Peace-Building and Community Development in Uganda Essay

Community development is a multi-faceted activity that has different ends. It also has different requirements depending on the needs of people inside the community. Development can be achieved through sustaining small and medium businesses, ensuring education for all, managing inclusion and diversity, keeping peace and order, and creating comprehensive disaster management. Through these, a community like Uganda can be sustainable. In Uganda, the dehumanizing aspects of slavery in the South and racial discrimination in the North are more than just the beatings, but also the parting of children from their mothers, the denial of education, and the sexual abuses of slave masters (Davis, 2004). The civilization that developed in Uganda reflected the variety and contrasts found on the continent. The peoples of Uganda differ greatly in language, customs, and appearance. The geography of this huge continent also shows sharp contrasts. Along the Nile River, which flows from the tropical forests of Central Uganda through the deserts of the north, several early civilizations developed. One of the most influential regions was Sahara. Sahara’s political, economic, and cultural influence had an effect on the history of other kingdoms. Later, empires based on trade grew up in the region of Sahara (Davis, 2004). Patterns of settlement and trade were influenced by the varied climates and natural sources of the Uganda continent. The hottest and wettest regions of the continent are near the equator, in the basin of the Congo River. Heavy rainfall and warm humid air encourage the growth of lush rain forest. Near the edge of the rainforest is the savanna, an open grassland dotted with shrubs and scattered clumps of trees. The savannas provide land for farming and herding. These grasslands are also home of Uganda great herds of wild animals, gazelles, giraffes, wildebeests, zebras, lions, and elephants (Davis, 2004). Racism in Uganda has been associated with reduced spirits, lower efficiency and a greater probability to experience terrible stress and nonappearance in the major activities in a community. People who go through racism speak of having feeling of timidity or letdown and lowered levels of self-esteem. Minorities who sense that their identity and culture are not cherished may also live through lowered levels of self-confidence and self-respect and think that they have are not welcome in a neighborhood or community. This mindset may bring about a feeling of denunciation of their own values, language, and ultimately their culture, and an ensuing loss of individuality (Hooks, 1994). In Uganda, the ways of thinking of people concerning cultural miscellany of their communes differ extensively. Amongst a number of minorities, there is a devotion to a deepened insight into cultural diversity and multiculturalism. Some â€Å"mainstream† people are anxious about variations and sense antipathy towards people of color. If the person of color is suffering discrimination of any sort, he or she may feel forlorn and miserable. He or she may also attempt to evade incidents where racist activities could happen, and pretend to be unwell or be anxious of deserting their homes (Kressel, 2001). In some nations, significant segments of the population reject coexistence with minorities in equal terms. These minorities have faced discrimination in such areas as housing, education, and employment. Although no scientific proof supports racist claims, racism is widespread and has caused major problems throughout the world. Racism is most often used to justify the creation of political or economic systems that encourage or maintain the domination of one racial group over another. Such beliefs were long used to rationalize the enslavement and persecution of people viewed as inferior (Stoessinger, 2002). Throughout history there have been persecutions and atrocities that can be described as cases of genocide. The Russian pogroms (persecutions of the Jews) during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s were an example of genocide. During World War II, the Germans practiced genocide. They killed about six million European Jews. Victims of the Holocaust went through dehumanization simply to make the killing of others psychologically easy for the Nazis. Many victims of the Holocaust suffered from various experiments which eventually led to the death. Some of the experiments were things such as: sun lamp, internal irrigation, hot bath, warming by body heat, hypothermia, among others (Clemens and Purcell, 1999). In recent years a debate has raged over the question of whether opportunities for black economic advancement are more affected by race or class position. Sociologist William Wilson believes that racial discrimination has become less important than social class in influencing the life chances of black Americans (Hinkle, 2004). He says that civil rights legislation and affirmative action programs have substantially lifted the cap historically imposed on black social mobility by segregation, resulting in greater educational, income, and occupational differentiation: Blacks with good educational backgrounds and job skills rapidly moved into the American middle class; blacks with limited educations and job skills became the victims of dehumanization and welfare dependency. Now poor urban blacks find themselves relegated to all-black neighborhoods where they are further dehumanized and socially isolated from mainstream American life (Zanden, 1993). According to Maiese (2003), the United Nations defined peace-building as an interplay of â€Å"capacity building, reconciliation, and societal transformation†. For other organizations, the short-term goals are more evident; peace-building revolves around promoting peace in an immediate situation. The United Nations drew up an international convention in 1948 that made genocide a crime. On Dec. 9, 1948, the United Nations passed the Genocide Convention, which was designed to overcome the claims of Nuremberg defendants that they had violated no law. The convention made genocide a crime. The next day, the UN adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Fifty years later, in 1998, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda became the first international court to pass a guilty verdict for the crime of genocide. The verdict related to crimes committed during the 1994 conflict in Rwanda (Kim, 2004). In 1999, there was already a convention, called the Geneva Spiritual Appeal, which made history in collecting in one venue the Catholics, the Jewish, the Buddhists, the Muslims, the Protestants, and the Orthodox Christians. Then again, there remain