Public sector reform in China

Introduction The public sector or rather known as the state sector is that part of the government that deals with provision of services to the public. Though the administration and type of services provided differs from country to country, the most common services provided through the public sector include; health care facilities, roads, street lighting, military and police just to mention but a few. In other words, the public sector is responsible for providing the public goods and services which all have access to despite whether they have paid tax or not.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Public sector reform in China specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The public sector of any nation has an important role to play in the political, social and economic sectors. Thus most countries are yearning to establish a sizeable public sector and China is no exception. It is for this reason that China has been seeking to make reforms in its public sector for effective government of the national resources as well as other reasons. However, the process of making public reforms in the public sector of China has not been an easy one as it has been faced with many challenges and difficulties during implementation. This paper is therefore an analysis of the process of reforming China’s public sector while looking at the challenges and difficulties faced during the implementation process. The historical narrative of public sector reforms of China For a long time now, China’s government has ventured into the process making important reforms to the public sector in a bid to achieving good governance as well as improving the performance of services of the civil society. The process of China’s public sector reforms began as early as during the Second World War. During this time, Chine was dominated by capitalist who wanted everything for themselves. There came the Neo-liberals whose ide as were to blend in the liberal political views with the sole aim of improving the economic growth. This is therefore what initiated the beginning of making reforms in the public sector so as to ensure that resources were equally distributed to the nationalities. At the same time China was undergoing severe fiscal crisis which in turn affected the economy of the country thus the economic crisis. This came about due to the great Asian crises which were more serious than the current global crisis. This is because they had a great impact on the economies of Asian countries by for example increasing the unemployment levels in that continent among other factors. The crises also had a great impact on the education and health sectors of the Asian countries, China inclusive. Since government intervention was difficult, the crises affected the poor people in the society. As a result, the government of China saw the need of making reforms in its public sector so as to ensure some of the essen tial facilities were available to the society and especially to the poor people.Advertising Looking for research paper on government? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In addition to this, China has been trying to quench its thirst for effective and efficient public sector. The government has been yearning to improve the performance of civil services as well as improving the services to the public through accountability. Despite the fact that in the recent past improvements has been made, serious changes are yet to be made on the key sectors and systems of the public sector (McMillan and Naughton 132). Another thing that influenced the need to make reforms in the public sector of China is the influence of neo-liberal ideas and consequential criticism of the Weberian based public administration. This emphasised on economic growth of china which could be effectively improved by the efficiency in the public sector. This was a two w ay, in that citizens who are happy with the government will be willing to work hard thus improving the economy growth. At the same time, reforms on the public sector would lead to cost benefit to the government thus contributing to the productivity hence economic growth of the country. Public reforms made in China Beyond the historical background of the public sector they are seen to have a very high degree of heterogeneity characterised by the following pre-reform regime (Burns 104). The public sector was neither a government department nor a state owned enterprise. It was fully owned and managed by the central government. This sector got its funds from the national budget which it used to finance all its projects. The activities of the public sector were to be conducted in accordance with the state plan The staffs of the public sector were to be controlled by the civil service personnel. The operations of the public sector were barred from the market operations. From the aforeme ntioned points, it is clearly seen that there was need for the reforms to be made on the public sector of China. Some of these reforms include; Decentralisation from central to local government This was among the initial reforms made to the public sector whereby the local government was bestowed the duty of managing and providing public services. This was meant to ensure efficiency in terms of transparency of the provision of the public goods and services unlike when under the management of central government. The breakdown of duties from the busy central government to the less occupied local government was a good move since the society benefited from the services provided equally while the government reduced the amount of resources that initially went to waste due to inefficiency.