AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa: Current Actions and Prevention

The outbreak of AIDS and HIV has long been a health threat plaguing the Sub-Saharan region of Africa. Millions of people currently suffer from this disease, and the number of afflicted people still continues to rise. With the AIDS virus continues to be incurable, it is clear that medicine alone cannot provide Africa with enough relief or slow the growing percentages of people being infected or born with the disease.The only way that Africa could possibly be rid of AIDS– or at least have the spread of AIDS be stopped– is through preventative measures rather than medicine. It is through education and awareness rather than medicine that the Sub-Saharan African population will be able to stop the spread of HIV and AIDS; and in order for education to be effective, diligence and cooperation are also needed.  Sub-Saharan Africa refers to the area of the continent located in or below the Sahara Desert. The countries above this region are considered to be part of the Arab worl d, while Sub-Saharan Africa is referred to as the â€Å"black countries†.These countries include Angola, Botswana, Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Somalia, and Zimbabwe (Avert 2010). With Africa consisting of so many third-world nations in which education is considered a luxury that is available to only a small percentage of the population, it is no wonder why HIV has become such a widespread epidemic.Back in 2008, approximately 22.4 million children and adults were reported as living with HIV, and an estimated 1.4 million African people actually died from AIDS (Avert 2010). What is worse, is that more than 14 million African children have lost at least one parent to AIDS, and many do not have any other living relatives.This is why there are so many children living in orphanages; and many of them, unfortunately, were born carrying the HIV virus. According to UNAIDS, a Joint United Nations Program for HIV and AIDS, â€Å"Sub-Saharan Africa remains the region mo st heavily affected by HIV. In 2008, sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 67% of HIV infections worldwide, 68% of new HIV infections among adults and 91% of new HIV infections among children.The region also accounted for 72% of the world’s AIDS-related deaths in 2008† (UNAIDS 2010). These statistics demonstrate how extreme the HIV and AIDS situation is throughout the African continent. It is especially unfortunate how many children are infected with HIV at the time of their birth and are essentially sentenced to a life with the virus.If more and more people are being born as HIV carriers, then the spread of the virus will continue to grow at an exponential rate.When it comes to the African population that is infected with HIV and AIDS, the groups of people who are the most likely to become infected is highly disproportionate.There are more than twice as many women and girls who are carrying the virus than there are boys and men in West Africa alone; and as a whole, females make up 60% of the infected population of sub-Saharan Africa. This imbalance is due to many social and cultural factors that negatively affect the female population. The UNAIDS group describes these statistics as such:Women’s vulnerability to HIV in sub-Saharan Africa stems not only from their greater    physiology susceptibility to heterosexual transmission, but also to the severe social, legal   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   and economic disadvantages they often confront.A recent comprehensive   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   epidemiological review†¦ in Lesotho found that sexual and physical violence is a key   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   determinant of the country’s severe HIV epidemic. According to a recent survey, 47% of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   men and 40% of women in Lesotho say women have no rights to refuse sex with their   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   husbands or boyfriends. (UNAIDS 2010)It is not only a lack of awareness and education that has attributed to the spread of HIV, but also the lack of female rights in certain sub-Saharan African countries. Rape statistics are relatively high, with both grown women and young girls being the victims of these crimes.With relaxed laws failing to protect women from male sex offenders, it is clear why there are so many more women than men who become infected with HIV.The prevalence of female and child prostitution and sex trafficking also contributes greatly to the spread of the virus. It is a combination of a lack of sex education, women’s rights, and general safety that are causing the steady increase of the HIV-positive population along with spikes in the African mortality rates; and these are all issues that medicine alone cannot address.South Africa is currently one of the most HIV-infested countries in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2009, approximately 5.7 million people were living with the HIV virus, with the majority of these people being female (Avert 2010). In order to combat these figures and the further spread of HIV, â€Å"†¦the South African Government launched a major counseling and testing campaign (HCT) in 2010.By raising awareness of HIV the campaign aims to reduce the HIV incidence rate by 50% by June 2011† (Avert 2010). First, earlier testing is now being offered to pregnant women who have already tested positive for HIV in order to determine whether or not the virus has been passed on to their child.More importantly, are the measures the South African government have taken in order to spread AIDS awareness. The government has funded everything from different from commercials, to door-to-door campaigning, to public speakers and free HIV tests. Many surveys have proven that these campaigns have been well-received by certain age groups.More than 75% of South African between the ages of 15-24 years old, for example, reported having seen at least one of the campaigns; but the as age increases, the percentage o f people who have heard messages of AIDS awareness tends to decline (Avert 2010).This is most likely due to the majority of these campaigns targeting individuals of the younger generations– those who may not yet be sexually active, and those who are young enough to make early decisions that will protect them in the future.Although the awareness of HIV and AIDS has grown, people are not necessarily aware of how to prevent the virus from being transmitted and spread. The South African government has therefore been distributing hundreds of millions of male and female condoms among people, educating them on how to properly use this form of contraception and how condoms offer protection from sexually transmitted diseases.Studies show that condoms are mostly used by teenagers and young adults, which accounts for the decrease in the percentage of young people with HIV over the past few years. Overall, approximately 62% of people in South Africa habitually used condoms during sex in 2008, which is a dramatic improvement from the 27% figure back in 2002 (Avert 2010).As an additional form of HIV and AIDS prevention, clinics have begun to offer male circumcisions, as it was found that the procedure decreases one’s chances of contracting the virus by 60%. â€Å"It was estimated that a program with full coverage of male circumcision could prevent half a million infections and 100,000 deaths within a decade, with these figures rising in the decades to follow† (Avert 2010).This shows how the South African government has targeted HIV from a preventative standpoint, focusing on younger generations and measures such as condoms and male circumcision in order to educate the country about the virus and how it can be spread.Along with attacking the AIDS epidemic by increasing awareness and education, Nigeria has also taken a stand against the spread of HIV by addressing the political problems behind it.As part of the UNAIDS group, the country has released a pro gress report summarizing the actions that the government has taken in regards to the virus. The Nigerian government states:Nigeria has [formed] the Global Coalition of Woman and AIDS by establishing and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   inaugurating National Action for Women Coalition and AIDS†¦ NAWOCA addresses   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   the vulnerability of girls, women and children through increase access to information and   Ã‚   education on prevention, treatment, care and support for HIV and reproductive heath   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   services. (UNAIDS 2010)This is a prime example of how HIV can be targeted from several directions that can all contribute to the future health of the African people. Nigeria has also increased its budget regarding HIV education, testing, and the funding of groups such as the NAWOCA in order to further their progress in decreasing the annual number of new infections.One important aspect of AIDS that should be recognized is that it is not only the disease itself that threatens the sub-Saharan African population. People typically consider AIDS to be a product of infectious diseases when, in reality, it is also the product of risky behavior (Green 2003: 57).If people are having unprotected sex on a regular basis, for example, they are automatically putting themselves at risk of contracting HIV or any other sexually transmitted disease.Being more aware of what these diseases are will not necessarily prevent them from ever being infected– educating them on how to alter their behavior and practice safe sex habits, however, will. Educating Africans about safe sex is just as important has teaching them about AIDS awareness or the dangers of the HIV virus; but in Africa, this is not always an easy task.Many schools are still uneasy about discussing safe sex and diseases, because some believe the topic to be inappropriate. Some students also feel very uncomfortable when talking about this subject with adults or peers.Still, it is obvious that the benefits of safe sex education far outweighs the risks of not knowing about it at all. Rather than focusing on the so-called taboo nature of the topic and how uncomfortable some may feel, schools all over Africa must make a collaborative effort to be diligent and thorough in what they teach their students (Onyancha 2009: 86).

