Health Traditions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Health Traditions - Essay Example As the discussion highlights cltural imposition- cultural imposition is the tendency by a nurse to apply the majority culture on every individual without any further probing. Cultural imposition has led to the abuse of other community cultures. Through the heritage kit, a nurse shall know the different cultures of every individual. This will help him deal with every patient at individual cultural level. For instance, there are cultures which do not allow the eating of certain foods that majority eats. Therefore, the health provider must not recommend such food to the individual, as that will be cultural imposition. Cultural sensitivity- this is when both verbal and non-verbal language is used in a very respectful way as not to offend any individual in the community. For this reason, a health provider will be obliged to use more polite language when handling clients. Some words may be universally accepted but prohibited by a certain community. By assessing a family using the heritage kit, a health provider shall be able to deeply understand the language norms of that particular community and thus help him avoid the use of certain words on patients. From this paper it is clear that diversity- diversity is the general variation in the society. When an assessment carried out using the heritage is closely evaluated, a heath provider gets to know the level of diversity in a particular community. He will be able to know in exact numbers, for instance, how many orphaned children are in the community so that they can be provided for.

Legislative Aspects of Nursing informatics Coursework

Legislative Aspects of Nursing informatics - Coursework Example vent that the breach involves more than 500 patients, then it is imperative that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) also receive similar notification. Secondly, the act also establishes the necessity for health institutions through HER system to make it possible for individuals to access their PHI in an electronic format. In line with this, the act establishes that those who receive incentives should ensure that the system is of meaningful use, failure to which results in withdrawal of the said incentives. The act has also specified that vendors providing HER system directly qualify as business associates. To this end, the act intends to make it possible for more vendor/provider dialogue regarding matter of mutual interest, so that service provision becomes more effective. These reforms have potential impact in the practice of psychiatry. For instance, the act provides quality measure incentives through the Maintenance of Certification Program (MOCP), (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2013). In addition to participation in MOCP for up to one year, the law requires that physicians must submit data on quality measures through the MOCP under PQRI. McGinigle and Mastrian (2013) observe three topical issues that are encountered in health informatics namely leadership challenges, limited functionality in clinical practice and education in terms of necessary competencies. Regarding leadership challenges, McGinigle and Mastrian note that there exists a knowledge gap within leadership in the sector, and more specific the nursing industry. IN the nursing context, the two advance that there is need for nurse leaders to acquire current skill set and knowledge that will allow them to understand and adopt modern information technologies imperative to delivery of quality care. It is therefore important for nurses and other medical practitioners alike to gain the necessary knowledge. On limited functionality in clinical practice, McGinigle

Credit Protection Identity Theft Essay Example for Free

Credit Protection Identity Theft Essay 1. If you find errors on your credit report, what steps would you take to correct them? In my personal experience, I had an error on my credit report when I was applying for a loan with my bank. I did not get approved for my loan even though one month prior I was approved and I had a low interest rate due to my high score. A few days later I received a letter in the mail explaining why along with my current credit report which dropped almost 100 points. I emailed one of the bureaus, explaining that there was an error with my report. I had to mail in a copy of 2 forms of ID, my letter stating my â€Å"current† credit report and the letter I received a month prior. Within a short time, they corrected my credit score. 2. There are many organizations that claim they will repair your credit for a fee. From your readings, should someone use a credit repair service? Why or why not? What are some actions these organizations can take that should be a red flag? Based on my readings and personal experience, people should not use credit repair services because the ratio of scams out there online are very high. In the technology age we are in, it is very easy to fall victim to identity theft, even from a simply online purchase. With that same concept, â€Å"free† credit reports and repair services are not excluded just because it claims to help. Only one website is authorized under law to disclose such personal information to you via internet that is certified; annualcreditreport.com. Any other type of website that offers free reports are not part of the legally mandated free annual credit report program. If yu receive any emails, asking you to disclose personal information, it is a scam and should be reported. 3. Have you, a family member, or a friend been a victim of identity theft? How did it happen? Describe the resolution process- ex. how much time did it take, what credit damage was corrected? My Master Sergeant I worked for while in the Marine Corps was a victim of identity theft while temporarily overseas. He used his government credit card in Europe to pay for his hotel room. 2 weeks later, when he was back in the states, the bank called him to confirm that he had been in Asia and the Middle East within 24 hours. He put a freeze on all his accounts and had to file a report of the incident. After the claim was routed, he was reimbursed and had to reopen a new account for his government credit card. 4. Using the FTC site, what can you do to minimize the chance of your identity getting stolen? To minimize the chance of my identity getting stolen, per off the FTC site, I should have a safety lockbox to store all my personal information in. I should minimize what I carry with me while I’m not home to the essentials so I may reduce the risk at having an identity theft. I should also shred receipts, bank statements, credit applications, checks, and any other forms of sensitive information when I’m through with the document and I no longer need it. I should be aware of the lock icon in the URL when giving out personal information on the web to ensure the transmission is secure. Finally, I should not over share on social media websites.

