A Closer Look at Female Genital Mutation Essay Example

A Closer Look at Female Genital Mutation Paper In June 1997, the Board of I igration Appeals of the United States I igration and Naturalization Service (INS) granted political asylum to a nineteen-year-old woman from Togo who had fled her home to escape the practice of genital mutilation. 1 Fauziya Kassindja is the daughter of Muhammed Kassindja, a successful owner of a small trucking business in Kpalime. Her father opposed the ritual practice: He remembered his sisters screams during the rite and her suffering from a tetanus infection she developed afterwards. Hajia, his wife, recalled the death of her older sister from an infection associated with the rite; this tragedy led Hajias family to exempt her from cutting, and she, too, opposed the practice for her children. During his lifetime, Muha ed, being wealthy, was able to defy the tribal customs of the Tchamba-Kunsuntu, to which he belonged. Both illiterate themselves, the Kassindjas sent Fauziya to a boarding school in Ghana, so that she could learn English and help her father in his business. Meanwhile, her four older sisters married men of their own choice, genitals intact. Fauziyas family was thus an anomaly in the region. Rakia Idrissou, the local genital exciser, told a reporter that girls usually have the procedure between the ages of four and seven. If weak, they are held down by four women; if stronger, they require five women, one to sit on their chests and one for each arm and leg. They must be kept still, she said, because if they jerk suddenly the razor blade used for the surgery can cut too deep. We will write a custom essay sample on A Closer Look at Female Genital Mutation specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on A Closer Look at Female Genital Mutation specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on A Closer Look at Female Genital Mutation specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer When Fauziya was fifteen, however, her father died. Her mother was summarily turned out of the house by hostile relatives, and an aunt took control of the household, ending Fauziyas education. We dont want girls to go to school too much, this aunt told a reporter from The New York Times. The family patriarch then arranged for Fauziya to become the fourth wife of an electrician; her prospective husband insisted that she have the genital operation first. To avoid the marriage and the mutilation hat would have preceded it, Fauziya decided to leave home; her mother gave her $3,000 of the $3,500 inheritance that was her only sustenance. On her wedding day, Fauziya left her aunts house, flagged down a taxi, and, with nothing but the clothes on her back, asked the driver to take her across the border into Ghana, some twenty miles away. Once in Ghana, she got on a flight to Germany; with help from people who befriended her there, she got a flight to the United States. On landing in Newark sh e confessed that her documents were false and asked for political asylum. After weeks of detention in an unsanitary and oppressive i igration prison, she got legal assistance—again with the help of her mother, who contacted a nephew who was working as a janitor in the Washington area. Scraping together $500, the nephew hired a law student at American University, Ms. Miller Bashir, to handle Fauziyas case. At first, Bashir was unsuccessful, and a Philadelphia immigration judge denied Fauziyas request for asylum. Through the determined efforts of activists, journalists, and law faculty at American University, she successfully appealed the denial. The appellate ruling stated that the practice of genital mutilation constitutes persecution and concluded: It remains particularly true that women have little legal recourse and may face threats to their freedom, threats or acts of physical violence, or social ostracization for refusing to undergo this harmful traditional practice, or attempting to protect their female children. In recent years, the practice of female genital mutilation has been increasingly in the news, generating a complex debate about cultural norms and the worth of sexual functioning. This chapter attempts to describe and to sort out some aspects of this controversy. First, however, a word about nomenclature. Although discussions sometimes use the terms female circumcision and clitoridectomy, female genital mutilation (FGM) is the standard generic term for all these procedures in the medical literature. Clitoridectomy standardly designates a suategory, described shortly. The term female circumcision has been rejected by international medical practitioners because it suggests the fallacious analogy to male circumcision, which is enerally believed to have either no effect or a positive effect on physical health and sexual functioning. 2 Anatomically, the degree of cutting in the female operations described here is far more extensive. (The male equivalent of the clitoridectomy would be the amputation of most of the penis. The male equivalent of tnfibulation would be removal of the entire penis, its roots of soft tissue, and part of the scrotal skin. 3 ) This discuss ion is onfined to cases that involve substantial removal of tissue and/or functional impairment; I make no comment on purely symbolic procedures that involve no removal of tissue, and these are not included under the rubric female genital mutilation by international agencies that study the prevalence of the procedure. Three types of genital cutting are co only practiced: (i) In clitoridectomy, a part or the whole of the clitoris is amputated and the bleeding is stopped by pressure or a stitch. (2) In excision, both the clitoris and the inner lips are amputated. Bleeding is usually stopped by stitching, but the vagina is not covered. (3) In infibulation, the clitoris is removed, some or all of the labia minora are cut off, and incisions are made in the labia majora to create raw surface. These surfaces are either stitched together or held in contact until they heal as a hood of skin that covers the urethra and most of the vagina. 5 Approximately 85 % of women who undergo FGM have type i or type 2; infibulation, which accounts for only 15% of the total, nonetheless accounts for 80 to 90% of all operations in certain countries, for example, the Sudan, Somalia, and Djibouti. The practice of female genital mutilation remains extremely common in Africa, although it is illegal, and widely resisted, in most of the countries where it occurs. 6 The World Health Organization estimates that overall, in todays world between 85 and 115 million women have had such operations. In terms of percentages, for example, 93 % of women in Mali have undergone genital cutting, 98% in Somalia, 89% of women in the Sudan, 43 % in the Central African Republic, 43 % in the Ivory Coast, and 12% in Togo. 7 Smaller numbers of operations re now reported from countries such as Australia, Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Female genital mutilation is linked to extensive and in some cases lifelong health problems. These include infection, hemorrhage, and abscess at the time of the operation; later difficulties in urination and menstruation; stones in the urethra and bladder due to repeated infections; excessive growth of scar tissue at the site, which may become disfiguring; pain during intercourse; infertility (with devastating implications for a womans other life chances); obstructed labor and damaging rips and tears during childbirth. Complications from infibulation are more severe than those from clitoridectomy and incision; nonetheless, the false perception that clitoridectomy is safe frequently leads to the ignoring of complications, Both in the implicated nations and outside, feminists have organized to demand the abolition of this practice, citing its health risks, its impact on sexual functioning, and the violations of dignity and choice associated with its compulsory and nonconsensual nature. These opponents have been joined by many authorities in their respective nations, both religious and secular. In Egypt, for example, both the Health Minister, Ismail Sallem, and the new head of Al Azhar, the nations leading Islamic institution, support a ban on the practice. The World Health Organization has advised health professionals not to participate in the practicesince 1982 and repeated its strong opposition in 1994; the practice has also been condemned by the U. N. Co ission on Human Rights, UNICEF, the World Medication Organization, Minority Rights Group International, and Amnesty International. 9 At the same time, however, other writers have begun to protest that the criticism of genital mutilation is inappropriate and ethnocentric, a demonizing of another culture when we have many reasons to find fault with our own. 10 They have also charged that the focus on this problem involves a Western glamorization tion of sexual pleasure that is inappropriate, especially when we judge other cultures with different moral norms. To encounter such positions we do not need to turn to scholarly debates, We find them in our undergraduate students, who are inclined to be ethical relativists on such matters, at least initially, hestitant to make any negative judgment of a culture other than their own- Because it seems important for anyone interested in political change in this area to understand these views in their popular and nonacademic form, I shall illustrate them from student writings I have encountered both in my own teaching and in my research for a book on liberal education, adding some points from the academic debate. 1 Many students, like some participants in the academic debate, are general cultural relativists, holding that it is always inappropriate to criticize the practices of another culture, and that cultures can appropriately be judged only by their own internal norms. That general position would indeed imply that it is wrong for Westerners to criticize female genital mutilation, but not for any reasons interestingly specific to genital mutilation itself. For that reason, and because I have already considered that family of views in chapter i, discussing the views of relativists in anthropology and development policy, I shall focus here on four criticisms that, while influenced by relativism, stop short of the general relativist thesis: (1) It is morally wrong to criticize the practices of another culture unless one is prepared to be similarly critical of comparable practices when they occur in ones own culture. Thus, a typical student reaction is to criticize the ethnocentrism of a stance that holds that ones own culture is the benchmark for the principles and practices that are appropriate for all people. ) 12 (2) It is morally wrong to criticize the practices of another culture unless ones own culture has eradicated all evils of a comparable kind. 13 (Thus, a typical undergraduate paper co ents that criticism of genital mutilation is unacceptable when one considers the domestic problems we are faced with in our own cultures. ) (3) Female genital mutilation is morally on a par with practices of dieting and body shaping in American culture. (I observed quite a few courses in which this comparison played a central role, and the comparison has often been suggested by my own students. In a similar vein, philosopher Yael Tamir writes that Western conceptions of female beauty encourage women to undergo a wide range of painful, medically unnecessary, and potentially damaging processes. 14 ) 4) Female genital mutilation involves the loss of a capacity that may not be especially central to the lives in question, and one to which Westerners attach disproportionate significance. Thus references to clitoridectomy commonly reveal a patronizing attitude toward women, suggesting that they are primarily sexual beings. 