Starbucks Supply Chain System

Company background Starbucks is world’s number one coffee and coffeehouse company; Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gordon Bowker founded it on March 30, 1971. The company’s first branch was at Seattle, Washington; currently it has outlets in more than 55 countries (Starbucks Corporate website). The company has one of the most respected and effective supply chain-management systems. This paper discusses the supply chain network adopted by Starbucks.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Starbucks Supply Chain System specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More What methods do they use? The company has an internal robust supply and logistic department that has the role of pioneering all supply demands in the company. In other countries, where it gets it coffee, the company has collection points that it can get coffee beans in raw and roasted form. The system aims at ensuring the company gets adequate supply of coffee and other material used in production at the right time, at an appropriate cost and quality. The company buys raw materials from the United States where it has its head quarters, but it has diversified its team to coffee producing countries like in the East African countries where quality coffee is grown. To maintain good relations with suppliers, the company has a favorable buying price and bases the buying on the quality and the production method as adopted by the farmer. In countries like Ethiopia and Kenya, the company has implemented farmer’s education programs with the aim of facilitation the production of environmentally friendly coffees. Quality and efficiency in delivery of coffee beans and other material in the company has the main concern in the system. The company supply chain has the following goals: Quantity goals: Adequate supply of materials in a company when they are needed Supply of quality materials for various purposes in a business at all times (quality obj ective) Supply of materials at a competitive price (price objective) (Simchi-Levi, Kaminsky and Simchi-levi 12-23) What is their system for evaluating the program in terms of quality, social responsibility, and success factors? The initial approach that the company has to ensure it gets quality is to procure for the commodity from those countries that are known for their quality coffee, they include countries like Kenya, United States, Brazil and Ethiopia. After having the appropriate channels to get the commodity, they then have to vet for its quality.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More When supplies are made, they have to be graded as a measure of determining the quality they have. The higher the grade the higher the cost of the commodity, in large consignments, after every fifty bags, the one must be opened and contents verified. As a matter of social corporate responsibili ty, Starbucks operates a fair trade policy in areas that it collects coffee; it is involved in projects like road maintenance and education systems. In the hunger of protecting the environment, the company has started training centers for farmers on how they should farm without polluting the environment, to support environmental conservation further, the company pays a higher premium for coffee produced with minimal use of chemicals. The following are the critical success factor of the company: Offer quality services and products Increase the welfare of stakeholders (stakeholders include suppliers) Conserve the environment Attain and maintain customer loyalty Respect for the people and teamwork (Starbucks Corporate website). Works Cited Simchi-Levi, David., Kaminsky Phillips, and Simchi-levi, Edith. Designing and Managing the Supply Chain. New York: Mcgraw Hill, 2003. Print Starbucks Corporate Website. Starbucks, 2011. Web. This essay on Starbucks Supply Chain System was written and submitted by user Jackson Bates to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Carl Jung essays

Carl Jung essays Carl Jung was born in 1875 in Switzerland. He was a disciple of Sigmund Freud. He helped Freud develop and refine psychoanalytic theory. (Zimbardo Pg.391) After a conflict between them Jung and Freud separated. Jung wrote a book called Symbols of Transformation. In which he disagreed with Freuds ideas about repressed wishes. Jung also disagreed with Freud on how import Freud thought sexuality was. Carl Jung emphasized that the unconscious determines a persons personality. He claimed that the unconscious had two layers. The first was the personal unconscious. This is where a persons individual memories are stored. The Jung term for the personal unconscious is a portion of the unconscious corresponding roughly to the Freudian id.(Zimbardo Pg.391) This is where the important details are stored when they are repressed or forgotten about. The second layer is the collective unconscious. This is an inaccessible layer that contains all learned experiences. The collective unconscious involves a reservoir for instinctive memories which exist in all living people. They bound together generations of human history. (Zimbardo pg. 391) These bounds of history are called archetypes. Jung also said that the collective unconscious is hereditary. Archetypes have two main groups, the anima or animus and shadow. The anima archetype for males and the animus archetype for females. The anima archetype is the female side of the masculine personality and the animus is the masculine side of the female personality. (Britanica.com) The shadow is descriptive in its name. This is the dark and negative side of our personality. Jung said that the shadow represents, the destructive and aggressive tendencies that we dont recognize in our personalities. ( Zimbardo Pg.392) Jungs concept of principle of opposites portrays each personality as a balance between opposing pa...

