European History World War I Essay

The focal point of this essay is to evaluate and analyze the position of female nurses in World War I. The paper overall could be enumerated about the impact of World War I on the home front to the countries involving especially women. For the purpose references would be taken from predominantly four books. The first one is It’s a long way to Tipperary: British and Irish Nurses in the Great War by Yvonne McEwen and the second one used in this paper is Nurses at the Front: Writing the Wounds of the Great War by Margaret R.  Higonnet. The third and fourth book used for this paper would be The woman of Royaumount: A Scottish women’s hospital on the western front by Eileen Crofton and War and Gender: How Gender Shapes the War System and Vice Versa by Joshua S. Goldstein. Apart from all these an article by Margaret H. Darrow would also be used that was published in the American Historical Review Vol. 101, No 1 in February 1996 titled French Volunteer Nursing and the Myth of War Experience in WWI. All these texts would be valuable resources for determining the true position of women during the First World War. Yvonne McEwen book deals with the characters that are often overlooked while dealing with the greater perspective of a vast incident like the First World War. These are the people who practically work behind the scene but make tremendous contribution to the cause but more often than not are not mentioned by academicians. Such characters are the female nurses of the First World War. The author presents a testimony to all those nurses of the First World War who proved to be people with astonishing courage and ability to bear hardship. It is not only the soldiers of the First World War who showed all these qualities but the author mentions that it is the female nurses who went unsung after proving themselves to be no less dedicated to their country and service than the soldiers. The sacrifices of these people are hardly written down and thus the author is instrumental in presenting to us the untold stories of the female nurses and their position in the First World War. At the same time the author mentions the other side of this profession and service where the female nurses is mobilized in a large number to compete among rival nursing service agencies. The net result often proved to be uncalled for. This is because though there was a huge demand of female nurses in the First World War it was desirable that the female nurses participating and volunteering to serve are trained adequately. It is almost a certainty that due to this mobilization in mass numbers the quality of the female nurses was diminishing. In the same context it should also be said that this lack of practicable knowledge was often covered up by the will to serve and work extremely hard. However, the author indicates several accounts that show the humane aspects of the First World War female nurses and their position in the social order as they were viewed by the soldiers as saviors though in most cases they were only comforters at the most. But in a time of mass destruction and agony this was more than sufficient for a dying young soldier. The author narrates this aspect of the female nurses with great affection and indulgence. (McEwen, 2006) The second text by Higonnet reveals more of personal account of the two most famous nurses from the United States, Mary Borden and Ellen N. La Motte. Their personal views of the First World War, as brought for forward by the author between the same covers, shows the inner world of the female nurses during the period of the war. These are women who saw the war extremely closely and thus narrates the extremely difficult practice of military medicine under ruthless conditions. Their accounts are often haunting and both reflects the dilemma of treatment where the patient for whom the nurses work so hard would ultimately return to the war zone either to be killed or to kill. At this point the text becomes very touching and humane but at the same time shows us the true position of the female nurses during the First World War. It appears that the female nurses were, in a sense, just comforting medium or toll provided by the government to heal their killing machines. It is true that this cost of war is often difficult to digest with its harsh realities of death and decay of the human mind where most of the humane principals are drained off under unbearable circumstances. But the nurses depict their accounts not only from the point of view of observers but from a point where it appears that they are actually cursing their need of healing the blood river. There is a certain point of motherhood or motherly feeling involved in their accounts. Their text not only becomes extremely important for determining the true position of the nurses during the First World War period but also presents us with humane narratives that are inspirational, thoughtful and moving. (Higonnet, 2001) Eileen Crofton’s The Women of Royaumont, A Scottish Women’s Hospital on the Western Front is a story of a hospital in Royaumont which was within few miles from the western front during the First World War. This story also tells the account of Miss Frances Ivens who works as a surgeon in this hospital. Miss Ivens was also responsible for the set up of this fully equipped hospital to serve the wounded soldiers from the front. This is a wonderful story about the personnel of this hospital where death and pain became a regular feature during the First World War period these were the people who never loosed any hope and lead life with hardship and service from 1915 to the end of the war in 1919. Here we find the daily life of the female nurses with their fear and hope and determination. It is a interesting notion to read the parts where they are seen celebrating Christmas or other such festive moods along with their heavy schedule where doctors were allowed on about three hours of sleep due to rush of patients. Here we find the whereabouts of the female nurses with details accounts such a number of patients during a specific period of time in the middle of the war and the total number of treatments along with details of maladies along with their race and religions. The writer makes us aware that these are personnel who worked amidst shells and gun fires and still maintained their high level of professional skills. Here we also find the aspects of humor, like the festivals or games, helped their moral to continue the harsh days of the First World War period. We also come across the diplomatic situation where the