Eighteen Years Old, The Age Of Adulthood In The United

Eighteen years old, the age of adulthood in the United States, where one can legally participate in activities that one was unable to as a child. Well, almost everything. This unfortunately doesn’t include the right to decide whether to drink alcohol or not because the drinking age in the United States is twenty-one, not eighteen. The drinking age, as a matter of fact, used to be eighteen in some of the states back in the 1970s and prior to that. The new national drinking age limit was implemented in 1984. States had the option of choosing to follow this new law or keep their existing drinking age, but if the states did not abide by this new law, they would have ten percent of their highway funds annually condemned (â€Å"The 1984†). This was†¦show more content†¦Alcohol is said to be the fourth leading preventable cause of death, so there is obviously a number one leading cause. The number one leading cause of death in the United States is tobacco: â€Å"Ciga rette smoking is responsible for more than 480,000 deaths per year in the United States, including more than 41,000 deaths, resulting from secondhand smoke exposure† (â€Å"Smoking†). Tobacco is killing five times more Americans than alcohol is, but it is legal to buy cigarettes and smoke them at eighteen years old. Why is drinking alcohol seen as more harmful than smoking, when clearly the statistics are showing something different? Drinking alcohol and using tobacco can both be extremely unhealthy and destructive to the human body, but in different ways. Long-term overuse of alcohol can cause diseases such as liver cancer or heart disease. Another big concern with drinking is ingesting too much at one time and getting alcohol poisoning. Both examples are destructive to the human body, but drinking alcohol responsibly and moderately can provide some health benefits, if the drinking is kept to an average of only about one to two drinks per day (Mayo). Unlike drinking al cohol, smoking tobacco doesn’t have any health benefits. Smoking is undoubtedly detrimental to anyone’s health, increasing a person’s risk of getting heart disease and/or lung cancer. Lowering the drinking age would help a young drinker become more responsible andShow MoreRelatedEssay about Lower the Drinking Age To 18561 Words   |  3 Pages The drinking age in the United States is a contradiction. At the age of eighteen, one can drive a car, vote in an election, get married, serve in the military and buy tobacco products. In the United States you are legally an adult at eighteen. An eighteen-year-old, however, cannot purchase alcoholic beverages. The minimum drinking age should be lowered from twenty-one in the United States. Unbelievably, the United States citizens trust their sixteen-year-old children to drive three thousand poundRead MoreThe Drinking Age Of The United States Essay1599 Words   |  7 PagesBy the age of twenty-one, most people have at some point consumed an alcoholic beverage. For others, turning twenty-one might mean a whole new world of freedom. Young teens and adults drink for many reasons. Teens may drink because of peer pressure, others because of pure enjoyment, and many for of the thrill of breaking the law. Before the 1980’s, the legal drinking age was eighteen. This would only make sense because at this age a person is declared an adult. Many are in favor of keeping the drinkingRead MoreThe Legal Drinking Age Should Be Abolished1634 Words   |  7 Pagesin the United States all stem from one major root: the Prohibition Era of the 1920s. The Prohibition Era lasted almost thirteen years and banned the production, the distribution, and the sale of alcohol. In 1933, the Pr ohibition Act was repealed and states designated their own legal drinking age. In 1984 the National Minimum Drinking Age act was passed and raised the drinking age in the United States to twenty-one. This law caused uproar in states that had declared the minimum drinking age to be eighteenRead MoreThe Debate Of The Drinking Age959 Words   |  4 Pagesdrinking age has always been twenty-one in the United States, whenever it has been questioned on why twenty-one and not eighteen. The scientific answer has always been because the eighteen-year-old brain is not fully developed yet. See what I have a hard time understanding is why eighteen-year-olds are considered adults at the age of eighteen, but we can’t have a drink. At eighteen you are allowed to buy cigarettes, join the army, change your name. I just don’t understand why at eighteen you are consideredRead MoreFor Years, The Debate About Deciding A Minimum Legal Drinking1638 Words   |  7 PagesFor years, the debat e about deciding a minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) has plagued the United States. The arguments can include that intoxicated driving accidents will increase if the MLDA was lowered or that the current MLDA is not decreasing drinking among young adults at all. The torn arguments between ages eighteen and twenty-one have not proven one age to be the right answer to the problem of deciding a drinking age, but if the MLDA was lowered to age eighteen, it would be the most beneficialRead MoreLowering The Drinking Age1336 Words   |  6 PagesStudies show that keeping the drinking age at twenty-one improves lives. When the United States raised the age limit to twenty-one in 1985, a shortage of drinking occurred at a whopping 40% by 1991. As a result, fewer students drop out of high school, less motor accidents occur, and suicides rates dropped significantly. However, lowering the drinking age to eighteen will bring serious consequences on young adults by reversing these statistics. Lowe ring the drinking age will cause significant health problemsRead MoreThe Issue Of Juvenile Crime Essay810 Words   |  4 Pagesjurisdiction age from age seventeen to eighteen is a great idea. I also believe that sexting is a crime for some. Juvenile crime is a huge issue in the United States, but how we punish those young adults is also very important. On September 18th, 2013 Deval Patrick, the Governor of Massachusetts, signed legislation that raises the age of juvenile jurisdiction from the age of seventeen to eighteen. There are many great reasons for this change. One reason for this change is because the age eighteen is theRead MoreThe Issue Of Juvenile Crime826 Words   |  4 Pagesjurisdiction age from age seventeen to eighteen is a great idea. I also believe that sexting is a crime for some. Juvenile crime is a huge issue in the United States, but how we punish them is also very important. On September 18th, 2013 Deval Patrick the Governor of Massachusetts signed a legislation that raises the age of juvenile jurisdiction from the age seventeen to eighteen. There are many great reasons for this change. One reason for this change is because the age eighteen is the mark ofRead MoreChanging the Minimun Legal Drinking Age in the United States1745 Words   |  7 PagesMinimum Legal Drinking Age in the United States Over the past twenty years the minimum legal drinking age has been twenty-one in all US states, but that has not stopped citizens of the United Sates from attempting to lower the age. Following the end of prohibition in the United Sates during the Great Depression, all states agreed on a set of twenty-one to be the legal drinking age. For almost forty years there was no change in the drinking age until a decrease in the age for voting occurred. ThisRead MoreThe Legal Drinking Age Should Be Lowered955 Words   |  4 PagesIn the United States of America, the National Government requires the states to enforce a legal drinking age of twenty-one. Where as the world average drinking age is eighteen, and in some Countries it is even lower where it is possible to get a beer at sixteen years of age. Taking that into consideration, there is a great deal of controversy in the United States on what the legal age should be to purchase and consume an alcoholic beverage. The largest issue being that you are considered to be an

How The Americas Impacted Europe - 1546 Words

How the Finding of the Americas Impacted Europe The relationship between the European powers and Asia had always had a great impact on our world’s history. Whether it was Genghis Khan rising from the steppe to take control of Europe, or the impact of the trade on the Silk Road between china and the far west. Europeans relied on Asian sources for medicines, spices, and all kinds of luxury goods that were unavailable elsewhere. The desire to profit from this trade impelled men to take great risk to find an alternative route around the Ottoman Empire to eastern Asia. Christopher Columbus set out from Spain in 1492 with exactly this mission in mind. His goal was to locate a safe trade passage to the Indies in India and also locating a way to†¦show more content†¦In other words, the discovery of the Americas brought the concepts of Globalization and Imperialism to life In Europe. As over the next 200 years after Columbus, the European powers raced to settle and colonize in the new world and ultimately remove anyone or anything in the way of that. Upon the Discovery of the Americas, the European powers raced to the Americas to utilize the land for its resources and ultimately became reliant on the Americas to answer the needs of the European society and economy. The Americas provided the Europeans with a whole new selection of resources to help power the European economy. These resources were important because the Americas gave the European powers a monopoly on these new resources because no one else in the world had them. This is why the Europeans were so aggressive in imperializing the new world, these resources were just too valuable to let loose. Starting in the late 1500’s the demand for sugar in Europe was incredibly large. In response to that, the Portuguese began taking advantage of their colony in Brazil. Brazil had the perfectly suited climate for cultivating and mass-producing sugar(Levak). Portugal began mass-producing and trading sugar back to Europe, holding a monopoly on the product, which greatly benefi ted the Portuguese economy. By 1575 Portugal’s Brazil

Utilitarianism and Happiness Free Essays

The philosophical theory that I choose to do is called â€Å"utilitarianism†. In a brief sentence, utilitarianism means the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Basically what this means is, doing the right thing is based on how many people your action benefits rather than how much it benefits you. We will write a custom essay sample on Utilitarianism and Happiness or any similar topic only for you Order Now According to the Oxford American Dictionary utility means â€Å"the state of being useful, profitable, or beneficial†(oxford dictionary,2013). The whole theory is all about how much it benefits and how useful or profitable an action or an idea is. For example: if killing one criminal brings forth happiness to a hundred people, then killing that one criminal is not a bad idea. Simply because it makes one hundred people happy. According to utilitarian’s the ultimate goal or the most important part of life is to seek happiness. But the happiness that you seek must not only benefit you, but it has to benefit a large sum of the people. This is called the â€Å"greatest happiness principle†(Wikipedia, Feb, 11,2013). Now this is the main idea of utilitarianism, but it does branch out in the different direction due to many philosophers that thought of this theory. Utilitarianism is not discovered by just one person, it’s made up of many ideas from many different philosophers. Although many people believe that utilitarianism started with Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, there were philosophers that came up with similar ideas as utilitarianism. Before we talk about the authors of this theory, we must really understand the history of utilitarianism and how it came to be. Way back in history when humans invented writing in the Sumerian Civilization of the Old Babylon, the ancient Mesopotamian people wrote a poem/story called the â€Å"Epic of Gilgamesh† about a friendship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu. In this story there’s a character by the name of Siduri that tells Gilgamesh â€Å"Fill your belly. Day and night make merry. Let days be full of joy. Dance and make music day and night†(Wikipedia, Feb, 3, 2013). This quote dates back to the very first advocacy of hedonistic philosophy in the human civilization. It is believed to be written during 2500 – 2000 B. C. A little forward in time and we come to meet Aristippus of Cyrene (435 – 356 BC). Aristippus is a student of one of the greatest philosophers to ever oam the planet, the father of philosophy, Socrates. Though Aristippus didn’t follow in the footsteps of his teacher, he had his own ideas and own theories of philosophy, one of them being hedonism. Aristippus idea of hedonism is that all people have the right to do anything to achieve the greatest amount of pleasure. For example: if drinking and doing drugs bring you the greatest amount of pleasure and happiness, then there is nothing wrong in doing so. You may be asking yourself, why I am telling you about the history of hedonism. So let me explain, in the 18th – 19th century. The British philosopher’s by the name of Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill came up with the theory of utilitarianism by taking hedonism of Aristippus and adding the â€Å"greatest happiness principle† (Kerby Anderson, 2012). The hedonistic theory of doing anything to achieve the greatest amount of pleasure turned into doing anything to achieve the â€Å"greatest good for the greatest number of people† which is now called utilitarianism, this philosophical theory is basically an innovation of hedonism. Though many philosophers had part in its discovery, Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill brought utilitarianism to its true glory, if they didn’t explain their philosophy in the way they did. Perhaps I wouldn’t be writing this essay right now. So the ones to be credited for utilitarianism is Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. But its not to say that this theory doesn’t have its advantages and disadvantages. Like all things in life, there are benefits and there are hindrances. The Advantage of utilitarianism is simply the happiness that you gain from doing something, whether the happiness is for you or someone you care about. In the end, someone is happy. If you’re in confusion on a certain decision and don’t know what to do, you can simply apply the greatest happiness theory and make your decision based on that. That way, you don’t seem selfish only thinking about your happiness and people will respect that choice and someday repay your kindness by sacrificing their happiness for yours. By sacrificing your happiness for someone else already makes you good human being. Its fits to show that our actions have consequences. If someone cares only about his/her actions alone, he/she wouldn’t have many friends ue to the lack to affection and concerns that he/she shows towards others. Another important advantage of utilitarianism is when you’re faced with a challenging and difficult task; it gives you the methodology of choosing the right path, the one that will benefit the most people. Instead of questioning how beneficial it will be for you. You begin to value other peopleâ⠂¬â„¢s happiness over your own. Therefore giving you the best possible option. Though it is good to put other before you, utilitarianism has its disadvantages as well. This particular philosophical theory has many disadvantages, but the one that matters to me is. Utilitarian’s only care about happiness, whatever brings the greatest amount of people the greatest amount of happiness. Sure, happiness is good, but what about people who don’t get that happiness. For example: out of 50 people, 35 of them get happiness. What happens to the other 15 people? Are we to just ignore how they feel? They are humans too, they have feelings as well. We can’t abandon them just because the other 35 people are happy. Secondly, if we care about others more than we care about ourselves. How can we possibly be able to live with ourselves? We can’t always be looking out for other people. We have to take care of ourselves as well. In the end, it’s our life. We have to look out for ourselves and make the decisions based on how well our life is going to be. There’s a saying in the famous movie pirate of the Caribbean â€Å"Even a good decision if made for the wrong reasons can be a wrong decision†(Jonathan Pryce, 2003) So, I strongly believe that when it comes to making life changing decisions, we must always put ourselves before others. How to cite Utilitarianism and Happiness, Papers

