Monday, September 30, 2019

Celebrity Status

Celebrity Status â€Å"Everything I do need a news crew's presence† – kanye west. Think back to the early years and recall the one role model that was looked up to the most go ahead might have to go back as far as childhood. Ok got that amazing individual in mind? Now is that somebody a person who had a lifestyle in luxury, fascinates the media and the influences the public on day-to-day basis? (Commonly denoted as an individual with fame and fortune), implied with great popular appeal, prominence in a particular field, and is easily recognized by the public or also known as a celebrity or celeb.Known fact most role models are celebrities but why? Celebrities are on TV, front page of magazines, and have their names big and bold in newspapers. Every time they turn their head or scratch their nose it’s going to make the headlines and believe it or not things that small from people with big reputation have a huge impact on the public people. Celebs are bad role mode ls because they effect children, families, and can give the wrong meaning of celebrity status. Children the offspring, the next generation need to grow up healthy and with a excellent mental state and not a fantasy trying to copy the latest and greatest movie actor out. he child needs to be an individual meaning one person as him/herself, â€Å"selfhood†. Who knows the child could be a genius and invent something great that could be helpful for the future, but never know because they are to influenced by their celebrity role model. Having celebrities as role models can also throw a good chance of bad behavior in children for example lindsay lohan she effected thousands of young girls with then good girl gone bad incident made national back in 2004 after she made the movie mean girls then later got caught stealing and no penalties were issued.As a role model she portrayed that stealing was ok and being bad is cool plus you just can’t act bad, you have to be bad! It was just that easy to set the mind of a child off track and to follow the footsteps of a â€Å"role model†. As children get older the role model gets older and will still try to do everything they see their role model do because they think it cool or want to be just like them no matter what the action is going from sex all the way to drugs. Drugs are likely to be used before age twenty six by young adults, but when celebrities use drugs it raises the chances even more with teenagers when celebrities are caught red handed by he media. It gives the wrong impression because the whole incident turns into a phenomenon â€Å"what drug did she/he use† â€Å"how long has she/he been using it† it becomes more a reward then punishment because there are now the biggest topic of the month and really miss the point that person made a mistake in life and is now addicted when they needed to be taking out of the spotlight so child viewers don’t think twice of making that mis take; but its not that easy.It also gives the impression that everything will be perfectly using drugs and life goes on perfect example Charlie sheen. when Charlie got fired from two and a half men then left for rehab he came back the same man that left but came back with a hit catch phrase duh winning and was offered he’s job back plus endorsements. Celebrities that use drugs are a easy way to influence children to experiment and use drugs so why let them take it that far? The celebrity doesn’t care about their effect on children but their own.Family is the group of people who are willing to do anything for each other and won’t let anything between, so why let a celebrity ruin that? Celebrity role models effect families nationwide by giving the wrong message all the time; like its ok to live young wild and free or better like the new saying of 2012 Yolo so popular it made it to the dictionary. (yo-lo) you only live once. If a role model says it’s ok â₠¬Å"Yolo† it’s just the same as saying its ok to do anything crazy, it’s ok go head live fast because you once live once (Yolo).That saying is being promoted by celebrities and it’s pretty scary. kids have a reason to do something crazy and then are sent to the grave and left mom and dad to mourn the day with the feeling that life will never be the same. A role model should be a positive person and have nothing but good intentions Like a super hero and doesn’t want to harm anyone or do drugs also would lead by example those are true role models. No matter if they’re popular or not that role model will always be above celebrity status!

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Reinvestigation of Editorial Genre on the Basis of Generic Structure