Reviews on Financial Risk Management Essay

The definition and types of financial risk III. Risk management and the theoretical foundation IV. The process of financial risk management V. The challenges faced by the modern financial risk management theories ?Abstract? Financial risks are exposures of uncertainties for those participants in financial market. Financial risks can be divided into four categories: market risk, credit risk, liquidity risk and operational risk. Risk management has become more and more crucial for a market participant to survive in the highly competitive market. As the development of the global financial market, there are many phenomena that cannot be explained by traditional financial risk management theories. These phenomena have accelerated the development of behavioral finance and economic physics. The financial management theories have already improved a lot over the past decades, but still facing some challenges. Therefore, this report will review some important issues in the financial risk management; introduce some theoretical foundation of financial risk management, and discuss the challenges faced by the modern financial risk management. I. Introduction Financial risk is one of the basic characteristics of financial system and financial activities. And financial risk management has become an important component of the economic and financial system since the occurrence of financial in human society. Over the past few decades, economic globalization spread across the world with the falling down of the Bretton Woods system. Under above background, the financial markets have become even more unstable due to some significant changes. Many events happened during the decades, including the â€Å"Black Monday† of the year 1987, the stock crisis in Japan in 1990, the European monetary crisis in 1992, the financial storm of Asia in 1997, the bankruptcy of Long-Term Capital Management in 1998, and the most recent global financial crisis triggered in the year 2008. All these changes brought enormous destruction of the smooth development of the world economy and the financial market. At the same time, they also helped people realized the necessity and urgency of the financial risk management. Why did the crisis happened and how to avoid the risk as much as possible? These questions have been endowed more significant meaning for the further development of the economy. Therefore, this report will review some important issues in the financial risk management; introduce some theoretical foundation of financial risk management, and discuss the challenges faced by the modern financial risk management. II. The Definition and Types of Financial Risk The word â€Å"risk† itself is neutral, which means we cannot define risk a good thing or bad. Risk is one of the internal features of human behavior, and it comes from the uncertainty of the future results. Therefore, briefly speaking, risk can be defined as the exposure to uncertainty. In the definition of risk, there are two extremely important factors: first is uncertainty. Uncertainty can be considered as the distribution of the possibility of one or more results. To study risk, we need to have a precise description about the possibility of the risk. However, from the point view of a risk manager, the possible result in the future and the characteristic of the possibility distribution are usually unknown, so subjective factors are frequently needed when making decisions. The second factor is the exposure to uncertainty. Different human activities were influenced at different level to the same uncertainty. For example, the future weather is uncertain to everyone, but the influence it has over agriculture can be far deeper than that over finance industry or other industry. Based on the above description about risk, we could have a clearer definition of financial risk. Financial risk is the exposure to uncertainty of the participants in the financial market activities. The participants mainly refer to financial institutions and non-financial institutions, usually not including ndividual investors. Financial risk arises through countless transactions of a financial nature, including sales and purchases, investments and loans, and various other business activities. It can arise as a result of legal transactions, new projects, mergers and acquisitions, debt financing, the energy component of costs, or through the activities of management, stockholders, competitors, foreign governments, or weather. (Karen A. Horcher). Financial risk can be divided into the following types according to the different sources of risk. A. Market risk. Market risk  is the  risk  that the value of a portfolio, either an investment portfolio or a trading portfolio. It will decrease due to the change in value of the market risk factors. The four standard market risk factors are stock prices, interest rates, foreign exchange rates, and commodity prices. The influence of these market factors have over the financial participants can be both direct and indirect, like through competitors, suppliers or customers. B. Credit risk. Credit risk  is an investor’s risk of loss arising from a borrower who does not make payments as promised. Such an event is called a  default. Almost all the financial transactions have credit risk. Recent years, with the development of the internet financial market, the problem of internet finance credit risk also became prominent. C. Liquidity risk. Liquidity risk  is the risk that a given security or asset cannot be traded quickly enough in the market to prevent a loss. Liquidity risk arises from situations in which a party interested in trading an  asset  cannot do it because nobody in the  market  wants to trade that asset. Liquidity risk becomes particularly important to parties who are about to hold or currently hold an asset, since it affects their ability to trade. D. Operational risk. Operational risk is the risk of loss resulting from inadequate or failed internal processes, people and systems, or from external events. Nowadays, the study and management of operational risk is getting more attention. The organizations are trying to perfect their internal control to minimize the possibility of risk. At the same time, the mature theory of other subjects, such as operational research methods, are also introduced to the management of operational risk. Overall, financial risk management is a process to deal with the uncertainty resulting from financial markets. It involves assessing the financial risks facing an organization and developing management strategies consistent with internal priorities and policies. Addressing financial risks proactively may provide an organization with a competitive advantage. It also ensures that management, operational staff, stockholders, and the board of directors are in agreement on key issues. III. Risk Management and the Theoretical Foundation Financial market participant’s attitude towards risk can be basically divided into the following categories. A. Avoid risk. It is irrational for some companies to think that they can avoid the financial risks though their careful management because of the following reasons. First of all, risk is the internal feature of human activities. Even though it doesn’t have direct influence, it could generate indirect influence though the competitors, suppliers or customers. Moreover, sometimes it might be a better choice for the manager of the company to accept risk. For example, when the profit margin of the company is higher than the market profit margin, the manager can increase the value of the company by using financial leverage principle. Obviously, it will be harder to increase the value of a company if the manager is always using the risk avoidance strategy. B. Ignore risk. Some participants tend to ignore the existence of risks in their financial activities, thus they will not take any measures to manage the risk. According to a research of Loderer and Pichler, almost all the Swedish multinational companies ignored the exchange rate risk that they are facing. C. Diversify risk. Many companies and institutions choose to diversify risk by putting eggs into different baskets, which means reaching the purpose of lower risk by holding assets of different type and low correlation. And the cost is relatively low. However, as to small corporations or individuals, diversifying risk is somehow unrealistic. Meanwhile, modern asset portfolio theory also tells us that diversifying risk could only lower the unsystematic risk, but not systematic risk. D. Manage risk. Presently, most people have realized that financial risk cannot be eliminated, but it could get managed though the financial theory and tools. For instance, participants can break down the risk they are exposed to by using financial engineering methods. After keeping some necessary risk, diversify the rest risk to others by using derivatives. But why do we need financial risk management? In other words, what is the theoretical foundation of the existence of financial risk management? The early financial theory argues that financial risk management is not necessary. The Nobel Prize winner Miller ;amp; Modigliani pointed out that in a perfect market, financial measures like hedging cannot influence the firm’s value. Here the perfect market refers to a market without tax or bankruptcy cost, and the market participants own the complete information. Therefore, the managers do not need to worry about financial risk management. The similar theory also says that even though there will be slight moves in the short run, in the long run, the economy will move relatively stable. So the risk management that is used to prevent the loss in short term is just a waste of time and resource. Namely, there is no financial risk in the long run, so the financial risk management in the short run will just offset the firm’s profits, and therefore reduce the firm’s value. However, in reality, financial risk management has already roused more and more attention. The need for risk management theory and measures soar to unprecedented heights for both the regulator and participants of the financial market. Those who think risk management is necessary argue that the need for risk management is mainly based on the imperfection of the market and the risk aversion manager. Since the real economy and the financial market are not perfect, the manager can increase a firm’s value by managing risk. The imperfection of the financial market is shown in the following aspects. First, there are various types of tax existing in the real market. And these taxes will influence the earning flow of the firm, and also the firm’s value. So the Modigliani ;amp; Miller theory