Thought Paper

Thought Paper The purpose of this thought paper is to synthesize theoretical discussions and provide critical analysis of selected reading assignments of the preceding weeks. The paper will specifically provide the authors reading and understanding of Stephanie Coontzs publication of the way we never were, Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever publication of Woman dont Ask, and Deborah Tannens work on the power of talk: who gets heard and why. The paper will also provide a synopsis of the movie â€Å"North Country†, and provide the writers personal assessment of the movie. The way we never were In Stephanie Coontzs publication of the way we never were, she outlined several stereotypes about American families. She counter acted perceptions of the past and provided different conceptions of the changes in the structures of American families overtime. She provided an examination of family life in American from 1900 to 1990 in which she dispelled the perceptions of the past which have predisposed the present state of affairs of American families. In chapter one, three, and seven of her publication of the way we never were, Coontz provided elaborate arguments which she termed as myths of the 1950s that tend to perpetuate the perception of how American families ought to be. Coontz in chapter one defined the crisis within American families which emanate from the perception that American families craves for the family value system of the early and middle 1900s. She argued that people are of the opinion problems in American families in present days emanates from the active determination and participation of women in changing the family structure. She continued to state that some believe families are in crisis as women work outside home at the cost of their families and children, thus putting the relationship and marriage in jeopardy. She further revealed that people reminiscing family values of the 1950s argued that the rate of domestic violence was lower than what it is today due to past traditional family values. She furthered, many are of the opinion that â€Å"parents spend less time with their children today than in 1965† (Coontz, 1992, p. 20). In addition, she continued that many believe the rise in teenage pregnancy and abortion rate has been attributed to the gender equality and role reversal in families overtime. In countering the perceptions of American families of the past, Coontz argued that families in America have been dominated by male for centuries. She maintained men were considered breadwinners, while the role of women was limited to the home (Coontz, 1992, p. 10). She asserted there was a notion that only men had the aptitude to handle the burden of the family by providing bacon and direction to the family, while women stay home and manage the affairs of the home and children. Coontz further argued that the perception about America 1950s are fallacies and â€Å"false optimisms about renewing family values† Carlson and Edgar (2010). She claimed the perceptions of American families of the 1950s are delusional in that people illusion themselves about the irreversible transformation family trend has taken. She disagreed with those harboring the misconception that if American families only recommitted themselves to marriage and children, American families could circumvent all of t he new impasses posed by the revolution in gender and economic role of the family. Women Dont Ask In Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever publication of women doesnt ask they provided empirical evidence to establish why women lack the aptitude to ask for what they want. Before establishing the hypothesis for why women dont ask, Linda observed a disparity among her male and female students in asking for whatever they needed. Linda â€Å"realized that her male graduate students asked for all sorts of things—travel money to go to conferences, exemptions from course requirements, opportunities to teach courses of their own—that the female students rarely asked for† (Babcock and Laschever, 2010). In Lindas quest to investigate why her female students didnt ask and her male students were more proactive in asking for what they wanted, she embarked upon a collaborative research project with Sara Laschever who surveyed 100 participants, both men and women from around the U.S. At the close of their research, Linda and Sara discovered their studies produced similar findings. Linda and Sara respective studies gathered that â€Å"women are much less likely than men to ask for what they want and to use negotiation as a tool to promote their own ambitions or desires, and men use negotiation to get ahead and get what they want between two and nine times as often as women do† (Babcock and Laschever, 2010). In their research, Linda and Sara outlined salient statistical findings. Considering selected results from their findings, Linda and Sara disclosed that â€Å"women dont like to negotiate† (Babcock and Laschever, 2010). They argued that 2.5 times more women than men said they feel a great deal of apprehension about negotiating, men initiate negotiations about four times as often as women, and 20% of adult women (22 million people) say they never negotiate at all, even though they often recognize negotiation as appropriate and even necessary. They further argued that â€Å"women have lower expectations and lack knowledge of their worth† (Babcock and Laschever, 2010). They claimed women are often not aware of their market value, as they report salary expectations between 3% and 32% lower than those of men for the same jobs. They also claimed in their findings that men expect to earn 13% more than women during their first year of full-time work and 32% more at their career peaks. In providing an explanation to the causes emanating from why women dont ask, Linda and Sara attributes their work to the wealth of psychological research that explains the diverse ways in which boys and girls interact. They