Christians, Animists, & Muslims in conflict in Nigeria; Christian-Muslim discord still abounds some parts in Asia as Indonesia and the Philippines; Buddhists and the minority population of the Hindus Tamils are at odds in Sri Lanka; and incredibly, Animists and Witches are cursing each other in Uganda (Reich, 1998). Sometimes, it is appropriate to entitle these conflicts nationalist ones, because they impact on the endeavors to build nation-states, in which the majority gets the state. More like the winning territory takes over or designs the administration. Defining such a nation is typically by linguistic or religious yardsticks. Hence, we have the Ugandans in the continent of Africa singled out as the inferiors by tongue and by faith, and Germans differ from the French by their verbal and non-verbal communication (Carter, Gwendolen, and Herz, 1991). Perhaps there’s a tendency of people growing to be defensive about their identity if they sense that it is under cordon. There is really not a single ultimate peace resolution plan that can referee the unrest. Attempts had been made like the 1999 Convention but the conflict is not exclusively attributable to spiritual diversity alone. It may be distributed among ethnic feuds, religion-based worldviews, economic modifications, and political coalitions, among several others (Carter, Gwendolen, and Herz, 1991). On having the United Nations’ enforcement of globalized paradigms, they would need to try harder. Peculiarities factor in on the extent of their reception. If the country’s fragile, they are more likely to get involved. If the country’s sturdy, they are more likely to lag behind and perform diplomatically around the edges. The key is not to establish globalized benchmarks but to develop local, internal avowals (Stoessinger, 2002). They said there is only one Bible and a million interpretations. But there is a single quotation in it that speaks of harmony: a house divided against itself cannot stand. Proclaiming a house partitioned to be a condominium cannot be expected to work out when many of the occupiers want instead to demolish the edifice entirely and put up their own, unattached houses. Speaking of houses, local religious sects could construct and ring a Peace Bell at the beginning and end of their spiritual observation. Ugandan victims could ask their municipality to formally declare their observance of the day (Kim, 2004). It would also be certainly wise for any intercontinental organizations to use workforce from countries that went through related experiences, rather then using the abstract approach brought by peacekeeping squads from Western nations to intervene in Uganda. One specific strategy possibly is to have this staff encourage the people inviting other faith traditions to join them in a prayer service for peace in Uganda (Carter, Gwendolen, and Herz, 1991). International treaties should make it easier for local organizations to get concerned in the region of Uganda where genocide is concentrated without misplacing valuable time as they wait for the pronouncement of the United Nations Security Council, the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, or the Organization of African Unity (Reich, 1998). But it should always be made a point that the auxiliary time is spent on deepening interfaith commitments to dialogue and cooperation for promoting peace. In the 1990s, Jewish groups pressured those who had profited from the Holocaust to compensate Holocaust victims or their descendants. Groups that paid reparations included the German government, certain Swiss banks, and some German companies (Clemens and Purcell, 1999). In the country Uganda, Paul Rusesabagina, the hotel manager played the hero in the lives of thousands having different cultural backgrounds. In the middle of European colonization in Rwanda, Paul made an uncompromising initiative to communicate with the most relevant redeemers from the camp of Brussels’ headquarters. This way, he succeeded in playing the peacekeeper among the threatened people he hid in their hotel (Carter, Gwendolen, and Herz, 1991). The United Nations also played an indispensable role in Uganda. Led by Col. Oliver, the organization gets to know what is actually happening but not to make contingent actions and resolutions to put a stop to genocidal cases that mete out Rwanda. He stood the middleman between the U. N. superiors and the people under the wings of Paul Rusesabagina (Carter, Gwendolen, and Herz, 1991). However, it was also evident that the situation could have gone smarter if the likes of Paul Rusesabagina and Col. Oliver were given ample attention or at the very least, not ignored. Apart from the United Nations, a multitude of support and private-owned groups advocate against dehumanization and as such, campaign for a zero-dehumanized world and for a healing process to start with (Stoessinger, 2002). For instance, Interact Worldwide is an advocacy-driven virtual institution with the purpose of building support for and implement programmes, which enable marginalized people to fulfill their rights to sexual and reproductive health. Redefining Progress works with a broad array of partners to shift the economy and public policy towards sustainability; that they can measure the real state of a country’s economy, our environment, and social justice with tools like the genuine progress indicator and the ecological footprint; that they design policies to shift behavior in these three domains towards sustainability; and that they promote and create new frameworks to replace the ones that are taking us away from long-term social, economic, and environmental health. Other popular organizations include The Family Alliance to Stop Abuse and Neglect, National Down Syndrome Congress, Resources for Children of Holocaust Survivors, Amnesty International, Freedom House, Human Rights Watch, Reebok Human Rights, among many others (Carter, Gwendolen, and Herz, 1991). Prejudice provides for the safe release of hostile and aggressive impulses that are culturally tabooed within other social contexts. By channeling hostilities from within family, occupational, and other crucial settings onto permissible targets, the stability of existing social structures may be promoted. This is the well-known scapegoating mechanism, another common method to dehumanize (Zanden, 1993). In Uganda, scapegoating resulted in the inhuman treatment of Ugandan tribes like Tutsi. Bound by his duty-based ethics, Paul Rusesabagina could be pictured having utter, intrinsic moral commitments to some external source to carry out certain actions, notwithstanding his particular situation and personal goals (Carter, Gwendolen, and Herz, 1991). The ways of thinking of people concerning