Historical and Scientific Perspectives on Homosexuality Essay Example for Free

Historical and Scientific Perspectives on Homosexuality Essay Homosexuality, at least from the point of view of history, has seen many ups and downs. In fact, homosexuality itself could not be easily classified to be similar from other various racial or segregation issues such as skin color, language, culture, or religion because those factors have constantly experience negative treatments in the password in homosexuality, has been pointed out by the literature, has enjoyed relatively different approaches to pending on the culture, the timeline, and even the historical context where it is being applied. For example, from the point of view of historians and document literature on the subject of anthropology, researchers have uncovered that homosexuality is not a fairly recent occurrence but rather can be traced back as far back as documented history can show itself. For example, in ancient Greek, Celtic, and even prehistoric cultures such as the Indus Valley civilizations and prehistoric Egyptian cultures, homosexuality was already an occurrence that has been around and was actually freely accepted by the society where it was operating in. In fact, in anthropological texts and research, the subject of homosexual behavior may be from the point of view of romantic relationships, sexual interaction, and even family institution was freely accepted in those societies where in a significant measurement of civilization can be made (Isay, 2009). However, one commentary and theory on why homosexuality has arrived to the point of judgment and negative perception it has today has been pointed out by research as a result of strict monotheistic religious beliefs and Scripture. The three dominating monotheistic religions today on Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. And, both from popular convention and in the understanding of religious texts as well as the popular opinions of the leaders of the faiths, homosexuality ranges from a taboo concept in the reality of society towards even complete banning and be integrated into the religious thought to be illegal and Heretic. In fact, Islam, being one of the most powerful religions today because of its influence not only in Middle Eastern countries but also in other geographies such as Asia and other Western countries as well, having strict laws against homosexuality and homosexual behavior, continues to influence perception such that many new generations which follow that religion and that faith, although already relatively involved in global issues and global perception because of the Internet and other information communication technology, still look at homosexuality to be illegal and heretic act and concept because their religion states it to be so. In fact, in all three faiths, a popular Scripture is the city of Sodom and Gomorrah where in the monotheistic God of these religions punish this city because of its homosexual acts such as sodomy and the like. However, as researchers have also indicated, religions which are not classified under the leading monotheistic beliefs have basically taken homosexuality to be either a normal occurrence in human beings or have at least ignored the subject completely where its practitioners are able to say from a very point of view and spectrum that their faiths and spiritualities accept homosexual behavior. In fact, off all the eastern end not monotheistic religions that are popular in todays society, it is only Buddhism which freely accepts the reality of homosexuality and has been addressed by many of its search for leaders and discussed in many affair spiritual centers. However, because of the relatively low reach and population count of those belonging to this faith, at least from the point of view of religious commentary on homosexuality, it has not yet been able to pull homosexual perception towards the positive end of the spectrum which is cultural and contextual acceptance. On the other end of the contextual spectrum of religion, is a scientific approach of homosexual behavior. In such a perspective, origins of homosexuality have been discussed by researchers to be coming from biological factors rather than social factors. This approach has seen popularity only in fairly recent times because of such scientific projects and efforts such as the human genome project and the ability of advanced biology to indicate various genes, indicators, and factors that as researchers have pointed out, have a direct correlation and effect to the fact that individual turns out in the future to be Gay or not. In fact, this is not only a scientific attempt to explain such factors but has actually been published by many research and academic journals all over the world indicating that scientists have segregated various genetic functions which could associate or at least highly correlate an individuals homosexual behavior with the existence and activation of such genetic functions (Haslam Levy, 2006). This is the root of the modern argument of where homosexuality originates if it is brought about by the environment or by genetics. Such arguments, however, although fairly popular in the homosexual population, or at least in Western cultures where homosexuality is now freely accepted in society with relatively low levels of taboo perception, is not yet completely proven and documented in scientific picture enough to have any significant conclusions on the subject. Another perspective, perhaps the most popular, is an environmental perspective on homosexuality. According to this point of view, which is popular among behavioral scientists, psychologists, and social theorists, homosexuality comes about directly as a result of the environment and other external factors. Such arguments have developed relative popularity in the 20th century and even in the modern 21st century as behavioral scientists and psychologists have been able to more and more formulate theories that are backed up by statistical and essential data that was created using the scientific method of pointing out homosexual tendencies and the correlation and connection of society, other individuals, peers, and even family members and asked experiences in shaping its occurrence (Lewes Gilbert, 2009). As an individual, important processes and most cited upon the occurrence of being homosexual individuals the coming-out process. In fact, the coming-out process itself poses as one of the most significant in major hurdles of homosexuality in todays society because of the judgment that intrinsically comes about in the process itself. However, because of the popularity of such perspectives of scientific and behavioral basis of sexuality were in more and more members of society and even countries and classifications have culture as a whole are beginning to accept the validity of such research, evidence, and findings, the coming-out process, although has not been decreased at least from the point of view of difficulty, is today at least not judge as it was judge during the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. Today, as from personal experience, the coming-out process and admitting not only to friends and family members but even to society as a whole the choice and eventual manifestation of sexual orientation has become easier if not more accepted. However, perhaps an interesting analysis is although such historical and scientific perspectives and frameworks have indeed help in the process of society accepted the existence of homosexuality in todays world, a very difficult approach would be to understand if such perspectives and scientific discoveries have shaped actually being homosexual. This is difficult to answer because causality is often impossible to connect especially if these perspectives and factors did not indeed have any contributions to being a homosexual individual. However, perhaps one factor that has shaped the choice of sexuality and orientation in todays world is the ability to recognize that there is such a concept as homosexuality and it is a fairly popular convention and many individuals in the world today are members of that orientation group. By recognizing such factor in fact, I as an individual have been able to classify myself an essential need according to behavioral psychologists and sociologists to a certain part and classification of todays environment and society and am able to learn much about myself as well as the culture I am living in today.

