Fruit Fly Essay Example for Free

Fruit Fly Essay This experiment focuses on the effects water bath temperatures have on D. melanogaster entering and recovering an anoxic coma. It was found that there was an indirect relationship between the amount of time it took D. melanogaster to enter and recover from an anoxic coma and the temperature of the water bath. D. melanogaster was able to enter and recover from the anoxia coma quicker when they were drowned in a cold water bath condition when comparing these results to the warm water bath condition results. These results support other research findings that investigated the effects of the water bath temperatures. Also other mechanisms that aid D. melanogaster in being able to successfully survive an anoxia coma were researched and discussed while connecting them to current research on human patients with pulmonary diseases. Many animals have developed mechanisms that allow them to sustain anoxia comas for extended periods of time with little to no physiological consequences. This experiment is designed to test the amount of time it takes Drosophila melanogaster to enter and recover from an anoxia coma at different water bath temperatures. The purpose is to deduce the effects temperature has on the organism’s ability to enter and survive the anoxia coma, and generalize what body changes allow D. melanogaster to accomplish this feat. The results are then extrapolated to include how current research is using this information to reduce the amount of anoxia related stress humans with pulmonary diseases experience. Methods Each condition was tested with a separate single group of D. melanogaster (cold bath 8 flies and warm bath – 11 flies), and all of the flies used were approximately 1-9 day old males. Each group of D. melanogaster was held in a container that provided adequate nutrients prior to the experiment, and then transferred to a drowning container that held no nutrients. One group of D. melanogaster was put into a cold water bath (~3? C) whereas the other group of flies was put into a room temperature bath (~24. 5? C). The amount of time it took for the D. elanogaster to stop moving for each condition was recorded as well as the amount of time it took for the last D. melanogaster to stop moving. Once all movement ceased, the D. melanogasters were left submerged for one hour. Afterwards they were removed from the drowning chambers, and carefully transferred from the drowning chamber to a plastic vial with a cotton stopper using a paint brush. Each vial was tapped for one minute, with the cotton stopper at the bottom, prior to recording the flies’ recovery time in order to help dry off the flies. After the initial minute, the time it took for the first and last D. melanogaster to recover (when they started to walk around, not merely flapping their wings) was recorded, and the amount of viable flies at the end of the experiment was also determined. Results The results show that it took considerable more time for the D. melanogaster to recover from the anoxia coma than it took for them to enter the anoxia coma. The average failure time for both conditions was 124. 75 seconds whereas the average recovery time for both conditions was 690. 75 seconds. Also, the temperature of the water bath seems to have a considerable effect on the amount of time it takes for the flies to enter and recover from the anoxia coma. It took the D. melanogasters that were drowned in the cold water bath an average of 22 seconds to enter the anoxia coma, but an average of 244. 5 seconds to recover from the anoxia coma. This same pattern is seen in the D. melanogaster that were drowned in the warm water bath with an average of 227. 5 seconds to enter the anoxia coma, and an average of 1,137 seconds to recover from the anoxia coma. The Q10 value determines how a change of 10? C can increase the rate of chemical processes in an organism, and was calculated for both the failure and recovery conditions of this experiment. The Q10 value provides information about how an organism’s metabolism is affected by the temperature of its environment. It was found that the flies had a failure Q10 value of 2. 964 whereas the recovery Q10 value was 2. 044. Figure 1: This shows the average amount of time it took for D. melanogaster to stop moving and enter into a coma as a result of being drowned in the water bath. Figure 2: This shows the average amount of time it took for D. melanogaster to start walking/crawling around again after being removed from the water bath. Discussion An exothermic organism’s metabolism exhibits a direct relationship with the temperature of its environment. This means that as the temperature of the organism’s environment decreases the rate of its metabolic pathways also decreases. As an exothermic organism, D. melanogaster shows that it is easier to shut down and enter an anoxic coma when in a colder environment as compared to being in a warmer environment. This shows that when in a cold water bath more mechanisms are working together to aid the organism in entering the anoxic coma. D. melanogaster also showed that is takes significantly more time to recover from an anoxic coma than it takes to enter one regardless of the water bath temperatures. This delay could be a result of the organism recreating its supply of the metabolites it requires to restore the sodium/potassium channels and enzymes needed for the metabolic pathways which are extremely important in providing movement in D. elanogaster. When leaving an anoxic coma D. melanogaster also has to prevent reactive oxygen stress while reoxygenating after anoxia. Milton (2007) showed that T. scripta have 5 potential sites for this type of prevention: up-regulation of protective pathways, increasing antioxidants and decreasing production after reperfusion, and repair, protection, and neurogenesis after the oxidation of proteins, lipids, DNA, and RNA. CO2 and N2 concentrations are known to also affect the recovery time. According to Nilson (2006), since â€Å"chill comas, CO2, [and N2] act directly on the transmission of neuronal signals† it comes as no surprise that recovery times increase with an increase of CO2 and N2 exposure. Also Vigne (2009) showed that â€Å"strong dietary restrictions that are close to starvation conditions† can reduce the amount of stress experienced from anoxia recovery. Many organisms are able enter anoxic comas in order to conserve their energy and survive extreme conditions for long periods. Haddad (2006) has shown that D. melanogaster can sustain an anoxia coma for up to 5 hours, and T. cripta have been known to survive 2 days of anoxia with less than 3% cell death upon reoxygenation (Milton, 2007). The human brain fails miserably in comparison which will die within 10 minutes of a decreased oxygen supply, since humans do not have mechanisms that allow them to freely enter anoxic comas or effectively deal with the stresses it causes on the body. The study of the mechanisms that allow other organisms to be anoxia tolerant can be used to understand the effects of some human conditions, and develop methods that counter their effect. D. elanogaster has been used in numerous research studies because they â€Å"provide a better model to study non—cell-autonomous effects† (Azad, 2009). In humans, anoxia is specifically associated with pulmonary diseases such as congenital heart diseases with right to left shunts. Present research is focusing on the effects trehalose, a glucose dimer, has with preventing, or reducing, anoxia related stresses that patients with pulmonary diseases experience. According Azad (2009), transfecting mammalian cells with Drosophila tps 1 gene prot ects them from anoxia related injury.

