Appeasement Policies: Britain And France

Appeasement Policies: Britain And France The appeasement policy was a policy adopted by Britain and France and it was a major player in the outbreak of the war. Appeasement was first introduced in the mid 1930s by Stanley Baldwin who was then the British Prime Minister. But it was Neville Chamberlain who changed this appeasement policy when he ascended to power in 1937. The British government defines appeasement as the settlement of issues through negotiation and compromise. The British were very committed to this policy and they followed it confidently with the hope that it will reduce the chance of a world war. Britain and France sought to appease Hitler not merely because it was militarily, economically and politically rational to do so, but because of personal judgments made by Chamberlain. It is clearly evident that right from the start, Chamberlain did not clearly understand Hitlers motive and to his best understanding, appeasement would be the best strategy to avert war. He assumed that Hitlers motive was just to ama ss and maintain power which means possibility for war would be trashed by German people. Sequence of events during pursuance of appeasement policy clearly illustrates that Chamberlain did not understand Hitlers motive at all and his approach to appeasement policy could not work. While appeasement policy was mainly meant to avert war, it did not serve its purpose as Chamberlain failed to understand Hitler and the Nazi motives in general. He did not take quick steps to rearm Britain because he did not see any threat to Britain in particular and to Western Europe in general from the Germans. Therefore Chamberlain felt free to pursue the appeasement policy and disregard a military alliance with France to wage a war against Germany. It is therefore evident that Chamberlain inaccurately thought that appeasement was the only means that would stop the way. He pursued the appeasement from his own convictions and that is why he went to Germany to meet Hitler without the approval of the cabine t. He trusted Hitler and he thought he would keep his word once his demands were met. He sought this appeasement so as to conciliate with Germany to have a stable Europe  [1]  . His personal view was that Germany would be satisfied with what he offered and especially the restoration of its former colonies. There are reasons that made Chamberlain seek appeasement with Hitler. One of them is that he represented the British citizens who did not want a war as they were in the process of healing the wounds from World War One. Also, he did not want to go to war with Germany because the fall of Germany would mean the victory of the Soviet Union and the spread of communism. Chamberlain and the British citizens did not want this to happen. So Chamberlain was trying as much as he could to avoid a war with Germany and at the same time the spread of communism. The appeasement policy that Chamberlain campaigned for was merely to avoid war. He took a number of steps to ensure that the war did not happen but they failed at the end. He even traveled to Germany without Cabinet approval to pursue appeasement with Hitler. But it can also be seen as a strategy that he used in order to gain some time in rearming his forces  [2]  . The perception by Chamberlain of the methods employed by Nazi and the aim of Hitler was inaccurate. This inaccurate perception is what resulted into adoption of appeasement by Britain and France. Instead of preventing world war two, the appeasement policy can be said to be its cause especially after its failure. Chamberlain persisted in use of persuasion towards Germany rather than deterrent in addressing the grievances made by Hitler. In doing this he was convinced that Hitler wanted only to maintain power and if the grievances and demands that Germany raised were met, the German people would quench the possibility of a war  [3]  . Chamberlain thought that he could single handedly and as an individual avert the possibility of Second War through his appeasement. That is why he met Hitler on three separate occasions without Cabinet approval and without the presence of British ministers. Though there was a decrease in support from the British people and the foreign office, Chamberlain continued to believe strongly in this policy and he did not see its failure. He failed to address the arguments that were presented by allies who had been angered by the British foreign policy e.g. France. This made France an unwilling follower of Britain foreign policy even though France did not believe in its success. Chamberlain believed that any strong approach towards Hitler other than appeasement would anger him and possibly provoke him into starting a war. Therefore he did not emphasize on military production. The industries in Britain were freed to produce armaments by the recession of 1938 and the cabinet approved a potential war in February 1936  [4]  . Chamberlain was so blinded by appeasement policy that he did not assess any possible alternatives. He was confidence and optimistic that appeasement policy would succeed  [5]  . The alternative that was there was an alliance with the Soviet Union to counter Hitler but Chamberlain would not overlook the differences that Britain had with USSR on communism. He believed that in doing this, he would be giving communism a chance to spread. His erroneous judgments can be seen when he did not pursue a military alliance with France after the Munich conference when he had the chance to check the expansion of Germany. Instead he reasoned that appeasement would stop Hitler from expanding German territories. He therefore did not give any other alternative a chance  [6]  . The Versailles Pact which had been signed after the First World War with an aim of ending all wars was greatly hated by the Germans  [7]  . It was argued that the treaty, if it were to stand, wound ruin the economic status of Germany. This treaty is seen by some historians as the lead cause of the Second World War. Chamberlains misjudgment of Hitlers intention can be seen especially due to his surrender to Hitlers growing demands. This was clearly seen in 1940 when Chamberlain desperately wanted to maintain peace through fulfilling the demands made by Hitler. Chamberlain and Baldwin chose to neglect the armaments of Britain to the edge of national annihilation  [8]  . This therefore means that there were other possible alternatives but which Chamberlain failed to look at. Winston Churchill who came to power after Chamberlain viewed appeasement as a humiliation to France and Britain and he termed it as a long series of miscalculations and misjudgments of men and facts and which led Britain into an endless war with the Nazis  [9]  . Many Britons saw hope after the signing of the Versailles treaty. They wanted to avoid another war and that is why the British government had to give in to the demands presented by Hitler  [10]  . Britain felt that Germany had been treated unfairly due to the restriction imposed upon it. Chamberlain felt that if the restriction were lifted, Germany would become happier. This perception of Germany by the general population gave Hitler confidence and also provided him with an opportunity to acquire more lands without a war. The British economy was fairing very badly hence Britain was not ready for a war. It was not even in a position to fund and rearm its military force due to the bad economic status. So Chamberlain tried as much as possible to avoid a war with Germany. The way Hitler was progressing meant that there was not even time for Britain to organize war strategies and prepare its force. So Chamberlain had to find a way of avoiding war and/or gaining sometime to rearm the military. The only solution present was appeasement  [11]  . To the best of Chamberlain assumptions, German would not pursue another war after all the demands presented had been met. However, it is evident that Chamberlain did not understand the Hitlers motive. Chamberlain assumed that Hitler was only interested in maintaining power. Even when it became evident that Hitler were rearming, Chamberlain turned a blind eye and did not take any step to rearm Britain forces. However, Hitlers main aim was to make Germany as super power and a united Germany. He also wanted to enlarge the Germany territory through what he called recapturing of lost territories  [12]  . Hitler believed that German will become strong again only through the use of military aggression and war. He directly challenged the Versailles treaty in 1934 by rearming his armed forces and preparing them for war. This he did through production of tanks, submarines and aircrafts in huge masses. When it was announced that Hitler was rearming his military forces, which was in conflict with the Versailles pact, Britain and France protested to the League of Nations with the hope that it can be stopped  [ 13]  . The League of Nations did not try to stop these aggressive rearmament plans by Hitler on the grounds that there were no military or economic sanctions that had been imposed. It was due to the appeasement which made Hitler more confident. In short France and Britain simply turned a blind eye on this public breach of Versailles treaty. He was confident that France and Britain as the appeasers would not stop him. He did this knowing very well that he was flouting the Versailles treaty. Britain and France did not stop Hitler from taking over Rhineland because he was taking back what belonged to Germany originally. At this stage, France