Pros and Cons of Prison Privatization Essay

Prisons are institutions that have specifically been designed to handle the members of the society who are under conviction of different crimes. The people who reside in the prisons are referred to as inmates or prisoners and the time they spend in the prisons depends on the imprisonment period. This period is dependent of the intensity of the crime committed. Once in the prisons, the inmates undergo rehabilitation, incapacitation, retribution and deterrence which are elements for considered appropriate for the provision of justice to the society. In the past, it has been the responsibility of the government to manage these institutions on behalf of the society. The increased debate on the privatization of different institutions has seen a debate being launched in regard to the privatization of prisons. This implies that the main purposes of these institutions to the society are shifting from not just maintenance of justice but also as a source of financial wealth. The new advancement is directed at allowing the straightening out of the contemporary faults that exist within the public prisons such as recidivism and overcrowding but there are some people who are opposed to this due to some possible negative results. In short, the process of privatizing the prison industry has both negative and positive effects and this paper seeks to address some of the pros and cons of this exercise. Privatization though a new concept to be applied in prison department in most of the countries across the globe, there are a few countries who used it in the past. For example during the mid 18th century, the United States government entered into a treaty with a number of private investors to manage a number of its institutions and these investors went ahead to contract inmates to some of their private enterprises as a source of labor. Some of the institutions that were contracted included ‘New York Auburn and Louisiana’ penal colonies. However, this did not last for long based on the fact that there was rampant corruption that was carried out as well as vicious resistance from other businesses who termed this as some kind of ‘unfair’ competition that was caused by these workers who were unpaid. Contemporary private prisons are however not the same as these because they operate on new models that are more promising. The Pros on the Prison Privatization Industry One of the major benefit that privatization of prisons would bring about is cost saving. The cost of crime depends upon relative increase in the rate of crime. The government in different countries spends billions of dollars every year on construction of prisons so as to be able to handle the increasing rates of crime. This is not the only cost based on the fact that guards to guard these inmates need to be recruited as well as other expenses that include; administration, food, health and education costs. It is argued by the majority of proponents of this idea that private companies can operate the prisons at a cost that is far much low than what the government uses and still maintain the quality services that are required. Some of the major reasons that these proponents give in regard the reduced cost are the elimination of bureaucracy, red tape, and the numerous laws that usually makes the costs of managing the prisons to rise in the case of public prisons. Allowing the private sector to manage these institutions will imply that some of the costs that are involved in learning the jail will not be generated from the tax payer’s contribution directly and as a result the money may be diverted to other government projects. This will facilitate better utilization of the government’s funds to develop the areas that are in serious need of development. Due to the issue of competition privatization there will be increased productivity as well as reduced waste in terms of resources. Studies have revealed that the boarding cost in the private owned prison to reduce to half that of the government owned prisons. There have been other studies some institutions saved more than twenty percent of the cost incurred in terms of the construction expenses and management costs reducing by 5-15% Sloane, 1996). The cutting down on cost is something that has been criticized heavily by the lobby groups who think that this will lead to the deteriora tion of the conditions inside these prisons. This is an economical plan that aims at giving back to the society as it serves to preserve justice to the community. According to the economic theory, the problem of financial support towards the running of the prison facilities would go down if there are more available, renting and selling prison cells, the challenges in terms of the funding and efficient allocation of prison space. Privatization of prisons is based on this factor of trying to exploit the opportunities by the introduction of factories adjacent to bars, cost reduction of the costs and give the prisoners the freedom to earn some pay as they give back to the society through the provision of labor. By this, they will be making peace with the society that they infringed some pain in the initial time through committing of crime. Though the public prisons try as much to carry out this exercise, this cannot be compared to the private sector that expresses this in a more profound manner. One way of demonstrating this is what was demonstrated in the United States sometimes ago. There was a time when there were more than one hundred private firms that with more than two thousand prisoners in the manufacturing industry. These inmates used to manufacture goods with the range of bird feeders, circuit boards, and other related equipments and from the money that was earned through this method, about 