Analysis Of A Book By Ray Bradbury

Analysis Of A Book By Ray Bradbury Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, is a novel which invokes much thought about the way we live in society today. Through the protagonist, Guy Montag, Bradbury makes a wider point about the dangers that a divided society can present. In the novel, Bradbury creates a society in which all books and free thought are forbidden. It is clear to us that books are seen to be the source of all unhappiness and should therefore be prohibited. As a fireman, it is Montags job, not to put out fires, as is the case in todays society but instead to create fires in order to dispose of all unwanted books. This creates an idea of dystopia by the government trying to please everyone by using censorship to limit peoples independence and free thinking. As the novel progresses we see Montag move through a series of vital changes, seeing him transform from a mindless drone, happy to do whatever anyone tells him to, into a free-thinking member of society, forming a resistance against a government set to destroy all free thought. In order to determine the effectiveness of Bradburys portrayal of the changes in Montag, it is necessary to examine the points in the novel which are, in my opinion, the most significant in Montags transformation. At the start of the novel, we are introduced to the protagonist, Guy Montag, who is characterised by Bradbury as a Fireman with no purpose in life. Montag is one of the destructive forces in society who destroys books and also independence. Montag seems to take happiness in what he does and he seems to have no purpose in life apart from burning books. Montag seems completely content with his position in life, with no want to alter himself as a person and happy with what he does for society. Throughout the novel, Bradbury describes the fire as beautiful. His hands were the hands of some great conductor playing all the symphonies of blazing and burning Bradbury is using the motif of Montags hands to show us that Montag sees fire,his creation, to be a thing of great beauty, in the same sense that a conductor sees the music as a work of art. Montag sees himself as an artist creating a thing of pure magnificence in the fire. Bradbury further stresses Montags opinion of fire by using a key metaphor. He strode in a swarm of fireflies In using this metaphor, Bradbury creates the image of the fragments of past books being fireflies. Fireflies are creatures that bring light to darkness. This acts as an effective link to Montags view of fire as a thing of beauty. Fireflies also possess a certain aura of magic and mystery creating an almost serene beauty. To Montag, things that are alight become beautiful and so the sparks of the fire are seen as beautiful. This helps to emphasise the satisfaction Montag takes in his work. The following stages of the novel reveal an unusual feeling. At this point we are introduced to Clarisse, an innocent teenage girl with a boundless curiosity who does not follow the trend and who acts as a catalyst, speeding up Montags change. The world that she lives in has not ruined her and therefore she seems to possess a sense of purity. She seems to be at the opposite end of the spectrum to Montag. The world Montag lives in has transformed him into an incurious human being with no notion to question anything. His lack of independence only seems to add to this characterisation by Bradbury. Clarisse plays an essential part in Montags change. She plants a seed of realisation in Montags mind, speeding up what would only have been a very gradual process. She asks him questions that are meant to make him think on a deeper level, something that he is unaccustomed to. Are you happy Montag is taken-aback by this question and reacts by saying Yeah Sure. However, as I mentioned before, this question was meant to make him think on a deeper, more personal level. What Clarisse is in actual fact asking Montag is whether his life is fulfilled and has a purpose or a meaning. The events that follow this conversation between the two reveal to us that Montag is not in fact happy. The suicide of a book lover is used by Bradbury to bring to light Montags curiosity surrounding the world of books. The book lover refuses to be separated from her way of life and her culture. She feels that she would rather die than leave her culture behind. We shall this day light a candle as I trust shall never be put out This statement is intended to promote a revolution. By adopting the role of a martyr, the book lover dying for that which she believes in, ultimately in the hope that others will follow and a revolution shall be sparked. Bradbury is alluding to the 16th century witch trials at this point in the novel. This allusion is relevant as those thought to have been witches were burnt. They died in unity with their love of their crafts. Those who burnt them did so in an attempt to discourage further acts. This is relevant to the book lover as she was burnt for her love of reading, something that they were trying very hard to discourage. The ownership of books has been made illegal by the government in this novel as has free thinking behaviour. Bradburys allusion to the witch trials at this stage reflects back to a period in our history in which we too criminalised people who, in our eyes, seemed different. His mention of such a horrific example of injustice merely makes stronger the idea of the sheer scale of the persecution that this book lover and many others face. As Montag is burning the books which he has been sent to destroy, the reader is given an insight into the nature of his act. A book alighted, almost obediently, like a white pigeon, in his hands, wings fluttering Bradburys use of the idea of Montags hands acting for themselves charts the different stages in Montags transformation. At first, his hands are used to create things of beauty, whereas at this stage they seem to possess a life of their own, seemingly reaching out for books sub-consciously. This clearly reveals his curiosity for books that his outer self doesnt wish him to read. When Montag meets Faber, further change begins