Create a needs assessment OUTLINE (NOT PAPER) that describes and Research Paper

Create a needs assessment OUTLINE (NOT ) that describes and documents the health status of SMOKING ADDICTION IN COLLEGE URBAN CAMPUSES....(NEW JERSEY CITY UNIVERSITY) - Research Paper Example Furthermore, the environs of the city are surrounded by neighbourhoods where drug peddling is rampant, thus a close proximity for the students to access the substances. 1. In 2012 the rate of drug addiction in universities and colleges in America was estimated at 46.7%, 29.6% among the drug users did not graduate or dropped out of school out of school before completion of their respective courses. 3. The number of learners who utilised illicit drugs went up by 3.4% in 2012; those who drank alcohol increased by 157% as compared to the previous year (Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, 2014). 3. Approximately 4,645 cases of health complications were reported in 2012 as a result of substance abuse 90% of them were related to smoking while the rest use of alcohol and marijuana combined (Gfroereret al.2004). Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. (2011). Results from the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Summary of National Findings (HHS Publication No. SMA 11-4658, NSDUH Series H-41). Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. (2014). 2012 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Methodological resource book. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Gfroerer, J., Hughes, A., Chromy, J., Heller, D., & Packer, L. (2004). Estimating trends in substance use based on reports of prior use in a cross-sectional survey. In S. B. Cohen & J. M. Lepkowski (Eds.), Eighth Conference on Health Survey Research Methods: Conference proceedings [Peachtree City, GA] (HHS Publication No. PHS 04-1013, pp. 29-34). Hyattsville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health

Prostitution in US Essay Example for Free

Prostitution in US Essay History records prostitution as one of the world’s oldest profession. However this profession is considered a crime in many countries today. The number of countries legalizing prostitution is growing. No wonder with upcoming new life style issues like homosexuality and gay marriages, the global liberal view is indeed spreading fast and quick. Among the countries of today which have legalized prostitution in some form or other include Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, Thailand, Canada and most of Europe. Some of these countries may have restrictions and even criminalization of certain aspects of prostitution like pimps, health testing, brothel restrictions, soliciting methods, advertising etc. . However, one of the most notable countries which haven’t legalized prostitution is US. Today in most states of the US, prostitution is still illegal. The UN General Assembly had on December 18, 1979 adopted CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women), which the then US President Jimmy Carter signed in 1970. The CEDAW is an international statute intended to better the rights of women worldwide, and establishes a framework for the nations to work, for ending discrimination against women (HRW, 2007). Although the US claims to be a front-runner in providing women’s rights, it failed to ratify the CEDAW. The Foreign Relations Committee of the US Senate had passed the CEDAW on September 29, 1994, but it has still not been ratified by the full Senate. The provisions of the CEDAW allows voluntary prostitution as a profession of choice, like any other profession; and access to healthcare including family planning, which includes abortion (Dave, 2005). Before deciding on legalization, it is important to know the prevailing facts on prostitution, in the US. The National Task Force on Prostitution estimates that about one million people to have worked as prostitutes in the US, which is about 1% of American women. About 70% of women prostitutes and 20% of male prostitutes are arrested. An interesting fact behind the arrests is that about 85 90% of the arrested are street prostitutes, although street prostitutes account for only 20% of prostitutes in US. The ratio of street prostitutes is varied based on the local laws, and policies followed in corresponding cities. Smaller cities having limited indoor venues may have street prostitution even up to 50%. The ratio of male and female prostitutes vary from city to city, like in San Francisco, where male prostitutes are about 20 30%, and 25% of the female prostitutes being transgender. Another social issue related to prostitution is drug abuse, with rate of abuse ranging from 0 84%, depending on the population studied (PENet, 2008). However, drug addiction is relatively rare among women prostitutes who work off the streets. Disease is another problem associated with prostitution. The US Department of Health estimates prostitution related sexually transmitted diseases to be about 3 5%, although it is 30 – 35% due to teenagers. The advocates of anti-prostitution law point out that legalizing prostitution would only help the pimps and subject prostitutes to more harm, apart from increasing violence. The stand of the federal government was made known in 2004, when it said, â€Å"The United States government takes a firm stance against proposals to legalize prostitution because prostitution directly contributes to the modern-day slave trade and is inherently demeaning.