Advertising In The 90s Essays - Sports Cars, Nissan S30, Datsun

Advertising in the 90's Advertising in the 90's is a widespread business. Both in America and in foreign nations. There are both campaigns and single advertising strategies. Not only are new products being advertised but are old products as well. The article from the Advertising column in The New York Times on December 18th 1996 called ?Remember that Datsun 240Z you drove 25 years age? Nissan hopes you will buy it again? deals with Nissans' plan to restore their 1970's model of the Nissan 240Z to it's mint condition and charge quite a bit more money than what it originally cost. The Nissan company is not even adding any new features. The company plans for the 70's car to be a revival of the 70's retro era. The advertisement will be running mainly in ?car buff? magazines. The campaign is costing the company less than five million dollars. Hopefully attracting the car collecting, high class, ?buffs? that grew up during the 70's. I don't feel that we should linger in the past. Buying an out-of-date car, to me, would be a waste of money. Especially when the price has been raised significantly since it's original date of production. Advertising in the 90's includes advertising for anything. From new cars to used cars, anything goes. And when anything goes, anything can be sold. That's the current motto for this century. Anyone whom has a product, and has money, can advertise. Americans in the 90's will make money with anything that they can. Be it good or bad, anything that anyone want's or has can be sold. This is the part of the process that the advertisers use to make money. Spending $5 million on a campaign may seem like alot of money to us but to a car company who will most likely triple that amount in sales, thinks of it as an investment in the future. These advertising companies are making great deals of money, and providing a service. It is now time to be creative. What was banned for many years in many societies is now common practice.

Jaycee Lee Dugard - The Case of Jaycee Lee Dugard

Jaycee Lee Dugard - The Case of Jaycee Lee Dugard For years, she had smiled from her FBI missing child poster, one of those children who had been gone so long that no one expected them ever to be found alive. But Jaycee Lee Dugard turned up on Aug. 27, 2009, at a California police station 18 years after being abducted. According to authorities, Dugard was held in captivity all that time by a convicted sex offender who kept her in his backyard compound, sheltered in tents, sheds, and outbuildings in Antioch, California. Police arrested 58-year-old Phillip Garrido, who they said kept Dugard as a virtual slave and fathered two children by her. The children were ages 11 and 15 when Dugard resurfaced. Kidnapping, Rape Charges Filed Garrido and his wife, Nancy, were charged with conspiracy and kidnapping. Garrido was also charged with rape by force, lewd and lascivious acts with a minor, and sexual penetration. He was on parole from a Nevada state prison following a conviction of rape by force or fear. He was paroled in 1999. Dugards ordeal neared its end when California parole officials received a report that Garrido had been seen with two young children. They called him in for questioning but sent him home with instructions to return the following day. The next day, Garrido returned with his wife; Dugard, who was going by the name Allissa; and the two children. The investigators separated Garrido from the group so that they could interview Dugard. During the interview, she attempted to protect Garrido when investigators asked if she knew that he was a  sex offender. As the interview continued, Dugard became visibly agitated and made up a story about being an abused wife hiding from her husband in the Garrido home. As the interviews became more intensive, Dugard began to show signs of Stockholm Syndrome, in which a captive held long enough develops positive feelings for the captor. She became angry, demanding to know why she was being interrogated. Finally, Garrido broke down and told investigators he had kidnapped and raped Dugard. Only after his confession did she reveal her true identity. El Dorado County Undersheriff Fred Kollar said: None of the children have ever been to school, theyve never been to a doctor. They were kept in complete isolation in this compound, if you will. There was electricity from electrical cords, rudimentary outhouse, rudimentary shower, as if you were camping. It was here that Dugard had given birth to her two children. Reunited With Mother Authorities said Dugard appeared to be in good health when she arrived at a San Francisco Bay Area police station to be reunited with her mother, who was overjoyed to find her daughter alive. Also welcoming the news was Dugards stepfather, Carl Probyn, the last person to see her before she disappeared and a longtime suspect in the case. It broke my marriage up. Ive gone through hell; I mean Im a suspect up until yesterday, Probyn told The Associated Press at his home in Orange, California. Backyard Compound Investigators searched the home and property where Dugard had been held captive, expanding their search to an adjacent property looking for clues in other missing persons cases. Behind the Garrido home, investigators found what looked like a tented compound where Dugard and her children had lived. Inside they found a rug spread out with a bed on it. On the bed were several piles of clothing and boxes. Another tented area contained clothing, pictures, books, plastic storage containers, and toys. There were no modern conveniences except electrical lighting. According to court papers, Garrido had stopped having sex with Dugard around the time that she gave birth to her second child. Afterward, all five held themselves out to be a family, taking vacations and running a family business together. Mixed Emotions Phillip and Nancy Garrido pleaded not guilty to 29 counts, including forcible abduction, rape, and false imprisonment. When the Garridos were arrested, Dugard experienced mixed emotions. With counseling and medical care, she began to understand the terrible things that were done to her. Her attorney, McGregor Scott, said she was fully cooperating with the investigation because she understood that the Garridos needed to be held accountable for their crimes. $20 Million Settlement In February 2010, Dugard and her daughters, then 15 and 12, filed claims against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, claiming the agency failed to do its job of properly supervising Garrido, who was supposed to be under parole supervision during much of the time he held Dugard captive. Parole officers never discovered Dugard and her daughters during the 10 years Garrido was under supervision. The lawsuit also claimed psychological, physical, and emotional damage. That July, the state offered Dugard a $20 million settlement mediated by retired San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Daniel Weinstein. The money will be used to buy the family a home, ensure privacy, pay for education, replace lost income. and cover what will likely be years of therapy, Weinstein told reporters. Guilty Pleas On April 28, 2011, the Garridos pleaded guilty to kidnapping and rape, sparing Dugard and her daughters from testifying at trial. On June 3, Phillip Garridos received a sentence of 431 years to life; Nancy Garridos was sentenced to 36 years to life. They made no eye contact with anyone and kept their heads down as Dugards mother, Terry Probyn, read a statement from her daughter: I chose not to be here today because I refuse to waste another second of my life in your presence...Everything you have ever done to me has been wrong and someday I hope you can see that...[A]s I think of all of those years I am angry because you stole my life and that of my family. Thankfully I am doing well now and no longer live in a nightmare. Nancy Garrido is imprisoned at the California Institution for Women in Corona, California. Phillip Garridos institution wasnt available in August 2019. Sources Martinez, Michael. Phillip, Nancy Garrido Sentenced in Jaycee Dugard Kidnapping. CNN.Glynn,  Casey. Nancy and Philip Garrido sentenced for Jaycee Lee Dugard kidnapping. CBS NewsCDCR Inmate Locator. California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Summarize Comm Theories Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Summarize Comm Theories - Essay Example principle of human social organization is made up of three basic elements: The appearance of the other with the self, followed by the identification of the other with the self, and lastly the searching of self-consciousness through the other (p. 253). The three elements of human social organization are enabled through mass communication. The theme in this reading is supported by the critical cultural theory. The theory argues that mass media establishes the status quo that defines social movements to bring about positive social change. The critical cultural theory illustrates that; communication occurs through a psychological process referred to as â€Å"mob-consciousness† (Baran & Davis, 2015). The psychological process is identified through a quantitative research method. An experimental approach is adopted to indicate how mob-consciousness is influenced by attitude and the surrounding environment. The quantitative research method was efficient and effective in establishing that a speaker has the ability to influence the general attitude of the audience. The research concluded that; communication occurs when one party assumes an attitude passed from another party and adjusts the attitude in respect to a particular aspect of the environment. The environment that influences attitudes is of much importance to the parties in the audience. The text achieves a common ground between the authors and the readers. The authors successfully explain how the social foundations and functions of thought influence communication. The critical cultural theory supports the theme of human social interaction. Communication arises when attitudes are assumed and adjusted to accommodate a common ground between the speaker and the audience, and among the audience

