Pop Culture’s Influence on Dating Essay

What’s the best part about dating? The rush of getting to know a new person? The hope that it will lead to something more lasting? For some people it’s the dream to find their true love and have them sweep them off their feet. For others it’s finding a person who doesn’t mind a more casual relationship. Most of the time, they return home only to think about what might have happened if their life went as well as the scripted ones they watch all of the time. They wish that they had a team of writers planning the next move in their romantic lives, and had award winning actors take on their role in life. These people have become victims of the modern age in dating. Be it movies, television, or books, pop culture has helped men and women set unrealistic expectations for dating and romance. We all know that the silver screen puts the rose-colored glasses over romance, but it is how they portray dating in many different genres that is really skewed. Horror movies are expected to end badly, and it is no exception for dating in this movie style. Typically the young couple are terrorized on a date by some knife-wielding maniac out for revenge. That can lead to many assumptions, depending on how the movie ended. If the couple was killed during the course of the film, then it can be concluded that the good die young. But if they both survive (and there isn’t a sequel haunting them) then people may start to believe that true love is formed by going through a traumatic experience with someone. Often times in Horror films, the couple goes out to get some privacy, only to find themselves the killer’s first victims. Not many people get the wrong idea about dating from Horror movies, granted, but what about the plucky love interest for everyone’s favorite Superheros? Mary Jane Watson, Gwen Stacy, Pepper Potts, Peggy Carter, Lois Lane, and Jane Foster to name a few. These women have made a name for themselves by being charmed by Superheros. Their men (Spiderman, Iron Man, Captain America, Superman, and Thor, respectively) are either super strong, super smart, an alien, or any combination of the three. If that d oesn’t give people the wrong idea about romance, then the writers aren’t doing their job. The strong, but constantly endangered, women are intelligent and attractive, leading the â€Å"hero† in the audience to long for the power to fly in and save them from any and all perilous situations. With people wanting a hero, and heroes waiting for their fem fatal, no one is going to make it out of this dating game alive. Superpowers aside, perhaps the most disillusioning movie genre is the Romantic Comedy. Quirky but lovable characters are thrust together in strange situations and they always come out of it with the love of their life. This genre has capitalized on the nice-guy finally getting the girl, the best friends realizing that they were made for each other, and fairy tale endings that warm the audience’s hearts. Men and women alike are fans of the Romantic Comedy, in part because they’re designed that way; the actresses are all attractive or funny, the actors are both, and the script is written for both men and women. Whether or not they admit to it, everyone enjoys a good â€Å"rom-com† after a long day of disappointment, and why not? The protagonist always comes out on top, and there’s always that one great date following all of the duds. For as long as they’ve been around, movies have helped the public set impossible goals for dating, but then television came along and sped up the process. From play dates to wedding dates, television has given a â€Å"Step-by-Step† guide to dating, particularly in shows such as Boy Meets World, Friends, and How I Met Your Mother. In Boy Meets World the viewers watched as Cory Matthews grew up, fell in love, and lived his life. Cory’s â€Å"love-of-his-life† was Tapanga Lawrence, a girl that he started calling his wife in Pre-School. Their relationship went through rough patches, but someone always knew that it was meant to be. The idea that one can meet (and keep) their first love from their childhood days is almost as improbable as thinking that Superheros can swoop in and save the day. Against all odds Cory and Tapanga actually survive dating through High School, and marriage in College. Young children are taught through weekly episodes that true love can be found on the playground, and that while it is imperfect, it is eternal. Boy Meets World was a family oriented show, but what about the shows that were geared more towards the working adult? Friends was a television sitcom that followed the lives of six friends. Viewers watched as their favorite friend fell in and out of love. Rachel and Ross had an on-again, off-again relationship that confused everyone, including the actors. Their relationship was based on attraction but the way they treated each other was, at times, cruel. This couple was volatile at best, and a running joke for viewers; â€Å"Are Ross and Rachel together this week?† Another couple in the show occurred later on in the series, and provides a foil to Ross and Rachel. Chandler and Monica’s relationship was built on friendship and as such was more stable. They were the fun couple who’s lines were joking and who always put the other first. The show was casual with its approach to dating, with non-regular characters coming and going throughout the series. Other shows were not as simple. Soap Operas fall in line with the over-dramatization of romance and dating, and there are many shows that focus on finding love. How I Met Your Mother is literally the drawn out retelling of how Ted Mosby found the mother of his children. These shows, while entertaining and sometimes informative, tell men and women that their true love can be found in everyday places such as work, at a coffee shop, or even on the playground. Television is guilty of helping with today’s dating misconceptions, however the biggest offender is literature by far. â€Å"Bodice Rippers† may not be the only things leading to unrealistic ideas about love; everything from Shakespeare to the Teen Romance section in today’s book stores share some of the blame. Romeo and Juliet is perhaps the most well-known romance story of all time. The main characters are teenagers who pledge their love to each other, despite being from warring families. They kill themselves for love that they think is forever but, historically had they lived and been allowed to marry, one of the lovers would have had an affair or died of natural causes early on in their marriage. Poetry of that time was romantic and well written as well. It really is a pit y that most of those poems were written about love affairs with already married people. They spoke of undeniable attraction, and how they really shouldn’t be denying themselves the love of the other person. Romance novels from later centuries tell readers about an odd sensation of love-at-first-sight. â€Å"Our eyes met, and I knew right then and there that we were meant to be together forever.† This idea is the drug of romance novels, it is what gets readers hooked and coming back for more. People have spent countless hours pouring over books with lines like that acting as major plot devices. Most readers swoon over the muscled heroes, dreaming of being in the heroine’s place. Teen Romance novels take this idea and make it even more impossible. They write in supernatural beings for the awkward teenager to fall in love with. Even if they take away the fantasy element, at heart the stories are improbable. For the most part, teenagers in High School don’t know what romantic love is (or if they do, it is never forever). Teen Romance novels teach teenagers that the love of their life is waiting for them in their Biology class, is the partner on a History assignment, or is the loner who they see in the library everyday. Teenagers who read these books get the idea that they can find a true love in the hormone-ridden home of disappointment that is High School. Escaping the real world by reading isn’t bad, but letting the fiction influence the thought process never ended well for anyone. Pop culture isn’t inherently evil, but when it comes to dating and romance, it is probably best to stop drawing parallels with real life. Movies, books, and literature are supposed to be used as ways to escape reality, not as guidelines for how to live. It would be a little ridiculous to put disclaimers before movies, shows, and books reading â€Å"Warning: Relationships portrayed in this are fictional, and not based on real life† but it’s starting to feel necessary. Not every story has a happy ending, and even those who do aren’t forever. If the public could just learn to stop accepting pop culture as gospel, stop looking for their soul mate where they â€Å"never would have expected†, then the dating world would be a better place. A place where true love doesn’t mean a love against all odds, but a love that is real. Real love is when a couple can get into arguments, be mad at each other and that isn’t the end of the relationship; when it isn’t all rainbows and roses but they’re happy with each other. No one wants to watch a movie about that, but then again, no one wants to watch a baby being born and they film â€Å"the miracle of life† every day. Maybe if more movies, TV shows, and books were realistic, more people would enjoy dating.

