Impact of International Trade on the Environment

International trade has a great potential to uplift the lives of people in developing countries as well as increasing profits for companies in the developed world. It can also have environmental consequences if the transactions are not consciously provisioned. This potential can flourish when countries come to a common agreement on trade laws that protect against the damages that using these products can bring upon the local community. Pesticide use for agriculture and disease control has been a controversial topic for decades given its toll on people and the environment.Its monitoring has been increasingly successful in industrial countries but almost non-existent in developing countries causing detriment to the health of thousands of farm workers around the world as they repeatedly come in contact with and inhale harmful chemicals. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), different pesticides, when consumed, have varying and inter-related effe cts as they pass through the food chain. Therefore, the larger concentrations of pesticides are found on larger predators, including men.Among the damages to living organisms, including aquatic species, are cancers, tumors and lesions, reproductive inhibition or failure, suppression of immune system, disruption of endocrine system, cellular and DNA damage, physical deformities such as hooked beaks on birds, poor fish health marked by low red to white blood cell ratio, and death. In some cases, chronic effects are passed from generation to generation and only become apparent in time 1. The persistent and rapidly spreading properties of toxic chemicals present in pesticides do not concern only the developing world.Some, including PCBs can originate in India and ride the wind to the Arctic in just 5 days 2. The FAO’s research discovered that â€Å"in the Great Lakes of North America bioaccumulation (or movement of a chemical from the surrounding medium into an organism) and mag nification of chlorinated compounds in what is, on global standards, a relatively clean aquatic system, caused the disappearance of top predators such as eagle and mink and deformities in several species of aquatic birds† 3.In recognition of the disadvantages many harmful pesticides such as DDT have been banned in the United States, yet their manufacture for exportation is still permitted. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates the imports and exports of these products in an effort to prevent health and contamination issues as well as to supervise fair competition. The law requires that â€Å"exporters of unregistered (or unapproved) pesticides first obtain a statement signed by the foreign purchaser indicating the purchaser's awareness of that product in the U. S† 4.Despite this awareness, some countries continue to use them because it is an inexpensive way to keep their crops blemish-free and fight diseases like malaria, for example. In tropical and subtr opical regions, â€Å"in addition to pesticides used in the normal course of irrigated agriculture, control of vector-borne diseases may require additional application of insecticides such as DDT which have serious and widespread ecological consequences† 5. Such large demand in countries with endangered eco-systems like Brazil has lured many companies in industrial countries to keep producing and exporting.More than 312 million kg were exported from the US in 1996, a 40% increase since 1992. Some even move their production to third world countries where environmental regulations are far less restrictive. In many past cases pesticide packages were exported without the proper disclosure of all chemicals, making it difficult to distinguish their consequences. This was especially unsafe for farmers in developing countries where protecting equipment is scarce 6. Improvement is underway, but sometimes it also means taking a few steps backwards. Since the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent (PIC), adopted in February 2004, the U.S. is also making an effort in sharing the responsible use of 39 hazardous chemicals listed by the Convention 7. Some developing countries followed on the initiative to ban or restrict hazardous pesticides for health and environmental reasons, yet this positive step towards resolving the situation has led to water contamination concerns. These countries lack the monetary resources to properly store or dispose of about 100,000 tons they no longer use, sometimes because they have deteriorated in storage. Drums are kept exposed to sun and rain running the risk of bursting open or leaking.Some are kept near markets contaminating the soil, groundwater, drinking water, and irrigation. In efforts to decrease their stocks some countries have opted to donate them in foreign aid programs. Far from resolving the problem, this only moves it elsewhere. Solutions seem farfetched for the developing world since FAO estimates it would co st $80-100 million in Africa alone to dispose of them appropriately 8. EPA’s law to allow exporting banned pesticides is greatly flawed because these harmful chemicals return on imported food, wind currents and rain or snow.Despite efforts to regulate the tolerable chemical residue on imported foods, as long as toxic chemicals are still manufactured the global environment and public health will continue to deteriorate. Unfortunately, environmental legislation usually takes years to take effect and is mostly driven by business interests. A sensible solution would be to radically eliminate the use of these chemicals globally and replace them with natural ingredients and green technology.

