Monday, January 27, 2020

Cannabis Use in Young People

Cannabis Use in Young People INTRODUCTION Cannabis, also known as Marijuana or weed is a commonly used illegal substance in the United Kingdom (UK) today even among persons under the age of 18 research shows (Rcpsych.ac.uk, 2017) Presently, young people in the UK are likely to smoke cannabis as cigarettes which impacts negatively on their mental health and the community at large. Peer pressure to use drugs especially cannabis is high among young persons and its continuous use increases the risk or probability of them experiencing mental health symptoms and disorders. (Dearden, 2017). Hence the need to educate young persons about the detrimental impact cannabis and other illicit drugs can have on their health. The target audience for the leaflet designed as part of this assignment is adolescents (young persons aged 12 18). RATIONALE Young persons use of cannabis or weed is on the ascendancy even though it is a harmful illegal substance. This group of people have no true knowledge of what it contains as they buy them from drug dealers and those addicted to it risk getting physical health and emotional wellbeing issues such as poor concentration, slow reaction times, panic attacks, mood swings and isolating themselves from friends and family (JOHNS, 2001). There is the need to create awareness about the dangers of cannabis to adolescents in the UK and how it affects their mental health to reduce the risks it may pose to their health and wellbeing and to deter them from using it.   About 60,000 people suffer from mental health problems which are caused by weed in the UK (The Sun, 2016). This causes more admissions to mental health facilities, causes more distress and has negative cost implications on health services (The Sun, 2016) thus making it a significant public health issues that needs to be addressed. The more people especially adolescents who use cannabis realize the need for them to quit, the better it will be for the society as a whole; there will be a reduction in drug related crime and accidents, poor human relations associated with its use will be reduced, and a healthier and happier life for all. PREVALENCE OF CANNABIS USE AMONG ADOLESCENTS Adolescents in the UK are more likely to have tried cannabis or are regular users of cannabis. Almost 40% of adolescents revealed they had tried cannabis and other illicit substances, the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) revealed. (EPHA, 2017) Another survey, by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, revealed that among15 year olds in the UK, two in five have used cannabis. These statistics could mean that parents or adults in the UK are setting a bad example for their children in relation to cannabis use because young persons are likely to emulate the behavior of the adults they live with. It could also mean that some adolescents do not have the willpower to say no to cannabis and other illicit substances or try it out of curiosity and end up becoming addicted in the end. The use of cannabis occasionally leads to an increase in social adjustment and skills in young persons. However, regular or heavy use of cannabis at an early age is associated with numerous negative outcomes such as poor physical and mental health, having unprotected sex, and dropping out of school. 20,032 adolescents were treated for drug (including cannabis 68%) related health problems during 2012 2013. This proves that cannabis is the most frequently used illegal substance, with 15.8% having used it in the last year (around 975,000 young persons). (DrugWise, 2017) Despite these health problems posed by cannabis use, herbal cannabis seems to pose less harm as compared to other illicit substances but long term use of strong cannabis (skunk) could lead to later developing mental health problems like schizophrenia. GOVERNMENT POLICIES TO DISCOURAGE THE USE OF CANNABIS AND OTHER DRUGS 2010   policy: drug misuse and dependency This paper comes up with strategies for helping young persons from becoming drug misusers. It places importance on encouraging adolescents to live healthy lives and making them know the dangers of drugs misuse of which cannabis is included. It goes on to suggest drug services to adolescents early enough if they do encounter drug problems. The strategies are as follows: supporting children in the early years of their life so that we reduce the risk of them engaging in risky behaviour (like misusing cannabis) later in life. providing accurate information on drugs and alcohol through drug education. making it easier for school authorities to take action against pupils who are found dealing drugs in school. through the Business Rates Retention Scheme (which includes what was the Early Intervention Grant), giving  £2 billion to local councils, between 2014 and 2015, which they can use to create programmes to help prevent young people misusing drugs in the first place. helping young persons who have problems with drugs by giving them treatment and support, including supporting them in other areas of their life (for example with housing or mental health problems), so that they dont return to drug use as a way of coping with these problems. The 2016 drug strategy gives us an opportunity to finally address the deficits in access to mental health services, jobs and homes, which have undermined the