Love Brief case state v stark Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Love Brief state v stark - Case Study Example Proceeding: The proceeding can be correctly categorized into multiple counts; for the first of these Stark was found to be guilty and hence charged to a total of one twenty months or ten years. As far as the second and third counts are concerned through a bench trail Stark was found guilty and then charged for a duration of ten years with an additional consecutive forty three months. Issue: There are certain area’s of concern as far as this case is concerned. The first line of argument is that of Starks intentions; more specifically that of his actions being solely carried out with the objective of causing bodily harm. Another issue is that of the courts specified sentence, which 120 months only for the first count. A question that rises here is whether the sole reason for this specified sentence was based purely on future dangerousness of Stark’s actions. Holding: The ruling of the case was based primarily on the specific dictations by law which holds an individual responsible for his actions, which are intended to do bodily harm to another person, making him guilty of second degree assault. Stark’s careless behavior and reckless actions that transmit or expose other individuals to HIV do just that. Reasoning: Stark’s conviction was based on the availability of evidence that can easily be concerned as sufficient to establish intent. Testimonies from the victims, Stark’s neighborhood friends as well as his doctor and nurse all pointed towards his consciously aware reckless behavior and intent to do harm. Stark clearly stated in one of reported conversation â€Å"I don’t care. If I’m going to die, everybody’s going to die† leaving no room for doubt of his intentions and hence making an appropriate court sentence inevitable. Prior to this case, other cases such as, Commonwealth v. Brown and State v. Haines can be analyzed to find that similar sentences were given for comparable crimes by

Calvetta Essay Example for Free

Calvetta Essay 4. How, if at all, should Calveta’s organization structure and practices be changed to accommodate growth and effective communication, while maintaining the company’s culture? This is a very sticky issue. Growth, along with other factors, seems to have diminishing effects on company culture, popularly referred to as â€Å"Antonio’s way†. Two forms of growth present themselves to the company. They can either expand into the hospital segment (which falls in line with core competencies); or they could buy up GSD consequently growing their SLF customer base. Given the issues listed, I don’t believe purchasing GSD would be profitable, as debt financing would have to be undertaken thus, going against Antonio’s way. However, Frank believes they must grow in order to stay competitive within the industry so the former opportunity should be undertaken. The turnover, and promotion rate for Calveta is too rapid. It’s one of the major issues dissatisfied customers had with the SLF. Frank should consider slowing this down, and perhaps placing new staff members in proper training programs administered by current staff to ensure smooth staff changes. Whilst flexibility and ease of advancement may make the employees happier, the customers will suffer from the constant interrupted changes. Calveta should maintain a degree of normalcy in the workplace, and make it harder to advance (could have positive affects on employees motivation). Another structural issue is the current staff organization. If Frank is worried about the loss of emphasis on his father’s ideals he must communicate this effectively with the staff. Discussion groups, incentive packages, and achievable goals should be established for all staff members, especially new ones, so that company culture is maintained and reinforced. If Calveta are to grow, they will need a larger amount of regional employees. This will most likely lead to the hiring of persons outside of the company. Calveta need not hire them right out of college though. They may obtain them from similar companies with similar values and ideals. As GSD is about to be taken over, perhaps the better staff members may wish to come to Calveta  instead of staying on with a new owner. To ensure continuation of company culture pointed questions in the interview and recruitment process pertaining to it should be asked. Similarly, constant feedback for current employees would reinforce challenge 4, of Antonio’s way.

Factors Affecting Health Communication Campaigns

Factors Affecting Health Communication Campaigns A comparison of HIV Aids and Polio Campaigns in Aligargh, Uttar Pradesh Introduction: Last two decades of the century has seen a renewed interest in the field of health communication, disease prevention and health promotion. This was because it was realized that continued investments in clinical health research brings diminishing returns if it is not accompanied with strategic information, education and communication(IEC) efforts. (Pencheon, Guest, Melzer, Gray, 2004) Public and government health departments are rich with tacit knowledge regarding health communication practices and the problems encountered with the population in their geographical area. However this information is rarely collected and written down due to lack of resources. Effective communication can spread knowledge, value and social norms. This can be instrumental in affecting behaviour and improving the over-all health status of the population. India faces a dual challenge in tackling the problem of HIV Aids and Polio. First is the overall high population and poor living conditions of people living in small towns and villages, and second is the complex socio- cultural factors which lead to poor awareness and stigma attached to these diseases. It is important to understand these factors which affect the impact of health communication campaigns in a particular geo-graphical sub system if a comprehensive micro understanding of this field has to be generated. Moreover there always exists a gap between the people who design health communication campaigns and the campaign implementers. An assessment and feed-back from the grass root level implementers needs to be taken if this gap has to be effectively filled. This research hopes to uncover these insights which will be useful not only to the academics but also to the practitioners. Literature review Health Communication: Health communication involves the use of communication strategies by experts in public health domain to influence the health behaviour of people. It is a link