Stand paper on the Priority Development Assistance fund Essay Example for Free

Stand paper on the Priority Development Assistance fund Essay The Priority Development Assistance Fund or PDAF also known as â€Å"Pork barrel† is a discretionary fund allocated for the purpose of providing projects which will promote the development of the different districts of the country. It is released through the General Appropriations Act (GAA) of the congress which will serve as the National Budget of the Government. The amount allocated for PDAF in the fiscal year 2013 totaled for 24.7 billion pesos with each member of the House of Representatives receiving 70 million pesos and members of the Senate with 200 million each. This fund traces its roots from the Countrywide Development Fund of the Administration of Pres. Corazon Aquino. During the Ramos Administration, it is said that the funds were used by the President to sustain his control in the congress. The result of this was the growing criticisms against the release of such funds. When President Joseph Estrada stepped-up as the president, he promised the abolishment of this funds. To show their sincerity, the congress abolished the CDF but was virtually revived with the name of Priority Development Assistance Fund.1 This year, the public was outraged by the discovery of the 10 Billion Pork Barrel scam which was allegedly done through the initiative of Mrs. Janet Lim-Napoles. This crime exposed by Benhur Luy was described by Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago as the â€Å"Crime of the Millennium†. B. Stand: As an advocate of progress, I am not in favor for the abolition of PDAF or Pork barrel. Considering its legality, the existence of this fund is undisputable because the Supreme Court, the highest court of the land, already ruled in favor for the existence of this fund. That was held in the Case of LAMP vs. DBM, and following the principle of Stare Decisis, we should follow the decision of the court which already adjudged the matter at hand. Furthermore, many citizens, especially the indigent and the people from poor provinces and municipalities are benefiting from such fund. Moreover, the abolishment of this fund would disintegrate the projects needed by the people. C. Recommendation: In line with the Status Quo and the arguments I stated in my stand, I am recommending for the Non-abolishment of this funds. Furthermore, Guidelines for such funds are already provided in the constitution2 and the Department of Budget and Management3. Moreover, strict implementation of such guidelines is needed to guarantee the safeguard of this fund from corruption.

African Allele Essay Example for Free

African Allele Essay It is a fact that Central Africa is a rural area while the United States is highly urbanized. This means that diseases are more prominent in the African territory, one of which is the malaria. This widespread illness caused evolution to favor a type of change in the human body to protect it from the deadly virus. This protection is the heterozygous make up of the hemoglobin gene, where one allele is the abnormal one that causes sickle-cell anemia. When comparing three types of persons, one with homozygous normal alleles, another with a heterozygous pair, and finally one with a homozygous pair of abnormal alleles, those with the heterozygous pair would have the greatest chance of surviving the conditions of Africa. Having a pair of normal alleles would not save a human from malaria infection, and having a pair of abnormal alleles would cause sickle-cell anemia that can also kill the patient. Thus, in places such as Africa, the population has quite a number of people having the heterozygous hemoglobin gene. The lower number of sickle-cell allele carriers in the United States can be attributed to two main reasons. First, malaria is not as prominent in the United States as it is in Africa. People then did not adapt that much and this abnormal allele haven’t evolved that much. Another is the intermarriage between Africans and Americans. If an African, who carries the sickle-cell allele, would marry an American having a homozygous healthy gene, their children would only have a 50% chance of getting that trait, as compared to an African-African marriage (both heterozygous sickle-cell alleles), where the chance of getting the allele is 75%.

