Rise the of Global Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Rise the of Global Economy - Essay Example Sovereign Debt Crisis has a long history which goes much beyond the developing countries. During the Great Depression of 1930, default in debts came from France and UK. In 1956, Argentina had to face debt repayment problems which led to the formation of Paris Club. With borrowing having increased significantly during mid 1970’s, Mexico in 1982 came up with measures to fight debt crisis. The decade 1980- 1990 was known as â€Å"lost decade†. In 1994 Mexico was hit by ‘Tequila Crisis’ which passed to Latin America and many other developing countries. Similar defaults also happened in 1997 in Russia followed by the biggest sovereign default in 2002 by Argentina when it defaulted $141billion (Dodd, 2002). Currently America is going through the worst economic crisis of all times. Bankruptcy of major American companies like General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, financial institutions like JP Morgan, the sub prime crisis has all together resulted in the worst crisis of the American economy. There have been huge job cuts and consumer spending is at an all time low. Huge lending by the government to bail out the bankrupt companies and other economies has led to huge debt on the treasury. In this context fear of sovereign default and currency crisis is all pervasive. National debt refers to the total liabilities that government has. For US it is the sum total of all the outstanding debts that the Federal Government owes. Federal deficit refers to the difference between the amount of money that the US government collects from the public called receipts in the form of taxes and other sources and the amount it actually spends referred to as outlays. Financial deficit has two parts, ‘On-budget’ and ‘Off-budget’. The total debt can be regarded as the total of accumulated deficits and off-budget surpluses. The treasury needs to borrow money from the public in order to meet the on-budget

The Description, Analysis, and Research of Tuscany, Italy, as a Essay

The Description, Analysis, and Research of Tuscany, Italy, as a Tourist Destination - Essay Example Brief history of Tuscany Indeed, Tuscany has a rich history dating back to 1100 B.C. when men lived in the iron and bronze error. The first Etruscans to settle brought a great deal of civilization to the area before the Romans finally brought peace and established their empire. It was during this time that Tuscany experienced renaissance. The romans also introduced new technology and all these, through inheritance, have projected Tuscany to her current popularity (Discover Tuscany). Physical description Since many tourists around the world prefer beautiful and extraordinary countryside with impressive views, Tuscany qualifies as one of the most favorable destinations in the Southern part of Europe (Howells 18). Howells states that Tuscany brings a combination of both extensive hills in the northern part of Lunigiana, to the beautiful valleys, down to the magnificent beaches of the Maremma at the coastal region (19). All these hills, valleys, and plains, wrapped up as a package, proje ct a remarkable sight. Any outgoing tourist who likes hiking and sightseeing will find their paradise in Tuscany, as they will never have enough time to traverse all the beautiful scenery (Howells 29). Tuscan has a large geographical area spanning 8.8 square miles, most of it being mountainous. This is especially great for mountain climbers, and bike riders, who flock every year for various competitions. This clearly shows that its general view gives it a competitive advantage over other tourist destinations not forgetting the long western coastline (Howells 16). Location and Topography Tuscany is located in Italy with its capital based in Florence, a major tourist attraction with prestigious hotels. Its strategic location makes it easier for many aspiring tourist from Europe, America, Asia, and Australia to connect at the shortest time possible due to the superb infrastructure in the cities and beyond. Chains of rolling, hilly landscape, with few proportions of agricultural land, characterize the topography of Tuscany. On its western side is along coastline with small islands off the sea, providing a special enjoyment opportunity for sand bathers and vocational travelers. This unique topography provides tourists with a classical landscape that most tourists crave (Howells 13). Cultural highlights It is no doubt that Tuscany has a rich cultural heritage. When one travels to major cities like Florence and Siena, they are likely to witness this endowment of artistic heritage in such places as art galleries, churches, and museums. The main language in Tuscany is Italia n, spoken by the majority of the citizens, although various local dialects like Tuscan exist. Though language diversity is good, this can pose a challenge especially in the tourism sector. Literature and music receive wide acknowledgement more so because they normally attract tourists through skilled entertainment. While some tourists visit Tuscany to learn fine arts, others come to experience the diversity and culture. Therefore, the only logical conclusion one can make is that Tuscany has strategically positioned herself culturally, for tourist attraction (Tourism and Holidays in Tuscany). Food and dining (wine) In Tuscan, most people prefer to be simple in matters concerning food. Cuisines in Tuscany include but not limited to vegetables, fresh fruits, mushrooms, Cheese, legumes, and bread. This rich menu provides

Barriers to Citizenship Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Barriers to Citizenship - Research Paper Example In Canada, the 2009-2010 citizenship tests have been used to evaluate citizens’ movement in various national settings. Such tests can be used as a tool to formulate public policy. In this context, the Canadian citizenship test has become a tool for naturalization as well as inclusion of various races into a singular national identity. In Britain, the naturalization process has been used as a tool to control immigration (Paquet 243). The American Context of Naturalization Process The road to getting American citizenship has largely got evaded from the inspection of legal experts. Scholars and policy makers have not given due attention to it on the cross-roads of two overdue issues of U.S. citizenship: that it has not been tackled efficiently, and that in no circumstance, it has been a smooth process (Spiro 1). The first task has been neglected due to the emerging proofs of a heightened difference between citizenship and alienage. Leaving aside the issue of vote and a reducing c ount of public sector jobs, for decades it has been difficult to differentiate the status of legal citizen aliens in U.S. society. Things changed with the implementation of the 1996 welfare legislation, which decided the criteria for critical federal benefits available on citizenship only. The process of naturalization got a unique revival with the severe amendments in the federal immigration law. The period of mid-1990s observed a record increase in the number of naturalization applications (Spiro 1). Thus, after decades of negligence, the issues pertaining to naturalization and citizenship came to the political limelight. Academics have taken the hint by writing on citizenship issues. The reinforced attention given to citizenship issues lacks the direction for the criteria of naturalization process. The second rough detail of citizenship has acted as a backstop to the revision of the first. Citizenship rank may now be eventful, but if citizenship is easily attained, then the proce ss of acquiring it is of little value. The traditional wisdom greatly rests with