Media and Government Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Media and Government - Assignment Example The companies moved away from publishing sexually sensitive paper with images of masculine men and half-naked women. They adopted a new policy that aimed at penetrating the whole market. The periodicals majored on stories of interest such as celebrity stories and general stories about fashion. In addition, they provided information on current happenings. In order to make the magazines attractive, the companies printed the publications on high-grade glossy papers. Fejes argument on gays and lesbian spending habits is still valid today. Majority of them spend a tremendous amount of cash on classy and sophisticated products in the market. They embrace new products and, as a result, producers and marketers exploit this. The auto industry is a perfect example of the industry that has realized this and works hard to satisfy gay consumers’ needs. Subaru is one of the companies that has successful exploited gays’ desire for classy products. This company has designed an expensive gay-friendly car. The fact that the vehicle is gay-friendly alone does not improve sales. Thus, the company has invested in advertising their new arrival in gay periodicals such as Advocate and Out. The sales returns are encouraging with the Subaru company claiming that gay men are 18 timely more likely to afford and own this car than other

Biology is Beauty Essay Example for Free

Biology is Beauty Essay The article â€Å"Biology is Beauty† by Geoffrey Cowley touches on the aspects behind beauty. The article states that everyone shares a sense of what is attractive. Basically, Cowley is stating that people are attracted to what is on the outside, even if we do not know it. Even though points of attraction can vary over societies, beauty is an innate quality we all think of. The article touches on a few examples that the author feels explains. First, Cowley says that humans love symmetry; people prefer other people whose physical features are symmetric. These findings on symmetry were proven to be true despite race or gender. To prove this point, the author provided data from a study at the University of Texas. The study took 3 and 6 month old children and showed them series of photos. There were sets of photos with 2 photos at a time, one considered attractive and another considered unattractive. The study showed that the babies spent considerably more time staring at the photos of attractive people. The study was run multiple times using female and males of different races. This study is trying to show that humans are prewired to favor more attractive people. Further into the article the author mentions the connection between beauty and body type. Men and women have tendencies to like people with better body types, more so with men. Certain animals choose their mates off which is the most physically dominant, and the article suggests humans are not so far off. The article provides the views of the skeptics but states their research proves their assumptions. The article has a few positive and negative aspects. A pro to this article is fact that men are attracted to women with better bodies. This is generally true in society for both men and women. However, this statement is not always true. Humans are not so much attracted to a person with the best body type, but more so the body type that suites their needs the best. People are individuals and attractiveness to body types is not so much an innate quality. There is some truth to fact that symmetrical faces are more appealing. Physical attractiveness does first ignite interactions between two people but it is not the most overlaying factor as the article suggests. Beauty does not begin and end on the outside; a person’s inner qualities define them just as much, if not more, than their physical beauty. Humans do share qualities with animals as the article states, but overall the individuality of people is truly what  defines their beauty. When it comes to accredit this article to be published, I feel that it should. Even though I do not fully agree with all the aspects of this article, the statistical data the author shows holds some merit. This article brings up controversy as well, putting people at odds on how much beauty really matters.

