Texting vs. Drinking While Driving

Kameron Colley Maribeth Farr English 101 October 3, 2012 Texting While Driving vs. Drinking While Driving Texting and drinking while driving are very serious. Many negative things can be avoided by someone choosing to make the right decisions. While driving the person's undivided attention should be focused on the road and surroundings ahead. A person never knew what could happen while driving. Texting while driving are similar because they both have consequences, are a distraction, and can be fatal. The first way texting and drinking while driving are similar is because they both have consequences.If someone is texting while driving they are increasing not only the possibility of killing themselves but of killing someone else. If someone is caught texting and driving, the officer in charge is responsible for issuing them a ticket or fine. Also, points will be marked off against their driver's licenses. If someone is caught driving under the influence, the officer in charge is requir ed to arrest the driver. Once they are in custody a fine will be issued, alcohol classes are scheduled, and the person's drivers license will be suspended or revoked.The consequences can easily be avoided by choosing to make the right decisions. The consequences behind texting and drinking while driving should not be taken lightly. The second way texting and drinking while driving are similar is because they are both a distraction from driving. While texting and driving the person is paying more attention to their phone than the road. The average text message takes a person's eyes off the road for an average of five seconds. This means they are driving blindly, unaware of their surroundings increasing their chances of wrecking.Drinking while driving is a serious hazard not only to the person driving, but the people surrounding them. Drinking while driving is a distraction because the person is mentally unstable. This causes the person not to be capable of driving. The amount of brai n activity that is focused on driving is reduced because they are unable to focus on their surroundings. Choosing not to text or drink while driving increases your ability to concentrate on the road. The distraction behind texting and drinking while driving is something people should really consider before choosing to make a decision that could be dangerous.The final way texting and drinking while driving are similar is because they both can be fatal. When a person is texting and driving they are not completely focused on the road. This could cause them not to see the person, vehicle, or object in front of them. Drinking while driving can be fatal because the person is mentally unaware of the road or their surroundings. A person being mentally unstable increases their chances of wrecking. How would someone feel knowing that they could of prevented the accident. They could of kept from taking someone's life or their own by just following the law and making the right decisions.Fatalit y is something that can be easily prevented if people would only choose to not text and drink while driving. Texting and drinking while driving are similar because they both have consequences, are a distraction, and can be fatal. A person is not capable of concentrating on the road while texting and drinking while driving. Many wrecks, injuries, and fatalities are caused by texting and drinking while driving everyday. Only if people would choose to make the right decisions, the wrecks could easily be avoided.

A Rose for Emily: Themes

Miss Emily Grierson is a character that stands out in the minds of most Americans.   Almost all American Literature teachers and professors have assigned A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner to students for generations. The story of Miss Emily has enthralled readers to the point that most will never forget her or her story.They feel sorry for her because they see a woman so greatly by her society that she is driven to do appalling acts.   Faulkner captures his readers with three major themes of obsession, changes in the community, and the setting of the time period.Obsessions can be dangerous and in the story A Rose for Emily obsessions lead to death and destruction.   Her father and society have destroyed Miss Emily.   Her father is obsessed with preserving his daughter from the world.None of the young men were quite good enough for Miss Emily and such. We had long thought of them as a tableau; Miss Emily a slender figure in white in the background, her father a spraddled si lhouette in the foreground, his back to her and clutching a horsewhip, the two of them framed by the back-flung front door. (Faulkner)He was so fixated on keeping her to himself that he ruined the chances of her finding love and marriage, which is what society expected her to do to Society was also obsessed with the idea that all women should marry and become the property of her husband.So when she got to be thirty and was still single, we were not pleased exactly, but vindicated; even with insanity in the family she wouldn't have turned down all of her chances if they had really materialized. (Faulkner)Miss Emily had lost her chances and was beyond retrieving them by the time that her father died.   She was a woman without a man to take care of her, which was an obsession of society.The people of the town feel sorry for her because she has not married, yet when she starts to see Homer Baron, the Yankee day laborer who is passing through the town due to a job, they criticize Miss Emily because of the way that she conducts herself.   Because of their view of the obsession, she could do no right.Times change and there is nothing that anyone can do about it.   However, there are always those who get left behind when times do change.   Miss Emily is a perfect example of a person who is left by time.   She cannot understand that the names that were once so prominent are now just names in the history of the town.   The former mayor who had remitted her taxes because of her family name did not have the same values of the new generation.When the next generation, with its more modern ideas, became mayors and aldermen, this arrangement created some little dissatisfaction. On the first of the year they mailed her a tax notice. (Faulkner)The new generation wanted to confront her when a rancid smell developed at her home, but the older alderman opposed them, who were still dictated by the august names.   Had the newer generation been allowed to investigate, a murder might have been solved and justice served.The setting and time period was explored by Faulkner as one who lived in the culture.   The setting is Jefferson Mississippi, which is in the Deep South during the early part of the twentieth century.   The south is known for its chivalrous society.   These ways may seem romantic, but it can also lead to some being held back.Miss Emily was a perfect example. Her life was dictated to her by this society that was still reeling from the Civil War.   In the early twentieth century south when family names were important, laws were overlooked just because of who a person was.   Miss Emily was not expected to pay taxes, did not have to follow health codes when it came to the smell that developed at her home, and she was sold arsenic without signing for it just because of who she was.A middle or lower class person would not have gotten away with any of the things that Miss Emily did. Had it been someone rather than Miss Emily, Home r Barron would still be alive and if she had somehow still managed to murder him, she was have been caught and brought to justice.Miss Emily would not have been so condemned by her society when Homer left her, but since it made her feel that she was less of a person, she felt that she had to make him pay.   Even though southern society is not something that everyone can identify, A Rose for Emily makes the reader evaluate the society in which they live.

Wk 10 (61) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Wk 10 (61) - Essay Example This is an additional certification that an individual counselor can add to their state licensure requirement. Some people think that this is all they need to do for state certification but this is not the same as state licensure requirements although many may be similar. Counselors can elect to be certified by the NBCC and it can be added once they have state licensure. CACREP does not certify individual counselors but it does certify the programs that counseling students need to take when going through their training. CACREP is not required of every counseling program though many states have these programs. Both programs have specific standards and codes of ethics that their members must abide by in order to continue to be a part of their programs. The credentialing body for Florida is Board of Clinical Social Work Marriage and Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling. An individual can receive two credentials from this body: the Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) and Registered Mental Health Intern (RMHI). Both have handbooks that explain the requirements. The LMHC gives licensure in several categories: Certified Master Social Work, Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, Mental Health Counseling, Licensure by Endorsement for CSW/MFT/MHC, Dual Licensure as a Marriage and Family Therapist. For the purpose of this assignment, the concentration will be for the LMHC. 3. Two years of post masters supervision are required and the supervision must be by a licensed mental health counselor or equivalent (Rule 64B4-31.007, F.A.C.)who is qualified according to the board standards. All three courses are mandatory and must be provided by someone on the "approved" list that the board provides (Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage & Family Therapy & Mental Health Counseling

Understanding the dangers of identity theft and how a company or Essay

Understanding the dangers of identity theft and how a company or individual can be protected from it - Essay Example As advancement in technology made access to information easier, many unscrupulous people take advantage of their skills and steal sensitive information from companies and private persons online. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, a non-profit organization based in the United States (www.idtheftcenter.org), in 2010, there were about 662 cases if information security breaches reported in the United States but the actual number may be higher since not many people and organizations report breaches on their information security system. People whose identity have been assumed by another can suffer tremendous loses. Note that once somebody steals another person’s identity, he or she may be able to access the bank accounts and other personal information of the victim (Abagnale, 2007). As it is, there is a big possibility that the victim may lose money and assets on the process. Aside from taking money and other assets from their victims, some identity thieves use the ide ntity of their victims to commit crimes (Cullen, 2007). For instance, an identity theft can sue the identity of his or her victim in fraudulent online transactions so when the fraud is reported to the police, the police go after the identity theft victim. As it is, it is very important that individuals and organizations understand the kind of risks that they are in and do something to protect themselves from identity thieves. II. Ways and Means Employed by Identity Thieves to Gain Access to Important Information There are a number of ways to commit identity theft but the most common are social engineering, phishing and hacking attempts. Social engineering is committed by exploiting human psychology to gain entry to databases, computer systems and even buildings with sophisticated security system (Hadnagy, 2010). Note that instead of attacking the software or system used by a company or individual, the identity theft uses mind tricks to retrieve sensitive information for the people i nside the building and the people who are running the databank or the system (Hadnagy, 2010). To get the information that he or she needs to gain access into the building or the database, the identity does a lot of research and identify the key persons who he or she will retrieve the needed information (Wilhelm, 2010). For instance, if the identity theft wants to gain access to a database, he or she may pose as a computer technician or IT support person and trick an employee in the IT division to divulge passwords and codes to gain access into the system. Although the basic principles of trickery used in social engineering may sound simple, the execution of the act requires careful planning and psychological manipulation skills (Mitnick, 2003; Allsopp, 2009). When planning its strategies to defraud his or her victim, the identity needs to gather all the necessary information to trick the victim. To do this, he or she may access the personal information of the person targeted using e xisting social networks such as facebook, linked in and others (Mitnick, 2003; Wilhelm, 2010). Note that a good number of users of these online networking sites tend to give out personal information such as e-mail addresses and even telephone numbers online which may them relatively easy preys for identity thieves (Wilhelm, 2010). From the information gathered from these social networking sites, the identity may now be able to psychologically manipulate the victim into giving him or her sensitive information. In most cases, the deception happens online or through the phone so the identity theft and his or her victims do not actually come face to face (Allsopp, 2009). Aside from social engineering, phishing is also commonly used by identity thieves to steal information from their victims. To steal information from their victims, identity theft pretends to be a reliable online entity such as a bank, a well known courier, website and the like (Abagnale, 2007).

