Reflection journal

Society is made up of different people pursuing diverse goals yet somehow contribute to a system that makes society a place worth living for everyone. Due to the routines that people follow on a regular basis, human interaction is something that is unavoidable and people seek out the best ways peacefully coexist and engage with one another on a daily basis. The chances for successful human interactions are increased if people take the time to learn and understand other people’s perspectives on issues, emotions attached to things and people, experiences, goals and attitudes to mention a few. While these traits do make effective communication quite challenging, the relationships built between individuals in a community go a long way into making interactions easier. Throughout my time studying, the course has opened up my mind to new possibilities as it has helped me to better understand human interaction as well as what people can do to ensure that they observe theirs, and other people’s best interests as they carry out their daily activities.

            To begin with, I have come to learn and appreciate the effectiveness of collaborative relationships in different aspects of the community such as in the health care industry. In such a setting, different people such as educators, experienced personnel and other members of staff have to engage with one another on a regular basis (Carr2014). If the communication is to be effective, all parties involved must be willing to work together as well as be committed to serve their best interest as well as the interests of others. Although the goal is to create an environment that promotes peaceful coexistence, I also learn that effective communication and peaceful coexistence also requires knowledge on what to do when conflicts arise. Since people tend to have differences in opinion, disagreements are common as each individual believes that their approach is better suited for a specific situation (Gardner, 2005). For people to coexist and work together, it is therefore important to have conflict resolution measures that can be utilised to; prevent conflicts from occurring; resolve them when they do occur with the least damage possible; and ensure that the conflict does not reoccur in future once it has been resolved.

            The importance of effective collaboration is something I have experienced first-hand in my profession in the health care industry. In the beginning, I thought people are often defined by the careers they pursue and often did all that I could to fit into the image of individuals in the nursing field. However, the readings discussed in class has increased my way of thinking as I believe I play more roles than one. This is especially because people tend to try and build relationships with people such as nurses and other professionals (Gillis, 2001). Because of this, I leant that I am not just a health professional but also a mentor to various people who look up to me either because of who I am as a person or because of the career I chose to pursue. I also learnt that, in order to be an ideal member of a community, people are requested to live up to the roles given to them either through their careers or personal decisions made. Although I am not expected to structure my life in a specific way, society has its own expectations regarding people in influential positions and may indirectly dictate the way people live their lives.

            My role as a nurse often involves helping people get medical assistance, determining the aliment of a patient, recommending possible treatments, prescribing drugs and other activities aimed at improving a patient’s medical condition. My position therefore requires me to interact with people on a regular basis and giving medical assistance to strangers. As such, effective collaboration is important as it helps me to build strong relationships with my patients in a way that will facilitate cooperation and build trust (Barr J, McLeod G & Welch, 2015). In order to help my patients, I have to work on building proper lines of communication to make it easier for my patients to open up and help me to better understand their medical condition and prescribe desirable treatments. Since I work with different patients, I am in a position where I have to constantly build effective collaboration and this has been made easier with my improved understanding on how people interact in society.

Other than effective communication, partnerships are important in building effective collaboration. The health care industry functions in a form of parts that work independently but strive to achieve a common goal which is offering the best medical care to patients.  Like most organizations, medical institutions functions in a way similar to society where people seek to help each other in the name of serving personal and society’s best interests (Rheingold, 2015). People therefore work together to meet set objectives and in doing so, meet their own personal goals. On a daily basis, I have to work with a team not just in my career but also in school. Throughout the course, I learnt that teamwork is of great importance as it not only improves the quality of work but also promotes peaceful coexistence and improves communication. People’s need to fit in has created a culture where partnership is common and is practised on a regular basis. In the employment sector, nurses work together with doctors to offer the best medical care to patients. School also has a similar setting where teachers work together to ensure that students learn the different subjects needed to equip them with the skills and knowledge needed to survive in society. Students also practice partnership especially through study groups that seek to make the learning process easier and more convenient.

In most cases, partnerships take the form of groups where people come together with the aim of achieving a specific objective. Group dynamics play a crucial role in determining the success of the partnership created.  To increase the chances of success, it is important to start by selecting team members that have a high probability of working together with the least disruptions (Coleman, 2013). It is therefore important to assess group members’ personal traits and skills; their attitudes toward the group project; willingness to participate; and the reason behind setting up the partnership in the first place. Once established, the groups can then start discussing the best approaches to take in order to meet the objectives. Doing so helps to assign duties and dictate rules to be followed so as to increase professionalism within the group.

Although there are various methods to use when setting up a group, I believe that the most ideal is the learner centered classroom approach especially in the field of medicine. The set up creates an environment where professionals in the group seek to increase the knowledge and information that others possess (Bussman & Schweighofer, 2014). When dealing with patients, a learner centered classroom approach is ideal as it allows for two way communication where patients can seek guidance from professionals present. It also allows for feedback which is crucial in determining what issues that other team members find the most challenging and what can be done to create better understanding (Bussman & Schweighofer, 2014). Groups are therefore important tools for creating partnerships aimed at helping people to better understand the things they experience through daily human interactions.

Effective collaboration is further improved by the rules used to ensure that each member of the partnership plays their roles. The most common rule used is to ensure that every individual is given a voice and that all parties present are given a chance to air their opinions and be heard (Gladman, 2015). While some collaborations may comprise of professionals in a field and other individuals seeking better understanding, the opportunity to talk and share ideas should be given to everyone regardless of their status. Since the aim of collaborations is to brainstorm on ideas and come up with the best ones, equality should be maintained so as to give every individual an equal opportunity (Allin, 2014). Such a setting makes collaboration more effective as people have a platform to ask questions and share ideas as well as get to learn from professionals from their respective fields. Communication is therefore important as it makes it easy to share ideas, ask questions and give opinions aimed at meeting the overall objectives.

From the course readings, I also got to learn the importance of successful collaboration in maintaining harmony. The differences in people’s attitudes and opinions create an environment where disagreements are common. However, there exists various rules and guidelines that facilitate effective collaboration. Society for instance follows written and unwritten laws that govern how people interact with one another (Allin, 2014). There is a status quo that people live up to and ensure that their actions do not stray too much from what is expected. Although people are allowed to exercise free will, the nature of the actions that people carry out is regulated by the laws and guidelines used. There are however less strict measures used to maintain harmony, one of which is humour. I learnt how people seek out different forms of entertainment all in the name of having fun. Humor is often practised in different settings due to its efficiency in lightening the mood and putting people at ease (Gladman, 2015). Humor is therefore something that people share and can be used to open up conversations as well as encourage people to be open and share their experiences, challenges or opinions.

In addition to learning how to best interact with others and establish successful collaboration, I discovered that people tend to influence each other both direct and indirectly through mentorship. Mentoring involves actions taken by an experienced person in a certain field to offer guidance to less experienced individuals in the same or a similar field. Mentoring often involves the mentor and mentee sharing ideas and knowledge regarding their topic of interest with the aim of increasing the mentee’s knowledge and experience (Hatter et al, 2007). Since mentoring is not limited by time, relationships between the mentor and mentee need to be well established so as to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the mentorship sessions (Hatter et al, 2007). In the medical field, experienced medical care givers share the knowledge and experience they possess with other less experienced medical staff with the aim of helping them improve and become better at performing their tasks. The mentorship is often on voluntary basis and people can choose to either take the help of the professionals or not.

The course also brought clarity on the importance of being a good role model. Health education environments for example are ideal for mentoring as people hold medical professionals in high regards. Doctors and patients look up to experienced health practitioners because of the knowledge and experience they possess (Jamookeeah et al, 2011). Being my profession, I have learnt a lot on what is expected of me not just as a mentee but also from people who look up to me to mentor them. At a personal level, I am of the opinion that the reverse mentoring model is the most ideal for mentorship. The model works by teaming up less experienced individuals with senior colleagues who are more experienced and have more knowledge regarding a specific area in their profession (Management Mentors, 2010). The model has various advantages one of which is the generation of new ideas. When less experienced individuals are teamed up with senior colleagues, it creates an opportunity for the young to introduce new concepts to the seniors. The seniors on the other hand share their experience and knowledge with the young professionals. The exchange between the mentors and mentees creates an environment where everyone learns from the other but with emphasis on mentorship. Since the seniors have the skills and experience, they give more input to the mentorship and the young professionals get to teach the seniors about current trends in their field.

Another advantage is that the reverse mentoring model creates a platform where senior members of staff can interact with juniors. In the medical field, it tends to be difficult for experienced practitioners to interact with the junior staff especially with the busy schedules (Management Mentors, 2010). However, the reverse mentorship model creates an environment where junior staff are given the opportunity to interact and learn from senior staff through the mentorship programs. The interaction not only assist mentees to learn the best approaches to take when performing their duties but also improves communication within the organization. Mentees therefore find it easier to interact with their mentors and this has a positive impact on their work performance as well as attitudes towards their jobs.

