Statement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Statement - Essay Example This truly is where my heart resides. The Health Care Administration specialization was interesting, but I could see that it was not taking me where I wanted to go professionally. I looked into the specialization for Human Services and feel that this is a better fit for me professionally and personally. The Health Care Administration program required many hours of group preparation and group work. This was not possible for me because I work full time and have other important family responsibilities. I know that I will need to make sacrifices to further my education, but I felt that what I would need to sacrifice in order to obtain a Masters in Health Care Administration was too much. I especially felt this way once I realized I was moving away from my real interest, which is social work. I do not anticipate any academic concerns that were experienced in the Health Care Administration specialization. I have been assured that there is less group work in the Human Services specialization and that it is more conducive to working a full time job and having family obligations. I will also be a more motivated, thoughtful student because the coursework is more applicable to my current employment and interests. The main reason I am so excited about the Human Services Masters degree is I believe it will make me better at my current position. I already possess the values, knowledge and skills necessary to be a good social worker. I feel that increased education will make me even more effective. The most immediate outcome of earning the degree is I will be better at my job. Other reasons I want to get this degree are it will open the possibility of career advancement. I am pleased with the job I currently have. But I recognize that in the future, I would like to take on more responsibility and manage other employees and more difficult cases. So in some ways, I feel that I want to earn this degree because it will help my current situation

Red Snapper Fishing Regulations Essay Example for Free

Red Snapper Fishing Regulations Essay Recommendation to implement different regulations on Red Snapper fishing. Many people like myself, look forward each year to the overly exciting fishing season to catch the beloved snapper. Season dates along with size and possession limits are nothing new to the fisherman; but when a council decides to shrink a fishing season that is normally a month long down to a meager 9 days it can be heart breaking for many. Maintaining the support and sustainability of these fish is an extremely important task, that no one disagrees with, but when almost taking away the season, in its entirety, one can alter many people’s plans, hobbies, and ways of life. I plan to propose an alternant way to preserve and maintain the ecosystem of these fish while providing adequate and fair regulations for all. The purpose of this report it to persuade the fisheries councils to address the current issues that stand with recreational snapper fishing. I will provide statistics and also analyzed data that I have gathered to conclude as to what the best option is to solve these problems. Current Situation: The amount of anglers in the Gulf of Mexico rises every day with more wanting to catch snapper. For the length of my life there has been regulations to maintain these fish, while they did a great job to preserve life and keep the angler happy, the recent change as of 2014 does not. Many know that these certain fish can, mostly, be found in deeper waters near structure, such as reefs and oil platforms; and also many know that there are numerous organization and petitions to keep old, unused oilrigs standing in the gulf because of their ability to maintain and abundance of wildlife beneath. With more conservation to help these fish thrive why did the councils decide to shrink the season dates from a previous 30+ day season to a minute 9 days when there are other councils also participating to help the numbers of fish? With this drastic change in regulation many anglers, who, in years previous, fished for these snapper, found that it was not worth the time and money it requires to go after them. (Boat Launch) With a limit of 2 per person per day, a 9-day season simply makes no sense. The council did warn the public that the season would be shorter this year, but no one expected it to be a number in the single digits! The federal management of red snapper is based on the numbers coming out of the entirety of the Gulf of Mexico instead of by location, such as state waters. Now that the federal red snapper season has been set at a ridiculously low nine days it reiterates the fallacy of the current federal management of this great fishery. This system cannot be tweaked or incrementally improved. It needs to be totally overhauled; the management of the recreational red snapper fishery needs to be transferred to the states where we can do quality stock assessments and set reasonable seasons commensurate with the biomass that is in the Gulf of Mexico’’, says Alabama Marine Resources Director Chris Blankenship. (Gulf) When states want to take matters into their own hands without any federal management or help, the issue at hand has become quite serious. The councils responsible for negotiations and attributing propositions to the federal  regulation of these fisheries must undertake a new stand and take responsibility in order to serve the public fairly and justly. I believe a simple solution that will help this situation has been previously used for another species of fish. When speaking to Dr. L. Gleeson of the Coast Conservation Association he stated, â€Å" When we passed the motion to decrease the minimum size of Speckled Trout it was because after years of increased conservation we noticed that the population of the species was up about 75%, so we felt that we could maintain good numbers while pleasing the fisherman with a smaller legal size.