Bioethics Paper: Prenatal Genetic Screening Essay

Prenatal Genetic Testing has become one of the most prominent and influential advances in clinical genetics today. Every year, hundreds of couples request screening services, hence, subjecting themselves to the results of the diagnosis. For some, the information may be a sigh of relief, and for others a whisper of warning. The concept of Prenatal Genetic Screening has only recently surfaced for controversy. In consequence to the completion of the Human Genome Project (2003), the option for Prenatal Genetic Screening can now be performed for an affordable 1,000 dollars. Utilizing state of the art multiplex technologies such as gene chips and micro beads, we can already track hundreds of thousands of unique SNPs or Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms to screen our genome at over half a million pinpoints that are believed to be associated with particular traits, diseases, susceptibilities, and conditions. In addition to screening for diseases, this technology threatens to tamper with our perception of individuality. Raising the question of constitutionality, and whether it should be permitted to terminate a pregnancy based for reasons of sex, hair color, or eye color [Designer Babies]. If approved by the FDA, this option is predicted to prompt a dramatic increase in pregnancy terminations and lead to a host of practical and legal questions. Some believe that the concept is simple. Utilizing potential knowledge of the impending future, we are given the chance to think and to prepare. We are given the chance to absorb the entirety of the situation and consult a genetics counselor. With prior knowledge we could save people years of suffering and financial trouble. Others question the effectiveness and benefits of genetic screening and wonder if the process would prompt undue emotional distress, distress for the safety of the fetus and also the issue of privacy. And continue to note the dark and looming connotations of Designer Babies. It is evident that the latter argument is the common preference, however, I will take the road less taken. Five years ago I lived an innocent childhood, where everyone laughed and played, and there was no worse suffering beyond scraping my knee on the pavement. Two years later that reality was shattered. What I didn’t know at the time was that there were children who lived lives far different from mine. Children like my baby cousin Jasmine. Jasmine was born with a rare genetic disorder called Pfeiffer’s Syndrome, a disease characterized by the early fusion of the bones in her skull. She would never live my childhood reality, for frankly she would never live to the age. Often times I wondered what could have been done, and only recently has it revealed itself to me that â€Å"Prenatal Genetic Screening† was the answer to my persistent question. If only it had been available at the time, maybe Jasmine could have grown up to be the next â€Å"James D. Watson,† â€Å"Francis Crick† or â€Å"Rosalind Franklin.† Now we will never know. Now that it is possible to save, to relieve, and to cure, is it worth the risk to give children like Jasmine a fair chance at life? I believe so. Works Cited â€Å"The President’s Council on Bioethics: The Future of Newborn Screening: Clouds on the Horizon?† The President’s Council on Bioethics: The Future of Newborn Screening: Clouds on the Horizon? N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2013. â€Å"The Genetic Testing Controversy.† The Genetic Testing Controversy. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2013. â€Å"History and Overview of Newborn Screening.† Welcome. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2013. â€Å"New Prenatal Genetic Test Is Much More Powerful at Detecting Fetal Abnormalities.† ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 09 Feb. 2012. Web. 13 Feb. 2013. â€Å"Prenatal Diagnostic Tests and the Social, Legal, and Ethical Implications.† Prenatal Diagnostic Tests and the Social, Legal, and Ethical Implications. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2013.

An Analysis of Religious Influences in the Poetry Essay

During an era in literature when propriety and sensitivities were valuable elements considered both by writer and audience, and spirituality was defined by a specific, almost stringent, set of rules, the arrival of young poet Algernon Charles Swinburne produced a reaction most were ill-prepared to give. For compared to his illustrious contemporaries, Swinburne subscribed to a style and ideology meant to negate all aspects of convention and expand, albeit unwillingly, tolerance for taboo concepts and words. Defiance and aggression, as well as liberty, sexuality, and immorality, were the main themes behind the astonishing lyricism and poetic prowess of Swinburne. This also echoed in the technical form of his work, with his unapologetic and irreverent use of his own brand of alliteration and rhythm. The poet was unabashedly pagan in his sensibilities, and fervently explored areas deemed unsuitable for exposition in polite Victorian society. Blasphemy was a typical description of Swinburne’s literary efforts, yet the uncompromising wit and satire present in them made for unavoidable reading, almost enjoyable in a morbid sense—which was literally one of the most prevalent tones in Swinburne’s works. Therefore, the attempt to find the influence of religion or spirituality in the poetry of such an iconoclast may seem futile; however, the fact that Swinburne consciously marked his territory along these sacrilegious lines may be tantamount to his actual recognition of the concepts he purposely tried to negate. There are no references or appeal to obedience and faith in his literature—common virtues required of any religious discussion—but his lifetime work’s concentration on the opposite end may have marked him as an excellent study of spiritual affirmation. II. The Life and Work of Algernon Charles Swinburne The controversial poet and critic was born in Grosvenor Place, London, on April 5, 1837, to Admiral John Swinburne, making him one of the small number of poets to boast of an aristocratic background. While a student at Eton and Oxford, Swinburne began establishing his literary philosophy through his studies of the poetry of Shelley, and alternately engrossed himself in standard ideologies of academic scholars, including political radicalism and atheism. His time at Oxford afforded him various introductions that would eventually figure prominently in his life and career—names such as Burne-Jones, Morris, and Rossetti. Often at the verge of being expelled from the storied institution, Swinburne’s penchant for atheism and capacity for biting sarcasm still received the attention sought, both from admirers and detractors. Consistent with his affinity for the concepts of physical pleasure and pain, morbidity, and excess, Swinburne lived a life of almost total addiction to alcohol that resulted in never-ending bouts of collapse and seizures. As his health deteriorated, his lawyer Theodore Watts-Dunton found it necessary to persuade Swinburne to make a complete lifestyle change, to which the poet agreed by taking up residence in Watts-Dunton’s estate. Perhaps due to his irreverent and unhealthy way of life, Swinburne finally succumbed to influenza in 1909.

Feminism in Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre was written in a time where the Bildungsroman was a common form of literature. The importance was that the mid-nineteenth century was, â€Å"the age in which women were, for the first time, ranked equally with men as writers within a major genre† (Sussman 1). In many of these novels, the themes were the same; the protagonist dealt with the same issues, â€Å"search for autonomy and selfhood in opposition to the social constraints placed upon the female, including the demand for marriage† (Sussman). Jane Eyre fits this mould perfectly. Throughout the novel, the reader follows Jane Eyre on a journey of development from adolescence to maturity to show that a desire for freedom and change motivates people to search for their own identity. Jane begins to form her identity with the aid of many characters she encounters at Lowood, Thornfield, and Marsh End. Miss Maria Temple, who was Jane's first significant female encounter at Lowood, functions as a role model and an influence for Jane. Miss Temple's character displays the breakdown of the Great Chain of Being, but in a more gentle way than Rochester or Jane herself. She defies Mr. Brocklehurst and his hypocritical ways only as far as she will still retain shelter and her place as a teacher. To Jane, Miss Temple embodies all of the qualities that a woman should. Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar write, â€Å"Miss Temple, for instance, with her marble pallor, is a shrine of ladylike virtues: magnanimity, cultivation, courtesy – and repression† (Gilbert 344). While Miss Temple seems to show Jane what she should become, she also introduces her to control over her emotions. Unlike Jane, whose self-assertiveness permits her to give in to passionate confrontations, Miss Temple would â€Å"never allow `something' to speak through her, no wings will rush in her head, no fantasies of fiery heath disturb her equanimity, but she will feel sympathetic anger† (Gilbert 345). Her influence in Jane's adolescence and early adulthood teach her to have harmonious thoughts, and to give â€Å"allegiance to duty and order† (Gilbert 347). Here, Miss Temple teaches Jane to suppress her wild emotions and become compliant under the â€Å"superior† male, but still maintain an inward anger that can never be expressed. Jane, however, cannot conform to the lesson being taught to her; through Miss Temple, she learns that her journey into maturity and freedom requires her to be more independent and passionate than Miss Temple instructs. Miss Temple is not only like a mother figure to Jane, but she is also â€Å"encouraging of intellectual growth† (Rich 466). Temple's impact on Jane's education allows her to become stronger in character, which will eventually bring her to complete independence. Kathleen Tillotson finds in Miss Temple a sign of hope for Jane: â€Å"the warm fire and the cake from the cupboard in Miss Temple's room are assertions of individual loving-kindness, though also of it's limited power† (Tillotson 60) In spite of this, Tillotson writes that Jane at Thornfield is â€Å"submitting to virtue in lovable form, as she had once submitted to Miss Temple† (Tillotson 60). In other words, Tillotson argues that although Miss Temple may have positively influenced Jane in certain ways, ultimately her call for repression and submission instigates Jane's realization that she must discover her own place in life, and no one can dictate it for her. While Jane attends Lowood, she encounters another character that will help her to shape her identity. When Helen Burns is introduced to the novel, she brings with her a kind of warmth and spiritual light that touches Jane and Helen aids her in developing into the woman that she will soon become. She has a devout faith in Christ, and using this, Helen is able to function as Jane's main guide in building a strong character who is filled with forgiveness, hope and a strong sense of self. Helen allows Jane to peer into a world where â€Å"the values of endurance and obedience† (Singleton, 70) are visible. Jane often relies on Helen because she â€Å"is strong of will, awkward and blundering in the practical world yet intellectually and spiritually mature beyond her years . . . ithout pettiness, hysteria, or self-repudiation† (Rich 466). These qualities will help Helen in leading Jane down a path that will indefinitely make her shine amongst those who surround her. A sympathetic Helen Burns is seen lavishing emotions upon Jane that she has never felt before, let alone imagined. Helen assists Jane by being a mentor and a friend, a companion that Jane can confide in. â€Å"Helen and Miss Temple together represent two key facets of the feminist community: the need for companionship and mentors. These necessities are what the Reeds denied Jane† (Singleton 66). By showing Jane love and encouragement she teaches Jane that â€Å"primary importance is taming her rage and learning to forgive . . . that this is the model that Christ has set forth in the New Testament — to love one's enemies† (Singleton 73). As Helen encourages Jane to strive to be her best, she acts a â€Å"moral and ethical force† (Rich 467), she provides Jane with â€Å"a sense of her own worth and of ethical choice† (Rich 467). Bronte introduces Helen Buns into the novel to aid Jane and to be a guiding light in the ethical and moral world by showing Helen to be a character who is strong and true to herself, even until the end of her life; by using Helen as an example, when Jane leaves Lowood, she finds herself and she is ready to face to world with her head held high, face shining in the light. Another representation of religion, and also a strong male influence in Jane's life is that of St. John Rivers. The character of St. John is one of the final obstacles to Jane's maturation and understanding of her role as an independent and free woman. St. John represents, like the character of Brocklehurst before him, the hypocrisy and unwavering patriarchy of organized religion and its many hypocritical keepers, but unlike Brocklehurst, St. John's piety is more real and his misogyny somewhat more subtle, and, following his proposal, Jane comes to a better understanding of who she is and where her life is headed. St. John asks for Jane's hand in marriage, but not out of love; rather, he intends Jane to be a missionary wife, someone who will be of use to him in the service of God. According to Adrienne Rich, there is a certain virtue in this kind of offer, especially for Jane: â€Å"What St. John offers Jane is perhaps the deepest lure for a spiritual woman, that of adopting a man's cause or career and making it her own† (Rich 473). In this proposed marriage, there is the attraction of some of the things she has been searching for, namely a life of service and principle, and a way of overcoming the obstacles of patriarchy she has struggled with her entire life, by adopting a life in service to â€Å"male† cause. Therein lies a part of the problem, however, as service and principle are only part of what she desires in life, and, as she ultimately discovers, even beyond the attraction of taking on a more male role, that this will not fulfill her need for a life that is more complete. In the essay by Gilbert and Gubar, they explain, â€Å"In fact, as St. John's wife †¦ she will be entering into a union even more unequal than that proposed by Rochester, a marriage reflecting, once again, her absolute exclusion from the life of wholeness toward which her pilgrimage has been directed† (Gilbert 366). With St. John's proposal of marriage, Jane begins to comprehend more about herself and where her life is headed. She discovers that she cannot devote her energy and ambition towards fulfilling just a part of her life, such as the desire for service, but rather, she discovers that her life needs to be a life of â€Å"wholeness,† something that a marriage to St. John could never provide, because St. John, like Brocklehurst, is a â€Å"pillar of patriarchy† (Gilbert 366), a misogynist who is bent, consciously or unconsciously, on restraining Jane spiritually and emotionally. Rich points out in her essay that St.  John's offer of marriage is a means in which â€Å"he will use her† (Rich 473), and fortunately, Jane sees through the superficial benefits of a union with the patriarchal St. John, and that her for her to be content, she needs a life of wholeness. Armed with these realizations, Jane is now able to return to her true love, Rochester, on her own terms. The character of Mr. Edward Rochester influences the spiritual and personal growth of Jane through his relationship with her as the master at Thornfield and later, as her husband. His self-proclamation as being equal to Jane shows the breakdown of the Great Chain of Being. Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar write that while in â€Å"one sense Jane and Rochester begin their relationship as master and servant, prince and Cinderella, Mr. B and Pamela, in another they begin as spiritual equals† (Gilbert 352). In his allowance of Jane to be his equal, he encourages her progression to a strong sense of her own identity and independence. In a more sexual light, Rochester is the one who will eventually awaken Jane to her own sexuality. This occasion exhibits Jane's journey into adult maturation: â€Å"it is he who will initiate her into the mysteries of the flesh† (Gilbert 355). Adrienne Rich states that the episodes at Thornfield encompass three defining aspects: the house, Rochester, and Bertha. Rich writes, â€Å"Jane comes to womanhood and to certain definitive choices about what it means to be a woman† (Rich 468). In other words, during her stay at Thornfield and due to her interactions with its inhabitants, namely Rochester, Jane realizes what being a woman suggests. The break down of the Great Chain of Being is shown through Rochester even further, when Jane finds that he is married to another woman. As she leaves him because of her strength and of her own free will, Jane's independence is reinforced. Critic Elaine Baruch contrasts this action to Romanticism, and states, â€Å"Unlike the lady of the chivalric romance who had merely to sit still in order to find a destiny in the form of some passing knight, modern woman must seek her own hero† (Baruch 157). Here, Baruch is commenting on how Rochester's dark and haunting past results in a positive outcome for Jane, in that it strengthens her independence and desire for freedom and identity. Instead of deliberately wasting time waiting for destiny to find her, Jane seeks out the right destiny for herself. The various characters in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre provide the heroine with both role models and obstacles to her maturation into adulthood, and more importantly, womanhood. Jane's experiences with these characters, and what she takes from each, show the importance of determining for oneself his or her own morals, ethics, goals, and by not allowing others to dictate how one lives his or her life, love, wealth, and ultimately happiness can be achieved. All people have their own unique set of traits, from their morality to their spirituality, their speech, and their faults. To be a person who is happy and truly successful on spiritual, emotional, and physical levels, one must draw from the good and decent people he or she meets that which will be ultimately beneficent; for example, emulating and learning from the spirituality of a person who is truly and passionately spiritual. Unfortunately, not all the people a person meets in his or her life will have qualities which a person will want to emulate; in a way, these people become obstacles to a person's pilgrimage towards self-understanding and happiness. These people, the barriers to a person's self-development, are just as important as the people who function as positive role models. Those who are consciously or unconsciously determined to stop those on the path to happiness and self-discovery can be destructive, but they can also be unintentionally helpful. All too often, these figures are successful in breaking other another person's will and forcing their principles upon him, but when people like this, the hypocrites, the self-righteous, the misogynists, the arrogant aristocrats, and the like, fail, that previously oppressed person becomes significantly stronger by overcoming these barriers. Ultimately, nearly everyone has a life-long struggle with self-identity, and nearly everyone has encountered these influential people in his life, the role models and the obstacles. Unfortunately many become victims to the authority of those people who would force their will upon others, and ultimately, most people never complete their journey to independence; all too often they give up, and allow themselves to bent to the will of others. It is evident that this pilgrimage is a long and arduous one, a journey that few complete, and the author suggests that on top of the inherent difficulty of this journey, women have an even greater challenge before them. Because of the insidious and ubiquitous influence of patriarchy in the author's society, the journey towards independence and self-understanding becomes significantly more difficult for women; it is a truly joyous occasion when a woman does succeed in breaking free from the chains of male dominated society, becoming independent, self-aware, and, hopefully, happy.

