William Faulkners Essay Example for Free

William Faulkners Essay William’s Faulkner’s â€Å"Barn Burning† will confirm the prevalence of moral order over any other order, so that where conflict exists between truth and blood, truth prevails. Although it could be invoked that blood is thicker than water , it is also counter argued that water is wider than blood . There is therefore no substitute for choosing what is right under all circumstances. Discussion of â€Å"Barn Burning† will illustrate in reality the truth of the proposition as it tries to persuade that there is in fact basis to believe and adhere to such proven universality of truth. One argument to support the thesis of this paper is the fact the moral duty occupies higher ground than duty to parents. Doing what is right may result to disobeying parents as long the person exercising the responsibility knows what is right. Such is the case in point in the Faulker’s Barn Burning which is a story of an adolescent boy named Sartoris Snopes (or Sarty as hereinafter called) who is made to appear in court, hoping he will not have to testify in the arson case against his father (Mr. Snopes). Sarty knew that his father Mr. Snopes was absolutely guilty of arson but whoever judge will handle the case now was not an easy thing for Sarty to handle and could still be considered by Sarty as his enemy since the very person to be convicted and was facing the risk of punishment is his very father. Must not Sarty as a son still have to maintain some loyalty given the relationship being by blood? Has that point of testifying against one’s father come Sarty? Has he has not yet separated himself from his father? What must he do? Answering these challenging questions require going deeper what really happened in the story. Before proceeding to some of details of the story, it is best to express for the meantime the argument for upholding the prevalence of moral duty over loyalty to one’s father. It may thus be argued that that fulfillment of moral duty would lead eventually to independence of a person. Independence is the price for making difficult choices for which Sarty is also subject in the story. After laying the arguments to support the thesis there is still need to define some terms as used in the thesis for purpose of clarity. What are the separate meanings of duty to parents, moral duty and independence? Duty to parents is the obligation to obey parents with due all due consideration and respect by reason of the natural relationship. Moral duty is the capacity to choose what is right over what is wrong under all circumstances. Independence as defined connotes freedom from coercion in making difficult choices and a declaration by a person’s individual responsibility for his or her decision. After the definitions, the arguments may now be supported with important parts of the story. Since the first argument is the fact the moral duty occupies higher ground than duty to parents, it may be asked: What is right thing that must be done by Sarty and that may result to disobeying his parents? The obvious answer is the decision to tell the court the truth in making his testimony but such testimony could pin down his father, whom he knows to be guilty. An independent observer may readily see the internal conflict of loyalty to parents and love of truth in the case of Sarty. Indeed it would be straightforward to say that Sarty whether he likes or must make a choice between right and wrong in the end. He cannot leave a decision hanging between the peace’ and â€Å"dignity represented by the de Spains with the meanness and unhappiness of the Snopes family. But one may have to understand that it is more than that. Basing on the story’s beginning, when Sarty was prepared to testify that his father was innocent of burning down that barn, he would have done it because it is his job is to stick to his father. One may however see that at the end of the story, Sarty cautioned Major de Spain (the owner) about his father’s intention to burn down the latter’s stunning plantation. Sarty did this though with his knowledge that this will bring his (Snope’s) family down once and for all, and that this could cause never be able to go home again. This is a difficult decision to make for a boy. How in the world could he made the right one? To do this, Sarty must realize that he was not his father, and the path he wanted to travel in the world was not the same as his father’s. In making a choice, perhaps there is need to go back what led his father to commit arson as subject of trial for which Sarty was being made to testify. The story would readily tell then the nature or predisposition of Sarty’ father to burn everything. Sarty Snope’s family are wandering farmers, hence there is basis in the story to say that they move around even more often than is normal because of his father’s practice (that has become a habit) of burning something down every time to express his anger. Perhaps with his personal evaluation, Sarty understood that there was something profoundly psychological wrong about his father, but it would seem that he disregarded his father’s danger. What a bad luck may the incident has meant for Sarty since upon their family’s arrival at the beautiful plantation of Major de Spain, Sarty had the feeling that the de Spains are safe but as event turned out in the story, Sarty did not know that his father could just as easily bring down a big plantation when his father gets angry. In support of the argument that fulfillment of moral duty would lead eventually to independence of a person, it may be stated that what is natural will come to pass. Moral duty which this paper defined as the capacity to choose what is right over what is wrong under all circumstances has its roots in the natural law and violating the same could have grave consequences like the feeling of guilty conscience. Fulfillment of the moral duty has its rewards too to the person as it could mean freedom from guilty conscience and freedom to make more moral decisions that could sustain long term happiness and independence. In may be asked: Must loyalty bow at the altar moral duty? When must loyalty come to an end? It may be observed that an important part of the story is about loyalty but there is an inner conflict in which the character of the story must face that is his ability to be loyal to his blood origin. And so in Faulkner’s â€Å"Barn Burning†, Sarty spent the majority of the story under a great emotional confusion. What could really cause a young man to tell his father: â€Å"Father please stop as what you are doing is wrong. † It was therefore the demand for loyalty to his father brought about by the relationship that has caused him mixed emotions as to what is the right or wrong in