argued by the kinds of toys that are considered boys and girls, the diverse types of chores typically assigned to girls and boys, and the un similar types of games that adults guide them toward playing, they can â€Å"show what these chores and toys teach girls about their appropriate role in society and what the games they play teach them about compliance versus independence† (Babcock and Laschever, 2010). They also claimed from their research, â€Å"society has a strong expectation that women will abide by their assigned roles and reacts very negatively when they dont† (Babcock and Laschever, 2010). Linda and Sara further argued behaviors exhibited by men that portrays them as a straight shooter or a no-nonsense guy can lead a woman to be seen as t oo â€Å"pushy and aggressive† (Babcock and Laschever, 2010). The Power of Talk: Who Gets Heard and Why In this segment of this thought paper, a review of Deborah Tannens publication entitled The Power of Talk: Who Gets Heard and Why was made. In her publication, she outlined several points affecting gender behaviors and role in the corporate world. In her work, she mentioned her effort in researching the power of linguistic style on human conversation and relationships. In her quest, she claimed to have extended her research to the workplace where she discovered that our â€Å"ways of speaking learned in childhood affect judgments of competence and confidence, as well as who gets heard, who gets credit, and what gets done† (Tannen, 1995, p. 323). She categorized linguistic styles into two cardinal factors: language communicates ideas which she claimed we all are familiar with and language also negotiate relationships which she claimed is mostly invisible, but plays an important role in communication. From the ideology of language also negotiates communications, Tannen asserts that during the early stages of live when a child plays he/she learn certain rituals that enhances their communicating and negotiating skills. She differentiates by stating â€Å"girls tend to learn conversational rituals that focus on the rapport dimension of relationships whereas boys tend to learn rituals that focus on the status dimension† (Tannen, 1995, p. 325). She argues it is those tendencies that boys and girls learn from childhood plays and interactions that we bring into our adult and professional lives. She continued by giving examples of how men and women use languages and how the use of those languages affects the way we hear one another with different interpretations. She gives an example by stating men and women use different pronouns to personify themselves. She claimed men uses the pronoun â€Å"I† and women are inclined to drift towards the pronoun â€Å"we†. She furth er continued her conversational rituals by arguing women tend to downplay their certainty in situations, whereas men in similar situations will avow his lack of accountability in case of fault, or claim accomplishments in situation where there is success. Tannen also provided several arguments on women and self confidence. She argued that unlike men, women lack self-confidence. They tend to avoid face-losing, not making known their opposition, and avoids asking questions. Tannen further argued that women do not attempt to be heard. They fail to be direct in telling subordinates what is expected of them and fail to draw attention to their ideas and accomplishments. She asserted that women prefer not to ask for what they need and deserve, rather they wait for someone to notice their needs. In closing arguments on the variances between men and women linguistic styles, Tannen provides some solutions in closing the communication gap between the genders and levels of communications. Even though she acknowledges there is no one best way, Tannen however declared that instead of managers using one mode of communication (meetings), managers must be â€Å"aware of the workings and power of linguistic styles, to make sure that people with something valuable to contribute get heard† (Tannen, 1995, p. 336). North Country In week five of the first phase of this course (CNR 630) a dramatized video entitled â€Å"North Country was viewed. The film is an emotionally charged Hollywood drama performed by Charlize Theron in which she starred as Josey Aimes. Synopsis of the Movie The movie is about a single mother who separated from her abusive husband and moved back to her hometown of Minnesota. In her quest to sustain herself and two kids Josey ventured into acquiring a job at a local mine to the displeasure of her father and male coworkers. Josey came to realize her male coworkers did not appreciate their jobs being occupied by women, and the men would do anything to keep them away. Stereotypically, the men felt that mining was a mans job and the women rather stay at home to perform domestic work, but Josey contended all she needed was to make her own money, feed her kids, and work like everyone else. However, after suffering numerous harassments and humiliations Josey decides to form partnership with the other women at the mine to expose the indignities minted out against the women. In frustration from the lack of cooperation from her family and female coworkers due to fear of reprisal or possible termination, Josey sought to singlehandedly pursue a class action suit against the mining company which even subjected her to more humiliating moments, as her past life involving a rape incident was unearthed. Assessment of North Country After viewing the film â€Å"North Country†, it was compelling to develop a personal opinion of the movie. One thing that came to my mind is the fascinating way in which Hollywood stars sought to depict social ills within our society, most especially the purported sexual harassment case at Eveleth Mines. Irrespective of timeline or how people felt about sexual harassment back in the days and now, I ‘m of the opinion that the movie had several short comings, despite its attempts to dramatize a class action suite