The Challenges between a Muslim and non-Muslim after 9/11

There is tremendous tumult of voices after the news was aired. The media was centered on the busiest city of the world – New York. Even today many have not failed to raise a pen, even poets, artists, students and professionals, the unlearned and learned all are in awe. The sad destiny of those who perished at the Ground Zero can not be erased in memory and much more to those who were left behind. These are the Muslims and non-Muslims who still survived but are now living in the ashes of indifference, of terror and pain. Many are written about the issue but the three articles of Aidi, Marty and Asani is worthy to be discerned.The first article challenges plurality and the other speaks about fundamentalism and the last one equates Pan-Africanism to Islam. All of which are beliefs not only in terms of religion but a very specific knowledge by which man go through life which transcends his earthly existence. More than seven years ago, The Ground Zero boasted for its twin towers, e ach earthly dominion rested on their laurels, there could be havoc around on some parts of the world but a non-Muslim and a Muslim could occupy the same space without qualms or pretence.After the 9/11 when thousands of American citizens were slain, killings had also begun to the so called perpetuators akin. Vehemently, even if sin is personal the debt would be somehow carried on to the next generations. Man by destiny always inherits the sin of his first parents, as any good works are wagged which serves as inspirations for the younger ones? The challenges that Muslim and non-Muslim faces today is on how each one of them foster universality among their many diverse beliefs and how to remove the fears that those beliefs brought about which was clouded by the strand of hatred and ignorance.Today, co-existence between a Muslim and non-Muslim presupposed a barrier an unequal yoke so may say. The catastrophe left a mark of indifference that is antagonistic to both and it is no longer the hues we talked about but the creed of one nation between another. Succinctly, Muslims are even called the new niggers of today’s world of discrimination (Aidi, 2002). Moreover, it is not easy to justify pain because in the last analysis it is an evil that must be eradicated by all costs.It is only divine wisdom that can only justify pain and somehow alien to an understanding of a regular man. To the Muslims, a life well lived will serve as an example that his belief is not erroneous and he in his own belief wishes to co-exist with others. His belief in the Quran in the days that will come will be a challenge of its authenticity that the â€Å"noblest among you is the most god-fearing of you. (Quran 49:13). † Essentially when we say god-fearing man is the respecter of truth.Muslims, young and old is challenge by the world to live by its faith, and if god-fearing why the erroneous doctrine of that lone killer pilot blown in a blaze those two Manhattan skyscrapers? When in Quran 111 God is a respecter of freedom. God created man differently so that they may know and understand each other (Asani, 2003). The Muslims who have submitted to the truth has a great relevance to show the world the real essence and truth of their beliefs. They are the ones who should stand up and defend their faith on those who uses religiosity for personal gains and politics.Non-Muslims on the other hand, must seek the truth in defiance of prejudices and other extremes, with his Muslim brothers he must defend peace and pluralism that the country had earnestly guarded throughout the centuries. The Americas should test where he’s ground stand, if it is solid and firm and if its faith still rest in God. Non-Muslims, Christians and non-Christians and even due to ignorance are disbeliever of God, in the virtue of wanting to exist he must also be respectable to the life of others behaving in a fashion that still welcoming even in the face of odds.Martin Marty elaborated in his work â€Å"the Future of World Fundamentalisms† that we must make eschatological verifications or reaffirm if a movement does not lead to a polity that runs on compromises or any revivalism or reactivation of a militant Islamic tradition (Marty, 1998). Reactive agents according to Marty are inconspicuous, adaptive and improvisatory but are directly assertive. It is good to know what is under those rubrics of belief, whether that so called useful knowledge does not disdain its members of uncongenial acts worthy of suspicion.It is always good to know the wolf inside the sheep skin because a terrorized world can not afford to make the same mistakes again. Muslims and non-Muslim have one in common and that is to decipher the truth not only in terms of their religiosity and beliefs but on how each and every one lives a life of normal existence. The greatest challenge for the Muslim and non-Muslims in the post 9/11 is to unite in bringing this world to peace so the lives lost in the catastrophes are not wasted. Both must survive the struggle to be whole again in the fight of terrorism.Each one in whatever state in life must still nurture the gift of patience and kindness despite of confusion that is going on in this world. Man’s religion may have existed since civilization began and the only real truth about it was that the difference between a supernatural and human beliefs. Human beliefs tend to materialism and are bounded by space and corners while supernatural beliefs, leads to freedom and love. In fact, love is the only thing that stands still when all else has fallen.And only a true religion bears this sign. Charity removes obstacles, it builds bridges and any learning that is void of this elementary truth is a deceit. This is a great challenge not only to Muslims or non-Muslims to non-believers or future converts but to the whole world at large. Love makes a great difference to what is it that differentiates a human from a beast form and a goodish from a noble being. For a Muslim and a non-Muslim, there is no reason to fear because in their hearts the truth is already been written.