recovery aspirations of the 2010 strategy. The strategy successfully reframed the treatment system around recovery as an organising principle. The balance between ambition and evidence established a new consensus about best practice, steering clinicians to use opiate substitution therapy (OST) to provide a gateway to recovery for everyone who could take advantage of this opportunity. It also gave a secure place to build motivation and capacity to change for those not yet able to take the next step. This enabled the treatment system to promote recovery at the same time as continuing to deliver crime reduction and public health benefits. THE TARGET GROUP The target group for this resource is: Adolescents (young people aged between 12 and 18). Male and female Living in the UK Attending school and living at home with parents or guardian. Users of cannabis or those thinking of experimenting cannabis. This group of people living in the UK are very vulnerable in our society. They lack a sense of direction from parents (who may be cannabis users themselves) (Hidden Harm, 2003), guardians in care settings who have limited powers to prevent the young people in their care from being introduced to cannabis use or addiction and are also at high risk of exposure to cannabis use because they want to make friends or feel accepted amongst their peers who may be habitual users. It is often very difficult for them to say no or reject the use of cannabis because they have no basic knowledge about cannabis or are not informed of the short and long term effects it may have on their mental health and body. Also, those already addicted to cannabis are at greater risk due to their possible increase in preference of stronger versions of cannabis which could trigger psychosis. The leaflet therefore provides an easy to read, handy information and facts about cannabis to young persons and provides reaso ns why they must avoid/stop its usage, the side effects of cannabis and the benefits of quitting the habit of smoking cannabis. DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS In designing the leaflet, careful consideration was taken to make it attractive and readable by adolescents or young persons aged around 11 years. (http://www.literacytrust.org.uk) The words QUIT SMOKING WEED is written in bold to catch the attention of the reader who sets eyes on it. Also, there is a smaller writing in red asking if cannabis users know that quitting is good for their health? There is also a cannabis leaf with a stop symbol on it printed on the front page. Different shades of green were used to design the leaflet mainly because cannabis is herbal based and it is green in its leafy form. Weed is also written in the colour representing the dry form of cannabis that is usually smoked.   The other bright colours used are colours known to attract the attention of young persons and this is aimed at catching the attention of that age group who prefer to scan through leaflets and it is hoped that they may go on to read the entire information provided. (Ecolourprint.co.uk, 2017) Cartoon images are also attractive to young persons hence the images on the inside page of the leaflet which depicts a young person, with other little images which symbolize the changes the body goes through when one smokes cannabis or the possible physical and mental health state of a cannabis user. REFLECTION/CRITIQUE Some positives about the design of the leaflet are: Cheap and easy to produce It does consist of relevant information about cannabis for adolescents and the health benefits of quitting its use. Does not take much time to read Knowledge or message it contains can be easily shared with family and friends. It reinforces information out there regarding the laws governing cannabis use and its potential effects on ones mental health. The design of the leaflet also has some drawbacks: Unless the picks it up to read, it could remain unused. It can easily be misplaced or lost. It may do more harm than good when the target audience decide to experiment rather than the message deterring them from cannabis use. It could have been produced in other formats for those who are visually impaired etc. CONCLUSION Messages about drug usage and its harmful side effects on its user, the society, the environment and the world at large sent to adolescents and the general public must be clear and consistent. (www.official-documents.gov.uk) Adolescents, their parents and guardians, must take the necessary steps to refrain from cannabis use and tackle problems related to cannabis use. Help, advice and support must be made available and accessible in ways that are sensitive to an individuals age and circumstances, and attempts must be made to reach and help vulnerable people who have a high risk of developing severe mental health related and public health problems. Prevention should start early, with broad life-skills approaches at primary school, and built on over time with appropriate programs for young people as they grow older through youth work, peer approaches, training and wider community support. The aim is for approaches to be better integrated nationally and locally. (DrugWise, 2017). More Rehab clinics and therapy centers should be opened in local communities with high usage of cannabis and other illicit drugs to make it easier for drug abusers to seek professional help to quit.

