Tuesday, March 10, 2020

Effects of World Hunger

Effects of World Hunger Introduction According to the World Food Programme (WFP), approximately 925 million people in the world are undernourished today. That means that one out of seven people is not able to get sufficient food to lead a healthy and active life. This makes hunger be on the top of the list of risks to good health globally.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Effects of World Hunger specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Effects of hunger as risks to health are much higher than those of â€Å"AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis all combined† (World Food Programme p. 1). Hunger refers to unavailability of food (World Hunger Education Service p. 1), but it is also taken to mean vulnerability to disease due to micronutrient deficiencies. Effects of hunger are adverse, crippling not only the individual but also becoming a burden to a developing world. Food security is not a concern for the developing and the underdeveloped coun tries alone but it for the developed states, such as the United States. Statistics released in September 2011 indicate that in the year 2010, 14.5% of all households were food-insecure (that is one out of every seven households) with 5.4% of all the United States households having very low food security (World Hunger Education Service p. 1). There are arguments that the United States shoulders the blame for world hunger as regards to its spending so much on defense purposes and military operations. For example, in Afghanistan and Iraq, such tactics caused extreme poverty in these countries. America should not be blamed alone for world hunger, but it is logical to argue that it takes some of the blame; many factors contribute to hunger. Poverty being the principal cause calls for measures to be taken to address its eradication as an initiative to reduce world hunger. America being a superpower has a major role to play in world hunger level reduction as it has an edge on global econom ic matters and in how financial aid is allocated by financial bodies like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund to poor countries. This paper considers America’s role in world hunger, how the country has increased it through poverty caused by its military operations, sanctions due to political interests and its influence in allocation of funds to political allies and â€Å"friendly states† rather than to poverty stricken countries. World hunger is a result of many interrelated factors. America does play a major role in, but there are also a lot of factors that cannot be simply ignored when it comes to issues of world poverty. This paper argues America’s influence on world hunger, the roles it has played and other factors that have led to the current facts and figures as well as the place food aid takes in eradicating hunger.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Losses that are incurred due to food wastage result in gaps in the food supply chains and inadequate food storage facilities. The paper also examines that current food production is sufficient enough to feed the current world population and shows that this participation in export commodities is opposed to food producing agriculture. Undemocratic economic and political policies conflicts because of poverty of stricken nations, and our attitude towards hunger are among other factors that maintain the status quo when it comes to addressing world hunger. Activities of the United States indicate a tendency to increase world hunger; it seems to give the perception that it is fond to bask in the glory of the world’s dependency on foreign aid, so that it can use the same as a manipulation to the realization of its foreign policies (Maddocks p. 23). It is established that world hunger, as a risk to health, ranks greater than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosi s all combined, and statistics indicate that 800 million people in the world sleep on an empty stomach every day that is approximately one of nine people (Swanson para 1). As such, measures to deal with hunger should be put in place. In the book â€Å"World hunger: 12 myths,† a story is told about a woman, Amanda Espinoza, who had six stillbirths and witnessed the death of five of her children before the age of one. This gives a whole new meaning to the word hungry; it means looking helplessly at those who are dear to you, but doom to die and having no choices and opportunities to help them (Lappe, Collins Rosset pg 3). World hunger can never be addressed through food aid. Poverty being the principal cause of world hunger should be treated adequately. If efforts at reducing the level of world hunger involve providing food aid, then the principal cause of hunger, which is poverty, would still remain. In most cases, foreign aid causes harm instead of helping to manage with thi s problem (Lappe, Collins Rosset p 1). While providing food aid as a temporary measure of elimination hunger, a long term solution of eradicating poverty should be embraced (Shah para 2). In the global economic system, there are two main measures that can be adopted by poor people to increase their income level. For example, due to trade, wages in rich economies tend to reduce because of availability of machinery, but in poor countries, they increase. Immigration to countries with labor deficit economies is also a response of people affected by poverty. The structure of the United States economic system is based on the â€Å"free enterprise economy† approach where there is competition for employment, with most jobs being offered to the best qualified employee, thus joblessness affects mainly those who are under qualified.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Effects of World Hunger specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn Mo re Revolutions are attempts to transform the political and economic structures so as to conform to the needs of the poor. Thus, to understand the dynamics behind these revolutions, attention needs to be paid to the inequities between the rich and the poor that lead to anti-western ideologies, dealing with world hunger constructively (Nessan Beckmann p 12). The structure of the United States political system focuses more on concerns that are not fundamental to the people. For instance, the expenditure on military operations takes up half of the â€Å"US federal government discretionary expenditures† with expenses allocated to poverty alleviation (World Hunger Education Service p. 1). Joblessness and administration, to a greater extent, turning a blind eye to the issues of the poor play a major role at increasing poverty and growth of the level of world hunger. The structures of political and economic systems are the underlying causes of poverty and hunger since contro l over resources is based on economic, political or military power. This power, in most cases, is possessed by the minority which may not have the interests of the poor at heart. The US economic crisis had a great impact on world poverty; many countries have participated in international markets making themselves more vulnerable to recessions in big economies. It is noted that hunger also results from conflicts. Nevertheless, the UNHCR shows clearly that poverty is all the same the greatest cause. This is because the 2008 report showed that chronic hunger affected approximately 1 billion people compared to a smaller figure of 36 million who felt the effects of conflicts through displacement. Democracy, as we know it, is accountability of the majority. Well structured democratic states are those in which the majority of the population contributes on the decisions that affect their interests. When leadership is accountable to the majority, then the state is said to be democratic. With the absence of democracy in the economic lives of the people, the majority will be made powerless on the issues that affect them most (Lappe, Collins Rosset pg 4). It is sad to say that the United States plays a major role in the institution of undemocratic systems of governments. After it seized Puerto Rico in 1898, sugar companies from the United States put up vast sugar plantations consequently engaging in the eviction of farmers. By the year 1925, 80% of the whole land was owned by 2% of the population, rendering a shocking 70% of the population landless. With 70% being landless, many individuals were â€Å"out of work†, so cheap labor became available. Women were considered docile and subject to â€Å"loss- due to pregnancy†. This resulted in an extensive sterilization campaign funded by the United States government (Lappe, Collins Rosset p. 37).Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Globally, the food grown is enough to â€Å"provide over 2800 calories per day to every man, woman and child† (The Rational Radical para 4) .This is sufficient to make us all obese, but in most countries, especially, in the third world countries, small scale farmers are forced to be hungry as most of the fertile lands are used to grow export crops by multinational corporations. The United States, by creating a demand for these export crops, becomes a player in this injustice to the poor (The Rational Radical para 5-7). Hunger related issues are many and inter-related to economics and other poverty causing factors. These include among others diversion of the usage of land from food productive agriculture to export oriented use (Shah para 3). It is unbearable to note that a nation in the sub-Saharan Africa that has 213 million severely malnourished people still exports food (Lappe, Collins Rosset p. 10). In dealing with world hunger, we perceive that it has an effect on the ki nd of solutions presented to solve it. If the problem is considered in terms of numbers, then it implies that data should be also used as a part of the solution. A great amount of people die because of hunger annually or go to bed without food every night. Hunger makes it clear that coping with human emotions is the most painful task. Hunger means powerlessness at its extreme (Lappe, Collins Rosset p 3). World hunger is not a result of failure in food production, but ineffective supply of food to starve stricken populations. People do not go hungry because food is scarce but rather because of insufficient income to afford it. World hunger is seen as a result of global trade together with economic policies that cause extreme poverty. For many years, food production is still connected with the growing populations. Thus, in some cases, hunger will be witnessed in economies producing food surpluses because people cannot afford food. Hunger is caused by poverty. Though it may be pointed that this problem is an economic issue as well as political one which in the long run becomes an economic issue (Shah para 3). 40% of the food produced is wasted in post-harvest losses in India. This is more pronounced in vegetables. These wastages can be reduced by improved food processing industries, proper infrastructure and reducing or eliminating gaps in supply. Food wastage technically happens when retailers and mostly consumers throw edible foodstuffs as trash. Food losses are realized as a result of underdeveloped infrastructure, poor food production mechanisms and underdeveloped technological advancement (Jasmuheen p. 3). The Food and Agricultural Organization report on â€Å"global food losses and food waste† released on May 11, 2011 indicated that in Rome alone, approximately a third of food produced worldwide annually is lost or wasted i.e. that is 1.3 billion tones (FAO para 1). This is quite alarming considering the millions who die yearly due to starvation. It is also clear that up to 220m tons of food is wasted in rich economies. This is in contrast to 230m tons that the sub-Saharan Africa manages to produce. The quantity of food lost and wasted annually was approximately equal to half of the global cereals crop (2.3 billion ton in 2009/2010) (FAO para 3). With these statistics, it is quiet illogical to shift blame on a single factor. Reduction of food wastages and losses, if implemented, can reduce world hunger adversely. Even though the United States takes some credit for world hunger, it has made recognizable attempts at ending world starvation through financial aids. Establishment of the â€Å"Fighting world hunger: U.S food aid policy and the food for peace program† has helped in the disbursement of millions of dollars as financial aid and tons of food are provided as an aid annually. Wealthy nations are quite selfish in development assistance, and, moreover, the extremely poor are seldom the sole beneficiaries when they off er foreign aid. In the year 2004, â€Å"the ratio of development assistance to gross national income was 0.17% far below the united nations target of 0.7%† (Bassett Nelson pg 168) in order to witness the realization of the millennium development goals by 2015, rich nations have to be more committed to offering aid programs as means of improving long term developments like health and infrastructure. This financial aid in the form of â€Å"foreign assistance programs† is, however, with ill motives as they are used as tools to the realization of foreign policies. It is argued that American foreign aid is used to maintain the United States leadership in the international scene. Anyway, this foreign economic assistance is not geared towards ending world hunger as it is realized that 15 countries received over half of the total U.S financial support in the 1990s. Israel and Egypt alone took home more than a third of this financial aid. The 10 poorest countries in the world took only 5% of the total U.S financial foreign assistance in the year 1994. Food aid, with the exception of emergency relief, can encourage over-reliance of a country on food and financial aid, and thus more hunger and poverty. Free or cheap food encourages laziness, as a result, the hardworking local farmers will not be able to market their produce, and thus they are driven into unemployment and poverty in the long run. This was the case in Somalia when the civil war of 1991 broke out. Disruption of the transportation network threatened 4.5 million people with malnutrition disease. The U.S delayed relief until December 1992 when the people had witnessed the worst and were on their road to recovery. Death rate was seen a drop from 300 to 70 a day. Harvesting had already started in the regions of Shebell river valley and Afgoye. Sorghum, corn and rice were available, but the U.S in its cunning nature poured into the foreign aid, dropping the prices of the harvests by 75%. Even with the fall in prices, it became quite difficult to sell the products. Not even the United States could buy something, so it claimed that the mandate it was offered dictated that they could buy only from the U.S governments. This forced the farmers to abandon the farms and queue for handouts of foreign food aid (Lappe, Collins Rosset p. 136). This type of food aid is usually termed as ‘tied aid’. The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization encourages cash based food aid as opposed to â€Å"tied aid†. Cash based food aid is advantageous as it allows developing countries to buy from local farmers with food surpluses, thus eliminating shipping costs and also encouraging hard work as well as reducing poverty rates. Thus, it becomes a development solution in the long run (Bassett Nelson p 170). Poverty eradication can be viewed as the best solution for ending world hunger. Dependency on foreign aid is destructive to a nation, and due to issues related to poli cy implementation, it may take too long for foreign aid to be received. Minimizing food losses and wastages and encouraging cash based food help are also other factors that are vital in the eradication of world hunger. Foreign aid should be given through an independent body like the United Nations. Bassett, Thomas J. Winter-Nelson, Alex E. The atlas of world hunger. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2010. Print. Jasmuheen. Ambassadors of Light: World Health World Hunger Project. New York, NY: Lulu.com, 2007. Print. Lappe, Frances M., Collins Joseph and Rosset Peter. World hunger: 12 myths. Oxford, UK: Earthscan, 1998. Print. Maddocks. Steven World Hunger. New Jersey: Gareth Stevens Publishing, 2004 Print. Nessan, Craig L. Beckmann David. Give us this day: a Lutheran proposal for ending world hunger. Minneapolis MN: Augsburg Books, 2003. Print. Shah, Anup. â€Å"World hunger and poverty†. Global Issues. 22 Aug 2010. Web. Swanson, Ryan. â€Å"Fighting world hunger: U.S. food aid policy and the food for peace program.† ResourceLibrary, Oct 2004. Web. The Rational Radical. World hunger, economic injustice the U.S. n.d. Web. World Food Programme. World hunger. n.d. Web. World Hunger Education Service. 2011 world hunger and poverty facts and statistics. n.d. Web.