56% of it was used to cater for the room and boarding facilities, restitution of the victim, and support of the family. The process also left the inmates with some acquired skills that they could use during their re-integration process that welcomed them back to the society. Having some skills that they could use to earn a living put them in a better position in the society based on the fact that these people were liable of being treated by the community as ex-convicts that may rerun back into crime. It is also worth noting that the process of privatization may lead to some other new methods of criminal control other than the use of jail to detain people there by denying them freedom. One method can involve methods of detaining criminals within their dwelling by the use of new technology such as surveillance through small devices worn on the body such as bracelets or the electronic monitoring. It is however worth to note that such methods would cause some greater concern of the general public based on the fact that some would question whether the method would be effective in ensuring that crime is contained in the society. In short the privatization of the prison industry would have a lot of benefits as mentioned in the points that have been stated above. The financial benefits, well being of the prisoner, security gains, and answerability among other factors might be used by the proposers of this system to ensure that the majority of the prisons are privatized so as to improve this important institution that ensures the execution of justice in a given country. The concept of privatization is indeed a very bright idea that has so many advantages though the issue needs to be put under more scrutiny to be able to get to the bottom of some of the positive features that have been mentioned in this paper. This is a concept that has the potential of flourishing if given the attention it deserves to ensure that the social interests come before the urge to maximize profits by the corporations that have been contracted to set up the private institutions. It is also worth noting that each of the positive points that have been presented in favor of privatization, an equal amount of disproof as a means of counteract or frustrate this should be expected as it is the case for the public prisons. This is because in each debate regarding an issue that will touch on the welfare of the society there are those who are behind its implementation and there are those who solidly oppose such an issue; this is a good example of this kind of a topic. The Cons on the Prison Privatization Industry It is obvious that the main motive behind privatization is the profit. This is one of the major issues that can lead to a conflict of interest. It should be noted that prisons not only serve to separate the criminal from the rest of the society and give them punishment, it is also the duty and responsibility of the people in charge of the prisons to ensure that the criminals go through a rehabilitation process to ensure that that the recidivism rate is highly reduced based on the fact that it is very risky to relapse to the earlier behavior. Though the private prisons are cheaper than the public, they are not as efficient based on the fact that obtaining profits through the management of a prison would mean that rehabilitation programs, medical care, food and the hiring costs will be reduced at the expense of the welfare of the inmates. As a result, there high chances that the inmates will be underfed, experience poor living conditions, lack the rehabilitation guidance and be supervised by inexperienced and unskillful officers. James Austin who was an analyst conducted a survey in regard to the welfare of the inmates in some of these prisons and the results he obtained spoke volume of the kind of experiences that the inmates had to cope up with. One of the discoveries he made was that there was 49% more assaults on inmates by staff and 65% more assaults by inmates in the private run facilities than in the facilities that were learn by the government. This is one of factor that indicates that these private prisons are not that efficient when it comes to their performance. Another report that was conducted in England indicated that that the privatized prisons had bad scores in terms of the security and management based on the fact that there was failure in containing drugs, severe assaults and intentional criminal act ivity in the prisons. In addition, there are poor payments as well as working conditions in the private prisons as compared to the public prisons and this is the reason why there is high turnover in the public prisons as compared to the private prisons. It is also worth noting that privatization brings about lack of transparency in the prisons department. Public prisons have high degrees of transparency as compared to the private prisons. Despite having low transparency, the private prisons are also hard to legalize, scrutinize and bleaching of the contractual agreements are common and hard to detect and resolve. In short, the public prisons can be scrutinized easily by the public unlike the private prisons where public scrutiny cannot be assured due to the operation contracts that are usually confidential causing a serious failure in terms of accountability. Finally, this issue that seems to contradict the traditions that have been used for a long time by different countries in regard to the state respon sibility. There are functions that have been known for a long time to belong to the government and not to private developers since they are considered to belong to the class of the state responsibility to its citizens and one of this is the national defense. This is one thing that goes hand in hand with the protection of the