Preventing Childhood Obesity as a Parent

In today's society, childhood obesity is considered a serious public health issue and can be classified as an epidemic. In the United States alone, one in seven children ages 6-17 are considered to be obese. In the last 40 years in the United States the rate of childhood obesity has tripled. The main reason why childhood obesity has become such a serious issue is because children now days live more sedentary lifestyles. Children now days are bombarded with television advertisements urging them to eat foods high in fat and calories while staying inside and playing video games or watching television. Childhood obesity does not only affect children in childhood but can cause a list of health issues in their adult lives also. When it comes to education regarding childhood obesity, the responsibility needs to be addressed by the parents, schools and the media. In the following paper, I am going to explain how childhood obesity can be controlled at home by the parents. Everything can be learned at home and applied to everyday life. I am going to give a brief overview of what the problems associated with childhood obesity are and what are the main contributing factors. I will show also show the long term effects of the issue and how it can also be addressed by the parents. Childhood obesity is costing the United States millions of dollars I health care expenses. In my opinion, I feel that this can be diverted by simple education from the parents. According to the article Facts about Childhood Obesity and Over-weightiness, obese children are statistically not active and consume diets that are high in fat. Most physicians use what they call a Body Mass Index Scale (BMI) to calculate how overweight a child is. Children who are over a 30 when it omes to BMI are considered obese. In order to calculate a person including a child’s BMI, you would have to divide their weight in kilograms by the square of their height in meters (Mokdad,). When it comes to weight gain among children, you have to factor in many things such poor dietary habits, genetic makeup, family lifestyle, socioeconomic status and a child's ethnicity. Obesity is more prevalent amon g Hispanic, African-American and American Indian children, particularly girls (Mayohealth. org). When it comes to children who suffer from obesity most are not overeaters. The main cause of their weight gain is that the majority of the foods they consume contain high amounts of calories. When it comes to consuming excess calories, just an additional 200 calories a day can cause excess weight gain in children and add up to half a pound of fat a week. Although foods high in calories are partially to blame, soft drinks and fruit flavored beverages with high levels of sugar content also are a main cause of weight gain in children. In a recent study, it shows the average teenager in the United States today consumes an average of 65 gallons of sugary soft drinks annually. The number is doubled in elementary school age children and the number in general has tripled in the past two decades. When it comes to the issue of childhood obesity, diet is not the only factor contributing to the problem. Many physicians and child psychologist also blame the increase television viewing and a child’s more sedentary lifestyle. When it comes to watching television it does not require a large expenditure of energy and is usually accompanied by high-calorie foods. The American Heart Association reports that on average, a child watches a total of 17 hours of television a week. This report does not include the time spent playing both video and computer games. In one study performed by the American Heart Association, they found that a child who watches more than five hours of television a day have a greater risk of weight gain than children who watched less than two. (Mayohealth. org) Along with sedentary lifestyles, the addition of fast food can lead to obesity in children. As you drive in any town and city located in the United States, the one thing you will notice is that there is a fast food chain on almost every corner. Along with a fast food chain on every street corner, children watch television that are filled with commercial and advertisement showing their newest food selections. Many of these commercials have been geared toward children and can be associated with the rise of childhood obesity. In a recent study, researchers have found out that families that choose fast food as a meal three or more times a week do run a higher risk of obesity and larger BMI’s. When it comes to all fast food chains, the one thing they all have in common is that every kid’s meal comes with a choice of a boys or girls toy. The other thing they have in common is the absence of fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grain. The absence of these healthy choices can make the effects of the burgers and fries that much more severe. In order to solve the problem of fast food, parents can balance a burger with regular exercise. With this combination, you can balance fast food with healthy choices. In a 1996 U. S. Surgeon General’s Report regarding fitness, nearly half of young people ages 12 to 21 years of age are not psychically active. The American College of Sports Medicine reports that, due to financial constraints, only one-third of schools now offer physical education classes and many children today finds team sports too competitive or costly to join. (Mayohealth. org) Physical education and organized sports not only provide children with an active lifestyle, but it also teaches them discipline. Although it is important for schools to provide young children with sports and physical education, the main responsibility lies at home with the parents. The effects of childhood obesity does not just end when the child grows into an adult but can cause further health issues in the future. Childhood obesity has been linked to hypertension, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Being extremely overweight and not active as child causes the buildup of excess fat which circulates the blood and eventually turns into plaque. The plaque caused by this excess fat begins to slowly accumulate in arteries which causes a strain on the veins. The accumulation of this plaque can occur early in childhood and could lead to heart disease or a eart attack as an adult. The distribution of fat in the body has an important effect on one's blood pressure. Hypertension is a chronic medical condition in which the systemic arterial blood pressure is elevated. Young overweight adults between the ages 20-45; are six times more likely to have hypertension then normal weight peers the same age. This number is increased if an adult grew up as an obese child. An accumulation of fat results in the release of fatty acids into veins which causes an excess of hepatic synthesis of triglycerides, insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia. The Journal of the American Medical Association Volume. #282) Along with heart disease, diabetes is another health issue associated with early childhood obesity. Obesity increases the risk of non-insulin dependent diabetes and causes two different forms of the disease. One form of diabetes is the increased demand for insulin the other form is the resistance of insulin in an obese individual. Obesity causes a resistance to insulin that increases the insulin production to compensate the excess of glucose circulating in the blood. This excess causes damage to beta cells in the pancreas, producing insulin. (The Journal of the American Medical Association Volume. #282) Along with physical and health issues, psychological issues are also associated with childhood obesity. In today’s society a lot of emphasis has been placed on physical appearance. This is made evident in the media which portrays what they consider the ideal image of a person. These images make overweight people feel unattractive and unwanted. Many people in today’s society assume that obese people are lazy, fat, gluttonous and unattractive. It is because of these prejudices that cause children to feel rejected, shame and depression. Like health issues, psychological issues can also be carried over from childhood to adulthood. When it came to the treatment of childhood obesity, many thought it could be achieved through strict dieting and exercise. This was found to be unsuccessful in most cases due to the fact children did not have the support in order to accomplish this goal. A new treatment involving a family-based approach is now being introduced as possible treatment for childhood obesity. These programs are more successful because they maintain or slowly help a child lose weight as he/she grows (Mellin). These programs focus on the entire family, promoting physical and emotional well being and not diet. In order to perform this type of treatment, medical professionals have to first do a bio-psychosocial assessment to see if there are any medical or psychosocial problems. (Mellin) Once this is established, they can then address the symptoms of obesity and the causes of the weight gain. When it comes to the issue of childhood obesity, it is important to involve the entire family in treating this problem. Children need motivation and support from their family prior to the involvement of dieting or exercise. With a strong support structure, it allows children to feel they can accomplish anything. In my opinion childhood obesity is a serious problem because it affects all areas of today’s society. Childhood obesity affects a person’s health, psychological well-being, the medical field and the family. I feel that in today’s society they many consider exercise, dieting and medication a quick fix in solving the problem. I feel that the problem of childhood obesity can be resolved at home with proper education and support. All health problems in children that can be prevented starts with the parents prior to the involvement of anyone else. As a parent of an overweight child, the first thing you must do is set attainable goals. The most important thing is you have to learn how to walk before you can run. The benefits of setting attainable goals are that when an overweight child accomplishes the goals you have set it provides them with the motivation to accomplish more. If you set the goal to high and the child does not accomplish them, it makes them discouraged and will make it harder for them to achieve more. I feel along with support and motivation, an overweight child needs proper education regarding proper diet. I feel that many parents today feed their children what they want because they feel it is making them happy. What parents have to understand is just because it makes them happy doesn’t mean it is good for them. When feeding children full meals, a healthy diet containing less than 30% fat calories is considered sufficient in raising healthy child. Moran) Parents should also only offer snacks when the child is hungry. The most important rule when offering a child a snack is to make the snack healthy. Parents should offer their children fresh fruit, raw vegetables and water rather than sugary soft drinks. I feel that now days many parents use food as a reward rather than for nutritional purposes. In my opinion children should be pra ised verbally and not given snacks like dogs when they do something well. Verbal praise I feel works well especially when a child makes a healthy choice options. Another way a parent could help children maintain a healthy body weight is to encourage the child to participate in sports for at least a half an hour a day (Levine). Parents should encourage children to be active and go outside to play. Parents should also participate and encourage their children to play organized sports. When parents are involved in their child’s active lifestyle, children tend to see it all the way through. Parents should also limit children watching television and playing video games. Television and video should be used as a reward rather than a parenting tool. When it comes to childhood obesity and many other childhood diseases, parents now days are more anxious to throw medication at it or go for the quick fix. In my opinion, before a child can even talk they learn from everything you teach them as a parent. The issue of childhood obesity is never going to go away but it can be curved with a simple lifestyle change. All the learning starts at home and all habits whether good or bad starts at home too. When it comes to the issue of childhood obesity, parents have to learn that they are the key to their child living a healthy lifestyle and growing into healthy adults.