Computers Not the greatest invention of the 20 th Essay Example For Students

Computers Not the greatest invention of the 20 th Essay centuryâ€Å"Computers: Not the Greatest Discovery of the Twentieth Century†Nothing epitomizes modern life better than the computer. For better or worse, computers have infiltrated every aspect of our society. Today, computers do much more than simply compute. Supermarket scanners calculate our grocery bill while keeping store inventory, computerized telephone switching centers play traffic cop to millions of calls and keep lines of communication untangled, and automatic teller machines let us conduct banking transactions from virtually anywhere in the world. But where did all this technology come from and where is it heading? To fully understand and appreciate the impact computers have on our lives and promises they hold for the future, it is important to understand their evolution. The abacus, which emerged about 5,000 years ago in Asia Minor and is still in use today, may be considered the first computer.This device allows users to make computations using a system of slidin g beads arranged on a rack. Early merchants used the abacus to keep trading transactions. But as the use of paper and pencil spread, particularly in Europe, the abacus lost its importance. It took nearly 12 centuries, however, for the next significant advance in computing devices to emerge. In 1642, Blaise Pascal, the 18-year-old son of a French tax collector invented what he called a numerical wheel calculator to help his father with his duties. This brass rectangular box, also called a Pascaline, used eight movable dials to add sums up to eight figures long. Pascals device used a base of ten to accomplish this. For example, as one dial moved ten notches, or one complete revolution, it moved the next dial which represented the tens column one place. When the tens dial moved one revolution, the dial representing the hundreds place moved one notch and so on. The drawback to the Pascaline, of course, was its limitation to addition. In 1694, a German mathematician and philosopher, Go ttfried Wilhem von Leibniz, improved the Pascaline by creating a machine that could also multiply. Like its predecessor, Leibnizs mechanical multiplier worked by a system of gears and dials. Partly by studying Pascals original notes and drawings, Leibniz was able to refine his machine. The centerpiece of the machine was its stepped-drum gear design, which offered an elongated version of the simple flat gear. It wasnt until 1820, however, that mechanical calculators gained widespread use. Charles Xavier Thomas de Colmar invented a machine that could perform the four basic arithmetic functions. Colmars mechanical calculator, the arithometer, presented a more practical approach to computing because it could add, subtract, multiply and divide. With its enhanced versatility, the arithometer was widely used up until the First World War. Although later inventors refined Colmars calculator, together with fellow inventors Pascal and Leibniz, he helped define the age of mechanical computation . The real beginnings of computers as we know them today, however, lay with an English mathematics professor, Charles Babbage. Frustrated at the many errors he found while examining calculations for the Royal Astronomical Society, Babbage declared, I wish to God these calculations had been performed by steam!With those words, the automation of computers had begun. By 1812, Babbage noticed a natural harmony between machines and mathematics: machines were best at performing tasks repeatedly without mistake; while mathematics, particularly the production of mathematic tables, often required the simple repetition of steps. The problem centered on applying the ability of machines to the needs of mathematics. Babbages first attempt at solving this problem was in 1822 when he proposed a machine to perform differential equations, called a Difference Engine. Powered by steam and large as a locomotive, the machine would have a stored program and could perform calculations and print the result s automatically. After working on the Difference Engine for 10 years, Babbage was suddenly inspired to begin work on the first general-purpose computer, which he called the Analytical Engine. Babbages assistant, Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace and daughter of English poet Lord Byron, was instrumental in the machines design. One of the few people who understood the Engines design as well as Babbage, she helped revise plans, secure funding from the British government, and communicate the specifics of the Analytical Engine to the public. Also, Lady Lovelaces fine understanding of the machine allowed her to create the instruction routines to be fed into the computer, making her the first female computer programmer. In the 1980s, the U. S. Defense Department named a programming language in her honor. Babbages steam-powered Engine, although ultimately never constructed, may seem primitive by todays standards. However, it outlined the basic elements of a modern general purpose compu ter and was a breakthrough concept. Consisting of over 50,000 components, the basic design of the Analytical Engine included input devices in the form of perforated cards containing operating instructions and a store for memory of 1,000 numbers of up to 50 decimal digits long. It also contained a mill with a control unit that allowed processing instructions in any sequence, and output devices to produce printed results. Babbage borrowed the idea of punch cards to encode the machines instructions from the Jacquard loom. The loom, produced in 1820 and named after its inventor, Joseph-Marie Jacquard, used punched boards that controlled the patterns to be woven. In 1889, an American inventor, Herman Hollerith, also applied the Jacquard loom concept to computing. His first task was to find a faster way to compute the U.S. Census. The previous census in 1880 had taken nearly seven years to count and with an expanding population, the bureau feared it would take 10 years to count the latest census. Unlike Babbages idea of using perforated cards to instruct the machine, Holleriths method used cards to store data information which he fed into a machine that compiled the results mechanically. Each punch on a card represented one number, and combinations of two punches represented one letter. As many as 80 variables could be stored on a single card. Instead of ten years, census takers compiled their results in just six weeks with Holleriths machine. In addition to their speed, the punch cards served as a storage method for data and they helped reduce computational errors. Hollerith brought his punch card reader into the business world, founding Tabulating Machine Company in 1896, later to become International Business Machines (IBM) in 1924 after a series of mergers.Other companies such as Remington Rand and Burroughs also manufactured punch readers for business use. Both business and government used punch cards for data processing until the 1960s. In the ensuing years, s everal engineers made other significant advances. Vannevar Bush developed a calculator for solving differential equations in 1931. The machine could solve complex differential equations that had long left scientists and mathematicians baffled. The machine was cumbersome because hundreds of gears and shafts were required to represent numbers and their various relationships to each other. To eliminate this bulkiness, John V. Atanasoff, a professor at Iowa State College and his graduate student, Clifford Berry, envisioned an all-electronic computer that applied Boolean algebra to computer circuitry. This approach was based on the mid-19th century work of George Boole who clarified the binary system of algebra, which stated that any mathematical equations could be stated simply as either true or false.By extending this concept to electronic circuits in the form of on or off, Atanasoff and Berry had developed the first all-electronic computer by 1940. Their project, however, lost its fun ding and their work was overshadowed by similar developments by other scientists. Importance of Punctuality in the Military EssayAfter the integrated circuits, the only place to go was down in size, that is. Large-scale integration (LSI) could fit hundreds of components onto one chip. By the 1980s, very large scale integration (VLSI) squeezed hundreds of thousands of components onto a chip. Ultra-large scale integration (ULSI) increased that number into the millions. The ability to fit so much onto an area about half the size of a U.S. dime helped diminish the size and price of computers. It also increased their power, efficiency and reliability. The Intel 4004 chip, developed in 1971, took the integrated circuit one step further by locating all the components of a computer (central processing unit, memory, and input and output controls) on a minuscule chip. Whereas previously the integrated circuit had had to be manufactured to fit a special purpose, now one microprocessor could be manufactured and then programmed to meet any number of demands. Soon everyday h ousehold items such as microwave ovens, television sets and automobiles with electronic fuel injection incorporated microprocessors. Such condensed power allowed everyday people to harness a computers power. They were no longer developed exclusively for large business or government contracts. By the mid-1970s, computer manufacturers sought to bring computers to general consumers. These minicomputers came complete with user-friendly software packages that offered even non-technical users an array of applications, most popularly word processing and spreadsheet programs. Pioneers in this field were Commodore, Radio Shack and Apple Computers. In the early 1980s, arcade video games such as Pac Man and home video game systems such as the Atari 2600 ignited consumer interest for more sophisticated, programmable home computers. In 1981, IBM introduced its personal computer (PC) for use in the home, office and schools. The 1980s saw an expansion in computer use in all three arenas as clones of the IBM PC made the personal computer even more affordable. The number of personal computers in use more than doubled from 2 million in 1981 to 5.5 million in 1982. Ten years later, 65 million PCs were being used. Computers continued their trend toward a smaller size, working their way down from desktop to laptop computers (which could fit inside a briefcase) to palmtop (able to fit inside a breast pocket). In direct competition with IBMs PC was Apples Macintosh line, introduced in 1984. Notable for its user-friendly design, the Macintosh offered an operating system that allowed users to move screen icons instead of typing instructions. Users controlled the screen cursor using a mouse, a device that mimicked the movement of ones hand on the computer screen. As computers became more widespread in the workplace, new ways to harness their potential developed. As smaller computers became more powerful, they could be linked together, or networked, to share memory space, software, info rmation, and communicate with each other. As opposed to a mainframe computer, which was one powerful computer that shared time with many terminals for many applications, networked computers allowed individual computers to form electronic co-ops. Using either direct wiring, called a Local Area Network (LAN), or telephone lines, these networks could reach enormous proportions. A global web of computer circuitry, the Internet, for example, links computers worldwide into a single network of information. During the 1992 U.S. presidential election, vice-presidential candidate Al Gore promised to make the development of this so-called information superhighway an administrative priority. Though the possibilities envisioned by Gore and others for such a large network are often years (if not decades) away from realization, the most popular use today for computer networks such as the Internet is electronic mail, or E-mail, which allows users to type in a computer address and send messages thro ugh networked terminals across the office or across the world. Defining the fifth generation of computers is somewhat difficult because the field is in its infancy. The most famous example of a fifth generation computer is the fictional HAL9000 from Arthur C. Clarke’s novel, 2001: A Space Odyssey. HAL performed all of the functions currently envisioned for real-life fifth generation computers. With artificial intelligence, HAL could reason well enough to hold conversations with its human operators, use visual input, and learn from its own experiences. (Unfortunately, HAL was a little too human and had a psychotic breakdown, commandeering a spaceship and killing most humans on board.) Though the wayward HAL9000 may be far from the reach of real-life computer designers, many of its functions are not. Using recent engineering advances, computers may be able to accept spoken word instructions and imitate human reasoning. The ability to translate a foreign language is also a major goal of fifth generation computers. This feat seemed a simple objective at first, but appeared much more difficult when programmers realized that human understanding relies as much on context and meaning as it does on the simple translation of words. Many advances in the science of computer design and technology are coming together to enable the creation of fifth-generation computers. Two such engineering advances are parallel processing, which replaces von Neumanns single central processing unit design with a system harnessing the power of many CPUs to work as one. Another advance is superconductor technology, which allows the flow of electricity with little or no resistance, greatly improving the speed of information flow. Computers today have some attributes of fifth generation computers. For example, expert systems assist doctors in making diagnoses by applying the problem-solving steps a doctor might use in assessing a patients needs. It will take several more years of develop ment before expert systems are in widespread use. In making a list of the most important inventions or developments of the twentieth century, computers would probably be very high on that list. But it would be incorrect to include computers on this list. It is clear to see that the modern day computer is the culmination of centuries of development, without which computers may not have advanced to the stage that they are now or maybe not even have been developed at all. As computers continue to develop with a decrease in their size and an increase in their speed, these developments will undoubtedly overshadow the efforts of those earlier individuals who laid the groundwork of computer technology. But as history has taught us, it is those few individuals at the forefront of their technologies that have made it possible for man to advance to point that we are now. And it will only continue.