†(Red Snapper) A simple maneuver that decreases the minimum legal size of the Red Snapper would do just as most want. It could keep the possession limit to 2 per person but allow more anglers to participate in the fishery by allowing the smaller snapper at the shallower oil rigs to be harvested instead of requiring anglers to spend the money and time that it takes to travel the extra nautical miles to the deeper rigs to find the larger, legal snapper. The CCA had its reservations when lowering the minimum legal size for trout but after research of the species for 5 years now the evidences provides belief that the population has not decreased, and spawning has remaining at equal levels. Certainly, you may have questions and reservations as well, but with all of the excess help to regulate and maintain the red snapper fishery there should be no question that this is an effective way to balance the support and establish a new regulation strategy for the recent years to come. I believe if this system were implemented soon we would see related results within the same time frame of a few years, if not shorter. Since there is no season dates for speckled trout, the off-season for red snapper would show normal spawning numbers with no decrease in population. This maneuver is focused mainly on maintaining fishery numbers while improving angler satisfaction and participation. Methodology: I have conducted personal interviews, researched numerous articles online,  and created an online survey in order to support my methodology. My first step was talking to a few strangers at the boat launch who frequently fish for snapper. The questions I asked mainly focused on the topic at hand, more specifically if they agree with the shorter season. While asking questions personally to peer anglers I found that 9/10 people did not fish for snapper this year because of the heavily regulated and shortened season. Most set out in hopes to catch snapper at least twice in a season, but with this 9 day season most couldn’t due to scheduling and time constraints. Many would also like to see an overhaul of the regulation entirely. (Boat Launch) I then created an online survey that I dispersed via Facebook and had numerous random individuals answer the questions at hand regarding this issue. In order to be sure that my data wasn’t skewed or distorted I asked that only individuals who were licensed recreational anglers take my survey. Of the 20 that took my online survey more than 16 actually pursue snapper and of those individuals all of them disagree with the ruling of the federally regulated 9-day season. (Tompkins) Also while searching for related articles online, I found numerous sites with multiple articles of disgust on the issue, multiple reports of upset anglers, and forums filled with questions asking â€Å"why†, the council made this act. (Gulf) Closing: I would like to say that the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council does a great deal to protect our waters and all that swims in it. We, as fisherman, appreciate every effort that the council puts forth in order to maintain and regulate the hobbies and lifestyles that make us who we are! Although we understand certain procedures and acts, this one, in particular, does not seem to advance any goals set forth by the council and the communities that it represents. This proposal aims to reconsider that previous acts set towards the red snapper fishery, or to reconcile the  change all together. As I do understand that this will take time to make these amendments I am willing to do my part and donate whatever necessary to make actions towards this. Thank you for your consideration of my proposal. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me via cell phone at Works Cited Survey: . â€Å"Red Snapper Season 2014.† SurveyMonkey.com. June 18, 2014 In Text: (Tompkins) Interviews: â€Å"Boat Launch†. Greenough, C. Watson, James. Thompson, Paul. Personal interview. June 21, 2014 In Text: (Boat Launch) interview: â€Å"Red Snapper†. Gleeson, Dr. L. Personal Interview. June 24,2014 In Text: (Red Snapper) Website: â€Å"Gulf Recreational Red snapper season reduced to 9 days.† AL.COM. Web. May 14, 2014. http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2014/05/gulf_recreational_red_snapper.html In Text: (Gulf)

Economic Man Or Homo Economicus Business Essay

Economic Man Or Homo Economicus Business Essay Job design is a term that is widely used in the management of todays modern organizations structure as a strategy to increase their profitability and productivity. Daft, et al., 2010 It is mainly concerned with the process of planning, setting up and organizing systematic tasks within the organization according to the organizations needs and employees capability. In order for the strategy to be effective and efficient, management put the responsibility to their employees and explains how the implementation process of their organization work arrangement will be in their management system. (DuBrin, 2008) Virtual organization is an association that exists but cannot be physically seen by the naked eye. Its a concept that changed in line with the current vast developments. (Burn, J., et al., 2012) The virtual organization is very flexible and responsive because it does not