Cause and Effects of Stress in Children Essay

Stress is a response to a factor or situation that negatively affects the physical, emotional, or psychological existence of a person. Stress is good in small quantities as it motivates a person making him/her more productive. However, too much stress is detrimental to a person. Stress can interfere with the general life of a person. Most people assume that stress only affects adults. However, statistics indicate that stress also affects children. Children face intense pressure from their environment. Continuous stress in children is harmful to their activities, health, and development. There are a number of causes and effects of toxic stress in children. Stress can be caused by both negative and positive situations. Children living in abusive environments, both physical and emotional, experience stress. Arnold wrote that children who are bullied are in continuous state of depression. They, therefore, alienate themselves from their colleagues. Parents who constantly beat their children are also causes of stress. The fear that is manifested in children disorients them. They will not be able to talk about what they feel to anybody but rather keep to themselves. Events such as accidents, loss of loved ones, and rejection are also causes of stress in children. Social change patterns in children cause many stressful situations. Children at puberty yearn for freedom. This creates tension between them and the parents, who are constantly monitoring and regulating their activities. In the same stage, children will constantly be in need of money. Lack of money causes stress in children as they are not always able to buy whatever they may need. They will compare themselves with other children who are in comfortable financial positions. Such children are always anxious and worried of where and how they will get money. Stress in children is not only caused by what happens in their own lives but also by what happens in their parents’ lives. The greatest effects of stress are experienced by the brain. The brain controls all the stress mechanism in the body making it the primary stress organ. Johnson stated that the vulnerability of children’s brain is caused  by the fact that they are constantly growing and developing. Constant stress in children disrupts brain development and compromises its normal function. Research has indicated that children experiencing stress have smaller brains. Toxic stress impairs the connection of brain circuits resulting in development of a smaller brain. Prolonged period of stress in children affects their nervous and immune system. Stress hormones are released when a child is exposed to stress. Cortisol hormones, which are released as a result of stress, suppress the body immune system. This leaves a person vulnerable to diseases and infections. Depression, alcoholism, eating disorders, and chronic diseases are also linked to childhood stress. Psychological effects of stress include changes in personality, aggressiveness, and irritability. Children under stress are likely to experience frustrations and isolation from friends and family. They spend more time on their own and lack motivation. Children may also have difficulty in concentration thereby affecting their academic performance. Children under extreme stress exhibit change in behavior. They may be more disobedient, fight often, stutter, and cry often. In conclusion, stress in children has many causes and effects. The notion that stress only affects adults is wrong. Too much stress, often referred to as toxic stress, is detrimental to the life of a child. Toxic stress affects the physical, emotional, psychological, and social aspects of a child. Even though every child reacts differently under stress, it is clear that stress affects the neural system and the health of a child. Children under stress tend to develop negative characteristics like irritability and disobedience. Research has indicated that there are number of causes of childhood stress which are interrelated. Social change patterns, abusive environment, and stress in parents are just some of the cause of childhood stress.

Crunchs Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Crunchs Management - Essay Example However, in spite of this the Crunch management should ensure that their name is not affected by the expansion. Already people had gained so much confidence in the services that Crunch offered thus changing the brand name may cost the company some of its customers. Levine asserts that he knows exactly what needs to be done to promote the brand but all he needs is assistance. Crunch has insightful leaders who are very dedicated and all that they required was to draw a well strategic plan of all the activities they will engage in before they acquire SportsLife. Crunch’s Los Angeles position had really favored its operations and above all this positioning and expansion had been funded by a donor. At this position they were able to collect a substantial amount of revenue. Generally, the overall revenue for Crunch combined with other external collections, was enough for reinvestment. Crunch’s top management had so far proven to be very innovative for instance, the coming up with the idea of fitness clubs as tenants of real estate was great (Harvard Business School 5). They always came up with new ideas which upon exploiting proved to be very profitable for the company. The experience that the company already had on the expansion as it had started as a small business venture, would aid it to pursue the SportsLife acquisition. However, a lot needs to be put in place before doing this considering that if they acquired SportsLife, they would increase their size by 60%. This implies that what they were going to acquire was more than what they had in place already. Crunch should strive to expand its operations at this critical moment when they enjoyed a good brand name. The move to acquire SportsLife was perfect as the company would increase its club mass on a very pleasing market Harvard Business School (6). An expansion strategic plan needed to be put in place on how the activities would be executed. Firstly, flagship facilities were needed be put in place in every market in order for the company to acquire a greater coverage. Furthermore, intensive advertising activities should be pursued to inform their potential customers of the changes they had undertaken. Though expenditures would rise, they were going to be got from many clubs as well as a larger membership base. Although the acquisition was worthwhile, it would take Crunch quite some time to merge it completely into its brand. Fortunately, looking at the performance of the company it is confident that if they acquire the new facilities they will be able to generate more revenue than what the clubs currently generated. The clubs generated about $17 million revenue annually which meant they were not doing badly (Harvard Business School 8). At the time SportsLife clubs had approximately 70,000 members who had a relatively renewal rate as compared to Crunch. From such a scenario, it implies that by giving this clubs the Crunch reputation, the renewal rates are likely to go up boos ting the revenue base. In addition, the clubs’ current condition was not comparable to the Crunch clubs, thus it meant upon upgrading the clubs, they will attract more membership. Crunch should view the differences that exist between SportsLife’s clubs and its own as a stepping stone to differentiation and diversification. Since Crunch had exploited all the opportunities at their disposal successfully, they needed to explore new ideas and personalize them. Harvard Business School (9) explains that two of the SportsLife clubs were strategically positioned to Crunch’s advantage. What Crunch needed to do was to concentrate all their efforts into

O what extent is clozapine effective in the treatment and management Dissertation

O what extent is clozapine effective in the treatment and management of resistant schizophrenia - Dissertation Example Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, only 10 studies were included in the actual synthesis of data. Result: With regards to treating patients with either treatment-resistant schizophrenia or those who are partially responsive to clozapine monotherapy, only 7 out of 10 studies that were officially included in this review of literature focused on examining the effectiveness of clozapine therapy when combined with another antipsychotic drugs (i.e. amisulpride, aripiprazole, risperidone, and quetiapine). The other 3 remaining studies are all equally useful in the completion of the literature review particularly with regards to the basic information on clozapine, treatment-resistant schizophrenia, and the drug potency of clozapine versus other types of antipsychotic drugs such as amisulpride, olanzapine, quetiapine, risperidone, or ziprasidone. Conclusion: Combining the usual dose of clozapine with another antipsychotic drug such as aripiprazole, amisulpride, or quetiapine are a ll equally effective in terms of treating patients with either treatment-resistant schizophrenia or those patients with partial response to certain antipsychotic drug. Unlike the process of combining the use of clozapine therapy with aripiprazole, amisulpride, or quetiapine, combining the use of clozapine therapy with risperidone remains uncertain. Acknowledgements I would like to thank my parents for extending their emotional support to me throughout the completion of my dissertation paper. To my supervisor _____________ (insert name) who has guided me all the way throughout the progress of each chapter of my research study. Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................ 2 Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................. 4 Table of Contents ......................................................... ........................................................ 5 1.0 Introduction and Background ................................................................................... 7 1.1 Nature and Purpose of the Dissertation ..................................................... 8 1.2 Relevance of the Discussion to the Role and Responsibilities of Nurses and the Clients ............................................................................... 8 1.3 Relationship of the Subject to Current National and Healthcare / Social Care Policy, Priority, and Agendas ................................................ 8 1.4 Historical / Contemporary or Other Contextual Issues which Impacts the Subject ................................................................................... 9 1.5 Aims and Purpose of the Research Study .................

Writting paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Writting paper - Essay Example It is also known as the Chase or Police and Thieves. The participants of the game are split in two teams. One team is the Cops or the Police- the good guys; the second team is the thieves- the bad guys. The cops chase the robbers and put them into a prison or jail. The robbers can not break free from the prison by themselves. Only a fellow thief can come and rescue the jailed robber by tagging him/her, while being vigilant about the police and trying that it does not catch them. The teams switch roles when all the robbers have been jailed. In a slightly modified version of the game, the robbers are given a few minutes margin before the chase begins. Both sides often use toy guns and assume a language and other artifacts that relate them to their role. Bimbo is another game that us popular amongst children, especially in Italy. The two main roles in the game are that of Bimbo (the leader) and the players who are chased. The players stand in two files facing each other, five yards apart, with their hands facing upwards behind their backs. The Bimbo has two leaves with him, and he struts behind the lines, discreetly placing the leaves in the hands of any two players, one from each line. Then he suddenly shouts â€Å"Stop! Thief! Lucky Leaf!† and that is the cue for the two players who are in possession of the leaves to run to the opposite side, avoiding being caught by the Bimbo (Cagel, 2010). These two players then pass the leaves to another two players who run across the play area to the opposite line and so on, while the Bimbo tries to catch them. If the Bimbo catches any person who has the leaf, then that person is the new Bimbo. Both Cops and Robbers and Bimbo are outdoor games and the theme of the game remains the same: the thrill of chase. The games are similar in the respect that there are two different roles that the participants are split into, and both games can involve a large group of children. The concept of assuming a pretended identity is

Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 164

Essay Example This happens as a result that the managers tend to be motivated by their own self-interest and their interests differ most with the stakeholder’s interest. In this case the stakeholders are the principal while the managers are the agents. This problem is referred to as principal-agent problem. I agree with this claim because managers use the power and authority allocated to them by the shareholders for their own personal benefits. This problem is very difficult to deal with in most cases. However, the cost of dealing with this problem is far much expensive that the shareholders may end up losing a lot of money in the effort to ensure that they deal with the problem and eradicate it completely. Trying to do away with this conflict may outweigh the results of the managers. Therefore, the principal who are the shareholders opt to use several mechanisms to reduce this problem through several mechanisms which ensure that the results of the managers who are the agents in this case are not outweighed. In a company, shareholders expect the managers to maximize their wealth by making good decisions in the interest of the shareholder. However, the managers work hard and make decisions that that will best suit them and maximize their own personal wealth. There are several mechanisms that can be of good use to solve this conflict. One of the mechanisms used to solve this principal-agent problem is through the use of incentives types of compensation based on performance of the managers. This motivates the managers to work hard and make decisions that lead to maximization of the shareholder’s wealth. This mechanism ensures that the managers understand the risk of undertaking any costly actions which may lead to losses. The second mechanism of solving this problem is the threat of firing of the managers if they do not perform in the best interest of the shareholders. This mechanism helps in shaping the Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 38 Essay Example