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Public sector reform in China specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Reduction of public services provided by the state As mentioned above, public goods and services are usually provided to the entire society and accessed by all despite whether they have paid taxes or not. The funds to provide these services are usually from the taxpayers’ money. Thus reducing the amount of public services to be provided by the state was a good move by China’s government as the money could be channelled towards other developmental projects. A good example was the withdrawal of free education while still providing essential services such as military and roads among others. Increasing the practise of local government of charging fees for basic services’ These services were initially free thus the government had to fund their provision. Therefore the decision to charging little fee on these services enabled the government to save while at the same time earning from the fee charged. This would therefore upgrade the economy of the country. Market sector implementation in EPZs Th e Export Processing Zones have the benefit of earning foreign exchange for the country as well as providing employment. Since provision of employment to the public is among the core functions of any public sector, China’s government plan to implement the export processing zones was one of the important reforms which benefited the society. De-collectivisation of the rural commune system The rural areas of any nation form part of the great contributors to the country’s economy. As part of its reforms in the public sector, China decided to de-collectivise the rural commune system such that it would control it towards efficiency of the whole system. These are just some of the reforms made on the public sector, however, the process is continuous with reforms being made each time there is a need for one. This is due to the rapid rate of globalization which calls for each and every government to be on the lookout before being beaten up by the global competition. Challenges Fa cing Public Sector Reforms The process of making reforms on the public sector has not been a bed of roses for the Chinese government as it has been forced to meet and overcome many challenges in the process line (Jincheng 5). To begin with is the problem of introducing the new public management service in the country. The new public management is among China’s reforms on the public sector which entails the transformation of the mode of governance in public departments.Advertising Looking for research paper on government? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More It therefore requires them to be market and enterprise oriented such that the process of administration is modernised in the country. The implementation of the new public management is a big challenge to the government of China given its difficulty in administration which is only best suited to the private products and the service demanded products that can be provided by the market. The other challenge that the Chinese government is facing as a result of the public reforms is that of protecting the civil servants from arbitrary removal. For a long time in China, the civil servants have been faced with arbitrary removal from their positions given the high rate of corruption. This is something very difficult to overcome despite the fact that the public sector reforms have catered for it. Therefore, for the public sector under the local government to protect the civil servants is a big challenge. The third challenge facing the government of China as a result of public sector reforms i s protecting their political neutrality. After the public sector reforms, the political environment in China is deemed to be neutral. This is a new development whose chances of achievement and survival are very minimal given the fact that the political environment was heterogeneous from time immemorial. This abrupt change is therefore bound to pose a great challenge to the public sector once the reforms are effectively implemented (Schiere 78). In addition to the above challenges, there is also the challenge of policing the set rules by an independent body from the government. Since the public sector is not able to pollicise all the rules on its own, it has to subcontract some of them to an independent body to help in the implementation and policing. This is a challenge as it will require financial resources from the government as well as some formal training on the processes. In some cases acquiring the right independent body is a challenge as well getting one that will efficiently pollicise the rules. Last but not least is the greatest challenge of the merit reforms of the public sector of China. The merit reform of China encompasses the merit pay systems of the public sector such as the health facilities, teachers in schools just to mention but a few. The aim of the merit system is to stimulate the enthusiasm of the workers in the public sector so that they can work efficiently and effectively. The government will face a big challenge in implementing the merit reforms as it will require supplementary funds which may not be available in the government. Therefore, the government will face the challenge of sourcing the additional funds which could be from the taxpayers or donors among others. How does it harm or benefit the Chinese citizens and government The process of reforming the public sector has both positive and negative impacts on the citizens