The Prevalence Of Barretts Esophagus Health And Social Care Essay

Gastro esophageal reflux disease is the chief known etiologic factor for Barrette Esophagus, and BE is the precursor lesion of esophageal glandular cancer. The prevalence of BE is reported largely from gastroenterology centres and few informations are reported from outpatients with indigestion. Lots of patients with GERD have grades of indigestion. This survey chiefly aims to find the prevalence of BE in dyspeptic patients. Material and methods: outpatients holding indigestion refer to endoscopy unit for endoscopy. Meanwhile the endoscopist takes biopsy of distal gorge. Barrett ‘s esophagus diagnosing will be find based on the endoscopic unnatural visual aspect of the distal gorge and besides based on Intestinal Metaplasia ( IM ) pathologic position. Consequences: the prevalence of BE was 5.4 % ( based on endoscopy ) and 3.7 % ( base on pathology ) . 69 % of patients with confirmed BE were & gt ; 50 old ages and 31 % were & lt ; 50 old ages. 81 % of patients with confirmed BE reported GERD symptoms as their dominant indigestion symptom, but consequence is merely 20.4 % in patients without BE ( p value & lt ; 0.001 ) . Decision: BE has a comparatively high prevalence in dyspeptic patients. The prevalence of GERD symptoms in BE emphasizes the demand for making endoscopy for dyspeptic patient. Cardinal words: Barrett Esophagus, Endoscopy, Heartburn, Pathology Introduction Prevalence of gastro esophageal reflux disease ( GERD ) is raising along with the prevalence of Barrett ‘s gorge ( BE ) and esophageal glandular cancer ( 1 ) . GERD is the chief known etiologic factor for BE, and BE is the precursor lesion of esophageal glandular cancer ( 2 ) . Adenocarcinoma of gorge is normally a locally turning tumour and it invades next variety meats and cause deadly complications ( 3 ) . BE is defined as altering the liner of distal gorge that can be recognized with endoscopy and is documented by presence of gablet cells and other standards for IM in biopsies taken during the endoscopy ( 4 ) . Hiatus hernia, fleshiness and presence of helicobacter pylori in gastro enteric piece of land are some of the hazard factors for BE ( 5, 6 ) . These factors are believed to increase BE by increasing acerb reflux. Many gastroenterologists make the diagnosing of BE by endoscopy and corroborate it with presence of IM in biopsies taken from the gorge ( 2 ) . The standard for endoscopy is the Presence of chronic GERD after ingestion of proton gaudery inhibitor or acerb suppressers for at least 4 hebdomads ( 7 ) . Association of BE with glandular cancer is the chief factor that thrust physicians to endoscopically measure GERD patients ( 8-11 ) . BE is found in 2 % of big population and 3-5 % of GERD patients ( 2 ) . The overall prevalence of BE in patients with chronic GERD is 3-12 % ( 8, 10, 11 ) .The prevalence of BE is reported largely from gastroenterology centres and few informations are reported from outpatients with indigestion. If we consider the coexistence of GERD with indigestion in many patients, the demand to measure dyspeptic patients for BE will be highlighted ( 10 ) . This present study is aimed specifically to show the prevalence of BE in dyspeptic outpatients and to research possible hazard factors for its presence. It besides determines the efficaciousness of GI endoscopy to name BE in the selected population. Material and methods: This is a prospective survey on Outpatients of GI clinic who were over 18 old ages old and had a primary ailment of at least 3 months of indigestion ( intermittent or uninterrupted ) and have been conducted during 2007-2011, after the approve of Kashan University of medical Sciences Ethic commission. We defined dyspepsia as composite of uncomfortableness or hurting in epigastric part ( with or without acerb regurgitation ) , inordinate belch or belching, abdominal bloating, early repletion or feeling of unnatural or slow digestion or pyrosis ( 10 ) . Patients who had a documented history of upper GI surgery, a clinical probe of indigestion by endoscopy or radiology ( in the old 6 months ) or on more than two occasions in the past 10 old ages, and used proton pump inhibitors within 30 yearss or H2-receptor adversaries within 14 yearss of registration excluded from the survey. Out of the outpatients enroll ; those who consented orally to an endoscopy enter our survey, and refer to endoscopy unit of shahid beheshti infirmary, a cardinal infirmary in Kashan. Of the enrolled outpatients, informations on age, sex, nationality, weight and tallness, presence and laterality of GERD symptoms and continuance of dyspeptic symptoms will be record in separate signifier. The presence of BE will measure in two ways: endoscopically, and histologically. Barrett ‘s esophagus diagnosing will be made based on the endoscopic unnatural visual aspect of the distal gorge. If there was a intuition of Barrett ‘s epithelial tissue in the distal of the gorge, the endoscopist find the instance as Barrett ‘s gorge and we mark the instance as BE instance by endoscopy. The presence of â€Å" gastric-appearing mucous membrane † or â€Å" columnar-lined † gorge is the standards for the endoscopist study of BE. The lengths of the unnatural epithelial tissue were non recorded. Biopsies from all instances were taken merely proximal to the gastro-esophageal junction, harmonizing to standard pattern for histological verification meanwhile the process. The determination of the figure of biopsies to be taken was made upon the estimate of Barrett ‘s epithelial tissue length by the endoscopist. If groundss of IM were seen in the biopsies by the diagnostician, BE could be confirmed, and we mark the instance as BE instance by pathology. These informations will be added to the patient ‘s signifier. Data enter SPSS package and analyze with descriptive statistics, qis square trial and t-test. Consequences Of the 1156 outpatients enrolled, 12 patients did n't consent to hold endoscopy. Out of these 12 patients 9 were afghanian who had n't return to hold endoscopy for unknown grounds. 3 of Persian patients did n't accept to endoscopy and establish endoscopy unneeded, although the physician explained the necessity. A sum of 1144 dyspeptic patients underwent endoscopy, 1100 ( 96.2 % ) of them were Persian and 44 ( 3.8 % ) were afghanian. The average age of the instances was 45.2 old ages old. BE was endoscopically diagnosed in 62 instances ( 5.4 % ) , and pathologically diagnosed in 42 ( 3.7 % ) of them. All these 42 instances were diagnosed with endoscopy as BE, but 20 instances ( 32.2 % ) that were endoscopically marked BE, were non confirmed as BE by pathology. Thus the sensitiveness of endoscopy for diagnosing of BE is 100 % but its specificity is 67.8 % . The average age of patients with confirmed BE was 53.2 old ages. 42.6 % of patients without BE were male and 57.4 % were female wh ereas 64.3 % of patients with BE were male and 35.7 were female ( p value=0.005 ) table1. Hiatus hernia was diagnosed in 10.2 % of all patients ( 117 out of 1144 ) . 9.1 % of patients without IM had Hiatus hernia, while 40.5 % of the patients with IM had Hiatus hernia ( p value & lt ; 00.1 ) ( table 2 ) . 54.8 % of the patients with BE had reflux esophagitis but merely 4.4 % of the patients without BE had reflux esophagitis ( p value=0.003 ) . The average continuance of dyspeptic symptoms in the 42 BE patients was 10.29 old ages ; 6 patients ( 14.3 % ) reported symptoms & lt ; 5 old ages in continuance and 1 ( 2.4 % ) reported symptoms & lt ; 1 twelvemonth in continuance. Comparision of patients with and without BE revealed that patients with BE have longer period of indigestion ( P value & lt ; 0.01 ) ( table 2 ) . Among 1144 patients 314 ( 27.4 % ) had acid regurgitation or pyrosis and 259 had these symptoms as their dominant symptom. Out of These 259, 34 ( 13.1 % ) had BE. 34 out of the 42 patients ( 81 % ) with confirmed BE reported either pyrosis or acerb regurgitation as their most bothersome ( dominant ) indigestion symptom, compared with 225 ( 20.4 % ) of the 1102 patients without BE ( p value & lt ; 0.001 ) ( table 2 ) . The average BMI among all 1140 patients was 28.8 and there were no important difference between patients with confirmed BE and patients without BE ( p value=0.995 ) . Discussion: The recognized method for naming BE is detecting IM in biopsies taken from the gorge. There is a argument whether presence of stomachic metaplasia ( without IM ) should sort a patient as holding BE or non. In this survey, presence of IM in pathology is the cardinal point to sort a patient to hold BE. In 1144 uninvestigated indigestion outpatients that undergone endoscopy, the prevalence of BE was 5.4 % if based on the endoscopic intuition of stomachic metaplasia in the distal gorge and 3.7 % when the diagnosing was histologically confirmed by the presence of IM. In one Single centre survey on 1248 Persian GERD patients, the prevalence of endoscopicaly suspected and pathologically confirmed BE was 8.3 % and 2.4 % severally ( 12 ) . But we investigated dyspeptic patients non GERD. The prevalence of BE among the patients that have acid regurgitation and pyrosis ( GERD symptoms ) as their dominant symptom is 13.1 % in our survey and is comparatively higher than old Persian probes ( 12, 13 ) . And is besides higher than 3-12 % in other surveies ( 8, 10, 11 ) . But our consequences are less than 24.1 % reported in a survey conducted in Japan ( 14 ) . As other surveies suggested ( 15 ) HH and esophagitis were more common in patients with BE and BE was more prevailing in males and older ages. In our survey people proposing pyrosis or acerb regurgitation tend to hold BE more than other surveies. In a survey by Breslin et Al. that reported on the findings of endoscopy in 3634 Canadian patients, the prevalence of BE suspected on endoscopy varied from 0.3 % to 2 % . And merely a minority ( 0.3 % ) was histologically confirmed ( 16 ) . This may be reflect the prevalence of BE in our country. In our survey 67 % of the endoscopically diagnosed BE were confirmed by histology. This rate is 11 % in another survey ( 17 ) Reflecting the function of endoscopist experience in naming BE. It has been shown that both longer continuance and badness of pyrosis are risk factors for the development of glandular cancer of the distal gorge. Patients with BE in the current survey reported dyspepsia symptoms of longer continuance and merely 14.3 % had symptoms for & lt ; 5 old ages. The fact that BE is a complication of longstanding GERD has been one of the chief grounds behind the recommendation for a ‘once in a life-time ‘ endoscopy in patients with GERD symptoms ( 10 ) . Decisions: In drumhead, the overall prevalence of histologically confirmed BE was 3.7 % in outpatients with indigestion. Patients with dominant symptoms of pyrosis, the prevalence of BE was 13.5 % . These informations should be used in the treatment about the demand for a one time in a life-time endoscopy in patients with dyspeptic symptoms. Our informations suggest that if endoscopy is recommended and should take topographic point at an older age ( such as age & gt ; 50 old ages ) and in patients with symptoms of & gt ; 5 old ages continuance as it will increase the output of diagnosing of BE.

