Aids Awareness – 2

World AIDS Day, observed on 1 December every year, is dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS  pandemic  caused by the spread of HIV infection. Government and health officials observe the day, often with speeches or forums on the AIDS topics. Since 1995, the President of the United States has made an official  proclamation  on World AIDS Day. Governments of other nations have followed suit and issued similar announcements. AIDS has killed more than 25 million people between 1981 and 2007,[1]  and an estimated 33. million people worldwide live with HIV as of 2007,[2]  making it one of the most destructive epidemics in recorded history. Despite recent, improved access to antiretroviral treatment and care in many regions of the world, the AIDS epidemic claimed an estimated 2 million lives in 2007,[3]  of which about 270,000 were children. [4] World AIDS Day was first conceived in August 1987 by James W. Bunn and Thomas Netter, two public information officers for the Glo bal Programme on AIDS at the  World Health Organization  in Geneva, Switzerland. [5][6]  Bunn and Netter took their idea to Dr.Jonathan Mann, Director of the Global Programme on AIDS (now known as  UNAIDS). Dr. Mann liked the concept, approved it, and agreed with the recommendation that the first observance of World AIDS Day should be 1 December 1988. Bunn, a broadcast journalist on a leave-of-absence from his reporting duties at KPIX-TV in San Francisco, recommended the date of 1 December believing it would maximize coverage by western news media. Since 1988 was an election year in the U. S. , Bunn suggested that media outlets would be weary of their post-election coverage and eager to find a fresh story to cover.Bunn and Netter determined that 1 December was long enough after the election and soon enough before the Christmas holidays that it was, in effect, a dead spot in the news calendar and thus perfect timing for World AIDS Day. On 18 June 1986 KPIX'S â€Å"AIDS Lifel ine† (a community education project initiated by Bunn and KPIX Special Projects Producer Nancy Saslow) was honored with a Presidential Citation for Private Sector Initiatives presented by President Ronald Reagan. Because of his role in â€Å"AIDS Lifeline† Bunn was asked by Dr. Mann, on behalf of the U. S. government, to take a two-year leave-of-absence to join Dr.Mann, an epidemiologist for the Centers for Disease Control, and assist in the creation of the Global Programme on AIDS for the United Nations' World Health Organization. Mr. Bunn accepted and was named the first Public Information Officer for the Global Programme on AIDS. Bunn and Netter conceived, designed, and implemented the inaugural World AIDS Day observance – now the longest-running disease awareness and prevention initiative of its kind in the history of public health. The  Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS  (UNAIDS) became operational in 1996, and it took over the planning and prom otion of World AIDS Day. 7]  Rather than focus on a single day, UNAIDS created the World AIDS Campaign in 1997 to focus on year-round communications, prevention and education. [7][8] In its first two years, the theme of World AIDS Day focused on children and young people. These themes were strongly criticized at the time for ignoring the fact that people of all ages may become infected with HIV and suffer from AIDS. [7]  But the themes drew attention to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, helped alleviate some of the stigma surrounding the disease, and helped boost recognition of the problem as a family disease. 7] In 2004, the World AIDS Campaign became an independent organization. [7][8][9] Each year, Popes  John Paul II  and  Benedict XVI  have released a greeting message for patients and doctors on World AIDS Day. [10][11][12][13][14][15] In 2007, the  White House  began marking World AIDS Day with the iconic display of a 28-foot AIDS Ribbon on the building's North Portico. [ 16]  The display, now an annual tradition, quickly garnered attention, as it was the first banner, sign or symbol to prominently hang from the White House since the  Abraham Lincoln  administration. ———————————————— [edit]Choosing the theme From its inception until 2004,  UNAIDS  spearheaded the World AIDS Day campaign, choosing annual themes in consultation with other global health organizations. As of 2008, each year's World AIDS Day theme is chosen by the World AIDS Campaign's Global Steering Committee after extensive consultation with people, organizations and government agencies involved in the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS. [7]  For each World AIDS Day from 2005 through 2010, the theme will be â€Å"Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise. â€Å", with a yearly sub-theme. 