between health care practices and communication which has a significant impact on influencing individual and community behaviour towards health and thereby a huge potential to significantly improve their life. (Neil Mckee, 2004) HIV AIDS: The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that infects cells of the immune system, destroying or impairing their function. As the infection progresses, the immune system becomes weaker, and the person becomes more susceptible to infections. The most advanced stage of HIV infection is acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It can take 10-15 years for an HIV-infected person to develop AIDS; antiretroviral drugs can slow down the process even further. HIV is transmitted through unprotected sexual intercourse (anal or vaginal), transfusion of contaminated blood, sharing of contaminated needles, and between a mother and her infant during pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding. Global Case load: HIV Aids In countries most heavily affected, HIV has reduced life expectancy by more than 20 years, slowed economic growth, and deepened household poverty. In sub-Saharan Africa alone, the epidemic has orphaned nearly 12 million children aged less than 18 years. The natural age distribution in many national populations in sub-Saharan Africa has been dramatically skewed by HIV, with potentially perilous consequences for the transfer of knowledge and values from one generation to the next. In Asia, where infection rates are much lower than in Africa, HIV causes a greater loss of productivity than any other disease, and is likely to push an additional 6 million households into poverty by 2015 unless national responses are strengthened (Commission on AIDS in Asia, 2008). According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), HIV has inflicted the single greatest reversal in human development in modern history (UNDP, 2005). Fig 1.1 A global view of HIV Infection (UNAIDS, 2008) The current statistics on HIV/AIDS as published by UNAIDS (2008) are: Estimate People living with HIV/AIDS 33.0 million Adults living with HIV/AIDS 30.8 million Women living with HIV/AIDS 15.5 million Children living with HIV/AIDS 2.0 million People newly infected with HIV in 2007 2.7 million Children newly infected with HIV in 2007 0.37 million AIDS deaths in 2007 2.0 million Child AIDS deaths in 2007 0.27 million Fig. 1.2 -Current Statistics on HIV Aids Global Health Communication initiatives for HIV Aids: Education Entertainment Approach: The Soul City, South Africa (Goldstein, Japhet, E.Scheepers, 2004) South Africa even though a developed country had a wretched health care system, mainly due to long years of apartheid practices. In late 1990s Dr Garth Japhet, a young doctor observed this at Alex clinic. He observed that the health communication efforts in South Africa where very slogan based and not sustainable. Bursts of activity like National Aids day were not enough. There was no formative research before planning these campaigns. More over the campaigns followed a Top Down approach, and lacked synergies between medical community, government and media. Soul City was an extensive multi media campaign started in South Africa, due to the efforts of Dr Garth Japhet. The whole campaign was a collection of mass media campaigns which were connected and implemented year on year. There was a 13 part prime time- television series called Soul city, which was accompanied by a 60 episode radio show. Even though content of both these shows was not similar yet they both highlighted same health issues. Later on printed IEC material was also developed and distributed based on the characters of Soul City. These booklets were also reviewed by 11 top newspapers of the country. Through 1994 to 1999 five series of Soul city were broadcasted. These were consisted rated as top three most watched drama series in South Africa. The Radio program also got very high listenership ratings. Formative research and high creative input went into designing the IEC material which was targeted uniquely to adults and young population. The key to success of Soul City multimedia program was use of media conversion, from print to radio to television. This encouraged inter-personal discussions about health issues. Learning: Locally developed content which has quality entertainment works well For a multimedia educational model to succeed it should return value to all the stake holders Media advocacy leads to policy and social change A continual and integrated multimedia strategy is necessary if the effect of communication has to be sustained. Against Stigma: ACT UP, United States of America (Documents archive/Act Up explained) Stigma is a problem which plagues every country and becomes a very important factor in HIV + people seeking help and coming out in public .The Aids Coalition to unleash power , is one such organisation which attempts to remove this stigma through bold and creative action. They boldly use their slogan Silence = Death which urges people to speak up about HIV and Aids. They seek to normalize talks about condoms and Aids by radical action like sticking posters on telephone booths which say this telephone has been touched by a person with Aids Public demonstrations at churches, baseball fields, Wall Street etc are held to imply that Aids is everybodys business. Once during a Sunday sermon session in New York the ACT UP activists did staged a mass die in outside to highlight the bishops silence on Aids. ACT UP activists use linguistic symbols to make strong statements like -No, Glove No Love and Aids is no ball game. These were used as places like Shea baseball stadium. Learning: ACT UP founder Larry Kramer studied the fight against stigma by Mahatma Gandhi and Dr Martin Luther King and suitably adapted it for modern day audience Use of creative and clutter breaking ideas helps discussion and normalization of sensitive issues like stigma Use of public demonstration, Sit ins and Die ins helps create buzz and social change. Health communication efforts for HIV Aids in India: The National Aids Control Program (UNAIDS, 2008): Every State in India has an Aids prevention and Control Society which under supervision from NACO carries out local initiatives. The second Stage of National Aids control program (NACP) ended on March 2006.This focussed on various platforms to promote youth education about safe sex, safe blood donation and HIV testing. Various platforms like Street plays, concerts, national aids day, TV and radio spots, and celebrity endorsements were utilised. Use of teachers and peer group influencers was done to disseminate