India's Globalization and Economic Development Essay

India's Globalization and Economic Development - Essay Example After India’s independence, economic managers took very cautious steps since they found the world sharply divided into two blocs. On one end, there were capitalist economies, particularly the US; on the other hand, there existed communist economies, primarily the USSR. This study will drive an evaluation of these competitive claims via a systematic investigation by use of an intensive case study. Foreign policy is the effort by a nation to capitalize on its state interest in the global environment. In 1947, India foreign policies strived to attain international peaceful environment, autonomy, strategic space, free of entanglement, conflicts, and alliances associated with Cold War while it concentrated on domestic activities aimed at nation building (Mukherjee and Malone 2). This India’s philosophy facilitated neither global economic growth nor corporation (Anonymous 14). In fact, it facilitates conflicts and collisions as Indian economic analysts assert that unlike dome stic policy, this India’s foreign policy attempt meets other states in search of the same goals for themselves and sometimes at India’s expense. ... India’s patterns of globalization side with hyperactive globalists and diplomats in spite of having existed since immemorial time. As of now, people understand foreign policy as a function of the modern state system since they can speak of the late Indian medieval policy. According to Westphalia state system, before India came to existence in the eighteenth century, she was losing sovereignty attributes and her capacity for foreign policy and independence. As a result, Imperial British interests prevailed over India’s foreign goals since the country was a dependant (Mukherjee and Malone 13). From the perspective of feminist economists, winners and losers of India appear represented in the process of globalization. For instance, due to his strong personality, Curzon tried to assert what Imperial British portrayed as India’s interests by sending Young on his expedition in Tibet. However, London reined on him so rapid to let go of his gains in order to preserve the overall British interests. The balance of power theory in conjunction with game theory put across that practitioners and diplomats analyses the working of global changes basing their facts on opportunities, joys of diplomacy, and threats. Therefore, transformers’ view of India’s globalization contradict with that of skeptics since the former believe they are fortunate to have lived in a time when India was undergoing the period of the fastest change and they aspire to practice foreign policy. Today the world is experiencing political diversities and economic values within groups where independent states do not want to accept burdens that come along with international leadership.

Arguing a postion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Arguing a postion - Essay Example Furthermore if it comes to a choice between regulated studies on a few animals and treatment for an incurable disease, most people reluctantly make the same choice (Morelle).On the other hand, and animal rights activists argue that animal testing and experimentation is ethically and morally wrong, because by experimenting carious medicines on animals, we are selfishly causing them pain for our own benefit. While the standpoint of the activists may be sympathetic, ultimately, in Western society as a whole accepts the sacrifice of animals in the name of science. Joan Ryan, an ex-home office minister quoted, â€Å"Animal research and testing has played a part in almost every medical breakthrough of the last century. It has saved hundreds of millions of lives worldwide†. (Ryan). In fact, animal testing may not be the only way to discover new methods of treatment and diagnosis. The tests performed provide convenience as most of the test animals resemble the Human biological system and the results observed in these systems are quite similar to the effects expected to be observed in Humans. Since Humans can’t be used for testing and experimental purposes. Moreover, as animals share similar biological features to humans; animal testing has made strides in veterinary medicine as well. On the other hand, there are many people who consider animal testing as cruelty being inflicted upon the animals, the issue of selfishness is also another reason that these experiments are considered wrong because of the fact that we hurt the animals just to gain benefit for our own self. Animal testing and experiments are also considered to violate animal rights; those who support this statement tend to believe that if testing on humans is considered wrong then the same should be considered for the animals (Shukla). All of these procedures and experiments are previously approved by the relevant

The meaning and impact of discrimination

