Cloth vs Diapers

Cloth Vs Disposable Diapers†¦.. What’s Best? Introduction Diapers have been used by humans throughout history. But, the word diaper did not originally refer to its use. Instead, the term originally referred to a type of cloth with a pattern of small repeated geometric shapes. The first diapers were made of a special type of soft cloth cut in geometric shapes. The method of creating geometric shapes in cloth was called diapering, but it eventually gave the name of the cloth used in making diapers back in 1590s in England. Diaper is used on children who are not yet toilet trained to prevent bed-wetting and to keep babies’ skin clean and dry.While it was originally made of cloth material, several variations and improvements were made on the diaper resulting in the creation of disposable diaper. Unlike cloth diapers which can be washed and reused multiple times, disposable diapers are thrown away after use (Leverich). The boom of the disposable diaper industry suggests that it is more preferred by parents that its cloth counterpart. Parents choose what they think is best for their baby. Hence, while the use of disposable diaper has become a trend, it actually has a number of disadvantages that may want parents to reconsider using cloth diapers.Health and Comfort One of the main reasons of using diapers is to provide comfort for the baby by keeping their skin dry, healthy and free from rashes. Prolong wetness irritates the baby’s skin and cause rashes. Cloth diaper is made from non-absorbent materials and thus it requires frequent diaper changes in order to keep the baby’s skin dry. Frequent diaper changes can be avoided when using disposable diaper since it consists of a superabsorbent substance called sodium polyacrylate that is capable of absorbing water up to 100 times its weight (O’Mara, 2003).Since disposable diapers gives a sense of dryness even after a few wettings, parents can leave the disposable diapers on for hours . While disposable diaper is more convenient for the parents, studies have shown that it can cause a number of health problems to babies. A study published in the Journal of Pediatrics reported that 54 percent of one-month old babies using disposable diapers developed rashes, while 16 percent developed severe rashes. Another study also suggests that disposable diaper increased the incidence of diaper rash from 7. percent to 61 percent. Diaper rash occurs with disposable diapers because even if it can hold large quantities of urine, the slightly wet materials that are against baby’s skin for hours can cause rashes (The New Parents Guide, 2012). Moreover, disposable diaper is well-sealed and therefore prevents proper circulation of air. It also traps the bacteria and ammonia that is produced when bacteria breaks down urine (O’Mara, 2003). It is apparent that in terms of health and comfort, cloth diaper offers more comfort and helps keep the baby’s skin healthy. Co nvenienceParents opt for disposable diapers primarily for convenience. First, disposable diapers are thrown after use. Second, disposable diapers comes in convenient Velcro and snap closures that keep it securely fastened and well-fitted. Some diaper lines also include wetness indicator that tells the parents when it is time to change. Indeed, versus the traditional cloth diaper, disposable diaper is more convenient. However, cloth diapers have evolved as well. Gone were the days when cloth diapers are fastened by safety pins that could dangerously prick the baby’s skin.Modern cloth diapers are as convenient as its disposable counterpart. Most cloth diapers are now featured with Velcro fasteners and some are fitted similar to disposable diapers, which makes diaper changes convenient and easy (Leverich). However, despite the innovations of cloth diaper, disposable diaper is still more convenient especially during travels wherein soiled diapers can just be thrown and do not nee d to be carried along for washing (The New Parents Guide, 2012). CostCost is one of the factors that parents consider in choosing a diaper. Compared to disposable diaper, cloth diaper is more economical since it can be used again and again. Disposable diaper can cost as much as 32 cents per use compared to cloth diaper which only costs 5 cents per use. Washing the diapers yourself or even when using a laundry service will still result in significant savings (O’Mara, 2003). Moreover, the cloth diapers can be kept to be used as hand-me-down diaper for future babies. Environment ImpactThe environmental impact of disposable diapers is one of the important reasons why parents should use cloth diapers. While it could be argued that both types of diapers have the same environmental impact because of the processes required to clean the soiled cloth diapers, disposable diapers have greater environmental impact. Considering the number of disposable diapers used and discarded every day, and the number of diapers that could be used by a single child from birth until toilet-trained, disposable diapers is indeed a significant solid waste problem.Aside from being a burden in landfill sites, m disposable diapers are manufactured with wood pulp, which means that millions of trees are cut for its production. Manufacture of pulp and plastics used in disposable diapers also use toxic chemicals such as dioxins (O’Mara, 2003). Conclusion Parents only want the best for their baby, including the type