Gender and Sex roles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Gender and Sex roles - Essay Example Eunuchs have had a hugely varied life with some of them being constrained to lead a life of hugely ridiculed servants while some others having the good luck of rising to the pinnacle of society in the form of military generals and highly respected court eunuchs. The book by Kathryn Ringrose presents an in-depth study of eunuchs as they were perceived in Byzantine culture that held sway for nearly a thousand years ‘†¦the founding of Constantinople in 324 to its capture by the Turks in 1453’ (p. 3). Most refreshingly, the author has not followed the standard historical procedure of adopting a chronological approach. Rather she has traced the condition of eunuchs through the entire period with special reference to all those that could achieve social status and glory. Another interesting feature of this book is that the author also clearly describes how the medical definitions and legal perspectives about eunuchs kept varying from one century to the other during the ent ire period of Byzantine civilization. The theoretical issues on gender construction in Byzantine Empire through the entire one thousand years have been discussed in great detail. These issues and discussions found their way into medical treatises, ecclesiastical tomes and hagiographies penned during that period. While clarifying that castration was never removal of penis but surgical removal of testicles, the author concludes that castration never robbed a man of his outward symbol of masculinity but prevented a man from procreation. Hence, the term eunuch often referred to a man who has never procreated (p. 14f). The church, therefore, often referred to a celibate monk as a eunuch, one who has not undergone surgical castration but spiritual castration in the sense that he has become devoid of any desire to procreate as his entire attention has been focused on Jesus Christ and God. In a sense such an explanation or understanding of the term eunuch possibly clarified to many the real meaning of what Jesus had hinted at when he said that some people convert themselves into eunuchs for greater glory of the kingdom of Heaven. However, there was a strict separation between those who could not procreate as they were biologically incapable to do so and those that opted not to procreate as a matter of choice. However, around eighth century, eunuchs began to be more readily accepted in higher echelons of society and this spilled over into religious domain too when churches began to allow eunuchs to occupy ‘†¦prominent religious positions’ (p. 118) with Germanos being one of the most famous eunuchs that went on to occupy very high position in the theological hierarchy. While the first part of the book deals with theoretical and conceptual issues of gender construction in Byzantine society the second deals with historical details of eunuchs who rose to occupy prominent social positions either as ministers or military generals. Ringrose has been very cle ar on two points: first is eunuchs within Byzantine kingdom formed a distinct ‘†¦third gender’ (p. 4), and, second is there is an inherent difficulty in accurately describing the lives of eunuchs as most of these accounts have been written by eunuchs themselves. 2. Sturges, Robert S. 2000. Chaucer's Pardoner and Gender Theory: Bodies of Discourse. NewYork: St. Martin's. $45.00 hc.

Empiricism and Connie Essay Example for Free

Empiricism and Connie Essay Although Connie works hard to present the appearance of being a mature woman who is experienced with men, her encounter with Arnold reveals that this is only a performance. She has created an attractive adult persona through her clothing, hairstyle, and general behavior and gets the attention she desires from boys. But Connie confuses her ability to command attention from boys with her desire to actually have them pursue her in a sexual way. The love and romance evident in songs she listens to and images of pop culture that surround her are much different from the reality of adult sexuality. Although Connie does experiment with sexuality, such as when she goes into the alley with Eddie, she is fearful of actually becoming an adult. Arnold Friend takes her by force into adulthood, but this violent act represents a shift within Connie herself: the abandoning of childlike fantasy for the realities of being a mature woman. Although Connie works hard to present the appearance of being a mature woman who is experienced with men, her encounter with Arnold reveals that this is only a performance. She has created an attractive adult persona through her clothing, hairstyle, and general behavior and gets the attention she desires from boys. But Connie confuses her ability to command attention from boys with her desire to actually have them pursue her in a sexual way. The love and romance evident in songs she listens to and images of pop culture that surround her are much different from the reality of adult sexuality. Although Connie does experiment with sexuality, such as when she goes into the alley with Eddie, she is fearful of actually becoming an adult. Arnold Friend takes her by force into adulthood, but this violent act represents a shift within Connie herself: the abandoning of childlike fantasy for the realities of being a mature woman. Although Connie works hard to present the appearance of being a mature woman who is experienced with men, her encounter with Arnold reveals that this is only a performance. She has created an attractive adult persona through her clothing, hairstyle, and general behavior and gets the attention she desires from boys. But Connie confuses her ability to command attention from boys with her desire to actually have them pursue her in a sexual way. The love and romance evident in songs she listens to and images of pop culture that surround her are much different from the reality of adult sexuality. Although Connie does experiment with sexuality, such as when she goes into the alley with Eddie, she is fearful of actually becoming an adult. Arnold Friend takes her by force into adulthood, but this violent act represents a shift within Connie herself: the abandoning of childlike fantasy for the realities of being a mature woman. Although Connie works hard to present the appearance of being a mature woman who is experienced with men, her encounter with Arnold reveals that this is only a performance. She has created an attractive adult persona through her clothing, hairstyle, and general behavior and gets the attention she desires from boys. But Connie confuses her ability to command attention from boys with her desire to actually have them pursue her in a sexual way. The love and romance evident in songs she listens to and images of pop culture that surround her are much different from the reality of adult sexuality. Although Connie does experiment with sexuality, such as when she goes into the alley with Eddie, she is fearful of actually becoming an adult. Arnold Friend takes her by force into adulthood, but this violent act represents a shift within Connie herself: the abandoning of childlike fantasy for the realities of being a mature woman. Although Connie works hard to present the appearance of being a mature woman who is experienced with men, her encounter with Arnold reveals that this is only a performance. She has created an attractive adult persona through her clothing, hairstyle, and general behavior and gets the attention she desires from boys. But Connie confuses her ability to command attention from boys with her desire to actually have them pursue her in a sexual way. The love and romance evident in songs she listens to and images of pop culture that surround her are much different from the reality of adult sexuality. Although Connie does experiment with sexuality, such as when she goes into the alley with Eddie, she is fearful of actually becoming an adult. Arnold Friend takes her by force into adulthood, but this violent act represents a shift within Connie herself: the abandoning of childlike fantasy for the realities of being a mature woman. Although Connie works hard to present the appearance of being a mature woman who is experienced with men, her encounter with Arnold reveals that this is only a performance. She has created an attractive adult persona through her clothing, hairstyle, and general behavior and gets the attention she desires from boys. But Connie confuses her ability to command attention from boys with her desire to actually have them pursue her in a sexual way. The love and romance evident in songs she listens to and images of pop culture that surround her are much different from the reality of adult sexuality. Although Connie does experiment with sexuality, such as when she goes into the alley with Eddie, she is fearful of actually becoming an adult. Arnold Friend takes her by force into adulthood, but this violent act represents a shift within Connie herself: the abandoning of childlike fantasy for the realities of being a mature woman.

Prohibition of Religious Ambiguity Essay -- Philosphical Lawfulness, Ag

William James’s Argument William James argues that agnosticism is not a valid choice to make. He opens his argument with the conjecture that â€Å"voluntarily adopted faith† abides by philosophical lawfulness (74). He builds from this by defining a hypothesis as â€Å"anything that may be proposed to...belief† and it may be either live or dead in quality. A life hypothesis is one that appeals as a real possibility. The quality of being live or dead is not an â€Å"intrinsic property.† Instead, they are â€Å"relations to the individual thinker; measured by...willingness to act.† James defines an option as a decision between two hypotheses which may be 1) living or dead, 2) forced or avoidable, and 3) momentous or trivial (75). An option may be genuine if it is live, forced, and momentous. James’s next move is to show that scientific questions are â€Å"trivial options† with dead hypotheses and are avoidable, unlike the religious question. He shows this by questioning whether or not it matters if we have particular scientific theories or scientific beliefs. He conjectures that it â€Å"makes no difference† in these instances. James summarizes: Science says things are; morality says some things are better than other things; and religion says...1) the best things are the more eternal things,...and 2) we are better off even now if we believe [1] (76). James suggests that the religious hypothesis is forced and momentous; therefore, for those who religion is a live hypothesis, it is a genuine option. Hence, James concludes that he cannot accept â€Å"the agnostic rules for truthseeking† because any â€Å"rule of thinking which would absolutely prevent [us] from acknowledging certain kinds of truth if those kinds of truth were really there, would be an irrational rule† (77). U... ...onal decision; --just like deciding yes or no,-- and is attended with the same risk of losing the truth† (75). Hence, every individual’s hand is forced in making a decision regarding the religious hypothesis. One must either believe in the eternal or believe in the temporal because there is no in between option. According to James, if and when someone identifies with an agnostic philosophy, he or she is not choosing ambiguity, he or she is ultimately choosing disbelief of the religious hypothesis and will be subject to the same consequences of disbelief if the religious hypothesis is sound. Therefore, according to James’s argument, agnosticism is not philosophically lawful. Works Cited James, W. (1896). â€Å"The Will to Believe.† In G. L. Bowie, M. W. Michaels, and R. C. Solomon (Eds.), Twenty Questions: An Introduction to Philosophy (74-78). Boston, MA: Wadsworth.

Multiple Personality Disorder: No Excuse for Criminal Activity :: Argumentative Essay

