It is my believe that sex issues are the most controversial and least understood and introducing sex education would more likely less take the mystery away from the issue. Sex education would be less controversial if it was approached from a multicultural perspective that would embody the biological, the psychological, the cultural, and the sociological and historical points of view. Sex education should be a subject aimed at empowering students to make responsible sex decisions based on reliable credible information and lee inhibited by myths, rituals, taboos and other believes that our diverse cultures hold and that have been passed down centuries.
From a biological point of view sex involves the anatomy, the genes, the role of the central nervous system, the hormones, among other organs in human sexuality. Biology looks at sex as an angle of procreation alone. The students can then understand their anatomical structures and physiological capabilities and know how these two major factors make sexual behavior possible. Students can also acquire information on causes of infertility and diseases that affect various genders due to age, eating habits, or even genetical issues and know also know how to self examine themselves for diseases such as breast cancer as well as knowing where to seek treatment or any prevention if any.
The psychologist approaches the issue from a mental point of view and aims at explaining the behavior, attitudes, values and perceptions associated with sex. A psychologist will look at transsexuals from an understanding of individuals in the society who have not been able to accept the gender in which they were born in and perceive themselves as the opposite gender despite their anatomy. This education can help these individuals have a change in mind as well as raise their self esteem and maybe bring them to self realization as well as self acceptance. The results may as well help students perform better in their schoolwork and in co-curricular activities. This does not mean that such education would encourage any gay behavior.
Since culture is probably the biggest barrier to sex education being introduced in schools then maybe there needs to be its dissection and see how it is connected to this topic. A sub-culture like religion that may also be a culture if we consider the Islamic, the Hindu and Buddhism religions may feel threatened whenever their teachings face danger of being proved less relevant. The catholic church for example might be quite be reluctant if they imagine an education that would encourage its faithful to use condoms if they must have sex with its firm believe in abstinence until marriage. Muslims on the other hand will wonder will feel shaken thinking that this learning would promote pre-marital sex due to introduction of new ideas in the minds of these little ‘innocent’ children. Communities who practice female circumcision would not support any learning that supports their culture whether they put this across aggressively or softly.
In the real sense culture can be used to instill values that many communities have such fornication and adultery is condemned though most communities ill blame the woman. The authorization of men to marry by the Koran also reduces cases of infidelity and single mothers which make the family more economically stable. Sex education can also help reduce the spread of diseases such as H.I.V that cause the society a lot of money that would be used to feed and educate orphans among other better uses.
Sociologically this education might try to put in plain words issues like why the society have various practices such as male circumcision or why homosexuality is condemned in Africa yet everybody acknowledges its presence. Sex education may provide answers as to why girls are customary punished on the palm of their hands and boys on their buttocks. Some of such issues would also benefit teachers who would insist on punishing their female students unconventionally despite the risk of fainting due to the cut in blood flow during menstruation. Education on people such as gays and its starting might change the society’s perception of gay people even if it might not necessarily change it.
History can most likely try to explain the origin of behaviors such as sexual orgies or fetalio or oral sex or ancient believes related to sex. How and why the famous sex guide Kamasutra was of any spiritual obligation. Such history would make the subject a bit more interesting as compared to chapters such as sexually transmitted diseases.
In conclusion I would like to liken sex education as to why they need not to play with fore as well as teaching them the advantages of the discovery of fire to mankind and finally giving them whatever story associated with the origin of fire. At last fire does not seem that dangerous though it is still one cause of deaths and injuries in our earth. We use fire to melt metal as well as join it and similarly use sex education to discourage sex and also advocate safe sex.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
WATER CONSERVATION by kamau mboe
Water conservation means the maintenance and protection of water so as to keep the quality and the quantity of usable water in our reach. Water is protected from degradation as a result of human activities like industry discharging of untreated waste, burying of toxic waste, underground testing of weapons that release radiation and other harmful substances into the water table as a result of the explosion hence cracking of the thick rock underground. Water can be polluted naturally for example when a volcano erupts from under and releases gases that are soluble in water sometimes making the water acidic hence undrinkable and unusable all together. Water conservation also means using water in proportions that it can replenish itself so as not to finish such sources that include aquifers that supply water to us through wells, bore halls geysers and other underground systems. Water can also be conserved by keeping the natural reservoirs in good conditions as well as building man-made catchments as well. These can be done easily by conserving forest, reforestation in areas where forest cover has been destroyed among other ways that we will see as we proceed.
We must understand the benefits of conserving water before we can make the important decision if we can ignore these advantages for our myopic pleasures that we have in our minds. By this I mean we need to understand the dangers of cutting down a forest for firewood like the steam engines did or to use other means of transport. Some of the benefits are some of the same benefits that we are enjoying now like increasing the ability of water and its potential resources to us. It would be very sad for us to remember that when we were poor and less developed we used to have adequate water to waste but now we have attained our goals we have less to even drink. Some countries like Israel have ensured this by ensuring water is less wasted and available in more places than it formerly was. In Kenya it is unimaginable that areas of Lake Turkana one of the biggest fresh water lakes in Africa still rely on pastoralism as their main income with abundant chances of agriculture if green houses were build. Water availability can be maximized by also ensuring the least amounts of water are wasted in irrigation by using easy methods like mulching of watering plants in the evening or using drip irrigation where irrigation is necessary. In Israel farmers are known to irrigate their plants with as tubes as thin as ball point tubes, surprising on how education can help us?
This point takes me to the third point increase of awareness. If we knew how much body reactions require water we could use it with more caution. Most of us knew that three quarters of the earth surface is water but no one went forward to tell us only one percent of it is really our life line. If people in Mount Kenya knew the effect their actions could have on millions of people downstream at least many of them would be more human to protect the quality of that water. If is the word that we should avoid using in future because it suggest a capability lost and hence much regret. We can avoid such regrets by teaching about simple facts about water in our schools, location levels and even using the media to reach the family level so as to minimize water misuse in future. Programs should be aired at prime times so as to get much audience and not like assignment earth in Aljazeera that comes to our television sets at eleven at night after a day of misuse of water.
Another benefit of conserving water is that there is a reduction of water related conflicts for example that have always occurred between India and Burma due to pollution of the river Ganges. These conflicts are sometimes evitable by only respecting other people’s right to clean water and hinder development sometimes leading to loss of lives and income as well. Pollution kills the water organisms as well as taking away income from farmers and fishermen when toxic materials kill fish or sometimes cause diseases to the human population. This then shows water conservation improves the quality of water in a water resource and leads to more benefits among them peace, increased cooperation and improved income among communities hence improved trade between communities and regions as well.
As a result of better cooperation between regions and countries data on forecasting can be shared hence help people prepare for severe droughts or flooding by such people cleaning their drainage pipes or digging dykes as well as enforcing earlier constructed preventive measures. Such preventive measures help a government to avoid in terms of drought or flooding entering a crisis stage and always asking for foreign intervention in terms of food or medicines. It is well known that in Kenya that flood in western Kenya and other parts occur at certain times hence it is quite unreasonable for us not to prepare by building dams only to get to a crisis at another time the same area lacking lack of water or food.
Water conservation reduces the amount of money used water in and missing other important needs such as health and education. If such money was used wisely me could be able to by better furniture in our homes or expand our factories rather than using all our incomes and profits paying bills. This would also make it easier for water supplying water to people have excess water to expand their services. In turn this means that we would not need to build more treatment facilities hence less chemical cost which would also mean less expenditure for such companies and maybe better salaries for its workers
The ways of conserving water vary from homestead or industry to another and are not exhaustible with our flexible minds. Domestically water can be minimized by first making water an expensive commodity like electricity that people can gauge wastage in bill charges and not in flooding in their backyard. Five plates can be washed in a litre of water and be rinsed with twice the amount if we used a container like a basin and not running water. A bath tub uses as much as forty litres in ones person’s cleanup exercise while such water can be used to bath two to three people using a shower. Water used to clean a family’s clothing in a week can be used can be used to flush the toilet for two days if it was reused. Simple statistics can be used to estimate how much water is wasted in a week. From our evaluation a family of four can waste as much as eighty litres of water if they used a bath tub and equally supply a family of the same number using number can use such an amount for two days. Can we then say are using so much water doing so little? A family is the basic unit of the society and hence if a society has to minimize the amount of water they use they must reduce it domestically. A family can be advised increasing the efficiency of taps and cleaning machines so as they could use less water or electricity. Electricity wastage in countries like Kenya relying almost entirely on hydroelectricity could as well see electricity wastage as water wastage and vice versa and then way the implication of one on the economy. Family members can make sure that they cut of power of water leaking pipes and report to the people in charge who on the other hand repair them as fast as they can. Car washes can be required by law to use efficient washing methods and not beside rivers where they pollute such water sources with soap and oil from cars. Those washing cars from home can in turn be taught on using water previously in cleaning clothes instead of using clean water all through and only leave the clean water to the rinsing. Members of religions like Islam that use water for cleansing at different times of the day can be advised to use alternatives where they exist. Tree planting should be made a world wide holiday to show the importance of trees in the world as a source of rain and the air we breathe and consequences of their reduction or disappearance.
Storage reservoirs can also be constructed in large quantities like in Kitui or Kajiado districts so as to improve water availability in certain areas where rainfall is uneven or below per. roof and ground catchments can be made necessary in architecture as we often wonder how much water can be collected in an hour’s time on some of the massive buildings and how many toilets can be flushed by such water. Run offs are great examples of flowing money that can be stored in dams to help in agriculture and other projects. Of all awareness we can get we will need to make people aware that water conservation must start with them if our campaigns to bear fruit.