Despite its various advantages however, reverse mentoring has a downside especially in cases where mentors spend too much time learning from the juniors instead of actually helping them. Since learning is a process that never stops, the insight and new ideas from junior mentees may hinder the effectiveness of the mentorship programs if mentors opt to learn rather than educate (Abouelnaga, 2013). In such a case, the mentors may end up investing too much time sharing with mentees about current trends and changes in their profession and fail to effectively offer guidance based on the knowledge they already possess. It is therefore important to ensure that all parties understand they role they are expected to play in the mentorship program.

The challenge can be overcome using the action reflection theory which sets the mentor as the master whose work is presented as an example that the mentee can imitate or borrow from. Instead of having a situation where the mentor focuses on learning rather than helping; or a scenario where the mentor has all the say, the policies under the action reflection theory make it possible for the mentor and mentee to interact and benefit from the mentorship (ICRE, n.d). On the one hand, the mentor does the action which involves mentoring individuals by teaching them new skills and equipping them with the knowledge gathered over the years. Mentees on the other hand reflect on what they are taught and try to implement it in their professional as well as personal lives in a bid to be as good, as or even better than the mentors. The approach places a lot of emphasis on feedback as it helps the mentors to know what has been grasped and which areas need more attention. Through it, mentees learn that they are not to copy but rather learn and come up with their own ways to implement the things they have been taught.

From the course, I also learnt that effective mentor mentee relationships are like planting a seed because they form a recurring cycle. When a seed is planted, it grows (given the right conditions) to produce more seeds that can be replanted and the cycle keeps recurring. Similarly, effective mentorship relationships involve passing down ideas and knowledge to the younger generation (Duffy, 2013). The mentees learn from the mentors and take the knowledge and skills to be implemented in their regular routines. The information helps them to not only be efficient when performing duties but also put them in a position where they will become mentors in future. The ideas and skills planted in them by their mentors grows into more advanced expertise in their field and in future, becomes the skills that other mentees look for. However, if mentorship is to be effective, the right conditions must be present so as to ensure that the mentees get help that is relevant and applicable to their profession (Duffy, 2013). Similar to taking care of seeds before they grow to plants that make more seeds, mentors must guide their mentees until a point where the mentees can rely on themselves and can even mentor others.

Before starting this course, I was of the opinion that people have the freedom to live their life as they please and that their actions rarely affect others. Such an ideology prevented me from seeing the extent in which people influence one another and how people’s daily lives are interconnected. However, the time spent in class and discussions with friends has opened up my mind to the different ways in which people influence each other’s actions and decisions made. In the medical field for instance, patients look up to their care givers and the success of the treatment process greatly depends on positive relationships between the two. Medical professionals on the other hand influence each other especially through mentorship programs that are either personal or introduced by employers to help make employees better at their jobs.it is therefore important to maintain effective collaborative relationships so as to enhance the peaceful coexistence that society strives to achieve.

People need to understand the impact that an individual’s actions can have on another individual or an entire group. Although people have the right to exercise their free will and utilise their rights and freedoms, the intertwined nature of human interactions make it necessary for people to take other people’s interests into consideration. Those who are doing well need to understand that there are people looking up to them as mentors and follow the examples they set. Those mentored on the other hand need to understand that they are the mentors of tomorrow and as such, strive to become the best in their field so as to help others in future. Lastly, people need to put more effort into building positive relationships with others. Doing so will give rise to a society where people look out for each other’s interests and in doing so; enhance the effectiveness of the collaborative relationships built in society

References

Abouelnaga, K. (2013, July 16). The difference between a mentor and a role model [Blog]. Guest            post on The Daily Riff personal website.

Allin, L. (2014). Collaboration between staff and students in the scholarship of teaching and        learning: The potential and the problems. Teaching and Learning Inquiry, 1(95).      doi:10.2979/teachlearninqu.2.1.95.

Bland, C. Taylor, A., & Shollenberger, S. (n.d.). Feature: Mentoring systems: Benefits and          challenges of diverse mentoring partnerships. [Fact sheet]. Retrieved from the             Association of American Medical Colleges, Washington, DC website.

Bussmann, U., & Schweighofer, S. (2014). Group dynamics : The nature of groups as well as      dynamics of informal groups and dysfunctions. Hamburg, Germany : Anchor Academic            Publishing.

Carr, D. F. (2014). Social collaboration for dummies. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.

Coleman, D. (2013). 42 rules for successful collaboration (2nd ed.). [e-book]. Cupertino, CA :    Super Star.

Duffy, M. (2013). Providing constructive feedback to students during mentoring. Nursing            Standard, 27(31), 50-56.

Gardner, D. (2005). Ten lessons in collaboration. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 10(1),             Manuscript 1. doi: 10.3912/OJIN.Vol10No01Man01

Gillis, A. (2001). Journal writing in health education. New Directions for Adult and continuing    Education, 90, 49-58.

Gladman, A. (2015). Team teaching is not just for teachers! Student perspectives on the    collaborative classroom. TESOL Journal, 6(1), 130-148.

Jokelainen, M., Turunen, H., Tossavainen, K., Jamookeeah, D., & Coco, K. (2011). A systematic             review of mentoring nursing students in clinical placements. Journal of Clinical Nursing,             20 2854-2867. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2010.03571.

Management Mentors (2010). Corporate mentoring models: One size doesn't fit all:          Understanding the different types and choosing the best one (or combination) for your            organization [Fact sheet]. Management

McKimm, J. Jollie, C., & Hatter, M. (2007). Mentoring: Theory and practice. London, England: Imperial College School of Medicine.

McLeod, G. A., Barr, J., & Welch, A. (2015). Best practice for teaching and learning strategies    to facilitate student reflection in pre-registration health professional education: An       integrative review. Creative Education, 6(4), 440-454.Mentors Chestnut Hill, MA          commercial website.

Assignment 2: Strategic Impact

‘The Domestic Violence Experiment’ was conducted in 1981-1982 by the Minneapolis police department and the Police Foundation. The purpose of the experiment was to test how police should handle domestic violence incidents (Sherman & Berk, 1984).  Prior to the experiment, it was found that the approach that police officers were using to address domestic violence were less effective. As offenders were arrested, they received corporal punishment which could not deter future crimes. The clinical psychologists suggested that police officers should shun from making an arrest and concentrate on building peace through mediation or arbitration. Other groups such as the women's group proposed that there should a mandatory arrest to all criminal offenses (Sherman & Berk, 1984). The failure to deter crime and the suggestion from different groups influenced the need to conduct an experiment to find the most effective approach.

 In the experiment, a lottery selection or random assignment was used and three approaches were employed; suspects involved in misdemeanor assaults were arrested, or sent from the scene or given advice (Sherman & Berk, 1984). After employing these approaches, the research staff started follow-up for a period of six months to assess whether there would be future crimes after police intervention.  During the follow-up, the victims were interviewed to measure the victimization (Sherman & Berk, 1984).  The experiment used 314 cases and only 205 responded to the interviews. 

 The results show that a higher number of unmarried couples were involved in domestic violence cases. During the six month follow-up, police officers recorded the formation corrected by research staff on offenders repeating the offense and they also interviewed the offenders on whether they repeated a similar offense (Sherman & Berk, 1984). The police officers found that the arrest approach showed an improvement than the approach of sending suspects away. Suspects who were sent away repeated offenses two times. The suspects who received advice treatment also repeated the offense twice.  Therefore, the arrest approach remains the best approach to deter future crimes.  However, one factor that make the arrest approach effective is taking time to listen to the victim (Sherman & Berk, 1984). By listening to them, the suspects recognize their mistakes and changes behavior.  According to my opinion, the results met the purpose of the experiment. Note that the main purpose was to find the most effective approach that police officers can use to deter future domestic crimes. The researchers discovered the effects of different approaches and they concluded that sending suspects and giving them advice are an ineffective approach but arrest is the best approach.

Even though the experiment has some limitations such as the use of the small size of suspects, arresting suspects in jail overnight,  failure to consider unemployment and other social  factors, and lack of research replication,  the generalizability is that arrest is the best approach police officers can use to deter future crime (Sherman & Berk, 1984). The policy implies that police officers should use arrest to deter crime.  Hovmand et al (2009) add that since domestic violence is a major problem affecting today's society, the only solution to this problem is the use of mandatory arrest policies to deter domestic violence. However, the author reports that even though mandatory arrest is the best option, recent studies have shown that women are arrested more than men. The authors propose the solution to the disproportionate arrest of women and states that community cooperation will help the police officers gain information concerning the victims and offenders and as a result, they will maximize victim safety and assailant accountability (Hovmand et al, 2009). In general, the authors suggest that the model of system dynamics and multiple stakeholders will help the police officers understand the social dynamics.

