Airport Security Why Safety Is More Important Than Privacy Essay Example

Airport Security: Why Safety Is More Important Than Privacy Essay Sarker-3 Airport Security: Why Safety Is More Important than Privacy Since September 11th, people have become concerned about airport security. The millimeter body scanner is one of the outcomes of people’s concerns. The scanner creates a full body image that can reveal any suspicious element that may be concealed on their person. While this type of image can calm some fears, the scanner is now a controversial issue. Arguments for each side focus on two main areas: privacy and safety. When it comes to safety, most of us agree to give up some sort of personal freedom in order to be safe. On the other hand, the loss of some freedom can conflict with privacy, and some are not willing to give up some personal space to be safe. In other words, a line has been drawn between safety and privacy. In my opinion, we have to give up smaller self concerns in order to promote the common good. We should prioritize safety over privacy, even though body scanners violate some personal space. To understand how the issue of privacy and safety relate to security scanners fully, we must define first the function of the security scanner. A security scanner is a machine that creates a virtual image of a body and shows everything â€Å"opaquely† under a person’s clothes (USA TODAY). The scanner moves around a person and creates millimeter wave images that are three dimensional holographs (Lisa Vaas). After September 11, TSA (Transportation Security Administration) worked to place to have modern security systems in US airports, and the 3D scanner is the result of this modernization. However, the scanner is not accepted by all travelers. The lack of acceptance reveals concerns about privacy. We will write a custom essay sample on Airport Security: Why Safety Is More Important Than Privacy specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Airport Security: Why Safety Is More Important Than Privacy specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Airport Security: Why Safety Is More Important Than Privacy specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Sarker-4 Why should we be more concerned about safety than we are about privacy? To answer this question we will examine safety and its importance in terms of present fears and concerns. Then, we will consider the effect of not prioritizing safety in airport security. To do so, we must exemplify and give facts about the importance of safety and how it was ignored before September 11. Finally, we will analyze the matter of privacy, which is important but not as crucial as safety. In doing so, we will establish that safety should get priority over privacy in the current airport security system. Airport security is very important due to present rumors that cause fear and concerns about explosives in airplanes. On Christmas Eve of 2009, a Nigerian young man carried explosives beneath his underwear in Amsterdam Airport and was successful in boarding his plane. Fortunately, he was caught on the plane (â€Å"Airport body scanner†). If Amsterdam airport had virtual scanners, would the young man carrying explosives have made it onto the plane? Probably not. The flight was heading to Detroit, and if he had been successful, that incident would have drastically affected the American people psychologically. Given this example, it is likely the full body image scanners would be effective in strengthening airport security and calming people down. In fact, 78% of travelers who travel more than twice a year do not mind being scanned (Frank Thomas), and most of them actually â€Å"favor plans to install body scanners at airports† worldwide (USA TODAY). If the majority of travelers do not mind going through the scanner and actively support its installation, why should we neglect security by failing to install scanner in all airport? In using scanners in the airport, the Transportation Security Sarker-5 Administration is addressing people’s safety concerns. In current circumstances, having high technological security gives people psychological confidence to travel on planes. Despite safety, many people are concerned about their privacy in the present airport security system, especially with the use of 3D scanners. Many think present security and use of the full body scanner in airports is time consuming and ethically wrong. The new body scanners are not actually time consuming since the old, outdated system requires travelers to come to the airport hours before their flight. Therefore, the scanner does not take any extra time. Going through 3D scanner, however, still remains a concern because many individuals value privacy. Knowing the fact that the Millimeter Wave Scanner creates naked pictures of the entire body and security workers see the picture, some believe this scanner is an extraordinary invasion of privacy under the best of circumstances (USA TODAY). Therefore, the scanner still remains a concern. Those against the scanners are likely very passionate about defending their privacy. When it comes to exposing their bodies, they value their privacy over security. The privacy issue is serious but body scanner officials keep a very careful distance among the passenger and workers. The people who see the image can not see the person. They just detect whether the passenger holds any suspicious elements or weapons. The work is very strict in that they are not able to make fun of people’s bodies. However, there was an incident in Heathrow airport in London in which two workers had a fight over creating naked body image of a worker (Declan). The incident might be the reason to be concern of privacy, but that is rare regarding virtual imaging scanner. Sarker-6 Even though most of the negative rumors turn out to be wrong regarding the millimeter wave scanner, there are a few being proven right. Airport security officials said that they do not hold on to the images for more than 48 hours. This claim, however, was proven wrong, when it was discovered that â€Å"some police agencies are storing the controversial images after all. The U. S. Marshals Service admitted this week that it had surreptitiously saved tens of thousands of images recorded with a millimeter wave system at the security checkpoint of a single Florida courthouse. (Privacy Inc). In the article by Privacy Inc, there is reason for concern when dealing with privacy. But we can not draw any conclusion at this point. As we