For Now, Fed Succeeding by Doing Nothing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

For Now, Fed Succeeding by Doing Nothing - Essay Example The decreasing gross domestic product and the increasing bond rate is an indication the stagflation may be the next condition of the economy. In a report released by the commerce department showed that GDP has decreased to 2.2 percent, from its original 5.6 percent (Schoen, 2006). Following the speculations of various Fed watchers, Schoen has come up with the conclusion that the economy at this moment can move in any direction given the corporate landscape where companies are paying good dividends and at the same time the stock prices need to be improved. In order for us to understand Schoen’s direction of thinking, we have to understand how interest rates impact the economy in general and how the Feds have been able to control inflation and initiate economic growth. However, we can question the fact that the stable interest rates can also lead to stagflation given the condition of the economy. The stable interest rate may not have the desired effect as inflation continues to increase. If we take this line of reasoning seriously, we will realize that this is a time where the corporate world can come to help by developing strategies to improve stock prices. If we fail to take this line of reasoning seriously, we may go speculating the direction of the economy and grow pessimistic at the forecasts being released. The author, in this article, is presenting his own conclusion of the speculation of the Fed

Tale of Cinderella compared to the movie Essay Example for Free

Tale of Cinderella compared to the movie Essay Everybody has already heard about tales during their childhood and everyone has liked them. One of the most known tales is of course the PerraultsCinderella. The movie industry still continues today to make films inspired from this popular tale. In this essay, the tale of Cinderella will be compared to the movie, Ever After. This comparison essay will show two common aspects: the male superiority to women and the importance of feminine beauty. First of all, in both films the male is superior to women. In Cinderella, the Prince is the hero who is wealthy and future king. He is the alias who only wants to find a woman to become his wife. Cinderella is the poor weak and passive girl who has to obey to the orders given by her stepmother. Her alternatives are to stay miserable or marry into happiness; the Prince is her rescuer. In Ever After, it is the same thing because the young girl has to obey to the order of her cruel stepmother and sisters. She has no power like Cinderella and while her stepmother gives her to the cruel baron, the Prince rescues her. In the movie and the story, the deprived girl marries the Prince. Secondly, in the movie and the tale the feminine beauty is very important and high-classed clothing gives identity like the Prince, the King, the stepmother and the stepsisters. Cinderella has an identity only at the moment that her godmother changes her into a princess for the ball. In Ever After, the girl has identity in front of the Prince only when she wears beautiful clothes. The beauty is not only on the physical side but also the psychological side. In contrast to the move and the tale the girl forgives her stepmother and stepsisters because she is without resentment even though they have been cruel to her. Both girls are a sweet, innocent, nice people even when they dress poorly. Also, the women with power and beauty are cruel in these situations. To sum up, in the movie and the tale, males like the Prince and the King are superior to women because they are wealthy and powerful. Also, Cinderella has only the alternatives to stay miserable or marry the Prince to be happy. Beauty is something very important in Cinderella and Ever After:Â  high-classed clothing gives beauty and identity and without this, you are nothing.

Drug Legalization :: essays research papers

Just say no? This is not exactly the philosophy that the vast majority of the United States population tends to follow. Drugs have become a routine aspect of everyday life in the United States. Neither a gigantic metropolis nor a minute town have gone without feeling the everlasting effects of drugs. Drug use has always posed a major dilemma for America to overcome. The banning of illegal drugs takes many back to the days of the Prohibition problems involving the banishment of alcohol. Prohibition obviously did not work in the 1920’s, and some modern day people feel that making drugs legal would solve the constantly rising drug problem. In his article Facing up to Drugs: Is Legalization the Solution?, Pete Hamill presents both sides of the argument very thoroughly. Using tremendous techniques in both writing and in major points, the author persuades the reader to give a great deal of consideration to the author’s belief that legalization is the answer to America’ s drug problem. In delivering his points to the reader, Hamill effectively makes good use of internal structure. Initially, the point of view utilized in this article exhibits an interesting way that the reader can personalize himself with the article. The constant use of â€Å"I† in the article lets the reader know that the author has had first hand experience with the drug issue. The first person point of view also reinforces the fact that this article is completely based on the ideas and beliefs of Hamill. In addition, playing a key role in this article, the audience remains convinced via the effective techniques in writing. In general, this article reaches out to everyone in the United States, and possibly the rest of the world. However, this article targets powerful individuals, and those in the government who can make an impact on the drug world. This illustrates the whit of Hamill in that he discreetly makes a statement to high ranking officials. Most importantly, the tone in which the author reveals with dignity gives a sense of truthfulness to the reader. The author overall writes seriously, but with a touch of sarcasm here and there. Adding to the seriousness, the author’s realistic approach to the situation on drugs tells the reader that the author means every last bit of what he is saying. Although numerous internal writing techniques remain evident, some of the major points that Hamill illustrates in his article prove very effective.