could have stopped the reoccupation of the Rhine region but she did not want to start a war with Germany due to the lack of support from the British. Hitler did not want negotiations with France. He instead wanted to deal with Britain and Chamberlain especially. This may be because Hitler saw a sign of weakness and poor perception in Chamberlain. This is what forced France to follow Britain in the pursuance of appeasement even though it disputed its success. In supporting Britain, France wanted a strong militarily alliance with Britain that could maintain a war with Germany once the appeasement policy failed. Though the pursuance of appeasement by France was manipulated by Britain, France would not back off because it had found an ally in Britain. Because France would not be in a position to fight Germany on its own, having Britain on its side was of great importance  [14]  . This was because France was undergoing a financial crisis, industrial hold ups and a shortage in skilled labor. Chamberlain thought that France was behind him in his appeasement policy but he failed to see the hidden agenda pursued by France in its support for appeasement. The politics and governance in France were different from those in Britain. While Chamberlain as an individual dominated the foreign policy in Britain, France had a rapid turnover of cabinets and governments. The indictments of appeasement in France focused on the whole political players but not on one individual. Chamberlain thought that by allowing Hitler to take over the region that formally belonged to Germany, he would at least stop there. Hitler invaded Austria in 1938 and he declared Anschluss. In doing this he was breaking the Versailles treaty. The Australian chancellor at the time pleaded with France and Britain to help but these two countries did nothing about it. Chamberlain sent a protest note to Berlin  [15]  . He addressed the cabinet after Hitlers army crossed the border and he blamed both Germany and Austria. Even though, he condemned strongly the methods used by Hitler to annex Austria  [16]  . Chamberlain saw Hitler as a man who can be trusted and in his intervention he persuaded the president of the republic of Czech to hand over Sudetenland to the Germans. In doing this, Chamberlain thought that this was the last demand that Hitler would ask for. The annexation of Australia in 1938 and the invasion of Czechoslovakia as a whole is what opened the eyes of the appeasers and they saw that no matter how much they tried to appease Hitler, war was inevitable. After giving in to all the demands made by Hitler and his continual invasion of Europe, the appeasers realized that the appeasement policy was a failed policy. Chamberlain did not see Czechoslovakia as an issue that could result to war. He had simply assumed that it was just a conflict between two neighboring countries and that their conflict could not result to a world war. In 1938, Chamberlain is said to have observed: How horrible. Fantastic, incredible it is that we should be digging trenches and trying on gas masks here because of a quarrel in a far-away country between people of whom we know nothing!  [17]  . This quote suggests that the reason why Chamberlain pursued appeasement was to keep Britain safe while allowing Germany to control other nations. As long as Hitler did not interfere with Britains interest, Chamberlain was committed in pursuing appeasement. He believed that Hitler would be only interested in Eastern Europe and would not care to head Western Europe. That is why Britain and France did not take any military action when Germany started its rearming, the remilitarization of Rhine land and the Anschluss with Austria. The reason why the British policy of appeasement was vague in the 1930s was because the British politicians were unable to accurately the greatest threat to Britain and therefore come up with appropriate means and strategies to deal with them. Therefore Britain did not make any attempt to unite with America, USSR or France  [18]  . Though the British people were at first excited by Chamberlains avoidance of another war, the public opinion changed in 1938-8 after Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia. The public mood in France and Britain changed and Chamberlain chose to ignore this and instead continue with appeasement secretly. He had ordered that the word appeasement be used as little as possible in his speeches  [19]  . The famous peace in our time speech that was delivered by Chamberlain on September 30, 1938 showed that Hitler was a man who could not be trusted. It also showed that appeasement policy had failed as a means to prevent war. The main reason why Britain and France embraced the appeasement policy was because they did not want the whole of Europe to be dragged into a world war by Hitler. It was a policy being persued due to the lessons learnt from world war one. Appeasement policy can be seen as a bad policy that was aimed at achieving world peace while sacrificing some countries like the way Britain and France did to try and appease Hitler at the mercies of Czechoslovakia. Though the appeasement policy led to the strengthening of Germany, and the breakout of war, there are other reasons why France and Britain adopted this policy. These two countries were faced with economic problems in the 1930s. The British economy was severely weakened by the Wall Street crash of 1929 which made the government put the rearming of its armed forces on hold. Chamberlain wanted as much as possible to avoid war. That is why he adopted the appeasement policy. On the other hard, France was not in a position to maintain a war. It needed the support of Britain. It is because of this that it followed Britain in seeking the appeasement. This was because he wanted peace and stability that would allow economic growth for the whole of Europe. The Britons had a positive attitude towards the appeasement in the hope that it would reduce the chances of a war outbreak. Thus it can be concluded that appeasement was a British government policy that was fully supported by the citizens. Britain did not want a war between it and Germany. This was because it was threatened by communist USSR and not because it feared Germany. In case Germany fell, there was a possibility of spread of communism and Britain did not want this to happen. That is why it was in the favor of appeasement policy. Another fear that embraced Britain was forming a coalition with USSR which was its bitter rival. That is why Chamberlain desperately sought for appeasement at the mercies of other countries just to make sure that they did not join hands with USSR in a war against Germany  [20]  . The signing of the Munich agreement is viewed by many as a betrayal especially by Britain. What Chamberlain was doing is to buy some time to rearm British forces. Hitler on the other hand thought it as a weakness and a sign of fear of the appeasers  [21]  . This was a great mistake as all that the appeasers wanted was to preserve the world peace. This is what made him bold and gain confidence and a sen se of security. . Hitler had managed to convince the appeasers that he had no any intentions of aggression through his peace propaganda. This had in a way fooled Britain and France who were not in favor of a war but wanted world peaceful coexistence. The appeasers continued to adopt the appeasement policy and this assured Hitler that they would do anything just to avoid a war. This made him think that he could continue to expand his demands and the appeasers would still continue to give in to them. It was this appeasement policy that gave Hitler a foundation and a base to increase the demands after every successful conquest that he achieved. Conclusion There are many opinions and views about the appeasement policy with some critics saying it was a betrayal and sacrifice of some nations for the benefit of others. Others say that it was Chamberlains strategy of buying time to rearm Britain. But from Chamberlains point of view, all that he wanted was to avoid another world war. It is not the appeasement policy that triggered the world war two but instead it was the greed of Hitler to enlarge the German territory and make Germany a superpower. The failure of the appeasement policy was because it was only Chamberlain who fulfilled his part of the bargain. He was convinced, on trying to appease Hitler that he (Hitler) was an honest trustworthy and honorable man which was a mistake and a misjudgment on his part. Chamberlain felt that he had been betrayed by Hitler and that his appeasement policies were failing him. That is when he decided to take on a hard line approach towards the Nazi. Britain and France began rearming themselves. Italy on the other hard invaded Albania in April of 1939. It was Hitlers invasion of Poland that made these two countries declare war and Second World War officially began on 3rde September 1939. Though he really wanted to avoid the war, there came a time that he knew that war was in evitable. It was only after the failure of the negotiations between him and Hitler that he declared war against Germany Teleworking what it is? Teleworking what it is? Teleworking what it is? TELEWORK is a form of organising and/or performing work, using information technology, in the context of an employment contract/relationship, where work, which could also be performed at the employers premises, is carried out away from those premises on a regular basis. This agreement covers teleworkers. A teleworker is any person carrying out telework as defined above. (Emilio Gabaglio, Georges Jacobs, Andrea Bonetti, Rainer Plassmann, 16.07.2002 EU agreement among ETUC, UNICE/UEAPME and CEEP, p. 2). So it can be stated that teleworking is arrangement between employer and employee in which an employee regularly performs officially assigned duties at home or other work sites which are convenient for the employee. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM in US), describes telework as an alternative work arrangement for employees to conduct all or some of their work away from the primary workplace. The work location can be a residence, a telecenter, an office closer to the employees residence, or another acceptable location. The telework schedule may be fixed or episodic.(U.S. Office of Personnel Management, http://www.opm.gov/index.asp, date taken 29.01.2010).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Teleworking is also named telecommuting, flexiwork, sometimes flexiplace, e- commuting, e-work, telework, working at home (WAH), or working from home (WFH). Different types of teleworking. In general there are three types of telework: full time, part time, and situational. Full time telework means that the employee performs and completes all or almost all duties outside of a traditional office. In this meaning full time teleworking can be named as home-based work. Part time telework means that the employee performs and completes duties outside of a traditional office on a regularly scheduled basis, but not five days per week. For instance, the employee may telework one or more days a week, every two weeks, or several days in a month. Situational telework means that the employee do not telework on a regular basis. This type of telework may happened in case of medical problem, weather or hazardous conditions, that do not allowed employee to get to traditional office in a safe condition and way, sometimes situational telework may be caused by preparing special project which needs high concentration and doesnt need present of the employee in traditional office. Ursula Huws, an Associate Fellow of IES, is an established international authority on teleworking, states different approach to types of teleworking. The five main types of teleworking according to Ursula Huws are: Multi-site teleworking This form of teleworking means that employee rotates between working on the employers premises and working elsewhere. Typically, the secondary worksite is the home, but it may be a telecottage, telecentre or other outpost. Tele-homeworking Tele-homeworking means work which is based only in the home and carried out for a single employer, even if the worker does not have formal employee status. This type of teleworking generally involves fairly low-skilled work carried out by people who are tied to the home by the need to care for children or other dependants. Freelance teleworking Freelance teleworkers, in contrast to tele-homeworkers, work for a different clients, rather than a single employer. Mobile teleworking Mobile teleworking has evolved from more traditional types of work, which can be qualified in groups such as travelling sales representatives, inspectors or maintenance engineers. The new technologies, especially the development of portable equipment such the notebook computer, the mobile telephone, the portable fax machine, have created type of mobility which allowed increase of amount of professional, technical and managerial work that can be carried out on the road. Relocated back-office functions The first four categories of teleworking involve activities which employee can carry out in isolation away from the employers premises. Relocated back-office is other form of teleworking which takes place on remote office sites. Many big companies have been noticed a rapid growth in specialist centres carrying out activities such as data entry, customer service, airline bookings, telephone banking and mail-order. These centres operate on a subcontracted basis or under the direct control of an employer located at a distance. These type of teleworking face different problems including: lack of promotion prospects, health and safety problems and equal opportunities issues, for instance fairly low-paid work carried out by women (Teleworking: Guidelines for Good Practice, Huws U. Report 329, Institute for Employment Studies, 1997.). Teleworking advantages and disadvantages to employers and employees.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Telework brings a variety of advantages and disadvantages to employees and employers in many different aspects from work environment to health issues. I am going to point and describe, in my opinion, the most important benefits and negatives of telework to both employers and employees. Advantages to employers. Increase of employees productivity, because telework help to avoid common interruption to work in traditional office, what provides to better concentration. Employees are not late to work because of travel difficulties or unpredictable events, for example breakdown of a car, delays in public transport. Advantages of a health matter in meaning employees take off less time due to illness: employees who are long-time unwell and not able to work in traditional office, might be able to work from home, employees during recovering period from serious illness might be able to work from home, because employees who work alone are more isolated, they are less likely to contact or spread diseases such as flu, colds, viruses, etc. working in private, convenient place for employees is less stressful and could be less exposure to pollution, it can cause that teleworkers can be generally in better health, employees who work at home, obviously, are less likely to be injured while commuting. Employee work at home is fully using productive time for only work, compare to traditional office where at the end of work usually employees start to prepare to leave and clear their desk few minutes before the end of the work day. Help in recruiting process because: flexible working is more attractive, especially to graduated young people, employers have much more possibilities to seek employees, especially among disabled, people who take care of young children or the elderly, it is also encouraging to seek potentially employees away from city centres or even from different regions and countries. Reducing costs in everyday using of traditional office: saving in reducing employees benefits, for instance company car, fuel, public transport season tickets, parking spaces or payable car park permissions etc., saving in reducing or eliminating catering subsidies or the facilities themselves. Advantages to employees. Telework help to avoid common interruption to work in traditional office, what provides to faster implement projects and reduce wasting of time. Travel difficulties are avoided. From employee site it means: avoid loss of pay because of lateness or non-arrival, avoid stress on the way to work place. Less time taken off due to illness: if employee is too ill to come to traditional office, might still be well enough to work at home, employees during recovering period from serious illness might be able to work from home and finish priority projects on time, work alone employee is less likely to contact or spread diseases such as flu, colds, viruses, etc., improved general health because of less stress and exposure to pollution. Better personal safety, because reducing risk of accident on the way to work and back. More time to spend with family because time to travel to work is reduced to zero. In this meaning more time in case of family illness, household maintenance etc. Possibility to reduce cost of living through: living out of city centre in cheaper areas, reduce fuel cost, car maintenance because travel to work and back is excluded. Disadvantages to employers. Managers has only a little or even lack of control over employees who work on teleworking base. Because lack of control, managers cant check the productivity, they assess employees work only through deadlines of projects submissions. Security issues of data stored and general database; if employees work on their own PCs or laptops, do they have proper programs installed to secure companys data stored. Issues included persuade employees to work harder and more productive if manager cant see process of their work; how many brakes they take etc. Lost of physical contact with clients and employees; disadvantages connect with lack of reed of body language of employees their physical reaction on different situations and tasks, their way of socialising: making friendships with one another can show manager of employees ability to work in group, leadership etc. Disadvantages to employees. Employees work on telework basis, in their chosen places, cant compare their productivity to employees who work on regular basis in companys office. It can produce some kind of frustration and unfair feelings. Employees who work on telework basis can be afraid of additional costs of working at their chosen places for example: decorate an area for their Home Office, have extra phone lines installed, buy additional computer equipment and software to protect data and system, furnished their Home Office. Employees working at home will have to do own typing, filing and other office function. Telework employees will lose subsidised food beverages, company car, public transport etc. (1995-1999 Telework Analytics International, Inc. All Rights Reserved, http://www.teleworker.com/pro_con.html, taken 27.02.2010).