Summary 5 234 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Summary 5 234 - Essay Example Pain is also an important issue to discuss with a hospitalized toddler. The child needs to be taught that it is not his fault that he is sick or in pain and that it is okay to express it when he is hurting. Teachers and family members must help the infant or child to cope with her illness. Infants and toddlers who have been hospitalized may need extra time and encouragement to meet their developmental milestones. They may also regress to an earlier stage of development. It is the teacher's job to reassure parents that this isn't permanent and with encouragement, their child will regain these skills. Promoting active and medical play in the classroom is also a good way for children to express their frustration or other feelings about their experience. Hospitalization or a long illness is difficult for the child, but it is also difficult for the family and friends. Parents may not know where to ask for help in caring for their child and they also need reassurance from their child's tea cher on how the child is coping in the classroom. It is important for the entire family to be involved in the recuperation of the recovering infant or toddler.

Financial Accounting and Reporting Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Financial Accounting and Reporting - Assignment Example 4). iii. They need the information about the resources of the organization not only to assess the prospects for future organization’s net cash inflows but also to identify how efficiently and effectively the organizations management has discharged or performed their duties and responsibilities in using the existing resources of the organization. For instance, it helps them to portray the results of the stewardship management hence being able to assess the management’s accountability so that their decision making process is influenced for their betterment (Weygandt et al 2010, pg. 4). Q1.2. Regulatory agencies and bodies are basically formed to address the needs of various user groups of financial statements. They usually address these needs by specifying procedures and requirements that should be followed in preparing and presenting financial statements. The different aspects used in addressing these needs include This Framework states the basic concepts that should be followed in preparing and presenting the financial statements particularly for the external users. It addresses the needs of different user because by addressing the reporting of the financial reporting, qualitative characteristics of the useful financial information, and by stating the definition, measurement and recognition of different elements of the financial statements (Alexander & Archer, 2008, pg. 2.20). IAS on the other hand, addresses the needs of the users by detailing the preparation of financial statements and by explaining the accounting treatment of various items in the financial statements, for instance inventories, leases, intangible assets to mention but a few. IFRS on the other hand, are designed in order to make company accounts comparable and understandable across international boundaries because it acts as a common global language particularly for multinational corporations. They specify accounting rules to be followed by accountants in

Communication in business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Communication in business - Essay Example Microsoft, being a technological company cannot do without expert technicians. The company faces the challenge of hiring the technologically best people who are in scarcity as far US is concerned. The scarcity of local workforce to fulfil the technological demands of Microsoft has been a huge challenge for the company. In order to deal with this problem , the Company holds recruitment drives in countries like India and China which are known for being rich in technically sound people and pays them hefty packages. But, the citizens of China and India often do not possess good communication skills which is again a challenge for the company. The next major issue faced by the company relates to co-employment. Microsoft has also faced legal challenges regarding the privileges given to employees of the firm vs. the temporary workers. The most popular case that Microsoft lost concerning this issue was the Vizcaino vs. Microsoft case of employee misclassification. Another issue talks about Criticism from employees of Microsoft in blogs, social networking sites, etc, huge segment of employee workforce at Microsoft is criticizing the firm. Employees are dissatisfied with the internal working of Microsoft. The major dissatisfaction in employees is about the cuts in compensation by the company as the profits soar. For a brand as huge as Microsoft, bad publicity happens really soon. The major challenge which Microsoft is facing as far as employment is concerned is that of retention management. The attrition rate of employees is increasing every passing year. Microsoft is losing some of its most creative workforce to its competitors like Google, Apple, Skype (which is not owned by e Bay).In this regard, Microsoft has also sued Google for over hiring of its former employees. A major proportion of Microsoft’s talent has been reported to join Google. This is not just a loss of talent for Microsoft, but along with this, the Company is also facing a

Resolution of disputes by subcontractors through arbitration in FIDIC Dissertation

Resolution of disputes by subcontractors through arbitration in FIDIC construction - Dissertation Example If there is any delay beyond the deadline, it may cause financial losses to the employer and hence, he may claim damages from the contractor for the losses suffered due to late completion of the construction project. To avoid this , most of the construction contract forms will include a provision for the parties to the contract to agree upon on monthly or weekly or on a daily basis for delay due to the contactor which is known as liquidated and ascertained damages .(LAD). The main objective of LADs is to notify the employer’s prerogative to claim damages for the infringement of a condition by a contractor to finish the work within the deadline1. Unprecedented scenarios are unavoidable element of every construction contract. ... ld† (â€Å"D & B†) or an EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) contract, which is a contractual arrangement thereby imposing the entire accountability for construction and design of the work on a contractor. The phrase â€Å"turnkey â€Å"refers that after the finishing up the work, the contractor is only hand over the key to the owner or the employer to start the operations of the constructed project2. Delays in construction contracts can be classified as excusable or non-excusable. Excusable delay means a delay which may justify an prolongation of performance of contract’s time and some examples of excusable delays are unpredictable weather, changes initiated by the employer, issues with the project designs, acts of god, delays in receiving equipments, which is supplied by the owner, varying or differing work-site conditions, delay due to awarding of contract and labour disputes. If the main contractor is eligible to claim time extension due to unpre dictable weather conditions, subcontractor may be also eligible to claim time extension if the subcontract contains a â€Å"flow down† clause thereby obligating the conditions in the main contract which is automatically applicable to the subcontract also and as it includes an analogues excusable delay provisions3. Under the non-excusable delay, the contractor bears the risk of outcome and cost, not only for himself but also for the resulting effect on the others like subcontractors also. Due to mismanagement, a main contractor may encounter delays, which will also the delay the work done by the subcontractor. In such cases, the main contractor may be accountable to the subcontractors but not to the employer. The notion of non-excusable delay is employed chiefly as a shield to turn down the request for claims for

Discussion Questions - About Outsourcing Article

Discussion Questions - About Outsourcing - Article Example The case clearly shows that the organization exploited the demands of the industry by serving as a niche player in the provision of specific core competences’ services. The success of the company can therefore be linked to the ability to provide services that are specifically to the core competences in contrast to their ability of not using fake accents and pseudo names. This case is so because the organization seemed to have avoided risks by applying a method of service provision that other big companies could not venture into. It would not be wise for other BPO organizations to adopt the strategy of the company, as well as making them common. The reason behind this notion is that the strategy was developed by one organization in the industry, with the sole aim of capturing the core competences of the niche market. The fact that the strategy required a number of skilled personnel would rule out the urge for other companies to try developing the idea (Samarpan, 25). Such an idea would prove to add extra operational costs that some of the BPOs would not like to

Corporate Governance Dilemma Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Corporate Governance Dilemma - Essay Example The ‘shareholding’ paradigm involved the maximization of shareholders’ value while the ‘stakeholding’ paradigm involved satisfaction of stakeholders’ interests. This created the conceptual dichotomy over ‘individual liberty’ and ‘justice for everyone’ when making important business decisions (Sullivan and Conlon, 1997). A prime example of this decision making model is the successful multinational furniture manufacturer Ikea (IKEA, 2012) . While starting as a small family business in Sweden, it gradually became the world’s largest home furnishing retailer with a reputation of low prices and novel design. The company’s internal costs were attributed to the fact most of the products were manufactured in factories from Asian and eastern European countries. However, in early 1998 a scandal ensued stating that Ikea was tolerating appalling working conditions in its suppliers’ factories in Eastern Eur ope and quickly signed an agreement that would stop exploitation of the workers. Later that year, a TV documentary was shown depicting images of child labour and unhealthy working conditions in factories in India producing IKEA textiles and garments causing uproar in Sweden. Despite the subsequent debates and campaigns from the Socialist Party (SP), the company failed to acknowledge the problem and refused inspection by third parties. Ikea also didn’t adopt the Rugmark foundation label, which validated the eradication of child labour and was already adopted by many companies at that time. Customer complaints in the following year ensued and yellow cards were signed but in response the company still claimed that it would take measures for child labour but didn’t satisfy the SP’s demands for proper control. This in turn caused the intensification of the campaigns spreading to other European countries like Austria and Belgium, ultimately leading to the signing of 5 3.300 red cards on the 3rd of June 1999 which banned the purchase of any Indian rugs or textiles from Ikea. The result was the compliance of Ikea on the 7th of July 1999 with the terms of the SP, which involved stronger measures against child labour and hiring a third party firm to evaluate the process. Ikea also adopted a code of conduct in September 2000, called ‘The Ikea Way of Purchasing Home Furnishing Products’ (IWAY), clearly stating against forced labour and hazardous work conditions (IKEA, 2012). On one hand, Ikea’s practices displayed a non-professional approach to the company’s problems which was the cause of the subsequent campaigns and product sales ban. The denial of the problem’s existence significantly damaged company’s consumer market by raising questions and awareness of the manufacturing processes of the products. Additionally, the failure of taking initiatives and allowing third party evaluation, raised criticisms for ot her practices such as tax evasion, further damaging its reputation. The image of a child-friendly reputation was critically damaged which might affected the sales and market expansion of the company. On the other hand, despite the delayed response from Ikea, various initiatives were taken to restore the company’s image. In addition to introducing the IWAY code of conduct against forced la

Slavery Was a Discriminative Vice That Affected the Blacks and Scots Research Paper

Slavery Was a Discriminative Vice That Affected the Blacks and Scots in England - Research Paper Example Even after the independence of the native countries, the slaves would still serve in the Britain industries. This is an evident trend across the majority of the western nations. The existence of these slaves brought subsequent generations that entailed racial and cultural diversity. This phenomenon has revealed trends of stereotypes and diversities amongst ethnic groups in society. Majority of the blacks still appear as slaves to the recent day3. Usherwood explores this trend in his article. He uses his legal expertise to advocate for the complete abolition of slavery in western nations. Slavery is a historical phenomenon that manifests intense persistence in modern society. Slave trade and immigration from Africa was an antique event4. However, its ramifications are still evident in the modern day. The trends of slavery have survived antiquity and infiltrated to the current society. This is due to the political perspective of slavery. Most nations viewed slavery as a positive featur e in society5. Therefore, policies would be implemented for the existence and advocacy of slavery. This would occur in the western governments due to their power over the colonial subjects. It would also occur in these nations due to the cheap labor6. These were major factors that posed a major difficulty in the abolishment of slavery. Therefore, slavery trends are still existent after the historical events of immigration and the slave trade. The initiation of the slavery abolition was evident in a court of law. Lord Chief Justice ordered for a release of slaves in England7. This would be a challenging process, but the legal system still pursued it. In this time, the legal system ordered all the slave owners to set them free and settle their compensations in harmony. This court order was not a congruent move with the majority of the slave masters in society.