The meaning and impact of discrimination One has constructed this essay in a manner in which the reader will be able to appreciate the motives of discrimination and inequality and when they could take place; as well as the meaning and the impact they have, not only on the LGBT community but on the society as a whole. Throughout this essay one will attempt to identify the manifestation of inequality in the modern society, which in spite of everything is still occurring even after the Equality Act 2010 has come into practice and it introduced the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED). This essay will focus on and around the inequality experienced by the LGBT community only, while keeping in mind of the fact that many other communities are suffering due to the injustice caused by being discriminated against. Supposedly, due to a recent period of advancement in law-making, the people identifying themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) are benefiting from extraordinary privileges and safeguarding which were initiated in the light of the appalling experiences they had, as well as promoting diversity; these rights are protected by the legal system in the UK, but are they mere theories/ideologies whose application still remains of question? Many people have overlooked any existing inequalities post enforcement of the aforementioned laws, thinking that if the law exist it means that it will happen. This essay will critically appraise the actual application of these laws within public and private organizations as well as at an individual level. The writer contemplates on commencing this essay with investigating the definitions of inequality and discrimination, for the reason that it will provide a solid foundation for the further understanding of the aforementioned terminology often described as a concern within the society; as well as providing reassurance that the reader is in agreement with the writer as far as the meaning of the words. According to Collins’ dictionary, inequality is the disparity in social class, assets, health, and prospect between human beings or social classes. The inequalities may be experienced by everybody, especially those people who are part of minority groups. Inequality is often stemmed from the society’s discriminatory behaviour practiced by institutions, governmental chambers and individuals in the United Kingdom of Great Britain, Wales and Northern Ireland (UK) towards the people identifying themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT). Subsequently, one would like to define the term discrimination, similar words that relate are bigotry, bias, injustice, favouritism, unfairness, inequity, prejudice, and intolerance. In essence, it refers to certain individuals or groups of people behaving unfairly (discriminating), toward a person or a group of people they perceive to be different from themselves or the group of people they associate with. Discrimination often stems from people’s evolutionary fear of the unknown, promoted by the lack of education and obliviousness towards phenomena that are regarded as out of the ordinary. Lorde, A talks about her opinion on the social division present in our society â€Å"It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.† Lorde, A. (1995) The society became indoctrinated overtime and the discriminatory practices have come to be accepted as culturally/societally and furthermore unswervingly tolerable. This of course, should have been subject to change in the modern society of the twenty first century. Regrettably, the society has learned nothing from history, and an abundant amount of discrimination is still present and it leads to societies morals being questioned. This is mainly due to argumentum ad populum[1] which leads people to have unthinkable preoccupations just to belong and feel accepted. The reader may be familiar with the concept of â€Å"othering† also known as â€Å"otherness†. Classified as a psychological approach, it is fundamental to sociological studies and it illustrates the imbalance within political power between the majority and the minority groups. It appears that from a sociological perspective the majority versus minority power balance leans towards the majority. Othering is a ma nner of obtaining one’s own definite individuality as a result of the defaming of an other†. Bauman, Z claims that the notion of otherness is based on the fact that the human individualities are established as irreconcilable difference and he approves of the idea of otherness as an acceptable social concept. One would argue that this theory is defending the need for social classification based on the higher number of people which belong to a certain set of criteria which are more commonly found; furthermore making this theory very short sighted. One must aim for equality as a social norm, Goldwater, B explains that† Equality, rightly understood as our founding fathers understood it, leads to liberty and to the emancipation of creative differences; wrongly understood, as it has been so tragically in our time, it leads first to conformity and then to despotism. â€Å"Goldwater, B (1964) LGBT communities often live with â€Å"The sword of Damocles†[2] hanging above their heads meaning that they live under constant real and perceive threat during their lives, having an impact on their relationships with friends and family, health status, mental health (there are higher risks of depression, suicide, anxiety and mental distress in the LGBT population), and financial deficits. These people feel the need to â€Å"come out† in front of their friends and family, and want to be accepted without the fear of rejection and guilt. Then again, why the notion of â€Å"coming out of the closet†? The society is building closets to hide what they want to avoid, i.e. skeletons in the closet. Do heterosexual people have to make their sexual orientation public and fear of disapproval, rejection, and discrimination? One of the reasons for all this unwanted attention towards people’s sexual orientation