The Role Technology Plays in Today’s Society

After the Industrial Revolution, human beings came to a new era, which has brought about a drastic change to the whole world in all aspects of life, noticeably in the technological field, whose progress has been by leaps and bounds, and made what formerly believed impossible become a possible. It is obvious that there is a rush toward modern technology for teaching as well as learning nowadays. Learners, especially students have been very quick at embracing technology as the means to reach the most up-dated information in order to open themselves to the world as well as to see how the world touches them.Technology is used to enhance human beings physically and intellectually, however many people is discovering that that technology is a two-edged sword; the benefits are equally balanced by the downsides. It is said that particular jobs will inevitably disappear as a result of technological advancements threatening the importance of the job. Today, many jobs such as ATMs replace bank t ellers, answering machines replace operators, and insightful descriptions of the product on Internet shopping sites replace salesmen.Many have considered the downsides to technology and decided that IT advancements are not all beneficial to society. Even though machines and technology have replaced the jobs that were once done by human beings, the jobs have not been eliminated; they are merely changed in a way that humans no longer carry on the task. Technology has also changed jobs in a way so that it makes it easier to human beings to do their work. An example is how humans exploit the usefulness of machines to mass-produce products and food.Engineers are also hired to develop ways in order to enhance the already existing technology. Despite social issues surrounding the idea of computers replacing humans, many people would agree that if a job is taken over by a machine that is incapable of independent thought, the job is not suitable for a human being who have the ability to do s o. Technology helps eradicate useless jobs and decreases labor costs, but it also creates new jobs. An example of this is the manufacturing of the actual technology and the computer specialists hired to put the technology to use.In our never-ceasing quest for progression and expansion, it seems taken for granted that technological advancement is a positive phenomenon. Amidst the hysteria, however, lies the forgotten fact that the latest development is not necessarily what is best for society. We are encouraged to believe that faster, more complex and superior technology will be beneficial to us in some way. Technology has many positive aspects but, in the wrong hands, it can become dangerous.Technology is a valuable tool but is somewhat misused by today’s teens. The two main forms of technology affecting teenagers – cell phones and the Internet – have brought about major changes in our lifestyle. This technology has allowed teens to have inane communications and in doing so, contributes to the ‘dumbing down’ of society. We spend more time corresponding with our friends on cell phones and the Internet than we do working or participating in activities which expand and challenge