Discrimination and Racism against foreign immigrant people in United Essay

Discrimination and Racism against foreign immigrant people in United States - Essay Example These data were collected from 2508 randomly selected adolescent immigrant children between 12 to 18 years age. The study could not find statistically significant relationship either between citizenship and discrimination, or between knowledge of English and discrimination, nor could it find any statistically significant relationship between discrimination and education expectation of respondents when controlling for age. In the US, as the administration struggles to contain racial discrimination, cross-border terrorism had added new dimension to it. Many miles may have been covered from that ugly day, when the U.S. Supreme Court in 1896 in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson, held that â€Å"racially segregated railway cars were both constitutional and reasonable did not violate the rights of Blacks. The majority opinion of the court stated, Laws permitting, and even requiring, their separation in places where they are liable to be brought into contact do not necessarily imply the inferiority of either race to the other, and have been generally, if not universally, recognized as within the competency of the state legislatures in the exercise of their police power. The most common instance of this is connected with the establishment of separate schools for white and colored children, which has been held to be a valid exercise of the legislative power. Legislation is powerless to eradicate racial instincts or to abolish distinctions based upon physical differences, and the attempt to do so can only result in accentuating the difficulties of the present situation. If the civil and political rights of both races be equal, one cannot be inferior to the other civilly or politically. If one race be inferior to the other socially, the Constitution of the United States cannot put them upon the same plane. (Birnbaum and Taylor, 2000, p.166-67; cited by Boston & Nair-Reichert, 2004, p.113). This infamous verdict caused much racial disenfranchisement, which

Two Bildungsromans in One Story Essay Example for Free

Two Bildungsromans in One Story Essay In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout and Jem Finch become more cultured and mature young-adults by experiencing different events. Scout became more lady-like when she observed and helped Calpurnia at her Aunt Alexandra’s brunch. Jem learned from Atticus and Miss Maudie that you should not take pride in your talents. Jem and Scout Finch became more adult-like and mature young people by experiencing different events. It begins with Scout sitting in on her Aunt Alexandra’s missionary brunch. Scout Finch became more lady-like when she observed and helped out at her Aunt Alexandra’s brunch. Scout saw that Calpurnia was doing everything, so she asked if Cal needed any help. ‘â€Å"Can I help you Cal?’ I asked, wishing to be of some service.† (Lee 306). Even when Miss Stephanie Crawford asked Scout if she wanted to be a lawyer when she grew up, Scout stopped and thought for herself, rather than to please others. ‘â€Å"Don’t you want to be a lawyer?† Miss Maudie’s hand touched mine and I answered mildly enough, ‘Nome, just a lady.†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Lee 308) Scout learned in this chapter how to be a lady, just as Jem over the course of chapters, learned how to be a gentleman. Jem learned from Atticus and Miss Maudie that a gentleman never takes pride in his talents. When Jem saw his father shoot a wandering mad dog dead-on, he realized something very important; a gentleman should never take pride in his talents. â€Å"Jem became vaguely articulate: ‘D you see him, Scout? D’ you see him just standin’ there?’n’ all of a sudden he just relaxed all over, an’ it looked like that gun was a part of him†¦an’ he did it so quick, like†¦I hafta aim for ten minutes ‘fore I can hit somethin’†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Lee 129). Miss Maudie had to explain to Jem why his father never told him about his talent in hunting. ‘â€Å"People in their right minds never take pride in their talents,’ said Miss Maudie.† (Lee 130). Both Jem and Scout Finch had small, different realizations throughout the book. Both Jem and Scout Finch learned to become adults in their own different ways. With Scout, she figured out that if you want there to be change in the world, you can’t sit around and do nothing, you have to go out and get it, wherever you can. â€Å"‘Jem, how can you hate Hitler so bad, an’ then turn around and be ugly about folks right at home-†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Lee 331). For Jem, growing up is more about facing the world for it is, and not what he wished it would be. â€Å"Atticus said that Jem was trying hard to forget something, but what he was really doing was storing it away for a while, until enough time passed. Then he would be able to think about it and sort things out.† (Lee 331). In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout and Jem Finch became more informed, and mature young-adults by watching the examples set by their family, and the people who love them. Scout learned from Calpurnia that if you can help someone, then you should. Jem learned from Miss Maudie that people in their right minds never take pride in their talents. Even though they learn it by going through different events, they both come to the conclusion that to change the world, you must first change what is around you. Works Cited Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 1960. Print.

How technology effects children

How technology effects children Technology is one of the principal driving forces of the future; it is transforming our lives and shaping our future at rates surprising in history, with profound implication which we cant even begin to see or understand. In todays world we are plagued with technology. The technology which surrounds almost everyone in the modern society, is changing every day, and will forever be a staple in our lives. Kids in the current generation are enamored with technology. Although perhaps it is not that they adore technology so much but the simple fact they have never lived without. Technology has had a significant effect on children that has brought on some concerns. Our common concern has been that although digital technology has boosted childrens talent for multitasking, their ability to process information deeply may be deteriorating (Carpenter, 2000). There is vast amount of technology in todays world, but there are three main component of technology that is having the greatest impact on children: video games, television/media, and computers. The modern technologies we have today are tremendously powerful; they attract our genetic biases. The human brain is attracted to visually presented information. Video games, television, movies and computer programs are all very visually oriented and therefore they magnetize and keep the attention of children. The technology which is just now beginning to be manipulated and harnessed is affecting the minds of small children and adolescents in ways that could be harmful. By far the largest concern of technology today is video games. There have been so many experiments and studies to try and figure out if video games have a negative or positive effect on our children. A growing body of research is linking violent video game play to aggressive cognitive, attitudes and behaviors (D.A. Gentile, 2004). Video games can obviously be dangerous for our children causing aggression, bad performances in school and obesity. Although we cant blame all of these problems on the use of video games, there have been many studies to prove so. Boys do seem to be more attracted to video games than girls are, Adolescent girls played video games for an average of 5 hours a week whereas boys averaged 13 hours a week (D.A. Gentile, 2004). The effects of both violent and non-violent video game playing can be determined by the amount of time playing the video game and by the content of the games being played. The content of the games being played could definitely have a factor in how a child performs in school, and how aggressive they are towards peers and teachers. Obviously if a child is playing hours upon hours of violent video games, this can lead to them acting out violence and having no consequences for it. If a child took the time that they played video games a week and used that time to be engaged in reading, homework or even a creative activity wed have less issues with our childrens school performances. Parents should really be monitoring how long their child is playing video games, but this doesnt always happen. A child who plays video games for long periods of time could also build up a social wall, become a loner. It is important for children to interact with other children in order to help develop their so cial skills, which without will make it very difficult to make it in this world. At the age children start playing video games, it is hard for them to distinguish what is reality and what is not. So in some cases the violent acts in video games could make the child believe the world is a scary place. More than a thousand scientific studies and reviews conclude that significant exposure to media, and video games of violence increases the risk of aggressive behavior in certain children, desensitizes them to violence and makes them believe the world is a meaner and scarier place than it is (Tompkins, 2003). Children who are playing endless hours of video games are also said to have less hobbies and activities, which may lead to obesity. Obesity in young children has become an overwhelming problem these days. They are now making fit video games such a Wii Fit, which involves actual movement and exercise. Video games like these are excellent especially if your child just needs to play a video game. There are educational video games out now, more and more are surfacing. The amount of time children play these is completely different than the amount of time children are playing violent video games. Educational video games obviously can do a lot for your child, they can improve vocabulary , mathematics, and some fitness. So increasing the time they are interacting with educational video games is said to have a very positive effect on them. Even though they make video games with the intent to be entertaining, challenging and sometimes educational, most of them do include some form of violence. Recent content analysis of video games show that as many as 89% of games contain some violent content and that about half of the games include serious violent content towards other game characters (D.A. Gentile, 2004). It is now a known fact that playing violent video games increases aggressive behaviors, increases aggressive cognitive, increases aggressive emotions, decreases pro social behaviors and increases physiological arousal. So people do say that children who already have aggressive tendencies get therapy from playing violent video games. By releasing their aggression on playing a video game, they are less likely to be aggressive towards others. Then others believe that violent video games maybe even more harmful to the children who were characteristically aggressive already. Because violence is such an attractive part to a video game, companies will continue to keep selling violent video games, to make more money. Although now they do usually list the rating on the game, but whos to say that parents will take any interest in the rating. Most parents are to blame for their children playing violent video games, how else would they get the game? Parents need to be held responsible for the effects that violent video games have on our children, they need to be monitoring them more closely. Recent research has shown that connections between children playing violent video games can cause later aggressive behavioral problems. In retrospect studies have also shown a twelve percent increase in aggressive behavior after watching violent television as well (Tompkins, 2003). For many years it has been apart of the repercussions that television has on children. Now we have those special chips called V-chips to put in the TVs to block certain programs or channels. But who knows what your children are watching when they go to a friends house, or even at school. Exposing your children to some violence almost seems inevitable, everywhere we turn there is some kind of violence on some kind of new piece of technology. Endless hours of watching television may be thought of as somewhat entertaining to a child, but it has such negative effects on them. TV is consistently reinforcing gender-roles and stereotypes which isnt always a good thing to show our children. A child should be out r unning around, exploring their environment, participating in activities and sports. Children who view media violence are more likely to have increased feelings of hostility, decreased emotional response to the portrayal of violence and injury that lead to violent behavior through imitation (Tompkins, 2003). During the first 2 years of a childs life, the brain is at a critical developing period. Television can get in the way of a child exploring, learning and spending time interacting with their parents and other children. Having time to play with others helps kids develop the skills they need to grow cognitively, physically, socially and emotionally. If parents limit the television that their pre-school age child is watching it can be a good thing as long as what they are watching is educational or age appropriate. If you allow your children particularly ages 2-7 to watch shows or movies with scary monsters, they will remember those scary faces. Children this age have a hard time distinguishing between real and fantasy, so to tell them that monsters dont exist, wouldnt really console them. While kids 8-12 are usually scared by natural disasters, the threat of violence and victimization of kids. Many shows or movies now a days depict risky behaviors, such as sex and substance abuse. They portray these things as cool, fun and exciting, and there is often no discussion about the consequences of these actions. More and more now we are seeing alcohol ads on television, and more underage children are being exposed to them. Over sixty percent of television shows being shown in prime time contain some form of violence (Tompkins, 2003). They are now linking child obesity to over watching of television which includes four or more hours a day. While watching television kids are usually inactive and usually snacking. Kids are getting overwhelmed with the many ads on television encouraging them to eat unhealthy foods. The ads are meant to target children, by showing sugary cereal, or sugar filled soft drinks. Children are being manipulated by advertising companies, so then they beg and plead with their parents to buy them exactly what they have seen on television. In another study of preschoolers (ages 1-4), a childs risk of being overweight increased by 6% for every hour of t elevision watched per day. If that child had a TV in his or her bedroom, the odds of being overweight jumped an additional 31% for every hour watched. Preschool children with TVs in their bedroom watched an additional 4.8 hours of TV or videos every week(Dennison, 2002). Parents should treat watching television as a privilege, maybe not allowing television in their childs room will help reduce the percentage of overweight children. Its simple, reduce the amount of time your children are doing nothing with their minds or body, and increase the amount of time they are exploring things and participating in physical activities. So over all its apparent that watching too much television isnt healthy for any child of any age, or even any adult. While boys tend to be more attracted to violence on television, girls tend to be more attracted to the teeny bopper shows. Some of these shows include situations that are not likely to ever happen, or that are too mature for the child whose watching them. The image that most female television/movie stars, and models are giving to young girls is that the skinner you are the better. We are in a vein world, where somehow everyone got the impression that its not alright to look healthy, better to be overly skinny. Eating disorder experts say prepubescent girls are developing eating disorders as young as 5 and 6 years old. They may be getting their obsession from parents who are preoccupied with their own body images, and media images of skinny stars like the Olsen twins, or even Kiera Knightly, whom stars in a very popular movie series Pirates of the Caribbean. Which is a movie directed towards the younger crowd, considering it is a Disney movie. If we take a look at the figure of Barbie , whos body is considered to be perfect, yet no girl or woman could achieve a body like this, this figure is a definition of beautiful. Unfortunately the only way to help change the outlook of body images is to help our children know its ok to be a different shape than someone else, to teach them its not okay to poke or make fun of children who are bigger sizes. This is not something we need to change just for our children but also for ourselves and our world. Some programs that may seem age appropriate for our children, are still showing some sort of sexual activity. Young girls are getting the image that it is okay to engage in some sort of sexual activity, even if that is just kissing. Some of these shows are saying that having a relationship at a young age is okay, kids need to be kids and not worry about relationships until they have at least approached puberty. Blaming only television and technology for these acts is unfair, because parents have a lot of effect on their children as well. Children are just getting the wrong message from a lot of these shows, that premarital sex is the thing to do, that even something as simple as kissing is okay. This all depends on the age of the child, some parents need to make sure that the shows their child is watching is age appropriate. Maybe some parents need to watch a couple of minutes of the show their child wants to watch and get the feeling, and voice of the show to determine whether its a ppropriate for their child. Children are natural manipulators of the world-they learn through controlling the movement of and interaction between objects in their world: dolls, blocks, toy cars, and their own bodies. With television, they watch and do not control anything, computers allow interaction. Children can control the pace and activity and make things happen on computers (Perry, 1999). Computers are becoming apart of everyones daily lives. We have them at work, home and even at school in childrens class rooms. Computers like all technology have their pros and cons. Obviously the computer can open up a world of intelligence for children, you can look up and explore anything you want on the internet. Studies indicate that the media can promote pro-social behavior, that some computer games can hone visual intelligence and that classroom use of the internet links children with distant mentors and resources, enriching the way kids learn (Carpenter, 2000). Computers are now being used as a learning tool, we h ave access to them, we might as well try and use them for good. Technology offers children a sense of empowerment and provides kids with the tools needed to solve problems (Goessl, 2002-2008). Educational websites, and games are at the reach of our childrens hands, not to mention if they want to know everything to know about Alaska, or who holds the record for chewing gum the longest, they can. Computers can have a great influence on developing hand- eye coordination, since it does take this skill to type and use a mouse. But still the time they spend on the computer should be limited, because kids still need social interaction, and physical activity. We must encourage our children to develop the ability to think first and then give them a computer (Fanning, 2007). Even though we can see many positive outcomes from children using computers, there are also many negative views. Computers are being introduced to children younger and younger these days. Which is making our children lazy, they can now type papers that automatically spell check for them, they dont even have to go to the library to do a research paper, the computer puts all information at a click of the mouse. While it is a nice way for children to communicate with their friends, whatever happen to hand writing a note. Our kids are talking in chat rooms, to who knows, they could be talking to a sexual predator. We have seen this in many cases, the world is such a crazy place and we have to do the best to protect our children from it. Hours and hours of computer use can also be physically damaging to children causing bad posture, hand problems and can effect their eye sight. A child who is always on the computer can cause a lack of social skills. Children need interactive time with pee rs and adults to really develop correctly. On the computer our children can come across things that arent age appropriate for them such as violence, and sex. All they have to do is type in a word and somehow it can be referenced to sex, and link them to a pornography site. Computers are now being linked to as a factor to anti-social behaviors, primarily because computers are replacing normal social activities. Anti-social personality disorder is characterized as a gross disparity between behavior and the prevailing social norms. Children who constantly use the internet as a form of socializing can develop social anxiety disorder or a internet addiction. You may think that young children cant have an internet addiction, but today it is becoming more common. Some children would rather rush home and get onto the internet rather than go play outside with friends or do a creative activity with their parents. Children are isolating themselves from the real world with the excessive use of computers. They are only knowing the web world. Some may not realize it but cell phones do have an effect on our children. In fact they say that children under the age of 8 shouldnt even use one. Cell phones can not only cause brain tumors, but also impaired cognitive functions. Scientist have now discovered that even a two-minute cell phone call can alter the electrical activity of a childs brain for up to an hour after the phone call. This finding has lead many doctors to believe that the disruption in brain activity can lead to psychiatric and behavior problems and can impair learning ability. The alteration in brain waves can lead to aggressive behaviors, lack of ability to learn and memory loss. A study found that children who used cell phones, and whose mothers used cell phones during pregnancy were 80 percent more likely to have behavioral problems such as emotional symptoms, inattention, hyperactivity and problems with peers compared with children who had no cell phone exposure as fetuses or in early childhood. Children wh ose mothers used cell phones during pregnancy but who had no other cell phone exposure were 54 percent more likely to have behavioral problems (Roan, 2008). Excessive cell phone usage can also be linked to an earlier onset of Alzheimers disease. Many parents have no idea how a cell phone is impacting your childs brain. Some scientist have found that cell phone transmissions damage the ability of white blood cells to ward off infectious diseases by disrupting the immune systems electromagnetic communications. The biophysicist from Lincoln University in Christ Church, New Zealand has also found that cell phones can murderously modify moods. In brains and bodies seriously derailed by tiny imbalances in trace minerals and hormones, depression, suicide, anger, rage and violence can result when calcium and serotonin levels are disrupted by cell phone transmissions (Thomas, 2004). Its amazing that all of this time we have been exposing our children to something that is unrecognizably harmful to them. As we can all recognize, technology today is vastly growing, and is out of our hands. What we do have control over is how much of that technology we expose our children to. It is inevitably up to the parents to monitor and react to the technology being used by their children. This may not seem very serious to some parents, but more and more we are seeing children, young adults walking into their classrooms and shooting theirs peers and teachers. All because maybe they played one too many violent video games growing up, or have felt like an out-cast due to a social-anxiety disorder which can be caused by dissocializing yourself with video games, computers and even television. Even though not one research conducted could really prove either positive or negative long term outcomes of technology, it is apparent that technology does have a great effect on our childrens lives and developmental behaviors. Technology has many effects on our children today, but how couldnt it when our society is transforming into a technology world. Children these days will never know what life is like without technology so it is important to make sure we use the technology we have for what its worth. Although there are many negatives to the use of technology, we need to embrace the ever changing world, and just learn as parents to pay attention to what our child is doing. Works Cited Carpenter, Siri, 2000. In Digital Age, Experts Pause to Examine Effects On Kids. http://www.apa-org/monitor/dec00/digital.html Emele, Love, 2002-2008. Technology: Its Effects on Children. http://www.helium.com/items/392511 Fanning MD, Iris, 2007. Television Computer Effects on Learning and Emotional Intelligence. http://ezinearticles.com Gentile et al, D.A., 2004. The Effects of Violent Video Game Habits on Adolescent Hostility, Aggressive Behaviors, and School Performance. Journal of Adolescence 27. http://www.sciencedirect.com Goessl, Leigh, 2002-2008. Technology: Its Effects on Children. http://www.helium.com/items/613503 Lehmann, Max. 2002-2008. Technology: Its Effects on Children. http://www.helium.com/items/361089 McCormick, 2008. Side Effects of Cell Phone. http://www.southcoasttoday.com Perry, Bruce, 1999. ECT Interview: Bruce Perry Discusses the Effects of Technology on the Brain. http://content-scholastic.com Science Daily, 2007. Most Middle- School Boys and Girls Play Violent Video Games. http://www.sciencedaily.com Thomas, William, 2004. Cell Phone Health Effects/ Busy Signals. http://willthomas.net/investigations/articles/cellphones.html Thompkins, Aimee, 2003. The Psychological Effects of Violent Media on Children. http://allpsych.com/journal/violentmedia.html

