Friday, September 6, 2019
Women language Essay Example for Free
Women language Essay One of the debates which is of long standing within the study of linguistics is concerned with whether women speak in a language and perceive situations in a manner significantly different from that of men. Many theorists both feminists and anti-feminists have attempted to prove that women do indeed speak in a different way from men; and that there is such a thing as the â€Å"women language†. The debate attempts to place in context matters such as sex differences in linguistic behavior at the level of phonology and to a lesser extent grammar. The concepts upon which the debate has been built however reflect, to a greater or lesser extent, the influence of feminism over the past two decades. Feminism has fore grounded issues of gender differences and male domination in society; it has prompted a concern with putting women ‘on the map’ and a critical reappraisal of feminist and non-feminist research. The discussions on gender linguistics therefore focus on the feminist projects of ‘redressing the balance’, as manifested in the academic field of languages. Phonology Cognitive research on gender differences has drawn interest from linguistic experts and language scholars. Holmes and Meyeroff (2003, p. 144), the research more often than not directs itself to the hypothesis that women posses much better verbal skills than men. Most of the studies have drawn the conclusion that there are in fact differences based on gender, in verbal performance and verbal cognitive processing. It is often believed that females are far better in reading and posses much stronger language acquisition skills than males. Many scholars equate this probability to the phonological superiority possessed by women, (Christie 2002, p. 102). The difference in phonological ability is often attributed by some researchers and scholars to the structure of the brain which in this case favors the female. Studies suggest that the left hemisphere of the brain which is much more developed in males is superior in mathematical and scientific processing and analysis (direct speech). On the other hand the right hemisphere (much highly developed) in females is much more superior in word structure, grammar recognition and verbalization (indirect speech), (Christie 2002, p. 104). However the evidence provided to support this theory has often drawn inconsistent results making it much difficult to prove. Another school of researchers in linguistics suggests that culture is the main foundation for any form of language processing and development. For this school of scholars the role of women as caregivers in society makes them much more sensitive in their speech structure and verbalization. They know that they must be more knowledgeable in the different aspects of language and speech, (Holmes and Meyerhoff 2003, p. 142). The women are the first teachers for the child and therefore they take much more time to understand the speech techniques and pronunciation so they can be able to direct the children much easily. The men’s social role as providers on the other hand, pre-disposes them to poor performance in reading, sounds and sentence structure. This means that women easily develop direct and indirect speech much easily than men. Men are much better at direct speech. Use of Slang In historical society and the study of linguistics, women have been given the conservative linguistic role while men are often considered much more creative, and innovative in their language use. In traditional societies, subordination of women denied them the chance to use creative, innovative language that violated the speech protocol. It is from this perspective that many scholars develop the notion that women are less likely to develop â€Å"slang†or terms considered as â€Å"slang†in their speech. Medieval society put in place taboos and regulations that denied women the chance to distort conventional language regulations. Women had to use respectable language, refrain from swearing and insults; and use properly structured words and sentences. Grammatical errors and poor pronunciations were frowned upon, a woman’s speech was considered a reflection of her character and conduct, (Christie, 2000, p. 154). Surprisingly this practice is still present in today’s modernized society. We all have a tendency to judge and draw conclusions regarding an individual’s character from their command of conventional language, moreso women. Although there is no evidence that the use of ‘slang’ is more predominant in a specific gender than the other; it is found that men revert to the use of ‘slang’ terminologies much more easily than women. Even when women are influenced by the use of ‘slang’ and they incorporate ‘slang’ terminologies in their speech, the difference can be seen from the choice of terminologies. Women tend to use more euphemistic terminologies, while men apply complete use of ‘slang’ vocabulary. Use of Polite Speech In any form of communication, the speaker often hopes to get respect from his audience or the people he is speaking to. The difference in language and speech comes from how the women and men perceive respect. While the men view fear and admirations as forms of respect, women view agreement, generosity and sympathy as the measures of respect. Socio-linguists use this reason to explain why women are much more pre-disposed to the use of polite language than men. The mutual agreement is that women find polite language to be much more productive than men who prefer aggressive terms. Men are socialized by society to use rougher and more commanding language than women. Women on the hand are required to â€Å"act like ladies†, be respectable and meek. Coates (1998, p. 87) women are much more likely to use polite words such as please, excuse me and thank you than men. Women identify with the lesser classes and the abused or misused, and find it natural to appreciate others. Men on the other hand are socialized to demand action, appreciation and praise especially from women. Though being male does not necessarily mean that one is rude and arrogant, it does mean that the person is less likely to say please or thank you. In written literature, feminist scholars have often insinuated that female writers have developed what is known as the â€Å"female sentence†, which is structured to appeal to the polite nature of the female reader as well as the writer. Women are socialized to be much more submissive, as young girls for example sharing use of polite language and general respect to others is applauded. On the other hand boys are encouraged to be much more aggressive and demanding. It is this form of socialization rather than the biological composition of gender that linguists believe conditions women to be much more polite than men. Conversation Dominance A study conducted in 1975 by psychologist and linguist Zimmerman and West, based on a turn taking conversation model revealed that men are much more likely to dominate a conversation through interruption than females, (as quoted in Coates 1998,p. 161). Men feel the need to be dominant in all areas of their life, always commanding the full attention of others. They employ strategies such as interruption, questions in the middle of sentences and change of topics to maintain the dominance of the conversation. Men are well versed in strategies such as ‘no response’, interrupting, poor and inadequate responses and silence employed to change the path of the conversation to what suits them best. Eckert and McConnell- Ginnet (2003, p. 121) state that women may resort to arguments and shouting much easily when ignored, but they also tend to calm and compromise easily. However men are much more adamant, they can become completely uncooperative when ignored. While women have a tendency to imply what they would like to address or their wants and needs, men just tend to come out and directly demand what they want. Men are more confident with voicing their own needs even when they are infringing on some one else’s needs and time. As children parents and the society in general socializes the young girl to be more compromising allowing the male to get the attention they seem to thrive on. The male on the other hand is socialized to fight for and demand this attention. Conclusion The analysis of language and speech in gender provides a reflection of the cultural roles and status in society. The biological composition of each sex is less important in the development of language as compared to the socialization patterns utilized by different cultures. In general women are much more likely to develop subjective language and speech, easily influenced by the people they are speaking to. Men however are much more technical and object oriented in their language and speech, incorporating as little emotion as they can. To understand the difference in speech and language between men and women, one must first understand the gender roles and status defined by specific cultures. Works Cited 1. Christie Christine. Gender and Language: Towards Feminist Pragmatics. Edinburgh. Edinburgh University Press . 2000. 2. Coates Jennifer. Language and Gender: A Reader. Massachusetts. Blackwell Publishing 1998. 3. Eckert Penelope and McConnell -Ginet Sally. Language and Gender. United Kingdom. Cambridge University Press. 2003 4. Holmes Janet and Meyerhoff Miriam. Handbook of Language and Gender. Massachusetts. Blackwell Publishers. 2003.