15 These are significant charges, which should be confronted. Feminist argument should not be condescending to women in developing countries who have their own views of what is good. Such condescension is all the more damaging when it comes from women who are reluctant to criticize the flaws in their own culture, for then it is reminiscent of the worst smugness of white mans burden colonialism. Our students are surely right to think that withholding ones own judgment until one has listened carefully to the experiences of members of the culture in question is a crucial part of intelligent deliberation. On the other hand, the prevalence of a practice, and the fact that even today many women endorse and perpetuate it, should not be taken as the final word, given that there also many women in African cultures who struggle against it, and given that those who do perpetuate it may do so in background conditions of intimidation and economic and political inequality. How, then, should we respond to these very common charges? The first thesis is true, and it is useful to be reminded of it. Americans have all too often criticized other cultures without examining their own cultural shortcomings. It is less clear, however, that lack of self-criticism is a grave problem for Americans on such issues. We find no shortage of criticism of the ideal female body image, or of practices of dieting intended to produce it. Indeed, American feminists would appear to have devoted considerably more attention to these American problems than to genital mutilation, to judge from the success of books such as Naomi Wolfs The Beauty Myth and Susan Bordos Unbearable Weight. Indeed, a review of the recent feminist literature suggests the problem may lie in exactly the opposite direction, in an excessive focusing on our own failings. We indulge in moral narcissim when we flagellate ourselves for our own errors while neglecting to a end to the needs of those who ask our help from a distance. The second thesis is surely false. It is wrong to insist on cleaning up ones own house before responding to urgent calls from outside. Should we have said Hands off Apartheid, on the grounds that racism persists in the United States ? Or, during the Second World War, Hands off the rescue of the Jews/ on the grounds that in the 19303 and 19405 every nation that contained Jews was implicated in anti-Semitic practices? It is and should be di icult to decide how to allocate ones moral effort between local and distant abuses. To work against both is urgently important, and individuals will legitimately make di erent decisions abouttheir priorities. But the fact that a needy human being happens to live in Togo rather than Idaho does not make her less my fellow, less deserving of my moral commitment. And to fail to recognize the plight of a fellow human being because we are busy moving our own culture to greater moral heights seems the very height of moral obtuseness and parochialism. We could add that FGM is not as such the practice of a single culture or group of cultures. As recently as in the 19405, related operations were performed by U. S. and British doctors to treat female problems such as masturbation and lesbianism. 16 Nor is there any cultural or religious group in which the practice is universal. As Nahid Toubia puts it, FGM is an issue that concerns women and men who believe in equality, dignity and fairness to all human beings, regardless of gender, race, religion or ethnic identity. . . It represents a human tragedy and must not be used to set Africans against non-Africans, one religious group against another, or even women against men. 17 If the third thesis were true, it might support a decision to give priority to the local in our political action (though not necessarily speech and writing): If two abuses are morally the same and we have better local information about one and are better placed politically to do something about it, that one seems to be a sensible choice to focus on in our actions here and now. But is the third thesis true? Surely not. Let us enumerate the differences. 1. Female genital mutilation is carried out by force, whereas dieting in response to culturally constructed images of beauty is a matter of choice, however seductive the persuasion. Few mothers restrict their childrens dietary intake to unhealthy levels in order to make them slim; indeed most mothers of anorexic girls are ho ified and deeply grieved by their daughters condition. By contrast, during FGM small girls, frequently as young as four or five, are held down by force, often, as in Togo, by a group of adult women, and have no chance to select an alternative. The choices involved in dieting are often not fully autonomous: They may be the product of misinformation and strong social forces that put pressure on women to make choice, sometimes dangerous ones, that they would not make otherwise. We should criticize these pressures and the absence of full autonomy created by them. And yet the distinction between social pressure and physical force should also remain salient, both morally and legally. (Similarly, the line between seduction and rape is di icult to draw; frequently it turns on the elusive distinction between a threat and an offer, and on equally difficult questions about what threatened harms remove consent. ) Nonetheless, we should make the distinction as best we can, and recognize that there remain relevant differences between genital mutilation and dieting, as usually practiced in America. . Female genital mutilation is irreversible, whereas dieting is, famously, far from irreversible. 3. Female genital mutilation is usually performed in conditions that in and of themselves are dangerous and unsanitary, conditions to which no child should be exposed; dieting is not. 4. Female genital mutilation is linked to extensive and in some cases lifelong health problems, even death. (In Kassindjas region, deaths are rationalized by the folk wisdom that pr ofuse bleeding is a sign that a girl is not a virgin. Dieting is linked to problems of this gravity only in the extreme cases of anorexia and bulimia, which, even, then, are reversible. 5. Female genital mutilation is usually performed on children far too young to consent even were consent solicited; dieting involves, above all, adolescents and young adults. 18 Even when children are older, consent is not solicited. Typical is the statement of an Ivory Coast father of a twelve-year-old girl about to be cut. She has no choice, he stated. I decide. Her viewpoint is not important. His wife, who personally opposes the practice, concurs: It is up to my husband, she states. The man makes the decisions about the children. 19 6. In the United States, as many women as men complete primary education, and more women than men complete secondary education; adult literacy is 99% for both females and males. In Togo, adult female literacy is 32. 9% (52% that of men); in the Sudan, 30. 6% (56% tha t of men); in the Ivory Coast, 26. 1% (56%); in Burkina Faso, 8% (29%). Illiteracy is an impediment to independence; other impediments are supplied by economic dependency and lack of employment opportunities. These facts suggest limits to he notions of consent and choice, even as applied to the mothers or relatives who perform the operation, who may not be aware of the extent of resistance to the practice in their own and relevantly similar societies. To these limits we may add those imposed by political powerlessness, malnutrition, and intimidation. The wife of the patriarch in Fauziya Kassindjas clan told a reporter that she is opposed to the practice and would have run away like Fauziya had she been able—but nonetheless, she will allow the operation for her infant daughter. I have to do what my husband says, she concludes. It is not for women to give an order. I feel what happened to my body. I remember my suffering. But I cannot prevent it for my daughter. 7. Female geni tal mutilation means the irreversible loss of the capability for a type of sexual functioning that many women value highly, usually at an age when they are far too young to know what value it has or does not have in their own life. In the rare case in which a woman can make the comparison, she usually reports profound regret. Mariam Razak, a neighbor of the Kassindjas, was fifteen when she was cut, with five adult women holding her down. She had had sex with the man who is now her husband prior to that time and found it satisfying. Now, they both say, things are difficult. Mariam compares the loss to having a terminal illness that lasts a lifetime. Now, her husband says, something was lost in that place. . . . I try to make her feel pleasure, but it doesnt work very well. 20 8. Female genital mutilation is unambiguously linked to customs of male domination. Even its official rationales, in terms of purity and propriety, point to aspects of sex hierarchy. Typical is the statement of Egyptian farmer Said Ibrahim, upset about the government ban: Am I supposed to stand around while my daughter chases men ? To which Mohammed Ali, age seventeen, added, Ba ing it would make women wild like those in America. Sex relations constructed by the practice are relations in which intercourse becomes a vehicle for one-sided male pleasure rather than for mutuality of pleasure. 21 By contrast, the ideal female body image purveyed in the American media has multiple and complex resonances, including those of male domination, but also including those of physical fitness, independence, and boyish nonmaternity. These differences help explain why there is no serious campaign to make ads for diet programs, or the pictures of emaciated women in Vogue, illegal, whereas FGM is illegal in most of the countries in which it occurs. 22 (In the Sudan, the practice is punishable by up to two years imprisonment. Such laws are not well enforced, but their existence is evidence of a widespread movement against the practice in the countries implicated. Women in local regions where the practice is traditional give evidence of acquiescing, insofar as they do, out of intimidation and iack of options; women in adjacent regions where the practice is not traditional typically deplore it, citing health risks, loss of pleasure, and unnecessary suffering. 23 These differences also explain why Fauziya Kassindja was able to win political asylum. We shall not see similar arguments for political asylum for American women who have been pressured by the culture to be thin—however much it remains appropriate to criticize the norms of female beauty displayed in Vogue (as some advertisers have begun to do), the practices of some mothers, and the many covert pressures that combine to produce eating disorders in our society. Similarly, whereas the prospect of footbinding of the traditional Chinese type (in which the bones of the feet were repeatedly broken and the flesh of the foot became rotten 4 ) would, in my view, give grounds for political asylum; the presence of advertisements for high-heeled shoes surely would not, however many problems may be associated with the fashion. Even the publication of articles urging women to undergo FGM should be seen as altogether different from forcing a woman to undergo the procedure. How, then, is FGM traditionally justified, when it is? In social terms, it is highly likely that FGM emer ged as the functional equivalent to the seclusion of women. African women, unlike their counterparts in India, Pakistan, and elsewhere, are major agricultural producers. There is no barrier to womens workoutside the home, and indeed the entire organization of agriculture in Africa traditionally rests on the centrality of female labor. 25 In India, womens purity is traditionally guaranteed by seclusion; in Africa, this guarantee was absent, and another form of control emerged. But this functional history clearly does not justify the practice. What arguments are currently available? It is now generally agreed that there is no religious requirement to perform FGM. The prophet Mohammeds most cited statement about the practice (from a reply to a question during a speech) makes the process nonessential, and the force of his statement seems to have been to discourage extensive cutting in favor of a more symbolic type of operation. 26 The one reference to the operaation in the hadith classifies it as a makrama, or nonessential practice. FGM is not practiced at all in many Islamic countries, including Pakistan, Algeria, Tunisia, Saudia Arabia, Iran, and Iraq. Defenses appealing to morality (FGM keeps women from extramarital sex) have resonance because they connect with the practices likely original rationale, but they presuppose an unacceptable picture of women as whorish and childish. However sincerely such arguments are addressed, they should not be accepted by people with an interest in womens dignity. Defenses in terms of physical beauty are trickier, because we know how much cultures differ in what they regard as beautiful, but even perceptions of beauty (also at issue in Chinese footbinding) should yield before evidence of impairment of health and sexual functioning. Arguments claiming that without the practice women will not be acceptable to men may state something true in local circumstances (as was also the case with footbinding) and may therefore provide a rationale for individual families to defer to custom as the best of a bad business (although this is less true now than formerly, given the widespread resistance to the practice in most areas where it occurs). Such arguments, however, clearly cannot justify the practice in moral or legal terms; similarly, arguments advising slaves to behave themselves if they do not want to be beaten may give good advice but ca ot justify the institution of slavery. The strongest argument in favor of the practice is an argument that appeals to cultural continuity. Jomo Kenyatta and others have stressed the constitutive role played by such initiation rites in the formation of a community and the disintegrative effect of interference. 