Trigger Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Trigger Paper - Essay Example Goodson (2011) indicates that in order for a business to keep its customers loyal, it must be transparent and build relationships with customers. Apple is forced to change its branding strategies in marketing and also develop a presence in social media in order to be more interactive with customers so that they will remain devoted and trusting buyers. This requires planning, reorganization of marketing personnel in operations, and also financial investment to provide transparency and maintain customer relationships. Business Week (2007, p.1) reinforces that Apple â€Å"has gone out of its way† to establish brand loyalty since much of its sales revenues come from repeat buyers. When customers now have the ability to provide negative publicity through blogs and social discussion online, the business must be responsive to gain positive product feedback and ensure its reputation. This involves being more adaptable and providing support staff in social media as a long-term strategic plan, a labor-intensive and cost-adding effort to satisfy a new type of evolving consumer

Note On Development Of Waqf Land Economics Essay

Note On Development Of Waqf Land Economics Essay Introduction 1. There is no doubt that the existence of waqf since the time of the prophet s.a.w is meant for the humans to do good deeds for the society and should benefit the Muslims. Waqf or endowment has been embodied in Islam as one of the good deeds in which the spiritual deed rewarded by Allah with 70 times returns.  [1]  In another verse, the act of philanthropy by disposing out property as an act of charity is encouraged in Islam.  [2]  From economic point of view, waqf is a powerful mechanism in developing the nation in form of charitable instruments which is very unique and beneficial for poverty alleviation programmes. 2. In Islamic tradition waqf is very important. Its potential in future development should not be underestimated. The average rate of return on investments made in developing waqf properties came to a minimum of 20-25% (Rashid, 2012)  [3]  . Besides religious purposes, waqf land has also been used for infrastructure development, education sector, healthcare and public amenities. For example, among the prominent education institutions that were founded and maintained using waqf lands are the Al-Azhar University in Egypt, University of Cordova in Spain, Universitas Islam Indonesia in Jogjakarta, Indonesia  [4]  and AlBukhary International University in Malaysia. While in the healthcare sector, the hospital (Al Noori Hospital) in Damascus and clinics (Klinik Nur) in Malaysia.  [5]   Review of Development in Waqf 3. Recently, there is an increasing interest in reviving the waqf institutions. Several international conferences on waqf have been held in recent years (i.e. Harvard, 2006, 2008; South Africa, 2007; Singapore, 2008; Kuwait, 2008; Iran, 2008, Malaysia, 2010).  [6]  These conferences and seminars have discussed how waqf institutions have been revived by means of interviewing relevant authorities and conducting surveys on waqf land rules and regulations in many parts of the Muslim world. Box 1 provides the example development of waqf lands and properties in Malaysia and Singapore. However, despite various efforts by the governments to enhance the benefits, the utilization of waqf lands is still not being optimized and in fact there are a lot undeveloped waqf lands which have potential to be invested through various instruments. 4. From the perspective of research, the literatures discussed the different usage of Islamic modes of investment for waqf institutions (Kahf, 1998; Hasan and Abdullah, 2008). There are also a few literatures dedicated to the topics of waqf land development. Most of these have discussed the historic development of these lands and their legal aspects (Perai, 2005; Hasan and Abdullah, 2008). There are writings that have classified waqf lands according to how they have been used, for example agriculture, construction, mosques, cemeteries, etc. (MAIS, 2008). There is, limited literature that has categorized waqf lands according to their strategic locations and uses let alone matching them with Islamic investment modes (Noor and Mohamed, 2009). 5. There is no recent news of any worth-mentioning waqf development project except in Malaysia during the last two years (20 major and 70 minor waqf projects have been completed, worth over US$100 million)  [7]  . On the other hand, the number of properties sponsored by the Awqf Properties Investment Fund of IDB (APIF) was not up to the mark. During 2002-03 only 8 projects were developed, while 7 projects in 2009 and 5 projects in 2010. The distribution of dividend from the funds was relatively low at only 2.5% compared to Harta Tanah PNB Trust in Malaysia at 6-7% of income distribution annually  [8]  . In addition, World Waqf Foundation has been very inactive as there is no publication from the foundation since 2004. Box 1. Development of Waqf Lands in Malaysia and Singapore The development of waqf in Malaysia and Singapore especially land is fundamentally aimed at generating more income to waqf institution that could be benefited by the beneficiaries. In the context of Malaysia, there are over 35,727 hectares of registered waqf lands in which may be invested to benefit the Muslims society.