WTO Agreement on Agriculture India

WTO Agreement on Agriculture India Abstract: The possible welfare gains and likely beneficiaries for the facilitation of agricultural world trade formulated by the Agreement on Agriculture remains a matter of debate and concerns. Therefore the impact of the Agreement on Agriculture on production, price structure and trade in agricultural sector needs proper introspection and evaluation from Indian perspectives. The paper attempts to evaluate and analysed the impact of the agricultural reforms brought about by the Agreement on Agriculture on the Indian agricultural economy and its position in world trade. What is Agreement on Agriculture (AOA): The Agreement on Agriculture was formed on April 1994 at Marrakesh, Morocco as a part of the final Act of the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations which came into force on 1st Jan. 1995. This was a result of the long drawn talks on General agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) aimed at opening up of International markets and also to reform world trade which was highly distorted. A major reason for the formation of the Agreement on Agriculture was the need to reduce excessive surplus production in agricultural sector in the global commodity markets during the 1980`s and early 1990`s. This was caused by the rising levels of support and protection in a number of developed countries as some of the largest agricultural exporters competed on the basis of their government`s ability to subsidised production and exports of agriculture while limiting access to their markets to keep out foreign agricultural products from their domestic markets. Therefore the core objective of AOA wa s to establish a fair and market oriented trading system which was to be implemented for a period of 6 years in developed countries and 9 years in developing countries. With this, agriculture was brought under the new rules of world trading system for the first time. There are 3 main features of the Agreement: Market Access Domestic support. Export subsidy. The market access required that tariffs for agricultural product fixed by individual countries be reduce to equivalent tariff in order to allow free trade and encourage liberalisation in world trade. Under this, the AOA required the conversion of all non tariff barriers into tariff barriers. This process was known as Tariffication. This was to be implemented for a period of 6 years for the developed countries and 10 years for the developing countries, least developed countries were exempted from undertaking such reductions. Domestic support was targeted to reduce the subsidies given by governments within their country for agricultural production and related activities. The total domestic support should be below the level of de minimis within a maximum period of 3 years for developed countries and 5 years for developing countries. This was to reduce price distortion and unfair competition in agricultural world trade. Export subsidy aims to reduce subsidies of export related to agricultural products and to ban the introduction of new subsidies. This aimed to protect small and marginal farmers in home countries especially in developing countries. Another highlight of the Agreement was the provision of special and differential treatment for the protection of the interest of the developing countries. In addition, there are provisions of Special Products and Sensitive Products, which are to be exempted from stringent discipline of the above provisions of tariffication process. Provision of Special Products designates a certain number of products of the developing countries that would be exempt from tariff reduction requirements and other disciplines in order to protect and promote food production, livelihood security and rural development worldwide. The idea was to protect the developing countries and least developed countries from unfair competition in world market and to create a world trading system where each individual country can come together and trade on equal footing without any discrimination and distortion by the more advantageous countries of the world. However, the possible welfare gains and likely beneficiaries for the facilitation of agricultural world trade formulated by the Agreement remains a matter of debate and concerns. Therefore the impact of the AOA on production, price structure and trade needs proper introspection and evaluation from Indian perspectives. The structure of the Agreement on Agriculture as it exists today seems to be slightly imbalanced, since it enables countries subsidising the agriculture sector heavily to retain a substantial portion of their subsidies up to the end of the implementation period while those countries which were not using these measures earlier are prohibited to use these measures in future beyond the de-minimis  [1]  limit. Therefore, ways to bring about more equity into the structure of the Agreement has to be sought. Indian Agricultural Economic scenario: Until the liberalisation of 1991, India was largely and intentionally isolated from the world markets, to protect its economy and to achieve self reliance. India`s foreign trade was subjected to import tariffs, export taxes and quantitative restrictions. So far it had followed an inward looking economic policy until the attempts to liberalise its economy. The Green revolution which was introduced in 1990`s further brought about reforms in agricultural sector and increase its production. This in a way opened the gate for participation in the world economy through the production of excess agricultural goods. Thus, India`s economy shifted from subsistence economy to production for exports in the world market. At present, Indian agriculture contributes to 24% of GDP, however