The Role of Religion and Philosophy as as a Basis for the Establishment of Social Structure and Politics

Table of Contents Buddhism Confucianism Socratic Philosophy Summary Conclusion The creation of ancient societies require the participation of the individual either as an ordinary member of the community or as a leader. Both ruler and subject require a set of principles or a belief system that will guide them. In most cases this is provided by the state religion. In others it is supplied by a philosophy that guides them in their thought process and provided ground rules in making crucial decisions.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on The Role of Religion and Philosophy as as a Basis for the Establishment of Social Structure and Politics specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In ancient India one can find a religion established by Gautama Buddha. In ancient China one can find Confucianism as a guiding light. In Greece one can find the Socratic philosophy that was so influential it even transformed the whole of Weste rn civilization. In this study Buddhism, Confucianism, and Socratic philosophy will be examined side-by-side to understand how principles gleaned from these three systems of belief were used to help individuals discover their role in ancient society. Buddhism In Buddhism one of the most influential principles can be gleaned from Gautama Buddha’s Four Noble Truths. In the First Noble Truth there is an important teaching about misery its causes and how to eradicate from a person’s life. This idea has transformed the way Buddhist societies functioned especially when it comes to the role that individuals should play in society. One of the most significant idea that can be found under the First Noble Truth is the one that says: â€Å"to wish for what one cannot have is misery† (Stearns, p.70). It was a radical statement in those times. Just like today, people in ancient worlds lusted for power, wealth, and prestige. One can just imagine the striving, the competition, the desire to get ahead and the need for more influence, clout, more money, more servants, more properties. All of a sudden this teaching comes along and people were told that the desires of men is the root cause of misery. It must had been a sobering thought for many. For those who struggle to get ahead in the social rat race the idea was revolutionary. It was as if a burden was lifted from the shoulders of those who cannot handle the competition and the exploitation. When this teaching became popular it was no longer necessary to aspire for greatness and to accumulate wealth because all were vanity. More importantly these things will not make a person happy. This is probably the reason why Buddhism became very popular in this region during ancient times. It gave people hope. It gave them direction in life. It gave them rest, a respite from a life full of strife, deceit, and suffering.Advertising Looking for term paper on philosophy? Let's see if we can help you! Get your fir st paper with 15% OFF Learn More From a political standpoint the teachings of Buddha is also very important because the leaders, especially if they were Buddhists themselves can make the people calm down, make them less restless and help them feel more contented with what they have. In other words leaders can actually use these principles to create a society filled with individuals that are less prone to rise up in rebellion and demand for more benefits and more individual rights. Buddhism also teaches that it is the unfulfilled desires of men and women that causes misery and therefore the removal of these desires from the consciousness of the individual will solve all of society’s problems. This is why in the Third Noble Truth, one can find this maxim: â€Å"Where anything is delightful and agreeable to men; there desire wanes and disappears, there it is broken up and destroyed† (Stearns, p.72). One can easily imagine the consequence of this belief system, es pecially when Buddhism became the state religion. This meant that political leaders who were Buddhist can make the general population submissive to their ideas without them knowing that they are being subjugated. On the other hand a good leader, one who is truly noble can use the same belief system and inspire people to build a just and humane society. Rules need not be enforced by strong-arm tactics because the citizens will come to realize the importance of peace for it is one of the paths to the cessation of misery. In theory there will be less conflict because the community who embraced the tenets of Buddhism need not struggle for material wealth, fame and power. They had everything they need by letting go of their desires. Confucianism In comparison to Confucianism, Buddhism seems to lack focus, structure, and direction. Buddhism is more fluid while Confucianism is more rigid. However, there are similarities. Buddhism aims to remove misery and therefore it abhors conflict. It s trives to remove conflict within the individual and within society. Nirvana the state of bliss which is the primary goal of all Buddhist is characterized by inner peace and an existence without misery. In Confucianism, bliss is understood to come in the form of a stable government and structure of governance that can help all those who are under it experience a better life. But this means that the people will submit to this government and even contribute what they can to sustain it. Buddhism asks the individual to let go of his desires. Confucianism asks the individual to have more restraint especially when it comes to dealing with the government. In Buddhism the goal is the cessation of misery. In Confucianism the goal is tranquility. It can be argued that there are major similarities here because Buddhism also talks about inner-peace. However, the methodology differs because in Confucianism there is a principle that says tranquility can be achieved by abiding in the highest good a nd by loving the people (Strearns, p.36). This is very important because Confucianism teaches the individual to put society above self.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on The Role of Religion and Philosophy as as a Basis for the Establishment of Social Structure and Politics specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Socratic Philosophy The Socratic philosophy is centered on the individual. The core ideal of Socratic philosophy is the importance of the individual. This is seen in the life and teachings of Socrates who was sentenced to death for allegedly corrupting the youth of Athens. But in his trial he pinpointed the main reason why he was put on trial, and it was the charge that he was responsible for undermining the morality and religious traditions of Athens (Bulliet et al., p.122). In other words Socratic philosophy did not only encourage people to value the person but also to question what was perceived to be ir reversible trends and to challenge traditions that were in existence for hundreds of years. The Socratic philosophy is also based on the Socratic method of asking questions. An individual was taught to ask hard questions regarding life, society, and politics. Even if Greek city-states were ruled by aristocrats, as time passed by, an ordinary person in Athens was given the chance to acquire rights, privileges and even the capability to say and do what he believes is important. As a result a democratic movement was birthed and henceforward, â€Å"Athenians of moderate or slender means could hold office and participate in politics† (Bulliet et al., p.119). Power was transferred to popular organs of government such as the Assembly, the Council of 500, and the People’s Courts so that the Assembly of all free citizens â€Å"held open debates several times a month; anyone could speak to the issue of the day† (Bulliet et al., p.119). Without a doubt this system of gover nance was far from perfect but it was a precursor to modern democracies. The ability to debate the aristocrats and the right to question traditions is something that is uniquely Greek. No one in the ancient world could challenge the gods but they did, especially Socrates who blazed a path for them. This is very interesting because it contrasts with other forms of nation-building mofrld discussed earlier. Buddhism was purely spiritual and although its main goal was to free human beings from the negative effect of unfulfilled desires the ultimate goal was intensely personal not the establishment of a nation. Socratic philosophy as utilized by the Greeks also differed sharply from Confucianism because in China the individual is not the most important component of society – it is the State or the government. Everyone will benefit if they focus on building a centralized government that in turn will be the source of administrative power that will ensure stability and peace.Advertis ing Looking for term paper on philosophy? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Summary If one will compare and contrast Buddhism, Confucianism, and Socratic philosophy in the context of the individual then one can see only a few similarities but many differences. Although Buddhism deals with the individual, it is done from a spiritual perspective. In fact it does not bother with the evolution of human society from primitive to modern. It is not even concern with the eradication of poverty and the establishment of a just government that will serve the people. Without a doubt Buddhism can still be utilized by power-hungry men who would love nothing more than to dominate others. They can profess their adherence to Buddhist teachings and for them to effectively rule they can convince others that the path to nirvana is by learning how to let go of all forms of desires. However, this kind of position is difficult to sustain because ideally speaking the ruler does not have any incentive to govern his people. Confucianism and the Socratic philosophy offers a more prac tical solution to socio-political problems. Confucianism and the Socratic philosophy are philosophical frameworks that are also interested in the plight of the individual but less concern with the spiritual aspect of life and more on the political. Confucianism in a nutshell asserts that an individual will benefit greatly not from being individualistic but in the acknowledgement that he must serve society and the State. In ancient China, just like in other ancient civilizations the masses were forced to obey by coercion such as the teaching that Kings descended from the gods. But with the correct application of Confucianism there was no longer any need for all of that. The main thrust was to educate the individual and make him understand that being part of a system – in their case it is the Civil Service – is not only beneficial for the individual but also the whole of society. Socratic philosophy applied to the individual is less rigid compared to Confucianism. The St ate or the ruling class does not impose its will on the individual but a democratic form of government is preferred. This is less stable, and based on the history of the Greek people not always reliable. One has to remember that Alexander the Great came after Socrates and Plato. This is proof that Greek people clamored for a tyrant to keep them safe from their enemies and ensure stability. Conclusion Buddhism, Confucianism and the Socratic philosophy gave birth to different models of how individuals should behave in ancient societies. Buddhism is focused on the spiritual aspect of the individual and cared less about the socio-political consequences of its teaching. Confucianism on the other hand offers a solution to problems of society but requires absolute adherence to rules and systems. The Socratic philosophy values the individual by giving him freedom to ask questions, to challenge the status quo. However, it proved to be unreliable in many occasions. Nevertheless, it became the precursor to establishment of modern-day democratic societies. This term paper on The Role of Religion and Philosophy as as a Basis for the Establishment of Social Structure and Politics was written and submitted by user Tanner H. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

testosterone and gender role essays

testosterone and gender role essays There are many ways that people are expected to act today. Girls are supposed to wear dresses and make up while the boys are supposed to be strong and athletic. This expectation is often not filled, and quiet often is not ones own fault. You may see a difference of gender role in preschool girls. A study has been performed to decide if levels of testosterone relates to gender roles in preschool girls. There were three major methods used in this experiment. This information was collected as part of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) which is the measuring factors associated with pregnancy and the outcome of childrens health. The three major procedures are Gender-role behavior, Hormonal measures, and Background factors. Gender-role behavior is studied using a questionnaire test called the Pre-School Activities Inventory (PSAI). This is measured on which parents indicate their childs involvement in sex-type behaviors. This includes twenty-four items of a variety of sex type toys, games, and activities. The test is scored on a five point scale, which ranges from never to very often. The higher scores of this test show that one has more masculine behaviors, whereas the lower scores show that one has more feminine behaviors. This test is taken by the mother or guardian when the child is three and a half years of age. More than two thousand children in the U.S, U.K., and Netherlands have taken this test. The second method used was hormone measures. During routine prenatal care, there is a maternal blood sample taken. These blood samples were taken when it was convenient for the mother, although they targeted between sixteen and twenty weeks of pregnancy. Because it was made convenient, the samples then ranged from five to thirty-six weeks into pregnancy. After they had received the sample, they would spin the blood to form plasma aliquots of .5mL and then the testosterone is tested throu...