2 to 3 Page Student Life Comparison Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

2 to 3 Page Student Life Comparison Paper - Essay Example The Senior Management Team, which includes the Assistant Vice President for Student Life, is headed by the Vice President for Student Affairs (Caltech, 2006c). The deans and directors of the different colleges and departments, respectively, are also under the Student Affairs Office (Caltech, 2006c). On the other hand, Pepperdine University has different Student Life Offices, one for each of its five colleges: Seaver College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, Graziadio School of Business and Management, Graduate School of Education and Psychology School of Law, and School of Public Policy (Pepperdine University, 2009a). They also have varying titles, Student Services, Student Affairs, and Student Life, to name three. Each of these offices is headed by the Dean of the college or school; all are under the Provost, who acts as the chief academic officer (Pepperdine, 2009b). The Student Affairs Office of Caltech handles housing, financial aid, health aid, counseling, career development, athletics, fellowships, and international programs, among other things (Caltech, 2006c). Like Caltech, Pepperdine’s five student life offices also offer the same services, with the exception of fellowships. What is interesting is that Caltech has a Women’s Center that was established in 1993 to â€Å"work for the advancement of women in science and engineering† (California Institute of Technology Womens Center, 2008). Pepperdine also has a program focused on the needs of women. However, the Women’s Ministry program is a part of the Family Faith network that aims to enlighten and reinforce women’s beliefs and practices â€Å"about Gods role in family life† (Pepperdine University, 2009c; Pepperdine University, 2009d). While the former aims to break gender barriers in the dominantly male composition of science and engineering, the l atter seems to promote a regression in gender equality by

Civil War and Reconstruction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Civil War and Reconstruction - Essay Example Consequently historical events like Reconstruction, Wade-Davis Bill, Black Codes, Segregation, Jim Crow laws, the 13th Amendment to the 15th Amendment to the Constitution etc were some steps towards the construction of a race-blind society. The next mentionable event in the Reconstruction era was the Wade-Davis Bill in 1864. The racial Segregation and the Jim Crow laws, in a single phrase the â€Å"separate policy† of the south was essentially the South’s reaction to the 13th, 14th and the 15th constitutional Amendments during the Reconstruction in the post Civil War Period. Reconstruction’s primary goals were to establish the Black rights by withering out Slavery and to reintegrate the South with the nation. The Reconstruction started with President Lincoln’s affirmative actions for a race-blind, equal and reunited America. While Lincoln followed a more moderate course to establish black people’s right and to reunite the South, the Radical Republic ans â€Å"opposed it on the ground that Lincoln reconstruction plan had freed the slaves without paying much attention to establishing their socio-political, economic and other rights† (Stampp, 1956, p. 78). By passing the Wade-Davis Bill in 1864 Republican dominated Congress declare that Southern States should be run by military governors and, Secession and Slavery would be outlawed with the consent of the fifty percent of a state’s voters. ... Both theoretically and legally by the 13th Amendment of the Constitution slavery was outlawed; empowered by the 14th Amendment, people of colors could enter into contracts, business, ownership, etc and by the 15th Amendment they earned the right to vote. But the reality was totally different from what the Northerners expected from the Amendments and their enactment, as Gerald Early says in this regard, â€Å"white southerners, inspired by the North's old Black Codes, instituted their own version†¦..in response to the passage of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Early, 2011, p. 2) While before the 13th Amendment in the pre-Civil War period, the Southerners enjoyed unchallenged mastery over the Blacks and exploited the black labor to sustain the South’s plantation and other agriculture based economy, after the constitutional abolition of slavery the South sought to generate unofficial laws limiting the blacks’ civil rights, during the Johnson Pre sidency, with a view to manipulate black labor evading the Constitutional restrictions. Indeed the Southerners’ strategy was to retain psychological inferiority of the Blacks so that the cheap black labor could easily be manipulated. Since slavery became an indispensable part of the colonizer’s economy and became socio-politically integrated into the early American society, it began to shift its basis from war to color after the 13th Amendment. Josef Healey (2010) says that â€Å"blackness† itself as an ideology was critical for the exploitation of the labor of the African blacks in early America, and it â€Å"provided the very source of whiteness and the heart of racism† (Healey, 2010, p. 288). This master-slave association greatly

