Avian Influenza Essay

Avian Influenza, also known as bird flu, is a zoonotic disease with several different subtypes that affect mostly other birds, but few can be transmitted to humans. The most prevalent avian influenza virus in humans is the highly pathogenic Avian Influenza A (H5N1) virus, which has caused over 380 confirmed cases in 15 countries (Rabinowitz, 2010). Majority of cases have been transmitted via bird-to-human, with rare cases of human-to-human transmission. Continued exposure to the virus not only poses the threat of ongoing morbidity and mortality, but also the threat of H5N1 being able to adapt and change allowing sustained human-to-human transmission. (Rabinowitz, 2010). Human exposure to H5N1 begins with the natural host for the virus, wild birds, which is then transmitted to domestic birds, and then finally reaching humans as a host. Starting with wild birds, most commonly waterfowl, the virus lives in the intestines and is shed through fecal matter, saliva, and nasal secretions. Most wild birds are resistant to infections associated with avian influenza A. Wild birds are exposed to the virus when they come into contact with contaminated nasal, respiratory, or fecal material from infected birds, most commonly fecal to oral transmission (Korteweg & Gu, 2010). Transmission to domestic birds, mainly poultry, can occur with direct contact with infected birds or indirect exposure through contaminated dirt, cages, water, and feed. Domestic birds have little to no resistance to the virus and suffer serious health issues, often resulting in death (Influenza Viruses, 2005). In the case a human is infected with H5N1, transmission routes are either through direct contact or indirect contact. Direct contact consists of people holding, catching, hunting, or playing with unknowingly infected birds. Slaughtering, defeathering, processing and preparing poultry for consumption are other ways a person can be infected through direct contact. Examples of indirect contact are touching contaminated surfaces and materials, swimming in or washing with contaminated water, living and working in areas with contaminated air, or ingesting the active virus in contaminated food (Rabinowitz, 2010). There is little evidence supporting human-to-human transmission and few cases have been confirmed. From what is known, intimate and close contact with infected individuals are possible routes of transmission (Avian Influenza A, 2005). The potential for H5N1 to develop into a strain easily transmissible from person to person in a sustained matter poses as a threat for a possible pandemic infection (Influenza Viruses, 2005). Signs and symptoms associated with H5N1 are much like those of the more common seasonal flu virus; fever, headache, sore throat, cough and rhinitis. Other symptoms include conjunctivitis, gastrointestinal complications, shortness of breath, lower respiratory problems, rhinorrhea, myalgia, diarrhea, leukopenia, lymphophenia, impaired liver function, renal impairment, and prolonged blood clotting (Apisarnthanarak, 2004). As of March 2011, over 530 confirmed human cases of H5N1 have been found in 15 countries since 2003 (WHO image 1), 85% occurring within Asian countries. Countries with the highest prevalence rates are Vietnam, Egypt, and Indonesia. Median age of those infected is 18 years old (Korteweg & Gu, 2010). A contributing behavioral factor associated with the disease being more prevalent in children and young adults is the age groups participation in the slaughter, defeathering and cooking of poultry (Smallman-Raynor & Cliff, 2008). H5N1 had not been seen in humans prior to 1997, first presenting itself in China. The virus was then seen again in humans in 2003, in Vietnam and again in China. By 2007, H5N1 had spread to Cambodia, Indonesia, Azerbaijan, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Turkey, Laos, Myanmar, Nigeria and Pakistan (Smallman-Raynor & Cliff, 2008). The following public health organizations have been working closely together to track and control recent outbreaks: World Health Organization (WHO), Organization for Animal Health (OIE), and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) (Smallman-Raynor & Cliff, 2008). WHO has been responsible for providing recent data and statistics regarding H5N1 in humans. Avian Influenza is covered by GAR, WHO’s Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, which is responsible for monitoring and keeping surveillance on the disease. OIE is responsible for reporting recent data relating specifically o outbreaks of avian influenza in animals. FAO, working collaboratively with OIE and WHO, â€Å"sets the context for national and regional strategies, policies, programs and projects designed to control and prevent the disease (Strategy and Policy)† from spreading. According to a study by Smallman-Raynor and Cliff (2008), fatality rates for H5N1 are greater than 50% in observed cases, which is mu ch higher than the common flu virus. The virus has spread to over fifty countries on three continents, being labeled as a panzootic disease (animal disease equivalent to a pandemic in humans). H5N1 first crossed species barriers to humans in 1997 and has extended its host range to several other mammals, causing severe disease and death. An approach to control the spread of this disease amongst birds has been culling of exposed birds, quarantine and disinfecting. However, Avian Influenza continues to spread due in part to migratory birds becoming infected (Smallman-Raynor & Cliff, 2008). The virus’s ability to evolve poses as threat and is currently classified by WHO at Phase 3 of the global pandemic alert for influenza.

College is Worth it in the End Essay

Right now in our century, a college education is no longer an option, but a necessity. Many college students at universities around the world all have one big question when entering into their next step of education. A college student’s biggest problem when entering school is whether or not their college degree is worth going into debt and how they will afford tuition, books, activity fees, etc. There are different opinions from both sides that contain a valid argument. I believe college is definitely worth possibly going into debt. Here are some statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The BLS announced in 2011 that the unemployment rate for people with college credits but no degree was eight point seven percent. That number plummeted to four point nine percent for people who earned a bachelor’s degree and three point six percent for those with a master’s degree. There are salary benefits as well. In that same year, those who did not finish college earned seven hundred nineteen dollars per week, while college graduates earned approximately one thousand fifty-three dollars per week and those with graduate degrees earned one thousand two hundred and sixty-three dollars per week. A growing number of students suffer soaring college debt, many questions are being raised about the value of higher education and the job offerings in a struggling economy (BLS.) The main reason why people go to college is not because they want to but because they have to. Nowadays it is hard to get a decent paying job without a college degree. Going to college and getting a degree does not necessarily guarantee that a student is going to get a job right after graduation. A student needs to get a job as soon as possible after graduating to pay back all student loans and debts. The main question asked today is, â€Å"Is College really worth going into debt?† Kaycie Sonnier a freshman says, â€Å"It really depends on if you are going to college for a high paying career choice.† It is not that some majors are worthless, but that students have to face the reality of how they are going to pay back the money they have borrowed for their education. Many students enter college without knowing what degree they want to major in. Sonnier believes college is worth the debt you may possibly fall under. She believes there are rewards for going to college and finishing with a degree. Being able to get a high paying job right out of college will help pay off any loans taken out (Sonnier.) Student loans have helped many students be able to experience the college life without having to pay up front for tuition. To a large extent, debt is unavoidable, and some students graduate with some amount of it. Students like Joshua Sonnier who only completed two semesters of college says, â€Å"Hell no college is not worth going into debt.† Sonnier had the opportunity to get on at a job that did not require a college degree. â€Å"I work as a train conductor making more money than most people who do go to college. I got hired on and immediately started taking classes that my company paid for, passed my entire test and became a certified conductor. This did not cost me any money out of my pocket, and I do not have to worry about paying back any type of student loans† (Sonnier.) Some individuals feel like college is just a waste of money and time. There are definitely pros and cons when it comes to college. I think college can either be some of the best years of one’s life or it can be an absolute nightmare. College is all about how you make it. In the end having a diploma will absolutely be worth the debt that may come along throughout your journey through college. Works Cited Home page. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012. Web. 14 February 2013. Sonnier, Joshua. Personal Interview. 6 February 2013. Sonnier, Kaycie. Personal Interview. 6 February 2013.