all know, most of the things in the world have positive and negative effects. As a democratic country’s citizens, we know majority wins. Therefore, it is imprudent to favor privacy over safety when it comes to preventing danger in airports, even if ten thousand images are being kept for security purposes. As many people urge to protect privacy, the TSA invested money to make airport security more tolerable inventing machine such can read minds. FAST (Future Attribute Screening Technology) is developing a scanner that can read minds. The underlying theory is that body reacts, in measurable and involuntary ways, to revel nature of intention. Putting laser cameras, measuring heart rate, body temperature, respiration and asking certain questions it will be measurable to determine naughty or nice intention (Cherry and Corley 61). As statistics show, safety has been a major concern and privacy has been a minor concern, yet technological advancement can strengthen both concerns. â€Å"We are not reading minds,† says Robert P Burns, a eputy director of innovation at the Homeland security Advanced Research Project s Agency and the FAST project manager Sarker-7 (Cherry and Corley 61). The virtual body scanner only scans body, but it can not read minds. If the FAST is able to develop a mind reading machine, that will be a revolutionary invention for our airport security system. The dream of a mind reader is not yet a reality, b ut given the facts and extreme incidents such as September 11th safety continues to be the most important priority. However, I understand why people might have concerns about privacy. No one wants an image created of his or her naked body, let alone seen by complete strangers. But we don’t have yet the technology that can provide safety and also protect people’s privacy. So, we have to stick to the best possible security and hope that the mind reader project will be successful. Airport security has gradually evolved since the tragic events of September 11th. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) worked to have new, more effective technology in place to protect citizens and prevent future national emergencies. The virtual security scanner is the outcome of this goal. Going through scanner might save the lives of thousands of people. Scanners have been effective but also criticized since their invention. As human beings, if given a choice between being subjected to the virtual body scanner or being in constant danger when traveling by plane, what would we chose? I definitely will choose to use the scanner. It is understandable to have moral values and concerns about naked images in the airport, but we can make a small sacrifice in order be safe.

World Tourism Organization Essay Example

World Tourism Organization Essay Example World Tourism Organization Essay World Tourism Organization Essay boring Slide 1 5 On foot Advantages: meeting new friends and animals, opening new places Disadvantages: slow, dangerous Slide 16 Now you have a chance to travel to any place. Slide 17 There are a lot of places of interest in our world and many beautiful countries. Slide 18 Paris Paris is a particular city of France; its the capital of France, European fashion, art, city of unique people. Among its places worth sightseeing are Eiffel tower the cathedral of the Notre Dame, Louver. Louver is the museum of worlds art, which is visited by each traveller. French Kitchen is also famous and nobody will deny to dine t a small restaurant when essence of love is dissolved in peaceful evening air. Slide 20 Washington, D. C. is one of the most famous capitals in the world. Its known for its state buildings, the White House, US capitol, the Supreme Court building are among them, for plenty of memorials and museums dedicated to American heroes of the past. Lincoln, Jefferson and Washington memorials are great examples of warm feelings of Americans towards their heroes. Slide 22 One of the worlds great cities, Moscow is the capital of Russia. Since it was first mentioned in chronicles of 1147, Moscow has played a vital role in Russian history. Today Moscow is not only the political centre of Russia but also the countrys leading city in population, in industrial output, and in cultural, scientific, and educational importance. For more than 600 years Moscow has been the spiritual centre of the Russian Orthodox Church. Slide 24 Holidays Summer Winter Slide 25 Many people travel during holidays especially in summer. Some people enjoy spending their holidays in winter countries because they like frosty weather and enjoy winter sports. Slide 26 Norway France Winter sports were largely invented by the British leisured classes, nitially at the Swiss village of Zermatt (Valais), and St Moritz in 1864. The first packaged winter sports holidays took place in 1902 at Adelboden, Switzerland. Winter sports were a natural answer for a leisured class looking for amusement during the coldest season. Finland Austria Italy Russia Sweden Slide 27 Winter sports and activities Slide 28 Summer holidays All the people enjoy summer holidays very much. It is a great pleasure to have a rest after the whole year of hard work or study. People like to travel during their summer holidays. Some people go abroad to see new countries, ome people prefer to go to the country-side to enjoy country-life far from noise and fuss of big cities. Egypt Spain Turkey France Italy Greece Slide 29 Slide 32 Famous travellers Ferdinand Magellan Christopher Columbus Roald Amundsen Georgiy Ushakov Nikolay PrJevalskiy Slide 33 Fyodor Konyukhov The world-famous Russian traveller Fyodor Konyukhov was born and grew up on the Azov Sea. Finishing school he sailed on fishing trawlers, swam in the cool winter sea, slept on nails, made 100-kilometre runs a day, drank seawater and crossed the Azov Sea in a rowing boat. Entering a seminary in St. Petersburg Fyodor never finished his studies. One day the rector called him into his office and said, mfou love life too much. Go, live with the people He made four circumnavigations and crossed the Atlantic fourteen times. Fyodor is the first and so far the only person in the world to have reached the five extreme Poles of the planet. His name was entered into the encyclopedia Chronicle of Mankind. By the age of fifty he had made more than forty unique trips and climbs expressing his vision of the world in paintings and books. As a religious man, Fyodor Konyukhov agrees that the meaning of life of an Orthodox believer is to seek Gods grace, to learn what