Goitre: Benign Thyroid Nodules

There could be many different causes of goiters in people who do not have thyroid problems. * The patient could have a mild case of  Hashimoto's thyroiditis  that has not yet caused the thyroid to become underactive. * They may have inherited a â€Å"weak† thyroid gland, which has to be stimulated excessively by thyroid stimulating hormone in order to make a normal amount of thyroid hormone. * They may have an  autoimmune diseases  in which the body's immune system produces immunoglobulins that stimulate the thyroid to grow without either destroying it or stimulating it to make too much thyroid hormone. They may have conditions in which white blood cells in the body produce substances called â€Å"cytokines† that stimulate the thyroid to grow. Often, when a patient has a goiter with normal thyroid hormone levels, the doctor is never really able to find out the exact cause of the goiter. Small benign euthyroid goiters do not require treatment. The effectiveness o f medical treatment using thyroid hormone for benign goiters is controversial. Large and complicated goiters may require medical and surgical treatment. Malignant goiters require medical and surgical treatment. The size of a benign euthyroid goiter may be reduced with levothyroxine suppressive therapy. The patient is monitored to keep serum TSH in a low but detectable range to avoid hyperthyroidism, cardiac arrhythmias, and osteoporosis. The patient has to be compliant with monitoring. Some authorities suggest suppressive treatment for a definite time period instead of indefinite therapy. Patients with Hashimoto thyroiditis respond better. * Treatment of hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism often reduces the size of a goiter. Thyroid hormone replacement is often required following surgical and radiation treatment of a goiter. Use of radioactive iodine for the therapy of nontoxic goiter has been disappointing and is controversial. * Medical therapy of autonomous nodules with thyroid hor mone is not indicated. * Ethanol infusion into benign thyroid nodules has not been approved in the United States, but it is used elsewhere. * Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD) can be prevented by an adequate intake of iodine in the population. Monitoring and evaluation are the most important phases of an IDD control program.The consequences of iodine deficiency are goiter and subclinical/clinical hypothyroidism in pregnancy. The deficiency is an important risk factor for brain damage and motor-mental development in the fetus, the neonate and in the child. In order to assess IDD, control programs should be developed, followed up and evaluated. The recommended methods of assessing status are; assessment of the goiter rate, measurement of urinary iodine concentration, determination of thyroid hormone levels and of thyroglobulin. Although adequate technology exists, elimination programs for IDD have not been successful until recent years.The most important issue at present is the long-t erm sustainability of salt iodization programmes. Alternative strategies are also needed for iodization in areas where iodized salt will not be available in the foreseeable future. * Goitre associated with  hypothyroidism  or  hyperthyroidism  may be present with symptoms of the underlying disorder. For hyperthyroidism, the most common symptoms are weight loss despite increased appetite, and  heat intolerance. However, these symptoms are often unspecific and hard to diagnose. * [edit]