Effects of fast food Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Effects of fast food - Essay Example People need to undertake general exercises in order to reduce the level of calories in their body. Excess consumption fast food leads to increase in the level of calories in the body. As a result, there is a significant increase in body weight. Eventually, consistent increase in body weight leads to obesity and other health related problems such as diabetes and high blood pressure. Apart from causing obesity and other health related problems, fast foods affect people’s lifestyles in a negative way. Obese people often face problems travelling or interacting with other people in public. Social life eludes these people since they cannot participate in social activities such as swimming or playing football. Undertaking various exercises such as jogging becomes remains a major problem. Other lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure require financial assistance, a problem many victims experience. Conclusively, fast food products remain the leading cause of obesity and other health related problems. People need to check their daily intake in order to avoid significant health risks. Therefore, lifestyles diseases and other social issues can be prevented if people follow nutrition guidelines from

In-Class Assisgnment #3 (Social Science) Assignment

In-Class Assisgnment #3 (Social Science) - Assignment Example In our case study, we are going to use the Historical research design in finding out the number and different communities that operate within the Diablo Valley College by collecting, reviewing and synthesizing evidence from the past by use of secondary sources and a selection of primary documentary evidence including official records, archives, reports and non-textual information including maps. This will help in deduction of the fact on the existing cultures in the scope of the study (Saunders 2005). The subculture operates in a form of groups based on defining characters such as value, dress and song and are classified into college subculture such as nonconformist, academic, vocational, collegiate and perpetual teenager. Nonconformist type of subculture is involved with the idea of being identified with the adult community in college. They have the value of respect from the junior students who enroll after them. Moreover, their mode of dressing is very formal in order to gain respect from the juniors and to serve as their role model. Vocational culture is characterized by little attachment to the college â€Å"where† students buy their education like groceries. These students are resistant to intellectual demands demand on them beyond what is required to pass the course. They dress luxury clothes and are associated with expensiveness. They are seriously involved in learning especially the activities nad courses connected directly to skills they require to have in order to pursue their career of choice. Collegiate subculture involves those college students that consumes most of the time in college and mostly commute in college hostels having all the campus fun with them. These students are always in books as they have all the time in school without any off college activities to distract them. Similar to academic culture students, this group works hard in college and most ends

Globalizations effect on the Indian Economy

Globalizations effect on the Indian Economy Globalization has been a historical process with ebbs and flows. Growth of globalization was mainly led by the technological forces in the fields of transport and communication. There were fewer barriers to flow of trade and people across the geographical boundaries. Indeed there were no passports and visa requirements and very few non-tariff barriers and restrictions on fund flows. India too is no exception to globalization. The Indian Economy witnessed major changes in the 90s.The main aim was the rapid growth of Indian economy to make it globally competitive. The Indian economy was in major crisis in 1991 when foreign currency reserves went down to $1 billion inflation was as high as 17%. Due to globalization, in Indian economy it affect not only to agricultural production but also employment opportunities in the rural parts, inequality between urban rural areas. Globalisation is conceived as a powerful transformative force responsible for a massive shake-out of nations, economies, international institutions the whole world order. Thus, we can say that the higher the level of international corporations/transactions, the higher will be economic growth, income level living standards the globalization process would bring. Globalisation has brought many jobs large sums of investment to India. Indias economy has been growing at exceptional rates for the past several years many new opportunities have opened up for India. Yet, India does remain quite poor. Most of those who profit from globalization in India are the upper classes, with many in the lower classes being displaced suffering from miserable labor conditions. Globalization has created a large economic boom fo r India with largely positive effects. At the present, we can also say about the tale of two Indians. We have the best of times; we have the worst of times. Globalization of financial markets has far outpaced the integration of product markets. There is sparkling prosperity, there is stinking poverty. We have dazzling five star hotels side by side with darkened ill-starred hovels. We have everything by globalization, we have noting by globalization. There are numerous advantages in the shift to a global economy including the possibility to increase benefits from economies of scale. The breaking down of global barriers allows companies to benefit from the largest cheapest workforces, raw material, technology. Due to globalization, in many areas of the country tomato growers, potato growers fruit growers, farmers benefited from tie-up collaborations with ketchup, potato chips, fruit juices etc. Fishermen in Kerala have increased their incomes using mobile phones to find out the best markets where the prices are highest on each day. Lock outs strikes have declined to insignificantly low levels because industrial labor is happy. Due to Globalization the business market in the world has no boundaries; they can market their products in any part of the world. This has involved the chances of laying hands on global market technologies, which would definitely increase our qualities of living standards. Globalization helps Indian En trepreneur to know more about the competitors, recent trends, Quality of products. Helps in sourcing new technology for improving their Brand Quality. Hiring competent person irrespective of the nationality. Good exposure of Indian brands to overseas market. Due to increase in healthy competition with other brands, Indian brands will be forced to improve their quality and services to the customer. It aims at increasing the production of food and improvements of the economic and social condition of farmers. It would increase efficiency of the workers. Use of seeds and heavy machines has help to increase agricultural productivity. It would improve animal husbandries would be able to import good breed of animals from the other countries. Farmers will get the privilege of the international market through export agricultural products. The various beneficial effects of globalization in Indian Industry are that it brought in huge amounts of foreign investments into the industry especially in the BPO, pharmaceutical, petroleum, and manufacturing industries. As huge amounts of foreign direct investments were coming to the Indian Industry, they boosted the Indian economy quite significantly. The benefits of the effects of globalization in the Indian Industry are that many foreign companies set up industries in India, especially in the pharmaceutical, BPO, petroleum, manufacturing, and chemical sectors and this helped to provide employment to many people in the country. This helped reduce the level of unemployment and poverty in the country. Also the benefit of the Effects of Globalization on Indian Industry are that the foreign companies brought in highly advanced technology with them and this helped to make the Indian Industry more technologically advanced. Since 1991, India has witnessed an explosion of new media. Be tween 1990 and 1999, access to television grew from 10% of the urban population to 75% of the urban population. Cable television and foreign movies became widely available for the first time. 1) Indian Agriculture: Indian farmers are offered no subsidiaries compared to the US Farmers. There has been no encouragement from the government to ensure foreign companies to set up technologies for the farmers assistance. The US Farmers has opened the market for textile China has already set up factories started production where in India hasnt woken up. On the other side of the medal, there is along list of the worst of the time, the foremost casualty being the agriculture sector. Agriculture has been still remains the backbone of the Indian economy. It plays a vital role not only in providing food nutrition to the people, but also in the supply of raw materials to industries to export trade. The financial capital of India the political of India are set to become the topmost slum cities of the world. 2) Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Growth rate: The Indian economy is passing through a difficult phase caused by several unfavorable domestic external developments, Domestic O/P DD conditions were adversely affected by poor performance in agriculture in the post two years. The rate of growth of GDP of India has been on the increase from 5.6% to 7% in the 1993-2001 periods. The sectors attracting highest FDI inflows are electrical equipments including Computer software electronics (18 %), service sector (13%), telecommunication (10%), transportation industry (9%) etc. 3) Export Import: Indias export import is increasing many Indian companies have started becoming respectable players in international scenes. There are two alternative causes available. To sell its product in the export market. To produce those type of commodities that the rich in India could consume i.e. luxury consumption goods. 4) Technologies: IT is given special status. The reason for this is because the Indian government wants to promote it-s nation a as a technological advanced nation and in order to do this they must stimulate the IT sector. The special status- means the sector and investors (willing to invest in the sector) will receive many benefits and incentives from the government to do so. 5) Poverty: The government of India has shown decline in people living in absolute poverty by manipulating statistics. The decline happened when large number of industrial units has been closed down, number of days of work available to workers has declined, downsizing of manpower had taken place in most of the industrial undertakings and non-availability of jobs to the new entrant in employment market is witnessed. Besides, there is an all round decline of prices of agricultural products, forcing farmers to suicide. In sectors like plantation and tea, workers are virtually starving. It is just not possible that people living in absolute poverty can decline in the country under these circumstances. 6) Education: The growth of higher education and the impact of the global economies have influenced the Indian education system over the last few years.

