Women in the Military Essay - 1112 Words

Should women be allowed in the military? My answer was at first a resounding â€Å"no.† However, once I started my research, my opinion changed. In 1948, Congress passed the combat exclusion law that prohibited women in the Air Force, Marines, and Navy to hold combat positions; however, the Army can assign these duties as they see fit (Schroeder). Some people assume that Americans are not ready to see a woman wounded or killed in war; however, there are female police officers that are wounded or killed daily (Schroeder). How can we rationalize that a woman has the right to die protecting our local communities but not our country? If a person chooses to be in a combat field, and can pass the physical demands required, gender should not be an†¦show more content†¦The Army should consider revising the physical fitness standards for women, which would discontinue the argument that women have easier fitness standards than men (Wojack). Lieutenant Michael J. Frevola, an att orney in the U.S. Naval Reserves, believes that if physical requirements are equal then â€Å"the strongest and largest women will be stronger and larger than the smallest men eligible for combat duty† (Skaine). Cohesion is another argument against allowing women in combat jobs within the military. This, simply put, states that even if a woman is physically able to do the job, her presence would create friction by creating a need to protect, sexual attraction, and leader-follower conflict (Hooker). Some argue that by allowing women in combat, it will be a man’s natural instinct to protect them in times of hostility. These actions, of allowing women in conflict, will not only put the female soldiers in danger but all of the soldiers within their unit in danger as well. The argument of sexual attraction and leader-follower conflict could possibly go hand in hand. One could argue that in times of combat, how would an officer send his beloved soldier into danger (Owens)? The argument that a man will protect a woman is a valid one. However, a unit of men that have become like brothers would have the same need to protect one of its own. AnShow MoreRelatedWomen and the Military1125 Words   |  5 PagesWomen and the Military Statistics show that the U.S. armed forces currently employ over 229,000 women in its various branches (Donnelly 8). This figure had been increasing exponentially for over 30 years. It s no surprise to men that women are becoming an important factor in the U.S. military and now occupy every position expect those on the front lines. With the infiltration of women in the services in 1972, great controversy has arisen and has become a highly argued issue (DonnellyRead MoreWomen in the Military1458 Words   |  6 PagesGender integration in the military has always faced the question of social acceptance, whether society can accept how women will be treated and respected in the military. Throughout the history of the military, our leadership has always sought ways in how to integrate without upsetting the general public if our females were captured as prisoners of war, raped, discriminated or even blown up in combat. My paper will discuss three situations pertaining to the fi rst female submariner, fighter pilotRead MoreWomen in the Military1453 Words   |  6 PagesWomen have done incredible things within the history of the world. They have proven time and time again that they are equal in just about every way with the opposite gender. However now the question of whether they can or even should fight beside men in combat has come up. Many people think that because almost the whole world has recognized that each individual has all the same basic rights, regardless of their gender or race, that everyone can do the same job equally. This is simply not true andRead MoreWomen in Military1248 Words   |  5 PagesWomen in the United States have long fought for the right to be included in many facets of society such as the right to vote to breaking into professions like the medical field and getting females elected to major government offices. But one of the most intriguing questions of integration has yet to be fully answered. Apart from all others is the b attle to allow women the right, the honor, and the privilege of serving and defending their country as part of the United States Armed Forces. Being inRead MoreThe Military : Protections For Women In The Military1715 Words   |  7 Pagesin 2016 compared to 6,082 last year, an annual military report showed. This was a sharp jump from 2012 when 3,604 cases were reported. Few bills have been presented in Congress against the institution for fear of disrespecting those who are fighting for our country. By attacking one section of the military for injustice and abuse, there is fear that this could possibly only be scratching the surface of the issue. Protections for women in the military seem to have a bleak outcome due to the fact thatRead MoreWomen in the Military Essay1469 Words   |  6 Pages Women have fought alongside men in the United States Military in every major battle since the American Revolution. The roles of women in the military have evolved over time to allow the incorporation of women in expanding military career fields. Women have proven themselves to be an asset to the military despite some of society believing women would weaken America’s