How the Global Warming Affect the U.S. Economy Essay

How the Global Warming Affect the U.S. Economy - Essay Example of â€Å"Global Warming† on the economy of the United States has draw near to prominently diverse finale concerning the economic effects of global warming. The range of climatic changes including soaring sea levels, regular hurricanes and unfortunate events of excessive weather shift have tremendously affected the infrastructure and the natural atmosphere of US leading the economy towards downward in addition with pushing the government and nation to witness the bursting spectrum of huge costs accrued due to the repeated atmospheric disruption. Novel researches reveal that if the continuation of the present â€Å"climatic changes† occurs than the US has to bear an additional costs which will in turn can soar up to as sky-scraping as 3.5 % of the GDP. As per the experts, the four global warming impacts i.e. hurricane, real estate losses, energy costs, and water costs are estimated to cost approximately 1.8 % of U.S. GDP or by the year 2100 it can increase just about $2.1 trillion annually moreover, the same research reveals that instantaneous implementation of the dynamic â€Å"climate protection policies† may possibly restrict the temperature amplification up to an extent of â€Å"2 °F† and eradicate over 50% of the damage costs. The â€Å"costs† of global warming are identified to have a mass effect on the US economy as alteration in farm output, civic health expenditures and infrastructure losses are some of the monetary consuming effects of â€Å"Global Warming† which comes with well -defined penalties. The estimated damage costs of the largest disaster â€Å"Hurricane Katrina† in the U.S. history is valued at $81.2 billions in addition with a officially claimed death toll of 1,836 and reported missing of more than 1000 people which is absolutely double value of the previous storms witnessed by this great country. The disaster had affected the crops leading to price rise of food items and impacted electric supply leaving nearly 3 million people suffer for the adequate

Politics of war extra Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Politics of war extra - Essay Example The Captain of the Chesapeake refused to be boarded and the ship was fired upon by the Leopard; as a result, about three men of the Chesapeake were killed and 18 were wounded. The Captain then gave in to the inspection, whereupon, four members of the crew who were allegedly deserters were removed from the Chesapeake. When the maimed Chesapeake later returned to Norfolk, outrage from across the country was expressed by the American people. As a result, â€Å"American opinion not only supported, but demanded war† (Coles, p. 7). The present international laws and regulations on war were not in place in the 1800s. The existing international and legal policies surrounding the declaration of war during the 1800s lay in each state’s right to exist and declare war. â€Å"In the United States, it is confided to the federal legislature where it resides with the people and is retained by them as a portion of sovereign power; it must be exercised by them in their collective capacity as provided by constitutional law†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Halleck, p. 351). On June 4th 1812, President James Madison asked the Congress to declare war; the latter immediately approved Madison’s proposal. After much debate, and only by six votes, the Senate also approved Madison’s proposal (Katcher, et.al., p. 3). Based on this approved process of declaring war existing at such time, the War of 1812 is considered legal. The primary causes of the War of 1812 are the policies of impressment and trade imposed by the British Empire. Impressment subjected British subjects to compulsory military service and in service to the war being fought by the British Empire against Napoleon Bonaparte. Many British subjects who did not want to serve in the British military found work in many of the US ships and other American workplaces. Some Americans were also illegally impressed into service by the British military. This angered many Americans. Due

Perception and Treatment of LGBT Essay Example for Free

Perception and Treatment of LGBT Essay This aggression can be sexual in nature or the effects can closely resemble those of sexual harassment and then can constitute sexual harassment. Middle and high school students are dealing with verbal and physical bullying in school to where these students are either dropping out or transferring schools or even becoming a home schooled student so that they can avoid being harassed about their sexual orientation. Bullying is an aggressive behavior that is intentional and it involves the imbalance of a persons power or strength Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender LGBT) youth, or those individuals that is perceived to be LGBT may be teased and bullied by their peers in schools as well out in public. Our educators, health professionals, parents, and any other concerned adult can make a difference in the lives of our LGBT youth. Often, bullying towards LGBT youth targets their non- conformity to gender norms. This type of bullying can be considered to be a form of sexual harassment and this harassment is covered under Title IX of the Education Amendments ot 1972. Research nas shown that our bullied L T youth are more likely to skip school, smoke cigarettes, use alcohol and drugs, or even engage in other risky behaviors (Ponton, 2001) The lesbian, gay or bisexual youth are more than twice as likely as other youths and children to be depressed and think about or will attempt suicide (Ponton, 2001). These risks are the same whether our youth are LGBT, are heterosexual but are wrongly perceived to be LGBT, or they will even choose to hide their sexual orientations. Our schools need to develop a clear policy on bullying of any form that can be onsidered by adding sexual orientation and gender identity to their bullying policies (Office of Civil Rights, OCR, 2010). By applying these policies, it tells all students to treat everyone equally, regardless of their sexual orientation (Get Busy, Get Equal, 2006). Schools that already have an anti-bullying policy can consider to make it clear that bullying based on sexual orientation is against school policy (Get Busy, Get Equal. 2006). Like every human being, those individuals that are LGBT, they have parents and family that love them for who they are or what their sexual orientation ay be. When a person is rejected because of his or her own sexual orientation, everyone in the family can suffer the effects unnecessarily Just like those or are LGBT. For those individuals that are rejected, the consequences are often and can be very tragic. Regardless of their sexual preference, these individuals still need their families unconditional love and acceptance, and those who receive it have a greater chance of living a happy, healthy and fulfilling life. In fact, sexual orientation of all kinds, including heterosexuality, is an innate trait, not a lifestyle choice. But if you are straight, the question is, when did you decide to be attracted to the opposite sex? To be LGBT in orientation is a normal and natural human characteristic, and it is Just one of the many ways that people are different. Both the American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological Association have recognized that homosexuality is not a mental disease or an emotional disorder. Therefore, there is no cure for a persons sexual orientation. Most of the emotional disturbances that have been experienced by gay men and lesbians all around the world with their exual identity is not based on physiological causes but rather is due more to a sense of alienation and to the unacceptance in todays environment.