Hybrid and electric cars Essay Example for Free
Hybrid and electric cars Essay Several types of vehicles which use alternative sources of energy have already been developed. These are mainly aimed at controlling the levels of air pollution and to provide a cheaper means of technology, especially with the increasing oil prices. With today’s current economic situation, many money saving cars have hit the road, such as hybrids from Toyota and Honda. However, our society thinks that the hybrid or electric car is a recent advancement, when in fact there were actually more electrics than gas fueled cars on the road in the 1800s. The aim of this research paper is to find out why the society is oblivious to this fact. The history of the electric car The history of the electric vehicle started from the first successful attempt to store electrical energy made by Alessandro Volta in Italy in 1800. The next event of major significance was in 1921, when Michael Faraday demonstrated that wire rod carrying electric current supplied by a Volta pile would rotate around a fixed magnet of one end and was unconstrained by allowing it to hang in a bath of mercury. He also showed that the magnet would rotate around the wire if the fixed and moving elements were reversed. Furthermore, the direction of rotation was reversed if the polarity of the electric current was reversed. This was the principle of the electric motor. In 1832, an electric motor was operated by having a bar magnet mounted on a shaft rotating inside stationary coils of wire in which the electric current was successfully switched by contacts on the shaft. The first electric motor was first constructed in 1968, but it was not until 1973 that the first road vehicles were driven. Interest had also developed in competitions between internal combustion-engine vehicles to show which was superior in speed and reliability. Leitman etal, pg 62-67) While all these developments in electric vehicles were going on, the gasoline fueled internal combustion engine vehicles were also being rapidly developed, so that by 1900, the market for automobiles was almost equally divided between the three contenders of steam, electricity and gasoline. Enthusiasm of the electric vehicle was strong at this time; primarily because of its ease of starting without tiresome need to hand crank the engine. The12 years from 1900 to 1912 was the golden age for electric vehicles, although gasoline-powered vehicles were developing rapidly over this period. In 1903, there were more electric vehicles in London than these powered by the internal combustion engine, but this situation did not last for long. By 1909 when the model T was launched it was already clear that the race for personal transport had been won by internal combustion engine This did not stop the number of electric vehicles in use in the USA increasing to a peak of 30,0000 in 1912. However, by this date, there were 900,000 gasoline engine vehicles on the road in that country, and comparable numbers in Europe. Slowly, the electric car manufacturers went out of business, or started manufacturing gasoline powered vehicles. Leitman etal, pg 62-67) Pollution in the modern era From the 1970s, the interest in electric cars began to appear again; air pollution caused by gasoline engines was beginning to be of concern and a number of small firms were set up to try and met the new demand of electric vehicles. The Ford Motor Company of Britain was asked to look at the possibility of designing a small electric car for urban use which was small enough to occupy minimum road and parking space, had high maneuverability, minimum pollution, was simple to operate and had low initial and running costs. Plant etal, pg 234) The 1990 mandate At the beginning of the 1990s, the electric vehicle had already been improved. They became more marketable, and people preferred them more than the other vehicles. One of the reasons that people preferred to use these vehicles was the fact that they did not use fuel. It was also cheaper and easy to recharge them. These cars were more effective in the 1990s, when the concerns for the environment were on the rise. This forced most car manufacturing industries, being led by General Motors to start manufacturing the electrical vehicles. Since the rate of emissions from gas fueled cars was increasing, the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 was enacted. This Act required a reduction in the vehicle emissions (so called Tier 1 controls) by the 1994 model year. It also authorized even stricter Tier II controls on a contingency basis, which was to be imposed by 2004 by the EPA administrator, if further studies showed that they needed, technically feasible, and cost effective. The 1990 Act also put up standards to check the evaporative emissions (emissions that occur after engines are shut off. ) (Collantes etal) California, being the leading state in air pollution, was required by the 1990 law to impose stricter vehicle emissions standards. The state therefore made it a requirement that the manufacturers achieve in stages, fleet-weighted average emissions that would have been lower than the ones mandated by the federal Tier I regulations, beginning with the 1994 model year. All The car manufacturers were authorized to manufacture several zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs, effectively electric-powered cars) by 1998. They were also required to have achieved a total market share of at least 10% by the year 2003. The Clean Air Amendments Act of 1990 also stated that other States should opt to voluntarily set the Environmental Conservation standards that had been set by California. Some of the North Eastern States, including New York and Massachusetts imposed similar rules in their states. The Ozone Transport Commission, through another provision of the 1990 Act, was also persuaded by some of its members to ask the EPA to pass the auto technology measures on the whole region. The imposition of the laws was required because some of the states had no intention of passing the Californian standards voluntarily. If EPA had passed these auto technology measures on all the states, then the electric cars would have taken over 40% of the entire U. S auto market. (Collantes, etal) However, this