Pediatric Ethics and the Surgical Assignment of Sex Essay -- Medical G

Pediatric Ethics and the Surgical Assignment of Sex One in every 2,000 babies born every year are neither male nor female, they are what is known as hermaphrodites. These children and their families are forced into a life of hardship and encounter many conflicts, which need to be addressed. Should the parents choose the assignment of the sex to a newborn child and subject them to a life of surgery and doctor visits? There are 100 to 200 pediatric surgical reassignments every year. Many of these children are subjected to doctor visits for the rest of their childhood. Worst of all, many of these children find themselves resembling or identifying with the gender opposite of that which their parents chose for them. Conditions That Qualify for Gender Reassignment: Over the past five decades, surgical interventions have been recommended as standard procedure for infants who are born with either ambiguous genitalia or who suffer from traumatic genital injury. Surgical advances in this century have made it possible for physicians to choose a gender for the child and then sculpt the appropriate genitalia. Some of the conditions that demand gender reassignment for children can be a result of chromosomal or hormonal defects. Typically males have XY chromosomes, and women have XX chromosomes; however, hermaphrodites are neither male nor female. One reason comes from Turner's Disease where the chromosomes are XO, and there is a sex chromosome missing. Another mutation is the XXY chromosomes, known as Klinefelter's Disease, which occurs in an average of one out of every 1000 births. There is also, Mosaicism, where different cells split into different parts, making up XY and XO chromosomes. Hormonal complications can change the gender... ... who believe the same. Surgery may never even be needed. Conclusion: To protect the lives of intersexed children, it is in their best interest if the parents wait until after the child reaches puberty before going through with the surgery. Surgery should only be done if the child suffers from further health risks. References 1) J. Money and A. Ehrhardt, Man and Woman, Boy and Girl (Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1972) 2) P.K. Donahoe, and J.J. Schnitzer, "Evaluation of the infant who has ambiguous genitalia, and principles of operative management," Seminars in Pediatric Surgery 5 (1996) 3) http://www.ukia.co.uk/diamond/ped_eth.htm 4) http://mind.phil.vt.edu/sex/emma.html 5) http://www.afn.org/~sfcommed/pedethics.htm 6) http://www.isna.org/library/recommendations.html 7) http://bmei.org/jbem/volume4/num2/scipione.htm

Chinese Painting Genres :: essays papers

Chinese Painting Genres Painting Featuring Taoist, Monk and Supernatural This kind of painting described the figure of Taoist, Buddist, ghost or supernatural in legend. Painting Featuring Aquatic Animals This kind of painting described the figure of aquatic animals, such as dragon or insect, etc. Male This kind of painting described the figure of man. It was corresponded with Painting Court Lady. Painting Featuring Birds and Animals This kind of painting described the figure of bird. Court Lady This kind of painting described the figure of woman. Painting Featuring Beast This kind of painting described the figure of wild animals or domestic animals, such as tiger, lion, cow, goat, dog, horse, etc. Painting Featuring Flowers This kind of painting described the figure of flower and grass. Vertical Hanging Scroll Painting One of the mount format of Chinese painting. There have plain edge around the painting and shafts on its top and bottom. It could be hung on wall vertically. Long Handscroll Horizontal painting which was mounted to a scroll could be spread out, there have plain edge around the painting and shafts on its left and right. Long Handscroll should be read from right to left. An Album of Paintings or Calligraphy The album which made up with the small paintings in same size. Usually its number of page was oven, and had various style, such as butterfly style, etc. Fan Face This kind of painting is painted on the face of folding fan or round fan. Blue and Green Landscape The landscapes painting which executed in mineral green and azurite colors was called as Blue and Green Landscape. It divided by Big Blue and Green and Small Blue and Green. On the base of ochre color, Small Blue and Green executed mineral green and azurite colors; on the base of outline, Big Blue and Green executed arranging colors with decorative atmosphere. Ink and Light Colors Landscape On the base of ink draft,this kind of painting was completed by arranging light ochre color.It was called as "Ink and Light Colors Landscape".The painters in the Yuan dynasty were talented in painting the kind of painting,especially Huang Gongwang. Ink Landscape The landscapes painting which executed in ink but not colors was called as "Ink Landscape".It was said that ink landscapes originated from the Tang Dynasty.Later it became the favorite painting style in the literary painters. Literary Painting Differentiated to the painting by professional painter,this kind of painting was painted by the poet or literary.The style of this kind of paintings was called as "Literary Painting" and expressed in elegant and free atmosphere. Chinese Painting Genres :: essays papers Chinese Painting Genres Painting Featuring Taoist, Monk and Supernatural This kind of painting described the figure of Taoist, Buddist, ghost or supernatural in legend. Painting Featuring Aquatic Animals This kind of painting described the figure of aquatic animals, such as dragon or insect, etc. Male This kind of painting described the figure of man. It was corresponded with Painting Court Lady. Painting Featuring Birds and Animals This kind of painting described the figure of bird. Court Lady This kind of painting described the figure of woman. Painting Featuring Beast This kind of painting described the figure of wild animals or domestic animals, such as tiger, lion, cow, goat, dog, horse, etc. Painting Featuring Flowers This kind of painting described the figure of flower and grass. Vertical Hanging Scroll Painting One of the mount format of Chinese painting. There have plain edge around the painting and shafts on its top and bottom. It could be hung on wall vertically. Long Handscroll Horizontal painting which was mounted to a scroll could be spread out, there have plain edge around the painting and shafts on its left and right. Long Handscroll should be read from right to left. An Album of Paintings or Calligraphy The album which made up with the small paintings in same size. Usually its number of page was oven, and had various style, such as butterfly style, etc. Fan Face This kind of painting is painted on the face of folding fan or round fan. Blue and Green Landscape The landscapes painting which executed in mineral green and azurite colors was called as Blue and Green Landscape. It divided by Big Blue and Green and Small Blue and Green. On the base of ochre color, Small Blue and Green executed mineral green and azurite colors; on the base of outline, Big Blue and Green executed arranging colors with decorative atmosphere. Ink and Light Colors Landscape On the base of ink draft,this kind of painting was completed by arranging light ochre color.It was called as "Ink and Light Colors Landscape".The painters in the Yuan dynasty were talented in painting the kind of painting,especially Huang Gongwang. Ink Landscape The landscapes painting which executed in ink but not colors was called as "Ink Landscape".It was said that ink landscapes originated from the Tang Dynasty.Later it became the favorite painting style in the literary painters. Literary Painting Differentiated to the painting by professional painter,this kind of painting was painted by the poet or literary.The style of this kind of paintings was called as "Literary Painting" and expressed in elegant and free atmosphere.