7]  This overarching theme is designed to encourage political leaders to keep their c ommitment to achieve universal access to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care, and support by the year 2010. [7] This theme is not specific to World AIDS Day, but is used year-round in WAC's efforts to highlight HIV/AIDS awareness within the context of other major global events including the  G8 Summit. World AIDS Campaign also conducts â€Å"in-country† campaigns throughout the world, like the  Student Stop AIDS Campaign, an infection-awareness campaign targeting young people throughout the UK.Today many people around the world are infected with a serious disease called  AIDS. Unfortunately, the disease has led to many deaths worldwide and yet it still remains untreatable. Many Public Health Departments are now taking the lead in publicizing education about AIDS. Public awareness and prevention programs are possible solutions to the spread of AIDS. The issue of this paper is on AIDS Prevention Programs that target women. One outlook is that prevention programs that tar get women will reduce the number of infections around the world.People opposed to this believe that prevention programs should aim more towards males. The disease is obviously an important social issue which impacts people worldwide. Certain associations and studies believe that women are more at danger then men for contracting HIV/AIDS. They believe prevention programs should be focused merely on women. AIDS cases for women are increasing each year and women are one of the fastest growing populations being infected. At the end of 2002, UNAIDS, a Joint United Nations Progamme on HIV/AIDS, reported that 38. 6 million adults are infected with HIV or AIDS worldwide.Roughly 50% or 19. 2 million are women. Globally speaking, most women infected with HIV or AIDS are from developing countries. The fastest spread of AIDS among women is in sub-Saharan Africa. In 1999, for the first time more women than men were infected with HIV. Out of 22. 3 million people infected in sub Saharan Africa 12. 2 million, or 55%, are female. Of the 1. 1 million youth infected in south Asia, 62% are female. According to research by the CDC, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the amount of AIDS cases in women have more than tripled in the United States.Since 1985, 7% of women were affected to 25% in 1999. With the number of AIDS cases in women increasing, organizations are relying on prevention programs aimed towards women to be the effective solution to prevent the spread of the virus amongst men and women. We can write a custom essay on AIDS for you! In contrary to the opposing viewpoint, reports by UNAIDS felt that men should be the main focus in the prevention programs. In 2000, UNAIDS commenced a World AIDS Campaign which pushed for men to become more involved in preventing the spread of the AIDS outbreak. We must stop seeing men as some kind of problem and begin seeing them as part of the solution,† according to Dr Peter Piot, the head director of UNAIDS. â€Å"Working with men to change their behavior and attitudes has tremendous potential to slow down the epidemic. It will also improve the lives of men themselves, not to mention those of their families. † There are several reasons why men should remain the main target to the prevention of the epidemic. The focus is mainly on changing sexual behaviors amongst men. Men grow up with certain beliefs and attitudes on how they should behave when dealing with intercourse.Dr. Elvira Belingon, Department of Health STD/AIDS Coordinator in Cordillera explained that worldwide studies prove that men are at a greater risk of spreading the disease because they are likely to have more unprotected intercourse and sexual partners than women do. â€Å"Too often, it is seen as ‘unmanly' to worry about avoiding drug-related risks, or to bother with condoms,† said Dr Piot. UNAIDS feel these cultural beliefs and expectations allow men to become vulunerable to AIDS which endangers their own health or the health of their partners and family.This vulnerability has already affected gay and bisexual men in the United States. Sexually transmitted diseases such as syphilis have rose for the second year in a row. The government feels that gays and bisexuals are more susceptible to these sexually transmitted diseases and with the help of these prevention programs they can decrease that number. In order to help control the AIDS epidemic, organization’s feel prevention programs should focus more on men’s behavior. I believe that prevention programs should be aimed towards women because of he steady increase of infections year to year. Women are more susceptible to HIV infection for several reasons. Biologically, females are estimated to be eight times more likely of receiving and HIV transmission from a male compared to female-to-male transmission. In 1997, the CDC reported that 38% of women received HIV through heterosexual intercourse opposed to 7% of men. Women are more at risk because the surface area in a female’s genital tract