The digital era has brought enormous changes to traditional industries, among which the music industry has been particularly hard hit. Unauthorized downloading and file-sharing on the internet has significantly threatened the viability of the music industry. Reduced sales, as much as one-tenth of previous sales, have caused closure of many companies. The market territory has also shifted constantly. The future of the music industry relies on how it can address these changes. In addition, the rise of wholesale retailers that emphasize lower costs and quantity price discounts has also worsened the prospect of the music industry. Traditional music retailers have little profit margins to compete with these chained wholesale retailers. Losing market access, the sales and profits for pop music continue to decline, let alone "non pop" music, such as Buddhist music. The author has been a producer of Buddhist music for years and runs the Buddha Cloud Music Production House. Facing these changes, in this thesis he presents a new marketing strategy, deviated from traditional business sequence of production, recording, marketing, and retails. This strategy includes: (1) directly promoting his works to Buddhist temples; (2) marketing through mass media, such as newspapers and Buddhist TV channels; and (3) a total access marketing approach using online e-business programs. The author details how he used this strategy to successfully promote his works of Buddhist music produced in his studio. It is expected that the proposed strategy can shed some light on the marketing of other industries that face similar challenges.

Magisteruppsats. / Format: PDF. Bibl.

Imports of fresh fruits and vegetables to the United States have grown by more than 350 percent since 1989. Factors such as rising consumer incomes, the desire for greater variety and availability of fresh produce throughout the year, and a reduction in trade barriers through multi-lateral and bi-lateral trade agreements have contributed to this growth in imports. In addition, since the implementation of the Agreement on Agriculture and the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures from the Uruguay Round of the World Trade Organization negotiations, there have been numerous requests to export fresh fruits and vegetables to the United States. From 1996 to 2008, the United States has granted new market access to 204 exporter/commodity combinations. Given this large increase in new market access, this thesis assesses the success of the new entrants in terms of contributing to the increase in fresh fruit and vegetable imports and whether they exported on a continual basis after gaining import eligibility. In addition, this thesis estimates a gravity model to assess the differences in fresh fruit and vegetable exports from new entrants subject to phytosanitary measures relative to those with no such restrictions in place and to determine whether these effects vary by commodity sector and exporter's size. The major finding of this thesis is that in general, new entrants have contributed little to the growth in U.S. fresh fruit and vegetable imports. For most commodities, new entrants do not provide a significant proportion of imports potentially because new entrants are not able to compete with existing suppliers. This study finds differences in fresh fruit and vegetable exports from new entrants subject to specific phytosanitary treatments relative to entrants with no such restrictions in place. / Master of Science

The Non-Agricultural Market Access Negotiations (NAMA) are being undertaken as part of the Doha Round of negotiations. NAMA negotiations are aimed at the trade liberalisation of industrial goods. Pursuant to the ‘development agenda’ adopted for the Doha Round, the NAMA negotiations also emphasise the development component. Particular emphasis is be made on tariff reductions in products of export interest to developing countries and the negotiations are to take special account of the needs and interests of developing countries, including through less than full reciprocity in accordance with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) provisions on special and differential treatment (SDT). This research attempts to determine this ‘development agenda’ through the prism of special and differential treatment as provided for in the NAMA mandate. An analysis of the SDT provisions in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and their application within the multilateral trading system reveals that SDT is a very controversial concept. Developing countries have used SDT to escape the strictures of multilateral trading rules and developed countries have used it as a ‘carrot and stick’ tool, to gain concessions from developing countries in other areas. SDT has further been revealed as a concept whose meaning and content is not very precise. While the provisions in the