The Benefits of Legalizing Marijuana Essay -- argumentative essays

The Topic of Legalizing Marijuana has been a very conversational argumentative issue in the American society; moreover in the American politics today. There are many good arguments on why Marijuana should be Legalize and my argument is based on facts and supporting details to prove why Marijuana should be legalize. The Legalization of Marijuana would be profitable to our government and economy, according to Evan Wood who is the founder of the International Centre for Science in Drug Policy; The U.S taxpayers have spent an estimated $2.5 trillion on the war on drugs. The Legalization of Marijuana would have a medical use, and also useful in some religions; after all Legalizing Marijuana would eliminate the cost of keeping Marijuana illegal which cost the U.S government in excess of billions annually. The Legalization of Marijuana has been an ongoing battle for many years, it’s time to decriminalize Marijuana and Legalize it. Marijuana Composition is very complex and it has numerous Physiological effects and, it also has a potential wealth of health benefits. The Legalization of Marijuana, which is a Schedule I drug. Marijuana is the most illicit drug used in the United States. Doctors and Scientists have confirmed that the effects of Marijuana are short term and it also has been proven that it is less harmful than Alcohol. Marijuana should be legalize because of it Medical use, and Religion use, Legalizing Marijuana would also generate billions of dollars in revenues and taxes for the U.S government; whereas prohibiting Marijuana would cost tax payers billions of dollars every year. Marijuana has a Medical use, which people with certain health problems can benefit from if Marijuana is legalize. Marijuana can be used as a medicin... ...s proven to have medical usage and is far less dangerous than most drugs which are Legal, such as Tobacco and Alcohol. Individually people should have the right to decide whether or not they want to use Marijuana, excluding minors. In conclusion The Legalization of Marijuana would benefit the U.S government and it would be more effective in controlling the drug usage. The prohibition of Marijuana has only been costing taxpayers billions of dollars every year and it hasn’t benefited the Economy. The Education and treatment would be the effective way to address Marijuana problems, whereas The Legalization of Marijuana would benefit and boost our economy especially during this economic recession; therefore the Legalization of Marijuana may be the beginning United States Economy re-form; due to the fact that Marijuana Legalization would help subsidize our Economy.