Evaluate the methods used to obtain qualitative and quantitive Essay

Evaluate the methods used to obtain qualitative and quantitive information on DNA methylation - Essay Example Varied methods for analyzing DNA methylation quantitatively and qualitatively exist, and they entail studying the polymerase chain reactions. Notably, the identified and widely procedures for analyzing DNA methylation both qualitatively and quantitatively include methylation-specific PCR(MSP), combined bisulfite restriction analysis (COBRA), bisulfite sequencing, methylation-sensitive single nucleotide primer extension (Ms-SNuPE), as well as, quantitative real-time MSP (Szyf, 2010 p 29). The use of each technique depends on the efficacy and intended information gain of the analysis process. Methylation-specific PCR technique involves the analysis of DNA methylation patterns in CpG islands. Thus, it is a qualitative technique of obtaining information on DNA methylation. The method involves the modification of the DNA using PCR with two primer pairs that are detectable in methylated and unmethylated DNA respectively (Ip, Canham, Choo, Inaba, Jacobs, Kalitsis, Mattiske, Saffery, Wong, Wong & Mann, 2012, p 9). The study of the methylation patterns focuses on the regulation of gene expressions as they occur in mammalian cells. This technique is useful from its advantages. Notably, it is highly sensitive and highly specific for particulate CpG sites, which makes it remarkably accurate. Additionally, the Methylation-specific PCR (MSP) facilitates for analysis of clinical samples, which have low levels of methylated sequences. The use of the restriction enzymes eliminates the problem of incomplete enzyme digestion; hence, giving accurate findings. The limitation of the techniq ue includes that incomplete bisulfite modification of the DNA gives false positivity results (Szyf, 2010 p 56). Further, poor design of the primers could give inconclusive results. Bisulfite sequencing technique entails the use of bisulphite treatment of the DNA to establish its pattern of methylation. It is a qualitative technique and was the first

Ethical and Legal Issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Ethical and Legal Issues - Essay Example The first question is how and why are such practices allowed To answer this, it is necessary to see how progressive our laws and regulations are on the matter of privacy. Basically the concept is one of fundamental laws. Many states' constitutions or charters provide a clause which basically provides the fundamental right to privacy. In the United States, federal statutes have been passed which implements the right to privacy in the context of the digital realm, ensuring that the people are informed of their rights of privacy and the manner in which they exercise them. The Gramm Leach Bliley Act1 (1999) requires banks and financial institutions to clearly disclose to customers any intention to share to a third party personal information, giving them the option of nondisclosure. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act2 (HPIAA) (1996) requires health care providers similar legal obligations in informing the customers how their health information is used and ensures confidentiality of health care information. The HPIAA giving the consumer access to their own health information, and explicitly requires the authorization of the consumer before their health information can be disclosed to anyone. Another similar legislative act is the... Also, websites that collect a child's info needs verified parental consent in collecting, using or disclosing that info. In the United Kingdom, as well as the other members of the European Union, legislation has been based on the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms4 on the concept of privacy vis--vis the freedom of expression. In addition, other Conventions and Treaties provide additional specialized legislation on the matter, such as the United Nations' Guidelines for the Regulation of Computerized Personal Data Files5, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)'s Guidelines for the Protection of Privacy and Transborder Flows of Personal Data, and the European Council's Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data6, the European Parliament and the Council of October 24, 1995's Directive 95/46/EC7 and Directive 97/66/EC of the Council of November 4, 19978 all will the same objective in mind, proper use and regulation of how personal information is used and transmitted. How our personal information gets on the internet in the first place, is basically of our own doing. We sign up with email accounts, shopping accounts, newsgroups and forums, all the while sharing bits and pieces of our identity. A name here, a credit card number there, and all these come together to our disadvantage, and the advantage of others. A good example is if we sign up for the very popular free email service of Yahoo! Inc., which is also one of the biggest search engines, and offers all sorts of services to their members and non-members

Regeneration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Regeneration - Essay Example four major criteria which included, ‘increasing the demand for local labour’, ‘reducing local labour-market imperfections, ‘increasing mobility and awareness of job opportunities’, and ‘increasing the skills of local residents through educational or training schemes’. Correspondingly, the LDDC policies formulated by the central government can be identified to promote the gentrification process (Church, 1987). Similarly, the study of Butler and Lees (2006) asserted the prevalence of super-gentrification in ‘inner London neighbourhood of Barnsbury’, which was further in line with the gentrification noticed in New York. Notably, the Abercrombie Plan visualized â€Å"the outward movement of London’s population to locations beyond the Green Belt at the cost of a declining inner city population† (Keddie, n.d.). These examples can be viewed as evidences which suggest that London Planning Policy promotes the gentrificati on process. 5 The term ‘gentrification’ is one of the most widely debated subject matters in the domain of urban planning. It depicts the transformations in urban design with regard to changes in lifestyle values or economic situations of any particular urban region. The process primarily depicts the idea of providing an increasing share of urban area for wealthier people in order to ensure maximum development of a particular area (Syrett & Sepulved, 2010; (Roberts & Sykes, 2000). This essay will answer the question, as to whether planning policy in London aims to promote or prevent gentrification Gentrification in London has resulted in the emergence of widespread challenges. Gentrification in London is argued to have several negative impacts on the lives of urban population. Notably, gentrification is criticised on several grounds. For example, it has been claimed that gentrification results in ‘loss of affordable housing’, ‘under-occupancy and population loss to gentrified areas’, ‘displacement through rent/price

Project Managers and Functional Managers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Project Managers and Functional Managers - Essay Example Project managers have more critical leadership challenges b. Project managers have multifaceted teams c. Project manager use synthesis, functional managers use analysis IV. Skills and competencies of project managers a. Traditional skills and competencies b. Emerging skills and competencies V. Project Managers and Functional Managers There is a greater emphasis on project management techniques in the business world today. This is because of the unique value that project management brings to certain aspects of the life of the organization that includes change management, product development, and marketing. Many businesses recognize that instead of relying on the functional managers to see specific projects through, it is better to organize such aspects under project managers. A project manager is the person who heads a team that handles a specific project that has a time limit, and which has verifiable resource limits (Flannes & Levin, 2005). Project managers participate more as team leaders than as bureaucratic entities. They normally work with cross-functional teams with members picked from various backgrounds to bring diversity to the project team. A functional manager on the other hand exists to coordinate the functions of an institution on ongoing basis. Normally, a functional manager will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the department they head (Meredeth & Mantel, 2011). They tend to be in charge of departments like finance, accounts, human resource, and security, among others. It is important to note that functional managers may also serve as project managers for small-scale projects in the firm, which do not warrant the establishment of a separate project team. Normally, functional managers graduate into project managers when the need for project managers comes up in the firm. However, more and more organizations hire project managers at entry level because of the consistent nature of project operations in many companies. Most companies i n the IT and construction industries, for instance, operate under project regimes, hence they keep permanent project managers in their firms. Comparison of Project and Functional Managers There are some important similarities between project managers and functional managers. The first on is that they both manage people. More than anything else, they have a responsibility to ensure that the people under them are working towards achieving the overall aims of the organization. This makes them leaders to a varying degree in the organization. Secondly, they require technical competence in the functional role that they perform, or in the project area that they are in charge. Both types of managers need a substantial amount of appreciation of the issues that they deal with. In most firms, both managers will report to senior management of the company. Depending on the hierarchy, a project manager will more often be senior than a functional manager if the firm uses the progression described earlier. However, in other cases, these managers form part of the management team and interact t as peers. Another key characteristic that defines both project and functional managers is that they have specific tasks to accomplish. It is their role to deliver certain aspect of the organizations mandate and hence each of them answers for the tasks over which they superintend. Finally, both types of managers have resources at their disposal. The resource allocation procedures normally vary from the way departments get