Teenagers Using Social Networking Sites Information Technology Essay

Teenagers Using Social Networking Sites Information Technology Essay ICT in personal communication affects many people in the community; they affect a wide range of people including the elderly, young and adults. Everyone use computers as the pin point of their lives; every day they can do: homework, watch TV on demand, listen to music and follow personal interests which may be video editing, composing music and surfing the web, even new jobs are based on ICT, so ICT is becoming a major part of everyday live. Teenagers Using Social Networking Sites Social networking sites have been around from the beginning of 1997, the first social networking site was known as SixDegrees.com which lasted from 1997-2001. There are many new social networking sites and many users use them. Social networking sites affect many teenagers lifes because many teenagers spend a lot of time updating their profile everyday. Some teenagers update their profile every 10 minutes while others just update every week. Social networking sites have been named as problems, as fight for nothing occur within them. People believe that fights occur as people dont like other peoples groups or if two people like the same person. So fights would break out. This would be dangerous as many people would jump to conclusion and would just encourage you to fight them even if you might get seriously hurt. Teenagers who are active in social networking sites will go online frequently and check their page to see if they have received any comments or messages. They can then reply to the comments or just leave it like that. Then they can visit their friends pages and check if there is anything new which They then might visit the sites of their best friends to see if anything new is happening on their friends sites, such as new photos, blog postings, or comments posted by others. They are likely to leave a comment on friends profiles as they cruise by. If they are active in any discussion groups, they also will check out any new postings in these groups. They might add some new materials to their own profile or blog. Positives and Negatives Apart from the social benefits, social networking sites can be used to document school research, promote artistic talents and experiment with other forms of content creation. They provide a way to interact with others who share the same interests and to get constructive feedback on ongoing projects. Most social networking sites are open to all, especially MySpace, which means that your teen could be exposed to harassment, bullying. Cyber-bullying and harassment are most often done by other teens and tend to happen to older girls and to teens of either gender who have a strong online presence. It may take several forms: posting threatening messages posting photos that will cause embarrassment Spreading rumours. Elderly People Using Mobile Phones A mobile is a handheld device which can be used to communicate with. It is wireless as it uses radioactive waves. This means when it receives reception, you can call anyone with it as long as you know their number. Mobile phones have been around for 60 odd years. They advanced from being bricks to very small devices. Mobile phones have many uses: You can contact people Use it as a Sat Nav, to see the location Pass time by playing games on it You can check emails while on the move. Elderly people can use their mobile phones when they are lost and dont know their way home, they can contact relatives and tell them where they are and they can be picked up without any trouble. Elderly people can call up their relatives or friends while they are alone and they can meet up to arrange a party or a reunion. For many years there has been a blank market for mobile phones for the elderly but this is changing, new phones are emerging which have been specifically built for the elderly. These phones do not have all the high-tech functions which new phones have. These phones are plain and simple. Some have an emergency button and these phones are targeted for the elderly. A good example of this type of phone is the Clarity of Live C900. This phone is big, simple and sturdy. This phone is a breakthrough for mobiles for the elderly. It is the starting point of simple phones for the elderly. The advantages of having a mobile phone are that elderly people: Can stay in touch effortlessly Not feel alone in an emergency Being able to appreciate the outdoors and still be connected or available to answer your phone Can let others know where you are so that they are not worried or concerned about you. Disadvantages of Mobile Phones Symptoms caused by the radiation of mobile phones are one of the most argued problems. Many scientists believe that the radiation from the mobile phones may cause the users to have different symptoms such as headache, earaches, blurring of vision and even causing cancer. Though, these problems are still under early research, but we still have to consider this. Research says that, the effects of radiation may affect the elderly more than people in their 30s. The elderly person wouldnt be able to pay for the fee of the contract, so his/her relative has to pay the bill which may be expensive or inexpensive. Male Adult Users of the iPhone and Blackberry The iPhone is the next level of smart phones. It is the first cell phone made by Apple and very high expectations were expected from it; but when it was delivered, the expectations were broken as the iPhone was even better than it was thought to be. The iPhone has a multi-touch display, which means no cramped up keyboard is needed. The iPhone can make calls, play music, navigate the Web, edit photos, and play movies and text message, among many other capabilities. Although many of the iPhones functions can be found in other devices, the iPhone appears to be unique in that it seamlessly blends these abilities together, while also throwing a pack of originality into the mix. The iPhone is ideal for male adult users as it has some very brilliant ideas packed into it. Some of the features the iPhone has: The multi-touch display knows what to do You can surf the net on the iPhone iPhone will offer music, streaming video, podcasts, movies, YouTube, and more You can download music from iTunes and listen to them. The Disadvantages: No video camera; normal camera has no flash Battery might run out quick and is hard to replace No java support Sim card will only work if it is activated for the iPhone. BlackBerry A BlackBerry is a handheld PDA device that is engineered from the ground up for email. If email has become a vital part of your business or personal life, then you would no doubt benefit from using a BlackBerry. Most models now come with a built-in mobile phone, making the BlackBerry an obvious choice for users with the need to access their email from somewhere besides the comfort of a desk chair. BlackBerry smart phones allow you to stay in touch with everything that matters to you while youre on the go: Email, phone, maps, organizer, applications, games, the