History Of Philippine Monetary System

History Of Philippine Monetary System Most people dont spend much time wondering what money is, their major concern is how much they have, and how to get more. Usually, the question of what money IS arises only when money ceases to function properly. In economics (properly understood), the answer to the question what is money? consists of three words: Thats all. Yet the conception of a medium of exchange ranks below only language (with its corollaries speech and the written word) as the greatest intellectual discovery in history. Without language, the exchange of anything but the most rudimentary ideas is impossible. Without money, the production and exchange of anything but the most rudimentary goods and services is impossible. It is not difficult or time consuming, or inefficient, it is IMPOSSIBLE! Animals dont exchange (or trade) amongst one another. They are self-sufficient, or they take from each other, or they exercise the prerogative of superior strength and/or cunning. There are some human beings who get along in a very similar fashion, but the overwhelming majority recognises the benefits of voluntary exchange. Strictly speaking, the use of the word voluntary in this context is redundant. The phrase your money or your life is not the precursor to an exchange, whether the person uttering it brandishes a gun or a government identity card. The first rule of any voluntary exchange is simplicity itself. If two people are willing to exchange, each must view the results of the exchange as being beneficial. If either of them is not of that view, the exchange will not take place. Direct exchange, or barter, is exactly that my good or service for your good or service. The problem is that I might want what you have to offer, but you might not want what I offer in exchange. With no medium of exchange, there is no deal. Indirect exchange takes place when one party has a medium that is always acceptable, not for what it is, but for what can be done with it. If you offer me money, I will accept it, because I know that I can exchange it for what I want, whenever I want it. Indirect exchange involves the use of MONEY the medium of exchange. Money is the universal key, it fits all locks. And the world it has unlocked is the world we live in today. Money has made the division of labor possible. It has made specialization possible. It has made the accumulation of wealth over periods which exceed a human lifetime possible. Perhaps most important of all, it has hugely advanced the potential for amicable interaction between people. To survive as such, and to prosper, a rational animal must exchange. He or she has language, to exchange ideas, and money, to exchange the fruits of ideas. From that foundation, everything else we see around us has been built. That covers the concept or idea of money. But an idea, as such, does not exist as a physical entity. Money must be a physical entity. Neither the electronic money of today nor the notes and coin which circulate as cash has any official or legal connection with Gold and Silver. But they once did, and most people think that they still do. As long as that situation persists, the modern monetary system will function. Now, how does one go about choosing what is to be used as money? Simple, one looks for the most tradable good, the good which is in highest demand, the good that has begun to be accepted, not as an end in it, but as a means to an end. Money is the good that people do not want to consume, but want to use to make further exchanges easier. Human beings have lived together for more than two million years. Money in its modern form coin of fixed weight and denomination came into use less than three thousand years ago. It took a long time to discover the physical good which best serves the purpose of a medium of exchange. (http://www.the-privateer.com/gold-b.html) Functions Money as a Unit of Value The first function of money is to be a unit of value or a unit of account. The monetary unit is the unit in terms of which the value of all goods and services is measured and expressed. The value of each good or service is expressed as a price, which is the number of monetary units for which the good or service can be exchanged. If the price of a pen is Rs. 10 then a pen can be had in exchange for ten monetary units (where the monetary unit in this case is the rupee). Measuring values in monetary units helps in measuring the exchange values of commodities. If a pen is worth Rs. 10 and a notebook is worth Rs.20 then a notebook is worth two pens. Further, accounting is simplified, as all items will be recorded in terms of monetary units that can be added and subtracted. Money is a useful measuring rod of value only if the value of money itself remains constant. This is similar to saying that a scale is a useful measure of length only if the length of the scale itself is constant. The value of money is linked to its purchasing power. Purchasing power is the inverse of the average or general level of prices as measured by the consumer price index etc. As the general price level increases, a unit of money can purchase a lesser amount of goods and services so the value or purchasing power of money declines. So, m oney will be a useful unit of value only as long as its own value or purchasing power remains constant. (http://hubpages.com/hub/Functions-of-Money) Money as a Medium of Exchange Money also acts as a medium of exchange or as a medium of payments. This function of money is served by anything that is generally accepted by people in exchange for goods and services. Anything has been quite a variety of things across places and times. Some of the things that have served as money are clay, cowry shells, tortoise shells, cattle, pigs, horses, sheep, tea, tobacco, wool, salt, wine, boats, iron, copper, brass, silver, gold, bronze, nickel, paper, leather, playing cards, debts of individuals, debts of banks, debts of governments, etc. Money will then reduce the time and energy spent in barter. The person who owned a cow can now simply sell it to the person who offers the most money for it and then buy the bullock cart from another person who offers him the best bargain. Ultimately, all trade may be considered barter one good or service is traded for another good or service -either directly, or indirectly with money acting as the intermediary. However, by acting as an intermediary, money increases the ease of trade. Money is also called a bearer of options or generalized purchasing power. This indicates the freedom of choice that the use of money offers. The owner of the cow need not procure goods and services from those to whom he sold his cow. He can use the money to buy the things he wants most, from those who offer him the best bargain (not necessarily those who bought his cow), at the time he considers most advantageous (not necessarily immediately). Again, this function can only be performed properly if the value of money remains constant. (http://hubpages.com/hub/Functions-of-Money) Money as a Standard of Deferred Payments If money performs the previous two functions then it may also perform the function of being the unit in terms of which deferred or future payments are stated. Examples of situations where future payments are to be made are pensions, principal and interest on debt, salaries etc. As long as money maintains a constant value through time, it will overcome the problems associated with making future payments with specific commodities. (http://hubpages.com/hub/Functions-of-Money) Money as a Store of Value If money becomes a unit of value and a means of payment then it may also perform the function of serving as a store of value. The holders of money are holders of generalized purchasing power that can be spent through time. They know that it will be accepted at any time for any good or service and is thus a store of value. This function will be performed well as long as money retains a constant purchasing power. (http://hubpages.com/hub/Functions-of-Money) It may be noted that any asset other than money may also perform the function of store of value, for example, bonds, land, houses, etc. These assets have the advantage that, unlike money, they yield income and may appreciate in value over time. However, they are subject to the following: (1) They may involve storage costs, (2) They may not be liquid in the sense that they could not be quickly converted into money without loss of value, and (3) They may depreciate in value. A person may choose