may be because focusing on the LGBT community and spending energy and time on discriminating (please see otherness) is a red herring[3] used to distract the society’s attention from more important problems such as poverty and recession. The aforementioned theory is a mere extrapolation, such trying to find reason in madness or a as Nietzsche portrays it â€Å"†¦.there is also always some reason in madness Nietzsche (1914) although some people do prefer to accept it as oppose to admitting that people can be so venal. Wilkinson et al believes that â€Å"although sexual orientation is only one component of an individuals sexual identity there is a common misconception that the components of a persons sexual identity operate in parallel. For example, when people are described as possessing cross-gender sex roles, they are more likely to be perceived as being gay or lesbian.† Wilkinson, Wayne and Roy, Andrew (2005) One cannot avoid drawing attention to the standing of the Christian Church and its philosophies, and their impact on people’s way of life (at least from a historical perspective). Therefore, one of the reasons behind the inequality and discrimination people within the LGBT community are experiencing, it is due to the intransigent position of the Abrahamic religions[4] as far as sexual orientation. The Church is (was) profoundly engrossed within the social and cultural background, especially in the very religious population but not limited to; this has engendered fallacies emerged from pious puritanical dogmas regarding the individuals with non-heterosexual orientation. Therefore these individuals exposed to the aforesaid ideologies have grown up to think that it is unnatural and dehumanizing to have a non-heterosexual orientation. This may affect the individual as far as their own sexual orientation thus often causing them to deny who they are, keep it hidden and even practice suicidal behaviour (please see closet); or practice homophobic behaviour with a view in being accepted in their communities. On the other hand, many Christian denominations adopt newer and more open ideas about homosexuality, which allows more people to keep following their faith while being themselves. Many people/health professionals/social worker fail to understand that homosexuality is only a small aspect of a person’s individuality. The reader may inquire about the impact of the inequality towards the LGBT community on today’s society and vice versa. It is causing a social problem, for the reason that the society ends up persecuting prolific members of the society who would be able to elicit much beneficial changes for the posterity. Unfortunately the lack of opportunities, the mental distress and disapproval they experience leads to them not being able to achieve their full potential and thus impedes the social growth and progress. On the other hand, the constant discrimination and harassment experienced by these individuals could evoke strengths of character in certain people, who would eventually become leaders of the resistance against inequality and discriminatory practices. They may devise strategies to further educate the masses by becoming transparent and open themselves up to sharing their private experiences with others. Ultimately, fighting for the rights to be heard and accepted as parents, as spouses, as teachers, as friends, colleagues, leaders, care providers and furthermore human beings as well as form closely knit groups which provide emotional support to one another. One of these people is Lorde, A, a well-known civil rights, feminist movements activist and writer emerged from the LGBT community as an advocate by voicing her view on the importance of community support; The outsider, both strength and weakness. Yet without community there is certainly no liberation, no future, only the most vulnerable and temporary armistice between me and my oppression.† Audre Lorde (1996) One could argue that there are many people within the society who are celebrating the differences in people and that in the ideal world people would accept the variety of sexual orientation as a norm and utilizing the knowledge regarding the aforementioned only when offering personalized support. One’s outlook about the necessary awareness of individual’s sexual orientation by the private and governmental institutions is further explained by Trevor Phillips, Chair of Equality and Human Rights in his speech as it follows â€Å"Commission Data matters– because injustice that goes unseen goes uncorrected. How can we expect care homes to be sensitive to the needs of older LGB residents, or schools to the needs of the children being brought up by same-sex couples, if they don’t even acknowledge they’re there?† Sadly, the society teaches their children that discrimination is a tolerable practice thus leading towards an impasse and further narrowing of the acceptance. The homophobic views of the parents get transferred onto their children, people may be able to see children from an early age i.e. in the kindergarten using terminology such as â€Å"gay† or â€Å"lesie† as insults among themselves and others, leading to a negative view of homosexuality from an early age. Should a modern society accept this sort of behaviour from the future generations? The reader may think that the aforementioned statements could not be accurate, taking in consideration the Human Rights Act of 1989 as well as the Equality Act of 2010 and other laws and policies which support the equality of the individual at large. Well, in the light of such thoughts one feels the need to go even further and illustrate with examples these inequalities. Ellison et al explains that â€Å"Nearly four in ten lesbians and gay men reported that they had been bullied, felt frightened and had suffered from low self-esteem.