Mass Media and Its Influence

Mass Media and Its Influence Spoken, written, or broadcast communication whose medium may include television, radio, advertising, movies, newspapers, magazines, books, cell phones and the Internet becomes a mass media that affects our society's perception of ourselves and others and influences the structures of our society as well as the reactions of the individual. Americans perceive the political, economic, class, educational, and other structures of American society because of, by, and through the media. The American understanding of these structures within its society as well as those structures outside of the United States are manipulated and directed by the media. Similarly, the media influences the perceptions of individuals within American society by what and how the media is communicating. The media communicates and influences through the key motivators of our society today: sexual, monetary, and violent images. The most widespread form of this communication media is television, followed by the Internet. With the increased use of computers and multi-media cell phones, the Internet is on the road to exceeding the television as a communication media. How these media venues affect the world in which they operate shows how far and how deep the communications can reach, the speed in which the messages are delivered and accepted, the cultural impact that is experienced. Media has converted individual communication into group communication and has allowed for wonderful advances in civilization. Through mass communication, people groups, organizations, governments, and nations have found the media for the spread of information in business and industry, education, politics, technology and science, medicine and healthcare, weather and climate, and all levels of culture. It is in technology that the media's most obvious advancements are visible. In addition, the widespread distribution of information has allowed the world to respond to natural disasters, political oppression and exploitation, and in mass multi-national cultural events. In the area of culture, sex is not only a physical motivation in individuals, both male and female; it is also psychological motivation of people. Although, people express it in different cultures differently, the basic human need for sexual expression is one of basics of marketing and advertisement. It motivates sales and sales are best motivated in mass fashion for mass return on investment in massive profits via mass media. All forms of media use the basic instinct to identify a product for sale and manipulate the individual's perception to cause him or her to identify their individual sexuality with the product. Everyone wants to be sexy, attractive, wanted, desirable, in demand, and therefore, powerful. People will buy whatever they believe or perceive will provide this to them. Similarly, another motivator of power is violence. Whether the perpetrator-the inflictor, or the violated-the victim, there is no doubt about how powerful violence is. It also motivates sales indirectly through the marketing and advertisement of products supporting violent venues such as horror and R-rated films and television shows, sporting events such as boxing, wrestling, and football, war coverage, and the 11 o'clock news shows. The mass media clearly shows that violence motivates power and power motivates violence. The most vulnerable segment of society to the images and messages of mass media are America's youth. Young people are in a stage of life where they want acceptance by their peers, they want to be desired and loved, and they hope to be successful and powerful. They also seek to explore and express some of the same human motivations as the mature citizen: sex, violence, and power. The children and teenagers of America find all of these elements on the TV. In fact, as Arthur Asa Berger states, â€Å"the amount of time young people spend â€Å"media multi-tasking† has increased from 16% to 26% of media time, the actual amount of time devoted to media use has remained steady, at under just 6 1/2 hours per day (going from 6:19 to 6:21) 0r 44 1/2 hours per week (http://kff. org/entmedia/entmedia030509nr. cfm) (Berger, 12). Television and its self-directed version, cable, allow for the mass influence of these elements in both positive and negative ways. The positive aspects of violence and competition within the socially accepted structures of competitive youth sports and athletics promoted on TV and in video games and equally, in the fashion, dance, and young love seen in sitcoms, movies, and MTV music videos. Conversely, the use of junk foods, cigarettes, drugs, and alcohol combined with irresponsible, casual sex, excessive and explicit violence dominate much of the negative influence of media on America's youth. Joseph Dominic concludes, â€Å"that youngsters that are heavy TV viewers would display a pattern of beliefs and perceptions consistent with media portrayals (Dominick, 446). Regarding violence in mass media, again the young are exposed to a culture of violence reflected in the media. How the media sells or promotes those perceptions is the â€Å"reality† of the media. From a war somewhere in the world to the wars in someone's home, the media directs the interpretation of what is necessary, correct, moral, and immoral. From what is happening, is not happening, should happen, might and will happen, and what is and is not the cost the media influences our realities and reactions. This has resulted in Saturday morning cartoons that are as full of shootings, stabbings, explosions, and other forms of violence as is CSI or the nightly news; it has resulted in video games like Grand Theft Auto that allow children to be pretend drug lords, gang members, and pimps; it has promoted murder and abuse as entertainment for the masses. In the case of American youth, the effects of media violence on the developing mind and values of children and the personalities and beliefs of those children are increasingly negative. Aggressive behavior, lawlessness, and distorted views of reality are becoming commonplace among the children of today and mass media is one of the greatest influences. As these children mature into teenagers and young adults, the media blurs the realities of war in their minds and makes entertainment out of both virtual war games and actual wars on this earth. â€Å"More speci? ally, research provides strong evidence that in the short term, exposure to media violence causes increases in children's, adolescents', and young adults' physically and verbally aggressive behavior, as well as in aggression-related variables (such as aggressive thoughts and emotions) that are theoretically linked to aggressive and violent behavior (Anderson et al, 104). The young people of the United States are an identified and targeted demographic of the advertisement industry due to their large discretionary income from family and employment and due to their lack of experience and nowledge combined with an almost insatiable need to experiment and acquire. The use of sex and violence to market to America's youth, epitomized in the overwhelming success of the book and television series about teenage vampires, Twilight, has become a multi-billion dollar, multi-media industry. The media creates and promotes the ideal image of what is beautiful, desirable and sexy and what are the characteristics of a successful and power person, usually psychological and/or physical violence. Because these two instincts are so universal, primal, and strong, they are almost irresistible advertising vehicles. However, if sex and violence are the vehicles, money is the fuel. Consequently, the purpose of marketing and advertisement is to sell and make money. Mass media sells the belief to a person, young or old, that he or she can attain the characteristics of power, if they can buy the products that the powerful and violent own. It sells them on the belief that they can attain the characteristics of the sexy, if they can buy the products that makes one attractive and desirable–all as they are presented in the movies, TV, Internet or other media. The estimated revenue of all forms of mass media is in the 100's of billions of dollars. The cost of reality in relation to these perceptions is often much more expensive. An example of some of the more costly areas of influence is in the area of politics. In this area, political offices and careers both are promoted and destroyed. The media has a great influence over public opinion. The media has a huge influence over public opinion as can be seen by the use of opinion polls that it controls and manipulates. The use of polls and news coverage by the media can affect, positively or negatively, candidates and their ideas that, in turn, can change the political control of the nation. In addition, media control shapes the way people see their realities and it has a tremendous impact on our society. The War on Terrorism is a clear example of media influence on American society that resulted in the war in Iraq to stop weapons of mass destruction that did not exist in reality. This example shows how media can use information that is not real to create another reality it chooses. Because media is so powerful, it is owned by the powerful. In the United States, six corporations own 95% of all media nd the money they make are proof of their power: 2009 revenues of General Electric, $157 billion; Walt Disney, $36. 1 billion; News Corp. , $30. 4 billion; Time Warner, $25. 8 billion; Viacom, $13. 6 billion; and CBS, $13 billion (Freepress. net). â€Å"We find that media firms nearly universally have ownership structures with large controlling shareholders and that these shareholders are either families or governments. This evidence is broadly consistent with the ideas that there is large amenity potential (control benefits) associated with owning media–be it political influence or fame† (Djankov et al, 373). What this control costs American citizens in their freedoms and democracy cannot be calculated. In conclusion, the control of the media and its impact on American society, both positively and negatively, is important to the quality of our lives and to the freedoms we believe in. The media appears to be some huge, uncontrollable monster, but in reality, it is made of people just like our government is made of people and our country is made of people. Corporations, companies, governments, media are all people. Therefore, if the negative impacts and influences of media are to be controlled and limited, these people need to be challenged. In order to challenge these people's influence and control through the media, we must challenge what the media is selling, be it sexual, violent, moneymaking or otherwise. We must begin with ourselves and exercise our control over what we are buying. References Anderson, Craig A. , Leonard Berkowitz, Edward Donnerstein, L. Rowell Huesmann, James D. Johnson, Daniel Linz, Neil M. Malamuth, and Ellen Wartella. â€Å"The Influence of Media Violence on Youth†. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, Vol. 4, No. 3, Dec. 2003. 81-110. Berger, Arthur Asa. 2007. Media and Society: a critical perspective, 2nd ed. (Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Publishing Inc. ) Djankov, Simon, Caralee McLiesh, Tatiana Nenova, and Andrew Shleifer. 2003. â€Å"Who Owns the Media? † The Journal of Law and Economics. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ) 27 Dec. 2010. Dominick, Joseph R. 2010. The Dynamics of Mass Communication: media in transition, 11th ed. (New York, NY: McGraw -Hill) Freepress. net. 2009. (Florence, MA: Free Press and the Free Press

Should America Provide Universal Health Care Taking a look at the Research Paper

Should America Provide Universal Health Care Taking a look at the Affordable Health Care Law 3 side to the issu - Research Paper Example Now, all of a sudden, panic has set across the entire nation and there is constant uproar from the citizens of US to bring about a positive change to the Health care system. The US government got its act together and in March, 2010, passed the Affordable Health Care Act, signed by President Barrack Obama. The response of the country to this law has been mixed. This section of the report discusses about the people who support the law and the reasons they provide for their stand. What is Affordable Health Care Act? The primary focus of this health care act is to account the health insurance companies for the maximum of the medical expenditures spent by their customers. The previous health reform acts were complained of having higher costs and hence this act intended to lower those prices and at the same time improve the quality of the treatment meted out to the citizens. (Detmer, 2010). The major provisions of this act were: To push most of the health expenditure to the insurance organ ization itself To improve the coverage prospects of citizens with their already existing plans. To give a better coverage of the prescription drugs which were lacking in previous health laws Medicare’s trust fund support has been extended up to 12 years Who supports it? The major support for this health care act was from President Obama and his administrators. The democrats are also on the same boat with Obama, supporting the law and its implications. Other social organizations like Plan Parenthood, Health & Human Services have offered their support to this law. (Novelli, 2009). In addition, there has been consistent support from attorney generals of several states including the state politicians. Why do they support it? According to the President, the health care act ensembles, â€Å"the core principle that everybody should have some basic security when it comes to their health care.† (Stolberg&Pear, 2010). He is of the opinion that this law is what several generation s of American people were looking for to vitalize their life with a new sense of hope. He is also establishes the point that this bill would bring out the economic inequalities present in the US society, the first of its kind since its inception in the society, three decades back. Apart from the proposed health benefits the act has to offer, on the political front, it is an important bill for strengthening the president’s rule over country. Its success, on the political front would put Obama’s administration on a better perspective among the opposition party as well as to the people of America. Organizations like Plan Parenthood, Health & Human Services are of the opinion that the law would make way for an affordable prescription drugs and it would make the services to be person centered approach where the required doctors could be seen from a single place instead of running around several places to meet separate doctors. Canada offers one good example for a health car e system that has been universal in its approach, providing health care to all its citizens in an efficient way. It works in such a way that the public funds act as the major sponsors for the health care system, with minor contributions from the private sector. (Maddox, 2010). Several politicians, statespersons and attorney generals are of the view that this act has set US in the right course of action to provide a universal health care syste