Potential Problems In Raising Brand Awareness

Potential Problems In Raising Brand Awareness Product Branding Using relevant examples from the public, non-profit and private sectors, discuss the reasons why different types of organizations might consider branding to be the most important aspect of their product or service. What are the potential problems with building brands? One thing in common between Coca-Cola, McDonald, Disney, Nike, Sony, and Microsoft is that they all have powerful brands that are recognised all over the world. The well-established brand names have helped these companies generate enormous fortune. There is little doubt that brand names are the most valuable assets for many companies. For this reason, there are still many companies that are struggling to build their brand names and the majority of today’s large companies have taken the legacy of existing brands in order to make them more competitive. For example, although mineral water is an undifferentiated product, Nestle acquired Perrier for $2.5 billion because of the Perrier’s long established brand name that carried a charm invaluable to Nestle. There has been a growing interest in the value of brand names. As of 1993, the most valuable brand name was Coca-Cola with an estimated worth of $36 billion (Owen 1993). The world’s10 most valuable brands in 2006 we re (in rank order): Coca-Cola, Microsoft, IBM, General Electric, Intel, Nokia, Toyota, Disney, McDonald, and Mercedes-Benz. Coca-Cola’s brand value was $67 billion, Microsoft’s $57 billion, and IBM’s $56 billion. With these well-known companies, brand value is typically over one-half of the total company market capitalization (Business Week 2006). The reasons for such high worth of brand names include: (1) the costs of new product launch reaching approximately $100 million and high failure rates; (2) the reluctance of consumers to buy unfamiliar new products; and (3) high returns successful brands yield (Aaker 1991). Today’s successful companies have launched brands that create a wealth of perceptions, beliefs, attitudes, and experiences to turn a product and name into something to which the consumer relates. Their branding strategy has been developed to meet the needs and desires of consumers (Stobart 1994; Kochan 1996). The focus of this essay is to look the reasons why most organizations considered branding as the most the important aspect of their products or services as well as looking at the potential problems when building a brand. What is a Brand? There is little doubt that brands are at the heat of marketing and business strategy. Strong brands can make companies win in today’s highly competitive marketplace. One may question, â€Å"How did a brand originate?† and â€Å"What does a brand mean?† The aim of this part is to answer these two questions and to examine the implications for branding. The Origin of a Brand According to Nilson (1998), the term â€Å"brand† originated from the Scandinavian word for â€Å"branna’,† meaning â€Å"to burn a mark on something.† The Swedish word for fire is â€Å"brand.† In the earliest days of farming, farmers or ranchers put their symbols on the cattle with the help of a hot iron in order to assert their right to ownership (Kochan 1996; Nilson 1998). Since then, branding has been used in order to claim someone’s ownership of a good or service. Literatures show that the first example of branding is the manufacture of oil lamps in the Greek islands. During this time, people bought a primitive form of oil lamp, but the quality of the lamp varied. People could not tell between a good and bad lamp when they made purchase. For this reason, craftsmen in one Greek island started to put a special symbol on their long-lasting lamp so that people can distinguish their products from less-lasting lamps produced by others. They branded their goods so that they could differentiate their product and, presumably, charge a premium price (Nilson 1998). Similarly, today many companies seek to build brands so that consumers can pick their products not those of others. The Definition of a Brand According to Brassigton and Pettitt a brand is the â€Å"creation of a three-dimensional character for product, defined in terms of name, packaging. Colours, symbols etc., that helps to differentiate it from its competitors, and helps the customer to develop a relationship with the product† (Brassigton and Pettitt 2003, p. 1099). Some experts have, however, argued that it is dangerous to adopt one single definition of a brand because there are many other things to be taken into account. They insist that brand definitions should be categorised under six headings: (1) visual; (2) perceptual; (3) positioning; (4) added value; (5) image; and (6) personality (Nilson 1998). In addition, we need to look at other meanings in order to have a better understanding of a brand. There are two representative models – brand image and brand identity that are different from each other. Brand image refers to the image of a brand that exists in the minds of consumers as a result of all the information they have received about the brand, from experience, word of mouth, advertising, packaging, service and so on; the information is modified by selective perception, previous beliefs, social norms, forgetting (Randall 1997). Companies can control their brand images as long as they understand the essence and expression of their brand. The four dimensions form the essence at the centre. The brand identity, such as the brand’s name, logo, colours, tagline, and symbol (Kotler 2003), becomes strong only when the four dimensions support each other constantly. If any quadrant is weak, or sending conflicting messages, then resulting image in consumers’ minds will be confused (Randall 1997). Reasons why most organizations consider branding to be the most important aspect of their products or service: A brand is a necessity for a business and – whether the manager likes it or not – a business will have a brand profile. Working closely with the brand, rather than in the classical business sense of leaving it to the customers to work out what to think about the company, will give the