military effectiveness. Today more than 200,000 women are active-duty military, this is about 14.5% of all military. Currently, womenRead More Women in the Military Essay637 Words   |  3 Pagesfollowed. In 1920, the 19th Amendment granted suffrage to women. Since then, women have been gradually stepping up on the ladder of success. Everyday more and more opportunities are opening themselves up for women. Because of these changes, we have had to add unheard of words such as congresswoman, policewoman, etc. to the dictionary to keep up with their advancement. The United States military is even inviting women into their ranks. Military Women rising up in status and prestige is a great thing, butRead MoreWomen in the Military Essay531 Words   |  3 Pagesfocused on why women should be in the military. I chose this topic in order to get a full view on how women in the military are thought of. I have done some research and have learned a lot more then I originally expected. According to the U.S. Constitution, all men are created equal, this also includes women. I believe that a woman in the military is just as capable as any man. Some people will argue this because they feel as though it is not right to have women wounded or killedRead More Women in the Military Essay667 Words   |  3 PagesI am in favor of equality for women, just not when it comes to women in combat. There have been women in society doing heroic things since the Revolutionary war. There have been brave women in war posing as men so they could fight. There are a select few women who could handle war and combat. The negative aspects of women in combat outweigh the positive. Women should not participate in military combat. However they may join the military and served in traditional roles such as nurses and office staffRead MoreEvolution of Women in the Military3618 Words   |  15 PagesThe Evolution of Women in the Military Abstract Women are without doubt an integral part of the military services. It took the determination of women throughout history to pave the way for the 400,000, women that serve today. From the early years of the military to the present conflict in Afghanistan, women have made continuous progress towards equality. It is through their contributions that the military has evolved, consistently opening more jobs to women in combat. Time has proven that

Racism Essay - 1634 Words

Austin Kim 3/6/13 Professor Ferrell Essay 3.1 Writing 121 Racism Changes Lives Racism is defined as views, practices, and actions reflecting the belief that human beings are divided into certain categories known as races and that these members share common attributes amongst one another. This definition causes a specific group or race to be less desirable, more desirable, inferior, or superior. The segregation between ethnicities have stirred many debates, battles, and controversy. Another issue that is related to racism would have to be the stereotypes involved in the racial slurs. Stereotypes are commonly known as a widely held, yet fixed image or idea over a certain person, group, or thing. These stereotypes place the affected†¦show more content†¦His name is commonly known; Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. His campaign was to abolish slavery and get rid of the hatred towards any single race, specifically blacks. From speeches, riots, and traveling, he used everything in his power to try and make some sort of difference. He was nomina ted as one of the first great Negro leaders in the United States. He also led a huge boycott that lasted almost in year starting from around December of 1955. This boycott lasted for 362, and on the following year of December, the Supreme Court had begun constituting laws requiring that there were no types of segregation on buses; that Negroes and whites were riding the buses together as equals. Even though his passion resulted in such a great way, he had to go through many different battles. During this boycott, he was arrested, his house was bombed, and had to go through many types of personal abuse. It didn’t change his beliefs, and that strong will allowed him to emerge as one of the first Negro leaders. The next year, he was moving on to higher ranks. He began an organization that is now known as the civil rights movement. He began this campaign in 1957 and ended in 1968, but traveled everywhere. Wherever there was injustice, discrimination, riots, he sought to fix it in any way he could. Learning techniques from Gandhi and his Christian background, he spoke to these people;Show MoreRelatedRacism And Racism Essay1350 Words   |  6 PagesWhite privilege and acts of racism are just as pervasive on a college campus as in any other environment. Students of color may be treated differently in a classroom setting from their white counterparts, not because of who they are or how they behave but simply because of the color of their skin. Racism can be the assumption that of the two people in the classroom, the white one is the professor. It is the split-second conclusion that a Latino student with a tattoo is in a gang, but a white studentRead MoreRacism And Racism Essay1448 Words   |  6 PagesHow does stratification system take place in African American communities? Many minority Communities are subjected to racism and discrimination within/ outside their communities. The social prejudices on