necessarily require an office to operate but the existence of this virtual organization can be felt and experienced throughout the business process. Thurow (2011) states that business processes refers to the networking system used along the production process which conducted virtually through the way of communicating using electronic devices as the main telecommunication form. According to Parker, Craig and Craig (2008), matrix structured organization has the advantage of giving the opportunity for the top management to develop their skills in conducting and managing project-based strategy as well as gaining experience. It also practices a decentralization decision-making system that encouraging improvements of employees self motivation level as they have the chance to make decisions and act independently. Matrix structure organization also creates the flexibility of cross-communication system in exchanging information and ideas among the team members from different departments which can helps on saving time and cost. ( Gido and Clemens, 2008) Chain of command function as an organization system that showing how the operational and management within the organization works in a systematical manner to ensure efficient flow of work activities. It clarifies the organization reporting system between the subordinates to their superior which resulting as the unity of command. (Madura, 2007) According to Lunenburg and Ornstein (2011), it signifies the continues line of authority from the top managerial position to the lowest levels of an organization that showing the distinctive status, roles, responsibility, and the rights inherit in varies positions of the organization itself. Question 14 Maslows need theory consist of physiology needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs and self-actualization needs. Each level must be completely fulfilled before moving on to the next level. (Robbins, 2009) Physiology needs refers to our physical needs. Safety needs are needs of safety and security. Both levels are the low-order needs that can be satisfied internally. The high-order needs that can be satisfied internally are the social needs that seek for love and affection, then the esteem needs that refer to the needs of self-esteem and lastly the self actualization which is the needs of becoming fully matured human. (Shajahan, 2007) Question 7 Scientific management mainly focuses on the application of scientific method of study and also analysis into a problem which occur during management. Scientific Management basically referring on understands what one wants his subordinates to do and see it to be done efficiently and effectively. (Sahni and Pardeep, 2010) According to Murugan (2007), among the principles of scientific management are Science not rule of Thumb, scientific training and development of workers, close cooperation between employees and manager, equal division of works and also responsibility, maximum prosperity of employer and employee and mental revolutions. Question 15 Hackman and Oldhams Job Characteristics Model consists of five characteristic such as skill variety which means variety increases when overcome new problems each day and implementing various skills in completing tasks. Secondly, task identity, where employees working performances is acknowledgeable. Third, task significant is where an employee contributes positive result to the company. Fourth, autonomy is where the employees are given the freedom in planning while carrying out tasks. Lastly, the feedback where there will be an evaluation on employees performance in order to improve any deficiency. (Daft and Marcic, 2010) The application of these characteristic may increase the productivity and produces more motivated and productive the employees. Question 13 Montana and Charnov states the Expectancy Theory of motivation was proposed by Victor Vroom, a business school professor. The theory is more on the individual goal which focuses more on outcomes and their expectations while achieving it. (Jex and Britt, 2008) Employees are able to receive rewards according to his or her performance while working. The theorys method will keep the employees motivated at all times as they hold their personal expectations of the rewards. (Montana and Charnov, 2008) The expectancy of increasing effort by the employees will lead to the increment of performance which will increase the productivity and positive result. Question 10 According to Wright (2010), Hawthorne studies were first attempted by Elton Mayo showing how lighting affected the employees working performance. But it shows that the physical conditions of the workplace do not influence the performance or motivation. In his finding, taking interest in all individual was enough to increase their work efficiency and output. Hence, the Hawthorne Experiment continues to show its result from time to time. Companies which value their employees ideas and opinions will result a higher standard of achievement. (Wong, 2010) This will also increase the ability and self esteem of the employees. Thus, increase their performance and productivity while working. Question 12 Montana and Charnov (2008), states the theory of X and Y was proposed by Douglas McGregor. In theory X, managers will assume that their employees are less ambitious, less responsible, dislike their job and prefer to wait for instructions rather than to lead a task. Managers with theory X are stricter and may threaten their employees to motivate them. But manager who holds the theory Y will assume that the employees are more responsible, willing to do work, more creative and