Intro legal writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Intro legal writing - Essay Example This had the effect of changing the entire society as people intermarried and adopted the ways of the Europeans. So instead of native tribal dynasties, a feudal system was established to facilitate payments where previous commercial transactions were conducted using only the barter system. The Normans were able to introduce certain legal concepts such as prison reforms for common criminals only in areas under their control. The Norman legal and political systems was at best patchy, uneven and confusing. Like most other areas of Northern Europe, the Irish legal system prevailed in the areas not controlled by the Normans. This Irish legal system was known as the Brehon Law (brehon means judge in the Irish language) and co-existed with the Normal system after the invasion, took a resurgence during the thirteenth century and went on until around the seventeenth century. Early Irish law during this period was a collection of statutes and these were not written down but in oral traditions governing everyday life. Laws were more inclined towards civil aspects rather than a criminal code to regulate inheritance, property and contracts in a hierarchical society but they also provided fines for the criminals. Early Irish traditional laws reflected pre-Christian practices and beliefs which were often in conflict with Canon Laws during the early Christian period. In other words, it was an odd mixture of secular laws existing in parallel with Christian influences with one odd feature which was the use of surety to compel compliance with a legal decision. It is generally agreed among historians that old Irish law was often inconsistent due to the mixing of old laws with the dictates of the Church as well as forced adaptation and innovation during that time into the legal system. However, there were two recognized schools of thought as far as Irish laws were concerned and these are the Bretha Nemed and the

Nick's character in The Great Gatsby Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Nick's character in The Great Gatsby - Essay Example   Nick Carroway, one of the main characters of the book, is the first person we meet; he is a man of about thirty from a well-to-do family living in the Midwest of the country, who studied in Yale and graduated in 1915. After he took part in the Great War, he came back to the Midwest and in a while moved to  New York City. The reader gets to know that in 1922 he settled in a house in a district, inhabited by wealthy families on Long Island Sound, so called "old aristocracy".   From the first pages he becomes our guide through the book. The author makes him a narrator, and as he is very fair in his judgments the narration turns to be rather realistic and objective. He is not an indifferent observer and is involved in the events; due to his good sense of humor he never bores the reader and makes the reader trust him, while we are not ready to trust other characters. Nick Carroway is a black sheep in his society.   Nick Carroway is honest to himself and toward others. His honesty, his faith and loyalty, his understanding that a person shouldn’t be too quick with his judgments are the features, which make him very special. Nick was the only one who didn’t mislead other people in order to attract them. Other characters of the novel would show others their shallow surface gloss to impress people while the first meetings.   For example, Gatsby’s only love, and Nick’s cousin Daisy was completely different around friends and acquaintances from when she was with her husband Tom Buchanans a football player at New Haven. She is quite sure of herself and a bit arrogant around company, while being always humiliated by Tom. Tom is rich and she is ready to stand his unworthy attitude his aggressive manners and even his betrayal (Tom cheated his wife starting from their honeymoon) for the sake of her position in society, which is the highest priority for her and for many other characters.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Nick is also the only unspoiled by money, non-materialistic character

Small and medium enterprises and the effectiveness of technology Essay

Small and medium enterprises and the effectiveness of technology business incubators in Saudi Arabia - Essay Example The combination of all these forces has set the pace for the progress in global economy and defined the way firms have to operate at the global level. What is also important to note that the combination of these forces has actually resulted into economic progress, equality, democratization, equality in income distribution as well as a renewed focus on knowledge growth? Technology specially has made knowledge based progress an important element of new era where only those can survive who have access to knowledge and who can basically innovate and generate new knowledge. The flourishing of technology has been made possible due to an enormous increase in the computing power coupled with the reduced communication costs which has allowed technology to actually flourish and dominate the current market place. (Phillips, 2002) It has been argued that the technology business incubators are the necessary equipments in order to achieve progress through technology led knowledge base enterprises. Different studies clearly outlines that the use of technology business incubators not only allow the firms to gain access to the technology but also improve their chances of survival thus making them stronger enough to better manage risk and uncertainty. Rice (1995) outlined that the basic purpose of business incubators is to help support the process of creation of new business ventures. This focus therefore categorically suggest that the role of business incubators is only limited to the providing of necessary support to the new ventures to become self sustaining and develop enough to manage risk effortlessly. (Rice, 1995) The basic nature of a business incubator is to provide the shared support, training,... According to the research findings business incubators are formed to provide support and resources to the new start up businesses in order to upgrade their ability to survive. Numerous studies have suggested that when new start up firms is passed through incubators, their chances for survival increase. Technology business incubators are focused on providing support for the technology oriented start up businesses to provide them necessary support. Studies have suggested the role of different stakeholders in formation, development and running of business incubators. Further, studies have also been mentioned which focused on different criteria which are used by business incubators to select the firms for support and development. Developing countries face different factors and environment under which they have to develop their technology business incubators. Developing countries like Saudi Arabia therefore will have to improve their human resource base as well as upgrade the resource lev el of its universities to make them equipped enough to provide support. Further, the need for appointing appropriate management to run incubators has also been discussed. This has been discussed with special reference to developing countries and how they can actually visualize different factors which may be considered as necessary to ensure that SMEs are duly supported by technology business incubators. The failure to properly integrate such factors into policy response may not result into desired results of social change and economic progress for developing countries.

Government's role in protecting the environment Essay

Government's role in protecting the environment - Essay Example Aviation gasoline (avgas), which is used to power aircraft have a high content of lead. This prompted the agency in 2008 to change concentration of lead emitted in the airports from 1.5 micrograms per cubic meter to 0.15 microgram per cubic meter. This is a regulation that EPA has been monitoring to make sure that airports are complying through FAA. FAA has also designed another program known as Voluntary Airport Low Emissions Program (VALE) that is supposed to make sure that all sources of airport ground emissions are reduced. The quality of the air is enhanced by this program as well as complying with Clean Air Act. VALE advocates for airport sponsors to use funds from Passenger Facility Charges (PFCs) and Airport Improvement Program (AIP), which can be used to finance electrifications of gate, purchasing vehicles with low emission and recharging and refueling stations. These are some of the relentless efforts that the government through agencies such as EPA and FAA use to make sure that the environment is

How does school affect the behavior of the children(6years-12years) Article

How does school affect the behavior of the children(6years-12years) - Article Example It has aptly been stated that school serves as one of the primary institutions of society, which plays dynamic role in the upbringing and socialization of the young individuals by providing them with an environment that offers systematic coaching and teaching under the professional teaching and administrative staff. In addition, the adolescents learn how to act, react and behave while entering into interaction with other members of society, from their educational institutions, by presenting themselves as the dutiful, conscientious and responsible individuals before other members of society. Moreover, it is school that provides the young students with the opportunities of obtaining education and skill under different situations of competition and co-operation with their class-mates and school-mates. Thus, the school teaches the young minds the mannerism, discipline and punctuality in such a way that they could turn out to be the effective, proficient and responsible members of society for the future years to come. Since school is the first place where the adolescents are granted the chances of obtaining socialization in a formal way, its significance even surpasses the institution of family to some extent due to the very reality that the children are brought up in an informal manner in family, where there are no such restrictions, regularities and punctualities in per the rules and regulations introduced and observed by schools. It is particularly the case with the children belonging to the age group from six to twelve years due to the very reality this age group is regarded to be the most fertile one in respect of learning new things and remembering the same for long time. Since the children’s minds are like a clean slate at this age, every new thing leaves indelible impact on the raw and fresh minds. Since these years are generally spent in attending