† Ellison and Gunstone, 2009 Social workers will without a doubt come in contact with service users which identify themselves as LGBT. Therefore they must be able to communicate by using acceptable terms, be respectful and take in consideration the person as a whole, pertaining to their physical, emotional and financial needs. Disregarding a person’s sexual orientation, would be like ignoring somebody’s arm, it is part of them, a piece of the puzzle. One must carefully identify areas of inequality and discrimination, which the service users may be experiencing and make use of this information to further one’s understanding and awareness of the support needed. Spirituality, togetherness, health needs, age and other factors must be taken in consideration when evaluating a service user’s needs. The sad truth is that there is a tendency in the social and health professionals to assume heterosexuality in the elderly. This is inadvertently discriminative practice. On the other hand, the soc ial worker must be able to reflect honestly on their own feelings and beliefs regarding other people’s various sexual orientation; being aware of any prejudices one may have would help to provide anti discriminative support to the service users. To be able to explain the seriousness of the issues discussed within this essay, one must quote Ellison et al for a second time, they claim that â€Å"55 per cent of gay men, 51 per cent of lesbians and 21 per cent of bisexual women and men said they would not live in certain places in Britain because of their sexual orientation.† Ellison and Gunstone, (2009). This is unacceptable by the moral and ethical standards expected from today’s society, therefore the social worker must be aware of the people who do live in those areas and empower and safeguard them as necessary. On the other hand Ellison et al also explains that â€Å"Seven in 10 lesbians (69 per cent) and gay men (70 per cent) felt they could be open about their sexual orientation in the workplace without fear of discrimination or prejudice. This contrasts sharply with only around two in 10 (23 per cent) bisexual men and three in 10 (30 per cent) bisexual women who felt the same. 83 per cent of respondents would be happy or felt neutral about having an openly LGB manager at work† Ellison and Gunstone, (2009). This provides proof that the society has grown to be more accepting of the LGBT community and that the laws and policies are being enforced within private and governmental organisations. It appears that education seems to make a big difference as far as being open and accepting of diversity. There is evidence of bullying due to sexual orientation at school levels, were people get physically and emotionally abused. ‘People call me â€Å"gay† everyday, sometimes people kick me or push me, they shut me out of games during school gym and they steal my belongings.’ James, 17, secondary school (South West). Hunt and Jensen, (2007) The social worker, needs to be able to act as an advocate for these people, they must be empowered and supported so they learn to accept themselves. In summary, the society inclines to be critical of the people in the LGBT community due to different factors; these are religious, cultural, fuelled by fear of unknown, lack of education, upbringing, and avoidance behaviour(i.e. questioning own sexuality). Unfortunately, this translates into discrimination and inequality, which leads to many unwanted effects. Due to the fact that this paper is a mere literature review, one could not offer more specific examples of actual cases, therefore this article talks more generally about inequality and where it may be present, it’s impact on the society and the individuals as well as the impact of the law on the changes that have taken place towards acceptance of the LGBT community. As a future social worker, one finds that the knowledge acquired through the present paper will be of great aid to further one’s knowledge in understanding not only the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population, but also other minority groups that more often than many people would expect suffer in silence. After much research, one must admit that there is very little literature present about the ageing and LGBT population. As the population is getting older, many people in the aforementioned community are interested in their future, especially if their partners pass away. Many transgender population live in fear that if they lose their capacity, will they still be able to get their hormonal treatment to maintain their identity. Therefore, one would suggest further research in that area, in form of an empirical study. [1] Latin for appeal to the people- deceptive claim that presumes an insinuation to be accurate for the reason that numerous people accept it to be true. [2] The Sword of Damocles- in this context to be read living in constant fear please see Bibliography [3] something that deceives or distracts from important issues [4] This of course is the theoretical view of the Church, one must take in account that there are many religious people and organisations that are happy to accept and support the LGBT community such as YMCA.