Distribution and constiuents of fluids Essay

Constituents of body fluid – The human body consists mostly of water, and is a major constituent to the human body and vital organs; of this 90% include blood plasma, lymph, urine, saliva, digestive juices, bile, cerebrospinal fluid and tissue fluid. Water enables substances to be transported throughout the body, red blood cells for example, as wells as supplying the medium required for metabolic reaction to take place (respiration). Without water the progression of these fluids would not be possible. Water is constantly being transported between the fluid compartments of the body. Water has five main functions in the body, of which includes: ‘Cell life – distribute nutrients to cells i.e. vitamins, minerals and glucose Chemical and metabolic reactions – removal of waste products (toxins) from the organs Transport of nutrients – participates in the breakdown of food Body temperature regulation – water has a large heat capacity that allows it to help limit any changes to an individual’s body temperature in a certain environment. For example the release of heat when the surrounding temperature is higher than body temperature Elimination of waste’ Urea – Urea is an organic molecule made up of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen. Urea is a common constituent of blood and other various bodily fluids, and is formed from ammonia in the kidney and liver. Ammonia is produced through the breakdown of proteins during tissue metabolism. Metabolic reactions that take place within the body can produce a surplus of amino acids of which can be converted into the waste product otherwise known  as urea through the process of deamination in the liver. Proteins obtained through an individual’s diet are broken down into amino acids. The excess amino acids made during this process are unable to be stored in the body as they can become toxic; therefore they would then have to be converted into a less toxic urea before ultimately being removed as a component of urine. Acids, bases and salt – Acids are a substance that has a pH less than 7. There are two different types of acid: Weak acid – An organic compound with a minimal amount of dissociated molecules Strong acid – An organic compound with a large amount of dissociated molecules Acids are a corrosive substance with a pH less than 7. Acidity is caused by a high concentration of hydrogen ions. Bases are a substance with a pH higher than 7, and have a high concentration of hydroxyl ions. Bases can react with acids in order to neutralise them in order to form salt and water. Bases are normally metal oxides or metal hydroxides. Sodium hydroxide for example is a base. Acids react with reactive metals in order to make a salt. Salts are a compound formed by the neutralisation of an acid by a base, for example metal oxide. This is a result of hydrogen atoms in an acid being replaced by positive ions. Bases that have are able to dissolve into water are known as alkalis. Sodium hydroxide is an alkali as it dissolves in water, copper oxide cannot dissolve water therefore is not an alkali. Hydrochloric acid is produced in the stomach, consisting of chloride and hydrogen. Carbonic acid is produced in red blood cells consisting of carbon dioxide and water, of which is why demanding exercise can lead to the  increase in the acidity of the individual’s blood. Control of osmosis – Salts are a major constituent of blood, and the levels both inside and outside of the cell, of which can be controlled by ATP. The sodium salts and chloride ions are continuously pumped back out of the cell each time they enter a cell, whereas potassium are pumped back into the cell as they leave a cell. The movement of salts enable the individual in assisting osmosis through the cell membrane. Isotonic Osmotic pressure outside the cell is equal to that inside of the cell. Water moving into and out of the cell is the same. Hypotonic Osmotic pressure is lower. Water moving into the cell is greater than that of which is moving out of the cell. Hypertonic Osmotic pressure is higher. Water moving out of the cell is greater than that of which is moving into the cell. Role of electrolytes – Electrolytes are compounds that dissociate into ions when they are dissolved in water, thereby causing them to become electrically charged particles, meaning that they have the ability to conduct electrical impulses. The electrical impulses created are what the body needs in order to make muscle cells contract. Electrolytes can become either cations (positively charged) or anions (negatively charged). Essential minerals – Some electrolytes are considered essential minerals, meaning that they are unable to be made within the body and are an essential part of health. The major constituent for a cell is potassium The components of amino acids and proteins Chloride is needed in order to produce hydrochloric acid in the stomach Magnesium of which can be found in bone and teeth, plays a key role in the contraction of muscles as well as an activator for various enzymes. Another component of bone and teeth is phosphorous and calcium, with calcium being required for blood clotting along with aiding in the contraction of muscles. There are trace elements present in the body. These essential minerals are required in only small amounts. The food and fluids consumed by an individual contain mineral salts, which are used to form electrolytes which dissolve in the fluids of the body. Electrolytes can be found in blood, urine, in the fluid contained in the body’s cells, and in the fluid surround the cells. Sodium, calcium, chloride, magnesium, potassium are the most commonly found electrolytes within the body. Electrolytes play a key role in helping the heart, nerves, and muscles to function. They also play role in keeping fluid levels normal in different body compartments. Levels of electrolytes in the body’s fluid compartments are controlled through the movement of electrolytes moving into/ out of the compartments. The kidneys have a hand in filtering electrolytes from the blood in order to keep the levels constant. Hormones such as the antidiuretic hormone and parathyroid hormone for example, help to regulate electrolyte balance. Acid-base balance – In order to function properly the blood needs the right balance between acid and basic (alkaline) compounds. This is known as acid-base balance. The kidneys and lungs within the body work in order to maintain acid-base balance; the slightest of variations from its normal range can have detrimental effects to the body’s vital organs. Acid and alkaline levels are measured on a pH scale. Increase in acidity can  cause pH levels to fall, whereas an increase in alkaline levels causes pH levels to rise. pH – pH measures the amount of hydrogen ions that are in a given solution. The pH scale ranges from the values of 1 to 14. Number 7 in the scale is known as neutral, water for example is a neutral substance. From 1 to 7, the lower the number on the scale the stronger the acid; whereas from 7 to 14 the higher the number the stronger the base. Importance of maintaining hydrogen concentration in body fluid – Hydrogen ion concentration is important to the structure and function of living systems. Slight changes can cause changes in ‘larger molecules and molecular complexes composing organisms.’ Buffer systems are put in place in order to maintain and stabilise the pH of body fluids. Phosphate buffers – These chemical buffers are essential in order to maintain normal hydrogen concentration in intracellular fluids, as their concentration inside the cells are many times greater than the concentration of the bicarbonate buffers. Metabolic activities are controlled by enzymes, of which can also be known as organic catalysts. Protein buffers – Are similar to the composition of phosphate buffers, as they include haemoglobin, are especially important within the cells. Chemical buffers of the body fluids are the first line of defence to prevent any changes in hydrogen ion concentration; any acid/base added to the body fluids immediately react with the buffers in order to prevent any changes in acid-base balance. Buffer systems – Chemical buffers are in place in order to resist changes in pH levels, and are the body’s first line of defence. A buffer solution is a mixture of a weak acid and its conjugate base or a weak base and its conjugate acid; and is used to stabilize the pH of a liquid. The ability of an acid-base mixture  resist sudden changes in pH is known as buffer action. Tissue cells and vital organs of the body are sensitive to the slightest of changes in the pH environment; and in high concentrations, acids and bases can be highly damaging to living cells. Buffer solutions are put in place as a means of keeping pH at a nearly constant level in various chemical applications. One such buffer solution can be found in the blood. Several buffering agents bind hydrogen ions in order to stop any change in pH. Extracellular buffers include bicarbonate and ammonia, and intracellular buffers include proteins and phosphates. Buffers are in place in order to work against sudden and large changes in the pH of body fluids by Releasing hydrogen ions when the pH increases (acids) Binding hydrogen ions when the pH decreases (bases) There are three main chemical buffer systems in the body: Carbonic acid-bicarbonate buffer system Phosphate buffer system Protein buffer system Solutes – Materials can be transported between the cytoplasm and the outside of the cell; this is known as the active transport process (ATP), whereas the movement of other molecules is known as passive transport which does not require energy. Active transport can be used in order to get the molecules to go against the concentration gradient; this can be done by either facilitated diffusion or osmosis. Passive transport of molecule depends on its ability to be able to pass through the cell membrane, as well as that of the concentration gradient which allows molecules to diffuse from an area of high concentration to an  area of low concentration. Molecules such as gases, lipids and water have the ability to pass through the cell membrane fairly easily. However other molecules such as glucose, amino acids, and ions do not have the same ability. Some of these molecules can enter and leave the cell through the use of facilitated transport, where the molecules can move down the concentration gradient through protein channels in the membrane. This process does not require any form of energy. Role of water in relation to properties – Specific heat capacity – Water has a large heat capacity which aids in limiting any changes in an individual’s body temperature in a warm or cold environment. As a result of the high specific heat capacity of water, its role in temperature regulation is very important. Water enables the body to release heat when the ambient temperature is higher than that of the individual’s body temperature. The body starts to sweat, and the evaporation of water from the skins surface occurs, in order to cool the body down. Surface tension – ‘Surface tension is a contractive tendency of the surface of a liquid that allows it to resist an external force. ‘For example the floating of some objects on the surface of water, even though they are denser than water, some insects however have the ability to run on the water’s surface. The cohesive forces of liquid molecules are responsible for surface tension, and are responsible for many of the behaviours of liquids. In addition, water has adhesive properties, so that the pleural fluid which covers the membrane of the lungs stops them from sticking to the inside of the ribcage. Distribution of water – There are two main fluid compartments in the human body: Intracellular fluid (ICF) Extracellular fluid (ECF) Water is the major solvent of all body fluid compartments. Total body water averages around 60% body weight in young males and 50% of body weight in young adult females. The percentage of body weight that water occupies depends on the amount of adipose tissue (fat) an individual has. The overall water in the body involves water inside of the cells known as intracellular fluid (ICF compartment), found inside the bilayered cell plasma membrane which is around 28 litres, which makes up around 60% to 67% of body water; and the extracellular water located outside of the cells which is around 14 litres makes up the other 33% to 40%. Tissue fluid also known as the intracellular and the interstitial fluid have the majority of the component of the extracellular fluid as it has 11 litres compared to 3 litres of plasma. The lymph has 10% of the tissue fluid that form in the remainders of the plasma. ECF is composed of fluid outside of the cells and consists of three subdivisions: Interstitial compartment Plasma compartment Third space (transcellular fluid) The interstitial compartment is the fluid space which surrounds the cells of a given tissue, and is filled with interstitial fluid. Interstitial fluid allows for the movement of ions, proteins, and nutrients across the cell membrane. The fluid is continuously recollected by the lymphatic channels. Excess fluid in the interstitial compartment causes oedema to develop. Intravascular plasma can be found within the vascular system and makes up a fourth of ECF. The third space is part of the ECF compartment and is otherwise known as transcellular fluid. Examples of third space include: Peritoneal fluid Pleural fluid Cerebrospinal fluid Synovial fluid Renal tubular fluid Intercellular fluid is the main component of extracellular fluid; ‘other components include plasma and transcellular fluid. Intercellular fluid surrounds the body’s cells, and provides a way for delivering materials to the cells, intercellular communication, and removal of metabolic waste. The fluid found in the intercellular spaces are made up of water, amino acids, sugars, fatty acids, coenzymes, hormones, neurotransmitters, salts and cellular products. ‘ Plasma makes up approximately 25% of the body’s total extracellular fluid. Plasma proteins serve several functions, of which include maintaining the proper distribution of water between the blood and tissues; transportation of nutrients, metabolites, and hormones throughout the body, defending against infection etc. Diseases can alter the amount of plasma proteins that are produced and their concentration in the blood. Role of intercellular fluid in homeostasis – In homeostasis, intercellular fluid also known as interstitial and tissue fluid, plays a vital role as the fluid is pushed out of the arterial end of the capillary by the blood pressure, after the blood has been pushed out through the muscular arterioles and capillaries. During this stage carbon dioxide is low. Tissue fluid flows around the cells and in between giving out raw materials through the use of osmosis, facilitated diffusion and diffusion etc. The metabolic waste is passed in the opposite direction to the cells and into the tissue fluid. However if the waste materials were allowed to accumulate, this could ultimately cause disruption and lead to the cells dying before death occurring. References http://www.nestle-waters.com, (2014). Functions of water in human body. [online] Available at: http://www.nestle-waters.com/healthy-hydration/water-fonctions-in-human-body [Accessed 13 Oct. 2014]. Bbc.co.uk, (2014). BBC – GCSE Bitesize: Acids and bases. [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/add_aqa/acids/acidsbasesrev1.shtml [Accessed 13 Oct. 2014]. Biology-online.org, (2014). Intercellular fluid – definition from Biology-Online.org. [online] Available at: http://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/Intercellular_fluid [Accessed 13 Oct. 2014]. Chemical Buffer Systems- Acid-Base Balance. (2014). Boundless. [online] Available at: https://www.boundless.com/physiology/textbooks/boundless-anatomy-and-physiology-textbook/fluids-and-acid-base-balance-26/acid-base-balance-248/chemical-buffer-systems-1217-4810/ [Accessed 13 Oct. 2014]. Healthline.com, (2014). Acid-Base Balance | Definition and Patient Education. [online] Available at: http://www.healthline.com/health/acid-base-balance#Overview1 [Accessed 13 Oct. 2014]. Inkling.com, (2014). Inkling. [online] Available at: https://www.inkling.com/read/medical-physiology-rodney-rhoades-david-bell-4th/chapter-23/fluid-compartments-of-the-body [Accessed 22 Oct. 2014]. Inkling.com, (2014). Inkling. [online] Available at: https://www.inkling.com/read/marks-medical-biochemistry-lieberman-marks-4th/chapter-45/i–plasma-proteins-maintain [Accessed 13 Oct. 2014]. Media.lanecc.edu, (2014). Chemical Buffer Systems and Acid-Base Balance. [online] Available at: http://media.lanecc.edu/users/driscolln/RT127/Softchalk/Acid_Base_Lesson/Acid_Base_Lesson4.html [Accessed 13 Oct. 2014]. Research.vet.upenn.edu, (2014). Milk Urea Nitrogen. [online] Available at: http://research.vet.upenn.edu/DairyPoultrySwine/DairyCattle/MUN/MilkUreaNitrogen/tabid/1596/Default.aspx [Accessed 13 Oct. 2014]. Ensminger, M. and Ensminger, A. (1993). Foods & Nutrition Encyclopedia, Two Volume Set. 2nd ed. CRC Press, 1993, p.4. Cnx.org, (2014). OpenStax CNX. [online] Available at: http://cnx.org/contents/75987407-1137-404b-9a3c-00d115b2dff9@3/Body_Fluids_and_Fluid_Compartm [Accessed 13 Oct. 2014]. Fastbleep.com, (2014). Chemical principles: Properties of water – Biochemistry | Fastbleep. [online] Available at: http://www.fastbleep.com/biology-notes/40/116/1166 [Accessed 13 Oct. 2014]. Howard Perlman, U. (2014). Surface Tension (Water Properties), USGS Water Science School. [online] Water.usgs.gov. Available at: http://water.usgs.gov/edu/surface-tension.html [Accessed 13 Oct. 2014].

