Obesity in America Annotated Bibliography free essay sample

â€Å"Americas Obesity Epidemic. † Cartoon. BarictricFreedom, 27 June 2012. Web. 02 April 2013. The image â€Å"Americas Obesity Epidemic† is a cartoon image of Uncle Sam smoking a cigar and he is an extremely obese individual, his face looks very unhealthy and he looks nothing like the original Uncle Sam. Beside his head there is a place that indicates that he is saying something. It’s one sentence and is says â€Å"What Obesity Epidemic? † This cartoon image was made to show people that America is poorly educated on the obesity epidemic and also that America sees no problem with the obesity problem in the United States. That government along with the men and women of America are not taking the obesity epidemic seriously. Men and women do not see the dangers of being obese; America is poorly educated when it comes to the obesity epidemic. People of America know that obesity can cause problems; however, they do not know all the health risk that comes with it. We will write a custom essay sample on Obesity in America Annotated Bibliography or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page If obesity is causing American’s to have many health problems that can result to death, then why are Americans not already educated on this problem. Obesity in America contributes to approximately 325,000 deaths per year. It is a close second behind smoking as the leading cause of preventable deaths in America. This unown artist helps viewers understand that obesity should not be taking lightly, that something needs to change so that mean and women will know about the obesity epidemic. The only way to curb the obesity epidemic is to start by educating the people it affects. Godbout, Neil. â€Å"Tax the Producer of Junk Food, Not the Consumers. † Prince George Citizen. Prince George Citizen, 03 November 2006. Web. 02 April 2013. There are many ideas to how to help the obesity problem, one being a tax on junk food; however, should the men and women buying the junk food be taxed or the producers of the junk food? The article â€Å"Tax the Producers of Junk Food, Not the Consumers† by Neil Godbout is about how people should pay a tax on junk food in America, but who should the tax be on, the producers or the consumers of these junk foods? â€Å"People should pay more for chocolate bars, milkshakes, cookies, cakes, candy, and soda pop. The question is which people†¦who are the buyers of junk food? Once you answer that question, you get to what a junk food tax really is- a tax on the poor† (Godbout). Men and women with low income are more likely to buy junk food because of its low cost, causing them to fall victim to the producers of junk food. The consumers of junk food shouldn’t be the ones that have the tax because these men and women cannot help that they can only afford junk food. The producers of junk food are making a substantial amount of money on the sales of their product. These producers also know that their product is unhealthy and that it is a facture for causing obesity. So if these producers know that they are harming people’s health and getting rich off of it, then they should be the ones that get taxed for junk food. â€Å"But don’t just tax the producers. Go the extra mile and get aggressive, just like governments have with big tobacco. Put warnings on junk food†¦ Take some of the proceeds from junk food producers and subsidize fruit and vegetables producers, so their product are cheaper and therefore more attractive to shoppers† (Godbout). Junk food is known to be a cause for obesity. Obesity is linked to many health problems and can cause death. Since junk food is known to cause health problems then there should be a warning label that sates the health risks caused form consuming this product. If producers of junk food were taxed, the â€Å"proceeds† could go to many different things to help change the obesity epidemic. If the â€Å"proceeds† can go to helping healthier foods become cheaper than that would help the men and women with low income be able to make the right choices and help the lower class become healthier, curbing obesity in many people. Godbout’s main point for his article is to let his audience no that a tax on the consumers for junk food would just be a tax on the poor because they cannot afford the more expensive healthier foods. That the producers of junk food are making a substantial amount of money from their products even though these producers know that their product is helping cause obesity. His conclusion is that the tax should be on the producers of junk food and that the â€Å"proceeds† should go to helping make healthier food cheaper and help people health choices easier. The tax on producers is a start for helping cure obesity and that’s better than doing nothing. Hungry for Change. Dir. James Colquhoun and Laurentine Ten Bosch. 