Mental Health Issues in the UK Criminal Justice System

Mental Health Issues in the UK Criminal Justice System Mental Health illness is a problem that the criminal justice system faces daily. In 1992, the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) and the Public Citizens Health Research Group released a report that described alarmingly high numbers of people with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other serious mental illnesses incarcerated in jails across the country (Erickson Erickson, 2008, p. 4). Mental health illness can contribute to jail and prison overcrowding, high crime rates, drug addiction, and many other problems. The team decided to examine mental health issues as it relates to the criminal justice system and specifically how mental health can play a role in the crime. Different factors can become a problem with mental health illness and the criminal justice system. Jail and prison officials should be train to identify mental health crisis. Mental health professionals including psychiatrists should be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to evaluate potential crises and prescribe emergency medications in detention facilities (Compton Kotwicki, 2007, p. 49). Even though, is true the problem starts with the crime and the sentence. Many problems and questions arise when a person who possesses a mental illness commits offense. There are many obstacles that need to be overcome before convicting someone of a crime. First a crime has to report. From there, the crime and the individual as well as witnesses need to be interview or interrogate. Information gathered during this process must be valid in order for the Prosecutor eventually hands down a charge. However, sometimes in certain circumstances, officers, and detectives may press charges against an individual and it the Prosecutor to either file charges under that individual. A prosecutor may agree with the charges that the Detectives chose, and in that case, the charges can be amended to a greater or lesser charge. At this point, it is particularly necessary that the defendant seek legal advice. A court date will determine. This typically called a hearing, and at this point, the defendant can make a plea of guilty, not guilty or no contest. From there, a trial will set in which the Prosecutor and Defense attorney will discuss their case before a jury. At the conclusion of the trial, the jury will decide guilt or innocence. According to Compton and Kotwicki (2007), Just like cases in which a mental illness is not a factor charges against a defendant with a mental illness may be dropped, the defendant can plead guilty, or the defendant can be found guilty or not guilty by trial (p. 490). A verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity is not a conviction, and it does not require a basis for criminal sentencing and punishment. Not that the charge should go away, but when the judge finds someone not guilty because of reason for insanity considered an acquittal. What the judge does is making that individual do his or her time in either a rehab facility or in a mental hospital. Depending, on the defendants behavior one could be eventually discharge with charges thrown out. If the defendants behavior becomes worse, charges will not get dropped, and one will sentence to prison after seeing the judge if the judge thinks he, or she would be competent to do his or her time in prison to finish the sentence for the crime her or she once committed (Compton and Kotwicki, 2007, p. 13). However, for people with mental illness, a judge may exercise discretion in pursuing alternatives to conviction and sentencing (Compton and Kotwicki, 2007, p. 13). Convictions could overturn for mental health issues depending on what issue they have. Many police officers or detective does not recognize the signs of a mental disease of an individual questioned or suspected of a crime. Reported to the New York Times, today many individuals can provide documentation with details giving them the right hand to get their conviction overturned. When a person is sitting in an interrogation room question for a crime, but has a mental illness that the police force cannot accept; also does not have the capabilities to ask for a lawyer, the judge will much abundantly so blame the police force for not seeing the signs of mental illness. When the defense team represents their client, it appear in court, which if the right protocol not understand; therefore the facts they appear before the court would have no cause. Many individuals make false confessions because of the illness they have which will allow the convictions to get overturned. People with mental illness cannot always tell their thoughts clearly or understand what others are saying to them (Persons With Mental Illness Who Are Homeless Or Missing: A Guide For Families, p. 1). In confusion, some will retreat while others have grandiose ideas and cannot make sound judgments (Persons With Mental Illness Who Are Homeless Or Missing: A Guide For Families, p. 1). Sometimes they leave home or other fixed surroundings, and they become homeless or missing (Persons With Mental Illness Who Are Homeless Or Missing: A Guide For Families, 2012, p. 1). They can go for days, weeks, months or years (Guide To Help Locate Missing Homeless Mentally Ill, 2012, p. 1). Often they leave behind distraught families, hoping to realize their loved ones home or to another safe place (Guide To Help Locate Missing Homeless Mentally Ill, 2012, p. 1). Different examples of mental illnesses are anxiety, which is a sense of fear, nervousness, and worry about something that may arise in the future. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) that is a, mental illness characterized by an impaired ability to regulate activity level (hyperactivity) attend to tasks (inattention) (Information About Mental Illness And The Brain, 2012, p. 2). Inhibit behavior (impulsivity), schizophrenia, which is a serious, severe, and disabling brain disease (Mental Illness Glossary, 2012, p. 2). People with schizophrenia often suffer terrifying symptoms, such as hearing internal voices or believing that other people are reading their minds, controlling their thoughts, or plotting to harm them (Mental Illness Glossary, 2012, p. 2). These symptoms may cause them anxious and withdrawn (Information About Mental Illness And The Brain, 2012, p. 1). Their speech and behavior so disorganized that they may be confusing or frightening to others (Information About Mental Illness And The Brain, 2012, p. 1). These are just some examples of health issues that go unrecognized, so when a crime committed many police officers not trained to understand the symptoms and behaviors that go along with the mental illness. Many individuals across the nation suffer from chronic mental illness that can affect several factors of ones life. It can take an adverse impact to employment, personal relationships, and often leads to substance abuse and involvement of criminal activity. The team cannot control aspects of a mental illness we can determine the problems as well, as the issues surrounding the mentally ill individuals within the criminal justice system (Mentally Ill Offenders And County Jails; Survey Results And Policy Issues Criminal Justice, 2000, p. 15). There are many types of mentally ill offenders, some that commit violent crimes and others that commit minor offenses but from what even comparison that a person uses needs to understand that treatment is the place. Supporting resources revealed similar views by stating, Inadequate treatment and services leaves people unprotected from the effectiveness of their illness, and we wait and watch until they do something, often a non-violent misdemeanor, to put them in trouble with the law (Department of Health and Human Services, 2000, p. 1). For the offenders that commit minor offenses, law-enforcement officers usually can identify them from observations. At this point, a police officer has the potential to Baker Act the criminal. Possessing an Offender Baker Acted can remember as a way involuntary intend to obtain mental health treatment, For example, a person who is presenting a threat to him or herself or other that may be cannot access the treatment needed. If the officer, decides to make an arrest instead the person brought to jail and eventually through a screening process. The assessment will determine the condition or severity of his or her mental status. If the level is not uncommon, the offender place within the general population. If it verified that he or she is a risk, the person is places on the psychiatric status for further evaluations. Ultimately the mentally ill inmate will undergo treatment from physicians and case workers and spend eight times longer confine. An average prisoner to obtain the necessary treatment wants to become a productive member in society. The justice system has come a long distance by supporting programs, such as the Criminal Mental Health Project. This project was creating to discover better ways of handling mentally ill individuals. As they come in contact, the criminal justice system as well as treatment requires. There are two facilitate components to the development programs that include pre-arrest and the post arrest diversion program. The pre-arrest deviation is aim to identify and prevent any mentally ill person from entering the criminal justice system. According to resources, For these diversion options to be successful, though, resources must observe release conditions and provides treatment. Otherwise, diversion will just contribute to the deinstitutionalization/ criminalization revolving door (Center of Problem-Oriented Policing, 2006). Upon entry into treatment programs often offenders placed within community-based treatment facilities where they receive appropriate care. While undergoing treatment, they will continue to be monitor by a court ordered case worker. There are many studies that have tried to tackle the common questions of, how the justice system should play a key role when coming in contact with the mentally ill and what is the appropriate action that should supplied to each obligation of an offender who is mentally ill. The criminal justice system faced with a dilemma when a mentally ill person enters the justice system. The difficult task becomes weighing the options of punishment or providing treatment. This similar dilemma seen in the case of Andrea Yates, a 36 year-old native of Texas that drowned her five children. Many horrified by this crime in hopes she would be discipline and others had mixed emotions. It came out during the hearing that she was mentally ill suffering from postpartum psychosis but was this merely a defense tactic. Further researcher revealed that, A Justice Department investigation from 1999 that estimates the number of mentally ill prisoners to be about 16% of the total prison population. Analysts say fair treatment of the mental ill often overshadowed by opposition to the use of the insanity defense, which some claim abused a way to get away with crimes. According to reports, however, the insanity defense used in less than 1% of all criminal trials. Experts agree it succeeds in only about one-quarter of those cases (The Mentally Ill in the Legal System, 2009, p. 10). The problem still moves forward as the justice system debates on how to handle such circumstance. The issue becomes the responsibility as this is what country has distilled in the justice system. For this purpose, it is necessary to understand the roles and responsibilities that the justice system has in continuing further research on methods. To improve treatment of the mentally ill offenders as well as treatment for these offenders mentally. In a study taken by Psych Central, the discoveries suggest Two thirds of prisoners nationwide with a mental illness were off medication at the time of their arrest, according to a new study by Harvard researchers that suggest under treatment of mental illness contributes to crimes and imprisonment (Mental Health News from North Carolina Mental Hope, n.d., P 5.). Although the discoveries may reflect differences, the key factor is that mental health can and does contribute to crime. Many of the soldiers who serve in the Army and do respond will suffer from post-traumatic stress. Which lead, to a severe mental unbalance that ultimately results in crime. Very similar to that of a person who born with severe mental problems and lacks the ability to distinguish between right and wrong, many of these individuals commit a crime because of the constant replay of visions of acts committed while serving but under the direct control (Doctor Says Palin In Excellent Health CBS News, 2011, P. 1). Unfortunately, whether a person born with mental issues, or develops psychological issues as a result of an event in life can be more likely to possess a strong fear of crime. Institutes for mental health care, review scientific research a critical activity. A good way to stimulate research is by simplifying data collection through observation. In collecting data for the study of mental health issues, one effective way to collect data for this study would be through observation. Examination of subjects with mental illness would allow researchers to assess side effects of mental illness. For the study, of mental illness and crime consideration among other methods of data collection used to determine the effects of criminal activity in conjunction with crime. By observing, subjects who been diagnosed with mental illness along with surveying and evaluation of behavioral activities, a simple collection of information will assist in aiding researchers get answers to the questions of mental illness. The number of mentally ill offenders incarcerated is gradually growing. There are approximately seven percent of mentally ill offenders in jail within the U.S population. The approach to the participant evaluation will be selecting individuals whom have had prior encounters with the criminal justice system such as individual that entered the justice system and have under gone treatment from mental health professional that appointed by the mental health courts and not released. The selection of individuals will also include mentally ill offenders currently establishing a position with in the criminal justice system. These include but not limited to offenders currently seeking treatment for their illness, offenders that are awaiting the hearing process from the courts, and detainees from law-enforcement officers that have implemented the Bakers Act that is necessary for accurate and successful treatment. This evaluation would be far from complete if the process did not include the expe rience and knowledge from the trained professional such as law-enforcement officers that often are the first contacts made, the mental health courts that make the determination of each unique case, and the mental health professionals that treat the offenders in order for them to have a chance to be a productive member in society. They attempt to conduct this evaluation will pay close attention to the needs of these individuals, such as setting, technique of the evaluation and how the groups be combined in order to obtain accurate data. The evaluation will become much more simplified by combining the groups to obtain structure and order during the evaluation. The break down of the evaluation will be following an outline in which how the evaluation process conducted, this will ensure that all data collected and is significant to the study as well as the study groups. The groups be combined as the following, the prior mentally ill offenders findings be incorporated with the mentally ill offenders that currently detained in the criminal justice system, this can include first time offenders and offenders awaiting hearing. The next groups will consist of the offenders as a whole number and the experienced professional that have implemented their treatments and rehabilitation. The next stage in the evaluation is to secure an environment suitable for all participants. This will ensure comfort ability with the participants; it would also be an area with no distractions. As the interviews are conducting a series of individua ls questions, be generated for each individual. The qualitative data method that be implemented will make certain that other resources can be used to support the findings of the evaluation. Some excellent resources that can be collected in this procedure are medical evaluation records and details procedures that utilized as guidelines for necessary treatment for the offender. When we talk about the procedures for mental illnesses, the doctors have to treat each illness case by case basis. A prime example is a defendant that is mentally retarded. The defendant charged with kidnapping and murder. The mental retardation evidence consisted of expert testimony that the defendant had intellectual deficits (an IQ below 70), and also contained three variable manipulations: (1) testimony that the defendant lacked/did not lack a practical adaptive skill (the ability to care for himself); (2) testimony that the defendant lacked/did not lack a social adaptive skill (interpersonal abilities); and (3) the age of onset of the mental retardation as being from birth (before 18) or after age 18 due to a brain injury (Margaret Reardon, 2007, p. 11). Although by definition mental retardation cannot have an onset after age 18, many researchers points out the legal issue that identical intellectual deficits can develop regardless of age of onset (Margaret Reardon, 2007, p. 12) . The jurors have to consider the mental illness of the person that set forth of the trial. Many defendants receive expert testimony that specifically stated that the crime was attributable to the defendants mental retardation. The nexus testimony stated that the defendant was unable to appreciate the criminal nature of their act and that he or she was vulnerable to following the direction of others due to their limited logical capacity (Margaret Reardon, 2007, p. 12). Participants then intended for to a page containing jury instructions where they recorded their verdict of whether the defendant is mentally retarded. Variables manipulated in the instructions included (1) the party carrying the burden of proof, (2) the standard of proof (beyond a reasonable doubt/by a preponderance of the evidence), and for the mental retardation determination, (3) the definition of mental retardation used (Margaret Reardon, 2007, p. 12). Many individuals have to understand the different emotions and styles with dealing with an individual with mental illness. Self-aware is well aware of their moods. These people have some sophistication about their emotional lives. They are in excellent psychological health and tend to have a positive outlook on life. When they get into a bad mood, they do not ruminate or obsess about it, and are able to get out of it sooner. Engulfed are people who feel swamped by their emotions and helpless to escape them, they are mercurial and not particularly much aware of their feelings, so they lost in them rather than having some perspective (Batool, 2011, p. 1). They have no control over their emotional life. Accepting people are usually clear about what they are feeling, they accept their mood, but do not try to change them either in whole or severe mood. This pattern found among depressed people who resigned to their despair (Batool, 2011, p. 1)). The difference between right and wrong is not easily explained. Mental health and illness within the walls of the correctional facilities throughout the United States are struggling with many obstacles. Many inmates claim insanity or a mental illness. However, we left to believe that they are simply using this defense as a way to ask for forgiveness for the crime they have committed. There are many inmates that medicated, but nothing seems to help their violent outbursts. On the other hand, there are many inmates that are in fact, responding to medications to help their condition. According to Wendy Fry, producer of KPBS.org, she states that the cost per year to house an inmate is approximately $50,000 per year but that when an inmate hits the age of 55, we should expect that amount to almost triple. The idea of figuring out a way to eliminate mental health and illness from the prison setting is not as easy as one may think. Actually, it is next to impossible. Medicaid set up to help those who are below the income in which they could afford health insurance. Medicaid pays for mental health appointments as well as the medication to control such illnesses. However, without the will of the individual or the parents of children to seek out the help needed, our prisons will continue to be overcrowded and unsteady. There is one act that we can do. When an inmate comes into the realm of the correctional facility, we can do what we have been doing, we provide them with medical care, and this also includes mental health. From there it all depends on the individual if they are going to work the system, or let the system work for them. There is a saying that you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make them drink. This can be applied to the correctional facilities inmates. Some people are just career criminals, and with that being said, some inmates clearly need mental health. So before, we can go in depth on a budget to help this situation, we need to know how to tell the difference between mental illness and simply an excuse to break the law. In conclusion, many problems stem from mental health illness when brought against the criminal justice system. Furthermore, many questions brought up about the sentencing and what punishing a person with a mental illness should obtain and what mark just for an individual with a mental illness. Certain laws are in place for people with a mental illness that commits offense. Some individuals who do have a mental illness but convicted and cut through the loop holes of the criminal justice system.

Comparing how the poets Levertov and Brathwaite use poetic techniques E

Comparing how the poets Levertov and Brathwaite use poetic techniques to convey ideas about belonging to a particular culture Both poets Brathwaite and Levertov describe how people belonging to a culture are changed by a more powerful culture. This is done in both poems by an amount of force. There are symbols and powerful techniques to bring you into this. In the poem ‘Limbo’, unable to protect and defend themselves, the West Africans find themselves exploited by the Europeans. Clearly, poetic techniques and structure are used to convey and influence the meaning of the poems. In the poems ‘Limbo’ and ‘What were they like?’, the poets create powerful symbols which can convey a range of key ideas. Levertov focuses on how the people of this particular culture live before an...

