Wednesday, 21 September 2011

Troubled Youth

Troubled Youth

I started the first day very fearless, yet reserved. I knew had to face this challenge head on. At the time I was working a regular job during the night for about eight hours a day.

Youth and Beauty

America is a prosperous country. In fact, sociologists have discovered a uniquely American disease that they call “affluenza.” This term refers to the stress and related disorders that develop from Americans’ need to constantly spend money on material possessions and supposed self-improvement. It is not enough to just be comfortable, we must have it all and look perfect. We work ourselves ragged and neglect our families and relationships just so we can buy the latest television, even though the three we already have work just fine. People in third world countries struggle to keep their children fed. If work is available, they earn money to buy basic necessities; they do not have the luxury of saving up for a new car. As Americans, we are so caught up in the materialistic that advertising is a billion-dollar industry in this country. What we buy also relates to our other obsessions: youth and beauty. We worship celebrities, but only until they turn fifty. Movies featuring older actors (women in particular) are rare; and even our numerous “reality” television shows all feature beautiful people in their mid-twenties to early-thirties. However, this is not reality: Americans are made up of people of all ages and shapes. Since we can afford it, we buy whatever nature does not provide, from makeup to plastic surgery. Our advertising reflects consumer demand, which in turn reflects American priorities.

While people in poorer countries can not pay for surgery that they need to survive, Americans spend millions on surgery to make them look better. For example, the number of breast augmentation surgeries increased five hundred and ninety-three percent from 1992 to 2002 according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons website. However, not all Americans can afford the costly procedures, and some do not want to take the risk of elective surgery; yet we all want to fit the national ideal of beauty. Instead, many women turn to makeup to enhance their features. Cosmetics companies are always coming up with the hot new colors or the latest technology to preserve youthful looks. Magazines geared toward women are filled with cosmetics advertisements. One such magazine is In Style. This publication targets middle to upper-class women in their mid-twenties to late-forties. Its main components are fashion, makeup, jewelry, interior design, and celebrities. Many of the ads are for designer clothes, such as Versace and Prada. In the February 2004 issue, I found several makeup ads which illustrate my point about the youth and beauty obsession in the United States, two of which are for L’Oreal products.

The first is a two-page ad for a lipstick line called “Endless Platinum.” It claims to be “new,” which is one of the weasel words mentioned in an article by William Lutz titled “With These Words, I Can Sell You Anything.” The ad does not specify what makes the lipstick new, besides the name and packaging. As far as the consumer knows, it may be the same lipstick she has in her purse right now, but in a shiny silver tube. One page of the spread is dominated by a picture of a model’s face, featuring one of the “ten new shades with a platinum shimmering shine effect.” The other page displays an open tube of the lipstick, flanked by ten lipstick tips illustrating the available colors. Large words above the lipsticks declare them to have “8 Hour Wear” and “Platinum Shine.” The name of the product appears to the right of the picture with the words “comfortable 8-hour lipcolour” in small letters underneath. Below the colors are more details about the makeup, and below this is L’Oreal’s trademark slogan, “Because you’re worth it.” This phrase plays to the individualistic aspect of American society. An expression like that would not be as effective in a collectivistic culture like Japan, in which importance is placed on the well-being of society as a whole.

The ad also uses Americans’ obsession with technology to sell the product. It claims that the lipstick contains “platinum shine technology” in a “new L’Oreal patent.” It says that the color can last all day without drying out the lips “thanks to the soft-seal technology” also patented by L’Oreal. The actual science behind this technology is not explained, however.

The other ad places even greater emphasis on science and technology, and targets American women’s fixation on looking young. This is also a two-page layout, with one page featuring a supermodel’s face. Lines are drawn on her forehead and at the corner of her eye, presumably to demonstrate the areas targeted by the product, which is an anti-wrinkle cream. The other page contains a picture of the product in the lower right corner, but this ad contains many more words than the first, as it is highlighting the science rather than the appearance of the product, which is called “Wrinkle De-Crease.” In a gold rectangle in the upper left, the company claims its “dermo-expertise.” Below this it exclaims “Surgery can wait!” To sound more like medicine and less like makeup, the product is referred to as an anti-wrinkle treatment rather than a cream. It is said to decrease and soften lines and wrinkles. These strike me as weasel words because they are not specific about the actual outcome. “Decrease” literally means to lessen or cause something to lessen in size, strength, or amount; and the definition of “soften” is to reduce something. Neither of these definitions provides an explicit idea about the effect of the treatment: how much are wrinkles reduced or lessened, and in comparison to what? The ad uses other weasel words such as “new” and “innovation,” which basically means the same thing as “new.”

