Why Foreign Aid Is Hurting Africa Essay - 1029 Words

Benefield, Alicia February 14, 2013 INR3932-03 Paper 1 Why Foreign Aid is Hurting Africa In this article Dambisa Moyo, is arguing that money, in the form of aid given to African nations has not only trapped many of these nations in debt, but has started a cycle of corruption as well as slowed down economic growth and poverty. To solve this isuue Moyo suggests cutting off the flow of aid to these African nations. Many developed countries will gladly give aid to Africa, these countries do not give small donations they donate by the millions. This continued donation of aid has only been putting Africa further in debt. What many do not realize is that aid is not given to Africa freely, the African nations receiving aid must pay this†¦show more content†¦This is because the donations are being given with â€Å"no strings attached† so the funds are being used for everything except what they were meant for, development. Political elites are using these funds to finace their own expidentures as well as financing their families and home life. The other problem is countries like the U.S. Implementing programs like the U.S. Food for Peace program, which buys American food and ships it overseas to African nations. This program is not helpful, it is a hinderance to Africas economic growth. By supplying American food for free, the U.S. is putting African farmers out of business. Moyo suggests that instead of purchasing American food, they U.S. could purchase food from the African farmers to distribute to the African nations. Done this way the African farmers are benefitting from the program and are able to compete in the market. The opinions presented in this article relate to many of the concepts we have touched on in this course; views on poverty, the development, as well as the international aid system. The article opens up stating â€Å"A month ago I visited Kiberam the larget slum in Africa† (Moyo, 2009). When we hear the word slum, we perceive a negative connotation and relate this term with a place in poverty. We can see the inequalities between developed and undeveloped nations, according to the articleShow MoreRelatedBibliiography Regarding Economy Topics1076 Words   |  4 PagesThe Trouble with Aid: Why Less Could Mean More for Africa, and: The Trouble with Africa: Why Foreign Aid Isn’t Working. Africa Today 56(2): 97-101 Aidoo expands on Jon Glennie’s scope of the discussion regarding aid implementation in Africa. He takes into account other prevalent work and analyzes the debate as a whole. The issue, on which people readily take sides, he contends is often too simplistically portrayed, often leading to poor solutions, typically in the form of more aid. 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Walt Disney s Merger With Capital Cities - 1620 Words

It is nearly impossible to go anywhere these days without seeing an advertisment, or something relating to The Walt Disney Company (Disney). Perhaps you are seeing this advertised using a cable network like ABC or ESPN, or possibly on one of the newspaper companies that used to belong to Capital Cities/ ABC Inc. (ABC). In 1995, it was time for Disney to improve on their media outlook. In 1996 at its New York Shareholder meeting, The Walt Disney Company s merger with Capital Cities Inc. created one of the biggest and most prominent media empires today. This exchange helped to build the overall value of The Walt Disney Company tremendously, all through a few encounters. Despite growing stronger with the merger, The Walt Disney Company had many previous assets that kept it going strong as a company. The primary asset, Walt Disney Studios, which was supplemented by Touchstone Pictures later, went on to develop various movies, most of which are classics. These movies, both animated and li ve action, include Mary Poppins, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Treasure Island, and many more that are watched by families to this day. The other major asset of The Walt Disney Company at the time was the Parks and Resorts division. This division produced world class theme parks all around the world, from the iconic Disneyland to the Walt Disney World Resort, the Parks and Resorts division has provided countless family memories. At the time, Disney even had a hockey team, The Anaheim Ducks. InShow MoreRelatedWalt Disney Company Is Worth Investing1348 Words   |  6 PagesAs one of the largest multimedia companies in the world, The Walt Disney Company includes all aspects of American entertainment, including animation, music, production, and theme parks. Founded in 1923 by brothers Walt and Roy O. 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Why was Malthus wrong about Japan Free Essays

string(111) " was one of the components accountable for the population trends is another area that has been widely debated\." Today Japan is a highly developed first world country with a vast population and a booming economy. The demographic history of Japan and how it reached this renowned economic status has been the focus of much theorising and has engaged the minds of many demographers, economists and historians for centuries. Japan is unique in the way its population has changed and its economy has developed without the stimulus of overseas markets. We will write a custom essay sample on Why was Malthus wrong about Japan? or any similar topic only for you Order Now It does not boast the best physical landscape, being 85 percent mountainous, and it is not well endowed in terms of resources. Despite these negative attributes however, Japan has developed, and to such an extent it can now boast one of the worlds leading economies. Indeed Japan was the only country outside the western world to have developed at a similar rate. In the 18th century a Swedish doctor, P. Thunberg commented on Japan, ‘Of all the countries that inhabit the three largest parts of the globe, the Japanese deserved to be ranked first, and to be compared with the Europeans. ‘ (Modern Japan, P. Duus. ) It stands to reason therefore that Japan’s history merits such a wealth of discussion amongst academics. Part of Japan’s success as a country has to be attributed to its longstanding political regime. For centuries Japan was an empire ruled by an emperor based at Kyoto. From the 12th century however Japan was governed by Shogun (military leaders) who oversaw the day-to-day life of the Japanese people. The emperor, in effect, was under house arrest, taking a submissive role being more of a spiritual leader to the people. The year 1600 saw an important event for the political governing of Japan. It was in this year that a battle (Sekigahara) established the supremacy of the Tokugawa family as ruling shoguns. From 1600 to 1868 this family ruled and these 268 years of Japan’s history became known as the Tokugawa period. It is this period that is of fascination to many demographers as during this time Japan experienced stagnation in its population