does not work for the real economy. Secondly, there is transaction cost in the real market. And the smaller the transaction is, the higher the cost. Last but not least, the financial market participants cannot obtain the complete information. Therefore, firms can benefit from risk management. First, the firm can get stable cash flow, and thus avoid the external financing cost caused by the cash flow shortage, decrease the fluctuation range of the stock and keep a good credit record of the company. Secondly, a stable cash flow can guarantee that a company can invest successfully when the opportunity occurs. And it gets some competitive advantage compared to those who don’t have stable cash flow. Thirdly, since a firm possesses more resource and knowledge than an individual, which means it could have more complete information and manage financial risks more efficiently. If the manager of a firm is risk aversion, he can improve the manager’s utility through financial risk management. Many researches show that the financial risk management activities have close relation to the manager’s aversion to risk. For example, Tufano studied the risk management strategy of American gold industry, and found that the risk management of firms in that industry has close relation to the contract that the managers signed about reward and punishment contracts. The managers and employees are full of enthusiasm about risk management is because that they put great amount of invisible capital in the firm. The invisible capital includes human capital and specific skills. So the financial risk management of the firms became some natural reaction to protect their devoted assets. In conclusion, although controversy is still going on about the financial risk management, there is no doubt that the theory and tools of financial risk management is adopted and used by market participants, and continue to be enriched and innovated. IV. The Process of Financial Risk Management The process of financial risk management comprises strategies that enable an organization to manage the risks associated with financial markets. Risk management is a dynamic process that should evolve with an organization and its business. It involves and impacts many parts of an organization including treasury, sales, marketing, tax, commodity, and corporate finance. Company’s financial risk management can be divided into three major steps, namely identification or confirmation risk, measure risk and manage risk. Let’s illustrate it using the market risk as an example. First, confirm the market risk factors that have a significant influence to the company, and then measure the risk factors. At present, the frequently used measure of market risk approach can be divided into the relative measure and absolute measure. A. The relative measure method It mainly measures the sensitivity relationship between the market factors fluctuations and financial asset price changes, such as the duration and convexity. B. The absolute measure methods It includes variance or standard deviation and the absolute deviation indicator, mini max and value at risk (VaR). VaR originated in the 1980s’, which is defined the maximum loss that may occur within a certain confidence level. In mathematics, VaR is expressed as an investment vehicle or a combination of profit and loss distribution of ? -quantile, which stated as follows: Pr ( ? p ;lt;= – VaR ) = ? , where, ? p said that the investment loss in the holding period within the confidence level (1 –? ). For example, if the VaR of a company is 100 million U. S. ollars in 95% confidence level of 10 days, which means in the next 10 days, the risk of loss that occurred more than 1 million U. S. dollars may of only 5%. Through this quantitative measure, company can clear its risks and thus have the ability to carry out the next step targeted quantitative risk management activities. (Guanghui Tian) The last step is management risk. Once the company identified the major risks and have a quantitative grasp of these risks through risk-measurement methods, those companies can use various tools to manage the risk quantitatively. There are different types of risk for different companies, even the same company at different stages of development. So it requires specific conditions for the optimization of different risk management strategies. In general, when the company considers its risk exposure more than it could bear, the following two methods can be used to manage the risk. The first way is changing the company’s operating mode, to make the risk back to a sustainable level. This method is also known as â€Å"Operation Hedge†. Companies can adjust the supply channels of raw materials, set up production plants in the sales directly or adjust the volume of inflow and outflow of foreign exchange and other methods to achieve above purpose. The second way is adjust the company’s risk exposure through financial markets. Companies can take advantage of the financial markets. Companies can take advantage of the financial markets wide range of products and tools to hedge its risk, which means to offset the risk that the company may face through holding a contrary position. Now various financial derivative instruments provide a sufficient and diverse selection of products. Derivative products are financial instruments whose value is attached to some other underlying assets. These basic subject matters may be interest rates, exchange rates, bonds, stocks, stock index and commodity prices, but also can be a credit, the weather and even a snowfall in some ski showplace. Common derivatives include forward contracts, swaps, futures and options and so on. V. The Challenges Faced by the Modern Financial Risk Management Theory Over the recent years, as the focus of risk management hifts from a control function to one of global financial optimization, the concern shifts from modeling the behavior of engineered contracts in selected markets to modeling the evolution of the entire economy. This change of focus calls for a vastly improved ability to model the time evolution of economic quantities. (Sergio Focardi). While those who do risk management are interested in predicting if assets will go up or down, the over-riding interest is in the relationship in movement to different assets. Though linear methods such as variance-covariance help to understand the co-movements of markets, a different set of tools is necessary to better manage risk. (Jose Scheinkman). Paradigms such as learning, nonlinear dynamics and statistical mechanics will affect how risk – from market and credit risk to operational risk – is managed. While the first attempts to use some of these tools were focused on predicting market movements, it is now clear that these methodologies might positively influence many other aspects of economics. For instance, they could be useful in understanding phenomena such as price formation, the emergence of bankruptcy chains, or patterns of boom-and-bust cycles. Lars Hansen, Homer J. Livingston professor of economics at the University of Chicago, remarks that these new paradigms will bring to asset pricing and risk management at enhanced understanding once the implicit underlying fundamentals are better understood. He says â€Å"What needed is a formal specification of the market structure, the microeconomic uncertainty, and the investor preferences that is consistent with the posited nonlinear models. Commenting on the need to bring together the pricing of financial assets and the real economy, he notes that an understanding of what’s behind pricing leads to a better understanding of how assets behave. â€Å"For risk management decisions that entail long-run commitments,† he observes, â€Å"it is particularly important to understand, beyond a purely statistical model, what is governing the underlying movements in security prices. † Blake LeBaron, professor of economics at the University of Wisconsin-Medison, observes that there is now more interest in macro moves than in individual markets. But traditional macroeconomics typically provides only point forecasts of macro aggregates. In the risk management context, a simple point forecast is not sufficient; a complete validated probabilistic framework is needed to perform operations such as hedging or optimization. One is after an entire statistical decision-making process. The big issue is the distinction between forecasts and decisions. (Blake LeBaron) Arriving at an entire statistical decision-making process implies reaching a better scientific explanation of economic reality. New theories are attempting to do so through models that reflect empirical data more accurate than traditional models. These models will improve our ability to forecast economic and financial phenomena. The endeavor is not without its challenges. Our ability to model the evolution of the economy is limited. Prof. Scheinkman notes that unlike in a physical system where better data and more computing power can lead to better predictions, in social systems when a new level of understanding is gained, agents start to use new methods. Prof. Scheinkman says â€Å"Less ambitious goals have to be set. Gaining an understanding of the broad features of how the structure of an economic system evolves or of relationships between parts of the system might be all that can be achieved. Prof. Scheinkman remarks that we might have to concentrate on finding those patterns of economic behavior that are not destroyed, at least not in the short-run, by the agent learning process. VI. Conclusion The theory foundation of modern financial risk management is the Efficient Markets Hypothesis, which notes that financial market is a linear balanced system. In this system, investors are rational, and they make their investment decision with rational expectations. This hypothesis shows that the changing of the future price of financial assets has no relation with the history information, and the return on assets should obey normal distribution. However, the study of economic physics shows that financial market is a very complicated nonlinear system. At the same time, behavioral finance tells us that investors are not all rational when making decisions. They usually cannot completely understand the situation they are facing unlike hypothesized. And most times they will have cognitive bias, when they use experience or intuition as the basis of making decisions. It will lead to irrational phenomena like overreaction and under reaction when reflected on investment behaviors. Therefore, it will be meaningful to study how to improve the existing financial risk management tools, especially how to introduce the nonlinear science and behavior study into the measurement of financial risk.

