Analysis Diabetes Mellitus on Complications with Data Mining

Analysis Diabetes Mellitus on Complications with Data Mining M. Mayilvaganan T.Sivaranjani Abstract: Diabetes mellitus is incredible growing and seems to be emerging as a main public health problem for our country.The prevalence of diabetes is rapidly increasing all over the world. Data mining provides more no of tools and techniques that can be applied to this processed data to discover hidden patterns. It is used to provide healthcare professionals an additional source of knowledge for making decisions. This research is analysis about diabetes prevalence, complications, and preventing from complications. Keywords— diabetes mellitus, data analysis, data mining, diabetes prevalence, complications INTRODUCTION: Diabetes is a group of metabolic diseasescaused by the lack of insulin in the body or inability to produce as normal. In contemporary world most of folk are distressed by diabetes, which affects a large population across the world. The prevalence of diabetes for all age-groups worldwide was estimated to be 2.8% in 2000 and 4.4% in 2030. The total number of people with diabetes is projected to rise from 171 million in 2000 to 366 million in 2030. The prevalence of diabetes is higher in men than women, but there are more women with diabetes than men. The urban population in developing countries is projected to double between 2000 and 2030[9]. TYPES OF DIABETES Type 1 diabetes This type of diabetes usually develops during childhood or teens and is characterized by a severe deficiency of insulin secretion resulting from atrophy of the islets of Langerhans and causing hyperglycemia and a marked tendency toward ketoacidosis—called alsoinsulin-dependent diabetes, insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, juvenile diabetes, juvenile-onset diabetes, type 1 diabetes mellitus [6]. Type 2 diabetes It’s mostly distressed in adulthood and is exacerbated by obesity and an inactive lifestyle. This disease often has no symptoms, is usually diagnosed by tests that indicate glucose intolerance, and is treated with changes in diet and an exercise regularly [7]. Gestational diabetes Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is defined as any degree of glucose intolerance with onset or first recognition during pregnancy [8]. The definition applies whether insulin or only diet modification is used for treatment and whether or not the condition persists after pregnancy. It does not exclude the possibility that unrecognized glucose intolerance may have antedated or begun concomitantly with the pregnancy. Fig 1: Prevalence estimates of diabetes mellitus (DM), 2010 – South-East Asian Region To estimating the prevalence of diabetes for the years 2000, 2010 and 2030, data on case numbers and national prevalence of impaired glucose tolerance are presented in chart [10].The total populations of the regions and the populations aged from 20-79 years are shown in Figure 2. From the figure we clearly known Western Pacific Region, which includes China, and the South-East Asian Region, which has India as a member, have the greatest numbers of people [10]. Fig2: Top 5- Number of people with diabetes (20-79 age group), 2000, 2010 and 2030 Fig 3 Top 5-Prevalence of impaired glucose tolerance (20-79 age group), 2010 and 2030 COMPLICATIONS OF DIABETES Skin Complications To be more consciousness for symptoms of skin infections and other skin disorders common in people with diabetes. Eye Complications Yearly or six months once keep regular check up; avoid risk of glaucoma, cataracts and other eye problems. Due to nation survey in India eye complication was rare. Neuropathy Nerve damage from diabetes is called diabetic neuropathy .The majority of people with diabetes have any one of type of nerve damage. Foot Complications The largest parts of diabetes patients have foot damages. Take care of our foot as much as like face. Before bed we have to clean and dry our foot. Through the regular excise and walking we can avoid this complication. Kidney Disease (Nephropathy) High BP and glucose is major cause this. Keep your diabetes and blood pressure under control to lesser the chance of getting kidney disease. High Blood Pressure High blood pressure is also called hypertension. It raises more complications like heart attack, stroke, eye problems, and kidney disease. Stroke Keep up blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol in good level. It to be reduces your risk of stroke. Most of the patients affected stroke by hypertension. DATA MINING TECHNIQUES In healthcare industry nowadays generates huge amounts of complex data about patients, hospitals resources, disease diagnosis, electronic patient records, and medical devices etc.These data are a key resource to be stored, processed and analyzed for knowledge extraction that enables to support for cost-savings and decision making. Data mining is the process of exploration and analysis, by automatic or semiautomatic means, of large quantities of data in order to discover meaningful patterns and rules [11]. Data mining could be on the whole useful in medicine when there is no dispositive evidence favoring an exacting treatment option. Based on patients’ profile, history, physical inspection, diagnosis and utilizing previous treatment patterns, new treatment policy can be successfully recommended. Data mining is finding interesting structure (patterns, statistical models, relationships) in databases. [12]. Logistic regression models are used to compare hospital profiles and based on that risk-factors are analyses in data