Wicked And Messy Environmentals Problems Environmental Sciences Essay

Human activities over the decennaries have doubtless affected the environment.The coming of industrialisation and technological advancement is one such activity that has been argued as the cause of great harm to the natural environment. Coupled to the increasing demand to supply for the turning populations around the universe, this has led to a myriad of environmental jobs some of which have been described as â€Å" mussy † or â€Å" wicked † . Amidst the huge technological promotions, these wicked jobs still remain unraveled and elusive. They challenge our administration constructions, our accomplishments base and our organisational capacity. It is of import, as a first measure, that wicked jobs be recognized as such. Successfully undertaking wicked jobs requires a wide acknowledgment and apprehension, including from authoritiess and Curates, that there are no speedy holes and simple solutions They are the antonym of â€Å" tame † jobs which have straightforward distinct solutions. Rittel and Webber ( 1973 ) describe wicked environmental jobs as withstanding categorization and devoid of clear cut solutions. They have besides been associated with â€Å" extremist uncertainness † and â€Å" plurality of legitimate positions † ( Funtowicz and Ravetz, 1991 ) .What does this mean for natural resource direction? This suggests that natural resource direction has been plunged into an epoch of turbulency with decreasing effects of the traditional/conventional attack to job resolution. This brings to bear the challenges conservationists and policy shapers have to postulate with in the direction of wicked environmental jobs rather commonplace in modern times. This essay attempts to propose ways by which natural resource direction can be effectual in covering with these wicked jobs. It begins by discoursing four challenges that wicked jobs present: alteration, struggle, complexness and uncertainness. It does that by utilizing the Sierra Nevada Forest and the European cap- and trade plan for C dioxide emanations in the European Union as instance surveies. Finally, proposes that for effectual direction of environmental jobs through policy and pattern, a combination of the precautional, adaptative and participatory attacks must be considered to cut down the uncertainness and complexness associated with wicked environmental jobs. The first challenge associated with wicked jobs is complexness ; a trait Gunderson ( 1999 ) suggests is built-in in natural resource jobs. Complexity implies a trouble in set uping cause and consequence forms due to the presence of mutualities and multiple variables. Complexity is determined by the grade of uncertainness and societal dissension on a peculiar issue ( Patton, 2011 ; Stacy, 1996 ; Zimmerman, 2001 ) .For illustration, the status and tendency exhibited by wildlife populations are as a consequence of the interactions between factors such as anterior population, conditions, marauders, home ground, disease, off-site factors and opportunity events. If there is species decline in a population, which of these factors can be blamed for this result? The reply is non every bit simple as a work outing to a mathematical job since the job may be caused by one of the factors or many moving in concert. The proficient and societal facets of complexness have besides been identified. The former is linked to restrictions in quality of information and a lack in cognition systems which makes the diagnosing of a job really feverish and introduces high degrees of uncertainness. A quotation mark by Lawrence J. Peter alludes that † some jobs are so complex that you have to be extremely intelligent and good informed merely to be undecided about them † . The societal facet on the other manus, emanates from troubles in the coordination of information, activities and stakeholders across several subjects. The differences in positions, values, perceptual experience and beliefs of assorted stakeholders introduces struggle: another challenge in deciding wicked environmental jobs. Adding to complexness is the diverseness and scope of stakeholder values, a formula for conflict.Values have been observed to be a cardinal component in the actions of people ( Rescher, 1969 ) .There is frequently small consensus on what the job is, allow entirely a general solution ( Ritchey, 2005 ; Rittel and Webber, 1973 ) .Whether the issue is about air quality, H2O usage, constructing a dike or protecting forest species, the differing values of stakeholders is non in doubt.Parties normally involved in environmental policy preparation normally span the full length and comprehensiveness of administration, from the politician to the peasant husbandman. Given the trouble of integrating the divergent positions all the parties may lawfully set frontward, struggles have left most environmental problem-solving efforts stranded and engulfed in judicial proceeding. For illustration, a H2O resource contention in Colorado started over a proposed dike ( Bingham, 1986 ) .Some parties declined to take part in the treatment until the inquiry of whether or non a dike was needed was answered. Others thought, a dike was the lone manner to work out the H2O deficit job. However, inquiring the inquiry † how much H2O do we necessitate? † is indispensable to understanding the job which brings into crisp focus problem-framing ; a critical but quite debatable measure in environmental policy preparation. The procedure of problem- bordering involves inquiring inquiries that explore different facets of the job. It ‘s amazing how frequently people fail to inquire what or why a job is happening instead than presuming the solution is apparent ( Watzlawick et al, 1974 ) .This premise of cognizing the solution before researching the job farther has chiefly been associated with experts who may see new jobs every bit precisely as old 1s ( Kaplan and Kaplan, 1982 ) .The presence of conflicting values, hazard and uncertainness does non intend a definite determination can non be taken.It merely stresses the director ‘s demand to believe beyond the traditional attack to job framing and job resolution. neglecting to see that most wicked jobs alone and associated with alteration, another challenge of wicked jobs. As discussed earlier, the assorted mutualities and multiple variables in wicked environmental job makes alteration inevitable phenomenon. Horst Rittel in his paper â€Å" Dilemmas in General Theory of Planning † explains that when covering with wicked jobs one must acknowledge that every wicked job is a symptom of another problem.Considering the fact that ecosystems, societal, econonmic, cognition, engineerings and public attitudes are so dynamic it is sensible for direction schemes and patterns to be dynamic as well.Policies must be continually be adapted to alter every bit good as constructed for local application.Wildavsky et Al, ( 1995 ) suggest that the lone manner to guarantee consistent advancement in dynamic and unsure state of affairss is to take incremental stairss that are bold plenty to go forth room for possible mistakes that enhance acquisition. Uncertainty is another challenge associated with wicked jobs due to the changeless alteration and reappraisal of scientific discipline and development. Therefore, it is rather rare for scientists to hold nem con on something as complex on an environmental or ecosystem level.In a complex unfastened system like the environment, cognition has bounds and certainty is far-fetched. What is the narrative today with the attack to work outing wicked environmental jobs? Is it working? It can be argued that uncertainness truly has played a function in the many statements that have characterized environmental direction treatments and a subscriber to the overplus of entreaties and judicial proceeding. The responses form authorities bureaus have been to bring forth more complex policy paperss warranting their actions and recommending for more research to do up for the cognition spreads that exists with the premise that differences are centrally about scientific discipline. On the contrary, grounds shows that difference in stakeholder places have more to make with conflicting values than with scientific uncertainness. This side of the statement is barely explored ensuing in the formulating of more paperss which have small to make with the underlying jobs. Owing to the fact that environmental direction makes determinations that affect both hereafter and present coevalss. There is a demand for better regulations and moralss to steer environmental directors. Bearing in head the challenges of changing ecological and societal conditions across big and spacial graduated tables, multiple stakeholder groups with really divergent values, high degrees of perceived hazard and scientific uncertainness, many research workers and environmental directors have espoused several theories and patterns which they deem are most appropriate for covering with wicked jobs. In the following subdivisions of this essay, three attacks ; adaptative direction, participatory procedures and the precautional rule will be introduced as the most appropriate for covering with modern-day environmental jobs. Adaptive direction has been argued as a direction scheme that will cover with scientific uncertainness and existent universe illustrations of its pertinence is apparent as reviewed in Stewart et al. ( 2004 ) . It has been associated with changing grades of success across a gamut of instances, each with results that enhance larning. The adaptative attack has been described as a acquisition attack that continually improves policy and pattern in the face of uncertainness and a tool to border philosophical, methodological and practical challenges that come with natural resource direction ( Holling 1978 ; Walters 1986 ; Lee 1993 ; Gunderson et Al. 1995 ) . † Learning by making † is the basic construct of adaptative direction. This attack has been recognized by international interdisciplinary attempts such as the sustainability scientific discipline plan ( Clark and Dixon, 2003 ) , the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment ( 2005 ) and the Equator Initiative of the United Nations Dev elopment Programme ( UNDP, 2005 ) as holding the possible to cover with the complexness of socio – ecological procedures and enhance acquisition. A instance survey of the on-going success of the adaptative direction attack is shown by Canada ‘s Model Forest. To cut down the uncertainness, complexness while advancing the development of advanced thoughts and sustainability the Federal authorities initiated Canada ‘s theoretical account Forest Program in 1992.The Program consists of 11 theoretical account woods across Canada selected to reflect the diverseness of ecosystems and societal systems present in Canada ‘s Forest environment. Each theoretical account Forest is designed to work as a life research lab where novel integrated forest direction techniques are researched, developed, applied and monitored in a transparent forum that engages and spouses with stakeholders from environmental administrations, industry, native groups, educational and research establishments, community – based associations, recreationists and landholders every bit good as all degrees of authorities. The success from this adaptative attack have been many and includes the development of voluntary wetland preservation plans for private lands ; establishemenrt of protocols for describing on socio economic indexs based on Statistics Canada nose count informations ; developing an ecosystem -integrated resource direction program for the Province of Saskatchewan, production of a codification of forestry pattern to assist landholders understand and use the rules of sustainable forest direction ; constitution of the Grand River Reserve to protect three eco-regions and home ground for the endangered Newfoundland pine marten. Research workers have identified two signifiers ; the passive and active types of adaptative direction ( Wilhere, 2000 ) . The passive is strongly science centred and formulates policy based on theoretical accounts and revises the theoretical accounts as monitoring informations becomes available. The active signifier nevertheless conducts direction action as deliberate experiments. Though the passive is rather simple and cheap the active signifier consequences in better apprehension of the responses of natural systems to direction and can assist develop better policy. However, no individual attack has the complete armory for contending wicked jobs and though adaptative direction has had many successes it has its restrictions. Short term undertaking frames, stiff marks and a focal point of success prompt directors to go on with conventional and controlled direction attacks, even when encouraged by authorities rhetoric to use adaptative attacks ( Allen and Curtis, 2005 ) This restriction is due to the fact that wicked jobs do non merely have scientific uncertainness but besides is engulfed in a overplus of stakeholder struggles. Therefore adaptative direction demands to integrate a societal side as good including institutional barriers. For illustration, institutional stableness, organisational civilization hinged on acquisition and equal political and administrative committedness of resources ( Lee,1993 ) .To be effectual, adaptative direction will necessitate to include cognition from multiple beginnings, system theoretical accounts and support cooperation among stakeholders ( McLain and Lee, 1996 ) .This demand has led to adaptive co-management an attack that combines adaptative and collaborative direction in which rights and duties are jointly shared to better battle the challenges that wicked jobs may convey. Thus, coaction brings into crisp focal point the demand for carefully designed public engagement. Public engagement has become an entrenched construct in the preparation, execution and direction of environmental issues owing to its suitableness for turn toing the involvements of multiple stakeholders and cut downing struggle. It is rather common to see National and subnational authoritiess require the input of the populace in managing and development of environmental policy. An illustration being the US National Environmental policy Act and the US Federal Advisory Committee Act. Thus engagement in decision-making is progressively regarded as a democratic right ( Reed, 2008 ) .Increasing calls for public engagement remainders on many factors including turning misgiving of public establishments and functionaries, inareaing legislative demands for public engagement, the complexness and uncertainness of modern-day jobs, different hazard perceptual experiences and a turning acknowledgment that determinations are non wholly scientific but societal values and political relations are bui lt-in in all administrative determinations. Politicss has non been extricated from how the environment is managed, degree of public engagement and at what point in the policy doing procedure it is incorporated. Participatory procedures besides have a challenge of placing groups of stakeholders and conveying these involvements together in an environment conducive for larning ( Gray,1989 ) .It has besides been associated with intensive resource committednesss ( money, clip and human capital ) , drawn-out determination devising, reduced determination quality, increased struggle and diminished likeliness of a successful result ( Sample, 1993 ; Steelman 2001 ) . The Precautionary attack is one possible response to wicked jobs in the face of uncertainness and hazard. Some bookmans assert that it is a powerful tool for protecting human wellness and the environment under unsure conditions ( Cameron and Boucher, 1991 ) whiles other believe it is ill- defined, unscientific and of small value to policymaking ( Manson 2002 ) . Still many states have some signifier of precautional rule in topographic point when confronted with unsure wellness hazards though they may non explicitly refer to it ( Zander, 2010 ) .While the chief importance of this rule is embedded in proverbs like † better safe than sorry † it cardinal thought is that engineerings or patterns that have the possible to jeopardize the environment should be banned or strongly regulated until proved safe. Under the precautional rule, the absence or deficiency of grounds refering the harmful nature of a substance or pattern can non function as a justification for detaining action to modulate them ( Raffensperger and Tickner, 1999 ) . For illustration, the issue of planetary warming normally includes statements that either favour business- as -usual or the precautional rule. Oppositions against the rule base their statements on scientific uncertainness sing how worlds have contributed to climate alteration and the badness of effects that may happen. They by and large advocate for farther research to cut down the uncertainnesss before dearly-won emission-reduction policies are implemented. Advocates of the precautional attack on the other manus argue that the likely inauspicious effects of the accretion of nursery gases in the ambiance are serious plenty to warrant potentially dearly-won ordinance despite staying uncertainnesss. Its part to long term, multigenerational effects of policy determinations has been emphasized nevertheless it can non individual -handedly provide a practical usher to covering with wicked jobs.