public against crime and one of the major methods of doing this is the prison department and as a result, this department should be managed by the government of the particular country. Furthermore the act of administering punishment needs to be delivered by a body with high authority for it to be effective and this can only be the government towards is citizens who have indulged into criminal activities. As a result the ruthlessness of the punishment impacted by imprisonment or the denial of freedom needs to be executed by the government which is the sole representative of the society and not some individuals from the private sector. Privatization has also received some critics in regard the issue of ‘low-balling’. This is a system or a trick that played by contractors on the government. They under bid their fellow competitors with the aim of winning the tender and once they have won the tender, the costs are increased to very outrageous figures. The worst thing is that the competitors stand a chance of learning into bankruptcy, a situation that can leave the government in a positional that does not have any correctional capability. If this is introduced in the prison sector, this would mean that such an important section of the ensuring justice in the country would have some technical hitches and provision of poor facilities, a thing that would make this body loose its purpose. Despite the system having some advantages, there are a good number of disadvantages that may hinder the process of privatization in a given country. Some of the arguments presented by a section of scholars may not hold water but there are some arguments against privatization that should really be put into consideration for the sake of the welfare of the citizens who should be the first priority of any government (Sloane, 1996). Morality is a very important virtue and based on the fact that there are some aspects of privatization that undermine this value, it is a matter that needs to be deliberated deeply. It is also questionable as to whether the issue of morality and the society peer responsibility as well as the ultimate should be left to the hands of people whose major motive is to maximize profits and search of financial gains. This is an issue that makes the society to appear as if it is no longer guided by morals but rather by greed for money and opportunistic advocacy.

The Evolution of Communication Technology and Personal Impact Coursework

The Evolution of Communication Technology and Personal Impact - Coursework Example Even the style of learning was primitive. Many of the natural sciences were still in their first stages of development and the only way that information could be shared was through books. The one drawback was language and the ability to mass-produce. Literacy was a privilege among many cultures, so while everyone could speak their respective language, very few could write and read it. These books were also extremely valuable as not many copies were available during these periods. At many times, only one or two copies would have existed in the world. As such, learning and communication hindered human growth intellectually (Greff, 1987). The first real use of electronic communication started with the advent of Morse code. Samuel F. B. Morse created Morse code in the beginning of the 1840s. Communication and information was transmitted through a series of tones as either dots or dashes. A decoder could then be used to translate these messages (Noth, 1990). This was an extremely useful and important technological development in the age of communications. The biggest purpose was not that of education however, Morse code was instrumental in allowing communication of information and strategic planning during World War I and World War II (Mullener, 2002). This original development of communication technology would later come to serve as the communication of ideas, which is fundamental in scholasticism today. The next biggest leap in technology was the development of the first computers, which started in the mid twentieth century. At this time, the ancient computers were nowhere near the computers we use today. It was very common for a computer to take up many, many rooms in a single building and still only be... The Evolution of Communication Technology and Personal Impact As science and research developed during the many industrial and technological revolutions in the world, more and better technologies have been created. Every single person in the world is connected by a single technology alone: communications technology (Elahi, 2001). This includes cell phones, computers, Internet, etc. and they have all revolutionized the way in which we lead our lives. One of the most important developments that these technologies have influenced is the way in which we learn and assimilate information. Traditional learning in the classroom has been enhanced with computers and the Internet allows students to bring the world inside the classroom (Wingard, 2004). Personally, I have seen the benefits of this having been able to take classes while being able to still pursue an active career. The ways that the Internet and technology has developed has made it easier to learn as well as enhanced many aspects of learning to become multidiscipline. Mobile technologies h ave further revolutionized the educational system by allowing greater opportunities and greater exposure to new forms of learning, which can be beneficial to not only traditional students, but also those returning to school to earn their degree (Manner, 2003).  The first methods of communication were derived through writing. Technology has been existent in the past, present, and will be in the future. It shapes world events and the course of human development.