Economies Of The Middle East. Essay Example for Free

Economies Of The Middle East. Essay According to the CIA world Fact Book Bahrain is located in the Middle East on the eastern side of Saudi Arabia. Bahrain’s climate is arid though characterized by hot and humid summers while the winters are pleasant. (CIA,2008). According to the Council for International Exchange of Scholars, Bahrain is an archipelago which is comprised of 33 islands and is sandwiched between the east coast of Saudi Arabia and the Qatar peninsula. Bahrain has an advantage in as far as tourism is concerned given her richness in geographical features like the sandy beaches as well as the coral reefs. It also has various museums, archeological sites and traditional markets which are all a plus to her competitiveness. Bahrain is also well known for her liberalistic tendencies in the Middle East region. (Council for International Exchange of Scholars). Being an Arab country, Islam is the most practiced religion although other religions which form less than 25% of the total population are allowed to take place. They include Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism as well as Judaism. In such a set up, where 85% of the total population is Muslim it is only natural that Arabic is the official language. However, English is used in the learning institutions as well as when conducting business. This paper will give an in depth analysis of Bahrain. The US department of State, Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs pointed out that in 2007 the population of Bahrain was 708,535 out of which a tune of 32% comprised of non nationals. Statistics of the same year also indicated that annual population growth rate was at 1. 39%. In accessing the composition of the Bahrain population by ethnic background it was established that Bahrainis recorded the largest proportion at 63%, Asians were next with 19% while the Arabs and Iranians were 10% and 8% respectively. The US department of State estimated that Islam is the religion observed by approximately 98% of the total population. It also estimated that other languages used in addition to English and Arabic included Farsi and Urdu. A unique characteristic of the education system in Bahrain is the fact that although it is not compulsory, it is offered for free at all levels. Estimates taken in the period 1991 to 2001 indicated that there was a high rate of school attendance at 84%. In the year 2003 it was established that the overall adult literacy levels for those aged 15 years and above stood at 89. 1% while the rate differed across the genders. (Bureau of Public Affairs, 2007). Males had a higher rate at 91. 9% while females registered a lower rate at 85%. Bahrain finances her citizen’s educational needs from incomes attained from her generous investment in oil reserves. The importance of the year 1920 in as far as the education of Bahrain cannot be underscored as it was at this time that the first public school which served both sexes was introduced. There are 2 universities or high learning institutions where people are able to improve their credibility levels in the job market. To cater for the health needs of her population there is a health science college which offers specified skills in the various medical fields like nursing, pharmacy. According to the 2007 statistics the infant mortality rate was at 16. 18 deaths/1000 live births while the life expectancy for males was 5 years lower than that of the females which was 77 years. Statistics from 2006 estimated that approximately 352,000 people formed the Bahrain labor or work force out of which a tune of 44% was foreigners. The US department of State also estimates that Bahrain is among the highly dense populated states and most of her population settled in the capital city Manama. A considerable percentage of Bahrain’s workforce is comprised of foreigners due to the ‘foreigner – friendly’ policies by the government. Although the naturalization process evokes contrasting views among the Bahraini’s it has seen approximately 10% of the total populations attain Bahraini nationality. Critics argue that the procedures or rather criteria applied could jeopardize the country’s security especially when foreigners previously working with sensitive departments like security are naturalized. There are 2 types of Muslims in the Bahrain state. About 2/3 of the people from the indigenous group are shi’a Muslims while prominent people in the society like the ruling family, numerous members of the government and the military as well as leaders in the state form the Sunni Muslim. (Bureau of Public Affairs, 2007). According to the CIA world fact book, the birth rate using 2008 estimates was 17. 26/1000 population while the death rate at the same year was at 4. 29deaths/1000 population. The rate of net migration was estimated to be 0. 4 migrants/1000 population. CIA also estimated that the sex ratios for the total population stood at 1. 25 males/females in 2008. 2008 estimates also had it that the total infant mortality rate was at 15. 64 deaths/1000 live births while that of females was at 12. 93 deaths/1000 live births. In 2006, the school life expectancy of both primary levels to tertiary education was 15 years though it varied across the genders with males recording a lower expectancy at 14 years while females lagged behind at 16 years. 2001 statistics indicated that approximately 86. 5% of the total population could read and write with males recording a higher rate at 88. 6% and females at 83. 6%. In 1991 the government spent approximately 3. 9% of the GDP to finance the education sector. (CIA,2008). The government in Bahrain is a constitutional monarchy with 5 administrative divisions namely Asamah, Janilyah, Muharraq, shamliyah and wasat. She attained her independence on the 15th of August 1971from the UK. In 2002, on the 14th of February she adopted a constitution that was to be followed. The laws consist of the English law but blended with the Islam laws. The universal suffrage is at 20 years meaning any one above that age has the right to vote. There are three branches of government, the executive, legislative as well as the judiciary. The executive is comprised of the King Hamad bin Isa al- Khalifa who took over in March 1999. the king is the chief of the Bahrain state. The Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman al Khalifa is the head of government and he has held this position since 1971. The monarchy has the responsibility of appointing the cabinet and the prime minister too but the monarchy is hereditary. (CIA,2008). King Hamad Isa al- Khalifa succeeded his father who died in 1999 after being in power for approximately 38 years. King Hamad can be commended for various reforms in Bahrain especially his zest to introduce democracy by changing the current system that was purely a ‘hereditary emirate’ to a ‘constitutional monarchy’. (CIA,2008). His efforts precipitated to a referendum in 2001 for the National Action Charter which approximately 94. 8% of the Bahrain voters endorsed. Another significant act by King Hamad was setting free of most political detainees and prisoner most of whom had been exiled, detained or imprisoned from as early as in the 1970’s for posing ‘security threats’ to Bahrain. Kind Hamad did away with the state security law and court which made it possible to detain people for up to 3 years without trial. The constitutional reforms Hamad introduced saw to it that a bicameral parliament which had a representative from the lower house was operational. Another aspect different from what was initially the trend was the creation of an independent body which was to act as ‘watchdog’ over corruption allegations such as the embezzlement of public funds. This was a way of increasing accountability and transparency in the region. (Bureau of Public Affairs, 2007). Hamad’s efforts were however not without challenges as for instance there were protests against the provisions he enacted on the constitution from members of the Shi’a community. The 2002 election made a mark in the political history of Bahrain as it was at this time when the first woman was elected in parliament. The legislature branch comprises of the 40 member consultative council and the 40 member chamber of deputies. The election of the two councils is different in the sense that the former is elected by the kind while the latter is determined through a direct election. Elections are held after 4 years with the last one in 2006. The judicial system of Bahrain is comprised of a combination of courts adhering to the English laws as well as the Islamic laws or religious and tribal laws. Hamad also made significant reforms in the judiciary when he set a separate branch to over see it. The king’s son or crown prince is the head of the commander in chief of the state’s defense force and the king’s successor. (Bureau of Public Affairs, 2007). Democracy in Bahrain, however is limited to the fact that political parties are discouraged and this had been the case for many decades but with the rise of Hamad to power political societies were allowed to operate (CIA) According to the CIA world fact book Bahrain attracts foreign direct investment a factor that has made various multinational companies settle there and carry out business. This is to the country’s advantage economically. Similar to other gulf countries the role of petroleum in stirring economic growth and development cannot be underscored. It is estimated that petroleum products attribute to over 60% of her total exports which contribute to a tune of 70% of the total government revenues. The petroleum industries directly contribute to approximately 11% of the country’s GDP. Bahrain is also rich in aluminum which is the second largest export. (CIA, 2008). The US department of state noted that other natural resources in Bahrain included textiles, natural gas, fish and pearls. (Bureau of Public Affairs, 2007).