God as in store for one and to live ones life in keeping with Gods commandments, preparing for eternity. But when asked why risking life was so often? Fyodor says: Because suffering is the only way you can see the Lord. Slide 34 Ellen MacArthur The world record breaking solo round-the-world voyage by Ellen MacArthur has propelled her to the status of greatest sporting hero. MacArthurs fantastic voyage has marked the spirits of sailing fans around the world and has even succeeded in increasing the overall popularity of sailing. This is not only due to the feat itself, but largely because of exceptional media coverage. Only a handful of skippers had ever sailed a mu ltihull solo around the world and only two previously managed it non-stop Ellen was taking on a huge challenge. The live coverage of this event, as well as faultless support would be crucial. Offshore Challenges Sailing Team is at the leading edge of communications technology and OC Technology, part of the OC Group, created the all-Sony based onboard media system. This relied on 12 Sony cameras and microphones that could all be operated from down below via a simple switching box, and video compression/transmission and video conferencing that elped put the story on national news during the attempt. Three Sony VAIO Centrino- based notebooks were instrumental to navigation, video and still picture editing and communications. According to MacArthur, the VAIOs worked without a hitch: They all worked perfectly throughout the voyage, she says, and I never had a single problem with them. Slide 35 Questions Do you enjoy holidays? Would you like to find new places in the world? Do you admire any famous traveller? How long does it take a modern traveller to sail round the world? How long does it take to cross the Atlantic in a row boat? How does it feel to face a storming ocean? And what new challenges can nature offer to an adventurer who has already seen it all? Slide 36 Get ready for adventures! So are you ready to have an adventure? Are you ready to discover the deepest Jungle or to sail the dead calm waters of the Pacific? Do you want to hear how the wolves howl and be blinded by the white Arctic desert? Or do you want to see where the sirens sing, dance in the fields of coral? Whatever you To conclude I would like to say that everybody enjoys travelling and I think there are a lot of unknown places which we should make known.

Discussion Week 8 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Discussion Week 8 - Assignment Example One day she calls me and tells me she wanted 34 perfumes that different friends had asked for. This was the biggest order I had ever landed. I did not have the all the perfumes she wanted on hand, but I called my supplier and purchased the perfumes I needed. This was a great experience for me. Word of mouth advertising can help increase consumer sales because this is a way for customers to recruit other customers. The outcome of the encounter was that I was able to achieve my biggest sale by providing great customer service to a client. The customer recruited other clients for me as a favor. As a consequence of this event I was motivated to continue my self-employment. A few months later I found a full-time job and stop selling perfumes. The salesman experience helped me improve my people skills. A mistake that I regret associated with the 34 perfume sale experience was that I did not follow on that sale after obtaining such as good sales lead. A way for a business to prosper is by increasing its customer retention rate. Increasing the customer retention rates can help increase the profitability of a firm

Planning and time scale Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Planning and time scale - Essay Example managing the main risks as well as measuring the VOICE project performance and finally providing appropriate project management period on how the implementation and service support for providing VOICE services to VOs. Time is everything for this particular project. In that regard, here below is a presentation of how the project management is to be done which includes the timescales (Kerzner, 2013: 97). It is important to note here that though the project is supposed to be group work, each member of the group is mandated to play a specific role and hence the planning here below refers to each member and hence the group. The group leader calls for a meeting to do evaluations of the impact of the approach chosen on how compatible is the software to ISO 25000 SQuaRE Standards. This is done by every member where software product quality is thoroughly analyzed by each member and findings presented by each member in the group. The group then checks on all the findings presented by each member Each member is allocated one service process that is affected by the VOICE project whereby he is required to outline every key activity that is required to execute that very service process within the organization. Cost benefit analysis begins and this is collaboratively done by each member of the group. This involves analysis of whether the change of the software is adding value to the company. For thoroughness, each member is given a specific area which he analyses thoroughly then gives then gives the findings to the group who then does fine analysis. The group leader leads the group into identifying and assessing all emerging issues which include all legal matters and any technical risks involved in the change. The group lays down mitigation ways. Once the issues have been identified, the work is shared among each

Personality Traits And Leadership Abilities