Internet and more. Advantages of BlackBerry: Supports Java Push emails Blackberry uses standardized MicroUSB connector for synchronization/charging. iPhone has a much larger proprietary 30-pin connector. Most Blackberries have keyboards, so you can actually type fast and with no errors. Blackberry can be synchronized to multiple computers simultaneously, if you have multiple computers. Really neither phone is that much better than the other. The Bold is the best BlackBerry up until now, and it is great for business use. The iPhone is a consumer device, and most of the original problems have already been addressed. It all comes down to what you like and what you really want in a phone. Each phone is great in its own right. Sky + Users The Sky + box incorporates an internal 80Gb hard disc which enables you to pause live TV or record one programme while watching another. You can even instruct the receiver to record episodes from your favourite series, all this without the use of videotapes. The onscreen menu is very easy to use, simply highlight the channel you wish to record and press the record button. It will automatically record at the time the programme starts, plus if you have instructed it to record several other programmes at different times it will record those as well. Advantages: Simple Straightforward to use Able to pause, record, stop and rewind Brilliant picture Disadvantages: Can be expensive Everything you do is recorded onto your database Privacy of information Small children may buy something that they didnt want to; they may have accidently bought it. How ICT has Affected People with Special Needs Disabled people often have great ICT skills that could be used in industry. However, people are often reluctant to employ them because of the fact that they have a disability. People often dont realise that just because somebody has a disability, they are still fully able to work on a computer or in ICT. 20% of the British working age population are disabled so it would be wasteful not to consider their expertise in work. This expertise could be used rather than left to do nothing; even if it is working from home. . The Visually Impaired Visually impaired or blind people cannot do normal tasks, such as read the paper. By being visually impaired or blind, you will not know what you are doing or where you are going. In the old days you could only trust your other senses to work and guide you around, but nowadays there is new technology that will help you. Blind people or the visually impaired can use, something known as, Braille to communicate with other blind or visually impaired people. It was created by Louis Braille and it uses dots as the alphabet. You can also get Braille translations software on computers which will translate Braille and read it out loud and clear in your chosen language, so this makes life easier for you. People who are visually impaired can use screen magnification. This allows you to zoom in on the page and lets you read what it says, as it is much clearer, a monitor that is larger may be helpful. Also, if the person has certain problems with colours then the contrast can be changed on new monitors to specify your needs. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) can also be used to scan documents and then converted into Braille or it can be read out by your computer. This is very useful as letters received by post can be scanned and then read to you. Also there is voice recognition programs which allow you to talk to the computer and the computer would do what you want and it will also automatically word process the speech. There is also speech output software which can read a document from a word processor and will dictate it out. Speech output software can also be used to read websites, menus and other things related to the computer. Technology is always improving and now there is something called the video magnifier. They allow you to place anything on them and it will be automatically magnified and show on a monitor so you can clearly see what it is and what it may say. You can zoom in onto it and read it; if it is a document or book. Hearing Impaired Hearing impairment could affect your everyday life and the things you are able to do. You may not be able to: hear people properly. Hearing impairment affects many old people and also young. Many deaf people can now text and e-mail even if they cant hear. The use of text messages and e-mailing has opened up a new way for deaf people. This gives deaf people or the hearing impaired a new way of communicating with the outside. Deaf people can see so they are able to text as it only involves reading and typing only. Interactive whiteboards can be used for teaching in schools with deaf pupils, interactive whiteboards can be used to show what the pupils have to do and also instructions can be written in as well without needing to listen to the instructions. This allows even deaf pupils to learn in special schools for the deaf. At home new technologies allow the deaf to know when the door bell or phone is ringing. There are extra loud devices, flashing lights, or if on the person then, vibrating alerts, to ensure the deaf that someone is ringing the bell or the phone is ringing. This allows you to respond to the doorbell, without these devices you would not know if the doorbell or phone is ringing when you are at home alone. Transmitters can be placed near to the phone to be notified about so when the transmitter picks up a sound it will activate the flashing lights or vibrating alerts. Special telephones can be used which make the incoming or outgoing speech louder or adjusts the pitch for people with hearing impairment. BT has launched videophones which allow deaf people to communicate with each other using sign language through video. These can be connected to a TV for a larger picture. People with hearing difficulties may find it hard to hear in public places and large rooms such as classrooms. This is caused by poor room sounds. Infrared systems are used to overcome hearing difficulties in larger rooms. Infrared systems replace the sound between the source and the listener with an infrared signal which is not affected by sounds. Mobility Difficulties Computers and ICT can improve the way of life for people with disabilities, giving them independence without having to have help off other people looking after them. It also gives them employment opportunities, and a new way of life which will help them a lot. There is a lot of help available through the internet as it allows many things to happen. Online shopping helps people with a physical or mobility disability to do their weekly shopping and much more through the internet without even having to move out of a seat let alone their own home, the items they purchased would be delivered to their footsteps. Home banking allows people to pay bills and look after their finances from home without having to go down to the bank in person. Computers can be adapted for people who have a physical disability. Using sticky keys the response time of keys