mining. Artificial neural networks are used in medical diagnosis. It produces a clinically relevant output based on sample database, and constructs the probability of a certain pathology or classification of biomedical objects. Due to the generous plasticity of input data, ANNs have verified useful in the analysis of blood and urine samples of diabetic patients [13]. Unsupervised learning engrosses identifying clusters and associations. Clusters are faction the analogous subtypes and make group. Using regression analysis, associate the following attributes as age, family history, increasing socio-economic status and decreasing physical activity and find high frequency of cause which type of diabetes distressed. No one can tell literally, which algorithm is best for any problem, because data sets from various data sources. To applying algorithm in training set and came to the solution, which is suite .data set be consists of missing values, noise, and outliers. Cleaning data from noise and outliers and handling missing values, and then finding the exact subset of data and prepares them for successful data mining. Missing values are filled up with the most familiar value and combinations of particular attribute-value pairs are significant within a dataset. DATA SET REPRESENTATION Collecting patient’s medical details based on that calculated BMI, body type, required calories, actual calories, complications, risk factors. The table 1 specified for risk analysis and table 2 for diagnosed complications. Some of the attributes of datasets are BMI, require weight, BMI index, working industry, eating habit, blood group, life style, and require calorie based on sex, family history,PCOS,HBA1c,Smoker, drinker, type of DM,dignosed age, symptoms, no of years, Gestational diabetes history, baby weight, order of baby, control DM,Fast food,BP,food intervals, intake limits. Table 1. Characteristics of risk analysis data set 2 3 4 2 2 7 2 1 22 1 4 3 1 3 1 2 0 Monitor the following attributes as high HBA1c, stationary, job, BP, Life style, disease caused after diabetes diagnosed, undiet, smoking, drinking habits regularly can avoid more complications. Table 2. Characteristics of complications data set 1 3 6 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 67 2 4 4 2 0 2 2 1 0 5 Conclusion India is top most country in prevalence of diabetes. Number of people with diabetes in our country in 2010 50.8 million and will be estimated 87.0 in 2030[10]. Diabetes complication fatality rates also raised and prevent these government or social organizations, health care’s must provide education or training focuses on self-care behaviors, such as healthy eating, being active, and monitoring blood sugar. Many of the steps necessitate to take to avert one of those complications may really help to prevent them all. This kind of education or training is a mutual process in which diabetes educators help people with or at risk for diabetes gain the knowledge. Data mining bring a set of tools, techniques and method that can be functional to this processed data to determine hidden patterns. Data mining algorithms are used to extract informative patterns from raw data. Physicians can identify effective treatments and best observation, and also patients receive improved and more affordable healthcare services. It is help to manage and monitor patients can have important utility in diabetes mellitus and analysis complicates. In the future, we plan to demonstrate the usefulness of this kind of study by measuring the extent to which data mining approaches empower clinical research and practice. References: [1]. Dandona, Lalit, et al. Population based assessment of diabetic retinopathy in an urban population in southern India.British journal of ophthalmology83.8 (1999): 937-940. [2]. Sanders, Reginald J., and M. Roy Wilson. Diabetes-related eye disorders.Journal of the National Medical Association85.2 (1993): 104. [3]. Gà ¤ckler, D., et al. [Diabetes and kidneys].Deutsche medizinische Wochenschrift (1946)138.18 (2013): 949-955. [4]. Berger, A. and Berger, C.R. â€Å"Data mining as a tool for research and knowledge development in nursing.†CINMay/June 2004. [5]. Stephens, S. and Tamayo, P. â€Å"Supervised and unsupervised data mining techniques for life sciences.†Curr Drug DiscJune 2003. [6]. Ewing, D. J., I. W. Campbell, and B. F. Clarke. The natural history of diabetic autonomic neuropathy.QJM49.1 (1980): 95-108. [7].  http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/type%201%20diabetes [8]. Metzger BE, Coustan DR (Eds.): Proceedings of the Fourth International Work-shop-Conference on Gestational Diabetes Mellitus.Diabetes Care21 (Suppl. 2):B1–B167,1998 [9]. Wild, Sarah, et al. Global prevalence of diabetes estimates for the year 2000 and projections for 2030.Diabetes care27.5 (2004): 1047-1053. [10]. Sicree, Richard, et al. The global burden.Diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance. Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute(2010). [11]. Berry, Michael JA, and Gordon Linoff. Data Mining Techniques . J. (2004). [12]. Bradley, Paul S., Usama M. Fayyad, and Olvi L. Mangasarian. Mathematical programming for data mining: formulations and challenges.INFORMS Journal on Computing11.3 (1999): 217-238. [13]. Amato, Filippo, et al. Artificial neural networks in medical diagnosis.Journal of Applied Biomedicine11.2 (2013): 47-58. [13]. Data Mining Technologies for Blood Glucose and Diabetes Management 603 , Riccardo Bellazzi, Ph.D.,and Ameen Abu-Hanna, Ph.D. [14].  http://health.india.com/diseases-conditions/sweet-nothings-discard-myths-to-successfully-manage-diabetes/ [15]. Application of data mining: Diabetes health care in young and old patients Abdullah A. Aljumah, Mohammed Gulam Ahamad, Mohammad Khubeb Siddiqui [16]. An Analysis of Diabetes Risk Factors Using Data Mining Approach Akkarapol Sangasoongsong and Jongsawas Chongwatpol Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA [17]. The need for obtaining accurate nationwide estimates of diabetes prevalence in India Rationale for a national study on diabetes R.M. Anjana, M.K. Ali*, R. Pradeepa, M. Deepa, M. Datta, R. Unnikrishnan, M. Rema V. Mohan [18]. Am I at risk for type 2 diabetes? Taking Steps to Lower Your Risk of Getting Diabetes [19]. http://www.diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/complications/