The Development of Arabic Scripts

1. Pre – Islamic Era Arabic script is probably one of the oldest in the world, having been widely spread across cultures as this was the language used to spread Islam in major territories. Its influence can be seen in various languages which adopted Arabic script to develop their own way of recording, like Persian, Pashto, Urdu and more. But Arab scripts have evolved with major historical events of these nations (AncientScripts. com). Various accounts of the history of Arabia, the ‘island of the Arabs’, give the impression that Arabic scripts started to take form at the height of Islamization or during the time of Prophet Mohammed.It is said to have originated from the fourth century, CE but there is evidence – an ancient document – that shows Arabic script was already a medium for recording even as early as 512 CE. Long before the Prophet Mohammed was born (some authors say even 700 years before Mohammed), the Arabs already had established a form of written language which originally was used by the Nabateans who once inhabited a territory which is now the kingdom of Jordan. This was called the Nabatean script, which evolved from the Aramaic language.The Nabataean script was an off – shoot of the Aramaic alphabet which developed in the first century CE on the Sinai Peninsula and in North Arabia. It differs conspicuously from other Aramaic varieties by making extensive use of ligatures. Stone inscriptions in the Nabataean script are found from Petra, the capital of the Nabataean Kingdon (c. 150 CE to 100 CE), to Damascus and Medina. The script is not attested in manuscripts, although its cursive character with letters frequently joined together indicates common use.The language of the inscriptions is Nabataean, a close cognate of Aramaic – other authors claim it s Aramaic and that the Nabataeans had dual language styles for communication: written in Aramaic, verbal in Arabic. Spread over a wide area, the script exh ibits considerable variation with highly diverse letter shapes. Its significance for the history of writing lies in its being the immediate forebear of the Arabic script. Certain features of the Arabic character, such as the existence of separate final forms for certain letters, are already foreshadowed in Nabataean writing.Its transformation into the Arabic script took place in the fourth and fifth centuries CE (Calmous 350). In the North of the Syrian Desert, the Arabs were involved in world politics very much earlier. Even under the Assyrian king Tiglath – Pileser III (745 – 728BC), there was an Arabi kingdom there with its capital in the Jawf, which was ruled by queens and remained one of the vassal states of Assyria until the time of Essarhaddon (689 – 669 BC). The Babylonian King Nabunaid (556 – 539 BC) had his residence for some time in the oasis of Tayma, which was the base of his expeditions against the west.An Aramaic inscription from the Persia n era found there indicates the organization of the city cult, with its priests and temple gods. Then as early as the period of the last Achaemenians, the Nabataean state sprang up (in a territory of modern day Jordan). This state controlled the caravan trade from South Africa to Medina and remained significantly independent since Alexander the Great’s plan of conquering Arabia by sea from east and west simultaneously was not resumed by his successors.At first, Petra’s commerce was drawn to Bostra, where caravans then proceeded to Chalcis, below Lebanon and Emesa, Edessa, and Hatra toward the north and east. The Nabataeans adopted the titles of their officials and military leaders from neighboring Hellenistic states. The Nabataean capital was Petra, a mountain fortress lying about halfway between the Dead Sea and the tip of the Arabian gulf (Brockelman 6).Numerous inscriptions and ruins found in the rock – cut tombs bear witness to the flourishing civilization o f the Nabataeans but in these inscriptions, Aramaic was used for it was then the official language dating as far back as the time of the Achaemenians. There are also accounts of other historians that Arabic was the spoken language of the Nabataeans but they write using Aramaic. Initially, they were considered by the Romans as allies until the time of Trajan but due to doubts over their ambiguity during the Jewish insurrection under Titus, the Nabataean Kingdom was absorbed as Provincia Arabia in 106 BC.The civilized areas – or the major cities where trades occur – were marked off from the deset by a chain of fortifications which were far from being strong as the Limes on the Rhine and on the Danube frontier (Brockelman 6). But in another Arab state, Palmyra, the Nabataeans found a more fortunate heir. In the wars between Rome and the Parthians, Palmyra was prudently neutral and by the time of Augustus, was able to extend its trade connections to Rome, Dacia, Gaul and S pain. The Severian Dynasty, also half – Semitic, showed favor on Palmyra.From 260 onwards King Odenat extended his rule over the entire Syria and was even acknowledged by the weak Roman Emperor, Gallienus, as co – emperor for the Orient. After his death in 268, his wife Zenobia maintained his power for a time but Aurelianus destroyed Palmyra in 273. This tragedy would be retold through generations even until the first centuries of Islam. (Brockelmann 7). Palmyra represented the last stance of Arab independence pre – Islam and its fall marked a loss of Arab independence.No other Arab state in the north remained free after this and they were used as vassals by the Romans and Byzantines to ward off incursions of the nomads (Bedouins, or Arabs) into the settled regions. This is probably why the Nabataeans retained their scripts even under Roman rule – because they continued with their trades and were also vassals to ward off their own kind from coming into ma jor cities of commerce (Brockelmann 7). In the 6th century, however, the Ghassanid dynasty ruled at Damascus, east of the Jordan.He was designated by Justinian in 529 as patricius and phylarch with supreme authority over all the Arabs in the northern Syria. But this power again dissolved into fragmentary principalities after his death and when they won over the Persians, the Roman Emperor let their officials rule until a Muslim onslaught brought another Ghassanid ruler of the Syrian Arabs (Brockelmann 8). Before and during these periods, the Arabs had been exposed to Christianity (Yah-weh / Judaism) at one time or another.First, from the Roman Empire Christianity exercising great power over them, down to the Lakhmid Dynasty in Hirah who once served the Persians and had finally gone to the Christian faith of their urban subjects, even the Bedouins in the north were in intimate contact with the indigenous Aramean population, who had long since been swallowed up by Christianity. Inner Arabia also due to their trading cities of the Hijaz must have also been permeated by a knowledge of Christian teachings and customs, however superficial, as a result of the steady traffic with related tribes in the north.The anchorites, whose cells must have spread from Palestine and Sinai Peninsula far into the desert, no doubt also made a great many contributions. In addition, the desert was an asylum from some sects persecuted by the established church, and precisely these may have spread their doctrines with more success than the Orthodox Church. During these times, however, the Aramaic language still remained the official and principal administrative language.Thus, most of the inscriptions on the Petra were in Aramaic but there have been evidence showing that the Nabataeans before used their own language for their local transactions and in oral exchange, but retained Aramaic for recording due to its value in trading with other countries. Other authors propose that some Arab na tions or states were actually oral groups; meaning, they hand down their stories by telling and re – telling it and still could keep it fresh in their memories but there are also groups who were visual, or those which could not keep a mental record of events thus, keep records in tablet form.Nomads, for instance, or Bedouins, often recite poetry in their gatherings inside their tents wherever they are in the dessert. But those engaged in trades, in the major cities, often would chose to write to keep a record of their transactions. Many believe that the ancient Arabs’ exposure to Christians / those practicing Judaism probably justifies the influence or traces of Sumerian, Greek, Akkadian or Aramaic system to an otherwise Semitic heritage in the Arabic scripts or written as well as spoken languages.But others argue that though there appear some points for seeming similarities, these actually represent the observed or practiced systems used by different countries at the time. While some authors attribute the variations to assimilation, others believe the language and therefore, the scripts, evolved following events in Arab history. But in the case of the Nabataeans from the former territory now called Jordan, they were able to keep both, Arab language and Aramaic scripts.This is perhaps because all Arabs, including the Nabataeans who were under Roman rule for many years, were used as vassals against their own Arab brothers. Thus they kept their language to communicate with each other, and for trading purposes, maintained Aramaic. The duality could perhaps be due to the fact that two somewhat differing entities formed their society then: the urban people and the nomads (whom they had to ward off from the center of civilization, as was their task as vassals for the Roman Empire).The former relied so much on writing for keeping records, while the latter, used word of mouth to communicate information, even recite poetry. Other authors though, believe t hat the Aramaic inscriptions on the Petra were in fact the written or Arabic script at the time. Prior to Mohammed’s birth, some Arabs were Christians, others primitive in their exercise of faith, as was their political life. Like they believed that their surroundings had forces superior to those of man.These forces were believed to be like the human soul but with dangerous powers that could turn them into demons. They, Semites, regarded trees, stones, caves, springs and large stones are inhabited by spirits. The Black Stone of Islam in a corner of the KaBah, Mecca, in Petra and other places in Arabia stones were venerated also. Every tribe has its own god but also recognized the power of other tribal gods in their own sphere. Individual clans sometimes named themselves after other gods than those of the tribe, and the same divinity was worshipped by various tribes.The gods had fixed abodes, after the tribe has departed, they enjoyed the worship of its successors; the tribes returned once or twice a year to worship (Brockelmann 9). Contrary to claims of the Jews and Christians, the Arabs already did believe in a God, creator of the world, in addition to the gods and goddesses – even before the birth of Islam. 2. The Prophet Mohammed The Prophet Mohammed, ergo, the birth of Islam has also brought about changes in the Arabic scripts. He has touched a cord in Arab history and left an influence that would govern every aspect of Arabian nations long after he had gone.The Arab ruling group began to identify its new order with a revelation by God to Mohammed, then a citizen of Mecca, in the form of a Holy Book, the Qur’an. This was a revelation which completed those given to earlier prophets or messengers of God and created a new religion, Islam, distinct and separate from Judaism and Christianity (Hourani 15). The most obscure part of his life was the early one. It is said he was born in Mecca, a town in Western Arabia, near or in the year 570. His family belonged to the tribe of Quraysh, although not to its powerful part.This tribe was composed of traders who had contacts with the pastoral tribes around Mecca, relations with Syria and south – western Arabia. He worked for – and later married – a widow and managed her business for her. One day he received a message from an ‘angel, seen in the form of a man on the horizon’ who called him to become a messenger of God. Affirmed by his wife, he them began relaying messages which he believed were revealed to him by an angel of God: that the world would end, that God would judge all men and the pains of Hell and delights of Heaven were vividly described.Gradually he had a following, including young members of the influential families of their tribe, Quraysh, members of minor families and clients of other tribes who had placed themselves under the protection of Quraysh, and some craftsmen and slaves. As his teachings developed, its difference fro m the teachings of the time became apparent and placed him more explicitly in the line of prophets of the Jews and Christian tradition (Hourani 1991). Mohammed demanded of his followers’ profession of belief in the One God and the surrender to God’s will, islam, after which his religion took its name.Probably very early he also levied a poor – tax for the maintenance of needgy members of the community but it was only later in Medina that it assumed greater significance. The chief duty of the faithful, by virtue of which they professed membership in the community, was praying at first twice, then three times, and only later five times a day. Mohammed’s teachings were not accepted by some of the Arabs, in fact, he and his followers were locked up in a ravine. When his wife and uncle died, he had to move to Mecca after his brother, a strong opponent of his religion, took his uncle’s place.But he was not accepted there as well and driven away by stonin g that he never returned to the place until he received assurance from a relative that he will be protected. Within his lifetime, Mohammed started his mission of religious and political unification of Arabia. He abolished the foothold of paganism in Mecca and later in all Arab states. Then after his death, he was succeeded by his father –in – law and started the caliphate. The caliphate succeeded in subduing and conquering neighboring places and spread Islam with it.There were oppositions to it, like people willing to follow the religion or Allah’s will but not pay taxes. In the long run, however, they were either driven by force, fear or respect for the Allah so that the religion flourished in almost all of Asia, the Mediterranean as well as some parts of Europe (Hourani 6). It was after the conquest of Mesopotamia that a school for the study of Islam and its development was built in the city of Kufa. Kufa is the place where the kufic script was developed / ori ginated, hence the name.Due to variations in the languages of peoples – converts – under Islamic rule, they felt the need to provide uniformity of religious concepts and practices so that scholars created some form of a dictionary which was later discarded. But that, to some analysts, was actually the first helpful step in Arab history for establishing the common literary standard of Islamic scholars (Brockelmann 15) The extent to which the intellectual life of the epoch was still dominated by Arabic and by the great past of the Arabs is also attested to by the two major focus of interest of the educated world: philology and history.The former had risen in connection with the Qur’an. It was necessary that the numerous new converts, born in communities of different speech, develop and perfect an understanding of the diving word and its proper application in effective prayer. It was just an urgent need to enable them to acieve a complete mastery of the nuances of Arabic and its excessively rich vocabulary (Brockelmann 119). It was in the city of Kufa and Basra where classes on history and literature were conducted.Kufa was also chosen as the major place for studying Islam and mastering the Qur’an. Due to the various languages of the newly converted Islams, the kufic script was developed mainly as the medium to copy Qur’an and to create a vast collection of commentaries on the Qur’anic verses. This was done in order for converts of different languages to understand one common version of the Qu’ran. Angular, which was most likely a product of inscribing on hard surfaces such as wood or stone, kufic soon became the principal script for copying the Qu’ran.For the same reason (having a principal script for copying the Qur’an), the nakshi script, also known as the ‘Mecca – Medina’ script came about. It is thought to have been developed by Abu Ali Muhammad Ibn Muqlah (died 940) and intro duced in Baghdad, once the seat of literature in Arabia. The nakshi is one of the earliest book hands and is more cursive than the angular kufic script. Because of its elegance and legibility, the nakshi script as of the eleventh century gradually superseded kufic as the principal script for writing the Qur’an.Nakshi has also been widely used for languages other than Arabic, like Persian, Turkish, Malay, Kiswahili, Hausa, and Serbo – Croatian, among others. And from this script, other styles have also developed, the most popular of which are the riqa, diwani, and the thuluth (Calmous 351). Another off – shoot of the nakshi script is the nastaliq script, which was first seen in the thirteenth century CE, developed by Mir Ali, a calligrapher from Tabriz. It evolved as a combination of nakshi and taliq, hence the name nastaliq.While nakshi was primarily used for copying the Qur’an, the nastaliq, on the other hand, was widely used for manuscripts and architec tural monuments, particularly in Persia (Calmous 353). With the invasion of Persia came another development in language and scripts. Farsi, actually a combination of Arabic and European languages, was used by the Persians and Arab residents in that area. Other authors claim that Abu Ali Muhammad Ibn Muglah, a vizier in Baghdad, invented the sitta, a canon of six cursive scripts which include the thuluth, nakshi, rihani, muhaqqaq, tauqi and riqa.This was later augmented to include four more scripts, ghubar, tumar, taliq and nastaliq, which came to be used in the whole Islamic world. While these cursive scripts were popular with calligraphers and illuminators, they never replaced the kufic althogether, except for the nakshi – other writers claim it superseded the kufic by the eleventh century. Today, in many religious writings, kufic headings are still used, in combination with the main body of the text written in cursive script (Calmous 66). One cannot study the Arabic scripts without touching on Arabic calligraphy.Since the Prophet Mohammad stated God’s message in his native tongue, Arabic (scholars think he was actually using a combination of Aramaic and Nabataean languages, otherwise now known and indiscriminately described as Arabic), the Qur’an hence was also written in this language. Arabic, has therefore, been revered as God’s language and every letter of the Arabic alphabet is regarded as a manifestation of God (Calmous 64). Thus, for many Muslims the Qur’an should not be rendered in any other language.As the written version of the revelation, it must always be copied in Arabic. Since, in the wake of the Islamic conquest Islam as a religion was carried to regions of many different tongues, written Arabic acquired an important function as a unifying bond of the various Islamic peoples. Writing itself came to be regarded as an expression of faith. In this spirit it developed into a religious inspired art with a special s tatus that no other forms of aesthetic expression was able to attain – calligraphy (Calmous 64).A great variety of materials was used to receive calligraphic writing: stone, glass, ceramics, metalwork, woodwork, carpets and other textiles, as well as parchment paper and other surfaces of manuscript writing. The adaptability of Arabic scripts and their ability to be modified is attributed to the early use of such a variety of surfaces (Calmous 64). Because of its religious significance, great importance is attached to the literal contents of Islamic calligraphy. Yet, sometimes the verbal message is pushed into the background by the decorative function.As many students of Islamic calligraphy pointed out, there are a great number of inscriptions which defy easy reading. Orthographic mistakes and peculiarities as well as typographic idiosyncrasies render inscriptions on such sanctuaries as the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem (seventh century), the Qutab Minar in Delhi (eleventh cen tury) and the Masjid-i-Shah Mosque in Isfahan (seventeenth century) virtually impossible to decipher. This suggests that the viewer of these works was not always expected to read the text.In many instances of decorative writing, the symbolic message was conveyed by other means. For instance, an inscription on a tomb or the wall of a mosque would be recognized as a holy phrase, no matter whether it could actually be read or not (Calmous 66). History shows that the development of Arabic scripts, as opposed to Arabic calligraphy, was purely for a functional rather than decorative purpose. However, for many who find it impossible to decipher scripts or calligraphic art in Arabic, they would have to look deeper into the history of Arabic nations, with focus on the history of Islam.Those who wish to decipher and understand the numerous transitions the Arabic scripts have gone through across the centuries would better grasp, and maybe even be guided by the annals of history. For instance, while others think nakshi has superseded kufic being the principal language or medium of communication or transmitting the Qur’an, it would help them understand better or find out more if such is the fact by assessing the current or be updated with the present print media being used by Islam.On the other hand, as is occurring amongst Christians all over the world, with all the versions and different languages or Arabic scripts used to print the Qur’an, is there any chance that there may be issues of misinterpretations considering that there is not an exact equivalent of one word across the different scripts or languages? Or is it safe to assume that the later scripts developed (nakshi, kufic, thuluth) found exactly the same words from Arabic translated to these scripts in exact precision?It may not be humanly possible to decipher each and every variation of the Qur’an copied in the different scripts like nakshi and kufic to see if precisely the same words have t he same meaning in the original Arabic version. But if for the interest of curiosity one should start to do an inquest, maybe it would save him time to reflect on the following observations and then make his own inferences:First of all, in spite of the variations or the versions of Arabic scripts by which the Qur’an is written, it is amazing how there is only one version of Islam the religion and all things corollary to Allah’s orders are the same things every Muslim believes. Comparing the Islam faith with Christianity, there are thousands of types of Christians all over the world – some of which were formed on the basis of their understanding of some verses in the Holy Bible.Though both the Holy Bible and the Holy Qur’an have been translated or transliterated or written in different scripts, the uniformity of treatment and application of the religious concepts practiced by Islams all over the world is simply amazing. It therefore becomes easy to infer t hat the kufic and nakshi scripts, used in copying Qur’an, may have therefore been religiously developed. And the purpose therefore, of developing such scripts to help other Islamic converts understand it, was achieved.