Sunday, February 23, 2020

Report on Religious Field Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Report on Religious Field Research - Essay Example By examining deeply and becoming aware of various religious practices of every religion may contribute to understanding and appreciation of each recognized beliefs and values. This is the purpose of this paper. This will also present a unique experience of attending personally one of the church’s services to actually see what is the strength of a certain religious group that holds each member tightly organized and unified in worship to God. Report on Religious Field Service: St. Athanasius Greek Orthodox Church Regardless of where we live, we can see the conspicuous effects of religion in the lives of millions of people. Since religion is about our relationship with God, our spirituality, what is more expected from us is the influence of our religious teachings in our personality, daily conduct, and with our relationship towards the people around us. However, religion with its various forms, created a society characterized with conflicts, battles and even wars, instead of a pe aceful society. We are all aware of the past, wherein some dominant religions in the world played a role in great wars that devastated mankind and caused untold suffering. This may be one major reason why some people refused to talk or discuss about religion. Or maybe, some may experience a heated argument if they discuss about their differences in their religious practices and beliefs. ... Additionally, interest on knowing about other religious beliefs may correct some misconceptions about them. Among the various groups of religion in the world, the dominant one is Christianity. About one quarter of the world’s population claim to be Christian, yet, divided into various sects. The prominent forms are Roman Catholic, the Orthodox Church, the Reformists or Protestants in its numerous sects such as Episcopalian, Lutheran, Calvinist, Baptist, Methodist and other churches. All of these churches consider themselves to be established respectable religion. I am interested to examine and know more about the St. Athanasius Greek Orthodox Church because on my opinion, as I have observed, its religious beliefs and practices are very similar with the Roman Catholic. So, why does this church has to separate itself and be recognized differently? So, I decided to attend one of its Sunday services to see the actual liturgical ceremony and practices. I believe this is one best wa y to correct any misconception about them. To my surprise, the church or cathedral itself is far different from the Roman Catholic Church. It is very colorful because instead of various relics and icons, the church is surrounded by hand-painted illustrations of various Jesus Christ’s image, his twelve apostles, angels and even images of Mary, all painted in the walls. All the paintings have relevant stories on the life of Jesus. According to one worshiper I asked, artworks in the wall contribute to a feeling of heavenly splendor while observing the liturgical ceremony, which is very solemn and serene. He also commented that the paintings in the walls constantly reminding him of the