Gene Therapy :: Genetics Genetic Engineering

Gene Therapy Gene therapy is the term used for the process of curing various diseases on the genetic level by injecting patients with a healthy gene so their bodies will continue to produce healthy copies of the gene rather than destructive ones. The term gene therapy and the basic notions that it entailed weren't even in researchers' vocabulary until the mid 1960's. Early endeavors to cure people via a genetic approach began in 1970 with a disease called argininemia, but proved ineffective. An actual effective transfer of a gene didn’t occur until nine years later in 1979. Early attempts to examine the ethical nature of the future of gene therapy stemmed from this initial successful experiment and ones immediately following it.2 Throughout the 1980’s and early 1990’s development of gene therapy continued. It wasn’t until 1993 that the first clinical trial of gene therapy using the adenovirus, which was the vector that Jesse Gelsinger was administered, took place.2 A vector is the method by which the healthy gene is inserted into the DNA of the patient. 18 year-old Jesse Gelsinger died September 17, 1999 from a gene therapy experiment targeting the gene for the disease ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC), a rare genetic disorder that affects the liver and its ability to clear ammonia from the body’s bloodstream. The illness occurs in 1 out of every 40,000 births and 50% of infants die within a month of birth. Jesse had a relatively mild form of the disease and was controlling it with drugs. He entered the study to help further OTC research with the hopes of finding a treatment for others with the condition.1 The study was performed by the University of Pennsylvania’s gene therapy researchers. Researchers injected Jesse’s liver with a vector including both the adenovirus and a normal OTC gene. He was the 18th subject to undergo the treatment, but received a higher dose of the adenovirus than all of the other subjects. Gene Therapy :: Genetics Genetic Engineering Gene Therapy Gene therapy is the term used for the process of curing various diseases on the genetic level by injecting patients with a healthy gene so their bodies will continue to produce healthy copies of the gene rather than destructive ones. The term gene therapy and the basic notions that it entailed weren't even in researchers' vocabulary until the mid 1960's. Early endeavors to cure people via a genetic approach began in 1970 with a disease called argininemia, but proved ineffective. An actual effective transfer of a gene didn’t occur until nine years later in 1979. Early attempts to examine the ethical nature of the future of gene therapy stemmed from this initial successful experiment and ones immediately following it.2 Throughout the 1980’s and early 1990’s development of gene therapy continued. It wasn’t until 1993 that the first clinical trial of gene therapy using the adenovirus, which was the vector that Jesse Gelsinger was administered, took place.2 A vector is the method by which the healthy gene is inserted into the DNA of the patient. 18 year-old Jesse Gelsinger died September 17, 1999 from a gene therapy experiment targeting the gene for the disease ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC), a rare genetic disorder that affects the liver and its ability to clear ammonia from the body’s bloodstream. The illness occurs in 1 out of every 40,000 births and 50% of infants die within a month of birth. Jesse had a relatively mild form of the disease and was controlling it with drugs. He entered the study to help further OTC research with the hopes of finding a treatment for others with the condition.1 The study was performed by the University of Pennsylvania’s gene therapy researchers. Researchers injected Jesse’s liver with a vector including both the adenovirus and a normal OTC gene. He was the 18th subject to undergo the treatment, but received a higher dose of the adenovirus than all of the other subjects.

Seat Belts Argumentative Essay

A seat belt is a restraining device installed in a vehicle to prevent or minimize the force of an injury during a crash (â€Å"Seat Belts† 5). Although it is also known as a safety belt, the â€Å"safety† part is the key issue that is causing much controversy around drivers, manufacturers, and researchers alike. The main idea around the debate is the fact that although research indicates that when seat belts are used properly they save lives, opponents argue that mandating their use can actually cause more harm than good in some cases and is an infringement on personal rights.Car accidents are the leading cause of death for people under 35. Due to the fact that at least 40,000 people die each year in car accidents, the law that mandates seatbelts on all drivers/passengers in vehicles should stay in place. Although Seat Belts have been shown to provide safety to drivers and passengers who use them, not everyone is a fan of the mandatory seat belt laws. Opponents who are against the idea of mandatory seat belt laws say that they might be safer without seat belts and that airbags will protect them.Many people argue that they may be safer without seat belts. According to the article â€Å"Seat Belts† â€Å"In high-speed collisions where crash forces are extreme, seat belts have been linked to life-threatening conditions, including cardiac arrests and injuries to the chest, abdomen, or neck† (5). They put forward this idea because they feel that seat belts are causing more harm than good. However, airbags were never made to take the place of a seatbelt, and when worn with a seatbelt, they increase the effectiveness of it by 40%.Airbags also don’t protect from side-impacts at all so they aren’t safer than seatbelts. Another argument opponents against seatbelts have is that mandatory seatbelt laws are a violation of freedom. They claim that they should have a choice whether or not they should wear a seatbelt when in a vehicle. However, this is not an infringement on freedom. Freedom stops when we get to a point where others may be harmed or killed. As soon as something puts lives in danger, the â€Å"right† of freedom disappears thus making mandatory seatbelt laws a non-infringement on freedom.