Gun Violence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Gun Violence - Essay Example It is often put that gun violence is brought about by specific factors which to evidently would be untrue basing on findings on the subject (Reese, par. 20-24). Gun violence is attributed to a number of issues. These vary from lifestyle to economic reasons. For instance, social concerns are pinpointed as one of the reasons that yield to the tragedy. Such issues around the society as biases, social classification, just to mention but a few are termed as crucial in dictating gun violence. For instance, ethnic background and history confirm that black Americans are amongst the larger share of the victims involved. The problem is however, this same ethnicity is self targeted; an occurrence that raises question as to whether the issue is inter-ethnic or the contrary. In as much as the historical perceptions may have such a massive influence on the people there is more to the violence than the background can provide (Reese, par 5). The problem also arises with the nature in which the inventories of armories are handled. Evidently, there are approximately 283 million fire arms in the hands of the civilians. However this does not directly guarantee violence. It turns out that of this big number of civilian procession, most of the violence cases accrue from the firearms distributed by individual dealers. Roughly 30,000 firearms are unaccounted for annually from the dealers’ inventories. This makes the control of such distribution difficult especially given the policy guidelines (Reese, par. 4). Another paradigm significant in explaining the gun violence is the family and the society value system. There are several instances in records of homicidal and suicidal cases involving firearms in US. Most of these cases are unaccounted for by the media houses owing to the dynamic debates around them. When for example, a teenage girl indiscriminately shoots at her school mates and