Reinvestigation of Editorial Genre: On the Basis of Generic Structure Potential Abstract Editorial research has been developed since about 2005 by some professionals in the field such Scholar Ansary or Babaii because there are many following journals of editorials citing their previous development such as Fartousi and Dumanig (2012), Ansary and Babaii(2009) and so on.Out of the gap in the confirmatory developed by Ansary and Babaii (2005), the research attempts to apply their framework in the online editorials of China Post and the consequence manifests that their editorial GSP matches the consequence of the study, further confirming their research result; however, there are some limitations in the study: there are many other English editorials in non-English-speaking countries not researched yet, so if the future study can confirm the previous research results, then the reliability in the editorial GSP can be more stabilized to the extent of a principle-like theorem.Then, an editori al GSP slightly differs from the work of Ansary and Babaii (2005), id est, that of Fartousi and Dumanig (2012), but the most order or acronyms in Ansar and Babaii’s (2005) editorial GSP is nearly the same; consequently, if the future study can make comparisons among editorial GSPs, the editorial GSP will be developed more completely and perfectly.For the pedagogical implication, the editorial GSP can be designed into a curriculum as an extra-curricular course or even an in-class one for students in the secondary or tertiary education in order to raise learning interest and the medium of communicating competence through absorbing and internalizing the editorial content as a subject or the discipline of in-class oral communication. IntroductionIn light of Ansary and Babaii (2005), during the past years, there has been much research in genre in and across many linguistic use domains; then, the concept, genre, has been a framework for the analysis of the form and rhetorical funct ion such as research articles, dissertations, editorials†¦, serving as a tool for developing educational practices in rhetoric, linguistics, composition studies, ESP, EAP, and so onThe interest in the research lies in the need to confirm a genre model that can be applied into non-English-as-L1 pedagogical environment, the one in Taiwan in order to discipline students’ capability of understanding editorial genre to bolster their reading comprehension for the better effective communication competence. Therefore, based on such stance, it is expected that the editorial genre model may also be applied to the editorial genre in the online version of Taiwan editorial genres which will be discussed in the methodology.For the research relative to the study theme, there is considerable. For instance, Anaray and Babii(2005) have formulated the editorial GSP on the online Washington editorials, which is the main base of the study. Next, Flowerdew and Dudley-Evans(2002) refer to thei r findings that they may contribute to the comprehension of the function and nature of letter editorials regardless of none generalization about it.Then, Katajamaki and Koskela(2006) studies rhetorical structure of editorials in English, Swedish, and Finnish business newspapers whose conclusion finds that when there is variation, it concerns two stages of the rhetorical structure, i. e. solution and moral, and that editorials in business newspapers seldom present any direct solutions for the critical issues discussed.Besides the aforementioned studies, Ansary and Babii(2009) report that an ‘unmarked’ English newspaper editorial, published either in Iran or Pakistan or the USA, typically consists of four obligatory and two optional generic rhetorical elements. Furthermore, Fartousi and Dumanig (2012) identify the rhetorical pattern of an English editorial titled ‘the Hoodies of NWO’ published on October 8, 2011 in the Tehran Times –the most read Engli sh daily newspaper- in Iran: RH ^ AI ^ (BI) ^ (IA) ^ A ^ (CR) ^ (AS): RH: Run-on Headline, CR: Concluding Remark, AS: Articulating a Solution.In accordance with Ansary and Babaii (2005), they investigate the 30 editorials from online Washington Times in a perspective of SFL—Systemic Functional Linguistics—founded by Michael Halliday and creates a genre model for editorials; however, she expresses in the final textual page before the references that There is a dearth of confirmatory research attempting to examine whether the identified generic patterns apply to other corpuses. To serve this line of investigation, then, it seems advisable to consolidate the findings of previous exploratory genre analyses, including the one reported here, through further research.Therefore, the purpose of the paper is to reinvestigate the gap in the aforementioned journal by Ansary and Babaii (2005), The Generic Integrity of Newspaper Editorials: A Systemic Functional Perspective, on the basis of the work of them and the British linguist, M. A. K. Halliday. If the research successfully proves the fact the genre model with respect of editorials can be applied to the online Chinese Mandarin versions of editorial model, then, it will benefit the pedagogical domain and contribute the academic value concerning the development of the editorial genre format more completely and even fully to academic boundary.Literature Review This research is to reinvestigate if the editorial GSP developed by Ansary and Babaii (2005) and based on Halladian Systemic Functional Linguistics model of texts analysis, can be applied into that of online China Post in Taiwan and to be more specific and detailed, this study is check whether their GSP ( Generic Structural Potential) of English newspaper editorials can be applied into it.What relates to the concepts of the study theme are SFL, Systemic Functional Linguistics, GSP, Generic Structural Potential, and certain acronyms of a certain genre, say, editorial, exemplified later as follows. Accordingly, the study explores relevant research: First, there will be some relevant editorial works from different scholars; then GSP, is stated in detail and one real GSP of editorials listed below for illustration. For SFL, it’s a textual analytical tool or model or framework (Ansary and Babaii, 2005 & Hughes, 2009) set up by M.A. K. Hallidy and by Morley (1985), it states that SFL interprets language as a systematic network of meaning potential and that systems compose language. For the GSP Hassan and Halliday develop it in 1989, and according to Ansary and Babaii(2005), a GSP of a genre is a condensed statement of a text (or a genre) in its CC (Contextual Configuration), and by Hassan(1984), he describes the GSP of a certain genre as â€Å"a statement of the structural resources available in a given genre.Furthermore, in accordance with Halliday and Hasan (1989), a GSP is an abstract theoretical concept that †¦ expres s[es] the total range of optional, [iterative], and obligatory elements and their order in such a way that we exhaust the possibilities of text structure for every text that can be appropriate to [the Contextual Configuration of that text]. In order to further specify the definition of GSP, the following is given and from the research result on editorial GSP done by Hassan: [pic]For each symbol acronyms, the following is its explanations: the caret, ^, is sequence; H stands for Heading; BI, Background Information; AI, Addressing an Issue; IA, Initiation of Argumentation; A; Argumentation; CA; Closure of Argumentation; AP, Articulating a Position; round brackets, ( ), represent optionality; the square brackets, [ ], the limit concerning sequence(the none changeability of sequence); the dot, . means the changeability of order; the braces with an arrow— {[pic]}— stand for the degree of repetition. At last, n and m represent several sets of iteration. To sum up, under SFL theories, it is practicable to use its model later developed, i. e. , GSP, to analyze a structure of a certain genre and the analytical consequence can be formulated by symbols and acronyms in a line. MethodologyThe Framework for the Analysis of Online China Post Editorials Based on the work of Ansary and Babaii (2005) with regard to editorial GSP: [pic], the experiment will be conduced by the same analytical framework for the identification of texts used by Ansary and Babaii (2005). Analytical Procedure: The Sample Analysis of a Full Text As to the in-depth textual analysis, a sample from China Post Online will be given in order to show the how; for the analysis presentation, it just centers on higher-level rhetorical structure of texts, the mode constituting the larger parts of textsThe sample below is an editorial from The China Post electronically published on the column titled Editorial, on the website: http://chinapost. com. tw on Wednesday, December 26, 2012. Result |HEADLINE : |Seeking Christmas while sifting the man from the myth | | | | |The explanation of Jesus’ birth on Christmas. | |ADDRESSING AN ISSUE: |Christmas in Taiwan is not a traditional or mandatory occasion. Contrary | | |to most Western countries, where the annual holiday is celebrated and | |Christmas for Taiwanese is not a traditional or |given so much importance, Christmas is rather an occasion of convenience | |mandatory occasion but a day for friends and |for friends and family. |family reunion. | | |INITIATION OF ARGUMENTATION |For sure, there is more and more convenience for shopping — almost one in | | |two Christmas shoppers do their shopping online — and searching for that | |Buying Christmas gifts for the important one |special someone during the Christmas season.Every time we celebrate | |becomes more convenient, but the faith or the |Christmas, however, we shouldn't run away from the challenges that come | |concepts to Christmas should be challenged |wit h it: to question one's faith. | |ARGUMENT 1: |In his new book, â€Å"The Infancy Narratives — Jesus of Nazareth,† Pope | | |Benedict XVI addresses such challenges when he tells us that there is | |In Pope Benedict XVI’s new book, there are some |something wrong with the timing, animals and angels of Christmas.And | |challenges against the customary Christmas |these little changes make a huge difference. | |concepts. | | |ARGUMENT 2: |Everybody knows that Jesus wasn't actually born on Dec. 25, but the pope | | |indicates that the date for Christmas was based on a blunder by a | |In spite of the common sense about Jesus’ |sixth-century monk who was several years off in his calculation of Jesus' | |birthday not on Dec. 5, the pope further |birth date. | |indicates the wrong origin. | | |ARGUMENT 3: |What significance might this have? It doesn't change the themes and the | | |narrative of the biblical story, which is: Jesus came as a baby, as a | |Pope Bened ict manifests that Jesus was a real |savior to redeem mankind.But in Pope Benedict's words, it shows that | |figure despite the narratives about him in the |Jesus was a real historical figure, who walked on Earth and talked to | |bible. |people like anyone else. | |ARGUMENT 4: |Another thing that the pope challenges is our understanding that farm | | |animals were present on Christmas Eve. In fact, there were probably no | |The pope raises that the farm animals weren’t |oxen, sheep nor donkeys.The pope says in his book that the animals were | |present on Christmas Eve. |implicitly referenced in the text, not explicitly, like in this passage | | |from Luke 2:7, which reads: â€Å"And she gave birth to her firstborn son and | | |wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was| | |no place for them in the inn. | |ARGUMENT 5: |What about the angels singing? Were there any angels singing? The pope is | | |also saying that there were angels but they were talking, not singing, to | |The angels on the scene were talking instead of |the shepherd. The angels offered directions as to where to find the baby. |singing and were showing the way to find the |The angel said to them, â€Å"Don't be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good| |infant Jesus. |news of great joy that will be for all the people: Today a Savior, who is | | |Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David. This will be the | | |sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in cloth and lying in a | | |feeding trough. | |ARTICULATING A POSITION 1: |While we are celebrating Christmas, we should follow the pope in trying to| | |understand the world where Jesus was born and try to better understand | |A thought from the writer is that we should |contemporary Taiwan. Through his new book, Pope Benedict tells us that | |follow the pope’s argument of Jesus’ birth place |even though Caesar brought peace to the Roman Empire, a tiny child brought| |and try to better understand contemporary Taiwan. something much more wonderful: God's peace and a promise to eternal life | | |and the end to sin. | |ARTICULATING A POSITION 2: |If you are also wondering why Christmas came to be such a great | | |celebration in the West, you should also try to find the answer for | |The writer suggests the attitude of questioning |yourself and question your religion and beliefs.While we may all agree | |the reader’s religion and beliefs and refers to |that the pope is a traditional man, we should find comfort that he is | |his feeling on the pope’s contribution with |attempting to explain how the birth of Jesus changed history forever, | |regard to the birth of Jesus. |especially on Christmas Day. | Validity and Reliability of the AnalysisIt is a must to do logical tests to found the analytical validity and reliability, and in light of Yin (1984), construct validity is referential to â€Å"setting up correct operational measures for the studies notations† and reliability refers to proving that the study can be reiterated with the same results. Additionally, Yin (1984) suggests the steps in add- ing construct validity and the how is reviewing and cross-examining the analytical result y the frequent discussions with a postgraduate researcher (Dr. E. Babaii), yet, out of the lack of such suitable one, it is temporarily put off. Besides, for vindicating the analytical reliability, the approach mentioned by Ansary and Babaii (2005) is in the following: First, they randomly selected 10 texts from the corpus and requested two judges with a beforehand training background to independently code the texts. Second.They used Kappa coefficient (K) as a felicitous non-parametric measure to index the degree of agreement between coders and their codings, and the inter-coder and intra-coder reliability indices were calculated: kappa coefficient must exceed . 60 to be dependable and valid index of an acceptable degree of agree ment between judges. Under Prof Chen’s requirement, there are 5 extra GSP analyses from the same editorial website in the following: New Taiwan dollar closes flat after sharp surge (January  8,  2013)GSP:H^[AI]^{IA^A1^A2}{AP}{IA^A1}^{AP} KMT leaves year-end bonus loophole: DPPJanuary  8,  2013, GSP:H^[AI]^{IA^A1^A2^A3^A4}^{AP1^AP2^AP3^AP4} Opposition, ruling parties must agree: time is not on our side December 19, 2012 GSP:H^[AI]^{IA^A1^A2^A3A4}^{AP1^AP2^AP3^AP4} Benefits for the aged are more than just a handout December 11, 2012 GSP:H^[AI]^{IA^A1^A2^A3^A4}^{AP1^AP2^AP3^AP4^AP5} In Diaoyutais dispute, time has come for pragmatic diplomacy November 8, 2012 GSP:H^[AI]^{IA^A1^A2}^{AP1^AP2^AP3^AP4} Discussion The GSP for the editorials based on online China Post can be listed as: [pic] [pic]H^[AI]^{IA^A1^ A2^ A3^ A4^ A5}^{AP1^AP2} In the above GSP, the caret sign indexes sequences order; the square brackets delimit sequence; the braces with an arrow indicate the degree o f iteration. In sum, the aforementioned GSP is a condensed statement signifying an editorial from online China Post may appear in this way: an editorial typically begins with a headline and then addresses an issue and later argumentations and finally end with the articulation of the position. In ddition, such arguments and positions can be repetitive until the conclusion is mentioned. Conclusion Based on the result and discussion, it is obvious that the GSP of the editorials in the online China post matches the one raised by Ansary and Babaii(2005), but the limitation is that if there are more different data sources in the respect of editorials, the editorial GSP may be further confirmed and the degree of reliability may also be increased. For the comparisons between the literature findings as well as mine, it is elaborated below.First, in light of Katajamaki and Koskela(2006), they further indicate the variation in business editorial GSP bout their possible changes, whose result pa ttern is quite similar to Ansary and Babaii’s (2005) and more detailed; therefore, it is a point the future study may refer to. Then for Fartousi and Dumanig (2012) in the comparison between their and mine findings, they’re fairly similar as well: they their editorials GSP contains AR(Articulating a Resolution).Later, for Flowerdew and Dudley-Evans(2002), their finding is that they couldn’t form a formula but can describe of the nature and function about the editorials they analyze. Additionally, in terms of Ansary and Babaii(2009), they express that the non-native English language newspapers often carry a translated version of the same editorial printed in the native language edition of the newspapers, so it is a good research direction in the multiple comparisons in different editorial GSP with regard to whether L2 editorials may transfer their L1 into the editorials.Finally, the pedagogical implication lies in that the model can be applied into teaching mater ials as part of the development for student’s interest in learning English instead of being restricted to the dull textbooks merely, especially for the textbooks in tertiary education and their comprehension in this field. REFERENCES Ansary, Hasan, & Babaii, Esmat (2005). The Generic Integrity of Newspaper Editorials: A Systemic Functional Perspective, Indian Journal of Applied Linguistics Ansary, Hasan, & Babaii, Esmat (2009). A Cross-culture Analysis of English Editorials: A Systemic-Functional View of Text for ContrastiveRhetoric Research Fartousi, Hassan & Dumanig, Francisco Perlas (2012). A Rhetorical Analysis of an Editorial: â€Å"The Hoodies of NWO†. World Science Publisher, United States Flowerdew, John & Dudley-Evans, Tony (2002) Genre Analysis of Editorial Letters to International Letters, Oxford University Press Katajamaki, Heli & Koskela, Merja (2006) The rhetorical structure of editorials in English, Swedish and Finnish business newspapers. Teoksessa Proc eedings of the 5th International Aelfe Conference. Actas del V Congreso International AELFE.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Codeine Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Codeine - Research Paper Example f the ancient tool kit in medicine for its therapeutic effects, and hence euphemistically called as the â€Å"plant of joy.† Codeine has a number of medicinal uses besides as pain reliever, such as antitussive (to suppress coughing), anti-hypertensive (lower blood pressure), anti-anxiety, to help control diarrhea, delay premature labor contractions, as a sedative (helps in relaxation and sleeping), and for its hypnotic properties too. Its availability as an oral medication (as opposed to injectable medication) make it the widest prescription drug, with about 157 million written prescriptions annually and its sales reached approximately $3.3 billion in 2005 alone, and still continues to gain in popularity. However, identification of the chemical composition of codeine as a distinct compound is fairly recent; it was first identified in 1832 by the French chemist Pierre-Jean Robiquet which closely followed the first identification of morphine a few years earlier, back in 1806 by German pharmacist Friedrich Wilhelm Adam Serturner (Kane & Triggle, 2007, p. 10). Codeine is isomer of morphine, which means both have the same molecular components but are structured different hence it is known for its chemical name, 3-methylmorphine. It can be made or manufactured in the laboratory in commercial quantities from morphine, using a semi-synthetic process. Morphine is the most abundant alkaloid (the chemical compounds that contain basic nitrogen atoms) found in opium, at 8 to 17% by weight, and followed by codeine, at .07 to 5%. Codeine is the chemical precursor of most opioids (any compound that acts like morphine) such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, and tramadol. It is classified similar to opioids produced by human bodies like the endorphins and enkephalins (ibid. p. 13). Although it has many legitimate uses in medicine, codeine has a potential to be misused and abused as a â€Å"recreational† drug because of a â€Å"high† feeling it generates among drug users; that feeling is

