfers or exchanges from one hand to another before it finally reaches the consumer.The National Commission on Agriculture, defined agricultural marketing as a process which starts with a decision to produce a saleable farm commodity and it involves all aspects of market structure of system, both functional and institutional, based on technical and economic considerations and includes pre and post- harvest operations, assembling, grading, storage, transportation and distribution. The Indian council of Agricultural Research defined i nvolvement of three important functions, namely (a) assembling (concentration) (b) preparation for consumption (processing) and (c) distribution.In short, all the activities like transportation processing, storage, grading are including in the agriculture marketing. These activities are inadequate in the economy of every country. Importance and Objectives of Agriculture Marketing The farmer has realized the importance of adopting new techniques of production and is making efforts for more income and higher standards of living. As a consequence, the cropping pattern is no longer dictated by what he needs for his own personal consumption but what is responsive to the market in terms of prices received by him.While the trade is very organised the farmers are not Farmer is not conversant with the complexities of the marketing system which is becoming more and more complicated. The cultivator is handicapped by several disabilities as a seller. He sells his produce at an unfavorable place , time and price. The objectives of an efficient marketing system are: 1. to enable the primary producers to get the best possible returns, 2. to provide facilities for lifting all produce, the farmers are willing, to sell at an incentive price, 3. to reduce the price difference between the primary producer and ultimate consumer, and . to make available all products of farm origin to consumers at reasonable price without impairing on the quality of the produce. Facilities Needed for Agricultural Marketing In order to have best advantage in marketing of his agricultural produce the farmer should enjoy certain basic facilities. 1. He should have proper facilities for storing his goods. 2. He should have holding capacity, in the sense, that he should be able to wait for times when he could get better prices for his produce and not dispose of his stocks immediately after the harvest when the prices are very low. . He should have adequate and cheap transport facilities which could enable him to take his surplus produce to the mandi rather than dispose it of in the village itself to the village money-lender-cum-merchant at low prices. 4. He should have clear information regarding the market conditions as well as about the ruling prices, otherwise may be cheated. There should be organized and regulated markets where the farmer will not be cheated by the â€Å"dalals† and â€Å"arhatiyas†. 5. The number of intermediaries should be as small as possible, so that the middleman's profits are reduced.This increases! the returns to the farmers. The existing systems of agricultural marketing in India are as briefly described here. 1. Sale to moneylenders and traders A considerable part of the total produce is sold by the farmers to the village traders and moneylenders. According to an estimate 85% of wheat, 75% of oil seeds in U. P. , 90% of jute in West Bengal and 60% of wheat, 70% of oil seeds and 35% of cotton in Punjab are sold by the farmers in the village s themselves. Often the money lenders act as a commission agent of the wholesale trader. 2. Hats and shantiesHats are village markets often held once or twice a week, while shanties are also village markets held at longer intervals or on special occasions. The agents of the wholesale merchants, operating in different mandies also visit these markets. The area covered by a â€Å"hat† usually varies from 5 to 10 miles. Most of â€Å"hats† are very poorly equipped, are uncovered and lack storage, drainage, and other facilities. It is important to observe that only small and marginal farmers sell their produce in such markets. The big farmers with large surplus go to the larger wholesale markets. . Mandies or wholesale markets One wholesale market often serves a number of villages and is generally located in a city. In such mandies, business is carried on by arhatiyas. The farmers sell their produce to these arhatiyas with the help of brokers, who are generally the agents of arhatiyas. Because of the malpractices of these middlemen, problems of transporting the produce from villages to mandies, the small and marginal farmers are hesitant of coming to these mandies. The arhatiyas of these mandies sell off the produce to the retail merchants.However, paddy, cotton and oilseeds are sold off to the mills for processing. The marketing system for sugarcane is different. The farmers sell their produce directly to the sugar mills. Defects of agricultural marketing in India Indian system of agricultural marketing suffers from a number of defects. As a consequence, the Indian farmer is deprived ‘of a fair price for his produce. The main defects of the agricultural marketing system are discussed here. 1. Improper warehouses There is an absence of proper ware housing facilities in the villages.Therefore, the farmer is compelled to store his products in pits, mud-vessels, â€Å"Kutcha† storehouses, etc. These unscientific methods of storing lead to c onsiderable wastage. Approximately 1. 