 The main effects of Minneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment regarding crime control strategy is that the public, as well as the police, have gained awareness about the domestic violence and they will support the mandatory arrest policies to deter future domestic crimes not only in Minneapolis but also in other nations. As a result, there will be more arrest of domestic voice and reduction of re-offending.  The higher arrest will involve both domestic violence cases and stranger cases. Note that traditionally, police ignored arrest of domestic cases and other related cases but they focused on negotiating, counseling, separation of the parties, or threatening the suspect (Hirschel et al, 2007). These approaches could not deter crime but they motivate the domestic assailants to re-offend. This happened in many cities and women continued to suffer from domestic violence since the men were not arrested despite the report of violence.  Remarkably, the experiment will have a positive effect in that police will respond to the domestic violence in both married and unnamed couples and make an arrest. Rather than giving advice, physical separation or mediation, the police will arrest the offenders on reasonable ground. The arrested offenders will suffer from embarrassment, lose community attachment, and a result, they will reduce future violence (Hirschel et al, 2007). Thus, police officers, as well as the jurisdictions, should take mandatory arrest as the prosecution strategy as it will benefit both the offender and the victim. The experiment has impacted the way police handle crimes since they can now use empirical analysis and apply mandatory activities to reduce recidivism (Hirschel et al, 2007).  With respect to the experiment, the mandatory arrest is the best crime control strategy as it deters crime.

References

Hovmand, P. S., Ford, D. N., Flom, I., & Kyriakakis, S. (2009). Victims arrested for domestic

violence: unintended consequences of arrest policies. System Dynamics Review: The

Journal of the System Dynamics Society, 25(3), 161-181.

Hirschel, D., Buzawa, E., Pattavina, A., & Faggiani, D. (2007). Domestic violence and

mandatory arrest laws: To what extent do they influence police arrest decisions. Journal

of  Criminal Law & Criminology, 98, 255.

Sherman, W., & Berk, R. A. (1984). The Minneapolis domestic violence experiment. POLICE

FOUNDATION REPORTS

Informative Speech On Dread Locks

 Dreadlocks, young people, and identity formation

There are many types of hairstyles but, today I would like to introduce a hairstyle known as dreadlocks or locks. This topic is important as it enables us to understand where the dreadlocks came from and why we should grow dreadlocks. Since we are in a digital age, young adults and teenagers need to create the identity, they need freedom of expression, they need to be valued, they want to be smarter, they need success and they need a sense of belonging (Lewis, 17).  They want to connect themselves with the things of the modern world such as drugs, peer pressure and more. 

 Roots and ideologies

When people hear about deadlocks, they think about celebrities, prominent authors, actors, and musicians since they like the Rasta style. To put it clear, dreadlocks emerged during the Rastafari movement when revivalisms wanted to re-claim the ritual life and social and religious norms (Chevannes, 145). The early preaches' beliefs about the identity of God and the racial values were different. The Rastafari challenged the Christian God and they believed that God was a little black man. Thus, the Rastafari and the State developed conflict and in 1938, Rastafarians expressed their anticolonial stance to claim for repatriation and convince people that God was a Black man (Chevannes, 145). Rastafarians who were involved in the movement include Badaman, Taf, Pete, among others. The younger members established an organization known as ‘Warrior'. The organization had characteristics such as the use of ganja (cannabis) and unkempt hair (dreadlocks) to demonstrate the doctrine of their faith (Chevannes, 146).

 Dreadlocks in society today

Today, there is a Rastafari movement that is influenced by Jamaicans migration to Canada and Britain. In the African continent, Japan, Europe, and other parts, Reggae music has spread Rastafari.  It is also important to understand that Rastafari has captured urban youth and they are trying to form their identity using Rasta symbols such as hair, language, colors and more (Chevannes, 146). In deciding whether to use this hairstyle, it is important to know that dreadlocks are an expression of cultures such as religion, ethnic pride, fashion preference and more. Today, people also wear dreadlocks to symbolize a government rejection, others symbolize spiritual men such as shamans, and others symbolize the Lion of Judah and among other many reasons (Chevannes, 147­).

 Today, making dreadlocks is easy, unlike traditional methods. Traditionally, dreadlocks were made from unkempt hair or in other words, the hair was not combed and it could form a rope-like shape. Today, there are techniques used by locktician such as dread perming, twist and rip, and others (Yuajah, 1). Due to the higher cost of living, people can make lifestyle adjustment and decide to wax up the hair.  It is worth noting that it is important to wear dreads when the hair is short to create dreadlocks ends and allow the lock to grow faster. Dreadlock is the best decision to save money and stay smarter. Dreadlocks are not only affordable but they are also associated with other benefits such as they protect the hairline, they require easy maintenance, they are fashionable, and one saves time and money (Yuajah, 1). Given that people wear dreadlocks for various reason, the principle of dreadlocks is that you should show love, acceptance, righteous, conscious, respect, self-control, and silence. Note that Rastafari has a pledge which says that   Rastafari should be proud of themselves and of their country and ethnic background.  Rastafarians are not defined by society or other human beings, and they own spiritual awareness (Yuajah, 1). Therefore, if anyone is deciding to become a Rasta, dreadlock the hair, practice cleanliness, love Reggae music, and understand the Jah rules.

Work cited

Chevannes, Barry. Rastafari: Roots and Ideology. Syracuse, N.Y: Syracuse University Press,

1994. Print

Lewis Randolph.  Xbox, Hip Hop and Dreadlocks: "Reconnecting the Generations" Lulu. com,

2011

Yuajah, Empress. How to Become a Rasta: Rastafari Religion, Rastafarian Beliefs, and

Rastafarian Overstanding. CreateSpace, 2012. Print.

Culture basically shapes the manner in which people view illness, misery, and dying. With the ever-increasing diversity all over the world, especially in America, multicultural interactions between patients and medical caregivers of various backgrounds are becoming common phenomena (Aramesh, & Shadi, 2007). As a result, the risk for multicultural misinterpretation concerning health upkeep at the end of life is on the rise. Researches revealed existing variances in approaches toward truth telling, life lengthening technology and decision-making mechanisms at the end of life. This paper will carry out an in-depth analysis on both ethical and cultural perspectives on underlying reasons Muslim culture and religion do not permit end of life option. In addition, the essay will single out power, finances, and control matters surrounding the termination of life or euthanasia and all other aspects surrounding the topic.

Passing away with dignity regulations permit a terminally ill patient to accelerate an unavoidable death (Brockopp, 2008). While many faith customs observe ancient customs and insights concerning the final steps before one’s life come to an end, advancement in technology made it possible for religious people to reexamine some philosophies. Death and dignity laws give people a chance to contemplate a vital question pertaining their life.

 Muslims are against euthanasia or aided death. Muslims believe that all human life is holy and comes from God or Allah and Allah is the only person who has the right to take or preserve life. Mortal beings have no right to interrupt the natural course of life. Hence ending life is a not an option for Muslims and prohibited among members. Medical doctors should not take an active role in the termination of a patient’s life (Naseh, Rafiei, & Heidari, 2015). According to the Qur’an, no person has the right to take another individual’s life except while seeking justice.

 Just like any other religion, death is a vital aspect of Muslim religion. Strict Muslim believers do not support resuscitation as they claim it is a form of euthanasia, strictly prohibited within Muslim circles (Lippert et.al, 2010). A Muslim cannot commit murder or take part in it in any way. In addition, Islamic code governing ethics maintains that even if a person is in a vegetative state, the role of a medical doctor is maintaining or sustaining life.

Accepting the end of life option shakes down the sacredness of life according to most Muslims. End of life option has a pendulum effect on critical communal issues such as whether a fetus during its early stages is an actual being. As absurd as it may seem, a patient with a terminal illnesses has a right to life and completely human. The sacredness of human life does not stem from religious perspectives or opinion but the need to value life, regardless of the medical state in which it exists (Moss et.al, 2010). Advocates of euthanasia suggest that life is priceless but also bring forth another flipside of the argument. Ending the life an individual suffering from a painful sickness, brings respect to human life. Dying with respect sanctifies life. Thus, the contentious issues revolving around end of life option continue to evoke endless debates and sometimes the advocates cross the line. However, it is vital to note that quality of life has no connection with sanctity. Consequently, between quality and sanctity, the sacredness of life outweighs the quality of life. Viewing the argument in terms of quality of life, it actually implies that people with a low quality lifestyle deserve to die. Maintaining the same line of thought means that individuals with a quality life have more right to live than their counterpart does. In short, Muslims scholars support their argument from all angles: legalistic, social, and religious angles.

For instance, the right to sell oneself to slavery is not a well thought-out action. Neither is the right to end your own life due to the scourging effects of a terminal illness. A physician in a resource limited medical facility, the insurance institution, emotionally drained relatives attached to the patient may find the option of ending attractive once it becomes a viable option tabled in front of them (Yousuf, & Fauzi, 2012). Therefore, removing the option of death, gives medical experts and insurance institutions the right to fight against terminal illness and find creative ways of preserving the will of life.