Friday, September 27, 2019

Personal Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Personal Finance - Essay Example Lastly, the article concludes by not letting our emotions rule our financial decisions. As he puts it, â€Å"We commit those (financial) mistakes for several reasons: ignorance, fear, ego, a desire for immediate gratification.† This article is very crucial in fully understanding the rationale of studying personal finance. Throughout the course of an individual’s life, his decisions, no matter how big or small irrefutably affect his financial status. Being able to know the most common mistakes that he cannot afford to make provides him a guideline on how to maximize his financial resources. Since most of us spend money based on our emotions, it is also important to recognize that financial decisions should always be rational rather than emotionally. Lastly, the article makes a good point in stressing the importance of sacrificing current consumption for future financial benefits. Bertolucci’s Protecting Your PC Needen’t Cost a Bundle is an eye opener by providing practical guidelines on ensuring that each PC is safe from spyware, viruses, and other malware. According to the article, PC protection does not necessarily become a financial burden by investing on a whole software suite. PCs running on Windows and Vista typically require only three lines of defense: a firewall; an antispyware; and antivirus software. A homeowner with only one computer can download a two-way firewall at www.zonealarm.com while free spyware is distributed Windows Defender. Antivirus software is not free but cheap alternatives are Symantec Norton Antivirus which costs $40 or Norton Internet Security which can be purchased for $70. This article is very helpful considering that most of complicacies of data processing are made efficient by PCs. However, a typical consumer often lacks the knowledge of identifying what he really needs to protect his PC and ends up buying software suite which is very costly. It is irrefutable that investing on these high-priced

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Family socilogy (The influence of the family structure) Essay

Family socilogy (The influence of the family structure) - Essay Example Family has always played a vital role in ordering society and in determining life chances of various individuals. The word family holds different meaning for different people and used to symbolize many different views. Giddens defines the family as a â€Å"group of persons directly linked by kin connections, the adult members of which assume responsibility for caring for children†. By children he meant who are dependent on their parents for their livelihood; are aged under 16 or 17 and are in full time education. Till today families are responsible for the upbringing and nurture of children. They are the ones who provide not only love and care but also financial support to children. The main functions performed by the family is to teach a child discipline, judge between what is right and wrong and an acceptable behavior pattern. In this essay, we shall discuss to what extent is family central to the lives of children in Britain. Gordon Brown had expressed that family is the foundation on which our communities, our society and our country are built. However, it has been found in recent years that the traditional beliefs and values of families have undergone lots of social and economic changes. Earlier the foundation stone of families used to be love and care but today it has been replaced by looser and material needs of money and selfishness. These factors have led to the emergence of new types of families like lone parent families, step families, symmetrical families and cohabit families. (cited in Duncan & Phillips, 2008:1). The demographic transition in Europe started from the 1950’s and is still continuing today. Ansley Coale’s has described demographic transition â€Å"as a change from the traditional society in which high mortality and natality rates existed to an industrialized society in which natality and mobility are stabilized at low levels.† This transition has been the result of various social and economic changes such as urbanization, education levels, productive structure and secularization etc. The changes in the trends of life of people have brought about a major change in the way children perceive family in Britain (Pairo, 1997). According to Squire, a family structure changes with experience and life events as a child grows from childhood to adulthood. Every family functions in a unique way due to variations in household types, family structures and the division of domestic labor. Also the composition of the family is influenced by the social, cultural and economic characteristics of different ethnic groups. These factors affect the extent to which a family may or may not be central to the lives of children. Although all family structures are unique but they have one thing in common – they all provide emotional and mutual structural support to all children. A family helps to locate a child socially and thus act as one of the key socializing agents (Squire, 2003:60). A child’s happiness and healthy development depends on a large scale on the kind of relationship that exists between parents, grandparents and other caring adults in the family and most crucially among children and adults. According to research in 2008, 64 % of children live in married families with couples, 23% of children live in lone parent family and 13% live with cohabiting couples (Mapalthorpe et al., 2008:4).The research also reveals that marriage is not necessary for the successful running of the family but good relations matter. Also, 78% of individuals have agreed that it is not divorce that harms children but parental conflicts. According to the individualistic theory, families should become more liberal, with children having a say in important family decisions. Also, biological parents should provide parenting to their children lifelong which will help in their growth towards adulthood. However, research says otherwise –step fathe rs can equally take care and bestow love on them as compared to biological fathers. Traditionally family had been seen as

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Paper Topic in the direction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Paper Topic in the direction - Essay Example 6 years later, he developed a document that would abolish slavery Northwest (Jefferson,  12). He sticks to the decision of emancipating slaves who would be within the process of democracy. Abolition will be pushed until the owners of slave agree to free the human property in a wide spectrum of emancipation. Jefferson thought that the act was not democratic and was against the principles and rules of American Revolution for the nation to enact the abolition issue or for planters to let the slaves go. Although Jefferson continued advocating for abolition of slavery, the reality behind slavery was that it was becoming entrenched in the American system (Jefferson,  34). The population of slaves on Virginia increases tremendously from a figure of 292627 slaves in 1790s to 470000 in 1830s. Jefferson thought that the slave trade abolition would weaken the issue of slavery and increase its ultimate. Instead, the issue of slavery became more vast and profitable. Trying to eradicate the Vi rginia support for slavery, Jefferson discouraged crop cultivation that are labor intensive such as tobacco, and encouraged the product of less labor-intensive crops such as wine grapes, sugar maples, grained rice, and wheat. In 1800s, the most valuable commodity in Virginia was mainly slaves. His stance in ending the issue of slavery did not change. From mid 1770s until he died, Jefferson advocated a similar plan to gradually emancipate. First, the issue of transatlantic slave would be removed; secondly, the lawn owners would upgrade the violent features of slavery by improving the living conditions and moderating the punishment for the slaves. Thirdly, those born under the slavery regime would set free following abolition. Like the current leaders, Jefferson supported the removal of freed slaves that was present in US. His unintended effect on the plan was the objective of removing the issue

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

-persuasive speech-donate to my favorite charity Essay

-persuasive speech-donate to my favorite charity - Essay Example Programs established by ASRC here in the Connecticut help autistic children in coping with their condition. It also assists family members, and those close to the children to learn and adapt new ways of dealing with autism and helping the affected child (Kucharczyk et al., 2015). According to ASRC, some of programs include basic education about autism, workshops for families and professionals, direct services, consultation, mini-grants, recognition programs, a range of support groups, social activities, recreation and legislative advocacy. Autism cases are becoming widespread in the contemporary society, and several individuals feel its effects. The first reason for urging you to donate to this worthy undertaking is because we are one community. We unite as one; hence, it essential that we tackle it together. Second, this issue affects us all. Such a drive would build community cohesion and help us get to know and understand each other better. Statistics implies that one in eighty-eight children have this condition. Many families cannot afford to provide their autistic child with the necessary care and attention, but with your input, this will be possible. Third, you should donate to the charity because ASRC seeks not only to sensitize the community about autism, but also provide solid solutions to this condition. We believe that your assistance to this charity will enable it in realizing its target and ultimately impact the community positively. Kas, M., Modi, M., Saxe, M., & Smith, D. (2014). Advancing the discovery of medications for autism spectrum disorder using new technologies to reveal social brain circuitry in rodents. Psychopharmacology, 231(6), 1147–1165. http://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-014-3464-y Kucharczyk, S., Reutebuch, C. K., Carter, E. W., Hedges, S., El Zein, F., Fan, H., & Gustafson, J. R. (2015). Addressing the needs of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: considerations and complexities for high school

Monday, September 23, 2019

The Effects of Madol on the Physical Activity Research Paper

The Effects of Madol on the Physical Activity - Research Paper Example For the purpose of this study 3-month-old adult Hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) will be reared in one climate-controlled room in standard plastic cages. Standard food pellets and water will be provided ad libitum. The light/dark conditions will be 12:12 with the light intensity varying between 200 to 300 Lx (Unit of luminance) during the day and 5 Lx (Unit of luminance) during the dark period. The temperature will be regulated to 25 + 2 Â º Celsius and the relative humidity will be maintained between 60 to 65 %. The protocols for using the hamsters for the experiments will be reviewed and approved by an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) and all National Institute of Health (NIH) guidelines and procedures for care and use of laboratory animals will be followed. Hamsters (n = 80) will be divided into four groups. Group I (n = 8) will receive an intraperitoneal injection of an equivalent volume of ethanol used in other groups for drug delivery. Group II (n = 24, 8 per each dose) will be injected subcutaneously with testosterone (1,2 or 5 mg/Kg body weight). Group III (n = 24, 8 per each dose) will be injected intraperitoneally with dihydrotestosterone (DHT, 1,2, or 5mg/Kg body weight). Group IV (n = 24, 8 per each dose) will be treated with major (DMT, 1,2, or 5 mg/Kg body weight) intraperitoneally. Testosterone, DHT (derived from testosterone by enzyme 5-alpha reductase) and DMT will be dissolved in ethanol. Testosterone and DHT are natural anabolic androgenic steroids present in the human body. Dose levels are derived from the extensive literature review for testosterone and DHT. All these drugs will be procured from a chemical company.