5% of the produce gets rotten and becomes unfit for human consumption. Due to this reason supply in the village market increases substantially and the farmers are not able to get a fair price for their produce. The setting up of Central Warehousing Corporation and State Warehousing Corporation has improved the situation to some extent 2. Lack of grading and standardizationDifferent varieties of agricultural produce are not graded properly. The practice usually prevalent is the one known as â€Å"dara† sales wherein heap of all qualities of produce are sold in one common lot Thus the farmer producing better qualities is not assured of a better price. Hence there is no incentive to use better seeds and produce better varieties. 3. Inadequate transport facilities Transport facilities are highly inadequate in India. Only a small number of villages are joined by railways and pucca roads to mandies. Produce has to be carried on slow moving tran sport vehicles like bullock carts.Obviously such means of transport cannot be used to carry produce to far-off places and the farmer has to dump his produce in nearby markets even if the price obtained in these markets is considerably low. This is even more true with perishable commodities. 4. Presence of a large number of middlemen The chain of middlemen in the agricultural marketing is so large that the share of farmers is reduced substantially. For instance, a study of D. D. Sidhan revealed, that farmers obtain only about 53% of the price of rice, 31% being the share of middle men (the remaining 16% being the marketing cost).In the case of vegetables and fruits the share was even less, 39% in the former case and 34% in the latter. The share of middle- men in the case of vegetables was 29. 5% and in the case of fruits was 46. 5%. Some of the intermediaries in the agricultural marketing system are -village traders, Kutcha arhatiyas, pucca arhatiyas, brokers, wholesalers, retailers, money lenders, etc. 5. Malpractices in unregulated markets Even now the number of unregulated markets in the country is substantially large. Arhatiyas and brokers, taking advantage of the ignorance, and illiteracy of the farmers, use unfair means to cheat them.The farmers are required to pay arhat (pledging charge) to the arhatiyas, â€Å"tulaii† (weight charge) for weighing the produce, â€Å"palledari† to unload the bullock-carts and for doing other miscellaneous types of allied works, â€Å"garda† for impurities in the produce, and a number of other undefined and unspecified charges. Another malpractice in the mandies relates to the use of wrong weights and measures in the regulated markets. Wrong weights continue to be used in some unregulated markets with the object of cheating the farmers. 6. Inadequate market informationIt is often not possible for the farmers to obtain information on exact market prices in different markets. So, they accept, whatever pr ice the traders offer to them. With a view to tackle this problem the government is using the radio and television media to broadcast market prices regularly. The news papers also keep the farmers posted with the latest changes in prices. however the price quotations are sometimes not reliable and sometimes have a great time-lag. The trader generally offers less than the price quoted by the government news media. 7. Inadequate credit facilitiesIndian farmer, being poor, tries to sell off the produce immediately after the crop is harvested though prices at that time are very low. The safeguard of the farmer from such â€Å"forced sales† is to provide him credit so that he can wait for better times and better prices. Since such credit facilities are not available, the farmers are forced to take loans from money lenders, while agreeing to pledge their produce to them at less than market prices. The co-operative marketing societies have generally catered to the needs of the large farmers and the small farmers are left at the mercy of the money lenders.Thus it is not possible to view the present agricultural marketing system in India in isolation of (and separated from) the land relations. The regulation of markets broadcasting of prices by All India Radio, improvements in transport system, etc. , have undoubtedly benefited the capitalist farmers, and they are now in a better position to obtain favourable prices for their â€Å"market produce† but the above mentioned changes have not benefited the small and marginal farmers to any great extent. 8. Poor Quality of ProductFarmer is not using the improved seeds and fertilizers so quality of production is very poor and its prices are low in the market. 9. Problems of Produce Collection The collection of produce from small farmers is very expensive and a difficult process. It is a great problem for the efficient marketing. 10. Lack of standard weights and measures Sometimes weight and measures are not same . So a farmer suffers a loss at the time of buying selling of his product. MEASURE TO IMPROVE THE AGRICULTURAL MARKETINGGovernment of India has adopted a number of measures to improve agricultural marketing, the important ones being – establishment of regulated markets, construction of warehouses, provision for grading, and standarization of produce, standarisation of weight and measures, daily broadcasting of market prices of agricultural crops on All India Radio, improvement of transport facilities, etc. 1. Marketing surveys In the first place the government has undertaken marketing surveys of various goods and has published these surveys.These surveys have brought out the various problems connected with the marketing of goods and have made suggestions for their removal. 