to store value in any form depending on considerations of income, safety and liquidity. (http://hubpages.com/hub/Functions-of-Money) Kinds Commodity Money Commodity money refers to money whose value comes from a commodity out of which it is made. Examples of commodities that have been used as money include gold, silver, copper, salt, large stones, decorated belts, shells, and cigarettes. Commodity money is to be distinguished from representative money which is a certificate or token which can be exchanged for the underlying commodity. A key feature of commodity money is that the value is directly perceived by the users of this money, who recognize the utility or beauty of the tokens as they would recognize the goods themselves. That is, the effect of holding a token for a barrel of oil must be the same economically as actually having the barrel at hand. This thinking guides the modern commodity markets, although they use a sophisticated range of financial instruments that are more than one-to-one representations of units of a given type of commodity. In situations where the commodity is metal, typically gold or silver, a government mint will often coin money by placing a mark on the metal that serves as a guarantee of the weight and purity of the metal. In doing so, the government will often impose a fee which is known as seigniorage. The role of a mint and of coin is different between commodity money and fiat money. In situations where there is commodity money, the coin retains its value if it is melted and physically altered, while in fiat money it does not. Commodity money often comes into being in situations where other forms of money are not available or not trusted. Various commodities were used in pre-Revolutionary America including wampum, maize, iron nails, beaver pelts, and tobacco. In post-war Germany, cigarettes became used as a form of commodity money in some areas. Cigarettes are still used as a form of commodity money in prison cell. Although commodity money is more convenient than barter, it can also be inconvenient to use as a medium of exchange or a standard of deferred payment due to the transport and storage concerns. Accordingly, notes began to circulate that a government or other trusted entity (e.g. the Knights Templar in Europe in the 13th century) would guarantee as representing a certain stored value on account. This creates a form of money known as representative money the beginning of a long slow shift to credit money. Historically gold was by far the most widely recognized commodity out of which to make money: gold was compact, easy to work into more beautiful jewelry, had decorative and functional utility as a finely strung wire or thin foil leaf, and most importantly, could always be traded for other metals to make weapons with. A state could be described as a political enterprise with sufficient land, gold and reputation for protecting both, e.g. the Fort Knox gold repository long maintained by the United States, could reliably issue certificates to substitute for the gold and be trusted to actually have it. Between 1933 and 1970, one U.S. dollar was technically worth exactly 1/35 of a troy ounce (889 mg) of gold. However, actual trade in gold as a precious metal within the United States was banned presumably to prevent anyone from actually going up to Fort Knox and asking for their gold. This was a fairly typical transition from commodity to representative to fiat money, with people trading i n other goods being forced to trade in gold, then to receive paper money that purported to be as good as gold, and then ultimately see this currency float on commodity markets. However, commodity money remained active in the background in some form or another, and seems to have been revived thanks to global capitalism, wherein a currency is widely traded as a commodity. One way to view such trade is that currency of resource-rich nations tends to be tied to the price of those particular commodity items until it becomes a developed nation. Thus, one could see the nominally fiat money of say Cuba as being tied to the commodity sugar globally, rather than to the military power of Cuba that holds within its own borders. Also, commodity supplies and protections of supplies by states military fiat remain critical to trade, and there are active commodity market speculations on the stability of certain states, e.g. speculation on the survival of the regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq has from time to time driven the price of oil. Some argue that this is not so much a commodity market but more of an assassination market speculating on the survival (or not) of Saddam himself. Finally, commodity money is undergoing a more direct revival thanks to theorists of green economics, natural capitalism and global resource banking, some of whom suggest a form of money based on ecological yield. They argue that the outputs of natural capital are the only genuine commodities air, water, and calories of renewable energy we consume being mostly interchangeable when they are free of pollution or disease. However, such goods cannot be held directly, and so it is common to suggest that representative money be issued based on enhancing and extending natures services, giving one the right to receive the yield as a benefit. They argue that reframing political economy to consider the flow of these basic commodities first and foremost, avoiding use of military fiat except to protect natural capital itself, and basing credit-worthiness more strictly on commitment to preserving biodiversity rather than repayment of debt, as in the current global credit money regime anchored by the Bank for International Settlements, would provide measurable benefits to human well-being worldwide. Some seek to replace the B.I.S. with a Global Resource Bank to manage global resources outside national jurisdiction for global benefit. Others would replace the gold standard with a biodiversity standard. It remains to be seen if such schemes have any merit other than as political ways to draw attention to the way capitalism itself interacts with life. Critics of this type of proposal often note that, as with other transitions from commodity to representative money, inadequate substitutes will be made on a just trust me basis as per Greshams Law which states that bad money drives out good. Other proposals, such as time-based money, rely on the availability of human labor as a commodity, especially within a community, which is presumably harder to guarantee access to, but also harder to steal. Still others deny the utility of co modifying labor as such, and suggest making free time the standard, since physical capital used for leisure, sport, art, theatre, and other forms of play is co modifiable and possible to control. (http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Commodity_money) Credit Money Credit money refers to money that constitutes future claims of a valuable item against an entity. The holder of credit money can use it to purchase goods and services; when the holder wants to, he or she can redeem it to get the item by which it is backed. Credit money is made of a material that has low intrinsic value compared to the value it represents when exchanged. Some types of credit money include IOUs, bonds and money market accounts. Some people also consider paper money and coins to be credit money because they have no intrinsic value and can be exchanged for valuable commodity. To illustrate how this concept came about, consider English goldsmiths, who centuries ago used to keep deposits of precious metals. They issued paper notes to those who deposited gold or silver for future redemption. These goldsmiths realized that they did not need to completely back their notes with precious metals because only a small fraction of holders come back to convert their notes. The goldsmiths then issued non-backed notes as loans to people who needed funds and received profits from interest payments. These notes constituted the early form of credit money. When a government issues banknotes, it decides on a valuable commodity on which to fix them, gold or silver, for example. It then fixes a stable value on the banknotes and sets them as a medium of exchange. The government can choose to maintain enough valuable commodities to let everyone with banknotes redeem it. The government can also choose to keep just enough valuable commodities to satisfy the small fraction of people who actually want to make the redemption. In this sense, banknotes