A Love Story :: essays research papers

It all started when I was 16 years old. While I was playing outside on my farm in California, I met a boy. He was an average kind of boy who teased you and then you chased them and beat them up. After that first meeting in which I beat him up we kept on meeting and beating each other up at the fence. That only lasted for a little while though. We would meet at the fence all the time and we were always together. I would tell him all my secrets. He was very quiet he would just listen to what I had to say. I found him easy to talk to and I could talk to him about everything. In school we had separate friends but when we got home we would always talk about what happened in school. One day I said to him that a guy I liked hurt me and broke my heart. He just comforted me and said everything would be okay. He gave me words of encouragement and helped me get over him. I was happy and thought of him as a real friend. But I knew that there was something else about him that I liked. I thought of it that night and figured it was just a Friend kinda thing that I was feeling. All through high school and even through graduation we're always together and of course I thought of it as being friends. But I knew deep inside that I really felt differently. On graduation night even though we had different dates to the prom I wanted to be with him. That night after everybody went home I went to his house and wanted to tell him that I wanted to see him. Well, that night was my big chance and all I did was just sit there with him watching the stars and talking about what I was going to do and what he was going to do. I looked into his eyes and listened to him talk about what his dream was. How he wanted to get married and settle down. He said how he wanted to be rich and successful. All I could do was to tell him my dream and cuddle next to him. I went home hurting because I didn't tell him how I was feeling. I wanted to tell him so bad that I loved him but I was too scared and frighte! ned.

The Philosophy of Medicine :: Epistemology

The Philosophy of Medicine Philosophy of Medicine? In Arthur Caplan's 1992 paper entitled "Does The Philosophy of Medicine Exist?" he argues that if a philosophy of medicine existed it would be concerned with epistemological or metaphysical questions. Caplan states "The goal of the philosophy of medicine is epistemological" (71). Caplan adds "the goal of the inquiry is to understand what those in medicine think they know and why they think they know it" (71). In conversation with Professor Caplan he has recently stated that he still holds the conclusion of his paper: namely, that a philosophy of medicine does not currently exist.[1] It will be my general aim to look at the discussion that takes place in some of the analysis of the medical field with a focus on epistemology. Specifically it will be my intention to distinguish in some of the topical literature if the questions raised are rightly epistemological yet or in need of some clarification. I accept Professor Caplan's stipulative definition that states that a field "must be well-integrated with other cognate inquiries and disciplines, have an established canon of key books, textbooks, anthologies and articles, and a set of distinctive and defining problems" (67). Epistemology meets all of these requirements. In attempts to assist medicine, authors from various quarters have offered analyses but confused what is and is not rightly epistemology. This confusion in turn blurs the distinction between philosophy in medicine and philosophy of medicine.[2] The resulting cloudiness may be an obstacle in the way of the development of the philosophy of medicine. I believe the importance of merely recognizing whether we are asking questions about the thinkers or about that which may not be the thinker is a particularly relevant foundation to philosophy of medicine. In line with an element of Professor Caplan's definition of the philosophy of medicine (69), I will attempt to explicate the key concepts in philosophy in medicine of 'uncertainty' and 'underdetermination.' Epistemology Epistemology is a branch of philosophy that is concerned with theories of knowledge. Its study focuses around the nature, scope, and basis of knowledge, and the reliability of claims to knowledge. Epistemology must often take up debates over where and how knowledge is obtained, and the role of reason.[3] The tools of epistemologists consist of, but are not limited to, truth-bearers, truth-makers, truth-conditions, sentences, propositions, beliefs, criteria, justification, foundations, certainty, determination, coherence, usefulness,and correspondence. All these terms carry different weight and notions within individual epistemological theories, and need not be fully unpacked to serve their purpose in this investigation.