agriculture exports accounts for less than 1% of world trade in agricultural commodities while a major share of the world`s exports are supplied by developed countries which accounts for around 64%. Impact of AOA on India: Indian agriculture is characterised by an overwhelming majority of small and marginal farmers holding less than two hectares of land, less than 35.7% of the land, is under any assured irrigation system. Farmers, therefore, require support in terms of development of infrastructure as well as extension of improved technologies and provisions of requisite inputs at reasonable cost. There is no doubt that during the last 30 years, Indian agriculture has grown at a reasonable pace, but with stagnant and declining net cropped area it is indeed going to be a difficult task to maintain the growth in agricultural production. The implications of the Agreement would thus have to be examined in the light of the food demand and supply situation. The size of the country, the level of overall development, balance of payments position, realistic future outlook for agricultural development, structure of land holdings etc. are the other relevant factors that would have a bearing on Indias trade policy in agriculture. Implications of the Agreement on Agriculture for India should thus be evaluated from the impact it will have on the following: i) Whether the Agreement has opened up markets and facilitated exports of products; and ii) Whether India would be able to continue with its domestic policy aimed at improving infrastructure and provision of inputs at subsidised prices for achieving increased agricultural production  [2]  . With India being under balance of payments, it has not undertaken any commitments under the Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture (AOA) which constrain it from following its developmental policy with regard to agriculture or which entail any action immediately. The only commitment India has undertaken is to bind its tariffs on primary agricultural products at 100%; processed foods at 150%; and edible oils at 300%  [3]  . However, it is needed to study the implications of removal of quantitative restrictions on market access, subsidy to farmers and tariffs on imports. One of the major impacts of the Agreement was that India has been maintaining Quantitative restrictions (QRs) on certain agricultural import products. Under the provision of the market access, such QRs will have to be eliminated latest by April 1st 2001. Immediate outcome was increased import of cheap and highly subsidized agricultural products which resulted in decline of domestic agricultural prices in India since 1999-2000. This adversely affected small and marginal farmers who resorted to selling off their agricultural lands to corporate and MNC`s at a very nominal prices. This further distorts domestic agriculture and rural structure of the economy that are mostly dependent on agriculture for survival. For example in Andhra Pradesh farmers were then hit by a crash in international prices, low rates of tariff applied on imports of commodities like edible oils, sugar, etc. and the removal of quantitative restrictions. Therefore a separate WTO cell was set up as these states felt that the central government were not doing enough to protect the interest of such states from the adverse impact of the Agreement. It aims to adapt state government policies to changing events and to influence future government negotiating positions. This clearly suggests that the AOA was more beneficial for the developed countries as it furthers opened up new market opportunities for them to exploit with their chea p agricultural products. However, It is also argued that with the opening up of world markets under the provision of Market access and the lifting of QRs on imports of certain agricultural products, prospects on exports have increased which lead to an increase in price of domestic agricultural commodities, this would mean that farmers would get benefits which in turn would encourage investment in the resource scarce agricultural sector. Also, with the decrease in production subsidies as well as export subsidies, the international prices of agricultural commodities will rise and this will help in making India`s exports more competitive in world market. Given the agro diversity of India, it has the potential to increase agro exports in a big way. A.V Ganesan  [4]  , suggested the idea of using the price incentive as a driving force to increase productivity as farmers are introduced to world markets there will be growing pressure from the farmers to gain higher prices for their produce and to narrow the gap between the domestic and external prices. Both the pattern of production and price expectations will increasingly be influenced by the demands and trends in world markets. Therefore, the price incentive could be used to give a strong boost to investment in agriculture as well as adoption of modern technologies and thereby to the raising of agricultural production and productivity. Furthermore, freedom to export agricultural products without restrictions will also need shedding the long-nurtured inhibition against their imports. Thus the Agreement on Agriculture is believed to provide a link between domestic reforms and international reforms by providing constraints that channel domestic policy change in the right direct ion. India had a history of food price inflation which makes it difficult to export agriculture processed products. The food price inflation was at the level of 11% during 1991-98, though the level has come down to 4.5% during 1998-2006  [5]  . Therefore, if increase in cheap imports further reduces the food price, it will not improve the condition of the farmers but instead their condition