Adderall Abuse and Doctor Awareness Essay

Adderall is used in the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, but has been abused in many circumstances. ADHD has been known to produce certain symptoms, which can have serious negative effects. Adderall helps in the reduction of these symptoms. However, the addictive nature of Adderall has made it one of the most abused medications without prescriptions from medical practitioners. Adderall has, nevertheless, been used effectively as attention stimulant that helps the patients to perform well throughout the day (Helms, 1476). It is, therefore, only important that awareness on the use of Adderall in persons with ADHD be increased in order to maximize the positive effects of the psycho-stimulant treatment as opposed to its negative effects. The use of Adderall in ADHD Methylphenidate has often been used to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. However, many of the scientific research and studies have placed Adderall above methylphenidate in order of efficacy. Adderall, when used by persons with ADHD, it is more efficacious and lasts relatively longer in stimulating the persons’ attention (Joan and Davis 56). Further, it is more effective when applied in small doses than when used excessively. This is one of the issues that bring a point of concern in as far as Adderall abuse is concerned. Its excessive use is not what makes it effective, but rather; it only creates more side effects. Adderall is more efficient in psycho-stimulation due to the fact that it has the ability to increase the dopamine levels while preventing the re-uptake of the same (Joan and Davis 58). See more: Sleep Deprivation Problem Solution Speech Essay Side effects of Adderall and Public Awareness Despite the positive effects that Adderall has in psycho stimulation, it also, like other treatment, poses serious and adverse negative effects; the perfect reason why it is important to undertake an intensive awareness on the use of Adderall in the treatment of ADHD. Some of the most adverse side effects that require effective medical response include rapid and uneven heartbeat, light-headedness, which may result in fainting, where there is high blood pressure that causes problems like unsettled concentration, and where the user feels restless and finds it extremely difficult to concentrate (Helms, 1476). Blurred vision and severe headache, excessive discomfort at the chest due to severe chest pains, seizure and numbness are also among some of the adverse side effects of Adderall treatment of ADHD. Insomnia, diarrhoea and constipation, appetite loss and weight loss, loss of sex drive and impotence, dizziness and headache are also some of the side effects although they are a bit mild (Donatelle 232). Despite all these Adderall use related side effects, it is important to note that often, people have over-used the treatment. It has been identified to be addictive hence increasing the chances of its abuse. Just like other treatments, excessive use of Adderall does not help treat ADHD. In fact, it only makes the disorder worse by creating after use problems like troubled concentration, diarrhoea, dizziness, and headache. Instead of stimulating concentration, it only succeeds in creating more attention problems when used in excess (Andrews, et al, 226). Scientific studies have shown that the use of Adderall by pregnant women is extremely dangerous to the unborn child. The rats used in one of the studies indicated that there exist long-term behavioural and neurological changes hat emanates from prenatal and early postnatal amphetamine exposure (Grilly 101). It has also been established that there are chances of low birth weight or even premature birth and the baby may show withdrawal symptoms if the mother used Adderall during pregnancy most especially when she abused the medication. In fact, sudden deaths of children have been linked with the use of Adderall treatment drugs. Consequently, in some nations, the government has made an initiative to highly control the sale of the drugs (Grilly 101). More studies were have also been commissioned to establish the effects of Adderall treatments. They have indicated that there are high risks of a patient developing cardiac defects resulting from the use of Adderall drugs (Donatelle, 232). The rate of heart beat is increased and consequently the blood pressure, when drugs of amphetamine category such as Adderall are used in the treatment of any disorder or disease. The situation gets worse when overused. However, Adderall drugs are only more dangerous when used in a way not prescribed by certified physicians or when administered in response to addiction demands (Moore, 54). Caution is also given to patients with pre-existing mental or cardiac illness since the drug has the ability of aggravating the situation. Persons with a history of drug abuse are also advised not to use Adderall, but may resort to other medical options that respond to the same problem of ADHD. This is due to the addiction nature of Adderall that makes it possible for people to abuse (Donatelle, 232). The above mentioned issues evidently illustrate that the use of Adderall has side effects; something that is shared by a number of treatment compounds. However, when used in small doses, it is more effective in stimulating one’s attention in the process of combating attention deficit. Excessive use of Adderall is extremely harmful to one’s body given the fact that it produces many side effects that in the end override the intended benefits and functions (Grilly, 343). It is, therefore, advisable for the doctors to undertake close and effective observation of their patients to ensure that there is no abuse. Prescriptions should be normal and standard taking into consideration the action of the drug in the body and the half-life of the different strains of Adderall used. It is medically unethical for doctors to provide prescriptions without confirming the status of the patient’s body. Medical examination to identify the pulse rate is necessary. In addition, medical history of the patient with relation to mental illness, cardiac problems or drug abuse or addiction is of primary importance before making a decision of putting persons with ADHD in Adderall treatment (Andrews, et al, 226). Awareness of the drug use should be enhanced most specially in colleges and universities where students have in many cases used Adderall as study drugs to make them stay awake for long periods without sleep as they study. This academic use of Adderall has contributed immensely to its overuse and addiction thereby affecting many users negatively without them realizing it. The use of Adderall has also been identified in sports to an extent that many spots organizations banned the use of the drugs by athletes without any confirmed practitioners prescriptions. It is used as a performance enhancing substance, which is against the sporting policies (Andrews, et al, 226). Adderall has also in the past been used as recreational substance due to its stimulant nature. Some people crush and snort it while others mix it with water in order to use it as injections. Some people use it together with alcohol in order to achieve high level recreation (Moore, 54). The above mentioned