to occur. Faber is an old man whose passion for books has been extinguished. In his opinion, it is those who did not speak up against the movement of book burning who are to blame for the current situation. If he had acted when the change was occurring, he believes that , as before, others would have followed his act up by doing the same. Faber encourages Montags individuality and reveals to him the fact that he must learn to think for himself and not let himself be ruled by anyone else. It is his intention to show Montag that the answer is not always obvious and that he must always be acting on his own ideas. Remember Caesar, thou art mortal Bradbury makes this intertextual reference to Julius Caesar to illustrate Fabers warning against Montags overconfidence. Caesar was a Roman emperor and tyrant who put himself above his country in the same way as the government does in this novel. This comparison between the government and Caesar strongly shows how Bradbury feels about the governments actions. In this novel, the idea of censorship is used to convey how through restriction of free-thought, whole societies can implode. At this point in the novel, Montag seems not to be fully changed and therefore he begins to take on Fabers personality as well as his own. Say Yes' His mouth moved like Fabers Yes Bradbury clearly reveals that Montag is not capable of fully acting for himself. Montag finds himself at a moral crossroads; following Faber or following Beatty (his captain). By following Beatty, he would continue to pursue the ignorance is bliss approach. It would be an easy life to follow Beatty but his life would never be properly fulfilled and he would have no sense of individuality or purpose. If he chooses to unite with Faber and pursue a common goal, the dream of a fulfilled life, then he would become one of a similarly directed minority, fighting against the majority for what they believe in. After choosing to unite with Faber, Montag burns his own house while Beatty watches. By doing this, he seems to be burning away a part of his life that he wants to forget. In his view, the house represents this period of his life that he does not want to be part of any more. By burning it all, it is made clear to the reader that he has moved on with his life. The sheer ferocity with which he acts illustrates that he wants to burn everything, right down to the minutest thing that reminds him of his previous self. Bradburys language in this stage in the novel is similar to that at the start of the novel. However, here Bradbury is illustrating that Montag has changed. His pleasure is now drawn from burning those items that he hates the most. Once again it was a pleasure to burn Here, Bradbury is telling us that Montag is again taking pleasure from burning things but, rather than being the mindless drone that he was at the start of the novel, he takes this pleasure as is he realises that burning the things that he hates the most, he can burn away his life preceeding this and start a new life. Bradburys use of symbolism to represent the river merely emphasises Montags change. As Montag passes through the water we are led to believe that he is being baptised, being reborn and separated from his past life. Montag has a sudden realisation that time is always passing and that the sun will always rise and set. This brings him to the conclusion that life is limited and that if he burns things, this combines with the suns burning to destroy everything good in life leaving only a shell behind. He was not empty. There was more than enough here to fill him. There would always be more than enough At this point Montags change is illustrated. He was previously empty and yet now his curiosity of the world around him and the world of books has filled him with a constant flow of thought, enough to fill him for an eternity. Upon leaving the river he realises the promise of a fulfilled life. This commits Montag to finding that which makes him truly happy. He meets Grainger, a fellow outcast, who is part of a group of men who memorise books in order to read extracts to the others in time of need. You are the book of Ecclesiastes Montag has memorised the Book of Ecclesiastes before it is burnt and therefore becomes the book, ready to be called upon whenever he is needed. This gives his life a meaning and purpose showing that he has finally found his own self-importance. In the closing stages of Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury compares society to the phoenix, a bird that can be reborn from its own ashes. Montag is also similar to the phoenix in this way as he has risen from the depths of his own destruction. Society does likewise as it creates wars which destroy things, but out of the ashes it rebuilds itself. Human society can be superior to the phoenix as it can learn from its mistakes and avoid destruction. In this novel, society seems to be so badly damaged that ironically the only way that it can rebuild itself is to be destroyed. By doing this Bradbury tells us that if we learn from our mistakes before it is too late, there need be no more destruction. To conclude, Montag is successfully portrayed by Bradbury through his clever use of imagery, symbolism and characterisaton. Bradbury refers to fire to convey Montags initial feelings toward it in the opening stages of the novel. This shows Montags lack of change. However, following his meeting with Clarisse, Montag begins to question his own life and kick-start his own change through Bradburys word choice. After the suicide of a book lover, Bradburys references to earlier periods illustrate the importance of books in todays society. Within the rebirth stage, the river is used as a symbol to convey Montags total change. This only has the effect of emphasising the fact that the society in the novel is a utilitarian one. He follows to tell how bringing happiness to the greatest number of people does not always mean that they have the right idea. In this novel, Bradbury acts as the voice of the minority. He tells us that our individuality sets us apart from anyone else and that our diffe rences should be acted upon and not suppressed.