Of course, the other side of the argument might claim there are better ways of going about assisted suited option. For example, some people may suggest that psychiatrists and doctors might assess a patient and confirm whether the person is of sound mind before acting upon their decision (Aramesh, & Shadi, 2007). Nevertheless, the above context applies only to people with a terminal illness or others who want to end life. Although their reasons seem valid, they are not justifiable to the humanity and society. Therefore, no one has power to give a go ahead for the procedure used in the elimination. Thus, end of life option would open an entire Pandora box of controversies if the government allows pain and suffering to be the main determinants of euthanasia. Once voluntary ending of life becomes normal, it would spread to palliative care patients. Any tome dick and harry would request the procedure once medical finances dwindle.

Of course, the other side of the argument might claim there are better ways of going about euthanasia. For example, some people may suggest that psychiatrists and doctors might assess a patient and confirm whether the person is of sound mind before acting upon their decision (Lippert et.al, 2010). Nevertheless, the above context applies only to people with a terminal illness or others who want to end life. Although their reasons seem valid, they are not justifiable to the humanity and society. Therefore, no one has power to give a go ahead for the procedure used in the elimination. Thus, assisted suicide would open an entire Pandora box of controversies if the government allows pain and suffering to be the main determinants of euthanasia. Once voluntary assisted suicide becomes normal, it would spread to palliative care patients. Any tom dick and harry would request the procedure once medical finances dwindle.

 Proponents of ending life option may propose that the practice already exists in many various forms and doctors and other healthcare providers conduct it all the time without fear and that the media has no clue (Moss et.al, 2010). More so, legalizing it would open more secure ways for practicing the deed. Thus, accepting the procedure is likely to prevent its misuse and corruptions that often accompanies it. In other words, legalizing euthanasia would avail guidelines and prevent misuse of the procedure.

People have a right to live their lives as they please. There are many public attitudes toward end of life option (Naseh, Rafiei, & Heidari, 2015). Surveys show that there is not enough support for end of life option. Literature reviews on the topic show that more than two third of American do not support both euthanasia and regulations that accompany the procedure. Politically speaking, legislators hesitate on the issue because they might lose votes.

 Surveys that monitor trends speculate that physicians do not easily accept a patient’s plea for termination of life. In addition, there is a rising concern that people might exploit the poor and the old if end of life option becomes legal (Brockopp, 2008). Poverty stricken people may see death as an option when faced with heavy medical bills. Religion plays a major role in shaping the thoughts of people on the issue. In a country like India, where 90% of the population is Indian, the dominant faiths are Hindu and Islam. Hence, end of life option faces a stiff opposition due to the religious beliefs.

Two tactics inhibit the legalization of end of life option. The first line of thought seem to derive its main argument from the a religious perspective which claims that people are made by God and their value is priceless ad no one should interfere with the sacredness that comes from life. Thus, end of life option goes against personal dignity of life. With religion comes the ethical side of end of life option, which makes physicians take a stand against it. On the other hand, the rhetorical nature of the subject matter tends to excite and elicit emotions rather solve the underlying issue (Brockopp, 2008). For instance, let us consider a context where one withholds treatment from a person suffering from a terminal illness, when the treatment does not make a difference and the treatment itself has a negative toll on the patient, the context is a weighty matter but euthanasia is weightier. Another subtle element is discernment. A terminally ill individual does not have the ability to make sound decisions. In summary, legalizing termination of life stands on shaky ground and may be a go-ahead button that would permit myriad of crimes. More so, regulating the act is a tedious task.

Reference

Aramesh, K., & Shadi, H. (2007). Euthanasia: an Islamic ethical perspective.

Brockopp, J. E. (2008). Islam and bioethics: Beyond abortion and euthanasia. Journal of Religious Ethics, 36(1), 3-12.

Lippert, F. K., Raffay, V., Georgiou, M., Steen, P. A., & Bossaert, L. (2010). European Resuscitation Council Guidelines for Resuscitation 2010 Section 10. The ethics of resuscitation and end-of-life decisions. Resuscitation, 81(10), 1445.

Moss, A. H., Lunney, J. R., Culp, S., Auber, M., Kurian, S., Rogers, J., ... & Abraham, J. (2010). Prognostic significance of the “surprise” question in cancer patients. Journal of palliative medicine, 13(7), 837-840.

Naseh, L., Rafiei, H., & Heidari, M. (2015). Nurses' attitudes towards euthanasia: a cross-sectional study in Iran. International journal of palliative nursing, 21(1), 43-48.

Yousuf, R. M., & Fauzi, A. R. (2012). Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide: A Review from Islamic Point of View. International Medical Journal Malaysia, 11(1).

Case study for the PREDS  Foundation---

5^th annual trip with S4S  (always in July)

2015- Haiti

with 13 staff members

2016- Ecuador, they distributed 704 pairs of shoes during their week in Ecuador.

with 5

2017- Dominican Republic, More than 500 pairs of shoes in just two days were handed out to those in need 

with 9

2018- Honduras

           With 9 + 4 S4S members

Upcoming trips: 2019- Haiti 2020- Tanzania

On _____ of ____ Soles4Souls partnered with the Preds Foundation. July of 2019 marks our 5th annual trip with the Nashville Predators foundation employees. The two groups will be embarking on their second trip to Haiti to distribute shoes to local school, orphanages, and communities in need. The teams work with local partners in the country

Staff members have the opportunity to raise money for their trip through their annual auction In (*****) as well as personal fundraising pages that can be set up through Soles4Souls.   The foundation creates an opportunity to fundraise for their trips through an auction in (January/Feb). Where items like signed handmade cornholes get actioned off.( Last year they were able to raise $20,000 toward their travel expenses.) --- is this right???

The Preds, show off their #heartsofgold while partnering with S4S to meet people where they are and experience life in developing nations. The staff has served thousands of children and families with S4S though their annual trips to places like Haiti in 2015, Ecuador in 2016, the Dominican Republic in 2017 and Honduras in 2018. On these trips, Preds employees provide footwear to those in need while spending time merging cultures and building relationships with the locals.

Throughout the year the preds foundation stays in contact with S4S, raising money and collecting shoes at games and events and visiting the Nashville warehouse a couple of times a year. -----need numbers----. Last year at their annual shoe drive on _____ , fans contributed (X) of shoes and donated $(X) to Soles4Souls

While on their most recent trip to Honduras this past year, the Preds were able to participate in the distribution of 740 pairs of shoes to children and adults in need, which converted to $8,850 in economic impact.  While having the free time to play with the children and experience a zig-zagging zip line adventure through the forests.

The Preds employees were also proud to point out the fact that on their Honduras trip, they had surpassed any single day distribution goals with roughly 660 pairs of donated shoes. In typical Preds fashion, they cemented themselves as the No.1 shoe distribution franchise in sports.  On their DR trip in 2017, Preds employees distributed over 500 pairs of shoes in just two days.

Often time with employees choosing to join soles4souls on consecutive trips

Predators

Predators Senior Manager of Community Relations Kristen Finch: Honduras

"I have been fortunate enough for this to be my third trip with the Preds and I am thankful for the support our company gives us to not only give back locally but also internationally on the annual Soles4Souls trip. As difficult as it is sometimes to communicate with the children, it is amazing how far a simple smile and bubbles or sidewalk chalk can go to break down the language barrier."

Ecuador trip -

“Although we gave to the utmost of our ability, their love and compassion that they showed us in return were far more than we could ever imagine. The random hugs, the thoughtful gifts, the cultural meals, the list goes on... We gave them shoes, and they gave each of us a piece of themselves that will forever be in our hearts.”

“‘We pulled up to the location and roughly 600-700 people eagerly awaited us. It was INSANE! We heard later that some families had been out there since 5 am waiting on a pair of shoes. Just crazy. Talk about perspective…”  Whitney Snyder on her Honduras trip in 2018

To date, the Predators Foundation has contributed $$$$$ of economic development to the developing countries that they have visited over the past 5 years.

Case study: Saint John and Paul Catholic Church

I was privileged to be a member of the team, which took part in the collection of more than 25,000 pairs of shoes. Soles4Souls teamed up with Saints John and Paul Catholic church and assisted in the collection of the shoes.

After assembling the public and channeling all their effort toward raising funds, the members of the community were able to raise more than 27,000 pairs of shoes. In addition, the church did not stop there, it went ahead and recruited assistance from several academic institutions and business enterprises in the region offering their space as a drop-off zone. The church did not stop at regional zones but went ahead and extended the program all over the country. For instance, business people took the initiative and made it their own hence collecting shoes from volunteers and submitting them to the church. The mission was not just about giving shoes but helping others who are in need. Before going for the trip, each main contributors raised awareness on the program, its aim, and approach to matters pertaining the community.

Saints John and Paul held a fundraising event with the aim of giving thirty people the chance to go on the Dominican Republic trip. The church was able to raise more than $ 31,000 via ticket trades, 25 auctioned products, and random donations.

 A part from donating shoes, the project was an alternative way of assisting Soles4Souls operation but at the same time helping the church link up with members of the society.

 After raising funds, the parish helped distribute the shoes all over Dominican Republic. In the end, the shoes reached more than 144 children within Dominican Republic.

