Food Insecurity. Definition, Reasons, Causes and Status Essay

Food Insecurity. Definition, Reasons, Causes and Status - Essay Example In the discussion, the focus will remain on reviewing what food insecurity denotes, what causes it and the consequences that accrue thereof. The discussion is based on a critical evaluation of peer-reviewed literature beginning with the definition and then discussing what causes it, and how it emerges in the developing world. Defining and Contextualizing Food Insecurity The Context of Food Security Since the 1970s, the term food insecurity has been differently used to refer to numerous related but often diverse concepts. Yu, You, and Fan (2010) argue, â€Å"there are various descriptions of food security plus the concepts of food security that have evolved, in the previous 30 years, to reflect the transformation in official policy thinking† (p. 30). This variant understanding of food security and insecurity has been explored by Clay (2002) since the World Food Conference initiated a discussion of food security in the early 1970s, both at the national and international level. A s shall emerge hereunder, food security encompasses questions of food supply, food availability, food price stability, geographical locations and typology of available food (Bernstein, Crow and Johnson, 1992, pp. 34 - 71). However, to understand the term food insecurity, it is essential to first contextualize the term food security. According to the United Nations, food security should be defined as â€Å"all people at all times having both physical and economic access to the basic food they need† (Clay, 2002, p. 4). According to UN figures, nearly 1 billion people in the world today are not guaranteed that they can access, afford and always find adequate food. For these 2 billion people, they may not be hungry and in critical need of food, but they cannot guarantee that they will have anything to eat tomorrow to sufficiently sustain their health. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (2013), â€Å"a total of 842 million people in 2011–2013, or about one in eight individuals globally, were anticipated to be suffering from chronic hunger, regularly not getting enough food to conduct an active life† ( ¶7). While this figure is relatively lower when compared to the 868 million people reported between 2010 and 2012, and while the number of undernourished people has reduced with 17% from what was recorded between 1990 and 1992, food insecurity is still a major global problem. As such, they are insecure about the source of their requisite diets, where to find food, when and whether such food would be affordable when accessed (Curtis, Hubbard and Shepherd, 1988, 37). This context thus introduces the dynamics of food security, a complicated process determined by numerous factors from poverty levels to climatic conditions, from geography to governance, from education and awareness to culture (Grigg, 1993, p. 21; Curtis, Hubbard and Shepherd, 1988, p. 61; Bernstein, Crow and Johnson, 1992, p. 69; Kent, 1984, p. 23). The key question, therefore, is about guarantee that food will be available when needed, as well as which type of food will be avai

Marketing Myopia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Marketing Myopia - Essay Example Petroleum industry was never been continuously a growth industry. When so ever products innovation took place industry has to face challenges. Customer Orientation: Most of the industries are still product oriented than customer oriented. They are preoccupied with their specific products and do not want to change their products or vary their products according to the wishes and need of the customers. Even best companies like Detriot or Ford who have adopted best practices in the industry are not customer oriented. Some of the companies like nylon and glass industry specifically E.I. du pont de nemours and Corning Glass Work are successful not due to technical competence and product orientation but due to throughout customer oriented policies. It is constant watchfulness for opportunities to apply their technical know - how to creation of customer satisfying uses that accounts for their prodigious output of successful new product. Myopic Vision: Industry failure attributed to their faulty, narrow, short term and temporary vision. Due to poor conceptualization companies may not be able to offer more value to their customers and become ineffective. Improperly defined purposes as in the case of railroads and Hollywood films prove fatal for the industry. This narrow vision always results in the stagnation of industries. Most of the industries that define its vision so narrowly, lack of imagination, lacking the will to survive, do not satisfy public inventiveness and skill results in premature demise. Product Innovation: industries which are pretty content with their growth moves into comfort zone and never been able to think imaginatively. They have never been able to develop new products and vary their product according to their customer needs. At times industries not bother to think about product innovation. Petroleum industry is the distressing example of how complacency and wrong headedness can stubbornly convert opportunities into disaster. Most of their product improvement came from outside of the industry. Research & Development: Industries, which are heavily dependent on research and development process and mass production, could not be able to pay more attention on customers need. The top management of the company is wholly transfixed by the profit possibilities of technical research and development. Company's top management heavy with scientist, researchers and technical people seldom knows the exact situation of the market and customer requirements. They are product oriented rather than customer oriented. Part-2 Now in the present situation where information flows across the globe and people are aware and connected with almost all parts of the World marketing management has taken newer dimensions. Marketing can simply be defined, as "meeting needs profitably". (Kotler). Management theorist Peter defined marketing, as "The aim of marketing is to make selling super flows. The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that the product or services fits him and sells itself. Ideally, marketing should result in a customer who is ready to buy." (Drucker). "Marketing management is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and