The effects on children of growing up in a household where both Essay

The effects on children of growing up in a household where both parents work outside the home - Essay Example This paper examines some of the most common causes of working of both parents, and the general effects of this practice on the children. In the present age, women go shoulder to shoulder with men in every walk of life. Be it education, work, or research, women have set their footprint in all areas. In the past, in a traditional nuclear family, man used to play the role of bread earner for the family, and the woman used to nurture the kids at home and take care of their nutrition, studies and such other necessities. That practice was very beneficial for the children in particular as they would spend sufficient time with at least one of the two parents. With the passage of time, more and more women began to go out of the home particularly for work. There were several underlying factors that caused an altogether change in the traditional roles of mother and father in a nuclear family. First of all, by working, women have made an attempt to fulfill their long cultivated desire of coming at par with men. In the past, as discussed above, man used to be the sole bread earner for the whole family. This gave him the opportunity to go out and build social relations. The social network of man became stronger as compared to women, who had to resort to socialize mostly with other women in the neighborhood. The increased social networking placed more power in the hands of the man, and women started to feel themselves as living in a male dominated society. In order to come out of this suppressing feeling, more and more women started to study, though it would be wrong to say that this was the only reason why women today study in large numbers. There are several reasons behind this. Most of the times, it is indeed, the parents that want their daughters to be as educated as their sons, so the choice is mostly made by the parents and not the daughters themselves. However, paralleling the men is undoubtedly, one of the many causes why we see more women out today than in the past. Secondly, as the society has generally become more receptive towards the applications made by women for jobs, women can easily find work. In fact, in many cases, it so happens that when there is a competition between a woman and a man with equal qualifications for a particular job, the woman gets hired and the man does not. More and more women have made use of this fact and have started to work as a result. Thirdly, it is quite reasonable for both parents to work in the contemporary age of economic recession. As a result of the recent financial crisis, companies have been downsized by the owners in an attempt to maximize the profits. A lot of people have been expelled from jobs. Those, that have continued to work are being offered much lower pays than what they used to be offered only few years ago. There is little to no job security these days, and people may be fired any time. To top it all, prices of products and facilities of everyday use are skyrocketing. Taking these circumsta nces into consideration, it is quite wise of both the parents to work. However, the practice has conventionally had negative impacts on the children. With both of the parents out of the home, children are mostly left at the disposal of maids or servants. Some maids and servants are morally corrupt. Because of that, children are exposed to the risks of physical abuse, kidnapping and such other threats. Everyday, many such

The Impact of Social Awareness in Reducing Energy Consumption Term Paper

The Impact of Social Awareness in Reducing Energy Consumption - Term Paper Example In this case, it is for the sake of future`s time. The methodology used in this study is internet research in which the writer browses information and pictures that are needed to complete the study. As a result, it can be concluded that building social awareness through many ways like television advertisements to social networks usage can be maximum campaign to achieve the purpose. In this case, how to make a better future by reducing the use of energy consumption. Table of Contents Acknowledgement .....................................................................................................................2 Abstract......................................................................................................................................3 Table of Contents....................................................................................................................4-5 Introduction.................................................................................. ..............................................6 1.The Continuous Growth of Energy Consumption in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia....................7 1.1.Background: Problems of Energy Sustainability........................................................7-8 1.2.The Continuous Growth of Population..........................................................................9 1.3. Dependence to Light Bulbs on Decoration..............................................................9-10 1.4. The Unnecessary Over Use of Electricity...................................................................10 1.5. Lack of People Awareness..........................................................................................11 2. Developing Social... This study aims at analysing the facts happen in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia about its use of energy consumption. It has been found that the trend of the use has increased as time goes by. The energy that has become main concerns are oil, gas and electricity. According to the paper findings as there are matters occur after the trend of using energy increases, the writer decides to enlighten the readers with solutions of building social awareness to reduce the energy consumption. The purpose of this study is to remind people that it is crucial to minimize the consumption of energy. In this case, it is for the sake of future`s time. The methodology used in this study is internet research in which the writer browses information and pictures that are needed to complete the study. As a result, it can be concluded that building social awareness through many ways like television advertisements to social networks usage can be maximum campaign to achieve the purpose. In this case, how to make a better future by reducing the use of energy consumption. Energy is one of the factors of the movements in this life. Many aspects need energy in order to survive; a life without energy could be terrible situation especially to our modern society. Can you im agine several conditions such as; offices and houses without electricity, daily activities without transportation facilities, There are no planes or ships to reach other cities and countries, cellular phones without battery, or even no energy to support internet connection.

Salt-water Invasion in Coastal Wells Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Salt-water Invasion in Coastal Wells - Essay Example This paper declares that  most importantly, they require a reliable source of freshwater for drinking and for other related purposes. Therefore, it is of great importance that the government and other stakeholders prevent saltwater invasion into the coastal wells by ensuring supportive maintenance of ground water supply.This study outlines that ground water supply amounts to one-third of the water supply within the great coastal areas of Los Angeles. Surprisingly, saltwater is continuously penetrating into some parts of the supply hence a significant part of the remainder is at risk. Relatively, the U.S. Geological scientists are working in conjunction with other local water agencies with view of establishing the main connection between coastal aquifers and the offshore geology in order to understand better saltwater intrusion processes and pathways. Finally, saltwater intrusion into coastal wells is proving to be a serious menace since without treatment, the contaminated water doe s not conform to either drinking water or agricultural standards. Nevertheless, the U.S. government is seeking to contain this disaster by carrying out intensive research. U.S Geological scientists are collaborating with Long Beach Harbors in data collection using reflection seismology acoustic technique. This collected data will help experts understand the mechanism surrounding the saltwater intrusion into coastal wells that will in turn provide the relevant measures required in order to stop the intrusion permanently.

President of Venezuel Essay Example for Free

President of Venezuel Essay The current president of Venezuela named Hugo Rafael Chavez was born in Venezuela’s western grassland region on July 28, 1954. Socialism, Latin American integration and anti imperialism are promoted by the president because he was also leading the Bolivarian Revolution. Neo-liberal globalization and U. S. foreign policy were the main critics of the president. His parents were schoolteacher which is not a lucrative profession by any mean in Venezuela. He was belong to a poor family besides this in Venezuela dark skinned dark skin people faces strong racial divisions and white skinned people are elite. When he was seventeen years old he enrolled at Venezuela â€Å"Academy of Military Sciences† and studied engineering. After completion of acidic career he joined he joint military for several months. Chavez was immediately popular with his fellow students, he and his fellow students developed a left nationalist doctrine that they termed Bolivarianism inspired by his real hero Simon Bolivar, the father of Venezuelan independence and a figure of legendary dimensions. He was an excellent player of baseball and he played a lot for team called the Criollitos de Venezuela. Moreover, upon completion of his studies, Chavez entered the active military service. His military career lasted for 17 years, during this time he held variety of posts, seniorities and commands. He was also the part of the lectureship and was famous for his fiercy lecturing style and radical critique of Venezuelan government and society. With his natural charisma, he brings closer soldiers to his ideas, and built a network of supporters within the army. In 1983 he established MBR 200, the revolutionary Bolivarian movement (Movimiento Bolivariano Revolucionario 200), 1983 being the 200th anniversary of Simon Bolivars birth. Simon Bolivar: Influent Al Person in Hugo Chavezs Life Major influence on Chavez came from Simon Bolivar, from where Bolivarian movement was developed. The memory of Simon Bolivar has yet kept alive in Venezuela, the revolution of 19th century which led the sub continent independence battle against Spain. Simon Bolivar was born in Spain and many of his followers were native of Venezuela. Nonetheless, Simon Bolivar remained to be a significant and founding myth for the Venezuela institute. Particularly, his arm forces helped him a lot to bind them together even though of political instability. Chavez when he was a school child during the periods of 1950’s and 1960’s in the school studied a lot Bolivar’s feats against the Spaniards. The defining event in his life came when in 1989 the economy was devastated by rising oil prices which led President Carlos Andres Perez to a serious of tough measures. As a result of rising oil prices, buses fares were increased which led to protests by poor people and the army was sent to suppress the protestors. Chavez belong that part of the group that was deployed and he was enraged when he listen the order shoot all the citizens who he believes had a legitimate grievances. This was the motivation which led to his army coup that he organized against the same president some three years later. MBR 200. Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement-200 The MBR 200 was the social and political movement that Hugo Chavez founded in 1983. Chavez established MBR 200 setting as its political goals the realization of Bolivars ideals by means of a Bolivar resolution, which refers to a mass social and political movement in Venezuela aimed at eradication of corruption and emphasized on redistributive social justice and economic and political sovereignty. Some important points of Chavezs Bolivarianism are: †¢ Political participation of the masses by votes, referendum and councils †¢ Political and economic sovereignty †¢ Economic self – sufficiency †¢ Building in people nationality and patriotism †¢ Eradication of corruption †¢ Equal distribution of oil revenues of his land 1992 Coup Chavez was working as a lieutenant colonel during his late 30s. In addition, he was also working as a committed left wing activist, mixing with left wing group outside the army and conspiring in the institution for the sake of coup d’etat. So, after an extended period of dissatisfaction and economic decline under the administration of President Perez, Chavez and his fellow conspirators launched a military coup in Feb 1992. Although the coup was not entirely successful Chavez came to national prominence due to a abruptly speech made shortly after his arrest, the Venezuelan government allowed him forty five second speech in order to tell his co-conspirators to lay down the arm. It was a mistake made on the government part and Chavez made the most of it. Chavez in Power When Chavez spent his 2 year life in Jail during the period of 1990s economy of Venezuela was went on to bear the huge burden of oil prices. Support for the two of main political parties decline in elections of 1994, Chavez found the population increasingly receptive to its critique of the two party models and its associated corruption. Chavez organized a new party called the â€Å"fifth republic movement† During 1996 97 his support gradually increased in polls and he scored a comfortable majority and took power in 1998, his first political office with 56 percent of votes. Chavez Is Moving Venezuela from A Democracy To A Totalitarian State â€Å"Chavez supporters assert that, in fact, it is the current administration which is successfully steering Venezuela away from its statist and authoritarian past. They refer to the introduction of the new constitution at the beginning of Chavez’s term, which provides numerous opportunities for citizens to become directly involved in participatory politics, including making provisions for the current recall drive. Civil society groups can, for example, participate indirectly in the selection of judicial officials as well for as the national electoral commission. Furthermore, Chavez’s standing with his own people seems to be improving, which reflects an economy which once again shows promises. Even though the middle-class led last year end’s strike cost the economy $10 billion, unemployment has slowly dropped to 15%. The Bloomberg News Service credits the Venezuela Stock Exchange with one of the two best performances of the 59 exchanges it monitors worldwide. With Chavez’s personal popularity, he has climbed back to 40% after dipping to 30% a number of months ago†. Authoritarian Vs Democratic (Democracy Vs Totalitarian State) There has been a continuous debate whether Chavez has released from corruption accusation or he himself damaged the country’s own foundation of democracy. Authoritarian Some believe that the Hugo Chavez have more power than any president should have. Chavezs new constitution has been seen as authoritarian. Although there are detailed sections involving human rights, but some believe that the power given to the highest branch of government can easily lead to human rights violations. The new constitution also allows the president to be in the office considerably, which some suggests leads to authoritarianism. Scholars also criticized the way Chavez gained power and his conduct afterwards. The motivation behind his recent constituent assembly has been seen as to settle the score with Venezuelans traditional opposition parties and remove them from all positions of influence. One scholar suggested that Chavez himself overthrown the government in 1992 as similar to the corruption of the traditional parties of Venezuela, which clutched power by the military inventions in 1945 and misbalanced Venezuela’s supreme court and congress. Democratic Stance On the other way, some believe that the Chavez protected the democracy. In their point of views, â€Å"Chavezs government does emphasize the mobilization of the masses and confrontational speeches, Chavez cannot be equated to fascism since his ideology is left wing. Others are more pronounced in their view that Chavez is a benefit to democracy. These people believe that Chavez simply frees Venezuela from the corruption and he stands for a much needed transformation in Venezuelan society† Since Chavez does not belong to any party, and he came from the grass roots and has seen all the hardships, therefore he is more capable to meet the interest of the Venezuelans. Some opponent of Chavez equates him with Fujiori but his comparison is not correct because unlike Fujimori Chavez has an self-governing foreign military, a revolutionary disclosure and he did not endorse huge privatization. Economic Policies Venezuela is the 5th largest oil producer, which remains the key of Venezuelan economy. Chavez has gained a reputation as a price hawk in OPEC. At a meeting of OPEC in July 2006, Venezuela was the only country calling for lowered production to drive oil prices higher. Some critics say that under the President Chavez regime the output of Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) which is a state owned company, has been reduced by 25% and Venezuela cannot meets it current quota. However Forbes argues that the political and other influence have an effect on numbers. Nonetheless, Chavez has attempted to broaden Venezuelas customer base by getting into joint ventures with other developing countries including China, Brazil, Argentina and India. Although the record oil prices have meant more funding for the social and development plans, but it has also left the economy dependent on oil sector, private sector role has diminished. â€Å"February 6, 2006 Chavez announced a 15% increase in the minimum wage and a new model for Venezuela’s national health-care system, with US$449 million allocated to upgrade 43 hospitals. Implementing a measure of the constitution that recognises housework as an economic activity, the government will also provide wages to 200,000 poor homemakers. January 30, 2006 Chavez launched 12 new state-run Social Production Enterprises (EPS) in key industries, with the aim of substituting for the many products Venezuela currently imports. This is a key part of overcoming Venezuela’s underdevelopment and achieving genuine sovereignty. The EPS follow a new economic model oriented towards human need rather than private profits. February 7, 2006 Chavez announced his government would provide $1 billion in funding to community planning councils. These elected councils aim to greatly deepen participatory democracy by allowing people to directly control public policy†. Unemployment is down â€Å"Venezuela is experiencing a period of economic growth which has moved the formal employment sector (businesses with five or more employees) past the 50 percent mark. When businesses with less than five employees are taken into account the informal sector is much lower (perhaps 35 percent) — unusual for Latin America, which suffers from chronic unemployment and underemployment. I happened on a long line in a downtown shopping district and asked some ladies if they were waiting for the internet cafe to open. No, mi amor, la tienda de zapatos. â€Å"The finest shoes added another. The National Institute of Statistics is preparing a study that will measure the standard of living, not only wages as the World Bank does. Taking the social programs into account — especially the 15,000 Cuban doctors and more money invested in the Social Security hospitals — the standard of living should show more improvement than wages alone show. The institutes president says free education at all levels has drastically reduced dropout rates. This will undoubtedly raise standards of living in the long run as more students go on to higher education†. Highlight of Key Statistical Data Per Capital GDP: During Chavezs presidency per capital GDP dropped 1% 2%. GDP Growth Rates: 18% in 2004, 9% in 2005 and 9% in the first half of 2006. Non-Petroleum Sectors: From 2004 to the first half of 2006, Non Petroleum Sectors showed a growth of greater than 10% Poverty Figures: Dropped by 10% officially. Unemployment: Dropped by 7. 7% since the start of Chavezs presidency. Inflation: Dropped from 29. 9% to 14. 4%