pressed be adapted to ignore shaking. Predictive text can be used to predict which word is being typed which can speed up typing of a physically disabled person. You can also get mouth sticks and head pointers for people who can only move their head and they use their head to press keys on the keyboard. You can also get infrared head pointers which can be used to move the screen curser. If somebody has difficulty using a mouse then they can use a roller ball or a joystick as an alternative or a specified keyboard which can control the pointer on the screen. The most effective thing to use, instead of a keyboard, is a touch screen which allows physically impaired people to press buttons directly through the monitor and in some cases even type on the monitor. People with Reading Difficulties Many people with dyslexia find that they have problems with the mechanics of writing which can make them slow and unwilling writers. The effort required will often distract them from thinking about the content of the work and final checking will be harder if their writing is hard to read. Some people find that when using a keyboard and screen they can devote more attention to the content and spelling of their writing. They also find it much easier and less depressing to read and correct their work on the screen. Adaptations and alterations can be made to the standard computer and software to give additional support if this is required. Using spreadsheets, they can give visual aid to pupils with dyslexia as they can be taught visual methods of laying out their work and this means they are less likely to get lost in the process of calculation. ICT in the Community ICT has affected the community in many ways. It has changed our surroundings and what we see. Nowadays we can shop online, book holidays online, search where the landmarks of a country is. We can even communicate with each other within a community online. We can create a forum just for one community and discuss about topics we would like to. Cyber Cafà ©s The idea behind the Cyber Cafà ©s is to provide a public access point where a user can indulge in some surfing of the Internet. Customers are encouraged to stay for as long as possible . . . the longer they stay, the more food/drink they buy and most importantly the more they pay for the use of the Internet. People can go to cyber cafes and use the Internet relatively cheaply. The Internet they use is broadband, which is fast, and people can enjoy tea, coffee, other drinks and food whilst they enjoy the Internet at the same time. Cyber cafes share many of the disadvantages, as libraries such as time restrictions, lack of privacy etc. The cyber cafes are a bit more lenient when it comes to restrictions comparing cafes to the libraries. Hardware is also available in cyber cafes as it is in the libraries. Cyber cafes have their good and bad points. The bad points include the cost. Even though its cheap, in libraries its free to use ICT facilities. Cyber Cafes are a good invention and a re helpful. They are a lot more popular than libraries and seem to becoming a trend. Cyber cafà ©s are often busy places, with many people using the computers and others roaming the grounds. A total lack of privacy becomes difficult to check E-mails, enter passwords or even look at preferred sites. Well, basically, if you need some privacy, then cyber cafà ©s arent very highly recommended. Libraries Public libraries arent just shelves full of books anymore. They are fast becoming the focal point of the local community. Many libraries offer, amongst other services: Internet access for free Again, access is restricted, but at least it doesnt cost a single penny! Search engines to locate books Based on a similar technology to that of online search engines, a database of books is searched across the numerous local libraries. Facilities to host political meetings Due to the facilities to host political and community meetings, many MPs are holding their surgeries at local libraries. Members of libraries can use the ICT facilities there to access Internet and e-mail or even programs such as Microsoft office, which includes PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Access and FrontPage. Using the Internet at libraries can be a waste of time because sometimes the computers maybe slow or busy. When using e-mail it can be frustrating because some of the domains have been blocked, this only affects children mostly. Other computer hardware is available, for example, speakers, scanners or printers. Most libraries also give free access to their ICT equipment. When using the libraries computers, most of the websites for children have been blocked. This is to stop misuse of the computers and noise in the library from children coming in and being noisy talking to each other while on the computer, playing games. There is also not enough privacy on what you maybe doing, for example, when logging on to certain websites someone could see you type in your password. You are also restricted to using ICT because of the times that the library is open and in most libraries time slots of 1-2 hours are given. Libraries ICT equipment is not used to the best of its ability because some of the staff havent been fully trained. This could affect the way some people are put off going to the libraries. Online Forums Online discussion forums are increasingly common in the community. Such forums are usually set up by just a few people. Once the forum becomes more popular, hundreds of people are often found discussing issues of all kinds. You can ask anything you want and somehow people will find an answer and they will reply to your post. Forums can be used for revision. You can ask people what you should revise and they would tell you what you should. There are millions and millions of forum users in the world. Usually, a topic is posted by one person and then replies are posted by other people who visit the forum centre often. As a result, an online community has surfaced, where people can discuss issues with people from all around the world. This type of technology is still new but it is becoming vastly popular. Many people nowadays research their homework and general conceptions of ideas on online forums rather than going to find record books and going to libraries, like people did in the past. Online forums have brought us more together online but separated us from the outside world. We believe in ICT far too much. Some forums may be misleading and wrong, so you have to be careful on which forums you trust and want to research on. CCTV CCTV security cameras are a step up in technology. They are great to help companies protect their businesses and keep safety levels high in the community. CCTV security cameras are a quick and easy way to make the community safer. There are many security cameras everywhere in the community and they make the public feel safer. It also cuts crime down. But they also can cut your privacy down as would be caught on tape without knowing. CCTV security cameras come in all shapes and sizes and picture quality, some these days are able to zoom in and out up to a few miles away. If an incident takes place, its easy enough to check the tapes and find information need for the police. The police then have evidence; which they can use to take action if needed and make the community a safer place to live in. The problem with having CCTV security cameras is it costs a lot of money to capture the whole community, if there are no CCTV cameras then people would take advantage of the areas that are not see able on camera. Another problem with CCTV security cameras in the community is that people think their privacy is being invaded. At the end of the day its only for our safety the CCTV security cameras have been installed. Positioning is crucial though because for example, there is a tree in the way of the camera; it would be pointless having the camera there. The good points about CCTV security cameras are they are great for doi ng their job on catching criminals and warning people there being watched and makes some people feel safer. By Visnu

