What it takes to be #1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

What it takes to be #1 - Essay Example Determination leads the individual towards success despite of the failures that he comes across. Every cloud has a silver lining and determination is the mechanism that keeps a person’s morale high in finding a way to it. A person must be determined to achieve and should not step back even under the worst circumstances. A person needs to strive with the determination and confidence he has. Plans do not fulfill until a person practically puts some efforts to attain them. Goals are achievable only when plans are exercised. Hardworking makes individual’s way towards success. A hardworking person may distinguish himself from others by the way he acts under different circumstances. A person may attain a distinct position in any field by striving and achieving his goals. Competing with others for the reason of becoming the best in any field may lead to jealousy and selfishness. A person who is able to compete without letting these feelings harm anyone is the best. Morality and ethics should never be forgotten when dealing with situations where competition is high and determination is

The use of symbolism in plays and poems Essay Example for Free

The use of symbolism in plays and poems Essay Symbolism is the use of a person, an object, a place, or an idea to represent it self and something beyond itself at the same time. Two recognizable examples of symbolism are the Stars and Stripes on the flag; this is the symbol for the United States of America. Another well-known symbol is skull and crossbones, which we all know represent something poisonous. Symbolism is often used in all forms of literature and poetry. Many use it because it helps the writer to get their expressions out more clearly (Prentice Hall Literature 619). Some symbols can be read clearly and understood with ease but there are others, which have private meanings. Symbols with private meanings usually cannot be comprehended at first glance but instead you have to really understand the text in which you are reading. In order to get the exact meaning of a private symbol you must appreciate the literary work in which you are reading (Prentice Hall Literature 619). More frequently used and most recognizable uses of symbolism in todays society are youth, which symbolizes springtime, middle age, which is summer, and old age, which is autumn or winter. Also there is death, which is darkness or cold, roses are used for love and beauty, and doves are for peace and owls, which symbolizes wisdom. Two writhers who could be symbolizing by an owl are William Shakespeare and William Blake (Prentice Hall Literature 619). William Shakespeare and William Blake can both be considered as two of the greatest writhers in their time. Though Shakespeare wrote plays and Blake wrote poems there still remain many similarities between the two. These two writers became familiar with symbolism and decided to take their poems and plays to the extreme. Both figured out ways to maximize the effect of the use of symbolism in their poems and plays. Their knowledge of literature cannot be questioned because the both soared above the rest. Their ability to use unique symbols makes them nothing short of literary geniuses. They have shown us that the expression of your thought can be obtained in your  literary work. (Prentice Hall Literature 619). William Shakespeare was born on April 13, 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, England to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden. Shakespeare began his education at the age of seven where he attended the Stratford grammar school. While at Stratford he studied Latin Rhetoric, Logic, and literature. His knowledge and imagination is said to have come from reading about ancient authors and poetry. Shakespeare received a license to marry Anne Hathaway in November 1582. Shakespeare was married when he was only 18. His wife was 26 years old. Shakespeare fathered three children: Susanna, and twins Hamneth and Judith. Shakespeare was first recognized as a writher by Robert Green in 1552. Shakespeare became widely known as an actor and a play writer. By 1594 he had written six plays and two poems (Prentice Hall Literature 204). In 1599 Shakespeare and six other associates became owners of the Globe which was an outdoor theatre. This is where he decided to continue his acting. Shake4speare died April 23, 1616, but before his death he had written thirty-seven plays (Prentice Hall Literature 204). William Blake was born in 1757. At the age of four he screamed because he was believed to have seen God in his window. At the age of eight, while walking in fields, he saw a tree with angels. To the people Blakes visions raised great concern, but to his parents his gift was something that should be nurtured. Blake never attended any schools, instead he was self-taught. Although he did not attend any school his father decided when he became old enough he would be sent to an engraver because Blake loved to draw (Prentice Hall Literature 618). Between the ages of twelve and twenty, Blake wrote a series of poems. Some of his better known poems were Poetical Sketches and Songs of Innocence. Instead of publishing his poetry he engraved them on metal plates with varnish, and then he painted then by hand. Because the process took so much time few of his books were published. Blake lived in a filthy London Studio  where he continued to see visions of angels and prophets who instructed him in his work. Once he painted while receiving a vision of Voltaire. He was later asked did Voltaire speak English he replied to my ears it was English (Prentice Hall Literature 618). Blakes poetry wasnt recognized until several years after his death on August 13, 1827. This tells me that throughout Blakes lifetime poets were rarely understood. His poetry was understood to operate on two levels one of them symbolic, the other was literal (Prentice Hall Literature 618). Shakespeare, one who is known for his extremely dramatic plays, was considered one of the greatest writers of all time. Some of his more famous plays are Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet, and King Lear. In these plays Shakespeare shows a variety of symbolism. Some of his symbolism can be recognized at first glance, but there are others that have to be carefully read and studied to truly understand their meaning. In his pays happiness, times of hardship, love and times of joy are all represented by symbolism. His plays are truly nothing short of a work of art (The Complete Works of William Shakespeare 118). One play that Shakespeare displays his knowledge of symbolism is Julius Caesar. This is a tragic play based on the lives of ancient Greek biographer Plutarch. Writer Sir Thomas North translated the content. It was first performed in 1599 and published in 1623. The play takes place in ancient Rome, it tells the Roman events before and after the assassination of the Roman ruler Julius Caesar. Ironically in the play Julius Caesar is not the main character: the character within the main focus was Brutus. He is a Roman general and Caesars best friend. Brutus soon turns against Caesar and joins a plot to murder him. After the death of Caesar he joins an army and soon kills himself (Julius Caesar38). Some symbolism in this play are the omens of Caesars death, the warnings of the augur and of artemidorus, and the absence of the heart in the animal sacrificed all symbolizes the unity of an army which was destroyed. The river in the pay is said to have symbolized the faminality of the Heavens. A  red stain of the left leg and foot of the statue of Brutus is said to symbolize the blood of the great Caesar. More examples of symbolism can be found within this play. Explore it and notice the extreme use of symbolism (Julius Caesar 54). Another play where Shakespeare shows his knowledge of symbolism is Macbeth. Macbeth is also one of Shakespeares tragic plays. It is based on the Chronicles by the English historian Raphael Holinshed. It was first performed in 1623. This was a tale about how Macbeth captures the throne by murdering King Duncan. After killing King Duncan he becomes more and more of a man without feelings. After the death of his wife he feels nothing so he goes into battle. He is then killed and Duncans son, Malcolm, takes over the throne (Macbeth). Something special about this play is that the whole play symbolizes a mixture of history and legends. Another form of symbolism in this play is when the witches promise Banquo that his children would inherit the throne. In the end it was not his children who inherited the throne; children symbolized grandchildren or descendants (Shakespeare 30). This play also symbolizes a compliment to the king. It was suppose to flatter the king because it was written about his ancestor, Banquo. This is one of Shakespeares most popular plays in his time and in the present (Macbeth). Unlike William Shakespeare, William Blake does not show his knowledge of symbolism in plays. Blake uses his method of expressing himself through symbolism in poetry instead of in plays. He feels as though symbolism helps him to express himself through his poetry. Blakes poetry raised many eyebrows in time, mainly because the people did not understand the greatness of his poems. Throughout his lifetime he went everyday with no one really noticing him for the great poet that he is known as today. Two poems that stand out among the rest of Blakes poems are The Lamb and The Tiger. These are two poems where Blake actually had a chance to show ho much he loved to use symbolism (Prentice Hall Literature 618). In William Blakes The Lamb, the lamb has two symbolic meanings. One  meaning I have interpreted as the lamb being the people of the world. Blake appears to have had problems with the people of the world. Another being that the lamb symbolizes is a child, a child that is more than a child, a child that seems to have a relationship with God (Prentice Hall Literature 620). In his poem The Tiger, Blake truly expresses his feelings toward the world. He uses the jungle cat as a symbol for the savage and unnamed forces in the world that prompts human beings to perform evil actions. William Blakes relationship with the outside world is unknown, but he was greatly mistreated by everyone. He lived a life of poverty so that may have been more than enough to push him over the edge. Also in Blakes poems he tries to show a contrast between good and evil. Blake believed symbolism makes literature a wonderful thing (Prentice Hall Literature 622). Symbolism is a brilliant way to express your thoughts and emotions in your writing. The creator of symbolism was nothing short of a genius. Those who understand and use symbolism know that it works wonders for you literary work. If symbolism is used correctly it can stimulate the minds of your readers. Using symbolism allows you to lose control of your feelings in your writing. This is why it is used so often (Prentice Hall Literature 721).

Trauma and Adult Learning Essay -- Adult Education Learning Essays

Trauma and Adult Learning Effects of Trauma on Learning Adults experiencing the effects of past or current trauma may display such symptoms as difficulty beginning new tasks, blame, guilt, concern for safety, depression, inability to trust (especially those in power), fear of risk taking, disturbed sleep, eroded self-esteem/confidence, inability to concentrate, or panic attacks (Mojab and McDonald 2001). Some people may manifest no symptoms; at the other end of the spectrum is Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, characterized by flashbacks, avoidance, numbing of responsiveness (including substance abuse), persistent expectation of danger, constriction (dissociation, zoning out), and memory impairment (Isserlis 2001). It may not be readily apparent that a learner is experiencing the effects of trauma. Instead, such manifestations as missing class, avoiding tests, spacing out, and having what may be interpreted as inappropriate or extreme reactions to class discussions or activities may actually be responses to trauma. It is true that learning may be impeded by fear, anxiety, poor concentration, and the enormous energy involved in hiding abuse or struggling with immediate survival needs. However, interpretations of trauma and its effects on learning are shaped by education discourses (Horsman 1997, 2000b; Isserlis 2001). A deficit perspective suggests that the learner, not the social system, must change. A medicalizing discourse emphasizes that healing, "getting over it," must take place before learning is possible. Discourses of educational practice may view dropping out, stopping out, or spacing out/dissociating as lack of motivation or persistence rather than survival mechanisms. Discourses focu sed on outcomes and account... ...all/fob/2002/morrish.html Pearce, C. E. "Informal Learning of Homeless Women: A Feminist Study of Surviving the Everyday." In 40th Annual Adult Education Research Conference Proceedings, compiled by Amy Rose. De Kalb: Northern Illinois University, 1999. (ED 431 901) http://www.edst.educ.ubc.ca/aerc/1999/99pearce.htm Rosenwasser, P. "Tool for Transformation: Cooperative Inquiry as a Process for Healing from Internalized Oppression." In AERC 2000: An International Conference, edited by T. Sork, V.-L. Chapman, and R. St. Clair, pp. 392-396. Vancouver: University of British Columbia, 2000. (ED 452 417) http://www.edst.educ.ubc.ca/aerc/2000/rosenwasserp1-web.htm Williamson, B. "Learning in Extremis." In Lifelong Learning inside and outside Schools. Collected Papers, vol. 2, edited by P. Alheit et al., pp. 676-697. Roskilde, Denmark: Roskilde University, 2000.