Defeat of the Red Army Essay

By looking at what the areas where the Soviets failed during their in Afghanistan, we can further develop our counterinsurgency tactics and doctrine and shape our forces. Mujahideen Defeats of the Red Army An important and remarkable event in history was the Soviet-Afghan War. The Afghans, like their ancestors, battled a hostile, invading force that wanted to dominate their homeland. â€Å"For the first time, Afghanistan would become the center of a modern pan-Arab Jihad (Holy War)† (Hill, 2008). The Afghans were fighting a war of attrition just as their ancestors did during the Anglo-Afghan Wars. The Afghans would find themselves using modern weapons that had the potential of causing a high number casualties and emigration of greater proportions. The difference between the Afghans in the Soviet-Afghan War and the Afghans who fought in the Anglo-Afghan war would be the help and support from outside superpowers. By the end of the Soviet-Afghan War, the Soviet Union was at the point of falling; the Afghans and those who were assisting them were looking at a victory. How could such a powerful country like the Soviet Union be defeated by the Afghans? The Soviet Union lost the Soviet-Afghan War as a result of mistakes and failures that they made. The Soviets failure to seal the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, failure to stand up and effective Afghan Army and failure to win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people contributed to the defeat of the Red Army. Failure to Disrupt Supply Lines During the initial five years of occupation, the Soviets never mounted a sustained effort to cut off the Mujahideen supply lines that ran from Pakistan’s tribal areas, across the Hindu Kush Mountains, and into Afghanistan (Roy, 1991). Instead, the focus of the Soviets from 1980 to 1982 was to conduct large-scale armored operations in locations that were considered hotbeds of rebel activity. After 1982, the Soviets used aerial assaults to assist in their combat operations to eliminate the support base of the Mujahideen. It was not until 1985 that the Red Army starting making an effort to disrupt the Mujahideen supply lines. The Red Army began using Spetsnaz units, which were the Red army Special Forces units, behind Mujahideen frontlines, to organized surprise attacks against the rebel supply caravans. Once the Spetsnaz had the location of the Mujahideen, they would load into Mi-24 helicopter gunships, sneak behind the Mujahideen positions, and launch attacks. The effectiveness of the raids the Spetsnaz used became apparent in 1986 where there was a decrease in the number of Mujahideen attacks against the Soviets. The attacks against the Soviets decreased because the Mujahideen was not able to get men and equipment that they needed to mount an effective guerrilla campaign. The Soviets leadership was aware of the amount of men and a large amount of equipment that the Mujahideen was moving from Pakistan across into Afghanistan on regular bases, so it’s interesting why they did not make an effort earlier in the war to disrupt the supply lines. The Soviet leadership feared that if they conducted operations that might extend into Pakistan they would draw the United States into a large-scale war that the Soviets did not want. So, conducting operations on the Afghan side of the border against the rebels was an activity that the Soviets could justify without drawing the United States into the war. According to Oliver Roy, the Soviet failure to seal the border with Pakistan was the most significant military mistake in the war against the Mujahideen (Roy, 1991). With an unsealed border, the United States with the help of the help of the Inter-Service Intelligence, ISI, began funneling in weapons to the Mujahideen in the 1980. At the start of 1980, the Central Intelligence Agency began to purchase weapons from several countries to include China, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and other Arab nations. Once these weapons had been purchased they were shipped to the ISI headquarters located in Peshawar Pakistan. The United States funded some $30 million dollars in 1982, but in 1984, the CIA spent some $250 million purchasing pistols, AK-47s, ammunition, surface to air missiles, and other supplies for the Mujahideen. By 1985, the CIA was spending $500 million dollars on the resistance in Afghanistan. 1985 was the same year the President Ronald Reagan signed the National Security Decision Directive 166. This directive stated that the CIA was to drive out the Soviets from Afghanistan †by all means available† (Crile, 2003, p 363). In 1986, the CIA approved the purchase of heat-seeking missiles and almost 1000 per purchased. The heat-seeking missiles were very effective in downing the Soviets helicopters, but the Mujahideen did not put these missions into use until 1987. Pakistan who was driven by Islamic identity had a vested interest in the outcome of the Soviet-Afghan War and made a great effort to ensure that the Mujahideen was victorious. To ensure victory for the Mujahideen, Pakistan established a network that would transport all of the weapons that had been purchased to the Mujahideen. Once all of the weapons that had been purchased and arrived to the ISI headquarters the ISI would distribute the weapons to the Mujahideen, who would get the weapons and supplies to the soldier in the field. The Mujahideen would use tractors, trucks, camel, mules, and horses that could blend in with the rest of the cross border traffic or they would move on dirt roads that were only accessible by foot over the border into Afghanistan. It is evident that without the help of the Pakistanis, the Mujahideen would not have been able to fight because they could have not been able to supply their soldiers. Throughout the war, the Soviets and the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, DRA attempted to pressure Pakistan’s President Zia to seal the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan with troops, but this came to no avail. President Zia responds to the request to seal the border was that Pakistan would not do it but that the Red Army and the DRA were more than welcome to do it. Regardless of who would attempt to seal the border it would be an impossible task when you consider the length and mountainous terrain that would have to be covered. In 1985, the Red Army started to disrupt the Mujahideen supply lines by putting thousands of troops on the border with Pakistan. At the same time, The Red Army began a bombing campaign hitting border towns that were sympathetic to the rebels and placing Spetsnaz units along the borders to conduct search and destroy missions from behind Mujahideen front lines. The Red Army began using their gunships to move up and down the border looking for destroying Mujahideen supply caravans. The bombardment used by the Red Army turned a large portion of the border etween Afghanistan and Pakistan to land that no longer could be inhabited. This depopulation effort started to become effective as it made it almost impossible for the Mujahideen supply caravans to move freely. In 1986, the Mujahideen countered the Red Army by using the Stringer missiles to bring down the Red Army Helicopters. To avoid being hit by a Stringer missile the Red Army Pilots had to fly at a higher altitude but the higher alt itude made it difficult for the Red Army to effectively attack the Mujahideen supply lines. Although the terrain along the Afghan and Pakistan border made it difficult to totally seal the border, it would have been possible to disrupt the flow of men and supplies coming into Afghanistan. This was evident by the Red Army between 1985 and 1986. Had the Red Army been willing to take a higher loss of life before 1985, it would have been possible to slow down the Mujahideen’s ability to get weapons into Afghanistan. The inability by the Red Army to establish an effective way to disrupt the Mujahideen supply lines was not the only reason that the PDPA could not survive without the support of the Red Army. The Red Army also failed to build an Afghan National Army that could protect the PDPA against the Mujahideen. Part of the reason why the Red Army could not stand up the Afghan Army was because there were Mujahideen sympathizers in the ranks. This is also part of the reason why the Soviets could not win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people. When the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan, they left the country without the means to protect its self. Failure to build an Afghan Army As early as 1980, Soviet leadership knew that it was going to be difficult to build up the Afghan Army. This was partially due to the fact that the PDPA regime was unpopular with many Afghan people, and there was also a deep hatred for the Red Army troops. The unwillingness to fight for the Soviet Union and the DRA was reflected by the decrease in the Afghan Army’s ranks. The Afghan Army decreased from 90,000 to 30,000 men from 1980 to 1983 (Schofield, 2003). During the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, it was common for Afghan soldiers to leave their units with their weapons and ammunition and join the Mujahideen. There is an account in July 1987 where an entire 2,000-man unit defected to the Mujahideen in Kandahar (McMichael, 1991). In addition to the defecting that was happening there were reports of Afghan officers frequently sabotaging Soviet equipment and vehicles. For the Afghans who remained many only fought because of the Soviet troops presences on the frontlines who would not allow them to runaway. As a result of the Afghans people unwillingness to fight for the Soviets and the DRA, the PDPA could only build a small military force, the total that numbers 120,000 to 150,000 fighting men. With its small size and the challenges they had recruiting the Afghans to fight for the PDPA regime, the Afghan Army was ineffective. The Afghan government was also only able to draft sixty-five percent of the personnel it needed to fight the insurgency they faced. Although the Afghan Army did have their share of success, these successes were limited. Mostly because the Mujahideen had sympathizers in the ranks that would provide the rebels with intelligence about upcoming operations that were planned. Since Mujahideen supporters had infiltrated the Afghan Army, Red Army soldier do not care to work closely on operations or share the intelligence they had because of fear that the details on upcoming operations would be shared with the rebels. To make matter worse for both sides, commanding officers of Afghan units would only be informed of upcoming operations one day in advance. On 9 January 1981, a conscription law designed to increase the strength of the DRA Army, was adopted by the Supreme Military Council of Afghanistan. The Afghan Army was given tanks, aircraft, armored personnel carriers, and small arms by the Soviets. Regardless of what had been given to the Afghan Army they were not going to be able to defend the PDPA regime from the rebels by the time the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan. This is based on the fact that it was going to be hard to recruit soldiers to fight for a socialist an also because many of the soldiers that had been recruited were informant for the Mujahideen. â€Å"The ineffectiveness of the DRA Army was illustrated by two Soviet deserters when they said, â€Å"The Kabul army was not an army, just a mess, with half of the soldiers running away and the other half joining the rebels† (Amstutz, 1986, p. 80). The inability of the Soviets to win over the Afghan population showed to be a tremendous obstacle as the attempt was being made to stand up an effective Afghan military. Had the Soviets convince the Afghan population that the PDPA was worth fighting for; the Soviet’s counterinsurgency plan could have been more effective in getting rid of the Mujahideen. The Soviets inability to win over the hearts and minds of the Afghan people ended up being a big obstacle that led to the Soviet defeat in Afghanistan. Failure to win the Hearts and Minds â€Å"The Soviets needed to convince the Afghan population that it had a stake in the survival of the socialist regime if they were to have a chance of preserving the PDPA government† (Delgado, 2006, p. 27). This would show to be impossible since the Afghan mullahs had declared jihad against the occupying Red Army. Knowing the jihad had been declared against the Red Army, they still launched a program with the intent on winning the hearts and minds of the Afghan people. The Soviets attempt to Sovietize the Afghan people used measures that included revamping the education system and teaching the population a pro-Soviet ideology. Adults and children were taught Marxist terms by Soviet institutions that had been imported into Afghanistan. The Soviets reformed the education system, reinterpreting Afghan history, taking control of the media in order to reeducate adults, and sending children to the Soviet Union in order to be educated. The Soviets goal in all of this was to create a version of Islam that the new Afghanistan would be based off. Building a strong Communist party was part of the Sovietization program. A strong Communist party would be the center of all legitimate political activity for the country. In order to monitor social organizations in Afghanistan, Soviet style government institution were established. A diligent effort had been made by the PDPA to indoctrinate its member, a majority of which joined the party so that they could obtain a job in the state. The task of trying to indoctrinate the member was difficult and many felt that it was irresponsible and corrupt. The DRA was unpopular throughout a large portion of Afghanistan. With this unpopular view of the DRA, there was a need to rewrite history in order to paint the Soviet Union in a more favorable light. This change to history was going to be done in two parts, first was to depict Russia as the essential supporters of Afghan independence, and the second was to minimize the cultural ties the Afghan people had with India, Pakistan, and Iran while emphasizing the ties with the citizens of the Soviet Union. The Soviets strategy in winning the hearts and minds of the Afghan people was not to turn all Afghan into Marxist, but to teach the Afghans that they identified more with the Soviet way of life than with traditional Afghan society and customs (Roy, 1989). The Soviets took total control of the Afghan media and bombarded it with pro-Soviet propaganda. The Soviets desired in all of this was to have the Afghans forget what their history was and replace it with the identity that the Soviets were giving them. The Soviets not only rewrote the history books and took over the media; the Soviets took control of the education system with the goal of molding a new generation of Afghans that would support the PDPA. To accomplish this, teachers who refused to do what was asked were arrested or exiled. â€Å"Fatherland Training Centers† were created around Afghanistan, where Afghan orphans were trained to be Soviet special agents, political organizations for children and teenagers in order to teach them to become faithful Soviet citizens. The Soviets made Russian the official language of all students attending middle school up to college. The Russians were committed to indoctrinating Afghan children. Statics reflects that by 1989, 000 Afghan students were being educated in the Soviets, and another 15,000 students annual would travel to the Soviet Union see the Russian way of life and to take part in short courses and training programs (Roy, 1989). The Soviets used psychological operation to undermine not only the Mujahideen but also the civilian population to resist the Soviet occupation and the PDPA regime. Some of the bigger programs used included massive leaflet drops, propagandistic radio programs, starting conflict between rival tribes that would undermine Mujahideen unity and bribing teachers to use their classroom in order to spread Soviet propaganda. KHAD Intelligence would insert special agents into Mujahideen units and prisons where Mujahideen members were held with the goal of getting information on operations that were being planned and to find out whom the leaders in the resistance were. Regardless of what the Soviets attempted to do in order to win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people they failed. The Afghans remained true to their Islamic identity, culture, and family traditions so it made it impossible for the Soviet Union to convince the Afghans that they were acting in the best interest of the country of Afghanistan by occupying and supporting the PDPA. With a call of jihad being declared against the occupying Red Army, it was going to be impossible for the Soviets to win the hearts and minds. The Afghans viewed the Soviets as an occupying force that were hostile to Islam so no program introduced by the Soviets to win the hearts and minds would be successful. The Soviets made an admirable effort to win over the Afghan people but due to the fact that they were viewed as a foreign occupier took away any possibility that they could convince the Afghan people to support the PDPA government. Winning the hearts and minds of the Afghan people were impossible from the beginning since the Afghan people had such a strong Islamic heritage and tribal culture and that the Soviets were viewed as a foreign occupier, but the Soviets also did not help themselves with their brutal campaign to drive Mujahideen supporters out of Afghanistan as refugees. The effort to rid Afghanistan of Mujahideen supporters left one million Afghan civilians dead and five million displaced (Roy, 1989). The strategy used by the Red Army to rid Afghanistan of Mujahideen supported included artillery strike against Pashtun villages, bombing raids and, the burning of agricultural fields, the killing of livestock through the use mines and artillery, and the contamination of water and food supplies through the use of chemical weapons (McMichael, 1991). The efforts made by the Red Army to deprive the Mujahideen from a portion of its civilian support network was successful, but with the brutal methods that the Soviets used in order to get the objectives done did very little for the chances of winning the hearts and minds of the Afghan people. Conclusion The Soviets lost the Soviet-Afghan War to the Mujahideen do to their own failures and any country could stand to earn a few lessons from the Soviets after their experience in Afghanistan. The first lesson would be the importance of disrupting the Mujahideen supply lines. Although totally securing the border may have been impossible, the Red Army could have focus more of an effort prior to 1985 to slow down the amount of men and supplies that were moving into Afghanistan from Pakistan. Had the Soviets been willing to take more of rest with their Soldiers, the Mujahideen would have never been able to get the supplies they needed into Afghanistan. The second lesson that could be taken from this is that before the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan they needed to ensure that the Afghan Army was ready to defeat the Mujahideen on their own. Since the Afghan Army was not able to defeat the Mujahideen on their own, everything that the Soviets attempted to achieve in Afghanistan was lost once the Red Army withdrew. The weak Army allowed Afghanistan to fall into a civil war where the Taliban came out victorious. The Soviets should have taken into consideration what they thought the status Afghan Army would be once they withdrew before invading Afghanistan. The third and final lesson is that it was going to be impossible for the Soviets to win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people. Many Afghans viewed the Soviets as invaders, and a jihad had been declared against them. Along with the hatred that the Afghans had for the Soviets the Soviets also countered themselves with brutal military operations against Afghans that were thought to be loyal to the Mujahideen. The Afghan population will refuse to support a regime that is viewed as a foreign occupier, regardless of the sophistication of the occupying country’s effort to win the native hearts and minds†(Delgado, 2006, p. 35). References Crile, G. (2003). Charlie Wilson’s War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History. New York, NY: Delgado, J. A. (2006). Troubling Parallels: An analysis of America ’s Inability to overcome the obstacles that led to the defeat of the Red Army in the Soviet-Afghan War. Athens, OH: The University of Ohio. Hills, C. R. (2006). Beyond Charlie Wilson: The Soviet Afghan War. Atlanta, GA: Atlanta International School. McMichael, S. (1991). Stumbling Bear: Soviet Military Performance in Afghanistan. London, England: Brassey’s. Roy, O. (1989). â€Å"The Sovietization of Afghanistan. † Afghanistan and the Soviet Union. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press. Roy, O. (1991). The Lessons of the Soviet-Afghan War. London, England: Brassey’s. Schofield, V. (2003). Afghan Frontier. New York, NY: Tauris Parke Paperback.