[1] One of the recent large scale investments of waqf land in Malaysia was initiated by the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council together with Tabung Haji, TH Technologies Sdn. Bhd. and Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad involving a project for the construction of a 34-storey building at a cost of RM151 million. Regardless of this development, it is observed however that the utilization of waqf lands is still not being optimized and in fact there are a lot undeveloped waqf lands which have potential to be invested through various instruments. There are various model of investments of waqf land could be adopted by the waqf authority either they are depending on funding from the federal or state government or statutory bodies or financial institutions. The utmost important is that the ability of the waqf institution to choose the most appropriate and suitable methods of financial schemes for any of its investment project. In Malaysia, the instruments of investment of waqf land namely debt-based instrument, equity-based instruments, self-finance instrument and Islamic securities instruments. However, the existing waqf lands have not been strategically categorized and the modes of Islamic investments have been used arbitrarily. In the case Singapore, although many waqf were still managed by the private trustees, all awqaf created are vested in Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS) and required to be registered in MUIS. The effective and efficient management of waqf assets and properties by MUIS had enabled waqf revenue to increase exponentially. MUIS also adopted joint venture and partnering approach to develop waqf properties (i.e a S$28 million development of the 20 units of massionette and selling for 99 years lease). This approach and method proved to be an effective way to develop waqf properties, particularly with property prices spiraling upwards and land scarce Singapore. There are many creative solutions in the development of waqf properties. In current properties investment, Real Estate Investment Trust (REITs) instrument is a popular route to owning properties as the structure highly appeals to the investors. MUIS has creatively made an internal REITs for its waqf properties (i.e the purchase of a 6-storey office building with a pool of waqf properties). As at 2006, MUIS manages waqf properties and assets worth about S$341 million.[2] As far as financial resources are concerned, cash waqf scheme and modern financial mode of Sukuk Musharaka bond have been introduced to fund waqf development activities. [1] According to a survey conducted by Jabatan Agama Islam Malaysia (JAKIM) in 2000. [2] WAREES PTE LTD (2007). Source: MUIS (2006), Hassan and Abdullah (2008). Binding Constraints to Development of Waqf Land 6. In practice, a wide range of applications of the waqf idea have emerged over time and space, including for purposes of markets, guilds and other civic endowments, usually under the administration of a mutawali, as well as for mosques, schools, cemeteries, housing for the poor and general welfare. In this respect, waqf occupies the ambivalent zone of many charities and philanthropists along with other institutions. However, significant issues facing waqf institutions need to overcome when it comes to process of developing the waqf lands. For instance, the waqf administration is accused of giving less than impartial and just decisions and complaints of bribery against the waqf officials are not uncommon.  [9]  There are also many examples of disputed waqf lands that now in the process of court hearing around the Muslim world. 7. The binding constraints faced by the development of waqf land, among others are: i) unregistered waqf lands without land titles registered in the name of the waqf authority, the land cannot be developed and they remain undeveloped; ii) unexplore option of Istibdal on non-prime land or sale Istibdal or substitution would be a suitable alternative to non prime land being exchanged for prime or more suitable lands for identified development initiatives or refurbishment; iii) waqf on leasehold land and properties classified as national heritage waqf authority may encounter obstacles developing waqf land that are leasehold (till lease expires) or classify under the category of national heritage under the auspices of respective local authority; iv) legal framework to understand different legal frameworks of waqf administration and waqf matters; and v) security for financing route for project financing, the concept of waqf may not allow exceeding to the requirement for land becoming collateral which is a basis for financing. 