Oil Palm Industry In Indonesia Environmental Sciences Essay

Oil Palm Industry In Indonesia Environmental Sciences Essay Palm oil industry gives main contribution for economic development in Indonesia. The industry is expected to be able to increase the income of a large number of poor in rural Indonesia. However the increasing demand for palm oil will give incentive for Government of Indonesia to increase national production. In some developed countries, oil palm is used as a substitute for trans fats, which is one of the highly saturated vegetable fat semi-solid form at room temperature. Palm oil is cheaper than other vegetable oils (World Growth, 2011). Palm oil from the oil palm (Elaeis guianensis) is being used for cooking and biodiesel, soaps, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, industrial and agro-chemical products (USDA 2010). The growing demand of oil palm in global market especially in the world trade vegetables oil encourages Indonesia to develop oil palm plantation areal. The development of oil palm plantation will be thread for some forest in Indonesia and causing deforestation and biodiversity (Manurung, 2001). Government of Indonesia set of some policies such as the designation of large land tracts to the expansion of palm plantations, decentralizing control over land-use licensing to provincial governments, and subsidizing credit and establishment costs for smallholders to promoted rapid expansion of oil palm area. The expansion which was done by deforestation had significant impacts on forest dependent communities who rely on forests for a wide range of good and services (Sheil et al, 2006, Belcher et al 2004). Oil palm also was criticized of disturbing human health, destroying cultural heritage, destroying ecosystem, and leading to the loss of autonomy and self-sufficiency (Brown and Jacobson, 20 05). All these may lead to social conflicts which were recorded by NGOs (Sawit Watch, 2008). In contrast, the oil palm is considered one of the most envioronmentally friendly oil crops because oil palms are more productive than other oil crops and to produce the same amount of oil are needed small areas than the other crops such soybeans or rapeseed (Arhem, 2011). There are many studies about aspects of oil palm plantation; contract farming, supply and demand oil palm in global market and environmental impact of oil palm. Contract farming in oil palm has conducted by Susila (2004) and Syahza (2004). Susila (2004) showed the oil palm has positive contribution to economic growth. This is indicated by growth of investment, output, and foreign exchange earning. Around Rp. 5 Rp. 11 Milion or more than 63% of household income of smallholder in Kampar and Musi Banyuasin. Furthermore, Oil palm has significant contribution to poverty alleviation (less than 10% off poor people in oil palm communities) and equity improvement (gini coefficient around 3.6).However, Syahza (2004) showed different between plasma farmers income and independent farmers. The different is caused of price distortion, skill, high cost production and monopsonistic market. Rifin (2010) studied about oil palm Indonesia in the world trade. The result show palm oil products from Indon esia and Malaysia are complementary rather than competing. The increase in the world income compared to Malaysia as reflected by higher income elasticity value can give more benefit to Indonesia. Some authors study about environmental impact of oil palm. Obidzinski et, all found the development of oil palm in West Papua (Manokwari), West Kalimantan (Kubu Raya), and Papua (Boven Digoel) has caused deforestation, water pollution, soil erosion, and air pollution and the household survey showed significant economic gains from oil plantations, however these were not available to all stakeholder and were not distributed evenly. The other study Sawit Watch (2008) showed impact of oil palm plantations on the environment in South East Asia is already well-documented. Indonesia is the third highest contributor of CO2 emissions in the world because fires used to clear the land and peat bogs are drained to plant oil palms, releasing hundreds of millions of tones of carbon dioxide. Plantations are one of the main drivers of deforestation in Indonesia, destroying the habitat of endangered wildlife, including the orangutan and the Sumatran tiger. The unsustainable expansion of Indonesias pa lm oil industry is leaving many indigenous communities without land, water or adequate livelihoods, destroyed of traditional costumes and culture and human rights. OVERVIEW OF STUDY AREA : INDONESIA Indonesia is located between 6 ° N- 11 ° S and 95 ° E 141 ° E. It is between Hindia Sea and Pacific Sea, among Asia continent and Australia continent. Indonesia consists some islands, such as Sumatera Island, Sulawesi Island, Java Island and Kalimantan Island (fig.1). Indonesia map.png Figure 1. Location of geography Indonesia, adapted from wikipedia (http://wikipedia.org,Access on 26 September 2012) Since 2008, Indonesia has been the most worlds producer and exporter of palm oil. Aceh, Java, Sumatera and Kalimantan are producer of oil palm in Indonesia. Palm oil industry in Indonesia a main agricultural industry and national economy.It is contributing 4.5% og GDP and employing over 3.0 million people (USDA, 2010). Oil Palm can grow well in the tropics andin the an altitude of 0-500 m above sea level with a humidity of 80-90%. Oil palm requires a stable climate with rainfall, 2000-2500 mm a year, which is the area that is not flooded when it rains and drought when dry. Annual rainfall patterns influence behavior oil palm flowering and oil palm fruit production. The oil palm fruit are small. It is about 6-20 gr and bunches of about 10 -40 kg, which a bunch holds about 200- 4000 fruits (Tengnas and Sveden 2002 in Arhem 2011). The fruit is orange-red in colour that comprises a kernel enclosed in a shell (endocarp) surrounded by pulp (mesocarp) (fig2). Yusoff and Hansen (2007) divided palm oil into three stages : plantation, transportation to the mill and milling. C:UsersErnah TangimPicturesjambi oil palm harvest.jpg Figure 2. The fruit oil palm (in bunches). Source : own picture RESEARCH PROBLEM Various problems faced in the development of Indonesia palm oil from the technological, economic, social and environmental aspects. Technological issues related to the productivity and value added. Weak government policies in the provision of incentives and the implementation of the policy itself will affect the increase in value added and product development for the strongly structure of the palm oil industry. Economic issues related to competitive oil palm product in the international market and resources access. Basiccally, Palm oil has more competitivenes than the other vegetable oils. Oil palm is the most efficient plants that produce oil in the world.It is around 0.25-0.28ha for produce 1 tonne CPO as raw material palm oil, meanwhile soybean,sunflowers and rapeseed need 1.5-2ha for produce 1 tonne oil seeds. Lack of access resources can be a threat to the sustainable development of oil palm estate plantation. To increase the productivity, Oil palm plantation need a good maintenance management