2012. Film. There are many different kinds of man-made food products. But what is really in these man-made food products? The film â€Å"Hungry for Change† directed by James Colquhoun and Laurentine Ten Bosch discusses the secrets that the food industry use to keep people coming back to their product. â€Å"We are not eating food anymore; we are eating food like products† (Dr. Alejandro Junger). The food industry is using many different kinds of chemicals to enhance and preserve food. Some of these chemicals can cause health problems and addiction. One chemical the food industry uses is called MSG. It was proved that MSG causes obesity; however, it is used in over 80% of today’s food. MSG also tricks a person’s body in to thinking it is full, but the feeling of being full only last for a short amount of time causing consumers to go back and get some more of that product. There are now so many chemicals in today’s man-made foods. These chemicals have now become an addiction to men and women everywhere. â€Å"If you addict a customer you will have a customer for life. † The producers of these foods are only worried about making money; they want consumers to come back as much as they can. They are not worried about a person’s health, they are worried about money. The goal of this film was to inform men and women on the secrets the food industry is hiding from their consumers. Klein, Sarah. â€Å"Fatty Foods May Cause Cocaine-Like Addiction. † Health Magazine. CNN. com. 30 March 2010. Web. 01 April 2013. Junk food is known to play a big part in causing obesity. So why do men and women keep going back to junk food products? The article â€Å"Fatty Foods May Cause Cocaine-Like Addiction† by Sarah Klein discusses how scientists have confirmed that junk food may be highly addictive. â€Å"A new study in rats suggest that high-fat, high-calorie foods affect the brain in much the same way as cocaine and heroin† (Klein). A study published by Paul J. Kenny, Ph. D. a professor at the Scripps Research Institute in Florida. For 40days Kenny studied three groups of lab rates, feeding them each a different kind of diet to test how the rates would react to each diet after the 40days. The first group of rates was fed â€Å"normal rate food. † The Second group groups of rates were fed â€Å"bacon, sausage, Cheesecake, frosting, and other fattening high-calorie foods- but only for one hour each day. † The last group of rates was allowed to eat unhealthy foods for up to 23 hours a day. â€Å"Not surprisingly, the rats that gorged themselves on the human food quickly became obese. But their brains also changed†¦researchers found that the rats in the third group gradually developed a tolerance to the pleasure the food gave them and had to eat more to experience a high† (Klein). Unlike the rate s that was fed normal rate food the ones in group three started to eat â€Å"compulsively. † The researchers then applied an electric shock to the rates feet while they were eating to see how each group of rates would react. When the shock was applied the rates in group one and two were scared away from eating; however, the obese rates in group three were not frightened by the shock, the rates continued to eat. The food given to the rates in group three caused the rates to act in a unusual way. â€Å"In previous studies, rates have exhibited similar bran changes when given unlimited access to cocaine or heroin† (Klein). Human food is now causing an addiction similar to cocaine and heroin. The addiction is what keeps man and women to keep coming back for more. Now that there is sings that some foods can cause addiction, people can now find a treatment to help solve the problem for food addiction and help lower obesity as well. This article lets people understand that it is not just a person’s fault for being overweight; the addiction is what is causing them to eat so much of the wrong things. Nazarko, Linda. â€Å"Increasing Obesity Awarness. † British Journal of Healthcare Assistants. (2011): n. page. Web. 02 April 2013. Being obese causes many different health problems but do mean and women really know what risk come with being obese? The article â€Å"Increasing Obesity Awareness† by Linda Nazarko discusses how the majority of people are obese and how it has become a normal thing. â€Å"It has now become normal to be overweight or obese†¦In addition, proportions of clothing have altered† (Nazarko). Clothing has changed, a size today is bigger than it was in the past, and this makes it seem normal to be overweight. Many people who are overweight or obese know that their health is at risk. Being obese causes many different health problems, psychological and physical. All the different health problems cause treatments making the cost of health care to increase. â€Å"In the past, adults produced their own food and had to work hard to feed themselves. However food is now plentiful in our socirty and physical activity levels have dropped† (Nazarko). Food is now everywhere. There is now no need for a person to grow or hunt for their food. This also takes away from the physical activity it took to grow and hunt for food. â€Å"The Government needs to act to work with the public to tackle this major public health issue† (Nazarko). If the government worked with planners and architects to make towns and cities healthy by encouraging people to walk to their destination or use stairs in buildings, it could increase activity in people’s daily life. Nazarko also discusses how the government needs to work with food industries to help reduce the unhealthy foods. Nazarko main idea is to increase obesity awareness to everyone. There are many men and women that are uneducated when it comes to obesity and do not know the issues caused from it and even how they can fix it. The best way to solve obesity is to educate the public.