management handled the matter with well formulated strategies to survive. Thus this text reveals a huge amount of details that is needed to determine the position of nurses in the First World War period. We can easily understand the high position these women occupied in the minds of the patients but sadly the same was hardly true when it came to bureaucracy and government. If judged from Eileen Crofton’s point of view it was the outsiders who never shared the life of the nurses and failed to pay their due respect. But at the same time it is true that while evaluating the position of the female nurses during the period of the first World War it becomes certain that the elite of the society hardly paid any respects to these brave service providers even though some of the noted female nurse came from this class. However, the main concerns to the nurses were the well being of the soldiers and there they were highly respected and honored. Goldstein’s text presents a different angle to the entire discussion and along with it places a very interesting point of view too. Goldstein aims at the perspective that states that the impact of gender difference and the significance of gender differences are most visible during the period of war. Yet controversial arguments, and the dispersion of erudition across scholastic regulations, have covered understanding of the nature of war and its implementation on the aspects of gender. According to the writer the affect war cause on gender and the gender difference affect the nature of war is mutual and simultaneous. To venture this mode of circumstances the author explores the aspect of war in general throughout the history of human conflict and notes in a lively yet very authoritative manner that almost always women were excluded from direct combat situation. The write even indicates that this has been the general norm and it is applicable for all race and culture. However the author did mention and evaluated the incidents where the women fought in direct battlefield with much success. In the same context the author also mentions the nature of male complexity in the parameters of social behaviors cause mainly due to secretion of testosterone. This part is a very interesting topic as it looks upon the basic aspects of the concepts relating to the construction of femininity and masculinity under the parameters of war and particularly the First World War. To explain the issue the author illustrates the book into seven broad chapters that deals various aspects of war and the subsequent affects on women in general. The first chapter is A Puzzle: The Cross-Cultural Consistency of Gender Roles in War where the homogenous nature of women’s position is discussed in the light of war. The second chapter is named Women Warriors: The Historical Record of Female Combatants where the role of active participation is noted. The third chapter is Bodies: The Biology of Individual Gender where the author looks into the details of the differences between the sexes. The fourth chapter seeks the social position of women and it named Groups: Bonding, Hierarchy, and Social Identity. The fifth chapter deals with the representation of war as a means of construction of male identity and thus it is named Heroes: The Making of Militarized Masculinity. The sixth chapter is named Conquests: Sex, Rape, and Exploitation in Wartime and it looks into the brutal aspects of male dominance during war and thus reveals the detrimental affects that war causes in the ramification of the women. The last chapter concludes the entire scenario and tries to venture into the connection of women and war and thus it is named Reflections: The Mutuality of Gender and War. It should be mentioned that according to Goldstein the First World War included greater participation of women than before predominantly as nurses. However she points out that it is not natural for a human being to kill but during the First World War it was found that women along with men were forced to commit this act and according to the author this was a direct affect of the War. To prove the points the author presents a number of illustrations that includes drawings, graphics, photographs and related materials from numerous scholarly texts that include diverse academic disciplines. This book by Goldstein is a unique approach in the context of content and approach and it could well be stated that it is a fascinating book to read apart from being a book on a distinct issue that reflect much about the position of women during the WWI. (Goldstein, 2001) The article by Margaret H. Darrow titled French Volunteer Nursing and the Myth of War Experience in WWI is a true text to conclude this entire paper. This is because this article emphasizes on the aspects of the First World War and the involvement of women, particularly female nurses in it. Though it predominantly describes the details of women of France it is nevertheless reveals the position of women during the First World War and particularly about the nurses unlike Goldstein who presents the total perspective and the relation between woman and war. Darrow mentions that women were very much involved in the First World War than previous battles but it was mostly indirect in nature. She mentions that the women joined the jobs that were left behind by their men and even took active participation ministry of military affairs but maximum and direct involvement of the women in the First World War was as nurse. The author clearly mentions this and emphasize that the position of the women at this war was almost equivalent and important as that of the male doctors and it could be further stated that a huge amount of inspirations were drawn from the dedication to the service by the female nurse during the First World War. This is the most important point to be mentioned and this is what makes the involving of the female nurses relevant in the context of the First World War. (Darrow, 1996) In conclusion it should be stated that the being a part of a noble profession it was the opportunity for the female nurses of the First World War to gain importance to their community and help substantially to the ultimate cause of the purpose. It is true that they were often treated badly or were not given their dues for their hard works but if we take into consideration the basic position of women in the society or the importance that they enjoyed before the First World War it could be a well placed statement that the First World War provided a respected position for the female nurses in the cantonment and in the society as well.