the black community gives an example of a caste system whe re you re born into unequal groups based on their parents (race), most likely born into poverty if a minority. â€Å"Minority racial groups are more likely to experience multidimensional property than their white counterparts†, due to historicalRead MoreEssay on Racism1251 Words   |  6 PagesRacism Racism has often played a central role in conflicts between groups of people. Racism is the intentional or unintentional use of power to isolate, separate and exploit others as defined in the Webster dictionary. People generally respond to others differently based on what they know, which may include superficial characteristics often associated with race. This paper will express my opinion of how racism will effect America. I will base information from Webster’s definition of Racism, readingRead MoreRacism Essay897 Words   |  4 PagesRacism is one of the world’s major issues and important problem today. Many people are not aware that racism still exists in anywhere else where a social is occurring. Race is a way to form a division between people which can cause problems of discrimination. Racism is an issue that is happening all over globe, not just in American. For example, it also happened in Korea and Asian. This is why human from all over the world must acknowled ge the conflict to find a way to decrease racial injustice.Read MoreComparing Racism Essays955 Words   |  4 PagesTo compare how the two essays â€Å"Meaning of a Word† by Gloria Naylor and â€Å"White Guilt† by Shelby Steele, I will address what each essay says about stereotypes, anger and racism in three individual sections. First, I will review the stereotypes. In the first Essay â€Å"Meaning of a Word,† stereotypes are not heavily addressed. But if I look deeper into the way the family members were talking about the guy who made a lot of money, this was as stereotype. It was the stereotype that a black person shouldRead MoreRacism in the Loon Essay942 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"The Loons†: Social Racism Kills a Metis Girl Margaret Laurence’s short story â€Å"The Loons† from A Bird in the House has proven highly controversial as an example of racist literature. The Loons, is a representation of racial separation in mid-western Canada in the early 1900s. Here, Margaret Laurence uses setting and characterization to show how severe the prejudice of white people can be towards half breeds, after the period of new colonization. Piquette Tonnere, protagonist, who intends to fightRead MoreEssay on Racism579 Words   |  3 Pages Discrimination - Racism nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Racism, the belief that one race possesses inherent traits that make that particular race superior, or racial prejudice. Discrimination has always been an issue globally, and within our nation. While it was more commonly accepted and practiced decades ago, it is still quite prominent in the hearts of many people worldwide and is demonstrated through their behavior. It was common practice to keep slaves, or people who submit entirely to another’sRead More Racism Essay1592 Words   |  7 Pagesthe United States today. Nine out of ten people in society today believe that racism does exist and is something that affects millions of people everyday. There is not much arguing that can done with a statistic like that. What is it that causes so many problems between each other? Is it that we are afraid of the unknown? Whatever the cause is, we have been trying to fix the problem for many years now. Since racism is learned and not genetic, it is something that needs to be taken care of inRead More Racism Essay759 Words   |  4 Pages Institutional Racism in American Society quot;Racistquot; and quot;racismquot; are provocative words in American society. To some, these words have reached the level of curse words in their offensiveness. Yet, quot;racistquot; and quot;racismquot; are descriptive words of a reality that cannot be denied. African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans and Asian Americans (people-of-color) live daily with the effects of both institutional and individual racism. Race issues are soRead MoreRacism in Sports Essay1662 Words   |  7 PagesRacism in Sports Racism is a belief that people of different races have different qualities and abilities, and that some races are inherently superior or in inferior. Racism in the form of discrimination persists in society. Racism in sports occurs in both team and individual sports around the world. Sports itself does not induce racism. Sports are meant to be a colorblind activity that adheres to the notion of fair play. Racism in sports is a problem which manifest around the world. It led

Canadian Trade Products