A tapestry of brown and green Essay Essay Example

A tapestry of brown and green Essay Essay Example A tapestry of brown and green Essay Essay A tapestry of brown and green Essay Essay The article â€Å"A Tapestry Of Browns And Greens† was written by Nalini Nadkarni. a pioneering canopy ecologist and professor at The Evergreen State College. This article describes a rich tapestry of personal narratives. information. and illustrations. from scientific discipline to symbol. civilization. and faith. Nalini used the metaphor of a tapestry that composed of different colored togss to reflect on her life. as she besides came from the vividly assorted cultural background of her Indian/Hindu and Brooklyn/Jewish parents. She so described how her peculiar tapestry weaves togss of faith. art. and societal justness with her work as a canopy life scientist. It started with a inquiry from a childhood friend that makes Nalini come to recognize that she was someway different from others. Bing born by her Indian male parent and Judaic female parent. Nalini was the 3rd kid in the household with an Indian face and darkest tegument out of the five. Unlike other immigrant households who seem to absorb into western civilization every bit rapidly as possible. Nalini’s parents raised the kids upon their traditional civilization. They ate Indian nutrients. kip on mattresses on the floor. celebrated Judaic vacations alternatively of Christmas. and practiced both Hinduism and Judaism in the house. However. the deep cultural differences her household embodied did non make a struggle. It set the manner for Nalini to see nature. non as dwelling of monochrome but many colourss and textures. Nalini’s childhood experiences describe nature as protected and defender. When she saw her male parent in the backyard carefully transplanted immature saplings from one portion of the pace to another. his benevolent attitude toward nature gave her a strong moral principle of protecting nature. She besides learned that nature protected her. through the elm tree outside of her house that kept her company on chilling blowy darks. Nalini loved tree mounting. experiencing the strong limbs of the trees gave her a sense that nature is a topographic point of safety. a topographic point that protected her and those she cared for. Education was of import in her household. Nalini studied difficult to acquire directly A and participated in assorted school activities. Being good educated created another yarn that she wove into her relationship with nature. the kingdom of the mind and usage of the scientific procedure to understand trees and woods. While prosecuting the survey of Biology in college. she began to detect the universe of forest ecology and enjoyed the challenge of extricating the endless puzzles she encountered in nature. She so received her PhD in Forest Ecology and started her forest canopy surveies. She struggled to convert the alumnus commission to understand the importance of tree mounting. Finally. they helped her carve out a thesis undertaking. a comparative survey of the biomass held within the air plants. Her work took topographic point in the dramatic temperate rain forest of the Olympic National Park and the tropical cloud woods of Costa Rica for 25 old ages. She produced over 90 scientific documents and three scholarly books about canopy ecology. As the consequence of her surveies. Nalini found out that little works like epiphytic flowers that live high above the forest floor have enormous ecological importance for the complex tapestry of rain forest ecosystems. As her calling progressed. she recognized the necessary to make out to other beginnings of information outside of academe that went beyond the scientific facets of nature. and involved apprehension of medical. political. recreational. aesthetic. and spiritual values of nature. She began with wellness values by giving addresss to medical pupils about relationship between trees and wellness. She and her pupils create the â€Å"Treetop Barbie Doll† to promote immature adult females to be interested in forest scientific discipline and designed tree art spines that are affixed to skateboards to remind the vernal users that trees are connected to what provides them their day-to-day pleasance. To research the political values. Nalini created the â€Å"Legislature Aloft† undertaking. in which she invited 12 province legislators and their Plutos to come and discourse about forest direction issues. authorities support of scientific discipline. the grounds for high biodiversity in the canopy. and the importance of non-vascular workss in forest alimentary rhythms. To link the urban young person with scientific discipline and fieldwork. Nalini invited a immature rapper named C. A. U. T. I. O. N. to come out to the field to sing about the trees. boodles. and bugs to the in-between school kids from Tacoma. Washington. which besides opened her eyes to the many colourss of nature that the pupils saw with fresh eyes in the familiar wood of her ain college campus. Nalini’s love for trees led to her wonder about how different civilizations and faiths assign religious values to trees. By scouring spiritual texts and sing different religions’ topographic points of worship. she discovered that Christianity. Judaism. Hinduism. and Buddhism value trees for both practical and religious grounds. Furthermore. she realized that scientific discipline and faith didn’t have to conflict but instead could be highly congruous in their apprehension of nature and natural systems. For 10 old ages of outreaching to non-traditional audiences. Nalini learned much more about trees than of all time. Although people and tree are non of the same household. we can see ourselves as being married into each other’s households. with the challenges. duties. and benefits that come with being so linked. The passion and dedication Nalini has for trans-disciplinary coactions shone through most affectingly when she described the Sustainable Prisons Project. a plan she started in which correctional installations inmates rear endangered Oregon spotted toads and cultivate mosses and wetland workss. While working on the undertaking with the inmates and seeing their corporate work being used to protect the mosses. Nalini came to the realisation that all voices. all attacks. and all types of people can lend to maintaining the great tapestry of nature integral. To make good research. research workers need to look beyond themselves in happening solutions and ways to include others to back up their positions. Nalini Nadkarni appears to be so originative in happening assorted resources like captives and others to help her in her research to salvage the trees. With her great passion and position. she has successfully connected the academe with the external universe. The reconnection of human sort with nature is indispensable for the apprehension and development of this modern society. However. it takes a batch of attempt. several happy words. narratives and anecdotes to do the immature people today change the manner they think. to learn them that passion and the bravery to care and widen a manus to person who cares is of import. And Nalini Nadkarni has taken this one measure further. I am really much impressed by the work of Nalini particularly the manner she is distributing the message about canopy and its importance in ecosystems. One truly needs tonss of finding. bravery and accomplishment to transport out such type of work. She is an perfectly astonishing and inspirational individual who we need more of in this universe. MentionsNadkarni. N. ( 2011 ) . A Tapestry OF BROWNS AND GREENS. In The colourss of nature: Culture. individuality. and the natural universe ( Revised/Expanded ed. ) . Minneapolis. Minn. : Milkweed Editions. Dr. Nalini Nadkarni – nalininadkarni. com. ( n. d. ) . Retrieved August 14. 2014.