Disadvantages of Genetically Modified Food Products Essay

British scientific researchers demonstrated that genetically modified DNA from crops can find its way into human gut bacteria, raising possible health concerns. This is because antibiotic-resistant marker genes are inserted with GM material, which could cause a person to be resistant to antibiotic medicines. The study was conducted at Newcastle University on seven human volunteers who, in the past, had their lower intestine removed and now use colostomy bags. After eating a burger containing GM soy, researchers compared their stools with 12 people with normal stomachs. They found â€Å"to their surprise† that â€Å"a relatively large proportion of genetically modified DNA survived the passage through the small bowel. † None was found in people who had complete stomachs. To see if GM DNA might be be transferred via bacteria to the intestine, they also took bacteria from stools in the colostomy bags and cultivated them. In three of the seven samples they found bacteria had taken up the herbicide-resistant gene from the GM food at a very low level. Michael Antonio, a senior lecturer in molecular genetics at King`s College Medical School, London, said that the work was significant because the researchers demonstrated that you can get GM plant DNA in the gut bacteria, which was previously considered to be not possible. Antonio said the research suggests that antibiotic marker genes could spread around the stomach and compromise antibiotic resistance. If this were to happen, a person could be immune to beneficial antiobiotic medicines. Marker genes are inserted into GM plants to allow identification of GM cells or tissue during development. The House of Lords has called for them to be phased out as swiftly as possible. The research was conducted at the request of the UK’s Food Standards Agency, which released a statement saying the research, â€Å"concluded that the likelihood of functioning DNA being taken up by bacteria in the human or animal gut is extremely low. † * Genetically modified foods may gain undesirable properties. * The preservation of genetic variety in one specie is difficult. The technology make farmer to produce only one type fertile plants. * The technology may cause undesirable degeneration. So, surprisingly, low quality products may be obtained. * Genetically modified foods may change the microbial flora of the soil. It may cause deperdition of essential microorganisms on soil. This ruin natural balance. * When genetically altered microorganisms are consumed with food products, they may consolidate with human or animal organism. His combination may cause deperdition, metamorphosis, or any other strange organisms. * If the foods which were made antibiotic resistant by gene technology are consumed, it may give the same property to human. This cause failure of antibiotic-based treatments. * By this technology transferred genes may contaminate to other organisms undesirably. This may cause biologic disaster. * As a ring of nature chain, insects may be influenced by genetically modified foods and insects can develop resistant mechanism. * Even beneficial foods that carry toxic effect genes can cause human illness. * There is a risk of formation one kind of flora. * Other organisms in the same medium may be influenced by genetically modified foods. Video Transcription. This transcription will have some mistakes because it is partially automated. Hey guys! This is Heather from HealthyEatingStartsHere. com. Today I wanted to talk to you about the disadvantages of genetically modified food. I do mention genetic modification every so often and to be on the lookout for it and that’s one of the reasons why I buy organic foods. And whenever I mentioned I always got a lot of question what it is? Why is it bad? All that kind of stuff! So first of all let’s look out what exactly it is. Genetic modification is when a scientist, genetic engineer goes into the actual DNA of a seed and changes something about the DNA. What it is depends on what they are trying to do. Often in food crops what they’re doing is they’re slicing in a little bit of some other species of plant or animal into the seed for certain traits that they want that plant to have. So if you are a vegan and you’re concern about animal rights and the use of animal products in your food, you wanna be really careful about genetically modified food because they might have some animal genes place in. And that involves not only the animal gene but obviously they are taking it from somewhere so there is some kind of animal experimentation going on. Aside from that, another thing that often comes up in question of what’s the difference between genetic modification and hybridization? Because people have been making hybrids for a long time, is that bad? Well, the difference is with hybrid foods what they’re doing is that they are taking two plants and they’re putting them together, kind of like mating them and producing a slightly different second generation off spring. So, it’s different because they’re not going actually on the actual DNA of the seeds and changing things mechanically. They are cross breeding and hybridization have been going on for a long long time since the beginning of agriculture really and genetic modification is very very new. It only started being experimented with in the late 1980’s and then it’s only been on the commercial scale since the late 1990’s. So not a lot of time they have been gathering data on what the long term effects are and that is one of the main disadvantages that people talk about with genetic modification. Today I want to focus more on the positive and look at what can we come up with as better solutions to whatever it is that people are trying to which are like genetic modification. If you want to read more about the disadvantages, I did write about them in my blogs, you can check that out at HealthyEatingstartsHere. com but again let’s take a look on the positive. The benefits that people are going for in genetic modification, one of the first one is the resistant to pesticides and herbicides. What happens there is well let’s take the biggest example which is Roundup ready crops. Roundup is a chemical that is a herbicides so it kills plants. You probably heard of it, people use it on their lawn, stuff like that and basically just wipes everything out. And what’s the company that produces Roundup called Monsanto wants to do is allow farmers to go out and spray field of crops and have Roundup kill all of the weeds that they don’t want but leave the crops growing. So what they do is they go onto the seeds of these major crops and changed it so that Roundup does not kill them. So that’s one of the biggest and first uses of genetic modification and the solution there if you look at organic food production, the bases behind the whole process is about making plants healthy, making