dealing with his father’s tendency to barn burnings. There is basis to notice Sarty’s father’s paranoid thinking and silent threats that may be giving Sarty the inner battle between what’s morally right and family loyalty. In the story, there is that ever-present pull that was causing his guilt feelings. Hence, in one instance he was seen defending his father’s actions and this happened shortly after he was angry with his father for putting the family in such terrible conditions. As in every suffering that must come to an end, he had to be under the true test of loyalty which came at the end of the story when it became clear that his father will be burning the landlord’s barn down after the incident a certain incident within his knowledge. Sarty was angry but the guilt never stopped. If viewed in psychology, it may observed that anger and guilt could really happen together at the same time for Sarty and one would ask: â€Å"Which emotion has the greater chance of being expressed or realized into actions? † First it must also be asked â€Å"What would have made Sarty to feel guilty to the situation? † It may argued that a short period of time did occur in story when Sarty is actually an partner in crime to his father’s actions which he may freely done although with hesitation by running to the to place he was ordered to go and getting the oil to be used by his father in setting the fire. Sarty did show loyalty to his father by obedience. Indeed, loyalty could be blind if it closes its eyes to the truth. Indeed blood is thicker than water but water is wider than blood as oceans contain all the water but blood stays only in living animals. Sarty, in his search for true identity, must now make a choice and he must choose fulfillment of moral duty over his duty to parents. Thus throughout Faulkner’s story Sarty was seeking his true identity. There was confusion caused by his father’s actions that had push him to question who he was. His feeling was temporary while his moral duty to tell the truth of his father’s actions was universal. Although it was his duty to be loyal to his blood and hate the men who were enemies of his father hates, there was a higher standard of which he must also respond. Thus in the storey it could be deciphered that after Sarty was struck by his father for almost telling the Justice of the Peace the truth about the fire and he was found expressing his confusion. He needed therefore to search for what was his true identity to find the solution to that confusion, What may have caused confusion was the fact that he was being struck by his father without any explanation. He was most of the time treated as young man. Sarty may be presumed not to have taught maturity by his father. His having to obey his father to get the oil to be used for burning was an imposition into his mind. It could only be Sarty’s own way of developing where he could assert himself that he ought to become a mature person in order to have courage to face the consequences of his decision. As Sarty was a young man he could have been experiencing and asking the inevitable question of identity and knowing but not knowing enough. His feeling of the pressure to be what his father wanted him to be, although in his heart he knew that his father was wrong was something that must be resolved. In weighing things, he tried to find justification about his father’s behavior in order to be what he thought he should be by telling himself that his father was once a soldier, who deserves respect and honor him and this attempt included trying to convince himself that his father was done with his criminal behaviors. But an instance happened where the landlord demanded twenty bushels of corn as payment for damages that his father had ruined and the book how Sarty thought about the matter: â€Å" Maybe this is the end of it. Maybe even that twenty bushels that seems hard to have to pay for just a rug will be a cheap price for him to stop forever and always from being what he used to be†¦maybe he won’t collect the twenty bushels † His nature as person may have afforded Sarty’ capacity to mature. Attaining maturity is a natural phenomenon in one’s life as one grows with age. For Sarty, it may be argued that he did in fact survive his childhood and was able to look back on it sensibly. From being a child he felt his father could not help but be what he was; but nature has its own way and by the time that adulthood came to Sarty, he was aware of the truth of his father’s criminal behavior and which Faulkner has written: â€Å"†¦the element of fire spoke to some deep mainspring of his father’s being, as the element of steel or of powder spoke to other men, as the one weapon for the preservation of integrity, else breath were not worth the breathing, and hence to be regarded with respect and used with discretion† . This knowledge of what is wrong is a natural feeling and the mind appreciates without really thinking is predispose to avoid a rule. Interviewing a friend about whether he exerts effort of knowing what is right, the response was: â€Å"It is one’s nature to avoid the wrong. † There is time for everything. Everything that has started must come to an end. The dilemma that Sarty was suffering must come to an end. Sarty has now to make a decision. He is to make a choice between what is right or wrong. The moment to decide to practice a Sarty’ maturity did came the night of the final barn burning when Sarty made the decision on a subliminal level to warn the landlord of his father’s actions. It was also at that same night that night his father got killed and Sarty realized that he was set free; it was therefore decision that he has done the right thing. His running to the flaming barn, he felt he was running through his childhood. With his screams, he suddenly became calm and clear headed to signal his freedom. It may be concluded the life may be a series of trade offs or great exchanges of what is important to individual person’s life. There are issue of values which may not be seen but felt and asserted by their universalities. Independence is one of this values and its pursuit requires a moral agent to do what is right under the circumstance. Independence has however a price to pay and may extend to individual’s love ones. Such was the story beautifully portrayed by â€Å"Burning Barn†. Works Cited: Faulkner, The Faulkner Reader: Selections from the Works of William Faulkner, Random House, 1954 Flexner and Flexner, ‘Wise Words and Wives Tales: The Origins, Meanings and Time-Honored Wisdom of Proverbs and Folk Sayings Olde and New, Avon Books, New York, 1993 Hoffman, W. Blood is Thicker Than Water, Alien Perspective 2002 Personal interview with a friend conducted on what one feel about a given wrong in making a choice.