cultural miscellany of their communes differ extensively be it in Rwanda or in some other place in the world. Amongst a number of minorities, there is a devotion to a deepened insight into cultural diversity and multiculturalism. Some â€Å"mainstream† people are anxious about variations and sense antipathy towards people of color. If the person of color is suffering discrimination of any sort, he or she may feel forlorn and miserable. But with Paul Rusesabagina around, the people kept safe in Uganda were saved not only from the harm of genocide but from the deadly bias posed against them by the larger society that is morally wrecked and uncharitable (Carter, Gwendolen, and Herz, 1991). An inherent debate has raged over the question of whether opportunities for black economic advancement are more affected by race or class position. Some believe that racial discrimination has become less important than social class in influencing the life chances of Ugandans. Civil rights legislation and affirmative action programs have substantially lifted the cap historically imposed on black social mobility by segregation, resulting in greater educational, income, and occupational differentiation: Blacks with good educational backgrounds and job skills rapidly moved into the middle class; blacks with limited educations and job skills became the victims of dehumanization and welfare dependency. Now poor urban blacks find themselves relegated to all-black neighborhoods where they are further dehumanized and socially isolated from mainstream Ugandan life (Hooks, 1994). The risk is that when chauvinistic behaviors and attitudes are allowed to go unimpeded in any environment, a climate cultivates which sees these incidents as natural and so permits racism to become deep-rooted. Whereas not many complaints are collected every year, this should not be compared to a low frequency of racist incidence. Inadequate understanding of legislation, fear or apprehension on the part of victimized minorities to disclose racist activities or disinclination by parents to engage in legal amends are factors that may thwart the conveyance of official complaints. As well, formal treatments for grievances of racism are not constantly suitable, with arbitration usually being considered as a preferable substitute (Kim, 2004). Racism has been a steady problem in Uganda all through time. Other forms of racism are, perhaps, less obvious. The hierarchical structure, academic elitism, and the whole way of life of mainstream society are directly opposed to cultural values and world views. How all this conflict is experienced by people of color can only be explained adequately by the citizens of the society themselves; it will be different depending on their past experience and even non-existent for others, but the suppression of the values and way of life of the mainstream society will adversely affect everyone because racism against these people of color eats at the hearts of the dominating as well as the dominated people (Hinkle, 2004). Peace-building can concentrate on resolving current issues between constituents. It involves moderating by authorities or other members of the community to maintain understanding between parties. On the other hand, it is also creating a society where the constituents are educated and transformed so that they do not only know peace but also lives peace. In these terms, education plays an integral role. This creates a community which is not only dependent on intermediaries but with self-regulation of peace as well. In the end, a community filled with peace-loving citizens is a community where peace has been built (Stoessinger, 2002). Personally, if I were a member of a certain low-income urban neighborhood similar in nature in Uganda, I would offer my full knowledge of the end and the means to achieve it. As part of the will for a â€Å"sense of community,† I will take the initiative to conform to shared leadership or become servant leaders. After all, a leader providing positive reinforcement is a leader creating a positive climate and peace-loving attitude all over a community. So long as there will be provision of opportunities that allow me to exercise responsibility and creativity in our common endeavor, my active participation would include extensive information dissemination, be it online or via available physical infrastructures, and active civic participation.

To What Extent do Western Concepts of Ill-Health Limit Policies and Projects Aimed at Improving the Health of Those in the Developing World

Executive Summary Current health policies on malnutrition and HIV infection are focused in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of the United Nations. Specifically, these goals include reduction of malnutrition incidence since 1990 by 50% and reversal in the trend of HIV epidemic by 2015. This essay aims to critically analyse these two policies in achieving their respective aims and objectives and the factors that contribute to the success of these policies. A brief discussion on the Western concepts of ill-health and how these relate to the concepts of ill-health in developing countries is also made. Results of the analysis show that engaging communities and allowing them to take ownership of strategies to prevent malnutrition is effective in reducing incidence of malnutrition. The Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) campaign illustrates how developing countries could positively respond to healthcare policies introduced by developed countries. However, not all developing countries are nearing or have achieved the 50% reduction in malnutrition incidence. Lack of community involvement has been shown to affect the progress of the SUN campaign. The same principle of community-based interventions is also used on the policy for HIV infection. Success rate for HIV policy is high with millions of affected individuals accessing healthcare services compared to only 400,000 in 2004. This would show that policies to increase treatment have succeeded. However, prevention of HIV infection remains challenging. Analysis would show that engaging in risky sexual behaviour is a critical factor in developing HIV infection in Sub-Saharan Africa. Changing the behaviour of a target population is established to be difficult. While community-based interventions and participation have contributed to the success of these policies, analysis would reveal that there is a need to increase the technical competencies of the stakeholders in the communities. This would ensure sustainability of programmes long after external aid has stopped. The differences in the concepts of ill-health also appear to influence the success of policies in developing