One innovation that the ad highlights is the use of “Boswelox,” a trademark of L’Oreal, described as “a phyto-complex with new Boswellia extract and Manganese [that] fights the results of micro-contractions of the skin.” This sounds impressive, but what does it really mean? The average consumer is not familiar with these terms, but she can recognize the scientific undertones: and if it is scientific, it must be effective. The ad gives the impression of a doctor prescribing a medical solution to the problem of aging.

Americans want to look young and beautiful for as long as possible with a minimum of effort. These ads play to that mindset. They say that you can have your looks without spending large amounts of time or money on plastic surgery; and since we as a society have a large expendable income, we are particularly susceptible to this type of advertising ploy. We want to be able to buy as many things as we want, so we are attracted to products that can save us money while giving us what we think we need. Cosmetics also offer more rapid results than surgery, which is important in our fast-food culture. It is a promise of youth and beauty in a bottle: what every American wants.

Works Cited

American Society of Plastic Surgeons. 2004. 20 February 2004. <http://www.plasticsurgery.org/public_education/2002statistics.cfm>.

Lutz, William. “With These Words, I Can Sell You Anything.” Exploring Language. Ed.Gary Goshgarian. Pearson Longman, New York: 2004, 393-406.

The Ignorance of Youth

For over two thousand years, Socratic dialogues have had a deep effect on the progression of society. A key example of an effective Socratic dialogue is that of Plato's Euthyphro.

Youth Unemployment

Introduction
Youth unemployment is a term used for people between the ages of 15-19, that do not attend school or tertiary level and don't have any form of paid job. There are reasons causing this growing problem. These being;

Youth : Then & Now

Youth : Then & Now

The spirit of youth has changed dramatically since the days of Joseph
Conrad and his story, "Youth." Conrad strongly emphasises the desire and strong
will of the young crewmen.

Youth in Adult Basic and Literacy Education Programs

Youth in Adult Basic and Literacy Education Programs

Wherever adult educators gather, whether at conferences, meetings, or in e-mail discussion groups, a topic on many minds is the challenge of increasing numbers of teenagers enrolled in adult education classes. (Smith 2002, p. 1).

O' Youth And Beauty! by John Cheever

The story "O' Youth and Beauty!" by John Cheever is about the Bentley family, who live in Shady Hill as a happily married couple, who have their fair share ups and downs. Cash Bentley, the father of the household, is a former track star who has many money problems,

The Search for Eternal Youth

The Search for Eternal Youth

For billions of years, there has been life. Our planet consists of countless numbers of living creatures. Unfortunately, all living creatures have a limited life span which can range anywhere from a few hours to the ripe old age of 113 years old. Each individual has its own biological clock, and when the clock stops,

The Lack Of Independence In Today's Youth

Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "So much attention is paid to the aggressive sins, such as violence and cruelty and greed with all their tragic effects, that too little attention is paid to the passive sins, such as apathy and laziness,

The Role of Youth In modern

Word count:527 words
• Introduction
• Power of youth
• Role of youth
• Problem
• Conclusion

Current Issues in Youth Suicide

<b>Youth and Fundamentalism</b> - Fundamentalism glorifies adolescent desires and provides youth with a sense of belonging and acceptance. What if Osama bin Laden had his own Chipper/Twitter page?<br />© Fabrica

Jennifer Bulcock, 24 years old, Australia

Youth and Fundamentalism - Fundamentalism glorifies adolescent desires and provides youth with a sense of belonging and acceptance. What if Osama bin Laden had his own Chipper/Twitter page?
© Fabrica

Current Issues in Youth Suicide

Written by Paul Yip and Jenny Huen

A Global Address and an East-West Comparison

Suicide is a global problem affecting many different parts of the world (see Figure 1 for a map of suicide rates globally). The global suicide rate is about one million people per year, a rate of 14.5 per 100,000 people (WHO, 2010). In particular, suicide rates among young people have risen to such an alarming extent that 15 to 19 year olds are now at highest risk of suicide in a third of all countries, with suicide being the second leading cause of mortality for this age group globally (WHO, 2009).
Considering that the available statistics on suicide are generally based on completed suicides rather than attempted suicides, the figures may not fully capture the risk of suicidal behaviours. For example, mere exposure to suicide attempts by peers may place young people at risk of suicidal behaviour (Ho, et al., 2000). Taken together, young people can be expected to be the group at highest risk of suicide in the future.