Describing some of the rhetorical choices Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Describing some of the rhetorical choices - Essay Example In the McDonald’s ad, there are several rhetorical choices that are evident. One is the use of hyperbole as a means to exaggerate the obsession for McDonald’s fare among the NFL players and coaches, in the middle of games. The first person mentions the menu, and the obsession becomes a kind of backdrop rap melody that the other characters then rapped to. The words that were put into their mouths consisted of variations of the burger fare, and an emphasis on bacon. There is also an element of parody as a rhetorical choice for the ad, where the intense obsession with what the players and coaches are saying on court, via lip reading, is flipped on its head so that their utterances are not about the game but about McDonald’s burgers (Super Bowl 2014 Commercials; Broderick). The rhetorical situation in the Toyota Highlander ad, on the other hand, is essentially the same as for the McDonald’s as well as for the all of the commercials in the Super Bowl. That rhetorical situation consists of the ads trying to convey the product message to TV viewers and general Internet followers of the Super Bowl ads. In the Toyota ad it is clear that the overall goal seems to be to entertain and to associate the Camry with images of fun and the iconic Muppets characters. Juxtaposition is a key rhetorical choice for this ad. The juxtaposition consists of the side by side placement of a relatively conventional, middle-class African American man who lives in the suburbs and drives around in a Highlander on the one hand, and on the other hand the psychedelic gang of the musical Muppets, headed by the wild Animal. This is a very good rhetorical choice, given that the Toyota’s traditional image is one of being practical and reliable, if utilitarian and lacking in the fun aspect. On the other hand, the juxtaposition with spontaneity, adventure and fun as embodied by the Muppets and by the Animal

Month Practicum Report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Month Practicum Report - Assignment Example The transfer specialist’s responsibilities are to determine the eligibility and suitability of the applicant by using written administration policies and procedures, client interviews and document verification. Essentially, my job description is to conduct interviews of new and current applicants to determine their eligibility, and provide case management to nearly 600 Section 8 HCVP contract lease negotiations. What this entails is I help determine housing assistance payments, tenant rent calculations, and provide education and counseling for the applicants and the participants in the Section 8 HCVP. This allows for resolution of any concerns between the owner, tenant and the housing authority by interpreting and implementing the regulations and guidelines set forth by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). I am also responsible for updating tenant records using Yardi and SharePoint, doing criminal background checks, closing sales force tickets, completing bri efings and other duties as they are assigned to me. My department is divided into three teams, A, B and C, my team being A. team A serves MONTH PRACTICUM REPORT 2 new clients and current tenants in a many areas around Chicago, and in several different property types. The property types that my team and I help people with are called HCV-vash, which is for homeless veterans. The HUD program has allocated more than 10,000 vouchers to local public housing authorities countrywide to provide permanent supportive housing for homeless veterans. We also connect veterans with case managers to insure that they receive the health care and benefits assistance they need to help them move forward in their lives. The second housing type my team and I help with is Housing Choice Voucher Disaster Victim Program (HCVDVP), which is a disaster voucher program for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita victims. This program (formerly known as the Katrina Disaster Housing Assistance Program) allows victims of the Hu rricanes Katrina and Rita disaster areas to qualify for a special Disaster Voucher Program (DVP) for former public housing and Section 8 voucher holders. Unlike regular vouchers, there is no family contribution to the gross monthly rent. The DVP provides monthly housing assistance payments that are the lesser of the monthly gross rent, or the voucher payment standard. Monthly gross rent is the rent to the owner of the property, plus any utility allowance for tenant-provided utilities. A family may rent a unit with a gross rent greater than the payment standard, but the family must pay the difference even if it exceeds 40% of their income. If the rent to the property owner is less than the payment standard and the lease requires the family to pay utilities, the Public Housing Authority (PHA) will reimburse the family an amount equal to the difference between the housing assistance payment and the rent. MONTH PRACTICUM REPORT 3 In the last type of housing, it is called the Housing Cho ice Voucher Family Unification Program (HCVFUP). This program provides Housing Choice Voucher rental assistance to families whose lack of adequate housing is a primary cause of separation or imminent separation of a child or children from their families. The Family Unification Program (FUP) is provided to eligible families so that children will not be separated from their parents due to the lack of permanent,