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Group Dynamics and Interaction Essay Example for Free

Group Dynamics and Interaction Essay In Week One, you will choose a generic organization (manufacturing plant, hospital, etc.). Assume that you are a hired consultant for this organization. You have been asked by the president of the organization to prepare a background paper on the results of your research and to make recommendations to improve group productivity in the organization. Your research has identified the following problems: 1. Role conflicts within groups 2. Communication problems among group members 3. Lack of cohesiveness in groups with diverse members 4. Excessive intergroup conflict In an eight- to ten-page paper, include the following: 1. Introduction clear explanation of the type of organization 2. Explanation of how each problem could impact a group’s productivity (use examples to illustrate points) 3. Recommendations to resolve each problem 4. Suggestions, based on your knowledge of group dynamics, for a company-wide training program on best practices for group productivity 5. Conclusion/Summary Do not borrow notes from other students. You might think it is okay to use notes from another student, but you can not be sure they are as diligent as you. You could be getting half the information or short cut codes that only make sense to the original note taker. In this work MGT 415 Week 5 Final Paper you will find the overview of the following topic: Group Dynamics and Interaction. Group Behavior in Organizations. Business Management Focus of the Final Paper In Week One, you will choose a generic organization (manufacturing plant, hospital, etc.). Assume that you are a hired consultant for Do not borrow notes from other students. You might think it is okay to use notes from another student, but you can not be sure they are as diligent as you. You could be getting half the information or short cut codes that only make sense to the original note taker. Business Management Focus of the Final Paper In Week One, you will choose a generic organization (manufacturing plant, hospital, etc.). Assume that you are a hired consultant for this organization. You have been asked by the president of the organization to prepare a background paper on the results of your research and to make recommendations to improve group productivity in the organization. Your research has identified the following problems: 1. Role conflicts within groups 2. Communication problems among group members 3. Lack of cohesiveness in groups with diverse members 4. Excessive intergroup conflict In an eight- to ten-page paper, include the following: 1. Introduction clear explanation of the type of organization 2. Explanation of how each problem could impact a group’s productivity (use examples to illustrate points) 3. Recommendations to resolve each problem 4. Suggestions, based on your knowledge of group dynamics, for a company-wide training program on best practices for group productivity 5. Conclusion/Summary

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Sports and women Essay Example for Free