We must understand the benefits of conserving water before we can make the important decision if we can ignore these advantages for our myopic pleasures that we have in our minds. By this I mean we need to understand the dangers of cutting down a forest for firewood like the steam engines did or to use other means of transport. Some of the benefits are some of the same benefits that we are enjoying now like increasing the ability of water and its potential resources to us. It would be very sad for us to remember that when we were poor and less developed we used to have adequate water to waste but now we have attained our goals we have less to even drink. Some countries like Israel have ensured this by ensuring water is less wasted and available in more places than it formerly was. In Kenya it is unimaginable that areas of Lake Turkana one of the biggest fresh water lakes in Africa still rely on pastoralism as their main income with abundant chances of agriculture if green houses were build. Water availability can be maximized by also ensuring the least amounts of water are wasted in irrigation by using easy methods like mulching of watering plants in the evening or using drip irrigation where irrigation is necessary. In Israel farmers are known to irrigate their plants with as tubes as thin as ball point tubes, surprising on how education can help us?
This point takes me to the third point increase of awareness. If we knew how much body reactions require water we could use it with more caution. Most of us knew that three quarters of the earth surface is water but no one went forward to tell us only one percent of it is really our life line. If people in Mount Kenya knew the effect their actions could have on millions of people downstream at least many of them would be more human to protect the quality of that water. If is the word that we should avoid using in future because it suggest a capability lost and hence much regret. We can avoid such regrets by teaching about simple facts about water in our schools, location levels and even using the media to reach the family level so as to minimize water misuse in future. Programs should be aired at prime times so as to get much audience and not like assignment earth in Aljazeera that comes to our television sets at eleven at night after a day of misuse of water.
Another benefit of conserving water is that there is a reduction of water related conflicts for example that have always occurred between India and Burma due to pollution of the river Ganges. These conflicts are sometimes evitable by only respecting other people’s right to clean water and hinder development sometimes leading to loss of lives and income as well. Pollution kills the water organisms as well as taking away income from farmers and fishermen when toxic materials kill fish or sometimes cause diseases to the human population. This then shows water conservation improves the quality of water in a water resource and leads to more benefits among them peace, increased cooperation and improved income among communities hence improved trade between communities and regions as well.
As a result of better cooperation between regions and countries data on forecasting can be shared hence help people prepare for severe droughts or flooding by such people cleaning their drainage pipes or digging dykes as well as enforcing earlier constructed preventive measures. Such preventive measures help a government to avoid in terms of drought or flooding entering a crisis stage and always asking for foreign intervention in terms of food or medicines. It is well known that in Kenya that flood in western Kenya and other parts occur at certain times hence it is quite unreasonable for us not to prepare by building dams only to get to a crisis at another time the same area lacking lack of water or food.
Water conservation reduces the amount of money used water in and missing other important needs such as health and education. If such money was used wisely me could be able to by better furniture in our homes or expand our factories rather than using all our incomes and profits paying bills. This would also make it easier for water supplying water to people have excess water to expand their services. In turn this means that we would not need to build more treatment facilities hence less chemical cost which would also mean less expenditure for such companies and maybe better salaries for its workers
The ways of conserving water vary from homestead or industry to another and are not exhaustible with our flexible minds. Domestically water can be minimized by first making water an expensive commodity like electricity that people can gauge wastage in bill charges and not in flooding in their backyard. Five plates can be washed in a litre of water and be rinsed with twice the amount if we used a container like a basin and not running water. A bath tub uses as much as forty litres in ones person’s cleanup exercise while such water can be used to bath two to three people using a shower. Water used to clean a family’s clothing in a week can be used can be used to flush the toilet for two days if it was reused. Simple statistics can be used to estimate how much water is wasted in a week. From our evaluation a family of four can waste as much as eighty litres of water if they used a bath tub and equally supply a family of the same number using number can use such an amount for two days. Can we then say are using so much water doing so little? A family is the basic unit of the society and hence if a society has to minimize the amount of water they use they must reduce it domestically. A family can be advised increasing the efficiency of taps and cleaning machines so as they could use less water or electricity. Electricity wastage in countries like Kenya relying almost entirely on hydroelectricity could as well see electricity wastage as water wastage and vice versa and then way the implication of one on the economy. Family members can make sure that they cut of power of water leaking pipes and report to the people in charge who on the other hand repair them as fast as they can. Car washes can be required by law to use efficient washing methods and not beside rivers where they pollute such water sources with soap and oil from cars. Those washing cars from home can in turn be taught on using water previously in cleaning clothes instead of using clean water all through and only leave the clean water to the rinsing. Members of religions like Islam that use water for cleansing at different times of the day can be advised to use alternatives where they exist. Tree planting should be made a world wide holiday to show the importance of trees in the world as a source of rain and the air we breathe and consequences of their reduction or disappearance.
Storage reservoirs can also be constructed in large quantities like in Kitui or Kajiado districts so as to improve water availability in certain areas where rainfall is uneven or below per. roof and ground catchments can be made necessary in architecture as we often wonder how much water can be collected in an hour’s time on some of the massive buildings and how many toilets can be flushed by such water. Run offs are great examples of flowing money that can be stored in dams to help in agriculture and other projects. Of all awareness we can get we will need to make people aware that water conservation must start with them if our campaigns to bear fruit.
THE WATCHDOG ROLE OF THE FOURTH ESTATE KENYA by kamau mbote
The media has at times stood up to the occasion in showing an efficient executive as well as the opposite. The Daily Nation on the February 1st 2007 put on its headlines a statement by the foreign affairs minister warning diplomats not to involve themselves in the general election. It ignored a hot story of Kamangu going to court to stop Bishop Wanjiru’s wedding clearly indicating that they wanted to show an efficient executive. Earlier on 26th January, the paper had put as its headlines the justice minister supporting the president’s decision not to consult with the opposition when selecting commissioners to the electoral commissioner. The newspaper neglected a hot human interest story of gay people in Kenya coming in the open and demanding their rights at the world social forum meaning that their aim was to show an efficient executive. The Kenyan media however did not openly remind Kenyans that the appointment of Njenga Karume was a case of square pegs in round holes and was most likely both politically and ethnically motivated. They failed to tell us that other members of parliament such as honorable Konchella was more qualified having once served in the armed forces. In Moi’s regime the appointment of ministers such as former Mvita MP the late Shariff Nassir was another case of an inefficient cabinet that went not highlighted.
The media did not harmoniously condemn the raid on the standard group by the executive but downplayed the event and it died out after a few days. The newspapers except The Standard did not take great initiatives in following the Artur brothers’ saga since it involved members of the denounced president’s family and ministers in Kibaki’s government as well. This proved that the media in Kenya has taken sides to be either anti-government or pro government. It was no wonder on Jamhuri day the year 2006 that The Daily Nation termed the presidents speech as inspiring and The Standard used Raila to say that the speech did not highlight important issues that are affecting Kenyans.
The media also failed to follow up both the Goldenberg and Anglo-leasing cases even after unearthing them and letting highly ranked government officials and ministers walk away. Though evidence was produced the media shied away from following the case right upto the attorney general chambers where the case was unceremoniously buried. The media can however be awarded for the sacking of Mwiraria, Kiraitu Murungi and Saitoti during the Anglo-leasing investigation. The reporters did not follow up on why a civil servant Winnie Wangui was able to go overseas and conduct business for weeks while she was supposed to be working for the government.
The media also acts as a conveyor belt where it only prints the names of chosen provincial commissioners and permanent secretaries without ever exposing their background activities and qualifications. This has happened since independence at times where Kenyatta’s government would have only Kikuyus as PC’s or Kalenjins during Moi’s regime. The media then encouraged tribalism to prosper on a country with dozens ethnic communities.
In the legislative assembly the media has also sometimes done their role each time they reported of bills that were passed with no quorum as stated by the constitution and sometimes they have boldly named those present though they should make it a daily affair so that the voters can know how their representatives attend to their duties. On the opening of parliament both Nation and K.T.N television in their news bulletins showed pictures of the honorable members of the legislature snoring away during the presidential speech leading to their condemnation even by the house speaker. The media has however failed to campaign for their right to broadcast live parliamentary proceedings for Kenyans to see. Further more the print media has not been printing the Hansard’s printout for us the readers to follow actual proceedings from parliament.
Members of the legislative assembly have been keeping quiet as gerrymandering continues in both Kibaki’s and Moi’s regime but at last the nation newspaper finally came out to explain these activities to Kenyans. On The Daily Nation of the 6th April 7, 2007 carried a section with the title ‘Politicians gerrymander and filibuster?’ and clearly explained these terms in relation to Kenyan politics. As a result of this gerrymandering Kenya is divided into two hundred constituencies some with ten times the number of voters the other holds with Embakasi having over one hundred thousand voters and areas like Marsabit having even less than a thousand voters. The other newspapers have however shunned away this issue much as it is overdue hence the voters do not even realize when it happens and its effect on the election outcome.