Concepts and Determinants of Health

Concepts and Determinants of Health Ronald M. Verano Introduction Health is very important in every human being. In every nation, private and non-private sectors put extensive efforts to maintain the welfare of the community. They have critically planned strategies to address a health issue or problem. Strategies can be health interventions or policies. Policies takes a longer period of time to be formulated and adapted to the society. There are heaps of factors that can make an impact, directly or indirectly, to the policy-making procedures. New Zealand has prioritize health over the past several years. They have been formulating policies to maintain and promote health among New Zealanders and policies to address the health issue the country is still facing. There are several factors that go all together to affect the health of the community. Such factors include, the places where they live, their environment they are used to, it could also be their genetics, income, employment and even their relationship with their families and friends. These factors that affect the individual’s health are called determinants. Demographic Distribution of Population A country consists of urban and rural areas. These areas differ from each other in terms of the community, environment and certain situations about health. In urban areas, most people are modernized than that of the rural. Urban is also considered the cities where lots of buildings and facilities are being established. People in terms of availability of healthcare facilities such as clinics and hospitals are most likely to access and are privileged to obtain medical help. On one hand, rural areas which are known to be in the countryside or provincial areas, where buildings and facilities are less likely to be seen, have poor access to health. Sometimes they even seek medical help if their condition is already worst and fatal. Hospitals are not accessible that could resort people to choose not to seek medical help. There is disparity between the urban and rural when it comes to healthcare access and distribution. Aside from the facilities, there is lack of resources in rural areas, su ch resources include medicines, diagnostics, and even health care providers. Political Values Political values make how people think and react to information. These people are encouraged to see the credibility of the message of such information according to the beliefs and values instilled to them. Some messages can convey a threat to these people that is why they become resistant to the policies and advocacy being presented to them. This can make them not interested with the policy and thus participation is not possible. Health communication messages, such as advocacies and policies, may trigger a person to react positively and negatively to it. Policies that are against one’s belief can lead to resistance of the individual, especially to those people who value their beliefs in a higher state. This can influence the process of policy in the making. Government agencies should also partake in addressing this problem. Government officials are representatives of the people and people chose them to lead them. These officials should be fair and honest, they should focused o n issues affecting the people, health being one of the priorities of the nation. Religious beliefs Similar with political values, religions instill beliefs that make a person’s being. Religious beliefs guide people of what is right and wrong, of what to do and not to do. For instance in some countries, there is an issue of overpopulation. Other problems can occur such as abortion. In order for the government to solve this problem they resort to a policy which highly favors contraception. As some religions are pro-life, they believe the policy will be against to their belief, chances are they would oppose to the policy making it possible to happen. Human Values Human values include compassion, respect for others, commitment, etc. These human values shape the person’s perception towards health. If people are being committed to stay and become healthy, then policies pertaining to health are of their interest. But some people, although they are concern about their health, lacks the discipline to stay healthy. And still believe that health is being free from any illness. Ethnicity and traditions Ethnicity is the person’s identity. It also involves beliefs and traditions that one belongs to. Same way with the religious beliefs and human values of an individual. If an individual has his own set of values to guide them. If a policy is believed to be against their practices and traditions, they will oppose eventually. The concept of public to health Health as perceived by many people is the absence of a disease. Many people think that they are healthy because they don’t feel any pain or discomfort or simply physical symptoms. But health is not just the absence of any pain or discomfort or disease, it is more than that. This is the common misconception of mostly people. Health is the complete condition of physical, emotional, intellectual and mental being of a person. This attitudes could affect the process of policy in the making. In the planning phase, for instance, obtaining information would be very difficult to accomplish if people will not engage or participate. Same thing with the implementation phase, there is a need for people to participate. If their perception of themselves are healthy even though they are not, they won’t be participating in those activities because they think the policies are not for them. The concept of public to illness Illness is viewed in different ways. It is the own feeling perceive by a person. It is the judgement of the person to its body if he feels healthy or unhealthy. Some people think they are healthy being free from a physical illness. For example, a person who is deemed fit, has no illness at all but is suffering from depression. He can deny that he is not ill but the fact that he is suffering mentally or emotionally cannot be taken for granted. People need to understand that illness is not just a symptom of a