Personality Traits And Leadership Abilities Admittedly, the relationship between Personality traits and leadership effectiveness has generated a lot of interest from researchers in different fields. Many a times, a consensus has been reached suggesting that an individuals successful leadership is determined by his/her personality traits (Matthews, Deary, Whiteman, 2003). In such situations, personality traits are used to measure the leadership performance of such individuals. The assessment criteria typical in such a situation are usually based on the Five-Factor framework, which is often employed as a framework account for analyzing individual traits of individuals. Other ways that have been used to identify whether an individual includes using trait approach to determine charismatic leadership (Goleman, 2004). Over and above, the general question that needs to be explained is whether personality tests can be applied to determine the leadership abilities of individuals (Hackman, Wageman, 2007). Although research studies have showed that aptitude with respect to leadership can ascertained through the evaluation of personality traits, the tools that can be employed to determine their personality traits are faced with common errors and therefore subjecting the findings to warrant a discussion. Nonetheless, the extent to which personality traits can be used to predict an individuals leadership abilities is a matter that is still open to debate. Worse still, there are no proven universal characteristics or character traits used to measure leadership success of individuals. As certain clear characteristics can be seen in excellent leaders, other traits are acquired naturally. In addition to the Five-Factor Model and Charismatic leadership traits, other methods that can be used to predict leadership characters include the application of narrow verses broader perspectives of success in leadership with respect to how personality traits are applied in leadership activities. The Relationship between Leadership and Personality Traits Arguably, leadership ability comprises of various skills that can be acquired throughout an individuals career. It entails the process that makes an individual to be in a position of influencing the attitudes and behaviors of others. As opposed to leaders whose role is to exert influence upon the behaviors of fellow individuals, an effective leader not only exerts influence but also accomplishes organizational goals assigned to his/her leadership role (Robbins, and Judge, 2009). Generally, leaders are concerned with creating a visionary approach to their followers and in turn improving communication and coordination channels that are essential for the completion of the organizational goals while at the same time motivating their subordinates. There are several theories that have been put forward to aid in the measurement of leadership effectiveness. This includes but not limited to cognitive approach, situational approach, the behavioral approach, and lastly the trait approach. For purposes of the topic under discussion, the trait approach can be evaluated with respect to its concept of emphasizing an individuals abilities, personality, and other dispositions that can be used to characterize his/her personality (Matthews, Deary, Whiteman, 2003). The trait further proposes that majority of individuals with leadership capabilities are born with characteristics that are innate thereby giving them the ability to exert influence over other individuals. The Big Five or Five-Factor Model In addition to the issue of intelligence being the most effective trait in measuring managerial effectiveness, five dimensions that are based on personality traits can be used to identify and/or evaluate leadership traits of an individual. It is commonly referred to as the Big Five Model or the Five-Factor model, which is comprised of conscientiousness, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and emotional stability. Each of these factors is made of individual clusters that enable it to acquire specific traits that are closely related. However, all of these dimensions of personality comprising the model are used to describe the personality of human beings. Several advantages can be associated with using the Five-Factor Model as a choice of explaining leadership abilities based on personality traits (Judge, and Bono, 2000). Firstly, it enables researchers to achieve orderliness in the research field that has been in need of such a model for a long period. Secondly, findings from numerous studies can be compared side by side to using elements of meta-analysis. Lastly, the big five elements are often considered to be a common language when it comes to describing the personality of individuals given that the probability of researcher agreeing over personality aspects is very high. Limitations of the Big Five-Factor Model Although the Five-Factor model seems to be a convincing approach of evaluating leadership abilities based on personality characteristics, a number of conceptual and utility drawbacks limits its application. This includes but is not limited to unavailability of agreement between the different aspects that make up the model. For instance, naming of the elements that make up the five personality factors differ significantly in terms of defining each factor (Judge, and Bono, (2000). Additionally, these aspects do present a broad and cumbersome situation when it comes to describing personality when applied in the field of research. This is applicable when data is collected from the field and researchers have to determine the level of detail that needs to be applied in such a situation. Narrow and broad aspects have to be defined in order for the researchers to come up with a more detailed explanation of how personality traits affect leadership abilities. Lastly, this model has been criticized for its failure to explain all aspects that relate to human personality because it does not consider factors such as manipulativeness, honesty, sense of humor, and religiosity among others (Harris, 2006). Narrow vs. Broad Personality Aspects as Applied in Predicting Leadership Abilities In light of the evidence presented in the above analysis, it can be concluded that the application of the Five-Factor analysis to predict leadership capabilities of individuals failed to provide sufficient results. Therefore, narrow and broad personality factors can be applied in different situations to predict leadership abilities of various individuals (Harris, 2006). Narrow personality traits include primary factors whereas broad factors include global factors both, which are measured based on predictive power and utility aspects. Admittedly, personality has been used for a long time as form of measuring the performance and behavior of individuals in the workplace scenario. As such, narrow and broad aspects of personality do have an impact on the ability of leaders to do whatever they feel is right (Matthews, Deary, Whiteman, 2003). For this reason, a number of personality aspects, which determines the level of forcefulness that a leader will employ, realize his/her goals. In turn, an indication will be established to show how well a leader is prepared in attending to leadership priorities. The primary factors established include dominance and social boldness, both of which are very important in determining leadership skills. On the other