Market Based Accounting Research Impacts

Market Based Accounting Research Impacts Market-based Accounting Research Introduction Accounting provides financial data about the performance of a company. This data enables accounting information users, including investors, to take their decisions about investing in the shares of a company. Similarly, accounting research evaluates the usefulness of this accounting data to investors and other users. The relationship between the two can be examined through market-based accounting research. Market-based accounting research is a search into relationship between publicly disclosed accounting information and the consequences of use of this information by equity investors. In other words, market-based accounting research examines the association between accounting numbers and security return and tests whether or not accounting data carry any information content to security market. Rationale for the Research Market-based Accounting Research is extremely relevant to the study of capital market efficiency, CAPM, information economics and regulation. The main drive of market-based accounting research comes from major developments in finance theory during the last few decades, especially in late 50s and early 60s. These developments include portfolio selection theory, Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), and the concept of information-efficient capital markets followed by developments in information economics, agency theory and optimal incentive-signaling models. The rationale of this study has its basis in the research in this area in the past. Over the past three decades, a significant amount of research in market-based accounting research has emerged to evaluate the usefulness of accounting data to investors and the association between the accounting numbers and security return. In fact in the recent years due to development of capital markets, globalization and increase in stock trading, market-based accounting research has become even more important. Contemporary market-based accounting research has primarily focused on its international dimension which has had important policy implications for regulators and others who deal with disclosure requirements in different stock exchanges. The focus of this dissertation will be on examining how market-based accounting research impacts the kind of common stock traded in major stock exchanges. In light of this, the study will examine the relationship between accounting numbers, stock market returns and market valuations. Key Aims Objectives As indicated above, the prime focus of the study is to examine contemporary accounting theory and research with an emphasis on market-based accounting research and its impact on capital markets. As market based accounting research is based on the valuation of firms and their securities, the use of financial statements for valuation purposes, and the implications for financial reporting and corporate governance, all these areas will form a part of this study. The study aims to: Describe the concept of market based accounting research Identify the information content of market-based accounting research Provide an insight into local market conditions as well as comparative international state of market-based accounting research. Examine the role of market-based accounting research and the importance of disclosure of accounting information on capital markets Examine how published information is used by investors for designing their trading strategies Describe how market-based accounting research information impacts the capital markets efficiency Describe accounting based valuation and relate it to the content of brokers’ reports Key Research Questions The three key research questions proposed to be examined by this study are: What is the role of accounting information in capital markets? What is the information content of accounting information? What is the market-based accounting research hypothesis in context of influence on investors investing in stocks? Another key research question is how the market reacts to reported earnings, as well as the impact of reported earnings on the properties of analysts’ forecasts. These questions, especially the information content of accounting information, can be measured by the influence of the information on security prices. While measuring the influence it is assumed that investors can understand the differences in earnings that are due to differences between accounting methods. In other words, the study is based on efficient market hypothesis or the assumption that stock prices accurately and quickly adapt to all available information and therefore prevent individuals from getting abnormal return. Proposed Research Methodology Sources of Data / Information The study will be both exploratory as well as descriptive and will rely on both primary as well as secondary sources of information. Sampling for Primary Information Primary data will be collected from a sample consisting of both brokers as well as individual and institutional active investors who have invested in equity shares in a few pre-selected companies listed on the US or European stock exchanges. The period of investment will be from 2000-2006 as 6 years is a sufficient time to analyse the impact. These investors will be chosen on the basis of the frequency with which they invest in the securities. Data will be collected by administering questionnaires seeking information on how these investors make an investment decision. Sources of Secondary Information The prime source of secondary data will be: Annual reports of the selected companies under consideration. The variables that will be focused upon will include stock returns, dividends, net income on sale, return of equity, return on asset, debt ratio, interest coverage, current ratio, Price-earning ratio and price. The final report will be supplemented with information from: Literature searches ( refer list of references at the end of the document ) Past articles and research in the area Internet searches: Searching specific data from Yahoo and Google search engine Data Analysis Data will be compiled into data master sheets. The statistical description for all the variables will be presented in a separate table. The various sets of information pooled over the five year period of study will be clearly presented in the table in context of the various variables. The standard deviation and also correlation between the variables and the stock return will be determined and analysed. Correlation will be based on Karl Pearson’s method of correlation. In addition to standard deviation and correlation, regression analysis will also be used for examining the market reaction to reported accounting information. Regression is used for analysis of impact of independent variables on the dependent variable. The dependent variable for regression analysis will be stock returns while the independent variables will be dividends, Net income on Sale, return of equity, return on asset, debt ratio, interest coverage, current ratio, and price-earnings ratio. Regression equations will be solved using Ordinary Least Square method (OLS). Qualitative data gathered from the investors may include opinions of respondents on a certain issues, reasons for certain behaviour and descriptions of certain procedures, practices or perceptions with which the researcher is not familiar. The data can be analysed by classifying all answers into a few categories. References Abeyratna, G, A.A.Lonie, D.M. Power and C.D. Sinclair (1993), The Stock Market Reaction to Dividend Announcements: A UK Study of a Complex Market Signal, University of Dundee. Bonin, Joseph M. and Edward A. Moses (1974), Seasonal Variations in Prices of Individual Dow Jones Industrial Stocks, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis Charest, Guy (1978) Dividend Information, Stock Returns and Market Efficiency II, Journal of Financial Economics, Vol. 6 Dyckman, Thomas R. and Dale Morse (1986), Efficient Capital Markets and Accounting: A Critical Analysis, Prentice-Hall. Foster, Taylor W. and Don Vickrey (1978) The Information Content of Stock Dividend Announcement, Accounting Review. Vol. LIII. No. 2 Kinney, W. (April 1986.), Empirical Accounting Research Design for Ph.D. Students, Accounting Review Kothari, S.P. Capital Markets Research in Accounting, Journal of Accounting and Economics Vol. 31 Nos. 1-3 Ross, Stephen A. 1978, The Current Status of the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM). The Journal of Finance, Vol.XXXIII. No. 3 Scholes, Myron S. 1972. The Market for Securities: Substitution versus Price Pressure and the Effects of Information on Share Prices, Journal of Business

Bats :: essays research papers

INTRODUCTION There is an abundant amount of animal species in the world. They all have adapted and evolved to survive in their surroundings. Some have grown fins, others legs, and still others wings. One of the animals that has grown wings is the bat. The bat is a truly great creature. It has all the characteristics of mammals while also possessing the skill of a bird in flight. There are more than 800 species of bats in the world. They are of many different sizes, shapes, and lifestyles. They live all over the world and have drawn the curiosity of millions. Bats also have the unique feature of echolocation that it uses to catch insects. Though other mammals, like the flying squirrel seem to fly but actually glide, the bat is the only mammal that can truly fly (Lauber 1968). A Bat's Body Due to the great variety of species of bats some characteristics vary greatly, but the Little Brown Bat is a good example of a common bat. It has fur on the body, large naked ears, the rear legs have claws, a tail membrane, and it has the most distinguishing feature of a bat, wings (Lauber 1968). The upper arm of the bat is short while the forearm is very long (Fig. 1). The wrist is very small and from it comes the thumb and the four longer fingers. The thumb is short and used for climbing or walking. The fingers are long and thin. Interlocking the fingers is the wing. This arrangement of having the fingers in the wing gives the bat amazing flight maneuverability (Honders 1975). These bones look similar to a human hand. They are connected by rubbery skin to the bat's body enveloping all the fingers but the thumb (Anonymous 1990). Echolocation Bats have a "sixth sense" called echolocation. This was first proved by Donald Griffin. Bats produce ultrasonic sound waves and then use the echo of the returning sound to sense the world around them and in particularly to catch insects. These sounds are usually out of the humans range of hearing (Fellman 1993). This system is similar to that of dolphins. The sound is in the form of clicks that increase as the bat gets closer to the insect or whatever it is tracking (Anonymous 1990). Unlike humans, most insects can hear the bat's echolocation sounds. David D. Yager of the University of Maryland has found that the praying mantis has used this to its advantage.

