My Favourite Peson Essay

My mother is the mostconfusing, weird, insane, and strangest person i know; she is also the most beautiful, caring, loving, and strongest figure in my life. She loves learning, and has been supportive in my diseases. She has taught me so many things about a natural lifestyles that I keep in mind day to day. I have manyinspirational people that surround me, but my mother’s crazy, creative, and supporting personality has made her my favorite person in the world. Just sitting with her brings me comfort. She smells of sweet coconut and her skin is warm and soft like soft cashmere. I love her laugh, and how her eyes shine optimistically and full of life. She has a way of making those crazy and stressful days melt away and leaves your soul content. Even when others speak ill of her, I never hear her returning such words. Right now she is miles away, yet I call her and her voice is as warm as her embrace. There is people in this world who deserve an award, and she is one of them. The way she has grown in the past few years astounds me. I can see it in her actions that she is stronger than i have ever seen her, and each time i see her she looks more beautiful than she did before. She is no ordinary woman. She dances around the house with the grace of a fish out of water, and she gets away with it. She remembers only parts of songs and movies, I found it irritating; but now all I want is to hear her sing her fragmented songs and dance all the time. My favorite memory of her is playing card games, we would play using weird accents that must be a cross between Russian, and Icelandic. I’m not sure anyone else could understand us, and frankly I am pretty sure someone would send us to Essandale if they were to see us. Particularly when we cooked a meal together and turned on the music, then the magic would really happen. Those are the memories I hold dear.I applaud my mother for her strength. My family tells me that I am like her, and if I am anything like her than I would not complain. Having a child at 18 can’t be easy, growing up I know she always tried her hardest to be thebest mother she could be. Having a child with 3 diseases must have taken a pretty big toll on her, yet she learned all she  could about them and provided the supportive lifestyle I needed to not let these diseases take control of me. She always tries to make the best out of a bad situation, and she has known her fare share of that. Even with battles of her own she would wipe her tears away and take away my sorrows. She has taught me so much, one thing I appreciate the most is her interest in natural products. Her interest has also brought a great many memories that I will never forget. She was starting to get into natural shampoo products,I believe she tried washing her hair with eggs and rinsing it with baking soda. She came out with her hair looking like Frankenstein, it really did feel like wire. She even tried to put oil in it to fix it, it made no difference. My mom has tried so many things, although many of her attempts did not work as planned she never stopped. Among one of her attempts was a body wash, it ended up as a lumpy concoction that looked that like glue and tapioca beads. She went on to create my favorite rejuvenating body wash with fresh mint and sweet thyme, and every time I smell it think of her. She has so many books on natural home remedies, that I am very thankful for. But the way she studies for hours and keeps going is truly epic, she is always eager to learn more and i s very determined. Through life we learn lessons, most of them are through people we meet and situations we endeavour. I think its the small things learned that make the difference in life. I learned so many things from her, and together they have made me who I am today. She may not be the most patient at times, but she has been very patient with me. My mother is my favorite person. They say a parents love just happens, I believe different. She has carved herself into my heart with a silken blade. Love and Respect cannot just be forced upon a person, but is a process like any relationship that is done with patience, acceptance, and frustration. I know I will be successful in my life, because of her. I have learned never to give up, even when the world is against you. Because of her compassion and forgiveness , I have come to know a lust for life and to feel content even when the worlds a blur.

Batman Character Study

Batman is often referred to as an emotionless and inhuman character that does not have any significant relationships in his life. On the surface it may seem like that, but in reality Batman does have relationships with people. Examples of these relationships are shown in the graphic novel, Batman Year One, and the movie, The Dark Knight. The first person that Batman has a relationship with is Lieutenant Jim Gordon. Batman and Gordon share a common goal of getting crime off the streets. At the beginning of Batman Year One Gordon believed that Batman was a villain. Gordon thought that he could not trust Batman. As the story went on Gordon realized that Batman was fighting crime and was a trustworthy person. Gordon knows that he needs Batman’s help to help take down not only criminals, but the corrupt police system in Gotham. And Batman knows he needs someone with values within the corrupt police force to help him fight crime. This relationship carries over into the movie, The Dark Knight. Gordon can now signal Batman whenever he needs assistance, by simply turning a giant spot light used to signal Batman. Many people do not consider Gordon a friend of Batman’s but Aristotle does not agree with that. They have what is called a friendship of utility, which means both men benefit from the other. Batman needs Gordon, a trustworthy man inside a corrupt police force. Gordon needs Batman, a superhero that can help stop all the crime in Gotham City. Another relationship that Batman has is with his butler, Alfred. When Bruce Wayne’s parents were killed Alfred became the father figure in Bruce’s life. Alfred raised Bruce and made him the man he is today. Alfred has been there everyday of Bruce’s life. In turn, Alfred is given a house to live in and all the necessary things to live. Alfred is very nurturing and is often there for Bruce with great advice. In The Dark Knight when Batman wanted to quit, Alfred had the right things to say in order to motivate Batman to keep fighting crime. It is clear that Batman and Alfred have a strong relationship. Their relationship is closer than the one that Batman and Jim Gordon share. They seem to have an emotional caring for one another. The only thing that is keeping them from having a deeper relationship is the fact that Bruce will always be the master and Alfred will always be the servant. The last relationship that Batman has is with Rachel Dawes. Rachel is a childhood friend of Bruce and the love of his life. She is one of the only persons to know Batman’s true identity as Bruce Wayne. In The Dark Knight Batman is often trying to save her. One example is when she is thrown off of the building by the Joker, Batman jumps off to rescue her. Another example is when both Harvey Dent and Rachel are trapped at different locations and Batman must choose which one he wants to save. Batman chooses to go after Rachel. It is very obvious that Batman has strong feelings for her. Rachel and Bruce were once together but Bruce’s job as Batman got in the way. Rachel is now dating Gotham’s District Attorney, Harvey Dent. This hurts Batman because he can’t stand to see the love of his life with someone else. Batman shows the most emotion toward Rachel, and this makes him a very human character. In conclusion, Batman is a very human character with strong relationships. This is clearly shown through his relationships with Jim Gordon, Alfred, and Rachel Dawes. At a glimpse, it seems as though Batman is inhuman. But once you dig deeper you find he has many relationships and cares for many people. Many people say that Batman has no strong, deep relationships. This is not true. Batman’s strongest relationship is with the city he protects. Batman made a promise to his parents. He promised he would make Gotham a better place. Protecting and cleaning up Gotham gives Batman the utmost fulfillment.

Golden Ass Book Review

Apuleius. The Golden Ass. Translated by Joel C. Relihan. Indianapolis/Cambridge: Hackett Publishing Company Inc, 2007. Acknowledgements. Introduction. Maps. Index. Pp. xlv, 254. Apuleius’ The Golden Ass describes the trials and tribulations of Lucius, a privileged man who’s extreme curiosity leads to his unfortunate transformation into an ass. His journey as an ass leads to a newfound perspective, enlightenment, and eventual salvation. Relihan’s translation is vividly descriptive and allows the modern reader to relate to the tale. Although extremely complex and vulgar at times, The Golden Ass is an entertaining, humorous, and inspiring story which provides valuable insight into ancient Greco-Roman society. The Golden Ass consists of many stories which are all interconnected. Apuleius weaves folk tales and myths into the main story of Lucius, which draw parallels to the main theme of The Golden Ass. The reader must pay close attention to such tales, particularly that of Cupid and Psyche, as they are important in understanding Lucius’ redemptive journey. Although the format is often difficult to follow, it is crucial to the significance of the story . Lucius’ intense curiosity and inability to control his desires lead to his transformation and all the negative consequences which follow. Apuleius may have been attempting to convey the downfalls of greed and lust, showing that they always lead to trouble. Lucius’ experiences as an ass are often very funny and explicit. Apuleius’ wit and use of sexual humor provide light-hearted entertainment for the reader. On the other hand, Lucius also lives the inhumane life of a slave after his transformation to an ass. He experiences a way of life he never thought of before his transformation. He is abused and fears for his life on several occasions. This perhaps reveals another moral of The Golden Ass, that is, treat others how you would like to be treated. The Golden Ass serves as an excellent historical document. It describes ancient Greco-Roman society’s morals, social classes, and overall way of life. Apuleius offers insight into all sectors of society. Wealthy upper classes, thieves, artisans, and slaves are all depicted in great detail. The society portrayed in The Golden Ass is in chaos. Greed, immorality and crime are abundant. When Lucius is living with a group of robbers, the reader gets to see how their society functions democratically, as well as their desperation and greed. Lucius’ life as an ass shows his maltreatment as well as the abuse of the slaves around him. These descriptive passages cause the reader to empathize with both Lucius and the slaves. This makes his journey more meaningful and effective at the end. The portrayal of women in The Golden Ass shows that women were viewed very negatively. The Tale of the Wife’s Tub, Miller’s Wife, and Drycleaner’s Wife, all describe women as adulterous and manipulative. Another story, the Tale of the Oppressive Land Owner, shows the tyrannical nature of the small land owner’s of the time. These were likely the characteristics of the society in which Apuleius lived. Relihan’s translation offers several tools which are beneficial in helping the reader understand the text. The introduction provides a summary of the work and important background information about Apuleius. The maps and index are helpful to the reader, as they provide more detailed information about place location and character description. A glossary of major characters is not included, but would have been helpful. The Golden Ass is not for the conservative reader, as it contains explicit sex and violence. One must pay close attention to the story, as there are many details which could easily be missed. The Golden Ass is witty, descriptive, and historically relevant. Readers will be entertained by Lucius’ journey to redemption and gain information about ancient society. As stated in the first chapter, â€Å"pay close attention and joy shall be yours. † (p. 3).