Character Moral Deficiencies in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

â€Å"All the world's a stage / And all the men and women merely players.† This quote from William Shakespeare compares the world to a stage and life to a play where men and women are just actors playing their role. This message is not so different from F. Scott Fitzgerald's in his novel, The Great Gatsby (1925). The wealthy characters in The Great Gatsby are Shakespeare’s players; and the Valley of Ashes is part of his stage, where the awful consequences of their moral deficiencies are played out. The Valley of Ashes is a desolate area of land which is covered by ashes dumped by industrial companies; it is described as a â€Å"fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat† (Fitzgerald 24). Beneath the ashes, George and Myrtle Wilson make their meager living by running a gas station next to a billboard advertising an oculist business in Queens. This billboard has two eyes looking out over the Valley of Ashes, seemingly watching and judging the characters who pass t hrough. Here in the Valley of Ashes, the stage is set on which the superficial and material-driven characters can display their selfishness. Furthermore, the effects of their immorality are exemplified as well. Fitzgerald develops the symbol of the Valley of Ashes to strengthen the thematic idea of the effects of utter corruption and selfishness in The Great Gatsby; this can be expressed through the scandalous affair of Tom Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson, the tragic murder of Myrtle Wilson, and George Wilson's pronounced rage. Tom Buchanan, Daisy’s immensely wealthy husband, has no moral reservations about his own extramarital affair with Myrtle who lives in the Valley of Ashes. The affair begins from an innocent train ride, but Tom's own lack of moral standards contribute to the ... ...by the mind—they do not possess any inherent meaning; rather, people invest them with meaning. Fitzgerald uses the symbol of the Valley of Ashes to further analyze the thematic idea of corruption and selfishness in The Great Gatsby. Multiple events occur in the Valley of Ashes throughout the novel, three of which exemplify Fitzgerald's theme very well: the amoral affair of Tom Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson, the murder of Myrtle Wilson, and George Wilson's manifested rage. Work Cited Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 2013. Print. Character Moral Deficiencies in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald â€Å"All the world's a stage / And all the men and women merely players.† This quote from William Shakespeare compares the world to a stage and life to a play where men and women are just actors playing their role. This message is not so different from F. Scott Fitzgerald's in his novel, The Great Gatsby (1925). The wealthy characters in The Great Gatsby are Shakespeare’s players; and the Valley of Ashes is part of his stage, where the awful consequences of their moral deficiencies are played out. The Valley of Ashes is a desolate area of land which is covered by ashes dumped by industrial companies; it is described as a â€Å"fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat† (Fitzgerald 24). Beneath the ashes, George and Myrtle Wilson make their meager living by running a gas station next to a billboard advertising an oculist business in Queens. This billboard has two eyes looking out over the Valley of Ashes, seemingly watching and judging the characters who pass t hrough. Here in the Valley of Ashes, the stage is set on which the superficial and material-driven characters can display their selfishness. Furthermore, the effects of their immorality are exemplified as well. Fitzgerald develops the symbol of the Valley of Ashes to strengthen the thematic idea of the effects of utter corruption and selfishness in The Great Gatsby; this can be expressed through the scandalous affair of Tom Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson, the tragic murder of Myrtle Wilson, and George Wilson's pronounced rage. Tom Buchanan, Daisy’s immensely wealthy husband, has no moral reservations about his own extramarital affair with Myrtle who lives in the Valley of Ashes. The affair begins from an innocent train ride, but Tom's own lack of moral standards contribute to the ... ...by the mind—they do not possess any inherent meaning; rather, people invest them with meaning. Fitzgerald uses the symbol of the Valley of Ashes to further analyze the thematic idea of corruption and selfishness in The Great Gatsby. Multiple events occur in the Valley of Ashes throughout the novel, three of which exemplify Fitzgerald's theme very well: the amoral affair of Tom Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson, the murder of Myrtle Wilson, and George Wilson's manifested rage. Work Cited Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 2013. Print.

Municipal Budgeting and Revenue Essay -- Budget Finance Government Ess

Municipal Budgeting and Revenue Introduction Every government entity has a primary goal, which is to be as efficient and effective as possible while expending the smallest amount of resources. In addition, the resources expended cannot be more than the resources received as revenues. The budgeting process is a tool that assists government entities in being both efficient and effective. Before a budget can be adequately prepared, you must first understand the budgeting concept and secondly be knowledgeable of budget types. Local governments use budgets for a variety of reasons, including: accountability, planning, evaluation, and information. A municipal budget is a financial map to help guide public managers and administrators of a local government in a particular direction to function successfully in getting the work of its citizenry completed. The primary purposes of the governmental budget are to legitimize public expenditures and to account for and control the usage of public resources. As budgets evolve, officials find that the annual budget should be used for planning, coordinating, and scheduling programs. Demands on municipalities force them to engage in establishing priorities and monitoring how well the priorities are achieved. It is no longer possible for a municipal government to do everything for everyone. A municipal government must prioritize the services that are mandatory, urgent, and that are done well. Resources must be aligned with strategies and citizen’s needs by allocating them over some time frame; usually twelve months – a fiscal year. The budget communicates the objectives of the municipality to all of the stakeholders. Stakeholders in a municipality include the taxpayers that primarily fu... ...delivery they will provide in the expenditure side of the budget. Bibliography Allan, Ian J., Revenue Collection Administration, A Guide for Smaller Governments. Chicago: Government Finance Officers Association, 1993. League of California Cities, California Municipal Revenue Sources Handbook. Sacramento: League of CA Cities, 1995. League of California Cities, Financing Cities. Sacramento: www.cacities.org, 2000. Lehan, Edward A., Simplified Governmental Budgeting. Chicago: Municipal Finance Officers Association of the US and Canada, 1981. MacManus, Susan A., Revenue Patterns in US Cities and Suburbs: A Comparative Analysis. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1978. National League of Cities, City Fiscal Conditions in 1999. Washington D.C.: National League of Cities, 1999. Swartz, Thomas R., Urban Finance Under Siege. Armonk: M.E. Sharpe, 1993.

Zagreb, Croatia :: essays research papers

SUBJECT: ZAGREB, CROATIA   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Welcome to one of the most beautiful cities in Central Europe, Zagreb! Although located in a country plagued by war, it offers safety, a strong history, and many tourism destinations. It is considered to be â€Å"the focal point of culture and science, and now of commerce and industry as well† in Croatia. HISTORY:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Originally a â€Å"suburb of the ancient Roman town of Andautonia†, the Mongols invaded it in 1242. It became an important city of Croatia and Slovenia, which at the present time were provinces of Hungary, in the later part of the 13th century. In the 19th century, when Croatia was fighting for independence, Zagreb became an integral part of the nationalist movement. It became the capital of the Croatian Republic of Yugoslavia in 1945. When, in 1992, Croatia became and independent state, Zagreb remained as the capital. PLACES OF INTEREST:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Zagreb has three major regions. The Upper Town, Gornji grad, is over one thousand years old. It contains most of the city’s museums, galleries and churches. It is also the home of the Presidential Palace, Banski Dvori, and Sabor, the Parliament. The Lower Town, Dolnji grad, mostly developed in the 1900’s, is home to most restaurants, cafes, theatres, parks, shopping, and more importantly the nightlife. Of least interest to tourist would be Novi Zagreb, which hosts many skyscrapers and nothing of major interest .   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Zagreb is called â€Å"a city of museums as there are more of them per square foot than any other city in the world†. Some of these are the â€Å"Strossmayer Gallery, the Gallery of Modern Art, the Ethnographic Museum, and the Mimara museum which, with almost 4,000 priceless objects, is one of the finest art galleries in Europe.† Other interesting artifacts located in Zagreb are the â€Å"longest piece of writing in ancient Etruscan, and the remains of the Krapina prehistoric man.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The main square in the city is Trg Bana Jelacica. Once there all sights are within walking distance. It hosts a number of churches and cathedrals, which are very important to the Roman Catholic religion. Such as the Archbishops’ Palace, which is attached to the beautiful St. Stephen’s Cathedral. Ivan Mestovic, a Croatian famous sculptor, has many works in St. Marks Church, another important sight. Located in Upper Town is the Stone Gate of the 13th century, on it is a painting of the Virgin Mary, which survived the â€Å"great fire of 1731† and also serves as a â€Å"place of pilgrimage†.