of diaper to use. The main purpose of a diaper is to keep the baby’s skin from wetness and keep it healthy. The ability of disposable diaper to hold wetness longer is the very reason why parents opt for this type.It seems that parents choose disposable diaper mainly for convenience, but tend to disregard the potential adverse impacts of disposable diapers on their babies. Disposable diaper allows longer contact between the baby’s skin and slightly wet material s may lead to rashes. The well-sealed disposable diaper is also an unhealthy environment as it promotes breeding of bacteria. While the greatest concern for parents is their baby’s health and not the environment, parents should be aware of the adverse impacts disposable diapers have on the environment. References Leverich, L.Cloth Diapers. Donald C. Cooper. O’Mara, P. (2003). Mothering Magazine's Having a Baby, Naturally: The Mothering Magazine Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth. Simon and Schuster. The New Parents Guide (2012). Diapers, Diapers ; More Diapers: â€Å"Cloth vs. Disposable†. Retrieved August 8, 2012, from http://www. thenewparentsguide. com/diapers. htm. Gentry, Pamela. (2010, January 23). Cloth Diapers Vs Disposable Diapers. Retrieved July, 29 2012, from http://www. livestrong. com/article/75705-cloth-diapers-vs. -disposable- diapers. Lehrburger, C. , J. Mullen and C. V.Jones. 1991. Diapers: Environmental Impacts and Lifecycle Analysis. Philadelph ia, PA: Report to the National Association of Diaper Services (NADS). Stone, Janis and Sternweis, Laura. Consumer Choice — Diaper Dilemma. Iowa State University University Extension. ID. # 1401. 1994. Retrieved August 10, 2012, from http://www. rockwellcollins. com/daycare/pdf/pm1401. pdf Scott, Juila. (2011. October 3). Cloth vs. Disposable Diapers: A Cost Comparison. Retrieved July, 16 2012, from http://www. mint. com/blog/consumer-iq/cloth-vs-disposable-diapers- a-cost-comparison-102011.

Childhood Obesity and Cartoons

There are more obese children in the current times than ever before, and many people blame many different sources. One of these sources is Television; whether it is the act of the children watching television, or the shows themselves and what the children are seeing on the programs. The main discussion in what children’s television programs are showing is ‘food’ – more specifically, unhealthy food. Many of the programs on the children’s television channels show many cases of food during their run-time, and many argue that the majority of this food is unhealthy, and part of the cause of our children’s obesity. One of the more current cases in this category involved the long-time popular young children’s show Sesame Street, in which the beloved Cookie Monster was changed. He was changed to eat fruits and vegetables with the occasional cookie – because always eating cookies was unhealthy, and many complained that their children were getting a bad example from this. This was an extreme case since the show was actually changed (since it was such a popular show for young kids) – where in most shows, people wouldn’t argue as much, nor would they bother to change. A lot of studies have been done regarding the relation between obesity in children and children’s television, however mostly the studies were just making a correlation between the number of hours of television viewed and child obesity. The studies were not all paying attention to the exact programs or channels watched, just the fact that it was television. In his essay â€Å"Healthy Cartoons? A Content Analysis of Foods in Children’s Animated Television Programs,† Jeremy L. Korr talks about food in children’s television programming. Not only does he look back and gather together a lot of the important studies done concerning Children’s television programs and the food shown or referenced, but he does his own studies of the current Children’s Cartoons and their food shown and referenced (which will be discussed later). There are some older studies of children’s programs, one of which was conducted in 1994 by Warnke and Albrecht. They analyzed many children’s network programs airing Saturday mornings broadcast during 1991 and 1992. Of the foods mentioned or shown in these shows, â€Å"32 percent were fruits and vegetables, 14 percent were sweets† (Korr 452), and the rest were other food-types. This already helps to show that children’s programs do not show only unhealthy or even mostly unhealthy foods. However, a more recent study conducted by Poor in 2007 showed some different results. After watching 20 hours of the Disney Channel’s programming, â€Å"Poor found that 57 percent of the foods referenced within the Disney Channel programs were low in nutritional value† (Korr 452). These two studies seem to contradict each other, however the study done by Warnke and Albrecht was done on Saturday morning programming on major networks, where children (and parents) will be more likely to be watching the programs, whereas the study done by Poor was not. So the study done by Warnke and Albrecht could almost (but not) be disregarded, since the programs will intentionally try to be healthier since there will be more attention (by parents etc. ) on Saturday morning programming. In summary, these studies do not seem to show that children’s television programs are all showing only unhealthy food. The Saturday morning children’s programs on the major channels