Environmental effects of oil spills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Environmental effects of oil spills - Essay Example ics (1997), an oil spill is â€Å"oil, discharged accidentally or intentionally, that floats on the surface of water bodies as a discrete mass and is carried by the wind, currents and tides. Oil spills can be partially controlled by chemical dispersion, combustion, mechanical containment and absorption. They have destructive effects on coastal ecosystems† (par. 1). The ecological crisis brought about by oil spills displaces a global equilibrium pattern based on the dwindling supply of marine resources. As an environmentally ethical dilemma, oil spills need to be closely evaluated and addressed to take drastic actions to restore balance and prevent further damage to the marine ecosystem. According to Oracle ThinkQuest, oil spills are actually classified into two groups: accidental and from operations (n.d., par. 1). Accidental oil spills are generally caused by collusions, fires and explosions, hull failures, and groundings (ibid.). On the other hand, oil spills from operations â€Å"occur when ships are carrying out routine operations at ports or oil terminals, but the majority of such spills are small, with 93% of them producing a spillage of less than 7 tonnes† (Oracle, n.d., par. 3). As indicated, two specific activities are encompassed within the scope of oil spills from operations, to wit: â€Å"loading/discharging: commonest cause of oil spillages (either during routine operations or resulting from accidents), with 3070 occurring between 1974-1999; and bunkering: the least common operational oil loss with only 566 occurring between 1974-1999† (ibid.). Whatever the causes are, the fact remains that the oil spilled in bodies of water pose dangers to marine life and to the environment. The International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Limited (ITOPF) is â€Å"a not-for-profit organization established on behalf of the worlds ship owners to promote an effective response to marine spills of oil, chemicals and other hazardous substances† (ITOPF: About, 2010, par.

Educational Status of Women in India

Educational Status of Women in India INTRODUCTION Education and literacy can be viewed as essential prerequisites for the full integration of women into the social and economic life of the nation. Apart from providing greater opportunity for employment in the skilled and prestigious high-income jobs, female education and training have important consequences for the whole familys welfare, as well as for its individual members. Where the mother of the household has above average education she is more likely to enter the labour market and use her supplementary income to raise the standard of well-being of the family. In addition, most studies from around the world have found a relationship that is inverse between a womans education and her fertility, and that is positive between her education and the early survival chances of her child (Ghazi, 1985). A childs academic achievement is also likely to be closely associated with its mothers level of schooling. The educational status of women therefore is the key indicator of the stage of so cietal development and the potential for progressive change. Literacy is an important indicator of development among tribal groups. Among women in general, high literacy rates lead to lower infant mortality rates (Kingdon, 1999; World Bank, 1997), reduce the number of pregnancies and enhance the status of women both in domestic life and society. Additionally, the mothers literacy status and educational attainment have significantly positive effects on the childs human capital attainment (Sengupta and Guha, 2002; Colclough, 1982). The tribal population, in general, lags behind the Hindus and the Scheduled Caste population both in literacy and educational attainment. This discrepancy in human capital attainment between the mainstream population and the tribes is particularly marked among tribal women. However, the literacy rates for scheduled tribes in India have also improved substantially from 1961 (8.54 per cent) to 2001 (47.10 per cent) for both males (13.04 per cent to 59.17 per cent) and females (2.89 per cent to 34.76 per cent) respective ly. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY The present paper aims to focus on the educational status of Muthuvan women belonging to the state of Kerala. THE STUDY POPULATION The tribes under study are known as Muthuvans who are residing in the Chinnar Wild Life Sanctuary in Devikulam taluk of the Idukki district in Kerala. The Muthuvan settlements are located in the interior of the forest. To reach the Muthuvan settlements are too difficult because of the segregated nature of settlements in the interior forest. Necessary and relevant information was collected from three Muthuvan villages in the Sanctuary namely Eruttalakudi, Puthukudi, and Fifth Mile. The study generates ethnographic data through secondary sources, participant observation, orally conveyed memories, personal observations and interviews. In the 