Paper phil Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Paper phil - Essay Example Hinduism also means the emergence of Vedas, in which the Upanishads were composed between the 7th and 3rd century and also it became a part of the Vedas. Buddhism was emerged as a part of Shramana movements, around the 5th century. â€Å"Hinduism has the belief of monotheistic (one God) as well as polytheistic (many Gods) elements: the one Supreme Being (Brahman) also exists simultaneously in the deities of the Creator (Brahma), the Reality or Sustainer (Vishnu) and the Destroyer (Shiva)† (Hinduism par.6). According to the Buddhism philosophy, there is no god which does not believe in the concept of god. â€Å"In fact, often those who scorn others, claiming some unconvincing excuse, are unable to look the target of their ridicule directly in the eye, perhaps because they see their ownselves there† (Ikeda & Nanda p.9). The reincarnation and ultimate salvation was taught by Buddhism and rejected Vedas of Hinduism. An important principle of Hinduism is the Law of Karma. It is the law of cause and effect in which each and every action should have a reaction, which will happen in the first life time or the next birth. Buddhism criticizes the religious value of sacrifice and giving importance to particular deities. Also they are denying Upanishads of Hinduism, where Upanishads contain the concept of one’s true self (atman) with the divine ground claimed that Individual’s existence does not have the quality of an imperishable, blissful self or atman. There are two great epics in Hinduism; they are Bhagavad Gita and Mahabharata which was composed in 6th and 7th century. Buddhism has the doctrines which were written in Pali –a canon text. Yoga is one of the important disciplines of Hinduism. Through Yoga, one can get a controlled body and mind. In Buddhism they have the concept for salvation which is depended on oneself and not to others. Traditional worship of God in Hinduism is known as pooja. There will be a pooja room in every Hindu’s house. â€Å"Hinduism is