Malcom X autobiography essays

Malcom X autobiography essays A belief that some races are by nature superior to others. This is the horrible definition of racism. People all over America are against racism and are every day, millions of Americans try to stop it. Even though the United States have programs such as affirmative action, we could never be diverse with races from around the world and at the same time, united fully as one. Why? Why does it have to be this way? There are many reasons trying to explain why there is racism in the world. Religion and certain world leaders are some beliefs. I have a belief myself. I believe that people in crowds lack knowledge. This is very important to remember, one good example is Hitler. One man told a crowd of people, to kill millions of other people. Wanting to be diverse and united is kind of like saying if you want peace, you must first prepare for war. You could only have one or the other. I strongly agree that the government should remain absolutely neutral to its citizens, but there is one problem. The people who make the government are just regular people like you or me and the lower down you go, the more like regular citizens they act. So at the bottom of the chain, regular police officers, are most likely to have racist feelings. So once again, I feel that the government should remain neutral but the main problem is that it has so many members that it cant keep track of them all and thus, cant remain neutral as a whole. I think that the programs the government uses to try keep out racism is actually bringing more racism. Affirmative action is supposed to help races that are in the need of support due to racism. Like African American and/or Latino people. People are still racist even after all those people who tried to stop racism (like Martin Luthor King and Malcom X) died. What did they die for? For nothing? No. People are less racist due to those people but it isnt enough. Affirmative action is suppo...

Economic Consequences of Ageism on the Elderly and the American Research Paper

Economic Consequences of Ageism on the Elderly and the American Healthcare System - Research Paper Example From this paper it is clear that old persons have less employment opportunities and have a lower pay scale as compared to younger employees. The 1967 Equal Employment opportunity Commission provides protection to job applicants and employees from discrimination on the basis of mature age. Aged Americas are an important part of society and can still contribute towards nation building.This report highlights that  the word â€Å"ageism† was coined in 1968 by Robert Butler. The media accepted the term and later it found its way into The Oxford English Dictionary. Ageism has been reported by many old persons and is widely present in the country’s establishment resulting in bigotry in the media, workplace, healthcare and language. For instance, presence of discrimination in case of appointing older persons,   absence of health care in health care institutions, the use of abusive language and the negative portrayal of old persons in cartoons showing them as ugly, cantanker ous and dirty. Negative feelings about a certain group can be called as the negative attitudes. Sickness, impotency, health decline, mental illness, poverty, gloominess, isolation, unattractiveness and futility are the major nine stereotypes depicting bias against elders.A major discrimination against elders is made on the basis of illness faced by majority of their population.  About half of the American population believes that poor health is a grave trouble faced by majority of people over 65.... Negative feelings about a certain group can be called as the negative attitudes. Sickness, impotency, health decline, mental illness, poverty, gloominess, isolation, unattractiveness and futility are the major nine stereotypes depicting bias against elders. A major discrimination against elders is made on the basis of illness faced by majority of their population. About half of the American population believes that poor health is a grave trouble faced by majority of people over 65. However, the fact is that most of the elderly people which constitute more than 85 percent of the elderly population take on strong activities of daily life like ingestion, bathing, etc. Only about 5 percent of these elderly persons are hospitalized. Another stereotype is that older persons have no desire for sexual activity and those who spend ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF AGEISM ON THE ELDERLY AND THE AMERICAN HEALTH CARE SYSTEM time in such action can be called as ethically nasty or at the slightest peculiar . The truth is that persons crossing the age of 65 have concern and capability for sexual relationships. They have freedom from alarm of pregnancy, job stress and childbearing errands, free time and more grown-up relations. Ugliness of old people is another common stereotype. Beauty is associated with youth and women particularly fear the loss of their beauty as a result of aging. In contrast to our culture, some cultures like those of the Japanese tend to associate wrinkles and gray hair with insight, development and long term service. Palmore (1999) states that it is thought that age increase from middle age is associated with a decline in ability to learn and remember. But most aged adults tend to keep hold of learning abilities. Illness, lack of education, style of learning,

