The Bioethics Debate

Kristi Ellis Mrs. Scheidt English 1301. 174 11 October 2012 Paper #2 – The Bioethics Debate In â€Å"Patenting Life,† by Michael Crichton, and â€Å"Bioethics and the Stem Cell Research Debate,† by Robyn S. Shapiro, they discuss gene patenting, medicine, stem cell research, and the laws of bioethics. According to Crichton and Shapiro, humans are all born with genes, stem cells, and organs that are part of our natural world, yet when the law tries to put limits on these rights it becomes unethical. Crichton and Shapiro both agree about the controversial issues surrounding science and medicine.They both point out the unethical issues, the innovation in medicine, and the impact on science and medicine in relation to the law. In both essays Crichton and Shapiro list many immoralities that arise out of bioethical issues. For instance, Crichton refers to an example of the Canavan disease in which the process to find a cure was halted due to gene patenting. It was a pri me example of an issue that was unethical because the owner of the gene for the disease could choose whether or not to charge for a test and choose how much to charge for it, which blocks medical innovations.Crichton states, â€Å"There is no clearer indication that gene patents block innovation, inhibit research and put us all at risk† (432). Crichton goes on to say that genes are part of humans naturally and should not be privately owned (431). In comparison, Shapiro explains although embryonic stem cells give promise to the medical field, many ethical issues surround it such as the destruction of the embryo. Shapiro also writes that those who denounce embryonic stem cell research believe the embryo is already a human being with rights from conception, while others believe that human rights do not exist prior to birth (435).Additionally, medical advancement is critical for innovation in both essays. Crichton states that gene patenting prevents medical testing and slows medi cal advancement. Not only does it halt research, but it causes the costs of medical testing to rise because the owner can charge whatever he wants (431). He mentions doctors cannot get information on if a medication will or will not work on someone because the lack of quality tests. Crichton says â€Å"For years we’ve been promised the coming era of personalized medicine – medicine suited to our particular body makeup.Gene patents destroy that dream† (432). In contrast, Shapiro states that stem cells are important to the medical field because they can turn into a wide array of cell types that can help people with diseases such as diabetes, nervous system diseases, and Parkinson’s disease (434-35). In addition, he says stem cell research could provide important information on how human organs and tissues develop, which could lead to development of new medications (435). In both sources, the law plays a significant role in the unethical issues surrounding s cience and medicine.Crichton mentions how the United States Patent Office issued gene patents by mistake because of misinterpreted Supreme Court rulings. The issue of gene patents make it hard for people to donate their genes because most of the genes are privately owned (431). Crichton states that two congressman sponsored the genomic research and Accessibility Act, a bill that would ban patenting genes in nature (432). Shapiro denotes the growing importance of the law surrounding bioethical issues. He cites the United States Supreme Court cases of Roe v.Wade and Stenberg v. Carkart which dealt with a partial birth abortion law. Shapiro states, â€Å"In state courts, bioethical considerations inform judges’ balancing of patient healthcare confidentiality with a â€Å"duty to warn† of potentially dangerous patient behavior (433). The most significant law Shapiro cites is the Dickey Amendment which prohibits federal funding for embryo research (436). Shapiro mentions i n addition to federal funding restrictions, many states have laws that limit embryonic stem cell research.Lastly, he cites the eligibility of federal patent protections significantly, the Thomson Patents (437). In conclusion, both Crichton and Shapiro can conclude the topics of gene patenting and embryonic stem cell research are unethical in some way. Although gene patenting blocks innovation and embryonic stem cell research promotes it, they both have laws that limit the impact on the world of science and medicine. According to Shapiro, â€Å"As these issues have moved to the center of public debate, the law has assumed an increasingly important place in the discipline of bioethics† (433).Thus, when the law puts limits on human genetics it becomes unethical and immoral according to both essays in this bioethical debate. WORD COUNT: 740 Works Cited Crichton, Michael. â€Å"Patenting Life. † Perspectives on Contemporary Issues: Readings Across the Disciplines. 6th ed. E d. Katherine Anne Ackley. Boston: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning, 2012. 431-432. Print. Shapiro, S. Robyn. â€Å"Bioethics and the Stem Cell Research Debate. † Perspectives on Contemporary Issues: Readings Across the Disciplines. 6th ed. Ed. Katherine Anne Ackley. Boston: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning, 2012. 433-438. Print.

Political Issues Essay

Political and Social Apathy, there are two faces of apathy. The first considers apathy as a choice and participation in public life a consequence of one’s affirmative use of freedom. The second face of apathy arises when citizens are led to believe that their personal needs are not part of the political agenda, resulting into political deprivation and the reaffirmation of the status quo. Philippines political and social life is marked by the second kind of apathy, which might also arise from the belief that individuals are powerless and hopeless in making significant changes in their lives. For this reason, the paper would like to awaken reflection on apathy in the personal and public spheres and to outline ways by which the individual can move towards sympathy. It is the intention of this paper to show contemporary Filipinos can find his passion again in order to move out of apathy. The paper will explain the rationale behind the development of the Philippines social and political issues. The Philippines is faced with a number of issues that concern our organization. We are passionate about raising awareness of these issues, and developing grass-roots solutions. Poverty, unemployment and environmental legislation are the major issues facing the country, and these problems have resulted in a large number of Filipinos moving overseas for work. We believe social entrepreneurship can help address some of the issues facing the Philippines at the moment. Read more:Â  Political Issues in the Philippines Essay

Homosocial Communication Practices Essay

The issue on mixed or single gender school has raised very many arguments; interestingly there is no profound truth that single-sex schools provide quality education compared to mixed school. But mainly the choice of school depends on where the parent fill their child won’t get good education. The school choice can as well be determined by the individual child’s abilities and weaknesses. Being a parent with a school going girl child, and with much interest to sent her to a public school, my choice would be in a K-12 single-sex school for girls. The reasons behind my decision are that single-sex educational setting often controls student’s academic ability. Girls and boys do better in single-sex schools than in mixed-sex schools (Becker, 2001). Single-sex girl’s schools provide them with confidence and achievement; this is evident since they can take non-traditional courses considered for boys especially advanced mathematics and Physics. The girls have freedom of expression in absence of boys who would make jokes upon what the girls say assuming they where in a mixed class thus learning becomes more comfortable (Forgasz & Leder, 1995). Better expression gives the girls the much desired inside to conceptualize scientific concepts. There is also a better teacher-student relationship because teaches do not compare between different sexes. The single-sex class setting provides and creates very many opportunities that cannot exist in mixed classes, these opportunities result to better understanding of life concepts Teaches in single-sex schools undergo specialized training on how to interact with the students thus a one-to-one specialized handling of issues which would otherwise not be solved in a mixed gender school, test scores and grades improve significantly (Forgasz, & Leder, 1995). The major disadvantage of same sex school for my child is that they lack enough exposure in interacting with opposite sexes; this reduces their level of maturity and even self-discipline. These can result in shy behavior traits since they lack exposure Later in life it becomes a big challenge interacting with men since they lacked the exposure, do not understand their beliefs and way of life from their early ages. Emotional development is as well not fully established in their lives (Haag, 2000). The establishment of single sex schools means that districts must have twice the number of school as opposed to if they had mixed sex schools within the same district. The number of teacher employed is twice even if classes are small and uneconomical teaching. These would result to a nightmare in timetabling, logistical and budget challenges. This could affect the quality of education being offered within the institutions. The required same-sex education skills and extra training provided to the teachers handling these classes may not be provided and the full benefits of the single-sex school may not be accomplished in the long run (Edison & Penelope 1982). In conclusion, though same sex school offer children all the opportunities to effectively explore and maximize their potentials in an open and friendly environment, they mainly equip the young ones with one side of what they need in life which is the academics and offer less of other life knowledge skills required later in live. So as parents we must be considerate on our children whole being without laying much emphasis on the academics and ignoring the social part of life. References Edison T. & Penelope T. (1982). The independent school experience: aspects of the normative environment of single-sex. Journal of Educational Psychology. Becker, J. R. (2001). Single-gender schooling in the public sector in California: Promise and practice. Forgasz, H. J. , & Leder, G. C. (1995). Single-sex mathematics classes: Who benefits? Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. . Haag, P. (2000). K-12 single-sex education: What does the research say? ERIC Digest.

Contemporary environmentally ethical dilemma in the business world Research Paper

Contemporary environmentally ethical dilemma in the business world - Research Paper Example Velasquez & Rostenkowski (1982) averred that â€Å"an act with ethical or moral consequences is that such an act involves decisions freely taken that will have positive or negative consequences for others†. To determine the morality of a decision or an action, one approach is that of utilitarianism which holds that a moral decision or action is one that results in the greatest good for the greatest number of people (Gilbert 2000). The philosophers most commonly identified with this view are two nineteenth century Englishmen, Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. The assumption of this approach is that pleasure causes happiness and pain takes it away. Since pleasure and the happiness it causes are the ultimate good for humans, the act that causes the greatest pleasure or happiness for the greatest number of people is the morally good act. (Gilbert 2000: 4) Socrates, known to be the father of utilitarianism (Kofman & Porter 1998), shares the same view as examining an action based on its consequence for the good of a greater number of people. In this case, the overdevelopment of Florida’s beaches by private conglomerates only satisfies the purpose for profit of a few individuals. The public, who remains to the greatest recipient of these beaches, in the end, suffer from the wanton destruction of these beaches. Another approach to examine the issue of morality in environmental situations is the concept of rights and duties made famous by Immanuel Kant. According to Gilbert (2000), this approach is better explained, to wit: â€Å"the basic position here is that individuals have rights, either as humans, as citizens of a given country or state, or as occupants of a particular position. These right rights confer duties on others, and the morality of a given decision or act can be determined by an analysis of these rights and duties.† The rights of the concerned citizens of Florida

