Questions whether modern agriculture is sustainable, based on an analysis on two articles on the subject, "Averting a Disaster" and "Assault on the Earth".
900 words (approx. 3.6 pages), 2 sources, 2002, $ 35.95
Abstract Virtually everyone is aware of the importance of agriculture in supporting the lives of the more than six billion people on the planet., but the fact that food is quite plentiful in Western societies and available at a relatively low cost can hide the crisis that exists in agriculture. This crisis is outlined in the articles "Averting a Disaster", published in "International Agricultural Development", and "Assault on the Earth" by Elena Wilken. Close examination of these articles shows that, together, they provide a comprehensive look at the problem of soil degradation and loss. An attempt is made to outline possible solutions, but these articles fail to pay enough attention to the underlying cause of this situation and an area where the greatest chance for success in solving problems exists, namely, the lack of a global management system.
Abstract This paper argues in favor of the United States supporting ideas presented in the Kyoto Protocol. The paper describes the effects of global warming and expounds on the issues presented in the Kyoto Protocol to avert these problems. The main thrust of the treaty is to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by developed countries. The writer believes that despite the US being a non-signatory to this treaty, it should set an example and show its citizens what to do in order to reduce greenhouse gases.
From the Paper "Was it smart for President Bush to pull out of the Kyoto treaty? Many countries are lagging behind Kyoto targets anyways and are paying a fine for it. The UNFCCC Secretariat says emissions by Spain and Portugal were 40.5 percent above 1990 levels in 2002. U.S. emissions were up 13.1 percent. Since there was a fine for not making its targets, President Bush may have saved the country from going into more debt. But does this short term gain justify what could happen in the long term?"
An overview of the first world wide event in the history of Christianity, the Council of Nicaea, the reasons for organizing such a council and its outcome.
Abstract This paper explains that the Emperor Constantine called the Council of Nicaea in the hopes that, by doing so a war between the different Christian factions could be averted. The paper explains that the Council brought together all the clergy at once so that they could work out a compromise amongst themselves regarding their religious beliefs. The paper further points out that the Council was not successful in averting the war as the differences between factions were to vast and that, on the contrary, the Council drove a wedge deeper into the two factions, leading to war and civil unrest until the death of Constantius and Emperor Julian ascended the throne.
From the Paper "Controversies in the Christian Church concerning the mystery of the Trinity began in the second century. Previously, there was almost no mention of the word trinity in the scriptures or Christian writings. It did not come into use until the second century when theologians used new metaphysical methods in their attempts to explain the divine nature. The dispute centered around the trinity and whether Christ was God or man or an intermediate being. They also debated whether or not Christ was created."
Abstract This paper summarizes, from the perspective of a social worker, thirteen individual article about children with HIV/AIDS. The reviewed articles are D. W. MacPherson et. al., 'Emerging Pediatric HIV Epidemic Related to Migration'; E. Olson, 'HIV/AIDS is a Disease that Affects Families in a Profound and Tragic Way'; A. Howell, 'Foster Kids Given AIDS Drugs by U.S. Government'; Y. Wesley, 'Desire for Children Among Women with HIV'; R.H. Merchant and M. M. Lala, 'Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV'; K. Best, ' Averting HIV-Infected Births'; N. Shaffer et. al., 'Prevention of Mother-Child HIV Transmission Internationally'; F. Jahoor et. al., 'The Protein Metabolic Response to HIV Infection in Young Children'; Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 'Progress Toward Elimination of Peri-Natal HIV Infection'; United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, 'The Effects of HIV/AIDS in Early Childhood'; L. Schreck and B. Brown, ' AIDS Update'; A. Brochert, 'Characteristics of Mother, Child Linked to Postnatal HIV Transmission Risk' and M. Preboth, 'Education of Children with HIV Infection'.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Literature Review/Discussion
D. W. MacPherson et. al., 'Emerging Pediatric HIV Epidemic Related to Migration'
E. Olson, 'HIV/AIDS is a Disease that Affects Families in a Profound and Tragic Way'
A. Howell, 'Foster Kids Given AIDS Drugs by US Government'
Y. Wesley, ' Desire for Children Among Women with HIV'
R.H. Merchant and M. M. Lala, 'Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV'
K. Best, ' Averting HIV-Infected Births'
N. Shaffer et al, 'Prevention of Mother-Child HIV Transmission Internationally'
F. Jahoor et. al., 'The Protein Metabolic Response to HIV Infection in Young Children'
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 'Progress Toward Elimination of Peri-Natal HIV Infection'
United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund 'The Effects of HIV/AIDS in Early Childhood'
L. Schreck and B. Brown, ' AIDS Update'
A. Brochert, ' Characteristics of Mother, Child Linked to Postnatal HIV Transmission Risk'
M Preboth, 'Education of Children with HIV Infection'
Summary, Conclusion and Implications for the Social Worker
From the Paper "According to the Committee on Pediatric AIDS of the American Academy of Pediatrics, all school personnel should be appropriately educated in order to contain and correctly handle the fear of the communicability of HIV. Infected children needed to remain in school in order to gain a sense of normalcy for themselves. School offers important prospects for socialization and a sense of belonging and decreases their feeling of isolation and rejection. The Association discussed HIV infection and the involved delay in children's development, the lack of appropriate federal rights laws to enforce and protect these children's rights, management of HIV in schools."
