Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Ethics - Essay Example Usually the debate on the issue of abortion is based on the definition of human life, as both sides disagree as to what human life is. In this paper, an attempt will be made to resolve the moral question regarding the issue of abortion using utilitarianism. The issue of abortion will be evaluated using the utilitarian ethics and solutions will be proposed. The issue of abortion will also be discussed and arguments of both sides will also be evaluated. A brief description of utilitarianism will also be included in the paper. The Issue of Abortion Abortion involves human induced ending or terminating pregnancy. In the process of abortion, the embryo is removed before achieving human life form. Abortion is considered a moral issue all over the world. Some regard as taking away an innocent life. Mostly the criticism regarding abortion comes from religious circles. The argument made those who oppose abortion is that it is a process which disallows a life from coming into this world and th erefore it is equal to murder. Moral question regarding abortion is also raised because basic freedom of the living being is violated. People compare it with murder, and therefore abortion remains a controversial issue all over the world. Pro abortionists argue that abortion is not equivalent to murder because it does not involve taking a human life. ... abortionists also argue that parents are in the best position to decide about the future of their life and family, and therefore their decision should not be questioned or challenged when it comes to abortion. The main difference of opinion in both the schools of thought arises from the definition of a human life. Anti abortionist argue that a fertilized egg is a human being and therefore terminating it is equal to termination of a human life (Gutting, 1). On the other end, pro abortionists argue that human life is not achieved until a child takes up a human form, usually after several weeks of the pregnancy. This is the crux of the debate between the two schools of thought and it is not easily possible to take a side. There is no consensus as to what is human life and therefore this debate is yet to be resolved. Utilitarianism: A Brief Introduction Utilitarianism is a well known ethical theory forwarded by John Stuart Mill which argues that the morality of an action can be determine d by analyzing the consequences of that action on the majority members of the society. If an action yields maximum happiness or benefit for a maximum number of people then the action is morally permissible. Utilitarianism is a form of consequentalist ethical theory where morality of the action is determined by the consequences of those actions and nothing else. Utilitarianism determines the wrongness or the rightness by evaluating the action on the basis of the ‘good’ or ‘benefit’ it causes to the overall society or the maximum number of people involved. Utilitarian ethics ignore universal standards or any other standards for evaluating an action and place all weight on the consequences of the action and the positive or negative effect on the action on all parties involved.

Arthropod pests Essay Example for Free

Arthropod pests Essay The concern that human society will be inevitably obsessed with death is a valid one. Although there may be people today who escape depressing thoughts of death, all will be distraught after reading only a few lines of the Lament for Ignacio Sanchez Mejias. This essay will analyze parts of the work by Federico Lorca and provide some basic interpretations and thoughts on the subject. Beginning with the first line of the lament, the reader is struck with an overwhelming sense of time—five in the afternoon. It fills the mind as the words continue. â€Å"It was exactly five in the afternoon. † Ignacio has obviously died. The time of day is noted, and the question arises immediately: why repeat the time â€Å"five in the afternoon† after every line (up to five times)! I think the point of repeating the time excessively is to pound a feeling of monotony that accompanies utter grief into the mind of the reader. Also, it provides a broad scope to help the reader understand how many hopelessly depressing things are going on at once. A possible answer, then, is that the lament needs synchronization in order to deliver the correct emotions that Lorca felt. For example, leaving out the repeated time, the first stanza becomes, â€Å"A boy brought the white sheet, A frail of lime ready prepared, The rest was death, and death alone. † In this version, the reader feels like three mundane, somewhat depressing things are happening in sequence as opposed to feeling a horrifying realization of the simultaneous events surrounding the loss of a close friend. Without the repetition it may still seem sad, but nowhere near as powerful as the original. Adding the repetition back in, one feels as though time has been stopped during a metaphorical symphony of pain from grief. As the horrible moment continues, Lorca adds additional imagery: â€Å"Groups of silence in the corners†¦ A coffin on wheels is his bed†¦ The room was iridescent with agony†¦ In the distance the gangrene now comes†¦ The wounds were burning like suns†¦ at five in the afternoon. At five in the afternoon. Ah, that fatal five in the afternoon! It was five by all the clocks! It was five in the shade of the afternoon! † It is no accident that we read of the time of day five times at the end of this section. Also, both of the first two stanzas contain five references to the time as well, almost suffocating us with the existence of the terrible hour. Lorca perfectly displays the effect of death on the human mind. Cluttered with the details most ignored in regular life, our brains (perhaps as a self-defense to keep us alive) go through an almost physical withdrawal when those near to us die. In conclusion, It is obvious that our lives revolve around death whether we like it or not. Death is the nemesis of survival, and survival is our primary goal in life as humans. Reproduction, social reform, religion, or anything else we live for (even hedonism) must manifest itself through survival of ourselves or others. Thus, as long as we survive, humans will always be obsessed with death.