British Education System Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

British Education System - Case Study Example A brief analysis on each of these issues is discussed below. The curriculum followed in the British universities is either national curriculum or hidden curriculum. Most of the university does not follow the national curriculum. Instead they prefer the hidden curriculum, which they design according to their wish. They do not consult the other universities and decide on preparing own curriculum. In some colleges, hidden curriculum works out not too well. This is an important issue because the pattern of study entirely changes from one university to another university. This posses some sort of difficulty to the students. It is better to maintain a single curriculum throughout the state. It will be an advantage to the students instead of having separate curriculum for individual colleges. (Woods 1996).Hidden curriculum does not cater the needs of all groups of students. Instead it concentrates only on a particular sector of students. The difference may be based on ethnicity, race or the status of the student. A curriculum should be common to all the students. It should be unbiased. But in the existing British Education system there is a lot of difference among the class of people. Each of them is treated differently. Education is common to all and hence the universities must follow the same procedure. The national curriculum will work out effectively as the students of all the universities will follow the same syllabus. Hidden curriculum will lead to certain problems among the students. As it is not common to all, each of them will have a difficulty in learning it.(Davies 2000). Another problem in hidden curriculum is, the teaching will be different for each group of students, as the curriculum is different. This needs more number of teachers to be trained in specific subjects. This will enhance the teacher student relationship as only a minimal number of students will be assigned to a particular teacher. One advantage is there will be individual attention for all the students. The value of education is more and it is the basic defining criteria for any curriculum. Hidden curriculum is mainly followed in schools and they are based on the type of school. National curriculum should be enforced by the government and this will avoid the unnecessary problems between the universities. Primary and middle level education does not face much of a problem. (Lempp, Seale 2004).But the problem starts in Higher education. As the schools are separately maintained for each type of curriculum, there is no problem for the students in selecting the course and type of school they prefer. Once a child finishes schooling and starts his higher education, the situation becomes different. Universities do not concentrate much on the student's selection. They specify the courses and curriculum available and it depends on the student to select whatever they wish. In some states there is difference of status and schools and colleges are decided based on their students. Some schools that are under the control of government follow a different strategy when compared to the private institutions. There are institutions that provide education to students who cannot afford to pay their fees. These institutions are run by the government. Private educational institutions provide education

How fast fashion industry impact on Chinese customer behaviour With Dissertation

How fast fashion industry impact on Chinese customer behaviour With Zara case study - Dissertation Example There are two main types of research methods. One is inductive methods and another is deductive methods. In deductive research method, research is generally started from more general overview of the research topic to more specific to the hypothesis. It is often termed as top down research approach or research methodology. The researcher also implements theory related to the topic of the research and narrow it down to the specific hypothesis. Even, the researcher narrows down to more practical observations to address or test the hypotheses and then come down to conclusion of the research. Opposite to deductive research, inductive research is worked out in different way by the researchers. It is one types of back calculation or bottom up research approach. In this type of research approach, the researchers begin with a specific observation or findings and start analysing the regularities and pattern. Finally the researchers end up drawing some general conclusion about the research topi c. In this study, deductive research method has been used and therefore, the research has been started from a general overview of this research topic. 3.1 Primary Empirical Material The Primary data collection from focus group was selected for this research in order to identify the opinion and feelings of a group of a people. Zara is one of the famous fast fashion retail chains among these respondents (Chai, 2011, p.196). Moreover, the advantage of this focus group is that the data collection method will be face to face. Focus group is an effective method of qualitative research market. As the research is depending upon the customer’s motivation, behaviour and approaches, this qualitative method will be appropriate. Primary research has been conducted in Chinese high street markets and questions will be asked to the customers of fashion products in China. The questionnaire consists of 20 questions those were handed out to 25 respondents in a shopping mall. When respondents were identified, the researcher intended at random individuals who are aged between 15 and 30. Several conditions have been measured before the designing of questionnaire. Firstly, they should understand the questions properly; secondly, respondents should provide the appropriate information; and finally, respondents must be willing to give the information. Implementing this kind of face to face questionnaire handing out has a major advantage that response rates will be generally higher comparing to telephone interviews or mail surveys. The designed questionnaire is provided in Appendix. 3.2 Results of questionnaire There were total 25 numbers of people who participated in this method. Among them 15 were female and 10 participants were mail. A number of 10 students and 8 office workers have answered these questions. And the rests are health staff and civil servants respectively. The major target audience for the questionnaire were individuals between 15 and 30. Personal income level has an influence of spending. Most of the respondents earning were between 2000 and

Organizational Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Organizational Change - Essay Example This trend is mainly observed among the major retailers. Secondly, digitization has resulted into organizational change as it has levelled the competition among small organizations and well-established companies (Lewis, 2011). Thirdly, innovation and technology have resulted into major changes in the way organizations are managed. Technology has resulted into improved communication and efficiency. Fourthly, the use of the internet and social media tools has led to changes and has transformed how businesses relate with their customers and the society at large. The fifth and most critical driver is globalization. Businesses no longer operate only in their home countries. They have spread their operations across various parts of the world owing to globalization. This means that they are influenced by economic, political and technological changes taking place in the entire global scene (Lewis, 2011). Finally, change within organizations is driven by the acceleration and convergence of the above-mentioned factors. The first key to effective organizational change is involvement. It is essential to note that change is characteristically disrupting for individuals in the organization. Attention is paid to the leadership team for support in the event of change (Cook et al., 2004). The leaders and all important stakeholders should adopt change. It is important to note that change fails when the leadership is not centrally involved. The second key driver of successful organizational change is communication (Fernandez and Rainey, 2006). It is imperative for the leadership to communicate to the employees on its vision in regards the change process. On various occasions, leaders often assume that the employees understand the change process while they do not. Leaders need to listen to their employees’ concerns and come up with the best ways to address them (Lewis, 2011). This can be

Personal Statement in Journalism Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

In Journalism - Personal Statement Example Then I made a decision to pursue my education in journalism and apply for a bachelor`s degree at King Saud University in Saudi Arabia. The desire to become a professional journalist was not the only thing that pushed me to the choice of this career; I was also interested in possibility of research in this field. I also had a substantial practical experience while working for the three major newspapers and TV stations institutions in Saudi Arabia. I saw how the process of information collection, processing, analysis, and demonstration is going on from the inside. During this I time I also understood the responsibility which journalists take when working with information. It is not accidental that media industry workers are called a â€Å"fourth power† because they are able to form tendencies and opinions of people. My experience also enabled me to understand the necessity of Mass Communication for the gradual evolution of the society. But I also faced a lot of questions concern ing the mechanisms of Mass Communication and purposes of this phenomenon. Inability to find answers on my numerous requests personally led me to accepting an offer of an assistant lecturer position in King Saudi University and achieving a scholarship to study Mass Communication in a graduate school in the United States of America. This scholarship will allow me doing a deep and systematic research which I consider to be the only method of answering those questions.   My experience also enabled me to understand the necessity of Mass Communication.

Police Brutality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Police Brutality - Essay Example For some police officers, this indiscriminate use of power comes in the form of police brutality. The notion of police brutality captivates and terrifies the public. Police officers assume a position of high power in society in many ways. They are trusted to use their skill and judgment to subdue dangerous criminals, but not to harm them any more than is necessary to get them into the subdued state. It is a tremendous challenge for any human to regulate their emotions and actions in such volatile circumstances, but that is what police are asked to do. When they fail, the result is often a crossing of the line and the use of brutal conduct toward citizens. How does our own thinking affect police brutality? Do the notions held by police and the public shape or influence the forms police brutality takes? A review of criminal justice literature suggests that researchers are much concerned with these questions. My review focused on police brutality and group bias, the effect of police brutality on public opinion, and the code of silence used by many officers to protect others who have committed acts of brutality. Ultimately, these three topics are highly connected with each other and with notions of appropriate conduct by those in authority. Do police officers show up at certain neighborhoods with a greater willingness to use force? Lersch, Bazley, Mieczkowski, and Childs (2008) worked to identify links between the use of police force and specific neighborhood characteristics. Their research question attempted to link specific characteristics of different residential areas with a likelihood of police use of force. The researchers examined a municipal police department in the American South for a full year. They used the department’s own Use of Force reports to gather data. They also used crime tract and census data to study factors such as race and ethnicity, composition of family,

Real Art as the Capacity to Make us Nervous Research Paper

Real Art as the Capacity to Make us Nervous - Research Paper Example For the Greeks, art was neither significant nor true. In short, what they were trying to say is that the painting of a chair is no good if someone is not going to seat on it. However, lie or no lie, art considerably has a certain value since it is a form of therapy. It has the capability to make people feel nervous and send their minds on a thoughtful journey depending on the object you are viewing (Sontag 1). With regards to the Greeks, the mimetic theory of art goes together with the view that art is figurative, all the times. However, they should not close their eyes to the fact that art is always abstract and decorative. The misleading notion that art is unavoidably a "realism" can be scrapped or modified devoid of ever going outside the issues surrounded by the mimetic theory (Sontag 1). This paper will discuss why art makes an audience nervous. It will base is on Sontags claim that real art has the capacity to make people feel nervous. It will also present its arguments using a number of performance art and the effects they had on the audience to dispute the Greek notion of art. Performance art has had its fair share of criticism over time. Most people deem that it is clearly weird, having heard rumors of bulls semen, dancing naked and even howling. A majority of individuals in the art world believe that since its halcyon days in the 60s and in the 70s, the medium has lost its power (Swan 1). No matter the side someone stands, chances are performance art makes them unbelievably nervous or maybe even cynical as some critics believe. The nervous feeling, a majority of the dramatists confirm is the proof of arts unique power to make people think afar and also feel something different. Performance art is live art and when it is really good, it creates a direct and overly personal effect on the audience (Heathfield 8). For  instance, in Lesbian National Parks and Services by Shawna Dempsey and Lorri Millan, Dempsey's knuckles are raw and bleeding when he eventually became tired to knock on the door. A majority of the audience has gradually frittered away, but some returned periodically to watch.