the soil healthy first so that it grows healthy plants and those healthy plants won’t have diseases won’t get pests and will grow in healthy soil and the weeds won’t even be a problem. So it eliminates the need for these Roundup ready crops, I mean it’s more complex than that but that’s the – the basic idea is let’s look at what we want and create that rather than taking how things are and kind of putting a band aid on it and trying to make it better. So you can read a little more about this over at my blog, go check that out but I wanna hear from you guys. Leave me a comment and let me know what you think about genetically modified foods. And whether you think there are some major disadvantages, whether you think they’re important, what you think are some good solutions that would be really awesome thing hear from you guys, what you think some better ways of doing things would be so let me know and I’ll see you guys next time. < p>Hey guys! This is Heather from HealthyEatingStartsHere. com. Today I wanted to talk to you about the disadvantages of genetically modified food. I do mention genetic modification every so often and to be on the lookout for it and that’s one of the reasons why I buy organic foods. And whenever I mentioned I always got a lot of question what it is? Why is it bad? All that kind of stuff!   first of all let’s look out what exactly it is. Genetic modification is when a scientist, genetic engineer goes into the actual DNA of a seed and changes something about the DNA. What it is depends on what they are trying to do. Often in food crops what they’re doing is they’re slicing in a little bit of some other species of plant or animal into the seed for certain traits that they want that plant to have. So if you are a vegan and you’re concern about animal rights and the use of animal products in your food, you wanna be really careful about genetically modified food because they might have some animal genes place in. And that involves not only the animal gene but obviously they are taking it from somewhere so there is some kind of animal experimentation going on. Aside from that, another thing that often comes up in question of what’s the difference between genetic modification and hybridization? Because people have been making hybrids for a long time, is that bad? Well, the difference is with hybrid foods what they’re doing is that they are taking two plants and they’re putting them together, kind of like mating them and producing a slightly different second generation off spring. So, it’s different because they’re not going actually on the actual DNA of the seeds and changing things mechanically. They are cross breeding and hybridization have been going on for a long long time since the beginning of agriculture really and genetic modification is very very new. It only started being experimented with in the late 1980’s and then it’s only been on the commercial scale since the late 1990’s. So not a lot of time they have been gathering data on what the long term effects are and that is one of the main disadvantages that people talk about with genetic modification. Today I want to focus more on the positive and look at what can we come up with as better solutions to whatever it is that people are trying to which are like genetic modification. If you want to read more about the disadvantages, I did write about them in my blogs, you can check that out at HealthyEatingstartsHere. com but again let’s take a look on the positive. The benefits that people are going for in genetic modification, one of the first one is the resistant to pesticides and herbicides. What happens there is well let’s take the biggest example which is Roundup ready crops. Roundup is a chemical that is a herbicides so it kills plants. You probably heard of it, people use it on their lawn, stuff like that and basically just wipes everything out. < p>And what’s the company that produces Roundup called Monsanto wants to do is allow farmers to go out and spray field of crops and have Roundup kill all of the weeds that they don’t want but leave the crops growing. So what they do is they go onto the seeds of these major crops and changed it so that Roundup does not kill them. So that’s one of the biggest and first uses of genetic modification and the solution there if you look at organic food production, the bases behind the whole process is about making plants healthy, making the soil healthy first so that it grows healthy plants and those healthy plants won’t have diseases won’t get pests and will grow in healthy soil and the weeds won’t even be a problem. So it eliminates the need for these Roundup ready crops, I mean it’s more complex than that but that’s the – the basic idea is let’s look at what we want and create that rather than taking how things are and kind of putting a band aid on it and trying to make it better. So you can read a little more about this over at my blog, go check that out but I wanna hear from you guys. Leave me a comment and let me know what you think about genetically modified foods. And whether you think there are some major disadvantages, whether you think they’re important, what you think are some good solutions that would be really awesome thing hear from you guys, what you think some better ways of doing things would be so let me know and I’ll see you guys next time. A lot of people aren’t clear on what exactly genetically modified food is. Very simply, it’s food that’s been changed on a genetic level through genetic engineering. The process usually involves splicing in a gene from a different species of plant or animal to take advantage of certain traits. Hybridization causes some confusion here, since it’s also a way of breeding plants (or animals) for certain traits. The difference is that hybrid food is created through cross-breeding two plants into a second generation. Genetic modification is done directly in the DNA of a seed. The main benefits producers are going for in genetically modifying food plants is a resistance to pesticides and herbicides, better tolerance of extreme weather conditions (like drought), longer shelf lives, and an increase of certain nutrients (like vitamin A-infused rice). That all sounds good on paper, but there are some serious disadvantages of genetically modified food. The most blatant one is that this GM seeds are already in widespread use in the industrial agriculture food chain without having had long-term testing. They only started small scale experiments in the late 1980’s, and large scale operations started in the late 1990’s. The future effects on our health, our environment and the sustainability of our food crops aren’t easy to predict in the best of times, but GM foods and crops throw a real curveball in the mix. Because they are a fundamentally new organism, there’s a lot of speculation that GM foods are treated as allergens – foreign invaders – by our