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Dangers of passive smoking
Dangers of passive smoking
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Passive smoking is a mixture of smoke from a lit cigarette, cigar or pipe blown into the air by a smoker. It is referred to as passive smoking since the non smoker inhales the smoke form the lit cigarette or cigar involuntarily. Just like active smoking, passive smoking has serious health implications on the passive smoker. A passive smoker is a person who inhales smoke mixed with air involuntarily. Second hand smoke has over 4000 poisonous chemicals in its composition, including 50 chemicals that can cause cancer mainly lung cancer (Neil, 1987). Some of the chemicals are hydrogen cyanide which is used in rat poison, ammonia used as a detergent and Formalin which is used to preserve dead bodies.
Passive smokers are at a high risk of getting lung cancer after long term exposure to passive smoke. Similar to active smokers, some of the chemicals inhaled into the lungs affect the victims’ respiratory system and exposure to the smoke over a long period of time leads to lung cancer. Lung cancer is the most common type of cancer that has lead to the death of many people around the world. Other respiratory infections that one is exposed to are; stroke, heart disease and sinus cancer. Heart and respiratory conditions cause great pain to the victim and discomfort to the individual. Chemicals lead to destruction of red blood cells which are essential for oxygen transportation in the body. Precipitation of soot in the lungs leads to vessel constriction which causes stroke and high blood pressure due to overworking of the heart (Shephard, 1982).
Miscarriages, deformed babies, and babies being born with less weight than normal are also some of the toxic risks of passive smoking (Poswillo, 1992). Pregnant women are at a risk of having complications with their pregnancies and children born are usually not healthy compared to a normal infant. Young passive smokers die of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome also known as crib death. Infants breathe faster than adults hence they take in more smoke; coupled with weak lungs they develop serious conditions which are fatal. Chemicals and toxins released into the air through passive smoking affect the chemical composition of DNA in the blood which leads to birth of children with deformed features or mental disorders.
Ear infection is a toxic problem that develops due to passive smoke. Passive smoke leads to the build up of fluids in the year which may lead to fungal infections in children (Poswillo, 1982). Smoke irritates the Eustachian tube which swells and causes deafness among children due to infection. Children born with respiratory conditions such as asthma develop worse conditions since passive smoke and its chemicals act as a catalyst leading to the increase in the rate of infection. Bronchitis and pneumonia affect most of the teenagers and people aged 18 years and above. Scientists also tend to believe that children exposed to passive smoke are at a greater risk of developing brain tumours, leukaemia and lymphoma.
From the above information it is concluded that passive smoking is associated with several toxic conditions which are fatal to human beings. Its effect is greater in small children and babies but still lethal to adults. The best way to contain the condition is to outlaw smoking in public areas and near children. This protects children and non smokers from the toxic conditions implicated by passive smoking.
References
Neil, I. K. Brunnenman, K.D Dodet, B, & Hoffman, D. (1987). Passive smoking. Lyon: International Agency for Research on Cancer.
Shephard, R. J. (1982). The Risks of passive smoking. New York: Oxford University Press.
Poswillo, D. E & Alberman, E. D. (1992). Effects of smoking on the foetus, neonate, and the child. Oxford University Press.
Dangers of New Age Technologies
Dangers of New Age Technologies
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Dangers of New Age Technologies
Bill Joy in her article expresses deep pessimism about the rise of new technologies that keep being produced in this century. He puts across several reasons against it and reiterates the need to curb the need for making machines that may eventually come to overpower the human race. This is because as we make more complex machines, even more complex problems will arise during our interactions with the machines in such a manner that we will be forced to allow the machines operate on their own. A direct consequence of doing that will be that we will no longer have control over the machines’ action-a potentially catastrophic scenario. The author also puts across the point that in the event human beings decide to retain a level of control over the machines, particularly the large complex ones, and then the whole population will be at the mercy of a tiny elite. The sheer ability of complex machines to do practically what human beings can, will pre-empt the need for the population and give the elite the ability to do whatever they want with the population, be it extermination or just ensuring they live with no significant purpose in life. The author thus states, “Of course, life will be so purposeless…”
The author also describes the law of unintended consequences from Kaczynski’s dystopian vision which explains that in the design and usage of complex technology, any changes to the particular system can bring out unforeseen problems especially when human action is involved. He gives the example of the use of antibiotics which as direct consequence gives rise to even more antibiotic resistant bacteria. Bill Joy also expresses concern with the new 21st century technologies like nanotechnology, genetic engineering and robotics which share the ability to self-replicate. This is especially dangerous today, considering most of these technologies can be acquired through simply acquiring sufficient knowledge to enable their use. This has the potential of creating destructive machines, something the author describes as “…not just weapons of mass destruction but of knowledge-enabled mass destruction (KMD)…” . He tries to explain this by faulting technologists’ and scientists’ fixation with innovation and discovery in such a manner that they lose sight of the consequences of their inventions.