Sports Laws Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Sports Laws - Case Study Example The question of whether a club is or is not private is usually left for courts to decide. The courts analyze elements like 'history of club' to check if the club was designed to be selective in membership. Usually the key points that courts take into consideration is 'exclusiveness of club in the selection of new members' and 'the use of club facilities by non members. However, according to a recent report, Golf clubs and other private members' establishments will no longer be able to ban women members from their bars or discriminate in any other way on gender grounds. Equality bill is all set to control golf clubs discrimination which means that private clubs with mixed membership could no more deal with women differently. The change is drafted in a government consultation paper aimed at rationalising the UK's complicated net of discrimination legislation. The paper, the discrimination law review which is being published, is aimed to improve discrimination legislation. Following are some of the past cases of discrimination: Case Study I: A professional female wrestler was refused license by a promotional company on the pretext that licensing with respect to the projected venue was subject to condition that forbade women from participating. She moved to court. Her claim of sexual discrimination was upheld by the industrial court. The licensing authority argued that the whole situation was an exception provided in the sex Discrimination Act 1975 s 51(1) and also that Local Government 1963 Act rendered them with the power to admit terms for granting license as it thought were proper and thus licensing authority's appeal was allowed accordingly. Case Study II: Ms petty practiced as Judo instructor and had British Judo Association's qualification as National Judo referee. In 1977 Ms Petty was stated by BJA that they had a policy which prohibited women from refereeing men at national level. Ms Petty moved to industrial tribunal under S13 of the SDA which banishes discrimination by bodies which alleviates engagement in sports. The industrial tribunal upheld Ms Petty's claims of discrimination. BJA in turn appealed to the EAT. However EAT upheld Industrial tribunal's judgment and found BJA had discriminated against Ms Petty and had acted in disregard of S13. Moving on to sports ethics, competitive environment in sports has led to tremendous performance pressures on athletes. They make use of performance enhancing drugs. Although the use of anabolic steroids enhances athlete's performance, they also pose some serious health risks. The consumption of such drugs is impermissible. Also the drug users create unfair pressure on other competitors. The re- regulation of sport is happening within complex surroundings of European regularity frameworks and international sports federations. The European Model of sport was published in 1998. The European commission maintains that in the future growth and maturation of sport, the special features of European model need to be realized fully. At European level, the European Court of Justice has understandably decreed that sports organizations can no more

Experience Vs. Qualification Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Experience Vs. Qualification - Essay Example This misconception is not correct that experience matters more than qualification. Qualified graduates need not dishearten in the absence of experience. Accredited qualification helps in offering plenty of job opportunities; it is true for all streams of study, for example taking the stream of Town Planning in which every year 2000 students get graduated from universities with an RTPI-accredited planning degree (Parkes, 2011). Graduates stand more chances of selection by using various recruitment channels rather than depending solely on traditional methods. Students can no more depend on campus recruitment alone. Lack of experience should not discourage graduates. Some of the suggestions for getting jobs are graduation include: 1. Networking these days has become critical for getting recruited, as only one in five jobs are advertised. In the planning job scenario, the young planners’ network group which held even a speed networking event in Birmingham, could be the best platform for meeting the like-minded audience, prospective employers and create links that help in off-campus recruitment. 2. Graduate students need to maintain high level of awareness on current affairs and possess an insight of the policy decisions related to their subject taken by the government at various levels. It can provide an edge over others in the recruitment process. 3. Due to lack of experience, getting a job becomes additionally arduous task. Ideal way is to offer help to prove your calibre; it can realise in bigger gains. Initially, an employer could be unwilling to offer a permanent job but afterwards may find the services offered by the graduate indispensable to the organisation and could materialise in job offering; it has happened in many cases. 4. Lookout for the organisation that could offer you your dream job. Locate the person doing that dream job, and request their time to guide you on getting where they are today. Such people can offer better advice as they had been in similar position where a graduate finds himself. Chances of getting that dream job could brighten if your dream job is advertised and that guide recalls you to offer that opportunity. 5. Widen your knowledge circumference and work experience to be called for the waiting opportunity amid economic downturn and job competition. Your passion for the job to the prospective employers should be clearly visible while you are still amidst your study. Offer yourself to be a volunteer to charities and community organisations to lead their projects. The RTPl website can provide required assistance pertaining to recruitment agencies and guidance from those who have overseas experience, which can be worked out for getting a competitive edge (Parkes, 2011). Explanation of the Terms Qualification Before arguing in favour of qualification standing better prospects of job selection, a definition of qualification can help in comprehending how a qualifications framework in a given qualifications system can help graduates in selection. Werquin

Computer Numerical Control Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Computer Numerical Control - Essay Example End to end designs of the components have been highly developed and the computers have been widely used in their processes and this have included such things as computer language being widely incorporated within the systems that use computer numerical control (Krull, 40). In the production of Padlocks by the Tri-Cycle company the use of the computer numerical control has been assessed and the following results were seen. One of the benefits of the system was that it could be used continuously for twenty fours and this have ensured that the production of the products can be continued continuously without facing any disruptions and hindrances. This is very beneficial to the company because the company can enjoy customer faith because the company ensures that the products are available in the market throughout the year and can meet any kind of demand that could be necessary at any time (Reintjes, 120). It is also beneficial to the company because the company does not need to employ highly skilled personnel to operate the machines. This have ensured that the company does not need to spend a lot of its resources in employing highly skilled personnel and at the same time ensure that the production of the padlocks is continued and also keep the quality of the products high levels. This is very beneficial to the company because while saving on the consumer faith, they also benefit largely to the fact that the system ensures that the products are of high quality and hence very beneficial in the market outlook of the company (Reintjes, 123). When an improvement to the machines or to the product is necessary, the company does not need to do an overhaul of the entire system but only need to change the computer language. This ensures that the padlocks produced can be changed on their branding, size and type without having necessarily changed the entire system. This is very beneficial to the company because the company does not to spend a lot of resources when they need to change the outlook of the company's production system. The company also does not need to involve a lot of technical to change the system as semi-skilled workers can work on the changes that are required for the company to make the necessary changes that are required to change the company's products outlook (Krull, 40).

Three questions on sexual harassement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Three questions on sexual harassement - Essay Example For her statement would indirectly convey that she did not face serious sexual harassment, and thus she might not file a complaint if the related investigator finds such scenario. As per the The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA), it is clearly mentioned that different pay to men and women working under similar situation and possessing similar qualification falls under sexual harassment. Because here it is proved that the only reason for such discrimination is made on the basis of different gender (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, n.d.). But if it is proved that the salary has been differentiated based on qualification, then Jolene Carter shall not get a positive result from her complaint. On the same context, if it is found that there were no other reasons strong enough for such difference, it shall be accepted that her allegation can be considered as true. US Department of Transportation, (2001). Preventing Sexual Harassment. A Fact Sheet for Employees. Retrieved Online on October 25, 2010 from http://www.dotcr.ost.dot.gov/Documents/complaint/Preventing_Sexual_Harassment.htm U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, No Date. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Laws, Regulations, Guidance & MOUs. Retrieved Online on October 25, 2010 from

Towards a Democratic Bill of Rights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Towards a Democratic Bill of Rights - Essay Example According to the essay "Towards a Democratic Bill of Rights" findings dialogue model adopts means of human rights protection, but, it also avoids forms of rights based on the judicial review. This is because; it involves the implementation of a bill of rights which can only be applied by courts. In addition Parliament’s legislative power is also preserved. Alternatively, there is an effective way in the implementation of the bill of rights by applying a democratic model called, Democratic bill of rights (Barry, 2011, p. 78). This model is dependent on political review and democratic processes in the protection and protection of the human rights. Statutory bill of the Democratic bill of rights is developed and recognized through a democratic process. This is to warrants protection of the views of Australian people. The bill of rights will be non-judicial. Relevant to the article to democracy and liberalism, the Australian constitution, federalism or the legislature In Australia , the constitution and the legislature play significant roles in the protection and promotion of the human rights. These human rights are found in the constitution, the common laws and the legislature of Australia. The constitutions offer little support in the protection and promotion of human rights. The parliamentary democracy that exists in Australia is under control by the constitution (Karvelas, 2012). Implementation of the bill of rights through dialogue model hinders democracy, because, courts are responsible for the application of the bill of rights.