will deteriorate unless substantial gains are made through food based manufacturing export-enhancing strategies. However, with agriculture subsidies and export promotions, developed countries still continue to dominate the world agriculture market. More than 67 per cent of world food exports during 2001-03 originated from the high-income countries, while countries such as India where more than 65 per cent people survive on agriculture, contributed only 1.1 per cent of food exports. For example, In India, the dairy sector has been hit hard by subsidized exports from the EU. In 1999-2000 India import ed over 130,000 tonnes of EU skim milk powder. This was the result of EUR 5 million export subsidies that were provided to EU producers. EU subsidies to butter exports are also extortionately high. Consequently, butter oil import into India has grown at an average rate of 7.7% annually. This has had a dampening effect on prices of ghee in the domestic market. Ironically, India is the biggest producer of milk in the world. What is more worrying for India is that there are now signs of declining productivity growth for many agricultural products in India which will have severe implications for the majority of the population  [6]  . To ensure the welfare of our farmers from the affect of the lifting of Quantitative Restrictions, high import tariffs of commodities has to be maintained. The Agreement does not in any way constrained the ability to restrict the import of commodities since India has already reserved the right to impose high levels of import duties of 100%, 150% and 300% on primary products, processed products and edible oils respectively. Also due to India`s balance of payments (BOP) reasons certain products are allowed to remain under the QR`s category. With appropriate tariffication process, the adverse impact of such QRs can be rectified. In earlier years, a number of agricultural and horticultural products placed on the free list of imports have been brought to the peak rate to ensure adequate protection to Indian farmers. India has a negative total aggregate measure  [7]  (below 10%) of domestic support which implies that there is no compulsion to reduce tariff. India is under no obligation to reduce its domestic support. Also, India does not provide any export subsidies which requires reduction commitments under the export subsidy commitment. The Agreement on Agriculture lists several types of subsidies to which reduction commitments apply. However, such subsidies are virtually non-existent in India as exporters of agricultural commodities do not get direct subsidy. The Agreement allows unlimited support to activities such as (i) research, pest diseases control, training, extension, and advisory services; (ii) public stock holding for food security purposes; (iii) domestic food aid; and (iv) income insurance and food needs, relief from natural disasters and payments under the environmental assistance programmes. Moreover, investment subsidies given for development of agricultural infrastructure o r any kind of support given to low income and resource poor farmers are exempt from any commitments. Most of our major rural and agricultural development programmes are covered under these provisions. Therefore, the Agreement does not constrain our policies of investments in these areas. It is expected that reduction in domestic support and export subsidy by the developed countries will lead to a decrease in production in their countries and will eventually give scope for expansion of exports from the developing countries which will create a balanced export and import situation in the world trading system. India, with its cheap labor, diverse agro-climatic conditions and large agricultural sector can definitely gain through expansion of international trade in agricultural product. India`s agricultural exports have been growing since 1995and at present it is a net food exporter constituting greater share for exports in agriculture than manufactured exports. Therefore, India is likely to gain if the EU, the US, Japan and other major agriculture subsidisers significantly reduce their farm subsidies. For example, United States spent US$ 4 billion as subsidy to support its 25,000 cotton producers (US$160, 000 per producer) in 2003. It is also argued that in countries such as United States, subsidies are enjoyed by a selected few; mostly producing corn, wheat, cotton, soybean, and rice, while growers of 400 other crops hardly get any such subsidy. It would benefit India if other countries decrease tariffs to its farm exports on products such as cotton, basmati rice, fish or meat etc. However, the share of Indian exports in agriculture is sliding down as compared to manufacturing. These labour-intensive exports are expected to grow much faster and potential areas include textiles and food processing translating into benefits across a large group of farmers and contributing to stabilising their incomes. India has demonstrated comparative advantage in almost all the products it exports, and even in those products it imports. Therefore, India enjoys a large range of products where it could successfully enhance its capacity to export. The rural-urban divide is increasing steadily in India but India cannot resort to other balancing measures such as subsidy like the developed countries are doing. This is due to large population of India as majority of the population is dependent upon agriculture for livelihood. Therefore the solution for solving the rural-urban divide lies in large scale employment generation through industrialization and expansion of agriculture processing and exports. In the short term the Agreement on Agriculture may not affect India much because both its domestic support and export subsidy are