Calvin Klein Marketing Strategies Essay

Calvin Klein Inc. is a fashion brand founded in 1968 by Calvin Klein. The company is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City and currently owned by Phillips-Van Heusen. Like other fashion brands, Calvin Klein established a world famous monogram: the â€Å"cK† emblem. Statistics: Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation Incorporated: 1967 as Calvin Klein Ltd. Employees: 900 Sales: $170 million (2001 est.) NAIC: 315232 Women’s and Girls’ Cut and Sew Blouse and Shirt Manufacturing; 315233 Women’s and Girls’ Cut and Sew Dress Manufacturing; 315234 Women’s and Girls’ Cut and Sew Suit, Coat, Tailored Jacket, and Skirt Manufacturing; 315999 Other Apparel Accessories and Other Apparel Manufacturing Company Perspectives: We believe our expertise in brand management, product design, sourcing, and other logistics provides us with the ability to successfully expand product offerings and distribution under the Calvin Klein brands while preserving the brands’ prestige and global presence. As a result, we believe we have the opportunity to realize sales growth and enhanced profitability. Key Dates: 1968: The Calvin Klein brand is launched. 1973: Klein wins his first Coty American Fashion Critics Award. 1979: Calvin Klein controls one-fifth of the designer jeans market. 1982: Klein enters the underwear business. 1985: A new perfume called Obsession is launched with a $17 million advertising campaign. 1989: A Unilever Co. subsidiary purchases the Calvin Klein cosmetics/fragrance line. 1994: A unisex fragrance, cKone, is introduced; the company’s underwear business is licensed to Warnaco Group Inc. 2000: Klein files suit against Warnaco Group and its CEO Linda Wachner. 2003: Calvin Klein is acquired by Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation. Company History: Calvin Klein, Inc., designs, licenses, and, in some cases, produces clothing, accessories, fragrances, and home furnishings bearing the name of designer Calvin Klein. Since its inception, the company was a partnership between Klein and his childhood friend Barry Schwartz. Named by Time magazine in 1996 as one of the 25 most influential Americans, Klein made his impact not only by designing but also by marketing his wares through high visibility and often controversial advertisements created by the company’s in-house agency, CRK Advertising. In 2002, worldwide retail sales of Calvin Klein products surpassed $3 billion. Most of these goods were manufactured and sold by other companies under license–licensed products account for over 90 percent of company revenue. After three years of shopping around for a buyer, Schwartz and Klein inked a deal with Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation, the largest shirtmaker in the United States. The $430 million transaction was completed in F ebruary 2003. Rocketing to Stardom in the 1970s Born and raised in New York City’s borough of the Bronx, Calvin Richard Klein decided he wanted to be a fashion designer at an early age. After graduating from the Fashion Institute of Technology in 1963, he worked for women’s coat and suit manufacturers in Manhattan’s garment district before opening his own business in 1968. A childhood friend, Barry Schwartz, loaned him $10,000 in start-up money and joined the firm a month later, after the family supermarket in Harlem that Schwartz had inherited was gutted in the riots that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King. Klein rented a dingy showroom to exhibit a small line of samples. His big break came when a vice-president at Bonwit Teller stopped at the wrong floor of the building, liked what he saw, and invited Klein to bring his samples to the president’s office. Klein wheeled the rack of clothes uptown personally and won an order of $50,000 (retail) on the spot. Bonwit’s gave the merchandise impressive exposure, with window displays in its flagship Fifth Avenue store and full-page ads in the New York Times. Soon after, Calvin Klein was besieged by orders. The fledgling company booked $1 million worth of business in its first year, reaching sales volume of $5 million by 1971. Klein mainly designed women’s coats and two-piece suits until 1972, when he began concentrating on sporty sweaters, skirts, dresses, shirts, and pants that could be mixed and matched for a complete wardrobe. The clothing featured  the simplicity of line, muted earth tones, and classic fabrics that characterized his work and gave it an air of understated elegance. Klein won a Coty American Fashion Critics Award–fashion’s Oscar–in 1973. He received an unprecedented third consecutive Coty Award for women’s wear in 1975 and, at age 32, was elected to the group’s Hall of Fame. That fiscal year (ending June 30, 1975) the firm shipped $12 million worth of merchandise, including swimsuits and dresses. It earned another $2 million to $6 million from licensing furs, umbrellas, sheets, shoes, scarves, belts, dresses, sunglasses, suedes, and patterns. Klein not only designed every item carrying his name but closely watched every step of the production process. Company revenues rose to $40 million in fiscal 1976 and a startling $90 million in 1977. Because its prices were generally below those of its two major competitors, Ralph Lauren and Anne Klein, the firm won the loyalty of young working women as well as older, wealthier buyers. Calvin Klein merchandise was so hot that the company could pick and choose among stores that wanted to carry the company’s products and blackball those that dared to try to return unsold goods. Seven hundred buyers and reporters were turned away from Klein’s fall 1978 fashion show; the buyers who got in placed $28 million worth of orders within 48 hours. Klein introduced his first menswear collection in 1978, telling the New York Times Magazine that he approached men’s clothing â€Å"with the same philosophy as the women’s. They’re for Americans who like simple, comfortable but stylish clothes–but with nothing over scale or extreme.† No less than 779 fabrics were used in the European-produced collection, which ranged from neckties to suits and overcoats. The production and sale of most of the men’s clothing was licensed to Bidermann Industries. Also in 1978, Calvin Klein introduced his own line of fragrances and a complete makeup collection of 18 beauty and skin-care products that stressed neutral colors to give the face a natural effect. However, the lightweight, rosy perfume (at $85 an ounce) needed to anchor the collection never caught on with the public. The fragrance and cosmetics business was sold to Minnetonka, Inc. in 1980. Calvin Klein jeans, by contrast, were to become the company’s biggest hit. Klein’s first attempt, in 1976, to capitalize on the designer-jeans craze–at $50 a pair–was a failure. The following year, however, his company cu t a deal to design the product for Puritan Fashions Corp., the largest dress  manufacturer in the world. Klein raised the groin in his jeans to accentuate the crotch and pulled the seam up between the buttocks to give the rear more shape. A Times Square billboard of model Patti Hansen on her hands and knees, her derriere arched skyward and the Calvin Klein label on her right hip visible, caused a sensation and remained in place for four years. By 1979, Calvin Klein was second to Gloria Vanderbilt in designer-jeans sales, with one-fifth of the market. A company spokesman observed, â€Å"The tighter they are, the better they sell.† The biggest lift to Calvin Klein’s jeans was the television campaign directed by Richard Avedon that featured 15-year-old model/actress Brooke Shields provocatively posed in a skin-tight pair of Calvin Klein jeans. In the best-remembered spot, she pronounced, â€Å"Do you know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing.† In another she declared, â€Å"I’ve got seven Calvins in my closet, and if they could talk, I’d be ruined.† These suggestions of underage sexuality struck a public nerve and, following a flood of complaints, the New York flagship stations of all three networks banned the two ads from the air. Klein could shrug off the criticism because sales of his jeans were then climbing to two million pairs a month. He added a jeans-inspired collection that included shirts, skirts, and jackets, also licensed to Puritan. These products accounted for about $100 million in sales in 1980. Branching Out in the 1980s In 1982, Calvin Klein entered the underwear business, once again exploiting the allure of youth in provocative poses to push the product. Photographer Bruce Weber’s beefcake ads featured a brawny Olympic pole vaulted in various states of well-endowed undress. When the company rented space in 25 New York bus shelters to display advertising posters featuring the underwear, all 25 had their glass shattered and posters stolen overnight. The follow-up was predictable–a line of women’s underwear featuring male-style briefs and boxer shorts that retained the fly front. Both campaigns were hits. The men’s line was part of the Bidermann license, which lapsed in 1987, while the women’s skivvies so outstripped Calvin Klein’s own manufacturing capabilities that in 1984 this division was sold to Kayser Roth Corp., a unit of Gulf & Western Industries, for about $11.2 million. Calvin Klein continued to design and create advertising for women’s underw ear, later adding hosiery and sleepwear lines. In 1982, Puritan Fashions–9 percent  owned by Klein and Schwartz–had sales of $245.6 million, of which licensed Calvin Klein products accounted for about 94 percent, earning $15.6 million in royalties for the firm. However, Puritan’s finances deteriorated as the designer-jeans boom ended and so, to protect their investment, in late 1983 Klein and Schwartz bought almost all the shares they did not already hold for $65.8 million in a leveraged buyout, with a Puritan subsidiary financing the purchase by taking out bank loans. The consolidated companies were renamed Calvin Klein Industries. After Puritan lost $11.3 million in 1984, Calvin Klein Industries placed $80 million in high-yield bonds (so-called junk bonds) through Michael Milken of Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc., mostly to keep Puritan afloat. Registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with the junk bonds Calvin Klein issued afforded the public a rare look at the finances of the closely held enterprise. Calvin Klein Industries had 1984 revenue of $258.2 million and net income of $17.2 million, with Klein and Schwartz each collecting $12 million in salary, dividends, and other distributions. Puritan returned to profitability in 1985, earning $12.4 million. Nevertheless, Calvin Klein Industries had huge payments to make on its big junk-bond debt, and this financial problem seemed to be taking a toll on the designer. â€Å"Every color choice became life or death,† he later told Newsweek, â€Å"because doing everything as well as possible meant survival.† In 1988, he spent a month at the Hanley Hazelden Center in Minnesota to receive treatment for drug and alcohol addiction. When Minnetonka launched a new perfume called Obsession–at $170 an ounce–in 1985, Calvin Klein created a heavy-breathing print and TV campaign that cost more than $17 million in ten months alone, followed by another $6 million campaign for Obsession for Men. One Weber print ad featured two nude men entwined around one female; another, a naked couple with their groins pressed together; a third, three naked women, limbs entangled. A survey ranked the Obsession ads as the most memorable print advertisements of the year for four years in a row. TV commercials displayed a female model as the object of obsessive love by, in turn, a boy, a young man, an older man, and an older woman. Obsession quickly became the second-best selling fragrance in the world. Combined with Obsession for Men and a line of body products, sales broke the $100 million mark by the end of 1987. To complement Obsession, an oriental fragrance, in 1988 Calvin Klein  introduced a floral scent, dubbed Eternity, which was marketed in perfume, cologne, cologne-spray, and body-cream forms. Newly married to his second wife, Klein devised a softer $18 million promotional campaign based on the themes of spirituality, love, marriage, and commitment. By the end of its first year on the market, Eternity had grossed $35 million. Minnetonka (14 percent owned by the Calvin Klein Sport division) was sold in 1989, with the Calvin Klein cosmetics/fragrance line fetching $376.2 million from Unilever Co.’s Chesebrough-Pond’s subsidiary. Also in 1989, Calvin Klein opened its first full-line free-standing store, in a Dallas suburb. Products included Calvin Klein Sport lines for men and women, women’s and men’s underwear and sleepwear, hosiery, shoes, outerwear, accessories, cosmetics, and fragrances. Rescue and Resurgence in the 1990s In 1991, Calvin Klein introduced a new silk-scarf collection licensed to Ray Strauss Unlimited. Also that year, the company resumed menswear, licensing it to Gruppo GFT, an Italian manufacturer. Eyewear and sunglasses bearing the designer’s name, previously made by Starline Optical Corp., were licensed to Marchon Eyewear. The big story that year, however, was the introduction of Escape, a $115-an-ounce â€Å"fruity, floral† scent. â€Å"After work you get away,† Klein explained regarding the concept. â€Å"You escape, and you do it with style.† Escape proved a hit and was followed in 1993 by Escape for Men. Despite sizable royalty payments from these and other products, Calvin Klein was falling into financial trouble in the new decade. The company’s revenue dropped 13 percent in 1990, to $197 million, leading to a $4.3 million loss, the third time in five years the company had been in the red. The Puritan/Calvin Klein Sport division lost $14.2 million alone. Many younger women who could not afford the designer’s flagship Collection line were not buying his clothes at all. A sexually suggestive insert for Calvin Klein Jeans in Vanity Fair in October 1991 failed to stimulate sales, prompting U.S. retailers to contend that Klein had fallen out of touch with their customers. Calvin Klein, Inc. was restored to financial health partly through the efforts of David Geffen, the entertainment tycoon who was a long-time friend of the designer. Geffen purchased $62 million of the company’s debt securities in 1992 at a discount and was repaid in 1993, when the company took out a $58 million loan from Citibank. The firm then paid  off the Citibank loan by licensing the underwear business to Warnaco Group Inc. for $64 million. Warnaco also won the license for a new venture, men’s accessories. Undeterred by suggestions that with the end of the â€Å"decadent† 1980s sex no longer sold, Klein introduced a new line of underwear, including $16 fly-button shorts, in 1992 with ads featuring Marky Mark (Mark Wahlberg), a muscular rap star. The campaign proved successful with both young men and women, grossing $85 million for the company within 12 months. In 1994, a partnership later renamed Designer Holdings Ltd. bought Calvin Klein’s fading jeans business for about $50 million. Calvin Klein introduced a khaki collection in 1996 and also licensed it to Designer Holdings, along with CK Calvin Klein Jeans Kids and CK Calvin Klein Kids Underwear, also introduced that year. Designer Holdings was acquired by Warnaco in 1997. By 1995, when it opened a four-level, 22,000-square-foot minimalist-style emporium at Madison Avenue and East 60th Street in Manhattan, Calvin Klein had six stores in the United States. In addition, during 1993 and 1994, the company licensed Calvin Klein boutiques to operators in Barcelona, St. Moritz, Zurich, and Singapore and formed a partnership with four Japanese companies to create in-store shops there and to produce more licensed apparel. Four stores–in Manhattan, Dallas, Palm Beach and Costa Mesa, California–remained in 1997. The company also had an outlet store in Secaucus, New Jersey. In 1994, Calvin Klein introduced cKone, a unisex fragrance that became another smash hit, grossing $60 million in its first three months. It was followed in 1996 by cKbe, promoted in a $20 million monochrome print and TV campaign directed by Richard Avedon that featured young models exposing lots of pierced and tattooed flesh. In a poll conducted by Louis Harris for USA Today, only 4 percent of the respondents expressed strong liking for the ads, while 57 percent said they disliked them. Advertising experts suggested that what was turning off the general public was precisely what was attracting the people who were buying the product, especially teenagers. Advertisements for Calvin Klein jeans also continued to provoke controversy. Posters featuring a notably skinny model, Kate Moss, were festooned with stickers reading à ¢â‚¬Å"Feed this woman† by a Boston-area group called Boycott Anorexic Marketing. The company ignored the group but was unable to shrug off the reaction, especially from Christian groups, created by its summer 1995 campaign for CK Jeans, featuring models  who appeared to be teenagers in states of undress that, according to one writer, â€Å"suggested auditions for low-budget porn movies.† For the first time the company retreated, pulling the ads, which the designer maintained had been â€Å"misunderstood. †¦ People didn’t get that it’s about modern young people who have an independent spirit and do the things they want to and can’t be told or sold.† A U.S. Justice Department investigation ended without charges after federal agents determined that no minors were used in the ads. The controversial ads did not offend the market for which the campaign was intended. CK Calvin Klein Jeans continued to be one of the strongest sellers among youths. â€Å"They want the Calvin Klein label,† explained the executive editor of Children’s Business in 1996. â€Å"Also at the point the children are over eight, they’re pretty much deciding what they want to wear. †¦ These lines †¦ have the cachet that comes from the adult market.† Later that year a Calvin Klein underwear ad showing a 20-year-old male model in very tight gray briefs, posed with his legs wide apart, was dropped by the company’s own licensee, Warnaco. Also in 1996, a group of parent-led anti-drug groups called for a boycott of Calvin Klein products to protest a new ad campaign that they said glamorized heroin addiction. The magazine and television advertisements in question featured gaunt, glassy-eyed models to promote cKbe. In 1999, an underwear billboard in Times Square featuring two scantily clad young boys launched yet another round of controversy. The ad was eventually pulled after rumors surfaced that speculated on Klein’s sexual orientation. In 1995, Calvin Klein launched, under license, a home collection composed of sheets, towels, and tableware. By 1997, only the designer’s signature Calvin Klein women’s collection of apparel and accessories and the CK Calvin Klein bridge collections of less-expensive women’s and men’s apparel (except in Europe, the Middle East, and Japan) were being manufactured by the company itself. Of the company’s $260 million in sales in 1996, $141 million came from its in-house products and $119 million from royalties and designer income. Of worldwide retail sales of $4.4 billion, apparel accounted for $2.7 billion, fragrances for $1.5 billion, and other products for $200 million. Net profits were $41 million. During the late 1990s, Calvin Klein, Inc. was 43 percent owned by the designer and 43 percent owned by Schwartz, who was chairman and chief executive officer. The rest of the equity was held by family trusts.  Gabriella Forte, a former Giorgio Armani executive, became the company’s president in 1994 and was put in charge of day-to-day administration. The company was divided into three parts: the Calvin Klein collection, cK sportswear, and cK Jeans. In addition to apparel, each segment offered perfume, accessories, and housewares. New Ownership in a New Century During 1999, both Klein and Schwartz agreed that it was time to seek out expansion via a merger or an alliance. In October, the company hired investment firm Lazard Freres & Co. to organize a deal. With a billion dollar price tag however, Calvin Klein was unable to find a suitable partner. and in April 2000 the firm took itself off of the market. Klein commented on the process in a June 2000 DNR article, claiming that â€Å"a year ago we decided to explore strategic options for the company. We wanted to see how we can take the company to the next step. It gave us the opportunity to talk to various partners and explore opportunities and take the business to the next level.† Klein went on to say, â€Å"We decided to remain a private company because we thought we could do it better on our own.† During that same time period, Klein filed suit against his largest licensee, the Warnaco Group Inc. and its CEO Linda Wachner. Claiming the firm had violated federal trademark laws and breached fiduciary duty and several contracts by distributing its jeans to low-end retailers, Klein hoped to strip Warnaco–on the brink of bankruptcy–of its licensing rights. Warnaco on the other hand, claimed that Klein had been fully aware of its distribution practices for years and they stood to lose millions if the suit favored Klein. In 1999, one-third of the company’s revenues and cash flow was attributed to the sale of Calvin Klein jeans. Relations became even more strained between the two companies when Wachner filed a libel suit against Klein for comments made in several speeches and on the television show Larry King Live. The two appeared in court in January 2001 but came to an amicable resolution before the proceedings began. In late 2002, Calvin Klein, Inc. caught the eye of Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation (PVH), a company looking to acquire a major brand. As the largest shirtmaker in the United States, PVH owned the Van Heusen, IZOD, and G.H Bass brands and had licensing agreements with Geoffrey Beene, Arrow, DKNY, and Kenneth Cole. Under the leadership of CEO Bruce Klatsky, PVH made a play for Calvin Klein and eventually won the battl e. A  2002 New York Times article reported that the union would â€Å"give Van Heusen what Mr. Klatsky called the best-known apparel label in the world, and will give Calvin Klein, who will stay on with the new company, the financial resources to further expand his name in Asia and Europe. The purchase will also free the designer to worry more about aesthetics and less about production and bookkeeping.† Under the terms of the deal, Klein remained a design consultant for Calvin Klein, Inc. while PVH retained 100 percent ownership of the firm. The $430 million cash and stock deal also included royalty payments to Klein through 2018. Completed in February 2003, the acquisition marked a new era for the brand. For the first time, Klein did not have complete control over the products sold under his name, and his partner Schwartz had retired. After questionable behavior in March at a Knicks basketball game in New York was made public, Klein announced he was again seeking professional help for substance abuse. Both PVH management and Klein claimed it would not affect his role with the company. In March 2003, Calvin Klein announced a licensing agreement with Vestimenta S.p.A. in which the Italy-based concern would manufacture and distribute the Calvin Klein Collection line. PVH also planned to launch a new Calvin Klein men’s sportswear line in 2004. While Calvin Klein would no doubt continue as a leading brand for years to come, the results of its new ownership and management structure remained to be seen. Reference: https://giantkillers13.wordpress.com/2013/03/27/calvin-klein-marketing-strategy/