Figure 1 - Map of Suicide Rates (WHO, 2009)

Comparing the rates and trends of youth suicide between the Eastern and Western parts of the world, several key differences have been identified in the epidemiology of suicide.
Firstly, suicide is the leading cause of death in Asian countries, whereas it is about the third or fourth cause of death in Western countries (WHO, 2010). This difference may be due to the use of more lethal suicide methods in Asia (Liu, Chen, Cheung, & Yip, 2009). In Asian countries the suicide means chosen are more lethal in nature, such as jumping and poisoning via pesticide and charcoal burning. In Western countries, firearms are the most common means of suicide.
In most countries, suicide rates are higher in males than in females. This also applies to the 15 to 19 year old age group, with about 10.5 suicides per 100,000 people for males and about 4.1 per 100,000 people for females (Wasserman, Cheng, & Jiang, 2005). Gender ratios vary between countries (about 3-4:1 in European countries and 1-2:1 in Asian countries) with a high rate of suicides among young males in the West and a relatively lower rate in Asia (Yip, 2009).
The causes of suicide worldwide are also diverse; with different risk factors in different cultures. Mental disorders (particularly depression) and abuse of alcohol or drugs are the major risk factors for suicide in Europe and North America. In Asian countries, impulsiveness and adjustment disorders play an important role (WHO, 2010). A risk factor that is evident across the East and West is unemployment, especially when coupled by stressful events such as financial problems and an inability to compete.
Youth suicide, although responsible for only 6 to 11 per cent of all deaths globally (WHO, 2009), can still impose a non-negligible burden. Yip et al. (2005) proposed the use of a years-of-life-lost method in assessing the magnitude of the socioeconomic burden of suicide to the community. This measures the number of years of healthy life lost in the society for each premature death. The estimated years of life lost for youth suicide worldwide are huge, about 20 million life-years in 2002 (Mann, et. al, 2005). The burden of suicide on communities cannot be ignored by any country worldwide.
Yet, suicide prevention is limited without a universal perspective on mental health. A public health approach to suicide prevention has generally been advocated worldwide. As summarized by Yip (2005), a public health approach “acknowledges the importance of both the high-risk and the population-based strategies to suicide prevention, and requires a multi-sector effort to tackle the problem at multiple levels: in the community (universal strategies), among specific population subgroups (selective strategies), and among those at a particular high risk of suicidal behaviour (indicated strategies)”. Given that suicide prevention for high-risk groups would only have a modest effect on population suicide rates (Lewis, Hawton and Jones, 1997), effective intervention should be targeted at groups that show alarming trends (i.e. adopting selective strategies), and prevention in the community (i.e. adopting universal strategies).
Countries in the Western Pacific region are particularly affected by suicide, accounting for 38 per cent of the world’s suicides (Yip, 2005). Hong Kong, located in this region, has experienced one of the most drastic increases in suicide rate. The suicide rate in Hong Kong increased from 12.5 per 100,000 people in 1997 to 19.6 per 100,000 people in 2003 (c.f. the world’s average suicide rate of 14.5 per 100,000 people), while the youth suicide rate has increased by more than 70 per cent since 1997 (Yip, 2005). In particular, news about young people burning charcoal or jumping from heights has aroused public attention, along with unreported cases of those at the verge of attempting suicide. To tackle the problem, suicide prevention efforts were initiated by different stakeholders (government, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions and the general public) to intervene at a number of possible avenues to suicide. These suicide preventive measures work by restricting access to lethal means of suicide in Asia (e.g. limited access to charcoal, Yip et al., 2010, and installation of platform screen doors on railway platforms, Law et al., 2009); reinforcing the social support which is an important protective factor in Asia (e.g. establishment of neighbourhood watch schemes and strengthening the community network in social support, Wong et al., 2009); and promoting responsible reporting of suicides in the media, etc. On top of these, there are school-based programme (educating students on mental health issues) and youth mentoring programme (involving youths as volunteers in mental health promotion) targeted to intervene through educational settings to enhance mental health knowledge, reduce stigmas towards mental illnesses, and foster positive attitudes towards help-seeking behaviours in young people. With the above suicide prevention efforts, the suicide rate in Hong Kong dropped significantly from 19.6 per 100,000 people in 2003 to 13.8 per 100,000 people in 2009 (CSRP, 2010). This is an example of successful suicide prevention work, in that the success of these efforts rests on the involvement and commitment of the wider community in a social and interagency network to intervene through multiple avenues to raise awareness of the problem and prevent suicide for various causes.
Yet, there is still a way to go for suicide prevention to be adequately addressed worldwide. Current inadequacies and difficulties in suicide prevention that the world is facing include a lack of information on the essentials aspects of effective suicide prevention practices that can be adapted across cultures, looseness of surveillance and reporting system of suicide mortality globally, and unawareness of the importance of suicide prevention as a public health concern. Reflecting the slogan of the World Suicide Prevention Day 2010 (“Many faces, many places: Suicide prevention across the world”), it is time for the whole world to collaborate together in an integrated manner to address these inadequacies in suicide prevention as we face the challenges of an alarming trend in youth suicide.
he challenges of an alarming trend in youth suicide.

