Family is losing its functions Essay

Using material from Item 2B and elsewhere assess the view that, in today’s society the family is losing its functions. As stated in Item 2B, the family fulfils a number of important functions for individuals and for society, such as the socialisation of children and the stabilisation of adult personalities. However, some sociologists suggest that, in today’s society, the family is losing its importance as these functions are being taken over by other institutions; for example, nurseries have an increasingly important role in the socialisation of young children whose parents are working full-time. Functionalists see the family as a particularly important sub-system; they believe that the nuclear family is a key institution as it meets basic needs. Murdock (1949) argues that the family performs four essential functions to meet the needs of society and its members. Firstly, they offer economic support to provide the children with all the fundamental necessities they requir e in life e.g. food, shelter and water. They too give a stable satisfaction of the sex drive with the same partner, making their partner feel more safe and secure, as well as reducing the chances of getting STDs. Another purpose is reproduction of the next generation, without which society could not continue. Further to this, it also provides the child with 2 role models and so, they will feel more safeguarded of having both parents. Lastly, it socialises the young into society’s shared norms and values- without this, society would suffer from negative impacts e.g. feral children. A criticism to Murdock’s study is that it is out-dated, many sociologists argue that society has now changed and these functions can be performed equally well by other institutions, or by non-nuclear family structures. Marxists and Feminists reject his ‘rose-tinted’ consensus view that the family meets the needs of both wider society and all the members of the family. They argue that functionalists don’t review exploitation and conflict within society. Marxists argue that the family maintains class inequality and capitalism and so, the functions of the family are performed purely for the benefit of the capitalist system. They do not see the nuclear family in the same way as functionalists and believe that they ignore the ‘dark side’

Lemurs in Madagascar: Surviving on an Island of Change Transcript

Lemurs in Madagascar: Surviving on an Island of Change Transcript Speakers: Ian Tattersall, Jonah Ratsimbazafy, Michelle Sauther, Frank Cuozzo (Rain trickling, lemur sounds: squeaking and calling) (Music playing in background) IAN TATTERSALL: I think everybody who is involved with lemurs is concerned for the future. We’re in a finite island that cannot infinitely be exploited and ravaged. And if present trends continue, the outlook for any of the natural habitat or any of the lemurs is fairly poor. (Birds chirping) Lemurs are members of the order primates, that is to say the large group of mammals to which human beings also belong.And they’d found they are uniquely in Madagascar and on a couple of the adjacent islands of the Comoros group. (Music playing in background) An evolutionary radiation is the diversification of different species from the same ancestor and once a new kind of organism like a primate comes into a new environment as happened in Madagascar about six ty million years ago; there are many, many different ways in which that environment can be exploited. It’s very hard to say exactly how many species of lemur there are because new species are being described all of the time.But in general terms, there now looks to be about thirty to thirty-five species of lemurs and it shows us just what the potential of primates is to occupy an enormous range of different habitats. (Music playing in background) Habitat destruction takes place on a much shorter time scale than evolutionary change and the amount of change that is happening so rapidly in Madagascar as a result of human activities is clearly something with which no evolutionary process can cope. JONAH RATSIMBAZAFY: Now we are here in Ranomafana National Park in the southeastern rainforest of Madagascar.This place used to be loved by loggers but since the park was created, the forest started to be productive. Here in Ranomafana, there are twelve different species of lemurs. Seven are active during the day and five are active during the night. There are many different ways of studying lemurs. It depends on what you want to look at. (Speaking in background) I look at the behavior and how the behavior fits in the habitat. For example, if you want to know which foot and what prints they rely on because if we can continue to protect the habitat, that will help to protect them or to conserve them.Every five minutes we take note what species of tree, who the closest neighbor is, the closest trail, because we want to know where do they go to estimate the home range and if they eat, what do they eat. Some species cope better than the others. If you are a specialist on your diet and if people cut down your food, you are gone. For example, the bamboo lemur. They exclusively eat bamboo and if people cut down those plants, they are gone. They can disappear very fast. (Music playing in background) IAN TATTERSALL: Different lemurs are affected in different ways by the env ironmental destruction that is going on in Madagascar.Some lemurs are in danger, some are critically endangered, some are vulnerable, and some are threatened. The less vulnerable ones are the ones that do well in secondary habitats, in habitats that have been altered by people. MICHELLE SAUTHER: We’re at a site called Beza Mahafaly, and it incorporates a protective reserve as well as areas outside of the reserve and our research here focuses on the effects of fragmentation and changes in habitat on lemur biology and their behavior. We study lemur catta which is the ring-tailed lemur. It’s the type of lemur most people have seen in zoos.They are one of the most far ranging of the lemurs. They are incredibly adaptable and one of the things that we are kind of interested in is what is the biology of adaptation or what is the biology of avoiding becoming extinct. And because ring-tailed lemurs are so widespread, and that’s not to say they’re not threatened, b ut they seem to be able to deal a lot behaviorally and biologically with habitat change. I think what we’re seeing in terms of the troops we were looking at today is a troop that is actually utilizing some of the anthropogenic change.They will go out and utilize local people’s crops so they are actually exploiting some of the habitat that has been degraded and turned into crop land for their own use. FRANK CUOZZO: In terms of the ring-tailed lemurs, because they are rather generalist, they do seem to adjust to different types of disturbance. As Michelle mentioned a few moments ago, it doesn’t mean that we don’t have to watch out or think about it and it doesn’t mean there aren’t very real threats to long-term survival, but ring-tails specifically seem to deal with things in ways that some of the more specialized lemurs don’t.MICHELLE SAUTHER: But there is always limitations to those though. That’s what we’re trying to un derstand is where are you when you get to the limits of even a ring-tailed lemur in terms of being able to adapt. (Music playing in background) I used to feel depressed when I came here because, again, you see the habitat changing and a lot of fragmentation occurring. I feel a bit better now because we’re trying to really get a handle on what sort of ways you can interact with local people because that is the reality.What you saw around here is the reality of Madagascar. IAN TATTERSAL: I think what we ought to be looking for in terms of conservation is habitats to protect and what we need to do is to find those places where, with the least disturbance to local people or to the greatest benefit of local people, tracks of forest that support the native fauna of Madagascar can be conserved. (Lemur sound) [End of Audio] Copyright  © 2006 by Films Media Group. All rights reserved. Adapted with permission.

Product Innovation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Product Innovation - Essay Example Ideation capabilities relate to organizational and managerial processes for the implementation, selection, identification and stimulation of innovation ideas. According to the results of this study, organizations adapt to distinct approaches to ideation. On the other hand, Sylvie Laforet writes an article by name â€Å"A framework of organizational innovation and outcomes in SMEs† to address innovation and its consequences in small and medium-sized enterprises (Stamm, 2005). Sylvie develops a detailed theoretical structure of the innovation’s end results, how it occurs, as well as, its effects on the financial performance of an industry. She focuses on three distinct innovations in addressing the topic of market product innovation. Sylvie states several drivers to innovation in small and middle businesses (Siddike, Amna & Kohda). For instance, quality, business, environment, a desire to succeed and improve working conditions in SMEs drive innovation. As Jennie et al des cribes the negative consequences of a resultant formalization, Sylvie focuses on the positive impacts of innovation. The positive consequences of innovation entail: improvement of SMEs’ image, reputation, cost benefits, increased financial performance, recruitment of additional labor and increase in outfitted efficiency among others. Consequently, just like Jennie et al, Sylvie states the negative outcomes of innovation. For instance, operational issues, management and financial risks: inclusive of industry’s reputation and image loss, customer and employees issues, safety, environmental and health impacts, uncontrollable industry growth and costs. Such negative outcomes of innovation are outrageous and require the large-scale, medium and small organizations to take action to manage them immediately. There are several approaches on how to overcome organizational barriers to creativity and innovation. According to Jennie et al, a firm with an explicit focus on developin g ideation practices realise that there are negative outcomes of the resultant formalization. Employees develop significant ideas for innovation and creativity. However, the extent to which an organization can involve employees in ideation is a challenging aspect, even though additional technologies make the practice realistic. Nevertheless, the management requires to identify all creative employees within the business to curb the barriers to innovation and ideation. Surprisingly, creativity within the organization might emerge from people or teams that the management least expects. It is essential for the organization to steer employees and inform them the expectations of the ideation process. When the organization identifies the creative employees and innovative ideas, the next step involves removing the confusion and create a business environment where people can utilize maximum creativity. For instance, the management can use scenarios and visualize ideas (Schottler, 2007). It i s essential to ensure that every employee and subordinate member in the business is comfortable. More so, the management should discuss the changes in the management while at the same time, work on all permissions. The SMEs or large organizations must avoid performing an act that might jeopardize the process of