Physically Visiting the Markets and Use of Telephone/Mobile Phone

Marketing of Major Fish Species in Bangladesh: A Value Chain Analysis a power of fishries industry loaded with more documents Physically visiting the markets and use of telephone/mobile phone are the common sources of collecting market information for all value chain actors. Fellow traders are also a source of market information for the value chain actors except processing plants. Processing plant and LC paikers mainly depend on email/internet to obtain market informationMd. Ferdous Alam Research Fellow, Institute of Agricultural and Food Policy Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia Md. Salauddin Palash Assistant Professor Department of Agribusiness and Marketing, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh Md. Idris Ali Mian Professor, Department of Agribusiness and Marketing, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh Madan Mohan DeyProfessor, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, USA November 2012 _____________________________________ A report submitted to Food and Agriculture Organization for the project entitled A Value-chain Analysis of International Fish Trade and Food Security with an Impact Assessment of the Small-scale Sector Marketing of Major Fish Species in Bangladesh: A Value Chain Analysis Table of Contents Section |Section title |Page | | |Glossary of terms |iv | | |Abbreviation |v | | |Weights, Measures and Conversions |v | | |Local and Scientific names of the species of fish considered |v | | |Acknowledgements |vi | | |Executive Summary |vii | | 1 |Introduction †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |1 | | 2 |Statement of the Problem †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |2 | | 3 |Methodology †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |3 | | 4 |Results and Discussion †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |5 | | 4. 1 |Overview of fish marketing practices †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ | 5 | | 4. 1 |Buying and selling †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |5 | | 4. 12 |Grading †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |10 | | 4. 13 |Storage †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |11 | | 4. 14 |Transportation †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |11 | | 4. 15 |Financing †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |13 | | 4. 6 |Market Information †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |15 | | 4. 17 |Packaging †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |16 | | 4. 18 |Pricing †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |17 | |4. 2 |Fish Marketing Channels †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |17 | |4. 3 |Characteristics of Market Participants †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |21 | |4. 4 |Value addition costs by different actors †¦ †¦ †¦ â € ¦ |23 | |4. | Marketing Margin †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |28 | |4. 6 |Distribution of Value Addition Cost and Net Profit †¦ †¦ †¦ |32 | |4. 7 |Intermediaries Share to Consumers’ Taka †¦ †¦ †¦ |33 | | 5 |Conclusion †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |34 | | |References †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |39 | List of Tables Table |Title of tables |Page | |1 |Distribution of samples from different areas †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |5 | |2 |Percent of tilapia fish transacted by value chain actors †¦ †¦ †¦ |6 | |3 |Percent of Rohu fish transacted by value chain actors †¦ †¦ †¦ |6 | |4 |Percent of Catla fish transacted by value chain actors †¦ †¦ †¦ |7 | |5 |Percent of Pangas fish transacted by value chain actors †¦ †¦ †¦ |8 | |6 |Perc ent of hilsha fish transacted by value chain actors †¦ †¦ †¦ |8 | |7 |Percent of shrimp transacted by value chain actors †¦ †¦ †¦ |9 | |8 |Sources of finance of major carps, pangas, and tilapia fish |14 | | |Farmers and intermediaries †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ | |9 |Sources of finance of hilsha fish Farmers and intermediaries †¦ †¦ |14 | |10 |Sources of finance of shrimp farmers and intermediaries †¦ †¦ †¦ |15 | |11 |Sources of market information for Farmers and intermediaries †¦ †¦ |15 | |12 |Pricing methods followed in selling fish in Bangladesh †¦ †¦ †¦ |17 | |13 |Total marketing cost of different intermediaries involved with major carps, pangs and tilapia marketing | | | |†¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |24 | |14 |Total marketing cost of different intermediaries involved with hilsha marketing | | | |†¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |25 | |15 |Total marketing cost of different intermediaries involved with shrimp marketing†¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ | | | | |27 | |15 |Total marketing cost of different intermediaries involved with shrimp marketing (continued) | | | |†¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |27 | |16 |Marketing margin of Aratdar involved with major carps, pangs and tilapia marketing | | | |†¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |29 | |17 |Marketing margin of Inter-district Paiker involved with Pangas fish marketing | | | |†¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |30 | |18 |Marketing margin of Paiker involved with major carps, pangas and Tilapia marketing | | | |†¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |30 | |19 |Marketing margin of Retailer involved with major carps, pangas and tilapia marketing | | | |†¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ 30 | |20 |Average net marketing margin of different intermediaries for major carps, pangas and tilapia fish | | | |m arketing in Bangladesh †¦ †¦ †¦ |31 | |21 |Average net marketing margins of different intermediaries involved with hilsha fish marketing | | | |†¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |31 | |22 |Average net marketing margin of different intermediaries involved with shrimp marketing in Bangladesh | | | |†¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |32 | |23 |Percentage distribution of value addition cost and profit by intermediaries and fish marketing system| | | |†¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |33 | |24 |Share of intermediaries to in consumer’s Taka according to distribution channel †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ | | | |†¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |34 | List of Figures Figure |Title of figures |Page | |1 |Mode of transport used by farmers and intermediaries for movement of major carps, pangs and tilapia | | | |†¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |11 | |2 |Mode of transport used by farmers and intermed iaries for movement of Shrimp †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ | | | |†¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |12 | |3 |Mode of transport used by farmers and intermediaries for movement of Hilsha †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ | | | |†¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |13 | |4 |Value chains of major carps, pangs and tilapia | | | |in Bangladesh †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |18 | |5 |Value chains of hilsha in Bangladesh †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |19 | |6 |Value chains of shrimp in Bangladesh †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |20 | |7 |Components of costs for carps, pangs and tilapia †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |26 | |8 |Components of costs for Hilsha †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |26 | |9 |Components of costs for Shrimp †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |26 | List of Boxes Box |Title of Boxes |Page | |1 |Gradin g practices of different species of fishes †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |10 | |2 |Packaging practices of fish marketing in Bangladesh †¦ †¦ †¦ †¦ |16 | Glossary of Terms |Arat |Generally an office, a store, or a warehouse in a market place from