tend to stick more with healthier foods, but the weekday children’s programs on channels such as the Disney Channel tend to be closer to half or more of the food shown being unhealthy. Neither of these seem to quite prove or disprove that children’s programs are leading to obesity. Of course, in watching television, not only is one watching the program, but sitting through the commercials. People tend to neglect this fact and stick to blaming the children’s television programs instead of looking towards the children’s commercials. These commercials have been proven to consist of almost all unhealthy foods (at least in the past – currently they are moving more towards healthier foods because of the overall scare of children’s obesity in our society). A semi-current study was taken by Powel in 2007 that showed â€Å"98 percent of the food commercials view by children aged 2 to 11 and 89 percent of those viewed by children aged 12 to 17 were for products high in fat, sugar, or sodium† (Korr 451). These numbers have most likely lowered in the past few years due to all the current attempts to help our ever-growing obese society, but never the less – this is still quite important. Another relatively recent study on children’s commercials was conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation in 2007. After studying thousands of children’s food advertisements, they found that â€Å"34 percent of the foods in those ads were for candy and snacks, 28 percent were for cereal, 10 percent were for fast food, 4 percent were for dairy products, 1 percent were for fruit juices, and none were for fruits or vegetables† (Korr 458). Although it is not split into simply unhealthy and healthy categories, one can easily agree that well over half, maybe two-thirds of the advertisements were of unhealthy foods. This only helps strengthen that a good majority of advertisements during children’s programming are of unhealthy foods. Now that children’s programming and the advertisements during have been covered, only one category remains: Children’s Cartoons. Since it is a relatively hard subject to study, since cartoons aren’t always realistic, not much research has been done. Korr however, watched thirty-two children’s cartoons on a total of three cable and two broadcast networks. He found that â€Å"35 percent of the foods referenced visually or verbally were sweets and salty snacks, 6 percent were breads and cereals, 18 percent were meats, 5 percent were dairy products, and 22 percent were fruits and vegetables (including fruit juice)† (Korr 458). So as far as Children’s Cartoons; surprisingly, one-fifth to one-fourth of all of the foods referenced are fruits and vegetables, and less than one-half of all of the foods referenced are unhealthy. This differs slightly from unanimated children’s programs with more fruits and vegetables and 20-25 percent less unhealthy foods. Compared to the more closely monitored Saturday children’s programs, which consist of unanimated and animated shows, there are considerably more sweets and slightly less vegetables overall in children’s cartoons. Korr also found that children’s Cable channels accounted for most of the food references as well as â€Å"98 percent of the references to sweets, 91 percent of the references to salty snacks, and 91 percent of the references to fruits and vegetables† (Korr 459). He also found the lowest frequency of unhealthy foods in the Saturday morning programs that were always ridiculed for sending out poor nutritional messages. This only helps prove the point that Saturday morning programs are more closely monitored seeing as they have the least reference to food, as well as the least reference to unhealthy food. So now, we could almost definitively say that warnke and Albrecht’s studies could be ignored for the purpose of this analysis. After looking at all of these different studies, one can deduct a few things. First, children’s programs aired on cable seem to be more likely to have more foods referenced or shown, which of course leads to more unhealthy foods. Second, children’s programs aired on Saturdays seem to be more likely to have less foods referenced or shown, with more fruits and vegetables than sweets and salty foods. Third, children’s programs aired on the weekdays tend to have more sweets involved. And last, children’s advertisements all seem to show a majority of unhealthy foods. In general, it seems that children’s advertisements are the major problem in showing unhealthy foods. As far as children’s programming, Cartoons seem to show more unhealthy foods than unanimated series, and depending on what time and network the program is aired on will make a difference on what one will see. One solution to this, stated by Korr, would be to use a DVR (digital video recorder), such as TiVo, to record the programs, and then fast-forward or skip through the commercials, thereby eliminating a good amount of the unhealthy foods shown during children’s programming. However this does not seem quite necessary. It seems, based on these studies, that if one limits them self to Saturday programming, one will eliminate a good amount of the advertisements and the shows with unhealthy foods referenced and shown. Also watching broadcast as opposed to cable network shows appears to cut down the amount as well. As a last resort, if a child must watch television, a DVR would be a relatively good solution.