Honduras

The trip to Honduras began one early Sunday. After spending sometime going through usual procedures, locating belongings and renting vehicles, the entire team met at Darwin and Raul. Everything fell in line and no one was late for anything.

 While leaving the airport vicinity, the scenery was natural, full of green trees, valleys, and mountains. The areas was fairly developed with numerous farms nestled here and there hence creating an aesthetic view of Honduras.

While heading to the town center, we passed by a bridge near El Progreso and our eyes could not believe the beautiful infrastructure and well commercialized zones. The streets were full of some internal brands and restaurants. We dropped our luggage at respective guesthouses, went for lunch at local food stores, and ate local foods such as refried beans and veggies. We were able to sip cold Limonada, a form of lemonade and the national alcoholic drink. The meals were great and kick started our week on a positive note for all of the people present.

After the hefty lunch, the entire team matched into the Soles4Souls store facility located in the urban area. The first delivery stock had both adult and children shoes sizes, both men and women. We climbed through the peak of shoes and isolated our specific supply package. After loading the package into the waiting cars, we attended to our stomach once again.

 The next day, the team woke up on an onsite cafeteria, Manjeres, surrounded by the sounds of parrots, which was a rare opportunity for all of us. After the breakfast we headed to schools and began the first distribution set at Monterrey.

Analysis of Provision of stability by men in relationships

Both Raymond Carver’s ‘Cathedral’ and Ernest Hemingway’s ‘Hills Like White Elephants’ help demonstrate the issues that are experienced by couples, and the role that the men take in helping their significant others feel supported in the cause of these disputes. The two writers choose outer elements to highlight the evolution of these two relationships, where each of the relationship has its problems and the normalcy directions that the couples should try and find a way to resolve the issues that they have. By analysing these two works, this essay tries to understand the issues that are faced by these two couples and the ability of the men in providing stability to their partners as an effort of turning things around in their relationships.

Right when the two stories begin, it is easy to notice the tension that is there between the couples. In the ‘Cathedral’, the narrator who is the husband is against hosting his wife’s blind male acquaintance, Robert into their home ‘’’The blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to’’ (Carver, p. 202). This visit by Robert into the narrator’s home causes tension between the couple since they are not in agreement about the visit. In the case of Hemingway’s work, it is not vividly clear at the beginning of the story but one can feel the tension between the American and his girl as they communicate. A good illustration of this is when the girl jokingly tells the American that he has never set eyes on a ‘white elephant’ and he becomes defensive arguing that ‘Just because you say I wouldn’t have doesn’t prove anything’ (Hemmingway, p. 643).

When you try to analyse the men in these two works, it is clear that they all have a narrow, distorted view of the world and that urge and need to always be in control in every situation. It is this urge for power that has brought about the split that is there between these men and their partners. Both the authors of these works have created similar characters in that they are all insensitive to their partners most especially when they need them most. They are all selfish in that they do try to give their partners a chance to do what they want and they do this by not allowing room for open communication between them and their partners.

One similar factor that can be observed from the two stories is the issue of stability, and it is something that is lacking in the two relationships. In the first story, ‘Cathedral’, the wife of the narrator is in tremendous need of support right from the beginning, where she is urging the narrator to be supportive of the issue of Robert coming to visit her at home. She clearly states to the narrator that the choice to be supportive is his and it will all be dependent on how he feels about her. But it is also very clear that as a partner she really cares for the narrator and she promises that if the narrator was in her position, she would fully support him (Carver, p. 438). Through this argument by the wife, it help to illustrate the unequal emotional investment between the partners, otherwise the wife would not really need to make such a conversation just to convince him if their marriage was really secure (Facknitz & Mark, P. 287).

Much of the narrator’s contemporary life is given by Carver while the wife’s former life is given more than her present life and it is through this that information about suicide survival is brought up bringing the need for empathy for her by the readers. Her being a suicide survivor indicates that this is an individual that requires stability and support in her life and though the narrator provides financial stability with his stable job, he is still unreliable when it comes to emotional stability (Messer & Collin, P. 47). The narrator has no friends ‘You do not have any friends, period.’, and this is because he is not able to make any intimate connections with other people, which makes his wife to feel isolated from the world (Carver, p. 438). This part of the story fore sees the ultimate irony of Robert the blind man becoming the narrator’s friend at the end of the story.

The reason why the narrator had never had a friend is because he always opted to resort to drug use in order to help relieve himself of boredom and anxiety (Messer & Collin, P. 44). The narrator changes his thinking at the end of the story and decides to be supportive of her by finally warming up to Robert by helping him draw the cathedral which is symbolically used in the story to represent unity. Through this connection with Robert, the narrator moved from isolation to another life of social interactions, he crossed over to an epiphany and he got another outlook on reality (Facknitz & Mark, P. 287).

In ‘The Hills Like White Elephants’, The American is not able to forage the disputes in his relationship unlike the case of Robert. Their major dispute revolves around the issue of abortion where the American wants the girl to undergo an abortion but she is not ready for it. The unwanted baby is symbolically referred to as the ‘white elephant’, which shows that the child resembles much more than just a new life for the two (Weeks & Lewis, p. 77). The baby is meant to test the level of commitment that the American has invested in this relationship. This uncertainty and vacuum in the relationship is characterized by the setting of the story where it takes place in a negated and deserted zone. Hemingway in this case chooses to use a place without any vegetation to symbolize the unfruitful decision that the American is about to make (Lanier, p 279).

Alcohol is constantly used by the American as a way of trying to navigate away from the difficult situations at hand and this is similar to the Robert’s problem. The girl frequently complain about their drinking habits she states, “that’s all we do, isn’t it—look at things and try new drinks?” , which is a suggestion that she does not like the life that they are living and is looking to make some changes in her life (Hemingway 360). The girl is at this point in her life seeking stability, a family and most importantly she needs the support from the American whom she feels is supposed to be her support system and this is literary seen when she watches the way that legs of the table strongly support the table (Weeks & Lewis, p. 77).

On the other hand, the American’s main interest is to convince the girl to go through the abortion which basically illustrates his lack of support. The girl just like the narrator’s wife question the love of this man for her which is what has been their major problem (Hemmingway, p. 361). The girl does not understand why the American is not ready for the change in their life, the American believes that after the operation everything will be fine not considering what the girl really want in regard to the issue. The girl is interested in keeping the baby and she is concerned about the harms that may come with the procedure which is a suggestion that the operation is not healthy (Lanier, p 279). The girl in this case acts as he decision maker and she makes her decision very obvious. The American feels that the baby will be a hindrance to their travelling and this is showed in the way that he looks at the labels of the hotels they had ever visited (Hemingway, 362).

 In the whole of this story, the American is presented as an individual that is basically avoiding all hustles that come with settling down which would require him to settle down and look for a stable job and remain consistent. When the story ends, it is clear that their issues are not really resolved because they do not really come to a conclusion about the issue though the American seems to have a change of heart as he takes their bags to the other side of the tracks (Hemingway, p. 363).

Hemingway unlike with Carver leaves a vague imprint on the way that things are left and one cannot be sure whether the American is ready to offer stability to the girl. In ‘cathedral’ the narrator’s life is transformed and he converts to a different individual, by founding an friendly link with Robert he was able to bring back the frame in his marriage which means that he would offer steadiness to his wife. Both the narrator and the girl were two different characters with the same desire and that is need for stability and emotional support. At the end of the stories, the narrator’s wife was clearly provided with this, but the same is not clearly in the case of the girl.

Works cited

Carver, Raymond. Cathedral: Stories. , 2015. Internet resource.

Facknitz, Mark A. R. “‘The Calm,’ ‘A Small, Good Thing,’ and ‘Cathedral’: Raymond

Carver and the Rediscovery of Human Worth.” Studies in Short Fiction, vol. 23, no. 3, Summer 1986, p. 287. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=7357970&site=ehost-live.

Hemingway, Ernest. Hills Like White Elephants: Short Story. Toronto: HarperCollins

            Canada, 2013. Internet resource.

Lanier, Doris. “The Bittersweet Taste of Absinthe in Hemingway’s ‘Hills Like White

Elephants.’” Studies in Short Fiction, vol. 26, no. 3, Summer 1989, p. 279. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=7133560&site=ehost-live.

Messer, H.Collin. “Fleeing the Wasteland of Alcoholism: Alienation, Recovery, and Hope in

Raymond Carver’s Cathedral.” Studies in Short Fiction, vol. 37, no. 1, Winter 2012, pp. 43–58. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=77324364&site=ehost-live.

Weeks Jr., Lewis E. “Hemingway Hills: Symbolism in ‘Hills Like White Elephants.’” Studies

in Short Fiction, vol. 17, no. 1, Winter 1980, p. 75. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=7134801&site=ehost-live.

Younger, Beth. “Women in Horror: Victims No More.” The Conversation, The Conversation, 19 Sept. 2018, theconversation.com/women-in-horror-victims-no-more-78711.

