Under Pressure free essay sample

Distressed, I stood alone and uncomfortable in a corner. Leaning for a sense of security, I propped myself up against the green wall. I twiddled my thumbs back and forth as I devised a plan of action. This trip was supposed to be one of the greatest memories I would ever have. My team and I received an opportunity to compete in Disney World, ironically the happiest place in the world. However, this trip not only taught me a life-long lesson, but it also exposed some of my teammates’ true selves. In my corner, better known as my sanctuary, I could hear my fellow teammates muttering about me being a â€Å"goody two shoes† all because I was â€Å"afraid to have fun.† Not only did I listen to them, but I also observed. The people I looked up to and respected made fools of themselves by making stupid decisions. â€Å"Why do people think drugs and alcohol are cool?† I thought to myself. We will write a custom essay sample on Under Pressure or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Churning with anxiety, I fled to my hotel room for protection. Defeated, I settled onto my bed. I was alone. Tears of frustration formed in my eyes. All I wanted was to be home, unfortunately Dorothy not being a Disney character, clicking my heels together would not help. My hotel room acted as an island of isolation. Lying in the dark, I heard murmurs of my teammates. â€Å"Try this!† â€Å"Drink some of this!† These words sailed into my room like a pirate ship raiding an island. Buried under the blanket, I attempted to escape reality. I could not bear to associate with them as they drank their lives away. As I tried to wrap my head around this situation, I asked myself, â€Å"Why did I become an outcast for choosing not to participate in their ‘fun’?† Then I came to a realization. I wasn’t a loser, afraid to have fun, or an outcast. I was smart. Making wise decisions was something to take pride in. Although everyone around me drowned themselves in drinks, I segregated myself. I’m not a follower but a leader. Looking back now, I am proud of my decision to not cave into peer pressure and stay above the influence. Not only a group of my teammates, but a large percentage of teens risk so much, for what? At the end of the day, I would rather be successful and be labelled a â€Å"loser† then not and be â€Å"cool†. Not caving in to what everyone else is doing can be tough, but it makes a good leader and person. This is one reason why I am a cheerleader because I enjoy leading my peers to good, positive things. In my Junior Leadership class, a prestigious club, we aim to help other teens make decisions like I did. Although Disney World wasn’t â€Å"the happiest place on Earth† for me, it taught me valuable lessons I will carry-out through my life. Now I strive to positively influence peers in my community to avoid drinking. By acting as a role model and using my story as an example, for the younger generation.

Nestles Baby Formula and Third World Countries

Nestles Baby Formula and Third World Countries Nestle’s Baby Formula Controversy Nestle’s baby formula marketing in Third World countries has become a conventional case which illustrates social responsibility and business ethics. The company entered the market of Third World countries without changing its strategies and marketing techniques. This was one of the company’s major faults which led to the international scandal and boycott of Nestle’s products in Third World countries.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Nestle’s Baby Formula and Third World Countries specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The company was accused of promotion of its products and discouraging breastfeeding among woman in developing countries (Davidson 2009). Various reports and surveys were conducted. Health care employees reported that the use of Nestle products led to malnutrition and even deaths in many cases (Cateora 2011). Nestle’s Responsibility It is necessary to note that even though the products were boycotted, many people advocated Nestle’s products. For instance, these people claimed that malnutrition and high rate of infant deaths was caused by social and economic situation in the countries, rather than by the use of Nestle products. Nestle also argued that in many cases women misused Nestle products which led to health problems or fatal cases. Besides, Nestle also stressed that the company never discouraged breastfeeding among woman in any country. On the contrary, the company always articulated the idea that breastfeeding is the best option. Nonetheless, Nestle also admitted that some of their marketing techniques needed rethinking (Frederick 2002, p.233). For instance, such practice as distribution of free products among women or nurses was seen as inappropriate. It goes without saying that Nestle can be regarded as an example of the multinational which can be socially responsible. Thus, when the company ackno wledged that some of its practices were unethical or wrongful, it started reshaping its marketing strategies. Nestle followed the rules set by WHO and made a decision to start marketing its products only when particular laws and regulations would be enacted. Admittedly, this is an ethical and responsible position. Recommendations to Nestle However, the contemporary world brings new challenges to the fore. Thus, spread of HIV infection in Third World countries is the issue which needs drastic measures. In this respect, Nestle’s products can become one of the strategies which can reduce the rate of this infection spread. Reportedly, breastfeeding is one of the ways of HIV infection transmission.