saturated with gender intricacies. In identifying some of the shortcomings of the movie, it is important to draw on the perception driven by the movie that all the men at the mine were villains, and the women were victims of heinous indignities committed by their male coworkers. The movie duration of 126 minutes cannot in anyway depict the full length of what actually transpired at the mine. Despite claims of the film being inspired by a true story, it is feasible to argue that the actual length of the movie (126 minutes) of manufactured dramatization was presumably characterized by exaggeration, omission of facts, or choosing of selected events for commercialization by the film producer and actors. The film leaves one to wonder if the true intent of Josey taking the mining company to task was to champion the cause of bridging the gender divide, making sure the indignities perpetrated against the women at the mine was ceased, or if her antipathies with the mine operations were intended to dish out financial reparation . Despite all of the intricacies and skepticisms surrounding the movie, it is worth noting the importance of being sensitive to those issues that tend to raise eyebrows along gender lines. In particular, sexual harassment has sprung out to be one of the serious workplace issues that have led to many organizations formulating and instituting policies to guide the conduct of people in the workplace. However, a mere presence of a sexual harassment policy does not mean that a workplace will automatically be free of all potential sexual violations. Hence, whatever an employers responsibility may be cannot close its eyes when confronted with incidents of sexual harassment, like depicted in the movie North Country. Employers have the obligation to determine the scope of the problem and take necessary steps to curtail or alleviate it. After providing a review and synopsis of the gender issues contributed by Coontz, Babcock and Laschever, Tannen, and Theron, it is compelling to conclude that whatever the circumstances, the issues outlined by the authors on gender roles, behaviors, perceptions, and indignities will continued to be thought provoking in the quest for gender equality, economic empowerment, and tolerance. References Babcock, L. Laschever, S. (2010). Women Dont Ask- Negotiation and the gender Divide-Interesting Statistics. Retrieved from online on February 23, 2010- http://www.womendontask.com/stats.html Babcock, L. Laschever, S. (2010). Women Dont Ask- Negotiation and the gender Divide- A Conversation with Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever. Retrieved from online on February 23, 2010- http://www.womendontask.com/questions.html Carlson, J., Englar, A. J. (2010). A Conversation with Stephanie Coontz. The Family Journal. Retrieved from the UNCG database on February 23, 2010- http://libproxy.uncg.edu:3243/cgi/reprint/7/1/77 Tannen, D. (1995). The Power of Talk: Who Gets Heard and Why. Individual Differences: Negotiation- Reading, Exercises, and Cases 323-336). Retrieved from the UNCG e-Reserve database on February 22, 2010- https://blackboard.uncg.edu/bbcswebdav/library/eReserves/CNR-630-01DCMB-Spring2010/The_power_of_talk_who_gets_heard_and_why.pdf

Crime And Punishment :: essays research papers

â€Å"Raskolnikov, Why’d you do it?†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The character Raskolnikov in the novel Crime and Punishment is among one of the most realistic and believable characters I have ever read about. He is also the most confusing and distraught man I have been introduced to this entire year. Raskolnikov possesses the most varying personality imaginable and this makes the reasoning behind his actions a mystery, especially in the case of the murder. Determining the rationale in killing the old pawnbroker is a complex process that necessitates deep thought from the reader. It is also a difficult point to argue because Dostoevsky’s novel is so intensely detailed that different readers can emphasize different aspects of the book in order to attempt to explain Raskolnikov’s deeds.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Guilt as well as intellectual reasoning prove to be the main motivating factors behind the crime of Raskolnikov. Throughout the novel his actions are usually a result of his striking intelligence or his tormenting conscience, or in the situation of the murder, both. Raskolnikov’s idea to kill the old pawnbroker stems from a theory he was developing. It was probable that during his studies at the university he was aquatinted with the popular philosophies of two German thinkers of the time.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of these philosophers is George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, who had formulated a conception of an exceptional individual he called a â€Å"superman†. Hegel’s superman exists for good purposes. He stands above and beyond the ordinary man and works for the good of all men. The most controversial part of this superman theory that Raskolnikov obviously adopts is the Machiavellian belief that the end justifies the mean. This means that anything that could have a beneficial outcome for many should be considered regardless of the sacrifice of the few. If the intent is noble the method will be justified. According to Hegel, any damaging part of a community should be removed, and one tiny crime will be wiped clean by the good deeds that occur because of it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another prevalent German theorist was Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche who had a differing opinion of the superman. His idea was that the superman does not live for benefit of society, but instead for his own personal satisfaction. Nobility never prompts any of his aims. Nietzsche was a devout atheist who believed that either no God exists or that He was dead, so his superman is a man who, without fear of God, exerts his own desires completely.