Concepts of similarity and complementarity in romantic relationships

Concepts of similarity and complementarity in romantic relationships Once upon a time, John met Jenny. They fell in love. They married, had children and presumably will live happily ever after. This is a common love story, and leads us to wonder why people become attracted to each other. Is it because they are similar? Research (Byrne, 1971) has shown that people are attracted to those immediately similar to them and this could lead to marriage. However, arguments for complementarity contend that opposites do indeed attract, and this attraction would also lead to long-term relationship and marriage. Such views are further reinforced by research like that of Shiota and Levenson (2007), which suggest that complementary couples are more satisfied in the long run. Thus, this essay seeks to evaluate the concepts of similarity and complementarity, analysing the relevant researches in the context of a romantic heterosexual relationship. Whilst there are many theories given on the process of mate selection, of particular interest is the recent emergence of the popular notion that opposites attract. However, this idea is open to interpretation, because it is expected that if a couple is not alike, they would tend to have more conflict, which will reduce the quality of their relationship (Pieternel Dick, 2008). Felmlee (2001) has shown that relationships developed from attraction based on complementarity often end prematurely. Nonetheless, there is also evidence supporting the complementary need theory (Winch, 1954), contending that for attraction and therefore a happy marriage, there must be potential gratification of needs for both John and Jenny. An example of such need-gratification is when younger females tend to be more attracted to older males who are financially stable (Eagly Wood, 1999, as cited in Pieternel Dick, 2008). Nevertheless, there has not been enough support in recent findings for Winchs hypothesi s, and reasons for this will be discussed. Conversely, the contrasting thought to the concept of complementarity is the established theory of similarity; simply put, that birds of a feather flock together. According to Hill, Rubin and Peplau (1976), there is a tendency for people who are similar in physical attractiveness, religion, education, age, and even height to be attracted to each other. However, there has been suggested that such tendencies may not exist, due to invalid testing procedures. This thought is suggested by research showing only small degrees of similarity between spouses personality in marriage (Eysenck, 1990), and in some reported studies (Antill, 1983; Peterson et al., 1989) no degree of similarity was observed, because couples are paired on a random basis. The theory of similaritys influence on ones attraction therefore needs examination in its methodological aspects and will be treated accordingly in this essay. Examination of Similarity and its theory in Romantic Relationships Summary of Similarity and its theory Similarity, the more accepted theory, suggests that we will be more romantically attracted to people who are similar to us in aspects like physical attractiveness, intelligence, socio-economic background, and overall attitude towards life. According to Byrne (1971), this can be explained through the theories of classical conditioning, and in particular, the idea of positive reinforcement. In a relationship consisting of two like-minded individuals, sharing the same viewpoint allows them to feel that their opinions are validated, and thereby their own confidence increases, enhancing the relationship. However, there is a distinction between the perceived and actual similarity. Many have argued that actual similarity is not as important as perceived similarity. A suggestion for this is that the individual experiences the positive reinforcement; regardless of them believing that the similarity is there even though it is not (Montoya, Horton Kirchner, 2008). However, a possible flaw in this is that if only one partner experiences such feeling of similarity whilst the other does not, then the attraction may not exist. Nonetheless, there is also contradicting evidence of people whose actual similarity is low, but are still highly attracted to another, which support the idea of complementarity (Winch et al., 1954). This is important, as it reminds us that similarity is only a positive correlate to the process of attraction, and is not the absolute factor that determines the formation of a romantic relationship. Methodological Concerns in Measuring the Effects of Similarity in the Formation of Attraction It has been shown in various recent researches post-dating Byrnes studies on attraction that whilst similarity exists in the formation of attraction, mate selection still operates on a random basis (Antill, 1983; Peterson et al., 1989); or at most, according to Eysenck (1990), the presence of similarity is only lightly significant. The reason for this can be attributed to the methodologies use to measure the effects of attraction. Such is the claim by the meta-analysis conducted by Montoya, Horton and Kirchner (2008), where they concluded that whilst similarity does lead to attraction, this occur mainly in a laboratory setting and not in existing relationships. This criticism is the product made by the use of the bogus stranger, which resulted in artificial responses and lack of ecological validity. The method originates from Byrnes studies in which given a set of characteristics similar to their own, the participants are asked if they will be attracted to an