The use of DNA to exonerate an individual under the post-conviction Essay

The use of DNA to exonerate an individual under the post-conviction use of DNA evidence or the evaluation of blood-alcohol level - Essay Example Generally, to be admissible the scientific evidence must have probative value. To add, the evidence has to be shown to have sufficient basis to produce uniform and reasonably consistent results that influence materially to the ascertainment of truth. Like all other criminal cases, the prosecution in DUI offences, have the duty to prove beyond the reasonable doubt that, at the time of the offence, the accused blood alcohol concentration was beyond the statutory limits (levinson D 2002). In most jurisdictions, the statutory limit range from 0.08% to 1%. Consequently, it is crucial for the prosecution to obtain biological samples, for example, blood, urine or expired air that would conclusively prove that the accused blood alcohol level was beyond the statutory limit. Therefore, forensic evidence is paramount, to show that the real blood level concentration, that it exceeded the limit. To obtain the blood alcohol concentration, police extracts body substances of the suspect which they s ubject to testing. However, in the field, it is impractical to obtain and test blood and urine sample due to the expertise and time required. Therefore, police rely on the use of breath testing devices, (of which breathalyzer is one the various types.), since they are easy to operate, precise and reliable in the field. The breathalyzer operates through testing of the suspect’s expired breath or the alveolar air. It operates on henry’s law that states that at, a constant temperature and pressure, the concentration of a gas that has dissolved in a liquid is proportional to the concentration of the air that is directly above it. Therefore, the alveolar air expired is usually at equilibrium with blood. Consequently, the breathalyzer works on the assumption that the alcohol concentration in the alveolar air has a direct relationship with the blood alcohol concentration, BAC. Upon consumption, alcohol is neither digested nor chemically altered in the circulation. While the b lood passing through the lungs, some of the alcohol passes through the membrane and into the air sacs (alveoli) in the lungs, and it evaporates since it is volatile. Therefore, it mixes with the alveoli air, which is subsequently exhaled. Hence, the concentration of alcohol in the air sacs is equivalent to that in that, in the blood. The exhaled air is the one that is detected by the breathalyzer. The alcohol concentration in the alveolar air exhaled is then augmented by a factor referred to as the partition ratio. This is done to relate the reading to BAC, through conversion of the concentration measured in the breath to the matching alcohol concentration in the blood. The breathalyzer works on the assumption that the ratio of the ratio of breath alcohol to blood alcohol is 2100:1. This means that the concentration in every 2100 ml alveolar air is equivalent to that in 1Ml of blood (Begleiter H, Kissin B 1996). The breathalyzer has a mouth piece through which the suspect blows the exhaled air and a sample of the same goes to the sample chamber. What follows is a series of chemical reactions. The breathalyzer contains a system to sample the breath of the suspect, 2 glass vials that contain chemical reaction mixtures, and a series of photocells joined to a meter to that measures the color change that results from the chemical reaction. For effectiveness, the breathalyzer must be administered by a qualified operator and

Dell Computers Inc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Dell Computers Inc - Essay Example onal costs of intermediaries between the company and consumer and thus reducing the overall cost of the PCs making it cheaper than other PCs in the market. The other advantage was that it reduces the costs and risks associated with carrying large stocks of parts, components and finished goods (Thompson and Gamble, 2006). The company later became a public limited company and raised $34.2 million in its first offering of common stock and achieved sales of $388 million in 1990. During 1986 to 1993, Dell refined strategy, build an adequate infrastructure and established market credibility against better known rivals like IBM and Hewlett Packard. Dells computer strategy clicked into full gear in the late 1990s and the sell direct strategy provided the company with most efficient procurement, manufacturing and distribution capabilities in the global PC industry and gave a substantial profit margin advantage over rival PC vendors. It is further stated that Dell’s operating cost ran a bout 10 percent of revenues in 2002 as compared to 21 percent of revenues at Hewlett Packard, 25 percent at Gateway, and 46 percent at Cisco Systems (Thompson and Gamble, 2008). Dell Inc was the undisputed leader in the United States for sales in personal computer dominating the market. In 1998, the market share of Dell was 13.2% as compared to Hewlett Packard’s 7.8%. However it should be noted that Compaq was ahead of Dell during 1998 with 16.7%. This was the only period when any other vendors were ahead of Dell as the company occupied top position in 2000 with 19.7% as compared to Compaq’s 15.9% and HP’s 11.5%. The table below shows that Dell Inc has been ranked first since 2003 showing its dominance in the market for personal computer since 2000 in comparison to other companies. But, according to table 2, Hewlett Packard dominates the world market with 18.8% in the year 2007 as compared to 14.9% of Dell Inc. Though Dell Inc was dominated the market in United States and all over the world throughout 2000s, Dell Inc’s market share fell down from 16.6% in 2006 to 14.9% in 2007 whereas Hewlett Packard’s market share increased from 16.5% in 2006 to 18.8% in 2007 thus becoming the market leader in the industry. Table 1: U.S. Market Share of the Leading PC Vendors, 1998-2007 2003 Rank Vendor 2007 2006 2005 2004 2002 2000 1998 Shipments (in 000s) Market Share Shipments (in 000s) Market Share Shipments (in 000s) Market Share Shipments (in 000s) Market Share Shipments (in 000s) Market Share Shipments (in 000s) Market Share Shipments (in 000s) Market Share 1 Dell 19645 28% 20472 31.2% 21466 33.6% 19296 33.7% 13324 27.9% 9645 19.7% 4799 13.2% 2 HP 16759 23.9 11600 21.5 12456 19.5 11600 20.3 8052 16.8 5630 11.5 2832 7.8 3 Compaq - - - - - - - - - - 7761 15.9 6052 16.7 Source: Thompson and Gamble (2008) Table 2: Worldwide Market Shares of the Leading PCs, 1998-2007 2003