Software Piracy at CWU Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Software Piracy at CWU - Research Paper Example The proposal includes suggestions on how to tackle this growing problem and the possible preventive actions that the school authorities can undertake in order to discourage software piracy. The report also includes recommendations pertaining to countermeasures that can be taken without making it seem like the school officials are trying to curtail the use of computers by the students. Please feel free to contact me at (indicate phone number) if you have any questions or comments regarding the content and interpretation of this report. Thank you for taking the problem of software piracy on campus seriously. Sincerely, ______________________________ (Name) Enclosure: Student Software Piracy Problems at CWU Executive Summary This report provides an analysis and evaluation of of the current senior college point of view, sentiments, and attitude with regards to software piracy. Methods used include question and answer surveys pertaining to the current knowledge of the senior class members about software piracy. The first category of questions were answerable by true or false with the results showing that 84 % of students answered true when asked if they knew that purchased software allowed for only one back up copy for the user. 16 of the students answered false to the same question. 94 students answered true when asked if they knew that making copies of copyrighted software is a federal crime, only 6 students answered false. 82 students knew that making a copy of a software program owned by my company for use at home, unless expressly allowed, is a violation of copyright law, 18 students answered false to the same question. 92 students also answered true when asked if they knew that software piracy is punishable by fine and... The intention of this study is software piracy as a problem that has plagued software manufacturers since the first personal computer was developed. Although the problem is fast becoming a society based problem, the reality is that college students comprise the largest segment of software pirates. College students do not seemed to recognize software piracy as a breach of ethics and find the practice to be socially acceptable and legal to a certain degree. Although CWU students have never been caught for software piracy and our school administration insures that all software installed on campus computers are properly licensed, that does not mean to say that software piracy does not exist on campus. Software piracy is a real problem onour campus and the university administrators seem powerless to stop it. At CWU, our Information technology department is trying to do their very best to resolve the software piracy issue among the student body but it seems that there are still certain ins tances when the piracy falls through the cracks and goes unnoticed. In fact, there are certain times when the student even uses the campus lab computers in order to access and download pirated software. Although most students know about the legal restrictions and obey the laws, there are still those students who push the envelope and try to see just how far they can take their piracy skills without getting caught.

The good life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The good life - Essay Example d companies that take part in industrialization and manufacturing should take responsibility of controlling the effects of climate change by bearing the negative external costs associated with climate change.1 The richer nations and large manufacturing industries get involved in massive industrial manufacturing, hence leading to massive emissions and pollution that are responsible for the ever increasing amount of green house gases. To maintain normalcy and good life, the discounting rate concept must be proportionately applied. The rich countries that account for the larger share of the global emissions must bear the greatest costs associated with environmental degradation. In order to save the future generations from suffering the harmful effects of the present global climatic change, they must learn to reduce such risks by avoiding activities that negatively affect the environment.2 This can only be achieved by seeking expert advice from economists who would advise them on the cost-benefits analysis of their industrial and manufacturing activities. From an ethical point of view, the economists must take into account the discounting rates that are payable by the environmental polluters. Economists will, therefore, always advice on the importance of reducing the possibility of adverse effects such as environmental pollution from spreading into the future. This implies that the present generation must sacrifice part of its consumption in order to mitigate the impacts climatic

Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Young People Essay

Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Young People - Essay Example Many agencies have taken a stand on teen sexual activity teaching abstinence or protection, but the American Social Health Association (ASHA) is a leader in the understanding and prevention of the transmission of STIs in sexually active individuals, especially young people. Not only can information be found on their website, www.ashastd.org but can also be found at their teen oriented site, www.iwannaknow.org. These sites and this agency are bound to the education and prevention of the spread of STIs in the United States and in concert with other non-profit and governmental agencies. ASHA has been working as a non-profit public health agency since 1914. Initially named the American Social Hygiene Association, its first main focus was to prevent the spread of venereal disease in military soldiers fighting in World War I. In the 1920s, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. helped to fund the ASHA mission, and a special fund was used to create the Committee for Research in Syphilis (ASHA, 2009). In the 1930's, 36 states have created local affiliations with ASHA, and help to change the view of venereal diseases from a moral to medical issue (ASHA, 2009). A major milestone occurred in 1947 when the International Union of Venereal Diseases and Treponematoses names ASHA as its American liaison to the United Nations. Even as early as 1956, ASHA took an interest in the growing number of teenagers being infected with the diseases. In the years leading to today, ASHA has not sat back quietly, but has been the rallying force for many studies, prevention training for medical professional s and educational professionals. In essence, ASHA has remained at the forefront with helping those who have questions through hotlines, community centers, and now even the internet (ASHA, 2009). Mission and Vision of ASHA The mission of ASHA has never changed in all the years it has been working for public sexual health. The three person executive staff along with the board of directors ensures the ASHA remains focused on education in and prevention of STIs. The association has four main visions that they work on constantly. The first is the public awareness that is focused on educating, preventing, and the destigmatization of STIs. The second focus is the "patient education and support" which educates patients in aspects of their infections and how to deal with doctors and partners. The third vision health care policies working as advocates for the research and prevention of STIs. The last part of the vision focuses on provider training in the areas of prevention and treatment of STIs (ASHA, 2009). Who Benefits the Most ASHA benefits all that are looking for help or answers to questions. However, the association has taken a strong interest in the youth in relation to the contraction of STIs and how the numbers are growing and have been for the past 40 plus years. Because of this, ASHA has created the www.iwannaknow.org website to make finding answers easy and anonymously by the teens that truly need the

Chinua Achebe's response to Conrad's Heart of Darkness novel Essay

Chinua Achebe's response to Conrad's Heart of Darkness novel - Essay Example ly doing the same, when he is criticizing the author on being single-tracked, by viewing the theme and presentation of this epic novel through a tunnel-vision. The issue of truth in terms of actual reality is a paradigm that has never really been understood to its fullest since man has learnt to think. This reality can be identified with, and the highest virtue can subsequently be attained by means of taking it in a way that it actually is. Contemplation gives insight, and ultimately self-actualization; this should in turn give way to the actual truth, and nullify any metaphor being used as a faà §ade to a reality. On the same lines, Conrad has presented his version of the life that he saw in Africa. This version had ideas and experiences that were true to his own self, and he did not have a personal vendetta against the locals of the continent. He just found a striking cultural difference between himself and his hosts, and this he represented in the script subsequently. If in the face of conflict, one tends to shy away from the true sense of being, then it can never really come out. Under normal circumstances, it is always simple to portray oneself; however, the true test of character is when there is antagonism, and yet still a person can attain truth by means of beings what he truly is. This adversity was faced by the author in his own experiences. The symbolism and the gravity of events that unfold through the process of the novel, clearly indicate that the author himself is passing through a drastically intense time of his life – disregarding someone on account of race would be the last thing on his mind, where survival itself had become an issue. Furthermore, there is no racism in explaining that a place is underdeveloped and that the people have a more crude way of living. The novel was originally published in 1902, and more than a hundred years on, even in the contemporary scientific and technological times of today, one can safely argue that ‘all’

Library research assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Library research - Assignment Example (check this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7w5nMXB828Q&feature=plcp). After watching several powerpoint presentation and videos I now have a better idea how to do a research using the website despite the unavailability of the instruction video on how to begin a research. It is just unclear to me if there are soft copies of the book where I can access through my computer and download it because the instructional video just tells how to locate the book. I believe this is important because it makes research more efficient that would enable us to dig more reading materials at a lesser amount of time. My top three videos viewed are â€Å"Overview of Mason Libraries† because it provides me an idea how the online and physical library interacts,   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Find a Book video† because it instructs me how to locate the book that I need in the maze of our library and â€Å"Find the Full-text of Google Scholar Articles† because it makes easier how to understand a book.   In general, the website had been helpful in orienting me how to do a research and I believe that I am now more prepared to do

Is Libertarian Paternalism a good idea Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Is Libertarian Paternalism a good idea - Essay Example Nudge is the method of influencing behavior by ways of choice architecting. The feedback system in a school and incentive programs in organizations are all different example of this Nudge. Being a parent in this age is not an easy task. Over the decades the position of teenagers has changed considerably. There was once a time when all the focus was on the elder generations. The television programs, products etc everything targeted the elders. However this generation has seen a totally different side of affairs. If we look around we can see how much importance the younger generations are given. There are special products, television shows, movies and many other aspects of life which are entirely focused and dedicated to them. This treatment of teenagers has changed the ‘obedient child’ into an independent person. This person knows his rights and importance and therefore is not willing to give up any part of his independence. This phenomenon makes the life of parents even tougher. They have to control a generation of independent teenagers who are inexperienced about life no matter how much they brag about being all grownup. There are many different forms of knowledge. The internet has an adequate quantity of literature about everything and anything. There are some aspects of knowledge however which cannot be learned overnight. This branch of knowledge is usually referred to as experience. There are many decisions in life which require us to make choices that could not only affect us but also have considerable affects on others around us. We are forced to make those choices despite the fact that we sometimes are not ready to make them. This is the problem many parents face. They cannot interfere directly with decisions of their children but cannot also watch them ruin their own life. The parents are usually more experienced in making choices because they have seen