7 For this reason, Kenya a opposedcriminalization of the surgery and recommended a more gradual process of education and persuasion. Although one must have some sympathy with these concerns, it is still important to remember that a community is not a mysterious organic unity but a plurality of people standing in different relations of power to one another. It is not obvious that the type of cohesion that is effected by subordination and functional impairment is something we oug ht to perpetuate. Moreover, sixty years after Kenyattas ambivalent defense, we see widespread evidence of resistance from within each culture, and there is reason to think that the practice is kept alive above all by the excisers themselves, paramedical workers who enjoy both high income and high prestige in the community from their occupation. These women frequently have the status of priestesses and have great influence over social perceptions. 28 Countries that move against the practice should certainly make provision for the economic security of these women, but this does not mean taking them as unbiased interpreters of cultural tradition. To the extent that an initiation ritual is still held to be a valuable source of cultural solidarity, such rituals can surely be practiced (as they already are in some places) using a merely symbolic operation that does not remove any tissue. Let me now turn to the fourth thesis. A secondary theme in recent feminist debates about FGM is skepticism about the human value of sexual functioning. Philosopher Yael Tamir, for example, argues that hedonistic American feminists have ascribed too much value to pleasure. She suggests that it is men, above all, whose interests are being served by this, because female sexual enjoyment in our society is seen as a measure of the sexual power and achievements of men, and because men find women who do not enjoy sex more intimidating than those who do. I am prepared to agree with Tamir to this extent: The a ention given FGM a seems to me somewhat disproportionate, among the many gross abuses the world practices against women: unequal nutrition and health care, lack of the right toassemble and to walk in public, lack of equality under the law, lack of equal access to education, sex-selective infanticide and feticide, domestic violence, marital rape, rape in police custody, and many more. Unlike Tamir, I believe that the primary reason for this focus is not a fascination with sex but the relative trac-tability of FGM as a practical problem, given the fact that it is already widely resisted and indeed illegal, and given that it is not supported by any religion. How much harder to grapple with womens legal inequality before Islamic courts, their pervasive hunger, their illiteracy, their subjection to battery and violence. But surely Tamir is right that we should not focus on this one abuse while relaxing our determination to make structural changes that will ring women closer to full equality worldwide. And she may also be right to suggest that the fasci-nation with FGM contains at least an element of the sensational or even the prurient. Tamir, however, does not simply criticize the disproportionate focus on FGM: She offers a more general denigration of the importance of sexual pleasure as an element in human flourishing. This part of her argument is flawed by the fail ure to make a crucial distinction: that between a function and the capacity to choose that function. Criticizing her opponents for their alleged belief that the capacity for sexual pleasure is a central human good, she writes: Nuns take an oath of celibacy, but we do not usually condemn the church for preventing its clergy from enjoying an active sex life. Moreover, most of us do not think that Mother Teresa is leading a worse life than Chichulina, though the latter claims to have experienced an extensive number of orgasms- It is true that nuns are offered spiritual life in exchange for earthly goods, but in the societies where clitoridectomy is performed, the fulfilling life of motherhood and child bearing are offered in exchange. Some may rightly claim that one can function as a wife and a mother while still experiencing sexual pleasures. Others believe that full devotion to God does not require an oath of celibacy. Yet these views are, after ali, a ma er of convention. 29 There are a number of oddities in this argument. (It is hard, for example, to know what to make of the assertion that the possibility of combining sexual pleasure with motherhood is a mere matter of convention. } More centrally, however, Tamir mischaracterizes the debate. No feminist opponent of FGM is saying or implying that celibacy is bad, that nuns all have a starved life, that orgasms are the be-all and end-all of existence. I know of no opponent who would not agree with Tamirs statement that women are not merely sexual agents, that their ability to lead rich and rewarding lives does not depend solely on the nature of their sex life. But there is a great difference between fasting and starving; just so, there is also a great difference between a vow of celibacy and FGM. Celibacy involves the choice not to exercise a capability to which nuns, insofar as they are orthodox Roman Catholics, ascribe considerable human value. 30 Its active exercise is thought good for all but a few of those humans, and even for them it is the choice not to use a capacity one has {as in the case of fasting) that is deemed morally valuable. (A Catholic should hold that a survivor of FGM cannot achieve the Christian good of celibacy. FGM, by contrast, involves forgoing altogether the very possibility of sexual functioning—and, as I said, well before one is of an age to make such a choice. 31 We all know that people who are blind or unable to walk can lead rich and meaningful lives; nonetheless, we would all deplore practices that deliberately disabled people in those respects, nor would we think that critics of those practices are giving walking or seeing undue importance in human life. Can even the mothers of these girls make an informed choice as to the value of fem ale sexual pleasure? They have been i ersed in traditional beliefs about womens impurity; lacking literacy and education, as a large proportion do, they have difficulty seeking out alternative paradigms. As the immigration report points out, their situation is made more difficult by fear and powerlessness. Equally important, their own experience of sexual life cannot have contained orgasmic pleasure if they themselves encountered FGM as girls; even if they did not, they are highly likely to have experienced marriage and sexual life as a series of insults to their dignity, given the ubiquity of domestic violence and marital rape. Should they believe that FGM is a bad thing for their daughters— as a remarkable proportion of the women interviewed in the recent stories clearly do— they have no power to make their choices effective and many incentives to conceal the views they hold. Such facts do not show that women who have had a more fortunate experience of marriage and sexuality are making a mistake when they hold that the capacity for sexual pleasure should be preserved for those who may choose to exercise it. There is certainly something wrong with any social situation in which women are viewed only or primarily as sex objects; but criticizing such perceptions has nothing to do with defending FGM. Nor does Tamir give us any reason to suppose that the importance of womens sexual leasure is a mythic construct of the male ego. Many women have reportedenjoying sex a good deal, and there is no reason to think them all victims of false consciousness. It is probably true that some men find women who do not enjoy sex more intimidating than those who do, but it would be more than a little perverse to deny oneself pleasure simply in order to intimidate men. Moreover, in the situation we are contemplating in the case of FGM, the operative male fear is surely that of womens sexual agency, which is a sign that the woman is not simply a possession and might even experience pleasure with someone other than her owner. It would be highly implausible to suggest that African women can gain power and intimidate men by undergoing FGM. The attack on FGM is part and parcel of a more general attempt by women to gain control of their sexual capacities; it is thus a relative of attacks on rape, marital rape, sexual harassment, and domestic violence. It is precisely this challenge to traditional male control that many men find threatening. In the concluding section of her discussion of FGM, Yael Tamir imagines a country called Libidia, where women with u aturally enlarged clitorises find they cannot do anything else but have sex and therefore seek to remove the clitoris in order to have better lives. In this way she suggests that sexual pleasure undermines other valuable human functions—so one might plausibly deem its removal a helpful thing, rather like a trip to the dentist to get rid of a diseased tooth. She here expresses a Platonic idea about the relation between continence and intellectual creativity that may be true for some individuals at some times but is surely not a universal datum of human experience. Plato did indeed hold in the Phaedo that mental life would be much better if the bodily appetites could be put to one side insofar as possible—though even he did not maintain this position with absolute consistency, nor did he suggest genital mutilation as a remedy. 32 Aristotle, on the other hand, held that someone who was insensible to the full range of the bodily pleasures would be far from being a human being. We do not need to decide which thinker is right—or indeed for which people each of them is right—to decide sensibly that FGM is not like n a endectomy— that it involves the removal of a capability for whose value history and experience have had a great deal to say. Individuals may then choose whether and how to exercise it, just as we also choose whether and how to use our athletic and musical capacities. Internal criticism is slowly changing the situation in the nations in which FGM has traditionally been practiced. The eighteen-year-old son of the patriarch of the Kassindja family told reporters that he wanted to marry a woman who had not been cut, because teachers in his high school had influenced his thinking. The patriarch himself now favors making the practice optional, to discourage more runaways who give the family a bad name. The very fact that the age of cutting in Togo has been moving steadily down (from twelve to four), in order (the exciser says) to discourage runaways, gives evidence of mounting resistance to the practice. But many of the women and men in the relevant nations who are struggling against this practice are impoverished or unequal under the law or illiterate or powerless or in fear—and often all of these. There is no doubt that they wish outside aid. There is also no doubt that they encounter local opposition—as is always the case when one moves to change a deeply entrenched custom connected with the structures of power, (As I have suggested, some of the people involved have strong personal economic and status interests in the status quo. ) Suzanne Aho, director of Togos Office for the Protection and Promotion of the Family, explains that she tries to counsel men about womens rights of choice, but she encounters the dead weight of custom. Of the Kassindja patriarch she says: You cannot force her/ I told him. He understood, but he said it is a tradition. These upholders of tradition are eager, often, to brand their internal oppo- nents as Westernizers, colonialists, and any other bad thing that may carry public sentiment. Even so, Fauziyas father was accused of trying to act like a white man. But this way of deflecting internal criticism should not intimidate outsiders who have reasoned the matter out, at the same time listening to the narratives of women who have been involved in the reality of FGM. The charge of colonialism presumably means that the norms of an oppressor group are being unthinkingly assimilated, usually to curry favor with that group. That is not at all what is happening in the case of FGM. In the United Nations, in Human Rights Watch, in many organizations throughout the world, and in countless local villages the issue has been debated. Even the not very progressive I igration and Naturalization Service (INS) has been swayed by the data it collected. The vigor of internal resistance should give confidence to those outside who work to oppose the practice. Frequently external pressure can assist a relatively powerless internal group that is struggling to achieve change. In short, international and national officials who have been culpably slow to recognize gender-specific abuses as human rights violations are beginning to get the idea that womens rights are human rights, and that freedom from FGM is among them. Without abandoning a broader concern for the whole list of abuses women suffer at the hands of unjust customs and individuals, we should continue to keep FGM on the list of unacceptable practices that violate womens human rights, and we should be ashamed of ourselves if we do not use whatever privilege and power has come our way to make it disappear forever.