absent imaginary person unknown to them (Byrne, Clore Smeaton, 1986). This involves no interaction between the participant and the stranger, as well as requiring the assistance of a third person called a confederate, a trained interviewer. While the technique has been heavily criticised, its focus on attraction is clear-cut and minimises other external factors that could influence how much the stranger can be perceived as attractive to the participants. Other advantages to this method are that it is inexpensive and not very time consuming, and thus is viewed as more open for a wider pool of participants. Another technique is one that involves little to some interaction between the participants and the confederate or fellow participant in the context of a dyad relation. This can last from a few minutes to several hours. However, there have been some contradicting evidences (Dryer Horowitz, 1997) produced through the use of this method, which some has criticised because the nature of the exchange that involves mainly shallow and polite niceties. A final method that has been in favour recently is the use of couples in an existing relationship. Whilst this is a strong method in that it examines the attraction that then result in a real relationship, its weakness is the sample is often small because of its exhaustive nature, expensive and time consuming. (Montoya, Horton Kirchner, 2008). Summary of Birds of a Feather Dont Always Fly Farthest (Shiota Levenson, 2007) Given these concerns, it is interesting to see that the study of Shiota and Levenson (2007) proposes the alternative for the concept of similarity in the context of marital satisfaction as opposed to attraction. It is a longitudinal study that examines the effects of high level of similarity in the Big Five Personality on marriage satisfaction, which predicts the possible outcome in terms of a linear trajectory that is then supported by the negative correlates or negative result. The authors discuss the significance of this result in terms of different stages of marriage life, which contain different roles and responsibilities that will affect their satisfaction of marriage. For example, the first stage is explained as the newlyweds who still try to please their partner and therefore, their similar personalities will then be important for their daily social interactions. However, later in their mid-marriage life, when their passion has waned off, this will result in conflicts on issu es like child rearing rather than agreement because spouses competing with each other in similar performance domains and clashing when attempting to complete the same task (Shiota Levenson, 2007, p. 672). In addition, the authors also provide a quick overview of some of the weaknesses in past studies. An example of this is the lack of distinction in examining the similarity of husband and wifes personalities as opposed to how an individuals personality might affect the marital satisfaction. Another is when past studies have chosen to only examine similarity in existing relationship in a cross-sectional view. The author improved the studys method by conducting a long term study but at the same time, also provide a linear trajectory that can be used to predict further development from the given twelve years study. Some limitations that have been self-identified by the authors include the cultural and generational effects that were resulted from the voluntary nature of the samples selection and also for the convenience of the research. More importantly, in their discussion, Shiota and Levenson (2007) have also explicitly referred to how complementary couples in terms of the Big Five personality may perhaps achieve higher level of marriage satisfaction. Their research also investigated on older couples who have been married for at least thirty-five years and again, this show the decline in marriage satisfaction that occurs over time in couple who share a high level of similarity. However, as stated by the authors, this may not be true for other social domains of personality such as the dominant/deferent trait that was tested in Winchs studies on complementarity. Nonetheless, the study provides the stepping-stone on the investigation of the concept of complementarity that will be discussed as followed. Examination of Complementarity and its theory in Romantic Relationships Defining complementarity In this essay, complementarity can be understood as people who are different in their personality liking one another because they would fill in the gaps present in one anothers life. Formal definition for this term is borrowed from Winchs definition of need-complementarity in which an individual will be attracted to that person who gives the greatest promise of providing him or her with maximum need gratification (Winch et al., 1954, p. 242). Other terms used are complementary, an adjective used to describe how compatible two partners are even when they are different; and complementariness, a noun that is used by Winch to refer to the degree in which two people can complement. Winchs Study and Theory of Complementary Needs in Mate-Selection Winch, Ktsanes and Ktsanes (1954) made a proposition, the theory of complementary needs in mate-selection that supports the idea of opposites attract. This is made after Winch has conducted a study that involves twenty-five, 19 to 26 years old, white, middle-class, childless married couples who had been married for less than two years, and in which at least one member of each couple was an undergraduate student (Winch et al., p. 245). He uses triangulation to investigate his supported hypothesis, which