8. In term of waqf institutions, it is undoubtedly unsatisfactory. In many areas, there has been a devastating evidences of awqaf. The awqaf institutions are not given proper attention and therefore, vast awqaf properties are ill-managed. The inevitable consequence is much dilapidation and disrepair. Even the best wqaf buildings, with tremendous commercial potential, are not getting basic repairs and maintenance (Ahmad and Khan, 1998). Indeed there is a general feeling that waqf properties of the highest quality, is now some sort of cheap commodity, available in the commercial market. On top of which the virtual collapse of institution of awqaf has resulted in a vacuum which, in most Muslim countries have failed to fill in the gap. The reasons for this include: i) poor legislative framework; ii) administrative lapses; iii) lack of political will; iv) indifferent attitude of the management committee of the awqaf; v) lack of funding; and vi) lack of honesty and integrity. Proposed Framework for Waqf Land Development 9. There are vast un-managed assets of awqaf in the world where Muslims also represent a huge amount of social wealth. In the development process, these can be combined to produce necessary facility of social services especially for the poor people (Bellhachmi, 2004). The institution of awqaf could play a better role in the process of social and economic development. In order to achieve this stage, there is a need to give special attention to the development of the vast under-used awqaf properties to reactivate its functions and ability to provide those important services they used to carry out in the past. One of the major problems in relation to reviving awqaf is a lack of funds for regenerating the productivity of the waqf land/properties as well as other moveable and immovable assets. 10. The intended development of waqf lands/properties may be either for the purposes of revivification or advanced in the sense of investment. There are several mode of financing can be employed for development of awqaf lands such as issuing output share, partnership share, leasing etc. Sabit (2006) has divided the development of waqf assets into three (3) main methods: i) credit based finance; ii) joint venture or equity and income sharing; and iii) self-financing. The combination of these three methods of financing or two of them may also necessary based on the requirements of the waqf assets. 11. Based on the recent studies and practices, this study proposes for establishment of waqf assets as an offer of alternative investment through the issuance of sukuk, complemented by cash waqf fund. In order to develop awqaf projects, creating cash waqf fund (i.e Malaysia and Singapore) and sukuk mode of finance (Singapore) will build up trust between investors, depositors and the awqaf institutions for enhancing the financial benefit. It is expected that these two sources of Islamic investment funds will allow the Muslim ummah to invoke waqf contributors motives by financing into the awqaf projects so as to fulfill the objectivities of the awqaf. The details of these two sources of funding for the development of awqaf institutions are discussed below: Before undertaking the development of waqf lands, IDB needs to fulfil three basic requirements: i) develop a co-ordination mechanism between IDB and waqf authority for the purpose of compiling waqf lands information; ii) identify and profile strategic waqf lands for the purpose of commercial activities (i.e hospitals, educational and training institutions, real estate); and iii) form a potential partnership in the form of SPV- IDB as a partner (sharik) with the potential waqf authority to undertake specific waqf projects/investments. Many wqaf institutions simply do not have the funds to develop new capacity while keeping their existing work going on. Waqf assets, through the issuance of sukuk (Islamic bond), offer an alternative investment. Most important point is that sukuk as a product is linked the returns and cash flows of the financing to the assets purchased, or the returns generated from an asset purchased. Therefore, sukuk can be used as a tool to finance for development of the waqf properties. The main objective is to provide long-term support with a focus on building capabilities and showing results. There are several types of sukuk but two, ijara sukuk and musharakah sukuk, are most popular in the real estate financing and for creating funds for construction of new complexes. The development of waqf assets through the issuance of sukuk may be most suitable by using the musharakah financing principle, due to three elements: i) it represents new source of funds on basis of profit and loss-sharing; ii) it is vital to developing awqaf lands; and iii) there is a great deal of surplus cash sitting in Islamic financial institutions. Figure 1. Illustration for Waqf Land Development Source: authors illustration Figure 1 summarizes the cycle for waqf land development via sukuk. The waqf management board creates a musharakah venture. Waqf management board also will also appoint a Waqf Asset Manager as an agent to develop the land. In order to mobilise the fund through musharakah sukuk the following mechanics can be employed  [10]  : i) the waqf asset manager and special purpose vehicle (SPV) enter into a musharakah venture to develop waqf land for a period with pre-determine profit sharing; ii) the waqf asset manager enters into a two-year forward lease agreement with construction company; iii) on behalf of the waqf management board, waqf asset manager contributes land to the musharakah venture; and iv) the SPV contributes cash as capital to build commercial building on the waqf land. The