Neonatal Respiratory Distress Syndrome: Causes and Effects

Neonatal Respiratory Distress Syndrome: Causes and Effects Shalyn Bauer Neonatal respiratory distress syndrome or (NRDS) occurs when a newborn babys lungs are not fully developed. This is often found in premature babies, however there is the occasional case where the baby is not premature. This disease is mainly caused by the lack of a substance called surfactant. Surfactant is a slippery substance made up of a mixture of lipids and proteins that is secreted into the fluid lining of the alveolar space by epithelial type II cells (ScienceDirect). This substance helps fill air in the lungs and keep the air sacs from collapsing. Surfactant usually starts to produce between week 24 through 28 and by week 34 there is enough produced for an infant to breathe normally. This is why a baby born prematurely may not have enough of this substance and have lung problems and difficulty breathing. Babies who are not premature but have NRDS can be caused by the mother having diabetes or poor lung development. Other risk factors include carrying twins or triplets or reduced blood flow during delivery. In a rare case, there may be a problem with a gene which can affect lung development. According to the article Neonatal respiratory distress syndrome, Its estimated half of all babies born before 28 weeks of pregnancy will develop NRDS. This has recently gone down due to the fact that a mother can be given a steroid during premature labor. If a premature delivery is expected, a mother can receive corticosteroids which speed up lung production and production of surfactant. NRDS displays symptoms that can be noticed right after being born. For example, a baby with this disease may have a bluish tint to their skin, flaring of nostrils or give off a grunting sound while breathing. In some cases a baby may not experience symptoms right after birth. It can take up to 24 hours before you can tell. Doctors how believe a child may have NRDS will order blood tests to measure the amount of oxygen in the blood and to rule out infections that could cause these symptoms. A doctor will also order a chest X-ray to look over the lungs. A pulse oximetry test, which is a sensor attached to the babys finger, ear or toe to measure how much oxygen is being absorbed into the blood. An infant who is diagnosed with NRDS will be admitted into a neonatal intensive care unit. They will provide the infant with warm moist oxygen and will be monitored closely to ensure the infant will not receive too much oxygen. An infant can be given artificial surfactant which is put in the airway to help restore normal lung function. An infant can also be put on a ventilator to provide extra breathing support. Without proper oxygen intake, a babys organs will not function properly. This is why treatment is crucial when a baby is first diagnosed. The treatment varies based on how severe the case may be. It is said that receiving consistent prenatal care and avoiding smoking, drugs and alcohol can help reduce the risk of premature delivery. There are some complications that come along with NRDS. This disease can be fatal in some cases. According to the article, Neonatal respiratory distress syndrome In more severe cases theres a risk of further problems. These can include scarring to the lungs, leading to longer-term breathing problems. Theres also a risk of brain damage, which may result in problems such as learning difficulties. Complications vary based on the severity of the case. Every baby is different and will experience different complications from the disease. NRDS is a scary diagnose for parents to hear, however the majority of cases can be successfully treated. Works Cited   Ã‚   Neonatal Respiratory Distress Syndrome. MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2017. Neonatal Respiratory Distress Syndrome. NHS Choices. NHS, n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2017. Medically Reviewed by Tyler Walker, MD on February 18, 2016 Written by Jaime Herndon. Neonatal Respiratory Distress Syndrome. Healthline. N.p., 18 Feb. 2016. Web. 30 Mar. 2017. Role of Pulmonary Surfactant Components in Surface Film Formation and Dynamics. Role of Pulmonary Surfactant Components in Surface Film Formation and Dynamics. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2017.

Influence of Age on Self-Description Changes

Influence of Age on Self-Description Changes Gemma L Sobah An investigation of self-descriptions in data collected from two children of different ages, and how their age influences the focal point of their self-descriptions using the findings of Rosenberg (1979) Abstract (166 words) This report investigates the self-descriptions of two children in using the findings of Morris Rosenberg (1979). Rosenberg proposed that young children typically describe themselves using physical conditions, and older children/adults tend to use character and relationship qualities. The two participants took part in an semi-structured interview and the interview transcripts were coded and analysed by dividing the answers into the four categories created by Rosenberg. These were physical, character, relationships or inner. The information and data from the two participants were then compared to Rosenbergs findings. The locus of self-knowledge was also investigated briefly, which Rosenberg stated changed from outside to inner relatedness, the older the child gets. From my findings, it appears my data does to some extent agree with the conclusions that Rosenberg came across as with age they do seem to make less physical descriptions, but there did seem to be a change from locus of self -knowledge from the parent to the individual, as the child got older. Introduction (289 words) The subject of identity and how we acknowledge our own has always be a matter of intense debate those in the field of child development. The many aspects of identity require that many outside aspects are considered when looking at the development of ones identity, like religious, social ethnic, cultural. for that reason, in order to develop an identity, young children should be able to consider such aspects. Maccoby (as cited in Ding and Miel 2005 p. 131) suggests that a sense of self occurs slowly and in small steps. William James (1892 as cited in Miel and Ding 2005 pp 131) thought that a sense of self is divided in two stages: the self as a subject of experience and the self as an thing of knowledge (Miel and Ding, 2005 pg. 131). So as children grow up they develop into people more capable at self-awareness and more practically involved in awareness and responses from other people in their lifes. James believed, this development takes place within childhoo d during interactions between cognitive aspects and social experiences as children actively use their received knowledge about themselves to change parts of their environment. The research for this study relates to the research above due to the age of the participants and the means of the interviews. The interviews are all based on who the child sees themselves as. The way they describe themselves will be the main focus of this study. Whether they dwell solely on their physical appearance or if they go through all the categories and if their responses differ between the two ages. Using Rosenbergs categories, we are hoping to get a clear understanding of whether Rosenbergs and others, work is relevant and can be applied generally. Method (414 words) The design of the study was a comparison of self descriptions elicited from two young people, during semi-structured interviews. The interviewers asked two schools in Milton Keynes, one primary and one secondary to take part in the study. A number of children agreed to take part and their parents were approached for consent and consent forms were signed. Kieron Sheehly interviewed the primary school children and Peter Barnes interviewed the older children. One of the participants was a 8 year old female in primary school and the other was a 16 year old female in secondary school. Both interviews were conducted during school hours within their schools. A tape recorder was used to record the interviews and paper and a pen was used for the children to write down their individual statements. A sound recorder and a producer were present during the interviews. Microphones were used during the interviews and these were placed out of the way as to not get in the way of the interview. All chi ldren were informed at the start of the interview what was going to happen and what was being asked of them. They were also informed who would be using the recording and or what purpose. The interviews were paused while the children wrote down their statements and started again when the interviewer wanted to ask them questions. As there was a potential for outside or background noise, when the background noises began to interfere with the interview, the recording was paused and started again when it became quiet enough to carry on. The two interviews were conducted by staff from the Milton Keynes Open university for the purpose of this study. These were watched and their transcripts were coded and analysed according to Rosenbergs method. Self descriptions of participants were categorised by Rosenberg , into four categories (a) physical; (b) character; (c) relationships d) Inner. The childrens statements were divided where a category could be acknowledged from a single statement (see Appendix 1 and 2) and if a statement could be split into more categories this was done. The percentages of each category were then calculated by way