Friday, February 7, 2020

Cocaine Abuse and Addiction--Part II. (cover story) Essay

Cocaine Abuse and Addiction--Part II. (cover story) - Essay Example The process of treatment is actually quite intricate, with several services being needed, particularly with the addicts exhibiting additional social and psychological disorders. However, the situation is not as disturbing as it seems. It has been found that only 10-15% of people who try cocaine ultimately become addicted, and even if they do, most break the habit successfully. Treatments of various kinds pertaining to the many psychological, social and neurochemical causes of the problem may work for different patients under different circumstances. Some of the drugs which have been under production to counter the addiction are fluoxetine, which prevents the reabsorption of serotonin; antipsychotic drugs and also naltrexone, which neutralizes the gratifying effects of heroin. Researchers have been attempting to develop a compound that blocks cocaine’s access to the dopamine receptor without affecting its function in the absence of cocaine. They have also been observing drugs which raise the level of the inhibitory neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the prefrontal cortex of the brain, the effect of which is believed to diminish the conditioned response to cocaine related cues in animals. Drugs that affect only one or several of the many kinds of dopamine receptors are being scrutinized. Yet another strategy to treatment is an antibody, which breaks down cocaine in the blood, thereby acting like a vaccine. Despite these endeavors, none of these techniques have proved to be really successful in combating the addiction, except for the temporary relief of abstinence symptoms. The only realistic, feasible treatment for cocaine addiction has been the 12-step groups along with different forms of behavioral and psychological therapy. In the 12-step groups, people help themselves by helping others. They meditate, pray, admit their mistakes and beg for forgiveness, share their stories with others, discuss the 12 steps and in the process, learn how to live