is greater exposed than in males. During intercourse larger amounts of semen fluids are released than in vaginal fluids.This puts women at risk because semen contains a higher amount of HIV. Also, women often have sexually transmitted infections that are left untreated, which increases exposure to HIV. Women who have STDs, sexually transmitted diseases, especially those that cause ulcerations make it easier for HIV to enter the body. Genital sores and immune reactions related with STDs face a greater risk of HIV infection. Treatment of STDs can be an efficient HIV prevention tactic if prevention programs educate women on this exposure. Other biological factors deal with young women among the ages of 13 to 19.Girls in Charge coordinator, Judah-Abijah Dorrington, explained that 49% of all the AIDS cases reported in the United States since 1997 were among these young women. This age group is infected because they have not fully completed their biological development. Many of the women obtained HIV in their teens because of â€Å"having an underdeveloped cervix and low vaginal mucus production. † In the report by AIDS Weekly, young women are found to have three to five times higher HIV infections than among boys. â€Å"Young women really are being viewed as the population with the largest number of new infections,† said Dr.Cynthia Gomez, professor for the AIDS Prevention Center at the University of California at San Francisco. â€Å"They don't realize they're at risk, partly because we've only emphasized certain groups, rather than behaviors. † Women are vulnerable to infection for their lack of power within sexual relationships and sexual violence. Women’s lack of power makes it difficult for them to negotiate safer sex with partners. Women tend not to discuss condom use within relationships in fear of rejection or loss of economic support. When women are in committed relationships, they mainly focus on the intimacy in their relationship.They assume they are in a monogamous relationship with their partner. Unsafe sex becomes more important than protection against HIV. This dependence of men increases the risk of AIDS for women. A report from Secretary General of the United Nation, Kofi Annan concluded, â€Å"The gender dynamics of the epidemic are far-reaching due to women's weaker ability to negotiate safe sex, and their generally lower social and economic status. † Studies in Africa have uncovered that many married women have been infected by their husband. The powerlessness of women to reject sex with their husband has been a major cause of transmission to women.Women's dependence on men makes women less able to protect themselves against AIDS. Typically, men make most decisions about when, where, and how to have sex. In developing countries, women usually maintain little control over their bodies and hold little decision-making power. Violence against women increases their helplessness to HIV and decreases their ability to defend themselves against infection. According to a study, â€Å"physical and sexual abuse were ‘disturbingly common’ throughout life among women at high risk for HIV infection†¦women who have been abused are more likely to use crack cocaine and have multiple sex partners. This puts women are at greater risk for rape or sexual force. Also, some women are forced to enter into sex work or short-term partnerships to exchange sex for economic gain or survival including food, refuge, and security. In many cases, women are in danger merely because they are reliant on their husbands for survival and support. This hinders and restricts their decision making and negotiating control. Sex workers are at a high risk for infection, mainly when they do not have the ability to negotiate with customers who refuse to wear a condom.In order to prevent the spread of AIDS I feel public health ag encies need to raise public awareness by promoting prevention programs for women. If women are educated on the biological and social factors of AIDS, women may have more of a chance to change their behaviors before the possibility of becoming infected with HIV. Programs that specifically target women will have a positive impact on women in the long-run. As new AIDS cases are increasing quickly through heterosexual contact focus on the prevention programs will take on even greater importance.People that agree with the statement that AIDS prevention programs should target women believe that women are vulnerable to HIV infection biologically and socially. To decrease infections of the AIDS virus women change their standard of living especially for women in developing countries through these prevention programs. Those that disagree focus HIV prevention efforts on heterosexual male sexual behavior. By changing male cultural and socialization patterns interventions can be effective. A wid espread HIV prevention policy uses many essentials to protect as many people at risk for HIV as possible.