The Oort Cloud

The Oort Cloud The Oort cloud is a vast swarm of some 2 trillion comets orbiting our star in the most distant reaches of our solar system, extending from beyond the orbits of Neptune and Pluto out to 100,000 times the Earth-Sun distance. Almost one-third the distance to the nearest star. While the planets are confined to a flattened disk in the solar system, the Oort cloud forms a spherical shell centered on the Sun, which gradually flattens down to an extended disk in the inner region, called the Kuiper belt.Bright comets observed through telescopes or with the naked eye get thrown out of the Oort cloud or Kuiper belt, and become visible when they get close to enough so that the Sun's energy can transform the surface ices into gases. These gases drag off the embedded dust, and we see the light reflected from the dust as a tail. Comets are the leftover icy building blocks from the time of planet formation, which formed in the region of the outer planets. Essentially thesecomets are d irty snowballs, composed primarily of water ice, with some carbon monoxide and other ices, in addition to interstellar dust.When their orbits passed close enough to the giant planets to be affected, some were thrown toward the Sun and some were tossed outward toward the distant reaches of the solar system, the spherical swarm we now call the Oort cloud. Some of the comets sent inward hit the inner rocky planets, and probably contributed a significant amount of ocean water and organic material, the building blocks of life, to Earth. Comets that live in the Oort cloud are especially important scientifically because they have been kept in a perpetual deep freeze since the formation of our solar system 4. 6 billion years ago.This means that they preserve, nearly intact, a record of the chemical conditions during the first few million years of the solar system's history, and can be used to unravel our solar system's origins much like an archaeologist uses artifacts to decipher an ancient civilization. The Oort cloud is thought to occupy a vast space from somewhere between 2,000 and 5,000 AU (0. 03 and 0. 08 ly)[12] to as far as 50,000Â  AU (0. 79Â  ly)[3] from the Sun. Some estimates place the outer edge at between 100,000 and 200,000 AU (1. 58 and 3. 16 ly). [12] The region can be subdivided into a spherical outer Oort cloud of 20,000–50,000 AU (0. 2–0. 79 ly), and a doughnut-shaped inner Oort cloud of 2,000–20,000 AU (0. 03–0. 32 ly). The outer cloud is only weakly bound to the Sun and supplies the long-period (and possibly Halley-type) comets to inside the orbit of Neptune. [3] The inner Oort cloud is also known as the Hills cloud, named after J. G. Hills, who proposed its existence in 1981. [13] Models predict that the inner cloud should have tens or hundreds of times as many cometary nuclei as the outer halo;[13][14][15] it is seen as a possible source of new comets to resupply the relatively tenuous outer cloud as the latter's nu mbers are gradually depleted.The Hills cloud explains the continued existence of the Oort cloud after billions of year The outer Oort cloud is believed to contain several trillion individual objects larger than approximately 1Â  km (0. 62Â  mi)[3] (with many billions with absolute magnitudes brighter than 11—corresponding to approximately 20Â  km (12Â  mi) diameter), with neighboring objects typically tens of millions of kilometres apart. Its total mass is not known with certainty, but, assuming that Halley's comet is a suitable prototype for all comets within the outer Oort cloud, the estimated combined mass is 3? 025Â  kg (7? 1025Â  lb or roughly five times the mass of the Earth). Earlier it was thought to be more massive (up to 380 Earth masses), but improved knowledge of the size distribution of long-period comets has led to much lower estimates. The mass of the inner Oort Cloud is not currently known. If analyses of comets are representative of the whole, the vast majority of Oort-cloud objects consist of various ices such as water, methane, ethane, carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide.However, the discovery of the object 1996Â  PW, an asteroid in an orbit more typical of a long-period comet, suggests that the cloud may also contain rocky objects. Analysis of the carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios in both the Oort cloud and Jupiter-family comets shows little difference between the two, despite their vastly separate regions of origin. This suggests that both originated from the original protosolar cloud,a conclusion also supported by studies of granular size in Oort-cloud comets by the recent impact study of Jupiter-family comet.