bodies. There’s also the potential of splicing in a gene that is a natural allergen. The disadvantages of genetically modified food don’t stop at health and environmental concerns. There are some serious social justice issues, where farmers in developing nations (and even those in rich countries) are generating massive profits for large corporations without any gains for themselves. In fact, lots of farmers in India kill themselves because they just can’t see a way out of the downward spiral of paying for seeds that require paying for pesticides and fertilizers and machinery, then paying for more seeds and now having to pay for irrigation systems because their land is drying out†¦ Now, that’s just a quick overview of the disadvantages of genetically modified food. I don’t really like to dwell too long on the negative side of things, but sometimes it’s important to know why you don’t do certain things. What I much prefer looking at is the positive side of what you can do instead. If you look at the benefits of GM crops, there isn’t a need to use genetic modification to get them. Organic methods of growing food are about making plants optimally healthy, so that they don’t need pesticides, fertilizers or herbicides. Growing healthy plants from healthy soil also makes for higher nutrient levels, and getting a variety of healthy foods is a better way of getting nutrients than protein-enhanced sweet potatoes or vitamin A-enhanced rice. Growing food in polycultures (lots of different types of plants together) rather than massive monocultures (like the enormous fields of corn or soy beans you see all over North America), and using different varieties of plants brings biodiversity that can better withstand extreme environmental conditions. It’s like building diversity in your investment portfolio – having a wide variety of stocks helps lessen the impact of one or a few companies crashing. Local food systems make shelf life less of an issue. Besides, do you really want to eat rice that could last for a few years? When the farmers are the ones who are starving, there is something seriously wrong in our food supply chain. My main question is this: If there are so many unknowns and disadvantages of genetically modified food, why don’t we put our efforts into better solutions – ones that address the root of the issues? The best way to avoid the disadvantages of genetically modified food is to grow your own – and if you don’t have space or time for a vegetable garden, a jar of sprouts on the windowsill is still awesome. If you need pointers, you can watch me show just how easy it is to grow alfalfa sprouts at home. Want to know it? Answers to life’s questions Want to know it? This blog has a little bit of everything to challenge your mind and find answers to life’s questions. Home Disadvantages of Genetically Modified Food By: Want To Know It Photo Credit wheat field image by Soja Andrzej from Fotolia. com Genetic engineering has been practiced in the form of selective breeding throughout the history of agriculture. However, the discovery in 1953 of the structure of DNA gave scientists the ability to insert genes from one life form into those of a completely separate life form, thus arriving at the modern genetic engineering movement. Genetic engineering is fraught with controversy regarding its ethical and moral implications and health effects. Cancer Genetically modified foods share certain toxic effects on the liver, pancreas, kidneys and reproductive system that may cause cancer in these organs, according to a Greek study published in the February 2009 â€Å"Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition. † The widespread use of recombinant growth hormone — a genetically modified substance — in the agricultural industry is associated with increases in IGF-1, a growth hormone that, in excess quantities, can lead to cancer. Sponsored Links Humanization Special Rapid, Powerful, Full length IgG Short time only End-of-Year Pricing www. BioAtla. com Allergy Allergic reactions to genetically modified foods may arise due to the presence of proteins derived from the plant or animal used to modify the food, according to a U. S. study published in the July 2009 â€Å"Toxicological Sciences. † Current safety standards involve evaluation of the foreign proteins for allergenic potential, and a database of known allergenic proteins has been compiled, along with computer programs for assessing potential allergenicity of proteins. Additionally, animal and non-animal testing methods are being developed to assist in the process of screening for allergenicity. Intestinal Immunity Genetically modified corn caused an immune reaction in mice in an Italian study published in the December 2008 â€Å"Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. † Mice fed genetically modified corn for 30 days showed altered levels of white blood cells; interleukins, a category of protein molecules that regulate immune function; and MIP-1beta, a chemical produced by certain white blood cells that initiates inflammation. The researchers noted that young and old mice were similarly affected by the modified corn. Endometriosis Rising rates of endometriosis coincide with increased consumption of genetically modified foods over the last decade, according to a Canadian report published in the December 2010 â€Å"Gynecology, Obstetrics and Fertility. † The presence of pesticide residue and foreign proteins in genetically modified foods may be the culprit, say the authors, citing the â€Å"low-dose hypothesis† that accumulation of toxins, along with added chemicals for the stabilization and delivery of pesticides designed for use with genetically modified foods, multiply the risk factors and could be harmful for their immune-toxic effects and ability to disrupt the endocrine system. Read more: http://www. livestrong. com/article/345554-disadvantages-of-genetically-modified-food/#ixzz2G2YGRNlT. Genetically modified food has been on the market since the early 90’s and since that time has attracted both positive and negative attention. Many people believe genetically modified food to be unsafe for human consumption and a hazard to the natural environment. There have been numerous studies undertaken to determine the risks involved with genetically engineering foods. As yet no set conclusions have been reached about the risk involved with genetically engineered food and strict guidelines have been established to regulate the genetically modified foods that can be sold to the consumer. What is Genetically Modified Food? Genetically modified food is food that has been altered at the DNA level. This is done by very precise genetic engineering techniques developed by scientists. In general the aim of genetically modifying food is simple, either to make the food more marketable or make it easier to produce. Most food that is genetically modified are plant products or vegetables such as