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This matter has been one of the most disputable issues during the past decades (Moland et al. 2010). Scientists try to discover new wa ys to prevent this kind of transmission (Iliff et al. 2005). Apparently, there is one easy step to be undertaken. Thus, Nestle can address world public and assure Third World countries as well as WHO and developed countries that the company will start a campaign aimed at raising awareness concerning proper use of Nestle’s baby formula. For instance, the company can start up an advertising campaign. However, the major attention should be paid to the proper use of the product rather than the product itself. It is also essential to stress the benefits of breastfeeding. Admittedly, the company should present new ways of its products marketing. Nestle should initiate new discussions concerning distribution of its products in Third World countries. It can be helpful to implement new surveys in the area. The company should also provide reports on its products safety. In this way the company can contribute to prevention of HIV transmission. It will also help to rehabilitate baby prod ucts worldwide. Reference List Cateora, PR, Gilly, MC, and Graham, JL 2011, Ch. 5. Culture, management style, and business systems, in Cateora et al. (eds), International Marketing, McGraw Hill, Berkshire, UK, pp. 146-148. Davidson, K 2009, Ethical concerns at the bottom of the pyramid: where CSR meets BOP, Journal of International Business Ethics, vol. 2 no. 1, pp. 22-32. Frederick, R 2002, A companion to business ethics, John Wiley Sons, Oxford.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Nestle’s Baby Formula and Third World Countries specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Iliff, PJ, Piwoz, EG, Tavengwa, NV, Zunguza, CD, Marinda, ET, Nathoo, KJ, Moulton, LH, Ward, BJ, the ZVITAMBO study group, Humphrey, JH 2005, ‘Early exclusive breastfeeding reduces the risk of postnatal HIV-1 transmission and increases HIV-free survival’, AIDS, vol. 19 no. 7, pp. 699-708. Moland, KM, Paoli, MM, Sellen, DW, Esterik, P, Lesh abari, SC, Blystad, A 2010, ‘Breastfeeding and HIV: experiences from a decade of prevention of postnatal HIV transmission in sub-Saharan Africa’, International Breastfeeding Journal, vol. 5, no. 10, pp. 1-7.

Siege of Paris in the Franco-Prussian War

Siege of Paris in the Franco-Prussian War The Siege of Paris was fought September 19, 1870 to January 28, 1871 and was a key battle of the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871). With the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War in July 1870, French forces suffered a string of serious reverses at the hands of the Prussians. Following their decisive victory at the Battle of Sedan on September 1, the Prussians quickly advanced on Paris and encircled the city. Laying siege to city, the invaders were able to contain Paris garrison and defeated several attempted breakout attempts. Seeking to reach a decision, the Prussians began shelling the city in January 1871. Three days later the Paris surrendered. The Prussian triumph effectively ended the conflict and led to the unification of Germany. Background Following their triumph over the French at the Battle of Sedan on September 1, 1870, Prussian forces began marching on Paris. Moving swiftly, the Prussian 3rd Army along with the Army of Meuse encountered little resistance as they neared the city. Personally guided by King Wilhelm I and his chief of staff, Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke, Prussian troops began encircling the city. Within Paris, the citys governor, General Louis Jules Trochu, had massed around 400,000 soldiers, half of which were untested National Guardsmen. Count Helmuth von Moltke. Photograph Source: Public Domain As the pincers closed, a French force under General Joseph Vinoy attacked Crown Prince Fredericks troops south of the city at Villeneuve Saint Georges on September 17. Attempting to save a supply dump in the area, Vinoys men were driven back by massed artillery fire. The following day the railroad to Orleans was cut and Versailles occupied by the 3rd Army. By the 19th, the Prussians had completely encircled the city beginning the siege. In the Prussian headquarters a debate was had over how best to take the city. Siege of Paris Conflict: Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871)Dates: September 19, 1870-January 28, 1871Armies Commanders:PrussiaField Marshal Helmuth von MoltkeField Marshal Leonhard Graf von Blumenthal240,000 menFranceGovernor Louis Jules TrochuGeneral Joseph Vinoyapprox. 200,000 regularsapprox. 200,000 militiaCasualties:Prussians: 24,000 dead and wounded, 146,000 captured, approximately 47,000 civilian casualtiesFrench: 12,000 killed and wounded The Siege Begins Prussian Chancellor Otto von Bismarck argued in favor of immediately shelling the city into submission. This was countered by the sieges commander, Field Marshal Leonhard Graf von Blumenthal who believed shelling the city to be inhumane and against the rules of war. He also argued that a quick victory would lead to peace before the remaining French field armies could be destroyed. With these in place, it was likely that the war would be renewed in a short time. After hearing arguments from both sides, William elected to allow Blumenthal to proceed with the siege as planned. Within the city, Trochu remained on the defensive. Lacking faith in his National Guardsmen, he hoped that the Prussians would attack allowing his men to fight from within the citys defenses. As it quickly became apparent that the Prussians were not going to attempt to storm the city, Trochu was forced to reconsider his plans. On September 30, he ordered Vinoy to demonstrate and test the Prussian lines west of the city at Chevilly. Striking the Prussian VI Corps with 20,000 men, Vinoy was easily repulsed. Two weeks later, on October 13, another attack was made at Chà ¢tillon. St-Cloud after the fighting at Chà ¢tillon, October 1870. Public Domain   French Efforts to Break the Siege Though French troops succeeded in taking the town from the Bavarian II Corps, they were eventually driven back by Prussian artillery. On October 27, General Carey de Bellemare, commander of the fort at Saint Denis, attacked the town of Le Bourget. Though he had no orders from Trochu to move forward, his attack was successful and French troops occupied the town. Though it was of little value, Crown Prince Albert ordered it retaken and Prussian forces drove the French out on the 30th. With morale in Paris low and made worse by news of the French defeat at Metz, Trochu planned a large sortie for November 30. Consisting of 80,000 men, led by General Auguste-Alexandre Ducrot, the attack struck at Champigny, Creteil and Villiers. In the resulting Battle of Villiers, Ducrot succeeded in driving back the Prussians and taking Champigny and Creteil. Pressing across the Marne River towards Villiers, Ducrot was unable to breakthrough the last lines of Prussian defenses. Having suffered over 9,000 casualties, he was forced to withdraw to Paris by December 3. With food supplies low and communication with the outside world reduced to sending letters by balloon, Trochu planned a final breakout attempt. Prussian troops outside of Paris, 1870.   Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-H26707 / CC-BY-SA 3.0 The City Falls On January 19, 1871, a day after William had been crowned kaiser (emperor) at Versailles, Trochu assaulted the Prussian positions at Buzenval. Though Trochu took the village of St. Cloud, his supporting attacks failed, leaving his position isolated. At the end of the day Trochu was forced to fall back having taken 4,000 casualties. As a result of the failure, he resigned as governor and turned command over to Vinoy. Though they had contained the French, many in the Prussian high command were becoming impatient with the siege and the increasing duration of the war. With the war adversely affecting the Prussian economy and disease beginning to break out on the siege lines, William ordered that a solution be found. On January 25, he directed von Moltke to consult with Bismarck on all military operations. After doing so, Bismarck immediately ordered that Paris be shelled with the armys heavy Krupp siege guns. Following three days of bombardment, and with the citys population starving, Vinoy surrendered the city. Aftermath In the fighting for Paris, the French suffered 24,000 dead and wounded, 146,000 captured, as well as approximately 47,000 civilian casualties. Prussian losses were around 12,000 dead and wounded. The fall of Paris effectively ended the Franco-Prussian War as French forces were ordered to cease fighting following the citys surrender. The Government of National Defense signed the Treaty of Frankfurt on May 10, 1871, officially ending the war. The war itself had completed the unification of Germany and resulted in the transfer of Alsace and Lorraine to Germany.

Trends Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Trends - Essay Example The chief diplomat handling the situation in Paris, was given the go-ahead to negotiate a purchase deal with the French, somewhere between two and ten million dollars. To everyone’s surprise, Napoleon agreed to this deal but demanded a lot more. He wanted to continue his expansionary aims and for that he needed money, therefore, he offered the American government the whole territory of Louisiana for fifteen million dollars. Jefferson agreed to this and the deal was finalized in April 1803. Although Jefferson considered it to be a great diplomatic and political achievement, the deal was met with a lot of controversy. (Westward Expansion: The Louisiana Purchase, n. d.) By signing a deal with Napoleon, Jefferson was forced to ignore his limitations that were set by the Constitution. This deal was a defiance of the principles set up in the Constitution, and he also could not wait for a constitutional amendment, as that would have resulted in the failure of the deal. Although, it was not a very wise political move, the President still managed to gain support of the masses. America also did not have enough money to make the full payment; therefore, it was forced to take loans from the British government at six percent interest. Some people saw this purchase as a decrease in the political power of the United States. Also, the act of undermining the constitution to some extent set an example for future presidents, to stretch the constitution a little further, without making amendments to it. This was a poor example set by President Jefferson (Kelly, n. d.). The purchase of the Louisiana territory did add a considerable amount of land to America; it was met by various views. Some politicians thought that this act proved that the Congress could defy the constitution, if the majority of people in the Congress voted for the decision to be

Love Brief case state v stark Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Love Brief state v stark - Case Study Example Proceeding: The proceeding can be correctly categorized into multiple counts; for the first of these Stark was found to be guilty and hence charged to a total of one twenty months or ten years. As far as the second and third counts are concerned through a bench trail Stark was found guilty and then charged for a duration of ten years with an additional consecutive forty three months. Issue: There are certain area’s of concern as far as this case is concerned. The first line of argument is that of Starks intentions; more specifically that of his actions being solely carried out with the objective of causing bodily harm. Another issue is that of the courts specified sentence, which 120 months only for the first count. A question that rises here is whether the sole reason for this specified sentence was based purely on future dangerousness of Stark’s actions. Holding: The ruling of the case was based primarily on the specific dictations by law which holds an individual responsible for his actions, which are intended to do bodily harm to another person, making him guilty of second degree assault. Stark’s careless behavior and reckless actions that transmit or expose other individuals to HIV do just that. Reasoning: Stark’s conviction was based on the availability of evidence that can easily be concerned as sufficient to establish intent. Testimonies from the victims, Stark’s neighborhood friends as well as his doctor and nurse all pointed towards his consciously aware reckless behavior and intent to do harm. Stark clearly stated in one of reported conversation â€Å"I don’t care. If I’m going to die, everybody’s going to die† leaving no room for doubt of his intentions and hence making an appropriate court sentence inevitable. Prior to this case, other cases such as, Commonwealth v. Brown and State v. Haines can be analyzed to find that similar sentences were given for comparable crimes by