Research-based Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Research-based Analysis - Essay Example As viewers strive to be recognized alongside film characters considered as heroes, so do violence and aggression creep in from the psychological influence caused by such scenes. Consequently, the photo about Kony Make Him Famous 2012 elicits both violent and affectionate feelings from viewers of such photo or the real; film represented by the photo. Elicited feelings are much deeper in those who understand the main character, Kony. The photo conveys strong messages visually; this is further enhanced by the actual meaning of used words, the perceived meaning, the color and shadows, and the entire idea behind the photo. Bower (1-3) explains the use of symbolism in films, and the effects that such symbolism has to the viewer. For example, Bower (2) narrates the scenes in the movie, The Hours, where Woolf has some servants preparing food for her, and after doing all the cooking, she rejects the food to continue with her writing. In this case, Bower argues regarding the powerful messages passed to the viewer in such a case. One of the messages maybe that Woolf was too dedicated in her work and could not sacrifice the slightest moment to eat, or she was indeed detached from her workers that their food evoked no appetite in her. Similarly, in the photo regarding Kony, the same symbolic sentiments may be construed. For example, the photo portrays a dark, red background, and a feature that looks like a cave is visible at the background. The combination of words and the background color evokes perception of blood in viewers; blood is dark red after pouring out of the body. Blood and Kony are suggestive of violence as the history of Kony is told of his fighting with the government in a guerrilla war. Cohen (4) defines the monster and explains the body of the monster incorporates fear, anxiety, and fantasy, all which offer the monster the life they require, and an uncanny independence. Moreover, the monster is not an obvious creature as it in most cases hides, but only to resurfaces to cause havoc among the people. People are intimidated and averse with great fear. The monster does not die immediately as it incorporates a corporal and incorporeal body. This signifies its threat just shifts, but the creature never dies; it will be back again to cause more terror (Cohen, 5).The same characters can be deduced from photo about Kony. First, a monster evokes fear just as the name Kony evokes sentiments of fear in his home country. AS the photo portrays, the dark red color is the blood that Kony signifies, meaning similar to vipers or monsters, he is dangerous, hiding, and will only resurface again to spread terror and then hide again. This may be construed from the cave like features at the background of the picture. Just as the name monster itself without seeing the actual creature evokes fear, terror, and beastly acts (Cohen x-xii), so does the name Kony alone without seeing his picture evoke fear to the people affected. Kony and the beast described by K ohen have similar meanings to the viewer of such photo; they both spread terror and cause much fear in their subjects. Harold in his book, A Moral Never-Never Land explains that violence in media can stimulate views through both sympathetic and repulsive elements contained in such films (243). Moreover, Sobchack explains that increasing violence

Google in the Mobile Handset Market Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Google in the Mobile Handset Market - Essay Example erious matter of market debate that Google’s decision to access mobile handset market with its ‘Nexus One’ can be a ‘next one’ revolution in the consumer technology. This piece of research work presents a market analysis of Google’s Nexus One mobile handset with different tools like SWOT, PESTEL and five force analyses. This work focuses on the growth and expansion of Google’s new mobile brand, the competitive environment and its effect on the business and how can Google deal with opportunities and threats. Google is very strong brand with $125 billion worth and an annual revenue of $10 billion. Google’s access to mobile handset market with its Nexus one’ Android phone shows that it is right time to come to dominate the market. David (2010) finds that there is plenty room for every Smartphone marketer to grow. There can be various diversities that consumers are highly demanding for it. By 2012, American smart-phone sales will reach 525 million making up of all cell-phones sold. There are amble opportunities for brands to thrive. In the next three month, around 20 % of Americans are planning to buy an iPhone, and a surging 17% are aiming at purchasing an Android product. Google’s new Nexus One can enhance those numbers since it runs on Android system (Christian Science Monitor, MasterFILE Premier). According to latest data from comScore, Apple’s and Google’s market share of the smart-phone in inching up while other leading brands like RIM are slowly loosing (Cheng, 2010, arstechnica.com). Cheng (2010) figured out that from September 2009 to December 2009, the overall market trend was very positive to Google. RIM and Microsoft have lost around 1 % in its sales and Palm has reduced sale by around 2.2 %, Apple’s Smart-phone was up by 1.2 % and Google’s smart-phone reported a 2.7 % increases in its market share (Cheng, 2010,arstechnica.com). SWOT analysis is conducted to present an analysis of the current position of the business and it

Moral Absolutes Essay Example for Free

Moral Absolutes Essay Why are Christian ethics and theology inseparable? What did Francis Schaeffer mean when he said that not all things are the same to God? Christian ethics is inseparable from theology because it is grounded in the character of God. Francis Schaeffer said that not all things are the same to God and means that God exists and has a character, but not all things are the same to him. Some things conform to His character, and some are opposed to his character. 2. What did Schaeffer conclude about a society without moral absolutes? Do we see this in society? Schaeffer concludes that if a society has no moral absolutes then there is no final appeal to judge between individuals and groups whose moral judgments conflict. There will be no standards and only conflicting opinions. 3. On what authority do Christians base their belief in moral absolutes? How specific is this authority? Christians base their beliefs in moral absolutes through the Bible. Of course, you cannot solve all moral decisions by referring to the Bible but there sufficient guidelines provided to give us a sense of what is morally right. These guidelines are the Decalogue also known as the Ten Commandments and tat is how specific the authority is. 4. Ethically speaking, what are Christians called to do? Christians are called to love the Lord with all their heart, all their soul, and with all their strength and with their entire mind and love your neighbor as yourself. 5. What did Dietrich Bonhoeffer mean by the question, â€Å"Where are the responsible people? He meant Christians, who are willing to treat God’s moral order with the same respect they show His physical order; who love God with their whole body, soul, spirit, mind and strength; who treat others as they desire to be treated. Ethics 3. 2 6. Why do Muslims view Muhammad as morally exemplary even though the Hadith does not paint a flattering portrait of his life? Muslims are conditioned to look at the whole picture through the eyes of faith. Certain things that the Prophet did do not conform to ordinary ideas of morality and may be considered sensual and cruel, but believers look at the whole thing differently. To them morality derives from the Prophet’s actions; the moral is whatever he did. Morality does not determine the Prophet’s actions, but his actions determines morality. 7. How do Christianity and Islam differ in relation to their beliefs about ethical absolutes? Christianity and Islam differ because Christianity is based on the Bible and Islam is based on the Qur’an and the Bible grounds morality in God’s essential character; the Qur’an teaches that God cannot be ultimately known. 8. In what two ways is the term jihad used? First: the battle against temptation and sin for the sake of self-control and the development of virtue; Second: the battle against any and all who oppose Islam. 9. What motivates Muslims to behave ethically? They are motivated by several fronts like: to develop personal virtue and spirituality, to better the state of others, to strengthen relationships, and to anticipate the coming judgment. 10. Which motivation is strongest? The anticipation of final judgment. Ethics 3. 3 11. What is the ultimate ethical question for a Secular Humanist? What questions did Morris B. Storer outline in his book Humanist Ethics? The ultimate ethical question for a Secular Humanist is Can morality be achieved without the foundation of absolute religious beliefs? Who makes the rules, God or men? Morris B. Storer outlined: Is personal advantage the measure of right and wrong or the advantage of all affected? Is there truth in ethics? Are right and wrong expressions of heart or head? Do people have free wills? Do you measure morality by results or by principles? Do people have duties as well as rights? 12. Why are there such diverse views and conflicts regarding humanistic ethics? There are diverse views and conflicts because there is a lack of consensus about the foundation of ethics and that is problematic for the whole concept of Humanistic ethics. 13. Who proposed the â€Å"no-truth thesis† and what does it state? Kai Nelson and it states that no question of the truth or falsity of moral values can sensibly arise. 14. How do most humanists attempt to dodge the â€Å"no-truth thesis†? How does Corliss Lamont address this issue? They attempt to doge it by claiming that they use reason to determine right and wrong in the context of ethical relativism. Lamont addresses the issue with optimism stating that as long as we pursue activities that are healthy, socially useful and in accordance with reason, pleasure and happiness will accompany us and the supreme good will the eventual result. 15. What did Arthur E. Gravatt, Joseph Fletcher, Herbert W. Schneider, and Paul Kurtz have to say about Ethics? Dr. Arthur E. Gravatt: Moral behavior may differ from situation to situation. Behavior might be moral for one person and not another or moral at one time and not another. Joseph Fletcher: Rights and wrongs are determined by objective facts or circumstances, that is, by the situations in which moral agents have to decide for the most beneficial course open to choice. Herbert W. Schneider: Morality is â€Å"an experimental art† and is the â€Å"basic art of living well together. † Moral right and wrong must therefore be conceived in terms of moral standards generated in a particular society. Paul Kurtz: Moral principles should be treated as hypotheses, tested by their practical worth and judged by what they cause to happen. Ethics 3. 4 16. How did Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels view the issue of morality? Marx and Engels denied that moral ideals, moral considerations, are central in human life and social evolution. Rather, it is biological and social evolution that determines their definition of morality. What is right and wrong is determined by what is best for evolution. 17. What is the Marxist-Leninist morality of the future? How will it be determined? Their morality of the future is when the proletariat finally destroys the bourgeoisie. The new classless society will determine the new morality, just as this evolution toward a classless society is dictating today’s morality. 18. What is the Marxist-Leninist view of â€Å"old morality?They view old morality as products of the bourgeoisie invented and used by the propertied class to oppress the propertyless proletariat. 19. What is the Marxist code of ethics according to the book Scientific Communism? â€Å"Devotion to the cause of the working class, collectivism, mutual aid, comradely solidarity, hatred toward the bourgeois ie and toward traitors to the common cause, internationalism, and stoicism in struggle are traits which not only define the content of proletarian ethics, but also characterize the moral image of the typical representatives of the working class. 20. What means have Marxists historically believed would bring about a society without class distinction? What have been the results of such an ethical system? They believe that revolution is the most efficient means for creating a society without class distinctions. This system is responsible for 83 million deaths between 1917 and 1964. But from a Marxist-Leninist point of view, it is worth the price if people die to abolish social classes and private property.