Juno by Jason Reitmen Essay

In the film Juno directed by Jason Reitmen the relationship between the main character Juno, and Mark is very important. This relationship helps the viewer learn more about Juno’s journey to motherhood and in each scene we are shown her development to maturity. Juno’s relationship with Mark influences the story line and helps the viewer understand Juno’s character and why Juno makes many of her decisions. The decision she faces is that of a pregnant 16 year old. The way she views her friend, Mark, develops and changes as she matures on her journey to motherhood. From the beginning of the film Juno has a clear picture of the perfect parent for her child. Mark fits what she is looking for ideally. He is a fun and relaxed man. He is into the same music as Juno, plays guitar and has terrific taste in horror films. When Juno is looking though the penny saver for adoptive parents she says â€Å" I just can’t give my baby to someone who describes themselves as â€Å"wholesome.† I am looking for something a little edgier.† This is when she sees Mark and Vanessa Lorring’s advertisement, which is exactly what Juno, is looking for. When first visiting the Lorring’s Juno and Mark play on his guitars, instantly bonding. Right from the start Mark is Juno’s preferred parent. I learnt through this that at the start of her pregnancy Juno has an innocent idea of parenting. Juno and Mark’s relationship deepens as time goes on. From the first time Juno meets Mark she shows an immense interest in him as a Father. She starts finding excuses to go around and see him, dropping in for the slightest reason. As their relationship grows they start watching movies together, ringing each other and recommending songs. At this stage she is firmly of the view that Mark would make a perfect Father for her baby. When talking about Mark Juno says, â€Å"It was cool, he is kind of cool.† At this point the audience may be questioning why a man that much older than Juno has so much in common with her, and questioning if Juno’s views on Mark are realistic as Bren does. The reactions and comments of other characters help Juno to consider her opinions in a different light. When Juno arrives home from Mark’s late at night Brenda is concerned about Juno. â€Å"That was a mistake Juno. Mark is a married stranger. You over stepped a boundary.† At first Juno is upset and annoyed about Brenda telling her off and treating her like a child. She reacts like a typical teenager, not seeing what the audience is already questioning, that spending time with Mark is inappropriate. Brenda is acting like a caring and mature parent, which contrasts with how Juno is behaving. As the movie progresses and Juno gets to know Mark better she realizes that Vanessa may be the stronger parent. From the beginning Juno shows a great interest in Mark and doesn’t pay much attention to Vanessa. When Juno sees Vanessa at the mall playing with a little kid, she realizes how great a Mother she would make. The scene shows Vanessa in a high angle wide shot running around with a young child who is completely engrossed and captivated by Vanessa’s company. We then see a close up on Juno’s face, the director uses this close up to highlight that Juno is fixated on Vanessa with an expression of awe and happiness, at the realization that Vanessa is going to make a wonderful Mother. Because of her love for children, you can see this by her interaction. Juno’s shift in judgment also affects her view on Mark as the attributes she values in a parent start to mature. Juno begins to realize that Mark may not be the ideal Father for her baby. When visiting Mark, they hang out in his room. The room is full of props such as unpacked boxes symbolizing Mark being unsettled and boxed in. Juno and Mark danced together with song lyrics in the background â€Å"all these young dudes† inferring that Mark still hasn’t grown up. While dancing we see a mid shot, Juno’s tummy is touching Mark and he comments â€Å"something’s between us†. Although there is a baby physically between them he is also suggesting there is chemistry and attraction between them. This is when Mark tells Juno he is leaving Vanessa. Juno is furious and this is a turning point in the film as Juno realizes Mark needs to grow up and is too immature to father her child. This is when Juno realizes that Vanessa is certainly going to make a better and reliable parent for her child. I learnt that through her pregnancy she becomes more mature and she begins thinking of her baby’s needs rather than her own. Juno’s relationship with Mark reflects her maturation from a naive teenager to a responsible Mother. When Juno first becomes pregnant she is looking for a fun relaxed parent. Initially she was impressed by Mark and enjoyed his company. However she was more focused on what she wanted for herself rather than the well being of her baby. As Juno spends more time with Mark we learn his strengths and weaknesses. Juno matures as a person and realizes Mark wouldn’t be responsible or grown up enough to make a stable Father. When Juno starts realizing this she starts seeing all the positive traits in Vanessa from a maternal perspective. Juno’s development as a person mirrors her physical development in her pregnancy. This is shown in the movie when Juno makes a selfless decision purely for the baby’s welfare and chooses the right parent to bring up her child, while she is in the advanced stages of her pregnancy. In conclusion Juno’s relationship with Mark changes throughout the film. Those changes reflect the reactions and influences of other characters, & Juno’s personal growth. As Juno progresses to Motherhood her opinions mature and slowly become selfless. By the end of film she realizes who she wants to see bring up her child.

Segmentation and Targeting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Segmentation and Targeting - Essay Example Specific marketing cases Ford Escort is a car brand that was revitalized in 1982, adding Ford’s blue oval insignia for the first time in history alongside a newer frame. The brand was aimed at the sports car market, with a two-seater hatch for lower rooflines (University of southern California, 2010). These body features proved unsuccessful in the sports market and once again, the Ford escort was remodeled for the youth market. The escort brand introduced in the early nineties was a much lower-slung and casual car than either the sedan or wagon. The brand reinstated the Escort GT, as the company was more focused on providing an affordable product for the youths. The Lexus target market ranges for people around the age of forty, with a strong household salary. The luxury market back in 1989 had Lexus brands sell around 25,000 cars in hope of achieving a target of 65,000 cars. With the main rivals of Lexus being brands such as Mercedes Benz, the target market of majority of its brands is well-off customers (Anurit, Newman, And Chansarkar, 2006, p. 15). The choice of target market made by Ford while manufacturing the escort brand revolves around the model of product life sequence. This choice has an impact on its advertising and pricing strategies through marketing mix (University of southern California, 2010). Since Ford Escort is a commodity model of this specific industry, its price and mode of promotion is defined by the targeted market, breaking down the promotion procedures into stages. These stages have been used by Ford to realize the standard income made the youthful market and be able to set prices for the escort model. The choice of target market affected the pricing and advertising strategies of the Lexus vehicle brands through product positioning. Unlike Ford, Lexus fixed its models right before customers who could find them affordable, instead of directly looking the customers. Lexus believed their brand would sell in terms of benefits that ca n be offered to customers through new ways. This way, Lexus could always be affiliated with luxury living, creating a standard means of living able to be felt and understood by its customers. The effects of imposition of a new target market by Ford Escort would have multi-dimensional scaling (Anurit, Newman, And Chansarkar, 2006, p. 16). Market researchers working with ford have analyzed the relationship between introduction of new market targets and consumer perception. Mature Ford escort customers will be inclined to react pessimistically to the bringing in of a new market targets since the dimension the brand has been pursuing for the past twenty years will be altered. Customers will be looking forward to luxurious models of Ford Escort for new buyers (University of southern California, 2010). Therefore, Old buyers will flee the market in search of other affordable brands. The perspective of Lexus buyers will not make a big or significant change with the introduction of a new mar ket target. The brands made by Lexus already hold a luxurious perspective amongst all car buyers worldwide. Therefore, Lexus buyers already find the cars affordable and any significant changes that may occur might be due to the quality or features of new Lexus brands. The image of Ford has been tarnished after the economic downturn began in the European market. As a result, its market

Response 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Response 2 - Essay Example For this reason, followers of the religion are the least westernized. In addition, Appiah (2006) recognizes the importance of religion is retaining the cultural and social balance. In an example, he cites that the superior nature of man over women is today recognized as a religious teaching. However, this is important in cultural or social setting. However, Appiah is correct to argue against the use of violence to retain social balance or cultural purity. Generally, the article portrays the role of religion as a mandatory way of retaining the purity of cultures and humanity. However, this approach to humanity cannot be effective in the modern humanity. People have the freedom to explore other cultures and social paradigms without being held back by religious customs or untimely religious interpretations. In the response by India Ferguso’s post, I agree with the argument that the religious view of one person should not be universal. This is based on that each religion or person may have different perception of religion, culture and social life. Regardless of the cultural or religious affiliation, a person may always explore culture that they perceive as appropriate for them. However, I disagree with the assumption that westernization has increased the disregard of culture and religion. The western culture is part of the paradigm of a changing world. If people, mostly leaders, enhanced their teaching on religion and tradition the world population would not be easily westernized. Westernization may be a failure on cultures and religion to remain stern and resist being versatile to suit the need and beliefs of every person. For instance, religions like Islam remain less corroded from the fact that they retain the original provisions of the religion regardless of the global

The Mind-Body Problem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Mind-Body Problem - Essay Example The mind-body problem has been discussed, examined, and has perplexed philosophers for most of our recorded history. Obviously there should be no expectation of â€Å"solving† the problem through this discussion, but won’t stop me from trying. I intend to discuss the mind-body problem and its interpretation from one perspective, arguing against dualism but not for monism. The concept of body-mind dualism has some attractive qualities. The differing characteristics of the brain as a material and the mind as an experience are undeniable, and the disconnection is ideal if one wishes to escape the obvious mortality of the physical body. Monism can also be viewed in a positive light, as it gives the physical world meaning and adequately accounts for many of the mind-brain correlations that have been identified in neurobiology. The main problem with the existence of both dualism and monism lies within their inability to account for scientific findings. Any theory that attempts to explain the physical world should be relatively compatible with the findings of physics, psychology, and biology (physical world, the mind, and the body, respectively). Findings from neurobiological research have not added support for the existence of an engram (a neurological correlate of a cognitive process) (Sheena 221) and thus does not support either the dualistic approach or the monistic perspective as there has yet to be a meeting point or unity observed that can substantiate either theory. Similarly, physics research into fundamental particles has revealed ambiguity, as subatomic particles appear to exist in relational states (Wolfenstein and Silva 480) rather than as definite objects (the same or different) that can be account for by either philosophical theory of body and mind. To conclude, I have presented two examples from science that disagree

Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 3

Discussion - Essay Example These gases in the atmosphere provide an invisible blanket around the earth and help keep the planet warm enough. Global warming occurs because of the greenhouse effect, or when the gases like carbon dioxide increase resulting in more energy trapped and re-emitted back to the earth. This paper will attempt to describe in more detail the global warming phenomenon. Global warming was a term that was first used in 1975 by American scientist Wallace Smith Broecker who discovered that the climate of the earth is warming consistently due to various human activities. In a magazine, he published a paper entitled Are We on the Brink of a Pronounced Global Warming which was where he first coined the term. In 1979, the term was used again to depict the physical phenomenon that is heating up the planet. The article with the title The Charney Report was published by the National Academy of Science. (Yukozimo, 2014) The phenomenon of global warming can be further understood by taking a look at the earth’s ozone layer. The ozone layer is a region of dense gases in the stratosphere of the earth that is capable of blocking most of the harmful solar ultraviolet radiations. More than ninety percent of the ozone is present in the stratosphere of earth. It has a higher concentration of ozone as compared to the earth’s surface. Unfortunately, this important part of our atmosphere is slowly becoming more and more fragile and both nature and man can be held responsible. Manmade chemicals like halocarbons, CFCs, HCFCs, freon and halon contribute largely to the depletion of the ozone layer. Due to the increasing concentration of the refrigerants, solvents and propellants in the atmosphere, the ozone layer is under depletion of the rate of four percent per decade. As the ozone layer becomes thinner and thinner, ultraviolet light penetrates through