Racial Targeting and Profiling in the United States Essay -- Race Raci

Racial Targeting and Profiling in the United States The practice of targeting individuals for police investigation based on their race alone in the last few years has been an increasingly prominent issue in American society. Numerous magazines, newspapers, and journals have explored the issue of race-motivated police actions. Recently, the ABA Journal did a study of New Jersey and Pennsylvania traffic stops from 1998 to 2001, concluding that black drivers were more likely to be pulled over and arrested than whites. The study also delves into the legal ramifications of the 1996 United States Supreme Court ruling in the Whren v. United States case, which held that police officers subjective motivation for stopping a motorist on the highway was irrelevant as long as a probable cause was present - such as a traffic violation existed for making the stop. The Whren court decision validated the pretext stop, which occurs when police officers ostensibly stop motorists for traffic violations but are in fact motivated by the desire to obtain ev idence of other crimes. Police officers, however, argue that racial profiling is common sense and is sensible, statistically based tool that enables them to focus their energies efficiently for providing protection against crime to law a-biding citizen. In Taylor and Whitney, a study investigating the existence of an empirical basis for racial profiling and crime, they concluded that society must acknowledge the statistics behind crime rates in order to understand the concept of racial profiling; such information is available in annual crime reports. Statistics are facts and numbers which cannot be disputed and provide the experiential basis for racial profiling. The FBI Bulletin also addressed the necessity to consider statistics in addressing the issue of racial profiling. However, unlike Taylor and Whitney who argue for the use of statistics to support racial profiling, the FBI Bulletin promotes the usage of statistics in order to reduce and hopefully eliminate racial profiling. The FBI Bulletin states that if agencies were mandated to keep consistent statistical reports on the attributes and nature of their traffic stops, then racial profiling will not be as rampant. A written record of all traffic stops would do so by attributi ng individual responsibility to the police officers involved in such violations. The ... ...they were not officers would the punishment have been more severe, or if there were white officers would the punishment also have been more drastic. If the suspects in both instances had been suburban white males would the officer?fs reactions been so dramatic. Even former President Clinton recognized racial profiling within our police departments. ?gPresident Clinton called racial profiling by police, a morally indefensible deeply corrosive practice?h. (Clinton Associated Press) He also said that, ?gpeople of color continue to have less confidence and less trust, and believe they are targeted for action?h. (Clinton Associated Press) Clinton recounted that he once asked a group of black journalists if the police had ever stopped them and they all raised their hands. Racial profiling is a problem that needs to be addressed by the government and the people of America. The subject of racial profiling is not only a problem; it is an age-old disease. This disease that has plagued America for a long time, and until we decide to grow up and get past stereotypical and bias views of other races and ethnic backgrounds, this problem will continue to exist with possible fatal results.

Case for a National Missile Defense

The United States political groups and those specialized public and private sectors outside the government have evidently manifested strong interest in deploying a ballistic missile defense to protect the United States from attack. The ABM (Anti-Ballistic Missile) Treaty prevents nationwide defense but actually allows the United States to launch up to 100 interceptors for long-range ballistic missiles at a single site (Causewell, 2002 p.75). On the other hand, critics and socially concerned groups have provided many thoughtful arguments for saying that NMD should not even continue or progress in its development (Lindsay, 2002 p.144). The current trend of argument nowadays brought by the public pressuring sectors and those concerned in the countries militaristic defense is the abolishment of the treaty. Many supporters of National Missile Defense (NMD) state that the United States should initiate an amendment or abrogation of ABM treaty so that it can further execute the development of NMD for the maximizing the countries’ defense potential (Causewell, 2002 p.75). To consider, there are actually many political personnel in the Congress that do not agree with the Clinton Administration’s approach arguing that the threat justified the more rapid deployment of an NMD system. Significantly, there have been a wide debate and argument accompanied by this procedure. Most objection are concerned mainly on the defense status of the country upon the initiation of the project, while positive side argues that this kind of technology might provide the United States the potential to obtain the edge of their defense system. In the study, the primary discussion involves the issue on NMD and its actual presence in the United States. The main inquiry of the discussion resides to the fact of proving the most appropriate argument for the paper to support. This accompanies evidences and historical accounts that are shown during the whole course of the discussion. Discussion Historical Background The United States has pursued the development and deployment of defenses against long-range ballistic missiles since the early 1950s. It launched a treaty-compliant area located in North Dakota during the mid-1970s; however, its operation was closed only after a few months. President Reagan initiated a development plan in order to further enhance the program into a more intensive defense during the time of early 1980s, but these programs were reverted back on several occasions during the Reagan and Bush Administrations (Causewell, 2002 p.75). Most evidently, from the historical perspective, the Clinton Administration initially centered its attention in developing the technological aspect of the NMD project; however, in 1996, the administration itself   provided an outline indicating a strategy to initiate the further development and deployment of an NMD system by 2003 if the threat warranted and the technology was ready (Causewell, 2002 p.76). During January 1999, the Clinton Administration announced that it had adjusted this program to permit deployment in 2005, and would decide in summer 2000 whether to proceed with deployment of up to 20 at a single site (Causewell, 2002 p.76). Fortunately, this statement of the administrator was modified in February 2000 to include and permit the 100 interceptors. Most knowingly, the Bush Administration prefers to possess an intensive and robust NMD program that is likely to include land, sea and space-based assets. As the statement of the President exemplified, he remarked intensively to the Administration’s commitment to missile defenses in a speech on May 1, 2001 (Causewell, 2002 p.75). This scenario even proves that the initiation of NDM is within the plans of the Bush administrator; hence, its existence as one of the Government’s military and defense program is present. The U.S Senate’s votes last October 1999 against the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and the renewed drive in recent years toward the deployment of a U.S. The issues on NMD system have initiated the analysts in the United States and international aspect to express their concern about the apparent U.S. trend toward a unilateral approach to security (Patrick & Forman, 2002 p.242). The Clinton Administration provided different aspects about the deployment of an NMD system. These components provided by the administration served as the primary guide in the technical management of the program. As per the administrations instructions, these components included an assessment of the threat to the United States form long-range ballistic missiles, an assessment of the maturity of the technology and the feasibility of deploying an effective system, consideration of the implications for the ABM Treaty and the possibility of gaining Russian agreement on amendments, the potential costs of the prospective system, and the environmental implications of deployment (Causewell, 2002 p.75). Many political groups questioned the Administration’s commitment to NMD funding and deployment. News and arguments point out that the government provided these additional funds in order to speed up the construction and development of the NMD program; however, this resulted to more inquiries and curiosity among the concerned public. In additional to this government effort, the Administration even passed legislation from both the House and the Senate passed on NMD deployment to further increase its phasing. Considering the Congress and White House have evidently merged and controlled the by the Republican Party, the advocates and supporters of NMD should expect a congressional approval for Bush administration plan (Causewell, 2002 p.75). Theories on Problems at Stake Political parties present in the Congress and other concerned sectors have a strong preference for the launching of ballistic missile defense (BMD) system to add up to the defensive power of the United States. In can be recalled during the time Soviet Union collapse that occurred predominantly in 1991, Iraq utilized their Scud missiles in the event of Persian Gulf War, and the use of ballistic missile technologies, all piled up as primary risk of the United States. Significantly, there are two historical scenarios in the summer of 1998 that provided these significant concerns (Causewell, 2002 p.76). First, during the accounts that occurred in July, from the congressionally-operated committee headed by former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld concluded that United State’s search to further enhance their long-range ballistic missiles might be able to attain such target in the span of 5 years of deciding; however, it is essential that the United States should have, at the very least, warning before conducting the tests and deployment of such missiles. Second, during the ending periods of the month of August, North Korea flight tested 3-stage ballistic missiles. Even though the third stage of this missile did not make it through during its first flight, and this missile would not have possessed such range to attain the continental United States, North Korea manifested that it had built the technology for â€Å"staged† missiles, which has been an important discovery and influence in the field of longer-range ballistic missiles development (Causewell, 2002 p.76). According to political groups, the threatening aspect of this NMD program to the United States is from the fact that only a handful of countries, most of which are probably not now close to having operational intercontinental missiles. These groups have argued that the United States are not yet prepared for building a fully operating NMD system, and the risks involved are too extensive to initiate such goal. One of the problems that might arise is that enemies can attack the United States in ways that do not require long- range missile. The situation of NMD can make the nation vulnerable to other nation’s possible attack. Moreover, NMD could jeopardize arms control and related efforts such as the Nunn-Lugar cooperative threat reduction program intended to secure nuclear warheads and materials within Russia (Lindsay, 2002 p.144). Considering that Bush Administration still has no initiated a detail blueprint or outline for this program in terms of its prospective missile defense architecture, or any detailed and documented motives to initiate the withdrawal from the ABM Treaty. However, in meetings with NATO defense ministers in Brussels on June 7, 2001, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld stated that the Bush Administration would purse in the facilitation and enhancement of missile defenses and that scrapping of the ABM Treaty was â€Å"inevitable† since it greatly prevented both testing and launching of missile defenses (Causewell, 2002 p.76). In the United States, opponents of the CTBT and proponents of NMD assert that their views are driven not by isolationism or unilateralism, but rather by their belief that post—Cold War threats demand new approaches to U.S security. However, the perceived resurgence in U.S. unilateralism nevertheless has grave consequences for both U.S. and international security. A particularly troubling aspect of recent U.S behavior has been the overt dismissal of the views of allies on the issues of CTBT ratification and NMD (Patrick & Forman, 2002 p.242). Recommendation and Policy Options In providing these recommendations, there are certain things that need to be considered in order to come up with the rightful justifications of the decisions made. First, ballistic missile technology, such as long-range missile technology and NMD, is currently being developed in other countries as the use of it in defensive power is being considered progressively. There is a factual possibility   that Iran, Iraq, or North Korea will obtain the capacity to attack the United States using this technology. Hence, this is the initial point to consider in defending against this type of advanced technology for the reason that, the United States might be overrun by these features if they will not incorporate such technology within their defense system (Lindsay, 2002 p.144). Second, the technology for shooting down the enemy’s incoming missiles is not as feasible and accurately done in real time setting—particularly when matched against the small long-range missile arsenals that countries such as Iraq, Iran, or North Korea could plausibly facilitate in the years ahead (Lindsay, 2002 p.144). The use of enhanced sensors, computerized systems, and missile technology should soon provide the possibility of carrying out a high-reliability intercepts. The advantage of this is the promulgation of enhanced interceptors and substitutes it for the use of Nuclear Bomb. Third reason to consider is the ending the cold war that initiated an opportunity to recap the contribution of U.S missile technology to its national security policy and in U.S.-Russian relations. Fourth, the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which is considered as one of the major threats in the United States can be nullified by the developing the NMD. As for the missile technological experts, they claim that the development of this NMD and enhancement of its features and missile technology can potentate in the development of such super-defensive nation. Lastly, nuclear deterrence, while reliable in most circumstances, cannot always guarantee its success as it is also not as feasible type of defense. Such Deterrence should not be assumed to apply under such circumstances, since the threats present against the country would already be confronting extreme annihilation even if it did not use NMD against the United States. For these five reasons, the advantage for pursuing the development and initiation of the NMD program dominate; hence, from its summed up rationale, the strength the United States can obtain with the use of such technology centers in the fact that they can actually provide massive defense advantage over the possible attack of other countries that may have the potential of using the same kind of technology. Conclusion In the discussion of the study, the prime conditions that have been obtained is the wide support of NMD progression among the political and military groups for the reason of U.S advancement in the field of national defense. From the discussion above, five recommendations are previewed in order to depict the advantages of incorporating such system in the national defense, which as a whole, pertains to the advancement of country’s defense against outside threats. This project has been preferred by Bush administration, although arguments have been present to the ABM treaty and other support groups negation of project’s launching and development. References Causewell, E. V. (2002). National Missile Defense: Issues and Developments. Nova Publishers. Lindsay, J. M. (2002). Defending America: The Case for Limited National Missile Defense. Brookings Institution Press. Patrick, S., & Forman, S. (2002). Multilateralism and U.S. Foreign Policy: Ambivalent Engagement. Lynne Rienner Publishers.   