Applied Thermodynamics Design Project Research Paper

Applied Thermodynamics Design Project - Research Paper Example saturated) at a given temperature,as well as partial pressure of air, it is greater than the saturation of water vapour, then the water will evaporate only from its surface (Benabed, 2012 ) Usually, there is more evaporation on occupied swimming pools as compared occupied swimming pools. This difference is related to the occupant number, the activities on the surrounding environment and also the water conditions as well as the ambient air in the swimming pool hall. ASHRAE recommends the use of a correlation factor which ranges from 0.5 for residential pools to a value of 1.0 for the public pools. They also provide carrier evaporation rate equation for predicting the rates of evaporation of occupied pools. For improving efficiency, of the pools environment, these evaporation rates need to be kept at a low level at the same time maintaining a thermal comfort for the swimmers inside the water and also the pool hall space.This role is played by the air conditioning equipment. This study however aims at analysing the various parameters of thedesign of a swimming pool. The pool is an Olympic size and is located in residential location with activity Factor = 0.5. Considering these data, the other parameters such as the power load on the air conditioner, evaporation rate,etc. will be analysed (Sartori,2000) In order to clearly elaborate the energy movements in a swimming pool, we consider the figurebelow. The figure describes the flow of energy in the indoor swimming pool. It also shows the transfer modes that might occur in such a system. Air conditioning systems in indoor swimming pools are usually designed for theprovision of suitable thermal comfort conditions for users in the space pool hall. The indoor temperatures are kept at approximately 30 degcelcious (Mancic, 2014) The main factors contributing to energy loses of an indoor space pool hallinclude: Convection at the pool surface Qconv, evaporation at the pool’s surface QEvap, radiation from surface of

Definition of a Savage Essay Example for Free

Definition of a Savage Essay In â€Å"Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America†, Benjamin Franklin opens by saying â€Å"Savages we call them, because their manners differ from ours, which we think the perfection of civility; they think the same of theirs† (Franklin, 2008, p. 226). When Franklin wrote this, he had no idea that our society would continue to complicate the differences between cultures to the extent they exist still today. Many of the colonists attempted to convert Native Americans to Christianity but failed because they could not accept another culture as being equal to their own. They saw the natives as an inferior group of people that must be saved and taught to live the same as the white man. The narrow minded views of these early settlers with all of their so called proper ways and education caused them to be the savages. Our modern day society is driven by wants versus needs. Many people feel a sense of entitlement to things whether they have earned them or not. Franklin describes the Indians as hunters and warriors, living off the land and taking only what they needed. They learned from each other. They listened to each other and gave someone speaking the full attention deserved. â€Å"Having few artificial wants, they have abundance of leisure for improvement by conversation† (Franklin, 2008, p. 226). The Indians did not possess the materialistic nature of the white man. They welcomed a stranger into their community, fed and clothed him, offered him a place to sleep and expected nothing in return but fellowship. The colonists would not have offered the same hospitality to an Indian that appeared as a stranger at their door. In trying to convert the Indians to Christianity, the colonists explained their church services as meeting â€Å"to hear and learn good things† (Franklin, 2008, p. 229) but upon hearing the Indians explain something from their beliefs, the colonists passed it off as â€Å"mere fable, fiction, and falsehood† (Franklin, 2008, p. 228). Franklin (2008) wrote about an event that occurred at the Treaty of Lancast er in 1744. The Indians were offered a chance to send six of their young men to college to receive an education. Their response was they preferred to teach the Indian values and customs because it would ensure their young men would become valuable members of their own culture. The Indians did reciprocate by offering to take twelve young white men, educate them and â€Å"make men of them† (p. 227). The colonists clearly believed their way to be better because they felt their society to be more civilized. In comparison of the British House of Commons and an Indian council, Franklin (2008) discussed how the English have to speak very quickly to get their words out before being interrupted and that often a call to order was issued because of the arguments that frequently occurred. In contrast, the Indian council was held with order and great respect for others when it was their turn to speak (p. 227). The Indian culture was strange to the colonists and they perceived anything contradictory from their way of life to be uncivilized. This close minded view was apparent in how quickly the colonists dismissed the Indians religious beliefs. They felt the white man’s education was superior to those of the Indian ways. By not being accepting, the colonists showed great bias toward the Indians they called savages. This behavior toward the Indians ultimately resulted in destroying much of their culture. Many Indians were attacked and killed and the survivors were forced to leave their lands. The savages were not the Indians but the colonists that came to America and destroyed the Native American culture. Our society still struggles with the point Franklin was trying to convey. A difference in beliefs and cultures does not make any particular group of people superior over another. References Franklin, B. (2008). The general history of virginia, new england, and the summer isles. In N. Baym, W. Franklin, P. Gura, J. Klinkowitz A. Krupat (Eds.), The Norton Anthology Of American Literature (pp. 226-230). New York, NY: W W Norton Co Inc.

The Pros And Cons Of Theory In Family Nursing Nursing Essay

The Pros And Cons Of Theory In Family Nursing Nursing Essay Humanistic nursing embraces more than a benevolent technically competent subject- object one-way relationship guided by a nurse in behalf of another. Rather it dictates that nursing is a responsible searching, transactional relationship whose meaningfulness demands conceptualization founded on a nurses existential awareness of self and of the other (Paterson Zderad, 2008) dduncan2011-02-24T17:28:00 Great quote, you need to include a page numberIn Patersons and Zderads Humanistic Nursing, they believe that nursing is more than having a technical approach to patients, but also to have a self-awareness of themselves and inquire into their experiences with patients. Paterson and Zderad suggest that nurses have a personal knowing that they can apply to there everyday practice experience. The Humanistic Nursing Theory is one of the many theories that can help shape a nurses actions and guide their practice. The Humanist Theory was developed by Dr. Josephine Paterson and Dr. Loretta Zderad. Dr. Patersons education background included a doctor of nursing science degree and a major in public health. Dr. Zderad education background included a doctorate in philosophy while majoring in psychiatric nursing. Similarly, their dissertation papers focused on comfort and empathy. During the 1950s they had met while working at a University. Together, they developed a new program that integrated psychiatric and community health components. This experience was the beginning of there friendship that lasted more than 35 years (Paterson Zderad, 2008). Having similar education backgrounds, they shared their experiences and insights. Together they gained a new perspective and approach to nursing that led them into created the Humanistic Nursing theory. In 1976, they published their book called Humanistic Nursing. The philosophic ideas that formed the two theorists view was nurses have an intuitive knowing and by reflecting on their experiences and gaining more awareness of themselves, they are then able to inquire more into their practice. dduncan2011-02-24T17:29:00 Grammar issues The Humanistic Theory defines the focus of family nursing by creating an interconnection between the nurse and patient or family. As the nurse gains awareness of their own perspective of the patients situation, the nurse is then able to withhold his/her viewpoint so that they dont interfere in the patient describing their experience. Through identifying and withholding personal viewpoints, the nurse is more open to new and different concepts. In turn, the nurse gains more understanding of the individuals perspective and is better able to understand the patient more intuitively.dduncan2011-02-24T17:31:00 Stephanie, you need to reference these ideas as they are clearly not yours Using intuition allows the nurse to communicate from an authentic perspective where the patient is empathetically heard. The nurse is better able to present himself/herself as a real and genuine individual. Furthermore, the humanistic theory suggests that openness, sharing and caring leads to (the) expansion of (an) individual or (a) groups angular views (where) each (are) becoming more than before (Paterson Zderad, 2008). As patients feel accepted and cared for, a bond is established. Through effective communication the patient is better able to understand themselves, thus allowing an opportunity for them to grow. When patients feel empathetically heard, it becomes more possible for them to listen more accurately to the flow of inner experiences (Rogers, p.116, 1995). Through intuitive understanding and back and forth communication, patients and nurses are better able to connect with each other. While establishing relationships with families is an important prospect in nursing, nurses also have to keep up with the rapid changing health care system. An underlying truth in nursing today is that nursing has become more technical. Due to a fast paced health care environment and rapid technical advances, nurses are pressured to keep up with the rapid changing health care system. As a result, the nurses relationship with the patient is sometimes overlooked (Kleiman, 2008). Not only are nurses impacted by constant changing technology, they are also influenced by the governments decrease in funding of the health care system. Due to cut backs, hospitals have limited resources and support for services which can result in increased nursing workloads. Nurses who work in environments with limited resources may find their experiences emotionally challenging (McCloskey, 2010, p.234). Nurses create a barrier with themselves and patients when they feel stress and anxiety. Due to stress and technical advances, nurses may find difficulty in establishing genuine therapeutic relationships with patients; thus preventing them from practicing the Humanistic Theory. While there are underlining truths in nuring that may limit connection with others, the Humanistic Theory enables me to become more aware of my true self. Through reflection, I am able to go inwards and gain understanding of my attitudes and belief systems. Individuals have within themselves vast resources for self-understanding and for altering their self-concepts, basic attitudes, and self-directed behaviours (Rogers, 1995, p115). Understanding that some of my behaviours may be hindering my progress in establishing a therapeutic relationship with patients, I can take action and change these behaviours. The Humanistic Theory helps me understand that my perspective of the patients experience may be different from the patients perspective; thus hindering my authentic presence with the patient. Having self-awareness and taking action, enables me to feel more empowered. Through gaining more awareness and making changes, the Humanistic Theory provides individuals an opportunity for personal growth. In relation to personal growth, the Humanistic Theory enables me to reflect more on my nursing practice and to have a broader perspective on situations. Through reflection of my experiences, I am able to identify my strengths and weakness that may be holding me back in developing therapeutic relationships with patients. The Humanistic Theory enable me to become more aware of my habits of thinking. Furthermore, the Humanistic Theory influences me to reflect and change my beliefs; thus allowing me to have a more positive and accepting attitude towards patients. In turn, my genuine attitude influences patients to feel genuinely accepted and truly heard; thus providing an opportunity for them to grow. Humanism requires nurses to develop relationships with patients that are grounded on empathic understanding. This process necessitates an acceptance of the individuality of each person and each encounter (Scalon, p.760, 2006). Through understanding the patient more effectively, I am better able to provide nursing care that is more congruent with where the patient is at in life. When I am presently in the moment with a patient, I am able to communicate authentically to them and feel genuinely empathetic towards them. The experience not only benefits them, but also offers personal fulfillment and growth for myself. Without resistance, I am able to communicate more effectively and have more understanding toward others; therefore, I feel more compassionate and am able to project unconditional love towards others. I can make a difference in ones life. Not only does the humanistic theory allow me to be more compassionate with patients, but also with staff members. Being authentic and genuine with coworkers, I am able to establish a respectful relationships and create a more interconnected work environment. Through creating connections with individuals within the hospital, a community can be establish. Creating an integrated community will help promote an environment with compassionate communication. In relation to compassionate communication, my personal beliefs are very much similar to the Humanistic Theory approach. I believe that each individual has their own limitations and barriers that prevent them from establishing an authentic connection with others. By identifying those barriers, they can heal themselves and undergo personal growth to become more present in the moment. Many individuals may not be aware that they themselves are hindering their own relationships with others and even themselves. Similarly to the humanistic theory, by reflecting daily on our behaviours, especially the ones that cause discomfort in us, we can gain a better understanding of why we act that certain way. For myself, I enjoy reflecting daily in my journal. I reflect about situations that occur in my life and identify certain patterns in my behaviour. Through reflection, I am able to describe how I felt in the experience and what it reminded me of in the past. I realize that how I felt and how I reacted in the experience, was a trigger from a past hurt that I had not completely healed from. Having awareness of my experience is similar to the Humanistic theory perspective. Furthermore, as long as I remain unhealed, I will continue to project my past issues into the present moment; thus creating a barrier in establishing an authentic relationship with others. Similarly to the humanistic theory, I also believe that I can make changes in myself and grow as an individual. As I reflect and become more aware of myself, I can choose to make changes. As a result, I become more evolved and in tune with my inner being where I feel more enlightened and empowered in life. Some of my experiences that are congruent with the Humanistic Theory include my relationships with friends. For instance, when a friend calls me to talk about a difficult time that they are going through, it is only when I am fully present in the moment, I am able to empathize and support them through their experience. In relation to the humanistic theory, the theory suggests that when one is intuitively aware and present, then they can be genuinely empathetic. At times, when I am not present in the moment, my mind is elsewhere and I miss the opportunity to be truly authentic and to hear my friends feelings. I miss the opportunity to be truly there for them and to see them go through there ups and downs in life. Similarly to the humanistic theory, one may have barriers that are withholding them from being able to experience another individuals perspective. Through my awareness, I can prevent this situation from happening and create full filling and memorable experiences with friends. I feel that the actions this theory directs me to take are in the best interests of families in a clinical setting. Through my past clinical experiences, I have had the opportunity to experience an application of the humanistic nursing theory. The theory is in the best interest of the family because it encourages professionals to reflect on their practice and learn from their experiences with families. By become more aware of themselves in situations with families, nurses are then better able to identify their own barriers in the relationships. Through awareness and intuitive knowing, nurses are then able to inquire more about the family; thus the family will feel more understood and better able to communicate there needs. Effective communication between the nurse and family encourages trust and openness leading to a therapeutic relationship.