Theory of contract law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Theory of contract law - Essay Example The primary object of courts while construction of a contract is to determine and give effect to the intention of the parties. This fact is elucidated by the eminent judges such as Chief Justice Brian in 1478 held 'that the intention of a man cannot be tried, for the Devil himself knows not the intent of a man'1. And nineteenth century judges such as Lord Eldon who in kennedy v Lee said that it was not the task of his 'to see that both parties really meant the same thing, but only that both gave their assent to that proposition which, be it what it may, defacto arises out the terms of their corresondence.2 And Austin said that 'when we speak of the intention of contracting parties, we mean the intention of the promissor or the intention of the promisee' and he also added that 'the sense in which it is to be inferred from the words used or from the transaction or from both that the one party gave and the other received it'3.Before essaying the subject it is significant to discuss conc isely on other prime factors of a valid contract to which intention of the parties is related to, such as Offer and acceptance and consideration.Offer: Consensus ad idem is the maxim on the offer and acceptance, which means meeting of minds. A contract is made out of an agreement and an agreement is made out of offer and acceptance that means in an agreement one party makes an offer and the other party accepts it. An offer may be an advertisement or a definite offer either to a particular person or to public at large. The law is settled in this respect in Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co4 in which the company made an offer through an advertisement offering 100 to any person who is affected with influenza after using smoke balls. The plaintiff Carlill has claimed for 100 from the company since she was effected influenza. The company defended that (i) the transaction was only a bet with in the meaning of gaming acts (ii) the advertisement was not intended to create a binding obligatio n (iii) there was no offer to any particular person (iv) no acceptance is notified by the plaintiff. The court of appeal has rejected the grounds taken by the defendant and allowed in favour of the plaintiff. The court while allowing held that there was an offer to the world at large, an offer can be made to the world at large and it also held that by making an offer to the world a contract is made with a limited parties who perform the conditions. Here we can observe that the intention of the advertisement was with an intention to create a legal obligation that is the reason the court has come to a conclusion of existence contract. Offer and an invitation to treat - Intention: The law of contract makes a distinction between offer and an invitation to treat. An invitation to treat does not make a binding contract. When a person responds to an invitation to treat makes an offer. The courts have made distinction between offer and an invitation to treat in auction sale and advertisements. In offer the intention of the parties to create legal obligation where as the in invitation to treat this intention to create legal obligation is premature. Harris v Nickerson5 In this case it was held that an advertisement specifying that goods will be sold by auction do not constitute a promise or offer. It is settled law that an advertisement without further qualification is not an offer to sell the goods but it is only an invitation to treat. The court observed the fact that the intention of the party making an advertisement is to receive the offers from the willing parties and he would select the best offer and intends to withdraw his invitation if he is not receiving the offer he is anticipating or he could accept, therefore there is no legal relationship exists at that particular point of time. The distinction between the offer and invitation to treat was clearly illustrated in Gibson v Manchester City of Council6. Acceptance: When one person makes an offer and such offer is accepted then becomes an agreement. Acceptance is an

W5Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

W5Security - Essay Example Modern technology poses a threat in terms of ease of access to data and information which is exchanged over the Internet, which can compromise the privacy of both individuals as well as confidential information pertaining to business activities (Laudon & Laudon, 1999). Privacy is the freedom individuals have to be left alone both at home and at work, free from observation or intrusion by other individuals or the State, or in the case of organizations, from the State and unauthorized sources. Information technology and systems threaten individual rights to privacy by making the intrusion into privacy inexpensive, cost-effective, and efficient (Laudon & Laudon, 1999). Organizational information security strategies, measures, and standards are entirely significant reflections. An organization must take care to devise and put into practice a successful information safety plan, that can cover every phase of available information. Each category of such information safety serves a diverse function. The W5-Data Security Policy incorporates the following main points regarding the organizational data (W5-data security Policy, 2009) Security risk: Consumer based applications such as Internet sales and call center programs pose a security risk to data at its collection point, because they can be tapped by unauthorized sources.(www.protegrity.com). The data and information security risk can be illustrated as the intensity of its effect on organization activities (including operational jobs, illustrations, or status), organization assets, or on individual and/or financial information collected during the process of entering into business information arrangements. The security of data may also be compromised during the process of its use, such as for example through actual theft or hacking into data as well as insider theft, all of which pose a hazard (Rebecca, 2007). The above section has presented the possible hazards in a business situation. Such

English Church Schools Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

English Church Schools - Essay Example This change had been taking place, not only in Britain, but also in other European countries. As minorities got stronger, they started voicing their demands and insecurities. Government slowly realised that education for the children had been stagnant without taking into consideration the need to alter it. It also decided in the last three decades education had not been modernised. In Britain, as Henry VIII rebelled against the authority of the Pope, monarchs become the Head of the Religious faith. Britain, after Henry VIII incident, had its own Church and other connected institutions. After the Second World War, Britain had evolved into a multi-lingual and multi-cultural society, with many voices, demands, languages, cultures and religions. People from erstwhile colonies have made Britain their home, along with other asylum seekers and quite naturally, they all have become part of Britain now. Government had to protect their needs and requirements too. This led to a more coherent government policy and church schools have been asked to accommodate students of other faiths, a nd with effective guidance from cultural leaders, they have to reduce their Christian outlook to a large extent and teach children about other cultures. They have realised that they have to modernise their outlooks with the changes brought by the changing times. They are neither vehement about Christianity, nor reluctant to change. Till recently, we can say that nothing much has been done in this direction, even though this is a very important element of a welfare state. "One important target of active states is the school institution and its influence over how children are socialized. Since the Reformation, civic leaders have made grand claims about the magical effects of mass schooling and the secular state's power to expand it. But only in the past decade has research matured on both the causes and economic consequences of school expansion," (Fuller and Rubinson, 1992, p.1). Church schools might not sound and look like the best places to accommodate alien cultures. The stereotype and traditional church schools of olden days would never have taught anything other than Christianity. Fortunately, today, religious institutions are changing according to the time and requirements. Hence, most of these schools are accommodating the multi-cultural and multi-faith demands of British society. Even though they are still being called as 'Church Schools', run by the societies and funds belonging to the Church of England mainly, their function and focus has enormously shifted in recent years. Even Churches have accepted that Christianity is not the only religion in United Kingdom. They are not only providing multi-culture based education today, but also they are welcoming students from other cultures to join the schools without any discrimination in admission. They are also trying to know more about diverse cultures, so that they could be right in their approach. "It is also important to recognize the extent to which changes in education policy are influenced by larger social and economic developments. The analysis draws us back clearly to political questions as lying at the heart of education policy, which is, after all, about the choices that governments made," (Levin, 2001, p.18). Church schools, which were considered to be stuffy at one point of time, have changed so much in their approach, that it is not at all difficult for them to provide

Chronology in ‘A Rose for Emily’ Essay Example for Free

Chronology in ‘A Rose for Emily’ Essay William Faulkner takes into account the ever-complicated concept of time in â€Å"A Rose for Emily†. It is a manifestation his contemplation on the nature of time. It lacks a standard chronology. Faulkner ensnare almost three quarters of century in a few page story. He does it superbly by avoiding a proper chronological order. Faulkner skillfully put the story up to demonstrate the indefinable and intangible character of time. He constructs it in such a subtle manner that it is hard to detect any chronological order of the plot. Time does not flow in a linear direction but take a circular direction with the progress of story. Fault consciously or unconsciously does not concern himself with specific dates. A handful of explicit dates are cited in the story. But these indications reveal as plenty of information about the linear chronology of the vents. For example, it is quite clear that remittance of Emily’s taxes by Colonel Sartoris takes place in 1894. It is further provided that he is dead for the last ten years and this the time Emily meets the new aldermen. Story further discloses that Emily died at 74. This hint capacitates us to construct a linear chronology of the events. The linear sequence of events in Emily’s life is as follow; Section 4 illustrates her birth during civil war. Section 2 describes a joint ride with her father in an old wagon. Her father dies. Homer Barron appears on the scene and an amorous affairs starts with Emily in section 3. She purchases male lavatory set and outfits for him in section 4. We are again forced to revert back to section 3 when town people degrade him and reverted back and summon her cousin. Section 4 is marked with the arrival of cousins and departure of Homer from the town. He returns back after the exit of her cousins. We again slip back to section 3 where Emily purchase poison from a local vendor and Homer disappears in the next section. Section 2 illustrate stink from her house indicating his death and four aldermen are shown sprinkling water on her grave. Faulkner has used a novel narrative technique as story starts with Emily’s funeral (the end) and concludes with the finding of Homer’s rotten dead body. Faulkner’s concept of time and its effective utilization does not weaken the story but it is the most obvious strength of its plot, construction and thematic expressions. Although presentation of time in this manner is mostly related is subject to philosophical orientation of the author but it had deep impact on the plot. He merges past into present and present into past and this feature of the story captivates the reader. â€Å"Faulkner gives the story a chronology, but as with so many of his stories, we have to sort it out† (McGlynn 461); Furthermore, it hinders the formulation of reader’s judgment about Emily till the end. The effects of this non-linear chronology on the story are beautifully summed up by McGlynn (1969). He says that â€Å"A chronology of ‘A Rose for Emily’ is useful for at least two reasons: it makes the plot more easily comprehensible, and it helps clarify the function of time in the story† (461). By evading a clear and linear chronological order of events, Faulkner attempts to provide his reader a riddle comprised of various bits. However, he provides clues to facilitate this puzzle-solving. The motive behind this exercise seems to involve his reader more deeply in the story. So above-mentioned arguments and supported evidence clearly suggest that time is not present in a simple chronological way in the story but it is manifested in random manner and plot flows with the flow of the consciousness of the narrator and does not follow the rules and principle of chronological time. Works Cited Faulkner, William. 1970. A rose for Emily. Columbus; Merrill. McGlynn, Paul D. 1969. William Faulkner: An Interpretation; The Chronology of A Rose for Emily, Studies in Short Fiction. 6.