but it also seemed to be the onset of its economic success. From the early 18th century to the Meiji restoration in 1868 Japan’s population stayed at around 33 million. It is this 150-year period of stagnation that is of interest to studiers of the demographic history of Japan. There is also much discussion as to whether the population as it was, was inextricably linked to economic growth or vice versa. Searches for explanation of population trends date back centuries. One of the earliest and probably the most famous explanation of observed population figures in the world in general, was put forward by the Rev. Thomas R. Malthus in the 18th century. In 1798 Malthus’s ‘Essay on Population’ was published, in which he wrote at length on past, present and future population trends of mankind. His most famous stance on population levels was that ‘population, when unchecked increases in geometrical ratio; subsistence only in an arithmetical ratio. (Malthusian Population Theory, McCleary. ) He believed that mans (sic) power to produce population is greater than his power to produce subsistence, thus meaning that that the population of a country was constantly held in check by misery and vice. From this a simple model is produced illustrating the point that if populations increases; food prices will increase; real income will decrease; and thus mortality will increase (figure 1. ) The ultimate check according to his works was the want of food, but this was never an immediate check except in the case of actual famines. The constant checks can be classified into two sets, preventative and positive. Positive checks are multifarious and include such components as exposure to the elements, epidemics, war, plagues, famines and extreme poverty. The preventative checks can be further sub-classified into vice and non-vice. According to Malthus however, there is only one preventative check that can be classified as vice and this is moral restraint. The consideration of moral restraint was a latter thought from Malthus, added to his ‘essay’ in 1803. From this a more optimistic model of possibility was constructed (Fig 2. ) The two checks vary inversely from one another and can be in operation with varying affect according to the society in which there are operational. The situation as it was in Japan must have had some constituent that caused the observed trends in population. If Malthus’s theory is believed to have been operational in Japan then some sort of check was holding the population at its stagnated rate. Japan, unlike Europe at the time was a closed system. Emigration was unheard of and likewise nobody entered the country. Internal migration was also low, although would not have affected population figures. This was mainly due the Tokugawa establishing a period of isolation, cutting Japan off from the rest of the trading world. In terms of Japans population this meant that migration was not responsible for the stagnation, therefore according to Malthus it must be due to high mortality rates and/or moral restraint alone. Malthus travelled to various European countries to study their population trends in order to supplement the work in his first essay. He did not however make it as far as Asia, but did manage to comment on Japan and China in his work. He tended to make generalisations about Japan based on his thoughts about China, believing that in both of these countries moral restraint was not practiced, as it was only adapted to Western Europe. His work led him to believe that in Japan and China marriage was universal and occurred at a very young age. Taking this into account, Malthus attributed positive checks on population to the cause of the stagnation the Tokugawa period. Included in the positive checks Malthus believed occurred in Japan was the act of infanticide or ‘mabiki’, literally meaning ‘thinning out. ‘ Again he depicted Japan as being similar to China, but whether he was wrongly casting aspersions about Japan or whether infanticide was one of the components accountable for the population trends is another area that has been widely debated. You read "Why was Malthus wrong about Japan?" in category "Papers" Many people in this field of work since Malthus have devised various explanations as to the cause of Japans stagnation, and many have been curious as to whether Malthus was right about Japan. In order to deem Malthus right or wrong on this topic information on fertility and mortality levels as well as the marriage system and evidence of infanticide is needed. Early studiers of Japan’s history found a way of gathering such information. During the Tokugawa period a registration system, known as Shumon Aratame Cho, was devised (mainly for tax reasons) that recorded births, deaths and other such information for villages in Japan. By studying, what were tantamount to an early form of census, family reconstitution is possible and a better idea of the overall demographic change at that time in Japan is given. Generations of population historians have performed village studies and different generations have varying ideas about the trend in population. The first generation of population historians believed Malthusian checks to be in action in Japan. Subsequent work has questioned this conclusion and many other avenues of thought have been opened up. Levels of fertility are related to marital patterns. This is an area that Malthus had decidedly definite views on in Japan. A control on marriage may have been responsible for the stagnation experienced between 1700 and 1850. This kind of population control may have been conducted in Japan in order to yield positive benefits from lower fertility levels, managed food prices and improved real incomes. Malthus believed that nuptuality in China and Japan was universal and occurred at a young age. He did not believe that controls on marriage could occur in Japan as outside Western Europe h thought that ‘the passion between the sexes is necessary’ and cannot be overcome (Malthusian Population Theory, McCleary. From studies of nuptuality records (including components such as age at marrying and proportion of people ever married) it is shown that marriage was universal in Japan but was not at such an early age as it was in China. If nuptuality levels for Japan are compared with England and China for the same time period, then Japan falls somewhere in the middle (see fig 3. ) Universal marrying would suggest high levels of fertility but as discussed this was not the case in Tokugawa Japan. The issue of marrying at a later age can account for low levels of fertility, and possible reduced fecundability in women. Other factors can be attributed to fertility levels and many studies have been carried out in this area. T. C Smith, part of a later generation of population historians, conducted a study of a village which he named ‘Nakahara,’ to give an overall general pattern of what was occurring in Japan at this time. Smith looked at fertility levels of the village