negative I,e less than the minimal 10% in product specific domestic support. Moreover, the safeguards provided in the Agreement for the developing countries protect India from any major impact of liberalization of the world trade. However, in the long term, due to advantage of cheap labor that India enjoys, the cost of production are lower than any other countries, therefore in spite of its lower productivity as compared to the developed countries, the prices for agricultural product eg.as in the case of rice, tea, sunflower oil and cotton, will still remain lower than the world price. As a result, import to Indian markets will not be attractive as the domestic market prices in such products remain lower than the international standard. Hence, the impact of large scale imports due to liberalization of the world economy will not be much. Doha Ministerial conference and the deadlock: The Uruguay Round of AOA had a built in provision for review and renewal of its policy to consider not just increased trade but also such objectives as food security, diversified rural development and the reduction of inequalities between developed countries and developing countries and the least developed countries. In general, to assess in-depth the effects of the URAA on trade, on agricultural policy and on protection levels. This was to be decided at the next round of multilateral talk to be held at the fourth WTO ministerial conference in Doha, Nov. 2001 which was targeted to be completed by Jan. 2005. India`s stand at the conference included Non trade concerns which include food security and environmental protection. India is particularly concern with food security which includes not only adequate supply of food but also stability in its supply. India was of the stand that no profound change has been made in subsidy position of the developed countries even after the agreement. When the AoA was introduced in Uruguay there were so many expectations however the results failed to reach the expectations of many countries. In the Doha round, the concerns of the developing countries and the developed countries differed. The developing countries wanted to focus only on the implementation (or non implementations) and review of the Uruguay agreement. Developed countries perspective, however, was for new issues ( eg :Singapore issues), viz, investment, competition, trade facilitation and transparency in government procurement, besides environment and internationally recognised core labour standards. The Doha round clearly shows that India`s interest in the negotiation remain at variance from the interest of the least developed countries as India has a much more favourable agricultural condition than any of these countries. Many of these countries are net importers of food and the subsidy in the exporting countries makes them better off. Moreover, under the Everything But Arms (EBA) initiative of the European Union, the LDCs have quota and duty-free access to the EU market, a facility that was never available to India. Also, India depends highly on its service sector industry; therefore, the situation has become highly tense for India, particularly in view of the fact that the developed countries have managed to link agriculture subsidy with the market access in services and industry. If the European Union needs to do more on agricultural tariffs, and the US needs to do more on reducing agricultural subsidies, then India also needed to do more on industrial tariffs. This is a tr icky situation for India. The Doha Development Round of trade talks was targeted to be concluded by January 2005. However, the progress thereafter has hardly been in the positive direction. There was a deadlock of Doha Ministerial conference and it was left for further work and resulting negotiations. The reason for the failure of the negotiations mostly falls on the role of the United States, which departed from Cairns group and joined EU, the later having too ambitious agenda on including investment and competition. Countries like Australia, New Zealand and Canada (of Cairns Group) favour a totally market oriented approach and oppose trade distorting subsidies and protectionist regimes of EU and Japan. While EU remained against fast track approached to liberalization. Developing countries like India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, ASEAN etc highlight significance of role of agriculture in their economies and seek to preserve domestic policy flexibility to guard food security concerns. Overall assessment: In India, more than half of the population is still dependent upon agriculture for subsistence even after governments continued attempt to bring about increase in industrialization and technological advancement. Therefore, agriculture remain a core importance for the sustenance of the population and also constitute a major share in the countrys economy. Agricultural self reliance forms a vital underpinning for the growth of the GDP of any agrarian developing economies since good agricultural production provides purchasing power to a large majority of a population, which in turn spurts industrial growth. Self-sufficiency in food production has, therefore, specific developmental perspective as opposed to a purely commercial perspective. Hence, it is important that the developing countries like India need to be provided with the requisite flexibility within the AOA to pursue their legitimate non-trade concerns of food security. More specifically, developing countries need to be allowed to provide domestic support in the agricultural sector to meet the challenges of food security and to be able to maintain the need of rural employment. Investment in Indian agriculture has been declining for quite some years. In the context of international