Terrorism and International Response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Terrorism and International Response - Essay Example In an Israeli Newspaper Ha'aretz, Nissan Horowitz wrote: "Terrorism - it's all in the eyes of the beholder." He argues over the fact that if the attack on the twin towers can be regarded as terrorism, then why the bombing in a Kabul's hospital can't be considered as one According to a truism, it is believed that, terrorist, in the eyes of one, is a freedom fighter in the eyes of another. Or considering the Israeli/Palestine case, those, whom the Israelis consider as terrorists, are for the Palestinians, martyrs. One might wonder if to call rebels, insurrectionists, mercenaries, activists, guerillas, militants, dissenters, freedom fighters, etc, all these as terrorists Or perhaps the very concept holds an absolute slot. (Terrorism guide, n.p., 2008) Whatever reasons that lie behind this enigma, are indeed not inexplicable. From a particular group, 'a terrorist takes birth when he senses unfairness or discrimination perceived by the very group he belongs to, therefore he becomes the hero for that entire group, be it a small anarchist cell, or a whole tribe, or class, nation, religion etc. For his struggle, he is applauded by those in solidarity with him, but highly condemned as terrorists by those unsympathetic to the strong aims of that struggle.' (Weiss, pp. 11+, 2002) The U.N. has certainly strived to give terrorism a proper definition, and so have all the international lawyers. Nonetheless, it has, "in all its forms and manifestations", been, by far, condemned no matter whosoever commits it, where they do, and for what purpose. (Secretary General, n.p., 2006) The diction for terrorism which confines to a particular method of conducting violence can be censured irrespective of the circumstances. 'This nonexistence of a proper agreed definition carries weight for a number of reasons, which involve its blocking the prospect of bringing up terrorist acts, that of genocide or other war crimes, to an international court; and leaving individual countries unbound to outlaw actions which, maybe for their own political expediency, they choose to categorize as terrorism. Therefore, it is crucial to define the problem.' (Terrorism guide, n.p., 2008) Official Definitions Various views have been recognized on the definition and interpretation of terrorism, for which the definition of 'aggression' may also be considered. (Crozier, pp.28, 1986) The definitions of terrorism are particularly acutely perceptive, indeed because they tend to set limits over the range of legitimate responses to them. (Norgren, pp. 4, 2003) A broad definition, accepted by the US State Department, was put forward by the US Central Intelligence Agency. They were of the view that some individuals and groups intimidate or use violence for political purposes, whether favoring or opposing the establishment of governmental authority. When these actions are aimed at shocking, stunning, or threatening a "target group wider than the immediate victims", (Ramos, n.p., 2007) it comes under terrorism. James Adams, in his composition 'financing of terror', has put forward another definition that defines a terrorist as an individual, follower or supporter of a group that intends to attain "po litical ends using violent means". These violent means are often at the expense of casualties to harmless, nave

Advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing in IT Project Management Research Paper

Advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing in IT Project Management - Research Paper Example This research will begin with the statement that in most of the businesses today, the sole aim is to operate at optimum levels, where they reduce as many costs as possible and increase revenues to their best. In cost reduction, it is about reducing expenditure, especially expenditure, and ensuring that they use the cheapest products and services as possible. For instance, a company might be in need of a certain service for just but a short period of time. It could also be in need of such a service seasonally and not throughout. It would then be quite expensive and unnecessary to hire a full-time professional to handle that task for a short period then stay idle for a larger amount of time. In such cases, the company could consider hiring that professional on a contractual kind of a relationship. This is the primary concept lying behind outsourcing. Outsourcing is essentially the act of assigning certain business processes or activities to an external party that can help in handling t hem. Most of the time, large organizations cannot handle all their processes internally, either because they are too complex, bulky, or seasonal. The more common reason is the temporary nature of some tasks, such that the company is not willing to hire professionals permanently to carry out these activities from within. When the company then outsources the work to the external service provider, they accord them the responsibility of handling that activity all by themselves and maintaining the firm’s interests and assets at the same time.

Four function of management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Four function of management - Essay Example These are as following; 1. Planning: It is the ongoing process of developing the business' mission and objectives and determining how they will be accomplished. Planning is the initiating function of management and also embodies the other functions. It is the function of management, with which, management ensures directing employee efforts towards group and attainment of organizational goals. For the long-term success of an organization, it is necessary to set immediate and long- term goals, and to choose strategies of their achievement. This function is directly related to the arising of many questions; like, where are we now What do we want to accomplish How are we going to do it Who will do it When will we do it Why will we do it Etc. For example, Bill Gates - the founder of Microsoft Corporation - does the necessary planning by establishing missions and challenges for Microsoft management to accomplish, such as planning for the introduction of Windows Vista and its date for international launching. 2. 2. Organizing: This function is related with allocating and configuring resources to accomplish and establish the preferred goals and objectives during the planning processes. In this function, steps are taken out in order to translate the planned steps into reality while assigning the necessary tasks, setting up deadlines, allocating resources, and deciding what structures are yet to be created and to whom additional responsibilities should be delegated, etc; In the Microsoft, Bill Gates effectively organizes the use of company's resources while making sure that the company successfully achieves its objectives and long-term goals. For example, Bill Gates visits various countries across the world and hires top class I.T professionals so as to make sure that the final product is a world class one while making sure that the concurrent ongoing projects at Microsoft smoothly get inch to inch closer towards their successful completion. Bill Gates achieves this all by configuring Microsoft policies over the time and by allocating the financial resources for every single step forward. 3. Leading: It is the function which is directly related to the management tasks of establishing direction and influencing people to follow that direction (Carter McNamara, 2002). This function, perhaps, can be broken down into further three sub-categories of motivating, coordinating and directing. Directing is the way with which managers guide their subordinates while showing them the way with which some task is to be accomplished. Motivating is the set of managerial activities with the aim of causing proper employee performance while involving the finding out of employee needs and creating reward systems for quality and timely work. Coordinating is related with who informs whom about what. It also integrates details and/of events, and ensures coherent action. At Microsoft, Bill Gates leads the way out to success by setting his own example. His superior methodologies for motivating, coordinating and directing make sure that the company has the right leadership to carry it forward in the future with success. Rewarding the Windows XP team for coming up with such high quality software in due amount of time was an

SOCIAL SCIENCE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

SOCIAL SCIENCE - Essay Example Traditionally, there were models like biomedical model, which did not consider the human side of a patient. Jewson (1976, p. 235) analysis that in the biomedical model the â€Å"patient† was â€Å"designated a passive and uncritical role in the consultative relationship and his main function† was to â€Å"endure and wait.† According to Doyal (1983, p.31) in the traditional models â€Å"the disease had become more important than the person who harboured it.† However, there has been a shift to models that consider other factors such as social, psychological and environmental in shaping the context of a disease and illness. An example is the bio-psychosocial which has sought to understand medical conditions through the analysis of a variety of factors. The model acknowledges that in a disease context, there are many factors such as behavior and attitude towards the illness, social as well as psychological factors (Engel, 2012). The narratives from the patient s are today extensively applied to explore the patient experiences with illness (Charon 2001; Kleinman 1988). In this case, the awareness of the binary relationship between disease and illness has revolutionarised the medical practice. This is the difference between the biomedical constructs of the pathophysiological processes and individual’s subjective experience of the patient explored in other models that consider disease as a result of myriad factors (Kleinman 1988). The exploration of patient narrative is relevant in the case of diabetes because patients and physicians have different perceptions, concerns and goals (Anderson 1986; Freeman & Loewe 2000). In this assignment, a patient’s story on her experience with diabetes will be explored with an aim to construct the cultural, social and psychological meaning and locate the facts in contemporary theoretical perspectives. The real names

From Hunger to Greed Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

From Hunger to Greed - Essay Example Having excess optimism and over ambitions in life usually makes someone to try to achieve more than one can handle at that moment and this habit at times make someone to lose his or her target. The rock song you cannot always get what you want gives a good example of a person wanted a woman but he did not succeed to woe her although he ended up getting someone else. The song ‘you can’t always get what you want’ was about the Mick encounter in life when he was drinking with a group of his friends in a pub in 1960’s. He saw a beautiful woman and he immediately fell for her and he just pondered on how he could get her because the woman had a relationship with another man. After realizing that, the woman was someone else’s Mick decided to woo her away from the other man and luckily he succeeded in getting her. It lingered in Mick’s minds that he wanted the woman when she was with another male and after getting her, he ended up in jail. Mick finall y thought that he did not get what he wanted and blamed the girl for the failure but he ended up in getting what he needed and the experience made him realize where his life was heading (Song Meaning.com). During my school life, I had purposed myself to focus on education in order to achieve a great life in the future. When I finished my education, my point of focus shifted to the women and one time when I was taking a walk with my friends I spotted a girl whom I thought could be the woman of my dreams. I gathered enough courage and I approached the girl and luckily I exchanged contacts with her and I thought that all was going well. We dated for a while and to my surprise, the woman loved another man and the two were already having an affair. I decided to ask about our relationship but she really broke my heart when she told me that she did not have any feelings for me and I had to respect her decision. I quitted dating her and I accepted the defeat, moved on with my life, and sett led on another girl where I succeeded in wooing her although she was not my target. Although I did not get the woman I wanted in life, I ended up getting another woman because I needed one in life even if she was not my target. Many people in life never get satisfied with their achievements even if everything seems to be flow good with them. No matter how great the things appear to them, people find them not enough for them because of over ambitions. The main reason is that, most of them are after fame and this leads them to greed in life. The competition of wealth in the current world has led to lack of satisfaction since everybody wants to be a hero in his or her society. This kind of competition has led to the current trends of criminal activities in order for the people to amass wealth as much as possible within a small period. This character of greed and selfishness creates a rift between the people in the society. There are many literature materials that have explained the cha racter of greed, how and why it arises in the societies. Thomas Aquinas wrote an article that stated that, greed is a sin against God because most people are not satisfied with what God has provided to them and as a result, they end up forsaking God for earthly materials. According to Keltner and Piff (Para. 2-4), greed inspires people to carry out several criminal actions such as robbery with violence, manipulating the authority to evade tax and hoarding of goods among