Tags: delivery, breastfeeding, school, orphaned, women
Abstract This research paper argues that global warming is a very real threat to the earth. The paper gives scientific evidence, shows examples of global warming's effects today, and looks at ways that disaster can be prevented.
From the Paper "One of the hottest topics in the United States is the issue of global warming. This issue, once discounted and ridiculed as the wild imaginings of over enthusiastic environmentalists and ?tree lovers,? is now being taken seriously by scientists, politicians, business leaders, and the American environmentalist community. Environmental scientists have been trying to warn these groups that our continued use of coal and petroleum products, as well as established business practices such as dumping industrial wastes into the air and waterways, would be the cause of a natural phenomena called the greenhouse effect, or global warming. Now, when the earth's biosphere is obviously suffering adverse ecological effects from a century of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane emissions, it is apparent to even the most skeptical anti-environmentalists that global warming is real."
Tags: environment, climate, pollution, ozone, deforestation, carbon, dioxide, Clinton, industry
This paper examines how an organization can handle a crisis. The steps an organization takes during a crisis will determine how they come out of it. This paper lays out how an organization can effectively deal with crisis to prevent lasting damage.
1,430 words (approx. 5.7 pages), 8 sources, 2002, $ 47.95
Abstract This paper looks at the importance of a company's crisis management strategy and how the strategy that an organization takes during a crisis can affect the long-term health of that organization. It also puts forth the theory that organizations often collapse because when a crisis occurs they are not equipped to deal with it in a quick and timely fashion.
From the paper:
"Planning ahead of time can help soften the negative impact of an ongoing crisis. Decisions made while planning for a potential crisis tend to be more rational then a decision made in the middle of a crisis. Develop a crisis manual that is simple and easy to read and make sure it is used; it is worthless if it sits idle on a shelf. All employees need to be trained so they know what their roles will be during a crisis. This training will help prepare everybody in the organization to avert or effectively manage extraordinary incidents. It is not possible to plan for all potential crises that can occur. Rather an organization should prepare an action plan that involves responses for various aspects of a possible crisis."
Abstract This paper examines the components necessary for successful emergency communication. The writer evaluates the actions of the New York City Emergency Communications Center in light of the September 11th terrorist attacks in that city. The strengths and weaknesses of the system are detailed, relative to potential problems such as natural disasters that could plague the city. Many of the inherent problems this writer feels the city would face are a result of the fact that much of the city's infrastructure, bridges, tunnels, subways and communication centers are located underground. In this writer's opinion, an earthquake would totally destroy much of the city's infrastructure which would lead to the city being forced to close down, and that would include the financial centers and the ramifications here are well-documented. The paper also details legislation that has been passed at the state level to deal with this potential threat. The writer makes several suggestions as to what would be necessary to avert a major disaster, including designating the Public Information Officer as the person who would be responsible for the coordination of all the agencies, predetermined safe centers should be well-publicized and known in each of the communities, the collecting areas for the victims and survivors of any disaster should be every few blocks, evacuation of bridges and tunnels should be well-planned and coordinated and there should be one umbrella agency that is responsible for the training and coordination of the emergency personnel in the event of a major disaster, such as an earthquake or terrorist attack.
From the Paper "In recent times, especially in the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington DC, effective and speedy emergency communication has become paramount for response personnel?firefighters, police and paramedics. Emergency communications agencies like the North American Center For Emergency Communications (NACEC) were set up to provide quick and speedy services in cases of disaster. A Disaster Victim Information Exchange System (DVIS) was also setup to handle situations where families and loved ones required information about an individual evacuee's location, condition, immediate plans and special needs. In the past, trying to locate a person could take days or months, as information procured from the scene was sketchy and unreliable."
Abstract The collapse of Enron, which represents the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history, led to thousands of employees losing their life savings in 401(k) plans tied to the company's stock. Arthur Andersen, Enron's auditing firm, has been indicted for obstruction of justice for allegedly shredding thousands of Enron documents. This paper explores to what extent a business disaster could have been averted by using modern database technology such as knowledge management tools or data warehousing applications to create a safer working environment.
From the Paper "But what could have prevented so many individuals from losing their life savings? Is there any database application that could have prevented that? Probably not from a user perspective but certainly for an auditing perspective. Data mining allows for the extraction of particular information based on defined goals. Once the attributes are created, the user can extract hidden predictive information from large databases. In the case of Enron's auditing practices, perhaps a data-mining tool would have been able to unearth hidden information. Remember, data mining is data-driven, not user or verification-driven. A user formats a theory about a possible relation in the database and converts this hypothesis into a query."
Abstract The paper discusses the relationship between Poland and the Soviet Union at the time. It explains that Poland implemented martial law in order to avert a Soviet-led invasion.