The United States economy Essay Example for Free

The United States economy Essay The economic problems that are plaguing the United States economy at the present are numerous to say the least. Since the collapse of the Housing market, the United States has experienced what some have come to call an economic recession. While it remains to be seen if the United States economy is really undergoing a recession at this point in time, this situation can be used as a great opportunity to point out the current struggles of the American economy. The much touted and highly publicized US $700 billion bailout plan is argued to be good for the economy as a â€Å"quick fix† to the problem yet there are a number of economists who feel that the real solution to the problem lies in establishing more solid fiscal policies as opposed to monetary policies. As several economists have pointed out, the monetary solution of providing an economic stimulus package without addressing the fundamental problems is only a â€Å"quick fix. † The world is beginning to realize that all of the credit and financial problems that the world is facing right now cannot be solved by throwing money at it. The problem, as pointed out, is not simply that the world is experiencing a slow down but that there are fundamental flaws with several of the world’s largest economies and as such these problems have to be addressed. Any monetary policy will simply result in concealing the glaring holes in the economic systems and will not provide the needed answers to the problem. There seems to be no end in sight for this economic problem as governments all over the world announce new economic stimulus packages. There also seems to be a dearth in fiscal policies that are designed to solve this problem. In order to arrive at a more effective solution to the problem, it is important to accompany these monetary policies with sound fiscal policies in order to create solid economic fundamentals that may prevent the occurrence of financial crises such as these in the future. References: Davidson, Scott. (2003). Economics: Perfect Competition and Monopolistic Competition. 2nd Series. Bantham Books: 103-105. Davis, K. (2003). The costs and consequences of being uninsured. Retrieved February 4, 2008, from http://www. cmwf. org. Stone, Diane. (2007) â€Å"Market Principles, Philanthropic Ideals and Public Service Values: The Public Policy Program at the Central European University†, PS: Political Science and Politics, July: 545—551

