Media analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Media analysis - Research Paper Example The growth in international tourism and travel has led to the reliance on food experience as a way of marketing destinations. This extends gastronomy across all socio-economic societies. In recent years, gastronomy has changed a lot especially with the effects of media into the marketing strategies. There exist a lot of media forms through which information about food can be passed (Radin, 2006). Different types of food and beverage products have been advertised using various forms of media. Modern day marketing techniques target specific groups of people, and there is a need to identify the best channels to reach the target market. In Sydney, there are many food outlets offering different cuisine. These food outlets range from fast foods to restaurants selling meals containing several courses. These establishments differ in the way they choose their markets. The marketing strategies, however, seem the same. They use the same media approach to reach their targets in different ways. M cDonalds can be identified as one of the leading hotel chains within Australia. They tend to use advertising through television more than other outlets like donut king. Within the Richmond neighborhood of Sydney, these two chains each have an outlet. They tend to compete for the same clients who consume fast food (McGrath & Anderson 1986). Their target market comprises of mainly youthful city dwellers. This client target does not have the time to prepare meals in their homes. This reason makes the two outlets identify t is group as their target market. The organizations have each been able to cut a niche for itself within the same market (McIntosh et al, 1995). McDonalds specializes in American cuisines while donut king does not have a cuisine specialty. Thought they don’t deal with the same products, they deal with similar ones. It would be difficult for donut king to start selling American food to outshine McDonalds. The two establishments have been using television a lot t o advertise their products. They have also put up billboards in certain strategic positions to aid in advertising. McDonald runs special adverts aimed at creating awareness on the importance of having a snack in between meals. This aims at making the same individuals realize that the snack being recommended can be acquired at their out let easily. On the other hand, donut king uses the same media to promote the new products which they have (Warde 2009). The advertisements run by McDonalds can be classified as informatory. The restaurant already has an international recognition. It lacks the reason for engaging in product familiarization advertisement. Being an international brand, the McDonalds outlet in Richmond, needs to let its presence felt. The use of television has been most effective for these two establishments. The target market of youth spends a lot of their time glued to television sets. Advertising on TV ensures that the targeted client receives the information quickly a nd easily (Chen, 2004). These advertisements normally run on the cable networks due to the popularity of these networks with the youth. The use of television ensures information reaches the highest number of people in the shortest time possible. Most establishments put a lot of emphasis on advertising as a way of marketing their products. Though essential in the promotion of a product, advertising should not be the only way of marketing (Michael & George 2004). Introduction of unique products

No need for a topic Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

No need for a topic - Case Study Example Chipotle has a strong advantage over Qdoba Mexican Grill and Moe’s Southwest Grill as these two scored lowly on the weighted competitive strength assessment. It compares even better to the Qdoba Mexican Grill that scored the lowest in the weighted strength assessment. However, it scored the same as the Taco Bell. There is a need for Chipotle to look at its financial stability in order that this financial stability does not affect the other strategic advantages that it has. Its access to financing is more restricted than that of Qdoba Mexican Grill and Moe’s Southwest Grill. Chipotle has a market reach that extends beyond national boarders and operates in USA, Canada and a number of European nations. However, there is a need to secure its place in these markets and address changing global issues in order to ensure that its competitors will not push it out of the market. In this case, the main issue for Chipotle is to make sure that it is able to access the other markets such as the USA in order to secure its future. It is also necessary to note that in the weighted strength assessment, market Economic environment is one of the factors with the highest weight. As a result, because Chipotle scored very lowly in this area, it may have a bigger risk that the other firms even Taco Bell with whom it scored the same for the total

Job satisfaction and employer employee relations

Job satisfaction and employer employee relations Job satisfaction is an integral component of organization environment and important element in management -employee relationship. It is the important subject for the success of business in other words, effect directly or indirectly to the company and customers. Job satisfaction is directly related with improving of company and efficiency of employee. Are the employees happy with his/her present job? This is the main question whose answer has great significance in professional life. If they are happy with their job then there is no problem in company and their daily life. If they were not happy with their job, thats the main problem. And how to solve that problem? What are the causes of job dissatisfaction? Job satisfaction plays main role in defining the employee efficiency and productivity. According to Moorhead and Griffin (2010 p.69) Job satisfaction is the extent to which a person is gratified or fulfilled by his or her work. McDonalds is the worlds