Memorandum of Law Instructions

Memorandum of Law Instructions Legal research and writing often manifests Itself In the form of written documents. Some of these documents are for the Internal use of the firm or other entity. Others, such as letters, pleadings, and briefs are for courts and other third parties. A principal document that Is often used Internally, and, at times, transformed Into a letter, brief, or otherwise altered for use with third parties, is the Memorandum of Law. You will draft one of these documents for a large portion of your grade in this class. It will allow you to practice virtually all of the skills that you will learn throughout this course.The Memorandum of Law is covered in chapter 13 of the text. You should probably read that chapter now in planning for this assignment (it will be covered in detail in Module/Week 7). You will complete your memorandum in three parts, and each part will be graded and returned to you in time for you to incorporate what you have learned Into the next step in the assignment. The Memorandum of Law that you will be writing Is an objective document that ill explain what the law Is with regard to the hypothetical fact pattern that will be given to you by your Instructor.Thus, you will not necessarily be attempting to persuade the reader. Rather, you will be reporting to your instructor (who, in this instance, will be like an attorney in a law firm for the purposes of this assignment) what you believe the law is with regard to the situation posed. Thus, you must address authorities that might be helpful and not so helpful to your client's position. You should format your memorandum like the examples in chapter 13 of the text, include the following: Provide a heading with your instructors name in the â€Å"to:† field, your name in the â€Å"from:† field, and the date and topic. SE headings as shown In the text. Use a professional font that Is easy to read. The text should be double-spaced, with page numbers at the bottom of ea ch page and one-inch margins. Case Briefs Conduct research on the hypothetical fact pattern given to you by your instructor. Locate the relevant cases that you will be addressing in your Memorandum of Law (remember, the Memorandum of Law is an objective assignment, so you should include both cases that help and hurt your position).Read and analyze the cases as discussed in chapter 3 of the text. After reading and analyzing the cases that you found, prepare case briefs for what you believe to be the five most important cases that you will rely upon In drafting your Memorandum of Law. You should generally format the case briefs the same way that you will format the Memorandum of Law (see above, chapter 13 as to the Memorandum of Law, and chapter 4 of the text as to briefing cases and the form of the briefs). You may Include all of the briefs In one Word file.Head the file as you will the Memorandum of Law, and then Include each of the five briefs as the text of the file that you will submit through a link provided in Your Case Briefs are due by 1 1 :59 p. M. (ET) on Monday of Module/Week 3. Rough Draft Finish your research and analysis of the hypothetical fact pattern, incorporate the feedback that you receive from your instructor on the Case Briefs, and then complete this part. For this part, you will complete a rough draft of the actual Memorandum of Law. Formatting, research, writing, etc. Loud be as close as possible to what you envision for the final draft. The better the Job you do here, the better grade you will receive on this part of the assignment. But, perhaps even more importantly, the better the Job you do, the more valuable the feedback you receive. Thus, it will benefit you for the final part of the assignment as well.

Body Modification †Deviance in Society Essay

The last decade has seen a dramatic rise in spectacular forms of body modification, including the tattoo renaissance and the phenomena of body piercing, the emergence of neo-tribal practices like scarification and the invention of new, high-tech forms of body art like sub-dermal implants. Therefore, body modification practices have proven to be an interesting field of study for sociologists interested in deviance, social control, and the social construction of problematic behaviour. Much of the sociological research and literature into these practices fits within the symbolic interaction tradition, focusing specifically on the ways that people define body modification, and whether or not they perceive it as being scary or beautiful, dangerous or alluring, rebellious or inclusive. This essay explores the connections between body modification and deviance and seeks to identify whether physical alterations of the body are a rite of passage, a group identifier, or a mechanism of negative sanctioning and social control, believed to be key elements in the social construction of deviant self-identities. The origins of the cultural trend of body modification, unlike those of nearly all other fads, are thousands of years old. Ever since our Neolithic ancestors invented art tens of thousands of years ago, humans have been decorating the human body, as it is the most intimate of canvas (Siebers 2000, p. 212). Most sociological theory about body modification is framed in discussions of labelling and differential association orientations which explain social definitions and the processes through which body modifiers learn how to be successful in changing the ways their bodies look to themselves, and to those with whom they come in contact. The cause of controversy surrounding the issues of tattooing and piercings is directly rooted in the message that these forms of body modification present. The one essential feature all of these deviants share is visibility; they are all, by definition, overt deviants whose rule breaking is immediately apparent. Their deviance is rooted, not in what they have done, or even who they are, but in how they appear (Heitzeg 1996, p.358), therefore, this type of deviance is highly diverse with regard to the how  and why of rule breaking. In modern contexts, body modification practices can be seen as symbolic as they represent the death of conventional beauty standards and the rebirth of new ideals of attractiveness by challenging the classical ideal of the skin as ‘a pristine smooth closed envelope for the self’ (Pitts 2003, p.92). Hence, when a person submits the body to the modification process, it damages the skins basic structure and its integrity, which contradicts the western notion of the body as fixed and unchanging. The fact that Western society is not overtly tribal or strictly racially segregated (Atkinson 2003, p. 99) is perhaps one of the reasons why the importance of bodily appearance in constructing social identity is regarded so suspiciously. Western civilisation has no history of group body modification (Miller 2004, p. 61), and where we have encountered it in others, it has often been regarded as evidence of primitivism and savagery, with efforts made to eradicate it as part of the ‘civilisation’ process. In western culture, body modification practices have been shunned and outcast as the marks of Satan (Miller 2004, p.37) and traditionally, the Christian body was only marked as a sign of shame. In the last few centuries however, these fallacies have subsided to thoughts of mere loathing of any permanent defacing of a person’s body and it has been argued that body modification is ‘no more than just attention seeking self-mutilation, in which only heathens and criminals engage’ (Jones 1998, p. 89). The debates concerning body modification and self-mutilation often suggest that individuals who choose to decorate their bodies through tattooing and piercing are driven by harmful impulses that they cannot understand and do not control. Though many view these forms of body modification as sin and are loath to initiate any permanent modifications beyond those dictated by nature and necessity, others feel that it is a historical footnote about the cultural identity of this era. Though the desire to mark the body does emanate from the inner sense of self, it does not necessarily read as an intentional act of harm to the individual  self (Miller 2004, p. 102). Body modification, despite its interest in intervening with the physical flesh and creating blood, scars, holes and scars, actually is not a violent practice. Individuals partaking in such body modifications such as piercing and tattooing can be seen to be taking a kind of libertarian attitude towards their bodies as these acts of personal choice that demonstrate social independence. Vale & Juno (1999, p.8) believe that amidst an almost universal feeling of powerlessness to ‘change the world’, individuals are changing what they do have power over, their own bodies. Through various forms of body decoration, individuals attempt to resolve ‘ontological insecurities of modernism by deliberate self-identification’ (Pitts 2003, p.113). These are acts of personal choice that demonstrate social independence. The wilful act of modifying one’s body is not a passive, but a deliberate and successful attempt to direct the gaze of society where the individual chooses. In essence, tattooing and piercing puts control into the hands of the individual; control over their body and control over the objectified body, liberating it with alternative forms of power. Within the realms of body modification, you can take control of what you otherwise could not (Vale & Juno 1999, p. 82). Individuals engage in body modification through piercing and tattooing to challenge personal and social invisibility while also adding cultural capital to the body’s surface (Hewitt 1997, p. 112). In part people are using their bodies to reject homogenisation of popular capitalist culture. In an era in which large multi-national corporations dominate the socio-economic landscape, tattoos and piercings cannot be mass produced. They are a personal expression of one’s self. Body modification, through ink and flesh, as well as piercing is an act of self-creation. It is a protest of transient socially constructed features of desirability, inferiority or power. It constitutes a statement of control and ownership over the body in a cultural context characterised by accelerating social control and alienation. The human body is a canvas for the expression of cultural ideas of men and women throughout time and around the world. Therefore, arguments of the positive or negative connotations of tattooing and piercing do not often justify or debase body modifications but seemingly ‘indicate a breakdown between morality and aesthetics’ (Sanders 1989, p.35). The demographic and imagery of tattoos has undergone profound change and reflects the economic, political and social upheaval that has taken place in the 21st century (Turner 1994, p. 70). Tattoos and other forms of body modification have become more pervasive in the last couple of decade with a rise in mainstream clientele (Jones 1998, p. 65). New techniques, artists, technical innovation, professionalism and media attention have helped catapult the frequency and acceptance of body modification in conventional society. Whilst there is a rich history in regards to the ancient practice of permanent body art, a large majority of Western society view it as disruptive, crude, and a form of self-mutilation, seeing tattoos and piercings as marks of disgrace and social deviance (Miller 2004, p.75) whilst often showing little interest in what motivates people to decorate their body in such a way. However, Maffasoli (1995, p.51) suggests in his research that there is a strong fascination from ‘outsiders’ in regards to the art of body modification, although fear of negative sanctioning and lack of understanding regarding the process and the motivational factors of body modification mean people often shy away. This ‘popular interest’ manifests itself in numerous articles in popular magazines, current affairs television, documentaries, music videos, advertising and film. All of these mediums help to disseminate a basic knowledge and awareness of these modification practices to a larger mainstream population. This extended knowledge and interest has seen body modification practices shifted out of the backrooms of adult bookstores and into heavily patronised, high-technology shop-front studios. With middle-class customers increasingly entering the body modification arena (Sanders 1989, p.27) these practices are becoming less taboo and are no longer just the domain of bikers, sailors and social misfits. Tattoos and piercings not only give power and a sense of control to the individual but permits them to record one’s own history and developmental milestones on the body, therefore for some, body modification has a deeper meaning, serving the function of indelibly marking into the flesh  significant events in their lives (Favazza 1996, p. 92). A twenty-eight year old woman framed her decision to have her nostril pierced as a response to her experience of becoming a mother at eighteen, ‘the experience of being a young mother is in part why I chose to get my nose pierced. I felt trapped by others’ expectations, the piercing was a way of pushing through my own desires to deal with in myself the power of the systems that be, and my desire to refuse to conform’ (Holtham 1997). Others imbue private acts of body modification with symbolic power, capable of reclaiming previous experiences of powerlessness or an unpleasant event (Douglas 1970, p. 45). Another young woman shares, ‘I guess as my way of getting some pleasure out of the situation. I had a pair of stitched lips tattooed into the inside of my thigh six months after having been raped which symbolised my inability to speak about the event’ (Holtham 1997). Another reason for becoming a fan of modification practices are to do with enjoying the process and liking the ‘look of it’. Modification recipients speak of the ‘thrill’ and ‘rush’ of the actual moment of the piercing, as well as enjoying playing with healed piercings and adorning their bodies with jewellery (Dunbar & Lahn 1998, p.12). In support of this position, Featherstone (2000, p.55) believes that some individuals simply see their tattoos and piercings as little more than fashion accessories, on par with other forms of jewellery which enhance a certain ‘look’. Certainly, vanity can play a large part in the decision to modify one’s body, for example a tattoo strip around a man’s biceps can make them appear larger just as a tattoo or piercing will call attention to various parts of the female anatomy, especially on the lower back and around the belly button. Despite the diversified reasons for body modifications, most cultures from around the world were unified in their belief that body piercing was an art form with highly important, empowering, and positive connotations (Atkinson 2003, p.72). Whilst modern forms of body modification are seen as a self-motivated expression of personal freedom and uniqueness, ancient cultures usually marked a person to prove membership or non membership of a group, or to express religious, magical, or spiritual beliefs. These forms of body decoration have existed throughout history to mark numerous ideals within societies such as social stratification, servitude, and religious or spiritual rites. In modern times, if you modify your body, particularly in the methods discussed within this essay, you are inevitably changing your appearance whilst stating something about yourself, your lifestyle and social status. You are also making a statement about your income, wealth and class. However, body marks in pre-literate societies were permanent, collective and largely obligatory. Unlike today, they were set within a shared culture of collective meanings, where the significance of a tattoo or mark could be read unambiguously (Featherstone 2000, p.39) . The growing revival of highly visible and sometimes ‘shocking’ primitive body modification practices such as tattooing, multiple piercings and scarification is a personal choice just like cosmetic surgery and body building, which are seemingly more respectful avenues of body modification. People choose to be pierced or inked for aesthetic purposes, spiritual incentives, erotic reasons, fashion trends or a variety of other personal motives. Throughout history, society has always shown a multitude of symbols through body art and decoration, even in its simplest forms. That implicit link between past and present confers not only a sense of antiquity to body modification but also sanction and validity. Today, seeing a person with a body modification may evoke an involuntarily judgment or opinion, even though the conclusion may be wholly inaccurate and prejudicial. An altered body, as well as being a way to establish one’s own individual, unique personality, can also seen as a way to establish oneself in an alternative community (Pitts 2003, p.8). Society perhaps does not consider that the body modifiers or ‘modern primitives’ of today, just like their ancient equivalent, are not only using tribal customs to express themselves through body modification, but are also actually a form of tribe within their own social groups. There is no doubt that body modification is an interesting topic of discussion and one that can only result in examination by society. Tattoos and piercings have been around for millennia, and for the majority of that time, they have always been accepted as a form of art, not mutilation. Body modification such as tattooing and piercing is not a bizarre form of  deviance peripheral to society like many researchers signify but rather an ‘everlasting visual dialogue expressing one’s self-concept, ideas and beliefs’ (DeMello 2000, p.22). Body modification has become a vehicle for people to altar their appearance which can be of significant importance to the individual and can publicly express a rite of passage as well as break the accepted cultural code. As such these forms of body modification are primal forms of self-expression and a reflection of cultural reality. Lack of understanding surrounding participants of body modification can cause negative sanctioning such as unemployment, social ridicule or even ostracism from family and peers and social control practices are experienced to enforce or encourage conformity and deal with behaviour which violates accepted norms. As this essay has sought to explore, modified bodies invariably provoke a strong reaction among those who are not as they elicit a primeval response which touches the core of who we are as people and a society. As a new set of cultural and social meanings are being ascribed to bodies and we experience the re-definition of beauty, it is increasingly clear that society may need to become more accepting and adjust cultural norms to accommodate the novel yet historic culture of social communication through the decorated body. Reference List Atkinson, M., (2003). Tattooed: the Sociogenesis of a Body Art, University of Toronto Press, Canada. DeMello, M. (2000). Bodies of Inscription: A Cultural History of the Modern Tattoo Community, Duke University Press, London. Douglas, M., (1970). Natural Symbols: Explorations in Cosmology, Pantheon Books, New York. Dunbar, A., & Lahn, D., (1998). Body Piercing, Wakefield Press, NSW. Favazza, A.R., (1996). Bodies Under Siege: Self-Mutilation and Body Modification in Culture and Psychiatry, 2nd ed., JHU Press, USA. Featherstone, M., (2000). Body Modification, Sage Publishing, UK. Heitzeg, N., (1996). Deviance: Rulemakers & Rulebreakers, West Publishing Company, USA. Hewitt, K., (1997). Mutilating the Body: Identifying in Blood and Ink, Bowling Green State University Press, USA. Holtham, S., (1997). Body Piercing in the West: a Sociological Inquiry, http://www.bmezine.com/pierce/bodypier.html, retrieved 27/4/09. Jones, A., (1998). Body Art: Performing the Subject, University of Minnesota Press, USA. Maffesoli, M., (1985). The Time of the Tribes: the Decline of Individualism in Mass Society, Sage Publishing, London. Miller, J.C, (2004). The Body Art Book: A Complete Illustrated Guide to Tattoos, Piercings, and other Body Modifications, Penguin Publishing Group Inc., USA. Pitts, V., (2003). In the Flesh: The Cultural Politics of Body Modification, Palgrave MacMillan, USA. Roach Anleu, S., (2006). Deviance: Conformity and Control, 4th edn., Longman, South Melbourne. Sanders, C., (1989). Customizing the Body: The Art and Culture of Tattooing, Temple University Press, USA. Siebers, T., (2000). The Body Aesthetic: From Fine Art to Body Modification, University of Michigan Press, USA. Turner, B.S., (1994). Regulating Bodies, Routledge Press, UK. Vale, V., & Juno, A., (1999). Modern Primitives: An Investigation of Contemporary Adornment & Ritual, Research Publications, San Francisco USA.