Kenneth Bianchi, a man who has murdered many women, now claims that he has Multiple Personality Disorder. Can we possibly decide that it is reasonable to convict an individual of a crime if that individual suffers from Multiple Personality Disorder? This psychological malady, known as Multiple Personality Disorder, or sometimes as Multiple Dissociative Identity, is a mental illness in which a person develops two or more distinct identities that control the patient’s behavior. If an aberrant personality takes over, the individual no longer has control over one’s actions. The cause of this disorder is unknown; however, 97% of the patients with this disorder have been abused during childhood. Throughout time, the issue of a person having conflicting personalities inside, like Jekyll and Hyde, has been very controversial. Some authorities believe that this disorder does not exist, and some believe that it does. In a number of cases, criminals have used Multiple Personality Disorder as a defense for their criminal deviance. Should an individual who has committed a crime be sentenced to prison when he/she has no control over oneself? In my opinion an individual who commits a crime and suffers from Multiple Personality Disorder should be held responsible for his/her actions. As punishment, this convicted person should be sent to an asylum. In many criminal cases it is hard to believe that the defendant has multiple personalities because the defendant could be trying to deceive the jury. Statistics have proven that people with Multiple Personality Disorder usually refer to other personalities as â€Å"I.† A perfect example is Kenneth Bianchi who was on trial for murder and convinced his attorney that he had multiple personalities inside. Bianchi had the jury almost convinced that Steve Walker, Bianchi’s other personality, was responsible for the murders. Bianchi’s defense showed the first sign of unraveling when he started to refer to Steve Walker as â€Å"he† instead of â€Å"I.† Dr. Marti Torne, an authority in hypnosis, tested Bianchi. According to Dr. Torne, a person suffering from Multiple Personality Disorder will house three or more personalities. Bianchi failed this hypnosis test because he only presented two personalities. After Bianchi’s testimony, Bianchi started to m ake up a new personality, named Billy. However, the jury remained suspicious, and eventually Kenneth Bianchi was found guilty. In effect, his defense, depending on a claim of Multiple Personality Disorder, was deemed unconvincing. Kenneth Bianchi almost got away with murder. Multiple Personality Disorder: No Excuse for Criminal Activity :: Argumentative Essay Kenneth Bianchi, a man who has murdered many women, now claims that he has Multiple Personality Disorder. Can we possibly decide that it is reasonable to convict an individual of a crime if that individual suffers from Multiple Personality Disorder? This psychological malady, known as Multiple Personality Disorder, or sometimes as Multiple Dissociative Identity, is a mental illness in which a person develops two or more distinct identities that control the patient’s behavior. If an aberrant personality takes over, the individual no longer has control over one’s actions. The cause of this disorder is unknown; however, 97% of the patients with this disorder have been abused during childhood. Throughout time, the issue of a person having conflicting personalities inside, like Jekyll and Hyde, has been very controversial. Some authorities believe that this disorder does not exist, and some believe that it does. In a number of cases, criminals have used Multiple Personality Disorder as a defense for their criminal deviance. Should an individual who has committed a crime be sentenced to prison when he/she has no control over oneself? In my opinion an individual who commits a crime and suffers from Multiple Personality Disorder should be held responsible for his/her actions. As punishment, this convicted person should be sent to an asylum. In many criminal cases it is hard to believe that the defendant has multiple personalities because the defendant could be trying to deceive the jury. Statistics have proven that people with Multiple Personality Disorder usually refer to other personalities as â€Å"I.† A perfect example is Kenneth Bianchi who was on trial for murder and convinced his attorney that he had multiple personalities inside. Bianchi had the jury almost convinced that Steve Walker, Bianchi’s other personality, was responsible for the murders. Bianchi’s defense showed the first sign of unraveling when he started to refer to Steve Walker as â€Å"he† instead of â€Å"I.† Dr. Marti Torne, an authority in hypnosis, tested Bianchi. According to Dr. Torne, a person suffering from Multiple Personality Disorder will house three or more personalities. Bianchi failed this hypnosis test because he only presented two personalities. After Bianchi’s testimony, Bianchi started to m ake up a new personality, named Billy. However, the jury remained suspicious, and eventually Kenneth Bianchi was found guilty. In effect, his defense, depending on a claim of Multiple Personality Disorder, was deemed unconvincing. Kenneth Bianchi almost got away with murder.

The Girl with the White Flag

High is the author of the book The Girl With the White Flag. The book depicts the realities of war through the eyes of the protagonist, who is a little girl known as Tomtit. Tomtit lives on the island of Okinawa and resides with her family. When the war of Okinawa starts, she is separated from her family and struggles to survive. She has to forage for food, shelter, and her lost sisters.She delves within to find the strength and courage to survive. In this narrative, the author uses literary devices to reject the travails of the refugees in the Battle of Okinawa. The narrative is in a first- person mode using implicit and explicit quotes which allows the reader to empathic with Tomtit's thoughts and emotions. Through the use of implicit and explicit quotes, Tomtit High is able to uncover the harsh realities of life such as facing death and is able represent the transformation of a young timid girl into a mature and fearless person.In the beginning of the story, Tomtit is depicted as a naive girl who is sheltered by her family. In her book, Tomtit High projects her father as a strict caparisoning, determined to ensure that his children learn the lessons needed for life. This is reflected in the quote, â€Å"It must have hurt. But you've got to learn that seeds are next in importance to life. If you eat them up, you won't have any beans next year. And not only you, but Hooks and Hatfuls and Choosy. None of you will have any beans to eat. Do you understand! You mustn't ever eat seeds again† (High, P. 31).This quote is explicit as it directly states that Tomtit Fibular 2 should not eat the beans, so the reader doesn't have to make any inferences about what is happening in the story. Also, this quote shows the strictness of her father. In life, fathers always have to look after their kids and create rules for them to follow. A girl's father is a significant person in her life. A father guides and protects her by all means. Afterwards, Tomtit portrays her fath er as a very brave and courageous man who fulfills his responsibilities towards his family, which is depicted in this quote, â€Å"Now I want you all to listen carefully.There's going to be fighting here in Okinawa very soon. Life's not going to be peaceful for us any more. You must be prepared, so hat when the time comes, you'll be able to keep your head and know what to do† (High, p. 36). This quote is also explicit as in the quote Tomtit voices that her father is guiding his children for their survival. In war, there is isolation, and no one knows whether the family is alive or dead. Family is important to us as they help provide the support and comfort needed to prepare for life.When Tomtit lived with her family, she was protected, and she was sheltered by her family. The war transformed her into a brave and courageous person. When the war started, she had to face many tough obstacles. However, these hurdles eloped her grow as an individual. She had to cope with her broth er's death, see many Japanese soldiers commit suicide, and witness the deaths of many innocent civilians from the destruction of war. Also, she was separated from her family and had to survive on her own. Tomtit grew as a person from these hardships.She reflects this change through the following lines, â€Å"Poor man, I thought as I started to walk past him, he must have been pulled by one of those bullets. By that time, I had seen so many dead bodies here and there that I had become quite used to the site and was not frightened† (High, P. 55). This quote is explicit as it expresses that Tomtit doesn't have Fibular 3 to feel uncomfortable when near the sight of dead bodies. This quote depicts the transition of a fearful girl to a courageous person.If Tomtit would have experienced this earlier in the narrative, she would have not been able to cope with the dreadful sight of dead soldiers. Afterwards, Tomtit comes across an experience that displays one of the toughest memories in her life, which is Illustrated by the quote, â€Å"l said to myself as I walked along, resigned to my fate, staring at the round hole from which I expected a bullet to come toward me any minute† (High, P. 1 10). This quote is implicit as the reader doesn't know if Tomtit is going to live or die.It helps her grow and learn how to take life as it comes. This quote is strong as it reflects the statement that Tomtit has no problem accepting her fate of life and death. This is very courageous as our society is shown to not have the will power to make a choice that big. Tomtit is able to then enlighten the reader on the realities of life presenting that Tomtit doesn't have a problem of facing death. After living through these experiences, Tomtit was transformed into a fearless and confident person, who no longer depends on others to take care of herself.In this story, Tomtit reflects to the reader about the outcome of her experiences by citing, † I resolved then and there to write about my experiences in the hope that such suffering might never be repeated† (High, P. 127). This quote is explicit as Tomtit is exhibiting to the reader that she had resolved her experiences about war. This also explains that the suffering of war is so harsh, that a person does not want it to happen to them again. War can have an effect on a person's mental health which can cause a definite increase in the incidence and prevalence of mental disorders.War also impacts women more then men emotionally. In the end, Tomtit was transformed from a sheltered girl to a woman capable of living on her own. Fibular 4 After the war ended, Tomtit writes that she must move on with her life and forget the cruel memories of the war. She presents this to the reader by citing , â€Å"It was a scene straight out of hell. There is no other way to describe it. And sad and painful though it was, we could not afford to linger, and so we set off again trekking south† (High, P. 48). T his quote is implicit as we don't know what scene Tomtit is offering to in the book.Some readers may believe that it may be describing only one specific scene in the book, others may think that it is talking about Tomtit's experience of war as a whole. I believe that this quote in the book reflects Tomtit's experience of combat as a whole. This quotation also uncovers the truth that Tomtit is determined to move on. She expresses to the reader that having written about her experiences of war is a catharsis, and she is going to have to move on. In this story, Tomtit is able to depict in her writing that through the brutal experience of battle an innocent, timid girl can become a dauntless and gallant individual.From this story, Tomtit is able to represent the truth of a female utilizing her experience of war to turn herself into a valiant and risk taking individual that will do anything to survive in life. Like Tomtit, if we confront our tough times with courage, we will be able to fa ce our obstacles with bravery. It can also transform us and helps us evolve. I feel life as like a roller coaster, if we don't take risks and keep going on the same pattern then we would not be able to ascend in our character. Fibular 5

Retire With Pay

Retire With Pay Fill your retirement years with golden opportunities. Freelance writing opportunities, that is. Apply what you learned from your past career field (or fields) advertising, graphic design, technology, education, health, etc.- to your advantage. As a retiree you are in a great position to not only write on the technical aspects of your previous job, but on your workplace experiences those insights you gained into personalities and office politics, for instance, as well as those skills or capabilities you picked up, multitasking, leadership, organization, photography, social-networking savvy, etc.  Ã‚   If you had your own business, share your secrets for success. How did you get started? Was the business a family affair? What marketing strategies did you use? If you were in a specialized trade, carpentry, electrician, master plumber, etc., write about some of the tools of the trade. Did you have any special licenses or certifications? Were you a licensed, certified animal control worker, for example? If you were, you most likely have enough on-the-job training to write about animal behavior and training. Take advantage of fellow retirees’ former careers. If you have a solid relationship with the former chief executive officer of an environmental waste company, ask him how his company went about obtaining government contracts or restoring contaminated sites.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One way to uncover good workplace technical, experience, and skill, topics is to ask yourself what it is that you would like to have known when you started your career or what you would have done better had you been in a position of authority.   Writing about your past career is not the only way to cash in, however. Consider copywriting/editing for said former workplace; who better than a former employee already familiar with the business, to edit those company newsletters, annual reports, marketing brochures and other company publications? Call your former boss and ask if he needs someone to pick up some of those jobs. I have a friend who, after retiring from his job as Site Safety Officer for an environmental company, continued to write manuals for them for on-site safety procedures. Likewise, if you were in business for yourself you can offer your services as a copywriter for other small business owners. Small businesses typically don’t have time to write a daily or weekly blog, and if a small business has a newsletter, it may also need someone knowledgeable to put together a professional piece.    A word of caution: If you are writing about the technical aspects of a previous career, you must be careful to stay within ethical boundaries of what is or isn’t permissible for you to write about. Also, if you’ve been away from your former career for a while, you may need to sharpen up your technical knowledge. It is doubtful that you would want to write an article on Five Easy Steps to Mastering Shorthand. Okay, that’s an exaggeration. But you get the point.    The same basic rules apply to writing about your past career as with any other kind of freelance writing. Mainly, you must be able to provide short feature articles covering specialized topics in your area or areas of expertise and be able to communicate that expertise to a specific audience. You also need to possess adequate marketing skills to discern a particular magazine’s exact needs. You don’t have to have a degree for the field you were in. Your on-the-job experiences are what are important.   The market for your articles in this category are wide open. You can submit to any number of consumer magazines (business, finance, health and fitness, inflight, retirement, etc.) and trade magazines (marketing and PR, electronics, energy, government, etc.) So sharpen up that pencil and get busy. Your retirement years can be your best years ever. Entrepreneur Magazine entrepreneur.com Pays $1 a word Horizon Edition Magazine alaskaairlinesmagazine.com/horizonedition/guidelines/contributor Pay starts at $450 for features; $100 for short pieces. E The Environmental Magazine emagazine.com/writers-guidelines Pays 30 cents a word.