biggest chain of the fast food restaurant, it serves food nearly 47 million customers daily through more than 31000 restaurants in 119 countries. McDonalds sells different types of fast food like burger, fries, salad and soft drinks. Mc Donald is being popular because of serving food to customers within a minute, served over the counters, products are standard, customers are really attractive because of low price, cleaned place higher standard, hygienic and consistent food quality, comfortable restaurant environment, quality service and it focused on all level of customers those people who have less purchasing power. Most of the customers are really satisfied with the service of McDonald there was no negative response from the customer. It is true customers are really satisfied but the question comes out to employee who serves to customer. Are the employees of McDonald is satisfied with their job? In which environment they are working? Are there minimum level of facilities are provided by company in the work place? This is very important on the working time. Because of bad working environment sometimes employee says bad words. A word of mouth can do a lot of harm to an organization; this is the causes of employee job dissatisfaction. Employee learning and job satisfaction are two assets that could be tracked on the part of the value creation net.( B. Throsten ,2006). The whole fast food restaurant business depends on the employee to achieve this goal: Hence an employee is one of the key element in fast food restaurant ( wang, 2004). Problem of statement In todays context McDonald has been popular day by day in the fast food restaurant name. According to McDonald website the employee of McDonalds are fully satisfied with their job and customers also. But there is high employee turnover ratio. If the old employees are really satisfied why they leaved their job? And why new employees are attract in McDonald? Are the environment of McDonald is really good? What factors directly influence in the staff turnover and absenteeism on organization? The organizational environment is significance related to the employee job satisfaction but same little affects on employee job performance. Organization that have goals to achieve requires satisfied and happy staff.(ashagbemi,2000). When the employees see that his expectations are not met in the job environment, the job dissatisfaction emerges. It leads to decrease in work efficiency, organization commitment and commitment to the job increase in the rate of optional dissatisfaction of the job.(Sant happaraj, Srini and ling 2005; Payne and Morrision,2002;Redfern,2005;denizer,2008;Gellatly 2005and Sagie,2002) The relation between job satisfaction and organizational climate and arrested that people were the heart of any enterprises because their ideas, attitudes and effort key causes of organization success (Rice.C,1982). Individual in the organization have certain expectation and fulfilment of these depends upon their perception whether organizational climate suits according to their needs or not.( Butt, Bhutto and Abbes,2011). In the fast food restaurant, employees job satisfaction directly affect on the quality of food service, which means the effect on customer satisfaction when the employees are satisfied they works hard and try to give best service for customer.(ling Qin,2004) According to Dunn (2008) The chains annual employee turnover at 700000-or nearly 44% of the companys 1.6 million employees worldwide. A high employee-turnover rate has been perennial problem for the fast food restaurant. Which grows to 130% (john.s, 2007) Organizations managers must know how to manage the workers in organisation but the human nature is difference. So, their thinking depends on their nature and their demand will be difference which cannot refer by company which effect on employee satisfaction. Job satisfaction directly related with the organizational environments like job performance of employee, employee motivation, and customers satisfaction. The factors which effects on job satisfaction is wages, promotion, supervision, facilities etc. Aim of Research To identify the factors, which improve the satisfaction level of employee? To predict the value of job satisfaction and objectives workplace variables such as absenteeism, employee turnover and productivity. To ensure what happens when the employee dissatisfaction? Objectives of Research To identify the factors which are most likely to influence job satisfaction on McDonalds To assess the job satisfaction level on McDonald. To know employee satisfaction towards the facilities. To offer valuable suggestion to improve the satisfaction level of employee. To ensure what happens when the employee dissatisfaction? To evaluate critically relevant theoretical research into job satisfaction. To gain the knowledge of job characteristics and variance model of job satisfaction. To explore what is known of the relation between job satisfaction and other variables such as gender, age, personality.. Why employee job satisfaction is compulsory? And Gaining the knowledge of relation between job and general life satisfaction. To analyze the causes of satisfaction and dissatisfaction among employees in nature of their work and area of dissatisfaction. To identify the practices of motivation among employees and their job satisfaction in industry and the   individual measures for better motivational practices to encourage employees. Conclude the  suggestions on the basis of the research finding. Conclude the  suggestions on the basis of the research finding. Significance of study Improving the relationship between the employee and the organizational climate at work time. Improving the employee efficiency to qualitative and quantities product. Try to understand employees felling and respect their job which effort to organization. Key Issues to be considered Structure of industry Work environment management Employee Involvement Pay system Job  secure Relation between employer-employee and among partners Recognition for good work  and work environment Development and  Career opportunity Literature review Job satisfaction us the feeling of happy by the worker what he/she worked. An attitude which results from a balancing and summation of many specific likes and dislikes experienced in connection with the job. It is the employees judgement of how well the job on the whole satisfying his various needs. Job satisfaction focus on all feeling that an individual has about his/ her job. However what makes a job satisfaction or dissatisfaction does not depends only on the job, but also on the expectations that that individuals have of what their jobs should provide.