knowledge about HIV aids The third stage of NACP will have a strong focus on condom promotion. The installation of over 11,000 condom vending machines in colleges, road-side restaurants, stations, gas stations and hospitals has been done. With support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the government has also initiated a campaign called Condom Bindas Bol!, which involves advertising, public events and celebrity endorsements. It aims to break the taboo that currently surrounds condom use in India, and to persuade people that they should not be embarrassed to buy them. (Shhhhnot anymore!) Various multi-media campaigns have been implemented in India to create awareness about HIV. These include special communication programs to target special audience like sex workers, truck drivers, and street children. Radio programs are broadcasted on a regular basis to disseminate information. Field publicity units, Drama and song division has been set up to target rural India. Aids hotlines with around 1097 toll free numbers have been set up in major cities of India. A very successful program has been the University Talk Aids (UTA program), which covered 4,044 institutions in India and reached out to 3.5 million students. The program was implemented by National Service Scheme with assistance from WHO and NACO.Independent evaluation suggested that the program was highly successful in creating a healthy attitude about sex among young children  ­Communication regarding Condom promotion: Social marketing of Condoms combined with free distribution has been used to promote usage among general public as well as high risk groups. Department of Family welfare has been instrumental in distribution and supply of condoms. Family Health Awareness Campaign This campaign was focussed on creating awareness about RTI and STI among the general public as well as the field level functionaries. This campaign is organised annually in rural as well as urban slum areas. (Shaukat Mohammed, 2003) Reaching Special Audiences: Reaching Men who have Sex with men (MSM): Case Study Naz foundation Trust of India: (Rakesh, 2002) Background: India with a very high population runs the risks of very high PLHA even if a low prevalence rate of HIV is present. Even though most sources of infection are through hetero-sexual sex yet in certain areas like north -eastern India, IDU becomes a dominant factor for HIV transmission. Strategy: The Naz foundation was set up in 1994 to address sexual health issues of MSM, women, truck drivers and PLHA. The key communication objectives were: Communication about modes of transmission Prevention and risk reducing strategies Means of accessing treatment The intervention strategies utilised were: Community outreach: Nine outreach sites which were staffed with officers who provided information on safe sexual health practices, condom usage and provided referrals STI referrals: A non judgemental approach to STI risk patients was followed. STI clinics were set up with a MSM friendly physicians Social and Group meetings: support groups were formed to help MSM and create a freer environment for information interchange Counseling:Telephone hot lines and personal counselling was set up to address MSM concerns Results: The implementation of Naz foundation strategies was evaluated and it showed a number of positive results. An increase from 11 % to 43% for all time condom usage ,the STI clinic visits increased from 24% to 56%, and condom usage by male sex workers increased from 20% to 43 % Learning: Naz foundation realized that in order to reach out to special audiences tailored solutions are necessary. Some risk groups like female partners of MSMs are very difficult to reach and hence intensive efforts are needed in this area. Reaching out to Injecting Drug Users (IDU): Case Study IDUs in New Delhi India (Dorabjee, 1998) Background: In some cities of India like New Delhi the HIV prevalence rate among IDU users is as high as 85%.The Indian NGO Sharan has been working for IDU since 1979,and has done some breakthrough work in this area.(AIDS Analysis Asia ,1996). Strategy: IDU were motivated to join either drug substitution therapy which involved substituting drug injections to oral drug usage or needle exchange program where the registered IDU users vouched to stop exchanging needles during drug usage. The reason behind the success of this program was that it managed to develop a strong trust among IDU users because it employed recovering drug users as outreach workers. Constant feedback was sought from them and the program was modified accordingly. The IEC approaches used were counselling, peer education, information on sexual transmission of HIV aids, condom distribution and drug use prevention programs. Results: 33 % of registered IDU started taking oral drugs instead of Injections 21% stopped sharing needles Use of advocacy resulted in government accepting the use of harm reduction strategies for IDU users Learning: Political support is necessary for the success of any IEC project on sensitive issues. This can be influenced through strong advocacy Incorporating feedbacks by outreach workers and IDU can significantly increase the impact of the campaign A range of clinical, social and communication services are required to meet the purpose of HIV prevention among IDU users Addressing the mobile population: Case Study the Trucker Population of India (Bhoruka, 2001) There are about 50 million trucker population in India, who spend around ten months away from home. Around 70% of these engage in unprotected extra marital sex (UNAIDS, 2006).HIV infection is high in this segment along with a high STI danger. A major obstacle is that these truck drivers do not use condoms for road side sex as it regarded as a re-creational activity. Strategy: The Bhoruka public welfare trust (BPWT), attempted to reach these truck drivers through free tea parlours set up at 5 main route stops in India. These tea parlours offered a meeting ground for the truck drivers and offered tea, newspaper, TV and other forms of entertainment. However no prostitution or drugs were encouraged. Condoms, clinical counselling and STI medical referrals were offered at a subsidised rate. The most important aspect was focus on peer education and counselling. As these truck drivers discussed about their life, peer educators gave them counselling and information. Parking lots were used as another reaching stop where peer educator gave out condoms and IEC material. This program became so successful that various truck drivers themselves became informal peer educators. The tea-shops were also managed by truck drivers