Treating Nausea and Vomiting in Pregnancy with Ginger

Treating Nausea and Vomiting in Pregnancy with Ginger Qi-Cai Liu Tiran, D. (2012). Ginger to reduce nausea and vomiting during pregnancy: Evidence of effectiveness is not the same as proof of safety. Complimentary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 18(1), 22-25. doi: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2011.08.007 This article presents a systemic review of the mechanism and safety of using ginger to treat nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (NVP). In the article, the author first introduced the history of ginger as a traditional remedy in some eastern countries, then discussed the potential risk of several different forms of ginger that were available in the UK market. After that, the author explored the mechanisms of gingers anti-emetic function. Ginger can inhibit serotonin receptor and suppress vasopressin, as well as reduce tachygastric activity. However, the exact mechanism still remains unclear. The author pointed out that there was no consistency in dosages and forms of ginger among current studies, and the differences between nausea and vomiting was not fully understood. Next, the author discussed the safety of using ginger. The author believed that ginger should be treated as a pharmacological medication rather than a natural remedy. Therefore, it should be administered with safe dosages and be obtained from the correct plant, Zingiber officinale. Following that, the author discussed gingers potential adverse effects, drug-drug interactions, as well as contraindications and precautions. For example, ginger should be contraindicated for women who have a history of miscarriage because anticoagulation is one of its notable side effects. At the end of article, the author offered a contraindications and precautions checklist, which is very useful for health care providers to identify which women should avoid ginger. The limitation of this article is that it did not emphasize gingers therapeutic effects. The strength of this article is the valuable safety checklist. Overall, this article increased the awareness that ginger, although a natural remedy, has side effects and contraindications too. Ozgoli, G., Goli, M. Simbar, M. (2009). Effects of ginger capsules on pregnancy, nausea, and vomiting. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 15(3), 243-246. doi: 10.1089/acm.2008.0406 This article describes a single blind clinical trial to determine function of ginger on nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (NVP). 70 pregnant women who experienced nausea and vomiting before 20 weeks of gestation participated this study. Prior to the treatment with ginger, the baseline levels of nausea and vomiting symptoms were measured via a standard visual analogue scale. The participants were randomly assigned to the experimental group and control group. In the experimental group, 35 participants were treated with ginger at a dose of 1000mg/day for 4 days. 35 participants in the control group were treated with a placebo (lactose) with the same dose and prescription form. The treatment effects were measured by asking participants to finish the 4-page questionnaire and record nausea intensity twice a day (3 participants from experimental group failed to complete the questionnaire). A statistically significant decrease in the nausea and vomiting intensity with ginger treatment was rep orted. 85% of women who received the ginger treatment reported an improvement of nausea symptoms, while only 56% reported improvement in the control group. In addition, the vomiting times for the pregnancy are also significantly decreased in the experimental group comparing to control group (50% versus 9%). The materials and methods section was well developed with clear description of experimental design, samples selection, data collection and analysis. The strengths of this article are the rigorous experimental design and large sample size. The limitation of this study, as mentioned by the authors, is the short assessment period. As a result, some ginger adverse effects may not be able to discover. The findings of this study provide some evidence-based information about effects of ginger for NVP. Ensiyeh, J., Sakineh, MC. (2009). Comparing ginger and vitamin B6 for the treatment of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy: A randomised controlled trial. Midwifery, 25(6), 649-653. doi: 10.1016/j.midw.2007.10.013 This study conducted a double-blind randomized controlled trial to compare the effects of vitamin B6 and ginger for nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (NVP). 70 pregnant women who experienced nausea and vomiting symptoms before their 17 weeks gestation participated this study. Half of them were randomly selected to receive ginger 1g per day treatment for 4 days. As a control, half of them received vitamin B6 40 mg per day treatment at same time. The nausea intensity was measured via a visual analogue scale during the treatment plus 24 hours before. The vomiting episodes were also recorded in the same period. The treatment responses at a 7-day follow-up were measured via a five-point Likert scale (one participant from control group failed to return to clinic later). Their results showed that both ginger and vitamin B6 treatment could decrease the symptoms of nausea, and ginger worked significantly better than the vitamin (p=0.024). In terms to vomiting episodes, both ginger and vitamin B6 could reduce the frequency of vomiting, and there was no significant difference between them. In the 7-day follow-up visiting, there were 29/35 participants in ginger group and 23/34 participants in vitamin B6 group reported a decrease of nausea reaction (p=0.52). This trial was well designed with large sample size, strict sampling inclusion criteria, and rigor experimental process. The strength of this study is that they measured and compared the long-term effects of ginger and vitamin B6 on the pregnancy outcomes, such as abortion and preterm birth. The limitation of this study is that they changed the participants dietary, which might influence the treatments and outcomes. The findings of this study provide some evidence-based knowledge about the efficiency of ginger and vitamin B6 in the NVP treatment, as well as their long-term effects. Therapy Assessment Nausea and vomiting are the most common unpleasant complications in early pregnancy. There were about 70-80% of women experienced nausea and 50% of them experienced vomiting episodes during their early pregnancy (Ensiyeh Sakineh, 2009). That means there are about 350,000 Canadian women experience nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (NVP) every year (Lee Saha, 2011). The pathogenesis of NVP remains unclear. However, it is widely accepted that NVP is correlated to the hormone changes during gestation, such as the human chorionic gonadatropin (hCG), progesterone, and estrogen (Lee Saha, 2011). It was reported that the peak of NVP is positive correlated to hCG peak, and hCG could regulate gastric smooth muscle activity by stimulating placental prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) (Lee Saha, 2011). Progesterone also has a function of gastric emptying by decreasing smooth muscle contractility (Lee Saha, 2011). NVP can cause more undesirable consequences for the pregnant women than uncomfortable, such as s ocial interactions, families, and careers (Ozgoli, Goli, Simbar, 2009). About 25% of employed pregnant women have to leave their jobs due to the nausea and vomiting symptoms (Ensiyeh Sakineh, 2009). As a result, it may bring some financial and psychological problem for them, which will further influence the health status of themselves and even their babies (Ozgoli et al., 2009). Most important, nausea and vomiting symptoms can also change dietary and may lead to malnutrition for themselves and their babies. Therefore, it is very important for the women, who are experiencing NVP, to get treatment in time. In terms to the treatments of NVP, there are nonpharmacologic approach and pharmacologic approach (Lee Saha, 2011). The nonpharmacologic approach includes dietary measures, emotional support, acupuncture, and ginger. The pharmacologic approach includes pyridoxin-doxylamine, antiemetics, promotility agents, and antihistamines. The goal of treatment is to release the symptoms and reduce risks for the women and fetus. It has a long history for using ginger as an herbal medicine to treat NVP in some eastern countries, such as China, Japan, and India (Tiran, 2012). Pregnant women in western countries also knew gingers anti-emetic effects for a long time (Tiran, 2012). However, it was until recently, the effects of ginger for NVP were studied in the scientific way (Ensiyeh Sakineh, 2009; Ozgoli et al., 2009). In the Ozgoli et al. study (2009), a single blind clinical trial was conducted to investigate the effects of the ginger for NVP. Their results found that, 1000mg/day ginger treatment could significant decrease nausea symptoms, as well as reduce the frequency of vomiting. In Ensiyeh andSakineh study (2009), a double-blind randomized controlled trial