Stereotypes: An Interview

The other day I had a discussion with my roommate about the social psychological idea of stereotyping. I found it interesting how much I felt like she was contradicting herself. But in my opinion, I do not find it surprising that she did, because I feel like most people at the point in our lives (college students) do try and not prejudge people, but do anyway. When I asked how guilty she felt she was about stereotyping people, she said it depends on what she s stereotyping, but she does not feel like she does it too much. She also said she does not feel like she belongs in a particular social group and she also feels like there are exceptions in some stereotypical groups. For example, if there were a group of black guys standing on the street, some people would automatically assume that they were up to no good. But my roommate feels like if she saw this group with one of the guys dressed nicely, she could point him out as one exception the one who would probably not be doing any harm. When I asked if she treats people differently right away because of how she has prejudged them, she answered that she does not treat them differently and that she tries not to prejudge at all. However, she does pick out a stereotypical group for a stranger before she meets them, a lot of times, and they do normally end up being what she expects. This proves the theory of the self- fulfilling prophecy to be correct. Whereas some people still tend to put some people they do know as well as strangers into stereotypical groups, my roommate does not. She said once she gets to know someone, on the acquaintance level, she does not stereotype them as much and does not really feel that they belong to a certain groups such as the preps or the jocks. And she also feels that getting to know the person does have an effect on how she feels because the more I get to know them, the less I stereotype them. When I asked if she thought any groups should have a higher self esteem because of what group they seem to be placed with (i. e. snobs or nerds ), she said no, as long as each person is doing everything they can do to keep their lives running well. On the topic of sex she feels that there are extreme stereotypes between men and women. I feel it has gone down over the years, but it definitely still exists; it could be improved; and women are degraded. She really believes there should be equality in every aspect of life between the sexes. However, she sees one stereotype about women that she can agree with is that women are a lot easier to talk to, and are more open-minded and liberal than men. On the topic of race, she feels as though all races judge and stereotype each other such as whites thinking all blacks are on welfare. She said in the case of race, she agrees with some of the stereotypes, but only because she feels that they are based on facts and evidence. Such as, a larger percentage of whites have jobs and less whites are on welfare than other races. But despite all this, she does not overall agree with stereotyping races. In conclusion, when I asked if she thinks the activity of stereotyping will ever end, she said, No, I don t believe stereotyping will ever entirely end. She also said that people should make an effort to see past all stereotypes, good or bad.

Critical Thinking Reflection Essays - Education, Thought, Cognition

Critical Thinking Reflection Essays - Education, Thought, Cognition Critical Thinking Reflection Briana Thomas DATE \@ "M/d/yyyy" 2/6/2017 HUM 115 Week 5 Have you ever just wondered if it would really be worth it to get a college education or to just settle for an everyday jo b and barely get by? I know there are plenty of factors that play a part in deciding to go to school for another four years but you have to make huge step in deciding. In all decisions you make there will be positives and negatives to getting a college degree to better your self. Obtaining your college degree is an important step, both personally and professionally. You have to consider the financial, social and cultural benefits of higher education; it is easy to see how a degree can make a big difference in your life and career. So once you began to weigh out all your options of why you would choose to obtain your college education; you have to start putting a plan together to execute it. You start applying for colleges, deciding on a major, and then you began studying your major. Finally, after you graduate you will begin to see the reasons behind going to get a college education. Having a step process in deciding to get a college education will make you understand why you made the decision in your best interest. The critical thinking process is about knowing how to ask the right question when applying for jobs after graduating college. You have to know how to ask companies what are their education requirements are and then determine if you meet those requirements with the amount of education you have. If you meet those requirements then apply for the job and then you will see that obtaining a college degree was worth the while. I can use my critical thinking in any area researching and in determining which career field to pick to major in as well . The more I know about any issue it will be much easier to understand and create an d decide on i t. With all that I have learned in this course will help me to be more analytical and always collab orate all of the information in the future to apply in my life and any situation that I may encounter . You can use critical thinking for just about anything; in fact it would be beneficial to use crit ical thinking for all problems or concerns, this way you view all possible ways to get a solution to problems I think the best way to continue to use critical thinking in the future is to never forget to ask plenty of questions and to inquire for answers. You can never go wrong with wanting to search and find any solutions to problems. This way you have more information to make the best decision possible.