For the legislative assembly to become supreme it must represent the wish of voters and which must start with them having a chance to elect their representatives. The media has then failed to remind the youth to get their identification and election cards whenever the electoral commission embarks on registering new voters. It seems like the media is waiting for the electoral commission to advertise with money. On March 30th 2007 the second round of registration came to an end but instead of newspapers and other media letting their readers and viewers aware of its conclusion in advance they only reported when It was over. The Nation newspaper posted its headlines about the review talks and did not mention anything about the process coming to an end. On 31st The Nation now reported of the end of the process with the following headline ‘Poor turnout as voter listing ends’. This is then a clear indication of the Kenyan media not performing in its public campaign role but if they would have however liked to shift the blame to the electoral commission they would have challenged the commission to go on the streets and let the people know.
The media is not highlighting the legislative assembly inefficiency
though it is clear to everybody that this parliament has passed the least number of bills since independence. It had for a fact not passed a single bill by January 2005 three years since they were voted in. The justice minister openly said that this is the worst parliament since independence yet media which should be the watchdog did not reflect this in parliament scorecard. She regretted that the level of debate had declined with most MP’s focusing on settling political points (The Daily Nation March 31st page 4). This parliament took to the campaign trail months before the general election was due but the media kept on covering this and even giving some candidates undue advantage. One of the reasons that the ODM-Kenya has always been in trouble is because K.T.N and The standard have always given Raila Odinga more media coverage.
During the referendum the media did not teach the electorate about the draft constitution and they let the legislature control the process though the media itself ad a lot to benefit from the Wako draft. It is known that if the draft had passed something like the raid on the Standard newspaper would not have been justifiable by law. The official Secrets Act that limits the media’s freedom was to be scraped out and would have then made the follow up of cases such as Anglo-leasing and Goldenberg wonderful exposes. Cases like the Marsabit plane crash would not have been kept secret because they involved a military plane and the families of the victims would have learnt the truth.
Though the legislature has been increasing it salary packs to new high each time they will the media has for long not displayed the fury of the electorate. By doing this the MPs would have kept their salaries low just like the president did when they media exposed a plan by MPs loyal to the government to increase his salary. The media turned the incident to a crisis for the executive where public relations had to come to play and the president condemned this act. Had the media then exposed all such schemes wouldn’t our MP’s be earning a reasonable salary?
The judiciary in Kenya is well known for its delaying tactics where a case involving a by-election is known to be delayed to the next general election as the case involving Kisauni constituency between assistant minister Mwamboza and opposition nominee Ali Hassan Joho. Even though the truth has already been seen to be done the saying justice delayed is justice denied since Joho used a lot of money for campaigns as well as for the court cases and the people of Kisauni are not represented by the person they chose. The media has again kept quiet on this case maybe because of legal issues but should have used this to expose the inefficiency of the electoral commission.
The fact that judges are chosen by the president makes them vulnerable to political manipulation hence the media should bring this up ad campaign for ratification by Parliament. The media should once again expose judges/lawyers with questionable characters but recruited to top posts. Towards this end, investigative journalism has left a lot to be desired in Kenya. This judges should also declare their wealth publicly and those of their family members as well but the media though civil servants declared their wealth has done so little to let the electorate know.
The media in Kenya has also nailed people when their court case is still in court or still under investigation. Individuals like Kamlesh Patni, Bishop Gilbert Deya, Shimoli, and Matheri among other Kenyans have already been made guilty in the eyes of Kenyans though no court found them guilty. The Artur brother’s were almost beaten up by an angry mob after the media made people believe they were mercenaries even before any evidence was produced. Shimoli himself openly told journalist upon his release that they were responsible for getting suspects shot by police for making them look bad. Shimoli had been termed by the media a man behind eighty-eight rapes, robbery with violence among other offences but was only found guilty of one offence of which he was jailed for eight years. The judiciary is however not warning journalist against such malpractice in attempt to create headline stories maybe because the judges are corrupt or suspects are no longer getting protection hence the journalist kept quiet even as the police executed Matheri in cold blood in a country with laws protecting its citizens.
The electoral commission of Kenya is not independent since they are chosen by the president hence he can fire them at will without consultation if they do seem not loyal. The president has power to create constituencies if he so wills without consulting the commission hence MPs continues to mock Kivuitu as a toothless bulldog since he does not have power over the executive and political parties. Though the media has duty to know whatever happens in the electoral commission the commissioners are however not obliged to give any details to the media. The media has therefore failed in letting the electorate know whenever any details are not provided to them for the readers and viewers to voice any disconcert in any issues they find not convincing. The media has however given Kivuitu a lot of space in their news hence empowered him that today he has the power to voice any concern to the president a power not many politicians themselves possess.
In conclusion the media has improved both in their reporting style and diversity of issues since independence and from regime to regime. No one would have dared air news of politicians talking ill during Moi’s or Kenyatta’s regime. No one would have exposed the Anglo-leasing related cases through the other regimes among other great improvements we see today. The media however has to shun away from political affiliations with certain leaders or otherwise openly declare their support like citizen television did during the referendum. The media must stop demarcating certain regions as belonging to certain political parties especially due to tribe as this creates hate and encourages tribalism. The Kenyan media must also encourage professionalism and discourage monopoly in this fragile industry form which they earn their daily bread.
The media did not harmoniously condemn the raid on the standard group by the executive but downplayed the event and it died out after a few days. The newspapers except The Standard did not take great initiatives in following the Artur brothers’ saga since it involved members of the denounced president’s family and ministers in Kibaki’s government as well. This proved that the media in Kenya has taken sides to be either anti-government or pro government. It was no wonder on Jamhuri day the year 2006 that The Daily Nation termed the presidents speech as inspiring and The Standard used Raila to say that the speech did not highlight important issues that are affecting Kenyans.
The media also failed to follow up both the Goldenberg and Anglo-leasing cases even after unearthing them and letting highly ranked government officials and ministers walk away. Though evidence was produced the media shied away from following the case right upto the attorney general chambers where the case was unceremoniously buried. The media can however be awarded for the sacking of Mwiraria, Kiraitu Murungi and Saitoti during the Anglo-leasing investigation. The reporters did not follow up on why a civil servant Winnie Wangui was able to go overseas and conduct business for weeks while she was supposed to be working for the government.
The media also acts as a conveyor belt where it only prints the names of chosen provincial commissioners and permanent secretaries without ever exposing their background activities and qualifications. This has happened since independence at times where Kenyatta’s government would have only Kikuyus as PC’s or Kalenjins during Moi’s regime. The media then encouraged tribalism to prosper on a country with dozens ethnic communities.
In the legislative assembly the media has also sometimes done their role each time they reported of bills that were passed with no quorum as stated by the constitution and sometimes they have boldly named those present though they should make it a daily affair so that the voters can know how their representatives attend to their duties. On the opening of parliament both Nation and K.T.N television in their news bulletins showed pictures of the honorable members of the legislature snoring away during the presidential speech leading to their condemnation even by the house speaker. The media has however failed to campaign for their right to broadcast live parliamentary proceedings for Kenyans to see. Further more the print media has not been printing the Hansard’s printout for us the readers to follow actual proceedings from parliament.
Members of the legislative assembly have been keeping quiet as gerrymandering continues in both Kibaki’s and Moi’s regime but at last the nation newspaper finally came out to explain these activities to Kenyans. On The Daily Nation of the 6th April 7, 2007 carried a section with the title ‘Politicians gerrymander and filibuster?’ and clearly explained these terms in relation to Kenyan politics. As a result of this gerrymandering Kenya is divided into two hundred constituencies some with ten times the number of voters the other holds with Embakasi having over one hundred thousand voters and areas like Marsabit having even less than a thousand voters. The other newspapers have however shunned away this issue much as it is overdue hence the voters do not even realize when it happens and its effect on the election outcome.
For the legislative assembly to become supreme it must represent the wish of voters and which must start with them having a chance to elect their representatives. The media has then failed to remind the youth to get their identification and election cards whenever the electoral commission embarks on registering new voters. It seems like the media is waiting for the electoral commission to advertise with money. On March 30th 2007 the second round of registration came to an end but instead of newspapers and other media letting their readers and viewers aware of its conclusion in advance they only reported when It was over. The Nation newspaper posted its headlines about the review talks and did not mention anything about the process coming to an end. On 31st The Nation now reported of the end of the process with the following headline ‘Poor turnout as voter listing ends’. This is then a clear indication of the Kenyan media not performing in its public campaign role but if they would have however liked to shift the blame to the electoral commission they would have challenged the commission to go on the streets and let the people know.
The media is not highlighting the legislative assembly inefficiency
though it is clear to everybody that this parliament has passed the least number of bills since independence. It had for a fact not passed a single bill by January 2005 three years since they were voted in. The justice minister openly said that this is the worst parliament since independence yet media which should be the watchdog did not reflect this in parliament scorecard. She regretted that the level of debate had declined with most MP’s focusing on settling political points (The Daily Nation March 31st page 4). This parliament took to the campaign trail months before the general election was due but the media kept on covering this and even giving some candidates undue advantage. One of the reasons that the ODM-Kenya has always been in trouble is because K.T.N and The standard have always given Raila Odinga more media coverage.
During the referendum the media did not teach the electorate about the draft constitution and they let the legislature control the process though the media itself ad a lot to benefit from the Wako draft. It is known that if the draft had passed something like the raid on the Standard newspaper would not have been justifiable by law. The official Secrets Act that limits the media’s freedom was to be scraped out and would have then made the follow up of cases such as Anglo-leasing and Goldenberg wonderful exposes. Cases like the Marsabit plane crash would not have been kept secret because they involved a military plane and the families of the victims would have learnt the truth.