and constructed fertility curves to examine the possibility of infanticide. The curves showed low levels of fertility, and were convex suggesting that there was an absence of birth control in the village. This adheres loosely to the standard levels of fertility at the time; although the figures in question were lower (fertility levels were naturally low in Tokugawa Japan, lower than pre-industrial Europe. ) Smith believed that the low levels of fertility were due not only to factors such spacing and lactational amenorrhea, as put forward by some of his contemporaries (e. g. Cornell), but also to the practice of infanticide. If Smith’s study is consistent with the rest of Japan, then Malthus’s theory would be true. However fertility curves alone do not prove beyond doubt that infanticide was occurring. L. Cornell believed the reasons for the low levels of fertility could be explained by factors other than infanticide. She believed the low level of fertility in general in Japan was a result of cultural rather than structural patterns. One of the main reasons put forward for this was the long lactation periods of Japanese mothers. It is biologically proven that the longer the lactation period after birth the harder it is for a couple to conceive their next child. This, Cornell attributes to the observed low fertility levels. Another reason put forward is migration patterns of males in villages at that time, causing a reduction in fecundability. Migration to castle towns, where employment had a large pulling power, was seasonal in villages and as a result of long periods of migration, fecundability decreased and fertility was kept at a low level. Cornell believed that these factors not deliberate controls on family size by the practice of infanticide as other academics believed, caused low levels of fertility in Japan. This was brought about by controls on society by over-riding cultural trends. Smith however, had evidence other than fertility curves to support his claim about infanticide. He studied the sex bias in families in Nakahara to add weight to his argument. He believed that the sex of the next child in a family was enforced by infanticide. Assumptions are easily made that this practice accords with the widely heard of folklore that males were the preferred sex in Japanese households, therefore one would expect the sex ratio to be male biased. However Smith found from his studies that the sex of the next child was not biased to males. He tabulated the evidence, which showed that in a family with predominantly male children, the next child was more likely to be female, and in families that had equal number of male and female children, the next child was most likely to be a male. The opposite was true in families with predominantly female children. However sex selectiveness was not found in other studies, for example in a study by Hayami, there was no evidence of sex selectiveness in families. Smith used this evidence to suggest that infanticide was a means of family limitation in Japan. Another piece evidence he found for the practice of infanticide was that small landholders had fewer children than large landholders, suggesting that family limitation was practiced as a long-term plan, so as to not put financial on the existing family and to maintain living standards. This idea has been rejected however by other authors such as Hanley and Yamamura who believed that infanticide was not only practised by peasants and poor families, but also by the rich who chose to limit their family in order to husband assets. Many authors speculate that infanticide was also practiced to limit the number of male heirs in a family and lessen the competition for family headship. On the matter of infanticide in Japan, contrasting ideas make it difficult to conclude if Malthus was correct in his assumption. However what can be concluded is that villages would have undoubtedly varied in their practices and beliefs. From a persons study of one village it would be wrong to conclude that infanticide was or was not practised in general in Japan. What would be a fair assumption would be to say that infanticide probably was operational in some areas and not in others. However it seems unlikely that infanticide alone, occurring in some areas would lead to the stagnated population that occurred in Japan at this time. Other checks on population must now be looked at to prove or disprove Malthus’s theory. It is a given that fertility levels were low in Tokugawa Japan, so according to Malthus mortality must be a contributing factor of the population stagnation. From the Shumon Aratame Cho it is difficult to gain an idea of mortality levels, especially infant mortality. It has been estimated (Cornell) that by as late as 1926 a quarter of all deaths in Japan were infants. In the early Tokugawa period death rates were high and fluctuating. The life expectancy at birth at this time was in the low thirties. Epidemics as a constant check, proposed by Malthus, occurred regularly in Japan; however by about the 16th century the population was large enough to support such disasters. There were also some wide spread famines, particularly bad ones occurring in the 1730’s, 1780’s and the 1830’s, which obviously would have made a dent in population figures. However there is a tendency for populations to recover quickly from famines, and many people would have simply moved away from the area. These two Malthusian checks seem not to have had a large impact on death rates, suggesting Malthus was wrong about Japan in this case in point. Death rates not associated with widespread disasters, must also be take into account. Mortality levels were generally higher in the cities, of which there were about 200 at this time, than in the countryside. An increase in the number of people living in cities could account for a high national mortality level; however improvements in the standard of living meant that death rates actually decreased in these areas. It seems that in this period of Japan’s history contrasting factors were at work keeping the death rates at a constant level. Warfare decreased at the beginning of the Tokugawa period, lowering death rates; but epidemics were introduced, increasing the rates. Similarly death rates increased slightly as cities grew, but the improvements of living standards combated this increase. Malthus was correct in the sense that checks on population were occurring in Tokugawa Japan, however he did not account for the fact that Japan with a completely different culture and set of traditions from Europe, would have had different ‘checks’ on the population working in opposition to the ones he proposed. A picture is now appearing of life in Tokugawa Japan. Fertility levels were low; mortality levels were high and fluctuating at the start of this period but then decreased towards the end. These two demographic variables can account in part for the population remaining constant for so many years, but it is not exactly