different uses of Adderall indicate the extent to which the drug is abused. Awareness is thus important in order to make people understand that it is only meant for the treatment of ADHD, which should also be done in small doses. In order to reinforce the effective use of Adderall, majorly for the stimulation of attention in people with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, the government ought to legislate against over-the-counter sale of the drug. It should only be made available in hospitals where patients are given after the certification and prescription by the doctors, which should be followed by proper medical examination. Persons found selling the drugs to people who are not prescribed for should be prosecuted (Andrews, et al, 226). The problem that faces the administration of Adderall is that there is not a single standardized dosage because adjustments are allowed according to the patients’ therapeutic needs. However, it is important to consider the fact that Adderall must only be administered in lower dosages despite the adjustments. First and foremost, it is absolutely not recommended for persons or children under the age of 3 years old. Between 3 and 5 years old, the dosage should be 2.5 mg daily with recommended increase of 2.5 mg on weekly intervals. For 6 or more years old children, it is advisable to start them on a 5 mg once or twice a day with increments of the same at weekly intervals on daily basis. The drug administration at all ages should be stopped whenever optimal response is achieved (Grilly, 343). Conclusion Adderall is effective in the treatment of ADHD, but must be ethically administered. Doctors should prescribe the medication after undertaking detailed medical examination in order to identify whether the patient qualifies for the use of the drug. It must be used only for therapeutic roles only without disposing the drugs for non-therapeutic use. In order to reinforce the awareness, governments should intervene and pass legislations that control the sale and use of the drug.

Food Security or Food Sovereignty: the Case of Land Grabs Essay

The last decade has witnessed a serious change in the distribution and accessibility of food. In 2010 Ethiopia was home to 2.8 million people in need of emergency food aid; yet this country had concurrently sold more than 600,000 hectares of agricultural land to transnational companies that export the majority of their produce (Reuters, 2011; Economist, 2009; Green, 2011). Ethiopia remains a country facing great food insecurity, which is a lack of access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food (WHO, 2011); a paradigm that focuses upon the financial and distributive aspects of providing food. Although Ethiopia is just one of many countries facing this dilemma, it illustrates how the issue of food sovereignty is becoming increasingly as important as that of food security. This paper will address the role that sovereignty plays in light of mass foreign acquisition of land in countries which face high levels of food insecurity. The importance of food security and food sovereignty will be exemplified within the context of ‘land grabbing’ in a demonstrative case study of Ethiopia. Security or Sovereignty? The difference between food security and food sovereignty may seem like mere semantics, but in the hyper-globalized world wherein transnational companies may privately own significant portions of arable land in countries facing food insecurity, it is not just a matter of word play. When these companies choose to export the entire crop grown on such lands and when the farmland has been taken from uncompensated smallholder farmers. Disparity of wealth and land ownership is not a new phenomenon. However, the degree to which agricultural lands are owned within areas of food insecurity makes food sovereignty as vital a factor as food security. An analysis of these concepts and their global implications is pressing, as over 963 million people do not have enough to eat. Most of them live in developing countries, and sixty-five percent of them live in only seven countries: China, India, Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Pakistan and Ethiopia (FAO, 2011). Furthermore, e ach year more people die due to hunger and malnutrition than to AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined (Global Food Security, 2011a). The World Food Summit, held in 1996, declared that ideal food security includes the global population, whereby all people have access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food, encompassing both the physical availability and the economic access (WHO, 2011). The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child both stipulate that it is the intrinsic right of all people to have access to food (United Nations, 1948; United Nations, 1990). However, the responsibility to enact these rights rests mostly on the nation-state, not the international community. On the other hand, some argue that repeated affirmations of human rights within the international realm do imply some global responsibility (Riddell, 2007). The theoretical ideal is, therefore, that food security exists when all people in all places have access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food. Clearly that theoretical aim has not been met. Furthermore, if current mechanisms are not facilitating the aim it may require consideration of entirely new models of how countries engage with one another (Pogge, 2002). Typical measurement of food security is limited to a specific place, such as a nation, city or household. USAID (USAID, 2011) uses the household as a measurement, whereas the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) programs are nationally operated, thus limiting the global goals and human rights to the nation-state. Food insecurity also exists in differing levels. One person may be facing a temporary bout of food insecurity, called â€Å"transitory†, while another may be consistently facing it, known as â€Å"chronic† food insecurity. Chronic food insecurity leads to high levels of vulnerability to hunger and famine. The achievement of food security does not necessitate that a country produce sufficient food supplies; but rather that a country is able to provide sufficient safe and nutritious food for its population. Thus, arises the question of food sovereignty: in a world of great economic disparity, will the food supplies of one region be given to another, even in the case where the local population faces chronic food insecurity? Food security means the availability and access to sufficient safe food, whereas food sovereignty involves both ownership and the rights of local people to define local food systems, without first being subject to international market concerns. An important distinction must be made between food sovereignty as a theoretical construct and food sovereignty as a movement. The food sovereignty movement considers that the practices of multi-national corporations are akin to colonization, as such companies buy up large tracts of land and turn local agricultural resources into export cash-crops. [1]As a movement, food sovereignty lacks direction and involves a great diversity of opinion and idea. As a model to re-consider and re-evaluate