(Lu, while Bariball, 2004). According to Oxford Dictionary job satisfaction is an application of effort to a purpose, force in action, doing of something a task for materials to be operated on doing as experiences of specified kind employment especially as a means of earning money, a thing done or made, a product or manifestation. .Robbins, Odendaal and Roodt (2003) state there have been to approaches to the study of job satisfaction the global approach and the fact approach. The global approach explains job satisfaction as a single, overall feelings towards a job while the facet approach suggests that there are different facets or different aspects of jobs such as rewards (pay or funds benefits) other people on the job (supervisor) job conditions, communication, security, promotion opportunities, and the nature of the work itself. Lockes (1976) says job satisfaction depends upon the nature of a persons values and needs as well as upon the nature of job. Is this approach really matched for all employment? It is believed that the job facet approach permits a more complete picture of job satisfaction and an individual naturally has different levels of satisfaction with view to the various facets. I think this approach is not equivalent for all types of employees. FW Taylor. (1911) job satisfaction based on a most pragmatic essentially pessimistic philosophy that man is motivation by money alone. Taylor is the father of the management he focus the job satisfied fulfilled by money which is the most essential for whole life. S.K Srivastav (2005) suggested job satisfaction is general attitude which is the result of many specific attitudes in three areas-(a) specific job factor. (b) Individual characteristics (c) group relationship outside the job. And Pestoyee (1991) states job satisfaction can be taken as a summation of employees feelings in four important areas. (a) job nature of work, (b) management (c) social relations (d) personal adjustment. OECD research (2000) investigated job satisfaction of employee depends on the employee status, gender and hours, the self-employed tend to indicate grater satisfaction with their jobs then employees. There are some salient differences in the pattern of job satisfaction by gender. Male employees to be likely to report interesting job satisfaction with lengthening hours of work. While female employees does not. Man and women own account workers the pattern difference in both case the peak satisfaction occurs in job of around 40hr has week. Both authors are in same way but Pestoyee added about the management which is the most important part of the organizational climate. The entire environment depends on management level. So, if higher level manager want the can do everything for employees satisfaction I am argue with this report all the employees want to sufficient wages for expenses in their daily life.non of the employees are satisfied if they have not sufficient money to use in daily life. This is the cause of weekly 40hrs work. Job satisfaction is a collection of numerous attitudes towards various aspects of the job and represents a general attitude, performance of specific task, such as preparing a particular monthly report cant necessary be predicted a particular monthly report cant necessary be predicted on the basis of general attitude. (S.W. John, 2007) Job satisfaction is important for many reasons. Because satisfaction represents an outcome of the work experience, high level of dissatisfaction helps to identity organization problem that need attention. Job satisfaction helps to strongly linked to absenteeism turnover and physical and mental health problems. Job satisfaction refers to the attitude and feelings people have about their work positive and favourable attitudes towards the job indicate job satisfaction. Negative and unfavourable attitudes towards the job indicate job dissatisfaction. (A.Michael, 2006). As same Dunnette, Campbell Hakel, (1967) said that both intrinsic and extrinsic factor appeared to be associated with both job satisfaction job dissatisfaction depending on what was important to the individual. In this case everyone is trying to getting positive attitude and likes to show higher performance for promotion. If the level of job satisfaction is affected by intrinsic and extrinsic motivating factors. The quality of supervision, social relationships with the work group and the degree to which individuals succeed or fail in their work. Litwin and stringr (1968) developed the general measure of organizational climate is the organizational Climate quaternaries (OCQ) the studies have investigation the characteristic of the OCQ (e.g. factor structure) and the relationship of the OCQ to other organisational behaviour constructs. putti and bhun (1988) investigated the relationship between the OCQ and job description index as well. They also concluded that job satisfaction is highly correlated with organizational climate. Organizational climate and the job satisfaction are really linked together. For the employee satisfaction better environment is compulsory but it does not means to hi-fi.it means appropriate which depends on work. Job satisfaction related with personal characteristic employees value and job expectation, ability to attend, situation attendance and pressure to attend.( Steers Rhodeds ,1978). Numerous studies have shown that dissatisfied employees are more likely to quit their jobs or be absent than satisfied employee (Hackett and guion, 1985: hulin, ruznowski, and hacliya, 1985 kohler and mathiu, 1993) job satisfaction shows correlation with turnover and absenteeism in the-25range job dissatisfaction also appears to be related to other withdrawal behaviour including lateness, unionizations grievances drug abuse and decision to retire. The employees who are satisfied with their jobs they want to stay long time in an organization and dissatisfied employee try to be turnover and like to absenteeism. The state job security is the one of most important things for job satisfaction. Social life is more challenging for every employee. So they want to more benefits from organization. Like high payment. Opportunities to use kills and abilities and feeling sat in the work environment. (Kathy ,2010)