was conducted to compare the function of ginger and vitamin B6 for NVP. Their results showed that both ginger and vitamin B6 could reduce the vomiting frequency. The ginger was more efficiency on reduce nausea symptoms than vitamin B6, which has a wel l known effects on treating NVP. The strength of these two studies is that they proved the gingers effects on NVP in the scientific way. However, both studies failed to explore the mechanism about how ginger can effectively treat NVP, and one study failed to measure the long-term adverse effects of ginger. These are the weaknesses of these two studies. Based on these research results, I would like to say ginger is an effective alternative therapy for NVP. In the future nursing practice, I would like to recommend pregnant women to take this herbal medicine to treat their NVP symptom. However, as Tiran (2012) suggested, ginger should also be treated like a pharmacological drug. I must be very cautious about its mechanisms, adverse effects, drug/food interactions, and contraindications before making the recommendation. Being familiar with these knowledge will also enable me to educate each pregnant woman why she can or cannot take ginger to treat her NVP. Mechanisms It is well known that ginger is very effective for treating NVP symptoms (Ensiyeh Sakineh, 2009; Ozgoli et al., 2009). However, the mechanism of its anti-emetic effects still remains unclear (Tiran, 2012). What already known are that the three ginger indigents: gingerols, shogaol, and zingiberence, can bind to serotonin (5-HT) receptor and block its function to inhibit nausea and vomiting (Tiran, 2012). The major anti-emetic substance in ginger was thought to be gingerols (Tiran, 2012). In addtition, ginger also was reported that it could reduce nausea and vomiting symptoms through suppressing vasopressin to decrease stomach activity (Tiran, 2012). Except these gastrointestinal tract effects, Tiran (2012) thought ginger might also have some effects on the central nervous system. For example, it has sedative and hypnotic functions. Adverse effects The adverse effects of ginger can be easily ignored by both pregnant women and health care providers due to its natural remedy character (Tiran, 2012). Like other pharmacological medications, ginger also has some adverse effects (Tiran, 2012). First, ginger has side effects on gastrointestinal tract (Tiran, 2012). Ginger can cause stomach irritant and then lead to heartburn, which may due to its weakly cholinergic function (Tiran, 2012). With the same function, ginger also can stimulate the bile secretion (Tiran, 2012). It is also reported that poorly chewed ginger can cause intestinal blockage (Tiran, 2012). Therefore, it is necessary to recommend women to masticate ginger properly if they are prescribed with the dried root ginger (Tiran, 2012). Second, ginger has adverse effects on cardiovascular system. It is reported that ginger can cause hypotension and that is one reason why some women felt dizziness after had the ginger herbal (Tiran, 2012). Ginger can also cause cardiac arrhy thmias, which may due to the interaction with beta receptors (Tiran, 2012). Third, ginger has side effects on the blood. One of its notable side effects is anticoagulant, which increases the risk of bleeding (Tiran, 2012). Beside that, ginger also can lower the blood glucose level, which may increase the risk of hypoglycemia (Tiran, 2012). Fourth, ginger can produce side effects of hot, sweating, constantly thirsty, and looking for cold drinks. These symptoms are caused by its cholinergic function (Tiran, 2012). Last, it needs to keep awareness that the long-term adverse effects of ginger on fetus development are still not fully understood (Tiran, 2012). Drug/food interactions Like other pharmacological medications, ginger also has the interactions with other drugs or food (Tiran, 2012). First, abundant evidences showed that ginger can interact with some prescribed medications, such as beta antagonists, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, as well as other herbs such as gingko balboa (Tiran, 2012). Second, ginger has weakly cholinergic function (Tiran, 2012). Therefore it can have interaction with other cholinergic drugs, including antagonists and agonists. For example, ginger can interact with donepezil, a muscarinic agonist, as both can increase the bile secretion. Third, ginger can interact with other drugs which can increase or decrease blood pressure as ginger can cause hypotension (Tiran, 2012). For example, ginger can reduce the anti-hypotension function of epinephrine, an adrenergic agonist. Fourth, ginger can lower blood glucose level (Tiran, 2012). Therefore it can interact with other drugs which can increase or decrease blood glucose level, such as in sulin and metformin. Fifth, as mentioned previously, ginger has the function of anticoagulant (Tiran, 2012). Therefore, ginger can interact with other anticoagulant and antiplatelet drugs, such as heparin, warfarin, and aspirin. Last, ginger can cause cardiac arrhythmia (Tiran, 2012). As a result, ginger can interact with other drugs with can cause cardiac arrhythmia too, such as Levodopa. Contraindications As ginger has some adverse effects and drug interactions, it should be contraindicated to the pregnant women who have relevant diseases or are taking the interactive drugs. First, ginger should be contraindicated for the women with certain gastrointestinal tract diseases (Tiran, 2012). Pregnant women with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or heartburn symptom should avoid ginger as it can worsen this symptom by irritating stomach (Tiran, 2012). Pregnant women with a history of gallstones should be contraindicated because ginger can stimulate the secretion of bile (Tiran, 2012). Dried root ginger should not be prescribed to pregnant women who have lower gastrointestinal tract disease, such as duodenal ulcer, as it may cause intestinal blockage (Tiran, 2012). Second, pregnant women with certain cardiovascular diseases should also be contraindicated from ginger (Tiran, 2012). Ginger can cause hypotension (Tiran, 2012), therefore the women who with hypotension symptom or are taking anti-hypertensive drugs to control their blood pressure should not take ginger. Ginger also can cause cardiac arrhythmia (Tiran, 2012). As a result, ginger should not be prescribed to the pregnant women who have cardiac arrhythmia or are taking anti-arrhythmic drugs, such as Na+ and K+ channel blockers. Tiran (2012) even suggested that all the herbal remedies and complementary therapies should be contraindicated for pregnant women who have major cardiac diseases. Third, ginger should be contraindicated for pregnant women with bleeding disorders as it has a function of anticoagulant. Tiran (2012) suggested that any pregnant women who had a history of miscarriage, vaginal bleeding, or clotting disorder should not take ginger. These women who may have a surgery several weeks later also should stop taking ginger at least two weeks before the operation (Tiran, 2012). Fourth, ginger has a function of lower blood glucose (Tiran, 2012). Therefore ginger should be avoided from those women wh o are taking drugs to control their diabetes mellitus, such as insulin and metformin. The women who have hypoglycemia also should also be contraindicated from ginger. Last, ginger has interactions with the benzodiazepines, beta blockers, and gingko biloba (Tiran, 2012). Therefore it should be avoided for the pregnant women who are taking those drugs. Conclusion Ginger is an effective herbal medicine in treating NVP although its mechanism still remains to explore. As a pharmacological medication, ginger has its own adverse effects, drug/food interactions, and contraindications. Ginger is not always safe for every pregnant woman who are experiencing nausea and vomiting symptoms. The women prescribed with ginger should be educated with its adverse effects and its possible interaction with other drugs. In addition, the women, who have certain gastrointestinal tract diseases, certain cardiovascular diseases, bleeding disorders, and hypoglycemia, should also be contraindicated from ginger. Overall, ginger should be treated like a pharmacological medication rather than a natural remedy when being prescribed for NVP treatment. References Ensiyeh, J., Sakineh, MC. (2009). Comparing ginger and vitamin B6 for the treatment of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy: A randomised controlled trial. Midwifery, 25(6), 649-653. Doi: 10.1016/j.midw.2007.10.013 Lee, N., Saha, S. (2011). Nausea and vomiting of pregnancy. Gastroenterology Clinics of North America, 40(2), 309-334. Doi:10.1016/j.gtc.2011.03.009 Ozgoli, G., Goli, M. Simbar, M. (2009). Effects of ginger capsules on pregnancy, nausea, and vomiting. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 15(3), 243-246. Doi: 10.1089/acm.2008.0406 Tiran, D. (2012). Ginger to reduce nausea and vomiting during pregnancy: Evidence of effectiveness is not the same as proof of safety. Complimentary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 18(1), 22-25. Doi: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2011.08.007

