Overpopulation in the Philippines Essay

It has been a politically perceived issue that there is over population in the Philippines. This issue has been constantly blamed for the aggravating poverty situation. One side is claiming that unbridled population increase is putting so much strain on the financial and food resources of the country that more and more Filipinos are no longer eating three square meals a day. Economic rating system is also stating a poor Filipino family is earning just below $1 per day. This certainly can hardly feed a family of 4 or more. On the other side, it is claimed that the cause of poverty is government corruption. They rightfully claim that while it’s true that the poor are constantly increasing, and that the income gap between them and the next economic level is likewise widening, financial resources that are intended to support the poor are being pocketed by corrupt government officials. Population is not the cause of poverty, corruption is, the Catholic Church claims. The government is keen on crafting remedies to curb population. Several laws have been passed to curb corruption. But since they lack heavy punitive measures, they became hardly effective. Corruption has already downgraded the country’s economic standing that adversely affected our capability to borrow money from credit or financial institutions, particularly the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank. So the government resorted to drafting a bill that drew the ire of the conservative and the Catholic Church. Foremost is the reproductive health bill, which was authored by Senator Pia Cayetano and Congressman Edcel Lagman. The bill underwent rough sailing on the legislative seas. The President is set to sign the bill into law before 2012 ends. DISCUSSION OF THE ISSUE Reproductive health, or sexual health/hygiene, addresses the reproductive processes, functions and system at all stages of life. Reproductive health, therefore, implies that people are able to have a responsible, satisfying and safer sex life and that they have the capability to reproduce and the freedom to decide if, when and how often to do so. One interpretation of this implies that men and women ought to be informed of and to have access to safe, effective, affordable and acceptable methods of birth control; also access to appropriate health care services of sexual, reproductive medicine and implementation of health education programs to stress the importance of women to go safely through pregnancy and childbirth could provide couples with the best chance of having a healthy infant. On the other hand individuals do face inequalities in reproductive health services. Inequalities vary based on socioeconomic status, education level, age, ethnicity, religion, and resources available in their environment. It is possible for example, that low income individuals lack the resources for appropriate health services and the knowledge to know what is appropriate for maintaining reproductive health. As a personal opinion, reproductive health is also the ability of a couple – a man and a woman – to reproduce and raise children. It is a genetic process of increasing the number of the earth’s inhabitants which continuously work for their own sustenance or provide for their basic needs to survive – food, shelter, etc. But the disproportionate increase of population vis-à  -vis resources, the consequentially widening disparity between these two elements is putting strains on both the natural and financial resources. Science has undertaken remedies to increase food production and sustain natural resources. Sustainable development is employed. There are successes in several countries, especially in rich countries. But other countries, particularly the third world, where governments are  beleaguered by ineptitude and corruption have hardly taken off. The Philippines, for example, continue to lag behind in development and food production due to this problem. Over population, as the government and credit or financial institutions claim, is thus blamed as the cause of underdevelopment and poverty. Credit or financial institutions which provide loans to poor countries for development therefore advise poor countries to curb population or their resources shall be depleted and their ability to borrow money from them regulated or limited. In this light, third world or poor countries like the Philippines had to craft laws that they believe could solve the problem of over population. Thus enters the reproductive health law, other government policies intended to curb over population in the pipeline. The Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012 (Republic Act No. 10354), informally known as the RH Law, is a legislation in the Republic of the Philippines guaranteeing universal access to methods on contraception, fertility control, sexual education, and maternal care. While there is general agreement about its provisions on maternal and child health, there is great debate on its key proposal that the Philippine government and the private sector will fund and undertake widespread distribution of family planning devices such as condoms, birth control pills (BCPs) and IUDs, as the government continues to disseminate information on their use through all health care centers. On October 2012, a revised version of the legislation was re-named the Responsible Parenthood Act and was filed in the House of Representatives as a result of re-introducing the bill under a different impression after overwhelming opposition in the country, especially from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines. The law is highly divisive and controversial, with experts, academics, religious institutions, and major political figures supporting and opposing it, often criticizing the government and each other in the process. Debates and rallies proposing and opposing the bills, with tens of thousands of opposition particularly those endorsed by the bishops of the Roman Catholic Church and various other conservative groups, have  been happening nationwide. It has polarized the Filipino nation. PRESENTATION OF ALTERNATIVE VIEWS Differing opinions have emerged from various sectors and divided the people into the â€Å"pros† and â€Å"cons† – or those against and for the RH Law. The Catholic Church, whose doctrine of pro-life as understood from the bible, is firmly against the Reproductive Health bill; and position is absolute and uncompromising, said an official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). There is no way that the Church will soften its position against the controversial bill. It allegedly opposes the bill because of its anti-life provisions, or the contraceptive program it engenders. The Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) also joined the Catholic Church’s voice in opposing the bill. These groups propose that the best form of birth regulation is self-discipline. Instead of allotting P2 billion from taxpayer’s money for the purchase of contraceptives, CEAP has urged lawmakers to use the money for education, livelihood and basic public services. The same position is shared by other groups and some conservative religious denominations which value life right at conception or the union of the woman’s egg cell and the man’s sperm cell. These â€Å"cons† reason that over population is not the problem, or that there is no over population. The purported over population stems from the fact that the government has failed to developed provinces or areas beyond the metropolitans areas. Metropolitan Manila and its suburban cities are booming while remote provinces are simply relying on primitive farming and minimally supported livelihood. In search of the needed fund to support livelihood in their home province, some people thus migrate to the cities to find work. Government has allocated some fund to sustain agriculture livelihood. Unfortunately, this is not sufficient to effect significant progress on farming system. Moreover, corrupt officials tasked to administer the fund  tend to pocket some of the funds. Faming infrastructures funded by local taxes and foreign donations are limited, thus unable to lift the struggling rural economy. The poor farmers have already been subservient to private lenders and banks. And their produce has only become fodder for loan sharks, who lend these farmers virtually everything they need including their food. In effect, they could hardly recover, to whom their produce would simply go as payment for their debts. To the pro-RH Bill, they claim that the reproductive health bill would allow greater access to modern contraceptives and sex education. It allegedly proposes more maternal health services, raising the number of midwives to one for every 150 deliveries. Contraceptives would also be funded for poor women and would be included in the standard supplies of medicine in hospitals. Modern family planning methods would be provided in all accredited health facilities. The bill, allegedly, will provide adequate funding to the population program. It is a departure from the present setup in which the provision for reproductive health services is devolved to local government units, and consequently, subjected to the varying strategies of local government executives and suffers from a dearth of funding. It will promote information on and access to both natural and modern family planning methods, which are medically safe and legally permissible. It assures an enabling environment where women and couples have the freedom of informed choice on the mode of family planning they want to adopt based on their needs, personal convictions and religious beliefs. It does not have any bias for or against either natural or modern family planning. It will also promote sustainable human development. Taken as a basis for the â€Å"pros† stand, the UN stated in 2002 that family planning and reproductive health are essential to reducing poverty. The UNICEF also asserts that family planning could bring more benefits to more people at less cost than any other single technology now available to the human race. According to this group, coverage of RH are the following: (1) Information and access to natural and modern family planning (2) Maternal, infant and child health and nutrition (3) Promotion of breast feeding (4)  Prevention of abortion and management of post-abortion complications (5) Adolescent and youth health (6) Prevention and management of reproductive tract infections, HIV/AIDS and STDs (7) Elimination of violence against women (8) Counseling on sexuality and sexual and reproductive health (9) Treatment of breast and reproductive tract cancers (10) Male involvement and participation in RH; (11) Prevention and treatment of infertility and (12) RH education for the youth. The principal author of the RH Bill, Congressman Edcel Lagman of Albay, claims that the bill is not anti-life, totally discrediting the â€Å"cons† stand, but allegedly a pro-quality life. Allegedly, it will ensure that children will be blessings for their parents since their births are planned and wanted. Additionally, he stated that the bill will empower couples with the information and opportunity to plan and space their children. This will not only strengthen the family as a unit but also optimize care for children who will have more opportunities to be educated, healthy and productive. The Congressman further stated that the bill does not interfere with family life, but will enhance family life: The family is more than a natural nucleus; it is a social institution whose protection and development are impressed with public interest. It is not untouchable by legislation. For this reason, the State has enacted the Civil Code on family relations, the Family Code, and the Child and Youth Welfare Code. Further according to the Congressman, the bill does not legalize abortion: It expressly provides that abortion remains a crime and prevention of abortion is essential to fully implement. (To this, the Catholic Church countered that the Reproductive Health Bill as a precursor will eventually pave the way for more anti-life policies, like legalization of abortion and divorce, which are already in the pipeline). He used comparative reports or information to bolster his position. He stated that it is not true all countries where contraceptive use is promoted eventually legalize abortion. Many Catholic countries criminalize abortion even as they vigorously promote contraceptive use like Mexico, Panama, Guatemala, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Paraguay and Ireland. The Muslim and Buddhist countries of Indonesia and Laos also promote contraceptive use yet proscribe abortion. According to studies, correct and regular use of contraceptives reduces abortion rates by as much as 85 percent and negates the need to legalize  abortion. Furthermore, contraceptives, allegedly, do not have life-threatening side effects. Medical and scientific evidence shows that all the possible medical risks connected with contraceptives are infinitely lower than the risks of an actual pregnancy and everyday activities. The author also claims that the bill simply recognizes the verifiable link between a huge population and poverty. Unbridled population growth stunts socioeconomic development and aggravates poverty. The connection between population and development is well-documented and empirically established. However, in countries where population control is prevalent, there is now evidence that they are wanting of more able and young workforce. Japan for instance is having problem with its ageing workforce to sustain its preeminent economic standing. The country has practiced population control in order to create huge surplus of resources and production which they sell or trade abroad to infuse large income to its export-oriented economy. Sadly, the country is now experiencing workforce shortage. Population control has become detrimental to their economic progress. On the other hand, China, the world’s most populous nation, is now enjoying economic boom due to a huge supply of human resource. The country is able to provide cheap labor to industrial countries around the world with huge economic benefit. This could prove that over population is not completely the cause of poverty. Considering some demographic profiles, some provinces are more populated than others on a person per area basis. There is just disproportionate distribution of inhabitants. Metro Manila is over populated due to unregulated influx of rural people in search of menial or professional work. Work pay is the difference. While Metro Manila is offering wages which comply with lawful rates, provincial wages are lesser. The amenities are like conspicuous everywhere in Metro Manila than anywhere in Luzon. Worldly things are just hard to resist that many people are flocking to Metro Manila. The same thing happens in metropolitan cities of the Visayas and Mindanao. Consequently, farms are somewhat abandoned for the sake of seeking financial gains from working in factories or offices. This exodus of farm workers leaving the farm could somehow create a vacuum in the farms. Food production thus construed as a sign of poverty. There appears to be three major points of view from which to approach the controversial reproductive health bill, namely: legal, moral, and scientific. This is so since, the proposed legislative measure once enacted into law will affect society. In short, there are many stakeholders by differing institutional concerns. It then becomes difficult to erect a tripod to hold the issue that has carried so much weight. There are those who think, once legislated, the proposed Reproductive Health will in fact set the stage for other anti-life laws or so-called D.E.A.T.H. bills (acronym for death, euthanasia, abortion, two-child policy, and homosexuality). The problem that has been viciously overlooked in our legislative mill is the fact that legislators themselves violate the rule that a bill should have only one subject matter. Up until today, there is a serious opposition to a reproductive health bill in whatever form or substance it comes simply because there are such groups or organizations that are against it. For instance, the CBCP is against it and for that matter other like-minded Catholic sub-groups. True enough, from the time it was first filed in the past Congresses, the bill already experienced a string of failures – to be passed into law – owing to provisions that are questionable legally, morally, and scientifically. It can be said that again, this proposed HB 812 may go through another rough sailing unless it can be railroaded in Congress and Senate. One theory stands in defense of the bill which claims it is necessary in order to curb population growth which is now pegged at 86 million Filipinos as well as for the sake of limited resources such as rice. But the myth of this Malthusian fear has already been settled long ago and it does not anymore hold water. Why a ‘zero population growth’ as that which was a  matter of policy in the whole of the United States and Europe? If we consider the earnings being remitted into our country from OFWs as the single factor that buoys up our fledging if pale economy, then we should have no reason to argue against this bill. That ‘zero population policy’ practiced by countries in the First Bloc now reached the irreversible scenario of a graying population that depletes their respective economies in heavy state subsidies. The National Academy of Science and Technology supports reproductive health bill. The Catholic Church or the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines does not. There are pro-life advocates versus pro-choice advocates. This camp says it involves no abortion, another camp says otherwise. This group claims contraceptives to be abortifacient, another such group claims it is not so. Within the legal community, a wedge divides their sentiments as to whether it is against the Divine Law to allow any room of choice toward abortion or to some extent euthanasia. Cases of abortion do sometimes involve â€Å"life-boat ethics† – that Catch 22 of having to choose which person to save – the unborn babe or the mother. There are issues at every loop, claims at every turn, and cries in every direction the bill takes – for or against. Moralists, legalists, scientists follow their own lines of thinking that are parallel unto one another – no lines intersect. There is where the problem lies. Is it then possible to weave from various strands or threads a beautiful tapestry of the proposed bill? Has it become time to curb population growth or corruption? CONCLUSION Whether it is called reproductive health, or responsible parenthood, the debate is a polarizing one. The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines came out with a pastoral letter, on the issue of the Reproductive Health/Responsible Parenthood Bill. Their words, alleging they come from the spring well of morality. It is why when you read, or listen to the pastoral letter, or the position of the Church they think that contraceptives are immoral, or are abominations. There is nothingwrong with that position, and it is a perfectly valid one from a certain point of view. On the other end of the spectrum, the proponents of the Reproductive Health Bill say, â€Å"yes we should.† What the proposed legislation is about: it asks the government to explain to men and women, regardless whether they are married, single or of age, about their human bodies. They teach about a full range of methods— natural family planning, artificial contraceptions, from Condoms to IUDs to the Pil l and the morning after pill and everything else in between. Now, all this isn’t new. Growing up and studying in a Catholic school, these were things taught to us. And at the end of the day, it is about making an informed decision on what’s important to us. Biologically? Men have their urges. Women have their needs. Science tells us that the human race has been around for about 150,000 years. We wouldn’t be here if humans didn’t have those instincts. What the bill proposes to do is to put everything in the forefront. To make informing people mandatory, and to put the choice front and center and readily available for every Filipino, regardless of age, or social status. This chasm is just one of many philosophical differences that make it impossible for both the Pro Reproductive Health and the Anti Reproductive health proponents from ever seeing eye to eye. What of President Aquino? The President during the campaign was explicit. He does not fully support the reproductive health bill in the form that it was during the campaign. He was explicit that he believed that the reproductive health bill should be renamed, responsible parenthood bill. The President’s position, based on his Platform when he ran for public office could be summed up as: 1. He is against abortion; 2. He recognizes that there is a population explosion; 3. He is in favor of giving couples the right to choose to manage their families; 4. He believes in cases where the couple is too poor, or is in no position to make an informed decision that the state must take responsibility. 5. He wants all options to be equally presented. That means including Natural Family planning up to modern family methods. 6. He believes  that Parents should play a key role in ensuring every child they bring into the world will have the opportunity to lead good lives. The Aquino position is a logical and fair one. Parents should really play a role in their family’s future. Giving everyone an informed choice, and letting them decide on what to do, instead of ramming the choice down their throat is the logical thing to do. The proposed legislation then has basically met many of those requirements. So, is this still the Aquino position on the issue? If not, what has changed? Rumor has it that Aquino isn’t so hot on the RH Bill. The President of course looks at the priority legislation and sees what he can pass that does the biggest benefit. Did the President see that putting the Reproductive Health Bill or Responsible Parenthood bill on the agenda would prevent other, equally important legislation sidetracked? This is my disappointment with the Aquino Administration. Just come out and say so, and be honest about the whys on the matter. This is why many of those who supported the Administration are coming out to say, â€Å"this isn’t the change we signed up for.† They are so disillusioned with the state of things. In an issue as charged and as polarizing as Reproductive Health or Responsible Parenthood bill or however legislators want to call it, there is a simple way to break the impasse. The President uses all the power of discernment he has. The President simply decides. The RH Bill is about responsibility. It is about making an informed decision, and it appears not just for Filipinos, but for the President as well. But responsibility is not just for the economic well-being of a person but for his/her spiritual well-being too. When we talk about morals, we also must think about our personal responsibility to our own souls, and faithfulness to the church, being the body of Christ. By following or not following what the church teaches is an expression of personal liberty from the dictates of anyone. However, by following the church, the ultimate dictate for human salvation is paramount. After all, just as Christ Himself used to say in the Gospel, â€Å"Thy faith has saved you†, we shall be saved from our steadfastness to our faith. PUNCHLINES â€Å"Safe and satisfying sex†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Delivered by Sen. Pia Cayetano in her defense of the Reproductive Health Bill, which she authored with Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, which she means to say women should have the right to safe and satisfying sex. This phrase was moved by Sen. Vicente Sotto to be removed from the bill. â€Å"RH bill is being gift wrapped to look like a gift for maternal health care (even if) it will lead to greater crimes against women.† Catholic Bishops Conference Of The Philippines (CBCP) â€Å"Show me the same law!† Reaction of Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago to Sen. Vicente Sotto’s statement that the Reproductive Health Bill is redundant â€Å"Is there gender discrimination in Philippine society?†Ã‚  Debate between RH bill sponsor Sen. Pia Cayetano and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile â€Å"Our biggest export is OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers). That is export. That’s why I’m against RH.† Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile’s statement in his opposition to the RH Bill â€Å"Long after we are gone, we will leave behind not just a law but a whole mentality and a whole culture†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle warned of the bill’s effect on Filipino Culture and the youth.