International Law - Design an improved system of International law Essay

International Law - Design an improved system of International law - Essay Example The international law has a defined mandate, with its key priorities including the promotion of peace, justice, ecological stability and economic wellbeing. Although there are concerted efforts exhibited by different nations towards the promotion of these values, it is evident that some issues still require critical addressing. it is worth mentioning that some states have acted in ways that reflect a feeling of being constrained by the international law during times when they needed to develop their own intervention strategies when under threat. The international law also proves to be a disadvantage to some countries because they are not members of the intergovernmental organizations that formulate policies that define international law. Evidently, a design for an improved system of the international is an urgent requirement. This paper will focus on describing how the value of peace can be improved. Definition of Peace Peace is one of the critical representative values defined as a leading hallmark of the international law. However, for a long time, the usage of the term peace has denoted different aspects. Many scholars have used the term peace repeatedly, but have not taken much time to address its definition as they have done with words that for a long time have been used to denote the opposite condition such as violence and war. The term denotes a range of concepts depending on the context of its usage. Its usage in an integrated cultural-religious system, cross-cultural or secular context exhibits a level of variance in the concept denoted. However, in each of these different contexts, the usage of the term serves to place emphasis on one of the central principles that govern what many people define as peace (Bowett 67). The term peace has a Greek origin, and is the English translation for the Greek word Irene, which denoted the ‘absence of war’. In the western context, the term peace denotes the absence of any form of violence, but with a co mmon reference to the lack of war. Peace denotes the condition that reigns at the conclusion of war, and that is defined by the emergence of a new level of interactions. This condition usually results in a state of order, law, or power as used in different cultural contexts. Other people use the term to describe the condition that reigns when the society is free from any form of conflict, discord, or revolution (Bowett 89). Philosophers such as Bertrand Russell and Albert Einstein insinuated that peace was on a higher level than the ‘absence of discord, war, and conflict as many people have explained. According to these philosophers, peace denotes a condition defined by both law and order. In the international sense, prevailing of peace only occurs if states are not indulging in a struggle that involves military interactions. States exhibit peace amongst themselves when they indulge in diplomatic ventures, varied interactions, and depict power balance systems. The condition de fined by limited or no interaction also passes for peace. Other informed authors have also placed emphasis on the passive nature of peace. If countries exhibit a level of concord in the way they interact, it serves as evidence that they are peaceful. In cases where countries have defined their interactions by