the concept that U.S. citizenship is not exclusive, and that the bridge to naturalization is not unattainable. Actually, not going with the traditional wisdom, and adhering to the premise that naturalization needs create barriers for the applicants to naturalization. Being both a historical and current issue, a large number of naturalization applications have been rejected, causing loss of benefits to be accruing from citizenship (Spiro 1). A big rush was seen in citizenship applications in the mid-1990s to verify famous reasons including, such as the outcomes on IRCA law, fear of inability to avail public benefits, and impact of citizenship outreach programs. Applicants seemed very eager to attend English language classes. With the provision of Amnesty under IRCA, it initiated quick rush for citizenship after becoming eligible but it did not materialize in proficiency in the English language or the nat uralization process. The public rush to apply for naturalization was because of not loosing benefits attached to citizenry. Applicants were more interested to apply to ensure their participation in day-to-day American life, to offer sponsorship for the immigration of relatives, and to guarantee a promising career for their children. The leading recognized barrier was total expertise of the English language. The most dependable mean to facilitate naturalization in the 1990s

The Meaning of Life Essay Example for Free

The Meaning of Life Essay What is the meaning of life. The meaning of our lives, the purpose, and the dreams both dashed and realized, and the expectations forced upon us by others. In other words how do you translate what life is? Translation means to explain in simple terms. What is it supposed to be about? There are different answers for different people at different times in their lives. A persons lifetime is filled with self-examination. Why am I here? What am I doing? Is this as good as it gets? You have a beginning. Youre in the middle, and your story hasnt ended yet. If one would recognize the greatest things we have in life, they would not be asking this question. These great things are faith, hope, and love. Faith is the one that can keep one from asking questions. If God wanted us to know something, then we would know it. In most religions, Christian ones in particular, the question of meaning in life is inextricably wrapped up in a relationship with God. Living in, for, with, and through him. Therefore, how one answers the meaning of life question bears directly the existence of God. Soren Kierkegaard said to be the father of existentialism maintains that there are three basic answers to the question of the meaning of life. He called these stages of life, because he believed that people progressed from one stage to the next. Whether or not that is true, there do seem to be at least three fundamental outlooks on life. One is a life devoted to pleasure. This value perspective can be shown by a person whose only concern is for what they are doing now. They would rather gain from pleasures in life without any regards to how they might affect their future. Another stage is those choosing ethical and moral paths. People who are honest and loyal demonstrate this in their everyday lives. Finally, there is a live religiously. This has been the popular way of life for many of us. It is going to church and practicing your faith Stace argues, the present age has begun to weaken faith in God. The concept of a supernatural person has begun to seem unlikely to many people. The Bible no longer seems as respected for many Catholics. While many people say they believe in God they are beginning question whether faith and God are the answer to the meaning of life. Most of us whether we choose to admit it or not show that material things are what we base our lives around. These ideas are at the heart of existentialism, which is a view of life that says that human beings are the creators of their own sense of meaning or purpose. The most famous existentialist, John Paul Sartre in his books and novels developed several themes that portray existentialism. The first is the notion that existence precedes essence. A legacy of traditional philosophy has been that we have a fixed human nature. Sartre challenged that we have no such set purpose or meaning. Our real meaning or who we are is a result of our decisions. We are what we decide. The second associated concept is the importance of human freedom. Sartre believed that every human being has the freedom to live life as we choose to. He believed that we are often terrified by our freedom, and in fact frequently do not want to take responsibility for our own actions. This attitude Sartre called bad faith. Bad faith is an act of self-deception in which we rationalize our actions as being caused by circumstances instead of being self-caused. Basically blaming others for our own deceptions and mistakes. The third major concept of existentialism is the idea of the Absurd. The philosopher Albert Camus popularized this concept. The concept of the absurd is promoted by atheistic existentialist, such as Sartre and Camus. The similarity between Christian and atheistic existentialist is the significance of human freedom and the belief that we are the makers of our own lives One of the most significant pieces of the decline of religious faith is the continuing awareness that there may not be any purpose in life. Both Albert Camus, and Stace, write from this perspective. They believed that traditional Christians have found security in the belief that their lives are invisibly directed or orchestrated by God. That we have assumed that God has a plan for our life, that things happen for a purpose. But as we experience, if we do, the decline of faith or the reality of God in our lives, we come to realize that perhaps we are more responsible than God is for what happens to us. We begin to realize or suspect that it is we, not God, who is the creator of our lives. We are responsible for who we become. Of course, there are always going to be those people who doubt everything God stands for. For them, the body dies and eternity is darkness, I suppose. The fight is going to be, perhaps even as it has been a battle between those who reject God and the, and those who know that God is real. The soul is ones conscience. Without the acknowledgement of that soul, there is no inner voice that helps guide him in the decisions that he makes. Yet, the soulless atheists still seek to discover the meaning of life, and this is where the battle is fought. They are simply stating that there is no meaning to their lives they have no soul, there can be no meaning. Theists realize life isnt fair. People arent created equal. Atheists believe that until all people actually are equal, life is meaningless, and this is the connection we have to make for them. People are not equal, people will never be equal, and if this equality is the requirement for accepting the meaning of life, then life will always be meaningless. If ambition brings about advantage, those advantages must be neutralized. This is the goal of the atheist. If there is nothing but darkness after life, the goal must be to create heaven on earth. Everyone has questioned their purpose in life for example in his article, My Confession, Leo Tolstoy has gone through his life without ever really questioning the meaning. Then he periodically questioned it until one day he eventually could not picture himself living anymore until he came up with an answer to his questionings. All the things he was thought to be living by no longer made any sense or had any meaning at all to him. He tried to answer his question many different ways, but whichever way he went he kept coming up with a dead end. He first thought the answer