Tapescript Role Play in Business Meetings

Tapescript – Role Play in Business Meetings (NF=Nigel Fraser, M=Martin, J=John, E=Eliana, D=Denise, MK=Markus) NI  think we all agree that we need to work a  lot better as a  team. I’ve got some suggestions for improving our teamwork. I’d like to share them with you and see how you feel about them. OK, let’s start with meetings. At the moment we meet once a month. That’s not enough. In future, I’d like us all to meet once every two weeks. I would expect everyone to attend, and to be on time – that’s not the case at the moment as you know. So Martin, what do you think?MTotally against the idea, to be honest. Once a month is fine, surely. I’m making the most money for us at the moment and I can’t go on doing that if I have to attend meetings all the time. Anyway, when we do meet, we spend most of the time arguing with each other. A lot of them are a waste of time. No, keep things as they are. NThank you, Martin . John, what do you think? Meeting once every two weeks. Compulsory attendance. JIt’s a good idea. Why not? We need to spend more time together to sort out problems, share ideas, that sort of thing.Actually, I think we should meet once a week. MRubbish. NNow Martin, calm down. You’ve had your say. And nothing’s been decided yet. But thanks John for backing me up on this one. Eliana, how do you feel about this? EI’ll go along with whatever you say. It really won’t affect me much. My main problem, as you well know, is I want to move from data projectors. I’d like to sell plasma screens, they’re in great demand at the moment, that’s why Martin tops our sales, it’s not difficult to be the best when you have the best products to sell. MI thought we were talking about meetings, Nigel.Do we have to listen once again to Eliana’s complaints? NNo we don’t Martin. You’re right, we’re getting off the poin t. Denise, let’s hear from you now. DThanks, I’d like more meetings, once a week would be OK for me, but I don’t know if attendance should be compulsory. But yeah, people should turn up on time, not drift in as they do at the moment. If we had more meetings, I’d get a chance to make a few suggestions for improving sales. And maybe I wouldn’t be interrupted so often by Martin and Markus. John seems to be the only person here who listens to me. AllOh come on now.Nonsense. Right. True. NCould we come to order, please? Everyone calm down. Markus? Meeting once a week, once every two weeks, or keep to once a month? What do you think? MKKeep it as it is, once a month. That’s enough. When we do have a meeting, two or three people seem to take over, and no one else can get a word in edgeways. Frankly, Nigel, our meetings are not very productive, and that’s the real problem. I’d prefer to spend time meeting our customers and trying to dr um up more sales. That’s what we’re paid for. NOK, Markus, thanks very much. Let me get a few more opinions†¦. Robert†¦. Role cards Director one You want to: ? get rid of Nigel Fraser by asking him to resign. You do not think he is a suitable person to manage the sales team. ? Replace him with a new person from outside the company. The new manager would have a fresh approach to the team’s problems. ? Have more meetings and weekly sales reports. ? Reorganize the sales team into mini-groups, for example all plasma sales staff working together. Commissions would be based on sales targets set for each mini-group. ? Think of other suggestions for improving the performance of the team.Director two You want to: ? Keep Nigel Fraser as manager – you are a close friend of Nigel. You think he’s an excellent manager of a ’difficult team’. ? Send Nigel on a short training course which helps managers to develop team building skills. ? Get rid of Martin. He is rude and upsets members of staff. ? Have fewer reports and meetings. ? Pay commissions based on the performance of the whole team. The team should be set challenging sales targets. ? Think of other suggestions for improving the performance of the team. Director three You want to: Move Nigel Fraser to another department in the company. ? Replace him with another member of the sales team – John? Denise? (you decide) ? Hold the meeting of the whole department every two weeks, and allow members to express their opinions frankly. ? Keep Martin in the team – you are Martin’s closest friend. He is a difficult person, but a brilliant salesman, in your opinion. ? Reduce the sales team from 7 members to 6 (you decide who should go). ? Reorganize the teams (you decide how). ? Think of other suggestions for improving the performance of the team.Director four You want to: ? Hear the opinions of the other directors before making up your mind. You are not sure whether to keep Nigel Fraser as manager or not. ? Have Eliana as manager if the other directors think Nigel Fraser should go. She is young, talented, and has good people management skills. ? Get rid of Markus – he is lazy, selfish and unreliable. ? Ask Vanessa Byrant to come back and advise Nigel Fraser for the next six months. ? Send staff on regular team building courses. ? Think of other suggestions for improving the performance of the team.