The Efficient Markets Hypothesis

The Efficient Markets Hypothesis The efficient markets hypothesis has historically been one of the main cornerstones of academic finance research. Proposed by the University of Chicagos Eugene Fama in the 1960s, the general concept of the efficient markets hypothesis is that financial markets are informationally efficient- in other words, that asset prices in financial markets reflect all relevant information about an asset. One implication of this hypothesis is that, since there is no persistent mispricing of assets, it is virtually impossible to consistently predict asset prices in order to beat the market- i.e. generate returns that are higher than the overall market on average without incurring more risk than the market. The intuition behind the efficient markets hypothesis is pretty straightforward- if the market price of a stock or bond was lower than what available information would suggest it should be, investors could (and would) profit (generally via arbitrage strategies) by buying the asset. This increase in demand, however, would push up the price of the asset until it was no longer underpriced. Conversely, if the market price of a stock or bond was higher than what available information would suggest it should be, investors could (and would) profit by selling the asset (either selling the asset outright or short selling an asset that they dont own). In this case, the increase in the supply of the asset would push down the price of the asset until it was no longer overpriced. In either case, the profit motive of investors in these markets would lead to correct pricing of assets and no consistent opportunities for excess profit left on the table. Technically speaking, the efficient markets hypothesis comes in three forms. The first form, known as the weak form (or weak-form efficiency), postulates that future stock prices cannot be predicted from historical information about prices and returns. In other words, the weak form of the efficient markets hypothesis suggests that asset prices follow a random walk and that any information that could be used to predict future prices is independent of past prices. The second form, known as the semi-strong form (or semi-strong efficiency), suggests that stock prices react almost immediately to any new public information about an asset. In addition, the semi-strong form of the efficient markets hypothesis claims that markets dont overreact or underreact to new information. The third form, known as the strong form (or strong-form efficiency), states that asset prices adjust almost instantaneously not only to new public information but also to new private information. Put more simply, the weak form of the efficient markets hypothesis implies that an investor cant consistently beat the market with a model that only uses historical prices and returns as inputs, the semi-strong form of the efficient markets hypothesis implies that an investor cant consistently beat the market with a model that incorporates all publicly available information, and the strong form of the efficient markets hypothesis implies that an investor cant consistently beat the market even if his model incorporates private information about an asset. One thing to keep in mind regarding the efficient markets hypothesis is that it doesnt imply that no one ever profits from adjustments in asset prices. By the logic stated above, profits go to those investors whose actions move the assets to their correct prices. Under the assumption that different investors get to the market first in each of these cases, however, no single investor is consistently able to profit from these price adjustments. (Those investors who were able to always get in on the action first would be doing so not because asset prices were predictable but because they had an informational or execution advantage, which is not really inconsistent with the concept of market efficiency.) The empirical evidence for the efficient markets hypothesis is somewhat mixed, though the strong-form hypothesis has pretty consistently been refuted. In particular, behavioral finance researchers aim to document ways in which financial markets are inefficient and situations in which asset prices are at least partially predictable. In addition, behavioral finance researchers challenge the efficient markets hypothesis on theoretical grounds by documenting both cognitive biases that drive investors behavior away from rationality and limits to arbitrage that prevent others from taking advantage of the cognitive biases (and, by doing so, keeping markets efficient).

buy custom A Four-Day Diet Report essay

buy custom A Four-Day Diet Report essay First, you will realize that I havent included water in my record for four days. This is because I drink water as often as Ican in a day. Drink water everywhere is my principle. water has no calories but I am aware that water is vital in keeping me cool, curbs my appetite and quenches my thirst thus keeping my skin healthy all the time. Water is essential in giving me nutrients that helps in digestion, transportation of nutrients and eliminates toxins in the body. You may also realize that even though my diet for the four days has a fat count included, there is no concentrated fat consumed. This is because most foods that I have been eating are portentous thus contains low fat in them. I havent been eating red meat because it has a lot of fat and is related to many health problems like inflammation. This is unlike protein foods that help me to stay healthy, lose weight and build my muscles. I try to consume low calorie foods like strips of cooked chicken breast, green beans, beans, low fat yoghurt, canned salmona, raw carrots and low fat milk. Reducing and balancing my fat intake aims at keeping my fat calories to about 25%. I also ensure to eat a fruit or blend its juice more often. This is because I know that fruits fibers and enzymes are good for digestion and prevents me from constipating. Research shows that fruits have low calories and fats and if you eat fruits often, there is reduced risk to diseases like stroke, diabetes and other heart problems. Thus, I believe fruits are important to my weight management. I alsobelieve that though nutritious food keeps me health, a bit of morning exercise adds to its effectiveness. It helps to burn calories and revives my metabolism system. Keeping track of what I eat and their content is my way of managing weight and my calorie and exercise journal has been helpful to me. Carbohydrates are also important to give the body enough energy to burn the fats consumed in the body. In order to be super healthy, have more natural energy, stay well and live a long fruitful life, you have to develop healthy habits. This quote guides me and motivates me to keep track of what I eat and their content. FOOD AMOUNT PROTEIN CARBS FAT CALORIES Breakfast Milk 1 cup 8.1 11.7 4.7 121 Egg 2 small 12.6 0 10 150 Lunch Soy beans cup cooked 11.1 10 5.8 127 Brown rice, cooked cup cooked 2.4 22.8 0.8 108 Yoghurt 1/2 cup 6.5 8 1.75 77 Supper Pan cake, buckwheat 1 4" diameter 1.8 6.4 2.2 54 Milk, skim cup 4.2 5.4 0.2 43 Buy custom A Four-Day Diet Report essay

Architecture beneath Nature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Architecture beneath Nature - Essay Example The residential sector has increasingly adapted landscape architecture. Homes have been built as part and puzzle of the landscape implying a balanced ecological system. Buildings beneath the ground have been treasured in the sense that they are unseen and they resemble the landscape (Hagan, 2001). This implies that they are designed in an attractive way and the decorations are not different with the natural features. This has led to increase in the trend of architecture beneath the ground and an increase in the art. Globally, the art of architecture beneath the landscape has been adapted due to the magnificent products it offers after a thorough work of art and design. Furthermore, the space utilized in the creation of such features, has globally been accepted as part and puzzle of the environment. This is because it creates no negative impacts, but contributes to the beauty of the surrounding landscape (Tsui, 1999). Buildings that are invisible are designed to match the entire feature of the landscape. For instance, buildings in a hilly topography are built to be inside the hill and thus no one can suspect or even think of an existing building within the hill. It can be compared to the nature of camouflage since buildings in rocky and gully landscapes are designed in the same sense hence unseen buildings being part of the landscape. On the contrary, some buildings can be unseen but some parts are seen. This implies that the building is completely out of view, but the entrance is visible signifying that a building or structure exists in a certain landscape (Tsui, 1999). Architecture beneath nature creates another important aspect that changes the entire study of architecture. This is because this field of architecture is different and accompanied extensive invention and innovation. It is also different in the sense that buildings communicate with nature

Class and race and civil war in france Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Class and race and civil war in france - Essay Example During the riot, there was a large population of whites and blacks. The whites had their own say on how things were to be done and also how people around them would live. Chances for blacks getting a job would be extremely limited, considering their skin color and their social status. The riots came at a time when the whites were the majority, and they had superior control of the financial state. It was a time when the credentials on the CV did not matter. Once a name was seen to be foreign, then it deemed the chances of the said person getting a job. The rioters destroyed and damaged places that symbolized their suffering. There was so much racism that there came to be certain cakes sold in the streets that bared the name negro-head. The rioters protested against the suffering that they encountered from the landlords, were in favor of white tenants and the rest would be sent off. From the BBC world news, the blacks were also discriminated because of their language which was termed a s poor English. There was so much hatred in that the television shows only showed whites acting. The BBC described these events as cruel, in that there could not be a single black person on television (Civil War in France, 178). The news source described the discrimination that was in France in a way that seemed that what was being done was wrong. In the events that brought about the riots, the minority communities could be seen doing the manual labor that was meant for them. The riot brought to light how the minority communities did all the cleaning, driving, pushing and serving the communities that considered themselves popular. The BBC world news also brought to light the lack of representation of the minority communities regardless of the situation. Though the riots were not rightfully justified and the damage done was not the solution, BBC world news brought to light the fact that what was happening in France was not only wrong, but immoral, unjustifiable, mean and a lack of re spect for humanity. The ethnic minorities were not represented when it came to political functions. This can be seen from the BBC world news report about an incident that involved a meeting by certain representatives that were concerned about the sudden unrest before the riots. The BBC world news stated that during and after the emergency meeting, there was no single black person in the committee that was to oversee the issue of unrest. Even the trade unions were no better. They showed the same social discrimination and difference in class and race. African and Asian communities resided in places that were dreary and not fit. They lived in isolated places and during the riots it could be seen that the police did not stop the rioters from destroying their own homes, but for the homes of those living in the urban states, they were protected (Civil War in France, 189). The civil war in France shed some light on the notion of proletariat revolution in that it was a political revolution whereby there was an attempt to overthrow some of the individuals who attained powers in the political, social and economic arena. It was an attempt whereby the working class individuals wanted to overthrow the bourgeoisie, a name given to those in power. Socialists advocated for the revolutions, and they were backed by communists and anarchists. An excerpt that shows this from the civil

Communication and practice within the early years environment Essay - 1

Communication and practice within the early years environment - Essay Example It will be a way for the practitioner to assess whether or not she is on the right track in terms of communicating effectively with children, parents, colleagues and other professionals and make the necessary amendments to be a better communicator. Interpersonal communication is the process of sending and receiving information between two or more people. Almost anything that takes place in work and personal life involves communication (Dubrin, 1996). It consists of verbal and nonverbal interactions which play a part in the effective exchange of ideas. Lefebvre (2008) advises that when speaking, one must also be aware of body language and tone and inflection of voice. She notes that different ideas may be conveyed by simply emphasising different parts of the statement. Being an active listener helps one understand the message being relayed to him. As the listener, one should hold his response until the speaker is done, and keenly observe nonverbal cues expressed. It must always be rem embered that communication is a give and take process. One must learn to wait his turn to be the speaker and the listener (Lefebvre, 2008). This is one important key in effective communication. Although currently, there are many available forms of communication, this essay will be limited to the discussion of face to face interpersonal communication, most especially in the context of the early years environment. It will draw specific, practical examples from the practitioner’s experiences in placement. Verbal communication or speaking out to another person is often accompanied by non-verbal language which includes facial expressions, gestures, posture, body language and tone of voice. Sometimes, such non-verbal expressions say more than the verbalizations of a person. Whereas verbal language must be delivered clearly for it to be understood, it is much more difficult with non-verbal language (Lee, 2008). With verbal language, most of the time, the verbalization is thought out first, before a person releases it. However, with non-verbal language, it naturally comes out, even without thinking. Hence, the non-verbal communication can sometimes betray what a person says when his actions are not compatible with his words. Usually, this is where miscommunication occurs (LeFebvre, 2008). An individual’s communication skills reflects his emotional intelligence. Goleman (1998) defines emotional intelligence as one’s capacity for recognising one’s own feelings and those others, to be able to motivate oneself and manage emotions well for one’s sake as well as for his relationship with others. This means that if one knows how he will react to a certain situation, he will be able to manage his communication style better and be able to send his message across effectively. Thus, it is essential that a practitioner becomes emotionally intelligent in dealing with various situations in placement in order to establish and maintain harmonious in terpersonal communication (Goleman, 2006). From the placement period with young children, the practitioner learned how important interpersonal communication is. Through daily interactions with children, they develop relationships that help them about themselves and the world that is why adults in the early years setting should be able to create and maintain positive and healthy relationships