food, it highlights important challeng es and offers potential remedies to current challenges. Food sovereignty as a theoretical construct, which is the definition that will be used throughout this paper, relates to the ownership and rights of food growers and local communities. Food security and food sovereignty are increasingly of global importance, with concerns not limited just to the developing world. In the 2008 price spike, consumers in Great Britain saw a fifteen-percent rise in average food items, while the BBC tracked some items increasing in cost by more than forty-percent (Global Food Security, 2011a). In the twelve month period before the price spike, the cost of wheat increased by 130% and rice by 74% (ibid). The pinch of paying more for food in developed countries was expressed differently in many developing countries, such as the mass rioting in Yemen, Somalia, Senegal, Pakistan, Mozambique, Indonesia, India, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Haiti, Burkina Faso, the Philippines and Bangladesh. At the same time, the World Resources Institute records sustainable and consistent increases in per capita food production over the last several decades (World Resources Institute, 2011). USAID argues that food insecurity is often a result of poverty (USAID, 2011), while ownership, land rights and sovereignty are not mentioned as causal factors. While it is true that a direct relationship can be found between those who face food insecurity and those who are impoverished, that does not exclude other causes; such as, a lack of sovereignty or oppressive external factors. However, USAID does not take poverty alleviation and/or human rights as its prime reasons for engagement; rather its prime interests are to protect America and to create opportunities for Americans (Riddell, 2007). The European Union community has sought the improvement of food security for the least-developed countries through a plethora of national and international development bodies, while also engaging in massive e xport-based land acquisitions in those same regions (Graham, Aubry, Kunnemann and Suarez, 2011). Ironically, the aim of reaching the Millennium Development Goals (MGDs) with funding and support from the European Union is countered by European Union businesses as they engage in activities that displace and dispossess locals of their land and livelihood. Increasing commercial production does not mean an increase of local or national food security, in particular when these foreign companies are exporting entire crops. This may in fact, lead to increased food insecurity and higher levels of malnutrition and poverty (Ansoms, 2011). Surprisingly, even Harvard University has used its investments in land-acquisition deals (Vidal and Provost, 2011). â€Å"Land Grabbing† A â€Å"land grab† refers to those land acquisitions that have caused displacement, dispossession and disenfranchisement; or, according to the Institute of Development Studies, it may also more broadly refer to the mass purchasing of agricultural lands by transnational companies (Scoones, 2009). Land grabbing is occurring on a scale and at a rate faster than ever known before (Food First, 2011). When over one-hundred papers were presented at the International Conference on Global Land Grabbing in 2011, not one positive outcome could be found for local communities; such as, food security, employment and environmental sustainability (ibid). When such acquisitions occur in places of conflict, post-conflict and/or weak governance there is less monitoring and control and even greater negative impacts (Mabikke, 2011). Furthermore, large-scale land deals increase local food insecurity, as arable land produce is exported rather than reaching the local market; and smallholder farmers m ust purchase foods as opposed to harvesting it on their lands (Food First, 2011). Lester Brown (2011) argues that land purchasing is a part of the global struggle to ensure food security. Food-importing countries are securing overseas supplies by attempting to control the entire supply-chain of food-stuffs, and thus avoid any potential problems that may arise in the process. Furthermore, he notes, that these deals are not only about food security but also water security. Countries such as Saudi Arabia used to produce much higher levels of wheat internally; however, due to declines in available fresh water these land deals have secured required sources of both food and water (Bunting, 2011). Woodhouse and Ganho (2011) argue that the role played by water access in land grabs cannot be under-estimated, including the competition between local and investor in acquiring access to water resources and to sustainable water usage, as well as coping with the problems of creating pollution and chemical run-off. Case studies in Ethiopia demonstrate that access to, and rights of, water sources disproportionately favor investors over local smallholder farmers (Bues, 2011). The United Nations director of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) called these land-lease deals ‘neo-colonialist’ (Economist, 2011b). This statement was echoed by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who warned of a new wave of colonialism (Associated Press, 2011). Madeleine Bunting (2011, p. 1) envisions a â€Å"dystopian future in which millions of the hungry are excluded from the land of their forefathers by barbed wire fences and security guards as food is exported to feed the rich world.† The wider view must, however, include the role of local/national government in facilitating, and in some cases encouraging, the sale of arable land and displacement of peoples. Other analysts have more cautiously labeled the vast selling of agricultural lands to investors as the third wave of outsourcing. The first wave consisted of investors looking for locations with cheaper labour. The second wave was the out-sourcing of middle-class jobs to places such as India because of its advances in information technology. This may be the third wave: the out-sourcing of growing and harvesting of food supplies to locations where there is cheap fertile land. Case Study: Ethiopia Ethiopia is an important case study as it has been claimed to be the epicenter of land deals (Vidal, 2011), and it has also been well known since 1984 as a place where extreme food insecurity exists. The nation is largely agricultural-based. Agricultural products account for 46% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 90% of its exports and 83% of its employment (USAID, 2010). Eight of every ten Ethiopians live in rural areas, a majority of its nearly eighty-million citizens. Average local land holdings are 0.93 hectare (USAID, 2010), which respectively contribute to household food security. Smallholder agriculture provides the most common livelihood for the vast majority of Ethiopians. In 2010 ten percent of Ethiopia’s citizens relied on food aid (Reuters, 2011). In the 2011 appeal for emergency food aid, the United Nations explained that emergency was caused by a shortage of rain in the Somali and Oromiya regions. In response, the Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said that within five-years the country will no longer need food aid, projecting above 10-percent annual economic