The Environement and It’s Problems

Essay The Environment and its problems The environment is the place that surrounds us. It is a gift of nature and it is the natural world of water, land, air and change. The environment is what we call home. Did you know that every day the environment is somehow getting damaged or destroyed? There are many examples of environmental problems that affect our environment. E. g. global warming There are also several ways humans effect our environment. For example the removal of fish from the oceans and timber from tropical forests.There are so many new things to learn about the environment and so many ways to take action for our eco-system by protecting it, why wait? Impressed? Read on to learn about the environment and what you can do to protect it. Let’s get started! There are several environmental problems that we need to take action for. They all affect the world and harm the eco-system. Some of the environmental problems in the world are acid rain, air pollution, energy, glob al warming, hazardous waste, pollution, and smog. Some of these problems are man-made and some of these problems are natural disasters.Environmental pollution is the biggest problem on Earth today. It is true our trees are getting cut down rapidly and the earth is getting warmer but if pollution continues our earth will fell like a boiling desert or covered with seawater. There are three types of pollution which are air pollution, sound pollution and water pollution. Air pollution is when smog is in the air and it’s hard for us to breathe. Sound pollution is when there’s such a big noise by a vehicle that sometimes people lose their hearing. That is why we should walk or ride a bike anywhere close to where you are and a mile distance.Water pollution is when the water gets polluted with waste and chemicals There are also many politicians who have done something to help the environment. For example, Theodore Roosevelt. Theodore Roosevelt was the 26th president of the Uni ted States of America and was a politician and conservationist. He is known for setting aside land for national forests, establishing wildlife refuges, developing the farmlands of the American West, and advocating protection of natural resources. Theodore Roosevelt is a strong role model for environmentalists of the future.He used his political skills to influence people and to help the cause of conservation, consistently focusing on the state the environment and on its effect on future generations. Creating a future in which the environment is clean is a challenging task. Managing the environment involves support from governments, organizations and your community. It may appear that environmental problems are too hard to take care of but the decisions we make, the actions we take and the words we speak influence the decisions that we make about the environment.There are many ways in which you can adapt your daily life to think more about the future of the environments and wildlife. Saving energy, conserving resources, and recycling are just a few ways you could make a difference. The most important thing to think about is the choices you make related to the environment. One of the things your school can do is become an eco-school! Ontario EcoSchools is an environmental educational program for grades K-12 that helps school communities help kids become environmentally responsible citizens and reduce the ecological footprint of schools.Ontario EcoSchools' resources offer an environmental perspective to the choices we make in operating our schools and in planning classroom programs based on the Ontario curriculum. It consists of four components: ecological literacy| waste minimization| energy conservation| school ground greening| The leaf within each figure symbolizes thinking and acting with the environment in mind. It also visually connects the four areas, a reminder that the environment is very important. Here are some ways you can take care of the environment . 1. Reduce your driving (walk, bike, ride, take public transport, or carpool).Choose a more fuel efficient car. 2. Don't leave your TV, computers, and DVD/VCD players on standby; it uses more electricity than the little red LED light! 3. Choose more energy-efficient appliances, especially major ones like refrigerators, air conditioners and water heaters. 4. Recycle everything you can; newspapers, cans, glass bottles and jars, motor oil, scrap metal, etc. 5. Don't use electrical appliances for things you can easily do by hand, such as opening cans. 6. Plug off your cell phone charger when charging is completed. 7. Re-use bread bags and the bags you bring your produce home in. . Store food in re-usable containers, instead of plastic wrap or aluminum foil. 9. Take unwanted, re-usable items to a charitable organization or thrift shop. 10. Don't leave water running needlessly. Save some of your washing machine water. Gargle your mouth with a cup of water instead. 11. Set your air condit ioner temperature to 24-26C instead of below 23C. 12. Turn off the lights, TV, or other electrical appliances when you are out. 13. Fill a 1. 5/2L drink plastic bottle and leave it inside the Water Closet; this will save you that same amount every time you flush the toilet. 4. Do not use the water heater on a hot afternoon! Use cold water in the washer whenever possible. 15. Print or copy on both sides of the paper. (Plus use the other side of this paper. ) The environment, the Earth, is our home. It is where we live, breathe, and eat. It is very important so I think we should take really good care of it and protect it! Remember, we can all take action for this by even doing little things that will help. E. g. recycling! I enjoyed writing this essay. I learned many new things that I didn’t know before and I hope you have too!Also, remember to keep the Earth clean as much as possible. â€Å"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. † Theodore Roosevelt Bibliog raphy:1. Ontario EcoSchools. (2002). Retrieved from www. ontarioecoschools. org2. Theodore Roosevelt. (1999). Retrieved from www. library. thinkquest. org/26026/People/theodore_roosevelt. html3. Environmental problems. (1999). Retrieved from www. library. thinkquest. org/26026/Environmental_Problems/environmental_problems. html4. Bowden, Rob. Environments. Miami: KidHaven Press, 2004. Print. | |