in accordance with what Malthus thought about Japan. In reality Japan was much more akin to England in terms of its demography than China. Malthus was wrong in this case as well. He presumed Japan to be dissimilar to European countries and because of its locality in relation to China, to be much more alike it neighbouring country. Malthus had some general thoughts on population, not specific to Japan, but which are also wrong in Japans case. Malthus believed that ‘man (sic) does not like hard work’, and this is why subsistence cannot take keep pace with population. This would ultimately lead to a positive check on population, which Malthus did believe was occurring in Japan. From the time of the Tokugawa period to present day, the people of Japan have shown to have been hardworking, which is represented in the level of their economic success today. From the 17th century agriculture was the main employment sector in Japan. During this century agriculture took off at a vast rate and began to keep pace with the growing number of mouths. As the population slowed and productivity continued to increase, the per capita food supply also increased. Small-scale cultivators dominated the agricultural economy in Tokugawa Japan, but this was only the starting point of the economic transitional change in Japan. By the late Tokugawa period, ‘proto-industrialsation’, a term referring to the production of goods for distant markets was underway. New technologies spread and output of products such as soy sauce, bean paste and vegetable oil was a substantial proportion of all non-agricultural output. Proto-industialisation was concentrated in rural areas, which meant migration to large cities slowed, which in turn would have affected mortality rates, as mortality was consistently higher in these areas. In this case Malthus was also wrong in his assumptions about Japan. The population did not grow in a geometric ratio whilst the subsistence only grew in an arithmetical ratio. In fact quite the opposite occurred during the Tokugawa period in Japan. Overall it seems Malthus was wrong in most of his assumptions about Japan, such as universally low ages of marriage, moral restraint not being practised and widespread infanticide. However he did touch upon factors that operated in Japan as they did in many other countries at that time, such as family limitation and preventative checks affecting population numbers. In fact given the very little first hand knowledge Malthus actually knew about Japan, the only way his speculations could have been correct would have been purely by chance, which as highlighted is the not the case. Malthus was incorrect in his assumptions about the extent to which population-influencing factors occurred in Japan. Never the less he gave many population historians a foothold to further investigate the demographics of historic Japan. How to cite Why was Malthus wrong about Japan?, Papers

Why was Malthus wrong about Japan Free Essays

string(111) " was one of the components accountable for the population trends is another area that has been widely debated\." Today Japan is a highly developed first world country with a vast population and a booming economy. The demographic history of Japan and how it reached this renowned economic status has been the focus of much theorising and has engaged the minds of many demographers, economists and historians for centuries. Japan is unique in the way its population has changed and its economy has developed without the stimulus of overseas markets. We will write a custom essay sample on Why was Malthus wrong about Japan? or any similar topic only for you Order Now It does not boast the best physical landscape, being 85 percent mountainous, and it is not well endowed in terms of resources. Despite these negative attributes however, Japan has developed, and to such an extent it can now boast one of the worlds leading economies. Indeed Japan was the only country outside the western world to have developed at a similar rate. In the 18th century a Swedish doctor, P. Thunberg commented on Japan, ‘Of all the countries that inhabit the three largest parts of the globe, the Japanese deserved to be ranked first, and to be compared with the Europeans. ‘ (Modern Japan, P. Duus. ) It stands to reason therefore that Japan’s history merits such a wealth of discussion amongst academics. Part of Japan’s success as a country has to be attributed to its longstanding political regime. For centuries Japan was an empire ruled by an emperor based at Kyoto. From the 12th century however Japan was governed by Shogun (military leaders) who oversaw the day-to-day life of the Japanese people. The emperor, in effect, was under house arrest, taking a submissive role being more of a spiritual leader to the people. The year 1600 saw an important event for the political governing of Japan. It was in this year that a battle (Sekigahara) established the supremacy of the Tokugawa family as ruling shoguns. From 1600 to 1868 this family ruled and these 268 years of Japan’s history became known as the Tokugawa period. It is this period that is of fascination to many demographers as during this time Japan experienced stagnation in its population but it also seemed to be the onset of its economic success. From the early 18th century to the Meiji restoration in 1868 Japan’s population stayed at around 33 million. It is this 150-year period of stagnation that is of interest to studiers of the demographic history of Japan. There is also much discussion as to whether the population as it was, was inextricably linked to economic growth or vice versa. Searches for explanation of population trends date back centuries. One of the earliest and probably the most famous explanation of observed population figures in the world in general, was put forward by the Rev. Thomas R. Malthus in the 18th century. In 1798 Malthus’s ‘Essay on Population’ was published, in which he wrote at length on past, present and future population trends of mankind. His most famous stance on population levels was that ‘population, when unchecked increases in geometrical ratio; subsistence only in an arithmetical ratio. (Malthusian Population Theory, McCleary. ) He believed that mans (sic) power to produce population is greater than his power to produce subsistence, thus meaning that that the population of a country was constantly held in check by misery and vice. From this a simple model is produced illustrating the point that if populations increases; food prices will increase; real income will decrease; and thus mortality will increase (figure 1. ) The ultimate check according to his works was the want of food, but this was never an immediate check except in the case of actual famines. The constant checks can be classified into two sets, preventative and positive. Positive checks are multifarious and include such components as exposure to the elements, epidemics, war, plagues, famines and extreme poverty. The preventative checks can