Financial Reports of McDonalds Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Financial Reports of McDonalds - Assignment Example This paper discusses McDonalds’ 2013 annual report with focus on the company’s operations, income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow, and ratio analysis. Accounting information, often summarized and communicated in annual reports, is important to different stakeholders to an organization. This paper reviews and reports on McDonalds’ annual report for the year ended 2013 with focus on the company’s operations and financial statements. The discussion identifies positive prospects in the annual report but offers reservations on the company’s long-term stability due to overreliance on external funding. One of McDonalds’ operational activities in the accounting year ended 2013 was realignment of its subsidiaries, efforts that begun in the year 2005. The operations were geared towards two major goals, to realign the subsidiaries to external environments in the areas of operations and to realign the subsidiaries to the company’s global perspective. Theses aimed at attaining a desired corporate image by the company. The company also operates in two scopes, through its managed subsidiaries and though its franchises. Its branches however obtain commodities and services from independent suppliers but quality assessment centers exist to ensure threshold standards in all of the company’s outlets. The company’s operations also include collaboration with suppliers to facilitate efficiencies through innovation, outstanding practices, and continuous improvements. The company offers a standard menu to its customers though a level of variation may exist to accommodate geographical diversity around its outlets. It also offers seasonal products but majorly on promotions. Monitoring and evaluation of newly developed products also form a major aspect of the company’s operations. Research and development is another significant area of the company’s operations and research and development facilities exists in the United States, Europe, and

IFRS (ADIDAS) VS. US GAAP( nike) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

IFRS (ADIDAS) VS. US GAAP( nike) - Essay Example The generic accounting principles include four types of financial statements: balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statement and retained earnings statement (Nikolai et al, 2009). The balance sheet is one of the core accounting documents produced for all business entities, which provide the financial position of a company, with details on its assets, liabilities and ownership equity, at any given point in time. The income statement is a reflection of the profit and loss details that the entity generated over a particular period of time. Reflecting the operation of the enterprise, profit and loss statements, a term commonly used to describe the income statement, include the revenue generated from sale and the expenses that are incurred over the reporting period used for the document. The cash flow statement is a report that details the various activities undertaken by an entity, linked to investing and financing. Lastly, the statement of retained earnings is a snapshot of the ch anges that have taken place in the earnings of the entity over the reporting period that is in place as part of the accounting policy. The objective of the financial statement is variable to the stakeholder utilising the information. Organizational owners and managers use financial statements as a resource to base strategic decisions on, by assessing the overall operational efficiency of the business. On the other hand, investors look into the reporting data as a way of judging the viability of the institution, especially in context of the security and benefit it would create for any investment. The government bodies would use institutional financial statements within their due diligence and auditing process, to ascertain the declarations made by the entity, especially in relation to taxes and duties (Ding et al, 2007). Furthermore, financial bodies use this form of organizational documentation to decide the security

Learning to Accept the Controversial Issues Essay

Learning to Accept the Controversial Issues - Essay Example With the vast technological growth and advancement in the telecommunications sector, people of today get to experience so many innovative discoveries never before availed. One might not be able to imagine a world without cell phones or the internet, of social networking or being perennially tuned to tunes and gadgets that keep on being upgraded to the level. The same-sex union had previously been unorthodox from my personal perspective, simply because of firsthand experience – my biological mother chose another female for a lifelong partner. My mom took Dinah as her partner when I was eight. I also have an adopted sister named Isabella who we came to our home about three years ago. It was very difficult and embarrassing for me to be around with my family due to the unconventional arrangements. I remembered trying desperately to avoid discussions prying on my family life. I made endless excuses when friends want to hang out at home: I have to make errands, I would be suddenly i nvited to a neighbor’s night out, I was not able to sleep well due to the neighbor’s howling Labrador. The list was endless and I got to be so inventive that I thought my friends actually enjoyed finding out what my next excuse would be. One time, I remembered working on an academic project that required researching on homosexuality and same-sex marriage. I found out how children of same-sex partners were not to be affected at all by the unusual arrangement since the affection and support received from them are actually the same as what heterosexual partners give. Reflecting on this, I realized that the holistic support provided by my ‘parents’ have been exceptional so far and that there really is nothing to be ashamed of. Over time, I began to start accepting my family life and started opening up to others about it. I started bringing my closest friends one at a time at home and felt immensely relieved that they did not see anything wrong with the relationship. I was just apparently too sensitive about it – making a mountain out of a molehill.     