Sports and women Essay Gender Bias in American Sports: Lack of Opportunity, Lack of Administrative Positions and Lack of Coverage in Womens Sports Submitted by: Erik F. Person, CSCS, Doctoral Candidate, USSA â€Å"In the early days, female volleyball players were cautioned not to expose too much . A hundred years later, they were encouraged to expose more†. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Women’s Sports. pg. 281. â€Å"If people want to come check us out because they’re scoping our bodies, I don’t have a problem with that, because I guarantee they’ll go home talking about our athleticism†. pg. 283. â€Å"These women are as deft at handling the ball as they are lipstick†. pg. 262. â€Å"Let’s face facts here. Lesbians in the sport hurt women’s golf†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..Laura Davies is built like a tank†. pg. 66 â€Å"The reason for this [media frenzy dubbed Annamania] is simple: She’s blond, she’s flirtatious and she’s pretty. Never, ever, underestimate the power of a male sports editor smitten.† pg. 52. â€Å"The Olympic Games should be a solemn and periodic exaltation of male athleticism with internationalism as a base, loyalty as a means, arts for its setting, and female applause as reward.† Pierre de Coubertin. Idiot’s Guide. pg. 31. â€Å"If there are two people the same, would I prefer to see women coaching women? As role models, I think it’s important. But not to sacrifice a program.† Pat Babcock. N.Y. Times. 2002 Copyright (c) 2002 2010 United States Sports Academy. All rights reserved. All submitted material, once approved by the Editorial Board and published, becomes the prop HomeGender Bias in American Sports: Lack of Opportunity, Lack of Administrative Positions and Lack of Coverage in Womens Sports Submitted by: Erik F. Person, CSCS, Doctoral Candidate, USSA â€Å"In the early days, female volleyball players were cautioned not to expose too much . A hundred years later, they were encouraged to expose more†. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Women’s Sports. pg. 281. â€Å"If people want to come check us out because they’re scoping our bodies, I don’t have a problem with that, because I guarantee they’ll go home talking about our athleticism†. pg. 283. â€Å"These women are as deft at handling the ball as they are lipstick†. pg. 262. â€Å"Let’s face facts here. Lesbians in the sport hurt women’s golf†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..Laura Davies is built like a tank†. pg. 66 â€Å"The reason for this [media frenzy dubbed Annamania] is simple: She’s blond, she’s flirtatious and she’s pretty. Never, ever, underestimate the power of a male sports editor smitten.† pg. 52. â€Å"The Olympic Games should be a solemn and periodic exaltation of male athleticism with internationalism as a base, loyalty as a means, arts for its setting, and female applause as reward.† Pierre de Coubertin. Idiot’s Guide. pg. 31. â€Å"If there are two people the same, would I prefer to see women coaching women? As role models, I think it’s important. But not to sacrifice a program.† Pat Babcock. N.Y. Times. 2002 Introduction Women in America have made tremendous strides in the last 100 years of American history. Politically, women gained the right to vote in 1920, through the 19th amendment. In the workforce, the Equal Pay Act of 1963 allowed women the right to equal pay for the same job as their male counterparts. In the sports world, women gained the right to play in 1972 by way of Title IX of the Educational Amendments. In spite of these strides however, gender bias continues to exist. It is difficult to think of a greater injustice which effects the majority of people in the United States. According to the 2006 U.S. Census Bureau, just over half of the U.S. Population is female, (50.7%), yet bias against women, the majority, persists. Due to the strong traditions of our patriarchal society, women continue to face an uphill climb. Gender is the neutral term for the two sexes, male and female. Bias is defined as unreasoned judgment, a bent or tendency, prejudicial. (Merriman’s Collegiate Dictionary, 1993). Gender bias then, is to show favor or partiality, toward one of the sexes exclusively because of gender. Or said in the negative, to not show impartiality based upon gender. In spite of these gender neutral definitions, it is clear in American culture, that gender bias has been and continues to be highly slanted against women. From the academic setting of classrooms (Bailey 1992) and college admissions, to the workplace with lower salaries, (AAWU report, 2008) lack of job opportunities and bleak forecasts for advancement, women continue to be discriminated against. The hegemonic male culture, consciously or not, creates an antagonistic environment for females. Nowhere is this more true than the environment of sports. Opportunity Bias One of the three prongs of the Title IX law has to do with equal participation opportunity in proportion to student enrollment as it pertains to federally funded centers of education. While millions of girls have benefited from the implementation of Title IX, there are still playing fields where females are still unwelcome. Traditional wisdom, that girls are only suited for activities which emulate the aesthetic side of sports such as gymnastics, ice skating, cheer leading, etc., persists, along with the notion that females should not engage in high physical contact activities such as wrestling, football or rugby. While TitleIX mandates equal opportunity, it does not mandate equal opportunity in specific sports. American football for example does not have an exact feminine equivalent, so girls are given other options besides football. (Volleyball, field Hockey). Options do not always mean equal. Gender bias occurs not only because there is no football team for women to play on, but rather that is only the outcome of the larger problem. The real gender bias has to do with the male, and sometimes female, attitudes of what defines masculinity and what defines femininity. Due to the pervading male influence, gender typing occurs early during a girl’s development. Gender typing is attributing qualities, characteristics, attributes, temperaments, demeanor and behavior due to a gender. That is, making generalizations about a person, and how they act or should act, based upon preconceived notions and definitions of their gender. Through the power of suggestion, gender socialization begins at a very early age. Subtly, or not so subtly, a girl hears messages throughout her life that females aren’t good at math and science, and proficiency in math and science are needed to become, for example, a space traveler, so the logical conclusion for her is that she can not go into space. The argument that, â€Å"if girls had the ability to become astronauts we would see more of them†, is self defeating when we have not given them the opportunity to do so in the first place. More plausibly, is that a self fulfilling prophecy has occurred. Expectations have shaped a behavior, which in turn shapes future expectations. This cycle usually conforms to the dominant cultural theme, and in our example, the dominant theme is male supremacy. Interestingly however, not all female athletes share the feminist view. McClung and Blind, (2002) found in the vast majority of their interviews with female college athletes, a desensitized attitude toward women’s sport issues. In their study, women said things such as â€Å"we feel privileged to play college sports†, as opposed to a right, and â€Å"gender equity issues are not important to me†. The main reason sighted for the lack of passion was due to lack of time, and other obligations. The sports world is biased against women in terms of opportunity in the professional ranks as well. Title IX has helped women with participation opportunity but only in educational settings, and speaks nothing of post college athletics. With the relative success of the WNBA more women basketball players have the opportunity to make a living playing a professional sport. Relative to the men’s opportunities however, economically it pales in comparison, $55,000 versus $4,000,000 (the average salary). Without the potential prospect of playing professionally, girls devote less time to the sport, focusing rather on other pursuits such as relationships, and academics, further establishing thegender logic in American culture that women are not interested in sports for the long term, or that they do not have the commitment needed to pursue athletics as a vocation. Again, this is a self defeating argument, as the WNBA has shown. Several franchises have been able to maintain healthy fan bases in the short 12 years history of the league. Part of the issue with lack of professional opportunity for women is linked to sponsorship bias. Companies looking to use sports to market their product do not look to women’s sport first. Companies are concerned with getting a return on their advertising dollar. The perception is that their return will not be as great if they invest in women sport teams. Whether it be through product endorsement contracts with specific athletes, facility or venue sponsorship, or capital investment in a specific team, corporations view the WNBA as a second rate, at best, investment. Justified as a reasonable business decision, the purse holders have a profound negative affect upon a team, the league in general, and women’s sports as a whole. Understandably, companies have a responsibility to be prudent investors for their constituents. However, at the same time, they may be missing an opportunity to pair their product with a market they have yet to completely associate it with, say 51% of the population. This liquidity issue in women’s sports is closely tied with the bias of the media. Even with the advancements of the LPGA and the USWTA, Greendorfer suggests that women â€Å"are still confined within ideological structures of patriarchy†. Media Bias Arguably, the media creates fans. Several men’s professional and collegiate teams have national audiences. Notre Dame football, New York Yankees, Penn State football, Dallas Cowboys, and the Cleveland Cavaliers, to name a few. The reasons for each of these teams captivating a large and diverse audience are many and as varied as their fan base. The media, along with many other variables (such as the location of the team, franchise or team history and legacy, colorful characters, and team success), play a role as to how that team is perceived by the public. Within the greater public are potential fans. Television coverage, magazine articles, radio broadcasts etc., all influence whether a team will garner a national fan base. Men’s sports have known that â€Å"exposure pays† for a long time, and with the increasing technological ability to feed fans the sport information they want, it would seem to be a relatively easy task for the networks to maneuver women’s sports coverage more toward the front web and paper pages. The very important 1996 work of Messner et al. details the shortcomings of media coverage of women’s sports, and the bias they exude. Messner and his colleagues analyzed and compared the 1993 NCAA basketball championship coverage for both men and women. Their conclusion, in part, was that â€Å"the television industry actively builds audiences for men’s games while failing to do so for women’s games†. (Yiannakis. p.330). This is no small point. Potential sponsors look at viewer ratings to determine potential investments. If ratings are lower than they deem necessary, the event will not be a target. However, without the media covering the event adequately, that is to say, billing it with the same hype, energy, enthusiasm and professionalism as the men’s games, fewer viewers are most certainly likely. Without the national exposure, women’s sports will continue to be a second rate investment because that is what the networks have created. Messner says that the network’s position is â€Å"we’re just giving the fans what they want†. The counter to that is, â€Å"they want that because you have made it more inviting to want that. The circus is more fun when there’s three rings instead of two. The media also appears to be bias against women’s sports by the way the events are covered. The shear quantity of coverage is a fraction of the men’s coverage. Messner found during the 1993 basketball tournaments, for example, that 41 stories ran for the men, and only 10 for the women, the men’s stories ran longer than the women’s, were more in depth, and had more video footage. In short, the media was telling the viewing audiences which of the two events they wanted you to watch, which was of better quality, and in the long run, building an audience of viewers so they can charge future sponsors top dollar. Television networks have the ability to build audiences, and they choose to with men’s sports. Another way media is bias against women and proliferates gender typing is by the way women athletes are spoken of. Messner points out, that even collegiate mascot names for women’s teams, con notate a feminine, softer version of the male equivalent. The Lions as compared to the Lionesses. Or the Lady Bear Cats, emphasizing the female version of the game as opposed to just the game. Messner makes the jump that this is a type of gender marking, reminding the audience that they are watching something other than a basketball game. In fact the very name of the the two basketball tournaments is very telling, from â€Å"The Final Four† to â€Å"The Women’s Final Four†. Making this distinction, Messner argues, gives the women’s tournament a patronizing tone. Messner makes many other salient points regarding coverage differences between the men’s and the women’s tournaments, all indicating that women’s sports are a niche, and men’s is mainstream. One of those differences is how women are portrayed in the media. Tradition holds that women are weak, or at best, not as strong as men, that they are the softer sex, the more emotional, the more aesthetically pleasing, beautiful. In other words, if society was going to accept the new members on their playing fields it was going to be done on their terms. Their terms included the sexualization of women’s sports. From the quotes on the first page of this paper we can see the varied opinions within the women’s sports movement. Those varying opinions have caused controversy and confusion. On the one hand, women want nothing more than to be given equal opportunity to play and equal coverage from the media. Further they wish to be respected for their physical abilities and skills. They wish to be rewarded for their sporting achievements. On the other hand, some women athletes believe they they can not get the exposure needed to win over large numbers of fans unless they give the fans another reason for coming to their events besides observing athletic ability. In the modern women sports media market this â€Å"neanderthal mentality† (as Mariah Burt Nelson once quipped) has translated into women being regarded, identified and valued more for how they look than how they perform. Recent stories of tennis stars Anna Kournikova, Maria Sharapova and the Williams sisters attests to this fact. While added â€Å"exposure† has given women’s sports more exposure in the media, perhaps it is not the exposure they had hoped for, and further it does send mixed messages to younger women athletes who are the future of the movement. In effect the male hegemony has won again, trivializing women’s sports. Unable to stop the cultural freight train they saw coming with Billie Jean King, a man’s world has set the switches and the tracks so as to control the train’s next stop reducing women’s sports to a public peep show, the impact of the social order is preserved. Ironically, this media bias is also rampant among female reporters who don’t know which cause to fight for, their career or the social injustice that is gender inequality. Female football sideline reporters of the major television networks, are asked to be both sexy and competent. When ABC was asked why they hired a female the response was, â€Å"we know that 40% of our viewing audience for these games are females. They need someone on the screen they can relate to†. I’m sure the other 60% of the viewing audience didn’t object. Monday Night Football hired a new sideline reporter to replace Melissa Stark. As Randy Sandomir reported in the N.Y. Times on the story of the new hire, Clearly there are conflicting agendas within the movement to curb gender bias. Purists of the movement may be getting a queasy feeling in their stomach, while the new generation of women liberals subscribe to the old entertainment adage that â€Å"even bad press is good press†. Administration Bias Briefly I will conclude with the third area of gender bias in women’s sports. Prior to the implementation of Title IX in 1978, 90% of women collegiate sports were being coached by women. According to the 2007 Knight Commission on Sports, the NCAA watchdog, 42% of women collegiate teams are being coached by women, an all time low. Further only 18 % of all college athletic directors, 12% of all college sport information directors, and 27% of head athletic trainers, are women. (2% of men’s collegiate programs were being coached by women in 2004.) Coakley considers part of the reason for this change to be the more lucrative contracts for women’s coaching positions. Geno Auriemma, the head coach of the University of Connecticut Women’s Basketball team will earn over 2 million dollars this year in salary and endorsements. Once the big money started coming in to Women’s basketball in the early 1990’s, men started vying for the positions with more determination. Whereas before the success of basketball powerhouses such as Connecticut, Tennessee, LSU and Stanford, women’s jobs were generally not considered as serious positions. Money changed all that. Women’s sports is caught between a rock and a hard place. If they advocate for stronger pay, men come in and take over the coaching positions. If they ask the public to look at their athletic skills, there will be no fan base. If they ask us to look at other parts of their bodies, they are thought to be prostituting themselves to the highest bidder, all in the name of recognition. When women accept this role it reinforces the traditional male / female value system which they have tried to distance themselves from. The proverbial glass ceiling for women in the sports work place is illustrated when we consider that 80% of sport communication positions are held by men. Women will continue to face an uphill battle for equal opportunity to play, equal representation in the coaching ranks, and equal media attention due to the male culture of superiority, but the women’s sport movement is doing no favors for themselves when they send mixed messages to both sides of the tracks. The freight train has arrived, now it just needs a conductor.