Though the legislature has been increasing it salary packs to new high each time they will the media has for long not displayed the fury of the electorate. By doing this the MPs would have kept their salaries low just like the president did when they media exposed a plan by MPs loyal to the government to increase his salary. The media turned the incident to a crisis for the executive where public relations had to come to play and the president condemned this act. Had the media then exposed all such schemes wouldn’t our MP’s be earning a reasonable salary?
The judiciary in Kenya is well known for its delaying tactics where a case involving a by-election is known to be delayed to the next general election as the case involving Kisauni constituency between assistant minister Mwamboza and opposition nominee Ali Hassan Joho. Even though the truth has already been seen to be done the saying justice delayed is justice denied since Joho used a lot of money for campaigns as well as for the court cases and the people of Kisauni are not represented by the person they chose. The media has again kept quiet on this case maybe because of legal issues but should have used this to expose the inefficiency of the electoral commission.
The fact that judges are chosen by the president makes them vulnerable to political manipulation hence the media should bring this up ad campaign for ratification by Parliament. The media should once again expose judges/lawyers with questionable characters but recruited to top posts. Towards this end, investigative journalism has left a lot to be desired in Kenya. This judges should also declare their wealth publicly and those of their family members as well but the media though civil servants declared their wealth has done so little to let the electorate know.
The media in Kenya has also nailed people when their court case is still in court or still under investigation. Individuals like Kamlesh Patni, Bishop Gilbert Deya, Shimoli, and Matheri among other Kenyans have already been made guilty in the eyes of Kenyans though no court found them guilty. The Artur brother’s were almost beaten up by an angry mob after the media made people believe they were mercenaries even before any evidence was produced. Shimoli himself openly told journalist upon his release that they were responsible for getting suspects shot by police for making them look bad. Shimoli had been termed by the media a man behind eighty-eight rapes, robbery with violence among other offences but was only found guilty of one offence of which he was jailed for eight years. The judiciary is however not warning journalist against such malpractice in attempt to create headline stories maybe because the judges are corrupt or suspects are no longer getting protection hence the journalist kept quiet even as the police executed Matheri in cold blood in a country with laws protecting its citizens.
The electoral commission of Kenya is not independent since they are chosen by the president hence he can fire them at will without consultation if they do seem not loyal. The president has power to create constituencies if he so wills without consulting the commission hence MPs continues to mock Kivuitu as a toothless bulldog since he does not have power over the executive and political parties. Though the media has duty to know whatever happens in the electoral commission the commissioners are however not obliged to give any details to the media. The media has therefore failed in letting the electorate know whenever any details are not provided to them for the readers and viewers to voice any disconcert in any issues they find not convincing. The media has however given Kivuitu a lot of space in their news hence empowered him that today he has the power to voice any concern to the president a power not many politicians themselves possess.
In conclusion the media has improved both in their reporting style and diversity of issues since independence and from regime to regime. No one would have dared air news of politicians talking ill during Moi’s or Kenyatta’s regime. No one would have exposed the Anglo-leasing related cases through the other regimes among other great improvements we see today. The media however has to shun away from political affiliations with certain leaders or otherwise openly declare their support like citizen television did during the referendum. The media must stop demarcating certain regions as belonging to certain political parties especially due to tribe as this creates hate and encourages tribalism. The Kenyan media must also encourage professionalism and discourage monopoly in this fragile industry form which they earn their daily bread.
STRESS by kamau mbote
Stress can be defined as a state where a person is subjected to external forces or pressures and can be either positive or negative depending on the effect of this force. Stress is however associated more likely to the negative meaning of ‘distress’. Stress is then the combination of physiological and psychological reactions of the body when it is subjected to heavy demands.
Stress has two basic components:
a) The stress agents or factors: Circumstances which lead to stress
b) The responses to stress: Individual’s reactions to the stress factors
The effects of the stress are related to the strength of the individual and the weight of the burden, i.e. although a state of alarm is meant to prepare our bodies for resistance, if it continues for too long, it can actually cause a state of exhaustion. We can then conclude that any program that addresses the program of stress must then:
a. Seek to strengthen the individual
b. Strive the lighten the burden
A person’s attitude towards the stressful event and how he judges the situation is important since control of stress depends largely upon our interpretation of events.
STAGES OF STRESS
Since the human body has the ability to detect a series of signals that indicate danger stress is never a surprise attack hence it passes through stages:
1. The Alarm Stage: This is a clear warning that a stress agent is present. Once a person notices the potential stressful situation he/she can take a measures to face the problem and it before it materializes.
When the stressful situation becomes situation becomes overwhelming the person realizes that no more strength is left, this can be classified as being in the alarm stage.
Things which produce alarm can be:
a. Single in nature, that is, there is only one source of stress
b. Multiple in nature, that is, several circumstances combined to create stress
2. Resistance Stage: this is when extends beyond initial alarm stage. The individual becomes frustrated and suffers as a result of stress. He then realizes that is losing a lot of energy and that his production level is lower. Fear of failure makes success even less likely. He wants to but realistically it is impossible.
3. Exhaustion Stage: this is the final stage in stress. It is characterized by fatigue, anxiety and depression. These three factors may occur sequentially or simultaneously. Fatigue; it is not relievable by a good nights sleep. It is normally accompanied by nervousness, irritability, tension and anger.
Anxiety: any person becomes anxious not only when faced with a stress factor but in moments which would normally produce any anxiety.
Depression: this means that a person lacks motivation necessary to find pleasure to find pleasure in his or her activities. He or she suffers from sleeplessness, her thoughts are pessimistic and her feelings become more and more negative.
Stress responses : all alarm signals sent to the brain are processed in the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus transmits these signals to the rest of the body through the nervous and circulatory systems.
Nervous System
Signals produced by the hypothalamus are sent to the sympathetic nervous system which regulates the organic functions. These stimuli produce alterations in the way that the organs function. The nervous signals also reach the core of the adrenal glands producing an increase in secretion of adrenaline and noradrenaline. These then pass to the blood and produce changes in the rest of the body.
Circulatory System:
The hypothalamus stimulates the pituitary gland. These secrete various hormones which once in the bloodstream, affect the entire body. Adrenocorticotrophin hormone for example also known as the stress hormone the outer layer of the adrenal gland pour out a group of hormones e.g. Cortisol which cause a number of changes in bodily functions. Other hormones secreted affect the thyroid gland, the testis and ovaries and have enormous effects on many organs.
Psychological Responses
These are the responses to stress which have to do with the mental and behavioral processes. Some of the psychological responses may include:
a. Loss of intellectual capacity d. Anxiety
b. Irritability e. Inhibited sexual desire
c. Insomnia f. Depression
It is however unlikely that anyone will suffer all these manifestations. At the same time it is possible to have one or two dominant symptoms. When there is too much stress the following occurs:
Cognitive Area (thoughts and Ideas)
• Difficulty in concentration on a demanding activity and a frequent loss of attention.
• Short-term and long-term memory decrease.
• Problems that need spontaneous response are solved haphazardly
• Problems requiring logical thinking are solved with higher than normal errors.
• The mind is unable to accurately analyze and evaluate present situations
• Thinking does not follow logical and coherent thought patterns
Emotional area (feelings and emotions)
• Difficulty relaxing physically and emotionally.
• In addition to normal illnesses (physical) new illnesses are suspected.
• Development of impatience, intolerance, authoritarianism and lack of consideration for others.
• Ethical and moral principles which govern the life relax and there is less self control.
• Increased discouragement and minimizing desire to live.
• Thoughts of worthlessness and inferiority
Behavioral area (attitudes and behaviors)
• Inability to verbally address a group of people satisfactorily. Stuttering.
• Lack of enthusiasm for preferred activities such as hobbies.
• Absenteeism from work and school
• Energy levels fluctuate day by day.
• Sleep patterns change. Insomnia increases to levels of extreme deprivation
• The tendency towards suspicion increases
• The appearance of tics and strange reactions which are normally a part of the person.
• Thoughts of suicide increase along with suicide attempts.
How to prevent stress
• Exercise and rest: Helps in getting sleep. In addition, physical exercise is the best way to break loose.
• Eating healthy: certain dietary are linked to stress e.g. eating too much or too little, eating hurriedly and at any hour. Drinking a lot of water helps to control stress.
• Decreased use or stimulants and socially acceptable drugs as they increase stress e.g. coffee, tea, alcohol or cigarettes.
• Living or visiting beautiful surroundings makes your mood better.
• Relaxation from work and spending time with family or friends.
• Having a positive attitude.
Stress has two basic components:
a) The stress agents or factors: Circumstances which lead to stress
b) The responses to stress: Individual’s reactions to the stress factors
The effects of the stress are related to the strength of the individual and the weight of the burden, i.e. although a state of alarm is meant to prepare our bodies for resistance, if it continues for too long, it can actually cause a state of exhaustion. We can then conclude that any program that addresses the program of stress must then:
a. Seek to strengthen the individual
b. Strive the lighten the burden
A person’s attitude towards the stressful event and how he judges the situation is important since control of stress depends largely upon our interpretation of events.
STAGES OF STRESS
Since the human body has the ability to detect a series of signals that indicate danger stress is never a surprise attack hence it passes through stages:
1. The Alarm Stage: This is a clear warning that a stress agent is present. Once a person notices the potential stressful situation he/she can take a measures to face the problem and it before it materializes.
