Biography of Alice Walker, Pulitzer Prize Winning Writer

Biography of Alice Walker, Pulitzer Prize Winning Writer Alice Walker (born February 9, 1944) is a writer and activist, perhaps best known as the author of The Color Purple and more than 20 other books and poetry collections.  She is also known for  recovering the work of Zora Neale Hurston and for her work against female circumcision.  She won the Pulitzer Prize in 1983 and the National Book Award in 1984. Fast Facts: Alice Walker Known For: Writer, feminist, and activistBorn: February 9, 1944 in Eatonton, GeorgiaParents: Minnie Tallulah Grant and Willie Lee WalkerEducation: East Putnam Consolidated, Butler-Baker High School in Eatonton, Spelman College, and Sarah Lawrence CollegePublished Works: The Color Purple, The Temple of My Familiar, Possessing the Secret of JoySpouse: Melvyn R. Leventhal (m. 1967–1976)Children: Rebecca Leventhal (b. November 1969) Early Life Alice Walker was born on February 9, 1944, in Eatonton, Georgia, the last of eight children born to Minnie Tallulah Grant and Willie Lee Walker. Her parents were sharecroppers who worked on a large cotton farm during the days of Jim Crow. Recognizing Alices abilities at a very young age, her mother got the 4-year old into first grade at East Putnam Consolidated, where she quickly became a star pupil. In 1952, a childhood accident blinded her in one eye. Medical conditions in the Jim Crow south meant she did not get proper medical treatment until six years later when she visited her brother in Boston, Massachusetts. Nevertheless, she went on to become valedictorian of her class at Butler-Baker High School. At 17, Walker received a scholarship to attend Spelman College in Atlanta, where she became interested in Russian literature and the burgeoning Civil Rights movement. In 1963, she was offered a scholarship to Sarah Lawrence College, and, after her activist mentor Howard Zinn was fired from Spelman, Walker transferred to Sarah Lawrence. There, she studied poetry with Muriel Rukeyser (1913–1980), who would help her get her first collection of poems, Once, published in 1968. In her senior year, Walker studied in East Africa as an exchange student; she graduated in 1965. Professional Life After college, Alice Walker worked briefly for the New York City Department of Welfare and then returned to the south, moving to Jackson, Mississippi. In Jackson, she volunteered in voter registration drives and worked for the Legal Defense Fund of the NAACP. She met fellow civil rights worker Melvyn R. Leventhal on March 17, 1967, and they married in New York and moved back to Jackson, where they were the first legally married biracial couple in the city. They had one daughter, Rebecca, born November 17, 1969, but the marriage ended in divorce in 1976. Alice Walker started her professional writing career as a writer-in-residence first at Jackson State University (1968–1969) and then at Tougaloo College (1970–1971). Her first novel,  a three-generation saga of sharecroppers called The Third Life of Grange Copeland, was published in 1970. In 1972, she taught a course in Black Womens Writers at the University of Massachusetts in Boston. She continued steadily writing throughout this period. Early Writing By the mid-1970s, Walker turned to her inspirations from the Harlem Renaissance period of the early 20th century. In 1974, Walker wrote a biography of poet Langston Hughes (1902–1967), and the following year she published a description of her research with Charlotte Hunt, In Search of Zora Neale Hurston, in Ms.  magazine. Walker is credited with reviving interest in the writer/anthropologist (1891–1960). Her novel Meridian came out in 1976, and the subject was the civil rights movement in the south. Her next novel, The Color Purple, changed her life. Alice Walkers poems, novels, and short stories frankly deal with rape, violence, isolation, troubled relationships, bi-sexuality, multi-generational perspectives, sexism, and racism: all of the things which she knew from her personal experiences. Always, and more as she grew as a writer, Alice Walker has been unafraid to be controversial. The Color Purple When The Color Purple came out in 1982, Walker became known to an even wider audience. Her Pulitzer Prize and the movie by Steven Spielberg brought both fame and controversy. She was widely criticized for negative portrayals of men in The Color Purple, though many critics admitted that the movie presented more simplistic negative pictures than the books more nuanced portrayals. In two books- The Temple of My Familiar (1989) and Possessing the Secret of Joy (1992)- Walker took on the issue of female circumcision in Africa, which brought further controversy: was Walker a cultural imperialist to criticize a different culture? Legacy Alice Walkers works are known for their portrayals of the African-American womans life. She depicts vividly the sexism, racism, and poverty that make that life often a struggle. But she also portrays as part of that life, the strengths of family, community, self-worth, and spirituality. Many of her novels depict women in other periods of history than our own. Just as with non-fiction womens history writing, such portrayals give a sense of the differences and similarities of womens condition today and in that other time. Alice Walker continues not only to write but to be active in environmental, feminist/womanist causes, and issues of economic justice. Her latest novel, Now is the Time to Open Your Heart, was published in 2004; since that time her published work has been poetry. In 2018, she published a collection of poems titled Taking the Arrow Out of the Heart. Sources Alice Walker: By the Book. The New York Times, December 13, 2018.  Howard, Lillie P (ed.). Alice Walker Zora Neale Hurston: The Common Bond. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood, 1993.Lazo, Caroline. Alice Walker: Freedom Writer. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications, 2000.  Ã‚  Takenaga, Lara. A Q. and A. With Alice Walker Stoked Outrage. Our Book Review Editor Responds. New York Times, December 18, 2018.  Walker, Alice. Alice Walker Banned.  Ed. Holt, Patricia. New York: Aunt Lute Books, 1996.  Walker, Alice (ed.) I Love Myself When I Am Laughing... Then Again When I Am Looking Mean Impressive: A Zora Neale Hurston Reader. New York: The Feminist Press, 1979.  Walker, Alice. Living by the Word: Selected Writings, 1973-1987. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Company, 1981.White, Evelyn C. Alice Walker: A Life. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2004.