must be his family. Although he loved them very much, as humans they are confronted with the same questions he is. They are living this lie right along with him pretending that they have all the answers, or just simply ignoring the questions. He next thought the answer to be in his work. Eventually, coming to the realization that with all of his success in art and poetry he had become distracted. He was using art as a decoy. Without knowing his answers to the meaning of life, it was wrong and useless to depict these lies to others. He soon felt as if life had stopped, and was even contemplating suicide when he came to the realization that faith is present in each one of us and is what makes our lives meaningful. Everyone must believe they have a purpose here, for if they didnt they would not be living at all. For life to have true meaning, that meaning must come external to the individual and be somehow consistent with life as a whole. Christians would argue that only God could grant this. It is the helping hand, which guides us through life with an honest and loving heart. Jesus is the only man to lead a true, meaningful life. His life is really the only life of meaning and it is only through him that we have the opportunity to live meaningful lives. Without accepting this answer, one will have only difficulty for the rest of their lives, especially in answering the question of the meaning of life. If you accept this answer, however life is much simpler, because your search is over. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life? John 14:6. The way the truth and the meaning of life itself. There are scriptural accounts of people claiming to see God, and while a witness is more proof than no witness is, there is no way to scientifically verify these statements. They must be accepted purely on faith. Some say that the existence of humans or planetary balance is proof that God exists. These do not prove He exists. Christians believe God is in control of everything in the universe, and created the same. God created all beings, and every atom in this universe. We know God exists because He says He does. The bible is His word, left for us to read. Psychologist Viktor Frankl wrote in Mans search for Meaning that we should not ask what we expect from life, but what life expects from us. He was making the point that people must deal with what daily tasks are put in front of them. Instead of arguing and complaining, we have to take action. Our strength is shown through the soul survival of the hardships we face. Which brings us to the problem philosopher John Hick was facing. In his article, The Problem of Evil he asks the question, if God is perfectly loving, he must wish to abolish evil. But evil exists; therefore God cannot be both omnipotent and perfectly loving. The very fact that there is such suffering gives good cause to doubt not only the value of the whole human race, but also the existence of God. A God that can be said to care in the slightest for whats been created, any God who has power over all things, who is anything other than a horrible monster who finds cruel unusual joy in squeezing every last drop of suffering out of them. It would rule out anything even vaguely resembling the God that Christians speak of. A God who deserves our utter hatred not our worship. However, Hick found that although harsh and painful, evil did have purpose in the world. He stated in his article, the finest characteristics of personal life must have a good deal in common with our present world. It must operate according to general and dependable laws: and it must involve real dangers, difficulties, problems, obstacles, and possibilities of pain, failure, sorrow, frustration, and defeat. Without these sufferings, we would not be able to know what happiness and love really was. Evil provides us with the possibility of soul making, and according to free will, we must choose our fate. The Laws of nature must be abided by without them the world could not exist. God may be creating the lesser of the evils. There must be suffering in order for God to give inner strength that compensates for loss, and gives the sufferer inspiration to live faithfully and effectively. What God provides are the resources so we can face the suffering and make something positive come from it. He gives the direction and power to make these resources work. He gives hope and wisdom to find the way past the suffering, and to learn from it. John Paul II gave us an outline of what is believed to be the salvific meaning of suffering. Suffering as he wrote in the Apostolic Letter Salvifici Doloris, cannot be transformed and changed by a grace form outside, but from within? This question of human suffering is not answered directly by God. As man begins to share in the sufferings of Christ, the answer is discovered within in him. Suffering changes and can either increase or decrease, and in those moments Christians become aware of Gods closeness. We are given inner peace and spiritual joy when we suffer generously. When we are suffering we are never alone we are with Christ. With Christ everything has meaning whether its moments of happiness and peace or of pain and suffering. Nothing in life can be fully explained without God. . Look to the bible and Jesus gives us the answer. Love God with your whole heart, mind, body and soul. Love your neighbor as yourself. If you do this, you are following all the commandments. Humble yourself and give the praise and glory to our creator. God the Father our creator is love and he loves you very much. God created us to worship him and he deserves all the praise because he is the first and the last. He has no beginning and no end. Just look around and take in all the beauty he has created. Everyone is special and made in the image of God. We are nothing without our creator. Sin will keep us from God for he is pure and perfect. It is hard to let go of pleasure and putting ones self first. However, the key to peace and happiness is to surrender your freewill to God, the author of life, and he will give you complete, happiness, peace, contentment and purity you are looking for. That is what we were created for. God is made evident every day when the sun comes up, and there is still air to breathe, and you made it through the night. One cannot believe that everything we know was created by accident. Things are just too perfect to have happened by chance. Man is too corrupt a creature to have invented the beautiful things in the world, as in faith, hope and love. He allows evil in this world because He wants us to have the opportunity to choose either Him or evil, thereby proving our love for Him. If His were the only game in town, then there would not be a free will conscious choice for Him. It is evident that the meaning of life has to far to complex for any one to fully understand or agree on the same answer. All these ideas of these different philosophers are not necessarily inaccurate, just incomplete. All pieces to a puzzle that one has no way of fully figuring out. No one has seemed to accomplish this yet in life. There are so many obstacles that we face as we try to achieve a higher good. Many of these are based in the fact that we are human beings, and because of that are flawed by the ways of our culture. Things such as self-doubt, worry, ignorance, and the values put into our heads since the day we were born all are roadblocks on our way to a higher level. Also being human beings makes vulnerable to the ways of the world around us, so it is not easy to block these things out of our lives. This life is a stage in which we are to develop our minds, bodies, and souls to their highest potential in preparation for the afterlife. Only God could ever really show anyone true meaning.