Huge Improvements For Tasks On Calendar [New Features]

Huge Improvements For Tasks On Calendar [New Features] Today, we are rolling out some exciting  improvements to   that will  make  it even easier for you to manage your team and keep your content creation process organized. Heres a look at some of the improvements weve made to tasks and task templates in . Huge Improvements For s Tasks On Calendar   [New Features]Visually  Track Your   Progress As you create new tasks in , you will now see a small progress meter that will show you your progress on  that post. This meter will automatically adapt itself to the number of tasks youve created and will help you gauge your progress toward publish. When viewing the calendar, you will also see a summary of your progress at a glance. See  What Your Team Is Working On (On The Calendar) It has always been easy to assign and complete tasks in , but it hasnt always been easy to see what your team is working on. Now, your tasks and those assigned to your team members are visible on the calendar, so that you always have a birds-eye view of what you (and your team) are working on. This  should make balancing your workload a breeze. Easily Schedule Tasks For After Publish After many requests, weve made it possible  to schedule tasks for after the post is published. Simply tell how many days after publish that the task is due, and we will automatically schedule it for you. If you need to change or reschedule the task, you can do it with a simple drag and drop. Find Your Team  Faster Than Ever Finally, weve also made it easier to find your team members throughout . You can now spot them visually, or search for them quickly with our newly-built dropdown menu. This feature is especially useful for those of you with many team members. (Magically)  Assign Tasks To The  Post Author When using task templates, rather than making you choose an author manually every time, now its easy for you to assign a task to the post author dynamically. This little feature will shave countless minutes  off of your process each week. It may be small, but that also  makes it powerful. Managing your content workflow from is easier now than ever before. The coolest part of these updates is that most of the ideas came from you! We love hearing your feedback and incorporating your ideas into our product. We have a lot more to come. Thanks, as always, for using ! Youre awesome!

The X-files essays

The X-files essays As the end credits flashed and the haunting notes of the title theme resonated, reverberated and eventually vanished in the depth of my mind, I sat back and sighed. My body tingled with excitement as a broad smile swept across my 12 year old face. I had just discovered my two true heroes Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully of the FBI.My meeting with The X-files had occurred through a chance channel surfing one Thursday night. Little did I know that, that one episode would turn me into a religiously devout X-phile and change the way I saw the world forever. Mulder and Scully have undoubtedly been two of the most significant fictional characters Ive come across. I chose to speak of the two of them together as it is hard for me to imagine one without the other.Like reason and intuition they go hand in hand in understanding and discovering the fascinating enigmas that are out there. My emulation of them has gone beyond the oversized coats I used to wear when I was 12, for they truly have influenced the way I looked at myself and the universe. Mulder, the brilliant, intuitive and sensitive, maverick with an eidetic memory who graduated top of his class at Oxford and threw aside a fast moving career in the FBI to dig through what others regarded as trash in the basement. Scully, the equally brilliant ,pragmatic ,scientist who despite being a M.D. chose instead the challenging rigors of the FBI to make a place for herself in a male dominated profession. Week after week they pursued relentlessly the most bizarre and nebulous conundrums that the universe could conjure with a continued passion, despite the many dangers, lies,dead ends and loop holes that they encountered. Who wouldnt be inspired by two such amazing individuals?! In them I saw a curiosity that often dies down in individuals as they grow up. A curiosity and zeal to look beyond the pettiness of life, and at the larger pict...

Blood Flow and cardiovascular Disease, non lipid cardiovascular risk Essay

Blood Flow and cardiovascular Disease, non lipid cardiovascular risk factors - Essay Example Blood, returning to the heart from all over the body, flows into the right atrium. The blood flows from the right atrium into the right ventricle, which in turn pump it out to the lungs for oxygenation. Then the oxygenated blood returns to the left atrium. From the left atrium, the oxygenated blood flows into the left ventricle which pumps the oxygen-rich blood into the arteries. Pumping or contraction of the left ventricle should be very powerful to keep flowing of the blood throughout the whole body. The strength of the heart muscle depends on the oxygen and nutrient supply coming from the coronary arteries. The walls of these arteries are strong, elastic and flexible. The heart muscle is supplied by three major coronary arteries. Two of them arise from a common stem, called the left coronary artery which supplies the left side of the heart. It divides into left anterior descending branch which supplies the front part of the heart, and the left circumflex branch which supplies the left lateral and back side of the heart. The right coronary is separate and supplies the right and the bottom parts of the heart. The inner layer of the coronary arteries is quite smooth allowing blood to flow easily. With aging, cholesterol and calcium content in the walls of the coronary arteries increases, making them thickened and less elastic. The prolonged effect of risk factors with the consequence of aging, damage of the inner layer of the arteries becomes predominant, especially in the coronaries. This change is called atherosclerosis which is a progressive hardening of the arteries caused by the deposit of fatty plaques and the scarring and thickening of the artery wall. Inflammation of the artery wall and the development of blood clots can obstruct blood flow and cause heart attacks or strokes.[1]Nieminen and colleagues concluded that coronary artery disease is a major cause of heart failure.[4]The deposits or plaques may increase in size and block the arteries. If