or sex workers. Informal truck driver peer educators were later trained and given certificates to become formal peer educators and work in these tea shops. Small motivational incentives like bags and pens were also offered to these truck drivers as well as informal peer educators. Results: Every tea centre reaches out to close to 48,000 people annually, provides subsidised treatment to 2,200 patients .Fifty percent of these patients are treated for STIs Around 200 truck drivers had been trained as peer educators by the year 2000 The condom social marketing component of this program was very successful, with steady increase in condom sales. Till 2000 there were 104,832 sold and 162 active condom distribution set up. Learning: A high level of motivation should be maintained amongst the peer learning groups. Its important to have support of all the stakeholders for the success of any ICE program. Poliomyelitis (polio) Poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly infectious viral disease, which mainly affects young children. The virus is transmitted through contaminated food and water, and multiplies in the intestine, from where it can invade the nervous system. Many infected people have no symptoms, but do excrete the virus in their faeces, hence transmitting infection to others. Initial symptoms of polio include fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness in the neck, and pain in the limbs. In a small proportion of cases, the disease causes paralysis, which is often permanent. Polio can only be prevented by immunization (World Health Organisation) Global Case load: Polio Polio cases have decreased by over 99% since 1988, from an estimated 350 000 cases in more than 125 endemic countries then, to 1997 reported cases in 2006. In 2008, only parts of four countries in the world remain endemic for the disease the smallest geographic area in history. In 1994, the World Health Organization (WHO) Region of the Americas (36 countries) was certified polio-free, followed by Western Pacific Region (37 countries and areas including China) in 2000 and the WHO European Region (51 countries) in June 2002. In 2007, more than 400 million children were immunized in 27 countries during 164 supplementary immunization activities (SIAs). Globally, polio surveillance is at historical highs, as represented by the timely detection of cases of acute flaccid paralysis. Persistent pockets of polio transmission in northern India, northern Nigeria and the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan are key epidemiological challenges. As long as a single child remains infected with polio, children in all countries are at risk of contracting the disease. The poliovirus can easily be imported into a polio-free country and can spread rapidly among unimmunised populations. Between 2003 and 2005, 25 previously polio-free countries were re-infected due to importations. The four polio-endemic countries are Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan. Global Health Communication efforts for Pulse Polio: Strategic communication efforts in Afghanistan (Rafiqi, 2004) The Pulse polio eradication program of Afghanistan faced stiff challenges due to illiteracy, resistance, inaccessibility and worsening security conditions. Strategic approach for Polio health communication in Afghanistan focussed on advocacy, social mobilization, communication to support the program and training. Advocacy was achieved by involving top leaders at every program launch, and getting them involved at all levels by sharing epidemiological data. Social mobilization through involvement of religious leaders, mosque and prayer announcements, and inter-personal communication. Television and Radio was also utilized. Communication to support the program was achieved through district and community based forums which encouraged discussions, dedicated community specific social mobilization workers were employed and training was given to Imams and other religious leaders. Print media was used effectively for brochures, banners and leaflets. Learning: Its a challenge to shift the focus of health communication from campaign type to sustainable communication Advocacy at highest level is instrumental to success of the campaign Use of local facilities like mosques, bazaars, mobile loudspeakers etc lead to effective social mobilization Appropriate mix of print and radio can effectively reach mobile population Establish strong relationship with religious leaders Promote health education through health facilities as well as private practitioners Ensure all factions of community are involved including women Polio immunization efforts through public health education efforts in West Africa. (African Science Academy Development Initiative (ASADI), 2005) Nigeria faced a major challenge when polio vaccination was stalled in northern areas due to huge negative controversy in local as well international media regarding the safety of these oral medicines. Moreover allot of trusted religious leaders also spoke out against the vaccine. To fight this drastic loss of acceptance of Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV), a strong communication plan was developed with the objective that each child should get OPV drops.This was achieved through heightened advocacy through large scale public flag offs of campaigns, direct involvement of the president, working with the private companies including telecom companies, and engagement of religious as well as community networks. To focus on community education community mobilizers were assigned to high risk area, traditional media like street theatre, town criers, mobile cinema and folk songs were utilized. Mass media like TV spots and radio jingles were also integrated Effective use of Media for behaviour change was used. This included broadcasting in national languages, special programs for minority groups, projection of human interest stories to create positive dialogue, folk media, community theatre and mobile cinema followed by dialogue. Success of this campaign can be determined by the fact that the demand for immunization and OPV drops substantially increased. The OPV controversy was effectively resolved, along with support from key stake holders. Learning: Behaviour Change through public education and integrated mass and traditional campaigns can effectively result in more demand and acceptance of polio immunization. Health communication efforts for Polio: India Reducing resistance and increasing community dialogue: Meerut, Uttar Pradesh (United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) India, 2007) Meerut is one of the regions of