are credit money because people can use them to redeem gold or silver. In modern monetary systems, however, the central bank often issues money that is not backed by valuable commodity. The size of the money supply in these systems does not depend on the availability of valuable commodity or the obligation of the central bank to repay credit money with valuable commodity. This kind of money is known as fiat money and is the most ubiquitous form of money in most modern monetary systems. Credit money can also refer to any claim on valuable commodity that is used as a medium of exchange instead of banknotes. Checks, IOUs and bonds that can be redeemed for banknotes are examples of this. Sometimes credit money has a maturity date, as in the case of checks where the bank pays the check recipient a certain amount of banknotes at maturity. Fiat Money Fiat money is the opposite of honest money. Fiat money is money that is declared to have value even if it does not. Honest money has value regardless of what people say. Gold and silver are often referred to as honest money and since they have been dug out of the ground at considerable expense, they do have value regardless. People will pay variable sums for them. Fiat money is also known as paper money, or electronic money. Since there is nothing behind paper money but the obligation of a state to redeem it in more paper or electronic money, fiat moneys ultimate worth is questionable at best. In fact, there is a history of states walking away from the face value of the fiat money that has been printed (created). But if one has it in ones possession, it is impossible to walk away from the value of gold and silver and contrary to fiat money, they have an inherent quality. Mainly an outgrowth of central banking, in the modern age, fiat money probably would not be attractive without state support. Thats because fiat money, unlike fractional reserve money, has no inherent value. Fractional reserve banking, in fact, is a private market phenomenon in which private banks provide paper notes the face value of which adds up to more than the reserves held by the bank. There is a history of successful fractional reserve banking efforts within the private marketplace; however fiat money ALWAYS collapses, as it is impossible to issue a substance of value year after year and generation after generation that HAS no value. In the United States, the worlds largest and most dominant economy, the greenback became a fiat currency when President Richard Nixon broke the final link between gold and the dollar in 1971. He did this because the French were apparently threatening to redeem their dollars in gold and either the US central bank and/or Treasury did not have enough gold to In any event, Nixon severed the dollars relationship to gold and ever since then the world has embarked on a bold experiment in which the global, anchor currency has no specific relationship to an underlying asset. Predictably, this has meant that the United States has continually created more and more fiat dollars, thus inflating the overall stock of dollars and making them worth less and less. China, one of the worlds most ancient civilizations, is said to have had no less than eight separate interregnums of fiat currency each collapsing and then being replaced by another. In the 1800s, fiat money was even banned by the Chinese. Today, however, the Chinese government is once again a user of fiat money along with the rest of the world. Fiat money has never been as prevalent perhaps as in the modern age. But that doesnt make it any healthier or less prone to failure. Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it. (http://www.thedailybell.com/803/Fiat-Money.html) Legal Tender Money Legal tender is any form of payment that must be accepted for a debt, according to the laws of the area. Generally, the term refers to government-issued cash money such as bills and coins, as opposed to credit lines, checks, or cards. The laws surrounding legal tender have proved vital in the formation of the fiscal policy of many nations. (http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-legal-tender.htm) The term legal tender means currency that is legally permitted to be used to obtain goods or services in a particular country. Immediately recognized as legal tender for purchases and to settle outstanding debts, currency remains the single most common of all liquid assets that are used on a consistent basis by retail customers. (http://www.wisegeek.com/topics/legal-tender.htm) II. Development of Philippine Money Pre-Hispanic Era Archaeological evidence indicates that small seafaring communities existed throughout the Philippine Archipelago for at least 2000 years, prior to the arrival of the Spaniards. The chief means of trading was barter. Records show that Chinese merchants came to the Philippines to trade porcelain, silk and metalwork in exchange for gold, pearls, beeswax and medicinal plants, which the Philippines is naturally rich in. Excavations also unearthed gold ingots, known as piloncitos, the first recognized form of coinage in the country. Barter rings in different sizes, gold ornaments and beads were the other objects used as medium of exchange during the period. (http://www.bsp.gov.ph/about/history/story2.asp) Spanish Era The Galleon Trade, which started during the colonization of the Philippines in 1565 and lasted for 250 years, was responsible for transforming Manila into a trade center for oriental goods. These were brought across the Pacific, in exchange for odd-shaped silver coins called cobs or macuquinas. Other coins that followed were the dos mundos or pillar dollars in silver, the counterstamped coins and the portrait series, also in silver. In the 18th century, the Royalty of Spain authorized the production of copper coins by the Ayuntamiento or Municipality of Manila in response to the acute shortage of fractional coins. These were called barrillas which first appeared in 1728.In 1852, the first banknotes called pesos fuertes were issued, and in 1861,the Casa de Moneda de Manila minted the first gold coins with the word Filipinas inscribed, which were called Isabelinas and Alfonsinos. (http://www.bsp.gov.ph/about/history/story3.asp) Revolutionary Period On August 23, 1896, the Cry of Balintawak, headed by Andres Bonifacio signaled the start of the Philippine Revolution. After General Emilio Aguinaldos proclamation as President of the First Philippine Republic, Two types of 2-centavo copper coins were struck in the army arsenal of Malolos. Because their mintage was so few, they are considered extremely rare collection. Paper notes were also issued, but the circulation was limited because the government was short-lived. (http://www.bsp.gov.ph/about/history/story4.asp) American Regime When the Americans took over the Philippines in 1901, the US Congress passed the Philippine Coinage Act, which authorized the mintage of silver coins from 1903 to 1912. Subsequently, Silver Certificates were issued until 1918. These were replaced with Treasury Certificates from 1918 to 1935. The American Government deemed it more economical and convenient to mint silver coins in the Philippines, hence, the re-opening of the Manila Mint in 1920, which produced coins until the Commonwealth Period. This also became the first seat of the Central Bank in 1949. (http://www.bsp.gov.ph/about/history/story5.asp) World War II During the Japanese Occupation from 1941 to 1944, two kinds of notes circulated the Japanese Invasion Money issued by the Japanese Government, and the Guerrilla Notes or Resistance Currencies issued by Filipino guerrillas. (http://www.bsp.gov.ph/about/history/story6.asp) Republic Period Republic Act No.265 created the Central Bank of the Philippines (CBP) on January 3, 1949, which was vested the power of administering the banking credit system of the country. Initially, the CBP issued the Victory Notes with the overprint Central Bank of the Philippines in 1949. The first official banknotes issued by the Central Bank were the English series in 1951, followed by the Pilipino series in 1967, the Ang Bagong Lipunan series in 1973 and the New Design series in 1985. Central Bank coins of the English series were also issued in 1959, followed by the Pilipino series in 1967, and the Ang Bagong Lipunan series in 1975. The Flora and Fauna series were introduced in 1983, and subsequently, the improved version in 1992, until the demonetization of all the series in 1998. (http://www.bsp.gov.ph/about/history/story7.asp)