From the Paper "Jaruzelski did not try to justify his actions in 1981 beyond asserting the need to protect Poland, but he has spoken on the subject more recently. The Communist Party's monopoly of power was threatened by the rise of Solidarity, and Jaruzelski knew that the Soviet Union had not hesitated to use force to suppress an anti?Communist uprising in Hungary in 1956 and had done so again against the liberal "Prague Spring" in 1968."
From the Paper "The second half of October, 1962, was possibly the most dangerous period in the history of the world: The Cuba Missile Crisis, when for a week and a half the United States and the Soviet Union stood closer to the brink of nuclear war then ever before or since. In the aftermath of the crisis, much study has been given to two fundamental questions: How did the superpowers stumble so close to nuclear war, and--perhaps even more important --having come to the brink, how did they back down and succeed in avoiding a nuclear exchange? The latter question is the principal focus of this study.
Until recently, the efforts of scholars in the West to understand the events of October, 1962, suffered from a structural one-sidedness. American policymakers were readily available for questioning, but Soviet policymakers were not, and ... "
Abstract This paper discusses health care providers and litigation, which includes medical malpractice, failure of third party payers to compensate health care providers or to compensate providers in a timely manner and issues related to provider autonomy versus managed care directives emanating from cost conscious and bottom-line oriented managers. This paper reports that courts appear to implement an economic theory as opposed to a fault-based theory, in which liability is ascribed according to economic analyses of who is best situated to reduce the risk of accident, and which accidents are financially worth averting. The author points out that patients have a common law right to choose what care they will or will not accept.
Table of Contents
Introductory Statement
Statement of the Problem
Background on the Problem
Review of Literature
Introduction
Managed Care
Clinical Ethics
Medical Practice Guidelines
What Medical Practice Guidelines Are
Why Medical Practice Guidelines are Developed
How Medical Practice Guidelines are Developed
Legal Implications Associated With the Use of Medical Practice Guidelines
Responsibilities of Patients Related to the Use of Medical Practice Guidelines
Conclusions
From the Paper "The role of government in financing or conducting research or developing practice guidelines also may affect the perceived legitimacy of the statements. The federal government has the power and authority to establish administrative agencies and professional panels to analyze outcomes research and issue practice standards. The federal government also could require the use of such standards in resolving disputes over patient care or payment decisions. Government could exercise this authority to ensure that research is valid and the standards accurate. In the end, of course, the quality of care standards developed will be the product of the "expertise and integrity of the people who make them, whether government sanctioned or not". "
The paper analyzes the relevance of social philosopher John Dewey's seminal work, in the light of the fact that many of his ideas have been misinterpreted today.
Abstract The paper claims that a thorough reading of Dewey's book is necessary to determine what he believed was essential in the concept of educating for democracy. The paper argues that much of the ensuing criticism against Dewey's book would have been averted if he had used different terminology to explain key concepts. Dewey's flaw was writing about democracy as if it were a real fact, verifiable in human experience, instead of as an ideal.
From the Paper "Only the most hardened cynic would attempt arguments against Dewey's supposition in Chapter 7, (when he begins tying his generalized thoughts into more specific assumptions) that "education is a social function, securing direction and development in the immature through their participation in the life of the group to which they belong, is to say in effect that education will vary with the quality of life which prevails in a group" (p. 81). Yet educators and social commentators took issue with that premise, since the very concept of variability was anathema to the prevailing educational beliefs."
Abstract This paper begins by providing a brief definition of coral reefs and their main characteristics. It then discusses the different ecological problems -natural and man-caused which are slowly destroying the reefs. These include eutrophication - when the algae which is in a symbiotic relationship with the coral overgrows the coral using the increased nutrient content of the water and in the process destroys the coral. It also includes over fishing, coral bleaching and tourism. The paper finally examines the various laws and acts which have been passed to try and avert this phenomenon.
From the Paper "Coral reefs are widely known as the "rain forests of the ocean". Providing a habitat to innumerable varieties of marine species the coral reefs are an important part of the marine ecosystem. Occupying an estimated 4,00,000 square miles (0.17%) of the ocean surface the coral reefs sustain more than 25% of all marine life. [Washington College of Law]. However uncontrolled fishing, tourism and other environmentally destabilizing activities of man have seriously endangered the coral reefs. This situation is alarming considering the fact that damage to the coral ecosystem has serious implications for all the countless species that depend on it for their survival. Let us explore the ecological effects of coral reef damage and the environmental laws, which protect them in a little detail."
Abstract As we prepare to enter the 21st century, it is probably wisest to view matters of environmentalism and environmental problems in terms of the culture or cultures that have given rise to degradation and to ways of living that continue to harm the environment, yet which are mainstream practices that are rather taken for granted by many. However, this paper is rooted in the theme of societies, individuals and their attitudes as only slowly changing. As the examples referred to will suggest, there is much reason to question Ulrich Beck's position on environmental Risk as something that will be averted by social dynamics as much as policy decisions.
Abstract This paper states that the collapse could not have been averted. The author points out that, ss a communist experiment, the Soviet system did not allow private property and political dissent, which are crucial for a society's success.