The Structure And Complexity Of Languages English Language Essay

The Structure And Complexity Of Languages English Language Essay Language, as described by the cognitive scientist Steven Pinker, is the jewel in the crown of cognition (Siegler 212). Out of all our mental processes of cognition, language is arguably one of the most used and intricate process, as evidenced by the approximately 6,909 different languages used in the world today (Lewis, ethnologue.com). As Noam Chomsky wrote, when we study the human language, we are approaching what some might call the human essence' (Chomsky 88). Chomsky refers to language as the human essence because it is one of the few cognitive abilities that is so central to human development, while at the same time putting human beings in their own echelon of biological complexity in organisms. As much as we take language for granted, an alien species foreign to our methods of communication may become curious or puzzled when watching us communicate. After all, we sometimes sit for long periods of time, listening to our fellow humans make hisses and squeaks with their vocal chords. We do this because that these sounds that we make have structure, meaning, and significance. In our daily lives, each one of us wields the tools of language not only to convey information, but also to motivate, influence, or command attention. To understand language, there are four key areas that merit attention: the structure of language, different stages in language development, varying views in language acquisition, and the biology behind language. Structure of language Although language is incredibly complex, as mentioned before, linguists have found ways to separate language into different parts. According to the current methods, language is comprised of three simpler building blocks: phonemes, morphemes, and grammar. The smallest unit of language is a phoneme, which are the basic sounds of a language. For instance, the English word cat is made up of three phonemes, including the starting c- sound, followed by the vowel a-, and finally the hard consonant t- ending. While at first glance phonemes may seem to be equivalent to letters, this is not the case. In English, combining two vowels often generates a new phoneme, such as the ou- vowel sounds in pout. According to linguists who have studied over 500 different languages, humans use around 869 different phonemes. English is comprised of around 40 different phonemes, with other languages having anywhere from 20 to 90 (Meyers 383). A chart listing the main English phonemes is provided (see fig 1). In language, changing phonemes in words alters their meanings. For instance, changing the phoneme between the letters b- and t- creates twelve new meanings: bat, bout, beat/beet, bought, bet, boot, bit, boat, bite, but, and bait (Wardbaugh 189). As important as vowel sounds may seem, consonant phonemes actually carry more information: The treth ef thes statement shed be evedent frem thes bref dementretien (Meyers 383). Another interesting phenomenon that we encounter in our daily lives is the difficulty people have with pronouncing words from different languages. This is primarily because as we grow and learn language, we learn the set of phonemes required by our native language, but we also have difficulty with phonemes from other languages. For instance, a common example of this is a native German speakers difficulty with the English phoneme th-. When trying to pronounce the word this, German speakers often say dis instead. This is because the th- phoneme doesnt exist in the German language. Likewise, English speakers have trouble with the German rolling r- and breathy ch- phonemes. Surprisingly, this is also common among sign languages as well. With almost 200 different sign languages used in the world today, native signers of one language may have difficulty with the phoneme-like building blocks of other sign-languages. According to the researcher Ursula Bellugi, Chinese native signers who come to America to learn sign usually sign with an accent (Klima and Bellugi 158). http://kisi.deu.edu.tr/tarkan.kacmaz/courses/phonetics/phonemes.jpg Figure 1- English Phonemes Morphemes are the second building block of language. While phonemes are the basic sounds of a language, morphemes are the smallest units of language that convey meaning. There is some overlap between morphemes and phonemes; some phonemes, such as the English a- and I-, are both basic sounds as well as words that carry meaning. More often, however, morphemes are combinations of multiple phonemes. Some may be entire words, but others are parts of words. While words like run and toy are morphemes, prefixes and suffixes like pre- and -ed qualify as morphemes as well. The third and most complex building block of language is grammar. The English language is composed of 40 phonemes, which combine to form around 100,000 different morphemes, which then combine to form over 1,000,000 different words and derivations (Meyers 384). In order to handle all of these words in a structured and organized manner, we develop rules and patterns to create a standard method to communicate between one another. The two main divisions of grammar include semantics and syntax. The first branch of grammar is semantics, which is the set of rules that governs how we derive meaning from words, morphemes, and sentences. In semantics, we study the relationship between signifiers and their denotata. Signifiers are the signs, words, or phrases that we are interested in, while denotata is what these objects stand for. For instance, from the rules of semantics, we know that adding -ed to the verb blast means that the action happened in the past. The second branch of grammar deals with syntax. Syntax is the set of rules that gives meaning to the order of the words in the sentence. Syntax varies wildly from language to language, as there is no universal set of rules. In English, for example, adjectives often come before their nouns, as in the phrase large house. However, in Spanish, syntax dictates that adjectives usually come after the nouns they describe. The same phrase in Spanish would be casa grande, with the adjective coming after the noun it describes. Grammar has and always will be incredibly intricate. As Steven Pinker wrote in 1994, There are Stone Age societies, but there is no such thing as a Stone Age language (Pinker 15). However, this is the innate beauty of language: complexity built out of simplicity. When you look at each of the different building blocks of language by themselves, they arent too hard to understand; in fact, at some points, they may even be seen as intuitive and simple. However, the infinite combination of words, phrases, and sentences that we are able to form with the aid of language enables us to express almost any emotion or feeling through language. Stages in language development While we often take human communication for granted, humans have an amazing knack when it comes to developing a high proficiency in language in such a short period of time. Many of us have tens of thousands of words stored in our minds as we go about our daily lives, and we are able to construct sentences with these words with almost perfect syntax with ease. We use approximately three words a second as we speak, and this is often done spontaneously, with little to no planning beforehand. This section seeks to explore how we get to this level of proficiency. Each person enters this world as a tabula rasa for language; we have no knowledge of language at all, and for quite some time, we remain this way. At 4 months of age, babies begin to develop their receptive language, or ability to understand and comprehend spoken word. Initially, they begin to match sounds with moving lips. They prefer to be looking at the face that makes the sound, and they begin to learn that certain manipulations of the mouth make distinct sounds. Then, at 7 months of age, they are able to differential separate words from a stream of spoken sound. Whats quite amazing is that researchers have found that young children around 7 months of age have an innate advantage when it comes to segmenting spoken sounds. A study conducted in the mid-1990s placed several adults and 7-month old children in rooms with a computer emitting a sound. To most of us, the sound that the computer was making would sound like completely random sounds jumbled together. However, the researchers had placed repeating syllables inside these sounds, and it turned out that the young children had an easier time distinguishing the repeating syllables than the adults (Meyers 387). This information plays a large role in studies of second language acquisition, which we will examine more closely when looking at critical periods for language acquisition. At 4 months, children also begin developing their productive language. The first stage is referred to by scientists and psychologists as the babbling stage. During this stage, babies create random sounds strung together that have no meaning. Babbling is universally similar; in other words, a Chinese babys babbling would be no different from a Russian babys babbling. The household language has no bearing on the sounds created during this stage. However, if the babbling has no meaning, what is its purpose? The babbling stage is natures way of preparing the child for a vast array of phonemes, since different languages require different phonemes. At 10 months, babbling has changed. Instead of ranging a vast array of phonemes, the sounds created by the child will be the same as the sounds of the household. At this point, a well-trained ear can listen to the sounds that a child makes and will be able to distinguish with a fair degree of certainty which language is spoken in the household. At this point, children are said to be functionally deaf to sounds outside of their native language. This is similar to scenario presented earlier contrasting a German speaker with an English speaker. Likewise, this effect can also be seen in Japanese adults who move to an English speaking country. Japanese speakers cannot differentiate between the English r- phoneme and the l- sounds. For instance, a Japanese speaker will hear the same thing when an English speaker says both right and light. This is because the Japanese speaker is functionally deaf to the difference between these two phonemes (Meyers 385). Young children usually enter the stage known as the one-word stage around their first birthday. At this stage, most know that sounds convey meanings, and they are able to connect words with pictures. I addition, the children will usually begin to use one syllable phrases or short words to communicate with others. This stage is where the infants language begins to match the language spoken by the family in the household. Vocabulary acquisition is relatively moderate, with the infants learning around a word a week, but this speeds up to a word a day 18 months of age. Finally, at the age of 2, children enter the two-word stage. Because the phrases used are usually in the noun-verb pattern, the speech is often called telegraphic speech since it resembles the short messages that telegraphs relayed. Also, just like the old telegraphs, the speech almost always follows the rules of syntax (big dog instead of dog big). Once children move out of this stage, they usually begin to create longer phrases rather rapidly. An interesting fact that is noted regards children who get a late start in learning their language. This problem can arise if a child is an international adoptee, moving to a foreign country where another language is used in the household. Psychologists have noted that even though the children get a late start on learning the language, they move through all of the stages noted above, except they do so at a faster pace (Meyers 386). Figure 2- Summary of stages of development How we learn language In the realms of psychology, many people have tried to explain the method behind how we acquire language at an early age. Although no universal theory has been developed, the contrasting views of two important people- B. F. Skinner and Noam Chomsky- provide differing opinions about language acquisition. B. F. Skinner, a noted behaviorist, believed in a theory known as Operant learning. According to his theories, children acquired language through three well known principles: association, imitation, and reinforcement. Association deals with connecting sounds with words, images, or objects. A child who is told to point to his nose will be able to locate his own nose with practice. Imitation, the second principle, explains how children pick up grammar. Children hear adults using proper grammar, and then imitate the patterns that they hear. Finally, the last principle is reinforcement. According to Skinner, acquisition of language isnt complete until children receive positive feedback for creating sentences or communicating correctly (Meyers 386). When the famous linguist Noam Chomsky heard of Skinners theory of language acquisition, he believed that it didnt explain the whole picture. Chomsky firmly believed that children learned new vocabulary and principles of grammar too quickly to be explained by Skinners Operant learning. For example, Chomsky pointed out that children tended to overgeneralize grammar rules when first starting out, creating fresh sentences using rules they hadnt been taught before. In Chomskys view, language acquisition was like helping a flower grow in its own way (Holyoak and Thagard 170). Chomsky proposed the idea of a language acquisition device. Though it has not been proven scientifically, the concept behind the language acquisition device is that it acts as a switch box, with certain switches needing to be turned on or off in order to produce language. These switches are conditions that we are exposed to as we developed or language. In addition to the language acquisition device, Chomsky also believed in a concept often called the inborn universal grammar. Chomsky noted that all of the worlds languages were built out of the same building blocks-nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc. Thus, we learn the specific grammar of languages that we experience readily, since universal grammar comes prewired into our brains. This proposal is supported by the fact that all children begin saying nouns before moving on to other parts of speech, such as verbs and adjectives. While both Chomsky and Skinner propose valid arguments defending their theories, psychologists believe that true language acquisition is a medium between both theories. Skinners ideas were more related to the nurture aspect of the debate, while Chomsky believed in the nature side. As with almost every psychological subject, the true answer is that development is only possible with both nature and nurture working together. Research has also shown that critical periods do in fact exist for language acquisition. Deaf children who received cochlear implants before the age of two developed far better speech than those who received the implants after the age of four. Children who arent exposed to language until the age of 2 or 3 receive a rush of language, unleash[ing] their brains idle language capacity (Meyers 387). These children usually go on to become strongly proficient in language skills. However, children who havent been exposed to any language (such as deaf children without exposure to sign language) by the age of seven slowly start losing the ability to master any language. A recent study compared children deaf by birth who didnt learn sign language until the age of nine with children who learned English before becoming deaf around the age of nine and learning sign language. The children who learned English first developed a far greater mastery of sign language than the children who were deprived of language. As Meyers concluded in his book, when a young brain does not learn any language, its language-learning capacity never fully develops (Meyers 388). This window for language learning also plays a part in second language acquisition; those who wait longer to begin learning another language tend to have a more difficult time with the process. In a study done in the early 1990s, two researchers asked Korean and Chinese immigrants whether each of around 270 short sentences that they were displayed were grammatically correct or not. Some of the immigrants had come to the United States in their childhood, but all of the immigrants tested had lived in the United States for around 10 years. When the data was collected and documented, it was seen that the older the immigrant was when he or she arrived in America, the worse they performed on the grammar test. The results of the study are graphed in Figure 3. Research done into the brains involvement in second language acquisition is covered in the next section. Figure 3- Results of the immigrant study The biology behind language When it comes to language and communication, people are ready to believe that many of the skills that we associate with language- reading, writing, and speaking- are governed by the same areas of the brain. However, studies looking into the effects of aphasias, or injuries that impair language ability, revealed some surprising results. According to Meyers, some people with aphasia can speak fluently but cannot read (despite good vision), while others can comprehend what they read but not speakà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ still others can write but not read, read but not write, read numbers but not letters, or sing but not speak (Meyers 389). Puzzled by the varying effects of aphasia, scientists began studying patients with these mental disorders and