trade, there is an added urgency to reverse this trend and increase investment in research, integrated market development, storage and ware-housing facilities, road development, creation of facilities for efficient and quicker transport and development of scientific systems of standard setting and grading. Public expenditure on research and technology, infrastructure creation and rural development will raise Indias AMS. More importantly, up-to-date information on domestic and international prices and demand should be made available to farmers through various awareness programmes and training. India also need to raise the quality of agricultural products to internationally accepted standards, i e, those of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (for food additives, veterinary drug and pesticide residues, contaminants, methods of analysis and sampling, and codes and guidelines of hygien ic practice). The AOA is criticised on being insensitive to human development or improving standards of living, and being too insistent on liberalization. The model of agricultural trade liberalization promoted by the AOA also encourages industrialized and export-oriented agricultural production, favouring trans national commodity traders and processors over small-scale farmers thus in spite of all the provisions provided under the Agreement, it is further attacked on not taking into consideration the problems faced by the small and marginal farmers. The success of the agreement to a certain extent also depends on how far the developed countries are willing and committed to the cause of helping the developing countries for development through a process of fair and unrestricted trade in agriculture. It is also argued that the agreement did little to liberalised trade and to improve market access and reduce protection as protection in many countries remain very high and allowable export subsidies st ill threaten the stability of world markets. Conclusion: Global agricultural policies affect many economies in a similar way. Developing countries may be more vulnerable to distortions and changes in global trading policies in the agricultural sector, but they also determine the implications of agricultural trade liberalisation in some countries. Vulnerability of countries arising from global policies and trade liberalisation agenda maybe inherent to their economy such as; Strong dependence on agriculture for income, employment and foreign exchange earnings, heavy dependence on food imports and food aid and relatively high degree of sector openness. These conditions may render a countrys economies vulnerable to trends and instability levels of world agricultural prices, long term changes with respect to access barriers to exports markets and global policies affecting the competitiveness of imports in domestic markets. With liberalisation of agricultural sector much priority is been given for increasing international trade which is no subst itute for inducing a domestically oriented agricultural growth. Indeed most food is produced for local consumption in developing countries and only a small proportion is traded internationally, which means that a solely trade-oriented approach has little relevance for many developing countries. Therefore agricultural reforms in International trading system like the AOA may not have much impact on a countrys economic growth particularly the developing countries if the reforms are implemented without proper analysis of own countrys economic strategic position. Since agriculture constitute the major share of many developing economies, the implementation of such reforms and also the participation in world trade without proper precautionary measures may result in crisis which such developing countries may not afford. Therefore, it is necessary to build up a strong domestic market scenario which is in line with external prices, with appropriate policies to ensure the protection of their e conomies from the unnecessary and unfair competition in world markets. However, if such reforms are disciplined in its implementation and also each country is serious enough to make such commitments for the welfare of the world trading system, it might lead to a balanced and equal world markets. This would in a way solve the problems of poverty, inequalities and lead to increased productivity and improve the standard of living of the world population.

Corporal Punishment and the Damages of Spanking on Children

?CORPORAL PUNISHMENT AND THE DAMAGES OF SPANKING ON CHILDREN You have probably heard the expression, â€Å"spare the rod, and spoil the child. † Do you agree with it? Perhaps you were spanked as a kid. Was it appropriate? Some people see spanking as an outdated method of punishment or even child abuse, while others view a swat on the bottom as a parent's prerogative. People differ a lot on their views when it comes to administering corporal punishment on children. While some view it as being barbaric, some consider those who spare the rod and spoil the child to be sloppy in their tutorage of children. The basis for taking an exemption to the administration of corporal punishment on children might stem from legal, educational, medical, communal and even economic reasons. Where do we draw the line when it comes to disciplining our children? When considering if the administration of corporal punishment is good or wrong, some questions have to be initially answered. What can be referred to as corporal punishment? What precipitates corporal punishment? What effects can corporal punishment accomplished? Is the practice healthy in all and any ramifications? Are there noticeable differences in the lives of adults that were/were not subjected to corporal punishments? Based on these, should the practice be