GATT as well as the Enabling Clause make good political and economic sense, they are not really actionable. This is because the concept is characterised by best-endeavour provisions that lack any legal force and cannot be adjudicated in the WTO Dispute Settlement Body. Developed countries have thus not been called and cannot be called, legally, to account for lack of delivery on their commitments and obligations with regard to SDT. This has effectively constrained the use of SDT as a development tool within the WTO, and, being the only tool being utilised, there needs to be found an alternative way to address development needs in the WTO. The WTO has sought to address this through efforts to amend SDT to make it more precise, effective and operational. The content and meaning of the ‘development agenda’ itself in the Doha Round is very elusive and an effort is made in this paper to determine the appropriate meaning of development in relation to the multilateral trading system. Development as an objective in the WTO is not novel to the Doha Round. The WTO is littered with references to development and the betterment of the human condition in its preamble to agreements and other provisions. Development has to be considered in al its three dimensions: social, political and economical. While this paper does not advocate that the WTO become a fully fledged development institution, it can shape its development agenda in such a way that benefits on the economic front are designed to stimulate socio-economic development as well. An analysis of the NAMA modalities reveals that mercantilist objectives have triumphed in the negotiations and SDT has been lost by the wayside. Developed countries have sought for radical tariff reductions on the part of developing countries, with meagre flexibilities that are further constrained by requirements that no full sector be excluded from the formula cuts. SDT has not been considered and the commitments are not proportional to the development capacity of most developing countries. This is in direct contradiction to the SDT provisions in the GATT that are supposed to guide the negotiations as well as the provision on tariff negotiations. However, the modalities are not legally contestable because the SDT provisions do not hold any legal suasion. The NAMA negotiations reveal a development vacuity within the WTO that needs to be resolved by other means other than the traditional SDT. Taking into consideration the evolving power bases and the politics of the membership of the WTO, this is an imperative. This paper proposes that Aid for Trade is the best option available to the WTO system. The concept does find support in GATT/WTO provisions on SDT and can be modified to be more predictable and sustainable. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Centre for Human Rights / unrestricted

Thesis (MComm (Agricultural Economics)--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Small‐scale agriculture is one of the few tools available to support improved rural livelihoods on a significant scale in South Africa. Access to output markets is a key obstacle for small farmers in generating higher incomes. Thus, the rise of modern markets (supermarkets in particular) is generally viewed as positive for the rural poor, although most commentators accede that there are challenges to be overcome in obtaining access to such markets. A literature survey indicates a mainstream point of view about the reasons for modern market exclusion, as well as the most appropriate policy responses. This viewpoint is characterized by an assessment that the “fault” for market exclusion lies largely with small producers – their personal characteristics, their production methods, and their location – rather than with these markets themselves. The corresponding logic is that if these issues are addressed small farmers will almost certainly be included in modern market supply chains. It is this study’s assertion that much of the research that has been undertaken to date is in fact incomplete, because it has excluded two key issues: The dominant supermarket business model; and the actual position of small farmers in those countries with high levels of supermarket concentration. An examination of the supermarket model suggests it is inherently hostile towards most producers, and that modern supermarket supply chain management strategies aim to maximize the extraction of value from other chain participants. Smaller producers are particularly hard hit by this strategy. The South African food retail market structure resembles that of industrialised countries rather than developing countries, and the largest local supermarkets probably have sufficient market share to exercise significant market power. Therefore, we should expect that the position of South African small farmers is similar to that of small farmers in industrialised countries, who