of adding up the column, dividing it by the total and this by 100. This was how each categories percentage was worked out for each child and then these results were then put into a table to show which categories had the highest or lowest percentages for each child. These were then compared and results were explained below. Results (275 words) The hypothesis in this research study was as the child got older there would be a gradual change from physical characteristics to inner and relationship characteristics whilst the locus of self-knowledge increasingly shifted from others to the self as child grew older. Self descriptions that came from I statements, were coded and placed into one of the four categories (see appendices 1). Table 1: Self-descriptions by the children. The Categories Percentage for Annie (8 years old) was : Physical -40% Character 40% Relationships -20% Inner 0% . The Categories Percentages for Kirsty (16 years old) was: Physical 20% Character 20% Relationships 20% Inner 40%. Table 1 (see appendices 5) shows us that the responses that Annie gave were quite equally divided across physical and characteristics, whilst Kirstys were evenly spread over all the categories with the highest percentage being on the inner section. . This appears to support the hypothesis as there was a steady change from physi cal descriptive to psychological descriptive the older the children get. Annies answers to the locus of self-knowledge questions were quite mixed. She showed outer locus of self-knowledge; her teacher knows best about her school work and performance and her mother seems to know best about her behaviour. Although this shows support to Rosenbergs theory and hypothesis it was only using 2 participants and because of this cannot be over generalised to the wider population, which in turn limits the use of the results. Also because Annie only completed five statements and Kirsty completed 10 this cold have impacted the percentage of the results due to kirsty having more data to input into the table. Discussion (682 words) In this research study, two children were chosen. One being at primary school and the other at secondary school, although they were both females, although a larger sample would have allowed for a better analysis of the conclusions in relation to the population. Although the results appeared to supported the Rosenbergs findings(Miel et al, 2010, pp. 21-22) no specific conclusion should be made from such a small sample. Piagets theory of cognitive development also shows this, which could suggest that at about the start of the teen years there is a change from the solid process of development into the final stage of official process .This appears to be the stage at which most adolescents start to create an individual identity and are then able to put into their own point of view and social information about what it means to become an adult and reflect with purpose, on their self consciousness. As the children were interviewed by adults, people they did not know, they may have given different answers to what they may have said to a friend who had asked them the same questions or had a adult that they knew. They could have given biased results due to the fact they were aware it was for a study and they knew the purpose of the study. So because of this the results cant be relied upon wholly to be accurate and true. Regardless of this the way a child describes themselves may be different depending on their level of education and upbringing. For example a child of no school education who cannot read and has limited education may not fully certain aspects of what it means to be them and therefore may give limited answers based on their knowledge and education. Also a child who has been abused or had a very negative start in life, may dwell on more emotional lead than physical lead statements due to them being hurt a lot and there state being very emotionally based. Further still, the way in which a child describes themselves may be purely on what appears to be important to them. Kirsty tended to focus on herself as not being able to change her dress size I am not a size 8 (see appendices 4) and not being able to change who she is in general. This focus may be mainly on how she feels she is perceived by others around her or how she views herself, not just due to her age but due to her current circumstances. From this study it shows that Rosenbergs first hypothesis about the locus of self-knowledge has on some accounts been shown as being correct, although the sample size was a lot smaller than Rosenbergs, also the age of the older participant being incompatible, with Rosenbergs research study. My assumption is to suggest that younger children do appear to describe themselves focusing mainly on their physical attributes and less on how they feel and their personality traits while adults concentrate mainly on their forming on relationships and the impact these have on their sense of self, although the change from physical external descriptions of the younger child to the personal and inner feelings of the older child or adult did not appear to prominent in these results. This study has pointed out the difficulty in trying to determine and discover the idea of sense of self and locus of self-knowledge, and can be used for an indicator to their inner feelings and thoughts of an person in th e process of their development. These descriptions are fluid and live within the communication and changes with others and over a period of time. The locus of self-knowledge also changes by age from child to adult self. Even though the original hypothesis has been somewhat proven to be in general in agreement with the findings of Rosenberg, there are a few practical issues connected in the research of existential and definite selves. More in-depth research involving a much bigger and mixed cultural sample with categorizing results from different researchers could help to prevent some of these issues. Conclusion (46 words) In conclusion, children grow and mature at different times. The progress of developing a sense of self relies on many factors (friendship groups, parents, peers, outer society, etc). Regardless is does appear to be clear that there is a development from physical towards psychological self descriptive. 1,872 words References: Miel, D., Ding, S (2005) Childrens Personal And Social Development: The Early Developmet of Identity,. Milton Keynes. The Open University Appendices 1 Category Analysis Form 1 Coded Responses Physical: describing physical appearance, age, and physical qualities like flexible, sporty etc Character: Likes and dislikes, hobbies and interests, personal qualities and basic personality traits eg, I like to relax, Im laid back etc Relationships: friends and family, social mentions, eg I like making friends Inner: Temperaments, moods and feelings. Eg Im a happy person, I can get stressed easily. etc Appendices 2 Category Analysis Form 2 Coded Responses Physical: describing physical appearance, age, and physical qualities like flexible, sporty etc Character: Likes and dislikes, hobbies and interests, personal qualities and basic personality traits eg, I like to relax, Im laid back etc Relationships: friends and family, social mentions, eg I like making friends Inner: Temperaments, moods and feelings. Understanding of self. Eg Im a happy person, I can get stressed easily. Etc Appendices 3 Annies Statements: 1. I like doing harry potter lego, Ive completed the night bus 2. I love rabbits, guinea pigs and dos 3. I think one of my hobbies is using the tv remote control 4. Im really good at maths and get stuck on telling the time 5. Im not very good at remembering Appendices 4 Kirstys statements: I cant change who I am I can only be my best Ive always been an individual I am not size 8 Im pretty plain I get on well with many people Im friendly and my friends are like family I work as hard as I can I may set my goals too high I can only be me and if some people dont like that, I cant apologise anymore Appendices 5 Table of Results 1

Analysis of The Lost Children of Wilder by Nina Bernstein Essay

Analysis of The Lost Children of Wilder by Nina Bernstein â€Å"The Lost Children of Wilder† is a book about how the foster care system failed to give children of color the facilities that would help them lead a somewhat normal and protected life. The story of Shirley Wilder is a sad one once you find out what kind of life she had to live when she was a young girl. Having no mother and rejected by her father she has become a troubled girl. Shirley Wilder was rejected from foster care because she was black. The system failed to place children of color into these homes because they weren’t white, Catholic, or Jewish. I cannot even believe that this went on years ago. Just because you are of a different race meant that you could not benefit from the system. This is absolutely ridiculous that children could not get the proper care and supervision that they needed. One example of race discrimination is of a girl from my town. She was not able to go to our local swim club because she was black. I know this has nothing to do with foster care but both of her parents died and she was adopted by a white family whom she babysat for. They wanted to take her to the swim club but she was rejected because she was black. She sued the club and was awarded $200,000. I think she was lucky to have gotten the money but nothing can undo what it feels like to be discriminated against. â€Å"Under New York’s Family Court Act, treatment was the legal justification for taking troubled children in...