Nursing A Patient Receiving Ostomy Surgery Nursing Essay

Nursing A Patient Receiving Ostomy Surgery Nursing Essay Various gastrointestinal and genitourinary etiologies may need the creation of urinary or fecal diversion. These may include inflammatory bowel disease, diverticular disease, intestinal obstruction, colon-rectal cancer, gynecological cancers and gastrointestinal trauma (Beitz, 2004). Indications for coming up with the urinary stoma include; neurogenic bladder, bladder cancer, refractory radiation cystitis and interstitial cystitis. The cause of the disease will determine if the condition will be a temporary or permanent one (Thomas and McGinnis 2004). Among various types of surgically created ostomies, colostomy involves the opening made on the large intestine to allow for the passage of stool. The location of colostomy can be in sigmoid, transverse or ascending position. In this case, surgical resection will ultimately determine the stool output consistency. Ileostomy is a surgical construction from the small intestine and it is located high in the gastrointestinal route hence the stool output is comparatively of high quantity and liquid consistency (Gordon and Vasilevsky, 2004). Ileal conduit or urostomy is made using a short portion of the ileum to assist in urine elimination. Ureters are connected to conduit to allow urine to flow out of the body into ostomy pouch through the stoma (McGinnis and Tomaselli, 2004). Whether the ostomy is temporary or permanent, nurses must posses the knowledge to give the patient and the family the necessary information to improve recovery and enable a positive experience when obtaining informati on about ostomy care. Patient education. Any patient who is scheduled for an ostomy surgery can experience a number of feelings like fear, anxiety, depression and loss of body image especially if the cause of the surgery is a diagnosis related to cancer. Pre operative teachings assist the patient by receiving these feelings and contribute to quick recovery of the patient (Oshea, 2001). A very important ingredient in the teaching procedure before the operation is the Wound Ostomy and Continence Nurse (WOCN). Counseling before the operation allows for the assessment of the patients knowledge about the disease, support systems, level of education, employment, physical activity involvement, financial concerns and hobbies. Assessment of any physical shortcomings is also necessary because poor manual dexterity, poor vision and loss of hearing may affect the patients ability to undertake ostomy self care. Patients spiritual and cultural beliefs should be also assessed because certain particular rituals concerning ostomy care may n eed to be taken in. Employing all these factors can assist the patient to recover successfully and feel confident in managing the condition (Oshea, 2001). WOCN reviews the cause of the disease, stoma characteristics, surgical procedure, peristomal skin care, dietary considerations and a variety of ostomy appliances. If appropriate teaching proceedings may enable the patient to have an insight of the ostomy pouching system. Use of teaching booklets and illustrations helps to improve the education. Another component of preoperative teaching is the stoma site marking. This is recommended for all who are set to undergo a permanent or temporary stoma (Goldberg and Carmel, 2004). A poorly located stoma on the patients abdomen can lead to peristomal skin complications, stool and urine leakage, stoma, emotional and physical stress for the patient. During stoma site marking, there is abdomen assessment with the patient in sitting standing and lying positions. Also the abdomen can be assessed for the skin folds, bony, creases, scars and prominences. Patients belt and line should be avoided from the stoma site and not affect any prosthetic devices. The stoma site should also be put in an area that the patient can visualize and access. Ideal stoma site is situated in the anal muscle that extends to symphysis from the xyphoid process (Goldberg and Carmel, 2004). Nursing education. In stoma assessment the patient must enter the operating room with the pouching system on stoma. Immediately after the operation the, a transparent pouch is recommended to enable the nurse to have a view of stoma characteristics and stool and urine presence (Goldberg and Carmel, 2004). Initially after the operation period, the stoma can appear edematous, red, shiny and moist. In general terms, the stoma is red to pink in color according to tissue that was used in construction. Brown to dark color may show stoma ischemia and the consultations must be made with the physician. The shape of the stoma ranges from round to oval. It changes its shape and size in a period of six to eight weeks after the surgery. Since the stoma decreases in size with time, the nurse must use a skin barrier that has been cut to fit to the stoma (Goldberg and Carmel, 2004). For the first six to eight weeks after the surgery, measurements of the stoma should be taken each time the barrier of the skin is changed. Measuring guides are provided to measure round stomas, oval stomas will need the length and width measurements of the stoma (Colwell, 2004). Lack of sphincter by the stoma to regulate the passage of urine or stool, then the opening should be placed near the center of the stoma to aid the flow of urine and stool (McCann, 2002). The stoma may not or may protrude out of the skin surface. Stomal protrusion vary from a flush stoma at the skin level to a moderate one which is about 1-3 cm in length (Erwin-Toth and Doughty, 2002). Actually, stoma protrusion should be at least 0.8 inches above the skin level (Colwell, 2004). Protruding stoma helps urine and stool to flow into the pouch directly. A flush stoma is not suitable because it can cause difficulties when skin barrier attaches to it and leakage of stool below the skin barrier leading to peristomal skin irritations. The stoma output is determined by the location of ostomy. The output resulting form the ascending colon produces a semi liquid consistency whereas the one from the transverse colon produces a semi-liquid to pasty consistency and the one located in a sigmoid or descending colon will be more of a solid stool (McCann, 2002). An Ileostomy stool output is constant and watery with a lot of digestive salt and digestive enzymes. At the initial postoperative stages, the stool may be greenish and thick. The stool output from Ileostomy range from 800-1,700 cc in one day (Colwell 2004). When the patient comes back to the regular diet, there is development of the stool consistency from the ileum and a reduced out put in a daily basis ranging from 500-800cc/day. With time the small intestines recovers and with a decrease in stool output (McCann, 2002). Urine is immediately produced after the surgery by the Ileal conduit stomas. It is usually normal for the urine to be blood-tinged after the operation. Also the small intestines produce mucous which may be seen in urine (Colwell, 2003). Peristomal skin care involves the protection of the peristomal from coming into contact with the urine and stool to stop the occurrence of peristomal skin complications. Skin barrier needs to be properly measured to suit the stoma. If the skin barrier opening is too large, urine or stool will cause irritation on the peristomal skin area. The opening should not be more than 2cm larger than the size of the stoma. Cleanliness of the peristomal skin can be done by gently using warm water then dry it. Moisturizing soaps must be avoided because they affect negatively the skin barrier attachment. Male patients need to be taught trimmed peristomal using electric razor, scissors and other safety devices in an outward manner from the stoma (McCann, 2002). When choosing the pouching system of the patient, the information that was gathered before the operation is heavily relied upon. Other factors to be considered include location of the stoma, its size and shape plus the anatomical location. Pouching system should give anticipated wear time and protect the underlying skin from stool and urine (Colwell, 2003). Most of the pouching systems are designed in a way that the weight is light, easy to maintain and odor-proof (Colwell, Carmel and Goldberg, 2001). One of the most important components of the pouching systems is the skin barrier because it protects the peristomal skin from stool and urine (Colwell, 2004). Skin barriers can be found in either cut-to fit or pre-cut product. The pre-cut models are meant for the round stomas. Barrier opening should fit stoma size to limit the probability of the urine and stool coming into contact with the peristomal skin. The cut-to fit models can be used in oval stomas or the ones which are irregular in shape. The cut-to fit barriers are the commonly recommended in initial postoperative stage because the size of the stoma will reduce for not less than six to eight weeks from the day the surgery was performed. A large skin barrier may cause peristomal skin problems resulting from the exposure to stool or urine (Colwell, 2004). Skin barrier wear time is necessary; the barriers are either classified as extended or standard. The difference between the two lies in their interaction with the moisture and the degree of affinity to the skin. The two barriers absorb the moisture. However, the extended model absorbs moisture slowly as compared to the standard model. This delays the erosion of the skin barrier (Colwell, 2003). Skin barriers have flat or convex shapes. At the back of a f lat barrier is one level surface while the convex one has an outward protrusion. Skin barriers are made with in-built convexity which is created by putting the ring into the barrier. The intention of the curve is to place pressure in a downward position to the peristomal skin to enable the stoma to protrude in an outward position (Colwell, 2003). Different convexity depths are referred to as deep, moderate and shallow. Generally convexity is used in stomas which are flat and retracted to minimize urine and stool leakage below the pouch. Also the convexity can be used in abdomens with skin folds or soft abdomens in peristomal skin (Colwell, 2004). Various ostomy pouching systems are available. It is therefore necessary to elaborate to the patient that the systems used in hospital after surgery may not be necessarily the system he or she will continue using after recovering from the operation. The following must be considered while selecting the ostomy pouching system; the ostoma size and shape, effluent type, presence or absence of abdominal folds and contours and the type of the ostomy. The patients manual and visual dexterity must be considered as well including day to day activities (Colwell, 2004). Pouches sealed to the barrier are categorized as a single piece, and systems that are connected to the skin barrier are seen as a double piece. A two piece pouch gives the patient the capacity to change or remove it without altering the skin barriers. Again it is easier to position the skin barrier at the middle of the stoma. One mechanism for making sure that a two piece pouch is closed is will ultimately depend on the ability of the patient to snap the pouch and the wafer together. Application of the pouch to the wafer will require the patient to be instructed so that he or she can listen to an audible click to make sure that the pouch is safe to the skin barrier.