Anti Smoking Promotion Policies Difference Health And Social Care Essay

Anti Smoking Promotion Policies Difference Health And Social Care Essay According to the Oxford Medical Companion (1994) cited in the WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic 2008, tobacco is the only legally available consumer product which kills people when it is used entirely as intended. Tobacco is the leading preventable cause of death in the World which causes one in ten deaths among adults worldwide and in 2005, tobacco caused about 5.4million deaths, an average of one death every six seconds. At the current rate, the death toll was projected to reach more than eight million annually by 2030 (over 175 million deaths by then as shown in figure 1) and a total of up to one billion deaths in the 21st century (WHO 2007).Certain behaviours have been labelled as risky behaviours associated with negative health outcomes among which smoking is and which has been the subject of UK national health strategies (Naidoo Wills 2005). Smoking causes about one fifth of all deaths in the UK, most of which are premature and has hugely significant impacts on the wid er environment and community through causing air pollution, fires, litter and environmental damage (Ewles 2005). This essay will look into why smoking is an important public health issue in England by defining it from various perspectives and will analyse why people smoke. Also, it will examine various demographical and epidemiological data related to smoking and in addition, it will examine how smoking is addressed in International, National and Local policy. It will also analyse various measures adopted at various geographical levels to address inequalities in health on promoting anti-smoking. In addition, it will look into various values, norms and ethical principles that influence anti-smoking policy development. From the gaps identified, recommendations and conclusions will be made. According to Ewles (2005), smoking in the UK can be defined from three different perspectives in terms of; the activity, the product and the market. In terms of the activity, it is the largely use of tobacco in manufactured and hand-rolled cigarettes which is the most common form of tobacco use since the early twentieth century. In terms of the product, the manufactured cigarette consists of chopped tobacco that has been cured and mixed with a variety of additives to add flavour, increase nicotine availability from smoke and improve shelf life all rolled up in a paper tube with a filter at one end. In terms of the market, UK is home to several Worlds major tobacco companies such as the Imperial Tobacco, British American Tobacco, Gallagher and Rothmans UK who all together employ 9000 people in the UK and have more than 90% of UK cigarette market. The principal constituents of cigarette smoke are tar, carbon monoxide and nicotine and the paper used for manufacturing cigarettes is treated with chemicals to prevent self-extinguishing whenever the cigarette is lit. The filter usually consists of cellulose acetate which traps some solid particles in smoke and cools it (Ewles 2005). The principal constituents of cigarette smoke are carbon monoxide, tar and nicotine which is highly addictive (Cancer Research UK 2009). FIGURE 1: Cumulative tobacco- related deaths, 2005- 2030. Source: http://www.who.int/tobacco/mpower/mpower_report_tobacco_crisis_2008.pdf The impact of tobacco smoking on public health extends beyond the direct effects on the individual smoker and personal health being to economic, environmental and social effects (Ewles 2005). Tobacco smoking is an important public health issue because the smoke is very toxic to every human tissue it touches on its way into, through and out of the smokers body (Ewles 2005). Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body thereby causing many diseases, reducing quality of life and life expectancy. Also it has been estimated that in England, 364,000 patients are admitted to NHS hospitals each year due to smoking related diseases which translates into about 7,000 hospital admission per week and 1,000 admissions per day (ASH 2006). In the UK, smoking causes about a fifth of all deaths, approximately 114,000 each year, most of which are premature with an average of 21 years early (Ewles 2005). According to Peto et. al. (2003) cited in Ewles (2005), most premature deaths caused by smoking are Lung and coronary cancer, chronic obstructive heart diseases and coronary heart diseases with 42800, 29100 and 30600 deaths respectively every year. In addition, smoking is known to also bring increased risk of many debilitating conditions like impotence, infertility, gum disease, asthma and psoriasis (Ewles 2005). Research has also shown that non-smokers are put at risk by exposure to other peoples smoke which is known as passive or involuntary smoking and is also referred to as second-hand smoke (SHS) or environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) (Cancer Research 2009). Tobacco was first introduced to Britain way back in the sixteenth century when it was commonly smoked in pipes by men. Later snuff and cigar smoking became popular among men but as a result of the invention of the cigarette making machines in the latter part of the nineteenth century, mass consumption of tobacco was made possible and in 1919, more tobacco was sold as cigarettes than in any other form (Wald Nicolaides- Bouman 1991). According to Wald Nicolaides- Bouman (1991) cited in Cancer Research UK (2009), smoking was firstly common among men and the consumption rose steadily until 1945 when it peaked at 12 manufactured cigarettes per adult male per day. After the Second World War, there was a slight dip in consumption but thereafter it remained at around 10 manufactured cigarettes per day until 1974 which marked the beginning of a steady and continuous decrease to about 4.6 manufactured cigarettes per adult male per day in 1992. On the other hand, women began to smoke cigarette s in the 1920s but not in large numbers until after the Second World War when they were smoking 2.4 cigarettes per adult female per day. Later, consumption among women continued to increase until it reached 7.0 cigarettes per day in 1974 after which it declined to 3.9 cigarettes per day in 1992 (Cancer Research UK 2009). HISTORY The link between smoking and life threatening diseases began in the early 1950s when Dr Richard Doll and Prof Austin Bradford conducted the first ever large scale study between smoking and lung cancer which was later published in 1954. In 1957, the British Medical research Council announced that, there is a direct causal connection between smoking and lung cancer. Later in 1962, the Royal College of Physicians concluded that smoking causes lung cancer, bronchitis and coronary heart diseases and recommended tougher laws on cigarette sales, advertising including smoking in the public places. In 1965, the British Government banned cigarette advertising on television and in 1971, there was an agreement between the Government and the tobacco industry that, Government health warnings must be carried out on all cigarettes packet sold in the UK. In 1973, the first tar/nicotine tables was published in UK which was later upgraded and divided cigarettes into five categories of tar content in 19 74. In 1975, the Imperial Tobacco agreed to drop brand names and logos from racing cars in UK races as control of tobacco advertising switched from the Industry to the Independent advertising Standards Authority. In 1976, Prof Sir Richard Doll and Richard Peto published the results of 20 years study of smokers and concluded that, one out of three people died from the habit. In 1983, the Latest Royal College of Physicians report featured passive smoking for the first time and asserted that more than 100,000 people died every year in the UK from smoking -related illness which later resulted in the banning of smoking on London Underground trains in 1984. In 1985, the smoking ban was extended to stations that were wholly or partly underground and in 1986, new advertising and promotion guidelines agreed on including banning tobacco advertising in cinemas. In 1987, the London Underground smoking ban was extended to entire network following the Kings Cross station fire outbreak in which 31 people died. The Independent Scientific Committee on Smoking and Health report in 1988 concluded that, non-smokers have a 10-30% higher risk of developing lung cancer if exposed to other peoples smoke and in June 1988, a UK court ruled that injury caused by passive smoking can be an industrial