Hillary Clinton and Universal Health Care

Hillary Clinton and Universal Health Care Hillary Clinton is perhaps most remembered during her tenure as the first lady of the United States in the mid-1990s for her unsuccessful push for universal health care, a controversial proposal seen at the time as a radical overhaul of the way Americans received coverage that drew strong opposition from both the drug and health insurance industries. The cornerstone of the plan was a mandate on employers to provide health insurance for all of their employees. Later in her political career, Clinton supported a mandate on Americans - not businesses - to purchase health insurance for themselves as part of a broad proposal to rein in costs and boost value and quality in the nations network of private health insurers. Clinton unveiled her newer proposals in her American Health Choices Plan during the race for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. Said Clinton in September 2007: My plan covers all Americans and improves health care by lowering costs and improving quality. If youre one of the tens of millions of Americans without coverage or if you dont like the coverage you have, you will have a choice of plans to pick from and youll get tax credits to help pay for it. If you like the plan you have, you can keep it. Its a plan that works for Americas families and Americas businesses, while preserving consumer choices. That same individual mandate became a part of President Barack Obamas health care law. Hillary Clinton and Universal Health Care Hillary Clinton was the first lady to President Bill Clinton in 1993 when he appointed her to chair the Presidents Task Force on National Health Care Reform. The president had warned in his inaugural address that the administration would face staunch opposition from powerful lobbies and special interests who would attempt to derail its efforts to provide coverage for all Americans, and he was right. Congressional Republicans opposed the plan, the public saw it as too complex and bureaucratic, but perhaps the kiss of death was the tremendous amount of criticism it received from health insurance industry, which went too far as to produce a multimillion-dollar television campaign against the proposal. The Clinton health care overhaul billed as the centerpiece of Bill Clintons presidency and a path to ensuring some 37 million Americans who had no coverage, died for lack of support in Congress in what was considered a major defeat for the administration and political setback for Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton Revises Health Care Proposals Clinton emerged with a new set of plans to ensure every American during the 2008 race for the Democratic presidential nomination. She said she had learned from her mistakes in 1993 and 1994 when the Clinton administrations proposals were too complicated, and that she had the scars to show for it. Clinton portrayed her new American Health Choices Plan as being one modeled after the health care program through which members of Congress are covered. The new array of choices offered in the menu will provide benefits at least as good as the typical plan offered to members of Congress, which includes mental health parity and usually dental coverage, Clinton said in 2007. Hillary Clintons plan would have required Americans to purchase health insurance and required insurers to cover everyone regardless of whether they had preconditions. It would have provided tax credits to Americans who couldnt afford to purchase health care and paid for them by rolling back the so-called Bush tax cuts on those earning more than $250,000 a year. Clinton said at the time her plan would have resulted in a net tax cut for American taxpayers.

Titanic Film Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Titanic Film - Movie Review Example The paper tells that in the movie â€Å"Titanic† each scene, irrespective of the situation, you would be swept off your feet, seeing its beauty. A typical example of mere creation would be the scene which shows the ships logo. The movie opens with a sepia tone scene of the first voyage of the ship. Slowly as the camera covers the entire ship, it shows that Titanic is the most elegant, grandest and beautiful ship to be ever made on the face of the earth. It shows how majestically it floats in the mighty Atlantic Ocean, even the smoke churning out of the tall smoke towers on the top of the ship, and with the most soulful hymns, to add icing on the cake. She simply becomes the metaphor for Eden, sailing in the ocean of blue. Slowly we see the title, ‘TITANIC’, which appears over dark waters, which eventually speaks of her story, in the same way as Eden, as she will also fall into the darkness of the water. ‘I’m flying’. This happens to be the most beautiful and memorable scene in this movie. Who could ever forget the scene when Jack and Rose stand on the frontest tip of the mighty ship and opens their arms wide, and feel like they are flying. Everything was perfect in this scene, the sun setting, the beautiful hymns of ‘Every Night In My Dreams’, Rose’s clothes and hair symbolizing her freedom, which she is beginning to move into, and the words that she says, â€Å"I Trust You†, to Jack. These aspects make it one of the most beautiful romantic scenes in the history of Hollywood.