Youth Involvement in Disaster Management

Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 1 The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) Youth Involvement in Disaster Management Presentation Paper for the Youth Session at The 5th Annual Caribbean Conference on Comprehensive Disaster Management At the Rose Hall Resort and Spa in Montego Bay, Jamaica By Stephen O. Akeyo, MA, MSA, Ph. D. Student Indiana University, Indiana- USA December 9, 2010. Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Outline I. II. III.IV. V. Abstract Introduction Current Issues Analysis How I look at the Necessity of Youth Involvement Justification for Involving Youth People a. Fostering a sense of local ownership b. Promoting Individual’s right c. Hand-on Experiences VI. Lesson Learned a. Previous Account of Youth Involvement b. What is being done to address Youth Involvement VII. Recommendations for Good Practices 1. Education and Information sharing 2. Tabletop and Drills Exercises 3. Supporting Youth Programs 4.Youth Direct Research Involvement a. Service-Learning Experience i. Being Disaster Ready ii. Community Service 5. Ongoing Research Study VIII. IX. Conclusion References Akeyo, S. 2 Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster I. Abstract Akeyo, S. 3 Can young people perform well when they are involved in disaster preparedness and planning roles? Social norms have often failed to incorporate youth in leadership roles and decision making process even during emergency situations.Sadly, when a disaster strikes in any given community, youth and children are found to represent more than a third of disaster victims, yet their response role in a disaster is generally restricted to that of passive victims. The tremendous contributions that young people can make to disaster management are largely untapped. Involving young people in disaster management can help them learn topics that affect their lives while at the same time gaining hands-on experience designed to equip them become tomorrow better leaders.A ny comprehensive disaster management that is designed to incorporate youth in its programs, not only benefits creativity and energy of young people but also in the process strengthens partnerships for resilience. This paper will address current issues affecting disaster management, the role of youth in disaster management, experience and lessons learned from organizations â€Å"such as; the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies; the 2004 Tsunami disaster that impacted the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia; the 2006 Katrina disaster in New Orleans – U. S.A; and Plan International case study in El-Salvador. This paper will recommend youth involvement in their own community disaster management activities such as table-top exercise tailored into identifying risks; designing community emergency plans as well as their own; exercising a plan; setting up early warning systems; and implementing response; mitigation; and risk reduction plans. Conference participant will be challenged to adopt best practices and be encouraged to conduct further research study and platforms designed to foster youth-adult partnerships for resilience.Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster II. Introduction Akeyo, S. 4 Disasters and emergencies such as fires; severe weather; tornadoes; earthquakes; floods; pandemic event; life threatening situation; equipment failure; a cyber-attack or a terrorist attack can strike anywhere at any time with little or no warning. Such disasters and emergencies come with no respect of geographical or national boarders and never occur at convenient times. All emergencies are â€Å"local† phenomenon of which young people and children are a part of.Young people and children must therefore be prepared and trained in all matters pertaining to disaster response. They can use this knowledge to save their own lives and even defend their communities’ livelihood. The world population statistic projection given on World Youth Report in 2002 indicated that youth alone without including children and adult at that time comprised nearly 30 percent of the world's population as it shows in the diagram bellow (UN-New York, 2003): In any disaster, young people and children represents more than a third of disaster victims.Most humanitarian sector restricts these minors involvement to more of being in a Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 5 â€Å"passive victim† role. Providing youth and children the opportunity to be directly involved in disaster preparedness activities enables them to develop skills that prepared them for any threat that may come. There is evidences of spontaneous rescue efforts done by youth and children which were direct result of prior involvement in rescue missions conducted by youth clubs and organizations such as the Boy’s and Girl’s scouts; Pathfinders Club; and many others alike.Involving young people and children in emergency preparedness activities valid ates their capacity to be responsible members of their community who thus are entitled to more respect than what is typically extended to them in these types of situations. Youth involvement in planning, decision making and in the implementation of emergency preparedness programs is critical to the long? term success of sustainable disaster management initiatives and community resilience (UN- DSD, 2009).In the past there have been a number of barriers that hinder youth involvement in disaster management; which includes attitudes concerning the abilities of youth compared to experienced adults, and the up-down mode of societal norms. This paper will suggest that involving young people in emergency preparedness activities will promote an increase in the net community resources in confronting emergencies and enhancing community resilience.Furthermore, involving youth in disaster management process would enable disaster responders, managers, community leader, government agencies as well as humanitarian entities to draw on the full range of community resources when disaster strikes. Therefore, there must be a forum that will allow such collaboration to take place. III. Current Issue Analysis We live in communities that are increasingly becoming vulnerable to natural as well as manmade disasters that cause substantial loss of life, economic damage.Disaster = Natural or Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 6 manmade hazard + vulnerability. Risk = (hazard x vulnerability)/capacity. Unfortunately, our communities are not well prepared to deal with such disasters when they come as a result of inadequate knowledge or an ability to mitigate and respond to the disaster in due time. As a result, many people lose their lives and properties or find themselves trapped in disaster high spots which they cannot escape without external intervention.Frequently when a disaster strikes, it forces vulnerable communities to temporarily or permanently evacuate the comfo rt of their homes, neighborhoods, workplace and institutions or confine themselves to their home, leaving them without basic services such as water, gas, electricity, telephones or emergency help. Community vulnerability to disaster can be elaborated better with the bellow (Khan, 2008): Figure – 2. What is Disaster? Vulnerability Disaster Hazard Underlying Causes 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.Limited access to resources Illness and disability Age/Sex Poverty Other Dynamic Pressure Lack of: 1. Institutional training 2. Education/Skills 3. Population growth 4. Urbanization 5. Uncontrolled development 6. Environmental Degradation Unsafe Conditions 1. 2. 3. 4. Dangerous location Dangerous building Low income level Dangerous jobs (police, mines etc. ) Trigger Events 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Earthquake Tsunamis Floods Cyclones Volcanic -eruptions Drought Landslide War/ Terrorism Technological Accident (Car/Plane etc. Environmental Pollution Disasters accounts for 98 percent of the cu mulative number of people affected by natural disasters and 77 percent of total reported economic damage (WMO, 2007). In the least developing countries (LDC) in particular, climate-related disasters accounted for 89 percent of Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 7 the total economic damages (WMO, 2007). Most people in developing countries have limited capacity to assess climate risks and lack available weather information required to plan adaptive responses.These people are more likely to be severely affected by climate-related diseases, such as influenza, diarrhea, cholera, meningitis, dengue, and malaria. Weak infrastructure, poor communication networks, shortage in electricity supply, low public awareness, and insufficient resources in many communities and neighborhoods hinders the provision of timely climate and early warning advice, which can delays response efforts causing an impact to become of significant amount (EM-DAT, 2009). IV.How I look at The Necessit y of Youth Involvement Though disasters are local phenomenon, in these modern days their devastating impact can be felt beyond borders of impacted nations in terms of human, material losses or the flow of refugees. It is therefore important that the disaster reduction efforts be addressed in a multilateral and comprehensive way. These unforeseen disasters require immediate, coordinated and effective response by multiple government agencies, volunteers, relief agencies and private sector in order to meet human needs and speed recovery efforts.Comprehensive disaster management and emergency preparedness should be based on the concept of active young people’s participation in all phases of the disaster cycle. Rather than seeing disaster-affected youth as victims or passive recipients of outside assistance, good disaster management must recognize the value of including them in the planning process. There is no better resource in a community than young people. It may be easier to obtain funding for projects and related disaster preparedness programs, but without sufficient community resources in place, disaster preparedness and risk reduction are not possible.Resource building enhances Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 8 community capability and provides positive response to various emergencies; reduce disaster risks, and helps foster confidence, dignity, and resilience. It is a fact that when a disaster strikes, local people are the first to respond, before any other outside agencies arrives to and assist in recovery efforts. Many of these first responders who struggle to save lives with limited resources at their disposal before more help arrives to take assist are energetic young people.Sometimes local elders may know which members of their community are hardest hit, and what kind assistance is appropriate for them, but they will ask young people to give them help. Young people must therefore be included, trained and empowered to carry out disaster prevention, preparation, and planning and response efforts. V. Justification for Involving Young People a. Fostering a Sense of Local Ownership Traditionally disaster management has been dominated by top-down relief efforts that assume children and youth are passive victims with no role in disaster preparedness.Involving youth in disaster preparedness process not only benefits them, their families, and communities, but also contributes to grassroots empowerment which boosts levels of ownership within their overall disaster preparedness plan. Research has indicated that when young people receive preparedness training they are more likely to act wisely and protect themselves against abuse; exploitation and illegal drug trafficking (UNICEF, 2007). b.Fostering Youth’s Ability to Act In life it is very hard to maintain a positive mindset when people have no faith in you. Youth are an enormous pool of energy, talent, and enthusiasm eager to contribute to society. The t ime has come whereby young people’s ability as agents of change must be recognized. There some unique abilities and skills that young people alone can bring to the table, such as Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 9 intercultural communication and innovative use of technology (ICRC, 2010).Many have made a difference in their neighborhoods, schools and even at the national level by address safety issues and seek solution for the existing problems (NCPC, 2001). Youth possess unique strengths, which are enhanced by community support and collaboration. Given opportunity to as participants and not observers will to introduce them and get to be part disaster management agencies within their local communities, across their borders and around the world. Compared to adult, many youth are trained in public speaking, ournalism, intercultural music and dance, communication, cultural harmony. Young people already have power; of being united through social networks such as MySpace, twitters, Facebook and they will use it interact in a very short time. Youth can influence easily their peers to be disaster ready. Adult mentors should work closely with youth in an effort to incorporate their ability and talent in disaster management process. c. Promoting Individual’s Rights Although our social norms have such often portrayed young people as dependent and helpless victims in emergencies.In practice, however, the reverse often applies and youth commonly have far more options open to them than do adults. The notion that excluding young people from direct involvement in calamities helps protects their well-being and trauma that adult face is undermining their resilience and coping in the context of adversity. Around the globe young people have proven to be faster in responding and volunteering in relief efforts when disaster strikes (Perren-Klingler, 1996). Young people want to be part of the big picture in making contribution that makes a differen ce and changing lives.It is the right of young people and children to be recognized and be interacted with as dignified humans rather than treating them just as vulnerable and helpless disaster victims who are only objects of charity. They Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 10 should be encouraged to use their potential to become agents of change globally. Their ideas and energies can be put into good use. The idea of involving youth and encouraging their participation in risk reduction measures is in line with international commitments which legally bind the signatory states to observe the rights of children and youth (Silbernagl, 2010).Like adults, young people also have a right to participate in decisions and efforts to address disaster management and risk reduction within their communities. Their rights include being trained and supported in understanding and making positive contributions to matter that affect their livelihood. This is in line with articles 6, 12 and 13 of the international legal framework set under the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child, which upholds children’s rights to (Plan, 2005). d. Hands-on Experience Involving young people in disaster planning provides opportunities to reach beyond our traditional â€Å"top-down relief efforts. This becomes a link that equips young people to take on new roles and become active agents of change. Most jobs nowadays require applicants to have some experiences which are technically not taught theoretically in college class rooms. There must an employer who will be willing to offer an opportunity to on the job training. The inexperienced young people likewise need mentors in disaster preparedness process who are willing to work closely with them by involving them in active roles that gives them hands-on experience to eventually fill-in the shoes of their adult mentors when they are no longer available for duty.Adult and youth can learn from each other. Blending experien ces of adult to young people new ideas and innovations works better as playing flat (white) and sharp (black) keys on the piano. There will be always unquestionable wisdom, experience and knowledge which can Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 11 only be found from the adult (Old School). However, young people may also have skills such as foreign languages, technology that adults do not have, or are challenged in mastering.Adult mentors must therefore pass-on the touch of qualities in their young mentee. If they can let go of their tight control, be patient, and trust the process, mentoring will become more effortless and enjoyable, and will be responding to recommendations from the research on resilience and on nurturing success stories. It is important that mentors must realize they are making a difference in the lives of young people by creating inside-out social change. This is preparing future leaders, who are disaster resilient, compassionate, and job ready a nd good citizens.Thus, the united effort of young and old will result in strength, while diversity may only hinder the effort of the desired community resilience when disaster strikes. VI. Lesson Learned a. Previous Account of Youth Involvement The contributions young people have made in emergency response within their own communities are easily traced to such incidents as the Indonesia Tsunami of December 26, 2004. Consider the incredible story of Tilly Smith, an 11 year-old from England, vacationing with family when tsunami occurred. This proves how prior lesson she learned about tsunamis in geography class was used to save lives of many.When she noticed strange behavior of the sea on the morning of the tsunami, she convinced over 100 people to leave the beach before the struck minutes later (Randall, 2005). Another example involves a number of young people who actively participated in saving the lives of others, often times putting their own lives in jeopardy, until the internati onal relief workers and emergency responders could arrive. â€Å"These young people all over the affected region took action, helping to distribute aid, assisting with clean-up and rebuilding efforts, looking after those younger than them, and using their creativity to letRunning Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 12 others know about the devastation (ISDR, 2005). During this stressful disaster, a call went out in the Maldives – â€Å"Whoever can help, please come. † Each volunteer was given an age-appropriate task. Many adults stayed away but the young people came forward. When a psychosocial counselor was sent to concentrate on possible problems with young people, she couldn’t find anyone. â€Å"They were all working,† she said (UNICEF, 2007). Another example of youth involvement in a disaster comes from hurricane Katrina.Hurricane Katrina which made landfall on August 29, 2005 and resulted in death of over 1,000 citizens and caused approxim ately 80 percent of flooding to the city of New Orleans within 18 hours (U. S. White House, 2006). Shortly after the disaster occurred, a group of young people for the Vietnamese American Association of Louisiana took an active role in assisting the Vietnamese community with evacuation, relief and recovery efforts (Leong, 2006). They were also able to translate information from formal English sources (i. e. FEMA and American Red Cross) to their non-English speaking family members in order to pass on important messages such as the location of evacuation safe places, relief supplies and food distribution centers, and registration for FEMA assistance. During the recovery period, these young people were instrumental in boosting morale among the younger children and bringing attention to other risks affecting their community. Plan International has mobilized children and youth in El Salvador, Central America, to play a significant role in environmental resources management and disaster r isk reduction.The children and youth have worked with their communities in developing risk maps, designing community emergency plans, setting up early warning systems, and implementing response, mitigation and risk reduction plans, among other activities. Plan International's experience in El Salvador has already been replicated in other Central American countries (UNISDR, 2007). Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster b. What has been done to Address Youth Involvement? Akeyo, S. 13 There some few steps done by various disaster management organizations that are significant initiatives in addressing youth involvement in disaster management.One agency that involves youth in local community disaster and emergency preparedness is the U. S. Federal Emergency Management agency (FEMA) which is tasked with planning. This agency provides an in-depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness course on its website (FEMA, 2009). Another major provider of disaster management worldwide is the Internation al Red Cross- Red Crescent Society. This agency is active in mobilizing youth to take active part in disaster situation to help their neighbors across their own streets, across the country, and across the world each year.In developing countries, evidence of youth platforms that address disaster management is taking place. On October 27-29, 2010 in the eastern African country of Kenya, youth held a national wide youth convention to campaign for disaster management initiatives. This conference held in the city of Nairobi was an example active platform that were held to mobilize and build capacity of youth and prepared them to respond to climate change and environmental degradation.Conference participants attest that it was a perfect opportunity that was used well by the organizers to include youth in disaster management and decision making process in the effort to address climate change at local, national, regional, and continental level (Tuwei, 2010). In country of Uganda, youths hav e appealed to decision makers to involve them, at all levels, in the effort to address the climate change under the theme, â€Å"Time for Action†. Director and Head of the Youth Affairs Division at the Commonwealth Secretariat, Dr.Fatiha Serour said, â€Å"International Youth Day gives the world an opportunity to recognize the potential of youth and celebrate their achievements† (Kigonya, 2010). In the Caribbean, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 14 must be commended for introducing and involving 16 member countries for youth disaster management activities during their annual Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) Conference in 2009.This initiative of CDEMA will promote youth involvement in various communities they represent and the overall disaster management development in that region. Likewise, Pan International mobilized youth in El-Salvador to play a significant role in environmental r esources management and disaster risk reduction (DRR). This initiative is currently benefiting their community through a joint taskforce of youth-adult in developing risk maps, designing community emergency plans, setting up early warning systems, and implementing response, mitigation, and risk reduction plans, among other activities (Plan International, 2007).In 2010, Plan International facilitated 54 focus groups across Haiti, where young people had the opportunity to discuss the impact of the earthquake on their individual lives, and what they needed most in the recovery process; and to share their hopes and dreams for the future of their country. It is reported that the youth were enthusiastic to be involved in the rebuilding of their country, and wanted to take part in the work being set out towards a prosperous future for Haiti (PLAN, 2010).Lastly, the 2007 national meeting on â€Å"Policy Advocacy for Enhancing Community Resilience to Natural Disasters Focusing on Children a nd Youth† held in Jakarta, Indonesia was held to address the importance of involving young people in the disaster management process (UN-ESCAP, 2007). VII. Recommendation for Good Practices A study done by the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) suggested that social capital was the predictor of more effective human functioning, stronger institutions and community resilience (Diaz, 2008).Furthermore, strengthening individual, community and private sectors in disaster preparedness has both and strategic value (Flynn, 2010). Therefore, Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 15 good practices that can help include young people in the emergency management process can be successfully achieved by following these recommendations: 1. Education and Information Sharing Generally, young people are not aware of what emergency response leaders and relief agencies may expect them to do or know when a disaster occurs. Such information is critical to successful emerg ency preparation and disaster response and recovery efforts.Information sharing is a principal component of an effective emergency management strategy to help a community improve its level of preparedness, response capabilities, and resilience. Youth forums, conferences and workshop are the best example of information sharing. Participants can pass relevant information to their peers, by sharing of knowledge or information and training obtained. Relevant information shared with young people on disaster risks will unify communities and promote a culture of disaster readiness and collaboration at all levels that include disaster experts, responders and other stakeholders (ISDR, 2005).However, all information collected must be analyzed for accuracy, authenticity and urgency before incriminated to the targeted individuals. Local communities should provide disaster and emergency preparation and response training programs to all citizens; especially youth designed community training progr ams promote citizens to take personal responsibility in preparing for and responding to a disaster. Sufficient staff should be trained in working with youth and children so that they may understand and recognize the importance of their participation in disaster response, relief and recovery efforts.Disaster training for children and youth should include age-appropriate lessons in preparing for emergencies, response behaviors, CPR and basic first aid, water safety, and basic child care. Educational leaders can develop school-based curriculums that address these topics. Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 16 Furthermore, NGOs and church-based organizations can also be used to help provide disaster preparedness training to young people as well. Training youth and children in disaster preparedness activities before an emergency occurs helps them to survive and provide assistance to others. . Tabletop and Drill Exercises Planning is the key! Necessity of planning can be illustrated by the famous a story of four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody. â€Å"There was an important job to be done and Everybody was invited to do it. Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Infact, Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that. Everybody wouldn't do it.It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done† (Unknown Author). The tabletop exercise is essentially a group brainstorming session centered on a scenario narrative and problem statements or messages that are presented to key players in emergency response. Tabletop exercise can be utilized to increase youth awareness of risks that surround them, (Strength, weaknesses and Opportunity and Threats) and how they can better prepared to deal with them before disaster happens.This will help not only the young people bu t also the emergency coordinators in examining response capabilities, and evaluate coordination with other agencies e. g. Law enforcement, emergency responders, establish closer working relationships and within local and outside coordination. Tabletop exercise can also be used to acquaint the young people on the policies, procedures, roles, communication and responsibilities before, during, or after the simulated event. Youth mentors must work with the youth to decide whether do a full-scale exercise that involves local first responders and professional moderators or just aRunning Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 17 simple affair conducted by in-house disaster planners and youth in training. The scenario can also be discussed on how much gloom and doom you want your tabletop exercise should look like (i. e. Involving injured people, property destruction etc. ). This will help both the adult and their mentee to test how quickly they can pull together key players. This ex ercise process will provide a less stressful, more time effective method when the actual emergency happens. 3.Supporting Youth Programs Every community, emergency managers and responders should work with new as well as existing youth organizations to address the local issues, concerns and proposal for success. If community has several youth groups, it can be helpful to assign each on with specific roles and responsibilities which will make them expert in their trained response role. Emergency personnel must develop such caring relationships not only between adultyoung people but also between youth-youth, emergency responder-emergency responder, and emergency personnel-community.Teachers and mentor should reflect personally on their beliefs about resilience, and also, as a staff, exchange experiences-both personal and literary- about overcoming the odds (Resiliency In Action, Inc. , 2007). Such relationship and opportunities for active youth involvement: small group process, cooperat ive learning, peer helping, cross-age mentoring, and community service makes participants feel to belong to â€Å"a family,† â€Å"a home,† â€Å"a community. 4. Youth Direct Involvement a. Service-learning Experience i. Being Disaster ReadyIt is very important to know that, if one cannot take care of them self, it will be impossible to take care of others. Youth can be given individual training that will help them be Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 18 mentally and emotionally prepared to act promptly and to develop in them the ability to take care for themselves, and applying practical survival skills as needed. Individual training must include being informed of disasters that are most likely to occur in their community, be helped to develop and practice their response plan and get survival kits.In most situations, disasters impact is felt by the whole family. Youth can be trained on how to they can be involved in their own family’s emerg ency plan. Youth must know how to work as a team of their respective families in learning basic emergency skills and how to react when faced with fires, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, explosions, warning signals, fallout protection, terrorism attacks, and other emergency situations. ii. Community Service Youth can be trained according to their capabilities to take active role in the community response plan.Such activities as, volunteering to provide health care and first aid services in reception centers, homeless shelters, food bank, care for elderly in nursing homes, helping at respite centers or child care facilities, can be good experiences for the youth. They can also be involved in evacuation of casualty from the scene of the event, transportation of ill, injured, infirm to reception or medical facilities. Service-learning experiences engage young responders in the educational process, using what they learn in the classroom to solve real-disaster scenarios.Such a practice will promote confidence and experience in their over role performances and in adherence procedures and policy. By rendering disaster management services to the community, youth will eventually improve skills necessary for civic action: leadership, communication, decision-making, problem solving, teamwork, relationship building, planning and organizing, concern for others. They also increase their knowledge about their communities and gain confidence, interest andRunning Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 19 motivation and in working for their communities. Moreover, young people engaged in disaster management activities gain skills in leadership, problem solving. b. Ongoing Research Study Disaster management is an applied science that needs constant scientific research, theory testing and updates. Young research should be identified and be involved in meaningful research design and implementation of research roles especially in issues that affect their lives.They should be emp owered to collect data and report on information to raise awareness of a problem and/or advocate for change in the condition underlying the community need (for example, youth analyze a community’s emergency preparedness plan and offer suggestions for how to improve the plan). This learning opportunity will enable young researcher to provide their insights, talents and perspectives in their own environment, appropriate to their level of development and expertise. For better results, emergency managers must therefore partner ith these young researchers, students as well as other professionals worldwide across multiple disciplinary perspectives of emergency management to develop and promote solutions that bridge the theoretical and practical applications of comprehensive emergency management. A wellintegrated youth-adult research study will lead to innovative tools and applications that empower the local, national and international communities, create a context for partnerships, and generate research findings that can be used for future disaster management interventions and improvements in ongoing practices. VIII. ConclusionThis initiative to involve youth and to promote youth engagement is not an easy task. While youth have historically been recipients of basic personal safety education in emergency preparedness, they have not been included in community wide preparedness activities. However, that may be changing. Ever rising emergencies and disasters are a reality that all must face Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 20 together. It is important to recognize that youth engagement initiatives, collaboration and partnerships in disaster management have multiple payoffs that save lives and promotes resilience in difficult times.Moreover, involving young people who are involved in disaster preparedness will bring a revolutionary change in society. The youth of today will become leaders and parents of tomorrow, which will ensure that they pa ss this knowledge to their children. Making disaster preparedness a societal practice can as a result be passed on from generation to generation. Youth involvement in disaster management will therefore succeed only if they are given. Adult mentor may run up against complex, messy, and difficult problems while molding the youth. Sometimes they may even be discouraged and give up the task.Likewise, the young may think the older mentors’ ideas or approaches are not proper and primitive which may result into conflicts. The truth is, every good outcome requires hard work, a sustained commitment to working as a team, and a willingness to listen and learn from each other. Developing trusting relationships between young people and adults does not happen overnight; but with sustained engagement and guidance, young and old can work shoulder by shoulder to prepare and respond to disaster when it happens (Pearson, 2010). R