‘Women in horror: Victims no more’ is an article that was written by Beth Younger and it can be found in The Conversation’ website.  The article cites the research conducted by a professor of Southern California Stacy Smith to show the small representation of women in film and TV where between the years 2006 and 2011 women found in film were less than 30%. She goes ahead to illustrate that in these few women that are presented, they are featured talking about the man which is very biased. The article discusses the depiction of women in the horror films, the author illustrates that over the years, and women have always been portrayed as the victims of circumstances in the films. This is however changing and the women are now becoming the protagonists; she gives the examples of horror films such as ‘The Witch’ and ‘The Awakening’ where women are the main characters in the films and they are also the heroes.

 This source is very productive and it greatly helps to show how gender roles are changing in the film industry. This article will be very effective in supporting my argument that gender roles are changing in the film industry. it will be effective in helping to show that women roles in the society has changed and that they are now getting more attention in film roles that initially thought them to be fragile and not strong enough to be the protagonists. This source will be presented in my work by use of quotes of some of the films that have been mentioned to help show how the main characters have gone against the perception of the society to represent women as strong characters that can endure horrors just like the men can.

Kao, Hsien-Te; Tang, Carissa; Jain, Anita.“Gender Dichotomy in Horror Characters .” California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, 30 May 2017, pp. 2–11., broncoscholar.library.cpp.edu/bitstream/handle/10211.3/191872/KaoHsienTe_Article2017.pdf?sequence=1.

‘Gender Dichotomy in Horror Characters’ is a research paper by Hsien-Te Kao, Carissa Tang and Anita Jain. The article discusses the way that the horror character Slenderman has transformed over the years from a gender neutral character to a gendered character though fan arts. The article examines the history of horror characters with the analysis of both the female and the male horror authors such as Freddy, Frankenstein and Ring.  The article goes ahead to show the way that the horror characters have transformed dramatically from the scientific creature to the darkness creatures that are created using the internet. By using Slenderman character, the authors discuss the issue of gender binary, they try to show how over the years the characters of the horror films have changed where in the early years.

Men were often used as the main characters in the horror films a good case example being with Frankenstein and Freddy and this changed in the 20^th century where female characters began to be incorporated as the main characters a good example being with the author Ring in 2002 who used a woman as the main character in their horror work. However the article also tries to show that even as the women were incorporated in the films, they were brought out as weak and helpless. This article will be helpful in my work because it will help to show how the society at large has labelled women as the weak gender even in the horror films. I will cite the article in my work by quoting some of the films listed in the article and analysing how the male and female characters have been presented. The article will be effective in helping show how biased the society is when it comes to gender roles and how the horror industry depicts the character of women in the society.

GILLMOR, ALISON. “Feminist Horror.” Herizons, vol. 29, no. 1, Summer 2015, pp. 20–23. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=109190066&site=ehost-live.

Feminist Horror is an article by Gillmor and the article has been published and can be found in various academic data bases. The author just like in most articles that I have earlier looked at discusses the manner in which the women have been presented in horror movies over the years, and how this is changing with time. The author begins by explaining how the horror genre has in the past been viewed for its ability to explore dark and difficult places. The genre probes at trying to test the powers of primal emotions, the transgressions and also the taboos that lurk under the surface of the ordinary life. The author indicates that things have changed in these horror movies and women are no longer viewed as the victims, women in the 21^st century have embraced horror films and they enjoy watching them and most especially where the protagonists are female. The article goes ahead to illustrate that the female characters in the horror genre has greatly increased and she goes ahead to give some examples like ‘American psycho’. This article will be effective in my work in that it supports my argument that the supernatural film industry has completely changed when it comes to gender roles. Women are becoming major characters in the films which help to change the perceptions that women are weak. I will creatively use some of the content used the article to support my work and most especially the arguments on women becoming more and more interested in watching horror films.

Ahmad, Zara. “Gender Stereotypes In Horror Films.” The Odyssey Online, Odyssey, 13 Nov. 2017, www.theodysseyonline.com/gender-stereotypes-horror-industry.

Gender stereotype in Horror Films is an article written by Ahmad and it can be found in the Odyssey website online. The article discusses the horror film industry and the manner in which women are represented; women have always been looked at as weak creatures which made them the victims in these horror films. The female characters as illustrated in the article were always presented to be scared and unreasonable and a good case example of this is given with the films, ‘Frankenstein’, ‘Sea Cunningham’ and Psycho’ where the female characters are killed by the males.  Things have however changed, now days and women have stopped becoming the victims and they are now always fighting and they end up becoming heroes or ‘final girls’ as they have come to be commonly referred as, a good case example given being ‘The Descent’. This article is effective in that it helps to show the way that women in the past were treated and presented in the society. The female characters have always been thought to be weak and not able to withstand horrific events in their lives. I will use this article to help evidence the manner in which the horror industry in the past represented women and how this concept has changed over the years. I will cite the article in such a way that the current representation of women as heroes or as the ‘final girls’ is well elaborated to show how gender roles in women are changing in the horror film industry as well as the society at large.

 Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life

by Annette Lareau

Review by:

In her book Unequal Childhood: Class, Race, and Family Life, Annette Lareau explain the various causes of social inequality and injustice in America. Annette is a sociologist who strives to reveal how class differences, racism and gender inequalities has affected many children. After observing two elementary schools and interviewing parents from 12 different families. Annette comes up with data that explains how racism and social inequalities a person's day to day life. Lareau continued with her research after a decade, and she learned that of the 12 families that she interviewed, those children from poor families either dropped out of high school, or did not pursue higher education. This paper will analyze how race, sexism, and class affect children as they grow up.

Race

America is known as the Land of Opportunities, but it not the case for many people. Many of these opportunities are given to White Americans leaving out the African Americans to suffer. Annette observes how race has been a great factor in determining the quality of life in America (Lareau, 2011). Racial inequalities have continued to influence advancing in education and job opportunities. There is a big gap between White Americans and African American families. The Whites secure jobs in high paying jobs as compared to Blacks. Also, Laureu observes that the rate of unemployment amongst the Blacks is twice higher as opposed to the Whites. African Americans have been underemployed and they receive low wages which cannot cater for their everyday expenses. As a result, children from Black families continue to suffer in poverty while children from White families lead luxurious lifestyles. Also, Black families are discouraged because no matter their academic achievements, the White Americans will always be considered first in the job markets.

Solution to Racial Discrimination

It is possible to carb racial discrimination in America, if certain measures are implemented. First, the Government should come up with awareness programs which educate people on human rights, and make the people understand that all races are equal. Second, Equal both the Whites and Blacks should be given equal education, and employment opportunities in order to eradicate poverty. Finally, African American parents should encourage their children to make friends with White children in order to minimize the gap between Black and White people.

Social Class

Annette observes social class and inequality as being interrelated.  There are notable difference between children who come from different social classes. Laureu observes children communicating with their parents and comes up with various conclusions. First, middle class parents are concerted cultivators, parents who dominate their children's lives with organized and controlled activities meant to mod them into interactive individuals in different institutions. For instance, in Laureu's work, Alexander William's mother is so committed to taking her son to piano classes. Middle class children show more confidence when interacting with adults (Lareau, 2011). Furthermore, Annette identifies that working class and poor families' parents believe in natural growth. That is, the parenting style is not optional for the parents, but rather something that is determined by the environment. Working class parents focus on providing the children with basic needs and they forget about checking their academic performances and activities participation. Poor parents lack finances to involve their children in organized activities, like those from middle families, thus making children from poor families to develop low confidence. In attempts to understand Annette's theories, I can affirm that my parent's way of raising me have greatly contributed to my educational life. My mother was always involved in my academic performance. She would always assist with my homework, and talked to teachers regarding my academic development. Her support made me a responsible and competent student.

Solutions to Social Class Inequalities

Social class inequality may not pose as a major problem, but it has a tremendous effect on children. Working class and poor parents have put too much effort into providing the basic needs to their children, that they forget about their role in the educational life of the kids. Parents should pay more attention to the education performance of their children and offer assistance with their assignments. This boosts the child's performance and increases their self-confidence even at adulthood.

Gender

Laureu observes gender inequality during her research. Annette observes that many institutions unknowingly promote gender inequality. The concept of gender is culturally constructed, unlike sex which is biological and cannot be changed. Girls or boys behaviors are influenced by the communities' concept of what is masculine and what is feminine. The family as a social institution plays a vital role in gender inequality (Lareau, 2011). Male children are given bold toys like guns and cars, which teaches them to strong and have big visions, while female children are given dolls which prepares them to be loving and responsible mothers. Also, schools consider boys to be more intelligent and boys are encouraged to pursue the technical subjects. Girls, on the other hand, pursue easier subjects like literature and arts. Third, many companies employ male workers to handle the complex tax, while female employees are given the low ranks in the company.