The recent demographic, epidemiological and social trends in UK

The recent demographic, epidemiological and social trends in UK This essay is divided into two parts. First part deals generally with the recent demographic, epidemiological and social trends in UK. In demographic trends main concern is population change. The demographic transition model depends on countries mortality and the fertility rates. As these are one of the important deciding factors for population change, though migration is important trend in UK. Next are the epidemiological trends deals with life style diseases, non communicable diseases, mental health, disability etc. Finally, the combination of demographic and epidemiological trends gives the social trends. Second part deals with critically assessing the priorities for public health and health promotion. Because establishing priorities are more essential. Not surprisingly it will deal with obesity, lifestyle diseases, smoking etc., as twenty first century progress, public health and health promotions are the major concerns. The important demographic trends in UK is increasing aging population. According to ONS (2009), the population in united kingdom is ageing with the decrease in the younger population. This trend is seen constantly over past 35 years. Because of growing ageing population. It posed a great political and economic challenge to the country(Squire 2002).Because the life expectancy between 2001 and 2006 was 75.6 for male and 79 for female..There is steady increase in life expectancy of people(Bowling 2005).On the other side there is increase in non communicable diseases which are mainly due to behavioural and sedentary life style changes. These include diabetes, CVD, etc., which are mostly of preventable causes(Shah 2008).When it comes to social trends, it has an impact of both the demographic and epidemiological trends. Like the decreasing trend of labour work, this may be due to many reasons. Although there is a increase in the people who are economically active from 5 million in 1971 to 30.6 million in 2006( ONS 2007). Since this increase in economically active people does not increase the employment rate. There is decrease in the employment rate from 95% in 1971 to 79% in the recent period (ONS 2009) The proportion of percentage of crime is increasing like property crime, card crime or juvenile convictions etc., though the overall crime is decreased from 40% in 1995 to 23% in 2005.With increase in the crime rate, the spending on the other services like social protection is increasing. In 2003 it was  £4,710 per person, which is higher than any other countries. Other spending like those for sick and disabled is increased by means of disability living allowance and attendance allowance (ONS 2007). All the above, trends in the environmental change is present scenario which is concern of most. In the previous years climate change was given low level priority( Doulton and Brown, 2009). Both locally and globally the physical environment and their naturally occurring resources are affected by human activities, which may be due to both industrialization and urbanisation from the act of globalisation(DEBRA, 2009).All these process are due to global warming and climate change, which alm ost increased the temperature of UK. The highest temperature was seen recently in 2005 and the projection also shows that if the emission level is same as now it will have increase in overall temperature of 2- 3.5 degree Celsius by 2080(ONS 2007).In the Kyoto protocol, UK has a target to reduce the emission of green house gases to a level of 12.5% between the year 2008 and 2010(UNFCCC).Even though united kingdom emission reduced to a level, the emission from the aviation industry doubled between the year 1990 and 2004. Generally increased emission of carbon dioxide will have impact at many level, like the recent flood in the November with the collapse of bridges and infrastructure(DEFRA, 2009) and it will have impact economically( Taylor and Ortiz, 2008)According to Greenpeace UK, many people are dying every year because of climate change and in 50 years many species are going for extinction and the government policy needs an action not in words. When it comes trends for health prom otion and public health, following are the problems that getting priority in the recent trend. According to office National Statistics (2007), there are two interrelated factors which affects the demographic change. They are natural change and migration. In 1950s population change is due to natural change. But from 1970s natural population change decreased with decrease in birth rate. From 1980s population increased due to increase in migration level and decreases in death rates. Present trend that is from 2007, the change is equal on both sides. The projections for 2011-2021 show that the population change is due to natural, with increase of 57 % (NSO 2009). In 2005, there was 723,000 live birth when compared with 7000 increase from 2004. It was 34% and 20% fewer births in 1901 and 1971.The reason behind this was due to two world wars ( NSO 2007). The best indicator for peoples health status is life expectancy. It is calculated by the mortality rate of the country(Keith Green 2004).According to guardian.co.uk, the trend in life expectancy are dependent on two classes namely middle and poor class. In which middle class adopt healthy life style and poor will follow unhealthy one like drinking and smoking. The life expectancy for a baby born has reached highest level. This would be like 77.6 years for male and 81.6 years for female. Though females live longer than males, the gap between these two are narrowing. The narrowing is from 6.0 years to 4.2 years in last 25 years. A man at 65 years will