The Importance of Diet and Nutrition Essay example -- Health Nutrition

The Importance of Diet and Nutrition A child's diet and nutrition is a growing concern. Parenting is one of the most difficult jobs in the world, and often times parents struggle just to get their children to eat. Most parents assume that as long as their children eat something, it is fine to let them eat what they want. The wrong approach to food can give children mixed messages about proper nutrition and lead to serious problems later. Parents are solely responsible for children's poor eating habits. "Children today, more susceptible than any to propaganda, are eating an increasing amount of sweets, lollipops, crisps and refined carbohydrate food." (Mount 23) To know what children are eating these days, one must simply watch Saturday morning cartoons. Children are targeted by advertisement after advertisement with bright colors and toys. From sugary cereals to new and improved cookies, children decide the types of food they want to eat from commercials and select those products when grocery shopping with mom or dad. With fun characters and special toys in every meal, fast food restaurants lure children in. Though children may be taken in by advertisements, their parents are the ones who buy the products and ultimately have the power to say "no." Parents unfortunately do not take a stand. They give in to avoid temper tantrums and get their children to eat something, but more lies at stake than a public scene. "Sweets, lollipops and crisps with the help of television ad vertising have eroded what innate good nutritional sense remained... and the stage is set fair for widespread subnutrition." (Mount 67) A movement away from fruits, vegetables, and grains towards fats and sweets has become increa... ...as a child, chances are the same bad eating habits will carry over into adulthood. Parents must realize their own struggles with obesity, high blood pressure, and heart problems are linked to their diet. In order to prevent their children from going through the same issues, they must plant the idea of nutrition now. Parents have ultimate control over the health and growth of their children. It is time they faced that responsibility. Works Cited Environmed Research Inc. homepage. pp. 1-2. http://www.nutramed.com/children/index.htm (Retrieved November 5, 1998) Martin, H. Darlene. "Dietary Guidelines for Children Age Two to Five". pp. 1-4. Issued On-Line January 1996. <http://www.ianr.unl.edu/pubs/Foods/g1249.htm (Retrieved November 5, 1998). Mount, James Lambert. The Food and Health of Western Man. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1975. The Importance of Diet and Nutrition Essay example -- Health Nutrition The Importance of Diet and Nutrition A child's diet and nutrition is a growing concern. Parenting is one of the most difficult jobs in the world, and often times parents struggle just to get their children to eat. Most parents assume that as long as their children eat something, it is fine to let them eat what they want. The wrong approach to food can give children mixed messages about proper nutrition and lead to serious problems later. Parents are solely responsible for children's poor eating habits. "Children today, more susceptible than any to propaganda, are eating an increasing amount of sweets, lollipops, crisps and refined carbohydrate food." (Mount 23) To know what children are eating these days, one must simply watch Saturday morning cartoons. Children are targeted by advertisement after advertisement with bright colors and toys. From sugary cereals to new and improved cookies, children decide the types of food they want to eat from commercials and select those products when grocery shopping with mom or dad. With fun characters and special toys in every meal, fast food restaurants lure children in. Though children may be taken in by advertisements, their parents are the ones who buy the products and ultimately have the power to say "no." Parents unfortunately do not take a stand. They give in to avoid temper tantrums and get their children to eat something, but more lies at stake than a public scene. "Sweets, lollipops and crisps with the help of television ad vertising have eroded what innate good nutritional sense remained... and the stage is set fair for widespread subnutrition." (Mount 67) A movement away from fruits, vegetables, and grains towards fats and sweets has become increa... ...as a child, chances are the same bad eating habits will carry over into adulthood. Parents must realize their own struggles with obesity, high blood pressure, and heart problems are linked to their diet. In order to prevent their children from going through the same issues, they must plant the idea of nutrition now. Parents have ultimate control over the health and growth of their children. It is time they faced that responsibility. Works Cited Environmed Research Inc. homepage. pp. 1-2. http://www.nutramed.com/children/index.htm (Retrieved November 5, 1998) Martin, H. Darlene. "Dietary Guidelines for Children Age Two to Five". pp. 1-4. Issued On-Line January 1996. <http://www.ianr.unl.edu/pubs/Foods/g1249.htm (Retrieved November 5, 1998). Mount, James Lambert. The Food and Health of Western Man. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1975.