and supported by efficient use of inputs, especially fertilizer and harvest handling of fresh fruit bunches. Oil World inside Bappenas 2008, showed the productivity of oil palm around 18-20 tonne FFB /ha/years (3,6-4 ton CPO/ha),meanwhile produktivity of soybean/seeds around 2-2,5 ton/ha/years (0,45-0,67). The emergence of social problems in the areal of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹oil palm development is about ownership, land use and how to transfer their rights. Vermoulen dan Goad (2006) showed the main constraint covers difficulty farmers to obtain capital because it can not qualify for the collateral relationship financing through a bank, a lack of technical development and market information. There is a problem about the uncertainty of land tenure plasma plantations that have been allocated by the government to communities of the village. There is no official document that can be used as legal basis for public ownership. It is only by agreement between the villagers and the company that the company will build a palm oil plantation to the plasma of 20% of the total area of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹HGU (Plantation permits to use state land (leasehold)). The communities of village want the clarity of the status and location of their land because it greatly affects the value of the land. At first, tends to increase the price of land, but increasingly blurring the certainty of status and time of handover of land / credit agreement makes the land prices tend to decline again. The issues of environmental in the oil palm is about deforestation, biodiversity and climate change. Recent times, the transfer function natural forests and peat lands contribute to the negative form of deforestation, land degradation peat, water resource degradation, and loss of biodiversity. Development palm oil is also claimed to be incompatible with the spatial regulation, and there are coconut groves plantations in areas with high conservation value. Regardless of the issue, basically has many oil palm plantation companies while considering environmental aspects in conduct their business and become a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) (Theo,2010). III. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND This chapter deals with literature review to provide the necessary context in the current research. This includes literature of theory of environmental aspects. Environmental Aspects In economic the environment is viewed as a composite asset that provides a variety of services, such as provides the economy with raw materials and services directly to consumers (Tietenberg, 2006). An element of an organizations activities, products or services that can interact with the environment called environmental aspects. An environmental aspect describes the relevant issues that management needs to address, irrespective of level of abstraction e.g. waste management, global warming, resource extraction, lack of knowledge about process emissions, toxic material management, and biodiversity (Flemstrom, 2003). In addition, Munasinghe (1993), there are some issues of environmental that are related to global and transnational, natural habitats, land, water and urban industrial areas. In the other words, this is called the environmental system. There are some tools to assessing environmental impacts or aspects which called environmental system analysis tools (ESATs), such as Enviro nmental Impact Assessment (EIA), System of Economic and Environmental Accounting (SEEA), Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA), Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), Environmental Management System (EMS), Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA), Risk Assessment (RA) (Ahlroth et all,2011); Finnvede, Asa Moberg (2005)). Significance of the Study There are many issues in the oil palm production in Indonesia such as contract farming, environmental issues and social issues. Teoh (2010) show the environmental issues are deforestation, loss of biodiversity, climate change and use pesticide and fertilizer. Cahyadi and H.Waibel (2011) studied about contract farming in the oil palm in Jambi. Using the probity model and 245 smallholders who are respondents showed the contract participation significant with age of household head, indigenous, size of oil palm plot, and particular planting period. Overall, contract farming has a significant positive effect on smallholder income; it discriminates against the poorer smallholders. Primadona (2011) argue that the implementation of RPSO PC still have opportunities for companies to rectify their behavior by altering management practice in the palm oil Industry, especially for the countries which have poor implementation of regulations. Companies are forced to fix their management or otherwise risk being excluded from the competitive market for market completion and prospects of oil pam in the future. The researcher remains essential to implement of RSPO standards at the national level. Simon (2006) studied to identifiy most significant impacts of il palm cultivation on land,air and water and examines them appropriate to Principles and Criteria for Sustainable Oil Palm by RSPO. World Bank (2010) showed expantion of oil palm plantation can give positive impact to to local people through employment opportunities, improved infrastructure, increases in land value, and income from cultivating oil. However,it can give negative impacts to environment such as loss of acce ss to land without adequate compensation, loss of the benefits of mixed livelihood strategies, and loss of environmental services from natural forests (e.g., water, game, medicinal plants) and deforestation. Oil palm expansion also yields indirect or national level poverty alleviation benefits through government spending. Basiron and Chan (2004) argue three evidences of oil palm, sustainability: (1) oil palm can be used a vehicle for rural poverty eradication in Malaysia, astedy supplier of affordable food,non-food, biocomposites, nutritional and pharmaceutical products and a showcase for environmental improvment.Study by Obidzinki et all (2012) found that the development of oil palm in West Papua (Manokwari), West Kalimantan (Kubu Raya), and Papua (Boven Digoel) has caused deforestation, resulting ini significant secondary external impacts such as water pollution, soil erosion, and air pollution. Meanwhile, in the social impacts, many stakeholder group (employees,out-growers and investing households) report significant gains that were not evenly distributed. The earlier research has analyzed vulnerability of oil palm farmers to potential shock and poverty in several stages and scheme of contract farming. In the contract farming, there will be a share of benefit and risks each others between the company as nucleus estate and smallholders as plasma. Meanwhile in the second phase of this research will analyze about environmental aspects. Generally,this research will be to assess the environmental implications oil palm development using two plantations sites, namely the Bakri Sumatera Plantation and the Agro Astra Lestari as case studies.Analyze of framework is starting from the adoption in contract farming and its determinant factors than analyze environmental aspects in the oil palm industry. IV. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES Based on the problem analysis and literature review previously, we formulate three following research questions that will be addressed in the current research. How are the perceptions of smallholder farmers about the long term environmental consequences of oil palm plantation in Jambi? How to asses the opportunities and constraints of sustainable oil palm management practices? And what are the environmental impacts in the oil palm industry? What is the degree of awareness of stakeholders group in Jambi province about the environmental implications oil palm development? How to develop of a set of policy recommendations to implement a more sustainable oil palm production system? The general objective of this research is to assess the environmental implications oil palm development using two plantations sites, namely the Bakri Sumatera Plantation and the Agro Astra Lestari as case studies. It is anticipated that research will have three major output : A better understanding of the perceptions of smallholders farmers about the long term environmental consequences of oil palm plantation in Jambi. An assessment of the opportunities and constraints of sustainable oil palm management practices. Analysis environmental impacts in the oil palm industry. An assessment of the awareness of stakeholders group in Jambi province to about the environmental implications oil palm development. Development of a set of policy recommendations to implement a more sustainable oil palm production system. V. METHODOLOGY Data Analysis To achieve the research outputs outline above the study will follow some methodology such as household survey, case study and key informant interviews. For the analysis of environmental aspects, applied consistently in Muora Jambi and Merangin for the purpose of comparison. As a first step: existing literature and secondary data about environmental aspects of oil palm plantation will be reviewed. For analysis of environmental aspects, different sources of data collection, i.e. smallholder surveys, focus group discussion, and key informant interviews will be used. Some stakeholders will be selected to represent various actors that are directly or indirectly affected by oil palm industry. The smallholder surveys will be repeated in order to update the information of the 2010 survey and to establish a panel data base. As a new aspect in the questionnaire a module on perception of the environmental impacts of oil palm will be added to the questionnaires. To complement information collected smallholder households and to get additional relevant data FGD (Focus Group Discussion) method will be used. Prior to the FGD semi-structure interviews will be conducted with key government official, company representatives, and civil society organizations to complement t he site specific survey data. Finally, this study will analyze environmental aspects using some econometric models. The data will be used to understand the perceptions of smallholder farmers about the long term environmental consequences of oil palm industry in Jambi. In this research, some questions are the same with the phase-1 research such as age, education, and household information, land and crops, oil palm production, off farm employment, asset, saving, oil palm contract participation, investment and future plan and as addition several questions about knowledge and perceptions smallholder farmers of environmental aspects. This information will be included in the smallholder questionnaires. The respondent farmers will be selected by multi stage and random sampling technique. The assessment of opportunities and constraints of oil palm management practices and awareness of stakeholder groups in Jambi province about environmental implications oil palm development will include qualitative approach analysis. The stakeholders group consist of Ministry Agriculture, NGOs local, Company oil palm, Association oil palm, Ministry environmental, research/academies, RSPO, ISPO and palm oil society. Finally, some econometrics models such as OLS (Ordinary Least Square) will be used to develop of a set of policy recommendations to implement a more sustainable oil palm production system. V.2. Data Collection Location Research conducted on oil palm smallholders farmers in the Province of Jambi since has established a data base of some smallholders farmers, 291, in two districts of Jambi province. A household surveys has been conducted in 2010 in three village in Merangin distric and one village in Muaro Jambi district. Province of Jambi is one of the main estate regions in Indonesia that produces rubber, coconut, coffee, tea, cinnamon oil palm, and cacao. Jambi is located in Sumatra which is still home to the majority of the national palm crop, with 75 percent of total matures palm area and 80 percent of total palm oil production. Jambi is chosen because it is one of the largest oil palm producers in Indonesia. There are totally 159,583 households cultivating oil palm in Jambi. It is noted that 59 percent of them are contractual smallholders and 41 percent are independent smallholders. They are distributed in 9 districts, namely Batanghari, Muaro Jambi, Bungo, Tebo, Merangin, Sarolangun, West Tanj ung Jabung, East Tanjung Jabung, and Kerinci. Generally, contract scheme in Jambi consists of PIR and KKPA scheme. For this project, we decided to select Muaro Jambi and Merangin districts. Locations are chosen purposively representing several stages, schemes, and geographic conditions which promote various problems. Source of Data To obtain the required information and meet the aims, it is essential to combine some methods to collect data. This study used primary data and secondary data. Primary data were gathered through field visits to the research area. The method used was surveyed and in depth interviews. Survey A formalized, pre-coded questionnaire will be developed and pre-tested. The questionnaire will include questions on household characteristics, assets, inputs and output of oil palm production activities and marketing, other sources of income, factor and product prices, credit, contractual arrangement, perception of contract farming and the partner (nucleus estate), and perception of changes over the previous five years and environmental aspects will be spread in two districts for totally 291 oil palm farmers in Jambi. The respondent farmers will be selected by multi stage and random sampling technique. Interview Interview will be done to explore concept, process, problems and players behavior in the oil palm contract farming. It also allows us to obtain qualitative data deeply and comprehensively. The interview will involve stakeholders and key players in contract farming in the oil palm industry. Several key stakeholders will be interviewed regarding the partnership policy in the oil palm supply chain in contract farming including: Ministry of agriculture, The Association of Oil, Palm Plantation Companies, Bank, NGO, and Roundtable Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).