self-directed. Thus, in theory Y the managers will not control much on their employees because they believe that employees are capable to perform well. (Shermerhorn, 2011) Question 16 The effectiveness of an organization internal communication can be improved through creating forum site on social websites such as Facebook and Twitter for discussion related to a matter. (Heath, 2005) Furthermore, any perceptions and ideas proposed by the employees should be considered and not being excluded in order to improve good relationship with other teamwork. Next, employers and employees should also instill proactive attitude to ask when in doubts related to a matter in order to avoid conflicts and distorted message. Lastly, employees should be train on communication skills to improve their self-esteem and communicating potential. (Quirke, 2012) Question 5 Public sectors are basically a bureaucratic government-based organization which normally focusing more on providing services to public rather than making profit. (Lienert, 2009) A simple example of a public sector organization is the government hospitals. The organization emphasizes more on accommodating the health service to the community by providing free to low-cost medical aid. However, privates sectors are non-government owned organization and runs on the main motive on making profit. (Rees and Porter, 2008) For example, supermarket such as Tesco and Carrefour in Malaysia are operated by private enterprises and not the government. Question 6 Planning stage is one of the functional approaches involved in the management process. According to Schwalbe (2006), it concerns activities such as setting goals and objectives of the work in an effort to keep it on track throughout the operation process. Next step would be, create and considering relevant strategies to achieve goals effectively. At last, the final step is simulating plans to coordinate and objectify activities in various possible ways it can succeed. (Lewis, et al., 2006) Within this stage, it requires a lot of critically thinking creativity and innovative aspects from that individual to come out with a radical and quantum ideas. Question 9 Fordism is a term that was named after an American entrepreneur; Henry Ford which was the founder of Ford Motor Company. (Schhlosser and Simonson, 2009) Fordism is a philosophy of manufacturing that being conducted based on the Taylorism theory that emphasizes in machine and efficiency of employees working performance. Fordism philosophy aimed to increase the productivity and reduce costs by adjusting output, set the installation process in phases, and dividing the work into small tasks according to employees expertise. (Blyton and Jenkins, 2007) The effectiveness of the philosophy enables an organization to maximize their profit and performance. Question 11 Personality is an influential matter that affecting a persons decision. It is developed through their education, ways of socialization and nurturing since they were a child.

The Cuban Revolution Essays -- essays research papers

The Cuban Revolution Mr. Barron Jason Rosenzweig  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   January 9, 1997   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After the Cuban Revolution many change occurred in Cuba. Cuba was once a corrupt dictatorship, now and for the past 36 years Castro has led a communist government.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Before Castro took over Batista, Batista ran a biossed economy for the rich. Officials took pay offs, keeping the majority of the peoples thoughts invisible. Protestors of Batista were murdered, and their body's were thrown in gutters. During these times the life for the rich was plentiful, they had more Cadillacs than any other city in the world, and the highest number of T.V. sets per capita out of all the Latin American countries . Many gambling casinos were also present. While life for the poor was plagued with unemployment, inadequate health care, and a high illiteracy rate.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Castro's take over of the government, changed many ways of life in Cuba, most of which benefited the poor or the majority of the people. Education was improved for the poor, there are many times more schools and staff members to educate the young. Health care was improved, infant mortality rate has dropped from 60 to 11.1 which is comparable to industrialized nations.   &...

Immanuel, Kant (1724-1804) Essay examples -- essays research papers

Immanuel Kant was born in 1724 in the East Prussian town of KÃ ¶nigsberg and lived there practically all his life. He came from a deeply pious Lutheran family, and his own religious convictions formed a significant background to his philosophy. Like Berkeley, he felt it was essential to preserve the foundations of Christian belief. Kant became Professor of Logic and Metaphysics at the University of KÃ ¶nigsberg in 1770 and taught there for most of his life. He was also greatly interested in science and published works on astronomy and geophysics. His three most significant works were published later in life. The Critique of Pure Reason came out in 1781, followed in 1788 by the Critique of Practical Reason and in 1790 by the Critique of Judgment. The Critique of Pure Reason is one of the most important works in the whole of philosophy. Unfortunately it is also one of the most unreadable - Kant himself described it as dry and obscure. Kant had generally been an outgoing and friendly man but towards the end of his life his mental faculties and his sight deteriorated badly. He died a shadow of his former