Development through life stages Essay Example for Free

Development through life stages Essay Discuss the nature-nurture debate in relation to the development of the individual (M1) Evaluate how nature and nurture may affect the physical, intellectual, emotional and social development of two stages of the development of the individual (D1). Nature can be loosely defined as genetic inheritance or the genetic makeup (the information encoded in your genes) which a person inherits from both parents at the time of conception and carries throughout life. Several things in an individual genetically inherits include; ranging from gender, eye colour, risks for certain diseases and exceptional talents to height. The concept of nature thus refers to biologically inherited tendencies and abilities that people have and which may get revealed later on as they grow up. Nurture can be defined as the different environmental factors to which a person is subjected from birth to death. There are many environmental factors. They include both physical environments and social environments. Some theorists believe that people behave as they do according to genetic predispositions or even because of ‘animal instincts.’ This is known as the ‘nature’ theory of human behaviour. Other theorists believe that people think and behave in certain ways because they are taught to do so. This is known as the ‘nurture’ theory of human behaviour. (www.yourenglishlessons.wordpress.com) Nature refers to the inherited (genetic) characteristics and tendencies that influence development. Some inherited characteristics appear in virtually everyone. All children have a set of universal human genes that, when coupled with a reasonable environment, permit them to develop as reasonably capable members of the human species. Inherited characteristics and tendencies are not always evident at birth. Many physical features emerge gradually through the process of maturation, the genetically guided changes that occur over the course of development. Environmental support, and responsive care from others, is necessary for maturation to take place. Children’s experiences in the environment affect all aspects of their being, for example the health of their bodies or the curiosity of their minds. Nurture affects children’s development in many ways. With good environmental support, children thrive. Unfortunately, the conditions of nurture are not always nurturing. For example, children who grow up in an abusive family must look outside the family for stable, affectionate care. It is known that your genetics determine what you will look like and even your height. However your height  and looks can be changed if a person doesn’t eat properly or are in an accident. People can become anorexic, obese, anaemic etc. And all of these can affect how a person looks and their height. If a child is malnourished then this can cause their growth to deteriorate and they may develop problems like rickets. By looking at adoption studies it is shown that identical twins share similar intelligence whether they are brought up together or not. With this data we can make an argument that genetics has a greater influence in the intelligence of identical twins as well as the environment. Your IQ which is determined by your genes can also be af fected by the environment around an individual. If a person has not got as good school opportunities as another person with the same determined IQ, if they perhaps cannot go to a good as school as them or if their teachers are not as good as the other then they’re IQ will not be as developed as the other person which means that nurture also plays a part in a person’s IQ. (www.boundless.com) However in recent years there has been a growing realization that the question of â€Å"how much† behaviour is due to heredity and â€Å"how much† to environment may itself be the wrong question. Take intelligence as an example. Like almost all types of human behaviour it is a complex, many-sided phenomenon which reveals itself (or not!) in a great variety of ways. The â€Å"how much† question assumes that the variables can all be expressed numerically and that the issue can be resolved in a quantitative manner. The reality is that nature and culture interact in a host of qualitatively different ways. (McLeod 2007) Nature vs. nurture could refer to really intelligent people. One reason given for their being so gifted at learning and acquiring information might be that its in their genes. They have really intelligent parents; a high IQ i.e. their genetic makeup has enabled them to be intelligent. And likewise, you might argue the opposite for very unintelligent pe ople. (Nature) Whereas some people might argue that its how that person is raised. The child’s parents gave him all kinds of means to learn with, or encouraged his education from an early age, etc. The ‘less intelligent’ child’s parents, on the other hand, kicked him outside all day, kept him from school, called him stupid, etc. (Nurture) In my opinion, both nature and nurture have an effect on the development of an individual. Having read both sides, I personally believe that indeed nature does have a significant impact on the holistic development of the  individual. In my opinion, our personalities are related to our genetics. I have a very similar temperament to my father, which supports my view. My sister on the other hand, has a temperament which is very similar to my mum’s. Also, I believe that our intelligence is genetically driven. Some people are naturally more intelligent than others and this cannot be disputed. Of course, nurture with regards to intelligence and personality is also important. If a child experiences a lack of support with their education, they may not perform to the best of their ability. With that being said however, the level of support that the child receives does not actually alter their natural ability. Also, an individual may suffer a negative experience in their upbringing. This may result in their development being ‘altered’ or ‘different.’ Peer pressure also exists and therefore we must consider all of these extra factors regarding the development of individuals. Researchers have uncovered convincing links between parenting styles and the effects these styles have on children. During the early 1960’s, psychologist Diana Baumrind conducted a study on more than 100 preschool-age children (Baumrid, D. (1967) child-care practices anteceding three patterns of preschool behaviour. Genetic psychology monographs, 75, 43-88). Using naturalistic observation, parental interviews and other research methods, she identified four important dimensions of parenting; disciplinary strategies, warmth and nurturance, communication styles and expectations of maturity and control. Based on these dimensions, Baumrind suggested that the majority of parents display one of three different parenting styles. Further research by Maccoby also suggested the addition of a fourth parenting style (Maccoby, E.E. (1992). The role of parents in the socialization of children: An historical overview. Developmental psychology, 28, 1006-1017) The four parenting styles are: Authoritarian parenting: in this style of parenting, children are expected to follow the strict rules established by the parents. Failure to follow such rules usually results in punishment. Authoritarian parents fail to explain the reasoning behind these rules. If asked to explain, the parent might simply reply, ‘because I said so.’ These parents have high demands, but are not responsive to their children. Authoritarian parenting styles generally  lead to children who are obedient and proficient, but they rank lower happiness, social competence and self-esteem. Authoritative parenting: like authoritarian parents, those with an authoritative parenting style establish rules and guidelines that their children are expected to follow. However, this parenting style is much more democratic. Authoritative parents are responsive to their children and willing to listen to questions. When children fail to meet the expectations, the parents are more nurturing and forgiving rather than punishing. Authoritative parenting styles tend to result in children who are happy, capable and successful (Maccoby, 1992.) Permissive parenting: permissive parents, sometimes referred to as indulgent parents, have very few demands to make of their children. These parents rarely discipline their children because they have relatively low expectations of maturity and self-control. According to Baumrind, permissive parents ‘’are more responsive than they are demanding. They are non-traditional and lenient, do not require mature behaviour, allow considerable self-regulation, and avoid confrontation’’ (1991). Permissive parents are generally nurturing and communicative with their children, often taking on the status of a friend more than that of a parent. Permissive parenting often results in children who rank low in happiness and self-regulation. These children are more likely to experience problems with authority and tend to perform poorly in school. Uninvolved parenting: An uninvolved parenting style is characterized by few demands, low responsiveness and little communication. While these parents fulfil the child’s basic needs, they are generally detached from their child’s life. In extreme cases, these parents may even reject or neglect the needs of their children. Uninvolved parenting styles rank lowest across all life domains. These children tend to lack self-control, have low self-esteem and are less competent than their peers. It is extremely important for a parent to demonstrate good parenting skills. How parents interact with their child affects their development in a significant way. How a child is brought up could affect the child’s social skills, they could turn out to be too shy, suffer anxiety, get nervous around people or even become mute depending on their situations at home. If a child is bought up in a home with violence, they could grow up thinking that it is the normal thing to do. Similarly, if a child is brought up in a very stable and loving household, this could  enable them to be happier and enjoy life more and this could also help bring out their personality and feelings. I believe that this suggests that a person’s personality does take an effect on how they deal with their environmental surroundings and the person that they will grow to become. Nurture can significantly impact an adult’s emotional and social development. If someone was treated badly as a child, this may reflect on their personality and behaviour as an adult. The individual may be withdrawn and depressed. This could be caused by the negative experiences they had in their childhood. Also, if an adult is obese it may be as a result of nurture. If a child is brought up being allowed to eat nothing but junk food, they will consider this type of eating as ‘normal’. As a result of this, nurture has a significant impact on the physical development of a child and indeed an adult, with regards to obesity. We could argue however, that obesity is genetic and that is where nature is to blame. In a study that included more than 5,000 identical and non-identical twin pairs, researchers found heredity to be a much bigger predictor of childhood obesity than lifestyle. They concluded that three-quarters of a childs risk for becoming overweight is due to genetic influences, while just under a quarter of risk can be attributed to environmen t. Either way, both nature and nurture can have an impact on the physical development of an individual. (www.webmd.co.uk) I believe that if a child has grown up in a ‘rough area’ then it will be more likely that they might get into trouble with the police, in school etc. This may be because they have seen older children or maybe even adults do something they shouldn’t and this influences them to do the same. Drink and drugs may influence antisocial behaviour. If antisocial behaviour is seen as normal you may end up repeating the cycle. However, it is the parent’s responsibility to make sure that their child is safe. Therefore, I believe that environmental factors can change how a child behaves depending for example on where they live and what kind of people they are exposed to. I personally do not believe there is a correct answer to this debate. There is no way to prove how much influence each has in forming who we are, so we have to rely on logic and researc h that has been conducted regarding the issue. But each side has different interpretations of what evidence is available. I do believe however, that both nature and nurture play a significant part in our personal development but I believe  that they are equally as important, there is no ‘better’ theory. I believe that you are born with certain genetic traits and predispositions which influence how you react to your environment. Your environment shapes the person you are because it presents you with choices, challenges, and opportunities. Your genetic traits provide you with strengths and weaknesses. It is how you utilize those strengths to overcome the challenges, and take advantage of the opportunities, and of course the choices that you make that ultimately make you who you are. How does nature/nurture affect the development of Miya at 5 years old? Nature has a significant impact on the physical, intellectual, emotional and social development of Miya. During this stage of childhood, Miya will be going through a p eriod of growth. Miya’s physical development will be determined by her genes and this cannot be controlled. Growth is pre-determined by nature and therefore, it cannot be changed or stopped. Nurture also has a significant impact on Miya’s holistic development during this stage of her life. Parenting has a huge impact on her intellectual, emotional and social development. If Miya is fed a lot of junk food by her parents, then nurture would be responsible for her becoming overweight. Unless Miya is genetically programmed to become overweight, this would be at the fault of her parents for allowing her to eat too many unhealthy foods, and not providing her with a balanced diet. Also, nurture will impact significantly on Miya’s intellectual development. If she is encouraged to complete her homework e.g. by doing reading or simple maths with her parents, Miya will benefit intellectually. Also, if Miya’s parents did not take the time to do these activities with Miya her intellectual development may negatively be affected by nurture. In terms of emotional and social developmen t, nurture is significantly important at this stage of Miya’s life. If Miya is shown love, she will feel emotionally secure and accepted by her parents. Miya will be able to trust her parents and will expect affection and love from others if she is used to getting that at home. On the other hand however, if Miya experiences abuse from her parents, this can have devastating consequences on her emotional and social development both at this stage in her life and in the future. If Miya experiences abuse, she may have problems trusting people and this could continue on to her adulthood. How does nature/nurture affect the development of Miya at 14 years old? Nature/ Nurture have a  significant impact on Miya’s physical, intellectual, emotional and social development during this stage of the lifespan. In terms of her physical development, Miya will be going through puberty during this stage of her life. Puberty is controlled by nature. Puberty is genetically programmed, Miya cannot change that puberty will happen as it is determined by nature; the individual cannot change that it will eventually occur. Nature also affects Miya’s intellectual development. Miya will have a specific IQ which will determine her natural intelligence. Of course, through nurture, Miya can make the most of her IQ e.g. by encouragement to study, parents providing resources etc. but, her IQ cannot actually be changed as it is determined by nature. Miya’s IQ will be developed by nature, but it will be supported through the nurture she receives in her life. For example, by her parents and teachers supporting her to achieve her best possible outcomes in school. Nurture will have a major impact on the emotional and social development of Miya. During this time, peer pressure and the influence of her friends will be huge. As a result of peer pressure, Miya may engage in activities that she otherwise may not have considered (drinking, drugs etc.) With regards to her development, this may have a negative impact as Miya will most likely not be truly happy with the decisions she makes. The internet and social media will also have a significant impact on the development of Miya both socially and emotionally. Facebook will be a very important part of Miya’s life as she will want to keep in contact with friends by using this social networking site. If Miya uses Facebook correctly, it could be a positive experience. However, sometimes Facebook can result in bullying which could negatively impact on her social and emotional development at this point in her life. Nurture can also have an impact on the type of friends Miya may have. If Miya’s parents are strict, they may choose who she is allowed to/ not allowed to be friends with. This will affect Miya’s emotional and social development. If Miya is not allowed to socialise with certain people, she may become upset with the decisions her parents have made for her. Miya may rebel against her parents if she feels she hasn’t got enough freedom. If her parents are too strict, she may withdraw from talking to them as she might feel they will ‘judge’ her. As a result of this, Miya may not discuss concerns/worries she has and this could have a very negative impact on her emotional development. On the other hand  however, if Miya’s parents set reasonable boundaries the relationship may be better. Miya may feel more comfortable talking to her parents if they are not too strict. Also, Miya may be happier socially too. If she is allowed to socialise with who she wants, she will not feel the need to rebel against the restrictions that her parents create. References: McLeod, S. A. (2007). Nature Nurture in Psychology. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/naturevsnurture.html (accessed 17/11/14) https://www.boundless.com/psychology/textbooks/boundless-psychology-textbook/intelligence-11/measuring-intelligence-62/genetic-and-environmental-impacts-on-intelligence-243-12778/) (accessed 19/11/14) http://yourenglishlessons.wordpress.com/2009/10/25/nature-vs-nurture-are-we-really-born-that-way/ (accessed 19/11/14) http://www.webmd.co.uk/children/news/20080211/nature-trumps-nurture-in-child-obesity (accessed 24/11/14)