Integration of Evidence-Based Practice Into Professional Nursing Practice Essay

In this paper we will discuss the integration of evidence based practice into professional nursing practice. Scott & McSherry (2008) define evidence based practice as the combination of individual, clinical, or professional expertise with the best available external evidence to produce practice that is most likely to lead to positive outcomes for a patient. Despite literature surrounding what evidence based nursing is and isn’t, nurses struggle to get evidence into practice. Many reasons have been reported including a lack of understanding about evidence based nursing means. Scott & McSherry (2008) also define evidence based nursing is a process by which nurses make clinical decisions using the best available research evidence, their clinical expertise and patient outcomes. We will also discuss nursing’s simultaneous reliance on and critique of EBP in the context of critical reasoning. There will also be discussion of a study done that examined the effects of integrating evidence based practice into clinical practicum among RN-BSN students and the limitations of evidence based practice and an alternate view of decision making. Lastly we will discuss evidence that challenges the traditional practice regarding injection sites (Cocoman & Murray 2010). According to Guem et al. (2010) evidenced based practice is a problem solving approach to clinical care that incorporates the conscious us of the current best available evidence, a clinician’s expertise, and the patient values. Evidence for evidence based practice does not always rely on research findings. Sources used can include research findings, clinical experience, quality improvement data, logical reasoning, recognized authority, and client satisfaction, situation, experience, and value (Leddy & Pepper 2008 p. 66). On the contrary evidence based nursing is essential because of its potential to save time and money and improve patient outcomes by decreasing costs, through standardizing and streamlining costs (Scott & McSherry 2008). It is important o understand the difference between evidence based practice and evidence based nursing because at times they are used interchangeably. Scott & McSherry (2008) state that the nursing practice has welcomed EBP but when it comes to EBN, it is still yet to come reality because the concept is much unsophisticated and can lead to problems associated with its use and misuse. EBN is merely a construct and has yet to be successfully implemented (Scott & McSherry 2008). In essence the dilemma with EBN is that we don’t really know the definition of nursing. Although there are problems with the definition we know that clinical judgment is one of the major concepts used in nursing thus it reinforces the notion of EBP and ultimately EBP. To advance the profession and ensure solid standards of practice, we should look beyond evidence based practice, while useful in implementation it is just one of many other component parts (Jutel 2008). Evidence based practice is like the new black in nursing practice and already occupies a prominent position, several international nursing organizations support its use as a strategic action in the advancement of the profession. Despite the emphasis on EBP, there is also a strong opposition to it, not with the actual use of EBP being a problem but with the fundamentals on which it stands. These arguments complain of the veracity of the criteria used in EBP which simultaneously undermines and cannot support EBP (Jutel 2008). If it had not been for the cultural turn which recognized that things are not always as they seem or that power, society, and culture contribute as much as science to generating knowledge, the debate about EBP would have never surfaced (Jutel 2008). Although nurses argue against EBP, they lack important tools necessary to replace EBP. â€Å"Nursing education places high value on authority and adherence to clinical protocols, rather than on skills† (Jutel, 2008. P. 419). Opponents of EBP suggests that development of clinical practice guidelines, critical care pathways, and protocols may actually interfere and entice practitioners to develop somewhat of a cookbook recipe attitude to client care (Leddy & Pepper 2010). With quality improvement being rooted in industrial production, perhaps standardization may not be as desirable because patients have unique needs and characteristics the may be overlooked when adhering to strict clinical practice guidelines. Nursing adopts a devoted and somewhat naive trust when assessing information, we are quick to accept the truths of a peer reviewed article, drug company propaganda, and quick to accept an argument on inconsistencies of EBP. The tools EBP claims to own, are incredibly useful, however, are not tools of EBP; they are critical skills of information appraisal. As evidence based practice rapidly replaces the traditional paradigm of healthcare decision making, health care members have an obligation to access knowledge, apply it in practice, and lead others to use it appropriately (Geum et al. 010 p. 387). For example RN-BSN programs; these are adult students who have clinical knowledge and skill, structured background and educational preparation and employment experience but have not taken a formal research course, thus they show less confidence to include evidence based practice in their practices because these are courses that are not common outside a baccalaureate curriculum. To examine the effectiveness of the integration of EBP into a clinical practicum a study was done among Korean RN-BSN students. The main goals were to enhance students’ competencies for EBP knowledge skills and attitudes and to expose students to opportunities that would encourage the use of best evidence (Geum et al. 2008). Each student was instructed to define patients nursing problems for their individually assigned patient and to formulate nursing problems using the EBP question format, PICO, which we discussed earlier in the semester, to select the nursing intervention for the problems posed. Before the EBP practicum, the overall and individual scores for EBP efficacy among RN-BSN students indicated that students were â€Å"a little confident† regarding the EBP process (Geum et al. 2008, p. 389). Results of this study indicate that integration of EBP into an RN-BSN clinical practicum had a positive effect on EBP efficacy and decreased barriers to research utilization among students in Korea, which also corroborates with studies conducted in other countries. Evidence based practice is a learned set of skills thus critical thinking is vital in developing evidence based nursing practice (Geum et al. 2008). Regardless if the evidence on complications, nurses in clinical settings still continue to use and instruct nursing students on the use of dorsogluteal injection sites as the site of choice for intramuscular injections (Cocoman & Murray 2010). So, where should an intramuscular (IM) injection be given? Nurses have traditionally used the dorsogluteal, but recent literature has advocated the ventrogluteal site. Choosing sites has been a matter of personal preference, rather than the results of evidence based practice. Slow uptake of medications, major nerves and blood vessels present make this site problematic. A British study suggests â€Å"as previous studies have shown the low efficacy of gluteal intramuscular injections, this route should be avoided for most drugs† (Cocoman & Murray, 2010. P. 1171). As the sciatic nerve lies only a few centimeters from the injection site, injuries pose a significant threat, making the need for accurately identifying landmarks especially important. An alternative site is the ventrogluteal, seen by many as the preferred site. This site provides the greatest thickness of gluteal muscle and is free from penetrating nerves and blood vessels (Cocoman & Murray 2010). Despite evidence favoring the ventrogluteal site, nurses are slow to use it, relying on the much taught and used dorsogluteal site. â€Å"Studies show that only 12% of American nursing staff uses the ventrogluteal site† (Cocoman & Murray 2010. P. 1172). Studies suggest that some reasons the site is not used is because of nurses’ unfamiliarity in locating the site and potential needle stick injury. Unfortunately, nurses have not come to realize that when using the V method, the non injecting hand is to be removed, as it’s only used for visual land marking (Cocoman & Murray 2010). Throughout this paper we have discussed the integration of evidence based practice into nursing from various articles. In the various articles the authors talked about evidence based practice compared to evidence based nursing, the integration of evidence based practice in RN-BSN programs. We also discussed the article on a clinical example which suggested that the ventrogluteal intramuscular injection site over the dorsogluteal site is preferred when it comes to positive patient outcomes.