The lawyer profession Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The lawyer profession - Essay Example Thus, countries like the United Kingdom and Australia have taken this issue seriously and have made amendments to lawyer’s regulations. More accurately, they have taken challenges related to new technology seriously in order to stay shoulder to shoulder with these new developments . The Task Force on the Future of the legal Profession in The United State recommends, "NYSBA’s Committee on Standards of Attorney Conduct should study and make recommendations concerning the ethical and risk management considerations associated with new technologies such as social networking, third party hosted solutions, and virtual law firms." This recommendation leads us to the same conclusion. It confirms the impact of globalization on the local legal market and private practice. More importantly, it shows the importance of updating the law with these new progresses. However, law practice management is centered around four key elements which are Law Firm Structure and Billing, Educating a nd Training New Lawyers, Work-life Integration, and Technology. On this paper, I will be focusing on one of the key element, which is law firm structure. Saudi Arabia has many problems relating to these four key elements of law practice management stated above. However, I have chosen to talk about the problem of law firm structure where an amendment to the law discussing law firm structure, particularly, partnership between lawyers, will have a significant impact on the other three elements. Additionally, it will be of benefit to the legal market in general. The Saudi Code of Law Practice is only ten years old.4 The legal profession prior to the issuance of the Code of Law practice was known as Agent profession â€Å"Mehnat Alwakalah.† The laws used to govern lawyers were grouped into eleven articles, eight of which are mentioned in the Organization of Administrative Functions in the Shari’ah Court System (from Article 59 until 66).5 Three of the articles were referred to in the Law for Centralizing Responsibilities in the Shari’ah Court System. 6 One of the most important rules embodied in those articles was the rule that allows those who do not hold law or Shari’ah degree to become lawyers.7 This continued until the enactment of the Law of Procedure before Shari’ah Courts, under the Royal Decree No. M/21, in 19 August 2000. Article 265 of the Law of Procedure Before Shari’ah Courts statues, â€Å"This Law shall supersede the Organization of Administrative Functions in the Shari’ah Court System, sanctioned by Royal Approval No. 109, dated 24 Muharram 1371 [14 October 1952], as well as Articles (52, 66, 82, 83, 85) and (84 regarding civil cases), and 85 of the Law for Centralizing Responsibilities in the Shari’ah Court System, sanctioned by Royal Approval No. 109, dated 24 Muharram 1372 [14 October 1952], and whatever provisions that are inconsistent therewith.† The lawyer profession that exists today in Saudi Arabia existed hundreds of years ago in the Islamic empires Ottoman and Abbasid. More notably, there is evidence to suggest that lawyers exis ted before that.8 Before 1932, Saudi Arabia was known as the Arab Peninsula. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded by the King Abdul-Aziz bin Saud in 1932.9 Before that time, Islamic law was the main source of law that governed lawyers in the Arab Peninsula. In Islamic law, lawyers used to be called Litigation Agents (Wakel Blkosomah). Many Islamic books discuss the rights and obligations of Litigation Agents and other issues related to their profession.10 The United States is the world’s largest service market and was the worlds’ largest cross border exporter and importer of services in 2009.11 Thus, it

How Biofuels Benefit the Economy Research Paper

How Biofuels Benefit the Economy - Research Paper Example Production of biofuel is an advantage to the economy because it helps the economy in different aspects (Environmental and Water Resources Institute U.S. 3). It is a cleaner source of energy compared to the other sources for instance the petroleum sources. This indicates that the environmental concerns are taken care of and the health of individuals is not at risk. Many people spend a lot of their income by paying for their health facilities but, with the use of biofuels, one is able to save the amount of money he or she earns. The saved funds can be channeled to other uses among them investment, a situation that would have otherwise not occurred. Health care provisions to cater for complexities that result from forms of energy used are expensive. On the same note, meeting health care insurance premiums may prove difficult because the insurance firms often deny covers to people with pre-existing conditions. Making the right choices of energy; in this case biofuels rules out such occur rences. When compared to other conventional sources of energy, biofuels are the best because they offer cleaner gases than the rest (Yeo 52). The economic benefits of biofuels fall into two categories. They are the benefits which outsmart the fuel production by fossil fuels and the economic benefits that establish a viable and sustainable biofuels industry which uplifts the developing countries (Worldwatch Institute 132). Whichever the case, the benefits of biofuels in the economy cannot be refuted. It is important to note that challenges and opposition have been raised against the use if this type of fuel. However, the central point of argument revolves around what biofuels will do for the economy. The economy is not a stand-alone aspect in the context of this analysis. Both social and environmental aspects fall into place in the evaluation of the benefits of biofuels. The government also must be accounted for, given the fact that it plays a central role in determining the pace of economic growth and development. All these factors are therefore intertwined, and the benefits of biofuels to the economy are felt across all the aspects identified. Energy security for countries like the United States which uses a lot of energy annually is safe from expensive purchase of oil as an energy source from other foreign companies. This is because reliance on imports makes the country suffer a great deal of its income by purchasing a commodity they can produce, given the resources available in the country. The economy of the country hence preserved for taking care of other concerns in the country (Keystone BioFuels Inc.). What this means for an economy that uses biofuels is that, domestic capacity utilization is maximized, thereby triggering high economic performance. Resource allocation to the energy sector is undercut, allowing for increased allocations to other sectors of the economy that previously received lesser allocations in a bid to finance fuel importation. First generation biofuels save up to sixty percent of carbon emissions, which are a, risk to the environment and health art large. The second generation biofuels save up to eighty percent of carbon emissions, which reduces the, health risks by a great percentage. Economy benefits greatly from the biofuels because they create an expansion of more job opportunities (Environmental and Water Resources Institute U.S. 3). Due to this technological advancement country has wanted to

Encouragement and Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Encouragement and Development - Essay Example This is not say that certain subjects did not interest me; they did. Rather, it is merely to assert that I found it difficult to imagine myself passionately pursuing any course of study based on the ones that I was currently introduced to within the standard high school curriculum. As anyone who has attended high school can attest, standard high school curriculum is most closely associated with reading, writing, arithmetic, and standard sciences (to include chemistry, physics, and biology). Once again, even though these interested me, they were not something that captured my imagination or intrigued me to pursue as a potential career choice and/or college major in the future. However, upon my junior year, I signed up for a course in information technology. Although I have always been somewhat talented and gifted in computers and software applications, I had never considered information technology as a potential career choice; or even choice of major for that matter. Yet, the subject matter itself, although intriguing, was not ultimately what encouraged me to the greatest degree. As a result of an exceptional teacher, Mr. Watkins, I was introduced to a broad and deep level of information that I had previously only scratched the surface of. To me, such a reality was unique due to the fact that prior to attending high school I was, of course, aware of the fact that mathematics and science is as well as literature and the arts were accident parts of the world and is necessarily defined the means by which the human experience and achievement took place. Conversely, prior to signing up for and participating in this for Watkins information technology class, I ha ve little if any for knowledge of the range and depth that the complexity of information technology could afford anyone who studied it.  Ã‚  

Possession of the Pubescent Female as Represented in The Exorcist Research Paper

Possession of the Pubescent Female as Represented in The Exorcist - Research Paper Example The invasive context in which the monster in The Exorcist (1973) has manifested represents the ways in which biological changes occur without the will of an individual. Regan is not under her own control, but is controlled by forces within her body that she cannot escape. No one can control what is happening to her. The priest, a representation of the male dominant gender, has no true power over the changes that are occurring within the little girl. He is flummoxed by the changes and is impotent in stopping what is happening to her. However, the male figure is still charged with saving the girl from her own spill of identity, the demon representing the psychological and physical changes that she cannot control and will set her life on a new course in which she must navigate the newness.According to Davies, human beings are fascinated by monsters because they most often have elements of explanation that real life does not often provide. As well, the ’paradox of horror’ c an be explained in terms of the ’disowned self’, the parts of the mind that a person may not want to own or acknowledge. The monster represents â€Å"the struggle between oppressive social norms and our repressed desires†, creating a tangible link between the parts of the self that cannot be expressed and the parts of the biological development that cannot be denied (330). The identity is often complicated by physical changes and manifestations of mental desires that are beyond the direct control of the self.

Crashes in Oregon Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 7500 words

Crashes in Oregon - Essay Example Outside areas of this urban-rural boundary were divided into further boundaries of 2.5 miles. An intersection tool in ArcMap was used to locate crashes within these areas. By using R studio software, road accidents in Oregon were classified into fatality crashes, serious injury crashes (Injury Type A), non-fatal crashes and PDO (Property damaged only) crashes. By using the MOR method, this research essay found that the total number of crashes that were recorded were 49790. The number of fatal crashes was 305 while non-fatal crashes were 24455 and while 25030 crashes resulted in PDO, and 1432 crashes resulted in serious injuries. A rise in the percentage of crashes has been observed in crashes involving the use of alcohol, unbelted occupants, during weekends, during nighttime and on interstate highways. Crashes involving the use of alcohol have shown a rise in the range 20% -28% from the year 2006 to 2012 for all zones. Thus, it is essential to establish safety-associated outlays and shoulder widening, making suitable alterations to the existing vertical and horizontal curves, the introduction of median treatments and to introduce the resurfacing will go long way in reducing the number of road accidents in the Oregon rural roads. Road traffic crashes are typical incidents that take place on the road. These involve vehicles and result in harm to people and property in form of casualties, injuries, and damage to vehicle and damage to nearby properties. Broadly speaking, the damages of road crashes are divided into two categories human and financial damages. The first ever fatal traffic crash recorded in the history of the world took place in the UK in the year 1896, after the accident, the then British Secretary of Transport stated that ‘never should we allow this to happen again’ (Balogun, 2007).  

Encouragement and Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Encouragement and Development - Essay Example This is not say that certain subjects did not interest me; they did. Rather, it is merely to assert that I found it difficult to imagine myself passionately pursuing any course of study based on the ones that I was currently introduced to within the standard high school curriculum. As anyone who has attended high school can attest, standard high school curriculum is most closely associated with reading, writing, arithmetic, and standard sciences (to include chemistry, physics, and biology). Once again, even though these interested me, they were not something that captured my imagination or intrigued me to pursue as a potential career choice and/or college major in the future. However, upon my junior year, I signed up for a course in information technology. Although I have always been somewhat talented and gifted in computers and software applications, I had never considered information technology as a potential career choice; or even choice of major for that matter. Yet, the subject matter itself, although intriguing, was not ultimately what encouraged me to the greatest degree. As a result of an exceptional teacher, Mr. Watkins, I was introduced to a broad and deep level of information that I had previously only scratched the surface of. To me, such a reality was unique due to the fact that prior to attending high school I was, of course, aware of the fact that mathematics and science is as well as literature and the arts were accident parts of the world and is necessarily defined the means by which the human experience and achievement took place. Conversely, prior to signing up for and participating in this for Watkins information technology class, I ha ve little if any for knowledge of the range and depth that the complexity of information technology could afford anyone who studied it.  Ã‚  

Crashes in Oregon Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 7500 words

Crashes in Oregon - Essay Example Outside areas of this urban-rural boundary were divided into further boundaries of 2.5 miles. An intersection tool in ArcMap was used to locate crashes within these areas. By using R studio software, road accidents in Oregon were classified into fatality crashes, serious injury crashes (Injury Type A), non-fatal crashes and PDO (Property damaged only) crashes. By using the MOR method, this research essay found that the total number of crashes that were recorded were 49790. The number of fatal crashes was 305 while non-fatal crashes were 24455 and while 25030 crashes resulted in PDO, and 1432 crashes resulted in serious injuries. A rise in the percentage of crashes has been observed in crashes involving the use of alcohol, unbelted occupants, during weekends, during nighttime and on interstate highways. Crashes involving the use of alcohol have shown a rise in the range 20% -28% from the year 2006 to 2012 for all zones. Thus, it is essential to establish safety-associated outlays and shoulder widening, making suitable alterations to the existing vertical and horizontal curves, the introduction of median treatments and to introduce the resurfacing will go long way in reducing the number of road accidents in the Oregon rural roads. Road traffic crashes are typical incidents that take place on the road. These involve vehicles and result in harm to people and property in form of casualties, injuries, and damage to vehicle and damage to nearby properties. Broadly speaking, the damages of road crashes are divided into two categories human and financial damages. The first ever fatal traffic crash recorded in the history of the world took place in the UK in the year 1896, after the accident, the then British Secretary of Transport stated that ‘never should we allow this to happen again’ (Balogun, 2007).  