petition was debated on a lot. It was said that the technology then was not ready to meet such high targets. Another reason the proposal was rejected was due to the fact that the battery technology could only give a little range to the vehicles, besides this, the infrastructure to meet them was inadequate. The industry instead proposed an alternative to the Californian standards, which was to market a national low-emitting vehicle (NLEV) in 49 states. This alternative was tougher than what the law had required the automakers to do, and could meet only the first two levels of the Californian standards. It is clear that the industry was definitely opposed to the idea of an electric vehicle, because it passed the alternative laws, which required all states to ignore the zero emissions Act. For several years, the EPA was unable to make an agreement with between the thirteen jurisdictions and the industry. Also, California was successful in delaying the implementation if the zero electric vehicle mandate until model year 2003. Of all the states, only Massachusetts, Mine, Mew York and Vermont adopted the Californian requirements and refused to accept the NLEV as a substitute to the law, and the industry would not produce it either, unless they did. In the beginning of 1998, there was stiff competition among the â€Å"Big Three†U. S. and three major Japanese companies manufacturing cars. This therefore pushed them to pledge voluntarily to market the NLEV vehicles in the forty-five states which had not mandated Californian cars. This shows that the auto industry was among the reasons why the electric car was not so successful in the market. Collantes, etal) Were it not for the fact that the U. S. levels of air pollution are increasing every day, the industry would not have realized the need to manufacture the electric vehicles. Although the gasoline-electric cars were also a way to reduce the air pollution, the electric cars would have been more effective. This also shows the extent to which people and the auto industries disliked the electric car. Benefits of the electric cars Although the electric cars are a bit inferior compared to the petrol engine or diesel engine vehicles, they have several attributes. They are quiet, and therefore provide an appealing driving feel to the user. The major benefits are however on air pollution, the cars reduce the energy use and the green house emissions; they are zero emitting. The pollution benefits are also large, considering the amount of pollution generated at the power plant. The electric vehicle batteries have the capability to practically eliminate the carbon monoxide emissions and volatile the unburned hydrocarbons and hence diminish the nitrogen oxide emissions regardless of how electricity is generated. (Nakamura etal, pg 223-228) The pollution benefits would be greatest in places like California where most of the electricity comes from tightly controlled natural gas plants and zero-emitting hydroelectric and nuclear plants. They could also be of help to a country like France, which gets most of its electricity from nuclear power. Highly populated cities like Mexico City, Beijing, Bangkok, and Kathmandu, which also source their electricity from nucleus power, could also take advantage of the electric vehicles. Another advantage is that with an electric vehicle, all you have to do is to recharge the battery at home. You don’t have to worry of the increasing fuel prices or that you have to pass through the gas station on your way to work. In the 1990s, people used to worry that their batteries will run out of charge and cause them inconveniences. However, this has changed, as there are new and better batteries nowadays, with the ability to store charge for longer periods. The battery powered vehicles should be effective today, especially with global warming on the increase. With all these benefits, the electric vehicle needs to be marketed and manufactured in large scale. The government and the manufacturers need to promote the car, as much as they do to the fuel powered vehicles. A former employee of general motors in the 1990s said that one of the reasons why the electric vehicles did not sell well is because enough advertising was not done. The government has greatly contributed to the low popularity of the electric vehicles. Realizing that cars manufactured in foreign countries could attract more demand than those produced in the U. S. , it opted to support the manufacture of the fuel powered cars, which were more preferred by the public, to the electric powered vehicles. It was also ineffective because it failed to enact the 1990 Clean Air Enforcement Act. Fuel manufacturing companies, on the other hand, fearing that they would lose the market for fuel, sided with the government in the support for the manufacture of the fuel powered vehicles. The lack of vigorous campaigns to market the electric vehicles is one of the reasons why they are so unpopular today. The fact that the electric cars were once crushed to pieces shows the extent to which their popularity was. Americans have also been ignorant to the idea of promoting the electric car. They have preferred the hybrid cars to the electric cars, ignoring the fact that they have more benefits. (Paine) Conclusion For the past few years, General Motors has been trying to revive the popularity of the electric vehicles. One of the reasons that brought the realization that there was a need to bring back the electric car was the attack of the World Trade Centre, the Pentagon, and the plane that clashed in Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001. All these instances showed that complete reliance on imported oil is a big threat to the financial and the national security. Also, the onset of the global economic crisis, which resulted to an increase in the oil prices, made Americans realize the importance of the electric car. America faces the challenge of energy security, reduction of its reliance on imported oil and the ways in which global warming can be reduced. Electric cars could be the solution to these challenges. The ironic twist of events about national security, oil and the climate change has at last brought the understanding that to stabilize our economy; we need to use the electric cars.