Kantian and Utilitarian Theories and the Nestle Moral Issue Term Paper

Kantian and Utilitarian Theories and the Nestle Moral Issue - Term Paper Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that Nestle is a corporation engaged in home products processing and marketing worldwide. In the mid-1860s, it developed an infant-food formula as a supplement and/or substitute to breastfeeding. It then claimed humanitarian achievement after the formula was used by relief organizations such as the Red Cross to feed starving infants in refugee camps. In third world countries, the Nestle product has also been used as an alternative to less nutritious local infant feeding substitutes. And today, Nestle is the third largest home food company in the world with gross sales of nearly US$39 billion a year. But the Nestle success story is marred by controversy as the company has been charged for gross violations of a World Health Organization Code that affected both first world and third world countries. The controversy first emerged when in 1970, during a UN-sponsored Bogota meeting on infant feeding, a Protein Advisory Group (PAG) expressed concern about a worldwide decline in breastfeeding. PAG also sought examination of undue marketing-and-advertising of infant formula, which may have been the cause of this decline. Taking the cue for a sensational story, media made follow-up reports on unfair, dishonest and deceptive advertising by Nestle (village visits by health care dressed representatives, free samples to new mothers, free or low-cost products, improper labels) allegedly designed for the adoption of bottle-feeding instead of breastfeeding by mothers. Outrage against Nestle came to a high point when a Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute attested that millions of infants suffered ailments or death due to bottle-feeding. The institute, however, did not clarify whether the cause was the infant formula or improper sterilization-and-storage of baby bottles and feed.