Jon Benet Ramsey Case

Michael Pilkington 10/14/12 Ms. Chiolo Forensics JonBenet Ramsey Case Many people know about the JonBenet Ramsey case. This case had to do with when a young girl was killed and found in her own basement. In the JonBenet case there were problems with the investigation, different theories about the murder, and the media had an influence in the case. One problem with the JonBenet Ramsey case was that some evidence wasn’t collected.For example there was a flashlight found that could have been the murder weapon that wasn’t collected as evidence. Another problem was that some of the detectives ego got in the way of solving the case. For example Boulder, Colorado police denied help from the FBI, even though they have had no experience with murder cases that have national attention. One major problem was that the procedure that the police used for the case was improper. The police didn’t separate the parents even when they were both suspects. The media and the â€Å"co urt of public opinion† played a big role in the case.One way was that the media instantly blamed the parents for murdering JonBenet. The media had a couple of theories of how JonBenet was killed. One way was that JonBenet wet her bed and the mom got very mad and killed her. Another theory was that JonBenet’s brother killed her because she got a lot of attention from being in beauty pageants for girls, and he wanted more attention. The media trashed the Ramsey’s reputation by making people think that they were guilty. Since the media labeled the Ramseys guilty, people were close-minded to other ideas of what else could of actually happened.There was one theory though that was the most likely of being true. This theory was called the intruder theory. There were a couple of ways this was the most likely way JonBenet died. One piece of evidence that supports the intruder theory is that there was a unlocked basement window that had been recently opened and closed, and that an intruder could have gotten entry to the house from. Another piece of evidence was that there was DNA on JonBenet’s body that was male, and didn’t match another family member. Also there was a similar attack months later that was similar to the JonBenet Ramsey murder.There was a man who broke into a house (that is close by to the Ramsey house) and sexually assaulted a 14 year old girl. Upon reviewing how the investigation was done from the start it is apparent that the media and the Boulder Colorado police department did not help in solving the case. It is unfortunate that Mrs. Ramsey passed away and that the rest of the family has been unable to see justice done. I do believe in some of the other theories and hope that with the help of time and persistence with the Police and the FBI they will eventually solve the case.

African Wild Dogs

Lycaon pictus, the scientific name for the African Wild Dog, literally translates into â€Å"painted or ornate wolf† (â€Å"Lycaon pictus — Details African Wild Dog†). African Wild Dogs are some of the most beautiful and social canines in the world, but, sadly, this species is endangered. This essay will focus on a basic description of the African Wild Dog, along with the threats it faces and the projected outlook for this species. (â€Å"Lycaon pictus — Details African Wild Dog†). The African Wild Dog has a slender body with long, muscular legs (â€Å"Lycaon pictus — Details African Wild Dog†).Typically, they will weigh between forty and eighty lbs. and can be anywhere from three and a half to five ft. long (including the length of the tail). African Wild Dogs are usually between two and two and a half ft. tall at the shoulder. The males also tend to be slightly larger than the females. Compared to wolves or coyotes, they are very lea n and tall. Unlike other canines, the African Wild Dog has only four toes on its front feet, as opposed to the typical five. This is because their dew-claw is missing.Other distinctive qualities are their large, round ears. (â€Å"Lycaon pictus — Details African Wild Dog†). It is said that these ears are essential for hunting, during which a pack may use long distance vocal calls (G. Rhodes, and R. Rhodes). These ears also help with heat loss and regulation (â€Å"Lycaon pictus — Details African Wild Dog†). However, an African Wild Dogs most distinctive quality is its coat; this species has a coat blotched in yellow, gray, black, white, and brown (â€Å"Lycaon pictus — Details African Wild Dog†).Most of the variation in color is on the body and legs (Creel, and Creel). The coloration on the dogs faces are all very similar, with a black muzzle shading to brown on the cheeks and forehead, a black line extending up the forehead, and blackish-br own on the backs of the ears. There is never white on the head. The back part of the head and the top of the neck are consistently brown or yellow. However, colors on the body and legs are unpredictable. (Creel, and Creel). The fur on its bushy tail is almost always white (â€Å"Lycaon pictus — Details African Wild Dog†).An African Wild Dog’s fur is slightly longer around the head and body, and shorter on the legs (â€Å"African wild dog (Lycaon pictus)†). However, wild dogs tend to have sparse hair, though there is variation among individuals (Creel, and Creel). This variation is related to age—young pups and dogs have more hair than adult dogs, and old dogs can become almost hairless. Hair is particularly lost on the head, which begins to look grey as the skin shows through. (Creel, and Creel). Underneath its fur, African Wild Dogs have blackish/grey skin (â€Å"Lycaon pictus — Details African Wild Dog†).Every wild dog has a differe nt patterned coat with all the individuality of a snowflake or a fingerprint. It is the coat that can allow scientists to tell each animal apart. There has also been evidence to suggest that the dogs are able to use their distinctive coats to tell each other apart; this is why dogs can easily identify other wild dogs that are not in their pack, or spate packs that might pose a threat. (â€Å"Lycaon pictus — Details African Wild Dog†). African Wild Dogs live in packs, and have a very unusual social system (â€Å"Lycaon pictus — Details African Wild Dog†).In their packs, only the dominant male and female are allowed to reproduce, which leads to alliances among dogs of the same sex. Packs can range anywhere from two to twenty seven individuals, and new packs form when a subgroup (usually females, and sisters) separate from their pack and join with another subgroup that is composed of males. The sisters typically separate once they reach sexual maturity. Afri can Wild Dogs usually hunt in the cool of dusk and dawn in order to avoid other predators like lions, and the pups are usually allowed to eat first after prey has been killed. (â€Å"Lycaon pictus — Details African Wild Dog†).As stated previously, only the dominant male and female are allowed to reproduce (â€Å"Lycaon pictus — Details African Wild Dog†). However, all African Wild Dogs will reach sexual maturity in about two years, though mating does not usually occur until much later. The dominant female can give birth during any time of the year, though birthing tends to be more common between March and June. Gestation averages around ten weeks, and the litter averages around ten pups, though twenty pups have been recorded in one litter. The African Wild Dog has one of the largest litters in the canine world.Pups are born in a den (usually an abandoned aardvark hole) and will stay there with their mother for three-four weeks. While the mother and pups a re refined to the den, other pack members will regurgitate food for them. Once the pups mature enough to leave the den, they become the responsibility of the whole pack, often nursing off of females that are not their mother. However, pups are weaned anywhere from one-three months after birth. It generally takes twelve-fourteen months before another litter is born. (â€Å"Lycaon pictus — Details African Wild Dog†).The African Wild Dog (which has a life expectancy of about ten years in the wild) typically lives in savannas (â€Å"Lycaon pictus — Details African Wild Dog†). Savannas are found on either side of the equator on the edges of tropical rainforests most typically in Africa, though also occurring in select parts of South America and Australia (â€Å"Savanna†). In savannas, it is warm all year round, and there is not enough rainfall to support a forest. During its dry season, a savanna will only receive an average of four inches of rain fall. However, during the wet season, a savanna might get up to twenty five inches.In savannas, there is a lot of grassland, with scattered shrubs and isolated trees. Animal life includes many herbivores that consume grass, and also predators that control the herbivore populations. (â€Å"Savanna†). When African