physical discomfort or pain felt in some parts of the body. Illness is associated with mental, emotional and intellectual being. Importance the public on health It is very important for people to value their health. Health reflects the condition of the nation. It is similar to a family is considered healthy if all of its members are healthy. A country is considered healthy if the larger proportion of its society are healthy. If majority of the society neglects the importance of health to them, then active participation in promoting health and preventing diseases from spreading will not be accomplish. People need to have awareness, creating awareness will help people engage to activities and eventually in the policies. It is important to know that they have an idea of what health and illness is about. That these two will affect their well-being. Public Attitudes towards health and medical professionals Attitudes reflects the way people behave. It would depend on their beliefs being instilled to them. It is similar to children learn how to read in a different way while they were in school. Attitudes make a person who he is. When it comes to health, they view it in a different manner. For example, issues on obesity. Some obese people are aware the complications they might have of being obese, others believe it is beauty because they were used to their customs that being overweight is attractive, without knowing the complications they might acquire due to being obese. On a lighter side, there are people who values their health and has the discipline of maintaining a healthy state. Meanwhile, people have also different views and perception about health and medical professionals. Some may fear them thinking that seeking medical help will only worsen their condition. Some may have the impression that these professionals aren’t competent enough that they would choose not to ask for help. Culture, norms and beliefs has also something to do with their attitudes towards these health care providers. There are many factors that may influence, directly or indirectly, the process of policy-making, particularly in New Zealand context. New Zealand has focused their policies in maintaining the healthy state of its members of the society and has made efforts in acquiring such improvements over the years. But still, there are factors to consider that could influence the policy-making procedures in either positive or negative manner. Such factors are identified as social, economic and personal. What is important is that the government and non-government sectors takes part on recognizing these factors and tries to address and resolve the issue. Most New Zealanders have originated from different cultures. Cultures have distinct beliefs and practices, this make a person belong to a certain culture. A lot of times, policies are intended for most people but not all of them will have the chance to benefit on the policy. There are policies that are not culturally intended which makes other cultures to adapt easily, or others to totally adapt at all. There is also racial discrimination among these cultures therefore fair access to health is not feasible. In addition, people with higher status in life are most likely to access health services and facilities than that of the poorer ones. Thus policies should be customized with every individual regardless of his status in the society. Poverty has also a greater impact on health policy-making. Poverty can be associated with many things such as lack of participation of people, lack of awareness when an epidemic is present in the community. People don’t have the enough resources to afford their needs, not enough money to purchase medicines in case they get sick. For example, a policy involving contraception will not be effective on people living in poorer areas, because they can’t afford to purchase pills that can be a bit expensive or that their health centres don’t have enough supplies to give to these people. Awareness to people is important. It can make the person acquire knowledge on his environment. A clear example of this is when an outbreak strikes, people can help in preventing this if they are aware of the disease that has infected them, its cause and the measures needed to confine and reduce the spread of this disease. In contrast, people who are not keen on the disease may even help to spread the disease. Although efforts have been made, with people who are not knowledgeable enough would worsen the situation. In conclusion, all of these factors are not to be taken for granted. This can influence the effectiveness of the whole process of making such policies in a positive or negative way. The goal here is to acknowledge these factors, find solutions to address them in order for policies to become adaptive to the society. Each country must have a government sector and its society that will work hand in hand to maintain the optimum level of each individual’s well-being. They should both aim for the good of its people. Policies are made to guide the people, to give them a sense of a unified direction. Policies are also made to address an existing problem. Its effectiveness will depend on the belief that is instilled in him. People usually make a reaction message the way he perceives it. It is the values that makes the person to accept or resist the policy that is to be implemented. Bibliography World Health Organization (2014). Determinants of Health. Health Impact Assessment. Retrieved December 3, 2014 from http://www.who.int/hia/evidence/doh/en/ J. Capella et.al. (2014). Political Values Influence People’s Response to Health Disparity Message. Press Releases. Retrieved December 3, 2014 from https://www.asc.upenn.edu/news-events/press-releases/political-values-influence-peoples-response-health-disparities-messages Egton Medical Information System Limited (2014). Ethnic Matters. Professional References. Retrieved December 2, 2014 from http://www.patient.co.uk/doctor/ethnic-matters Oxford University Press (2014). Definition: Attitude. British and World English. Retrieved December 3, 2014 from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/attitude