Social Media and Social Issues Essay Example for Free

Social Media and Social Issues Essay A study on the role of social media in shaping and publicizing Social issues Mohana Sudhan Mayilsamy, Assistant Professor, School of Communication, Dr. G. R. Damodaran College of Science, Avinashi Road, Coimbatore 641014. e-mail:[emailprotected] com, Mobile: 9944223455, Fax: 0422-2591865. Abstract Social media, especially social Networking Sites are turning up as an essential mode of interactive and informing media in the recent past. Especially, it is being considered as a platform for both promotion and publicizing social issues. But, the credibility and the truth of the news travelling in the networks as blogs and posts is a debatable issue. The paper starts with examining the powers enjoyed by the social networking sites and social media in the controlling the mass, uncategorized audience as well the informed citizens. Focus group observation method has been employed and analysis of the media in content handling have been done despite the rules and regulations imposed by the self-regulatory bodies in India and the loopholes present. With the findings the author concludes the need for a regulation of content in social media and a code of conduct for content management in Indian scenario. Key Words: Media, Social Networking Sites, Media effects, Social Media, Opinion seeking Introduction to the study: Do we rule the media or the media rules us? Has always been the question of researchers in media and in common users of media as well. The prophecy â€Å"Medium is the message† by Marshall McLuhan, gives a clear picture of how media has been ruling us and is ruling even now though the communication tools change, and he has emphasised this in many of his works including the Global village concept to technological determinism, where media plays a major role in deciding the content and ideology of users and not the users. But with the advent of advanced technologies and interactive devices, wiz, computer, mobiles and the increasing usage of Internet and other communication technologies, communication has got a radical change. Each and every day, yet another new technology is being diffused into the minds of the people every day and even people keep on getting used to all the technologies. The gratifications approach has been found valid for the day, as people select media in a wide spread manner. Social Networking Sites, an outcome of interactive services offered by social media and communicative tools like Internet and intranet have brought the world too handy, enabling people to interact and discuss virtually. A share in a social networking site can reach hundreds even millions in time depending upon the connectivity of the users. This makes people getting flattered on the networking sites and makes them spend hours and hours hanging over the net. It offers various services like e-mailing, instant messaging, sharing photos and videos, make friends and so on. With the increase in its need and usage, the information flowing in the Social Networking Sites is unpredictable. The content travelling in the social media is very vast and in an uncontrollable way, thereby creating a non-centred authority to control news. The news gets its own form in the media as it delineates to people and gets a different perspective and form as it reaches the end user. This makes Social Networking sites, a threat to harmony in society. Maybe they are perceived as elements of social elevation, but it depends on the audience it reaches. If the audiences are well informed and are able to take a good decision, then the flow of news would not be a problem, but since social networking sites are being used by diversified audience, there should be a control imposed over the content to have a good and healthy environment in the country and make it stable in development. Social Media: The term  Social Media  refers to the use of web-based and mobile technologies in communication and making it interactive. Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein, define social media as a group of Internet-based applications that allow the creation and exchange of  user-generated content†. Social media is rather a media for social interaction, than social communication. Equipped with modern technologies and speedy Internetworking, social media has changed the way of communication between people, groups and organisations too. There are various categories of social media which includes online magazines, Internet forums, weblogs, social blogs and Social Networking forums. Further Kaplan and Haenlein categorises Social media into six types, namely, collaborative projects, likewise Wikipedia, blogs and microblogs likewise twitter, content communities like Youtube, social networking sites like Facebook, Orkut, virtual game worlds and virtual social worlds. Among them Social Networking sites have become the most popular and highly used media as it provides more chances for Interactivity and presence. It is also being used as a marketing tool to market ideas, products, as well business. Social Networking Sites: Social networking sites, commonly abbreviated as SNS, are the interactive websites and forums that allow users to maintain an account, create a profile, find friends, chat, interact, conduct discussions, ask questions and so on. They act as a platform between users to share ideas of their own to the known and unknown, as per their wish. Social Networking sites, hit India with the increased number of Indian immigrants to the entire globe for employment. It arose as a tool for communicating with their families, and later on with the increased usage of technologies, it became a part and parcel of day to day life. We can easily say that there are hardly 10 out of 100, without at least an account in any of the social networking sites. Facebook – a general introduction: Facebook presents a lot many features and is being listed as the first in social networking sites on usage. It is basically a forum started in a university to keep in track with the friends and alumni and soon the interactive features, that it provided and the regular usage of people made it an eminent site. Soon it fore run social networking giants Orkut and yahoo that where dominant in India and has a membership of more than 800 million active users throughout the world. It allows the users to connect with people they know or do not know, share photos and videos of themselves or general interest, post comments and update any information as stories and comments, and comment and give opinions on others inputs. The ethical concerns noticed are Invasion of Privacy, dissemination of information without consent, unknown affiliation and so on. The status in India: Taking the case of India, the Social Networking sites are taking a new form and are becoming the lobby for people to hang out and discuss on various issues, ranging from personal to public, make posts and opinions on various social concerns and create pages on whatever issues they wish to. But this is going to a level that anyone can write or post any material on an issue without the approval of either the administrator of the networking site or the Government and transport down to any user of the network despite the user is a friend or not, through public postings. This poses a threat to the privacy of the users and also the news that gets transported. It takes a new form at every user’s page depending upon the understanding of the user on the issue. This increases the diversion of the perspective of the news. The most important social Networking sites in India based on their usage are Facebook, Twitter, Orkut and MySpace. A recent study in the UK showed that most Britons have a strong desire for the regulation of social network sites like MySpace and Facebook. In fact, 9 out of 10 people said there should be tighter regulation and, according to  The Guardian, 89% said there should be a set of widely accepted rules to help prevent personal information from being abused. – An article by Bobbie Johnson, Technology correspondent, The Guardian. With Social Media playing a major role in India, and especially Social Networking Sites, acting as monsters in the media arena, and as catalysts in determining the social issues, people who use these media are not mere demographies and rather perspective targets of the messages travelling in Media. So they need to be approached as careful as possible and since each and everyone differ in ideologies and conceptual, utmost attention should be paid in transferring news that help in decision making. Objective of the study: The study aims at understanding the media content that has always been a debatable issue ever since its inception. It is the final output which reaches the audience as the face of media. Various media disseminate the same content at the same point if time in various formats, under various control factors. Here, the aspects various controls and various formats determine the content, controls more on a large and aspects on a lesser part. Because, the amount of control decides what the message should be and what it cannot be. In the context of social media, which has tremendous feathers waving along 360 degrees, content management is a tedious process. That too, in a country like India, with diversified users of media, with a diversified mindset, content can be a dangerous thing, if it is not taken due care of. For example, we can quote the Anna Hazares IAC campaign, which gained the utmost interest of the social media, and has been listed as the best discussed topic of the year in the Facebook. India, as a democratic country has vested its own citizens with the Right to Speech and expression, but on the other hand, those rights are limited to the extent where the harmony and peace of the country is not disturbed. Social Networking Sites, because of the freedom they provide, intuit people to speak on all the news they wish and give chances for opinion by anyone, no matter whether they are aware of the topic or not. This may account to false perception of any News by the society and can bring in confusions and problems to the society. This does not mean that there should be restriction on using the sites, which can account to anti – democratic, but there needs a monitor over the information that flows in the Net, so that there can be a check over what can be discussed and what need not be. Theoretical perspective: The study works on the theory of Media effects finds its impact on the study and in specific, Catharsis effects and Reinforcement theory holds well. The theory goes as follows: Reinforcement theory  is one of the limited effects media model applicable. The theory generally states that people seek out and remember information that provides cognitive support for their pre-existing attitudes and beliefs. The central assumption of the theory stated that people do not like to be wrong and often feel uncomfortable when their beliefs are challenged. The theory of Catharsis effects also applies to the impact of media on user attitude behaviour. The term â€Å"catharsis† is derived from the Greek word ‘katharsis’ which means cleansing, purging, or purification. In the way, the theory is used in communication research, it implies that the execution of an aggressive action under certain conditions diminishes the aggressive drive and therefore reduces the likelihood of further aggressive actions. Secondly, the theory of Media advocacy also holds good for the study. Media advocacy is a sort of development communication, which involves the strategic use of media in shaping public opinions, mobilising community activities and in influencing decision makers in policy change. It shifts the focus of an issue from persona frame to social frame. Since Media advocacy stresses on policy change, it always confronts interaction with power vested authorities and hence it has the following advantages: i. Since media advocacy is always focused in gaining access to news than advertising it is highly cost effective and the users need not spend more on promotion of ideas and issues. ii. The effects of public policy are long lasting. They set the standards for the expected change, and transform it down to more number of users for a long period of time. Hence , though Media advocacy is involves planning, skill sets, creativity and also long time commitment, it is preferred more in addressing public issues on a major. Sometimes, Media also needs advise where it lags behind and need to be changed. The media academicians stand as the resource providers when media needs an advice and change. Methodology used: Content analysis of the social networking sites, has been done to analyse where some social networking sited go wrong and fail to cater to the needs, security and safety of the data and content of the society. This has been taken as a primary data which is further analysed and some predominant flaws in the dominant Social Networking Sites were exposed. A panel discussion on â€Å"The Need for a National Media Policy† to regulate the content and functioning of all the media including print, electronic and Internet and Social Networking Sites was conducted to analyse the trend prevailing in Media, and the situations that create the need for a National Policy on Media in India were arrived at. This was carried out with an expert panel of five members from various industries of media with around seventy five media students from various colleges as participants and was also allowed to interact and give their inputs wherever needed. Intensive observation method has been applied for analysis of the transmission of news in SNS. A sample size of fifty respondents comprising of teachers and media students who have a base knowledge of news and society is selected and were posted a question and asked to give opinions on that. Then the responses with the comments were again posted in for discussion and the results were analysed based on the parameters set and analysis was done. Outcome of the study: The content analysis of Social Networking Sites arrived at the below mentioned flaws prevalent as well with some earlier cases that were stated as the disadvantages of Social Networking Sites. I. Lack of Identity of users: There is no strict measure in verifying the real identity of the users in all the Social Networking Sites. So, anyone can own any number of accounts in a single SNS, provided they have an additional e-mail id. This in turn also does not look for any identity verifications. This shows the lag of control over the identity of the user and hence cannot execute actions or take action on ignorant people, which may lead to causalities. The case carried by The Times of India, reveals that how a genuine person has been under custody of the court for around 55 days. Lakshman Kailash, employed as software engineer by HCL and a resident of Kodihalli gets arrested in Bangalore on August 31, 2007 under the Information Technology Act, 2000 and spends 50 days at Yerawada Jail in Pune. He is charged with defaming Chatrapathi Shivaji, one of the founders of the Maratha Empire, by allegedly uploading an insulting picture of the latter on Orkut, a social networking site (SNS). This was based on the complaint filed by a Pune resident, Dhiraj Ramchandra Ghate, the Pune Police arrests Kailash apparently based on his IP address through Airtel, his Internet service provider. However, they later learn that one Kiran Reddy, a resident of Bangalore, was the actual culprit. After the intervention of the State Human Rights Commission of Maharashtra, the police set Kailash free. This can show the level of trauma, the convicted would have underwent, when he was in jail, and this is a single incident and if there would have been identity of the members in all SNS, this would have been avoided. II. Invasion of Privacy: Case I Facebook has had a lot many issues regarding Invasion of privacy ever since beginning. You can protect your data to general public users but cannot narrow down to the level of protecting them from being viewed by your friends. Facebook explicitly states their restrictions and user expectations of user content in their terms of use. In particular, Facebook does not allow users to in any way make available any content that we deem to be harmful, threatening, unlawful, defamatory, infringing, abusive, inflammatory, harassing, vulgar, obscene, fraudulent, invasive of privacy or publicity rights, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable. In January 2006, Facebook shut down a group titled I Hate Jesus after Facebook received complaints from other users about the group. As Facebook explained to the groups creator in an email, Hate groups of any kind are not tolerated on the site, even if they are meant to be comedic. Even then, this has been done after a bombarding of complaints have been filed to the administrator to close the group. Hence, in this way Facebook does not have an automatic control over the management of the content. Case II Also, as per the rules there is no practical way to protect public content so that only trusted friends can view it. Not only does the publisher risk their pers onal information being used for offensive purposes (identity theft or otherwise), but if they change their minds, it is nearly impossible to remove something permanently from the Internet. Search engines can keep copies of web pages long after they have been removed. So, one cannot confine that their privacy is secured even if the user has deleted the account. Information Gathering by Social Networking Sites: Another major issue that raises substantial privacy concerns is the accumulation of private information by social networking services. With more than  800million users, Facebook stores an immense volume of private data that is constantly expanding: 250 million photos  new photos are uploaded to Facebooks servers every day. In addition to private photographs, Facebook stores many other types of personal information that users submit, including relationships, political views, sexual orientations, and credit card numbers. Facebook also keeps track of its users purchasing habits through the Beacon affiliate program: even when users decline to publish stories on Facebook about their purchases, the information is still sent to Facebooks servers. This Information Gathering by Social Networking Sites, has been posing a threat in content management of users. Intensive Observation Method: Intensive observation method of Social Networking sites revealed at the following flaws, which cannot be a major issue to discuss, but can become at a point of time. Dissemination of Information without consent: The Facebook users can comment, share, like and post stories create any blog in Facebook in any of the user’s links, irrespective of privacy. This can be delivered down to all the Facebook users throughout the world, if posted as a public post. In this the content can become inappropriate to some users, which gives a chance for misleading opinions, deviating audience to a wrong perspective, and even leading to mishaps depending on the intensity of the issue. This has been experimented by selecting a sample size of 50 respondents, segmented in two categories: i. General Audience: People who are users of Facebook and members of Social Networking sites, but do not have an in-depth knowledge of Media effects and other terms. 25 people comprising of students and college teachers represented the sample. i. Informed Citizenry: People who are users of Social Networking sites, equipped with the knowledge of effects of Media were selected. 25 people comprising of students and teachers from the Media Department represented as samples. A question was posted into the Facebook profile of the respondents, and responses for the question is analysed. Question for Response: Do you think India is in a need to change its way of governance. Wha t will be your options? Please post your opinion and comments. Options: 1. Military Regime 2. Monarchy ( Again Colonialism) 3. Communism 4. Leave as it is (Democracy). Analysis and Interpretation of data: I. The content analysis of Social Networking Sites revealed up with the following ethical concerns: i. No confirmation of identity of the users is carried out in any of the Social Networking Sites, which can be avoided. ii. Facebook does not have an automatic control over the management of the content. iii. One cannot confine that their privacy is secured even if the user has deleted the account. Hence it raises the possibilities of data being utilised by anyone later on. iv. This Information Gathering by Social Networking Sites, has been posing a threat in content management of users. II. The analysis of collected data of Intensive Observation revealed that a majority of people opining Military regime as the need for the day. If such surveys or opinions can be posted in a site which contains most vulnerable audience likewise, youth and teenagers, that can pose a threat to the harmony of the country. Outcome of the study: †¢ Although these are serious ethical constraints, there are reasons to believe that, for the most part, social networks are counteracting to these challenges. For example, although large centralized repositories of data are necessarily vulnerable to malicious insiders, social networks have had few reported problems of this variety. This may be the result of an organised content management and highly scrutinized employees. †¢ Users post information to social networking services in order to share it with others: a breach of privacy that lets anybody view photos that you only intended for your friends to view may be damaging, but it is likely less damaging than a breach of privacy that reveals your PIN number or your medical history, which you intended for nobody else at all to see. Though these advantages exist, Social Networking sites, on a whole are a threat to the society, unless and otherwise, a content management code is defined to manage the content keyed into Social Networking sites, and also a team to monitor the content in sites, and if possible, the real identity of the members of the sites can also be kept in track, so that any mishaps, demeaning of personality’s images cannot happen. Suggestions of the Panel Discussion Committee: Indian Media is in the stage of its peak at development, though it’s in a learning curve on the part of ethics to be maintained and measures in finding newsworthiness. †¢ There can be a self-regulatory body to reframe the working nature of the Social Networking Sites and on the content they carry. †¢ If media is not ready to go with that, Government can formulate and execute a Media Law, which is still under progress since 2003, that can make the Indian Media come under control. †¢ The policies cannot be called as controls, but regulations on a moderate level, that cannot curb the working nature of media. Some regulations on governing International media clients operating in India, can be arrived at, because it is observed that more than 50% of the Indian media is under the monopoly of Foreign media organisations. I would like to thank the Indian Government, that i was fortunate they have come up with a notion to develop a code of conduct for the content of Social Networking Sites. To conclude with, we can again remember the quote by Marshall McLuhan,† Medium is the message†, which states the deciding authority lies in the hand of media, which should look upon the well being of the society as the first and foremost function. References: Klaus Bruhn Jensen (2003). â€Å"A Handbook of Media and Communication Research: Qualitative and Quantitative Methodologies†. Routledge Publishers. Lelia Green (2001). â€Å"Communication, Technology and Society†. Sage Publications. http://www. communicationencyclopedia. com/public/tocnode? id=g9781405131995_yr2011_chunk_g97814051319958_ss9-1 http://www. facebook. com/press/info. php? statistics http://startups. in/view/asides/software-engineer-sues-airtel-for-20-crore-rupees/