When the stressful situation becomes situation becomes overwhelming the person realizes that no more strength is left, this can be classified as being in the alarm stage.
Things which produce alarm can be:
a. Single in nature, that is, there is only one source of stress
b. Multiple in nature, that is, several circumstances combined to create stress
2. Resistance Stage: this is when extends beyond initial alarm stage. The individual becomes frustrated and suffers as a result of stress. He then realizes that is losing a lot of energy and that his production level is lower. Fear of failure makes success even less likely. He wants to but realistically it is impossible.
3. Exhaustion Stage: this is the final stage in stress. It is characterized by fatigue, anxiety and depression. These three factors may occur sequentially or simultaneously. Fatigue; it is not relievable by a good nights sleep. It is normally accompanied by nervousness, irritability, tension and anger.
Anxiety: any person becomes anxious not only when faced with a stress factor but in moments which would normally produce any anxiety.
Depression: this means that a person lacks motivation necessary to find pleasure to find pleasure in his or her activities. He or she suffers from sleeplessness, her thoughts are pessimistic and her feelings become more and more negative.
Stress responses : all alarm signals sent to the brain are processed in the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus transmits these signals to the rest of the body through the nervous and circulatory systems.
Nervous System
Signals produced by the hypothalamus are sent to the sympathetic nervous system which regulates the organic functions. These stimuli produce alterations in the way that the organs function. The nervous signals also reach the core of the adrenal glands producing an increase in secretion of adrenaline and noradrenaline. These then pass to the blood and produce changes in the rest of the body.
Circulatory System:
The hypothalamus stimulates the pituitary gland. These secrete various hormones which once in the bloodstream, affect the entire body. Adrenocorticotrophin hormone for example also known as the stress hormone the outer layer of the adrenal gland pour out a group of hormones e.g. Cortisol which cause a number of changes in bodily functions. Other hormones secreted affect the thyroid gland, the testis and ovaries and have enormous effects on many organs.
Psychological Responses
These are the responses to stress which have to do with the mental and behavioral processes. Some of the psychological responses may include:
a. Loss of intellectual capacity d. Anxiety
b. Irritability e. Inhibited sexual desire
c. Insomnia f. Depression
It is however unlikely that anyone will suffer all these manifestations. At the same time it is possible to have one or two dominant symptoms. When there is too much stress the following occurs:
Cognitive Area (thoughts and Ideas)
• Difficulty in concentration on a demanding activity and a frequent loss of attention.
• Short-term and long-term memory decrease.
• Problems that need spontaneous response are solved haphazardly
• Problems requiring logical thinking are solved with higher than normal errors.
• The mind is unable to accurately analyze and evaluate present situations
• Thinking does not follow logical and coherent thought patterns
Emotional area (feelings and emotions)
• Difficulty relaxing physically and emotionally.
• In addition to normal illnesses (physical) new illnesses are suspected.
• Development of impatience, intolerance, authoritarianism and lack of consideration for others.
• Ethical and moral principles which govern the life relax and there is less self control.
• Increased discouragement and minimizing desire to live.
• Thoughts of worthlessness and inferiority
Behavioral area (attitudes and behaviors)
• Inability to verbally address a group of people satisfactorily. Stuttering.
• Lack of enthusiasm for preferred activities such as hobbies.
• Absenteeism from work and school
• Energy levels fluctuate day by day.
• Sleep patterns change. Insomnia increases to levels of extreme deprivation
• The tendency towards suspicion increases
• The appearance of tics and strange reactions which are normally a part of the person.
• Thoughts of suicide increase along with suicide attempts.
How to prevent stress
• Exercise and rest: Helps in getting sleep. In addition, physical exercise is the best way to break loose.
• Eating healthy: certain dietary are linked to stress e.g. eating too much or too little, eating hurriedly and at any hour. Drinking a lot of water helps to control stress.
• Decreased use or stimulants and socially acceptable drugs as they increase stress e.g. coffee, tea, alcohol or cigarettes.
• Living or visiting beautiful surroundings makes your mood better.
• Relaxation from work and spending time with family or friends.
• Having a positive attitude.
'Gratification model’ by kamau mbote
Human beings have an affinity of knowing more day by day may it be other peoples cultures to dressing to eating. This is knowledge that one cannot just get wholly from looking around their neighborhoods especially people who do not live in metropolitan areas like Nairobi. People who live in the rural areas mostly are from one ethnic community hence they have one culture and have much less to learn from one another when it comes to dressing, food, music, religion and beliefs. The mass media gives people a chance to interact with one another from their living rooms and helps them to know about the Eskimos though hey might be at the center of the hot Kalahari Desert or get hand to hand information from Iraq as if they lived there.
One of the most important major roles the mass media does in the society is educating it. Millions of channels around the world discuss only about research others discoveries and explorations. Most young children learn a lot from the mass media than they learn from their parents something that our grandmothers lament everyday they visit their grandchildren only to find hem glued to the television screens with their parents no where in sight. This also explains why many young can speak a little foreign or their national language months before they have attended any school. The mass media is also the main teaching agent about major issues affecting the society be it how to deal with rift valley fever or how to prevent itself from H.I.V.
Another important role that the media can be associated with in the society is entertainment. When we get back from our occupations tired and exhausted we all depend on the media to get our minds of our work places, school or even in some places take our minds off jail. The mass media has made our houses more comfortable and purposeful in that we do not have to go to discotheques no more since both television and radio stations have hired disc jockeys in the weekends. The people who gain most from this entertainment are bachelors who live a lone and are connected to their friends and families and keep them away from getting lonely.
Programs such as the weather forecast help us to make traveling plans, know how to dress, when to plant to even when to launder our clothes. Without the weather forecast we would easily find ourselves in Moscow in the middle of winter wearing a silk shirt wearing open shoes during the rainy season. One of the only reasons the Germans did not capture Russia was because they did contemplate on the severe winter that affects this places during midwinter. They moved from back from being one mile from Moscow to one thousand miles away. For pilots and motorist this can either mean living or surviving, if we imagined a plane flying straight into a tornado or a sand storm the chances would be equal to a motorist driving on a road full of corners at speed of 200 kilometers per hour.
The only reason one should believe on the mass media for news is because they do not just report what they hear without at least investigating it. Accuracy cannot be relied on when rumors are told since some maybe ill intended and message is always distorted as it moves from one person to the other. The mass media must involve itself in tiresome investigations since they get sued for defamation or inaccurate information making it more reliable than other media.
One can choose to spend sometime alone maybe because of conflicts with people they live around with or because they are just tired. The media helps us stay awake and happy by keeping us company. It helps relax hence one can meditate or even pray together other people. Radio Waumini for example has mass, rosary among other catholic rituals on the other hand K.B.C and Citizen Television have gymnastics in the morning hence one does not have to jog outside the house.
One of the most important major roles the mass media does in the society is educating it. Millions of channels around the world discuss only about research others discoveries and explorations. Most young children learn a lot from the mass media than they learn from their parents something that our grandmothers lament everyday they visit their grandchildren only to find hem glued to the television screens with their parents no where in sight. This also explains why many young can speak a little foreign or their national language months before they have attended any school. The mass media is also the main teaching agent about major issues affecting the society be it how to deal with rift valley fever or how to prevent itself from H.I.V.
Another important role that the media can be associated with in the society is entertainment. When we get back from our occupations tired and exhausted we all depend on the media to get our minds of our work places, school or even in some places take our minds off jail. The mass media has made our houses more comfortable and purposeful in that we do not have to go to discotheques no more since both television and radio stations have hired disc jockeys in the weekends. The people who gain most from this entertainment are bachelors who live a lone and are connected to their friends and families and keep them away from getting lonely.
Programs such as the weather forecast help us to make traveling plans, know how to dress, when to plant to even when to launder our clothes. Without the weather forecast we would easily find ourselves in Moscow in the middle of winter wearing a silk shirt wearing open shoes during the rainy season. One of the only reasons the Germans did not capture Russia was because they did contemplate on the severe winter that affects this places during midwinter. They moved from back from being one mile from Moscow to one thousand miles away. For pilots and motorist this can either mean living or surviving, if we imagined a plane flying straight into a tornado or a sand storm the chances would be equal to a motorist driving on a road full of corners at speed of 200 kilometers per hour.
The only reason one should believe on the mass media for news is because they do not just report what they hear without at least investigating it. Accuracy cannot be relied on when rumors are told since some maybe ill intended and message is always distorted as it moves from one person to the other. The mass media must involve itself in tiresome investigations since they get sued for defamation or inaccurate information making it more reliable than other media.
One can choose to spend sometime alone maybe because of conflicts with people they live around with or because they are just tired. The media helps us stay awake and happy by keeping us company. It helps relax hence one can meditate or even pray together other people. Radio Waumini for example has mass, rosary among other catholic rituals on the other hand K.B.C and Citizen Television have gymnastics in the morning hence one does not have to jog outside the house.
MAKING OF A NATION VERSUS RICHEST PEOPLE OF THE MIDDLE EAST DOCUMENTARY by kamau mbote
The writer of a nation making was able to reveal new and important information about female freedom fighters. The author seemed to focus on Wambui Otieno’s rebellious character most against social practices such as inheritance of women marriage and burial rites. In the documentary the rich people of the Middle East the producer Philip Armstrong succeeded in showing the luxurious glamorous lives these Middle East barons have. The producer seems to focus on the theme of unusual properties and other possessions that make these individuals unique.