which an Aratdar conducts his | | |business | |Aratdar |Main actor in the fish distribution system.An Aratdar arranges or negotiates sales for the sellers | | |on a commission basis. He often acts as a wholesaler. He is also a main provider of fisheries credit | | |to the fishers | |Paiker/Bepari |A Paiker is a middleman in the fish marketing chain; often covers the assembly function in the chain,| | |acting as Dadandar at the same time; depending on the location sometimes also referred to as | | |wholesaler or retailer. They are also called Bepari |Nikari |A Nikari is an informer middleman who does not have the ownership of fish but sets a bridge between | | |buyers and sellers and receive commission from Farme rs and fishers | |Faria |Farias are intermediaries usually operating in the hilsha marketing process who purchases small | | |quantity of fish from fishermen far away from the market and carry it to the terminal point and sell | | |it to Aratdar or retailer | |LC Paiker |These intermediaries purchase hilsha fish from fishermen through Aratdar and export to overseas | | |market. They are authorized LC (Letter of Credit) holder to export. | |Account Holder |They are intermediary and operate in the shrimp supply chain. They act as the commission agent and | | |constitute the major profit making actor in the shrimp value chain. Account Holders are very powerful| | |as they are the party who supply shrimp to the processing plants. Processing plants are made to buy | | |shrimp from the Account holders only. |Dadan |This is a kind of loan given to the fishermen by Aratdars and mohajans (traditional money lenders) | | |on condition that fish are required to be sold to them compulsorily. Som etimes prices are | | |predetermined | |Koyal |Koyals are persons who conduct the auction for the Aratdars. They organize the auction by offering | | |initial price of the lot to the assembled buyers. They then loudly inform the prices offered by the | | |buyers before the auction participants. The process is repeated by them until final price is fixed | | |up. | Abbreviations Acronym |Full title | |FAO |Food and Agricultural Organizations of the United Nations | |DoF |Department of Fishery | |ADB |Asian Development Bank | |FGD |Focused Group Discussions | |LC |Letter of Credit | |NGO |Non-government Organizations | |Tk |Taka, Bangladesh Currency | |USDA |United States Department of Agriculture | Weights, Measures and Conversions Exchange rates (Jan 2011) 1 US dollar ($) = Tk75. 00 1 Maund = 40 Kg Local and Scientific names of the species of fish considered Local name | Scientific name | |Rohu | Labeo rohita | |Catla | Catla catla | |Pangas | Pangasius hypophthalmus | |Tilapia | Ore ochromis nilotica | |Hilsha | Tenualosa ilisha | |Giant Tiger Shrimp | Penaeus monodon . | |Giant River Prawn | Macrobrachium rosenbergii | |Vennamei (whiteleg) shrimp | Litopenaeus vannamei | | | | AcknowledgementsThe authors wish to thank the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and Norwegian Agency for International Development (NORAD) for the technical implementation and funding respectively of the project entitled â€Å"A Value-chain Analysis of International Fish Trade and Food Security with an Impact Assessment of the Small-scale Sector†. We are also grateful to Dr. Audun Lem, Senior Fishery Industry Officer, Policy and Economics Division, Fisheries and Aquaculture Department of FAO, Rome, for providing overall administrative support in conducting the project activities. The authors express sincere appreciation to Professor Dr.Trond Bjorndal, Director, CEMARE, the University of Portsmouth, UK for his keen interest in this value chain paper. His critical comments and professional suggestions have been highly helpful in organizing the paper. Prof. Dr. Daniel V Gordon of the University of Calgary, Canada deserves appreciation for his suggestions and comments during the value chain study workshop held in Japan, which helped the authors to organize the paper. The authors express sincere appreciation to the graduate students of the Faculty of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, for conducting the field surveys in various fish markets.The opinions of the participating members of the focused group discussion conducted in Khulna have been highly valuable and the authors thank them for their input. The different fish market intermediaries, who by sacrificing their valuable time, participated in the survey are also highly appreciated. Finally, the first author expresses deep sense of gratitude to the Institute of Agricultural and Food Policy Studies and the Universiti Putra Mal aysia for approving him to be involved in this project. Executive Summary Background of the project Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations is implementing a research project entitled a value-chain analysis of international fish trade and food security with an impact assessment of the small-scale sector with the financial support of NORAD.The objective of the project is to achieve a better understanding of the dynamics of relevant value-chains in international fish trade and arrive at policy recommendations. The project aims at analyzing the distribution of benefits in the value-chain and the linkages between the relative benefits obtained as well as the design of the chain. The project also aims at making comparisons between domestic, regional and international value-chains with the view to understand better how developing countries can increase the value derived from their fishery resources. Twelve countries (10 developing and 2 developed countries) are parti cipating in this project including Bangladesh. This report is based on the cross section component of the value chain analysis of Bangladesh fish marketing. Objectives of the studyThe study addresses the overall fish marketing system of Bangladesh with particular emphasis to the extent of value addition during the process of marketing of rohu, catla, pangas, tilapia, hilsha and shrimp. The specific objectives of the study are to: i) identify different marketing channels and intermediaries involved therein and their roles in fish marketing, ii) determine the extent of value addition in terms of costs in successive stages of fish movement, and iii) determine marketing margins of the intermediaries. A related, complementary study deals with price transmission mechanism across seafood value chain in the country (Sapkota-Bastola et al. 2012) Location of study and dataThe study is conducted in i) Trishal, Bhaluka and Muktagaca upazila (sub-district) under Mymensingh district of north-cent ral Bangladesh, ii) Dupchacia sub-district under Bogra district of northern Bangladesh, iii) Dumuria sub-district under Khulna district of southern Bangladesh, iv) Sadar sub-district of Chandpur district of south-central Bangladesh, and v) Jatrabari area of Dhaka district. A combination of participatory, qualitative and quantitative methods is used for primary data collection. Total sample size of the study is 200 comprising of 35 Farmers, 75 brokers and marketing agents, 5 depot owner, 2 processing plants and 73 retailers. Value chains (marketing channel) The longest supply chain involves six intermediaries for live Pangas (fish farmer, nikari, paiker, aratdar, retailer and consumer).Two supply chains identified for carps and tilapia involve five intermediaries (fish farmer, aratdar, paiker, retailer and consumer) and 4 intermediaries (fish farmer, aratdar, retailer and consumer) respectively. Supply chain of hilsha comprises of six intermediaries, namely fishermen, aratdar, paiker , aratdar, retailer and consumer for the distant domestic market. Two other identified channels for hilsha marketing involve respectively five intermediaries (fishermen, aratdar, paiker, retailer and consumer) and four intermediaries (fishermen, aratdar, retailer and consumer) for the local markets. The overseas hilsha marketing channel involves four intermediaries namely, fishermen, aratdar, LC paiker and overseas consumers.Domestic supply chains for shrimp marketing involve four intermediaries (shrimp farmer, aratdar, retailers and consumer) for local market and five intermediaries (shrimp farmers, aratdar, paiker, retailer and consumers) for distant markets. Three overseas supply chains are identified for shrimp marketing. The involved intermediaries are at most six, namely, shrimp farmer, aratdar, bepari, account holder, processing plant and overseas consumer. Characteristics of intermediaries Fish farmers and fishermen are the first link in the fish marketing channels. They are the supplier of fish to the market. Nikari (informer) is a middleman who does not have the ownership of the product but establishes a bridge between buyers and sellers and receive commission from farmer @0. 