is people marry based on their complementary needs. The different methods that Winch has used within triangulation include a need-interview, which is to identify the type of need pairs present; a case history interview of participants, and TAT, an eight-card thematic apperception test (Winch et al., p. 244). However, there are possible limitations within Winchs method namely the choice of participants where they are clearly culturally biased towards the developed, Western views and the generational effects of participants involved. Winchs theory requires that one of two conditions; either Type II or I must be met for complementarity between partners to exist. Type I is the difference in intensity, where one partner will be highly expressive in a certain need-pattern but the other partner will be very low in expressing the same pattern. For instance, a person who needs to be dominant in their relationship will complement with someone who have a very small amount of this need. Conversely, Type II is the difference in kind of the interactions between two individuals where both partners will be highly expressive but their needs are opposite to each other. An example is a person whose need to be dominant complements with a person who has the need to be deferent. It is important that there are two types of complementary needs because in the case of abasement as one of the need pair, there are situations where both abasement-autonomy and abasement-hostility exist, which gives a different continuum that cannot be expla ined sufficiently by Type I. (Winch et al., 1954) Evaluation of Winchs Need Complementarity One of the weaknesses in Winchs study (Winch et al., 1954) is the lack of evidence in which there has not been enough proof to support his theory despite numerous attempts being made (Bowerman Day, 1956; Schellenberg Bee, 1960). However, Levinger (1964) attempts to justify these discrepancies by explaining that there are different needs for different level of relationship as identified by Winch when he postulates his theory, i.e. a married couples needs to complement differ from two friends needs to complement. Therefore, since most replicated studies uses the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule (Edwards, 1953, as cited in Levinger, 1964), which is aimed for a general peer relations to test for the validity of Winchs theory of need-complementarity for married couples, the results are therefore considered to be inconclusive in regards to Winchs theory. Furthermore, Winchs theory has also been criticised for insufficient explanation on the two types of complementarity. According to Levinger (1964), given the example of a hypothetical man who is average in both intensity and kind in his needs, it would not be possible for him to meet a complementary partner because both the conditions stated for Type I and Type II required a person to be on either end of the spectrum in the intensity of the personality traits. However, Levinger offers a solution to this problem by suggesting that if both partners express the same behaviour in equal amount and has the need for it in moderation then they would complement as well as be similar to each other. Nevertheless, Levingers seemingly logical explanation of his suggestion is questionable because he based his assumption yet on another hypothetical example, which is like using X to prove X. Levinger assumes that if there is a given situation where both partners express the same need in moderate qua ntity and it has also been shown that they complement with each others need, then they are showing complementarity. Nonetheless, Levinger acknowledges the loose footing of his hypothesis and suggest that it should be tested for empirical evidence. Another weakness in Winch et al. (1954)s theory that has also been stated by Levinger (1964) is that Winch does not give clear guidelines to determine how a need would complement or be similar to another. Rather, Winch only gives examples of need-complementary pairs such as dominance-deference and nurturance-succorance. This lack of clarification may question the validity of the theory because it would be difficult to replicate the study using different complementary-need pairs such as practicality-impracticality, which can be a possible need pair. Nonetheless, this problem of deciding the criteria for which characteristic complements another, as offered by Levinger can be inferred by Schutzs theory of need compatibility (Schutz, 1958, as cited in Levinger, 1964). Even though it is limited to only Type I in Winchs theory but it provides the basis for complementarity where, for two people, person A and B, to complement one another in a relationship, person A should express the same am ount of specific need that person B wants to receive and vice versa. Nonetheless, Edwards (1953, as cited in Levinger, 1964) points out that Schutzs method would be difficult to test in married couples because it was intended to be used for testing general peer relations like friendship. Alternatively, we can also use the various circumflex models for interpersonal behaviour (Kiesler, 1982; Wiggins, 1982, as cited in Orford, 1986) to determine the possible complementary need pairs. However, similar to the criticism of Schutzs way, these models were composed for the purpose of non-romantic relationships such as friendship and family interactions rather than the romantically-natured relationship between married couples, which might demand a different kind of structuring in Kieslers Interpersonal Circle. Empirical Research on the Complementarity Hypothesis Perhaps the main weakness in