live 17.4 years and women will live 20.0 years extra if the mortality rate is same as 2006-2008(ONS 2009).Moreover, the projections for the 2021 is like 80 and over for males and 84 years for females(Scambler 2008).In that, last eleven years of life for females and eight years life for males will lead a poor health(Keith and Green 2004) .Moreover there is increase in the unhealthy life expectancy where the old people are alienated from the modern society(Brown 2008). Ageing is the part of life which leads to debility and dependency but not always with disability(Watson,2008).Many consider chronological age for ageing, but chronological age is rough guide to biological age. Because age is measured by abilities and performance of the individual. Many health and welfare organisation consider age of 70 and 75 years as starting age for elderly than 65 years. (Donaldson Scally, 2009) According to office of National Statistics(2009),the advances in the treatment level and modernization leads to increase in the life expectancy from 85 to 90 years. But according to Donaldson and Scally(2009), increase in older population is not solely due to advances in medical field or technology or new drugs. The reason is decreased mortality of children when compared to early twentieth century where there is more deaths of infant and children. With decline in mortality and birth rate ,which projects older population to be increased(Robson 2006). The population pyramid in the beginning of twentieth century, it resembled like a pyramid with more young at the base and elderly at peak. In contrast twentieth century shows like a chimney than pyramid (Donaldson and Scally, 2009). For more than thirty years, ageing population is increasing with 1.2 million people,16% of them are over 65 years and most of them are in 85 years and more(Robert and Linda 2008).When compared between two years like 1971 and 2007,the population of aged is 0.3 and 1.0 for female ,0.1 and 0.4 for male(ONS, 2009).Although policy matters regarding the ageing like pension, health and social welfare provision which comes under expenditure along with keeping good life(Bowling 2005).However, old age people who need supportive care due to physical and mental debility may have one or more chronic diseases. According to social life cycle and ageing fourth age which has dependency and disability, but many remains in good health(Donaldson and Scally,2009). The policy maker have more concern in enabling the older people to be active, mobile and independence, which will make them to contribute to the society as a whole(Bowling 2005). Donaldson and Scally 2009, underpinned that while setting priorities for health care of old people, it should be categorised in three ways .One is those with good health and require no service, second is one with disabling condition such as stroke or dementia and final one is those experiencing age related problems from frequent falls, sensory deficits and memory loss Next to demographic trends is epidemiological trend which shows the countries health status. United Kingdom health trends basically related to behavioural which are mostly related to diet, smoking, drinking and physical activity. Most of the diseases are interrelated to the one of the sedentary life styles. In the past twenty five years, the prevalence of obesity has doubled (National Obesity Observatory).The prevalence of obesity is increasing 0.8 a year, which is three fold more tan 1980s (WHO Europe,2007).The first and the most important cause of diseases in UK is obesity. It showed a rapid increase in the prevalence of obesity in industrialised world and it is first and foremost cause of diseases (Donaldson and Scally,2009) which leads to reduced level of physical activity which is the part of sedentary life style(Barnett 2005). About 37% of the deaths in a year is due to overweight and obesity, which is the cause for the DALYs in aged people ( Allender Rayner 2007). In 2007,ov er one million where on treatment for obesity with 127,000 and 871,000 in 1999 and 2005(Miller et al,2008). By 2010 it will rise in the prevalence rate to three million, at the time of diagnosis these people will be having 50% long term vascular complications and one third of men and 28% of women will be classed as obese (Barnett 2005). This is growing concern in UK, because the relationship between the obesity with immediate clinical outcome like coronary heart diseases are common(Miller et al,2008).Obesity can be related to many other conditions like mental health, learning disabilities and physical disabilities( Ells et al, 2006).There is strong connection between obesity and other diseases like diabetes, disabilities, mental health etc., Apart from prevalence of obesity in whole population, childhood obesity is alarming in UK due to excessive intake of food and lack of physical activity. This trend is more pronounced in lower socio-economic areas(Pearce et al 2008).In 1955 WHO formed global school health initiative to reduce health problem among young people. As a part of the initiative in UK, National healthy school programme-HSP was formed to tackle childhood obesity. It has given priority to physical activity and healthy eating but not on social exclusion and fails to address experiences of marginalised and vulnerable groups in schools(Curtis 2008). The government policy on white paper like ` choosing the health: making the healthy choices easier the policy was implemented through public services agreement-PSA to halt obesity by 2010.It is delivered through local agency and by UNNAO (Mohetbati et al 2007) There are national targets to reduce children with overweight and obesity by 2000 level. The scheme where imp lemented locally to tackle it. But they are not designed , timetabled, resourced or evaluated(Pearce et al 2008) and there is no adequate attention was given to psychological implication of the intervention. The urgency of childhood obesity was reflected in department of health, the policy in this area of childhood obesity lacked co-ordination, surveillance and screening. It is not precisely