Environmental Degradation Pollution

Environmental Degradation Pollution The global South has unquestionably been one of the regions that have experienced greater impact of environmental degradation. The former economic success in this area has resulted to environmental problem industrial waste pollution. As these countries get more involved in multilateral environmental agreement and voluntary agreement, the protection of the environment in the region has effectively become globalize in nature and has affected business and international trade. The introduction of the environmental management system standard is one of the prerequisite for business to enter into western market. This has been a greater challenge to this region due to their insufficient capital and the stern conditions attach to business. This paper looks at the impact of environmental degradation on global South in terms of how environment degradation affects human security, clean water, human health, social relation, and the freedom of choice and action. This research paper also provides r ecommendation that be adapted by the both developing and developed countries in controlling the adverse effects of the environment degradation. Introduction Since 1980s, the environmental matter as trade barriers between the North and the South countries has feature prominently in the world international forums Developing countries that struggles to improve their economies and attract more investors to enhance their economies is term as pollution haven. The word pollution haven as proposed by Zarsky (1997, 1999) is a claimed that the South have reduced and relaxed their environmental regulation to attract foreign investors. The southern countries which are endowed with lots of natural resources has long been staying under poverty and the only way to be out of this situation is opening up their economies and speed up industrialization development through the foreign investors. On the other hand, the North countries business feared that if the developing countries lower cost of operation through labour intensive and resources then they stand a chance to lose value or capture the market. The developed countries argued that they have more severe and effective regulations on environmental (Duchin et al., 1995, Xu, 2000) compare to the developing countres, but the World Trade Organization has pro tected the exported products from developing countries. The North claims that this is unfair business and they requested global environmental standard to form level playing field (Chudnovsky and Lopez 1999; Xu 2000). This claim however was seen as another form of trade barriers by the developing countres. The environmental problems such as climate change and ozone layer depletion is global issue rather than situated in a particular place. We see integration of the consequences of market and the failure of government in the change of global environmental. There is a lot divergence tendency due to disparate impacts across the locations in a manner of governance response. This disparate come from a greater vulnerability of developing countries and at the same time from the circumstantial factors. Even if the environmental impacts were equally distributed between the North and South countries, the developing countries could still suffer most in the virtue of the fact that they come from a lower economical base. The impacts of the environmental degradation the (IPCC (2001) observed are expected to be greater in south countries in terms of loss of life and relative effects on the investment and the economy in general. These disparate impacts are exacerbated by the disparities in the nature of the remedial actions. The willingness of the developed countries to the environmental improvement and for the goods and services whose production has resulted to environmental degradation, generally exceed that of the developing countries in terms of their ability to pay. Thus in the shadow of markets, the gain-cost analysis, that is, the benefits of producing the carbondioxide by driving automobiles in the North highways may outweigh the cost of drought in the South countries. This wealth-based theory is contrast to the call for equal entitlement to clean and safe environment (Boyce, 2002). In the real sense, efficiency is not the only criterion to social decisions that include the decisions to invest in the mitigation and adaptation to the global environmental degradation. The influence of politics also promotes actions on some importance matters and inaction on others. For example, the 1997 Montreal protocol on ozone depletion proposed a worldwide phase out of the use of chlofluorocarborns was rejected by America and Canada on the ground that the scientific evidence are uncertain and the treaty would impose heavy spending on the US economy. As the rate of the carbondioxide emitted to the environment continues to rise, the focus of the international has shifted from prevention to adaptation. This change increases probability of outcomes that varies across countries, showing differences in their ability to cater for measures required to adapt to climate degradation. The main issue in the international climate talks is the right of allocating the properties to the carbon absorptive capacity of the atmosphere. These relay both barrier and an opportunity to some countries. For instance the principles allocation stemmed from the historical emission levels which in the real sense been greatly contributed by the industrialized countries in the world in the North. This principle is not acceptable by the less developed countries that per capita emission is very little. Environmental degradation and Human Security The environmental degradation arise in the 29th century as the main issue of political controversy, its influence on the developing countries national security policy is however more recent. Environment degradation has been the focus in the developed countries especially United State but the idea of national security entered the public discourse reentry. The early research of the impact of environment degradation on human security is general and subjective in nature, it reveal the imaginable association between environmental change and the national or human security. However, the direction of association and the degree of linkage remains an issue of debate. There is also clear recommendation on how to translate this linkage into policy guidance on the environmental degradation. The environmental degradation is linked to their overall influence of the survival of human, well-being and productivity. Human being and social linkages has become the focus that is to be secured from the environment threat. The change in the environment can impose direct and immediate impact to the life humankind. For instance, the scarcity of water may not lead to conflict but still engender threats by causing the dehydration related disorders, reduction of the production of food, and disheartening the livelihood opportunities. The environmental degradation causes threat to human survival, well-being and dignity. The environmental degradation posses a variety of impacts that ranges from economic productivity to political wavering among others. The environmental degradation can also affects a diversity of issues ranging from families, communities, social organizations, various identity group, diasporas, government and biological species of various kinds. While some of the environme ntal threats are localized, others are extensive ands trans-scale in nature. Research shows that conflict can be driven by natural resource degradation and scarcity and by competing to be in charge of places where there are abundant resources. Some of the countries of concern are Afghanistan, Iraq, the great lake regions, Somalia among others. The connections between the environmental degradation and human security are vast and complex. The ecological impact of mass movement of refugees or warfare is an example mostly experienced in the developing countries. However, the environmental issues can be a major concerns for dialogue, non-military mechanisms for communication, and greater unified understanding. The research on the human security has mainly focus on the Southern world (poor countries) as the main victim and the scoundrel of the environmental threats. However, the attitudes of consumption of the North countries is main contributor to many human insecurity on the scarce and plenty resources in the Southern countries. The conflict over diamonds in Sierra Leone