nations. It is also argued that achieving all the aims and objectives of the policies might not necessarily solve the problem of malnutrition and HIV infection. Both conditions have multiple underlying causes and addressing all these would take considerable time and effort. In conclusion, policies have made great strides in improving nutrition of children and mothers and decreasing the incidence of HIV infection. Concerted effort from various stakeholders is still needed to make changes sustainable. Introduction The main aim of this brief is to critically analyse the policies, ‘Reducing Hunger and Malnutrition in Developing Countries’ (Department for International Development, 2013) and the global policy on HIV/AIDS Epidemic (KFF, 2013). Both healthcare policies are designed to improve the health and well-being of mothers and young children and those suffering from HIV/AIDS in developing countries. The first part describes these two policies while the second part discusses the Western concepts of ill health and how these limit policies and projects aimed at developing countries. The third part provides a theoretical assessment of the policies. A discussion on the underlying assumptions and views of healthcare in terms of belief structures and philosophy will be included. The fourth part presents the practical problems with implementation. Finally, a conclusion will summarise the main points raised in this essay. Recommendations will also be made at the end of this brief. Policies on Malnutrition and HIV/AIDS The ‘Reducing Hunger and Malnutrition in Developing Countries’ (Department for International Development, 2013) aims to help individuals gain access to nutritious diet, ensure that food is distributed fairly across the world and mitigate environmental risks and damages that could influence food production. In line with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the policy has set out several objectives that should be achieved by 2015. This includes reducing malnutrition since 1990 by 50%. Meanwhile, the ‘Global HIV/AIDS Epidemic’ policy (KFF, 2013) aims to stop and reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS. This is consistent with the United Nation’s MDGs that by 2015, the HIV/AID epidemic will be controlled and incidence will decline. It is estimated that a total of 18.9 billion USD have funded HIV/AIDs preventive and treatment programmes in 2012 (KFF/UNAIDS, 2013). Although there is a global decrease in the trend of this epidemic, incidence of HIV/AIDS is still high in middle and low-income countries (UNAIDS, 2013). Most of those suffering from this health condition do not have access to healthcare services, treatment and management (UNAIDS, 2013). Importantly women and young girls are more susceptible of the infection compared to men (British HIV Association, 2012). Of the 35 million individuals believed to be suffering from the condition, 3.3 million of these are children (UNAIDS, 2013). Majority (71%) of persons living with HIV/AIDS reside in Sub-Saharan Africa (Health Protection Agency, 2012). The objectives of this policy include decreasing HIV prevalence amongst the young population aged 15-24 years; increase condom use especially in high-risk sex; increase the proportion of young people with correct knowledge on HIV/AIDs infection; and increase the proportion of individuals with advanced stages of the disease gain access to antiretroviral medications. Western Concept of Ill-Health Western concepts of ill-health could limit the policies on malnutrition and HIV/AIDS when introduced in developing nations. First, definitions of ‘ill-health’ could vary between Western and developing countries. There is variation in how ill-health is perceived even amongst professional, academic and the public (Wikman et al., 2005). Ill-health is also viewed differently across disciplines. For instance, the medical model of health has been accepted for several years in Western healthcare in the past (Wikman et al., 2005). This model states that ill-health is caused by pathogenic microorganisms or underlying pathologies (Dutta, 2008). However, even this concept has changed within healthcare systems. Today, many healthcare professionals have recognised that ill-health is not only caused by pathogenic organisms but social determinants of health such as poor nutrition, unemployment or stress could all influence ill-health (Dutta, 2008). Wikman et al. (2005) acknowledges tha t ill-health could be understood by using a multi-perspective approach. Concepts of ill-health are also considered as historically and culturally specific (Blas and Kurup, 2010). This means that ill-health varies across culture and time. For instance, in Western culture, obesity is considered as ill-health (Blas and Kurup, 2010). In other countries, obesity is viewed as socially acceptable since this is a sign of wealth. In Western culture, findings of scientific publications are used to underpin health policies against HIV (Bogart et al., 2011). Use of condoms to protect against HIV infection is viewed as acceptable. In some African countries, use of condoms is seen to reduce one’s masculinity (Willis, 2003; MacPhail and Campbell, 2001). Importantly, anal sex in some of these countries is practised to avoid pregnancy or viewed as a cleansing method against the virus for HIV/AIDS (Bogart and Bird, 2003). Hence, these differences in the concept of ill-health could influence the uptake of global health policies in developing nations. To illustrate t his argument, the policies on malnutrition and HIV/AIDS will be critiqued. A discussion how western concepts of ill health influence the uptake of these policies in the developing countries would also be done. Analysis and Discussion Attention on acute and chronic malnutrition is unprecedented in recent years (Shoham et al., 2013). The involvement of the UK, through its policy for malnutrition and hunger, with other countries in the scaling up nutrition (SUN) campaign has brought significant changes on the lives of children who are malnourished. The policy on malnutrition is underpinned by the philosophy on health equity and social determinants of health (Ezzati et al., 2003). Western concepts of ill-health focus on the social determinants of ill-health as a factor in promoting malnutrition in developing countries. For example, unemployment of parents, low levels of education, early years, poverty, homelessness are some social determinants of health strongly suggested to promote malnutrition amongst children (Marmot and Wilkinson, 2005). Uptake of policies for malnutrition in developing countries might be limited if these determinants are not properly addressed. Farmer (2003) explains that cultural beliefs on foo