The Theoretical Basis Of Agritourism

The Theoretical Basis Of Agritourism Agritourism can be explained as a farm enterprise operated for the enjoyment and education of the public that may also generate additional income for the farmer by promoting farm products and experiences and giving many opportunities to local community to enhance their living standards (Wilson et al., 2006). The concept is gaining popularity and its providing a great escape for people in urban environment from their high-paced, strenuous and many times monotonous lifestyle. At the same time its helping the new generation to get first-hand experience of the rural life, which otherwise is limited only to the books for them. Spending time on the farms, interacting with the local people and farmers to get an insight into their day-to-day work and their traditions, participating in the local fairs and festivals, doing the actual work on the farm, milking the cow, riding a bullock cart, are some of the activities that can be enjoyed on an agritourism outing. 3.2.1 Theoretical basis of agritourism Agritourism is multifunctional and cooperative strategy (Sidali et al., 2011; Wilson, 2007; Essex, et al., 2005; Schmitt, 2010; Mason, 2000). The post-productivits agricultural system is the new approach in agricultural development. It is very complicated than subsistence and productivits agriculture systems (Topcu, 2007). Post-productivits agriculture system is a broad concept and the five main tasks of it are qualitative priorities in food production, alternative income sources for farmers and sustainability of agricultural lands, conservation of environment and new employment opportunities. Agritourism can easily link with these new aspects of agricultural development. Moreover, agritourism can be performed in five important sectors such as agricultural economic, socio-cultural, environmental and educational context in an effective manner. Further, since it is highly involved with the gender factor, agritourism as a gender approach is also having higher importance (Topcu, 2007; Si dali, Spiller and Schulze; 2011; Wilson, 2007; Essex, et al., 2005). 3.2.2 Definitions of agritourism Before 1990, only a little information has been published on agritourism. This lack of information was one of the reasons for the absence for the commonly accepted definition (Lack, 1997). However, after 1990, the research literature on agritourism has flourished and several number of definitions are available now (McGehee and Kim, 2004). Some selected definitions of agritourism are as follows. Agritourism can be defined as the practice of engaging in activities, events and services that has been provided to consumers for recreational, entertainment, or educational purposes at a farm, ranch, or other agricultural, horticultural, or agribusiness operation in order to allow consumers to experience, learn about, and participate in various facets of agricultural industry, culinary pursuits, natural resources, and heritage (Colorado Agritourism Research Project, 2010). Tew (2010) cited The Agribusiness Development Division of the Missouri Department of Agriculture (2010) defines agritourism as, visiting a working farm or any agricultural, horticultural, or agribusiness operation for the purpose of appreciation, enjoyment, education, or recreational involvement with agricultural, natural or heritage resources Agritourism as an innovative agricultural activity related to tourism and agriculture both in which has capacity to create additional source of income and employment opportunities to the farmers and local communities (Maruti, 2009). Agritourism can be characterized as a business or activity that invites visitors to come on-farm or into a rural community to enjoy agriculture, its produce and the natural environment in which it exists. Agritourism is generally an additional enterprise added to the farm, integrating tourism into agri-business (Porcaro, 2009). An activity, enterprise or business which combines primary elements and characteristics of agriculture and tourism and provides an experience for visitors which stimulates economic activity and impacts both farm and community income (Bruch, 2008). Tourism on a working farm in which visitors can experience a direct connection with the host farm, rural life and/or the local environment. There is not a consistent definition of agritourism in the literature, and it has been used interchangeably with other terms. For example, some studies have previously been synonymously linked to rural tourism, farm tourism, agro-tourism, agricultural tourism and farm based vacation (Seong-woo and Sou-yeon, 2006; Ilbery, 1998; Ilbery, 1991). However, the main idea of all of these definitions is more or less similar. As a whole, agritourism can be explained as an interaction among agricultural producers, visitors, and local residents. Operators (mainly farmers) can earn extra income from the farm, visitors can get real knowledge and experience on farming and local residents can enhance their living slandered in several ways. 3.2.3 Working definition for agritourism in the study For the purpose of this study, agritourism is defined as tourism activities that conduct in working farm and surrounding, for enjoyment, education, recreation of visitors, hoping an additional income for the operator from farm resources in special and sustainable local development in general. This is the working definition for agritourism in this study that is suitable in Sri Lankan context. After having strong theoretical knowledge and practical experience in agritourism sector, this was developed, including considering the main purposes of agritourism visitors, motivation of agritourism operators and expectations of local residents for rural development. Economic, social, environmental dimensions have been included in this definition. 3.2.4 Activities involved in agritourism Normally, agritourism activities are the tourism activities take place in agricultural lands and surrounding rural environments. The number of agritourism activities mainly depends on the size of the farm and nature of the farming activities. These activities are important for the visitors to enjoy and learn agriculture. Blacka et al (2001) has divided agritourism activities in Virginia, into six categories as lodging and camping (bed and breakfast, camp sites, youth camp, farm vacation, weddings and honeymoons), special events and festivals (music festivals, haunted house, holiday celebrations, harvest festivals) Off the farm (farmers markets, roadside produce stands), recreational activities and events (fee fishing, hiking, rock climbing, horseback riding, skeet shooting), tourism related direct marketing (pick your own fruits/vegetables, sell processed food on the farm, sell herbal organic products) an youth and or adult education (Organized tours, agricultural educational program s, demonstrations). Lack (1995) divided agritourism British Colombia, into three groups as retail sales/ direct marketing (goods produced on-site, customer harvested produce and goods produced off-site), Tours (tour of processing facilities, scenic tours and tours of production facilities) and activities (accommodation, cultural activities, recreation and educational or hands on experiences). It is important to include all the possible agritourism activities because it helps to increase the length of stay and satisfaction of the visitors. In European countries, in a farm there are activities for visitors even for several days. However, the number of agritourism activities is lower in Asian countries. Further, activities in agritourism and rural tourism havent clearly categorized yet and most of the time they are used interchangeably. Briefly, a successful agritourism operation should have three aspects. They are the need to have things for visitors to see (educational tours, historical recreations, festivals/special events, crop arts), things for visitors to do (educational activities, petting zoos, hay rides, pick your own) and things for visitors to buy (food and drinks, farm products, souvenirs). Things to see and do are often offered free of charge. But, money can be earned by selling things to the visitors (Adam, 2001). Agritourism can be used as primary, supplementary or complementary enterprise. As a primary enterprise, agritourism would be the main activity in the farm. Agritourism could be a minor activity in supplementary enterprises and it would share equal footing in complementary enterprises (Blacka et al., 2001).Agritourism can consist of different alternatives such as temporary attraction or special event, part of a large agriculture-oriented destination, part of a huge non-agriculture-oriented des tination, and full agritourism operation. Different forms of agritourism business Farmers can incorporate agritourism activities to their farms in various ways according to the situation. Three possible ways are; as a supplementary, complementary or primary enterprise. To fulfill the final objective of agrotourism; farmer must think creatively and arrange it properly. (Mnguni, 2010). Supplementary enterprise In a supplementary enterprise, agritourism is a minor activity that would help the other products on the farm. For example, if the primary enterprise is crop production, educational and training programs can be introduced with marketing facility of value added crop products. Complementary enterprise In a complementary enterprise, agritourism activities have equal share with other enterprises in the farm product mix. For instance, if there is a grapes production enterprise on the farm, it the farmer wants to sell half of the grapes to a whole seller and the remainder to pick-your-own operations for visitors on the farm, then the two enterprises would be complementary enterprises. The primary enterprise In the primary enterprise, agritourism would be the major activity on the farm. For example, if a farmer hopes to begin a winery in the farm. He will definitely invite guests to have that experience by tasting the product. As a part of that package, he can offer an overnight accommodation in a cottage which is in the farm. And also the farmer can produce grapes in his own farm and use them to wine tasting activities. Here agritourism is the main part of the farm product mix and it becomes the primary enterprise (Bernardo, Valentin and Leatherman, 2007; Blacka, et al, 2001). Link the relevant sections with chapter 2 3.2.5 Issues and challenges of agritourism development As agritourism is a business activity, lots of requirements are essential for the successfulness of it. However, as agritourism it is conduct mainly in rural areas by farmers, presence of several issues and challenges is a common phenomenon. For example, a study by Lack (1995) in British Colombia, has discovered that, lack of training, marketing knowledge, quality control, finance, appropriate insurance, excessive regulations, personal challenges for farm families, conflict with primary agricultural production, distance from markets, infrastructure limitations and farm disease are the challenges of agritourism development in that country. Agritourism in Nova Scotia has some obstacles. Many agritourism operators face the problem of lack of assistance and the knowledge required to produce market-ready products as Nova Scotia Tourism. Culture is reluctant to include and to enhance agritourism in their marketing campaigns. This lack of support hinders the development of agritourism produ cts and services resulting poorly developed and marketed products by farmers. So, farmers could not develop many skills required to operate an effective tourism business (Colton and Bissix, 2005). A study in Haryana, India has reported that the Lack of funds for publicity and advertisement, less number of visitors, Lack of technology to develop farm tourism, lack of motivation of farmers, inadequate price for farm products/activities as major constraints in establishing agritourism (Shehrawat, 2009). In Sri Lanka, issues and challenges in agritourism are small size farm lands, lack of required skills for the operators, poor level of processing of agricultural products, low level of publicity and promotion are the significant factors. Furthermore, lack of visitors, environmental pollution, poor condition on infrastructure, are the common problems for all the operators (Malkanthi and Routray, 2011b). Although there are few differences, most of the issues and challenges are common for many countries. As issues and challenges are negatively affect for the growth of the sector, finding solutions is utmost important. Global warming is one of the prominent environmental issues and mass tourism has negative impacts on the environment. In mass tourism, large number of people gather to a same place and enjoy the tourism. Mass tourism indicates that the holiday is standardized, packaged rigidly and nonflexible. Due to the negative impacts of mass