Women in The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexi

Women in The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie A warrior is recognized as sonmeone who battles for his/her beliefs. Even after receiving mortal wounds many times, such a person never leaves the battlefield. However, the inspiring and metaphorical idea of a warrior can certainly extend beyond the actual battlefield, and into the universal battle of living life. A woman must face this world like a warrior. She must endure the pain of a past that oppressed her, the adversity of a present that is only beginning to understand her, and a future that will continuously test her. From the beginning of time, Native American women have been a driving force in their cultures, retaining their immense strength throughout centuries of exploitation. Mothers and grandmothers held the family together with their gentle power, and medicine women were the local psychologists, therapists, physicians, and marriage counselors to entire tribes. In The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, Sherman Alexie's short story collection about life on the Spo kane Indian reservation, Alexie depicts characters that are world-wearied and heavy with 500 years worth of humiliation and rejection. They have lived their lives in the confines of the reservation, resorting to alcohol, depression, and frustration. However, these women seek to hold together, both spiritually and generatively, the fabric of a culture that is assaulted on all sides. They are warrior-like in their determination to battle the hardships of their lives, all while holding their families and their heritage together with great compassion and spirit. Although one may argue that many of these women were unable to avoid the inevitable feeling of hopelessness, one can see with a deeper look into the reservation that they firmly wrestle the battles that face them. The most immediate hardships that many of the women in Alexie's stories face are the struggles to hold together their crumbling families. For example, Victor's mother must endure the various 'storms'; of her life: her husband's alcoholism, the lack of basic necessities, her own depression, and the overall desperation of the household. However, she is able to give her family a sense of hope. 'During all these kinds of tiny storms, Victor's mother would rise with her medicine and magic?She would comb Victor's braids into dreams.'; (p. 5) ... ...e women face their opposition with a warrior's strength; yet also with a maternal-like gentle compassion. Whether it is picking up the pieces of a broken family, reaching out to a community, or having pride in one's heritage and background, the women all show a sincere dedication that is truly admirable. A woman's life is never easy, and the additional struggles of being a Native American make life on the Spokane reservation even harder. But these women bless the shields of their warriors as they face the unjust world, and they look towards the future with a warrior's spirit themselves. Summary Paragraph: The women characters in Sherman Alexie's The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven all show great compassion and warrior-like strength, despite the many trials that face them. They are able to hold their families together and give them some sense of hope. These women also extend their dedication into their broken communities by offering kindness and refuge. However, the greatest internal conflict that they face with strength is taking pride in their own heritage and spreading this pride. They face all of the innumerable opponents in life with a warrior's spirit.

Free Essay: Needs vs. Desires in Shakespeares King Lear :: King Lear essays

Needs vs. Desires in King Lear          In Act 2, Scene 4 of King Lear, written by William Shakespeare, Lear argues that for a person to be content with only what one needs, is the same as reducing a human to the level of a beast or animal. I am in opposition to Lear's idea via the issue of needs versus desires. Through knowledge based on experience, observation, and reading I can elaborate on my reasons for choosing to challenge his opinion.    From my own experience I know that a need is a lacking or requirement for a substance, to live; an adequate amount. So a desire is to wish or long for more of something; or in Lear's world, to be on the verge of mania. A good way to compare needs versus desires is food. Food is a necessity to live. When you eat the right amounts of what you ought to, you are sufficiently nourished and therefore healthy. Yet, if you always go to an All-You-Can-Eat-Buffet and try to get your monies' worth by gorging yourself, that is a desire. This is for the reason that you are overeating, and the majority of the food is more harm than good. At an All-You-Can-Eat-Buffet you persuade yourself to always eat one more plate full. It seems to be worth it, so you eat till you reach the point of marginal utility for the money you have spent. By doing this you are satisfying the desire temporally but your stomach is miserable, which is a base lifestyle to have. I believe you should eat to live and not live to eat, nor should your flesh rule over you. The way this relates to Lear is that he could not depart without all of his men even though he did not need them anymore. He wanted to keep some since of wealth and authority. Lear also desired to be flattered which lead to his own demise.    By observing people I know that if you own less you are more appreciative of things in life. Yet if you own more you desire more. Therefore you become a slave to your passions and lust, rather than an owner of your possessions.

Essay :: essays research papers

The impact that athletics has had on my Life   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The impact that athletics has had on my life is everything. It made me a better person. For example it made me to be more responsible, focus, and more determined to accomplish my goals.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ever since I became being an athlete I’ve learned that there’s responsibility. And one of them is being responsible for me and me only. I have to watch what I do and who I hang around with because hanging with the wrong people can mess up my opportunities an athlete. But it’s more than that; it’s also being responsible inside the classroom. Taking care of my grades and doing my work.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Being an athlete it made me more focus of what I do. For example, it makes me focus in the classroom, so I will be able to get good grades. Getting good grades keeps me focused because I want to get an academics scholarship than an athletic scholarship. Don’t get me wrong I would be happy if I got an athletic scholarship but I just prefer an academic scholarship. What also keep me focus are coaches help keep me focused as well. Player who gets a grade lower than a B   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Moss Has to jump a bench. This bench is about 3ft long and very wide with sharp corners. And the coaches determine how many you jump by how many points that you’re away from a B. For example, say if I got a 70 he would make jump a hundred because I was ten points off from getting a B.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As an athlete I’m determined to accomplish my goals. Those goals are to go to a college with my academic or my athletic abilities and to be successful in my life.