Sample Answer Ccts by Miss Emy Jong

National level public examinations such as the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and Sijil Pelajaran Tinggi Malaysia (STPM) have always generated a lot of interest among the general public as they are essential for entrance into universities and also to enter into the work market. In the recent few years, attention has been drawn to the phenomenon of students getting up to 20 As in the SPM examinations and this has been a source of contention especially with regards to scholarship allocation and university placements. The government then has been mulling a decision to set a limit on the maximum number of subjects a candidate may sit for as a way to simplify the selection process into tertiary studies. The writer of this article, Dr. I. Lourdesamy of the Pacific Institute Technology in Petaling Jaya offers his views on this development and the article is aptly titled â€Å"SPM Subjects: Let students make the choice. Basically, the writer is of the opinion that setting a cap on the number of subjects a student may sit for does not address the real issue of suitable selection criteria into tertiary education, and he goes on to suggest how we may best tackle the issue by giving his recommendations as well as what he feels the goal of education should be. The writer proposes that we should not limit the number of subjects SPM students can sit for, and instead students can be evaluated on the basis of their performance in subjects directly related to the proposed field of study. He is disagreeable to limiting students’ opportunity to learn, and feels that the students should be allowed to decide on their own goals based on their capacity and aptitude. He also suggests that schools offer a range of elective subjects to cater to different student interests. Furthermore, the writer opines that most students have too much free time and actually should be encouraged to do more. Finally, the writer addresses the primary objective of education – to provide opportunity for its students to maximize their learning potential. Personally, I find the writer’s argument of not limiting the number of subjects for SPM students to be reasonable and logical. As he said earlier, if the concern is the assessment process for scholarships and places in universities then what we need is a clear and comprehensive guideline on the selection criteria for the various disciplines in tertiary education. Actually, the practice of taking into account only subjects which are directly relevant to the proposed field of study has long been practiced and limiting the number of subjects would not help in any way to determine which students are more deserving of university placements or scholarships. What students need to be made aware of is that they need to prepare for their desired field of study by taking relevant subjects which would be necessary in the selection process. The author’s arguments on allowing students to decide on their own goals based on their capacity and aptitude, besides having schools offering elective subjects are indeed good suggestions. Having gone through the path of being a student myself, I strongly feel that if students are given more say in what they are studying, it will make them more motivated and keen to learn. They can also be challenged appropriately, and the scenario of having students being bored (because the syllabus is too easy or uninteresting) or not being able to follow lessons (because they are too weak) will be greatly reduced. However, the implementation of such suggestions may be very difficult as a lot of resources will need to be made available to schools and students. We would have to first have a large enough pool of competent teachers to teach students these various subjects at all levels of difficulty, and sorting out the logistics such as allocation of classrooms and time-tabling could also prove very challenging. Students’ use of their free time was also one of the points raised in the article. The author obviously feels that students could be more productive and that they do not have much to do. While there may be some truth to his argument, I think that it is not fair to generalize and say that all students are too free and should be asked to do more. How much time a student actually spends on his studies and other worthwhile activities differs greatly from one student to another. It really depends on the individual’s motivation and goals. Some students who are already pushing themselves very hard should actually be taught to relax and have more balance in their life. Therefore, this argument shows the author’s bias towards students nowadays and he should give more careful thought to this before making such conclusions.

ORAL PRESENTATION Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

ORAL PRESENTATION - Essay Example According to Helen Gardner an art historian, the depth and scope of his likings were without practice and "his personality and mind seemed superhuman, the man himself remote and mysterious." In addition, it is claimed that, despite the various assumptions about Da Vinci, his world vision was logical rather than enigmatic and that the experiential methods he engaged in were rare during his time. Da Vinci was born out of marriage to a lawyer, and a laborer woman, Caterina, in Vinci within the Florence region, Leonardo da Vinci got his education in a studio of the well-known Florentine painter Verrocchio. Most of his early working life was done in Milan with the guidance of Ludovico IL Moro (Leonardoda-Vinci 4). He later on went to work in Bologna, Venice and Rome, and spent his remaining years in France. Da Vinci was well-known mainly as a painter. Amongst his works, included the Mona Lisa painting of which is the most well-known and most imitated painting, as well as The Last Supper of which is the most religiously reproduced painting ever, with their prominence coming close to only Michelangelos Adam Creation. Da Vinci’s painting of the Man of Vitruvian is also considered as a cultural icon that has been reproduced on several items such as textbooks, the euro coin, and T-shirts. There are about fifteen of Da Vinci’s paintings that have survived because of his continuous, and regularly catastrophic, experimentations with new methods, and his prolonged postponement. However, several of these works as well as his notebooks, which contained scientific diagrams, drawings, and his views on the method of painting, influenced artists of later generations matched by only that of his existing, Michelangelo (Leonardoda-Vinci 4). Da Vinci is admired for his technological inventiveness. He conceptualized a tank, flying machines, concentrated solar power, the double hull, and the calculator; he also outlined the theory of rudimentary plate

What role does smoking prevention play in adolescence before adulthood Research Paper

What role does smoking prevention play in adolescence before adulthood and addiction to smoking - Research Paper Example A better understanding of factors associated with adolescent readiness to quit smoking prior to receiving any intervention may provide guidance when tailoring future MI interventions to increase their effectiveness with this population. Proposing of this study was to examine if the majority of adolescents believed that smokers agreed and felt that smoking was addictive and may cause death. All seemed of the opinion that this was for most people who are smoking. When nailing down the optimism viewpoint that adolescents were equally of the opinion that they would not die from smoking. Nonsmokers were of the opinion they would die from smoking. Overwhelming, the adolescents who did not smoke thought that the people who smoked for 30 to 40 years would die from smoking. Most of the people questioned believed they could smoke for a certain number of years and quit. Adolescents agree that smoking was addictive. What role does smoking prevention play in adolescence before adulthood and addic tion to smoking? 1. Rationale Preventing smoking and to help adolescents quit smoking have been met with limited success. This is a preventable disease. Smoking is the number one cause of death in the United States. The purpose of the study was to show that there remains a great deal of optimism when visiting with adolescences while they filled questionnaires (Apodaca, 2003). Smokers are more optimistic about not dying from smoking behaviors than non-smokers. The hypothesis would state, does motivational interviewing (MI) tailoring future MI interventions to increase their effectiveness with this adolescence population in the role of smoking prevention. In the health care field, nurses are much in demand. Nurses compared to doctors are about four to one. Nurses continue to contribute to critical inpatient care. They are in demand in outpatient care, central to palliative, hospice, home, and long-term institutions (AMA, 2009). The general purpose of nursing is to deliver excellent ca re to each patient through the management of resources and to maintain a professional work environment. The purpose of nursing is also to maintain a professional work environment that ensures the nursing association is competent and has a high satisfaction rate. This plays right into the necessity that nurses will experience diseases from smoking and that smoking prevention plays an important role to adolescence behavior (AMA, 2009). Prevention of illness and promotion of health always have been important to the nursing profession. A recent Gallop Organization reported that Americans rate nurses at the top of that professional list (Gallop, 2009). Florence Nightingale saw as far back as 1859 that nursing consisted of those activities that put the patient in the best condition that nature can act upon that patient. The added goal of today can be to restore the patient's independence. Nurse's work has much to do with immunization, education, environmental safety and disease screening (White, 2010). Our hypothesis is nurses can assist with motivational interviewing (MI) tailoring future MI interventions in to increase their effectiveness with this adolescence population in the role of smoking prevention. Because the nursing organization must already perform five functions, it makes sense that a nurse would help with this provision of excellent adolescent patient care. Nursing also provides the bulk of patient and family education and much of the community health education. Therefore, motivational interviewing (MI) could be the first step in any intervention of the adolescence population in a brief smoking intervention in a hospital setting which adolescents

Small business Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Small business - Research Paper Example Quality assurance, in its broadest sense, is also any action taken to prevent quality problems from occurring. In practice, this means devising systems for carrying out tasks which directly affect product quality (Anon., 2011). B. At least two systems associated with the management of quality. Describe their relationships, limitations and applications. There are two popular systems associated with the management of quality that I am aware of, they are Kaizen and Total Quality Management or TQM. Kaizen is a Japanese Quality Assurance system of continuous improvement in quality, technology, processes, company culture, productivity, safety and leadership. It is a system that involves every employee - from upper management to the cleaning crew. Everyone is encouraged to come up with small improvement suggestions on a regular basis. This is not a once a month or once a year activity. It is continuous. Japanese companies, such as Toyota and Canon, a total of 60 to 70 suggestions per employ ee per year are written down, shared and implemented (Anon., 2011). TQM on the other hand is a comprehensive and structured approach to organizational management that seeks to improve the quality of products and services through ongoing refinements in response to continuous feedback (Anon., 2011). TQM requirements may be defined separately for a particular organization or may be in adherence to established standards, such as the International Organization for Standardization's  ISO 9000  series. TQM can be applied. At its core, Total Quality Management (TQM) is a management approach to long-term success through customer satisfaction. In a TQM effort, all members of an organization participate in improving processes, products, services and the culture in which they work (Anon., 2011). C. The main principles that should be included in quality management systems. This should include a systematic approach; documentation of procedures, standards and specifications; innovation; review and audit; measurement and evaluation. Since the business is still new, the best quality assurance approach that is applicable to our company is Kaizen as this allows continuous improvement of the system, policies and procedures that would make the company responsive to the customer’s needs. In the implementation of our intended quality assurance system the following steps will be undertaken; 1. Identification of key tasks – this will make us know the key areas of responsibilities that is important to the over- all performance of the business. 2. Documentation of guidelines on how to do those key tasks, its processes and systems – documented tasks are easier to improve, savings us time and resources. 3. Continuously improve the readability of the documented tasks – the purpose for this is continuous improvement of readability is for easier understanding and communication. 4. Make those informations available to each workstations – this way each em ployee knows the key tasks and how to do them. 5. Create a work flow system considering the key tasks identified and documented – since the company is still new, work process are still to be created for further improvement as the business evolves. II. Choose a business that has an established quality assurance system in place and provide a summary about the business that clearly identifies the sector it operates in (manufacturer, retailer or service), its size, its main operations and its purpose or

Human Rights in Vietnam Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Human Rights in Vietnam - Research Paper Example Every country has to abide with human rights laws. Every constitution has to focus on human rights. Rights have been described by the United Nations in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. There are also many other accounts of human rights that are present in other countries' governments and organizations. Vietnam is considered to be a country that is poor in human rights. The Communist Party of Vietnam governs the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. "Vietnam insists that human rights are a part of its own internal affairs and are inherently connected with the country's history, culture, tradition, and socioeconomic conditions" (Alagappa 457). There are no other legal political parties. The elections of 2002 were considered unfair as all candidates were chosen by the CPVs Vietnam Father Front or the VFF. The VFF was a group that monitored the country's popular organizations. The control of the security forces was maintained by the civil authorities. The Vietnamese government's human rights record has remained unsatisfactory. Abuses committed by local government official continued despite efforts made by the central authorities to monitor abuse concerns, particularly religious freedom. The Vietnamese people could not change the government, though several organizations that fought for this cause were not suppressed completely. The government wanted to enforce its control over the internet and press. "Human Rights Watch (HRW) has condemned Vietnam for its witch-hunt of those trying to disseminate information about democracy via the internet and urges the release of cyber prisoners" (Boobbyer, Spooner and O'TAilan 245) There were instances when police officials abused people during arrests, interrogation, and detention. Prison conditions were harsh but yet did not terrorize the lives of prisoners. Many prisons faced problems like insufficient diets, overcrowding, and poor sanitation. Prisoners were made to work but did not receive any wages for their duties. Prisoners were also reported to be moved to solitary confinement. The government did not grant permission to international organizations like the Red Cross or other non-governmental organizations to visit the prisons. Many citizens were detained for political activities at random. Citizens were deprived of the right to fair trials. Many other human rights were constantly monitored by the government and the government placed their limitations on human rights. Some of these rights included the right to freedom of press, freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and association. The government also maintained its ban on human rights organizations. Women in Vietnam suffered many threats; they faced plenty of discrimination and violence. Trafficking of women and children, and child prostitution remained prevalent, though the government made efforts to fight trafficking. Government monitored workers' rights, in particular organization that functioned independently. The Vietnamese government officially grants the freedom of religion. However, non-sanctioned groups usually face plenty of harassment. Additionally, the government constantly monitors these groups, justifying the act saying it is for the benefit of national unity. The Vietnamese government also lacks in the process of political trials, like, persecution of unauthorized religious organizations, independent journalists, labor union activists, land