soybeans, corn and tomatoes. The genetic modification of crops happened prior to scientific engineering via breeding and cross pollination. This method is still used to create crops that are more resistant to pests or to produce plants that yield bigger harvests. Scientific genetic engineering allows for a specific gene to be taken from one organism and transplanted into another. The gene responsible for making a plant resistant to pests can be quickly and efficiently transplanted into another plant allowing it to gain this resistant property. Disadvantages of Genetically Modified Food. †¢ There have been numerous criticisms leveled at genetically modified produce and it is important that we as the consumer are informed about the possible drawbacks of a product. †¢ Changing plants may have lasting effects on other organisms in the ecosystem. The change in a plant may cause it to be toxic to an insect or animal that uses it as its main food source. †¢ Due to the widespread use of insect resistant genes in crops the insects may become resistant to the genetic modifications. This would cause a widespread loss of crops and plants that have the natural immunity leading to a loss in biodiversity. †¢ Breeding and cross pollination across unintended species could occur resulting in things such as insect resistant weeds. †¢ Cross pollination can also occur across crops that are not genetically modified leading to lawsuits about who owns the GM technology and seed. The same thing can happen between organic crops and genetically modified crops making it difficult to maintain an organic status. †¢ A huge concern is that genetic modification could cause allergies in humans due to gene modification of plants. People may find that they are now allergic to other food products – people because they contain a gene from the allergen they have. One example is the use of a Brazilian nut gene in corn. †¢ Some studies have shown that it may affect the human digestive system in a number of ways. The incorporation of substances that may interact badly with one another in food or in fact be poisonous to people may happen. The modification of certain genes may make some plant substances difficult to digest at all. †¢ A major economical concern is that the control of world food sources may be limited to large companies because they own the GM seeds and have the money to start and finish the accreditation process. †¢ Genetic modification can also make it difficult to know what you are eating, as a plant could contain animals products via genetic engineering. This could cause issues for those with dietary restrictions and religious commitments. Related Articles.

Keeping the Good Ones

Training employees will lead to increased productivity and better outcomes. Therefore, it is necessary to treat team members as people first and as employees second. It will motivate their engagement in work and interest in outcomes. Actually, staff training will inspire employees and provide them with necessary practical tools in order to keep the good people the company already has. The core principles of successful management are:To offer yourself (director, senior manager) as a person firstly and director secondlyTo offer time with a regular take 10 check-inTo offer motivation and appreciationIt is known that companies spend lots of capital investments in tomorrow’s leaders without paying attention to today’s employees. It is suggested that money is the main reason of departures. Nevertheless, it is not. Money plays important part, though this part is minor compared with other factors. Motivation based only on material awards is insufficient, although lack of money is also a de-motivator.So, there is not need to throw money after employee who is unhappy, because it will create an unhappy employee who is better off financially. It is necessary to outline that variety of factors exist to motivate employees. Therefore, motivation should be intrinsic. There is not single method to motivate all the employees at once. Motivation depends on each employee. Directors should understand these principles, if they want to develop leaders. Otherwise, directors will serve only corporate ambitions of leading competitors.The first key is to build a better culture. If a company wants to retain its employees in whom it has invested capital, time and relationships, it has, firstly, to provide improvements of corporate structure. It s required to look at corporate hierarchy culture – vertical or horizontal. Vertical structure results in decreased communication, less employees’ empowerment and general decrease in commitment, whereas horizontal structu re does the opposite meaning it aims at decreasing friction and power struggles between employees and senior management.Horizontal structure tends to ensure higher visibility and accountability. The next step is to improve employee commitment and communication mechanism. It is important to remember that to improve the quality of employees’ life means to ensure better commitment and performance of the company.The second key is to empower employees. Actually, empowerment is a matter of discussion, though often this concept is misunderstood. It is proved that empowered employees are able to make quicker decisions, they are more confident in their abilities, etc. Thus, empowerment increases employee’s satisfaction and decreases corporate costs related to remediation work.Motivated employees are willingly engaged in innovations and problem-solving processes. The main benefit of empowerment is that it generates loyalty among employees. Therefore, empowered employees realize that their contribution is valued and they are respected.Finally, the third key is to improve relationship skills. It means that relationships within corporate culture may either make or break the company’s performance. Relationship and communication skills are vital component of corporate culture. The company’s managers and directors should display corporate personality traits such as sense of humor, family values, empathy, genuineness to motivate employees follow their example. People should be valued more then outcomes.Further, chief executives should be readily accessible and easily approached. It goes without saying that the better relationship skills among employees and directors, the better the corporate culture. Effective communication is playing nowadays one of the most important roles in organizations and companies, because it is the only source of mutual understanding among employees and customers, directors and suppliers, etc.ReferencesKeeping the Good Ones . (2001). Retrieved March 11, 2007, from http://mpcfilms.com

Drugs State Control Essay