conducting researches to support the complementarity hypothesis in married couples is that there is the lack of clear criteria to determine what is considered as complementarity or more specific to Winchs (1954) study, the conditions required to form the complementary need pairs. This is important because complementarity is often simplified down to the loosely used phrase of opposites attract for ease when explaining to the general population. This is troublesome because there is no clear definition of what is considered as opposites or how can a certain thing attracts another thing. For example, it is assumed that the general population of men are attracted to the opposite gender, which is women, demonstrating the complementariness. However, how can we explain the similar attraction between men and men, also known as homosexuality? This is where the definition of complementarity can be misleading and ambiguous. If this is taken back to the studies conduc ted to find support for the complementarity hypothesis, we can see that this confusion on what complements and what does not in a romantic relationship reflected in the methods of various studies, in particular the one followed below. Review of Complementarity in marital relationships (Saint, 1994) A somewhat recent study conducted by Saint (1994) aims to seek support for the theory of complementarity as a factor in mate selection for marriage. Using a questionnaire that contains nine statements, which the participants have to choose on a scale of nine from strongly disagree to strongly agree, Saint surveys twenty-eight couples who have been married for an average of twenty years. According to Saint, the mean age in the study for men are forty-seven years old and for women, it is forty-two years old and they are located in Oxford, England. Saint has concluded that result does not have enough support for the complementarity hypothesis. There are many weaknesses in the method that Saint (1994) uses to source participants. By using the method of door-to-door solicitation, there is an implication that the participants are concentrated in local area since it is unlikely that the researchers will travel long distance to recruit participants. This assumption is supported when Saint states the geographical demographics of participants are suburbs of Oxford and nearby village. This small and narrow geographical population sampling can suggest a high degree of cultural bias in which there is a tendency to focus on the western individualistic views and also, questions on whether the results and the conclusion drawn can be used for the general population. However, Saint clarifies this doubt by concluding that this study is a good indicator for complementaritys little impact on the Westerns selection of marriage. Thus, this gives the study its strength but still, it should be maintained that modern society are slowly changing and integrating both the Western and Eastern views (Zhuang, 2004). Therefore, the study cannot be used exclusively to explain that complementarity is not very influential in ones selection for marriage, regardless whether it is from an Eastern or Westerns viewpoint. An example is interracial marriage (Lewis, Yancey Bletzer, 1998), which would be possible fifty years ago but now is a common occurrence in our society. Saint (1994) comments on the weak support of his study for the complementarity hypothesis, which can be reflected back to the design of questionnaire. To some extent, it is a forced response despite the varying scale of agreeableness to a statement. Even if this assumption is wrong and that participants do not feel restricted in their response, the scale of nine levels is still a weakness in Saints method. This is because given such a range for different responses; there is only a small sample of twenty-eight couples. More importantly, there is also the scarcity in the numbers of statements that can be used ascertain the reliability of answers and given the big range of at least eighteen different responses between couples, the only logical conclusion would be that the results would be statistically insignificant. When summarising the results, Saint gave three statements that result in a significant negative correlation, which indicates the presence complementarity. They are when socialising I seek a high level of eye contact, using public transport is a stressful experience, and when socialising I will raise the level of my voice to make myself heard. Saint indicated earlier in his abstract in that he aims to investigate complementarity within the social domain of social dominance, social confidence and communication initiation. Whilst there are presence of these elements embedded in each statement but the relevance to married couple is not substantial, i.e. anyone can do the questionnaire whether with their friends or family members, and the chance to obtain a negative correlation is still probable. This indicates that these statements are not valid for testing and therefore, questions Saints conclusion that complementarity have little influence on mate selection for marriage. Yet, we must not forget the strengths in the design of Saints (1994) study. One such strength is how individuals (husband and wife) have to work independently to complete the questionnaire. This increases the confidentiality of the answers because there are less comparisons and attempts to modify ones answer, which engenders more honest responses obtained from participants and reliable information. Furthermore, questionnaires are economical when compared to other types of measurements like interview, easy to