† Although prostitution is legal in parts of Nevada, the government claims that legalizing prostitution would create an increased demand for human trafficking victims. According to a recent study by Steven Levitt and Sudhir Venkatesh, based on data from the Chicago Police Department, prostitutes get arrested only about once in every 450 sessions (Bazelon, 2008). They also discovered that there was a high demand of prostitutes for sex, from police officers themselves. The American social view of prostitution, as being immoral has been in place since the 19th century. The United States Victorian era (1840-1900) saw a transition of social view from sympathy and support at the start of the century, to rejection at the end (Hickenbottom, 2002). Although the debate on legalizing prostitution, continues in the US, there are many Americans who still consider prostitutes as ‘whores’ and see them as trash. REFERENCES HRW (2007) CEDAW: The women’s rights treaty [Electronic Version] Retrieved on March 22, 2008 from http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/cedaw/ Dave, (2005) What countries have legal prostitution? [Electronic Version] Retrieved on March 22, 2008 from http://www.sexwork.com/coalition/whatcountrieslegal.html Bazelon. E (2008) Why is prostitution illegal?. [Electronic Version] Retrieved on March 22, 2008 from http://www.slate.com/id/2186243/ PENet (2008) Prostitution in the United States – The statistics [Electronic Version] Retrieved on March 22, 2008 from http://www.bayswan.org/stats.html Hickenbottom. I.L (2002) Prostitution: Then and now [Electronic Version] Retrieved on March 22, 2008 from http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~ulrich/femhist/sex_work.shtml#Victorian

The Prevelance Of Elderly Abuse Social Work Essay

The Prevelance Of Elderly Abuse Social Work Essay Elderly abuse has been prevalent in our society and it has not been discussed frequently as compared to other issues in our society and not much research has been done on elder abuse in Singapore. Due to such limitations present in the study of elderly abuse, this creates an impression that elderly abuse is a rare occurrence and is not a potential threat to our society. With the reports on real life elderly abuse cases, it is evident that elderly abuse does exist and is not a rare occurrence in Singapore as most of the time, such incidences go underreported. Furthermore, it is often difficult to detect elderly abuse as in the first place, there is a lack of awareness as to what actually comprises elderly abuse. Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, minister for community youth and sports, at the annual family violence symposium in the year 2009, cautioned that as Singapore comprises one of the fastest ageing populations in the world, we have to be prepared and expect an increase in the number of c ases involving elder abuse. ( straits Times). What is more worrying that majority of the elders suffer abuse under the hands of their own children due to the stress induced on them from care giving. Hence, elderly abuse has become one of the most important compelling social issues which have to be addressed due to the nature of Singapores demographic trends which consists an increasing proportion of elderly. Thus, in this paper, the social issue of my focus would be elderly abuse in Singapore. A common problem faced with regards to the discussion of elderly abuse would be the issue about what exactly constitutes elder abuse. As a result, many cases of elder abuse go unreported. ( pg 28, say no to elder abuse).The Golden Life Workgroup on Elder Abuse Prevention formed in Singapore in the year, 2002, adheres to the World Health Organization (WHO)s definition of elder abuse. It defines elder abuse in its report presented to the government as A single or repeated act or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust or duty of care, which causes harm or distress to an older person. (Golden life workgroup on elder abuse, 2004 PG 16, World Health Organization 2002) CITE PROPERLY The Ministry of Community Youth and Sports (MCYS) categorises elderly abuse into 5 main groups such as financial, neglect, abandonment, physical and psychological abuse. (Understanding Elder Abuse and Neglect pg 8 check year 2004?). The ageing trends of Singapore suggests that with increase in life expectancy, the elderly would now require more long term care than before and there will be an increasing level of dependency on their children to support them. With declining birth rates, there would be fewer care givers in the family. This creates ample opportunity for elderly abuse to take place. (UN