GREECE :: essays research papers

Greece   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The two most dominating city-states in Greece of their time, Athens and Sparta, were great rivals with two very different ways of life. Sparta’s overbearing military and Athens’ impartial justice system and government are models for many modern day countries. Even though these two city-states differ greatly from one another, they share many characteristics of their country and their time period.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Athens and Sparta were the two most powerful Greek territories of their time. Like most cities of the same country, they have the same Greek culture, worshipping the same Greek gods and speaking Greek. Like all Greeks, their people loved to talk and tell stories. Although they fought against each other, their citizens equally had great amounts of pride for their entire country as well as their city-states. The two rivals were both devoted mainly to agriculture and based their wealth, but not their success, on agriculture. Both also participated in the annual Olympics, an ancient Greek national athletic competition which is now a worldwide tradition. These to Greek city-states were the most feared city-states in all of Greece.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Though Athens and Sparta were similar, they were also very different. Athens was the first democracy, and it was also the first to govern with trial by jury. Athens’ main accomplishment was that it had a very strong Navy. It was the command of the sea and the head of the Naval Alliance, or the Delian League. Athens was the most feared city-state to fight at sea. Its other achievements were that is had excellent forms of art, architecture, drama and literature, philosophy, science, and medicine. It was very wealthy and had beautiful, extravagant temples. The boys of Athens went to school between the ages of five and eighteen, where they learned reading, writing, mathematics, music, poetry, sports and gymnastics. The girls stayed at home and learned spinning, weaving and domestic arts. Athens had well educated men, a good sense of art, and an all-powerful navy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sparta developed the most powerful military oligarchy of their time. They had a very strong army and were the most feared city-state to fight on land. Sparta was a member of the Peloponnesian League and was the most powerful people in it. Its excellent military conquered many territories, which they controlled with slaves. Sparta’s sole achievement, other than military supremacy, was that its people possessed a simple life style, with no care for the arts of Athens. GREECE :: essays research papers Greece   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The two most dominating city-states in Greece of their time, Athens and Sparta, were great rivals with two very different ways of life. Sparta’s overbearing military and Athens’ impartial justice system and government are models for many modern day countries. Even though these two city-states differ greatly from one another, they share many characteristics of their country and their time period.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Athens and Sparta were the two most powerful Greek territories of their time. Like most cities of the same country, they have the same Greek culture, worshipping the same Greek gods and speaking Greek. Like all Greeks, their people loved to talk and tell stories. Although they fought against each other, their citizens equally had great amounts of pride for their entire country as well as their city-states. The two rivals were both devoted mainly to agriculture and based their wealth, but not their success, on agriculture. Both also participated in the annual Olympics, an ancient Greek national athletic competition which is now a worldwide tradition. These to Greek city-states were the most feared city-states in all of Greece.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Though Athens and Sparta were similar, they were also very different. Athens was the first democracy, and it was also the first to govern with trial by jury. Athens’ main accomplishment was that it had a very strong Navy. It was the command of the sea and the head of the Naval Alliance, or the Delian League. Athens was the most feared city-state to fight at sea. Its other achievements were that is had excellent forms of art, architecture, drama and literature, philosophy, science, and medicine. It was very wealthy and had beautiful, extravagant temples. The boys of Athens went to school between the ages of five and eighteen, where they learned reading, writing, mathematics, music, poetry, sports and gymnastics. The girls stayed at home and learned spinning, weaving and domestic arts. Athens had well educated men, a good sense of art, and an all-powerful navy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sparta developed the most powerful military oligarchy of their time. They had a very strong army and were the most feared city-state to fight on land. Sparta was a member of the Peloponnesian League and was the most powerful people in it. Its excellent military conquered many territories, which they controlled with slaves. Sparta’s sole achievement, other than military supremacy, was that its people possessed a simple life style, with no care for the arts of Athens.

Quest for The Dream in Black Girl Lost and Makes Me Wanna Holler :: Comparison Compare Contrast Essays

Quest for "The Dream" in Black Girl Lost and Makes Me Wanna Holler      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Donald Goines Black Girl Lost (1973) and Nathan McCall's Makes Me Wanna Holler (1994) are two works written by male authors who have first hand knowledge about the African American experience. A difference between the two works is that McCalls story is an autobiography of his life growing up in the streets/ghetto and Goines is a fictional story about growing up in the streets/ghetto, but from a young black female perspective. Although Goines Black Girl Lost is not an autobiography, he and McCall share similar struggles and hardships in their backgrounds that give them the motivation to write about the black experience. Both authors have been praised for the "realism" in their writing (Lamb 1997,OCAAL 1997). Goines has been specifically recognized by critic Greg Goode, for his "ghetto realism" w/o glamorization (OCAAL 1997).    Black Girl Lost (Goines 1973) and Makes Me Wanna Holler (McCall 1994), both give a voice to the African American minority. The African American and minority themes: "The Dream" and "Choice / Self Determination" are very significant in the two texts. The right choices have to be made and one must continue to have self- determination in order to reach "The Dream". In the two texts, both characters make plenty of good and bad choices and continuously try to have self- determination in order to achieve "The Dream", but their choices and determination led the characters to very different places. There are three variables that may not cause, but can contribute to the African American not being able to achieve "The Dream" by causing conflict in their choices and self- determination. The three variables are: family and friend environments, individual needs and anxieties, and low motivation among minority members. Some of the variables are causes and consequences of prejudice & discrimination (Marger 1997).    The environment that people are surrounded by can have an enormous effect on their actions or circumstances that they are in. Therefore, the first variable to compare and contrast in the two texts is the Family and Friends Environment. In Black Girl Lost (1973), Goines has his main character, Sandra, being the only child of a single parent home were her mother is constantly drinking, entertaining different men, partying and never taking the responsibility for herself or her daughter. They hardly ever eat or have any money.

The Sexual harassment Issue

Sexual harassment is an issue that grabbed all of America when we saw Anita Hill accuse then Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of harassing her while she worked in his office. It has been years since that incident brought question of what constitutes sexual harassment to the forefront of legal and business attention. During those years thousands of cases have weaved their way through our court system helping to clear the issue and make it something more easily understood. The business world now has more specific guidelines on how to recognize harassment and how to handle its various forms. Although there are still plenty of gray areas regarding the issue people are now more informed on how to avoid potential problems and how to deal with them if they do arise. This is all well and good but is the workplace the only environment where sexual harassment rears its ugly face? The answer to that question is rather simple. No. One major area where people are still trying work through the issue of harassment is the institute of higher education. Some might say that harassment in our colleges and universities may be handled similarly to they way we handle the problem in the business world and that viewpoint has allies in very high places such as the Supreme Court. In Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education the Supreme Court was faced with deciding whether a school could be held liable for a 10 year old boy making sexual statements and advances to one of his female classmates. The result of this case sent shockwaves through not only elementary schools but also any educational institution receiving federal funding. Justice Sandra Day O†Connor delivered the majority opinion for the court which â€Å"held that the school would be liable for student-on-student sexual harassment if it acted with deliberate indifference to known acts of harassment in its programs or activities provided that the harassment is so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively bars the victim†s access to an educational opportunity or benefit â€Å"(Coulter, 1999)†. Now you ask what does that mean and how would this institute affect higher education. The answer is that the opinion applies the hostile-environment paradigm of sexual harassment, (which arose in reference to the workplace) to any school system financially assisted by the federal government. The concept of the hostile-environment concept if applied to higher education must be used with extreme caution. Approximately 90% of the hostile-environment sexual harassment claims are not based on physical contact but on language â€Å"(Coulter, 1999)†. The ways in which language is used in academia differs greatly from the workplace. Due to the application of the hostile-environment paradigm students and instructors alike must speak very carefully and avoid certain controversial issues that were once openly discussed. The classroom experience may suffer greatly if what was once looked upon as First Amendment-protected speech is now viewed as sexual harassment. Because of O†Connor†s ruling schools must silence students and teachers who might contribute to a hostile learning environment or risk a rather pricey lawsuit â€Å"(Coulter, 1999)†. Since its beginning academia was a place where possibly offensive conversation could be used in order to increase a students understanding and assist in the quest for knowledge although now that quest has strict rules. Recently the Education Departments Office for Civil Rights (OCR) clarified how colleges should define sexual harassment and they followed the course set by Justice O†Connor. Applied through a federal law known as Title IX the OCR defined two types of sexual harassment. The first is known as quid pro quo and it occurs when a school employee threatens to base an educational decision such as a grade on a student†s submission to unwelcome sexual behavior. According to the OCR†s guidance a school is liable for even one instance of quid pro quo harassment â€Å"(Chmielewski, 1997)†. The second type of harassment is the hostile-environment situation described above and their definition mirrors the one delivered by Justice O†Connor. What exactly does all of this mean for college professors and their students? Ramdas Lamb a professor of religion at the University of Hawaii knows all to well the dilemma currently facing our educational institutions. Lamb taught â€Å"Religion, Politics, and Society† a course he designed to meet the student†s desire for relevance â€Å"(Thernstrom, 1999)†. Lamb wanted a course where passionate debate could aid the students to learn and on the first day of class he warned the students that every topic would be covered from all viewpoints and if one particular opinion was not represented that he would play devils advocate and represent it â€Å"(Thernstrom, 1999)†. After his warning three students left the class and Lamb felt confident about the remainder. A student by the name of Michelle Gretzinger was enrolled in the class and had a friendly history with Lamb. She was actively involved in the class but after a disagreement with Lamb during a debate over sexual harassment she became withdrawn and refused to participate in class. Gretzinger received a C in the class based on a lack of participation since that was a large part of the graded criteria. After the semester was over she filed a sexual harassment complaint alleging both of the above types of sexual harassment. Eventually Lamb was cleared of the charges and won a countersuit for defamation, although Gretzinger refuses to pay any of the $132,000 ordered by the court. Although vindicated Lamb is still deeply troubled by the harsh allegations made by Gretzinger. This situation displays just how serious sexual harassment allegations are and just how out of place the current standards are in the realm of higher education. In conclusion sexual harassment cannot be handled in academia as it is in the workplace. Victims need to be protected and no complaint should be taken lightly but the standards must reflect the environment they are applied to. Quid pro quo harassment standards can be the same across the board but what constitutes a hostile-environment in the workplace is extremely different than a hostile-environment in academia. By the nature of college courses the restrictions on free speech must be less stringent than they are in the traditional workplace. In order to aid in the learning process students and teachers alike must be permitted to use unpopular and even sometimes offensive speech. If we continue to apply the same standards to the academic world as we do in the business world the country will suffer. These sometimes-unpopular discussions lead to a better understanding of those whose opinions differ from our own. If the flow of discussion is restricted too much some issues may never be discussed leading to a lack of understanding between women and men. Any issue of a somewhat sexual nature may become taboo in the college classroom. If this happens it could compound the problems we currently have with sexual harassment could be compounded and society as a whole may suffer grave consequences.