Separation of Photosynthetic Pigments: Paper Chromatography

Separation of Photosynthetic Pigments: Paper Chromatography Plant pigments have the ability to absorb visible light, which can be used in order to harvest energy for photochemical reactions. There are a variety of pigments present in plants, and for this experiment, these pigments were separated using paper chromatography. Absorbance spectrophotometry was also used in order to obtain the different absorbances of the pigments. The data was then used to compare relative chlorophyll content in both old and young leaves, and to identify the pigments present in the leaves. It was seen that chlorophyll a and b were present, and young leaves yielded more chlorophyll than old leaves as reflected by the high absorbance of the young leaf extract as compared to the old leaf extract. The performance of this experiment can be deemed successful in separating pigments, however identification of the pigment concentration could also be done to better quantify the amount of pigment in the leaves. INTRODUCTION Chromatography is a technique used to separate complex mixtures between a stationary phase and a mobile phase. (Craig) There are several types of chromatography, namely: gas chromatography, liquid chromatography, ion exchange chromatography, affinity chromatography, adsorption chromatography, partition chromatography, and molecular exclusion chromatography. (Carrier, Bordonaro and Yip) The concept behind this process is that the smaller the affinity a molecule has for the stationary phase, the faster it migrates. The stationary phase varies depending on the type of chromatography used (Carrier, Bordonaro and Yip). Most of the time, chromatography is used for purification techniques. The process is also used in separation of substances, an example of which is plant pigments. The result of chromatography is a chromatogram. From the chromatogram, different information about the test sample can be attained. By counting the number of peaks in the chromatogram, one can deduce the complexity of the mixture. The more peaks there are, the more complex the mixture is. Also, qualitative information about the composition of the mixture can be deduced by comparing the peak positions with a standard. Quantitative assessment of the relative concentration of the components can also be attained by comparing the peak areas (Carrier, Bordonaro and Yip). In this experiment, chromatography was used to separate pigments extracted from old and young leaves. The pigments were further identified using absorbance spectrophotometry. MATERIALS AND METHODS For this experiment, photosynthetic pigments were separated through paper chromatography and the absorption spectra of these were measured through absorbance spectrophotometry. Pigment Extraction Old and young leaf samples were obtained around the UP campus. Each set of samples was shredded into smaller pieces and weighed to twenty grams. Using mortar and pestle, each sample was immersed in 50 ml acetone and ground thoroughly to fully extract the chloroplast pigments. After this, the extracts were filtered by using filter paper and Buchner funnel. The eluted extracts were collected in separate beakers and transferred into separate test tubes, and labelled accordingly as OLD and YOUNG. Paper Chromatography The extract from young leaves was subjected to paper chromatography. Three pieces of 3cm x 11cm Whatman no. 42 filter paper were cut out. The sheets of paper were marked 3 cm from one end, and 2 cm from the other. The 3cm-point served as the point where the extract would be loaded, while the 2cm-point dictates the point of termination of the chromatogram. This end was tied with a string so that it could easily be suspended on a Gatorade bottle cap. With a Pasteur pipette, one drop of extract was loaded on each sheet of the filter paper. To further saturate the loading, the filter paper sheets were loaded ten times. However, for each loading, the previous spot was allowed to dry before an additional drop of extract was added. Developing solvent of petroleum ether was prepared. The solvent was then poured into three Gatorade bottles, filling only up to two centimetres of the bottle. The paper strips were then secured on the bottle caps with tape and hung, with its end touching the developing solvent, but not the loaded extract. The development of the chromatogram was terminated after the pigments or the developing solvent has reached the 2cm-line. Of the three chromatograms, only one was presented for the results because it has the clearest separation. Absorbance Spectrophotometry Absorbance spectrophotometry was also done to obtain absorbance spectra of the different pigments present in leaves. Both the old and young leaf extracts were used and the absorbances of extracts were obtained for the following wavelengths (nm): 400, 450, 470, 500, 550, 600, 647, 650, 663, 700. Two trials were done per leaf sample. The absorbances obtained were then plotted against wavelength. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Pigments are defined as substances in plants that are able to absorb visible light. These can be classified into three basic groups. (University of California Berkeley, 2006) The first are the chlorophylls which are greenish pigments containing a porphyrin ring. The ring contains several double bonds which makes it stable, and at the same time allows free migration of electrons. In this way, when sunlight strikes the plant surface, electrons in the pigment molecules of the chloroplast thylakoid become excited which in turn pass on this excitation to the photosystems that begins the series of cellular events that generate oxygen and sugar. Four species of chlorophyll a, b, c, and d are known. Chlorophyll a is the primary photosynthetic pigment in all higher plants, algae, and the cyanobacteria. Chlorophyll b is found virtually in all higher plants and green algae, differing from the former only in that a formyl group substitutes for the methyl group in ring II. Chlorophyll c is meanwhile found in the diatoms, dinoflagellates, and brown algae and lacks the phytol tail of chlorophyll a. Lastly, chlorophyll d is found only in the red algae and has an (-O-CHO) group in place of the (-CH=CH2) group on ring I of chlorophyll a. (Taiz and Zeiger, 2008) The second class of pigments are the carotenoids. They are usually red, orange, or yellow pigments composed of two small six-carbon rings connected by a chain of carbon atoms. Their high carbon content prevents them from dissolving in water and as such they must be attached to membranes within the cell. They have several functions, including the broadening of the spectrum of colors able to drive photosynthesis (especially in seasons with shortened days such as fall and winter), and in photoprotection; they are able to absorb and dissipate excessive light energy that can otherwise damage chlorophyll or interact with oxygen to produce reactive oxidative molecules that can damage the cell. (Cain, et. Al, 2011) The third class of pigments are the phycobilins. They are water-soluble pigments found in the chloroplast stroma or the cell cytoplasm. Occurring only in the Cyanobacteria and Rhodophyta, they are efficient in absorbing light wavelengths that are not well absorbed by chlorophyll a. These pigments are bound to phycobiliproteins which pass on the absorbed light energy to chloroplasts for photosynthesis. Knowledge of which types of pigments are present in a plant is useful in the field of agriculture. Using this information, lights that promoting the optimal growth of plants having certain pigments can be developed, increasing their yield. Additionally, pigments extracted from plants can be used as dyes in scientific research. One way of determining the pigments present in a plant sample is through paper chromatography. Paper chromatography separates pigments present in the plant sample based on their solubilities in the solvent; compounds which are very soluble move along with the advancing solvent front, while less soluble compounds travel slowly through the paper, well behind the solvent front. Chlorophyll a is slightly soluble in a 3:1:1 mixture of petroleum ether, acetone, and water (which was the resulting mixture used in the study), while carotenoids are very soluble in this system. This difference in solubility should allow the separation of chlorophyll a from the carotenoids and chlorophyll b, which is less soluble than chlorophyll a. (Bowen and Baxter, 1980) The following chromatogram was obtained from the chromatography done in the study. chlorophyll B chlorophyll A carotenoid Figure 1. Obtained chromatogram from the paper chromatography of (young or old?) leaf extracts. Only one trial was used in the identification of pigments, with the topmost band determined to be a carotenoid, followed by chlorophyll A and chlorophyll B. The first pigment band was identified as a carotenoid due to its yellow-orange color, the second band identified as chlorophyll A due to its darker green color, and the third band identified as chlorophyll B due to its yellow-green color. The study is said to be a success in this respect as the results obtained matched the theoretical results. Additionally, pigments can also be identified based on the value of their retention factor; the retention factor (Rf) is calculated as the distance the pigment travels (in centimeters) divided by the distance the solvent travels (in centimeters). Standard values of the Rf are compared to the calculated values and the closest standard value that matches the calculated value is used to identify the pigment. This step however, was no longer done in the study. Figure 2. A graph showing the absorbance obtained from the old and young leaf extracts through absorptive spectrophotometry. Spectrophotometry can be utilized for measuring the chlorophyll content of a leaf by measuring the absorbances of the plant extract at red and far red regions of the visible light spectrum. The absorbance of the extract is directly proportional to its chlorophyll content. The experiment measured the absorbances of old and young leaves coming from the same plant in order to compare their chlorophyll content. In the experiment, the pigments from old and young plants were subjected to spectrophotometry to identify which wavelength would yield the highest absorption therefore identifying the pigments present, and also compare at which level of maturity plants would yield more chlorophyll. The former is possible because plant pigments participate in photosynthesis by absorbing light, and there is the optimal wavelength wherein they can absorb the most amount of light and can therefore enhance the process of photosynthesis. Pigments in seed plants may be present as chlorophyll a, b, and carotenoids, all with varying abundance. For the old and leaf samples, it can be seen that the measured absorbances peaked at two wavelengths (Figure 2). The first peak is around 450-470 nm while the second peak is around 663 nm. This data implies that most of the pigment extracted must be from chlorophyll a and b, since theoretically, these pigments peak at 430-450 nm and 640-660 nm. It should also be remembered that peaks in an absorbance vs. wavelength pigment spectra means that these pigments absorb and utilize light best in these wavelengths. In Figure 3 below, the other pigments and corresponding peak wavelengths can be seen. Figure 3. Absorption spectra of pigments found in seed plants Aside from knowing the pigments present in the leaves, the graph could also show the relative amount of chlorophyll present in the leaves. Theoretically, older leaves contain much more chlorophyll than younger leaves; this is contrary to the results as depicted by Fig. 2. These results can only make sense if the plant from which the extract was taken from has a magnesium deficiency, assuming that no methodological error was committed. Plant with Mg deficiency tend to sequester Mg from old leaves by degrading chlorophyll and then transporting the retrieved Mg to the younger leaves which have higher photosynthetic needs. Other methods of measuring the pigment content of leaves include using chlorophyll content meters, which do not require an extract to be prepared, and the more superior technique known as chlorophyll fluorescence where the ratio of chlorophyll fluorescence at certain wavelengths give a linearly proportional estimation of the chlorophyll content. Literature Cited Hopkins, W.G. HÃ ¼ner, N.P.A. (2009). Introduction to plant physiology (4th ed). Ontario, Canada: John Wiley Sons. Cain, M. L, Jackson, R.B., Minorsky, P.V., Reece, J.B., Urry, L.A., Wasserman, S.A. (2011). Campbell biology (9th ed). San Francisco, USA: Benjamin/Cummings. University of California Berkeley. (2006). Photosynthetic pigments. Retrieved from http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/g lossary/gloss3/pigments.html on August 23, 2012. Bowen, W. R., Baxter, W. D. (1980). Experimental cell biology: an integrated laboratory guide and text. New York, USA: Macmillan Publishing Co. Taiz L and Zeiger E. (2008). Plant Physiology. 3rd ed. Sinauer Associates, Inc. Hermans C.; Vuylsteke F.; Coppens F.. 2009. Systems Analysis of the responses to long-term magnesium deficiency and restoration in Arabidopsis thaliana.ÂÂ  New PhytologistÂÂ  187: 132-144. Carrier, Rebecca, Julie Bordonaro and Kevin Yip. Chromatography. 1997. 23 August 2012 Retrieved from:http://www.rpi.edu/dept/ chem-eng/Biotech Environ/CHROMO/chromintro. html. Craig, Paul A. Chromatography. 2007. 23 August 2012 Retrieved from: http://people.rit.edu/pac8612/ webionex/website/html/ione8h o9.html. Domestic violence: Prevention and treatment Domestic violence: Prevention and treatment Introduction Domestic violence is a universal phenomenon and more and more governments play importance on it. There are three major types of domestic violence including violent against women, child abuse and elder abuse. Since domestic violence includes primarily of violence against women, we will going to review the situation of violent against women in Hong Kong in this paper. In this study, the term of violence against women will be used instead of wife abuse because violence against women consists not only women who are married legally with the abuser, but also the co-habitees or separated partners, since violence could be continued even the relationship ended. Definitions of violence against women Although the United Nations found violence against women as the major obstacle to the achievement of equality, development and peace for women in 1985 (1), the nations didnt seem to emphasis it. Research showed that every one of three women in the global had ever experienced violence in an intimate relationship. (World Health Organization, 1997)(12) Generally speaking, violence against women refers to those acts totally committed violent against women. In the United Nations General Assembly 1994, violence against women had been defined as any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life. UN had a rather feminist view that violence against women is an expression of sex inequality and is used to uphold the domination over women and to keep discrimination against women by men. (UN, 1995) The severity of violence against women According to the data of Social Welfare Department of HK, there is an increase in the number of spouse battering from 1,906 in 1998 up to 6,483 in 2008. (SWD, HK. 2008) Over 80% of them are women abuse. The researches related to violence against women in Hong Kong were very rare, they asserted that the situation is getting worse and the government should take it seriously, however. It is about two-third of Tangs survey respondents had at least one time of verbal abuse, (Tang, 1999) Researches showed that around 10% of the survey respondents had experienced at least one time of physical abuse by their male partners. (Tang, 1999; Chan, 2005) Chan (2000, 2005) also noticed that a rather high proportion of victims were having little schooling as well as homemakers. Studies revealed the fact that over 50% of battered women were at the age range of 31 to 40 (Harmony House Report 2007; Chan, 2000) and over 80% were new migrants from Mainland China. (Harmony House Report 2007) Majority of women who experience intimate violence do not report it to the police. (Backman and Coker, 1995) Outline of this paper In the following, we will first go through the forms of violence against women including physical abuse, emotional abuse and sexual abuse. Then, the theories related to violence against women Family perspective and Feminist perspective will be discussed, and the idea of Patriarchal ideology and Confucianism will be addressed. After that, we will look deep into the existing situation in Hong Kong which consist the services provided for the victims and the abusers, the difficulties the victims face, and how Hong Kong government handle domestic violence. In the last part, the intervention strategies like resource allocation, legislation and education that combating this violence issue will be encountered. Forms of violence against women There are three forms of abuse: Physical abuse, psychological abuse and sexual abuse, in which physical abuse is the most common form that abuse men give to their female partners. Physical abuse Physical abuse refers to a physical assault or violent act that attacks the victims physical integrity, like pushes, slaps, pinches, punches, spits, kicks, burns, fractures, locked women in the house, put women in an unsafe places or murder. (Chan, 2000) Dobash et al., (1985) stated that only 3% of assaults are low in physical severity the rest are medium or high. (as cited in Mullender, 1996) Physical abuse usually accompanied by emotional abuse. Psychological or emotional abuse Psychological abuse, also referred to as emotional abuse, is a kind of emotional or psychological attacks or the neglect of psychological or emotional needs, described a person subjecting or exposing another to behavior that is psychologically harmful. (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_abuse) Actually, there is no universal accepted definition for emotional abuse. Here I adopted the definition from U.S. Department of Justice that emotional abuse is causing fear by intimidation, verbal or non-verbal, threatening physical harm to self, partner, children, or partners family or friends, destruction of pets and property, forcing isolation from family, friends, or school or work.(U.S. Department of Justice, Edleson, 1984) Emotional abuse, differ from physical abuse and sexual abuse, is a continued and repetitive behavior, used to harden fear to reinforce the control of the abuser so as to strengthen the obedience and passive acceptance to the abuser. Sexual abuse Sexual abuse is a dissented and pressurized sexual behavior or acts, forced by one person upon another. Sometimes the abuser compels unwanted sexual activity without physical force by using their position of trust but mostly physical abuse comes with sexual abuse. According to Chan (2000), those behaviors includes rape or sexual assault, incest coerced by force, inappropriate touching, exposure of genitalia, force the partner to have sexy dressing or ignoring ones sexual character. Russell (1990) reminded us that spousal sexual abuse is one kind of domestic violence which may sometimes constitute marital rape or an assault. Causes of the problem Theories related to Violence against women The universality of domestic violence caused many scholars to explore the reasons for violence against women. Family perspective Family perspective is one of the perspectives the scholars like to adopt. This approach believed that the behavior of a family member is influenced by the responses or feedback of other members. It seemed violence as a symmetrical between both sexes, and viewed individual and family relation as the core for the explanation for domestic violence, suggested a reduction in structural stresses and work on individual pathologies in dealing with the problem. Obviously the Hong Kong government had adapted this perspective in explaining the causes of domestic violence as it stressed on maintaining the function of the family or improving marital relationships. (Leung, 2008) Feminist perspective On the other hand, some scholars explained violence against women abuse from the view of feminist theory which locates the root of violence against women in a social-structural context rather than a private or family problem. (United Nation, 1989; Adam, 1998) This approach believed that women do not have equal rights and do not have institutional power, instead, women are considered as inferior and subordinate, and more serious, the properties to men. (United Nation, 1989) As the tolerance for violence act against women are vary across culture, the feminist give explanation that it is due to different levels of patriarchal values across cultures. (Bui Morash, 1999; Nayak et al.2003) The endorsement of the beliefs regarding rape and spousal physical violence and the tendency of blaming the victim showed that both gender and sociocultural factors had great impact on the attitudes toward violence against women. (Nayak et al. 2003) Tang (1999) recommended patriarchy theory in explaining violence against women in Chinese societies. Patriarchal ideology Patriarchy Patriarchy is a system of society in which men holding the determination power over women and children of the household. (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriarchy) Feminists believed that violence against women is rooted in a patriarchal system which men keep women in a subordinate position through the use of control, usually enhanced through existing economics, social, and political, and legal dimensions. Socialization process help strengthen men to subordinate women. (Sugarmen and Frankel, 1996) Many scholars agreed that the social structure created and maintained under the patriarchy keep on justified the male dominant beliefs of womens inferior status. (Tang, 1999; Anderson, 1988; Sugarmen and Frankel, 1996) Patriarchal ideology and Confucianism Confucianism which strengthens patriarchal system had great impact in Chinese society. Women lived under the ethical norms of Confucianism were suppressed into inferior, dependent, and submissive status, and are expected to obey the men. In the