discouraged or continued? If these questions are successfully answered without bias or prejudice, the issue of if or if not corporal punishment administration on children will be laid to rest. Corporal punishment is the intentional infliction of pain on the human body for purposes of punishment or controlling behavior. It includes slapping, spanking, and forcing to stand for long periods of time; spanking involves hitting with the palm of the hand. Children often undergo some form of corporal punishment in response to punishment for flouting of rules, regulations or norms, failing grades, exhibition of unwholesome traits and so on. Quite agreeably, corporal punishments might have succeeded in curbing the delinquencies of juveniles in some cases. However, the effects are definitely short lived and results often in astronomical failures! Obedience to an authority out of love and respect is more sustainable as compared to obedience evoke from fear and dominion. It common situations in homes that children often tend to do what is not expected of them to do if there is an element of risk involved (corporal punishment and spanking in this case). If a parent patiently explains why using of a particular brand of drug might be helpful, the child respectfully obeys; however, in cases where threats are issued, intriguing human nature sets in and the rule is disobeyed! If restrictions are placed on the freedom of children without issuance of threats and physical abuse, but lovingness, patience and kindness is expended, the tendency to disobey is greatly reduced. Research have shown that people that end up being serial killers, rapist, drug dependents and who involve in all social vices are most times, the victims of physical abuse brought about by spanking (Gershoff , 2002). Children and people in general that are subjected to corporal punishment lack or have reduced empathy and human compassion for other people (Lopez, Bonenberger, & Schneider, 2001). Any effect of corporal punishment is negative (American Academy of Pediatrics, 1998; Lytton, 1997; J. McCord, 1997; Straus, 1994a). Those who do not become bullies end up being timid and insipid people that have no control over their own minds. Such people do not know what it means to be loved, have self respect and to respect others. The only way they can communicate love is via pain and suffering (at least that is the way they were brought up), and that good and lessons can only be learnt or achieved through hardship, pain and suffering. As adults, they become the inflictor of pain because they have always being the recipient (Gershoff & Bitensky, 2007). Furthermore, parents that practice corporal punishment are often times victims of corporal punishment when they were children. Why should the hate cycle continue? Being spanked is an emotional event. Adults often remember with crystal clarity times they were paddled or spanked as children. Many adults look back on corporal punishment in childhood with great anger and sadness. Sometimes people say, â€Å"I was spanked as a child, and I deserved it. † It is hard for us to believe that people who loved us would intentionally hurt us. We feel the need to excuse that hurt. Spanking often leave bruises, marks and wounds which sometimes may never heal or leave it trails. Medically, this is unacceptable. Bearing marks of manhandling often times results in emotion mess and immaturity, sporadic acts of wickedness, cowardice and lack of self assurance. Peers of children who are being spanked often tease and bully such. They cannot concentrate on their education both in school and at home. Adult survivors of abuse are subject to a substantial array of long term effects of their abuse. In Cruz and Essen (1994) a variety of effects are suggested including emotional roblems, behavioral problems, physical problems, sexual dysfunction problems and social problems. Psychological abuse of children has been described as the most ambiguous to define and yet maybe the most common type of abuse to be inflicted on children by parents. Legally, children have rights under the international human rights charter that are often contravened with the administration of corporal punishments. Can those who carry out corporal punishment set their actions within the confines of the law? Most sadly, no! Studies show that even a few instances of being hit as children are associated with more depressive symptoms as adults (Strauss, 1994, Strassberg, Dodge, Pettit & Bates, 1994). A landmark meta-analysis of 88 corporal punishment research studies of over six decades showed that corporal punishment of children was associated with negative outcomes including increased delinquent and antisocial behavior, increased risk of child abuse and spousal abuse, increased risk of child aggression and adult aggression, decreased child mental health and decreased adult mental health (Gershoff, 2002). While most of us who were spanked turned out OK, it is likely that not being spanked would have helped us turn out to be healthier. It is important to note that corporal punishment is not the only form of correcting undesirable traits in children (Day and Roberts, 1983; Roberts and Powell, 1990). Often times, parent/guardian and children relationship are at best frosty when incidences of child spanking and corporal punishment are melted out. Love and respect fosters better relationship and communal existence, than fear and domination, which is the product of spanking. Children find it easier to deal with daily problems in a mature manner, and they grow up to be responsible and law abiding adults. Even in most species of animals, biting and kicking is absent between offspring and parents, yet communion in such class is excellent; obedience to the call of a parent, following