Example of Normal Approximation of a Binomial Distribution

Example of Normal Approximation of a Binomial Distribution The binomial distribution involves a discrete random variable. Probabilities in a binomial setting can be calculated in a straightforward way by using the formula for a binomial coefficient. While in theory, this is an easy calculation, in practice it can become quite tedious or even computationally impossible to calculate binomial probabilities. These issues can be sidestepped by instead using a normal distribution to approximate a binomial distribution.  We will see how to do this by going through the steps of a calculation. Steps to Using the Normal Approximation First, we must determine if it is appropriate to use the normal approximation. Not every binomial distribution is the same. Some exhibit enough skewness that we cannot use a normal approximation. To check to see if the normal approximation should be used, we need to look at the value of p, which is the probability of success, and n, which is the number of observations of our binomial variable. In order to use the normal approximation, we consider both np and n( 1 - p ). If both of these numbers are greater than or equal to 10, then we are justified in using the normal approximation. This is a general rule of thumb, and typically the larger the values of np and n( 1 - p ), the better is the approximation. Comparison Between Binomial and Normal We will compare an exact binomial probability with that obtained by a normal approximation. We consider the tossing of 20 coins and want to know the probability that five coins or less were heads. If X is the number of heads, then we want to find the value: P(X 0) P(X 1) P(X 2) P(X 3) P(X 4) P(X 5). The use of the binomial formula for each of these six probabilities shows us that the probability is 2.0695%. We will now see how close our normal approximation will be to this value. Checking the conditions, we see that both np and np(1 - p) are equal to 10. This shows that we can use the normal approximation in this case. We will utilize a normal distribution with mean of np 20(0.5) 10 and a standard deviation of (20(0.5)(0.5))0.5 2.236. To determine the probability that X is less than or equal to 5 we need to find the z-score for 5 in the normal distribution that we are using. Thus z (5 – 10)/2.236 -2.236. By consulting a table of z-scores we see that the probability that z is less than or equal to -2.236 is 1.267%. This differs from the actual probability but is within 0.8%. Continuity Correction Factor To improve our estimate, it is appropriate to introduce a continuity correction factor. This is used because a normal distribution is continuous whereas the binomial distribution is discrete. For a binomial random variable, a probability histogram for X 5 will include a bar that goes from 4.5 to 5.5 and is centered at 5. This means that for the above example, the probability that X is less than or equal to 5 for a binomial variable should be estimated by the probability that X is less than or equal to 5.5 for a continuous normal variable. Thus z (5.5 – 10)/2.236 -2.013. The probability that z

My passion for helping people and studying with the best to begin a Essay

My passion for helping people and studying with the best to begin a new professional life in Public Relations. Kimberly Warfield - Essay Example For this reason, I believe that Public Relations is one field that I will be most successful at. Since my children have become self sufficient and are getting the hang of things as far as their lives are concerned, I have finally decided to come back to studying for a career path. I know I can bring a change to my life as well as that of my family and for this reason I have decided to take this move. As my father had fallen ill during the 4 years of my education at the undergraduate school, I had to bear a difficult time there. I worked full time and attended school in a part time capacity. I also took care of my younger sibling all this while – which essentially made me into a stronger person. I always wanted to go back to studies but at that time my concentration was bent on completely towards the needs of my family and nothing else. As far as my personality traits are concerned, I have been a community leader f late and have continued to devote myself whole-heartedly to the cause of the Middleburg Community Center and facilitated in raising funds for the underprivileged individuals and families so that they could go to schools. I also work in the capacity of a volunteer for The National Infertility Association and this is my sixth year for RESOLVE. This has basically been made possible due to my own infertility condition that I had to go through before I became a mother of twins. God has His way of rewarding people and I do not feel left out in any way. I am most contented and satisfied and all my enthusiasm is in line with achieving a career path for my own self in the times to come. Since my networking is strong and I can easily connect with different types of people and not to forget the thirst of attaining education more and more, I would request the said authorities to consider my admission in the Georgetown University, Washington DC for the