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

How Is the Holocaust Represented in Films Essay Example for Free

How Is the Holocaust Represented in Films Essay ‘The Holocaust’ was the massacre of nearly six million Jews in parts of Europe controlled by Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party leading up to and during World War II. When the Nazi party first came to power in 1933 they began building on the anti-Semitist feelings in Germany; introducing new legislations that gradually removed the Jews from society such as the Nuremberg Laws which prohibited marriage or extramarital sexual intercourse between Jews and German citizens and required Jews to wear an armband with the Star of David on it so they could be identified as a Jew. Encouraged by the Nazi’s, people began to boycott Jewish ran businesses and in the November of 1938 they were openly attacked, these pogroms became known as ‘Kristallnacht’ which in German translates as: â€Å"the Night of Broken Glass† because of the vandalised shops and broken glass windows. During Kristallnacht over 7,000 Jewish shops and 1,668 synagogues (almost all of the synagogues in Germany) were destroyed and the official death toll is ninety-one although it is assumed to be much higher. In 1939, after the invasion of Poland, small areas of towns were sectioned off from the rest of the population where Jews and Romani were forced to live in confined and overcrowded spaces. These were known as ‘ghettos’. The largest was Warsaw Ghetto, in Poland (where ‘The Pianist’ was set), with over 400,000 people living within its walls. Although it contained at least 30% of the population of Warsaw it occupied only 2.4% of the citys area; this meant that the residents of the ghetto were forced to cram in an average of nine people per room. From 1940 through to 1942 starvation and disease, especially typhoid, killed hundreds of thousands. Over 43,000 residents of the Warsaw ghetto died there in 1941. On January 20th, 1942 a â€Å"final solution to the Jewish question in Europe† was devised by the Nazi leaders. Death camps were built in Eastern Europe with new railway systems that were made to transport Jews from other countries to these remote areas. Jews, as well as other ‘undesirables’ such as Romani, Soviet prisoners of war, Polish and Soviet civilians, homosexuals, people with physical or mental disabilities, Jehovahs Witnesses and other political and religious opponents, were rounded up from all over Europe and forced into tightly packed rail freight cars like cattle. If they survived the journey, a small fraction of the Jews were deemed fit to work as slave labour. Everyone else was sent straight to the gas chambers which were disguised as shower rooms to prevent the victims panicking or trying to fight back. People were packed into these ‘shower rooms’ where the doors were bolted shut and a small but deadly pellet of Zyklon-B was dropped in and was activated by the heat of hundreds of human bodies crammed in together, those inside were dead within twenty minutes. By the end of the war six million Jewish men, women and children had been killed; this was more than two-thirds of the Jewish population. We have watched three films based around the Holocaust. The first of the three ‘The Pianist’ is a film based on the true story of a Jewish man, Wladysaw Szpilman: a famous pianist who worked for a polish radio station, living through the Holocaust. The beginning of the film shows the German invasion of Poland, in which Szpilman’s radio station is bombed, and the anti-Jewish laws that the Germans enforce in Poland, for example, when Szpilman is refused entry to the park or the cafà © with his polish friend and made to walk in the gutter to let polish people get primary use of the pavement. Szpilman and his family soon have to move to the Warsaw Ghetto where death became commonplace due to starvation, disease and attempt to rebel against the Nazi’s. The Nazis treat the Jews appallingly; they forced some Jews to dance to humiliate themselves for their own entertainment, a little boy is beaten to death for trying to scavenge some food for his starving family and, in one scene, Szpilman watches from an opposite flat as Nazi soldiers tip someone in a wheel chair out the window because he couldn’t stand up when they ordered him to. After several months in the ghetto, Szpilman and his family are chosen to be taken to the Treblinka death camp, however, Szpilman is saved from boarding the train by Itzak Heller, a Jewish police officer, while his family board the train never to be seen again. Szpilman is then put to work under gruelling, abusive conditions with the ten per cent or so of the Jews that the Nazi’s kept alive to use for slave labour; tearing down the walls that use to separate the ghetto from the rest of Warsaw and rebuilding the houses for new, non-Jewish residents. The Jews who are still alive are planning on rebelling Szpilman helps; smuggling guns into the ghetto. But after almost being caught by a Nazi soldier who suspects he is concealing something in a bag of beans, Szpilman decides to attempt an escape and take his chances hiding in the city. His friend, Dorota, and her husband hide him in an empty apartment near the ghetto wall where he can get by on smuggled food; however he must not make a noise or go outside as there are other, non-Jews living in the building to all believe the room to be empty. From his apartment window he helplessly watches the Jewish ghetto uprising from the 19th of April 1943 to its unsuccessful end on the 16th May. He lives silently in the abandoned apartment for another few months until he accidently smashes a shelf of china plates. Although Szpilman is unhurt the noise alerts other residents to his presence in the abandoned apartment; he is forced to leave his hideout. Szpilman is hidden once more, with the help of people from the Polish resistance, in another abandoned flat but the man supposed to be providing him with food disappears with the money from generous and unwitting donors, pocketing it all for his self. Dorota and her husband find him gravely ill from lack of nutrition but luckily he recovers in time to witness the Warsaw Uprising. His flat gets bombed during the uprising and Szpilman escapes to the abandoned ghetto where he is found by a merciful Nazi officer, Captain Wilm Hosenfeld. Szpilman plays the piano for him to prove that he is a pianist and the soldier, moved by his playing, finds him food and allows him to remain hidden there. Szpilman hides out here until the end of the war when the German Nazis are rounded up and polish prisoners released. The freed prisoners yell insults at the Germans and Hosenfeld, upon hearing that one of the freed prisoners was a violinist, asks him to contact Szpilman; to ask him if he will return the favour of saving him. However, Szpilman is unable to help Hosenfeld as the camp of Nazi prisoners had been moved and Szpilman returns to playing the piano for the Warsaw radio station. As the movie finishes the closing captions on screen tell us that Hosenfeld died in 1952 in a prisoner of war camp but Szpilman continued to live in Warsaw until his death in 2000, aged 88. The second film we watched was ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ this film took a different, perspective of the Holocaust than ‘The Pianist’. This film is shown through the point of view of Bruno, the eight-year-old child of a German Nazi officer; he doesn’t really see the Jews as any different to himself yet despite his innocence Bruno still becomes a victim of the Holocaust†¦ At the start of the movie Bruno and his family are moving because his father got a job promotion as Commandant of a Jewish extermination camp. Bruno is upset and lonely because he was forced to leave his friends in Berlin so when he meets Shmuel, a Jewish boy the same age as Bruno, sitting on the other side of the fence, in the death camp, Bruno immediately befriends him. Shmuel tells Bruno that he is a Jew and that the Jewish people have been imprisoned here by soldiers, who also took their clothes and gave them the striped camp clothing, and that he is hungry. Bruno is confused and starts having doubts about his father being a good person. However, Bruno regularly returns to the fence bringing Shmuel food and playing checkers with him through the fence. When Bruno’s Mother realises what’s actually happening at the camp through a