2. Improved Transport Facilities The government should increase the road facilities and rural areas should be linked with the markets. It will enable the farmer to sell his product in the market directly i n the hands of consumers. 3. Increase in the Credit Facilities The government should increase the credit facilities to the small farmers. No doubt all the commercial banks are providing this facility to the farmers but still it is not sufficient. . Increase in Storage Facility The government should provide loan to the framer for storage facilities. The government should also construct the stores to keep the stocks of various goods. 5. Market Reforms The government should improve the market system in the country. Market committee should be reorganized. Markets inspectors should check the prices of agricultural products. The strict laws should be introduced. 6. New Markets The government should build the new markets near the producing centers. It will enable the farmer to get proper reward. 7. Cold StorageThis i an important part of organized markets. These are very useful for the perishable goods like fruits and vegetable. The government should expand the scope of cold storage. 8. Ma rket Information Market demand and supply condition can be provided to the framers through radio, T. V and newspaper. The government should also pay special attention to this side. 9. Grading of Product There are various agencies which are busy in grading agricultural product. There is a need to expand these organizations for effective of marketing system, 10. Government purchases and fixation of support pricesIn addition to the measures mentioned above, the Government also announces minimum support price for various agricultural commodities from time to time in a bid to ensure fair returns to the farmers. These prices are fixed in accordance with the recommendations of the Agricultural ,Price Commission. If the prices start falling below the declared level (say, as a result of glut in the market), the Government agencies like the Food Corporation of India intervene in the market to make direct purchase from the farmers at the support prices. These purchases are sold off by the Gove rnment at reasonable price through the public distribution systemIdeal Marketing System The ideal marketing system is one that maximizes the long run welfare of society. To do this, it must be physically efficient, otherwise the same output could be produced with fewer resources, and it must be electively efficient, otherwise a change in allocation could increase the total welfare and where income distribution is not a consideration. For maximum physical efficiency, such basic physical functions as transportation, storage, and processing should be carried on in such a way so as to achieve the highest output per unit of cost incurred on them.Similarly an ideal marketing system must allocate agricultural products in time, space and form to intermediaries and consumers in such proportions and at such prices as to ensure that no other allocation would make consumers better off. To achieve this condition, prices throughout the marketing system must be efficient and must at the same time be equal to the marginal costs of production and marginal consumer utility. The following characteristics should exist in a good marketing system. 1. There should not be any government interference in free and market transactions.The method of intervention include, restrictions on food grain movements, restrictions on the quantity to be processed, or on the construction of processing plant, price supports, rationing, price ceiling, entry of persons in the trade, etc. When these conditions are violated, the inefficiency in the market system creeps in and commodities pass into the black market. They are not then easily available at the fair prices. 2. The marketing system should operate on the basis of the independent, but systematic and orderly, decisions of the millions of the individual consumer and producers whose lives are affected by it. . The marketing system should be capable of developing into an intricate and far-flung marketing systems in view of the rapid development of th e urban industrial economy. 4. The marketing system should bring demand and supply together and should establish an equilibrium between the two. Conclusion A good marketing system is one, where the farmer is assured of a fair price for his produce and this can happen only when the following conditions are obtained. 1. The number of intermediaries between the farmer and the consumer should be small; 2.The farmer has proper storing facilities so that he is not compelled to indulge in distress sales, 3. Efficient transport facilities are available, 4. The malpractices of middlemen are regulated, 5. Farmers are freed from the clutches of village moneylenders and 6. Regular market information is provided to the farmer. The two institutions: co-operative marketing societies and regulated markets, together can assure, the presence of all these conditions. Accordingly if cooperative marketing societies are developed on the lines indicated above (along with regulated markets), the Indian agr icultural marketing system can be considerably improved.