growth rates. The Economist confirms impressive growth rates, although not as high as the government-published results. Between 2001 and 2010 the annual GDP growth rate was an impressive 8.4%, making it the world’s fifth fastest growing economy during that period (Economist, 2011a). Projections for 2011-2015 suggest average growth at 8.1%, the third fastest in the world (ibid). In contrast to these rosy predictions, USAID, which is one of Ethiopia’s largest donors ($600 million of food aid in 2009-10), outlines that successful agricultural development and food security requires â€Å"100% ownership and buy-in by the Ethiopian people† (USAID, 2010, p. 5). And yet, the Ethiopian government and transnational corporations are doing exactly the opposite, in displacing and dispossessing Ethiopians and handing over control and ownership to non-local corporations and governments. The Economist (2009) highlighted an interesting parallel in the $100-million Saudi investment to grow and export rice, wheat and barley on a 99-year land-lease in Ethiopia, while the United Nations World Food Program plans to spend $116-million, over a five-year period, providing emergency food aid to Ethiopia. In 2008 the Ethiopian famine was compounded as food continued to be exported and did not reach the local market (Dominguez, 2010). Yet fertile Ethiopian agricultural land continues to be leased for as little as $1 per acre (Bunting, 2011). According to Ethiopian government sources, over thirty-six countries have leased land within its borders (Vidal, 2011). Although estimates vary, it is thought that 60—80% of food production in Ethiopia is completed by women. Thus the role of gender is revealed by analysis of those affected by land sales and dispossessions (USAID, 2010). Of those who face the brunt of food shortages and insecurity in Ethiopia, most are women and children (USAID, 2010). Furthermore, areas of large-scale plantations are more likely to be poverty-affected than prosperous in respect to the local populations (Da Via, E. 2011). As a parallel example, case studies from Cambodia show that land grabs do not benefit local residents, and over time resulted in collective action by the local population against political and commercial interests (Schneider, 2011). The massive land-lease deals are not without their supporters, however. The technology transfer, increase in number of jobs and foreign investment are usually cited as having positive effects for the overall benefit of Ethiopia and its citizens. Ethiopian Ambassador to the UK, Berhanu Kabede (2011), published a response arguing that land-leases assist Ethiopia to move towards mechanized agriculture to increase production capability, and as such the government has set aside 7.4 million acres of agricultural land for land-lease deals. The Ambassador further notes that this is only a portion of Ethiopia’s arable land (ibid). The Ambassador highlights some of the positive environmental changes the Ethiopian government has made in recent years, including the planting of 1-billion trees, re-foresting 15-million hectares of land and a national plan to become carbon neutral by 2025 (ibid). Ambassador Kabede did not mention some of the negative impacts the vast land sales will have; such as, displacement of local farmers, uncompensated dispossession of their land, continued food scarcity as investors export what is grown, unsustainable resource use, and environmental damage to lands, atmosphere and water. Furthermore, the majority of the world’s poor are rural dwellers who engage in some small-scale farming. As a result of the dispossession of land and displacement of people, poverty levels will increase and more people will be forced to migrate away from agricultural areas to city-centers. World Bank studies (Riddell, 2007) confirm that the push for macro-economic development via liberalization of markets has detrimental effects on particular groups of society, particularly the poor. Guillozet and Bliss (2011) found that, although investment in the forestry sector is low in Ethiopia, the agricultural investments affect natural forests by mass clearing and burning. As a result, there are long-term negative impacts. Biodiversity is currently being reduced by the cutting and burning of hundreds of hectares of forest, as well as by the draining of swamps and marshlands (Vidal, 2011). Pesticides have also been shown, in Ethiopian cases, to kill bees and other unintended flora and f auna. Beyond the investment land itself the clearing of natural forests is affecting livelihoods on a much larger scale, by negatively affecting the wider ecosystems (Guillozet and Bliss, 2011). Such deals are neither agricultural development nor rural development, but simply agribusiness development, according to GRAIN (2008). An unpublished report that interviewed 150 local farm households in Ethiopia found that there is weak monitoring of investor activities from regional and national government. It also found that accelerated forest degradation resulted in loss of livelihood security for community members. Furthermore, in Cameroon, cases of land grabs demonstrate that the transnational investment in agriculture is a major obstacle to local livelihoods, traditional resource ownership and land rights, as well as to sustainable development (Simo, 2011). In yet another example, Rwandan land grabs have shown the move from traditionally owned and operated farms into large-scale corporate mono-crop cultivation has negatively affected livelihoods through loss of land as well as means of financial security, resulting in increased poverty levels and food insecurity despite overall macro-economic gains (Ansoms, 2011). An article in the Indian national newspaper, The Hindu, quotes the Ethiopian Prime Minister encouraging Indian investment who assured the Indian Prime Minister (then trying to encourage Indian investment in Ethiopia) that no land grabbing was occurring in his country (Varadarajan, 2011). However, highly productive agricultural lands are rarely left completely unused, which begs the question how vacant much of this land is. Darryl Vhugen (2011) and John Vidal (2011) both found that most land deals required involuntary displacement of small-scale farmers. Thus, these small-scale farmers in Ethiopia are left with neither land to cultivate nor an alternative source of income following their displacement. The Ethiopian government views international investment and land-lease deals as means to achieve economic development. In Madagascar, when 1.3 million hectares of agricultural lands were going to be sold to Daewod, the international community and local residents reacted in opposition, resulting in the government being overthrown (Perrine, Mathidle, Rivo and Raphael. 