Challenges Facing Developing Countries

Information document B Interoperability problems in the developing countries 1. Introduction1 2. Developing countries2 3. CIS and Europe4 4. Asia-Pacific5 5. Americas8 6. Africa10 Introduction The ITU has made significant commitments to developing countries in a series of instruments: †¢ Article 17 of the ITU Constitution that the functions of ITU-T are to be performed â€Å"bearing in mind the particular concerns of the developing countries†; †¢ Resolution 123 (Rev. Antalya, 2006) on bridging the standardization gap; and Resolution 139 (Antalya, 2006) which invites Member States to implement rapidly Resolution 37 (Rev. Doha, 2006) of the World Telecommunication Development Conference on bridging the digital divide. Between the developing and developed countries there is a general digital divide of which one part is the standardization gap. This is recognised in Resolution 44 (Johannesburg, 2008) as having three dimensions: †¢ The disparity of voluntary standard ization; †¢ The disparity of mandatory technical regulations; and †¢ The disparity of conformity assessment.Resolution 76 (Johannesburg, 2008) on conformance and interoperability testing considered: †¢ that some countries, especially the developing countries, have not yet acquired the capacity to test equipment and provide assurance to consumers in their countries; and †¢ that increased confidence in the conformance of information and communication technologies (ICT) equipment with ITU-T Recommendations would increase the chances of end-to-end interoperability of equipment from different manufacturers, and would assist developing countries in the choice of solutions. Noted: the need to assist developing countries in facilitating solutions which will exhibit interoperability and reduce the cost of systems and equipment procurement by operators, particularly in the developing countries, whilst improving product quality; Resolved: †¢ assist developing countries in identifying human and institutional capacity-building and training opportunities in conformity and interoperability testing; †¢ assist developing countries in establishing regional or subregional conformity and interoperability centres suitable to perform conformity and interoperability testing as appropriate;Instructed the Director of TSB: †¢ to conduct exploratory activities in each region in order to identify and prioritize the problems faced by developing countries related to achieving interoperability of ICT equipment and services; The following sections review the issues of developing countries then the interoperability problems identified by developing countries in the different regions: CIS & Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Americas, Africa and the Arab states. Developing countries The ITU holds developing countries to include three specific categories: Least Developed Countries (LDCs); †¢ Small Island Developing States (SIDS); and †¢ Countries with Economi es in Transition (EIT). It does not define these terms, but uses the definitions provided by the General Assembly of the United Nations and by its Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). [1] Least Developed Countries (LDCs) can be identified by the following three criteria: †¢ Low-income, a three-year average of Gross National Income (GNI) per capita (under US$ 745 for inclusion, above US$ 900 for graduation); A composite Human Assets Index (HAI) based on: percentage of population undernourished, mortality rate for children aged five years or under, the secondary school enrolment ratio and adult literacy rate; and †¢ A composite Economic Vulnerability Index (EVI) based on: population size, remoteness, merchandise export concentration, share of agriculture, forestry and fisheries in GDP, homelessness owing to natural disasters, instability of agricultural production, and instability of exports of goods and services.While there is considerable overlap between LDCs and SIDS, th e latter face significant additional problems to achieve sustainable development, because of their small populations, limited resources, remoteness, susceptibility to natural disasters and excessive dependence on international trade. The growth and development of SIDS have been disadvantaged by high transportation and communication costs (e. g. , use of satellites in the absence of undersea cables), disproportionately expensive public administration and infrastructure (due to their small size) and the absence of opportunities to create economies of scale. 2] Countries with Economies In Transition (EIT) are those moving from a centrally planned economy to a free market. This requires economic liberalization, the removal of price controls, the lowering of trade barriers, the restructuring and privatization of financial and industrial sectors. It is usually characterised by the creation of new institutions, including private enterprises taking on activities previously performed by the state and new instruments for state governance, such as a national regulatory authority for telecommunications.In the 1990s, these comprised the countries formerly members of the CMEA, some of which are now members of the WTO and the EU. The problems faced in EITs have included the absence of a constructive policy framework, the slowness of the establishment of the network infrastructure, the training of people to use it and to exploit commercially the information and knowledge that it makes available. The issue of interoperability has become more important as countries deploy e-government systems. In order to provide high-quality services to citizens it is important that services can be accessed from the widest possible range of equipment.UNDP has published an e-primer on e-government, setting out the vision and value of interoperability and the steps required to achieve this. It explains the value of e-government interoperability frameworks, the parties that need to be involved an d are the critical success factors. InfoDev has an eGovernment Handbook for developing countries. Despite the enormous progress made in bridging the digital divide and, in particular, the standardization gap, there remain significant problems in terms of conformance and interoperability due to: Lack of human capacity and of training opportunities; and †¢ Weak institutional systems for: o Standardization, o Testing, o Certification, and o Market surveillance. However, the challenges are far from uniform, requiring careful assessment of regional and national circumstances and experiences. CIS and Europe The European Union has legal provisions that directly address interoperability and empower regulatory authorities to ensure the interoperability of systems (see information document C).For example, the EC adopted DVB-H as a common standard for mobile television to achieve interoperability throughout Europe. In 2005, the ITU published a study entitled Towards Interoperable eHealth for Europe with the Telemedicine Alliance. A previous study had identified interoperability as a major obstacle to the implementation of eHealth, which the second report addressed in the form of a strategic plan for trans-national eHealth interoperability. Its aim is to assist stakeholders at all levels in taking action to achieve real and sustainable interoperability. 3] As part of its eHealth Action Plan, the European Commission has adopted a Recommendation on cross-border interoperability of electronic health record systems (2008/594/EC). This will ensure that electronic health record systems interoperate, allowing health professionals from another country to access vital patient information from a home doctor and hospital, improving the quality and safety of medical care. The International Virtual Laboratory for Enterprise Interoperability (INTEROP-VLab) emerged from research projects funded by the European Commission.Its mission is to consolidate, develop and maintain the Europ ean research community in the domain of Enterprise Interoperability. In the United Kingdom, a survey of IEEE 802. 11b/g Wi-Fi usage for the Office of Communications (OFCOM) found a wide variety of problems, many due to causes other than spectrum (e. g. , wired Internet and device configuration errors). Spectrum issues tended to be interference between devices in the 2. 4 GHz ISM band, rather than congestion.However, in the centre of London demands on the band were higher than elsewhere and users experienced both interference and congestion. Interference between different types of radio device lead to a proposal for a certification scheme with a broad ‘2. 4 GHz friendly’ logo rather than the conventional ‘Wi-Fi-friendly’ mark, to help drive acceptance of innovative technologies in that band. Asia-Pacific One of the poorer of the Asian countries was the beneficiary of a sequence of initiatives by national and international aid programmes to assist the evelopm ent of its telecommunications infrastructure. [4] A side effect of this was that the equipment provided or purchased in the different projects were from different manufacturers, often selected by or linked to the donor agency. However, the variety of equipment could not easily be made to interoperate. The effects on the country were to increase the costs of training for its limited pool of technicians and experts (often with international travel), while it reduced the flexibility of use of the equipment.The already limited economies of scale in this country were made worse by fragmentation across different networks and systems, raising the costs for operators and thus for citizens. Within the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity Standardization Programme (ASTAP), the Industry Relations Group (IRG) addresses the needs and concerns of operators and manufacturers. At the 11th Meeting of ASTAP in June 2006 there was a Workshop on Conformity Assessment in the APECTEL Mutual Recognition Arrangement s (MRA).It was recognized that input from industry input into ASTAP and APECTEL could help to improve their operation. The IRG subsequently developed a questionnaire on type-approval and conformity assessment. Between June 2006 and February 2007, responses were obtained from 21 companies and 4 regulators, in Afghanistan, Australia, Iran, Japan, Macau SAR, Papua New Guinea, Singapore and Thailand. This identified issues in terms of: †¢ Costs: o Mandatory in-country testing, rather than accepting certified test results from other countries, Preparation of documentation for submission to the regulator, o Testing to meet specific national standards not aligned with international standards; †¢ Delays: o Time taken to approve a product after documents are submitted, o Testing to national standards not aligned with international standards. The survey identified actions to improve type approval process, including the recognition of certified test reports from other countries by Au stralia and Singapore, and limiting standards in technical regulations to international standards, avoiding national variations.An Asia-Pacific regional compliance mark was proposed, one that would be accepted by all national authorities, without further testing or documentation. The IRG called for national authorities to accept accredited test reports from other countries in order to reduce costs and time delays in type approval. The expansion of telecommunication networks, both in geographic coverage and the range of services, in response to market demand is a continuous process for operators, especially in very rapidly growing Asian markets. Operators have two options: a) Procurement of equipment from the original vendor; or ) Procurement of the best value equipment available at the time, not necessarily from the original vendor. However, the second option is not always possible as equipment from different vendors may not be fully interoperable. The procurement of additional equi pment is, therefore, constrained to be from the original vendor. The practical difficulties faced by this lack of interoperability in two types of networks are explained below. There are many proprietary implementations of Mobile Switching Centres (MSCs), Base Station Controllers (BSCs) and Base Station Transceivers (BTSs).Although the interface between the MSC and the BSC is now considered stable, the Abis interface between BSCs and BTSs is not yet interoperable (see Figure 1). Where additional BTSs are required, in order to meet growing demand, the network operator is constrained to purchase these from the vendor whose BSCs are already deployed. Figure 1Issues related to mobile networks [pic] An operator in India has experienced interoperability issues in the expansion of its GSM network. Its planners assumed that BSCs and BTSs required to be supplied by the same vendor, due to the proprietary interface between the two.However, the interface between the BSC and the MSC, which is a n open standard, required considerable time and effort before interworking could be achieved between equipment from different vendors. Two of the essential components for Intelligent Network (IN) services are the Service Control Point (SCP) and the Service Switching Point (SSP), the latter is normally part of the switch or local exchange (see