â€Å"Seat belts are the single most effective traffic safety device for preventing death and injury in a vehicle† (â€Å"Seat Belt Safety, Seat Belt Laws†). Wearing a seat belt can reduce the risk of crash injuries by 50%. Seat belts save lives and are effective in preventing ejections from a vehicle. While opponents argue that in certain cases it is better to not wear a seatbelt, wearing a seatbelt is usually the safer route. A person will never know what type of accident they might enter and thus can’t prepare for a certain type of accident.You can’t know whether or not having a seatbelt will save you. It’s better to wear a seatbelt and have a 50% of survival than not we aring a seatbelt and have a 3% chance of being in a situational accident where not having a seat belt will save you. Research shows that â€Å"Seat Belts saved more than 75,000 lives from 2004 to 2008† (â€Å"Seat Belt Safety, Seat Belt Laws†). Without the mandatory use of seat belts, many lives could be put in danger and this would have negative social and economic effects on society.49 States in the USA have issued mandatory seat belt laws to promote safe habits and to protect the people. With this law in place, many lives have been saved as people were forced to wear seat belts to properly protect them in crashes. In a crash, there are two types of collisions. These are called, Primary and Secondary collisions. â€Å"A Primary Collision is the impact between the vehicle and another vehicle or object. A Secondary Collision refers to the impact of an occupant with some part of the vehicle’s interior, such as the steering wheel, the roof, or the windshield† (â€Å"Seat Belts† 2).Seat Belts are designed to tighten at the appropriate moment, so that they either prevent the second collision or at least minimize the injury potential of the even. Without the mandatory seat belt laws, many people will die in crashes in which simple use of a seat belt could have saved them. Seat Belts are optimal to Vehicle Safety and should be required to be used in every vehicle. Even if you are a very good driver or have never been in an accident, you can never predict what will happen when you’re on the road. Seat Belts can help save the lives of both you and others around you.With Seat Belts Laws in place, vehicle travel will be a much safer place. Safety is a concern not just with seat belts, but also with many things in life. When driving, safety should be above all and many safety technologies such as airbags, anti-lock brakes, and traction control are in place to protect the people. Seat Belts are the main force that is saving many l ives of drivers young and old. Although seat belts provide a good level of safety, the debate over the relative safety of such devices, as well as the rights to passengers to choose whether or not they want to use these devices, is sure to continue.

Early Brain Development and Learning

It is not commonly known that the brain is 90% developed by age five. Most people believe that at age five children are just starting to learn. In fact, the brain absorbs more from birth to age five rather than from age five on. Parents and family can do many things to aid in the development of a baby’s brain, ultimately assisting in their learning. The sequence and rate at which the brain develops predicts the optimal times for a baby to learn. Sequence and rate is measured by milestones that a baby may reach by a certain age. Experiences are one thing that helps promote brain development. Our five senses give us these experiences. How in the first few years of life do we develop into the complex people we are today? We will look at how nature versus nurture; sensory perception; positive and negative experiences and both our social and physical environment contribute to and develop everything about whom we are as individuals. The brain is influenced in many different ways. The most important factors in brain development start with genetics, nutrition, and responsiveness from parents, daily experiences, and physical interactions. Parents need to know that children are learning and accepting more information that a fully grown adult. Children need positive and sensitive feedback from family. In the past, scientist believed that the human brains development was determined by a biologically determined path (Brotherson, 2005). This means that the brain would develop genetically through family, but leading technology and science proved that the brain is not predetermined genetically by family. The brain matures through the five senses: smell, touch, vision, taste, and hearing. The experiences that the five senses bring are very crucial to help build the connections that guide brain development. The importance of the parents understanding of the first few years of his or her child’s life is extremely important. As Titzer, P. H. D, (2008) uses a computer metaphor to explain brain development he put it this way â€Å"Your baby’s brain could be thought of as a highly responsive, self-programming computer. For the first few years, the hardware is still coming together – a baby is not a finished product, but a growing, developing individual, complete with organic â€Å"circuitry† – the central nervous system† (p. ). The brain will absorb more with more stimulation. At an earlier age stimulation for the brain circuitry is at its best. This will cause the brain circuitry to develop more effectively. The main function of the brain in the first three years of life is to create and support connections between neurons. The con nections are referred to as synapses. Synapses could be envisioned as the limbs on the tree. Imagine a large family tree with its trunk as the original lineage. Then the main branches are the families as they grow and have children. Neurons are like the trunk and the main branches of the tree. The number of neurons a baby