Secretary-Generals Report, March 2002). The percentage of elderly who are aged above 65, in 2009 was 8.80% and the projected percentage of elderly in the year 2030 is expected to rise to 18.7%. (Statistical Indicators on the Elderly, MCYS) .The United Nations uses the dependency ratio as a marker of the potential dependency burden to predict the amount of burden which has to be carried by the working population. (Source: Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations Secretariat 2007 http://www.un.org/ageing/popageing.html). In the case of Singapore, as the old-age dependency ratio is in creasing each year whereby in the year 2008 it was 11.9 per 100 and in the year 2010 it increased to 12.2 per 100. (Department of Statistics, 2011). This has serious implications for Singapore, as the working population has to shoulder the burden of care giving and financial support. Now, it becomes even more challenging with the rising number of singles and married couples choosing not to have any children or just having one child . Such situations have serious repercussions as the future trend will be such that care giving on the elderly will be solely shouldered by the only child and this creates an increasing amount of stress and pressure on the sole caregiver which in return causes them to abuse the elderly. It was reported in the Straits times that each year a total of about 178 cases of elderly abuse were being reported and out these 178 cases reported about 120 cases of the elderly were abused by their own children. (Theresa Tan, The Straits Times (Singapore) October 22, 200 9 Thursday). There are various theories to explain the reasons for the occurrence of elderly abuse. The social exchange theory seeks to further explain the reasons for elderly to experience violence from their perpetrators using the concept of social resources such as power, financial stability and status. ( Quote : social work textbook pg 324), Pillemer, 1989 refer to no eldlerly abuse book behind). Increasing level of dependency on children creates a potential environment for abuse to take place, as the elderly authority is now diminished due to lack of power and necessary resources which the potential caregiver has. Hence, such a power dimension with regards to the availability of resources creates imbalance and strain in the relationship between the elderly and the caregiver. Another instance whereby an elderly abuse can take place can be explained through another theory known as the ecological theory, is when the caregiver of the elderly themselves might be undergoing several problems for in stance they themselves might have financial difficulties or could be suffering from some health conditions. Thus, looking after an elderly may induce stress on the caregiver whereby in some situations, as a form of coping mechanism they might vent out their frustrations on the elderly under their care through verbal and physical abuse and this causes the elderly to be in a greater exposure to abuse. (MCYS , booklet). An example to illustrate such a case which was cited in a Straits times article will be about an unmarried son who was in his forties who had to give up his job to look after his mother who was bedridden and suffering from dementia. Not being able to handle the stress that he was going through, he used to hit his mother frequently. (Theresa Tan, The Straits Times (Singapore October 22, 2009 Thursday). Most of the times , the victims of elderly abuse tend to be elderly who are completely dependent on their children in terms of financial and healthcare aspects and therefo re the perpetrators of elderly abuse are usually their children or someone they dependent on.( Quote: The Pattern of Elderly Abuse Presenting to an Emergency Department, G W M Cham, E Seow, 2004, pg 571). Although, the number of elderly abuse and neglect cases are less than 200, it should not be taken at face value that the elderly abuse is a rare phenomenon. Coming from an Asian society, especially in a region whereby Confucian values are prevailing, since most of the perpetrators are their own children, the elderly seldom report about them being abused as they do not want to be embarrassed or do not want to be judged upon, looked down for raising children who are abusive. ( Penhale 1993, british journal of social work, 23,2) . For other elderly, they might choose to suffer under the hands of their children rather than reporting them as they are increasingly dependent on their children to fulfil their basic needs, they fear of losing them or they fear of the future consequences such as intensified level of abuse from the perpetrator when they resort to reporting them.