Emergence and Development of Stem Cell Research Paper

Emergence and Development of Stem Cell - Research Paper Example Two main sources of stem cells include embryos during the early phase of embryonic development and adult stem cells. Interestingly, opposition to stem cell research is not uniform for embryonic and adult stem cells. Most of the regulations across the world are supportive of adult stem cell research but varies hugely for embryonic stem cell research. For instance, in the United States, stem cell research on studies proposing to use animal sources of adult stem cells, embryonic stem cells or embryonic germ cell lines do not have any restrictions and are federally funded, unlike human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research (Downing, 2003). 3.1. Emergence and development of stem cell research: In the US, many Christian groups protested President Bush’s initial decision regarding research on human embryonic stem cells, which resulted in forbidding further research on research. Though this consoled the priests and other religious figures in the US, this decision also received much oppo sition from other religious groups within the US and other parts of the world. Although religious groups expressed satisfaction over the President’s decision to withdraw support for research on hESCs, they also detested manipulation of existing stem cells for research purposes (Petersen, 2003). Research ethics concerned with ESCs are mostly about the method of deriving healthy human embryos and their moral status during early stages that carry different views in different religions (McLaren 2007). These differences have been the reasons for most of the ethical debate about ESC research. 3.2. Restrictions and limitations on stem cell research: After President Bush passed the bill on hESC research in 2001, funding restrictions were also imposed on this aspect as part of his campaign promise made to the citizens of the US that their money would not be used for stem cell research purposes (Stolberg, 2001). As a reaction to this, states like California, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa , Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York enacted independent funding systems (Frost & Sullivan, 2008). Regulations imposed on hESCs and adult stem cells are different in different countries. The policies on hESC research in the United States are more liberal, like that of Germany, Spain, France, and Canada; but the policies in the United Kingdom, China, Japan, and Israel are even more liberal than that of the United States (Herring, 2006). Evidence of the amount of research indicates that adult stem cell trials have been more successful in most of the countries that encourage and support stem cell research. Outcomes of these researchers on adult stem cells have been applied to treat many diseases, birth defects, cancers, severe heart-related issues etc (Herring, 2006). This evidence only indicates the extent of advancement in adult stem cell research and application in various countries across the world.