hand, broad factors include those that affect independent leadership abilities such as openness to change and vigilance. However, they are not so important personality traits that influence leadership abilities of such individuals as compared to narrow aspects. As it can be seen from the above discussion, understanding the factors that influence leaders to do actions that must be done in order to achieve their goals in addition to their independence. It is useful in getting an overall picture of the nature of abilities in leadership and the corresponding relationship to personality. Primary factors enable an individual to determine the qualities that will enable him or her to specify his abilities that will enable him to succeed as a leader. Additionally, the predictive power of leaders are often distinguished in terms of broad and narrow personality perspectives. In turn, competencies in different leadership scenarios can be ascertained by comparing the factors that determine their personality traits. Conclusion Admittedly, for a long time, personality traits have been employed to predict the extent to which an individuals leadership abilities can be ascertained. In fact, the issue has been subjected to numerous debates but over and above all, a consensus that has been agreed upon is that personality traits do predict leadership abilities (Block, 2010). From a managerial point of view, management officials not have a say in the general performance of an organization but also do play an important role in influencing the performance of their seniors or subordinates (Robbins, and Judge, 2009). Conversely, theories have been put forward to explain ways in which personality traits influence leadership performance. A good example is the application of the Big Five model or Five-Factor model as a method of assessing the impacts of personality traits on leadership performance. This framework has been used to account for reasons as to why individual trait differences exist. Generally, the dimensions used to construct this model differ in terms of the dimensions used to describe it but also the nature in which they are constructed. However, the model failed to consider all personality aspects that make up the general humanity perspectives. This led to the explanation of personality traits from a narrow and broad perspective. Additionally, these factors were found to influence leadership abilities of individual using primary and global factors. Generally, what matters the most is the value of a personality trait in influencing the personality trait of an individual (Hackman, Wage man, 2007). In light of evidence presented in this paper, the extent to which personality traits can be used to influence leadership abilities is dependent on the value of the trait in influencing the decision of the individual (Block, 2010). This can be assessed using narrow measures in order to ascertain the effect that the trait brings with respect to the choices made.

To what extent do pressure groups undermine democracy

It is a varied opinion in society that pressure groups undermine democracy: some people believe strongly, some people don’t. It is hard to begin to analyse whether this is the case or not, as there are a varying amount of factors that need to be considered before a final decision and be made. In the first instance of answering this question, we need to find out the two types of pressure groups; elitist pressure groups and pluralist pressure groups.Elitism is the theory that political power is concentrated in the hands of a few, which therefore sort of emphasises a dictatorship in some instances. Whereas the other type of pressure group ideology is the theory of the distribution of political power that holds that power is widely and evenly dispersed in society, rather than concentrated in the hands of an elite or ruling class, which from an outside point of view, would look like it promotes democracy.Supporters of pressure group would lead this on to say that pressure groups en hance this sense of pluralism in our democracy and make our democratic system much more effective. Although the opposite argument to this is that people claim that many organized groups can undermine the policy making process because they are dominated by people with vested interests concerned only to improve the position of certain groups within society, not the welfare of the whole country.Pressure groups also help to promote democracy because they widen the distribution of political power because pressure groups compete against one another and this ensures that no group can remain on top of all the others, so prevents an elitist situation whereby the ideologies pluralism is completely outcast from the situation. However as one group begins to turn more influential, other groups come into existence to combat them and offer rival viewpoints.Due to this, public policy is created through an ongoing debate between rival groups that ensures that political influence is widely and evenly dispersed. However, as we already know, a healthy democracy needs a high level of political participation in order to function correctly. Pressure groups are thought to have a positive effect on political participation because pressure groups support single issue politics because most pressure group are seen to be fighting for one issue, and people like this sense of working to one targeted issue and it has become popular amongst young people  to join in with the grass-roots activism that pressure groups are promoting, so supporters of pressure groups say that they increase political participation.Evidence for this increase in political participation is that in the 2005 general election the turnout was 61. 