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Global Outsourcing of American Products and Services Essay -- Globaliz

Global Outsourcing of American Products and Services   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Global outsourcing of American products and services is a trend that is becoming increasingly popular with large corporations. For the same services provided in the United States, corporations are finding quality work in other countries for a fraction of the cost. The country currently at the forefront of this trend is India. This paper will discuss companies that outsource business to foreign countries and also why they are chose to. The ethical implications to both countries in these situations will also be discussed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many corporations are experiencing significant cost savings by outsourcing work to developing countries across the globe. Some advantages of global outsourcing are: technically skilled, inexpensive labor; multi-lingual workforce; potential 24/7 global tech support; global prestige; local market access advantages; lower duties and tariffs; low cost delivery; and after sales service. (http://www.wsa1.org) â€Å"Developing nations†¦benefit by providing local viable careers for their educated populations, attracting foreign investments in their infrastructure, and a general increase in the standard of living.† (http://cseserv.engr.scu.edu) These advantages make a strong case for outsourcing, but there are many disadvantages that are being discounted or overlooked.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some disadvantages noted by corporations are: political risk; loss of quality control over manufacturing, brand, and support; misrepresentation of the company; IPR concerns; brand management; channel conflict (gray market, territory); stricter labor laws; bribery and kickback pressure; and productivity. (http://www.wsa1.org) There is also the possibility of a negative impact to the American job market. Issues surrounding this impact to our job market are not frequently mentioned during discussions about whether or not to send business overseas. Finally, there are many ethical questions and dilemmas involved with these decisions. These ethical dilemmas affect individuals in America as well as those in the overseas countries. In spite of these disadvantages, many major corporations have decided to outsource to foreign countries, indicating that the advantages are worth the risk.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Several corporations have already experience... ...e Web. Call Center India (November 19, 2003); More U.S. Jobs, especially in Call Centers, headed for India, http://callcenterinindia.blogspot.com/ Retrieved on November 25, 2003 from the World Wide Web. Ranjit Shastri (October 6, 2003); An Overview of India’s Call Center Industry, http://www.tmcnet.com/tmcnet/articles/2003/100603rs.htm Retrieved on November 25, 2003 from the World Wide Web. Ronil Hira (October 20, 2003); Testimony to the Committee on Small Business, http://www.ieeeusa.org/forum/POLICY/2003/102003.html Retrieved on November 25, 2003 from the World Wide Web. Nicholson & Sahay (November, 2001); Some political and cultural issues in the globilisation of software development: case experience from Britain and India, http://les1.man.ac.uk/accounting/Staff/Academic/B_Nicholson/I&Opapernicholson_sahay.pdf Retrieved on November 25, 2003 from the World Wide Web. CIO.com (June 5, 2003); Global Outsourcing and L-1 Visas, http://comment.cio.com/ Retrieved on November 25, 2003 from the World Wide Web. Walter Williams (2003); Minimum Wage Tip-Off, http://www.washtimes.com/commentary/20031114-081940-9148r.htm Retrieved on November 25, 2003 from the World Wide Web.

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Ways

Mtunzini (Mm-tun-zee-nee) is a small coastal town that is situated almost exactly halfway along KwaZulu-Natal's coastline in South Africa approximately 140 km north of Durban. The name is an isiZulu word meaning place in the shade. After the breakup of the Zulu Kingdom after the Anglo-Zulu War, Sir Garnet Wolseley created 13 ‘kinglets' – with two strategically located as buffer zones between Port Natal and Zululand. One of these kinglets was John Dunn who used Mtunzini as his capital.Umlalazi Lagoon at dusk In 1948, 9 square kilometres of dune forests, lakes and lagoon at Mtunzini was proclaimed a nature reserve known as the Umlalazi Nature Reserve. This area falls under the protection of the Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife (previously known as Natal Parks Board). The Umlalazi Lagoon is a popular tourist attraction for watersports enthusiasts and fisherman alike. Recreational and commercial ski-boat boat fisherman also launch their boats in the lagoon and they then head for the In dianOcean via the mouth of the Umlalazi River. Mtunzini is a bird watchers paradise and is renowned as one of the few places where one of South Africa's rarest birds of prey, the Palm-nut Vulture, is found. These birds feed on the fruit of the Rafla Palm which produces its fruit once every twenty years before dying. Visitors can enjoy a walk through the lush vegetation at the Rafla Palm Monument, which features a raised boardwalk that meanders through to the magnificent palms.Mtunzini Beach Mtunzini boasts, among other attractions, pristine beaches, a 9 hole golf course at the Mtunzini Country Club, AA-Event and Guest House, numerous Bed-and-Breakfast establishments as well as a range of camping, caravanning and other self-contained holiday accommodations. Be warned, the beach is NOT protected by shark nets due to Mtunzini's proximity to a shark breeding ground populated by Zambezi Sharks as well as many others.