A drug is any substance that alters the normal biological functions of the body. Production of Illegal drugs is normally prohibited and their use is strictly controlled because they can lead to addiction or habituation. Drugs such as heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, and marijuana can be extremely dangerous if wrongly used and beneficial if put into correct use. The issue of drug use and misuse has posed a serious real problem. Prohibition of drug use has been at the center of discussion in various countries across the globe. Since this drugs are now on the hands of the nastiest criminals all over the world, control and regulations are necessary. The only remedy to this menace is full legalization accompanied by appropriate controls. I fully support the motion that drugs should be legalized since prohibition will deny the authorities the chance to educate the children on proper use of the drugs (Gargaro). The ongoing debate on legalization of drugs is asking the government whether it will he lp in solving drug problems appropriately. If I were asked a similar question, I would say yes. This is because the current prohibitions on drugs are just mopping up the problem and not providing real solutions. Legalization and taxations are the only ways through which real solutions can be achieved. Just think of this situation; at least every year in Britain, criminals control billions of pounds in the drug industry instead of the government and traders through the black market. This kind of business has encouraged global terrorism, illegal munitions trade, control on prostitution, and sexual slavery. Almost half of all the criminal offenses committed in the country are drug related. Couldn’t reducing these crimes free our legal services and prisons at least for a moment? Unnecessary prohibitions on drug use has led our children into committing drug related crimes, and this has denied them the much needed advice on drugs, besides undermining our respect for the law. The government should therefore take the obvious step, put all the drugs state control, and impose legislation and taxes on their sale. This will relieve our country the burden of staggering under unnecessary prohibitions (Gray). Prohibitions on drug and substance abuse such as alcohol have been in place since the 1920s in the US and other developed countries. It has made people believe that taking it is a criminal activity, which can land someone in jail. The ill effects of the drugs and alcohol are so adverse such that no sane person could like to be associated with them by using the drug. So many people are convinced that these effects are harmful, and have successfully restrained from the habit. It is good to establish such a law in the society, and most government has effectively controlled drug abuse since time immemorial through prohibitions. For example, the alcohol prohibition act of the 1920s proved effective because cases of alcohol consumption greatly dropped even though it did not succeed in eliminating the alcohol. The rate of crime and drunkenness dropped and taxes were reduced by putting the offenders in jail. Minor crimes such as vagrancy, public indecency, and disorderliness have been successfully eliminated use to these prohibitions. This is enough prove that this method really works (C.S). Prohibition of drug use in countries such as the United States, Britain, and other parts of the larger Europe has proved to be futile and the war on drugs in these societies has caused multiple harms to the users. Since prohibition is aimed at increasing price and penalty of a serious drug habit, it makes it unaffordable for most individuals. Penalizing the use of the drugs drives the law-abiding individuals into the criminal market economy. Criminalizing users and prohibitions exposes them to health risks that could have otherwise been avoided. In addition, it doesn’t make sense to criminalize some drugs while providing a free market to others. This distracts attention from legal to those that a re harmful but legal, such as alcohol. The prohibition on drugs has never and will never work. This attempt of trying to deny people their right of doing what they want with their bodies is doomed to fail as long as the person using the drug does not harm his or her neighbor. The current method that has long been used to fight the drug war is very expensive and has not yielded any meaningful results. It is a simplistic solution that has all along failed to recognize the complexity surrounding the problem. It has also been oblivious of the dangers a drug has on the individual. Full scale legalization of the drug act will enable the state to educate the public on risks associated with drug use, and how such problems can be taken care of. While there is a possibility that the act of legalization of drugs will attract more users, their lives will be much healthier and safer. Let us not get speculative here, since we are aware of people who used to take drugs but still leading healthy lives. For instance Barrack Obama to have taken Cocaine (Hope). The common myth surrounding the whole idea of legalizing drugs is that it will make people law abiding citizens, and enable the government to tax the industry. However, I am not sure whether the cartels will be naà ¯ve enough to allow the government takes over such a lucrative business. If the cigarette market has been able to evade the government’s taxing system, what about this industry that has an elaborate network of producers and illegal suppliers in the market? Legalizing and taxing drugs as some argue is not a solution to the drug menace in the world today. The reason is that the black market will be given an easy path to groove is because the act will be made socially acceptable. It will be much easier to take these substances to the market under the legalization act as opposed to government regulated outlets. This would also increase funding for the crime because the drugs will be easily accessed by users who can in turn lure non-users since there are no laws prohibiting the act. What are the results? The drugs will circulate in the society, destroy more lives, tear families, and cause people to be violent. Even if the current war on drugs is not effective, legalizing drugs is much worse and should not be passed into law (James). Conclusion The war on drug has brought more harm than good, and the policy on drug use has failed to protect the people it is intended to. In Mexico alone, the war on drug policy has claimed close to 14,000 lives since 2006. This figure does not however include those people who have been traumatized, maimed or displaced. Prohibitions on drug use have resulted in wars between the authority and the users in most cities across the world, and this battle seems not to be coming to an end any time soon. The war on drug should therefore, be stopped and pave way for the government to impose control measures and legalize the whole business. I support this motion because I believe that the outcomes of such a move would be beneficial, both for the state itself and in the fight against global drugs crime.