Complexometric Determination of Water Hardness Essay

Abstract: Using complexometric method of calculating water hardness, an EDTA solution was made and calculated to be around .00209M. This EDTA solution was then used to titrate a water sample with unknown hardness. The sample used was sample #18. The hardness of the sample was calculated to be 180505 ppm. This is within normal levels for the Mesa area. Introduction: This experiment focuses on titration with EDTA. Titration is the determination of a given component in solution by addition of a liquid reagent of known strength until the endpoint is reached when the component has been consumed by reaction with the reagent. An indicator called Eriochrome Black T will enable detection when the EDTA has completely chelated the metal impurities. Chelation happens when a ligand (with more than one binding site) forms a complex with a metal ion. Ligands are complexes that form when the electron donating groups form coordinate covalent bonds through empty orbitals on the metal ion. This experiment contains Ammonium chloride buffer which is an inhalation irritant. Procedure: About 500 mL of approximately 0.004 M disodium EDTA solution needed. The solution should have between 0.7–0.8 g of Na2EDTA and dissolve in about 500Â  mL deionized water in a plastic bottle. The bottled is Sealed and shaken vigorously for a few minutes to dissolve the salt. Standardize the Na2EDTA solution using a stock calcium ion solution as the primary standard. Using a 10-mL transfer pipet to add 10.00 mL of standardized calcium ion stock solution (1.000 g CaCO3/L solution) to a 250-mL Erlenmeyer flask which will have an additional 30 ml of deionized water to this titration flask. Adding a magnetic stir-bar the solution was then stirred. about 3 mL of ammonia/ammonium chloride buffer is added to the solution. Just prior to titrating the flask, adding four drops of Eriochrome Black T indicator solution will be needed. At the endpoint, the color will change from pink to violet to blue. This will repeat two more times. Then Choose one prepared unknown water sample as provided. Record the unknown code in a notebook, then titrate this water sample with your standardized disodium EDTA solution. Transferring 25.00 mL of the prepared water sample to a 250-mL Erlenmeyer flask will be done. Then Add about 20 ml of DI water to the titration flask, which will have a magnetic stir-bar. The solution will have an added portion of 3 mL of ammonia/ammonium chloride buffer. The solution will then change color as previously examined in the first portion. This procedure will be repeated twice more. Results and Discussion: EDTA solution Initial Reading (mL) (mL) delivered 0.0mL 50.01mL 0.0mL 47.05mL 0.0mL 46.10mL The average of the mL delivered of the three results is 47.72 mL The Molarity of the EDTA solution was calculated and is shown below. Ppt: 15.99 for 50.01 mL delivered Ppt: 4.68 for 47.05 mL delivered Ppt: 11.31 for 46.10 mL delivered Unknown solution Initial Reading(mL) (mL) delivered 0.0mL 22.9mL 0.0mL 21.41mL 0.0mL 20.41mL The average of the mL delivered of the three results is 21.57 The hardness of the unknown water sample was calculated using the Molarity of the EDTA solution standardized in the first portion of the lab. The calculation is shown below. Ppt: 20.55 for 22.9 mL delivered Ppt: 2.47 for 21.41 mL delivered Ppt: 17.92 for 20.41 mL delivered The tables reveal a difference in (mL) delivered in comparing the first experiment to the unknown. The unknown must have a weaker tolerance to the indicator in which the first experiment is stronger. Conclusion: The water hardness in Mesa ranges from 12 gpg (grains per gallon) to 22 gpg (1). The Ppt of the unknown and EDTA do and don’t fall within Mesa’s range. There are some numbers that fall within the range and there are some that may fall out. Overall the data has some proof that the water hardness of the EDTA and unknown can potential match up to Mesa’s. Sources: (1) http://www.mesaaz.gov/water/hard_water.aspx