50 Taka/kg in the study areas in case of major carps.Faria, another type of intermediary, is found in hilsha marketing system who purchases a small quantity of fish form fishermen far away from the market and carry it to the terminal point and sell it to aratdar or retailer in the study areas. Paiker or bepari handles large volume of fish. They purchase fish from fish farmers at farm or through aratdar in the local market and sell them to the retailers through aratdar or commission agent in secondary market. LC paiker (licensed trader/exporter) purchase hilsha fish from fishermen through aratdar and sell (export) their entire product to overseas market. Aratdars negotiate sales of fish on behalf of the producers/ seller. Aratdars arrange selling of fish through an auctioning sys tem and receive a commission. Aratdars often act as a supplier of dadan.Shrimp depot owners are the permanent shopkeepers having their own premises and staffs in markets and act as the middle functionary between farmers and commission agents. Their shops (establishments) are called ‘Depot’. This group of traders mostly offers dadon – cash as loans to farmers, in return for buying the shrimp at a pre-fixed price, which may be well below the market level. Account holders act as the commission agent and constitute the major profit making actors in the shrimp value chain. They finance paikers and farmers and give credit to the processing plants. Retailers, the last intermediaries of fish marketing channel, do not have any permanent establishment but they have fixed places to sit in the market places or wandering with hari (aluminium pot) on head from door to door. Buying and sellingFarmers (producers) sell 5-12% of rohu, catla, and tilapia directly to paikers and 85- 95% is passed on to aratdar and subsequently purchased by paiker . Only a small portion is sold directly to retailers. For pangas, farmers sell 54% to paiker directly, 46% indirectly to paiker via aratdar and only 3% to retailers. Hilsha shows a different picture where fishers sell 16% to faria directly. Most intermediaries purchase fish from aratdars. In the study, 24% goes to faria, 16% to paikar, 12% to LC paiker and 32 % to retailers via aratdars. For shrimp, major portion (65%) is sold to bepari and paiker through aratdar. Depot owner is also an important party for the farmers to sell shrimp. Paikars and retailers transact (buy and sell) most of the traded fish through aratdars.Thus aratdar is the most important intermediary in the fish marketing chains and is only involved in negotiating sales on behalf of the sellers on a commission basis. In general, farmer/fisher, aratdar, paiker, and retailers are the important intermediaries playing notable role in the marketing of fish. Account holders are intermediaries and operate in the shrimp supply chain. They act as the commission agent and constitute the major profit making actor in the shrimp value chain. Account holders play a significant role in shrimp marketing. Marketing functions Grading Grading is an important activity in fish marketing as different sizes of fish fetch different prices.Grading facilitates buying and selling of fish. Most fish are graded on the basis of size (weight). However, in the case of hilsha, location (source of capture/catch) is also a factor in the grading procedure. Hilsha harvested from river (river Padma) and from sea (called fishes from Nama’s) are often differentiated in terms of their prices. Usually, hilsha caught from Padma river fetch higher price. Fish are graded into three categories namely, small, medium and large depending on size (weight). However, weights across species vary depending on species graded. Shrimp has a different grading system than fish. Her e grading is based on number of pieces forming one kg. StoragingThe storage function is primarily concerned with making goods available at the desired time. It enables traders to obtain better prices for their products. Being a highly perishable commodity, fish requires extremely specialized storage facilities matching the seasonal demand. In the shrimp industry, only the processing plants use proper storage systems in order to be able to export to the world market. Other intermediaries use only ice to transport fishes from one place to another. Surprisingly, no refrigerated van is used in Bangladesh to transport fish. Live pangas is transported from one place to another place using water in the plastic drums. TransportingFish farmers and intermediaries use various modes of transportation such as van, rickshaw, truck, passenger bus, pickup, Nasimon (locally made pick-up type van for transporting passengers and goods), head load etc, to transfer products from the producing areas to t he consumption centres. Ice is used while transporting the fish as most carriers are non-refrigerated. Rohu, catla, hilsha and other assorted fish often are sold in the urban areas with refrigerated vans to a very limited scale by the DoF, BFDC and some private firms. Financing Most of the fish farmers/ fishermen, aratdars, paikers and are self-financed. Other sources of finance for the farmers are banks, friends and relatives, and dadon. Aratdars and paikars also borrow from banks, NGOs, and friends and relatives.However, finance of hilsha fishermen come totally from aratdar/mahajon (who provides dadan). Fishermen receiving dadon from aratdars/mohajans are bound to sell their produce to them, sometimes at predetermined prices, which in most cases are lower than prevailing market prices. Farmer, aratdar, bepari and retailer involved in shrimp transaction are self-financed. Depot owners use a combination of own fund, bank, NGO and aratdars for shrimp financing. Paikers use dadon from aratdars besides their own fund to run their business. Account holders partly and processing plant owners mostly depend on bank loans to accelerate the business operations. Market informationPhysically visiting the markets and use of telephone/mobile phone are the common sources of collecting market information for all value chain actors. Fellow traders are also a source of market information for the value chain actors except processing plants. Processing plant and LC paikers mainly depend on email/internet to obtain market information. Packaging ‘Bamboo, tied with rope and polythene is used by farmers, paikers and retailers of major carps, pangas and tilapia fish for packaging. Agents also use plastic drum to transport fish (mostly pangas) in live form. Now a day’s ‘plastic crate’ is commonly used by all types of intermediaries in Bangladesh. Steel and wooden’ box are used in hilsha fish marketing by paikers, beparis and LC paikers. ‘Box†™ made of cork sheet is widely used by Account holders and processing plant owners in shrimp marketing and LC paikers in hilsha fish marketing. Pricing Depot owner, bepari and account holder of shrimp marketing chain follow prefixed prices set by the processing plants. Farmer, aratdar, paiker, LC paiker, and processing plants practice open bargaining, auction and going market prices method for fixing price of their products in varying degree. Retailers follow open bargain for selling their fish to consumers. Value addition Value is added when products pass different stages and move from one intermediary to another.The different cost components required for successive movement of fish are transportation, basket packaging, icing, wages and salaries, aratdar’s commission, house rent, security, electricity, telephone, personal expenses, tips-donation, wastage, dadon cost, government taxation, subscription for cooperatives (for hilsha), export packaging (shrimp). Total value add ed cost per maund (40 kg) is Taka 953. 