TuiNaTraditional Chinese massage and Sport Therapy Essay

TuiNaTraditional Chinese massage and Sport Therapy - Essay Example Sports research points to rigorous studies in order to determine the best forms of sports massage to maximize the benefits to the health and well being of people taking part in sports (Martin, Zoeller, Robertson, & Lephart, 1998; Jonhagen, Ackerman, Eriksson, Saartok, & Renstrom, 2004). Tui Na, a form of Traditional Chinese Medicine massage may be a viable complement to traditional sports massage used in the West. Overuse knee injury is commonly referred to as patellofemoral syndrome, to describe pain on and around the kneecap (patella). It is most commonly the result of damage to the surface underneath the kneecap, through a blow or fall, of from continuous rubbing on the bone underneath (Devan, Pescatello, Faghri, Anderson, 2004). Other names for the injury are chondramalacia patellae, patella pain syndrome or runner's knee. If the injury is not treated that it becomes a chronic condition that does not respond well to recovery methods. The pain can originate from over-tightness of the illio-tibial band (ITB), with the tendon rubbing on the knee bone. As a result the patella does not move or track correctly when the knee is bent from being outstretched (i.e., it does not move toward the inside surface of the knee) to position correctly in the intercondylar notch of the femur. The cartilage under the patella can become damaged, and the ITB inflamed. It is a common injury for runners aged 10-20 years. It is also more likely for those who have small kneecaps, or those whose feet roll in (pronate). Weak quadriceps muscles can increase likelihood of experiencing the condition. There is increased incidence among long distance running and hill running athletes, or those who have had previous knee injury. Clear Identification of TopicSports massage can help stretch the ITB, as tight knots within the tendon may be causing it to shorten. Soft tissue and deep friction massage are traditional sports massage techniques to aid in stretching the ITB, as well as myofascial releasing techniques. In contrast, Tui Na treats the whole body by working on meridians (energy channels)

DIGITAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

DIGITAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT - Essay Example The paper also demonstrates an overview of the website that supports the cost of projects and schedules their control in a manner that is highly integrated (Cadle & Yeates, 2008). The website will use the object oriented modeling in representing the deliverables of the project. There are collections of control objects that are designed in mapping the project cost control processes. There are 18 website indicators that represent the amount of resources used in every project control object and is used as sensors in highlighting the areas that are associated with their dismal performance. The website uses a server that is designed in implementing the methodology that is developed. The website also has a central database that is used in storing and organizing the project budget and their actual progress data. The website generates a day to day, week to week, monthly and yearly performance of projects that are used in generating the project status at the level of resources used and the control object (Cleland, 2009). Managing time and cost for implementing a project within an international organization is a crucial management function for attaining successful delivery of projects dealing with procurement, construction, and even engineering. Several international charity organizations have designed their website in relation to this. From the past website, it is evident that improvements need to be made on their implementation, development, and design of the project control system. Such areas include the configuration of the project that includes the performance breakdown structure, the generic and standardized, generic earned status reporting and the diagnosis and analysis of the project variance on the website. Additionally, the recommendation section should be incorporated for reasons behind dismal performance and ideas for corrective actions and forecasting the duration and costs of the projects before completion. Consequently, it is important for efficient

Impact of recently discovered hominins on the understanding of human Research Paper

Impact of recently discovered hominins on the understanding of human phylogeny and biology - Research Paper Example Scientists have called these early hominids as australopiths which is Latin for apes. Then starting around 2.3 million years ago, something curious happened. New hominids hit the scene, species that were subsequently christened homo, which is Latin for man. With the coming of these hominids, came the flattening of the snout and the shortening of the hook-like fingers of the australopiths, an evolutionary process that is assumed to have given birth to modern man (Homo sapiens). By approximately 1.8 million years ago, a species by the name Homo ergaster, which was about as tall as living humans, with stiff feet in its long legs that were only good for walking on the ground, hit the ground. Its brain on the other hand was only a third of our brain. This is how far the australopiths reached. What followed afterwards was the discovery of a group of species that were more man-like but with slight differences in their feature, species that have since assumed the name â€Å"Homo† whic h is Latin for man. A careful analysis of this narration reveals a missing link between the Australopiths (apes) and the homo (man). The big question that evolutionary scientist

Carrots Essay Example for Free

Carrots Essay Carrots is a root vegetable that originated in Afghanistan over 5000 years ago for there seeds and leaves. But today carrots are enjoyed for their fresh delicious flavours coming in all shapes and sizes in a variation of different colours like orange, red, yellow, purple, and white. Carrots can be purchased in all kinds of forms shredded, baby carrot, diced, sliced, regular size with leaf on or leaf off. Carrots can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 months but to prevent spoilage remove green leaves because the leaves draw moisture from the root causing carrots to dry out. Also carrots should be stored away from apples because they give off ethylene gas which causes carrots to become bitter. Purchasing carrots from the grocery store should be dried off if they are wet and tightly sealed in a plastic bag, what this does is it increases the nutrition value. Carrots contain B-carotene (a source of vitamin A), also it has fibres, anti-oxidants, minerals, calcium, potassium, magnesium, vitamins C,K and B6, also carrots helps improve eye sight, skin nourishment, hair growth, and reduces the risk of heart disease, and cancer. Carrots have many alternative ways they can be used like chopped for mirepoix, blended for drinks, boiled for soups stews, fried for stir fry, steamed for side dishes, gratered for carrot cake, beauty remedies for hair skin, or simply eaten raw. There are many recipes for carrots like carrot cake, glazed carrots, or ginger carrot soup. References www. carrotmuseum. com. uk www. foodnetwork. com / www. marthastewart. com (recipes)

Video game industry analysis Essay Example for Free

Video game industry analysis Essay History The history of video games goes as far back as the 1940s, when in 1947 Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. and Este Ray Mann filed a United States patent request for an invention they described as a cathode ray tube amusement device. Video gaming would not reach mainstream popularity until the 1970s and 1980s, when arcade video games, gaming consoles and home computer games were introduced to the general public. Since then, video gaming has become a popular form of entertainment and a part of modern culture in most parts of the world. There are currently considered to be eight generations of video game consoles, with the seventh and the eighth concurrently ongoing. Early Founders During the golden age of video games in the 1970s, it was a rush to the start to see which company and which programmer could create a video game and platform that could trump the rest. However, most large video game manufacturers can trace their roots far before that decade, reaching back into the early 1900s or even the late 1800s. While some video game companies, such as Nintendo and Sony, would begin their economic pursuits in other fields, companies like Atari and Sega were created with an eye toward producing the ultimate gaming system. The first major video game company to come into being was Nintendo, which would eventually make video games popular again in the 1980s. Nintendo is a Japanese company that was created in 1889 and was originally named the Marufuku Company. In 1951, this company, which manufactured Western-style playing cards in Japan, would take the name Nintendo, meaning â€Å"leave luck to heaven. In 1891, the Philips Company, owner of Magnavox and an important frontrunner in the video game production race, was established in the Netherlands. In 1947, another major video game icon was founded under the name Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Company. After the founders realized this name was too cumbersome to say and remember easily, they modified the Latin word sonus (meaning sound) to form the company name Sony. Sega was founded in 1952, under the name Service Games, as a company that provided coin-operated games and jukeboxes to American servicemen in Japan. It would not be until 1972, well into the beginning of video games, that Atari was formed as a cooperative partnership between leading video game programmers Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. First Video Games and Platforms The idea for an interactive video game was first conceived of by Ralph Baer, an engineer with an airborne electronics company, in 1951. Commissioned to design a television for the company, Baer believed the TV could be more marketable to consumers if it contained a type of interactive game (Kent 2001). His idea was shot down by the company, but other engineers and programmers would not let it settle for long. The first official video games, a table-tennis type game and a computer space game, were developed in 1958 and 1961, respectively. These early video games proved to be the necessary catalyst for game programmers and were the early predecessors of the popular arcade games Pong and Space Invaders. Pong, created by the Atari Company in 1972, turned into an incredible success in arcades and led to the creation of the first home video gaming system, the Magnavox Odyssey. After the moderate success of the Odyssey, several video game companies would follow with their own home gaming systems in 1976 and 1977, including the Atari Video Computer System (VCS). Video Games Take Off By 1978, home video game consoles were beginning to sell well, and more competitors had entered the market. Nintendo of Japan released its first video game that year, a simplistic version of the board game Othello that was marketed in arcades. The popular toy makers Mattel and Milton Bradley also entered the video game scene in the following two years with a hand-held video game unit from Milton Bradley and the Intellivision by Mattel, the first video game console to offer true competition to Atari. During this golden age of video games in the late 1970s, the two leading contenders, Magnavox and Atari, both tried to add competition to the home computer market. Magnavox released the Odyssey 2, a programmable video game console that included a built-in keyboard, while Atari began selling its own personal computer designed to rival Apple. However, most consumers connected Atari only with video games, and the computer system was widely disregarded. During this time period, Atari also released its first home version of the popular arcade game Space Invaders, leading to a massive increase in sales for the VCS game console. As video gaming entered the 1980s, two incredibly popular games that would revolutionize the industry were created. Pac-Man, created by Namco in 1980, became the best-selling arcade game of all time and the first video game that was popular with both males and females. The later version, Ms. Pac-Man, would also prove to be immensely popular at arcades. The next year, in 1981, Nintendo of America created Donkey Kong for arcades. While the hero of Donkey Kong was originally named Jump man, this name was later changed to Mario and he would become an icon in years to come as a key video game hero. Unfortunately, as video games began to take off in the early 1980s, the market quickly became flooded with multiple consoles and games, and the industry experienced a market crash in 1984. Industry Growth Along with increasing Internet and broadband penetration throughout the world, online and mobile gaming represents the greatest push in the video game growth. The implication of this increase in accessibility to technology is many developing countries -specifically the BRIC economies (Brazil, Russia, India and China) – are now becoming major players in the industry. As online and mobile gaming becomes more affordable, video gaming becomes more accessible to developing countries. Though console gaming currently represents the largest market in the industry, its growth is projected to slow down in the upcoming years, from a 10. 9% growth between 2003 and 2008, to a 5. 5% between 2008 and 2013. In 2008, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) represented the largest video gaming market share (35. 3%). In 2013 it is projected the Asia-Pacific region will be the leader in both growth and market share. The projection is market share in EMEA and North America will decline, while it is expected to increase in Latin America. The video game industry in the BRIC economies has developed in parallel fashion to these countries’ general economic expansion. It is projected the BRIC countries will have increased market share in future years. Market size The Video Games are a cultural phenomenon that is growing ever more prominent among young and old alike. They have become an integral part of the mass media culture and have been in existence for nearly as long as the television. While the video games of today are growing ever more detailed and lifelike, early video games like Pong, Space Invaders, and Pac-Man were equally impressive and highly entertaining at their time. From their earliest years to the complex video game landscape of the twenty-first century, video games have developed into enchanting, alternate worlds that have captured the hearts of millions of players. As of today, it is estimated that video game consoles represent more than 25% of the worlds general-purpose computational power. Also they were banned in China since June 2000 and now China is seeing explosive growth. Market size from 2003 to 2013 in $billions REVENUE FOR 2012. Size of global traditional video game market revenue, excluding mobile games on smart phones and tablets: $70 billion, up from $65 billion in 2011 Size of global video game market revenue, including mobile games on smart phones and tablets: $78. 5 billion for 2012 Retail software revenue: $28 billion, down from $29. 5 billion in 2011 Online revenue, including digital delivery, subscriptions, Facebook games: $24 billion, up from $18 billion in 2011 (Source: DFC Intelligence) CONSOLE MAKERS Microsoft Corp * Xbox 360 launched in the United States: November 2005 * Xbox consoles sold: 67 million. * Kinect motion sensors sold: 19 million Major initiative: Microsoft is expected to show off new entertainment features of its Xbox 360 and a new version of Halo. Sony Corp * PlayStation3 launched in the United States and Japan: November 2006 * As of March 31, PlayStation3 units sold: Over 63 million units * As of June 6, 2011, Sony Move motion sensors shipped: 8. 8 million units Major initiative: Sony is expected to push new games to boost sales of the Vita and PlayStation 3. Nintendo Co Ltd * Launched Wii in the United States: November 2006 * Wii units shipped: More than 95 million * DS units shipped: More than 151 million. * 3DS units: More than 17 million Major initiative: Nintendo will finally unveil the first home console in six years at E3. Device is expected to feature HD graphics, a special tablet controller and motion sensors. SOFTWARE PUBLISHERS Activision Blizzard Annual revenue: $4. 8 billion Top franchises: Call of Duty and World of Warcraft Electronic Arts Inc Annual revenue: $4. 1 billion Top franchises: The Sims and Madden NFL Take-Two Interactive Software Annual revenue: $826 million Top franchises: Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption Ubisoft Annual revenue: 1. 06 billion euros Substitute Products. Substitute products for games maybe songs from music industry, movies from movie industry, and television programs from television industry which people also sought fun and entertainment. There have not been so many problems with the substitute products because video game industry is uprising. According to a writer for Fortune, music sales have been falling in recent years, the movie going experience hasn’t change that much and network TV is on the skids. Political Determinants Unlike many other industries, the gaming industry isn’t universally affected by political determinants. Political determinants are generally specific to a country. While violence and sexual content of games are common themes of discussion, how they are handled varies from country to county. Social and Environmental Factors Social Factors Video games have an enormous place in society – most kids are exposed to video games in some sort of capacity growing up. Just like other technological mediums, there are both positive and negative social issues related to video gaming. Some Positive Effects of Playing Video Games Video games have proven to be effective tools for children’s learning when used appropriately as they impart specific attitudes, skills and behaviors on the player. For example, some video games have helped to teach children how to effectively deal with their asthma and diabetes. Further, in a study with college students, playing a golf video game improved students’ actual control of force when putting, even though the video game gave no bodily feedback on actual putting movement or force. Video games have also been shown to increase surgical skills for doctors, and research has more broadly proven that people can learn iconic, spatial, and visual attention skills from video games. [1] Some Negative Effects of Playing Video Games. Research has shown that video games can lead to negative effects on children’s physical health, including obesity, video-induced seizures, and postural, muscular and skeletal disorders, such as tendonitis, nerve compression, and carpal tunnel syndrome. Additionally, the amount of time spent playing video games has been shown to have a negative correlation with academic performance. [2] But even more prevalent, is that playing video games has been shown to have a positive correlation with antisocial and aggressive behavior. Violent video games are most commonly defined as games where the player can intentionally harm the other characters. Not only do a majority of video games today fall under this definition, but a recent study established that the majority of 4th to 8th grade students prefer violent games. [3] Environmental Factors E-Waste Almost 50 million tons of electronic products are discarded every year, and the figure continues to grow as the lifespan of new devices continues to shrink. According to the environmental organization Greenpeace, that estimated amount of e-waste generated every year put into containers on a train would be enough to circle the globe! In fact, up to five percent of all municipal solid waste worldwide is this electronic waste (e-waste). Such is the magnitude of this e-waste that it now ties with plastic packaging in number; yet electronic waste is much more hazardous. While mobile phones and computers are the main causes of this ever-increasing waste as they are replaced on average more frequently, video games and video game consoles contribute significantly to e-waste. [1] http://www. mediafamily. org/facts/facts_effect. shtml [2] http://www. buzzle. com/articles/effects-of-video-games-on-children. html [3] http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m0816/is_6_21/ai_n9772319/.