Gran Torino Film Review

Gran Torino Gran Torino is an American drama film, released in 2008 film directed and produced by and also starring Clint Eastwood. Set in Detroit, Michigan it was the first mainstream U. S. film to feature Hmong Americans. Gran Torino was a critical and commercial success, grossing nearly $270 million worldwide and is also said to be Clint Eastwood’s most successful film, but as like many films Gran Torino received both praise and criticism. Gran Torino† tells the story of Walt Kowalski (Clint Eastwood), a grizzled Korean War veteran whose wife recently passed away. Walt lives alone with his dog in a Detroit, the neighborhood he’s lived in for well over 30 years in no longer populated as he would say ‘lower middle class white folks’, but has turned into an Asian neighborhood. A Hmong family lives next door, a grandmother, single mother and her two teenagers Thao (Bee Vang) and Sue (Ahney Her).Thao is quiet and intelligent but very shy, where as Sue i s very outgoing and fearless. The local Asian gang led by Thao’s cousin tries to recruit Thao. Thao does not have a choice because you cannot say no to a gang, they talk him into trying to steal Walt’s 1972 Gran Torino, Walt Stops it from happening but Thao gets away unrecognized. Then Thao is forced by his sister and mother to work for Walt in an effort for the attempted to steal his car.The two become very close as Walt see’s the good and potential in Thao and teaches him how to be a man and steer clear of the gang. Walt vows to protect Thao, setting the stage for a showdown with the gang. Clint Eastwood is really great to watch in this movie, his acting throughout Gran Torino really convinces you that he is a retired old war veteran, who has seen it all and is afraid of nothing. The way he confronts trouble throughout the film is impressive especially in the one scene where he comes up against three men harassing Sue on her walk.From my point of view there ar e a few camera angles portrayed throughout the scenes of the film, but there is hardly and visual effects or anything else, I think what makes this movie a good hit is Clint Eastwood’s attitude showed in his acting and the rest of the actors as well, and yes of course during the film Walt is very racists and says lots of different ethnic comments but the point is, well the point that I noticed was that Walt starts to look past and see the people for who they really are not just look at their race or where they come from.This movie is perfect for Clint Eastwood fans or young adults and older, I wouldn’t really say it is for teenagers because they might not fully understand the film and just think that Walt is a grumpy old man who just gets fired up over nothing. I rate it a 4 out of 5.

Speech Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Speech - Assignment Example The Rainbow Coalition was making efforts to have all ethnic groups be represented in the government, and so Jesse Jackson was asking the people present to put aside their prejudices and stereotypes. Yet, before he calls them to that duty, he tells them that they are not perfect people. More than likely, the effect of that sentence was to make the people feel that they could not accomplish the goal even if they tried. Such imperfect people could not likely accomplish a task so great. When an individual is in a situation where their prior prejudices come to the forefront, they are more likely to remember those words and believe that they are not capable of putting aside those feelings. 2) Amplification: â€Å"There is the call of conscience, redemption, expansion, healing, and unity† (Jackson). The effect of amplification is a powerful one. By listing the goals each individual was being called to reach, Jesse Jackson created a step-by-step program that every listener was likely to feel they could follow. First, they must be conscious of the effects of their prejudices. Once they are conscious, they should then be able to redeem themselves through rectifying their mistakes and changing their ways. Next, they can expand their new outlook to those in their family and their circle of friends. They can act as a positive influence on all within their social spheres.

Unit Assessment 5 professionalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Unit Assessment 5 professionalism - Essay Example In my company where gifts are not encouraged, I would accept for any gifts offered but work towards ensuring that policies of the organization are well understood to ensure that the person does not offer gifts in the future. The fact that the employee has been offering gifts for a long time may indicate two things. Firstly, the employee may not be aware of the policy regarding gifts (DuPont, 1998). Secondly, he/she may just be ignorant and not care of the consequences of going against the organizational policies. To address these issues, I would strive to have the organizational policies understood by all the staff members by sharing on their emails as well as through communication through supervisors. This way, the employee targeted will not feel victimized and will most likely stop the act. The other step that may be taken is through training to all staff members on different policies as well as offering written policies upon signing of contracts for new employees (Malin, 2000). In the event that such measure do no work on an employee, it is important to communicate the policy to the affected employee directly to ensure that they stop the habit from becoming widespread within the organization against the policies. Â   Motivation is important in ensuring that staff members work and deliver maximally in an organization. As a supervisor, working with a motivated group makes it easy to achieve organizational goals. It also reduces many problems, which may arise from internal conflicts, lack of communication and poor performance (DuPont, 1998). One of the most important methods of motivating employees is through offering a nurturing environment at the work place. A nurturing environment makes employees feel that they are cared for and that their welfare is well considered by the organization (Anderson and Bolt, 2011). For instance offering free counseling services for employees may be a good step towards a