Hiv Aids Situation In South Africa

Hiv Aids Situation In South Africa The HIV/AIDS epidemic has had a devastating effect on the South African population. The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is first transmitted through bodily fluid contact à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ usually through blood, semen, vaginal fluid, pre-ejaculate and/or breast milk (Centre for Disease Control and Prevention 1999). Ultimately, HIV advances to Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) where the condition markedly attacks the immune system by increasing the risk of a variety of infections caused by bacteria, parasites and viruses (Centre for Disease Control and Prevention 1999). Typically, the development of AIDS from HIV takes approximately five to eight years, but can be postponed with the aid of anti-retroviral drugs (Centre for Disease Control and Prevention 1999). It can be noted that the disease affects individuals at the prime of their lifetimes. Sexually active men and women, as well as young children are affected most by this illness because HIV is transmitted through events such as unsafe sex, contaminated needles and/or transmission from a mother to her newborn during birth (Centre for Disease Control and Prevention 1999). The concurrent nature of this disease makes it a greater threat to economic growth in South Africa à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ once one partner contracts it, the other partner does too. An individual is most susceptible to acquiring the disease from their sexual partner if that partner was infected less than a year prior. Clearly then, the disease is affecting the most economically active proportion of the South African population. It is estimated that 5.7 million people or about 12% of their population is affected by HIV/AIDS (United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS 2008). When examining the HIV prevalence rate for the labor force (ages 15-49), the rate increases to 18% (Figure 1) (United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS 2008) (United Nations Statistics Division 2009). The disease is far more prevalent among females between the ages of twenty- five and twenty-nine à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ at a prevalence rate of 32.7%; for males the age range is between thirty and thirty-nine and the prevalence is only about 25.8% (Figure 2) (United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS 2008). The impact of the epidemic can be seen most profoundly by the dramatic change in South Africaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s mortality rates. The overall number of annual deaths increased sharply from 1997, when about 316, 559 individuals died to about 607, 184 deaths in 2006 (Figure 3) (Statistics South Africa 2008). Obviously, the rise cannot necessarily be attributed solely to HIV/AIDS, but what is essential here is that young adults are shouldering the burden of this increased mortality rate (Figure 4). In 2006, 41% of deaths were associated with twenty-five to twenty-nine year olds; in 1997 this percentage was about 29% (Statistics South Africa 2008). This is a significant marker in concluding that AIDS is a major factor in the overall rising number of deaths. Clearly then, it is not uncommon for one or more parents to die when their children are young. The number of premature deaths has risen considerably: 39% in 1997 to 75% in 2009 (Harrison 2009). This indicates that 80% of the sample population would lose more than half their per capita income with the death of the highest income earner (Harrison 2009). Thus, the HIV/AIDS epidemic that started in South Africa in the 1980à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s has had a negative impact on the health status as well as the economic development of individuals and households. ECONOMY OF SOUTH AFRICA In South Africa it can be said that their income has increased simply by examining their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) over the last thirty years (Figure 5). As can be noted, GDP has steadily increased over the last twenty years (World Bank 2010). South Africa is a country that perhaps has the best operational and entrepreneurial environment in Africa à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ it is considered to also have one of the most politically stabile climates in the Sub-Saharan African region. Moreover, it has a very advanced financial system à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ the South African stock exchange ranks among the worldà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s top ten largest exchanges. 1948 marked the beginning of the Apartheid; the economy had been divided into two à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ a privileged white sector an impoverished black one. The policy was heavily criticized and many sanctions were placed against South Africa in the 1980s. It was at the end of this period, when GDP as well as HIV/AIDS began to rise. Examining trade specifically, it is noted that South Africa is the worldà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s largest producer and exporter of platinum and gold as well as of base metals and coal. It is the worldà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s fourth largest producer of diamonds. Agriculture only accounts for about 3.4% of GDP, whereas services account for roughly 65.1%. South Africaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s other main industries are mining, automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textiles, iron and steel, chemicals, and foodstuffs. Their exports account for roughly 30% of their GDP. South Africaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s major trading partners include the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, Italy, Belgium, China and Japan. South Africaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s integration into the global economy became very apparent in the 1990à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s, especially after the implementation of rapid tariff liberalization after 1995, the export orientation of industrial policy and fiscal restraint through its macro-economic policy, the Growth, Redistribution and Employment Strategy (GEAR) in 1996. What has become clear through my research is that integration of South Africa into the global economy has brought about economic stability for the nation but it has not translated into sustainable economic growth or a reduction in income disparities. High unemployment rates dominate which leaves those from disadvantaged households largely marginalized. Moreover, their volatile domestic currency has created much instability in the export market. This generalized story of the South African economy has been provided to show that the country has enjoyed increased wealth over the last 15 or so years, some of which can be attributed to globalization. Trade activity, specifically exports is only one component of this sort of globalization. NATURE OF CURRENT RESEARCH In the discourse of health, economic activity, specifically trade activity is rarely spoken to. Economists have not yet opened dialogue on this sort of topic à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ this is clear in the modest amount of literature available on the subject. Relationships have been estimated between economic activity and the incidence of HIV in Africa. A noteworthy association comes from Emily Oster à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ she suggests that a doubling of exports leads to a doubling of infections (Oster 2009). Using national trade openness as a proxy for traffic flows, evidence suggest that trade is a significant and positive predictor of HIV-infection (Clark and Vencatachellum 2003). It is estimated that 25% of epidemics spread via trade (Voigtlander and Voth 2009). This implies that the flow of people resulting from trade might increase the risk of infection. Further, much research has indicated that countries with higher road densities have had stronger relationships between exports and new infections (Oster 2009). This has been proposed to be the mechanism by which exports could affect HIV infections. The assumption here is that more exports means more production, therefore more trucking is necessary to relocate goods (Oster 2009). Fundamentally, it is the movement of people which is the underlying effect. Another major assumption that is made in some of the research is that migrant workers (ex. Truckers) have more sex than individuals in the general population (Anarfi 1993; Brewer, et al. 1998; Brockerhoff and Biddlecom 1999; Lurie, et al. 2003; Orubuloye, Caldwell and Caldwell 1993)and they have riskier sex than the average individual (Orubuloye, Caldwell and Caldwell 1993). The proximity to a road increases individual risk of HIV infection and the effect is sensitive to the use of the road (Djemai 2009). The increased mobility and greater number of opportunities to have sex induced by the presence of better road infrastructure has shown to increase AIDS (Djemai 2009). This negative effect of roads undermines the positive effects; contamination is not prevented even though individuals have better access to information and improved contact with condoms (Djemai 2009). Moreover, the mechanism driving the relationship between distance to a road and the risk of infection is shown to be the increase in demand for casual sexual partners which offsets the increase of condom use (Djemai 2009). Accordingly, the research shows that people choose to expose themselves to the risk of infection despite having better access to self-protective tools (Djemai 2009). Countries have been examined and have been grouped into categories according to knowledge dispersion. Kenya and Malawi, based on significant relationships between infection and road distance, suggest spatial inequalities in the access to information about HIV/AIDS (Djemai 2009). Cameroon and Ghana fit into the second category, where road proximity is not significant when the media are controlled for (Djemai 2009). Therefore, the media has an effect on knowledge transfer in some of the countries. Lastly, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe point towards success of dispersing knowledge about HIV/AIDS even to the most remote locations (Djemai 2009). Access to condoms is another topic of interest that has been given a great amount of coverage in the HIV/AIDS discourse. There are obvious spatial inequalities in the access to condoms across countries which are suggested to result from the supply of private and public medical services. Essentially, accessibility through roads increases the knowledge that medical services are available, but usage has not been shown to be statistically significant (Robinson, et al. 2006). It is apparent that access to condoms and to information about the importance of using them has facilitated their use, but once again the empirical evidence does not indicate anything statistically significant (Robinson, et al. 2006). Likewise, people are expressing their preferences towards the set of available preventative measures that are hurting their utility the least. This would therefore mean that individuals who are living closer to roads are using condoms more, but are also engaging in riskier sexual behavi ors (Kiriga, et al. 2002). Basically, the research implies that incentives to health are too low in the Sub-Saharan African countries that have been analyzed. The cost of changing behavior in Sub-Saharan African countries is too high. For individuals living in low-income countries with life expectancies of no more than 40 or 50 years, there is little incentive to invest in their health and thus their economies (Oster 2007). The United States is a prime example of how education campaigns did work in the mid 1980s, but that is also because the cost of premature death was high (Oster 2007). Lastly, Oster made a case for Uganda and concluded that thirty to sixty percent of the decrease in their HIV prevalence rate in the 1990s could be attributed to a decrease in export activity (Oster 2009). Oster claims that the reduction could be a result of a decrese in coffee prices during that time (Oster 2009). They are the only country in Sub-Saharan Africa to have seen such a decline in their HIV-infection rates. I think this could be a direct result of a decrease in the labor force during that time period which decreased the number of individuals present in sexual networks, thus reducing HIV-transmission. Another proposition could be that there was an eventual impact on the labor force, whereby there were less people because of increased mortality or morbidity, reducing the number of individuals in the sexual network. Regardless, the literature surrounding this area is very much in its infancy. This kind of dialogueà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½examining HIV/AIDS from a perspective that questions the integrity of economic activity is still fresh in the public health arena. CASE STUDY: SOUTH AFRICA Throughout all the literature, I was hard-pressed to find information on the relationship between South African trade activity and their HIV-infection rates. Therefore, to highlight once again, the purpose of this paper was to examine the variety of factors that contribute to high HIV/AIDS prevalence rates with a direct application to the situation in South Africa. To summarize, South Africa has one of the highest prevalence rates as well as one of the highest GDP values within Sub-Saharan Africa (Figure 6). Thus, examining it with a closer look at the structural issues systemic within the nation was interesting. Little research focused on South Africa for some peculiar reason, uncovering the issue with South Africa seemed very fascinating. To set groundwork for this discussion, it must be noted that the export market in South Africa predominantly is labored by low to medium skilled workers (Outtek 2000). These markets are primarily capital-intensive rather than labor-intensive (Abt Associates Inc. 2000). Due to that fact, capital-intensive markets generally employ low-skilled workers who, although are accumulating wealth, have low levels of education. Projections from companies confirm that the highest HIV infection levels are concentrated among low-skilled workers (Abt Associates Inc. 2000). Therefore, an individualsà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ level of education is a determinant of the type of work they do, thus contributing to their likelihood of being infected. In a study that modeled each sector confirmed what they referred to as a sector gradient à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ that prevalence rates varied by each sector of the economy (Figure 7) (Vass 2005). It was found that there were higher prevalence ratios in South Africa in the mining, tran sport, construction, government, accommodation and catering sectors (Vass 2005). The financial, insurance, business and communication sectors had the lowest aggregate HIV prevalence ratios (Vass 2005). The sector gradient visible in South Africa is reflective of a variety of high risk factors which are: age, gender, population group, skill level, and length of employment. There is a concentration of Blacks and women in low-skilled work; Whites are more heavily occupied in the high skilled occupations (Vass 2003). These conclusions are similar to projections of infection population groups (United Nations Statistics Division 2009). All of the studies that have been conducted in South Africa on the labor force and HIV-prevalence have assume that there is a constant risk associated with HIV-transmission; that each individual in each skill level has the same chance of getting infected with HIV. This coincides with the income and survival effect discussed below. We have established that increased exports are therefore enabling transmission of this disease because of the population group that is employed by the sector. Although, this conclusion cannot be quantitatively analyzed through empirical evidence due to limitations in data, the argument is still valid. Through figure 8 it can be seen that as exports have increased over the past fifteen years, so has HIV-prevalence. It is apparent through the data that HIV prevalence seems to plateau, however as per figure 9, it can be seen that the adult prevalence rates are still continuing to rise. The focus of this paper is primarily on the labor force (ages 15-49) or the adults, but what should be analyzed is that prevalence is decreasing for children and youth. This is consistent with public health officialsà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ view to this disease à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ they are focused on education and prevention campaigns for youth and children because they have been proven to be most effective if information has been accessed before sexual debut (Frolich and Vazquez-Alvarez 2009). Due to the fact that low-skilled workers who are occupied by the capital-intensive sectors, which contribute to the exports of the South Africa, have lower levels of education à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ this must be an important aspect to consider in this discussion. However, because it is not the focus of this paper, I will only comment on the negative correlation that is found to be statistically significant for education level and HIV-prevalence (Walque 2009). It has been noted that income and education are positively correlated. So why in South Africa are the wealthiest the most affected, but the most educated not? Pursuing the topic at hand, we are discussing low-skilled workers who have very little education but who do have income that is relatively better than some of their educated counterparts. Thus we must discuss the relationship between wealth and this disease. Empirical evidence suggests that wealthier individuals are more likely to be infected with HIV as well as to engage in riskier sexual behaviors than their poorer counterparts (Walque 2009). Traditionally it is thought that income and health are positively correlated, however in the case of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa, things are going in the opposite direction. People are adopting risky behaviors that reduce their human capital potential as their income increases. Taking into account the fraction of the population that is expected to engage in unsafe sex, individuals must decide whether their first sexual encounter should involve the use of a condom or not. Those who do not use a condom may contract HIV and not survive to experience a second encounter. Assuming that there is disutility in from using a condom to begin with (Agha, et al. 2002), it can be said that some individuals willingly trade-off future utility for the current utility gained from unsafe sex. I think a major reason why so many members of the population engage in unsafe sex in Africa is what I would refer to as an income effect. Individuals are more likely to engage in unsafe sex if their income depends not only on their own potential for human capital but also on the aggregate level of human capital present in the economy (Kiriga, et al. 2002). An individual may be more likely to engage in unsafe sex if they know that a large fraction of the population will also engage in unsafe sex. Thus, the negative macroeconomic effects of HIV/AIDS stem from this sort of effect: a large share of the population participates in unsafe sex, which leads to a lower level of aggregate human capital and hence lower income and consumption (Kiriga, et al. 2002). All of this directly leads to greater levels of induced poverty. Additionally, a term stemming from evolutionary biology à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ a survival effect can be noted when individuals are aware that many people are having unsafe sex and they choose to have safe sex based on this premise. Individuals in this situation would be concerned with protecting themselves from contracting the disease. I would assume to see the survival effect in a part of the population that has greater potential for human capital (higher income capacity). However, this is not what we are observing in South Africa currently, therefore it is safe to believe that South Africa depicts an income effect. Part of the reason for this sort of pattern must be that household wealth correlates with urban residence, more explicitly as closer proximity to roads; HIV-infection is higher in urban areas as a result of the road density (Djemai 2009). Also, HIV prevalence is a function of survival, the wealthier people with HIV are more likely to afford the appropriate medication, thus living longer. Perhaps, wealth enables individuals to pursue multiple sexual partners. Wealth is often associated with mobility, time and resources to maintain concurrent relationships (Gillespie and Greener 2006)à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ those that are characterized as an individual having a primary relationship as well as a secondary relationship, with the individual their having that secondary relationship with also having primary and secondary relationships. This causes an individual to knowingly or unknowingly have a large sexual network thus increasing the risk of HIV-infection. The economic factor in these relationships is obvious: wealth and social interaction are linked. Further, wealth increases the number of opportunities to engage in numerous sexual partnerships (Shelton, Cassell and Adetunji 2005). Furthermore, in South Africa, there is a stronger positive relationship for wealth and HIV status for women. Maybe, women exhibit this quality because wealth is contributing to their mobility and social status or it might be that women are improving their economic status by having more than one concurrent relationship. In any case, it appears that wealth appears to play a disadvantageous role in HIV transmission. The hypothesis here is that the combined effect of people being less worried about having the disease because they know they can afford treatment and having more individuals with the infection in the community is outweighing the disease itself. As these individuals are better able to manage the disease, the cost of acquiring it is very low. It can then be concluded that South Africa does show an increase in HIV/AIDS prevalence as a result of increased trade, but only because the individuals employed in the sector are low-skilled workers who have been pushed segregated into this category. CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE IMPLICATIONS The future of the labor force infected with the disease looks quite bleak. Macro-economic modeling indicates that the labor force growth rate will decline which will result in a smaller labor force in the coming years. This will impede economic growth most definitely. ING Barings predicts an 18% decline in the labor force by 2015 (Orubuloye, Caldwell and Caldwell 1993)and Abt Associates Inc predicts a 21% decline when compared to a situation where no AIDS was present (Abt Associates Inc. 2000). The impact that this could have on productivity as well as South Africaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s exports is profound. Considering a large proportion of the sectors that contribute to export activity are experiencing high levels of HIV prevalence, it can be assumed that attrition is high in the labor force. The increased morbidity and mortality creates absenteeism which hinders not only productivity but also creates a further decline in skill-level and experience. An underlying issue is that the incentive to life to longer has not been addressed in South Africa. It is clear that poorer countries have a lower life expectancy even in the absence of HIV/AIDS (Voigtlander and Voth 2009). Many researchers have pointed out that a higher life expectancy increases the likelihood of surviving if individuals engage in safe sex, but it does not affect the likelihood of surviving if an individual engages in unsafe sex (Voigtlander and Voth 2009). Thus, unsafe sex has as higher opportunity cost. As a result, if the overall population is experiencing a greater life expectancy, more individuals will choose safe sex. Therefore, the issue here is how should low and middle-income countries increase aggregate life expectancy? The answer to this sort of debate is well beyond the scope of this paper, but can be addressed using basic public health and community development interventions. Also, what I think might be a solution to this issue is if the South African government introduced implementation of a free antiretroviral drug plan. This would ensure that HIV prevalence decreases. The argument here is that individuals who are wealthier are able to afford medical treatment à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ they are clearly living longer than their poor counterparts. Thus, they are able to live longer and contribute to the labor force and economic productivity. Even though they are not participating in safe sex, at least they are living for greater periods of human capital aggregation, which increases expected income and lifetime utility from safe sex. The free antiretroviral drug plan would enable all members of the population, rich or poor to exhibit these characteristics. Thus, if lifetime utility is increasing, the opportunity cost to unsafe sex will increase. In conclusion, the low skill and education levels within the sectors that are participating in the export activity of South Africa is contributing to the disease à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ that is the direct association behind why links can be made between exports and HIV-infection. Thus my research hypothesis does stand à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ increase in exports has lead to an increase in wealth which has contributed to the spreading of HIV/AIDS. Therefore, policy discussions should be focused on the individuals who fall within this category. Addressing prevention programs geared towards the individuals are obviously in the labor force and who are in the low-skilled category seem to be of utmost importance. Figure 1 HIV Prevalence 1990-2008 Figure 3 Number of Deaths in South Africa 1997-2007 Figure 4 Number of Deaths by Age Group, 2008 Figure 5 GDP in $US 1980-2010 Noureen Noorani, 0550061 4A03 Final Paper