Scientific inquiry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Scientific inquiry - Essay Example ccording to National Standards for Science Education (NRC, 1996, p.23), scientists learn about the natural world in diverse methods on the basis of evidences derived from their work and they propose explanations for the study. The scientific inquiry includes some core elements such as ‘making observations, posting questions, examining information sources, planning investigations, analysis and interpretation of data, proposing answers, explanations and predictions, and communicating results’ (NRC, 1996, p.23. Cited in Simonson & Schlosser, p.2). Thus science and scientific inquiry are differentiated in various respects; the later tries to acquire knowledge about natural world through an assortment of observations and investigations whereas the knowledge obtained through the scientific inquiry constitutes science. I/O psychology refers to Industrial and Organizational psychology which is also called work psychology or organizational psychology or talent assessment. In the opinion of Spector (2003: 6) ‘the application of psychological principles to organizational settings’ and people at work in the organization is called Industrial and Organizational psychology. The primary objective of this branch of psychology is to preserve the ‘health and well-being’ of employees and thereby it helps the organization to ‘get the most from their employees or human resources’ (Spector. Cited in Furnham, 2005, p.2). Even though science and scientific inquiry are the fundamental elements of I/O psychology; scientific inquiry benefits more than science in the field of I/O psychology. In today’s complex business structure, priority is given to HRM strategies and thus organizational psychologists mainly concentrate on behavioral science and psychology. They analyze in dividual’s behavior through a sequence of processes such as close observations, interviews, investigations and interpretations. Organizational psychologists also make use of science for the thorough

Digital Image Metadata and Exif files - Forensics Research Paper

Digital Image Metadata and Exif files - Forensics - Research Paper Example (University of Reading, 2011) Data of raster images are represented in the form of a pixel which is the smallest part of a display screen. Each pixel represents the colour and its intensity. Raster is a display space of x and y grid for two dimension image and x, y and z coordinate for three dimension images. The raster images are difficult to modify without loosing any information as they are mapped directly to the raster space. The size of raster image files is usually far more than the size of vector image files. The most common types of raster images files include BMP, GIF, TIFF, JPEG and PNG. (Whatis.com?, 1997) Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) type of digital images contains complete information about the images and no data is lost when saved. It is generally referred as â€Å"lossless† format. Their sizes are too big to be suitable for delivery by web. (University of Reading, 2011) Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) type of digital images compresses data when saved. It looses its data whenever any modification is done and therefore generally referred as â€Å"lossy† format. It is good for delivery of photographic images by web. (University of Reading, 2011) Graphical Interchange Format (GIF) type of digital images is used for icons and graphics having limited range of colours. It does not loose information when saved and therefore generally referred as â€Å"lossless† format. It is good only for some types of images and used mostly on internet. (University of Reading, 2011) Portable Network Graphics (PNG) type of digital images is added recently in graphics file types. It has better compression result and support true colours. It is high quality and small size digital image file. (University of Reading, 2011) Data of vector images on the other hand is represented by vector objects which are geometrical figures such as lines, circles, rectangles, curves and many more shapes of geometry. Scaling, transformation, resizing, and resha ping are accurately done on vector images as its data is based on mathematical instructions. The most common types of vector image files have extension of SVG. They are used in software that is dedicated towards drawing and illustration such as Adobe Flash, CorelDraw, Inkscape, ACD Canvas, etc. Figure 1 shows comparison between digital images of Raster and Vector types. (JISC Digital Media, 2009) Figure 1: Comparison of Raster Images and Vector Images (JISC Digital Media, 2009) Metadata Metadata is the digital information that describes structure and relationship amongst different contents of digital data files. Earlier databases stored metadata as headers of the actual data files. Metadata is stored in a separate database file generally referred as registry or repository. For example, Windows operating system have registry in which the structure of entire hardware, device drivers and actual data is stored. (Bargmeyer & Gillman) The simplest example of metadata is an index of a book which gives the name of the chapters in the book and page numbers where it is located. If an index is removed from the book, it becomes extremely difficult to find any chapter whenever some information is needed. Similarly, metadata helps in organizing, storing, processing, retrieving and displaying contents of a data file which is otherwise meaningless. Metadata adds meaning to a data file by interpreting its contents according to its context. Digital Image files did not have