are increasingly excluded by modern supermarket‐led supply chains. In light of this analysis, most of the current policy initiatives responses to address market exclusion seem woefully inadequate. Improving the quality of production, and small farmers’ access to skills and assets is important and necessary, but this study proposes that these actions on their own are not sufficient to guarantee access into modern supply chains. Insufficient research attention has been given to understanding how markets themselves become barriers to entry. This is a vital gap in local rural development policy: A market system that favours large over small farmers has the potential to exacerbate rural inequality and to neutralize policy aimed at supporting small farmers. Government needs to take the development of marketing opportunities specifically for small farmers more seriously, understanding that they face a very different set of market access challenges than do large farmers. They need to encourage and support the type of food networks and marketing structures that will have the greatest positive benefit on small farmers and the communities that they live in. This requires a different view of the workings of market networks, and a more critical assessment of how these impact on rural livelihoods. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Kleinskaalse landbou is een van die min hulpmiddels beskikbaar vir ondersteuning op beduidende skaal van ’n beter bestaan in landelike Suid‐Afrika. Toegang tot produksiemarkte is een van die struikelblokke wat kleinboere in die gesig staar wanneer hulle meer produseer. Die opkoms van moderne markte word algemeen beskou as positief vir armes op die platteland, alhoewel kommentaar meestal daarop dui dat daar uitdagings is wat te bowe gekom moet word ten einde toegang te verkry. ʼn Literatuurstudie dui op ʼn hoofstroomstandpunt ten opsigte van die redes vir markuitsluiting, asook die mees gepaste beleidsreaksies. Hierdie standpunt word gekenmerk deur ʼn mening dat die “fout” vir markuitsluiting hoofsaaklik by die produsente lê – hulle persoonlike eienskappe, hulle produksiemetodes, en hulle ligging – eerder as by hierdie markte self. Die ooreenstemmende logika is dat, as kleinboere die gehalte en standvastigheid van hulle produksie verbeter, dan sal hulle feitlik verseker by moderne markte ingesluit word. Hierdie studie voer aan dat baie van die navorsing wat tot dusver onderneem is, in werklikheid onvolledig is, weens die feit dat twee belangrike aangeleenthede: die dominante supermark‐sakemodel, en die posisie van kleinboere in daardie lande met hoë vlakke van supermarkkonsentrasie buite rekening gelaat word. ʼn Ondersoek van die supermarkmodel dui daarop dat dit inherent vyandig is teenoor die meeste landbouprodusente. In teenstelling met die siening van gelyke vennote wat in die rigting van ʼn gemeenskaplike doelstelling saamwerk, is die moderne supermarkvoorraadketting daarop ingestel om soveel moontlik waarde uit ander deelnemers aan die ketting te trek. Kleiner produsente kry veral swaar as gevolg van hierdie strategie. Die struktuur van die Suid‐Afrikaanse voedselkleinhandelmark toon ooreenkomste met dié van geïndustrialiseerde lande eerder as met dié van ontwikkelende lande, en die grootste plaaslike supermarkte het waarskynlik voldoende markaandele om aansienlike markkrag uit te oefen. Ons moet dus verwag dat die posisie van Suid‐Afrikaanse kleinboere soortgelyk is aan dié van kleinboere in geïndustrialiseerde lande, wat toenemend uitgesluit word as gevolg van voorraadkettings wat deur moderne supermarkte gelei word. In die lig van hierdie analise skyn die meeste van die reaksies van die huidige beleidsinisiatiewe in ’n poging om markuitsluiting die hoof te bied, bedroewend ontoereikend. Verbetering van die gehalte van produksie en kleinboere se toegang tot vaardighede en bates is belangrik en nodig, maar is op sigself nie voldoende om toegang tot moderne voorraadkettings te waarborg nie. Onvoldoende aandag is tot dusver in navorsing gegee aan begrip van hoe markte self hindernisse op die pad na toegang word. Dit is ʼn kardinale leemte in plaaslike landelike ontwikkelingsbeleid: ʼn markstelsel wat groot boere eerder as kleinboere bevoordeel, het die potensiaal om landelike ongelykheid te vererger en beleid gemik op steun aan kleinboere te neutraliseer. Die regering moet die ontwikkeling van bemarkingsgeleenthede – in die besonder vir kleinboere – ernstiger opneem, en begryp dat laasgenoemde voor baie andersoortige uitdagings ten opsigte van marktoegang te staan kom as groot boere. Hulle moet die soort voedselnetwerke en bemarkingstrukture wat die grootste positiewe voordele vir kleinboere en die gemeenskappe waarin hulle woon sal hê, aanmoedig en ondersteun. Dit vereis ʼn ander siening van die werking van marknetwerke, en ʼn meer kritiese waardebepaling van die invloed wat dit op landelike bestaan het.