4%, however the 2010 general election saw a 2 million increase in the electoral turnout to 65%: from 2005 to now, there has been an ever-increasing number of pressure group memberships, so this may show a positive correlation between pressure group memberships and political par ticipation.Supporters of pressure groups would also say that pressure groups are good for democracy as they educate the electorate. Pressure groups promote political debate and argument and in doing this, they give birth to a more educated voter and this then leads to and improved quality of public policy. Without this education, it would be simply down to the media to educate the electorate on this issue, which is a very flimsy way of doing so. Pressure groups also offer alternative view points and widen information available to the public.For example the NSPCC offers a huge education programme on their website in order to educate their members on the wider issues of child cruelty. In many ways, pressure groups are able to raise the quality of political debate by introducing specialist knowledge and greater expertise. However pressure groups do hinder democracy in the sense that they sometimes hold a disproportionate influence over the government due to the power which particular g roups hold. For example the BMA represents only a small proportion of the country.Yet it has great influence over the government because its members provide an important service. A further example of this factor is the NFU. Again, they represent a small proportion of the country, but retain a huge influence over the government as they provide Britain's food supply. Another undemocratic feature of pressure groups is the way in which their influence can rely on financial clout rather than the proportion of public support. This theory applies to many of the protection groups whom have greater capital than many well supported causal groups.An example is Bernie Ecclestone who used to have connections with Tony Blair to arrange a meeting in which the prime minister agreed to extend the deadline for the removal of tobacco advertising in formula one racing by 5 years, a few months later Ecclestone made a 1 million pound donation to the labour party, so connections like this from pressure gr oup members to high profile people, lead to undemocratic things like this occurring. In addition to this, power held by pressure groups can depend on the size of the membership.Initially, this many seem more of a democratic factor rather than a undemocratic feature; surely if a group has a large membership it represents more of public opinion than one which has fewer members. An example which proves this is that of Anti-vivsection. The anti vivisection group has a reasonably large membership, yet the vast majority of the public support animal testing for medical purposes. In fact, up until 2005 no pressure group which opposed the views of anti vivisection even existed. If we were to go purely by the membership of these group prior to 2005, the data would indicate that 100% of the pubic supported anti vivisection.One of the main reasons as to why the pluralist image of group politics is bad, is that it doesn’t simply just disperse power more widely and empower ordinary citizen s, pressure groups simply tend to empower the powerful even more and it therefore increases political inequality. Pluralists argue back and say that political in equality is broadly democratic, in that most successful groups are the ones with the large membership base however in reality, the most powerful pressure groups are the one which have the most money, so this is another reason as to why pressure groups undermine democracy, because they increase political inequality.In conclusion I believe that there are several ways in which pressure groups do undermine democracy, however I agree with the pluralist view that allowing a wide range of beliefs and ideologies to flourish promotes democracy, mainly by educating the public into making informal judgements on current affairs.

Families of the Forest

ANTH 418 Final Paper This paper will be discussing the ethnography by Allen Johnson titled Families of the forest. The ethnography describes the Matsigenka people of Shimaa that live in the Peruvian Amazon. The paper will examine the Matsigenka culture, the needs and resources of the culture, and proposed projects to meet the needs of the culture. The Matsigenka of Shimaa live in isolation along river valleys and forested mountains in the Peruvian Amazon (Johnson,1999, p. 24). They live in small villages of about 7 to 25 people, that make up three to five nuclear family households (Johnson, 1999, p 3).The Matsigenka prefer to live in these hamlets and avoid interacting with people outside of their immediate family. The Matsigenka live a family level society and this helps them to avoid being exploited or to encounter enemies (Johnson, 1999, p. 6). Their isolated hamlets are very self-sufficient; â€Å"good land for horticulture is ample, however, and the low population density and w idely scattered small settlements has meant only minimal competition between family groups for what wild foods do exist† (Johnson, 1999, p. 21). They live off of fishing, foraging and horticulture and the most important food to the Matsigenka is insect larvae.This provides them with protein and dietary fats, which they can get year round from moths, butterflies, beetles, bees and wasps (Johnson, 1999, p. 36). The cultural values of the Matsigenka are not to far from that of Western culture. Much of their religious beliefs are stemmed from folklore and spirits which promote proper behaviors within the group. They can be calm, quiet, gentle, but also mean, aggressive, and violent. They might be less sociable in large groups, but â€Å"they are more courteous and thoughtful in individual interactions. They are less attracted to the lure of commerce and new value systems.Their commitment to freedom of the family unit is truly remarkable† (Johnson, 1999, p. 50). The Matsigen ka are a people that are at their happiest when left alone from outsiders and in their isolation. Much of their happiest in isolation stems from the fear of outsiders bringing in infectious diseases, which happened in the 1950s and 1960s when they first encountered Peruvians and Euro-Americans (Johnson, 1999, p. 75). They maintain societal standards for their hamlets that require independence and being able to live peacefully within a group.They do not have or give proper names to one another and when they do name a person it is usually referring to a deformity or amusing incident (Johnson, 1999, p. 20). â€Å"Somehow individual men and women must be highly self-reliant, motivated to do the necessary thing according to their own judgment with little encouragement (or interference) from others, and yet at the same time be generous in the family and avoid the impulsive expressions– especially of sex, aggression and greed– that can shatter even the strongest interpersona l bonds in closely-cooperating family groups† (Johnson, 1999, p. 10). â€Å"Courtship is generally open and a topic of delighted conversation at large. For many couples, courtship is a more or less public expression of mutual interest as they test the possibility of marriage† (Johnson, 1999, p. 120). A married couple within