accident. The first nicotine skin patch became available for prescription in the UK in 1992 and in 1993, Sir Richard Dolls study results suggested that smokers were three times more likely to die in middle-age than non-smokers and up to half of all smokers may eventually die from the habit. In May 1997, the New Labour Government pledges to ban tobacco advertising and in the same year, the Government called for Formula One to be exempted from proposed EU directive on tobacco advertising and sponsorship but later backed down in the face of widespread criticism that was threatening the entire directive. In 1998, a White Paper named Smoking Kills was published after the Government -appointed Scie ntific Committee on Tobacco and Health announced that, passive smoking was responsible for causing lung cancer and heart disease in adults. In 2001, their was a new EU directive requiring larger and more prominent health warnings on tobacco packaging and in 2002, the British parliament passed legislation that began as a Private Members Bill, banning tobacco advertising named the Tobacco advertising and promotion Act. In December 2002, the British Medical Association called for the banning of smoking in the public places because of threat to non-smokers and young children. The Cancer Research UK launched an advertising campaign in 2003 and was funded by the Department of Health which target smokers of mild brand of cigarette, warning on the risk associated with the habit. In January 2004, the British Heart Foundation used graphic images to reinforce the Government -sponsored anti-smoking campaign. In March 2004, the Irish Republic introduced the toughest anti-smoking laws in Europe d escribed as the landmark legislation with a complete ban on smoking at workplaces. In November 2004, a Public Health White Paper proposed to introduce smoking ban in workplaces in 2008 with the exemption of private members club and pubs that do not serve food. In, March 2005, the British Medical journal report produced data showing that smoking killed 11,000 a year in the UK and in April 2005, MSPs voted by 83 to 15 to introduce a ban on smoking in public places from April 2006 and any smoker who defy is liable to pay a  £1,000 fine. In October 2005, the discussions over the England smoking ban broke down at the cabinet level causing severe delays. In December 2006, the Government announced the smoking ban in public spaces in England known as Smoke free England, which began on the 1st of July 2007 (BBC NEWS 2007). On the 1st of October 2007, the law for selling tobacco changed and became illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18 (an increase from 16) (Smoke fr ee England 2007). In May 2008, the Health Bill then called the National Health Service Reform Bill was contained in the Draft Legislative Programme published and it was announced in the Queens speech during the state opening of Parliament on 3rd December 2008. The Bill was later introduced into the House of Lords on 15th January 2009 and was published on the 16th January 2009 which proposes measures to improve the quality of NHS care, the performance of NHS services and to improve public health (DOH 2009). DEMOGRAPHY EPIDEMIOLOGY The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) is located in Northern and or Western Europe and it comprises the Island of Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) and the Island of Ireland (Northern Ireland) (Wikipedia 2009). According to the 2001 census, the population of the United Kingdom was 58,789,194 and has increased to 60,587,300 according to mid -2006 estimates by the Office for National Statistics. EPIDEMIOLOGY The prevalence of smoking varies widely around the World and has been observed to be on the increase in many developing countries thereby creating huge health problems for the future. Approximately 1.3 billion people smoke cigarettes or other tobacco products Worldwide (WHO 2003) and Figure 2 shows the worldwide tobacco epidemic model which describes the rise and decline of smoking prevalence followed by similar trends for smoking. The first stage is characterized by a low smoking prevalence of less than 20%, which is commonly observed among the males with no increase in lung cancer and other chronic diseases caused by smoking. Countries in this stage includes those in the Sub-Saharan Africa that have not yet been drawn into the global economy but are vulnerable to growth and changing strategic initiatives of transnational tobacco companies (WHO 2003). Stage two of the model is characterized by increase in smoking prevalence to above 50% in men with early increase in cigarettes smoki ng among women and a shift towards smoking initiation at younger age with an increasing burden of lung cancer and other tobacco-attributable diseases. These are characteristics of countries in the Asia, Latin America and North Africa continents. In these regions, tobacco control activities have been observed to be poorly developed and the health risks associated with tobacco smoking are not well understood. There are very low public and political supports for the effective implementation of tobacco control policies (WHO 2003). The third stage is characterized by a decline in smoking prevalence in men and gradual decline among women. Here, there is a convergence of male and female smoking prevalence at 45% and the burden of smoking attributable diseases is on the increase. Also, smoking-attributable deaths comprises of 10%to 30% of all deaths within the region which is about three quarters of men. Countries within this stage are those in the Eastern and Southern Europe where health e ducation about the diseases caused by smoking decreases with the public acceptance of smoking, most especially among the educated ones (WHO 2003). The fourth stage is characterized by a decline in smoking prevalence among men and women with deaths attributable to smoking peaked at 30% to 35% of all deaths most of which are middle aged men. Among the women, smoking attributable deaths rose to about 20% to 25%. Examples of countries within this stage are the United States and United Kingdom where England falls. FIGURE 2: Four stages of the Worldwide Tobacco Epidemic. (Source: WHO 2003). According to the Cancer Research UK (2009), the survey of smoking in Britain began in 1948. Then, smoking was extremely prevalent among men and the survey showed that 82% smoked some form of tobacco while 65% smoked cigarette. Later on, smoking prevalence fell rapidly through the 1980s until the mid 1990s when the overall smoking rates stabilizes just below 30% among the population as shown in figure 3. The sharp fall in smoking prevalence during this period is as a result of several interventions put in place by the Government then such as banning of tobacco advertisement on TV in the 1960s and others. Since the mid 1990s, the rate of fall has been very slow and in 2007 it was observed that 22% of men aged 16years and over smoke cigarette. The percentage of female smokers on the other hand has remained constant between 1948 and 1970 as shown in Figure 2. Between 1970 and 2007, the % of women who smoked dropped from around 43% to 20 % still due to certain measures developed in the la te 1960s. FIGURE 3. % of person aged 16+ who smoke cigarettes in Great Britain from 1948 to 2007. Source: General household survey, ONS. Available from: http://publications.cancerresearchuk.org/WebRoot/crukstoredb/CRUK_PDFs/lung/cs_lu_f6.1.xls FIGURE 4: Prevalence of Cigarette smoking by sex, England and Govt. Office Regions 2005. Source: Cancer Research UK. Figure 4 shows the cigarette distribution of cigarette smoking prevalence in England and it can be observed that, the overall smoking prevalence in England is about 25% among men and around 22% among the women. Within the various regions in England, smoking prevalence is higher among men and women in the North East because the region is economically active and home to 588 overseas companies from 32 different countries employing over 27,000 people (UK Trade Investment 2009). There has been a link between socio economic class and high prevalence of smoking as demonstrated in Figure 5 which buttresses the reason why the prevalence is high in Northeast England. Regions with high manual employee, occupation and high numbers of Industrial factories are characterised by high smoking prevalence. FIGURE 5: Prevalence of cigarette smoking by sex and socio-economic groups in England in 1992, 1998 and 2002. Source: Cancer Research UK. As shown in figure 5, smoking prevalence is observed to be higher among manual workers than non-manual