Earthquakes in the Xi Chuan Province Research Paper

Earthquakes in the Xi Chuan Province - Research Paper Example Being near an active fault, the area regularly experiences light tremors due to the constant movement of the plates. However, there are instances where big, catastrophic earthquakes hit the region. An example of which happened on May 12, 2008, 06:28:04 (UTC) which according to official reports, seventy thousand people were killed, three hundred seventy four thousand people were injured, and about seventeen thousand more were reported missing. (Chen, Qiao, and Liu 809) To make a good equivalence, the Xi Chuan province is like Charleston of the United States. These places when they were established were not really plagued by catastrophe but, throughout the years, they became known to be the â€Å"center of calamity† for their respective countries. (Steinberg 5) For most people, inside and especially outside China, we only hear about these great catastrophes through the reports given by media. Although those in the media are sworn to present news in the most accurate way possible , it is hard for get such an accurate representation. There will always be bias and only snippets of the catastrophe can be recorded at one time. The perspective from which the report was derived is important in determining how a catastrophe will be seen by viewers inside and outside the immediate areas affected. Responses from these reports will ultimately determine how people will act with regard to the needs and situation of those struck with the calamity. There are several perspectives that a disaster report might come from. A disaster can be seen through the eyes on a local who has experienced the tragedy first hand, or through the eyes of an outsider, a foreign journalist perhaps that was tasked to report on the case. Another and more prevalent perspective, especially in a socialist country like China, is the perspective given by the government. These perspectives are the key that determines how locals as well as the policy makers will prepare their disaster management and pre paredness plan in for future catastrophes. Loopholes in the presentation of facts or exaggerations in the number of lives lost or damage to property can adversely affect these efforts to reduce damage and mortality for earthquakes. Aside from the perspectives, there are also a lot of ways wherein the reports on the disaster can be expressed. Newspapers and Blogs carry text and images regarding the aftermath of the disaster. Television and radio broadcasts also carry video and audio information about the activities and current situation of those affected. Incorporation different types of media and harnessing different modes of getting information disseminated can create a big effect on how a disaster is perceived and might well be the key determinants to the immediacy as well as the appropriateness of the actions instigated in response to the catastrophe. In this regard, the study intends to analyze how the Xi Chuan earthquakes are represented in media through text, videos, photo doc umentaries, and press releases. The study tries to connect how these reports affect the views of the locals, and even the rest of the world regarding earthquakes in the Xi Chuan province and will also try to determine the implications of these reports on the disaster management and preparedness plans for the area, the conduct of the rescue and relief operations as well as its effect on other relevant sectors. Literature Review A brief history of the study of seismic activity in the Xi Chuan basic region was detailed in the study of Han and Jiang (231). The Xi Chuan –

Technological Advancements in Communication Essay Example for Free

Technological Advancements in Communication Essay What technological advancements in communication were discussed in the article? In this article, The technological advancements in communication discussed included collaborative technologies like social computing, wiki’s, mash up’s, video conferencing, and instant messaging. These technologies allow businesses to get away from all the e-mails or traditional communication that involves only a select number of people. With collaborative technology, business can communicate with anyone they want and everyone feels like they are included. Choose two communication types and compare and contrast them. How could these be used in your workplace? Two of the communication types that I am going to compare are emails, and interactive spreadsheets like the one mentioned from smartsheet.com. In my workplace, we could use interactive spreadsheets to our advantage. We share emails back and forth to our subsidiaries’ in many countries. Most all of the different countries share a different language and translation could present a problem. With an interactive spreadsheet, you could have a space reserved for the different languages so that information could be translated one time instead of many times. Emails are only available to whoever you send them to. With an interactive spread sheet, information could be viewed by everyone and other people could put their two cents in. You would be creating a larger team than with emails. Do these technological advancements in communication follow what is traditionally considered business communication? Why? I think that these technological advancements in communication follow traditional business communication to a certain extent. Information is still being shared, teams are still collaborating, and decisions are still getting made. The difference with collaborative technology is that it is much easier to do all of this now. Businesses are able to communicate on a much broader level and more people can be involved. Technology is also  taking the leg work out of the equation for some businesses, freeing them up to concentrate on more important tasks.