Oprah is a name that needs no introduction Essay

Oprah is so well-known that she doesn’t even need a last name! Her early years in her career were influenced strongly by viewing Barbara Walters on The Today Show. She was a senior in high school when she entered a contest. Upon entering the contest she had to choose a career goal. Her choice was broadcast journalism because the other contestants chose to be a nurse and teacher. This choice turned out to be a very wise choice. She won the contest! This win landed her a job as a newscaster while still attending Tennessee State University. Although the stress of a job and college were taxing, Oprah loved the business and knew this was an actual viable option for her. This led Oprah to a job at Baltimore’s largest television station. She was at first on, then off, the evening news. She was then placed on an early morning interview show where she felt the click -This Is It! This is my future! Her obstacles were many. She was a woman, she was African-American, she was poor but she wasn’t a quitter. She knew to succeed meant to keep on her path and to not lose sight of her goal. She knew this by the time she was three or four years old. She knew that she would accomplish something spectacular. And indeed she has; she began hosting a television show in 1984 in Chicago which soon became syndicated. She knew that to remain successful and in a leadership position that she needed to purchase her show, in which she did. This led to many other ventures in her life such as the cable channel Oxygen and her magazine, O. She is so successful that she was acknowledged as the wealthiest African American woman in entertainment. Life Magazine also listed her in â€Å"The Most 100 Influential People of the 20th Century† in 1998. See more: how to write an introduction Oprah has become so influential because she is living proof that adversity can be overcome. Abuse can be overcome. Poverty and racism can be overcome. She is an icon to all of those that struggle. Her openness about her battle with her weight is just another avenue for people to connect with and be influenced by her. She’s open about her past, people relate to that. Influence is power, especially if you show the shoes that you have traveled in. She is an advocate for African Americans, women, children, poverty, and racism. She touches nearly everyone in some facet of their life. Oprah’s leadership style is ‘Lead By Example. We have watched her air her abuse stories on air as well as her weight problems. This humanizes her as well as openly shows that any weakness can become a strength if one perseveres. She never leads by letting others pave the way. She paves the way! She opens doors for education of minorities in impoverished countries that most of the world has chosen to forget. She also leads through compassion and conviction. What impresses me most about Oprah is she never allowed herself to â€Å"stay down. † She had always managed to overcome all of her personal and professional obstacles to achieve personal and professional success. She values her personal growth and success more, and there again, it shows that she is only human like the rest of us. Even if she were to become poor today, she would still keep trying to learn the life lessons that have made her strong and truly convicted in her belief system. Conversely, what I found unimpressive is her over-playing the race card at times. If she promotes a movie that is predominately African American, she is overly friendly and has even been noted to share some â€Å"private† moment on air that the rest of America may not understand. The favoritism toward these fellow African-Americans can sometimes be nauseating.