Sex Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Sex Education - Essay Example Sometimes, when children ask where babies come from, parents would respond that babies come from storks and would stop at that explanation. Seeing that there is not enough information about sex and sexuality from the family, a teen would turn to other sources of information such as the television, movies, music, magazines, the internet, friends and even boyfriends and girlfriend. The television, movies, and music most of the times treat sex and sexuality as something that can be done anywhere, with anyone, and can be done without any responsibilities. Most of these media sources also show sex and sexuality as a way to be cool, is equal to showing affection to someone, and can be done without worry-free and without risks. Some even exaggerate about sex and sexuality and as a result they send off the wrong information. Some examples of these false information are having more than one sexual partner is alright, protection against sexually transmitted diseases is not necessary, you look cool and you become a hunk when you have had sex with lots of girls, having sex with someone you had just met is cool and acceptable, and o ther false beliefs about sex and sexuality. Magazines and the internet are also the same with television, movies and music. However, magazines and the internet are more popularly known to have been used for improper information about sex and sexuality that at times these materials are classified as illegal. In magazines and the internet, sex and sexuality is simply naked bodies of men and women and no scientific or academic explanation can be obtained from these sources. Though some magazines and some sites from the internet are educational and can be sources of proper explanation for sex and sexuality, those providing incorrect information are more common than those that give the right information. Some false information we get from magazines and the internet

Why Mall of America Is My Favorite Hangout Essay

Why Mall of America Is My Favorite Hangout - Essay Example I have to admit that this mall is special at least going by the number of visitors it receives annually. Perhaps a fascinating feature about this facility is that besides being the leading mall in North America, it also an entertainment enthusiasts’ establishment [ALLITERATION]. In fact, it hosts a number of high-class restaurants and attractions including nostalgic memorials and artifacts [PERSONIFICATION]. [BACKGROUND]. This essay using imagery and three rhetorical devices intensively describes the Mall of America, particularly why it is a special and favorite place to me [THESIS SENTENCE]. Essentially, the mall contains a number of facilities ranging from stores to restaurants that are as vibrant as those found in New York City. In fact, The Theme Park Food Court, LEGO and The Hooters restaurant on levels two and four respectively, provide customers with finger licking meals [METAPHOR] that would make one a slave to the restaurants [METAPHOR]. As one passes by the pavement of the eateries, all they see are sumptuous and savory meals [ALLITERATION] inviting them for a taste [PERSONIFICATION]. When it comes to the attractions at the Mall of America, the mall is a tourists’ heaven [METAPHOR] considering the numerous theme parks and roller coasters. Additionally, the mall Sea Life Minnesota Aquarium is a sight to behold [METAPHOR] for anyone who loves watching sea animals. Principally, the sea animals in the aquarium are as proud as peacocks [SIMILE], judging by the way the manner in which they swim across the thick glass wall. Concerning the memorials and artifacts found in the mall of America, I feel it earnest to note that the United Airline flight 93 memorial that was laid after the September 11 attack is both a nostalgic and melancholic sight [METAPHOR]. Nonetheless, the stadium seat in honor one that was hit by Harmon Killebrew greets all [PERSONIFICATION] that enter through the door.

Oxfam coat Essay Example for Free

Oxfam coat Essay In the Oxfam coat, Anna Adams is able to elaborate with a dry irony the symbolism of a coat and all that it contains. In the unison of this frock, there is the hopefulness of expectation and the knowledge that very much it is a conceit towards a better life that is somehow illusory and never quite there. There is something so sturdy about this coat, but in its impoverished outline, there are thematic qualities which ring of an inevitable notion that more than one thing can be seen from it. In much of society and in judgement, clothes are one indicator of socioeconomic class and forms a classification of people, their preferences, and their prejudices, even. In the poem, the speaker seems to be in some ways, using this poem for knowledge. â€Å"I do not wear this coat to be admired,/not even to be seen; it is for seeing from. † Sometimes a person might wear a certain outfit to indicate a certain station in life. Just like during the Mardi Gras in Venice rich men sometimes dressed as beggars in tattered rags just to expose themselves to the expectations that are given to the poor. Also, in the Mark Twin story, â€Å"The Prince and the Pauper† all it takes for the prince and the pauper to switch places is a trading of clothes. That something so simple as donning a new frock, that something like this can give people new vantages is a commentary on a society that judges at times with the blink of an eye. In some ways, it seems like the speaker is trying to analogize her life to that of a farmers wife. Based on her sophisticated dialect and the advanced qualities of her grammar. It seems unlikely that she has been or was a farmers wife, it seems like even when wearing a shabby Oxfam coat. The analogy towards sacrifice and a sort of poverty, that is nevertheless good, a different lifestyle, history, and experience. The speaker, like the Prince in The Prince and the Pauper† cannot abandon the learning he has received. For when he draws the crown seal to prove his identity, he is proving himself despite the dirt on his face and the shabby misery of his appearance. When the speaker voices, â€Å"I am a walking look-out post, attired. † The word attired is by a dictionary denotation merely saying that she was wearing something which was not all too flattering. Like the paint on a walking look-out post is rarely glossy or shiny, but rather dull and worn, tired in a way in appearance. An apparatus of sorts in its rudimentary appeal and dignity regardless of the season, the hour or the time. Yet despite the adaptation of a literal denotation of attired, there is furthermore the connotation of being tired. The farmers wife is thought of to work tirelessly, without a murmur, watching out for all around her, a sturdy sediment against instability and working mightily to overcome the elements. While its certainly a bit insulting that the speaker seems to objectify the farmers wife. Comparing the frock to the deaf, dead-leaf look of camouflage and inconspicuous sight, there is evidently some derision in the admiration as well. â€Å"I am a walking look-out post, attired/in mist and dead-leaf coloured camouflage-a watchers hide, a property/advisible as poverty, as inconspicuous as middle-age. /it must have needed thirty years at least,/to reach this natural state and yet remain an artefact/that keeps me warm. To ditch it would be a waste. † The derision seems to be there, as theres the comparison of the worn coat to a natural state. It is not clear why thirty years of hard work and poverty ages a coat, that is symbolic of a toil-friendly farmers wife, to be a container for the poverty and overwork that is typically referred to rural scenes and states. In some ways, the naturalization of the farmers wife coincides with the objectification of the supposed farmers wife who is symbolized by the worn Oxfam coat. There is an organic, yet maturing or dead quality, of a kind of soulless duty as personified by the utility yet absence of personality of the illusion of a farmers wife vis a vis the Oxfam coat. â€Å"It cost me twenty pence. Good Harris cloth,/springy as heathers turf:/it has outworn the striding farmers wife/its cut suggests. Her scarecrow bones are earth. † The organic thematization is still present, as the omnipresent aspect of death and decay ares still there. That even this sturdy coat may have taxed the farmers wife who wore herself to the bones and is part of the earth as much as dead leaves melt into the dirt. The personification of this coat, in some ways serves to eclipse the deadness or gone quality of the farmers wife with its being as worn by someone else. Who cannot help thinking into the life and times of a farmers wife. However insulting or even mistaken it may be, undoubtably farmers wives lead hard lives but in some ways, we all do. That in fighting against organic matter, the endurability of good, sturdy cloth can preserve some aspects of feeling invulnerable but that people in the end, all melt into the earth. Perhaps the speaker is more than a bit sympathetically derogatory of the life and times of the farmers wife because she too, is stricken by a fear of death and being worn out. Possibly in moving the quality of being worn and an â€Å"artefact,† an outmoded cultural icon, there is an attempt to deal with the has been quality that is pervasive of many fields including that of poetry. Where a person may be a morning star one day, brilliant and admired, then thrown into the rubble the next day, exiled and socially excommunicated. In lending so much emotion, thought, and headlining grief to this Oxfam coat is perhaps a way to reconcile with the recyclability of not only leaves but people. That in a society which treasures the use of people for its own means, its in some senses hard for people to really express themselves. That in especially tough situations of environments there are so few choices to choose from and so few worlds to inhabit and wear. â€Å"It has outworn its power to startle birds/and has become a rough/looking-glass fibre stuff/chameleon, reflecting wintry woods. /that matted sheep-potential bale of wool/on knitting-needle legs-/sees me as sheep. Those twigs/sense me as bark-skinned tree if I stand still. † The use of people is at times so much changing as people are expected to objectify themselves in so many ways, that apart from a degeneration into the dirt caused by organic decay. People are expected to transform themselves from the natural to the created, just as wool is transformed by the knitting-needle into something like a sweater. The wool as fetched from the backs of sheep, sheared for warmth, is transformed in the shop by the needle to turn itself into something more that people can simply use. When the speaker wears this coat and feels that she may be more degraded and not regarded so well, looked upon as sheep. A vulnerable yet strong person who is fleeced or can be fleeced. That despite the almost insulting attitude towards the hardship of the farmers wife. The distancing yet empathy that is regenerated in this poem. That the speaker wears the pain and suffering of the farmers wife like a costume. That there is an idiosyncratic individuality which borrows from the uniformity of a farmers wife to converge into some medium point. There is still, an unavailability of true emotion or authentic sympathy, as to â€Å"travel incognito† as to â€Å"register on no mans retina. † Is a way of distancing oneself from a role, or even an affectation while still borrowing so much from it. Ultimately the farmers wife is much removed and only imagined, like some pastoral painting. In conclusion, we can only receive her secondhand, like the worn Oxfam coat, there but not there at the same time because life is never given to it in full.