Joseph Stalin Essay -- Stalin’s Rise to Power

Joseph Stalin was the leader of the Soviet Union from 1922-1953, when he died. He was responsible for one of the most notable and devastating genocides, the Great Purge. His vicious reign took the lives of around 20-60 million people by his rigid and cruel treatment. Through his exploitation of the lower class and his manipulative abuse of power, Stalin created one of the worst examples of leadership in history. It takes an interesting character to be able to execute the cruelties displayed in his regime and the traits that Stalin developed into his cult of personality were likely acquired as a child and adolescent. This paper will discuss how Stalin’s background helped build the qualities of a ruthless leader and how he displayed them at the time of his power. His destruction of the citizens’ rights and his failure to maintain his responsibilities as ruler will also be reflected upon throughout this writing. Stalin’s Childhood and Background Stalin was born December 18, 1878 in Gori Georgia. His mother was named Ketevan Geladze. His biological father is not accurately known, although, there are many theories as to whom his paternal father is. It could’ve been that Stalin is the descendant of a Gregorian prince or count. Another theory is that Stalin is the son of General Nikolai Przhevalsky who was one of the great scientific explorers of the 19th century. Stalin could have been the son of a Jewish wine merchant named Yaakov Egnatashvili. His mother did laundry in his household. This is one of the most likely theories due to the fact that he paid for Stalin’s seminary education and Stalin named his first son Yaakov in Egnatashvili’s honor. Stalin also could have been the son of a priest. It is even possible that his father... ...ctment of the phone call between Stalin and Krupskaya. Matthews, John R., 1937 – The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union / by John R. Matthews. P. cm.-(World History Series) This discussed the history of the Soviet Union, from the Revolution of 1917 through the Lenin and Stalin eras. "Joseph Stalin." Joseph Stalin. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Jan. 2014 This web source detailed on Stalins ‘cult of personality’ and gave more input on his distortion of the media image. "The Art of Conservatism." : Marxism According to Stalin. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2014 Showed how Stalin manipulated Marxism and revealed his interpretation of Marxist ideologies as compared to actual Marxist beliefs. "Marxism." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2014. Provided a definition of Marxism and a brief history of how it was adapted in Stalinist Russia.

Climate Change And Carbon Reduction Environmental Sciences Essay

Climate alteration is arguably one of the greatest environmental challenges confronting the universe today. The addition in atmospheric nursery gases has driven a rapid rise in the planetary temperature. Emissions ensuing from human activities are well increasing the concentrations of the nursery gases, C dioxide ( CO2 ) , methane ( CH4 ) , CFCs ( CFCs ) and azotic oxide ( N2O ) and are doing nursery gas consequence. Carbon dioxide has been responsible for over half the enhanced nursery consequence in the past and is likely to stay same in the hereafter ( Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2007 ) . The Stern Review study suggests that a 25 % decrease below current degrees of emanations is required in order to stabilise planetary CO2 concentrations at degrees that will non hold really inauspicious impacts. And what we besides find out from the Stern Review is that the costs of non moving on clime alteration are greater than the costs of moving ( Stern Review 2006 ) . It has been recognised that developed states are chiefly responsible for the current high degrees of atmospheric GHG emanations ; the Kyoto Protocol places a heavier load on developed states and sets adhering emanation decrease marks of up to an norm of five per cent emanations reductionA compared to 1990 degrees over the five-year period 2008 to 2012. In Doha, Qatar, on 8 December 2012, the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol was adopted. This launched a 2nd committedness period, get downing on 1 January 2013 until 2020 ( United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 2013 ) . So, the motive for this research comes from the widely-accepted demand to greatly cut down the C dioxide ( CO2 ) and other nursery gases ( GHG ) emanations in order to extenuate anthropogenetic clime alteration. The societal, environmental and economic costs associated with C emanations could be immense and world can confront inauspicious effects. Therefore, the demand to cut down CO2 emanations has be en recognised as a cardinal portion of the on-going attempts to battle clime alteration.1.2. Carbon decrease in the United Kingdom: National contextThe UK histories for less than 1.5 % of planetary nursery gas emanations ; the authorities has a clear national involvement in guaranting that the universe tackles climate alteration together as it is a planetary job and it requires a planetary solution. ( HM Government 2011 ) . The UK authorities has had a turning committedness to sustainable development over the last 15 old ages, foremost establishing a scheme for sustainable development in 1994. Its current scheme, â€Å" Procuring the FutureaˆY was launched in 2005 and focused on four cardinal countries: ingestion and production, natural resource protection, sustainable communities and clime alteration ( Her Majesty ‘s Stationery Office 2005 ) . The current alliance authorities besides raises a motto of the ‘greenest authorities of all time ‘ , although it has non been followed through unfavorable judgment, and shows its strategic committedness towards low C economic system. The planetary jussive mood of clime alteration has been translated into national C decrease marks. The UK authorities has strongly agreed for C decrease after its Kyoto Commitments and has developed Climate Change Act 2008 which is the universe ‘s first long-run lawfully adhering model. It aims to promote the passage to a low-carbon economic system in the UK by puting ambitious C decrease marks of at least 80 % by 2050 and at least 34 % by 2020 against a 1990 baseline ( HMSO 2008 ) . The UK is committed to play a prima function in order to procuring planetary action to cut down C emanations which is consistent with restricting planetary temperature additions to below 2A °C ( HMSO 2010 ) . The UK clime alteration act develops a new attack of pull offing clime alteration through puting institutional marks, doing schemes for accomplishing them, beef uping institutional models and regular answerability.1.3. Carbon decrease in public sector: Higher Education contextThe mounting grounds of planetary clime alteration is one of the most of import issues for concerns. Carbon decrea se is traveling up the corporate docket and administrations now understand the demand to manage their emanations and it must be embedded within their concern patterns ( Carbon Disclosure Project 2010 ) . The UK populace sector has long been taking the manner when it comes to cutting energy costs andA C emanations and the research has revealed that the populace sector is the most committed to carbon decrease as compared to the private and 3rd sectors ( The Carbon Trust 2012 ) . Camco ( 2011 ) found that the entire nursery gas emanations emitted by public sector organic structures from the usage of electricity and fossil fuels in 2009/10 including for administrative concern conveyance are estimated to be 16.7-23.5 Million tCO2. Against this background, proactive actions are required by all of the populace sector administrations to cut down C and other nursery gases emanations. The Higher Education ( HE ) sector, due to the nature of its operational activities, preponderantly and straight emits C and to a much lesser extent other nursery gas emanations, frequently indirectly, such as methane ( CH4 ) ( Higher Education Funding Council for England 2010 ) . The Higher Education ( HE ) sector has a important societal and economic impact and is non exempt from disputing C decrease marks, in fact, it is argued, should be showing leading in the field. A research was carried out by Camco ( 2011 ) and was presented to the Department of Energy and Climate Change ( DECC ) , which suggests that the most cost effectual chances to accomplish the C decrease marks exist within the Further and Higher Education sectors. In 1990, sum HE sector C emanations were 2.445 million metric tons of C dioxide ( MtCO2 ) and in 2006 they were 3.288 MtCO2, a rise of 34 % ( HEFCE 2009 ) . The HE sector is being encouraged to take in C decrease as it is a important subscriber of C emanations in the public sector but besides because of the privileged place universities occupy in being Centres of research excellence and in cultivating ‘thought leaders ‘ for the hereafter ( HEFCE 2009 ) . HE is a turning consumer of energy and resources and generator of C emanations. In 2008-09 the UK Higher and Further Education sector administrations consumed 7.7 TWh of energy ( all fuels ) bring forthing emanations of 2.6 million metric tons of C dioxide equivalent ( Hopkinson and James 2011 ) . So, there is a demand to understand that how Higher Education Institutions ( HEIs ) can strategically cut down their increasing C emanations through an integrated and comprehensive attack. In National Carbon Strategy, HEFCE encourages higher instruction establishments to follow similar marks ( HEFCE, 2010a ) . Carbon decrease mark and scheme for higher instruction in England has besides been formulated in order to supply guideline for HE establishments to put their ain marks inline with the UK marks and so develop action programs through C direction programs. The lone marks do non run into consequences ; they need to be supported with the schemes. Within the following 10 old ages the higher instruction sector in this state will be recognised as a major subscriber to society ‘s attempts to accomplish sustainability through the accomplishments and cognition that its alumnuss learn and set into pattern, its research and exchange of cognition through concern, community and public policy battle, and through its ain schemes and operations ( HEFCE ) . Capital support for higher instruction establishments in England is linked to carbon decrease from 2011 which makes high er instruction ‘s senior direction concern about their energy ingestion and C emanations.1.4. Research purpose and aims:There is an ongoing demand to analyze and measure the procedure of C direction in the higher instruction sector and to suggest a clear route map for a strategic attack to better C direction. It is surprising that empirical research analyzing the strategic attack and committedness to carbon direction within the higher instruction establishments is comparatively thin ( Chapter 2: Literature Review ) . A research inquiry was formulated that â€Å" How higher instruction sector establishments can strategically pull off their C emanations from all of their organizational activities? †1.4.1. Purpose:The purpose of this research is to develop a strategic C direction model for cut downing higher instruction sector establishments ‘ C emanations in the context of the broader public sector.1.4.2. Specific aims:To consistently reexamine and measure the liter ature, paperss, schemes and C direction programs of the Higher Education ( HE ) sector establishments. To analyze the current province and effectivity of C direction within the higher instruction sector establishments. To place the drivers and barriers for C direction within the higher instruction sector establishments. To place and understand the characteristics and procedures for implementing effectual C direction schemes ; peculiar attending will be paid to the function of procurance and other range 3 emanations. To develop, suggest and formalize a Strategic Carbon Management ( SCM ) model for cut downing overall C emanations for the higher instruction every bit good as the broader public sector administrations.1.5. Novel part to the cognition:The PhD research will bring forth a coherent set of findings on a strategic attack to carbon direction and will hold the undermentioned original parts to the bing cognition. Contribution in the bing theoretical cognition of strategic C direction. Substantial/practical part for a strategic attack to carbon direction in the higher instruction sector every bit good as the wider populace sector. Strategic Carbon Management ( SCM ) model will be proposed for bettering HE C direction and implanting C direction in corporate scheme. It will research how range 3 emanations, peculiarly procurance can be incorporated into universities ‘ C direction procedure. Novel methodological part with qualitative and quantitative informations integrating.1.6. Thesis construction:The thesis will hold nine chapters and the staying chapters are outlined below:Chapter 2: Literature reappraisalThis chapter will present the theoretical background for the research through the reappraisal of bing literature around assorted facets of C direction.Chapter 3: Research MethodologyThis chapter will detail the overall design of the research and sketching the chosen research methodological analysis in order to run into research purpose and aims.Chapter 4: Systematic analysis of secondary informationsThis chapter will run into the first aim by consistently analyzing the secondary informations. It will chiefly dwell of universities ‘ C direction programs and schemes, other strategic paperss and relevant policies.Chapter 5: Policy context, drivers and barriers to carbon directionThis chapter will turn to C direction drivers and barriers with for higher instructio n establishments. It will besides turn to policies sing C decrease in general and higher instruction in peculiar.Chapter 6: Preliminary research findingsThis chapter will analyze and bring forth first stage preliminary research findings based on the explorative interviews carried out with higher instruction sector directors in order to inform more structured attack in the 2nd stage of the research.Chapter 7: Survey QuestionnaireThis chapter will supply public sector analysis based on the questionnaire study consequences. It will analyze the current province and effectivity of C direction within the higher instruction sector establishments, besides comparison between different sector organic structures in C direction leading.Chapter 8: De Montfort University Case StudyThis chapter will supply descriptive instance survey of De Montfort University to happen out what is presently go oning in relation to strategic C direction. It will assist in placing and understanding assorted characte ristics and procedures for implementing effectual C direction in a university. It will besides research the function of procurance and other range 3 emanations in C direction.Chapter 9: DiscussionThe treatment chapter will take the research findings from in-depth DMU survey and see in the context of wider higher instruction every bit good as the broader public sector administrations. It will integrate the development and proof of strategic C direction model for pull offing C emanations.Chapter 10: DecisionsThis chapter will summarize of the cardinal research findings and the original part to knowledge originating from this research, followed by way to future work.