The City Both Offers and Restricts Possibility Essay - 1

The City Both Offers and Restricts Possibility - Essay Example In the first, part of The City, in Literature, the author links various aspects of life to the growing city. The residents have to deal with and understand the western idea of the growing city. The author uses philosophy, literature, and urban history to untangle the contradictory images and meanings of the urban experience. The growth of the city led to considerable rural to urban migration. Most people expected to lead a better life in the city. In the minds of these people, the introduction of the city gave them a picture of the western-like city forgetting the aspect of growth and time. Every idea and places starts from the first steps and should be given time, and enough resources to grow before we can start utilizing. The western idea of a city is what the characters in the book have in mind in relation to the city. The author traces the connection between creative writing and the city from the early novel in England to the apocalyptic cityscapes of Thomas Pychon. This relation ship aims at bringing out the understanding of the people of the city. Along the way, Lehan collects a prosperous backup of prop up, which includes Charles Dickens, Daniel Defoe, James Joyce, and even Theodore Dreiser. The European city in the literature has several shortfalls, and this is what the author emphasizes in his works. Notable in the literature is the turn down of feudalism while, at the same time there is the rise of the realm and dictatorship. The author relates the American city against the observable fact of the wilderness, the cutting edge, and the augment of the megalopolis. However, this is not the picture of what the residents of the city have, and this is only present in the available literature. From the above description, the statement; the city both offers and restricts possibility comes to light. In this notion, possibility could be in terms of the people’s ability to change and reform their lives to suit that of the American city. The statement means that the magnitude of change lies in the people’s ideology of the city. The presence of the city acts as a bridge to their achievement of the various things they need. For instance, in the event people want to have a better life economically, socially, and legally, then they have the city as their gate pass. On the other hand, the city acts as a limitation to the achievements of these dreams because of the existing restrictions. These restrictions are in terms of leadership, which is not so liberal hence, limiting the city’s residents in their ideologies of life. The City in Literature presents sharply imprinted portrayals of the correspondence between rationalism and entrepreneurship (Lehan, 1998, p.246). In as much as this information is only present in literature, the people have the capacity to changing this in to a real life practice. The resources and infrastructure, which can make this possible, is present in the city. However, the leadership in the city, which is mostly dictatorship, limits the occurrence of this development. The literature further explores the rise of the city, the demure of the landed estate, and the development of genres. The detective narrative, the gothic, and fantasy literature enable the author to explain the meaning of the city both offers and restricts possibility. Urban life is a process and requires exploration in all

Hypothetical Research Designs Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Hypothetical Designs - Research Paper Example The researcher states that in a research study, a good hypothesis is considered to have such opportunities, which will help to uncover new ideas or knowledge for the researcher. If the researcher does not learn something new by the hypothesis developed with the help of research questions, then it would be futile. There are three types of research design; they are qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods. The quantitative and qualitative designs are not the extreme opposite form of research designs; rather they represent different areas of research. The mixed research method is the combination of both the methods, so it balances both. The general difference between qualitative and quantitative hypothesis is that the qualitative hypothesis includes closed-ended questions and quantitative hypothesis includes the use of numbers. The qualitative hypothesis includes exploring the social and human behavior in relation to the problem areas. The quantitative research method deals with test ing the problems by analyzing the numbers, statistics or financial reports. It is logical and can help the researcher to prove his/ her results logically. The mixed method combines the philosophical assumptions as well as the facts and figures. There are two components that can be involved while developing a research design that is the philosophical assumptions and the distinct procedure. The philosophical assumptions include the worldwide study that has been conducted on the problems or topic and the distinct procedure involves the type of hypothesis used to develop the research design.

Corporate Governance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Corporate Governance - Essay Example This essay discusses that although the need for fresh blood or expertise has been recognized at the onset, an effective way of dealing with replacing board members remains a constant problem for most types of board of directors. According to Kelvin Westbrook, the role of the board has shifted from long term strategy development to governance and compliance. However, a complete departure of the board from long term strategy making will not likely to happen since both are not only essential functions of the board, but the two need to be balanced as well in every decision a board has to face. He said that boards as a matter of necessity must continue to evolve. Board of directors’ in order to mature needs to have a diversity of viewpoints. Kelvin Westbrook also spoke about how director candidates are screened, because it is important to understand the company’s strategy and direction. The challenges, issues and risks confronting the board should also be known. This will en able searches to be much more focused on the kind of skills, experience and background needed by the company in the boardroom to support the execution of the strategic plan and direction. To illustrate Kelvin Westbrook identified the need for directors with international background if the organization is heading towards expanding offshore. However, while international operation expertise is an invaluable requirement, the candidate’s knowledge of the US’ corporate law should not only be passable but a requirement. Stuart Scott Stuart Scott talked about the proper way of relieving directors of their posts without necessarily evoking hostility or discomfort to all involved. Directors are expected to have a modicum of awareness with regards to their duties and responsibilities when they attend board meetings. These expectations are borne from their responsibilities which they should be aware of. Even though directors are not bounded by the normal standards expected from or dinary employee, their actions and conduct inside the board room are expected to be beyond par. Thus, when directors display acts that are inimical to the overall mission of the board it is necessary to expect that the improper decorum will be met with enmity from the other board of directors. To maintain the integrity of the board including its effectiveness the offending directors must be relieved of their post. However, the process should be carried out with due respect to the position and to the person, no matter how undeserving he might have been. Mike Miles Mike Miles talked about the four qualities that every board of directors should be looking for, to replace or to populate their board rooms. First is a good grasp of the US business practices, laws, regulations, ethical standards principles of corporate governance: SOX, principles of accounting, ability to read a profit and loss balance sheet, familiarity with strategic planning and so on. Secondly, there must be a firm gra sp of how the boardroom game is played. This would include his roles and responsibilities, the dynamics in the board room and the overall sensitivities of the board of directors in general. Third, the candidate should be able to detect BS when it is being presented to him.

Economic Evaluations Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Economic Evaluations - Term Paper Example Estimates indicate that the cost of inpatient care for a case of chronic malaria ranges between US$ 12 and US$ 75 and this creates a substantial burden on inadequate resource base (Lubell et al., 2011). For al long time, Quinine continues to be vital the treatment of malaria in sub-Saharan Africa as well as other malaria prevalent areas. Contemporary studies indicate that in Uganda, doctors prescribed Quinine in approximately ninety percent of children under the age of five years diagnosed with mild malaria. These studies also indicate that the administration of Quinine in these children helped to reduce mortality to up to forty five percent from sixty seven percent (Achan et al., 2011). Quinine not only helps in managing mild malaria cases but it also remains the most widely used drug to treat severe malaria in sub-Saharan Africa. Parenteral quinine is very cheap since it costs only US$ 0.27 per ampoule and is extensively accessible in health systems across Africa. Its administration occurs either intravenously or intramuscularly, three times daily (Lubell et al., 2011). Quinine dispensed intravenously or with the direction of a study doctor for a 7-day period is an extremely successful treatment in sub-Saharan Africa, attaining cure rates of roughly 90%. However, the major impediment for efficient quinine therapy might be compliance to the full treatment course. In addition, Quinine imposes considerable side effects predominantly in extended treatment courses (Adegnika et al., 2005). Assessments of various quinine dosage routines have exposed fascinating trends even with seven-day treatment periods. For instance, doses of 10 mg/kg/day administered twice per day for 7 days often displayed failures of treatment in day 28 with high rates approximately 30%. In addition, increasing the quinine prescribed amount to 15 mg/kg per day or 20 mg/kg daily enhanced treatment effects, with rates of failure occurring at 8% and 14%.

Liberal democracy and Political Participation Essay

Liberal democracy and Political Participation - Essay Example Other political scientists state that democracy is only a structure and is not individual participation. (Budge 1996) Political participation in the process has great influence on the development of everybody's character. It is known that political participation is the "key to the transformation of people from individual (private) to citizen (public)". But it can be noticed that political participation must not be only defensive and protective measure against the political system. (Bruce 1923) There are many definition of "liberal democracy". One of them states that liberal democracy is "a form of representative democracy, where the ability of elected representative to exercise decision-making power is subject to the rule of law". Liberal democracy is also subjected to constitution the main points of which are defense of human rights and freedoms. It also involves protection of minority groups. It can be admitted that rights and freedoms involve such categories as private property, equality before the law, privacy, etc. These rights are also called liberal rights. They are guaranteed by statutory or constitutional laws. (Gibson 2000) Liberal democracy involves also tolerance and pluralism. Different political and social views, extreme fringes can co-exist in liberal democracy. One more characteristic of liberal democracy is election, which give political parties the opportunity to obtain political power and to realize their political program in society. The next point to be discussed is specific rights and freedoms which enable citizens to participate in the liberal process. These rights are considered to be essential part of liberal democracy and its functioning. (Norris 2000) Among the most common rights it is possible to mention the following: the right to life an to secured, freedom of movement, freedom from slavery, freedom of speech and press, freedom of education and religion, freedom of assembly, independent judiciary. But in practice all rights have restrictions and limits, such as copyright and libel. Some limits relate to anti-democratic speeches and undervaluation of human rights. The explanation of these restrictions is that they guarantee the performance of liberal democracy and freedoms. (Budge 1996) The most disputable are the freedom of speech and freedom of press. Freedom of speech is always considered as integral part of liberal democracy in the modern world. It is guaranteed by the Declaration of Human Rights. Freedom of speech is understood "to protect any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used". (Norris 2000) It is one of the possible an favourable means of potical participation, because due to this freedom it is possible to discuss different thoughts and to get clear idea about some any process in liberal democracy. Individuals can express their thoughts

Police work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Police work - Essay Example In addition, the officers have the duty of controlling traffic and executing any other duties as designated by their commanders (Perez, 2011). The process of becoming a police officer varies from one country to the other because the laws of different countries have set different of becoming a police officer. There are four basic requirements to be fulfilled by any person who want to become a police officer. The first requirement is that one must have attained a legal age of 21 years, be a citizen of the United State and have a valid driving licence. Secondly, one must be morally upright. This means that a person who intends to become a police officer should not have been convicted of crime and felonies during his/her teenage life. Therefore, teenagers are urged to shun any form of crime and domestic misdemeanour because it may disqualify them of becoming a police officer. The third step entails having a good credit record. This means that for one to be considered to a position of a police officer one should have clean credit record. This may involve avoiding debts accumulation and paying creditors promptly. It is therefore , vital for a person with a passion of becoming a police officer to have a good credit rating to qualify for a position of a police officer. The forth step involves having a good job experience. This involves having any little experience that may help the recruiters to see that one is responsible person and can be in a position to work both as an individual as well as a team member. The fifth requirement involves being physically feet according to the health standards for all police officers. For example, police officers are expected to have muscle reflex, being able to run short and long g distances as well as being to lift heavy objects. The sixth requirement involves understanding what the work of a police officer is as well as how they should relate with the general public (Northeast Editing,