and the government. The same case applies to China, whose reforms have resulted to benefits to the government and its citizens while at the same time causing draw-backs. If the objectives of the China reforms of the public sector are attained, then the citizens will enjoy many benefits among them being; Improved performance of the public sector- The public sector is enacted by the government to take care of the public needs. Therefore, if reforms are made regarding its governance, then it means that the Chinese citizens will have access to the essential public services such as the military at all times without instances of failure (Chen et al, 217). Accountability- This means that the funds allocated to the public sector will be well spent since the responsible officials are obliged to give an account of how the funds are spent. This will therefore reduce the cases fraudsters thus ensuring that the public services are available at all times in adequate levels. Improved Service Delivery- This was among the objectives of China’s reforms on public sector such that when achieved, the pub lic services and goods will be provided in the right way. That is to mean that the service delivery will be upgraded so that the citizens have access to them and in the correct form and quality. For example, the military will be well equipped with good ammunition to safeguard the citizens. Increased user satisfaction- After the reforms, the citizens will be satisfied with public services in accordance to their provision and efficiency of the system. This satisfaction will therefore increase the zeal of the citizens to pay taxes since they can effectively determine where their money goes to. For instance, if citizens lack services like street lighting, good infrastructure and poor military and police forces, they will not be motivated to pay taxes since their money is just being consumed by the government officials without serving the right purpose it is supposed to. The Chinese government will also benefit from the public sector reforms by first gaining trust from the citizens. Afte r the reforms, public services will be efficiently provided thus making the citizens gain a lot of trust in the responsible government since it will have efficiently managed their funds in addition to caring about the welfare of its citizens (Copenhagen 1). Other than this, the government will have an easier way of managing the public services since it will now be the duty of the local government and not the central government unlike before. This is due to the fact that the central government has a lot of operations to carry out as compared to the local government which additionally is closer to the citizens. Negative impacts of the public sector reforms It can be born witness that the reforms on the public sector have more benefits than harm on both the government and Chinese citizens. Nevertheless, the process of making the reforms is very costly to the government consuming a lot of financial and time resources. Other than this, the reforms require that the government be very effe ctive and efficient in the provision and management of the public services while taking care of the resources. This obligation poses a threat to the officials since they are accountable of any procedure and activity they carry out. As for the case of the Chinese citizens, the tax evaders will be disadvantaged as the government will be on the lookout for them so as to ensure uniformity of all citizens without oppressing other. Another demerit on the citizens is that some of the services that were initially free for them will be withdrawn making them pay for them. In other instances, they will be required to pay higher taxes so that the government can efficiently provide the public utilities to the citizens. The difficulties faced in implementation of new public sector and the possible solutions Just like most countries, China has the dream of being an all-round well off society by the year 2020. This vision is to be achieved only if the political and economical sectors of the country are up to date. This is to mean that the government should broaden their vision to think of sustainable human development instead of only concentrating on political issues. The government should also be prepared to overcoming disparities in the service delivery sector thus ensure transparency, efficiency as well as integrity. The process of achieving all these is not an easy one as there are very many difficulties that have to be overcome in order to ensure proper implementation of reforms in the public sector. The biggest difficulty that China is facing is how to ensure that the public services are adequately provided to the society. This is because the public good s and services are available to all regardless to whether they have paid taxes or not. It is therefore unfair for the tax evaders to enjoy services which they have not paid for yet their counterparts the tax payers have struggled to pay for them. This is what brings about the free-riding problem which is very difficult to overcome. Hence, the public sector has at times faced inadequate funds to cater for the provision of these essential services, thus posing a great threat for them. In other instances, the funds to provide the public service have landed in the wrong hands of fraudsters who embezzle the funds thus no services to the public (Broadman 852). Secondly is the problem on how to develop an efficient public sector one that will be characterised as a modern market economy as well as a â€Å"well-off† society. A modern economy is characterised by transparency in its