Gendered Media

Article 7 Gendered Media: The Influence of Media on Views of Gender Julia T. Wood Department of Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill times more often than ones about women (â€Å"Study Reports Sex Bias,† 1989), media misrepresent actual proportions of men and women in the population. This constant distortion tempts us to believe that there really are more men than women and, further, that men are the cultural standard. THEMES IN MEDIA Of the many influences on how we view men and women, media are the most pervasive and one of the most powerful.Woven throughout our daily lives, media insinuate their messages into our consciousness at every turn. All forms of media communicate images of the sexes, many of which perpetuate unrealistic, stereotypical, and limiting perceptions. Three themes describe how media represent gender. First, women are underrepresented, which falsely implies that men are the cultural standard and women are unimportant or invisible. Sec ond, men and women are portrayed in stereotypical ways that reflect and sustain socially endorsed views of gender.Third, depictions of relationships between men and women emphasize traditional roles and normalize violence against women. We will consider each of these themes in this section. Underrepresentation of Women A primary way in which media distort reality is in underrepresenting women. Whether it is prime-time television, in which there are three times as many white men as women (Basow, 1992 p. 159), or children’s programming, in which males outnumber females by two to one, or newscasts, in which women make up 16% of newscasters and in which stories about men are included 10 MEDIA’S MISREPRESENTATION OF AMERICAN LIFEThe media present a distorted version of cultural life in our country. According to media portrayals: White males make up two-thirds of the population. The women are less in number, perhaps because fewer than 10% live beyond 35. Those who do, like t heir younger and male counterparts, are nearly all white and heterosexual. In addition to being young, the majority of women are beautiful, very thin, passive, and primarily concerned with relationships and getting rings out of collars and commodes. There are a few bad, bitchy women, and they are not so pretty, not so subordinate, and not so caring as the good women.Most of the bad ones work outside of the home, which is probably why they are hardened and undesirable. The more powerful, ambitious men occupy themselves with important business deals, exciting adventures, and rescuing dependent females, whom they often then assault sexually. From Gendered Lives: Communication, Gender, and Culture by Julie T. Wood, Chapter 9, pp. 231-244. 0 1994. Reprinted with permission of Wadsworth Publishing, a division of Thomson Learning. Fax 800-730-2215. 31 T LI Y IIYC~ WI I H MEDIA Other myths about what is standard are similarly fortified by communication in media.Minorities are even less visi ble than women, with African-Americans appearing only rarely (Gray, 1986; Stroman, 1989) and other ethnic minorities being virtually nonexistent. In children’s programming when African-Americans do appear, almost invariably they appear in supporting roles rather than as main characters (O’Connor, 1989). While more African-Americans are appearing in prime-time television, they are too often cast in stereotypical roles. In the 1992 season, for instance, 12 of the 74 series on commercial networks included large African-American casts, yet most featured them in stereotypical roles.Black men are presented as lazy and unable to handle authority as lecherous, and/or as unlawful, while females are portrayed as domineering or as sex objects (â€Å"Sights Sounds, and Stereotypes,† 1992). Writing in 1993, David Evans (1993, p. 10) criticized television for stereotyping black males as athletes and entertainers. These roles wrote Evans, mislead young black male viewers in& t hinking success â€Å"is only a dribble or dance step away† and blind them to other, more realistic ambitions. &panics and Asians are nearly absent, and when they are presented it is usually as villains or criminals (Lichter, Lichter, Rothman, & Amundson, 1987). Also under-represented is the single fastest growing we are aging so that people over 60 make up a major part of our population; within this group, women significantly outnumber men (Wood, 1993~). Older people not only are under-represented in media but also are represented inaccurately In contrast to demographic realities, media consistently show fewer older women than men, presumably because our culture worships youth and beauty in women.Further, elderly individuals are frequently portrayed as sick, dependent, fumbling and passive, images not borne out in real life. Distirted depictions of older people and especially older women in media, however, can delude us into thinking they are a small, sickly, and unimportant part of our population. group of Americans- older people. As a country, Stereotypical Portrayals of Women and Men In general, media continue to present both women and men in stereotyped ways that limit our perceptions of human possibilities.Typically men are portrayed as active, adventurous, powerful, sexually aggressive and largely uninvolved in human relationships. Just as’ consistent with cultural views of gender are depictions of women as sex objects who are usually young, thin beautiful, passive, dependent, and often incompetent and dumb. Female characters devote their primary energies to improving their appearances and taking care of homes and people. Because media pervade our lives, the ways they misrepresent genders may distort how we see ourselves and what we perceive as normal and desirable for men and women.Stereotypical portrayals of men. According to J. A. Doyle (1989, p. ill), whose research focuses on masculinity children’s television typically shows ma les as â€Å"aggressive, dominant, and engaged in exciting activities from which they receive rewards from others for their ‘masculine’ accomplishments. † Relatedly, recent studies reveal that the majority of men on prime-time television are independent, aggressive, and in charge (McCauley Thangavelu, & Rozin, 1988). Television programming foi all ages disproportionately depicts men as serious confident, competent, owerful, and in high-status ‘positions. Gentleness in men, which was briefly evident in the 197Os, has receded as established male characters are redrawn to be more tough and distanced from others (Bayer, 1986). Highly popular films such as LethaI Weapon, Predator, Days of Thunder, Total Recall, Robocop Die Hard, and Die Harder star men who embody the The lack of women in the media is paralleled by the scarcity of women in charge of media. Only about 5% of television writers, executives, and producers are women (Lichter, Lichter, & Rothman, 1986) .Ironically, while twothirds of journalism graduates are women, they make up less than 2% of those in corporate management of newspapers and only about 5% of newspaper publishers (â€Å"Women in Media,† 1988). Female film directors are even rnonz-scarce, as are executives in charge of MTV It is probably not coincidental that so few women are behind the scenes of an industry that so consistently portrays women negatively Some media analysts (Mills 1988) believe that if more women had positions o; authority at executive levels, media would offer more positive portrayals of women. tereotype of extreme masculinity Media, then reinforce long-standing cultural ideals of masculinity:’ Men are presented as hard, tough, independent, sexually aggressive, unafraid, violent, totally in control of all emotions, and-above all-in no way feminine. Equally interesting is how males are not presented. J. D. Brown and K. Campbell (1986) report that men are seldom shown doing housework. Do yle (1989) notes that boys and men are rarely presented caring for others. B.Horovitz (1989) points out they are typically represented as uninterested in and incompetent at homemaking, cooking, and child care. Each season’s new ads for cooking and cleaning supplies include several that caricature men as incompetent buffoons, who are klutzes in the kitchen and no better at taking care of children. While children’s books have made a limited attempt to depict women engaged in activities outside of the home there has been little parallel effort to show men involbed in family and home life. When someone is shown taking care of a child , ‘t is usually the mother, not the father. ’ This perpetuates a negative stereotype of men as uncaring and uninvolved in family life. Stereotypical portrayals of women. Media’s images of women also reflect cultural stereotypes that depart markedly from reality As we have already seen, girls and 7. Gendered Media JILL I rem ember when I was little I used to read books from the boys’ section of the library because they were more interesting. Boys did the fun stuff and the exciting things. My mother kept trying to get me to read girls’ books, but I just couldn’t get into them.Why can’t stories about girls be full of adventure and bravery? I know when I’m a mother, I want any daughters of mine to understand that excitement isn’t just for boys. women are dramatically underrepresented. In prime- time television in 1987, fully two-thirds of the speaking parts were for men. Women are portrayed as significantly younger and thinner than women in the population as a whole, and most are depicted as passive, dependent on men, and enmeshed in relationships or housework (Davis, 1990). The requirements of youth and eauty in women even influence news shows, where female newscasters are expected to be younger, more physically attractive, and less outspoken than males (Craft, 19 88; Sanders & Rock, 1988). Despite educators’ criticism of self-fulfilling prophecies that discourage girls from success in math and science, that stereotype was dramatically reiterated in 1992 when Mattel offered a new talking Barbie doll. What did she say? â€Å"Math class is tough,† a message that reinforces the stereotype that women cannot do math (â€Å"Mattel Offers Trade-In,† 1992).From children’s programming in which the few existing female characters typically spend their time watching males do things (Feldman & Brown, 1984; Woodman, 1991), to MTV, which routinely pictures women satisfying men’s sexual fantasies (Pareles, 1990; Texier, 1990), media reiterate the cultural image of women as dependent, ornamental objects whose primary functions are to look good, please men, and stay quietly on the periphery of life. Media have created two images of women: good women and bad ones. These polar opposites are often juxtaposed against each other t o dramatize differences in the consequences that befall good and bad women.Good women are pretty, deferential, and focused on home, family and caring for others. Subordinate to men, they are usually cast as victims, angels, martyrs, and loyal wives and helpmates. Occasionally, women who depart from traditional roles are portrayed positively, but this is done either by making their career lives invisible, as with Claire Huxtable, or by softening and feminizing working women to make them more consistent with traditional views of fernininity For instance, in the original script, Cagney and Lacey were conceived as strong, mature, independent women who took their work seriously and did it well.It took 6 years for writers Barbara Corday and Barbara Avedon to sell the script to CBS, and even then they had to agree to subdue Cagney’s and Lacey’s abilities to placate producer Barney Rosenzweig, who complained, â€Å"These women aren’t soft enough. These women arenâ€⠄¢t feminine enough† (Faludi, 1991, p. 150). While female viewers wrote thousands of letters praising the show, male executives at CBS continued to force writers to make the characters softer, more tender, and less sure of themselves (Faludi, 1991, p. 152).The remaking of Cagney and Lacey illustrates the media’s bias in favor of women who are traditionally feminine and who are not too able, too powerful, or too confident. The rule seems to be that a woman may be strong and successful if and only if she also exemplifies traditional stereotypes of femininity-subservience, passivity, beauty, and an identity linked to one or more men. The other image of women the media offer us is the evil sister of the good homebody Versions of this image are the witch, bitch, whore, or nonwoman, who is represented as hard, cold, aggressive-all of the things a good woman is not supposed to be.Exemplifying the evil woman is Alex in Fatal Attraction, which grossed more than $100 million in i ts first four months (Faludi, 1991, p. 113). Yet Alex was only an extreme version of how bad women are generally portrayed. In children’s literature, we encounter witches and mean stepmothers as villains, with beautiful and passive females like Snow White and Sleeping Beauty as their good counterparts. Prime-time television favorably portrays pretQ nurturing, other-focused women, such as Claire Huxtable on â€Å"The Cosby Show,† whose career as an attorney never entered storylines as much as her engagement in family matters.Hope in â€Å"Thirtysomething† is an angel, committed to husband Michael and daughter Janey. In the biographies written for each of the characters when the show was in development, all male characters were defined in terms of their career goals, beliefs, and activities. Hope’s biography consisted of one line: â€Å"Hope is married to Michael† (Faludi, 1991, p. 162). Hope epitomizes the traditional woman, so much so in fact that in one episode she refers to herself as June Cleaver and calls Michael â€Å"Ward,† thus reprising the traditional family of the 1950s as personified in â€Å"Leave It to Beaver† (Faludi, 1991, p. 61). Meanwhile, prime-time typically represents ambitious, independent women as lonely, embittered spinsters who are counterpoints to â€Å"good† women. Stereotypical Images of Relationships Between Men and Women Given media’s stereotypical portrayals of women and men, we shouldn’t be surprised to find that relationships between women and men are similarly depicted in ways that reinforce stereotypes. Four themes demonstrate how media reflect and promote traditional arrangements between the sexes. Women’s dependence/men’s independence.Walt Disney’s award-winning animated film The Little Mermaid vividly embodies females’ dependence on males for identity. In this feature film, the mermaid quite literally 33 1 +3 LIVING WITH MEDIA I PAUL I wouldn’t say this around anyone, but personally I’d be glad if the media let up a little on us guys. I watch those guys in films and on TV, and I just feel inadequate. I mean, I’m healthy and I look okay, and I’ll probably make a decent salary when I graduate. But I am no stud; I can’t beat up three guys at once women don’t fall dead at my feet; I doubt I’ll make i million bucks; and I don’t have muscles that ripple.Every time I go to a film, I leave feeling like a wimp. How can any of us guys measure up to what’s on the screen? I gives up her identity as a mermaid in order to become acceptable to her human lover. In this children’s story, we see a particularly obvious illustration of the asymmetrical relationship between women and men that is more subtly conveyed in other media productions. Even the Smurfs, formless little beings who have no obvious sex, reflect the male-female, dominant-submissive roles .The female smurf, unlike her male companions who have names, is called only Smurfette, making her sole identity a diminutive relation to male smurfs. The male dominance/female subservience pattern that permeates mediated representations of relationships is no accident. Beginning in 1991, television executives deliberately and consciously adopted a policy of having dominant male characters in all Saturday morning children’s programming (Carter, 1991). Women, as well as minorities, are cast in support roles rather than leading ones in both children’s shows and the commercials interspersed within them (O’Connor 1989).Analyses of MTV revealed that it portrays females as passive and waiting for men’s attention, while males are shown ignoring, exploiting or directing women (Brown, Campbell, & Fisher, 1986). In rap music videos, where African-American men and women star men dominate women, whose primary role is as objects of male desires (Pareles, 1990; Texier, 1990). News programs