2001 census report the population of Muthuvan tribe is clubbed with the Mudugar tribe of Wayanad district therefore does not give the correct population of both these tribes. The population size of Muthuvan/Mudugar tribe has been given as 21000. The Muthuvans are settled agriculturalists, cultivating lemon grass, ragi, maize, beans, sweet potato and other allied vegetables. Their chief food items are ragi and rice with leaves and vegetables. Each household produce their food. LITERACY LEVEL OF TRIBES IN KERALA In all the five year plans, priority was given to educational development of the Scheduled Tribes. The main reason for the very slow spread of education among the Scheduled Tribes is the peculiar nature of their habitation. Majority of the Scheduled Tribes are living in remote areas far away from educational institutions. The socio-economic condition prevailing in the tribal settlements are not conducive for studies. Lacks of sufficient educational institutions in tribal areas, their poverty etc, curtailed effective educational development among Scheduled Tribes. However, the literacy rate of the tribes in Kerala (64.9 per cent) is far ahead of the tribal areas in India (47.10 per cent) and even higher than the literacy rate of the total population of the country (64.8 per cent). The Muthuvans are very poor. Many of the students discontinue schools at Primary and Middle school due to financial difficulties. Though the state and central government is providing enough financial assistance in the form of scholarship, free boarding, lodging facilities, provision to text books and mid-day meals in primary schools, stipend and hostel facilities, not many tribal children are attracted to education. The Muthuvans have not been earning much to educate themselves. Their cultural surrounding and poverty creates hindrances in the process of their education. NON-FORMAL EDUCATION AMONG THE MUTHUVANS Among the Muthuvans the dormitories were a kind of training institution for unmarried boys and girls. It is in this Chaavati (male dormitory) and Kumari Madam ( girls dormitory) that the traditions were passed from mouth to mouth, from older age group to youths and from youths to younger ones. The parents and the elders of the village initiate the child into different customs and traditions of their community and group. The dormitory system exist as a kind of school where the Muthuvan youths of either sex learn how to perform their conjugal and social duties as also the lore of the clan. These Muthuvan dormitories are chiefly meant for imparting social education to the Muthuvan children. Muthuvan dormitory especially the Chaavati functions as if it is a club, a place for juvenile happiness, a non-formal school, and also a training center for children for making the Muthuvan boys as mature community members. At least up to the second quarter of the 20th century Muthuvans had both male and female dormitories (Krishna Iyer, 1939; Luiz, 1962) to train their youths to a useful and mature community member. But now the female dormitories (kumari madam- where kumari indicate the young unmarried-girls, madam indicates dwelling) had undergone a process of decay. The Muthuvan dormitory (Chaavati) acts as a club for members to come together to share traditional experience. Their folk-tales, folk-songs and folk dances reveals lessons in different agricultural operations, hunting, wood cutting, honey collection, and in economic pursuits. These stories and anecdotes speak about sanctity of Muthuvan discipline, social approbation, social justice, law and order in their community. Chaavati enables them to get to know how to protect the community by learning the ways of defence against animal raids and enemy attacks, teaches them how to be useful for the community through co-operative labour, enables to know the community rituals and rites and also how to participate in them, provides an avenue to be community conscious and corporate in their feelings and actions thus making them responsible to the community. Members are also taught how to make fishing nets, traps, mats, ornaments etc., whereas in formal schools this kind of activities are absolutel y not seen and home could not attract the Muthuvan children. From the dormitory, each Muthuvan acquire the knowledge about the flora and fauna, the forest track path, medicinal plants for various diseases and so on. In the Chaavati Muthuvan children are properly educated in order to face future eventualities of life and cope ages with the cultural requirements. FORMAL EDUCATION Formal education is considered as important tools for social change and development. Formal education can be broadly divided in to two, primary and secondary education. Primary education is intended for all children aged between 4 years to 12 years where as secondary education is provided for children aged 12 years and above. In general any type of education oral or written is the action of developing the individual mentally and morally. For primary education in all the study villages government established primary schools with a single hut class room which will house all the students up to IV standard, handled by a single teacher. Muthuvans