organization some distinct advantages. The importance of branding in a private organization can be summarized in two categories: first it is financially beneficial for the company, and second it gives the employees a sense of purpose. For the purpose of boosting morale, a brand that the employees can be proud of, and feel a sense of belonging to, can have considerable positive effect on the morale in a company (Nilsoon 1998). One example is the Virgin group where founder Richard Branson’s very high profile and clear statements about company purpose serve as morale booster for the whole group. Similar effects appear to be at play at Microsoft, where a strong sense of identity with the company – and consequently with the brand – pushes employees to high levels of productivity and, not least, loyalty (Nilson 1998). For profit making purposes, a strong brand in a private sector creates barriers to entry. The stronger the brand values of the leading brands in a sector, the stronger the reputation of the main competitors and the more difficult it is for other players to enter the market. Brands also often represent continuity which is important in the sense of keeping customer relations. Having a strong brand does create economies of scale, not least in communication. A well-established and correctly built brand will in an instant communicate a distinct set of values (such as trustworthy, reliable and leading-edge) much quicker and more effectively than any expensive commercial (Nilson 1998). Branding helps a firm to introduce a new product that carries the name of one or more of its existing products, because buyers are already familiar with the firm’s existing brands. For example, Heinz regularly introduces new tinned products. Since consumers are used to buying the brand and have a high regard for its quality, they are likely to try the new offerings. Branding also facilitates promotional efforts because the promotion of each branded product indirectly promotes all other products that are similarly branded (Dibb et al 1997). Branding also helps seller by fostering brand loyalty. Brand loyalty is a strongly motivated and long decision to purchase a product or service. To the extent that buyers become loyal to a specific brand, the company’s market share for that product achieve a certain level of stability, allowing the firm to use its resources more efficiently. When a firm succeeds in fostering some degree of customer loyalty to a brand, it can charge a premium price for the product (Dibb et al 1997). For example, Consumers are loyal to buy Armani because they appreciate its status and fashionable values, and Apple computers because they appreciate their creative and human values. These values reflect and enhance the consumer’s sense of him/himself and provide a key source of brand differentiation (Kochan 1996). Similarly, the importance of branding in the public sector cannot be under-estimated. While it remains an essential part in the day to day running of private sectors for the purpose of maximising profits, the profit making purpose is however less significant with public sectors. A distinct example of branding in the public sector is the NHS. Rather than being portrayed as a brand for profit making, the aim of the NHS is provide adequate health care service for the nation. Due to the virtual non-existence of an aim of making profits, there is little or no competition for the NHS, therefore there ought to be other reasons for their various forms of branding. A significant example of the essence of branding for the NHS is their association with life saving ventures such as safe sex practices and â€Å"quit smoking† campaigns (Lecturer’s Note 2006),. The various steps taken by the NHS to encourage safe sex practices through the television and newspaper adverts ensure that t hey are easily associated with any life saying adverts and their â€Å"NHS† brand once seen on TV means a life saving advert is coming on. Even though, this is not fore the sake of making profits but people start taking them more seriously, likewise what they preach, thereby achieving the ultimate goal of saving lives (Lecturer’s Note 2006). Like the private companies, they spend some money on adverts and branding but more emphasis is on profit making by the private companies than the public companies. Essentially, branding is a way of getting attention and developing a relationship with target audiences and this is especially important for public organizations with little or no aim of profit making. The competitiveness brought about by branding in the public sector is therefore targeted at getting audiences rather than making more profits than private companies (Colyer 2006). Furthermore, branding for non-profit making organizations is as important as those for private and public organizations albeit with a slightly different aim and approach. The aim of competition is as important for non-profit making organizations as it is important for private organizations. Branding here is therefore aimed at building a better relationship with supporters, thereby establishing greater trust in the organization. Interestingly, it may be surprising to find out that competition among non profit making organizations such as various charities may be as fierce as private organizations. This competition is however aimed at making one’s charity the most important in the minds of the people than other charities. For example, the impact of branding by the NSPCC may be the outstanding factor that determines if to donate money to them rather than the heart foundation. Similarly, the charities we choose to support may be borne out of the fact that a significant aspect of i ts branding appeals to us more than other types (Lecturer’s Note 2006). While most charities aim to save lives, the branding may be geared towards making the life saving purpose more urgent than others. The different Tsunami charities set up in 2004 after the Tsunami tragedy as part of their branding gave vivid views of devastating events in Asia as they set out to outdo one another in donations, even though they were for the same course. In this case, the competitive nature