d, poor knowledge on the nutritional value of food and food production practices have long contributed to malnutrition in many countries. Policies on malnutrition might no be effective if these do not address the root causes of malnutrition, which are poverty, poor knowledge on food nutrition and poor farming practices (Farmer, 2003). Power structure also plays a role in how policies are implemented. Farmer (2003) stresses that unless the poor are empowered and their rights protected would true development occur. In recent years, there have been improvements in the lives of the poor, specifically on nutrition status. Marmot and Wilkinson (2005) emphasise that presence of poverty and unemployment could all influence health. However, there is evidence that in some developing countries, malnutrition policies have gained success. An analysis would show that involvement of the community plays a crucial role in ensuring success of these policies. For example, Shoham et al. (2013) report that the community based management of acute malnutrition (CMAM) approach contributed to its success in some 65 developing countries across the world. Communities are mobilised and they gain ownership of the programme. Individuals help in detecting uncomplicated severe acute malnutrition (SAM) and refer children to established out-patient centres. Complicated cases are referred as in-patients in the health sector staff. While the UNICEF (Nabarro, 2013) reported that 10% of the 20 million suspected cases of SAM have been treated through the scaling up nutrition campaign, other target countries have not kept up with the campaign. Policies that have gained acceptance in developing countries are those that empower communities to take actions for their own health. Empowering women through education has been shown to lead to more positive changes in the health of children ages 5 years old and below (Farmer, 2003). Policies that increase the educational levels of women were shown to reduce erroneous perceptions on the causes of malnutrition (Wikman et al., 2005). Shoham et al. (2013) observe that failure to implement the CMAM approach and educating women on malnutrition limits the success of malnutrition policies in communities. A number of studies (Bhutta, 2013; Black et al., 2013; Pinstrup-Andersen, 2013; Nabarro, 2013; Loevinsohn and Harding, 2005) have shown the effectiveness of engaging communities and empowering them to improve the nutritional status of women and children. While factors such as engaging communities and allowing them to take ownership of programmes have been shown to promote uptake of policies, there are still factors that limit policy uptake. These include failure to address the social determinants of health such as poverty, low levels of education, poor support of the children during early life years and unemployment (Loevinsohn and Harding, 2005). It has been shown that when these factors are present, malnutrition is also high (Pinstrup-Andersen, 2013). There is also a need to understand the perceptions of women and children on food and nutrition to better understand why malnutrition continue to exist in a number of developing countries. Meanwhile, the policy on HIV/AIDS also promote health by engaging communities in implementing projects aimed at preventing HIV transmission (KFF, 2013; British HIV Infection, 2012; Department for International Development, 2013). To date, HIV infection epidemic has stabilised and the number of individuals receiving treatment has increased to 9.7 million in 2012 (UNAIDS, 2013). In contrast, only 400,000 individuals with advanced HIV infection receive treatment in 2004. A closer analysis of the cause of HIV infection would still point to risky behaviours of those engaging in unprotected sex and injecting drug users as factors that promote HIV infection (KFF/UNAIDS, 2013). This is a cause of concern since there is still the prevailing cultural belief in a number of African countries that use of condom is unmanly (Willis, 2003; MacPhail and Campbell, 2001). Connolly et al. (2004) argue that changing behaviour of the target population is most difficult. Consequences of HIV infection extend to unborn children of mother infected with HIV (UNAIDS, 2013). To date, there have been various interventions to prevent HIV infection. These include behaviour changes, increase in HIV screening, male circumcision, use of condoms, harm reduction amongst in injecting drug users and blood supply safety (UNAIDS, 2013). Amongst these strategies, changing behaviour remains to be an important intervention that could prevent further spread of the virus. Experts suggest that risky sexual behaviour could only be changed through the use of different health models. For example, the health belief model could be used to inform the target population on the risk of HIV (Health Protection Agency, 2012). In addition, facilitators to behaviour change, such as decreasing stigma on HIV infection, increasing access to healthcare services could help individuals adopt less r isky sexual behaviour (Greeff et al., 2008). Patients with HIV often perceive stigma from their own healthcare workers (Kohi et al., 2006; Holzemer and Uys, 2004). This could impact not only the quality of care received by those with HIV infection but might also limit them from gaining further medical treatment. On the other hand, reducing malnutrition by 50% since 1990 has not been achieved in most countries yet (UNICEF, 2014). This is important since the United Nations aims to achieve this target by next year. Food production is continuously affected by stronger typhoons and turbulent weather patterns (KFF, 2013). Droughts appear to be longer, affecting agriculture and livestock production (KFF, 2013). Specifically, the UNICEF (2014) acknowledges that the most vulnerable groups to increasing weather disturbance brought by climate change are the poor people. This is especially challenging in the light of the MDGs since decreases in food production in developing countries could further have an impact on the nutritional status of the women and children (Bryce et al., 2008; Taylor et al., 2013). Climate change has important implications on policies for malnutrition. Even if community-based initiatives are strongly in place and individuals have learned to produce their own food, changes in weat her patterns could impact agriculture activities. The UNICEF (2014) has highlighted this issue and using current experiences, community rehabilitation after a typhoon or drought would mean increased challenges in addressing malnutrition amongst the poorest of the poor. Even if all objective are achieved, there is no full guarantee that malnutrition will be completely eradicated in developing