send their children to school up to primary level. To attract the children to school, government provides many facilities for students in primary level. All students in the primary school are provided with book, pencils, and slates for free of cost. Government also provided mid-day meal to all students in the primary level. In mid day meal per day 150 gram rice and 30 gram dal and 2 eggs in a week are provided. Children above the IV standard will be sent to the tribal hostels and tribal schools away in the block or district headquarters. But once they come for vacation, majority of them never return to hostels. The strange life style and schedule at the hostel, being away from the parents and the village, missing all the cultural and social freedom, all these make them quit the hostels and keep them still close to illiteracy. Like any other people they too feel comfortable to speak their own language and dialect, the enavan pech (our own speech). LITERACY TRENDS AMONG THE MUTHUVAN WOMEN Among the Muthuvans the demand for education is much lower than as compared to other tribes in Kerala. Muthuvan women have to work in order to cope with their daily living and do not place a high value on education. Additionally, in the remote Muthuvan hamlets where a good infrastructure is lacking, women find it difficult to have access to schools. Many are not even aware of the existence of schools in their areas due to lack of communications and networks. LITERACY LEVEL OF THE MUTHUVAN WOMEN Even though Kerala has a high literacy rate even in the rural areas (90.9 per cent), women among the Muthuvan tribe are still lagging behind in literacy (36.98 per cent compared to the women literacy rate of Kerala, 87.80 per cent). The general trend of high female literacy rates in Kerala and the high status of women in the state have no impact on the literacy rate among the Muthuvan women because of their isolation and living in the dense forest away from the main stream. Considering the educational qualification of the women respondents in the study area, out of the total 211 respondents 71.09 per cent are illiterate, 18.48 per cent studied up to the primary level, 10.5 per cent were in the Middle school level. Only two respondents were studied up to Higher Secondary Level and two were studied up to graduate level. Due to the provision of incentives such as mid- day meal programmes and distribution of uniforms, there is a slight increase in the number of children who go to school. In the sample population, Muthuvans in the age group of 5 to 19 years showed some inclination towards schooling. Out of 92 boys and 83 girls, 81.66 per cent boys (75 boys) and 80.53 per cent (67 girls) attended school. These are obviously the first generation learners because the largest number, 82.66 per cent boys (62 out of 75 boys) and 79.10 per cent girls (53 out of 67 girls) were in the primary school. The number of girls and boys in the Middle and High school were meager. There are many reasons for this condition. Non-availability of middle schools in the vicinity of tribal settlements as well as the failure of ITDP schools in the state of Kerala to offer Middle schools and High Schools is the two most important reasons for the educational backwardness of tribal children. Poverty of the parents is yet another re ason. Above all they are still unaware of the importance of education. EDUCATION OF THE MUTHUVAN GIRL CHILDREN The girl child among the Muthuvans is denied the future opportunity of the total development. The reasons associated with not educating girl child are financial constraints, early marriage, submissiveness, and motherhood. After attaining puberty, Muthuvan girls are not allowed to go to school even if the school is located in the settlement itself. Girls have no say on the topic of education. It is entirely their parents decision. Regarding their aspiration to educate their daughters, the parents had different response. More than half of them wanted to send their daughters to schools but others thought it was futile. In absence of hired labour, the girls work at home and fields is of utmost importance and all considered the fact that eventually the girls have to get married and start their families. Where parents are enthusiastic about educating their daughters, they enroll their daughters in schools but rarely allow them to complete their schooling. The girls study up to primary scho ol only; since there is no middle school in their area they have to go to town to continue their education. The Muthuvans are reluctant to send their girl children out of their settlements since they are very much concerned about the safety of their daughters. Thus they discontinue their education at the primary level and turn to household chores and agricultural activities. From early childhood itself Muthuvan girls play a prominent role in running the family. By the age of 12-14 years most of the girls join the agricultural force. The girls also supplement the household income through their labour-force and also participate in minor forest produce collection. If they have spare time in spite of all these activities and obtain permission from their parents then they may