Great Gatsby Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Great Gatsby - Research Paper Example The American dream of earning money for a decent life was violated by Gatsby as he used his money casually to throw extravagant parties to impress Daisy. He refused to come out of his past and believed that Daisy has always loved only him and not her husband. This novel depicts the violation of American dream in the 1920s through the character of Gatsby. He grew up in poverty and reached a life of opulence with a huge house, car and servants. With his self acquired wealth and social status he could develop in himself a completely different personality from his unprivileged past. The wealthy Americans of 1920s are signified by Gatsby who flaunts his money extravagantly as was depicted by his lavish parties. In the beginning of his life, Gatsby could represent American dream because like any other American he took nurtured the dream of earning money. Later in life, he differs from the other newly rich Americans in a way that he earned his money in dishonorable ways. The main idea of Am erican dream is to earn money through hard work and Gatsby failed to do so. In order to earn the love of Daisy, he obtained big house, car and other material possessions. American dream is an idea of pursuing happiness and this was violated by Gatsby as he pursued mere wealth. Gatsby depicts a character who used to harbor mythicised dreams of achievement and success that can be gained with money. He had the endless desire of going back to the past by craving for Daisy whom he almost married in the past. America’s multiple identities are shown in the character Gatsby. American culture believes in recreating by setting alongside any doubts about the... This novel depicts the violation of American dream in the 1920s through the character of Gatsby. He grew up in poverty and reached a life of opulence with a huge house, car and servants. With his self-acquired wealth and social status, he could develop in himself a completely different personality from his unprivileged past. The wealthy Americans of the 1920s are signified by Gatsby who flaunts his money extravagantly as was depicted by his lavish parties. In the beginning of his life, Gatsby could represent American dream because like any other American he took nurtured the dream of earning money. Later in life, he differs from the other newly rich Americans in a way that he earned his money in dishonorable ways. The main idea of the American dream is to earn money through hard work and Gatsby failed to do so. In order to earn the love of Daisy, he obtained big house, car, and other material possessions. The American dream is an idea of pursuing happiness and this was violated by Ga tsby as he pursued mere wealth. Gatsby depicts a character who used to harbor mythicised dreams of achievement and success that can be gained with money. He had the endless desire of going back to the past by craving for Daisy whom he almost married in the past. America’s multiple identities are shown in the character Gatsby. American culture believes in recreating by setting alongside any doubts about the reality of such a concept.

Discuss transcultural nursing in relation to case management in the Research Paper

Discuss transcultural nursing in relation to case management in the substance abuse hispanic client - Research Paper Example All the hospital practitioners and nurses ought to recognize that diversity does exist among patients including members of the healthcare team (Powell & Tahan, 2010). This paper discusses the trans-cultural nursing that relates to treatment of substance abuse among the Hispanic population. The discussion will address the substance use problem and its consequences among the Hispanic population Hispanic Population Hispanics involves the largest minority group in the United States with a percentage of 14.2. They comprise young people with 40 percent under the age of 21 years. In addition, they have a proportionately low-income level with 23 percent living under the poverty line. They also have a low level of educational attainments with many of them not finishing high school. The Hispanic growth rate constitutes 3.6 percent per year. Therefore, the Hispanic population is young, rapidly growing ethnic and cultural group in the United States. The growing population is due to the relative youth and the high birth rates including the immigration (Easterby et al., 2012). The phenomenon of drinking might be because of strict cultural sanctions against drinking by women, which is typical in the entire Latin America. Much research shows that there is the preservation of cultural norms of the countries of their origins, and hence, they resist the pressure to engage in the substance use. The patterns of substance abuse amongst the Hispanics might have the influence of acculturation and the countries of origin. In fact, one of the studies based on the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey demonstrates that substance abuse amongst the Hispanics increased with acculturation. On the other hand, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration gives information on the treatment completion, treatment stay and the discharge demographics. Furthermore, the primary substance of abuse varies according to the Hispanic origin, with the Puerto Rican and the Cuban- American women reported being opiate users while the Mexican-American women were more methamphetamine users (O. Doody & C. Doody, 2012). Case Management Case management approaches might be quite useful in having control of substance abuse, for instance, in older women of the Hispanic population. One can observe the alcohol dependency in older women when they are present at an acute care medical setting with such complaints as memory loss and chronic pain among other signs exacerbated by alcohol. The signs should not be for normal consequences of aging. When such occurs, it calls for intervention and discussion of abstinence including the treatment options. The nurse should facilitate treatment, which is respectful, supportive and non-confrontational. The providers should gather the personal information of the client from family members, clergy, and neighbors. The nurse should be direct and honest and should manage to explain that assistance is quite available, and the family member should assist her in communicating when he or she is from a different culture. In managing the case, well-coordinated approaches that deal with the abuse treatment for Hispanic older women should include an interdisciplinary treatment team with the family involved in a plan of individualized support services. The providers sh

What should be the future of 'diversity-management' Essay

What should be the future of 'diversity-management' - Essay Example The importance of diversity management is an integrative part of modern management. Global tendencies in the world lead to overall balancing of various people. Successful cooperation of people with diverse cultural and religious background, from different societies should be mediated by managers. Unfortunately, there is an efficient gap between theoretical and practical approaches to diverse management. Propagation of human freedom and equality of human rights and processes of democratization is not always followed by managers. There is a lack of professional knowledge about diverse management. Therefore it is relevant to develop theoretical and practical bases of diverse management in the future. â€Å"Culture is the totality of values, beliefs, and behaviors common to a large group of people. A culture may include shared language and folklore, communication styles, and ideas and thinking patterns—the â€Å"truths† accepted by members of the group. Members of a cultur e have similar expectations of life† (Cross, p. 48). People are different and they tend to interpret any behavior through the prism of their own values. Literature review Currently, the influence of diverse management on relations inside the organizations is vividly discussed. Thus, in the article by Dameron and Joffre â€Å"The good and the bad: the impact of diversity management on co-operative relationships† (2007) practical aspect of diversity management is discussed. There is given a dualistic approach to the discussion about cultural diversity at the workplace. There are two kinds of co-operation: â€Å"community based co-operation†, caused by human necessity to belong, and â€Å"complementary co-operation† (Dameron and Joffre, 2007). Strategic development of human resources is created in terms of diverse management. The authors of the articles claim that individual’s development happens in terms of diverse management. It is important to discu ss the influence of diverse management on the development of an individual employee and then on the human resources of the company. Thus, diverse management is a perfect background for interaction of employees in the business world among them and with their employers (Burke and Cooper, 2005). A separation of diversity management from the issue of diversity in the world is a modern tendency. What is the reason for this separation and what is the perspective of further development of this field? Every organization pays a great attention to the development of diversity management and it can be said that every organization follows national tendencies of culture development. In case of future development of diversity management, organizations and companies will benefit from cooperation with foreign partners in the international arena. Currently, there is even a greater progress in the field of diversity management. Diversity management is a motive force of modern businesses. In case an o rganization is successful, it operates in the international arena. Moreover, it is a common tendency in many organizations to hire employees and managers from different nations. From the article considered above, cultural diversity is titled as â€Å"a zone of uncertainty from which one can profit† (Dameron and Joffre). This concept was borrowed from Crozier and Friedberg (1977). These authors considered cultural diversity to be a ‘goal-oriented collective action’ (Crozier and Friedberg, 1977). Thus, Crozier and Friedberg (1977) considered cultural diversity in relation to a certain organization, but currently this concept is considered from a broader perspective. Other authors who discuss diversity management, are Ronald J. Burke and Cary L. Cooper in the book â€Å"Reinventing Human Resources Management: Challenges and New Directions† (2005). These authors underline the importance of a shift of consideration about diversity management from an organizatio nal context to a more global context. Dameron and Joffre underline that diverse management