2011). The Ethiopian economic development model is one which seeks export-driven macroeconomic development at the expense of micro-level communities and residents, particularly those in remote regions. Ethiopian officials seem to use interchangeably the terms ‘empty’ and ‘unused’ with the word ‘uncultivated’, with little or no reference at all to the people who currently live on and use those lands. Thus, not only do levels of poverty a nd food insecurity increase but so too may political instability. The World Bank concludes that the risks involved with such land-lease investments are immense, and that land sales â€Å"often deprived local people, in particular the vulnerable, of their rights†¦ Consultations, if conducted at all, were superficial†¦and environmental and social safeguards were widely neglected† (Economist, 2011b, p.1). Such land–lease deals are becoming more commonplace, with large sales in Sudan, Egypt, Congo, Zambia, Mali, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Kenya, Madagascar, Liberia, Ghana, and Mozambique (Economist, 2009; Economist, 2011b; Vhugen, 2011). Although there are land deals taking place outside of Africa, over 50% of the estimated 60-80 million hectares of such deals in the last three years took place there (Economist, 2011b), approximately an area the size of France (Vidal and Provost, 2011). The largest land buyers include China, India, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia; yet some of the largest deals are done with W estern funding (Vidal and Provost, 2011). Cases from Sierra Leone show that a lack of knowledge-sharing with locals, along with a plethora of false promises, has led to social, environmental and economic loss. Addax Bioenergy received the use of 40,000 hectares to grow ethanol for export to the European Union (EU). Local villagers were in turn promised two-thousand jobs and environmental protection of the swamps. However, three years into the project only fifty jobs materialized, while some of the swamps have been drained and others damaged by irrigation (Economist, 2011b). Those jobs that did exist paid USD $2.50 per day on a casual basis (Da Via, E. 2011). Clearly these are not isolated cases and action is required to stem the tsunami of sales of land in food-insecure areas. Recommendations * Re-evaluate the system: Up to twenty-five percent of crops are lost due to pests and diseases and the developing world loses up to an additional thirty-seven percent of harvested foods due to problems in storage and transportation. Every day 4.4 million apples, 5.1 million potatoes, 2.8 million tomatoes and 1.6 million bananas are thrown in the garbage (Global Food Security, 2011b). Systematic shifts that address this loss may focus upon local sustainability and buy local movements, rather than relying upon export commodities and global transport for the sale and supply of food stuffs. This requires participation that includes local ownership and collective decision making. * Provide Sustainable Solutions: Much of modern agriculture is mechanized, using oil-based chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. This system of agriculture is not sustainable. It needs to be remedied with a more sustainable approach to agriculture – which can be just as agriculturally productiv e (Barker, 2007). On example of how sustainable initiatives can be promoted and supported is the Equator Initiative, which provides financial prizes and knowledge sharing for community-driven efforts that reduce poverty through sustainable use of biodiversity. As many smallholder farmers are engaging in de facto sustainable agriculture encouragement and support, such as the Equator Initiative need to be scaled-up. * Regulate Land Grabbing: The World Bank has proposed guidelines, but does not have the means or authority to enforce them (Bunting, 2011). In order guidelines to be enforced, such as those developed by the World Bank, national governments must be involved, for this to take place greater coordination on the international level and advocacy from the NGO and public sectors is required. Madagascar demonstrates the power of collective action, as does Sudan and Cambodia, yet long-term and effective change will require governmental enforced regulation. * Establish Good Governance: The purchasing of land and forced displacement of peoples occurs not solely due to transnational pressure, but with government approval. Citizens and the international community must encourage, and work towards, better governance decisions. An international f ramework for responsible investing could be created. However, such a framework would remain weak and ineffective unless adopted and enforced by national governments. In order to ensure that investments are beneficial for both the investor and the community, this framework must ensure that food security and livelihood protection for the local communities (Shete, 2011). Further encouragement can levied on governance in tying good governance to official development assistance, such systems have been developed and enacted by the World Bank and others. * Monitor and Penalize Environmental Damage: Companies must be more strictly monitored with regard to environmental damage, both by the public and private sectors (Nunow, 2011). Monitoring and evaluation of investments ought to be strengthened with regulation and policy by the relevant national government and by international bodies. NGOs and communities can take inspiration from others who have taken transnational companies to court, and won. National government need to recognize the short-term benefits do not out-weight the long-term environmental damage, and seek compensation to rectify violations. The scale of land acquisitions demonstrate that such regulations will likely not significantly deter investments and investors, as efforts to do so in Tanzania demonstrate (Pallangyo, 2007). * Develop Rural Agriculture: Currently less than one percent of smallholder farmers use irrigation techniques in Ethiopia (CSA, 2009). An improvement in this regard will allow for increased productivity as well as year-round water availability. Facilitation of loans for the purchase of pumps (as smallholder farmers often lack financial resources to make such investments), as well as access to internal markets with infrastructural developments can improve community-driven and locally-owned productivity. * Undertake Land Reform: Changes on the national level will require land reforms, ownership reforms and recognition of traditional land rights. Such land reforms and rights have been evolving in Madagascar, following the rejection of the Daewod land-grab deal and the installation of a new government. Tanzania has also enacted progressive rights for recognizing traditional land title (Locher, 2011). This can also be done in conjunction with FAO, FIDA, UNCTAD and World Bank recommendations to guarantee and respect local land rights (Perrine, Mathidle, Rivo and Raphael, 2011). Wily (2011) identifies consistent and persisting failures of land rights and ownership caused by the leasing of lands without consent of customary owners. Concluding Remarks As highlighted by the Ethiopian case study, it becomes readily apparent that the forced relocation of rural farmers will likely increase the numbers of people living in poverty. Consequently, there will be an increase in the numbers of people in need of emergency food aid. Aggregate data on food security will not measure the importance of food sovereignty, nor do the data take into account unjust practices and environmental damage. The majority of Ethiopians are subsistence farmers, and depriving them of their land, rights and livelihood neglects the importance of human rights and environmental protection. One means to achieve the goal of national