Question: Discuss about theCanadian Trade Products. Answer: Introduction Fair trade is an independent and third party certification system. Fair Trade Canada is a non-profit certification and public education organization that promotes Fair Trade certified products in Canada. The main aim of the Fair Trade is to encourage the marginalized people to access the market and increase their independence. The system is to empower the producers and encourage the global commerce (Koppel Schulze, 2013). Fair Trades also encourages communities and allow them to reinvest their Trade profit for other purposes like education, nutritional programs, improved rods and society and others. There are huge advantages of the Fair Trade practices that benefit the producers. Moreover, it increases the sustainability approach and help to improve the economy of the country. Some of the critical factors that have lead to the increase in Fair Trades because of the increasing imperative coffee growers because of the coffee crisis. Other situations like failure of handicraft sales and the growing interest in the ethical consumerism as a part of the ethical social responsibilities gave rise to the practice of Fair Trade (de Leeuw et al., 2014). The aim of the report is to examine the correct the effects and the economic reasoning behind carrying out the Fair Trade. In order to achieve the target, a detailed analysis of the participation and the development of the Fair Trade in the recent perspective focusing on the Fair Trade of Canada. The background of the topic will be discussed followed by the advantages and disadvantages of Fair Trade. Focus will be made on the Fair Trade practices carried on in Canada and how the country is benefitting economically and socially due to the implication of Fair Trade. Background of Fair Trade: As stated by Andorfer and Liebe, (2012), The Canadian Trade Fair Network believes to connect the producers firsthand with the consumers. It is the belief of the fact that the consumers shall know how the products come to our grocery and how this process actually affects the economy of our country. In Canada, the Fair Trade products are promoted to improve the livelihood of developing the world farmers and other workers. Fair Trade label was first launched under the initiative of Dutch in the year 1988 (Westhead, 2013). The first Fair Trade product was coffee from Mexico that was sold in the supermarkets of Dutch. Gerstel, (2010) commented that the products were even branded and it by the means of Fair Trade, the exploitation of coffee pickers in the Dutch colonies was also opposed. It was in the late 1980s, that several other approaches were taken and the Trade Fair Network was expanded to other markets like Europe and North America (Herpen, Nierop Sloot, 2012). In 1997, Trade Fair was internationally recognized and was given a formal identification that was known as Fair trade Labeling Organizations International or FLO (Bondy Talwar, 2011). The idea behind the creation of this international organization was to unite the national Fair Trade organizations under the same umbrella and create a worldwide standard for harmony. Recently, in the year 2002, Fair Trade International launched the FARITRADE Certification Mark (Dragusanu, Giovannucci Nunn, 2014). The idea behind such action was to facilitate cross border trade and simplify the export procedure that shall benefit both producers and the exporters (Naylor, 2014). To strengthen connection among the Fair traders and the interested citizens, the World celebrates the World Fair Trade Day. There has been increasing impact of the Fair Trade practices in the recent time. USA and Canada has been benefiting from this trade activity considerably. Advantages of Fair Trade: Reading Sylla, (2014), a clear idea has been developed on the fact that in todays economic scenario, more than 1 billion people live below the international line of poverty. Sylla, (2014) further added that these people do not have the access clean water, better health care and education as well. As commented by Marshall, (2013), the gap between the rich and the poor is increasing with the rich people consuming 20% of the 75% of the resources of the World leaving only 1.5% to the poor people (Howard Jaffee, 2013). Keeping this perspective in mind, it can be said that trade can be an effective engine to reduce poverty. Thus, it can be said that there is a great scope of economic and indigenous product development. Therefore, there is more profit and more empowerment given to the manufacturer and the producers (Bathelt Spigel, 2012). If the advantages that trade has provided are taken into consideration, it can be said that Fair Trade has improved the condition of some marginalized people and has given power to the poorer section of the society to maximize the opportunity to gain better economic results (Taylor Boasson, 2014). The aim of the Fair Trades is to work with disadvantaged artisans and Fair Traders and build their business. Here lies the difference between the conventional trade and the Fair Trade. The aim of the Fair Trade is to strive more to quickly uplift people from poverty (Baumann, Oschinski Sthler, 2012). The decision regarding the practice of the domestic trade depends on democratic decision making by the people. In other cases, these decision making approaches are hindered. The practice also supports environmental sustainability and the technique of farming and production are rewarded (Pongratz-Chander, 2014). When the power is given in the hand of the manufacturers, it is expected that thei r hard work will be paid off and they shall be able to gain better profit in their business. Other advantages of Fair Trade product involves the principles related to economic, social and the environmental issues. People who are involved in the Fair Trade are bound to gain a minimum payment by selling their products (Fergus Gray, 2014). The working condition as compared to