comment by one of the younger soldiers â€Å"They smell even worse when they burn, she is shocked and appalled as she believed it to be a labour camp. She argues with her Husband, insisting that she and the children should move elsewhere, eventually the Mother wins out but Bruno doesn’t want to leave anymore because of his friendship with Shmuel. Shmuel tells Bruno that his father is missing. Bruno gives him the bad news that he will be moving away for good the next day after lunch. Wanting to make up for letting Shmuel down and naive that his father has likely been murdered, Bruno agrees to help Shmuel to find his father, and returns the next day with a shovel to dig a hole under the fence to get into the camp, and Shmuel will bring an extra set of camp clothing; Shmuels suggestion that he could leave the camp through the hole is rejected by Bruno, who doesn’t know what it’s really like inside the camp and is determined to find Shmuel’s father. Whilst still searching Bruno and Shmuel get caught up in a crowd of people being marched to the gas chambers where both Bruno and Shmuel are murdered with the other Jews. In the meantime, Bruno’s Mother tells his Father, who was in a meeting about increasing the capacity of the gas chambers, that Bruno is missing. They find Brunos clothes next to the hole under the fence and realise that he got into the death camp. His Father runs throughout the camp when he reaches the gas chamber, he realises that Bruno has been brought to the gas chamber with the other Jews, but when He arrives it is too late, the boys are already dead and he is devastated. Upon hearing the Fathers cry of Bruno! his Mother and his sister, Gretel, realise what has happened and are equally devastated. The ending of this film has an element of retribution as Bruno’s father, who has killed thousands of Jewish children, finally gets a taste of what it’s like to lose his child. Finally, the last movie that we watched was ‘Life is Beautiful’. This film was set in Italy about the main character, Guido, a young, Jewish, man who at the opening of the film moves to the city with his friend to work at his uncle’s restaurant where he meets his future wife, Dora, although neither knows it yet. During the beginning of the film you can see how the anti-Semitist feelings built up it Italy for instance when the school children are meant to be lectured on ‘the superior race’, when someone paints â€Å"Beware, Jewish horse† on Guido’s Uncle’s horse, the sign on the shop reading â€Å"No dogs, no Jews!† and, later in the film, when Guido and Dora are married, despite the fact that Guido’s a Jew and Dora’s Italian, people trash their house. On Joshua (Guido and Dora’s son) birthday the Germans arrest Guido, Joshua and Guido’s uncle are taken onto the train to be taken to the death camp Dora insists on going with them even though she isn’t a Jew eventually the Nazi gives in and puts her on the train where she is included with the other Jewish women. Guido is devastated to see his non-Jewish wife board the train. Protecting his son from the horrific truth, Guido tells Joshua that they are simply on a big holiday camp, and he turns the camp into a big game for Joshua, saying that they must win 1000 points to win a real tank and leave. Luckily Guido’s quick thinking saves Joshua from the truth when a German officer requires a translator. Despite not speaking a word of German, Guido steps forward and makes up the Regole del Campo from the Germans body language, claiming that tanks, scoreboards and games of Hide and Seek litter the camp, while cleverly stating that Joshua cannot cry, ask for his mother or declared hes hungry, resulting in the loss of the game, in other words, death. Joshua later refuses to take a shower (repeated from an earlier part in the film), and unknowingly escapes being gassed, so Guido hides him with the help of other Italian prisoners, since there are no other children. Playing messages over the speakers for Dora, kept prisoner on the other side of the camp, let’s Dora know her son and husband are alive, while the Nazi’s don’t speak Italian. With the help of Guidos former German friend, Herr Lessing, Guido hides Joshua amongst the German children, while waiting the German Officers meals. Hiding Joshua in a junction box for the last time, telling him that everyone is looking for him, Guido jeopardises his own survival to prevent the Germans discovering Joshua, while he attempts to free Dora, giving his own life away at the same time. Once the German’s realise they’ve lost the what they desert the camp, closely followed by the surviving Jews escaping, then, when the Americans break into the seemingly deserted camp the following morning Joshua comes out of hiding just as a tank pulls around the corner so Joshua believes that he has won ‘the Game’. Hitching a lift out, Joshua spots his mother reuniting as the film ends. Although all three of these movies are based on the Holocaust each one uses different themes and different view points. Firstly, ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ is filmed from a very innocent, child view point. Bruno is very young and the difference between Jew and German doesn’t matter to him; he doesn’t understand what might be considered wrong in befriending Shmuel. A similar viewpoint is used in ‘Life Is Beautiful’ where Joshua doesn’t know what’s going on because his father told him it was a game. I think that this perspective very effective in displaying the horrors and injustice of the Holocaust and, personally, it makes for a more entertaining film as it uses the audiences’ sympathies to make them more emotionally involved with the plot. However, in displaying historical fact within the film this take has disadvantages because what makes the main characters so innocent is their lack of understanding of their situation which naturally makes it harder for the film to be both educating and entertaining. ‘The Pianist’, however, has a much more grown up approach as, being based on a true story, it sticks to the facts and I felt that I learnt more from that film then I did from the other two. A similar theme that emerges in all three of these films is family. In ‘The Pianist’ Szpilman loses his family early on in the film, although he seems quite close to them before, and he struggles to survive without them probably feeling lonely all those month in hiding with no one with him for company. In ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ you see how Bruno’s family are driven apart by their conflicting opinions of the Holocaust; Bruno’s father is a strong believer in Nazi policy and the commandant of the death camp, however, his Mother is quite shocked and appalled when she learns the truth of what’s happening at the death camp and insists on moving away with the kids, whereas Bruno is young and confused as he’s been brought up being told that Jews are basically evil and German soldiers, like his father, are good but when he befriends Shmuel he realises that some Jews are nice, like Shmuel, and begins to doubt his father. Contrast to this, in ‘Life is Beautiful’ you see how Joshua’s family grow closer together because of the Holocaust; they stick together for each other and Guido even sacrifices himself in hope of saving Joshua. Although we often assume that all of the Nazi soldiers were evil, the issue of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ Germans is brought up in all three of these films. Firstly, in ‘The Pianist’ although most Germans are portrayed as evil, the Nazi officer, Captain Hosenfeld, saves Szpilman from starvation or being found and, towards the end of the movie, when he’s a prisoner and begging for help you begin to sympathise with him a bit more, especially when it’s revealed that he died on the caption. Then, in ‘Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ Bruno befriends Shmuel, and Bruno’s Mother and Grandmother openly disagree with Nazi views, which makes you think not to stereotype all Germans as ‘evil’. And lastly, in ‘Life I Beautiful’ although no German steps out and helps Guido and his family, you do see a doctor (who Guido knew before he was forced to work at the death camp) beginning to lose his stability because the work he is forced to do goes against all his moral values. This adds another layer to the ‘evil Germans’ assumption because maybe not all of them were doing it willingly so therefore does that make them bad?