workers. From 1992 to 2002, smoking prevalence reduced as a result of some interventions introduced within these years especially the White Paper on Smoking Kills introduced in 1998 making the prevalence to reduce from 33% in 1998 among the manual workers to 28% in 2002. FIGURE 6: Prevalence of cigarette smoking by age, persons aged 16+ in Great Britain, 1974-2005. Source: Cancer Research UK. FIGURE 7: Self reported cigarette smoking percentages by sex and minority ethnic group persons aged 16+ in England 2004. Source: Cancer Research UK. Smoking is more prevalent among the younger age groups of 16-19, 20-24 and 25-34 as shown in figure 6, where highest rate was observed among the 20-24 age group. Between 1974 and 2005, smoking prevalence among the 20-24 age groups fell from 48% to 32 %. On the other hand, among the 60+ age group, smoking prevalence halved between the same year intervals from 32% to 14%. Therefore, smoking prevalence has been observed to reduce with age as smokers tend to give up in middle age or die of smoking-related illnesses. (ONS 2002). Smoking prevalence has been observed to vary among different ethnic minority groups in England as shown in figure 7. Smoking prevalence is higher among the Bangladeshi men of about 41% but rare among the women with about 3%. Although this rate is alarming but there has been a decrease as to what was observed in 2001, when cigarette smoking and tobacco use was around 44% among the men with a relatively small percentage among the women (ONS 2001). FIGURE 8: Prevalence of cigarette smoking and use of tobacco products among ethnic minorities in England 2001. Source: DOH 2001. SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS Smoking in the UK has been observed to be closely associated with social class and deprivation. The prevalence of smoking among the low paid groups has been observed to be twice those of the affluent groups because of the great difficulty people in the less affluent groups experience in stopping smoking (Ewles 2005). Tobacco smoking is also widely recognised as a cause of health inequality in the UK because it is common among the deprived groups and also compromises the already poorer health of deprived population such as those that fall within the marginalized groups. Examples are people with mental problems and prisoners, who are more likely to smoke and less likely to have access to mainstream smoking cessation services (Ewles 2005). The Index of multiple deprivation ranks areas from the most deprived to the least deprived and the odds of smoking increases as deprivation in the area increases (The NHS Information centre 2008). Children smoke for all sorts of reasons. Some smoke to show their independence, others because their friends do while some smoke because adults tell them not to and others do smoke to follow the example of role models. There is no single cause. Parents, brothers and sisters who smoke are a powerful influence. Also is the way it is been advertised and the tobacco companies sponsor sport which makes children want to try it (DOH 1998). The problems of smoking during pregnancy are closely related to health inequalities between those in need and the most advantaged. Women with partners in manual groups are more likely to smoke during pregnancy than those with partners in non-manual groups: 26 per cent of women with partners in manual groups smoke during pregnancy, compared with 12 per cent with partners doing non-manual work (DOH 1998). Education is also another social determinant of health for smoking. Education empowers individuals to make healthy choices and provides practical, social and emotional knowledge needed to achieve a full and healthy life (The Annual Report of the Director of Public Health for Newham 2007). The relationship between education and smoking has been extensively examined in developed countries and in the1989 US Surgeon General report analyzed by Bao-ping et al.(1996), it was stated after reviewing the literature of smoking that, education is the best socio demographic predictor for cigarette smoking pattern. The general agreement was that, the fewer the year of education one has, the more likely the person smokes and this again accounts for why there is high smoking prevalence among the ethnic minority groups in England. Another factor is the social norms whereby, in environments where smoking is freely permitted, it becomes a normal thing and becomes more difficult for individuals to opt out from (Ewles 2005).Other factors that prompt people to start smoking includes, the price and availability of cigarette, colourful advertisement and accessibility to treatment facilities for those that want to stop, the more available the facilities, the more people will be willing to use the facilities and stop smoking (Ewles 2005). In response to the global tobacco epidemic, May 31st of every year was declared as the World No Tobacco day, so as to globally address the danger associated with smoking tobacco. Also, the World Health Organization developed a WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in May 2003 (WHO 2003), which later came into force on the 27th o February 2005 (WHO 2009). This was the first global treaty for public health negotiated under the auspices of the WHO and requires participating countries to implement a range of legislative and other measures to control smoking by taking appropriate action on passive smoking, banning tobacco promotion, providing services to smokers , monitoring smoking prevalence and international cooperation to control smuggling (Ewles 2005).In order to expand the fight against tobacco epidemic, the WHO introduced the MPOWER package of six proven policies namely: Monitor tobacco use and prevention policies, Protect people from tobacco smoke, Offer help to quit tobacco use, Warn about the dangers of tobacco use, Enforce bans on tobacco advertising promotion and sponsorship, and Raise taxes on tobacco. (WHO 2008) Smoking has been addressed at Government level in the UK since the publication of the White Paper Smoking Kills in 1998 which takes a comprehensive approach and prioritises people who want to give up, pregnant women, children and young people (DOH 1998). Between 1998 and 2009, various policies have been developed as stated earlier in this essay under the historical perspective of smoking in England which includes; 1998: Smoking Kills à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬Å" 2002: Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬Å" 2006: Health Act à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬Å" 2007: Smoke Free England. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬Å" 2008: National Health Service Reform Bill à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬Å" 2009: Health Bill. GOVERNMENT MEASURES TO TACKLE SMOKING In line with the WHO directive to address tobacco epidemic, the UK signed into the International WHO framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2003 and has implemented a range of legislative measures to control smoking at different geographical levels and between various population groups. The overall measures were broadly classified into three sets of overlapping effects namely; Changing social norms, Influencing attitudes, and Supporting individual behavioural change (Ewles 2005). Measures classified under the changing social norms and influencing attitudes includes; educational programmes such as the Government-funded mass media education campaigns aimed to educate the public on the danger associated with smoking, bans on tobacco promotion with health warnings covering 30% of the front and 40% of the back of tobacco packaging while terms such as low-tar and light have been prohibited on cigarette packet (DOH 2003). Also education on the benefit of quitting smoking was also part of the measure and explaining why people get fat after quitting as a result of increased eating unbalanced by increase activity because smoking has slight appetite suppressant effect (Ewles 2005). In addition, picture warnings started appearing on tobacco products in autumn 2008 and by October 1st 2009, all cigarette packs will have to carry picture warnings including other tobacco products by 1st October 2010 (DOH 2003). Also, another measure employed was prohibiting sales of tobacco products to people under the age of 18 by directing tobacco retailers to ask for form of identification from buyers who are teenagers. Taxation has also been used frequently to increase the price of smoking with rises in duty imposed in each years budget by the Government (Ewles 2005). On average, a