tourism, people have started to concern about the quality of the environment and the future of the tourism industry and also due to that has begun to focus on alternative forms of tourism. (Mairesse, 2007/2008) By showing importance of reality the rural environment reveals itself as an exceptional because it is far from the standard large-scale hotel chains. Rural Tourism needs a help for rural development without trespassing limits, an unseen entrance. Currently the issue of rural tourism is its sustainability. Only from the sustainable tourism can have an area of authentic countryside existence. Rural Tourism development should be totally different from the seaside tourism development which builds artificial villages and big holiday resorts without any identity. Currently the coastal lines have destroyed because the rural spaces are exceeding by urbanization. (Randelli, Romei, Tortora, Mossello, 2011) 3.2.6 Sustainability in agritourism operations Through Sustainable tourism development it is expected to protect and enhance the future opportunities while fulfilling the needs of current tourists and host regions. It is further explained as managing resources as fulfilling the economic, social, aesthetic needs, while maintaining cultural truthfulness, vital ecological processes, bio diversity and life carry systems (World Tourism Organization, 1999) Therefore, for long term sustainability, should have proper balance between environmental, economic, and socio-cultural aspects which is also known as principles aspects of Agro tourism development. Same as other tourism destinations, sustainability of agritourism destinations are very important in long run. Although most of the destinations that are feasible in short run, face difficulties in survival in long run. So, economic feasibility, social acceptability and environmental friendliness of tourism operations are equally applicable to agritourism as well. World Tourism Organization (2001) ,defines sustainable development as convene the requirement of present tourists and host regions as caring and improving opportunity for prospect. Its management of resources satisfies in way of economical, social and aesthetic needs satisfying while maintaining cultural integrity necessary for ecological processes, biological diversity and existence support system. Markandya, et.al, (2003) have reported that the three main linkages among tourism and sustainable development are economic, social and environmental. Given tourisms importance in the global challenges of climate change and poverty reduction, there is a need to urgently adopt a range of policies which encourages truly sustainable tourism that reflects a quadruple bottom line of environmental, social, economic and climate responsiveness. (Sharpley, 2009) Tourism can kill itself if we mismanage the tourism activities and places (Yalcin Kuwan and Perran Akan, 2001). Unspoiled natural environment is an asset of the industry. It will create the competitive advantage to the industry (Cater, 1993). The implementation and success of policies of sustainability, in employing tourism income to support social and cultural development and wild life conservation, require strategy framework which guides tourism development in a balanced and coherent way (Hall, 1998). Agritourism focus for increasing rural vitality and stimulating new economic opportunities through the diversification of farm operations and increased revenue on-site and near the operations (Geisler, 2008; Jensen, Lindborg, English, Menard. 2006). As a means to support the growth and development of the agritourism industry, Extension education can aid in the necessary programming for and education of community leaders and business operators. (Norby, Retallick, 2007) For sustainable Agritourism operations should minimize the environmental impacts by considering both local and global environmental impacts.Deforestation, water and air pollution etc should be minimized. And also through Agritourism can minimize the damage by conserving natural areas, habitats and wild life. One of the best ways of reaching to sustainability is through achieving a clear sense of difference from other competing destinations. By using local history, industry, culture, lifestyle and natural resources attraction can be done genuinely. And the operations should be done by representing the past, present and future aspirations of the local community as reflecting the values of the community.With proper understanding of target market can offer the products and services with added values.Agritourism is a kind of an operation which provides mutual benefits for visitors and hosts while acting as a economic and community development tool. Ultimately, good tourism businesses get involved with the community and collaborate with other businesses and stakeholders and help to build local capacity. Enhancing the production can be done through combination of agricultural and non-agricultural options. Increasing the productivity of labor, risk reducing and improving assets can be done through diversification. Linkages between the countryside, towns and cities can augment productivity and sustainability of production by creating employment, revenue and investment. Finance and investment involves the way of mobilization of resources from taxation, central government, the private sector, foreign direct investment and remittances from abroad. It also includes how resources are invested. Through proper strategic, Agro-Tourism could bring lot of advantages to the society. It could be a sustainable revenue producing product for rural market and can help inflow to resources from urban to the rural economy. It can avoid moving of rural people to urban. By using this particular form of rural tourism, it is feasible to fully discover the untapped potential of rural market. Both short term and long term preparation, implementing and monitoring are very important in avoiding harm to rural areas. Environmental management, local involvement, sound legislation, sustainable marketing and realistic planning are essential for Agro-Tourism development. Agro-Tourism is emerging as a vital instrument for sustain human development including poverty reduction, employment production, environmental renewal and development of remote areas and improvement of woman and other underprivileged groups in the country separate from promoting social integration and international consideration. The government should encourage Agro- Tourism to make sustainable economic growth and positive social change. In developing countries tourism has been greatly used for, and linked directly with reduction of rural poverty especially in developing countries. However, the application, and to a degree the principles, of the widely used organizing framework for considering reducing the poverty. Household income sustainability is applied the individual or family level, while tourism sustainability is applied to the industry and destinations at broad, more macro level scales. Economic feasibility As one element of destinations economy, tourism must support a viable economic base. A healthy economy enables a country, region or city to pursue initiatives designed to enhance the quality of its residents (Ritchie and Crouch, 2003). Traditional way of management of tourism destination was rather productive and resource-centered. But since there are limits in adapting to the market, the present strategy is combined supply and market let approach. In this context, management of demand is highly responsible for the sustainable tourism development (Kastenholz, 2004). So, instead of profit maximization of a destination by damaging the environment in short term, now the principle is to obtain the optimum profit. Economic benefits are positively related with the number of visitors. Further arrangement of traditional and cultural events is cost effective with this large number. However, as agritourism is a niche market, socio-culturally and environmentally sustainable, cooperation of cultural activities is very important. Socio-cultural feasibility Tourism operations must be compatible with the existing socio-cultural condition of the area where it is located. It is essential to test the social acceptability of tourism destinations (Gonzalez and Falcon, 2003). There should be a respect for the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities, conserve their built and living cultural heritage and traditional values, and contribute to inter-cultural understanding and tolerance by the tourism operators and especially by outside visitors. Then it is easy to work together by the tourism operators, visitors and the local community. This is a common for agritourism also. Since agritourism is mainly a service industry in rural areas, goodwill and cooperation of local communities are essential to make it successful (Cole, 2006; Knowd, 2006). Agritourism should be able to offer more positive socio-cultural impact than the negative impacts for the local community. This way agritourism can enhance the socio-cultural feasibility. Sharpley (2002) said that socio-cultural growth includes population of remote areas, development and maintenance of public services, renewal of local craft, customs and cultural recognition. Environmental feasibility Tourism destination should less damage to the surrounding environment; especially it should be free from serious environmental pollution activities. So, it should match with environmental rules and regulations and followed by Environment Impact Assessment (United Nations, 1999). However, the literature reveals that little evidence is there regarding environment being considered by farmers, planners and tourism professionals (Kline et al. 2007). Although it is difficult and expensive, agritourism development should follow the sustainable tourism procedures to obtain the real benefits of it forever. However, most of the operators in many countries mainly emphasize only on short term economic advantages without social and environmental benefits. This is the reason for the breakdown of many tourism operations including agritourism, within a short time period. Participatory approach in Agro tourism and rural development The variety mentioned above may be explained by a brief analysis of some of the proposed definitions of participation. With regard to rural development, participation includes peoples involvement in decision-making processes, in implementing programmes, their sharing in the benefits of development programmes and their involvement in efforts to evaluate such programmes (Cohen and Uphof, 1977). Participation is a process through which stakeholders influence and share control over development initiatives and the decisions and resources which affect them (World Bank, 1994). Participation in spatial planning denotes the co-decision capability of the affected citizens and institutions of the civil society in diverse stages of the decision-making process. When some citizens are affected directly, the participation right is assured by law. In many cases, it is optional. But there are good reasons why optional forms of participation are being applied. Areas with an enduring high out-migration, the left over population often tends to act passively. The huge social changes, the harder it is to generate fulfill edged participation through the differences of education, local hierarchy, social position and political direction. Intraregional co-operation can be expected as a market place of potentials. Each of the groups or individuals integrated in the process of contribution brings in some kind of potential formal political power, informal power of opinion ideas, financial means, and ownership of land, contacts or just personal dedication. The position of the individual within the decision-making procedure is hugely determined by the extent to which the specific potential is esteemed according to objective and subjective criteria. Participatory approaches are used in order to start up novel development paths and to interpret ideas and concepts into action. At the commencement, however, the competing behavior of the actors prevails. One temporary goal of participatory approaches is therefore to stress common interests and to help compromises which are not pressed through by local things, but at least suitable to all. Participation typology Type of Participation Some Components and Characteristics Passive Participation People are told what is going to happen or has already happened. Top down, information shared belongs only to external professionals Participation in information giving People answer questions posed by extractive researchers, using surveys etc. People not able to influence the research Participation by consultation People are consulted and external agents listen to their views. Usually externally defined problems and solutions. People not really involved in decision making. Participation as consultation. Participation by material incentives Provision of resources, e.g. labor. Little incentive to participate after the incentives end, for example much farm research, some community forestry. Functional Participation Groups are formed to meet predetermined objectives. Usually done after major project decisions are made, therefore initially dependent on outsiders but may become self dependent and enabling. Participation as organization. Interactive Participation Joint analysis to joint actions. Possible use of new local institutions or strengthening existing ones. Enabling and empowering so people have a stake in maintaining structures or practices. Self-Mobilization Already empowered, take decisions independently of external institutions. May or may not challenge existing inequitable distributions of wealth and power. Participation as empowering (Source: Pimbert and Pretty, 1994). 