the Matsigenka culture have established roles, they are partners with skills in separate areas of surviving. They seek to marry well and make sure to not marry a lazy person. They think that this will lead to an unequal marriage and the lazy person will always be dissatisfied (Johnson, 1999, p. 121). Matsigenka husbands and wives spend much time together in evident harmony and enjoyment of each other’s company. We frequently find them sitting side by side at home, working quietly at some task, talking and laughing together. At times they become playful and giggle or wrestle erotically† (Johnson, 1999, p. 120). Anger does not play a large role in their marriages, but it does happen occasionally when there are beer feasts and the men become drunk. The men may even beat their wives who in return will runaway to the home of their brother or father.The Matsigenka understand that intercourse between a man and woman is what leads to pregnancy and that the woman always knows who the father of that infant is (Johnson, 1999, p. 78). They do practice abortions and infanticide if the child is not wanted or is believed to not be the husband’s baby. Abortions are used if the mother is a widow or already has enough young children, and it is considered the mother’s choice (Johnson, 1999, p. 82). In early childhood, â€Å"the matsigenka overtly do little to hasten a child’s development. Their style is best described as a gradual raising of expectations.They do not cajole a child to rise up and toddle toward them, but they welcome her when she does† (Johnson, 1999, p. 85). The child learns responsibility from interacting with the mother. The families feel they need to tame the willful child, so that the family can survive and multiply (Johnson, 199, p. 78). â€Å"Matsigenka siblings are close and affectionate. They spend most of their childhood in each other’s company, and interact seldom with other children. This is partly because there may be few other children around, but it is also a reflection of the nuclear-family centeredness of Matsigenka behavior† (Johnson, 1999, p. 14). Some hamlets send their children to school. The school is about an hour walk each way for most children. â€Å"The school acts as both a magnet and a repellent for Matsigenka households. Attraction to the school, for trade goods, medicines, and a general sense of security comes into conflict with many of their most basic preferences about where and how to live best. It is these conflicts that account for the aversion many Matsigenkas have toward school communities† (Johnson, 1999, p. 19 7).When reading the ethnography by Allen Johnson there are a few specific needs that would benefit the Matsigenka people of Shimaa. When assessing the needs of the Matsigenka community it begins with gathering the information from the ethnography and then applying it to the community problems. The first need involves their drinking water and the access to it. The Matsigenka get their water from the river closest to their hamlets but because of their desire for isolation and the danger, they do not live close to the river banks.When they are in a the season of high water or Kimoariniku the trails become become muddy and make it hard to travel. During low season the â€Å"little streams that supply household needs during dry high water dry up, forcing people to lug river water in heavy, sloshing gourds up steep trails to their houses. And dry spells occur of long enough duration that crops in well-drained fields begin to wilt under the intense sun and Matsigenkas anxiously watch the skies for welcome signs of rain† (Johnson, 1999, p. 34). The second need of the Matsigenka people is a latrine.Johnson mentions in his book that a house did have a latrine but most of the people would use strips of land where brush or cane grow to defecate (Johnson, 1999, p. 207). â€Å"These are preferred areas for urination and children’s defecation. Adults are fastidious about defecation, however, and prefer whenever possible to refrain until they are at the edge of an old garden or out foraging in the forest† (Johnson, 1999, p. 207). By having effective latrines they can ensure proper sanitation, the prevention of infectious diseases, and help keep their drinking water safe and clean. The Matsigenka are disgusted by feces (itiga), not only of other people but of any animal. The feces of toddlers, not yet toilet trained, are quickly collected into a leaf and disposed of† (Johnson, 1999, p. 208). The Matsigenka do try to maintain good health but they do n ot have the proper tools and means to make sure they do not develop any infectious diseases. They try to locate their homes in areas where a family is not living upstream from their location, this ensures that the water will not be contaminated by urination or feces. They have standards of cleanliness to which they adhere, and they respond to injury and illness with all the tools at their command. But their technology for dealing with health threats, and particularly with infectious diseases, is of limited effectiveness† (Johnson, 1999, p. 431). Johnson notes that they do not go around with dirt all over them and smelling bad. They usually sit on the dirt floor with a mat, wash themselves daily, wash their garments daily, and wash their hands before preparing food (Johnson, 1999, p. 431).They also make sure that any waste or garbage is thrown away from their homes and in a designated area. â€Å"But efforts at hygiene are in a sense a losing battle in Shimaa. In addition to p arasites, infections pass freely between members of a household or hamlet because of the continual affectionate touching and sharing between them† (Johnson, 1999, p. 434). The third need for the Matsigenka is the prevention of infanticide. â€Å"A small but significant proportion of women, again perhaps one in ten, contemplate killing their infants rather than raise them.Men may have attitudes in the matter, and may promote infanticide if they believe another man is the father, but it is primarily the woman’s decision and her action† (Johnson, 1999, p. 81). Johnson discusses that some women feel the need to kill their infant because they have been unable to stop it from crying after a few days. Not everyone in the hamlet feels that infanticide is right but most do feel that it is the mother’s choice. â€Å"The general belief is that troublesome children should be bathed in hot water, not given up on† (Johnson, 1999, p. 82).There is a need of prevent ion not only with the mother but also with those closest to