Jhumpa Lahiri’s Interpreter of Maladies Essay

The Third and Final Continent is the last short story in Jhumpa Lahiri’s Interpreter of Maladies; and is probably the most memorable one. A newly married young man makes his way from India to England and then to the US where he is making arrangements to call his wife from back home. Lahiri’s tone from the very beginning sounds distant, but equally engaging, her style is painfully simple; and the structure of the story is as clear as the title. Lahiri gives an account of one man’s journey through three different continents. The story becomes captivating from the very first paragraph. She describes the narrator’s experiences in England where he lives with other â€Å"penniless Bengali bachelors all struggling to educate and establish themselves abroad [1].†   But our protagonist is offered a job at M.I.T and decides to settle down in the U.S. Here is when the story truly picks up momentum. Even with her simple style, Lahiri has also employed a strong underlying sense of humor. On his way to America, the narrator discovers that â€Å"President Nixon had declared a national holiday: two American men had landed on the moon [1].† The line is almost comical; the narrator is most uninterested in one of the greatest achievements in American history. Lahiri succeeds in describing America through the eyes of a foreigner to a new land. The narrator’s experience in America is a totally alien. Lahiri describes the new life and world around him in great detail, giving long descriptions of the food, clothes and the general attitude of people. And then the story moves on to Mrs. Croft. The relationship that follows is humorous yet endearing and heart-warming. In fact, here is where Lahiri’s genius lies. Mrs. Croft and the narrator come from two different diverse cultures and lives, yet no culture, race or color seem to come in between their friendship. Lahiri also brings forward the custom of arranged marriages, largely prevalent in India. â€Å"I regarded the proposition with neither objection nor enthusiasm. It was a duty expected of me, as it was expected of every man [1].† Even though he does not know his wife when the two get married, they begin to understand each other slowly. In fact, their first moment of understanding is in Mrs. Croft’s parlor, where the old woman calls Mala â€Å"A perfect lady [1].† â€Å"I like to think of that moment in Mrs. Croft’s parlor as the moment when the distance between Mala and me began to lessen [1].† The style and structure of Lahiri’s story are effortless and straight-forward. The words used too are simple. But it is exactly this simplicity which makes the story so close to life. The narrator’s tone is so disengaged from the story that it seems like a bland narration. Yet the events in that narration are so moving and heartening that it makes the reader feel like a part of the story. The forms a deep bond with his wife, initially, a complete stranger; and through the two the reader can see and experience the pain of losing one’s cultural identity and heritage. Their son is completely Americanized and has no interest in his Bengali roots. They wish that would â€Å"eat rice with us with his hands, and speak in Bengali, things we sometimes worry he will no longer do after we die [1].† Lahiri ends the story beautifully, describing the narrator’s journey through life in a few simple lines – â€Å"Still, there are times I am bewildered by each mile I have travelled, each meal I have eaten, each person I have known, each room in which I have slept. As ordinary as it all appears, there are times when it is beyond my imagination [1].† Works Cited: Lahiri, Jhumpa, The third and final continent, retrieved from http://www.dequinix.com/a/continent.php

Five sector circular flow of income of Australian economy

?Outline the main features of the five-sector circular flow of income model of the Australian economy. Explain how leakages and injections influence the level of economic activity. The five sector circular flow of income model describes the operation of an economy and the linkages between the main sectors in an economy. The model divides the income to five sectors; the individuals, Businesses, financial institutions, governments and international trade and financial flows.The individuals consist of all individuals in the economy and looks at their activities such as earning income and spending it on goods and services. They supply factors of production (inputs) such as labour and enterprise to businesses who then produce goods and services. Individuals then receive incomes as rent, wages, interest and profits. It is important to think of the individuals