(Lee and Pang, 2003, pang 2000). Due to such underreporting and the denial of being abused further heightens this soci al issue as the elderly tend to suffer in silence. The social issue of elderly abuse should be viewed in terms of a micro and macro level. (social work)From the examples cited in this paper, it can be seen that most of the Elderly abuse which is one form of family violence was initially seen to be a private affair which was confined to and occurred usually in the family sphere which is the micro level. When the issue of the elder abuse is also being experienced by majority of the citizens in Singapore as well, with the increasing number of cases of elder abuse being cited in the newspapers and with the fast paced ageing population in Singapore, this issue of elder abuse now becomes a public and national issue which the state has to address. (textboo) For instance, in the earlier years when it came to issues about abuse more attention had been given to child and spousal abuse but not elderly abuse.(say no elderl abuse) Currently as more cases of elderly abuses are coming to the limelight, it is an issue which is worthy of concern. The refore, elderly abuse and neglect is a social issue which not only affects the elderly but it also the rest of the population who now have to shoulder the responsibility of supporting the elderly. There are many perspectives with regards to the issue of elderly abuse and how it should be tackled. Firstly from the states point of view, it strictly adopts a non-welfare approach .The state believes that various social safety nets such as the community, social services and non-profit organizations have to come together to tackle the social issue of elderly abuse. The state mainly uses the legal approach and tertiary intervention in the form of laws to tackle elder abuse and neglect. For example the Womens charter seeks to deal with family violence and protect family members including the elderly who are being abused. The financial neglect of elderly is being handled under the Maintenance of Parents Act which allows the parents to demand financial support from their children through the Tribunal court. ( say no to elder). The Maintenance of Parents Act although allows parents to demand for financial provison from their children. This solution can help the elderly to seek financial support from their reluctant children especially when they have no one to turn to. Unfortutantely, this is only a temporary solution as the law only address the financial neglect aspect and does not address the emotional aspect of the elderly. It is because the law cannot mandate children to be loving towards their parents .This present solution posses certain shortfalls, for instance, ,many parents may not want use this maintenance act in order not cause further trouble for their children. Another problem with this solution is that many of the elderly are not even aware about the existence of such legal framework. From the medical doctors and healthcare professionals perspective, there has been increasing concern with regards to elderly abuse and neglect. Hospitals now see an increasing number of care givers committing suicide due to not being able to handle the pressures of care giving and some even result to abusing their parents under their care not because of the intention of abusing them but because they do not know who to handle the situation.( srraits times) In a recent stratis time a doctor in the article mentioned that one of her patientss daughter who was the sole care giver would force feed her until the patient had to be treated in hospital for malnutrition and despite continuously being admitted into the hospital, she was not told where to get help and the caregiver by chance found out that there is a centre which provides help in care giving. ( straits Times). From the health care professionals view, they feel that the state can come up with even more rigourous legal framework an d the state could help in creating a strong network between hospitals and various caregiving centres so that the patients are able to get revelant help to cope with the demanding tasks of care giving. Furthermore, health care professionals can play a key role in detecting elderly abuse. The emergency department is one important place whereby elderly who are abused are being isolated and it can be the only appropriate situation to detect cases of elderly abuse. (W S Pang, 2000).The health care professionals face a dilemma when they encounter or suspect that their elderly patients might have been abused. It is because there are no specific laws addressing elderly abuse or neglect which results in not having a clear focus of what actually constititues an elderly abuse. (Quote pg 50). There are efforts to implement laws such as Maintenance of Parents Act by the state to protect elderly in some ways however, there is no laws which calls for mandatory reporting of elderly abuse cases. Hen ce this creates a predicament on part of the doctors as to whether or not to report cases of abuse. Due to the absence of a clear and proper framework or solution for the hospital professionals to strictly adhere to, such a situation causes an elderly to be trap in a vicious cycle of abuse. This has underlying consequences in the future as more cases of elderly abuse may become undetected. From the social workers and policy makers perspective, they believe that more can be done in training