Bill joy also puts forward the two goals of robotics. The intelligent machines attempt to substitute human input and do work on our behalf, and more troublingly, also attempt to have human consciousness thereby achieving something close to immortality. This would create a scenario where humanity will gradually be lost thereby creating a moral and ethical dilemma. This same dilemma would be encountered in genetic engineering where the possibility of human cloning would threaten the very essence of democracy and challenge the notion of equality in the human population. Nanotechnology, just like nuclear technology, has clear terrorist and military uses and is far easier to create its destructive uses than destructive ones. As a result all these issues concerned with the new 21st century technologies should give us reason enough to sit down and chart a way forward in our interaction with them.
The only realistic way the author thinks is possible to limit the rise of dangerous technologies would be relinquishment. That is, limiting the need to know certain kinds of knowledge. This in itself goes against the natural instincts of human beings to always seek knowledge and the author states as such, “We have, as a bedrock value in our society, long agreed on the value of open access to information…”However we should guard against being our own worst enemy in as far as access of information is concerned. The author states that we should agree on how exactly we can move forward in this New Age through having constructive dialogue and agreeing on the right way based on our collective ethics, morals and values. Bill Joy also states that relinquishment is very possible, even giving the example of the unilateral US abandonment of the development of biological weapons. The only possible drawback would be to do with the verification of relinquishment. However, he suggests a way around this by suggesting the adoption of a strong code of ethical conduct among the engineers and scientists. There would also be the need for new protection policy for intellectual property in the event that proprietary information would be required to enable enforcement of relinquishment.
In conclusion, I find Bill Joy’s argument about limiting the advancement of 21st technology as convincing enough for all of us to take stalk of it all and chart the way forward especially considering the present capitalistic society, where there is constant competition for better innovations without a keen look at the future repercussions. This partly explains the reason for pessimism as too many major companies are always in a constant race to outdo each other in such a manner that ethical moral conduct are more or less likely to be thrown out of the window in the pursuit of superior technological inventions.
Reference
“Why the Future Doesn’t Need Us” (pp. 285-301), Bill Joy
Comparison of Vocational Education Policies between China and the United States
Comparison of Vocational Education Policies between China and the United States
Literature Review
Introduction
Previous and ongoing financial crisis have had a particularly negative effect on young people, who are particularly vulnerable. Young people who are unemployed are often told that vocational education and training (VET) is the solution. This is a popular belief, and with good reason. When faced with gloomy job prospects, many young people have completed their studies and made investments in their personal capital. Others, on the other hand, have completely shunned school, training, and employment altogether. The financial crisis of 2008 and its aftermath revealed the relationship between cyclical development and long-standing institutional aspects that influence the transition from school to work for young people who are joining the labor market for the first time in their lives (Eichhorst et al., 2015). Countries whose young people continue to have a hard time getting into the labor market are now turning towards VET, while other countries (especially in the industrialized world) are improving their VET institutions by trying a range of strategies to keep youth unemployment rates low.
Vocational Education
It is the goal of vocational education in its widest definition to equip students with the knowledge, abilities, and technical expertise they need to pursue a career, artwork, or hobby, irrespective of age and level of schooling. Vocational education is also referred to as technical education. It is defined as the component of vocational education that provides the trainee with specific professional knowledge and skills that are the focus of each vocational training program and that enable the learner to demonstrate professional competence (Rözer & Bol, 2019). When discussing vocational training, reference is made to an activity or a collection of activities that are designed to impart theoretical knowledge as well as the professional competences required for certain types of employment. Specifically, it refers to the beginning of vocational education, the goals of which are decided by the availability of specializations and the demand for them in the local economy of the county in question. According to Bolli, Oswald‐Egg, and Rageth (2021), its broad usage in developed, highly industrialized countries such as the United States has resulted in increased demand for VET, which has garnered favor with both students and employers. Growing numbers of Chinese students are turning to it to give an alternative education to millions of students who are unable to attend traditional colleges and institutions. VET is being used in these nations to provide their citizens with the new skills that the job market wants. Aside from that, it assists in the social integration of people from a variety of different social groupings. With respect to the previous paradigm, vocational schooling was considered as an alternate option that was conciliatory in nature, and it was primarily targeted towards individuals who had not finished their secondary to tertiary education.