go to school. According to 47.86 per cent of the respondents the reason for their present educational status is that the facilities were not available for them to get educated, 0.94 per cent revealed that girls education was not allowed, 6.16 per cent said the reason that because of agricultural activities and household chores they did not get time to study, 3.31 per cent opined that they did not have any interest to study since this education is worth less for them on account of that they are staying in the forest and they possess enough knowledge from the forest itself to cope with their lives. Out of 211 respondents 93.36 per cent are ready to send girl children to school up to primary level, while 6.63 per cent shows unwillingness to send their girl children to school. They are of the opinion that girl children should first learn how to manage household chores and agricultural activities as they have to manage her husbands house after marriage. From early childhood to begin with, girl children are trained in various domestic chores. As soon as girl is grown up enough to play she is regarded old enough to work. She may be seen assisting her mother in all domestic work bringing fuel from the forest, carrying water from the nearby pipe and by attending to small babies. She has to attend all kinds of domestic work. When the girl children started to manage the household mother can go for agricultural activities without any hindrance. In absence of hired labour, the girls work at home and fields is of utmost importance and all considered the fact that eventually the girls have to get married and start their families. Other than going school 50.23 per cent of the girl children were managing the household chores, helping in agricultural activities and taking care of the younger children. Even if the schools were located in their hamlet itself, due to these work burdens girl children were always withdrawn from the schools. DROP-OUT AMONG THE MUTHUVAN CHILDREN Drop out is an evil of primary education. Primary education is imparted with two main objectives as to make the children literate and to prepare them for becoming responsible citizen of the country. So the children to be literate should have at least four years schooling and to be a responsible citizen most have and eight years of schooling. The drop out pupils of the study area is large. So it is very important to analyze the cause for drop out. REASON FOR DROP-OUTS The reasons for drop-out are depending on family status, economic imposition, bi-lingual education, lack of interest, etc. Among the Muthuvans it was found that the problem of dropout is not an isolated phenomenon, but it may be attributed to so many other facts. 1. Economic Backwardness The Muthuvans depend on agriculture for their subsistence. Further they also engaged in wage labour and each family income ranges from Rs 800/-to Rs.1000/-per month. As such they find it difficult for them to spend hard earnings on the expenses of their childrens education. Though majority of the families depended on agricultural produce and collection of Non-Timber Forest Produce (NTFP), barter system has no longer very much effective in their daily living. Everything has a price now a days including education. Exploitation of non-tribes in procurement of agricultural produce from Muthuvans and consequently trap in vicious cycle of indebtedness accentuated the problem of poverty. Due to their poor economic condition, children assist their parents in familial subsistence. As such this drop-out problem is perpetuating in the study area. 2. Socio-cultural factors Socio-cultural practices of Muthuvans play a significant role in the overall development of children in the study village. The formal education which is imparted to Muthuvan children is devoid of learning about their own society and their vernacular language, they are forced to learn alphabets in alien language. Even the teachers are not well versed with Muthuvan language and they teach in text book language. They are not bothered about whether the children are capable of understanding what they are taught. It is the fact that despite their tradition and culture these societies have to accept the innovation for getting employment. But they feel that the medium of instruction should be local up to primary level and the syllabus should be based on their culture and society. Lack of such amenable medium of instruction and territorial based education causing lot of confusion among the children. Eventually they turn down this education under those psychological pressure and phobia about the formal education. 