Essay --

The importance of cultural context within any type of text is essential in order to elucidate a distinct argument. In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, a novella starring the experiences of an ivory trader in Central Africa named Charles Marlow, various themes of racism and human cruelty are discussed in relation to its contextual features. The film â€Å"Apocalypse Now† by Francis Ford Coppola adapts this idea of implementing a correlation between its central ideas to a specific cultural context as well. The central research question this extended essay focuses on is how do different features used in Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and the film version of "Apocalypse Now" by Francis Ford Coppola help criticize imperialism? In Heart of Darkness and â€Å"Apocalypse Now,† the struggle between the barbaric nature of the natives and the oppressive nature of Imperialism is questioned through the use of characterization of various factors. Before Kurtz, the main antagonist in both texts, is even introduced in either the novella or the film, details are revealed about him through Marlow and Willard, the protagonists of the two texts. The gruesome nature of imperialism is revealed through Marlow and Willard journey through the jungles. The inhumane state in which the slaves are illustrated opens Marlow’s eyes to the cruelty of slavery. Similarly, Willard witnesses the torture the locals experience on a daily basis, such as the way they are treated. The journeys of both protagonists project the overall negativity associated with imperialism, which helps the audience in understanding the soldiers’ psychological states before Kurtz makes an appearance. Although Colonel Kurtz is the antagonist in both texts, he is admired by the two protagonists,... ...h is not restrained by social conventions, Imperialism attempts to justify its savagery. The very fact Imperialists claim to be ‘fighting to the sanity of the world’ demonstrates the corrosive effects it has not only in a confined area, but also to neighboring cultures. By delving deeper into the characters’ subconscious and the true nature of Western Imperialism, the absurdity of what really is considered â€Å"true evil† is questioned by both Conrad and Coppola. Despite the fact colonization in various parts of the world officially ended in the 60’s, different systems of indirect rule were put in place because of continued interest in some parts. Both Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and â€Å"Apocalypse Now† by Francis Ford Coppola are aware of this continued, albeit unfortunate practice, and represents the futility of expecting the eradication of imperialistic values.