Effects of Armed Conflicts on Women

Armed conflict has always been an inherent characteristic of the world we live in. The causes of conflict can be multifarious ranging from attempts to gain economic, political or territorial advantage to social factors such as religion and ethnicity. Armed conflicts can also be varied in nature with inter, intra and even non state combatants fighting against each other. The complexity and scale of armed conflicts have increased to a great extent with the emergence of non-state terrorist and mercenary groups that lacks the distinctiveness of traditional state armies fighting against each other. The consequences have been devastating for an increasing number of the population of the world who are affected by such armed conflicts. These include not only the combatants but also civilians who get caught up in the fighting in one way or the other. In fact civilian casualties have been on the rise and climbing â€Å"dramatically from 5 per cent at the turn of the century, to 15 per cent during World War I, to 65 per cent by the end of World War II, to more than 75 per cent in the wars of the 1990s. † (UN Report, 2001) A very stereotypical view regarding armed conflicts is that it is the men who fight the battles while the women support them by taking care of the home front. Men are perceived as the fighters who suffer causalities while women have to play out the traditional roles of wives, mothers and care givers and are therefore comparatively unaffected by war. Byrne (1996) however holds that even though it is largely men who directly fight and die in battles, it is women who constitute an overwhelming majority of the civilian casualties of war. Byrne goes on to add that the concept of women staying safely at home while the men fight the war at the front, and the differentiation between ‘conflict’ and ‘safe’ zones in armed conflict are essentially myths that do not take stock of the practical situation. Moreover, the fact that a growing number of women are also participating in armed conflicts around the world as active combatants and not merely as passive support providers adds a new dimension to the effects of armed conflicts on women. The Independent Experts’ Assessment on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Women and the role of Women in Peace-Building (2001) commissioned by the United Nations Development Funds for Women chose ‘During Armed Conflict Women’s Bodies Become a Battleground’ as the title of the introductory chapter of its report. This exemplifies the extent of violence against women as a result of armed conflicts. Civilians have become the primary targets in new terror tactics that have evolved in armed conflicts. But it is women who suffer most. Men and boys as well as women and girls are the victims of this targeting, but women, much more than men, suffer gender-based violence. Their bodies become a battleground over which opposing forces struggle. † (Rehn & Sirleaf, 2001) The United Nations defines violence against women as â€Å"any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, inc luding threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private. † (Machel, 2000) It is a matter of grave concern that women are actually subjected to every conceivable act of violence and more, that can fall under the purview of the definition. Not only do women face generic violence such as torture, killing, imprisonment and forced labour under conditions of war, but they also suffer gender-specific violence that strike at the very core of their existence. They are abducted and raped, used as sexual slaves, forced to cook, clean, carry water and loads and do other domestic chores; and even used as human shields or put to risky undertakings such clearing minefields. There are numerous examples. Rehn & Sirleaf (2001) reports that â€Å"94% per cent of displaced households surveyed in Sierra Leone had experienced sexual assaults, including rape, torture and sexual slavery†¦ at least 250,000 – perhaps as many as 500,000 – women were raped during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. † This however is only the tip of the iceberg. The sufferings of women in armed conflicts never seem to end. They are forced by the circumstances to sell sex to survive, they are taken advantage of sexually even by people who are supposed to help them, and finally, they have to face censure at the hands of those very near and dear ones for whom they make all the sacrifices. Such is their plight. The Reason Why The roots of the violence that women suffer during the course of armed conflicts are however opined to lie elsewhere. Violence is said to be perpetuated on women not solely because of the conditions of war but because of a direct relation with violence in the life of women even during peace time (Rehn & Sirleaf 2001). The relationship between the genders is determined by the extent of access to or distribution of power. Men are in more control of resources and power than women. Since women do not have control over power and resources they as a gender are usually not the cause behind wars. In spite of that they suffer because of their inherent power and control position vis-a-vis men. Again, the greater emphasis by nations on increasing their military strength results in a deterioration of the rights of women exacerbating the inequalities in gender relations. In a display of unadulterated hypocrisy however, many armed conflicts are justified on the grounds of restoring or maintaining gender equality. This was clearly the case in the American invasion of Afghanistan ion 2001 when liberation of women from the fanatical regime of the Talibans was cited as a reason even though there was hardly any concern for the plight of the same women during the five years prior to the invasion even when local and international NGOs constantly strived to draw attention to their sufferings (Jack, 2003). It is very true that â€Å"although entire communities suffer the consequences of armed conflict and terrorism, women and girls are particularly affected because of their status in society and their sex. † (Beijing Declaration, 1996). The effect of war on women depends to a great extent on their gendered role that defines their constraints and opportunities in society. Women become more vulnerable war atrocities when they are perceived as symbolic bearers of the pride and honour of a community. In such cases women are specifically targeted as a way of denting the very essence of he rival community. In regions where women are deemed to represent the cultural and ethnic identity of communities as the producer of future generations, any assault on their honour becomes an assault on the morale and honour of the entire community. Under such circumstances public rape and torture of women is considered to have serious demoralizing effects on enemy communities. The victors or occupation forces resort to sexual exploitation of women because of such underlying war strategies coupled with inherent sexual urges. Yet the same symbolic role of women can be a cause of threat or attack even from their own community for not conforming to the role in some way or the other in adverse conditions, such as not wearing a veil or venturing into forbidden areas as has been the case in the Islamic world. Armed conflict is therefore like a double edged sword for women. Societal norms also force women to bear atrocities. The comments of a doctor working with Save the Children Fund, in an ICRC/TVE film (2000) illustrate the point: In certain villages bordering conflict young girls have admitted that armed men come in at night – these girls are used as sex workers – they are not allowed to protest – they are not allowed to lock their doors and the whole community tolerates this because these armed men protect the community – so it is a trade off. †¦Ã¢â‚¬  When sexual violence is used as a means of warfare or when women are pressurized to bear children as a means of supply of future soldiers, women become a very vulnerable gender to the violence of armed conflict. In conflict zones such as Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo, sexual violence was used as a means of ‘ethnic cleansing’. The Serbian police and paramilitary forces used rape to punish women belonging to the Kosovo Liberation Army (Human Rights Watch, 2000). Different Wars, Different Stages, Different Roles The different kinds of armed warfare, their different stages and the different roles that women play in these conflicts all have different effects on women. Modern armed conflicts are fought between adversaries that are very different from the conventional state armies. Terrorist groups and non-state players give armed conflicts a new dimension in the modern world. The problem with such combatants is that they do not adhere to international laws governing warfare and have no scruples in indulging in violence and atrocities that would fall in the category of war crimes. The Geneva Conventions and its protocols find no takers in them. They are not regulated by any authority and are guided either by their own perverted consciences or by fanatical ideologies. As a result women become more susceptible all kinds of violence from such elements in armed conflict. Armed conflicts usually pass through different stages viz. the pre-conflict stage or run up to the conflict, the conflict itself, the stage of conflict resolution or the peace process and the post conflict stage of reconstruction and reintegration. Each of these stages hold different horrors for women depending on the different roles that women play in such conflicts. Women act as agents of change when they participate in the prevention, resolution or management of armed conflicts. Their participation is very important because without them the views, needs and interests of half of the population go unrepresented. Conversely, women also act as agents of change when they indirectly support the men to take up arms for any cause which they may believe in. In the case of Rwanda, women were found to have been accomplices to and participants in gross acts of genocide (Lindsey, 2001). This indirect participation of women takes on added significance in their role as the primary influence on children. Women as mothers can influence children in many ways and mould them to serve as soldiers in armed conflicts. The simple act of women telling stories centered on sensitive issues of ethnic or clan conflicts could sensitize the children. Encouraging future generations to fight, may be considered as subtle participation of women in the armed conflicts as agents of change. Acting as agents of change is fraught with dangers because women often have to consciously take sides in their efforts to better the situation or to protect themselves and their families. They put themselves at risk in doing so. In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) women of the South Kivu region were buried alive by people of their own villages because they were said to be witches. It was however found that they suffered their fate because the villagers suspected them of providing food and medicines to armed groups which the villagers did not support (Rehn & Sirleaf 2001). Women participate as active combatants in armed conflicts. â€Å"†¦the number of women who participate in fighting forces is increasing in nearly all conflicts. Women have constituted significant proportions of combatants and combat support operations in conflicts in Eritrea, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Vietnam, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Uganda, and Rwanda † (USAID, 2007). As active combatants women face the same ravages of war as fighting men do. However, in many cases, women are abducted and forced to participate as combatants. The Revolutionary United Front in Sierra Leone made it a practice to raid villages and abduct children of both sexes to force them to join in the fighting. The abducted children were often raped, starved and drugged and then forced to kill. It has been the same in Uganda, Mozambique, Liberia and other war torn places. Women also get involved in the fighting as ‘followers’ of fighters. In such a role the woman does not carry arms but provide full and active support to the fighters. She acts as cook, domestic servant, sexual partner, guard or porter or all of these together. She may even be used as human shield in the fighting. It is not very difficult to imagine the trauma that she goes through in such roles. Women become victims and spoils of war. It is a very common practice of conquering forces to claim women of the defeated party as spoils of war. In an occupied land, women are also forced to curry sexual favors to the victorious forces for the sake of their own survival and the survival of their families. The fate of women is closely linked to the fate of their men. When men leave their homes to fight or die in the fighting, the women often becomes the primary bread winner of the family and has to take on additional role and responsibilities. This puts the woman in an entirely new social position, one that could even turn out to be advantageous but is more often than not a position that entails untold hardships on her. Left to fend alone for her family and herself, a woman could be driven to any extent and exploited easily under such circumstances. A woman usually finds herself in such a role in the post conflict stage of reconstruction and reintegration. Scars that do not heal Armed conflicts affect women physically, psychologically, economically, socially and even spiritually. They are more susceptible to violence than men because they are women. â€Å"Women are victims of unbelievably horrific atrocities and injustices in conflict situations; this is indisputable. As refugees, internally displaced persons, combatants, heads of household and community leaders, as activists and peace-builders, women and men experience conflict differently. Women rarely have the same resources, political rights, authority or control over their environment and needs that men do. In addition, their caretaking responsibilities limit their mobility and ability to protect themselves. † (Rehn & Sirleaf 2001). Gender Based Violence (GBV) can take many forms. Sexual violence in the form of rape, sexual slavery, forced pregnancy, trafficking, genital mutilation and soliciting of sexual favors, as horrifying as they are, is only one aspect of the affect of war on women. Steep increase in domestic violence due to armed conflicts; the travails of displacement, forced or otherwise; the resultant adverse affects on health and increased exposure to infections and life-threatening diseases such as AIDS/HIV; the burden of additional social and economic responsibilities; and the lingering psychological, physical and social effects even after the end of hostilities are the multidimensional impacts of armed conflicts that are not quite as obvious, but devastating enough to merit closer scrutiny to understand their mechanism of operation. Sexual Violence and Physical Torture The continent of Africa is rife with armed conflicts. Many factors such as bad governance, illiteracy, deplorable economic conditions, political unrest and breakdown of social structures have contributed in fomenting armed struggles on unprecedented scales. Africa is a classic example of a society where the status of women as a subordinate and deprived class has added to their miseries during time so war. The majority of women in Africa is uneducated and live in abject isolation cut off even from all that is happening around them in politics and power play. They are therefore caught completely unawares when armed conflicts erupt. The subordination of women in Africa is accentuated in conflict situations. They are not only used as sexual objects who are to be humiliated and demeaned, but are also tortured and mutilated to deter them from carrying out stereotyped roles that are perceived to go against the interests of the perpetrators. During the documentation that has been carried out in Uganda, Liberia and Sierra Leone, women have testified that rebels cut off their lips, ears and nose giving various reasons for such acts (Ochieng, 2004). The same study also documents an instance in which a father was shot dead by enemy combatants when he refuse do have sexual intercourse with his daughter. The intention in this case was to inflict severe psychological torture on both the father and the daughter as incest is considered a blasphemy in Africa as in the rest of the world at large, and would leave permanent scars on the psyche of individuals and the society. Even when women participate as combatants on their own will, they are expected to submit to the sexual exploitations of their superiors. A United Nations document on the situation in Columbia states that â€Å"the situation of women and girls making part of illegal armed groups