of branding may be said to be, to generate as much funds as possible for a similar course rather than for making profits (Mitchell 2005). Potential problems in raising brand awareness The power of a well-known brand name, supported by strong advertising, is so great (and long lasting) that 20 of the top 25 leading brands in 2005 were also among the top 25 in 2006. But companies are finding it increasingly difficult to attract the customer’s attention and create brand awareness because of the clutter of new products, brands, and advertising in the environment. Thus, approximately 90% of new products are pulled from the market within two or three years of their introduction. Most of them failed for lack of name recognition – consumers were just not aware of them (Morgan 1999; Bulkeley 1991). The risks of creating a new brand are so great that many companies are developing so-called line extensions. Rather than developing a new brand name, marketers are applying their existing, well-known brand name to new products. Red Bounty (with dark chocolate), Coca-Cola Light, and Ariel Colour are but a few well-known examples. Building name recognition can be very difficult and very expensive, especially for small companies. Market leaders often command budget upon 10 times greater than smaller companies. For instance, Nike and Reebok spend about $100 million. Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola can afford to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on extensive advertising campaigns (Pereira 1991). Get help with your essay from our expert essay writers Customer Factors Some customers like to seek variety in their experience; they get bored with the same product or life experience. Other customers like change and variety and are happy with old. The variety-seeking customers may switch from one brand to another, not because they are dissatisfied with the first brand’s performance and other values, but rather simply for the sake of change and variety. The more variety seeking a customer is, the less brand loyal he is likely to be (Sheth et al 1999). Conclusion In conclusion, the key to developing a brand vision is to assess the values of the organization, distil them into a vision and not tamper or interfere with the vision’s simplicity and power. Consistency and clarity are all-important. Coke forgot the strength and simplicity of its existing product values when it tried re-launching its much loved product under the banner of ‘New Formula’ (Coca cola Seminar Video 2006). Conversely, Mars understood perfectly its existing product values when it launched Mars ice cream on the back of the Mars bar. Design and presentation of the product flows from the values. Coherence is once again the name of the game. The presentation of the packaging, the use of the logo, the typeface all need to accord with the brand values and be internally consistent with Cost effectiveness (Nilson 1998; Kochan 1996). Nevertheless, it is clear that branding plays an important role in the private; public as well as non-profit sector. However, a com pany raise profit if it builds a strong brand name. The company can benefit if consumers buy its brand in preference to other brands, and it gains more benefits if this preference maintains for long periods. If customers perceive one brand as superior, then they become less sensitive to price. Rather, they will be willing to pay more for the brand they like. Such brand loyalty allows the company to charge more and thus generate healthy cash flows. It also makes it harder for competitors to enter the market. Building a brand has become concern for every business. Brands are, therefore, at the heart of marketing and business strategy. References Aaker, D. A., (1991), Managing Brand Equity: Capitalising on the Value of a Brand Name, New York: The Free Press Business Week, (2006), ‘The Worlds 10 Most Valuable Brands’, http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/01_32/b3744003.htm Colyer, E., (2006), ‘Branding in public’, http://brandchannel.com/features_effect.asp?pf_id=310#more Kochan, N., (1996), ‘The World’s Greatest Brands’ London: McMillan Business, 1996, pp. x-xi Kotler, P., (2003), Marketing Management, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Lecturer (2006), ‘Lecturer’s handout and Coca cola Seminar video’ Birkbeck College Mitchell, B. (2005), ‘Make Poverty History – passion statement’, http://brandchannel.com/features_profile.asp?pr_id=249 Morgan, A., (1999), Eating the Big Fish, New York: John Wiley Sons, Inc Nilson, T. H., et al., (1998), Competitive Branding: Winning in the Marketplace with Value-Added Brands. Chichester: John Wiley Sons Nissim, B., (2004), ‘Nonprofit Branding: Unveiling the Essentials’, http://www.guidestar.org/DisplayArticle.do?articleId=833 Ourosoff, A., (1994), ‘Brands: What’s Hot? What’s Not?’, Financial World, Aug. 1994, pp. 240-55 Owen, S., (1993), ‘The Landor Image Power Survey: a Global Assessment of Brand Strength’, in Brand Equity and Advertising, ed. Aaker, D. A., et a. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Pereira, J., (1991), ‘Name of the Game: Brand Awareness’, The Wall Street Journal, 14 Feb. 1991, pp. B1, B4 Randall. G., (1997), Branding, London: Kogan Page Sheth, J. N., et al, (1999), Customer Behaviour: Customer Behaviour and Beyond. Fort Worth: The Dryden Press Stobart, P., (1994), Brand Power, London: The Macmillan Press Ltd

Generational Gaps And Conflicts Essay -- Literary Analysis