Technology and the Future of Pornography

Technology and the Future of Pornography Pornography and the Internet: A Healthy Marriage To say that pornography is a profitable industry is to terribly understate reality. Though it does not have it’s own NAICS ‘code’, estimates of the extent to which sex sells range from at least $1 billion to up to $50 billion dollars annually (Byers 2004, p. 6; Cronin Davenport 2001, p. 38; Davidson 2003, p. 92; Murray 2004, p. 9; Simpson 2003, p. 1). Clearly, the estimates are wide ranging, due in large part to the lack of formal reporting methods for such occupations as â€Å"prostitute† and â€Å"exotic dancer† while adult bookstores may, from an industry accounting perspective, may simply be viewed as a â€Å"bookstore†. In addition, it is important to note that the pornography pseudo-industry is not just a multi-billion dollar force, it is a growing industry. Market Overview The principal reason for its recent explosive growth is in many ways similar to reason for pornography’s first â€Å"boom†, the invention of the printing press. The press permitted wide scale distribution and subsequent access of not just Bibles and books but other ‘subjects of interest’ which allowed the public’s latent desires to be aroused. In more recent times, the internet represents the application of disruptive technology in that it is a form of distribution that, especially for pornography, presents additional advantages over the pornography of yesterday with regards to a distribution that is an order of magnitude larger than the press is capable (Davidson 2003, p. 91). Pornography that is online represents a significant portion of the broader category of pornography in general which also includes print, television and music media. This category in turn is part of an even larger segment of â€Å"sex† which further encompasses adult clu bs, escort services and other products and services that are estimated to contribute the almost half a trillion dollar global industry. Of this, though estimates are difficult due to the nature of the industry, analysts suggested in 1999 that between $2-2.5 billion is from online sources, a figure which constitutes perhaps  ½ of all online revenues (Cronin Davenport 2003, p. 38; Byers 2004, pp. 6-7, Thompson 2005, p. 32). Concurrent with the growth in revenue is the proliferation of a pornographic web content which witnessed an eightfold (8x) growth between 2001 and 2005 (Thompson 2005, p. 32). One net effect of this is an overall industry is that it is both an attractive industry with regards to margins yet is highly competitive and fragmented. In further consideration of the industry, the following analysis is presented: Strengths – Pornography is perhaps as recession-proof an industry as the funeral home business. The product is backed by a millennia of biological imperative and fueled by a never-ending thirst for satisfaction and pleasure. When enabled by ubiquitous internet technology, it is easier to access and this access breeds familiarity which in turn creates a creeping social acceptance. Weaknesses – Clearly pornography is not ‘embraced’ by society as a whole. While there is evidence that its consumption may lead to a host of social ills such as violence or exploitation of children, this industry faces a stigma greater than industries such as alcohol, tobacco, gambling or firearms. Opportunities – Though there are some signs that, in its current iteration, the industry is maturing (Cronin Davenport 2001, p. 45). Despite this, there should be little doubt that, â€Å"†¦the digital age is porn’s golden age† (Byers 2004, p.8). Additionally, the nature of both the industry and the technology presents a very low cost of entry to a trade for it seems there is an insatiable demand. Threats – Perhaps the greatest threat is simply negative stigma attached to pornography as being obscene, indecent, perverted, ‘dirty’ or other negative label. Though consumers are relatively assured of anonymity, there remains a fear of being discovered whether by one’s spouse, supervisor, congregation, neighbors or others. Worth mentioning is the threat of being â€Å"outlawed†. Though pornography functions under a broad interpretation of the US first amendment concerning free speech, illicit pornography still manages to flourish, especially in the age of the internet. Overall, though pornography may be a maturing industry, due in large part to the omnipresence of the internet, it is an evolving one due to the fact that 2/3 of Americans have internet access (Management Today 2005, p. 19: Thompson 2005, p. 32). Of this online activity in 2004, excluding pornography, the market for paid online content was almost $2 billion of which â€Å"personals and dating† and â€Å"entertainment lifestyles† construed approximately half (Thompson 2005, p. 32). This evolution is a consequence to the interest to facilitate the distribution anonymous, affordable and on-demand pornography. This broad distribution, while meeting an apparent pent-up consumer demand, has had the side effect of ‘decentralizing’ a formerly constrained industry. For example, whereas one previously had to venture to seedy locales that were, for the most part, geographically restricted to a certain area of town to partake of pornography, pornography is now virtuall y everywhere (Davidson 2003, p. 97). Subsequently, this decentralization has resulted in a broader acceptance manifested by both wider recognition of its existence and the ‘pushing back’ of the line of what constitutes socially acceptable â€Å"pornography†. For example, consider the 1995 release of music from convicted felon Snoop Doggy Dogg in which group and oral sex was ‘advocated’ (!). Prior to this controversial release, one might have thought that the fundamental laws of economics and the general sensibilities and tolerances of even youth would essentially squelch such ‘filth’ yet, to the surprise of many, the songs in questions hit the top of the charts and sold over 300,000 copies within weeks (Davidson 2003, p. 100). Clearly, such an example illustrates the slipping lines of what is tolerated, accepted and even embraced by society. Technology Enabled Pleasure Marketing With this degree of financial impact pornographers, regardless of perceived social virtues, there is a penultimate combination of marketing- and technology-savvy that is driven by the motivation of the obtaining just a piece of the fortunes that seemingly stand to be taken. Beginning with a virtually irresistible and attractive product, modern pornographers have been at the forefront of profitably e-commerce almost since the inception of the internet. Pornographers are widely regarded as the first and most profitable internet business models (Davidson 2003, pp. 191-192; Vinas 1996, p.11). Though they are marketing a highly desirable product, pornographers have both employed technology and been facilitated by the nature of the technology of the internet in a number of ways to enable their business. Key to facilitating online pornography are the following characteristic of e-commerce (Cronin Davenport 2001, pp. 36-37): Transparency – The internet as a consumptive product is truly â€Å"WYSWYG†, the compu-speak acronym for â€Å"what you see is what you get†. Immediacy – With the internet, one’s delay in gratification is limited solely by the size of one’s wallet (or purse), the bandwidth of connection and the speed at which one can click. Disintermediation – Clearly, the internet is a medium which readily lends itself to a direct-to-consumer business model in which profit-taking, cost-increasing middlemen are eliminated. Price Competition – A key aspect of the ability of the internet to facilitate comparable prices for comparable products is the speed and availability of consumers to ‘price shop’ and vote with their financial patronage for the product which grants them the greatest utility. Convenience – 24/7. No clerks. No â€Å"Closed† signs†¦. And you never have to even get dressed and leave the house. Accessibility – The internet in not only in your home, it is also in your office (a fact that has been the bane of some), it is on the road and if you do not own a computer, you can likely borrow a public access terminal at the local library. Modularity – A consumer is not forced to ‘one-top shop’ – they can fulfill one fetish of their pastiche identity at one site and another at a different site†¦. Something for everyone, or rather, everything for almost anyone. Low Switching Costs – There is little â€Å"lock-in† through contracts or any other means. A consumer can, with little or no direct or indirect cost incursion, switch from â€Å"this-is-my-fantasy† to â€Å"that-is-my-fantasy†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ they can even likely have both, maybe, bandwidth permitting, simultaneously. Impersonality – This factor is one of the most salient in that, within reason, anonymity is relatively assured. For ‘respectable’ persons to be able to acquire smut desires of their heart without having to risk discovery is likely a key driver of the how technology is driving the financial success of pornography. Similar to the nine factors above, other theorists similarly summarize the key drivers of the proliferate success of online pornography such as Cooper’s ‘Triple A Engine’ in which access, affordability and anonymity come together for tremendous synergy (Byers 2004, p. 1). An additional factor that is present in online pornography is found in the very nature of internet technology itself: the ability to gather, analyze and act upon actual consumptive data (Davidson 2003, p. 181). Pornographers are perhaps among the world’s greatest marketeers in their ability to mine data and utilize this information to drive additional sales or, as one report puts it, charge and collect a fee for the customer to have the opportunity to spend even more money (Weber 1997, A1).. Thorns of E-Commerce Though surfing the internet is perhaps functionally anonymous, there are nonetheless bits and pieces of data left behind of which many cases are involuntarily and unknowing. For example, if a certain user, identifiable initially by a specific IP address visits one certain site, porn marketeers make use of computer algorithms to predict additional sites of interest which are then presented as pop-ups or other intrusive internet marketing techniques. For consumers who voluntarily submit information such as might be utilized for â€Å"club†-access, the pornographer has access to even more information in addition to information gleaned from recurrent visits such as which web pages were viewed, etc. As technology has enable pornography, pornographers have quite likely made full use of this technology using, at best, ethically questionable marketing tactics. Such tactics are designed redirect unsuspecting internet surfers to either an explicit web site or to a gateway to one. Once there, pornographers often make it very difficult to leave yet very easy, i.e., automatic, to come back. While it is an accepted retailer strategy to take such steps as utilizing larger shopping carts, positioning commodities such as milk or toilet paper at the back of a store, and to utilized free samples, pornography-in-general has a reputation for ‘virtually’ kidnapping browsers through hiding or re-tasking exit buttons, unrequested software downloads, resetting home pages and other techniques designed to direct consumers to their sites, entice them with their wares and keep them there longer than they might want to stay (Murray 2004, pp. 63-67). The increasing proliferation and acceptance of pornography represents a significant market force for marketeers as this force works ‘both ways’. That is, as pornography gains a larger market, the ‘pie’ grows in size while, consequently, what was taboo becomes more normalized, pornographers must become increasing creative in pushing the envelope. The downside for pornographic producers is that they are fundamentally limited by a fixed number of body orifices and the arriving at some new form of ‘sex’ would seem to be a finite proposition. This dual-natured dilemma is also represented in the efforts of some in society to squelch or at least, contain pornography by the proposal of a â€Å".xxx† internet domain designation for ‘x-rated’ sites. On one side, such a device would make it easier to filter out unwanted pornography yet it requires compliance from both the pornographic industry and a desire for compliance on behalf of the consumer. Additionally, in the event that such a requirement was enacted, it would serve the ‘undesirable’ purpose of legitimatizing an industry that many would just as soon pretend did not exist. Finally, such an action might have the ‘net’ effect of essentially doubling the available cyber-shelf space of pornography as marketeers could simply operation two identical sites (one site with two IP addresses) (Trueman 2005, p. 12a). As pornographers gain financially, they do not do so in isolation. In addition to generating revenue from targeted ad placements in pornographic media, other firms profit directly from its success and distribution. For example, payment intermediaries such as Visa, Mastercard, PayPal and similar firms capture a fixed percentage of every ‘dirty’ dollar and, as was indicated previously, there are ‘many-billion’ of them. Despite the massive financial gain, credit card firms may be under pressure from groups that would prefer pornography not to exist (Lubove 2003). Regardless of the hassles that the credit card oligopolies seek to impose, the sheer financial impetus of the industry is assurance that the mother of invention, if needed, will create a solution that will deliver the goods to lonely, demanding consumers. The Future of Pornography Regardless of one’s love or hate of pornography, it is the nature of fallen man to seek pleasure and avoid pain. It is the nature of the capitalism to meet the needs of any market with funds sufficient to cover the costs. Thus, the question is not whether pornography will exist, rather, the question is what will it look like and how will it be delivered? Currently, the continuing emergence of broadband and multimedia applications is fueling the growth of mobile telecommunications equipment. This segment resulted in over $600M revenue in Europe in 2003 and is projected to grow 5x in less than three years to over $3 billion (Booth 2003, p. 17). With regards to the current version of online pornography, there is likely to be either increased regulation of marketing practices or the growth of third-party software providers to block aggressive attempts and the pornographers’ online version of the telecommunications industry’s ‘slamming’ practices. As cyber space becomes more crowded and competitive with seemingly indistinguishable offerings, more traditional marketing strategies such as ‘adding value’, emphasizing communities and clubs and niche marketing will be more extensively utilized. In addition, due to the social stigma associated with not only pornography but advertising it as well, marketeers will likely focus on programs that are subtle, suggestive and semiotic (rather than ‘in-your-face’). In addition, the continued integration of technology is likely to be a coming event. Mobile phone internet browsers that make computing at home, at the office or on the go a nea rly seamless digital environment in which you can be with either stored or streamed content of your choice anywhere. Finally, it would seem as the next step of the industry and the ultimate future of online pornography will complete virtual sex experiences in which there is participation as well as sights, sounds and sensation. Though â€Å"teledildonics† is a well-explored concept, there are no commercially available products currently available (Balderson Mitchell 2001). Regardless, the arrival in the homes of technology that currently exists with remote surgery apparatus will herald a new techno-sexual renaissance which, as history has witnessed, pornography will eagerly adopt. Works Consulted Author Unknown. (2005, December). Management Today, p. 19. Balderson, M., and Mitchell, T. (2001). â€Å"Virtual Vaginas and Pentium Penises A Critical Study of Teledildonics and Digital S(t)imulation†. http://www.georgetown.edu/users/baldersm/essays/teledildonics.pdf. Accessed February 3, 2006. Booth, N. (2003, November). â€Å"More Bang for Your Buck†. Total Telecom Magazine, p. 17. Byers, L. (2004, April). â€Å"Pornography and the Internet†. University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada (MA Thesis). Cronin, B., and Davenport, E. (2001). â€Å"E-Rogenous Zones: Positioning Pornography in the Digital Economy†. The Information Society, (17), pp. 33-48. Davidson, D. (2003). Selling Sin: The Marketing of Socially Unacceptable Products, 2nd edition. Praeger: Westport, Connecticut. Lubove, S. (2005, March 1). â€Å"Visa’s Porn Crackdown†. http://www.forbes.com/2003/05/01/cz_sl_0501porn_print.html. Murray, B. (2004). Defending the Brand: Aggressive Strategies for Protecting Your Brand in the Online Area. American Management Assocication: New York, New York. Simpson, N. (2003, Fall). â€Å"The Money Shot: How the Porn Business Resurrected the Studio System†. University of Alberta, Alberta, Canada (MA Thesis). Thompson, M. (2005, August). â€Å"Online Recreation†. Technology Review, p. 32. Trueman, P. (2005, September 15). â€Å".XXX Would Legitimatize Porn†. USA Today, p. 12a. Vinas, T. (1998, September 21). â€Å"X-Rated and on the A-List†. IndustryWeek, pp. 11-12. Weber, T. (1997, May 20). â€Å"The X-Files: For those who scoff at internet commerce, here’s a hot market Raking in millions, sex sites use old-fashioned porn and cutting edge tech Lessons from the Mainstream†. The Wall Street Journal (Eastern Edition), p. A1. New York, New York.