The Baroque Era Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Baroque Era - Essay Example In particular, the various features of the Baroque style influenced my developing of interest in this type of art. Firstly, my interest in the style is due to its use of drama through contrasting dark-light effects in painting or film. Specifically, the drama in baroque style is full of exaggerated motion and clear details in sculpture, painting, architecture, literature, dance, and music interesting thus explaining my choosing of the style. That, according to (Carl & Charles 9), refer to the application of tenebrism technique in artistic language as evident in the Artemisia Gentileschi’s Judith Slaying of Holofernes painting. In the painting, Judith has a sterling, broad and masculine face and physique in a fantastic way (Allen n.p). That can be construed to mean women are strong independent beings and as such the society should not view them as weak and fragile. Secondly, Baroque is interesting in that it uses direct, obvious, and dramatic iconography that intends to appeal above all to the senses and the emotions (Old Masters Society n.p.). That when put into use helps in producing a very high-contrast, dramatic atmosphere in dimly lit scenes in paintings as evident in various paintings, That, as (Carl, & Charles 3-6) contend, is evident in the use of different technique like "chiaroscuro," (interplay between light and darkness on paint portraits) as in the case of Paul Rubens’ painting, "The Massacre of the Innocents". Thirdly, the Baroque style is interesting in its description of dark.

Short story Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Short story - Essay Example He recently got a job and he wants to be on his own. He has been sick with his father’s constant nagging. He does not like to be exasperated by a man who acts like a woman and talks more than his mother might have done if she were alive. His father has been a widower since he was ten and he never remarried because he said he needs to be the mother and father to Greg. He seemed more like a mother to him though and that was what Greg hated most. He did not like his extra care. He was quite possessive and perceived him like he was a helpless girl who does not know how to defend himself. His father has always been there for him and he got sick of him. He now has his opportunity of a lifetime. He will be just a few miles away but they both know that Greg has no plans of visiting his father for a long time. He clearly pointed out that he will be sending his dad monthly allowances and food supplies. His father started to talk but Greg was already feeling exhausted with their conversation. He glanced at his watch without really checking the time and he said, â€Å"I must go. I still have a long drive to make.† His father forced a sweet smile and blessed his son. â€Å"I love you, son†, his father said and Greg just nodded. He hurriedly went to his car and drove like someone was chasing him. On his way, he felt sorry for his dad but at the same time, he felt excited that he will now be on his own. Arriving at Greg’s new place, he unhurriedly unpacked his things. A few minutes later, he discovered he has forgotten his documents at his father’s house. He is going to need them when he starts with his work so he has to return for it. He decided to fetch it the following day. Back at his father’s house, Greg found the place surprisingly quiet. He planned he will simply go to his room, retrieve what he needed and will not have to look for his father if he is not home. He noiselessly crept up the stairs then he heard a whimpering cry from the

Africana studies final assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Africana studies final assignment - Essay Example Thereafter, the European powers struggled to create a sphere of influence for themselves in Africa. These European powers used various methods to acquire these colonies of which were falsehood to the Africans. They included signing of treaties between African and Europeans, which were vague and were to the advantages of Europeans. They used of force, which used military occupation, for example, Ashanti by British, use missionaries and collaboration. Economic, social and political reasons led acquisition of Africa (Shreuder 90). First, Africa came under colonization for economic reasons as an option for abolition of slave trade. Europe had to have an alternative trade commodity from Africa. Africa was rich in minerals, fertile lands for agriculture and cheap labor. Agrarian revolution and industrialization of the mid-19th century caused European power to rethink about Africa. They needed to increase sources of raw materials for their growing industries. Africa was a rich source of raw materials including iron ore, copper, palm oil, rubber and cotton. Furthermore, these European powers wanted extended markets for their manufactured goods. As consequence, they needed to expand their market in Africa. In addition to this, they wanted to have a share in African trade in gold, ivory and slaves. Some of the European powers established settlements and started cash crop farming and livestock keeping, for example, the Dutch settled in Kenyan highlands. Other than the coast, they began to establish trade contacts wit h long distance traders from the interior where they exchanged items of trade. For these reasons, each European power wanted to secure or safeguard their commercial motivations by exercising political control the over sources of raw material and markets (Okoth 44). Europeans invaded Africa for humanitarian reasons. Other than spreading Christianity, missionaries came to Africa to establish schools as means to civilize Africans and to provide health or medical

Security Of Medical Records and Protected Health Information Essay

Security Of Medical Records and Protected Health Information - Essay Example Monaural stethoscope can be considered as the maiden application of technology in medicine, in less than two centuries technology has secured a commanding position in almost all specialties of medicine. Today, information technology is one such tool that is gradually empowering almost all the stakeholders involved in this domain of high social relevance, these stakeholders include health care delivery system, clinicians, patients and regulators. Researchers and practitioners in medicine have claimed that information technology boosts efficiency, reach, quality and safety of health care services and that telemedicine and electronic medical records are two of the prime applications of information technology in medicine. It is intriguing to note that adoption of information technology in health care is dismally low and the scenario is even worse when it comes to adoption of electronic medical records. There are many reasons those impede adoption of information technology medicine. The r easons are specific to all actants from provider to consumer of health care services; security and interoperability for a health care delivery system; reimbursement, data ownership and security for clinicians; confidentiality of health information for patients. Medicine being a safety as well as security critical domain, security and privacy are two prime concerns when it pertains to security of medical records and protected health information. The case in point mentioned at the start of this essay highlights the current state of affairs pertaining to the â€Å"security of medical records†. As per the remarkable and an insightful study on electronic medical records conducted by National Research Council Report (Stead and Lin 2009), electronic medical record implementations are unsafe, this finding reinforces our fears further (highlighted in the case pertaining to breaches in medical data of