Unwarranted Cellular Tracking in The United States Essay -- Personal F

In this day and age of technology and digital information, finding the location of a restaurant or landmark only takes the click of a button. At the same time, the technology being used for directions and GPS allows the government to find the location of anyone at any given moment, watching over all as they so please. The prevalence of unwarranted cell phone tracking is extremely high, so much so that a case was taken to the Supreme Court to debate the issue. It was decided in this case, United States v. Jones, that a device having its movements tracked is the same as trespassing on property (United States Supreme Court). More recently than this, the American Civil Liberties Union released several public records detailing the process police departments use before tracing cell phone locations. Shockingly, it was revealed that a large majority of departments around the country fail to acquire a proper warrant before tracking suspects (Crump). Considering the ubiquity of cell phones in society today, jokes about the government turning into a "Big Brother" watching over citizens have nearly become a reality in the U.S., with tremendous worries about what little privacy there is left. What was once thought of as a handy communication tool has now turned into a traveling tracker for the police to spy on the common man with. Imagine, every step outside of a denizen's home being tracked step for step. This was entirely unknown before, and the revelation of such broke the illusion of safety civilians thought they had. Law enforcement agencies shouldn't be allowed to so freely track cell phones without the use of a warrant, it violates a citizen's rights, gives no regard to privacy, and creates an inconsistent legal standard within ag... ...media story brings this issue to light again. Making the push to put reform on this matter and enacting a law to require warrants will restore the values law enforcement agencies are meant to uphold, and bring back the sense of security that is seldom found in society today. Works Cited Clark, M. Wesley. Cell Phones as Tracking Devices, 41 Val. U. L. Rev. 1413 (2007). Crump, C.. "Results of nationwide government cell phone tracking records request show frequent violations of Americans' privacy rights." . N.p., 2012. Web. 22 May 2012. Lightblau, Eric. "Police Are Using Phone Tracking as a Routine Tool." www.nytimes.com. New York Times, 03/3. Web. 28 May 2012. U.S. Supreme Court, . "United States v. Jones Opinion."supremecourt.gov. Us Government, 2012. Web. 28 May 2012. "Cell Tracking." Electronic frontier foundation. EFF, n.d. Web. 22 May 2012.

Human resources Essay Essay

This essay is basically about the Catastrophe Concepts contract. Catastrophe Concepts is an Australian manufacturer as well as a distributor of women’s fashion apparel. The sales manager of the company, Karen Stevens was hired by the company in the year 2001 and currently Karen works as a senior sales executive for Catastrophe Concepts. It has been eight years now that Karen is working for the company and is being paid $175,000 annually and is also provided with a company maintained car. However, there is no specific written record regarding Karen’s recruitment except for a letter that was sent to Karen in which she was welcomed to the company and it also said that she would be paid $75,000 annually by the company. However, Catastrophe Concepts is now facing a serious downturn that has concerned the marketing manager of the company, Lilly Zheng to question whether Karen should be allowed to continue working for the company or not. Karen has been working for Catastrophe Concepts since the last eight years with all sincerity and no issues of misconduct or decline in her performance can been seen as her performance has always been rated acceptable but she does not have any further chance of promotion or to further advance in her career. This is the reason why Lilly Zheng is concerned whether Karen should be allowed to continue working for the company or she should be terminated and due to this Lilly has a few questions in her mind and she wants the human resource manager, George Chapel to answer. In this part of the paper I would answer some of the questions arising in the mind of Lilly Zheng from the viewpoint of George Chapel. The first question that Lilly has in her mind is related to Karen’s termination and she wants to know how Catastrophe Concepts can terminate Karen. For this, I would say that termination would not be the correct word to be used in this case and the reason behind this is that an employee can only be terminated from the company on the basis of misconduct or due to unsatisfactory performance but Karen is not charged of any of the two so she cannot be terminated from Catastrophe Concepts. However, termination has a broader concept than this and it can be voluntary i. e. with the employee’s free will or it can be involuntary i. e. terminated by employer. Layoffs and dismissals are a part of involuntary termination. In this situation, Catastrophe Concepts can layoff Karen due to the downturn of the business or they can opt for a mutual agreement between Karen and the company. In order to make the termination soft, the company can take certain actions such as by asking Karen herself to resign and to convince her to do so by explaining her facts. Termination always leaves negative affects on the other employees working for the company as they become unsecure about their own job and their motivation level decreases. For this purpose, at the time when Karen is terminated, she should be given various incentives and should be allowed to leave the company in the most respectable manner (Storey 1998).. In case Karen agrees to leave the company and if she joins a competitor, there are many risks involved with this as Karen has worked for Catastrophe Concepts for quite a long period of eight years and she knows a lot about the company. Moreover, she is the senior sales executive and so she knows all the techniques of selling women’s apparel and where ever she will go she would definitely use her skills. Due to this, there should be some restrictions that should apply to Karen such as she should be made to sign a contract not to provide the company details to the competitor or to provide the competitor with the secrets of the company. (David 1997). If Karen provides confidential marketing information to the competitor, this would be very bad for Catastrophe Concepts as this will help the competitor not only to know the marketing secrets of the company but it would also help the competitor predict the future actions Catastrophe Concepts is planning to take and on this basis, they might come up with better strategies or they might use the same marketing plans before Catastrophe Concepts applies these strategies and plans and this will prove to be awful for Catastrophe Concepts. Another possibility that might happen after Karen’s termination is that she might lure and hire other staff currently employed by Catastrophe Concepts. This would also prove to be bad for Catastrophe Concepts as they would loose their employee and with the employee, they also have a lot of possibility off losing company’s information. Moreover, as the employees as already trained by Catastrophe Concepts, they would have to hire a new employee and train them all over again and this involves both financial and time cost. Huselid 1995). The second part of the paper suggests the restraint of trade clause that should have been included in Karen’s original written contract. Moreover, another thing that needs to be taken care off in this contract should be in context with the duration, extent and geography. For such situations, it is very important for Catastrophe Concepts to have a good human resource department so that they can fulfill their duties and do the best for the employees working in the company. It is the duty of the human resource department to come up with various strategies and trade clauses for the employees. Previously, however Catastrophe Concepts did not have any such trade clause due to which they are facing this problem now, therefore they should take steps now and should work on the clause so that such problems do not occur in future. It is always necessary for the company to have their legal rules defined to the employees so that they are aware of things. Having a trade clause would further enable to protect its legal rights and there should always be an agreement between the company and the employee. It is also a wise idea to have employment agreements as these would enable Catastrophe Concepts to guard their wellbeing against the employees working for the company; however the human resource department has to be careful when coming up with trade clauses and they should make sure that they have the most important ones already defined for the company. Some of the most important ones are mentioned in the paragraphs below. (Micallef & Powell 1997). When an employee agrees not to opt for a profession that is similar to the one he is currently working as in order to prevent competition against the company is possible when an employees signs a non-compete clause. Once the employee signs the contract, he is bound to obey it and he cannot opt for the same profession once he resigns or is terminated from a company. This contract can help the company to prevent the employee from distributing the company’s confidential information or any kind of trade secrets to the competitor. These secrets might include the company’s marketing strategies or the products the company plans to come up with in future. (Lado &Wilson 1994). Non-Solicitation Agreement would basically help Catastrophe Concepts to guard the employees from stealing information or the customers. Other than this, they can form non-competition agreements as they can center on geography, customers as well as knowledge. It is not likely for Catastrophe Concepts to stop the competitors from competing with the company but there are certain situations in which such contracts can be signed such as in employee-employer situation. Non-disparagement agreement averts the employee to speak bad things about the employer and the non-interference agreement averts the employee from interfering in relationships such as between the vendors or the customers, etc. Other than this, Catastrophe Concepts can also opt for confidentiality agreement, termination agreement and workplace property agreement, etc. Confidentiality agreement would prevent the employee from giving the confidential information of the company to the competitors while the termination agreement would help the company in terminating employees by making the employees sign a contract at the time they join the company. Moreover, another problem Catastrophe Concepts might face could be to keep the property at the workplace safe and secure and for this it is essential for the company to make the employees sign the workplace property agreement. (Leat 2001).