bud palmateer :: essays research papers

Bud Palmateer â€Å"It’s never over to it’s over†. This is Bud Palmateers favorite quote. That is his favorite quote because it is a powerful inspiration to him. Finish things to the best of his ability. It also gives him the motivation and confidence to achieve his goals. Bud Palmateer was born on January 1, 1943 in Yale Michigan. His parents Glen Ford and Phyllis Palmateer raised him. He grew up on a large family dairy farm. He has six brothers and one sister. Their names are Sharon, Charles, Harold, Donald, Jim, Timothy, and Thomas. Bud’s favorite games as a kid were baseball, and cops & robbers. Over his lifetime he has had 8 dogs. Their names where Buzz, Lucky, Brownie, Patsy, Scotty, Hidey, Elmo, and Max. His favorite memory as a kid was when he got his first bike; it was a 3 speed Schwinn Corvette. As a teenager, Bud had to milk cows, in the morning and in the evening. They had about 36 milking cows. Bud’s favorite subject in school was music class and choir. He attended Yale high school, and Eastern Michigan University. The one family tradition Bud participated in was going to church every Sunday morning. Bud had a curfew of about 10 o’clock p.m., but it got a little later as he got older. He lived and worked on his family’s dairy farm. It was in the countryside of Yale, Michigan. Bud was in college when the Vietnam War was taking place and because of the fact he did not want to be drafted he was motivated to stay in school. Buds first job besides working on his family’s dairy farm was working at a gas station. He was paid 90 cents an hour pumping gas. Bud got married at the age of 24. He met his wife at a church group. He has been married now for 38 years. Bud went to Alaska in August of 1969. Him and his wife drove 4,000 miles to get to a dairy farm by Fair Banks, Alaska. It took them about 10 days to make the trip by car. During their trip they were able to see the Rocky Mountains. While they drove by the Rockies they saw mountain goats. During their few month stay in Alaska, they lived in a log cabin on the dairy farm. Bud was able to hunt moose and bear which he enjoyed.

Two Great Works :: essays research papers fc

Two Great Works Thesis Statement: The morals and themes in both the book and the movie are parallel in the story of racism and Alabama life in the 1930’s told through a young girl’s eyes (Scout). I. Introduction A.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Comparing the book to the movie B.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Challenges of director II.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Differences between movie and book   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Characters   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Aunt Alexandra   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Miss Maudie   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  B.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Morals and themes of the book the are same III.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Deletions of situations that appear in book and not in the movie A.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mrs. Dubose and Jem’s lesson 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Atticus’s lesson 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  courage   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  B.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tom Robinson’s trial   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  left hand on the bible   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  cup toss   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  affect on audience   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  C.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Passing of time   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  two years in book   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  one year in movie IV.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Similarities   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Morals   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  B.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Themes   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  innocence   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  prejudices V.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Conclusion Garcia 1 Two Great Works It is funny how when some infinitesimal facts, situations, and characters are changed in the making of a movie from a book, the morals are changed and concepts are not fully understood. This however, is not the case when comparing the book To Kill A Mockingbird to the movie To Kill A Mockingbird. The morals and themes in both the book and the movie are parallel in the story of racism and Alabama life in the 1930’s told through a young girl’s eyes (Scout). A director has many challenges to overcome when making a book into a movie because of the simple fact that the visual pleasure one gets is different from the pleasure of reading that an audience gets. Therefore, deletions, combinations of characters, and changing of scenes is necessary in order to correctly adapt a film to a book.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many differences between the movie and the book. While watching a movie, one can not keep track of as many characters as when reading a book. A book takes a lot longer than two and a half hours to read, which is about as long as or longer than most movies. Since there is only a short time to comprehend characters, the shorter the list, the better. In the book there was a character named Aunt Alexandra. Aunt Alexandra is Atticus’s sister and moves in with Atticus, Scout, and Jem in order to help raise the children. In the movie, Miss Maudie helps atticus raise the children and helps teach Scout to become a lady. Though Miss Maudie is also in the book, the movie combines Miss Maudie and Aunt Alexandra into just Miss Maudie. The deletion of Aunt Alexandra had not real negative impact or decline of worth on the movie. It did not change any of the morals or themes that were adapted from the book to the film.

Speech: Global Warming is Real :: essays research papers

Hurricanes, Tsunamis, retreating glaciers, volcanoes and cyclones. What I'm about to tell you is real and will change your life forever-so wake up and smell the roses which are now blooming in winter. Global warming is one of the biggest threats to human kind. It is caused by the raising of earths temperature in the lower atmosphere. Since the industrial revolution the temperature has gone up by 1 degree Fahrenheit of what it has averaged to be for centuries. Doesn't sound like much and your right, but for every degree it goes up already 500 feet of snow won't fall. As in our earth is heating. The hottest recorded temperature was in 2005 which matched the temperature in 1998. Twice in the last decade we've had the hottest temperature on average ever recorded throughout history. Coincidence. I think not. The snows of the Kilimanjaro have basically vanished and in a couple decades Glacier National park is going to need a new name because by 2030 there will be no glaciers left in the whole park. The great Greenland icecaps are melting at an alarming pace, and sliding into the sea. Your right, who cares it's not like its happening near us. But by 2100 all our coastal states will look like Venice including ours. You won?t be alive but your children and grandchildren will. The sea level is expected to rise up to 23 inches in the next decade. There has been a 100 percent increase in intensity and duration of hurricanes and tropical storms since 1970 according to a 2005 MIT study. How much more evidence do we need before someone does something about this? For anyone who cares at all about the future, the gradual transformation of our earth is turning into a human-furnace that makes terrorism look like a game of monopoly. Think I'm kidding? By 2050, 15-37% of all plant and animal species could be extinct. Meaning it will be harder for plants to produce photosynthesis. No big right? Wrong. Without photosynthesis, oxygen can?t be made. Most of us in this room will be in our late 60?s by then with children and grandchildren. What does that mean for them? The air will be harder to breath and the temperature of earth will have increased by 2 degrees Fahrenheit. By 2050 up to 38% of water will be unable to hold underwater species because of rising temperature.