Babylon under Hammurabis law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Babylon under Hammurabis law - Essay Example Babylonians started ruling over Sumer in 1900 BC. Hammurabi, the king of Babylon led his armies to occupy Mesopotamia and build an empire there. As the supreme ruler, Hammurabi established a set of rules of conduct for the Babylonians. The laws of Hammurabi were written in cuneiform and encrypted on stone, stating exactly how the Babylonian society was to behave. Lewis (pp.18) sates, â€Å"the code is engraved in cuneiform writing on a seven-foot tall black stone pillar†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This discussion is going to focus on the laws of Hammurabi concerning marriage, divorce, adultery, inheritance, and life in Babylon in general. According to Hammurabi’s code, marriage was considered a contract between a man and a woman. Marriages were organized by parents and other relatives for their children, with the bride-groom’s parents obligated to pay bride price to the girl’s family. This type of marriage arrangement sounds authoritative since the lovers did have any say in their own marriage. Parents were in complete control of their children’s lives and marriages were not based on love or mutual agreement on the part of the ones getting married. This is very unfair, since a person would be forced to marry a person they did not want for a partner. Divorce was handled very differently for men and women. Whereas men were allowed to divorce their wives at will, wives were only permitted to separate from their husbands on grounds of neglect or cruelty.

Defense Intelligence Agency Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Defense Intelligence Agency - Essay Example The decision that DIA delivers concerning intelligence information is an advantage to war fighters, policy makers and defense planners (DIA, 2015). The collected intelligence information is an advantage because it is usable by the military and other states security officers to be alert of any kind of attack especially from terror. The new base contribute to a new mission of applying interpersonal skills, high level training and professional talents that provide the necessary human intelligence (HUMINT). The agency collects and analyses key intelligence information data using a variety of sophisticated tools and technology before coming up with the decision (DIA, 2015). The DIA then makes a decision concerning the information analyzed on how to deploy security personnel globally in order to be on top of the matter in case of any abnormalities. During the security deployment activity, the DIA takes a long war fighter and interagency partners to be on watch out in order to manage and contain the security. Therefore, the work of DIA is to coordinate with all the security personnel and share with them intelligence information with an intention to defend America’s national security interest (DIA,

Optical Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Optical - Essay Example Since the future demands a high speed networking, plastic optical fibre can be a possible option in the next generation. Â  There are different types of plastic optic fibres. These types arise due to the attributes that determine any type of transmission media. The main attributes are; the length over which data will be transmitted and the speed at which the data will be transmitted over a given length. There can be loss of data during the transmission process, and this arises from scattering the light or absorption of the light by impurities in the fibrelike molecules of water or metals, fibre defects like voids, interfaces of core cladding and the end faces. Any one of the loss mechanisms is usually a function of the transmission wave’s wavelength (Weinert, 1999). One type of a plastic optical fibre is the PMMA. The PMMA loss spectrum has 530 nm, 570 nm and 650 nm transmission windows. All these windows are in the visible range. The 650 nm window is more sensitive because it is narrow. If a 650 nm source shifts with temperature, there could be arousal of problems in this window. On the other hand, the 57 and 530 windows are broader hence less sensitive to source wavelength shifts due to temperature variations. The PMMA plastic fibre is limited to transmitting light of less than 100 m. this is because the losses at 650 nm are 125dB/km while the loses at 570 nm and 530 nm are less than 90dB/km (Plastic Optical Fibres and Applications Conference (Paris)), 1992). Another type of plastic optical fibre is made from perfluorinated polymers. This newer type of plastic optical fibre exhibits greater light transmission over a wider range of wavelength. There are two notable features that are seen when comparing the loss spectrum of perfluorinated polymer to that of PMMA. One is that the spectrum for the perfluorinated polymer ranges from 650 nm to 1300 nm. This range is notably higher than the range for PMMA. The second outstanding

Analysis of The History of NASA Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Analysis of The History of NASA - Research Paper Example This paper reviews the history of NASA: NASA’S formation, goals and objectives, greatest achievements in history, and also its administration. At the end of the paper, it is argued that NASA has indeed lived up to its mission and objectives and that it has been very successful in achieving its goals and objectives. Formation of NASA The formation of NASA as a fully-fledged government agency dedicated to the exploration of the outer space was sparked off by the historic launch of the satellite Sputnik 1 by Russia in October 1957 (Galloway, 2008). The launch of the Sputnik 1 Satellite by Russia was a monumental success for Russia in space science, and this action made Russia the leading country in space science explorations. The launch of the Sputnik 1 Satellite by Russia made the US feel insecure, the US government felt that Russia could use its superior knowledge in space science to harm them in one way or another. The US also felt that they had to do everything possible so as to reclaim their position as the world’s premier in space science and aeronautics. For these reasons, the use government set out in November 1957, to establish a government agency fully dedicated to the exploration of outer space. ... But following the Sputnik’s launch by Russia, the establishment of a more effective and robust government agency dealing with outer space exploration became a matter of agency. The US Senate, the Congress and the Executive began a process of establishing a government agency that would deal with matters of outer space explorations (Dick, 2008). On 6th February 1958, the Senate established a special committee on space and Aeronautics with the aim of exploring ways and means of establishing a space agency. The committee was headed by Senator Johnson. On the side of the Congress, a select committee on Aeronautics and space exploration was formed on 5th March 1958, and the committee was headed by John McCormack, McCormack was the house majority leader. On the executive side, President Eisenhower asked his science advisor James Killian to convene science advisory committee to deliberate on the issue of establishing a space agency. The Science advisory committee proposed the establis hment of a civilian committee built around the NACA (Dick, 2008). The committee presented their resolutions to President Eisenhower and the president approved their resolutions on the establishment of a space agency. In their deliberations, both the Senate and the Congress had also resolved that there was indeed an urgent need of establishing a space agency. On 2nd April 1958, President Eisenhower sent draft legislation to the Congress. The draft proposed establishment of a space agency by the name, National Aeronautics and Space Agency. The Congress, however, changed the name of the proposed agency to, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.  Ã‚  

Six Organ systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Six Organ systems - Essay Example The skeletal system of the body is composed of bones which help in the normal posture in a human being. This skeletal system helps in different types of movement with the help of the muscular system. It is composed of bones to which are attached muscles, tendons and ligaments. The primary function of skeletal system is in the movement of different body parts and also in protection of the viscera of the body (Hall & Guyton 2006). Muscular system is the system which helps the bones to move in accordance to their contraction and relaxation. They also help in involuntary movements taking place inside the body. Muscular system is made up of muscles tendons and ligaments. Muscles are of three types respectively known as cardiac, skeletal and smooth muscle. These three types of muscles serve different functions in the body. Skeletal muscle are voluntary muscles which are under the control of the human beings whereas smooth muscles are not. Cardiac muscle are located in the heart which help in the contraction and relaxation of heart (Hall & Guyton 2006). Nervous system is a system which contains specialized cells located all over the body which help in all the bodily functions. The components of nervous system include the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system. The central nervous system contains of the brain and spinal cord whereas the peripheral nervous system contains the neurons which help in connecting the body parts to the central nervous system. Both of these systems coordinate their activities together in order to produce the desired effect by the body (Snell 2004). A normal human being is gifted with five basic senses which have different functions. These five senses are named Taste, Vision, Hearing, Smell, and Touch. The smell of taste helps an individual to perceive taste of different substances through taste buds. Vision helps an individual to perceive the world through eyes i.e. see

Results And Conclusion of Research Process Essay

Results And Conclusion of Research Process - Essay Example Since these sources of information are very reliable, they give the actual situation of the issue of teenage pregnancy (Nicoletti 2004). This information is then used to develop other better programs that will make teenage pregnancy a thing of the past and help in alleviating poverty among the American population. One of the steps used in ensuring the safety of the subjects involved in this research was through ensuring that the questionnaires they filled were anonymous. They were also informed of the potential risks and dangers that they had in participating in the study. One of the risk factor could be that the information they gave out could be accessed by other persons (Nicoletti 2004). They were given details involving the research in full including the intention of carrying out the study and how the information they gave could be used. The subjects were then required to sign a voluntary informed consent. The measure of reliability and validity of the data obtained was used made through the use of various analysis tools. Since the information was obtained from whole population, it was believed to valid since it was completely representative. For the quantitative data, various calculations such as the means, variance and standard deviation were carried out to measure its reliability. However, since the research was manly qualitative, reliability was ensured through the observation of the data sets. The subjects were also given two similar tests at different times and the scores from these test correlated using various correlation measures. This being mainly a qualitative study, data analysis was mainly aimed at giving deeper insight into the study by showing patterns. Qualitative data also gives details of information that cannot be represented in numerical format such as feelings, behavior and attitude. It also opens the topic to greater areas which may be considered in future studies. It also helps in the simulation of the unique personal experiences whic h can help in understanding why people act or behave in the way they do (Neinstein 2008). This also help to prevent prejudgment making the data collected from the research more reliable. In this study, the method of analysis that was used was deductive approach. The research was conducted based on various theories that have been developed about teenage pregnancy. Teenage pregnancy is a topic that has attracted the attention of many scholars leading to the development of various theories regarding tit. This research used the theories and information obtained previously on this topic to analyze the data obtained from this research. This has been very effective because it made it easy for new information on the topic to be realized. The inductive approach would not have been very effective for this study since it works well on research areas which have been remotely researched on. Using inductive approach on this topic would have a lower success rate of adding new information to this a rea which has already been widely researched on. The data analysis procedure involved the comparing of teen pregnancy data from different countries in Europe and America. This helped in answering the research question on whether the rates of teenage pregnancy in high in America compared to other countries. It also involved the analysis of the program that have been instituted at the state level such as sex