The Constructionist Perspective of Obesity

Abstract In this paper I will explore the social construction of obesity and how it formed into a social problem. Recent and growing media attention surrounding obesity in the United States, the so-called obesity epidemic remains a highly debated scientific and social fact. This paper examines the contemporary obesity debate through systematic examination of the claims and claim-makers involved in the controversy.I will not take sides, but merely show and clearly explain each side's views on the obesity epidemic. Social Construction of Global Warming . Social Construction Process: Creating a social problem using the social constructionist approach requires an audience who believes that there is in fact a problem before that topic is considered a social problem. There is a process to creating a social problem starting with â€Å"claims, claims-making, audiences and claims competitions.Regardless of whether claims are verbal, visual, or behavioral, they are the social problems work of claims- makers who want to convince audiences how to think about social problems and how to feel about these problems. † (Lose,2009) In this paper I will discuss the process n which obesity is viewed as an epidemic so therefore is a social problem. We have to ask ourselves, who are the people making this claim, who are they trying to target, and are they being successful? In other words is the targeted audience being persuaded in the belief: obesity is an epidemic?In this process I will compare and contrast two arguments dealing with obesity. One set of views is obesity is a problem of individuals making bad choices and on the other hand there is a belief the food industry has increased portion sizes and markets unhealthy food options with high fat, calories etc. So that obesity is understood as more than Just an individual issue. The sub argument is how should treatment is administered. Do healthcare professionals target individuals and teach them a healthy lifestyle or do y ou target the food industry to make changes in their products? II.Claim-maker of Obesity: The healthcare industry finds the obesity epidemic of great interest due to the strong connection between obesity and obesity related health side effects. Many studies have been done to monitor the increase of obesity with in United States. â€Å"Adult obesity rates increased in 16 states in the past year and did not decline in any state, according to F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America's Future 2011, a report from the Trust for America's Health (TFH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (ROWS). Twelve states now have obesity rates above 30 percent.Four years ago, only one state was above 30 percent. † (â€Å"F as in,† 2011) As a result of these findings augments among health care professionals were establish focusing on the cause of obesity. One group of healthcare professionals believes the problem is an individual person's poor decision making which leads to obesity. I f a person is making bad hoicks in their eating habits and does not exercise then that person will eventually become obese. The other set of professionals would argue it is not in individual choice, but their environment in which they live in.Food companies are targeting their consumers with ads and their increased potion sizes so therefore more and more people are becoming obese. Both sides of the argument believe there is connection between obesity and obesity related health side effects. Each side has different beliefs on how to combat the obesity epidemic. One side of the house is focused on curing obesity while the other side focuses on prevention. A. Individual Problem: Claim-makers who feel obesity is an individual problem use individualism as their targeted moralities.There is a belief system that people embrace individualism, autonomy, and responsibility for their actions. The belief in the importance of individual's freedom to choose the types of food they consume and to h ave a more active lifestyle is embraced by most people. It is estimated that the leading cause of death in the United States is caused by â€Å"lifestyle† such as smoking, diet, exercise and sexual practices. (Adler & Stewart, 2009) Since studies have shown lifestyle is a cause f obesity, medical professionals using the medical model focus on the individual patient for a cure.They not only focus on lifestyles but genetics and family history. To them behavioral choices and therapy is the main target for intervention. Obesity is more than calories in verses calories out. There are other factors that go into this problem. More and more research is indicating that America's obesity crisis cannot be blamed entirely on too much fast food and too little exercise. Genetics plays a factor into which people are becoming obese. There are â€Å"natural and synthetic chemicals known as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (Deeds), or as searchers have begun to call them, obsesses.Obsesses are chemicals that disrupt the function of hormonal systems; many researchers believe they lead to weight gain and, in turn, numerous diseases that curse the American populace. † (Perrine & Warlock, 2010) Other hormone disorders come into effect such at thyroid, adrenal glands, pituitary glands, ovaries which can also contribute to obesity. In many cases of weight loss management requires a balance of behavioral and medical intervention. This balance is created through the guidance of a physician.Another factor in the rise of obesity is parents of young children who have poor dating habits raise children who are obese. â€Å"Today's children are the first generation of Americans projected to have a shorter life span than their parents -? with one out of three at risk of developing Type Two diabetes, a crippling disease once seen only in adults. † (Stone, 2006) Parents instill healthy lifestyles in their children. They do this through family democracies, and beliefs and atti tudes in eating and physical activity.The significant associations between household, parent, and child variables offer a glimpse into the potential processes at work prior to a child's status as obese. For instance, measuring of general parenting and parent attitudes to-ward child eating and nutrition were meaningfully related to the kinds of foods available in the home and to children's activities, both potential risk factors for childhood overweight, Gable & Lutz, (2000) Children's roles in their own physical health and well-being cannot be discounted however, it