Evaluating the Arts Essay

The two pieces of art I have chosen to write about are both performance art pieces by Trisha Brown. Brown is a postmodern performance artist whose work is shown throughout the United States, although mostly in small, liberal arts colleges, such as Mills College in California. All of her works are considered to be extremely experimental, as well as extremely contemporary and postmodern. The first work is Man Walking Down the Side of a Building. However, the actual still shot is called Walking on the Wall, and for our purposes, this is what will be studied. The still frame involves five bodies, all literally suspended, walking on a wall. The five dancers are in no particular order. They are simply walking, in order, at any pace, down the wall. This 1971 piece was designed to be performed at a specific site, with the dancers suspended in harnesses, moving along the wall. The wonder of this piece of art is that there is absolutely no metaphorical meaning. Now, that is not to say that there is no deeper meaning. There certainly is. But the piece is viewed by artists as completely unconventional, because this piece was originally a dance of sorts. However, there are no standard five positions of the feet, as seen in conventional, classical ballet. There was no music, no stage set, nothing. It was simply movement, and gravity. Brown was trying to have the audience understand that art does not need to have some sort of deeper meaning in order to be valuable; that’s already been done. The most intriguing part about this piece of art is the colors that were used. As it is all in black, whites, and grays, those shades become the center of the piece, as well as the shadows. Because the shadows point in different directions, it is difficult for the eye to simply focus on one section. In addition, this piece was made in the late 1970’s. Of course, it was extremely controversial, as the form of dance that was en vogue at the time were Balanchine’s classical ballerinas, who of course performed classical and neoclassical works. This was meant to be a rebellion of that form of work. The second piece of artwork I have chosen is a still of Brown’s Roof Piece (1973. ) Much like Walking on the Wall, this piece was created as a postmodern response to art. In Roof Piece, the dancers were on twelve different rooftops over a ten-block area throughout New York City. Each dancer would transmit movements to a dancer on the nearest roof. Therefore, this was actually an improvisational piece. In addition, Brown’s artistic intent was to create a piece of art that had no metaphorical or symbolic meaning. In the still frame of this piece, it is easy to see the fluid, yet also geometric design of the dancers. Of course, this still frame is also in black and white. However, what is particularly interesting about this piece is the way in which the background of New York City is blurry, while the dancer is in perfect focus. The artist obviously intended for the dancer to be the only one in the spotlight. With the busy connotations of the City, it is quite refreshing to see the dancer juxtaposed against the city. In addition, it is almost as if the dancer has been suspended in time, as if the dancer stopped moving so the photographer could find a good shot. Works Cited â€Å"Roof Piece: Brown. † Ncf. Carleton. 20 Aug. 2007 . â€Å"Trisha Brown Dance Company: Man Walking Down the Side of a Building. † Tate Online. Tate Online. 20 Aug. 2007 .

Origins of the cold war beginning in around 1920 Essay

Origins of the cold war beginning in around 1920 - Essay Example The fear of communism in America in 1920s imposed a great threat to USA because they had overthrown the Royal family in Russia in 1917 and murdered them. The communists were then blamed for several strikes that took place including the police of Boston as well as Steel and Coal workers. This article attempts to analyse the origin of the Cold War in 1920s. The Red Scare of the 1920s saw the headquarters of dissident and communist institutions raided without any warranty and numerous people were arrested but were never neither tried nor allowed to access counsel. The media stations were shut down, as some legal immigrants were deported and the judicial system turned a blind eye because the Americas national security was dominant. Interestingly the people whose homes were ransacked did not even have weapons as expected and only three guns were found yet the people could not question the legality of their arrests. It is undeniable that numerous of anarchists and communist were rounded up by Palmer with the help of local law enforcement officials (Murray 82-90). House and the senate debated over the bills that provided draconian sanctions for the people who uttered seditious statements and Palmer believed that responding to public clamour for antiradical action would help in his presidential ambition. A number of sweeping took place in dozens of cities for a very long time as well as smaller raids in different parts of the country. According to Murray many people were arrested and taken into custody without charges and held for long hours (82-90). The Republican district attorney was trying to upstage democratic attorney general even though Palmer got the credit of wholesale assaults on civil liberties rounded up numerous communists both. Barkey explains that the Justice Department agents and some local police got into homes and meeting places where they comprehensively arrested everybody they found in sight (136-137). Some men arrested in Detroit were imprisoned fo r three to six days in dark windowless, narrow corridors where they slept on bare stone floors, bullied by police, derived of food and were only allowed one toilet. The people were denied communication link with their relatives or attorneys and were charged for attending a dance, class or that they ate at the House of the Masses. The Boston Justice Department chained together detainees and matched them along the streets where they were harassed by the hecklings of Americans. There were similar events in Pittsburgh where congregated foreigners were driven away by trucks. Initially, Palmer’s actions were warmly received and the media reported different views such as â€Å"Fighting Quaker of the Cabinet† Uncle Sam’s Policeman, the Rooter out of Reds†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ a man who showed a quality of courage for practicing ideas and more other headlines that strongly supported palmer. Palmer presented lots of case against the Reds by asserting that communism was an alien criminal who put the nation into jeopardy. There were proposals that the US government should restrict immigration and supress extremists and that real Americans were not aliens as the anarchists (Murray 190-195). Barkey explains