In the short story Who’s Irish by Gish Jen and Everyday Use written by Alice Walker, both authors address generational conflicts between mothers and daughters, as well as struggles to coexist while living in very different cultural mindsets. The moral of both stories is that cross-cultural issues exist in every family tree and we often find comfort in unlikely places. While a mother may not agree with her daughter’s choices she never loses love, and while a daughter may not like decisions that are made by their mother she never loses respect. Both are stories about women going through struggle to integrate and adept into modern American life, two mothers struggle to understand their daughters and the lives they are immersed in. Gish Jen is trying to communicate a sense of loss a mother experiences because she does not understand her daughter and struggles to adapt in Who’s Irish. The authors point is that American life through the eyes of an elderly foreigner is hardly understandable, things like, the wife being the bread winner, career oriented women, marital problems, and gender specific roles that are too rigid. Through the grandmother's voice; the author develops these themes with humor and sympathy, written in broken English, the she intends for the reader to see how difficult the world is to express in a language that is foreign to you the reader, perhaps as a way to contrast how different her thinking is compared to the world she lives in, America. The author emphasizes the grandmothers love for both her daughter and granddaughter throughout, her love for her family never ends in spite of her confusion over their culture and the way they choose to live, constantly comparing the way situatio ns and people are to the wa... ...ish was more thoughtful and caring in trying to become accustomed to her daughters ways, whereas Mama in Everyday Use was more rigid, she preferred her lifestyle the way it was and she had no intention of changing, nor could she couldn’t understand why Dee would want anything more, as she and Maggie were happy where they were at. The irony of both stories isn’t hateful or bitter but a message of love and caring despite differences. In the end we are left wondering whether the results of the quandaries are right or wrong, and to question our own motives with our families, relationships, and lives. Works Cited Jen, Gish. "Who's Irish." 1999. Literature: Craft and Voice. Vol. 1. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 105-10. Print. Fiction. Walker, Alice. "Everyday Use." 1973. Literature: Craft and Voice. Vol. 1. Boston: McGraw- Hill, 2010. 608-13. Print. Fiction.

Longevity research Essay

Today, a great amount of people have learned to enjoy life once again as a senior in the community. This would speak of those in the 70’s and beyond. Life expectancy for Americans, which was a mere 49 years in 1900, has now increased to around 76 years. This we can say is due to improvements in health care, nutrition, and the overall standard of living. Not only are people living longer, but they are becoming more active in their older age, relative to elderly of the past. More older Americans are able carry out their own â€Å"instrumental activities of daily living† (Hodes 2003) As such, the desire for life has grown and billions have been poured into longevity research, an undertaking meant to discover ways and means to extend life. A vast motivation in science has been well-funded to discover how to keep man alive longer, with its aim toward more and more years. (Douglas 2006) There are concerns however one must view in light of this, namely, will a society with many living over a hundred years be actually as beautiful as it seems to present? The first concern would be the quality of life given that although the body may be kept health, the brain will be aging. Surely, the mind at the age of 110 is not as lucid as that of one at the age of 60. There are many diseases that correlate with the aging brain, but let us use the more common Alzheimer’s disease as an example. This is a devastating condition that has been seen to have a profound impact on individuals, families, the health care system, and society as a whole. Demographic studies suggest that if the current trends maintain themselves, the annual number of incident cases of this disease will begin a sharp increase in the year 2030 thereabouts. (Alzheimer’s association 2009) This will be a time that people born between 1946 and 1964 will all be over 65 years. Studies further show that by the year 2050, the number of Americans with the disease could double. Imagine these implications. It’s true that people live longer, but then what quality of life can one have if he lives 20 years more but has lost memory of his family and friends. This disease accounts for around 50-50% of cases of dementia. With increase longevity, there will be a large increase in the prevalence of the disease as people will be living to be older. It can be such difficulty to the individual to live in a condition where for years he is grasping at memories that he cannot recall. It’s an incredible burden to the family as well, as they will now be responsible for more elderly, living longer lives, incapable of self care, and maybe even incapable of recognizing kin. Imagine a scenario where a parent is 110 years old, their child being 85 and their grandchild at 60, how would it be feasible for the turn of care to pass from parent to child in such a scenario where all are classifiable as aged. A second concern is that apart from the aging mind, there is also the aging body. It is true that the individual will be living long, but then there are multitudes of risks that will accompany this. The wear and tear from all the years will now set in as he will now be more prone to multitudes of disease as years go by. Sicknesses like arthritis of the joints, a heart attack, stokes, cataracts, diabetes and many more will all now be factors that come into play. Even worse, should the person gain a long-playing debilitating condition, one with no cure such as the case of Alzheimer’s previously mentioned, then again what kind of quality of life can he sustain? Let’s take a stroke for example. Currently, a stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States. Statistics show that over 143,579 people die each year in the United States from this condition. Now in terms of long term disability, stroke is the leading cause as people may live on with their life span after a completed stroke. Furthermore, having a stroke does not mean that a person cannot have another one to further cause disability. Now, it is seen that nearly three-quarters of all strokes occur in people over the age of 65. It is also noted that the risk of having a stroke more than doubles each decade after the age of 55. (Internet Stroke Center 2009) This is not