How does culture affect diagnosis? Essay

Culture can affect the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders, as different cultures have different attitudes to mental disorders. In Morocco, for example, it is thought you can catch a mental illness accidentally by encountering some sorcery, such as stepping on it. They truly believe mental disorders come from sorcery and evil things. This affects treatment and how the mentally ill person is seen – they are often feared as there is a possibility the evil could spread. Culture can also affect how much information a patient is likely to disclose. Casas (1995) found that a lot of African Americans do not like to share their personal information with people of a different race. Sue and Sue (1992) found that many Asian Americans don’t like to talk about their emotions and are more reluctant to admit to having a mental illness. Even when they do admit to being ill, they are not forthcoming in terms of discussing their symptoms with the therapist. This can affect diagno sis, as not all the symptoms may have been mentioned and so a suitable course of treatment cannot be easily formulated. One school of thought believes that culture does not affect diagnosis as mental disorders are scientific. The DSM was developed in the USA and is used widely in many other cultures. This is a valid use if mental disorders are clearly defined with specific features and symptoms. Basically, mental disorders are scientifically defined illnesses that are explained in a scientific way. Research evidence comes from Lee’s study (2006). This was conducted in Korea deliberately to see if the DSM-IV-TR was valid in a non-Western culture, and it was found that it was for ADHD. On the flip side, there are studies that have shown that culture can affect diagnosis. There are studies that have shown that culture can play an influential role in diagnosis. For example, symptoms that are seen in Western countries as characterising schizophrenia, such as auditory hallucinations, are interpreted in other countries as showing possession by a spirit, which render someone special in a positive way, not in a negative â€Å"disorder† way. Therefore, depending on cultural interpretations of what is being measured, the DSM is not always valid. A clinician from one culture must be aware that a patient from another culture is guided by their own frame of reference. It does seem to be the case that there are actual cultural differences in mental disorders like schizophrenia. It has been reported that catatonic  schizophrenia is on the decline and this could be because of health measures that prevent the development of this type of schizophrenia. Chandrasena (1986) reported more incidences of catatonia in Sri Lanka (21%) compared with 5% among British white people. However, it was also found that in Sri Lanka it was less likely that patients had received early interventions with drug treatment. This was not therefore a cultural difference in the attitude to the mental disorder, but a difference in treatment availability. After considering the pivotal role that culture plays in a person’s mental health, ideas have been put forward to overcome cultural bias in diagnosis. Ideas include: moving away from emphasis on first rank symptoms and interpretation as well as focus on more negative symptoms are they are more objectively measured. On problem with schizophrenia is that, first rank symptoms tend to be weighted as more important when making a diagnosis. First rank symptoms include hearing voices, delusions and disorganised thinking. However, first rank symptoms are also more open to interpretation, which means that there might be cultural issues with regard to interpretation. Flaum et al. (1991) found a lack of reliability when using the DSM with regard to first rank symptoms and that was with a similar sample from one culture. Therefore, it is likely that such unreliability would be magnified if we used first rank symptoms across different cultures. Similarly, with regard to diagnosis there should be greater emphasis on symptoms that are objectively measured. Flaum suggests that negative symptoms (for example poverty of speech) are more objectively assessed and measured than positive symptoms, like hallucinations. Minimising first rank symptoms and placing more emphasis on negative symptoms would mean less unrel iability with regard to diagnosis across cultures. Culture-bound syndromes are mental health problems (or other illnesses) with a set of symptoms found and recognised as an illness only in one culture. Penis panic is an example. In some cultures males may think that their penis will retract into their bodies- and women may think the same about their breasts. This is known as genital retraction syndrome. Such panics have been found around the world but mainly in Africa and Asia. Another example is â€Å"Hikikomori†, a condition which has attracted concern in Japan recently, affecting mainly male teens that are otherwise perfectly healthy. The condition makes them withdraw completely, locking themselves in their rooms for long periods of time (years). The Japanese government have  described â€Å"Hikikomori† as a social disorder rather than a mental disorder, and say it is representative of the economic downturn the country is going through.

Alliances Balancing and Bandwagoning

Stephen M. Walt’s main purpose in his work is to assert his explanations for the actions done by states in the international arena with regard to their alliances as a response to a certain factor or condition that affects or influences the very well being and situation of a state.The entire point of Stephen M. Walt revolves around the reaction of states when engaged or met with external threat. His analysis illustrates the possible behavioural patterns of states by explaining what kind of actions these states make and why.He thus caters two concepts; balancing and bandwagoning, stating that states tend to either balance or bandwagon depending on where these states perceive that they best fit or may benefit from. Therefore, he develops his analysis by proposing that the states two primary options or actions are to either ally in opposition of an external threat or to ally with the external threat itself. Stephen M. Walt holds that these two concepts are dependent upon the type and level of external threat manifested to them.This is not to discount the fact that the state’s influence, power or how the international community perceives it must also be taken into consideration; whether a state is considered as a strong state or a weak state.In a nutshell, Stephen M. Walt submits that a state may ally with other states in the face of an existing threat or it may arrange itself with this threat. He thus primarily asserts that as part of the natural behavioural pattern of a state, other theorists may say that balancing shall be the more convenient or expected action by a state rather than bandwagoning.It is fundamental to hypothesize that a strong state shall have the automatic tendency to balance. While the weak states may also choose to balance but this is only as a response to other weak states. When the conflict is between a weak and a strong state, it is another story.It is but natural in such a situation for a weak state to bandwagon when respondin g to a threat posed by a strong state. Stephen M. Walt’s alliance theory explains that a state’s action when responding to an external threat is the phenomenon of knowing when will such a state form an alliance and what will influence the state’s choice in making an alliance.This phenomenon is an expected behavioural pattern and a normal reaction. The focal area of concern with regard to this phenomenon is focused mainly on the each state’s duty and responsibility to protect itself. As a means of security, the state will be expected to put its safety as the first priority when an external threat is lurking around.The decision that follows shall take in consideration the state as a whole and how it is perceived by the international community. Primarily, the argument that pushes the theory of Stephen M. Walt falls largely on the shoulders of the two concepts of balancing and bandwagoning.As mentioned earlier, balancing is about allying with other states aga inst the external threat. In other words, states form an alliance against another state or group of states that pose the dominant and greater threat.This is simply a way for a state to deal with another state which is a threat because of its greater aggregate power. A determining factor here is hinged on a state’s capability, particularly its military capability. However, the type of military capability that is in question is on a state’s offensive capability which poses the threat to other states.The defensive military capability is not much given attention due to the fact that such capability will not be a threat unless provoked or initiated by another state. But having a strong and threatening offensive capability is not the only distress and apprehension of other states.The level or aggressiveness of a particular state is definitely taken into account. Each state regardless of their capabilities has their own way of responding and not responding to threats and issu es they encounter. Moreover, alliances formed under the concept of balancing are somewhat situational or circumstantial.Although alliances are forged heavily to answer the call of threat, these alliances change dramatically when that threat is conquered or disposed of. Wars seem to be the common cause of most states to form an alliance but the moment the war ends, the alliance breaks as well. As much as alliance through balancing is very much evident and supported by past occurrences, the opposite concept of bandwagoning is as much evident and present as seen during the Cold War. It is therefore asserted that bandwagoning is most likely to happen than balancing.Stephen M. Walt even stresses that any need for a legitimate justification to be involved in international territories or issues can be covered by bandwagoning. Furthermore, bandwagoning is also used as a means of increasing a state’s military capacity.Proponents of bandwagoning see the logic in this concept by simply knowing that the greater a state’s aggregate capability and offensive capability the more likely it is for other states to form an alliance with it. Even the geographical location is taken into consideration.The states that are located near a powerful state shall have a greater tendency of forming an alliance with the powerful state. The location of states geographically in relation to another state particularly with the stronger state is very important especially in times of conflict.This because the issues on borders and the time it takes to send help and information to an ally will largely depend of their positions. And being the opposite of balancing, the states will not align against the powerful state because of its aggressive perceived intentions.And also, the alliances formed against the greater state will disintegrate as a response to a serious obstacle that they realize is already beyond them. Stephen M. Walt states his theory by deducing it from rational and histor ically based assumptions and behavioural patterns which states have already done to point out that what states will most possibly be doing. The past shows times of numerous instances in international relations which act as an example or as a guide in predicting not necessarily the end result but the processes of interactions between states.Stephen M. Walt cites numerous occasions and incidents in the World War and the Cold War as an example for proving his theory. He thus bases his conclusions and hypotheses knowing that there are only limited possible steps or actions that a state can actually make.The assertion of Stephen M. Walt’s theory by quantifying and qualifying a state’s action to form an alliance as a response to an external threat through balancing and bandwagoning as supported by historical bases makes it logically sound.The argument that is proposed takes root in the rational and natural assessment of how exactly a state will respond to the situation prese nted. In other words, the theory is an anticipation of an expected probable outcome.The explanation is implicated in the concepts of balancing and bandwagoning which are two polar manifestations that show that for every action taken or not taken, there is also another option which is the alternative or opposite action taken or not taken.For example, as stated earlier in balancing, the greater the threatening state’s aggregate power, the greater the tendency of others to align against it. While in bandwagoning, the greater the threatening state’s aggregate power, the greater the tendency of others to align with it.The cause and effect implication is simply related to the relationship between one state’s relation with another, a state’s capability and the other state’s capability and most importantly, one’s external threat confronted by a state as manifested by another state.The threat is the absolute indicator or the absolute cause of how a s tate will react. The level of threat will influence every consideration that a state will take into. Technically speaking, in consideration of the cause and effect analysis, it becomes quite obvious that this theory of Stephen M. Walt is a primary response or a better description and explanation of the forming of alliances of states. It is asserted by other theorists that the overlying source for the alliances formed by states is founded on the power relations between states.Thus, the balancing or bandwagoning of states are simply actions to balance the power in the prevailing status quo of the international sphere. But Stephen M. Walt sees that the states do not seek security from power but rather, states seek security from threat.Power can be threat but it can also not be threat. Power is a neutral factor and cannot be seen as a threat unless used as one. While threat on the other hand is a concept that poses danger and concern to a state making it more definite and ideal to thoro ughly and greatly influence the state’s actions.