Real World Distributed Applications

Real World Distributed Applications Topic 1: Give two examples of real world distributed applications that were not discussed in the class slides (Hospital Management system, Airline reservation system, Banking system). You should not only specify what the application does, but also provide at least 3 features of the system (hardware technology, software technology, integration features, number of nodes, network characteristics, etc.) Answer: Example 1: Immigrant VISA information System (IVIS)   Ã‚   This is a computerized Management information system. It is used by the National VISA Center (NVC) to manage the processing of immigrant visa petitions received from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) regional service centers and district offices. The information shared by IVIS is used for processing; auditing and tracking of individual immigration visa applications as well as tracking the number of immigrant visas assigned that are subject to numerical limitations based upon the visa classification and country of chargeability. Only internal organization that has access to IVIS data is the Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA). IVIS System is used by CA for issuing visas to foreign nationals and passports to U.S. citizens. IVIS results are used as a data source for this assessment at Posts abroad and domestic passport agencies. Specifically, data is shared among the following CA applications: DataShare/Interagency Data Exchange Application (IDEA) This provides application case data from the petition. This data arrives daily and is manually loaded into IVIS. This data is automatically populated in IVIS when creating a new case. Consular Consolidated Database (CCD) Conduit for data exchange between IVIS and DataShare / IDEA. Immigrant Visa Allocation Management System (IVAMS) The Case Number, FSC, Post Code, and Visa Class were loaded into IVAMS for the purpose of immigrant visa tracking and reporting. Diversity Visa Information System (DVIS) Alien Numbers generated in IVIS are transferred to DVIS and the DV post systems. Immigrant Visa Overseas (IVO) data on immigrant visas, petitions, and allocations is sent to a post location and loaded into their IVO systems. SharePoint data and images on immigrant visas, petitions, and appointment information is shared with a post through a secure site. Worldwide Refugee Admission Program System (WRAPS) data on immigrant visa petitions is sent to the Refugee Processing Centers WRAPS system. Features of the VISA Information System (VIS): Hardware: Mainframe systems. Government-operated computing platforms not shared by other business applications or technologies. Finger print recognition, biometrics technology and , intrusion detection systems. Software: DataShare is used to move the data from the Consular Consolidated Database (CCD). That allows text files to be converted into Interagency Data Exchange Application (IDEA) format and transferred to USCIS. Encryption technology is used during all communications shared with external agencies. Finger print reader / recognition. Firewalls. eDP (Electronic Data Processing) Web Data Replication technology Networking : This mainframe system has Networking z/OS network capability which includes a fully -featured communications server with integration of SNA (System Network Architecture) and TCP/IP protocols, making it a large server capable of serving a large number of worldwide clients simultaneously Example 2: Retail Management Information System at GS-Retail, South Korea. GS-Retail is a largest retailer in South Korea. They are using Retail management information system (RMIS) to support their distributed stores by linking them together using distributed applications. Below are the features of this GS-Retails RMIS: Information is exchanged instantly; store managers stays in contact to more effectively control profits for the whole company. This system supports product management and also enabled ability to do CRM (Customer Relationship Management) analysis. Allowed managers to set prices for variable time periods based on the store location and to meet the needs of sales and inventory managers. , Provided flexibility to make use of a mobile user interface. Its an integrated platform end-to-end solution (Appliance), which has below components Application Module, IBM Smart Analytic Solution (Admin nodes, and Data Nodes with Standby nodes). Hardware Stack: with IBM System x3650 M3 servers, Storage servers (DS3400) with SSDs (Solid State Drives), SAN Switches. This integrated platform (hardware, software with functional procedures) which provides an ability to replace superannuated servers and have a single Implementation of the integrated Enterprise Data Warehouse Environment Software Stack: DB2 Enterprise server edition, IBM Tivoli System Automation for multi-platforms (TSA) with RSCT (Reliable Scalable Cluster Technology), IBM Cognos 8 Business Intelligence, IBM Cognos 8 Business Intelligence, IBM Systems Director, DS Storage Manager, IBM Remote Support Manager (RSM) for Linux Integration features: Easily scalable and expandable solution where data nodes can be added to the existing cluster solution to expand the capacity of the system. Number of nodes: 2 Application Nodes, 1 Management node, 1 Administration node, 4 Data Nodes and 1 Standby node Network characteristics: Network is fault- tolerant and resilient. This system has two networks Public (for external client communication) and Private FCM Network which is used by the system for internal communication between the data nodes. For public network, two HBA adapters were provided which were bonded together. Network and switch failures are protected by H/W redundancy. For example: Single Network port failures using Bonded networks. Dual HBAs adapters to take care of HBA failures and Stacked switch configuration for FCM (Fiber Optic Communication Management network) Network to take care of FCM network switch failure. Topic 2: Describe two similarities between road/highway networks and packet switching networks Packet switching network is a network which routes digital data in small pieces called packets, each of which proceeds through the network independently. This digital data is nothing but a bit stream with encoded information. Packet is not really a physical thing. Thus, packets switched networks transport packets. This network is in many ways similar to the transportation network of roads, highways and intersections which transports vehicles that carries people and goods. For Example when a factory needs to move a large amount of cargo to some destination warehouse located thousands of miles away. At factory, first the cargo is segmented and loaded into a fleet of trucks. Each of trucks then independently travels through the network of intersections, roads and highways and to the destination warehouse. At destination warehouse, the cargo is unloaded and grouped with the rest of cargo arriving from same shipment. Below are some similarities between packet switching network and road/highway transportation network: Packets are similar to trucks Communication links are similar to highways and roads Packet switches are similar to intersections End systems are similar to buildings Trucks take path through transportation network, packets takes path through computer network Retail management means running a store where merchandise is sold and Retail Management Information Systems include using hardware, software and procedures to manage activities like planning, inventory control, financial management, logistics and point of sale transactions. Distributed application Name: CLAIMS 3 i.e Computer Linked Application Information Management System and Associated Systems. CLAIMS 3 is the case management system used by USCIS that supports and maintains officer casework documentation and tracking for most benefit requests. USCIS oversees lawful immigration to the United States. It receives and adjudicates petitions, applications, and other requests for immigration benefits. ICMS is a web based front-end to CLAIMS 3. ICMS can be used to review, modify, and track the adjudication performed by USCIS personnel of benefit request forms. CLAIMS 3 functionalities include tracking the adjudication performed by USCIS personnel, archiving, card production, case history, case transfer, on-demand reports, electronic file tracking, image capture, production statistics, and status update and electronic ingestion of benefit request form data captured through the Lockbox. USCIS uses the Computer Linked Application Information Management System (CLAIMS 3) and associated systems to manage the adjudication process for most domestically filed, paper-based, immigration benefit filings with the exception of naturalization, intercountry adoption, and certain requests for asylum and refugee status. USCIS uses different data systems to capture and store information provided by benefit requestors, including the Computer Linked Application Information Management System (CLAIMS 3), the Interim Case Management System (ICMS), and Marriagee Fraud Amendment System (MFAS), collectively referred to as CLAIMS 3 and associated systems. 3 features of the system (hardware technology, software technology, integration features, number of nodes, network characteristics, etc.) :CLAIMS 3 and associated systems are old, legacy, mainframe systems that do not have the capability to interface in real-time with other systems or to generate reports, metrics, or aggregated statistics. CLAIMS 3, includes the Mainframe, Local Application Network (LAN), ICMS, and MFAS. But CLAIMS 3 still serves as the authoritative source case management system for certain benefit requests because so many other tools and systems point to it. Software technology : Data Replication technology is used to replicate data from CLAIMS 3 across many systems and tools within USCIS due to the technical limitations of CLAIMS 3 itself. Integration features : This system stores the information related to: Petitioner and Beneficiary data Processing of cases based on priority and the cut-off dates, Creation and recording of correspondence with the beneficiary, petitioner and/or agent and the transmittal of data to the Immigrant Visa Overseas (IVO) system at post for final processing. IVIS applications assists NVC in tracking and processing immigration visa petitions based on local necessities and requirements established by the State Department. The immigrant visa issuance process begins with the submission of a petition for immigration to the USCIS. USCIS reviews and adjudicates the petition and forwards approved petitions to the State Department for visa processing. The NVC performs several visa processing activities that track petitions requesting immigration services from initial NVC receipt from USCIS through transfer to the posts. NVC processing includes: Telecom Industry fraud management Reference : http://searchitoperations.techtarget.com/definition/distributed-applications-distributed-apps Distributed apps can communicate with multiple servers or devices on the same network from any geographical location. The distributed nature of the applications refers to data being spread out over more than one computer in a network. Distributed applications are broken up into two separate programs: the client software and the server software. The client software or computer accesses the data from the server or cloud environment, while the server or cloud processes the data. Cloud computing can be used instead of servers or hardware to process a distributed applications data or programs. If a distributed application component goes down, it can failover to another component to continue running. Distributed applications allow multiple users to access the apps at once. Many developers, IT professionals or enterprises choose to store distributed apps in the cloud because ofclouds elasticity and scalability, as well as its ability to handle large applications or workloads. Enterprises can choose to use container technology, such as Docker, to package and deploy distributed applications. The containers can build and run distributed applications, as well as separate distributed apps from other applications in a cloud or shared infrastructure.

