Problems of the modern world by Team4
- 1. In this presentation demographic problems, migrations of the population, an environmental pollution, a corruption, a terrorism and breaking women and children’s rights will be discussed.
- 2. Amongst numerous global problems the great concern is the problem of dynamic increase of the world population. Too fast process of a proliferation of world’s residents creates the necessity of immediate dealing with many other problems – providing the accommodation, work places and the food. Demographic problems also lead to significant migrations of people to the developed countries. In the 17th century the number of world’s population was circa 500 milion people. Since then we are observing constant and more violent increase in the pace of the growth of the number of population. Two hundred years later the world population was twice that much. The sudden demographic boom in the world was caused by the improvement in the sanitation of life conditions which fact contributed to lower mortality. Next doubling of the number of the world population lasted for one hundred years. At present, the increase of the number of residents of the world by billion lasts only 11 years. There is a concern about demographic bomb because the 90% of the population growth will fall on developing countries. The highest pace of the growth is in Africa, Latin America and Asia. The problem of the developed countries is just the opposite – increased aging processes which will also cause the need to adapt the social policies in these countries (increasing the number of elderly people care centresm, increased expenses on pensions, health care, and solving the problem of the shortage of manpower). The dynamic population growth also causes creating gigantic municipal centres called megalopolis. What is characteristic for megalopolis is the existence of the extensive poverty-stricken town districts (called „favelas”) which are characterized by the huge population density, the bad sanitation and high level of crime.
- 3. Migration processes are often connected with economic problems of the states. Migrations, seen as the change of place of residence, not necessarily have to be a problem themselves. However, some part of the migrating people are made by desire to flee the country because of difficult economic and social conditions, armed conflicts, persecution, breaking human rights, or natural disasters. People who were forced to migrate because of the listed reasons above are called the refugees. The situation of refugees is connected with very difficult living conditions (problem of homeless people, lack of the health and legal care, hunger). For this reason General Gathering of the UN appointed the high commissar of United Nations for Refugees in 1950s whose task is to help refugees, political refugees without granted asylum and stateless persons. UNHCR is also taking care of stateless persons who are not the citizens of any country (because they lost their citizenship, or it was taken from them). UNHCR estimates that there are 6,5 million stateless persons in the world now. Other than the refugee status is the emigration, in the case of which the decision about the long-lasting leaving the country is of voluntary character. According to data gathered by the Lithuanian Department of the Statistics 83157 persons emigrated from Lithuania in 2010. It is estimated that since the regaining independence by Lithuania in 1991 this country has lost 0.6 milion of its citizens (circa 16.2 % of the whole population of this country). The most of Lithuanian emigrants left to the Great Britain, Ireland, Spain, Germany and the USA.
- 4. Polluting the environment is one of the most serious problems of the modern world, requiring the cooperation of the international communities. The main phenomena connected with this topic are: • the greenhouse effect, • air pollution, • polluting waters, • degradation of the soil. The greenhouse effect is the phenomenon connected with the increase of the world’s average temperature, caused by high emission of carbon, sulphur and nitrogen products into the atmosphere as a result of the development of the industry and the motorization. The increase of the world’s average temperature is regarded as the cause of melting of glaciers and climatic changes, hence the natural disasters and famine. Emission of various solid, gas and liquid substances into the atmosphere leads to the increase of the number of respiratory system diseases among the people. Air pollution is also a cause of acidic rain - the type of rain that consist of sulphuric acid. Acid rains are the cause of weakening babies’ lungs, souring rivers and lakes, destruction of the flora and the fauna, degradation of the soil and destruction of buildings. Contaminating the water with various organic and inorganic substances excessively make this water impossible to use for drinking and economic reasons.
- 5. The sources of many current and future threats to the world are expected to be present in the effects of uncontrolable science and technology progress. As the example of this phenomenon, the development of genetics is listed here which led to creating the technique of cloning live organisms. The natural outcome of the progress in cloning can be the creation of the human clone, but on the other hand this notion creates the problem of unpredictable effects of such action. For the believers such behaviour is unethical, consisting in entering the sphere reserved for the divine beings only. Providing the proper control over the development of the nuclear technology is the other challenge resulting from the science and technology progress. The progress of the nuclear researches led not only to the creation of the sources of cheap nuclear energy, but also to to the creation of the nuclear bomb and the threats associated with nuclear accidents like the disaster of the nuclear power plant in Chernobyl in 1986.