other working atmosphere is guaranteed. People are more comfortable to work with sole responsibility without the interference of any other parties. The wages are fair and the producers gain much amount as would have got otherwise (Reed et al., 2014). The working conditions are also ethical and safe. In addition to these, the profit earned by the indigenous people and be reinvested for increasing the business practices and thus, the endogenous local people gain profit in a more conducive and eco-friendly sustainable environment. Disadvantages of Fair Trade There is no doubt that the Fair Trade practices are increasing in the recent time and has been benefitting both the manufacturers and the consumers. In fact, the practices help in developing the economy of the country. However, in the view point of Bathelt and Spigel, (2012), some of the disadvantages of Fair Trade are that the market is composed of extremely small number of people or marketers. Therefore, there is less scope of diversity or the availability of different products in the market. Again, it can be mentioned that certain cost of certification has to be paid by the traders that seems to be unfavorable to a number of traders (Taylor Boasson, 2014). In such cases, it can be said that an individual is disadvantaged due to this certification process. Another important factor that creates a negative impact on the trade activities is that the consumers are more likely to purchase the raw materials rather than making payment of the complete furnished product. It is for the same reason; raw materials are overpriced that to some extent create real issues on the price of the product (Baumann, Oschinski Sthler, 2012). Instead of tackling the real issues related to the Fair trade practices, it support the unsustainable market and provide an unrealistic price to the consumers. Fair Trade practices in Canada The products are needed to be certified at least at a minimum Fair Trade certified option. Coffee being the most important Fair Trade product is managed and contracted very efficiently (Pongratz-Chander, 2014). It has been made necessary to mark a minimum Fair Trade certification in each of the products sold. This practice is not only limited to the selling of the product but at every places where the products are sold such as the coffee shop, book store, colleges. In addition to this certification, majority of the Fair Trade products are also labeled as organic (Taylor Boasson, 2014). These certifications are given by the means of a number of certification standards. It falls under the responsibility of the seller of the organic products to abide by the certification and maintain the particular standard or the policies that are the demands of the Fair Trade products. The duty of the Fair Trade coordinator is to inspect the products and make deliberate and necessary effort to keep a check on the authenticity of the organic products (Baumann, Oschinski Sthler, 2012). There has been considerable growth in the Fair trade practices in the market of North America. There has been effort made to improve the Fair Trade practices in Canada. The communication process has been made transparent enough to benefit the sellers and the buyers as well. The process has been challenging for the consumers and the manufacturer as well. Therefore, as commented by Fergus and Gray, (2014), that a cooperative and an eligible supply of the products is the major concern for the Fair Trade practices in Canada. If the Future of Fair Trade in Canada is taken into account, it can be said that the Fair Trade practices are evident that there shall be inclusion of a number of other products like beverages, confectionaries and other organic food as well (Pongratz-Chander, 2014). Other products include dried fruits, fruit juices, rice, quinoa, sport balls and wine as well. All these products are of utter importance in the market of USA and Canada. There has been increasing demand of the products in the market and the demand is increasing with time (Taylor Boasson, 2014). The domestic firms are growing and people belonging to different age, gender and with different socio-economic background and statuses. People are getting more concerned about their ethical and sustainable approach towards the food products. Apart from this, the supply of beverages and other products that are domestically manufactured shall create great importance among the people of Canada. In the view point of Reed et al., (2014), the consumers knowledge about the Fair Trade products are increasing. The influence of the fair trade has claimed the existence of third party involvement. The Fair Trade practices in North America have seen the influence of the European Union bodies in understanding the Fair Trade practices. There is no doubt that the Fair Trade market is an emerging market in Canada with no sign of slowing down (Fergus Gray, 2014). There have been similar trends observed in the other organic market of USA. With the increasing impact of transparency in the communication and the supply chain management, the fair trade practices have been increasing importance. Current Scenario of Fair Trade in Canada Fair Trade products of Canada changes from coffee to flowers, fruits, vegetables, tea, sugar other such organic products. The plants and animals which are raised or produced as a part of the agricultural