The Birth of My Daughter :: Essays Papers

The Birth of My Daughter The moment to give birth to my daughter Anais came very quickly. My doctor, a young male wearing blue scrubs wheeled me to the delivery room with the assistance of a female nurse wearing green scrubs, and my husband, which was also wearing scrubs. The hospital delivery room felt very cold and very sterile. The walls were painted white with gray tile covering one half of the walls, and there was a smell of soap in the air. The delivery room was equipped with a gurney covered with white starchy linen, a large stainless steel lamp with a microscope sticking out of one side stood next to the gurney, a baby incubator that look like a large clear plastic rectangular box with two round holes on one side, and a table covered with very neatly placed stainless steel surgical instruments. In the delivery room, were four people, a male anesthesiologist and three female nurses wearing green scrubs, facemasks, and gloves. The anesthesiologist was seated next to the head of the gurney with an air tank and IV, in the event I had to undergo a cesarean due to having developed gestational diabetes during my pregnancy. One of the major problems a woman with gestational diabetes faces is a condition the baby may develop called "macrosomia." Macrosomia means "large body" and refers to a baby that is considerably larger than normal. All of the nutrients the fetus receives come directly from the mother's blood. If the mother’s blood has too much glucose (simple sugar), the pancreas of the fetus senses the high glucose levels and produces more insulin (a hormone regulating the glucose level in blood) in an attempt to use the glucose. The fetus converts the extra glucose to fat. Occasionally, the baby grows too large to be delivered through the vagina and a cesarean delivery becomes necessary. On the other side of the gurney stood one of the nurses checking the baby incubator, while the other two were standing next to the table with the surgical instruments. Immediately upon entering the delivery room, two of the nurses transferred me to the gurney in the delivery room, where the doctor checked me and said I had a ways to go but that I had already dilated to 7 centimeters (the amount the cervix has opened in preparation for childbirth).

Cultural Masculinity and Crime Essay

Masculinity is a fact that is conceptualized in Goliath in various ways and to a number of argumentative ends. On the other hand, there is a unique culture of masculinity which is identified as a connection between the ‘tough’ and ‘rough’ males and the law enforcers. Other connections include the nature of significance that is attached to homosocial bonding as well as the masculine camaraderie and familiar social concerns of the youth. This is a common masculine culture that maps well onto the cultural traits of hegemonic masculinity that is depicted elsewhere within the literature on crime and masculinity. Therefore, masculinity is to some extend, used in the description of a given culture together with a series of activities that are ideologically and empirically allied to men. The fact that men are vilely overrepresented in almost all major violent events is not unusual. This kind of prevalence of male’s takes place in the arrest, character report as well as victimization data. Therefore, lack of attention paid to what it is being male that causes sadistic behavior is not anything surprising. However, recent work has recommended that masculinity is a crucial construct when it comes to understanding both crime and violence. Toughness, coupled with eagerness to resort to vicious behavior to be in position to resolve some of the interpersonal disputes are central characteristics of mannish identity. Conviction that gender roles are constructed socially is highly approved in the social science context. Basing on this construction, it is important to note that not all men posses the same levels of masculine traits. Primary differences in gender roles are highly inclined to be crucial variables in the comprehension of violence (Vold, 2002). Consequently, any form of male-to-male violence examination without fully understanding and unfolding the influence as well as the meaning of masculine gender is incomplete. Moving towards the relationships that exist between crime and masculinities, various criminologists have highly centered on men and boys but fully ignored women and girls. The main reason behind this is that there exists a considerable realism that the male dominate crime. For these criminologists, women are most subjected to exhaustive as well as all- embarrassing criminological gaze. Specifics of men are disgraced. Each in his own way has generally contributed to what has become a traditional criminology. Therefore the investigator needs to inspect and examine women and not men, to be able to examine the high gender ratio in crime. Men have a implicit monopoly on the charge of syndicated corporate and opinionated crime. Criminologists have continuously advanced gender as the main analyst of criminal occurrences. Historically as well as contemporaneously, criminologists have related masculinity purely with men and boys. Criminology is therefore dualist; it concentrates mainly on gender differences in crime eschewing an assessment of gender similarities in crime (Messerschmidt, 1993). Pre-feminist criminology The earliest theories of criminology relied mainly on indispensable ‘sex roles’ frame work to be able to explain the relationship that exists between crime and masculinity. These sex roles were used to find out the various types and range of offenses committed by both male and female. Therefore for sex-role theorists, criminological theory is termed cryptically as biological differences that exist between men and women. Criminal behavior is learnt in the same manner as conforming behavior. Therefore various people may come to engage in criminal behavior due to the excess of definitions that are favorable to the violation of the law compared to the definitions which are unfavorable. Boys get involved in crime to a great extent compared to girls. Higher levels of criminal acts among the boys may possibly be explained through differences in care as well as supervision of the male and female. In as much as boys and girls exist within poverty-stricken neighborhoods, the nature of social setting does not explain the rate delinquency among the boys as well as girl delinquency which is always low. The main difference comes about because girls are supervised a little bit more carefully in their behavioral traits in accordance with the known social codes. This takes place with greater care and consistency compare to boys. They are taught to be nice while the boys are taught to be ‘real men’, meaning they have to force themselves through situations. Boys whose behavior closely related to girls were considered ‘sissy’. The issue of masculinity and the connections it has to criminal traits in male has been discovered in both the past as well as the present criminological contemplation discussions. An attempt to link the issue of masculinity with felony was brought