Essay example --

The Red Farm Power is a great tool, but like the hammer it can build and destroy civilizations. This is the theme and lesson that I learned from George Orwell’s classic novel, Animal Farm. It is believed, and can be notably seen in the past, that many great people, like Julius Cesar and Napoleon, become dangerous and corrupt under vast amounts of power. Both wanted to own the world and extend the wealth of their country but ended up evil in the eyes of many. In history there seems to be a pattern of people at the top, the kings and rulers, falling to their deaths. These type of situations usually happen because the "lower classes" becomes irrelevant and has nothing in their lives. They see the king with all this power and realize that power can bring them happiness as well. Yet Having so much power is not always a good thing. In George Orwell’s novel, Animal Farm, a scary depiction of life in what we can assume to be a corruption of Socialist Ideals, in other words the "Soviet Union", is played out. In the novel personification is used on farm animals. The animals can talk and communicate, think, and even have feeling towards each other as if they were human. In the novel, George Orwell created a character named Napoleon. He is a pig who emerges as the leader of Animal Farm after the rebellion, and in many ways he is has the characteristics of the Soviet Leader, Joseph Stalin. In the begging he seems to be a good leader; unfortunately like history as proven before, he is eventually overcome in greed and a desire for power. In real life this is how Joseph Stalin became, after suspecting many people in his empire to be followers of Trotsky he became a very evil man. In real life Lion Trotsky and Joseph Stalin where political ... ...apoleons farm with fake bank notes, this sparks a war and blood is shed all over. Many animals die but despite the loss, Napoleons farm wins. The war is once again blamed on Snowball. The last significant event that leads to Napoleon's complete communist control is the killing of Boxer. With Boxer out of the picture, Napoleon ruled the farm with his dogs by his side, and the farm was back to how it began, except instead of humans controlling, the pigs and dogs did. Power is a great tool, but like the hammer it can build and destroy civilizations. To me nothing summarizes this novel better. The novel has enlightened me on the history of Soviet Union and how it was created and ran as a country. Till I read this book i had never heard of Lion Trotsky. Over all George Orwell's classic novel, Animal Farm was a great book and I loved readying it.

physiotherapeutic management of stroke :: essays research papers

Introduction Cerebrovascular disease or the term stroke is used to describe the effects of an interruption of the blood supply to a localised area of the brain. It is characterized by rapid focal or global impairment of cerebral function lasting more than 24 hours or leading to death (Hatano, 1976). As such it is a clinically defined syndrome and should not be regarded as a single disease. Stroke affects 174-216 people per 10,000 population in the UK per year and accounts for 11% of all deaths in England and Wales (Mant et al, 2004). The risk of recurrent stroke within 5 years is between 30-43%. One problem is that the incidence of stroke rises steeply with age and the number of elderly people in the UK is on the increase. To date people who experience a stroke occupy around 20 per cent of all acute hospital beds and 25 per cent of long term beds (Stroke Association, 2004). The British Government now identifies stroke as a major economic burden on the National Health Service (DoH, 2002). Fifty percent of stroke survivors will experience some residual impairment (physical and cognitive), which is devastating to the individual and their families (Rudd et al, 2002). It is therefore vital for patients and resources that maximum functional recovery is achieved as fast as possible. The physiotherapist has a key role to play in the management of stroke patients, through assessment, prevention strategies, acute management and recovery. This essay aims to critically discuss physiotherapeutic management and examine how it has and may be influenced by a number of factors (e.g. type of organized system for the delivery of post stroke care, setting of therapy, evidence based practice from which National Guidelines are produced etc). The first stage is to outline stroke pathology, of which forms the basis of appropriate management. Pathology There are two major stroke sub groups, those resulting from infarction (ischemic stroke) and those resulting from haemorrhage (intracerebral and subarachnoid). Each of the types can produce clinical symptoms that fulfil the definition of stroke. The types often differ with respect to survival and long-term disability, from recovery in a day to incomplete recovery, severe disability and death (Warlow et al, 2001). Ischemic stroke is the most common type of stroke, which accounts for approximately 85% of all cases (Rudd et al, 2002). It affects 35 people per 100,000 of the population per year (Coull et al, 2004).

History of Special Education Essay

The history of Special Education just as any history; is a long battle that has been fought by many who cared in order to bring us to where we are today. Its Journey has and will be never ending; since society is forever evolving. We will be fighting for equal rights in education and in life for many years to come since the definition of Special Education is not a precise one. In this paper you will learn the basics of what injustices we have risen above, to the current state we are in, and even what possibilities the future may hold for the Special Education Teacher and the system you will come to either love or despise. Written documentation of the treatment and education of people with Special needs dates back to the beginning of time; although most were killed before the 17th century and looked at as an abomination. It was not until the 17th Century that these children and adults were alive in institutions where people like Phillipe Pinel, â€Å"one of the founding fathers of modern psychiatry and distinguished teacher of internal medicine, began treatment of persons with mental illness using kindness, respect, and the expectation of appropriate behavior† (Curtis, 1993 as cited in GCU, (n.d. ), para. 10). Pinel set the stage for more courageous individuals to rise above the norm of society and treat people with Special needs as human beings; deserving of kindness and respects as others have been treated for years. Many more doctors, psychologists, and later teachers stood up to take the role as advocate for a person or group of people who were considered Special needs. It was not until the 1800’s when we as a society took notice to this lifetime of injustice that these people with Special needs had endured. In the 1820’s a teacher and later doctor; Samuel Gridley Howe taught a woman named Laura Bridgman, who was both deaf and blind, the alphabet in a Massachusetts school (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2012). It was not until these remarkable acts that people started to believe that those with special needs were not worthless and were capable of being taught the life skills society requires of us. Society took notice but by no means were individuals with Special needs considered equal and deserving of the same education as those of the Caucasian race in the United States at this time. Those with Special needs were still segregated in institutions and schools for people with the same needs; just as people were segregated by the color of their skin. It was not until 1954, and the help of the Supreme Court case Brown v. the Board of Education, Topeka, KS. That it became the responsibility of the United States Government and their Public Education System to teach every child even those with Special needs. This case made it so that NO CHILD could be discriminated against in the education system because of differences. In 1965, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was enacted to mandate the educational system and provide guidelines for the type of education students should receive; but loop holes were found and people were left out. It was in 1972, that ALL children in the United States were mandated to have a free, appropriate education; and yes it was because of more court cases! This new law’s services were still legally provided in separate classrooms, but at least those classrooms were now mandated to follow the same educational goals as the General Education classrooms were providing their students; just at the level deemed appropriate by the teacher (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2012). After that in 1973, the government passed the Rehabilitation Act, which was the first Civil Rights Educational reform which declared Segregation as an injustice in any case of race, creed, or difference besides age; and therefore illegal. Section 504 of this act requires the documentation and a description of any and all services needed for each student to receive an appropriate education (GCU, 2008). In 1975, Congress enacted the first piece of Legislation that fully described and labeled what was the United States Special Education System and what it consisted of. It was called the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (GCU, 2008). The Final piece of Legislation was the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. This act is the second piece of Civil Rights legislation in the history of the United States; it mandates that any physically or mentally handicapped person receive equal opportunity in public accommodations, employment, transportation, state and local government services, and telecommunications (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2012). The Education for All Handicapped Children Act legislation, although it has undergone many amendments’ is still used today. The newest amendment of the act is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA); the name was changed in 1990 and has under gone two re-authorizations since. This Law is there to balance other educational laws such as NCLB 2001 (the amendment to the ESEA for all students in the United States) and the two Civil Right Acts in order to ensure that any student with a disability receives a free and appropriate education. Since NCLB and IDEA provide federal funding to the state and public schools they are extremely detailed and regulated to insure that they are followed. These details’ include, but are not limited to; all disabled students must receive a free and appropriate education as any non disabled student in the in the least restive environment (LRE), nondiscriminatory identification (disability labeling), individualized education program (IEP), zero reject, due process safeguards, and parent and student rights rules and regulations (GCU, (n. d. ), para. 14). There are MANY things I would like to purpose as changes for the upcoming re-authorization of IDEA, but these are the most important ones! The first Thing I would do is have a specific set of criteria that would determine and define Special Education because there is not one definition of what our government considers Special Education. It needs to not be a blanket that can be interpreted in so many ways; this is why we have so many legal cases. Second if the government would like â€Å"Highly Qualified Teachers† then why is it that General Education teachers only have to take 2 classes about the Special Education System yet every classroom in the U. S. is guaranteed to have at least one student with an IEP! Heward cited that â€Å"more than 6 million children and youth with disabilities, ages 3-21, received Special Education Services during the 2005-2006 school year† and that number has only continued to increase in grades 1st -7th due to early detection (U. S. Department of Education, as cited in Heward, 2009, p. 10-11). Last, we consider Children with Behavior problems to be Special Education students, but they have to go through a huge system before we can get them help. Referral, FBA, BIP, BSP, IEP, and then they may be considered a Special Education Student. The law has it mandated that only a Behavior Specialist can do the evaluations; but by law they only require 1 Behavioral Specialist PER DISTRICT (Wheeler, J. , Richey, D. , 2010). It is up to the district to afford or higher more at their discursion. The problem is that running these evaluations and filling out this paper work are not the only responsibilities in their job descriptions. So half (if not more in some districts) of the cases referred are not being diagnosed each year because there are not enough people on the job and hours in a school day (Wheeler, J. , Richey, D. , 2010). The only way any teacher can truly help all of the students they teach; is by knowing the histories and laws of the Education System and the Special Education Services that are available to help them. These services and instructional methods are useful to any student who does not understand a topic at hand; not just the ones labeled Special Education. We need to not wait for a diagnosis to help our students; but start interventions immediately at the first sign of struggle. If the intervention does not help then refer the student for a Special Education Evaluation; but never wait for a child to completely fail in order to seek help. In this paper you learned the basics of what injustices we have raised above throughout history, the current state which we are in, and what possibilities the future may hold for the Special Education Teacher and the system you have come to either love or despise. The future is in your hands; so go out and change the world one student at a time. References Curtis, R. H. (1993). Great lives: medicine. New York: Maxwell Macmillan International. Encyclopedia Britannica. (2012). Online Encyclopedia. Retrieved on April 2, 2012, from www. britannica. com Grand Canyon University. (2008). Resource 2: Special Education Supplment. Retrieved on March 30, 2012, from Angel’s Canyon Connect, Additional Readings at www. my. gcu. edu Grand Canyon University. (n. d. ). SPE 526 Module 1 Readings. Retrieved on March 30, 2012, from Angel’s Canyon Connect, Module 1 Readings at www. my. gcu. edu Heward, William L. (2009). Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education (9th ed. ). Columbus, OH: Published by Merrill. Wheeler, J. , Richey, D. (2010). Behavior Management: Principles and Practices of Positive Behavior Supports (2nd ed. ). Columbus, OH: Merrill.