nations. To date, there are best practices (SUN, 2013) showing that community involvement and partnership with government and non-government organisations could arrest severe acute and chronic malnutrition. A number of developing countries, especially in the Sub-Saharan Africa are still struggling with malnutrition despite external aid. The same observation is also made in this region on HIV infection where the poorest amongst the poor remain to be most vulnerable to the infection (SUN, 2013). Hence, it would be necessary to investigate the real cause of malnutrition and HIV infection in developing countries. There are multiple underlying causes of malnutrition and all interact to increase the risk of children for malnutrition. First, poverty has been highlighted earlier in this essay as an important factor for development of malnutrition (Horton and Lo, 2013). This essay also argues that maternal level of education is a significant factor in the nutrition of children (Black et al., 2013). The World Health Organization (2011) acknowledges that children born to mothers with at least a high school education enjoy better health compared to children with mothers who have lower educational levels. This observation is consistent across literature (UNICEF, 2014; Black et al, 2013) and illustrates the importance of increasing the education level of mothers. In Sub-Saharan countries that often experience conflicts, malnutrition is often caused by displacement of families and children from their homes and livelihood to evacuation centres with minimal food support (UNICEF, 2014). Apart from conflicts, recent effects of climate change have also changed the way developed countries respond to problems of food security (Taylor et al., 2013). As shown in the UK policy for hunger and malnutrition, funds are also directed to innovations and research on how to respond to environmental damages caused by climate change (UNICEF, 2014). It should be noted that changes in weather patterns, flooding and drought could have a great impact on food security and sustainability (Department for International Development, 2013). In comparison with the policy on HIV infection, the policy on hunger and malnutrition would have a greater impact on the health of the nation. It has been shown that improving nutrition during the first 1000 days of a child’s life could lead to better health outcomes, higher educational attainment and productivity later in adult life (Bhutta, 2013). Malnutrition during a child’s first two years of life could have irreversible effects on the child’s health (Bhutta, 2013). This could lead to stunting, cognitive impairment, early death and if the child reaches adulthood, difficulty in finding a job (Nabarro, 2013). The number of children and mothers suffering from malnutrition is also higher compared to individuals suffering from HIV infection. However, HIV infection could also have an impact on maternal and child health since infected mothers could transmit the virus to their unborn child (KFF, 2013). Women with HIV also suffer more stigma compared to their male co unterparts (Sandelowski et al., 2004). Recommendations and Conclusion In conclusion, the two policies discussed in this brief reveal strategies in preventing and treating malnutrition and HIV infection. Responses of developing countries to these strategies differ. Countries where communities are involved in the implementation of strategies are generally more successful in addressing these health problems. This would show that community involvement play a crucial role in the uptake of Western policies in developing countries. However, the lack of success in some countries might be attributed to the differences in the concept of ill-health between affluent and developing countries, socio-economic context of poor countries and difficulty in changing one’s health behaviour. Finally, this essay suggests that a more holistic approach should be taken in addressing the social determinants of health to ensure that children have access to nutritious food and HIV infection is prevented. References Bhutta, Z. (2013). ‘Early nutrition and adult outcomes: pieces of the puzzle [Online]. The Lancet, 382(9891), pp. 486-487. Black, R., Alderman, H., Bhutta, S., Gillespie, S., Haddad, L., Horton, S., Lartey, S., Mannar, V., Ruel, M., Victoria, C., Walker, S. & Webb, P. (2013). ‘Maternal and child nutrition: building momentum for impact’. The Lancet, 382(9890), pp. 372-375. Blas, E. & Kurup, A. (2010). Equity, social determinants and public health programmes. Switzerland: World Health Organization. Bogart, L., Skinner, D., Weinhardt, L., Glasman, L., Sitzler, C., Toefy, Y. & Kalichman, S. (2011) ‘HIV misconceptions associated with condom use among black South Africans: an exploratory study’, African Journal of AIDS Research, 10(2), pp. 181-187. Bogart, L. & Bird, S. (2003) ‘Exploring the relationship of conspiracy beliefs about HIV/AIDS to sexual behaviours and attitudes among Afrian-American adults’, Journal of the National Medical Association, 95(11), pp. 1057-1065. British HIV Association (2012) Standards of care for people living with HIV in 2012, London: British HIV Association. 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Estimates of global and regional potential health gains from reducing multiple major risk factors’, Lancet, 362, pp. 271-280. Farmer, P. (2003) Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, and the new war on the poor, Berkeley and Long Angeles: University of California Press. Greeff, M., Uys, L., Holzemer, W., Makoae, L., Dlamini, P., Kohi, T., Chirwa, M., Naidoo, J. & Phetlhu, R. (2008) ‘Experiences of HIV/AIDS Stigma of persons living with HIV/AIDS and nurses involved in their care from five African countries’, African Journal of Nursing and Midwifery, 10(1), pp. 78-108. Health Protection Agency (2012) HIV in the United Kingdom: 2012 Report. London: Health Protection Services, Colindale. Holzemer, W. & Uys, L. (2004) ‘Managing AIDS stigma’, Journal of Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS, 1(3), pp. 165-174. Horton, R. & Lo, S. (2013). ‘Nutrition: a quintessential sustainable development goal’, The Lancet, 382(9890), pp. 371-372. KFF/UNAIDS (2013). Financing the response to AIDS in low- and middle-income countries: International Assistance from Donor Governments in 2012. Washington: KFF/UNAIDS. KFF (2013). The Global HIV/AIDS Epidemic [Online]. Available at: http://kff.org/global-health-policy/fact-sheet/the-global-hivaids-epidemic/#footnote-KFFUNAIDS (Accessed: 25th March, 2014). Kohi, T., Makoae, L., Chirwa, M., Hozemer, W., Phetlhu, D., Uys, L., Naidoo, J., Dlamini, P. & Greeff, M. (2006) ‘HIV and AIDS violates human rights in five African countries’, Nursing Ethics, 13(4), pp. 404-415. Loevinsohn, B. & Harding, A. (2005). ‘Buying resultsContracting for health service delivery in developing countries’. Lancet, 366(9486), pp. 676-681. MacPhail, C. & Campbell, C. (2001) ‘I think condoms are good but, aai, I hate those things’, Social Science & Medicine, 52(11), pp. 1613-1627. Marmot, M. & Wilkinson, R. (2005). Social Determinants of Health. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Nabarro, D. 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The communcation gap between man and women Essay