self, aged 80. One of his most quoted sayings is carved on his gravestone in KÃ ¶nigsberg: "Two things fill my mind with ever-increasing wonder and awe, the more often and the more intensely the reflection dwells on them: the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me". IDEAS Kant believed that there are clear limits to what we can know. You could perhaps say that the mind's "glasses" set these limits. The philosophers before Kant had discussed the really "big" questions - for instance, whether man has an immortal soul, whether there is a God, whether nature consists of tiny indivisible particles, and whether the universe is finite or infinite. Kant believed there was no certain knowledge to be obtained on these questions. In such great philosophical questions, he thought that reason operates beyond the limits of what we humans can comprehend. At the same time there is in our nature a basic desire to pose these questions. When, for example, we ask whether the universe has always existed, we are asking about a totality of which we ourselves are a tiny part. We can therefore never completely know this totality. According to Kant there are two elements that contribute to our knowledge of the world - sensory perception and re... ...etimes you might only be kind and helpful to others because you know it pays off. It could be a way of becoming popular. But if this is your only motive you are not acting out of respect for moral law. You might be acting in accordance with moral law - and that could be fair enough - but if it is to be a moral action, you must have conquered yourself. Only when you do something purely out of duty can it be called a moral action. Kant's ethics is therefore sometimes called duty ethics. Kant also advocated the establishment of a "league of nations". In his treatise Perpetual Peace, he wrote that all countries should unite in order to assure peaceful coexistence between nations. He believed that man's "practical reason" would force the nations to emerge from the wild state of nature which creates wars, and make a contract to keep the peace. Kant recognised that this would take time to achieve but he saw it as our duty to work for the universal and lasting securing of peace. About 125 years after the appearance of Kant's treatise in 1795, the League of Nations was founded, after the First World War. After the Second World War it was replaced by the United Nations.

Automation in the Field of Law :: Technology Research Papers

Automation in the Field of Law Missing Works Cited The question of what should be automated in our world is one that deserves serious contemplation. In a time when technology seems to race past our population at an incredible rate, the thought of our whole world being automated is not a radical concept. It has been predicted that in the near future, every aspect of our society will contain some sort of automation. But what is automation exactly? A Webster’s Dictionary for college students defines automation as â€Å"the handling and fabrication of materials by automatic machinery, especially when no part of the process is done by hand.†1 The same source gives the definition of automatic as â€Å"operated by self-acting machinery.†2 My idea of automation is a machine taking over a job that a human used to perform in such a way that the machine acts on its own to accomplish the task. Webster seems to aim at automation under the terms of machinery; but in our world today, most of the automation we are conc erned with involves computers. Computers are said to be a billion times faster than human beings and are known for their capability to hold more information than humans ever could. So in a world where automation is beginning to gain more and more ground on a daily basis, most aspects of our society have seen its effects. This is especially true for the field of law. There is an important need in this field to remain organized in order for it to be successful. This task requires that billions of laws be filed in an efficient way so they can be accessed on a daily basis by lawyers and judges in order to formulate case arguments and decisions. Now that computers are an essential part of our business world, it seems obvious that some type of automation such as a software program should be introduced into the field of law to help remain organized. But beyond the simple computer program, what about the thought that the whole system itself could be automated? Believe it or not, this thought is already being discussed, and systems are already being designed for that purpose. In the following paper, I will talk about three different types of automation currently used or proposed for use in the legal system.

India’s Sacred Cow Essay

The cultural practices of other people often seem strange, irrational, and even inexplicable to outsiders. In fact, the members of the culture in question may be unable to give a rationally satisfying explanation of why they behave as they do: they may say that â€Å"the gods wish it so,† or that â€Å"it is always done that way.