Prader willi syndrome Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Prader willi syndrome - Essay Example However it is believed that the disease occurs in the children whose family shows history of chromosomal aberrations (Kumar et al 2005). Signs and Symptoms The signs and symptoms of Prader Willi syndrome change over time as it is seen that toddlers and adolescents behave differently when suffering from it. The infants suffering from the syndrome have a poor muscle tone with poor reflexes such as the sucking reflex. They also suffer from lethargy and usually have a retarded growth. As these children grow up they show different signs and symptoms. The toddlers show delayed development of the body lacking language and walking skills. The toddlers also show behavioral problems such as high temper and rudeness. As the child further grows up he faces from other problems. The primary problem that these children face is obesity which is caused by the increasing urge to eat. The behavioral problems with the children have worsened by this time and they tend to be more inflexible. These childre n also face learning disabilities because of which they are not competitive enough. They also show loss of sexual functions which is because of the loss of hormones in these children (PubMed Health 2009; NYU Languone Medical Center). Diagnosis The diagnosis of children with Prader Willi would be done on the basis of the symptoms of the disease. Hypotonia and almond shaped eyes are some of the symptoms which can lead to the diagnosis of the disorder. In some male infants it is also seen that they have an undescended testis which is a characteristic feature of the Prader Willi syndrome. The laboratory tests can further help to confirm the onset of the syndrome in a child. The tests would confirm the level of obesity in the child. Abnormal glucose and insulin tests are used to confirm the level of obesity. The level of hormones is also checked in the child to confirm that he is suffering from the syndrome. Children with Prader Willi syndrome show decreased functionality of the sexual h ormones (Mayo Clinic 2011; Pub Med Health 2009). Treatment of the Prader Willi Syndrome Many researches are being carried out to find out the viability of the treatment options offered to treat the syndrome. It has been found that these treatment options help in improving the conditions of the children suffering from the syndrome. Children suffering from the syndrome usually suffer because of their low caloric diet and thus their diet should be maintained such that their body can grow with ease. Hormonal treatment is considered to be one of the most important in treating the Prader Willi syndrome. Research has shown that growth hormone is very effective in treating children with the Prader Willi syndrome. The treatment of the syndrome by growth hormone in United States was approved in the year of 2000 and ever since the treatment option is considered by many of the physicians. Growth hormone helps to decrease the bodily fat and increase the metabolic rate of the body. Hence in other words the hormone helps to decrease the level of obesity in the children. However on the other hand research has also shown that in some cases growth hormone may worsen the condition of these children. Sleep Apnea or difficulty in breathing while sleeping can be triggered because of growth hormone therapy. It is because of these side effects that in some cases it is recommended that a growth hormone therapy is not given to the child suffering from th

Cultural Characteristics of India Essay Example for Free

Cultural Characteristics of India Essay With more than half of the workforce being in agriculture, services however, is the biggest contributing factor the economic growth in India. The information technology (IT) sector is where most of the growth is taking place. Many companies in the United States are beginning to outsource their help desk and programming specialties to India where the labor is cheaper and there are an abundance of qualified individuals. In-fact many of the positions you see in IT are filled by people native to India simply because training for these specialties is limited in the U. S. For example, if you were looking to hire an Extract, Transform, and Load (ETL) developer it is highly unlikely that you will find a U. S. citizen with these skill sets, and if you did the U. S. candidate would certainly be demanding more money. India’s ability to train highly qualified IT professionals and ability to provide cheaper labor will continue to contribute to their increase in economic growth. Ultimately, it is those cultural characteristics we have discussed in class that has led India to so much growth over the last decade. They are a collectivist society, with a large power distance and a different set of value orientations from our own. Higher education is of upmost importance, and often times, much more important than interpersonal relationships. This is evident of the fact that they place so much importance on one’s education and its correlation to family status when selecting a bride/groom in an arranged marriage. India is considered a large power distance culture because there is a clear hierarchy within the family, â€Å"the father rules authoritatively, followed by the eldest son and moving down the ladder by age and sex† (Neuliep, 2009. 