The Maltese Youth Policy 2004 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Maltese Youth Policy 2004 - Essay Example The policy covers the psychological, mental and physical realms of young people's health. Since the policy focuses on prevention rather than treatment, this is a wise approach by the Maltese government because it implies that they have realised that good health starts at an early age. This objective is to be implemented through establishment of health education. (Youth Forum, 2006a) The Maltese Youth Policy is also quite unswerving in its approach because it focuses on some of the dangerous activities that youth engage in and those that can be detrimental to their health. This has been achieved through placement of professionals to deal with those dangerous issues e.g. unprotected sex, addiction, promiscuity, careless driving, malnutrition and dangerous leisure activities. The Policy also considers the fact that youth need to be protected in their work places and therefore introduces the issue of promotion of safety standards within workplaces. There are some weaknesses in the policy too. The first is the fact that very little has been done to address the issue of diversity within the nation yet there are a number of foreign youth in the country. Additionally, the policy has described all the issues that need to be addressed but it has not implemented some of these issues. Part of the reason why implementation has been slow was because some of the terms in the policy are ambiguous. For example, the policy claims that it will 'promote' health as part of the holistic approach to health. However, details on how this can be achieved have not been clearly laid out. Additionally, the policy has not specified which age groups or classes will need health education. The policy has made a sweeping statement about the importance of early education as a base for healthy living yet there are various interpretations to the term 'early'. (Eurodesk, 2004) A Critique of the Youth Health policy in Slovakia, Britain and Finland The Youth Policy in Britain focuses on a number of issues facing young members of society. Some of them include; embracing diversity within the nations' youth agenda, promoting participation of the youth in activities that affect their country including sports and many others. However, there is very little focus on health. Despite giving numerous suggestions on how the overall well being of the youth can be improved, there is still little effort to link those suggestions to health. (ESPNsoccernet, 2008) However, there are some positive aspects about the policy too. The policy initiated a campaign against unhealthy eating habits and childhood obesity. It also created a personal health initiative where there would be focus on the young people between the ages of twelve and thirteen. This was introduced in order to assist young people in the process of making a transition from their teenage years into later stages of life. However, even this initiative is not all encompassing as it has not looked at emotional and mental aspects of health. All in all, one can conclude that the Youth Policy in Britain is quite elaborate but lacks precision under the health agenda. The Youth Policy in Finland is examined after every ten years through the Youth Act. The last change was

Discuss the role of nature, its character and its significance in the Essay - 1

Discuss the role of nature, its character and its significance in the fellowship of the ring. from the book lord of the rings - Essay Example Nature has its own characterization that features a unique duality: one, ideal and benign; and, aggressively cruel in the other. The reader first learns about nature during Bilbo’s birthday celebration when village talk drifts towards the Old Forest, a â€Å"dark bad place† and unfit to be lived in. As the story unfolded later on, this side to nature would be reinforced by how Mirkwood and Fangorn were described. When Merry and Pippin, for instance, find themselves deep in the Fangorn Forest, their impression demonstrates the perceived hostility of the place. At one point, Pippin quips, â€Å"It is all very dim, and stuffy, in here† later on commenting about the â€Å"weeping, trailing, beards and whiskers of lichen,† underscoring the â€Å"frightfully tree-ish† environs wherein no animals or hobbits could endure. In the Fellowship of the Ring, the bad nature has been sufficiently covered. Gimli, at some point in the quest remarks about the reputation of Caradhras as a cruel mountain and that, true to the stories, it has, indeed, attempted to impede their quest as well. Then there is, of course, Old Man Willow who lulls the Hobbits to sleep and traps Merry and Pippin inside. Without the intervention of Tom Bombadill, they would have been eaten and crushed. Tom admonished the miscreant tree, saying â€Å"you should not be waking. Eat earth! Dig deep! Drink water! Go to sleep!† According to Treebeard, later on in the story in his conversation with his Hobbit friends, some trees â€Å"have bad hearts† as well and so when people are not friendly towards them, they become aggressive in response. The other character of nature is demonstrated in the way the author paints an ecological utopia such as that of the Shire. It is inhabited by peaceful creatures who loathe machines and are content with tilling the earth. This characterization is a potent demonstration of how nature at its best is supposed to be, untouched by man’s greed and abuse. Take for instance