is the parent who instill these values into their children.B. Public Health â€Å"The public health model differs from the medical model not only in its emphasis on prevention but also in its consideration of a wider range of causative factors. † (Adler Stewart, 2009) These factors focus is mainly on the food industry. Their believe system is the food industry exploits people by targeting lower income families and their environment. They do this through marketing, advertisements. Public health approaches in solving obesity does include health education, they approach the problem through legislative and regulatory means.Examples are nutrition standards for school lunch programs; bans on sugar-sweetened beverages in school's vending machines; requirements for developers of residential subdivisions to include bicycle paths, sidewalks, and parks; and zoning regulations for fast-food outlets. This group is using the moralities of equality of opportunity and equality under the law. Although obesity affects all demographics in the United States, some healthcare professional would argue obesity is target. Racial and ethnic minority adults, and those with less education or who make less money continue to have the highest overall obesity rates† (â€Å"F as in,† 2011) Published finding have reveal companies who produce products such as sodas, candies and alcoholic beverages target minoriti es verses the general audience. These advertisements are found on billboards in communities in predominantly African American and Hispanic. The advertisements are also seen in commercials and magazines that target African American and Hispanic audiences.The environment in which people live directly affects people food choices. Lewis and colleagues (2005) also identified substantially more point-of-sale advertising and promotion of unhealthful foods in restaurants in low-income African American and Latino communities than in more affluent white communities in Los Angels County. (Yankee, Cole, Brown, Williams, Hillier, Kline, Ashes & Beckman, 2009) Opportunities for physical activity, in low income neighborhoods are very low.Parks and walk able areas are scarce. Perceptions of resource quality, safety, and cultural relevance also affect physical activity levels. Research as concluded safety and quality factors in traffic fatalities, crime rates and park size effect obesity rates becau se counter to predictions, subpopulations generally considered vulnerable to obesity (and environmental injustices more generally) are more likely to live in willable neighborhoods and have better walking access to neighborhood parks than other groups.However, crime is highest in willable neighborhoods with large Latino and African-American populations and parks are smaller in areas populated by Latino/as. Given the higher prevalence of obesity and related diseases in lower income and minority populations the results suggest that benefits of built environments may be offset by social characteristics Ill. Audiences: The target audience for awareness of the obesity as a social problem targets every U. S. Citizen. Obesity is becoming a worldwide problem however the United States in the lead globally ranking the highest rates of obesity.Mainly the focuses is on physicians, nurses, dieticians/Dart's, nutritionists, fitness professionals, health educators, public health professionals, soc ial workers, psychologists, physical harpists, occupational therapists, teachers, administrators and school counselors. The other side tries to appeal to lawyers, food companies, and political representatives. These groups of people have the tools to promote change. IV. Power Relationships: As the obesity epidemic continues to intensify, it's becoming clear that there's more to obesity than lifestyle choices.Therefore, endocrinologists carefully examine the genetic and physiological causes and effects of obesity and develop treatment options that can produce concrete results. Endocrinologists are doctors that are facially trained to diagnose and treat diseases related to the body endocrine system – which regulates appetite, metabolism (food burning and waste elimination), and growth through chemicals known as hormones (â€Å"Combating obesity,† 2012) The same lawyers who battle the cigarette makers are now fighting the food companies.Dry, William Jacobs says â€Å"Fro m the days of â€Å"reefer madness,† that old anti- drug movie, the word â€Å"addiction† has conjured images of out-of-control behavior. But today, cutting edge science is shedding new light on addiction and its connection to chemical changes in the brain. If those changes can lead to compulsive behavior, mom scientists wonder if fatty foods and drugs Just might have more in common† (Stone, 2006) While most consumers would say what you eat is your choice. It's a matter of personal responsibility what you eat, but several academics and lawyers are arguing you're far less free to choose what's on your plate than you realize.While each group is made up of professionals who are notable, it is matter of persuading the audience to which solution is correct. V. Conclusion: Targeting obesity has support across the political spectrum. In the US, discussions of the supposed obesity epidemic usually take place within the context of a larger concussion, which assumes that t he increasing weight of the population is a sign of increasing moral laxity and that overweight and obesity are playing a significant role in driving up health care costs.This linkage is attractive for those who are ideologically committed to a focus on ‘individual responsibility, rather than on structural factors that continue to drive health care costs ever upward, and leave one out of every seven Americans without health insurance of any kind. Anxieties about increasing weight resonate with those on the left of the political spectrum as well, ho tend to interpret the ‘obesity epidemic' as both a by-product and a symbol of rampant consumer overcompensation and greedy corporations. Camps, Sashay, Reemerges, Oliver, Greaser, 2005) In this paper I have shown the construction of obesity as a social problem has been made through a series of steps used in the social construction of a social problem. Claims were made by those who feel obesity is problem of individual making b ad lifestyle choices and those who feel is the food industry plays a huge role in why more people are obese today. Both groups validate obesity is an epidemic and therefore a social problem however these groups battle the way we are to combat this problem.