My English Language Journey English Language Essay

My English Language Journey English Language Essay My first experience of learning the English language was challenging, demanding, interesting and satisfying. My education in English began at home with my parents communicating with me in English. While my mother was a full time homemaker (housewife), my father was a banker. Since my mother spent most of her time at home, I was able to learn English language more from my mother. My father on the other hand, was the sole bread winner of our family. Nevertheless, whatever time he could muster from his busy schedules, he devoted that to teaching me the English language. This was indeed an advantage for me as I was able to learn the English language from them through our conversations and by listening to the words they spoke to me. Therefore, both my parents were responsible for imparting the education of English language to me. Accordingly, I consider it as a blessing to be born and raised in an English educated family. My first experience at learning English at school After going through one of the best cycles of childhood development, my first baby steps to school started at the age of 5 when I joined the kindergarten. Kindergarten was an entirely new experience for me because of the change in the environment. Also, this was the first time when I was away from my parents. As a result, though I was a bit hesitant initially, but soon I started interacting with new kids of my age. My experience of learning the English language at kindergarten was different than learning English at home because I was exposed to new and sophisticated learning tools. These new education methods included alphabets, writing and image recognition. I remembered that my teacher taught me alphabets at school by showing me a list of alphabets on a piece of cardboard and pronouncing each letter in the list of alphabets. The teacher would then instruct us to read the alphabets aloud by following her pronunciation. After doing that the teacher would then test our memory retentio n by telling us to independently read the alphabets, first in sequence and then in random fashion. The sequence method would be from A to Z and the random method would be any alphabet that the teacher pointed to us. Besides gaining exposure to alphabets, I also learnt new words through image recognition techniques at the kindergarten. I still remember looking at an image of a duck that my teacher pointed to me. Thereafter, she told me to repeat the word duck based on the image shown. In fact I found that learning words through image was easier than listening because of the strength and power of visual characteristic. Moreover, my teacher also taught me to write alphabets and words by looking at the existing alphabets and words taught during the classroom discussion and written in the study guide. Besides, the English language education at the kindergarten was fun and enjoyable with learning through alphabets-memory games. My primary school experience At the age of 7, I entered a new phase of erudition when I joined a primary school. Again this was an altogether new and unparalleled experience for me. As a primary school student, I was taken to a new level of knowledge in learning English. During my primary classes 1 and 2, I remember writing short simple texts such as stories and poems. One of the stories that I wrote was the shoe maker and the Alps. I wrote this story based on the original book story of the shoe maker and the Alps. I truly enjoyed the experience of this challenging task of rewriting and creating the story in my own words. Another interesting challenge in this story writing task was that the number of words required was limited to 150 only. This made me test my mental faculties and write a compelling and believable story within the limited words. These were certainly the best formative years in my learning of the English language. Learning higher rules of English Upon completing my primary school education, I joined the secondary school at the age of 13. It is imperative to mention that at the secondary school and during my form 1, 2 and 3, I had learnt how to ask and answer questions. In addition, I had also learnt to read a variety of different texts. Moreover, I remember when I was in 4th grade, my teacher taught us English with mock spelling tests. So I always memorized various new words and their spellings. This habit inculcated by my teacher in 4th continued for the future too. Furthermore, at a later stage, I began learning fundamental concepts and rules of English grammar. I have gained a fairly good understanding of the usage of an before a vowel. As I moved up to primary classes, 3, 4 and 6, I learnt how to use interesting expressions to write short stories and poems persuasively. Apart from this, I was also exposed to learning higher rules of grammar that are more advanced than the ones in primary classes 1 and 2. I must mention th at my English reading and speaking skills were tested during this time. Moreover, I found that this level of education in English language helped me to improve my reading as well as analytical skills for answering questions. I could see myself growing with confidence in replying to questions in English. With this level of education in English, I was progressing with my interpersonal skills too. Books, Conversations and Films: Valuable for learning English My parents and teachers instilled in me the habit of reading a lot of books. As a result of reading more books, I was able to enhance my vocabulary with each passing day. Furthermore, I was inculcating and developing different writing skills such as articles, composition, dialogue and summaries. When I was in form 4 and 5, I had to analyze situations and find appropriate counter responses. This involved a lot of research, analysis and brainstorming which eventually stimulated me to become more analytical. In addition, one of my most important English learning activities has been conversation. I made friends in class and we spoke about a lot of things at length. The experience of conversing on diverse topics has been very precious to me as it inspired me to improve my communication skills in English. Another of my most enjoyable English language learning experiences has been watching TV. Watching English films helped me a lot to improve my pronunciation, accent and speech in English. Besides, English news channels such as CNN and BBC have been very useful in building the foundation of my English language. Overall, I learnt the nuances of sentence construction, sentence structure, syntax, parentheses and much more through my English language education so far. For the most part, learning English language has been an interesting and a challenging journey for me owing to all the cycles that I have gone through to achieve a certain level of proficiency in English. I have also come to a conclusion that the method of teaching will vary depending on the age factor. I deem that while children will enjoy when learning is fun, the more mature English learners will focus more on self development. Whatever the means and methods be, I believe a learner is always eager to learn English. With English as a tool by my side, I can surely aim to reach the high echelons of my education and career.