Friday, September 20, 2019

The Alma Ata Declaration Still Relevant

The Alma Ata Declaration Still Relevant The Alma Ata Declaration was formally adopted at the International Conference on Primary Health Care in Alma Ata (in present Kazakhstan) in September 1978 (WHO, 1978). It identifies and stresses the need for an immediate action by all governments, all health and development workers and the world community to promote and protect world health through Primary Health Care (PHC) (ibid). This has been identified by the Declaration as the key towards achieving a level of health that will allow for a socially and productive life by the year 2000. The principles of this declaration have been built on three (3) key aspects which include: Equity It acknowledges the fact that every individual has the right to health and the realisation of this requires action across the health sector as well as other social and economic sectors. Participation It also identifies and recognises the need for full participation of communities in the planning, organisation, implementation, operation and control of primary health care with the use of local or national available resource. Partnership It strongly supports the idea of Partnership and collaboration between government, World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF, other international organisations, multilateral and bilateral agencies, non-governmental organisations, funding agencies, all health workers and the world community towards supporting the commitment to primary health care as well as increasing financial and technical support especially in developing countries. Other important principles identified by the Declaration include: health promotion and the appropriate use of resources. The declaration calls on all governments to formulate strategies, policies and actions to launch and sustain primary health care and incorporate it into the national health system. It was endorsed by the World Health Assembly in 1978 hence enshrining it into the policy of the WHO (Horder, 1983). Background Back in the 1960s and 1970s, many developing countries of the world gained independence from their colonial leaders. In efforts to provide good quality healthcare service for the population, these new governments established teaching hospitals, medical and nursing schools most of which were located in urban areas (Hall Taylor, 2003) thus creating a problem of access to good quality health service especially for people that reside in rural communities. Successful programmes were initiated by Tanzania, Sudan, Venezuela and China in the 1960s and 1970s to provide primary care health services that was basic as well as comprehensive (Benyoussef Christian, 1977; Bennett, 1979). It is on the basis of these programmes that the term Primary Health Care was derived (Hall Taylor, 2003). In low income countries, the primary health care strategy as described by the Alma Ata was very influential in setting health policy during the 1980s however in high income countries such as the United Kingdom, it was considered irrelevant on the presumption that the level of primary care service was already well developed (Green et al., 2007). Primary health care has been defined in the Declaration of Alma Ata as; essential health care based on practical, scientifically sound and socially acceptable methods and technology made universally accessible to individuals and families in the community through their full participation and at a cost that the community and country can afford to maintain at every stage of their development in the spirit of self reliance and self-determination. It forms an integral part both of the countrys health system, of which it is the central function and main focus, and of the overall social and economic development of the community. It is the first level of contact of individuals, the family and community with the national health system bringing health care as close as possible to where people live and work, and constitutes the first element of a continuing health care process. (WHO, 1978) The Alma Ata Declaration brought about a shift on emphasis towards preventive health, training of multipurpose paramedical workers and community based workers (Muldoon et al., 2006). In order to achieve the global target of health for all by the year 2000, goals were being set by the WHO (WHO, 1981) some of which include: At least 5% of gross national product is spent on health. A reasonable percentage of the national health expenditure is devoted to local health care. Equitably distribution of resources At least 90% of new-borne infants have a birth weight of at least 2500g. The infant mortality rate for all identifiable subgroups is below 50 per 1000 live-births. Life expectancy at birth is over 60 years. Adult literacy rate for both men and women exceeds 70%. Trained personnel for attending pregnancy and child birth and caring for children for at least 1 year of age. It has been over 30 years now that the Declaration of Alma Ata was adopted by the WHO. A look at the current health trend around the world especially in developing countries such Nigeria, Ghana, Niger, Zimbabwe and so many others will reveal that the goal of achieving health for all by the year 2000 through primary health care has not been a reality. Although there have been reasonable improvement in immunisation, sanitation and access to safe water, there is still impediments in providing equitable access to essential care worldwide (WHO, 2010) What went wrong? Lawn et al. (2008) explain that the Cold War significantly impeded the desired impact expectation of the Alma Ata Declaration in the sense that global developmental policy at that time was dominated by neo-liberal macro economical and social policies. The effect of this on poorer countries of the world particularly in Africa was implementation of structural adjustment programmes in effort to reduce budget deficit through devaluations in local currency and cuts in public spending. This resulted in the removal of subsidies, cost recovery in the health sector and cut backs in the number of medical health practitioners that could be hired. The introduction of user charges and encouragement of privatisation of services during this period had an untoward effect on poor people who could not afford to pay for such services. The combination of these factors hence resulted in part to the crippling of the quality of service that can be provided at the primary care level. People who could afford such service resorted to health service offered at secondary or tertiary care which in most cases is difficult to access. The introduction of a new concept of Selective Primary Health Care as proposed within a year of the adoption of the Alma Ata Declaration by Walsh Warren (1979) changed the dimension of primary health care. This interim approach was proposed due to the difficulty experienced in initiating comprehensive primary health care services in countries with authoritarian leadership (Waterston, 2008). Walsh Warren (1979) argued that until comprehensive primary health care can be made available to all, services that are targeted to the most important diseases may be the most effective intervention for improving health of a population. The measures suggested include; immunisation, oral rehydration, breast feeding and the use of anti malarias. This selective approach was considered as being more feasible, measurable, rapid and less risky, taking away decision making and control away from the community and placing it upon consultants with technical expertise hence making it more attractive partic ularly to funding agencies (Lawn et al., 2008). An example of a selective primary care approach is the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI). Selective primary health care is concerned with providing solutions to particular diseases such as HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis while comprehensive primary care as proposed the Alma Ata begins with providing a strong community infrastructure and involvement towards tackling health issues (Baum, 2007). The shift in maternal, new-borne and child health as a result of programmes that removes control from the community hinders the actualisation of the goals of primary health care as emphasized by the Alma Ata Declaration. The reversal of policy in the 1990s by the WHO and other UN agencies to discourage traditional birth attendants and promoting facility based birth with skilled personnel (Koblinsky et al., 2006) is an example of such. The World Banks report Investing in Health which was published in 1993 saw the World Bank become a great influence and major key player in international public health as such robbing the WHO of the prestigious position (Baum, 2007). It considers investments for interventions that only have the best impact on population health as such removing local control and advocating a vertical approach to health. This move counteracts the process of the social change described by the Alma Ata Declaration which is necessary for realisation of its goals. These go to show that consistency both in leadership (locally and globally), policy as well as good evidence (to drive policy making and actions), are important ingredients for global initiatives to succeed. What went right? Even with the several elements that prevailed against the achievement of the collective goals of the Alma Ata Declaration, several case studies show that when provided with a favourable environment, primary health care as prescribed by the Alma Ata is sufficient to bring about a significant improvement in the health status of any population or country. Case study 1: Primary Health Care in Gambia Using data obtained from a longitudinal study conducted by the United Kingdom Medical Research Council over a 15 year period for a population of about 17,000 people in 40 villages in Gambia, Hill et al. (2000) compared infant and child mortality between village with and without primary health care. The extra services that were provided in the villages with primary health care include: a village health worker, a paid community nurse for every 5 villages and a trained traditional birth attendant. Maternal and child health services with vaccination programme were accessible to residents of both primary health care and non primary health care villages. There was marked improvement in infant and under 5 mortality in both sets of villages. After primary health care system was established in 1983, infant mortality dropped from 134/1000 in 1982 83 to 69/1000 in 1992 94 in the primary health care villages and from 155/1000 to 91/1000 in non primary health care villages over the same period of time. Between 1982 and 83 and 1992-94, the death rates for children aged 1-4 fell from 42/1000 to 28/1000 in the primary health care villages and from 45/1000 to 38/1000 in the non primary health care villages. However, in 1994 when supervision of primary health care was weakened, infant mortality rate in primary health care villages rose to 89/1000 for primary health care village in 1994 96. The rate in non primary health care village fell to 78/1000 for this period. The implementation and supervision of primary health care is associated with a significant effect on infant mortality rates for these groups of villages that benefitted from the programme. Case study 2: Under 5 mortality and income of 30 countries To assess the progress for primary health care in countries since Alma Ata, Rohde et al. (2008) analysed life expectancy relative to national income and HIV prevalence in order to identify over achieving or under achieving countries. The study focused on 30 low income and middle income countries with the highest year reduction of mortality among children less than 5 years of age and it described coverage and equity of primary health care as well as other non health sector actions. The 30 countries in question have scaled up selective primary care (immunisation, family planning) and 14 of these countries have progressed to comprehensive primary care which has been marked with high coverage of skilled birth attendants. Equity with skilled birth attendance coverage across income groups was accessed as well as access to clean water and gender inequality in literacy. These 30 countries were grouped into countries with selective primary care; mixture of selective and comprehensive primary health care; and comprehensive primary health care alone. The major players among countries with comprehensive primary health care are Thailand, Brazil, Cuba, China and Vietnam. Overall, Thailand tops the list and it has comprehensive primary health care. Maternal, new-borne and child health in Thailand were prioritised even before Alma Ata and has been able to increase coverage for immunisation and family planning interventions. The Government investment in district health systems provided a foundation for comprehensive primary health care in maternal, new-borne and child health as well as other essential services. Community health volunteers also played a significant role towards Thailands medical advancement. They promoted the use of water sealed latrines to improve sanitation and were very instrumental towards the decline of protein calorie malnutrition in pr e-school children in the past 20 years (WHO, 2010). Participation of the community health volunteers is a major source of community involvement into health care of Thailand (ibid). The following factors were identified as important lessons from high achieving countries: accountable leadership and consistent national policy progress with time; building coverage of care and comprehensive health systems with time; community and family empowerment; district level focus which is supported by data to set priorities for funding, track results as well as identify and redress disparities; and prioritising equity, removing financial barriers for poorest families and protection against unavoidable health cost. Case study 3: Integration of cognitive behaviour based therapy into routine primary health care work in rural Pakistan Rahman et al. (2008) in a cluster-randomised control study in Pakistan shows the benefits derived when cognitive behaviour therapy in postnatal depression is integrated with community based primary health care. Training was provided to the primary health care workers in the intervention group to deliver psychological intervention. The health care workers also receive monthly supervision and monitoring. Significant benefit (lower depression and disability scores, overall functioning and perception of social support) was reported in the intervention group to suggest that this kind of measures as supported by the Alma Ata can drive the initiative towards Health for all. It is evident and clear that countries that practiced comprehensive primary health care as enshrined by the Alma Ata reaped great benefits in terms of population health improvement. Although it has been argued that comprehensive primary health care is too idealistic, expensive and unattainable (Hall Taylor, 2003), evidence suggest that it is more likely to deliver better health outcomes with greater public satisfaction (Macinko et al., 2003). This kind of care can deal with up to 90% of health demands in low income countries (World Bank, 1994). Relevance of Alma Ata in this present time Our present world that has been characterised by marked epidemiological transition in health. Low income countries as well as high income ones are faced with increasing prevalence of non communicable as well as chronic disabling disease (Gillam, 2008) hence, the existence of infectious diseases (malaria, HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis etc), and diseases like cardiovascular disease and diabetes. For low income countries such as sub-Sahara African Countries, this constitutes a major health problem because their health systems are mainly oriented towards providing services inclined with maternal and child health, acute or episodic illnesses. As such current health systems need to have the capacity to provide effective management for the current disease trend. The Alma Ata provides a foundation for how such effective health service can be provided. Because, primary health care is the first line of contact an individual has to health care, it is thus very influential in determining community heal th especially when the community is fully empowered to participate. As societies modernise, as it is the case in our current world, the level of participation increases and people want to have a say in what affects their lives (Garland Oliver, 2004). Thus, the level participation in health care is better off and more powerful in this present time than it was when it was the Alma Ata was adopted. Evidence suggest that the values as enshrined by the Alma Ata are becoming the mainstream of modernising societies and it is a reflection of the way people look at health and what they expect from their health care system (WHO, 2008). Alma Ata failed in some countries because the Government of such countries refused to put strategies towards sustaining a strong and vibrant primary health care system that is appropriate to the health needs of the community such that access is improved, participation and partnership is encouraged and health is improved in general. There is no goal standard guideline or manual on Alma Ata but individual governments have to develop their own strategies which should be well suited towards meeting their own needs. The Alma Ata founding principles is still relevant towards achieving these goals especially as it brings health care to peoples door step as it encourages training of people to efficiently and effectively deliver health services. Evidence has shown that there is a greater range of cost effective interventions than was available 30 years ago (Jamison et al., 2006). It is for these reasons that primary health care is essential towards achieving the millennium development goals e specially as it concerns child survival, maternal health, and HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and other diseases. The Alma Ata emphasises the importance of collaboration as an important tool towards introducing, developing and maintaining primary health care. This partnership as supported by the Alma Ata is essential to increase technical and financial support to primary health care especially in low income countries. It is a current trend to find an increasing mixture of private and public health systems as well as increasing private-public partnerships. Governments, donor and private organisations are now working together to promote and protect health unlike after Alma Ata (OECD, 2005). There is also increased funding and this is shifting from selective global funds to strengthening health systems through sector wide approaches (Salama et al., 2008). This kind of collaborations is a step in the right direction and when it is strengthened according to the principles of the Alma Ata, it will not only improve the buoyancy of the health care system but also improve participation and equity in the sense that health care is more qualitative and accessible to the people. The years that followed after adoption of the Alma Ata by WHO member states was characterised by unstable political leadership and military dictatorship especially among low income countries which lead to neglect of the health sector. This created unfriendly environments for the development and maintenance of stable primary health care systems. In this current times however, most countries have embraced the democratic system of leadership that promotes equity, participation and partnership. Health equity is continually enjoying prominence in the dialogue of political leaders and ministries of health (Dahlgren Whitehead, 2006). Thus, the environment being created is friendlier to the Alma Ata hence making it more relevant in this time. Thirty years ago, the values of equity, people centeredness, community participation and self determination embraced by the Alma Ata was considered as being radical but today these values have become widely share expectations for health (WHO, 2008). Our current time has been marked by gross technological advancement which was not available in the 1970s. There is also an increased wealth of knowledge and literature on health and on the growing health inequalities between and within countries all of which was not available 30 years ago. All these put together provides a relevant foundation to support the Alma Ata in the present time making it more relevant in delivering effective health care service. Conclusion The prevailing political and economic situation around the world make the Alma Ata more relevant than it was in 1978. However, there is still need for more to be done. There is need for the revitalisation of primary health care according to the tenets of the Alma Ata and progress made should be consistently monitored. There is also the need for an increased commitment to the virtues of health for all as well as increased commitment of resources towards primary health care which should be driven by good evidence base. It is important that emphasis be changed from single interventions that produce short term or immediate results to interventions that will create an integrated, long term and a sustainable health care system. Even with the challenges being faced so far with full implementation of the Alma Ata, the ideals are relevant still relevant now more than ever.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Analysis of Theme for English B by Langston Hughes Essay -- Poetry