past thousand years, Chinese women followed womanhood decencies like san cong si de (three obedience and four virtues) and xian qi liang mu, (a virtuous wife and a good mother) (Tang, 1999) see contributing male offsprings to their husbands lineage and serving her husband as her responsibilities. The social norms in Chinese society accept using physical force to discipline female family members, for those fail to live up their prescribed roles will result in patraiarchal brutality under the rules of the family. Therefore, it is legal for a man to afford all forms of violence against women, usually physical abuse. On the other hand, the Chinese culture of interpersonal harmony forced wives to keep on tolerating the inequality so as to protect the reputation and stability of their families. Research showed that around half of the surveyed women mentioned cultural reasons for staying with their partner. (Adam, 1998) Therefore, the extent of violence against women has been largely hidden and widely denied by our society. Though Chinese women had greater opportunities for education in recent decades, and there is an increase in the acceptance of a greater flexibility of gender norms, decision making power in the household matter still holding in the mens hand. More and more female go out to work, yet they have to do most of the housework. (Choi and Lee, 1997) Chan and Lee believed that traditional patriarchal values are deeply permeated into Chinese family system. Therefore, when wives ask for more gender equality, the husbands may understand as their domination and superiority in the family had been defied, and may react with use of violence. Tang (1999) As the society tolerate towards domestic violence, and the experience of being discrimination when seeking for help, the abused women remained in the relationship. The existing situation in Hong Kong Violence against women in Hong Kong In the past 10 years, there was a rapid increase in spousal abuse. Importantly, more than 80% of victims of spousal abuse in 2008 were female, 60% of the female victims were suffering from physical abuse (SWD, HK, 2008) Harmony House reported that 71% of women had been subjected to violence for over three years. (Harmony House Annual Report 2008-2009) Pahl(1985a) and Binneyet al. (1988) got similar findings. (As cited in Mullender, 1996) Harmony House (Harmony House, 1996/1997 Annual Report) pointed out 41.7% of female victims suffered from both physical and sex abuse, and 24.1% suffered physical, psychological and sexual abuse at the same time. Chan (2000) found that 63.6% of his survey respondents viewed male chauvinism as the major cause of domestic violence which request obedience of the women. It is concluded as influenced by the traditional culture of patriarchal ideology in which female were in an inferior status. It is rather problematic that the mass as well as the front-line professionals such as police officers and social workers were likely to endorse that wife abuse is a private matter or family issue. (Tang, 2005; Leung, 2008) Leung (2008) stated that the occurrence of domestic violence, in the current view of Hong Kong society, is due to lack of communication between family members or because of individuals under pressure. The mainstream believed that both men and women have equal chance of spousal abuse. Therefore, the government did not consider the hidden gender power imbalances in domestic violence during the policy formulating process. Under such ideologies, the services related to domestic violence focus on how to maintain the unity of the family rather the safety of the victims; the police officers view domestic violence as low priority to handle, and discouraged abused women to file their complaints (Leung, 2008), and legal system continue to treat battering as an individual problem rather than criminal behavior (Ferraro, 1989; Leung, 2008) In result, the victims who are in the subordinate status would rather keep quite, while the abusers violent act was intensified. (Leung, 2006)(Tam and Tang, 2005) Service provided for the victims and the abusers There are certain NGOs in Hong Kong care and pay effort in the fighting against domestic violence, providing shelters and services for victims and male batterers, arranging prevention programmes and community education. Due to limited resources, their services are unable to handle the needs. Leung (2009) explained the Hong Kong government has increase the budget on family service in the past years in order to recruit more staff to carry out the family support projects, nevertheless, the fund did not specifically designate to the use of handling cases of domestic violence. SWD had increase resources on the accommodation beds in the shelter from 180 in 2007-2008 to 260 in 2008-2009, and to prolong the working hour of the shelters so as to provide better service for the victims. But it is regrettable that there are too little resources for measures to combat gender-based violence in the home. The difficulties the victims face Researchers found that the abused women in Hong Kong had great difficulties in seeking help from neither police officers nor social workers. (Leung, 2008; Hong Kong Womens Coalition on Equal Opportunities, 2005; Tam and Tang, 2005) It is very common for the front-line professionals to endorse that wife abuse is a private matter or family issue. (Tang, 2005; Leung, 2008) Leung (2008) pointed out that abused women always had bad experience when they seek help from the police. Most of the police perceive violence against women as a family issue and pay less attention to it, they usually persuade the victims to close the files. Even though the police are willing to handle the case, for domestic violence usually seems as family disputes which may not involved in criminal act that the police could take action, the case would most be disregarded. On the other hand, some front-line social workers paid inadequate support and empathy to the victims. It is largely because of the common bias att itudes towards the abused women especially those came from Mainland China. Some other social workers use family therapy that emphasis unity of the family to handle domestic violence cases that force the abused woman to go back to the abuser. It is inevitable that rare of legislator, social worker or police may suggest the abused women to apply injunction order. It revealed that the front-line professionals were lack of gender sensitivity in dealing the cases. The abused women often found housing problem. Compassionate rehousing could only offer by the social workers of SWD which relied on strong social ground defined by the social workers themselves. However, most social workers had bias that those women were taking advantage during the process. The policies of CSSA restrict the application for those new arrivals that were lived in Hong Kong for less than seven years even those they suffered from abuse. How Hong Kong government handle Domestic Violence There was a great reaction in the society after Tin Sui Wai Family Tragedy happened in 2004 and the government was forced to deal with it. According to the Report of Review Panel on Family Services in Tin Shui Wai (2004), 25 suggestions were addressed, including the measures of three-tiered structure established by the police provide a graded response to investigating domestic violence. Relevant information is input into the Central Domestic Violence Database, district supervisory officers will look into those repeated cases occurring within 12 months. However, the prosecution rate of spouse battering remains low. In 2005, the police recorded 1,274 cases of spouse battering, in which 1,159 cases were arrested due to their criminal act, but only 10% were finally convicted. (Hong Kong Amnesty International, 2006) The Domestic Violence Ordinance (DVO) was enacted in 1986 in Hong Kong. At that time, the scope of definition of domestic violence is narrow to those live in matrimonial home, but excludes some other intimate relationships like co-habitees, separated partners or same sex partners. And the domestic violence is seemed as molest in this ordinance that restricted domestic violence to civil act. The limited scope of definition of domestic violence led to low utilization rate of DVO and low application of injunction order. Amendments of DVO came after more and more criticism in recent years in 2008 and 2009. Amendments includes the scope of definition of domestic violence extend to co-habitees, separated partners and same sex cohabitants and the Batterer Intervention Programme was enforced. The Womens Commission, a central mechanism plays a strategic role in advising Hong Kong Government on policy direction on women issues, addressed a policy paper in 2006 to outline a strategy to address victims empowerment, prevention of violence, timely and effective intervention, community education and support. The paper provided a lot of suggestions related to various aspects, including legislation reform, services, promotion, database, training for professionals, training on gender mainstream, early identification and intervention and community networks. The paper is comprehensive, yet the Commission has not legal authorities to implement the suggestions. In response to the rapid increase of domestic violence in past decades, Working Group on Combating Violence (WGCV), coordinated by the SWD, comprises representatives from related bureaux, government departments and non-governmental organizations, is formed for mapping out strategies to address the problem of spouse battering and sexual violence. (www.swd.gov.hk) Due to limited authority, the WGCV seems unable to coordinate the cooperation among different sectors of the government departments that no body function in policy making, coordination, and supervising (Leung, 2008) Leung (2008) criticized that the work done by the Hong Kong government in the fighting against domestic violence was unsatisfactory, the most critical problem is that the Hong Kong government and most of the policy makers did not view violence against women at home as a gender issue or human right issue but only family issue. For this reason, no comprehensive policy base on the gender mainstream was set to handle the domestic violence. (Leung, 2006; Hong Kong Womens Coalition on Equal Opportunities) The SWD report (2005) confirmed that domestic violence is a family matter by mentioned that family violence amongst those who used violence, such as low self-esteem, lack of empathy, alcohol or drug addiction, a history of abuse and neglect as a child, social isolation etc.. Such viewpoint makes people ignore how serious women abuse is in Hong Kong, and force the abused women to remain in the relationship. Actually domestic violence rooted in patriarchal ideology that is widespread over t he community that the violent act of the abuser is literally an offense of manipulation of male against women. Leung (2008) found that there are two main obstacles in putting the concept of gender mainstream into the domestic violence policies. The first one is that both the front-line professional and the policy makers were lack of gender sensitivity; secondly, inadequate resource and service coordination is put and insufficient staff and authority of coordinating framework to organize, and to coordinate and supervise the policies of domestic violence and its implementation. (Leung, 2008, P70) Besides, the government has not made any specific action plan on how to carry out the gender mainstreaming policy. Intervention strategies to combat the violence issue Legislation and judicial procedures It is necessary to review the current measures on domestic violence if we want to resolve the issue of violence against women in the long-run. In the aspect of legislation and judicial procedures, the government should take a deep review the law on domestic violence so that violence against women could be classified as criminal act. Simplify and improve the judicial protection orders like lengthen the duration of injunction order would be helpful. Also, improvement to the measures of support for victims of domestic violence would reinforce the prosecution. It is rather difficult for the victims to testify against their husbands face to face in the court. The Hong Kong Council of Social Service (2007) thus suggested providing supporting worker for the victims who would accompany with victims during the hearing, provide relevant legal information actively, and contact with the prosecutors and the court to keep updated the process of the case. Comprehensive information for victims is vi tal. For most of the victims do not know their right, it is rather helpful if the front-line professional would provide appropriate information and service such as shelters and application for injunction order. Resources It is certainly that government should enhance the availability and accessibility of the shelters at the same time. For the perpetrators, compulsory batterer intervention program (BIP) seems to be effective and should be enforced. On the other hand, Tin Sui Wai Family Tragedy revealed that professional training for handling domestic violence must be strengthened. As a matter of fact, social welfare agencies are lack of resources and support from the government to combat gender-based violence in the home. Therefore, it is unable for them to deepen the intervention and therapies on domestic violence. The government should add the specific matching grants of domestic violence. Although extra HKD 22 million has budgeted to recruit additional staff to implement family support projects, no designation for the fund to handle cases of domestic violence, in result, no advancement to the service on domestic violence. The change of ideology Other than resource and legislation and judicial procedures, the change of ideology is most significant. In recent years, governments in many western countries agreed that domestic violence is a gender issue and bring it to the criminal level. Similar arguments also found in Hong Kong (The Womens Commission, 2006; Leung, 2006, 2008) Leung (2008) stressed that the best way to protect women from abuse is to take the concept of gender mainstream into account when handling the issue of domestic violence. The concept of gender mainstreaming having been developed after the 1985 3rd World Conference on Women in Nairobi and was formally featured in the Platform for Action of the 4th World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. (centers.law.nyu.edu) Gender mainstreaming is defined as the public policy concept of the process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies or programmes, in all areas and at all levels. It is a strategy for making womens as well as mens concerns and experiences an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes in all political, economic and societal spheres so that women and men benefit equally and inequality is not perpetuated. The ultimate goal is to achieve gender equality. (Un ited Nations, 1997) In response to the ineffective of WGCV, Leungs suggestions are worthy to mention. Leung (2008) suggested the government should adopt the definition of gender mainstreaming and its practice guidelines offered by international organizations; to develop a comprehensive policy of domestic violence and strategy execution according to gender mainstream; and to establish a high ranking coordinating body to work out an action plan for combating and preventing domestic violence; to improve the central data collection and the information dissemination systems; to consolidate the collaboration system between government and NGOs to ensure the resources had been used in combating against violence, to set up crisis intervention team with the collaboration of police and social workers; to meliorate the service coordination within different social service organizations; to strengthen the education on gender sensitivity for the frontline professionals. Reference Chan, K.L. (2000) The Impact of Family Violence to Women and their Children, Hong Kong: Hong Kong Christian Family Service and Hong Kong University, Department of Social Work and Social Administration. Leung, L.C. (2008) The possibilities of Gender Mainstreaming Domestic Violence Policy in Hong Kong. Hong Kong: City University of Hong Kong, Department of Applied Social Science. (centers.law.nyu.edu/jeanmonnet/papers/00/000201) United Nations. Report of the Economic and Social Council for 1997. A/52/3.18 September 1997. Backman, R., Coker, A. (1995). Police involvement in domestic violence: The interactive effects of victim injury, offenders history of violence, and race. Violence and Victims, 10(2), 91- 106. Other information Definitions of domestic violence Intimate partner violence (IPV), also termed domestic violence, is the most common form of violence against women. (Watt and Zimmerman, 2002) Wesley defined domestic violence as any behavior which is intended to cause unwanted harm, either physical (e.g., sexual or physical assault, and murder) or nonphysical (e.g., intimidation malicious insults) to a romantic partner. (Wesley et al, 2006) Adams gave a rather completed definition, the repeated, habitual or random use of aggression, whether physical, verbal, social, sexual, emotional, psychological or economic, by an individual on a partner or ex-partner in an existing or previous domestic relationship to force submission to that persons demands, thus depriving the partner of personal liberty and basic human rights. (Adam, 1998) Continuums of abuse Apart from the forms of abuse, we should consider the level of severity of abuse when we look into a case whether it is an abuse or not. The following table showed different levels of abuse from least to most severe. Assumed relationship between Patriarchal ideology and Attitude towards violence against women Sugarman and Frankel (1996) in their study examining how wide the patriarchy ideology molds the individuals experiences in terms of domestic violence, showed that previous researches on wife abuse done by Dobash and Dobash (1979), Kurz (1989) and Schechter (1982) conjectured that acceptance of traditional gender ideals and expectations about women serves to maintain subordination of women and is a primary source of violence against women (Sugarman and Frankel, 1996) Pagelow (1984) even suggested that traditional gender belief system could be retain since the assaultive husbands adopt the patriarchal conception of family. (Sugarman and Frankel, 1996) Findings verified that assaultive husbands showed more positive attitudes toward marital violence than nonassaultive husbands (Sugarman and Frankel, 1996) However, until 2005, the United Nations still found that women subjected to violence, including physical violence, psychological violence or sexual violence is a very common phenomenon. Research report Health Canada (1996) tended to believe that emotional abuse is based on power and control and characterized it into six forms: rejecting, degrading, terrorizing, isolating, corrupting/exploiting and denying emotional responsiveness Tomison and Tucci (1997) mentioned that emotional abuse is characterised by a climate or pattern of behaviour(s) occurring over time. Physical abuse always accompany with emotional abuse contains words and actions to break the womans spirit and destroy her self-image and self-esteem. (Mullender, 1996) It also includes imposing any kind of intimacy while the woman is still hurting from the violence, and physical or verbal harassment. (Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology, 2001, Alic, Margaret; Burstow; Mullender, 1996; Wikipedia) Most of the scholars explained violence against women from mainly two different views of theories, one is from the view of individual or family ground, and another is from the view of society or social structure. Psychological theories emphasis on assertively uncontrollable anger which is seen as rooted in unresolved family conflicts, primitive aggressive reactions, the submerged fear of the bully, insecure dependence on women, or any other form of internal stress (Mullender, 1996, summarized by Dobash and Dobash, 1992, p237) Feminists view that violence against women as a typical behavior and brooked by the society with the approval of social rules supporting male domination. (Adam, 1998) United Nation (1989) believed the interconnection of economic, social and political factors creating a structure placed the women with low economic status in a weakness position to violence within the household. Adam stressed that the masculine values in capitalist system apt to value women as mother, housewives or sexual objects Nayak et al. (2003) examined the attitudes of undergraduates from four countries toward violence against women, and discovered that groups with different values or attitudes also differ in violence acts, and would have different level of acceptance of violence. It refers not only the power of male in the household, but also refers to the dominance of men in social or cultural systems. Feminist theory stresses that the structure of modern cultural and political systems under patriarchy are totally ruled by men. (Wikipedia) (Castro, Ginette. American Feminism: a contemporary history, p. 31.) Obviously, violence against women seemed as normal under the development of dominant-submissive power relations. such that they have little or no independent status and transgressions outside the family and male authority expose them to swift retributions and confirm their vulnerability. Adams (1998) Researches demonstrated that patriarchy involves concepts of feminism and male domination in society and within the family. (Tang, 1999; Adam, 1998; Sugarmen and Frankel, 1996) The violence against women is the product of the interrelated and complex values wherein women are considered as inferior and subordinate to men, in result male is allowed to view female partners as his properties, and handling it within the privacy and autonomy of the family. (United Nation, 1989) Adams (1998) agreed with Mama that women are strongly fixed into the familial structure and hierarchic gender relations in the socialization process. Yllo also found that there is a positive correlation between more patriarchal social structure and higher level of women abuse. (Yllo, 1983, 1984) Research also found that traditional gender role soc