Utilitarianism As The Principle Of Happiness Philosophy Essay

Utilitarianism As The Principle Of Happiness Philosophy Essay According to John Stuart Mill (author of Utilitarianism), utility is happiness, and happiness is pleasure minus pain. Widely known as a universal hedonism, utilitarianism is an ethical philosophy in which the most ethical acts are those which serve to increase the happiness for the most people or at the very least, decreases the suffering for the most people. Nonetheless, albeit with the fact that happiness is recognized as a universal though objectively valuable goal , utilitarianism has been for centuries recognized as the doubt of most moral philosophers, criticized for being impractical, cold and distant from individual rights and the real complexities of life. Bernard Williams is one of the critics, who brought about explicit series of objections against utilitarianism in his book, A Critique of Utilitarianism (Williams 1973b). Obviously, it is impossible for me to cover all areas concerning utilitarianism and so concentrating on morality objections, I will first of all attempt to present Bernard Williams integrity objection and the well known counter-examples against utilitarianism. Then, I will try to counter these objections, and rebutted Williams argument with stern objections as well, with Mills Utilitarianism as my reference. At the end of this essay, I hope to show that utilitarianism is indeed right, and likewise, moral intuitions are without a doubt unreliable to be used as a base in criticising utilitarianism. From what I can understand, Williams believes that utilitarianism fails to recognise the reality of complexities in life, the value of integrity, and as I mentioned earlier, individual rights. Morality comes with the recognition of individual rights and if decisions or judgments are made based on numerical value of the greatest number of happiness in a situation, the happiness of this lesser number group is ignored. Hence, integrity failed to be satisfied. In order to maximize the number of happiness, simply favour the largest number of members in a group and this irked the mind of Williams. Moreover, according to Williams, a normal utilitarian man wouldnt be able to fulfil the demanding ridiculous principle of utilitarianism. It is asking too much of an individual person and so because of that the theory must be flawed. From experience itself we can be sure that morality indeed, does not require so much of us.   Yet, the latter argument of Williams can still be argued as it is not that the theory is demanding, it is just that people dont want to fulfil their moral obligations, and that we just dont like being told to do what we dont want to do.   After all, a moral theory that wouldnt ask us to do what we dont want to do would be useless. Critics of utilitarianism have never fail to construct hypothetical situations where in each of them is the definite clear expectation of what the utilitarian would say, and it is also clear that the saying of the utilitarian would always be potentially wrong in almost all hypothetical cases. These counter-examples against utilitarianism do not conclusively show that utilitarianism is wrong, but indeed they are common reasons why people are rejecting it. And so because of that, I will present two such common counter-examples and the expected utilitarian response for these counter examples. First Counter-Example: Hypothetically speaking, there would be a television show of the future, a show where a person is taken and subjected to tortures on the show.   This is a pay-per-view show that costs a good amount of money to get.   Only people who want to see the show will ever see it, but there are a large number of people who get a great amount of pleasure from seeing this plus all the profits go to charity.   This isnt a regular program, it may only happen once.   Should this show be made? Speaking in a utilitarian manner, it is indeed right to give a green light to this show as even though, it is really sad and bad for this one person, it is however, brings a lot of happiness and pleasure to those who will see it (obviously thousands of watchers). Moreover, all the profits will go to the charity thus benefited a lot more people! Clearly, the benefits outweigh the harms. But obviously, it is indeed still wrong to torture people. This could indeed be the main argument of the opponents. Regardless of the benefits, it is still a violation of that tortured mans rights. Furthermore, to enjoy watching the torture could indeed be more morally wrong than to be physically involved in the show. Second Counter-Example: Jim, a botanist travelling in South America, comes upon a public execution in a small town. A military captain has lined up 20 Indians. He explains to Jim that they have been chosen at random from the local population, which has recently been protesting against the government. The captain offers Jim a guests privilege. If Jim wishes, he can select one of the Indians and shoot him; the other nineteen will then go free. Otherwise, the execution by the captains henchman, Pedro, will go as planned. Utilitarianism seems to claim that it is obvious that the right thing to do is for Jim to just select one of these Indians to be shot at, so that another 20 lives could be spared. To not choose, or refusing to choose could lead to unhappiness of 20 persons, whereas to choose could only cause unhappiness of one. And so as we are referring to the theory of maximizing utility, to lose one is better than to lose 20. However, the objector will claim that it is just obvious that this is the wrong thing to do.   Killing a persons life is still wrong for whatever the reason is. From what that I can deduce, the two counter-examples have one thing in common that is our sense of Morality or our moral intuitions clashes with the principles that utilitarianism hold. Indeed, opposite commands. Nevertheless, it does not mean that utilitarianism must be wrong or flawed. First of all, the arguments made by these counter-examples can only be conclusive if only our moral intuitions are correct.   However, as we all know, our moral intuitions are volatile due to the complexities of life and due to the significant numbers of gray areas that could result in confusion, according to Mill, that is why we refer to moral theories in the first place. Since it is unclear to us of the universal approval for moral intuitions, the critics cannot use their moral intuitions as the base for rejecting a moral theory which is in this case, the moral theory of utilitarianism. Indeed, of course, for example, stealing is a disgrace yet to think of it now, maybe our other supposed to be right moral beliefs might be wrong. Yet, is stealing really wrong? What about Robin Hood? Is he a hero or just a plain mere thief? The point that Im trying to state here is that we dont really know which are right and which are wrong. Our moral beliefs are inconsistent.   Some may percei ved certain things are right. Some may not. And so, we cannot know that our common sense moral intuitions about The Torture Show or Jim and The 21 Indians are right mainly because we dont really know which of our moral beliefs to trust. Second of all, the counter-examples are based on complicated moral situations; and truth to be told, biased as have they are design in such a way that the morally right answer seem obvious.   In reference to Jim and the 21 Indians, let me re-describe the situation to highlight the utilitarian benefit. Indeed, it is hard to overlook how terrible the consequences would be if 20 Indians are to be killed, when Jim has the power to prevent that. We must acknowledge the fact that, yes, although it is easy to sympathize with one innocent unfortunate person, we must also sympathize with the other 20 people, each of whom will suffer greatly if they are to be killed.  In this case, the morally right action is not obvious.  The situations presented are almost always unusual and extraordinary they are situations that one is unlikely to come across, much less to be prepared for when one does come across it.   And so conclusively, we based our moral intuitions on our moral educations. Mor al education is applicable to our daily lives and if it was to be applied in aggravating counter-examples and in every possible situation, it is indeed impossible. And so because of that, moral intuitions are not valid and any objections based on them are flawed and can be disregarded. Conclusively, these could somehow rebut the arguments made by William on the basis of integrity and morality. Conclusively, we can actually deduce that things that are morally wrong usually involve the harming of people and things that are of high moral values such as charity work, heroic deeds all contribute to the welfare of the people. Moreover, it is not a coincidence that wrong actions harm people and right action help people.  Indeed, utilitarianism claimed that the reason that right actions are right is that they help people, and the reason that wrong actions are wrong is because they harm people.   The basis of morality is inside the principle of utilitarianism. You make people happy when you help them and you make them unhappy when you harm them. And so, conclusively, as long as a person accepts that it is best to help people as much as possible and hurt them as little as possible, he or she must accept that utilitarianism is right! Works Cited/References: Crisp, Roger 1997: Routledge Philosophy Guide Book to Mill on Utilitarianism. E. Goodin, Robert 1995: Utilitarianism as a Public Philosophy. Mill, John Stuart (Reprinted in Penguin Classics 1985, first published in 1859): On Liberty. Would you kill someone to save one hundred people? CreateDebate. Retrieved on 15th November 2009, from http://www.createdebate.com/debate/show/ould_you_kill_ someone_to_save_one_hundred_people Utilitarianism Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia. Retrieved on 12th November 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utilitarianism Bernard Williams Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia. Retrieved on 12th November 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Williams Introduction to utilitarianism. Retrieved on 16th November 2009 from http://www.utilitarian.org/utility.html Utilitarianism by John Stuart Mill Retrieved on 18th November 2009 from http://www.utilitarianism.com/mill2.htm

After the Others by Bruce Weigl :: Book Reviews Poetry Essays

After the Others by Bruce Weigl With a new century approaching, Bruce Weigl's twelfth collection of poetry, After the Others, calls us to stand on the millennium's indeterminate edge. This book, opening with the last four lines of Milton's "Paradise Lost," parallels our departure from this century with Adam's fearful exit from Eden, beyond which is "all abyss, / Eternity, whose end no eye can reach" ("Paradise Lost"). Weigl posits that we stand at the century's uncertain gate naked, cold, and greedy; he refers often to a looming future, to give our collapsing present more urgency. We've forgotten, he says, how to love and live simply, how to write honestly and well. With all this forgetting, we've also forgotten that God gave Adam and Eve a chance to recreate a world mirroring the beauty and goodness of the lost one. Yet, as their heirs, we've constructed an earth where "we live inside a history that no longer remembers us." Weigl wonders if we reinvent history to give ourselves identity, rendering ourselves powerless because we're unconscious of our present. He examines human suffering, hedonism, and desire, wondering if we can re-learn how to love, be loved, and forgive. As a mature poet working at the height of his craft, Weigl writes that we must weed out "the snare of the devil in our hearts" to pass through the visible end of the twentieth century bravely, with grace. After the Others returns to themes of previous books. In Sweet Lorain (1996), forties America is depicted through life in charred, industrial Ohio, and in What Saves Us (1992) the speaker relies on religious epiphanies to rescue him from what he'll regret. Weigl's conversational language, as in previous books, comes unadorned: I didn't know what I didn't know. I didn't want a life of anything then, only a life. Weigl's line and stanzas vary: he uses couplets, tercets and quatrains, as well as undivided lines. He relies on internal and slant rhyme, but occasionally writes infelicitous lines: "She sang out loud about a cloud." His tone is generally ironic, as in "Cult of the Car": "somebody wanted a blow job / on a gorgeous freeway in America" but "it doesn't matter who / this near the millennium.