The Scandal of Larry Craig

The Scandal of Larry Craig Larry Craig was arrested at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport on a suspicion of Lewd Conduct. The date that this incident happened was on June 11th, 2007. Craig was arrested after trying to have sex with another male in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport bathroom. What he didnt know is that the man he was trying to have sex with ended up being an undercover officer, the officer was undercover because of complaints about a man trying to have sex with others in the bathroom, this has been going on for several weeks now. Larry Craig was the main person affected because of this incident, probably because he was the main person involved. Because of this incident Larry Craig lost many of his friends, a good amount of those friends were made through politics and were still in politics. One main friend he lost was Mitt Romney who was Governor of Massachusetts at the time of this incident. After the public heard about the incident, as you expected, there was a major backlash on Larry Craig and he was hated by many Americans. Many gay right activists were mad at Craig for making gay people look bad. At the time of this incident gays were trying to be treated equal to straight people because they werent equal at the time of this incident, so many people were mad for the sole fact that he interacted in a gay act like he did. In the end what really affected Larry Craig was that the incident cost him his political career. Larry Craig ended up serving the rest of his term as Senator because he refused to resign, but he did not end up running for re-election for the position because he knew just like everyone else did, that he would not win the re-election for Senator. He also was not liked by many other politicians after this incident. Another person affected because of the incident was Mitt Romney. Craig was one of the two Senators that were liaisons for Mitt Romneys 2008 Presidential Campaign. After this incident Mitt Romney was not a fan of Larry Craig, in fact Mitt Romney actually strongly disliked Larry Craig. Larry Craig made Mitt Romney look bad because of this incident, do the citizens of America really want a President that works with guys like this running the country? This ended up with Mitt Romney removing Larry Craig from anything to do with his Presidential Campaign then went on to talk badly about Craig to the public by saying Hes disappointed the American people (Hulse). The last person that was affected because of this incident was Mike Jones and the officer that arrested him. Mike Jones told the public that Larry Craig offered him $200 to have oral sex with him in a restroom. After this was told to the public and a reporter asked Larry Craig, he responded by saying Mike Jones was lying just to try to promote his new book about the incident between Mike and Ted Haggard (Hulse). So Larry Craig just said Mike was trying to just get money from his incident and that it isnt alright to do. Lastly, was the officer that arrested Craig. They never released the officers name, which is understandable because this was a big incident. Craig tried to have sex with him in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport restroom, after he made the arrest Larry Craig tried to blackmail the officer by showing his badge that showed he was a part of the government and then said So, what do you think about that? This incident occurred on August 8th, 2007. There are many facts about this government scandal. One fact is that he was arrested for disorderly conduct in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport. Another fact about this scandal is that Larry Craig ended up sending a signed petition to the court and the petition pled guilty for misdemeanor charge was accepted and filed to the court on August 8th, 2007. When this was released to the public he said that he regretted pleading guilty because he was innocent. He said that he only plead guilty to the charges because he wanted this to just fly over and not go on, but it ended up backfiring and lasting along time. Larry Craig said that he just wanted to get this over as quick as possible and get on with his life and duty as one of the Senators of the United States. The time frame of this incident was in August 2007. But apparently he has been doing things like this for years but never got caught or had it released to the public until now. No one really knows if these reports about it happening in the past are true, but they know that the incident in August 2007 was real and it happened. At the time of this incident many other things were also happening in the world. One surrounding circumstance was the Phoenix spacecraft launched towards Mars. They launched the Phoenix spacecraft on August 4th, 2007. Another surrounding circumstance was that the war in Afghanistan was going on. The war in Afghanistan started in October 2001 because of the tragic incident of 9/11. This war was a long war that lasted 13 years, it eventually ended in 2014, three years after the US killed the man responsible for 9/11. The mans name was Osama Bin Laden and he was killed on May 2, 2011 in Pakistan which is a country that borders Afghanistan. He was in his hideout that he had. The last thing that was a surrounding circumstance in 2007 was the Iraq war. The US was in the middle of two wars in 2007. This war started in March 2003 because of an invasion in Iraq that was led by the United States. This war was also long but didnt last as long as the war in Afghanistan. The war in Iraq lasted 8 years. It ended in December 2011 because Obama decided it was a good idea to just end the war and pull out. In this scandal there were many rumors that had spread during this scandal. After this scandal, a gay rights activist Michael Rogers came out and told the public that this wasnt the first time that Larry Craig has done something like this. He said there were multiple similar occasions that something like this had happened to other people. The first one