Thursday, September 5, 2019
Measurements of Universal Health in Ethiopia
Measurements of Universal Health in Ethiopia TASK The UK Department for International Development (UK-DFID) has recently decided to allocate funds for establishing universal health coverage in low income countries. The Director of the Global Health Division of the UK-DFID invites you to submit a scoping report with a critical assessment of the type of indicators needed to evaluate and monitor universal health coverage in a low income country of your choice. Your report will be judged on the basis of the following criteria: Illustration and critical assessment of at least 5 relevant direct or indirect indicators (statistics), their sources and overall quality of data. The sources (online) and any other supporting references cited should be numbered either in the footnote or in the Bibliography at the end of the document. Use and reliability of those selected indicators for planning and programme interventions Potential country-specific barriers, where applicable, in implementing the universal health coverage Clarity of presentation, independent critical thinking and creativity One of the main aims of the UK department for international development is to promote the development and eradication of poverty through the establishment of Universal Global Health coverage in low in come countries. As a result this scoping report focuses on Ethiopia a low income region which has a history of high birth rates, famine, war and the second highest population in Africa (91million) [1]. The regions health care system as consequence is among one the poorest in Africa, making it an ideal region in assigning the types indictors needed to provide UGH [2]. In order to monitor and evaluate UGH it is important to firstly acknowledge that there is no one metric measurement or indicator of health, as health differs from one individual to another and as a outcome an average or optimum is often defined to monitor the overall health of the population [3]. The World Health Report 2013 has provided a widely used framework in order to successfully monitor UGH [4]. Figure 1 illustrates the framework which focuses on three main areas of health. Service coverage: the vital health care services that are needed, Financial coverage: Ability to acquire these services without financial difficulty and Population coverage: the number people that have access to these services. The indictors used in this report aim to cover these three dimensions while also being tailored specifically to Ethiopia’s health requirements. Table 1: Statistics adapted from WHO data repository [8] Population using improved drinking-water sources (%) Year Rural Urban 1990 4% 80% 2000 19% 87% 2011 39% 97% Adequate access to clean water is a basic human right and the seventh Millennium Development Goal [5]. Clean water is essential to ample quality of life and is used in a diverse range of fields from basic hydration, irrigation, sanitation to complex health care institutions such as hospitals making it a vital component of health [6]. This indicator is categorised into ether improved or unimproved source with improved sources indicating clean water. This classification makes it a simple indicator allowing identification of areas where safe water sources are abundant and areas that need improved water source access, perhaps through water aid programs. This indicator is particularly useful as it can show the range of human impacts on the quality of water through the presence of nitrate as well as compounds and bacteria which can indicate waterborne pathogens the common cause of disease. [7]. Data is provided through national household surveys, the demographic health surveys (DHS) and RA DW (Rapid assessment of drinking water quality project) which is carried out by both the WHO and UNICEF with the DHS often providing high quality statistics [4]. Table 1 illustrates that the percentage of improved water sources is disproportionate from 97% users in urban area in 2011 compared to just 39% in rural areas in 2011. This suggests that water sanitation programs should be focused in rural areas where there are less people using improved drinking sources. The results also illustrate that although there are far more users of improved sources in urban areas, the number of users in rural area over three decades have seen a greater increase from just 4% in 1990 to over 39% in 2011 which could be attribute to better surveying in these areas in recent times. The indicator however is a proxy to number of people that have access to clean water as it shows the percentage of users of improved sources and not the amount people that have access to safe drinking water, meaning some soci al-economic groups such as the isolated poor or elderly are not accounted for as they are less likely to have â€Å"access†to these improved sources [7]. The indictor is limited only showing percentages for rural and urban areas; an indication of sub-urban regions would provide are more in-depth analysis of overall water quality in the region. Recognition of which gender the improved water source is mainly being used by i.e. men, women or children is also unaccounted for which could be crucial indicator as children are highly impacted from waterborne pathogens [2]. Furthermore even though water is being used from an improved source, this water still needs to be obtained from larger sources leading to possible contamination during transportation or even storage invalidating the indicator. Guidelines presented by WHO for safe drinking water is also assumed constant over time by indictor limiting it accuracy [9], overall this indicator can provide an overview of water quality b ut accuracy of the indicator can be skewed to urban areas. The overall health of the population is often measured by life expectancy, this indicator is widely used and data regarding this indictor is readily available. Life expectancy is a longer term measure of health and an overall indication of health over the years. Life expectancy in Ethiopia has been improving over the years from around 55 years at birth in 2004 to 62 years in 2011[8]. It is an important indicator in reflecting the overall mortality of the population; this is helpful for the governmental as it illustrates the trend through time of the overall population and improvements in life expectancy can reflect better nutrition, hygiene and effective medical intervention within the nation [10]. However unless a comprehensive cohort/period life table is developed, life expectancy at birth assumes that health conditions remain constant throughout the lifespan of the individual, an inaccurate assumption given the higher mortality rates in the first year of life and lower mortality a t around middle age. Table 3: Data adapted from WHO, World Bank and DHS. [8], [10],[11] BCG among 1 year’s olds (%) [8] Under 5 mortality rate per 1000 births [10] Children Fully Immunised (%) [11] Year: 1980 0 240 N/A 2000 51% 146 14.3% 2011 80% 68 24% Vaccination is an essential component of health in many low-income countries with the fourth MDG main aim being the reduction of child morbidity and mortality [5]. Immunisation can help reduce mortality and usually is cost effective while also being an excellent indictor of the health among children. BCG is the best indicator of full immunisation coverage as the WHO states children can be classified full immunised once they have received a tuberculosis vaccination (BCG) [9] therefore a BCG indicator is vital in monitoring health of children. Table 3 illustrates the importance of BCG vaccination with the percentage of coverage improving over the years from no vaccination in 1980 to over 80% of 1 year olds having being immunised in 2012 suggesting an improvement in the protection of children against TB, this is further reinforced by the decline in under five mortality rate. The validity of the indictor can be backed up by it its correlation to under 5 mortality rate; Table 3 illustrate s a linear relationship in increasing immunisation and declining child mortality, showing the success of the indictor in monitoring UGH among children. However universal health through immunisation in reality is hindered by a delay in diagnosis of tuberculosis in Ethiopia which can exacerbate the disease [12], combined with the majority of children and citizens being concentrated in rural areas where there is no real means of transportation available to attend a hospital for vaccination, [2] making the indicator biased to people who can access vaccination facilities. The BCG indicator is effectively used in TB prevention, treatment