system enhances the biodiversity, biological activity and the biological cycle of nature. With the help of the organic form of agriculture, production of vegetables and other things are certified as organic products (Baumann, Oschinski Sthler, 2012). Coffee is one of the most important products that are sold in the Fair Trade of Canada. It is also considered as an organic product and it has a minimum standard of the organic certification in the Canadian governmental organization. These products are creating great demand among the people of the country. The residents and other people are also benefitting from the impact of Fair Trade that is gaining momentum in the recent scenario. Therefore, it can be said that this mode of trading is in fact a beneficial means for the country and i ts people. If the growing interest of the ethical consumerism is considered, it can be said that more retailers are taking part in creating a sustainable and an ethical approach towards the consumers. In this respect, it has been pointed out by Koppel and Schulze, (2013), that as per the assumptions of the neo classical economists existence of information creates awareness among the people and helps them to make judgmental decision. It is for this reason, a systematic monitoring and regulations on the product are ensured to get a minimum standard of the agricultural products available for the consumers, at a minimum cost (Pongratz-Chander, 2014). If the Fair Trade practices of Canada are compared with the other Fair Trade markets of the World, it can be said that in Canada, the practice of Fair Trade is to promote the ethical exchange of good. As argued by Bathelt and Spigel, (2012), the Fair Trade practice might cause more damage to the economy of the country. It has to be found that the producers who were the main sellers of the products in the Fair Trade receive higher compensation than the others who purchase the Fair Trade products (Koppel Schulze, 2013). Moreover, Fair Trade supply chain is shorter than the other modes of business. This is for the reason that the producers are more benefitted than the consumers. Total global trade fair sale has been considerably increased since 2011. There has been a growth of about 6.7% accounting to at least a rise of 6 billion dollars. In that instance, USA itself accounts for $1.7 billion. Apart from coffee, the Fair Trade products of Canada also comprise of chocolate bars, powder and other cocoa beans and sugar as well (Koppel Schulze, 2013). This leads to the fact that the Fair Trade products are dairy products. These domestic products set a standard of the domestic products and claim a label of standard (Pongratz-Chander, 2014). In USA or particularly in Canada, a third party certification is indeed important. These labels of certification actually help to determine the quality of the product. These labeling are done on the products like honey or vanilla. These labels form a composite good manufacturing idea to the consumers. It is based on the good labels that consumers are not cheated by the products that they are sold. Therefore, fair trade ingred ients provide a transparency among the consumers. Conclusion: Fair Trades can be considered as a sustainable tool for boosting the standard of living in the under developed and developing countries. Fair Trade is in fact, a social justice movement and an alternative business model to improve the Global Economy. There have been serious steps taken for the promotion of Fair Trade products. The Fair Trade Coordinator takes the responsibility the complete promotion, education and enforcement as well as implementation of the Fair Trade Practices and Policies that assists the availability of places where the Fair Trade products are sold. The concept of Fair Trade products is gaining priority and is growing in major other places. A lot of researches and provisional practices have been conducted to understand the implication of Fair Trade products and its importance in shaping the economy of a country. The main aim of promoting an ethical approach towards the production of goods that shall benefit both the producers and the consumers as well happened to be successful by the means of Fair Trade practices. In case of Canada, coffee is one of the important products that has the most impact on the sustainability and production of Fair Trade products. It can be easily said that the impact of Fair Trade products is increasing globally and in case of Canada, this has become one of the important part of the countrys economy. The sale of Fair Trade products has seen considerable rise and at the same time deliberate effort has been made to improve the Fair Trade practices in the region that shall benefit the manufacturer, consumers as well as the economy of the State. Reference List: Andorfer, V. A., Liebe, U. (2012;2011;). Research on fair trade ConsumptionA review.Journal of Business Ethics,106(4), 415-435.doi:10.1007/s10551-011-1008-5 Bathelt, H., Spigel, B. (2012). The spatial economy of North American trade fairs.Canadian Geographer / Le GographeCanadien,56(1), 18-38. doi:10.1111/j.1541-0064.2011.00396. Baumann, F., Oschinski, M., Sthler, N. (2012;2010;). On the effects of fair trade on the welfare of the poor.Journal of International Development,24, S159-S172. doi:10.1002/jid.1736 Bondy, T., Talwar, V. (2011). Through thick and