QSAR Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

QSAR - Essay Example The loaded values are expected to give descriptive information about the descriptors that will be interpreted in terms of significant biological correlation relationships. Notably, the experimental model applied in this study revealed that the main features describing the binding activities of the experimental compounds were partially charge-based receptors. This was an automatic measure of molecular electronic property. The same property can be used in an auto correlated that can be used to weigh substitute descriptors’ position. Additionally, the linear regression equation and its application can be used in predicting biological activity in the study. It is worth noting that the comparison of the result with the literature data indicates that the proposed quality of the model compared to the provided model compares well with the sophisticated 2D based method. Introduction The quantitative structured activity relationship, the QSAR techniques are currently suitable and indisp ensable in all research aspects especially in relation to biological molecular properties interpretation. Obviously, the chemical, biological, and or physical properties of a compound depend on the three dimensional (3D) molecular and atomic arrangement; however, the same properties can be examined in a two dimensional model. Notably, the capacity to produce qualitative and quantitative correlation between 2D molecular structures and their biological activities is fundamental in deciding what synthetic ways of bioactive chemicals. Numerous research works involving the application and use of QSAR have been applied in biological properties and structural determination of biological elements; for instance, the use of the Hansch molecule description. The QSARs analysis of the 2, 4- diamino – 5- (substituted benzyl) pyrimidines and 2,4 – diamino – 6 – dimethyl – 5 – phenyldihydrotriazines have suggested that neural network application have reliab le and effective results than normal or traditional application of the regression methods. In supplementation with the regression processes, other techniques of determination of the activity of the biological molecules have since been introduced. This includes the use of inductive logic programming (ILP) that has since used to model the QSAR particularly in the trimethoprim analogues binding from E. coli to DHFR. This technique applies mainly the physiochemical attributes that are usually assigned to substituent heuristically towards a general approach. This application or process is usually applied to the design problem of drugs. However, it should be noted that this method is not significantly better than the regression or the traditional QSAR method; however, it is noted to produce rules that are likely to provide insight into the stereochemistry of the biological molecules under determination. In most cases, such stereochemistry does help in determining the structure and to some extent, depending on the analysis, chemical properties of a molecule. It should be noted that more evidence are still required to assess these newly applied methods properly to ascertain the comparative trials and the analysis in numerous and different ways. The biological steroids activities usually vary considerably depending on seemingly small structural changes within or about a molecule. The fundamental molecular family usually represents very challenging characteristics for any method of prediction. This

Provide a comprehensive report that will describe the development of Essay

Provide a comprehensive report that will describe the development of design from appraisal to completion and illustrate the prop - Essay Example All of these tasks are encapsulated in the design procedure. Different organizations describe these procedures with different names. Irrespective of individual task names, the principal elements of the design procedure consists of four key elements (architype.net n.d.); programming, schematic design, design development, and construction documents. Figure 1 exhibits the above-mentioned concept. The diagram in figure 1 shows that design procedure does not present a sum of several activities Figure 1. Principal elements of design procedure (architype.net n.d.) that flow in one direction. The activities are iterative, which is one of the paramount concepts of an Architectural design procedure. Iterative flow provides the opportunity for design modification. In the design procedure, modification plays a pivotal role since the process is cognitive. That is why tasks or activities of design phases move back and forth allowing develop more elaborate designs to control and modify the overall design. Each of the principal elements of the design procedures shown in figure 1 is divided into multiple tasks. Many recommendations are available about how to subdivide each principal process into multiple tasks. This report follows recommendations provided by the Royal Institute of British Architecture (RIBA). RIBA (architecture.com n.d ) outlines work process to manage and design architectural projects Scope and limitation of this report The report is structured using words and visual forms of presentation. Scope of this report is to describe architectural design phases thru general idea without tying to any specific project. Phases that are described hereafter present design procedure of any kind of building construction from appraisal to completion. Sketches and illustrations are used from general constructions for visual representation of different phases. The step-by-step procedures described in words and sketches exhibit work from appraisal to completion of practical const ructions. RIBA Stage A and B: Project Appraisal Phase The program of discovery begins with the appraisal phase. Design procedure starts with the determination of scope of work, and that is why this phase is also known as programming phase. This phase includes discussions, thoughts, and explorations. All participants must understand and agree on the program at the start. This phase establishes scope, objectives, limitations and criteria of the future project. For a residential housing project, the program would include information about types of amenities the client wants in the house, number of rooms, square footage requirement of rooms, and construction stages. For a bigger building project, such as a school, a program is complex and would include numbers of rooms, type and their functions, interior and exterior design, finishes, electrical, mechanical, and water supply system, playgrounds, different science laboratories, etc. For a highly complex task; a program starts with the de velopment of a master program document, which is then split into smaller individual programs of different buildings. Project appraisal phase is also called as pre-design phase. RIBA characterizes it as briefing stage. To develop the