about by (Sabo & Kupers, 2001) He alleged that masculinity was internalized mainly during adolescence. Boys engage in highly delinquent forms of behavior compared to girls. Boys are taught to be both ‘tough’ and ‘rough’. The common traits associated with masculine behavior like toughness and dominance that are termed essential in asserting a strong reputation in masculinity, are acquired through these contacts with older males. Sabo and Kupers view the family as a structural conformity that has biological demands, working well for the society when the role of women is emphasized mainly in the internal affairs of the family; a wife being the manager of the household and men providing income-earning function in the society Masculinity within patriarchal society is stereotypically referred to as independent, aggressive, dominant, competitive as well as unemotional. It represents characteristics which are direct opposition to femininity. Sex roles differentiate some of the behaviors that are appropriate for men and women. The characteristics of masculinity are closely related to both positive and powerful terms of social identity (Vold, 2002). When gender roles are over exaggerated and their terms barely defined, negative consequences can easily occur. For instance, certain behaviors tend to be viewed positively, like independence. Conversely, assistance from others is required to overcome some of the personal problems like drug and alcohol addiction or even financial hardships. Independence can get in the way of potential remedy and behaviors that are productive. In addition to that, aggressiveness and high level confrontation can be of great use in various circumstances; on the other hand, they can be counter productive when trying to promote compromise. Fascinatingly, criminologists have persistently identified gender as the key predictor of behaviors associated with crime whereby men and boys commit disproportionate amount of crime. Masculinity is developed through learning and imitation whereby organizations, peers, and society as well as parents tech and train patterns that are appropriate as far as behavior is concerned. Those kinds of support and peer networks maintain and encourage the existence of ideas about masculinity. In many situations, if men decline to adhere to the stringent guidelines that are masculine gendered, or publicly express attributes of feminine, they are usually considered weak and also vulnerable. There are existences of theories which try to argue out that using criminal male accomplishment in reference to status achieved by the toughness as well as courage which it takes to perpetrate the level of crime. This is likely to be there when the masculinity of an individual is questioned. There is lack of traditional outlets that can be used to prescribe the stereotypical masculinity. Various forms of violence incidences were highly likely to include men who are highly masculine who had few outlets to affirm their level of masculinity. Prison environments are usually designed to restrict substitute modes of adaption that is separate from hypermasculine responses to both the prison as well as other inmates (Messerschmidt, 1993). On a stronger note, prisons are meant to socially castrate males together with their ability to adhere to good definitions of masculinity allowing for multiple modes of responding to their ability for success and incarceration. Rational outlets of Masculinity Explanations as to whether the outlets for traditional masculinity are essential only in a sense of dichotomous sense are not common and whether the quality of every single outlet play a crucial role too is not also clear. Therefore the operationalizations of what are commonly known as masculine outlets, for that reason are poorly constructed. Though the idea of proper traditional outlets addresses the subject of perceived status, satisfaction on a personal level may play a crucial role in how an individual others view them. For example, being married during the time of an offense is likely not to be important like being married happily at the time of an offense. The condition of being married is bound to be crucial; the quality of the affair may play a similarly important role in masculine accomplishment. Incase success within a marital affiliation is a desirable position; men with similar position can uphold their desirable success. On the same note, knowing whether a man has children or not is likely to be different from knowing whether a man is living in the company of his children. Fathering a child is different from being the father of a child. Successful parenting is an enhanced traditional outlet than simply having a child. The quality of the relationship between a parent and a child is likely to bring about a sense of pride that in turn can form a positive outlet for the display of masculine nature. Any given position that can be envied by other males would be an affirmative arena for masculine behavior. One other problem concerning customary outlets is the use of just the traditional outlet to emphasize masculinity. Some other alternative outlets may play a fundamental role. The use of violence is seen as an alternative incase legitimate means for the display of masculinity are not available. What is not a there in most cases is, however, the discussion about other means of legitimate masculine display apart from violence. For example, the number of sexual associates of the past can be. The show of one’s manhood through various sexual encounters has been highly theorized as an essential feature of masculinity. As an extension of the idea, literature about anthropology show that a number of children that a man can father are likely to play a crucial role. More numbers of express the virility of the man (Popay & Jeanette, 1998). The past displays of violence are an additional area that is likely to be important in the acquisition of the knowledge about masculinity. Incase a man has proven his level of masculinity in the past several time; then he has the ability to draw from those experiences to affirm his masculinity in any given occasion. The existence of quite a number of less appropriate outlets for a man to be able to demonstrate his masculinity is an essential area to explore in future. The idea of traditional outlets needs to be reconceptualized then broken down into two separate categories. Tog start with, a category that has positive social outlets, for instance, successful parenting and job satisfaction would be the most appropriate ways of assign successful masculinity. Addition of less appropriate outlets like number of past sexual partners, children as well as successful violent encounters can tap into different way than the way a man can assert some level of masculinity without necessary involving violence within the existing condition. Due to the fact that the determination of masculinities and femininities can not be done biologically, it makes meaning to identify and also examine some of the possible masculinities by the females (femininities by both men and boys) and the nature of relationship that exist between them and crime. Masculinity