be further sub-classified into vice and non-vice. According to Malthus however, there is only one preventative check that can be classified as vice and this is moral restraint. The consideration of moral restraint was a latter thought from Malthus, added to his ‘essay’ in 1803. From this a more optimistic model of possibility was constructed (Fig 2. ) The two checks vary inversely from one another and can be in operation with varying affect according to the society in which there are operational. The situation as it was in Japan must have had some constituent that caused the observed trends in population. If Malthus’s theory is believed to have been operational in Japan then some sort of check was holding the population at its stagnated rate. Japan, unlike Europe at the time was a closed system. Emigration was unheard of and likewise nobody entered the country. Internal migration was also low, although would not have affected population figures. This was mainly due the Tokugawa establishing a period of isolation, cutting Japan off from the rest of the trading world. In terms of Japans population this meant that migration was not responsible for the stagnation, therefore according to Malthus it must be due to high mortality rates and/or moral restraint alone. Malthus travelled to various European countries to study their population trends in order to supplement the work in his first essay. He did not however make it as far as Asia, but did manage to comment on Japan and China in his work. He tended to make generalisations about Japan based on his thoughts about China, believing that in both of these countries moral restraint was not practiced, as it was only adapted to Western Europe. His work led him to believe that in Japan and China marriage was universal and occurred at a very young age. Taking this into account, Malthus attributed positive checks on population to the cause of the stagnation the Tokugawa period. Included in the positive checks Malthus believed occurred in Japan was the act of infanticide or ‘mabiki’, literally meaning ‘thinning out. ‘ Again he depicted Japan as being similar to China, but whether he was wrongly casting aspersions about Japan or whether infanticide was one of the components accountable for the population trends is another area that has been widely debated. You read "Why was Malthus wrong about Japan?" in category "Papers" Many people in this field of work since Malthus have devised various explanations as to the cause of Japans stagnation, and many have been curious as to whether Malthus was right about Japan. In order to deem Malthus right or wrong on this topic information on fertility and mortality levels as well as the marriage system and evidence of infanticide is needed. Early studiers of Japan’s history found a way of gathering such information. During the Tokugawa period a registration system, known as Shumon Aratame Cho, was devised (mainly for tax reasons) that recorded births, deaths and other such information for villages in Japan. By studying, what were tantamount to an early form of census, family reconstitution is possible and a better idea of the overall demographic change at that time in Japan is given. Generations of population historians have performed village studies and different generations have varying ideas about the trend in population. The first generation of population historians believed Malthusian checks to be in action in Japan. Subsequent work has questioned this conclusion and many other avenues of thought have been opened up. Levels of fertility are related to marital patterns. This is an area that Malthus had decidedly definite views on in Japan. A control on marriage may have been responsible for the stagnation experienced between 1700 and 1850. This kind of population control may have been conducted in Japan in order to yield positive benefits from lower fertility levels, managed food prices and improved real incomes. Malthus believed that nuptuality in China and Japan was universal and occurred at a young age. He did not believe that controls on marriage could occur in Japan as outside Western Europe h thought that ‘the passion between the sexes is necessary’ and cannot be overcome (Malthusian Population Theory, McCleary. From studies of nuptuality records (including components such as age at marrying and proportion of people ever married) it is shown that marriage was universal in Japan but was not at such an early age as it was in China. If nuptuality levels for Japan are compared with England and China for the same time period, then Japan falls somewhere in the middle (see fig 3. ) Universal marrying would suggest high levels of fertility but as discussed this was not the case in Tokugawa Japan. The issue of marrying at a later age can account for low levels of fertility, and possible reduced fecundability in women. Other factors can be attributed to fertility levels and many studies have been carried out in this area. T. C Smith, part of a later generation of population historians, conducted a study of a village which he named ‘Nakahara,’ to give an overall general pattern of what was occurring in Japan at this time. Smith looked at fertility levels of the village and constructed fertility curves to examine the possibility of infanticide. The curves showed low levels of fertility, and were convex suggesting that there was an absence of birth control in the village. This adheres loosely to the standard levels of fertility at the time; although the figures in question were lower (fertility levels were naturally low in Tokugawa Japan, lower than pre-industrial Europe. ) Smith believed that the low levels of fertility were due not only to factors such spacing and lactational amenorrhea, as put forward by some of his contemporaries (e. g. Cornell), but also to the practice of infanticide. If Smith’s study is consistent with the rest of Japan, then Malthus’s theory would be true. However fertility curves alone do not prove beyond doubt that infanticide was occurring. L. Cornell believed the reasons for the low levels of fertility could be explained by factors other than infanticide. She believed the low level of fertility in general in Japan was a result of cultural rather than structural patterns. One of the main reasons put forward for this was the long lactation periods of Japanese mothers. It is biologically proven that the longer the lactation period after birth the harder it is for a couple to conceive their next child. This, Cornell attributes to the observed low fertility levels. Another reason put forward is migration patterns of males in villages at that time, causing a reduction in fecundability. Migration to castle towns, where employment had a large pulling power, was seasonal in villages and as a result of long periods of migration, fecundability decreased and fertility was kept at a low level. Cornell believed that these factors not deliberate controls on family size by the practice of infanticide as other