thin: How fair trade consumers have reacted to the global economic recession.Journal of Business Ethics,101(3), 365-383. doi:10.1007/s10551-010-0726-4 deLeeuw, A., Valois, P., Morin, A. J. S., Schmidt, P. (2014). Gender differences in psychosocial determinants of university students intentions to buy fair trade products.Journal of Consumer Policy,37(4), 485-505.doi:10.1007/s10603-014-9262-4 Dragusanu, R., Giovannucci, D., Nunn, N. (2014).The economics of fair trade.The Journal of Economic Perspectives,28(3), 217-236. doi:10.1257/jep.28.3.217 Fergus, A. H. T., Gray, A. (2014). Fair trade awareness and engagement: A coffee farmer's perspective.Business and Society Review,119(3), 359-384. doi:10.1111/basr.12037 Gerstel, J. (2010). Fair trade products are becoming mainstream; more consumers and companies see benefits of ensuring producers are being treated fairly.The Toronto Star (Toronto, Ontario) Herpen, E. v., Nierop, E. v., Sloot, L. (2012). The relationship between in-store marketing and observed sales for organic versus fair trade products.Marketing Letters,23(1), 293-308.doi:10.1007/s11002-011-9154-1 Howard, P., Jaffee, D. (2013). Tensions between firm size and sustainability goals: Fair trade coffee in the united states.Sustainability,5(1), 72-89. doi:10.3390/su5010072 Koppel, H., Schulze, G. G. (2013). The importance of the indirect transfer mechanism for consumer willingness to pay for fair trade ProductsEvidence from a natural field experiment.Journal of Consumer Policy,36(4), 369-387. doi:10.1007/s10603-013-9234-0 Marshall, S. (2013).Fair trade, corporate accountability and beyond : Experiments in globalizing justice. Farnham: Ashgate. doi:10.4324/9781315581842 Naylor, L. (2014). Some are more fair than others: Fair trade certification, development, and NorthSouth subjects.Agriculture and Human Values,31(2), 273-284. doi:10.1007/s10460-013-9476-0 Pongratz-Chander, K. (2014). fair(er) trade means business: A literature review of the development discourse.Journal of Third World Studies,31(2), 219. Reed, D., Thomson, B., Hussey, I., LeMay, J. (2010). Developing a normatively grounded research agenda for fair trade: Examining the case of canada.Journal of Business Ethics,92(S2), 151-179. doi:10.1007/s10551-010-0575-1 Sylla, N. S. (2014) The fair trade scandal: Marketing poverty to benefit the rich. GB: Pluto Press. Taylor, J. E., Boasson, V. (2014). Who buys fair trade and why (or why not)? A random survey of households.Journal of Consumer Affairs,48(2), 418-430. doi:10.1111/joca.12025 Westhead, R. (2013). Canadian creates business that's good for the sole; shoemaker in africa first in world to earn fair trade certification.The Toronto Star (Toronto, Ontario)

We Tested 3 WordPress Database Maintenance Plugins Our Results

Your database is one of the most crucial components of your WordPress website. Its where all your posts, revisions, and lots of other critical information are stored, so keeping it running in top shape is vital. However, as time passes, its normal for your database to become bloated – and thats where WordPress database maintenance plugins come in.These tools enable you to optimize your databases and keep them lean, which is said to translate to faster loading times and less space taken up on your servers. However, not all plugins are equally effective, so youll want to pick and choose when it comes to database maintenance plugins.In this case, well take care of the testing for you. First, well talk a bit more about what WordPress database maintenance plugins are and how they work. Then well try out three popular options and see how they compare.TL;DR: Overall, our testing points to WP-Optimize as the best option, but we encourage you to read the full post to see how we came to that conclusion. WordPress databases look complex, but at their core, theyre just a collection of tables.Your sites  database is a collection of tables where WordPress stores its information. As your site grows, so does the database.While the database is an integral part of WordPress, most people dont ever interact directly with their databases while running their  websites, since its  something that works quietly in the background.However, giving yours a spring cleaning may  have benefits. For example:You get to save space.  Most web hosts will provide you with more space than youll need, but its still a good idea to use it efficientlyYou can optimize  your sites performance.  Each time you or anyone else performs an action on your site, it sends a request to your database. If yours is too bloated, these requests can take longer than they should to process, resulting in a small drag on performance.The question were posing in this article has to do with that last poin t. Many people say that optimizing your database is an important step to improving your sites performance, but is there data to back up that assertion? Lets find out.Three WordPress database maintenance plugins comparedFor this section, well introduce you to three of the most popular WordPress database maintenance plugins, then compare them. Well use the same WordPress site to try out each one (restoring it from a backup after each test), along with the same host (Flywheel in this case).Before we begin, well test our sites loading times. Then well do so again after optimizing our database. Keep in mind that  every site is different, so