Take-Home Exam Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Take-Home Exam - Term Paper Example Scenes in movies or films are the activities that take place at a single location through a given amount time (Tomaric, 2012). Scenes are small films within a film, which make up the whole, when they are merged, through editing, to come up with one complete film. Scenes have some distinct qualities that characterize them to the extent that they are given unique names. This is because these characteristics can be reproduced, on other films, to bring about the same effect that they were designed to elicit. Establishing a shot in filmmaking is the process of making a long footage whose objective is to provide an overview of the scene that follows this shot. A wide shot in a film is also referred to as a long shot, and it shows the entire feature of interest in the frame. The shot includes an entire object that is captured including the surrounding environment that relates to the feature. A medium shot in filming is a shot that is taken when the camera is positioned at a medium distance away from the feature of interest (Tomaric, 2012). The distance that defines a medium shot is not clearly established because it creates confusion between a close up shot and a medium shot. A medium close up shot can be defined as a picture frame that includes, for example, the photo of a person from the below the waist and above the knees. A close up shot is a photo that includes the image of a person from the chest up or even the face only. An extreme close up shot is tightly taken A photo that only shows a specific detail about a feature. This can be a close up of the ears or the eyes. An over the shoulder shot is a shot of a feature taken from the perspective or camera angle of an over the shoulder view of another person or object. A 2-shot is a shot taken to include two features in one single shot. A point of view shot is more of a short scene describing the subject feature’s view at an object which taken by placing the camera angle between the subjects view and his/her reaction to the object (Tomaric, 2012). Question #2 A film budget is the money used to cater for expenses that are incurred in the filming making process. A film budget includes an above the line budgetary allocation that covers the key players, in the production of a movie for example, producers, directors, actors and writers. All other fund allocations are referred to as below the line. The film I would like to make addresses the prevailing social problems in society. The film would be produced in a way that it would be appealing and intriguing to the intended audience. I would seek to address the issue of drug abuse in society especially by the young generation. In doing this, I would seek the services of a script writer whose is familiar and conversant with the theme of this film. Ideas for this film can be got from persons who have had prior experience with drug abuse involving the youth. Film making has three basic steps that are involved in the process. These are the pre-prod uction stage, the production stage and the post production stage (Cleve, 2012). The pre-production stage involves the careful planning and designing of the film. A production company is created along with a production office. Pre-visualization of the film is done, and a storyboard of the film is established with guidance of concept artists and illustrators. A production budget is also drawn up during the pre-production which helps determine and plan for film expenditures. Films with

The Fundamentals Aspects That Shaped the Great Mind of Plato Essay Example for Free