3.2.7 Government policies in agritourism In general local government is the most important authority in establishing tourism development policies (Perce, 1989). However, the types and the content of its involvement vary from country to country based on the political, economic, and constitutional systems. In many European countries governments have supported the growth of the agritourism sector. There are national policies for the support and development of agritourism in a number of countries for a long time. For instance, in France, state financial aids to support the renovation of redundant farm buildings into accommodation facilities were introduced in 1954. Farms in Italy, Germany and Denmark also have long benefited from national support for the development of tourist facilities (Frater, 1983; Nilsson, 2002). In Britain, Scheme offering financial incentives and advices about diversification, together with partial relaxation of planning restrictions, have facilitated the development of farm-based tourism. The farm diversification Grant Scheme introduced by the ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in 1988, was one of the first measures offering grants to farmers to help them develop diversification schemes (Walford, 2001). According to Douglas and Douglas, (2001); Fernando, Rebollo and Biadal, (2003), it is important to develop policies in a proactive nature to lay the foundation and capture the development potential of tourism for rural communities. So, the national rural tourism strategy of a country must emphasis on infrastructure development, product development, accreditation and industrial standards, education and training, market analysis and the role of government authorities and industrial leaders in further developing the rural tourism product. Ritchie and Crouch (2003) reported that policy is an important factor which ensures the success of tourism destination. It also creates a friendly environment among stakeholders. Therefore, the main objectives of agritourism policy are to minimize and alleviate negative environmental, social and cultural impacts; optimize revenue for industry and re-invest in conservation; optimize the active involvement of, and equitable distribution of economic benefits to, local communities; educate visitors and citizens about the importance of conserving natural and cultural heritage; promote ethical behavior and responsibilities towards the natural and cultural environment; manage operations such that there are long term benefits to the resource, industry and the local residents; deliver high quality, value-for-money, enlightens and participatory natural resources and culture-based experience for visitors; encourage travel in a spirit of humanity, respect and learning about local hosts, their culture and the natural environment etc. Victorious farm-based tourism mostly depends on policy makers, government officers at the local or countrywide level (Beus and Dunlap, 1993) . Brohma (1996) has clearly explained the importance of government involvement in rural development in his study for the third world development, there are necessary new paths. Though the third world tourism has developed fastly, it has encountered many troubles common to outward-oriented development strategies such as extreme foreign dependency, the formation of separate enclaves, the strengthening of socioeconomic and spatial inequalities, environment destruction and increasing cultural separation. To avoid those troubles, institutional mechanisms require to be formed to give confidence active state and participation of community in tourism planning. Ritchie and Crouch (2003) reported that the following aspects are important as government policies of the sector. Infrastructure policy (Can make destination safer and attractive for the visitors), Local zoning policy/by-laws (Can restrict or encourage tourism facility development), Land use and land assignation, Water resource management, Heritage conservation, Credit facility (granting reduced-interest loans to business and enterprises Affects costs and therefore profitability), Tax and subsidies (Tax concessions for investments, Can affect the growth of the industry negatively and positively and finally for the profitability of the destination), Minimum wage policy (Can affect labor markets), Agricultural policy (Organic farming, Soil conservation), Welfare policy (Can influence the nature and behavior of the work force), Education, extension and Training policy (Can affect the quality of the workforce), Marketing policy, Environmental policy (Limits growth and access to attractiv e but sensiti

To Be True to Yourself in a World That Is Constantly Making You

To be true to yourself in a world that is constantly making you something else is a great achievement All of us possess qualities that differentiate us from other human beings. These distinguishing features could be more or less highlighted in appearance, mindset or capabilities, but they will always persist and determine the nature of our personality. Unfortunately these characteristic attributes are deteriorating as humanity is moulding us into the â€Å"perfect person† influencing us to stray away from who we are (our so called â€Å"insignificant† selves) to what is desirable (a flawless model).Staying true to yourself means to stick to what you believe in and being whom you were meant to be, it means not sacrificing who you are to fit in with others. Although it may seem hard during this day and age to keep true to yourself with peer pressure, the media and portrayals factorising our change in personality, why do we hide behind their expectations? Why do we change ourselves to be accepted by people who in the long run don’t matter? A lot of respect goes to those who don’t change themselves based on other people’s thoughts and indications, as they’ve overcome society and destroyed social conditioning.As human beings we like to have an idea of whom and what we want to become. Alice Pung, author of Growing up Asian in Australia enlightened her readers of her teenage struggles she faced whilst growing up, she said â€Å"Most teen fiction gave me the idea that I needed extensive plastic surgery. † Since the media has become one of the most powerful sources of information, we subconsciously condition ourselves to match what they feed us – aiming to be as pretty as Angelina Jolie or as skinny as Miranda Kerr.However as we perfectly shape and sculpt our features into resembling these celebrities, we lose sight of who we really are and we just end up looking like a carbon copy of someone else. Each day magazin es are printing out tips and tricks of being a size 6 and make up secrets which makes you appear older, these negative images being constantly shown and splattered across every news stand brainwash us into thinking that if we aren’t a certain way we won’t be â€Å"popular† or â€Å"happy† and therefore we feel unworthy; obligingly purchasing products that will â€Å"better† us.According to Anastasia Goodstein, from Huffington Post, â€Å"80 percent of girls have purchased an item as a result of an ad in a teen magazine and 63 percent trust magazine ads. † As a result girls become convinced that they require particular fashions to belong in a society that emphasizes materialism. Moreover, most of the fashion, diet and lifestyle advice is directed toward being desirable to men. Magazines stress sexuality as a central identity, minimizing all other attributes. The girls reading teen magazines begin to digest and trust the message that they are only sexual objects.Peer pressure is the influence exerted by a social group or an individual, encouraging other persons to change their attitudes, values, or behaviours in order to conform to group norms. Peer pressure is most commonly associated with youth, in part because most youth spend large amounts of time in schools and other fixed groups that they do not choose and are seen as lacking the maturity to handle pressure from friends. Peer pressure can also have positive effects when people are pressured toward positive behaviour, such as volunteering for charity or excelling in academics or athletics, by their peers.However Risk taking behaviour is seemingly the most common as these same people engage in experimenting in alcohol, drugs and sex – where these decisions are purely made on the basis of gaining popularity and fitting into these â€Å"in† groups. According to American Social Psychologist Wendy Treynor’s original â€Å"identity shift effect† hypothesis, â€Å"One's state of harmony is disrupted when faced with the threat of external conflict for failing to conform to a group standard.Thus, one conforms to the group standard, but as soon as one does, eliminating this external conflict, internal conflict is introduced . To rid oneself of this internal conflict, an â€Å"identity shift† is undertaken, where one adopts the group's standards as one's own, thereby eliminating internal conflict, returning one once again to a state of harmony. Even though the peer pressure process begins and ends with one in a state of harmony, as a result of conflict and the conflict resolution process, one leaves with a new identity—a new set of internalized standards. As everyone within the friendship group aim to please each other and wear the new fashion trends, they lose any form of eccentricity and appear as replicates rather than individuals. They’re all unanimous. As Simon Tong stated in Growing Up Asian in Aust ralia, â€Å"If I couldn’t express myself, who was myself? † Portrayals and stereotypes are what test us the most in this life. A stereotype is a thought that may be adopted about specific types of individuals or certain ways of doing things, but that belief may or may not accurately reflect reality.Such examples include women aren’t as smart as men, men are the â€Å"backbone† and women can’t do as good of a job as a man. Whether or not we give into these typecasts define who we are. If you start to think you are worthless because you’re a female and start believing that men are better than women; you weaken your personality where you turn into a coward cowering and depending on others. These lingering effects hurt people in a very real way, leaving them at a disadvantage. Labelling people in a negative manner has a lasting detrimental impact on those who experience the prejudice. Past studies have shown that people perform poorly in situat ions where they feel they are being stereotyped,† says University of Toronto Scarborough’s Michael Inzlicht, who led the research. â€Å"People are more likely to be aggressive after they’ve faced prejudice in a given situation. They are more likely to exhibit a lack of self control. They have trouble making good, rational decisions. † When being forced to live with these perceptions, we change who we are in a negative way, often leaving our real selves behind in search for a more enhanced self that is socially approved.Whilst some elements of the world out there may want us to conform, to change, to be something different than who we are, it’s up to us to decide what we’re going to do about it. Eleanor Roosevelt affirmed, â€Å"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. † It is tough to stand opposed to the majority, to speak up in a world where judgement is echoed ubiquitously and that’s why to stay true to yourse lf in this detrimental world, this harsh reality, is a great accomplishment; it is rare for a person to be their true self without any underlying lies that factorized their true intentions.No one is in control of you besides yourself; therefore, you have the power to change anything about yourself or your life that you want to change. We can choose to make our own minds up about what is good and what is bad. We can choose to form our own version of pretty, handsome, clever, etc. We can choose to like ourselves, value ourselves, or at least commit to learning how. Or we can choose to continue to see ourselves as inadequate and wrong and try to change ourselves. It’s up to us, not him, her, or them.