healthcare professionals and social workers in terms of understanding and detecting elderly abuse. In addition, they believe that more care giving centers can be set up to reduce stress of the care givers and serve as an intervention for abuse cases. This solution is can be very useful in the long run as it helps to protect elderly and helps to consell and educating the stressed caregiver which eventually helps to prevent the elderly from being further abused. However, one area of concern would be that the availability and increasing number of caregiving centers and residential homes can also create a room for misuse whereby children of the elderly for their convenience and in order to discard their responsibility as they might use such places to dump their parents there. Thus, there has be stricter regulations with regards to the admission into the caregiving centers. After considering all the different perspectives being offered pertaining to elderly abuse, in my view, I would support and favour health professionals, social workers and policy makers view especially with the view that the state has to adopt stricter and harsher laws when it comes to elderly abuse. The absence of mandotary reporting of elderly abuse, creates the main problem for allowing elderly abuse cases to go unreported. Furthermore with the absence of a clear framework of what actually constitutes elder abuse or how this social issue can be tackled it creates a form of helplessness on the part of the healthcare and social work professionals as they are not being able to intervene in elderly abuse cases promptly. In my view once the state has come up with a clear set of laws specifically addressing to elderly abuse and once there is an the implementation of mandatory reporting then it becomes easier for the healthcare professionals and social workers to be better equipped in in tervening in elderly abuse cases. In conclusion, as discussed in this paper, elderly abuse is one of the key social issues which the states has to constantly look into as elderly abuse requires lots of intervention programmes, training and education of the public and social work professionals. Elderly abuse can have serious consequences on the mental health of the elderly and they might lose their dignity in living as a normal human and their basic human rights such as the freedom to fight against any abuse and discrimination against them is being lost. Therefore it becomes a necessity to ensure that these group of elderly not just will have the proper healthcare facilities but it is also our societys outermost duty to ensure that the elderly age with dignity and they spent their last years in a protected and non abusive family environment. .

The Future of Genetic Engineering Essay -- Expository Essays Research

Any time in this modern era where one talks about the science of genetics, it is nearly impossible to think about the moral implications and ethical decisions that the future possesses. Currently, there aren’t many laws that govern this field of science, and one must wonder what will happen and how genetics will be governed. Two articles that I have recently read gave me a better insight on what to expect. In one article, the author, Deborah Gridley, discusses the heated topic of genetic discrimination. Genetic discrimination is defined as â€Å"discrimination against an individual or against members of that individual’s family because of real or perceived differences from the ‘normal genome† (Gridley 973). The benefits of genetic advances are quite clear. â€Å"As the genetic causes of many diseases are found, effective treatments and cures may be developed† (Gridley). However, with genetic benefits come risks – many of which are evident in America’s history of genetic discrimination (Gridley 974). Exclusionary immigration laws, forced sterilizations, employment and insurance hardships, ... The Future of Genetic Engineering Essay -- Expository Essays Research Any time in this modern era where one talks about the science of genetics, it is nearly impossible to think about the moral implications and ethical decisions that the future possesses. Currently, there aren’t many laws that govern this field of science, and one must wonder what will happen and how genetics will be governed. Two articles that I have recently read gave me a better insight on what to expect. In one article, the author, Deborah Gridley, discusses the heated topic of genetic discrimination. Genetic discrimination is defined as â€Å"discrimination against an individual or against members of that individual’s family because of real or perceived differences from the ‘normal genome† (Gridley 973). The benefits of genetic advances are quite clear. â€Å"As the genetic causes of many diseases are found, effective treatments and cures may be developed† (Gridley). However, with genetic benefits come risks – many of which are evident in America’s history of genetic discrimination (Gridley 974). Exclusionary immigration laws, forced sterilizations, employment and insurance hardships, ...