Figure 2). Consequently, whenever the operator needs to deploy a new switch it has to be purchased from a single supplier, to ensure interoperability with existing infrastructure.Figure 2Issues related to fixed Intelligent Network (IN) [pic] An Indian operator found that SCPs failed to interwork with SSPs from different manufacturers. This issue is considered critical in view of the regulatory requirement to interconnect INs of different service providers. In April 2009, at the CTO/ITU-T Forum on NGN Standardization in Sri Lanka, the issue of non-interoperability was raised. Rajeshwar Dayal from the Indian Department of Telecommunications (DoT) , identified the need for interoperability between and within NGNs (see slides).The following month at the ITU Regional Preparatory Meeting for the Asia and Pacific Region, India proposed that ITU prepare a reference document containing interoperability requirements at the equipment level to help smooth the implementation of NGNs. An NGN Pilot Project by the Iran Telecom Research Center (IRTC) identified a number of problems associated with NGNs supplied by: Alcatel, Huawei, Siemens and ZTE (presented at ITU Kaleidoscope). [5] This acknowledged that NGN was not yet a mature technology and therefore subject to interim problems, that should eventually be eliminated.Tests were conducted initially between equipment of a single vendor, then between different vendors. Problems were identified with the implementations of the ITU-T G. 729 codec and ITU-T H. 248, plus difficulties with the call servers from one manufacturer not being able to control the access, media or signaling gateways of other vendors. The problems had been caused by some vendors not implementing standards completely or having done so imprecisely, while some standards were found to contain ambiguities. AmericasIn the USA, Section 256 of the Communications Act of 1996 requires the FCC to establish procedures to oversee coordinated network planning by providers of telecommunications services. The Act also authorizes the FCC to participate in standards organizations working on network interconnectivity. It is advised by the Network Reliability and Interoperability Council (NRIC), which makes recommendations to ensure, under â€Å"all reasonably foreseeable circumstances†, interoperability of networks, including reliability, robustness, security and interoperability of communications networks.One of the major issues addressed by NRIC in recent years has been to ensure the interoperability of enhanced services for emergency calls (i. e. , to 911). Interoperability for e-government has been addres sed by the Chief Information Officers Council (CIO). Concerns over problems of the non-interoperability of emergency services communication systems became a matter of public concern, following possibly avoidable deaths of firemen in the collapse of the New York World Trade Center on 9th September 2001 and again after Hurricane Katrina. 6] The US Congress called for work to resolve interoperability problems in emergency response communications. [7] To achieve the political objectives, Project 25 (P25) was established as a development process for the design, manufacture and evaluation of interoperable digital two-way wireless communications products for public safety services. The suite of P25 standards is administered by the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) and consists of the following interfaces: †¢ Common Air Interface (CAI); †¢ Inter-RF Subsystem Interface (ISSI); †¢ Fixed/Base Station Subsystem Interface (FSSI); †¢ Console Subsystem Interface (CS SI); Network Management Interface; †¢ Data Network Interface; †¢ Subscriber Data Peripheral Interface; and †¢ Telephone Interconnect Interface. The P25 Compliance Assessment Program (CAP) is a partnership between the Department of Homeland Security’s Command, Control and Interoperability Division (CID), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), suppliers and the emergency services. It seeks to: †¢ Ensure that emergency response technologies meet the needs of practitioners; †¢ Assist officials in making informed purchasing decisions; †¢ Provide vendors with a method of testing equipment for P25 compliance; and Support the migration to standards-based communications systems. As of May 2008, eight private laboratories had been accredited, using ISO 17025, for P25 conformance testing. These can test equipment against standards that ensure radios and other equipment interoperate – regardless of manufacturer – enabling em ergency responders to exchange critical communications. Additionally, there two non-governmental bodies as: †¢ Emergency Interoperability Consortium (EIC); and †¢ OASIS Emergency Interoperability. These work on the development of appropriate standards. Anatel has identified problems with fixed network equipment in: Incompatibilities with: o xDSL: between chipsets in Central Office (CO) and Customer Premises Equipment (CPE), and o GPON: between Optical Line Terminals (OLT) and Optical Network Units (ONU); †¢ Interoperability problems between: o softswitches using SIP and SIP-I standards, o PABX-IP equipment and NGN, and o Call Agent (CA) and Media Gateway (MG), when using the T. 38 fax with MEGACO protocol. Similarly with mobile networks, it has found problems with Inter-RAT (Radio Access Technology): †¢ Voice and data failures going from 2G on 1,800 MHz to 3G on 850 MHz and vice versa; On registration, instead of performing a type 02 a type 00 location update was performed; †¢ With 2G, on moving from 900 MHz to 1800 MHz and vice versa there were voice call interruptions; †¢ Despite automatic network search for 3G on 850MHz band, first tried a type 00 location update with 2G on 1800 MHz; †¢ A loss of network signal with 2 or 3G on any frequency band, terminals failed to repeat network registration when in an area with network signal; and †¢ Where there was no roaming enabled, but a secondary IMSI was available the SIM card terminal did not automatically restart the application for the second IMSI.Africa Much of the ICT equipment in developing countries is old, but has yet to be withdrawn from use, because of limited capital to purchase replacements. The interfaces and protocols of such systems are not able to communicate with any modern systems that are more complex and sophisticated. It required the use of gateways which reduces functionality and increases costs. For example, one international operator wishing to provide lower cost international connectivity into a NE African country had to provide a special gateway to what it considered obsolete technology.Unlike in the developed world, most African countries do not have laboratories to test whether or not communications equipment and systems conform to the required international, regional and national standards, making interoperability testing a challenge. Exceptions include Egypt, Morocco, South Africa and Tunisia (see information document I). Rwanda has seen a profusion of very low-cost GSM handsets. Like India, many of these have proved to be counterfeit, with no proof that they comply with international safety standards or that they conform to network standards and interoperate without causing problems.Tanzania has identified a number of issues shown in Table 1. Table 1Interoperability issues in Tanzania |SN |Item |Positive |Concern | |1 |Antennae have different standards |Incentive to roll out in |Joined networks instead of single network th at | | |for different vendor and types |underserved areas |result in duplication of investment and operational | | |e. . space diversity, combining, |Increased employment |expenditure e. g. spare stock, training | | |polar | | | |2 |New technology (upgrade) |Increased competition |Delays or not possible to access some application or| | |compatibility with old versions |Service differentiation |documents e. g Windows 2003 to 2007 or VISTA. | |but not vice versa | |Forced to change from R2 signalling for circuit | | | | |(packet) switching and later likely to IP else miss | | | | |VAS applications | | | | |Environment issue e. g.Exposure or Recycle of | | | | |absolute equipment such as antennae | |3 |Pre-paid and online payment |Easy customer entry and |Revenue stream authenticity | | |(credit card) |consumer choice of services |National Security issues | | | | |e. g. satellite phones | |4 |Liberalization of International |Competitive tariffs |Cyber security. | |gateways. |Improved q uality of services |With multiple gateways how ccTLD and Internet | | |VSAT, Earth stations, submarine | |exchanges are to be on optimal use. | | |cables and optic fibre | |Incoming international traffic revenue loss? | |5 |Transmission systems. PDH and SDH |Incentive to roll out broadband|Different control and operational procedure (Central| | |and mono mode and DWDM optic fibre|data |operation management systems).Complex and costly | | |Core switch (TeS, NGN) not able to|Possible sharing of capacity |integration for various vendors | | |parent various media gateways, RSU|(infrastructure) |Need to share customer information e. g. from EIR or | | |(xDSL) |Increased employment |blacklist and fraudsters. | | |Access interface V5. 1 and V5. 2 | |Difficult or too costly to integrate various vendor | | | | |equipment in the network.While specializing to a | | | | |single vendor also ties to limited QS, services and| | | | |costly upgrades. | |6 |Revenue assurance systems |Increase Custom er satisfaction |Integration of modules for fixed, GSM and CDMA are | | | |Quality of service monitoring |likely to be too costly | | | | |Integration of data and voice |Few countries in Africa have in place the necessary accreditation systems and technical regulations need to provide a framework for the granting of certificates and licenses for the provision of communications services or the supply of telecommunications equipment. There is a general lack of expertise and human capacity in standardization. African countries have been less able than developed countries to participate in and to influence standards making processes.One consequence of this is that they have been much less involved in the work of devising conformity and interoperability tests and then of conducting the tests of equipment and services. Training in standardization and testing has been insufficient and when available been expensive or involved travel. This has resulted in a lack of understanding of test res ults when they are submitted from accredited laboratories. In particular, there is a lack of understanding of international standards concerning the implementation of interoperability of ICT systems and devices.The large and growing number of producers of standards is seen as confusing, especially since the standards and the resulting equipment and interfaces are mostly not interoperable. As with the Indian example, African operators have encountered problems interoperating BSCs and BTSs from different manufacturers. Some types of equipment conforming to international standards are intended to operate in specific radio frequency bands, but this spectrum may not be available in Africa.This has made the efficient use of radio spectrum one of the key challenges African countries confront and which has brought about interoperability problems. The Southern Africa Telecommunications Association (SATA), a group of fixed incumbent operators, has identified specific interoperability challeng es (see Table 1), relating to NGN equipment. Table 2Southern African interoperability challenges (Source: SATA) Equipment supplier and type |Interoperability problems with | | |Equipment Supplier |Equipment Type | |Huawei Technologies SoftSwitch |Nokia Siemens Networks |Trunk Gateway | |Huawei Technologies SoftSwitch |ZTE |CDMA Equipment (Fax problems) | |Huawei Technologies SoftSwitch |Alcatel-Lucent |WiMAX WAC | |There are several interoperability issues between the BOSS and the Element Managers from different suppliers. | |The standard Northbound interfaces between EM and the OSS are not always open, or the supplier is not willing to open | |those interfaces. | In summary, Africa faces the following problems: †¢ Increased supply of poor quality equipment; †¢ Difficulties in the selection of interoperable equipment from a wide range of vendors; †¢ Lack of testing centres, facilities and trained professionals; †¢ Lack of national or regional laws and regulations ; and †¢ Lack of understanding of ITU-T Recommendations, the conformance tests and their results. ———————– 1] Specific tasks have been assigned by the United Nations to the Office of the High Representative for the LDCs, Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) and SIDS (OHRLLS). [2] The telecommunications needs of SIDS are being studied by ITU-D under Question 23/2. [3] See, for example, European Connected Health Leadership Summit ‘A Manifesto for Connected Health’ [4] Permission has not yet been granted by the country to disclose its name. [5] http://ieeexplore. ieee. org/ielx5/4534704/4542234/04542262. pdf? arnumber=4542262 and http://ieeexplore. ieee. org/ielx5/4115171/4115172/04115219. pdf? isnumber=4115172 [6] Jerry Brito (2007) Sending out an S. O. S. public safety communications interoperability