Since the world has become vastly more complicated, there is the likelihood of conflicts, international crimes, and other kinds of felonies that individual governments cannot adequately cope with. There is therefore a dire need for international interventions to solve these issues when they arise and prevent their occurrence in the future. This is why United Nations is in place to intervene and solve these issues. Since the Second World War, about 165 nations have some up most of them are poor and relatively weak and cannot stand on their own. All these many nations differ in culture, ideas, and aspirations which cannot only lead to inter-country conflicts but also internal divisions. There are high chances of an outbreak of war and thus, a call for international peacekeeping interventions. Nations are in dire need of international forums where they can air their views and have their interest protected. (Goodwin 25). United Nations is still committed to ensuring the well-being of all nations in the world. It is committed to ensuring that there is peace, security, food, a well-conserved environment, and also economic soundness in all nations.
Roles and achievements of United Nations
UN brings nations together in such international forums where they can actively participate in world decision-making. The major goal of forming a united nation in 1945 was to maintain international peace and security build strong international cohesion and promoting social advancement, healthier living standards, and safeguard human rights. Though the initial objective was peacekeeping, peacebuilding, conflict avoidance, and humanitarian aid, the UN has also affected the world’s lives and is working towards making the world a better place. Its existence is justified by its distinguished contributions to the welfare of billions of people in the world. The other notable works of the UN are sustainable development, environmental protection, and ensuring the welfare of the refugee protection, fight terrorism, calamity relief, disarmament, and nonproliferation. Other significant contributions include ensuring there is a democracy, human rights are protected, good governance upheld, economic and social development and international wellbeing, clearance of landmines, expanding food productivity among many others, all done to ensure a safer world for this and future generations(Renninger 6).
Since its formation, the work of the UN has reached every corner of the globe especially its commitment to achieving its objective (Goodwin 25). Concerning peacekeeping, statistics have it that the UN has undertaken several successful missions, negotiated that have settled regional disputes, and helped many countries to participate in free and fair elections (Renninger 6). The most recent operations are carried out in Africa (central Africa republic and Chad, Darfur, Sudan, etc), America (Haiti), Asia, and the pacific (Timor-Leste, Afghanistan, India, and Pakistan), Europe, and the Middle East. All these operations are carried out by the Department Of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO).
The contribution of UN in the humanitarian and relief operations is also recognizable in Africa, Asia, Middle East and Europe where it provides the refugee with food and ensures their well being. One of the most operations was carried out in Haiti following the earthquake that claimed the lives of many people. This role is carried out by the World Food Program (WFP), a UN body charged with that responsibility, currently in operation in America (Haiti) and Asia (Bolster).
In the area of development assistance, the UN provides a boost to the economy of many third worlds and coming up countries and territories with the world’s highest population. The UN has also helped in providing safe drinking water available to billions of people worldwide, reduced child death by half, boosted education and health values, agricultural productivity, all meant to improve the lives of people.
In almost all nations, there is a United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) that ensures that the environment is well conserved. Currently, almost every nation has an alarm raised concerning the high rate of environmental degradation culminating from a high rate of deforestation and global warming. The UNEP is teaching people the best ways of garbage and industrial waste disposal and the importance of tree planting. This is done to ensure that the environment is well conserved to ensure sustainable development (Renninger 8).
Conclusion
Its odds on that the UN plays a very vital role in world affairs. It is therefore a very important body that is concerned about the welfare of all people worldwide. Its relevance and existence are justified by its works and its great contribution to making the world a better place.
Works cited
Goodwin, Geoffrey. The role of United Nations in world affairs. London. Blackwell publishing, 958.
Renninger, John. The future roles of the united nations in an interdependent world. University of Michigan: M. Nijhoff Publishers. 1989.
Phenomenological Qualitative Research: First-Generation Student Academic Persistence And Retention
Research Design
The design that was used in this study was a phenomenological approach to find the underlying meaning of the experience of being a first-generation student. The design focused on establishing the factors that influenced first-generation students’ academic persistence and retention. This approach assisted the researcher to understand the importance of individual experiences together with deriving a general meaning based on the shared individual experiences. The core value of this design is that analysis does not begin with an objective world out there as it is evident in many analyses of natural and social sciences, but rather begins at mental directedness (Schutz, 1970). This mental directedness is the phenomenological reduction as the means of securing knowledge on the essence of things.
Statement of the Problem
The first-generation student academic persistence and retention has been a challenge and has made these students be considered at risk. Family, home culture, financial issues, internal locus of control, interactions and communication of information has exhibited a definite effect on first-generation students’ persistence in institution of higher education (Caelli, 2001). Student decision on whether to join a higher learning institution is in most cases affected by the level of education of the parents. For the student whose parent did not go to a higher institution, it is often challenging for them to go to such institution and remain in the institution. First-generation students are found in all social strata of the society but are common among the low socio-income stratum and the minorities. The relationship between economic development and educational achievement is evident in many statistical works. Though many bureau statistics scale poverty about financial abilities, poverty can also be measured in terms of the extent a person does without resources (Payne, 2005). These resources include interactions/role models, emotional, and spiritual support among others. The success of these students is determined by these resources.
Study Purpose
The main purpose of the study was to establish the experiences the first-generation students had in college and the challenges they were facing in coping with their college life. These experiences were to be used to determine the students’ academic performance, persistence, and college retention level.
Sample and Sampling techniques
The study focused on first-generation students. These students were from the Appalachian state, West of Virginia, and had completed at least a semester in the college. The students were selected from a category of students who received support from Student Support Services (SSS) which had two hundred students. With the help of the Director of SSS, those students who fitted in the criteria of the research were contacted numbering a hundred and twenty-one students. Out of the contacted, 21 students filled out a survey in which 16 of them fully satisfied the study criteria as being first-generation students. Out of the 16, nine students including five males and four females participated in the study. Out of the nine participants, only one was an African American and three were nontraditional students.
The sampling technique employed was stratified through random sampling. The college population was divided into two, those who benefited from SSS and those who did not. Students benefiting from SSS were picked and divided again according to their origin and stay in the college. Students from Appalachian state and who had completed two semesters were selected. The sample was again divided with those students whose parents had not attended college and out of those students, a simple random was carried out.
Data Collection
Data were collected by the use of different instruments including the use of questionnaires, interviews, and focused group discussions. In the beginning, the respondent was issued with questions which they were expected to respond to freely. Because the structured questions were limiting unlike the open-ended questions, interviews were used to close this gap and enable follow-up. To ensure that all the information given during interview sessions was captured, an audio recording was done wherever a participant gave consent to be recorded. Interview questions were formulated to avoid influencing the result. Focus Group Discussion (FGD) was also used and it provided an avenue for students to interact on the same themes as in the interview phase. The FGD provided a new perspective and confirmed theories on the initial data. Based on the fact that this study used phenomenological design, then the choice of data collection instruments was appropriate. This is because the instruments allowed the participant to give their own experiences without restriction and their responses recorded. The Questionnaires used were not restricted to any given answer but rather were open to individual experience.
Data Analysis
During the interview, transcription, and reflection phase, the researcher had identified key factors developing from the data. Five factors (themes) were identified and were coded with color with each factor being matched with a given color. Using this color code scheme a verification of the flow of the themes with the data was carried out. Consistency with phenomenological design to find meaningful common experiences was also verified. Identification of important statements was carried out and was arranged into meaningful units. Verification of findings was done through member checks and detailed description was achieved through the use of direct words from the mouth of the respondents.
Ethical Issues
There are ethical issues that might exist within this study. The first issue is that of confidentiality. Ethically only the people who are conducting the survey are supposed to know the identity of the participant. In this study, the researcher has given participant profiles making the identity of the participant to be known by everyone who read the study. Also the issues of direct quotation which must be accompanied by the name of the person who said those words do expose the identity of the participant. Another ethical issue that might arise from this study is the protection of the respondent both physically and psychologically. Even when the participant has volunteered to participate in some cases they get carried away to a point of needing protection from themselves and others (Bloor, 1997). In this study, during FGD participants gave their own experiences and this may harm them psychologically as they remember their struggle with their parents. It also exposes their identity to other subjects. (Bloor, 1997).
Validity of the Study
The truthfulness of the study was verified in several ways. According to the recommendation of Creswell, member checks were carried out with the focus group aiming at confirming the themes and conclusions (Creswell, 2006). The use of detailed description including direct quotation of the participant also resulted in providing a rich and thick description of the themes. Study validation was also carried out through triangulation where comparison of conclusions in line with multiple data sources and literature review was done (Bloor, 1997). The data was also not skewed in any way to fit preconceived ideas/themes. For instance, literature had shown that first-generation students might be struggling with a family relationship. These contrasts of literature and study findings were acknowledged. Bracketing of the researcher’s presumption that first-generation students struggle with college experiences, and basing the study purely on the student experiences has also helped invalidate the study (Creswell, 2006).
References
Bloor, M. (1997). Techniques of Validation in Qualitative Research. London: Sage.
Caelli, K. (2001). Engaging with phenomenology. Quantitative Health Research, 11, 273-282.
Creswell, J.W. (2006). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design. CA: sage Publisher.
Payne, R.K. (2005). Framework of Understanding Poverty. TX: Process Inc.
Schutz, A. (1970). Phenomenology and Social Relations. Chicago: Chicago University Press.
American World War I Propaganda
Introduction
World War I (WWI) was a conflict between 1914 and 1918 of the world’s powers’ militaries caused mainly by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary on 28 June, 1914. According to Goldstein and Maihafer (2004, Para.9), t he United States of America joined the war on April 6th, 1917. Prior to this, America peacefully traded with the warring nations but the Germans’ introduction of unrestricted submarine warfare on January 9th, 1917 made her join the war on the Allies’ side. Duffy (2009, Para. 1), indicates that the U.S.A. produced the greatest number of propaganda materials in relation to any other single nation participating in the war. This essay will discuss the message they sent to the American, the themes they emphasized and also the actions they promoted.
Messages Conveyed to the American people
As the posters images showed, the messages majorly advised all Americans especially those not serving in the army on what do. They included asking people to cut down on their food intake and donate the surplus to the military that needed it, joining the army irrespective of their gender and profession, and helping the dependants of those serving in the army. The posters also called for helping the charity organizations that assisted the soldiers and victims of the war especially in Europe where majority were affected by the war among other issues (Duffy, 2009, Para.4).
Themes
The themes of the messages in these posters were mostly monetary matters, food issues, service in the armed forces and humanitarian obligations. The spirit of togetherness/comradeship was emphasized in these propaganda posters
Actions promoted
In a number of the posters, the agency involved encouraged people to help finance the war through purchase of different long term maturity liberty bonds issued by the government to generate cash for the course. There were also those encouraging people to eat certain kinds of food such as fish and leave others like wheat to soldiers that were serving in the frontlines or in some cases rationing consumption of particular food stuff like sugar. Participating in military service was encouraged by the posters that advised people to enlist in various branches of the military providing detailed information on how to do so. Others gave incentives such as free legal advice on property for those that were enlisting to serve. They generally depicted the need for increased numbers in the forces in order to win the war. A number of posters called on citizens to on humanitarian grounds requesting for cash and food donations to charity organizations such as the Red Cross and professional aid by those in heath and logistics fields. The posters did portray and push for the concept of power in the masses. In several instances, whether on charity donations, saving of food or buying of the liberty bonds, the message implied was for individuals to do the little they could and the collective impact would be enormous. The implication also was that failure to do this would lead to Americas defeat and ruining of the country as a whole.
Reference
Duffy, Michael. (2009), Propaganda Posters-United States of America.Web.
Goldstein, M. & Maihafer, J. (2004). America in World War I. Virginia, U.S: Brassey