price increase of 10% on a packet of cigarette reduced consumption by about 4% in developed countries, however, price control is undermined by tobacco smuggling which currently accounts for 16% of the UK market (Cancer Research 2009). Another measure is ensuring a smoke free environment which has been introduced in 2007 as smoke free England whereby smoking in enclosed public places is illegal. Under the supporting individual behavioural change is the cessation treatment programme, examples of which includes; a national telephone help lines and NHS specialist services for smokers who want to stop (Ewles 2005). To help smokers quit, the NHS Stop Smoking Services was set up between 1999 and 2000 following the recommendations of the White Paper Smoking Kills in 1998(DOH 1998). It was later observed that between April and September 2006, approximately a quarter of a million people (246,254) in England set a quit date through this NHS Stop Smoking Services and majority of these people receiving Nicotine replacement therapy (The Information Centre 2007). CHALENGES OF PUBLIC HEALTH POLICY FORMULATION AND PRACTISE The formulation of anti-smoking policy in England has always been big issue in most developed countries. In the UK, the Government needs people to smoke because the economy largely depends on it. The Government obtains  £8billion per year from excise duty on tobacco products which is approximately 2% of its annual revenue (Ewles 2005). Both in the policy formulation and in the implementation phase conflicts of commercial and health interests have been strongest on three issues: the ban on advertisement and sales promotion, the setting of upper limits for harmful substances in tobacco products, and proposals for an efprice policy. In the political process Parliament has been much more sensitive to the public health interest and to public opinion than to the lobbying power of the tobacco industry and trade, which has been more clearly visible in many Government decisions MEASURES TO REDUCE INEQUALITY IN SMOKING/ POLICY CRITIQUING After thorough review of the various policies aimed towards reducing cigarette smoking at the International, National and Local level, various gaps have been identified. Firstly, banning of smoking in public places is not enough to reduce the effect of smoking on health because be it passive or active smoking, it still endangers the life of the smoker. Therefore, abstinence should be the only message since smoking is a major cause of litter. In the UK, 200million cigarette ends are discarded each day and each takes 18months or more to biodegrade (Ewles 2005). Also, smoking in bus stops tends to serve as passive smoking to others waiting to join buses and therefore smoking in areas like this also needs to be banned. Another lapse in the smoking in the public places law is that, when people are not allowed to smoke in public places, they tend to do so when they get into their private cars and homes and these could be dangerous to young children living in the same house. Another area worth reviewing is the use of taxation to increase the price of tobacco products. High price has helped dissuade people especially young children from smoking and prompted many smokers to stop; however, smoking is concentrated among the lowest paid sector of the society and common among the addicted population who continue smoking despite prices, therefore such measures by the Government is not fair because the poor people pay disproportionately more as a consequences of their acquired addiction caused by the Government originally (Ewles 2005). Another misconception of tackling smoking is the youth smoking prevention programme which has always assumed to be the best way to tackle smoking among children and youths. The Youth-oriented media campaigns has a poor record of credibility among the target group (youths) and is often difficult to differentiate between those created by the health organizations and those created by the tobacco manufacturing companies. Therefore, discrediting smoking among the adult population will lessen the attraction for the youths because they tend to smoke in aspiration to be more adult (Ewles 2005). In addition, the law prohibiting sales to under -18s tend to add to the allure of smoking as an adult activity and thus creating challenges to children on finding a way around it buy getting the cigarette through adult friends, older siblings or black market routes(Ewles 2005). Also people who stop smoking through the nicotine replacement therapy gets addicted to the cessation programme and use the product beyond the recommended period. Since the nicotine delivery rate in the content is slow, it mostly prompts a relapse making people return to smoking (Ewles 2005). Reducing inequality in smoking has always been an issue the UK Government have been addressing and in response to this, a specific inequality target on smoking was set up in The NHS Cancer plan and the Public Service Agreement (PSA) 2004 aimed to reduce smoking rates among manual groups from 32% in 1998 to 26% by 2010 in order to reduce the health gap between the two groups. (DOH 2000). RECOMMENDATION/ CONCLUSION Evaluation of smoking patterns indicates that there has been an historic reversal of trends in total consumption, but distributional data show a widening social gradient in smoking. Two developments are needed for further improvement: a price policy that would support health policy and not contradict it, and better understanding of the socio-cultural dynamics of smoking which would be required for new innovative approaches in health education. REFRENCES Action on Smoking and Health (2006). Smoking Statistics; Illness and death. [Online]. Available from: http://old.ash.org.uk/html/factsheets/html/fact02.html (Accessed 25/04/2009). Bao-ping, Z., Giovino, G., Mowery, P. Eriksen, M. (1996). The Relationship between Cigarette Smoking and Education Revisited: Implications for Categorising persons educational status. American Journal of Public Health.1996. Vol.86, No 11. British Broadcasting Corporation (2007). Timeline: Smoking and Disease. [Online] Available from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4377928.stm (Accessed 28/09/2009). <

Babel Movie Analysis Essay

Babel Movie Analysis Essay The Book of Genesis tells the story of the Tower of Babel. After the Great Flood all of the humankind spoke the same language. People decided to build a city with the tower that can reach heaven. The Tower was built not to worship God, but to make a name for the builders: Then they said, Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. Afterwards, God came down to Earth, and was displeased with the intentions of the builders and the purpose of the Tower of Babel, and he confused their language to break the main principle of their power unity. God also scattered the citizens of Babylon all around the globe. Before going into the analysis of the movie, I would like to make use of the Clifford Geertz argument of cultural interpretations. Social facts and culture are different things, but they are interconnected. If to apply Geertzs terminology we can call a movie director an ethnographer. And whatever the ethnographer researches or studies is highly interpretive to him, to his social facts, culture, norms and values. Culture tends to resist, or is permitted to resist and thus can escape systematic modes of assessment. You either grasp interpretation or you do not, see the point of it or not, accept it or not  [3]  . Therefore, this film in interpreted through the lens of directors perception, so I as a viewer interpret it further through my perception of culture and social facts. The movie Babel was directed by a Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez. The plot of the movie tells the story of 4 different families American, Moroccan, Mexican and Japanese; and all of these families are interconnected by a series of events and face different social facts imposed by diverse societies with various values and cultural norms. Emile Durkheim defined social fact in two ways. First goes as following A social fact is any way of acting, whether fixed or not, capable of exerting over the individual an external constraint  [4]  . In this definition, Durkheim introduces the idea of social constraint which identifies reasoning behind actions as social facts. Meaning that there are various pressures on an individual on how to act, or of to act in the first place. If he/she violates and breaks this constraint, the consequence of this might be moral (sense of wrongdoing; being judged by people around you) or