articulated and explored (Lake 2009). Another important effect of obesity is diabetes. In UK every one person in three is diagnosed with diabetes(practice Nurse 2009).The prevalence rate increases in faster rate than US and Canada, with increase of 74% in past 6 years(occupational health 2009).It is showed that in 2008 it was 2.5million diagnosed with diabetes against 2.3million in 2007,that is 3.86% and 3.66% (Diabetes UK 2007 and 2008) According to Diabetes UK (2009) ,the projections shows that during 2010 there will be anticipated ageing and with growth of overweight and obesity. And by 2015 obesity will be the extra burden of  £6.3 billion to UK NHS. The country could face a diabetes explosion by 2025 with 4 million people will be affected and 500,000 will live with it unknown. It is blamed to be due to overweight and obesity (Occupation health, 2008). It is getting a major public health problem and it is also root cause of many life style diseases like cardiovascular diseases, stroke , blindness etc., Another beh avioural problem which is also the main cause for the above all diseases are smoking and alcoholism, which are the demographic risk to the population. Smoking is one problem which involves many disciplines of action. 2006 there were 12 million smoker in UK, of which the prevalence is higher among men than women for age groups except between 16-19 years. The gender difference is higher among 25-34 years with 33% for men and 26% for female and lower in those aged 60 years and above(Heartstats.org). There is decline in the prevalence to 21% in the age group of 16 and over by 2007(ONS 2007), but there is no considerable decline in the smoking rate among young women between the ages of 11-18 years(Bowles et al 2009). However in general prevalence is more among unskilled manual jobs than professional jobs (Hillier 2006).In 1974 51% of men and 41% women wants to give up smoking , but in 2005 25 % of men and 23 % of women want to give up cigarette smoking. The gender gap is getting decreased between these two years. But in general 66% of them want to give up smoking(ONS, 2009).The death due to lung cancer range from 90%, 80% to emphysema and bronchitis and 17% to heart diseases(ASH 2007). Moreover, one in three smokers will develop cancer in some stage of life and one in four will die of diseases. Smoking contributes to overall 22% of deaths in UK(ASH 2008).NHS spends around  £ 2.7 billion year for treating diseases caused by smoking(ASH 2009) Cardio vascular diseases is a condition which involves a group of condition which is caused mainly by obesity, diabetes, smoking, alcohol, sedentary life styles, which are interlinked. It includes heart diseases and stroke. It kills one in three people, which can be altered by life style changes(BBC 2008).CVD is biggest killer in the country which contribute to 200,000 deaths a year with highest rate than Europe. The projections for 2050 is every nine out of ten will be overweight and obese, which in turn is a contributing factor for CVD. It poses  £ 30 billion to NHS and to UK economy (Care Quality commission 2009).In 2006, CVD cost 14.4 million for health care system, out of which 72% for hospital care and 20% for drugs. Another important non health care cost is production loss. The financial burden from informal care is due to death and illness during working age. In 2006, informal care caused  £ 8.2 billion to UK government .In an overall it will cost  £ 30.7 billion a yea r (Heartstats.org).The main public health concern regarding CVD is alarming increase in death rate which is due to modifiable risk factors like obesity and smoking. Next common cause of death among the UK people is cancer. The trend of death due to cancer peaked for males during 1984 and fallen during 2007. For females it peaked during 1989 and fallen in 2007.In UK about 50,000 cancer deaths every year (BBC 2007).Cancer is followed by mental health. In the recent past there is strong relationship between mental health and economic downtown. There is a challenge that exist to tackle the mental health without compromising in quality of treatment. All around mental health cost about  £110 billion per year. This is increasing due to recession, unemployment, home repossession etc., The expenditure on mental health will double if the same situation exist( Royal college of psychiatrist 2009).Women are 19.1% higher than men in using mental health services. And old age people using double the size(mental health bulletin 2009).For this government has sorted out some priorities like support to employer from government , Right kind of support to people w ith problem and concentration on research to improve the present situation in co ordination from public health professional. This can done by public mental health approach (Royal college of psychiatrics). Inequalities due to migration are the constant problem in UK. It may be due to the difference in the level of deprivation (Connolly O Reilly 2007). According to ONS (2009), migration in is seen in two levels like immigration and emigration. International migrations contribute to population growth of UK in the recent years. The people emigrated from UK is 427,000 in 2008 which is high when compared to 341,000 in 2007. The number of people emigrated has doubled in A8 accession countries from 25,000 in 2007 to 69,000 in 2008. In contrast, people came to UK in 2008 is 590,000 when compared with 574,100 in 2007. However, there is decrease in NI number allocation between 2007 and 2008 shows that decrease in the number of people came to UK from other countries. There is steady decrease in people immigrating to UK between 2007, it includes both EU and Non EU. But there is sharp increase in people coming for formal study from 27% in 2007 to 32% in 2008(ONS).Immigration causes two problems to NHS, first is the abuse of overseas visitors and second is unchecked permanent migration with major illness and diseases like HIV, Tuberculosis and Hepatitis B. These diseases are communicable, intractable leads to spread which will cause serious public health problems (Moxon 2004).