continues concerning the Council. Women and girl-combatants were objects of sexual abuse by their superiors in the hierarchy. † (Franco et. al. 2006). Abduction of women during armed conflicts is a practice that has its roots in deep in history. A well-known example is the large group of women who were labeled the ‘comfort women’ in the Far East during the Second World War. Things have not changed much. Only the scale, range and scope have. The sexual violence is not restricted to a particular stage of armed conflict but is widely prevalent in all the stages. If it is exploitation by the same side during the initial stage, the victorious lay their own claim on the womenfolk of the vanquished during the stage of active combat; this is followed by sexual exploitation of displaced women who go from place to place as refugees and are hounded sexually by a host of anti-social elements as well as those who are meant to protect and shelter them. This extends into the peace process and the reconstruction and reintegration stage when women ravaged and left helpless by the experience of war easily succumb to the lure of currying favors in exchange of sex. â€Å"Women are physically and economically forced or left with little choice but to become sex workers or to exchange sex for food, shelter, safe passage or other needs; their bodies become part of a barter system, a form of exchange that buys the necessities of life. † (Rehn & Sirleaf 2001). There have been reports of the situation being attenuated by the arrival of peacekeeping forces when personnel from these forces also indulge in sexually exploiting women in return for food, security, shelter, employment and other favors. The independent study commissioned by the United Nations Development Fund for Women were told by members of the local community in the Kisangani and Goma regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo that peace keepers having sex with local girls and that condoms were lying visibly scattered just outside the UN compounds. It was however the desperate women who took the initiative for such sexual liaisons. Trafficking is another adverse affect that is closely associated with armed conflict. Countries with armed conflict are ideal breeding grounds for trafficking because breakdown in law and order and reduced border controls and policing. Criminal networks of arms and drug dealers that operate in war torn countries easily double up as traffickers in women. The women are taken out to work in illegal factories, as slaves or as prostitutes in brothels in red light areas. Rise in armed conflicts have triggered a simultaneous rise in trafficking throughout the world. Trafficking worldwide grew almost 50 per cent from 1995 to 2000 (Financial Times, March 19, 2001), and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that as many as 2 million women are trafficked across borders annually. A survey conducted in Cambodia in 1995 revealed that about 31 per cent of the prostitutes in Phnom Penh and 11 other provinces were between the ages of 12 and 17, and had been trafficked out of the conflict-stricken countryside (Human Rights Task Force on Cambodia, 1996). Trafficking in women has assumed alarming proportions in Columbia due to the civil war which has dragged on for decades in the country. It is estimated that around 50,000 women are trafficked out of Columbia every year. Bosnia and Herzegovina in south-east Europe also experience very high trafficking in women due to the same basic reason. Traffickers lure women out of these areas on the pretext of giving them jobs. They are then forced into sexual slavery. The traffickers take away the travel documents of the women so that they are not able to escape. Once they are in the trap it is very difficult for these women to return home to their societies even if they are rescued. Though many family in the war torn countries are desperate enough not to question where the money their daughters send home comes from, they will also not accept the women back if they come to know that they had been working as prostitutes or sex slaves. As a result, the girls go through multiple traumas: first they are separated from home, thereafter they are sexually exploited and brutalized and finally they face rejection from their own families. Trafficking is a vicious trap that leads the women who fall prey to it to ultimate destruction unless there is institutional intervention. Since armed conflict and trafficking go hand in hand, women in trouble-torn regions are always vulnerable to trafficking. Forced Displacement Forced Displacement is actually not an inevitable outcome of all armed conflicts, but it is frequently adopted as a strategy of war to destabilize enemy families and communities, to uproot the enemy so that it is scattered and weakened. Forced displacement is however a â€Å"the clearest violation of human, economic, political and social rights and of the failure to comply with international humanitarian laws† (Moser & Clark, 2001). Though displacement during armed conflict is viewed as a temporary process, examples in countries such as Sudan, Sri Lanka and Somalia show that it could extend into a prolonged affair, with succeeding generations having to stay away from the place of origin. Displacements can have multiple effects on women. For women displacement implies increased difficulties in managing household responsibilities as access to resources is cut off or becomes unavailable. Displacement has also been found to lead to a reversal in roles with women assuming the position of the head of the household. This is very evident in Sudan. Ethnic groups such as the Dinka, Nuer and Nuba have been displaced from their place of origin and face severe marginalization. The women of these communities take on added responsibilities of the missing men. Much of this added responsibility is transferred to younger members of the family, especially young girls. Young girls have to not only do domestic chores, but also look after the children, sick and the elderly. They lose out on valuable study and play time which affects their futures negatively. All displaced people face social exclusion, so do women. Staying in an alien environment without the usual support and protection from the male members of the family can be a very terrifying and psychologically scarring experience. In strife-torn Columbia, displacement has become a perennial problem. An estimated 40 million people have been forced to flee from their homes and seek sanctuary elsewhere. A whooping 80% of these displaced people are women and children (Security Council Report, 1999). This brings into sharp focus the high impact of displacement particularly on women. â€Å"The circumstances are unique in each country, but the stories are similar. In places such as Afghanistan, Angola, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Chechnya, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), East Timor, Guinea, Haiti, Indonesia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Somalia and in the occupied Palestinian territories – whose people constitute the longest-standing and largest refugee population – women have been forced from their homes and exposed to indiscriminate violence while searching for a safe haven. † (Rehn & Sirleaf 2001). Displaced people face violence and hardship as they search for a safe haven. Women are especially vulnerable in such a situation. While on the run, and even after they have found refuge, women have to suffer the humiliation of rape and other forms of physical violence. In their constant struggle to provide for their families and themselves, they are forced to sell their bodies in exchange of provisions and favours. Again, displacement can be of two types: the refugee who has left the country of origin and crossed international borders, and the Internally Displaced Person or the IDP who has been forced to leave the place of original residence and has moved to a different part or region within the country. While international laws do provide some amount of protection and security to the refugee, such laws are not applicable in case of the IDP. The IDP therefore faces a plight worse than the refugee and is practically left all alone in the fight for survival. Even in the case of the refugee, a lot depends on the willingness of those in power in the host country to allow international agencies to aid or help the refugees. In many cases, armed opposition groups may refuse to provide access to international agencies fearing that their own human rights violations will be exposed. Forced displacement however has some positive effects too for women. When the displaced women takes over the reins of the household, many of the traditional shackles lose their hold on them and they find new avenues for self development and progress. They gain a sense of liberty that they did not have in their conventional male-dominated societies. Displacement also becomes a boon for women when they find refuse in well-established and properly run care centers which provide them adequate training and education to enable them to stand on their own feet. When this happens, the suppressed woman can break free and find her own moorings. Domestic Violence during Conflict That domestic violence increases proportionately with increase in armed conflict is a fact that had not been known until very recently. Conflict attenuates domestic violence in two ways: by breaking down communities and the natural regulatory functions of communities, and by escalating violence in the context of masculine and militarized conflict situations. Conflict leads to imbalances in power relations which in turn escalates domestic violence. Many things contribute to the increase in domestic violence – the availability of weapons, the violence male family members have experienced or meted out, the lack of jobs, shelter, and basic services (Lindsey, 2002). In a conflict situation, men get used to violence either by suffering violence or meting violence to others. This sort of acclimatizes them and makes them more prone to the use of violence. The experience of war changes some man from within so that they do not hesitate to apply violence in the domestic context. Combatants who return home after spending long years in fighting have been found to find it difficult to adjust to peace time. There have been instances when men returning form war have killed their own wives. Studies in Cambodia in the mid-1990s indicated that many women – as many as 75 per cent in one study – were victims of domestic violence, often at the hands of men who have kept the small arms and light weapons they used during the war (Lutz & Elliston, 2002). In the Middle East too, there have been reports of men returning from fighting and using the same tactics of torture used in war on their wives in glaring cases of domestic violence. Israel responded to the second Intifada by imposing restrictions on the movement of Palestinians. This led to unemployment, frustration and overcrowded living conditions. The release has been noticed in the form of increased domestic violence within families, crimes against women within the family. Women were being raped and tortured by the frustrated men. The problem in the case of domestic violence is that there are very few laws to protect women from domestic. Even where such laws have been framed, they are not imposed, especially during periods of conflict. The United Nations itself has only recently woken up to the situation. War and Women’s health War has a profound negative effect on health. The direct impact is the casualties of war. Men and women die in large number in any armed conflict. In the event of continued armed struggles medical systems and facilities tend to break down. The expert’s independent report by Rehn & Sirleaf (2001) had this to report of the casualties of war: â€Å"In 2000 alone, conflict is estimated to have directly resulted in 310,000 deaths, with more than half taking place in sub-Saharan Africa. If the commonly held ratio is accurate – nine indirect deaths for every direct death caused by conflict – then approximately 2. 8 million people died in 2000 of some conflict-related cause. Arguably the figure is much higher. When the direct fatalities are estimated by age and sex, children and adolescents account for a significant proportion of the deaths. The highest mortality rates are among men aged 15 to 44, but a quarter of direct mortality is among women. The greatest number of deaths of women is among those aged 15 to 29; some 25,000 women in this age group died directly of conflict in 2000. The International Rescue Committee has estimated that between August 1998 and April 2001, there were 2. 5 million excess deaths (i. e. , above the number normally expected) in the five eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where armed groups have been fighting each other as well as attacking civilians. Only 350,000 of these deaths were directly caused by violence; the majority stemmed from disease and malnutrition. One in eight households had experienced at least one violent death; 40 per cent of these deaths were of women and children. There were more deaths than births in many of the areas studied and, in one area, 75 per cent of the children died before they reached the age of two. † The report speaks volume about the direct casualties that women suffer in armed conflicts. The indirect effects of armed conflicts on the health of women are perhaps more horrendous. The large scale rape and other sexual atrocities on women leaves them exposed to all forms of sexual diseases and infections including AIDS and HIV. Many women who manage to overcome the other travails of war have to finally accept defeat when they learn that they have contacted AIDS at the end of it. There have been instances, especially in the Rwandan armed conflicts when one ethnic community has deliberately tried to infect another ethnic community with AIDS. Epidemics break out in refugee camps claiming thousands of lives. Since the refugee camps house a larger number of women, they are affected the most. Women who have been raped or tortured suffer from mental problems. Unwanted pregnancies and adolescence pregnancies pose considerable threats to the health of women. In places such as Bosnia, Kosovar and Sierra Leone, women faced terrible dilemmas. Would they abort their unwanted babies or would they keep them? A majority of these women chose abortion because they feared rejection if they dared to keep the babies. In Sierra Lone, the matter becomes more complicated because abortions are declared illegal and it costs a lot of hard-earned money to have an abortion. All these have to be seen in the context of the conflict scenario when medical and health systems break down and there are acute shortages of medicines and trained medical personnel. Many women die at child birth due to lack of adequate care. Many babies die at birth leaving their mothers heartbroken. Provisions for Protection The Geneva Conventions of 1949 and its protocols remain the best applicable laws for the protection of women. The customary of international humanitarian laws can also be applied for the protection of women in conditions of armed conflicts. In 1993 and 1994 the Security Council established two ad hoc international criminal tribunals; the first to prosecute serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in the former Yugoslavia, and the second to prosecute similar violations as well as genocide in Rwanda. The statute of the International Criminal Code was adopted in July 1998. All laws include many common clauses that can be effectively used for the protection of women in armed conflicts. These include the clause of non discrimination by which the same protection is to be given both to men and women. The law lays down that both men and women are to be â€Å"treated humanely (†¦) without adverse distinction founded on sex †¦Ã¢â‚¬  Moreover specific protection for women are accorded by Article 14 of the Third Geneva Convention which makes it mandatory that â€Å"women †¦ be treated with all the regard due to their sex. † Considerations for the privacy of women are also taken into account by the laws, so are provisions for expectant mothers. The Human Rights and the Refugee Laws too cover other aspects of protection for women in situations of armed conflict. The crux of the matter however is that the laws are as good as the intentions of those who are responsible for implementing them. The international community has to join hands in taking up the cudgel for women caught up in horrifying situations such as armed conflicts, and they have to take enough women with them to provide the healing touch as representatives of those who have suffered the insufferable. Throughout the ages, women have shown remarkable resilience to the vagaries of armed conflict. It is one war they have to win at any cost.