Solution to Gender Inequalities

The society should come up with measures to carb gender inequality in the society. First, parents should give kids equal treatment regardless of their gender. Treating children equally changes their perspective of and they learn that a female has the same capability as a male. Second, learning institution should strive to come up with a curriculum that encourages gender equality. Also, schools should encourage girls to take technical courses instead of associating them with easier courses. Finally, the job market should allocate positions to employees without discrimination based on their gender.

Conclusion

The parenting style that a parent applies to raise their kids plays a vital role in shaping their future. Parents should focus on giving their children the best lives, but should not forget their responsibilities in their children's lives. A parent's interest in a child's academic life improves the child's academic performance. Finally, society should strive to eradicate inequalities in order to minimize the gap between the haves and the have nots.

References

Lareau, A. (2011). Unequal Childhoods: Class, race, and family life. Univ of California Press.

 Addressing racism in society

            Dialogue is a process in which two or more people come together to discuss a specific issue that affects specific people in a community or even on a global scale. A topic such as racism can be tabled for debate with the aim of either understanding its origin, how to remedy, or how to help those that are racially discriminated against. Although dialogues help to generate ideas on how to address issues of concern in society, some topics like racism may be too challenging to resolve using dialogue because of the complex nature in which such topics need to be approached. The challenge when debating the topic on racism is especially challenging because each person participating in the dialogue has to first acknowledge the privileges and challenges that they face due to their race as well as identify how race affects others. It therefore requires one to understand the position that race presents to the individual as well as how it may affect other people differently. With such knowledge in mind, individuals have to structure their arguments in ways that will not be offensive to other participants in the dialogue and this often requires a great deal of control especially because of the sensitive nature of the topic on racism. Although dialogue does create awareness on the negative outcomes of racial discrimination, it remains to be an ineffective tool for addressing racism because of the various challenges that exist to hinder successful communication among people engaging in the debate.

            Discussions on race often provoke a lot of intense emotions among people from different racial backgrounds especially because it reveals the different ways in which people live their lives with respect to their racial backgrounds. In the process of discussing the effects of racism, different people from different ethnicities have to share their experiences, challenges and opportunities that they face because of their race. In this process, the diverse groups get to learn about the opportunities and challenges that each ethnic group faces and in the process, see just how much a privileged race may benefit one ethnic group and discriminate against another. In such a setting, it becomes difficult to reach a common ground and come up with viable solution because different groups will seek out solutions that will benefit their ethnic group the most.

Other than the differences in opinion, dialogue can be ineffective in addressing racism because of the notion that racism is a form of discrimination that has remained the same over time. Most people are of the opinion that racism is the oppression or discrimination of people because of their race. Since race is determined by ethnic characteristics, it is a constant factor as is the case between whites and African Americans. Since the difference is a matter of color, the constant factor that people use to define, and therefore, try to define race will be based on something as simple as skin color. A dialogue would therefore be ineffective because people would argue in the lines of what they already believe. Despite racism having evolved over the years, people still view it as a constant element that divides people on the basis of ethnic backgrounds. However, racism has evolved over the years and its definition continues to change over time.

In the nineteenth century, for example, people believed that whites ware superior to blacks because they had a bigger brain, and were therefore more intelligent. The belief was so strong that scientists had to research on the difference in size between the skulls of African Americans and whites to prove that whites were more intelligent due to the larger space meant to hold the brain in their skulls. Although the research was used to give whites superiority, the belief was done away with in the 20^th century as research gave way to new means of racial profiling to determine which race was superior (Boza 25). While the different ways of differentiating people on the basis of race keeps evolving, the view that people have on racism remains the same and thus makes it difficult to debate about racism. This is especially because the dialogue could be based on factors that are no longer relevant, and therefore less likely to have any significant impact on racism.

Dialogue is also ill equipped to address the topic on racism because the people that carry out the debate are guided by ideas that are brought about by political and economic liberalism. Issues related to race are often presented in a liberal context that makes it difficult to identify the root cause of the problem. In an issue such as racial segregation, an argument can be made that African Americans choose to stay in neighborhoods that they can afford and this is the same with whites (n.a 56). Since liberals believe in offering equal opportunities, viewing racism in the context of choice makes it difficult to identify which people need help and which are in the situation they live in because of their own free will. Since dialogues require people to give their own opinion, it leads people into viewing racism on an individual level. Since people are free to make their own choices, the points put forward fail to address the topic as a whole and only picks on individual elements, thus making it hard to reach actionable solutions to do away with racism.

In addition, racism is still explained through cultural ideologies that have become acceptable in society regardless of whether they are based on facts or not. A good example is the belief that African Americans are more prone to engaging in criminal activity and that Mexicans do not value education as much as the whites (n.a 57). Such ideologies make dialogue difficult because arguments made are already biased by such stereotypes which have already become acceptable in society. This is especially because the stereotypes are shared by not only the racist people but also by the environment in which African Americans, Mexicans and other minorities choose to live in. If people continue to use such ideologies, it becomes difficult to truly define what racism is and no amount of dialogue will reach a desirable solution because some forms of racism have already become acceptable especially if they do not cause any harm or do not discriminate against the people they are directed towards (n.a 57). Since dialogue works best when all parties are debating specific topic, it becomes difficult to discuss the topic on racism because it cannot be approached from one angle.

Lastly, there is the belief that racism is no longer as extreme as it used to be. Although great achievements have been made in the fight to end racism, people still get discriminated against despite it having reduced over the years. The dialogues held are likely to focus on racism in general instead of narrowing down to the new forms of racism that still exist (Silva 467). Since African Americans and whites go to same schools and employment places among others, one might believe that racism is a non-factor. This makes it difficult to take the matter with the seriousness it deserves because people have been led to believe that racism is no longer an issue of concern.

 Racism is a serious issue that needs to be addressed accordingly in order to bring to end issues of oppression and discrimination of people because of their ethnicity. For it to be resolved, there needs to be a clear definition of what racism truly is rather than relying on a set of agreeable forms of discrimination that varies depending on the racial background of the people falling victim to it. While dialogue can create a call to action for people to take the issue of racism more seriously, it fails to be an effective tool as it mostly focuses on the debater’s opinion regarding what racism is and how it affects an individual and other people in the community. It is therefore important to have a common definition for racism so as to create better understanding and help in getting rid of it from society.

Work cited

Boza M, “Race and racism: A critical approach” Oxford University Press, n.d

N.A, “The central frame of color-blind racism” n.d

Silva E, “Rethinking racism: Toward a structural interpretation” American Sociology Review,      2008

The tension between individuals and Community

Introduction

The community and individuals have been on a continuous tug of war by not allowing the individuals to enjoy their choices freely.  This paper, therefore, aims at looking into ways in which the tension between the society and human beings has always raised by citing information from Babylon Revisited by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ban Burning by William Faulkner, The Chrysanthemums by John Steinbeck and John Dos Passos from the USA.

How Each Author Depict Tension between Individual and the Community

John Steinbeck uses Chrysanthemums to show the ridicule the women face especially when she does not have a child (Gale, Cengage Learning). From the book, Elisa does not have a child making her the center of attraction and all manner of talk. Consequently, Elisa is faced by a casual abandonment from the tinker showing the easy dismissal that women face; however much she tries to challenge him intellectually, spiritually and even the physical level.

 William Faulkner uses the book Ban Burning to express the state of confusion between standing by the people you love or society. William uses the character Sarty Snopes, a young man mounted with social responsibilities and maintaining the respect and loyalty for his family. Consequently, Sarty is forced to condemn his father's actions through which he comes to learn the ethics code in the broader category between good and evil but is not able to comprehend the mind and the higher range of human actions.

Through the Babylon Revisited, F. Scott Fitzgerald brings out the challenges associated with the process of child adoption, primarily as a single father (Hess, Heather 77).  Mr. Scott uses the character of Charlie living in Prague but is an American visiting Paris with the intention of getting child custody of Honoria after the death of his wife. Consequently, Honoria would like to live with her5 father but the aunt and uncle see Charlie as unfit to raise Honoria. Even though Charlie tries his best to win the custody, the pursuit ends up unsuccessful and is denied the care of his daughter. 

John Dos Passos has been ignored and faced a lot of critics through his political and life with a lot of people looking at a text from his work and treating it as out of history and order without looking at the entire article or work presented. 

How the Relationship Reflects Political, Social and Historical Contexts

From the authors, the political social and historical contexts are not fair to women and people who try to speak for society. Charlie being denied the custody of Honoria, his daughter, shows there is a need for more improvement in social relations. Consequently, managing and balancing family requirements and social responsibilities always come hand in hand and without proper balancing, the two can make one unable to deliver fully. The article by Scott Fitzgerald the social and political reflection is not only unbalanced but also uncertain.

John Dos Passos article shows that the federal statute could not listen to anyone who tries to speak the truth. Consequently, society gives very little to no chance of anyone trying to make a difference without the political background and help.  From the author of the chrysanthemums, women are given very few chances, and the society looks down upon the ones who do not have children.

