English Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

English - Essay Example This paper is a critical evaluation of food insecurity in Nigeria, detailing the causes, effects as well as responses being made to solve the dilemma. Food Insecurity in Nigeria Nigeria is a West African country, where food insecurity has continued to compromise the health and lives of citizens especially children, who are most vulnerable. Statistics indicate that more than 40% of children in the country are suffering from chronic malnutrition, which is a major threat to the future of this generation (Omotor 2009). This is due to the fact that malnutrition is a common recipe for poor growth and development in children, which may lead to poor academic performance and intellectual development. It is sad to note that the government of Nigeria is doing little to rescue these children. One way of doing this would be to introduce a free feeding system in government schools, whereby these children would be provided at least with a single meal containing all the basic requirements of a balan ced diet. In this context, the government should observe what countries such as Ghana are dealing with malnutrition in school going children. Apparently, Ghana has already put the system to work, with the government allocating $347.4 million to the program, which will be running for 5 years (Alderman 2009). It is said that the government of Nigeria had plans to execute a similar program but it has been observed that such a plan was never implemented hence the high rate of malnutrition in children. It may be important to note that approximately 60% of Nigeria’s population is malnourished (Omotor 2009). Rural urban migration in Nigeria is also a problem, which has contributed significantly to food insecurity in the country. This is due to the fact that it encourages the movement of young and able bodied citizens from the rural areas, leaving the weak and the vulnerable people to engage in food production. It is important to note that, in order to realize viable food production, a farmer requires putting a lot of efforts in caring for the crops thus the need for manpower to perform activities such as weeding, spraying pesticides, harvesting among others. In this context, Nigerian farmers in the rural areas are faced with scarcity of human resources, which has resulted to an increase in wages demanded by manual laborers, who take advantage of the high demand for their services. Consequently, this has made it difficult for farmers to afford the costs, especially due to the poverty factor, such that they have developed a habit of skipping these important activities (Olayemi 2003). The government has played a major role in facilitating this problem due to the fact that it has neglected the rural areas by failing to improve social amenities and infrastructure, which has continued to discourage people, especially young school leavers, from settling in these areas. Lack of decentralization of resources and Corruption in the government have been identified as majo r contributing factors, which have slowed down development such that majority of roads especially in the rural areas are in total disrepair or absent all together. With impassable roads, it becomes difficult and expensive to transport farm products form producing areas to the markets, which combined with high fuel prices results to increased food

Importance of Language Diversity on Multinational Organisations Term Paper

Importance of Language Diversity on Multinational Organisations - Term Paper Example If we flip back to the pages of our history, the very idea of a single language has not proved to be so beneficial. For example, there was a time when Latin was enforced as a common language. But due to the various kinds of people living in Europe, a variety of languages sprang out of this one language and provided us with the different cultures that we look upon today. (Orban, 2008)  In order for the European economy to run smoothly, it is mandatory to recognize the various lingual problems faced by the multinational firms. These types of companies operate on a worldwide basis involving a constant exchange of goods and manpower among their subsidiaries. Due to the number of countries included, various languages are functional in this business. Hence, language problems arise, and the big challenge is to remove these linguistic and communication problems without causing any harm to the largely depended upon the socio-economic infrastructure of the firm. (LINEE, n.d)  A very fine e xample that demonstrates the causes and consequences of linguistic problems is the multinational operations held by the military. Cultural diversity in a military army can have both positive and negative impacts on a mission. The effectiveness of a mission can be reduced by a lack of proper communication due to the use of a variety of languages and inability to communicate in a single language. Lack of the required level of coordination along with the lingual limits on the exchange of information is also a result of language diversity, leading to a weakening of the task. For example, the multinational mission at the Kabul International Airport (KAIA), although it was successful, had to face problems due to lingual differences. For instance, people were forced to receive medical help outside the Headquarters, as the Spanish medics had no command on English.   Culture refers to the ways information is exchanged in a particular group in order to conceive the desired meaning among the people. These ways include solid goods and non-verbal language. Cultures may be divided at a national level, religious level, racial level, gender level, etc., and their goal is to express themselves as superior to the others. (Diversity RX, 2003)  Language is actually one of the most important components that define a culture. The other factors include the way of dressing, greeting, eating, etc. hence, if members of a group unanimously agree to change the whole system of their culture, the language goes with it. To demonstrate this, let us take the example of a group of rich teenagers belonging to Pakistan. This group includes children from different areas of the country, speaking a variety of languages. Through media, they are deeply influenced by western culture causing them to eat, greet, dress, and even talk like the westerners. So down the sewers goes lingual diversity.