Development in Durban

Here at USAID, our mission is to provide economic development and humanitarian assistance to people located all around the world. At USAID we ave a strong sector focused on Sub-Saharan African development. We notice that Durban is an up-and-coming city, with the potential to be a thriving seven million- person city by the turn of the century. We are contacting you about your future sustainable urban development.There are rural areas located around your city which are extremely agricultural, but these farms are in need of exporting their goods in order to make money, and a high poverty level still arises in South Africa. We want to stimulate both Durban and the surrounding rural cities' economic development and growth through implementing sustainable agricultural evelopment programs throughout the area. Much attention has been raised towards sustainable economic development and growth as barriers are taken down and globalization continues to expand to the most rural parts of the world .We believe that Durban, as a booming city of more than three million people, is a perfect place to implement sustainable urban agriculture and a city where the benefits will be fully reaped. Once these plans have taken shape, countries throughout Africa will take notice of the efficient resource use and city-wide positive development that has taken place. This paper will lay out three advantages that will stem from adding agriculture into urban life: the involvement of women and children in societal development, environmental benefits, and a benefit in food security.As the 17th Conference of the Parties to the UN Conference on Climate Change in Durban is around the corner (l am sure you know but as a reminder the 28th of November), now is a perfect time to seriously consider the benefits of sustainable urban agriculture as a means towards bettering the society, economy, and environment. Why does Durban, South Africa need to involve urban agriculture within its city nd surrounding a reas? A r ca, Latin America, and Asia, by the year 2 home to 75% of urban dwellers world-wide.This same study conducted by the Resource Centres for Urban Agriculture and Food Security (RUAF) predicted that by 2020, 40-45% of the poor in Africa will be concentrated in towns and cities (â€Å"Resource Centres on Urban Agriculture and Food Security†). After taking a look at these statistics, one can comprehend the magnitude of the effects on cities that the global population increase will cause. I am going to give you some examples of urban gricultural projects from other cities worldwide before I delve into the positive effects of implementing such projects into your city.Essentially, an urban farm can be found in window sills, abandoned warehouses, and old parking lots. The magazine Farming the City highlights several examples of urban agriculture. One such community-boosting project is under way in Berlin, Germany. Here, the community has come together to convert the unused s pace of a half-century-old wasteland into an area suitable for growing vegetation and fruits. Activists and community members were the main people involved in the project.The article notes that such spaces would promote community development through the sharing of knowledge, a â€Å"mini utopia† where people enjoy fresh foods and relax (Stipo 7). Architectural design has aimed at building fixtures in the urban sectors of cities, such as in the OosteliJk havengebeid district of Amsterdam. Here, a greenhouse† plan has been undertaken. This greenhouse will feature shops on the ground floor, restaurants on the top and effective uses of window-placement that allow maximum sunlight for the cultivation of crops.The area outside of the greenhouse will be used as a locally- rown vegetable garden. (Stipo 6). Examples such as these show how community development can be achieved through organized gardens run by civilians and new building designs where sustainable practices are enfo rced. Let me start out with giving a detailed overview of why sustainable agricultural development will be implemented into Durban and the surrounding rural areas.Sustainable development, without the added agricultural term, is defined as â€Å"development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs†l . Why have humans even come to this point where there is an extremely viable chance that future generations will not be able to survive on this planet? The answer can be boiled down to misuse of natural resources and humans' inability to be environmental stewards, taking care of the land which they rely on for food and water.I Just want to include some data on Africa's deforestation and poor land use so as to drill home the point of the need for sustainable agricultural methods to be implemented. South Africa, as a growing developing country, should heed warming of the harmful effects that deforestation as to lled upon Earth and its people in recent history. For one, deforestation causes soil erosion, which eventually leads to desertification and the pollution of waterways. Sub-Saharan Africa does not need dry, infertile land.Land needs to remain fertile in order for the production of food to take place. South Africa's climate does not provide for much indigenous forest, as only 0. 5% of its surface area is covered by it (Collins). Urban agriculture will relieve deforestation, as it provides food to be produced within a city and not on large-scale farms. Much care should be put towards preserving hese forests. Urban agriculture aims at using less resources and the creativity of the human mind to create organic toods which nave the ability to keep the relationship between man and the world a healthy one.The fact that up to 75 percent of the population in 29 Sub-Saharan Africa countries was constituted as malnourished in 2004, is alarming. Most of these individuals farm for a living, not m aking much money or providing food for their families or even their selves. Malnourishment and poverty essentially go hand in hand. In fact, in the year 2000, 59 percent of people lived below the poverty line of US 1 [day (United Nations Environment). Urban agricultural development can be used to benefit the society of African areas.The fact that children and women are forced to work long hours on their farms and are still