academics believed, caused low levels of fertility in Japan. This was brought about by controls on society by over-riding cultural trends. Smith however, had evidence other than fertility curves to support his claim about infanticide. He studied the sex bias in families in Nakahara to add weight to his argument. He believed that the sex of the next child in a family was enforced by infanticide. Assumptions are easily made that this practice accords with the widely heard of folklore that males were the preferred sex in Japanese households, therefore one would expect the sex ratio to be male biased. However Smith found from his studies that the sex of the next child was not biased to males. He tabulated the evidence, which showed that in a family with predominantly male children, the next child was more likely to be female, and in families that had equal number of male and female children, the next child was most likely to be a male. The opposite was true in families with predominantly female children. However sex selectiveness was not found in other studies, for example in a study by Hayami, there was no evidence of sex selectiveness in families. Smith used this evidence to suggest that infanticide was a means of family limitation in Japan. Another piece evidence he found for the practice of infanticide was that small landholders had fewer children than large landholders, suggesting that family limitation was practiced as a long-term plan, so as to not put financial on the existing family and to maintain living standards. This idea has been rejected however by other authors such as Hanley and Yamamura who believed that infanticide was not only practised by peasants and poor families, but also by the rich who chose to limit their family in order to husband assets. Many authors speculate that infanticide was also practiced to limit the number of male heirs in a family and lessen the competition for family headship. On the matter of infanticide in Japan, contrasting ideas make it difficult to conclude if Malthus was correct in his assumption. However what can be concluded is that villages would have undoubtedly varied in their practices and beliefs. From a persons study of one village it would be wrong to conclude that infanticide was or was not practised in general in Japan. What would be a fair assumption would be to say that infanticide probably was operational in some areas and not in others. However it seems unlikely that infanticide alone, occurring in some areas would lead to the stagnated population that occurred in Japan at this time. Other checks on population must now be looked at to prove or disprove Malthus’s theory. It is a given that fertility levels were low in Tokugawa Japan, so according to Malthus mortality must be a contributing factor of the population stagnation. From the Shumon Aratame Cho it is difficult to gain an idea of mortality levels, especially infant mortality. It has been estimated (Cornell) that by as late as 1926 a quarter of all deaths in Japan were infants. In the early Tokugawa period death rates were high and fluctuating. The life expectancy at birth at this time was in the low thirties. Epidemics as a constant check, proposed by Malthus, occurred regularly in Japan; however by about the 16th century the population was large enough to support such disasters. There were also some wide spread famines, particularly bad ones occurring in the 1730’s, 1780’s and the 1830’s, which obviously would have made a dent in population figures. However there is a tendency for populations to recover quickly from famines, and many people would have simply moved away from the area. These two Malthusian checks seem not to have had a large impact on death rates, suggesting Malthus was wrong about Japan in this case in point. Death rates not associated with widespread disasters, must also be take into account. Mortality levels were generally higher in the cities, of which there were about 200 at this time, than in the countryside. An increase in the number of people living in cities could account for a high national mortality level; however improvements in the standard of living meant that death rates actually decreased in these areas. It seems that in this period of Japan’s history contrasting factors were at work keeping the death rates at a constant level. Warfare decreased at the beginning of the Tokugawa period, lowering death rates; but epidemics were introduced, increasing the rates. Similarly death rates increased slightly as cities grew, but the improvements of living standards combated this increase. Malthus was correct in the sense that checks on population were occurring in Tokugawa Japan, however he did not account for the fact that Japan with a completely different culture and set of traditions from Europe, would have had different ‘checks’ on the population working in opposition to the ones he proposed. A picture is now appearing of life in Tokugawa Japan. Fertility levels were low; mortality levels were high and fluctuating at the start of this period but then decreased towards the end. These two demographic variables can account in part for the population remaining constant for so many years, but it is not exactly in accordance with what Malthus thought about Japan. In reality Japan was much more akin to England in terms of its demography than China. Malthus was wrong in this case as well. He presumed Japan to be dissimilar to European countries and because of its locality in relation to China, to be much more alike it neighbouring country. Malthus had some general thoughts on population, not specific to Japan, but which are also wrong in Japans case. Malthus believed that ‘man (sic) does not like hard work’, and this is why subsistence cannot take keep pace with population. This would ultimately lead to a positive check on population, which Malthus did believe was occurring in Japan. From the time of the Tokugawa period to present day, the people of Japan have shown to have been hardworking, which is represented in the level of their economic success today. From the 17th century agriculture was the main employment sector in Japan. During this century agriculture took off at a vast rate and began to keep pace with the growing number of mouths. As the population slowed and productivity continued to increase, the per capita food supply also increased. Small-scale cultivators dominated the agricultural economy in Tokugawa Japan, but this was only the starting point of the economic transitional change in Japan. By the late Tokugawa period, ‘proto-industrialsation’, a term referring to the production of goods for distant markets was underway. New technologies spread and output of products such as soy sauce, bean paste and vegetable oil was a substantial proportion of all non-agricultural output. Proto-industialisation was concentrated in rural areas, which meant migration to large cities slowed, which in turn would have affected mortality rates, as mortality was consistently