Uttar -Pradesh which is seen as high risk for the polio endemic. A highly innovative social mobilization campaign was implemented in Meerut, which involved: Use of distinct influencers; Three teams of 35 Urdu teachers,24 kirana store owners and Hajis (people who have completed Haj pilgrimage )were involved in these teams. Close to 25,000 primary schools were approached on republic day, to educate the children, inform them of the dates of immunisation so that better participation is achieved. Mosques were approached to educate the community. Their participation increase from 61% in January 2007 to 74% in February 2007. Meetings on a regular basis were conducted with mothers and daughter in laws, to discuss polio and child health issues. Booklets were published which contained poems written by local influential poets. These boosted the morale of health workers and also worked as strong advocacy measure. Due to these innovative techniques Meerut recorded the lowest no. of resistant households in Uttar Pradesh in 2007. Learning: Polio needs to be incorporated as a part of overall child health program . Consistent, open and on-going dialogue with all factions of community is necessary. Use of innovative techniques to create interest: Polio Joker (Kher, 2007) Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), hired Manchanda Jha to dress up as a joker and attract kids to polio booths .He sings songs about polio, does tricks, engages children and gives information about the importance of polio drops alongside.When dances and sings Chal chale polio boothpe hum sathiyoon, chalke do boondh jeevan ke le sathiyon the children are not only humoured but also an important message has been delivered. He became so successful that he came to be called Polio Joker popularly. He has been instrumental in reaching out to care-givers and kids in slum areas. This program was implemented for three years and has very high recall value. Learning: New entertaining techniques need to be implemented if communication has to reach children Communication methods should be tailored to meet the needs of high risk areas. Rationale of the research Health status of a country is influenced by a number of factors like food, water, income, sanitation, education and accessibility to health care services. Health communication campaigns and health services dont exist in a vacuum but are influenced by external socio-economic, cultural and factors. These factors play an important part on how health information education and communication campaigns are designed, implemented and finally received by the target audience. These factors also influence policies, resource allocation, technology, training of medical staff and communication strategies used. These in turn shape the health services system of a particular region. Studies which have documented the health communication efforts have restricted themselves to an analysis at national level. It will be not surprising to find that in a complex nation like India various sub-systems exist, and every sub-system might influence the message in its own way. HIV AIDS and Polio are two major health concerns faced by Indian population. On-going and consistent efforts are made to educate people regarding these. However again within a geographic sub-system people might react and respond both these campaigns in a differential manner owing to a variety of factors like sensitivity of the issue, complexity of the message and stigma. Through this study I wish to explore these factors which affect the impact of health communication campaigns of HIV Aids and Polio, in a geographic sub-system. Research Objectives: Through the analysis of the literature review and recommendation of my guide the following research objectives have been identified: To understand the health communication processes and initiatives undertaken for HIV Aids and Polio prevention/care at a sub-system, grass root level. To identify factors which lead to an differential impact of these health communication campaigns To suggest improvements ,if possible, to current health communication practices followed in the geographic sub-system Research Areas: Health communication campaigns which will be studied extensively are: Against HIV-Aids: These will include the communication efforts in the area of prevention (transmission through mother to child, sexual transmission and primary prevention) and against stigma. Against Pulse Polio: Campaigns for polio education and routine immunisation will be studied. This study aims to understand the use of traditional media, electronic and human channel employed at the grass root level. What are the problems faced in implementation, what are the intermediary factors which affect them, and what measures are taken to combat these problems. An evaluation of these campaigns will also be conducted based on how much has the target audience been receptive to them, and responded by either positive action or behaviour change. Ultimately both these campaigns will be compared and contrasted to arrive at the differentiating factors which impact the outcome of these. Research Methodology: Phase One An extensive secondary research will be done to establish a foundation for the primary research. The literature review provides certain learning about different methods of strategic health communication. This learning will be taken forward to secondary research where the focus will be kept on the grass root health communication initiatives undertaken in the chosen sub-system. In addition a case study method will be employed to shape up the key focus areas for the primary research. Phase two This phase will consist of primary research will be essentially qualitative and exploratory in nature. The purpose of this type of research methodology is to generate basic knowledge on relevant areas, discover associated factors, and identify information gaps. Data collection and Analysis: Secondary research will consist of data collection from online sources, medical and communication journals as well as reports. Various performance reports and internal documents which are generated at the primary sub-system level will also be looked into gather data. Expert In-depth interviews will be conducted to gain more understanding on the subject. It is important to note that the interviews will be open -ended and flexible to generate maximum insights. These interviews will involve extensive probing and will utilize the technique of laddering, An interview guideline will however be prepared for a comprehensive and systematic execution. Similar technique of in-depth interviews will also be employed to collect