Abraham Lincoln Essay -- essays research papers

Abraham Lincoln was born Sunday, February 12, 1809, in a log cabin near Hodgenville, He was the son of Thomas and Nancy and he was named for his paternal grandfather. Thomas Lincoln was a carpenter and farmer. Both of Abraham's parents were members of a Baptist congregation which had separated from another church due to opposition to slavery. As Abraham grew up, he loved to read and preferred learning to working in the fields. This led to a difficult relationship with his father who was just the opposite. Abraham was constantly borrowing books from the neighbors. Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, guided his country through the most devastating experience in its national history--the CIVIL WAR. He is considered by many historians to have been the greatest American president. Early Life In 1816 the Lincolns moved to Indiana, "partly on account of slavery," Abraham recalled, "but chiefly on account of difficulty in land titles in Kentucky." Land ownership was more secure in Indiana because the Land Ordinance of 1785 provided for surveys by the federal government; moreover, the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 forbade slavery in the area. Lincoln's parents belonged to a faction of the Baptist church that disapproved of slavery, and this affiliation may account for Abraham's later statement that he was "naturally anti-slavery" and could not remember when he "did not so think, and feel." Indiana was a "wild region, with many bears and other wild animals still in the woods." The Lincolns' life near Little Pigeon Creek, in Perry (now Spencer) County, was not easy. Lincoln "was raised to farm work" and recalled life in this "unbroken forest" as a fight "with trees and logs and grubs." "There was absolutely nothing to excite ambition for education," Lincoln later recalled; he attended "some schools, so called," but for less than a year altogether. "Still, somehow," he remembered, "I could read, write, and cipher to the Rule of Three; but that was all." Lincoln's mother died in 1818, and the following year his father married a Kentucky widow, Sarah Bush Johnston. She "proved a good and kind mother." In later years Lincoln could fondly and poetically recall memories of his "childhood home." In 1828 he was able... ...booth.html", who began to conspire first to abduct Lincoln and later to kill him. On Apr. 14, 1865, five days after Robert E. Lee's surrender to Grant at Appomattox Court House, Lincoln attended a performance of Our American Cousin at "/TOUR/ford.html" in Washington. There Booth entered the presidential box and shot Lincoln. The next morning at 7:22 Lincoln died. Lincoln's achievements--saving the Union and freeing the slaves--and his martyrdom just at the war's end assured his continuing fame. No small contribution was made by his eloquence as exemplified in the "../../TOUR/linstatue.html" l "gettysburg" (Nov. 19, 1863), in which he defined the war as a rededication to the egalitarian ideals of the Declaration of Independence, and in his second inaugural address (Mar. 4, 1865), in which he urged "malice toward none" and "charity for all" in the peace to come. Nickname: "Honest Abe"; "Illinois Rail-Splitter" Marriage: Nov. 4, 1842, to Mary Todd (1818-82) Children: Robert Todd Lincoln (1843-1926); Edward Baker Lincoln (1846-50); William Wallace Lincoln (1850-62); Thomas "Tad" Lincoln (1853-71) ?