in 1990s, for example, was extensive because the markets for diamond in the developed countries were unaware to the origin of those diamonds. It is clear that the start of violent conflict has no hearty connection with the environmental threat. The environmental factors are rarely the single contributors of conflict, but ethnicity, ideology, and power politics are all directly linked. However, environmental degradation increases the magnitude and the period of conflict, that is, the attempts to develop strong empirical forecasts of conflict on the ground on the environmental threats have had a poor response of success because of the connection of social, economic and political factors that are involved. Environmental degradation and clean water Although most of the developing countries do not have enough industries to create considerable water pollution, smog and heavy concentrations of airborne particles are common incident in major cities of the less developed countries. There are few industries in the less developed countries as compared to the more developed countries and hence due to the small number of industries in the developing countries, they less often contribute to severe water problems. The more severe problems of water is cause by the trans-boundary pollution since the neighboring countries especially the developed countries, produces airborne pollution due to excess emission from their extensive industries. The northern and northwestern parts in Afghanistan for example received large amount of pollutants that come from the Aral sedimentary basin. Extensive industrializations in the developed countries here as we see pose detrimental impact to the less developed countries. It has been documented that the pesti cides originating from the developed countries finds their way to the neighboring developing countries through the air current or rainfall. The chemical weapons that were used for example during the war between the Afghanistan and the Soviets had caused a serious damage to the environment and the fragile ecosystem in general in the neighboring developing countries. The use of these chemicals weapons has polluted the soil in most of the area of the countries where this war occurred. It is worth noting that billions of people worldwide, the vast prevalence of who live in developing countries lack access to clean drinking water. Lack of providence to quality water has caused lots of forecaster of infant and child survival in various developing countries. Many incidences of parasitic and contagious disorders are carried in the organic water pollution, which are the by-products of the animals waste. The effects of pollution whether known or not are caused by usage of the pesticides. The organic pollutants used in the industry and in agricultural farms find there way into the human and the animals fatty tissue where they caused severe parasite related disorders in human and animals respectively. Export dependency has a negative influence on the quality of the domestic environment of the developing countries that include the quality of the drinking water in those countries. Thus, the association between the universal dependence and the water quality is interceded by several factors. The quality of water and health is very crucial and they are connected with other factors that are a function of international processes. Hebert, 1994 observed that virtually every physical quality of life including clean water mostly improved by the level of economic development of a country. The development of a country depends on its position in the world system. An important concept is how it organized its economy. The more lateral to the world economy the more likely the country is to depend on an agrarian economy. Environmental change can have a detrimental impact on peoples lives ands the changes may even transcend into the future to affects the lives of the cohort to come. Water as a resource here provides a good example of these various impacts and their multifaceted interaction. The research revealed that over 2 billions people resides in water stressed basins and are cross-country, multi- -subjects effects and multiple impacts. Environmental degradation and social relation The distribution of power related variables, like income, education, race and ethnicity are related to the environmental stresses. The societies, which comprise of people, illiterate people or come from the marginalized racial and social groups, will tend to have greater environmental threats than their friends whose residents are literate, wealthy, or belong to historical prevailing racial and ethnical groups. A research on this issue found that the inverse linked between the average incomes and the toxic harmful may occur from the market dynamics where the poor people are drawn to this location because of the properties of low values. A community with greater power dipatities has more environmental degradation. The disparity of power affects the strength and the duration of pollution and depletion of resources. This study were focused by the research suggesting that the environmental degradation related with income and that the developed countries have reached to an extend beyond which more income gains are linked with the improvement of the environments. The only way to attained conducive environment in most countries is by becoming rich (Beckerman, 1992). Torras and boyce (1998) investigate the impacts of social relation on the environmental quality. They analyzed the vitiations in air pollution in various countries, water pollution, and the percentage of the pollution in relation to access to clean water and sanitations facilities. Apart from the per capita income and the ration of income distribution, their research included adult literacy and political rights and the civil liberties concerning the distribution of power. In less developed countries, the coefficient on the rights and literacy variables revealed the expected signs in all system. The results found that higher literacy and the greater rights were linked conducive environmental quality. By controlling other variables, the calculate effects of income inequality were found to be incompatible. It was suggested that either rights or literacy incarcerate the most aspect of power disparities or the quality of the income distribution data is poor. The weaker results was however , found on the developed countries, indicating that literacy and rights are most significant especially when there are low average income. Other research has also shown that the political right can be vital factor to determine the outcomes of the environment. Scruggs (1998) observe greater rights of having a significant favorable effects on sulphure dioxide concentrations, weaker effects on particulates and adverse effects on the dissolve oxygen concentration. Further study concerning the impact of power disparities on the environmental quality which come from case study of the fifty United States by Boyce et al. (1999) shows that state with more equal distribution of power had well-built environmental policies which result to conducive environment. Rapid environment degradation has exerted lot of pressure on the economic sustainability of the less developed countries. This has resulted to the failure of these countries achieving their sustainable development as targeted. In Pakistan, for example about sixteen percent of the land mass is subject to salinisation from excessive water with the same problems as this occurring in most parts of Asia and African countries. Mismanagement of irrigation alone in Pakistan cost over $200 millions in a year in reduced yields. In India, pumping of groundwater has enabled intensification of agricultural products; however, there is a big dropped of water tables from approximately 10 metres to about 15 metres below the earth surface in the year 1970 to between 400 and 450 metres by 1990. Many areas in developing countries have wells and boreholes that have been left and the entire communities moved to other better areas (Roy Shah, 2002). Lack of environmental and pollution control has resulted to reduction in farming and disorders, which cause the decline in the economic growth in most regions of the developing countries. This is due to overspending of their little savings in the treatment of the patients suffering from pollution related diseases or purchase and imports of foods to filled the gap or feed the population. Such environmental degradation can have impacts on the social attitudes