information from target audience regarding the appeal of the campaigns. The reason why in-depth-interviews will be used over other methods of data collection is: It is flexible It provides in-depth information about areas to be covered Since the area of study is very specialised it provides scope for clarification Some of the issues which needs to be discussed are personal in nature, a face to face and private discussion is necessary Like other techniques, this tool also suffers from certain limitations. It is prone to bias and largely depend on the skill of the interviewer. It is an expensive technique, can be time consuming and responses may be difficult to interpret. The structure of the interview is not clearly defined unlike a survey and so same questions may not be asked to all the respondents Area of Study: The chosen geographical sub-system for the primary research is Aligarh in UP. The reasons behind this are the following: Northern UP has a relatively high prevalence rate of HIV AIDS Its one of the few areas in India which is still Polio Endemic Familiarity with the local language Initial contacts are available Timeframe of the study: Phase one-: November till mid-December 2009 Phase two/primary research: Mid December to January 2010 Sampling: Sampling universe consists of all the experts in the area of the study, and the population to which the health communica

The Reality of Television Essay -- TV Romance Celebities Papers

The Reality of Television Through the years, many of us have watched as celebrity couples have come together and then grown apart before our very eyes. It has become part of the American culture to be informed of what almost every celebrity icon is doing, and who they are with at the moment. Couples that were once said to be invincible proved everybody wrong, and let the pressure of being famous take over their lives. Though some couples do stay together, most tend to fall under the pressure of the media and break up. Couples such as Kate Winslet and Jim Threapleton, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, and the famous Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are good examples of relationships that have failed as a result of the media. Kate Winslet and Jim Threaoleton said that the pressure of fame split their beautiful relationship. Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise who were known to be the hottest and strongest Hollywood couple proves the whole world enough by announcing their divorce after eleven years of marriage and adopting two children. Jennifer Lopez is not an unknown name in Hollywood when it comes to relationships. Known as the queen of jumping around from man to man, she has thus proved herself not to be as strong as she appears. From two previously failed marriages before, she has recently broken off her engagement to Ben Affleck. But the one question that still remains in everybody's heads is; "why do these relationships that start out so strong eventually fail?" One could say that the celebrities aren’t at fault. With the media following a couple’s every move; it would be hard to get a private moment. Another problem that many celebrity couples have is the difference of fame. What? There are celebrities that don’t stay with a ... ...onard Nathanial. (2002). The Greenwood Guide to American Pop Culture. (Vol. 4). Greenwood Press. Potter, James W. (2003). The 11 Myths of Media Violence. Thousands Oaks, California: Sage Publications. Stewart, M. (2000, January 5). Top Reason Why Celebrity Marriages Don't Work. People, Pg 37. McNamara, Joe. (1998, January). Anything goes: Moral bankruptcy of television and Hollywood. USA Today. Pg 69. Picture Sources: http://media.mnginteractive.com/media/paper36/benifer0916.jpg http://i.cnn.net/cnn/2003/SHOWBIZ/TV/02/18/tv.joe.millionaire.ap/story.joe.zora.jpg http://www.americaslibrary.gov/assets/jb/modern/jb_modern_tvkid_1_m.jpg http://i.cnn.net/cnn/2003/SHOWBIZ/books/09/02/lucy.kanfer/story.lucy.vita.jpg http://pictures.risukun.com/2002-01%20to%202002-05%20Spring%20Semester/2002-02-10%20Party%20for%20Yuta/07%20watching%20tv.JPG

Importance of Knowing Other Cultures :: Cross-cultural Experiences

Question Answered: Present the ways in which cross-cultural experiences strengthen a continuous development of the world environment. Cross-cultural experiences can be numerous things. It could be as simple as having a potluck, joining a book club, or participating in a forum. Cross-cultural experiences can also be moving to or visiting a different neighborhood, city, state, or country. All of these activities involve an exchange of ideas about people's identities. Let us suppose an American boy, who I will refer to as "person A" for the purposes of this paper, visits his Japanese friend, "person B.," In their everyday interactions, they talk about their families, ancestors, history, favorite food, hobbies, etc. Person A, consciously or not, gives knowledge of the reality of his culture. As in any other initial exposure to something foreign, person B enters into this experience with some preconceived notions. As he listens to and observes person A, he comes to understand an identity - particularly, that of person A. Consequently, person B gains knowledge, and uses it to resolve his stereotypes and rightfully adjust his opinions. A more significant consequence of this particular cross-cultural experience is what results in person B. In such an exchange two things come to effect. One, person B becomes compelled to teach person A about his own culture. His appreciation for his new knowledge, as well as his own desire to rid others of misconception s about his culture drives him to share his identity with those around him, starting with his friend. Eventually, the knowledge spreads; and so does the drive to educate. Two, this exchange allows person B to exercise the important virtue of having an open mind. He becomes open to experience different cultures because of a resulting desire to understand the diverse world. In turn, the world environment continues to develop because, not only are there more people who are willing to educate, more people are willing to learn with an open mind. The evolution of the globalized societal landscape is directly connected to the occurrence of cross-cultural experiences. This is because, with more understanding about the world cultures, we can continue to evolve as a unified group of individuals. The world environment is defined by how we interact with each other. It involves relationships as inclusive as a country's interaction with another country or as intimate as someone's friendship with his roommate.