Critically Evaluating Quantitative Research Assignment

Critically Evaluating Quantitative Research - Assignment Example The use of the terms â€Å"quantitative† and â€Å"qualitative† in categorizing variables should not be mistaken with the use of these same terms to describe research approaches. The quantitative and qualitative variables described below both occur within quantitative research; qualitative research takes into account no such variables because it deals with explanation and interpretation of phenomena and do not categorize information in the form of variables (Hopkins, 2008; Hunter & Leahey, 2008; UNESCO, 2011). Quantitative or continuous variables may be classified as interval-scale, continuous ordinal, or ratio-scale. Interval-scale variables have order and equal intervals, are linear, and may assume positive or negative values. Continuous-ordinal variables may or may not be linear (i.e., it may be exponential, logarithmic or other monotonic transformation); they therefore lose their interval-scale property, and the observations are therefore best expressed by their ran ks which is the only certain parameter. Ratio-scale variables are continuous positive measurements on a nonlinear scale, such as the growth of bacterial population; in such a case, the population grows or multiplies at a ratio, for equal time intervals (UNESCO, 2011). Qualitative or discrete variables are also known as categorical values. ... The process of measurement may involve different procedures, depending upon the thing being measured (Gay, 1996). Variables in the physical sciences or areas of inquiry are usually measured according to a deterministic or positivist manner; this means that the measurements obtained are detectable and verifiable by the five senses, so they are more or less objective (Kincheloe, 1998; Colwell, 2006; Palmo, Weikel & Borsos, 2006; Hammersley & Atkinson, 2007) . On the other hand, measurements of variables that have a bearing in the social sciences are usually probabilistic in nature, which means that the actual measure may only be conjectured at with a certain degree of accuracy that is less than 100 per cent, and therefore prone to some subjectivity in the determination. An example of this is psychometrics, the field of study that measures the social and psychological attributes pertaining to certain phenomena (Rust & Golombok, 1999; Rao & Sinharay, 2007; Furr & Bacharach, 2008). Since the attributes measured are essentially internal processes that occur in the mind, they may be observed only from their external manifestations, or what are thought to be such, and from thence rendered into measurable quantities qualified by probability. Measurement is therefore indirect rather than direct (Kincheloe, 1998; Colwell, 2006). For directly observable things, measurement is straightforward, needing only physical counting or the use of such measuring tools as gauges, scales or meters. For those quantities that may not be directly measured, there are different approaches. One is the use of proxies (e.g. stand-ins); these are manifestations other than the variable being actually measured, that are

Discuss a detail information of the movie Rossie the Riveter Essay

Discuss a detail information of the movie Rossie the Riveter - Essay Example The American culture, for the most part, had seen the ideal of womanhood as staying home and raising the children. Most women did not work outside the home. Those who did had limited opportunities. In 1910 in the United States, more than one third of employed women were maids or house servants. However, during World War II, it became the woman’s responsibility to pick up the industrial work. It was seen as the woman’s duty to support the men at war. They were expected to work in war factories, building ships and planes. â€Å"Rosie the Riveter† portrays 5 women’s firsthand accounts of working in Detroit, New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco during World War II. All the women stated that they were led to feel like they had to do their part for their husbands, brothers, and sons off at war. The movie showed government propaganda created to persuade women to work, such as television commercials that compared using machinery to using a sewing machine. Some women were enticed to work in war factories by their patriotisms, others by the hope of making good money. However, all struggled with long grueling days and inequality. Women were still not paid the same as the men who had previously done the same jobs. The movie â€Å"Rosie the Riveter† even states women were often better at these jobs because of their precision and small hands. There women, however, weren’t paid the same as men. African Americans have faced discrimination in the United States, based on their race for centuries. Discrimination based on race was prevalent during World War II. Race, much like gender, is a socially constructed category. Race refers to difference in human physical characteristics used to categorize a large group, in this case African Americans. â€Å"Rosie the Riveter† portrays how African American women were discriminated against in the workplace. The movie discusses how black women made less than white women doing the same job, equally well. Inequality was not just faced at the financial level. Black women were often not given as good of jobs as white women. One African American woman in the â€Å"Rosie the Riveter† discusses about how she went for a job along with three white women. The shipyard gave all three of the white women jobs and then told her that there were no more jobs left for her. Black women also faced discrimination among other female workers. The one woman in the movie