Thesis (M.Sc. Agric. (Agricultural Economics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2018 / Agriculture is the backbone and a very important sector of the South African economy. This is because it provides food and employment to a lot of people in the country especially those living in the rural areas. Smallholder farmers also play an important role in livelihood creation and also alleviation of poverty among the population in Limpopo province, but despite this, their productivity is low. A decline in agricultural productivity reduces market access resulting from low quality and quantity of produce by smallholder farmers which invariably affect their accessibility to market. This study therefore examined the determinants of market access and productivity among smallholder maize farmers in Lepelle-Nkumpi municipality using the Probit model and Cobb Douglass production functions. While the Probit regression model was used to analyse the effect of socioeconomic characteristics of smallholder maize farmers on market access, the Cobb Douglass production function was used to examine the determinants of productivity among the farmers in the study area. The results of the Probit regression analysis indicated that farm size, hired labour and maize produced per hectare had positive significant influence on probability of farmers accessing markets. Farm size and maize produced per hectare were statistically significant at 1% and hired labour was statistically significant at 5%. The results of Cobb Douglas Production Function indicated that the elasticities of market access, farm experience, fertilizers, capital and membership of association were significant and positive. Based on the study findings, it is recommended that farmers should be provided with market infrastructure and marketing information services. This will help the farmers in a way that the transaction cost will be minimised and farmers will not incur more cost when they participate in the markets. Farmers in the study area indicated that transportation cost is the major challenge facing them. This is because of the poor conditions of roads in the study area. Therefore, the study recommends that there should be inputs subsidy that helps farmers to improve their productivity.

<p>Handel är en central del av världen i det rådande tillväxtparadigmet. För att underlätta handel mellan nationalstater skapades år 1948 GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade). Detta avtal var så lyckat i att avskaffa handelshinder att övervakningsorganisationen WTO (World Trade Organization) skapades. WTO har sedan det bildades arbetat med att förenkla och effektivisera handeln och införlivat flera handelsrelaterade frågor till sin organisation. Då WTO bildades (1994) initierades samtidigt kommittén, CTE (Committee on Trade and Environment). Denna kommitté berör många frågor relaterade till handel och miljö, däribland klimatförändringsproblematiken.</p><p>Dagens klimatdiskussion har ändrat perspektiv från klimatförändringens egentliga existerande till hur den på bästa sätt ska hanteras och förebyggas. I och med FN:s klimatkonvention (UNFCCC) och Kyoto-protokollet bands de industrialiserade länderna juridiskt till att sänka utsläppen av klimatpåverkande utsläpp. Arbetet med denna minskning fortgår idag inom flera av de länder som ratificerat protokollet och de internationella organisationer som de är medlemmar i.</p><p>Syftet med denna uppsats är att studera hur aktörerna inom CTE i WTO behandlat klimatfrågan. Mer specifikt ska vi analysera hur diskussionerna förs/har förts vid behandlandet av klimatfrågan från dess att klimatfrågan första gången tas upp på CTE:s agenda 1995 och framåt. Uppsatsen kommer även att belysa vilka implicita intressen som drivit/driver medlemmar eller grupperingar till en viss strategi kring klimatfrågan. För att göra detta synligt använder uppsats de två textanalyserna korpusanalys och diskussionsanalys. Utifrån dessa metoder analyseras mötesrapporter från CTE.