death penality essays

death penality essays Ignorance has many forms, and all of them are dangerous. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries our chief effort has been to free ourselves from tradition and superstition in large questions, and from the error in small ones upon which they rest, by redefining the fields of knowledge and evolving in each the distinctive method appropriate for its cultivation. (Peters, 1985) What is torture? From the Roman jurists of the second and third centuries to the historians and lawyers of the present, those who have taken the most trouble to consider the question have come up with remarkably similar answers. In the thirteenth century, the Roman lawyer Azo gave this definition: Torture is the inquiry after truth by means of torment. In the twentieth century legal historian John Heath wrote: By torture I mean the infliction of Physically founded suffering or the threat immedialty to inflict it, where such infliction or threat is intended to elicit, or such infliction is incidental to means adopted to elicit, matter of intelligence or forensic proof and the motive is one of military, civil, or ecclesiastical interest. (Peters, 1985) The reason I had to say a little about torture is that it is a form of punishment that for many centuries was carried out in the name of the law. I cannot believe that for many centuries it was acceptable to torture someone to try to get the truth about a crime. Torturing someone does not get the truth to come, out it simply gets the person to tell you what you want to hear just to get the torture to stop. Reading through several books I had to ask myself isn't the death penalty a form of torture? Ernest Van Den Haag writes: I have heard moral philosophers express the view that although capital punishment could not be approved, its abolition is an impossible political goal. To struggle in behalf of the vicious and wicked requires more tolerance than most people can muster. There are other...

The Culture of Voting essays

The Culture of Voting essays "The Culture of Voting" There are a number of different places where people go to vote. The places change from town to town and so do the numbers of places. Where I live everybody goes to vote at the town hall. The town, where I live is small enough that it only needs one voting location. On Tuesday, November 2, the day of the elections, our town hall was very busy. All day it was filled with people who had come to vote. Outside the town hall on the street corners, were a small group of people holding signs that were telling you who to vote for. Everyone could see them standing there as they came to vote. On the front steps where everybody was walking in and out were a few businessmen in their suits standing and talking to each other. While everybody was waiting in line in the entryway, there was a display for them to look at on how to vote correctly on the ballot. In the main room there were five tables set up alphabetically by last name. The town hall is an old building, but the inside was recently restored. The voting space is in the large auditorium a big room with a balcony, a gleaming, polished wooden floor, and a small stage at one end. The recently painted walls shined in the morning sun pouring through the oversized windows. The only decoration on the walls were wooden and brass plaques listing the names of town residents who fought in each war of the past two hundred years. The room smelled of fresh sunshine and new paint. The room temperature was just right not too hot or too cold. The air was filled with the noisy expectation of who would become the next president. Long folding tables were scattered around the room filled with ballots, books and voter registration materials. Four rows of voting booths were set up in the middle of the hall. There were ten booths in each row. Red, white and blue striped curtains provided the brightest colors in the room and provided ...

Bilateral Symmetry Definition

Bilateral Symmetry Definition Bilateral symmetry is a body plan in which the body can be divided into mirror images along a central axis. In this article, you can learn more about symmetry, advantages of bilateral symmetry and examples of marine life that exhibit bilateral symmetry. What Is Symmetry? Symmetry is the arrangement of shapes or body parts so that they are equal on each side of a dividing line. In an animal, this describes the way its body parts are arranged around a central axis.   There are several types of symmetry found in marine organisms. The two main types are bilateral symmetry and radial symmetry, but organisms may also exhibit pentaradial symmetry or biradial symmetry.  Some organisms are asymmetrical. Sponges are the only asymmetrical marine animal. Definition of Bilateral Symmetry Bilateral symmetry is the arrangement of body parts into left and right halves on either side of a central axis. When an organism is bilaterally symmetrical, you can draw an imaginary line (this is called the sagittal plane) from the tip of its snout to the tip of its back end, and on either side of this line would be halves that are mirror images of each other. In a bilaterally symmetrical organism, only one plane can divide the organism into mirror images. This can also be called left/right symmetry. The right and left halves arent exactly the same. For example, the right flipper of a whale may be a little larger or differently shaped than the left flipper.   Many animals, including humans, exhibit bilateral symmetry. For example, the fact that we have an eye, arm, and leg in about the same place on each side of our bodies makes us bilaterally symmetrical. Bilateral Symmetry Etymology The term bilateral can be traced to the Latin bis (two) and latus (side). The word symmetry comes from the Greek words syn (together) and metron (meter). Characteristics of Animals That Are Bilaterally Symmetrical Animals that exhibit bilateral symmetry typically have head and tail (anterior and posterior) regions, a top and a bottom (dorsal and ventral) and left and right sides. Most have a complex brain that is located in the head, which is part of a well-developed nervous system and may even have right and left sides. They also usually have eyes and a mouth located in this region. In addition to having a more developed nervous system, bilaterally symmetrical animals can move more quickly than animals with other body plans. This bilaterally symmetrical body plan may have evolved to help animals better find food or escape predators.  Also, having a head and tail region means that waste is eliminated in a different region from where food is eaten - definitely a perk for us!   Animals with bilateral symmetry also have better eyesight and hearing than those with radial symmetry. Examples of Bilateral Symmetry Humans and many other animals exhibit bilateral symmetry. In the ocean world, most marine creatures, including all vertebrates and some invertebrates exhibit bilateral symmetry. Following are examples of marine life profiled on this site that exhibit bilateral symmetry: Marine MammalsSea TurtlesFishLobstersCephalopodsNudibranchsEchinoderms - although they have  pentaradial  (5-sided) symmetry as adults, echinoderm larvae are bilaterally symmetrical. References and Further Information Morrissey, J.F. and J.L. Sumich. 2012. Introduction to the Biology of Marine Life (10th Edition). Jones Bartlett Learning. 467pp.Natural History Museum. Bilateral Symmetry. Accessed June 16, 2015.Prosser, W. A. M. 2012. Animal Body Plans and Movement: Symmetry in Action. Decoded Science. Accessed February 28, 2016.University of California Museum of Paleontology. Bilateral (left/right) Symmetry. Understanding Evolution. Accessed February 28, 2016.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Research Paper Example For the purposes of this study, McMurphy code of behavior while in the correctional facility is closely investigated. McMurphy suffers from dissociative disorder. McMurphy as the main character displays a set of behaviors that strongly suggest that he is suffering from dissociative disorders. Primarily, dissociative disorders refer to irregular disruption of memory functions, personal identity, or personality. Dissociative disorder is a skewed psychological reaction in response to previous traumatic or distressful conditions. Simply put, dissociative disorder can be said to be a defense mechanism against previous bad or traumatic experiences. It is claimed that most of the cases of dissociative disorders occur among persons who have gone through traumatic experiences. According to Butler as quoted by Sharhram and Stephen; the most important feature of the dissociative experience is absorption and in all dissociative experiences, pathological and non-pathological, self-reflective mech anisms are terminated and because of that, in any dissociative experience the sense of self is lost and the experience of body and world is changed--which is described as depersonalization and derealization (Sharhram and Stephen, 2011, p. 3) What happens is that the person experiences spasms of impartiality from self when a traumatic or a similar phenomenon. It can be claimed that McMurphy’s dissociative disorder stemmed from the fact that he used to serve in military. Although the movie does not depict clearly the primary cause of McMurphy’s dissociative disorder, he must have developed the problem while serving in the Korean War. In the movie, McMurphy displays many symptoms of dissociative disorder albeit implicitly. Firstly, he is always in brawls with Nurse Ratched. For instance, he uses card games to win over all the cigarettes from the rest of the patients. However, Nurse Ratched confiscates the cigarettes and Murphy gets on her by demanding that the hospital po licies need reevaluation. At this point, Murphy is oblivious of his status as a mental patient and goes ahead to experience a moment of alienation from the reality (Tasman, Kay, Lieberman, First &  Maj, 2011). Possibly, Nurse Ratched reminds him of a painful past in the military whereby he underwent a humiliating experience. In another spectacular scene, Murphy uses the hospital bus without the permission and knowledge of the hospital staff. Interestingly, he carries his fellow patients and takes them to a fishing site whereby they use a fishing boat for deep-sea fishing. Arguably, the events at the fishing site clearly depict that indeed, Murphy is suffering from dissociative disorder. Notably, he tells the colleagues that they should not be afraid since they are fishermen and not mad as the nurses tell them in the hospital. At this moment, it can be posited that Murphy is experiencing a dissociative disorder since he is simply trying to change his personal identity and the ident ity of the colleagues in response to the harsh and unpleasant experience that he undergoes while in hospital. In yet another scene, Murphy takes on Nurse Ratched after she warns Billy that she will tell his mother what they had done in the hospital. Murphy shows yet more severe symptoms of dissociative disorder by experiencing a moment of irregular mental functions (Frederick  & McNeal, 1999; Tasman, Kay, Liebe

Write a report assessing the feasibility of different water techniques Essay

Write a report assessing the feasibility of different water techniques for providing fresh water to arid regions of the world - Essay Example anagement is required along with the implementation of specific techniques for providing fresh water particularly to the arid and semi-arid regions of the world (Kundzewicz & Mata 2007). â€Å"Only 2.5 percent of water on earth is fresh water, the remaining 97.5 percent is brackish or saline water† (Ragheb 2011: 1). The fresh water is present 0.4 percent in lakes and rivers, 30.9 percent as ground water, and 68.7 percent as snow and ice. A major requirement for water is in agriculture and food production, using three-quarters of the fresh water from rivers, lakes and aquifers. Further, water is essential in the production of energy by power plants which use billions of gallons of water per year to produce steam to power its turbines. There are over 21,000 desalination plants across About one-third of the land surface on earth is either arid with less than 250 mm of annual precipitation, or semi-arid with precipitation between 250 mm and 500 mm. The lack of freshwater resources hamper sustainable development in these regions. On the other hand, â€Å"growing population, increasing standard of living, and expanding opportunities exert increasing demands for varyied needs for water† (Singh, Sherif & Al Rashid 2002: ix) for agriculture, industry, waste disposal, power generation, navigation, transportation, recreation and other requirements. As a result of greater oil revenues, unprecedented economic and social transformation have taken place in the countries belonging to the Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC) which include Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. On the other hand, these Gulf Cooperative Council countries face major challenges in water resource management. The main reasons include unsustainable use of ground water resources, lack of urban water demand management, institutional and legal constraints, and limited role of private sector. To address these issues, the government has formulated policy recommendations that includes

Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 4

Philosophy - Essay Example nd analyzing distinguishes human beings from all other creatures including animals, beasts, birds and even latest devised calculation and computation machines. Renowned twentieth century philosopher Alan N. Turing (1950) is of the opinion that digital computation systems render the lengthy and exhausting computation and calculation services far quicker than human brains, and thus they could challenge and surpass human brains in computation performance, even though these machines are unable to make analysis and draw out tangible measurements attributed to humans. The present paper aims to examine the fact, in the light of theoretical frameworks presented by Rene Descartes and A. M. Turing, that whether human made machines, digital computers, robots and androids have obtained the same level of thinking and reason in this era of technological revolution that is attributed and confined to human brain only or human brain certainly outclasses digital computers on the foundation of unique r easoning and deep thoughtfulness which the latest digital computers are unable to observe. The analyses will also be made in the light of Philip Dick’s novel  Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep for accept of reject the hypothesis articulated by Turing (1950). Nature has blessed human beings with splendid mental capabilities, which have been turned out to be highly supportive for the establishment of their superiority over the fish of the water, beast of the jungle, pet of urban life and the bird of the sky. Hence, man keeps dominance over almost all creatures by dint of the innate mental characteristics and gifted intellect. Turing (1950) displays his reservations regarding the fast pace of developments being made in the world of technology, which not only have given birth to countless inventions and discoveries, but continuous sequence of these inventions may supersede human intellect as well. By this, according to him, people could rely upon machinery even for entering into

Medicating Children Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Medicating Children - Essay Example there is a broad spectrum of behavioral problems in children as they are still undergoing psycho-emotional changes and coming to terms with their true identity. Some behavioral problems that are frequently observed in children include aggression towards animals or others, hostile behavior and anger issues for a period of at least six consecutive months (Rubin, 21). Hence; in some cases the use of medication may be completely unnecessary. There is a wide range of therapies that have been found to be effective in addressing behavioral problems and in some situations behavioral therapy has found to be equally effective with fewer side effects than use of medications. Therefore, parents, students, teachers and medical practitioners should work together towards devising interventions that do not include medication. Since these measures have been found to be equally effective, research should be dedicated towards improving these methods and creating new ones for therapeutic purposes. This paper will discuss the negative attributes of utilizing medications and the benefits that are attained from alternative therapy. The prevalence of behavior problems among children is substantial and under diagnosed as it is often mistaken for normal childhood mischief. However, the implications on the child’s life can be serious if the appropriate measures are not taken to help the child. Furthermore, these implications would also extend to problems within the community as the levels of crime may increase subsequently (Rubin, 21). Children with behavior problems may also become isolated making them prone suicide and depression. Therefore, intervention for these children is inevitable and this should be accompanied with early diagnosis and the appropriate treatment plans. The problem however lies in the side effects that have been discovered from using these drugs. The side effects have been found to supersede the benefits that are attained making their use questionable especially

Economics and Healthcare Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Economics and Healthcare - Assignment Example Hence any significant change in the economy brings about simultaneous changes in access to and provision of health care. In a system which is bound by an employment-based healthcare coverage and where provision of healthcare essentially depends on the country’s economy, understanding the impact of economics on health care is of crucial significance. The healthcare system in the United States is focused on provision of services which are cost-effective to consumers who demand greater accessibility and better quality at affordable rates (White, 2005). A country which is regarded as the world leader in terms of medical advances and research and technology in the field of medicine, the lack of access to healthcare and primary health care services is one of the most critical and on-going issues faced by it since several decades (Gulliford and Morgan, 2003). An overwhelming majority of the population who are at the bottom of the economic pyramid include those insured by Medicaid, low wage earners as well as those who are uninsured and underinsured. This paper discusses the complex interactions between economics, employment, and provision of healthcare services in the country; the impact of the impact of provision of healthcare to a vulnerable section of the population such as the uninsured; the key implications for nursing in delivering patient care to the uninsured and its impact on the nursing profession. Any disturbance in the economy of a country is likely to result in the usage of and access to medical care, since it directly affects the individual’s ability to pay for such care. Recessions often lead to large scale unemployment, which in turn affect the access to insurance, since most of the healthcare services in the United States are employment-based (Catalano, 2009). Furthermore the willingness of an individual to pay for

Medicating Children Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Medicating Children - Essay Example there is a broad spectrum of behavioral problems in children as they are still undergoing psycho-emotional changes and coming to terms with their true identity. Some behavioral problems that are frequently observed in children include aggression towards animals or others, hostile behavior and anger issues for a period of at least six consecutive months (Rubin, 21). Hence; in some cases the use of medication may be completely unnecessary. There is a wide range of therapies that have been found to be effective in addressing behavioral problems and in some situations behavioral therapy has found to be equally effective with fewer side effects than use of medications. Therefore, parents, students, teachers and medical practitioners should work together towards devising interventions that do not include medication. Since these measures have been found to be equally effective, research should be dedicated towards improving these methods and creating new ones for therapeutic purposes. This paper will discuss the negative attributes of utilizing medications and the benefits that are attained from alternative therapy. The prevalence of behavior problems among children is substantial and under diagnosed as it is often mistaken for normal childhood mischief. However, the implications on the child’s life can be serious if the appropriate measures are not taken to help the child. Furthermore, these implications would also extend to problems within the community as the levels of crime may increase subsequently (Rubin, 21). Children with behavior problems may also become isolated making them prone suicide and depression. Therefore, intervention for these children is inevitable and this should be accompanied with early diagnosis and the appropriate treatment plans. The problem however lies in the side effects that have been discovered from using these drugs. The side effects have been found to supersede the benefits that are attained making their use questionable especially

How the epic poem Iliad influenced Alexander the Great Research Paper

How the epic poem Iliad influenced Alexander the Great - Research Paper Example The paper "How the epic poem Iliad influenced Alexander the Great" states the influence of Iliad to Alexander the Great. To a great extent, Iliad’s world was a world of heroism for Alexander. Homer’s heroes -especially, Achilles- had influenced the young mind of Alexander in his youth. But this world also taught him morality and courage to a considerable extent. It was the courage of Achilles’ courage -to go against Agamemnon’s tyrannous, unreasonable and despotic behavior- that inspired Alexander to raise his voice often against his father’s royal policies. Though he inherited much of the war-tactics and the wisdom of fighting and winning a war from his father Philip of Macedon, textual evidences from the â€Å"Iliad† show that a significant part of Alexander’s war-tactics had been induced and modulated by the war-tactics of Homeric heroes. This paper will explore into how Alexander had been influenced by Homer’s epic poem â₠¬ËœIliad’. Alexander’s real-life activities will be compared with the textual evidences in the poem. During the formative years of his early life Alexander had been greatly influenced by the â€Å"Iliad†. Since his time, he has turned into a legendary personality. He appears to one of the most influential historical personalities who tamed the world by their courage. But this legendary personality himself has been inspired tremendously by the Greek mythologies and legends. During the early years of his life, Alexander studied the ‘Iliad’. The courage and heroism of the Greek heroes.... The courage and heroism of the Greek heroes in the story were greatly shaping the young mind of Alexander. Especially the Homeric hero Achilles attracted him so much that he decided to imitate him in his real life. Till his death, the Achillean motivation to fight in a war has haunted Alexander’s mind. This Achillean motivation is best described in the following speech of Achilles: â€Å"If I hold out here and I lay siege to Troy, / my journey home is gone, but my glory never dies. / If I voyage back to the fatherland I love, / my pride, my glory dies. . . .†1 The famous Historian Plutarch comments that being pleased by Alexander’s passion for Achilles, Aristotle himself prepared an annotated copy the ‘Iliad’ and gave it to the young boy. This annotated copy of the Iliad accompanied Alexander till the last day of his life. He even slept with it under his pillow, as Chris Whitten says in this regard: â€Å"Emulating the famous hero was apparently enc ouraged by his teacher, the great philosopher Aristotle†¦.Aristotle personally annotated a copy of the Iliad for Alexander. Alexander kept it with him throughout all his later travels, even sleeping with it under his pillow.†2 Another event in Alexander’s life inspired him to mould his life after Achilles. His mother, Olympias, had been able to convince young Alexander that he was the descendant of Achilles and Hercules. Though Olympias’s story seems to be a sheer fantasy, it shook Alexander’s young mind vehemently and prepared him mentally to keep the fantasized Achillean heroic family tradition intact. Iliad’s Role on Alexander’s Conflict with Philip II From the very beginning of his career in the Macedonian Army, Alexander began to react against

Parallels similarities between the experiences of womenmen in Gileadean and US society Essay Example for Free