Applicability of VET
Education in the vocational field is separate from higher education, which includes institutions such as colleges and universities. A path through school that prepares students to work in a certain profession by teaching them the necessary skills and knowledge. Designed to fulfill the demands of the job market, Oliver, Yu, and Buchanan (2019) note that it has become an important component of the educational system in a number of countries. While an undergraduate degree offers students with the theoretical or general information that may be used to a range of professions within a discipline, vocational training gives students the specialized skills and knowledge needed to practice a specialized profession, technical expertise (such as carpentry), or specialty. Vocational training is different from an undergraduate degree in that it focuses on a specific craft, technical skill (such as technicians), or trades (such as sales) (Corsini & Brunetti, 2018). Education at the college level might include courses in a broad variety of disciplines that are not always immediately related to a student’s major and that a graduate may or may not use in their professional careers after graduation. Comparatively to traditional academic study, vocational education focuses a greater emphasis on hands-on training and preparation for a specific industry or career, rather than on general intellectual growth. In the study by Chuan and Ibsen (2021), occupational education focuses on technical studies and trades or crafts, which are vocations that need the use of hands-on skills such as plumbing, baking, or vehicle repair. Aside from that, vocational education focuses on courses that are highly technical in nature as well as professions or trades.
Given the fact that these vocations are regarded as “non-academic,” they are treated differently from careers that need a college or university degree. In contrast, Maurer (2021) found that vocational education teaches students management skills as well as employment responsibilities, such as computer programming, which prepares them for managerial positions in enterprises such as hotels and restaurants, among other things. Training programs for a broad variety of vocations are available via vocational training institutions. For example, students that are interested in improving their technical computer skills are encouraged to engage in this kind of research. Dressmaking and photography, as well as culinary arts, fashion design, interior design, and cosmetology, are all examples of creative professions where this approach of learning may be used. Among the many hands-on trades that vocational schools teach include masonry, carpentry, heating and air conditioning, automobile repair, plumbing, and electrical work, all of which are critical to the running of society as a whole (Martin, 2017). Additional uses include educating pupils about certain professional fields such as accountancy, medical assisting, or court reporting.
Advantages of VET
A career in vocational education has a plethora of advantages over other types of careers. Students who study and concentrate on a particular subject for an extended period of time may develop a talent. The opportunity to pursue an intriguing profession in a new industry will result as a result of this. It is the students who grasp the advantages of vocational education who will gain the most benefits from this kind of teaching and training. Programs in VET place a strong emphasis on the principle of Learning by Doing (Rözer & van de Werfhorst, 2020). There should be a strong emphasis placed on the value of practical learning above intellectual learning in the classroom. Kleinert and Jacob (2019) contend that students at vocational schools spend much more time polishing the practical skills that they will need and be able to use on the job after graduation. Their courses are intended to give learners with the knowledge and skills they need to be successful in their chosen field of employment. By using this approach to teaching and learning, job experience does not have to be something that is achieved outside of class time via internships or low-level employment, but rather becomes an inherent component of the course. Some students may graduate with hands-on experience in their chosen field, which will enable them to jump right in when they begin working full-time immediately after graduation.
Students enrolled in vocational schools come from a diverse spectrum of socioeconomic backgrounds. In the United States, for example, Eichhorst et al. (2015) posit that learners from a range of ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds are welcome to participate in courses and connect with one another. The world is becoming more and more globalized with each passing year. Individuals from all walks of life may communicate with one another instantly thanks to the internet, which contributes to the dismantling of social barriers that formerly existed between them. Individuals may learn about and experience a wide variety of cultures and environments via travel and tourism. Individuals are taking advantage of these chances at a faster and faster rate with every passing year. With such a diverse group of persons exposed to students throughout their educational experiences, it is easy to understand how these educational experiences benefit professionals (Bolli, Oswald‐Egg, & Rageth, 2021). Students graduate with hands-on experience working across cultures, a better understanding of how to communicate with people from a variety of backgrounds, and the information and skills essential to be successful in any field they choose, wherever in the world, after they complete the program. In other words, in today’s global economy, they become valuable assets to their respective companies.
When it comes to vocational education, the educational experience is much different than it is in a traditional classroom setting, as you would imagine. Students spend an excessive amount of time in physical education classes, as well as an equivalent amount of time participating in extracurricular activities, which is a problem. Students in a normal classroom may only spend a few hours per week in class owing to the time necessary to do research for their research papers outside of the classroom setting. As opposed to traditional schools, vocational schools devote a significant amount of time to developing the real-world skills and academic information that their students are acquiring (Maurer, 2021). As a result, students and instructors are able to establish deeper and more meaningful relationships as a result of this. As students go through the program, they create strong links with their classmates and develop relationships with their lecturers. Collaboration is a skill that is underappreciated in today’s society and culture (Li et al., 2019). Being able to develop this capacity is crucial for the rest of a person’s professional life. Students enrolling in vocational education and training have the opportunity to engage with their classmates and instructors in a hands-on manner, as well as get essential job experience in a group setting (Kleinert & Jacob, 2019). Additionally, immersion training may be beneficial for students who need particular equipment or conditions in order to learn and practice new talents, such as athletes. As a result, students get valuable hands-on experience in the field, which helps them prepare for their first day on the job following graduation.