dealings and effectiveness in service provision. This is difficult to achieve given the bureaucracy required in the provision of the public goods and services as well as the presence of tax defaulters. Therefore, to overcome these implementation difficulties and the many minor ones, the public sector reform should be enacted to begin with a vision which the sector should be entitled to look at and achieve. Thereafter a str ategy with implementation plans should be put in place so as to ensure efficiency in the public sector is achieved. Conclusion Given the above discussion on the public sector reform of China, it is evidenced that the decision by the Chinese government to make reforms on its public sector was a worth making decision. The historical factors that facilitated the need for reforms such as the economic and fiscal crisis, quest for efficiency and effectiveness in the public services, the post world war two neo-liberals as well as the influence of neo-liberal ideas and consequential criticism of the Weberian based public administration all have much contribution to China’ s current position. However, the road to achieving the reforms has not been an easy one for the Chinese government which has been faced with many challenges together the difficulties during implementation of the new public sector to the country. On the other hand, it has been seen that the new public sector after th e reforms has had both benefits and negative impacts on the citizens as well as the government. All in all the public reforms have changed the face of Chinese public sector thus contributing greatly to its economic growth. The question then remains, Are the reforms in the public sector permanent or prone to change? It can be argued that reforms are prone to change given the changes in globalisation and technology. Works Cited Broadman, H. The Business (es) of the Chinese State. 2001- World Economy. 24 (7). Pp.849-875. Burns, John. Public Sector reform and the state: The case of China. 2001. McGraw Hill publications. Chen, K, Jefferson, G, and Singh, I. â€Å"Lessons from China’s Economic Reform.† 1992- Journal of Comparative Economics, 16 (2). pp. 201-225. Copenhagen. â€Å"Globalization and Public Sector Reforms in India and China.† 2011. Web. Jincheng, Li. China’s Human Resources Development and Public Sector Reform  Facing Economic Globalization. 200 1. Web. McMillan, J. and Naughton, B. â€Å"How to Reform a Planned Economy: Lessons from China?†- 1992, Oxford Review of Economic Policy. 8 (1). Pp.130-143. Schiere, Richard. China’s Development Challenges. – 2009. Routledge Print. This research paper on Public sector reform in China was written and submitted by user Naomi Woodard to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

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Taro Leaves Drying Kinetics and Monolayer Moisture Content

Taro Leaves Drying Kinetics and Monolayer Moisture Content INTRODUCTION |1 A study on the drying kinetics and monolayer moisture content of taro leaves This research was aimed to develop dehydrated products based on Taro leaves and finding out the effect of drying parameters such as loading density and temperature on that control the drying kinetics. To determine the end point of drying studies on the sorption isotherm was conducted. From the moisture sorption isotherm data, the monolayer moisture content was estimated by Braunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) equation using data up to a water activity (aw) of 0.52 and monolayer moisture content was found to be 8.92 g water per 100 g solid for taro leaves. By using another most important model, GAB (Guggenheim-Anderson-DeBoer) model, using data up to aw=0.9, the monolayer moisture content of taro leaves was found to be 19.78g water per 100 gm solid. INTRODUCTION It is estimated that by 2020, the population of Bangladesh will be as high as 200 million, which means that there is a need to produce more food from the limited land resources. In this context, there is a need to explore alternate food crops, which could supply food in food insecurity situations. â€Å"Taro† can be the alternative to the other vegetables for developing and under developed country. Apart from acting as cheap energy and dietary source, this crop provides other micronutrients, vitamins and dietary fiber as well. In Bangladesh, taro is used as vegetable throughout the country. Corms and cormels are used as starchy vegetables whereas leaves and leaf stalks are used as ‘shak’. During famine, a large number of people reportedly survive simply on food materials made by boiling the corms, cormels, stolons, leaf stalks and leaves of different varieties of Taro. The subfamily Colocasioideae of family Araceae consists of three edible tubercrops, namely taro (Colocasia esculenta Schott), `tannia (Xanthosoma spp.) and giant Taro (Alocasia spp.). Among these crops, taro and tannin are cultivated to a larger extent, while giant taro is not as common as commercial crop like the other two. In general, these are crops of third world countries, particularly grown in Africa and Asia. About 88 % of the total world acreage is in Africa which produces about 80% of total production (Onwueme, 1978). Among the three crops, taro is more common in South-East Asia. It is one of the ancient crops with an interesting history blending with the evolution of agricultural systems (Gopalan et al., 1974). A large number of horticultural varieties of taro are widely cultivated in Bangladesh and still larger varieties grow wild. During the rainy season when other vegetables are in scarcity in Bangladesh this taro goes a