The Dominican Republic :: essays research papers

The Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is located on the island of Hispanola located in the Caribbean Sea. It takes up about 2/3 of the island which it shares with Haiti. Dominican Republic's total area is 48,734 square kilometers. The Dominican Republic Jas a tropical maritime climate. The temperatures are moderated though by the ocean currents and year-round trade winds. The average temperature is around 720F and 800F, it hardly ever drops below 600F and it also hardly ever riser above 900F. It isn't uncommon though to get frost in the higher elevations. Dominican Republic's rainy season is between May and November rainfall is the heaviest in the north and east of the country. Although agriculture is the most important resource in the Dominican Republic it has many mineral resources. Some of these resources are nickel being the leading export as well as bauxite, gold, and rock salt. The population of the Dominican Republic is around 7.8 million. Close to 40% of that population is under the age of 16. More and more Dominicans are migrating to the cities for a better chance at life. This has greatly effected the rural population by shrinking it steadily. About half of the total population is located between Santiago de los Caballeros and San Pedro de Macoris. Another 1/3 of the population is located in the capitol city of Santo Domingo and between the cities of La Romana and San Cristobal. The annual growth rate is estimated to be at 1.71% for the next couple of years until the year 2000. Mulattos form the largest ethnic group in the Dominican Republic being roughly 73% of the population. The next largest group is 16% Caucasian and 11% Black. The life expectancy from birth is for males 65 years and for females 69 years. Out of 100,000 live births 61.4% of the babies die. The start religion for the Dominican Republic is Roman Catholicism. Over 90% of the population is Catholic. Free public education is offered through the high school level and attendance is mandatory through the 6th grade. A lot of the Dominicans don't finish school for various reasons. Although 3/4 of the residents start school only about 1/3 finish. Some of the urban families send their children to private schools called colegios. As for after high school there is universities and trade schools. The Dominican Republic currently has about 1 telephone per every 24 people in the country. There are roughly 16 million long distance calls and 5 million international calls made in the country every year. There is 11,400 Km of roads in the Dominican Republic and 49% of that amount of roads are paved.

Montgomery Bus Boycott Essay -- Civil Rights

The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a political and social protest campaign started in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama. The law said that black people had to sit in the back of the bus while the the white people sat in the front. Bus drivers often referred to black people on the bus as nigger, black cow, or black ape. Blacks had to pay in the front of the bus and they had to get off to go threw the side door to sit in the back. Dr. Martin Luther King jr., was born on January 15,1929 but died April 4, 1968. Martin king attended segregated public schools in Georgia. Dr. king was so smart that he graduated from high school at the age of 15 and got a B.A degree in 1948 from an all time best black college back then named Morehouse. When Dr. King went to Boston he met and married Coretta Scott. Rosa Parks was born Rosa McCauley in Tuskegee, Alabama. No one really knew about her childhood, they only knew about the how she refused to give up her seat to a white man on the bus. The boycott first started when Rosa Parks didn?t give up her seat after asked about two or three times. Rosa Parks is known for touching off the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955 that led to the extreme popularity of Dr. King. The Montgomery improvement association, which is best known as the M.I.A, organized a car pool of nearly three hundred cars to drive people that need transportation. The sprit and the unity of the Negro community was stronger than it had ever been. Many African-Americans prayed for this day to come for years until Rosa Parks made that happen. The Montgomery boycott officially started on December 1, 1955 and that same month but in the year of 1949 movement to desegregate the buss started. The movement started on the day in 1949 when a black profes... ...osa parks also had an unpublished speech about the boycott and setting her people ( blacks) free. Jo Ann Robinson was the one who tried to help Rosa parks but she didn?t succeed. She was an educated woman, a professor at the all-black Alabama state college and a member of the women?s political council in Montgomery. On November 13, 1956 the Supreme Court ruled that the law was unconstitutional. The boycott had several important results and one of the best results was and still is, is that blacks and whites and other race?s can sit anywhere and together on the bus. They can even go to the same school together. The Montgomery bus boycott segregation on Montgomery buses led to the founding of the SCLC and today there are so many people still talking about it. A few churches in Alabama thanked everyone that was part of the march and that ended the boycott for good.

Shild critical thinking questions Essay

Describe and give examples of changes in your child’s exploratory or problem solving behavior from 8 through 18 months and categorize them according to Piagetian and information processing theories. Note that 8 months is included, so you’ll need to use the time-line to look back at 8 months for examples. Starting at 8 months my child has already gone through the first 3 sub stages of Piaget’s six sub stages of the sensorimotor stage. Simple reflexes was demonstrated while feeding, first habits and primary circular reactions where shown when studying things while looking at them and not touching. Secondary circular reactions happened when playing with toys like a rattle. Coordination of secondary circular reactions were seen when you would try to find a toy that was hidden, and even if the spot was changed would still look and find it under another toy. An example of the tertiary circular reactions was when in the bath he would push his toys under water and watch how the further he pushed down the higher they would pop back up. For the beginnings of thought he now seems interested in dancing or singing along to music, and will respond to it. Information processing approach I can categorize the finding of the hidden toy as the encoding, storage and retrieval, because initially he could not find it, then could find it but not if you changed the location, and then finally could find it no matter where you hid it. Analyze your baby’s temperament in more detail at 18 months than you did at 8 months. How would you describe your baby in terms of the five aspects of temperament utilized by the Virtual Child program (activity, sociability, emotionality, aggressiveness vs. cooperativeness, and self control)? Has @NAME’s temperament been stable over the first 18 months? A blurb defining and providing examples of the five aspects of temperament is provided at 12 months, but you should seek out further explanations of temperament from your textbook. Explain how the concept of goodness of fit (also discussed in the blurb on infant temperament) applies to your interactions with your child. When looking at the 5 aspects of temperament Sebastian has been pretty much  stable over the first 18 months. When it comes to activity he has been very active, but still sleeping a good amount of time that gives him enough energy. Loves to spend time outside adventuring, but can also have calm time. Sociability has been a bit of a struggle, because he is very attached and doesn’t like new people until he is given time to warm up to them. He is a very cooperative child, actually being more so than he should be for his age, and gets along well with the other children at the daycare. Emotionality I think he is more an emotional child, as when he gets upset when says we have to part he gets rather upset, but will calm down after the event. Self-control I haven’t really seen any examples on so far, so I’m not sure how to answer that. When it comes to goodness of fit, I go along with his moods and behaviors. I wont force him one way or another to do something that d oes not suit him. Regardless of that though, it doesn’t mean I’m lax on things like rules. Were you surprised by anything in the developmental assessment at 19 months? That is, does your perception of your child’s physical, cognitive, language and social development differ from that of the developmental examiner? Give specific examples. If you were not surprised, write instead about some aspects of your child’s development that need the most work. I was not real surprised by any aspects of development. From the choices I chose I expected my child to be advanced in the cognitive aspects. I also had the feeling he was going to be overly attached which is something that really needs to be worked on because his sociability is lacking greatly because of it with people like adults and those older than him, but with other children his age he is fine. He should also work on speaking more.