Islam, Apostasy and Missions Essay

Sharkey’s Empire and Muslim Conversion: Historical Reflections on Christian Missions in Egypt, Kieser’s Mission as A Factor of Change in Turkey (Nineteenth to first half of Twentieth Century) and Erhan’s Ottoman’s Official Attitude Toward American Missionaries and a chapter from Timothy Marr’s work â€Å"The Cultural Roots of American Islamicism†, are scholarly enterprises that provides a comprehensive details about some historical phenomenon pertaining to Christian Missionaries, Islamic world and American History. All these articles refer to missionaries’ activities in the different geographical region within Islamic world but all these indicate similarities in their social and political orientations, their patterns and procedures and their successes and failures. All the authors have tried to present different aspects of missionary activities in the Islamic world with different approaches of historiography. But mostly all of them have illustrated the Mission’s movements in the Western hemisphere of the Islamic world. Egypt and Ottoman empire during the 19th century and early 20th century with a brief references to other parts of Islamic world (Mostly Sharkey has provided succinct comparisons with Iran, Pakistan and Indonesia etc. ) hither and thither. Their methodology to explore the historical realities, to analyze the issue and to provide judgments remains different. For example, Sharkey like a distinguished historian approaches the question with professional integrity and objectivity and restrains himself from providing sweeping conclusions about the whole scenario that he has analyzed intensively and extensively. He only provides the verified and verifiable arguments in support of his thesis and tries to coverall the aspects of evolution of phenomenon of Mission activity, their triumphs and failures and applies these historical judgments to the contemporary situation and ruling tenet of Clash of Civilization. Whereas Hans-Lucas Kieser arguments lucidly without relying much on primary and secondary sources but sometimes he adopts an authoritative stance over some issue without providing any substantial proof. Although Erhan also mulls over the phenomenon of Missionary activity in the Ottoman Empire but he has considered a specific issue of Ottoman’s official attitudes toward theses Evangelical missions. Other writer like Sharkey and Kieser touch some aspects of Ottoman’s approach and policies toward these missionaries but Erhan discusses these exhaustively along with the diplomatic relations between Ottoman Empire and United States of America in the early 18th century and how these relations affected the American missionaries status in the geographical domain of Ottoman empire. Timothy Marr postulates his theory first and then draws on far-fetched intellectual arguments to support his thesis. He collects all the historical evidences that can support his thesis and arrange them in a way so that they seem converging on a single point i. e. to draw parallels between major tenets of abolitionist spirit with romantic perception of Islamic world. He takes into account the whole Antebellum period. The ultimate purposes of all the articles seem to develop an understanding of the patterns and processes of Evangelical missionaries work in the Muslim world and its implications in the contemporary scenario (except Timothy Marr that analyzes the effect of Ismaicism on antislavery movement in America). Sharkey’s work is of great importance in this regard as its intention is to trace down the roots of Missionary activity in the Anglo-American imperialism and to locate the causes of the origin of post-colonial trend of considering these missionaries as neo-crusaders and proponents of anti-Islamic neo-imperialism by the Muslim masses. Kieser’s article seems to create a justification based on historical facts and figures that Missionaries in the Ottoman empires were â€Å"actors of social and mental change†. He tries to subvert the popular Muslim notion that Christian missionaries were carters of anti-Muslim agenda. Erhan’s â€Å"Ottoman Official Attitudes Toward American Missionaries† give the impression of a complete intellectual exercise to advance some historical findings. All the writers have specified a special period of Evangelical missionary activities in a particular geographical location. Sharkey takes into account the Missionary activities in Egypt but does not bind himself to chronological limits. He covers the colonial and post-colonial eras but pays special attention to the imperialistic moves of Anglo-American nations and their correlation with the missionary activities of the Anglo-American Churches. Kieser consider the activities of ABCFM in the Ottoman Empire especially the Armenian and Assyrian provinces in the 19th century and first half of 20th century. Sharkey, Kieser and Erhan adopts the same argumentative line about the gradual evolution of missionary activity and acknowledged rightfully explained the phenomenon of Missionaries’ premature activities to convert Muslim to the Christianity, their realization of the impossibility of the efforts and diversion to other socio-religious groups and minorities in the same geographical area. Sharkey says that although Ottoman’s political moves of â€Å"liberalism and tolerance† under the Anglo American imperial influence has facilitated the missionary activities but socio-cultural compulsions remained there that hindered the way of missionaries and kept them away from an agenda of conversion. So conversion of majority Muslims was a fruitless effort. So zealous missionaries turned their attention to the Orthodox Christians of the area i. e. to convert native orthodox Coptic Christians to Protestants. Kieser has analyzed the same pattern of diversion among the missionaries of ABCFM (American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions) in Ottoman Empire. He illustrates that â€Å"The first Missionaries of ABCFM learnt early on the impossibility of evangelizing the members of Ottoman ummet†¦Their resistance to conversion was partly due the strong legal an social sanctions against conversions, but not only to that. Like the Jews, for deep historical and psychological reasons, the Muslims remained on the whole impermeable to the enthusiastic approach of the Protestants. † (Kieser, p. 392-393) He further asserts that â€Å"therefore the ABCFM concentrated its work on the Assyrians, Armenians and Greek minorities and kept in contact with Muslim marginals. † (p. 393) Erhan takes a different stance and says that the initials efforts of the American missionary were directed toward Jews living at Palestine (p. 316) but soon realized that Jew were â€Å"tight-knit religious community and thus largely immune to Christian evangelical activities† ( Erhan, p. 315) But he further illustrates that Christian missionaries were diverted to their fellow Christian with Eastern version of Christianity. All these writers have assessed the situation precisely as Quranic injunctions and â€Å"Shariah’s† rulings that consider Islam as the final version of divine religions that encompass the teachings and tenets of Christianity and Judaism. These Islamic doctrines further hold that â€Å"Murtid† i. e. convert, has no place in Islamic society. These injunctions are psychologically and emotionally absorbed in the Muslims minds so the ultimate result of apostasy was social outcast and in some cases death penalty.