Security Policy for McBride Financial Services Essay

Security Policy for McBride Financial Services - Essay Example We can access the information only when you click the Submit Application button on the Mortgage Application page (http://finishcollege.tripod.com/id4.html) of our web-site. You can use our mortgage service only when you submit the application form; however, you can continue to browse our web-site and find out about our services without submitting any personal information. Security policy applies differently to our customers, potential customers and non-customers. A customer is a person who has gone through the procedure of furnishing personal information, either online or in person, to acquire a loan from McBride Financial Services. A potential customer is someone who has submitted personal information and is in process of acquiring a loan from McBride Financial Services. A person who does not want to use our services is a non-customer. Of the three above-mentioned categories of people, we have the authority to access the information relating to customers and potential customers. Both customers and potential customer, at the time of applying for loan, can choose the information that they intend to provide. Certain fields in the application form are marked with an asterisk '*' sign and are mandatory.

Economic Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Economic Analysis - Research Paper Example If we consider the production function where Q is the level of output, then Q = F (K, L) output is a function of both capital and labour, however to determine the optimum level of output that will maximize profit we will have to consider the cost of one unit of labour and one unit of capital and further consider the budgeted amount. Given that the cost of one unit of labour is 5 pounds and that the cost of one unit of capital is ten pounds and that our budget for both costs is 100 pounds then our optimum point will be determined as follows. The maximum amount of capital that can be purchased is 100/10 = 10 and the maximum amount of labour that can be purchased is 100/5 = 20, this information will help us determine the budget line. The next thing to consider is the isoquant, isoquant are curves that depict the possible output that is derived from two factors of productions which in this case are capital and labour The isoquant depicts the level of output that can be produced by different combinations of capital and labour, we determine the most optimum combination of capital and labour by determining the point where the budget line touches the isoquant, and therefore our most optimum levels of capital is C' and for labour its L' as shown above. Therefore the information that we need to collect is the unit cost of both capital and labour and the budgeted amount so as to determine the budget line and also we need information that will help us determine the isoquant. Question 2A When determining on what to produce either cooking pans or sinks we need to determine the cost of producing in terms of capital and labour for each item and also the market price of each item, given that the level of capital and labour are fixed in this case then we have to determine the optimum level of output for both products. This analysis will take the form of the consumer utility maximizing function where there exist two products, the utility function will represent the revenue collected by the firm and the two products which the consumer chooses will represent the two products produced by the firm. Example If in total we have 200 units of resources (both capital and labour) and that one sink requires 10 units of resources and one cooking pan requires 5 units of resources, then the maximum units of sink that can be produced is 200/10 = 20 and for the cooking pans is 200/ 5 = 40, The revenue curve will be determined by the market price of both products, it combines the possible amount of revenue that can be obtained by different combinations of cooking pans and sinks, the additional information needed therefore is the market price for both products and the amount of resources needed to produce each product. Question 2B In the long run the firm will tend to expand its production capacity in order to produce the optimum amount of both products, when the firm increases its capacity more products will be produced in order to realise economies of scale, however the average cost of production for the firm will decrease in the short run but will increase in the long run The long run and short run average cost curve The average cost curve will decrease in

Security Policy for McBride Financial Services Essay

Security Policy for McBride Financial Services - Essay Example We can access the information only when you click the Submit Application button on the Mortgage Application page (http://finishcollege.tripod.com/id4.html) of our web-site. You can use our mortgage service only when you submit the application form; however, you can continue to browse our web-site and find out about our services without submitting any personal information. Security policy applies differently to our customers, potential customers and non-customers. A customer is a person who has gone through the procedure of furnishing personal information, either online or in person, to acquire a loan from McBride Financial Services. A potential customer is someone who has submitted personal information and is in process of acquiring a loan from McBride Financial Services. A person who does not want to use our services is a non-customer. Of the three above-mentioned categories of people, we have the authority to access the information relating to customers and potential customers. Both customers and potential customer, at the time of applying for loan, can choose the information that they intend to provide. Certain fields in the application form are marked with an asterisk '*' sign and are mandatory.

Graduating a Specialized Institution in Pursuing Career Ambitions of Personal Statement

Graduating a Specialized Institution in Pursuing Career Ambitions of Becoming a Dentist - Personal Statement Example Your institution, owing to its outstanding capacity in facilities and academic staff, for which it is internationally recognized, is my preferred choice as I intend to gain a high level of professional competence. Even though many environmental factors have influenced my choice of the course, my immediate objective in the undergraduate program is to establish a basis for a future career in dentistry. This will empower me to help my father in his established private practice. I, however, can only achieve this through a competent institution like yours. This is because my success the graduate school will determine my progress in developing a profession as well as my personal competence. Apart from my main objective of supporting and expanding my father’s practice, I aim at using my attained academic qualification and professional position to benefit society as my future part-time activity. For example, I intend to share my gained knowledge, which I shall in future expansion through higher levels of education, with students in academic institutions through lecturing. It is similarly my desire to be a role model to the youth and the entire society, as I have been to my younger brother, and to encourage them to do good things. In order to achieve these goals however, I need to first develop my career to become an influential member of the society. I believe that I can achieve this only through your institution. I also wish to communicate my competence to complete the program within the institution’s schedule. This is because I have resources, in terms of finances and time, to complete the course. My academic background also guarantees my ability to complete the course due to my average grade of 3.19 out of 4.0 ‘GAP’ and a score of 24 in my ‘ACTs’.

The Gender Theory Essay Example for Free

The Gender Theory Essay Shopping is something that can be quickly defined as a woman’s paradise or â€Å"realm of expertise†. It has often been said that women spend more time and money shopping that men spend time and money shopping. In my experiment, I will go to Costco and choose five people at random. I intend to prove that women will spend more time and money shopping at Costco than men will spend time and money at Costco. I also intend to prove that more women will need assistance with placing their items in their vehicles than men will need assistance with placing their items in their vehicles. The gender role theory played a significant role in this experiment. In the theory, women assume the role of the nurturer and caregiver. Men, on the other hand, assume the role of the protector and the aggressor. Subject A- Female (37) 1. Time spent in Costco- two hours. 2. Amount spent in Costco- $149. 27. 3. Assistance needed with placing items in vehicle? No Subject B- Female (52) 1. Time spent in Costco- one hour. 2. Amount spent in Costco- $50. 12. 3. Assistance needed with placing items in vehicle? No Venus vs. Mars 3 Subject C- Male (31) 1. Time spent in Costco- three hours and thirty minutes. 2. Amount spent in Costco- $412. 92. 3. Assistance needed with placing items in vehicle? Yes Subject D- Male (47) 1. Time spent in Costco- three hours. 2. Amount spent in Costco- $371. 58. 3. Assistance needed with placing items in vehicle? Yes Subject E- Male (22) 1. Time spent in Costco- twenty minutes. 2. Amount spent in Costco- $22. 12. 3. Assistance needed with placing items in vehicle? No The gender role theory was switched with the test subjects. The women, Subjects A and B, were defensive when approached for the experiment. They both were short and to the point with their answers. They were both aggressive to the point wherein they asked me to stand at least an arms length away from them. The men, on the other hand, were quite the opposite. Subjects C and D both were inviting and talkative. They both shook my hand and held lengthy conversations with me after I assisted them with placing the items in their respective vehicles. Subject E behaved the same way as Subjects A and B. Venus vs. Mars 4 The expected outcome did not occur. Out of the five test subjects, the men spent more time and money shopping at Costco. The men, for the most part, were the ones who required assistance with placing their belongings in their vehicles. If this experiment were to be performed again, more test subjects should be used in order to have a basis for proving or disproving the gender theory.