Hurricane Katrina Essay Example for Free

Hurricane Katrina Essay Crisis and Disasters On August 23, 2005 the tropical depression 12 formed in the Caribbean then it rapidly became tropical storm Katrina on August 24, 2005 as it drifted toward southern Florida. Then on August 25 it strengthened into hurricane Katrina. No one at this time had any idea of what was coming, that this would be on the five deadliest hurricanes in Untied States History. Resulting in the death of around 1, 820 people. From the Gulf coast along Florida to Texas much damage was caused from storm surge. The main amount of damage was in New Orleans, Louisiana which flooded due to levee systems failing, resulting in 80% of the city being flooded and the flood waters lasted for weeks, destroying homes, buildings, and entire communities. . Hurricane Katrina began in the Bahamas on August 23 and as it made it was into southern Florida it became a category 1 hurricane before it grew rapidly in the Gulf of Mexico. In the Gulf in became a category 5 hurricane but weakened before it hit southern Louisiana on August 29 becoming a category 3 hurricane. In just 9 hours the storm went from a category 3 to a category 5 hurricane, this was due to the storms movements over the warm waters of the loop current, which increased the wind speeds of the hurricane. On August 26, the National Guard was activated in Mississippi to help prepare for the oncoming storm. The next day the state activated its Emergency Operations center along with 57 other emergency shelters opened along the coastline and evacua tion orders were put into effect. Louisianas hurricane evacuation plan calls for local governments in areas along and near the coast to evacuate in three phases, starting with the immediate coast 50 hours before the start of tropical storm force winds. Persons in areas designated Phase II begin evacuating 40 hours before the onset of tropical storm winds and those in Phase III areas (including New Orleans) evacuate 30 hours before the start of such winds although many people at the time were unwilling to evacuate due to the fact they didn’t want to leave their homes, business, or even pets. Many private facilities that relied to bus companies and ambulance services to evacuate people failed due to the fact that they waited too long. This happened when the Governor did not sign an emergency waiver to allow licensed drivers to transport evacuees on  school buses. On August 27, George W. Bush, President of the United States, declared a state of emergency in certain areas of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. On August 28 almost all infrastructe had been shut down along the coast making it even harder to evacuate people. On the morning of August 28 with winds up to 175 mph and category 5 statues it hit Louisiana. On August 2 9 Katrina made its second landfall as a category 3 with winds up to 125mph near Buras-Triumph, Louisiana. Katrina’s third landfall was near the Louisiana/ Mississippi line as a category 3 hurricane with 120mph winds. After reaching Tennessee it was downgraded to a tropical depression and finally lost it’s power over the Great Lakes region. From the Gulf coast along Florida to Texas much damage was caused from storm surge. The main amount of damage was in New Orleans, Louisiana which flooded due to levee systems failing, resulting in 80% of the city being flooded and the flood waters lasted for weeks, destroying homes, buildings, and entire communities. Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff said this was â€Å"probably the worst catastrophe, in the country’s history.† The aftermath from Katrina had many negative effects. The economic effects from the storm were the worst. The Bush Administration asked for 105 billion dollars in repairs and reconstruction for the area. Katrina destroyed 30 oil rings in the Gulf Coast and caused 9 to permeably close. Mi ssissippi’s forestry industry was affected being that 1.3 million acres of timber was destroyed, this was around 5 billion dollars worth of damage. Hundreds of thousands of people were left without jobs after Katrina. Hundreds of thousands of people were sent all across the United States to different shelter locations. The levee failures in New Orleans are accounted to be the worst civil engineering fail in U.S history and a lawsuit was filled against the U.S Army Corps of Engineers who built the levees by Judge Stanwood Duval but this was thrown out due to the sovereign immunity in the Flood Control Act of 1965. There was also another investigation of federal agencies which resulted in the resignation of FEMA director Michael D. Brown. On September 12, 2005 Brown resigned, stating that it was â€Å"in the best interest of the agency and best interest of the president.† Before his resignation Brown had already been taken away from his job as coordinator in federal efforts in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast by Homeland Security secretary Michael  Chertoff . It was been said that Brown was forced out of the administration rather that voluntarily resigning.. . Katrina destroyed many wildlife habitats and breeding grounds for marine mammals such as turtles, fish, birds, and many marshes for migrating ducks were destroyed. Seven million gallons of oil were leaked into the ocean. Many spills were cleaned up but some managed to leak into the ecosystem and some towns were even flooded with oil mixed waters. During the clean up, flood waters were pumped into Lake Pontchartrain, which took 43 days. Those waters contained many toxic things to wildlife such as bacteria, raw sewage, pesticides, toxic chemicals, and oil. Many citizens starting looting stores in New Orleans in search of food, water, and many other items for personal gain. The news media reported rapes, murders, thefts during this but many reports turned out to be inaccurate. The National Guard was sent in to restore order and over the first week that’s what they accomplished. The Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team was sent into Louisiana to to verify, document, and cha racterize deaths caused by hurricane Katrina. It was found that there were 971 Katrina-related deaths in Louisiana and 15 deaths among Katrina evacuees in other states. Drowning was the cause of (40% of deaths, injury and trauma caused 25% of deaths, and heart conditions caused 11% of the deaths that were the major causes of death among Louisiana victims. After hurricane Katrina many state, local, and federal agencies were aware of the serious devastation of the area but were unable to communicate with each other properly into order to coordinate a rescue response such as help citizens, provide law enforcement, and evacuate the rest of the city. During the first two days the federal government forces had no commutation with the states national guard . resulting in either agency being able to operate at full efficiency. No one had any idea what the other agency was doing or had already done. This resulted in the delay of many ground forces be assisted to the area. FEMA requested assistance from DOD not knowing what the National guard had already done to fill the same needs. This also resulted in no formal command relationship which caused confusion o n what jobs both sides need to do. The destruction of communications infrastructure made it impossible for emergency responders and citizens to communicate effectively. With 70 percent of the city’s  police officers being victims themselves there was not enough law enforcements to restore order. The Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security had to send it different agencies of law enforcement t to help the New Orleans police department . Many hospitals were destroyed during Katrina and with thousands of people needing assistance it was devastating. Most local and State public health and medical assets were overwhelmed by these conditions, placing even more responsibility on federal agencies.. The process for approval for the reimbursement for medical and public health services provided by Federal agencies created delays and frustrations among health care providers, patients and the general public. Triage was also a big factor during Hurricane Katrina considering the fact that the number of people needing help was much greater than the number of first responders. Many people needed to be rescued and were injured and with the conditions of the city it was a hard task to find people and be able to transport to them a care center. This was a long task considering first responders had to locate a victim, transport them somewhere for help, get back to the same area and keep looking only to repeat the process over and over. It was hard to pick and choose to would get help first considering the fact that only numbers of people would be found at a time. During Hurricane Katrina DMORT set up the Find Family National Call Center in Louisiana. This was the center of operations for finding the location and reuniting families that were separated during Hurricane Katrina. Out of 13,000 people that were missing, around 7,000 were reunited to their families thanks to the DMORTS operation. DMORT were given two missions during Hurricane Katrina. One was to set up a base camp for DMORT and the other was to set up a base camp for the 1600 person Urban Search and Rescue crew. Other duties were to set up temporary morgue facilities, do victim identification, forensic dental pathology on diseased bodies, processing, preparation of diseased bodies. One major thing that was learned during Hurricane Katrina is that during such a major disaster declaring a state of emergency and an evacuation of a area is not enough to reduce the amount of fatalities during a disaster. A big problem was that During Katrina many agencies had no ways to communicate and set up a chain of command in order to operate at full efficiency of their abilities. When it is known that a natural disaster is going to take place , the agencies that are going to respond being state or federal need   to know in advance in order to set up a plan for each agency so that no one is doing the same thing over. Good communication methods need be planned out before hand since this way such a major issue during Hurricane Katrina. Another major issue during Katrina was triage and the lack of first responders. Once it is known that a major disaster is about to take place local medical centers can not be relied on being that there is a great chance they can be destroyed or without any power as seen during hurricane Katrina. Centers need to be set up away from the danger area and transportation of these civilians need to be prepared in advance. Small issues that can lead into big problems such as the Governor during Katrina w did not sign an emergency waiver to allow licensed drivers to transport evacuees on school buses are objectives that need to be taken care of in advance to avoid such issues. Centers that are set up need to be well equipped and supplied to handle the amount to people that will be sent there. Organizations such as the American Red Cross should be asked in advance for their assistance, not after the disaster has already taken place. Assistance on how hospitals to get paid back by federal funds for their assistance should be taken care of during advance being that this was a major issue during Katrina. Federal teams that will be needed just be warned in advance for their assistance and be told to be on immediate standby. This should include professional search and rescue teams , the National Search and Rescue Response team, the National Guard, DMORT, Psychologists, EMS, Firefighter, state and federal police agencies, and DMAT should all be prepared .