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The Importance of a College Education Johnny is a fifth grade student who is almost ready to graduate and move on to the sixth grade. Johnny however, can not multiply or divide. He cannot spell or read. Johnny fell behind in the third grade. His teacher overlooked his failure and promoted him so that he would not be held up socially. Johnny's fourth grade teacher promoted him to fifth grade hoping that he would catch up with his classmates. Johnny is now about to enter the sixth grade with the educational skills of a second grader. The situation described above is called social promotion. It is the process of moving children through grades regardless of learning or skill. For years it has been the common practice in education to move " students from grade to grade because of chronological age" (Mitzel 468). Students should have an adequate education in order to be equipped for the twenty- first and twenty-second century. The injustice of social promotion should be ended and society must discover the best route to achieve genuine student success. "Students who are socially promoted have no skills for life. The number of social promotions each year nears two million" (American Federation Teachers, afta.com). Social Promotion shows children that no matter what grade they achieve they will be promoted. This creates two problems. Students will not work to achieve; laziness is created in children. Second, the students who work hard and learn the material are often overlooked so that a teacher may help a student who is behind because of social promotion. Social promotion was brought to the attention of the country when President Clinton gave his State of the Union Address in 1999. In this address he stated many educational goals such as a mandatory third grade reading goal and the reformation of the school system in order to equip it for the twenty -first centuries. Along these same lines the President has called an end to social promotion. President Clinton proposed not just to hold back failing students but to do something about their failure. Such as remedial classrooms, identifying weakness before it is too late, strengthening learning opportunities and placing strong well-trained teachers in classrooms (Galston 35). If a student was asked in the nineteenth cen... ...ided to go back and get a degree. My mother has my utmost respect for her dedication for higher education. Even after all these years she could’ve just relaxed and enjoyed the fruits of her labor, instead she chose to attend college again. After weighing all of my options and seeing all the signs I knew it was time to get back in the game. I mean, today's society's level of norm based on an individuals qualifications has three fold in the past 30 years, whereas more than 55% more high school seniors attend college than in 1968. (http//:bostonu.edu) Once where an individual could be successful and needed no college education, now needs to attend some form of continuing education institution. As a result, I am now attending the University of Phoenix. I now attend to college to please myself, achieve a goal and to create better opportunities for me and my future generation. It took a while for me to fully understand and appreciate what a college education was for and could do, starting with Johnny in the 3rd grade to the advantages it held for me. I admonish everyone, young or old to pursue their degree if they have not already done so. It is never too late...for education.

Future of North Korea Economy: Politics over Economic Policy

Future of North Korea Economy: Politics Over Economic Policy The terms starvation, isolation, totalitarianism, and nuclear ambitions combined would remind most people the hermit kingdom in East Asia, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and its Kim dynasty. After the demise of the aged dictator Kim Jong Il in December 2011, the country went through a period of mourning the death of their â€Å"beloved† Great General and, undergoing a power succession to his 29-year-old son, Kim Jong Un. He has been known to have attended a Swiss school in his childhood years, enjoying playing basketball and video games (Yan & Shubert, 2011).However, even though many outsiders have a hopeful outlook on this young dictator to be somewhat liberal in both economic and political perspectives, analyzing the situation through levels of analysis suggests that he is unlikely to be any different than his predecessors. In fact, because maintaining the nation’s authoritarian Kim dynast y and communist political system is the most important objective for North Korea, he will probably continue to put low priority on economy, defying international norms as a totalitarian nation of a closed, rigidly planned economy.The Three Levels Explained The levels-of-analysis is an approach conceptualized by Kenneth Waltz in his book Man, the State, and War to understand global politics through categorizing different factors shaping states’ behaviors (Ray, 2001). The approach can be categorized in to three levels: the individual level, which emphasizes the roles played by individual leaders, nation-state level, focusing on interaction between various actors under the nation’s political system and culture, and the system level, addressing distribution of power in the international system (Dorff, 2004).Although levels-of-analysis problem, regarding limitation and vagueness of integrating units, is an ongoing issue according to James Lee Ray (2001), the levels can be i ntegrated more simply in to a more structured and comprehensive analysis when they are considered as different explanatory variables of different location as in this case. Individual Level of AnalysisKim’s past actions show that his main goal is consolidating and maintaining ultimate power through an authoritarian, inhumane method that closely resembles his father’s methods. His fondness for Michael Jordan and his chic, stylish wife may give the impression that he would adopt a more â€Å"open† leadership, but since succession, he has been ruthlessly eliminating anyone in his way of solidifying power within the ruling party, while also verbally and physically provoking South Korea.Not long after ascending to the â€Å"throne†, he executed Kim Chol, vice minister of the army, with a mortar round for â€Å"reportedly drinking and carousing during the official mourning period after Kim Jong Il’s death† (Ryall, 2012). Moreover Klug (2012) report ed that Ri Yong Ho, the military chief who was Kim’s mentor during the power transition and one of the key figures that the former leader relied upon, had also been removed from his position, for health reasons, this July.Baek Seung-joo of the Korea Institute for Defense Analysis say that these replacements of influential military officers and purges of over a dozen senior officials are signs that the young dictator is reshuffling the cabinet to appoint people loyal to him, while also keeping check of any possible dissidents (Kim, 2012). In addition, Kim has clearly shown that he is not concerned with international norms when he reportedly played a major role in planning the shelling of South Korea’s territory, Yeonpyeong Island, a couple of years ago (Yang, 2012).Statements threatening to attack South Korea and its key figures have also escalated in a harsher, specific tone after the change of leadership, even out threatening to send revolutionary armed forces to â₠¬Å"reduce all the ratlike groups and the bases for provocations to ashes in three or four minutes, in much shorter time, by unprecedented peculiar means and methods of our own style† in April (Choe, 2012). Byman and Lind (2010) claim that these provocations help Kim to stoke popular nationalism, while strengthening his position within the military.It has been only a few years since Kim entered politics, but these series of eliminating potentially threatening figures, including even those who have helped in smoothing the transition, and continuous provocation to the international society suggest that consolidating power through provocation and purging is the main focus of Kim on the individual level. Even if Kim Jong Un succeeds in gaining stable power, it is unlikely that he would be enthusiastic in bringing forth major economic reforms as expected by some analysts because such extensive reforms could undermine his authority as they would risk loyalty of the military and the p arty.As Ben Ascione (2012) argues, unless the military becomes a major stake holder in economic reforms through generating profit instead of depleting huge amounts of North Korea’s budget, economic reforms will have to be pursued at the cost of the military first policy, which is a guideline his father, prioritizing the military in allocating resources to foster loyalty from the army by strengthening its position. Therefore, Kim would have to face dissatisfied military elites if he were to start expensive economic reforms.He may have vowed to develop the economy, and rumors have spread that he will push through reforms allowing farmers to keep 30% of their yield, eventually replacing the state rationing system, but these reforms have been postponed numerous times, while the state has even officially denied any intent to reform and called the expectation â€Å"a foolish and silly dream† (â€Å"Where the Sun†, 2012). Nuclear aspiration is another major characteris tic of Kim Jong Un that makes economic reforms unlikely in the near future as this deters the possibility of the army profiting from economy growth.Pouring billions of national money into developing nuclear program can be traced back to more than half a century ago, when his grandfather had allegedly became intimidated by the United States placing nuclear-tipped Matador missiles in South Korea (Pincus, 2006). Kim Jong Un shares the same goal for developing nuclear weapons, showed by launching North Korea’s forth rocket, criticized by the international community as a disguise for developing long distance missile, while also declaring to launch once more this December (Ramstad, 2012).North Korea’s drive for nuclearization has been condemned by the international society and resulted in a UN Security sanction that aim to deter North Korea from acquiring goods for its nuclear programs (Albright & Walrond, 2012). Therefore, since profiting from the military sector is nearly impossible without trade, which is difficult under current international sanctions unless Kim gives up nuclearization, heavy economic reform is a dangerous option for Kim if he wishes to heighten loyalty from the military to maintain power.Nation-state Level of Analysis The unique culture and political system of North Korea combined with the military first policy create an environment where opposing the leader is almost impossible, resulting in an ideal political system for sustaining totalitarianism regime. After decades of propaganda, the juche ideology, emphasizing autarky, or self- sufficiency, and suryong ideology, which means â€Å"leader† and which idolizes the Kim family, have now become almost a religion for the North Korean people (Byman & Lind, 2010).These ideologies have permeated every aspects of the closed society to an extent that many North Koreans are xenophobic, feeling strong hatred and disgust toward the United States and South Korea (Byman & Lind, 2010). According to Brian Myers (2010), North Korean math textbooks ask questions of ‘Three People's Army soldiers rubbed out thirty American bastards. What was the ratio of the soldiers who fought? ’, while dictionaries and schoolbooks endorse students to call foreigners â€Å"muzzles† and â€Å"snouts†.Myers continues on to say that these kinds of propaganda leads to form a culture of ethno-centric nationalism, where the North Korean people sincerely believe in their blood’s pureness and superiority over other races, while honoring their ‘great father’. South Koreans were shocked when they heard the news of the modernized looking North Korean cheering squad turning furious with tears when they saw a portrait of their ‘beloved father’ soaked in rain, running out of the bus to protect his face on the banner ad (Kum, 2003).Even if the effects of propaganda might have weakened through the influx of South Korean movies and drama seri es, Ken E. Gause (2012) found that the state constantly conducts surveillance and investigation on ordinary citizens through various overlapping security organizations, which can even lead to execution of those who have been found to violate law and order, thereby effectively blocking the civilian sector from forming any opposition groups.Government and military officials are no exceptions but are rather even more spied upon through organizations such as the Political Bureau and Military Security Command (Gause, 2012). On the other hand, the military first policy favoring the military serves to encourage loyalty from the group most needed to enforce power and stability. These conditions of propaganda, surveillance, and favoritism form a somewhat stable domestic politics, consisting of only the supreme leader and his favored military officials, that has lasted for three generations of dictatorship and seen by some, including Albright and Walrond, to last for ore. Moreover, these dime nsions shaping the domestic cultural and political nature of North Korea act as countervail to economic reform, which cannot be successful if the state does not give up its military first policy and rigid rules. The ethno-centric nationalism promoted by the two ideologies deters many North Koreans from accepting their system to be a failure in comparison with democratic countries such as the United States and South Korea (Myers, 2010).Thus, North Koreans would have greater utility from any minor improvements in standard in living through weak reforms. This would incentivize Kim to focus more on propaganda and security, while maximizing the use of propaganda to indoctrinate people of how successful the economic reforms, if any, were, thanks to the regime. This could be the reason why Kim Jong Un continuously emphasize that he will improve economy, but drags on doing much change.Also, Un-Chul Yang found that momentum of economic reform diminishes because economics is strictly consider ed to be subordinate to politics, which leads to rejection of economic policies, no matter how rational they may be, if they challenge the authority of the supreme leader (2012). The two largest and only players in domestic politics, Kim and the military, due to the unique structure of the society, will thereby choose to continue the military first policy to conserve their power and maintain the totalitarian regime. System Level of AnalysisIt is highly unlikely for North Korea to give up its only mean of leverage in international relations – nuclear weapons. Not only are they significant in building support from the military internally, they bolster North Korea’s stance more than any other weapon in the power and legitimacy struggle with its South Korea (Byman ; Lind, 2010). Moreover, the weapons allow North Korea to have an upper hand in negotiations for food, energy, and other economic assistance with other major powers. They even incentivized its only ally, China, t o bribe the country with cash and energy aids to just sit them down at the negotiating table (Kim, 2006).Because of these power incentives, North Korea will be more unwilling to give its nuclear ambitions up, leading to further economic sanctions from the international society, while North Korea would try to maximize its gains from utilizing the leverage to compensate for the loss from sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council. David Albright and Christina Walrond (2012) says that China continues to be a major loop hole of this international sanction, giving North Korea plenty of opportunities to secure resources for developing its nuclear program.Albright and Walrond (2012) also predicts in their ISIS report that North Korea's nuclear program and uranium enrichment efforts will continue, and succeed in building at least 28 nuclear weapons by 2016. Therefore, as North Korea’s nuclear programs continue rather successfully regardless of international condemn, it is ironically rational for North Korea to keep its economy closed and planned to strengthen its power, stability, and leverage in international relations. Conclusion and Future PerspectivesIn conclusion, Kim Jong Un’s own motivations to hold power, the unique political system and culture of North Korea, and rational choices that the country should make to win the power struggle would all act in favor for a closed, planned economy. Unlike South Korea and other democratic nations where the economic situation greatly influences politics, North Korea have been steered by the regime for so long that everything including economy now depends only on the government.Hence, despite recently being named as the ‘sexiest man’ of the year 2012 by The Onion, Kim Jong Un would also remain an unappealing Kim for his democratic counterparts. The major stakeholders including the Unites States, South Korea, and China should continue to negotiate with North Korea to convince them tha t their gain from opening up is greater than following their traditional acts of provocation. Also, China should not allow North Korea to exploit its weak implementation of export controls and should bind to the U. N.Security Council’s sanction to put greater pressure on North Korea. Even though future prospective is still dark in the current situation, more intimate negotiation and actions of responsibility from Beijing could result in positive news in the future. References Albright, D. , & Walrond, C. (2012, August 16). North Korea’s estimated stocks of plutonium and weapon-grade uranium. Institute for Science and International Studies. Retrieved from http://isis-online. org/uploads/isis-reports/documents/dprk_fissile_material_p