The communcation gap between man and women - Essay Example In order to overcome difficulties in communication, it is necessary to take into account a lot of factors, starting from basic gender differences and social roles of men and women. Both differences in verbal and non-verbal communication should be taken into account in order to bridge communication gap between men and women. There are three decisive points that determine communication gap between opposite sexes: the way of thinking, speaking and decision making are different. The process of thinking among men is divided into sections. They consider everything properly, step by step focusing on one detail after another. Women think globally, they consider the whole things in general; they have no sections in their thinking. Men’s way of thinking can be compared with files stored on the computer: thoughts and ideas about different events are stored separately. Men don’t mix up such sections as Work, Personal relations, Hobbies etc. Thus, when a wife asks his husband to buy something on his way from work to home and he buys nothing, it means that he was concerned about his section Work. Women in their thinking combine different thoughts from different periods of their lives; they look at events in their life globally. Women try to draw parallels between different events. On this basis a lot of arguments may occur between spouses: a wife can compare her husband’s behavior with the one shown by him months ago and he may get irritated. The things different to him are equal to her. Thus sectional and global ways of thinking are two different and unique ways of thinking. Another difference occurs in the way of speaking between men and women. Men speak about facts with no details or descriptions; they speak in short phrases. Women speak in paragraphs and more concerned about details, descriptions than about facts. Women enjoy telling a story; men enjoy when they talk about facts. Therefore if you want to reach

Discuss the view presented by Nasim and Sushil (2011) that managing Essay

Discuss the view presented by Nasim and Sushil (2011) that managing change invariably involves managing paradoxes and in partic - Essay Example This view of organisation change’s reality indicates a postmodernist oncology, where change remains fluid and elusive. As a result, to understand it demands acknowledging and accepting its dynamic, fluid nature. Managing changes requires managing paradoxes through a postmodernist ontology with postconstructivist epistemology because of the existence of diverse types of changes, resistance to changes, and narratives for attaining individual and organisational changes. The paradox of change lies in the postmodernist ontology with postconstructivist epistemology. Postmodernist thinking on the study of being views reality as a combination of different ways of seeing. The study of organisational changes has intersected various concepts from diverse fields, such as child development and evolutionary biology, and yet not many scholars have integrated them in a systematic manner (van de Ven and Poole, 1995: 510). Poggie (1965: 284) remarks on the paradox of knowing reality: â€Å"A w ay of seeing is a way of not seeing.† One epistemological view of reality is one way of not seeing reality through another perspective. van de Ven and Poole (1995: 511) urge for an interdisciplinary approach to seeing the reality of organisational change: â€Å"It is the interplay between different perspectives that helps one gain a more comprehensive understanding of organisational life, because any one theoretical perspective invariably offers only a partial account of a complex phenomenon.† They promote a postmodernist view of seeing and knowing the reality of organisational change because it enriches its understanding. Furthermore, the paradox-of-change approach uses postconstructivist epistemology using competing theories to explore and to illustrate it. van de Ven and Poole (1995) offer a typology of process theories that examine how and why change happens in social or biological units. These are life cycle, teleological, dialectical and evolutionary process theor ies. These four theories stand for essentially different event chains and generative components that they called â€Å"motors† to depict the processes and causes of changes (van de Ven and Poole, 1995: 511). van de Ven and Poole (1995) stress that organisational change do not neatly fit only one of these process theories because some conditions can stimulate interdependent changes across different organisational elements. They stress the complexity of changes: â€Å"Even though each of these types has its own internal logic, complexity and the potential for theoretical confusion arise from the interplay among different motors† (van de Ven and Poole, 1995: 534). The paradox of changes arises from the reality of spontaneous effects of changes, anticipated or otherwise. Sturdy and Grey (2003) criticise the one-sided view of organisational change management (OCM) discourses that emphasise stability over changes. They offer different views of changes using discourse analysi s. They conclude the need for using different lenses in understanding changes and in attaining effective changes. Hence, this essay finds it useful to see changes from a postmodernist view of organisational reality and knowledge. The paradox of change and continuity affects different kinds and stages of changes. Managing changes in different types of changes require balancing change and continuity. Nadler and Tushman (1989) examined diverse large-scale organisational changes and provided several insights and generalisations. They reviewed