Cervical Cancer Major Public Health Issue Health And Social Care Essay

Cervical Cancer Major Public Health Issue Health And Social Care Essay Introduction Cervical cancer is a major public health issue; it is the second most common cancer among women in the world, and one of leading cause of death by gynaecologic malignant tumour in developing countries. (I. Shahramian and colleagues 2011) Besides, cervical cancer is one of the most preventable and curable cancer when it is detected early, and this is due to its slow progression, since it take several years to grow from a detectable precursor lesion. This key feature provides a large window of about ten years or more for effective early detection of the precancerous lesion, and preventing its progression to invasive cancer. From this perspective, well organised prevention approaches have been applied by high income countries over the past 50 years, and have resulted in a remarkable decline in morbidity and mortality from this invasive disease. The screening program is a successful example for effective prevention from cervical cancer, it has been used in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Sweden); this program was examined by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in 1960s and it was found that the mortality rate in these countries fell by about three- fourth, The most drastic decrease was marked in Iceland by 84 % and this was due to the wide target age range for screening in this country.(whomb people) However, over the same period, developing countries have failed through using the same program to reduce the burden of the disease, and cervical cancer continues to menace the lives of thousands of women, this may be due to the lack of an effective prevention strategy. We will try in this paper to review the determinants of cervical cancer screening among Algerian women, to elucidate the salient barriers regarding screening and to highlight the principal factors influencing the individual health behaviour, for this study, we will use the Health Belief Model as a conceptual framework, we will explain the structure of the Health Belief Model (Becker) and how the different constructs of the model could predict the womens health behaviour regarding cervical neoplasm screening , finally the application of this model as a guiding framework to ground behavioural interventions and to improve attitude of women regarding cancer screening will be discussed. Epidemiology of cervical cancer/ global burden of the disease Global overview Worldwide, cervical cancer is the second most common cause of death among women (ACCP2004) with an estimate of 493,000 new cases, and 274,000 deaths occurring every year according to the statistics of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (GLOBOCAN, 2002) In 2008, 530000 new cases were diagnosed, more than 85% of the global burden were registered in developing countries (where it remains the most common cancer seen in women and it accounts for 13% of all female cancers), In the same year, the cervical cancer was responsible for 275000 deaths, about 88% of which occurred in developing countries 53000 cases in Africa, 31700 in Latin America and the Caribbean, and 159000 cases in Asia. (GLOBOCAN 2008) The figure below shows incidence of cervical cancer by country, it should be noted that data from developing countries might be underestimated as the official statistics in these countries are not reliable. http://globocan.iarc.fr/factsheets/cancers/cervix-bar.png Regional overview Algeria is a large North African country, extended from the Mediterranean Sea down to the Sahara, with about 37 million inhabitants. Algeria has a population of 11,51millions of women whose ages are 15 years and older, (WHO/ICO2010) which means that about the third of the Algerian population is at risk of developing cervical cancer. Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among Algerian women after the breast cancer, Current estimates indicate that every year 1398 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and 797 die from the disease (WHO/ICO2010) About 10, 5% of Algerian women are estimated harbour cervical HPV, and about 77, 1% of cervical cancers in Algeria are related to HPV 16 or 18. (WHO/ICO 2010) But we should note that even these statistics might be underestimated, The economic impact of cervical cancer is significantly heavy for the state. The treatment of a single patient returns to about 2.5 million dinars (à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 20,000), with this cost we we can achieve 2000 smears (smear test cost 20 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬) and vaccinate 30 women. Natural history of cervical cancer Understanding the process of developing cervical cancer is a crucial step to design an effective program of prevention. More than 99% cases of cervical cancer are attributed to cervical HPV infection, which is a sexually transmitted disease (STD), the virus is acquired by both men and women through sexual activity, the infection is usually asymptomatic and transient. HPV is the most common STD in the world; it affects about 50% to 80% of sexually active women at least once in their lifetime ( ACCP 2004), they contract it in their teen, 20 or early 30s. There are more than 100 genotypes of HPV that have been identified, and which are numbered by order of their discovery, about 13 types can lead to invasive cervical cancer and they are known as high oncogenic risk ( 16,18,31,33,35,39,45,51,52,56,58,59,66) (WHO 2007) The two most common are 16 and 18 causing approximately 70% of all invasive cervical carcinoma (60% related to HPV 16 and 10% to HPV 18) the whom people The others types of HPV are known as low risk and they usually associated with genital warts (especially 6 and 11) which can grow in the genital part in both men and women (cervix, anus, vulva, vagina, penis, and scrotum) and they cause a significant morbidity.( WHO2007), They are very rarely associated with cervical cancer, but can lead to low grade changes in cervical cells which are very similar to those caused by high risk types. These low lesions are asymptomatic and temporary, however, in some circumstances can evolve and lead to high lesion or invasive cancer. Table: summarizes the different stages leading to cervical cancer ( ACCP2004) HPV infection Low-grade lesions High-grade lesions Invasive cancer HPV infection is extremely common among women of reproductive age. The infection can persist, lead to cervical abnormalities, or resolve on its own. Low-grade lesions are usually temporary and disappear over time. Some cases, however, progress to high-grade lesions. High-grade lesions, the precursor to cervical cancer, are significantly less common than low-grade lesions. High- grade lesions can develop from low-grade ones or directly from persistent HPV infection. Invasive cancer develops over the course of several years and is most common among women in their 50s and 60s. Source: Adapted from PATH 2000. HPV is a necessary cause but not sufficient to progress from HPV infection to invasive cervical cancer, there are other lifestyle factors that increase the probability to develop the cancer including high parity, young age at first delivery, being in polygamous marriage, women with husbands extramarital sexual relationship (D. Hammouda and colleagues 2004, 2011), long term use of oral contraception, tobacco smoking, certain dietary deficiencies, poor sanitation, multiple sex partner, low socio economic status, and living in a rural environment. In addition, co-infection with HIV, Chlamydia Trachomatis, and Herpes Simplex Virus type 2 (HSV 2)., ( whomb people) HPV was incriminated in many other anogenital cancer (anus, vulva, vagina, and penis) and cancers of the head and neck. Understanding that HPV is the primary underlying cause of cervical cancer has focused attention on the potential of early detection of the infection through the cervical screening. Screening for cervical cancer is based on the use of the Papanicolaou cytology technic (Pap smear test) in which physicians or nurses expose the cervix by speculum and remove cells from the squamous epithelium and transformation zone to detect abnormal precancerous cells. The American College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology suggest that women should receive the first screening test 3 years after the first sexual intercourse They also recommend that women should continue receiving cytology screening yearly until the age of 30, from than they can receive it every 3 years. According to the same college, menopausal women have a lower chance to develop abnormal cervical cells; however, there is no upper age limit to stop the screening. ( Whom people) Primary prevention have focused on hygiene and reducing risks factor by reducing the number of sexual partners and encouraging the use of barrier contraceptive especially condoms,( ACCP2004) Recently a new vaccine which has the potential to protect against certain type of HPV infection (16 and 18) has been licensed to underpin the preventive program against cervical cancer. The vaccine has been used in many developed countries and shown great results in reducing the burden of the disease, but it has not been introduced in Algeria yet Pap smear as a cervical cancer screening test Algeria is one of the developing countries where cervical cancer remains a major health public issue. although the application of screening program, a large population remain under screened, the outcome are very modest and the incidence of cervical cancer is always high and this could be contributed to the lack of awareness about screening test among women and some specific cultural health beliefs barriers, not surprisingly that large proportion of the patients are diagnosed with advanced stage of the invasive cervical cancer, interestingly, even most of the health care providers have never had a pap smear.( ref risk factor ). Studies show that comprehensive cervical cancer screening is modest in low resources countries; hence a low participation in Pap smear and a low follow up when it is done the first time. It has been stated that screening program in these countries and even among minorities and aboriginal women faced many obstacles; lack of sufficient laboratory infrastructure, high cost of health care, inadequate trained health care providers, absence of providers recommendation and a lack of appropriate educational programs in these countries that indicate the risk factors of this disease, the importance of screening at early stage, and the power of the Pap smear test to detect the disease in its premalignant stage and so the possibility of full cure and prevention. (S.T. Tavafian 2012) In addition to these funds and human resources deficiencies that can hindrance an effective and organised screening intervention, there is also the lack of knowledge from the patients regarding preventable cervical cancer as well as the socio-cultural status barriers , such as embarrassment from pelvic examination that have been argued as one of leading obstacle to not receiving screening test,(S.T. Tavafian 2012) another factor is the fear of subject and the entrenched belief that cancer cannot be cured , the lack of optimal knowledge about screening practices ; this extreme fatalistic attitude about cancer among different countries lead women to consider diagnosis as a death sentence and so the avoidance of the test,(V.Thomas and colleagues 2005) there is also projects identified religious beliefs, the limited language ability as another major perceived barrier, the lack of social support, the low socio economic status and the inadequate functional health literacy. There is a study that has been conducted in Spanish among low income Latinas, that found that women with inadequate functional health literacy are 16 times less likely to receive a Pap smear test (S.T. Tavafian 2012) It has been illustrated that Individuals beliefs, ethnic background, knowledge about a particular illness are significantly interconnected with the healthcare seeking and health promotional behaviour, Al-Neggar and his colleagues concluded that some misconceptions and wrong beliefs may conduct to the poor practice of cervical cancer screening among women, despite the adequate knowledge regarding the risk factors (Al-Neggar and colleague (2010). One of theoretical models that could be used to identify the determinant of cancer screening and assess the influence of peoples beliefs on their decisions to take up cancer screening is the health belief model. According to the concepts of this model, individuals are more likely to take up screening if they are motivated enough about their health, and they regard themselves as susceptible to develop cancer, believe that effective intervention would be beneficial to reduce the susceptibility and the severity of the condition. Health belief model as a theoretical framework for predicting behaviour The health belief model is one of the theory the most commonly used in health promotion and health education, (chapter 4) it was developed in the early 1950s by a group of social psychologists to explain the widespread failure of people to adopt the disease preventive programs suggested and screening test recommended to detect and prevent the disease at its asymptomatic stage, Later it was applied to study the response of patients to diagnosed disease and their compliance with prescribed medical regimens.(Nancy and colleagues 1984) This model aims to explain the patients thoughts process behind his preventive attitude rather than his behaviour after getting the illness. The underlying concept of the model is that health behaviour and willingness of people to engage in a preventive program or to take up a screening test are determined by personal beliefs and perception of the disease in addition to the different resources available to prevent its occurrence, (chapter 4) The model provides guidelines to develop strategies for effective intervention and implementation by allowing planners to understand the reasons for not compliance with the recommended suggested preventive systems. This model assumes that individuals health behaviour is determined by five psychological factors: perceived susceptibility, perceived seriousness, ref perceived benefits and perceived barriers to effective compliance; cues to put into action, recently, there are others constructs that have been added to the model called modifying or motivating factors such as mass media initiatives, campaign, personal materials, social support, health professional and self-efficacy.(V.Thomas and collegues 2005) Copier le tableau Articulation of cervical cancer screening behaviour to the HBM framework In this section; I will try through the constructs of the Health Belief Model to explain the relationship between womens belief and health behaviour in Algeria Perceived susceptibility: personal risk or susceptibility is referred to the personal belief about the likelihood of contracting a disease (S.T. Tavafian 2012), it is one of the most powerful factor that influence people to adopt a healthy behaviour, the greater the perceived risk, the greater the likelihood of engaging in behaviours to decrease the risk( chapter4). For screening program, woman will be interested to take up a smear test if she is aware enough of the possibility to get cervical cancer by contracting HPV infection, and that she is exposed to this risk as long as she is sexually active. The HBM predicts that women are more likely to comply with cervical cancer screening recommendation if they believe that they have risk factor of cervical cancer (Glanz et and colleagues 2008), and vice versa, the belief of not being at risk for cervical cancer or HPV infection preclude (deter, empeche) women to engage in such program, And this is why most virgin women in Algeria underestimate the necessity( believe the futility) of smear test as they think they are protected from the risk of HPV infection because they are not married. Or in other words , because there is no sexual intercourse, virgin woman does not perceive her vulnerability to cervical cancer, although studies show that HPV has been found in some female virgins, which means that the virus does not always need penetrating sex to be transmitted, And that it may be spread through non penetrating sexual contact; and even within married women, the concept that HPV infection is related to multiple sex partner make them b elieve they are safe from the risk since they have one partner, ignoring the husband sexual behaviour, as many men in Algeria have extramarital sexual relationship underground that the wife unawares, and so she doesnt see herself as susceptible to the risk. Another worrying factor is that youngest women consider cancer to be an elderly disease, while older women according to cervical screening age limit might think that they are no longer at risk ref( V.Thomas 2005), and so there is a wrong perceive of susceptibility. Perceived severity: refers to the seriousness of the disease as assessed by the patient, it is usually based on medical information or personal knowledge from television, radio or leaflets, or it may come from the belief of a person about the consequences that would create a particular disease whatever clinical such as death, disability, or social like family life and social relations (chapter4), (S.T. Tavafian 2012), For screening test, if women believe that cervical neoplasm is a severe disease that would lead to serious difficulties for her and her family, she will view prevention as a priority and so she is more likely to receive a Pap smear test. Also having knowledge about Pap smear test and its importance to detect the invasive disease at early stage will motivate her to receive one, because many women realise the severity of cervical cancer but lack knowledge of screening program, and available service. Despite the recognition that cervical cancer is a serious issue, most of women in Algeria believe that there is no treatment, which make them see screening test as futile and this perhaps reflects the religious beliefs and the cultural background that may influence their attitude, Algeria population as most of Muslims agree that illness, recovery and death are all determined from God, so The majority believe that screening would not prolong their lives and when the time of death comes no one can push it away( K,Salman2011) Another point is that the fear from possibility of identification abnormal cells would necessarily lead to other investigations often influence the willingness of the women to attend, especially when there is no one to watch the children during the screening and the lack of significant support. (chapter4) In Algeria, as in many other Arabic countries, cancer screening is usually recommended for diagnostic purposes rather than being used as a tool for secondary prevention ( K,Salman2011) most of women consider the absence of visible symptoms as a sign of good health hence they do not seek health care unless the disease manifests itself and starts to disable her daily activities, and so the cancer is often diagnosed at its advanced stage. Perceived benefits is about the persons opinion on how much may new behaviour decrease the risk of a particular disease, the HBM predicts that most people have tendency to adopt new behaviour which is seen as a healthy behaviour when they believe the capability of this new behaviour to decrease their risk of developing a disease (Glanz and Colleagues 2008) Perceived benefits play a major role in the adoption of secondary preventive interventions such as screening, for example, if women believe that Pap smear is important for early detection of the precancerous lesions and prevention of cancer that will motivate them to participate in secondary prevention practice by seeking checks up and periodic screening. Therefore women are not expected to engage in any screening program unless they perceive that this program is potentially beneficial to reduce the risk, and so health care providers should explain to the patient the ability of screening test to detect changes in cervix before they develop to cancer, which make treatment easier and prevention effective. Perceived barriers: relate to the individuals vision of the obstacles he will face if he decides to adopt a new behaviour. In order to undertake a recommended behaviour, a person needs to believe that the benefits expected from it outweigh the outcomes of his old behaviour; this enables him to overcome the perceived barriers and to adopt the new behaviour (chapter4) For example, if woman believes that benefits of undergoing a screening test outweigh the obstacles that she may face, she is more likely to obtain Pap test. Previous studies have showed that women who perceived the Pap smear testing as a painful and embarrassing process were less likely to obtain cervical cancer screening, in the same studies women reported many cause that deter them to take the action, such as a negative previous experience, included pain, bleeding, or being faced with inexperienced practitioner who didnt explain the procedure to them during taking the sample, language difficulties was another barrier due the perceive that she will be unable to communicate properly with the health care provider, and to build a trusting relationship. Even those who appreciated the necessity of the screening, the fear of the test process was a great obstacle for them, as most of women find it uncomfortable, and perceive the metal speculum as a painful instrument. (Abdullah 2009) Shyness is another major hindrance that may deter screening process, and It is very common for women to refuse to reveal her body parts to undergo a physical exam or a medical procedures especially when the health provider is a man, and even the discussion about a sensitive health issue like marital relationship, sexual activity and reproductively is regarded as very private, and shouldnt be disclosed to other people , especially men, and even husband may sometimes not be involved in his wifes health issue if it is related to her reproductive organs.( K,Salman2011) Cues to action: are the ensemble of events, things, people that motivate a person to change his behaviour, and this can be mass media such as television, radio, advice from a family or friends, leaflets, information brochure, campaigns, recommendation from health provider,(chapter4) Women are more likely to take up a pap test if she receives enough information about the benefits of the test from her GP or Gynaecologist, if she receives advice from another woman who had the test, if she is encouraged by a member of her family especially the husband or if she knows someone in her entourage with a history of cancer, all those factors are susceptible to reduce the perceived barriers to cancer screening. Perceived self-efficacy: it refers to the belief of the person in his own ability to adopt the behaviour required, because people generally dont engage in doing something unless they believe they are able to achieve it. (Chapter 4) Modifying factors: in addition to what it has been already said, There are other factors that seem to influence the willingness of women to take up the test such as inadequate knowledge about the screening, lack of trusting relationship with the health provide , lack of confidence in the importance of the test, high cost of the test, fear of the result of the test and superstition that talking about cancer would bring it, some stigmata imposed by the community and even sometimes the family that cervical cancer is related to promiscuity, Perception of the Pap smear as a threat for the womans virginity, some fatalistic attitude that illness, recovery and death are relating to gods will and that screening test is futile, Low socioeconomic status, lack of social support, poverty, lack of health insurance (J.Hatcher and colleagues 2011), childhood sexual abuse, obesity, low levels of education, child care, lack of transportation. Cervical cancer screening- promotion interventions based on HBM Today, the HBM is used by many researchers to guideline the development of strategies for effective health intervention, In this section, I will try to summarise some finding from the different interventions based HBM that push me to suggest this model to improve womens behaviour in Algeria. The health belief model has been used by several study, alone or combined with other health promotion models to and to improve belief and behaviours among women regarding the screening program, an example of this study, has been conducted in Iran, in 2010, this study showed that the HBM has formed the basis for an interventional program to improve behaviour among Iranian women,(S.Tavafian2012),The study was conducted with 70 volunteers- aged between 16 and 54 years, and they had never received Pap test, the participants were divided into many small groups, and each group underwent a session of 2 hour training. For the data collection tool, a self-administered multi-choice questionnaire was developed based on the concepts of the HBM. The personal belief and health practice of all the women were assessed pre intervention and four months later, the findings reported that health education based on HBM construct was effective, and could promote the participants knowledge and improve the d ifferent components of the model (perceived susceptibility, severity, benefits, and barriers).The training program that has been used enhanced the willingness of women to practice the screening test significantly. The study concluded to the fact that education program based on HBM constructs can change womens health beliefs, enhance their knowledge about the cervical cancer and the screening test, and motivate them to adopt a new behaviours. (S.Tavafian2012) Another study in Somali was about an educational programme about the purpose of the screening test, to encourage Somalis to undertake the test. The participants praised the initiative and suggested that such information should be provided in a community setting, because it would help women to perceive the value of the test, and to overcome the different fatalistic barriers to screening. further, Participants suggested improving the awareness of screening among women via mass media: TV, radio, video, DVDs, CDs and audiotapes (Abdullahi , 2009), Health promotion (ACCP 2004)( review the title) There is a lack of information regarding health promotion models that have been used to influence health behaviour among women in Algeria, and even there is no description how the intervention methods were selected, Alliance for Cervical Cancer Prevention (ACCP) consists of five international health organizations who share all the same goal to prevent cervical cancer in limited-resource countries.it aims through its projects to implement an effective prevention strategies to minimise the burden of the cervical cancer .unfortunately ,Algeria has not been included in this initiative, through my review of this manual , I would suggest it as an approach to improve womens health is Algeria and to promote health service delivery. Many method of diagnostic, screening and treatment are currently used. And each of them has strengths and limitations, this method should be reviewed to pick up the most appropriate for the patient, for the screening for example the Pap smear test is the most commonly used, this test requires multiple and regular visit from the client, which can be a barrier for the woman to attend it, The ACCP suggest some alternative approach with better sensitivity and specificity such as Human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA testing, or visual screening, a low cost method with an immediate result. As a health care facility, they suggest to combine the treatment of precancerous lesions to the screening process, and propose some effective and safe methods that should be performed by physician and not physician. These treatment methods allow cure and histological verification at the same time, it has been shown that this initiative was praised by women and providers as well, and it has a great result to lower rate morbidity. The combination of both effective screening approach and treatment would overcome the limitation. Facility womens access to precancer treatment services, through selecting a program to link screening services to precancer treatment services. This would increase the effectiveness and encourage woman to follow up. Achieving widespread screening coverage of the target population by selection of well-organised prevention approach. And this may include the policymakers and authorities who should encourage the investment in cervical cancer prevention Planning an effective prevention intervention: Planning a prevention program requires a coordination between a multidisciplinary management team, that include clinical, administrative, and training specialists. To achieve the programs objective, the team members should follow a participatory process which includes also the perspective of lay people who are concerned by the outcome of this program, and this will allow achieving a high screening coverage with satisfactory result. Improving health services and laboratory infrastructures: delivery services should be accessible, acceptable, affordable, and reliable to satisfy the client and ensure a high coverage of the population target Training: Ensuring Performance to Standard Ensure to qualify a competent staff and health provider, to attract client to use the facilities available and this would happen by training session that enable provider to confidently offer reliable services Providing Information and Counselling to Address Community and Client Needs Women target group should be informed enough the benefits of screening and availability of prevention services to increase the effectiveness of the program, and this could happen by direct contact between woman and health worker or through mass media and campaign, Social network interventions, mailed invitation letter for screening and reminders, information brochure which are very popular to spread information about health topics. It has been stated that direct provider contact is more effective to increase the use of prevention services as the individual counselling will address concerns and emotional need and should be more convincing Overview of screening, treatment and Palliative Care services of cervical cancer Cervical cancer screening services, cervical cancer treatment, and palliative care services should be continuously linked to ensure the effectiveness of the program