that have male and female hosts routinely cast the female as deferential to her male colleague (Craft, 1988; Sanders & Rock, 1988). Commercials, too, manifest power cues that echo the male dominance/female subservience pattern.For instance, men are usually shown positioned above women, and women are more frequently pictured in varying degrees of undress (Masse & Rosenblum 1988; N&o, Hill, Gelbein, & Clark, 1988). Such nonverl bal cues represent women as vulnerable and more submissive while men stay in control. In a brief departure from this pattern, films and television beginning in the 1970s responded to the second wave of feminism by showing women who were independent without being hard, embittered, or without close relationships. Films such as Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Up the Sandbox, The Turning Point, Diary of a Mad 34Housewife, and An Unmarried Woman offered realistic portraits of women who sought and found their awn voices independent of me n. Judy Davis’s film, My BriZZiant Career, particularly embodied this focus by telling the story of a woman who chooses work over marriage. During this period, television followed suit, offering viewers prime-time fare such as â€Å"Maude† and â€Å"The Mary Tyler Moore Show,† which starred women who were able and achieving in their own rights. â€Å"One Day at a Time rr which premiered in 1974, was the first prime-time program about a divorced woman.By the 198Os, however, traditionally gendered arrangements resurged as the backlash movement against feminism was embraced by media (Haskell, 1988; Maslin 1990). Thus, film fare in the 1980s included Pretfy Woman’ the story of a prostitute who becomes a good woman when she is saved from her evil ways by a rigidly stereotypical man, complete with millions to prove his success Meanwhile, Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down trivialized abuse of women and underlined women’s dependence on men with a story of a woman wh o is bound by a man and colludes in sustaining her bondage.Crossing Delancey showed successful careerist Amy Irving talked into believing she needs a man to be complete, a theme reprised by Cher in Moonstruck. Television, too, cooperated in returning women to their traditional roles with characters like Hope in â€Å"Thirtysomething† who minded house and baby as an ultratraditional wife, and even Murphy Brown found her career wasn’t enough and had a baby Against her protests, Cybill Shepherd, who played Maddie in â€Å"Moonlighting† was forced to marry briefly on screen which Susan Faludi (1991, p. 57) refers to as part of a â€Å"campaign to cow this independent female figure. † Popular music added its voice with hit songs like â€Å"Having My Baby,† which glorified a woman who defined herself by motherhood and her relationship to a man. The point is not that having babies or committing to relationships is JOANNE I’d like to know who dreams up those commercials that show men as unable to boil water or run a vacuum. I’d like to tell them they’re creating monsters. My boyfriend and I agreed to split all chores equally when we moved in together. Ha! Fat chance of that. He does zilch.When I get on his case, he reminds me of what happened when the father on some show had to take over housework and practically demolished the kitchen. Then he grins and says, â€Å"Now, you wouldn’t want that, would you? † Or worse yet, he throws up Hope or one of the other women on W, and asks me why I can’t be as sweet and supportive as she is. It’s like the junk on television gives him blanket license for doing nothing. 7. Gendered Medi wrong; rather, it is that media virtually require this of women in order to present them positively Media define a very narrow range for womanhood.Joining the campaign to restore traditional dominantsubordinate patterns of male-female relationships were magazines, w hich reinvigorated their focus on women’s role as the helpmate and supporter of husbands and families (Peirce, 1990). In 1988, that staple of Americana Good Housekeeping, did its part to revive women’s tradi: tional roles with a full-page ad (â€Å"The Best in the House n 1988) for its new demographic edition marketed to’ â€Å"the new traditionalist woman. A month later, the magazine followed this up with a second full-page ad in national newspapers that saluted the â€Å"new traditionalist woman m with this copy (â€Å"The New Traditionalist,† 1988): â€Å"She his made her commitment. Her mission: create a more meaningful life for herself and her family She is the New Traditionalist-a contemporary woman who finds her fulfillment in traditional values. † The long-standing dominant-submissive model for male-female relationships was largely restored in the 1980s. With only rare exceptions, women are still portrayed as dependent on men and subserv ient to them.As B. Lott (1989, p. 64) points out, it is women who â€Å"do the laundry and are secretaries to men who own companies. † Men’s authority/women’s incompetence. A second recurrent theme in media representations of relationships is that men are the competent authorities who save women from their incompetence. Children’s literature vividly implements this motif by casting females as helpless and males as coming to their rescue. Sleeping Beauty’s resurrection depends on Prince Charming’s kiss, a theme that appears in the increasingly popular gothic romance novels for adults (Modleski, 1982).One of the most pervasive ways in which media define males as authorities is in commercials. Women are routinely shown anguishing over dirty floors and bathroom fixtures only to be relieved of their distress when Mr. Clean shows up to tell them how to keep their homes spotless. Even when commercials are aimed at women selling products intended fo r them, up to 90% of the tim: a man’s voice is used to explain the value of what is being sold (Basow, 1992, p. 161; Bretl & Cantor 1988). using male voice-overs reinforces the cultural v&w that men are authorities and women depend on men to tell them what to do.Television further communicates the message that men are authorities and women are not. One means of doing this is sheer numbers. As we have seen, men vastly outnumber women in television programming. In addition, the dominance of men as news anchors who inform us of happenings in the world underlines their authority (â€Å"Study Reports Sex Bias,† 1989). Prime-time television contributes to this image by showing women who need to be rescued by men and by presenting women as incompetent more than twice as often as men (Bayer, 1986; Lichter et al. , 1986).Consider the characters in â€Å"The Jetsons,† an animate, television series set in the future. Daughter Judy Jetso is constantly complaining and waitin g for others to he1 her, using ploys of helplessness and flattery to win men’ attention. The Rescuers, a popular animated video of the 199Os, features Miss Bianca (whose voice is that of Zs: Zsa Gabon fittingly enough), who splits her time evenl) between being in trouble and being grateful to mah characters for rescuing her. These stereotypical repre sentations of males and females reinforce a number o; harmful beliefs.They suggest, first, that men are more competent than women. Compounding this is the message that a woman’s power lies in her looks and conventional femininity since that is how females from Sleeping Beauty to Judy Jetson get males to assist them with their dilemmas (McCauley Thangavelu, & Rozin 1988). Third, these stereotypes underline the requiremen; that men must perform, succeed, and conquer in order to be worthy Women as primary caregiverslmen as breadwinners. A third perennial theme in media is that women are caregivers and men are providers.Since the backlash of the 198Os, in fact, this gendered arrangement has been promulgated with renewed vigor. Once again, as in the 195Os, we see women devoting themselves to getting rings off of collars, gray out of their hair, and meats on the table. Corresponding to this is the restatement of men’s inability in domestic and nurturing roles. Horovitz (1989), for instance, reports that in commercials men are regularly the butt of jokes for their ignorance about nutrition, child care, and housework When media portray women who work outside of the home, their career lives typicallyFreceive little or no attention.Although these characters have titles such as lawyer or doctor, they are shown predominantly in their roles as homemakers, mothers, and wives. We see them involved in caring conversations with family and friends and doing things for others, all of which never seem to conflict with their professional responsibilities. This has the potential to cultivate unrealistic expectation s of being Isuperwoman,† who does it all without her getting a hair out of place or being late to a conference. Magazines play a key role in promoting pleasing others as a primary focus of women’s lives. K.Peirce’s (1990) study found that magazines aimed at women stress looking good and doing things to please others. Thus, advertising tells women how to be â€Å"me, only better† by dyeing their hair to look younger; how to lose weight so â€Å"you’ll still be attractive to him†; and how to prepare gourmet meals so â€Å"he’s always glad to come home. † Constantly these advertisements emphasize pleasing others, especially men, as central to being a woman, and the message is fortified with the thinly veiled warning that if a woman fails to look good and please, her man might leave (Rakow, 1992).There is a second, less known way in which advertisements contribute to stereotypes of women as focused 1 + LIVING WITH MEDIA on others an d men as focused on work. Writing in 1990, Gloria Steinem, editor of Ms. , revealed that advertisers control some to most of the content in magazines. In exchange for placing an ad, a company receives â€Å"complimentary copy† which is one or more articles that increase the market appeal of its product.So a soup company that takes out an ad might be given a three-page story on how to prepare meals using that brand of soup; likewise, an ad for hair coloring products might be accompanied by interviews with famous women who choose to dye their hair. Thus, the message of advertisers is multiplied by magazine content, which readers often mistakenly assume is ,independent of advertising. Advertisers support media, and they exert a powerful influence on what is presented. To understand the prevalence of traditional gender roles in programming, magazine copy, and other media, we need only ask what is in the best interests of advertisers.They want to sponsor shows that create or expan d markets for their products. Media images of women as sex objects, devoted homemakers, and mothers buttress the very roles in which the majority of consuming takes place. To live up to these images, women have to buy cosmetics and other personal care products, diet aids, food, household cleaners, utensils and appliances, clothes and toys for children, and so on. In short, it is in advertisers’ interests to support programming and copy that feature women in traditional roles.In a recent analysis, Lana Rakow (1992) demonstrated that much advertising is oppressive to women and is very difficult to resist, even when one is a committed feminist. Women’s role in the home and men’s role outside of it are reinforced by newspapers and news programming. Both emphasize men’s independent activities and, in fact, define news almost entirely as stories about and by men (â€Å"Study Reports Sex Bias,† 1989). Stories about men focus on work and/or their achieveme nts (Luebke, 1989), reiterating the cultural message that men are supposed to do, perform.Meanwhile the few stories about women almost invariably focus on their roles as wives, mothers, and homemakers (â€Å"Study Reports Sex Bias,† 1989). Even stories about women who are in the news because of achievements and professional activities typically dwell on marriage, family life, and other aspects of women’s traditional role (Foreit et al. , 1980). Women as victims and sex objectslmen as aggressors. A final theme in mediated representations of relationships between women and men is representation of women as subject to men’s sexual desires.The irony of this representation is that the very qualities women are encouraged to develop (beauty, sexiness, passivity, and powerlessness) in order to meet cultural ideals of femininity contribute to their victimization. Also, the qualities that men are urged to exemplify (aggressiveness, dominance, sexuality, and strength) are identical to those linked to abuse of women. It is no coincidence that all but one of the women nominated for Best Actress in the 36 1988 Academy Awards played a victim (Faludi, 1991, p. 138). Women are portrayed alternatively either as decorative objects, who must attract a man o be valuable, or as victims of men’s sexual impulses. Either way, women are defined by their bodies and how men treat them. Their independent identities and endeavors are irrelevant to how they are represented in media, and their abilities to resist exploitation by others are obscured. This theme, which was somewhat toned down during the 197Os, returned with vigor in the 1980s as the backlash permeated media. According to S. A. Basow (1992, p. 160), since 1987 there has been a â€Å"resurgence of male prominence, pretty female sidekicks, female homemakers. † Advertising in magazines also communicates the message that women are sexual objects.While men are seldom pictured nude or even partially unclothed, women habitually are. Advertisements for makeup, colognes, hair products, and clothes often show women attracting men because they got the right products and made themselves irresistible. Stars on prime-time and films, who are beautiful and dangerously thin, perpetuate the idea that women must literally starve themselves to death to win men’s interest (Silverstein et al. , 1986). Perhaps the most glaring examples of portrayals of women as sex objects and men as sexual aggressors occur in music videos as shown on MTV and many other stations.Typically, females are shown dancing provocatively in scant and/or revealing clothing as they try to gain men’s attention (Texier, 1990). Frequently, men are seen coercing women into sexual activities and/or physically abusing them. Violence against women is also condoned in many recent films. R. Warshaw (1991) reported that cinematic presentations of rapes, especially acquaintance rapes, are not presented as power-motiva ted violations of women but rather as strictly sexual encounters.Similarly, others (Cowan, Lee, Levy, & Snyder, 1988; Cowan & O’Brien, 1990) have found that male dominance and sexual exploitation of women are themes in virtually all R-and X-rated films, which almost anyone may now rent for home viewing. These media images carry to extremes long-standing cultural views of masculinity as aggressive and femininity as passive. They also make violence seem sexy (D. Russell, 1993). In so doing, they recreate these limited and limiting perceptions in the thinking of another generation of women and men. In sum, we have identified basic stereotypes and relationships between the two.IndividualIy and in combination these images sustain and reinforce socially constructed views of the genders, views that have restricted both men and women and that appear to legitimize destructive behaviors ranging from anorexia to battering. Later in this chapter, we will probe more closely how media vers ions of gender are linked to problems such as these. . . . 