food security, as well as a reduction of required emergency food aid, is to increase effectiveness of rural farms. Communities themselves must engage and be active in resisting forced relocation and dispossession of their land and rights. Examples of such resistance include that of Madagascar and the Southern Sudanese movement, which advoca tes land belongs to the community and requires its involvement (Deng, 2011), as well as active community resistance to land grabs in Cambodia (Schneider, 2011). Communities must seek to be participants in the discussion, to be involved in the process and to voice their concerns. Food security of the wealthy at the expense of the impoverished will not work and requires new approaches. The prospect of attaining sovereignty over land and the food grown on it encourages smallholder farmers to continue their livelihood while seeking to increase overall food security. â€Å"In most poor nations, there are large gaps between actual and potential agricultural yields. But the best route to closing this gap usually is not super-sized farms. In most labour-intensive agricultural settings, small farms are more productive than large farms. They could become even more productive – and as a result likely minimise unrest – if developing country governments provide these family farms with secure land rights that allow farmers to invest in their own land and improve their harvests.† (Vhugen, 2011, p.1). The World Bank’s 2010 report found that land grabs ignored proper legal procedures, displaced local peoples without compensation, encroached on areas beyond the agreement, had negative impacts on gender disparity, were environmentally destructive, provided far fewer jobs than promised, leased land below market value and routinely excluded pastoralists and displaced peoples from consultations (Da Via, 2011). Furthermore, the World Bank concludes: â€Å"many investments†¦failed to live up to expectations and, instead of generating sustainable benefits, contributed to asset loss and left local people worse off than they would have been without the investment† (World Bank, 2010, p. 51). Adopting food sovereignty as a concept and approach will not solve these problems. However, it does allow for an expanded analysis of the complex issues at hand. No easy solution exists as neoliberal economics and structurally-adjusted trade liberalization conflict with human rights; as global food security is confronted by local food and land sovereignty; and, as the Washington Consensus is challenged by the Peasants’ Way. â€Å"It would be no exaggeration to suggest that the outcome of these convulsive transformations and contestations constitutes one of the greatest moral and political challenges of our times† (Makki and Geisler, 2011, p. 17). Challenges, however, are no reason to accept injustice and abuse of human rights. Actors with roles to play on every level can be a part of the solutions proposed above. Re-evaluating the food system and developing sustainable solutions begin on individual levels and are supported on the international marketplace. Regulation of land grabbing, improving governance, undertaking land reform and the monitoring of environmental damage rest more heavily upon national and international actors; yet these process can be driven locally with support from the international community, as demonstrated by the cases of Sudan and Madagascar. This is a call for action lest we find ourselves â€Å"academic Cassandras who prophesy the coming plagues, but do little to avert them† (Farmer, 2001, p. xxviii). References Ansoms, A. 2011. The ‘bitter fruit’ of a new agrarian model: Large-scale land deals and local livelihoods in Rwanda. International Conference on Global Land Grabbing 6-8 April 2011 University of Sussex, UK. Associated Press. 2011. Clinton warns Africa of ‘new colonialism’. [online] Available at: [Accessed 12 June 2011]. Barker, D. 2007. The Rise and Predictable Fall of Globalized Industrialized Agriculture. The International Forum on Globalization: San Francisco. Brown, Lester. 2011. World on the Edge. Earth Policy Institute: London. Bues, A. 2011. Agricultural Foreign Direct Investment and Water Rights: An Institutional Analysis from Ethiopia. International Conference on Global Land Grabbing 6-8 April 2011 University of Sussex, UK. Bunting, M. 2011. How Land Grabs in Africa could herald a new dystopian age of hunger. [online] Available at: [Accessed 24 May 2011]. CSA. 2009. Large and medium scale commercial farms sample survey 2008/09 (2001 E.C.). Central Statistical Agency Statistical Bulletin 446. Da Via, E. 2011. The Politics of â€Å"Win-Win† Narratives: Land Grabs as Development Opportunity. International Conference on Global Land Grabbing 6-8 April 2011 University of Sussex, UK. Deng, D. 2011. ‘Land Belongs to the Community’ Demystifying the ‘global land grab’ in Southern Sudan. International Conference on Global Land Grabbing 6-8 April 2011 University of Sussex, UK. Dominguez, A. 2010. Why was there still malnutrition in Ethiopia in 2008? Causes and Humanitarian Accountability. Journal of Humanitarian Affairs, 21 February 2010. Dwyer. 2011. Building the Politics Machine: Tools for Resolving the Global Land Grab. International Conference on Global Land Grabbing 6-8 April 2011 University of Sussex, UK. Economist 2011b. When others are grabbing their land. [online] Available at: [Accessed 24 May 2011].

Provide displays in schools Essay

1.4 Describe the requirements and procedures for carrying out a risk assessment for displays. Health and safety regulations must be observed whilst putting up any displays for the safety of both staff and children in the setting. Display boards must be securely attached to the wall by using screws to ensure safety and stability and must not be obstructing exits, light switches or sockets, fire exit signs or exposed wires of any sort. If a ladder is needed to reach the top of the board, it must be flat on the floor with no wobble and another member of staff to hold it in position. It would be advantageous to display work during lunch time or before or after school if the display board is in a high traffic area i.e. a corridor where children walk frequently and in high numbers. This will minimise the risk of the person using the ladder being involved in an accident. Desks and chairs should never be used to climb on. A wall stapler is the best way to attach work to the wall. Pins and clips can and will fall or be knocked off on to the floor where they could be stood on or picked up by children. Similarly, any kind of tape would be unfit for use as they do not hold any objects of weight securely or practically. All work to be displayed should be put somewhere safe and out of the way of people walking past whilst it is being put up. It would be preferable to have another member of staff to assist in handing things to you and to check that things are safe and finally, that they look presentable and neat. Ladders, staple guns, scissors, rolls of paper, blu tac, pens and any other equipment used must be put away promptly and securely. Ladders must be stowed away somewhere safe where they cannot be tripped over or children climb on them. All other equipment should be returned to class or the correct place that it is usually stored.