Work Cited

Gale, Cengage Learning. A Study Guide for John Steinbeck's" Chrysanthemums". Gale, Cengage Learning, 2016.

Hess, Heather LN. "The Crash!”: Writing the Great Depression in F. Scott Fitzgerald's “Babylon Revisited,”“Emotional Bankruptcy,” and “Crazy Sunday." Journal of Modern Literature 42.1 (2018): 77-94.

Family relationships

 Marriage decline is a topic of discussion since the downward trend of marriage is alarming.  Recent research on marriage decline report that socioeconomic factors such as education, contraception, higher earning, and economic security have contributed to the marriage decline (Dnes & Rowthorn, 2002). Currently, an example of a law that addresses this issue is the unilateral divorce law. The law allows one spouse to file a divorce without the consent of the other. The Unilateral divorce law has increased the divorce rate since couples have the right to take the marital property since each has a disproportionate investment. Couples have the freedom to make personal goals and fail to make a successful marriage and as a result, leads to marital breakdown (Dnes & Rowthorn, 2002). The law has also destabilized marriage and denies the couples the ability to make relationship goals and arrive at a mutual agreement. Thus, there should be a law reform and create another effective legislation that can slow the marriage decline and build marital; stability. Given that socioeconomic factors have caused marriage decline, there should be a change in marriage laws and the kind of legislation that can work better should define marriage as a special relationship, and a commitment devise. Rather than relying on the current laws that provide the freedom to separate, the new legislation should state the social and legal meaning of the marriage, implement enforceable restrictions and binding obligations and this will promote cooperation and allow the couples to build an intimate relationship and reduce misunderstanding (Dnes & Rowthorn, 2002).

When couples separate, one of the couples is given a legal obligation to give financial support to the other.  The advantages of alimony are that both couples are under the law and have the legal security as one is legally entitled to make the payment and the other is legally entitled to receive the payment (Woodhouse & Guillen, 2016). Second, the beneficiary gets financial support which aids in paying bills and meeting basic needs, and the payer avoids future obligations. However, alimony is associated with disadvantages in that the payer may lack finance and prefer to borrow a loan.  The receiving spouse will be affected since he or she will be forced to pay tax thereby reducing the financial amount.  There should be a term limit for the receipt of alimony with respect to the couples unique situation, needs, and ability.  The reason as to why term limit should be applied are; if the recipient remarries, if the payer has unlimited ability to pay, if both spouses earn, the amount of the monthly earnings among other reasons. In general, there should be a term limit to maximize fairness and justice.

  Spousal Relationships

Methods to end a marriage are; separation, divorce, and annulment. Divorce means that either spouse can file a divorce request without the consent of the other. Separation means that the spouses can separate legally but neither should not remarry without filing a divorce request.  Spouses can separate and divide assets and properties.  The third method is annulment which means that couples end the marriage because it was not legally valid (Statsky, 2004).  This method occurs in cases where the couples are blood relatives, if one of the spouses is under the age, and if one of the spouses was mentally incapacitated when engaging marriage.

 These methods have potential repercussions to the society in that the children to the divorced couples will encounter mental,  psychological and economic challenge and as a result, they will develop immoral behaviors such as alcohol abuse and physical fighting and as a result,  they will damage the social harmony and the social stability.  Employers will also encounter a difficult situation since they will spend more time to address employees' divorce issues.  As a result, employers will suffer from poor performance and loss of productivity (Statsky, 2004).  Financial institutions will also suffer from financial instability since the separated couples may fail to pay loans due to low household income, low net worth and high poverty

.            I would support the restoration of the father's visitation privileges by arguing that the unmarried father who has an undeveloped relationship with a child has a genetic link. Second, when the child was born, the father was willing to build a relationship with the kid but due to mother's hatred, he was unable. Thus, the father should be given the right to visit the child and build a substantial relationship. I would also employ the labor-based theory to argue that being a biological father, he shows the intention of being active and an engaged parent (Purvis, 2013).  In general, the biological father should be allowed to assist the child in areas such as insurance plans, saving accounts, education, and more.

References

Dnes, A. W., & Rowthorn, B. (2002). The law and economics of marriage and divorce. New

York: Cambridge University Press.

Woodhouse, V., & Guillen, L. (2016). Divorce & Money: How to Make the Best Financial

Decisions During Divorce / Attorney Violet Woodhouse and Attorney Lina Guillen.

NOLO.

Statsky, W. P. (2004). Family law: The essentials. Clifton Park, NY: Thomas/Delmar Learning.

Bottom of Form

Purvis, D. E. (2013). The Origin of Parental Rights: Labor, Intent, and Fathers. Fla. St. UL

Rev., 41, 645.

Video Games Influence Stereotypes

Norris, K. O. (2004). Gender Stereotypes, Aggression, and Computer Games: An Online Survey of Women. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 7(6), 714–727. https://doi.org/10.1089/cpb.2004.7.714

This study tries to analyse and understand the concept of aggression, gender identity and personality in relation to video games. Norris illustrates that video games comprise cumulative levels of pragmatism and violence and there is also biased gender portrayals. He goes ahead to illustrate that violent character traits fascinate people and lure them to violent games. Women dislike video games since they are not violent in nature. An online survey was conducted to help explore masculinity identity and violent personality in the framework of video gaming. The assessment was steered on women that played video games and the women that use computers but did not have any interest in video games. The results indicated that the women that enjoyed playing computer games alleged their online surroundings to be less responsive but they experienced a smaller amount of sexual harassment online. The results also showed that these women were more hostile and did not contrast in gender distinctiveness, gradation of sex role labelling as compared to the women that did not play the games. This study associated video gaming with aggression thus showing that video gaming reinforces stereotypes.

Behm-Morawitz, E., Hoffswell, J., & Chen, S.-W. (2016). The Virtual Threat Effect: A Test of Competing Explanations for the Effects of Racial Stereotyping in Video Games on Players’ Cognitions. CyberPsychology, Behavior & Social Networking, 19(5), 308–313. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2015.0461

This study tries to identify whether video gaming has an effect on the issue of racial stereotyping on the players. Behm-Morawitz et al., begins by illustrating that most games are stereotyped and the African American video games characters always trigger stereotyped discernment among the white players. The study magnifies on past study by exploiting a between subjects tentative strategy to help test two conceivable hypothetical justifications and they include; the practical threat outcome and existence. Behm-Morawitz et al., illustrates that undesirable emotional response to the intimidating incentive predicts labelling. The findings of this study illustrate that increase presence of video gaming have greater effects on the insolences and opinions of the players which supports the concept that video gaming reinforces stereotypes.

Vermeulen, L., & Van Looy, J. (2016). “I Play So I Am?” A Gender Study into Stereotype Perception and Genre Choice of Digital Game Players. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 60(2), 286–304. https://doi.org/10.1080/08838151.2016.1164169

This study tries to understand the effects of video gaming on gender stereotype thinking. Vermeulen & Van illustrate that stereotype in the game culture greatly inhibits the freedom of female players. The authors begin by looking the perceptions of the gamers in regard to gender linked and universal game typecasts and how they re-count to their playing frequencies. They then investigate choice of genre in light of the player’s sexual characteristics and how all this is linked with play incentives. The outcomes of the study show that female players are the ones that differ the most with masculinity stereotypical opinions, but they are more sturdily drawn towards particular genres like particularly those linked with style, relationships and other themes that are associated more with women than the men. This study hence supports the notion that video games influence stereotypes.

Laurent, Sarda, Elisa, Gentile, Clementine, & Sebastian. (2017, March 13). Video Games Exposure and Sexism in a Representative Sample of Adolescents. Retrieved from https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00466/full

This research study was aimed at assessing the association between revelation of video games and sexism in a large sample. The authors illustrate that most of the past research that has been conducted indicate that video games are associated with stereotype of females and these matters significantly help in refining sexism. The study measured the power of this connotation when two other noteworthy and well-studied foundations of sexism, television revelation and religiosity were also comprised in a multivariate archetype.  The study used a trial of 13520 young people who were aged between 11-19 years of age to complete the survey that was gauging video game and television exposure on weekly basis and sexist attitudes towards women. The results indicated a large representation sample that playing of video games is closely related to sexism hence supporting the notion that video games influence stereotypes.

Anderson, C. A., & Bushman, B. J. (2001). Effects of violent video games on aggressive behaviour, aggressive cognition, aggressive affect, physiological arousal, and pro-social behaviour: A meta-analytic review of the scientific literature. Psychological Science, 12(5), 353-359

Anderson & Bushman illustrate that exploration on acquaintance with television and movie fierceness, proposes that playing of ferocious video games upsurge hostile behaviours. Their study is an analytic assessment of the video game investigation literature to recognize whether this notion is true. The study used both investigational and non-investigational studies with males and females in both research laboratory and field locales.  The examinations of these studies exposed that contact with violent video games upsurges emotional arousal and hostility related judgements and approaches. Playing of these games was perceived to decrease pro-social behaviours.