If You Cant Stand the Fat, Stay out of the Restaurant Term Paper

If You Cant Stand the Fat, Stay out of the Restaurant - Term Paper Example Bloomberg has created a nanny state in an attempt to eradicate his city of what he calls â€Å"beasts,† (overweight people). This is by no means the first measure taken by the state to control consumption, but many believe it is justified since two-thirds of American adults and 25 percent of children are obese, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that obesity is the number one health problem in the United States. Is there research confirming that the government regulation of consumption results curbs obesity ─ and even if it did, should it have the right to enforce taxes, bans, and penalties in an attempt to bring about a healthier society? It all comes down to personal responsibility and accountability ─ values that have been traded in for victimization and reliance on government. Individuals ─ not restaurants ─ make the decisions to purchase and consume food, so the ones ultimately responsibility for obesity are the consume rs, not the purveyors of food. Those ascribing to a smaller government and less intervention in citizens’ daily lives argue that personal freedoms are taken away when responsibility for one’s health is projected onto others. Regulations such as the one recently enforced in New York City, that do not allow restaurants and other businesses to serve fountain drinks over 16 ounces, raise major objections from citizens, who contend that the â€Å"government cannot legislate eating less or exercising more,†. To stop this tide of over-regulation that mandates restaurants to post calorie counts on their menus and requires stores to charge increased taxes on junk food, legislation such as â€Å"The Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Bill† and â€Å"The Commonsense Consumption Act†.... sed taxes on junk food, legislation such as â€Å"The Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Bill† and â€Å"The Commonsense Consumption Act† have been presented to statehouses so that lawsuits - waged against restaurants for â€Å"making† their patrons fat - will be prohibited by law. Those advocating personal accountability point to the failing premises behind socialized healthcare to prove their point, noting that such big government programs make Americans â€Å"troublingly tolerant of government trespasses on our freedom,† (Balko, Brownell, and Nestle 2004). Punishing restaurants for consumers’ obesity does not motivate customers to make healthy dietary choices, just as citizens are less likely to stay physically fit when others are forced to pay for their healthcare. Whether it is President Barack Obama pouring what will become trillions of dollars into Obamacare or former President George W. Bush designating $125 million of his budget in 2004 to encourage healthy lifestyles, using taxpayer money to bring about a fit America is by no stretch a panacea for an overweight America. On the same note, blaming and punishing restaurant owners for fattening their customers will not lean-down their clientele. Despite the lack of conclusive evidence supporting that exorbitant government programs and intrusive regulations result in a slimmer America, advocates of such measures maintain that they are necessary. They believe that restaurants and other purveyors of food are the problem that must be put under government control in order to bring citizens’ weight down. This was the exact reasoning behind the San Francisco City Council voting to ban fast food restaurants from giving kids’ toys with their meals - if they did not measure up to a certain health criteria.