The Most Disturbing Place I Have Ever Been to Essay Example for Free

The Most Disturbing Place I Have Ever Been to Essay Going to jail was no fun. It started off with a police officer placing me in handcuffs. The handcuffs were so tight that my hands went numb. Then I took a long ride in the back of a police car. I had to lean to the side so that I could ease the pressure of the handcuffs on my wrists. Next I arrived at the inmate-processing center. From the moment the door closed behind me, I was treated like inventory. I was photographed. I was fingerprinted. My money and car keys were taken. I was assigned a number so that I could be tracked and identified. I was placed in a cold cell made of concrete. I sat and waited for hours. I didn’t know what was going to happen next. I lost track of time because there were no clocks on the wall. I couldn’t tell if it was day or night. Jail is the most disturbing place I have ever been to. Then my name was called. An officer ordered me to line up against a wall along with eight other inmates. This became one of the worst times in my life. I was strip-searched. A group of officers ordered all inmates on the wall to get completely naked. One officer approached me and searched my clothes and shoes. Then he looked in my mouth and ears. He made me lift my private parts so that he could see down there. He ordered me to turn around and bend over. He took a quick look at my anal area. It seemed like minutes to me. I was totally embarrassed. Next I had to go through the rest of the inmate processing procedure. I was taken to a medical room to talk to a nurse and inform her of any problems I had. Then I was moved to a room where I could be classified according to my charge. Next I had to go to the shower room to clean up. I was only allowed a two minute shower. My clothes, including underwear, were taken. My underwear had color in them. I was not allowed to have colored underwear or colored socks. I was given a jail uniform that was too small. Then I was given one bologna and cheese sandwich. The guards didn’t care. Finally I was assigned to a permanent floor and tank. The tank held about twenty-five inmates. There was no privacy. It was overcrowded. Some inmates had to sleep on the floor, including me. There was one pay phone. Inmates argued over phone time. There were three toilets sitting out in the open. If I had to use the restroom, I had to use it in front of the other inmates. There was only one television. The guards controlled what I watched on television and when I watched it. I didnt get to make any decisions at all. Absolutely everything was decided for me. The guards told me when to get up, when to eat, when to exercise, when to shower, and when to sleep. I was in jail for three days. Jail is still the most disturbing place I have ever been to.

Knowledge Based Practice in Substance Abuse Interventions

Knowledge Based Practice in Substance Abuse Interventions Knowledge based practice Introduction This paper will look at how research informs practice. I will be looking at young people and substance misuse and older people and how research might inform or affect my practice. Good professional practice is knowledge based practice which often means that it is practice based on what others have done, or research that others have undertaken. Research is an important part of most aspects of the human services. In health, in education, and in social work research is important informs our view of the world and can provide a framework for dealing with a particular subject or case. Research has a prominent place in the social services and it is important to the social worker. When people undertake research into areas of social and health care, then these findings and recommendations are generally used to inform practice. Not only is research important in informing social work practice, it is also important when it comes to Government policy. Like most social workers I have found some research an invaluable asset when dealing with disaffected and vulnerable groups such as young children and socially excluded young people. Some research may have been undertaken some time in the past but its findings still prove to be useful today. Willis’ (1977 in Giddens 2001) used group interviews (what are sometimes called focus group interviews) in his study of working class boyS and the ways in which the education system attempts to prepares them for the labour market. Both individual and group interviews were used in collecting this data, and while the work has been criticised it provided, and continues to provide useful information about how working class boys communicate and interact. This type of research is a source of invaluable knowledge to someone working with young people. It provides some insights into why youngsters react against authority and why they might act the way they do. Research can be a two edged sword, on the one hand it informs, and on the other it can produce lasting impressions that can lead to oppressive policy making. While Government papers on young people set a framework for soc ial workers, this kind of early research is useful when dealing with them in a practice context. Yet another valuable, yet some might say, problematic, source of information is Bowlby’s (1946) work on why young people commit crime or get involved in substance abuse. While Bowlby’s work, (which points to maternal deprivation as a cause of problematic behaviour in young people )has been deeply criticised within academic circles his ideas still have a significant impact on current Government discourses on youth. Certainly many social workers find themselves dealing with youngsters who have substance abuse problems and may feel themselves in an ethical dilemma when confronted with some of the policies in this area. One of the worst influences that work such as this has had is the growing tendency to treat anyone who does not conform to society’s norms as sick and deviant. Government initiatives on drugs, more often than not, appear to be targeted at poor and working class communities. Further there is a tendency for these initiatives to link poverty and drugs in the minds of other people. If an adolescent comes from the poorer part of town and is perhaps unemployed then this can lead to people in authority thinking that he/she is more likely to be seen as a drugs user even if they are not. Eley (2002) maintains that this leads to the association of drugs and crime with those who are already underprivileged in society. For social workers this is can be an extremely problematic situation. Do I as a social worker automatically assume something about a young person who is in trouble, and label them as sick and deviant, or do I adhere to what I believe to be the case, that everyone is of equal worth and therefore deserves an equal chance. If I am to abide, in my professional capacity by the 1998 Human Rights Act, then ethically, I could be duty bound to ignore Government guidelines in this area. Moore (1996) says that Government overstates the case on drug misuse when it refers to drug users as addicts because, he argues, most of the drug use that takes place in Britain is recreational This implies that those who use them are in control of the situation with regard to when they take drugs e.g. weekends, and how much they spend. Theorists are divided on why adolescents take drugs therefore it might be argued that the reason adolescents use drugs are quite complex and differ from person to person. This means that a social worker should act in accordance with the Human Rights Act when dealing with the problems of young people because that also implies treating each case on its individual merits Becker (1963) has argued that young people are often viewed as delinquent because of the way society viewed certain acts, such as drug taking. Calling or labelling a young person as deviant is problematic because it can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Those in authority often take the view that young people, and particularly underprivileged young people are deviant and if the label is applied often enough, and by those with the power to apply it, then that is how the adolescent may come to view themselves. Taylor, Walton and Young (1973) however, say that no theory is sufficient unless there is also an analysis of the power relationships that exist in society. Hall (1978) maintains that the way in which adolescents are represented in the media has a huge effect on the way in which they are viewed by others. This can then have a further effect on their actions. In my own professional practice I have to be aware of such theories and how they inform public perception and Government policy. I also have to be aware of them in my practice and this might involve questioning the assumptions and methods behind certain research findings i.e. I am questioning their theories. Theories aid us in making sense of the world, one explanation of theory is an observation of observed regularities for example that women do more housework than men. Many things are not self-evident but need an explanation, thus Abbott and Wallace (1997) maintain that all of us are theorists because of the need to analyse and interpret our ordinary everyday experiences in order to make sense of them In sociological theory, some theories are extremely abstract, for example critical theory. Merton (1967 in Giddens, 2001) has called these theories ‘grand theories’ because they operate at a general and abstract level, theories such as those of Willis and Bowlby are middle range theory, because they are looking at an aspect of social life. Usually Merton (1967in Giddens 2001) maintains it is the middle range theories that are more likely to guide research. Labelling theory and Becker’s work, for example is a middle range approach to research that was developed out of the sociology of deviance. The problem is that while I as a social worker dealing with a young person with substance abuse issues might prefer to treat that person as an individual, and ethically I am bound to do so, Government discourses take a quite different view. Drug abuse and crime as mentioned earlier are closely associated in public discourses with poverty and this is evident in recent policy making. When evaluating research and research findings social workers need to find some sort of framework within which to evaluate the work this might be the 12 step approach advocated by Locke or it might be something as simple as using a content analysis approach to evaluate what the researcher has done and decide how effective that research may be. The Government’s report, No More Excuses (The Causes of Youth Crime) states that deprivation and poverty are usually a contributing factor in youth crime.[1] Government research suggests that while young people who offend may not do it very often, there are a few persistent offenders who are responsible for the greater part of youth crime new Youth Justice reforms will concentrate on preventing crime and on early intervention where children and young people are at risk of becoming involved in crime.[2] Leitner et al (1993) maintain that the British public is concerned about drug use, drug dealing, and the crime that is associated with this. Pudney (2003) maintains that if young people take soft drugs such as cannabis then they are more likely to progress to hard drugs and to criminal activity. He also argues that such behaviour is strongly associated with unobservable personal characteristics and New Labour have consistently targeted drugs initiatives at underprivileged commun ities. Working with young people means that I have to take into account Government reports as well as other research findings. At the same time I, like many other social workers, have as Moore (2002) points out, entered social work because of a commitment to social justice, or at the very least a desire to help others and to see improvement and positive change in people’s lives. Some critics maintain that the way in which social services often operates is self-serving rather than serving the needs of the clients, yet social workers do police themselves and their profession. The way in which they do this is to think critically about what they are doing, why they are doing it, and what moral implications this may have. Certainly social work ethics should not lead anyone to believe that the social work profession should serve itself, rather the needs of the client should be most important. One of the ways this is achieved is by establishing clear relationship boundaries early on and thi s is vital when working with young people who have issues around substance misuse. The BASW has to say about social work ethics and values. The social work profession promotes social change, problem solving in human relationships and the empowerment and liberation of people to enhance well-being. Utilising theories of human behaviour and social systems, social work intervenes at the points where people interact with their environments. Principles of human rights and social justice are fundamental to social work (BASW,2001). [3] Social work practice, in order to be ethical practice must be centred on the needs of service users Social workers of necessity intervene in people’s lives and have an influence on situations, ethical decision making is therefore a vital component of social work practice (Osmo and Landau, 2001). Yet another area where social work practice can be a minefield is in working with older people. When working with older people a social worker has a duty to abide by the 1990 NHS and community care act. Working with older people can be difficult on the one hand there is what you want to achieve as a social worker and on the other there are guidelines that may prevent you from doing your best for a client. There are an increasing number of legal and policy requirements that the social worker dealing with an older person must adhere to. It is difficult for the social worker to negotiate the needs and wishes of the client while remaining within the legislative framework. Working together is not always straightforward. The more recent Health and Social Care Bill of 2001 gives Government powers to require health bodies and local authorities whose services are failing to pool their resources. Parrott (2002) undertook research into the care management process and how it affects social worke rs and service users. He points out that there is often no common guidelines on which services should be provided, or the standard of care to expect. The social worker may find that he/she has to perform most of the assessment and to discover whether an older person’s family would be prepared to help so that he/she could remain in their own home. Whatever the decision the social worker would also need to ensure that the client could, at some level, participate in the decision making process. Thus the process is fraught with problems, for example a social worker might assess a person as needing a certain level of care but this has to be agreed with the social worker’s supervisor and with care management. So the person may not receive the care that the social worker deems appropriate. Thus the social worker has a dilemma. While knowledge does inform practice it is not the only thing that the social worker has to deal with, management decisions also affect the process as Parrott’s research shows. One thing that has become apparent to me is while research can inform practice, it should not be allowed to determine it, if and when it does this can result in oppressive practice and a complete disregard of the rights of the service user and this is against ethical practice as outlined by the BASW. Conclusion This paper has looked at knowledge based practice and how research informs what a social worker does. When dealing with research one is not looking at it in isolation but also having to deal with policies that emerge as a result of that research. Many of the funding restrictions that social workers have to deal with are a result of the 1988 Griffiths report which found that getting organizations to work together, and using a market based approach to social care would save the Government money. Bibliography Abbott and Wallace (1997) An Introduction to Sociology: Feminist Perspectives, London, Routledge Becker, H.S. 1963. Outsiders. New York, Free Press. Bennet, T. Holloway, K. and Williams T. 2001.Drug use and offending: Summary results of the first year of the New-ADAM research programme. Home Office Research Study 236 Home Office London Blaxter, L, Hughes, C and Tight, M (1996) How to research. OU press Bowlby, J. 1946. Forty-four Juvenile Thieves. London, Tindall and Cox. British Association of Social Workers (2002) The Code of Ethics for Social Work.http://www.basw.co.uk/. Bryman, A 2004 Social Research Methods 2nd ed. Oxford, Oxford University Press Eley, S. 2002. â€Å"Community-backed drug initiatives in the UK: a review and commentary on evaluations.† Health Social Care in the Community10(2),99-105. Giddens, 2001 4th ed. Sociology Cambridge, Polity Hall,S. Critcher, C. Jefferson,T. Clarke, J. and Roberts, B. 1979 Policing the Crisis. Mugging, Leitner M., Shapland J. Wiles P. 1993. Drug Usage and Drugs Prevention: The Views and Habits of the General Public. HMSO, London. Moore, S. 2002 3rd Edition Social Welfare Alive Cheltenham, Nelson Thornes Moore, S.1996 Investigating Crime and Deviance London, Collins Educational Parrott, L 2002 Social Work and Social Care London, Routledge. Taylor Walton and Young. 1973. The New Criminology. London, Routledge 1 [1] http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/docs/nme.html#CHAP1 [2] http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/docs/nme.html#CHAP1 [3] http://www.basw.co.uk/articles.php?articleId=2page=2