is evoked by a way of clarification of the various activities of the male, especially the young and strong. The actions of both the police and the youths can be described as assertion of masculinity (Campbell, 1993). Masculinity is viewed as being ‘accomplished’ through engagement in rioting, violence as well as a variety of displays of machismo by the young men. It is Campbell’s argument which, upon being faced with the problem of the reconstruction of a male identity in circumstances of social immobility and expanded levels of adolescence in which importantly, traditionally empowered masculine qualities is absent. These young and lower working group men find other highly destructive forms of masculine expressions. The consequential mode of masculinity is in some ways, not dissimilar from that of sub-cultural accounts that are usually experienced. Within the face of justifiable opportunities that are ‘blocked’, a means of being victorious ‘as a man’ is usually associated with engagement with crime or delinquency. Men and women have got different experiences in life based on the present social and economical marginal communities (Burke, 2005). The interaction of race as well as class with gender puts in some different dynamics to the masculinity that is negotiated (Popay & Jeanette, 1998). Though doing gender is one way of looking at the accomplishment of masculinity, some of the imposed characteristics are likely to play a fundamental role in gender display. The examination of masculinity the way it is constructed for the male through political, cultural and class can lead to varied results compared tog the examinations of masculinity which are believed to be constructed by men (Burke, 2005). Factors which are not within the realm of masculinity need to be discussed when it comes to understanding the causes and effects of masculinity as a source of criminality. Situational variables are likely to essential where the issue of violence is concerned more than just the personal level traits of masculinity. Other than the types of masculine traits that are highly intrinsic to violent men, the forms of situational variables, for instance, location, time of the day as well as presence of others are highly likely to take place in a male-male situations of violent. Hegemonic Masculinity Males who try to exhibit higher levels of masculine traits and who posses fewer acceptable outlets to fully affirm masculinity are highly like to get involved in events that are violent. This confirms the notion that men who do not have masculine resources are more likely to resolve to criminal acts. To add on that, traditional situational variables like presence of third party, use of drugs and alcohol, physical location among other factors are likely to cause some level of impact to the outcome of the events that are usually associated with violence and crime. At the same time, the unfolding actions such as the use of character attacks as well as sequencing of various actions have to be highly considered (Messerschmidt, 1993). These contexts can easily strengthen or even change the brunt of masculinity on both violent as well as non violent events. Females are more liable to experience the strains, for instance the burden of family members and restrictions on their behavior. Female are highly restricted to the confidential sphere. This form of strain involves restraint of the available opportunities of criminality as well as the excessive social control. It is a little bit hard to participate in serious violent as well as property crime incase someone spends a little time in public and is burdened with the demands of the family. The chances of men being in public is higher compared to that of women, therefore they go through conflicts with others as swell as criminal victimization. Therefore they are more likely to be involved in violence. On this thread, the various forms of strain which are experienced by men and women lead to higher rates of crime done by the former (Collier, 1998). Male and female also differ basing on their response towards strain emotionally. Strain leads to certain forms of negative emotions for instance anger. In turn, this creates a considerable amount of pressure to take corrective action. Though they both respond to anger, male and female have different experiences in anger. Female anger is usually accompanied by high levels of emotions such as fear and depression. Male anger on the other hand, involves moral outrage. Women learn to blame themselves for negative treatments by others and are ready tog view their anger as inappropriate and some failure of self control. Conversely, men tend to b lame others for their negative conduct and view their fury as an assertion of their masculinity. As a result, men are more likely to commit property and violent crimes while women tend to resort tog self destructive forms of deviance like the use of drugs and eating disorders (Pease & Camilleri, 2001). Beyond Dualism A result of exclusive concentration of the differences in gender has been aimed at directing the theory in criminology away from factors that seriously complicate gender differences, for instance when the female engage in what has been traditionally and culturally been defined as â€Å"male crime†. Such forms of approaches lead tog a full as well as complete situational appreciative of what really gender and crime is. Abstracting gender from within its social context as well as the insensitivity to issues of agency like perspectives masquerade the possibility that gender patterns of crime may vary situationally. The dualism that exists between individuals as well as social and the split between psychology has remained focal to sociogenic criminology. But the problem with criminology, as pointed out by the feminists has not been due to the fact that a range of experiences have been unified, the result being ways in which both men and women are likely to exist within different relations to the notions of community. Criminology has failed in trying to engage with the ways upon which the subjects that are under scrutiny have been produced within discursive limits. In trying to conceptualize individual as well as historical form of subject positions, the approach exposes itself to analysis of the various ways in which criminal boys as well as men have themselves been produced through a set of apparatuses of social regulation together with management (Messerschmidt, 1993). The framing of debates around boys, schooling as well as urban disorder through making a reference of the catastrophe of masculinity transcends the specialty of crime and criminality. The masculine group in this context is can be referred to the outlaw, a figure produced by the cultural construction of the socially powerful. Literary, a sub-cultural criminology outlaws represents the joy riders, the urban trash scroungers and the gang members who engage in what they do with a destructive mind in operation. They are deemed to move within space of everyday as a fully absorbed body of experience. It involves a subject without a topic, a body of wrongful desires colliding with others along its teleological