Physical Abuse Of Women In The Home Criminology Essay

Physical Abuse Of Women In The Home Criminology Essay The role of women in the development of any country cannot be overemphasized. Women play significant roles in the upbringing of children and in the maintenance of family harmony. Violence perpetrated on women in the home and outside the home has adverse effects on individuals within the family and society in general both in emotional and physical wellbeing. Sexual abuse is a significant aspect of domestic violence. If unchecked, the goal of having a healthy and balanced society is deeply threatened. Variables and factors which occur in varying proportions act as catalysts in determining or influencing human behaviour and actions in general and human behaviour in the home in particular. In examining physical and sexual abuse of women in the home, concepts and definitions are explored. In addition to the review of relevant literature, which would cover both international and Nigerian studies, this article examines perspectives and theories that seek to explain this social problem and c rime as applicable. These perspectives have been grouped into the following historical (to identify the origins of domestic violence); psychological which includes psychiatric approaches (concentrating on the individual offender and victim); sociological or socio-cultural (emphasis on institutions, structures, socialization, subculture of violence; and economic explanations. Feminist perspectives are incorporated in these explanations. Through the use of interviews, current opinions of stakeholders on this subject (legal practitioners, interest groups and the police) with regard to the Nigeria experience are discussed. Finally, possible remedies and treatment of the abused, and batterer shall be discussed. THE CONCEPT OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE The physical abuse of women in the home falls under the umbrella of domestic violence. However, in any relationship or family, the physical dwelling or home is a residential unit, abuse can occur in any location. On domestic violence, according to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (2012): Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence (IPV), is a pattern of behavior which involves the abuse by one partner against another in an intimate relationship such as marriage, cohabitation, dating or within the family. Domestic violence can take many forms, including physical aggression or assault (hitting, kicking, biting, shoving, restraining, slapping, throwing objects, battery), or threats thereof; sexual abuse; emotional abuse; controlling or domineering; intimidation; stalking; passive/covert abuse (e.g., neglect); and economic deprivation. The focus of this article is mainly the female victim in the home. Other victims of abuse within the home include children, males or husbands, the elderly and domestic helps. Violence against children and women get reported to authourities more often than those associated with males. Domestic violence against a male victim is difficult to determine, as the male victim is usually reluctant to get help or report incidents for a variety of reasons such a negative response and attitude from law enforcement agencies, including the notion that there appears to be a high degree of acceptance of aggression against men by women (Wikipedia, 2012). What is physical and sexual abuse? Domestic violence covers physical and sexual violations for which there are provisions in the statute books for offences associated with it. Other forms of domestic violence such as child abuse and the abuse of the elderly are not part of the subject for discussion in this article, though relevant examples from other victims of abuse in the home shall be highlighted. In this paper, attention is on the physical and sexual abuse of women or the wife. The Real Life Dictionary of Law (Hill and Hill, 1995) defined the following concepts and offences: Domestic violence The continuing crime and problem of the physical beating of a wife, girlfriend or children, usually by the womans male partner (although it can be female violence against a male); Assault the threat or attempt to strike another, whether successful or not, provided the target is aware of the danger; and Battery the actual intentional striking of someone, with intent to harm, or in a rude and insolent manner even if the injury is slightà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦It is often coupled with assault (which does not require actual touching). A form of domestic violence on women in the home is sexual abuse. Sexual violations or offences can be categorized into buggery, indecent assault, indecency between males, rape, unlawful intercourse with a girl under 13 and under 16 years, incest, procreation, abduction, bigamy, soliciting by a man, and gross indecency with a child (Hanmer and Saunders, 1984). In a Dictionary of Law, A husband can be convicted for raping his wife, and a boy under the age of 14 can be guilty of rape. The maximum penalty for rape or attempted rape is life imprisonment, but this is rarely imposedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Martin, (ed.), 1994). In England and Wales, the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (amended), defines rape as forced penile penetration of the victims vagina or anus by a male where the female is not consenting. This definition now includes sexual acts such as anal intercourse, oral sex, or penetration of the vagina by other objects (Painter and Farrington, 1997). Other forms of violence within the domestic domain honor killings, acid attacks and dowry violence. According to Wikipedia the free encyclopedia, (2012) an honor killing is the homicide of a member of a family or social group by other members, due to the belief of the perpetrators that the victim has brought dishonor upon the family or community. It is also noted that dishonour could include refusing to enter into an arranged marriage or the woman committing adultery. Also, another form is dowry violence and bride burning, which is known to occur in places such as South Asia, and bride burning is a form of the man or husbands discontent over the dowry provided by her family. It is said to be a problem in countries such as India. Another form of violence or abuse against women which has also been occurring in Nigeria involves the use of acids or corrosive chemicals. Acid bathe is the pouring of corrosive substance on someone. According to Eze-Anaba, (2007) this could cause permanent disfigurement of the victims, and unfortunately acids are readily available on the streets for purchase. She noted that acid baths first gained public attention in 1990 when a former beauty queen was attacked by her boyfriend because she refused to renew their relationship. Acid attack or vitriolage could occur out of jealousy or revenge, and the acid is usually thrown on the face, with long term effects such as blindness and permanent scarring of the face and body (Wikipedia, 2012). Certain countries with reports of such attacks include Pakistan, Cambodia, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and India. LITERATURE AND RESEARCH ON THE ABUSE OF WOMEN IN THE HOME A number of studies have been carried out on the abuse of women in the home. These studies include that of the effects of domestic violence or wife abuse on the family in general and the woman in particular. Some research has also been carried out on possible remedies and treatment for the victims and the offenders. Historically, prior to the mid-1800s, most legal systems accepted wife beating as a valid exercise of a husbands authority over his wife. Later, political agitation during the nineteenth century led changes in countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States. For instance, in 1850, Tennessee became the first state in the United States to explicitly outlaw wife beating. Womens movement of the1970s especially as it concerned feminism and womens rights gained a lot of attention. In England and Wales for the years 1885-1905, out of 497 murders committed by men, 124 were women murdered by their husbands, 115 were mistresses or lovers of their assailants and over 50% of all murdered victims were women with long relationships with the male murderer (MacDonald, 1911). The work of Wolfgang (1958) in Philadelphia revealed that during the 1950s the number of wives assaulted by their husbands constituted 41% of all women who were killed. In his study, only 10% of the murder cases were committed by wives. Wolfgang (1958) concluded that the home was the most frequent setting for severe violence. In another study, Dobash and Dobash (1979) revealed that 109 women interviewed reported 32,000 assaults during their marriages, but only 517 of these assaults (less than 2%) were reported to the police. They discovered that women rarely reported to friends, neighbours, doctors and social workers because of their expectation that the violent acts would soon discontinue, the anti cipated family shame, and desire to save the marriage especially because of the children. Other reasons include anticipated financial difficulty and psychological pressure in divorce proceedings. The national Survey of Wives in Great Britain carried out to determine the prevalence of violence by husbands and rape of wives in and outside marriage revealed that out of a quota sample of 1,007 wives, 228% of wives had been hit by their husbands, while 13% of them had sexual intercourse with their husbands against their will. Lower class wives and separated or divorced wives were likely to have been assaulted. In total, 22% of wives had been raped inside or outside marriage (Painter and Farrington, 1997). Further, based on 19,301,000 ever married women in Great Britain aged 18-54 in 1991 (Office of National Statistics, 1997), it was estimated that between 2,483,000 and 3,162,000 women have been hit by their husbands. Also, between 1,761,000 and 2,379,000 women have been threatened by their husbands, and between 2,936,000 and 3,657,000 have been hit or threatened by their husbands (Painter and Farrington, 1997). On rape, it was analysed that one in seven British wives had been rape d, and nearly all the raped wives (94.4%) were raped by their husbands when they lived together and on different occasions (painter and Farrington, 1997). A study in Papua New Guinea in 1982 revealed tht in the 19 villages sampled, 67% of rural wives had been hit by either their husbands and 66% of rural husbands accepted that they had hit their wives. Marital rape was said to be very common and is allowed by law (Bradley, 1994). In Brazil, reports gathered from the womens Delegacias (special police unit formed to address issues of domestic violence and other related cases) in a 1987 study of over 2,000 battery cases registered at the Sao Paulo delegacia from August to December 1985 revealed that over 70% of all reported crime against women occurred in the home (Thomas, 1994). In India before the abolition of the Sati rite practice in 1829 by the British, Narasimhan (1994) recounts, saying violence is not only attributed to physical battery or rape, and that culturally before 1829 in India, widows burned themselves to death on the late husbands pyre (pile of wood) to become a stati, exalted and deified. Surprisungly, in 1987 an 18 year old girl performed this rite. Furthermore, dowry deaths are common in situations where the woman commits suicide or endures whatever abuse in the home rather than have her parents disgraced by returning to their home or leaving the husband. Narasimhan (1994) noted that there still exists a pervasive belief governing the social perception of women as complete servants to their husbands. In African and Nigerian societies in particular, Eze-Anaba, (2007) observed that many of the victims do not speak out about violations of their rights because of the poor response from society. However, she noted that the situation has improved over the years through international and local policies and laws. She cites the examples of documents, the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Beijing Platform for Action at the international level. Eze-Anaba, (2007) noted that Nigeria has incorporated the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, and the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child into domestic law. The African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights has also been incorporated in Nigeria. However, she observed that Nigeria is a country where international human rights instruments have yet to be incorporated into domestic laws. According to Eze-Anaba (2007) examples of research in Nigeria include that of a survey carried out by Project Alert in 2001 women and girls in Nigeria were asked about abuses within the family unit. This survey revealed that in a particular state, Lagos, more than half of the participants confirmed their partners, boyfriends, or husband had beaten them. Reasons for the assault included drunkenness, financial problems and refusing to have sex with the perpetrator. A good number of the participants had reported the abuse to family members, the perpetrators family and to their religious leaders while some just endured the abuse. Interestingly there was no report of any respondent filing a complaint with the police or seeking redress in court (Eze-Anaba, 2007). Research conducted within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja by Owonibi (2008) revealed that the mean age of respondents who have experienced domestic violence within the home was 32 years. It was also observed that incidents of domestic violence decreases with age for instance from 41 years and above. This study highlighted that within the home, children and women are often victimized compared to males. Awusi, Okeleke, and Anyanwu, (2009) in a study on the prevalence of domestic violence during pregnancy in the Oleh community in Nigeria observed that domestic violence against pregnant women could expose victims to higher risk of complications during pregnancy. Using a questionnaire-based, cross-sectional study, from 400 pregnant women attending the ante-natal clinic of the Central Hospital at Oleh., 92% of the women showed complete knowledge of domestic violence, and 36% had experienced domestic violence during pregnancy. Further, domestic violence experienced were verbal (58%), physical (31%) and sexual (11%) abuses. The husband was the main offender (92%), and 77% of the women would rather keep the experience of domestic violence during pregnancy secret. Awusi et al (2009) noted that domestic violence against women cuts across ages, ethnicity, religion and educational status. Also, common risk factors include low socio-economic and educational status, early marriage, alcohol and s ubstance abuse by the partner and unemployment. They assert that the impact of domestic violence on pregnant women is increasingly being recognized as an important public health issue. Idogo, (2011) studied the effects of domestic violence on pre-school children She noted that some empirical studies show that children growing up in violent families are vulnerable to low cognition, and are likely to engage in youth violence, adult violence tendencies, and other forms of criminality. She also observed that in Nigeria, pre school children are tutored and raised up under the culture of violence. For instance, physically abused, punished and beaten for any misbehaviour in the home and in the classroom. Starvation is also employed as a form sanction in some families. Also children are often given adult tasks, such as going to the farm and market, and even used as guardians of younger children. Further, family violence could be transferred to the children especially from their mothers who tend to express their frustrations on their children. Thus, pre school children regress developmentally, and