on the greater scale legal  [5]  . In the movie we can see examples of social constraints to a different extent in all of the 3 story lines. For example, in the beginning of the film the father of the Moroccan family purchases a rifle for his young sons so that they can defend the sheep from jackals. When both of the sons test the rifle, it appeared that younger brother (Yussef) shoots better that the ol der one (Ahmed). This can be interpreted as a social constraint for Ahmed, who felt being judged by the others, even if he was not. What might have given boost to this feeling of judgement is the case of a strong patriarchal rule in Morocco, where more pressure, to some extent, is put on a man. To some level this led to the incident of the bus shooting, where Ahmed was trying to prove that he can shoot better than his younger brother. Another example can be given from this storyline. Yussef was spying on his sister while she was bathing. She knew that her brother was spying, but did nothing to stop it, which on the contrary meant encouragement on some level. This brings the topic of incest taboo to the table. This is constraint which will be not just judged upon, but the legal action can be taken as well. The topic if incest is extremely sensitive and is not tolerated in modern days, although it was acceptable from ancient times in various royal families (e.g. Cleopatras first husband was her brother). Later on, when father found out about what was going on, he physically and verbally punishes children. One of the Durkheim arguments included the way that the children are brought up: Parents impose upon the child ways of seeing, thinking and acting which he himself would not have arrived at spontaneously  [6]  . Further more, Spencer argues that rational education should be reject in favour of giving the child complete freedom. I personally disagree with this view. I do realize that not all of the people are parent material, but this sort view is extreme. Children should be taught certain limitations, rules and values; but the correct balance should be found. As the saying goes Children are their parents reflection. Durkheims second definition was that social fact is general over the whole of a given society whilst having an existence of its own, independent of its individual manifestations. This definition takes more general approach to social facts. In order to better understand this concept Durkheim introduced the term social currents  [7]  which are collective emotions, feelings and thoughts in a group, which have stronger impact than any individuals own emotions. The groups experience originates outside of the individual and moves on to all of the members of the group. Durkheim argues that this has certain coercive effect, meaning that while individuals in the group allow shared experience to strengthen, they also keep an illusion of having created, that which actually forced itself from without  [8]  . Moreover, if an individual separates himself from the group emotion, he will find out that the emotion was not his own and will be met by resistance from the rest of the group, if to attempt to show another felling or emotion. This is exactly what happened to American family in Morocco. American woman got accidentally shot while on the bus tour. Bus driver goes to a nearest village, which only had a veterinarian who sewed the wounds. But the wounded woman still needed full medical care because of severe blood loss, so they were waiting for the ambulance which was driving from the nearest hospital (3 hours away). At the same time other tourists on the bus wanted to leave the woman and her husband (Richard) in the fear of another attack (the first attack was quickly labelled terrorist) and concerns over heat. The tour group and Richard engage in several arguments, eventually resulting in tour group leaving while Richard was on the phone. So if we put this example in previously mentioned Durkheims arguments we can see that after the accident the bus group was divided. The groups experience originated from outside, which in this case was the shooting. But Richard and his wife were quickly separated from the group; because now the group did not share same emotion and the same goals. Consequently, the tour group resisted Richards arguments and left. It is not certain what would have been the outcome of this situation if someone else would have shoot. Every group has a leader, which in the movie was played by a British tourist. What if he got shot? Would have this made a different outcome? Or just actors change and the end result remains the same? I guess the outcome will vary significantly depending on parameters of the situation. The next issue of the movie I would like to address is suicide. We observe the story of a Japanese family Yasujiro and Chieko Wataya. Yasujiro is a widower, whose wife committed suicide and is confronted with communication difficulties with his daughter Chieko, who is deaf mute. Because of Chiekos disability, she is seen as an outcast in the society, with people constantly shutting her down while she is in need of a simple human contact. Later in the movie, she told a police officer that her mother committed suicide by jumping off the balcony, while the truth was that she shot herself. And in the end of the movie we find Chieko standing on the edge as the balcony, which I interpreted as suicide intent. Durkheim wrote extensively on topic of suicide, implementing social current into the issue. He took various approaches such as quantitative and statistical, analysis of weather and season, etc  [9]  . But this data just showed statistics and patters, but not the cause, which in Du rkheims view was social. Durkheim argues that one of the most important aspects for explanation of suicide rates are the degree of integration into and regulation by society. Also depending on the size of the family the larger the family, the lesser the chance of suicide within it. Thus, Japanese families in general (inc. the Watayas) tend to be small in size, which according to Durkheim makes members within them more prone to suicide. Coming back to the role of the society, Durkheim gave a sociological explanation: Each social group really has a collective inclination for the act, quite its own, and the source of all individual inclination, rather than the result. It is made up of the currents of egoism, altruism or anomy running through the society. These tendencies of the whole social body, by affecting individuals, cause them to commit suicide.  [10]  We can see an example of this in the movie, when Chieko and her friend are approached by the boy who invites them for a drink with his friends, but as soon as he realises that both girls are deaf mute, he leaves and laughs with his friends. Such tendencies can cause intent to commit suicide. But what Durkheim does not mention, is how and what people attribute to the actions and behaviour of others, which undermines his theory significantly. Overall, Babel brings out various interesting issues in sociological terms. The movie after all is fictional, and so are the characters; but the social facts and culture are real. Durkheims theories are sound, clear, and are easy to put into real-life situations. But on the other hand, if to completely follow his idea of social facts, our behaviour is more or less predicted by them, and we almost have no option but to accept them. People can do anything they like as long as it does not harm others J.S. Mill On Liberty

Kafkas Hunger Artist Essay -- Kafka Hunger Artist

Kafka's Hunger Artist Kafka, in his masterpiece "The Hunger Artist," suggests that humans can never satisfy their desires. This is illustrated through the metaphorical hunger artist for whom nourishment is not being nourished at all. The viewing public's interest is derived from their desire to see the hunger artist cheating, but to view this would put an end to that desire. Finally, Kafka presents this idea while the artist is at the circus and describing when people wish to view the starved man. The hunger artist's nourishment is spiritual. The man only wishes to be honored by the public. As he continuously spirals downward in his health, he looses all forms of material nourishment. As the days go on, there is conflict between the artist and the audience, as they do not believe him honest in claiming not to have eaten. By searching for the audience's approval, a symbol for spiritual nourishment, he loses both material and spiritual nourishment. The climax of the story occurs when he finally achieves his final goal which he believes will give...