Americanism In Back To The Future Film Studies Essay

Americanism In Back To The Future Film Studies Essay If you put your mind to it you can accomplish anything: Constructions of America across the space-time continuum. Robert Zemeckis Back to the Future is a motion picture classic. The time traveling Delorean and the Marty McFly character are imprinted upon the minds of audiences all over the world. The American government recognized the movies significance to American culture by inducting it into the archives of the National Film Registry in 2007. This induction officially made the movie a culturally, historically or aesthetically significant work to be preserved for all time, thus labeling it as an important non-traditional cultural text in the context of American society. In his article Reconfiguring Academic Disciplines Paul Lautner presents the analysis of these kinds of non-traditional cultural texts as being a vital part of the American Studies discipline. He reasons they help construct the frameworks, fashion the metaphors, create the very language by which people comprehend their experiences and think about their world. Using Lautners approach, this essay will examine the significance of the first Back to the Future movie for key aspects of American culture and society. Topics that will be discussed are American exceptionalism, American identity, American myths, American political rhetoric of the 1980s and popular culture. The movie starts off in the year 1985 and focuses on seventeen year old Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox), who is part of a lower-middle-class family living in suburbia. His father, called George McFly, is afraid to stand up for himself and his mother, called Lorraine McFly, is an alcoholic. Martys friend Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) has created a time machine which takes Marty across the space-time continuum back to the year 1955, the year that his parents fell in love. At the movies first turning point, he endangers his future existence by accidently preventing his parents meeting. Thus, Marty spends the rest of the movie solving this. He helps his future father stand up for himself and makes his parents fall in love at the high school dance while playing rock and roll music. In the end, Martys actions changed the future, because when he returns to 1985 he sees that his family has transformed into yuppies who live in upper-middle-class suburbia. This is the exact opposite of the family life Marty left at the beginning of the movie. Having explained the movies plot, one can take a more in-depth look at the movies cultural significance. First of all, American exceptionalism, often defined as being the way in which America differs from other nations. The movie shows idealized versions of the typical American way of life in the 1950s and 1980s. These time periods show how Americaness is also deeply rooted within American history itself as it provides a distinct American identity. The 1950s are pictured as being peaceful, conservative and family oriented. Traditional values maintained the importance of community and family life. In 1955, Marty is warmly welcomed by Lorraines family who lives in quaint suburbia. Lorraines mother is a happy housewife, who cooks dinner and takes care of the children, while her father supports the family. As for the town, it looks clean and fresh during Martys exploration accompanied by the upbeat song Mr. Sandman. In contrast, the 1980s at the beginning of the movie look miserable. Mar tys family flaws and failures are expressed and there is no happy family life. The town square is filled with litter, almost to a point where it becomes cartoonish. Martys house stands in a run down neighborhood and its interior looks old and smudgy. However, at the end of the movie, Martys home and family have transformed into the 1980s version of idealized America. His home looks newly build and his family is all smiling faces wearing slick looking clothes and having a BMW standing in the driveway. These developments promote a celebration of Americanness, it is part of the 1980s version of the American Dream. The filmmakers commentary state that European reviews were very critical of this outcome. An internet search was unable to locate these reviews, but according to the filmmakers they did not agree with the fact that the movie equated happiness with material possessions. However, once again according to the filmmakers, not one American critic commented on this. Therefore, exemp lifying how exceptional America is on a cross-cultural level. Moreover, the movie also promotes Americas exceptionalism by focusing on individualism, an important element of Americanness. Martys individual actions changed his future. Related to this is the notion that the movie sees the future as having unlimited possibilities. It treats the future as the new frontier, hence comparing it to Wild West. This frontier is the origin of the strong sense of freedom and individualism deemed essential in American life. Throughout the movie, Marty is constantly reminded of his individual freedom and liberty as demonstrated by the often recurring line If you put your mind to it you can accomplish anything. Political rhetoric of the 1980s embraced this mindset. It is no secret that President Ronald Reagan loved this movie, because of this message and the fact that he was the subject of a joke. Reagan even quoted the movie in his 1986 State of Union address: As they said in the film Back to the Future,Where were going, we dont need roads. Once again promo ting Americas access to unlimited possibilities and its exceptionalism in contrast to other nations. However, the movie also expresses the double-edged characteristic of American exceptionalism, an idea put forward by Seymour Martin Lipset in Exceptionalism: A Double Edged Sword. Lipset explains that America is a country of contrasts. High morality is promoted in society, yet Martys morality is constantly being challenged. It starts off high by not willing to seduce his mother, but it declines rapidly when he finds out that it is an essential part in the scheme of making his parents fall in love. This also suggest that Marty is more concerned with the ends rather than with the means. He is willing to seduce his mother if it helps secure his future. This focus on the ends rather than on the means is typical for American identity according to Lipset. He states that Americans put a lot of stress on success which often leads to a decline of morality. Criticism on the movies showing of American exceptionalism is centered on the argument that it mostly focuses on white heterosexual middle class America. The filmmakers included a small subplot on an African-American male, who starts off being a cleaner and ends up being the major of the town, but this storyline feels very forced. Thus, the movie mainly addresses the experience of one specific group in explaining America, at the expense of other groups. This kind of criticism relates to Neil Campbell and Alasdair Kean perspectives on the subject matter. They explain that subordinate groups are not completely ignored, but they are given a certain position within the dominant group. Thus, Back to the Future gives the African-American male an identity within white society. An issue related to this idea is Martys redefinition of the racial history of rock and roll music. Marty plays the song Johnny B Goode at the school dance. Chuck Berrys cousin hears this and calls Chuck Berry to tell him that they found their much needed new sound. It is possible to overanalyze this segment as being part of a white supremacy narrative, but it is better to accept it as a joke made by the filmmakers. The plot is temporarily stopped to demonstrate Michael J. Foxs comedic guitar playing skills. Nevertheless, white hegemony remains the consensus in the movie and this consensus is incorporated into the prevalent power structure with the help of ideologies and cultural myths. These ideologies and myths help construct an American identity. There are three prevalent American myths present in Back to the Future. They are incorporated into the overarching ideology of the American Dream. First, the myth of small town America. Small town life is pictured as being the perfect definition of American society. The localized life excludes Big Corporations and the Big Government which fulfills Americans desire to be free. The second myth deals with the suburban dream. This myth is embodied by the McFly family at the end of the movie. Their happiness sends across the message that every American should pursue such a life, because it is within everyones reach. The third myth concerns the idea of the scientist who in his own garage invents something which can change the world. I.e. Doc Browns DeLorean. Thus, the ideal of living happily without needing any help from big corporations or the government is once again promoted. This also refers back to Americas strong sense of individualism. These three myths are used as discourse for the construction of Martys America and they serve as ideologies. They convey and reinforce an image of both 1950s and 1980s America. In addition, the movie touches upon Americas fascination with the past and its attempt to reconciliate between the past and present. The time traveling aspect addresses this attempt of reconciliation, while the 1950s outlook shows a nostalgia for the past. This nostalgia is much in line with Reagans 1980s political rhetoric. He had a 1950s conservative outlook, as he promoted traditional values and gender roles. However, 1950s Lorraine challenges these values and roles by drinking, smoking and being assertive. The filmmakers specifically state that they rebelled against Reaganite politics by addressing parts of the rebelliousness of 1980s teen movies. Consequently presenting a vision of American youth challenging power and authority. Moreover, youth practices are used as a junction point for various discourses within the story. For example, the school dance being the crucial place where Martys parents fall in love. Overall, the movie prefers to connect to youngness and newness. Two notions which America prefers to associate itself with. Teen culture is put into the spotlight, thus demonstrating America as a place of renewal. Lastly, by being part of popular culture, Back to the Future helps American society understand itself better as M. Thomas Inge reasons in his introduction to American popular culture. The movie analyses American society by giving a sketch of American culture in the 1950s and 1980s. However, the 1950s and 1980s that the movie shows are specifically developed for the story. I.e. Back to the Future provides interpretations of those time periods. Thus, the 1950s images are constructions and fabrications in themselves. The portrayed 1950s cannot be considered to be more real for an audience who experienced the 1950s firsthand than for the 1980s teen target audience. Hence the movie fits within a postmodern perspective, because it creates one cultural memory narrative. This particular approach to filmmaking is probably what made the sequels so successful. The interpretations of the past, present and future make the movies fascinating. To conclude, Martys adventure enabled him to take a step back from his culture to understand his own 1980s reality, consequently learning to see events in their particular form and context. This essay attempted to follow in Martys footsteps. By critically analyzing Back to the Future audiences are able to reconstruct and renegotiate American identity and exceptionalism both from a 1980s and 1950s perspective, even though they are Hollywood fabricated. These perspectives can then be incorporated into a broad overview of American culture which helps form answers to the question: what is America?. This essay cannot provide definite answers to this question, but Marty McFly himself seems to have found his answer to it. He negotiates his identity and constructs his reality through a discourse centered around the motto If you put your mind to it you can accomplish anything. This encompasses his America, it is a variable within the grand narrative of American identity construction.

Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal Essay -- Jonathan Swift’s A Modest

Jonathan Swift’s â€Å"A Modest Proposal†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Jonathan Swift’s â€Å"A Modest Proposal,† published in 1729, Swift engages in an extraordinary amount of irony and satire. Swift states that in order to reduce famine in Ireland and to solve the problems that they are having that eating children would be a good solution. This is not the purpose of Swift’s essay. The real intent was to get the people of Britain to notice that the ideas that they were coming up with were not any better than his satirical one, and new ideas and efforts needed to come forth in order to solve the problem.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Swift stresses that it is hard for mothers to provide for their children and it is not getting any easier. He feels that this is due to an overpopulation and lack of food. It is hard enough for these mothers to... Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal Essay -- Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Jonathan Swift’s â€Å"A Modest Proposal†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Jonathan Swift’s â€Å"A Modest Proposal,† published in 1729, Swift engages in an extraordinary amount of irony and satire. Swift states that in order to reduce famine in Ireland and to solve the problems that they are having that eating children would be a good solution. This is not the purpose of Swift’s essay. The real intent was to get the people of Britain to notice that the ideas that they were coming up with were not any better than his satirical one, and new ideas and efforts needed to come forth in order to solve the problem.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Swift stresses that it is hard for mothers to provide for their children and it is not getting any easier. He feels that this is due to an overpopulation and lack of food. It is hard enough for these mothers to...