Top Essay Topics about Video Games Guide!

Top Essay Topics about Video Games Guide! For this reason, you can want to appear past the films, so as to locate a wide selection of unique topics to write about for an argumentative paper. Below is a brief list of potential topics to assist you in getting started if you wish to go beyond the more simplistic arguments that claim whether video games are either goodor bad. You're able to pick topics from assorted lists of ready themes. Just about everything can be split into categories, but not everything can offer the material for an intriguing essay. Video games have been part of children's life for the previous few decades. Therefore, videogames can't be excluded on the grounds of being recreational. Traditionally videogames aren't considered beneficial although arguments can be created in support of their usage. On the flip side, some folks, though they already know a number of the positive facets of video games, still think that the negative will overcome the positive o nes. You are able to also utilize video games as a superior bonding mode by means of your family since they'll have something to share in common. There are a lot of people who think that in case you play a great deal of video games, you will become antisocial. There are many games that have scenes of violence. Top Essay Topics about Video Games Choices Expository essay is a kind of assignment that demands demonstration of your research and reasoning skills on a specific topic. Make certain that your essay topic isn't broad, as it'll not be possible that you reveal the principal points. A synthesis essay thesis serves as the primary argument of the whole paper. If as you are preparing a report you merely analyze specific literature, the essay demands an excellent penetration into the issue. The authors supply a good collection of references that reinforces their research, which you might also use. After you've settled on your subject, you are going to want to form a strong thesis which makes a very clear claim. Somehow, this issue of your upcoming essay is dependent on what you would like to achieve by your paper and the sources you rely on. Opinion essay examples are simple to find. Persuasive essay format differs in every specific case, though it has some common facets. In this kind of situation, it's more convenient to locate ready-made essays and use them as an example. A classification essay may be good source of self-reflection. Remember you could make funny argumentative essays if you do a few things. One of the absolute most important things is to be aware of the different ideas and trick that are out there. Second, talk what you shouldn't do instead of what should be carried out. As any working mom knows, you simply have to do your best. Whatever They Told You About Essay Topics about Video Games Is Dead Wrong...And Here's Why Don't panic if you are not able to get your descriptive essay right. Persuasive essays are a really good method to encourage the reader to check at a particular topic in a different light. It's important to understand that essay topics are just basic ideas that leave you ponde ring an idea that might be a huge deal to somebody else. Argumentative essay topics are so important since they are debatableand it's important to at all times be critically contemplating the world around us. Introducing Essay Topics about Video Games Though, there are specific patterns that you are supposed to follow when you compose a descriptive essay. If you would like to create a descriptive essay about your own personal experience, it could possibly be unusual and specific. To write a great nursing essay you will have to locate a topic that you understand well or a topic you're passionate to learn more about. Hopefully, our nursing essay topics will motivate you to compose a good paper. A persuasive essay should stick to a typical pattern if you would like it to be readable and clear. Typically, a definition essay isn't complicated to write. All persuasive essays are like argumentative essays. Actually, understanding how to compose a persuasive essay is a significant skill for students of various specialties. In time you will discover how it is possible to write your very own high excellent paper, which is extremely straightforward and effortless. Obviously, in regards to a general topic such as Disney, then it can be simple to think there are not a lot of argumentative titles which can be created. Many students automatically consider films when they hear the term animation. If so, Harvard format is the thing to do.

Analysis Of The Movie Django Unchained - 1275 Words

Using the language of the moving image, which includes cinematography, editing, sound, music and mise-en-scene, this essay will investigate the ideology of Racism in film. OxfordDictionaries.com describes racism as â€Å"Prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s own race is superior.† When we, the audience think of racism in film, we traditionally think of movies for adults and often overlook the sinister aspect of racism in children’s films. I have chosen to contrast a recent R-rated film with a G-rated Disney movie from the 1990s. Disney films, even up until the 1990s have persistently reinforced the image of blacks or latino and asian races as being below whites. The†¦show more content†¦When comparing the two films you can delve deep below the surface and begin to question how much of what we perceive as racism is actually racist or just general bigotry and self-importance. An d how much of what we perceive as innocent is in fact insidious by nature. Tarantino switches things around and makes Django, a black male; the main protagonist of the film. By the end of the film he is the sole male survivor and therefore superior to the white characters. While Aladdin, a film about Arabs, has white American voices cast for all of the characters. The villain is the only Arab looking main character, while the hero and heroine are drawn with more Western features or skin colour, â€Å"Aladdin looks and sounds like a fresh-faced American boy.† (Brunette et. al. 2006, p. 2). In the Django Unchained sequence comparison, Big Daddy compares Django to Jerry. The description of Jerry as a peckerwood indicates that he is a white man of low status, as a peckerwood is â€Å"a often derogatory† term for â€Å"A white person, especially a poor one† (OxfordDictionaries.com, 2015). This brings up the issue of class instead of race. This issue comes up again later in the film with the introduction of Stephen. He has privileges and a certain amount of influence over his master that gives him some power. And while Stephen might be a slave still, he has more freedom at Candie Land then Django, a freeman. In the Aladdin sequence, it is difficult to believe

“Our Health Care System Has Significant Safety And Quality

â€Å"Our health care system has significant safety and quality problems, Linda Cronenwett said. To fix that, we need to redesign what and how we teach the next generation of nurses and other healthcare professionals so that they understand what goes into ensuring good and safe care, and can identify and bridge the gaps between what is and what should be† (Hirst, O Segedy, 2011). Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funds national study to educate nursing students on patient safety and healthcare quality. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation awarded the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Nursing a $590,000 grant to evaluate and enhance nursing school curriculum on the topics of quality and safety. The project ambition was to†¦show more content†¦Phase III, worked to develop faculty expertise necessary for nursing schools to teach the competencies. The focus was on instilling the competencies in textbooks, licensing, accreditation and certification standar ds; and promotion which continued innovation in teaching the competencies. The six competencies are patient-centered care, teamwork and collaboration, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, safety, and informatics. In the first two phases of QSEN, the goal was to identify what s out there now, what s missing, and what s wrong. The conclusion reached was that our nursing schools need to equip the next generation of nurses to help drive change in health care. Therefore in the final phase of the project, there was innovation in the way students were taught, tested, and certified (Hirst, O Segedy, 2011). Many patients lack access to care due to the severe nursing shortage, and the lack of safety and quality care. The next generation of nurses, can make important contributions on all fronts, if they take on the challenge. 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Role of Islam in Economic Develpoment Free Essays

International Ataturk-Alatoo University Role of Islam in Economic Development Done: Aizhamal ZHUMALIEVA Checked: Ibragim KONCAK 2012 Content Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 1 Statistics and Trends†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦2 Economics of Wealth Generation †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 3 Islamic Merchants†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦5 Islamic Law and Economic Growth†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦6 Islamic Banking†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 6 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦7 Introduction Researchers like Huntington (1996), Landes (1999), and Inglehart and Baker (2000) argue that explanations for economic growth should go further to include a nation’s culture. We will write a custom essay sample on Role of Islam in Economic Develpoment or any similar topic only for you Order Now Their argument absolutely makes sense because culture affects personal traits such as honesty, thrift, willingness to work hard, and openness to stranges, which consequently influences economic outcomes. Religion is thought to be one of the most important dimensions of culture. Thus Weber (1930) argued that religious practices and beliefs had important consequences for economic development. Islam is no exception, just as David Landes, the Harvard economic historian, wrote in his book â€Å"The Wealth and Poverty of Nations†, â€Å"No one can understand the economic performance of the Muslim nations without attending to the experience of Islam as faith and culture,† In 10th century, which is known as Golden Age for Islam, Muslim societies led the world in science, philosophy, culture and prosperity. But soon it came to the end, and Islamic countries have long lagged behind other countries. It is easy to define with the help of analysis of current international financial data. Those data highlight the great inequality in income between Christian dominant and Muslim dominant countries. The richest countries in the world are those of Europe, North America, and East Asia. Only a small number of Muslim countries approach to their income levels, and this is only due to their oil wealth. In many of Muslim countries income growth is low so that gap is widening. Scholars are sure that it is not just coincidence but Islam has significant influence on economic ascents and descents. If it is so, what role does Islam play in economic performance? How does it affect economic advancement? What spheres and industries does Islam influence? Is there any way to solve the problem? The purpose of this paper is to show the relationship between Islam and economy and critique some Islamic mechanisms that drag the economic activity. The first part of the paper suggests some statistical data that reflects general image of economic state of Islamic countries. Next section defines the process of wealth generation and impact of Islam on capital, innovation, and literacy. After, Islamic trading patterns are analyzed. Then Timur Kuran’s, well-known economist, arguments about economic effect of Islam are stated. And the last part reviews Islamic financial institutions. Statistics and Trends Level of economic development, whether measured by per capita income or variables like trade, literacy, science, scholarship and technology, has long been lower in the Islamic world than in Christian world, especially those of in West. Here is one empirical data that prove this situation with income per capita being a dependent variable. Table 1 is a regression model, which include 132 countries covered by the World Development Report for 1995, shows that relationship exists between Islam and per capita income. In the first regression, independent variable is the share of Muslim within total population, this regression indicates statistically significant negative relationship between two variables, but its fit is poor. The second regression, which includes additional independent variable, has considerably better fit. Membership in OPEC turns out to be a significant contributor to income, and location in Subsaharan Africa a highly significant depressor. The Muslim share of population remains very significant negative determinant of income. The model also reflects the fact that the African, South Asian, and East Asian countries with large Muslim minorities tend to be poorer than countries with Muslim majorities located in the Middle East. Table 1 The Relationship between Islam and Per Capita Income | (1)| (2)| Constant| 3. 