Looking Glass Essay

Socialization is a sociological approach that attempts to explain how people learn cultural morals and the responses and emotions that differentiate us from animals that are driven merely by the drive to survive and reproduce. Socialization starts from the assumption that humans are more than animals that do whatever it takes to survive. Instead humans recognize that they are part of a group, and they observe other humans for guiding cues on how they should respond. When a baby is born it observes its mother to learn how emotions work and what the proper response to different events should be. Gradually as the child learns that it is a separate being from its mother and other humans it learns to think about its own reactions and responses and how they differ from those of other people. In this stage the child may deliberately test things out by trying a different response than the one approved by other people. Eventually, the child settles into a pattern of being able to regulate their own responses and empathize with what others want and how they respond. In this way socialization is a careful dance in which the developing human learns to balance their own independent desires and responses with those of t he people around them. George Herbet Mead Mead contributed to the concept of socialization by exploring how significant other people around a person affect that person. He showed socialization as a dialectical, or reasoning, process in which the human may have to decide between their own personal desires and those of the group around them. Mead also contributed greatly to the method of studying socialization by showing that verbal communication isn’t the only way people socialize each other. Instead nonverbal, symbolic communication is even more important. Mead’s work in showing the importance of nonverbal, symbolic communication has tremendous application for sociologists and psychologists. Also once a person is conscience of the nonverbal communication that people use they are able to notice a lot of things that other people don’t. This can lead to them being better managers, leaders, etc. Charles Cooley Cooley contributed to the concept of socialization by developing the â€Å"looking glass self† theory. This theory explains socialization as a reflection process in which a person develops a self-image that is constructed based on how other people view him/her. In this way a person is socialized by trying to adjust their self-image. Cooley’s work was probably the basis for labeling theory. It helps explain why in some cases people develop a negative self image that causes them to become worse, not better. Some people can’t reconcile their self-image with the desired self-image and once they label themselves as criminals, or drug users, etc they find it even harder to leave those patterns. The â€Å"looking glass self† theory could be used to help rehabilitate convicted felons and criminals by developing a better socialization process for such ones. John Bowlby Bowlby contributed greatly to the concept of socialization by exploring the manner in which children learn from their mothers. He described the early stages of socialization by analyzing the way mothers and babies communicated symbolically with eye dilations and facial expressions. The mother uses this symbolic communication to teach her child how to respond to threats and stresses by showing the emotion that the baby should and does imitate. Bowlby’s work has practical application in showing why children should spend as much time as possible with their mothers or with a mother figure during their early years. It explains why orphaned babies often don’t do as well emotionally if they don’t have someone to pick them up and teach them these responses through interaction. Bowlby’s work is also important because it suggests that single parent families where the mother must go off to work are a major disadvantage for the children as they don’t get as much of a chance to interact with their mother and learn those responses as they  should. Symbolic interaction and the looking-glass self In hypothesizing the framework for the looking glass self, Cooley said, â€Å"the mind is mental† because â€Å"the human mind is social.† Beginning as children, humans begin to define themselves within the context of their socializations. The child learns that the symbol of his/her crying will elicit a response from his/her parents, not only when they are in need of necessities such as food, but also as a symbol to receive their attention. Schubert references in Cooley’s On Self and Social Organization, â€Å"a growing solidarity between mother and child parallels the child’s increasing competence in using significant symbols. This simultaneous development is itself a necessary prerequisite for the child’s ability to adopt the perspectives of other participants in social relationships and, thus, for the child’s capacity to develop a social self.† The words â€Å"good† or â€Å"bad† only hold relevance after one learns th e connotation and societal meaning of the words. George Herbert Mead described self as â€Å"taking the role of the other,† the premise for which the self is actualized. Through interaction with others, we begin to develop an identity about who we are, as well as empathy for others. This is the notion of, ‘Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you.’ In respect to this Cooley said, â€Å"The thing that moves us to pride or shame is not the mere mechanical reflection of ourselves, but an imputed sentiment, the imagined effect of this reflection upon another’s mind.† (Cooley 1964) [edit] Three main components of the looking-glass self.  There are three main components of the looking-glass self (Yeung, et al. 2003). 1. We imagine how we must appear to others. 2. We imagine the judgement of that appearance. 3. We develop our self through the judgments of others. Studies of the looking-glass self The term â€Å"looking-glass self† was coined by Cooley after extensive psychological testing in 1902, although more recent studies have been published. In 1976 Arthur L Beaman, Edward Diener, and Soren Svanum (1979) performed an experiment on the Looking-Glass Self’s effect on children.  Another study in the Journal of Family Psychology in 1998, measured the validity of the looking glass self and symbolic interaction in the context of familial relationships. Self reflection study On Halloween night, 363 children trick-or-treated at 18 different homes in Seattle, Washington. Each of these 18 homes was selected to take part in the experiment and was in turn arranged in similar ways. In a room near the entry way there was a low table and on it was a large bowl full of bite sized candy. A festive backdrop was also placed in sight of the candy bowl with a small hole for viewing; behind the backdrop was an observer who would record the results of the experiment. The experiment was conducted in the same way at each of the 18 different homes, with each home conducting two different conditions of the experiment, self-awareness manipulation and individuation manipulation. All of the homes conducted both conditions; half of the homes conducting self-awareness manipulation while the other half conducted individuation manipulation. In each of the conditions a woman would answer the door commenting on the children’s costumes and inviting them in. She would then inst ruct the children to take only one piece of candy from the bowl and excuse herself to another room. Self-awareness manipulation Self-awareness manipulation was the first of 2 conditions performed in Beaman, Diener, and Svanum’s experiment. The self-awareness manipulation condition was performed with a mirror placed at a ninety degree angle directly behind the entry-way table fifty percent of the time. The mirror was placed in such a way that the children could always see their reflection in the mirror when taking candy from the bowl; the other half of the time there was no mirror in place and the children were left anonymous. Individuation manipulation There was some concern that the children involved in the study would only see their Halloween costumes and not their own self reflections, so a second condition was performed in Beaman, Diener, and Svanum’s experiment. This second condition was called individuation manipulation. The individuation manipulation condition was performed in the same way as the self-awareness  manipulation. After greeting the children the woman at the door would ask each of the children their name and where he or she lived. These questions were asked in such a way that the children would think nothing of it because many other homes asked the children their names on Halloween night; however, no effort was made to identify the children involved. Just as in the first condition, a mirror was used half of the time and was removed for the other half of the experiment. Results The children involved in the experiment were split into several different categories based on the results of the experiment. The criteria consisted of age, group size, and gender. Out of the 363 children involved in the study, 70 children transgressed when instructed not to. Children who arrived in groups were more likely to transgress than those children who arrived alone; 20.4% to 10.3% respectively. Children arriving with adults were not included in the study. Gender The genders of those who participated in the study were recorded by the unobtrusive viewer from behind the festive backdrop. Out of the 363 children, only 326 children’s genders could be determined because they were wearing Halloween costumes. Of those children whose genders could be determined there were 190 boys and 136 girls. While Cooley suggests that girls have a far higher impressionable social sensibility it was not the case in this study, as boys transgressed more often than girls. More boys transgressed with the mirror present, than without; 35.8% to 15.6%. This was the same for girls; 13.2% to 8.4%. Age While the exact age of each child could not be determined due to the children’s anonymity, approximate ages were given to each child by the unobtrusive observer. The average age of the children was eight years old. The results of the study were split up into different categories based on the approximate age given to each child. The age groups were as follows: ages 1-4, 5-8, 9-12 and 13 or older. The rate of transgression rose with the age of the child; the 1-4 year olds had a rate of transgression of only 6.5% while the 5-8 year olds transgressed 9.7% of the time. The two older age groups transgressed far more often than the younger groups; children aged 9-12 transgressed 23.6% of the time while the children aged 13 and older had a rate of transgression of 41.9%. Family study of the looking glass self The research article was included in the Journal of Family Psychology in 1998. The researchers, Cook and Douglas, measured the validity of the looking glass self and symbolic interaction in the context of familial relationships. The study analyzed the accuracy of a college student’s and an adolescent’s perceptions of how they are perceived by their parents. The 51 participants of this study included four family members (mother, father, college student and adolescent) who returned surveys. The families were primarily white and middle class. The college student and adolescent were paid ten dollars each, if each family member completed the survey. Three areas were investigated: assertiveness, firmness, and cooperation. In reference to the three areas respondents were asked the following: how they behave toward the target, how the target behaves toward them, and how they think they are viewed by the target. The study identified the looking glass self as a â€Å"metapercept ion† because it involves â€Å"perception of perceptions.