Eugene ONeills Long Days Journey into Night Essay -- Long Days Jou

Eugene O'Neill's "Long Day's Journey into Night" As the fog descends around the Tyrone’s summer home, another fog falls on the family within. This fog is that of substance abuse, in which each of the four main characters of Eugene O’Neill’s play, Long Day’s Journey into Night face by the end of Act IV. Long Day's Journey into Night is a metaphoric representation of the path from normalcy to demise by showing the general effects of substance abuse on human psychology and family dysfunctions through the characters Mary, Jamie, Edmund and Tyrone. Mary Tyrone makes the transition most clearly throughout the entire play. In Act I, her hands move restlessly, and she seems to be quite nervous. When she appears in Act II â€Å"one notices no change except that she appears to be less nervous, †¦ but then one becomes aware that her eyes are brighter and there is a peculiar detachment in her voice and manner† (O’Neill 58). These subtle signs of her relapse back to chemical dependency continue until the final scene, where she is most obviously under the influences of a chemical substance. The morphine seems to make her reminiscent of the past. In Act III, she talked about her two childhood dreams of becoming a concert pianist or a nun. By Act IV, she has dragged her old wedding dress from the attic and attempted to play the piano again. This presents a psychological reasoning for her relapses. She considers herself to be growing old and ugly, and often refers to the how she was at one time young and beautiful. †Å"To her, the ugliness of the hands is the ugliness of what she has become over the last twenty-five years, which is why she uses the pain of the rheumatism in them as her reason for the morphine† (Chabrowe 181). Thus, it can be correlated that at one time she used the morphine to escape pain, and when she realized that it made her feel youthful again she became addicted. Her failure to desist is also connected with her interfamily relationships. When she was accused of relapsing she said, â€Å"It would serve all of you right if it was true† (O’Neill 47)! This suggests that she is seeking justification to continue her drug addiction by using her family’s suspicions as a reason to relapse (Bloom 163). Not only are her actions influenced by her family, but they also influence the men, namely Edmund. He is quite aware of his diminishing health, and suspects that he ... ...with a sense of what the future holds for the Tyrone family, the book tends to be repetitive. Thus, one can assume that the play marks one day, one relapse for Mary, one trip for Jamie to the whorehouse, one more drink Edmund takes to forget the past, and one more drink that Tyrone takes to help himself cope. Yet, it will not be the first, or the last. It will be just one more. Night will journey into morning and it will all happen again. Such is tragedy. Works Cited American Lung Association. â€Å"Who Get’s It.† Tuberculosis (TB.) On-line. Internet. 1 March 2001. Available: <a href="http://www.lungusa.org/diseases/lungtb.html">http://www.lungusa.org/diseases/lungtb.html Chabrowe, Leonard. â€Å"Rituals and Pathos: The Theatre of O’Neill.† Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Bloom, Steven F. â€Å"Empty Bottles, Empty Dreams: O’Neill’s Use of Drinking and Alcoholism in Long Day’s Journey Into Night.† Critical Essays on Eugene O’Neill. 1984 ed. Collins, R. Lorraine, Kenneth E. Leonard, and John S. Searles. Alcohol and the Family. New York, London: The Guilford Press, 1974. Hinden, Michael. Long Day’s Journey into Night: Native Eloquence. Boston: Twane Publishers, 1990.

Bad Medicine :: Essays Papers

Bad Medicine Before the age of television shows, movies, and the Internet people entertained one another with vibrant and exaggerated tales. Geoffrey Chaucer’s, The Canterbury Tales, is a good example of this form of entertainment. The novel details the journey of a band of pilgrims, who engaged in a storytelling competition, as they travel toward the shrine of Thomas à   Becket. These Middle Age storytellers varied as much as the stories, and consisted of a knight, physician, monk, and many more. In â€Å"the Prologue† the Physician is revealed as a con artist who cares more about himself than his patients. The Physician was a medical doctor, who was responsible for taking care of the ill and disease stricken. â€Å"No one alive could talk as well as he did / On points of medicine and surgery†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Chaucer 30). He was part of the rising middle class society and his garments that were â€Å"lined with taffeta† (Chaucer 31) made this assumption apparent. During the Middle Ages taffeta was a material like silk, which was very expensive, so only the wealthy could afford it. To many he seemed to be a productive member of society, but appearances can be deceiving. People of the medical profession were looked upon with a certain respect; so many patients did not question what was prescribed. The Physician misused his title to take advantage of his patients’ faith. He was revealed as a liar and a cheat. He was a partner with the druggist, to help each other build their wealth. The reader can draw the appearance of his deceit in the following quote, â€Å"He gave the man his medicine then and there. / All his apothecaries in a tribe / Were ready with the drugs he would prescribe / And each made money from the other’s guile; / They had been friendly for a goodish while† (Chaucer 30). Chaucer describes these habits of the physician in order to allow the reader to paint a mental picture of his morals and character. Chaucer also brings the readers attention to the fact that the Physician â€Å"did not read the Bible very much† (31). Chaucer implies that the Physician is a sinner, who did not see an error in his dishonesty. Many analysts believe that Chaucer was trying to portray certain qualities through the vivid descriptions of the characters’, such as in the following quote describing the physician; â€Å"In blood-red garments, slashed with bluish grey / And lined with taffeta †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Chaucer 31).