Langston Hughes was an African American poet and author who joined other black artists to break literary barriers during the civil rights movement. The poem entitled "Theme for English B" was written thirty years or so after the birth of the Harlem Renaissance, but still embodies why the Renaissance had originated in the first place. I believe this poem reflected on Hughes' life in general, but more importantly on the fight against the ignorance that created discrimination. James Mercer Langston Hughes was born February 1st, 1902 in the town of Joplin Missouri. Being the great-great-grandson of the first African American to be put into public office, one could say that Hughes was destined to make his own mark in society. The first signs of talent began in the eighth grade, where he was elected class poet. After attempting to receive a degree in engineering at Columbia University, Langston went back to his love of writing. The art of writing was Langston's calling, but his father didn't believe he could make a living simply because he was black. Ironically, the Harlem Renaissance was just emerging. The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement that strived to put African American poets, authors, and song writers on the same level as the white population. It was an underground uprising which included magazines filled with African American literature such as poems and short stories. Amongst these artists were Claude McKay, Bessie Smith, Countee Cullen, and Langston Hughes. The one characteristic that describes the Harlem Renaissance most correctly was the fact that there was no one set style. Every artist had their own way of getting their point across. The only tie that bonded them was the push for artistic eq... .... But just because what she thinks is the theme makes a whole lot of sense, it doesn't mean that mine is wrong. People interpret poetry differently. I myself went with the whole equality route. All in all, are thoughts weren't that far off. The poem "Theme for English B" by Langston Hughes is best summarized by the author's life in general. It's not hard to see the similarities between the student in this poem and the man who wrote it. Langston had no advantage in the fact that his grandfather was the first African American in office. Hughes had to make a name for himself on his own. He did this by traveling on a cargo boat, working as a bus busboy, and eventually contributing his works to the Harlem Renaissance, which gave African American literature the credit it deserved. The student who wrote this assignment grew up to be a world class author and poet.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Dante Gabriel Rossetti :: Biography Biographies Essays

Dante Gabriel Rossetti    Dante Gabriel Rossetti was born in 1828, but not with that name; not entirely, that is. In truth, he was born Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti, son of an Italian scholar living in London, but later changed the arrangement of his name so as to closer identify himself with the great 13th-14th century Italian poet Dante Aligheri, author of la Divina Comedia and Vita Nuova (Everett, np). His obsession with Dante impacted his work, both literary and artistic; from his masterpiece "Beata Beatrix" to his poetry buried with wife Elizabeth Siddal, he lived and worked under the duality of beauty, the fight between the body and the soul, best expressed in "The House of Life," particularly sonnets 77 and 78, "Soul's Beauty" and "Body's Beauty" respectively. Even early in his career, Rossetti's interest in Dante is apparent. In 1848, he translated portions of Aligheri's Vita Nuova, which details Dante's unconsummated love for Beatrice, a theme that also runs through the Divine Comedy. It is at this time that Rossetti changed the order of his name and initials, dropping "Charles" altogether. This would become a lifelong identification with the poet, emphasized by his relationship with Elizabeth Siddal (Rodgers, p 16). In 1860, Rossetti married Siddal, a model and artist with whom he had an affair. This wasn't a happy marriage, both partners suffering from depression and drug addiction. Moreover, this was a "pity" marriage, done not out of love but out of loyalty to Siddal, believing he could save her from herself. Part of Rossetti's obsession with Dante became an identification of two kinds of love, one being chaste and spiritual and identified with the person of Beatrice, the other being earthly and physical. In marrying Siddal, Rossetti felt he was destroying her position as Beatrice, despite the fact that they were already lovers. The marriage was a short, tumultuous one, ending in the suicide of Siddal by way of a drug overdose of Laudanum, an opiate. Depressed, especially since the miscarriage of their only child, and no doubt also by Rossetti's infidelities, particularly with Jane Morris, wife of friend and fellow Pre-Raphaelite William Morris, Siddal is thought to have intention ally overdosed on the narcotic.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Employee Rights and Property Searches Essay

Mopak Corporation performed a search for drugs and guns on the employees and contract workers vehicles with the assistance of a private security company and drug detection dogs. In the search, guns were found, but not drugs, in several vehicles. At the completion of the search, five employees along with ten contract workers whose vehicles where the weapons were found were terminated, due to the corporation’s belief that the employees violated the company policy. The terminated workers immediately sued Mopak for wrongful termination. Though mostly in the United States employees are â€Å"at-will† employees, the arguments for wrongful termination the employees from Mopak can make in their suit is that Mopak performed an unreasonable search of their vehicles, violating their expectation of privacy. The search was made without a warrant and violated their Fourth Amendment Rights. (Lawyer. com, 2013) The contract workers are bound by contracts that may have an at-will clause in it, in which case they, like the regular employees, can be terminated at-will. Even though when there is a contract, written or oral, it’s based on a promise of job security, but with an at-will clause, contract workers may either leave a contract job or be terminated from a contract job at-will. †Employers often, and legitimately, ask employees to sign contracts or agreements that document and enforce the terms of at will employment, usually in company policy manuals. † (Lawyersandsettlements. com, 2013, para. ) The arguments that Mopak Corporation will make in response to the wrongful termination suit are that in the employees’ policy manual, handbooks or contracts reflect that the employee and/or contract workers must agree to random vehicle searches, random drug testing, and an at will clause for employment; that when signed by the employees and/or contract workers, it becomes binding, implied, or implied-in-fact contracts. In the 1988 decision of landmark case Foley vs. Interactive Data Corp. it brought to light that employees enter into implied-in-fact contracts with the acceptance of great merit reviews, promotions, raises, and with verbal assurances of job security. I believe the Mopak Corporation would win. I do not believe that a corporation with so much to lose would perform an illegal search of employee’s vehicles. They must have in the company’s policy manual that such an act would be permissible once the employees and contract workers sign that they have rea d and agreed to the terms and condition of the policy and/or contracts.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Reason People Change Jobs