musharakah sukuk can be complemented by cash waqf fund. Cash waqf has become increasingly popular among Muslim, particularly because of its flexibility, which allows distribution of the waqfs potential benefit to be benefited by the poor. Cash waqf fund may be opened for soliciting cash waqf with the intention to support services to mankind in the name of God. The donors (waqifs) of this fund will give their cash money for the purpose of financing the development of awqaf land/building/properties. The waqf mutawalli will manage this fund and the fund will be utilized for providing revolving loans for development of awqaf properties. This loans that are payable to the fund, to be utilized again for financing other awqaf properties. Conclusion 12. This note examines briefly the nature of waqf land development, review recent literature and practices on waqf land development and propose a solution to undertake waqf land development for ISFD. The development of waqf lands is an important milestone for ISFD given the fact that there are large amount of undeveloped and ill-managed waqf lands in the Muslim world. By providing the expertise on enhancing the awqf institutions and develop waqf land in member countries, it is expected from this undertaking that the institution of awqaf could play a better role in the process of social and economic development but also generate additional source of income for ISFD to combat poverty in member countries. This note proposes ISFD to consider undertaking waqf land development through the issuance of sukuk and developing cash waqf fund together with member countries.

The Debate Over Multicultural Education in America :: social issues

The Debate Over Multicultural Education in America America has long been called "The Melting Pot" due to the fact that it is made up of a varied mix of races, cultures, and ethnicities. As more and more immigrants come to America searching for a better life, the population naturally becomes more diverse. This has, in turn, spun a great debate over multiculturalism. Some of the issues under fire are who is benefiting from the education, and how to present the material in a way so as to offend the least amount of people. There are many variations on these themes as will be discussed later in this paper. In the 1930's several educators called for programs of cultural diversity that encouraged ethnic and minority students to study their respective heritages. This is not a simple feat due to the fact that there is much diversity within individual cultures. A look at a 1990 census shows that the American population has changed more noticeably in the last ten years than in any other time in the twentieth century, with one out of every four Americans identifying themselves as black, Hispanic, Asian, Pacific Islander, or American Indian (Gould 198). The number of foreign born residents also reached an all time high of twenty million, easily passing the 1980 record of fourteen million. Most people, from educators to philosophers, agree that an important first step in successfully joining multiple cultures is to develop an understanding of each others background. However, the similarities stop there. One problem is in defining the term "multiculturalism". When it is looked at simply as meani ng the existence of a culturally integrated society, many people have no problems. However, when you go beyond that and try to suggest a different way of arriving at that culturally integrated society, Everyone seems to have a different opinion on what will work. Since education is at the root of the problem, it might be appropriate to use an example in that context. Although the debate at Stanford University ran much deeper than I can hope to touch in this paper, the root of the problem was as follows: In 1980, Stanford University came up with a program - later known as the "Stanford-style multicultural curriculum" which aimed to familiarize students with traditions, philosophy, literature, and history of the West. The program consisted of 15 required books by writers such as Plato, Aristotle, Homer, Aquinas, Marx, and Freud. The Debate Over Multicultural Education in America :: social issues The Debate Over Multicultural Education in America America has long been called "The Melting Pot" due to the fact that it is made up of a varied mix of races, cultures, and ethnicities. As more and more immigrants come to America searching for a better life, the population naturally becomes more diverse. This has, in turn, spun a great debate over multiculturalism. Some of the issues under fire are who is benefiting from the education, and how to present the material in a way so as to offend the least amount of people. There are many variations on these themes as will be discussed later in this paper. In the 1930's several educators called for programs of cultural diversity that encouraged ethnic and minority students to study their respective heritages. This is not a simple feat due to the fact that there is much diversity within individual cultures. A look at a 1990 census shows that the American population has changed more noticeably in the last ten years than in any other time in the twentieth century, with one out of every four Americans identifying themselves