sector and the business firms together as together they affect the amount of economic activity in a circular flow of income. The bus inesses buy factors of production and use them to sell goods and services.They are dependent on individuals, as their spending becomes their income to then spend on producing the goods and services in demand for the consumers. Individuals and businesses are interdependent they are both needed to exist. The institutions involved in the borrowing and lending money of money are the financial institutions sector. They act between the savers and borrowers of money and consist of; banks, building societies, finance companies, credit unions, superannuation funds and life insurance companies.It enables individuals and businesses to both save and borrow money. The financial institutions mobilise savings so they can be used for investment. In the circular flow of income savings are leakages as it is money withdrawn causing a reduction in both the circular flow of income and in economic activity. The leakage of savings causes a fall in expenditure on goods and services, a fall in production, a fall in the demand for resources and a fall in income to the owners of those resources. To counteract the leakagesof savings there are injections of investment. Investment is any current expenditure that is made in order to obtain benefits in the future. Investments represent an injection into the circular flow and have the opposite effect of a leakage. Spending on investment would lead to rising expenditure, production, employment and income levels in the economy. The individuals, businesses and financial institutions make up the private sector of our economy. The government sector consists of the Commonwealth, state and local.They are responsible for collective (community) wants and obtain resources by imposing taxes on the other sectors of the economy. The government then uses tax revenue to undertake government expenditure. Taxation is a leakage in the economy and causes a reduction in the level of economic activity. Government expenditure represents an injection as it goes tow ards collective goods and services. The sector is our public sector and together with the private sector makes up the domestic sector in our economy.International trade and financial flows cover all transactions that our economy has with the rest of the world. This includes exports, imports and international money flows. Imports are goods and services produced overseas but sold in Australia and these payments represent leakages from the circular flow. Exports are goods and services produced in Australia but sold overseas to overseas customers and increase the size of the circular flow, as they are injections.

John Grisham Essay

Introduction The Capital Area Food Bank has been serving 633,000 unprivileged residents in Washington D. C Metropolitan Area and 200,000 children whose standards of living are precarious inviting utmost care and concern. There are 200,000 children who are in need of food. [source: U. S Census Bureau,2000] Food Bank distributes over and above 62,000 pounds on daily basis and serves meals accounting to 1. 6 million per month apart from serving 700 non-profit partnership agencies affiliated with Washington D. C. Metropolitan Area. The minimum wage of D. C. is $7. 00. Also the minimum wage is $6. 15 in Maryland and $5. 15 in Virginia. [source:Hunger in America 2006, Mathematica Policy Research] CAFB definition of poverty : The Capital Area Food Bank defines poverty based upon 185% of the poverty guidelines. This means that a household may earn up to 185% of the U. S. government’s standard of poverty and still be considered â€Å"in poverty†. This measure (and other multiples such as 125%, 150% and even 200% of poverty) is utilized determine eligibility for many government programs. 1 Contributing factors to Hunger and Homelessness 1. Unemployment The following States have the problem of unemployment [2005]. Sno State High Low 1 Mississipi ^ – 2 Louisiana ^ – 3 South Carolina ^ – 4 Alaska ^ – 5 Michigan ^ – 6 Hawaii – ÐŽ 7 North Dakota – ÐŽ 8 Vermont – ÐŽ 9 Virginia – ÐŽ 2. National poverty indicators: Sno (In millions} Status For the Year 1 25,350 Individuals 2005 2 5,146 Avg monthly individuals 2005 3 25,682 Avg monthly food stamp: individuals 2005 4 38,196 Food insecurity-household 2004 5 7,591 Unemployed individuals 2005 6 36,997 Individuals in poverty 2004 [source:Hunger in America, Draft Report, February 2006] 2. Food Insecurity [2002-2004] 1 Oklahoma ^ – 2 South Carolina ^ – 3 Arkansas ^ – 4 Delaware ÐŽ. 5 North Dakota – ÐŽ 6 New Hampshire – ÐŽ 7 Minnesota ^ 8 Hawaii ^ [source:National Statistics on Hunger and Poverty]2 3. States with poverty [2004]3 1 New Hampshire 1 2 Minnesota 2 3 Vermont 3 4 New Jersey 4 5 Hawaii 5 6 Delaware 6 7 Masschusetts 7 8 Alaska 7 9 Virginia 9 10 Nebraska 10 11 North Dakota 11 12 Maryland 12 13 Wyoming 13 14 Idaho 13 15 Utah 13 16 Connecticut 16 17 Colorado 16 18 Iowa 18 19 Oklahoma 19 20 Nevada 20 21 Pennsylvania 21 22 Kansas 22 23 Rhode Island 23 24 Washington 23 25 Florida 25 26 Maine 25 27 Indiana 25 28 Ohio 25 29 Missouri 30 30 Illinois 30 31 Wisconsin 32 32 Georgia 33. 