The Youth Offenders Program :: essays research papers

The Youth Offenders Program   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To be honest, I was really pissed off that I had to enter the Zona Seca program to begin with. My so-called infraction was a simple case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I am a full time student who works at least twenty-eight hours a week and is extremely pressed for time. The commute from Los Angeles was an extreme inconvenience. Just had to get that off my chest. Do not be fooled, I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to attend this program. I just wish I could have took it here in L.A Surprisingly enough, the Zona Seca program was nothing like I expected. Going into the program I expected lengthy and boring lectures by condescending bureaucrats. To my surprise, the classes were interesting and informative. Our instructors both at the Rehabilitation Institute and the Zona Seca office were very understanding. More programs that are prevention orientated rather than reactionary like Zona Seca are needed. Before the first class session I viewed Zona Seca as a kind of punishment; afterwards more like a therapy/counseling session. The visit with the coroner really struck a nerve. When the coroner started talking about the way young adults drink alcohol as opposed to the way most adults do I could not help but think of all the times I have gotten belligerent. He made the statement that most young people drink to get to drunk. I could not agree more. Although I do drink because I like the taste of alcohol, that taste was definitely acquired. When I first started drinking it was for the sole purpose of getting drunk. Death as a result of to much alcohol was something I was completely oblivious to. Imagining how close to permanent unconsciousness I may have been is extremely scary. I can remember being so drunk in Rosa Rito Mexico that I woke up the next morning not remembering a damn thing from the night before. That includes puking up my dinner, the seven hundred and fifty-ml bottle of Bacardi Limon and the ten or fifteen other mixed drinks I had. If my friends did not tell me of the details from the previous night I would had never known what happened. The coroner’s report really made me look at the way I drink. I’m not going to stop drinking, but I am going to be a lot more responsible and careful when I do.

Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) in Australia Essay -- Media, Televis

The public service broadcasting can be seen as an agent to deliver information and innovative ideas in a democratic society. Syvertsen (1999) has mentioned three meanings of public service, firstly as the public function whereas government supply services such as roads, public transport, etc, secondly as the public sphere in which people of a society involve for common good purpose, lastly was the broadcasting in the service of listener or viewer. This essay attempts to argue the need of sustaining the Public Service Broadcasting especially in Australia. In Australia there are two public service broadcasting institutions: the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). ABC is modelled after the BBC and aims to provide information and entertainment services of general interest and traditional public service content on TV and radio; SBS aims to provide a more specialized service of multicultural and multilingual programming (reference). The SBS focused on fulfilling the media needs of Australia’s culturally diverse population. Both broadcasters are public corporations operating under Charters endorsed by Australia’s federal Parliament (reference,Mendel). The Charter particularly advises the ABC to produce its main component programming on educational broadcasts. The ABC also required to presents the multiculturalism of the Australian society; provide a sense of national identity and information as well as entertainment through promoting music, drama, and other performing arts in Australia (Mendel). Whilst, the Charter requires the SBS to produce multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate, and entertain Australian people, and at the same time re... ...tricted by channel capacity and it can provide diverse audiences at once. Moreover, with the online internet anyone can gather all information they need as well as the social networking in ways that people can interact in real time even from the distance and lay bare to a new perspective of democracy. From that standpoint, the young generation will even consider the difficulty public service broadcasters will face. In conclusion, public service broadcasting is seen as form of governance rather than individual form of media institution. Indeed, the challenge for the State funded broadcasting is the emerged of the cultural diversity and the complex development between citizen and national public interest. In order to assert he public value, relevancy as well as public resources then the public service organization should managed it effectively.