7. Gendered Media pathologizing the Human Body One of the most damaging consequences of media’s images of women and men is that these images encourage us to perceive normal bodies and normal physical functions as problems.It’s understandable to wish we weighed a little more or less, had better developed muscles, and never had pimples or cramps. What is neither reasonable nor healthy, however, is to regard healthy, functional bodies as abnormal and unacceptable. Yet this is precisely the negative self-image cultivated by media portrayals of women and men. Because sex sells products (Muro, 1989), sexual and erotic images are the single most prominent characteristic of advertising (Courtney & Whipple, 1983).Further, advertising is increasingly objectifying men, which probably accounts for the rise in men’s weight training and cosmetic surgery Media, and especially advertising, are equal opportunity dehumani zers of both sexes. Not only do media induce us to think we should measure up to artificial standards, but they encourage us to see normal bodies and bodily functions as pathologies. A good example is the media’s construction of premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Historically, PMS has not been a problem, but recently it has been declared a disease (Richmond-Abbott, 1992).In fact, a good deal of research (Parlee, 1973, 1987) indicates that PMS affected very few women in earlier eras. After the war, when women were no longer needed in the work force, opinion changed and the term premenstrual tension was coined (Greene & Dalton, 1953) and used to define women as inferior employees. In 1964, only one article on PMS appeared; in 1988-1989, a total of 425 were published (Tavris, 1992, p. 140). Drug companies funded research and publicity since selling PMS meant selling their remedies for the newly created problem.Behind the hoopla, however, there was and is little evidence to support the currently widespread belief that PMS is a serious problem for a significant portion of the female population. Facts aside, the myth has caught on, carrying in its wake many women and men who now perceive normal monthly changes as abnormal and as making women unfit for positions of leadership and authority Another consequence of defining PMS as a serious problem most women suffer is that it leads to labeling women in general as deviant and unreliable (Unger & Crawford, 1992), an image that fortifies long-held biases against women.Menopause is similiarly pathologized. Carol Tavris (1992, p. 159) notes that books describe menopause â€Å"in terms of deprivation, deficiency, loss, shedding, and sloughing† language that defines a normal process as negative. Like menstruation, menopause is represented as abnormalcy and disease, an image that probably contributes to the negative attitudes toward it in America. The cover of the May 25, 1992, Newsweek featured an abstract drawing of a tree in the shape of a woman’s head. The tree was stripped of all leaves, making it drab and barren.Across the picture was the cover-story headline â€Å"Menopause. † From first glance, menopause was represented negatively-as desolate and unfruitful. The article ‘focused primarily on the problems and losses of menopause. Only toward the end did readers find reports from anthropologists, whose cross-cultural research revealed that in many cultures menopause is not an issue or is viewed positively Women in Mayan villages and the Greek island of Evia do not understand questions about . hot flashes and depression, which are symptoms often associated with menopause in Western societies (â€Å"Menopause,† 1992, p. 7). These are not part of their experience in cultures that do not define a normal change in women as a pathology Because Western countries, especially America, stigmatize menopause and define it as â€Å"the end of womanhood,† Western women a re likely to feel distressed and unproductive about the cessation of menstruation (Greer, 1992). Advertising is very effective in convincing us that we need products to solve problems we are unaware of until some clever public relations campaign persuades us that something natural about us is really unnatural and unacceptable.Media have convinced millions of American women that what every medical source considers â€Å"normal body weight† is really abnormal and cause for severe dieting (Wolf, 1991). Similarly, gray hair, which naturally develops with age, is now something all of us, especially women, are supposed to cover up. Facial lines, which indicate a person has lived a life and accumulated experiences, can be removed so that we look younger-a prime goal in a culture that glorifies youth (Greer, 1992).Body hair is another interesting case of media’s convincing us that something normal is really abnormal. Beginning in 1915, a sustained marketing campaign informed w omen that underarm hair was unsightly and socially incorrect. (The campaign against leg hair came later. ) Harper’s Bazaar, an upscale magazine, launched the crusade against underarm hair with a photograph of a woman whose raised arms revealed clean-shaven armpits. Underneath the photograph was this caption: â€Å"Summer dress and modem dancing combine to make necessary the removal of objectionable hair† (Adams, 1991)†¦Within a few years, ads promoting removal of underarm hair appeared in most women’s magazines, and by 1922, razors and depilatories were firmly ensconced in middle America as evidenced by their inclusion in the women’s section of the Sears Roebuck catalog. Media efforts to pathologize natural physiology can be very serious. As we have seen in prior chapters, the emphasis on excessive thinness contributes to severe and potentially lethal dieting, especially in Caucasian women (Spitzack, 1993).Nonetheless, the top female models in 1993 a re skeletal, more so than in recent years (Leland & Leonard, 1993). Many women’s natural breast size exceeded the cultural ideal in the 1960s when thin, angular bodies were represented as ideal. Thus, breast reduction surgeries rose. By the 198Os, cultural standards changed 37 1 6 LIVING WITH MEDIA to define large breasts as the feminine ideal. Consequently, breast augmentation surgeries accelerated, and fully 80% of implants were for cosmetic reasons (â€Å"The. Implant Circus,† 1992).In an effort to meet the cultural standards of beautiful bodies, many women suffered unnecessary surgery, which led to disfigurement, loss of feeling, and sometimes death for women when silicone implants were later linked to fatal conditions. Implicitlp media argue that our natural state is abnormal and objectionable, a premise that is essential to sell products and advice for improving ourselves. Accepting media messages about our bodies and ourselves, however, is not inevitable: We can reflect on the messages and resist those that are inappropriate and/or harmful.We would probably all be considerably happier and healthier if we became more critical in analyzing media’s communication about how we should look, be, and act. Normalizing Violence Against Women harmful, while sexually violent materials appear to be (Donnerstein, Linz, & Penrod, 1987). Pornographic films are a big business, outnumbering other films by 3 to 1 and grossing over $365 million a year in the United States alone (Wolf, 1991). The primary themes characteristic of pornography as a genre are extremes of those in media generally: sex, violence, and domination of one person by another, usually women by men (Basow, 1992, p. 17). More than 80% of X-rated films in one study included scenes in which one or more men dominate and exploit one or more women; within these films, three-fourths portray physical aggression against women, and fully half explicitly depict rape (Cowan et al. , 1988). That these are linked to viewers’ MYTHS Myth Rape is a sexual act that resuits from sexual urges. Rapists are abnormal. AND FACTS Fact ABOUT RAPE Since we have seen that media positively portray aggression in males and passivity in females, it’s important to ask whether media messages contribute to abuse of and violence against women.There is by now fairly convincing evidence (Hansen & Hansen, 1988) that exposure to sexual violence through media is linked to greater tolerance, or even approval, of violence. For instance, I? Dieter (1989) found a strong relationship between females’ viewing of sexually violent MTV and their acceptance of sexual violence as part of â€Å"normal† relationships. He reasoned that the more they observe positive portrayals of sexual violence, the more likely women are to perceive this as natural in relationships with men and the less likely they are to object to violence or to defend themselves from it.In short, Dieter suggests that heavy exposure to media tiolence within relationships tends to normalize it, so that abuse and violence are considered natural parts of love and sex. Dieter’s study demonstrates a direct link between sexual aggression and one popular form of media, MTV. Research on pornography further corroborates connections between exposure to portrayals of violence against women and willingness to engage in or accept it in one’s own relationships (Russell, 1993). Before we discuss this research, however, we need to clarify what we will mean by the term pornography, since defining it is a matter of some controversy.Pornography is not simply sexually explicit material. To distinguish pornography from erotica, we might focus on mutual agreement and mutual benefit. If we use these criteria, pornography may be defined as materials that favorably show subordination and degradation of a person such as presenting sadistic behaviors as pleasurable, brutalizing and pain as enjoyable, and forc ed sex or abuse as positive. Erotica, on the other hand, depicts consensual sexual activities that are sought by and pleasurable to all parties involved (MacKinnon, 1987).These distinctions are important, since it has been well established that graphic sexual material itself is not 38 Rape is an aggressive act used to dominate another. Rapists have not been shown to differ from nonrapists in personality, psychology, adjustment, or involvment in interpersonal relationships. Eighty percent to 90% of rapes are committed by a person known to the victim (Allgeier, 1987). Most rapes occur between strangers. Most rapists are African-Ameri- More than three-fourths of all can men, and most victims rapes occur within races, not are Caucasian women. between races.This myth reflects racism. The way a woman dresses affects the likelihood she will be raped. The majority-up to 90%-of rapes are planned in advance and without knowledge of how the victim will dress (Scully, 1990). The majority of rap es are never reported (Koss, Cidycz, & Wisniewski, 1987). Less than 10% of rape reports are judged false, the same as for other violent crimes. The incidence of rape varies across cultures. It is highest in societies with ideologies of male dominance and a disregard for nature; it is lowest in cultures that respect women and feminine values Griffin 1981).False reports of rapes are frequent. Rape is a universal problem own tendencies to engage in sexual violence is no longer disputable. According to recent research (Demare, Briere, & Lips, 1988; Donnerstein et al. , 1987; Malamuth & Briere, 1986), viewing sexually violent material tends to in- 7. Gendered Media crease men’s beliefs in rape myths, raises the likelihood thnt men will admit they might themselves commit rape, and desensitizes men to rape, thereby making forced sex more acceptable to them.This research suggests that repeated exposure to pornography influences how men think about rape by transforming it from an unac ceptable behavior with which they do not identify into one they find acceptable and enticing. Not surprisingly, the single best predictor of rape is the circulation of pomographic materials that glorify sexual force and exploitation (Baron & Straus, 1989). This is alarming when we realize that 18 million men buy a total of 165 different pornographic magazines every month in the United States (Wolf, 1991, p. 79).It is well documented that the incidence of reported rape is rising and that an increasing number of men regard forced sex as acceptable (Brownmiller, 1993; Soeken & Danirosch, 1986). Studies of men (Allgeier, 1987; Koss & Dinero, 1988; Koss, Dinero, Seibel, & Cox, 1988; Koss Gidycz, & Wisniewski, 1987; Lisak & Roth, 1988) hav: produced shocking findings: While the majority of college men report not having raped anyone, a stunning 50% admit they have coerced, manipulated, or pressured a woman to have sex or have had sex with her after getting her drunk; 1 in 12 men at some co lleges has engaged in behaviors meeting the legal definition of rape r attempted rape; over 80% of men who admitted to acts that meet the definition of rape did not believe they had committed rape; and fully one-third of college men said they would commit rape if they believed nobody would find out. Contrary to popular belief, we also know that men who do commit rape are not psychologically abnormal. They are indistinguishable from other men in terms of psychological adjustment and health, emotional wellbeing, heterosexual relationships, and frequency of sexual experiences (Segel-Evans, 1987).The only established difference between men who are sexually violent and men who are not is that the former have â€Å"hypermasculine† attitudes and self-concepts-their approval of male dominance and sexual rights is even stronger than that of nonrapists (Allgeier, 1987; Koss & Dinero 1988. Lisak & Roth, 1988; Wood, 1993a). The difference b&ween sexually violent men and others appears to be only a matter of degree. We also know something about women who are victims of rape and other forms of sexual violence.Between 33% and 66% of all women have been sexually abused before reaching age 18 (Clutter, 1990; Koss, 1990). The majority of college women-up to 75%-say they have been coerced into some type of unwanted sex at least once (Koss, Gidycz, & Wisniewski, 1987; Poppen & Segal 1988; Warshaw, 1988). A third of women who survivi *ape contemplate suicide (Koss et al. , 1988). It is also clear that the trauma of rape is not confined to the time of its actual occurrence.The feelings that accompany rape and sexual assault-fear, a sense of degradation and shame, anger, powerlessness, and depression-endure far beyond the act itself (Brownmiller, 1975; Wood 1992b 19930. Most victims of rape continue to deal v&h the emotional aftermath of rape for the rest of their lives (Marhoefer-Dvorak, Resick, Hutter, & Girelli, 1988). What causes rape, now the fastest growing violent crim e in the United States (Doyle, 1989; Soeken & Damrosch, 1986)?According to experts (Costin & Schwartz 1987; Koss & Dinero, 1988; Koss, Gidycz, & Wisniewski’ 1987; Scott & Tetreault, 1987; Scully, 1990), rape is not the result of psychological deviance or uncontrollable lust. Although rape involves sex, it is not motivated by sexual desire. Authorities agree that rape is an aggressive act used to dominate and show power over another person, be it a man over a woman or one man over another as in prison settings where rape is one way inmates brU1 talize one another and establish a power hierarchy (Rideau & Sinclair, 1982).Instead, mounting evidence suggests that rape is a predictable outcome of views of men, women, and relationships between the sexes that our society inculcates in members (Brownmiller, 1975. Costin & Schwartz, 1987; Scott & Tetreault, 1987; South & Felson, 1990). Particularly compelling support for the cultural basis of rape comes from cross-cultural studies (Gr iffin, 1981. Sanday, 1986), which reveal that rape is extremely rar: in cultures that value women and feminine qualities and that have ideologies that promote harmonious interdependence among humans and between them and the natural world.Rape is most common in countries, like the United States, that have ideologies of male supremacy and dominance and a disrespect of women and nature. Cultural values communicated to us by family schools, media, and other sources constantly encourage us to believe men are superior, men should dominate women, male aggression is acceptable as a means of attaining what is wanted, women are passive and should defer to men, and women are sex objects. In concert these beliefs legitimize violence and aggression agains; women.While the majority of media communication may not be pornographic, it does echo in somewhat muted forms the predominant themes of pornography: sex, violence and male domination of women. As we have seen, thesi same motifs permeate media that are part of our daily lives, which generally portray males as dominating in number, status, authority, and will. Substantial violence toward women punctuates movies, television-including children’s programming-rock music, and music videos desensitizing men and women alike to the unnatural~ ness and unacceptability of force and brutality between human beings.Thus, the research that demonstrates connections between sex-stereotypical media and acceptance of sexual violence is consistent with that showing relationships between more extreme, pornographic media and acceptance of and use of violence. . . . 39 REFERENCES Adams, C. (1991, April). The straight dope. 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