he has tied Craig to be in happened in 1982. Rogers also said that it has been happening in multiple locations all over the United States not just in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport where this incident took place. All these incidents were reported to a reporter for the Idaho Statesman. Michael Rogers wasnt the only person to come out and say that Craig has done this before. Up to eight other gay men came up to the reporter for Idaho Statesman saying that they had either sexual encounters with Larry Craig or him attempting to engage in sexual conduct with them. Four of the eight men gave good details about their encounters with Craig, it wasnt proven if they had happened or not but it caused some discussion. The most recent encounter that had been reported came from a 40 year old man who claimed that he and Craig had engaged in oral sex in 2004. None of these reports had been proven true nor had they been proven false. They were all just rumors and not many know if these reports had been true or not. Because of this incident the government took a huge hit. Craig has been in politics along time and he was liked by many other politicians previous to this incident. Larry Craig lost many political friends because of this and there was a huge debate whether or not if they should allow Craig to stay as Senator. They decided that Craig could remain and serve the rest of his term as Senator. Craig did end up serving the rest of his term. Many people looked at the government badly for allowing a man who did this remain the Senator and not kicking him out of his position. They were mad because they didnt want a corrupt man helping run this country, they looked at it as not right. After Craigs term was up he did not re-run in the election as Senator because everyone knew that if he did he would not win. The only one to really suffer because of this incident is Larry Craig. After this incident Craig returned to his duty as Senator of the United States. He refused to resign from his position, but after his term as Senator he lost his job and didnt re-run in the upcoming election as Senator. This isnt the only thing that that ended for him. He ended his career in politics. Another person that you could argue suffered from this incident was Mitt Romney. Craig was one of the two Senators liaisons for Mitt Romneys 2008 presidential campaign. This incident made Romney look bad and he dropped Craig from being a part of anything to do with his presidential campaign. Mitt Romney ended up losing this election and Craig didnt impact his campaign positively. Craig wasnt the main reason he lost but would Romney have gotten more votes if this didnt happen? Nobody knows. Craig probably didnt lose the election for Romney but he sure didnt help Romneys chances. The last thing that suffered because of this incident was the government because Craig had been a part of politics for a long time. He had many friends and was trusted by many people that were in politics. This incident caused a man that was high in politics to lose his job and end his career. There were many outcomes after this Scandal. Mostly it affected Larry Craig and his life. Larry Craig ended up serving the rest of his term as the Senator, then decided that he is done with his political career after this incident. He didnt re-run because he wouldve lost and he knew that. One thing that happened that is kind of interesting is that the TV show Law and Order made an episode that replicated the whole Larry Craig scandal. The episode was called Political Animal. They used things in the episode such as the foot tapping that Craig apparently did in the stalls, and when the officer in the episode arrested the councilman, the councilman yelled Im not gay to resemble what Larry Craig also did. The last thing is the stalls in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport that this incident happened in started to gain notoriety. The airport then decided that they should demolish the stalls this incident occurred in and did so. In ending, this scandal wasnt one of the biggest to occur in the United States history. But the government did take a hit and this scandal was very popular and talked about. This incident will always be remembered as a weird scandal because no one really expected Craig to do something like this, yet it has been apparently going on for years and kept quiet.

Women in Sports Essay -- Expository Essays Athletics Gender Inequality

Women in Sports Challenges appear to be part of the human experience. In the course of history, very little has come easily. The progress that women have made in sport in the United States over the course of the last 100 years seems remarkable for the amount achieved in so little time. In relation to the other advances made in this century, including men's sport, that achievement dims. While women have made great advances, they haven't, in comparison, come that far. It would appear, from the outside, that men's sport will forever have all of the advantages, all of the rewards, all of the prestige, while women's sport is left to perpetual inequality. Yet, not only are there sports that are considered "non-traditional" for both sexes, the obvious majority of these sports are "traditionally" recognized as women's sports. While there may be a very small number of teams of male synchronized swimmers or synchronized ice-skaters, there are virtually no integrated teams. Of the number of sports considered non-traditional for women, among them football and wrestling, women have gradually opened the door into these sports. In most states, girls even have the right to participate on boys' sports teams if there is no girls' team or even a girls' team which plays by the same rules because of the historical limitations on women's sports. However, in most states boys are not granted the same rights because there has been no such "historical limitation" on their participation in sports, according to the Women's Sports Foundation. While this may seem to defy the motivating spirit behind laws like Title IX, many view it as an "acceptable" situation. Boys who do participate in sports such as synchronized swimming, cheerleading and even ... ...ly equal arena is furthered. The more the current conception of what is permissible for either gender as well as what is possible is challenged, the closer we come to a re-examination of how unequal the history of sport has been for both sexes and the actions that need to be taken in order to prevent such inequalities from existing in the future. The more individuals take on challenges like this the more they force society to closely examine the way they think about what makes people and their activities different in the first place. These re-examinations and re-evaluations all lead to one eventual goal: the elimination of a true inequality between men and women in terms of their positions in society and in sport. The fewer inequalities that are allowed to exist, the closer society comes to a point at which it can be described as being truly tolerant and accepting.