Marketing scenario

Positioned as an premium offering focused to lowest overall cost to end users through superior overall performance. Leader in quality , performance and technological innovation Product lines Carton sealing and industrial tapes Specialized adhesives Other packaging products SKI tape – Manufactured using patented technology and a brand name for pressure sensitive carton sealing tapeEvery high tensile strength and sheer resistance Positioning High Price K Products Low Quality High Quality ‘pack Tensile New Product Low Price Problem Statement ; K tape competed against inferior economy grade products in carton sealing type ; ‘PACK offered 25-35% lesser price ; Revenue of K- $68. 6 million ‘PACK – $28. 5 million 2012 ; Tensile -a new competitor had $2. 7 million dollar sale with one sales representative Should SST stay with high quality product or enter the economy grade segment ?Option 1: Enter the economy grade segment under the same brand PROS Access to t he economy segment Defend market share against competition Diversification of product portfolio CONS Dilution of the brand image as a maker of technological superior product Conceptualization of its own product offering Accoutered product line Option 2: Enter the economy grade segment under different brand Implications for: Customer ; Ability to fulfill need of price sensitive customers ; Possibility of change in perception of being a quality leaderDistributor ; Possibility to offer a low end SST product ; Even wider product range; Limited sales force Sales Force ; Ability to offer more variety in terms of price levels ; More effort to explain product differences Brand ; No positive impact ; Negative impact on brand image Option 2: Stay with high-quality products ; Maintaining image of quality Leader ; Loss of Market share; Not targeting price sensitive consumers ; No need for adjustment in distribution policy.

Foreign Policy Analysis : Compare and Contrast Nigeria’s Relationship with the U.S.A. Essay