Lou Gerstners IBM :: Lou Gerstner IBM

Lou Gerstner's IBM 1. What struggles does Lou Gerstner face in his plan to make IBM network-centric? Consider internal and external impediments. In order to make Lou Gerstner’s plan effective he had to make many changes with in the IBM company. Gerstner set up a team with Jerry York and Richard Thoman along board. Some changes that were made with in IBM were, a cut back on employment, reduced expenses, and a stronger customer service. Gerstner and his new team based their plans on computer networks and the products needed to help IBM reach their future goals for the company. Some struggles Gerstner faced would be, the cut back in employment, I think this would have hurt his plan because I would have slowed down the production of the IBM products also high costs with no revenue would hurt his plan until he could work and fix the problems. Another problem Gerstner was faced with would be the process of getting lost customers back to buy IBM products. 2. Must IBM’s basic corporate culture change in order to meet Gerstner’s goal? Explain. I think that IBM’s corporate culture would have changed because IBM is following a new structure in order to achieve Gerstner’s goals.. Since employment would be cut back that means that the workers that did stay would have longer hours . Another thing that would change would be the quality and advancement of the products, since the expense cost would be cut down , the quality of the products would decrease. Being the expense cost declined the would be no room for advancing the products and keeping up with the competitors. 3. What strengths does IBM possess that make Gerstner’s plan achievable? How do Gerstner’s strategies incorporate those strengths? IBM is a well known name and it’s been around for a long time. I would buy a product from a company who has a good reputation rather then from a brand new company I’ve

The Civil War and Appalachia

Eric Lane English 1020 Tim Parker 11/9/12 The Civil War and Appalachian Geography Did Appalachian geography have an effect on the civil war? Every major war in history has two things in common: a winner and a loser. There are many factors of war that decide the winner and the loser, some going unnoticed. The geography of a war has an impacting affect on the war and is sometimes overlooked, often leading to one side's downfall (Falls 5). Appalachia has a fluctuating geography, for it ranges from eroded down, plain-like areas, to mountains areas of up to almost 7000 feet (â€Å"The Appalachians†).The Civil War had many battles located in Appalachia, an area stretching from southern parts of New York, all the way down to northern Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi(â€Å"The Appalachians†). Appalachian geography was home to many battlefields of the Civil War, but could this geography actually have had an overall impact? Throughout history, many substantial wars have been dis puted on various types of terrain around the world. Halvard Bugaug and Scott Gates support this and have made a claim in the article, â€Å"The Geography of Civil War†, that geographical factors play a critical role in determining how a war is fought and who will prevail.The two most important factors they give are terrain and climate. In the article, Bugaug and Gates both reference the book History of Warfare, written by John Keegan, to give examples of how these factors effect wars. Keegan gives many samples of previous generals who have ignored these factors and lead to their catastrophic downfall. One commonly known example given is the French army lead by Napoleon. Napoleon lead his fearfully large army into Russia, not taking into account Russia's fiercely cold weather.Although they fought, and won, battles located in Russia, the cold weather began to take its toll on Napoleon's army, causing them to be greatly weakened. This weakened state of his army, in turn, lead to the French being defeated and losing the war(Bugaug 418). However, the geography does not always have a negative effect. Keegan also gives samples of ‘gifted' generals who took these factors into account, allowing them to use these factors to their advantage(Bugaug 419). Cyril Falls, professor of Military History at the University of Oxford, acknowledges this as well in her journal Geography and War Strategy.The journal discusses how world geography should be a subject of study for a commander and how this geography should shape their war strategies. Mapping out and understanding the terrain of a battleground before the battle begins is crucial to achieve military success(Falls 5). A general understanding of the battleground gives opportunities to change and adjust military strategies and tactics, which could give an army the edge needed to be victorious (Falls 6). Falls then adds that using the available natural resources located in the geography of an area has its benefits as well.These resources can be distributed accordingly, supplying the army and possibly allowing them to stretch their campaign(Falls 9). Alex J. La Rocque, writer of the journal â€Å"The Role of Geography in Military planning has a similar viewpoint. La Rocque acknowledges that the existence of this relationship between geography and military science is not new. He says that environmental factors, such as relief, climate and weather, vegetation, drainage characteristics, and cultural features can cause military tactic