13 for carps, pangas and tilapia; Taka 3707 for hilsha and Taka 5036 for shrimp. For carps, pangas and tilapia. The top three cost components are transportation, aratdar’s commission, and icing. For hilsha, the cost items are aratdar’s commission, transportation, and basket (packaging). For shrimp, the top three cost additions are aratdar’s commission, transportation, and salaries for shrimp. Marketing marginNet marketing margins per maund of carp, pangas and tilapia for farmers, aratdars, inter-district paikers, paikers and retailers are Tk3257, Taka 54, Taka 194, Taka 337 and Taka 633 respectively. The net margins of hilsha are Taka 297 for aratdars, Taka 228 for inter-district paikers, Taka 902 for LC paiker, Taka 520 for paiker and Taka 1223 for retailers. Farmer’s net marketing margin per maund of shrimp is Taka 20366 followed by processing plant (Taka 1650), retailer (Taka 1524), paiker (Taka 1417), depot owner s (Taka 1006), bepari (Taka 720) and aratdar (Taka 201). Retailers enjoy the lion’s share of the total marketing margin. Distribution of value addition cost and profit For major carp, pangas and tilapia, major cost and profit are borne by paikers (32. 03 % of the total cost) and retailers (51. 8 % of the total net profit) . For hilsha and shrimp marketing, major costs are incurred by inter district beparis, LC paikers, paikers and fishermen but major net profits are reaped by retailers and processing plant owners . Farmers in shrimp marketing bear the major marketing cost (23. 70 % of total cost) because they have to pay the aratdar’s commission. Farmers’ share of consumer Taka Farmers’ share of the consumers prices for different fishes seem to be reasonable except for hilsha fish. Farmer received 67%, 72% and 76% share of the consumer’s Taka for major carp-pangas-tilapia, shrimp (overseas value chain) and shrimp(domestic value chain) respectively. However, for hilsha, the major share (46%) of consumer Taka goes to mahajon, and fishermen receive only 31%. Price spread per kg ranges from Taka 39. 83 to Taka 177. 50. Conclusions and recommendations The study reveals that the value chain of major carps, pangas, tilapia, hilsha and shrimp are long and very complex. Fish flows to a number of channels from the producing centers. Fish sold in a particular market may originate through more than one channel. There are involvements of many intermediaries in the channel. Involvement of some intermediaries seems to be redundant whose presence just adds a cost to the consumer and a loss to the fisher.Fish purchased by consumers in Bangladesh mostly consists of the primary product and does include limited marketing services. Non-existence of good road and transport networks with the landing (assembling) centers deprive small-scale artisanal riverine fishers to get fair price due to their inability to sell directly to the assembling points/l anding centers Contact fish farming arranged by some super stores tend to reduce the existence of number of intermediaries making the channel shorter. Bulk of the fish sold in the markets is unprocessed. An emerging new phenomenon in fish marketing in Bangladesh is the availability of fish in super markets, who are increasingly becoming important retailers.Beparies and paikers bear the most cost of marketing while retailers enjoy the lion’s share of the profit. Farmers receive relatively higher share (approximately 70%) of the retail value for all species under study except for hilsha. Though fish marketing in Bangladesh is beset with a number of problems, there have been a number of positive changes that are expected to improve fish marketing environment in the country. These positive drivers include, i) the shift from subsistence to commercial fish farming, ii) emergence of super-markets, and iii) a changing social attitude towards fish marketing, as it is increasingly cons idered as a less dishonourable job as was thought in the past.Although private bodies control the most of fish marketing, for better fish marketing, government should also play active role in providing physical facilities like refrigerated storage, refrigerated vans, good market places with related facilities like water, ice, electricity, drainage facilities and sitting arrangements etc. Development of road networks is greatly needed, which is a responsibility of the government. Monitoring needs to be done to ensure that market regulations are be strictly followed. 1. Introduction Large number of different types of water bodies both inland and marine makes Bangladesh one of the most suitable countries of the world for freshwater aquaculture. The freshwater inland aquaculture production in Bangladesh is the second highest in the world after China (FAO, 2009).The total annual fish production is estimated at 2. 90 million tonnes in 2009-10 (Bangladesh fiscal year: 1 July-30 June), of w hich 1. 35 million tonnes (46. 62%) are obtained from inland aquaculture, 1. 02 million tonnes (35. 53%) from inland capture fisheries, and 0. 52 million tonnes (17. 85%) from marine fisheries (DoF, 2010). The main production systems for freshwater aquaculture in Bangladesh are extensive and semi-intensive pond poly-culture of Indian major carps and exotic carps, which account for 80% of the total freshwater aquaculture production. The remaining 20% are mainly from catfish, tilapia, small indigenous fish and rice-fish farming (ADB, 2005). Presently, 1. million people are engaged full time and 12 million as part time in fisheries sector in the country for livelihood and trade. Another 3. 08 million fish and shrimp farmers are cultivating fish both at subsistence and commercial level (Shah and Ahmed, 2006). In Bangladesh, fish farming is currently one of the most important sectors of the national economy. Within the overall agro-based economy of the country, the contribution of fish p roduction has been considered to hold good promise for creating jobs, earning foreign currency and supplying protein. About 97% of the inland fish production is marketed internally for domestic consumption while the remaining 3% is exported (Hasan, 2001).A large number of people, many of whom living below the poverty line, find employment in the domestic fish marketing chain in the form of farmers, processors, traders, intermediaries, day laborers and transporters (Ahmed et al. 1993, Islam, 1996; DFID, 1997; Kleih, 2001a? 2001b). Traditionally, people of Bangladesh like to eat fresh fish. However, chilled and dried fish are also marketed currently in large quantities in the towns and cities. Utilization and marketing distribution of fish is around 70 % fresh fish, 25% dried, and the other forms of locally processed fish include fermented products and frozen products (Islam et al. 2006). The export market of value added products is highly competitive, involving changes in type of pro ducts, forms and packaging as well as consumer behavior.Export of fish, shrimp and other fishery products were considered as non-conventional items before the independence of the country. It has increased many-folds during the last decades and the country is earning foreign exchange to minimize the trade gap. In this case the dried coastal and marine fish, the marine finfish and organism even other than fish, could be on the top of the list of export earning items (Kamal, 1994). Bangladesh exported fish and fisheries products worth Taka 32,106 million in 2009-10 of which frozen fish and shrimp shared more than 90% of the total exports of the fishery products and attained 3. 