Wild Dogs are not breeding, they become nomadic and wander over large distances in search of prey; home ranges can be as large as 5,000 square kilometers, but are often much smaller (â€Å"Lycaon pictus — Details African Wild Dog†). These dogs are on the third trophic level because they eat herbivores, usually impala, antelope, and sometimes prey as large as wildebeests.There have been cases where a hungry wild dog will consume seventeen to nineteen lbs. of meat, or about 1/3 of its own weight. However, African Wild Dogs will never scavenge. Therefore, the African Wild Dogs fill a carnivorous predator niche, helping to regulate and control ungulate (animals w ith hooves) populations. (â€Å"Lycaon pictus — Details African Wild Dog†). African Wild Dogs are considered endangered because they have disappeared from much of their range (McNutt et al. ). These dogs are virtually nonexistent in West Africa, and greatly reduced in central and north-east Africa.The largest populations remain in southern Africa, and studies suggest that between 3,000–5,500 wild African Wild Dogs remain in Africa today. These dogs are in danger for several reasons, one of which being habitat loss and fragmentation. When their habitat is broken up, it increases contact with humans which can lead to issues such as poaching (when wild dogs prey on livestock) and road kill. These dogs need a lot of space to roam in search of prey (because of other predators that fill the same niche), so even reserves aren’t always effective because humans live right on the border.While smaller fenced reserves have been able to effectively contain these anima ls, fencing can be expensive and allow an outbreak of disease to wipe out the entire population. This is because wild dogs live at low population densities due to predation by lions and competition with hyenas. Such low population density makes the dogs susceptible to disease, and makes the epidemic that much more deadly. (McNutt et al. ). African Wild Dogs were declared vulnerable in 1986, and became endangered in 1990 and their population is decreasing (McNutt et al. . Wild dogs are legally protected across much of their range. However, this protection is rarely enforced and wild dogs are extinct in several countries despite severe legal protection. Conservation priorities include maintenance and expansion of habitat available to wild dogs, working with local people to reduce deliberate killing of wild dogs, establishing effective techniques for protecting small wild dog populations from infections, and continuation of long-term monitoring of populations in order to identify emerg ing threats.Re-establishment of extinct populations through reintroduction currently has a low priority in most areas, although natural recolonizations should be encouraged. (McNutt et al. ). Due to their decreasing populations, need for expansive space, and susceptibility to disease, it appears as if the future for this amazing species is grim. Not enough is being done to preserve this animal because laws are not being enforced, and humans are crowding and destroying their habitat.If African Wild Dogs are to survive, humans need to be extremely proactive in their protection of this species. African Wild Dogs should be reintroduced into habitat where they used to survive, and laws for the protection of these dogs need to be more regulated and enforced. These animals will also need a lot more habitat than they have now, and it will probably be very difficult to find the space for reserves necessary for the survival of this species. If humans truly decide to save the African Wild Dog from extinction, it can certainly be done, but it won’t be easy.

Health Foods on Campus

Introduction According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), â€Å"more than one-third of U. S. adults (35. 7%) are obese. Approximately 17% of children and adolescents ages 2-19 years are obese. † The state of Iowa ranks above the national average at 28. 4%, leaving the responsibility of changing this epidemic to local communities. According to the Mayo Clinic Women’s HealthSource August 2010 issue, â€Å"the soda demand is so great there is enough to supply [everyone] with more than 52 gallons of soda a year. The rate of soda and junk food consumption has greatly increased throughout the United States; the Iowa State Campus is not an exception. Purpose and Scope As students as Iowa State, we are best fit to research how to change the lifestyles of our peers. In order to decrease the obesity epidemic, we are proposing to assist in changing someone’s routine diet by replacing the vending machine snack options. The existing vending machines have little variety or choice of healthy foods. Furthermore, most beverage-centered vending machines only have water as a choice as a healthy alternative.Giving students the selection of healthy foods will not only lower their risk of obesity during their stay at Iowa State, but it will provide students with the tools to make healthy choices about food once they are away from ISU. Methods Our analysis will be derived from three levels; macro-level, meso-level, and micro-level. These different depths of scope will provide us with the most well rounded view of the obesity epidemic, as well as which methods of fixing the problem proves to be most effective.Macro-level analysis will stem from a complete description of the United State’s relationship with obesity, food consumption, and activity levels. From there, research specifically relating to the ISU community will be acquired through sample surveys and an interview with ISU’s Peggy Martin, Director of Expanded Food and Nu trition Education Program. The first step would be to poll 150 students or more regarding how they want the university to overcome obesity. If our hypothesis reigns true, we will determine that replacing vending machine snacks with healthier ones will be the most efficient method.The focus audience will be Mayor Ann Campbell, since she has the power to pass this proposal on to the city council or discard it. If she passes it on, the primary audience will be the city council members, since they are the ones who voice their opinions and affect the final vote of the citizens of Ames, who are the secondary audience. Other concerned audiences include the citizens of nearby cities or people who visit Ames, as well as any other communities considering a similar proposal. Risks of Junk Food and Soda ConsumptionJunk food is described as any food that contains little or no nutritional value. Outside of the lack of nutritional value junk food has many negative effects as well. Studies show lin ks to obesity, type II diabetes, high blood pressure and stroke. The United States is one of the unhealthiest nations in the world, consuming more fast food than any other nation per capita. The rise of childhood obesity is on the brink of being an epidemic, showing that the United States’ own culture has come to include junk food.Many people get their eating habits from their families growing up, even those who eat healthy as a children now are at risk for developing unhealthy habits when they move away to college, given that for the first time they are forced to make food-related decisions on their own, with little to no education on health. Students may also feel that they are too busy to plan out healthy meals; looking for quick and easy meals found at many convenient locations on campus. Students turn to soda for the caffeine for energy and fast food for sustenance.The lack of available healthy options and the accessibility of junk food on and around campus is a major ca use for concern. Obesity and Diabetes Obesity is defined as a body mass index greater or equal to 30 (CDC). In 2009-2010 35. 7% of U. S. adults were classified as obese that is 78 million people. These numbers are a dramatic increase from over a few decades ago. Obesity is a life threatening condition that has many negative side effects. Hypertension, adverse lipid concentrations and type two diabetes are some of the major problematic conditions that come with being obese.The state of Iowa has one of the largest populations of obese people in the nation (Table 1. 1). Table 1. 