and psychological suffering through basic programmes such as stop TB strategy programme [4]. Data provides estimations between the accurately reported immunisation figures by national authorities and those where data may present misleading figures [8]. This means the data may not be fully accurate as it is a estimation of actual and misclassified figures. However this indicator is vital for monitoring and guiding disease and eradication programmes and efforts in Ethiopia. Although BCG percentage shows a high coverage over tuberculosis it does to provide accurate analysis of UGH in terms of other diseases such as malaria. The percentage of full immunised children is a better indictor for UGH as it indicates children which are protected against all diseases. However only 24% of children are fully immunised which suggest that although 80% of children are immunised this is misleading as this 80% are only immunised against TB and not other deadly diseases. Although the WHO suggests children are not fully covered against diseases until they are immunised from TB, the immunisation of other diseases prior to the TB vaccination needs to be considered. Anaemia is defined as a condition which is characterised by low levels of haemoglobin in our blood, in the case of Ethiopia anaemia is a major concern with low come groups being among highest at risk [13]. This is an important indicator in children as anaemia is associated with impaired mental and physical development and increasing morbidity and mortality. This indicator is particularly helpful because it has allowed a number of preventions programmes to be put into place such as enhanced outreach Strategy and Targeted supplementary foods intervention programme which aim to improve nutrient in among children. More than 44% of population in 2011 is still anaemic with 21% percent of children having moderate anaemia illustrating the importance of this indicator in monitoring UGH in children and future programme intervention development. However this indicator is constraint to children limiting its capability, it is also misleading as there are also other factors related to anaemia such iron deficiency, and Vitamin A levels which this indictor does not account for providing inaccurate assessment [9]. Table 3: Indicators adapted from WHO, DHS and UN [8],[11],[14] Maternal Mortality Ratio MMR per 100,000 live births [8] Live Births Delivered at Health Facility (%) [11] Births attended by skilled heath Personnel (%) [15] Year: 1990 950 N/A NA 2005 700 5.3% 5.7% 2011 350 9.9% 10.0% Maternal mortality in Ethiopia is among the highest in the world and it is the biggest killer of women in Sub-Saharan Africa with the fifth MDG aiming for a reduction of 75% from 1990 to 2015 [5]. Maternal health is often measured by the maternal mortality ratio which is expected to be useful in indicating the deaths among women, the risk associated with pregnancy, monitoring achievement towards MDG 5 and the capacity of health systems within Ethiopia to provide effective health care [14]. Table 1 illustrates the maternal mortality ratio, illustrating initially that there is reduction in maternal morality in Ethiopia and an improvement over the years with some considerable progress towards MDG 5. However the MMR ratio does not take into consideration several key factors that can impact women during her pregnancy. The indictor is irrespective of the duration of pregnancy and also where the birth took place giving an inaccurate assumption how amount of mortalities. The relationship bet ween the MMR to percentages of live births that took place in health facility shows a poor correlation because although there has been a significant reduction in mortality from 1990 to 2011 this is misleading as only 9.9% of these births took place in adequate well equipped hospitals suggesting MMR should be higher. Measuring mortality is difficult and inaccurate as it is a ratio based on estimations between the total maternal deaths and total live births which does not account for women which have died during the pregnancy. The ratio also fails to show the factors which lead to high or low level of mortality which could prove vital to reducing mortality as an indication of this would allow a focus in future planning to reduce the MMR. Sources of data are varied with different methods being used to derive country estimates, with many rural areas having no data at all making results biased [14]. A more accurate indictor of UGH of maternal health is number of live births in health fac ilities and births attended by skills personal, both indictors show low percentages suggesting and poor health care service as an increase in number births at hospital and with better equipped personnel is likely to reduce maternal deaths. These two indictors also show why maternal death rates are so high as apposed just showing number of deaths. The MMR indictor used is not a reliable indictor of UGH among pregnant women and more focused indictors such one shown in table 3 are recommended for UGH. As stated in the introduction there is no one measure of universal health among a country, individual, or the world. Each indicator has it own weakness and strengths as illustrated above. All the indictors in this report have been chosen as they are most suited to Ethiopia and it requirements, this report suggests that some indictors i.e. Immunisation and percentage population using improved water sources may be better indictors than other such as life expectancy and maternal health in monitoring UGH. However any indictors used to monitor UGH should be chosen for future policy planning, MDG assessments and intervention schemes. Bibliography: 1: The World Bank, working for a world free of poverty. http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/ethiopia (Accessed 15 February 2014). 2: Murray, J.S., Moonan, M. Recognizing the healthcare needs of Ethiopia’s children. Journal for Specialists in Pediatric Nursing 2012; 17(4):339-343. 10.1111/j.1744-6155.2012.00328.x (Accessed 15th February 2014). 3: Abraha, M.W., Nigatu, T.H. Modeling trends of health and health related indicators in Ethiopia (1995-2008): a time-series study. Health Research Policy and Systems 2009;7(1)1-17 http://www.health-policy-systems.com/content/7/1/29/abstract (Accessed 12 February 2014). 4: World Health Organization, research for universal health coverage: world health report 2013. The World Health organisation 2013. 5: United Nations Millennium Development Goals: We can end poverty http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/ (Accessed 12 February 2014). 6: Onda, K., LoBuglio, J., Bartram, J. Global Access to Safe Water: Accounting for Water Quality and the Resulting Impact on MDG Progress. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2012;9(3)880–894. 10.3390/ijerph9030880 (Accessed 12 February 2014). 7: Bain, R., Gundry, S., Wright, J., Yang, H., Pedley, S., Bartram, J.. Accounting for water quality in monitoring access to safe drinking-water as part of the Millennium Development Goals: lessons from five countries. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2012;90(3),228–235. 8: The World Health Organisation, Global Health Observatory. http://www.who.int/gho/database/en/ (Accessed 15 February 2014). 9: Central Statistical Agency [Ethiopia] and ICF International. 2012. Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey 2011. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Calverton, Maryland, USA: Central Statistical Agency and ICF International. 10: The World Bank, Indicators. http://data.worldbank.org/indicator (Accessed 13 February 2014). 11: Demographic and Health Surveys, Country Quickstats. http://www.measuredhs.com/Where-We-Work/Country-Main.cfm?ctry_id=65c=EthiopiaCountry=Ethiopiacn=r=1 (Accessed 15th February 2014). 12: Demissie, M., Lindtjorn, B., Berhane, Y. Patient and health service delay in the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis in Ethiopia. BMC Public Health 2002; 2(1) 1-7 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/2/23/abstract (Accessed 13th February 2014). 13: Balarajan, Y., Ramakrishnan, U., Ozaltin, E., Shankar, A.H., Subramanian, S.V. Anaemia in low-income and middle-income countries. Lancet 2011;378(9809) 2123–2135 10.1016/S0140-6736(10)62304-5 (Accessed 16Th February 2014). 14: The World Health Organisation, Indicator and measurement registry. http://apps.who.int/gho/indicatorregistry/App_Main/view_indicator.aspx?iid=26 (Accessed 19th February 2014). 15: UN Data, Statistics. http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=MDGf=seriesRowID:570 (Accessed 19 February 2014).