The Grapes of Wrath

The movie â€Å"The Grapes of Wrath† I watched recently is the classic adaptation of John Steinbeck’s novel written and published in 1939 only one year before the movie was released. When the movie production was approved the director John Ford and his crew were able to accomplish a major task and finish the project without getting involved in the conflict with labor unions what was very important since many members of the crew belonged to them. The script which is based on Steinbeck’s book adopted a very specific dialect, the language spoken by the villagers living in rural Oklahoma so the authenticity impression was preserved. The movie presents the times of the Great Depression in the American Mid West and West coasts. This was a tough era of American history that got the historically accurate documentation and John Ford’s movie shows us perfectly the experience of many people those days – farmers and their families, drifters and strikers. For many Americans who watched the movie in the theaters in the big cities it was not easy to find out how hard and stressful it was for the people living in the country to be forced out of the lands they were working on. Here the director introduces us to the family of poor farmers from Oklahoma Dust Bowl and their struggling during the tough times of the economic crisis. While watching the movie I observed the contrast between the representatives of the lower class and the wealthy landowners who take an advantage of the unfortunate circumstances. From the events presented I’ve learned that the economic crisis and the advancing technology which was used to farm the land were responsible for drastic and extreme changes which were imposed on thousands of people against their own will. All the farmers’ families which for many generations made the living out of their farms in the short period of time received the notifications demanding to move out and abandon the properties which they were residing at. Obviously it was not their choice and the decision was made on their behalf without giving them the alternative opportunities. The main characters in the movie are the members of Joad’s family who are not only dealing with the problems inside of their family but also with the basis of their existence which is endangered. Those poor people understand very well that when fighting all the odds the only solution is to stay together and rely on each other and when facing the unpleasant reality they decide to remain as a family while entering the new chapter of their lives. In order to find a solution to their problems Joad’s family decides to embark on the journey to California. They have high hopes and strong beliefs that if they will get there, their situation will change for better, they will be able to find jobs and as a result will settle in their new home. On the way to their destination they experience many unexpected events which they have to deal with as they appear. They loose two members of their family and while staying at the camps for the similar migrants they learn about the sad reality which was awaiting them. It appeared that all the information they have been provided before they left Oklahoma were not exactly true and the land owners were trying to earn profits by using the unfair labor practices. Being fully aware of the desperate conditions the owners of the large farms offer low wages jobs and exploit all those hired to work on their lands. The new comers were not welcomed and treated with very suspicious manners. The local residents who were afraid of losing their own source of income were acting very unfriendly and openly demonstrated their opposition. People like Joad’s family while forced to stay in the camps and awaiting the potential employment were treated by local authorities like trouble makers. All those who tried to stand up for their rights were considered difficult and wrongly accused of trouble causing. Rich and wealthy class representatives were simply misusing the power of the local authorities in order to protect their own interest and increase the potential profits. Whoever was brave enough to disagree with those kinds of methods was considered as a threat and forced to leave or had to face the mistreatment and abuse. While majority of migrating families were subjected to the hardship and constant struggling, the smaller number of this group were lucky enough to find the temporary accommodations provided by the Federal authorities as a form of social assistance during the economic depression. Once they were able to reach such facilities they were offered decent and reasonable housing with the basic sanitary installations. The life in those places was organized by the rules which campers could set up so all the residents were treated with respect and there was no tolerance for any form of abuse. However some of the local land owners did not like the situation and were trying to sabotage the camp. Quite often those government managed facilities were subjected to the organized attempts of purposely initiated disturbances which will give the arguments to the local authorities to act while â€Å"preserving law and order†. It should be noticed that even tough it was not the director’s intention the conditions showed and the form of management in those camps succeeded in building up the reputation of the Government and helped in recognizing efforts directed towards continuous improvement during the crisis. The democratic methods which were giving all the residents the right to protect their status were successfully maintaining the stabilized life while staying within the borders of the camp. Even the police authorities were not allowed to enter without the warrant. Many residents quickly realized how fragile and valuable it is for them to continue preventing the established order in the camp so they could organize the system of the comities which were overseeing all the key aspects of every day living conditions. Under those circumstances surviving the difficult times until the employment opportunities appear was much more acceptable and helped to build the confidence in the better future. The movie definitely proves that people while facing major difficulties have much higher chances of prevailing if they help each other and stay together instead of resisting and fighting those problems just on their own. Even the strongest and most determined attempts to resist and fighting the reality by one single person will not last long and at the end will not be considered successful. The Joad’s family proved to themselves that together they can manage to survive and use the difficulties which they went through as the learning experience. By using the combination of wisdom and wise assumptions together with good will and honest intentions they were able to help each other in the process of the decisions making. As we all now go through the inconveniences and carry the burden of struggling economy, while watching the movie we can relate in some certain way to the presented story. We are fully aware that unfortunately seventy years later there are many Americans who do have to find answers to resolve their problems and react to the drastic changes which the economy imposed on them. As Casy, the former preacher perfectly summarizes his view when performing the funeral rites by saying: â€Å"I wouldn’t pray just for an old man that’s dead, ‘cause he’s all right. If I was to pray, I’d pray for folks that’s alive and don’t know which way to turn†. The fact that the American Academy of Motion Pictures nominated John Ford’s movie was one of the reasons why even the President of the USA Franklin D. Roosevelt was present there and gave the speech which consisted of comments regarding the movie unique character. For someone like me whose knowledge of the United States modern history is not so deep I found the movie as being very educating and presenting Americans’ lives during the Great Depression from a different perspective. Comparing to the recent production, the â€Å"Cinderella Man† I found quite few similarities and issues which were particularly important however the director John Ford is not trying to create a fairy tale but instead is exposing the dark side in which both the rules of economy and human nature compete with each other in the most important fight as the only possible way of surviving without loosing the human values such a dignity and pride. We can say that the main characters, their interactions and behavior even if originated from the natural instincts of human beings slowly but steady helped them to built up the resistance and eventually made them stronger than they were ever before. Just like Russell Crowe in the â€Å"Cinderella Man† was given a second chance and did not waste it but succeeded in his journey to the victory on the boxing ring, Joad’s family under the spiritual leadership of Tom’s mother proudly emerged out of all difficulties and remained faithful about awaiting them much better future. In my opinion the history of this country taught us a very valuable lesson which proved that even the Great Depression was not able to destroy the strong American spirit and discourage people from using their skills and joined efforts to help each other in the times of need. People need to believe that the tough times will end and they will be able to enjoy living again. Nothing motivates people in need to take an action and engage in many long term efforts better than having hope and faith that the better future is in their hands, that nothing else can help them better than their own determination.