hungry is mainly due to the fact that they have no money to support themselves. They are not making enough money selling their crops and therefore do not have enough money to buy their own food. As a solution to this problem, Alex Colletta, a columnist for the University of California, Santa Barbara's daily newspaper, Daily Nexus, writes that by implementing self- ustaining farms into vacant lots and backyards, children and women can â€Å"promote community spirit†¦ rovide fresh vegetables and fruits to several businesses and homeless shelters and also help feed a dying economy by helping small restaurants get the best food for cheap prices† (Colletta 4). As urban farmers no longer have to worry about paying for food, they can make a profit to live on. While the organic farming that Alex Colletta talks about in her article is coming from Detroit, a city in northern Michigan, USA, there is no doubt that the poor in South Africa can use it as form of both a societal community booster and a form of economic development.Detroit has many abandoned factories, and these are what are being used for the new urban farms; Durban can build greenhouses and buildings in non-developed areas in order to promote the citys poor to become urban famers. Bill McKibben writes in his magazine article entitled A Special Moment in History that â€Å"Growing too fast may mean that they [poor people in slums] run short of cropland to feed themselves, of firewood to cook their food, of school desks and hospital beds† (McKibben, 400). He explains in t his part of his article how population growth akes it difficult for the poor members of society to sustain their livelihoods.One key pressure in the wake of rising African populations is food security. One major dilemma the poor face in the growing world, food security, centers on individuals' abilities to have healthy food when they need it. In Amy N. Lerner's article about food security and food production in the global south, she states that â€Å"research in Africa has found that economic and caloric needs are the primary motivations for populations in urban and pert-urban areas to pursue agriculture† (Lerner, 6).With ising population densities, there is a rise in resource necessities; while this is the case, available labor and land remains low. Urban agriculture has the ability to provide organic fresh vegetables and fruits to a growing population within Durban. Families will be working within the community in order to provide food for community-run farmers markets and for their own families. With the smart use of land-planning, which is a major part of urban agriculture, along with having more people work, smarter, less resource-intensive urban areas will bloom.Three advantages of organic farming are centralized on the society, the economy nd the environment; urban agriculture, as an organic form of farming, brings about all three ot these advantages. The advantage that organic urban farming poses towards cities and its population (society) revolves around the development of women and the alleviation of poverty, which brings about greater food security. Organic public markets, commonly known as farmers' markets, provide a place where members of society can convene and purchase locally-grown foods.So, by promoting local food production for local needs, global policy should move away from subsidizing corporate food exports and opening p to foreign food imports, which drives small-scale farmers off of their land, and towards a policy that promotes s mall-scale, environmentally sound farming that provides for local markets (Brecher, Costello, Smith 316). Due to the fact that 59 percent of people worldwide lived below the poverty line of IJS$I ‘day in the year 2000, new forms of aid for those who suffer from wages not able to sustain a healthy livelihood are pivotal in development (United Nations Environment Programme ).With development strategies in place, women and children will learn how to grow vegetables and fruits, therefore being able to feed hemselves and sell food in local farmers markets. An increasing role in women's livelihoods has an extremely positive benefit for communities. Mayra Buvinic notes in her article Women in Poverty: A New Global Underclass manors in which national and international policies can change and improve to yield great benefits for poor women and the developing world. Two implementations Ms.Buvinic recommends are to â€Å"Increase rural women's access to agricultural extension servicesâ⠂¬  and â€Å"adopt labor- intensive ‘pro-poor' economic growth policies that expand employment opportunities† (Buvinic 161). Examples of agricultural extension services include access to current news via internet and television broadcasts as well as agricultural production information and technologies (â€Å"Rural Extension and Advisory Services†). With these services, poor women in urban South Africa will become more knowledgeable as to ways they can improve their livelihoods while still being considered farmers.Urban farmers are realizing that food markets where they can share their products with other members of their community are great places to make money, socialize, and learn new ways to efficiently grow crops. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization's â€Å"The State of Food and Agriculture, 2010-2011- Women in Agriculture† report, if women had the same access as men to productive resources, they could increase yields on their farms by 20-30 percent. This increase would cause for a 2. 5-4. percent increase in Africa's agricultural output (â€Å"State of Food and Agriculture: Women in Agriculture† 3). The message essentially being conveyed here is that women who are given equal access to resources as men are will generate more food and be able to deal with food scarcity and poverty throughout their respective countries. As the Center for American Progress points out, 26. 5 percent of African women are poor compared to 22. 