Which step of concept analysis requires research on the concept Essay

Which step of concept analysis requires research on the concept - Essay Example Concept analysis process in nursing theory development involves numerous steps. Walker and Avant (1994) propose that the identification of the concept and its uses requires research. This is because concepts are articulated by a phrase or word. As a result, Walker and Avant (1994) acknowledge that the analysis of a concept must unavoidably be a review of the descriptive word and its use. To me, concept analysis is; therefore, an examination of the term and its significance in nursing and its comparison to other related phrases (McEwen & Wills, 2014). The identification of the concept and its use requires research because lack of research would lead to wrongful identification of the concept, and result to wrongful conclusions and the whole process would be wrong (Ziegler, 2013). According to McEwen and Wills (2014), it is imperative for the researcher to use research to identify the concept and its applications in the development of the theory. This step would also assist in accurate identification of the attributes of the concept. Townsend, L., & Scanlany, J. (2001). Self-efficacy related to student nurses in the clinical setting: A concept analysis. International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship, 8(1). doi:10.2202/1548-923X.2223 Permalink to

Assignment 2 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 21

2 - Assignment Example The manner in which Kelleher believes employees should be addressed in an organization is in line with Lencioni’s quote. Lencioni connotes that when employees feel they are not being cared, they feel they have a miserable job. Employees need to be cared for and appreciated for them to perform in the workplace. As per Kelleher, employees should be valued as individuals and not as workers. An organization should set up employee services and professional care department so as to help them in the workplace. Research reveals that managers’ connection with employees gives them a better feeling of belonging and worth. Communication with employees is an aspect that Kelleher emphasizes in his management. This is an indication that he was a successful leader at Southwest. Lencioni also accentuates the same aspect, by suggesting that managers’ connection with employees help them grasp the precise significance of their jobs to others. The leadership style of Ms. Mayer is one can learn that she is an inspiring leader. Mayer invites the employees to facilitate the building of the organization’s brand. Mayer emphasizes on the employees interactions as a way of providing them with an opportunity to generate ideas. As a leader, Mayer believes in employees’ physical contacts and interaction in the workplace that is why when appointed as the new Yahoo CEO, reporting to the office was of paramount significance to her. The rationale for using the books â€Å"The Three Signs of a Miserable job† and â€Å"The Influencer†, it that it helps in the understanding of the job dissatisfaction and its root causes. The books are also relevant in the sense that it identifies how leaders can aid their employees become satisfied with the job through communication and understanding of the importance of their job. From the books, a leader can learn the significance of communication with its employees. The

How To Write An Economics Essay

How To Write An Economics Essay INTRODUCTION Writing on any essay topic can be a daunting task. Like most English compositions, an essay has a beginning, middle and an end. It is the way in which most students are taught to think about essay writing, starting with the thesis statement and then building an argument for or against the statement. Let’s face facts, not all students are born writers and struggle with the idea of writing an essay and possibly even fear the idea. Where does one begin, especially with the task of writing an Economics essay? Any writer specialising in academic writing would suggest starting with an understanding of a sub-subject found within the Economic realm. It may be that the course suggests what to write about and this will help with clarification purposes. Essay writing and writing in general can be a scary, personal task and one must find a comfort level with the subject first. Some subjects are easier, ‘softer’ to write about and the subject of Economics is not really one of them. The thesis or premise of the essay must be right on target and backed up by concise resources. Once one decides upon a sub-topic, it is best to figure out the thesis. Only then can one proceed to the next step of presenting the supporting evidence. This would be step two. Once the evidence is presented, then in order to score extra marks, it is always a good idea to present the thoughts and views of the opposition. From there, the essay can gain strength and the writer can start to present an original concept to the reader. It is in the latter part of the essay where one can take charge of exploring one’s ideas on the topic and establish his or her voice. This allows a nature progression toward the conclusion as the essay summates its main ideas and possibly leaves the reader with new questions and thoughts on the matter. FORMULATING THE THESIS The essay should have a strong, precise thesis statement. The thesis statement defines the essay, what it will be about and how the body of the essay will form to prove the thesis as true or false. The main objective is to remain focused on topic and have a thesis statement that can be researched as a relevant, current topic. It is always important to stick to the thesis and stay on topic. As a writer, sometimes tangents develop and it is important to stay away from the lard of essay writing. Always keep in mind, does this sentence, this paragraph answer the thesis? Is it relevant to the topic and discussion? By sticking to a relevant, current topic or event, for instance the American Bailout of Corrupt Financial Institutions, this not only allows one’s own opinions to form but also a solid argument to evolve. Essays should have passion once the thesis has been established and can be supported. WHERE TO LOOK FOR INFORMATION Half of the battle is won once the thesis takes shape and one has a better idea of what to discuss. It is time to start searching for information to support the thesis. In this day and age of telecommunications technology, email and the Internet, the most popular and accepted place to start research, one would think, would be online. Use discretion here and follow the professor’s guidelines. Sometimes Internet sources, even the most up to date are misleading and counterfeit. For the subject of Economics, especially with a global, multi-national point of view, it is best to start with a reputable magazine called The Economist. Here one will find the highest quality of information on the current event of the American Bailout. There is an online version, but also a trip to the library is encouraged. From there in order to get a feeling of the impact of such a current event, look to highly reputable international newspapers like the London Telegraph and the New York Times. Since t he Bailout has been a political issue, one can also read the Washington Post. One must always question the validity of the source. Part of being a good writer is constantly questioning the information and looking for answers where one would least expect them. PRESENTING DIFFERENT SIDES The quality of research also allows the writer to present different views as a means of exploring the thesis and even testing the validity of the thesis. The essay could even result in presenting facts that allows the thesis to be discredited. This also allows the writer flexibility and suggests they are not afraid of critical review. Research and writing about the opposition carries weight because it allows the essay a sense of balance. Here the local view on the topic is important to review and surmise. This is where the original idea and discussion can formulate. The local level view of the issue allows for passion but also gives a community voice. It is a good idea to read editorials but also get the view of the average person. From here, a flood of thought processes can result and by outlining the exploration allows the writer to pinpoint important elements of each view. This creates an elegant framework for the thesis to live but also presents thoughtful relevant ideas. THE ORIGINAL IDEA The idea that every essay should have an original idea is the scariest part of formulating the thesis and body of the paper. Will this happen at all? Sometimes it can be difficult to be in the mindset that it can. Have others thought the same? Possibly but do not hold back. Pressure really haunts the process of original writing. It is important to outwit one’s self into thinking. A lot times, people want to only focus on the thesis and accurately supporting the thesis. A good professor of any subject but especially business subjects should encourage steps toward original ideas and creativity. CONCLUSION A conclusion will act to summarise the purpose of the essay and restate the thesis statement as if to remind the reader about the subject and relevance of the topic. It is important to maybe leave the reader with thought provoking ideas as well as a sense of being finished. For this purpose, this essay acted as a means to instruct one how to write an economics essay but also offered insight on how to become a better writer.

Hamlets Softer Side Essay -- Literary Analysis, Shakespeare

Throughout Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the titular character Hamlet acts as an indecisive, histrionic college man, but this personality does not completely characterize him. In many instances, Hamlet proves himself to be an understanding and compassionate prince towards his confidants. Because many of his friends and family have disappointed him, Hamlet puts on a persona that divulges his conflicting nature in which he acts crazy but is really sane. Before Hamlet puts on his fictitious play, he gives an honest speech to Horatio that reveals Hamlet’s most sensitive traits. Hamlet begins his list of praise by explicitly stating that his following words do not flatter Horatio. Since Horatio â€Å"[has no revenue] but thy good spirits/ To feed and clothe thee[,]† Hamlet sees no need to flatter him (III.ii.60-61). In what seems like an insult at Horatio’s poverty, Hamlet actually praises Horatio’s cheerful attitude. Hamlet’s clever metaphor implies that he humbles himself before Horatio’s ability to put on a happy face. This acknowledgement of a positive outlook on life exposes Hamlet’s own demeanor as a fun loving man. Hamlet wishes he could act like Horatio in the same upbeat fashion and conduct himself in his natural behavior unlike his standard pessimistic state. He continues his masked praise with a jab at courtiers who constantly flatter Hamlet in hopes for a reward. Since Hamlet is a royal prince, he is prone to receive many compliments and bows from people with hidden agendas. To assure Horatio that he means well, Hamlet believes that only the â€Å"candied tongue [should] lick absurd pomp/ And crook the pregnant hinges of the knee† (III.ii.62-63). Hamlet’s language illustrates a young child that wants candy and flatters to achieve some an... ... of the most vulnerable and tender moments in Hamlet’s dialogues. As Hamlet’s softer image emerges, he adds new dimension to his personality in which he is not only the angry and crazy son but the loving and kind friend. However, Hamlet behaves more maniacally than benevolently in the play, and this speech is only a small portion of Hamlet’s speeches. Hamlet cannot linger in this exposed state and feel â€Å"[s]omething too much of this--† (III.ii.76). Although Hamlet pours his heart out to Horatio, the situation becomes slightly uncomfortable, and Hamlet moves on to his big production. These lines reveal more of Hamlet’s personality but also add more mystery as the reader never gets to know this Hamlet for very long. The most interesting part of Hamlet is overlooked and fosters an incomplete picture of Hamlet that is too often emotional and too often misunderstood.