33 California 34 34 Michigan 34 35 South Dakota 36 36 Montana 37 37 West Virginia 38 38 Arizona 39 39 North Carolina 40 40 South Carolina 41 41 New York 42 42 Arkansas 43 43 Tennessee 44 44 New Mexico 45 45 Texas 45 46 Alabama 49 47 Kentucky 50 48 Mississippi 51 57% of hunger is prevalent in urban areas and 43% is prevalent in sub-urban/rural areas of U. S4. 4. Income – Household & Employment status [2006]5 sno Income – (USD) percentage Employment percentage 1 0-999 60. 6 Full-time 14. 6 2 1000-2499 25. 3 Part-time 13. 2 3 2500 and above 2. 9 Unemployed 72. 2 4 Not known 11. 2 North Carolina – A study. Statistics of hunger and poverty in North Carolina sno year Household income (Avg) % (+) (-) Increase in numbers From To Increase % 1 2000 –2002 (-) $1749 (-) 4. 4 985,000 1. 07 mn 9 According to the survey of Wake Forest University School of Medicine, it was found that the overall percentage of hunger in U. S in 4. 3 and according to Quandt â€Å"food insecurity† is between 35. 6% to 41. 8% in four surveys conducted. North Carolina with a population of 8 million is having an account of 15. 2 % of individuals and 21. 2% of families with small children facing a risk of hunger. Statistics of Polkton. 1 Total population 18,324 2 Households 7,908 3 Families 5,337 4 Average household size 2. 28 5 Average family size 2. 78 6 Household Median income $36,259 7 Family Median Income $45,096 8 Percapita Income $19,804 9 Male – Median income $29,375 10 Female-Median income $23,070 11 Below poverty line-18 under 11. 70% 12 Below poverty line-65 and older 8. 80% 13 Children under 18 23. 50% 14 Married couples 56. 30% 15 Female householders 7. 90% 16 Non-families 32. 50% 17 Individual households 28. 90% 18 65 and older living alone 15% 19 Below poverty line 10. 10% of population 20 Families below poverty line 6. 40%. The break up of people living is: †¢ White : 92. 26% †¢ African American : 5. 89% †¢ Native American : 0. 19 †¢ Asian : 0. 247 Conclusion The result of 25 cities survey of status report on Hunger and Homelessness in U. S concludes that 83 per cent of cities surveyed that there is a dire need of assistance in shelter and food which has risen by 15 per cent, still having 76 per cent of cities reporting to be increasing. There are totally thirteen cities facing the acute and emergency need of home and food. viz. , Burlington, Vermont,Philadelphia,Pennsylvania,Charlotte,North Carolina,Portland,Oregon, San Antonio and Texas. [source:Mayor’s Conference]. North Carolina crisis in budget is expected to exceed $1Billion. Some of the other contributing factors are : increase in accommodation cost, unemployment, and employment problems, poverty, low income or lack of income, increasing utility rates, non-availability of transportation and handicapped and mentally disabled persons. There is an account of 1/5 of homeless persons who are mentally ill in the above cities. According to a survey 60percent of eastern North Carolina have participated in WIC program conducted by U. S Department of Agriculture, as compared to 40 per cent in Forsyth County. 6 Compared to other parts of the world, United States is free from food insecurity and hunger. The nations data accounts that 82. 4 per cent of households were secured with food and 13. 3. Percent of households were food insecure and 4. 3 percent were accounted with hunger. There are several community based organizations and local head departments [CBO, LHD] which are working for North Carolina to assist people in every manner providing comfort for illness and food. There is a severe need for adult care for treating mental illnesses apart from providing all kinds of facilities for children. References [1] Hunger in D C Metro Area, Capital Area Food Bank http://www. capitalareafoodbank. org/hunger/statistics. cfm [2]. A Report on the North Carolina 2003 Public Health Partnership Survey of Local Health Department and community based organization. http://www. schs. state. nc. us/SCHS/pdf/LHDCBOSurveyweb. pdf#search=%22statistics%20of%20hunger%20and%20poverty%20in%20Anson%20county%22 [3] Housing and extreme poverty of extreme poverty http://www. common-sense. org/journal/housing. html.