higher in these areas. In this case Malthus was also wrong in his assumptions about Japan. The population did not grow in a geometric ratio whilst the subsistence only grew in an arithmetical ratio. In fact quite the opposite occurred during the Tokugawa period in Japan. Overall it seems Malthus was wrong in most of his assumptions about Japan, such as universally low ages of marriage, moral restraint not being practised and widespread infanticide. However he did touch upon factors that operated in Japan as they did in many other countries at that time, such as family limitation and preventative checks affecting population numbers. In fact given the very little first hand knowledge Malthus actually knew about Japan, the only way his speculations could have been correct would have been purely by chance, which as highlighted is the not the case. Malthus was incorrect in his assumptions about the extent to which population-influencing factors occurred in Japan. Never the less he gave many population historians a foothold to further investigate the demographics of historic Japan. How to cite Why was Malthus wrong about Japan?, Papers

Research Essay on Key Areas of Law and Compliance in Australia

Question: Write a research essay on key areas of law and compliance in Australia. Answer: Part A The first step in case of compliance can be described as identifying the laws that are applicable in case of a particular business, the regulators having jurisdiction in those particular areas, the risks that are faced by the business and the legal issues that may have to be raised by the business. In the present case, a family owns and runs a restaurant in Sydney and they want to call it the Great Catch!. In this part of the assignment, a research essay needs to be written in which the major areas of law and compliance have to be discussed that will be significant in case of the business operations of restaurant. In this way, in this part of the assignment, the areas of law and compliance dealing with the restaurant business in Sydney have to be explored. In this regard, the major areas of law and compliance include the need for the registration of the name of the restaurant, the health and safety regulations that are applicable to the business, the consumer protection legislation and employment law which include the equal rights legislation. In this case, it has been decided by the family that they will start a restaurant in Sydney under the name of Great Catch and at the same time, the company is not going to register the company with Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC). Under these circumstances, it is imperative that the name of the business has been registered with the ASIC. But the Intellectual Property law provides that if the name of the business resembles the first name of the first name or the surname of the owner or a partner of the business, the name of the busi ness is not necessary to be registered. In other cases, the name of the business has to be registered (Vickery and Flood 2009). For example, if it has been decided by a person named John Hart that he will start a business and the name of the business will be John Hart Computers, in such a case, it is not necessary that the person should register the name of the business. But if it has been decided by the owner of a business that the name of the business will be John's Burgers, in this case, the intellectual property law requires that the name of the business should be registered by the owner. In the present case also, the family had decided to name the business as the Great Catch!. As this name is not the first name or the surname of the owners of the business, it is necessary that this name should be registered with the ASIC. In this way, the business owners are required to consider all the legal requirements for establishing the new business. In case they fail to follow the legal requirements and regulations, serious penalties may have to be faced by the business. As mentioned above, there are a wide range of legal requirements that may have an effect on the business. One such requirement is related with business structure. It is very important that all registrations related with the business structure are kept up-to-date. In this regard, an example can be given of the requirement to renew the business name whenever it is due. On the other hand, if the business is being run as a company, detailed requirements related with the companies have been prescribed by the Corpor ations Act, 2001. In this context, the taxation requirements that are applicable in case of businesses include GST and PAYG. On the other hand, if the business is being done as a partnership, a written contract should be drawn are the parties before the business becomes operational and makes any financial commitments. Similarly, the requirements dealing with property law also applicable in this case. For example, a restaurant is being run in Sydney under the Retail Shop Lease Act, 1994. It is advisable that the lease is properly understood by the parties, before they sign it so that appropriate terms and conditions are mentioned in the least deed and the parties are aware of their obligations under the lease before they have signed. Similarly if the parties are operating the home business, it is possible that the number of persons who can work there may be restricted by the local council. Therefore it is advisable that the business owners should contact the local council. The next issue is related with intellectual property. The business should make efforts to protect their intellectual property as it gives them a legal entitlement over such intellectual property. In order to protect their intellectual property, businesses can use trademarks, designs and patents. At the same time, that businesses may be required to review and if applicable, renew the intellectual property protection regularly. For example, the businesses are required to renew their trademarks after every 10 years. However, it also needs to be knowledge that intellectual property involves complex issues and as a result, it is advisable to the advice from specialists. In the same way, when staff is employed by the business, there are certain employer obligations that may arise one part of the business. It is required in this regard that the right person is selected for the business that matches with the job description and the selection criteria that has been specified. The business is also required to make offer of employment to the prospect of employees in writing which includes the conditions of awards, agreements and the contract of employment. Another relevant issue is related with consumer protection. In this context, it needs to be mentioned that the Australian Consumer Law is the national law that is applicable in all jurisdictions in Australia and to all sectors. In this way, all the consumers in Australia have been provided the same rights and similarly, similar obligations have