as black, Hispanic, Asian, Pacific Islander, or American Indian (Gould 198). The number of foreign born residents also reached an all time high of twenty million, easily passing the 1980 record of fourteen million. Most people, from educators to philosophers, agree that an important first step in successfully joining multiple cultures is to develop an understanding of each others background. However, the similarities stop there. One problem is in defining the term "multiculturalism". When it is looked at simply as meani ng the existence of a culturally integrated society, many people have no problems. However, when you go beyond that and try to suggest a different way of arriving at that culturally integrated society, Everyone seems to have a different opinion on what will work. Since education is at the root of the problem, it might be appropriate to use an example in that context. Although the debate at Stanford University ran much deeper than I can hope to touch in this paper, the root of the problem was as follows: In 1980, Stanford University came up with a program - later known as the "Stanford-style multicultural curriculum" which aimed to familiarize students with traditions, philosophy, literature, and history of the West. The program consisted of 15 required books by writers such as Plato, Aristotle, Homer, Aquinas, Marx, and Freud.

I wish I was the richest person on earth Essay

I wish I was the richest person on earth, I wish I was the president of Maldives, I want to be a singer, I want to be a doctor. I’m sure you have dreams like these, well, not precisely, but I’m sure you will have dreams. Anyway, most of the times we see that people hesitate to become what they want to be and often give up on their first or second try. Why do they give up? Haven’t they heard the saying, â€Å"Failure is the key to success†? Respected teacher and my amicable friends, today I’m here to give a speech regarding the address given by J. K Rowling â€Å"the fringe benefits of Failure and the importance of Imagination. † Every great achievement was once considered impossible. Here I am pointing out three incredible people who were once said nothing before they became famous. First there is Thomas Edison, the creator of the bulb; in his early years, teachers told Edison he was â€Å"too stupid to learn anything. † Work was no better, as he was fired from his first two jobs for not being productive enough. Even as an inventor, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. Of course, all those unsuccessful attempts finally resulted in the design that worked. Next is the person who is known as one of the most iconic faces on TV as well as one of the most richest and successful women in the world; Oprah Winfrey. She faced a hard road to get to that position, however, enduring a rough and often abusive childhood along with numerous career setbacks including being fired from her job as a television reporter because she was â€Å"unfit for TV. † Last but, not the least; Walt Disney who was fired by a newspaper editor because, â€Å"he lacked imagination and had no good ideas. † After that, he started a number of businesses that didn’t last too long and ended with bankruptcy and failure. He kept plugging along, however, and eventually found a recipe for success that worked. From these people we have learned to never give up on our dreams. Earlier I asked a question, â€Å"Why do they give up? † Why do they actually give up? Maybe because they think it is impossible or maybe people around them say that their dream is stupid. Or maybe their parents want them to be what they want and they tend to follow their parents’ dream. Whatever the reason might be, you should know that you can’t gain anything without trying. You know the saying, â€Å"no pain, no gain† right? The commencement speech given by J. K Rowling â€Å"the fringe benefits of failure and the importance of imagination† tells us how important it is to dream and never give up plus it also helped us to learn from our mistakes and it’s not a big deal when you fail. You have to work hard to achieve your goal or dream. In her speech she also included the importance of imagination. Take a minute and consider the world you live in. Well, one thing is for sure – a hundred years ago, the world didn’t resemble the world in which we live in today. Consider jet airplanes. Consider computers and the Internet. These developments just didn’t appear mysteriously on the horizon one fine day. They all are here today because of imagination. Albert Einstein once said that â€Å"Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere. † which tells us how important imagination is. Finally I would like to say, failing isn’t the end of the world. Nobody is perfect. So try, try and try again until you finally reach the end of the tunnel. If you don’t go after what you want, you will never have it. If you don’t ask, the answer is always no. If you don’t step forward, you’re always in the same place. If you fell down yesterday, stand up today. An arrow can only be shot by pulling it backwards, when life is dragging you back with difficulties, it means it’s going to launch you into something great. So just focus and keep aiming, and don’t forget to keep imagining. Thank you.