route (Burke, 2005). The sub-cultural theme lacks the common ethical part due to the conception of everyday as a series of the symptoms that are idiosyncratic; this form of criminality becomes rendered as a set of lifestyle of choice. (Arnot, & Cornelie, 1999). It is long been a truism that girls are fond of internalizing and boys tend to externalize their pain and despair. For that reason, boys are highly likely to be arrested for serious crimes of all sorts. The fact that a large number of boys and girls are brought up in dysfunctional families can act as a proof as to why the habit is rampant and provides with reasons as to why criminal ways and cultural constructs of masculinity contribute to the prevalent behavior. In many occasions, boys are locked up for exhibiting some sort of behaviors which are contrary to the expectations (Burke, 2005). In most cases, these behaviors take place in the inner city where effects of racism as well as poverty often cause young, poor and black males strike as a way of exhibiting compulsive masculinity to be in position to compensate for the feeling of shame, frustration. And in compulsive masculinity, the masculine values tend to be rigid prescription for toughness, thrill-seeking as well as a willingness to use violence to iron out interpersonal conflict. Nevertheless it is usually recommended with great dismay that the reform about feminism refers to turning men into women; making men ‘soft’, emasculating them so that they unable to battle or stand with fulfillment in the world. Solving the problem of violence as well as building the culture of certainty of peace needs change in masculinities. However, this does not mean that should become weak or incapable. On the other hand, violent usually takes place due to masculinities that are constructed to make violence an easy option or simply the only option to be considered. Building peace is a highly complex and arduous undertaking and it is worthy of heroic effort both from men and women. This understanding of competence essentiality to some masculinity can be connected to equality other than exclusiveness: democracy requires skilled practitioners. Education can not easily re-socialize both boys and men to the extent of pressing them into a non-violent mould but it can open up a varied diversity of pathways so that the boys and men have an ability to use broader scale of their capacities such as the nature of communication, emotions and politics. Education has the ability to show boys and men quite a number of ways of being a man. It can enable them to familiarize this kind of diversity. It can inculcate in them the capacities for actions that are non-violent and train them some of the techniques that involve peace because of the acquisition of the techniques of combat (Collier, 1998). Efforts in education in this line cannot produce considerable results in isolation. There is need for a strong support through action in some areas of life that are likely to make greater range of experience possible for men as well as non-violent conducts which are easier for them. This involves actions that are aimed at reducing gender hierarchies together with antagonisms within the spectrum of social life. To achieve this fit, they should be addressed in the recommendations from the meetings, media, work places, public arena and other spheres of life including both private and public institutions. An example of the need for change is the important social mission of peacekeeping. This is presently performed by the organizations like police as well as international peacekeeping forces that are overwhelmingly staffed by men who are perceived to have a profoundly masculinized cultural behavior and are highly liable tog acts of confrontation. In this case, there is need for organizational change both in culture as well as in the femininity division of labor. The effective and a long term strategy aimed at reducing adolescent male crime would need to confront the highly daunting challenges of trying as much as possible to change the patriarch gender order, together with oppressively hierarchical group structures and their attendant masculine social construction. Conclusion Masculinities and crime are terms of conceptual revolution within the social life and they reflect the various changes within our understanding of the real world as factors that that are present within our midst. Questions about femininity and masculinity should be given an upper hand due to the fact that they influence our lives directly. References Vold, G. B. , Bernard T. J. , & Snipes J. B. (2002). Theoretical Criminology. Georgia: Oxford University Press. Messerschmitt, J. W. (1993). Masculinities and Crime: Evaluation and Reconceptualization. New York: Rowman & Littlefield. Sabo, F. , & Kupers, T. A. (2001). Jail Masculinities. U. K. Temple University Press. Burke, R. H. , (2005). A preamble to Criminological Theory. New Jersey: Willan Publishing, 2 Collier, R. (1998). Masculinities: Acts of Crime and Criminology. New York: SAGE Publishers, Arnot, M. L. , & Cornelie, U. (1999). Gender & Crime in present Europe. London: Routledge Publishers. Popay, J. , & Jeanette, E (1998). Men, femininity Divisions and Wellbeing. U. K. : Routledge Publishers. Pease, B. , & Camilleri, P. J. (2001). Performing with Men within the Human Services. New Jersey: Allen & Unwin Press.

Slavery Today

Slavery in the 21st Century Sex trafficking is a modern-day form of slavery in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion. While this happens all over the world, it occurs much more frequently in the United States than one would think. Sex traffickers use a variety of methods to â€Å"condition† their victims including starvation, confinement, beatings, physical abuse, rape, gang rape, threats of violence to the victims and the victims’ families, and forced drug use. In modern day slavery, human beings are literally bought and sold as property on the market, for amounts ranging from $80 to $5,000. Like in the 1800s, victims might even be sold at auctions where they have been kidnapped or sold into slavery by their families or friends whom they believed they could trust. They have no control over their lives: where they live, what work they do, their sexuality, or their health. Escaping is nearly impossible as victims are often constantly drugged, and they fear being abused or even killed. This is very similar to slavery in the 1700s and 1800s. Right now there are many problems and issues being brought up about the United States, however sex trafficking has failed to be acknowledged by most as one of those issues. We should care more about sex trafficking since it is believed to be the 21st century’s version of slavery. In the 1800s slavery was abolished and ended with the Civil War, but now it has arisen once again in a different way. We should pay more attention to these issues in providing education on the topic by reporting on the statistics and effects of sex trafficking in the media. I don’t know if we can truly abolish slavery in every form, but we should try as history has shown the effects slavery has on the individual, as well as, society.