Government and Media in Cuba Essay

In between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean lies the island of Cuba. It is a small island with a total land area of 110,860 square km, yet it is so powerful enough to catch the attention of United States and to strengthen its security measures. The country was first ruled by the Spanish government and its history was marked by revolutions and uprising. Finally, in 1902, through the intervention of the US government, Cuba achieved its independence from the Spanish rule. However, the proclamation of independence did not end the uprising and rebellious activities because the country was not freed from leadership of corruption and military-rule. The real independence, as recognized and celebrated by Cubans, was achieved when Fidel Castro took office. Fidel Castro was the leader of rebel army that has been fighting the corrupt government and established a communist form of government. At present, Cuba is under the rule of Castro and the state remains to be a communist government having three branches namely; the chief of state, legislative and judiciary. General Raul Castro currently holds the chief of state which is comprised of Council of State and Council of Ministers (â€Å"The World Factbook†). On the economic aspect, the embargo that has been imposed upon the country has not yet been lifted. Currently, Venezuela is the main partner of the country and the main source of its petroleum needs. The living standard also remained low as a result of the embargo and discontinuance of foreign aids from several countries (â€Å"The World Factbook†). However, it has agricultural, trading, industrial and manufacturing enterprises where it sources out its economic and financial needs. As of July of the present year, the country is occupied by an estimate of 11,451,652 people having different racial descent including Africans, Spanish, Westerns and Asians (â€Å"The World Factbook†). Despite changes that have been introduced in the country, there are still issues that have been bothering the nation and even its citizens. Through its communist form of government, many activities were hardly exercised by the citizens because of government suppression. The most suppressed and monitored activity is the expression of one’s thoughts and ideas. The right to express one’s self is being curtailed by the government especially when it contains ideas that are against the government. The role of media is to protect the government as it is founded only to voice out words that the government desires to hear. In contrary to the role played by media in many countries, the Cuban media does not serve as the voice and protector of the people from the government but as an ally of the state. The treatment of the media people is also despicable in the eyes of the international community and of the journalists themselves. Hence, this paper will present the relationship of the media and government as well as the role it plays in the country. Concomitant to that is the life of journalists under the communist government of Cuba. Role of Media Media has been recognized as indispensable tool in communication. Mass media, as defined, is â€Å"the technological means of sending information, ideas, opinion, etc. through the mass communication device to a diverse audience† (â€Å"Impact of Media on Culture†). Various means used by mass media in transmitting information effectively and swiftly includes television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and internet. Notably, internet has been the most preferred and ideal means of mass media because of its ability of reaching a wider audience and is laxly monitored. In addition, internet is most preferred because it does not require profession to enable any individual to express his or her ideas. Among other nations, mass media is recognized as the fourth department of the government because of the role it plays in the political and social aspect. The mass media usually fills in the gap between the government and the people. It voices out the sentiments or thoughts of the people to the government while it also brings to the people the sentiments and plans of the government for the country. In some instances, mass media becomes a watchdog against government abuses and activities that are definitely out of reason. Furthermore, mass media has continually become the source of information about things, persons, places, and events, among others. Due to the indispensable role of mass media in the society, it need to be free and not controlled by any person or agency nor can be regulated by the government. Instead, it should be free in order to properly carry out its objective. Apart from that, it should not be controlled to ensure its impartiality and neutral role. Historical Background of Media in Cuba The epoch of mass media in Cuba can be traced back during the Spanish regime. The history also of the country’s press has undergone five periods (Browning). The Colonial period which stated from 1723 to 1868 is recognized as the first period. During that period, the first newspaper entitled Gazeta de la Habana was released in 1782 and become the nation’s publication (Browning). In 1790, the newspaper was followed by the very first magazine entitled Papel Periodico de la Habana (Browning). Both were regulated by the Spanish government but enjoyed less restriction because of the French Revolution affecting the government power of Spain over Cuba. The second period began in 1869 when Independence was first craved for and ended in 1902. The period is also called the Independence Revolution (Browning). During that period, press was given full freedom purposely to win the support of the reformists. Eventually periodicals containing ideas about reform began to evolve which includes El Cubano Libre, Estrella Solitaria, El Mambi, and El Boletin de la Guerra (Browning). Notably, during the second period, more revolutionaries were inspired to fight for their independence through the influence of Jose Marti who writes in several newspapers such as Patria, La Nacion, and New York Sun (Browning). The second period was marked by independent exercise of expression through publications that is direct, immediate and constant (Browning). The third period started when called the Republican period