7% of total export earnings of Bangladesh (Bangladesh Bank, 2011).Since fish production in Bangladesh is increasing over the years, its disposal pattern is very important as growers, wholesalers, retailers and consumers- all are affected due to value addition in the marketing process. For the sustainability of th ese stakeholders, fish marketing studies are very necessary. Thus, the present study is conducted to examine the fish marketing system, supply chain and value addition to determine the pulling factors for enhancing production, processing and marketing of different species of fishes in Bangladesh. 2. Statement of the Problem The value chain describes the full range of activities which are required to bring a product or service from conception, through the different phases of production and delivery to final consumers (Porter, 1980; Kapilinsky and Morris, 2000).Value-chain analysis looks at every step a business goes through, from raw materials to the eventual end-user. The goal is to deliver maximum value for the least possible total cost (Investopedia, 2011). Market chain analysis aims to provide information on profitability for the various agents along the market chain (Ferris et al. , 2001). Economic value chain analysis describes the range of activities required to bring a produc t to the final consumer and, in the case of international products, the extent to which intermediaries/agents gain from participating in the chain (Jacinto, 2004). A traditional food industry value chain consists of the producer, processor, wholesaler, exporter, importer, retailer and consumer.There are mainly three sets of reasons why value chain analysis is important (Kaplinsky and Morris, 2000). These are: i) with the growing division of labour and the global dispersion of the production of components, systematic competitiveness has become increasingly important, ii) efficiency in production is only a necessary condition for successfully penetrating global markets, and iii) entry into global markets which allows for sustained income growth – that is, making the best of globalilsation- requires an understanding of dynamic factors within the whole value chain. Fish is a highly perishable commodity and its quality deteriorates very rapidly.Therefore, its quality cannot be kep t unaffected for human consumption for a long time. Production and consumption areas are also widely separated. Consumers of this country normally like indigenous carps, shrimp, catfish and other small species as food fish. Production of cultured fish can be increased by making best utilization of the existing inland resources through modern and scientific methods of fish culture and fishing techniques. But the ultimate consumers have to depend on an effective marketing system to be able to purchase fish at reasonable prices. Similarly, successful and sustainable fish culture also depends on an effective distribution system.Analysis of value chains requires detailed micro-level data, which are not available in Bangladesh and are often difficult to obtain in most countries. The present study takes the first steps to collect primary data and to identify the marketing channels and value addition of tilapia, pangas, rohu, catla, shrimp and hilsha in Bangladesh. This study analyzes how m arket intermediaries operate along seafood value chains, and demonstrates how the revenue from seafood trade is distributed over the entire seafood value chain. This report also provides information on aquaculture/fisheries products in Bangladesh to support the statistical report linking the value chain in fish supply.Finally, this study is expected to also provide some useful information to traders, fish farmers and policy makers to help them formulate programmes and policies related to the concerned fish production and marketing. A related, complementary study (Sapkota-Bastola et al. 2012) provides an in-depth analysis of the linkage between various segments in the seafood value chains in the country. The report is organized in 5 sections. Following introduction in the first section and problem statement in the second section, the third section presents methodology followed in the study. Results and discussions are discussed in section 4. Concluding remarks and future fisheries va lue chains are provided in section 5. 3. MethodologyThe study was conducted in i) Trishal, Bhaluka and Muktagaca sub-districts under Mymensingh district of north-central Bangladesh, ii) Dupchacia sub-district under Bogra district of northern Bangladesh, iii) Dumuria sub-district under Khulna district of southern Bangladesh, iv) Sadar sub-districts of Chandpur district of south-central Bangladesh and v) Jatrabari area of Dhaka district. These areas have been identified as the most important sources for pangas (Pangasius hypophthalmus), rohu (Labeo rohita), catla (Catla Catla), tilapia (Oreochromis nilotica), hilsha (Tenualosa ilisha) and shrimp/prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii, Penaeus monodon, and Litopenaeus vannamei). Primary data were collected from fish market agents of Trishal, Valuka, Muktagaca and Mechua Bazar of Mymensingh district, Dupchacia and Fate Ali Bazar of Bogra district, Kharnia, Dumuria, Rupsha, 5-No. hat and Moylapota Bazar of Khulna district, Station, Pal Bazar a nd Biponibag of Chandpur district and Jatrabari, Shanir Akhra, Ajompur and Abdullahpur Bazar of Dhaka district for the study. Surveys were conducted for a period of three months from November 2010 to January 2011. These surveys involved the inspection of the study areas in terms of fish distribution and marketing systems. A combination of participatory, qualitative and quantitative methods was used for primary data collection. A total of 4 Focus Group Discussion (FGD) sessions were conducted with actors involved in fish distribution channel (1 FGD in each area). Table 1 shows the sample intermediaries from different study areas. In this study, purposive sampling technique was used for selecting the sample. Total sample size of the study was 200.The interview schedules were prepared according to the need of the objectives of the study. In order to collect data, one set of interview schedule for all actors involved in value addition process was prepared. The draft interview schedule w as pre-tested amongst a few respondents by the researcher themselves. In this pre-testing much attention was given to elicit new information which was originally not designed to be asked and filled in the draft interview schedules. Thus, some parts of draft schedules were improved, rearranged and modified in the light of the actual experiences gained from the field tests. Then the final interview schedules were prepared based on the result of the pre-test.After the collection of data they were scrutinized and carefully edited to eliminate possible errors and inconsistencies contained in the schedules while recording them. The first step was to look into the data of each and every interview schedule to ensure consistency and reliability with the aims and objectives of the study. After completing the pre-tabulation task, they were transferred to an Excel sheet from the interview schedules. In this study tabular technique was followed to illustrate the whole scenarios of fish marketing . The sum, mean, averages, percentages, gross costs and margins etc. are the simple statistical measures employed to examine the value chain analysis of different species of fishes. Table 1. Distribution of samples from different areas |Study Area and fish species | | | | | | | |Respondents | | | |Mymensingh |Bogra |Dhaka |Chandpur |Khulna | | | |Pangas/ |Pangas/ |Pangas/ |Hilsha |Hilsha |Shrimp |Total | | |tilapia/ rohu/ catla|tilapia/ rohu/|tilapia/ rohu/ | | | | | | | | |catla/ hilsha | | | | | | | |catla | | | | | | |Farmer |10 |5 | |5 |5 |10 |35 | |Paiker |15 |4 |3 | |10 |3 |35 | |Total |56 |29 |25 |20 |29 |41 |200 | 4.Results and Discussion 4. 1 Overview of fish marketing practices 4. 