exhibit various forms of behavioural disorders, such as insomnia, nightmare , anxiety and violence towards their mates. The male perpetrator This is difficult to come by as men do not usually file complaints officially. However, information about the male batterer usually comes from the staff and residents of shelters of battered women (Roberts, 1981). The childhood experience and other variables are not normally taken into consideration in describing the batterer (Smith, 1989). In his treatment of 42 men, Smith observed certain features of male batterers, some of which were that as children, 21% of them were physically abused, 7% were sexually abused, 45% saw their mothers abused, 93% had battered previous partners, 62% were under the influence of alcohol or other drugs, 50% were currently involved with the Criminal Justice System, and 45% have been violent with others outside the family. Batterers usually deny their violent behavior due to embarrassment, guilt and shame (Walker, 1978). Some are also known to have low self-esteem (Falk, 1977), and project their anger from previous experiences into marriage. Societal responses to spousal abuse The effects of wife abuse can be categorized into physical i.e. extensive injuries to death (Dobash and Dobash, 1974) and psychological like symptoms of stress, weight loss or gain (Smith, 1989). This could result to thoughts of suicide (Stanko, 1985). Gayford (1978) revealed that suicide attempts were common and often repeated by battered women in his sample. Children are also known to suffer physically (miscarriages, still birth and other injuries) and psychologically from domestic violence with boys being most affected behaviourally (Jaffe, et al. 1986 and Wolfe, et al. 1985). How society responds to domestic violence is significant for treatment and rehabilitation. On Social Responses and Treatment, in the laws, changes have occurred in statute books in most parts of the world deliberately addressing domestic violence. For example, in Britain, The Homeless Persons Act of 1977-78 makes battered women a priority group for housing. However, Smith (1989) noted that the problems with legal remedies are in its complexity and delays in civil matters (especially in the burden of proof) unlike the criminal laws governing domestic violence. Closely associated with the law is the police who usually exercise their discretion in handling violent offences in the home in particular (Black, 1971). It was observed that the police are more likely to wave arrests of husbands for various abusive offences and the judicial responses usually neglects the same pattern in treatment and sanctions which are usually mild like fines and probation (Dobash and Dobash, 1979). The main argument being that prosecution and arrests may destroy the marriage coupled with the fact t hat most women do not usually press charges and testify in court. For Dobash and Dobash (1979) the system actually discourages and frustrates women with deliberately prolonged court proceedings and on the contrary, most women in their study actually followed up their case up to the final adjudication. According to Smith (1989), vigorous arrest policy would demonstrate social disapproval and might act as a deterrent to further violence. Welfare associations formed by the government and interested groups also play important roles in counseling, provision of refuge accommodation, and assisting in pursuing complaints to a logical conclusion. Maye and Timms (1970) observed that the orientation of staff or members of a welfare association can determine which cases they think are serious since they usually lack sufficient resources for their activities. The Womens Aid Federation of England declares its objectives as follows to eradicate and inform the public, the media, the police, the courts, the social services and other authourities with respect to the battery of women, mindful of the fact that this is a result of the general position of women in society (Smith, 1989). Other important groups relevant to remedies are the medical practitioners who usually treat injuries of abused women. They could intervene by counseling and other necessary actions within the law. For Dobash and Dobash, a conspiracy of silence often exis ts between doctor and patient. Family and friends are useful especially in giving emotional support to the victim. Citing examples from the Laws of Northern Nigeria, Criminal Code Act (1990), Cap 77 Eze-Anaba, (2007) noted that some provisions of the law, rather than protecting women from domestic violence, could encourage offenders by giving them opportunities to escape sanctions. She further stated that for instance, in Sec. 55 (1)d of the Penal Code a man is empowered to correct children, pupil, servant or wife. For Eze-Anaba (2007: 37), since there is no law against domestic violence in Nigeria, at best a victim who seeks protection under the law will rely on the provisions of the Criminal Code on common assault. The Criminal Code considers assault on a woman as a misdemeanor while assault on a man is a felony. Laws concerning domestic violence differ between countries. According to Wikipedia, (2012) most countries in the western world regard it as illegal, but this is not the case in some developing countries. The country Russia is cited where there is no law specifying domestic violence as a crime, even though physical violence is illegal. Another example is from the United Arab Emiratess where in 2010 a Supreme Court ruled that a man has the right to physically discipline his wife and children as long as he doesnt leave physical marks. The Encyclopedia also notes that social acceptability of domestic violence also varies between country. Eze-Anaba, (2007) observed that impediments to legal redress by women in Nigeria include lack of access to justice as they are not aware of their rights and do not have access to institutions that can remedy violations of such rights. Illiteracy is said to be one of the reasons for this situation. The formal legal system in Nigeria is said to be exorbitant for most Nigerians and especially poor women. Also, poor law enforcement riddled with corruption and stereotypes in favour of males are problems to contend with. Further, the tripartite legal system has its issues as elucidated by Eze-Anaba (2007:55) as follows: The Nigerian legal system is made up of three different systems of law: the statutory law, religious law, and customary law. Statutory laws include the Constitution, laws made by the government, and government policies. There are different types of religious groups in Nigeria with different laws for their members. The common ones are Christianity, Muslim/Islamic, and traditional religious laws. Customary laws include laws of diverse people of Nigeria, which govern personal matters like marriage, children, and inheritance. These three types of law are enforced by three types of courts namely the formal courts: customary courts in Southern Nigeria and Shari a courts in Norther n Nigeria. In principle, statutory law takes precedence over all other laws. In practice however, things are different. In the Northern part of the country, the predominant religion is Islam. Statutory laws are not necessarily more protective of women. The judicial system is male dominated and reflects the prejudices and stereotypes of the wider societyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ THEORIES/THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Why are women abused in the home? The various explanations have been categorized into the historical, psychological, socio-cultural, feminist and multi-dimensional or integrative perspectives. From a historical perspective, studies reveal that wife abuse emanated from the enabling environment in the history of most cultures and societies which encouraged and condoned it. For Dobash and Dobash (1979), the physical abuse of women more especially wives is an expression of patriarchical (male headship of an organization or institution) domination. Since the legal, political, economic and ideological structures supported this, men used these avenues to possess, control and oppress their wives. For example, with regard to religion, the Christian account of mans creation, and the creation of the woman to meet his needs created a moral ideology that justified the subjugation of women especially in the marriage institution which provides a conducive atmosphere for the assault and physical abuse of women (Dobash and Dobash, 1979). In most traditional communities especially in Arica, women are viewed as part of the husbands asset or property. Thus, her treatment depends on his discre tion. Sexual violence relates to contempt of female qualities and rape is part of the culture of male dominance (Sanday, 1979). Akin to the emphasis on patriarchy is the feminist perspective. With regard to violence against women, this perspective draws attention to patriarchal societies that encourage patriarchal family structures that ascribes power in the home and in other areas of human endeavour to men (Power, 1988: 133). This creates the environment and opportunity for abuse and exploitation. The psychological perspective focuses its explanation on anomalies in the personalities of the offender and victim in this discussion these are the male batterer and the abused woman. In other words, under the psychological perspective, psychoanalytical theories focus on the individuals psychological makeup that encourages and accepts abusive behavior. Hyde-Nolan and Juliao (2012) draw attention to psychodynamic theories, one of which is the Object Relations Theory associated with character molding. According to Fairbairn (1952), this theory suggests that humans are motivated early in their childhood by the need of significant relationships with people in and out of the family unit. Thus, early relationships play a role in the individuals psychic development and consequently forms an enduring psychological template for future interactions and relationships (Hyde-Nolan and Juliao, 2012). They also state that first experiences usually comes from ones primary caregiver. For Zosky (1999) initial life experiences, if positive and adequate contributes significantly to the emotional health of the individual later in life. Thus individuals that experience poor nurturing during infancy and childhood may grapple with issues such as self-esteem, poor anxiety management and the inability to regulate emotions or emotional responses in the course of their lives. According to Zosky, (1999) it has been found that somen that engaged in intimate partner violence (IPV), had inadequate nurturing in their early years of development. Dutton et al (1996) also found that parental rejection and violence in the family was highly correlated to intimate partner violence in adulthood. From another perspective, it has been argued that people adapt to abusive situations having acquired the skills from childhood, and this may encourage victims to remain in an abusive relationship or household in their adulthood (Blizard and Bluhn, 1994). In sum in studies, Faulk (1974) and Gayford (1975) presented the male batterer as mentally ill, neurotic or disturbed. For Smith (1989), the focus on the pathological aspect of the abuser neglects the social, cultural and situational factors. Walkate, (1989) noted that this explanation does not bring into focus the recurring patterns of victimization since it focuses mainly on the individual in particular situations. The sociological or socio-cultural explanation consists of other sub-perspectives such as the subculture of violence, social learning, socio-cultural, control theory, conflict and economic inequality theories. According to Goode, (1971) if force does not exist, the structure of the family will be destroyed and the family like other social institutions requires or depends on force or its threat for its control. Husbands are most likely to use such force. Strauss (1973 and 1976) laid emphasis on deviant authourity cultures as the source of violence in homes as likely reaction when the wife is dominant in decision making. Smith (1989) using socio-cultural analysis explains violence in the home as a response to frustration, stress and blocked goals like in relative poverty, unemployment and poor working conditions. Hence, control theorists argue that the need to obtain power and control within the family or within relationships is a source of conflict. Hence, the threat of force is a common tool used against weaker members of the family such as women, children and the elderly. Thus in an attempt to secure and maintain control, the abuser may adopt methods such as intimidation, coercion, isolation, denial of personal responsibility or blame and economic abuse. Resorting to violence as a result of loss of control could occur as result of the influence of substances for example alcohol causes people to lose control, in addition to the inability to control anger and frustration. In turn, the abused or victim in an attempt to survive modify their behavior to suit their abuser (Bostock, et al 2002). This can also be referred to as learned helplessness the outcome of repeated abuse, which eventually prevents the victim from resisting the violence or leaving the relationship. On the subculture of violence, Wolfgang and Feracuti (1967) view violence as the outcome of a socialization process or subcultural patterns existing in certain societal groups. For Levi (1994), this theory does not adequately explain the origin of the subculture in the first place. However, Box (1994) argued that the existence of a culture of masculinity and within that, a subculture of violence creates these abuses of women as within our culture to be a real man is to be strong, powerful, independent, being able to always overcome resistance, and other attributes often measured by the number of sexual conquests. In socio-learning theory, social theories give attention to the learning process of abusive and violent behavior and how they are transferred to members of the family or group as the case may be. Closely associated with social learning theories are the cognitive behavior explanations that focus on the learning and transfer of abusive, violent and aggressive behavior between individuals. According to Capell and Heiner, (1990) research has found that young adults who witnessed and experienced domestic violence as children are more likely to be in an intimate relationship as either an abuser or victim. It is believed that criminal behavior is learned and the use of violence is a learnrd response from the company of others, gangs, groups or police enforcement techniques (Sutherland and Cressey, 1966). For Bandura (1973), aggression is learned through imitation (modeling) and sustained through reinforcements during the individuals life. Other socio-learning theorists are Schultz (1960), Snell, Rosenwald and Robey (1964). These proponents believe that he source of violence is a s a result of unfulfilled childhood experiences and deviant marital relationships (Dobash and Dobash, 1979). Studies that have focused on children suggest that experiences throughout life influence an individuals propensity to engage in family violence (either as a victim or as a perpetrator) (Wikipedia, 2012). Thus, researchers have identified childhood socialization, previous experiences in couple relationships during adolescence, and levels of strain in a persons current life are likely explanations for domestic violence. Thus domestic violence is a learned behavior through observation, experience and reinforcement. It can be learned in cultures, within families and in communities, such as schools, peer groups and workplaces. Hyde-Nolan and Juliao (2012) drew attention to the Violence as Trauma Theory, which argues how the victim of abuse process their traumatic experience in life can have an impact in their behavior and how the cope