Wednesday, September 4, 2019
Acid Rain :: essays research papers fc
     Acid rain is a very big pollution problem in the world. It has killed fish and other aquatic life in many lakes and streams. It harms human health, disfigures monuments and erodes buildings, and, along with other pollutants, threatens forests. The story of acid rain can be compared to the plot of a science fiction movie. In the 1950s an invisible force begins to destroy lakes and rivers, killing trout and salmon. By the 1960s it is harming the waters of eastern Canada and the northeastern United States. High-altitude forests are beginning to fade away. City statues are gradually eaten away. The appearance from the damage of the aliens is starting to appear all over. Just as in science fiction movies, the authorities refuse to warn the alarmed citizens. Also, at the last moment the scientists figure away to destroy the aliens. Unfortunately, fiction and fact falls apart at this point. There is no quick remedy that will wipe out acid rain completely. (Pringle 1-2)      Coal was the main fuel of many industries in the early nineteenth century. Coal contains sulfur and when burning it, it will produce sulfur dioxide. When in the atmosphere, sulfur dioxide may be converted to sulfuric acid (Pringle 8). Acid rain is dispensed across the world by air currents. When attempting to fix local air pollution problems, the solutions actually added to acid rain problems on other parts of the world. High smoke stakes were developed to distribute pollutant acid-laden smoke higher in the atmosphere and spread it elsewhere (Merki 598). This was a quick remedy to a local problem, but harmed other parts of the world. Acid rain is a global problem because it more often than not, spreads over national borders instead of staying in a local spot.      There are several causes of acidification, and various mechanisms by which it may occur. Acid rain falling on water bodies has a direct affect. In areas where soils are acidic, runoff from the soil transports acidic water, which may also contain aluminum, into lakes and rivers. Soil acidification may be caused by acid rain, but other factors may also be involved. For example, if pasture reverts to coniferous acidic runoff even though the rain itself is not acidic. Salty rain leaches acid components out of the soil and transports them to the rivers. (Rivers 1)      The chemical content of acid rain is in itself dangerous to fish and other freshwater organisms.
Tuesday, September 3, 2019
Changing The Opening Bell :: essays research papers
Think about what you were doing at 6:30 this morning - maybe eating                                                   breakfast or just waking up, but probably sleeping. Some kids were already standing                                                        out in the cold, half asleep, waiting for the school bus. Many school - aged children                                                        and teenagers are forced to wake up at an early hour after very little sleep, only to                                                   be reprimanded for being unenergetic, tired, and listless during school. These problems                                                        would be solved if school start times were later.      Some people say that since kids will have to wake up early when they get older,                                                        they might as well start when they’re young. This is not a reasonable argument because                                                   children need more sleep than adults, and lack of sleep can cause major health problems.                                                   According to Dr. Mark Mahowald, director of the Minneapolis Regional Sleep Disorders                                                   Center, school beginning at 7:45 am is the equivalent of sending adults to a buisness                                                   meeting at four-thirty in the morning!      Only fifteen percent of middle and high school students get the recommended nine                                                        hours of sleep, and twenty-five percent get less than six, says Dr. Mary Carskadon, a                                                        sleep researcher at Brown University. Scientific studies have proven that teenagers have                                                        difficulty falling asleep before eleven pm because of bodily chemical changes that occur                                                        during adolescence. People may not realize this, and therefore blame sports, jobs, friends,                                                   and technology for keeping teens up late at night.      If nine hours of sleep is recommended for teens, who generally go to sleep around eleven pm, eight o’ clock in the morning would seem a reasonable time to wake up. Assuming it takes about forty-five minutes to get ready in the morning, and that the average bus ride (for students at my school) is about a half an hour, it would make sense for school to start at around nine to nine thirty in the morning.      While nine thirty would be an ideal time for that opening bell to ring, the change needn’t be that major. In Edina, Minnesota, the school start time was shifted from seven
Monday, September 2, 2019
North Korea Famine Essay -- North Korean Famine World Essays
North Korea Famine Abstract Famine is the one of the biggest problems in the world. More than 800 million people are suffering from hunger. The people of North Korea suffer from hunger on the level of the notorious Somalia, Sudan, and Ethiopia famines. They just suffer in silence behind the world media. There are several facts about the North Korea famine. One of the main factors for the North Korea famine is political problems: The North Korean government ignores s people’s everyday lives and only does things for preparing war. Moreover, the North Korean government, North Korea dose not like allow relief agencies to personally deliver the grain to those who need it most, causes some general problems for getting contribution from other countries. My research paper reports fact about the North Korean famine. For example, how serious the North Korea famine is, what problems North Korea have. This paper suggests before considering a lot of problems; everybody in the world should help North Korea hungry peop le for economical, political, and national reasons. There are a lot of innocent people, especially children. Introduction Famine is the one of the biggest problems in the world. A lot of children die from hunger. What is famine? The problem of famine is manifold. Famine is not only a condition of a lack of food but of inadequate planning, inadequate notification, slow responds, government pride, misdirected aid, politics, ignorance, and incompetence. North Korea is a current example of all of these facts. In North Korea, many people are suffering in silence without attention of the world’s media. The tragic Ethiopian famine of 198... ...e.abcnews.go.com/sections/world/koreafood108/index.html (Mar1999). 2. The campaign to stop Famine in North Korea. "Things Korea" Auguest 1997. http://soback.koornet.nm.kr/~pixeline/heeyun/korea/factsht.htr (February 12 1999). 3. Agency France-Presse (AFP). "Starving Nkorean Children Filmed Searching Rubbish for Food" 21 Dec 1998. http://www.reliefweb.int ( April 10 1999). 4. Relief Web "World Food Program" 31 May 1996. http://www.reliefweb.int ( April 21 1999). 5. Mennonite Central "Famine in North Korea" 1997. http://www.reliefweb.int (February 5 1999). 6. The Brawn Daily Herald, Inc "Silent Disaster" 1997. http://www.pbs.org/newsshour/forum/august97/korea4.htm (2 April 1999). 7. Online Newshow "The North Korea Famine" August 26 1998. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/forum/august97/korea4.htm (6 February 1999)
Sunday, September 1, 2019
Impact of Illegal Drug Use Among Teens
For over one hundred years, the United States has been dealing with the use and abuse of illegal drugs. The federal government has spent billions of dollars since 1906 trying to stop the production, distribution, possession and use of drugs. The war on drugs has been long and costly with minimal progress made. Although the use of illegal drugs among teenagers has reduced, their abuse of prescription drugs has risen substantially. Drug use is a very serious problem among school age and college-age individuals and is present on every campus across this country.Even though the war on drugs is ongoing, the government’s efforts to reduce drug trafficking has had little effect on the use or abuse of illegal drugs among teenagers. Drug abuse continues to plaque our nation, causing destruction along its path, there seems to be no escape from this alarming trend. The most important challenge for drug policy is to reverse these dangerous trends. Illegal drugs are easily accessible; they are in our homes, schools, businesses and even in the jails and prisons. They affect most people in this nation in some form or another, whether abusing them themselves or knowing someone who does or has abused them.The use of drugs early among teens is especially dangerous, and often lead to unproductive, unhealthy behavior. Involvement in criminal justice system, juvenile delinquency, premature sexual activity (which exposes them to sexually transmitted diseases and increase the risk of unwanted pregnancies), are all associated with the use of illegal drugs. The staggering cost for unnecessary health care, auto accidents, crimes resulting from drug use and extra law enforcement has caused even more damage to an already failing economy.If the government is to move forward in its attempt to fight the war on drugs, it has to create effective drug policies and develop better programs to stop the onset of initial drug use. Informing today’s youth about the dangers of illegal dr ugs will prove far more beneficial than simply using scare tactics with harsher penalties. A key component in the fight to save the children from drugs is effective drug education. The Narconon drug curriculum will teach them why they should say â€Å"NO†, by helping them understand the lasting damage of drugs.In tackling the teenage drug problem, first, we have to determine what some of the risk factors are that may have led them down that path from the beginning. How a child interacts in various settings like at school, with teachers, their peers, siblings, parents and in their neighborhood can play a crucial role in their emotional, social and cognitive development. If they begin to act out in the class, fail classes, have poor social coping skills, begin to associate with the wrong crowd and change in overall perception about things they know are wrong like lying, drugs, crimes, etc.These are all red flags and should be investigated and addressed immediately. You have to try talking with them or taking them to see a professional to find out what is wrong, if possible, change their environment, place them around positive peers, get them involved in sports, church, social clubs. Do whatever it takes to prevent things from spiraling out of control, utilize all your resources. Try to let the child know you are there and that you care about what they are going through, this could make all the difference, in whether or not you reach them.If parents read, educate themselves of the dangers in using drugs, then and only then will they be able to teach their children how to getting involved in drug use. To compile enough research for a well-rounded paper sites like; the Office on National Drug Control Policy, National Institute on Drug Abuse, the Internet, ProQuest, and the Ashford Online Library were used. These sites along with others sources contained an abundance of information, enough data to create an informative paper.This research pointed out the soci al and health cost of illicit drug use, and further identified that drug-related illness, death and crime, cost the nation over one hundred billion dollars a year. The Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) reports, of the 263,871 emergency department visits by adolescents age 12-17, nearly one tenth (8. 8 percent) involved suicide attempts, almost three of every four (72. 3 percent) were females. Of the 95. 4 percent drug-related suicides pharmaceuticals were involved and more than three-fourths (77. 0 percent) ended with follow-up care (SAMHSA, 2008).The greatest cost of all drug abuse is paid in the lost of human lives, either directly through overdose, or drug abuse-related diseases such as tuberculosis, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and hepatitis. (NIDA & NIAA, 1992). It was important to conduct this research to make readers aware of just how bad society is failing the youth of this nation. The United States government cannot do it by itself. This is a national problem a nd it is going to take a nation to solve it, everyone has to help or this fight will be forever lost.After an almost ten- year decline, marijuana is on the rise again among teens. High school seniors reported that they smoked pot more than cigarettes according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse recent â€Å"Monitoring the Future†survey. While 21. 4% admitted to using marijuana in the last 30 days, only 19. 2% smoked cigarettes during the same time frame. This was the first time since 1981 that pot was used more than cigarettes in that age group. Although the public health campaigns to reduce cigarette smoking among teens consider this a victory, its decline can mainly be contributed to the rise of marijuana use.Many kids seem to feel that smoking pot is simply â€Å"not that big of a deal†, after all, it is only pot; even eighth graders do not believe the risk is that great. This type of attitude explains why there is a 1% increase of daily use for eighth graders and a 3% increase for tenth graders and is an indication that marijuana use will likely continue to climb as these kids move closer to graduation. About one out of four seniors and one in four tenth-graders said they smoked marijuana in the last year.Obama administration’s drug czar, Gil Kerlikowske, blames state medical marijuana measures like California’s Proposition 19 for making pot seem less dangerous to young Americans. â€Å"Calling marijuana ‘smoked medicine’ is absolutely incorrect, young people have taken the wrong message†(Healy, 2010, p. A-10). According to the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Dr. Nora Volkow, because teenager’s brains are still developing the increased daily use of marijuana is particularly disturbing, since it has been known to cause learning and memory damage.The fact that they use marijuana more frequently puts them at a greater risk of becoming dependent on it and other drugs. The use of th e club drug Ecstasy has increased among eighth- and tenth graders but not all drugs showed an increase. The abuse of the prescription pain medication Vicodin was down to 8% compared to 9. 