Philip Armstrong has achieved better his intended message mostly because he has done a lot of research on whatever topic he is dealing with. In the case of Sheikh Hamad he explains of the rare limited edition of certain models such as Porche. The producer explains of a collection worth over 10 million dollars with the H1 Hummer limited edition Alpha with a total production of 300 cars ever built and only two outside the United States military. On the other hand Wambui Otieno’s story has a lot of new revelation such as the disclosure that two women were arrested with Kenyatta and the Kapenguria six. The report however fails to dig deep into the life of a freedom fighter who is one of the few still alive.
On the comparison the producers differed in way of presentation in that the Wambui case the presentation is through story form with very minimal interviews while Armstrong prefers interviews. The two producers also seem to have a difference in material available as in making of a nation lacked pictures of Waiyaki wa Hinga or Wambui’s pictures in jail at Lamu.
In the two documentaries the producers failed to establish the background of their stories for example there is a vacuum for over eight years in Wambui’s life. In Sheikh Al Jaber they failed to establish the origin of his large fortune of over 3 billion dollars or to why they mostly concentrated in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates while Egypt an African country is also a member of the Middle East countries. Were they focusing on Asia?
We must however recognize that both were human interest stories of which the public needed to know. The producers also focused their stories on the informational part largely blind to the public and turned the stories round to end up very interesting as well as largely satisfying.
Philip Armstrong has achieved better his intended message mostly because he has done a lot of research on whatever topic he is dealing with. In the case of Sheikh Hamad he explains of the rare limited edition of certain models such as Porche. The producer explains of a collection worth over 10 million dollars with the H1 Hummer limited edition Alpha with a total production of 300 cars ever built and only two outside the United States military. On the other hand Wambui Otieno’s story has a lot of new revelation such as the disclosure that two women were arrested with Kenyatta and the Kapenguria six. The report however fails to dig deep into the life of a freedom fighter who is one of the few still alive.
On the comparison the producers differed in way of presentation in that the Wambui case the presentation is through story form with very minimal interviews while Armstrong prefers interviews. The two producers also seem to have a difference in material available as in making of a nation lacked pictures of Waiyaki wa Hinga or Wambui’s pictures in jail at Lamu.
In the two documentaries the producers failed to establish the background of their stories for example there is a vacuum for over eight years in Wambui’s life. In Sheikh Al Jaber they failed to establish the origin of his large fortune of over 3 billion dollars or to why they mostly concentrated in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates while Egypt an African country is also a member of the Middle East countries. Were they focusing on Asia?
We must however recognize that both were human interest stories of which the public needed to know. The producers also focused their stories on the informational part largely blind to the public and turned the stories round to end up very interesting as well as largely satisfying.
HUMOR LAUGHTER AND HEALTH by kamau mbote
The popular belief is that humor and humor may have a significant effect on our physical health is gaining popularity and scientists have been trying to web together theories that try to explain this. Some advocators of these theories have been trying to advocate for the use of therapeutic humor in the treatment of illnesses which includes the use of clowns and comedians to make patients laugh. Studies have also shown that it takes more muscles to frown than to smile then meaning people who frown all the time get more wrinkles on their face earlier than those who smile more. Stress which also compromises our health is also associated more with people who do not laugh occasionally. Support for the stress-moderating hypothesis is also increasing (Martin & Dobbin, 1988): individuals with higher scores on a sense of humor test were less likely than individuals with a lower score to show stress-related decrease in immunoglobulin over 1 ½ months.
A case study relating stress to immunity (Barthrop, 1977) involved a group of men who had lost their wives in a two month period who were not necessarily of the same age, race or same economic class. This was particularly important because the economic class can determine the happiness in a person even if it takes an indirect route. This means that a supervisor is likely to be happier than his juniors and the directors happier than the supervisors since they do not take commands all the time. It was then clinically observed that these men had a lower count of lymphocytes than the normal population of men. it also showed that sadness increased the chances of suffering from psychomatic diseases by lowering the body defense mechanisms. Psychomatic diseases are caused by psychological problems but are manifested organically. These diseases vary from muscular, dermatological, respiratory, genital, endocrinal, and nervous to ophthalmic diseases for example conjunctivitis. Almost all organs are then prone to be affected by our mood or emotions positively, negatively and both directly or indirectly.
There are several aspects suggesting the implication of humor to well being. First laughter can produce psychological changes in the various systems of our bodies. Vigorous laughter improves respiration, increase the production of endorphins that help in reducing pain in our bodies, decreases the production of stress related hormones, relaxes muscles and most importantly enhances immunity. The theoretical model shows that hearty laughter is important in the humor health connection while humorous perception and amusement with fundamental mechanisms can be correctly noted and useful interventions devised to offset their effects.
Humor immunity has shown that humor, laughter and stress are interlinked and determine the count of lymphocytes which provide protection against bacteria by neutralizing toxins produced b them and protecting viral infection. Humor immunity is mediated by B lymphocytes which give us immunity by the production of antibodies. When B cells are activated they differentiate in two types: mature, antibody, secreting plasma cells and (ii) resting non-dividing memory B cells which differentiate into antigen-specific plasma cells only re-exposed to the same antigens. The plasma cells then proceed to create antibodies or immunoglobulins which are the basis of the antigen-specific reaction.
Experiments to relate humor to health have been carried out involving various components of the immune system particularly blood and saliva. Many of these researches have examined only the salivary immunoglobulin A (S-IgA), a component in saliva involved in defense against upper respiratory infections. Studies involving blood on the other hand have shown a wide variety if hormones, several kinds of white blood cells, and other components of the immune system.
Some studies have however objected the pain tolerance idea as a result to laughter their studies have examined potential analgesic/ numbing effects of laughter by test-tional states, which may potentially be beneficial to health by increasing pain tolerance, enhancing immunity and undoing the cardiovascular consequences of negative emotions (Fredrickson, 2000). His theory shows that laughter and humor play a less unique role in health improvement and only help in increasing positive emotions along with love, joy optimism e.t.c. He continues that overt laughter is not necessarily important as humor and amusement can create a good mood without any laughter. Humor can also benefit health indirectly by reducing the likelihood and effects of stress. It is on the other side hard to directly link the effects of stress to stress as a solo cause unless in several situations, stress sometimes then acts as the contributing factor. Stress can then be the aggravating force causing disease in a person who has propensity towards it. Confusing?
Besides the critics other theories suggest that happy people might be less likely to get infected with disease since they are less concerned about health risks than less cheerful individuals were, and taking less care of themselves. Laughter has positively been identified with increases in blood pressure and increased heart rate in the short term especially in men though differences might be as a result of difference in ways that women and men express humor and hence parents suffering in low blood pressure can find ways of being happy as a recipe to quicker recovery.
It is however important to note that health benefits of humor are increased by social support hence cultures that support community living are less likely to suffer from stress related complexities as individualistic communities would. In conclusion the following are some of activities we can be involved in to keep a smile in our faces: physical exercise, good sleep, a balanced diet rich in color variation to increase appetite, drinking a lot of water, socializing, drinking alcohol responsibly, planning your time carefully to avoid rushing going to church among and anything that is fun and especially legal since police are less likely to be fun
A case study relating stress to immunity (Barthrop, 1977) involved a group of men who had lost their wives in a two month period who were not necessarily of the same age, race or same economic class. This was particularly important because the economic class can determine the happiness in a person even if it takes an indirect route. This means that a supervisor is likely to be happier than his juniors and the directors happier than the supervisors since they do not take commands all the time. It was then clinically observed that these men had a lower count of lymphocytes than the normal population of men. it also showed that sadness increased the chances of suffering from psychomatic diseases by lowering the body defense mechanisms. Psychomatic diseases are caused by psychological problems but are manifested organically. These diseases vary from muscular, dermatological, respiratory, genital, endocrinal, and nervous to ophthalmic diseases for example conjunctivitis. Almost all organs are then prone to be affected by our mood or emotions positively, negatively and both directly or indirectly.
There are several aspects suggesting the implication of humor to well being. First laughter can produce psychological changes in the various systems of our bodies. Vigorous laughter improves respiration, increase the production of endorphins that help in reducing pain in our bodies, decreases the production of stress related hormones, relaxes muscles and most importantly enhances immunity. The theoretical model shows that hearty laughter is important in the humor health connection while humorous perception and amusement with fundamental mechanisms can be correctly noted and useful interventions devised to offset their effects.
Humor immunity has shown that humor, laughter and stress are interlinked and determine the count of lymphocytes which provide protection against bacteria by neutralizing toxins produced b them and protecting viral infection. Humor immunity is mediated by B lymphocytes which give us immunity by the production of antibodies. When B cells are activated they differentiate in two types: mature, antibody, secreting plasma cells and (ii) resting non-dividing memory B cells which differentiate into antigen-specific plasma cells only re-exposed to the same antigens. The plasma cells then proceed to create antibodies or immunoglobulins which are the basis of the antigen-specific reaction.
Experiments to relate humor to health have been carried out involving various components of the immune system particularly blood and saliva. Many of these researches have examined only the salivary immunoglobulin A (S-IgA), a component in saliva involved in defense against upper respiratory infections. Studies involving blood on the other hand have shown a wide variety if hormones, several kinds of white blood cells, and other components of the immune system.