Gender Justice: What Does It Look Like? Essay

The contemporary debate on the term â€Å"gender justice† has various dimensions. There have been philosophical discussions on rights and responsibilities, human agency and autonomy; political discussions on democratization and right to vote; legal discussions on the access to justice. Typically, the term is used to denote mechanisms to promote women’s position in society and their access to social parameters like health, literacy, education, occupation and economic independence. While the conventional attitude has been to assume the traditional patriarchal values as normal, more radical approaches have tried to subvert the norms and challenge political status quo. The term is increasingly being used in place of gender equality and gender mainstreaming as the latter terms have more or less failed to communicate (Goetz, 2007, p20). In essence, gender justice is the ending of inequalities between men and women as well as the process to bring about the change. The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action at the Fourth United Nations General World Conference on Women in 1995 required member countries to ensure fundamental rights of both men and women in all areas. It was recognized that there is a tendency of marginalization of â€Å"women’s issues† as a separate and somewhat inferior status. Gender mainstreaming by which all strategies and policies by member countries would have a gender perspective was agreed upon (UNRISD, 2000). The realization that economic and social rights were in fact linked with political and civil rights were also translated in the sphere of gender justice. The dichotomies of rights in the context of women’s rights surfaced aggressively through the demands for mainstreaming of gender issues, that is the conviction that women’s rights were no different from human rights in other spheres like health, education, freedom and justice. It was realized that without the right to legal claims, women could not expect to receive justice in settlements like land, property or divorce. Without literacy and education, women did not have the understanding of their rights. And, women had a right to motherhood as much as the choice for the number of children to bear and the right to a healthy life (UNRISD, 2000). The conservative approach to gender issues, however, concerned themselves with women’s ‘needs’ and not ‘rights’. There was a deliberate denial of approaching problems of sexual and reproductive health, or lack of access to safe and clean drinking water, sanitation, healthcare and education as matters of infrastructure inadequacies and hence denial of human rights and distributive justice. Women’s activists, on the other hand, considered women’s legal rights and the indivisibility of human rights in gender lines as fundamental to enable women to participate fully in the economic and social framework (UNRISD, 2000). Gender is a social construct that defines roles and responsibilities of men and women, regulating the role of sexuality, choice of occupations by men and women and the stereotypes. Typically, men hold positions of power even in democracies. Only 14 percent of the countries have achieved 30 percent representation of women in the parliament, as set out in the Beijing Declaration of 1995. Women have less access to and control of economic powers, rewarded for less remuneration than men for the same work, treated differently in global trade. Women receive less education than men; have to walk long distances to collect drinking water, thereby falling vulnerable to violence; sexual and reproductive health problems result in illness and disability to women; more number of women being victims of HIV/AIDS because of restrictions on women being able to practice safe sex and having access to HIV testing and care services; women become victims of gender-based violence and cultural taboos. On the whole, the mainstreaming of gender has generally failed because the approach towards ‘integrating’ women in the society does not challenge existing power equations. Women have continued to be offered stereotyped jobs, not receiving equal training and education and insufficient resources for women’s mainstreaming (Oxfam). By the time the issue for gender justice came up for a review in the Special Session for the Beijing +5 in 2005, the world had greatly changed. Political and economic changes around the world had shattered the faith in the current state of gender justice measures implemented in various countries. After the end of the Cold War, women had suffered disproportionately more from conflicts in postcolonial societies, calling for attention towards gender  justice. In 2004, the United Nations Security Council passed the landmark resolution 1325, calling on governments to protect rights of women in conflict areas. Despite the resolution, however, women continued to be victims of domestic violence and rape in conflict areas (MacMohan, 2004). For many, the failure of gender mainstreaming was the result of its de-politicization, by which it was aimed to be achieved merely in an instrumentalist manner. It was not possible to find a way to implement gender-mainstreaming program without challengin g the political status quo. Through the 1990s, there was hope for increased gender justice, emanating from the establishment of democracies in many countries. Women’s rights did witness considerable improvement, despite the conditions did not challenge the status quo because of the low base of the 1980s. From a global average of 6 percent women’s representation in national parliaments in the 1980s, the share grew to 12 percent in the 1990s (UNRISD, 2000). Women have become more active in mainstream politics as well as in grass root politics. Although women’s issues have become important and women’s groups have become more vocal, gender issues are becoming even less of concern in mainstream politics, mainly male, of most countries, particularly in the non-democratic world. In the Islamist world, typically, women’s participation has been all the more noticeably absent. Although there is the implicit assumption that debates about democracy are gender-neutral issues, struggles for citizenship rights in countries like Iran have been â€Å"naturally inclusive of women† (UNRISD, 2000). Among political parties, the African National Congress (ANC) has been one of the most progressive ones with regard to gender issues. Yet, gender justice that has been achieved in South Africa has been a domain of the elite society. In the new millennium, gender justice has remained unfulfilled. The world is witnessing a different economic power equation than in the previous decade. While gender mainstreaming has lost its political validity as a means for social transformation, the economic and political climate has become all the more unfavorable for gender justice. With globalization, the traditional economic relationships, including gender  relationships, are crumbling down. The classical patriarchy, dependent on the male property ownership and family headship notion, had given rise to the urban â€Å"fordist gender regime† – male bread earner/ female house maker – in the western world in the 1950s and 1960s, also duplicated in some parts of the developing world. Economic development and increased competition has meant that the male salary earnings are not sufficient for the increasing consumption patterns. Brenner (2003) notes that incorporation of women in the workforce and their increased access to education and literacy has brought feminism in the forefront of organized politics (cited in Dhawan, p2). Women activists are not increasingly becoming more vocal in national politics but also on global issues. At the same time, marginalized women are becoming even more vulnerable to global capital reorganization. Worldwide, women are facing the brunt of longer working hours, impoverishment, economic insecurity and forced migration and urbanization. Working class women find themselves in the crossroad of development and reactionary policy and continue to remain, if not become increasingly so, victims of fundamentalism, economic insecurity and a complex web of power relations (Kaplan, 1999, cited in Dhawan, p3). Pressures of structural adjustments imposed on many Third World countries have given rise to fundamentalism, which stem from the traditional patriarchal powers and victimize women even more. The emerging capitalist structures of many of these societies have eroded the protection of the traditional patriarchy that women used to have earlier. Women in the Third World are at the crosshead of two powerful forces: one, the nationalist agenda that is inherently masculine in which women are expected to follow traditional roles while the men are free to participate in the political arena, and two, global capital, which forces women to participate in the economic field, overpowering the nationalist agenda. While in the west, women of color feel that the feminist agenda is essentially white-oriented, in the Third World, the political interests of working class women are marginalized. Over and above this, women from the South are dominated over by the women of North (Mohanty, 1999, cited in Dhawan, p4). As Saunders (2002) says,†What is clear is that from the very founding of women, gender and development the â€Å"women’s point of view† was not singular but heterogeneous and multiple. This continue to constitute a challenge to the dominant western feminist will to enforce a gynocentric  philosophy and practic e, which centers and magnifies patriarchal power and marginalizes other vertical social relations† (quoted in Varela, p2). The dominance of western feminists over the Third World is evident in George Bush’s claim that the US War on Afghanistan was aimed to free the women from oppression. The demand for such freedom was generated essentially by feminist organizations in the west since 1997 to deny investments to the Taliban. Such claims, however, ignored that the Taliban initially drew its powers from the West itself, which used it as a force to resist Soviet Russia’s occupation of the country. The system of micro-credit financing in the Third World has been another form of denying gender justice. There has been a proliferation of such institutions in the Third World and the most successful ones have been the ones that provide small loans to women. These NGOs typically receive their funds from the World Bank and USAID (Dhawan). Although these organizations apparently target women’s economic independence, what they essentially achieve is to integrate women with the informal economy all the more, by exploiting their children, particularly daughters, to get the work done. Besides, the micro-credit institutions reinforce the traditional values of morality and maternal virtues in order to bypass the role of government and regulated development. â€Å"Credit-baiting† has been a means to turn gender justice on its head and make it an instrument for exploitation and imperialism (Spivak, 1999, cited in Dhawan). Most feminists find the voice of woman in Western culture is generally associated with the voice of the â€Å"Other†, that of the inconsequential or the child. This is a voice, he stresses, that the dominant mores of western societies time and again disregarded or took no notice of. Even today, despite its nearly two hundred years of history, women’s literature, enriched and endowed with many attributes and critical insights, is still branded as the voice of the man-hating feminists. Theorists like Helene Cixous and Julien Kristeva attempt to answer the questions that many women writers may have themselves tried to find. Why have women’s voices been missing in a plentiful practice of language that crosses over two thousand  years? Is it just because women are not allowed in the realm of education that would have enabled them into the speech-society? Or, is there in fact a separate way of communication in the woman’s world, in a unique language, which has made it hard for women to connect with the world-at-large (Jasken)? â€Å"Every woman has known the torture of beginning to speak aloud†, laments Cixous and says, â€Å"heart beating as if to break, occasionally falling into loss of language, ground and language slipping out from under her, because for woman speaking – even just opening her mouth – in public is something rash, a transgression (Cixous, 1975). Thus, the concept of gender justice is complex and eternal. While the political aspects of women’s exploitation and the effects of globalization are understandable, the attitude towards women has remained patriarchal. Even though women’s voices have been raised louder in the present days, they are still a marginalized lot at home, in national politics as well as in the global area. Works Cited: Brenner, Johannna (2003). Transnational Feminism and the Struggle for Global Justice, New Politics, 9(2)Cixous, Helene, Sorties, in The Newly Born Woman (1975, English translation, 1984). Retrieved from http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~pamhard/338Cixous.htmDhawan, Nikita, â€Å"Transnational Feminist Alliances and Gender Justice†, Second Critical Studies Conference, â€Å"Sphere of Justice†: Feminist Perspectives on Justice, http://www.mcrg.ac.in/Spheres/Nikita.pdfGoetz, A-M. (2007). â€Å"Gender Justice, Citizenship and Entitlements – Core Concepts, Central Debates and New Directions for Research†, in Gender Justice, Citizenship and Development, eds. M. Mukhopadhyay and N. Singh, International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, pp. 15-57Julie Jasken, â€Å"Helene Cixous†. Retrieved from http://www.engl.niu.edu/wac/cixous_intro.htmlKaplan, Caren, et al, ed. (1999). Between Women and Nation: Nationalism, Transnational Feminism, and the State, Durham, NC, Duk e University PressMcMohan, Robert (2004). â€Å"World: Conference Seeks to Assert ‘Gender Justice’ In Conflict Zones†. Second Critical Studies Conference. â€Å"Spheres of Justice†: Feminist Perspectives on Gender. Retrieved from http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2004/09/61093992-24a5-4cad-993d-ff92ba6f 264a.htmlMohanty, Chandra Talpade (2003). Feminism Without Borders: Decolonizing Theory, Practicing Solidarity. London: Duke University PressSaunders, Kriemild (2002). â€Å"Introduction: Towards a Deconstructive Post-development criticism†. In Kriemild Saunders (ed). Feminist Post-Development Thought. Rethinking Modernity, Post-Colonialism and Representation. London/ New York. Zed Books. Page 1-38Spivak, Gayatri, Chakravarty (1999). Critique of Postcolonial Reason. London/ New York: Routledge. United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) (2000). Gender Justice, Development and Rights: Substantiating Rights in a Disabling Environment, 3 June. Retrieved from http://www.pogar.org/publications/other/unrisd/gender.pdfVarela, Maria do Mar Castro. â€Å"Envisioning Gender Justice†. Second Critical Studies Conference, â€Å"Sphere of Justice†: Feminist Perspectives on Justice. Retrieved from http://www.mcrg.ac.in/Spheres/Maria.pdf