Character in The Cherry Orchard :: Anton Chekhov Cherry Orchard Essays

The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov is a dramatic play set at a cherry orchard in Russia. Some of the characters that help set the dramatic setting of the play are Lyuboff, Lopahin, and Pishtchik. These characters find life difficult because they fail to understand each other and because they passively submit to their environmental situations without making an effort to rise above them. Lyuboff is the owner of the cherry orchard, and has lived there her whole life. The estate has been handed down through the generations, and Lyuboff has been left to take care of it. Since Lyuboff has grown up wealthy, she has not learned to manage her money wisely. She wastefully spends and hands out money: "I haven’t any money, my dove†¦oh, very well†¦give it to him, Leonid." She does not know how to work in order to regain the money she has spent. She finds herself going into debt and not being able to pay the mortgage. These problems grow so severe that she is forced to sell the orchard. Lopahin offers to help Lyuboff and her family to get them out of debt. He suggests several ideas such as tearing down buildings and the house, and renting homes on the land that the cherry orchard now grows. He cares not about the sentimental value the orchard holds, but the money that could be made selling it. When told the personal value of the orchard, Lopahin replies: "The only remarkable thing about this cherry orchard is that it’s very big." He also says: "There’s a crop of cherries once every two years†¦that’s hard to get rid of†¦nobody buys them." Though this does not make Lopahin a greedy or uncaring person, one might think this is quite awkward. Pishtchik on the other hand is only out for himself. He too was once wealthy, but had problems spending his money. He begs for money instead of working or earning it, creating even larger debts. When he asks Lyuboff for 240 roubles to pay for his mortgage, she agrees, but is turned away by Gayeff. Pishtchik then relies on luck and a lottery ticket his wife gave him. Throughout the story, he refers to gimmicks in order to make money: "Well—a horse is a fine animal—You can sell a horse." He also talks about counterfeiting money in order to repay his debts. It is not until the end of the story when his luck pays off by finding a large sum of money, which he is able to pay all his debts.

Geoffrey Chaucers The Canterbury Tales :: essays research papers

The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, which was published in March 1981 by Bantam Books in New York, New York is a funny piece of work about twenty- nine characters and their stories while on their way to Canterbury. The twenty-nine characters have to tell two stories on their trip to Canterbury. In the Wife of Bath tale, the wife of bath tells of a tale of a young knight, the central character in the story. After he raped a woman, he must roam the countryside in search to the answer to the question â€Å"what is it that women most desire?† This is the plot, for he must find the answer in order to live. The knight only has one year to get to answer this question and then he has to return to King Arthur’s court and await his sentence. The setting is in King Arthur’s court when a young man saw a pretty maiden and raped her. The King was going to sentence him to death but the Queen decided to give him one year to answer the question . The story is told from the Wife of Bath’s point of view for she is narrating the story. So the conflict, being that he has to find the answer, is established. The knight’s journey does not go well. Finally on the last day that he has, he comes up to a group of women, as he approaches they disappear and an old woman appears. This part is the climax of the plot because it is when the knight finally knows the answer. The old woman says that she knows the answer but she will only tell it to the Queen and in return she must do anything that she asks of him. The knight agrees. Finally, while in the presence of the Queen, she tells her that the answer to what all women desire is sovereignty over their husbands. No one disagrees with her answer and so the old woman asks that she be married to the knight. The knight having sworn to do whatever she pleased reluctantly agrees. But this is not the resolution. It happens later on while on their wedding night. The knight is somewhat disgusted and so the old woman goes on to lecture him on the trivial nature of appearances. She tells the knight whether he would prefer to have a woman ugly by day, yet loyal and faithful the rest of the time or to be beautiful and take his chances the rest of the time.

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In today’s society, no individual is free from discrimination. Discrimination can be defined as looking down on an individual or group because of sex, race, nationality or certain personality characters. Race, gender, disability, sex, age, religion, national origin, color, and marital status are the main features work place discrimination. It can also happen with regards to the terms and conditions of work for example salary, work hours, paid leave, promotions, work security and industrial health and safety. Workplace discrimination can be seen in all ranks of job and is it extremely expensive to businesses. Most corporations do not support this act because it is considered to be damaging and promotes disparities. According to (craig 2007), billions of dollars goes wasted annually because of work place discrimination or harassment. Work place discrimination can happen based on some features which are fairly different from workers performance. The damaging effect of this conduc t can be high as it decreases job performance, productivity and exposes the organization to costly lawsuit. However, businesses that places more importance on equal opportunities in the work place are tactically competitive than those that are discriminative. According (Craig, R 2007), businesses that are said to be discriminative are in a competitive disadvantages because discrimination disregard all eligible workers who are skillful of contributing to the overall purpose of the business. Appropriate ethics policies related to nondiscrimination issues There are a large number of well-established policies associated to work place discrimination. These policies prohibit any form of discriminatory practices. Businesses are obliged to obey where policies against... ...resented. Implementation steps for these policies All corporations requesting to build a workplace atmosphere in which discriminatory conduct are not accepted can take several steps towards the reaching of this objective. Policies of all organisations should clearly stipulate rules against all forms of discrimination. Equal opportunity statement must be clearly stated and should protect any employee who raises concerns of discrimination. The prevention of discrimination conduct must be part of the service contract of all workers. The prevention of discrimination conduct must be incorporated in the service agreement. Corporations must educate its employees on the importance of all forms of discrimination and frequently prompt them about the consequences of it. There should also be numerous avenues in which complaints about discrimination can be addressed or handled.