Water, Food And Agriculture

Water, Food And Agriculture Water plays a vital role in life. Without water, existence of life is not possible. Without water, agriculture is not possible. Without agriculture, we cannot meet the ever rising demand for food. Climate change, as we all know is disastrously affecting our environment and the ecological balance. Glaciers, ice bergs and the north and south poles are melting at a rate higher than ever. This is greatly changing the water cycle. Climate change thus severely affects the water levels. Climate change will have a momentous effect on agriculture in terms of water quality and quantity. This will be aggravated by the increasing demand for food as populations and incomes increase. For centuries together, farmers have locally organized the water cycle through irrigation and drainage. The change in the hydrological cycle will influence the agricultural practices. The rural population of the developing countries, for whom agriculture is the primary source of income and employment, will be affected due to agricultures vulnerability to the changing climate. In this report, we shall discuss about the effect of climate change on water resources and agricultural practices which in turn affects the food supply. GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE Climate change has a huge impact on the world as a whole. The impact of climate change on the farmers is perhaps something which most people have not given a thought about. On the contrary, this seems to be one of the most important problems faced due to climate change. Climate change has a major impact on the availability of water and weather pattern. This triggers a chain of events. As water availability and weather pattern changes, farmers have the only option of changing their agricultural patterns to adapt to the surroundings. They often turn to chemicals such as fertilizers to increase their yield. Some even quit farming and turn to other professions. This is usually prevalent among farmers who have a low income as they do not have enough money to buy these chemicals and the abnormal weather conditions frequently lead to crop failures. This leads to a drastic decline in amount of food produced and thus leads to food scarcity. Food scarcity leads to a hike in food prices and thu s unequal distribution of food among the globe as a whole. According to a report published by United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on 11 June 2011, the world will face a water scarcity for agriculture as a result of climate change. In the survey titled Climate Change, Water and Food Security, climate change will reduce the amount of water in river run-offs and aquifer rechargers in the Mediterranean and semi-arid areas of the Americas, Australia and Southern Africa. Asia, where farmlands are irrigated by snowmelt from glaciers, will be affected and the river deltas will face reduction in water supply. Loss of glaciers which support more than 40% of worlds irrigation will disastrously affect the amount of surface water available for irrigation. There will be acceleration in the hydrological cycle which increases the rate of evaporation of water from land and sea. This will increase rainfall in tropical areas and higher latitudes while a decrease will be felt in semi-arid and mid-arid latitudes and the interior of the contine nts. An increase in the growing season of northern temperate zones and a decrease almost everywhere else will be seen.1 The same report also gives some suggestive measures which countries can undertake. One key area requires countries to implement improve and maintain water accounts, which involves collecting data on amount of water used, transferred, etc. and analyzing them to make decisions on how water resources can be managed. At farm level, farmers can change cropping patterns to match the weather pattern. Efficiency can be enhanced by introducing soil moisture conservation practices. Mixed agroforestry, according to the report, also holds promise. Going by the report, these above mentioned systems can sequester carbon and offer additional benefits like reduced evaporation rates, and upgraded soil conservation and water withholding capacity.2 _____________________________________________________________________________________ 1 UN News June 11 2011 http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=38673#.USyhm966ZLM 2 FAO Report June 11 2011 http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/79964/icode/ NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE India displays an extensive array of climatic conditions from the high altitudes of Himalayas to the long coasts, from the parched deserts of the West to the forests of the East. Owing to these complications, the effect of climate change will fluctuate across the country depending on the climatic conditions. In India almost 360 million people are undernourished and 300 million people is poor.3 Agriculture in India principally depends on the South West Monsoon, a short three month period. Hence, any deviation in this pattern will disrupt agriculture. Predicted effects include a drop in wheat production. Experiments have proven a 0.40C rise in the annual surface temperature. A predicted increase in maximum and minimum temperatures is sure to affect the ecosystems and water supply. Important rivers like Cauvery, Ganga and Narmada are likely to experience seasonal and frequent water shortages.4 In India, impact of climate change will increase sub-regional disparities and more extreme rainfall. This is catastrophic in a country that obtains about 100 hours of rainfall in a year. A study conducted by the World Bank in two droughts prone states and a flood prone state revealed that farmers in the drought prone states will see their income reduce by 20% and sugarcane yields fall by 25% while flooding will vividly lessen the rice yields by 12% in the other state.3 The fertile Indo-gangetic plain will face a drop in precipitation by 5% which will fatally decrease the growing period. Large parts of central India will surely see a rise in the surface temperatures thereby lethally decreasing the yield of most crops. The climatic shifts are related to the fate of regional crop and livestock yields and the chronic hunger status of Indian society show that farmers are unable to handle and adapt to the weather pattern.5 According to a study conducted by the Central Research Institute for Dry land Agriculture, Kharif crops will be affected by the rainfall variability while the Rabi crops will be affected by the rising temperatures. The study has also shown that wheat (staple food of northern India) will be affected by the temperature while the rice crop (staple food of southern India) will be affected by both the increase in temperature and decreasing rainfall. Legumes have proven to benefit from the increased temperature but have failed to withstand the water paucity. Another thing to note is that milk production will decrease as the yielding capacity of the cow decreases as temperature increases.6 _____________________________________________________________________________________ 3 http://www.in.undp.org/content/dam/india/docs/undp_climate_change.pdf 4 http://www.indiaclimateportal.org/What-climate-change-means-for-India 5 http://www.hindustantimes.com/business-news/WorldEconomy/Climate-change-induced-food-nightmare-stares-India/Article1-706704.aspx 6 http://cdkn.org/2012/01/agriculture-and-climate-change-in-india/ PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE Chennai, as a metropolitan, does not face any consequences of climate change on agriculture. But this does not mean that it does not face any problems regarding food supply and water scarcity. As a matter of fact, food prices are soaring and water shortage is becoming an inevitable crisis. Scientists predict a 20C rise in temperature and drop in production of crops by 20%7 Data has shown an increase in the temperature of sea surface by 0.310C between 1981 and 2001 April and an increase by 0.150C between 1981 and 2001 October. Although this seems to be a small change, the damage done is catastrophic to the aquatic life. The frequency of spawning of fish has decreased. Thus the total catch has decreased over time. This has greatly affected the availability of this fish.8 I conducted a survey in my neighborhood on this topic. Based on the results, it can be found that there will be a definite hike in food prices in the coming days. This can be attributed to the unpredictable nature of the rains which is caused due to global warming. This is also reduced by less and less area coming under the cultivated land which is accelerated by the growth of industries and extensive use of fertilizers which has led to farmlands turning into wastelands. The prices of Mango, Eggplants, Rice, etc. are likely to rise. Water scarcity is also being faced and will continue to be faced in Chennai if no measures are taken. This is mainly because of the increasing number of complexes which use too much ground water leaving very less behind. Chennai also does not have any natural reservoir as such to store rain water.9 The complete survey can be found in Annexure A _____________________________________________________________________________________ 7 http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/article1156870.ece 8 http://www.icrier.org/pdf/Policy_Series_No_16.pdf 9 Survey conducted. This can be found in Annexure A POSSIBLE SCNEARIO Currently, the world as a whole faces a food crisis mainly due to climate change. If these continue with no preventive measures being taken, a chain of events will occur which will eventually lead to apocalypse. Due to water scarcity, farmers tend to pull out more water from the ground thereby depleting the ground water resources and destroying the water table. Then, there would be less water available for farmers to use for irrigation. More importantly, there would be less water to quench the thirsts of the world. This will lead to heavy food shortage problems which will definitely lead to hike in food prices. Most likely, history will repeat itself. In 1789, a major event occurred that changed the course of time. It was the French revolution and its main cause was food shortage and the rise in food prices. Perhaps, another revolution might get sparked all over the world that would lead to a change in the course of time again. It might be for the greater good, or it might just lead to deaths, sickness and finally the end of the human race. Another way of looking at this is that as all those who are unable to afford the high prices of food will just perish due to hunger and malnourishment. The population of the country decreases and the problem of overpopulation are overcome. But, as people start dying, the countrys production reduces. The countries all over the world slowly start becoming undeveloped. As this process takes place, riots will occur and countries will disintegrate. Wars will emerge and will perhaps lead to the third World War which will be fought for water and food. Basically, cataclysm will be raining down and the Dooms Day will dawn. Either way, there will be an end to our species if we do not take immediate actions to prevent these extreme situations. POSSIBLE COURSE OF ACTION If we were to solve the root of all these problems, then we would look at climate change and global warming. But solving this is not contained by the potential of one country. So, we have to observe adaption strategies for the problems mentioned in this report. Firstly, we need to improve our research methods for forecasting floods. We also need to develop hybrid varieties for crops to make them withstand droughts and high temperatures. These should be available to the farmers at an affordable rate. The changing weather pattern should be analysed. Farmers should be made aware of this pattern so that they can plan their practices to match with the weather pattern to ensure greater yield and productivity. At the farm level, water management should be made compulsory. Although simple, crop rotation can do wonders. Farmers should reduce their dependence on ground water. Farmers should deploy more effective means to irrigate their lands. Drip irrigation and water sprinklers are effective. They should intensify cropping patterns for increased production. Application of fertilizers should be matched with the irrigation. This will also help in escalating the yield. Finally, everyone should be educated and made aware of the current crisis faced by the world. This will make them realise the threat and motivate them to take steps in conserving water and food. PERSONAL RESPONSE After researching on this topic, I am very much concerned about the effects of climate change on agriculture. It directly influences the weather and amount of potable water thereby causing water scarcity and crop failures which eventually leads to food shortages. There is an unquestionable need for us to save water and stop lavishly frivolling away with food. If we do not do so the future generations will perish with nothing left to survive on. This is my opinion after researching on this topic. Word Count: 1,977 words BIBLIOGRPAHY Internet Pages Resourced http://www.ifpri.org/publication/impact-climate-variability-and-climate-change-water-and-food-outcomes Retrieved on 24 February 2013 http://copa-cogeca.eu/img/user/file/Climate/5660%20version%20E.pdf Retrieved on 24 February 2013 http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/79964/icode/- Retrieved on 26 February 2013 http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=38673#.USyhm966ZLM- Retrieved on 26 February 2013 http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/oct/11/food-climate-change-famine-india- Retrieved on 27 February 2013 http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/implications-of-climate-change-on-indian-agriculture-is-it-a-food-or-famine-situation Retrieved on 27 February 2013 http://www.hindustantimes.com/business-news/WorldEconomy/Climate-change-induced-food-nightmare-stares-India/Article1-706704.aspx Retrieved on 27 February 2013 http://www.nato.int/docu/review/2012/Food-Water-Energy/India_Nexus_Climate_resources_stability/EN/index.htm Retrieved on 27 February 2013 http://www.researchgate.net/post/Climate_change_affects_the_distribution_of_rainfall_in_Indian_subcontinent_How_can_we_find_strategies_to_avoid_impacts_on_food_crops11 Retrieved on 27 February 2013 http://cdkn.org/2012/01/agriculture-and-climate-change-in-india/ Retrieved on 27 February 2013 http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/article1156870.ece Retrieved on 28 February 2013 http://www.icrier.org/pdf/Policy_Series_No_16.pdf Retrieved on 28 February 2013 Reports http://www.fao.org/docrep/014/i2096e/i2096e.pdf Retrieved on 26 February 2013 http://www.icrier.org/pdf/Policy_Series_No_16.pdf Retrieved on 28 February 2013 http://www.adaptationlearning.net/sites/default/files/India%20UNDP_Climate_Change.pdf Retrieved on 1 March 2013