The possible ways of reducing global differences in wealth

The biggest drop in percent of population living on $1 or less occurs in East Asia and Pacific, this followed suit with the globalisation of the world, with TNCs spreading across continents. East Asia, china and India have seen the biggest influx of foreign direct aid and seen a massive expansion in their secondary sector. This has brought a surge of higher paying jobs and improved the livelihood of many. The global implications of this have created a different economic climate with increasing power shifting from America to Asia. The standard rich and poor divide is becoming increasingly blurry with many eastern Asian countries moulding the global future. The implications could be dangerous, though economically China is inspiring, socially and environmentally the country is still in the dark ages and with power shifting are say on human rights and environmental damage is becoming slowly quieter. Sub-Saharan Africa has shown little change in the percentage of population living on $1 or less. This contradicts the fact that aid has increased dramatically since 1981, showing that aid has little effect on long term success of a country. The poor inhabitants of Africa has allowed many multinational companies to take advantage of the low paying subsistence farming and have managed to shift control from them to the to TNCs. Cash cropping has become a common place in Africa, with a high dependency on the technology and capabilities of the MEDC companies. Eastern Europe and Central Asia have seen an increase in the percent ever since the 1990s, the breakdown of communism and caused a vacuum of development as Europe must spread into the global era. Being slow to take up globalisation the countries of Eastern Europe have seen an increase in poverty as the countries in East Asia and South Asia attract the sights of TNCs. b) With reference to specific examples evaluate the possible ways of reducing global differences in wealth. With connections between the rich and the poor becoming increasingly stronger in the global era, it is becoming increasingly harder to ignore our personal effects on the less fortunate. Ties created in a different social era have suppressed the development of the less economically developed countries. We have a responsibility to assess our impacts and create a suitable response if we are ever to progress to a world were boundaries no longer exist. The globalisation of the North and South divide has not allowed countries to exploit their potential but instead allowed the power countries to strengthen their hold over the poorer countries. Can we continue to chuck aid aimlessly at countries, increasing their dependence or must our strategies incorporate the social and environmental differences for their true independence? During the 1900s, many less economically developed countries took advantage of the economic stable environment that allowed small interest rates on loans. Seeing an easy solution to quick development, LEDCs blindly took many loans to fund their own economic and social environments, but the year of 1982 brought a sudden increase of world interest rates. The oil crises placed many poor countries into a spiral of unimaginable debt with the only solution being to take out more loans, only creating a short period of stability. So is the solution simply to cancel all debt the â€Å"forgive and forget† idea or will it create more problems than it is worth? Most poor countries own billions of pounds of debt, governments of these countries are forced to increase tax, sell of assets (land and resources cheaply) and are easily influenced by the powerful countries. Tourism is one of the biggest industries in the world, and with a set of wealthy countries with wealthy inhabitants wanting to see the warm and different sections of the world; it poses a great asset that many LEDCs can exploit. The individual and unique locations that many LEDCs own means that tourism could offer a possible solution to the wealthy divide. But a hidden danger lies in this so called silver bullet. Many LEDCs see the opportunity of tourism, but the exploitation of this has placed most of the inhabitants of the hot country feeling subjugated. Vietnam is a classical example of a naturally beautiful country with high amounts of debt, its unique social lifestyle and unspoiled countryside has attracted many people. Unfortunately the government has placed too much emphasis on tourism and society has felt the re-precautions. With wealthy westerners and their bulging wallets, the Vietnamese government has done what it can to part the people with their money. This includes selling land in rural areas used as farming for subsistence farmers to build hotels and tourist attractions. Forcing people out of their villages to create a fake village aimed solely at selling souvenirs and creating money thus creating