Friday, January 3, 2020

42 Must-Read Feminist Female Authors

What is a feminist writer? The definition has changed over time, and in different generations, it can mean different things. For the purposes of this list, a feminist writer is one whose works of fiction, autobiography, poetry, or drama highlighted the plight of women or societal inequalities that women struggled against. Although this list highlights female writers, its worth noting that gender isnt a prerequisite for being considered feminist. Here are some notable female writers whose works have a decidedly feminist viewpoint. Anna Akhmatova (1889-1966) Russian poet recognized both for her accomplished verse techniques and for her complex yet principled opposition to the injustices, repressions, and persecutions that took place in the early Soviet Union. She wrote her best-known work, the lyric poem Requiem, in secret over a five-year period between 1935 and 1940, describing the suffering of Russians under Stalinist rule. Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888) Feminist and transcendentalist with strong family ties to Massachusetts, Louisa May Alcott is best known for her 1868 novel about four sisters, Little Women, based on an idealized version of her own family. Isabel Allende (born 1942) Chilean-American writer known for writing about female protagonists in a literary style known as magical realism. Shes best known for novels The House of the Spirits (1982) and Eva Luna (1987). Maya Angelou (1928-2014) African-American author, playwright, poet, dancer, actress, and singer, who wrote 36 books, and acted in plays and musicals. Angelous most famous work is the autobiographical I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969). In it, Angelou spares no detail of her chaotic childhood. Margaret Atwood (born 1939) Canadian writer whose early childhood was spent living in the wilderness of Ontario. Atwoods most well-known work is The Handmaids Tale (1985). It tells the story of a near-future dystopia in which the main character and narrator, a woman called Offred, is kept as a concubine (handmaid) for reproductive purposes. Jane Austen (1775-1817) Jane Austen was an English novelist whose name did not appear on her popular works until after her death. She led a relatively sheltered life, yet wrote some of the best-loved stories of relationships and marriage in Western literature. Her novels include Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1812), Mansfield Park (1814), Emma  (1815), Persuasion (1819) and Northanger Abbey (1819). Charlotte Brontà « (1816-1855) Charlotte Brontà «s 1847 novel Jane Eyre is one of the most-read and most-analyzed works of English literature. The sister of Anne and Emily Bronte, Charlotte was the last survivor of six siblings, the children of a parson and his wife, who died in childbirth. Its believed that Charlotte heavily edited Annes and Emilys work after their deaths. Emily Brontà « (1818-1848) Charlottes sister wrote arguably one of the most prominent and critically-acclaimed novels in Western literature, Wuthering Heights. Very little is known about when Emily Brontà « wrote this Gothic work, believed to be her only novel, or how long it took her to write. Gwendolyn Brooks (1917-2000) First African American writer to win the Pulitzer Prize, she earned the award in 1950 for her book of poetry Annie Allen. Brooks earlier work, a collection of poems called, A Street in Bronzeville (1945), was praised as an unflinching portrait of life in Chicagos inner city. Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861) One of the most popular British poets of the Victorian era, Browning is best known for her Sonnets from the Portuguese, a collection of love poems she wrote secretly during her courtship with fellow poet Robert Browning. Fanny Burney (1752-1840) English novelist, diarist, and playwright who wrote satirical novels about English aristocracy. Her novels include Evelina, published anonymously in 1778, and The Wanderer (1814). Willa Cather (1873-1947) Cather was an American writer known for her novels about life on the Great Plains. Her works include O Pioneers! (1913), The Song of the Lark (1915), and My Antonia (1918). She won the Pulitzer Prize for One of Ours (1922), a novel set in World War I. Kate Chopin (1850-1904) Author of short stories and novels, which included The Awakening and other short stories such as A Pair of Silk Stockings, and The Story of an Hour, Chopin explored feminist themes in most of her work. Christine de Pizan (c.1364-c.1429) Author of The Book of the City of Ladies, de Pizan was a medieval writer whose work shed light on the lives of medieval women. Sandra Cisneros (born 1954) Mexican-American writer is best known for her novel The House on Mango Street (1984) and her short story collection Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories (1991). Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) Recognized among the most influential of American poets, Emily Dickinson lived most of her life as a recluse in Amherst, Massachusetts. Many of her poems, which had strange capitalization and dashes, can be interpreted to be about death. Among her most well-known poems are Because I Could Not Stop for Death, and A Narrow Fellow in the Grass. George Eliot (1819-1880) Born Mary Ann Evans, Eliot wrote about social outsiders within political systems in small towns. Her novels included The Mill on the Floss (1860), Silas Marner (1861), and Middlemarch (1872). Louise Erdrich (born 1954) A writer of Ojibwe heritage whose works focus on Native Americans. Her 2009 novel The Plague of Doves was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Marilyn French (1929-2009) American writer whose work highlighted gender inequalities. He best-known work was her 1977 novel The Womens Room. Margaret Fuller (1810-1850) Part of the New England Transcendentalist movement, Margaret Fuller was a confidant of Ralph Waldo Emerson, and a feminist when womens rights were not robust. Shes known for her work as a journalist at the New York Tribune, and her essay Woman in the Nineteenth Century. Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935) A feminist scholar whose best-known work is her semi-autobiographical short story The Yellow Wallpaper, about a woman suffering from mental illness after being confined to a small room by her husband. Lorraine Hansberry (1930-1965) Lorraine Hansberry  is an author and playwright whose best-known work is the 1959 play A Raisin in the Sun. It was the first Broadway play by an African-American woman to be produced on Broadway. Lillian Hellman (1905-1984) Playwright best known for the 1933 play The Childrens Hour, which was banned in several places for its depiction of a lesbian romance. Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960) Writer whose best-known work is the controversial 1937 novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. Sarah Orne Jewett (1849-1909) New England novelist and poet, known for her style of writing, referred to as American literary regionalism, or local color. Her best-known work is the 1896 short story collection The Country of the Pointed Firs. Margery Kempe (c.1373-c.1440) A medieval writer known for dictating the first autobiography written in English (she could not write). She was said to have religious visions which informed her work. Maxine Hong Kingston (born 1940) Asian-American writer whose work focuses on Chinese immigrants in the U.S. Her best-known work is her 1976 memoir The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts. Doris Lessing (1919-2013) Her 1962 novel The Golden Notebook is considered a leading feminist work. Lessing won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2007. Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950) Poet and feminist who received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1923 for The Ballad of the Harp-Weaver. Millay made no attempts to hide her bisexuality, and themes exploring sexuality can be found throughout her writing. Toni Morrison (born 1931) The first African-American woman to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature, in 1993, Toni Morrisons best-known work is her 1987 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Beloved, about a freed slave haunted by her daughters ghost. Joyce Carol Oates (born 1938) Prolific novelist and short-story writer whose work deals with themes of oppression, racism, sexism, and violence against women. Her works include Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? (1966), Because it is Bitter, and Because it is My Heart (1990) and We Were the Mulvaneys (1996). Sylvia Plath (1932-1963) Poet and novelist whose best-known work was her autobiography The Bell Jar (1963). Sylvia Plath, who suffered from depression, also is known for her 1963 suicide. In 1982, she became the first poet to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize posthumously, for her Collected Poems. Adrienne Rich (1929-2012) Adrienne Rich  was an award-winning poet, longtime American feminist, and prominent lesbian. She wrote more than a dozen volumes of poetry and several non-fiction books. Rich won the National Book Award in 1974 for Diving Into the Wreck, but refused to accept the award individually, instead sharing it with fellow nominees Audre Lorde and Alice Walker. Christina Rossetti (1830-1894) English poet known for her mystical religious poems, and the feminist allegory in her best-known narrative ballad, Goblin Market. George Sand (1804-1876) French novelist and memoirist whose real name was Armandine Aurore Lucille Dupin Dudevant. Her works include La Mare au Diable (1846), and La Petite Fadette (1849). Sappho (c.610 B.C.-c.570 B.C.) Most well-known of the ancient Greek women poets associated with the island of Lesbos. Sappho wrote odes to the goddesses and lyric poetry, whose style gave name to Sapphic meter. Mary Shelley (1797-1851) Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley  was a novelist best known for Frankenstein, (1818); married to the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley; daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin. Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902) Suffragist who fought for womens voting rights, known for her 1892 speech Solitude of Self, her autobiography Eighty Years and More and  The Womans Bible. Gertrude Stein (1874-1946) Gertrude Steins Saturday salons in Paris drew artists such as Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. Her best-known works are Three Lives (1909) and The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas (1933). Toklas and Stein were longtime partners. Amy Tan (born 1952) Her best-known work is the 1989 novel The Joy Luck Club, about the lives of Chinese-American women and their families. Alice Walker (born 1944) Alice Walkers best-known work is the 1982 novel The Color Purple, winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Shes also famous for her rehabilitation of the work of Zora Neale Hurston. Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) One of the most prominent literary figures of the early 20th century, with novels like Mrs. Dalloway and To the Lighthouse (1927). Virginia Woolfs best-known work is her 1929 essay A Room of Ones Own.