11 Buying and selling Fish marketing practices in Bangladesh is the combination of a series of functions or services that are performed by several institutions and market participants like marketing agents, brokers, wholesalers, retailer, exporter and manufacturer in order to transfer the product s from farm-gate to the ultimate consumers both at home and abroad. Marketing system may be thought of as the connecting link between specialized producers and consumers (Kohls, 2005). An efficient marketing system is essential for earning fair profit for the fish farmers and traders.Marketing functions may be defined as major specialized activities performed in accomplishing the marketing process of concentration, equalization and dispersion (Kohls, 2005). In the study areas, the whole marketing of fish has been broken down into various functions such as buying and selling, transportation, grading, storaging, weighing, financing, market information and pricing. The activities involved in the transfer of goods are completed through buying and selling functions. Aratdars do the functions of negotiation between buyers and sellers of fish and help them at their own business premises on receipt of commission. They do not take the ownership of the products.Tilapia fish farmers sell 85% o f their fish to paiker through aratdar, 12% to paiker directly and the final 3% to retailer. Paikers sell 77% of their fishes to retailers and 23% to retailers through aratdars. Retailers sell the entire fish to ultimate consumers. Paiker of tilapia fish purchases 92% from farmers through aratdar and 8% directly from farmers. Retailer purchases 89 % from farmers through aratdar and 11% from farmers. Consumer purchases 100% of tilapia from the retailers in the study area (Table 2). Table 2. Percent of tilapia fish transacted by value chain actors | |Purchase from (%) |Sold to (%) | |Value chain actor| | | |Farmer | |Paiker |8 |92 | | |Farmer | |Paiker |8 |92 | |Value chain actor|Farmer | |Paiker |11 |89 | | |Farmer | |Paiker |50 |50 | | |Fisher men | |Faria |100 |- |- |- |- | |Retailer |- | | |Farmer |Faria |Farmer via Aratdar|Bepari |Depot owner |AC Holder |Retailer | |Faria |100 |- |- |- |- |- |- | |Depot owner |40 |20 |40 |- |- |- |- | |Paiker |- |- |100 |- |- |- |- | |Bepari |- | - |100 |- |- |- |- | |A/C Holder |30 |- |- |50 |20 |- |- | |Processing plant |- |- |- |- |- |- |- | |Retailer |- |- |20 |80 |- |- |- | |Consumer |- |- |- |- |- |- |100 | Source: Field survey, 2010. Table 7. Percent of shrimp/prawn transacted by value chain actors (Cont†¦. | |Sold to (%) | |Value chain |Faria |Retailer via Aratdar | |actor | | | |Rohu |Weight |Large: 2. 5 kg above, Medium: 1. 0 kg to 2. 5 kg, Small: Less than 1 kg | |Catla |Weight |Large: 3. 0 kg above, Medium: 1. 5 kg to 3 kg, Small: Less than 1. 5 kg | |Tilapia |Weight |Large: 300 gm above, Medium: 150 gm to 300 gm, Small: Less than 150 gm | |Pangas |Weight |Large: 1. 5 kg above, Medium: 1 kg to 1. kg, Small: Less than 1 kg | |Shrimp |Weight |Golda: U-5, 6/8, 8/12, 13/15, 16/20, 21/25, 26/30 | | | |Bagda: 8/12, 13/15, 16/20, 21/25, 26/30, 31/40, 41/50 | |Hilsha |Weight |Large: Above 1 kg, Medium: 800gm to 1000 gm, Small: Less than 800 gm | | |Location |Catching from river, Catching from sea | Source: Field sur vey, 2010. 4. 13 Storage The storage facilities help buyers and sellers to reduce the wide fluctuation of prices between peak and lean seasons. The storage function is primarily concerned with making goods available at the desired time and enables traders to receive better prices for their products. Because of high perishability, fish requires extremely specialized storage facilities matching the seasonal demand.Only the processing plants in the shrimp industry use proper storage systems for export to the world market. Other intermediaries use only ice to transport fishes from one place to another. Surprisingly, no refrigerated vans are used in Bangladesh to transport fish. Live pangas is transported from one place to another using water in the plastic drums. If the distance is long, water is then changed twice or thrice depending on the distance. Though all intermediaries use ice during marketing, their use of ice in fish is not scientific for which quality of fish gets affected. W hile retail selling, some use ice and some do not. 4. 14 TransportationTransportation is a basic function of making goods available at proper place and it creates place utility. Perishable goods must be moved as early as possible from the producing centre Figure 1. Mode of transport used by farmers and intermediaries for movement of major carps, pangas and tilapia Source: Field survey, 2010. Figure 2. Mode of transport used by farmers and intermediaries for movement of shrimp Source: Field survey, 2010. to the consumer centre. So transportation is essential for highly perishable commodities like fish. Adequate and efficient transportation is a cornerstone for the modern marketing system (Kohls and Uhl, 2005, p. 319).In the study areas, the fish farmers and intermediaries use various modes of transports such as van, rickshaw, truck, passenger bus, pickup, Nasimon (locally made pick-up type van for transporting passengers and goods), head load etc, to transfer product from the produci ng areas to the consumption centre. Figures 1, 2 and 3 show different modes of transport used by the intermediaries to transport fish from one place to another. 4. 15 Financing The financing function is the advancing of money by someone to carry on the business. For effective operation, financing is of crucial importance in the whole marketing system of fish. The source of finance for the value chain actors in the study areas are shown in Tables 8, 9 and 10.Table 8 shows that most of the fish farmers, aratdars, paikers and retailers of major carps, pangas and tilapia are self-financed. Other sources of finance for farmers are banks, friends and relatives, and dadon. A minor portion of Aratdar’s sources of finance are banks and friends and relatives. Paikers take loan from banks, NGO and friends and relatives. In addition to the use of their own fund, retailers also borrow from NGOs and friends and relatives. Figure 3. Mode of transport used by the farmers and intermediaries f or movement of hilsha fish Source: Field survey, 2010. Table 8. Sources of finance of major carps, pangas and tilapia fish farmers and intermediaries Sources of finance |Market participants (%) | | | |Farmer |Aratdar |Paiker |Retailer | |Own fund |86 |96 |82 |76 | |Bank |9 |3 |11 |0 | |NGO |- |0 |5 |16 | |Friend and relatives |4 |1 |2 |8 | |Dadon from Aratdar |1 |0 |0 |0 | |Total |100 |100 |100 |100 | Source: Field survey, 2010.Table 9 shows that most of the fish aratdar, bepari, paiker and retailer of hilsha are self-financed. Other sources of their finance are banks, NGOs, friends and relatives and dadon. It is worth mentioning that finance of hilsha fishermen come totally from aratdar/mahajon (who provides dadan). This dadon of the aratdars /mohajans makes fishermen very vulnerable as it is tied up with conditions. Fishermen receiving dadon from aratdars/mohajans are bound to sell their produce to them, sometimes at predetermined prices which in most cases are lower than the prev ailing market prices. Moreover, they also deprive the fishers while weighing the produce. About one-fourth of the LC paikers business is run by bank loans. Table 9.Sources of finance of hilsha fish farmers and intermediaries |Sources of finance |Market participants (%) | | |Fishermen |Aratdar |Bepari |Paiker |LC Paiker |Retailer | |Own fund |3 |90 |95 |80 |74 |99 | |Bank |0 |9 |5 |10 |24 |0 | |NGO |0 |0 | |0 |2 |1 | |Friend and relatives |0 |1 | |0 | | | |Dadon from Aratdar |97 | | |10 | | | |Total |100 |100 | | |100 |100 | Source: Field survey, 2010. Table 10 shows that in the case of shrimp, most of the farmers, aratdar, bepari and retailers are self-financed. Depot owners use a combination of own funds, bank loans, NGO and aratdars for shrimp marketing. Only 20% of depot owners procure loans from banks while 5% and 3% received from NGOs and dadon giving aratdars respectively. However, a majority of depot owners use their own fund for the business. 34% of the paikers take dadon Ta ble 10.Sources of finance of shrimp farmers and intermediaries |Sources of finance |Market participants (%) | | |Farmer | | |Farmer |Depot owner |Aratdar | |Basket |Bamboo, Rope and Polythene |40 kg |Farmer, Paiker and Retailer | | | |20 kg |Retailer | |Drum |Plastic |40 kg |Farmer, Paiker | | | |20 kg |Retailer | |Crate |Plastic, Polythene |40 kg |Depot owner (shrimp), Paiker, Bepari, Account holder | | | | |(Shrimp), Retailer | |Steel box |Steel sheet |250 kg |Paiker, Bepari (hilsha) | |Wooden box |Wood, Polythene |160 kg |Bepari, Paiker, LC paiker (hilsa) | |Box |Cork sheet |40 and 20 kg |LC Paiker (hilsha), Account holder, Processing p