Spring Awakening Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Spring Awakening Analysis - Essay Example Spring’s Awakening, was published by Wedekind in 1891. However, it was not actually performed until 1906. â€Å"Spring’s Awakening investigates and explores the theme of adolescent sexuality in a noticeably modern and expressionistic approach. In nineteen episodic scenes, Wedekind imparts and communicates the stories of a few teenagers. It tells of the experiences and feelings of these teenagers as they move violently through sexual maturity. What the play examines is the lack of knowledge and sheer ignorance of their teachers and parents. In essence, the adolescents are having such a difficult time because of the ignorance of their elders who do not guide them or assist them in getting through this difficult time. In actuality, their teachers and parents are themselves sexually self-conscious, repressed and withdrawn. This becomes apparent in the scenes of the play and they present themselves well to represent this aspect of the teachers and parents as well as the str uggles of the adolescents in the play. Wedeknd’s Expressionism is unmistakable in his use of heavily stylized dialogue. He mixes this dialogue with lyrical and cutting irony with prosaic speech to create a seriocomic tone. In addition, Wedekind has a character return from the dead. This is significant because it is something that could not happen in naturalistic theater. Through the dialogue and expressionist theme of the scenes Weekend presents a mocking and satirical measure of inadequacy and condemnation of the hypocrisy and prudery of middle-class German society, At the time of its release, Wedeknd’s play was seriously censored. However, in spite of this it was also one of the playwright’s most successful works. In Act One Scene 5, it becomes apparent why Wedeknd’s work can be thought of as a tragi-comedy of teenage sex. In the first Act the audience is introduced to all of the teenagers of the play in a manner that setrs up the remainder of the play. In this scene a

Journals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Journals - Essay Example It is presently one of the strongest in the union and he was proud to discuss that France’s GDP, which is just under 3 trillion USD is rather impressive. After all, with America’s recent economic crisis I think it is important to listen to what other people think in other countries whose economies are improving. I, also, asked him about the exchange rate for monies. I will spend a week in France it might be important to understand better the value of currency. Apparently 1 American dollar is equal to 1 Euro, however, its value in relation to the dollar is about 0.75. Otherwise our in-flight discussion was about every day things, museums, sight-seeing, and the like. I am very exciting about this opportunity and I look forward to everything I may learn and experience along the way. During the duration of this week prior to the classes starting I hope to spend time sigh-seeing, of course, after all, I will be in Paris, France. I am very excited to visit the Louvre, see the Eifel Tower, and the Notre dame Cathedral; at least I hope I have time to take in as much as the place has to offer. Interesting fun fact that I learned about Paris on my trip. Paris was not the original name for the famous city. It was original called, in Latin, â€Å"Lutentia Parisiorium.† Lutentia is, essentially he word for mud and the Celtic peoples who resided there were call Parsii; therefore the original name of one of the world’s most beautiful and romantic city was â€Å"the mud city of the Parisii;† this, I thought, was rather interesting and a little amusing. I hope to, also spend some time understanding a little bit about the Czech Republic, before I arrive there. I will be spending a lot of time there and I want to be prepared and educated before I arrive there. One thing that I already took the time to investigate is that, when I told people that I was going to the Czech Republic, how many people still believe that the area is still called Czecho slovakia. The region formerly known as Czechoslovakia split into the two independent countries of Slovakia and the Czech Republic 20 years ago in 1993. Entry 2-May 27 2013 It was time to leave France, which was a wonderful experience overall, behind and head to Prague in the Czech Republic. Prague has the feel of being aged and still has architecture that still stands. In fact, it is often used as an ideal location for period, or historical, films because it still has areas that still have that â€Å"old world feel.† Unlike many other countries during WWII, Prague did not resist Hitler and he did little damage, so many of the buildings have withstood the test of time, I have had the opportunity to speak to several people on the trip over. There was one man who was very friendly and was eager to fill me in on the history of his land. It is definitely a city that has survived a great deal of war, upheaval, along with the transition between communism and capitalism. There was an other, a woman, who was actually quite knowledgeable about the kinds of questions that I thought were important to ask. She explained that the population of the Czech Republic is around 10.5 million people and 1/10 of that is located in the capitol, Prague. There economy is quite diversified and is based in metal works, machine parts, automobiles, beer, foods, and electronics. They have low unemployment rates and promising balancing of inflation. They did suffer a minor recession back in the late 90s because of