and strategic problems.These elements of the environment have played important roles in all wars from those in which the stone hammer was the principal weapon down to the present time(La Rocque 70). La Rocque states that the essential difference between the requirement of geography in tactical planning and strategic planning is similar to the same difference that exists between mapping areal categories on large-scale maps and mapping areal categories on small scale maps. The mapper's requirement in presenting information on maps at different scales is determined by his objective.Appalachia has many different geographical conditions that make it eligible to have an effect on the civil war. The appalachian area has many mountain ranges and plain-like areas. The entire system is almost 2000 miles long and 300 miles wide and ranges from northern Mississippi all the way to southern New York(â€Å"The Appalachians†). These mountains are known as a â€Å"barrier† running east to west as it forms a series of alternating ridglines and valleys oriented in opposition to any road running east-west.The Appalachian Plateau is the westernmost part of appalachia and is bounded by a steep slope on the east called the Allegheny Front(â€Å"Appalachia and the Ozarks†). This front is the most significant barrier to western movement in the country of the Rocky Mountains(â€Å"Appalachia and the Ozarks†). The topography of this region ha s been created largely through steam erosion of the horizontal beds of the interior lowland. The following map will show the appalachian region. Many encounters of the civil war were located in this region, as shown in the map Civil War Battlefield map following.Comparison of the two maps shows that many battles were located in appalachia and its geography, giving it potential to have an effect on the war. Wilma A. Dunaway, in his archive, â€Å" Slavery and Emancipation in the Mountain South: Sources, Evidence and Methods†, provides examples of how the Union(the North) and the Confederates(the South) strategically used the Appalachian area. Dunaway states that the mountainous areas of West Virginia allowed for guerrilla warfare attacks. Both armies grew fatigued from traveling up and down the mountains, leaving them open for attack(Dunaway).In addition, both armies targeted various sites within the region as strategic occupancy points because they were located on major river s, were railroad junctures, or were the sites of important resources such as the national rifle works, saltworks, mineral springs, or mines(Dunaway). Farms and livestock were also destroyed and/or pillaged to also be somewhat beneficial to the armies(â€Å"Appalachia†). One specific battle located in Appalachia is the Battle of Gettysburg. The battle was located in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and lasted for a total of 3 days.After the first day the Confederate army was outnumbering the Union and looked as if a victory was inevitable. The Union, after a surprising loss on the first day, was devastated that they had lost nearly half of their troops and retreated up to Cemetery Hill and Gulp's Hill. There they prepared as much as possible with the little time they had for an oncoming Confederate attack. Barricades and various other fortifications were built on the higher grounds, giving Union troops the advantage that was pivotal in the battle.The Confederate soldiers now had to fi ght the rest of the gruesome battle now traveling uphill. The video from the History Channel, â€Å"The Battle of Gettysburg†, showed images of many soldiers struggling to fight the battle at this disadvantage. They had trouble seeing distances up the hills and were even known to have had friendly fire on themselves thinking that it was the enemy. After the second day of battle the union was still shorthanded and outnumbered, although they fought off the confederate push.The Confederate General, Robert E. Lee, made the decision to lead a large force to attack the Union line. Union artillery, who had an extreme range advantage, had what was called â€Å"target practice† on the confederate troops, greatly weakening the force. By the time they were in range of the Union line, Confederate troops had been torn apart to the point that retreat was the only option, giving the Union the victory of the Battle of Gettysburg. The battle was the bloodiest ever fought on american so il.The Battle of Gettysburg rallied the North and is what turned the tide of the Civil War. They had the confidence that they could defeat the fearful general Robert E. Lee. The geography of appalachia provided the North with the edge that they needed to take the battle which, in turn, shaped the outcome of the Civil War. Wars are an important part of history that have shaped the way we live today. War has many factors that decide the winner and the loser, and geography is one that should not be forgotten.Geography has caused aided many armies to victory, and taken many armies to defeat. Appalachian geography varies much over its large spam and proved to be a major factor. The Battle of Gettysburg was a pivotal battle that the North won, due to the large hills that they used to their advantage. Should that geographical advantage be taken away, odds are that the South, outnumbering the North, would have won that battle and changed history. This leads to the question, did Appalachian geography have an affect on the Civil War?