GMOs essays

GMOs essays Benefits of Genetically Modified Organisms We live in a world that is constantly changing and advancing thanks to technological advancements, especially in the field of molecular genetics. Today, we are discovering and implementing new ways to overcome the ill-fated symptoms developed as a result from poor health or accidents. We are also making advancements in the field of agriculture thanks to molecular genetics. As we all know, food is an essential entity in our lives and is abundant as well as relatively easy to obtain here in the United States. However, as good as it may sound, this is not necessarily true for developing countries. Many people in developing countries receive very little food, if any, due to its scarcity. It is estimated that in Asia alone, close to 800 million people go to bed hungry every night due to food shortage. This problem can be alleviated by turning to the production of genetically modified organisms (a.k.a. GMOs). Genetically modified organisms can be plants or animals that have been genetically altered to produce or express a desired characteristic or trait. By genetically altering organisms such as crops, we can eliminate the use of pesticides by making the crops resistant to insects. We can also produce crops that are resistant to floods and droughts. Furthermore, with the use of molecular genetics, we are able to produce foods that are rich in nutrients and supplements. People in developing countries may not be fortunate enough to have a full course meal that contains nutrients from all four basic food groups. However, GMOs can with a little modification provide all the amino acids, vitamins, and minerals included in a good diet by simply consuming a genetically modified staple crop such as rice. In addition, by producing crops that are resistant to harsh environmental conditions as well as pests, we would see a rapid increase in the production of food thereby redu...