long way to meet the demand for vegetables. The leaves, petioles, stolons, corms and cormels, and indeed all the parts of some taro are taken as food in large quantities by the rural population in our country. Hence the use of Taro as vegetables, both leaves and roots, in the diets of the people of our country assumes special and added importance. The taro has also medicinal value. Processed Bishknchu is used in Ayurvedic medicine for the treatment of rheumatism. Juice from petioles and whole leaves are used as antiseptic to check bleeding from minor injury in the rural areas of Bangladesh (Chowdhury, 1975). The possibility of wider use of the Taro leaves as vegetables crops in our country may be ascribed to their unusual environmental adaptability and ease of cultivation. The lowland types grow in standing water which is rarely possible for other crops. The taro can be produced with minimum capital investment. Growing of this crop does not require any special technological skill. Their keeping quality in most cases is excellent. The best way of preserving the leasfy vegetables is drying or dehydration. This process costs less, then other preserving methods and require simple instrument. The type and conditions of the blanching treatment prior to drying affect the retention of ascorbic acid, carotene, and ash in the dried vegetables. The sun-dried vegetables had inferior color, texture and acceptability compared to the vegetables dried in the cabinet dryer. In the mechanical dryer, desired temperature and airflow could be maintained. Compared to sun/solar drying, higher airflow and temperature can be used in mechanical drying. This leads to high production rates and improved quality products due to shorter drying time and reduction of the risk of insect infestation and microbial spoilage as well as minimum nutrient loss. Since mechanical drying is not dependent on sunlight so it can be done as and when necessary. Based on the above information, the present experiment was broadly aimed to study on development of shelf stable taro (Colocassia esculenta) leaves product. The specific objectives of this study are as follows: To determine the composition of fresh and processed Taro leaves To develop the isotherm To study the drying characteristics of taro leaves during mechanical and vacuum drying To study the storage stability of processed taro leaves Materials and methods 3.2.3 Sorption isotherm studies The moisture sorption properties of dried Taro leaves were determined at room temperature under conditions of various relative humidity (11-93% RH) in the vacuum desiccators. The various RH conditions were achieved in vacuum desiccators using saturated salt solutions. The following salt solutions (Table. 3.1) of known water activity were used for the study (Islam, 1980). Table 3.1: Water activity of saturated salt solution Petri dishes were used for preparing saturated salt solution. The various salts were put in the Petri dish and water is added to give a saturated condition. The method involved putting a small accurately weighed about 1g sample in a previously weighed Petri dish into desiccators contained saturated salt solutions. The sample and the solution was separated a perforated plate to avoid mixing. The desiccators were evacuated to less than 50 Torr. At various intervals, the vacuum was broken with air, the sample weighed and replaced in the desiccators, which was then re-evacuated. The sample was weighed daily in the initial period and less often, as the sample started to reach equilibrium. Weighing was continued until the sample weights were constant two days in row. In the mid-1970s, water activity came to the forefront as a major factor in understanding the control of the deterioration of reduced moisture, drugs and biological systems (Labuza, 1975). It was found that the general modes of deterioration, namely physical and physicochemical modifications, microbiological growth, and both aqueous and lipid phase chemical reactions were all influenced by the thermodynamic availability of water (water activity) as well as the total moisture content of the system. Control of initial moisture content and moisture migration is critical to the quality and safety of foods. Ideally, food manufacturers develop products with defined moisture contents to produce a safe product with optimum shelf- life. Quality and safety factors that the manufacturer must consider are microbial stability, physical properties, sensory properties, and the rate of chemical changes leading to loss of shelf-life. Water activity or the equilibrium relative humidity of a system is defined as: Where Vapor pressure of water in equilibrium with the dry system Saturation vapor pressure of pure water at the same temperature. Sorption properties of floods (equilibrium moisture content and monolayer moisture) are essential for the design and optimization of many processes such as drying, packaging and storage (Muhtaseb et al., 2002).The moisture sorption isotherms show the equilibrium amount of water sorbed onto a solid as a function of steady state vapor pressure at a constant temperature (Bell and Labuza, 2000). There are many empirical equations that describe this behavior, but the water sorption properties at various RHs should be experimentally determined for each material. The general shape of the isotherm, specific surface area of the sample, reversibility of moisture uptake, presence and shape of a hysteresis loop provide information on the manner of interaction of the solid with water (Swaminathan and Kildsig, 2001). Sorption properties are important in predicting the physical