When working in a vocational setting, students’ hours are quite similar to those of regular field workers, which makes the transition from student to professional much easier. Students who successfully finish a vocational program get hands-on experience in their chosen sector as well as specialized training in the field. So, Bolli, Oswald‐Egg, and Rageth (2021) found that their potential employer is aware that this person has finished specialized training and earned field experience, and that he or she is prepared to begin working in their new job with the least amount of training that is reasonably possible. A range of job options may become available to students as a result of this development. Those who attend alternative educational institutions get the education essential to join the workforce immediately and set the basis for a successful career far sooner than students who attend standard academic institutions.
Way Forward for VET and Young People
Effective VET may provide skills for both agriculture and non-agricultural living, as well as opportunities for long-term employment and self-employment in a variety of industries. A majority of young people desire to engage in various economic and income generating activities, yet they lack the expertise and the ability to do so. As a result, they are sometimes compelled to seek very low level job opportunities especially during times of financial hardship or when the family is in need of assistance (Yi et al., 2018). Aside from that, Corsini & Brunetti (2018) note that in the developing world, during a conflict or in places with unstable governments, there may be a substantial number of households headed by young people without the ability to pursue formal education and training. For example, orphan children and other vulnerable groups require skills in order to make a living. A common misconception among young people is that vocational training would improve their ability to obtain work or self-employment options, as well as their ability to become more self-sufficient over time (Velde, 2009). While it is possible that participant expectations do not meet program objectives, this might result in disappointment and discontent on the part of the participants. Employability or business prospects after the completion of vocational skills training programs are necessary conditions for the execution of such programs (Chuan & Ibsen, 2021). As a result of an inaccurate appraisal of the job market’s possibilities, a big number of young people who have earned their education in areas with little or no economic development may find themselves inundated with work opportunities. Because of this, market analysis should be included into each step of vocational training programs in order to aid young graduates in making better choices and, as a result, boosting their job and self-employment prospects.
References
Bolli, T., Oswald‐Egg, M. E., & Rageth, L. (2021). Meet the need–The role of vocational education and training for the youth labour market. Kyklos, 74(3), 321-348.
Chuan, A., & Ibsen, C. L. (2021). Skills for the Future? A Life Cycle Perspective on Systems of Vocational Education and Training. ILR Review, 00197939211015205.
Corsini, I. B. L., & Brunetti, I. (2018). School-to-work transition and vocational education: a comparison across Europe. Dipartimento di Economia e Management (DEM), University of Pisa, Pisa.
Eichhorst, W., Rodríguez-Planas, N., Schmidl, R., & Zimmermann, K. F. (2015). A road map to vocational education and training in industrialized countries. Ilr Review, 68(2), 314-337.
Kleinert, C., & Jacob, M. (2019). Vocational education and training in comparative perspective. In Research Handbook on the Sociology of Education. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Li, J., Wiemann, K., Shi, W., Wang, Y., & Pilz, M. (2019). Vocational education and training in Chinese and German companies in China: a ‘home international’comparison. International Journal of Training and Development, 23(2), 153-168.
Martin, C. J. (2017). Skill builders and the evolution of national vocational training systems. The Oxford handbook of skills and training. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 36-53.
Maurer, M. (2021). The ‘recognition of prior learning’ in vocational education and training systems of lower and middle income countries: An analysis of the role of development cooperation in the diffusion of the concept. Research in Comparative and International Education, 16(4), 469-487.
Oliver, D., Yu, S., & Buchanan, J. (2019). Political economy of vocational education and training. The Wiley Handbook of Vocational Education and Training, 113-136.
Rözer, J. J., & Bol, T. (2019). Labour market effects of general and vocational education over the life-cycle and across time: accounting for age, period, and cohort effects. European sociological review, 35(5), 701-717.
Rözer, J., & van de Werfhorst, H. G. (2020). Three worlds of vocational education: Specialized and general craftsmanship in France, Germany, and The Netherlands. European Sociological Review, 36(5), 780-797.
Velde, C. (2009). Employers’ perceptions of graduate competencies and future trends in higher vocational education in China. Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 61(1), 35-51.
Yi, H., Li, G., Li, L., Loyalka, P., Zhang, L., Xu, J., … & Chu, J. (2018). Assessing the quality of upper-secondary vocational education and training: evidence from China. Comparative education review, 62(2), 199-230.