The news' topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

The news' topic - Essay Example This statement followed Kremlin’s ordering of its combat aircraft around Ukraine to be on high alert (Oliphant par. 4). An eye witness stated that inside parliament were about 60 people who were heavily armed (Oliphant par. 5). Another witness stated that parliament’s door was blockaded using chairs and tables from the inside to the extent that no one could enter the building. So far, no one has been reported to have been injured following the incident. Crimea, unlike other parts of Ukraine, has ethnic Russians forming the majority of the population. The seizure of the capital has come at a time when Ukraine’s new leaders were voicing their concerns over the possible cessation of the region from Ukraine. It has also come at a time when some ethnic Russians living in the region have been calling on Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, to reclaim the territory from Ukraine. The territory had been given to Soviet Ukraine in 1954 by Nikita Khrushchev. Meanwhile, the U.S. has been quick to warn that military intervention by the Russian military against Ukraine will be a gross move. Oliphant, Roland. Ukraine crisis: Russian flag raised in Crimea as gunmen storm parliament. The Telegraph. 27 Feb 2014. Web.

Crucibles for leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Crucibles for leadership - Essay Example In that angle of view, I may be allowed to explain the feelings I surpassed and the knowledge I read in connection with this empirical record as a relative study of the cases of other people as well. From the long road of life I have walked so far, I claimed many leanings that proved promising while not ignoring the impacts of some of the personal choices I made wrongly. The need for analyzing the events and circumstances I have come across in a scientific manner is necessary for framing a crucible experience note for the reference of my trials on personality development and essentially, for the improvement of leadership qualities. Before I enter the details of my experience, I would like to define the term as I understand from certain readings. According to a definition given by some researchers, â€Å"Crucible are more like trials or test that corner individuals and force them to answer questions about who they are and what is really important to them† (Thomas 5). Based on t his definition, I believe in the aspect that leadership is a rather vast subject of learning beyond the teachings from experts and the lectures from scholars. As such there can be more of learning from the lessons of life than those are rendered by academic trainings or spiritual teachings. It seems to be a creative field of observation where and individual has to involve in certain situations, explore their importance and then extract ideas meant for the corrective measures needed for the positive maintenance of his philosophical as well as social outlook. Leadership origins as a part of empirical studies based on the gravity of experiences faced by people during their struggles for excellence, and sometimes, enormous efforts they put in as trials to come out of the deadlocks at some stages of life. Everyone in this world, either deliberately or passively is subject to stand at the receiving end of such experiences that stops their successful run sometimes. The period of such trail varies as the individuals and the situations vary. Also, they all have something to do with the greatest negotiator, time. What all one could focus during the excruciating life experiences at different stages and circumstances would be lessons hiding inside them; and only a watchful observer can deal with the best exploration strategies to fish out the wisdom that lies in the process of unlocking such situations. It was during my second year in the college that I experienced a miserable tenure of suffocating disappointment. Considering the reputation of the college and the competition I had to face to obtain the admission, I must thank God for keeping me there for the course. I had a merit certification from the state level school sports championship in swimming and it helped me achieve grace marks to outsmart a few contestants to my rank. During the first three months, I participated in all the community programs and grabbed the attention of the principal who directed me to join t he college disciplinary group. We were six members from students to be part of the twenty-five member executive body headed by the college physical education head. The first semester was coming to an end and the college was getting ready with the talks related to hosting an inter-university sports meet. I was

Insurance regulation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 8250 words

Insurance regulation - Essay Example - Broadly speaking, ‘insolvency’ means inability to pay creditors.1 However, depending on the context, this colloquial usage may refer to any one of the several related concepts.2 To clarify definitional matters and to set out common terminology, it is necessary to distinguish between (1) balance sheet insolvency; (2) cash flow insolvency (or financial distress); (3) economic failure (or economic distress); (4) liquidation; (5) reorganization; and (6) insolvency proceedings or bankruptcy. This is an accounting concept signifying that the book value of a firm’s assets is less than its liabilities. It should be distinguished from so called ‘cash-flow’ insolvency, in which case a firm is unable to pay its debts as they fall due. Such inability may be inferred from the fact that a company has failed to pay, on demand, a debt which is due. Financial economists commonly use the expression ‘financial distress’ to refer to the condition experienced by a firm which is having difficulty in paying its creditors. Although there are some terminological differences between authors, the phrase is often used to refer to the condition of a firm which is in substantial default on its debt obligations. To a far greater extent than the balance sheet test of insolvency, financial distress is dependent on the structure of the repayments under outstanding debt obligations, and the nature of the assets available to satisfy them. Illiquid assets and large repayments may mean that a firm which is solvent in a balance sheet sense cannot pay its debts as they fall due. Conversely, a firm which has significant growth opportunities and debt repayments spread over a number of years may be insolvent in a balance sheet sense, but nonetheless be able to pay its debt as they fall due. Solvency should be distinguished from economic viability. Insolvency is concerned with the relationship between a firm’s assets or cash flows, and the amount of debt in