If we are compare the labor flexibility of the current generation and 20 years ago. We can see marked differences. Today, people tend to change jobs several within a short period of time in the past. In fact, in some areas they move to another company within a year. I firmly believe that people should change their jobs according to their needs. Several reasons have been identified for this phenomenon. First, the most important reason that motivates a person a change in their field of work is the rapid change of technology. Industries There are those who prefer to work in the latest version of the software, either an accountant or human resource person. Because for their own benefit, need to keep pace with technology. For example, a clinical center and Leon Medical Center have the medical history of their patients fully computerized, no longer use paper folders. As a result, people tempted by jobs offering high wages and employment begin to change according to demand. Therefore, technological progress plays a key role in the employees of the temptation to change its current line of work. Another reason is the urgent need to change their work environment. This is a human tendency that tempts workers to seek something different instead of just one job all his life. Many employees get so bored of your current job field; you do not mind changing jobs, even with a lower salary. For example, there are accountants and IT specialists who are tired of the daily routine of work and sit for about 8 hours, that's when they try to prove work more moved, as vendors or bartenders. For this reason, they tend to attract to jobs that are more animated, as events manager, nightclub and radio jockeys, fashion and wildlife photographer and many more. Therefore, people move to different profiles to bring a change in your routine lifestyle. A third reason that we should not leave out is to seek a wage increase. Find a wage increase is one reason why many people are looking for a job change, no matter even have to move out of town. When people have to deal with accounts payable, that's when you propose to seek a better salary. Even the search for better wages, leads many people to return to study for professional help. Even more in that people tend to lead a socially active life. In a nutshell, changing jobs and field of work is a positive move. Not only it helps in monetary terms but sometimes it provides mental satisfaction to an employee

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Informative Speech Caffeine Essay

Caffeine Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the history of caffeine, how the body processes caffeine, and possible side effects of excessive caffeine consumption. Central Idea: Caffeine has been around for centuries and has been used for it energizing effects on the body . Introduction I. It’s the night before your chemistry exam and you decide to learn three weeks worth of material in one night. II. When 1:30 comes around and you can feel your eyes starting to get heavy, what do you grab to give you that extra energy to keep going? Is it coffee? Is it a Red Bull? III. Why do these types of drinks help us keep our eyes open long enough to get through that last chapter on combustion reactions? IV. The answer is caffeine. V. As college students, most of us consume caffeine every single day, so today I am going to share with you the history of caffeine, how the body processes caffeine, and possible side effects from excessive caffeine consumption. (Transition: Before I get into the many affects of caffeine on the body, lets go back in time to see where caffeine came from.) Body I. The appreciation of caffeinated beverages dates back tens of thousands of years. a. What is caffeine anyway? i. Caffeine is a naturally occurring substance that forms as an end product of nitrogen metabolism in plants. ii. It is found in more than 60 different plants species around the world, including coffee beans, tea leaves, and coco beans. b. The wild coffee bean plant originated in Ethiopia and according to Reginald Smith, author of the book A History of Coffee, cultivation of caffeine containing food and beverages from the coffee bean may have begun as early as AD575.† c. Centuries passed before coffee would reach Europe by the 17th century, but then spread uncontrollably to all parts of the world, including America. d. Coffee was brought to America in the mid 1600s. i. At this time, most Americans still preferred to drink tea, another caffeinated beverage, even though coffee houses were being built all over the country. ii. Coffee did not become America’s favorite beverage until the Boston Tea Party, when Americans revolted against Britain’s heavy tax on tea. (Transition: Now that you know where coffee came from, lets look at how the body processes it.) II. How does that morning cup of coffee wake you up and give you that added energy to get the day started? a. Well, caffeine is known to boost the effects of neurotransmitters, such as dopamine, and serotonin. i. For example, dopamine is a neurotransmitter known to affect concentration. ii. Dopamine is also responsible for signaling your brain when it is time to go to bed, but when caffeine is introduced to the body, this signal is blocked. b. Caffeine also causes your body to release more adrenaline, which causes faster heart beat, more blood being pumped to muscles and organs in y our body, and adrenaline tells your liver to release sugar into the blood stream. c. When caffeine is in the blood stream, it encourages the release of more calcium ions, which in turn causes muscle to contract faster. d. The professor of nutrition at Tufts University, Susan Roberts, says that, â€Å"Research studies broadly document favorable changes such as increases in metabolic rate, increased fat oxidation, and a perception of increased physical and mental energy.† i. With all of these energy-boosting effects, it’s easy to see why we love caffeine so much. ii. Even though caffeine can make us feel invincible, consuming too much can have negative effects on our health. (Transition: Lets take a look at how much caffeine we should be consuming and what could happen if we consume too much.) III. Many people don’t know, but there are negative side effects of the overuse of caffeine. a. According to the article â€Å"Selected Health and Behavioral Effects Related to the Use of Caffeine† published in the Journal of Community Health, â€Å"Over 80% of adults consume caffeine daily in the form of coffee, tea, or soft drinks.† i. Since we consume caffeine daily, the amount we consume is important. ii. J.J Barone, author of â€Å"Caffeine Consumption†, which was published in the book Food and Chemical Toxicology, states that people should only consume 5 oz. of ground roast coffee, 5 oz. of tea, and 6 oz. of cola only a daily basis. iii. For a lot of people, this is not enough caffeine to feel the energizing  side effects, which leads to overconsumption. b. The many side effects of the overconsumption of caffeine include insomnia, nervousness, restlessness, irritability, dizziness, nausea, fast heartbeat, and muscle tremors. i. Caffeine interferes with your body’s internal signal that it is time for bed. So, caffeine causes sleep loss and decrease in quality of sleep, which in turn contributes most of the negative side effects. ii. These negative side effects can easily be stopped when the person returns to a normal routine. Conclusion I. Today we have learned where caffeine originated, how it affects the body, and side effects of overconsumption of caffeine. II. Next time you grab a cup of coffee, weather it be to wake up in the morning or so you can pull an all-nighter, thank the Ethiopians, I know I will. III. Thank you for listening.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Community Problems

Many neighborhoods face serious community problems because of certain factors and they have a certain effect on the people living In the communities. I live around a community where there are a lot of car street races which happen on a regular basis and It creates major chaos over the weekends. Seems Like It Is not a major Issue, however, these street races cause major trouble to all the neighbors as It creates noise, causes accidents. Creates trouble for all the stores around, for people traveling at night and so on.Every weekend, a specific parking lot in the town of Formidable is filled with Hot Rods, college students, high school students and even adults, not to mention, cops too. This is a huge parking lot outside a mall which has plenty of room for cars and is connected to a highway-route 110. It is the main attraction for guys and girls with hot rods. I heard a lot of stories about this location and about the races taking place there every weekend so I decided to take a look f or myself before I could believe any of this.One night, I made a trip to this famous parking lot! At first, when I got to the parking lot, all I saw was a few random cars parked with some guys standing around them and talking to each other In groups. I parked my car there and stopped to watch what happens. I was extremely curious because I had only heard of these kind of scenes in movies and never thought it would be the reality. A little after 1 1 pm, a group of cars came into the parking lot with extremely loud exhaust pipes and loud music.As they revved up the engines my adrenaline started pumping. I could not believe what my eyes saw. A large number of cars drove n and parked there. There were people of all different age groups coming in from high school students, to college students and even elderly men around the age of forty who wanted to show off their hot rods. Soon after, some drivers including female drives took their cars out into the driveway and started drifting and pe rforming rolling burnouts to get the crowd excited.I stepped out of my car and stood there to watch. These people were enjoying themselves with loud music, alcohol, dancing with girls and screaming and shouting. I was shocked when a few gig school kids approached me to ask me about my car because these kids were 9th graders who had sneaked out of their houses at midnight with their parents cars for these races. After around half an hour, a group of cars revved up their engines and started moving towards route 110 so I decided to follow.Once we got onto route 110 they start driving like crazy people over speeding and cutting lanes and eventually turned onto a street off route 110. This lane was completely isolated and there were barely any cars parked there so they lined up their cars there and made a roadblock t the two ends of the lane and started having drag races which made a lot of sound and obviously called In for cops. This is where the major problems from these races start. O nce the cops come In, chaos occurs.These guys get Into their cars and started racing off from these race sites In all different directions to avoid getting caught. They go onto the main roads and over speed causing accidents not only for themselves but all the noise they create. They get into accidents, get caught and pay fines, cause trouble to other drivers on the road and so on. This is a major community problem as it attracts a lot of students in the community from not only colleges but also high schools.These kids have illegal modifications on their cars which adds to money in the black market. It also encourages many others to Join this racing league which leads to accidents and deaths. There is a lot of illegal betting and gambling, underage drinking, over speeding and many such laws broken which cause serious community problems every weekend and according to me this should be checked and stopped as soon as possible!