Polks Declaration of War with Mexico Essay Example for Free

Polks Declaration of War with Mexico Essay Many believe that James K. Polk’s declaration of War with Mexico was a justifiable action. On the contrary, a more sound argument can be made using Lincoln’s â€Å"Spot Resolutions† and Thoreau’s â€Å"Civil Disobedience†; stating that Polk deliberately proclaimed war in order to expand United States’ territory and slavery. Abraham Lincoln used his â€Å"Spot Resolutions† to persuade the House of Representatives to present Polk with queries about the veracity of his statements, particularly in regard to the actual â€Å"spot† where blood was initially shed. Lincoln’s questions were never answered but his resolutions convinced much of the public that Polk was not being straightforward about his motives for war. In fact, Polk had a draft written to Congress asking to declare war on Mexico prior to having gained knowledge of U.S. casualties. Polk’s original justifications for war include Mexicos failure to pay U.S. damage claims and their refusal to meet with Slidell, yet later he stated that the war was a â€Å"defensive measure.† Other oppositions to the war came from those who defended civil liberties, most prominently from Henry David Thoreau. Through Thoreau’s eyes, the government was engaged in an unjust war with the sole objective to promote the westward expansion of slavery. As a protest, Thoreau refused to pay his poll tax to support an imperialistic war, resulting in a night in jail. Thoreau condoned breaking the law if the law was perceived unethical. Thoreau believed that people have the duty to answer to a higher law than of our government, their own set of morals. Polk seemed to change his reasons for war depending on what the public hoped to hear, but he never wavered in his decision for the declaration of War on Mexico. This suggests that he was determined to reap the rewards from a war that he declared over the opposition from both the public and the legislature. The analysis of Lincoln’s â€Å"Spot Resolutions† infer that James K. Polk declared war to gain western lands, especially California, despite the repercussions of warfare. Thoreau’s â€Å"Civil Disobedience† also gives evidence that Polk orchestrated the War with Mexico to reach slavery out west.