Soccer Scholarship Essay 1 :: Scholarship Essays

Soccer Scholarship Essay 1 Â   Let me introduce myself. My name is Heather Smith; I'm 18 years old and am a senior at Suttons Bay High School. I was born and raised here and have attended Suttons Bay Schools for 13 years. My hobbies include playing socer, spending time with ym friends, music, art, snowboarding, biking, working out and traveling. Six years ago I startedmy love of travel when I had the opportunity to travel on a 16-day European History trip to the countries of England, France, Italy, Switzerland and germany with family and friends. Last summer I traveled to Spain with my school's Spanish club, and in March I went to Mexico. I speak Spanish and plan on continuing my studies at Michigan State University this fall. I find that traveling is so interesting as it gives me the chance to see how others live and experience their culture. Â   Soccer has always been my passion. I started to play when I was in second grade. I have played continuously and am now a captain of the Suttons Bay Lady Norsemen. We are a high school cooperative team consisting of players from Suttons Bay, Leland and Northport. This is our fourth year of existence and we worked hard to establish our team and its killer reputation. The part that I am most proud of is that I was among a group of girls that helped convince the Suttons Bay School Board that our high school should establish a girls' high school team. We asked to be put on the board's agenda and prepared a persuasive presentation outlining the reasons that girls at Suttons Bay High School deserved their own team. We knew that money was not available to fund the team, so we promised to find it ourselves. The Board approved our team in the spring of 1997. Our team members and parents spent long hours in fundraising to pay for our uniforms, equipment, transportation, referees and coaches. Â   This experience has taught me many valuable lessons. I learned that it is important to fight and work for what you believe in. I have learned more skills than soccer, such as teamwork and communication skills. I have learned that it's good to broaden one's horizon by meeting and becoming friends with people from other schools and communities. I'm looking forward to the soccer district and regional, and we hope we qualify for the state championship.