† One of the hypotheses tested in the study was: If â€Å"metaperceptions† cause self-perceptions they will necessarily be coordinated. The hypothesis was tested at the individual and relationship levels of analysis. Findings of the familial study The study determined that the hypothesis is strongly supported at the individual level for cooperation for both college students and adolescents, but is only partially supported for assertiveness for college students. Also for college students, at the relationship level with their mothers the study supported assertiveness. There was an irregular finding regarding firmness in the mother-adolescent relationship that indicated that the firmer adolescents were perceived by their mothers, the less firm they rated themselves in the relationship. While there was not strong support of the hypothesis on the relationship level, on the individual level the findings suggest that how college students and adolescents think about themselves is directly correlated to how they think they are perceived by their parents. Looking glass self in contemporary society Using computer technology, people can create an avatar, a customized symbol which represents the computer user. For example, in the virtual world Second Life the computer-user can create a humanlike avatar that reflects the user in regard to race, age, physical makeup, status and the like. By selecting certain physical characteristics or symbols, the avatar reflects how the creator seeks to be perceived in the virtual world and how the symbols used in the creation of the avatar influence others’ actions toward the computer-user. See also Symbolic interactionism Notes 1. ^ The term is sometimes hyphenated in the literature, sometimes not. Compare, for example, the titles of Shaffer (2005) and Yeung & Martin (2003), below. 2. ^ From Charles Horton Cooley, Human Nature and the Social Order, New York: Scribner’s, 1902, pp. 152: â€Å"In a very large and interesting class of cases the social reference takes the form of a somewhat definite imagination of how one’s self–that is any idea he appropriates–appears in a particular mind, and the kind of self-feeling one has is determined by the attitude toward this attributed to that other mind. A social self of this sort might be called the reflected or looking glass self: ‘Each to each a looking-glass Reflects the other that doth pass.’ As we see our face, figure, and dress in the glass, and are interested in them because they are ours, and pleased or otherwise with them according as they do or do not answer to what we should like them to be; so in imagination we pe rceive in another’s mind some thought of our appearance, manners, aims, deeds, character, friends, and so on, and are variously affected by it.† References Beaman, Arthur L., Diener, Edward, and Klentz, Bonnel. â€Å"Self-Awareness and Transgression in Children: Two Field Studies.† Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 37 (1979): 1835-1846. Cooley, Charles H. Human Nature and the Social Order. New York: Scribner’s, 1902. Confer pp. 183-184 for first use of the term â€Å"looking glass self†. Cooley, Charles H. On Self and Social Organization. Ed. Schubert Hans-Joachim. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998. ISBN 0226115097. (pp. 20-22) Cook, William L., and Douglas, Emily M. â€Å"The Looking Glass Self in Family Context: A Social Relations Analysis.† Journal of Family Psychology 12, no. 3 (1998): 299-309. Coser, Lewis A., Masters of Sociological Thought : Ideas in Historical and Social Context, New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1971. ISB N0155551280. He has a http://web.archive.org/web/20070814013608/www2.pfeiffer.edu/~lridener/DSS/Cooley/COOLWRK.HTML chapter] on Cooley and the Looking Glass Self. Hensley, Wayne. â€Å"A Theory of the Valenced Other: The Intersection of the Looking-Glass-Self and Social Penetration.† Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal 24, no. 3 (1996): 293-308. McIntyre, Lisa. The Practical Skeptic: Core Concepts in Sociology. 3rd ed. New York: McGraw Hill, 2006. ISBN 0072885246. Shaffer, Leigh. â€Å"From Mirror Self-Recognition to the Looking-Glass Self: Exploring the Justification Hypothesis.† Journal of Cl inical Psychology 61 (January 2005): 47-65. Starks, Rodney. Sociology. 10th ed. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth, 2007. ISBN 0495093440. (pp. 73-75) Yeung, King-To, and Martin, John Levi. â€Å"The Looking Glass Self: An Empirical Test and Elaboration.† Social Forces 81, no. 3 (2003): 843-879. Sociology – Cooley’s â€Å"The Looking Glass Self† Symbolic Interactionism, Sociological Theory, Charles Cooley Share Article | Jul 9, 2009 Nicholas Morine The looking-glass self is a popular theory within the sociological field known as symbolic interactionism. It explains a formation of self-image via reflection. Amongst prominent symbolic interaction sociologists, Charles Cooley stands out as an historic contributor to the field in the sense that he coined one of the largest theories applicable within it – the theory of â€Å"the looking glass self.† What is meant by this statement is a notion that, even as infants, human beings form their very selves from the reflections and responses gained by their earliest behaviours visited upon the â€Å"other,† or any participant in one’s earliest socialization. Three Main Components of The Looking Glass Self The rudiments of Cooley’s sociological theory can be reduced to three facets. One imagines how they appear to others.One imagines the judgment that others may be making regarding that appearance. One develops a self-image via their reflection; that is, the judgments or critique of others. There are not many among the general population who do not imagine how they must look to others, how their actions must look to those observing, and finally – changing themselves or perhaps rebelling against change due to the judgments of others they interact with. A large portion of personalities are determined by the reactions to appearance, speech, beliefs, actions, and so on. The reflections, or impressions, that people gain from other people in society are formative in nature – from the look on a doting mother’s face to that of a stern father when one has stolen a cookie from the jar – human beings are influenced by the exchange of symbols, and from the reacti ons one gains from those exchanges, from early infancy. Ads by Google Careers In Sociology Get your degree online faster than you think. Financial Aid Available. www.University-College.com Sociology Major College Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from American Public University. www.APUS.edu Understanding â€Å"The Looking Glass Self†, Symbolic Interactionism The looking glass self is directly related to self-awareness; indeed, self-awareness may be said to be formed via the process of undergoing the process coined by Cooley. The concept is somewhat related to the psychological concept of projection; human beings interpret the reactions of others that they socialize with in regards to appearance, speech, mannerisms (all symbols) and project these interpretations unto themselves. One’s self-awareness is thus heavily influenced by these social responses, and to some degree persons become reflections of what they see projected unto them by others – a summation of the symbolic interactions and exchanges between their selves and â€Å"the other.† When people receive a negative or condescending response to  their appearance from a variety of persons they might socialize with, they might begin to view themselves as less physically attractive or app ealing. When they receive a positive or encouraging response to jokes or comedy, they become more apt to engage in these social behaviours or to take pride in their verbal skills. In this way, people are directly moulded, influenced, and in some cases entirely built up around the reflections of themselves that they see in others. The medium used to express these feelings, especially in the earliest stages of development, is the realm of symbolic interaction. Not all cues are verbal, but a simple frown, snort of disdain, or look of amusement are all symbols which bear greater social meanings. Consider Cooley’s Words and Theory, â€Å"On Self and Social Organization† In order to understand this more deeply, one might lastly consider the following statement from Cooley’s On Self and Social Organization : â€Å"The thing that moves us to pride or shame is not the mere mechanical reflection of ourselves, but an imputed sentiment, the imagined effect of this reflecti on upon another’s mind.† Read more at Suite101: Sociology – Cooley’s â€Å"The Looking Glass Self†: Symbolic Interactionism, Sociological Theory, Charles Cooley http://political-philosophy.suite101.com/article.cfm/sociology_cooleys_the_looking_glass_self#ixzz0lW6kCgkr From Charles Horton Cooley, Human Nature and the SocialOrder. New York: Scribner’s, 1902, pp. 179-185. Charles Horton Cooley The Looking-Glass Self The social self is simply any idea, or system of ideas, drawn fromthe communicative life, that the mind cherishes as its own.Self-feeling has its chief scope within the general life, notoutside of it; the special endeavor or tendency of which it is theemotional aspect finds its principal field of exercise in a world ofpersonal forces, reflected in the mind by a world of personalimpressions. As connected with the thought of other persons the self idea isalways a consciousness of the peculiar or differentiated aspect  ofone’s life, because that is the aspect that has to be sustained bypurpose and endeavor, and its more aggressive forms tend to attachthemselves to whatever one finds to be at once congenial to one’s owntendencies and at variance with those of others with whom one is inmental contact. It is here that they are most needed to serve theirfunction of stimulating characteristic activity, of fostering thosepersonal variations which the general plan of life seems to require.Heaven, says Shakespeare, doth divide â€Å"The state of man in divers functions,  betting endeavor in continual motion,†Ã‚  and self-feeling is one of the means by which this diversity isachieved. Agreeably to this view we find that the aggressive self manifestsitself most conspicuously in an appropriativeness of objects ofcommon desire, corresponding to the individuals need of power oversuch objects to secure his own peculiar development, and to thedanger of opposition from others who also need them. And this extendsfrom material objects to lay hold, in the same spirit, of theattentions and affections of other people, of all sorts of plans andambitions, including the noblest special purposes the mind canentertain, and indeed of any conceivable idea which may