Financial Planning for National Disaster

Financial Planning for National Disaster Abstract Whether natural or fabricated, disasters strike unexpectedly. When they occur, they can cause serious disruptions in the normal way of life of the affected communities. Aftermaths of a major disaster in a society often shatter routines, disrupt jobs, and/or destroy property and people’s lives.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Financial Planning for National Disaster specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More If it were possible, disasters would be avoided at all cost because the emotional toll, financial impacts, and disruptions that they cause are very traumatic to the affected society. In line with the realisation that it is difficult to stop some hazards that cause disasters from happening, there have been sustained efforts from the international community to focus on disaster risk reduction and disaster planning. This comparative research on Turkey and Mexico presents the financial arrangement for national catastrophes in the two countries. The goal is to shed light the key measures that the two countries have put in place towards reducing and planning for the many risks that are associated with disasters. Introduction Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Disaster Planning are efforts that are undertaken by a given community or a nation towards promoting disaster preparedness and resilience. In the event of a hazard, the losses of property, injuries, loss of lives, and disruptions to the social and economic wellbeing of the society are greatly reduced and/or eliminated altogether (Ragin, 2004). Owing to the enormous financial losses that are associated with disasters, as well as the financial resources that are required to respond and/or to lead recovery plans, financial planning has become a major tenet of the modern disaster risk reduction and disaster planning activities around the world.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get y our first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This comparative study of Turkey and Mexico discusses the financial planning for national disasters in the two countries with an aim of bringing to the fore the key measures that the two countries have undertaken towards ensuring disaster risk reduction and planning and hence reducing the impact of disasters whenever they occur. Country Profiles and Disaster Management Situations Turkey Turkey is the most disaster-prone country in Europe. It has a long history of natural disasters, majorly earthquakes, which have caused serious disruptions to the Turkish communities in the past (MCEER, n.d). The nation of approximately 80 million people is 80% mountainous. As Sengezer and Koa (2005) confirm, â€Å"Primary and secondary risk zones cover 66% of the country† (p. 173). Geologically, the nation lies at the boundary of the African and Arabian plates, which are both moving towards the north. Following the continuous movement of the plates, a large-scale fault line of more than 1000 kilometres referred to as the North Anatolian Fault (NAF) has formed from the eastern to the western side in the northern territory of Turkey. Along this fault line, many earthquakes have occurred in Turkey. Figure 1: Map of Turkey Showing the North Anatolian Fault (NAF) and other tectonic features Source: (Sengezer Koa, 2005)Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Financial Planning for National Disaster specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The history of Turkey cannot be precise without a mention of major disasters that claimed thousands of lives in the 20th century. For instance, in 1939, an earthquake struck Erzincan City that is located in the eastern part of Turkey. According to MCEER (n.d), â€Å"This earthquake devastated most of the city and caused approximately 160,000 deaths† (Para. 5). Ranguelov and Bernaerts (n.d), it killed between 30, 000-40, 000 people in addition to economic losses that almost brought the city to closure. The same city was the victim of another earthquake in 1992 where more than 700 people perished. In this last earthquake, although the figure that represented the lost lives was significantly lower than the previous earthquake of 1992, losses that were incurred through damages of property, including collapse of buildings, destruction of social amenities, and devastation of important infrastructures were enormous. In fact, Ranguelov and Bernaerts (n.d) say, â€Å"The famous Erzincan earthquake (M~8.0) on 26 December 1939 generated many effects†¦ as well as big destruction and many human deaths (more than 30-40 000)† (p. 62). The situation required massive financial resources to bring back the city to its previous state. However, the turning point in the approaches to disaster management came after 1999 following the crucial lessons that were learnt from two earthquakes, namely Izmit Earthquake a nd Duzce Earthquake. The first earthquake, Izmit, occurred in the late 1999 at a magnitude of 7.6. It caused tremendous loss of human lives and property. This earthquake caused the deaths of more than 17,000 people, especially in the hardest-hit Marmara region where over 31, 000 commercial buildings were destroyed (Bibbee et al., 2000).Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More It is estimated that more than 120000 houses were irreparably damaged while between 27000 and 35000 others had to be demolished due to the irretrievable dents. The cost of the earthquake was estimated to be roughly USD3billion. In November 1999, another earthquake, the Duzce, which was approximately 100km from the first earthquake, occurred again along the NAF region. It was recorded to have had a magnitude of 7.2. This earthquake led to death of approximately 1000 people. It brought about numerous injuries and destruction of property. Previously, the disaster management approaches that were used by the Turkish government were focused on disaster recovery. There was no motivation for disaster risk reduction or disaster planning at the time. However, since then, the government and the international community have increased efforts to establish elaborate disaster risk reduction and disaster planning to minimise the impact of the disasters as will be discussed later. The chart below sh ows how the Turkish government has developed an organisational chart that addresses various catastrophe management roles. Mexico Located in the â€Å"fire belt† where more than 80% of the world’s seismic activities occur, Mexico is a nation that has suffered many geological disasters. Further, because of its diverse geographical landscape and climatic conditions, Mexico is exposed to a variety of natural hydro-meteorological hazards such as earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, wildfires, volcanoes, and droughts. For instance, in the period 1970-2010, more than 60 million people in the country that has a population of 113 million people had been affected by natural disasters. These figures have placed Mexico in the top 30 nations in terms of exposure to three or more natural hazards (World Bank, 2005). Annually, it is estimated that more than 90 earthquakes of a magnitude of more than 4.0 in the Richter scale are recorded in Mexico. Almost all territories in Mexico, includ ing the Mexico City, are located in earthquake-prone zones. In addition to the earthquake risk, Alva-Valdivia et al. (2000) confirm that Mexico City lies within the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt that is well known for its nine active volcanoes that have been a major risk to natural disasters in the region. The risk of tsunami is very real in Mexico, especially along the nation’s Mexico Pacific Coast. In addition, hydro-metrological disasters frequently affect the nation where the events range from severe tropical cyclones to heavy rainfall events and high-intensity storms along the Pacific and Atlantic Coasts. The agricultural sector is also faced with the risk of droughts, which can be very disruptive to many people whose main economic activity is farming. The nation has experienced an increased risk of disasters, especially following the evident amplified economic growth and urbanisation. For instance, more than 75% of the population in Mexico lives in urban cities. Mexico Ci ty, which is the world’s fifth largest city, has seen a rapid increase in its population. With the augmented economic wellbeing and urbanisation, more assets, infrastructure, and social amenities have become essential. Consequently, they have increased the risk of loss of lives and property in the region (World Bank, 2005). Another significant risk factor in the Mexican nation is the tendency of people who have lower incomes to conglomerate in high-risk zones such as slums or mountainous areas, as well as exposure to poor quality infrastructure that is susceptible to destruction in case of a natural disaster such as earthquakes or hurricanes. In the past, Mexico had various disasters that had major impacts on the society. Such catastrophes have revolutionised how disaster management approaches and efforts are coordinated. For instance, in 1985, one of the largest earthquakes in the Mexican history occurred. The Mexican city earthquakes of September 19 and 20, 1985 with a magn itude of 8.1 and 7.3 respectively, had the highest impact. They affected millions of people. Firstly, the earthquakes led to the loss of lives of more than 6000 people. They also led to direct and indirect losses that were estimated at USD$8.3billion. They are among the costliest disasters in the history of Mexico (Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, n.d). Almost 87% of the total losses were recorded from the destruction of building and infrastructure while the remaining 13% went to the loss of productivity, increased cost of service provision, loss of income, emergency response, and temporary rehabilitation. More than 1700 schools were damaged while approximately 30% of hospital capacity in the Mexico City was destroyed. More than 250,000 people became homeless while other 900,000 citizens had their homes damaged. In fact, Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica (n.d) say, â€Å"More than 400 buildings collapsed, and thousands more were damaged† (Para. 3). Of all the major disa ster occurrences in the history of Mexico, the 1985 Mexico City earthquakes marked an awakening point where the nation of Mexico put more sustainable efforts and emphasis towards disaster risk reduction and disaster planning. Previously, the focus had been on disaster recuperation. However, the impact of these two earthquakes clearly showed that recovery was very costly and that it would cost less to have risk reduction measures to trim down the impact of disasters on the community and nation. Henceforth, Mexico has done a commendable work towards the establishment of disaster risk reduction initiatives that have greatly helped the country in terms of early warning, financial planning, and resilience of the vulnerable communities. Comparison of the Financial Planning for National Disaster in Mexico and Turkey Financial planning for national disaster refers to the efforts that a given nation puts towards disaster risk reduction and disaster preparedness to reduce the financial impact of disasters in case they occur. The financial losses that happen in large-scale disasters are highly disruptive. Sometimes, they require the intervention of the international community for the country or the affected communities to recover wholly. If disasters are not anticipated and financially planned for, the risk of delays in post-disaster response often worsens the adverse human and economic consequences. As such, disaster risk reduction efforts offer the best chance for a country to take a proactive role in preventing or drastically reducing the losses that it may suffer in the event of a disaster (Arnold, 2008). Both Turkey and Mexico face high levels of risk for disaster events. Their history is marred by major disaster events, which have marked an awakening point when the need for disaster risk reduction, including financial planning has become evident as the way to go in addressing future disaster occurrences (Stallings, 1997). With the two countries featuring in the top -ten list of nations that have a high risk for natural disasters, with Mexico at position five and Turkey at position 8, the need for disaster