Some studies have however objected the pain tolerance idea as a result to laughter their studies have examined potential analgesic/ numbing effects of laughter by test-tional states, which may potentially be beneficial to health by increasing pain tolerance, enhancing immunity and undoing the cardiovascular consequences of negative emotions (Fredrickson, 2000). His theory shows that laughter and humor play a less unique role in health improvement and only help in increasing positive emotions along with love, joy optimism e.t.c. He continues that overt laughter is not necessarily important as humor and amusement can create a good mood without any laughter. Humor can also benefit health indirectly by reducing the likelihood and effects of stress. It is on the other side hard to directly link the effects of stress to stress as a solo cause unless in several situations, stress sometimes then acts as the contributing factor. Stress can then be the aggravating force causing disease in a person who has propensity towards it. Confusing?
Besides the critics other theories suggest that happy people might be less likely to get infected with disease since they are less concerned about health risks than less cheerful individuals were, and taking less care of themselves. Laughter has positively been identified with increases in blood pressure and increased heart rate in the short term especially in men though differences might be as a result of difference in ways that women and men express humor and hence parents suffering in low blood pressure can find ways of being happy as a recipe to quicker recovery.
It is however important to note that health benefits of humor are increased by social support hence cultures that support community living are less likely to suffer from stress related complexities as individualistic communities would. In conclusion the following are some of activities we can be involved in to keep a smile in our faces: physical exercise, good sleep, a balanced diet rich in color variation to increase appetite, drinking a lot of water, socializing, drinking alcohol responsibly, planning your time carefully to avoid rushing going to church among and anything that is fun and especially legal since police are less likely to be fun
Communism by kamau mbote
This is a social economic structure that promotes the establishment of a classless stateless society based on common ownership of the means of production. Propagators of the theory believe that it helps in the full realization of human freedom. It draws basis from theorists of the industrial revolution and the French revolution and tries to work out problems intrinsic with capitalistic economies and the legacy of imperialism and nationalism. This ideology is based on an agent, obstacle and goal concept. It states that the agents are the working people while the obstacle is the different classes in society and in the economy. The goal seeks the fulfillment of human needs like satisfaction at work and the society feeling they have a fair share of the product. The presumption is to achieve a free society with no partition or alienation where humanity is liberated from oppression and scarcity. Such divisions can be reduced if not solved by helping replace the rich and present ruling class in order to create a peaceful, free society, without classes or regimes.
In communism certain characteristics are almost common in all communist states. First the state manages distribution of resources and products as the antithesis of market-allocated resources and wealth. Secondly all resources are collectivized as opposed to private ownership of means of production. Communism appropriations differ from non communist appropriation in that it empowers producers to also appropriate their surplus. The appropriation is done collectively thereby some people in communism secure livelihood over the size of communist surplus and its distribution while others live by receiving distributions of it. Communism enforced certain policies such as abolition of private property, heavy Progressive Income Tax, abolition of rights of inheritance, confiscation of property rights government ownership of communication, transportation, factories, agriculture and education.
Communism goes by many forms depending on the political leader who helped facilitate this ideology. The dominant forms of communism, such as Leninism, Stalinism, Maoism, Trotskyism and Luxemburgism, are based on the ideologies of Carl Marx, but non-Marxist versions of communism (such as Christian communism and anarchist communism) also exist and are growing in importance since the collapse of U.S.S.R..
In communism certain characteristics are almost common in all communist states. First the state manages distribution of resources and products as the antithesis of market-allocated resources and wealth. Secondly all resources are collectivized as opposed to private ownership of means of production. Communism appropriations differ from non communist appropriation in that it empowers producers to also appropriate their surplus. The appropriation is done collectively thereby some people in communism secure livelihood over the size of communist surplus and its distribution while others live by receiving distributions of it. Communism enforced certain policies such as abolition of private property, heavy Progressive Income Tax, abolition of rights of inheritance, confiscation of property rights government ownership of communication, transportation, factories, agriculture and education.
Communism goes by many forms depending on the political leader who helped facilitate this ideology. The dominant forms of communism, such as Leninism, Stalinism, Maoism, Trotskyism and Luxemburgism, are based on the ideologies of Carl Marx, but non-Marxist versions of communism (such as Christian communism and anarchist communism) also exist and are growing in importance since the collapse of U.S.S.R..
EFFECTS OF DOMESTIC VOILENCE ON CHILD GROWTH by kamau mbote
Many homes around the world are usable and dangerous to live in due to various reasons that range from one homestead to another. Most of these reasons range from infidelity, poverty, drug abuse, disagreement with in-laws to religion. This leads to disagreements between parents and may result to violence and more dangerous consequences. When the disagreements erupt a parent may be a danger to the spouse whoever the stronger is but since both parents are mostly stronger and physically stronger than their children they pose more danger. It’s just a case of two bulls fighting and being a danger to the grass and other animals and organisms around them. The children are faced by danger from three types of abuses namely physical abuse, sexual abuse and psychological abuse among other abuses of which effects are unthinkable, some unnoticeable and almost certainly unbearable. A child as per the law is any individual under the age of eighteen in most countries and then the people in this bracket include infants or toddlers, adolescents and teenagers. These abuses are likely to be mostly be found among members of all economic classes in society all religions and cultures though abuse figures are higher in all different subgroups in these groups. Data in America state that about two thirds of abused children are parented by battered women and of the abused women, they are three times more likely to be abused by their fathers (Mackay, 1994). It is then not open to question that the prevalence of domestic violence is high and there is then a warranted need for us to think of the causes and the effects that such abuse is likely to have on this children however wide it may vary.
By physical abuse as by the law we mean act that results to a non-accidental physical injury by a person who has care, custody of a child. It can then be interpreted as any intentional use of force by an individual on a child that risk injury, harm and or pain and may range from bruises to severe beatings that may lead to death. Child sexual abuse as stipulated by the law is any sexual exploitation or sexual activity with a child under circumstances which indicate that the child’s health or welfare is threatened. Child sexual abuse is detailed to include all the following crimes: exposing one’s sexual organs to a child, touching sexual organs of the child, oral or intercourse or anal sex with a child, mutual or self masturbation with a child or allowing the child to view or participate in pornographic or obscene movies. Voyeurism and incest also fall under this cluster. Psychological abuse may include use of derogatory statements or threats of further abuse (e.g. threats to kill), isolation, economic factors and emotional abuse.
Causes of such abuse may range from one individual, homestead or social class to another though sometimes it may be as a result of culture hence one tribe to another. Parents are then likely to abuse their children if they have learnt in childhood it is right to use violence in dealing with child rearing problems. This means that some of these parents may have been abused when they were children maybe as a result of marital problems and hence learnt how parents and other significant adults use violence to express anger, stress and deal with problems. Again this means that most child abusers may have been raised in homes with marital problems and hence the effects of domestic violence on children manifest in them clearly. The society has also accepted the popular view of physical punishment as a proper way of disciplining children especially in Africa
where the child is said to belong to the community hence any member of the community can discipline your child. This then exposes our children to be abused by strangers, relatives and neighbors without anyone raising any suspicion. The almost popular view that the adult is always right makes the matter even more complicated since I would have never imagined reporting my friend’s father to my father who happens to be his drinking partner of any wrongdoings as this could have had consequences on me. This arising evidence can be webbed to arrive to a conclusion that the society has failed us its children by not intervening during the use of violence and propagating the intergenerational transmission of violence.
Effects of child abuse can be used to trace the origin of such animosity against children by the individuals who were charged with the responsibility of protecting them by nature and the law. Investigation on the cognitive, emotional and behavioral consequences produced by exposure of domestic violence to children suggests differing amounts of traumatic stress. Traumatic stress is caused by a child’s exposure to events that are so extreme or severe and threatening that demand extraordinary coping capability. By this I mean that stress is never a surprise attack to the human body since the body has the ability to detect a series of signals that indicate danger hence it has to pass through stages. At the alarm stage a clear warning that a stress agent is present is evident and hence the body takes precaution to face the problem before it materializes. when the problem is overwhelming the body enters the resistance stage where if the individual cannot fight back becomes frustrated and suffers as a result of stress as he or she realizes he is using more energy than he can produce leading to the exhaustion stage. The individual is fatigued and a good night’s sleep cannot be a solution to such fatigue.
Traumatic stress is then beyond the child’s coping capability hence it overwhelms a person’s sense of safety and security. There are two types of traumatic stress (Terr, 1996).Type 1 is due to exposure to a single or short term events such as rape, assault and even a severe beating. Type 2 on the other hand is due to exposure to repeated or overwhelming events, it is also known as ‘trauma’. Type 2 trauma has greater impact has greater impact on an individuals functioning, domestic violence is such an event to a child. Prolonged and repeated exposure of type 2 trauma can lead to post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) which involves different patterns of avoidance and hyper arousal. Individuals can then surround their surround their lives around a trauma and lead to interpersonal and academic problems to a degree that this stress interferes with overall functioning. This explains why such individuals will respond to tear in an exaggerated startled response.