Logic and Moral Dilemmas Essay -- Logical Philosophy Philosophical Pap

Logic and Moral Dilemmas ABSTRACT: Logic is of great importance for the philosophy of education. In particular, logic provides a rational and critical approach in ethics, helping us understand the nature of moral dilemmas. Some suggest that all moral dilemmas result from some kind of inconsistency in the moral rules. Unsolvable moral situations simply reflect implicit inconsistencies in our existing moral code. If we are to remain moral as well as logical, then we must restore consistency to our code. This is accomplished by adding exception clauses to current principles, and giving priorities to some principles over others, or by some other device. I argue that we must accept moral dilemmas as an essential part of real-life reality on the grounds that some moral statements concern values. According to Moore's "axiological thesis," whether these statements are true depends on two factors: the set of alternatives from which we make an evaluation, and the scale of values with which we rate them. Also, it is po ssible that a given alternative is no better than another in some respect. Furthermore, there is no respect in which they are equally good or equally bad (the so-called "Condorcet's effect"). Thus, we must accept moral dilemmas as real rather than apparent. Among all the spheres of philosophy of education logic is of great importance. In particular it is logic that provides the rational and critical approach in ethics. So logic help us to understand the nature of moral dilemmas. It has been suggested that all moral dilemmas result from some kind of inconsistency in the moral rules. So our being faced with unsolvable moral situation merely reflected an implicit inconsistency in our existing moral code and that we forced... ...sibus perplexis// Th. Hobbes. A dialogue between a philosopher and a student for the common laws of England. Leibniz G.W. Specimen difficultatis in jure seu dissertatio de casibus perplexis. Doctrina conditiorum. De legum interpretatione/ Ed. by T.Ascarelli. Milano: Giuffre, 1960.P.267-302. 5. Lemmon E.J. Moral Dilemmas// Moral Dilemmas/ Ed. by Christopher W. Gowans. New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987.P.101-114. 6. Lemmon E.J. Deontic Logic and the Logic of Imperatives// Logique et Analyse. 1965. Vol. VII. No.2. P.39-61. 7. Moore G.E. Principia Ethica. Cambridge: The Cambridge University Press, 1960. 8. Rescher N. Ethical Idealism: An Inquiry into the Nature and Function of Ideals. Berkeley,etc.:University of California Press, 1987. 9. Schlesinger G.N. The Sweep of Probability. Notre Dame & London: University of Notre Dame Press, 1991.

We Must Educate the Children of Illegal Immigrants Essay example -- Cr

Immigration laws have been a subject of debate throughout American history, especially in states such as California and Texas, where immigrant populations are high. Recently, some citizens have been questioning whether we should continue to educate the children of illegal immigrants. While this issue is steeped in emotional controversy, we must not allow divisive "us against them" rhetoric to cloud our thinking. Yes, educating undocumented immigrants costs us, but not educating them would cost us much more. Those who propose barring the children of illegal immigrants from our schools have understandable worries. They worry that their state taxes will rise as undocumented children crowd their school systems. They worry about the crowding itself, given the loss of quality education that comes with large class sizes. They worry that school resources will be deflected from their children because of the linguistic and social problems that many of the newcomers face. And finally, they worry that even more illegal immigrants will cross our borders because of the lure of free education. This last worry is probably unfounded. It is unlikely that many parents are crossing the borders solely to educate their children. More likely, they are in desperate need of work, economic opportunity, and possibly political asylum. As Charles Wheeler of the National Immigration Law Center asserts, "There is no evidence that access to federal programs acts as a magnet to foreigners or that further restrictions would discourage illegal immigrants" (qtd. in "Exploiting"). The other concerns are more legitimate, but they can be addressed by less drastic measures than barring children from schools. Currently the responsibility o... ...re in school, we can make sure they are inoculated properly, and we can teach them the facts about health and disease. Do we really want thousands of uneducated children growing up on the streets, where we have little control over them? Surely not. The lure of the streets is powerful enough already. Only by inviting all children into safe and nurturing and intellectually engaging schools can we combat that power. Our efforts will be well worth the cost. Works Cited Edmondson, Brad. "Life without Illegal Immigrants." American Demographics May 1996: 1. "Exploiting Fears." Admissions Decisions: Should Immigration Be Restricted? 7 Oct. 1996. Public Agenda. 10 Feb. 1999. http://www.vote-smart.org/issues/Immigration/chap2/imm2itx.html. McCarthy, Martha M. "Immigrants in Public Schools: Legal Issues." Educational Horizons 71 (1993): 128-30.

Trapped Characters

The main characters in this play are trapped by either design or circumstance in a situation. This means that away from the story line each character is trying to escape from their own little entrapment brought on from either another or that character itself. Little Voice is the most trapped. Mari, Ray say and Mr Boo trap her all in their own special ways. The only times in the play when she has escaped, is when her Dad visits her in her dreams, when she listens to her records and at the end of the play when Billy comes to rescue Little Voice from the fire. The structure of this play goes as follows†¦. Introduction, leading on to the big scene, major scene, The die down where everything starts to go wrong and then the last scene where everybody leaves their past roots and starts up a new life this is also known as escaping from the old and going to the new. The scene where Little Voice escapes, I think, is shown in two places, where Little Voice and Mari are having an argument and Mari is trying to force Little Voice in staying with her†¦. â€Å"Mari: LV†Ã¢â‚¬  I beseech you. I beseech you, LV.† â€Å"I beseech you! I beseech you!