The Significance of Suicide in Hamlet

The Significance of Suicide in Hamlet The concept of suicide is one that is greatly contemplated and discussed by Hamlet and other characters in William Shakespeare's play. It can be seen through two of Hamlet's soliloquies and his overall demeanor throughout the play. Hamlet has many issues that he must deal with such as the death of his father and the marriage of his uncle and mother. These two incidents led Hamlet to consider the extreme act of suicide to escape the fate that he had been bestowed. Although Hamlet did not commit suicide, in the end the path that he took inevitably led to his suicidal intentions and his eventual downfall.The contemplation of suicide threatens Hamlet and various characters in the play leading to the demise of the characters and the kingdom of Denmark. The sudden and tragic death of King Hamlet left the kingdom of Denmark and more importantly his son, Prince Hamlet, in a state of distress; as a quick fix to this problem Claudius married Gertrude. In t he beginning of the play, after Hamlet's confrontation with Claudius, he states in his soliloquy that, â€Å"O, that this too too solid flesh would melt / Thaw and resolve itself into a dew! Or that the Everlasting had not fix'd / His canon ‘gainst self-slaughter! O God! God! †(Act I, Sc. 2) Hamlet clearly expresses his Christian beliefs and his fear of being punished for â€Å"self-slaughter. † He believes that it is better to live in his current state then be damned to hell in the afterlife. One may view this outburst as his method of venting or an over exaggerated teenage rant. For it seems that Hamlet is not capable of dealing with the death of his father or the marriage, however incestuous it may be, in a reasonable and non-destructive way.The appearance of his father's ghost sparked a fire inside of Hamlet; he took it upon himself to avenge his father's death; a deed that he would not be able to complete if he committed suicide. Hamlet's Christian beliefs m ay have held him back from an untimely death at first but his craving for revenge overpowered everything else, driving him to live on. Hamlet was not the only person that struggled with his life and developed a disturbed psyche, the most notable character being Ophelia.Many factors led to Ophelia's death, one of the reasons being Hamlet's so-called fake craziness which drove him to ruin his relationship with Ophelia, but it wasn't the only factor that led to her downfall. Ophelia's father and brother, warned her against Hamlet, and even though she heeded their warning it led to her ultimate demise. Some people speculate that Ophelia was pregnant and in the Elizabethan era that this play takes place; suicide was the preferred method of â€Å"abortion† or a solution to premarital sex.Preceding Ophelia's death, she was in a mental state of distress and disturbance; this may have been a reason that led to her death. She may have viewed suicide as the only escape from her cruel, h arsh life after Hamlet denied her and after the death of her father; taking into account that her death may have been an accident. She was given a very forced funeral, the priest even stating that, â€Å"As we have warrantise: her death was doubtful. †(Act V, Sc. 1) Had her death been truly recognized as a suicide she would not have received a burial and her body most likely would have been left in the river to rot.The death of Ophelia was devastating to Hamlet, for when he heard of her death and saw her pale body in the casket, he admitted to Laertes and the clown that he did in fact love Ophelia. This deepened his depression, but strengthened his need to avenge his father. The controversy behind her death and the mock funeral that was held for her only further led Hamlet to lose faith in humanity and his own life. One of the greatest obstacles Hamlet faced was how he was going to avenge a murder without committing a crime.Although he wanted to avenge his father’s dea th, he did not want to do so under circumstantial evidence, he wanted to be completely sure that Claudius was the culprit. He underwent his plan by persuading the troupe to perform a play reenacting the killing of King Hamlet. Claudius' sudden departure from the room proved to Hamlet that his suspicions were true. This incident pushed Hamlet closer to death. His thoughts and conscience were clouded by the need to kill his father's murderer. Hamlet believed that if he committed this act he would find his resolve.He believed that he could not leave the world without finishing this task, but once he had done this, there would be nothing more except his questionable Christian faith and fear of the unknown to keep him in the light and away from the darkness; which in the end might not have been enough. Hamlet's iconic quote, â€Å"To be, or not to be: that is the question,† (Act III, Sc. 1) is the greatest example of his suicidal debate. Hamlet questions why it is not a common act for people to commit suicide, for individuals to escape reality and their current problems.He cannot fathom why a person would endure the tragedies of life throughout the years and whether it is nobler to do so or nobler to end it all. Albeit his Christian beliefs, Hamlet believes that the real reason is fear of the unknown. Death is an intangible force that cannot and will not be explained. Humans fear concepts they do not understand, so they would not willfully venture into unknown territory. One cannot foresee what lies beyond death, heaven, hell or nothingness and Hamlet realizes this, posing the question, â€Å"For in that sleep of death what dreams may come. †(Act III, Sc. ) Individuals feel they must attain truth and sanctity from their lives and ultimately our consciences get the better of us. â€Å"†¦conscience does make cowards of us all†¦ thus the native hue of resolution / Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought. †(Act III, Sc. 1) T he events that occurred around Hamlet may have pushed him towards the brink of death, but they also allowed him to realize that life was worth living. Avenging his father's death was Hamlet's prime purpose in the play. He believed that if he in fact did commit â€Å"self-slaughter† that his father would have died in vain.His duty in life from then on was to investigate Claudius and avenge his father. During his return to Denmark, after being forced to leave, Hamlet witnesses Fortinbras and his army on their way to defeat King Claudius and reclaim their pride and power. Despite Fortinbras being an enemy of his country, Hamlet sees how ambitious and driven the man is. This allows Hamlet to realize that life is precious and that if Fortinbras can have that amount of motivation, so can he. â€Å"Witness this army of such mass and charge / Led by a delicate and tender prince / Whose spirit with divine ambition puff'd. †(Act IV, Sc. ) He now possesses a new goal that he feel s he must complete; warn his country of the Norwegians attack. Death overtook the entire kingdom of Denmark and Hamlet's entire family. The final scene of the play when Hamlet fights Laertes shows the internal corruption of the family and the kingdom. In a sense every person that died in the play committed suicide. Laertes' scheme with Claudius backfired on him and his death was caused by being slashed with his own poisonous blade. Gertrude drank the poisonous drink and although she was not aware of the poison she drank the drink willfully, even after being told by Claudius not to.Claudius died from his own poisonous sword, albeit it was forcefully thrust into his chest by Hamlet, he was without a doubt murdered by his own plan. Hamlet delayed his quest for vengeance and almost ran away from his mission; this delay led to his battle with Laertes and ultimately his demise. The sight of Hamlet dying made Horatio consider following him, he wanted to drink the poison and follow his frie nd into the afterlife, even if he did commit â€Å"self-slaughter†, the death of his friend was too much to bear, but Hamlet convinced him otherwise, so he may tell his story for years to come. But let it be. Horatio, I am dead / Thou livest; report me and my cause aright / To the unsatisfied. †(Act V, Sc. 2) These deaths left a bad taste in the mouth of the kingdom of Denmark and displayed the true colors of the royal family. From the beginning Hamlet and his family were on the path that would eventually lead them to their end. With the death of King Hamlet and the incestuous marriage of Claudius and Gertrude, Hamlet's life and the fate of the kingdom spiraled into madness. The play ended in various deaths and tragedies representing the true significance of suicide in the play of Hamlet.