Do miracles still happen and how do they compare with those of the Acts of the Apostles? Essay

When studying the subject of miracles they must be approached with objective reason and when questioning the existence of miracles we must first fully understand what the word ‘miracle’ means. According to the Oxford English Dictionary a miracle is described as an extraordinary and welcome event attributed to a divine agency, a remarkable and very welcome occurrence or as an outstanding achievement. The word miracle originates from the Latin word miraculum meaning ‘object of wonder.’ A miracle is a supernatural event that consists of divine intervention into the natural order as a demonstration of God’s power and mercy, all of these properties are seen in the Acts of the Apostles as God does intervene in human events and they can be seen as responses and as a reward for faith. The Acts of the Apostles contains many miracles however all of these miracles are not the healing of those with demons but the spread of Christianity through the early church in both Paul and Peter’s missionary journeys. St. Paul can be seen by some as a fake apostle because he was not one of the chosen twelve and therefore had not experienced a close relationship with Jesus, this is turn may have threatened the apostles at first. However St Paul managed to become one of the apostles greatest assets as he went on to teach to not only Jews but to pagans also. â€Å"Because this man is my chosen instrument to bring my name before pagans and pagan kings and before the people of Israel.† Acts 9:15. This allowed the Christian church to grow as more believers were joining thus the Christian church’s faith began to grow. Two of the best known definitions of a miracle are that of St. Thomas Aquinas who believed in miracles and that John Stuart Mill who did not. St. Thomas’s definition of a miracle is this: A miracle is something beyond the order of created nature. Therefore since God alone is not a created being, He also is the only One who can work miracles by His own power. In this the word nature can be used in three senses, it may mean â€Å"all that exists†, â€Å"all created things†, or â€Å"all material things†. John Stuart Mill’s definition of a miracle is: A phenomenon not preceded by any antecedent phenomenal conditions sufficient again to reproduce it. This definition implies that there is nothing but the material world in existence. It takes no account of the human will, still less of the will of God. The purpose of miracles in the new testament itself comes in two parts – the first part is that they were used for confirmation as they confirmed who Jesus was and that Jesus and his apostles message was that of God’s, the second part is that they were carried out in order to cause belief in the listeners in Jesus. In the New Testament we see confirmation that Jesus is in fact who he is said to be when we see the miracle in Acts 3:6 where Peter and John are going to the temple and cure the lame man who is sitting as the beautiful gate, Peter says to the lame man ‘I have neither silver nor gold, but I will give you what I have: in the name of Jesus Christ, walk! This incident brings us face to face with the question of miracles in apostolic times and shows us that Jesus had the power to perform miracles through his apostles. We also see within the New Testament that the miracles were carried out to cause belief in Jesus as in Acts 8:4-8 were those who escaped one of which was Philip from the arrest of Saul to Samaria proclaiming the Christ. â€Å"The people united in welcoming the message Phillip preached, either because they had heard of the miracles he worked or because they saw them for themselves.† Acts 8:6. This helps us understand that miracles or even the stories of miracles help us to believe in Jesus as the son of God. However people who believe that miracles do not happen in today’s society may argue about the existence of miracles that miraculous power was passed on by the laying on of the apostles hands and as no-one today could possibly qualify as an apostle of Jesus then no-one today could possibly have the power to perform miracles. Those who believe this refer to Acts 1:21-22 where it states that the apostles â€Å"must therefore choose someone who has been with us the whole time that the Lord Jesus was travelling round with us right from the time when John was baptising until the day when he was taken up from us – and he can act as a witness to his resurrection.† These three conditions therefore conflict with any hope of miracles happening today. It is commonly agreed that miracles are the reward and result of faith; however faith in God should not be based on miracles. They should be seen as the work of God rather than the essence of God. Moreover some people believe that if Jesus had not performed these miracles then their faith in him may not be as strong. In order to be able to perform a miracle the person wanting the miracle must have faith in God and those performing the miracle must have a strong relationship with God, in order to have such a good relationship with God a person must pray in order to strengthen their relationship. Many people may say that in society today, there are those who have a strengthened relationship with God such as Priests, Nun’s and Monks. This may mean that they have the power to perform miracles however the person wanting the miracle may not have enough faith in God in order to support the miracle. Another argument that could be used in order to prove that miracles do not occur today is that God confirmed his word through miracles, signs and wonders during Jesus’ life on earth; therefore he does not need to reconfirm his existence to this generation as we have enough proof in biblical readings in order to prove his existence. Although miracles benefited the individual, their true purpose was for confirmation, even though they were often motivated by compassion and belief of those observing. Today some people may believe that miracles still do happen but not in such a magnificent way as they did back in the time of Jesus. People do nevertheless believe that in order to receive a miracle you must have a strengthened relationship with God through prayer and acting on spirit. Some people may argue with the second circumstance in the sense that they cannot strengthen their faith in God because there are no miracles today that allow them to expand their belief. On the other hand some would say that miracles still do happen today through the work that Doctors, surgeons etc. can do which in apostolic times would have been regarded as miracles. A modern miracle story would be that of an atheist couple and their little girl, the couple never told their daughter anything about the Lord. One night when the little girl was 5 years old, the parents fought with each other and the dad shot the Mother, in front of the child. Then, the dad shot himself. The little girl watched it all. She then was sent to a foster home. The foster mother was a Christian and took the child to church. On the first day of Sunday school, the foster mother told the teacher that the girl had never heard of Jesus, and to have patience with her. The teacher held up a picture of Jesus and said, â€Å"Does anyone know who this is?