</p><p>Inom CTE förs klimatdiskussionerna ur olika perspektiv, vissa länder talar endast om miljöåtgärder kopplat till dess påverkan på handel, medan andra länder försöker diskutera handels påverkan på miljö. Resultat och Analysdelen beskriver hur diskussionerna förs, här påvisas ett flertal olika mönster inom dessa diskussioner, det tydligaste mönstret som framträder är hur medlemmar i samband med klimatdiskussionerna argumenterar utifrån det egna landets ekonomiska vinning. Ett annat resultat som framkommit är att vissa av diskussionens deltagare angående om klimatfrågan skall hanteras inom CTE eller ej tycks växla sida med varandra. Avslutningsvis kommenterar slutsatserna diskussionen i uppsatsen och lyfter fram intressanta synvinklar.</p>

Η παρούσα διπλωματική έχει σκοπό να μελετήσει τα δεδομένα στον τομέα αυτό σε σχέση με την Ελλάδα. Τον τρόπο με τον οποίο κατανοείται και εφαρμόζεται το market access στην χώρα από τις φαρμακευτικές εταιρείες που δραστηριοποιούνται εδώ. Πιο συγκεκριμένα επιχειρείται μια καταγραφή στους παράγοντες που το επηρεάζουν και στην άποψη την οποία έχουν διαμορφώσει σχετικά με το market access τα άτομα τα οποία ασχολούνται με αυτό. Αρχικά, έγινε μια βιβλιογραφική ανασκόπηση σε μελέτες της διεθνούς βιβλιογραφίας σχετικά με το θέμα. Καθώς και μια καταγραφή σε όσους φορείς εμπλέκονται αλλά και σε διαδικασίες. Στη συνέχεια κατασκευάστηκε ένα ερωτηματολόγιο που απευθυνόταν σε άτομα που ασχολούνται με το market access μέσα σε φαρμακευτικές εταιρείες. Τα στοιχεία που συλλέχτηκαν από τα ερωτηματολόγια αναλύθηκαν στη συνέχεια με τη βοήθεια του προγράμματος SPSS. Από την ανάλυση των στοιχείων φαίνεται πως οι εταιρίες έχουν αγκαλιάσει την έννοια του όρου market access και έχουν καταβάλλει φιλότιμη προσπάθεια για την εφαρμογή του στην πράξη. Ωστόσο υπάρχει μεγάλο περιθώριο βελτίωσης καθώς συγκεκριμένες παγίδες και λάθη καθιστούν αδύνατη προς το παρόν την επιτυχή εφαρμογή του. Ο θεσμός του market access και των ΚΑΜ είναι απλά ένας διαφορετικός τρόπος για να περιγράψουμε ολιστικά τη διαδικασία της ιατρικής (και όχι μόνο) επιστημονικής ενημέρωσης και τις σχέσεις με τους πελάτες. Είναι ένα παλαιό μοντέλο για τις άλλες βιομηχανίες, που όμως φαίνεται να γίνεται, στη πραγματικότητα που διαμορφώνεται σήμερα στην αγορά, θεμελιώδες και για τη φαρμακοβιομηχανία. Αρκεί βέβαια να βρεθεί ο σωστός τρόπος να εφαρμοσθεί, αφού προσαρμοσθεί κατάλληλα στις ιδιορρυθμίες που έχει η φαρμακευτική αγορά. / The present thesis aims to study the data in this area in relation to Greece . The manner in which we apply the market access in the country by pharmaceutical companies operating here. More specifically, an attempt to record the factors that affect the argument which have formed on the market access of the people they deal with it.Initially , there was a literature review of studies in the literature on the subject . As a recording and those entities involved and procedures . Then constructed a questionnaire addressed to people dealing with market access within pharmaceutical companies . The data collected from the questionnaires were then analyzed using the program SPSS. The institution of market access and the ΚAM is just another way to describe the process of holistic medicine ( and not only) scientific information and relationships with customers . It is an old model for other industries, but it seems to be , in fact formed on the market today , and essential for the pharmaceutical industry . Suffice sure to find the right way to apply , adapted as appropriate to the quirks that has the pharmaceutical market.