3. Non-availability of facilities All the settlements had primary schools and Anganwadies, but these settlements do not have Middle school and High Schools. The Primary Schools in the study area was working with a single teacher in a small hut having only one room. All the students from Standard I to Standard IV were sitting in the same class room and the single teacher managed all the classes. Further analysis of the reasons for dropout showed that after the attainment of puberty girls never allowed to go to schools, in addition to this their economic conditions also forced them to dropout. The dropout generally occurred after the child completed the school. Where schools are not located at close quarters from the settlements, rates of dropout as well as non-enrollment are high. There is a natural hesitation on the part of most parents to send children to schools located at a distance. Lack of appropriate atmosphere of schooling, continuous attendance, parental interest, study interest are some of the important problems of education faced by Muthuvan children. Few teachers perceived economic problems, inadequacy of clothing, lack of books and stationery as the reasons for poor attendance of students. Poverty coupled with insufficient infrastructure is responsible for the prevalence of large scale drop out among the tribal children. The Muthuvan settlements are located in forest belts. Often children have to walk through wild animal infested forest tracts to reach the nearest school. This is a big safety risk. For example, not a single child in the school going age in the settlements in the midst of Chinnar Wild Life Sanctuary was going to school, where the schools are located away from the settlement. The Muthuvans are especially apprehensive about sending girls through lonely forest tracts for a very genuine fear. Many a time not only they encounter wild elephants but also wild and lusty men. There have been instances when forest contractors, non-tribal men in the neighbouring villages have tried to make sexual advance at these young girls. PRE-METRIC HOSTEL FOR FEMALE CHILDREN The Kerala state provided a boarding institution for tribal girls- pre-metric hostel as it is called, in Marayoor, the nearby town of the study area, for the convenience of the tribal girls who are coming from the remote settlements. The hostel has now thirty-two boarders who are students in Government-run and private schools. Of them, only six are from Muthuvan community. As Muthuvans consider themselves as superior to the other tribes they do not prefer to admit their children to the hostel where they would have to live, interdine, and interact with the Malapulaya children. Muthuvans are claiming superior status over Malapulayas. The school dropout rate among Muthuvan children is said to be considerably high. It would seem that besides their hesitancy to stay and interact with Malapulaya children, Muthuvan children who are used to high altitudes and evergreen forest habitat and associated way of living find the hostel and school alienating. The resistance of Muthuvan parents to the ir children intermingling with Malapulaya children is very high. This also forms one of the reasons for not sending the children in the schools away from Muthuvan hamlet. DISCUSSION Low literacy among the Muthuvan tribe in general and women in particular, presents a very serious problem. The demand side of labour market has a feedback effect on the investment decisions on the Muthuvans in education. They are relayed on agriculture for their livelihood. The Muthuvans consider both boys and girls as economic asset to the family, therefore sending them to school upsets the traditional pattern of division of labour. Muthuvan girls usually help their mothers at home in all possible ways and work in the field in the agricultural seasons. In non-agricultural seasons they are usually engaged in the collection of minor forest produces, grazing cattle and goats, under these circumstances parents never force the children to go to school at all. Although economic constraints hinder tribal girls from getting educated, cultural, social and family structures also contribute to the tremendous variation in dropout rates of girls among the Muthuvans. Besides going to school majority of the Muthuvan girls are managing the household chores, taking care of the younger children, helping in the agricultural activities, collecting minor forest produces and firewood. They also bring water from the far away pipes and looking after the livestock. Parents want the children to help them in agriculture and other allied activities. On the top of that, school vacations are not synchronized with the heavy agricultural seasons of sowing or harvesting. So the parents cannot be faulted for pulling out their children for getting of little extra help. The study area has only primary and middle level schools. After completing middle level education, they are unable to go to town for higher education due to cultural and safety reasons as mentioned earlier. The Muthuvan literacy level, in general is quite low. But in case of Muthuvan women it touches the lowest bottom. Muthuvans as settled agriculturalists lack enough food grains to maintain the family whole year. Education therefore is a luxury for them which they can hardly afford. Each school- going girl in a Muthuvan family is an economic unit and contribute to the family. If the girl is taken away from her normal economic work to attend school, the family is deprived of little income which she brings; instead, the parents have to feed the child out of their earnings which further reduces the economic stability of the family. Merely increasing the number of schools in tribal areas or throwing up superficial incentives per se