Like A Flag in the Wind We are One

Stop. Tell the driver to pause and command the tires to be silent. Make sure everyone is quiet and not fidgeting. Direct those who are waving to cease wagging their hands and let them glance for a quick second at this still moment-in-time and think. Look. Examine the picture. Why is everyone saying goodbye? Is it because waving is an acceptable folkway that has now become clichà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ and is just an easy way out when parting? Why are those who have raised hands crying? What is causing such emotion to be stirred in so many all at once? Why do I feel the same way? Camp comes once a year. One week of late nights, talking, fellowship with other believers and close encounters with God. Camp is another world; a place unlike home. However, that yellow school bus always brings us back to reality, reminding us that this oasis is only temporary. Yet despite camp's brevity, its memories will always dwell in the back of my mind, always moving, breathing, living. They are translated into ink and laid out onto paper but they are animated in my mind – looping in my memory. I am inundated in the recollection of their faces. They are here with me. Now I sit. I sit looking at these photos by myself, but this one stands out. It was the last day of camp and a grey day at that. Everyone was saying their last goodbyes. We already missed one another. At the time, I don't think we realized that we would be together soon; camp would only be a year away and the winter retreat a mere six months. But who thinks of that at the time? Who reflects on such details when so overcome with emotion? That's what pictures are for: to look back and rethink situations, to clear your head and to revisit and understand past circumstances. Now looking back I understand and am at peace – I will see them soon. This realization excites me; the thought of seeing their faces enthuses me like the thought of a warm summer day. Once again we will have the chance to talk about and worship Jesus and not hold anything back. It is seldom that I get the chance to have companionship with other Christians and to be in an environment where everyone's focus is on God. Times like these I savor; slowly nibbling a piece of chocolate – sweet and smooth -letting it melt on my tongue. But like any piece of chocolate, there is an end to it. Goodbye waves and driveways are in inevitable. However, when we go home, our relationship with our God stays the same; we are still followers of Jesus – only now swimming up stream. Yet we do this together; we may not be side by side but we all love our God simultaneously. I can still remember the warm kiss of the sun dancing on my arm; the sensation of relaxation and comfort came down from the sky and hugged me, masking the inner sadness I had welling up inside. Yet, looking back at this picture, I can now remember also a great sense of confidence, knowing I was and am not alone in sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ; those on the ground I was waving goodbye to and those whom I was sitting with on the bus all have the same purpose. This picture is a monument – lasting evidence, a reminder and an example of a great and notable event in my life: camp. It was a place where I became closer to God and made many marvelous friends. I will miss my brethren but despite the reality of our separation, there is comfort. There is comfort in knowing I will see them soon and until then we share the same purpose in unity. We don't have to be physically together in order to be brothers and sisters in Christ. We are connected by a common denominator: God. So tell those who are waving to stop†¦ pause†¦ realize†¦ We may not be united in close proximity, but like a flag in the wind we are one.

Sylvia Plath vs Ted Hughes

Sylvia Plath’s poem, ‘Whiteness I Remember’, and Ted Hughes’s poem, ‘Sam’, are two poems which describe an experience of Plath’s when she was a student at Cambridge. She was out on her first ride when the horse she had hired the normally-placid Sam, bolted. Although Ted Hughes’s is describing the experience he uses insinuations throughout the poem to let out his perception of his marriage with Sylvia Plath, hence infuriating, the conflict in perspective between the two poems. The ideas of ‘conflicting perspective’ suggest that the composers of the texts present an even-handed, unbiased attitude to the events, personalities or situations represented. Conflicting perspectives explore the subjective truth of the individual, which are shaped by the construction of a text by a biased composer. Each person’s version of the truth in events, personalities and situations differs, by viewing separate perspectives an understanding of the motives and purpose of the composer is formed. Sam’ is Hughes retrospective interpretation of an event in Plath’s life before she met him and which she had represented in the poem ‘Whiteness I remember’. Hughes’ poem itself contains what can be interpreted as conflicting perspectives of her personality and when read in conjunction with Whiteness I remember reveals interesting similarities and differences. Hughes seems to accept Plath’s account of the event ‘I can liv e Your incredulity, your certainty that this was it’ and he does adhere closely to her description of her experiences during the horse’s headlong flight to the stable. However, the repetition of ‘You lost your stirrups’, ‘You lost your reins, you lost your seat’, combine to depict Plath as a terrified victim unable to control or take responsibility for the consequences of her own actions. In contrast Plath’s poem suggests she was exhilarated by the speed and danger and identified with what she represents as the horses’ rebellion against the ‘humdrum’ of suburbia. In contrast Hughes accuses her of glamorising her loss of control. ‘It was grab his neck and adore him or free fall’. Once again the reader is arguably left with the impression that Hughes is still identifying with Sam and suggesting there are parallels between her relationship with him and the horse. As the stanza continues Hughes builds the momentum and pace with a series of commas as punctuation and an enjambment. The choice of verb in ‘You slewed under his neck, an upside down jockey with nothing between you and the cataract of macadam’ creates an image of Plath unable to maintain a balance and in imminent danger of being smashed into the road by the horses hooves at high speed. The alliteration and the metaphor of the ‘horribly hard swift river’ in full flood combine with the’ propeller terror of his front legs’ and the onomatopoeia of ‘clangour of the iron shoes’ to transform the horse into an engine of destruction.