come to seema part of one’s life and in need of assertion against some one else.The attempt to limit the word self and its derivatives to the loweraims of personality is quite arbitrary; at variance with common senseas expressed by the emphatic use of â€Å"I† in connection with the senseof duty and other high motives, and unphilosophical as ignoring thefunction of the self as the organ of specialized endeavor of higheras well as lower kinds. That the â€Å"I† of common speech has a meaning which includes somesort of reference to other persons is involved in the very fact thatthe word and the ideas it stands for are phenomena of language andthe communicative life. It is doubtful whether it is possible to uselanguage at all without thinking more or less distinctly of some oneelse, and certainly the things to which we give names and which havea large place in reflective thought are almost always those which areimpressed upon us by our contact with other people. Where there is nocommunication there can be no nomenclature and no developed thought.What we call â€Å"me,† â€Å"mine,† or â€Å"myself† is, then, not somethingseparate from the genera l life, but the most interesting part of it,a part whose interest  arises from the very fact that it is bothgeneral and individual. That is, we care for it just because it isthat phase of the mind that is living and striving in the commonlife, trying to impress itself upon the minds of others. â€Å"I† is amilitant social tendency, working to hold and enlarge its place inthe general current of tendencies. So far as it can it waxes, as alllife does. To think of it as apart from society is a palpableabsurdity of which no one could be guilty who really saw it as a factof life. â€Å"Der Mensch erkennt sich nur im Menschen, nur  Das Leben lehret jedem was er sei.† * If a thing has no relation to others of which one is conscious heis unlikely to think of it at all, and if he does think of it hecannot, it seems to me, regard it as emphatically his. Theappropriative sense is always the shadow, as it were, of the commonlife, and when we have it we have a sense of the latter in connectionwith it. Thus, if we think of a secluded part of the woods as â€Å"ours,†it is because we think, also, that others do not go there. As regardsthe body I doubt if we have a vivid my-feeling about any part of itwhich is not thought of, however vaguely, as having some actual orpossible reference to some one else. Intense self-consciousnessregarding it arises along with instincts or experiences which connectit with the thought of others. Internal organs, like the liver, arenot thought of as peculiarly ours unless we are trying to communicatesomething regarding them, as, for instance, when they are giving ustrouble and we are trying to get sympathy. â€Å"I,† then, is not all of the mind, but a peculiarly central,vigorous, and well-knit portion of it, not separate from the rest butgradually merging into it, and yet having a certain practicaldistinctness, so that a man generally shows clearly enough by hislanguage and behavior what his â€Å"I† is as distinguished from thoughtshe does not appropriate. It may be thought of, as already suggested,under the analogy of a central colored area on a lighted wall. Itmight also, and perhaps more justly, be compared to the nucleus of aliving cell, not altogether separate from the surrounding matter, outof which indeed it is formed, but more active and definitelyorganized. The reference to other persons involved in the sense of self maybe distinct and particular, as when a boy is ashamed to have hismother catch him at something she has forbidden, or it may be vagueand  general, as when one is ashamed to do something which only hisconscience, expressing his sense of social responsibility, detectsand disapproves; but it is always there. There is no sense of â€Å"I,† asin pride or shame, without its correlative sense of you, or he, orthey. Even the miser gloating over his hidden gold can feel the†mine† only as he is aware of the world of men over whom he hassecret power; and the case is very similar with all kinds of hidtreasure. Many painters, sculptors, and writers have loved towithhold their work from the world, fondling it in seclusion untilthey were quite done with it; but the delight in this, as in allsecrets, depends upon a sense of the value of what is concealed. I remarked above that we think of the body as â€Å"I† when it comes tohave social function or significance, as when we say â€Å"I am lookingwell to-day,† or â€Å"I am taller than you are.† We bring it into thesocial world, for the time being, and for that reason put ourself-consciousness into it. Now it is curious, though natural, thatin precisely the same wa y we may call any inanimate object â€Å"I† withwhich we are identifying our will and purpose. This is notable ingames, like golf or croquet, where the ball is the embodiment of theplayer’s fortunes. You will hear a man say, â€Å"I am in the long grassdown by the third tee,† or â€Å"I am in position for the middle arch.† Soa boy flying a kite will say â€Å"I am higher than you,† or one shootingat a mark will declare that he is just below the bullseye. In a very large and interesting class of cases the socialreference takes the form of a somewhat definite imagination of howone’s self–that is any idea he appropriates–appears in a particularmind, and the kind of self-feeling one has is determined by theattitude toward this attributed to that other mind. A social self ofthis sort might be called the reflected or looking glass self: â€Å"Each to each a looking-glass  Reflects the other that doth pass.† As we see our face, figure, and dress in the glass, and areinterested in them because they are ours, and pleased or otherwisewith them according as they do or do not answer to what we shouldlike them to be; so in imagination we perceive in another’s mind somethought of our appearance, manners, aims, deeds, character, friends,and so on, and are variously affected by it. A self-idea of this sort seems to have three principal element:the imagination of our appearance to the other person; theimagination of his judgment of  that appearance, and some sort ofself-feeling, such as pride or mortification. The comparison with alooking-glass hardly suggests the second element, the imaginedjudgment, which is quite essential. The thing that moves us to prideor shame is not the mere mechanical reflection of ourselves, but animputed sentiment, the imagined effect of this reflection uponanother’s mind. This is evident from the fact that the character andfreight of that other, in whos e mind we see ourselves, makes all thedifference with our feeling. We are ashamed to seem evasive in thepresence of a straightforward man, cowardly in the presence of abrave one, gross in the eyes of a refined one, and so on. We alwaysimagine, and in imagining share, the judgments of the other mind. Aman will boast to one person of an action–say some sharp transactionin trade–which he would be ashamed to own to another. It should be evident that the ideas that are associated withself-feeling and form the intellectual content of the self cannot becovered by any simple description, as by saying that the body hassuch a part in it, friends such a part, plans so much, etc., but willvary indefinitely with particular temperaments and environments. Thetendency of the self, like every aspect of personality, is expressiveof far-reaching hereditary and social factors, and is not to beunderstood or predicted except in connection with the general life.Although special, it is in no way separate–speciality andseparateness are not only different but contradictory, since theformer implies connection with a whole. The object of self-feeling isaffected by the general course of history, by the particulardevelopment of nations, classes, and professions, and otherconditions of this sort. * â€Å"Only in man does man know himself; life alone teaches each onewhat he is.† Goethe, Tasso, act 2, sc. 3. Charles Horton Cooley The Work â€Å"Self and society,† wrote Cooley, â€Å"are twin-born.† This emphasis onthe organic link and the indissoluble connection between self and society isthe theme of most of Cooley’s writings and remains the crucial contributionhe made to modern social psychology and sociology. The Looking Glass Self  Building upon the work of William James, Cooley opposed the Cartesiantradition that posited a sharp disjunction between the knowing, thinking sub-ject and the external world. The objects of the social world, Cooley taught, areconstitutive parts of the subject’s mind and the self. Cooley wished to removethe conceptual barrier that Cartesian thought had erected between the indi-vidual and his society and to stress, instead, their interpenetration. â€Å"A separateindividual,† he wrote, is an abstraction unknown to experience, and so likewise is society when re-garded as something apart from individuals. . . .† Society† and â€Å"individual s†do not denote separable phenomena but are simply collective and distributiveaspects of the same thing. . . When we speak of society, or use any othercollective term, we fix our minds upon some general view of the people con-cerned, while when we speak of individuals we disregard the general aspectand think of them as if they were separate Cooley argued that a person’s self grows out of a person’s commerce withothers. â€Å"The social origin of his life comes by the pathway of intercourse withother persons.† The self, to Cooley, is not first individual and then social; itarises dialectically through communication. One’s consciousness of himself isa reflection of the ideas about himself that he attributes to other minds; thus,there can be no isolated selves. â€Å"There is no sense of ‘I’ without its cor-relative sense of you, or he, or they. † In his attempt to illustrate the reflected character of the self, Cooleycompared it to a looking glass: Each to each a looking-glass  Reflects the other that doth pass. â€Å"As we see our face, figure, and dress in the glass, and are interested in thembecause they are ours, and pleased or otherwise with them according as theydo or do not answer to what we should like them to be, so in imagination weperceive in another’s mind some thought of our appearance, manners, aims,deeds, character, friends, and so on, and are variously affected by it.† The notion of the looking-glass self is composed of three principal ele-ments: â€Å"The imagination of our appearance to the other person, the imagina-tion of his judgment of that appearance, and some sort of self-feeling, such aspride or mortification.† The self arises in a social process of communicativeinterchange as it is reflected in a person’s  consciousness. As George H. Meadput it when discussing Cooley’s contribution, â€Å"By placing both phases of thissocial process in the same consciousness, by regarding the self as the ideasentertained by others of the self, a nd the other as the ideas entertained of himby the self, the action of the others upon the self and of the self upon theothers becomes simply the interaction of ideas upon each other within mind.† This somewhat abstract notion can be illustrated by a delightful examplewhich Cooley gave himself when he imagined an encounter between Alice,who has a new hat, and Angela, who just bought a new dress. He argues thatwe then have, I) The real Alice, known only to her maker. 