is born with remains constant in the first three years of life. Synapses (all those years of lineage on the family tree) are all the little twigs and branches that come off the main trunk. In the first three years of life our brains synapses increase to a number in the hundreds of trillions. However, after age three the number of synapses begins to slow until age 10. During this period there are more synapses created than needed. A person creates more synapses than needed and the â€Å"use it or lose it† theory applies to all the unused synapses. The synapses being used the most, meaning the circuits that transfer information the most become permanent to the brain. The synapses not used are lost in a process called pruning. In fact, the ability to see light is lost if the eyes are not exposed to light within the first three weeks of life, hence â€Å"use it or lose it† theory (Hawley, 2003). This will happen because the synapses that can see light will be lost because they will not have been used. That is why we want to give our children as much experience socially and with learning as possible. With this kind of experience these synapses will become permanent. Brotherson (2005) describes a baby’s brain at this point like a â€Å"†super sponge† absorbing everything given to it (para. 4) The first three years are the most sensitive for learning and development (Gable & Huntington, 2001). The brain takes in these experiences through our five senses. According to Gable & Huntington (2001) â€Å"an infant’s social, emotional, cognitive, physical and language development are stimulated during multisensory experiences† (para. 12) During these first few years of life is most rapid growth period for the brain. At birth the brain is 25% developed, at six months it is 50% developed , at 30 months 75% developed and at age five it is already 90% developed. There have been many optimal opportunities for parents to teach their children many things from birth to this point already. Children at the age of two have been known to read at the reading level of a fifth grader because they were taught at the â€Å"prime time. † Acquiring the knowledge of how a baby’s brain develops and what can be done to influence it in a positive way can make a world of difference for a child. A positive influence during this critical period is very crucial. Let us take a look at nature versus nurture; sensory perception; positive and negative experiences and both our social and physical environment contribute to and develop everything about who we are as individuals. Take the study of nature, for example, our individual innate qualities versus nurture, and our personal experiences. As evidences by the recent Human Genome Project, it is currently believed that there is much more nurture than nature in the result of each of us. With this, how does nurture become nature? Let us look at the example of ‘perfect pitch’ to show the relationship between genetics and environment. This is an example of how† heredity and environment can interact† (Davies, 2001, para. 3). Davies (2003) describes perfect pitch as â€Å"The ability to recognize the absolute pitch of musical tone without any reference note. People with perfect pitch often have relatives with the same gift and research show this is a highly inherited gift, possibly the result of a single gene. However, studies also demonstrate a requirement for early musical training (before age 6) to manifest perfect pitch. Many personality and behavioral traits will not be exclusively the result of nature or nurture, but rather an inextricable combination of both† (para. 5). _ Nature versus nurture and the role that heredity and environment have in human development indicates that with almost all biological and psychological traits genes and environment work together in communication back and forth to create us as individuals . No one questions it; this is the ying and the yang, the Adam and Eve, the Mom and Pop of pop psychology and genealogy. Nature and Nurture is what made us what we are today and will determine what our children will be tomorrow. I have heard the expression that life is all about perception. We all know people who are positive and those who are negative. And each of us has either an optimistic or pessimistic personality. How we perceive the world around us is i nherently a matter of our sensory perception of the world and largely that done in the first several years of life. We have many senses but we most often refer to the five senses of sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste. We are born with the need for a multisensory environment. Research shows that interactions that are associated with many of emotion are more â€Å"readily remembered and recalled†_ __(Gable & Huntington, 2001, para. 17)_. With this, it is proven that with a multisensory environment we develop out temperament and emotions during an early the early stages of life. Developmental milestones are certain things that a child should be able to do by a certain age range. A child’s doctor will use these milestones to assess the development of a child in the area of his/her gross motor, fine motor, language, cognitive, and social skills. Even though each milestone has an age range, each child is different and unique so the age can vary significantly. One child may start to walk as early as seven months old and another child may not begin to walk until 16 months old and both would be considered normal. They both would be within the normal age range. In conclusion, we have looked at how genetics and environment in early brain development occurs as well as the importance of multiple sensory experiences, positive interactions, and social and physical stimulation in early development of a variety of cognitive and behavioral skills. It was briefly discussed that there are many interventions and treatments for improvement in many areas of interrupted brain development due to early childhood trauma, stress, and neglect with appropriate intervention. Many agencies today focus on education for parents and caregivers to ensure a more positive and educational experience for the early brain development. References Brotherson, Gable,S. & Hunting, M. (2001). Nature, Nurture and Early Brain Development. Retrieved from http://extension. missouri. edu/publications/DisplayPub. aspx? P=GH6115 Hawley, T. (2003). Starting Smart. How Early Experiences Affect Brain Development. Titzer, R. Ph. D. (2008). Your Baby Can Read. Carlsbad, Ca