Impact of the Internet in Our Life

Available online at www. sciencedirect. com Computers in Human Behavior Computers in Human Behavior 24 (2008) 2005–2013 www. elsevier. com/locate/comphumbeh Impact of the Internet on our lives: Male and female personal perspectives Ann Colley *, John Maltby School of Psychology, University of Leicester, Henry Wellcome Building, Lancaster Road, Leicester LE1 9HN, UK Available online 30 October 2007 Abstract Gender di? erences in Internet access and usage have been found in a number of previous investigations. The study reported here extends this work by providing an analysis of the impact of the Internet on men’s and women’s lives.A content analysis of 200 postings from men and 200 from women, on the topic of ‘‘Has the Internet changed your life’’ invited by a news website, was undertaken then examined for gender di? erences. Results showed more women’s postings mentioned having made new friends or having met their partner, renewin g old friendships, accessing information and advice, studying online, and shopping and booking travel online, while more men’s postings mentioned that the Internet had helped or given them a career, positive socio-political e? ects, and negative aspects of the technology.The results are interpreted as supporting the view that the Internet represents an extension of broader social roles and interests in the ‘‘o? ine’’ world. O 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Internet; Gender; Gender roles; Gender di? erences 1. Introduction ‘‘The Internet is my job, my high street, my supermarket and my international social playground’’ (Female participant 63). Usage of the Internet continues to increase worldwide. In the UK 57% of households now have access, in comparison to 46% four years ago (National Statistics, 2006).The * Corresponding author. Tel. : +44 (0) 116 229 7188; fax: +44 (0) 116 229 7196. E-mail address: [ema il  protected] ac. uk (A. Colley). 0747-5632/$ – see front matter O 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10. 1016/j. chb. 2007. 09. 002 2006 A. Colley, J. Maltby / Computers in Human Behavior 24 (2008) 2005–2013 Digital Future Project in the US has found that 78. 6% of Americans went online in 2005, with an accompanying increase in the amount of time spent per week on the Internet (Centre for the Digital Future, 2005).A number of factors have been found to relate to access and use, including socioeconomic variables, demographic variables, and education (e. g. Bimber, 2000; Wasserman & Richmond-Abbott, 2005). One signi? cant area of research over the last decade has investigated the impact of the Internet upon di? erent social groups and inevitably work on gender di? erences has been at the forefront, with concerns about the presence and impact of a ‘‘gender gap’’ in Internet access and usage. A number of investigators (e. g. Sherman e t al. , 2000) have investigated this gender gap in Internet use.Bimber (2000) found gaps in both access and use among US adults, and concluded that, while access di? erences can be accounted for by socioeconomic and other factors that a? ect women and men di? erentially, the gap in use was due at least in part to gender-speci? c factors such as the male stereotype of computers, cultural associations between gender and technology and gendered cognitive and communication preferences. However, there is growing evidence that the gender gap in access is closing or has closed with more women coming online, and that the gap in use of the Internet is still present but may also be closing (e. . Cummings & Kraut, 2002; Ono & Zavodny, 2003; Wasserman & Richmond-Abbott, 2005). There continues to be a gender gap in usage in the UK: the latest ? gures from adults in a nationally representative sample of UK households show that 40% of women had never used the Internet in comparison with 30% of men , and 55% of women had used the Internet within the 3 months prior to the survey in comparison with 65% of men (National Statistics, 2006). In addition, there are further gaps in the frequency and nature of use that appear to remain (Odell, Korgen, Schumacher, &Delucchi, 2000; Ono & Zavodny, 2003; Wasserman & Richmond-Abbott, 2005). One of the issues that was highlighted early on in investigations of the gender gap, concerns the negative e? ect of the link between the Internet and computer technology. This area grew from work on gender di? erences in computer attitudes and use more generally, which showed more negative computer attitudes (Durndell & Thomson, 1997; Whitley, 1997), lower female self-con? dence and higher computer anxiety among females (McIlroy, Bunting, Tierney, & Gordon, 2001; Todman, 2000).The possibility raised in the literature was that girls and women were being discouraged from using the Internet because of its delivery via a computer interface, and because of t he association of the kinds of operations required to interact with it with traditional masculine technology. Indeed, computer attitudes and Internet attitudes have been found to be linked (Liaw, 2002; Schumacher & Morahan-Martin, 2001), and experience using the Internet has been found to predict both (Liaw, 2002). Durndell and Haag (2002) found higher computer self-e? acy, more positive Internet attitudes, longer Internet use and lower computer anxiety among male than female students, and gender was independently linked to Internet experience. Similarly, Joiner et al. (2005) found that a signi? cant relationship between gender and use of the Internet remained, after controlling for Internet identi? cation and Internet anxiety. This may be due to a number of other factors, and Joiner et al. suggest that self-e? cacy and expectancy of success may be fruitful areas to pursue. In addition, it seems that there are di? erential e? cts of experience upon anxiety in using the technology am ong men and women: Broos (2005) found that experience decreased anxiety among men but had little e? ect for women. Alongside investigations of the gender gap in use of the Internet, there is a growing body of research on di? erences in the use of the Internet for di? erent functions by males A. Colley, J. Maltby / Computers in Human Behavior 24 (2008) 2005–2013 2007 and females. This is a crucial area to pursue in order to understand the gender gap, since amount of use is inextricably linked to the functions erformed and the bene? ts of them for an individual. The number of potential functions of the Internet is very substantial and the activities are diverse. The current top Internet activities in the US are e-mail (top), general sur? ng, access to news, shopping, reading entertainment news, ? nding information about hobbies, online banking, accessing medical information, instant messaging and accessing information about and booking travel (Center for the Digital Future, 200 5).The available evidence points to variations in exploiting these functions of the Internet by its male and female users: women are more likely to regard it as a tool or means to an end, while men regard it as technology to play with and master (Singh, 2001; Turkle, 1984). For example, Tsai and Lin (2004) found gender di? erences in perceptions of the Internet among adolescents: males perceived its use as a source of enjoyment or ‘‘toy’’, while females took a more practical approach and perceived it as a ‘‘tool’’, ‘‘technology’’ or ‘‘tour’’ (providing the ability to navigate around di? rent sites and people). One area of Internet use that has attracted attention among investigators is interpersonal communication. This is due to the association of functions facilitated by electronic communication with the expressive and communal aspects of femininity, such as the potential for use in self-expression and the facility to communicate readily with family and friends. Thus, it was expected that women might engage with the Internet for such purposes, despite having lower self-e? cacy in relation to computer use.Jackson, Ervin, Gardner and Schmidt (2001) predicted that women would use e-mail more and men use the Web for information more, based on the greater interpersonal orientation of women and greater task orientation of men. This prediction was supported in a large sample of Anglo-American undergraduates, even after computer self-e? cacy, loneliness and depression were controlled for. Wasserman and Richmond-Abbott (2005) found that women use e-mail slightly but not signi? cantly more than men but that men use chat rooms more. A similar ? nding was obtained by Sherman et al. 2000) who found higher participation in chat groups among men, but higher e-mail use among women, and these di? erences remained among successive cohorts of students in the late 1990s, despi te generally higher use of the Internet. Women’s preference for e-mail and men’s for chat rooms re? ects the di? erent purposes of the two types of communication: e-mail facilitates personal contact with friends and family, while chat rooms can be anonymous and provide an arena for the display of power di? erentials present in society more generally (Wasserman & Richmond-Abbott, 2005). There are some null ? dings with respect to gender di? erences in e-mail use (e. g. Joiner et al. , 2005; Schumacher & Morahan-Martin, 2001), but methodological di? erences between studies may account for such disparities. With respect to other uses of the Internet, there is evidence that some of these too are gendered. Men are more likely to use game web sites (Joiner et al. , 2005; Sherman et al. , 2000; Weiser, 2000), download material (Joiner et al. , 2005; Teo & Lim, 2000), browsing or seek specialist information (Jackson et al. , 2001; Joiner et al. , 2005; Teo & Lim, 2000; Weiser, 2000). These ? dings provide additional support for the notion that men’s use of the Internet is more task-oriented than women’s, and the tendency for women to use e-mail more accords with their greater interpersonal orientation (Jackson et al. , 2001). They also support the male ‘‘toy’’ versus female ‘‘tool’’ distinction (Tsai & Lin, 2004). The research literature on gender and the Internet suggests that gender stereotypes play a powerful role in this as in other areas of human activity. Sherman et al. (2000) concluded 2008 A. Colley, J. Maltby / Computers in Human Behavior 24 (2008) 2005–2013 hat we need to appreciate that ‘‘online behaviors and attitudes are extensions of o? ine social processes and relationships’’ (p. 893). If that is the case, what impact has the Internet had on the everyday lives of the men and women who use it? With respect to women, Morahan-Martin (2000) concl uded that it has brought both promise and peril. The perils are an inevitable consequence of the features that empower – freedom of expression and free access to information, since these also permit the ampli? cation of behaviors and perspectives that support the gendered power di? rential. What has been its impact upon men? Is the Internet just another arena in which gender is performed? The empirical research reviewed here has focused upon usage and patterns of usage, rather than impact from the point of view of the user. The purpose of the data analysis reported here is to provide a picture of the impact of the Internet on the everyday lives of men and women. 2. Method 2. 1. Participants and data collection On 24th July 2006, the BBC News website posted a topic for discussion on its ‘‘Have Your Say’’ discussion section (http://news. bbc. co. k/1/hi/talking_point/default. stm), with the title ‘‘Has the Internet changed your life? â€⠄¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢. The invitation issued to prospective contributors was to post personal stories about life in the digital age and how the Internet has changed their lives. The majority of contributors to this site used names rather than pseudonyms. There were substantially more postings from men, but the site was monitored until there were 200 postings from female contributors, then these together, with 200 postings randomly selected from among the male contributors were downloaded for analysis.The sample came from approximately 1200 postings during the period 24th July and 4th August. Selection for analysis was only undertaken if the name of the contributor was unambiguously male or female. The majority of the postings (92%) gave the town or country of origin, with 48% of the total postings being from the UK, 25% from the US and Canada, 7% from mainland Europe, and the remainder from the rest of the World. 2. 