Can technology replace classroom teachers Essay

Can technology replace classroom teachers - Essay Example With the use of technology, people can obtain information very easily. Social media allows people to stay in contact with each other virtually and exchange information. However, there are many people who believe that development of technology can destroy social life of people. Traditional classroom teachers are very important in the life of children as they are role model for children. Classroom teachers help students understand about a subject in detail. Textbooks and traditional blackboard education helps students understand and learn subjective matters in an appropriate manner. Teachers believe that modern schools install projectors in class room that makes education process simple and teachers need to work less however there are some students, who pay less attention and are unable to cope-up with the teachings. This essay will discuss about the positive and negative impacts of technology and discuss whether they are a threat to classroom teachings. According to the present education system, the influx of technology means that there would be a greater need for teachers. Technology has various positive implications in the society. It is believed that with the advancement of technology people will have a comfortable and safe life whereas some people dispute the fact and imagine growth of technology can lead to extinction of human life. In the modern classrooms, teachers are expected to use technology while teaching. Almost a decade back, classroom education was mandatory and students were taught about subjective facts via textbooks only. Teachers used blackboards to explain students about subjective knowledge. In the modern classrooms most of the knowledge providing equipment is digitalized. Usage of projector instead of blackboard is one of the most common examples that students experience while they are taught in classes (Clemmitt 14). Moreover, introduction of social media

Comparison of equity and common law in the field of breach of a Essay

Comparison of equity and common law in the field of breach of a fiduciary duty in a trust - Essay Example In "Junior books v Veitchi (1983) 1 AC 520" recovery of economic loss was imposed as liability. And the elements for constituting negligence such as (a) A duty of care owed by the defendant to the plaintiff (b) A bleach of that duty by the defendant (c) consequential damage suffered by the plaintiff (d) Such damages caused by the bleach are formulated. (Peter de Cruz 320) Equity is the Creation of Courts, it is innovative and it provides various quick remedies such as injunction, rescission, rectification and specific performance. Thus equity is not a separate law but it a supplement to the common law. Discretionary is common feature of equitable remedies. Equity has wider scope than the common law. The common law does not look into the conduct of the parties what is required is the claim has to proved. Once the claim is proved the damages are awarded. The common remedy in common law is awarding of damages. In Common law the courts have limited discretionary functions compared to law of equity. (Terence Ingaman 442) Common Law and equity is distinguished on concept of jurisdiction such as "Equitable property interest", "fiduciary obligation", "Unconsciousness" and "Proprietary remedies", which are the distinct concepts developed by the courts of chancery. 1. Equitable Property Interest. Where the interest in the property is vested under the law of equity such as interest in trust property, the interest of the beneficiary over the property in trust is enforceable not only against the trustee but also against the third party who acquires such property. Therefore the beneficiary interest is conceived as proprietary. The beneficiary is at liberty to convert the beneficial interest into the absolute ownership interest at any point of time. Where the interest in the property is vested under the Common law such as through transfer of property, the interest is absolute and the person can exercise such rights over the property for his sole lawful benefits. Where as in equity a trustee with equitable property right exercise his rights over the property for the benefit of the beneficiary and cannot exercised for his benefit. (Peter Cane 187) 2. Unconscionable Conduct: Chancery courts are conscience. As discussed in earlier topic the liability under the common law is strict liability caused due to reasonable misconduct or tortuous act. The Chancery courts under the law of equity are liberal in granting the remedies extending to suspected conduct. Unconscionable act is related to the strict liability to fiduciary and the negligence is to the strict liability in tort. The common law provides remedies to those subjected to harm due to negligence of others where as the law of equity stretches further and provides the relief against the unfair advantage taken by the others. (Peter Cane 191) 3. Fiduciary obligations: Fiduciary obligations are created in trust. The fiduciary in relation to the trust property must act for the benefit of the beneficiary but not for the benefit