1 As one can see, obesity is a major concern in the United States. This is due to the U. S. ’s unhealthy obsession with junk food and soda. Poor diet often leads to obesity in children and adults. Along with obesity, poor diet also can lead to type II diabetes. Diabetes is a metabolic disorder that leads to high levels of glucose in the blood stream. Diabetes can lead to all sorts of problems to name a f ew kidney disease, blindness, amputations and death (CDC).Over 25 million people are suffering from diabetes in the U. S. There is much to be concerned about with obesity and diabetes being so widespread. The main cause of this is unhealthy diet. A large portion of the average American’s unhealthy diet is soda pop. Even diet soda has negative health effects. Dangers of Soda Pop Soda pop is an American staple. It goes great with other American classics such as hotdogs and hamburgers. Unfortunately children are drinking it in excess and developing bad habits that will follow them for the rest of their lives.In fact studies show that 16% of the average American’s caloric intake in a day comes from sugary beverages (WebMD). Heavy soda consumption can lead to rapid weight gain and studies also show connections to osteoporosis and certain types of cancers. But regardless of the negative effects and the doctors warnings people continue to buy and drink soda more than ever. Co ca-Cola reported record numbers in the past few years. Soda is a part of people’s daily routines. Many people do not think twice about grabbing a soft-drink when thirsty or in need of some energy.College students drink enormous quantities of soda, they use it as study aids because of the caffeine content or grab one because they are thirsty. In many cases it is the easiest option. Vending machines located throughout campus in every corner of every building. But other than the obvious health effects mentioned above, in which soda is a leading cause of, what other negatives are happening to college students due to soda and other unhealthy dietary habits? Student Performance and Unhealthy Diet Students are busy creatures.They have a lot on their plate with school work and those who hold jobs as well can feel downright overwhelmed. What do these students do to survive the hectic lifestyle they lead? The answer is fast food, junk food and soda pop, and anything quick and easy to g rab on the go. There is no shortage of these options on and around college campuses across the U. S. and at Iowa State. The quicker and easier the food the worse it usually is for you. Most students do not take that into consideration, they are young and in good health.The fact is even if these bad habits do not catch up with you right away, there are plenty of dangers waiting around the corner in the future. Most students are probably not aware of the effects that their diet is having on them now. Poor diet not only leads to life threatening diseases but can have a number of psychological effects on a person. Depression can form from unhealthy diets, as students feel bad about their bodies and even chemical reactions from sugars and other ingredients in junk food can lead to depression like states.Studies have also been conducted in the past regarding the effects of junk food and soda on memory and links have been made that show a person who regularly eats fast food and drinks soda has lower memory and comprehension. A health student is a happy student is a successful student. Benefits of Healthy Snacks The term â€Å"snack† has gained a definition similar to â€Å"junk food† over recent years. According to Nutrition. com’s Snack Attacks article, the idea that snacks are fattening is a myth, as well as the idea that snacking is the same as eating junk food. The article states that by eating snacks during a ong stretch of time between meals will eliminate any overeating during a meal, as long as these snacks are healthy alternatives. Since blood sugar drops three to five hours after a meal, occasional snacks boosts metabolism, according to Everyday Health’s article Healthy Snacking Benefits. Being hungry puts one’s body into starvation mode and will slow down metabolic processes, which causes the body to store fat. The article Healthy Snacking Benefits also discusses this when explaining that snacks high in nutrients, fiber, and protein, and not so high in fat will kickstart the body’s metabolism and can curb cravings.Snacking should also be thought of as fuel, and constant replenishment of this fuel prevents one from becoming overly tired and â€Å"unable to concentrate. † (Healthy Snacking Benefits) Healthy snacks give the body an extra energy boost and keeps a person more mentally alert and focused. Nurition. com discusses a similar topic and explains that the idea that â€Å"snacks spoil your appetite for meals† (Snack Attacks) is a myth. In fact, snacking two or three hours before a full meal may simply restrict the body from becoming extremely hungry and causing one to overeat.However, fattening snacks such as potato chips, chocolates, sweets, etc. will increase overall caloric intake if not considered into daily intake as a whole. Healthy snacks do not typically cause these problems. Growing children, athletes, teenagers, and adults all have varying needs when it comes to die tary needs. All athletes needs more energy than the average person, therefore allowing them to need energy â€Å"in the form of carbohydrates, whereas teenagers need higher energy snacks and nutrients for their continually growing bodies, and while adults need to only maintain their health should eat more frequent, smaller snacks. Snack Attacks) Fruits, low-fat dairy products, grains, and vegetables are snacks that may boost energy and â€Å"battle fatigue,† as well as â€Å"protein-laden food like fish, meat, eggs, cheese, and tofu† because these contain amino acids which increase concentration. (Healthy Snacking Benefits) According to abc. com, raisins, soy products, walnuts, avocado, and high-fiber foods are the top 5 heart-healthy snacks. â€Å"[At the American College of Cardiology’s annual meeting], researchers presented results of separate studies that evaluated the effects of raisins and soy on blood pressure. The studies found that oth foods lowered b lood pressure when consumed regularly. † (Top 5 Heart-Healthy Snacks) The researchers believe that the potassium intake from the raisins cause the decrease, while genistein, found in soy products increased dilation of the blood vessels, which led to a decrease in blood pressure. Walnuts contain â€Å"healthier monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats† and these reduced low density lipids and increase high density lipids. They also have high levels of omega-3 fatty acids and walnuts have twice as many antioxidants as any other nut. Avocados are packed full with vitamins, fiber, and potassium – 60% more than bananas.Any high fiber foods help to â€Å"cleanse the digestive tract of potentially dangerous fats. † These foods may include oats, beans, fruits, vegetables, and grains. (Top 5 Heart-Healthy Snacks) Healthy snacks such as these have been studied and found to reduce many types of diseases and disorders. Joint diseases, ADHD, schizophrenia, and many oth er diseases may be prevented through snacking on these healthy foods. (Healthy Snacking Benefits) Health and the Iowa State Community Our entire report and analysis has been conducted under the assumption that Iowa State University is a community afflicted by the pains of obesity and unhealthy eating.To insure that combatting obesity would be both well received and relevant to Iowa State students and community, our team distributed a 7-question survey, prompting students to give us their true feelings on obesity’s affect on the community, what solutions they would find most effective, and if our goal of changing the vending machine products would cause any negative response. The short survey provides our group with much needed approval and validation from the community. If we had come to find that students would reject the proposed plan of action, steps could be made to resolve the issue and stay on course.More so, if students had found obesity to be an irrelevant issue, our group would be hard-pressed to find funds for a problem that wasn’t seen to exist. Luckily, obesity is not out of the field of vision for the Iowa State community. When asked, â€Å"How much do you agree with the following statement, â€Å"Obesity is the biggest problem in the Iowa State University community†? 68% of respondents answered that they at least somewhat agreed (Table 2. 1). Table 2. 1 Without this approval from the community, efforts to change obesity trends would be wasted.However, provided this overwhelming concern, it is now inherent that we offer the community a solid plan of action, that will produce real results, with little concern over life changes. One vital factor in our quest to make the ISU community healthier is the maintenance of one’s usual daily life. Abrupt changes can often bring depression and fear, and with a task as grand and as fragile as weight loss and health, we must tread lightly. Choosing a medium from which we would provi de healthier food options is a difficult task, and so we must account for accessibility, frequency of use, and potential for change.Iowa State University has made grand changes to it’s on-campus dining centers, but what about members of the community who do not have dining plans? Where do they buy the quickest, and often the most unhealthy, snacks? Vending machines. When over 150 students were asked, â€Å"How often do you purchase food items from vending machines located on campus? † The overwhelming majority responded that they only purchased snacks from the vending machines on campus a few times a month or year (Table 2. 