If we could now compare the causes of children the intergenerational transmission of violence we can relate to what such stress from childhood to in adulthood. Parents who were abused in childhood can develop to in adulthood as a way of avenging for crimes committed again them only to the wrong person. We earlier noticed the stress after the exhaustion stage leads to frustration, anger, and irritability hence if such anger is not adequately controlled for example through counseling it is due to due to sprout out. These examples may seem to secondary and high schools that ‘monopolizing’ was a rite of passage let us jog our minds. Our fathers were ‘monopolized’ whoever met them and decades later when their children went to the same schools were molested and left and left the practice in continuation much as it is in much erosion as we the younger alumni realized that it would affect someone else we know.
It is quite unexplainable how matters pertaining to children are always handled by adults and why they always turn them into their own. Back to the effects to such violence to children we all agree children may be injured as a direct result of domestic violence. Batterer sometimes intentionally injures children in an effort to intimidate and control their adult partners. Injuries to older adolescents often occur as children try to intervene during fights. As research has showed there is a direct or positive correlation between domestic violence and child abuse. Children are also adversely affect by witnessing this is kind of domestic violence. Such children may grow up to keep to themselves since they themselves since as life has taught them it is needless to say everything that you know since they fear this might endanger them as well. these children fear their abusers extremely that they may develop attachments with other people other than their parents or guardians. These children suffer from sleep disturbances, anxiety among other problems that could regress them developmentally. Adolescents in such homes are also at risk of recreating abusive relationships as they have seen in life. Other problems involve absence from school, low self-esteem, self blaming, loners, school drop-outs, delinquency, substance abuse, homicides and suicides.
All the same as nature would have it some of these children respond to such negative ness with such unimaginable positive ness resulting to their quick development of coping with major problems in their childhood. Such children may have taken the role of caretakers for their younger brothers when they were as young as six years hence have first hand experience in leadership among other qualities. Other children may grow to be the exact opposite of their parents and guardians especially if they underwent counseling and would like to forget the bad acts by doing good acts. This can be compared to people who commit suicide but live everything in place to make sure that their death does not affect their families especially if they were the bread winners.
As I started all these qualities differ from one individual to another. We are not able to know the effects of such abuse until they manifest themselves in individuals mostly when they are grown-ups. We also have many saints as a result of such violence but since we do not want to gamble and wait to see the effects of a nuclear war lest we do no survive we should treat our children as their nurturers lest we take decades to remove another Sadam or Hitler from power after all we share the achievements of our children directly or indirectly and the failures as well.
By physical abuse as by the law we mean act that results to a non-accidental physical injury by a person who has care, custody of a child. It can then be interpreted as any intentional use of force by an individual on a child that risk injury, harm and or pain and may range from bruises to severe beatings that may lead to death. Child sexual abuse as stipulated by the law is any sexual exploitation or sexual activity with a child under circumstances which indicate that the child’s health or welfare is threatened. Child sexual abuse is detailed to include all the following crimes: exposing one’s sexual organs to a child, touching sexual organs of the child, oral or intercourse or anal sex with a child, mutual or self masturbation with a child or allowing the child to view or participate in pornographic or obscene movies. Voyeurism and incest also fall under this cluster. Psychological abuse may include use of derogatory statements or threats of further abuse (e.g. threats to kill), isolation, economic factors and emotional abuse.
Causes of such abuse may range from one individual, homestead or social class to another though sometimes it may be as a result of culture hence one tribe to another. Parents are then likely to abuse their children if they have learnt in childhood it is right to use violence in dealing with child rearing problems. This means that some of these parents may have been abused when they were children maybe as a result of marital problems and hence learnt how parents and other significant adults use violence to express anger, stress and deal with problems. Again this means that most child abusers may have been raised in homes with marital problems and hence the effects of domestic violence on children manifest in them clearly. The society has also accepted the popular view of physical punishment as a proper way of disciplining children especially in Africa
where the child is said to belong to the community hence any member of the community can discipline your child. This then exposes our children to be abused by strangers, relatives and neighbors without anyone raising any suspicion. The almost popular view that the adult is always right makes the matter even more complicated since I would have never imagined reporting my friend’s father to my father who happens to be his drinking partner of any wrongdoings as this could have had consequences on me. This arising evidence can be webbed to arrive to a conclusion that the society has failed us its children by not intervening during the use of violence and propagating the intergenerational transmission of violence.
Effects of child abuse can be used to trace the origin of such animosity against children by the individuals who were charged with the responsibility of protecting them by nature and the law. Investigation on the cognitive, emotional and behavioral consequences produced by exposure of domestic violence to children suggests differing amounts of traumatic stress. Traumatic stress is caused by a child’s exposure to events that are so extreme or severe and threatening that demand extraordinary coping capability. By this I mean that stress is never a surprise attack to the human body since the body has the ability to detect a series of signals that indicate danger hence it has to pass through stages. At the alarm stage a clear warning that a stress agent is present is evident and hence the body takes precaution to face the problem before it materializes. when the problem is overwhelming the body enters the resistance stage where if the individual cannot fight back becomes frustrated and suffers as a result of stress as he or she realizes he is using more energy than he can produce leading to the exhaustion stage. The individual is fatigued and a good night’s sleep cannot be a solution to such fatigue.
Traumatic stress is then beyond the child’s coping capability hence it overwhelms a person’s sense of safety and security. There are two types of traumatic stress (Terr, 1996).Type 1 is due to exposure to a single or short term events such as rape, assault and even a severe beating. Type 2 on the other hand is due to exposure to repeated or overwhelming events, it is also known as ‘trauma’. Type 2 trauma has greater impact has greater impact on an individuals functioning, domestic violence is such an event to a child. Prolonged and repeated exposure of type 2 trauma can lead to post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) which involves different patterns of avoidance and hyper arousal. Individuals can then surround their surround their lives around a trauma and lead to interpersonal and academic problems to a degree that this stress interferes with overall functioning. This explains why such individuals will respond to tear in an exaggerated startled response.
If we could now compare the causes of children the intergenerational transmission of violence we can relate to what such stress from childhood to in adulthood. Parents who were abused in childhood can develop to in adulthood as a way of avenging for crimes committed again them only to the wrong person. We earlier noticed the stress after the exhaustion stage leads to frustration, anger, and irritability hence if such anger is not adequately controlled for example through counseling it is due to due to sprout out. These examples may seem to secondary and high schools that ‘monopolizing’ was a rite of passage let us jog our minds. Our fathers were ‘monopolized’ whoever met them and decades later when their children went to the same schools were molested and left and left the practice in continuation much as it is in much erosion as we the younger alumni realized that it would affect someone else we know.
It is quite unexplainable how matters pertaining to children are always handled by adults and why they always turn them into their own. Back to the effects to such violence to children we all agree children may be injured as a direct result of domestic violence. Batterer sometimes intentionally injures children in an effort to intimidate and control their adult partners. Injuries to older adolescents often occur as children try to intervene during fights. As research has showed there is a direct or positive correlation between domestic violence and child abuse. Children are also adversely affect by witnessing this is kind of domestic violence. Such children may grow up to keep to themselves since they themselves since as life has taught them it is needless to say everything that you know since they fear this might endanger them as well. these children fear their abusers extremely that they may develop attachments with other people other than their parents or guardians. These children suffer from sleep disturbances, anxiety among other problems that could regress them developmentally. Adolescents in such homes are also at risk of recreating abusive relationships as they have seen in life. Other problems involve absence from school, low self-esteem, self blaming, loners, school drop-outs, delinquency, substance abuse, homicides and suicides.
All the same as nature would have it some of these children respond to such negative ness with such unimaginable positive ness resulting to their quick development of coping with major problems in their childhood. Such children may have taken the role of caretakers for their younger brothers when they were as young as six years hence have first hand experience in leadership among other qualities. Other children may grow to be the exact opposite of their parents and guardians especially if they underwent counseling and would like to forget the bad acts by doing good acts. This can be compared to people who commit suicide but live everything in place to make sure that their death does not affect their families especially if they were the bread winners.
As I started all these qualities differ from one individual to another. We are not able to know the effects of such abuse until they manifest themselves in individuals mostly when they are grown-ups. We also have many saints as a result of such violence but since we do not want to gamble and wait to see the effects of a nuclear war lest we do no survive we should treat our children as their nurturers lest we take decades to remove another Sadam or Hitler from power after all we share the achievements of our children directly or indirectly and the failures as well.
Unnamed sources and kenyan journalists
Do Kenyan journalists respect the principle of attribution (protecting sources) in journalism as it is described in the ethical principle of unnamed sources?
The code states that pledges of confidentiality to news sources must be honored at all costs and therefore should not be given lightly. In 2006 Mungiki were killing people by beheading them for not paying dues the organization. The organizations spokesman offered NTV’s journalist a chance for an interview. The journalist offered the spokesman confidentiality and even allowed him not to face the camera. For the mere fact that the spokesman gave a number of interviews till the killings were halted by police is a good indication that he kept his or her promise.
Journalists have at times offered many victims of rape anonymity that they will never reveal their face. By the way they hide their faces by either blocking their mouth or their eyes. People who do not know you might recognize you but your friends can tell it is you by a single scar by a gap in your teeth or even by your voice. It would then be said that such journalist dishonor their pledge to the sources that being the interviewer since they do not make the victims unidentified. The code stipulates pledges of confidentiality must be honored.
The government has however tried to muscle the press by time and tome again trying to pass the media bills that stipulate that under certain circumstances the source should be named. This would then mean that whistle blowers would do so under their own peril as they would maybe be needed to testify in court proceedings. It is worth noticing that in
This then means at no terms can a journalist agree to give information to police or officials of government. Since in
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