Social Media As A Tool For Protest

Social Media As A Tool For Protest The revolution in social media has made it easier for likeminded people to gather and voice their opinion on a particular subject of common interest, the revolution has accelerated the rate at which relationships develop, information is communicated and influence is transmitted. Social media is like community places in past: a place where aggravated people can get together to discuss and raise protests. Facebook has played a large role in this revolution since it has taught users a new way to create groups, spread information all over the globe and voice their opinion unanimously. Social media has had a profound effect on society, commoners now has a chance of having their voice heard, there is a sense of hope, as every issue has the ability to be widespread, empowering citizens of all nations with the power of being heard. A recent example is the rape crime currently committed in India, the news and protests have spread throughout the globe from India to the United States and people are signing petitions on Facebook condemning this act and asking for a death penalty for the abusers. In this case governments face increasing pressure because of the power of the crowd, and due to the Arab spring, the power of the crowd should not be underestimated. In recent proceedings like the Tunisian uprising, the Egyptian protests and, the most common, the student protests, social media has acted as tool to get people altogether and carry out the protests and uprising. It is important to note that social media in its entirety should not be blamed for the uprising as it is merely a tool to disseminate information quickly and on a broader level. There are many other elements to consider when carrying out a protest for revolutionary change such as funding, organisation and proper leadership. The key to creating a proper protest movement is to motivate and convince people about a certain cause, and to inspire them to leave the comfort of their own homes and face the chaos and gravity of the streets, to be prepared to face the police and other irregularities of the open street. Social Medias role in this revolutionary period is allowing the revolutionists to broadcast information at a cheaper cost, participants do not have to attend regular meetings, workshops or rallies. So in order to make a social media led revolution into reality it is necessary for it to be translated into street action. But in some countries the government directly controls the media profoundly; social media are one of the reliable sources of news for citizens. They are somehow the voice of the natives. Bloggers take over the position of journalists and correspondents to bring the news that would otherwise be suppressed and masked by the government. Hence this shows that social media is not directly responsible for revolution, in Egypt when the government blocked internet access, the revolutionaries distributed information through handing out pamphlets with their tactics and they used fax and telephone lines for communication, something which was done in Iran in 2009. In fact social media are not accountable for the protests; they may be a tool to organize them. The channel for the Tunisian uprising was the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi. This event set off people to protest against the said Tunisian government. The social media coverage of this event made the protests spread and helped to organize protests on a broad scale eventually. Only 21% of the Egyptian population use internet and only 33.4% of the Tunisians. (Internet World Stats, 2012) these figures are unlikely to launch an entire national movement, but are enough to get it initiated. Though the government shut down all that from the internet but the protests still kept on growing and made up to The March of many Millions. Social media is not only used for physical protests, but are being used for digital protests. One can join even a Face book group to express his support, opinion and comment if he cannot make it to the physical protest. In this regard Twitter is also used, when there is a live protest happening. The use of said social media will definitely expand in future years and perhaps 2013 will be the year of the social protests. Influence and power of media global contestation Social media alone does not work for revolutions alone; they are the tools that allow revolutionary groups to groom well. It lowers the overall cost of participation, recruitment, training and organization. And inherent weaknesses, strengths along with their effectiveness depends how influentially leaders use them, how it is easily accessible to the general category of people. The Iranian green revolution in 2009 was upraised mostly by the western media through YouTube and twitter that follows later Moldovas revolution 2009 that is twitter revolution. Revolution always required an organization, mass appeal and funding. Sometimes they appear vulnerable to the governments counter protest strategies. To motivate individuals up to that required standard that is required, joining the chaos of the streets, mention their protest, and record their point of views instead of sitting at their houses. Social media presently has become important tool for social networking and most importantly the content sharing among the community. The content is generated from the websites that are up to date and remains largely untapped. Social media demonstrate how social media content can be used to predict real-world outcomes in this age of fast communication. Particular, we can use the chatter from public sharing sites like Twitter to forecast the upcoming situations. The tweets extracted from Twitter may be further utilized to improve the forecasting power of social media. The information spread like fire in the forest and the community is driven by the social media. SOCIAL MEDIA AS A TOOL FOR POLITICAL PROTEST: The participation of social media in political protests could be anticipated since the birth of social media. It plays a vital role in awareness and revolutionary impacts around this global village. But we can say a boost influence was made after the introduction of Facebook In 2003, Youtube In 2005 And Twitter In 2006 and such type of other social networking sites. An Article posted in (TheAge,2012) is an example of a social networking site used in a political protest in which it is written that Facebook was used to rally the protesters who gathered in Sydneys CBD to demonstrate against an anti-Islam film but the rally was hijacked by extremists, says Muslim community. In the same article Ms Abdel-Fattah said Facebook updates from friends at the protest depicted a demonstration that had started peacefully until a minority of extremists hijacked it. However one of the famous protest made in 2011 in Egypt covered quite a role of social media, (taken from an article by Anne Alexander on 9th February 2011 in BBC NEWS) The events of 28 January are particularly important, because they contain crucial clues to understanding the broader relationship between the media both new and old and the mass movement for change which has developed in Egypt over the past few weeks. The Social media is creating very difficult for the some authoritarian leaders to maintain an authoritarian rule. Media is making it difficult even for tough autocracies such as Iran and Myanmar. Firstly, the fact that an internet and mobile phone blockade failed shows clearly that this movement is not based on the web. In fact, the movement which erupted on 25 January has brought together many groups who have taken to the streets over the past 10 years. They are varied socially and politically, ranging from workers to bloggers and democracy campaigners, to senior judges, to members of the Muslim Brotherhood and Coptic Christians. This is the first time they have all demonstrated together, and the first time they have been joined by millions of their fellow citizens. But it is important to understand that this movement builds on a legacy of protest by many different activist networks, most of which are not primarily organized online. Secondly, it is clear that the protesters use a range of different media to communicate with each other and to get their message across. I was in Tahrir Square on Sunday: everywhere you look there are mobile phones, hand-written placards, messages picked out in stones and plastic tea cups, graffiti, newspapers and leaflets, not to mention al-Jazeeras TV cameras which broadcast hours of live footage from the square every day. When one channel of communication is blocked, people try another. Every mass movement needs spaces where political alternatives can be debated and organization can take place. In the 1940s, the last time that Egypt saw mass protests on a similar scale, radical bookshops, underground newspapers and illegal trade union meetings played this role. For the current generation some of these spaces have been online. I asked Ahmed, a socialist activist in Tahrir Square, what role he thought the internet was playing in mobilizing protest. Online organizing is very important because activists have been able to discuss and take decisions without having to organize a meeting which could be broken up by the police, he said. We can also witness social media as warfare in the Gaza Battle, as NBC News brings in our knowledge that Israeli and Hamas military forces tired to fight the conflicts in GAZA by using social media. But the Israeli Defense Forces broadcasting of the details of its attacks against Gaza via Twitter, YouTube, and its own blog (IDFblog.com) is more organized and pointed-and its viral qualities have made it perfect fodder for protesters. Soon after the IDFs first tweet of an attack last Wednesday, protesters across the globe took to the streets to rally against the bloodshed and show their support for Gaza-and for Israel as well posted by Cara Maresca (MSNBC, 2012) SOCIAL MEDIA AND ACTIVISM: Activism can be defined as the vigorous or revolutionary actions, protests, demonstrations etc taken in order to implement or achieve goals. However social media is one of the main orbit around which activism revolves. Its main influence could be seen majorly in youth. Many NGOs and other organizations lay down platforms for activists. An example of rising activism through social media can be given from the article Global activist network involving Asia: global continuation an evolution in Japan written by Takuro Higuchi (inter-Asia cultural studies, volume 13, number 3, 14th June 2012) Since Seattle 1999, plenty of summit protests around WTO, G8/20, IMF, WB, COP, and so on happened in each of the different summit sites in the last decade. Such incidents were amazingly accepted because of their mass actions and widespread networks of activists sustaining a series of mass actions. As some researchers argue, those of generating networks are based on horizontality and autonomy, and they have already prefigured a powerful model for (re)organizing society. However, on the other hand, some researchers also argue the major shortcomings. In theory, the Global Activist Network has been constructed since Seattle, although in practice there has still been a serious spatial gap between the Western part of the world and the other side of the world. Actually, the global activist network has excluded Asia. However, in 2008, the G8 summit was held in Japan. This paper, thus, aims to show that the global activist network since Seattle, which was limited to Europe and North America, has expanded to involve Asia