state of materials at various conditions, because most structural transformations and phase transitions are significantly affected by water (Roos, 1995). Langmuir (1917) developed an equation based on the theory that the molecules of gas are adsorbed on the active sites of the solid to form a layer one molecule thick (monolayer). The Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) sorption model (Brunauer et al.1938) is often used in modeling water sorption particularly to obtain the monolayer value (Eq. 2.10) which gives the amount of water that is sufficient to form a layer of water molecules of the thickness of one molecule on the adsorbing surface (Bell and Labuza 2000, Roos, 1995). The BET monolayer value has been said to be optimal water content for stability of low-moisture materials (Labuza, 1975 and Roos, 1995). The BET equation was developed based on the fact that sorption occurs in two distinct thermodynamic states; a tightly bound portion and multilayer having the properties of bulk free water (Zografi and Kontny, 1986). The BET equation is: Where, = the measured moisture at water activity = the monolayer moisture content (the optimal moisture content for maximum storage stability of a dry food); c = the isotherm temperature dependence coefficient (energy constant) Vanchy (2002) determined the moisture sorption isotherm of Whole milk powder (WMP). The WMPs were stored at 20 and 35 °C under 11%, 22% and 33% relative humidity . The monolayer moisture content was 4.8%, (solids not fat basis) at 0. 11 using the BET equation and 5.1 % at 0.23 according to the GAB equation. Nikolay et al. (2005) determined the moisture equilibrium data (adsorption and desorption) of semi-defatted (fat 10.6 % wet basis) pumpkin seed flour using the static gravimetric method of saturated salt solutions at three temperatures 10 °C, 25 °C, and 40 °C, found that the equilibrium moisture content decreased with the increase in storage temperature at any given water activity. They fitted the experimental data to five mathematical models (modified Oswin, modified Halsey, modified Chung-Host, modified Henderson and GAB). The GAB model was found to be the most suitable for describing the sorption data. The monolayer moisture content was estimated using the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) equation. The BET model (Brunauer et al. 1938) gives the best fit to the data at aw of up to 0.5 (Bell and Labuza 2000, Roos 1995). Guggenheim-Anderson-de Boer (GAB) sorption model (Anderson 1946, Boer 1953, Guggenheim 1966) introduces a third state of sorbed species intermediate to the tightly bound and free states. The GAB equation has a similar form to BET, but has an extra constant, K (equation 2.11). BET is actually a special case of GAB. The GAB equation is: Isotherm equations are useful for predicting the water sorption properties of a material, but no equation gives results accurate throughout the entire range of water activities. According to Timmermann (2003), the GAB monolayer value is always higher than the BET monolayer value. Prediction of water sorption is needed to establish water activity and water content relationship for materials (Roos, 1995) Where m = the measured moisture at water activity; = the monolayer moisture content (the optimal moisture content for maximum storage stability of a dry food), =the GAB multi-layer constant; c=the isotherm temperature dependence coefficient (energy constant). The GAB model can be used to a maximum water activity of 0.9. The following procedure is suggested by Biozt (1983) to fit data on water activities and equilibrium moisture content. Equation (2.11) can be transformed as follows: Where Equation (2.12) indicates that GAB equation is a three-parameter model. The water activity and equilibrium moisture content date are regressed using equation (2.12) and values of three coefficients, and are obtained. From these coefficients, the values of k,, and c can be calculated. To overcome this weakness of the GAB equation, modifications of the equation have been proposed (Schuchmann et al. 1990; Timmermann and Chirife 1991). Timmermann and Chirife (1991) used one additional parameter in the GAB model and studied the so-called third stage of sorption using experimental data of starch with satisfactory results. Isotherm equations are useful for predicting the water sorption properties of a material, but no equation gives results accurate throughout the entire range of water activities. According to Timmermann (2003), the GAB monolayer value is always higher than the BET monolayer value. Prediction of water sorption is needed to establish water activity and water content relationship for materials (Roos, 1995). Results and discussion: The sorption isotherm is an extremely valuable tool for food scientist because it can be used to predict potential changes in food stability, for selection of packaging, for selection of ingredient and for predicting drying time. A sorption isotherm for dehydrated taro leaves obtained by Vacuum oven drying (VOD) was established to determine how the taro product will behave in a confined environment. To obtain the moisture sorption isotherm, moisture content (dry basis) versus water activity were plotted on linear graph paper (Figure 4.1). The results shown in Figure 4.1 (tabulated data given in Appendix-II, Table 2.1), indicate that samples absorb little water particularly at lower aw ( Figure 4.1 Graphical presentation of sorption isotherm of Taro The water sorption isotherm of taro follows the shape of the sigmoid type isotherm. The resultant curve is caused by the combination of