INTRODUCTION: A country’s foreign policy is a set of goals outlining how the country will interact with other countries economically, politically, socially and militarily, and to a lesser extent how the country will interact with non-state actors. The aforementioned interaction is evaluated and monitored in attempts to maximize benefits of multi-lateral international cooperation. Foreign policies are desired to help project a country’s national interest, national security ideological goals and economic prosperity. This can occur as a result of peaceful cooperation with other nations or even through exploitation. Foreign policy analysis is the systematic study of and research into the processes and theories of foreign policy. This paper seeks to evaluate the relationship (economic and military) that has existed between Nigeria and the United States of America. (U.S.A) in two very different epochs. (1960-1966), post independence, and between 1999- 2003, the immediate democratic era after a lengthy post-military  interregnum. The paper shall consist of an introduction and segments on conceptual clarifications, theoretical framework, X-ray of topic under study, and the conclusion drawn from the study shall also be presented. CONCEPTUAL CLARIFICATION International Relations: Rossenau, (1961). Views international relations as the study of the transactions, contacts, flows of information between and among separately organized nation state. Holsti, (1972). Defines international relations to encompass all forms of interaction between the members of distinct societies. Adeniran, (1983). submits that international relations is an area of study which focuses on the political, economic and other interactions among international actors and the inter-state systems. Economic relations: is a relationship between two or more states that revolves around the promotion, exchange of finance, industry and general trading activities. Military relations: A military is an organization authorized by its nation to use force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military is made up of a force or forces with a capability to execute national defense policy. Military relations deal with the interaction between and among nation states to enhance capability development especially as it affects the strategic, operational, logistic and tactical requirements their military forces. Military relations are characterized by the exchange of combat arms and support services. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK The theoretical framework within which this study shall be conducted, is the decision making approach. The theory focuses attention on the processes of public decision making. A political action has the character of a decision taken by some actors in a specific situation through a particular process. Political actions can be understood by referring to the person who took the decision and the inter-active processes by which the decision was reached. While following the decision making approach, the political scientist has to encounter a complex set of social psychological and institutional processes. Hence, this approach has to draw on several concepts developed in sociology, social psychology and psychology. Mahajan, (2000:39). The decision making approach has two fundamental purposes one is the identification of â€Å"crucial structures† in the political realm where changes take place, where decisions are made, where actions are initiated and carried out. While, the other is a systematic analysis of the decision making behaviour which leads to action. In other words, the decision approach focuses inquiry on actors called decision makers and on the state defined as the decision unit. Hence, the actions of the state are seen through the actions of the decision makers. The crux here is that if a sufficient knowledge of the behaviour and activities of the known actors is established, it can lay the foundation for the explanation of a decision. Okere, (2000:115) NIGERIA’S FOREIGN POLICY OBJECTIVES Foreign policy objectives are built upon some general principles or national interests which is embodied in the nation’s constitution. Foreign policy objectives of any nation can be classified into a trinity of military strategic, political/diplomatic and economic/cultural imperatives. In the first republic, (1960-1966) which constitutes a part of this study’s focal point the principal objectives that guided Nigeria’s foreign policy, were enunciated by sir, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa the first prime minister of Nigeria, to include among others; -Respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other states. -Non-interference in the internal affairs of other states. -The promotion of functional cooperation among African states. Chapter II, sub section 19 of the 1999 constitution outlines the foreign policy objectives of Nigeria between 1999-2003. Which constitutes the second leg of the study’s time frame. What is however certain is that under the two different epochs that Nigeria’s foreign policy is to be subjected to scrutiny by this study, the principal objective of the foreign policy has been to promote and protect the country’s national interest in its interactions and relationships with specific countries in the international system. (Abdullahi: 2004). NIGERIA-AMERICA RELATIONS: Motives for Collaboration President Kennedy once noted that: â€Å"Every nation determines its policies in term of its own interest† The traditional American foreign policy encompasses both moral idealism and raw self-interests. The United States’ primary interest in relation to Nigeria is oil. As a voracious consumer of the country’s â€Å"sweet† (i.e., low-sulfur) petroleum, America recognizes Nigeria’s worth as the largest oil producer in Africa and the fifth largest in the OPEC. Nigeria has been one of the largest exporters of crude oil to the United States. American companies such as shell, Exxon Mobil, and Chevron have substantial investments in the lucrative Nigerian oil industry, which, along with other Western oil companies, they dominate. Nigeria led a peacekeeping mission as part of the Economic Community of West Africa States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) that helped to stabilize long-time U.S. allies Liberia and Sierra Leone. A third U.S. interest is the maintenance of America cultural-historical linkages to the country of Nigeria. A great number of Americans trace their roots to Africa. Many of those Americans, including entertainer-scholar Paul b. Robeson (1898-1976), trace those origins to Nigeria. Last, but certainly not least, America needs Nigeria’s help in its campaign against international drug trafficking. The economic hardships in Nigeria, resulted in the emergence of a significant drug-dependent culture and in the conversion of Nigerian borders into a major route for the trafficking of cocaine and heroin into the United States. The United States also looks to Nigeria to help reduce the number of Americans victimized by the offer of Nigerian business opportunities that are â€Å"too good to be true.† according to one estimate, â€Å"Americans lose $2 billion annually to white [collar] crime syndicates based in Nigeria.† Nigeria sees in the United States a steady buyer of its oil. Although Nigeria’s share of the U.S. market has fluctuated over the years, the United States remains a primary purchaser of Nigerian crude oil. Second, Nigeria values political ties with America. The United States is one of the most powerful countries in the world, and the two countries share similar demographic features such as ethnic, economic, and religious complexities. Nigeria relies on these political connections as it experiments with a presidential style of government. Third, like many developing countries, Nigeria seeks to tap into America â€Å"technological capabilities† for its manpower development needs. Tens of thousands of Nigerians have flocked to the United States in search of higher education. Nigeria will maximize the benefit of its relationship with the United States by identifying and exploiting the points at which the two nations’ interests overlap. Nigeria and U.S. interests converge with respect to the purchase and sale of crude oil and the necessity of maintaining cordial political relations. (Aka, 2005) It should be noted that in the period under review, (1960-1966), it was the prime minister that maintained a near monopoly of control over the country’s foreign policy (Aluko, 1977). For Nigeria on the other hand, there was a compelling need to industrialize the economy and modernize agriculture immediately after independence. To achieve this objectives, the country would require foreign aid and the diversification of the country’s overseas market – America was one of the countries she looked up to for the injection of the required capital to f und her development plans. NIGERIA UNITED STATES’ RELATIONS (1960-1966) For centuries, United States foreign policy has been outwardly characterized by its diplomatic and economic encouragement of fledging democracies around the world. In particular, the nations of Africa and particularly Nigeria are seen to benefit from America’s idealistic foreign Agenda. (Aka, 2005). It should however be noted that few foreign political actions are based entirely in good will; they are more often rooted in prudence and rationality. Although promoting democracy may, as was earlier stated, be a sufficient national interest in and of itself, such idealistic abstraction is usually augmented by more concrete or material considerations. This is certainly true for the United States’ interest in relations with Nigeria. (Aka, 2005). There are a plethora of cultural, historical and political reasons why Nigeria has been important to the U.S. These range form population, oil, resource and strategic military importance. Nigeria’s colonial history left behind external economic relations policy that was closely linked with the west. This continued to have profound impact on the country’s external behaviour even after independence on 1st October, 1960 (Aluko, 1977). Therefore, The Nigerian foreign policy between 1960 – 1966 was politically and economically aligned (in spite of the non-alignment principle) to the west especially Britain and America. In main, due to colonial hangover (Abullahi, 2004). In recognition of the newly independent Nigeria’s potentials for a mutually beneficial relationship, the United States of America was represented at the independence celebrations by the Governor of New-York State, Mr. Nelson Rockefeller. Immediately after, on October 7, 1960, Prime Minister Balewa traveled to New-York to register Nigeria as the 99th member of the United Nations thereby becoming a recognized member of the international community. While in the U.S, the prime minister met and invited President Eisenhower to visit Nigeria at the earliest opportunity. Thus, it is clear that from the first week of independence, Nigeria had established a cordial relationship with the United States of America. (Clark, 1991). It was in the spirit of this warm relationship between these two giant states that President Kennedy extended an invitation to Nigeria’s prime minister to visit the U.S. on 21st July 1961. While in America, the Nigerian Head of Government was accorded the r are honour of addressing a joint session of the United States congress. Wherein he stated, â€Å"Our affinity with the U.S is two fold – a history of common struggles to achieve freedom from anything that is oppressive to the human spirit. Also, a blood affinity- between our two countries, there resides the largest concentration of peoples with African blood†. (Clark, 1991) The Americans stated that Nigeria was a very important friend of the United States. Balewa held a meeting with President Kennedy at the oval office together with secretary of state Dean Rusk to discuss military relations between the two states as well as the situation in Angola and Congo. Situations where the two nations had conflicting interests. On the economic front, Nigeria appealed to the U.S for assistance in building the Niger dam for power generation purposes, comparing the project to the Tennesse Dam Authority. At the end of the visit, a joint statement was issued by the two nations emphasizing the U.S economic aid to Nigeria in the areas of agricultural production and public health care services. American investments into the Nigerian economy grew and amounted to over $800 million and over a third of American total investments in Africa. (Clark Ibid, Aluko: 1977) In concluding this part of the work, it is evident that America had a profound security, political, and economic interest in Africa and Nigeria as a regional power was seen as bellwether nation in the period under study. This explains the warm economic and military relations between the two nations. NIGERIA – AMERICA: 1999 – 2003 (The years of Restoration) The election of Olusegun Obasanjo, a retired general and former military head of state from 1976 to 1979 marked a historic point in the history of the Nigeria-U.S relations. Obasanjo’s ascendancy to the Nigerian Presidency was warmly received by the United States especially because the preceding regime of Gen. Sani Abacha had a very strained relationship with the United States over a wide range of issues that included Human rights violations and Democratization. The optimism and excitement of the Americans derived from a past experience of friendly relations with General Obasanjo as Head of state. In fact, the first American President to visit Nigeria was Jimmy carter when Obasanjo was military Head of state. (Abdullahi, 2004). At the political level, shortly after assumption of office in May 1999, president Obasanjo had paid a visit to then President Bill Clinton to hold bilateral talks and also with incumbent President Bush. American-Nigeria relations grew in bounds within this period. The removal of visa restrictions, increased high-level visits of US officials, discussions of future assistance and the granting of a national interest certification on counter-narcotics effective in March 1999, strengthened the ties of friendship between the two nations and Nigeria emerged as a key partner of the U.S on the continent. (Msn.com) Two American Presidents, Bill Clinton and George Bush visited Nigeria in August 2000 and July 2003 respectively. ECONOMIC RELATIONS Economic assistance from the U.S to Nigeria increased within the period under study. Rising to $78.5 million in 2000 from 23.6 Million in 1999. In 2003, US economic assistance to Nigeria is estimated at $ 65.2 million. The American challenge in its policy towards Nigeria was to formulate a substantive partnership against the background that Nigeria provides 8  percent of America’s oil needs. (Msn.com) The United States worked closely with the central bank of Nigeria and other relevant institutions to improve the environment for investment in agriculture through policy reforms at the national and state levels. Other trade initiatives by the U.S government included capacity building in customs operations, policy reforms to encourage trade exchanges, African growth and opportunity act (AGOA) incentives for bilateral trade. Nigeria also benefited from the initiative to end hunger in Africa plan, among several other programmes. (Msn.com) What all of this demonstrates is the fact that between 1999-2003 the economic relations between Nigeria was not only very cordial and engaging, but it was characterized by the inflow of several technical aid packages intent to help boost the fortunes of the Nigerian economy. MILITARY RELATIONS In the area of defense relations between Nigeria and the U.S, the United States has supported the peacekeeping and simulation centres at the war college in Abuja-the only one of its kind in Africa. Other areas of U.S Nigeria defense relations in the period under review included personnel training, developmental and technical aid, arms sales to Nigeria, law enforcement co-operation in border control and against arms smuggling and oil theft. Military cooperation between Nigeria and U.S has been clearly manifested in the effort at resolving the Liberian crises. Wherein the U.S provided logistical equipment to the Nigerian military. The training of Nigeria military personnel in American institutions intensified. The United States also offered to provide specialized training and some facilities to the Nigeria police within this period. However, the military relationship between Nigeria and America was not without challenges or even tensions, for example, Nigerians, civilians and military alike were not keen on U.S military presence in their country. Many still attribute General Obasanjo’s replacement of Victor Malu as army chief to Malu’s open opposition to the increased military co-operation with the United States. It is the thought out opinion of this paper, that Nigeria-U.S relations within this period, especially as it concerns the economic and military ties, was in a state of growth and expansion (Aka; 2005). A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE TWO EPOCHS American – Nigerian relations in the first republic (1960-1966) was predicated upon a mutual need for each other by the two nations. It was a relationship of mutual respect and friendliness. But most importantly, it was a dignified relationship for Nigeria which though a very young independent state, had effectively mobilized her resources to earn a respectful height within the community of nations in such a short time. (Clark 1991). Nigeria had cause to request for the in flow of American capital into her economy but even this did not diminish her sense of pride and independence. Whenever the need arose, Nigeria did not shy away from taking a different position to that of America. e.g. on the division of the world into blocs, Angola etc. The Head of Nigerian government in this period, Sir, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was awarded a honorary doctorate of laws by the university of New York. He was also made an honorary citizen of three cities: Chicago, New York and New Orleans (Clark: 1991). Between 1999 and 2003, was a period of reengagement for the two na tions after a near total breakdown in relations. But this, time the power dynamics were radically different from what obtained between 1960 and 1966. In 1999, the United States’ of America was not just an alternative power bloc in the world that had another power bloc to contend with. She was now a sole, undisputed world power with an unrivalled economic and military might. (Abdullahi, 2004), whereas Nigeria, in spite of the potentials she is endowed with and the promise she had held in 1960, was a nation almost on her knees, a nation that had retarded in just about every aspect of its life and was attempting to rediscover itself. Prior to 1999, the U.S had stood with the Nigerian people in their struggle against dictatorship. In this era, it was not a relationship of two equals or near equals, No! It was an interaction between a world power and an oil producing strong state, that had fallen into a deep socio-economic comma. It was a â€Å"hand out† relationship. Nigeria looked up to the United States for every form of assistance. The U.S provided much for Nigeria supposedly, in the spirit of encouraging democratic g overnance. Especially, in form of economic and military aid packages. However, American oil corporations had unfettered access to Nigeria’s oil in return. But despite the exchange of visits between the presidents of the two countries, and the increased co-operation between the two countries, America refused to grant Nigeria’s request for a debt cancellation. It maintained that Nigeria had the resources to pay off her debts. The best Nigeria was offered is a  debt rescheduling. CONCLUSION In conclusion, this work was introduced within the frame work of foreign policy analysis, a conceptual clarification of relevant theoretical framework within which the study is located has been stated, Nigeria’s foreign policy objectives has been examined, motives for the collaboration between Nigeria and the U.S was X-rayed. The work also attempted an incisive analysis of the economic and military relationship between the countries in the two different epochs as it was required to do. This work shall now proceed to state some recommendations that should form the basis of a policy of relationship between Nigeria and the United States of America. First, greater consistency in the U.S-Nigeria military-security relationship. Washington should recognize that its national interest is best served if Nigeria is able to be a force for democracy and stability in the region. Military and security collaboration between the two countries and in Africa generally, can only increase, given t he threat of terrorism world wide. Second, increasing America’s diplomatic reach within Nigeria by establishing arenas for U.S. Exchanges with critical areas, such as its oil-producing areas in the Niger Delta and in Northern Nigeria where the U.S closed consular offices. Such diplomatic reach could help the U.S to make a contribution to conflict management in Nigeria. Third, developing a strategy for an economic action agenda in Nigeria, which must involve business and government actors in the U.S and Nigeria, as well as inviting input from the non-governmental sector. Such a strategy should focus on three priorities: first, an acknowledgement of the business community’s responsibility to be a constructive player in Nigeria’s economic and democratic transition; second, a focus on restructuring the extractive industry to curb corruption; and third, a focus on restoring agricultural industries to help alleviate rural poverty, curb rural-urban pressures and strengthen trade and export. Fourth, eliminating debt overhang and investing in education, health and human development; and fifth, strengthening democratic institutions and governance structures which involves supporting democratic dialogue across the political spectrum, as well as assisting in training for elections and parliamentary and political party development. Lastly, America ’s support for Nigeria should now be stronger than ever, with the re-institution of  democratic government. The touchstone should be â€Å"genuinely reciprocal and mutually beneficial† relationships unaffected by the vagaries of power and party affiliation in Washington; a policy that constantly engages the people and the leaders of Nigeria, that is not an appendage of any general policy that constantly engages the people and the leaders of Nigeria, that is not an appendage of any general policy, and that recognizes the fact that only a fundamental restructuring of the political and economic systems can bring about true democracy in Nigeria. (Aka, 2005; Clark, 1991; Abdullahi, 2004) REFERENCES Adeniran, T (1983). Introduction to international relations. Lagos Macmillan Johari, J.C. (1982). Comparative politics London: Sterling publishers. Okere, J.O (2000). Theory, theorizing in international relations and politics Owerri: Achugo Publishers. Mahajan, V.G (2000) Political Theory New Delhi: Chand Publishers. Abdullahi M.Y. (2004). The web of Nigerian politics. Abuja: AnnyPrints Productions. Ojo. O, and Sesay, (2002). Concepts in International Relations. Ile-Ife: University Press. Aluko, O, (ed) (1977). The foreign policy of African states. London: Hodder and Stughton. Maduagwu O.M., and Mohammed A.S. (eds) (2004). Challenges and prospects of Democratization in Nigeria. Fulbright Alumni Association of Nigeria, Book of Reading No. 2. Aka, P.C. (2005). United States of America and Support for Nigeria democratization in American political sciences review Vol, 106, No. 14 (December, 2005). Clark, T. (1991). A Right Honourable Gentleman: The life and times of Sir, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. Zaria: Huda-huda Publishing Company. Msn. Com (nd). retrieved October 17, 2008 from http:about.com/african history. Msn. Com (n.d). retrieved October 18, 2008 from http:www.usembassy nigeria. org. Holsti K.S, (1967). International Politics New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Rosenau, J. (1971). The Scientific study o f foreign policy. New York: the free press.