33| 3. 55| Share Muslim| -0. 41***(-2. 57)| -2. 07****(-2. 87)| Square Share Muslim| | 1. 76**(2. 29)| OPEC Member| | 0. 42*(2. 20)| Susaharan Africa| | -0. 67*****(-5. 77)| R-squared| 0. 4| 0. 34| Notes: 132 countries were included in the regression. Asterisks *, **, ***, ****, ***** denote significance at the 0. 03, 0. 2, 0. 01, 0. 005, and 0. 0000 levels, respectively. Following charts show the Muslim share of global income and the share of global population. Income share is 5. 98 %, which is strikingly less than population share, which is 19. 22 %. According to this data we can assume that Muslims average income obviously lower than of non-Muslims. In most of the countries, where Muslims live in l arge numbers, are generally poorer. And few will deny this fact. To investigate how this outcome came up I will review the process of wealth creation and the role of Islam in this process. Figure 1 Economics of Wealth Generation Level of income in an economy is related to the volume of goods and services produced. The amount of this production in the long term is determined by three factors: the availability and exploitation of natural resource; the quantity of productive capacity in terms of buildings, infrastructure, machinery plant and equipment; and the availability, ability, training and resourcefulness of the workforce. These â€Å"factors of production† are essential to income producing capacities. Natural resource endowment of a country is a matter of circumstance, religion has nothing to do with availability of natural resource. Islamic countries, especially those in the Middle East are very lucky to have oil wealth, the biggest contributor to Muslim economy. Physical resources however are man-made. The availability of these resources depends on accumulation of physical investment in building construction, purchase of equipment and maintenance of the stock of these assets. It is here that the culture and religion, Islam in particular, may play a role. In order to create physical productive asset, what economists call â€Å"capital†, long process of planning, risk taking, vision and enterprise are required. Arthur Lewis (1955, 105) argued in his textbook on economic growth: â€Å"Some religions are more compatible with economic growth than others. If religion stress upon material value, upon work, upon thrift and productive investment, upon honesty in commercial relations, upon experimentation and risk bearing, and upon equality of opportunity, it will be helpful to growth, whereas in so far as it is hostile to this things, it tends to inhibit growth. † He did not provide the classifications of religion according to their support for development. But other economists like Luigi Guiso, Paola Sapienza, and luigi Zingales did. They conducted a multinational set of surveys that covers sixty-six countries. In a study that appeared in the Journal of Monetary Economics, they noted that, â€Å"on average, Christian religions are more positively associated with attitudes that are conductive to economic growth, while Islam is negatively associated. † In comparison with people of other religion, Muslims were generally less disposed to agree with pro-market statements such as â€Å"Competition is good†, â€Å"private ownership of business an industry should be increased†. It means that Muslims are not willing to adopt industrialization and modernization, without which creation of capital is barely possible. Report clearly indicates that Islam sufficiently discouraging economic development in terms of physical resources. The same opinion had Daniel (19958, 405) who wrote in his best-known work, The Passing of Traditional Society, that â€Å"the top policy problem, for three generations of Middle Eastern leaders, has been whether one must choose between ‘Mecca or Mechanization’ or whether one can make them compatible. He observed that Islam was inimical to the structural changes essential to the Islamic world’s progress. Affirmatively Islam played very effective role in capital creation and obviously negative. So, if country’s aim was to develop, choice would ultimately get resolved in favor of ‘mechanization’. The third factor of production is human resource. This is not jus a matter of population. People need t o be educated and trained in order to make use of the physical capital. Religion may play a role here too – possibly negative one. To the question whether Islam contributed to shaping the educational system that limited curiosity and innovation Lewis (1982, 229) answers in the affirmative. But how? Islam highly encourages education. It might have stemmed from the closure of the gate ‘ijtihad’, which meant end of freedom of innovation, independent judgment, and that all answers were already available and needed merely to follow and obey. Treating Islamic learning as perfection helped support an educational system that emphasized rot learning and memorization at the expense of problem solving. Granting that the prevailing educational system must have limited inquisitiveness and innovation, it could have extinguished new ideas and the desire for change. This resulted in overwhelmingly illiterate Muslim population. The scene has not changed a lot in present days either, series of reports for United Nations pointed out that adult literacy rate barely topped fifty percent, which is disastrous for economic development. If there is no human resource who can tackle technology, machinery what are they needed for anyway? The nature of progress is improvements in physical capital over time that deliver increased output for given amount of material and labor input – higher productivity. By labor meant highly educated and trained people, whom obviously lacks Muslim world. This ‘knowledge deficit’ has severely impeded economic growth. One thing that I cannot skip is the attitude toward women in Islam. In Islam women are inferior to men. Recent figures from the International Labor Organizations, published by world Bank, indicate that in the Middle East and North Africa, women comprise 28 % of the total labor force, whereas the world average is 40 %. As a group, these countries have the lowest female labor force participation in the world. One of the lowest figures is Saudi Arabia with 16%. This is reflection of cultural values regarding women in Muslim countries, values inseparable from religious values, which form following consequences. First, it decreases the overall income of country. If women were engaged in paid employment, increasing the labor force by 30%, additional contribution to national income would be around of 10%. Second, this limitation reduces potential production. Third, it is associated with higher birth in these countries, which correspondingly per capita income growth rate. So, this Islamic wise about women contribute to relative poverty. Now, as we have obtained sufficient image on how Islam has influenced the process of wealth generation I would like to take a quick look at Muslims trading patterns. Islamic Merchants The fact that Muslims ended up to be poor at trading puzzles me because the founder of Islam, The Prophet Muhammad is believed to have been a merchant, and in one occasion he reportedly said, â€Å"The trustworthy merchant will sit I in the shade of Allah’s throne. It is especially puzzling that Muslim merchants, given that early Islamic thought harbor certain pro-competitive traditions, along with Muslim consumers who stood to benefit from greater competition, failed to counter the anti-competitive influence of the guilds. Sabri Ulgener (1981) suggests that trading patterns were influenced by the economic morality as sociated with Islam. The foremost objective of Muslims’ economic doctrine is to replace the individualistic economic morality with a communalist morality. Which means Muslim do not support private ownership and income inequality, which is necessary to provide incentive for individual effort, and it leads to discouraging consequences for merchants. As private property rights were not protected in Islamic countries it is possible that trade with Muslims or in their countries was inefficient, and merchants simply avoided having any deal in Muslim world. Of course this is not the only reason for static trading pattern, there are tons of factors that could affect it. We just see that Islamic morality might have had an impact on merchants. Islamic Law and Economic growth The economist Timur Kuran, who grew up in Turkey and teaches at Duke University, traced the causes of fault in achieving industrialization and stable growth in his well acclaimed book, The Long Divergence: How Islamic Law Held Back the Middle East. Islamic societies were slow to develop banks, commercial courts, joint stock companies, and the business organizations, for which Kuran blames social customs and religious rules, i. . Islamic laws. He focuses on laws covering business partnership and inheritance practices. These, he argues, discouraged the emergence of modern industrial corporations. In medieval times, trading partnership was the leading form of the business in the Middle East. In Islamic partnership any individual partner could end the relationship at will, and even the most successful ventures were terminated on the death of partner. As a result of these rule, most bu sinesses tended to be small and short-lived. By the end of nineteenth century, the most durable trading entities in many Islamic countries were operated by non-Muslims, such as Armenians and Jews, Kuran adds, these organizations too were limited in their ability to raise money from outsiders because the region lacked non-governmental financial channels. And this held back the establishment of corporations which would do huge contributions to economy. The other thing, according to Kuran, which hindered business consolidation is inheritance customs. Quran dictated that if Muslim merchant died at least two-third of his estate had to be split among surviving family members. This egalitarian Islamic law of inheritance discouraged the accumulation of wealth by dividing it among family members. The permissibility of polygamy fueled this problem as it divided the assets of wealthy merchants with multiple wives and children. Further, it prevented the creation of long-lasting, capital-intensive companies. These provocative claims are not backed up by statistical and empirical works, they generally derived basing only on a history. One can argue that claims are just hollow claims as Adeel Malik, professor in University of Oxford, did. But Kuran’s claims are sound and rational. In Western countries for instance giant corporations were vital part of economic engine, which fueled prosperity, and they didn’t have any rules slightly related to those of Islamic. This could mean that Kuran is right with his arguments and Muslims should pay a little attention to them and may be check up their rules and see whether it is compatible with modern economic and financial system. Islamic Banking While investigating Islamic economy, it is impossible to ignore their financial system. Islamic economic doctrine on prohibition against riba, Arabic word which means â€Å"interest† or â€Å"usury†, is widely known. Muslim world convinced that conventional financial system is decadent, immoral and inequitable. However, in modern world, the one who is out of this system is out of economic advancement because financial institutions are the only monetary support for a business investment. Muslims may think that Muslim lenders and borrowers have long found their own ways to