discussed how a black woman was not allowed to use the showers at the factory. This was because some of the white women did not want to share a bathroom with and African American. This caused such a problem that no one was allowed to use showers anymore. Throughout World War II, the housework and the children were still seen as the women’s duty. Women were encouraged to work, but they were not excused from the housework or the children. Women were putting in long grueling days at the factories. Hey were then p utting in long grueling nights at home. Women were working twelve-hour days in the factory. They were then going home and doing all the housework, including the care of the children. One woman in â€Å"Rosie the Riveter† describes how she lived with her husband’s family. She would work all day at the factory, the same one as her brother-in-law. However, she had to come home and cook. She made dinner for everyone and then cleaned up afterwards. Her brother-in-law laid on the couch and

Childhood Obesity Essay Example for Free

Childhood Obesity Essay Obesity is such a hot topic in America today and childhood obesity and the ethical arguments over obesity has greatly increased over the last 10 years. Health problems that occur from this deadly disease is something that no one wants to talk about. When people think about health, what usually is discussed is cancer or heart disease. Not many people really think about one of the biggest issues out there that is really not taken very seriously and that is obesity. In America there are hundreds of thousands of children that are overweight. Obesity is a disease, a disease associated with many other health issues, including congestive heart problems, diabetes among other physical and mental complications associated with this disease. We will discuss throughout this paper how one of the classical theories would help resolve the problems that are associated with the dangers of childhood obesity, then discuss the perspective of society and how it relates to relativism in todays world. There are many arguments about how childhood obesity starts, whos to blame for allowing this to happen and societies ethical and moral obligation associated with fixing the problem. Who or what is to blame for the increasing levels of childhood obesity? Some believe it is the parents themselves; others accuse the food industry and government. One fact cannot go unchallenged and that is the longer this disease is allowed to grow and is not brought under CHILDHOOD OBESITY 3 control, the higher the percentage of childhood obesity will increase and the effects and diseases will become an even greater risk to kids. It is important to recognize childhood obesity as a disease condition and the role that is played in aggravating the development of other diseases (Barton, 2012). There are numerous health issues that will happen to our children now, and as they reach adulthood if we do not act now to help prevent these ramifications from happening. Childhood obesity is associated with an increase for other diseases not only during childhood but as the youth become adolescent and then into adulthood. â€Å"Obesity in childhood causes a wide range of serious complications, and increases the risk of premature illness and death later in life†. (Strauss, RS, 1999) Obesity in children if left neglected, will increase the risk of developing chronic adult diseases. There are substantial risk for obese children even before they reach adulthood. Of equal concern is that obese children could become obese adults. (Papoutsakis, 2007) Childhood obesity not only affects todays generation but will also affect tomorrows adulthood. Obesity in children has become a major ethical and moral challenge for todays society and is now threatening to become a disease with multiple health risk for today as well as beyond. Obesity is a disease, a disease that if not taken seriously may have health ramifications for years to come. The problem with childhood obesity is not just the weight issue but the other diseases associated with the neglect of this disease. Understanding and working CHILDHOOD OBESITY 4 towards solutions will only improve the chances of solving this disease and all other diseases associated with childhood obesity. Childhood obesity is linked to diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma and other breathing issues, and heart disease on the physical side of this disease. On the mental side, childhood obesity can be associated to depression, low self esteem, and learning problems are associated with childhood obesity. Diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, which previously affected only adults, have begun to show up in with increasing frequency in youths in recent years. The primary cause is the growing number of overweight and obese children. (CDC,2011) As the number of childrens weight have increased their cholesterol levels have also increased, adding for concern of cardiovascular diseases and high blood pressure. Childhood obesity is also linked to depression in youth as well as young adults. Obese children face ridicule and teasing from other students in school as well as a decrease in friends. This leads to isolation and depression which could lead to low self-esteem into adulthood. Obese children are sometimes withdrawn in the classroom which diminishes their learning ability and social skills development which affects social interaction in adulthood. What causes childhood obesity? Obesity in childhood is influenced by social and family matters as well as their DNA and activity level through out the day. Childhood obesity is the result of eating too many calories and not getting