Benefits and Drawbacks of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)

Benefits and Drawbacks of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is the single most important mechanism for the globalization of the international economy. FDI is the investment of real assets in a foreign country, it is acquiring assets such as land and equipment in another host country, but operating the facility from the home country. FDI is viewed by many as necessary to stimulate the economies of both developed and underdeveloped countries. The global economy experienced a decrease in foreign investment flows. Developing countries have been hit the hardest by the decline in FDI as foreign investment is being redirected to more developed countries. It is expected that FDI will continue to be the most significant tool for globalization. It is widely accepted that FDI inflows provide economic benefits such as increased competition, technological spillovers and innovations, and increased employment. The impact of foreign investment extends far beyond economic growth. FDI can be a catalyst for change to society as a whole, therefore one must think in terms of economic, political, social, technological, cultural, and environmental factors and examine all the effects of FDI in order to interpret the true long-term impact. Foreign investment and globalization continues to increase, developing countries desperately seeking to attract foreign investment can have undesirable outcomes. FDI can have numerous negative effects, such as job loss, human rights abuses, political unrest, financial volatility, environmental degradation, and increased cultural tensions. The results of FDI on the global economy are complex and unpredictable, yet they can vary from country to country. This is due in part to the practices that are in place prior to receiving FDI inflows, such as deep-rooted social customs, political practices, laws and regulations. In more developed countries foreign direct investment resulted in rapid economic growth and social development and in unstable economies, underdeveloped countries, the results can be quite different. Types of Foreign Direct Investment According to Ali Guo (2005) states the main types of FDI in world are Equity Joint Ventures, Contractual Joint Ventures and the establishment of Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprises. Contractual joint ventures were initially the most important in the world. Equity joint ventures and wholly foreign owned enterprises became predominant and recent years have seen a proliferation of wholly foreign owned enterprises. Equity joint ventures have been a popular entry mode for two reasons. Ali Guo (2005) stated that most governments believes that equity joint ventures best serve the objective of foreign capital, technology, and management experiences. Secondly, foreign investors hope through engaging in joint ventures to get local partners assistance in the domestic markets. Foreign investors have chosen wholly foreign owned enterprises as the preferred entry mode in recent years so as to avoid problems associated with equity joint ventures. Motives for foreign direct investment Kokko (2006) identifies Foreign Direct Investment literature three as the most common investment motivations: resource-seeking, market-seeking and efficiency-seeking. Kokko (2006) suggests that although most MNCs engage in FDI that combines the characteristics of each of these categories, the gravity of each motive on the formulation of the MNCs strategy may also change, as a firm becomes an established and experienced foreign investor. The availability of natural resources, cheap unskilled or semi-skilled labor, creative assets and physical infrastructure promotes resource-seeking activities. According to Kokko (2006) the most important host country determinant of FDI has been the availability of natural resources, e.g. minerals, raw materials and agricultural products. Labor-seeking investment is usually undertaken by manufacturing and service MNEs from countries with high real labor costs, which set up or acquire subsidiaries in countries with lower real labor costs to supply labo r intensive intermediate or final products. To attract such production, host countries have set up free trade or exportprocessing zones (Kokko 2006). Market-seeking investment is attracted by factors like the host countrys market size, per capita income and market growth. For firms, new markets provide a chance to stay competitive and grow within the industry as well as achieve scale and scope economies. Apart from market size and trade restrictions, MNCs might be prompted to engage in market-seeking investment, when their main suppliers or customers have set up foreign producing facilities and in order to retain their business they need to follow them overseas Market-seeking also includes the search for strategic assets that enable the MNC to sustain and advance its international competitive advantages (Kokko 2006). The motivation of efficiency-seeking FDI is to rationalize the structure of established resource based or market-seeking investment in such a way that the investing com pany can gain from the common governance of geographically dispersed activities. The intention of the efficiency-seeking MNC is to take advantage of different factor endowments, cultures, institutional arrangements, economic systems and policies, and market structures by concentrating production in a limited number of locations to supply multiple markets (Kokko 2006). Ownership, location, and internalization are the three potential sources of advantage that may underlie a firms decision to become a MNC. A key feature of this approach is that it focuses on the incentives facing individual firms. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is determined by three sets of advantages which direct investment should have over the other institutional mechanisms available for a firm in satisfying the needs of its customers at home and abroad. The first of the advantages is the ownership specific one which includes the advantage that the firm has over its rivals in terms of its brand name, patent or knowledge of technology and marketing. This allows firms to compete with the other firms in the markets it serves regardless of the disadvantages of being foreign. The second is the internationalisation advantage, that is why a bundled FDI approach is preferred to unbundled product licensing, capital lending or technical assistance (Wheeler and Mody, 1992). The location-specific advantages relate to the importance for the firm to operate and invest in the host country and are those advantages that make the chosen foreign country a more attractive site for FDI than the others. For instance firms may invest in production facilities in foreign markets because transportation costs are too high to serve these markets through exports. This could either be directly related to the actual nature of the good, either being a high bulk item or a service that needs to be provided on site, or due to policy factors such as tariff rates, import restrictions, or issues of market access that makes physical investment advantageous over serving the market through exports. Location advantage also embodies other characteristic (economic, institutional and political) such as large domestic markets, availability of natural resources, an educated labor force, low labor cost, good institutions (the clarity of countrys law, efficiency of bureaucracy and the absen ce of corruption), political stability, corporate and other tax rates among others. Negative effects of foreign investment on the economies of the Host: Al Saffar (2010) states the criticisms directed against the common practices of foreign firms invested in host countries is that its main focus in the recruitment of its investments in industries quarrying for the purpose of re-use in the country of origin of the capital without making any effort to engage in manufacturing activity and development commensurate with the goals and aspirations of these countries, which do growth and development. This type of investment is characterized by extension of the parent organization that harms the host country and adds nothing. Al Saffar (2010) states some foreign-owned supplier to the supply of technology investment in the form of packages, the staff is unable to host countries for investment, dismantled and identified vocabulary to adapt and acquire scientific and technological expertise required for the manufacture of its terms, commensurate with the circumstances and their scientific and economic and social development. That this is clearly going to affect negatively on the possibility of acquiring technical staff Local technological skills and diverse as these companies by another would not be attributable to their employees from the landlords, the National, but routine job sites that do not require sophisticated technical expertise. It thus does not allow creating a new class of professionals or the business of skilled scientific and technological and organizational and administrative, marketing and shielded from the possibility of opening prospects for new national projects and sophisticated and thus the host country has to invest in a spiral of underdevelopment. Al Saffar (2010) argues that rejecting the foreign investor is often the transfer of advanced technology in his possession the grounds that the host country is unable to digest and absorb these advanced Technology and modern. So he would prefer to import from abroad with the full line of production and assembly and thus ignore the important one the main objectives of the host countries is that companies he training of technical staffing group to have and given an opportunity to digest and absorb these technology and benefit from the adaptation and manufacture of the spectrum and its uses in locations other economic, commensurate with their economic circumstances. According to Al Saffar (2010) often foreign companies to import production inputs from abroad, such as materials preliminary and intermediate products as well as the import of spare parts for maintenance the project when you need after the run from their home countries is usually compared to less dependence on local inputs, leading to serious injury to the interests of the host country to the economic and trade deficits, including impair its ability to take advantage of natural resources and increase savings, which is desperately needed. We must give foreign investors a degree of administrative control by virtue of its contribution to the top money on investment projects, will limit or impair the effectiveness of policies sometimes economic development in the host country and restricts the varying degrees of independence of decision-makers local address balance of payments or to take any action, a suitable economic the impact and effectiveness of positive economic activities. (Al Saf far 2010) The foreign investment of foreign companies, making the host country loses some capacity to make some economic and political decisions on the management of its affairs which increases the economic dependency of these countries to developed countries. Besides, these foreign companies is strong negotiating and bargaining power on the selection and sitting investment and size and type of production through a selective approach in the selection of sites investments, creating a sort of incompatibility between the objectives and interests of these foreign companies Invested with what is planned in the path of economic and social development or the desired prepared for those countries. (Al Saffar 2010). The foreign invested companies operating in the area of services, media nd cultural services are often negatively affect the social systems and cultural and traditional values in the host countries .. As they are able to deploy Culture Western and especially American by selling programs on culture and magazines and music and films and books at low prices exceeding the cost price only slightly so as not to be able to become local companies to compete with these low prices. Accordingly, these companies impose its values and culture and traditions of other societies and lead to a breach of and disorder and social systems, social values and traditions rooted and established who was raised by these communities generations long. (Al Saffar 2010) According to Al Saffar (2010) depriving the host country for foreign investment from income tax imposed on capital funds or foreign companies on profits transferred abroad or at imports from foreign inputs as imposed by the Convention as well as imposed by the WTO members from the requirement of national treatment when the imposition of laws and taxes and fees on investment activity as is the case with the local foreign It shall be a great loss for the developing countries that depends to a large extent in the financing of development on the tax revenue. Al Saffar (2010) states a key part of foreign investment consists of the profits realized locally and from here highlight the problem for local decision makers As for allowing foreign companies to transfer most of their profits to their mother countries, which means allowing them absorb the riches that have been newly generated by the activity within the host country, or a requirement that these companies this re-invest profits locally. This really means to allow it to expand and increase the control of the national economy and thereby expanding its market dominance in local raise the rates of prices of goods and services, leading eventually to increase their profits back Other. According to Al Saffar (2010) Giving a lot of freedom for foreign companies to engage in unchecked activity will enhance their ability to evade compliance with laws and regulations issued by the Government of the country, the host and the virtue of its invoking a variety of pretexts, which requires follow-up its affairs professionally and prevent it from Overcome any form of abuse. Al Saffar (2010) states Some economists believe that foreign investment leads to the creation of dependency and development underdevelopment are to be based primarily on the shameless exploitation of cheap labor and exploitation of natural resources of the host country, thus leading to a loss of economic independence and political and greater dependency. VARIABLES DETERMINING FDI INFLOWS Gross Capital Formation, in a transition economy, improvements in the investment climate help to attract higher FDI inflows. It translates into higher Gross capital formation which in turn leads to greater economic growth. Sridharan Perumal et al (2010) find little evidence of FDI having an impact on capital formation in developed countries and observe that the most important aspect of FDI in the selected sample of countries is related to ownership change. The relationship between FDI and Capital Formation is not simple (Sridharan Perumal et al 2010). In the case of certain privatization, it may not lead to increase at all or even result in reduction. Thus, the unclear relation between FDI and capital formation may also hold in a transition economy. However, a positive or negative and significant relationship between FDI and Capital Formation is expected. (Sridharan Perumal et al 2010). Currency valuation The strength of a currency (Exchange rate) is used as proxy for level of inflation and the purchasing power of the investing firm. Devaluation of a currency would result in reduced exchange rate risk. As a currency depreciates, the purchasing power of the investors in foreign currency terms is enhanced, thus we expect a positive and significant relationship between the currency value and FDI inflows. The currency value can be proxied by the Real Exchange Rate, Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER) and Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER). (Sridharan Perumal et al 2010). Trade openness, Trade openness is considered to be a key determinant of FDI as represented in the previous literature; much of FDI is export oriented and may also require the import of complementary, intermediate and capital goods. In either case, volume of trade is enhanced and thus trade openness is generally expected to be a positive and significant determinant of FDI. (Sridharan Perumal et al 2010). Infrastructure facilities, The well established and quality infrastructure is an important determinant of FDI flows. On the other hand, a country which has opportunity to attract FDI flows will stimulate a country to equip with good Infrastructure facilities. Therefore, we expect positively significant relationship between FDI and Infrastructure. (Sridharan Perumal et al 2010). Labour cost, Higher labour cost would result in higher cost of production and is expected to limit the FDI inflows; therefore, we expect the negative and significant relationship between labour cost and FDI. (Sridharan Perumal et al 2010). Economic stability and growth prospects, A country which has a stable macroeconomic condition with high and sustained growth rates will receive more FDI inflows than a more volatile economy. The proxies measuring growth rate are: GDP growth rates, Industrial production index, Interest rates and Inflation rates. (Sridharan Perumal et al 2010). Market size, Larger market size should receive more inflows than that of smaller countries having lesser market size. Market size is generally measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP), GDP per capita income and size of the middle class population. (Sridharan Perumal et al 2010). Currency valuation, The strength of a currency is used as proxy for level of inflation and the purchasing power of the investing firm. Devaluation of a currency would result in reduced exchange rate risk. As a currency depreciates, the purchasing power of the investors in foreign currency terms is enhanced, thus we expect a positive and significant relationship between the currency value and FDI inflows. The currency value can be proxy by the Real Exchange Rate, Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER) and Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER). (Sridharan Perumal et al 2010). Gross Capital Formation, In a transition economy, improvements in the investment climate help to attract higher FDI inflows. It translates into higher Gross capital formation which in turn leads to greater economic growth. Sridharan Perumal et al (2010) find little evidence of FDI having an impact on capital formation in developed countries and observe that the most important aspect of FDI in the selected sample of countries is related to ownership change. The relationship between FDI and Capital Formation is not simple (Sridharan Perumal et al 2010). In the case of certain privatization, it may not lead to increase at all or even result in reduction. Thus, the unclear relation between FDI and capital formation may also hold in a transition economy. Though, a positive or negative and significant relationship between FDI and Capital Formation is expected. (Sridharan Perumal et al 2010).