† Yet a fundamental assumption of social science is that no matter how peculiar or even bizarre human cultures may appear, they can be understood at least in part. To Americans and Europeans, the attitude of most people in India toward cows is perplexing. Hindus regard the animals as sacred and will not kill or eat them. In India a large population of cows wanders freely through both rural areas and city streets, undisturbed by the millions of hungry and malnourished people. Why? Marvin Harris suggests an answer to such puzzles. In this quite famous article, he suggests that India’s sacred cow is in fact quite a rational cultural adaptati on — because the cow is so extraordinarily useful. News photographs that came out of India during the famine of the late 1960s showed starving people stretching out bony hands to beg for food while cattle strolled behind them undisturbed. The Hindu, it seems, would rather starve to death than eat his cow or even deprive it of food. Western specialists in food habits around the world consider Hinduism an irrational ideology that compels people to overlook abundant, nutritious foods for scarcer, less healthful foods. Many Western observers believe that an absurd devotion to the mother cow pervades Indian life. Many Indians agree with Western assessments of the Hindu reverence for their cattle, the zebu, a large-humped species of cattle prevalent in Asia and Africa. M. N. Srinivas, an Indian anthropologist states: â€Å"Orthodox Hindu opinion regards the killing of cattle with abhorrence, even though the refusal to kill the vast number of useless cattle which exists in India today is detrimental to the nation.† Even the Indian Ministry of Information formerly maintained that â€Å"the large animal population is more a liability than an asset in view of our land resources.† Accounts from many different sources point to the same conclusion: India, one of the world’s great civilizations, is being strangled by its love for the cow. The easy explanation for India’s devotion to the cow, the one most Westerners and Indians would offer, is that cow worship is an integral part of Hinduism. Religion is somehow good for the soul, even if it sometimes fails the body. Religion orders the cosmos and explains our place in the universe. Religious beliefs, many would claim, have existed for thousands of years and have a life of their own. They are not understandable in scientific terms. But all this ignores history. There is more to be said for cow worship than is immediately apparent. History of Cow Worship The earliest Vedas, the Hindu sacred texts from the Second Millennium B.C., do not prohibit the slaughter of cattle. Instead, they ordain it as a part of sacrificial rites. The early Hindus did not avoid the flesh of cows and bulls; they ate it at ceremonial feasts presided over by Brahman priests. Cow worship is a relatively recent development in India; it evolved as the Hindu religion developed and changed. This evolution is recorded in royal edicts and religious texts written during the last 3,000 years of Indian history. The Vedas from the First Millennium B.C. contain contradictory passages, some referring to ritual slaughter and others to a strict taboo on beef consumption. Many of the sacred-cow passages were incorporated into the texts by priests in a later period. By 200 A.D. the status of Indian cattle had undergone a transformation. The Brahman priesthood exhorted the population to venerate the cow and forbade them to abuse it or to feed on it. Religious feasts involving the ritual slaughter and consumption of livestock were eliminated and meat eating was restricted to the nobility. By 1000 A.D., all Hindus were forbidden to eat beef. Ahimsa, the Hindu belief in the unity of all life, was the spiritual justification for this restriction. But it is difficult to ascertain exactly when this change occurred. An important event that helped to shape the modern complex was the Islamic invasion, which took place in the Eighth Century A.D. Hindus may have found it politically expedient to set themselves off from the invaders, who were beefeaters, by emphasizing the need to prevent the slaughter of their sacred animals. Thereafter, the cow taboo assumed its modern form and began to function much as it does today. The place of the cow in modern India is every place – on posters, in the movies, in brass figures, in s tone and wood carvings, on the streets, in the fields. The cow is a symbol of health and abundance. The Economic Uses of The Cow The cattle are not just worshiped and revered in India. They are also extraordinarily useful. The zebu cow provides the milk that Indians consume in the form of yogurt and ghee (clarified butter), which contribute subtle flavors to much spicy Indian food. This is one practical role of the cow, but cows provide less than half the milk produced in India. Most cows in India are not dairy breeds. In most regions, when an Indian farmer wants a steady, high-quality source of milk he usually invests in a female water buffalo. In India the water buffalo is the specialized dairy breed because its milk has a higher butterfat content than zebu milk. Although the farmer milks his zebu cows, the milk is merely a by-product. More vital than zebu milk to South Asian farmers are zebu calves. Male calves are especially valued because from bulls come oxen which are the mainstay of the Indian agricultural system. Small, fast oxen drag wooden plows through late-spring fields when monsoons have dampened the dry, cracked earth. After harvest, the oxen break the grain from the stalk by stomping through mounds of cut wheat and rice. For rice cultivation in irrigated fields, the male water buffalo is preferred (it pulls better in deep mud), but for most other crops, including rainfall rice, wheat, sorghum, and millet, and for transporting goods and people to and from town, a team of oxen is preferred. The ox is the Indian peasant’s tractor, thresher and family car combined; the cow is the factory that produces the ox. If draft animals instead of cows are counted, India appears to have too few domesticated ruminants, not too many. Since each of the 70 million farms in India requires a draft team, it