9). Within the Indian culture the children are expected to be obedient and many Indian children feel that their parents really don’t understand what it is like to grow up in today’s diverse society. Indian parents constantly expect their children to go to the right schools, only converse with people who share the same cultural backgro unds and to marry within their own race and religion. There are many different religions in India which include: Muslim, Hindu, Christian and Sikh. In India, even though you may share the same ethnicity if you do not share the same religious beliefs, marriage is forbidden. In my research I have come across a common theme within the Indian culture, and that is that Indian parent’s love to gossip about everything; they constantly discuss who got into what school, and who is getting married to whom. It’s not to say that Indian parents don’t want what’s best for their children because they do. In the article Indian Parents and Societal Pressure the author Arti Nehru states, â€Å"The really sad part about all of this is that parents truly want their children to be happy. But they are unsupportive in many instances because they worry about ne thing: What will people say? † The Indian culture is more of a collectivist culture who has the tendency to stress the importance of a group over the importance of the individual. Neuliep confirms that, â€Å"In collectivist cultures, people are not seen as isolated individuals. People see themselves as interdependent with others their (e. g. , their ingroup), where responsibility is shared and accountability is collective. A person’s identity is defined by his or her group memberships† (Neuliep, 2009. Pg. 41). Most of their values come from their traditional beliefs, their religious devotion and their secular spirituality. It is these value orientations that shape the way the Indian culture communicates with individuals in their own culture as well as with individuals outside of their culture. Values can affect the way people communicate within their own culture and with people of different cultures. They are â€Å"evaluative beliefs that synthesize affective and cognitive elements to orient people to the world in which they live† (Mooney, 2001, 2828). The value orientation model is used to compare high-context cultures such as the Indian collectivist culture with low-context individualistic cultures such as the United States. It can be broken down into six different categories: self, family, society, human nature, nature, and supernatural. In a collectivist culture such as the Indian culture â€Å"self† refers to how one may view themselves in relationship to others, and can further be broken down into three different sub-categories: self-identity, age, and activity. In India self-identity would suggest that people value conformity and cooperation. In India people are â€Å"interdependent with others, and for them, responsibility and accountability are shared and divided among the group members. † (Neulip, 2009, 63-64). Age for a collectivist, high-context culture is admired when they are old and conversely, in an individualistic, low-context culture, age is admired when they are young. In a collectivist culture like India the people tend be very spiritual and believe that people should embrace life. The activity one performs on a daily basis is of less importance in a country like India. Whereas in the United States, activity ften refers to how people identify themselves through their activities such as their professions and occupations. Often times when Americans are asked who they are, they will answer with what they do for a living; indicating that they tend to associate who they are, with what they do. Family within a collectivist culture such as India tends to be more authoritative in nature. The â€Å"head of the household† will make the decisions rather than having everyone work together as a democracy when making decisions. In India, families are less mobile, and will always attempt to sit down together when eating dinner. There is often a strict hierarchy that is followed among family members with the man of the house being at the top. The men and women in Indian families have very different roles within the family, which coincide with one’s hierarchal power. The male of the house makes the decisions, provides for the family and the women often times make the meals at night and take care of the children. In Indi,a family is a very important concept and marriage is considered to be sacred and is meant to last a life time. The term â€Å"society† in India can be broken down into two categories: social reciprocity and group membership. According to Neuliep â€Å"social reciprocity refers to the mutual exchanges people make in their dealings with others† (65). In collectivist cultures like India, if one asks another for a favor it is expected that an equal exchange of favors will occur. In India, group membership is often a pervasive formality; they have a tendency to join only a few different groups over a life-time. In the United States membership in a group is usually short lived, whereas in India people are highly selective and group membership is usually a prolonged commitment. This idea of a prolonged commitment to a group