3 percent of African males (Cawthorne ). The societal benefits of poverty alleviation with integration of urban agriculture are great.Giving women the opportunity to work in a community- run garden where they can consume and sell foods gives them an occupation that empowers and insights them with knowledge. These women and children realize that they are helping the environment while improving their ownlivelihoods. Recreation provides physical and/or psychological relaxation, as well as act ivities where the poor an become educated about ecology, mentions an article on the reasons urban agriculture is important by the Resource Centres on Urban Agriculture and Food Security (â€Å"Resource Centres on Urban Agriculture and Food Security†) Foundation.The social impacts that revolve around women and children's participation in urban agriculture are a positive reason to enforce policies that will give them land for the creation of their own urban farms. The environmental benefits of urban agriculture are the alleviation of the costs surrounding transporting foods over long distances, ater-saving irrigation (reclaimed water), and composting materials to use as fertilizers instead of synthetic chemical fertilizers. Even with the amount of deforestation that has taken place worldwide, land is no longer suitable for agriculture.Of the 11 percent of our planet Earth that is suitable for agriculture, humans have destroyed 38 percent of it through poor natural resource mana gement practices (â€Å"Sustainable Agriculture†). Becoming good environmental stewards presents itself as humanities' last option. There is no longer enough land to provide food for the growing worldwide population. Cities will need to make use of urban agriculture to make up for this discrepancy. An overall adaptation towards organic rather than conventional methods of farming is the future of food production.With less conventional and more organic farming methods, the use of pesticides will decrease dramatically. Pesticides create harm both for wildlife and humans, as toxins seep into waterways and onto vegetation. â€Å"Overall public health and ecological integrity could be improved† through the adoption of organic, pesticide-free, farming practices, says David Pimentel, who is part of the Cornell Department of Entomology. Pimentel 573). Composting can be seen as an environmental benefit in urban green spaces because it provides the soil fertility that otherwise i s not present on old construction sites where growing operations are under way.The main benefit that composting brings to urban agriculture, according to Arne Saebo, is that â€Å"high-quality compost consists of many compounds that influence the biological processes in the soil positively, thus improving the physical and chemical soil characteristics (Saebo, and Ferrini 160). Reclaimed water – coming from treated waste water – will be an ffective way to rid of urban waste water and will save water that can be used for other reasons, such as drinking. 2 Local governmental policies need to implement these sustainable, environmentally-friendly practices into Durban's urban agriculture system, and enforce them.Urban agriculture is economically viable for civilians of South Africa for some key reasons. For one, urban agriculture in Nairobi consists of only one-third private residential land; this means that the other two-thirds of land where crops are grown in the city co nsists of â€Å"roadsides, riverbanks, and other publicly owned lands† (Romanik, 18). Clare T. Romanik, who works for the think tank Urban Institute, also notes in her article, An Urban-Rural Focus on the Food Markets in Africa, that urban agriculture has less means for the packaging, transportation, and storage of food (18).As noted in the social benefits of urban agriculture stated earlier, food security is a great benefit of growing food that can be both consumed and grown by the consumer; this is also an economically important benefit due to its aid against poverty. According to RUAF, Africa city-dwellers spend 50-70 percent of their income on food (â€Å"Resource Centres on Urban Agriculture and Food Security†). Growing one's own vegetables in vacant lots or other creative places within Durban will allow tarmers to botn provide valuable vegetables tor their own consumption as well as for profit sales.People who oppose or are speculative of the implementation of ur ban agricultural practices contend that available land is decreasing as populations in cities rise. As these populations rise, people are taking the land in informal ways and purchasing rights are not easy to obtain (Romanik 35). Also, some people may be speculative of how organic and healthy the vegetables and fruits coming from these urban farmers truly are. These speculations can be resolved through strict legislative policies. One other concern regarding urban agriculture is the question surrounding if it will support growing cities with enough food.Mr. Pimentel observed a study of both organically-grown and conventionally-grown soybeans between 1981 and 2001. Respectively, the crops produced were 2461 and 2546 kilograms per hectare (Pimentel). As we see here, it is evident that growing food the organic way without powerful pesticides still provides close to the same yield as conventional farming. Investments in sustainable development need to occur, and uickly. Population press ures are continuously throwing wood on the fire that drives legislature and human minds to create new policies and ideas which are necessary to sustain life on earth for all its inhabitants.Investments should be made that incorporate money into the public sector to meet human and environmental needs. Urban agriculture will provide locally-grown, healthy food for members of Durban. A vast sum of money will be saved from paying for food imports if city-dwellers purchase their food from farmers markets and consume food from their own organic arms. For women and children, and society as a whole, urban agriculture will expedite development through invigorating a sense of community and education of ecological processes.Currently, the state of global trade is making life very difficult for those who do not earn a living wage. Locally-grown foods will bring food and money to those who are impoverished. Essentially, I write this as an alert, an invigoration of awareness, that there is a prob lem of people suffering in South Africa who need food. Solutions to food security and hunger are available: it is within egislatures hands to create policies that allow for city-wide composting, the management of public green spaces, and the development of self-sufficient ways of life for all.