Philopsphy paper Term Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Philopsphy - Term Paper Example This paper applies these two theories of ethics on particular concrete cases. The cases are, keeping/breaking a promise, abortion, and Euthanasia. As sources of information, two books are used: Practical Ethics, by Peter Singer, and Ground Work of the Metaphysics of Morals, by Emmanuel Kant. Before applying the two ethical theories to the above cases, it is important to first give an overview of each of the theories. To begin with, the utilitarian theory of ethics is an end based theory. In other words, in determining the morality of an action, the proponents of utilitarian theory will focus on the end result of the action, and if the end product of the action will result in greater good to the majority of people, i.e. if the action will maximize happiness for the majority, then the action is a morally right action (Singer, 3). On the contrary, if the action diminishes happiness, or makes the majority of people to suffer, then the action is morally wrong. Deontological theory of Ethi cs on the other hand is based on the law or the duty ( Kant, 13-15). This means that an action is regarded as being morally right if it is done in accordance with the requirements of the law, or in fulfilment of one’s obligation. ... tological theory of Ethics, the main question that we should ask ourselves is whether or not the act of breaking or keeping the promise is in line with our obligations or the law. Emmanuel Kant, one of the main proponents of deontological theory of Ethics argues, in his famous categorical imperative, that before taking an action, we should ask ourselves whether we would wish our manner of acting to be made into a universal law applicable to all similar cases (Kant, 18). Kant, therefore, is of the view that we have the obligation to treat others as we would like to be treated. In this sense, breaking a promise that we have made is morally wrong because we would also not like somebody who has promised us something to fail to keep their promise. We should always keep our promises since we have an obligation to fulfil what we have promised to do. A utilitarian on the other hand would base their judgement on the consequence or the end result of either breaking or keeping ones promise. If the action will maximize the interests of the majority, then the action is morally right, and on the contrary, if the action will result in diminishing happiness to the majority of people, then the act is morally wrong. On this basis, a utilitarian wouldn’t give a definitive answer on whether the act of keeping or breaking a promise is intrinsically wrong or right. A utilitarian will conclude that the morality of the action of either keeping or breaking a promise will greatly depend on the particular circumstance at hand. If the circumstance is such that keeping or breaking a promise will lead to greater happiness for the majority, then the action is morally right and if the action will lead to suffering of the majority of people, then the action is morally wrong. Abortion The main

A Cosi Fan Tutte Opera Theatre Report Research Paper

A Cosi Fan Tutte Opera Theatre Report - Research Paper Example The performances were divided into a series of acts with each act being as intriguing as the next. The first act began with the officer’s confidence in their fiancà ©es faithfulness being challenged by their confidant Alfonso, who is played by Daniel Ewart and Aaron Petrovitch. This act involves the fake departure of the officers, the morning of their lovers and the arrival of the Albanians. It comprises deception by the Albanians, Don Alfonso and the housemaid, Despina who is played by Leah Brzyski and Alina Tamborini. Personally, I found the singing much more captivating than the acting, more so for the first two acts. The harmonics brought the audience in the mood and kept them attentive. The attempts of the gentlemen to seduce their lovers were quite hilarious especially having them pretend to be dying. However, it was a bit disappointing as some of the songs sang did not match the personalities of the characters performing it. It did not make sense how Fiordiligi, her si ster and Alfonso could present such a lovely song as the soldiers went off for war yet there are supposed to be self-centered. As the performance continued into the second and third days, it became less about the music for me but more about seeing what would happen next. The actors did not utilize the stage well during the succeeding acts so the only way to continue with the flow of the story was to listen to the music. This was quite disappointing especially because the first act ended in a lot of suspense.