control and is replicable to confirm the findings. Thus, if this study is to be repeated, improvements could be made on the sample size and demographics. Moreover, changing the nature of the statements and increasing the number of statements to increase the reliability of the response could also help in seeking support for certain trends in participants answers. Hence, from the studies of Winch (1954) though not so much of Saint (1994), it can be said that complementarity do exist in married couples. However, further investigations need to be made to confirm the claim that complementarity increases marital satisfaction over time. Conclusion It has been implicitly suggested throughout the essay that attraction is linked with similarity and couples have higher marital satisfaction when they have complementary needs. However, there is no definite conclusion that this is the case. Criticisms of Winchs theory demonstrate the uncertainty and lack of clarification in certain aspects of his concept of need-complementarity. An example of this is the undefined need pairs such as dominance/deference, which later affects later studies like that of Saint (1994). However, in his evaluation of Winchs concept, Levinger (1964) also explain that the replicated studies that did not support Winchs theory is not conclusive either because the method used is more suitable for testing non-romantic dyadic relationship. Likewise, the concept of similarity leading onto attraction may seem obvious and indeed there are numerous studies to support this hypothesis. However, the majority of them use the method of a bogus stranger to determine the effects of attraction. In addition, the use of partners in existing relationships was not common because of limited time and resource. This lead to the conclusion in that perhaps similarity leading to attraction is only valid in laboratory environment and not real life situations. In both cases, the main problem that prevents proper investigation of the issue lies in both the methodological and theoretical aspect of the studies. A possible suggestion for improvements could be to have longitudinal researches instead of cross-sectional that involve couples in existing relationships. This is the biggest obstacle for researchers because of limited budget and time. Another is to increase the sample size theoretically by doing a meta-analysis of all the studies conducted over the years. In addition, more accurate and fitting instrument could also be developed to measure the degree of similarity or complementarity such as a revised version of Edwards Preference Schedule that is targeting romantic relationship and not general peer relationships. Reference Books Byrne, D. (1971). The attraction paradigm. New York: Academic Press. Journal Articles Antill, J. K. (1983). Sex role complementarity versus similarity in married couples. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 45, 145-155. Aube, J., Koestner, R. (1995). Gender Characteristics and Relationship Adjustment: Another Look at Similarity-Complementarity Hypotheses. Journal of Personality , 63, 879-904. Bowerman, C. E., Day, B. R. (1956). A Test of the Theory of Complementary Needs As Applied to Couples During Courtship. American Sociological Review , 21, 602-605. Byrne, D., Clore, L. G., Smeaton, G. (1986). The Attraction Hypothesis: Do Similar Attitudes Affect Anything? Journal of Pereonalily and Social Psychology , 51, 1167-1170. Dijkstra, P., Barelds, D. P. (2008). Do People Know What They Want: A Similar or Complementary Partner? Evolutionary Psychology , 6, 595-602. Dryer, C. D., Horowitz, L. M. (1997). When Do Opposites Attract? Interpersonal Complementarity Versus Similarity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 72, 592-603. Felmlee, D. H. (2001). From appealing to appalling: Disenchantment with a romantic partner. Sociological Perspectives , 44, 263-280. Hill, C. T., Rubin, A., Peplau, L. A. (1976). Breakups before marriage: The end of 103 affairs. Journal of Social Issues , 32, 147-168. Kiesler, D. J. (1983). The 1982 Interpersonal Circle: A Taxonomy for Complementarity in Human Transactions . Psychological Review , 90, 185-214. Levinger, G. (1964). Note on Need Complementarity in Marriage. Psychological Bulletin , 61, 153-157. Lewis, J. R., Yancey, G. (1997). Racial and Nonracial Factors That Influence Spouse Choice in Black/White Marriages . Journal of Black Studies , 28, 60-78. Montoya, M. R., Horton, R. S., Kirchner, J. (2008). perceived similarity Is actual similarity necessary for attraction? A meta-analysis of actual and perceived similarity. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships , 25, 889-922. Orford, J. (1986). The Rules of Interpersonal Complementarity: Does Hostility Beget Hostility and Dominance, Submission? Psychological Review , 93, 365-377. Saint, D. J. (1994). Complementarity in marital relationships. The Journal of Social Psychology , 134, 701-703. Schellenberg, J. A., Bee, L. S. (1960). A Re-Examination of the Theory of Complementary Needs in Mate Selection. Marriage and Family Living , 22, 227-232 . Shiota, M. N., Levenson, R. W. (2007). Birds of a Feather Dont Always Fly Farthest: Similarity in Big Five Personality Predicts More Negative Marital Satisfaction Trajectories in Long-Term Marriages. Psychology and Aging , 22, 666-675. Winch, R. F., Ktsanes, T., Ktsanes, V. (1954). The Theory of Complementary Needs in Mate-Selection: An Analytic and Descriptive Study. American Sociological Review , 19, 241-249. Zhuang, X. (2004). We or I? Collectivism-Individualism in Chinese and American Values. Sociology. University of Victoria.