Living With Cystic Fibrosis CF

Living With Cystic Fibrosis CF Free Online Research Papers Seventy thousand children and adults worldwide are affected by Cystic Fibrosis (CF). Thirty thousand of that seventy thousand that are affected are in the United States. â€Å"CF is a chronic, progressive, and frequently fatal genetic disease of the body’s mucus gland,† (Parker and Parker 11). CF affects the digestive and respiratory systems of children and young adults. According to studies done by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF), there are about thirty thousand Americans, three thousand Canadians, and twenty thousand Europeans with CF. CF is most common in whites whose ancestors came from northern Europe. Although it affects all races and ethnic groups it is a lot less common among African Americans, Native Americans, and Asian Americans. Every year about two thousand five hundred babies are born with CF in the United States. Cystic Fibrosis is a genetic disease. CF is a genetic disease because some individual’s basic building blocks of a gene are altered. This alteration is called a mutation which can cause the body to make defective protein or no protein at all. Children inherit this altered gene from one or both of their parents. For CF to be evident the child must have inherited two abnormal genes, one from each parent. About one in every twenty Americans is an unaffected carrier of an abnormal â€Å"CF gene.† That is about twelve million people who are usually unaware that they are carriers. â€Å"The recessive CF gene can occur in both boys and girls because it is located on non-sex-linked chromosomes called autonomic chromosomes. CF is therefore called an autonomic recessive genetic disease,† (Parker and Parker 14). The CF gene was first identified in 1989. In the past seventeen years a lot has been learned about this gene and its protein product. â€Å"The biochemical abnormality in CF results from a mutation in a gene that produces a protein responsible for the movement through the cell membranes of chloride ions. The protein is called cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator (CFTR),† (Parker and Parker 16). When this protein is abnormal, â€Å"two of the hallmarks of CF result blockage of the movement of chloride ions and water in the lung and other cells and secretion of abnormal mucus,† (Parker and Parker 16). This makes it difficult for the body to keep organs and lungs clean and healthy because the mucus becomes thick and dry. The mutation that is involved with CF causes the deletion of three of the base pairs in the gene. This in turn, causes a decline in the CFTR protein of amino acid. Because phenylalanine is located in the position 508 of the protein chain, this mutant protein is called deltaF508 CFTR. However, deltaF508 CFTR accounts for only seventy to eighty percent of all CF cases. Various other mutations, over four hundred at the last count seem to be responsible for the remaining CF cases (Parker and Parker 17). Differences in the disease patterns seen in individuals and families probably result from the combined effects of the particular mutation and various, but yet still unknown, factors in the CF patient and his or her environment. There are many different symptoms of CF ranging from a blocked small intestine at birth to rectal pro-lapse which is where part of the rectum protrudes from the anus. One of the most obvious symptoms is salty sweat or skin. One of the most common ways to test for CF is a test called a sweat test. This test measures the amount of salt in a persons sweat. Though this test is most common it is not accurate with newborns because they do not produce enough sweat. Other obvious symptoms include a cough that does not go away, breathing problems, easily worn out from exercise or even regular activities, coughing up mucus that may contain blood or not wanting to eat causing weight loss. Colleen Cronin states in her research found on WebMD. COM, â€Å"On average people who live with cystic fibrosis will live into their mid thirties.† Depending on the stage of the disease depends on the actual life expectancy. The advancements in treatments are making it possible for patients to live into their forties and longer. Patients may live a normal life expectancy if they have mild CF. There are three main groups of different types of treatments; there is respiratory therapy which as Cronin states is a therapy that â€Å"slows down lung damage and improves breathing. The focus of this therapy is on reducing infection and getting rid of mucus to keep the lungs healthy.† Cronin also refers to a digestive therapy which â€Å"works to replace certain digestive enzymes, which make sure the body absorbs all the vitamins and minerals it needs, and prevents or treats intestinal blockages.† The third main group of treatment is antibiotics. There are two different types of antibiotics that Cronin talks about in her research; the first group â€Å"may be prescribed to help prevent infections while others may be prescribed to help fight infections.† Other ongoing treatments may include regular visits with the team of doctors involved with the patient’s case or a combination of treatments from the three main groups. If conditions get worse the doctor may order a chest x-ray, or a ct scan. If the patient experiences complications then the doctor may decide surgery is the best way to go. If surgery is needed the doctor may decide on a chest tube to drain the lungs or the doctor may decide that lung transplantation is the best option. Some patients and their families may find it easier to attend support groups or counseling to help them get through their treatments. Two major foundations that support CF are Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) and Lungs for Life Foundation (LFL). LFL was established in 2000 in memory of Edward W. Wlodarski, who died in 1998. This foundation was established so they could provide short term financial assistance to help CF patients and families with emergencies, treatment assistance and special needs assistance. Their goal is to educate the public about CF and to raise funds for programs. CFF was founded in 1955. They are a non-profit donor supported organization. They are the leading organization in the United States. They currently have more then eighty chapters and