Free Essays Online

Free Essays Online Free Essays Online Free Essays Online Free essays online are abundant but you should be very careful not to copy a single line. Teachers as well as students are fully aware of the splendor of essays posted online. Therefore, do not play games with your academic career - use free essays online as samples only.   If you need help with essay writing, we offer customized assistance with all types of essays. You may either place an order or contact us for further clarification. is open 24/7! Free essay online sample - health At the personal level, risk-benefit decisions often involve the question of whether to avoid substances that may be harmful to health. Is the flavor of a steak well marbled with fat worth a possibly increased probability of dying of a heart attack? Is the relaxation, pleasure, and possible ease of weight control that accompanies smoking a sufficient benefit to counterbalance the substantially increased possibilities of dying young of lung cancer or circulatory disease? Do the benefits of using aerosol underarm deodorants or hair sprays compensate for possible health effects, which are certainly small (and may be zero), of inhaling them? People informally weigh such risks all the time, always in the face of uncertainty and often even without access to the basic information about the risks that society possesses. Even when considerable information is available, and the power to act is in your hands, decisions may not be easy. Suppose it were announced that your town's drinking water contained that chemical that gives you a one in 10 million chance of dying of liver cancer if you drink that water for the rest of your life. Would you spend $10 a year on a filter to remove the material? $100 a year? $1,000? Your answer would obviously depend on many things, including your age and financial situation. Consider a more familiar example. There are undeniable benefits to driving a private automobile's convenience being paramount among them. But when everybody is driving a private automobile and commuters spend hours daily in near gridlock, the convenience factor is reduced and the direct (accident) and indirect (air pollution) risks escalate. Even now the benefits of driving are difficult to balance against the escalating risks. How does one calculate into the conveniences and inconveniences of automobile commuting the risks of additional exposure to airborne carcinogens and heart-threatening carbon monoxide or the contribution that the automobile makes toward global warming? Is the residual convenience worth a month-shorter life expectancy? A year? Two years? Is it worth a 1-percent chance of subjecting your grandchildren to food shortages by contributing to future crop failures caused by global warming? A 2 percent chance? A 5-percent chance? Custom Writing The above sample is posted here for free. Thus, it is open for all visitors of the site. If you have found this page, your teacher may find it as well.  Thus, it is recommended to use customized writing help, service offered by professional writers. Your customized essay will be written from scratch and never resold to other customers.   Finally, it will not be posted anywhere online. Prices are very affordable.

Global Politcal economy - To what extent can free trade be viewed as Essay

Global Politcal economy - To what extent can free trade be viewed as beneficial to economic development Use specific examples to support your answer - Essay Example World Trade Organizations (WTO) , European Commission, US Trade Representative and Fronning, 2005 are all conclusive that countries derive benefits. Free trade encourages growth and jobs since lowering trade barriers is good for employment. However, it is noted that as trade expands ,some jobs are lost because of technology and competition from imports. In terms of job creation, EU Commission calculates that the creation of its single market meant 300,000 to 900,000 jobs to be created. Job prospects are enhanced in companies involved in trade. WTO reports 12 million people in the United States owe their jobs to exports; 1.3 million well paying jobs were created between 1994 and 1998. In Mexico, best jobs are those related to export activities, workers of sectors that export 60 percent of its production or more are paid 39% higher than the rest in the economy and those working in in-bond assembly plants are paid 3.5 times the Mexican minimum wage. Free trade brings competence in the system. It helps cut costs because of rules involved. For instance, when there is no free trade, different tariffs and duties are imposed; and if you were an importer of parts for your own production, it would be difficult to calculate different tariff rates charged on imports, thus buying would be very difficult. So in this aspect, free trade brings simplification and standardization of procedures, transparency, and increased certainty on trading conditions. Free trade discourages lobbying in the sense that governments are protected from lobbying of interest groups. For instance when a pressure group asks for protectionism, government can safely reject it on the basis of free trade agreements. Free trade encourages good governance since the rule reduces opportunities for corruption. Take for example quota system as a trade barrier. The quota system is the allocation of a specific amount for import or export. This system is prone to corruption because it

Essay/story Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

/story - Essay Example She was already in Turkey, where she was now waiting for her mother Rose and her step-father Mustapha (Shafak 2007). She had the entire plan in her mind, coded and programmed, where she knew exactly how to target the enemies. One by one, she would take down each and everyone after which her Armenian blood would be satiated. Only after seeking revenge would she be able to return to America, and start a new life with little regrets and massive satisfaction. After having confirmed that Asya was indeed Zeliha`s daughter via a DNA test she had conducted before, she now had a leverage over Zeliha. She dug deeper to find out who the father of Asya was since she had her apprehensions when she sensed the discomfort in Zeliha`s eyes over the subject. She found rather odd that a bold audacious woman like Zeliha would abstain from accepting Asya as her own daughter, and more so as to keep Asya in the dark over who her father was. To dig deeper, Armanoush went ahead to investigate about all the past affairs Zeliha was having by the time she had conceived Asya. She had to find out who Asya`s father was, to further aggrandize the leverage over the situation which she had planned on exploiting later. Also, she was well aware of Mustsapha`s hesitation over visitng Turkey. In all these years, how come Mustapha never even thought of visiting his family, the Kazancis (Shafak 2007). She knew something was wrong, and she was determined to find out. Her instincts were telling her to plot a confrontation between Mustapha and aunt Zeliha, and she was sure something would pop, since Zeliha felt so uncomfortable with the idea of Mustapha visiting. Thus, that night, while her parents would arrive, she had planned out an episode to ensure a direct confrontation between Zeliha and Mustapha. Armanoush and Asya, along with Aunt Banu were leaving the doorway while aunty Zeliha came after them, perplexed and anguished at the same time. ‘Asya, come back here you.