†Ã¢â‚¬  LV:† Ma names Laura. And then Laura leaves Mari by herself, and they are both alone now. These few lines are showing Mari begging for LV's forgiveness. The other showing of escape with LV is when she goes to see Billy right at the end of the play, to exercise his birds and she lets the dove go free, which can also symbolise freedom. I think that the only person in this drama that doesn't escape was Sadie. I think this because, She was actually always trapped by Mari, She was just tagging along all of he time, towards the end Mari told her to go away by saying, â€Å"Your too quiet to be my friend you, Fuck off† But then at the end of the play when Ray leaves Mari she goes running back to Sadie. As you can see Sadie just goes along with whatever Mari says because she would never be able to get a word in edge ways. I think that this is why at the end of the play LV escapes and says what she has to say. These few lines show how LV and Mari are totally different. Jim Cartwright shows great structure in this play by wrapping each scene around the man character for that scene. This works very well because it shows each character in detail, for example their highlights or their downside to them. Each character has its own different function†¦. LV: She is the structure of what the play goes around. She starts off as a quiet little nothing that is always getting in the way of Mari and Ray, She is also at the beginning of the play a ‘silent' character, as she never says anything, it s almost like she is either autistic or as if she has just recovered from traumatic experience. But by the end of the play she has come alive, as now she has overcome her fears of other people tormenting her. I found that each character had another character that was similar to the other in some way, Mari and Ray Say, they were both loud, argumentative, they both only loved Little Voice for her money, and they both had a poor ending when LV said that she didn't want to do another show because neither of them never listened to what she had to say, so by the end of the film there was nowhere for them to go so they would have to start a new life with nothing. The next two characters that resembled one another in some way were Sadie and George. Most people see these two as background characters as they hardly ever speak and they are only in that scene so that another one of the characters can speak. I feel that these two people get pushed out of the play a lot. Billy pushes out George and Mari and Ray Say elbow Sadie out. Finally you can guess who is coming next, yes, Little Voice and Billy, They both start off as somewhat quiet characters as when they first meet it seems like neither of them have a tongue, But by the end of the play they have gradually worked themselves up to be the bravest and the most powerful characters as they both have each other and they haven't lost anything (that they wanted!) through this whole situation. This likeness of characters and consequences is called echoing. There are lot of key lines in this play that represent what will/can happen in the future of the play, for example, Mari: And looky here, LV. Prink prink. As we leave, star spangling down the club, the artiste, the minder and the Mum. This is important in the play as Mari is thinks that everything is going to be great in the future but doesn't realise that Little Voice only said that she wanted to do the performance once, and the audience realise this, so they know that everything is going to go wrong towards the end, as well you see her dad wave goodbye at the end of her performance (only in the play) which could mean that she isn't going to sing in front of an audience as she will only perform when her dad is watching. Another key line could be†¦. Ray: For god sake, wise up and fuck off. This is a key line because, Ray is trying to tell Mari that all he wants is Little Voice for the money, but he is trying to tell her in a blunt kind of way so that (as he thinks) he will not hurt her feelings as much as he would of if he had just walked out, and as well he is just arguing with her to try and blame her but really it is his fault because he just used Mari to get to Little Voice. The most useful/ base of the play moment is when Ray Say and Mr Boo hear Little Voice for the first time outside her bedroom. This is important because straight after that clip Cartwright shows to the audience that Ray is using Mari, he displays this by†¦. They were all (Ray, Mr Boo & Mari) going down to the pub, and Mari calls him along and he says that he wants to stay and listen to her, which makes Mari realise that maybe he is using her as the day before he said to Mr Boo that she's the one, and Mari thought that he was talking about herself. I fell that this play was set in the end of the 1990's by reason of that mobile phones were not invented, The BT van was quite modern and that the costume and staging was of modern times. The language too was very modern and simple; you could tell that the characters were of a lower class just by looking at the scenery, housing and language used, for example there is a lot of slang going on especially between Mari and Ray when they are mucking around, i.e. Mari: See 'em all standin' up then? In some cases this could show that they are both quite common, which could prove my point of them being lower class and quite poor. My favourite part in this play is at the end where Ray thinks that LV has gone mad on him because she starts acting like here heroes, (Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe and Shirley Bassey), to try and scare him away to get him to leave her alone, besides that it is quite a shock as you are not expecting her to act like this which is good because it shows that Herman (director) has done this purposely to fool the audience.

Reducing School Violence Through Conflict Essay

It is alarming how more and more violent acts are being done by young students these days. A lot of factors can influence them and can be blamed but still there are not enough programs or ways to stop these acts. Everyone, including the media, community, and government, should be involved in this situation because these young people do not realize the graveness and seriousness of their outrages. There is an interrelation between preventing violence and resolving conflict (Johnson & Johnson, 1995, p. 5). This is seen with Project Schools Teaching Options for Peace (S. T. O. P) and The Safe Harbor Program. The former is a conflict resolution program while the latter deals with anti-violence. The two programs produced positive results in that it gave students the opportunity to change with regard to the way they see things. It gave them the chance to talk about what they were dealing and to resolve their conflicts. It made them understand themselves better, as well as to understand their environment and the people that surrounds them better. It made them feel that they are not alone and that there is help when they need it. Young adults or teenagers have a lot on their minds that most older people do not understand. At times, these young people are misunderstood and, therefore, ignored. The problem is, when they are ignored, it is the time when they would probably do things that they would soon regret. This is the reason why it is important that programs that would provide help and support should always be available especially to students. It may seem like a small step but to these young people, knowing that someone is there for them actually means a lot. Reference Johnson, D. W. & Johnson, R. T. (1995). Reducing School Violence Through Conflict