PARADISE FLUBBED: Pynchon & the New World Essay -- essays papers

PARADISE FLUBBED: Pynchon & the New World When, in Gravity's Rainbow, "A screaming comes across the sky," it is the sound of a V-2 rocket arcing up and over the English Channel.But the rocket's vapor trail (which Pirate Prentice sees from kneedeep in the primordial mulch of his bananararium) points further on: over the Atlantic, on toward America, the New World, Tyrone Slothrop's "yearned-for, perhaps illusory home." The rocket's path ends a fraction of an inch above the reader's head, the rocket suspended, poised ... A tableau representing the possibile if not quite realized Apocalypse.In his first novel, V., Pynchon explored the death-worshipping mania, the will-to-the-inorganic hubris, the sheer Gotterdamerà ¼ng gaga-ness of a Dying Europe.And the final scene from Gravity's Rainbow seems to (almost) complete that arc, to represent Europe's death rattle; a last gasp (and grasp)--as if the Old World, having given birth to the New, now wished to take that Other in a last suicidal embrace. Don't bother, says Vineland.We'll do it ourselves, eventually.Not by introducing some new evil into this New Eden, but simply by retro-fitting America with the same brutal mannerisms, the same authoritarian conceits, the same mania for Tidying Up that destroyed Europe--all of these urges which Pynchon sees as (in Fredric Jameson's terms) "necessary preconditions" for the rise to imperialist hegemony and colonialist cruelty, and the inevitable descent into fascist insanity. The "whiteness" of decay that looms over V. is for Pynchon inextricably connected with America's Puritanical beginnings, both genealogical and esthetic.The Crying of Lot 49 ends, in fact, with what Edward Mendelson calls a "penultimate Pentecostal" moment: the bo... ...nd thus it might be suggested that capital 'A' fiction challenges rather than satisfies, disappoints (that word implying how much of our thinking is shaped by our lifelong desire to escape gravity's wagging finger) rather than reassures.The minimalist Triumvirate rules beneath a banner stolen from Holiday Inn:No Surprises.While what we read with greater effort offers, we sense, greater reward.To push beyond, further, aside; to hack through the jungle despite the fact that the pathway is perfectly clear, asphalted, guard-railed, signposted, edge-trimmed, icon-d, OSHA-inspected, patrolled, mapped, sanitized .... Pynchon's fiction lives, and occasionally (all too seldom) communicates from Out There, out in the jungle, out where the distance between Sign and Signifier is a gap wide enough to break your neck, should you leap into it.Out on the Frontier, still, always.