Synthesis, Characterization and Thermal Studies of NDPAH

Synthesis, Characterization and Thermal Studies of NDPAH Synthesis, characterization and Thermal Studies of a Bis {N- (2, 4- dinitro- phenyl) N- (3- phenyl- allylidene)- hydrazine} Uranyl (VI) nitrate  [UO2(NDPAH)2]2+ Shahriar Ghammamy, Sajjad Sedaghat Abstract Bis {N- (2, 4- dinitro- phenyl) N- (3- phenyl- allylidene)- hydrazine} abbreviated as NDPAH was synthesized and characterized. Bis {N- (2, 4- dinitro- phenyl) N- (3- phenyl- allylidene)- hydrazine} Uranyl (VI) nitrate prepared r Keywords: Bis {N- (2, 4- dinitro- phenyl) N- (3- phenyl- allylidene)- hydrazine} Uranyl (VI) nitrate, synthesis, thermal analysis, FT-IR and UV–Visible spectroscopy, Schiff bases. Introduction A Schiff base, named after Hugo Schiff, is a compound with a functional group that contains a carbonnitrogen double bond with the nitrogen atom connected to an aryl or alkyl group, not hydrogen. Complexes of uranyl with nitrogen ligand are of considerable interest due to broad spectrum of biological activities. Formation of transition metal complexes with ligands of uranyl family are important because this ligands connected with various modes to the electron-rich and electron-poor metals. uranyl containing ligands are known to form stable complexes with class b metal ions, such as gold (I). Nitrogen-containing ligands is an important factor in the development of coordination chemistry such as Schiff bases and their metal complexes. and biochemically relevant studies of metal complexes [1]. A group of nitrogen-containing ligands represent a wide range of biological activities and this class of ligands known as pyrimidine system. These groups are valuable ligands in chemistry and on th e other hand have a huge impact on biological properties. For example, a furopyrimidine ring according to the isoelectric contact with purine, is highly regarded. Other uses are as a pesticide and medicine such as antifolates, antimalarials, and antivirus and other hand, protects against radiation. Recently, it has been found that the fluoropyrimidines to prevent some of the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2) and high epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is used However, many synthetic protocols that have been reported as long-term reactions or quick reactions suffer from defects and flaws. Requires a multi-step reaction, requires without water conditions, low efficiency, the use of metal constructions containing materials and special tools or starting substances are examples of these flaws. Therefore achieve new techniques and efficient for the preparation of furo (2, 3, d) derivatives of pyrimidine is still highly desirable [7] Pyrimidine represents a very i nteresting group of compounds, because these compounds are used extensively in phytosanitary, pharmaceutical, and analytical . On the other hand, industrial aspects of this class of compounds is considered. For example, these compounds are used as anti-bacterial and anti-fungal. [8]. This class of compounds also have biological activities [9–13]. The role of metal ions in biological processes of life has long been known and is highly regarded. Studying the properties of transition metal complexes with this class of biologically active ligands is very interesting. In this paper, the synthesis and characterization of a number of the ligands and uranyl complexes have been studied. In this work, we report the synthesis and structural studies of the ligand and complex isolated from the reactions of: Bis {N- (2, 4- dinitro- phenyl) N- (3- phenyl- allylidene)- hydrazine} Uranyl (VI) nitrate. Experimental Solvents were purified by standard methods. All reagents were supplied by Merck and were used without further purification. Melting point was measured in an Electro thermal 9200. The FT-IR spectra were recorded in the range 400–4000 cm-1 by KBr disk using a Bruker Tensor 27 M 420 FT-IR spectrophotometer. The UV–Vis spectra in CH3CN were recorded with a WPA bio Wave S2 100 spectrophotometer. Thermo gravimetric analyses were done on a Perkin Elmer TGA/DTA lab system l (Technology by SII) in nitrogen atmosphere with a heating rate of 20 ºC/min from 35- 700  ºC.  ¹ H and  ¹Ã‚ ³ C-NMR spectra were measured on a BRUKER DRX-500 AVANCE spectrometer at 500 MHz. Synthesis of the [UO2(NDPAH)2]2+: For synthesis of the [UO2(NDPAH)2]2+ to a magnetically stirred of ligand (0.88g, 2.8mmol) in acetonitrile(10ml) was added to uranyl (VI) nitrate (0.71g, 1.4 mmol) And the reaction is performed at room temperature. To ensure complex formation and precipitation of the complex. The solid complex obtained was filtered. And to remove material that did not participate in the reaction complex was washed with diethyl ether. Yield, 75%. Anal. Calcd of [UO2(NDPAH)2]2+; C; 20.14, H; 1.34, N; 6.26; found: C; 20.24, H. 1.41, N; 6.32. Mp: 290  °C.  ¹HNMR (DMSO): 7.4-7.9 (CH phenol), 8.5-8.8 (CH dinitrobenzen), 8.4 (CH azomethyne), 7.1 (CH), FT-IR (KBr, cm-1): 1133 s (ÃŽ ½ N-N), 1614 s (ÃŽ ½ C=N), 420 w (ÃŽ ½ U-N), 935 s (ÃŽ ½ O=U=O), UV-vis (DMSO): à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ¬max 260nm(ÃŽ µ 26000), 320nm(ÃŽ µ 15000), 413nm(ÃŽ µ 32000) (Figure 1-8). [UO2(NDPAH)2]2+ is soluble in chloroform, acetone, dichloro methane, DMSO and DMF and insoluble in water, hexane and diethyl ether and little soluble in methanol, Acetonitrile and ethanol. Figure 9, 10 shows Chemical structures of NDPAH and [UO2(NDPAH)2]2+. Analysis of NDPAH Ligand Anal: %68. Calcd of C15H12N4O4; C; 57.72, H; 3.84, N; 17.94; found: C; 57.81, H. 3.89, N; 17.99. Mp 254-256  °C,  ¹HNMR (DMSO): 7.3-7.7 (CH phenol), 7.8-8.5 (CH dinitrobenzen), 8.1 (CH azomethyne), 7.1 (CH), 9.1 (NH), FT-IR (KBr, cm-1): 1133 s (ÃŽ ½ N-N), 1613 s (ÃŽ ½ C=N), 3111 w (ÃŽ ½ NH). NDPAH is soluble in acetonitrile, acetone, chloroform, DMF, DMSO and diethyl ether insoluble in water, hexane, methanol and ethanol little soluble in dichloro methane. Results and discussion Preparation of Ligand and complex Compounds are quite stable and could be stored without any appreciable changes for long time. Compounds with multiple methods using FT-IR, UV-Visible and  ¹ H and  ¹Ã‚ ³ C-NMR spectra were identified. These compounds were evaluated for thermal analysis. In this paper, a new method for the synthesis of the Bis {N- (2, 4- dinitro- phenyl) N- (3- phenyl- allylidene)- hydrazine} Uranyl (VI) nitrate is presented . Following the single-step reaction between the UO2(NO3)2.6H2O and the NDPAH desired compound is obtained.This method has some advantages for the manufacture of complex. These include: there is no side products and does not require special conditions such as high pressure or high temperature, and that this reaction is a very fast reaction. The [UO2(NDPAH)2]2+ has 290 °C melting points respectively. It is soluble in chloroform, acetone, dichloro methane, DMSO and DMF and insoluble in water, hexane and diethyl ether and slightly soluble in methanol, acetonitrile, and ethanol . The spectral data of the complexes have good relationship with the literature data. The IR spectra of the Schiff base show characteristic bands due to ÃŽ ½(NH), ÃŽ ½(C=N) and ÃŽ ½(N-N), in the region 3111cm-1, (1613, 1133) cm-1 respectively. The strong band in the region 1613, 1133cm-1 in the IR spectra of the Schiff base are assigned to ÃŽ ½( C=N), ÃŽ ½( N-N) respectively. In the case of U(VI) complex we observed the following changes. The bands appeared around 1133, 1614, 420 and 935cm-1 due to ÃŽ ½ N-N, ÃŽ ½ C=N, ÃŽ ½ U-N and ÃŽ ½ O=U=O. Thermo gravimetric analyses The thermal properties of these compounds were investigated by thermo grams (TG, DTG and DTA). Figure 11 shows TGA and DTA curves for [UO2(NDPAH)2]2+. In the temperature range 200-305ËÅ ¡C, 57.9% weight losing was observed which was related to the loss of most parts of compound. In the temperature range from 360-500ËÅ ¡C, 20.6% weight reduction was found, which was related to the loss of a part of compound. Conclusion It is clear from the above discussion that [UO2(NDPAH)2]2+complex and NDPAH ligand offer a new outlook for chemotherapy. The results of antitumor activity show that the metal complexes exhibit antitumor properties and it is important to note that they show enhanced inhibitory activity compared to the parent ligand. The mechanism by which these complexes act as antitumor agents is apoptosis. It has also been proposed that concentration plays a vital role in increasing the degree of inhabitation. References [1] R.J. Vidmar, IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci. 21 (1992) 876-880. [2] A.S.N. Murthy, A.R. Reddy, Journal of Chemical Sciences. 90 (1981) 519-526. [3] V.N.K. Razakantoanina, P. Phung, Parasitology Research 86 (2000) 665-668. [4] R.E. Royer, D.L. Meck, Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. 38 (1995) 2427-2432. [5] M.R. Flack, P.R. G.yle, The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology Metabolism.  76 (1995) 1019-1024. [6] R. Baumgrass, M. Weiwad, Journal of Biological Chemistry. 276 (2001) 47914-47921. [7] M.B. Teimouri, R. Bazhrang, Bioorganic Medicinal Chemistry Letters.  16 (2006) 3697-3701. [8] M.B. Teimouri, Tetrahedron. 62 (2006)10849-10853. [9] J.M. Grevy, F. Tellez, Inorganica Chimica Acta. 339 (2002) 532-542. [10] A. Bernalte-Garc ´Ãƒâ€žÃ‚ ±a, F.J. Garc ´Ãƒâ€žÃ‚ ±a-Barros, Polyhedron. 18 (1999) 2907-2912. [11] K. Lemma, J. Berglund, Journal of Biological Inorganic Chemistry. 5 (2000) 300-306. [12] M.J.M. Campbell, Coordination Chemistry Reviews. 15 (1975) 279-319. [13] S. Padhy ´e, G.B. Kauffman, Coordination Chemistry Reviews. 63 (1985) 127-160. [14] B. Erwin, C. Omoshile, Journal of the Chemical Society Perkin Transactions. 2 (1995)1333-1338. [15] G.Zhao, H. Lin, Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry. 70 (1998) 219-226. Figure 1: FTIR spectrum of NDPAH (KBr Disk) Figure 2: FTIR spectrum of [UO2(NDPAH)2]2+ (KBr Disk) Figure 3: 1H- NMR spectrum of NDPAH Figure 4: 1H- NMR spectrum of [UO2(NDPAH)2]2+ Figure. 5. 13C- NMR spectrum of NDPAH Figure. 6. 13C- NMR spectrum of [UO2(NDPAH)2]2+ Figure 7: UV/ Vis spectrum of NDPAH (DMSO, 5Ãâ€"10-4 M) Figure 8: UV/ Vis spectrum of [UO2(NDPAH)2]2+ (DMSO, 5Ãâ€"10-4 M) Figure 9: Chemical structure of NDPAH Figure 10: Chemical structure of [UO2(NDPAH)2]2+ Figure 11: Thermal analysis data of [UO2(NDPAH)2]2+ Figure 1: FTIR spectrum of NDPAH (KBr Disk) Figure 2: FTIR spectrum of [UO2(NDPAH)2]2+ (KBr Disk) Figure 3: 1H- NMR spectrum of NDPAH Figure 4: 1H- NMR spectrum of [UO2(NDPAH)2]2+ Figure. 5. 13C- NMR spectrum of NDPAH Figure. 6. 13C- NMR spectrum of [UO2(NDPAH)2]2+ Figure 7: UV/ Vis spectrum of NDPAH (DMSO, 5Ãâ€"10-4 M) Figure 8: UV/ Vis spectrum of [UO2(NDPAH)2]2+ (DMSO, 5Ãâ€"10-4 M) Figure 9: Chemical structure of NDPAH Figure 10: Chemical structure of [UO2(NDPAH)2]2+ Figure 11: Thermal analysis data of [UO2(NDPAH)2]2+

A Burning Intellect in Fahrenheit 451 :: Fahrenheit 451 Essays

A Burning Intellect in Fahrenheit 451 In the 1950 novel Fahrenheit 451, AUTHOR Ray Bradbury presents the now familiar images of mind controlING worlds. People now live in a world where they are blinded from the truth of the present and the past. The novel is set in the, perhaps near, future where the world is AT war, and firemen set fires instead of putting them out. Books and written knowledge ARE banned from the people, and it is the firemen's job to burn books. Firemen are the policemen of THE FUTURE. Some people have rebelled by hiding books, but have not been very successful. Most people have conformed to THE FUTURE world. Guy Montag, a fireman, is a part of the majority who have conformed. BUT throughout the novel Montag goes through a transformation, where he changes from a Conformist to a Revolutionary. Guy Montag has never questioned his job before the day he met Clarisse McClellan. FOR ONCE Montag is confronted with the idea that, he does NOT understand the whole truth about books.<WHAT DO YOU MEAN?> Montag meets Clarisse one day, as he is walking home from work, and they BEGIN A conversation. During their conversation Montag is questioned why books are illegal and why firemen burn the books. CLARISSE also asks him if he had ever read any of the books that he burned. His reply was that it is against the law. Clarisse even asks, "... long ago [did] firemen put fires out instead of going to start them?"(Fahrenheit 451, page 38) Montag replies by telling her that that is nonsense, and that "Houses have always been fireproof,..."(Fahrenheit 451, page 38) Here you can see how brainwashed and blinded the truth is for the people. Clarisse says good night to Montag, and right before she leaves she asks him, "Are you happy?"(Fahrenheit 451, page39) Before Montag can rep ly Clarisse is gone, and she leaves Montag pondering her question. As he tells himself that her question was nonsense, he starts to realize that he is not happy with his life. Someone else who changed Montag's thinking, changed it by their actions not by tell him anything.<YOU NEED TO EXPLAIN MORE SO THE READER KNOWS WHAT YOU MEAN.> One day the firemen got a call with an address of someone who was hiding books. The firemen, doing their job like always, went to the house to find the books and burn them.