as a collective action problem. Federal Communications Law Journal 59 (3) 457-92. [7] Senate Report 109-088. Departments of Commerce and Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, 2006. House Report 109-241. Making Appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security for the Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 2006, and for Other Purposes. ———————– BTS of Vendor A BSC of Vendor A MSC of Vendor A BTS of Vendor B Proprietary/Non-interoperable interface SSP of Vendor B Switch /LE Calling Card User Switch /LE SCP SSP SSP SCP of Vendor A SSP of Vendor A Called Subscriber Proprietary/Non-interoperable interface Challenges Facing Developing Countries Challenges Facing Developing Countries Janita Aalto Principles of Microeconomics ECO 204 Instructor Kathryn Armstrong March 28, 2011 Challenges Facing Developing Countries Developing countries, also known as third and fourth world countries; face economic challenges that first world countries do not face, on a large scale. Poverty, low literacy rates, poor investments in both human capital and domestic capital, poor nutrition and devastation to populations due to the HIVAIDS pandemic contribute to developing countries moving towards development. The primary focus of this paper is to explore the impact the HIV/AIDS pandemic has had on Sub-Sahara African economies and to explore the challenges facing developing countries to stimulate domestic savings. The impact on the economies of some of the African countries is still not completely known. If we look at economic impacts, first we must look at the human cost HIV/AIDS is having on Africa’s economic development and ability to cope with the pandemic. According to an online journal, there are four variables that outline the effects on Africa’s future development: â€Å"Economic research helps to estimate the effects of HIV/AIDS on the African economy and the cost effectiveness of prevention and treatment programmes; Economic theory predicts that HIV/AIDS reduces labour supply and productivity, reduces exports, and increase imports; The pandemic has already reduced average national economic growth rates by 2-4% a year across Africa; Prevention and treatment programmes and economic measures such as targeted training in skills needed in key industries will limit the economic effects of HIV/AIDS†, (BMJ. 2002, p. 232). In examining the economic effects of HIV/AIDS, it is hard to look past the fact that over 17 million African people have lost their lives to HIV/AIDS and has 70% of all HIV/AIDS related cases in the world. These are staggering statistics. As outlined in the above journal article, the mortality rates have ca used a reduced labor supply, reduced labor productivity and reduced exports and increased exports. The population of people hardest hit by the HIV/AIDS pandemic are the prime-aged adults. HIV/AIDS robs industries of both skilled workers and a generation of workers in their prime working years. The associated illnesses and sickness as a result of HIV/AIDS can lead to high absenteeism which impacts labor productivity. The effects of a reduced labor supply and reduced labor productivity, â€Å"reduces exports, while imports of expensive healthcare goods may increase. The decline in export earnings will be severe if strategic sectors of the economy are affected. The balance of payments (between export earnings and import expenditure) will come under pressure at the same time that government budgets come under pressure. This could cause defaults on debt repayments and require economic assistance from the international community†, (BMJ. 2002, p. 233). In a 1992 macroeconomics a study on the impact of HIV/AIDS in Africa, it was concluded that â€Å"reduced availability of skilled labour would reduce growth rates by about 50% and investment by 75%, that imports of food and other basic products would increase, and that exports of manufactured and other products would decline†. It was also estimated that by 2010, â€Å"South African’s GDP per capita would be some 8% low and consumption per capita would be about 12% lower than would have been the case without the HIV/AIDS pandemic†, (BMJ. 2002, p. 234). The pandemic will have lasting effects on the economic development on the Sub-Sahara African countries without international assistance. â€Å"An important step in limiting the economic effects of the pandemic is to develop comprehensive policies tailored to the needs of the economies of individual countries. These policies will inevitably include the introduction of treatment and prevention programmes but may also include economic measures, such as targeted training of skills needed in key industries†, (BMJ. 2002, p. 234). One way to help stabilize the economy may be to push expensive antiretroviral drugs at â€Å"highly productive groups of socioeconomic groups in specific industries on the basis of their contribution to economic output rather than their healthcare needs†, (BMJ. 2002, p. 235). This would most likely be a controversial plan, but the strategy would help the people in those groups and buy time for skills training and development of a new work force to replace those that will either lose their health or their lives. It would also boost the economy if industry production levels can be maintained and exports of goods can remain at a profitable pace. The pandemic is having a major effect on life expectancy, which has been dropping. â€Å" In Zimbabwe, for example, life expectancy is 40 instead of 69. In seven countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, life expectancies are below 40 years of age†, (CHG, 2009, p. 3). Not only does this impact the work force, but impacts the children, many of whom lose not only one, but both parents, and other family members that might be able to take them in. Instead these children now become a government responsibility, as they are put into orphanages, group homes, etc. It is estimated that there are 15 million orphaned children across Africa. Standards of living are decreasing, and countries that were once starting to make progress both socioeconomically and economically are headed backwards instead of forward. Poverty is increasing as the family breadwinners are dying or becoming incapacitated by their illnesses. If there are savings, those savings are dwindling as people use their savings just to survive. With mainly young adults dying off, the tax base is shrinking which reduces a countries ability to invest in human capital, such as education and health services, which puts pressure on government finances and reduces economic growth. Investment in education is not a priority with the belief that children will contract HIV/AIDS in adulthood. The poor education of children translates into low adult productivity a generation later. This raises important social and fiscal implications for economic policy. The first is the threat of worsening inequality. If the children left orphaned are not given the care and education en joyed by those whose parents remain uninfected there will be increasing inequality amount the next generation of adults and the families they form†, (CHG, 2009, p. 6). Investing in human capital is one of the keys to bringing economic growth to developing countries. According to an online website, human capital is defined as â€Å"the set of skills which an employee acquires on the job, through training and experiences†, (InvestorWords. com). An investment in human capital also includes; development of and access to, health and nutrition programs. â€Å"Recent studies suggest that 40 percent of the population of the developing nations has an annual income insufficient to provide adequate nutrition†, (Case, Fair & Oster, 2009, p. 427). Low nutrition affects health and poor health affects productivity. Low productivity levels then affect the ability to provide for one’s family, let alone provide any surplus that can be sold and the money put into savings. There are two explanations as to why capital is in such short supply in developing countries. The first is the vicious-cycle-of-poverty hypothesis. According to our text, â€Å"the vicious-cycle-of-poverty hypothesis suggests that a poor nation must consume most of its income just to maintain its already low standard of living. Consuming most of national income implies limited savings, and this implies low levels of investment†, (Case, Fair & Oster, 2009, p. 428). Investment is needed for capital stock to grow and for income levels to rise. Without it, â€Å"poverty becomes self-perpetuating†, (Case, Fair & Oster, 2009, p. 428), and the cycle is complete. The second explanation is that there is a lack of financial incentives for citizens to save and invest, as well as a lack of financial institutions. It is common for the wealthier citizens to invest their monies in Europe or the United States instead of in their own countries. The term for this is capital flight, which â€Å"refers to the fact that both human capital and financial capital leave developing countries in search of higher expected rates of return elsewhere or returns with less risk†, (Case, Fair & Oster, 2009, p. 428). According to an online article, â€Å"Africa is estimated to lose hundreds of billions of dollars in domestic revenues annually through capital flight†, (Africa Renewal, 2008, p. 12). In order to reverse this trend, it is imperative that the government remove the barriers that turn away wealthy citizens from investing in their own countries. Without domestic savings, investment isn’t possible. Without investment, growth isn’t possible and this cycle continues much like the vicious-cycle-of-poverty hypothesis. What decisions do leaders of a developing country make in order to stimulate domestic savings and in turn, capital? If I were the President of a developing country, I would invest in human capital and banking reform. In investing in human capital, I would target health and nutrition programs for kids and young adults, the next generation of workers. With life expectancy rates falling, efforts must be made to reverse that trend. A much larger investment in education would be made; incentives for college kids that go to school abroad to return to their home country and work in their field for a required number of years. I would emphasize training and skill development for replacement workers in the industries hit hardest by HIV/AIDS. In investing in banking reform, I would offer incentives to people who put their money in banks and other financial institutions. Some of the reasons African people in particular do not put money in savings accounts are; â€Å"physical distance from banking institutions, high minimum deposit and balance requirements†¦and the considerable documentation needed to open an account†, (Africa Renewal, 2008, p. 7). There are also a limited number of banks available and with over 60 percent of African people living in rural areas, they just don’t have physical access to banks, unless they travel a long distance. In order to convince people to put their savings in banks, interest paid on savings would need to be high and interest rates on loans low. Somehow, people must be encouraged to place their money into savings so money will be available for future investments. â€Å"The UNCDF noted in its 2004 report that in Rwanda about half a million savings passbook accounts, with an average account size of $57, pulled almost $40 mn into circulation in 2001. â€Å" Although this may not appear significant†, argued the UNCDF, â€Å"proper circulation of these funds into credit products could have a significant multiplier effect in the Rwandan economy†, (Africa Renewal, 2008, p. 7). Poverty, low literacy rates, poor investments in both human capital and domestic capital, poor nutrition and devastation to populations due to the HIVAIDS pandemic contribute to developing countries moving towards development. For these countries to become economically viable, the governments must encourage citizens to invest in their own countries and not rely on international assistance. It’s time for both the citizens and the governments to step up and help themselves. References: Case, K. E. , Fair, R. C. and Oster, S. E. (2009) Principles of Microeconomics (9th ed. ) Upper Saddle River, New Jersey:   Pearson Prentice Hall. Dovi, E. (2008) Boosting domestic savings in Africa: From Africa Renewal, Vol. 22#3 (October 2008), page 12, Retrieved on March, 26, 2011, from http://www. un. org/ecosocdev/geninfo/afrec/vol22no3/223-boosting-domestic-savi ngs. tml Economic Commission for Africa, CHG: Commission on HIV/AIDS and Governance in Africa: Africa: The Socio-Economic Impact of HIV/AIDS, Index No. CHGA-B-11-003, Retrieved on March 27, 2011, from http://www. uneca. org/chga/doc/SOCIO_ECO_IMPACT. pdf InvestorWords, Retrieved on March, 20, 2011, from http://www. investorwords. com Copyright ©2011 by WebFinance, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PubMed Central: The impact of HIV and AIDS on Africa’s economic development Simon Dixon, Scott McDonald, and Jennifer Roberts BMJ, 2002 January 26; 324(7331):232-235 PMCID:PMC1122139 ; Retrieved on March 25, 2011, from http://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pmc/articles/PMC1122139