even accounting for those who go through strokes at a young age. Now, given this data, imagine the risk for one who is to live until 120 years old. Imagine if a large bulk of population were to live this long, then the worldwide prevalence of stroke survivors would be high. After a stroke, it is very possible for one to lose control of speech, of movement in half a body, of mobility, and sometimes even requiring full time nursing care. The implications on a person and a family would be immense. Given that strokes occur generally in people over 65, imagine having one at 70 and then living for 40 more years. How would one survive that lone without the capacity to communicate. It’s true that one can live with the heart beating, but the question is in terms of quality of life. Another concern that also affects health will be the incidence of depression. A longer life for one spouse would mean having to live through the death of loved ones. Longevity increases the number of years one would live past the death of a spouse and family. Studies can increase life but imagine a scenario where a parent has to live past his spouse children and grandchildren. Again, the concern regarding quality of life comes in play is emotional makeup is indeed a very important aspect of human life. Rebecca Utz, a sociologist at ISR stated: â€Å"While only about 6 percent of widowed persons had serious financial problems since their spouse died, 63 percent reported less income and 34 percent said their financial strain increased significantly after they were widowed. The negative economic consequences are even more pronounced for women than they are for men, and the declines are lasting, not a temporary drop associated with funeral expenses or estate planning. † (About. com 2009) This itself is proof of how one’s death can affect an individual, not only in terms of health and emotion, but in terms of capability to function as well. Increasing longevity means increasing the chances that people will outlive one, or even more spouses, and have to deal with many deaths for many years. Depression rates will increase as a consequence of spouses living well past their mates, their children and maybe even their grandchildren. A study conducted showed that eighty-four (24%) of 350 widows and widowers met criteria for depressive episodes at 2 months, 72 (23%) of 308 did so at 7 months, and 46 (16%) of 286 did so at 13 months, further supporting this claim that depression and emotional consequences of too much longevity should be of concern. (Zisook, S & Shuchter, S. 1991) A fourth point that should raise concern for biologic implications for longevity revolve around care for the elderly. Today, families turn to nursing homes and assisted living to give the elderly the care and attention they need. The alarming factor now revolves around what actual care they are receiving in these places, as a congressional report made by CBS news correspondent Bill Whitaker previously stated that around 1,600 U. S. nursing homes, nearly one-third of all in total, have been cited for abuse. These reported abuses were of various types, spanning from physical, sexual and verbal. All abuse in all these forms is on the rise. The report further noted that that more than twice as many nursing homes were cited for abuse in 2000 than in 1996. It was further seen that in 1,601 nursing homes , around 1 in 10 abuse citations were made in serious incidents. By serious, it was meant that they either put residents at great risk of harm, injured them or killed them. (CBS news 2001) Imagine how greatly the health of these poor elderly could be affected by increased longevity. Already at this current time with our elderly, society is unable to provide adequate care for them, and resorting to nursing homes and various assisted living environments that have led to elderly abuse. What more an increase can be expected if people were to live into the hundreds. The population would have a drastic increase in the aged, thus increasing the burden on society to care for them. If at this current day and age, society already is unable to manage the abuse problem, then the health implications of longevity are grave in that they will aggravate the abuse by increasing the number of elderly left alone. Investigators have further said that many violations are neither detected nor reported, which leads officials to conclude that the problem is even underestimated. Surely, if society cannot currently manage the elderly and provide a good, healthy and safe environment for them, then there is no way that society can do so after a further increase in the aged that longevity research will bring. My fifth and final concern regarding longevity lies in the fact that it will now place a large amount of population that has needs to be fulfilled but cannot fulfill them on its own. Increasing longevity will increase the number of senior citizens and the number of non-working elderly dependent. The health concerns for this are immense, as the question that can now be raised is regarding who in society will provide for the health of these individuals who cannot earn a living for themselves. CDC research concerns states that the increased number of people with ages over 65 will potentially lead to increased health-care costs. The health-care cost per capita for persons from the age group over 65 years in the United States is three to five times greater than the cost for persons below that age. (CDC 2003) Imagine how this will increase if people were to live 20 years longer. Currently, the number of persons aged >65 years is expected to rise from around 35 million in 2000 to an estimated 71 million in 2030. Longevity will even increase this number. Eventually, as resources will decline, then there will not be enough economic support to support the aged, leading to substandard healthcare and health risks. There may not be enough to provide them with medical needs, particularly because the working population may be outnumbered by the dependent elderly non-working populous. As such, in conjunction with many other previously discussed claims, the promise of longevity, although seemingly tempting, may