No Laughing Matter: a Comprehensive Overview of Nitrous Oxide Abuse

No Laughing Matter: A Comprehensive Overview of Nitrous Oxide Abuse Ryan Ardelle Anatomy & Physiology, Period 3 Mr. Syvret Due: March 14, 2013 SUBSTANCE OVERVIEW The issue of inhalant abuse is a multifaceted problem, stretching across many communities and locales in the entirety of the United States. Inhalants as a class of drug vary widely, ranging from volatile solvents and aerosol propellants, to more broadly, any drug delivered by inhalation. Nitrous oxide straddles these categories, as it finds use not only a common dental analgesic, but also as a propellant, in such uses as whipping cream, automotive racing, and rocketry.As a result, nitrous oxide is found in many forms: medical-grade, food-grade, and industrial-grade, with various purities (Erowid). Commonly known as â€Å"laughing gas,† nitrous oxide wears many hats and goes by many names. For example, those who use nitrous oxide in automotive racing or rocketry applications know it as NOS (Alai). In this usage, nitrou s oxide is applied as a powerful oxidizer, allowing a vehicle’s engine to combust gasoline more rapidly, with an associated increase in horsepower (Winter). This form of nitrous oxide is packaged with many additives to not only improve its performance but also to deter its abuse (Erowid).When abused recreationally however, nitrous oxide finds many more colorful nicknames, such as â€Å"hippie crack† and â€Å"nangs† (Erowid). It is a true gas, existing as a gas under atmospheric pressure at room temperature, although it assumes a liquid state when compressed in a gas cylinder (Alai). Nitrous oxide is a strong oxidizing agent with a density of 1. 9kg/m 3, and it has a linear molecular form consisting of two atoms of nitrogen and one atom of oxygen (Winter). Nitrous oxide has no color and has a sweet odor, familiar to anybody who has tasted whipped cream (Erowid).Nitrous oxide is commercially manufactured by heating ammonium nitrate to 240C. Impurities such as amm onia and nitric acid in addition to excess water vapor are removed through an extensive gas scrubbing process. Food-grade nitrous oxide is often stored in white, 8-gram cylinders with a sealed metal puncture cap and packaged in boxes of 100 cylinders. Medical-grade nitrous oxide is stored in French-blue cylinders and is pressurized to ~4400 kPa at room temperature. The Pin Index Safety System configuration for nitrous oxide cylinders is 3-5 (Banks and Hardman). HISTORY OF NITROUS OXIDE ABUSEBritish chemist and Presbyterian minister Joseph Humphrey first synthesized nitrous oxide gas in England in 1772. Priestly later published his work in a 1776 journal, â€Å"Experiments and Observations on Different Kinds of Air† (Priestly). This publication proved extremely intriguing to the scientific community, leading to additional research and Humphry Davy’s influential 1800 book, â€Å"Researches, Chemical and Philosophical: Chiefly Concerning Nitrous Oxide. † Throughout the remainder of the nineteenth century, nitrous oxide’s usage as a recreational drug became increasingly popular.Traveling medical shows and carnivals featured affectionately named â€Å"Nitrous Oxide Capers,† in which attendees paid a small fee to inhale a minute’s worth of gas (Brecher). In 1844, Dr. Horace Wells, a British dentist, first demonstrated the use of nitrous oxide as a dental anesthetic. His initial testing on a patient at Harvard Medical School was unsuccessful, resulting in the public dismissal of nitrous oxide as a legitimate anesthetic. Nevertheless, nitrous oxide had a sudden resurgence in the dental community in the early 1860s, thanks to a series of dental institutions opened by lecturer and showman Gardener Quincy Colton.These practices utilized nitrous oxide as their primary form of dental anesthesia, henceforth standardizing its usage in the United States (Erowid). METHODS OF ADMINISTRATION Nitrous oxide is administered via inhalation o f compressed gas. Users most frequently obtain nitrous oxide from small, 8-gram canisters used to charge whipped cream dispensers. These canisters are readily available for purchase in most restaurant supply stores, on the Internet, and in head shops across the nation (Narconon).Once obtained, the contents of the canisters are released into empty whipped cream dispensers or into a balloon. A pressure release valve, or â€Å"cracker†, must be used in order to safely siphon the gas into a balloon (Erowid). These valves are also available for purchase online or in head shops (Narconon). Users with access to larger cylinders of nitrous oxide sometimes inhale the gas through a nasal hood or anesthesia mask, as used in dental surgery. However, this method is extremely dangerous without proper medical supervision, as users can inhale larger amounts of gas without access to fresh oxygen.As a result, the vast majority of nitrous oxide users prefer to use the aforementioned whipped cre am dispenser or balloon methods of inhalation (Wagner, Clark, Wesche, Doedens, and Lloyd). Whipped cream canisters and standard latex party balloons have a maximum capacity of approximately three 8-gram cylinders. Depending on personal preference, users can fill their vessel of choice with one, two, or three cylinders at a time (Creamright). Once the whipped cream dispenser or balloon is filled to the user’s liking, the gas inside is rapidly inhaled into the user’s lungs.The gas is often held in the lungs for twenty to sixty seconds to induce hypoxia and enhance the euphoric effects. The gas is then exhaled normally, and the user resumes regular respiration of room air (Erowid). IMMEDIATE EFFECTS Once inhaled, nitrous oxide is immediately absorbed through the lungs, dissolving directly into blood plasma. Within ten to fifteen seconds, nitrous oxide molecules replace oxygen molecules in the user’s lungs, thereby stimulating a euphoric sensation. Users then experi ence a brief â€Å"high† usually lasting between thirty seconds and two minutes with a standard dose (Erowid).Symptoms of nitrous oxide abuse include slurred speech, impaired coordination and balance, difficulty thinking clearly and processing information, unresponsiveness to verbal and painful stimuli, and occasionally loss of consciousness. Assuming the user returns to regularly breathing room air after the initial gas inhalation, these symptoms should subside within two minutes. The onset and peak effect timing of nitrous oxide is determined by the quantity consumed (Narconon). Nitrous oxide inhalation impacts the function of numerous physiologic systems.First, nitrous oxide decreases tidal volume and increases respiratory rate following activation of the central nervous system. Myocardial depression and an increase in central sympathetic outflow also occur following nitrous oxide inhalation. Inhaled nitrous oxide may produce the second gas effect, as nitrous oxide has a m ore rapid rate of diffusion across alveolar basement membranes than nitrogen gas. This rapid exit of nitrous oxide from the alveoli initiates a concentration of other alveolar gases, thereby accelerating the uptake of nitrous oxide into the bloodstream (Banks and Hardman).The primary method of nitrous oxide elimination is via the exhalation from the lungs. Nitrous oxide exits the body entirely unchanged in chemical formula and structure. Small amounts of nitrous oxide diffuse through the skin and the renal system, and anaerobic bacteria in the GI tract reduce any outstanding nitrous oxide into nitrogen gas (Erowid). ACTION ON THE BRAIN Nitrous oxide causes vasodilatation, resulting in an increase in cerebral blood flow and causing a corresponding increase in intracranial pressure (Erowid). Unlike most inhalants, nitrous oxide does not augment the effects of non-depolarizing neuromuscular blockers.Accordingly, nitrous oxide does not produce the same neuromuscular depression experienc ed with other inhalant abuse. Nitrous oxide activates opioid receptors in the periaqueductal grey of the midbrain, stimulating a release of norepinephrine and activation of 2-adrenoceptors in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord (Banks and Hardman). LONG TERM EFFECTS Risks involved in nitrous oxide inhalation revolve primarily around displacing oxygen. Although nitrous oxide does not bind with hemoglobin and instead