risk reduction and disaster preparedness can only be ignored at the peril of the two nations. In other words, it is no longer tenable for the two nations to sit and wait for a disaster to occur without initiating any recovery plans. From the two 1999 earthquakes in Turkey, where â€Å"At least 17,118 people were killed, nearly 50,000 injured, thousands missing, about 500,000 people homeless and estimated 3 to 6.5 billion U.S. dollars damage in Istanbul, Kocaeli and Sakarya Provinces† (MCEER, n.d, Para. 20), the government was put in a difficult place. Finances that were meant for other development activities and the provision of services to citizens were diverted and directed towards disaster recovery efforts. More than ever, there was a need for the government to revisit its disaster management and response strategies to ensure that s uch events and disruptions would never face the nation again. In recognition of the need to establish an elaborate disaster risk reduction and management approaches to reduce the economic impact of future disasters on the people and the government, Turkey put forward a ten-year roadmap from 1999 to achieve the goals of a well-established disaster risk reduction and management apparatus. The plan included, â€Å"the establishment of a national information centre for processing of all kinds of earthquake data, such as the preparation of earthquake catalogues and earthquake hazard maps of Turkey† (Bibbee, Gonenc, Jacobs, Konvitz, Price, 2000, p. 19). During this time, a wide consolation and involvement of experts from different organisations such as the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, the USAID, and JICA among other bodies that had an extensive experience in disaster risk reduction efforts around the world were engaged. These efforts were aimed at ensuring su ccessful formation of elaborate policies and authorities that would be in the forefront to coordinate disaster risk reduction efforts in Turkey (Cummins Mahul, 2009). Besides, the framework below was successfully adopted to address disasters in the country. At the end, the government saw that the future of disaster risk reduction lay in the establishment of a central authority that would lead in the coordination of disaster risk reduction efforts that covered preparedness, financial planning, and resilience. The first step in this process was the collapsing of the existing institutions that were focused on disaster management. They had many inadequacies that hindered their capacities to respond to disaster occurrences. The institutions that collapsed included the Directorate General of Civil Defence, Directorate General of Disaster Affairs, and Directorate General of Turkish Emergency Management. Instead, in 2009, a new umbrella body of all organisations that dealt with disaster m anagement was formed. The body became the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (IFAD in Turkey) under the Prime Minister. The IFAD was given enormous resources and authority to be the sole authority in all efforts that were geared towards disaster risk reduction, preparedness, emergency response, and recovery. However, much of the organisation’s efforts have concentrated on preparedness and risk reduction. For instance, the organisation is actively engaged in promoting insurance schemes towards disasters, which have been absent in the nation for a long time. In addition, according to Anan (2011), IFAD recognises the importance of financial planning towards disaster risk reduction. In this case, unlike in the past, the organisation has a strong financial resource base that is allocated by the central government to allow it to carry out disaster risk reduction awareness activities while at the same time responding promptly in the event of a disaster emergency in the cou ntry. The success of the organisation has already been tested and proven, especially during the Elazig Simav and Van earthquakes where the organisation intervened swiftly and responded accordingly to help victims and/or offer disaster recovery plans. Currently, 1% of the national budget of the Turkish government goes to the IFAD, which represents one of the highest percentages of money that is set aside by governments towards DRR in Europe. The situation in Mexico follows almost the same script as that of Turkey. Accordingly, for a very long time, disaster management and coordination efforts were dedicated towards disaster recovery. Very little efforts were focused on disaster risk reduction. Indeed, the 1985 Mexico City earthquake, which in its aftermath left over 6000 people dead and over USD$8billion of financial and economic losses, was the awakening point that effectively changed disaster management and coordination efforts in Mexico forever. In the aftermath of the disaster, t he Federal Government of Mexico (GoM) established a National Commission for Reconstruction in October 1985 to coordinate disaster recovery and reconstruction efforts (Arnold, 2008). After the recovery, efforts were commissioned to start the process of ensuring that future disasters would not have such devastating impacts in Mexico. In 1986, the Sistema Nacional de Protection Civil (SINAPROC) was established as an umbrella body for various government bodies, as well as non-governmental organisations whose mandate was to promote engagement between these bodies to ensure that good approaches to future disasters would be deliberated and adopted where necessary. The SINAPROC, which is now under the control of the Ministry of Interior, is charged with the coordination of disaster risk reduction efforts. Under the leadership of SINAPROC, a Natural Disaster Fund (FONDEN) was established to ensure financial preparedness in the event of a disaster in Mexico. Through this fund, the government of Mexico is now able to dedicate not less that 0.4% of the nation’s budget to disaster risk reduction efforts and recovery. The funds that are available through the kitty can be used to towards emergency response, infrastructure reconstruction, building of low-income housing, and other efforts that are geared towards cushioning the community and government from financial shocks during disasters. While a large share of the budget of FONDEN goes towards disaster recovery, a significant share goes towards disaster risk reduction efforts (Cummins Mahul, 2009). The success of the fund, especially in disaster risk reduction, has been evident through the establishment of an elaborate early warning system for major hazards in the country such as volcanic activities, hurricanes, storms, droughts, and earthquakes, which have helped communities to prepare early or to be evacuated to safety before any disasters strike. A good example is the Hurricane Dean, which did not cause any direc t death in the nation, despite its magnitude. Other success stories of the fund have been evident through the collaboration between SINAPROC, which has ensured consistent adoption of better housing codes such that buildings and infrastructure can withstand earthquakes and hurricanes and hence greatly reduce the impact of the disaster on the society (Cummins Mahul, 2009; Neuman, 2006). In addition, the increasing adoption of insurance covers towards disasters is a clear indication of SINAPROC’s efforts towards the transferring of risk to third parties by property owners to guarantee faster recovery and return to the normal state of affairs in the event of disasters. While Turkey has had better success stories in its financial planning for national disaster efforts, Mexico has also achieved considerable success. Both countries are good examples of how disaster risk reduction efforts can greatly cushion the government and society from extreme impacts of disasters. For better di saster risk reduction efforts, both countries will have to dedicate more resources to financial planning and/or establishing collaborative efforts that will allow more partnerships with other nations and organisations to achieve better results in disaster risk reduction. Discussion The impact of natural and fabricated disasters can cause serious devastations to societies and nations. In many cases, the impacts overwhelm the affected nations’ capacity to cope with the situation. As such, the approach of waiting for disasters to occur to initiate disaster response and recovery efforts is no longer tenable (Twigg, 2004). It is very costly as evidenced in the case of Turkey and Mexico. The aftermath of disasters often leaves nations in economic disasters where they have to appeal to international allies for financial support towards recovery. Therefore, in this case, financial planning and preparedness forms a central tenet of disaster risk reduction, which organisations must ado pt to ensure that they can reduce the impact of disasters while at the same time helping in recovery efforts (McEntire, 2006). The success of financial planning in Turkey and Mexico is a good example of why nations around the world must put more efforts towards disaster management instead of applying the wait-and-see attitude, which often backfires on them while leaving hundreds of people dead, billions of dollars worth of properties’ destroyed, and other devastations that have a lasting impact. Conclusion The relevance of financial planning in disaster management and coordination has been laid bare in this paper. Despite the two countries being geographically separated and distinct, they face unique disaster risks that make them susceptible to disaster events such as earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, and other hazards. The path towards financial planning did not happen overnight. It followed hard lessons and bad experiences that the two countries faced from past disaster even ts. Consequently, disaster risk reduction efforts that encompass many programmes, including financial planning, play an important role in the two nations’ efforts towards disaster management and coordination. Reference List Alva-Valdivia, L., Goguitchaichvili, A., Ferrari, L., Rosas-Elguera, J., Urrutia-Fucugauchi, J. Zamorano-Orozco, J. (2000). Paleomagnetic data from the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt: implications for tectonics and volcanic stratigraphy. Retrieved from terrapub.co.jp/journals/EPS/pdf/5207/52070467.pdf Anan, K. (2011). Rural Poverty Report. Retrieved from ifad.org/rpr2011/report/e/rpr2011.pdf Arnold, M. (2008). The role of risk transfer and insurance in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. Sweden: Swedish Commission on Climate Change and Development. Bibbee, A., Gonenc, R., Jacobs, S., Konvitz, J., Price, R. (2000). Economic Effects Of The 1999 Turkish Earthquakes: An Interim Report Economics Department Working Papers No. 247. Retrieved fro m oecd.org/turkey/1885266.pdf Cummins, D., Mahul, O. (2009). Catastrophe Risk Financing in Developing Countries: Principles for Public Intervention. Washington, DC: The World Bank. Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica (n.d). Mexico City Earthquake of 1985. Retrieved from britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1421132/Mexico-City-earthquake-of-1985 MCEER. (n.d). Major Turkish Earthquakes of the 20th Century. Retrieved from http://mceer.buffalo.edu/infoservice/reference_services/turkey-major-earthquakes.asp McEntire, D. (2006). The Importance of Multi-and Inter-disciplinary Research on Disasters and for Emergency Management. Denton: University of North Texas. Neuman, L. (2006). Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. Boston: Pearson. Ragin, C (2004). Workshop on Scientific Foundations of Qualitative Research. Arlington: National Science Foundation. Ranguelov, B., Bernaerts, A. (n.d). The Erzincan 1939 Earthquake A Sample Of The Multidisaster Event. Retrieved from b alkangeophysoc.gr/menu/congresses/oral/62-63-O8-13-Boyko-Ranguelov_2.PDF Sengezer, B., Koa, E (2005). A critical analysis of earthquakes and urban planning in Turkey. Disasters, 29(1), 171-194. Stallings, R. (1997). Introduction: Methods of Disaster Research: Unique or Not. International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters 15, 1(1), 1-29. Twigg, J. (2004). Good Practice Review: Disaster risk reduction, Mitigation and preparedness in development and emergency programming. London: Humanitarian Policy Network. World Bank. (2005). Natural Disaster Hotspots: A Global Risk Analysis†. Disaster Risk Management Series No. 5. The World Bank: Hazard Management Unit.