the mother. Some of the mothers were told by others to kill their babies, either because they needed them to continue working or because a co-wife told them they cannot raise children (Johnson, 1999, p. 82). â€Å"In the difficult choices of abortion and infanticide, the mother has the ultimate say and performs the act, even when her husband or parent tries to influence her decision†(Johnson, 1999, p. 82). The final need involves the Matsigenka’s access to school and their participation in school.Education is important because it helps to increase income and knowledge which makes future generation better able to survive. Many Matsigenka people do not like the school communities because they involve being around people they do not know. â€Å"Although social relations are peaceful and courteous, in private there is a good deal of suspicion and accusation leveled against members of other hamlets† (Johnson , 1999, p. 49). Other Matsigenka school communities besides Shimaa are much more integrated, visit each other more often, and trade goods (Johnson, 1999, p. 49).This is why it would be beneficial for all members of the community to be more open and involved in the school systems. With more students attending the school there is more opportunity to have better teachers and a better education. Discussing the proposed needs of the Matsigenka cannot happen without having a proposed development project to accompany each need. The first need discussed was drinking water and the access to it. To gain better access to drinking water the Matsigenka people need manually drilled wells to help secure their water and make it more accessible. By working with the school ommunities they could work to gain donations and funding through organizations to help manually drill wells for the people. While doing this, information could be explained to the different hamlets on the importance of boiling the water to prevent infectious disease. The second need for the Matsigenka is latrines. This is an important project because it helps to prevent disease and keep people healthy through proper sanitation. Many places that use latrines collect the waste and transport it out to be processed for future use as compost. With Matsigenka’s isolation and lack of roads and transport this makes this process very difficult.The project being proposed is to still use latrines but use biodegradable clay or stones to build it so that when the latrine fills up, it can still be used for farming in the future. Another possibility is to use good bacteria to help compost the human waste faster to help prevent the odor and flies from accumulating. When there is too much smell and flies people will prefer to defecate other places than the latrines. An additional way to cut down on the flies and smell is to install a type of sky light or vent that is at the top of the latrine.By building the latrine it will help sanitation and prevent water from being contaminated. While building the latrines it will be important to inform people in the community of the importance of not to defecating in the surrounding areas that they are living. To help keep infectious disease and bacteria from spreading it will be important to inform the community on the important of washing their hands after use of the latrine. The Matsigenka are already practicing good habits by avoid the areas of used for urination and defecation, so this would help in their transition to using latrines.The third proposed development project involves the prevention of infanticide. The Matsigenka people also practice abortions which are done before a child is born. This will not be a debate regarding whether or not abortion is right or wrong but rather a discussion on preventative measures to protect babies that are already born. Infanticide is usually used as a way to control the population or because of stressful parental situations. The community in Shimaa leaves the decision to the mother on whether or not to kill her infant. This is why it is important to inform the mother on etter ways to soothe a crying infant and ways to handle stresses regarding the infant. A project could be to implement awareness in the schools on how to handle infants and what are the options outside of infanticide for them and their infant. This is not a problem that could be change overnight. It may take many years of education and awareness to see the number of deaths decrease. The last proposed development project is the need for more school communities and access to education. Education is incredibly powerful and when that knowledge is obtained it is something that cannot be taken away.Education for the Matsigenka people can mean opening up their communities to more opportunities to trade and increase their incomes. With more income they can afford to have stronger and more functional housing. More income can also mean better access to medicines and clinics so illnesses can be treated early. â€Å"Attraction to the school, for trade goods, medicines, and a general sense of security, comes into conflict with many of their most basic preferences about where and how to live best. It is these conflicts that account for the aversion many Matsigenkas have toward school communities† (Johnson, 1999, p. 197).The Matsigenka people fear outsiders because of their fear of illness and their history with outsiders bringing influenza to their communities. â€Å"Always a topic of conversation, news of a viral infection in the neighborhood travels quickly. Families scatter to their alternative residences. They will stay away until they believe the danger has passed and the locale is again safe† (Johnson, 1999, p. 198). This will be a hard part of the project to handle but with proper sanitation, clean water, and awareness of proper hygiene their fear of outsiders bringing infection can be lessened. The Matsigenka are unique in their want of isolation.Most communities are looking to make sellable goods or use of their land, so that they can reach more people to have the possibility of more income. With more people coming to the Amazon in search of natural gas and to exploit their resources the Matsigenka people are going to have to become more aware and take more preventative action with the outside world. This means they need more information to protect against infectious diseases and to keep their community in the changing world. References Johnson, A. , (1999). Families of the Forest. Retrieved from http://www. sscnet. ucla. edu/anthro/faculty/johnson/ethnography. html