which started from 1902 and ended in 1930. The third period was ruled under the dictatorship of Gerardo Machado (Browning). During his era, freedom of expression was enjoyed by journalists. Newspapers, publications and other dailies thrived in the city of Cuba, Havana. This period was also marked by prosperity because political parties sponsored lots of publications and added to the benefit of the country’s economy. However, the exercise of the freedom was shaken by the plan of Machado to assimilate and provide government subsidies in exchange for support in 1928 (Browning). The following years was marked by economic downturn and political unrest that further led to the end of freedom enjoyed by the Cuban journalists. The fourth period started after Machado was overthrown in 1930 until 1959 (Browning). For 29 years, Batista ruled the nation. During the reign of Batista, the freedom of expression was experiencing threat of extinction. Though, technological innovations in journalism were introduced in the country. Among these includes increased commercial sophistication and steam-powered printing presses (Browning). However, at the latter part of Batista’s reign, the freedom of expression has finally faded because the government took control of the press. The fifth period started when Batista was overthrown by the communist group led by Castro in 1959 and continues at the present era (Browning). Since the beginning of Castro era, the freedom of expression was already curtailed. Eventually, the press and media were finally controlled by the government and journalists were not given freedom to voice out their thoughts against the government. The government’s strict control over media started in 1930. No independent journalists were freed to release publications which have the effect of criticizing the government. During that period, journalists tried to oppose the move of the government but to no avail. Finally, in 1990’s through the introduction of Internet, independent journalists have found new medium to castigate the government’s control of information (Browning). However, the media, private and public, are still under the control of the government. Information dissemination is still suffering strict regulation. Independent journalists also continue to struggle and risk their lives for an independent journalism. It can be observed that since the evolution of media, the government already held control of it. The changes in phases under several governments have made media limited and restricted. Some of the actions that the government had done in curtailing free press and flow of information were censorship and closure of newspapers (Browning). Until now, the freedom of information remains evasive and independence of journalists is still obscure to be enjoyed. Current Status of Media in Cuba In Art. 53 of the 1976 Cuban constitution, freedom of press and expression have been explicitly stated. However, such freedom is subjected to limitations as contained in Art. 62 Art. 5, further, contains that all communication should be controlled by the Communist Party for the benefit of the country (Browning). As an effect, information was regulated and controlled by the government. Journalists were also restrained from publicizing without the knowledge of the state. Apart from that, journalists were arbitrarily imprisoned for exercising their freedom of expression. Mass media in Cuba is definitely not free. In the field of print media, the nation maintains three newspapers which are fully regulated by the government. These nation’s newspapers are Granma, Juventud Rebelde and Trabajadores (Browning). Granma is the official publication of the Communist Party which was founded in 1965 (Browning). Juventud Rebelde usually contains the same youth-oriented stories covered in Granma but in simplified and summarized manner. The Trabajadores, on the other hand, is more politically inclined publication as it contains Marxist principles (Browning). Notably, Granma’s circulation has widened in some other parts of the world through the power of internet. The website is called Digital Granma Internacional (Browning). It is also noteworthy that during the recognition of the press, the Union de Periodistas de Cuba (Union of Cuban Journalists) was founded in July 15, 1963 (Browning). It is a nongovernment organization which engages the membership of professional journalists in order to work in distinguished media in the country. However, such organization has already been controlled by the government and its constitution also dictates that editorial line of journalists must follow that of government. On this era of technological innovations, independent journalists found internet as a means of voicing out their cries and redress against the Cuban government. However, the control of the government in curtailing unwanted information has also reached the World Wide Web and several independent journalists have been imprisoned for such exercise of expression. It is noteworthy that 21 journalists have been recorded to have been imprisoned after a closed-door trial (â€Å"Attacks on the Press in 2008†). Among the journalists that suffered the harshness of the state is Yoani Sanchez, 33-year old blogger (â€Å"Attacks on the Press in 2008†). Sanchez, at first, found freedom through her blog called Generation Y which contained observations about hurricane devastation, politically motivated arrest, and food shortages (â€Å"Attacks on the Press in 2008†). Her blog has been read abroad but has also been made known by the government. Thereafter, her passport was confiscated and was not allowed to leave the country. Today, state authorities has started to regulate internet cafes to track down individuals with the purpose of publishing dissent against the government through internet. Another independent journalist that has experienced the government’s cruelty is Victor Rolando Arroyo (â€Å"Cuban Journalist in Second Week of Hunger Strike†). Arroyo, who writes in Union de Periodistas y Escritores de Cuba, was arrested during the fight for independence press in March 2003 (â€Å"Cuban Journalist in Second Week of Hunger Strike†). He caught the world’s attention when he took hunger strike for almost two weeks because of the maltreatment and indecent treatment of prisoners like him.