circumvent, but some data prove the opposite. First of all Islamic Banks are deficient. These banks exist not in all predominantly Islamic nations. They have constituted only a small share of the national banking system. For instance in thirteen out of fifteen major Islamic countries listed by Henry and Wilson (2004 b:7), Islamic banks accounted for less than 17% of the share of commercial bank deposits in late 1990s, in Algeria, Iraq, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Syria, and Tunisia Islamic banks were nonexistent or minuscule. By the year 2000 only three countries – Iran, Pakistan, and Sudan- had Islamized their banking system. The implication of this information is that Islamic bank appears to be important in only very small number of Muslim countries. Shortage of banks is huge obstacle for new investments and emergence of any industrial businesses. Furthermore, Islamic banks are at a competitive disadvantage before other domestic or foreign bans for three reasons. First, a problem of moral hazard arises. Second, accounts in an Islamic bank must yield a return at least close to that of their competitors in order to attract deposits. Third, these banks are burdened with a curious problem of adverse selection. So, the future of Islamic banking does not seem to be glowing. As we see, the prohibition on interest serves no beneficial purpose. Elaborate scheme to circumvent such transactions because of their supposed immorality or due to their prohibition serve no purpose but except to increase costs and increase inefficiency. Conclusion This paper has reviewed important areas of economic activity and the role of Islam in it. And religion affirmatively has great influence on economy of Islamic world. Basing on all finding I conclude that Islam was inconductive to economic development, or at least less supportive than was Christian dominant countries. Few Muslims appreciated the discoveries and innovation, which has been fatal cause for physical resource or capital. The nature of Islamic education was not helpful in developing open minded citizens fully equipped to fulfill their ambitions and potential. Islamic attitude toward women negatively affects production and income. Very few Muslims were seeking to capitalize, which caused uncomfortable conditions for merchants. The constraints and costs imposed on financial institutions by the nominal prohibition on interest payments preclude a free market in financial capital, causing inefficiencies, moral hazard in banking system, and limiting the funds for investment. These were drawbacks of religion that possibly caused stagnation in Islamic countries. And of course there are ways of getting out of this situation. Recent history provides examples of Muslim countries seeking to engage I the global economy and some of them succeeding. Indonesia, for instance, in 2008 its inflation adjusted GDP per capita was five and half times what it was in 1990, in Malasia during the same period, it rose almost six fold. Just a generation ago, both of these nations were overwhelmingly rural and poverty stricken. Today, they are industrialized middle-income countries. May be some Islamic countries should follow the lead of Turkey, the country which was transformed into an economically vibrant democracy. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of Turkish Republic, in 1929 abolished the caliphate and imposed strict church-state divide. After 1980, Turgut Ozal removed barriers to foreign trade and investment. Party’s Islamic heritage hasn’t prevented it from embracing a policy of economic modernization. Today, Turkey is the world’s fifteenth-largest economy and a member of G-20. Example of Turkey suggests that it is possible to industrialize, modernize and still be faithful to religion, but Islam should not intervene in economic and political activities for its own sake, this will prevent Islam from being changed under the political influence and will maintain its cleanness. So, Islamic countries are not in perfect condition, however they have all opportunities to prosper. This research paper analyzed just some of the factors, further researches and surveys needs to be conducted to identify other possible problems of static economy of Muslim world and to provide empirical and statistical information on Timur Kuran’s arguments. References How to cite Role of Islam in Economic Develpoment, Papers Role of Islam in Economic Develpoment Free Essays International Ataturk-Alatoo University Role of Islam in Economic Development Done: Aizhamal ZHUMALIEVA Checked: Ibragim KONCAK 2012 Content Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 1 Statistics and Trends†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦2 Economics of Wealth Generation †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 3 Islamic Merchants†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦5 Islamic Law and Economic Growth†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦6 Islamic Banking†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 6 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦7 Introduction Researchers like Huntington (1996), Landes (1999), and Inglehart and Baker (2000) argue that explanations for economic growth should go further to include a nation’s culture. We will write a custom essay sample on Role of Islam in Economic Develpoment or any similar topic only for you Order Now Their argument absolutely makes sense because culture affects personal traits such as honesty, thrift, willingness to work hard, and openness to stranges, which consequently influences economic outcomes. Religion is thought to be one of the most important dimensions of culture. Thus Weber (1930) argued that religious practices and beliefs had important consequences for economic development. Islam is no exception, just as David Landes, the Harvard economic historian, wrote in his book â€Å"The Wealth and Poverty of Nations†, â€Å"No one can understand the economic performance of the Muslim nations without attending to the experience of Islam as faith and culture,† In 10th century, which is known as Golden Age for Islam, Muslim societies led the world in science, philosophy, culture and prosperity. But soon it came to the end, and Islamic countries have long lagged behind other countries. It is easy to define with the help of analysis of current international financial data. Those data highlight the great inequality in income between Christian dominant and Muslim dominant countries. The richest countries in the world are those of Europe, North America, and East Asia. Only a small number of Muslim countries approach to their income levels, and this is only due to their oil wealth. In many of Muslim countries income growth is low so that gap is widening. Scholars are sure that it is not just coincidence but Islam has significant influence on economic ascents and descents. If it is so, what role does Islam play in economic performance? How does it affect economic advancement? What spheres and industries does Islam influence? Is there any way to solve the problem? The purpose of this paper is to show the relationship between Islam and economy and critique some Islamic mechanisms that drag the economic activity. The first part of the paper suggests some statistical data that reflects general image of economic state of Islamic countries. Next section defines the process of wealth generation and impact of Islam on capital, innovation, and literacy. After, Islamic trading patterns are analyzed. Then Timur Kuran’s, well-known economist, arguments about economic effect of Islam are stated. And the last part reviews Islamic financial institutions. Statistics and Trends Level of economic development, whether measured by per capita income or variables like trade, literacy, science, scholarship and technology, has long been lower in the Islamic world than in Christian world, especially those of in West. Here is one empirical data that prove this situation with income per capita being a dependent variable. Table 1 is a regression model, which include 132 countries covered by the World Development Report for 1995, shows that relationship exists between Islam and per capita income. In the first regression, independent variable is the share of Muslim within total population, this regression indicates statistically significant negative relationship between two variables, but its fit is poor. The second regression, which includes additional independent variable, has considerably better fit. Membership in OPEC turns out to be a significant contributor to income, and location in Subsaharan Africa a highly significant depressor. The Muslim share of population remains very significant negative determinant of income. The model also reflects the fact that the African, South Asian, and East Asian countries with large Muslim minorities tend to be poorer than countries with Muslim majorities located in the Middle East. Table 1 The Relationship between Islam and Per Capita Income | (1)| (2)| Constant| 3. 33| 3. 55| Share Muslim| -0. 41***(-2. 57)| -2. 07****(-2. 87)| Square Share Muslim| | 1. 76**(2. 29)| OPEC Member| | 0. 42*(2. 20)| Susaharan Africa| | -0. 67*****(-5. 77)| R-squared| 0. 4| 0. 34| Notes: 132 countries were included in the regression. Asterisks *, **, ***, ****, ***** denote significance at the 0. 03, 0. 2, 0. 01, 0. 005, and 0. 0000 levels, respectively. Following charts show the Muslim share of global income and the share of global population. Income share is 5. 98 %, which is strikingly less than population share, which is 19. 22 %. According to this data we can assume that Muslims average income obviously lower than of non-Muslims. In most of the countries, where Muslims live in l arge numbers, are generally poorer. And few will deny this fact. To investigate how this outcome came up I will review the process of wealth creation and the role of Islam in this process. Figure 1 Economics of Wealth Generation Level of income in an economy is related to the volume of goods and services produced. The amount of this production in the long term is determined by three factors: the availability and exploitation of natural resource; the quantity of productive capacity in terms of buildings, infrastructure, machinery plant and equipment; and the availability, ability, training and resourcefulness of the workforce. These â€Å"factors of production† are essential to income producing capacities. Natural resource endowment of a country is a matter of circumstance, religion has nothing to do with availability of natural resource. Islamic countries, especially those in the Middle East are very lucky to have oil wealth, the biggest contributor to Muslim economy. Physical resources however are man-made. The availability of these resources depends on accumulation of physical investment in building construction, purchase of equipment and maintenance of the stock of these assets. It is here that the culture and religion, Islam in particular, may play a role. In order to create physical productive asset, what economists call â€Å"capital†, long process of planning, risk taking, vision and enterprise are required. Arthur Lewis (1955, 105) argued in his textbook on economic growth: â€Å"Some religions are more compatible with economic growth than others. If religion stress upon material value, upon work, upon thrift and productive investment, upon honesty in commercial relations, upon experimentation and risk bearing, and upon equality of opportunity, it will be helpful to growth, whereas in so far as it is hostile to this things, it tends to inhibit growth. † He did not provide the classifications of religion according to their support for development. But other economists like Luigi Guiso, Paola Sapienza, and luigi Zingales did. They conducted a multinational set of surveys that covers sixty-six countries. In a study that appeared in the Journal of Monetary Economics, they noted that, â€Å"on average, Christian religions are more positively associated with attitudes that are conductive to economic growth, while Islam is negatively associated. † In comparison with people of other religion, Muslims were generally less disposed to agree with pro-market statements such as â€Å"Competition is good†, â€Å"private ownership of business an industry should be increased†. It means that Muslims are not willing to adopt industrialization and modernization, without which creation of capital is barely possible. Report clearly indicates that Islam sufficiently discouraging economic development in terms of physical resources. The same opinion had Daniel (19958, 405) who wrote in his best-known work, The Passing of Traditional Society, that â€Å"the top policy problem, for three generations of Middle Eastern leaders, has been whether one must choose between ‘Mecca or Mechanization’ or whether one can make them compatible. He observed that Islam was inimical to the structural changes essential to the Islamic world’s progress. Affirmatively Islam played very effective role in capital creation and obviously negative. So, if country’s aim was to develop, choice would ultimately get resolved in favor of ‘mechanization’. The third factor of production is human resource. This is not jus a matter of population. People need t o be educated and trained in order to make use of the physical capital. Religion may play a role here too – possibly negative one. To the question whether Islam contributed to shaping the educational system that limited curiosity and innovation Lewis (1982, 229) answers in the affirmative. But how? Islam highly encourages education. It might have stemmed from the closure of the gate ‘ijtihad’, which meant end of freedom of innovation, independent judgment, and that all answers were already available and needed merely to follow and obey. Treating Islamic learning as perfection helped support an educational system that emphasized rot learning and memorization at the expense of problem solving. Granting that the prevailing educational system must have limited inquisitiveness and innovation, it could have extinguished new ideas and the desire for change. This resulted in overwhelmingly illiterate Muslim population. The scene has not changed a lot in present days either, series of reports for United Nations pointed out that adult literacy rate barely topped fifty percent, which is disastrous for economic development. If there is no human resource who can tackle technology, machinery what are they needed for anyway? The nature of progress is improvements in physical capital over time that deliver increased output for given amount of material and labor input – higher productivity. By labor meant highly educated and trained people, whom obviously lacks Muslim world. This ‘knowledge deficit’ has severely impeded economic growth. One thing that I cannot skip is the attitude toward women in Islam. In Islam women are inferior to men. Recent figures from the International Labor Organizations, published by world Bank, indicate that in the Middle East and North Africa, women comprise 28 % of the total labor force, whereas the world average is 40 %. As a group, these countries have the lowest female labor force participation in the world. One of the lowest figures is Saudi Arabia with 16%. This is reflection of cultural values regarding women in Muslim countries, values inseparable from religious values, which form following consequences. First, it decreases the overall income of country. If women were engaged in paid employment, increasing the labor force by 30%, additional contribution to national income would be around of 10%. Second, this limitation reduces potential production. Third, it is associated with higher birth in these countries, which correspondingly per capita income growth rate. So, this Islamic wise about women contribute to relative poverty. Now, as we have obtained sufficient image on how Islam has influenced the process of wealth generation I would like to take a quick look at Muslims trading patterns. Islamic Merchants The fact that Muslims ended up to be poor at trading puzzles me because the founder of Islam, The Prophet Muhammad is believed to have been a merchant, and in one occasion he reportedly said, â€Å"The trustworthy merchant will sit I in the shade of Allah’s throne. It is especially puzzling that Muslim merchants, given that early Islamic thought harbor certain pro-competitive traditions, along with Muslim consumers who stood to benefit from greater competition, failed to counter the anti-competitive influence of the guilds. Sabri Ulgener (1981) suggests that trading patterns were influenced by the economic morality as sociated with Islam. The foremost objective of Muslims’ economic doctrine is to replace the individualistic economic morality with a communalist morality. Which means Muslim do not support private ownership and income inequality, which is necessary to provide incentive for individual effort, and it leads to discouraging consequences for merchants. As private property rights were not protected in Islamic countries it is possible that trade with Muslims or in their countries was inefficient, and merchants simply avoided having any deal in Muslim world. Of course this is not the only reason for static trading pattern, there are tons of factors that could affect it. We just see that Islamic morality might have had an impact on merchants. Islamic Law and Economic growth The economist Timur Kuran, who grew up in Turkey and teaches at Duke University, traced the causes of fault in achieving industrialization and stable growth in his well acclaimed book, The Long Divergence: How Islamic Law Held Back the Middle East. Islamic societies were slow to develop banks, commercial courts, joint stock companies, and the business organizations, for which Kuran blames social customs and religious rules, i. . Islamic laws. He focuses on laws covering business partnership and inheritance practices. These, he argues, discouraged the emergence of modern industrial corporations. In medieval times, trading partnership was the leading form of the business in the Middle East. In Islamic partnership any individual partner could end the relationship at will, and even the most successful ventures were terminated on the death of partner. As a result of these rule, most bu sinesses tended to be small and short-lived. By the end of nineteenth century, the most durable trading entities in many Islamic countries were operated by non-Muslims, such as Armenians and Jews, Kuran adds, these organizations too were limited in their ability to raise money from outsiders because the region lacked non-governmental financial channels. And this held back the establishment of corporations which would do huge contributions to economy. The other thing, according to Kuran, which hindered business consolidation is inheritance customs. Quran dictated that if Muslim merchant died at least two-third of his estate had to be split among surviving family members. This egalitarian Islamic law of inheritance discouraged the accumulation of wealth by dividing it among family members. The permissibility of polygamy fueled this problem as it divided the assets of wealthy merchants with multiple wives and children. Further, it prevented the creation of long-lasting, capital-intensive companies. These provocative claims are not backed up by statistical and empirical works, they generally derived basing only on a history. One can argue that claims are just hollow claims as Adeel Malik, professor in University of Oxford, did. But Kuran’s claims are sound and rational. In Western countries for instance giant corporations were vital part of economic engine, which fueled prosperity, and they didn’t have any rules slightly related to those of Islamic. This could mean that Kuran is right with his arguments and Muslims should pay a little attention to them and may be check up their rules and see whether it is compatible with modern economic and financial system. Islamic Banking While investigating Islamic economy, it is impossible to ignore their financial system. Islamic economic doctrine on prohibition against riba, Arabic word which means â€Å"interest† or â€Å"usury†, is widely known. Muslim world convinced that conventional financial system is decadent, immoral and inequitable. However, in modern world, the one who is out of this system is out of economic advancement because financial institutions are the only monetary support for a business investment. Muslims may think that Muslim lenders and borrowers have long found their own ways to circumvent, but some data prove the opposite. First of all Islamic Banks are deficient. These banks exist not in all predominantly Islamic nations. They have constituted only a small share of the national banking system. For instance in thirteen out of fifteen major Islamic countries listed by Henry and Wilson (2004 b:7), Islamic banks accounted for less than 17% of the share of commercial bank deposits in late 1990s, in Algeria, Iraq, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Syria, and Tunisia Islamic banks were nonexistent or minuscule. By the year 2000 only three countries – Iran, Pakistan, and Sudan- had Islamized their banking system. The implication of this information is that Islamic bank appears to be important in only very small number of Muslim countries. Shortage of banks is huge obstacle for new investments and emergence of any industrial businesses. Furthermore, Islamic banks are at a competitive disadvantage before other domestic or foreign bans for three reasons. First, a problem of moral hazard arises. Second, accounts in an Islamic bank must yield a return at least close to that of their competitors in order to attract deposits. Third, these banks are burdened with a curious problem of adverse selection. So, the future of Islamic banking does not seem to be glowing. As we see, the prohibition on interest serves no beneficial purpose. Elaborate scheme to circumvent such transactions because of their supposed immorality or due to their prohibition serve no purpose but except to increase costs and increase inefficiency. Conclusion This paper has reviewed important areas of economic activity and the role of Islam in it. And religion affirmatively has great influence on economy of Islamic world. Basing on all finding I conclude that Islam was inconductive to economic development, or at least less supportive than was Christian dominant countries. Few Muslims appreciated the discoveries and innovation, which has been fatal cause for physical resource or capital. The nature of Islamic education was not helpful in developing open minded citizens fully equipped to fulfill their ambitions and potential. Islamic attitude toward women negatively affects production and income. Very few Muslims were seeking to capitalize, which caused uncomfortable conditions for merchants. The constraints and costs imposed on financial institutions by the nominal prohibition on interest payments preclude a free market in financial capital, causing inefficiencies, moral hazard in banking system, and limiting the funds for investment. These were drawbacks of religion that possibly caused stagnation in Islamic countries. And of course there are ways of getting out of this situation. Recent history provides examples of Muslim countries seeking to engage I the global economy and some of them succeeding. Indonesia, for instance, in 2008 its inflation adjusted GDP per capita was five and half times what it was in 1990, in Malasia during the same period, it rose almost six fold. Just a generation ago, both of these nations were overwhelmingly rural and poverty stricken. Today, they are industrialized middle-income countries. May be some Islamic countries should follow the lead of Turkey, the country which was transformed into an economically vibrant democracy. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of Turkish Republic, in 1929 abolished the caliphate and imposed strict church-state divide. After 1980, Turgut Ozal removed barriers to foreign trade and investment. Party’s Islamic heritage hasn’t prevented it from embracing a policy of economic modernization. Today, Turkey is the world’s fifteenth-largest economy and a member of G-20. Example of Turkey suggests that it is possible to industrialize, modernize and still be faithful to religion, but Islam should not intervene in economic and political activities for its own sake, this will prevent Islam from being changed under the political influence and will maintain its cleanness. So, Islamic countries are not in perfect condition, however they have all opportunities to prosper. This research paper analyzed just some of the factors, further researches and surveys needs to be conducted to identify other possible problems of static economy of Muslim world and to provide empirical and statistical information on Timur Kuran’s arguments. References How to cite Role of Islam in Economic Develpoment, Essay examples

Nursing Australian Community

Question: Discuss about the Nursing for Australian Community. Answer: Nursing in Australia The profession of nursing is vital for the Australian community and incorporates a challenging career. The career of nursing is rewarding as well since the job involves the serving of the sick to make them healthy again. The nurses in Australia work in several health areas that include schools and hospitals in the departments of emergency, oncology, intensive care and pediatrics (Lane et al. 2016, p.6). The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia regulates the nursing profession in the country and classifies the nurses in the categories of assistant in nursing, enrolled nurses, registered nurses and nurse practitioners (Nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au 2016). There have been arguments about the differences in work between a registered nurse and enrolled nurse and based on this core statement, this assignment will further respond to this statement by the enrolled nurses from the perspectives of a future registered nurse. The implications for patient care of the enrolled or registered nur ses that are not working to their scope of practice will also be discussed. An enrolled nurse (EN) is a pertinent and valued member of the Australian healthcare workforce and they have a retention rate that is higher than the registered nurses (RN). The hierarchy level that the profession of nursing follows in Australia goes from being an EN to become and RN (Jacob, McKenna and D'Amore 2014, p. 208). This raises the debate regarding the work responsibilities of the two different nursing professionals. The EN are expected to work along with the RN that lies within the patient care context for the demonstration of the care delivery process that is person-centered and goes in accordance with the framework of decision making based on competence. Following the hierarchy levels, the EN are required to work under the supervision of the RN, either direct or indirect and they are responsible and accountable for their own actions and providing patient care that is delegated as per the care context. The work of the EN includes the retention of responsibility for their actions and is accountable for providing the delegated care of nursing. The roles of the EN in the hospitals depends on in their area of clinical employment that includes maintenance of the healthcare of the patients by recording, measuring and observing the blood sugar levels, blood pressure levels, respiration, pulse and temperature and report the changes observed to the physicians. They are also responsible for bed making, dressing, showering and bathing for ensuring comfort and hygiene of the patients. They also feed the patients as required and support them during the process of rehabilitation with programs and exercises (Jacob, McKenna and D'Amore 2014, p. 435). Assist the patients on the emergency and first aid situations that help to educate the patients on the lifestyle and health issues. EN helps to minimize the injuries and help in the maintenance of a safe environment. ENs are also responsible for the c are planning process however, they are not allowed to act independently with the overall responsibility (Talbot, Dorrian and Chapman 2015, p. 1055). Re-delegation of the activities to other nursing employees is not possible by the ENs when they accept a delegation. From the legal perspectives, the responsibility and accountability of the scope of practice of the ENs have been set out by the Nursing and Midwifery Board (NMBA) of Australia. According to NMBA, the ENs is allowed to administer medications once they complete the education of medication administration during their career. They should be familiar with the State and Territory Drugs and Poisons Legislation,' the relevant workplace protocols, procedures and policies and the requirements of healthcare service policy prior to administration of the medications by them. On the other side of the argument, the work of the RN can be summed up as a reflection of their educational competence and preparation for practice as they are licensed and registered under the nursing practice acts of Australia. Their higher level of responsibility and accountability are regulated by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia and their primary responsibility includes the duties of unit manager, team leader, medical administration, management and assessment of the patients requiring complex and specialized nursing care and research activities (Birks et al. 2013, p. 29). They have more autonomy in their responsibilities and practice decisions compared to the other nursing professionals. They ensure the quality of their work with their involvement in the process of the evaluation of the outcomes of the client, competence assistance, supervision and involvement in the process of teaching. From the legal perspectives, the NMBA has designed the national framework of dec ision making that has been developed in association with the context of the strategies of national workforce that promotes responsiveness, flexibility and diversity in the workforce (Evans, Duggan and Boldy 2014, p. 229). The RNs along with the midwives are expected to follow the two set of principles of the national framework for decision making that deals with the evaluation and development of the tools for decision making and the templates for those tools. Considering both the aspects of the argument regarding the work responsibility of both the EN and RN, the core statement made by the EN can be easily refuted by the RNs since the work of an RN requires much more of leadership and administrative in addition to the nursing skills when compared with the exclusive nursing abilities of the EN. In addition, the legal requirements of NMBA also permit a superior working framework for the RNs with the national framework for decision making however, there is no such framework for the ENs to permit them with superiority. Considering the hierarchy levels of nursing, the work of the RN is never similar to that of the EN and autonomous work profile with higher competency standards sets them on a much higher level over the EN (Hegney et al. 2014, pp. 506-507). Apart from the core functionalities of the RN, they are also required to implement reflective and critical thinking skills while contributing to the process of decision making whereas the ENs are only required to follow the commands issued by the RNs and report them accordingly. Since the ENs work under the indirect or direct supervision of the RNs, it is evident that their work profiles are completely different and that of the RN includes more of management and leadership traits. If the RNs and ENs do not work to their scope of practice, it can have severe implications on the health of the community. Even the regulatory standards and codes of the country require the RNs and the ENs to work in coordination to the maximum extent of their scope of practice to maintain the health and well-being of Australia. Considering this argument from the perspectives of the ENs and RNs, they have to be investigated separately to understand the impact of nurses and the consequences of their lack of work to their scope of practice. There is an acute shortage of ENs throughout the world and in Australia, the country is finding it difficult to recruit and retain the experienced and skilled nurses in the private and public sectors. In addition, the shortage of ENs in the country is also due to inadequate and incomplete data that is associated with the greater amounts of extra working hours. Under such a bottleneck situation, if the ENs decide not to work to their scope of practice, the implications can be horrific for the community (Ruth Jacob et al. 2013, pp. 156-157). The quality of care will have an adverse impact which will be followed by serious reduction in the ability of the Australian community to access the entire range of residential aged care and hospital services. The process of patient care will also be compromised under such circumstances. It will be difficult for the RNs as well to distribute the responsibilities and ensure quality patient care without the ENs working to their maximum potential (Lub be and Roets 2014, p. 59). The field of healthcare is undergoing drastic changes with increasing complexities and the need for highly specialized nursing workforce has been in demand. These specialty divisions might not be operating effortlessly with the nurses not cooperating with their complete range of skills and services (Lubbe and Roets 2014, p. 63). There have been changes in the aged care sector as well since the care system has been transferred from being custodial care to a more intensive and complex care. For this, the nurses need to provide both the post-operative and palliative care which is not possible if the ENs do not work to the scope of their practice. The ENs working in the community care services deal with a wide range of patients ranging from drug problems, depression and mental illness to elder and child violence and abuse. This has made the environment of working in the community sector more complex and therefore, a generalist workforce is required who are hig hly skilled (Scanlon et al. 2016, pp. 129-130). Under such circumstances, if the nurses do not work to the scope of their work, the process of care delivery will be extensively hampered and this will be exemplified in the remote and rural areas to the worst. Therefore, NMBA has made it mandatory that the ENs are required to meet its registration standards and they are required to practice to the maximum of their scope within the frameworks of decision making as provided by the RNs. On a similar note, the complications in patient care will continue if the RNs refuse to work to their scope of practice. Patient care delivery is a complex process that requires the professional skills of an RN for problem solving, teamwork, communication and problem recognition. If the RNs do not work to their maximum potential, it will be difficult to implicate the operations efficiently and mange the changing stressors effectively (Cowen and Moorhead 2014). RNs are rarely involved in direct patient care activities however, they instruct the ENs who are directly involved in the patient care activities. If the RNs do not act accordingly, it will affect the services of the EN as well which will eventually risk the patient care and safety. The hospitals will face the critical stressor which will increase the labor and operating costs, decrease the effectiveness and efficiency of provided care and quantity of patient care (Brewer et al. 2012, p. 522). This will also hamper the teamwork and effective communication between the nursing and other professionals which will lead to the development of a poor management and administrative team. They might not be aware of the stressors encountered by the ENs during their bedside shifts and they might not take effective steps to reduce them and make the work easy for their subordinates. This might, in turn, reduce the quality of patient care delivered by the ENs for which the RNs are responsible who are not working to their scope of practice. The NMBA has laid down several professional standards in the form of 'code of ethics' and the 'professional conduct' for the RNs and they are required to strictly adhere to the existing legal requirements so that they do not work less than their scope of practice. With the changes in the methods of hospital care, the average length of stay has declined and the arrival of newer medical technologies has increased the requirement of care by the patients during their stay in the hospital ( Parahoo 2014). Under such circumstances, if the RNs decide not to work to their fullest capacity, the overall concentration of sick people in the hospital will increase exponentially. Due to this negative approach towards their work by the RNs, the ENs will also get de-motivated and eventually the quality of patient will decrease radically (Flinkman, Isopahkala-Bouret and Salanter 2013). Lower the extent of work to the scope of practice by the RN, higher is the rate of adverse outcomes which can, in turn, aggravate some of the medical conditions like upper gastrointestinal bleeding, shock, pneumonia and urinary tract infections causing longer hospital stay. 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