will not bring development to the doors of the tribal women or girl children. The actual needs and real life situations have to be taken cognizance of while planning schemes for tribal development. In order to facilitate tribal girls to make extensive and effective use of schooling facilities, schools must be located within easy and safe reach of children. This definitely is a meaningful incentive for a large number of tribal parents who are desirous of sending their children schools. One cannot expect young girls to walk for miles through dangerous animal and human infested forest tracks. It is easier to offer scholarships and gold medals to successful tribal learners than opening new schools in distant tribal belts or removing the actual hurdles to effective utilization of existing facilities. The introduction of formal education is not without any negative impact. A set of values totally alien to the Muthuvan culture have now been introduced to their community. Often, the curricular content of class room training is in direct contradiction to their real life experiences. Barring a few exceptions tribal education programmes do not take into account the needs and conditions of tribal life and culture. A curriculum that is alien to their culture and ways of life leaves them confused. Such concepts as the father being the sole bread earner, mother attends only to household chores, boys playing out-door games and girls engaged in domestic work leaves them perturbed. Even the gender insensitive games that are taught in the non- tribal schools do not have positive attitude towards tribal values. The non-tribal culture at large does not have a very pro-women attitude and the same is reflected in the attitude of these teachers towards female children. The teacher addressed the gir ls as waste, burden, and scolded them whenever they did not show interest in the lessons or failed to answer their questions. They made a point to repeatedly remind the female students that their place was in the home and that kitchen work does not require any formal schooling. Teachers with such attitudes are doing great damage to the motivation of girl children because of their gender blind attitudes. Ideas that had hitherto not crept into Muthuvan mind have now been introduced. Many female teachers also act as a negative, influence on women and girl children. They express their displeasure and disapproval about such tribal practices as elopement, divorce and widow marriage. These young children are slowly developing a sense of aversion towards their indigenous practices, many of which are very progressive.

Beauty - Moving Beyound Eating Disorders and Plastic Surgery :: Beauty and the Media

Beauty - Moving Beyound Eating Disorders and Plastic Surgery Everywhere we look there is an alluring face, an exotic, flawless statuesque body, overlaying one of the largest networking systems for fashion, beauty, and cosmetics of all kinds. Magazines such as Elle, Vogue, Maxim, FHM, and many more, feed into woman’s minds of what is beautiful or the ideal self. We all struggle with coming in touch with our real self-verses our ideal self. Angelina Jolie is considered publicly as one of the most beautiful women in the world. So what is it about her that is so captivating? Her lustrous lips, which are not collagen injected? Her long black, brown, or even dirty blonde hair, depending on her role I suppose? Not to mention, the one thing that is, unfortunately and freely observed the most; her sex appeal. Here is an example of what I mean. In a movie called â€Å"Gia,’ she portrays a heroin addicted model, which might I add, is a movie based on actual events. Her career and health were diminished because of her addiction and the amou nt of pressure put on her to live up to the industries expectations. But does the film industry take these factual events to a level of complete disillusion? The answer is no. Beautiful women everywhere, that are not celebrities or models, constantly adjust themselves to remain on an unbalanced pedestal that purposively determines what defines being attractive. The amount of hype in the entertainment society causes several problems in the cosmetics of fashion. Young teenage woman strive to achieve having the prettiest hair with the perfect highlight. These young, vulnerable teenagers are determined to be the ultimate trendsetter. Weight loss and gain is a common issue among this vulnerable, low self-esteemed, diamonds in the rough. For instance, take the Hollywood Diet. The Hollywood Diet is a liquid drink composed of vitamins and minerals, amongst natural diuretics and orange extract. Some of the ingredients may cause an increase in blood pressure when introducing cardiovascular activities. Also, for some people, when there is a pre-existing heart condition combined with improper meal intake and no mineral supplements, heart failure can occur. Woman tend to compare themselves a lot with celebrities or even other beautiful woman they simply pass in the streets. From a personal perspective, I make comparisons all the time. Eating disorders are an unfortunate disease that many suffer from due to the glamorized depiction of what beauty really is.