not exactly be as, wonderful as it seems to be. WORKS CITED About. com:Mental health (2009) ‘Losing a Spouse: What Hurts and What Helps [online] Available from [April 6, 2009] Alzheimers association (2009) ‘What is Alzheimer’s’[online] Available from [April 6, 2009] CBS news (2001) ‘Nursing Home Abuse Increasing’ [online] Available from [April 6, 2009] CDC (2003) ‘Public Health and Aging: Trends in Aging — United States and Worldwide’ MMWR weekly[online] Available from [April 6, 2009] Douglas, J. (2006) ‘New longevity research center launched to study supercentenarians’ Natural News [online] Available from < http://www. naturalnews. com/020701. html> [April 6, 2009] Hodes, R. (2003) ‘Human Longevity and Aging Research’. Special Committee on Aging [online] Available from [April 6, 2009] Internet Stroke Center (2009) ‘Stroke Statistics’ [online] Available from [April 6, 2009] Zisook, S & Shuchter, S. (1991) ‘Depression through the first year after the death of a spouse ’ Am J Psychiatry [online] Available from [April 6, 2009]

Racial Discrimination

Seminar on Peace Education A Research Paper on Racial Discrimination Racism takes many forms. In general, it is a belief that a particular race or ethnicity is inferior or superior to others. Racial discrimination involves any act where a person is treated unfairly or vilified because of their race, color, descent, national or ethnic origin. Racism may take the form of stereotyping, name calling or insults, commentary in the media, speeches at public assemblies and abuse on the internet.It can include directly or indirectly excluding people from accessing services, employment, education or sporting activities. Racism can occur systemically, as the result of policies, conditions and practices that affect a broad group of people. For example, research shows that systemic racism can result in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students experiencing poorer outcomes in education, or job applicants without Anglo-Saxon names finding it difficult to gain job interviews. Just as other form s of discrimination may relate to a number of attributes, so does the experience of racism.For example, racism may compound the experience of discrimination of a woman, who is treated less favorably on the basis of her religion and her gender, or an older person, who is discriminated against on the basis of their skin color and their age. In its most serious manifestation, racism is demonstrated in behaviors and activities that embody race hate, abuse and violence – particularly experienced by groups who are visibly different because of their cultural or religious dress, their skin color or their physical appearance. Ultimately, racism is a tool to gain and maintain power.It is also inextricably linked with socio-economic factors, and frequently reflects underlying inequalities in a society. The impact or racism is becoming a major problem in our society today. Racism is a system in which a group of people practice violent acts and power over others on the foundation of their skin color and racial inheritance. Despite the consequences of who discriminates, why is it done and how it is practiced and defended, what has remained true is that racism promotes power, recognition, advantages, and opportunity for some people at the expense of others.Most people today have experienced racism in their lives. They may experience it while they are at school, in the neighborhood, shopping in the mall, dining in a restaurant, and at work. Racism takes place anywhere and everywhere. Racism may even change the way an individual may feel about themselves and marks a deep scar in their life and may take a while to heal. There are three types of racism in the workplace. First type of racism in the workplace is racial discrimination. Second type is color discrimination, and lastly the discrimination of language.The first type of racism in the workplace is racial discrimination. Racial discrimination is present when people are treated in a different way than others who are equally situated because they are part of a particular race and unchangeable characteristics, such as physical features, native to their race. In employment it can happen when employees are treated differently than other employees equally situated because of their interracial dating or marriages, culturally oriented expression of attitudes and beliefs, and members in racially oriented groups.An example of race discrimination is when you didn’t get a job because you were told you wouldn’t fit in to the workplace because of your race, you’ve been rejected service or treated incorrectly in a shop or hotel, or you’ve been separated out for filthy jobs because of your race. The next type of racism in workplace is color discrimination. Color discrimination is present when individuals are treated differently than others who are equally situated because of the color of their skin. This is a separately identifiable type of discrimination that can also occur in con junction with race discrimination.Color discrimination can also occur in the absence of race discrimination when members of the same race are treated differently because of their skin color. An example that relates to color discrimination in the workplace is the employer does not hire anyone darker but hires light-skinned or white persons of all races. Final type of racism in workplace is language discrimination. Language discrimination means treating someone in a different way only because of his or her native language or further characteristics of speech.An example of language discrimination on the job is when an employee may be subjected to language discrimination if the workplace has speak-English-only rule, especially if her primary language is not English. An employee may also be the victim of language discrimination if she is treated less favorably than other employees because she speaks English with an accent, or if she is told she does not qualify for a position because she does not speak English well enough.But language discrimination doesn’t only happen on the job, a person may be denied access to businesses or government services