through the 2008 G8 summit in Japan. The 2000 G8 in Japan was right after the Seattle in 1999, yet, due to its single-issue and national character of the movements, globally expanding networks didnt reach Japan. However, movements around the 2003 anti-Iraq war brought in the autonomous character of the alter-globalization movement and referred to the legacy of autonomous activisms. During the 2008 G8, some autonomous activists in Japan took over the diversity of tactics and networks of activists inherited since PGA, DAN and Dissent!' Another great definition of social network relating activism can be read under the heading of GLOBAL ACTIVISM NETWORK: When scholars and activists conceptualize social movements, increasingly, they emphasize the role of networks in activist organizations and coalitions. There is accumulating evidence that activist issue campaigns are strengthened and broadened by their network-based organizational strategies. These networks are often transnational or global in their reach thanks, in large part, to the enabling qualities of the Internet. The following links present papers and websites that provide resources for better understanding the strategies, strengths and limitations of activist networks. (Govcom, 2012) features work by Richard Rogers and his colleagues at the University of Amsterdam. Using social network analysis methods, these researchers explore innovative techniques for measuring networks and tracing their dynamics over time. They are able to create remarkable sociograms or maps of activist networks. Richard Rogers has also developed typologies for hyperlinks and networks. Bennet (1998) Globalization has changed societies and the ways in which people think about and communicate politics. This paper explores properties of global activist communication and examines their implications for political organization and change according to (Global Activists Network, 2011) However social media turned out to be very helpful for the disable activists as well. Written by Patric Butler while there are fears that traditional methods of disability activism are on the wane, a new campaigning spirit is been forged using the social media revolution he also wrote Galvanized by the governments draconian welfare reform agenda, the new activism arguably is helping to renew a disability movement thought by some to have lost its way in recent years. The staggering Twitter-driven success of the We Are Spartacus campaign in January announced the emergence of this new wave. This carefully planned viral campaign steered by a tiny band of activists almost single-handedly put the previously arcane issue of cuts in disability on the public agenda Awareness of social media and activism is also given to the young generation, as they are the upcoming leaders of tomorrow, events and programs are organized for their knowledge an example of such act is an event organized in Glasgow by the name KIDS, SOCIAL MEDIA AND ACTIVISM on September 24th 2012. However, a book GLOBAL ACTIVISM, GLOBAL MEDIA written by Wilma de Jong, Martin Shaw, Neil Stammers ties up much of the activism related with social media. INTERNET EMPOWERMENT: Though social media is actually web based media and it refers to accessible online technologies where people share, publish, comment, and communicate etc across the global village. Starting from the local communities, we see a great internet empowerment around Social media has the capacity to alter traditional power dynamics. Consumers can influence the buying decisions of others by sharing their experiences of purchasing products or services online. Major industries find themselves disrupted by file sharing and citizen journalism, while governments have been challenged by citizens mobilized with the help of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. The Young Foundation wanted to test whether social media could empower local, geographical communities. So we set to work with several community groups in Huddersfield, Kings Lynn and north Kensington. Across these areas we supported residents who wanted to use social media to develop relationships between neighbors, increase awareness of local news and events, and ultimately encourage more people to get involved in community action says Mandeep Hothi in a community action blog. Walking towards the professional approach the Blow Fish Agency tells us much about the social internet media empowerment Both social media marketing and advanced web communication are important approaches to business that are rapidly expanding. One significant trend, appearing with greater frequency, is the necessity for not only brand value, but extreme brand transparency. It is clear that various diverse companies are investing more in social media and web optimization and less in print media and the like. Consumers, in the last decade, have begun spending increasing time on the Internet and less time reading magazines and listening to public radio. The old trends in advertising are quickly becoming obsolete and in order to stay abreast and maintain market share, businesses are taking great measures to keep up with consumers and are gravitating towards web-based marketing. Although the mastery of social media tools does not, by any means, guarantee market domination or any concrete increase in profits, it does allow businesses to stay competitive in an ever-changing marketplace. Blowfish is well awar e of the weight that web communication carries with it and strives, on a daily basis, to optimize that communication of its clients. The internet empowerment and its anticipations can be understood from the book Network Empowerment edited by Oliver B Popov. This book is based on workshops on network technologies, internet services, control, security, access efficiency etc. However, events for future internet or social media empowerment awareness are carried out by variety of organizations around the globe. One of the active organizations in Glasgow is a good example for arranging such events. Making Waves Social Media, Empowerment and Wellbeing is an example of an event organized in Glasgow. Can social media approaches help empower communities to be more engaged in shaping their own health and wellbeing? Can they contribute to the creation of richer forms of dialogue between health-related agencies and service users? What partners, skills and resources can help? What pitfalls should be avoided? What kinds of approaches to dialogue, sharing news and telling stories are most productive? These were the few main motives of this event. Amsterdam privacy conference 2012 is another example of such event under the heading of USER EMPOWERMENT IN A SOCIAL MEDIA CULTURE where ideas were presented and exchanged regarding people under the influence of internet empowerment and the presence common culture of social media around the globe. Computer revolution has a strong bonding between media and internet; however social media and internet are blended in the same category. Furthermore increase in empowerments could be anticipated through the past, present and future web technologies advancement. Defying Social Media Social Media does have its drawbacks, with the low cost of communication, there is also the cost of low operational security, and messages on Facebook are accessible by almost everyone. Social media is being used as an intelligence collecting tool, and users have become more cautious in giving out more personal information. Therefore the reliability of the information and the information disseminator is questionable, increasing the risks of getting involved into something which is illegal and falling into the wrong hands. Prior to gaining access to a country, Social Networking sites need to get approval of the governments of the locality, and getting approval usually involves giving the government unlimited access to the data of the users registered in their own country. This in turn increases the risks of the people participating in the revolutionary movement, because if this revolutionary movement fails, then the government has full access to the data of those who were involved and who planned this movement, this information can land them in jail and cause a lot of trouble for them and their families. This is one of the tradeoffs these revolutionaries must think about before deciding to use Social Media as their tool to broadcast their purpose. Conclusion In fact, the protests only grew bigger more and more as websites or social media were shut down and the Internet was turned off as in Egypt. If the right situation exists than a historic revolution can occur. Just because an Internet-based group exists does not make it popular or a threat. There are several Face book groups, many YouTube videos and hundreds of Twitter posts about everything, but that can never make them popular only if the concentration of the community is more towards the basic urges and needs. Due to problems like inflation, food shortages, corruption , population must be motivated to mobilize and protest with good zeal and zest. The popularity of the social media, one of many consequence of the Internet, may actually be separated from International media observation. In real time we can now easily watch protest developments and most modern situations. Western perceptions about the said issue are often easily persuaded by English-speaking, media-savvy. This is now further exaggerated in Authoritarian countries of modern age. Western media is now having the same challenge and have no choice but to turn the social media like Twitter and YouTube on to report on the crisis of the present, thus ultimately increasing the apparent importance of social communal media. In the Middle East, where the Internet diffusion is below 35% if any movement or protest grows large enough to effect the change it will join through the word of mouth, not through the social networking. This is not an insuperable challenge, as shown in china, but even in this case there is Increasing anxiety about the capability of Internet users to escape controls and spread illegal and forbidden information. Social media can represent only one contrivance among many for an resistance group to employ. Protest Movements are hardly ever successful if started from somebodys basement in a virtual arena. Their leaders should behave, just like leaders of any other organization and should organize and gather people and convince them to leave their homes and join a movement which may jeopardize their lives and also the lives of their families Any revolutionary group cannot rely only on its most tech-savvy significant leaders to commence a successful protest or revolution, this is in fact a fraction of the overall policy, and it cannot be the sole strategy to launch a movement . The real story of social media working for the betterment and developing the nations is one of entity Empowerment. Social media connects deprived nations to the whole world and provides the power to figure the Internet in such a way that it become significant to their peoples lives, the command to organize in scale, and the influence to speak. Social media can be used positively, to make others hear of social injustices that occur and are un heard of in the convention media channels. Social media has given hope to a number of people and has helped spread the word of many oppressed people, hence when used positively social media can have a revolutionary impact on the users lives. These are the feature that makes social media an implausible tool that may be embraced by everyone with an eye towards significant development.