What is the optimal dosage of vitamin D supplementation necessary for Research Paper

What is the optimal dosage of vitamin D supplementation necessary for pregnant women - Research Paper Example ditionally, vitamin D is acquired when one exposes their skin to the sunlight and ultraviolet rays that strike the skin triggering the synthesis of the vitamin. For pregnant mothers, this vitamin is quite essential, not only for their welfare, but also for the well-being of their unborn babies. This is because of the numerous benefits that are achieved from the consumption of vitamin D, such as, the maintenance of adequate serum calcium and phosphate concentrations in the body. This, in turn, allows for the attainment of normal bone mineralization, and prevention of conditions such as hypocalcaemia among pregnant women and their offspring (Perampalam, Ganda, Chow, Opie, Hickman, Shadbolt & Nolan, 2011). Pregnant women who are vitamin D deficient place their unborn offspring and themselves at risk for developing serious health complications. Based on a study by the US National Institute of Health, the presence of sufficient vitamin D in the body of a pregnant woman has been found to augment the development of her bones, and remodel her osteoclasts and osteoblasts. If she is vitamin D deficiency for an extensive period, the bones and body frame of a pregnant woman may become brittle, thin, and misshapen. According to Mohamed, Rowan, Fong & Loy (2014), vitamin D deficiency among infants is determined by the maternal status of vitamin D in the second trimester. For the fetus, a deficiency in the supply of vitamin D into their bodies may result in them developing diseases such as rickets upon being born. The metabolism of vitamin D takes place during the last trimester in which the bone mass is enhanced. Vitamin D is indispensable for the mineralization of the fetal skeletons and is a major contributor to the attainment of an increased bone mass (Wagner & Greer, 2008). According to a study by Haliloglu et al., (2011), bone turnover in pregnant women and infants is enhanced with the increased consumption of vitamin D3 supplementation (Mithal & Kalra, 2014). The

Intersectionality Assignment Essay Example for Free

Intersectionality Assignment Essay The definition of intersectionality states that it is the social theory suggesting various socially and culturally constructed categories of discrimination interact on multiple and often simultaneous levels, contributing to systematic social inequality. Intersectionality holds that the classical models of oppression within society, such as those based on race/ethnicity, gender, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, class, or disability do not act independently of one another; instead, these forms of oppression interrelate creating a system of oppression that reflects the intersection of multiple forms of discrimination. (http://geekfeminism.wikia.com/wiki/Intersectionality) I think the author intended to include intersectionality in the story to show that people have the tendency to categorize others immediately without even getting to know them. As humans we judge others way too much for our own good and we don’t even realize we are doing it majority of the time. I think Morrisons main purpose in Recitatif is to make the reader a lot more aware of their stereotypical judgements about different races based on the use of different signs that Twyla and Roberta display as characters throughout the story. By writing with this technique of using hidden signs in the text it makes the reader begin to try to naturally figure out the races of Twyla and Roberta. She also includes things in this story such as their views on intelligence, physical appearance, racial tensions, wealth and social class. I think Morrison hopes to make her readers aware that we are all guilty of using stereotypes that this s ociety has created for us. It’s just what we have known all our lives. Maybe a learned behavior from our parents, grandparents, or anyone we are around a lot. Everyone, even if they are racist or the most non-racist human being on earth, makes judgments on a â€Å"different† person that doesn’t fit into their â€Å"norm†. If I had to take a guess I would say Twyla is black and Roberta is white. One part in the story Roberta says that they never washed their hair and they smelled funny†, referring to Twyla. Roberta also said this about Twyla’s mother â€Å"She was big. Bigger than any man and on her chest was the biggest cross Id ever seen. I swear it was six inches long each way. And in the crook of her arm was the biggest bible ever made.† This description sounds like a big African American mother because that’s what you could picture her as. Being Christian, not interested in being friends with Roberta’s mother, and storming away from her gets my mind visualizing that she is the attitude black big momma type of woman. Another thing I decided to look at to help me decide was their names. As the story goes on it gets harder to keep the same the same thought process on who’s apart of what race because of the different stereotypes and statements that are made by the characters when they continue to cross paths later in life. Also because as an individual you start to realize that you are judging and trying not to. For me that begun a whole new way of thinking and continuously changed my opinion about the reading several times At times Roberta could possibly be the black girl and Twyla could be white. In conclusion, its basically left up to you to decide who’s what race and its really going to open your eyes to how judgmental you can be and how big of a role these everyday stereotypes really have on your mind, even when it seems that you have no racism or judging in you.