and may result to unrest by the affected communities. In 1990s, for example South Korea experienced over seventy anti-pollution unrest. China on the other hand has faced local protests due to rapid increase in pollution. Developing countries has experienced a reduction of natural resources over the past years because of liquidated consumption. The research reveals that if the gains from the natural resources are put in physical capital and human capital to promote growth, then there will be a continued progress to enhance the wellbeing. It is important to save the profits that are derived from a boom of natural resource such as rapid increase in oil price. If this is wisely saved then it might be a better opportunities in the future to invest such profits efficiently to physical or human capital hence reducing more pressure on the resource base. Environmental degradation and health risk Majority of the people in developing country are poor and are directly exposed to severe environmental health threat and hazards from polluted air, water and animal-transmitted disorders such as bird flu, anthrax and the rest. There have been many concerns over the environmental improvement for the last decades with about eighty percent of people from developing countries are now able to access clean drinking water. However, the access to sanitation by these poor people has remained lower at an approximate of forty four percent. this may be a reason as per to why water pollutions remained the key problems. According World Bank (2005) most rivers in the developing countries are fifty percent lower than the WHO standard requirement. The environmentally related diseases in developing countries are now much greater than that from malnutrition. The research as founded that most of the women and children suffered greatly from the indoor air pollution resulting to millions premature deaths every year across the less developed countries. Children and illiterate women in poor households in the developing countries suffer 4 times as much from the indoor air pollution compare to men in the higher households (Das Gupta et al. 2004). The health of human as well as that of animals is increasingly related in the developing countries when people meet animals especially when they moved out to wildlife site or into areas with intensive farming. Here wildlife acts as a mass where the pathogens come from as with avian bird flu and possible SARS and HIV/AIDS. The high rate of environmental degradation has posed the developing countries to high vulnerable risks and this will rise with rapid change in climate. The developing countries has over the past years experience range of climatic changes. Livelihoods and the social networks have adapted ways to cope with the severe natural disasters. Management and control of floods has been essential in the fishing and farming practices by poor residents of the developing countries. Despite these efforts, the natural disasters have become more frequent and severe leading causing loses of life, conflict and the destructions of properties. Environmental degradation is considered as the main cause of high rate of poverty in the less developed countries. They suffered most as they struggle adapt with this severe natural disasters. For instance, the slums residents occupied land, which is highly vulnerable to environmental hazards such as pollutions, landslides, and flood. Such areas are further aggravated by the damage to the protection assets like coastal mangrove, coral reefs and riverine wetlands which in results to high exposure to floods as seen in some countries such as Bangladesh, Siere Leon and the rest. North countries like United State, Canada, or South countries such as China and India are the some of the emitters of greenhouse gases. A part from just emitting of these gases, these countries just as the rest of other countries in the world will experience some of the greatest impacts of climate change. Already countries such as Asia face about ninety percent of the environment degradation related risks in the world and more than a half a million people died every year. Development aid investment in the developing countries has been seen vulnerable to environmental degradation. It is predicted that two degrees rise in temperature is expected in the futures and this will reduce incomes from farming by twenty five percent. The study recommends urgent need be carried out to check the rate of energy pollution from both domestic and industries and proper investment that adapt to land use, infrastructure and other structures to environmental degradation. The world economy environmental impact in the developing countries is exacerbated with its impact felt beyond the core centers of development. For instance, China is now one of the leading cement consumption countries with an increased importation of timber. This has resulted to an increased in revenues collection in the exporting countries but at the same time increasing the rate of natural depletion. Such depletion makes those areas vulnerable to environmental disasters such as high rate of pollution, landslide and climate change. Environmental degradation and Human freedom of choice and action Environmental degradation has several impacts on the way people reason and act. The most affected group are the residents from the less developed countries. Its is believed that the developed countries are the key contributors of the environmental degradation. Owing to their rich environment and level of technology, they are able to minimize the magnitude of adverse effects that result from environment degradation. The impacts of human activities on environment have rise in the past few decades. While most of these changes can be considered as beneficial to humankind, there much increase of the adverse effects. Analysis of these effects their consequences to people have not been possible because of many factors that also contributed to the change in the ecosystem. Some people particularly who are perplexed by these relative wealth, the problems is scarcely noticeable. Yet millions of other people especially from the less developed countries experience great detrimental disasters of t he environmental degradation. The environmental degradation such as pollution is now not necessary measures that can be used to gauged the linked between the human and the environment. The dependent of a person on an environment services focus directly the profound processes that underlie the origin of the earth. The environment is an essential component that extensively provides life and support to all organisms. The effects of the environmental degradation to humankind can be either direct or indirect. The direct effects through some biological or ecological ways. For example, the impairment of the water cleansing capacity of wetlands may have detrimental impacts to those who drink that water. On the other hand building of dams may increase the breeding of mosquitoes that eventuality may led to malaria related disorders. Indirect effects on the other hand create problems on humankind in a more complex causation, which includes, social, economic, and the political routes. At these situations, people normally take response in making decision, which actually could lead to a better way of adapting to these detrimental disasters. For instance, when land under cultivation become saline, the crop production are reduced and hence this might lead to malnutrition in human, retardation of the child growth, and vulnerability to infectious disorders. When this detrimental climate change exacerbate beyond the threshold power and ability, political tension might arise leading to stagnating or reduction of the country economy. This dynamic interaction can severely jeopardize the various features of humankind. The impacts of the environmental degradation vary from one place to another. The effects is much greatly felt by the developing countries, that is, literate, poorly resourced and disadvantaged societies are particularly the most vulnerable to these global climate change. Most of the less developed countries heavily relied on the integrity and functions of local ecosystems and may lack means to the services of the ecosystems. Insolvency due to the impacts of the environmental degradation might at a time cause a downward spiral for such group of people. In general, the availability of ecosystem tends to reduce human ability to achieved well being status. It is worth noting that the linkages of environment