The Timeless Power of Les Miserables Essay example -- Les Misérables M

The Timeless Power of Les Miserables      Ã‚  Ã‚   The book Les Miserables, written by Victor Hugo in 1862, created a sensation throughout the world (Royston and Schlesinger 2). That impression continued through theatrical productions and most recently the musical, but the book contains greater detail and adds a deeper understanding of Hugo's epic story than the movie or musical portray. Regretfully, few people in World society take the time to relish this masterpiece. Living in a fast paced world, many people today consider reading a time-consuming, senseless activity, and those who still read most likely choose a shorter novel rather than the 1500 page story of Les Miserables. However, the author states, "I don't know if it will be read by everyone, but it is meant for everyone" (Royston and Schlesinger 2). This statement applies to this time period as well. The sincere characters, intriguing sub-plots, and moral theme of Les Miserables relate to people today even 130 years after its publication.    Popular characteristics that today's reader admires coincides with the characteristics of the characters in Les Miserables. Readers look for a hero that they relate with, so the hero who possesses admirable qualities as well as demeaning faults appeals to most people. The heroes of Les Miserables, Jean Valjean and Marius, both portray average men with flaws in their character. Jean Valjean, the main character, steals from a bishop who treated Valjean decently when other people only saw him as a convict. This single act makes Valjean appear ruthless, but later in the novel, his eagerness to help people and his willingness to accept punishment makes Valjean's error seem trivial. Valjean's mistake secures his r... ... and moral theme. Written over 130 years ago, it remains influential even today. Although the book requires an immense amount of time to read, the outcome proves beneficial and invigorating to anyone who chooses to embark on the adventure of Jean Valjean's life in Les Miserables.    Works Cited Hillis, Newell Dwight. Great Books as Life-teachers: Studies of Character, Real and Ideal. New York: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1899. Grossman, Kathryn M. Les Miserables: Conversion, Revolution, Redemption. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1996. Lee, Rob. The Barricade on the Rue de la Chanvrerie: Les Miserables - The Novel. Internet. 1997. Available: www.users.cloud9.net/~rlee/lesmis/welcome.htm. Royston, Peter and Sarah Schlesinger. About the Novel Les Miserables. Internet. 1997. Available: www.lesmis.com/inspiration/author/aboutnovel.html.   

Justice in Hamlet

Hamlet, a timeless tragedy written by literary mastermind William Shakespeare, has puzzled scholars for decades. Hamlet, who is arguably the most enigmatic character in English literature, is a vividly thoughtful young prince who conspires revenge on his uncle Claudius for the murder of his father King Hamlet. Hamlet becomes obsessed with achieving this justice for his father's death, a duty he views as noble, but he quickly comes to realize that carrying out the murder is not as simple a task as he originally thought.As evidenced by events that unfold that result in the death of many of his friends and family, and also himself, a sense of justice can become easily warped and corrupted when revenge is the motivator. Hamlet's quest for justice is first introduced when he is visited by an ambiguous ghost who claims to be his father, the former king. The ghost tells Hamlet the details of his murder, including that his uncle Claudius is the culprit. Hamlet, shocked and angry, avows to av enge his father's death.He swears he will forget all of the fond memories he had of his uncle Claudius, saying, â€Å"from the table of my memory I'll wipe away all trivial fond records† (Act 1, Scene 5). He replaces these memories with a tarnished image of Claudius as a murderer, and resolves that, in order for justice to be guaranteed, Claudius must also be murdered. However, despite becoming infatuated with this revenge, Hamlet delays multiple times in killing Claudius. His initial delay was to prove Claudius' guilt, which he does so by staging a play that reenacts King Hamlet's murder.A perfect opportunity arises later for Hamlet to carry out his revenge, but Claudius is confessing his sins, which conflicts with Hamlet's idea of true justice: he does not want Claudius' soul to go to heaven after his death. Instead, he decides to wait to murder Claudius until after he has committed a sin. Although these actions seen to indicate Hamlet's infatuation with perfecting the time and circumstance of Claudius' murder, Hamlet acts rashly after seeing a figure behind a curtain: he believes this to be Claudius, and impulsively stabs the figure, but it ends up being Polonius, the father of Ophelia and Laertes.This brings about more problems for Hamlet, adding further complexity to a situation that was originally supposed to be straightforward: Ophelia, gone mad by the death of her father, commits suicide by drowning herself, and Laertes, encouraged by Claudius, begins his pursuit of justice by avenging the deaths of his father and beloved sister. At the beginning of the play, Hamlet is presented as a normal, albeit bitter, young man. Upon hearing of his uncle's treachery, Hamlet initially seeks out justice for his father's murder, determined to catch Claudius in a confession and expose him.However, Hamlet's original intentions of serving justice become lost, first when he decides to play the ‘antic disposition', then when he sets up the play ‘The Mou setrap', arranging the execution of his school friends, and finally when he forces Claudius to drink from the poisoned goblet. However, due to Hamlet's consumption with revenge, all of his loved ones die until he is left with nothing by the play's end. Realizing that his vengeful actions have, in some way or another, caused the deaths of those he loved, Hamlet's death is somewhat suitable, but certainly not satisfying.The reader does not finish the play with a feeling that justice has been served. Instead, we are left with a stark, bloody conclusion to what the seeds of revenge can sow. But the other themes of death are seen in Laertes pursuit of justice for the death of his father by Hamlet's hand and as a consequence his sister Ophelia's death. Characters who want justice: Hamlet – To restore justice Hamlet needs to expose not just Claudius but his mother as well, something he finds difficult.He does indeed finally kill his uncle after his mother has been poisoned but only becomes king long enough to name his successor as he is dying himself at the time he kills Claudius. He can restore justice by becoming the rightful king of Denmark and exposing his uncle as a murderer. i am justly killed with mine own treachery. Well, consider the price that was paid in order for Hamlet to exact his revenge: Ophelia shunned, gone mad, then dying; good friends manipulated then murdered; Polonius mocked then murdered; Laertes driven to murder and violence; and a mother reprimanded and killed.

A strong brand and international track record

A strong brand and international track record will attract equity funds and equity-related capital funding for an international acquisition. Retail sector is making extensive contribution to the economy, employment and regeneration (14 March 2007).More than 3.2 million people work in retail and it is now the UK’s third largest industry behind business services and the health sectorRetail employment is so crucial to today’s economy that its image as a sector full of â€Å"shelf-stacking low-skilled† jobs should be swept aside. That is one of the conclusions of a new report which analyses the contribution of the retail sector to the economy, employment and regeneration of the UK.According to the report, produced by international property consultancy King Sturge in association with Business in the Community, more than 3.2 million people work in retail which, following the slump in manufacturing jobs is now the UK’s third largest industry behind business servi ces and the health sector. And the report says it is time that retailers launched a co-ordinated campaign highlighting the fact that good retail jobs assisted individuals to develop their skills and careers which, in turn, provides real benefits to local communities.At the end of last year, Nottingham had 20,000 people working in retail and was ranked 11th in the league table of big urban centres most dependent on retail employment.According to Matthew Smith, Nottingham-based partner of King Sturge’s East Midlands Office â€Å"Retailing has proved to be one of the main contributors to employment creation in areas where there has been a loss of manufacturing jobs and although many employees, particularly women, are part-time it must be stressed that 95 percent of all part-time jobs are classed as permanent.Indeed, the flexibility of part-time employment suits many people who have to dovetail working arrangements with family commitments.†Last year, the retail sector empl oyed 1.75 million part-time workers –a total that accounted for more than 20 percent of all part-time employees in the UK.According to Mr. Smith   Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The focus of much of the debate on retail today has been on the impact that it has had on the look and feel of city centres and the modern High Street. This report is different because it looks at the impact of retail on people who work or have worked in the sector.There is a perception that retail employment does not create ‘real jobs’ – only part-time or entry-level jobs that are unsustainable in the long term and contribute little to the wider economy. But let there be no mistake, retail is a major source of employment today and in government-identified deprivation areas retailing accounts for 1.1 million jobs, equivalent to ten percent of the workforce. Our document, however, should not be treated as the definitive report on the subject – it is there to further stimulate the debate and to be the catalyst for further research,†.According to Dr Angus McIntosh, Head of Research at King Sturge   Ã¢â‚¬Å"The time is right for retailers to confidently describe the benefits that people receive from working in their industry – benefits which employees themselves describe as helping to improve their skills and employability; being given a good start to career or work life prospects and helping to increase self-confidence.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"For too long the image of retail as full of shelf-stacking, low-skilled jobs has been allowed to perpetuate. This must now actively be countered with a positive image of employment in the sector, confidently presented to all.†Dr McIntosh said â€Å"It is recommended that retailers launch a concerted and co-ordinated campaign, highlighting the fact that retail jobs are good jobs that assist individuals to develop their skills and careers and which provide real benefits to local communities.†He said that many property d evelopers recognised the benefits of helping recreate the communities in which their developments were located. These included strengthening the core purpose of the local High Street through the provision of retail space but also adding community facilities such as a nursery or doctor’s surgery to a development site.