Alex and Patrick - Separated at birth Essay Example for Free

Alex and Patrick Separated at birth Essay For my project, I have chosen to compare and analyse the characterisation of two of literatures most psychotic characters, Alex from A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, and Patrick Bateman from American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis. Patrick and Alex are from, and live in two completely different worlds, but what I aim to prove is that if you look past the superficial differences of the stories, the base characteristics and emotions of the two characters are the same. The Books Both American Psycho and A Clockwork Orange are considered to be satires and black comedies. Ellis version of 80s New York and a Wall Street executive gone insane is considered a satire of the 80s obsession with greed, money, power, women, drugs and getting a reservation at Dorsia. It is about Patrick bateman, a successful stockbroker, who by day goes to work, discusses fashion tips with his friends and goes to the most expensive restaurants, and by night, is a psychopathic mass murder. It is derivative of, and has been praised as the darkest satire since A Clockwork Orange, Burgess vision of a future run by martial law with teenage criminals running amok is considered a satire on State Censorship, the government and free will. It is about Alex, a fifteen year old boy who goes out raping, stealing and murdering, until he is arrested. When in jail, the state tries to reform him, but end up turning him into nothing more than A Clockwork Orange, a person with no free will, no choice, and no life. Have the government gone too far? Both books have been viewed as misogynistic, discriminating against social classes, and in some parts racist, but regardless of this the books are still considered cult classics. Lifestyle and Friends Patrick and Alex are both given backgrounds, complete with friends and lifestyles. In American Psycho, Ellis depicts Patricks lifestyle as restaurants, designer clothes, attractive women, cocaine and martinis. In contrast, Burgess shows Alex as being from a poor family, a convict, and a victim of the system. Patricks lifestyle is written about much more than Alexs, as Ellis intersperses Patricks deeds with passages about work, the difficulty of getting a reservation at a good restaurant, and which tie he should wear to match his new Valentino suit. Burgess does write about Alexs life in some detail, such as the purchasing of a new record, what he is wearing The heighth (not a spelling mistake) of Nadsat fashion, and his favourite places (The Korova milk bar for some Moloko plus). The extract from American Psycho marked Friends describes the beginning of an evening out for Patrick. Notice how Ellis starts talking about what everyone is wearing as though it is relevant to the story line, however it is relevant to the theme, showing the 80s obsession with designer labels. It seems as though Patrick feels it is neccesary to identify where everyones clothes are from. The following page shows Patrick giving out fashion tips and everyone listening as though he is a fashion guru. In the extract, Ellis shows the banter between Patrick and his friends, McDermott, Van Patten and Price. Patrick doesnt mention any of his deeds to his friends, or as part of the narration at this point. There doesnt seem to be any kind of a hierarchy within the group, everyone seems to be equal, although we do tend to see Patrick as the main person in the group, due to the first person narration. In contrast, Alex is the leader of his little group, and this is apparent from the start, as Alex bosses around the other three, especially Dim, whom he bullies constantly (I think he came up with the name in reference to his intelligent). Alex also describes what he is wearing, but only three times when it is neccesary, and not in as much detail as Patrick goes into. Although Alex works with his friends, or droogs, they dont seem to discuss their crimes between them. Paradoxically, Patrick, who works alone, brings up his crimes in conversations with his friends and fianci e, but they are either not listening, take it as a joke, or are too drunk to understand or remember! Alexs lifestyle is reflective of the chronological setting of the book, as it is set in one possible future, where it seems martial law rules, and everyone who is old enough to work has to work. Alex is only 15, and is not old enough to work, so he goes out stealing to earn money. Although, when you strip away the superficial characteristics, you can see that Patrick is just an upscale, 80s yuppie version of Alex, as both of them are brash, arrogant, brutal, self-involved and obsessed with music, appearances, and violence. Music Both Patrick and Alex have an obsession with music. Patrick listens to more contemporary styles of music, such as Huey Lewis and the News, Whitney Houston and Genesis, whereas Alex favours the more classical music of Beethoven and Handel. Music seems to affect both Patrick and Alex in different ways. In American Psycho, Ellis has written entire chapters devoted to the above bands, so the inclusion of music in the novel may be something personal to Ellis, because hes done his research, although it does also add to the 1980s feel of the book. Apart from this, the chapters do seem somewhat irrelevant to the story, as the preceding and following chapters have nothing to do with the music. Both Patrick and Alex feel it necessary to list and describe their sound systems. Ellis uses two whole pages describing a consignment of top of the range technology that arrives at Patricks house. This is showing the reader Patricks wealth, rather than his love for music, whereas in A Clockwork Orange, Alex describes his stereo as The pride of my jeezny. Later on in the book, he criticises two girls stereos, then says Come with me and hear all proper, meaning that his stereo is far superior to theirs. Patrick merely reviews and talks about the music, whereas Alex becomes engulfed in it, which is why he describes listening to classical music is gorgeousness and gorgeosity made flesh. He also uses other words such as bliss, heaven, Wonder of Wonders, proving that music to him is not just music, but an emotional thing, and as though he physically feels something. Alex compares listening to music like being on drugs. Later in the book, after being treated with the Ludivico Technique, Alex is inadvertently conditioned against all emotional music, and after being forced to listen to Otto Skadeligs third symphony, he tries to kill himself. It is the ultimate irony that the one thing he loved so passionately is the thing that causes him to attempt suicide.