hierarchy and abiding within existing norms and social standings are respected. Should not human parents show some intelligence superior to animal parents? The society has nothing to lose and everything to gain if spanking is abolished. In the absence of corporal punishment, the society thrives happily on the reduction in crimes of juveniles, adult sociopaths and other child abuse related problems. Also, it makes the society saner and more civilized. For instance, children that are continually subjected to corporal punishment see no issue with picking up a fight, being bullies and destructive agents. They often seek companionship with people of their like minds, resulting in the proliferation of delinquent gangs, whose sole end results are vices such as drugs dealing, rape, stealing and robbery, wanton destruction and creating public unrest. An end to spanking and corporal punishment will see an end to a lot of the unnecessary evil crimes being perpetuated in our society. REFERENCES American Academy of Pediatrics. (1998). Guidance for effective discipline. Pediatrics, 101, 723–728. Day, D. E. , & Roberts, M. W. (1983). An analysis of the physical punishment component of a parent-training program. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 11, 141–152. Gershoff, E. T. (2002). Corporal Punishments by parents and Associated Child Behaviors and Experiences: A Meta-Analytic and Theoretical Review. The American Psychological Association. Psychological Bulletin, Vol. 128, No. 4, 539-579. Gershoff, E. T & Bitensky, S. H. (2007). The Case against the Corporal Punishment of Children: Converging Evidence from Social Science Research and International Human Rights Law and Implications for U. S. Public Policy. The American Psychological Association. Psychological, Public Policy and Law. Vol. 13, No. 4, 231-272. Lopez, N. L. , Bonenberger, J. L. , & Schneider, H. G. (2001). Parental disciplinary history, current levels of empathy, and moral reasoning in young adults. North American Journal of Psychology, 3, 193–204. Lytton, H. (1997). Physical punishment is a problem, whether conduct disorder is endogenous or not. Psychological Inquiry, 8, 211–214. McCord, J. (1997). On discipline. Psychological Inquiry, 8, 215–217. Roberts, M. W. , & Powers, S. W. (1990). Adjusting chair timeout enforcement procedures for oppositional children. Behavior Therapy, 21, 257–271. Straus, M. A. (1994a). Beating the devil out of them: Corporal punishment in American families. New York: Lexington Books.

William James Essay - 764 Words

William James was a philosopher and psychologist but was most well known in the field of Psychology for developing the philosophy of pragmatism, or the Functionalist theory: Theory of mental life and behavior that is concerned with how an organism uses its perceptual abilities to function in its environment. He was also the first Psychologist to be born in America. William James was born on January 11, 1842 in New York City. His father, Henry James Sr. was a Swednborgian theologian, and one of his brothers was the great novelist Henry James. Throughout his youth, William attended private schools in the United States and Europe. He later attended the Lawrence Scientific School at Harvard University and then Harvard Medical School,†¦show more content†¦William James’ book was entitled: Principles of Psychology which was published in 1890 and also established him as one of the greatest thinkers of his time. In the book, he explained the principle of Functionalism as relating to psychology which gave people a new way of thinking about the traditional branch of philosophy and labeled it among the laboratory sciences based on experimental method. His essays that were published in the three books dealt with his empirical methods of investigation to philosophical and religious issues. He explored the questions regarding the existence of God and the immortality of the soul, free will, and ethical values by referring to human religious and moral experience. William finally left Harvard University in 1907 and later that year, his later lectures were published in Pragmatism: A New Name for Old Ways of Thinking. This Publication basically summed up William’s contributions to the theory of pragmatism. Pragmatism was first used by an American logician named C. S. Peirce which William expanded upon it, generalizing the pragmatic method, and developing it from the logical basis of the sciences into aShow MoreRelatedWilliam James787 Words   |  4 PagesWilliam James (1842-1910) William James was a philosopher and psychologist but was most well known in the field of Psychology for developing the philosophy of pragmatism, or the Functionalist theory: Theory of mental life and behavior that is concerned with how an organism uses its perceptual abilities to function in its environment. He was also the first Psychologist to be born in America. William James was born on January 11, 1842 in New York City. His father, Henry James Sr. was aRead MoreWilliam Clifford And William James1091 Words   |  5 PagesSince the 19th century, William Clifford and William James have been the foremost religious theorist and have attempted to answer significant creation and theological mysteries. 