The Cost and Reimburstements of Medicare Research Paper

The Cost and Reimburstements of Medicare - Research Paper Example This study focuses on cost and reimbursement of Medicare as well as challenges facing the program. Medicare services can be provided to the beneficiaries either through traditional fee-for-service (FFS) program or private health plans such as Medicare Advantage (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2008). Whereas clients can be served in any hospital and by any doctor under FFS those using Medicare Advantage should be treated by providers in a network or pay extra charges for treatments received from out-of network providers (Mason et al., 2013). The program is available in four parts namely Part A, B, C and D. "Medicare covers Hospital Insurance (part A), Medical Insurance (part B), Prescription Drugs (part C) and Medicare Advantage" (part D) (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2008). Clients who apply for part C receives various benefits offered in other parts. Currently, some people prefer Medicare Advantage because it offers extra services in addition to those provided under FFS. Part A of the Medicare is financed through payroll tax charged on employees and the employers whereby each contributes 1.45% to make a total of 2.9% while for self employed persons they contribute full 2.9% since they are both employees and employers (Mason et al., 2013). Part C and D are financed by premiums contributed by enrollees of the Medicare and revenue from the general fund. Medicare in partnership with local insurance companies pay compensation to claims presented each year by the Medicare beneficiaries (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2008). The Medicare uses various methods to compensate the medical service providers for the services they offer to their clients covered by health insurance. For example, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services introduced Accounting Care Organization model to harmonize medical service delivery among the service providers by enabling them to coordinate their service delivery to reduce expenses, improve quality and outcome of the

Medicaids eligibility rules Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Medicaids eligibility rules - Essay Example Tracing back to the adopted laws, the Medicaid program first provided medical coverage for low-income families and other categorically related individuals who meet eligibility requirements (Andersen et al., 2013). Candidates enrolling to the program included the blind, aged, disabled and pregnant women. In fact, Medicaid serves as the nation’s primary source of health insurance coverage for low-income populations. By the way, each state have always been administering its own Medicaid program, establishing their own eligibility standards, determining the scope and types of services they cover, and setting the rate of payment. Moreover, benefits vary from state to state (Andersen et al., 2013). Since 2013 due to the expansion of Affordable Care Act, the enrollment to the program has been eligible only for those with low income rate. Thus, states participating in the expanded Medicaid program are required to allow people with income up to 133% of the poverty line to qualify for coverage, including adults without dependent children (Andersen et al., 2013). That is to say the eligibility for the program depends purely on income level. It is quite doubtful whether managing a program this way and whether the amendments introduced to the law are efficient. In essence, there is a dramatic difference in needs that has a single adult who is paid insufficient, pregnant woman or an elderly or disabled person. For example, after retirement elderly people spend either the rest of life or some time in nursing homes, the cost of which is very expensive. Many people pay for these nursing homes with their own money, often depleting their life savings, and spend thousands on it. In this cas e Medicaid should help cut these costs at least. Another case is when an immigrant, who does not have a well-paid job and cannot afford traditional medical insurance, may qualify for Medicaid, due to financial needs. Of course, everybody applying for this

Application of Leadership Models in Schools Essay

Application of Leadership Models in Schools - Essay Example   A produce leadership method can be ineffective since a leader focuses on production and demonstrates a little effort to address concerns of other people. This factor goes against the ISLLC Standard 2 of developing an instructional program and school culture conducive to the staff professional growth and the students learning. The standard is violated because the principal does not nurture a program that facilitates learning and teacher`s professional growth. The Path-Goal Theory illustrates to a leader different ways to motivate subordinates in accomplishing the goals of the organization. The grid focuses on enhancing the performance of employees through focusing on factors that motivate them. The leadership styles associated with the path-goal theory include Supportive leadership where the leader focuses on demonstrating sensitivity to each person. Another form is the directive leadership where the manager communicates goals and assigns definite tasks to each. Participative lead ership involves a leader consulting with his subordinates and considers their expertise and ideas before deciding on the cause of action. The final style in the path-goal model is the Achievement-oriented leadership that makes a manager set high standards and challenging goals for his team (Practical Management, 2010). In a supportive leadership style, a school principal pays equal attention to every teacher and student as he tries to take care of all issues affecting their performance and well-being.  Ã‚  

In what ways did the railways of the subcontinent alter the Essay

In what ways did the railways of the subcontinent alter the relationship of Indians to their surroundings - Essay Example 13). The pressure for building railways in India came from London in 1840’s. The reason for that was so the economies of the two countries would be intermeshed. The Indian Railway Association was formed by Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy and Hon. Jaganath Shunkerseth in 1845. The Association was eventually incorporated into the Great Indian Peninsula Railway and the two formers became the only two Indians among the ten directors. The first train journey in India was between Bombay and Thane on the 16th of April in 1853 (Rothermund, H.U. 1993, p. 28). Shankarseth participated in this journey which involved a fourteen carriage long train drawn by three locomotives. The locomotives were known as Sultan, Sindh and Sahib. The train was around twenty one miles in length and took forty five minutes approximately. A century after the introduction of railway lines in India, basic policies and ultimate management of the Indian Railways came from London. Every decision made had to come from London. This means that the British had a huge role in the ways the railways of the subcontinent affected the Indians and their surroundings. These effects were seen in the military front, economically and also politically (Crowley, H.U. 2011, p. 21). Robert Maitland Brereton was the British engineer responsible for the expansion of the railways from 1857. By 1864, the Calcutta-Allahabad-Delhi line was completed and the Allahabad-Jabalpur branch line opened in June 1867. These two were linked with the Great Indian Peninsula Railway courtesy of Brereton. This resulted in a combined network of six thousand four hundred kilometres making it possible to travel from Bombay to Calcutta directly via Allahabad. On 7th March 1870 this route was officially opened (Narayanan, H.U. 2011, p. 23). The opening of this route was part of the inspiration for French writer Jules Veme’s book Around the World in Eighty Days. The official opening ceremony was graced by the Viceroy Lord Mayo who concluded

Are shcwann cells useful for repairing spinal cord injuries Research Paper

Are shcwann cells useful for repairing spinal cord injuries - Research Paper Example The best cells for bridge-building are Schwann cells, because they are easy to get from patients and because they support perfect axon regeneration (Oudega & Xu, 2006). The only problem is that Schwann cells will not mix with the connective tissue cells of the spinal cord, so the bridges will not integrate with the spinal cord. Studies are underway on how to Schwann cells interact with connective tisues cells of the spinal cord and how to get them integrate. Schwann cells are also the cells in peripheral nerves that form myelin sheaths. They are not usually found in the brain or spinal cord where another neurological cell, the ogliodendrocyte, is responsible for making myelin. Researchers have shown that Schwann cells grafted into the brain can myelinate central axons (Oudega & Xu, 2006). When the loss of myelin is an important part of injury, implanting Schwann cells could stimulate remyelination and thereby restore function. Schwann cells, nerve cells and some other cells make proteins known to nourish nerve cells called "growth factors". By introducing these factors into injury sites alone or in combination with grafts, researchers hope to stimulate additional nerve regeneration and promote the health of nerve cells. This approach has been shown to stimulate CNS regeneration, including growth of axons from nerve cells within the spinal cord and those from the brain that send their long axons down the spinal cord. Significant restoration of function has not yet been achieved. Also Pieces of Engineered Neural Tissue (EngNT) are formed by controlling natural Schwann cell behavior in a three-dimensional collagen gel so that the cells elongate and align, and then a stabilization process removes excess fluid to leave robust artificial tissues. These living biomaterials contain aligned Schwann cells in an aligned collagen environment, recreating key features of normal nerve tissue. Incorrect