conditions and the flow of services to the social being or people are quite varied and multifaceted. Most of the environmental degradation is pre-arranged but many are unintentional consequences of the human activities. The intervention of human in nature has experienced surprised consequences, where some have harmed and exacerbated the disadvantaged one. Equitable and sustainable of the society depends on the association with the environments and abilities of a person to make sound decision and act immediately where possible to avert the problems from occurring. The four important categories of ecosystem that are helpful to human are provision, regulating, cultural and supporting services. The provision functions of the environment provide goods and services that sustain different aspects of human. However, the reduction in food, fiber and other essentials products has severe impacts in the life of humankind. The regulating functio ns affects human life in various ways, this include the environment purification of air, fresh water availability, reduced floods or drought, stability of the local and regional climate among others. On culture, the environment provides human with totemic species, trees, scenic landscape, geological functions, rivers or lakes. These affect the human recreational, educational and spiritual aspects. Reference: Brown, Lester. Redefining Security, Worldwatch Paper, Vol. 14, Worldwatch Institute: Washington, 1977. Clark, William C. and Munn, R.E. (Eds). Sustainable development of the biosphere. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1986. Deudney, Daniel. The case against linking environmental degradation and national security. Millennium, 1990. Pearce, F. (1994). Siberia at the crossroads. Popular science, 245 (2), 36 pp ADB. Asian environment outlook, Manila: Asian Development Bank, 2005. Homer-Dixon, T.F. Environment, scarcity, and violence. Princeton Univ. Press: Princeton, 1999. Satterthwaite, D. and Steele, P. (eds). Reducing Poverty and Sustainin the Environment, The Politics of Local Engagement, London: Earthscan, 2005. Wheeler, D. Who suffer from Indoor Air Pollution? Evidence from Bangladesh, World Bank Policy Research working paper 3428, 2004. DFID. Climate change and Poverty: Making Development Resilient to Climate change, London: DFID, 2004. FAO. Towards a Food-secure Asia and Pacific: Regional Strategic Framework, Bangkok: FAO Asia Pacific Regional Office, 2004. Pearce, D. Investing in Environmental, wealth for Poverty Reduction. New York: UNDP, 2005. Jodha, N.S. Rural Common Property Resources: Contributions and Crisis, Economic and Political Weekly, 1990. Mayers, J. and Vermeulen, S. Company-community Forestry Partnerships: From Raw Deal to Mutual Gains? London: IIED, 2001. World Bank. Environment Strategy for the World Bank in the East Asia and Pacific Region, 2005a. UNEP. An Overview of Our Changing Environment, GEO Year Book 2004/5, Nairobi, 2004, World Bank. Little Green Data Book 2005. Washington: The World Bank, 2005b. Zhen Liu. China: the Loess Plateau Watershed Rehabilitation Project, paper for the World Bank, Shanghai Conference on Poverty Reduction, 2004.

The Effects of Global Warming :: essays research papers

The effects on Earth from its inhabitants is causing the temperature on the Earth to rise, and creating many problems that will begin to occur in the coming decades. The greenhouse effect is the absorption of energy radiated from the Earth's surface by carbon dioxide and other gases in the atmosphere, causing the atmosphere to become warmer. The greenhouse effect is what is causing the temperature on the Earth to rise. Today, major changes are taking place. People are conducting an inadvertent global experiment by changing the face of the entire planet. We are destroying the ozone layer, which allows life to exist on the Earth's surface. All of these activities are unfavorably altering the composition of the biosphere and the Earth's heat balance. Through these actions we come to the pinnacle of an eco-revolution. "The Larsen B ice shelf†¦ has shattered and separated from the continent as a result of warming." (USA TODAY, 1) As the global temperature steadily rises so do the results of this global heat wave, impacting the environment. Ice which has remained frozen for 100’s of thousands of years has begun to melt, and break off into the ocean. Once separated from the ice shelf it is only a matter of time before the ice is reverted back to water, causing a rise in global sea levels. The end result of this melt is costal flooding as the sea level rises beyond its natural barriers, and spills into areas below our current sea level. In addition to changes being made to land masses, global warming is also impacting nature, which relies heavily on the delicate temperature balance which currently exists. â€Å"At lease 70 species of frogs, mostly mountain-dwellers that had nowhere to go to escape the creeping heat, have gone extinct because of climate change..† (Climateark.org, 1) Animals driven to the point of extinction due to the effects of global warming is a very concerning factor. The environment is being drastically changed due to small changes in global temperatures, 1 degree in climate change is devastating entire eco-systems. Not only has global warming impacted nature, and wildlife but it has also been shown to be a factor increasing disastrous weather. â€Å"†¦hurricanes and typhoons have become strong and longer lasting over the past 30 years. These upswings correlate with a rise in sea surface temperature.† (Roach, 1) Rising ocean temperatures due to an increase in planetary temperature, creates more powerful and disastrous weather.

Computer Technology :: Argumentative Technological Computer papers

Computer Technology I. Introduction Over the past few decades, the advances of computer technology have undoubtedly increased the rate of information exchange. Communication across the globe is now done with ease, convenience, and speed. Accessing online bank accounts, instant messaging, online auctions, and communication via electronic email are just few examples of normal transactions that occur today. Although these advances have provided a tremendous positive impact on our society, it has also caused some controversial ethical issues, namely the privacy of personal information. Computers have been used as a tool to invade personal privacy for various purposes such as direct marketing, the sharing and selling of consumer information, and government surveillances. Furthermore, the advent of the Internet as an infrastructure of connected computers has been used to exchange non-public personal information to unknown parties. As a result, privacy concerns have risen as computer technology rapidly becomes pervasive. Beca use of the depth and many facets of the privacy of personal information, this research paper focuses on the privacy of consumer information. II. Current State on the Usage of Consumer Information Consumer information is used for a wide variety of applications. Typical usage of consumer information today include target selling/marketing, sharing databases, and the credit bureau's use of consumer information to gauge personal credit ratings. Businesses may obtain consumer information from various sources such as customer questionnaires, surveys, commercial transactions, web activity, application forms, and many more. Personal consumer information gathered from these examples are then used by businesses to customize marketing efforts, data mine consumer databases to recognize buying patterns, and evaluate credit risks of applicants. A few examples of the kinds of information collection and usage practices are: An automobile dealership's web site offers help to consumers in rebuilding their credit ratings. To take advantage of this offer, consumers are urged to provide their name, address, social security number, and telephone number through the web site's online information form. Consumer information may then be sold or shared to other automobile dealerships to provide specific, targeted offers for the consumer. A mortgage company operates an online pre-qualification service for home loans. The online application form requires that each potential borrower provide his or her name, social security number, home and business telephone numbers, e-mail address, previous address, type of loan sought, current and former employer's name and address, length of employment, income, sources of funds to be applied toward closing, and approximate total in savings.