enough physical activity.2 (CDC, 2011) In todays society, most children spend most of their day playing video games or sitting around CHILDHOOD OBESITY 5 watching television. â€Å"It has been estimated that roughly 60-92% of children play computer games daily†. (Papoutsakis, 2007) With the staggering number of television viewing, the role of food advertisers must be addressed as one of the causes of obesity. â€Å"Nearly half of U.S. middle schools allow advertising of less healthy foods, which impact students decision making of healthy food choices†. (CDC, 2011) Portion control has also changed for kids in the last five years. â€Å" Portion sizes of less healthy foods and beverages have increased over time in restaurants, grocery stores, and vending machines. Research shows that children eat more without realizing it if they are served larger portions. This can mean they are consuming a lot of extra calories, especially when eating high-calorie foods.† (CDC , 2011) Another factor that is affecting obesity is children is the fact that most families in todays world are way to busy to enjoy a meal at home and spend more time eating out on fast food. In summation, in todays world, kids are not exercising like they should and are eating the wrong type of food as well as eating more to satisfy their appetites. Television and video game playing is a contributing factor because it takes away time that is needed to exercise and influences kids to make unhealthy and irrational choices concerning food consumption based on food advertisements. By not confronting childhood obesity, we are not facing the challenges associated with this disease. It is not a matter of who is to blame for childhood obesity, we all know that this disease is very prevalent in children today. â€Å" Obesity now affects 17% of all children and adolescents in the United States – triple the rate of a generation ago† (CDC, 2011). The numbers are staggering and the health ramifications associated with this disease cannot be discounted. The CHILDHOOD OBESITY6 preliminary findings are disturbing with regards to the disease and consequences of not finding solutions to fight this disease. Obesity is a worldwide epidemic that is causing life threatening diseases. Obesity has become a serious health issue and causes 2.6 billion deaths each year. (Raj, Kumar, 2010, p.598) The threat of of this disease cannot be discounted and must be addressed before its too late for this generation. There are many different ways to combat obesity in children. There must be a plan in place for it to be successful. The plan must include changing the eating habits of todays youth. Children must eat planned out meals, eating meals as a family instead of eating out on the run. Limiting the amount of snacking throughout the course of the day, knowing what the children are eating when they are in school. Controlling the portions or the amount of food that is consumed and increasing the physical activity. Putting a plan in place will help manage and hopefully decrease the chance of childhood obesity in todays youth. Executing the plan and trying to resolve the problems associated with this disease is high on the political, public health and research agenda. However, programs to prevent overweight and obesity are susceptible to various ethical shortcomings and need assistance for a successful remedy to eh problem of childhood obesity. One classical therory that should help with the success to combact obesity is deontology. CHILDHOOD OBESITY7 Deontology theroy is to make the correct moral choices, we have to understand what our moral duties are and what correct rules exist to regulate those duties. When we follow our duty, we are behaving morally. When we fail to follow our duty, we are behaving immorally and this is where we have to step in and take moral actions to reduce and prevent childhood obesity. A common criticism of deontological moral systems is that they provide no clear way to resolve conflicts between moral duties. a deontological moral system should include both a moral duty not to lie and one to keep others from harm so we can see why this theory best fits with childhood obesity, although it is our duty to help and support there really is not a clear way to resolve the problem relating to this terrible disease that affects million of children each and every year. In conclusion, childhood obesity has risen to significant levels nationally with serious health consequences. In addition to diabetes, heart complications, emotional, and social issues, this disease poses a serious hazard to the health care of America. Unless this disease is taken seriously, the implications of this disease of future generations will be devastating and might be unrecoverable. CHILDHOOD OBESITY8 References Barton, M. (2012). Childhood obesity: A life-long health risk. Acta Pharmacologica Sinica, 33(2), 189-93. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/aps.2011.204 Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Childhood Overweight and Obesity, 2011. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/childhood/index.html Manu Raj and R. Krishna Kumar (2010), Obesity in Children and Adolescents. Indian J Med Res. 2010 November; 132(5): 598–607 Papoutsakis, C. (2007). Genediet interactions in childhood obesity: Paucity of evidence as the epidemic of childhood obesity continues to rise. Personalized Medicine, 4(2), 133-146. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.2217/17410541.4.2.133 Reilly, J. J. (2007), Childhood Obesity: An Overview. Children Society, 21: 390–396 Strauss RS. Risks and consequences of childhood and adolescent obesity. Int J Obesity 1999; 23 (suppl): S2–11.