Female Genital Mutilation in Egypt Essay Example for Free

Female Genital Mutilation in Egypt Essay Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a socio-religious practice that is very prevalent in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. It entails the partial or total removal of the female external genitalia for cultural or any other non-therapeutic purpose. As of 1999, at least 130 million girls and women were believed to have undergone FGM. In the same year, it was estimated that about 2 million girls are at risk of being subjected to some form of the procedure every year (WHO 3). FGM is criticized mainly for its detrimental effects on a woman’s physical and psychological health. Girls and women who had been subjected to FGM may die of hemorrhage, shock, urinary tract infections or tetanus (WHO 21). They may likewise experience psychological disorders such as severe depression, anxiety and psychosomatic illnesses (Markle, Fisher and Smego 79). Advocates of FGM, however, claim that Islam requires the practice in order to preserve a woman’s chastity (WHO 6). The actual origins of FGM are very obscure – ethnologists and historians have come up with different theories regarding the existence of the practice. While FGM is commonly associated with Islam, historical evidence shows that the former has predated the latter by at least 1,200 years. The procedure was believed to have been first discussed by the Greek historian Herodotus (484 – 425 BC) (Bullough and Bullough 205). According to his writings, the Ethiopians, the Hittites and the Phoenicians during the 5th century BC were already practicing FGM (UNFPA n. pag. ). The early Romans, the Egyptians and the Arabs likewise performed FGM – there are historical accounts of Egyptian mummies exhibited signs of having undergone the procedure (UNFPA n. pag. ). For the ancient Egyptians, FGM was regarded as a sign of distinction among the aristocracy (Momoh 5). In Western Europe and the United States, FGM was known as clitoridectomy. Until the 1950s, doctors in these regions used clitoridectomy to treat â€Å"ailments† in women such as hysteria, mental disorders, nymphomania, masturbation and lesbianism (UNFPA n. pag. ). FGM is usually done on girls between 8 to 10 years old. Reproductive health experts, however, point out that the procedure is already being carried out on younger girls – there have been cases wherein infant girls were subjected to FGM just a few days after their birth (WHO 147). FGM is classified into four general types: a. Type I – Excision of the prepuce, with or without excision of part or the entire clitoris. b. Type II – Excision of the clitoris with partial or total excision of the labia minora. c. Type III – Excision of part or the entire external genitalia and the stitching or narrowing of the vaginal opening (infibulation) (Momoh 6). d. Type IV – Pricking, piercing or incising of the clitoris and or the labia; scraping of tissue surrounding the vaginal orifice; cutting of the vagina and or the introduction of corrosive substances or herbs into the vagina to induce bleeding or to tighten the opening (UNFPA n. pag. ). FGM is usually performed by traditional midwifes or village barbers. They use unsterilized instruments such as razor blades, knives, broken glass, scissors or sharpened stones. Furthermore, they conduct procedures without anesthetic in unhygienic settings (WHO, 148). A new phenomenon, however, has emerged in the recent years – the â€Å"medicalization† of FGM. Despite laws banning the practice of FGM, hospitals in Egypt, Kenya and Sudan now clandestinely perform the procedure. Under the pretext of an illness, female teenagers in these countries are circumcised in the hospital either early in the morning or late at night. The procedure is done during these hours in order to evade detection and arrest. The punishment for performing FGM is relatively stiff – a $625 fine or incarceration for up to a year. But doctors willingly look the other way for the money – medical practitioners in Kenya, for instance, are paid between $37 and $125 for every procedure they perform. Traditional practitioners, in sharp contrast, could charge only as much as $25 (Nzwili n. pag. ). Egypt’s current problem with FGM can be traced back to the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in 1994. The ICPD was held in Cairo – supposedly a turning point in the understanding of health, development and women’s rights in the Islamic world. Critics, however, pointed out that the Cairo Program of Action merely â€Å"forwarded a holistic vision of the connections between sexual ad reproductive health and women’s economic autonomy, social and political equality, access to education and freedom from violence† (Chavkin and Chesler 35). The issues regarding the right of women to control their sexuality and the relevance of this right to achieving health and social justice were inadequately discussed (Chavkin and Chesler 35). Despite this shortcoming, the ICPD managed to transform the issue of FGM from a relatively low-profile subject into matter of national debate. Conservative religious leaders who participated in the conference and their allies in the Egyptian press expressed their approval of FGM by claiming that it is an important part of national and religious identity. Progressive women’s groups, on the other hand, argued that the practice perpetuated the inferior status of women in Egyptian society. In the process, this dispute on FGM showed that the topic of women’s rights is simply a means for Egyptian politicians to attain popularity among the electorate (Chavkin and Chesler 35). Eager to make a good impression on all the foreign delegates of the ICPD, particularly on those from the West, the Egyptian minister of health stated that FGM was already a dying practice in Egypt. But on the very next day, CNN reported about the circumcision of a young girl that took place somewhere in Cairo (Chavkin and Chesler 35). The minister, in an act of political face-saving, declared that the Egyptian government was determined to confront and put an end to the practice. In order to appease Egypt’s conservative sector, meanwhile, he signed an ambivalent decree which allowed only public medical facilities to perform FGM. The law even included provisions which set standard fees and special days when families could book appointments (Chavkin and Chesler 36). The aforementioned aftermath of the ICPD showed the greatest obstacle towards fully implementing anti-FGM policies and programs not just in Egypt but in all other countries that practice FGM – the reconciliation of universal imperatives of human rights with the values of local cultures. The same dilemma also hounded other FGM-related fatalities, particularly the death of four-year-old Egyptian girl Amira Hassan. She died in 1996 due to anesthesia-related complications while undergoing FGM. Instead of pressing charges against the doctor, Ezzat Shehat, Hassan’s parents simply dismissed her demise as â€Å"a will of God† (HURINet n. pag. ). They believed that subjecting their daughter to FGM was their duty as good Muslims (HURINet n. pag. ). Most Egyptians continue to believe in the said relationship between FGM and Islam. A 2005 UNICEF report on the practice revealed that about 97% of women between 15 and 49 years old were subjected to circumcision (Reuters-AlertNet n. pag. ). Despite a 2008 law which renders FGM punishable by three months to two years in prison and a fine of LE 1,000 to LE 5,000, the practice continues to be secretly carried out in Egypt. According to the country’s conservative and religious groups, FGM is necessary to maintain a woman’s chastity (Samaan n. pag. ). Indeed, cultural and religious beliefs are also major factors behind the issue of FGM in Egypt. The practice has already existed long before the advent of Islam. And for a good reason – patriarchy was already in existence even before the emergence of religion. For a patriarchal society to survive, female sexuality must be limited and controlled (Turshen 146). FGM is regarded as one of the most effective means of controlling a woman’s sexuality. The clitoris, the labia minora and the labia majora – the organs removed in FGM – enable a woman to enjoy sexual intercourse. In a patriarchal society, women are not supposed to experience the pleasures of sex. They are supposed to be sexless beings, faithfully serving their respective families and engaging in sex only for the purpose of procreation. Women who do otherwise are considered promiscuous (Turshen 146). It is therefore believed that circumcised women are less likely to be unchaste and commit adultery. In addition, FGM is viewed as a means of emphasizing femininity. When a woman is circumcised, the parts of her body that are metaphorically seen as male, such as the pubic hair and the clitoris, are removed. During ancient times, it was believed that the clitoris â€Å"would grow and protrude like the (penis)† (Turshen 150). Men, on the other hand, undergo circumcision in order to enhance their sexuality. Male circumcision entails the cutting of the foreskin of the penis. A circumcised penis is believed to be more responsive to sexual arousal than an uncircumcised one; thus the ancient belief that circumcision is necessary for virility. Furthermore, a circumcised penis is easier to keep clean. Circumcision eliminates the formation of smegma, a combination of oil, moisture and dead skin cells which serves as a lubricant during sexual intercourse (Turshen 146). Islam does not directly state that all Muslims must be circumcised regardless of gender. However, much of the existing Islamic literature today emphasizes a special link between Islam and FGM (Turshen 151). The most well-known hadith (oral traditions that record the Prophet Muhammad’s speech and actions) about FGM tells of a debate between Muhammad and Um Atiyyah, a woman who used to circumcise female slaves. Muhammad was said to have asked Um Atiyyah if she continued to practice her profession (Denniston, Hodges and Milos 148). She said she did, adding that she would not stop doing so â€Å"unless it is forbidden and you order me to stop doing it† (Denniston, Hodges and Milos 148). He then replied, â€Å"Yes, it is allowed. Come closer so I can teach you: if you cut, do not overdo it (la tanhiki), because it brings more radiance to the face (ashraq) and it is more pleasant (ahza) for the husband† (Denniston, Hodges and Milos 148). Since the first centuries of Islam, however, Muslim scholars have been scrutinizing the authenticity of the hadiths. They believe that majority of the hadiths were â€Å"contradictory and (contained) affirmations that gave a bad impression of the Islamic religion† (Denniston, Hodges and Milos 148). In lieu of the hadiths, Muslim scholars came up with their own explanations behind the association of FGM with Islam. The first theory was that FGM was a means of saving women from the degradation that they experienced in the pre-Islamic era. For the Muslims, the pre-Islamic era was the â€Å"Age of Ignorance† – a period of corruption, bloodshed, moral turpitude and social chaos (Akhtar 23). Women in the pre-Islamic era had few rights. The practice of burying infant females in the sand was very rampant. Those who managed to live to adulthood, meanwhile, had no other means of survival except through prostitution (Akhtar 23). It has been mentioned earlier that the organs removed in FGM – the clitoris, the labia minora and the labia majora – enable a woman to enjoy sexual intercourse. By removing these organs, therefore, it was expected that women would no longer take pleasure in sexual intercourse and abandon prostitution in the process. The second theory is that some Islamic societies might have acquired the practice of FGM from other cultures or religions. During Muhammad’s time, the Jews were considered as the elite of Arab society. Consequently, it became inevitable that Islam was influenced by Jewish doctrines and practices such as circumcision (Denniston, Hodges and Milos 148). But this begs the question of how come even Muslim females are circumcised – the Jews circumcise only males. The answer is that Islam might have tailored certain Jewish doctrines and practices to suit its own objectives. One of the objectives of Islam was to uplift the status of women (Akhtar 23). In order to achieve this goal, Islam put its own flavor to the Jewish practice of circumcision. As a result, even Muslim women were required to undergo circumcision. Despite varying explanations regarding the origins and purposes of FGM, one thing is certain – it is not without detrimental physical and psychological effects. The most immediate negative effects of FGM are severe pain and hemorrhage, which, in turn, can result in hypovolaemic shock and death. Other direct effects include abscesses, wound contamination and local infections – obvious results of performing the procedure in unhygienic surroundings using unsterilized tools (WHO 149). FGM also has substantial long-term risks. The practice usually obstructs the drainage of urine, vaginal secretions and menstrual blood. This occurrence, in turn, results in chronic pelvic infections, menstrual dysfunction and menstrual pain. Urinary retention, meanwhile, leads to chronic urinary tract infection and renal damage. When menstrual blood is unable to flow out of the body, abdominal pain and swelling ensue (WHO 149). The abdominal distention that circumcised women experience due to the lack of menstrual flow has been misinterpreted as a pregnancy. As a result, some circumcised but unmarried women have been subjected to honor killings – killed by their male relatives in order to preserve the honor of their clan. FGM also exposes a woman to the risk of contracting HIV. Unsterilized instruments may transmit HIV-infected blood into an HIV-negative patient (WHO 149). Women who underwent FGM may also experience difficulties in sexual intercourse after the procedure. Penetration may either be painful or impossible due to a narrow introitus. Prolonged postcoital bleeding and anorgasmia may likewise take place. In some cases, surgery was necessary to open up the vagina for penetration (WHO 150). FGM may render a woman infertile. Chronic pelvic infections often lead to the obstruction of the fallopian tubes. The latter is one of the most common causes of ectopic pregnancy, which can lead to the death of both the mother and the baby. Narrowing of the introitus, meanwhile, may force a couple to use the anus or the urethra for sexual intercourse. Fluctuating hormones during pregnancy put circumcised women at more risk for genital and urinary tract infections than their uncircumcised counterparts (WHO 150). The most common psychological disorders among circumcised women are depression and anxiety – they have to conform to parental and societal expectations while dealing with pain, complicated recovery and other long-term health effects. Painful sexual intercourse may result in them having immensely traumatic memories of their wedding night. Circumcised women also have to live each day in fear – they constantly view each cyst that grows in them as a possible symptom of cancer or other serious ailment (WHO 152). When the physical pain becomes too much for them to endure, they might resort to suicide. Female genital mutilation is one of the worst forms of violence that can be inflicted on a woman. In an effort to tie her to the home, she is horribly mutilated and made to live in constant pain for the rest of her life. A circumcised woman is also made to live in fear. She is constantly warned by society that to avoid circumcision is to face ostracism and even condemnation. Much still has to be done before FGM will finally be abolished. But the first step remains to be education. Societies must be made aware of the importance of educating girls. Numerous studies have already proven that girls who have attained basic education are healthier and are less likely to die in childbirth than those who did not. When the members of a particular society – both male and female – are healthy, this society becomes productive. Works Cited Akhtar, Shabbir. The Quran and the Secular Mind: A Philosophy of Islam. New York: Routledge, 2007. Bullough, Vern L. , and Bonnie Bullough. Human Sexuality: An Encyclopedia. New York: Taylor and Francis, 1994. Chavkin, Wendy, and Ellen Chesler. Where Human Rights Begin: Health, Sexuality and Women in the New Millennium. Chapel Hill: Rutgers University Press, 2005. Denniston, George C. , Frederick Mansfield Hodges and Marilyn Fayre Milos. Male and Female Circumcision: Medical, Legal and Ethical Considerations in Pediatric Practice. New York: Springer, 1999. â€Å"Egyptians Stand by Female Circumcision. † 10 December 1996. The Human Rights Information Network (HURINet). 27 February 2009 http://www. hartford-hwp. com/archives/32/018. html. â€Å"Egypt Mufti Says Female Circumcision Forbidden. † 24 June 2007. Reuters-AlertNet. 27 February 2009 http://www. alertnet. org/thenews/newsdesk/L24694871. htm. Markle, William H. , Melanie A. Fisher and Raymond A. Smego. Understanding Global Health. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional, 2007. Momoh, Comfort. Female Genital Mutilation. Abingdon: Radcliffe Publishing, 2005. Nzwili, Fredrick. â€Å"In Africa, FGM Checks into Hospitals. † 5 December 2004. Women’s ENews. 27 February 2009 http://www. womensenews. org/article. cfm/dyn/aid/2097/. â€Å"Promoting Gender Equality: Frequently Asked Questions on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting. † n. d. United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). 27 February 2009 http://www. unfpa. org/gender/practices2. htm. Samaan, Magdy. â€Å"Shoura Council Passes Child Law, Criminalizes FGM. † 12 May 2008. Daily News Egypt. 27 February 2009 http://www. dailystaregypt. com/article. aspx? ArticleID=13659. Turshen, Meredeth. African Women’s Health. Trenton: Africa Word Press, 2000. World Health Organization (WHO). 1999. Female Genital Mutilation Programmes to Date: What Works and What Doesn’t. Geneva, Switzerland: Department of Women’s Health – Health Systems and Community Health. World Health Organization (WHO). Mental Health Aspects of Womens Reproductive Health: A Global Review of the Literature. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2008.