because he or she does not speak English. Racial discrimination is everywhere. In the Philippines, we can say that racial discrimination is evident, especially to those who belong to a tribal minority or ethnic groups. Even the media manifested racism, most of the advertisement that can be seen in the television could let us think about racism.Like for example, the commercial about a whitening soap or lotion, they used image models have dark complexion skin. And in order to promote the effectiveness of their products they have to show that their models are whitened by their products. So meaning having dark skin is not good to look at. Though it is just an advertisement but still it could be another form of racial discrimination among dark people. But not only those advertisements in television, but even also some of our local â€Å"teleserye† or â€Å"telenobela†.In that, I can say that racism is prevalent in the Philippines. Racial discrimination of Filipinos doesn’t exist only within the country but also to other countries. Why do most people from Western and other rich countries discriminate Filipinos? And why do they usually think of us as Gold diggers and stuff? How inferior it is to hear that thing if you were in our part either it is not easy to take that in your part knowing that people around the world describes Filipino as a Domestic Helpers.In the  Philippine  history, Spanish colony has made a big  change  in the country and has made contributed positive things and negative things. The friars (Spanish friars of the past settling in the  Philippines) is putting into the minds of the  students  and of the people that they are the Superiors since they are white and the Indios (Filipino’s of before) are brown. In that thing you can already see that there is racial discrimination. One positive thing I can give upon their (the Spanish)  contribution  to the  Philippines  is Christianity in the land.This has been the greatest thing Filipino’s at this present is proud of and has made most us religious, God-fearing, prayerful and these things but in the other hand on the negative side, Spanish made us traumatize on the things they have done like being innocent, and idiots. They kept on punishing the people of before if they won’t pay their debts. In fact, we Filipino’s are the real owner of this land and there is no need for us to be demanded on the debts rather it’s in our whim to  demand  those things from them since they were foreign in the land.But look at what they did, because of power with so much guns, good swords and equipped soldiers, they controlled the land and called the Filipino’s as squatters. Now at the present times, the effects of those traumas have occurred from the cause. We ought to be blameless if we can’t improve our economy that well, but time will come we will prosper since we have a kind of land that is much fertile and with lots of resources to cater the world. People would think we are poor, yes we are poor.Eventually, we are poor in terms of economy that is why most of us go to other lands just to be slaves and we don’t care for as long as we can feed our families after those wages and labors being given. Though the world describes Filipina’s as DH or Domestic Helpers but in our land we call them as Heroes- heroes of our family. If you get to know our culture, I know you would understand everything why we come into certain things. For as long as we live happily, that’s all it takes. The talks of the people won’t stumble us down in fact we become stronger and stronger every day.It doesn’t mean we hate people the way they see us, well it’s normal and it’s there will and choice to hate us. We can’t stop them from it, but all I can say is that, respect is what we ask for. Respect us as humans and as a person. We cannot really avoid such discrimination, so many laws now implemented about anti-racial discrimination but still it is always there. Racism existed throughout human history. In the Philippines, last November 2011 the senate passed a bill that would prohibit and penalize racial discrimination in the workplace, educational institutions, and services.Senate Bill 2814 also known as the Anti-Discrimination Act of 2011, according to its sponsor Sen. Loren Legarda, would provide a lasting and effective solution to discrimination in the country. Legarda said that based on the 20th Periodic report submitted by the government to the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) in 2008, the Philippines does not formally recognize the existence of racial discrimination in the country.She quoted the country’s official stand in the report as saying â€Å"racial discrimination is alien to the prevailing mores and culture of the Filipino People† and that â€Å"racial discrimination has never officially or factually existed in the Philippines, neither in a systemic nor formal nor intermittent nor isolated manner† because â€Å"Filipinos have essentially the same racial and ethnic origins. † Legarda said the government has to formally recognize the existence of racial discrimination in the country.The bill stipulates penalties on acts of racial discrimination in employment, education, delivery of goods, facilities and services, accommodation, transportation, media, and in search and investigatory activities. Persons who â€Å"request, induce, encourage and authorize or assist others to commit acts of discrimination or profiling† would also be held liable. We need to acknowledge that discrimination exists before we can eliminate it for we cannot eradicate something that is considered a ghost by others.We must strive to transform our society into an open-minded and sensitive community where no child is subjected to name-calling because of his distinct looks; we must build a nation where each individual's beliefs and principles are respected and everyone is given equal opportunity to achieve his full potential as a person and as a Filipino citizen. Sources: http://www. senate. gov. ph/press_release/2011/0511_legarda2. asp http://www. philstar. com/Article. aspx? articleId=751133;publicationSubCategoryId=63 http://socyberty. com/ethnicity/racial-discrimination/#ixzz27l5k6GU6