The Fundamentals Aspects That Shaped the Great Mind of Plato Essay The importance of understanding concepts and analyzing the true meaning of words capture the human mind to develop philosophical thinking, so men can determine what they know about the world. A particularly exciting aspect of the human mind has always been intrigued in understanding reality, and Plato was fascinated with the abstract and theoretical principles of what constitutes reality. To Plato, ideas or conceptual forms were essential realities; when we refer to justice or beauty, it is essential to analyze the real meaning of the words to understand the form. Plato developed a whole philosophy in trying to examine how the human mind arrives to knowledge. Plato was a remarkable thinker and writer, and his system of thought and metaphysics have strongly impacted many societies. A great mind like Plato’s is the result of a sequence of experiences and historical events, the impact of certain figures in society and the combination of a great intellect. The aspects that shaped Plato’s ideas were: first the society of Sparta and the deceitfulness of the Athenian democracy, and second the influence of philosophers like Socrates, Phytagoras, Parmenides and others; the synthesis of these aspects is revealed thought out his beliefs and works. . One of the most crucial aspects in Plato’s philosophy is his Utopia. There are central elements that shaped Plato’s perception of what a perfect state should constitute of; therefore, it is vital to analyze the historical context of Plato’s life. Plato was born in 428-7 B.C., in the early years of the Peloponnesian War. After Athens’s defeat in the war, antidemocratic sympathizers brought the rule of the Thirty Tyrants, and Plato was related to various people who were concerned about the new rule. At a young age, it is possible that Plato could have blame Athens’ defeat to democracy1 (Russell,105). Plato came from one of the â€Å"wealthiest and most politically active families in Athens† (Annas, 18). He was a student of Socrates, for whom he felt a tremendous affection; Socrates was found guilty in corrupting the youth and believing in other gods and was put to death by the Athenian democracy. Plato showed in many of his early Dialogues th e figure of Socrates as the philosopher who gave enlightenment to the citizens of Athens because his knowledge relied on logic and reason; for example, in the dialectic development of the idea of piety in the Euthyphro, Socrates emphasized the exercise of reason in analyzing the fallacies of his opponent’s arguments. The irony of this dialogue is that Socrates is charged of impiety, and he proved to know more about piety than his opponent. It is not surprising that Plato will favor Sparta in his Utopia because the Athenian democracy is responsible for Socrates’ death. In Plato’s works, Socrates is in the highest level of intellect and ethics, and in the dialogue Crito Socrates is the perfect example of what an ethical position should be: â€Å"The view that the citizen who has agreed to live in a state must always obey the laws of the state, or else persuade the state to change its laws, or leave the state† (Crito 51bc-52a-d); then Socrates affirmed: one must not even do wrong when one is wronged, which most people regard as the natural course. Socrates represents the great martyr and philosopher who is willing to act in name of justice besides of the circumstances. He would prefer to die rather than to act unjustly. Plato established most of his highest ethical values throug h Socrates’ voice in the Dialogues. It is possible to assume that Plato could have felt a great loss after Socrates’ death, and his resentment towards Athens influenced him to see Sparta as a better society. Plato will also favor Sparta’s educational and social reforms in his works. In Plato’s Utopia, the Republic, the first dialogues near to the end of Book V, consists of the elements necessary to construct an ideal state. Plato introduces us to three classes: the common people, the soldiers, and the guardians. Since the guardians have political power, Plato is concerned in how the guardians will develop their roles in the most appropriate way, so education is essential in the role of the guardians. There are many similarities in what Plato suggests about the guardians’ education to the one provided in Sparta. For example; Plato explains that education is divided in two areas: music and gymnastics. In Platos’s Utopia, it is important to encourage a type of education that stimulates the mental and physical training of the guardians to encourage them to die in battle if it is necessary. This is similar to Sparta’s main interest of education to convert yo ung men into warrior machines. Courage and good behavior are the characteristics to be promoted in the Republic. It seems to be that there is a â€Å"rigid censorship† over the literature that young men have access in the Republic; for example, mother and nurses are to tell their children only â€Å"authorized stories.† Homer and Hesiod are not part of the education because they provide examples of gods behaving badly, and it cannot be taught that evil things come from gods2 (Rusell 109). It is possible to assume that there are elements in Homer and Hesiod that will make the readers develop a fear of dead, and in his Utopia it is unacceptable to stimulate the fear of death in young soldiers because the main purpose is to encourage men to die in battle. In the Republic, education seems to aim only at the functional level of the military, and it tries to discourage men to question about the gods’ evil and erroneous actions because these factors will distract them form protecting the state. In Sp arta, the Lycurgan reforms’ main objective of education was to build strong soldiers, and the stimulation of cultural and scientific education was not on the picture. For example, at the age of seven, children were sent to schools where they were subject to a very strict training; they were taught to steal and if they were caught they were punished but not because of the action but because of their stupidity. Plato also proposes a system of communism for the guardians and possible to the soldiers, these men are supposed to have a simple way of living like simple houses, food, and none private property beyond of what is required. Gold and silver are forbidden. If we look at the Spartan society much of this is the same. For example, none Spartan citizen should be â€Å"destitute, and none should be rich,† and Spartans were expected to live on the procedure of theirs lot, and they could not own gold or silver. Sparta impacted many Greeks through the creation of the â€Å"myth† of a perfect state, and this is reflected in Plato’s political theory. The admiration of Sparta seemed bizarre especially during Lycurgus’s reforms. Lycurgus is thought to be a â€Å"mystical person,† whose origin was Arcadian and his name meant â€Å"wolf-repeller.† During this time, the Spartan constitution attributed to Lycargus seemed to have shaped the society in order to pursuit war and encourage its citizens to sacrifice everything in the battles. It is hard to understand that Sparta could have played an important part in what Greece have contributed to the civilization, but certainly many greeks were inspired and attracted to the simplicity of this state as Bury explains: A stranger from Athens or Miletus in the fifth century visiting the straggling villages which formed her unwalled unpretentious city must have had a feeling of being transported into an age of long past, when men were braver, better, and simpler, unspoiled by wealth, undisturbed by ideas. To a philosopher, like Plato, speculating in political science, the Spartan state seemed the nearest approach to the ideal†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Bury, 141). In understanding Plato’s Utopia we can see that there is so much resemble to Sparta because Sparta represented the opposite of Athens, and it appealed to Plato in many ways like the social organization and the education. Plato was very attracted by the stability of that state; for example, the Spartan constitution remained unchanged for centuries. In the first books I-V of the Republic, justice become very important for Plato; for example, the guardians exert a great amount of power because they represented the wisest group in the community, so decisions are taken by the wiser because they will know was good and best for the people and â€Å"injustice would only occur,† according to Plato’s theory, â€Å"if there were men in other classes who were wiser than some of the guardians† (Russell, 114). And this is the reason why Plato proposes the stratification and deprivation of citizens, but the question is very complicated in defining the science of power, g overnment, and politics. It seems very just to give the power to the wisest man to make decisions, but how do we determine who is the wisest and most important if that person would use his wisdom in the interest of the state. In understanding how to rule a community the ethical ideal is very important. As Plato explains, justice consists of men doing their jobs, as the doctor will pursuit to cure the sick, but the problem is how men decide what their jobs should be or what is their function in an active society in terms of utility. Men have to decide what they want to work on and fulfill the skill that is required on that job, but the problem is whether men should decide their jobs based on their tastes or based on the state’s judgment of the aptitudes of every individual, and the question is who has the strongest ethical ideal to decide that: the individual or the government? For Plato, the purpose of the government is essential in determining what a man job should be, but this involves many difficulties in making the adequate choice because there is none assurance that the government will make the right decision. The problem is that even though the rulers are philosophers, there is not room for innovation, as Russell says â€Å"a philosopher is to be, for all the time, a man who understands and agrees with Plato.† The dilemma is that philosophers are not encouraged to think beyond Plato’s ideals. This example of the government been in charge of determining men’s aptitudes and their jobs takes us back to the organization in Sparta. The Utopia perceived by Plato was strongly influenced by Sparta, but a Sparta that is more mythical than real and that exists only in Plato’s ideals. Certainly the situation in Athens, the democracy that he disapproved so much, and the unethical action in convicting Socrates forced Plato into many struggles with his subconscious mind. This influenced Plato to see in Sparta the possibility to create a Utopia in his mind but certainly one with many defective aspects. Plato’s profoundest and original ideas resulted from the attempt to solve problems by his predecessors. Aristotle speaks of Plato’s ideas as â€Å"resembling the Pythagorean, but with certain features of its own† in the first book of Metaphysics. The philosophical influences of that time shaped many of Plato’s ideas. The Heracletian view, that proposes that the world is in constant flux and cannot be the object of knowledge, appealed so much to Plato that he decided to approach Socrates on this matter. Socrates at that time was concern with ethics and was seeking the universals and their definitions. The idea of Heracletian and the image of Socrates as the philosopher is shown in many of Plato’s dialogues. The Dialogues dealt with the search of definitions and abstract ideas. Plato’s main inspiration was Socrates; for example, in the majority of the Dialogues, Socrates always take the leading position, even in the Theaetetus and Philebus which were written in Plato’s maturity4(http://plato.stanford.edu). Socrates influenced Plato with the concern of ethical problems in the society, and this explained why â€Å" The Good† dominated on Plato’s thought; â€Å"no evil can happen to a goo d man, either in life or after death†( Dialogues, Apology). Plato derived many ideas from Pythagoras especially the â€Å"Orphic elements† of his philosophy such as; the religious ideas like the belief of immortality, his passion for mathematics, and eternal truth. Plato found very appealing Socrates’ idea of universal definitions; but since universals could have no application in a world subject to the â€Å"Heraclitean flux,† he needed to test whether Socrates was right or not. If Socrates was right, there would have to be realities outside the world of the â€Å"ordinary sensible experience.† This leads Plato to consider the following question: was there any evidence for the existence of ‘such changeless truths’? If they exist, how could we have any knowledge of their nature? For Plato, it was possible the existence of a world of eternal forms, but he needed mathematical truth to prove this. Through Pythagoras’s discovery of application of music as regarded by Pythagoreans as the prime cause of order and harmonia in the universe; Plato found an example of the existence of truth outside the empirical world. Another example is that in the case of the statement that the triangle consists of three straight lines is true, but is not true for a triangle draw by hand because by definition â€Å" a line has length but no breadth and is therefore invisible† (ellopos.net). It follows that the triangle of experiences only approximate to the form of truth, and Plato embraced this idea. Plato perceived that ideas like justice or love or beauty have an invisible form; for example, in the perception of beauty one could see a beautiful sculpture but this only approximates to the eternal form of beauty. Clearly â€Å"the modern explanation of mathematical truth as analytical or tautologous was not possible† (ellopos.net) in the minds of Plato and Phytagoras because then the universals of a form could not have exist in the idea of immortality. Another greatest influence on Plato was Parmenides, and from him Plato derived the idea that reality is eternal and timeless and that on â€Å"logical grounds, all changes must be illusory† (Russell, 105). All the ideas of these Greek philosophers combined all together lead to Plato’s belief that â€Å"knowledge could not be derived from the senses, but only achieved by the intellect† (Cantor, 12). In Plato’s theory of knowledge, he concluded that reality is pure idea and that we know it by defining our concepts trough reason and critical thinking. The middle of the Republic Book V to Book VII concentrated on the philosophy and the ideals of forms: Until philosophers are kings, or the kings or the princes of this world have the spirit and power of philosophy,and political greatness and wisdom meet in one, and those commoner nature who pursue either to the exclusion of the other are compelled to stand aside, cities will never have rest from these evils-no, nor the human race, as I believe- and then only will this our State have a possibility of life and behold the light of day. (Plato, Republic, Book V). Trough this passage we can see the combination of Parmenides and Pythagoras thoughts produced a doctrine which was felt to satisfy the intellect and the religious emotions3 ( Russell, 120). In understanding what Plato meant by knowledge and opinion, we have to look at Par emenides. Paremenides stated that an individual who has knowledge has knowledge of something that exists, and for what does not exist is nothing. It is possible to assume that knowledge cannot be mistaken because it exists as a pure form, and opinion can be mistaken because opinion cannot be of what is not because if it was then it would be knowledge. Plato also suggested that things have opposite characters; for example, what is just can be in some respects unjust. It is self contradictory to assume that a thing can be just and unjust at the same time, and so particular things have to be accepted as not real; as Heraclitus mentioned: â€Å"we step and do not step into the same rivers; we are and are not.† Particular things are not the forms because they are concerned with opinion, and knowledge is the only concerned with the actual form. According to Plato, opinion is part of the world of senses and knowledge is part of the eternal world; therefore, perfect. Another important aspect of the theory is the fact that is â€Å"partly logic and partly metaphysical†; for example, if we look at a table, we would ask ourselves what is a table? A table is just the structure of a certain material like wood, plastic, or metal in a particular form but without a form, it would only be a shapeless material. For the table to come into existence there has to be the idea of a table which gives its shape. We can say that the physical world has no form unless it is shaped by an idea. In Plato’s metaphysics the presence of Heraclitus shaped his thoughts. Plato agreed with Heraclitus in the point that when the world is experienced trough the senses the reality is constantly changing; however, he took this to a step further and believed that there has to exist a reality that can be known through reason and this reality is not in change. In the last book of the Republic Plato dealt with the allegory of the cave and the influenced on Pythagoras is there. In the allegory, men live in a cave and in a world of shadows in which they are inevitable force to regard them as real, until a man is able to escape. He becomes aware of the reality, and this man that has discovered the real world outside the cave will represent the kind of philosopher who will fit best to become the guardian, and his duty is to inform and convince the others in the cave about the real things he saw outside, so they can save their souls. Plato and Pythagoras held that knowledge is necessary for the salvation of the soul, and this idea explains why is important that the man who has discovered the world outside the cave help the others to save their souls from their ignorance. The men in the cave would mock him at the beginning because they still live in a world of ignorance. Plato also reinforces the importance of becoming a philosopher and how knowledge will lead to the ‘intellectual world in the perception of the absolute good (White 91).† The mysticism of Plato’s theory leads to some conflicts in which reality is perfectly good and in other to perceive reality is to perceive good, but what exactly he meant by good? The idea of science and truth in good still seems to be more influenced by the mysticism of some philosophers rather than objectivism. In Plato’s theory of forms the presence of many philosophers is almost in every aspect of what he believes to be knowledge; his theory is the combination of different mechanisms extracted from different philosophers that allowed Plato to arrive at what is called the theory of forms. It is impossible to deny that Plato’s theory of forms represented the beginning of a philosophical system that had and continue to impact the world. Platonism is a very important philosophical system that has intrigued many thinkers, and in order to understand this philosophy is important to understand the philosophers who influenced Plato. Plato’s ideas and beliefs gave the foundation of what we called philosophy, and Plato’s love for wisdom and the necessity to know where the human mind gets its ideas was his most profound inspiration; however, it is difficult to ignore the various elements that define his ideas. The historical circumstances in which Plato lived influenced some of his thoughts especially his perception of a Utopia. In the Republic, there are many ideas that show significant similarities to the organization of the Spartan society. Plato was influenced by many philosophers, and the one that he regarded as a true inspiration was Socrates, and this leads us to follow his indignation to democracy in Athens. There were other figures that impacted Plato’s life and thoughts like Pythagoras, Parmenides, and Heraclitus, and they allowed Plato to come down with many of his ideas. Plato has been regarded as the eminent philosopher and has been admired by many societies, but in order to praise him is necessary to understand what could have influenced him. Plato will always remain a very interested and enigmatic figure that will continue to intrigue society because there has not been any other philosophical thought that has influenced so much our society.