- 6. A problem of many states is a significant corruption. We describe a corruption proposing, giving, demanding or accepting the undue property benefit by any person (e.g. of money), or personal (e.g. public post) for him/herself or for the other person, or accepting a proposal or the promise of such benefits in exchange for action or the failure to act in carrying out the public function. The corruption is developing when state institutions have a wide range of competences, but law and administrative procedures are too complicated, unclear and long-lasting for the ordinary citizen. The corruption is spreading in the countries in which there is a public consent to practice this type of actions, public clerks are underpaid, and public institutions are weak and aren't able to supervise the other public offices. The development of the corruption also leads to the development of the organised groups of criminal character connected with people from different social positions, policemen and the businesses benefiting from crime (unlike terrorist groups, the aims of organised groups of criminal character are not the political ones, but the economic are). In some countries processes of the corruption and organised crime are so complex that it is hard to distinguish between the country and the organized crime actions. Because the mafia controls all more important sectors of the economy, the government isn't able to fulfil its basic tasks (e.g. ensuring security of citizens). Organized crime, taking the advantage of the weakness of the government, takes over its functions. Criminal groups are stronger and more effective when the government is being less effective. For this reason, many criminal groups developed in the countries of the former communist block when they were experiencing the period the political and economic transformation.
- 7. The list of 25 countries with the highest corruption level according to Corruption Perceptions Index from 2010, created by the Transparency International: 1. Somalia 2. Myanmar (Burma) 3 Afghanistan 4. Iraq 5. Uzbekistan 6. Turkmenistan 7. Sudan 8. Chad 9. Burundi 10. Equatorial Guinea 11. Angola 12. Venezuela 13. Kyrgystan 14. Guinea 15. Democratic Republic of Congo 16. Tajikistan 17. Russia 18. Papua New Guinea 19. Laos 20. Kenya 21. Guinea Bissau 22. Congo 23. Comoros 24. Republic of Centre Africa 25. Cambodia
- 8. An urgent problem of today world is the phenomenon of the terrorism. Situations in which the physical assault ocurred, and was used by the individual or by the group of people in order to achieve some political aims, can be called the acts of terror. In practice, however, it is hard to say if it was the act of terror, or national independence movement because they both are of violent character, but in the eyes of perpetrators they are justified actions which are to lead to liberation of the nation. The terrorist attacks as the instrument of the political fight increased in the early-70’s in the 20th century, along with the development of the national independence movements of ETA and IRA, and the so-called pinkos and Islamic Terrorism. However, many people tend to think that true terrorism has begun since 11th Semptember, 2001 when the twin World Trade Center towers were attacked. The most well-known terrorist organizations of the 20th century are IRA, ETA, Hamas and the al-Qaeda. At present, there are 48 terrorist formations known to the American Department of the Defence that are threatening the US.
- 9. Breaking human rights is a global problem requiring the close cooperation of the countries and citizens of the world. We will indicate only main causes and types of breaking women and children’s rights in this place. Cultural, economic and social causes are among main reasons of breaking women and children rights. One should remember that societies differ in customary norms, and in one culture such practices can be recognized as the infringement of human rights, whereas in other cultures do not cross the social standards and limitations (e.g. the attitude to women or types of administered penalties). Political issues are often a reason of breaking human rights - some countries of the world (most often totalitarian and authoritarian ones) limit personal and political laws of their citizens (e.g. the personal inviolability, the right to the expression and forming unions, right to the just and impartial court, freedom of speech) being afraid of losing the power. Armed conflicts during which the human rights are also broken, are also treated as the political reasons. Vast economic underdevelopment can also be a reason for not respecting human rights. The another reason for breaking human rights are also rooted in human nature chauvinist, racist or xenophobic attitudes, causing the discrimination other people because of their skin colour, religious belief, or origin.
- 10. Lithuania, as the first Baltic country, admitted that this problem is present within it boundries. Every single year 120 thousand people are an object of the trade in Europe, among which about 3 thousand are women that come from the Baltic countries. 1000-1200 of these women are citizens of Lithuania. Non- governmental organizations of Lithuania started the fight with this problem in 2006. The increasing unemployment, social problems, small income and the lack of the education – these facts increase the number of potential victims. The most common victims are the girls between 17-23 years of age, and are often from disfunctional families, or from orphanages.
- 11. What problems in everyday life have persons, who were made to leave their own country, got? What are the social effects of the destruction of the environment in your opinion? What can you do to counteract the destruction of the environment? Can the scientific progress have the negative influence on the society? What can it be? What are the social effects of the corruption?
- 12. Number of residents of world:
- 13. Thank for watching our presentation. TEAM 4 Sara Mista - Poland Weronika Domagala - Poland Natalia Wyporska -Poland Dagmara Kowalska - Poland Agnieszka Kazirod-Poland Marta Marichal Hernández - Spain Tatiana Felipe Cordero -Spain Eliana González Hernández- Spain Alicia Zamora Delgado- Spain Ann Kathrin - Germany