Home Based Jobs For Youth

Hi dears please join following site to work from home easily;

http://www.dataentryjobs.us/47723.html

Monday, 19 September 2011

Education & Employment Alliance (EEA)

Program Focus:

Work

The Initiative:

From 2005-2010, EEA improved and expanded education and employment opportunities for disadvantaged and unemployed youth in six countries in the Middle East and Asia. Supported by USAID and a wide array of corporate, foundation, and other donors, EEA forged partnerships on multiple levels (global, national, and local), leveraging the expertise and resources of diverse partners to lay the groundwork for sustaining and scaling up interventions. In India, EEA supported innovative educational technology initiatives to improve the learning outcomes of students. In other countries, it offered comprehensive learning packages, combining technical/vocational and life skills, entrepreneurship development, on-the-job training, and job placement or enterprise development support. Programs focused on addressing the unique needs of out-of-school and at-risk youth.

Outcomes:

Partnerships forged with over 320 multi-sectoral organizations in support of 43 pilot projects benefitting over one million children and youth.
Over $12.7 million raised in cash and in-kind leverage contributions.
Alliance approach demonstrated improved program quality, relevance to private sector needs, and strong scalability and sustainability prospects.
Over 29,000 youth participated in employability skills training interventions, with more than 26,000 completing training (87% completion rate).
High youth and employer satisfaction with the quality and relevance of training.
Of 8,580 graduates eligible for work, 4,801 gradates (56%) secured jobs or set up small businesses. Eighty percent of those entrepreneurs surveyed reported making profits.

Contact: Lin Lin Aung
Program Manager
Email: l.aung@iyfnet.org

Countries:

Associated Partners:

Al Jisr,

Association des Femmes Chefs D'Entreprises,

Azim Premji Foundation,

CAP Foundation,

Centre des Jeunes Dirigeants d'Entreprises,

Consuelo Zobel Alger Foundation,

Drishti,

Education for Employment Foundation,

Fondation Marocaine pour la Jeunesse, l'Initiative et le Développement,

Indonesia Business Links,

L'Heure Joyeuse,

Nahdet El Mahrousa,

One World,

Prestasi Junior Indonesia,

Quest Alliance,

Rural Support Program Network,

Donors:

Passport to Success

Program Focus:

Learning

The Initiative:

Life skills are key building blocks for young people to realize their potential at home, at school, at work, and in their communities. Launched in 2004 with support from the GE Foundation, the Passport to Success (PTS) program equips young people, ages 14 to 24, with a range of skills (e.g., confidence, teamwork, goal setting, time management) to help them stay in school, find employment, and succeed in life. PTS targets youth who are either in school but at risk of dropping out, or are out of school, out of work, or working in dangerous environments. The PTS curriculum, available in 12 languages, has been tested in both public and private primary and secondary schools, vocational training institutes, teacher training colleges, and youth-serving nonprofit organizations. To ensure the long-term sustainability of the program, IYF and local partners engage local institutions, such as universities and schools, to conduct needs assessments and teacher training, and offer teacher support.

Read more about the Passport to Success curriculum.

Outcomes:

Development of a 60-lesson life skills curriculum, tested in 10 countries.
More than 60,000 young people have successfully completed PTS program.
Over 1,600 youth educators and teachers worldwide trained in experiential learning to transform their classrooms into more engaging learning environments.
97% of program graduates in Mexico and 86% in India were in school or employed six months after program completion. When measured against comparison groups not in the life skills program in Mexico, drop out rates in schools were reduced by up to 50%.

Contact:
Sarabecka Mullen, Director, Life Skills Programs and Senior Trainer
Email: s.mullen@iyfnet.org

Countries:

Associated Partners:

Consuelo Zobel Alger Foundation,

Demokratikus Ifjúságért Alapítvány ,

New Perspectives Foundation,

Oxfam México,

Polska Fundacja Dzieci i Młodzieży,

YouthReach,

Donors:

Nokia-IYF Global Youth Development Initiative

Program Focus:

Citizenship

Learning

Work

The Initiative:

Since 2000, Nokia and IYF have managed a robust portfolio of youth development initiatives. The company’s investment of US$50.6 million has supported education, employability, and civic engagement programs in 68 countries. Country programs, each tailored to meet locally-identified needs, provide a means of achieving important youth development outcomes such as improved school performance, increased literacy, finding and maintaining employment, and active citizenship.

Today, as a result, young people in Eastern Europe have fueled a wave of volunteerism in the region; formerly unemployed youth in Latin America now have the skills they need to get and keep jobs; students in the Philippines and Tanzania have improved access to science and math education through the introduction of mobile technology in the classroom; and young social entrepreneurs across the globe are exercising enhanced leadership skills.

Outcomes:

In 2010 alone, 51,295 young people benefited from the Nokia-supported programs. Since the inception of the Nokia-IYF partnership, more than 586,000 youth have been reached directly, with more than five million children, youth, adults, and community members having benefited indirectly.

Contact:
Jim Pierce, Vice President
Email: j.peirce@iyfnet.org

Countries: