Monday, January 27, 2020

The Different Forms and Theories of Governments

The Different Forms and Theories of Governments Government is a group of people either elected or imposed who exercise rule on behalf of citizens. The government should maintain law and order, ensure equality and provide public goods (Goldman et al, 2008). In the social contract theory, before government existed, life was short, brutal and nasty. Insecurity was very rampant due to the fact that there was no system that enabled there to be order in the society so it was survival for the fittest mode of life. Hence man sought for a way to improve the situation which was by giving up some of his powers to a higher authority called the leviathan, to control his selfish nature. They drew up a contract and that was the beginning of government. Ever since, there have been many forms of governments but for the interest of this paper, only three will be discussed presidential, totalitarianism and democracy. Totalitarianism is a form of government where there is no control of state power in the country and hence the ruling class seeks to consolidate its power via whatever means possible. The state is usually under control by one person, a faction or a ruling party with an ideology that controls all the public and private aspects of the people. This is the case in China where the ruling party dictates the affairs of the country and has for years consolidated its power (Li,2008).The state also controls the flow of information in and out of the country. That means that there is state controlled media and the government filters internet content. There is also control of the market economy whereby the state owns the wealth of the nation while the people are left to have a few. There is also the presidential form of government where the executive and the legislature exist two separate entities. In the USA, the Congress and the presidency are separate even though they both check each others powers (Goldman et al, 2008). The cabinet is made up of members who are not in the congress but their appointment must be approved by the congress. They exist for a set time in office after which elections are held. Likewise in Indonesia, the system is the same in that the president can be impeached by the congress if he does not perform according to the required standards and has the power to veto bills passed by the parliament (Ramage, 1995). This system of government has advantages in that decision making is faster and that there are checks and balances which prevents abuse of power. But in cases where there is change of power there is a stop of polices as different presidents come up with different ways of solving problems for example: In the US, the Bush- Obama trans ition that led to economic policies being changed. Democracy is the other form of government which comes from Greek a word demos which means people and kratos which means rule. It is a form of government that is meant to ensure equal representation of people of all kinds and also that they are free to express their views without fear to create a fair and just society (Goldman et al, 2008). Democracy has a number of problems. In the USA, apathy is a factor that has caused democracy to fail in that since it is a capitalist system only the people with money rule the day. The various interest groups who lobby at congress corridors to stop policies bribing legislators at the expense of the people who elected them in power. Also having money means that one can be elected in parliament as elections are costly and also that the electorate can be bribed to vote in a particular way or for a particular person. Although there is free press, this is an impediment to democracy as the media can favor a particular idea more than the others as long a s the people have money. There is also the problem of immigrants who the US government finds them hard to integrate especially radical Muslims. Democracy entails that there be freedom and equal rights but the Muslim beliefs makes it impossible for them not to be held without suspicion in the country. The terrorism threats, suicide bombings have caused the US who is the mother of democracy to be at war all over the world with terrorists (Goldman et al, 2008). In China, democracy has failed due to a closed system of government that has restricted the flow of information in and out of the country and also the control of media content in that whatever the state does cannot be criticized. China views democracy as a Western ideology hence seeks to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“protectà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  its citizens from that influence. Even though there are elections, only the candidates that the ruling party approves will be elected and this means that the people do not have a say on who will represent them (Li, 2008). In Indonesia democracy has failed because of threats from militias who bring terror and intimidation to the people causing them not to vote. This happened in East Timor, where the militia supporting the ruling party intimidated people to vote in a certain way (Ramage, 1995). There is also foreign interference in elections whereby different world powers want a government that will support their interests. The US will tend to back a moderate pers on who will not tolerate the radical Islamists. In conclusion, I still believe even with all these problems caused by the government that it is necessary for us to have one. Countries in a state of anarchy are chaotic women are raped, children are violated, there are massive killings as people are struggling to be in power because there is no one to maintain order. History has taught us that the people have their destinies in their hands and that they can overthrow a government that does not advocate for their interest and put in place people who can bring the change that they want.

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Comparing Marvell’s To His Coy Mistress and Herrick’s To the Virgins, t

Comparing Andrew Marvell’s To His Coy Mistress and Robert Herrick’s To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time Ever since the beginning of time, love has played an enormous role among humans. Everyone feels a need to love and to be loved. Some attempt to fill this yearning with activities and possessions that will not satisfy – with activities in which they should not participate and possessions they should not own. In Andrew Marvell’s poem, â€Å"To His Coy Mistress,† the speaker encounters an emotion some would call love but fits better under the designation of lust for a woman. In contrast, the speaker of Robert Herrick’s poem, â€Å"To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time,† urges virgins to marry, to make a lasting commitment in which love plays a vital role. Comparing these poems reveals differences between love and lust. Despite the contrasting depictions of love and lust, both poets portray the underlying theme of carpe diem – â€Å"seize the day† – using the sun to show the brevity of any single person’s time on earth, and ut ilizing societal standards to back up their arguments. Though some may argue that the speaker in Marvell’s poem loves his mistress, he comes across as experiencing no emotion aside from lust. The speaker merely mentions the word â€Å"love† three times, all in the first stanza. Nowhere does the speaker connect this so-called love with his girlfriend’s personality traits, but always with her physical appearance. The speaker explains that if he had all the time in the world, he would adore for â€Å"an age at least† all the parts of her body and â€Å"the last age should show your heart† (17-18). The speaker’s overemphasis of his girlfriend’s body in place of concentration on her personality and heart – one’s more important traits – ... ...ilize similar arguments in attempt to persuade the person or people to whom they speak. Specifically, both speakers convey the concept of carpe diem through the analogy of the sun. They address their situation in a skewed manner, though. While they have the opportunity to focus on true love, they fail to seize that opportunity. Instead, the speakers concentrate on society’s definition of love, namely, beauty, requesting a response based on the superficial, outward appearance of a woman. Works Cited Herrick, Robert. â€Å"To The Virgins, To Make Much Of Time." Literature An Introduction to Critical Reading. Lee A. Jacobus. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1996. Marvell, Andrew. "To His Coy Mistress" and Other Poems. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1997. New American Standard Bible, The Lockman Foundation, 1995. Available http://www.lockman.org

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Teenage Pregnancies and the Health Risks to the Unborn Child

Running Head: Teen Pregnancy Teenage Pregnancies and Health Risks Betty Samuelsen Western Governors University Teen girls should refrain from the peer pressure of becoming pregnant. Becoming pregnant at a young age may have consequences with the range of seriousness. Pregnant teens are encouraging others to become pregnant in the form of peer pressure. Teens are watching too much television that encourages them to become pregnant. Pregnancy is a major reason that the dropout rate of teen girls is so high. Teens need to be informed of the health risks that they may be faced with if they become pregnant. Research suggests that there are no easy solutions to the complexity of issues affecting pregnant teens, such as outside influences in the form of other pregnant teens and media that encourage pregnancy, the effect of pregnancy on a teenager's education, and the health risks faced by pregnant teens and their unborn children. Television shows are one example of media that complicates the issue of teen pregnancy. Studies show that teens, 12-17 years of age, that watch television shows that have the most sexually suggestive information, are twice as likely to become pregnant (Chandra, 2008). The television industry needs to have more of a balance between sexual content and the risks that pregnancies have upon teens (Chandra, 2008). These television shows also influence others to become pregnant because it is the thing to do. For example, MTV program content implies that if a girl gets pregnant, then the teen has a one-way ticket to fame and MTV is also promoting teen pregnancy instead of stating it as a serious problem in America (Montalvan, 2011). Television increases the complexity of this issue when watching television shows that make teen pregnancies appealing leads to peer pressure to become pregnant. For example: Girls 16 and younger have gotten together to â€Å"plan† their pregnancies and how they are going to raise their children together. When the girls would find out if their pregnancy test came back positive, they would high five each other, like they were proud to be pregnant at such a young age and they will be ok (Males, 2008). Peer pressure is usually male-to-male and female-to-female, this pressure seems to be harder to withstand from males due to status and being accepted. On the other hand, females fall into peer pressure to â€Å"fill a void† in their lives and maintain a relationship with the opposite sex (Sugland, 1997). Not only is peer pressure a problem, research shows that 20% of teens have stated that their parents (46%) are also a big influence on them having sex compared to the 20% of friends pressure (Albert, 2010). What is this saying about parents' influence on their own teens? Teens state that they wish they could have more open conversations about sex with their parents and be more open in conversation about contraception. They believe that this could reduce teen pregnancies (Albert, 2010). There are also various cultural practices that complicate how teens think about pregnancy. In adolescents' views about sex, it is on their minds most of the time whether or not they are sexually active themselves. Views differ from race to race as to the frequency of sex among their peer groups, for instance African-American perceive more sex than among peer groups in the European-and Mexican-American peer groups. (Mahavarkar, Madhi, & Mule, 2008). Teen pregnancy is not only a local problem, but is a global concern even with the conflicting information from study to study. The previous new labor government in England identifies pregnant schoolgirls as a particularly vulnerable group. In addition, research shows different effects of pregnancy on the education of pregnant teens. The leading cause, 30%, of teens dropping out of high school is pregnancy and parenthood (National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, 2010, March). In England, the 1st cornerstone of a four cornerstone campaign is to increase the participation of pregnant teens in education, training and/or employment. According to the Social Exclusion Unit, the second strategy is getting 60% of young mothers into training, employment, and education (as cited in Vincent & Thomson, 2010). The Social Exclusion Unit assumes that meeting the second cornerstone will help reduce the negative health, social and economic correlates of teen pregnancies. Researchers appear to agree with policy-makers on the challenges that the pregnant teens and mothering teens face in their education. The Department of Education and Skills put out a guidance on the education of school-aged girls and parenting mothers which outlined the expectations that the teens should be getting. England's local authorities have a low priority in helping teen mothers get back into education. Audit Commission, 1999, Coleman and Dennison 1998). In the 2001 guidance, the Department of Education and Skills state, â€Å"The school should ensure that the young woman continues learning as long as possible up until the birth by exploring all opportunities for curriculum support available (Department of Education and Skills, 2001, 5). Schools are also required to provide an elective official to be in charge for the pregnant teenagers–someone whose main function is to facilitate the on-going education of the pregnant pupil and her successful reintegration to education after the six-week post-natal check-up. This official should be made aware of all the schoolgirl pregnancies within the local authority. The local authorities are encouraged to provide the same education as those of pregnant teens. Pregnancy should not be the reason some of these parenting mothers are not being allowed to attend school. Schools should be partially accountable for the education of these parenting teens. In order to make this goal happen, schools would need to provide work for the pregnant teen to do at home when she is unable to attend school. About half of the teens that are pregnant have a high school diploma vs. 9% of those that were not teen mothers. â€Å"Other data find that less than 2% of young teen mothers (those who have a baby before age 18) attain a college degree by age 30† (National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, March 2010). Pregnancy can have negative effects on education. According to Ashley, study 1 of 4, was an average student that found out at 6 weeks she was expecting. She t hought, â€Å"I'm not going to get my GCSE's [General Certificate of Secondary Education], I'm not going to go to college and I'm not going to get the job I want to get† (as cited in Vincent, & Thompson, 2010). Ashley was hoping to be able to say goodbye to her friends. The school implied that she would be able to maintain her education with a pupil referral unit; therefore, the school was expressing its concerns of the health and safety of her pregnancy. Poor communication of the students mainstream school with the pupil