been imposed on the businesses regarding consumer protection, regardless of the State or the Territory in which the business operates (Clarke, 1989). The Australian Consumer Law prohibits unfair trading practices, covers general standards of the conduct of the business and it also regulates particular business to consumer transactions and at the same time, it provides business guarantees related goods and services to the consumers. The ACL also regulates the safety of the products and services supplied to the consumer. As a result, it is very important that the businesses are aware of their obligations towards the consumers in view of the prov isions of ACL. Part B Problem Question On the basis of the facts that have been given in this part of the assignment, it has to be decided if Manny and Bella have any remedies against the manager of Tuscan Ovens Pty Ltd. This issue arises due to the fact that Manny and Bella wanted to purchase a heavy duty to oven that can cook at least 30 pizzas in an hour and should be able to operate for 16 hours continuously every day. Therefore when they visit the showroom of Tuscan Ovens, they clearly tell the manager that they only require such an oven otherwise they will lose customers, particularly during the peak hours. After listening to the requirements of Manny and Bella, the manager of Tuscan Ovens recommends that they should buy the new Tuscan XX commercial oven as this oven can satisfy their requirements. In this way, on the basis of the statement made by the manager and also on these recommendations, Manny and Bella decided to purchase the oven at the price of $15,000. But very soon, they found that the oven can go only 1 2 pizzas in an hour and at the same time, the oven was also found to be unreliable. As a result of these problems, the pizza business of Manny and Bella had been losing money. On the other hand, Tuscan Ovens was not ready to discuss the complaints regarding the oven. Under these circumstances, it has to be decided if Manny and Bella can take any legal action against Tuscan Ovens Pty Ltd and what remedies are available to them. In this regard, according to the Australian consumer law, the parties may avail contractual remedies that may be available under the common law in case of such pre-contractual misrepresentations or the parties may decide to avail the statutory remedies that have been provided by the Australian Consumer Law, which forms a part of the Competition and Consumer Act (Owston Nominees No 2 Pty Ltd v Clambake Pty Ltd., 2011). Earlier, the relevant legislation was known as the Trade Practices Act, 1974. However the Australian consumer law is being used more commonly as it is applicable in a wider range of circumstances and it is considered that the ACL provides that the remedies to the parties that have suffered a loss as a result of the misrepresentation made by the other party. Section 18 of the ACL has imposed a statutory provision on misleading and deceptive conduct. This section is a part of schedule 2, Competition and Consumer Act and these provisions can be earlier found in s 52, Trade Practices Act. This is the reason why much of the case law related with this issue still refers to section 52. However according to section 18, it has been mentioned regarding misleading or deceptive conduct that a person should not be involved in conduct that can be considered as misleading or deceptive or if such conduct is likely to mislead or deceive, in trade or commerce (Miller Associates Insurance Broking Pty Ltd v BMW Australia Finance Ltd., 2010). As the reference has been made in this section to trade or commerce, it can be said that the sales that are purely private in nature have been excluded from the purview of this section but at the same time, the provisions of this section cover almost all commercial activity (Commonwealth Bank of Australia v Mehta, 199 1). When it has been established that there has been a breach of section 18 and a party has been involved in misleading or deceptive conduct, a wide range of remedies are available to the other party which include images and the avoidance of contract or variation (Demagogue Pty Ltd v Ramensky, 1992). In this case also, it needs to be seen if the requirements that have been mentioned in section 18 are fulfilled in this case and if the pre-contractual representation made by the manager of Tuscan Ovens can be considered as misleading or deceptive. In this case, Manny and Bella had clearly told the manager that they want an oven that can open at least 30 pizzas in an hour otherwise they will lose their customers, particularly during the peak hours. Similarly, it was also required that the oven should be reliable and it can be operated for 16 hours continuously every day. But after purchasing the oven, it was found that the oven can only cook 12 pizzas in an hour. Moreover, the oven also proved to be unreliable and therefore it cannot be operated for 16 hours continuously every day. Before purchasing the oven, Manny and Bella had clearly told the manager of Tuscan Ovens regarding the requirements and when the manager recommended a particular model, they decided to purchase it, on the basis of representation made by the manager. In this way, it can be said that Manny and Bella had relied on the representation that was made by the manager regarding the capacity of the oven and also its reliability. Moreover, this transaction was made in context of trade and commerce as the manager was clearly told that the oven is required to cook pizzas at the restaurant. In this way, it is clear that the present case is covered by the provisions of section 18. In case of the contracts that have been created as a result of misleading or deceptive conduct, the major remedy that is available to the other party is that of damages. Although an injunction is more significant regarding relief for the breach of section 18 generally but such relief is of little use under the circumstances where the parties have already entered into the contract on the basis of misleading or deceptive under (Noor Al Houda Islamic College Pty Ltd v Bankstown Airport Ltd., 2004). Therefore in the present case also, Manny and Bella can claim damages from Tuscan Ovens Pty Ltd due to the misrepresentation made by its manager and relying on which, Manny and Bella entered into the contract for the purchase of oven. References Philip H Clarke, 1989, The Hegemony of Misleading or Deceptive Conduct in Contract, Tort and Restitution 5 Australian Bar Review 109 Roger Vickery and MaryAnne Flood 2009, Australian Business Law: Compliance and Practice, Pearson Education Australia Case Law Commonwealth Bank of Australia v Mehta (1991) 23 NSWLR 84 Demagogue Pty Ltd v Ramensky (1992) 39 FCR 31 at 41 Miller Associates Insurance Broking Pty Ltd v BMW Australia Finance Limited (2010) 241 CLR 357 Noor Al Houda Islamic College Pty Ltd v Bankstown Airport Ltd (2004) 215 ALR 625 Owston Nominees No 2 Pty Ltd v Clambake Pty Ltd [2011] WASCA 76.