Essay on “Bread Givers” by Anzia Yezierska

Bread Givers Essay: Sara’s Identity In the book â€Å"Bread Givers† by Anzia Yezierska a young girl from poland grows up in america. Set in the 1920s conditions for immigrants living in the United States were tough, not to mention living in the lower East side of Manhattan, New York. Reb Smolinsky the father of Sara in this book really tries on impressing his beliefs onto his children for he is very set on his traditional ways. This becomes a very prominent underlying to the story as Sara grows throughout the book moving from her fathers beliefs to her own.This clash between the â€Å"old way† of doing things and her new american life style Sara breaks free from this conflict in finding her own identity in this new world. By doing so Sara really connect and Identifies with three main factors in her life independence, education and hard work. With these three basic elements in Sara’s life she really transitions into her own being and self identity. Througho ut most of the beginning of the book Sara is oppressed by her father’s tyranny that drives her to crave independence.After her father demolishes the lives of Sara’s three other sisters she â€Å"began to see that Father, in his innocent craziness to hold up the Light of the Law to his children, was as a tyrant more terrible than the Tsar from Russia† (Yezierska, 64-65). As this is just the beginning of Sara’s unrest with her father it is none the less the beginning of the end for their relationship. Because she does come to the end of her patience with her father. With him constantly beating her her down she would never be able to vocalize or blossom into her own ideas or beliefs.He would constrict all of her self identity out if she was unable to break free from him. â€Å"I’m smart enough to look out for myself. It’s a new life now. In America, women don’t need men to boss them† (Yezierska, 137). Sara finally speaks her mind along with realizing she is able to break free from tradition and be independent in this new world. America had really shaped her ideals and helped to create that pathway to break away. As she is independent she discovers herself through the freedom of being on her own. As seen when she is finally in freedom on her own. â€Å"My hands clutched at the knob. This door was life.It was air. The bottom starting-point of becoming a person. I simply must have this room with the shut door† (Yezierska, 159) Having her own place would create the birth spot for her dreams and aspirations. By now having her own place she is able to cut herself from her family and their hold on her opinions. She is able to break free and now allow her the freedom needed to discover her identity. As she clearly states when she says â€Å"starting-point of becoming a person†, this defines her. Education makes its impression on Sarah when she immediately connects and realizes her dream of becoming a t eacher.Giving education a high value in her life. â€Å"A school teacher-I! I saw myself sitting back like a lady at my desk, the children, their eyes on me, watching and waiting for me to call out the different ones to the board, to spell a word, or answer me a question. It was like looking up to the top of the highest skyscraper while down in the gutter† (Yezierska, 155). When she imagines what this one girl had done she realized thats what she wants. This teacher symbolizes a better life for Sara, a life Sara is determined to achieve. The only thing keeping her from achieving this is education.Education becomes what she believes to be the only gateway to the better life she wants. I becomes what defines her as her and changes her status. Finally starting her way to her dream she goes to school. While there she gets her dream and love of education rekindled. â€Å"There was one in the school who was what I dreamed a teacher to be- the principal, Mr. Hugo Seeling. He kept t hat living thing, that fame, that i used to worship as a child† (Yezierska, 270). The passion she describes here is what directly comes from her and her desire. She puts teaching and education on a pedestal just like hr father puts his faith.She strives to get that same identity with education as a teacher as her father does with the Torah and his religion. Even Fania compares them saying â€Å"Come, Bessie. Let’s leave her to her mad education. She’s worse than Father with his Holy Torah† (Yezierska, 178). This shows how strongly Sara really takes education in her life. Just like the Torah is her fathers identity this is hers'. Sara even when she was young believed in hard work. She wouldn’t hold herself to a lower standard even if it was easier. When she goes to buy herring from Muhmenkeh the elderly women offers to give them to her free.In which Sara replies â€Å"No–no! I’m no beggar! I want to go into business like a person. I mu st buy what I got to sell† (Yezierska, 21). Even as a young child Sara refuses to take the easy route and accept this charity. She wants to earn it for herself and rise above the life of a beggar. To not let herself be defined and lumped with the poor low lives that don’t take the initiative to do better in life. This hard work is what fuels her to achieve her dreams. As wonderful as living and being on her own is Sara quickly figures out how hard it is.Because in order to pursue her dream she must work hard in order to support herself while going to school. Not to mention give herself time to study and understand what she is learning in order to move on in school. â€Å"As you had to shut your eyes to the dirt, so you must shut your ears to the noise. A quietness within me soothed my tortured nerves. I turned to my books on the table, and with fierce determination to sink myself into my head, I began my lesson again† (Yezierska, 164). She pushes herself through this hard time unlike most people in hard times that just give up.Instead she pushes onward and later on sees the reward of her hard work. Through these hard ships they mold her more and more into who Sara Smolinsky is and becomes. With out this determination and freedom of thought she would never have created her identity for herself. There are many other factors throughout the book that take its toll on Sara’s life and shape the way she changes. Although these three are the most strongly associated with how she identifies herself because these are all characteristics that are unique to her. By the end of the book Sara has fully embraced these and discovered herself.

Is the american dream achievable? Essay

The American Dream: the image of a white picket fence house with a perfect family, two educated children, one girl and one boy and the mother and father both working without worrying about financials concerns. This is the typical example of the American Dream; it is called the stereotypical dream. The Oxford dictionary states that the American Dream is, â€Å"The traditional social ideals of the US, such as equality, democracy and material prosperity.† However, I firmly believe the American Dream is to be accepted, to be free and to be equal; overall the dream is to pursue personal happiness. I strongly believe that the American Dream was not attainable in the past, is not attainable in the present day and will not be attainable in the future. Immigration is a prime reason why the American Dream is unachievable. I feel that poorer individuals appreciate and make the most of the little things they have and this would suggest that their money worries does not affect their ‘dream’. I also believe, despite the fact they are struggling financially, they still put others before themselves, ensuring their children have the opportunity to lead a ‘better’ life, the chance they themselves never had. Immigrants strive to fit in with the US ‘crowd’ as they don’t want to be seen as different. Immigrants flock to America so that they too can grab a piece of the exciting, spectacular dream that they perceive that America offers. Individuals arrive in the USA expecting every day to be like the fourth of July. The harsh reality is far from it. In 2012, overall crime rates rose to roughly 10.2 million; America ‘the land of opportunity’ is home to nothing but crime. They then realised the world they had stepped into involved a lot of hard work with little rewards as the median household income is $50,502. [3: http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/American_Dream][4: http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/uscrime.htm][5: http://www.mybudget360.com/how-much-do-americans-earn-what-is-the-average-us-income/] The idea of the American Dream is that a person, no matter their race, class  or background has equal opportunity to succeed as they would stand or fall by their capability and accomplishments. I strongly believe equal opportunity in reality is non-existent as discrimination is widespread in the US. Both sexes compete against one another for power and command in the workplace; however, men are usually seen as the powerful gender as they are given the higher positions. Education is another issue within discrimination- the quality and quantity. Education has a long term impact on an individual as poor educational success impacts directly on employment prospects, poverty and limited ability to contribute to American society. Students from impoverished homes who attend racially segregated schools are often given exposure to the better standards of education and opportunities to forge good social networks, of the type that is usually enjoyed by students in weather predominately white schools. The wealthiest ten percent of US school boards spend almost ten times more than the poorest ten percent, demonstrating that not all schools have equal school resources. Unequal academic opportunities also occur; Blacks and Latino students scoring the same results as whites and Asians are less likely to be placed in fast track courses. I believe this evidence indicates that discrimination still exists in America today. Real equality means not judging a book by its cover, treating it differently because of what may look like or where it came from, none of that is important; it’s about the quality of the story within. For some the American Dream is having a successful job which brings financial security and a comfortable life. However, employment is a major concern in America as a significant number of Americans have given up job hunting or are only working part time. The number of unemployed Americans is currently 22.7 million; 12.3 million are unemployed and want work but have stopped the search, 2.4 million are working part time and 8 million can’t find full time employment. Roughly a quarter of Americans between the ages of eighteen to thirty are still living at home relying on their parents. The majority of Americans are on the brink of poverty because there aren’t enough jobs to go around. I passionately believe the American Dream will only remain a dream since having, or not having, money is a controlling factor. The final, compelling reason to why the American Dream is not achievable is the expensive health care system. America does not have an NHS system as is available to the UK citizens and they must ensure against  possible ill health- many simply can’t afford to do this. Therefore US national lives are in constant threat of increasing cost of health insurance. This is a worrying issue for the US government too; the latest statics from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that health care costs in America were around $147 billion to cover health complications from obesity alone. Being obese costs $6,454 per year. In twenty years experts predict that over half of American adults and the majority of children will become super-sized. In conclusion, I passionately believe the American Dream is not achievable due to the four key points which have been explored throughout the context; immigration, lack of equal opportunities, unemployment and health care. The Ame rican Dream emphasises being perfect, but perfection is not humanly possible and neither is this so called dream. Jasmine Chalk [6: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/inequality_in_a_workplace#cite_note-Devey-2][7: http://www.aecf.org/upload/publicationfiles/fact_sheet3.pdf][8: http://www.aecf.org/upload/publicationfiles/fact_sheet3.pdf][9: http://www.aecf.org/upload/publicationfiles/fact_sheet3.pdf][10: http://www.rpc.senate.gov/policy-papers/january-2013-unemployment-report][11: Young U.S. Adults Flock to Parents’ Homes Amid EconomyBy Kathy Warbelow & Frank Bass – Sep 25, 2012 5:01 AM GMT http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-09-25/young-adults-flock-to-parents-homes-amid-sour-economy.html][12: ‘Real Cost of Living’: Price tag for obesity is $6,454 a yearby Carmen Wong Ulrich (Perigee Trade, 2010) http://www.today.com/id/40844081/ns/today-today_books/t/real-cost-living-price-tag-obesity-year/#.UhZXwpJJOAg][13: ‘Real Cost of Living’: Price tag for obesity is $6,454 a yearby Carmen Wong Ulrich (Perigee Trade, 2010)http://www.today.com/id/40844081/ns/today-today_boo ks/t/real-cost-living-price-tag-obesity-year/#.UhZXwpJJOAg][14: ‘Real Cost of Living’: Price tag for obesity is $6,454 a yearby Carmen Wong Ulrich (Perigee Trade, 2010)http://www.today.com/id/40844081/ns/today-today_books/t/real-cost-living-price-tag-obesity-year/#.UhZXwpJJOAg]