Parallels similarities between the experiences of womenmen in Gileadean and US society Essay I would like to concur with Atwood that the Gilead society only exist in the land of Gilead alone, and such attributes are not witnessed in the basic American societies even though this concurrence is limited. I will begin by citing Atwood opinion. Firstly, the Gilead society transferred women wealth to their husbands or relatives. Thus, a woman was seen as a property and could not be allowed to own property since she was a property. This is not the case with contemporary US society where women can make significant macroeconomic decisions American women are leaders of large businesses, control large investments and even assume elective posts. I will, therefore, compare the identity issue to makes sure that you understand the differences between American societies and Gilead societies. Unlike in the American society, in the Gileadian society women were highly segregated from one another. For a woman to befriend a fellow woman that relationship was to be made public. As such, their husbands took women as properties. Thus, they expected women to consult them on what choices they would want to make in life. According to Atwood, Gileadian woman would wear uniforms coded to their functions. However, American women have independent decisions. They choose who and who not to relate with. Besides, Audience, Atwood believes that Gilead women were infertile, and they would help their husbands during insemination commonly known as ceremony. The women were only in charge of the household discipline, however, their freedoms since way the feel week they were left to die with no care at all. As well, the women were expected to provide subsequent child catering; as quoted; They would tell Bible stories for children and sing hymns. One of the women was called Serena Joy†¦..was expected to laugh and cry†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦in order to teach the children (16) Rather complex, the women of Gilead, who are seen handling complex administrative jobs, for instance, becoming police officers, are still considered properties of men they are working with. As such, the women become rigid, middle-aged who have internalized patriarchal values. In fact, Gilead women are dogmatized to live in a society that does not seem to care about their objectives. Similarly, women of Gilead operate re-education centers; however, they are not mandated to carry out critical decisions concerning education. However, this is not the case their American counterparts. American counterparts contribute positively towards the development of the society. Their decisions are independent. Similarly, the creation and destruction of property rights fundamentally presents legal challenges affecting the women of Gilead. Men, control the Gilead government. Gilead state captures wayward and loose women who can bear birth to the incoming generations; however, they fail to recognize the power and legitimacy of the new regime. Thus, their property is their self and freedoms and as illustrated earlier, the access to money. As a result, women become the property of their husbands if they have one or the state that has their discretion can dispatch them wherever they see them. In this case, males are in power to claim property rights in women who have been foiled. However, in America, women are not treated as fugitives in fact, they present an equal 50/50 power distribution and resources are shared evenly. Ironically, the Gilead regime pretends to respect the feminist philosophy in its treatment of women and the paints a picture of an utopian future that female society turnaround to become the sorority and prevent from being hurt. However, the patriarchy principles in Gilead embrace the paradox of protection in the imprisonment, where women face significant prejudices in the type of decisions that they make. This is not the case with the present American society. Joining Atwood, I prefer Aunt Lydia reflection on what freedom-to-freedom means. Ironically, the commander justifies the Gilead by claiming that women are relevant if they fulfill their biological duties. Literary the commander had married so many women, and had one ceremonial as Atwood is quoted saying At one, level was an almost a caricature of the banality of kitchen talk that could be a scene from a Pinter commender†¦But in the terror-filled austerity of the commander house, it is seductively comforting†¦.note the word seduction. (10) Such a doctrine is rapid, and it indicates how women are considered as a property of the Gilead men communities. American women consider giving birth as a service to the society and not necessary as a reward for a better life. Besides, American women consider giving birth as a way of giving back to the society positively. Equally, audience please be advised that the fascist Republic of Gilead, which differs the contemporary United States society assigns every woman to different classes of women: without their will to protest. The classes are as a follows: wives, belong to the married men who have a superior military rank. These women, despite their will, are treated fairly better than other counterparts are in the society. Secondly, the Gilead society assigns a second class of women, handmaid, econowives or Martha the role of reproduction and matrimony. These women, despite their will, are engaged into hard jobs serving the rich in one way, or another. The group is forcefully married to a lower rank military regime that does not have enough status to obtain a handmaid or aunts function. Even though ironically, Handmaids surrogate for the infertile heterosexuals, as well as, serving as women housekeepers and cooking nannies. To achieve that, the Gilead initiates a dogmatizing religious program, one tha t ordains the reproduction where multiple doctrines are enacted to affirm the system of social rituals. Members, such as absurd society does not exist in America. On the contrary, in America, women are empowered to make decisions concerning the sexuality. As quoted saying †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦The flesh arranges itself differently. I am a cloud congealed around a central object, the shape of a pear†¦ (Chapter 13, 43) However, the social complexity of the US, American women control their sexuality and as well, control how they would prefer bringing forth their off springs. Similarly, since Gilead is actively involved in patriarch driven conflicts, most members are either infertile or sterile, it is arguable that men through the subsequent political battles have made their property. As such, subsequent political battles have increased toxic wastes and nuclear fallout, where toxic waste colonies are increased. To hide the truth behind such rituals, the Gilead societies have invoked a biblical ritual called â€Å"The Ceremony. However, arrogantly, how they conduct their sexual activities is unbecoming. The command penetrates the handmaid exposed sex in an attempt to impregnate a woman. The commander is quoted to have said I’m not talking about sex; he says. That was part of it; the sex was too easy. . . You know what they were complaining about the most (Chapter, 32) This is unbecoming since the woman has been lured to sex. Any sound child born by the handmaid is handled over to the wife of the commander as if the child belonged to the commander’s wife. Such a social setting is very wanting and prompts the question on the role of women in the society. To answer that, American women make independent decisions on how when and where, they want to give birth. American women also make the choice to have sex, when, where and with whom. Nonetheless, despite the complex differences between the Gilead society and the American society, we still notice some similarities. While it is evident that the Gilead society obligates women roles as predominantly domestic, the US society seems to emulate that by assigning women the task of raising children while men are technically exempted from that. Additionally, members you will agree with me that the congress, which happens to be active Christian right is looking for traditional family values. Even though we acknowledge that radical pieces of the Gilead system have not found a way into the American system, it is notable that domestic institutions have secret doctrine women in the Gilead society. A common doctrine is the domestic chore, where the common American woman is made to believe that in order to make a perfect partner, one has to wash the dirt, prepare food, and even entertain a commander called the husband. Men experiences, therefore, are not radical, or in any case equal as those affecting women. It is also disheartening to note that efforts by feminine movements are currently being considered outdated or extremists and are not attracting subsequent influence as they were expected two decades. Efforts to benefit and strengthen the woman counterpart peel away the layers the practice once again set to maintain the domin ant-subordinate relationship. Reference Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaids Tale. London: Vintage Classic, 2010. Print. Source document