A Brief History of the Chinese in the Philippine Essay

According to The History of the Sung Dynasty or Sung Shi, published in 1343-1374, China already had trade relations with the people in the Philippines as early as the tenth century (AD 982) (Miclat, 2000). By the time of the Sung Dynasty (860-1127), Chinese colonies were already founded in some towns by the coast. During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) , colonies were already found in the hinterlands (Agoncillo, 1990). When the Spanish arrived in Manila in 1571 the resident population of Chinese in the area was around one hundred and fifty. Many of them were traders in Chinese merchant ships. The Chinese said they were seng-li (or xang lai), which meant â€Å"we are traders† (Gardner). The Spanish eventually called them Sangley, which is derived from the Hokkien word seng-di or seng-li meaning â€Å"business† (Mempin, 2009). The Chinese established themselves near Spanish communities, taking on important roles as food providers, retail traders and artisans. The Spanish soon became dependent on the Chinese economically; after all, they provided many of the goods shipped to Europe through Mexico by the Manila galleon trade . However, because of cultural differences, there were also mutual feelings of distrust. There came a time when the population of Chinese outnumbered the Spanish, who were afraid that they would revolt (Wickberg, 1964). Because of this, in 1582, the Spanish required the Chinese to live in a walled compound called the Parian, which soon became the commercial center of the area (Gardner). By the sixteenth century, there was a royal order for all Chinese to be expelled from the Philippines and the Parian , evacuated. However, Governor Dasmarinas knew that the City of Manila, which was the largest Spanish settlement, were dependent on the Chinese for economic services. Governor Dasmarinas bought some land across the river from the walled city of Intramuros and turned it over to a group of known Chinese merchants and artisans, for the purpose of creating a new Chinese settlement. The intention was to formally obey the royal order, while at the same time, making sure that the Chinese would continue to provide good and services for the Spanish. The land grant was tax-free and given in perpetuity. This settlement came to be known as Binondo. In the beginning, there were no religious or cultural issues involved, but when the Spanish Dominican priests were assigned to Binondo, they turned it into a community of married Catholic Chinese and their. By the year 1600, the population was around five hundred or more, and the first generation of mestizos (mixed Chinese-native ancestry) had appeared (Wickberg, 1964). In time, Binondo came to be known as the community of Chinese and Chinese mestizos who had been baptized and converted to Catholicism, and Parian was where the n0n-Catholic Chinese lived. In the nineteenth century, there was a mass emigration of Chinese into other parts of the world as a result of wars, starvation, corruption and civil unrest in mainland China. This was called the â€Å"Chinese Diaspora†. Most of these Chinese who went overseas came from maritime provinces like Fujian, Guangdong and Hainan (Overseas Chinese, 2008). In the Philippines, most of the Chinese who immigrated in the second half of the nineteenth century came from Fujian on the southeastern coast of China (Dolan, 1991). One of these sub-provinces of Fujian is Xiamen, also commonly known as Amoy. The term Amoy became known when Xiamen became a treaty port after the 1st Opium War (1839-42), and is thought to have come from the island’s name â€Å"Ah Mo† in the local dialect (Brown, 2007). In those days, it was common for newly baptized Chinese immigrants to incorporate his baptismal sponsor’s name after his own. Let us take, for instance, the case of Don Pedro Gotiaco who is the ancestor of today’s wealthy Gokongwei clan. When he was baptized, Don Pedro’s baptismal sponsor was Don Mariano Singson, from a well-known mestizo family. Don Pedro incorporated his sponsor’s name into his own, which was commonly done those days. The sponsor or â€Å"padrino† was considered a necessary protector for a new immigrant like Don Pedro.