Intercultural Business Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Intercultural Business Communication - Essay Example Culture can be defined as the combined programming of the mind that differentiates the member of one category of people from the other. This is always a collective phenomenon; however it can be related to different collectives. A variety of individuals belong within each collective. Considering the fact that we live in a global age where technology has brought each and every person much closer to each other than they were earlier, it has been witnessed that people belonging to different cultures are working together and henceforth are having frequent communications. This fact is of obvious interest but however, it can be frustrating at times when the thought comes to one’s mind regarding how one is supposed to relate to someone who belongs to a different culture. In what way must one start a conversion and are there any cultural taboos that one needs to know about? These are the questions that comes in one’s mind when the individual things about working or living with a nother individual of a different culture. Even after such barrier oriented questions people of different cultures are working, living and communicating with each other effectively and efficiently. Such is the diversity in culture that prevails all over the world. This shows the depth in the cultural dimensions that is witnessed all around the world. Establishing network with people all around the world is just one dimension of the cultural diversity. For the purpose of doing the same, one needs to understand the cultural differences. Psychologist Dr. Geert Hofstede came up with a theory that explained different dimensions of cultural diversity and the theories have become a standard that is recognized internationally (Hofstede, 2011). The following sections will involve a thorough analysis of the cultural-dimensional approach with reference to Hofstede’s research that will include arguments in favour of the validity and reliability of his research. Thereafter, the arguments a gainst the cultural-dimensional approach will be highlighted with reference to the notion of cultural heterogeneity and finally the researcher’s own perception regarding appropriate methodology for intercultural business communication research will be provided followed by an appropriate conclusion. 2. PART A 2.1. Hofstede’s Cultural Dimension Approach A discussion on cultural dimension approach must begin with a definition of culture. The quantity of the definition of culture expounded by the scholars are simply too numerous to count and each one is having specific relevance towards understanding the various dimensions of culture. Alvesson (2000) has enlightened about 128 definitions about culture. Hofstede himself has even provided a definition of culture that reflects culture to be a crucial factor that distinguishes one group with other. He defines culture to be â€Å"the collective programming of the mind distinguishing the members of one group or category of peop le from others†. Much attention has been placed on role of culture in shaping a business in the last few decades and it has never been that much significant as it stands today. Study on this field begun with Hofstede’s famous work on IBM in the early 80s (Arditi and Mochtar, 2000). Culture is adjudged as essential for numerous reasons related to business life. The significance becomes more visible when a business firms starts interacting with people in either forms such as employees, customers, suppliers or any other stakeholder group. Research studies related to cross culture has had most of the values and as a result of that it has succeeded to provide substances to the modern management techniques and practices. Some of the eminent cross cultural researchers such as Geert Hofstede, have to face criticism for failing to provide the valued guiding intelligence. Eminent authors such as Avolio (2007) and Barrett (1993) argues that the

Islamic Symbolism and History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Islamic Symbolism and History - Essay Example It is still contested when the emergence of Islam in the modern period started. Three historical episodes occurred in the 15th century and had an enduring impact on Islamic foundation in the modern age (Esposito, 1999): (1) the conquest of Jerusalem by Crusaders, (2) expulsion of Muslims from Spain in 1492, and (3) Islamic revolution in Iran. Under the regime of the Ottoman, approximately from the mid-15th century to the conclusion of the First World War, Islam turned into the formal religion of the Ottoman rule (Esposito, 1999). Nevertheless, because of the imperialistic thrust of European powers, Ottoman supremacy was defined in the 19th century. The Ottoman state turned to a restructuring agenda, called Tanzimat, to face this challenge (Ahmed, 2002). Under the Tanzimat, according to Esposito (1999), the Ottoman Empire modernized its economy, commerce, and military. Turkish patriotism emerged at the end of Tanzimat which became eventually an alarming dispute to the Ottoman stateâ⠂¬â„¢s Islamic foundations. In 1924, Kemal Ataturk formed the Turkish Republic which tried to restrict the presence of Islam in politics and public affairs while practicing a Westernized political and cultural rule (Ahmed, 2002). Three main phenomena were existing in the Islamic domain in the 19th century, namely, Islamic Reform, patriotism, and Imperialism (Esposito, 1999). According to Esposito (1999), patriotism in the Islamic world in the modern period emerged as a reaction to the dominance of European powers and the weakening of Islam.

System Analysis and Design 251 Assignment Essay - 2

System Analysis and Design 251 Assignment - Essay Example d information processing provides an insufficient decision support for designing new classes and activities which would meet the the club members’ fitness goals and increase the club’s revenue. For instance, there is no easy way for the management to know which class is most popular among the members and which class contributes the most to the overall revenue generated by the club. To summarize, the current manual club management system is unable to provide an insight into the intricate financial queries that can ascertain the financial costs and identify areas of club’s financial growth. Fitness Club needs an automated information system that ensures information is stored and presented in an organized manner. Furthermore it eases the management routine tasks pertaining to the financial aspects of the organization. Since the main users of the management system are the manager and the administrators, they are the main data inputs sources of the system. The Director, Instructor and Members can not alter the state of data managed by the system. They only get their schedule information or financial reports (generated by the system) through the Administrator/Manager. The system has two active users; the Manager and Administrator, who can alter the state of data. A third passive user is the website visitor, who only views the information the site automatically displays from the company’s data store that the system