Wake Up Girls Essay -- Media Fashion Papers

Wake Up Girls Sometimes we lose sight of what is important in life and that is when it is necessary to take a step back to reconsider the direction in which we are going. Teenage girls today are becoming less and less original and more generic. Generic symbolizing how alike teenage girls look. It is disturbing for me as a teenage girl to hear and see what teenage girls believe to be imperative in order to be happy and successful. The media in America has everything to do with what is going wrong with the lifestyles of young women. This is when we, as the target group for media, need to reassess our values and the meaning we wish to fulfill in our lives. I believe the media recognizes the influence that they possess over teenage girls but because such good profits are coming in off of movies, clothing, magazines, and other materialistic products, they find no need to stop or redirect their motives. A petite young girl strutting out of Abercrombie & Fitch wearing a black sequenced mini-skirt with a matching black top that is skin-tight against her undeveloped chest walks by at our local mall and unfortunately this is not so rare. Young girls in elementary school wearing skinny strap tank tops and make-up is unnecessary and frightening. It is sad to think that young girls are already caring at that age how they look and what other people might think of them. When I was in elementary school, which was not too long ago, I did not have a care in the world of what I was wearing and most of the girls around me seemed to be oblivious to each-other’s clothing. I actually think my mother still dressed me. So I believe it is valid to say that the influence of the media is becoming greater and it has stimulated children si... ...d hear we need to be able to block it out. The media has influenced us enough in the wrong direction and I believe it is time we influence them in the other direction. Seventeen; â€Å"Young Woman Today Take a Stand and Leave Behind the Generic Route That the Media was Guiding Them Toward.† Now that would be an issue worth the five dollars.N Works Cited Cooper, Peter J, ed., and Allen Stein, ed. Monographs in Clinical Pediatrics: Feeding Problems and Eating Disorders in Children and Adolescents.Vol 5. Philadelphia: Harwood Academic Publishers,1992. Russell, Gerald F.M. â€Å"Impact on Puberty of Anorexia.† Cooper 90. NationalEatingDisorders.org.22 Sep. 2003. Statistics; Eating Disorders and Their Precursers. 23 Sep. 2003

How does Shakespeare present conflict at the start of Romeo and Juliet Essay

Explain how Shakespeare presents the theme of violence in this part of the play. The first thing to note about this scene is that it takes place right at the start of the play. I think that this scene exists to set up and highlight one of the key conflicts in the play as a whole. It takes place after a serious fight between the Montagues and Capulets. This fight’s prime instigator is Tybalt who when asked by Benvollio to help him keep the peace says: â€Å"What drawn and talk of peace. I hate the word, As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee: Have at thee, coward!† Clearly then this is a deep seated conflict that is responsible for disturbing the peace in Verona and it is the Prince’s job to restore order in this scene. Therefore right at the start of the scene he calls them ‘profaners’. This is very emotive language and helps to underline the Prince’s contempt for both of the families and their conflict. The audience when they hear language like this will then associate both families as being not being very religious and being opposed to God and His purposes. The contempt that the Prince and the audience is supposed to feel for both of the fighting families is further emphasised in the description of their swords as ‘neighbor-stained steel’. Clearly what the Prince is trying to highlight here is that both families are behaving in a very selfish immature way and are showing an unchristian regard for their neighbours. Therefore violence is shown in this scene as being something that is pointless, stupid and going against God. Following on from this the theme of violence is further emphasised through the Prince’s use of a rhetorical question: â€Å"Will they not hear?† I think that Shakespeare deliberately uses this technique here to demonstrate how unthinking both families are in their hatred for each other. It is clear that the hatred between them runs so deep that they cannot and will not listen to people who are trying to mediate between them and trying to keep the peace. This is further emphasised later on in the line by the Prince describing them as ‘beasts’. I think that Shakespeare deliberately uses this word to help emphasise just how nasty the violence between both families are. A beast is an animal. Therefore, to the Prince, the unthinking violence between them has gone so far as to take away their humanity. Again in the next line Shakespeare has further emphasised the Prince’s dislike and animosity towards both families and even how fed up he is with their constant quarrelling by using the emotive language of: â€Å"your pernicious rage’ This helps to underline that to the Prince it is both families’ actions that are having a harmful effect on his city and that they are gradually being very destructive through their actions. According to the Prince the only thing that will help to cool the men’s emotions down and will stop all the violence is: â€Å"purple fountains issuing from your veins† What the Prince means here is that only by the men’s spilt blood will they calm down. This does not seem like an effective way to keep the peace and helps to show that for some reason violence has become a way of life for the people involved the quarrel. What is the cause of all this violence the audience would naturally ask at this point in the speech? It is clear that, according to the Prince, that the cause of most of the violence is merely an ‘airy word’. The connotations of ‘airy’ are something that is unsubstantial, something that is barely even there. Therefore the portrayal of violence in this part of the play by Shakespeare is of actions that don’t have a cause, that are incre4dibly harmful and don’t seem to be about anything much in particular. Surely then we as the audience will slightly sympathise with the Prince and his role to help keep the peace. This can be seen later on in the play when Tybalt gets into a fight with Mercutio. One of the key moments in the play is when Tybalt says: â€Å"Mercutio thou consort’st with Romeo† This could be seen as being just friendly ‘banter’ however to both families it is seemingly jokey things people say to each other take on huge significance. For me then these ‘airy words’ have a huge impact because the strong sense of pride these characters have and how they are unable to let things slide. I think this helps to underline what I think is the big lesson that Shakespeare is trying to teach us about violence in the play and that is that is that violence is often seen by people who are not taking part or who are innocent bystanders as being pointless and damaging.