Insightful, intelligible, personable reply Assignment

Insightful, intelligible, personable reply - Assignment Example nding, seeks to include all subjects who are eligible to be part of the sample, which makes the most representative sampling method (Sharp et al., 2012). On the other hand, purposive sampling, as you also state, involves selection of participants with a specific reason in mind. It is not entirely clear from the study whether the researchers purposefully use both sampling methods, since there only seems to be one round of sampling. I have to say that your observation that this could be a mixed method sample is amazing because the sampling method used could be any of the two, particularly as the researchers do not specify their sampling plan. Maybe I would add that purposive sampling, in which all the subjects are selected, reduces potential harm to patients because it allowed the researchers to leave out patients who may have been too ill (Sharp et al., 2012). In addition, because the selection criteria you note from the study is well considered and based on a clear criteria, the purposive sampling strategy is able to avoid the researcher bias that comes with non-probability forms of sampling. Indeed, this form of sampling could have been responsible for Yang et al. (2012) reporting that the two groups compared had similar baseline characteristics because they were all selected from the same population using the researchers’ judgment. Sharp, J. L., Mobley, C., Hammond, C., Withington, C., Drew, S., Stringfield, S., & Stipanovic, N. (2012). A mixed methods sampling methodology for a multisite case study. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 6(1), 34-54 Yang, H., Lee, H., Chu, T., Su, Y., Ho, L., & Fan, J. (2012). The Comparison of Two Recovery Room Warming Methods for Hypothermia Patients Who Had Undergone Spinal Surgery. Journal Of Nursing Scholarship, 44(1), 2-10.

Comparison of Plato and Confusius and Their Contemporary Relevance Essay

Comparison of Plato and Confusius and Their Contemporary Relevance - Essay Example This opposition is important as they can be contrasted to see the differences in the worldviews that were held in these civilizations at that point of time. Both these philosophers offered different viewpoints to the existing ones and they served to challenge the existing hierarchies in certain ways. They were however, used later on, to enforce the hierarchies that were practised by the state. Thus, even though they are separated by a great geographical and cultural distance the two works do exhibit certain similarities that place them together as two of the most important philosophical treatises to have come out of the ancient world. This paper shall seek to compare and contrast the works of both these philosophers and analyse their contemporary relevance. The paper shall also seek to analyse the different emphases of the two authors and how the ideas that the two philosophers talk of is relevant even for the people of today. This, the paper shall argue is the main reason for the ti meless appeal that is a characteristic of both the works of philosophy. The paper shall look at the Apology, Crito and Gorgias by Plato and the Analects of Confucius for a discussion of the views of the two philosophers. Plato placed great emphasis on the life of the human being as an individual. He sought the development of the individual. He did not propose the development of the individual at the expense of the state. He however, did propose a certain degree of independence as far as mental activity is concerned when it came to the individual and the state. This can be seen in his mockery of the apparatus of the state when it came to his trial. These events are talked of at great length in Plato’s Apology. In this tract, he laments the lack of individual freedom that is provided by the state to its citizens. Such a lack of freedom would result in the intellectual stagnation of the people. This is what had happened to people of Athens, according to Socrates. They had become used to the ways of Athenian society and were reluctant to change themselves. The people had forgotten to question traditions. Such questioning was what would lead to a better society and better individuals, according to Socrates. This is what he seeks to covey to the court when he talks of how it would be futile to look for men who are more knowledgeable than him since he was one of the few people who had accepted the fact that he was not wise. By this he seeks to make it clear that what he knew was not sufficient but only a beginning. His attempt is to make clear the infinite nature of knowledge and expose the hollow claims of knowledge that were made by his contemporaries. He thus, seeks to say that knowledge should bring in people a recognition not of their worth but of their worthlessness. This, according to him would be a true lesson in humility. He explains this in this passage, where he describes his encounter with a person who was considered to be very wise- So I left him, saying to myself, as I went away: Well, although I do not suppose that either of us knows anything really beautiful and good, I am better off than he is - for he knows nothing, and thinks that he knows. I neither know nor think that I know. In this latter particular, then, I seem to have slightly the advantage of him. Then I went to another, who had still higher philosophical pretensions, and my conclusion was exactly the same. I made another enemy of him, and of many others besides him (Plato).