follows that Indian peasants should use 140 million animals in the fields. But there are only 83 million oxen and male water buffalo on the subcontinent, a shortage of 30 million draft teams. In other regions of the world, joint ownership of draft animals might overcome a shortage, but Indian agriculture is closely tied to the monsoon rains of late spring and summer. Field preparation and planting must coincide with the rain, and a farmer must have his animals ready to plow when the weather is right. When the farmer without a draft team needs bullocks most, his neighbors are all using theirs. Any delay in turning the soil drastically lowers production. Because of this dependence on draft animals, loss of the family oxen is devastating. If a beast dies, the farmer must borrow money to buy or rent an ox at interest rates so high that he ultimately loses his land. Every year foreclosures force thousands of poverty-stricken peasants to abandon the countryside for the overcrowded cities. If a family is fortunate enough to own a fertile cow, it will be able to rear replacements for a lost team and thus survive until life returns to normal. If, as sometimes happens, famine leads a family to sell its cow and ox team, all ties to agriculture are cut. Even if the family survives, it has no way to farm the land, no oxen to work the land, and no cows to produce oxen. The prohibition against eating meat applies to the flesh of cows, bulls, and oxen, but the cow is the most sacred because it can produce the other two. The peasant whose cow dies is not only crying over a spiritual loss but over the loss of his farm as well. Religious laws that forbid the slaughter of cattle promote the recovery of the agricultural system from the dry Indian winter and from periods of drought. The monsoon, on which all agriculture depends, is erratic. Sometimes it arrives early, sometimes late, sometimes not at all. Drought has struck large portions of India time and again in this century, and Indian farmers and the zebus are accustomed to these natural disasters. Zebus can pass weeks on end with little or no food and water. Like camels, they store both in their humps and recuperate quickly with only a little nourishment. During droughts the cows often stop lactating and become barren. In some cases the condition is permanent but often it is only temporary. If barren animals were summarily eliminated, as Western experts in animal husbandry have suggested, cows capable of recovery would be lost along with those entirely debilitated. By keeping alive the cows that can later produce oxen, religious laws against cow slaughter assure the recovery of the agricultural system from the greatest challenge it faces – the failure of the monsoon. The local Indian governments aid the process of recovery by maintaining homes for barren cows. Farmers reclaim any animal that calves or begins to lactate. One police station in Madras collects strays and pastures them in a field adjacent to the station. After a small fine is paid, a cow is returned to its rightful owner when the owner thinks the cow shows signs of be ing able to reproduce. During the hot, dry spring months most of India is like a desert. Indian farmers often complain they cannot feed their livestock during this period. They maintain cattle by letting them scavenge on the sparse grass along the roads. In the cities cattle are encouraged to scavenge near food stalls to supplement their scant diet. These are the wandering cattle tourists report seeing throughout India. Westerners expect shopkeepers to respond to these intrusions with the deference due a sacred animal; instead, their response is a string of curses and the crack of a long bamboo pole across the beast’s back or a poke at its genitals. Mahatma Gandhi was well aware of the treatment sacred cows (and bulls and oxen) received in India: â€Å"How we bleed her to take the last drop of milk from her. How we starve her to emaciation, how we ill-treat the calves, how we deprive them of their portion of milk, how cruelly we treat the oxen, how we castrate them, how we beat them, how we overloa d them.† Oxen generally receive better treatment than cows. When food is in short supply, thrifty Indian peasants feed their working bullocks and ignore their cows, but rarely do they abandon the cows to die. When cows are sick, farmers worry over them as they would over members of the family and nurse them as if they were children. When the rains return and when the fields are harvested, the farmers again feed their cows regularly and reclaim their abandoned animals. The prohibition against beef consumption is a form of disaster insurance for all India. Western agronomists and economists are quick to protest that all the functions of the zebu cattle can be improved with organized breeding programs, cultivated pastures, and silage. Because stronger oxen would pull the plow faster, they could work multiple plots of land, allowing farmers to share their animals. Fewer healthy, well-fed cows could provide Indians with more milk. But pastures and silage require arable land, land needed to produce wheat and rice. A look at Western cattle farming makes plain the cost of adopting advanced technology in Indian agriculture. In a study of livestock production in the United States, one scientist at Cornell University found that 91 percent of the cereal, legume, and vegetable protein suitable for human consumption is consumed by livestock. Approximately three quarters of the arable land in the United States is devoted to growing food for livestock. In the production of meat and milk, American ranchers use enough fossil fuel to equal more than 82 million barrels of oil annually. Indian cattle do not drain the system in the same way. In a 1971 study of livestock in West Bengal, India, by a professor at the University of Missouri, found that Bengalese cattle ate only the inedible remains of subsistence crops – rice straw, rice hulls, the tops of sugar cane, and mustard-oil cake. Cattle graze in the fields after harvest and eat the remains of crops left on the ground; they forage for grass and weeds on the roadsides. The food for zebu cattle costs the human population virtually nothing. â€Å"Basically the cattle convert items of little direct human value into products of immediate utility.