Ben Hamper

For Ben Hamper it was inevitable that he would end up working in the General Motors factory in Flint, Michigan. He was a third generation â€Å"shop-rat† following in the footsteps of his family and extended family. Working on the Rivet Line for General Motors was far from what Hamper wanted to do with his life. Unfortunately for Hamper this was the only job where he was receiving good pay and was able to drink throughout his day. Hamper faced many ups and downs being an American autoworker; the working conditions, labor-management relations and psychological problems to name a few.It would eventually be the psychological issues that would lead Hamper away from General Motors and the auto industry. Hamper did not start out with a plan to work the Rivet Line as his career. He wanted to be an ambulance driver, but that later went away as he grew older. Hamper was a smart kid who would sometimes make the honor roll; though he complains that he had nothing better to do but homewor k. His father, Ben Hamper II was nothing but ordinary. Hamper II was married but rarely worked, and when he was not working he was at the closest bar he could find.Hamper’s father was also a Rivet Line worker, just like his father before him and so on. It was a family affair to work in the auto industry. Hamper describes â€Å"Flint, Michigan. The Vehicle City. Greaseball Mecca. The birthplace of thud-rockers Grand Funk Railroad, game show geek Bob Eubanks and a hobby shop called General motors† (15), most likely having to do with the fact that within the surrounding areas of Flint were ten other auto industry shops. It was as if Hamper was born into the Rivet line. Prior to Hamper working at General Motors, he painted houses.Right after graduating high school Hamper found out his girlfriend, Joanie, was pregnant and he married her. He soon got a job painting houses, but that was not making enough profit for his family. Joanie then got a job while Hamper stayed home an d drank and used drugs with his neighbors, which is when his family began falling apart. Soon Hamper would find that getting a job was going to be difficult, because in the mid-1970s Flint, Michigan went into a recession. Hamper came to the conclusion that he would have no choice but to get a job at General Motors. This was much more difficult than Hamper ould have thought. Due to the recession, Hampers attempt at applying at GM was a long shot. They were not hiring and not handing out any applications. Fortunately for Hamper his friend got hired and was able to get him a job. Out of all the stations that Hamper would have wanted to end up working, his least favorite was the Cab Shop, where General Motors management stationed him. The job came easy for Hamper, perhaps because of its repetition it required. Hamper states that â€Å"Every minute, every hour, every truck and every movement was a plodding replica of one that had gone before† (41).It was a job of repetition and mo notony, which was eventually going to drive him crazy. The psychological costs that Hamper received due to working in the auto factories were foreseeable. The countless repetition, and the boring days were going to drive him crazy. Drinking was one way to cope with the tedious work day. Hamper relies on his coworkers for practical jokes and banter. Though some workers were unable to take the constant repetition, was Roy. Roy was a Rivet line worker just like Hamper, but he was using drugs. Perhaps it was the drugs that caused him to capture a mouse and send it through the rivet line.Hamper knew that it was the working conditions that sent many men over the edge. They would make up games like â€Å"Rivet hockey† or played cards to pass the time. But Hamper found other ways to pass his free time at the factory, he wrote. He wrote poems, articles and manuscripts, even the book called â€Å"Rivethead† while at General Motors. The effects the economy had on these workers wa s rough at first, but then Hamper speaks about the factory coming back onto its feet, â€Å"summer and fall of 1977, the truck plant was hummin’ six days a week, nine hours per shift† (44).People were spending money again and buying automobiles. Hamper and his work partner developed a scheme they called â€Å"doubling up†. This was a way for Hamper and his partner to take longer breaks and do less work throughout the day. Things were looking up for the factory and its workers, until management claimed there was going to be a change in the way things were done. Hamper would have to put in more work, which then lead to another recession hitting, and to people getting laid off. This set the General Motor factory back into a downward spiral. There was an nnouncement, given by Roger Smith, stating that many of the General Motors factories would be closing down. Hamper describes it as â€Å"My beleaguered hometown was like some banged-up middleweight resting its rump on the ropes, covering up its soft belly, hoping to only last out the round† (68). The town of Flint was facing yet another recession, and in the process of becoming the poorest town in Michigan. For Hamper, it was either stay in Flint where there were no jobs, or relocate to Pontiac, Michigan and commute for work. Prior to transferring to Pontiac, he would be laid off for about nine months.Hamper collected unemployment and quickly found that he was getting more money by collecting rather than working. Finally the time came for him to commute to Pontiac. Hamper finishes working in Pontiac and moves back to working for General Motors in Flint. Where more layoff were occurring and at times he was unemployed for a year. While living in Flint, Hamper writes to Michael Moore, who is a man responsible for the liberal rag called the Flint Voice. Moore was pleased with Hampers writings and called him, set up a meeting and offered Hamper an unpaid job of writing feature articles.He ac cepted and this was the start of Hamper and Moore’s friendship. Soon their relationship would turn into much bigger things for Hamper. His column was being read and becoming popular, even by the wall Street Journal. This seemed to be a turning point for Hamper, but his panic attacks started happening once he transferred to Pontiac. During the spring of 1988, Hampers panic attacks would get the best of him and it was the last time he would leave the auto factory. Ben Hamper was a third generation General Motors factory worker.It was far from what he wanted to do with his life growing up. Working in the auto factories for Hamper was like it was in his blood. He picked up the job quickly and soon found ways around it. For the working class man like Hamper and his many coworkers at the General Motors plant, was hard. Many workers had jobs, and then would get laid off and so on. They faced low pay for the amount of work they needed to put in, while at times other had to commute tw o hours for work. The psychological problems that occurred to the workers were mostly mental and alcoholism.Hamper being falling victim to both, knew that it was time for him to get out of the industry and move onto something he loved. He was a writer, and became notably famous for it. Perhaps it was Michael Moore who first gave Hamper his debut into the writing world, but it worked for Hamper. Hamper is a very well accomplished man for being raised by a mother who worked two jobs and a father who was almost always absent. Hamper knew that he would be more than a â€Å"shop-rat† like his father and grandfather. He has made a name for himself, and that is what he should be proud of.