Monday, January 20, 2020

The Freshman 15 Essay -- essays research papers fc

When I arrived here at college I was extremely disappointed with the selection of food here in the cafeteria. I frequently found myself eating only hamburgers and pizza over and over again, simply because I did not like the other choices. About four months into the school year I had do go to the doctor for a virus and when the nurse weighed me I was a little surprised by what I saw. I had gained a little over ten pounds, close enough to what some refer to as the â€Å"Freshman 15.† It is a common fear among college students that they are going to gain fifteen pounds during the course of adjusting to college life. However experts have stated that the idea of the so called â€Å"Freshman 15,† is not that accurate. Every college student is obviously not going to gain fifteen pounds. However I believe that it is possible and it is a problem for many college students. College life completely changes eating habits among college students. Most students do not make the right c hoices about eating and exercising. College students across the country are severely unhealthy in their behaviors, and for some students the â€Å"Freshman 15† may be a reality. Experts who study the concept of the â€Å"Freshman 15† are deeply divided in their findings. Some downplay the significance of the problem of freshman weight gain, basing their findings only on the average weight gain among college students. In a study done by the Journal of American College Health, found that of the 59 percent of students who gained weight the average increase was only 4.6 pounds. They concluded their study by stating that they believed the Freshman 15 is a myth, based upon that premise (Graham, and Jones). The truth is that fifty-nine percent of the students studied did gain weight, and not all students are going to gain exactly fifteen pounds. Other experts do however believe that weight gain among college freshman is a very serious problem. Registered dietitian Ann Selkowitz Litt recently authored, â€Å"The College Students Guide to Eating Well on Campus,† which is designed to help college students make the right eating choices. On an online chat with several college students on USA Today’s website she stated that â€Å"College students now are gaining the "freshman 20" or "freshman 25.† She blames the growing problem on erratic eating habits, the drinking large quantities of alcoh... ... State University. Graham, Melody, Amy Jones. â€Å"Freshman 15: valid theory or harmful myth?† Journal of American College Health. Jan 2002. Expanded Academic ASAP. InfoTrac. YCP 18 Mar 2003. . Linder, Lawrence. â€Å"Eating Right; the Freshman 15 recalculated.† WashingtonPost. 12 Sep 2000, Final Ed: WH9. 18 Mar 2003. . Litt, Ann. The Freshman 15. 28 Aug 2001. USA Today. 12 Apr 2003. . Interview. â€Å"The Freshman 15.† Personal Interview. 29 Mar 2003. Somers, Elizabeth. â€Å"College Freshman can avoid the Freshman 15.† CNN Online. 19 Aug 1999. 20 Mar 2003.