Palm Island in Dubai

The Palm Islands are artificial islands in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on which major commercial and residential infrastructure will be constructed. They are being constructed by Nakheel Properties, a property developer in the United Arab Emirates, who hired Belgian and Dutch dredging and marine contractor Jan De Nul and Van Oord, some of the world's specialists in land reclamation. The islands are the Palm Jumeirah, the Palm Jebel Ali and the Palm Deira. Each settlement will be in the shape of a palm tree, topped with a crescent, and will have a large number of residential, leisure and entertainment centers. The Palm Islands are located off the coast of The United Arab Emirates in the Persian Gulf and will add 520 kilometres of beaches to the city of Dubai. The first two islands will comprise approximately 100 million cubic meters of rock and sand. Palm Deira will be composed of approximately 1 billion cubic meters of rock and sand. All materials will be quarried in the UAE. Among the three islands there will be over 100 luxury hotels, exclusive residential beach side villas and apartments, marinas, water theme parks, restaurants, shopping malls, sports facilities and health spas. The creation of the Palm Jumeirah began in June 2001. Shortly after, the Palm Jebel Ali was announced and reclamation work began. The Palm Deira, which is planned to have a surface area of 46. 35 square kilometres, was announced for development in October 2004. Construction was originally planned to take 10–15 years, but that was before the impact of the global credit crunch hit Dubai. The Palm Islands are artificial peninsulas constructed of sand dredged from the bottom of the Persian Gulf by the Belgian company Jan De Nul and the Dutch company Van Oord. The sand is sprayed by the dredging ships, which are guided by DGPS, onto the required area in a process known as rainbowing because of the arcs in the air when the sand is sprayed. The outer edge of each Palm's encircling crescent is a large rock breakwater. The breakwater of the Palm Jumeirah has over seven million tons of rock. Each rock was placed individually by a crane, signed off by a diver and given a GPS coordinate. The Jan De Nul Group started working on the Palm Jebel Ali in 2002 and had finished by the end of 2006. The reclamation project for the Palm Jebel Ali includes the creation of a four-kilometre-long peninsula, protected by a 200-metre-wide, seventeen-kilometre long circular breakwater. 210,000,000 m3 of rock, sand and limestone were reclaimed (partly originating from the Jebel Ali Entrance Channel dredging works). There are approximately 10,000,000 cubic metres of rocks in the slope protection works. The first thing comes to my mind about all the wonders of the world is the amazing ability of the engineers and architects involved in their constructions to come out with something which finally turns to wonder of the world. I also think that they might be built to let people from all around the world know about the country or state where they are situated. Let us take Dubai as an example. This UAE state became so significant when we talk about superb modern construction since the launching of it's famous Burj Al-Arab, a luxurious 7-star rated hotel. Then the name of Dubai continuously becoming well-known with numbers of modern constructions especially the unbeaten world's tallest building,the 162-stories Burj Khalifa with 828-meter height which is almost twice the height of our Petronas Twin Tower, and also the unbelievable Palm Ireland. The Palm Ireland project was firstly thought as something impossible by some groups of people but the credibilities of the project planners are now proven with its accomplishment. The amazing ideas of constructing these crazy stuffs had drastically brought Dubai to world's attention and this is a big bonus to it's tourism sector. Hence, wonders of the modern world can be said as the tourist attraction to the country or state where they are situated. However, sometimes I do feel that it's such a tragic obsession when Islamic countries and states like Malaysia and the famous Dubai are spending too much money on these constructions while Muslims in many regions of the world are suffering from the violence of the Jews. So, I think it should be a limit for these crazy projects and let us start focusing the nation's wealth to show our concern to Palestinians and all discriminated Muslims from various countries.