social hostility as age old traditions are placed on hold for the welcoming of the westerners. In one case in a small village called Hanoi, a small battle took place as builders fought with the locals for a section of land destined for a supermarket. Even though tourism is a possible source of money and if tapped properly can benefit Vietnam, the reality is often less fair. Most money made by tourism is often injected back into tourism, many used for infrastructure and amenities is designed for westerners. Supermarkets and hotels are unlikely to benefit the locals with most jobs not going to local population, even if tourism has a positive effect on the locals, they are often highly dependent on the tourists seasons and good weather. Many resorts in Vietnam are owned and controlled by TNCs, removing the major economic benefits to their base countries often in the MEDCs. Tourism is a powerful industry but as seen in Vietnam can often just be an extension of the western world, the original purpose of advancing the country through careful exploitation of their country can often create hostility or great dependence on the wealth of the MEDCs. If the countries are ever going to develop they can't solely base their economic status on the money of the powerful ones. Aid is seen by many people and governments as simply helping the poor, but the fact is giving aid is more complex than is expected. Aid is identified as the transfer of resources encouraging economic growth in developing countries, but simply saying we are giving money to LEDCs doesn't make it aid. Foreign aid is aid given by more economically developed countries and must fit the criteria of not giving commercial benefits for the donor country, but most aid has strings attached. For example the British government has funded many projects in LEDCs including Malaysia's Pergau hydro-electric dam scheme. i234 million pounds was given as conditional aid to Malaysia but soon came out that in conjunction Malaysia was signed to numerous million pounds defence contracts. Short term aid and charitable organisations should also ways be welcome. Emergency aid is essential for any country both MEDC and LEDC and charitable organisations is specialised aid that is appropriate for many countries while pumping aid into infrastructure that is widely inappropriate for the peoples social and economic development will again only create another dependency. Fair trade is an old idea, but only in recent years has become more prominent as consumer demands change to recent awareness of poverty. It is a simple idea that doesn't require huge funds into countries and aims to level the playing field of the trading game. In Ethiopia, banana prices were at a 50 year low and with a continuous increase in banana production it was set to further decrease. Essentially producers were competing with other local producers unaware the rare deal they have. Ethiopia has a wealth of resources and the fractured banana industry has only allowed TNCs and countries to exploit the fragile industry, placing the producers with little power to negotiate. This is where fair trade bananas took hold. By joining numerous producers together offering increased profit and not reducing quality, they are given more power over the export business. Fair trade offers consumers a moral choice, though more expensive than supermarket brands it hasn't dampened the fair trade business. Fair trade works simply because it doesn't rely on funding; it relies on creating a sustainable and suitable environment for primary industry to flourish. MEDCs do rely heavily on LEDCs and their primary production, but simply bulling and controlling the world market has lead to an uninspiring industry. The key word is sustainable development of industry, unlike foreign aid which can fluctuate and sometimes doesn't directly go to the people who need it, fair trade is aimed at the most poverty stricken societies. The future of the world depends on the united front of all the countries, if we are ever going to be able to progress as a society we have a responsibility to breakdown the invisible walls that separate us. This can't be done by taking pity or forcing our help on to them we must create a global climate for them to grow and develop without being constricted by the politics and greediness of the power countries. The simple fact is most LEDCs have the capabilities and resources to remove themselves from poverty, and given the chance will be able to. Though our responsibility in their future should be little, we must object to political terrorism and dictators and even our dictatorial control. Most LEDCs should develop without the influences of the western world; they are individual countries that should exploit the needs of the western world. The less economically developed countries must stand on their own two feet, without the pillars of the MEDC telling them were to stand.