2. Data coding A content analysis was undertaken to derive category frequencie s for analysis.Coding was undertaken based upon content categories derived both from the existing literature and from a sample of the postings. These categories were: 1. Easy and cheap contact with family and friends (through e-mail, instant messaging etc. ) 2. Made new friends (through chat room, discussion forum, etc. ) 3. Renewed contact with old friends/family 4. Met partner/spouse (through chat rooms, dating sites etc. ) 5. International news sites 6. General information acquisition/research 7. Therapeutic/medical advice 8.Support for those with access/mobility problems 9. Entertainment (music, radio, movies, games, hobbies) 10. Travel booking A. Colley, J. Maltby / Computers in Human Behavior 24 (2008) 2005–2013 2009 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. Online education Trading Banking Shopping Job enhancement (increased e? ciency/? exibility) Job hunting Assisted career path Job in industry Studying online Socio-political e? ects (global access to information, democ ratization of information, bringing humanity together) 21. Negative e? cts (pornography, phishing, spam, viruses, bad use of time, addiction, reduction of face-to-face contact, availability of illegal items, proliferation of uncensored information, etc. ) Reliability of coding was established in a 20% sample from the postings. Across all categories this yielded substantial agreement (Cohen’s Kappa = 0. 78), with no individual categories yielding ? gures below the substantial range (Landis & Koch, 1977). Gender di? erences were then examined using v2 tests. 3. Results Gender di? erences were found in the frequency with which a number of the categories were present in the postings (see Table 1).Chi square tests revealed that a higher proportion Table 1 Frequency of appearance of coding categories by gender Category Contact with family and friends Made new friends Renewed contact with old friends/family Met partner/spouse International news sites General information acquisition/ research Therapeutic/medical advice Support for access/mobility problems Entertainment Travel booking Online education Trading Banking Shopping Job enhancement Job hunting Assisted career path Job in industry Socio-political e? ects Negative e? ects * ** % Men 25. 0 10. 0 4. 0 8. 5 9. 5 25. 5 2. 5 4. 0 12. 5 1. 5 2. 0 3. 0 6. 12. 5 6. 0 1. 5 12. 0 12. 0 12. 5 31. 0 % Women 30. 5 20. 5 20. 0 22. 5 19. 5 36. 0 7. 0 5. 0 10. 0 6. 0 6. 5 7. 0 7. 0 20. 5 7. 5 3. 5 4. 0 6. 0 5. 0 21. 0 v2 (1) n. s. 8. 53** 5. 50* 14. 97** 8. 07** 5. 18* 4. 48* n. s. n. s. 5. 60* 4. 98* n. s. n. s. 4. 63* n. s. n. s. 8. 70** 4. 40* 7. 05** 5. 20* p < . 05. p < . 01. 2010 A. Colley, J. Maltby / Computers in Human Behavior 24 (2008) 2005–2013 of women’s postings mentioned having made new friends, having renewed contact with old friends or family members, having met their partner or spouse online, access to international news sites, being able to ? d information easily, accessing medical or ther apeutic advice, studying online, booking travel online and shopping online. A higher proportion of men’s posting mentioned that the Internet had played a role in their career path, that they had found employment in the industry, positive socio-political e? ects and negative aspects of the Internet. 4. Discussion The ? ndings from this study extend those of existing research on Internet usage by providing information on what men and women perceive as important to them. In some cases the ? ndings accord with the usage data, while in others they do not.With respect to interpersonal communication, our ? ndings show no di? erence in the frequency with which Internet-assisted contact with friends and family was cited as being an aspect of the Internet which had changed the lives of men and women. It is worth noting however, this was the second most frequent category occurring in postings from both sexes. Studies of usage have produced a range of results on gender di? erences in the use of e-mail, although on balance the ? ndings have suggested slightly more or signi? cantly more use by women (e. g. Sherman et al. , 2000; Wasserman & Richmond-Abbott, 2005). Our ? dings suggest that the impact upon men’s and women’s lives may be similar, although of course there may be di? erences in the way in which men and women enact relationships electronically (Boneva, Kraut, & Frohlich, 2001). Di? erential impact is evident in women’s higher frequency of mention of using Internet sites to make new friends, meet partners and renew old acquaintances, supporting the notion that women’s interpersonal orientation will in? uence their Internet behavior (Jackson et al. , 2001). This ? nding is of interest in the context of men’s greater usage of chat room sites found by Sherman et al. 2000) and Wasserman and Richmond-Abbott (2005), although our content category was not speci? c to chat rooms alone. It is nevertheless possible that men and women use such sites for different purposes and gain di? erent kinds or rewards from them: our data suggest that women place greater value on the facility to expand their social networks, whereas it is possible that men’s motives may be more mixed. Wasserman and Richmond-Abbott’s suggestion that men may be more likely to use them to play interpersonal games and display power may be relevant here, and accords with ? dings that men are more likely to be dishonest in chat room interactions (Whitty & Gavin, 2001) and lie about their sex, education, income and occupation (Whitty, 2002). There is a growing literature on the nature of online relationships and the characteristics of those who participate in them (e. g. Cheng, Chan, & Tong, 2006; McCown, Fischer, Page, & Homant, 2001) and it would be pro? table to examine gender di? erences in motivation to engage in interpersonal behaviors on the Internet in more detail. The most frequently cited positive e? ct overall was the abil ity to access general information on the Internet, although it was present in a higher proportion of women’s than men’ postings. This result contrasts with the usage ? ndings (Jackson et al. , 2001; Joiner et al. , 2005; Teo & Lim, 2000; Weiser, 2000), but supports the notion of women’s more practical approach and stronger perception of the Internet as a ‘‘tour’’ (Tsai & Lin, 2004), which may also explain their more frequent mention of news sites. The women’s more practical approach is also evident in their higher frequency of mention of accessing A. Colley, J. Maltby / Computers in Human Behavior 24 (2008) 2005–2013 011 online education, therapeutic advice, booking travel and shopping. However, gender differences were not present in other practical uses such as trading, banking and accessing sources of entertainment. In order to explain the pattern of ? ndings, it is necessary to take into account the broader context of g ender di? erences in social role demands and accompanying gender-related traits (e. g. Eagly, 1987; Eagly, Wood, & Diekman, 2000), in which the domestic vs. external distinction di? erentiates the focus and interests of women and men. Our data suggest that this distinction may underpin the impact of the Internet on men and women.The Internet in? uences women’s lives more than men’s in facilitating new interpersonal interactions, providing access to information from the domestic sphere, and facilitating the purchase of goods, and in? uences men’s lives more than women’s by providing employment or assisting career development. In addition there was greater evidence in the postings from men of awareness of the global impact of the technology, for example, ‘‘Never have so many people been empowered to make a real di? erence and get their message heard’’, (male participant 159).This external awareness is also evident in men’s m ore frequent mention of the negative impacts, ‘‘A disadvantage is the anonymity. . .. idiots can spread their madness, insult others etc. all without fear of being uncovered. A 60-year-old suddenly becomes an 18-year-old and vice-versa’’, (male participant 108). The gender di? erence in relation to negative impacts, however, raises several further possibilities. One may be that women’s greater interpersonal orientation simply results in a tendency to emphasize the good rather than the bad in responding to the discussion issue on the site.Alternatively, women’s more domestic focus may make them less concerned about the broader context and in particular the ‘perils’ of the Internet in relation to power and exploitation (Morahan-Martin, 2000), so ironically, one outcome of the tendency of the Internet to re? ect traditional gender divisions may be to reduce women’s awareness that this is the case. There are some limitations as sociated with using this kind of methodology which are shared with studies of computer-mediated communication in discussion lists (e. g.Herring, 1993), and which relate to the lack of information on the sample. For example, no data on age is available and this may be a relevant variable in relation to impact, since younger users will have grown up with the Internet, while older users will have adapted to its use. However, there is no reason to assume that their distributions among the males and females in the sample should vary and introduce a systematic bias. There is no information available on experience, which may show a gender di? erence since women’s widespread use of the Internet has been more recent than that of men.Whether or how length of experience might in? uence perceptions of the impact of the Internet cannot therefore be answered here but would be a suitable topic for further investigation. Finally, the sample is drawn from those who visit a news website rather than users of the Internet in general so could be regarded as representing a part of the population with a particular pro? le of interests. However, news websites are visited by a signi? cant proportion of the population: this was the third largest use of the Internet in a US survey for 2005 (Centre for the DigitalFuture, 2005) and 35% of a recent sample of UK citizens had accessed on-line news in the last three months (National Statistics, 2006). One signi? cant advantage of using this kind of data is that the areas appearing in the sample of postings are those that spontaneously occur to those submitting them, without prompting from an investigator. Consideration of the advantages and limitations of using the postings as data raises a further gender di? erence, which relates to the acquisition of the quota sample used. There were very substantially more postings on the site from men than women, even when ambiguous 012 A. Colley, J. Maltby / Computers in Human Behavior 24 (2008) 2 005–2013 names were discounted. While this may partly re? ect a residual gender gap in access, it also provides a clear illustration of the di? erent uses of the Internet by men and women, which are attributable to socio-cultural factors and therefore likely to remain (Wasserman & Richmond-Abbott, 2005). Interestingly, Fuller (2004) found that use of the Internet by men and women in the US for political activities, such as accessing information was broadly equal but that women were less likely to post to a political discussion group.It seems, therefore, that it is the opportunity to engage in an anonymous form of interpersonal interaction in which knowledge and power may be displayed (Wasserman & Richmond-Abbott, 2005) that attracts more male postings to sites like the one studied here. The analysis of this sample of postings has produced a picture of what men and women who use the Internet regard as the areas with major impact on their lives. Our content analysis produced a number of gender di? erences which show that the perceived impact of the Internet broadly re? cts the concerns and motivations associated with men’s and women’s gendered social roles. McGert (2000) argued that viewing online behavior as separate from o? ine behavior produces an unhelpful dichotomy, and in order to understand the impact of Internet technology it is necessary to situate it within the gendered practices that impact on people’s everyday lives. Our data support that view and the conclusion of Sherman et al. (2000) that gender di? erences in online behavior will continue for as long as they exist more generally. References Bimber, B. (2000).Measuring the gender gap on the Internet. Social Science Quarterly, 81, 868–876. Boneva, B. , Kraut, R. , & Frohlich, D. (2001). Using e-mail for personal relationships. The di? erence gender makes. American Behavioral Scientist, 45, 530–549. Broos, A. (2005). 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