Introduction to Psychological Testing

Introduction to Psychological Testing Psy 475 October 22, 2012 Introduction to Psychological Testing The history of personality and intelligence testing, dates to the beginning World War II. In psychology, clinicians use psychological tests as a tool to help aid in identifying important information in regard to the behaviors of an individual or a group. There is a major difference between regular testing and testing used for psychological purposes. There are various tests that can be administered to determine specific abilities or identify the characteristics of an individual.This paper will define the term â€Å"test†, describe the major categories of tests, and identify the major uses and users of these tests. Also this paper will also discuss the comparison and contrast the concepts of reliability and validity and explain how they affect psychological testing. Test According to Hogan, a test is a standardized process used to provide information about specific behaviors or c ognitive process through standardized procedures. Psychological tests are a battery of tests that evaluate and measure functions of emotions and behaviors in human beings.The test batteries are composed of interviews, and assessments that focus on specific areas such as learning, memory, attention, and academic capabilities. Tests can be conducted in various ways such as verbal, visual, oral, and written assessments or evaluation. Information gathered from standardized tests are useful and effective because they categorize specific behaviors with scores and provide results, which are reliable and valid. Psychological testing can be performed by licensed professionals; such as clinical psychologists, counseling, and school psychologist.Major categories of tests, Uses and Users Psychological tests provide a platform for providing information and insight, which helps to gain a better understanding of human behaviors. There different types of tests are used to measure various contexts o f specific areas of behavior. According to Chadha, Psychological tests are grouped into several categories, which include personality, mental ability, attitude, achievement, and neuropsychological tests. These test can be administered to an individual alone or to a group of people.According to Hogan intelligence test focuses on various functions of the individual who measures potential and basic ability, such as memory, cognitive functions, thinking skill, and visualization. Two of the most popular intelligence test are the Stanford-Binet and the Wechsler Intelligence Tests. Achievement and aptitude tests are commonly used in educational or employment settings. Educators and employers use these tests to identify how much an individual knows about a certain topic, such as academic subject or employment position.Educators use achievement tests to identify and compare abilities of students, while employers use these tests to identify talents, interests, and special skills (2008). Accor ding to Hogan, personality tests are commonly used in research and forensic settings to assist with providing a clinical diagnosis by measuring personality styles. Personality test is set up in two, formats. The first consists of yes or no questions and the second questions are true or false.According to Hogan, interests and attitudes are mainly used for high school and college students to identify interests related to job fields. The most common test used to measure and identify vocational interests is the Strong Interest Inventory (SII) or the Kuder Career Search (Hogan, 2007). The last category of testing is the neuropsychological tests. These types of test focus cognitive abilities as related to brain functions such as thinking, reasoning, memory and motor coordination.According to Hogan, uses and users of psychological tests include clinical, educational, personnel, and research settings. Clinical settings such as counseling and psychology use testing to identify the nature or severity of a specific problem or a behavior. The testing results are used to develop treatment plans used to carry out interventions for therapeutic application. According to Hogan, educators use assessment as a tool for assessing levels of student learning and abilities in efforts to help the student improve.Another major user of psychological testing are businesses. Personnel and employment testing according to Hogan, was developed to identify and select the best candidates for employment positions. Employers also use testing to conduct performance and promotion evaluations. The last use of testing involves research. According to Hogan researchers use testing as a viable part of research studies because they are replicable and provide reliable information that useful and valid.Compare and Contrast Reliability and Validity Test reliability and validity are very important concept of testing. These tools used to measure the data that has been collected for the test to determine if t he results are sustainable and effective. According to Hogan reliability is meant to be consistent and dependable. A reliable test provides the same scores continuously for an individual. Test reliability relies on specific criteria to determine the quality and accuracy of psychological measurements (Chadha, 2009).To determine reliability there are five methods that can be used to estimate test scores. These methods identify the proportion of the score, which may include error variances. Although these methods are used to determine reliability and identify errors there various factors, which can affect the results of the reliability of a test. Test validity is an important aspect of test evaluations. The validity of the tests focuses on specific criteria used to ensure that testing concept meets requirements and professional standards of scientific research methods.There are two common methods used to test validity, the first is criterion validity and content validity. According to Chadha, content validity focuses on the selection of items for ability and achievement test; judgments are used to identify the usefulness or application of the test. Criterion validity according to Chadha, focuses on the ability of test score used to observe behaviors or other information gathered from the test. Reliability and validity test the same aspects of a test but in a different manner.Reliability is more focused on the stability of a test score and validity evaluates this information based on specific criteria (Chadha, 2009). Conclusion In conclusion psychological testing is used to provide, identify, and measure characteristics, abilities and the behaviors of an individual or a group. There various types of testing be used in several contexts, which provide valuable information to the test examine. Several fields or professions rely on testing to provide information that can be used for purposes of assessments, treatment, learning, and identifying needs. Reliability and a lidity methods are used to ensure that the information received from testing is effective and properly used for the purpose intended. References Chadha, N. K. (2009). Introduction to psychological testing. In Applied psychometry. (pp. 71-87). New Delhi: SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd. doi: 10. 4135/9788132108221. n5 Hogan, T. P. (2007). Psychological testing: A practical introduction (2nd ed. ). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. psychological test. (2008). In The Columbia Encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://www. credoreference. com. ezproxy. apollolibrary. com/entry/columency/psychological_test