stems from those same cultural values that marriage does. In India, they practice arranged marriages and it is considered a lifelong commitment that is viewed as sacred. What may seem strange to the youth in the United States is actually embraced by youth in India. Many children in India feel that it gives them the ability to focus on their youth, and their education without the distraction or worry that an adolescence relationship can bring to the picture. It is also said that the youth in India â€Å"feel secure in their parent’s ability to choose an acceptable partner for them, trusting that their parents have enough experience and knowledge to do so without creating a disastrous situation† (Galt, 2011, 2). Many cultures like India believe that when marriages are not pre-arranged they tend to burn out too quickly. They believe it is because the two people have already gotten to know each other, rather than spending a life-time together after marriage getting to know each other. Marrying a person you don’t know gives one a lifetime to learn to love them, as opposed to the American ideal of learning a person inside and out before entering into marriage† (Galt, 2011, 3). In the United States, many believe that the idea of an arranged marriage is something that is forced upon the two getting married. This however isn’t true, in India before a marriage can become official the bride and groom are afforded the opportunity to meet each other to decide if they would like to go forward with the marriage. You might be surprised to hear that any rejection to a proposed marriage rarely occurs, and more often than not the proposed bride and groom will go through with the wedding as planned. This is because the parents of the bride and groom do their due-diligence and will often times spend years looking for a suitable bride or groom. They spend countless hours meeting with the families and friends, â€Å"considering hundreds of different aspects and comparison points before the potential bride and groom ever meet each other† (Galt, 2011, 6). In many ways the Indian culture is different than our own, we have the tendency to be more of an individualistic culture while they tend be more collectivist. We are considered a low-context culture, while India is considered a high-context culture. We value or independence and look out for our own self-interests over that of the group. In India, they value the group over the individual and believe that if one fails, they all fail. Even though we may differ culturally we are still similar in many ways, the biggest being our level of diversity; we are both comprised of many different values, ethnicities, and religious beliefs.

Harry Elmer Barnes :: essays research papers

In 1952, Harry Elmer Barnes wrote a timely article, "How 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' Trends Threaten American Peace, Freedom, and Prosperity" as the final chapter of the classic revisionist anthology, Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace. Barnes analyzed George Orwell's classic novel as a work of prophecy and sounded the alarm to reverse the "1984" trends prevalent in the America of his day. Barnes argued that propagandists and "court historians" were fashioning a present, based on a falsified and inaccurate telling of the past, that was designed to meet Establishment desires to participate in world wars. Ironically,Barnes' article was omitted from the first edition the collection.(1) Barnes may be best remembered as the author of the generally accepted definition of "revisionism," "Revisionism means nothing more or less than the effort to correct the historical record in the light of a more complete collection of historical facts, a more calm political atmosphere, and a more objective attitude." (2) Barnes had discovered that a more nearly accurate version of the history of the First World War was only possible after the fighting had ended and the emotional excesses had lessened. He was unable to predict that similar corrections of Allied propaganda and popularized conceptions of the methods of warfare in the Second World War would meet even sterner resistance. Today - half a century after the conclusion of the Second World War - it would be fair to expect a less emotional environment, one in which historians, researchers and writers were free to examine the actual causes of the war as well as the atrocities committed by both sides in the conflict. However, those and other topics are more forbidden than ever with the greatest taboo surrounding analysis of the fate of Europe's Jews and others in what has come to be known as the Holocaust. In 1950, three years prior to Barnes' article concerning "1984" trends another author, Ray Bradbury, set out a foreboding vision of the future in a short story titled, "The Fireman." Later, Bradbury's story would be renamed Fahrenheit 451 after the temperature at which paper burns. Fahrenheit 451 describes a horrific future in which millions of books are banned and firemen set fires instead of extinguishing them. In order to maintain a society of brainwashed, "happy" people, the firemen kick down doors and burn the hated volumes along with the homes that housed them. Barnes would never have suspected how fast the world would progress from the "1984" trends he identified to the trends Bradbury identified in Fahrenheit 451(3).