† In addition to plowing the fields and producing milk, the zebus produce dung, which fires the hearths and fertilizes the fields of India. Much of the estimated 800 million tons of manure produced annually is collected by the farmers’ children as they follow the family cows and bullocks from place to place. And when the children see the droppings of another farmer’s cattle along the road, they pick those up also. The system operates with such high efficiency that the children of West Bengal recover nearly 100 percent of the dung produced by their livestock. From 40 to 70 percent of all manure produced by Indian cattle is used as fuel for cooking; the r est is returned to the fields as fertilizer. Dried dung burns slowly, cleanly, and with low heat – characteristics that satisfy the household needs of Indian women. Staples like curry and rice can simmer for hours. While the meal slowly cooks over an unattended fire, the women of the household can do other chores. Cow chips, unlike firewood, do not scorch as they burn. It is estimated that the dung used for cooking fuel provides the energy-equivalent of 43 million tons of coal. At current prices, it would cost India an extra 1.5 billion dollars in foreign exchange to replace the dung with coal. And if the 350 million tons of manure that are being used as fertilizer were replaced with commercial fertilizers, the expense would be even greater. Roger Revelle of the University of California at San Diego has calculated that 89 percent of the energy used in Indian agriculture (the equivalent of about 140 million tons of coal) is provided by local sources. Even if foreign loans were to provide the money, the capital outlay necessary to replace the Indian cow with tractors and fertilizers for the fields, coal for the fires, and transportation for the family would probably warp international financial institutions for years. Instead of asking the Indians to learn from the American model of industrial agriculture, American farmers might learn energy conservation from the Indians. Every step in an energy cycle results in a loss of energy to the system. Like a pendulum that slows a bit with each swing, each transfer of energy from sun to plants, plants to animals, and animals to human beings involves energy losses. Some systems are more efficient than others; they provide a higher percentage of the energy inputs in a final, useful form. Seventeen percent of all energy zebus consume is returned in the form of milk, traction and dung. American cattle raised on Western range land return only 4 percent of the energy they consume. But the Americ an system is improving. Based on techniques pioneered by Indian scientists, at least one commercial firm in the United States is reported to be building plants that will turn manure from cattle feedlots into combustible gas. When organic matter is broken down by anaerobic bacteria, methane gas and carbon dioxide are produced. After the methane is cleansed of the carbon dioxide, it is available for the same purposes as natural gas – cooking, heating, electricity generation. The company constructing the plant plans to sell its product to a gas-supply company, to be piped through the existing distribution system. Schemes similar to this one could make cattle ranches almost independent of utility and gasoline companies, for methane can be used to run trucks, tractors, and cars as well as to supply heat and electricity. The relative energy self-sufficiency that the Indian peasant has achieved is a goal American farmers and industry are now striving for. Studies often understate the efficiency of the Indian cow, because dead cows are used for purposes that Hindus prefer not to acknowledge. When a cow dies, an Untouchable, a member of one of the lowest ranking castes in India, is summoned to haul away the carcass. Higher castes consider the body of the dead cow polluting; if they do handle it, they must go through a rite of purification. Untouchables first skin the dead animal and either tan the skin themselves or sell it to a leather factory. In the privacy of their homes, contrary to the teachings of Hinduism, untouchable castes cook the meat and eat it. Indians of all castes rarely acknowledge the existence of these practices to non-Hindus, but most are aware that beef eating takes place. The prohibition against beef eating restricts consumption by the higher castes and helps distribute animal protein to the poorest sectors of the population that otherwise would have no source of these vital nutrients. Untouchables are not the only Indians who consume beef. Indian Muslims and Christians are under no restriction that forbids them beef, and its consumption is legal in many places. The Indian ban on cow slaughter is state, not national, law and not all states restrict it. In many cities, such as New Delhi, Calcutta, and Bombay, legal slaughterhouses sell beef to retail customers and to the restaurants that serve steak. 6