offices nationwide and they support a network of more than one hundred fifteen accredited CF care centers. CFF hosts more than one thousand two hundred fund-raising events a year ranging from dinner dances to golf tournaments. The CFF is currently actively supporting at least twenty-five potential new treatments currently in development. One of CFF’s big donations every year is from what is considers CFF’s largest grass roots fund raiser, which is held in Bristol, Vermont. Between 1989 and 2005 they had donated more than five hundred ninety-eight thousand dollars. The organizers of this fund-raiser started this â€Å"three day stampede† in 1989 when their grand-daughter was born with CF the exact same day that the isolation of the defective gene was announced. The stampede is an amazing thing to be apart of. For three years now I have helped out in anyway possible. It is a three day event; there is a craft market, a lawn sale, a silent auction, a bake sale, dinner and dance, bingo, and a walk and roll a thon. Every year the biggest local country radio station does their Sunday morning flee market on site and donates their air time and money. At the stampede you can also see many of the children and teens who have CF from a five town area that go to the high school in Bristol. It is amazing to see what a community can to do to make a difference when there is some one they love affected by the disease. Cystic Fibrosis is not a disease we realize is so wide spread because the signs are not always obvious to the human eye. Just because it is not obvious to the human eye does not mean that it is any less serious. CF can be fatal and it cuts a persons life span down dramatically. Just think that there are about twenty thousand Americans who are carriers and do not even know it. Cystic Fibrosis is more serious than we know it. About LFL. Stephanie White. 2007

A history of American sexuality Essay Example for Free

A history of American sexuality Essay American (136) , Sexuality (5) company About StudyMoose Contact Careers Help Center Donate a Paper Legal Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy Complaints ? There is little to dispute the notion that rebellious movements only originate as a need, not as a result of human nature. It would indeed be appropriate to view the various cultures of resistance that have developed over the ages in light of this ideology; every era saw a different need and hence developed and shaped itself through their individual’s sexual meaning (D’emilio and Freedman 228). They embody a change in attitude of youngsters regarding suppressed sexual inclinations considered inappropriate by the general public or believed to be counterproductive. Stemming from as early as the 17th century, the progress of freedom of sexuality has mostly been a mosaic, finding roots in differences of race gender and class. However, recent times have allowed that progress to be catalogued in discernable text which can be reviewed to gain insight into the perception of sexuality as has been generally associated with the past; historians such as Jeffrey Weeks, D’emilio and Freedman provide some valuable control points to make those judgments. First era: 1600 to 1780 The institution of marriage, the historical perspective of which was recently been subjected to criticism, has been under scrutiny lately simply because historical data does not correspond with the stereotypes of a traditional marriage (Coontz 13). In simple words, people who believed that the sanctity of marriage centuries ago was protected because of love between partners have lately been disproven. From 1600 to 1780, marriage was vastly regarded as a tool designed squarely as a reproductive mechanism and for the promotion of labor sources, increasing the family ties and the creation of a new generation (D’emilio and Freedman 14). Since work was primarily agricultural back in those days, there was a need to increase labor within the family which was directly reflected in sexuality being confined to the institution of marriage, which in turn was designated for procreation (D’emilio and Freedman 16-17). Such was the kinship and family system. During this era, there was a distinct lack of the element of love and social stigma prohibited acts of premarital intercourse and even falling in love as a pretext for marriage. Amongst the general society though, there were mixed thoughts within Protestants and Native American Indians (D’emilio and Freedman 108). They formulated resistant sexualities to the norms. While the Protestants encouraged sexual pleasures within the marriage and allowed public, though limited, displays of affection, anything outside this institution was invalidated and scorned upon (D’emilio and Freedman 4). There are evidences of regulation in the many punishments awarded to those who breached these standardized concepts of sexualities, and acts of adultery, premarital intercourse, homosexuality, and fornication were considered crimes, commission of which not only resulted in penalties but drew contempt at the hands of the public at large. These were very evidently governed by legal implications, enforced not only by the church (D’emilio and Freedman 51) but also the state and society in unison. Such sexual criminals thus became outcast, leading to non-uniformity of sexualities. Amongst these, the prime suspects were Native American Indians, who allowed pre-marital intercourse and considered homosexuality acceptable. Moreover, marriage was not restricted to just one partner. Polygamy became just as common, suggesting that the sexual behavior was more a matter of the culture and social acceptance than human nature. As D’emilio and Freedman point out, the Chesapeake colonies where men outnumbered women due to the presence of a big number of migrants, men could choose to have sex with women simply to derive pleasure and not as instigation to marriage (D’emilio and Freedman 14-17). The political system in the middle of the 17th century harbored the use of slaves, and those created their own sexual regimes. The southern areas saw a rise in inter-racial sexual ordeals, giving presence to another distinct system of regulating sexualities. The forms of political control that dominated throughout the 17th century, namely the church, state and the local community began losing