The World Distribution of Population Essays

The World Distribution of Population Essays The World Distribution of Population Essay The World Distribution of Population Essay The world distribution of population is as important as the world distribution of areas of tectonic activity in predicting the hazards of volcanic activity. Discuss this statement (40 marks) A hazard is a danger or risk and a natural disaster deals out a great number. It can be hypothesised that the greatest hazards posed by natural disasters are upon humans, so in knowing where populations are located we can predict the risks of volcanic activity. Hence, it appears common sense would dictate the statement to be entirely true, however, with the addition of a distinction between two arguments it is not always the case.The first states that in a dense area the main hazard is high death tolls, infrastructure loss, famine and epidemics, so distribution of population is vitally important, but the second identifies how in areas of sparse population, other severe effects will occur so population distribution is limited in its predictive advantage; additional effects being those on an international scale, environmental and supply side shocks. Population distribution refers to the patterns of people spread across a given area, often associated with population density (the average number of people per square kilometre).The map below shows how populations are mostly concentrated near coastlines and in habitable environments (i.e. Europe rather than the Arctic Circle), overall. Further to this, 50.5% live in urban areas and world population is highly concentrated in areas rich in resources (coal, oil, minerals, fishing) and temperate in climate. The reason being that people need a source of income,provided by natural resources to some extent, whilst temperate climates provide rain and heat for growing crops, essential for emerging developing economies and previously vital for the developed economies whose focuses now lie in secondary, tertiary or quaternary sectors.Tectonic activity distribution refers to how the movements in the Earths plates lead to distinctive areas and patterns where seismic activity occurs, leading to events such as tsunamis, volcanoes and earthquakes. In the map below, it is evident that these features of tectonic activity, occur along plate boundaries as these are the causation for seismic activity. A particularly area of distribution is the Ring of Fire because it exemplifies the connection between the risks associated with high density areas of population and seismic activity combined.In laying home to over 800 million people, 90% of world earthquake activity and 50% of the worlds active volcanoes; the links between the two variables needed to calculate risk are impossible to ignore. From the detailed comparison of the maps above, the West coasts of South America and North America and the Ring of Fire region have both density of volcanoes and people; strong positive correlation between the two variables implicit of how both are necessary in hazard prediction. However, the volcanoes will always stay in situe so the dynamic changes of population density do appear more dominant in terms of volcanic hazards.In using the population trends stated previously there are a great many factors drawing people into areas of seismic activity so population distribution is only going to increa se in density within seismic prone areas, so human dispersion is vital in recognising both future and current hazards. All preceding knowledge is summed up in Kofi Annans assessment:At no time in human history have so many people lived in cities clustered around seismically active areasPoor land-use planning; environmental mismanagement; and a lack of regulatory mechanisms both increase the risk and exacerbate the effects of disasters, which clearly illustrates the relationship between volcanic disasters, populations, planning and development; demonstrating the vital influence of population change in risk reduction.Furthermore, humans being the victims of the greatest hazard is emphatic given half a billion people live in spitting distance of active volcanoes. Therefore, all such theory leads me to exemplify the two arguments stated previously: In light of the first argument, the main hazard to any natural disaster is humans, so in densely populated areas their location must be take n into account. In the case of the Mount Nyiragongo eruption (Congo), its proximity to the dense population of the city of Goma, 16km south-west of the volcano, increased hazards. With a population of 500,000 people, 147 were killed because the 40mph lava flows reached the densely populated area quickly.1/3 of Goma was destroyed along with 14 villages along the path to Goma, from the Volcano and through the valley. Therefore, such an eruption would have benefited from focus on the population dispersion analysis rather than just when the volcano would erupt because evacuations needed to have been put in place. The pseudo-mathematical equation for risk Risk = Hazard x Value x Vulnerability / Capacity (Value indicating the elements at risk (number of human lives, economic value of property, etc., while vulnerability refers to factors which increase the susceptibility to he impact of hazards) highlights how the number of human lives and property at risk and the susceptibility of these i ndividuals is a bigger factor than the simplicity of seismic activity distribution because the environment can recoup and the volcano is the effector not the effected. More importantly, the density of Value and Vulnerability