referral unit made Ashley miss coursework and failed some of her GCSE's that she was optimistic in passing. The school just did not care. In some cases pregnancy has mixed effects on a students education but still presents complications. Shae, study 2 of 4, had mixed reactions, peers were mostly accepting, but among staff they are mixed, some accepting, others not so much. The meeting was a different situation from Ashley's. Shae was able to stay in her school until most of her GCSE's were complete with minimal accommodations, such as leaving class a little early to avoid being â€Å"crushed† in the hallways. Her teacher also took on making sure the Pupil Referral Unit had coursework for her to do, unlike to first study. Shae felt more apart of her school still (as cited in Vincent, & Thompson, 2010). Pregnant teens will need to make complicated decisions on education. Shae was able to stay in the mainstream school until her 7th month of pregnancy, but at the same time still felt like she was apart of the school. Unlike Ashley's school, Shae's was more supportive of her situation. Children of teen mothers are affected in the long term, such as, becoming a teen parent later (National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, 2010). Pregnant teens will have a much harder time finding well paying jobs if they are not able to have the proper education available to them†¦ Without a high school education, it is much harder to be accepted into college (National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, 2010). Shae was aware that she had a choice and made that known to the school and staff members and stuck to convincing them to allow her to stay and accomplish her dreams and goals that she had set for herself. Title IX actually protects pregnant teens to have an equal education to those of their peers, no matter the situation. (Educational Policy, January and March 2006, 20(1). Shae was aware of the choice that she had on her education and made it known to the school and the staff members and stuck to convincing them to allow her to stay. As stated above the Title IX, is an American statue, that should also prepare pregnant teens the same opportunity as those in other countries. For example, a non-educational consequence of teen pregnancy is the health risks to the mother and the baby. Prenatal care is critical in the first months of pregnancy. Prenatal vitamins with folic acid are suggested to be taken before becoming pregnant to prevent certain birth defects, such as neural tube defects (as cited in Nihira, M. , 2009. Teen Pregnancy: Medical Risks and Realities). Some of the health risks for both the pregnant teen and unborn child are as follows: Teens have more complictions in delivery than those in their 20's and later. Pre-Term deliveries for the unborn child are a major complication. The teen is 3 times more likely to develop anemia, than those that are not teens. Pre-term deliveries are higher in some studies while other studies do not have the higher rates. Poor prenatal care and late identification of complications could explain the high rate of pre-term delivery. (Mahavarkar, Madhu, & Mule, 2008). Any baby born before 37 weeks is considered pre-term or â€Å"preemie. † Full term lasts 40 weeks. The baby can have respiratory, digestive, vision, cognitive, and many more problems (as cited in Nihira, M. , 2009. Teen Pregnancy: Medical Risks and Realities). Pregnant teens are still growing themselves which puts their unborn child at a greater risk of being a â€Å"premee† and being under weight. Pregnant teens are 1. 8 times more likely to have low birth weight babies. Research shows that in a controlled and study low birth weights are as follows: 2. 5 (42% study, 59% controlled). (Mahavarkar, Madhu, & Mule, 2008). Babies that are less than 3. 3 lbs. ay have to be put on a ventilator to help them breath after birth due to their lungs not being fully developed. Premature babies usually have not had enough time in the womb to develop fully (as cited in Nihira, M. , 2009. Teen Pregnancy: Medical Risks & Realities). Complications for the pregnant teen may be very severe. Pre-eclampsia is a severe condition for the mother such as bleeding problems, pre-mature separation of th e placenta from the uterus before the baby is born (placenta abruption), rupture of the liver, stroke, and death (rarely). (Mahavarkar, Madhu, & Mule, 2008). For example, pre-eclampsia, can cause swelling in the hands and feet of the mother along with organ damage (as cited in Nihira, M. , M. D. , (2009). Teen Pregnancy: Medical Risks & Realities). Research suggests that there are no easy solutions to the complexity of issues affecting pregnant teens, such as outside influences in the form of other pregnant teens and media that encourage pregnancy, the effect of pregnancy on a teenager's education, and the health risks faced by pregnant teens and their unborn children. In conclusion, outside influences account for some of the reasons that teens are becoming pregnant in high school. If teens are not sexually active in high school, teen peers torment them and encourage them to become pregnant. In return, the pregnant teens and teen mothers suffer the natural consequences of becoming pregnant. One result is not having an equal education to their peers and not having the better paying jobs that the other teens may have. Teens that become pregnant while still young and their unborn child face huge health issues, such as low birth weight, pre-eclampsia, possible stroke, and possible death. Reference List Albert, B. (2010). With one Voice 2010: America’s Adults and Teens sound off about Teen Pregnancy. Washington, D. C. : The NCPTP and Unplanned Pregnancy. Audit Commission, (1999) Chandra, A. (2008). Study: TV influences teen pregnancy stats. Retrieved from Coleman & Dennison, (1998) Department of Education and Skills, (2001), 5. Educational Policy, (January and March 2006) 20,(1). Mahavarkar, S. H. , Madhu, C. K. , & Mule, V. D. (2008). A comparative study of teenage pregnancy. Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 28(6), 604-607. doi:10. 1080/01443610802281831. Males, M. (2008). http://articles. latimes. com/2008/jul/13/opinion/op-males13. National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (March 2010). Why It Matters: Teen Pregnancy and Education. Nihira, M. , M. D. , (2009). Teen Pregnancy: Medical Risks & Realities. Retrieved from http://www. webmd. com/baby/teen-pregnancy-medical-risks-and-realities. Social Exclusion Unit, (1999). Sugland, B. (n. d). Sex, Pregnancy and Contraception: A Report of Focus Group Discussions with Adolescents. N/A, Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Vincent, K. , & Thomson, P. (2010). ‘Slappers like you don't belong in this school': the educational inclusion/exclusion of pregnant schoolgirls. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 14(4), 371-385. doi:10. 1080/13603110802504580