Setting a Grade Goal

Most of us could use some improvement on our test grades. The way that we are studying right now might not be the best way if our grades are not what they should be. Set a grade goal and if it is not met, cut down on non-school activities and learn how to study. Taking notes, organizing, and managing time are the keys to succeeding toward making the grades. Follow these simple tips on how to study to lead toward rewarding grades. The first tip is learning how to take proper class notes. There are several reasons to take notes that are as complete as possible. It forces us to pay attention to what is going on in class, it will keep us awake, and there will be less to remember. The key idea of taking good notes in class is to write down as much as possible. Taking complete notes will require quick writing and the use of abbreviations. Most everyone sends text messages on our cell phones. The same abbreviations can be used when taking notes in class. The next tip is organizing and using the notes. The notes taken in class must then be neatly re-written so they can be legible. Outlines are most helpful to organize almost any material. For any subject, a set of flash cards is helpful. Highlight important or interesting passages, but be careful not to highlight everything. Reading the text and reciting it aloud is a way to retain the information. Finally, managing time is an important step toward the study process. Study the hard subjects first since that is when we are the most alert and energetic. Leave the easier or more fun subjects for later. Study in a quiet place with as few distractions as possible. If it is too quiet, music or TV should be used at a low volume. A small study group can be helpful and fun. Making rhymes or songs is another way to remember. It is important to spend adequate time to study the material. The more time spent on the material, the more it will be remembered for the time of testing. Remember to organize and take proper class notes. Always carry around flashcards in case there are an extra couple of minutes to go through them. Do all other activities before studying and turn off the distractions. Do not wait until the last minute; start studying early and as often as possible. Never cram the night before or the morning of a test. Paying attention and practicing good note taking, organizing the material, and time managing will ensure a positive outcome. The study habits we put to practice will generate to the grades we earn.