abstract: ABSTRACT Intermediating between farmers and development projects, farmers’ organizations (FOs) have the potential to improve rural market access and promote equitable growth by reducing transaction costs, strengthening producer bargaining power, and enabling collective action. Capacity building of FOs is a cornerstone of rural development policies and programs, such as the United Nations World Food Programme’s Purchase for Progress (P4P) project, which partnered with 830 FOs representing 1.7 million farmers from 2008 through 2014. Despite significant donor investment, a unifying framework defining the concept and measurement of capacity building has eluded development practitioners. The core challenge originates from the paradigm shift away from top-down development toward participatory capacity building. Motivated by the practical difficulties encountered in ceding control to beneficiaries to enable their empowerment and self-determination, this study seeks to clarify conceptualizations of FO capacity and FO capacity building, to refine monitoring and evaluation of capacity building initiatives, and to develop and validate indicators and indices of organizational maturity and capacity. Drawing on a critical review of the capacity building literature, this study develops an integrated, multi-level, capacity building framework and elaborates different levels of FO participation at each stage of the capacity building process. Through this lens, the research analyzes 11 organizational capacity assessment (OCA) tools and methodologies, and constructs 33 indicators of functional organizational capital to address OCA content gaps in conflict resolution, member participation, adaptive capacity, and the drivers of organizational change and collective action. The research further proposes methodological changes for increasing member participation in OCA to reduce reporting bias, to build knowledge and planning capacities, and to engender empowerment. The indicators developed are tested on primary data gathered from P4P (treatment) and non-P4P (control) FOs in Ghana and Malawi. Results show that P4P has positively impacted the organizational capacity of participating groups, although there are regional differences. The statistical analysis validates most of the indicators and indices developed from this study’s participatory capacity building framework. Overall, this research contributes to the understanding of what FO capacity building means and how to measure it. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Sustainability 2016

Handel är en central del av världen i det rådande tillväxtparadigmet. För att underlätta handel mellan nationalstater skapades år 1948 GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade). Detta avtal var så lyckat i att avskaffa handelshinder att övervakningsorganisationen WTO (World Trade Organization) skapades. WTO har sedan det bildades arbetat med att förenkla och effektivisera handeln och införlivat flera handelsrelaterade frågor till sin organisation. Då WTO bildades (1994) initierades samtidigt kommittén, CTE (Committee on Trade and Environment). Denna kommitté berör många frågor relaterade till handel och miljö, däribland klimatförändringsproblematiken. Dagens klimatdiskussion har ändrat perspektiv från klimatförändringens egentliga existerande till hur den på bästa sätt ska hanteras och förebyggas. I och med FN:s klimatkonvention (UNFCCC) och Kyoto-protokollet bands de industrialiserade länderna juridiskt till att sänka utsläppen av klimatpåverkande utsläpp. Arbetet med denna minskning fortgår idag inom flera av de länder som ratificerat protokollet och de internationella organisationer som de är medlemmar i. Syftet med denna uppsats är att studera hur aktörerna inom CTE i WTO behandlat klimatfrågan. Mer specifikt ska vi analysera hur diskussionerna förs/har förts vid behandlandet av klimatfrågan från dess att klimatfrågan första gången tas upp på CTE:s agenda 1995 och framåt. Uppsatsen kommer även att belysa vilka implicita intressen som drivit/driver medlemmar eller grupperingar till en viss strategi kring klimatfrågan. För att göra detta synligt använder uppsats de två textanalyserna korpusanalys och diskussionsanalys. Utifrån dessa metoder analyseras mötesrapporter från CTE. Inom CTE förs klimatdiskussionerna ur olika perspektiv, vissa länder talar endast om miljöåtgärder kopplat till dess påverkan på handel, medan andra länder försöker diskutera handels påverkan på miljö. Resultat och Analysdelen beskriver hur diskussionerna förs, här påvisas ett flertal olika mönster inom dessa diskussioner, det tydligaste mönstret som framträder är hur medlemmar i samband med klimatdiskussionerna argumenterar utifrån det egna landets ekonomiska vinning. Ett annat resultat som framkommit är att vissa av diskussionens deltagare angående om klimatfrågan skall hanteras inom CTE eller ej tycks växla sida med varandra. Avslutningsvis kommenterar slutsatserna diskussionen i uppsatsen och lyfter fram intressanta synvinklar.