Friday, January 3, 2020

Chesapeake Police Officer Allison Ostman - 1360 Words

According to the probable cause statement filed on September 26, 2016, by Chesapeake Police Officer Allison Ostman, the following occurred in the city of Chesapeake: â€Å"On September 18, 2016, at approximately 03:30, I made contact with a suspicious occupied vehicle at the intersection of Drum Creek Road and Taylor Road that was occupied by several juveniles to include a Mr. Darren DelPapa. Due to an odor of marijuana in the vehicle, I performed a search of the vehicle for illegal narcotics. During my search, I located a plastic bag containing (1) 30 mg tablet of codeine underneath Mr. DelPapa’s seat. I mirandized him at approximately 0348 hours, to which Mr. DelPapa stated the pill belonged to him.† Darren stated he could have avoided†¦show more content†¦He has no other pending matters before any court. Darren has had no detention confinements and no out of home placements or other court ordered placements. He has no history of escape and no court ordered placements. He has no other matters pending before the court, and he has had no court ordered interventions. The charges were taken under advisement for a period of one year, and Darren was allowed to enroll in the Commonwealth Challenge program in Virginia Beach. He was ordered onto probation, at any time he was not in the Commonwealth Challenge program. Program requirements of the Commonwealth Challenge program do not allow individuals to be on probation as a condition of entry, hence the order of the court. Darren reported to the Commonwealth Challenge on March 28, 2017. Within the first few days, there were so many fights and chaos, that the program called Darren’s guardians to come pick him up and take him home â€Å"until the situation calmed down.† Darren was â€Å"jumped† on at least two occasions and both he and the Freemans decided he should not return. Because Commonwealth Challenge is a â€Å"voluntary program,† he was not required to return to the program according to the Chesapeake probation officer. Darren currently lives with his siblings and his legal guardians, Theresa and Charlie Freeman. The Freemans have had legal custody of Darren since he was 2  ½ years old. Theresa Freeman was friends with Darren’s