their footing by the middle of the 18th century to late 18th century. This was partly due to the rise in commercialization and trade, since community presence was losing ground to a larger form of individualism, which institutionalized marriage as an expression of romance. Thus, the original sexual meanings relating to family ties and procreation governed by the sexual politics of the church, state and the local community were being superseded by the culture of resistance that encouraged romance as the central focus of marriage (D’emilio and Freedman 95). Second era: 1870-1980 A new era of sexual preferences was emerging in the late 19th century. The prevailing mood was that of a heightened sense of pre-marital and within-marriage sexual intimacy, defined as â€Å"Victorian† (Peiss 206), with individuality as the central focus, allowing for sexual endeavors to extend beyond marriage and include previously scorned ideologies such as same sex sexualities. The aura was becoming increasingly liberal, as the presence of seemingly immoral exercises such as pornography, and brothel management undermined the societal values (Peiss 238). Attention was drawn towards them by a new breed of post 1880 conservatives. This movement concentrated squarely on declaring every form of seemingly impure sexuality such as adultery, commercialization of sex in terms of pornography, fornication and even eroticization within marriage as immoral and as plagues to society. Sexual meaning, while decidedly liberal in those days, employing extensive use of contraception and experimental living with partners, was met with sexual regulation tactics by the state, governed by the enforcement of legislations. The sexual politics included the passing of Anti-prostitution (D’emilio and Freedman 150, 209, 213) and anti-pornography laws facilitating the resistance that Protestants had also partnered in. This, while curbing public vulgarities to some extent, could not come in the way of the growing consumerism that the industrial wave brought with it. With concentration on individual choice, commercial sex grew, in sync with the empowerment of women both at the workplace and within the family, leading to even more equality amongst the sexes (Coontz 208). In the culture that ensued, the sexual meaning took a very liberal turn with empowerment of the individual being the centerpiece, thus enabling homosexual tendencies to thrive, along with the encouragement of romance and eroticism becoming increasingly desirable. The post 1920s was regarded as an era of sexual reform, post Victorian sexual era so to speak, a time when the concept of marriage was drifting from the originally conceived â€Å"traditional† meanings to those based on deriving sexual pleasures simultaneously with the need to reproduce. The sexual meaning, thus, in the context of D’emilio’s and Freedman’s philosophies (1997), combined those two to place emphasis on the fulfillment and satisfaction of one’s self with respect to the institution of marriage, rather than be forced to adhere to it in order to meet social demands of labor and reproduction. The freedom of choice was highlighted amongst the youth and non-heterosexual endeavors as well as pre-marital sexualities became gradually acceptable. The depiction of sex for commercial use picked up pace as well (D’emilio and Freedman 327), and liberalism both within marriage and outside it grew. The routine depiction of sexual images to the public became frequent, suggesting that sexual choice and independence was what the society wanted. It was in these times that strides were made for gender equality as well, as men slowly edged towards ceasing to become the dominant sexual partners and women began sharing high posts with men in the workplace. Third Era: Post 1980 to present day The major cultural resistance shift was next experienced in the 1970s, with the advent of the liberal homosexual regimes and the urge to pursue sexual freedom by the likes of Hugh Hefner, bringing to light demands to acknowledge premarital sexual endeavors as a right. This, of course, was contrary to the norm of the day, which was still largely heterosexual. More sexual politics brought Left-wing views to the forefront, arguing especially in favor of the gay liberation movement and feminism (D’emilio and Freedman 322-323). During the 70s and 80s, this phenomenon gripped the economically thriving youth of the day, affecting the counterculture in so much as shredding the traditional norms associated with marriage and family in favor of a single sexual life. The right-wings continued to advocate against the sexual deviancies of pre-marital intimacy, commercial utilities of sex, eroticism, etc and much of the debate in the 80s thus surrounded the use of contraceptives, illegitimacy, the spread of HIV and Herpes, rising divorce rates etc. This state of moral panic was superseded by the feminist culture of resistance, which in turn strengthened the position of women who placed emphasis on choice. Employing Margaret Sanger’s voice of reason (D’emilio and Freedman 243-244), the phenomena of birth control enabled women to pursue sexualities undisturbed, serving to ultimately enable gays and lesbians to exchange vows and raise children (Peiss 484). Conclusion To the present day, sexual meanings have been age dependant and cultures of resistance have shaped the way sexual regulations were governed by sexual politics. As stipulated by Weeks, D’emilio and Freedman, all three need to be considered in unison to understand the changing mechanisms of sexualities over a given period (D’emilio and Freedman 377), but it can easily be inferred that those cultures had a strong part to play in the liberation of sexualities and the deviation of the essence of the institution of marriage, from its traditional stance as a means of reproduction to one purely used to attain sexual fulfillment through love . Works Cited Coontz, Stephanie. Marriage, A history: How Love Conquered Marriage . Penguin Books, 2005. D’emilio, John and Estelle B. Freedman. Intimate Matters: A History of Sexuality in America, 2nd Edition. University of Chicago Press , 1997. Peiss, Kathy. Major Problems in the History of American Sexuality: Documents and Essays . Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002. A history of American sexuality. (2016, Aug 15).