colligative effects (physical properties of solution), capillary effects, and surface-water interactions (Bell and Labuza, 2000). A distinct knee usually indicates a formation of a well-defined monolayer. The monolayer moisture content was estimated using the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) equation. The BET equation is an extension of the Langmuir relationship that accounts for multilayer coverage. BET equation was used (eq. 2.10) to calculate monolayer moisture content (mo) and energy constant (C). mo represents the optimal moisture for maximum storage stability in the dry state. Results obtained from BET equation are shown in Table 4.2. Table 4.2 Data for BET and GAB methods From the slope and intercept of BET equation (Appendix II, Figure 2.1), monolayer moisture content and energy constant of taro leaves calculated for VOD samples. The monolayer moisture content of taro leaves was found to be 8.92g water per 100 g solid (Table 4.2). The calculated monolayer moisture content are greater than those found by Islam (1980) who reported 5.5 for potato slice and 6 for potato powder and by Kamruzzaman (2005) who reported 7.52 for aroids. Another important model of sorption isotherm behavior stated by GAB (Guggenheim-Anderson-DeBoer) in equation 2.11 and 2.12 to determine the monolayer moisture content of food products. This is very important for safe level of storage of food. Dry foods are usually considered to be most stable to chemical reactions if their moisture content is at or near the BET monolayer (Labuza et al., 1970). Usually air dried products are dried to moisture content corresponding to aw 0.6 (Nickerson and Sinskey, 1977). From this study it is seen that VOD taro leaves give 25% (Figure 4.1) moisture content at 0.6 aw. From this standpoint, freeze dried products are considered best for sorption studies (Islam, 1980). It may be mentioned here that the current study was concerned with adsorption isotherm so as to avoid risk due to hysteresis effect. At same moisture content adsorption path gives higher water activity than desorption path. Thus product dried to safe aw level according to adsorption isotherm will be even safer when it follows desorption path. After fitting data (Appendix II) the following figure was developed and from the developed equation the monolayer moisture content of taro leaves were found for GAB model. Fig. 4.2 Graphical presentation of GAB model of sorption isotherm From the developed Figure (4.2) and equation (4.1) the coefficients found, and were -0.121, 0.114 and -0.003 respectively (Table 4.2). Taking k= 0.9 and found the monolayer moisture content 19.78gm water per 100 gm solid. It is shown that the standard GAB equation is adequate to describe experimental data for water activity values up to 0.90 but fails to adequately describe the experimental data when data in the range of aw 0.9-1.0 are included in the calculation.

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To what extent did the Carter Doctrine impact 9/11? This investigation evaluates the Carter Doctrine and the impact it had on 9/11. In order to successfully investigate the Carter Doctrine and its impact, one would have to evaluate its role in events leading to the tragedy of 9/11. The Carter Doctrine will be analyzed from the different perspectives such as different countries in the Middle East specifically the countries the terrorists of 9/11 were from. Those terrorists and those they worked will be analyzed for their philosophies on the US’s participation in the Persian Gulf. However, this particular investigation will not investigate the different forms of government of the Persian Gulf and the US. Summary of Evidence †¢ The Carter Doctrine was first introduced during the State of Union Address January 1980 by President Jimmy Carter. †¢ This doctrine stated that the US would use military force when deemed necessary to protect its interest in the Persian Gulf. †¢ President Carter turned his attention to the Middle East after all the political issues and conflicts with countries such as the Soviet Union and Vietnam. †¢ When President Jimmy Carter said, â€Å"an attempt by any outside force to gain control of the Persian Gulf region will be regarded as an assault on the vital interests of the United States,† to be â€Å"repelled by any means necessary,† his intention was to caution the Kremlin against any thoughts about declaring Soviet territory over the world’s energy heartland. †¢ The various interpretations of the Carter Doctrine made by Presidents are a key factor in its multiple consequences. †¢ To help implement his doctrine, President Carter formed the Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force and launched a chain of U.S. basing arrang... ... the natural resources of the region was successful. However, this success came with its own consequences. The process of securing the states’ interest was complicated. As the Carter Doctrine was used to justify the actions of the United States in the region, the residents of the region were not okay with this. The level of detest grew, and actions began to take place that hinted at the United States need to bring to a halt the influence they had on the region. Groups began to form and the mission of Al-Qaeda began. The influence and the constant policies the United States had in the Middle East resulted in hatred. The attack of 9/11 is clearly a consequence of the Carter Doctrine, and there is no way around it. Isolationism ended, and the Carter Doctrine was written to justify all actions done in the Persian Gulf leading to opposition and the tragic event of 9/11.