California Gold Rush Essay -- American History

The California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush was not all about Americans being happy and rich because of the discovery of gold. Indians, Hispanics, African Americans and Chinese all went through some sort of struggle or problem during the Gold Rush period. Not only did men go through rough times but so did some women. The California Gold Rush was a whole different world within California. Gold turned everyone into people they were not. In 1847, an Indian scout brought Mr. James Marshall to Maidu. Maidu was a village of Koloma. There, the first nugget was discovered where James Marshall built a sawmill. The sawmill was located along the American River. Some people say the first Gold Nugget was found by Indian Jim, whom worked for James Marshall to dig a channel to power the sawmill. However, James Marshall received the credit. Indians were famous for their invention in 1849 of the "Long Tom," also known as a box which caught gold. Although the Indians worked very hard for John Sutter whom was James Marshall's boss, Indians suffered tremendously. Gold Fever was a common disease which Indians died from in Northern California. Indians also died from violence and starvation. When Indians found gold nuggets, they would trade the nuggets for clothes, blankets or food for their families. It wasn't the money they wanted. It was the supplies they needed. For a while the Indians were doing well until the year of 1850 which California was now their jail. Because of the changes the whites were making, there was so much poverty for Indians around this time. Families were so poor Indian women decided to prostitute themselves. I think this is one of the most horrible things anyone can do to degrade themselv... ...erior and controlling about. A lot of people died from trying to survive in a free country because of the way they looked or the color of their skin. Lives were always in danger either way you looked at it. Now days people do have to go through some discrimination, racial problems or struggles such as being poor. We do not fight over land, we fight for each other or for money. Money is probably the only thing everyone will always cherish because money can help you do anything now. References Minorities During the Gold Rush. (2000). Retrieved October 18, 2005 From http://www.LearnCalifornia.org/doc.asp?id=1933@pagetype=content The Story of California From the Earliest Days to the Present. Henry K. Norton. 7th ed. Chicago, A.C. McClure & Co., 1924. Chapter XXIV, pp. 283-296 James J. Rawls, and Walton Bean. California. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002

Looking for God :: Papers

Looking for God Where are you supposed to look for God? How are you to look for God, and does it help to decide what sort of thing you are looking for first? What kind of thing is God? Looking from the perspective of someone with no previous faith, looking for general revelation, I would have to say you have to perceive what you think is God-like first. If you ask the majority of people with a faith what God is like, they would probably say 'all good and all-powerful'. So are you looking for general signs of goodness, beauty, power and awe? If you are then you can rule out finding God in evil, ugliness, weakness and un-impressiveness. Or can you? I know that black isn't white, but people thought Hitler was 'good'; beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so an 'ugly' person to me might be stunningly 'beautiful' to someone else; the queen bee is supreme over mere drones, however it looks a bit pathetic in comparison to even simple humans; and David Beckham's match and free kick against Greece last year left thousands of footy fans awe-struck, yet my brother just couldn't see what the fuss was about. God is deeply personal, so will be found in different places for everyone. If you thought that 'The Miracle Of life' was completely un-earthly, and could only be explained with a super-human being, then I bet I could find half a dozen more that just think we are here accidentally. [IMAGE][IMAGE][IMAGE]If you are solely looking for good, you can still find it in atrocities. In Sept. 11 you could find God in the 'power' and 'awe' of it all, but also in those brave people whose spirit never wavered, in those volunteers determined to help, in those fore-fighters who gave their life to save others, those selfless rescuers, counsellors, vicars, children. Osama tried to devastate American spirit and attitude as well as massacre, but he failed in crushing the love and goodness in people's heats and minds.

Disease Trends and Healthcare Delivery Essay

Statistics make the world go round, literally. A certain population or ethnicity and their disease trends can really have an effect on what can happen in the future for our healthcare systems. Demographics and Disease trends can go hand in hand with one another because disease trends are so constant and unnoticeable that it continues daily, therefore having a particular group being affected by the same disease. Some people do not believe it, but all you have to do is look at the statistics and you will then see how greatly they affect one another. To break things down, demographics are groups of people with a common link, such as; age, gender, race, education level, income level, even marital level, and etc. When in an environment where links are similar or the same, the same trends start to get picked up as well, linking you within the range of your demographics. Environment plays a big role in demographics as well. If you live in the same neighborhood or community as someone, you a re linked to that person no matter how small of importance it is. With everyone doing the same trends which come to them like habits, they may never go away until they know that it is a problem. Environment happens to play a role as well when it comes to demographics. Environment happens to play one of the main roles. Habits become hard to break because of the type of environment you around. Who, what, and the things that you are surrounded by happen to make up part of your environment, and it becomes hard to control when you get used to it and things become normal to you. An example would be; you stop by McDonald’s every day to get a Sunday just as a snack for the day. If that McDonalds was not so close to you, you would probably not have picked up the habit to buy an ice-cream. When you have so much or an environment surrounded by you that comes natural or that you see as being natural, it does not seem like anything to you because you do it in your everyday life. These things can affect your health and can affect the future of healthcare if gone unnoticed for so long. Even people play a big role in your environment. An example would be say you had a significant other. He liked to eat out all the times, but you liked home cooked meals bec ause that is what you were used to, but one day you said you did not feel like cooking and you at out. The one day changed everything and now you eat out just as much as your significant other and have begun to gain weight. It has become a habit for you to eat  out every day even though it seems so easy to stop. Well, that takes us to our next topic, obesity rates have gone up significantly throughout the United States. Of all countries, the United States has the highest rate of obesity. United States obesity rates have gone up from 13 percent in 1962 and estimates have increased to 19.4 percent in 1997, 24.5 percent in 2004, 26.6 percent in 2007 and 33.8 percent for adults and 17 percent for children in 2008. 2010 reports from CDC were said that numbers were still increasing counting 35.7 percent of the total American population for adults were obese and 17 percent of American children. Factors affecting obesity would be none other than environment. The fact that the United States has so many fast food services; people cannot help but to get dragged into being obese. Food is always in their faces or else they see someone else eating and crave it as well. Obesity has accounted for 100,000 to 400,000 deaths in the United States per year. It has increased healthcare use and expenditures. Obesity rates has cost society about 117 billion dollars in direct and indirect costs. It has exceeded the health care cost and will continue if obesity rates continue to go up. Obesity rates happen to be ore that that of the smoking and drinking rate and accounts for 6 percent to 12 percent of national health care expenditures in the United States. To reduce obesity rates, people can try switching up their everyday environments by going to a gym, going to a track, or even by just going to the grocery store and buying more healthy foods to cook and it. If people were to exercise as much as they eat, obesity rates could be lowered. The fact that children see things and grow up eating things they shouldn’t grows with them. Obesity rates could change in the future if children were taught to eat more healthy foods and not just foods that just taste good. There are so many things that people can do to reduce their own obesity rate. They can exercise three times a week and also eat healthier. Overall living a healthier lifestyle would help greatly. Changing the people around you as well can help. Choose to be around people that care about their health a lot or care about their health just as much as you do. You could always have a workout buddy, someone that will encourage you to lose weight. Even the fact of knowing that you could possibly be obese leading to more and more diseases can trigger something in someone to make them want to become a bit healthier. In the future of health care in the United States, there is really no way of  telling whether obesity rates will go down, but they could possibly go down drastically if the government, communities, societies, schools and cities come together annually and create awareness and activities that encourage people to lose weight, stay fit, and become healthy. Age can affect the U.S health care systems just as much obesity can. There are more modern medicines to help with diseases that were in the past. Let’s face it; now that we have more modernized medicines and machinery, people are living longer than they were 200 and 300 years ago. Today 40 million people in the United States are ages 65 and older. The number is to more than double to 89 million by 2050. The United States has a smaller share of older person than many developed countries, and its populations are graying at a slower pace. Environment definitely plays a role. People are aging slower within the United States because of more and more technology being implemented within the health care system. At this rate everyone will live until they are 100. It is not a bad thing to live a long life, but it does get harder when you get older and it often puts a burden on health care systems as well. The reason being is because elderly are more likely to be in high demand of healthcare and, getting help is expensive. The aging trend is likely to increase due to environmental factors. The more and more people that get older, the more and more nursing homes, and assisted living facilities begin to be built in order to help support the elderly. Retirement homes, assisted living facilities, nursing homes, happen to play a huge role in the United States. These homes often need a lot of co-workers as well which is really needed and in demand. Things that could be done to reduce health complications related to aging would be; living a healthy lifestyle no matter how old you are, and possibly make health care a little less expensive. Avoiding disease is the number one way to avoid getting complications in life when aging. Possibly choose a health plan that implements preventive health care and always get monthly and yearly screenings that could be recommended by your doctors. Health care delivery will most likely adapt to the United States environment in the future to provide care for age- related health issues by implementing more preventative care, making sure that everyone has health care coverage or are able to get it. Doctors and nurses need to be good at their jobs as well in order to catch even the hardest complications. There needs to be more  hospitals willing to accept a broad range of health issues and of course the number one thing would be price reduction. Health care will become a bit better than what it is now especially with the HITECH act in which is trying to put good use of information technology within hospitals, and physicians’ offices. As long as technology is always improving, the healthcare system improves as well. Health care delivery for obesity adaptation may get worse before it gets any better in such that people will not realize their issues until it is too late. In doing so this will trigger a movement within the United States that would make people want to change and teach their children as well. Health classes will begin to be implemented into elementary schools very early to teach children what are good foods and what aren’t. Instead of having soda machines and vending machines, machines are just going to be light snack machines and juice. In conclusion, healthcare delivery will change no matter what the case is. People play a big role in the future of health care and vice versa. With that being said, the only way for better adaptations would most probably be people actually wanting to change and more research within the world. With research, there comes, new inventions, with new inventions, there comes better technology to have in order to play roles within our lives. In order for change to occur within the future of health care, there has to be a change within people. When people decide to get up and take preventative measures within their own lives, and then their children life will then be when they decide to help the future of health care. Reference Jacobsen, L. (2009). America’s Aging Population. Retrieved from http://www.prb.org/Publications/PopulationBulletins/2011/americas-aging-population.aspx (2013). Obesity in the United States. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity_in_the_United_States â€Å"Statistics Related to Overweight and Obesity†. CDC. 2006. Retrieved 2009-01-23 F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies are Failing in America, 2008, Trust For America’s Health, pp. 10–11. Note: Defines â€Å"overweight† as BMI ≠¥25, â€Å"obese† as