The Media Influence on Public Perceptions of Crime

The Media Influence on Public Perceptions of Crime Introduction The publics knowledge of crime is primarily derived from its depiction in the media. The media affects the publics opinion of crime and punishment, and its perception of the police. If the media is responsible for the headlines, the conclusion is that it influences the publics attitude regarding crime incidents. (Muraskin and Domash 2007). Crime stories are covered extensively by the print-based media seemingly because they help to sell newspapers. Stories are often sensationalised with the intent to make attention-grabbing headlines that do not always represent the true facts; but do these articles play a part in needlessly fuelling the publics fear of crime? This dissertation will attempt to answer this question by conducting primary research in the suburban village of Stannington in Sheffield. Aims/Objectives/Hypothesis The objective of this research is to analyse the relationship between crime and the media, more specifically fear of crime levels and print-based media articles. Due to the geographic location in which the research will be conducted, two specific crime types have been chosen; personal crimes such as burglary and theft and community-based crimes such as vandalism and anti-social behaviour. These crime types were chosen as a result of the suburban area in which the study will be conducted. These crimes are those which are more likely to be of a concern to the respondents of the study and are therefore more suitable for this particular piece of research if I wish to collect an accurate data set. More serious crimes like rape, murder and assault are less likely to occur on a private, middle class housing estate and thus these crime types would probably not be a major concern to residents living in the area. Prior to conducting any research; the hypothesis chosen which predicts the outcom e of the research is that respondents who are female and who read print-based media more frequently will have an increased fear of crime in comparison to males who dont read print-based media articles. Literature Review Fear of crime Garofalo (1981:840) defined fear of crime as an emotional reaction characterized by a sense of danger and anxiety produced by the threat of physical harm elicited by perceived cues in the environment that relate to some aspect of crime. The definition of fear of crime can vary depending on the individual and their own personal experiences of crime; and this is in fact similar to how people have differing levels of fear. An individuals level of fear could be influenced by several factors. Personal experience of crime is one of many factors which can significantly increase the level of fear which a person has, with the fear of repeat victimisation a key issue in this. Balkin (1979) and Hough (1985) argue that a commonly accepted belief is that people who have been victimised, particularly in their neighbourhood, or who know others who have been similarly victimised, will tend to be more afraid. Similarly, a report published by the Beth Johnson foundation in 2006 looked at the fear of c rime in people over the age of 50. It found that several respondents who had been mugged and/or burgled had a particularly high level of fear of crime as a result of their previous experiences. This publication shows many interesting opinions of the elderly, however it does not take into account the opinions of a larger demographic of people with varying ages. As a result it allows an opportunity to conduct research on a broader scale to investigate fear of crime from people of all ages. Jewkes (2010:155) acknowledges that victims of crime will probably become more fearful about the likelihood of future victimization as a result of their experiences, however many more individuals will experience fear as a result of indirect contact with crime. Fear of crime has become a major social problem and although some of this fear can be accounted for by the actual amount of criminal activity, particularly in the neighbourhood (Kinsey et al.1986). People may come to be fearful of criminal victimisation because they perceive their immediate environment to be threatening, thus noisy neighbours, teenagers hanging around street corners and flats with broken windows may all signify to some individuals that their neighbourhood is threatening (Baumer 1985; Hunter and Baumer 1982), however much of it is caused by other subjective/perceptual and social structural factors. A substantial amount of research has already identified several factors which appear to make a contribution to fear. Box, Hale and Andrews (1988: 341) classify these under the following headings: vulnerability, environmental clues and conditions, personal knowledge of crime and victimisation, confidence in the police and criminal justice systems, perceptions of personal ris k, and seriousness of various offences. The research for this piece of work will be carried out by households in close proximity to each other; consequently the environmental conditions should be very similar for each respondent. However other factors, in particular vulnerably; personal knowledge of crime; and confidence in the police and criminal justice system should be different for every respondent. As a result, the findings of the research should be particularly diverse. In terms of fear of crime, the British Crime Survey offers an in depth insight into the British publics perception of crime, in comparison to actual crime statistics. The BCS is a face-to-face victimisation survey in which people inhabiting households in England and Wales are asked about their experiences of crime in the 12 months prior to interview. The 2009/10 BCS shows that a large proportion of people (sixty six per cent) believe crime has risen across the country as a whole in the last few years. There has been a large majority of respondents who think crime has risen at a national level since the questions were first included in 1996. Statistics provided by the Home Office (2010) show an actual decrease in a large number of crimes between 2002 and 2010. The total of sexual offences, robbery, burglary, fraud, drug offences, and the total of all recorded crime have decreased every year for the past 8 years. These figures would suggest that the publics fear of crime is unjust base d on the number of crimes which have fallen throughout Britain in recent years. It would appear that the publics perception of these high crime levels is influenced by more than just official statistics released by the Home Office, the most obvious contributor to this fear of crime being the media. Fear of crime and the media It is often argued that the media exaggerate the extent of crime in Britain. This includes newspapers, news and entertainment on television and radio, as well as crime fiction (Greer,2005). These exaggerations of crime stories which are in the public eye daily can have a substantial impact upon the publics perception of crime, but more significantly their fear of it. As previously mentioned, personal experiences of crime can often result in victims becoming increasingly fearful of being victimised; while accounts of crime from family, friends and neighbours may also have this effect. However as previous research has discovered; the most influential source to fuel fear of crime is usually the media. As Jewkes (2010) states numerous writers have examined the proposition that the media present crime stories (both factual and fictional) in ways which selectively distort and manipulate public perceptions, creating a false picture of crime which promotes stereotyping, bias, prejudice and g ross oversimplification of the facts. Their conclusion is that it is not just official statistics that misrepresent the picture of crime, but that the media are also guilty of manipulation and fuelling public fears. Roberts and Doob (1986) and Surette (1998) reaffirm this view of crime and the media in their analysis of how influential the media can be. The publics perception of victims, criminals, deviants, and law enforcement officials is largely determined by their portrayal in the mass media. Research indicates that the majority of public knowledge about crime and justice is derived from the media. Western society is fascinated with crime and justice. From films, books, newspapers, magazines, television broadcasts, to everyday conversations, we are constantly engaging in crime talk. In this sense; the mass media play an important role in the construction of criminality and the criminal justice system. Research conducted by Ditton and Duffy (1983) came to a similar conclusion to Jewkes in regards to coverage of crime stories in the media after their analysis of three Scottish newspapers. An analysis of the crime content of the newspapers (in terms of the numbers and page areas of crime reports) was completed and found that six per cent of the news involved crime, with forty five per cent of this being violent or sexual crime. This figure was then compared with actual police statistics which showed just two per cent of crime in the locality to be of a violent and/or sexual nature (Williams and Dickinson 1993:35). As a result of their findings, Ditton and Duffy came to the conclusion that this research exemplifies the level of sensationalism and exaggeration of crime stories which appear throughout print-based media. Consequently, they called for further research to be conducted to determine whether the misrepresentations of crime in newspapers influence the general perceptions of re aders. Despite a large percentage of violent or sexual crimes covered in the newspapers, it is arguable as to weather a percentage of just six out of the total of all articles in them is substantial enough to conclude that print-based media exaggerate and sensationalise as Ditton and Duffy suggested. This research took significant steps to examine the content of crime stories in print-based media and be regarded as a successful study, however it was conducted almost thirty years ago which means in terms of quantity and coverage of crime stories in modern Britain, it is somewhat outdated. In addition; the research fails to determine any links between media coverage and fear of crime, so with this in mind, the study which will be conducted for this piece of work primarily aims to investigate if there is any sort of correlation between print-based media and fear of crime in an attempt to come to a conclusion which Ditton and Duffy were unable to achieve. When the discussion takes place surrounding how influential the media can be on crime levels and fear of crime; the theory of moral panics often surfaces. This model made famous by Stanley Cohen in the 1970s with the publication of Folk Devils and Moral Panics: The creation of Mods and Rockers refers to public and political reactions to minority or marginalized individuals and groups who appear to be some kind of threat to consensual values and interests. (Jewkes 2010:74) By labelling certain groups as deviant; missing out key facts and extensively covering crime stories; the creation of moral panics by the British press has becoming arguably one of the more damaging aspects of crime coverage, causing unnecessary for fear and apprehension amongst the public. These fears when compared to actual crime statistics do appear to be uncalled for, but figures from the British Crime Survey suggest that they are still present in the minds of newspaper readings. The British Crime Survey has been conducted by the Home Office since its introduction in 1982 and from 2001 it has run continuously each year. The survey of around forty thousand adults is conducted to gain an insight into public attitudes to crime as well as other criminal justice issues, with the findings often used to assist the Government in their policy formations (Home Office 2010). The 2003 edition of the BCS was the first to ask respondents directly about their newspaper reading habits. The results showed that attitudes to crime are very much influenced by newspaper reports. Forty three per cent of tabloid readers believed that crime has increased a lot with seventeen per cent also claiming to be very worried by the threat of physical attacks (Guardian 2003). These findings are based on a very large scale with the respondents geographically located across most parts of Britain. They offer an accurate representation of the populations fear of crime and how this is influenced b y newspapers articles, however due to its large scale, a more appropriate approach to use in order to get a localised view on crime would be a study of households in one particular part of a city. This method then allows the researcher to investigate if the immediate area in which the respondent resides is influential in their levels of fear. Several other pieces of research have been carried out to understand fear of crime in both the elderly and in women respectively. A recent Age Concern reported entitled The Fear Factor: Older people and Fear of Street crime reported that forty seven per cent of those over 75 years of age and thirty seven per cent of those over fifty no longer take part in social and community activities after dark because of fear of street crime (Help the Aged 2006). Similarly an article in the Independent (2005) entitled Women and Crime: Fear in Suburbia goes into depth about the fear which single women have about being attacked in their own homes. In this article many women interviewed agreed that the media has a role to play in increasing womens fears despite official Home Office statistics suggesting total recorded crime is down by six per cent year-on-year (Independent 2005). Both pieces of research gain insight into two separate groups of society with valid and reliable data collection, however they fail to make comparisons of fear of crime levels with other groups of people. By conducting research from both men and women of varying ages, this allows for more in depth analysis, where comparisons and correlations can be made between all respondents to determine if age and/or sex are an influential factor in fear of crime levels. There has been extensive criticism of the empirical and theoretical validity of the claims that media images cultivate a misleading view of the world of crime (Howitt 1998; Ditton et al. 2004); and according to several critics, there is still not enough sufficient evidence to suggest that exposure to the media as well as other variables such as class, gender, race, place of residence and actual experience of crime can and do effect an individuals fear of becoming a victim of crime (Reiner 2006). Despite these criticisms; the research carried out for this piece of work will attempt to gather enough evidence to show that the media along with other variables does in fact influence fear of crime. Methodology The data collection method which will be used for this research is a cross-sectional questionnaire consisting of both qualitative and quantitative questions. The questionnaire will be given to twenty four randomly selected respondents living on a housing estate in the semi-rural village of Stannington, in Sheffield. At the last census (2001), the population for Stannington village was listed as 16,600 (www.stannington.org.uk). This number is far too large as it would require a significant amount of questionnaires to be produced which is unrealistic given the resources and time-frame available; therefore a combination of both cluster and systematic sampling will be used to select certain roads and houses within a small geographical location. Kalsbeek (1998) defines cluster sampling as: sampling in which sampling units (that is, households) at some point in the selection process are collections, or clusters, of population elements. For the primary sample group; eight roads on the housi ng estate will be selected as part of the cluster sampling process, then house numbers two; five and eight are to be chosen systematically. This approach eliminates any potential bias, allowing the validity of the research to be increased. Similarly; for the secondary sample group, four roads will be selected with house numbers one and ten chosen to receive the questionnaire if not all twenty four primary respondents decide to complete the questionnaire. In order to be courteous when addressing the respondents, the electoral register will be accessed at the Sheffield Town Hall to gather the names of those chosen to participate in the study. Doing this should allow for the respondents to be contacted formally whilst making it more manageable to record which households responded and those who declined. When the collection of data from the primary sample group commences, personal introductions will be made informing the randomly selected respondents what the research study is for and how they have been chosen. If the respondents then decide to take part in the study they will be given the questionnaire along with a cover sheet, outlining the instructions on how to complete the questionnaire and a brief letter explaining the purpose of the study. If the there is no one in at the chosen addresses; the questionnaire will be posted to the respondents and will be collected a week from that date. The decision to utilise a cross-sectional questionnaire was made because this method allows data to be collected relatively quickly and at a single point in time. These characteristic of data collection are very much suited for this type of research study due to the time and transport limitations which apply. A questionnaire is preferable over other designs such as a longitudinal survey or case study as it lends itself well to quantifiable data, allowing for variations to be established which may appear throughout the different variables. According to Bryman (2008:45) cross sectional studies are very effective in terms of replicability because the researcher can spell out procedures for selecting respondents, designing measures of concepts; administrating research instruments and analysing data. When the questionnaires have been collected from all respondents and the required amount of data has been gathered; it will then be analysed using the data analysis software SPSS. This software allows complex data to be interpreted very easily through the use of bivariate and multivariate crosstabulations as well as frequency tables. This data can then be used to create graphs which allow for patterns of correlation to be identified. SPSS was elected due to its capability to eliminate any issues regarding inter-coder reliability. It also lends itself well to quantitative closed-ended question data (which I intend to collect) because this form of data requires very little coding and can therefore be inputted into the programme with ease. Data Analysis Following the collection of twenty four questionnaire responses; the data was inputted into the SPSS software and the variable values were coded. After compiling frequency tables and crosstabulations it appears that the research has identified some interesting findings, which do not necessarily agree with the original hypothesis stated at the beginning of the study. Table 1 (below) shows how participants responded to the question Do newspapers influence your fear of crime? It appears that only 37.5% of people felt that their fear of being a victim of crime was influenced by newspapers. 50% stated that they werent influenced which is reasonably more than those that answered yes to the question; however it is not significantly high enough to suggest a majority because there were 3 respondents (12.5%) who were undecided. (Table 1) Do newspapers influence your fear of crime? Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid Yes 9 37.5 37.5 37.5 No 12 50.0 50.0 87.5 Dont know 3 12.5 12.5 100.0 Total 24 100.0 100.0 When the variable of gender is factored into the same question, it appears that men are more influenced by print-based media than women. A crosstabulation of the two variables shows that 6 males in comparison to just 3 females stated that their fear was influenced by newspapers. This figure at first appears to be a surprise when compared to the Independent (2005) article (referred to earlier); which stated that the media has a role to play in increasing fear of crime levels amongst women. However when a crosstabulation was formed which analysed the gender and how often do you read national newspapers? variables; it appears that the male respondents in the study read newspapers more regularly than the females. Table 2 (below) shows that half (6) of all male respondents read a national newspaper once a week in comparison to only 2 female respondents. It also illustrates that all of the male respondents read a newspaper at least once a month in comparison to 5 females who stated that th ey never read a newspaper. (Table 2) How often do you read national newspapers? * Are you male or female? Crosstabulation Are you male or female? Total Male Female How often do you read national newspapers? Every day 2 3 5 Several times a week 2 1 3 Once a week 6 2 8 Once a fortnight 2 0 2 Once a month 0 1 1 Never 0 5 5 Total 12 12 24 With this in mind; the statistics appear to suggest that those who are subject to newspaper articles more frequently appear to be influenced by them more in terms of fear of crime. Lichtenstein et al (1978: 575) state Fear sells. Past research by Ditton and Duffy (1983) amongst others, primarily focused upon newspaper content analysis. Some evidence was found to suggest that certain crime types; in particular violent or sexual crimes appeared continuously throughout newspapers articles. This research along with several other studies has collectively suggested that sensationalism of crime stories does occur in order to sell more copies. The questionnaire given to respondents asked them Do you think newspapers sensationalise crime stories? The pie chart above shows the overwhelming majority (91.7%) of participants felt that sensationalism does occur in British newspapers. This figure is particularly high considering that 5 out of the 24 respondents stated that they didnt read newspapers. In this case the assumption could be made that those who dont read newspapers would not be fully aware of the extent to which sensationalism appears to occur. However this statis tic confirms that this is irrelevant. In a similar manner, many newspapers (and the media in general) have been accused of creating moral panics. These accusations have especially