M2 students: assignment for May 09 on "The Cost of Cotton"

Instructions :

• Deadline: Saturday, May 09, 8am.

• I will remove 3 points per day if the work is sent after this deadline. I will not accept papers after Monday (May 11), 8 am, thereafter, it will be zero.
• double spacing, font 12, around 150 words each section +/-10%. (- 2 points if you do not follow this guideline)
• your attached file must be either in RTF format (Rich Text Format) or just cut and paste your answers in your email itself if you do not know how to make an RTF format file (unlike Word or Open Office files, the RTF format is a basic format most softwares can read and open).
  

Deadly mistakes: -2 points for each mistake

• no plagiarism: use quotation marks if you cite someone in your paper or if you use specific words/expressions used in the report
• capitalization rules on nationalities and religion (adjectives and names of the religion : « Chinese » not « chinese », « Jewish » not « jewish »)
• no basic grammar mistakes: agreement rules (examples : « he goes » not «he go », « they were» not «they was »; « there are two students» not « there is two students» etc.), irregular verbs, other basic grammar rules
• no contracted forms (contracted forms are not allowed in academic/formal papers: can’t > cannot / isn’t > is not, etc.
• spelling mistakes on basic words (which / witch), use a spellchecker (« correcteur d’orthographe »), change the language from French to English in your software
  

Make sure you get an email from me confirming that I have received your paper. If I do not confirm, this means I did not receive your paper. Wait 24 hours before sending me a reminder.

Questions:

1/ Explain/discuss in around 150 words why, for Gérald Estur, a freelance international cotton consultant, « the competition African farmers are facing on the world market is very difficult ».

2/ Listen to the following section (from 13 minutes to 14 minutes 26 seconds ie from “I’ve been in all the different types of sizes …” to “their conditions are bad.”) and explain/discuss in around 150 words what Pietra Rivoli says about the coastal regions in China.

3/ Listen to the last part of the report (from 19 minutes, 40 seconds ie from “Most consumers don’t really think…” till the end) and explain/disuss this part in around 150 words.