Sociolgy I need to tell a story how I did something to benefit myself Essay

Sociolgy I need to tell a story how I did something to benefit myself - Essay Example But who cares For me I was very willing to accept solitude and monotony just to become a well respected basketball player. Of course I had to undergo various RATIONAL CHOICES before embarking the journey towards success. The BENEFITS and REWARDS of become a popular basketball player should be greater than the COSTS it entails. As I have said I knew beforehand that becoming popular requires many sacrifices that would eat up most of my time. But as far as the UTILITY of these sacrifices are concerned, I never regretted in forgoing the joy and excitement that other activities gives. I am determined to accomplish my mission and attain my goal of becoming a popular basketball player in New York State and obtain a full basketball scholarship to Loyola College, whatever it takes. To become a professional level basketball player, an aspirant should undergo certain steps. One of the most essential of these is practice - tons of practice. To do this, I utilized most of my time to practice my shooting skills alone. While most of my classmates are still asleep I managed to wake up at 6 am most mornings during high school and went to the school's gym and took exercise and made 100 foul shots every morning before I enter school. This became part of my morning ritual. I was not contented from this that during breaks and dismissal from class I still shoved dust and snow around the basketball hoop in the school yard to practice my shots. My day virtually revolved around basketball. I was not even satisfied on doing the practices and body conditioning myself. I even asked the services of special people to a point that I even borrowed my uncle's time just to keep my shooting hand accurate and dependable. I asked him to feed me the ball while shooting thousand shots per week. I also undergone training sessions with special trainers thrice a week to get in top shape. Because of my commitment to be the best, I often sacrifice my social life to give way to my practice sessions. While my family was gone to a vacation trip, I was busy dribbling the ball in our regular practices. During the time that my friends are attending birthday parties and other school gatherings, I was immersed in thinking how to help my team win the game. I almost spent my exchanged the BENEFITS of socializing in school just to achieve my dream. In any quest to be the best, I admit that I had to find ways to get to the top whatever it takes. That includes doing the dirty work just to get there. I always assert even to a point that I use aggression just to reach my dream. I believe that this world is not perfectly BALANCED and that I need to use influence, power and other "below the belt" schemes just to be the best. Anyway, this is a dog-eat-dog society that those who are more powerful and "wiser" are more likely to gain advantage necessary for achieving their goals. If justice is being served equally to all people, then why are there criminals, despite being proven guilty for their misdemeanors, are still at large because of their influence and power. Besides, I am using these "devious tactics" not for criminal and evil use. If crooks use these measures to indulge in temporary PLEASURABLE activities and afterwards ending up in PAIN while spending their time in prison, I am doing this so that my parents, my school and my classmates and possibly the United States and the world will be proud of and BENEFIT from me. Because of my

Cancer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Cancer - Essay Example Thyroid hormones are essential for the regulation of blood pressure, heart rate, metabolism and temperature of body, influences nervous system, muscular system and other systems as well. Regulation of the hormone produced by this gland may result in hyperthyroidism (Graves' Disease) or hypothyroidism. Thyroid cancer is considered as an uncommon type of cancer. Thyroid cancer is categorized into four groups encompassing papillary, medullary, follicular and anaplastic thyroid cancers. Lumps or masses grow in thyroid which are benign in ninety-five percent of cases. There is always a propensity that they may spread to other body parts if remain untreated (Web. "Thyroid Cancer", n.d.). Epidemiology The American Cancer Society reveals that around 17,200 cases of thyroid cancer appear each year, this number contributes to 1 percent of all the cancer cases prevalent in United States. Women are considered to be three times more prone to display the symptoms of thyroid cancer as compared to m en. Problems related to thyroid hormone is common in teenagers, adolescents and younger individuals, but thyroid cancer is known to develop at the age of over 50 years (Web. "Thyroid Cancer", n.d.). Worldwide estimations reveal that more than 862,000 individuals diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2003 were alive in 2008 (Web."Thyroid cancer incidence statistics", n.d.). Genetic-associated risk factors: chromosome(s)/gene(s) involved Genes are responsible for the metabolism of the organism, they control the functions of the cells. Cancers initially progress from the normal cells and gradually gain the potential to multiply unusually and ultimately become malignant. These malignant cells proliferate clonally and form tumors which in due course impend to turn metastatic. Cancer, also known as malignant neoplasm, the hallmark characteristic involves uncontrolled proliferation of cells. Under normal conditions cell grow, divide and die, but in cancer cells the defect takes place at the gen e level leading to the formation of an abnormal DNA. As genes are the basic control machine of the cell, alteration of any kind may bring devastating consequences, or malignancy. Autosomal dominance inheritance of mutated gene (only single cope) could lead to thyroid cancer, although its prevalence is only 1 percent. The inheritance of defective gene could be estimated with genetic testing. Medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) contributes to 5 percent of thyroid cancers. Genetic conditions playing role in inheritance of MTC are multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN) 2A, 2B as well as familial medullary thyroid carcinoma (FMTC). On the other hand, papillary and follicular thyroid cancers contribute to 90 percent of all thyroid cancers (Web. "The Genetics of Thyroid Cancer", 2011). Risk factors other than genetics Risk factors enhances the chance of developing cancer. In most of the cases, thyroid cancers are sporadic. About 10 percent of the thyroid cancers are inherited (5 percent papillary, and follicular, while 25 percent MTC). Other risk factors involve gender (women are more prone), age (2/3 of the cases are reported between 20 and 55 years), while anaplastic thyroid cancer is reported after 60 years of age. Radiation exposure (X-ray treatment to treat tonsillitis), exposure to radioactive iodine in childhood days enhance the chances of papillary and follicular thyroid cancers. Low iodine in diet may also cause thyroid cancer (Web. "Thyroid Cancer- Risk Factors", 2013). Symptoms Typical