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William James style of writing is moreRead MoreThe Ethics Of Belief By William James972 Words   |  4 PagesBelieve is a lecture that was presented by William James in 1896, it specifically defends that one can choose to believe in a religion without prior evidence of its truth. William James was a well-distinguished philosopher as well as a psychologist and a physician. He with a few other philosophers like Charles sanders Pierce and John Dewey were fundamental in establishing modern philosophy in America and are thought to be the founding fathers of pragmatism. James taught at several universities includingRead MoreRene Descartes And William James1226 Words   |  5 Pagesanswer and question it no further. However in the back of our minds we all want to know the truth, and we will eventually conjure up a reason why what we accept as truth, in fact, the truth. Two very prominent philosophers, Renà © Descartes, and William James were concerned with truth and how people come to believe and accept something as true or false. They believed that there is a very definite truth, but they mapped out different routes in order to get to the place where truth could be found. Renà ©Read MoreFriedrich Nietzsche And William James974 Words   |  4 PagesFriedrich Nietzsche and William James were philosophers who examined the search for truth and its application in modern society. While both scholars were contemporaries and concentrated on the function of truth, Nietzsche’s philosophy advocated a scientific approach which renounced all religious frameworks, while James’ theory enabled one to find truth even in the metaphysical. In â€Å"The Portable Nietzsche,† Nietzsche investigates the meaning of truth in the apparent world and its relationship toRead MoreWilliam James And John Dewey930 Words   |  4 PagesWilliam James, and John Dewey are well-known for their contributions to early psychology. Both were highly influential in the transition from mental philosophy to scientific psychology. This transition involved moving from a narrow focus of consciousness structure to the psychological study of the purpose, and processes of human functioning. These psychologists used their own reflections to attempt the separation of conscious experience into elements. James conceived a more practical, and dynamicRead MoreWilliam James And Early American Psychology997 Words   |  4 PagesWilliam James and Early American Psychology When one thinks of American psychology, one cannot help but think of William James. James’s contributions to psychology remain influential to this day. For starters, he helped move American psychology away from philosophy and towards a science. Although not a laboratory scientist, James is considered one of the founders of American psychology because of his scientific ideas. James proposed that a habit is developed as a result of our complex nervous systemsRead MoreWilliam James : A Unique Interpretation Of Pragmatism1024 Words   |  5 PagesWilliam James is one important philosopher we have discussed in our lectures. James brings a unique interpretation of pragmatism. Pragmatism is an approach to assessing the truth of meaning for beliefs, based on their practical use. James believed that a belief is true, if the results of its implication are satisfactory. In addition, James believed that unpractical beliefs couldn’t be rejected because our different human experienc e yield different truths. I find James argument compelling becauseRead MoreBaron dHolbach and William James on Free Will and Determinism1192 Words   |  5 PagesBaron dHolbach and William James on Free Will and Determinism 3. Discuss the issue between Baron dHolbach and William James on free will and determinism? Before we can discuss the issue between Baron dHolbach and William James we have to know the definitions of the items the issue is about. Free will according to the Encarta encyclopedia is The power or ability of the human mind to choose a course of action or make a decision without being subject to restraints imposed by antecedent

Racial Relations Dating Interratially - 1085 Words

While sitting in a small circle eating lunch, my friends and I somehow got onto the topic of dating. We all confessed who may or may not have our current attention and amongst my very diverse group of friends, one of them, a Hispanic, said she was interested in dating a white male. In response, another friend asked, â€Å"you like those white boys don’t you?†. It was a simple joke as all of my friends are open into interracial dating, but there are many people in American society who do not feel the same way. In fact, there are quite a lot of people who oppose interracial dating. This paper will discuss the topic of interracial dating amongst Whites (Caucasians), Blacks (anyone of African American descent), Asians (anyone of Asian descent),†¦show more content†¦Collins was right in regards that white women have the privilege of â€Å"naivetà © when concerning interracial relationships† because there are other women of minority groups who do think abou t the topic as opposed to white women who â€Å"don’t think anything about it† (Collins 1991). Lastly, the geographic theory states that specific regions of the country are more likely to have interracial couples than other parts of the country. While reading Claire E. Sterk’s article, â€Å"Tricking and Tripping: Prostitution in the Era of AIDS†, I found most of her article to be very informative and detailed. After reading her article, I gained a deeper perspective of prostitutes and it made me look at prostitution, as well as my topic on interracial dating, from a more anthropological point of view. From an anthropological point of view, by learning from their first hand experiences and hearing their stories, she was effectively able to gather information for her research and disregard the assumptions that prostitutes are bad people. Sterk was engaged in her research and even became emotionally connected to her research, which indicates an invested reporter. I also learned that her methods in regards to her fieldwork proved to be effective. She built relationships with the women in order to actually get honest information out of the women and did not judge the women according to society’s standards. Throughout the article, Sterk also