Senior Nuts

Human beings are born with numerous natural instincts; yet, none is as basic as the instinct of survival. Though many people may never need it, it is an invaluable knowledge given to us by God. Humans are born to live and consequently they are born with the ability to survive. When we talk about ‘survival skills’ we consider ways in which we can fulfill our most urgent needs in any situation. Via many years of societal evolution, we have lost our ability to provide for ourselves if we don’t have access to a store, and have become ignorant on how to survive in the wilderness.If you can find food and water, and you can make fire and shelter, then you can survive in the wilderness. And when it comes time to find your way out of your situation, you will need to know how to navigate without a phone, gps, compass, or map. However, should you find yourself lacking one of these five components; you will not survive, or ecape, unless the void is compensated. It is a simple fact that if you do not eat then you will not live. However, finding food is much more complicated than it seems. The methods for finding and getting hold of wild food in a particular kind of country usually require detailed local knowledge† (Bridge 270). Unfortunately, when in a survival situation detailed knowledge of an area and its edible plants is not always an asset. In addition, it is rare for you to have a fishing pole or any kind of hunting equipment. Thus, you might find yourself literally up the creek without a paddle. However, there are a few ways to find food, and a few well-known plants that are edible. First of all, you must take advantage of your location.It can be difficult to catch animals on land thus you must find edible plants. Among the well-known edible plants are blackberries, black walnuts, cattail, daylily buds, hickory nuts, acorns, and morning glory leaves (Edible). However, it is often difficult to discern these edible plants from their poisonous peers. There is an edibility test you can use when faced with this situation. You must simply take a plant and rub it on a sensitive part of your body, the inside of the wrist for example, and wait fifteen minutes.If there isn't any adverse effect then you should chew a very small amount of the plant for five minutes and see if there is any adverse effect. If, after this, you still feel fine then swallow the plant and wait eight hours. If you are still feeling okay then eat a small handful and wait another eight hours. If nothing happens then it is okay for you to eat the plant sparingly. (Edibility Test) Some other tips for finding edible food include avoiding all plants with white sap, tiny hairs, umbrella shaped flowers and white or green berries.In addition, you should stay away from mushrooms and fungi, plants with bulb roots and fruits from plants with shiny leaves. Aggregate berries such as raspberries are always edible, as are single fruits on a stem. With this information y ou can find food and pass step one of surviving. However, it is very important that if a water source is not available you should not eat because water is required for digestion (Equipped). The second step to surviving is finding, or creating shelter. Exposure to extreme heat or cold can result in death from only three hours of exposure.Consequently, finding a shelter or constructing you out of the resources around you is vital. An example of this is when a married couple and their young child found themselves stranded in a snow bank. Before going out to seek help the man built his wife and child a cave in the snow. Without this cave, the man's family would have almost certainly died (Survival). Regardless of the scenario, a shelter is needed and should be constructed in a safe environment. You should avoid camping in meadows because of the mosquitoes and you should be cautious of animal shelters.Shelters can also be constructed out of tarps, tree branches, and snow. It is unfortuna te that humans have destroyed so much nature because we have made it harder for ourselves to survive by ruining trees, creating paths and destroying natural shelters. â€Å"It is rare than an overhanging rock that serves as a good shelter is even capable of being found these days† (Bridge 174). Perhaps the most important asset for survival is water. It would be a miracle if you survived for more than three days without water and there is no substitute for it. It is imperative that when driven by thirst you do not drink seawater, blood, or urine.These fluids will only hasten dehydration (Survival). In addition, you must know that thirst itself is not good indicator of hydration levels. You can be dehydrated and lack thirst. â€Å"Dark colored urine is the most reliable indication of significant dehydration† (Equipped). There are many ways to find water, but you should not push yourself too far. Rationing sweat is just as important as rationing water. You can find water by collecting dew or melting snow. You should avoid consuming un-melted snow because it lowers your body temperature. Follow animal tracks downhill; they might lead to a watering hole.Also, if you find yourself in an arid area, you should dig to find water. Even in a desert you can find water. Simply dig a hole in the sand, covering and suspending a plastic bag into it and collecting water, which condenses at the bottom of the plastic container. If bad comes to worse, you should not avoid drinking water that might be contaminated. Only do so as a last resort. An intestinal problem is much friendlier when contrasted with death (Equipped). For nearly every situation, fire will be the essence of your survival. Fire is the Swiss-army-knife of wilderness survival. It can play multiple roles.It provides warmth, and comfort, while cooking and preserving food. It also purifies water, signals for help, and provides protection from animals. †It can be a psychological boost by providing peace of mind, and companionship†. (FireCraft) To make a fire, you need to understand the mechanics of fire, and how it works. †Fuel ( in a nongaseous state)does not burn directly. † When heat is applied to the fuel, it creates a gas which, when mixed with air, burns. There are many types of fire structures, which can all be equally successful. The tepee style is the simplest, both to explain and to build.To make a tepee fire, you will arrange a tinder ball and stack small sticks around it in a cone shape. You will light it in the middle, causing the tinder ball to burn which catches the twigs on fire that then fall inward fueling the fire further. Once you are able and willing to escape the wilderness, you will need to figure out which way is north. An easy way of doing so is to create a make-shift compass rose on the ground. You can make this by sticking a leafless branch, which will cast a definite shadow, in the ground and marking the tip of the shadow, which g ives you the west heading.Wait for about fifteen minutes and mark the new point, giving you the east heading. Now stand with the west to your left and east to your right. You are now facing north. When on the move, be sure to leave yourself plenty of daylight to setup camp and to build a fire. With food, water, shelter and fire you can survive in the wilderness. Yet, in order to find these things you must try to maintain a positive mental attitude (Equipped). If you find yourself in a survival situation, you must prioritize: water then shelter then food. Never give up.As easy as giving up might seem when faced with death and lacking hope, you must keep on trying and you must think. Do not waste energy by doing before thinking. You must not panic. Your courage, resolution, self – discipline and the endurance have kept you sane, but food, shelter, and the water will keep you breathing. When you are out of the wilderness, be sure to better prepare yourself by always packing equi pment which will make your survival easier on you, and spread the word. Tell others; make sure that they don’t go through what you have just escaped from. Senior Nuts Human beings are born with numerous natural instincts; yet, none is as basic as the instinct of survival. Though many people may never need it, it is an invaluable knowledge given to us by God. Humans are born to live and consequently they are born with the ability to survive. When we talk about ‘survival skills’ we consider ways in which we can fulfill our most urgent needs in any situation. Via many years of societal evolution, we have lost our ability to provide for ourselves if we don’t have access to a store, and have become ignorant on how to survive in the wilderness.If you can find food and water, and you can make fire and shelter, then you can survive in the wilderness. And when it comes time to find your way out of your situation, you will need to know how to navigate without a phone, gps, compass, or map. However, should you find yourself lacking one of these five components; you will not survive, or ecape, unless the void is compensated. It is a simple fact that if you do not eat then you will not live. However, finding food is much more complicated than it seems. The methods for finding and getting hold of wild food in a particular kind of country usually require detailed local knowledge† (Bridge 270). Unfortunately, when in a survival situation detailed knowledge of an area and its edible plants is not always an asset. In addition, it is rare for you to have a fishing pole or any kind of hunting equipment. Thus, you might find yourself literally up the creek without a paddle. However, there are a few ways to find food, and a few well-known plants that are edible. First of all, you must take advantage of your location.It can be difficult to catch animals on land thus you must find edible plants. Among the well-known edible plants are blackberries, black walnuts, cattail, daylily buds, hickory nuts, acorns, and morning glory leaves (Edible). However, it is often difficult to discern these edible plants from their poisonous peers. There is an edibility test you can use when faced with this situation. You must simply take a plant and rub it on a sensitive part of your body, the inside of the wrist for example, and wait fifteen minutes.If there isn't any adverse effect then you should chew a very small amount of the plant for five minutes and see if there is any adverse effect. If, after this, you still feel fine then swallow the plant and wait eight hours. If you are still feeling okay then eat a small handful and wait another eight hours. If nothing happens then it is okay for you to eat the plant sparingly. (Edibility Test) Some other tips for finding edible food include avoiding all plants with white sap, tiny hairs, umbrella shaped flowers and white or green berries.In addition, you should stay away from mushrooms and fungi, plants with bulb roots and fruits from plants with shiny leaves. Aggregate berries such as raspberries are always edible, as are single fruits on a stem. With this information y ou can find food and pass step one of surviving. However, it is very important that if a water source is not available you should not eat because water is required for digestion (Equipped). The second step to surviving is finding, or creating shelter. Exposure to extreme heat or cold can result in death from only three hours of exposure.Consequently, finding a shelter or constructing you out of the resources around you is vital. An example of this is when a married couple and their young child found themselves stranded in a snow bank. Before going out to seek help the man built his wife and child a cave in the snow. Without this cave, the man's family would have almost certainly died (Survival). Regardless of the scenario, a shelter is needed and should be constructed in a safe environment. You should avoid camping in meadows because of the mosquitoes and you should be cautious of animal shelters.Shelters can also be constructed out of tarps, tree branches, and snow. It is unfortuna te that humans have destroyed so much nature because we have made it harder for ourselves to survive by ruining trees, creating paths and destroying natural shelters. â€Å"It is rare than an overhanging rock that serves as a good shelter is even capable of being found these days† (Bridge 174). Perhaps the most important asset for survival is water. It would be a miracle if you survived for more than three days without water and there is no substitute for it. It is imperative that when driven by thirst you do not drink seawater, blood, or urine.These fluids will only hasten dehydration (Survival). In addition, you must know that thirst itself is not good indicator of hydration levels. You can be dehydrated and lack thirst. â€Å"Dark colored urine is the most reliable indication of significant dehydration† (Equipped). There are many ways to find water, but you should not push yourself too far. Rationing sweat is just as important as rationing water. You can find water by collecting dew or melting snow. You should avoid consuming un-melted snow because it lowers your body temperature. Follow animal tracks downhill; they might lead to a watering hole.Also, if you find yourself in an arid area, you should dig to find water. Even in a desert you can find water. Simply dig a hole in the sand, covering and suspending a plastic bag into it and collecting water, which condenses at the bottom of the plastic container. If bad comes to worse, you should not avoid drinking water that might be contaminated. Only do so as a last resort. An intestinal problem is much friendlier when contrasted with death (Equipped). For nearly every situation, fire will be the essence of your survival. Fire is the Swiss-army-knife of wilderness survival. It can play multiple roles.It provides warmth, and comfort, while cooking and preserving food. It also purifies water, signals for help, and provides protection from animals. †It can be a psychological boost by providing peace of mind, and companionship†. (FireCraft) To make a fire, you need to understand the mechanics of fire, and how it works. †Fuel ( in a nongaseous state)does not burn directly. † When heat is applied to the fuel, it creates a gas which, when mixed with air, burns. There are many types of fire structures, which can all be equally successful. The tepee style is the simplest, both to explain and to build.To make a tepee fire, you will arrange a tinder ball and stack small sticks around it in a cone shape. You will light it in the middle, causing the tinder ball to burn which catches the twigs on fire that then fall inward fueling the fire further. Once you are able and willing to escape the wilderness, you will need to figure out which way is north. An easy way of doing so is to create a make-shift compass rose on the ground. You can make this by sticking a leafless branch, which will cast a definite shadow, in the ground and marking the tip of the shadow, which g ives you the west heading.Wait for about fifteen minutes and mark the new point, giving you the east heading. Now stand with the west to your left and east to your right. You are now facing north. When on the move, be sure to leave yourself plenty of daylight to setup camp and to build a fire. With food, water, shelter and fire you can survive in the wilderness. Yet, in order to find these things you must try to maintain a positive mental attitude (Equipped). If you find yourself in a survival situation, you must prioritize: water then shelter then food. Never give up.As easy as giving up might seem when faced with death and lacking hope, you must keep on trying and you must think. Do not waste energy by doing before thinking. You must not panic. Your courage, resolution, self – discipline and the endurance have kept you sane, but food, shelter, and the water will keep you breathing. When you are out of the wilderness, be sure to better prepare yourself by always packing equi pment which will make your survival easier on you, and spread the word. Tell others; make sure that they don’t go through what you have just escaped from.