Sunday, January 12, 2020

Deception Point Page 29

Rachel noted how careful the President was being not to mention her father. He spoke only in terms of â€Å"the opposition† or â€Å"political opponents.† â€Å"And you think your opposition will cry conspiracy simply for political reasons?† she asked. â€Å"That is the nature of the game. All anyone needs to do is cast a faint doubt, saying that this discovery is some kind of political fraud concocted by NASA and the White House, and all of a sudden, I'm facing an inquiry. The newspapers forget NASA has found proof of extraterrestrial life, and the media starts focusing on uncovering evidence of a conspiracy. Sadly, any innuendo of conspiracy with respect to this discovery will be bad for science, bad for the White House, bad for NASA, and, quite frankly, bad for the country.† â€Å"Which is why you postponed announcing until you had full confirmation and some reputable civilian endorsements.† â€Å"My goal is to present this data in so incontrovertible a way that any cynicism is nipped in the bud. I want this discovery celebrated with the untainted dignity it deserves. NASA merits no less.† Rachel's intuition was tingling now. What does he want from me? â€Å"Obviously,† he continued, â€Å"you're in a unique position to help me. Your experience as an analyst as well as your obvious ties to my opponent give you enormous credibility with respect to this discovery.† Rachel felt a growing disillusionment. He wants to use me†¦ just like Pickering said he would! â€Å"That said,† Herney continued, â€Å"I would like to ask that you endorse this discovery personally, for the record, as my White House intelligence liaison†¦ and as the daughter of my opponent.† There it was. On the table. Herney wants me to endorse. Rachel really had thought Zach Herney was above this kind of spiteful politics. A public endorsement from Rachel would immediately make the meteorite a personal issue for her father, leaving the senator unable to attack the discovery's credibility without attacking the credibility of his own daughter-a death sentence for a â€Å"families first† candidate. â€Å"Frankly, sir,† Rachel said, looking into the monitor, â€Å"I'm stunned you would ask me to do that.† The President looked taken aback. â€Å"I thought you would be excited to help out.† â€Å"Excited? Sir, my differences with my father aside, this request puts me in an impossible position. I have enough problems with my father without going head-to-head with him in some kind of public death match. Despite my admitted dislike of the man, he is my father, and pitting me against him in a public forum frankly seems beneath you.† â€Å"Hold on!† Herney waved his hands in surrender. â€Å"Who said anything about a public forum?† Rachel paused. â€Å"I assume you'd like me to join the administrator of NASA on the podium for the eight o'clock press conference.† Herney's guffaw boomed in the audio speakers. â€Å"Rachel, what kind of man do you think I am? Do you really imagine I'd ask someone to stab her father in the back on national television?† â€Å"But, you said-â€Å" â€Å"And do you think I would make the NASA administrator share the limelight with the daughter of his arch enemy? Not to burst your bubble, Rachel, but this press conference is a scientific presentation. I'm not sure your knowledge of meteorites, fossils, or ice structures would lend the event much credibility.† Rachel felt herself flush. â€Å"But then†¦ what endorsement did you have in mind?† â€Å"One more appropriate to your position.† â€Å"Sir?† â€Å"You are my White House intelligence liaison. You brief my staff on issues of national importance.† â€Å"You want me to endorse this for your staff?† Herney still looked amused by the misunderstanding. â€Å"Yes, I do. The skepticism I'll face outside the White House is nothing compared to what I'm facing from my staff right now. We're in the midst of a full-scale mutiny here. My credibility in-house is shot. My staff has begged me to cut back NASA funding. I've ignored them, and it's been political suicide.† â€Å"Until now.† â€Å"Exactly. As we discussed this morning, this discovery's timing will seem suspect to political cynics, and nobody's as cynical as my staff is at the moment. Therefore, when they hear this information for the first time, I want it to come from-â€Å" â€Å"You haven't told your staff about the meteorite?† â€Å"Only a few top advisers. Keeping this discovery a secret has been a top priority.† Rachel was stunned. No wonder he's facing a mutiny. â€Å"But this is not my usual area. A meteorite could hardly be considered an intelligence-related gist.† â€Å"Not in the traditional sense, but it certainly has all the elements of your usual work-complex data that needs to be distilled, substantial political ramifications-â€Å" â€Å"I am not a meteorite specialist, sir. Shouldn't your staff be briefed by the administrator of NASA?† â€Å"Are you kidding? Everyone here hates him. As far as my staff is concerned, Ekstrom is the snake-oil salesman who has lured me into bad deal after bad deal.† Rachel could see the point. â€Å"How about Corky Marlinson? The National Medal in Astrophysics? He's got far more credibility than I do.† â€Å"My staff is made up of politicians, Rachel, not scientists. You've met Dr. Marlinson. I think he's terrific, but if I let an astrophysicist loose on my team of left-brain, think-inside-the-box intellectuals, I'll end up with a herd of deer in the headlights. I need someone accessible. You're the one, Rachel. My staff knows your work, and considering your family name, you're about as unbiased a spokesperson as my staff could hope to hear from.† Rachel felt herself being pulled in by the President's affable style. â€Å"At least you admit my being the daughter of your opponent has something to do with your request.† The President gave a sheepish chuckle. â€Å"Of course it does. But, as you can imagine, my staff will be briefed one way or another, no matter what you decide. You are not the cake, Rachel, you are simply the icing. You are the individual most qualified to do this briefing, and you also happen to be a close relative of the man who wants to kick my staff out of the White House next term. You've got credibility on two accounts.† â€Å"You should be in sales.† â€Å"As a matter of fact, I am. As is your father. And to be honest, I'd like to close a deal for a change.† The President removed his glasses and looked into Rachel's eyes. She felt a touch of her father's power in him. â€Å"I am asking you as a favor, Rachel, and also because I believe it is part of your job. So which is it? Yes or no? Will you brief my staff on this matter?† Rachel felt trapped inside the tiny PSC trailer. Nothing like the hard sell. Even from three thousand miles away, Rachel could feel the strength of his will pressing through the video screen. She also knew this was a perfectly reasonable request, whether she liked it or not. â€Å"I'd have conditions,† Rachel said. Herney arched his eyebrows. â€Å"Being?† â€Å"I meet your staff in private. No reporters. This is a private briefing, not a public endorsement.† â€Å"You have my word. Your meeting is already slated for a very private location.† Rachel sighed. â€Å"All right then.† The President beamed. â€Å"Excellent.† Rachel checked her watch, surprised to see it was already a little past four o'clock. â€Å"Hold on,† she said, puzzled, â€Å"if you're going live at eight P.M., we don't have time. Even in that vile contraption you sent me up here in, I couldn't get back to the White House for another couple of hours at the very fastest. I'd have to prepare my remarks and-â€Å"

Saturday, January 4, 2020

Cyber Crime And The Extent Of How It Is An Ever Growing...

Chapter 2: Literature review This literature review study will consist of the overview of topics regarding cyber crime and the extent of how it is an ever growing issue within our society. Topics such as Digital forensics which is used to combat cyber crime will be thoroughly discussed. Another topic that is important in this study is Plagiarism. This is a problem that is also on the rise as technology advances, due to the different techniques available of obtaining data. Keylogging will be the main focus of this study, the implications of using a keylogging device or software can be malicious or it could be used to tackle actual problems. Existing Keyloggers will be also be analysed which will then aid the creation of the keylogging tool which is required for this project. 2.1 Cyber Crime In essence, technology has increased in growth rapidly, to the point where computers aren’t just dominating households but also within our pockets. For 2016, the number of smartphone users is forecast to reach 2.1 billion. [1] Figure: 2.1 Figure 2.1 displays the growth of just smartphones worldwide showing how a computer which was only once available to those who could afford it is now dominating the way we view and send data in our everyday life. The internet is a globally connected network where a user can obtain information from another computer (providing that they have correct permissions to access the information). The internet has allowed our society to an efficiency that isShow MoreRelatedCybercrime and Its Impact in Bangladesh7186 Words   |  29 Pagesii Preface Cyber and technology related crime is on the increase and current trends indicate that it will be a significant issue in Bangladesh. It has already been seen that a glomming threat becomes visible in the arena of information technology. The hacking of RAB website and e-mail threats of former prime minister are example for few of them. 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