2) Her idea of herself; e.g. â€Å"I[Alice] look well in this hat.† 3) Her idea of Angela’s idea of her; e.g.†Angela thinks I look well in this hat.† 4) Her idea of what Angela thinksshe thinks of herself: e.g. â€Å"Angela thinks I am proud of my looks in thishat.† 5) Angela’s idea of what Alice thinks of herself; e.g. â€Å"Alice thinks sheis stunning in that hat.† And of course six analogous phases of Angela andher dress. â€Å"Society,† Cooley adds, â€Å"i s an interweaving and interworking of mental selves.I imagine your mind, and especially what your mind thinks about my mind,and what your mind thinks about what my mind thinks about your mind. Idress my mind before yours and expect that you will dress yours before mine.Whoever cannot or will not perform these feats is not properly in the game.†Multiple perspectives are brought into congruence through continued multi-lateral exchanges of impressions and evaluations between our minds and thoseof others. Society is internalized in the individual psyche; it becomes part ofthe individual self through the interaction of many; individuals, which linksand fuses them into an organic whole. From Coser, 1977:305-307. Looking good, feeling fit: the relationship between body image and self-esteem This is a coursework site which you can investigate yourself but before you do, you need to be clear about some of the ideas around this topic. Some good links in left-hand margin, to help with the research for your coursework and hints for fieldwork here. Self image – some exercises and suggestions for fieldwork, for your coursework Self esteem Self Presentation Hints for Unit 2 Coursework Try the exercises below and keep your notes for your coursework. Self image In order to gain an idea of your own self image, ask yourself the following questions: What do you do well? What do you do badly? What is your strongest feeling? What is your strongest belief? What is your strongest desire? What is your oldest memory? What is your most shameful lie? What has been your greatest triumph? What has been your most wretched disaster? Who do you love? Who do you hate? Who do you like? Who do you dislike? Are you too tall or too short? Are you too thin or too fat? Are you too clever or too stupid? Who would you like to be? You will find that the responses to these questions fall into certain categories or aspects – emotional, physical and intellectual attributes (qualities or characteristics). These are the things that make up our self image. BACK TO THE TOP Ideal Self Look at your answers to the questions again. Depending on how truthfully you have answered, you may have a picture of your self which is realistic or possibly, your ideal self. Your ideal self is the perfect version of you, physically, intellectually and emotionally. We usually have three versions of ourselves in our heads at any one time, a realistic view of ourselves, an  ideal version which we try to live up to and a looking glass self (Cooley) – this is a version of ourselves that we have reflected back at us by other people, in the way they react to us. For example, we could have an ideal self where we are very kind people but the way people react to us suggests that that is not how other people see us. ACTIVITY Choose a recent digital photograph of yourself – a full length one, preferably. Use your picture editor to distort the picture as I have done below. Which one do you prefer? The third image is the true image. My ideal self would be picture three with slightly slimmer thighs! I have been all of these shapes but was a teenager when the very thin picture 2 – this was my natural shape then. Where do we get our mental image of what our ideal body shape should be? Listen to Sarah talking about the negative comments she gets about being naturally thin. Sources range from our parents, our peers and the media. Here are some possible role models for males and females. Females Males BACK TO THE TOP Suggestions for fieldwork Collect some images of different people with different body shapes – both male and female. Show them to an equal number of males and females, in three different age brackets. 1. Ask them to choose an occupation for each person – give them a selection of high status occupations, middle-ranking occuptions and low status occupations e.g pop star, film star, surgeon, politician, teacher, shop assistant, student, housewife etc. 2. Ask them to match a set of personality characteristics to each picture – give them a range such as out-going, cheerful, mean, bad-tempered, boring etc. 3. Ask them to rank the pictures in order starting with the image they would most like to be like and ending with the one they would least like to be like themselves. Self Esteem Self esteem is how we value ourselves or judge ourselves. Try this exercise to see how you rate yourself. Give yourself a score out of 10 for the following qualities: Patience Honesty Generosity Attractiveness Intelligence Kindness Popularity Creativity Wisdom Maturity Add up your scores and work out the average by dividing your total by 10. Compare your average score with other people in the group. Any surprises? Try this Internet on-line self esteem quiz http://www.queendom.com/cgi-bin/tests/transfer.cgi BACK TO THE TOP Can we recognise people with high or low self-esteem? Make a table of possible outward signs or characteristics of levels of self esteem e.g not making eye-contact etc. Make a role play in a small group and have people take on characters with various levels of self esteem. Use the table of characteristics you have gathered to help you. Let other people in the class watch your role play and guess which characters in your role play have high and low self esteem. Feedback from others Our self esteem can be affected in various ways by other people. Some groups of people have more effect on us than others. Three groups who are especially important are: Significant Others Reference Group Role Models Read this article about role models/heroes and listen to the radio programme/podcast. Self Presentation Our self image and level of self esteem will affect the way we present ourselves to others. Erving Goffman, in his book â€Å"The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life† discusses how we play ‘roles’ to manage the impression other people have of us. He uses the analogy of the theatre, ‘roles’ are like a series of parts we play in life. Think of some of the parts you play – I’ll get you started: Hints for Unit 2 Coursework Some ideas you might explore for your coursework are: Would you be a Size Zero? (Looking good, feeling fit) How does being thin affect your self-identity and self-esteem? (look at the fieldwork examples above) How do we interpret the images we see in the press of fashionable young men and women? Do we identify with them? See them as role models? What do we do with the feedback of others (looking glass self)? (read this article in the Daily Mail) What are the self-maintenance strategies we use to maintain our sense of self-image? Do men and women react the same way to feedback and role models about body image? Pretty in Punk: Can you be a ‘girl’ in a subculture? Traditional ideas of femininity – self image and feedback about being a ‘normal’ female? If you are not ‘pretty’ in the socially accepted definition – long hair, make-up, feminine clothing are you still attractive? Does it matter? How this is expressed in self-presentation through clothing, use of hairstyle, make-up, body shape etc. Good book by Laurain Leblanc Metrosexual Man: Are you one? Is the term ‘metrosexual’ just a fashion statement or is it more of a lifestyle choice or ideology? How do you define your male identity? Is about your personality characteristics? Your attributes? Through the way you present yourself – in clothing, hair or possessions or body shape – muscular, slender? Look at a series of men who ‘appear’ to define their maleness in less stereotypical ways than in the past. Read the article Men in Skirts Metrosexual man is over! Just what is it about moobs? The number of men having breast reduction operations in the UK is rising dramatically, but is this really the result of the media spotlighting the physical flaws of male celebrities? BACK TO THE TOP Sociology/Psychology 530 Lecture 1: DeLamater Exercise 1: Who am I? We have talked in class about how everyone is a â€Å"social object† for everyone else, and that each of us is also a social object to ourselves. In this exercise, we would like you first to take yourself as a social object and, looking at that object, to answer the question â€Å"Who am I?† ten times. That is, ask the question ten times and give ten discrete answers to it. Do it quickly, writing down words and phrases as they come into your mind without censoring them, until you have ten statements. Please do this without considering the other parts of the exercise. After you have done that, â€Å"take the role of the other†, with that other being one of your parents (choose one), and repeat the task. In other words, taking yourself as a social object from your parent’s perspective, list how your parent would answer the question, â€Å"Who is your name here?† Again, assume that your parent was asked to do this task quickly, listing the words and phrases as they come to his or her mind, without censorship, he or she had completed a list of ten answers. Finally, take the role of your best friend and do the same. The Extra Mile Ask one of the significant others themselves to answer the question â€Å"Who is your name here?† Compare his or her list to the list you made when you tried the same task while taking his or her role. Before You Write: Begin by examining your data (the lists you have generated). Consider some of the following: -How are the three lists similar? What words and phrases do all three people (in your opinion, of course) use to describe you? How might you explain the similarities? -How are the three lists different? How do you see yourself in ways that are different from the way you think these significant others see you? Again, how do you explain this? To what extent do you think the differences lie in how you may act differently with them? To what extent is it their needs that lead them to see you differently from the way you see yourself, or from the ways different significant others see you? To what extent might the differences artifacts of your, and your significant others’, places in larger social structures and institutions? Consider the data in light of available theoretical constructs and explanations: -How do theories of the self discussed in Chapter 4 of the textbook and in lecture help you to understand the image of yourself that you hold? To what extent do you believe that your self-image is the result of direct personal experience? To what extent is it a â€Å"looking glass self,† as symbolic interaction would explain it? With how much of it were you born? The Write-Up Draw some conclusions about the relationship of your data to the explanations offered in the course material. Select one central point around which to write your essay. The essay should make references to specific points or concepts from the course material, as well as specific references to relevant points of data.