7% in 2009 and the illicit use of opioid painkiller OxyContin rose among tenth-graders but remained steady with twelfth- graders. The use of drugs prescribed for attention deficit disorder, (ADHD) for non- medical reasons in the last year among high school seniors is 6. % and is about the same for amphetamines use (Healy, 2010). One of the latest growing teenage trends, which centers on the sampling of a variety of prescription drugs and then drinking alcohol is causing much concern. Kids feel that prescription drugs are safer than street drugs, because they are prescribed by a doctor and are usually purchased in a drug store.This is simply not true; they actually are more powerful which makes them even more dangerous especially when adding alcohol to the mix. Nora Volkow, says, â€Å"Kids are not pharmacologists, they may say, Fentanyl OxyContin- what’s the difference? So they take a bunch of things and may combine them with alcohol, that is a deadly miscalculation†(Jetters, A, 2010-2011, p. 146). To achieve feelings of euphoria, the amount of opioid painkillers needed is so close to the amounts that can kill you. If you add alcohol or tranquilizers like Klonopin, Valium, Xanax, which also depresses the brains respiratory center. Just one gin and tonic combined with a 40 mg methadone pill can be fatal. They are playing a very dangerous game of Russian roulette, one that they clearly do not understand.When you think of drugs and how they got into the United States, most of us think about them coming from another country, like maybe Mexico or somewhere in South America. However, more now than ever we need look no further than our own medicine cabinets. The days of taking an aspirin or Tylenol for a headache, backache or toothache are long gone. We can now look i n our medicine cabinets and choose from a variety of powerful leftover painkillers previously prescribed to us for various aches and pains. For over the past twenty years, four times the number of opioid prescriptions was written.Doctors prescribed them at a rate of more than 180 million per year. By providing patients with enough medication to ease their pain, doctors believe it aids in the healing process and allows the patient to focus on getting well and not on the pain. This type of rationale may have caused doctors to over medicate, thereby prescribing painkillers for even the slightest pain. Painkillers like Vicodin, OxyContin, and Percocet are even prescribed to children that have barely reached adolescence. This may explain why they are the most abused pills among 12 and 13- year- olds (Jetters, A, 2010-2011, p. 148).Dentist and oral surgeons are prescribing opioid for simple procedures like molar extractions. In addition, the kids are being sent home with way more pills th an they need. Yes, kids feel pain just like adults however; doctors cannot simply prescribe these potent drugs and then forget how long and how many pills the kids are taking, that is a recipe for disaster. If your children are prescribed these or any medication for that matter, be sure to monitor their usage. You should count them and if there is cause for concern, take them and store them in a secure place under lock and key and dispense the correct amount to them yourself.You must be sure to properly dispose of all expired or unused medication, take every precaution when doing so. Many experts are now advising people not to flush them in the toilet because it may pollute the water. If you throw them in the trash, place them in a bag mixed with cat litter, coffee grounds or anything that will discourage your kids from looking for them. Talk to other parents and family members, especially if your child visits their homes often; advise them to safeguard their prescription drugs as w ell. Check around your community to see if there is a prescription pill- drop off point.More towns are sponsoring these sites to assist in disposal of medicines in hopes of possibly cutting back on teenage drug use. As parents, you must realize that you play a big role in how your children view prescription drugs and whether or not they will end up abusing them. Many teenagers believe that parents will be less concerned or upset if they are caught misusing prescription drugs because, after all they are legal. A clear message needs to be sent to them, letting them know that you do care if they illegally use prescription drugs just as you would if they abused any other illicit drug.It is important that they know if they are in trouble they can come to you for help regardless of what the problem is, even drugs. Pill popping is so popular among kids because the high is not instantly detected like marijuana and alcohol. It is definitely easier to buy pills than beer, you do not have to w ait for the store to open or need a person twenty- one over to purchase them. Pills and money are easily be exchanged by a handshake, at school or other public places without ever being noticed.You do not need a bottle, can, glass, rolling paper, a match or a pipe; all you do is place that one small white pill in your mouth that is it. On the other hand, marijuana and alcohol both have very distinctive smells and are detected almost immediately. However, if he or she has taken prescription drugs you do not usually notice it right away unless their behavior has changed erratically. Although alcohol use maybe down, it remains popular among teens and cannot be taken lightly. Over the years, it has had a devastating impact on teenagers; more than eight young people a day die from fatal car crashes or re fatally injured due to alcohol- related accidents. Because so many households have alcohol, it is easy for children to begin drinking at an early age. The younger the child is when he be gins consuming alcohol the more likely he is to increase his alcohol intake. The more he drinks the greater his chances are of using other drugs in the future, which is why alcohol along with marijuana has always been believed to be a gateway drugs. Parents should beware, more kids are trying whatever they can get their hands on to get high.Isobutyl nitrite is a volatile liquid solid without a prescription for use as a room deodorizer but commonly used as an inhalant to produce a euphoric feeling (Peary & Schwartz, 1986). It causes dizziness, lightheadedness, blurred vision and pounding heart, these symptoms can make them really sick. Nevertheless, kids appear to believe this method of getting high along with experimentation with other drugs is the norm. As this research, progressed, other dangerous drugs were introduced, and now that we have learned more about them and the various ways they are being used; we are better equipped to help fight the war on drugs.Informing the minds of our youth so they can reason more clearly on the subject of alcohol and other drugs is a vitally important way to curtail addiction down the road. Children who never start abusing drugs will never become addicts in need of drug recover. As the government continues its war on drugs, society must begin theirs. This great nation is equipped with a vast amount of resources to assist in this endeavor; therefore, every effort should be made to do whatever is necessary to ensure the youth of today will be around for tomorrow.
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