† The little girl said, â€Å"I do, that’s the man who was holding me the night my parents died.† In my eyes this example can be seen as a modern day miracle as it shows Jesus helping a little girl through a time of mourning and grief. A miracle found in Acts that can be seen to contrast to this modern day story would be that of the shipwreck in Acts 28. In this Paul, the centurion and his men all rely on God for strength through his intervention to Paul in Acts 28:24 an angel appeared to Paul and told him â€Å"Do not be afraid, Paul. You are destined to appear before Caesar, and for this reason God grants you the safety of all who are sailing with you.† This contrasts with the modern day story of the little girl as they both show God giving strength to those in need. Another modern day miracle is this of Rowena Angell. Since 1982 Rowena was only able to walk short distances. By 1986 Rowena was using two walking sticks and to go any distance she had to use a wheelchair. The pain never went away. Life continued in this way until 1991 when Rowena was diagnosed as having Lupus. Just after Christmas in 1998 God told Rowena that she was going to be healed from the awful pain and a few weeks later Pastor Revd. Alan Clarredge told her that when she was baptised she would be healed. Rowena had told no one what God had told her so she knew Alan was confirming what God had already told her. On Sunday the 20th January 2002, she with others went up to the front for prayer. The pastor was directed by God to pray for healing for her. It was tremendous, amazing, the Holy Spirit was so strong! After the meeting ended her Husband Henry went to get the car and as she walked to meet him, a voice said to Rowena â€Å"why are you using your stick†. She thought about that voice all the way home, was it real? Did she imagine it? When she talked it over with Henry, his reaction was to go in faith he said. Rowena went in faith and the pain has gone away for the first time in 27 years, the joy of waking in the morning with no pain. A few months later a test showed that there was no trace of Lupus in Rowena’s body! She was totally healed! She will never forget the pain she had and she will serve God with whatever he leads her to do, with joy in my heart she dedicates her life to Him to do, as He wills. Praise the Lord for He is merciful. These modern day miracles are very different from those at the time of Jesus and shortly after. They can be thought of as a persons calling or saving, this can impact highly on a person’s life especially if they were not brought up with Christianity. In Acts 9:32-35 Peter heals Aeneas at Lydda. This miracle proves to Aeneas and all those who lived in Lydda and Sharon who were watching that Peter had a close relationship with Jesus and also shows how much power he had inherited from the Holy Spirit as instead of Peter saying ‘I cure you’ Peter said to Aeneas ‘Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you get up and fold up your sleeping mat.’ In this such miracle people today may believe that Peter was taking the glory of the work that Jesus Christ has performed through him as he says â€Å"I cure you.† Also in the modern day miracle the shape of Jesus suffering for all of mankind on the cross can be seen to some as the sign that it was Jesus who performed this miracle. On the other hand in the miracle which Peter performed on Tabitha in Acts 9:26-43 the women is not healed in by Peter however it was in the name of Jesus which helps people understand that the miracles that are happening both today and in the time of the New Testament are performed through the power of Jesus. William Barclay argued that miracles can happen apart from â€Å"we think too much of what we can do and too little about what Jesus Christ can do through us.† Miracles altogether play a huge role on the church today as they are an important part of individual’s religion as it gives them something to believe in that only Christ is able to do. I personally believe that these modern day miracles allow peoples faith in God to be strengthened as it allows us to understand that if we need it – even if we do not want it God will be there for us. Both of these miracles found in Acts are important to Christians today as they are a sign of God’s power, they also show that Jesus lives and has power through the Holy Spirit and the invocation of his name. David Hume however is the arch-enemy of miracles who said that â€Å"A miracle is a violation of the laws of nature† he also said that â€Å"It is no miracle that a man, seemingly in good health, should die suddenly: because such a kind of death, though more unusual than any other, has yet been frequently observed to happen. But it is a miracle that a dead man should come to life; because that has never been observed in any age or country. There must, therefore, be a uniform experience against every miraculous event; otherwise the event would not merit that appellation.† However I do not agree with David’s Hume’s views and myself I believe that a miracle is a God-powered supernatural event. Overall I believe miracles today and miracles in Acts of the Apostles contrast well with each other as they are both God centred and can be directed at both believers and non-believers. Bibliography www.oxfordonline.com http://religion.krishna.org/Articles/ http://www.byfaith.co.uk/paulmiracle William Barclay – the new daily study bible – Acts of the apostles The Jerusalem bible new testament http://www.katapi.org.uk/ChristianFaith/XVIII.htm