2). Table 2. 2Although targeting vending machines may not initially reach the greatest population of students or community members, changing the contents of the vending machines will prove to be worthwhile. When survey participants were told of the proposed method of changing obesity trends at ISU by replacing current vending machine items with heal thier options, potential vending machine use increased (Table 2. 3). Table 2. 3 Clearly, Iowa State community members approve of the proposed method, not only as beneficial for the community as a whole, but our solution remains as one that everyone would take part in; overweight or not.Approval from the community is especially important, however it does not prove to be an authoritative reason for replacing the current vending machine items. To acquire the approval of funds from the GSB and Ames community, it is imperative that an expert weighs in on how to best alleviate the impact of obesity at Iowa State University. In an interview with ISU’s Director of Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program, and author of â€Å"Eat Simpler, Healthier with New Healthy & Homemade† cookbook, Peggy Martin states that, â€Å"making healthy choices takes planning. Within a world of homework, projects, exams, and extracurricular activities, what ISU student has time to plan? Repla cing unhealthy snack option in the vending machines on ISU campus will cut the hassle of planning out each meal. ISU community members will no longer leave their apartments worrying about finding healthy food because it will be more accessible, available in each building, wherever a vending machine is located. Registered dietician Martin also provided our team with concrete example of healthy foods that can be sold in vending machines.Implementing our solution as soon as possible is key, as Martin says, â€Å"eliminating temptation in today’s sugar-ridden environment will prove difficult, but worthwhile. † Meso-level analysis of ISU community members through survey, and micro-level analysis of individual nutrition through interviewing Peggy Martin provides our team with necessary information needed to be successful on Iowa State campus. With the revamping of vending machine products ISU community members will be more likely to purchase vending machine snacks; increasin g profit, health, and awareness.Conclusions and Recommendations 1. Implementation of vending machines One solution to the obesity problem that ISU students face on campus is to change and regulate the university’s vending machines. The existing vending machines in use have little to no variety or choice of healthy foods. Most beverage type vending machines only have water as a choice as a healthy alternative. With giving students the selection of health foods, it will lower their risk of obesity during their stay at Iowa State.According to an article by the journal of adolescent health â€Å"contents of school vending machines relate to diets either positively or negatively, depending on what is sold in them. Therefore, it is important that schools address the quality of food sold in vending machines in their wellness policies† (Rovner 18). This means that the healthier foods in vending machines relate positively to diets and junk food relates negatively. By putting in only the vending machines with healthy food on our campus we will see a positive correlation with the students’ diets. . Variety of foods to see what sells best Before replacing over 100 vending machines on campus we want to make sure the products are going to make revenues for the college. We can test out different types of products that will be available by replacing current vending machines in popular locations like the C-Stores and providing samples of the alternative products. By doing this we can get an idea of what is popular among the students. After we find out what products sell best, we can put them into our vending machines. 3. Wellness programsBecause of the tax on the junk foods, we will be able to create other wellness programs to help students having obesity or health related issues. Some programs may consist of having a free health screenings to show the negatives of unhealthy eating and giving recommendations on new healthy lifestyles. We can give health ti ps and guides for people who want to change their eating habits. These programs will mainly be funded by taxing the junk foods that are sold on campus. 4. Cost of healthy foods subsidized by taxing junk food Healthy food is not relatively expensive, but some foods have a short shelf life.The costs of replenishing these items in the vending machines are going to be slightly high because of human capital cost, having someone go and replace the vending machines routinely, and waste cost because of the foods’ expiration date. There are those processed healthy foods that cost more than normal ones because of the process to keep the nutrients in them cost more. To subsidize these costs, we can put an extra charge or tax on to the existing junk foods. It is not economical for Iowa State to get rid of all junk food that people do want; by giving it a tax we can level the cost of buy and replacing the healthy ones.This will give students an incentive to choose the healthy foods becaus e of the cheaper cost and may change the students eating habits. References â€Å"Healthy Snacking Benefits. † EverydayHealth. com. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. . â€Å"Nutrition. com. sg – Healthy Eating – Snack Attacks. † Object Moved. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. . CAROLLO, KIM. â€Å"Top 5 Heart-Healthy Snacks. † ABC News. ABC News Network, 26 Mar. 2012. Web. 28 Apr. 2012. lt;http://abcnews. go. com/Health/top-heart-healthy-snacks/story? id=15996098>. â€Å"2011 National Diabetes Fact Sheet. † Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 23 May 2011. Web. 25 Apr. 2012. . Boyles, Salynn. â€Å"Sodas and Your Health: Risks Debated. † WebMD. WebMD, 09 Mar. 2011. Web. 25 Apr. 2012. . Ogden, Cynthia L. , Margaret D. Carroll, Brian K. Kit, and Katherine M. Flegal. â€Å"Prevalence of Obesity in the United States. † Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Jan. 2 012. Web. 25 Apr. 2012. . Pelch, Anna. â€Å"The Health Effects of Soda Consumption. † Home. St. Joseph's Academy. Web. 24 Apr. 2012. ;http://scijourner. org/;. Rovner, Alisha J. , Tonja R. Nansel, Jing Wang, and Ronald J. Iannotti. â€Å"Food Sold in School Vending Machines Is Associated With Overall Student Dietary Intake. † Journal of Adolescent Health 48. 1 (2011): 13-19. Science Direct. Web. 24 Apr. 2012. Interview with Peggy Martin Survey (Appendix) Appendix I Survey: The Iowa State Community and HealthParticipant, Thank you for choosing to participate in this short survey. With your help, you can aid our efforts to convert Iowa State University campus to one that promotes healthy food choices. All information obtained is anonymous and will only be used for an English 302 class project. All survey questions are optional and you may stop your completion of the survey at any time. Thank you for your contribution! How much do you agree with the following statement, â€Å"Obesity greatly affects the population of the United States†? A. Strongly Agree B. Agree C. Neutral D. Disagree E.Strongly Disagree How much do you agree with the following statement, â€Å"Obesity is a problem in the Iowa State University community†? A. Strongly Agree B. Agree C. Neutral D. Disagree E. Strongly Disagree How often do you purchase food items from vending machines located on campus? A. More than 3 times a week B. Once or twice a week C. A few times a month D. A few times a year E. Never How much do you agree with the following statement, â€Å"The items currently available for purchase on the ISU campus do not reflect the purchases I would prefer to make†? A. Strongly Agree B. Agree C.Neutral D. Disagree E. Strongly Disagree If the vending machines on ISU campus had healthier options you would be: A. More likely to purchase items from the vending machines B. Equally as likely to purchase items from the vending machines C. Less likely to purc hase items from the vending machines D. I do not use the vending machines on ISU campus How much do you agree with following statement, â€Å"Iowa State University is responsible for providing the community with healthier food options on campus†? A. Strongly Agree B. Agree C. Neutral D. Disagree E. Strongly Disagree