its possible that your experience may vary from ours!1. Advanced Database Cleaner (Free and premium versions available) Advanced Database Cleaner Author(s): Younes JFR.Current Version: 2.0.0Last Updated: May 31, 2019advanced-database-cleaner.2.0.0.zip 96%Ratings 224,521Downloads 3.1.0Requires Advanced Database Cleaner is a plugin that lives up to its name. It helps you eliminate all the data you dont need anymore – such as old revisions and trashed comments – to keep your database lean and mean. Plus, you can schedule your cleanings in advance, which is nice to put things on autopilot.Testing the Advanced Database Cleaner pluginFor this test, were going to use a test site with 21 posts, 101 users, and a couple of comments. This sites unoptimized database weighs 5.38 MB and it and takes under a second to load:Now, lets clean up that site. Running Advanced Database Cleaner is very straightforward. You can simply go to the  WP DB Cleaner  tab on your dashboard after installing the plugin, pick the elements you want to clean, and click on  Apply:After the cleanup, our databases size remains unchanged at 5.38 MB, which suggests the plugin thought our database was already in good shape to start with. A subsequent speed test gave us a 6.32% improvement, by coming in at just 0.89 seconds:While there is an i mprovement, the difference isnt large enough that we feel comfortable definitely saying the improvement was a direct result of the plugin. A 6% change is well within the bounds of normal fluctuations for Pingdom tests.2. Optimize Database (Free) Optimize Database after Deleting Revisions Author(s): CAGE Web Design | Rolf van Gelder, Eindhoven, The NetherlandsCurrent Version: 4.8.7Last Updated: September 28, 2019rvg-optimize-database.4.8.7.zip 96%Ratings 2,559,348Downloads WP 2.8+Requires Optimize Database is one of those one-click plugins that aims to be as utterly simple as possible. In this case, there are some additional settings for you to configure, but the plugin stays true to its core goal of efficiency. As with our first pick, you can also schedule successive cleanings to save time.Testing the Optimize Database pluginKeep in mind that well be  using the same site as we did for our first test. All we did was restore it to its starting point. Now, to run a test using this second plugin, youll need to go to the  Settings → Optimize Database  tab:Tick the options you want the plugin to optimize (we recommend all of them), save your settings, and click the  Go to the optimizer  button. This will start the process, which shouldnt take long.In this case, the plugin shaved off a mere 94 KB from our database, and a post-cleanup speed test revealed a 1.05% improvement:Again, with a difference this small, we cant definitely say anything in either direction about whether there was any true performance improvement.3. WP-Optimize (Free) WP-Optimize Clean, Compress, Cache. Author(s): David Anderson, Ruhani Rabin, Team UpdraftCurrent Version: 3.0.12Last Updated: September 24, 2019wp-optimize.3.0.12.zip 98%Ratings 11,586,621Downloads WP 3.8+Requires The WP-Optimize plugin is part of the Updraft family, which includes the popular UpdraftPlus  backup plugin. As you can imagine, this means the plugin helps you  back up your database r egularly, along with optimizing it. Beyond that, you get a ton of settings to play with, and access to information about the state of your database at any given time.Testing the WP-Optimize pluginWere kicking things off from the same point as our last tests, so lets get right to it. To start your cleanup, go to the  WP-Optimize  tab on your dashboard and click on the  Run all selected optimizations  button:The plugin automatically unticks any options that dont need to be optimized, so its safe to run right away. As with the previous tests, however, our space savings were almost insignificant. However, our final speed test came as a surprise with a strong 19.2% improvement:Successive tests revealed results in the same ballpark, which means the plugin somehow improved our loading times despite not affecting the size of our database.This is the first result where we feel comfortable pointing to one of our database maintenance plugins as the source of speed improvements. 19% is tough to chalk up to random chance, so we truly believe WP-Optimize worked some magic on our site.ConclusionWhile you should always use multiple methods to speed up your WordPress site, it seems like the right database optimization plugin can give your site a nice improvement. While our first two tests didnt find any statistically significant improvements, WP-Optimize gave our test site a significant speedup.For that reason, we recommend going with WP-Optimize if youre interested in optimizing your WordPress sites database. WordPress database maintenance plugins comparedAdvanced Database CleanerOptimize DatabaseWP-OptimizeA modern and easy-to-use plugin, but one that offers negligible improvements (if any).This plugin isnt very user-friendly and its results werent that impressive either. This is our  least recommended plugin.A backup-conscious plugin, which  provided us with a noticeable improvement in performance.6.32% speed improvement1.05% speed improvement19.2% speed improve mentAre WordPress database maintenance plugins are worth your time? Share your opinions with us in the comments section below!