Explain the Success and Failure of Constitutions

Constitutions can be defined in a variety of different ways. Duchacek , in 1970 described constitutions as â€Å"power maps†, in which the formal powers of the state are described and distributed. A more explicit definition can be gauged from Robertson , who describes the constitution as, â€Å"a set of rights, powers and procedures regulating the structure of, and relationships among the public authorities and between the public authorities and the citizens. † This long definition is condensed by Watson , who describes constitutions as the â€Å"rules of the political game† and â€Å"the laws that govern the governors. Constitutions usually have come into existence to facilitate a â€Å"fresh start† following the demise of the past regime via revolution, independence, or a change in society. Constitutions are not infallible and can fail if the conditions are right; those conditions will be discussed in this essay. According to Hague, Harrop and Breslin , a successful constitution is â€Å"one that does not attempt too much†. They point to the American constitution as an example. The US Constitution created a limited central government because that is what was deemed necessary. If the constitution created a stronger central government, it may have gone against the interests of the more independent minded states and individuals who would have opposed such a move. A constitution, which delegates and separates powers amongst the governing institutions apparently, coins success. The most well known example of this would be again the American constitution. The legislature (Congress ), executive (the President ) and the judiciary (the Supreme Court ) is separated by the Constitution, providing constitutional independence and delegating various powers. The Constitution insures that no one institution has more power than the other, preventing a power struggle within government that could lead to its destruction. However, to explain the success of constitutions in terms of the balance of powers would ignore the success of the â€Å"unwritten† British Constitution. The British Constitution, where power lies supremely with the government, the legislature, cannot be regarded as a failure. The success of this constitution could perhaps be explained by its flexible and articulate nature, which allows gradual change. A good example of this in practise is the enfranchisement of Britain, which took almost a century to attain. The Government introduced this necessary legislation following the changes in society. Without this change, Britain's Constitution would have failed to meet the needs of the people, and fall in the face of popular revolt. Even supposedly rigid, written constitutions can respond to changes in society, an important property if that constitution is to succeed. In the United States, judicial constitutional interpretation plays an important part in placing a constitution written over two hundred years ago into the context of the modern day. Chief Justice Hughes' statement; â€Å"We live under a constitution. But the constitution is what the judges say it is. † This may not be wholly accurate, but judicial interpretation has been an important factor in the continual evolution of the American Constitution, which encouraging its success. Finally, the success of constitutions can be attributed to the economic factors within the state. Germany and Japan have for the past fifty years possessed successful constitutions, which can, to a degree be attributed to their very strong economies. Following the Second World War, the allies, by buoying up the economies of these two nations, prevented them from falling to the short-term problems, such as nationalism and communism. This move subsequently ensured their long-term constitutional success. A constitution that has failed its purpose is one that fails to provide adequate rules of government, which can lead to either an inefficient government, or a government that abuses the governed. There are a number of reasons that governments fail. If Hauge, Harrop and Breslin's reasoning concludes that a successful constitution is one that attempts little, it follows that a constitution doomed to failure is one that attempts too much, allowing no room for interpretation or change. A poor constitution would not allow the judicial interpretation that allows the American constitution to develop, or allow a flexible constitution like the British to change wit the introduction of new legislation. The Constitution of Italy, the Guarantisimo prevents the reoccurrence of a dictatorship. However, the various checks and balances created by the constitution, such as a strong bicameral legislature, and regional autonomy have led to ineffective government, and the loss of popular support among the people. This is one example of the separation of powers going to far, hindering the constitutional process. A constitution that fails to take into account the social, economic and political factors within a society will very rarely succeed. Evidence of this can be found in the failure of the post-colonial constitutions imposed on former colonies during the 1950's and 1960's. Countries such as Britain and France attempted to impose constitutions that were based on theirs. Unfortunately, the peoples of Africa and Asia were not used to democracy, their cultures were based upon autocratic rule, not liberal, democratic government. Many of the fledgling governments fell, as single rulers, often helped by the military filled the vacuum. Countries whose democratic governments survived, for example India and Pakistan experienced the move toward strong centrally controlled government, undermining the democracy the constitution represented. It is often not the constitution that fails, but the regime that facilitates the change because it is weak, and cannot remain in office for too long a period. The constitution may succeed in providing the checks and balances of power, but if the regime lost the support of the military, there would then be scope for change Constitutions are not always liable to succeed; the above examples indicate that. A successful one allows change, can be interpreted by the judiciary and is assisted by a healthy economic climate. A failure is doomed to be ineffective because it is too restrained, and not allowed to change as society develops. Explanations for the success and failure of constitutions can be diverse, particularly in today's global society; the reasons above are only a selection of wh at can constitute a constitutional success or failiure.