Systhesis of Dulcin

Synthesis of Dulcin Objective: The main objective of this lab is to gain experience at a typical synthesis and semi-microscale recrystallization. Discussion Questions: 1) How fast should the temperature be raised when determining a melting point? When can the temperature be raised more quickly? 2) If there is an Impurity present in a sample, what is the effect on the melting point? 3) Explain why a) salt, spread on roads in the winter, helps prevent icing in, for instance, southern Ontario, and b) salt is useless on the much colder roads of Manitoba. ) You would have to slowly raise the temperature up when determining the melting point due to the sensitivity of the dulcin being able to change from solid to liquid at any point. If the temperature is set to high to fast it is possible to miss the change of state and not be able to record the time which is why it should originally be set pretty slow. If set high too fast it will melt faster causing the melting point to be inaccurate. As soon as you get the general idea of when change in state will occur, that is when you can probably raise the temperature more quickly. ) If there are impurities present in the sample it can cause many problems, it can lower or raise the boiling point due to it having an effect on the dulcin itself. Basically it will increase the range of the boiling and melting points, which will give an inaccurate reading. If the dulcin were to be fully pure the range would have a difference of maybe 1 to 2, having an impurity would make a huge difference. 3) Salt is sprinkled on the streets so that when it mixes with the moisture and the water it creates a saline mixture.This mixture has a lower freezing point then normal water does so that means it would only freeze at lower temperatures. This basically prolongs the icing process and basically can fully prevent ice from forming on the roads. On older colder roads of Manitoba it reaches the colder temperatures necessary to freeze over the saline mixture which ends up making it useless to do. Conclusion: Yield: To calculate you must take the amount of crude dulcin you started with and have it divided by the pure dulcin then multiply it by 100 to get a %. Pure Dulcin: 0. 6168g Crude Dulcin: 1. 2356g Melting point of crude: 167-171Melting point of pure: 174-176 The recrystallization process is one that has been tested multiple times and been proven effective in many experiments. In our experiment I would have to say that it was a very effective process due to the melting points that we were able to get with our products. The melting point for the crude substance was between 167 and 171 . This shows that the crude definitely had some impurities in it keeping it a bit away form the theoretical melting point. The melting point of our pure substance was between 174and 176 which is actually extremely close to the theoretical melting point.This shows us that the recrystallization process does an extremely good job, even though it ta kes a lot of time and effort to do it. There way be some flaws with it and some error that can come about with how the apparatus is set up or how the students take care of the products. In the end it is a great process and if the technique is done properly and precisely the effectiveness off this process is very high and produces great results. Reference: â€Å"University of Winnipeg CHEM-2202/3 Organic Chemistry I Lab Manual Fall 2012†

Reflection Paper on School Counselor’s Skills

School Counselors’ Perception of Required Workplace Skills and Career Development Competencies John Barker Ph. D, Jamie Satcher, Ph. D The journal is about a research made to examine US counselors’ perception about the workplace skills and career development for the high school students who are going either work-bound or college bound. Researchers used a questionnaire with a participant of 152 high school counselors nationwide. It was defined from the study that work-bound students are those who are going to work right after high school while college-bound students are those who will pursue a degree after their secondary schooling.Workplace skills and career development competencies were essential for the high school students because according to their department of education, the students need to have a clear understanding of their future occupations. Results of the research indicated that high school counselors view work- and college-bound students as more similar tha n different in their need for developing required workplace skills and competencies. Moreover, the acquisition of said skills and competencies were recognized to be vital for both group of students.There is only a discrepancy when it comes to acquiring skills for according to the results, counselors believed that the work-bound students need to have more idea when it comes to skills so it will be easy for them to look for some jobs. The study emphasized on the great need of acquisition for high school students when it comes to work skills and career competencies as a part of their secondary school experience. Westerners have always been competitive when it comes to pursuing a career.The study was done in December 2000 and it is great to find out that they are already studying about the needs of career development for their high school students. On the other hand here in the country, counselors were just starting off making career programs, not to mention that most schools in the Phi lippines only have career talks. It is not that I am being judgmental when it comes to counseling programs in the country. It so happened that I realized how behind the Philippine schools when it comes to these programs.In fairness with some schools, they have a good guidance program particularly when it comes to placements. Problem here is that not most schools have a career program, so most students get into a course that they really do not like. An example of this is the boom in the nursing profession in our country. Several years ago, there was a big demand for nurses abroad. Almost every graduating secondary student was talking about it and how easy it will be for them to go to the other country for there is a greener grass there.Almost half of the population of each secondary school took the course. After four years of being in the college and passing the board examinations, their next question is â€Å"What now? † Since most of the students took the same course, the de mand decreased already and most of them ended up being jobless. I always look back on these days and I feel bad every time I think of it. I wished that there is someone who could have guided these people when they were choosing the course.Most of the nursing graduates that I know keep on saying that they regret the course they took and that they could have chosen another one. The Commission on Higher Education should really do something about it. On the lighter side of this issue, it is great news that schools are now starting to develop career guidance programs. These programs are even starting as early as pre-school. The National Career Assessment Examination is a great help in identifying their future career. A follow-up form the counselors is a bigger help in shaping their future goals.