Healthsouth: The Rise and Fall Essay -- essays research papers

Running head: HEALTHSOUTH: THE RISE AND FALL HealthSouth: The Rise And Fall Abstract Richard Scrushy (Scrushy) had a vision and was driven by his leadership and entrepreneurial abilities. Scrushy was the mastermind and major creator of HealthSouth Corporation (HealthSouth). Scrushy served as chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the corporation for more than 20 years. A Biographical Sketch: Richard Scrushy and HealthSouth. Retrieved March 22, 2005, from the World Wide Web: http://www.richardscrushy.com/biography.aspx. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged HealthSouth Corporation and CEO Richard Scrushy with fraud, alleging the earnings of HealthSouth have been extremely overstated since approximately 1999. Bassing, T. (2003, March 19). SEC charges Scrushy; 41.4B civil fraud alleged. Birmingham Business Journal. Retrieved March 23, 2005, from World Wide Web: http://birmingham.bizjournals.com/birmingham/stories/2003/03/17/daily30.html?t=printable. Scrushy has been replaced Jay Grinney (Grinney) who recently accepted the position of President and C EO of HealthSouth. Grinney has a vision for HealthSouth and is confident he will succeed in restoring the corporation to its original status of leadership in the world of healthcare. HealthSouth: The Rise and Fall   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Richard Scrushy (Scrushy) was born in Selma, Alabama in 1952. He had two siblings which consisted of an older sister and a younger brother. Scrushy was raised by two working parents and the family attended a local Methodist Church located in Selma. As a young boy, Richard was always able to find a job making money. His entrepreneur endeavor’s emerged during his teenage years and continued there after. A Biographical Sketch: Richard Scrushy and HealthSouth. Retrieved March 22, 2005, from the World Wide Web: http://www.richardscrushy.com/biography.aspx.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Scrushy chose to continue his education beyond high school and was graduated from college, but not before marrying his first wife and becoming the father of two children. During his years in higher education, he became interested in respiratory therapy and enrolled in the respiratory therapy program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Scrushy was intellectually gifted, had excellent leadership abilities and quickly began climbing the corpo... ...ushy Please Step Forward, The New York Times A Biographical Sketch: Richard Scrushy and HealthSouth. Retrieved March 22, 2005, from the World Wide Web: http://www.richardscrushy.com/biography.aspx. Rehab Resource (March 1, 2005). Administrator’s Corner, Volume 5, Issue 3 Retrieved March 22, 2005 from the World Wide Web: Institute For Global Ethics, November 10, 2003, http://www/globalethics.org/newsline/members/issue.tmpl?articleid=11100316510695 Retrieved March 22, 2005 from the World Wide Web: U.S. Department of Justice, September 29, 2004, www.usdoj.gov/usao/aln Retrieved March 22, 2005 from the World Wide Web: http://www.al.com/specialreport/birminghamnews/healthsouth/scrushypay.jpg Retrieved April 5, 2005 from the World Wide Web: http://www.healthsouth.com/medinfo/home/app/frame. Retrieved April 5, 2005 from the World Wide Web: http://www.al.com/specialreport/birminghamnews/healthsouth/index.ssf   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Retrieved April 5, 2005 from the World Wide Web: http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/health/2004-10-25-scrushy-cover_x.htm Retrieved April 6, 2005 from the World Wide Web: A Guide To The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, 2002. http://www.soxlaw.com/

Life in the Community Essay -- Gender Roles, Racism

Life in the Community Aren’t you supposed to be smart because you’re Asian? Aren’t you supposed to be a trouble maker because you’re African American? We are discriminated against because of our multicultural society. In our multicultural society we experience these terrible racist comments due to the diversity we have. Our society is one of the worst because of the diversity of people and religions. We have different languages, foods, religions, movies, music, and games making life confusing for the average person. We have trained our minds to think of everyone as different; judging them without even knowing them. We live with all these freedoms and choices that can led to bad reasoning. Lois Lowry explores the concept of Sameness in The Giver and shows that while there are problems with Sameness ultimately it is a positive way to run a society. Living in a society that employs Sameness corrects the problem of racism and sexism. Lily had exclaimed, â€Å"One of them—a male; I don’t know his name – kept going right to the front of the line† (Lowry 5). Lily only describes the child as a male not introducing the thought of a race. She does not describe him as anything else than a male, meaning she doesn’t know the concept of racism. It is shown that racism can also lead to there being sexism in a society. Jonas shows this by saying, â€Å"Mother, who held a prominent position at the Department of Justice, talked about her feelings† (Lowry 8). Jonas shows the reader that in his Community the idea of anyone becoming anything is true. It does not matter if they are male or female; it only matters if they are capable, making... ... violence. When violence is present in a community it normally leads to crime, and in The Giver crime is not one of the major problems. Sameness also helps the citizens of the community to make good choices. No one in Jonas’s society has the wrong job, spouse, or children. All this is due to the idea of Sameness. Would you trust someone to bath you? Sameness is the reason Elders in Jonas’s Community are not scared of being bathed by a random stranger. Sameness also gets rid of all the hardships of the climate, and environment. Sameness makes the climate and environment constant meaning no random changes will occur in it. Would you like to live in a world on no crime, violence, entrust, hardships, racism, and sexism? Lois Lowry reveals to use that a community with Sameness is more productive and reasonable that one without.