dissolves into the blood, continued inhalation of pure nitrous oxide without supplemental oxygen can lead to hypoxia.Nitrous oxide-induced hypoxia is especially dangerous because users may not realize that they asphyxiating themselves – the impulse to breathe is triggered by a build-up of carbon dioxide, rather than a lack of oxygen (Banks and Hardman). Aside from hypoxia, there are relatively few physiologic dangers associated with nitrous oxide abuse. The most significant of these effects is Vitamin B depletion and deficiency. This can potentially lead to acute or chronic paresthesia, the sensation of â€Å"pins and needles,† and can inhibit the activity of methionine synthetase, thereby interfering with DNA synthesis in leukocytes and erythrocytes.However, Vitamin B and Folate supplements can prevent these side effects (Banks and Hardman). Nitrous oxide can also induce potentially dangerous airspace expansion in the body, such as pneumothorax or bowel obstruction, due to its rapid diffusion properties. Other potential side effects include respiratory depression, apnea, hypotension, cardiac arrhythmias, dizziness, neuropathy, nausea, vomiting, ileus, bone marrow depression, and malignant hyperthermia. Pregnant women should not use nitrous oxide, as the gas diffuses into the placenta and can cause fetal depression (Erowid).A few cases of frostbite on the vocal cords have been recorded following direct inhalation of nitrous oxide from a canister (Banks and Hardman). Also, nitrous oxide users are at risk of traumatic fall injuries such a s broken extremities and concussions due to impaired balance and possible loss of consciousness (Narconon). STATISTICS Nitrous oxide abuse is most common among younger adolescents aged 16-17, although abuse does occur among older individuals. A 2011 study from the University of Michigan showed that 13% of 8th grade students reported abusing inhalants at least once (National Institute on Drug Abuse).A similar study from the University of Virginia revealed that nitrous oxide was one of the top five substances abused by adolescent inhalant users (Narconon). According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the rates of inhalant abuse â€Å"increased steadily from 3. 4 percent at age 12 to 5. 3 percent at age 14, then declined to 3. 9 percent by age 17 from 2002-2006. † Data from this study also showed that â€Å"adolescents age 12 to 17 represented 48 percent of all substance abuse treatment admissions reporting inhalants. Among these adolescent admiss ions reporting inhalant abuse, 45% had a concurrent psychiatric disorder (SAMHSA). Erowid. com, a popular website that provides information on psychoactive drug use, conducted a series of online surveys in September 2009 in a study examining the possible presence of contaminants in nitrous oxide chargers. One of the surveys asked regular nitrous oxide users their preferred method of inhalation; 46% preferred using a cracker with a balloon, 34. 4% preferred inhaling directly from a whipped cream dispenser, 11. % percent preferred a whipped cream dispenser with a balloon, 1. 7 % preferred a cracker with a bag, 0. 7% preferred a whipped cream dispenser with a bag, and 5. 0% preferred other methods (Erowid). Nitrous oxide is not physiologically addictive, although certain individuals can use it compulsively. While psychological addiction is possible, the only symptom of withdrawal is the desire to inhale more nitrous oxide (Dartmouth College). Furthermore, statistics on inhalant-related deaths are difficulty to determine, as most deaths are severely under-reported.Most of the time, death is attributed to cardiac or respiratory failure subsequent to inhalant abuse. Studies from the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse between 1990 and 1993 revealed an average of 15 inhalant abuse-related deaths per year in the state of Texas. Of those deaths, 94% of victims were male, and 91% were Caucasian, on average (National Inhalant Prevention Coalition). Most recreational nitrous oxide-related deaths are caused by hypoxia when users affix masks without oxygen or place bags over their heads to concentrate the gas (Erowid). EFFORTS TO ADDRESS ABUSEThe topic of inhalants has been addressed by multiple small grass-roots efforts in local communities, but has also seen national discussion. Although no national legislation is in place restricting the sale, consumption, and distribution of nitrous oxide, several states and municipalities have passed laws in an attempt to curb u sage. Most of these laws specifically target underage consumption and sale of nitrous oxide to minors (Center for Cognitive Liberty & Ethics). For example, the Article 34 Title 7  § 3380. 5a-5b of the New York State Controlled Substances Act states: a) No person shall use nitrous oxide for purposes of causing intoxication, inebriation, excitement, stupefaction or the dulling of the brain or nervous system of himself or another. (b) No person shall sell any canister or other container of nitrous oxide unless granted an exemption pursuant to this subdivision. In no event shall any canister or other container of nitrous oxide be sold to a person under the age of twenty-one years. â€Å"Any person who violates any provision of subdivision four or five of this section shall be guilty of class A misdemeanor† (New York State Legislature).A number of non-governmental organizations such as the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition work to educate the public on the facts and dangers of inhalant abuse. These organizations frequently lobby on the state and federal level in attempt to pass more restrictive anti-inhalant abuse legislature. These preventative efforts have helped to several states integrate inhalant abuse education into primary and secondary school health education curricula (National Inhalant Prevention Coalition). Works Cited Alai, Nili N. â€Å"Nitrous Oxide Administration. † Ed. Rick Kulkarni.Medscape Reference, 30 Jan. 2012. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. . Banks, Amelia, and Jonathan G. Hardman. â€Å"Nitrous Oxide. † British Journal of Anaesthesia: Continuing Education in Anaethesia, Critical Care, and Pain (2005): 1-4. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. . Brecher, Edward M. â€Å"The Consumers Union Report on Licit and Illicit Drugs. † Consumer Reports Magazine 1972. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. . â€Å"Drug Facts: Inhalants. † Inhalants. National Institute on Drug Abuse, Sept. 2012. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. . Erowid Nitrous Oxide Vault. Erowid, 21 Feb. 2013. W eb. 4 Mar. 2013. . â€Å"Frequently Asked Questions. † Nitrous Oxide Whipped Cream Chargers. Creamright, 2013. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. . â€Å"Nitrous Oxide (Laughing Gas). † Health Promotion. Dartmouth College, 21 Jan. 2009. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. lt;http://www. dartmouth. edu/~healthed/groups/dapa/otherdrugs/no. html>. â€Å"Nitrous Oxide. † Nitrous Oxide. Narconon, 2013. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. . Priestly, Joseph. Experiments and Observations on Different Kinds of Air. Vol. 2. London: n. p. , 1776. 6 vols. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. . â€Å"Public Health. † Laws of New York. New York State Legislature, n. d. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. . â€Å"Statistics on Inhalants Show Young Teens at Risk. † SAMHSA News. SAMHSA, Mar. 2008. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. . â€Å"US Nitrous Oxide Laws. † State Laws Concerning Inhalation of Nitrous Oxide. Center for Cognitive Liberty & Ethics, May 2002. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. . â€Å"View Point. † National Inhalant Prevention Coalition Quarterly Newsl etter.National Inhalant Prevention Coalition, 2013. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. . Wagner, Scott A. , Michael A. Clark, David L. Wesche, David J. Doedens, and Alan W. Lloyd. â€Å"Asphyxial Deaths from the Recreational Use of Nitrous Oxide. † Journal of Forensic Sciences 37. 4 (1992): 1008-15. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. . â€Å"Winter, Mark. â€Å"Nitrous Oxide. † WebElements Periodic Table of the Elements. WebElements, n. d. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. .