The Concept Of Public Health Health And Social Care Essay

The challenges outlined in this definition are the chief duty of wellness attention professionals, particularly public wellness specializers who receive developing from Schools of Public Health ( SOPH ) . SOPH is a term used to depict a section in an establishment of higher acquisition concerned chiefly with proviso of postgraduate Public Health tutoring, chiefly in the signifier of a Masters grade in Public Health ( MPH ) . ( 3 )1.1 Backgrounds:Globally, there have been important alterations in public wellness, with monolithic betterments in developed states, while stagnancy and even diminution has been observed in the wellness position of developing and under-developed states. In states like the United Kingdom, the class of wellness attention during the 19th and 20th centuries focused on proviso of drinkable H2O and bettering sanitation, and clean air. These purposes have mostly been achieved to a sensible criterion, but unhappily, the state of affairs is far from what is desired i n most underdeveloped states. ( 4 ) The current tendency is typified by the â€Å" reverse attention jurisprudence † , where comparatively few schools of public wellness exist in parts with the greatest public wellness challenges and an extra figure exist in the developed universe, where focal point has shifted to face new epidemics of sick wellness ensuing from, for case drug maltreatment, fleshiness and smoke. The key to turn toing these wellness issues, both in development and developed states, lies with the preparation of competent public wellness specializer ; this undertaking lies chiefly with SOPH. ( 3 ) With the apparent importance of public wellness, the preparation of public wellness professionals plays an indispensable function in undertaking these jobs, as it lays the foundation for the hereafter of this sector. Selection is an built-in portion of any preparation programme and its importance can non be overemphasized. It can be described as the first one of the most of import stairss in the bringing of effectual population based wellness attention in this context. The class constructions of most MPH programmes were traditionally centred on capable countries such as ; epidemiology, wellness policy, wellness publicity, wellness direction, environmental wellness, human biological science and wellness economic sciences. ( 5-7 ) Presently nevertheless, the range has been expanded to include topics affecting statistical analysis and the usage of computing machine programmes ; the ability to entree, manage and work with information ; the ability to show and circulate information in an effectual mode ; interview and communicating accomplishments ; sensitiveness to wellness inequalities and societal accomplishments. ( 7 ) Most SOPH in the United Kingdom are organized around the subjects of capacity edifice, multidisciplinary, balanced instruction and research. Information is dissipated in traditional category room scene, either as full-time 12 month programmes, or as portion clip 24-60 months programmes. ( 8 ) Certain SOPH have adopted more advanced agencies of instruction bringing, choosing for electronic agencies for proviso of distance acquisition.1.2 SCHOOLS OF PUBLIC HEALTH: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVESInstitutions of larning concerned with educating pupils in the rules of public wellness started emerging in the early portion of the 20th century. The first of its sort was formed in 1916, when the Rockefeller foundation funded the gift of John Hopkins University in the United States. This establishment differed in its proficient attack to public wellness contrasting with the more societal and environmental attack adopted by Charles Edward Winslow at Yale University. ( 3 ) In line with the Rockefeller foundation ‘s aims of developing the scientific discipline of public wellness, it went in front to fund the constitution of legion SOPH within the United States and internationally. Its first international legacy was in the UK, where in 1922, it sponsored the formation of the public wellness section in the London school of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine ( LSHTM ) . However, shortly after the Second World War, the Rockefeller foundation shifted its focal point to other precedences. Despite this, there was still an addition in the figure of SOPH, with the World Health Organization join forcesing with National authoritiess specifically to develop and educate public wellness professionals from 1948. These attempts have seen the constitution of about 357 SOPH in 54 states as at 2006. ( 3 )1.3 SCHOOLS OF PUBLIC HEALTH IN THE UNITED KINGDOM:An cyberspace based hunt of the universities in the UK offering different signifiers of public wellness at station alu mnus degree revealed about 70 eight of such establishments. However, there are differences in the quality and focal point of public wellness research offered by these establishments. These differences were highlighted after the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise ( RAE ) , which identified the figure of research active staff and conducted a peer appraisal of the quality of research within different universities. ( 9 ) Another important difference in UK SOPH is the appellation between programmes offering a Masters in public Health ( MPH ) and an MSc in public wellness as differentiated by establishments established before and after 1992. Evans ( 2009 ) identified ‘pre-1992 ‘ universities as establishments that offer intensive classs and are staffed by internationally recognized research workers and have programmes normally labelled as ‘Masters in Public wellness ‘ ( MPH ) . The ‘post-1992 ‘ universities are largely former engineering schools that run largely parttime classs and frequently have less internationally celebrated staff labelling their programme as ‘MSc in Public Health ‘ . MPH programme are by and large considered superior to most MSc Public wellness programmes for these grounds. However the full clip MSc public wellness programme the London School of Hygiene and Tropical medical specialty ( LSTHM ) is internationally celebrated and stands as an exclusion to the facts stated above. ( 3 ) Over the last two decennaries, there have been important additions in the figure of postgraduate public wellness classs, particularly in new universities. These classs normally have a wider focal point reflecting the more societal facets of public wellness coupled with an admittance of pupils with multidisciplinary backgrounds. It was n't until 1992 that the LSTHM opened its public wellness grade to pupils with first grades other than medical specialty. It took a twosome of more old ages until the Faculty of Public wellness admitted non-medical alumnuss into its preparation programme in the twelvemonth 2000. ( 10 ) One major challenge of SOPH in the UK has been the issue of equilibrating research with learning. Schools that have really low RAE ranking will more likely lose support. Besides, the focal point on research is driven by the desire for equal reviewed publications as a step of the grade of academic success. This tendency has resulted in the prioritization of research over learning for most establishments of public wellness. However, there has been a nexus between the National Health Service and some SOPH, where the MPH class forms the first twelvemonth of public wellness specializer preparation programme which runs for 5 old ages. This agreement it has been argued will likely assist equilibrate research and instruction. ( 3,6 )1.4 THE PROCESS OF SELECTION:The United Kingdom is home to some of the most reputable acquisition establishments in the universe and as such attracts a diverse group of persons every twelvemonth, who come in hunt of quality cognition. The standards used for pupil choice into a Masters Degree programme in Public Health in has important deduction on future quality of the public wellness sector in the UK, and so the universe sing the big inflow of foreign pupils seeking quality instruction in public wellness. ( 11 ) Student choice is normally based chiefly on academic background/achievements. However, in recent old ages, the standard has been widened to include other factors like single attitudes, involvements, and personal features desired ends and work experience. Selection policies based on the traditional academic ability are fast melting out for a figure of grounds. One ground is the deficiency of grounds demoing a correlativity between old academic public presentation and subsequent success in wellness professional courses/practice. ( 12 ) The purpose of any choice procedure is to choose persons who best tantrum certain defined standards. Therefore an indispensable portion of this procedure is the definition of one or more standard by which appliers can be judged. This measure is highly of import, as SOPH are expected to take and develop future public wellness practicians who will be equipped with the needed accomplishments expected to turn to the challenges of this demanding profession. ( 11 ) Until late in the United Kingdom, developing under the Faculty of Public wellness was unfastened to merely medical practician and as a consequence, handiness of infinites on medically oriented public wellness programmes for non-medical appliers were limited. However, in 2000, the module rank was opened to non-medical alumnuss. Despite this alteration, there has been a diminution in module rank. However, these happenings has prompted inquiries about the accomplishments required to be competent public wellness practicians and if it was necessary to hold a medical grade before analyzing public wellness. ( 13 )1.5 Rationale:The thought for this undertaking was conceived by Dr Tom Marshall ( 14 ) after it was observed that admittances into the University of Birmingham ‘s MPH classs had increased significantly following the debut of an on-line choice test, as a pre-requisite for entry in March 2009. ( 15 ) Additionally, inquiries generated following a meeting of 12 MPH/MSc programme managers in September 2009 to discourse affairs of common involvement, besides inspired this undertaking.2. LITERATURE REVIEW:This literature reappraisal seeks to place similar work done on the choice standards for pupils meaning to analyze for a Masters grade in Public Health. It will try to place what the current cognition on pupil choice in the UK is, place countries that have already been researched and highlight what aspects may necessitate farther research.2.1 SEARCH STRATEGY:The writer conducted a hunt for articles written in English linguistic communication on the pupil choice standards for postgraduate public wellness instruction. Databases included in the hunt included MEDLINE, ERIC and ISI WEB OF SCIENCE. The electronic footings used entirely or in combination for the hunt included â€Å" Masterss, † â€Å" PUBLIC HEALTH, † â€Å" MPH, † â€Å" MSc, † â€Å" POSTGRADUATE, † â€Å" SELECTION, † and â€Å" CRITERIA † . Search footings combinations were modified utilizing AND/OR and database specific wildcards ( e.g. $ or? ) . The initial hunt provided really limited relevant informations on the topic being researched. Therefore, the undermentioned hunt footings were included ; â€Å" Undergraduate, † and â€Å" MEDICAL SCHOOL. †2.2 MPH AND UNDERGRADUATE MEDICAL Training:The Rockefeller Foundation ‘s 1916 one-year study noted that the first SOPH was established to supply a sound footing of scientific cognition for the systematic publicity of populace and personal hygiene and besides set up a well defined calling as an attractive force for trefoils interested in the field of public wellness instead than the clinical pattern of medical specialty. These original aims still play a important function in finding who gets selected to analyze for an MPH. The educational course of study of sections of preventative medical specialty of most medical schools is really similar to that of many SOPH ( 16,17 ) and as a consequence the MPH programme was antecedently unfastened merely to alumnuss of medical schools as it was deemed indispensable to posses a medical grade before analyzing postgraduate public wellness. The turning demand for more health care professionals has seen the incorporation of the MPH course of study into the undergraduate medical preparation strategy. In the United States, a few of such programmes exist including classs at Yale, Tulane and John Hopkins. These medical schools run coincident programmes with next schools of public wellness, such that on graduation, pupils possess both an MD and an MPH. Undoubtedly, there is a strong convergence in the choice of undergraduate medical pupils and postgraduate pupils of the MPH programme. Due to the deficiency of literature on the choice standards for graduate student MPH, the writer decided to reexamine the literature on undergraduate medical pupil choice standards in the United Kingdom.2.3 SELECTION CRITERIA FOR UNDERGRADUATE MEDICAL STUDENTS IN THE UK:The standards used for choice of undergraduate medical pupils are mostly vague being more of an administrative exercising to fit the figure of appliers to the available infinites on the class utilizing a movable Markss threshold. The consequences are that the greater the figure of appliers that twelvemonth, the higher the threshold grade used for admittance. ( 18 ) However, most medical schools strive to guarantee that the few available places available for medical pupil admittance are unfastened to pupils who will do the best physicians. With the current consciousness that non-academic personal qualities are basically as of import in the pattern of medical specialty as academic ability, many medical schools require appliers to set about entry trials that step other qualities and features in add-on to academic ability. ( 12,19 ) One of such trial is the personal qualities assessment trial ( PQA ) , which is designed to measure verbal, numerical, and spacial logical thinking. It contains a personality stock list and besides has an ethical logical thinking paper. The PQA has added value alongside the A – degrees leting for an nonsubjective appraisal of non-cognitive features of draw a bead oning medical pupils. ( 19 ) Many surveies have been done to measure the qualities of medical pupil which will do them good physicians in the hereafter. ( 19-21 ) A 20 twelvemonth prospective cohort survey was carried out to find whether A- degree classs and intelligence abilities of medical pupils could be used to foretell physician ‘s callings. The survey was carried out on 511 medical pupils who entered West-minister medical school between 1975 and 1982 with follow up to 2002. The result steps assessed were the clip taken to make different calling classs, postgraduate makings obtained, figure of research publications, and steps of emphasis and burnout related to A- degree classs and intelligence at entry to clinical school. The consequences of the survey showed that an A-level class which has peculiar widespread application in UK pupil choice has long-run prognostic value for undergraduate and postgraduate callings. ( 21 ) Parry J et al carried out a reappraisal of the admittance procedure of five medical classs in UK universities. The aims of the survey were to depict the current methods used by medical schools to place prospective medical pupils for admittance to the five twelvemonth grade class. The reappraisal was carried out on a sum of 20 two universities utilizing documental analysis and interviews with admittance coachs. Their findings revealed that there was a common standard for medical pupil admittance, based on academic ability, coupled with a suited personality consisting motive for medical specialty, leading accomplishments, teamwork abilities and extracurricular involvement. The reappraisal concluded that despite the common implicit in standards for medical pupil admittances, universities differed in their application of their demands for pupil choice. ( 22 )Brown and Lilford in their paper titled â€Å" choosing medical pupils † noted that it cost about ?200,000 lbs to develop ea ch medical pupil in the United Kingdom. However, the deductions, fiscal and otherwise of taking the incorrect pupil to develop in the first case are far greater. Three wide attributes that a suited pupil should hold include ; appropriate cognitive ability, diligence and humanity. However, the current choice tools can merely test suitably for cognitive ability. Most medical schools have introduced aptitude trial based largely on cognitive undertakings. There is grounds to demo that the trial correlative well with presymptomatic scrutiny consequences, but have non been a dependable forecaster of clinical public presentation. They besides questioned the truth of psychological as a forecaster of diligence observing the trouble in finding the appropriate mixture of traits that is most prognostic of persevering service and personal patterned advance. They besides noted that although short medical pupil interviews were effectual enlisting tools, they had low prognostic value. ( 23 ) Anothe r survey noted that while most medical schools may wish to choose future physicians with both cognitive and non-cognitive trial, using the usage of interviews was noted to be labour intensive and clip consuming. ( 19 ) Trial of cognitive ability seemed to be the most valid method with the highest predictive.A recent article proposed a comprehensive theoretical account for the choice of medical pupils based on informed ego choice, academic accomplishment, general cognitive ability ( GCA ) and facets of personality and interpersonal accomplishments. They used informations ( n=1000 ) from existent choice processs to show how their proposed theoretical account can be applied to increase the opportunities of doing accurate and defendable pupil choice. ( 24 )2.4 SELECTION PROCESS FOR MPH ADMISSION IN OTHER COUNTRIESThe choice of pupils into the MPH programme in the United States follows a different format than what applies in the UK. In the US, all SOPH and public wellness plans are accre dited by the nationally recognized Council on Education for Public Health ( CEPH ) . Students meaning to use for a graduate student grade in public wellness direct their application through the Schools of Public Health Application Service ( SOPHAS ) . SOPHAS so completes the application to different schools, on behalf of single pupils. Before pupils can subject their application to SOPHAS, they must sit for an entryway scrutiny. Most schools accept the Graduate Record Exam ( GRE ) , although demands may change for some schools. ( 25 ) It is clear from a reappraisal of the literature that the implicit in rules of pupil choice procedure is geared towards placing persons who are most suited to the entry demands which are designed to choose campaigners that are most likely to win in the class. It besides aims to forestall the credence of campaigners that will most likely constitute a hazard to the profession.2.5 AIMS AND OBJECTIVESThis undertaking aims to measure how pupils are selected for admittance into a Master ‘s programme by assorted schools of public wellness the United Kingdom. Specific aims will include: To measure the differences in MPH pupil choice procedure used by different Universities. To find the coveted qualities of a suited MPH pupil. To determine if entry demands differ for first twelvemonth public wellness trainees when compared to other pupils To determine if entry demands differ for campaigners with or without medical preparation To analyze the differences in entry demand for place and international pupils To increase our apprehension of why pupils chose certain MPH courses/universities3. Methodology:3.1 STUDY DESIGN:This is an exploratory survey which will affect a qualitative appraisal of MPH class manager ‘s sentiments, followed by a cross-sectional survey of MPH pupil ‘s sentiments.3.1 STUDY Setting:The survey will be carried out in different universities in the United Kingdom which offer a postgraduate public wellness grade class.3.2 STUDY POPULATION:UK universities MPH class managers Miles per hour pupils3.3 STUDY TOOLS:A information extraction signifier used to study university web sitesA semi structured telephone recorded interview with MPH class managers.A structured questionnaire for MPH pupils3.4 Sampling:This will get down with an initial study of web sites of all UK universities offering public wellness at postgraduate degree. Universities offering full clip or portion clip MPH/MSc Public Health and/or wellness publicity and classs under alternate names like Global Health will be selected for inclusion in the survey. Exclusion from the survey will be made on Public wellness classs offered at PHD or MPhil degree and Public wellness classs with rubrics such as Public Health Nutrition, Public Health Practice and Public Health policy. Based on the information collated from the website study, universities will be stratified into groups based on the undermentioned features: SOPH affiliated with medical schools SOPH affiliated with schools of nursing/other allied schools of wellness. Sophomore with long distance preparation programmes SOPH with Health Promotion as a strong component SOPH Involved with Public wellness trainees Subsequently, a graded random trying technique will be used to choose participant universities from each group. If an establishment has more than one of the features used for stratification, it will be included in a group with the least figure of universities. The current mark is aimed at choosing 20 universities for the telephone interview stage of the undertaking.3.4.1 UNIVERSITY SELECTION PROCESS:After informations extraction is complete, each university will be assigned a alone designation ( ID ) figure in the Microsoft Access database. Based on the features outlined above, universities will be stratified into different groups. Each group will so be exported into a separate Microsoft Excel dispersed sheet, with the alone ID figure arranged in columns. Subsequently, each column will be indiscriminately sorted utilizing the random generator tool for Excel. ( 26 ) The university at the top of the list from each group will be chosen for the interview procedure. The selected universit y will be excluded from the list, and the procedure repeated ( choosing and excepting the university at the top of the randomly sorted list each clip ) , until the coveted figure of participants has been reached. If there if any trouble contacting or obtaining consent from a chosen university, the procedure will be repeated to choose a replacing.3.4.2 INTERVIEW OF COURSE DIRECTORS:After stratification and random choice of universities, class managers from chosen SOPH will be contacted via electronic mail, and their consent sought for engagement in a semi-structured telephone recorded interview. Questions asked during the interviews will be structured to run into the declared aims of the undertaking. All interviews will be audio recorded with the consent of the respondents. Each telephone interview is anticipated to last between 30 to 45 proceedingss. Notes will be taken during the interview to supplement the sound taped conversations.3.4.3 MPH STUDENT QUESTIONNAIRES:Structured quest ionnaires with be distributed to MPH pupils from two universities affiliated with medical schools, in add-on to the University of Birmingham SOPH, to measure the pupils sentiments on their pick of MPH programmes. The universities will be chosen from those already selected for interview of the class manager. Questionnaires will be distributed via electronic mail to pupils in selected universities.3.5 JUSTIFICATION OF APPROACHThe survey will be executed by blending method, utilizing both qualitative and quantitative attacks. Qualitative methods are suited to for this undertaking as it provides the model for understanding the contexts of societal experience and enhances our capacity for societal account and generalisation. ( 27 ) It besides allows for the incorporation of professional positions, in this survey, those of different MPH class managers. Furthermore, this research method centres strongly on inductive logical thinking when construing informations and normally consequences in findings that were wholly unexpected. ( 28 ) Telephone interviews have been mostly neglected as a qualitative tool by many research workers who prefer face to confront interview. They argue that the deficiency of ocular cues, loss of non verbal informations and trouble set uping rapport brand s telephone interviews less attractive as a information aggregation method. However, it is easier for sensitive information to be disclosed as respondents feel more relaxed. There is besides no grounds demoing that telephone interviews produce lower quality informations than face to confront interviews. ( 29 ) This method is besides rather utile for this undertaking as it is easier to schedule and cheaper, sing the geographical distribution of participant SOPH. Quantitative methods will be used to supplement qualitative methods in this survey, since it has been argued that the logic of qualitative thought can be extended with qualitative methods. ( 27 )3.6 Analytic Method:This will be done utilizing a combination of qualitative and quantitative techniques. Data analyses will get down instantly after informations extraction from surveyed university websites. This will be done utilizing basic descriptive statistics and comparative analyses where necessary. The semi-structured telephone interviews will be reviewed and reported in a structured format foregrounding repeating subjects which will be coded and analysed utilizing a thematic model. Structured pupil questionnaires will be analysed utilizing basic descriptive statistics, rank correlativity and thematic analysis. Statistical bundles which will help in informations managing and analysis include Microsoft Access, Microsoft Excel and NVivo.3.7 Anticipated Problem:The most hard facet of this undertaking is the country of informations aggregation. The study of university web sites has been really disputing so far with tonss of trouble originating from screening out of import information from different university web sites. The writer anticipates that another major jobs associated with informations aggregation will be acquiring consent from MPH class managers for telephone interviews, sing their highly busy agenda. There is besides the issue of holding adequate clip to roll up, collate and adequately analyse informations generated for this undertaking. The job with the usage of pupil questionnaires is the issue of non-responders ( response rate possibly every bit low as 20 % ) . This could be addressed by utilizing on-line study tools e.g. study monkey and directing reminders to non-responders. Data analysis will necessitate some expertness in operating package bundles like Access, Excel an Nvivo. The writer has registered for and attended classs on these package bundles organized by the University of Birmingham IT-services section.3.8 ESTIMATED PROJECT TIMETABLE:The university web site study has reached an advanced phase and will be completed before the terminal of March 2010. Stratification of universities based on the standards outlined above has commenced and will be complete at about the same clip website informations extraction is completed. Subsequent choice of participant universities will be done in April 2010. It is expected that consent from take parting class managers will be received before the terminal of the April, and telephone interviews can be scheduled for May 2010. Data analysis will get down at the same time with the interviews and is expected to run through the month of June 2010. Design of pupil ‘s questionnaires is about complete. Its construction will be refined in April 2010 and distributed by the terminal of the month. Responses should be received during the moth of May 2010. Analysis of pupil questionnaires should get down in June 2010. Compilation of consequences and treatments will be done in July 2010 in readying for concluding entry in August 2010.