THEODORE ROOSEVELT (1858-1919) Essays - Cowboys, Theodore Roosevelt

THEODORE ROOSEVELT (1858-1919) Essays - Cowboys, Theodore Roosevelt THEODORE ROOSEVELT (1858-1919) Theodore Roosevelt was one of the most successful presidents in American history. He was fun to hang around with. He had a screeching voice that sometimes scared people who did not expect it coming from a man like himself. He told jokes and played with children. He loved children. He told ghost stories that would scare the little children to death. However, he had another side to him. When it was not time for fun and games anymore, he meant it and he did his job well. He took great pride in the United States. He wanted the best for his country and therefore he served his country to the very best of his ability. Roosevelt had a poor health when he was young. His asthma was especially bad. Whenever his asthma acted up on him, his caring father would take young Roosevelt out on the wagon and ride around until he got better. This is where Roosevelt gained his love for nature. He enjoyed being outside. He loved the tranquility of the forest, the animals, the water and such. A particular favorite of his was the bird. He loved the birds. He soon got into studying taxonomy and excelled in it. Roosevelt overcame his poor with many activities as he grew older. He did wrestling, riding, hunting, and swimming. Boxing was one of his favorites sports. He even managed to permanently injure one of his eyes during a boxing match. Roosevelt liked to take initiative. Therefore when he became impatient about not being able to get into any military action he resigned his Navy post in May 1898 to serve as lieutenant colonel under Wood. Roosevelt gathered himself a handful of volunteers and created what we as the Rough Riders. The Rough Riders became famous after Roosevelt ordered them to charge Sanuan Hill. They did so successfully and Roosevelt came back from battle a legend and thus beginning

Free Essays on 3 strikes

California’s three strikes law is an effective tool in cleaning our streets of criminals and deterring future crime. The law requires that if an offender is convicted of any felony (second strike) and has a previous "violent or serious felony" (first strike) the court is required to sentence the offender to twice the normal sentence. In addition to this â€Å"second strike rule†, offenders who commit a third felony (third strike) after already having two previous strikes will receive a mandatory sentence of 25 years to life in prison. The three strikes law has been a fiercely debated issue due to many publicized cases of criminals receiving stiff sentences (which were mandated by the law) for what three strikes opponents believe were â€Å"petty† crimes. The three strikes law came about in 1994 in response to a highly publicized murder case in California. In 1994, 12 year-old Polly Klass was murdered by Richard Allen Davis, a parolee and repeat offender. In response to this brutal act, the Legislature adopted the â€Å"three-strikes-you're-out law†. â€Å"It passed with 72 percent voter approval. It requires a judge to impose a 25 years to life sentence for a felony third-strikes offense committed after two serious or violent felonies† (Hughes). The three strikes law has put a wide variety of criminals behind bars. Cases range from murder and rape to burglary. Opponents of the law will point to cases such as Ronald Herrerra’s. He was sentenced to 25 years to life for stealing $12 worth of groceries. The sentence seems harsh when the average citizen puts himself in Herrerra’s shoes; however, Herrerra was not the average law-abiding citizen. Supporters of the law would argue that â€Å"the three strikes law was created for men like Herrerra, whose other felony convictions include rape, armed robbery and attempted murder† (Cota). Another person who supports the law is Lisa Delgado. Her husband, Kenneth Delgado was sen... Free Essays on 3 Strikes Free Essays on 3 Strikes California’s three strikes law is an effective tool in cleaning our streets of criminals and deterring future crime. The law requires that if an offender is convicted of any felony (second strike) and has a previous "violent or serious felony" (first strike) the court is required to sentence the offender to twice the normal sentence. In addition to this â€Å"second strike rule†, offenders who commit a third felony (third strike) after already having two previous strikes will receive a mandatory sentence of 25 years to life in prison. The three strikes law has been a fiercely debated issue due to many publicized cases of criminals receiving stiff sentences (which were mandated by the law) for what three strikes opponents believe were â€Å"petty† crimes. The three strikes law came about in 1994 in response to a highly publicized murder case in California. In 1994, 12 year-old Polly Klass was murdered by Richard Allen Davis, a parolee and repeat offender. In response to this brutal act, the Legislature adopted the â€Å"three-strikes-you're-out law†. â€Å"It passed with 72 percent voter approval. It requires a judge to impose a 25 years to life sentence for a felony third-strikes offense committed after two serious or violent felonies† (Hughes). The three strikes law has put a wide variety of criminals behind bars. Cases range from murder and rape to burglary. Opponents of the law will point to cases such as Ronald Herrerra’s. He was sentenced to 25 years to life for stealing $12 worth of groceries. The sentence seems harsh when the average citizen puts himself in Herrerra’s shoes; however, Herrerra was not the average law-abiding citizen. Supporters of the law would argue that â€Å"the three strikes law was created for men like Herrerra, whose other felony convictions include rape, armed robbery and attempted murder† (Cota). Another person who supports the law is Lisa Delgado. Her husband, Kenneth Delgado was sen... Free Essays on 3 strikes Three strikes and you're out By: K.J. Stewart Running head: THREE STRIKES Three Strikes and You’re Out Kelly Jay Stewart CRIM 440 21 November 2000 Three Strikes and You’re Out Samuel Walker, author of Sense and Nonsense about Crime and Drugs, presented us in his book with forty-eight propositions that dealt with crime, drugs, and our efforts toward getting rid of these problems. A few of these propositions informed us on positive actions taking place in our criminal justice system, but the majority of them told us what was not working to fight crime and drugs. One of those propositions that was a negative aspect of our justice system today in Mr. Walker’s eyes was the â€Å"three strikes and you’re out† laws (referred to here after as three strikes laws). He gives numerous reasons why this law is not considered to be an effective one. This paper will first explain Walker’s view on the issue and then review some of the current research and opinions on the matter. Samuel Walker conducted v ery thorough research on the propositions he presented to us in his book. His twentieth proposition read as follows; â€Å" ‘Three strikes and you’re out’ laws are a terrible crime policy† (Walker, 1998: 140). Walker justifies his claim by asking and then explaining three questions. The first question is whether the law would actually be implemented. Walker states that â€Å"hardly any states were using there three strikes laws† (Walker, 1998: 138). California is leading the nation in prosecutions of offenders through the current two and three strikes laws (Tischler, 1999). Fifteen of the twenty-three states that have three strikes laws have incarcerated between zero and six inmates since 1993 according to The Campaign for an Effective Crime Policy (Tischler, 1999). The second reason Walker cites is the impact of the three strikes laws on the criminal justice system. These laws are affecting the system by overcrowding prisons, subjecti...

Free encryption for thumb drives (TrueCrypt) Case Study

Free encryption for thumb drives (TrueCrypt) - Case Study Example Another important thing about TruCrypt is that it is a free and open-source encryption software. This can run on Windows, MAC OS and even Linux. 2. The shared volume may only be file-hosted. As explained by the TrueCrypt website , the server is usually the one mounted so other computers on the network would "will not be able to mount the volume". It must also be remembered that files are not necessarily saved on the hard disk and once dismounted, the files cannot be read. Another popular file encryption software manufactured by Credant is Credant Mobile Guardian which is actually as policy-based encryption technology that can service the need for full data encryption such as desktops, laptops, handhelds and external media. Credant offers many advantages such granular control, anti-bridging, anti-hardware keylogger, built-in compliance policies, flexible and intuitive policy management, U3 and auto-run control. According to Technical Specifications of the Credant protector datasheet, anti-bridging meant " blocking WiFi, BlueTooth, modems, or Irda while the PC is connected to the wired local area network ( LAN)". Therefore, there is no need to be wary of these peripheral devices since Credant Mobile Guardian will be mainly responsible for blocking any of these hardware.

Judaism - Reflection Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Judaism - Reflection Paper - Essay Example My community is frequently among the communities that are not driven by such forces. That is the Judaism Community. I therefore feel under no obligation to compare the gender assumption in my religion and community against any particular prejudiced social standard. Let Judaism rise or fall on its assumption regarding the roles played by men and women. It would be very painless pointing a finger to a Muslim and declare that women have little or no role in the religion and even words from their Holy Quran prohibits women from getting involved from achieving particular theological standards. But on the other side, women from the Muslim religion can also point to the Judaism religion and claim the same inferiority complex. As much as some religions may claim to be modernized, in Catholic faith the pope and his entire clergy has never agreed women to serve as priests. How then will women have any success when it comes to religious factors? Undeniably, Jewish custom and religion revolves around the synagogues, and this is then a fact that gender assumption is unequally played well. If the laws and rules are to be followed regarding the position of Men and women in the society then, Judaism women would ever remain voiceless. It would therefore be my suggestion that, a swift amendment be done on Judaism theological and religion literature, relative to all that is demanded in both old and New Testament bible. The synagogue where laws and rules concerning the way of living for the community signify just a tiny fraction of what Judaism pertains! There is a dire need to go beyond that and have vast knowledge concerning the lives of people and whether its theology, religion or the modern factors that should dictate their way of