An assessment of the theoretical, methodological, and empirical Essay

An assessment of the theoretical, methodological, and empirical contribution of {your psychologist} to psychology and to society as a whole - Essay Example Carl Rogers is an American psychologist who became one of the founders of humanistic, client-centered (or later named person-centered), approach in practical and theoretical psychology. The scientist was born on January 8, 1902 in Oak Park, IL - a suburb of Chicago. He was the forth of the six children of a devout Christian housewife and a successful civil engineer. Carl was such a clever child that he already could read before going to the kindergarten. Since he learned to read in the early years he started his education from the second grade. At the age of 12 the family moved to a farm near Chicago where he had enough freedom to become a rather independent, isolated and self disciplined person. There a future therapist was brought up in a strict manner with a great number of chores, and according to the strict philosophy of his mother – a devout Christian. Such a life made Carl a somewhat isolated and independent introvert. Living on a farm leaved a mark on his first career choice. So he entered the University of Wisconsin Madison in order to major in agriculture. Later he switched to history, and finally religion to study for the ministry. During that time Rogers was among those selected 10 students who were to go to China for the World Christian Federation Conference for the term of six months. Being there he broadened his thinking so much that having returned home he started to doubt some basic religious views together with his own religious convictions. After graduation against his parents wishes Rogers got married with Helen Suiet. After the wedding a just married couple moved to New York City. There Carl attended the most liberal religious institution - the Union Theological Seminary. Though he was successful at this career, Carl once again decided to change the profession because the experiences he got while studying radically influenced and even changed his religious views.

Business research paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Business research paper - Essay Example As part of the inquisition the research will make use of timestamps such as Weblog and news articles to feed as input materials to generate results that will be presented graphical. The graphical details will highlight major sentiments like anxiety, despair and disappointment. In addition, the development that comes with each of sentiments will be presented to illustrate for instance how the earthquake news was received and the corresponding reactions that followed afterwards. Essentially, the main motivation for using this method is for convenience since the participant dependent and independent variables are within meaningful reach. There are a good number of published as well as unpublished literature on the subject of sentiment analysis in both the academic and policy circles. Incidentally, in this review the most astounding works that have significant bearings on the subject matter will be reviewed. To begin with, it is undoubtedly prudent to establish the internal dynamics of sentimentalism. The paper benefits from the earlier work of pioneers who discovered the so-called semantic orientation of examination of a statement or a written material (Turney, 2002). Also according to Pang et la (2002), a sentence can be assessed to identify the positive and negative elements contained in it. Unlike the above mentioned works, this work will be influenced by the system of multi-polar analysis in order to draw the clear distinction between this and other previous papers. In a related context, researchers Mishne and de Rijke (2006) have advocated for a system that can evaluate momentary changes in the moods of people, it is what they term "Moodviews." Fundamentally, the analysis is carried out with the aid of over one hundred sentiments. A good number of scholarly works have been carried out on the question of "topic detection and tracking" with each of these groups making their own proposals depending on what is deemed fit for each circumstances. Interestingly, there is a gross limitation of work that fully addresses the utilization of sentiments under the "topic detection and tracking" column and this is precisely what this paper will be addressing. The process will also incorporate what Havre et al (2002), called information visualization. Research Results At the end of the research the following outcomes represented below are expected to be generated. A graph will be plotted to highlight the sentiments generated especially in the wake of the turbulent earthquake that occurred a little while before the official opening of the 2008 International Olympic Games hosted in Beijing, China. The X-axis of the graph will capture the dates where as the resultant sentiments will be presented on the Y-axis. The main sentiments expressed here are shock, anxiety and despair. Conclusion The research will deal with analyzing momentary trends in sentiments generated from the pre-Olympics euphoria as well as the aftermath. Qualitative and quantitative

Maths problem Math Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Maths - Math Problem Example For example, if customers only demand (or can access) 5 units, they will be willing to pay 51- 52 =  £26 (according to market demand, but according to the market supply and demand the market price remains at  £15, hence consumers save (26-15 =  £11), for the fifth unit bought. The  £11 is thus the consumer surplus. It increases as the quantity demanded decreases. Producer surplus on the other hand is the gain to producers for every unit of quantity supplied below the optimal quantity, due to the fact that the equilibrium price exceeds the price at which suppliers are willing and able to supply that quantity. According to the case above, producers are willing to supply 3 units at a price of  £ 8.25 ( 6+ 32/4 ), but the market price gives them an advantage of (15-8.25 =  £6.75) for the third unit sold. The excess is the producer surplus, which reduces as the quantity produces approaches equilibrium quantity. As observed in (ii) above the peak rate is at 5 from which the rate starts decreasing. Therefore as t approaches infinity (moves away from 5), then the rate approaches zero. This trend explains the large negative difference between the totals of the two periods. Typically, consumer surplus is the area under the demand curve but above the equilibrium price. While producer surplus is the area above the supply curve limited by the horizontal line at the equilibrium price as shown in the diagram. iii. Note that in this case, producer surplus exceeds consumer surplus contrary to what was observed in question two. Probably, the producers are able to restrict supply and hence push price high (towards the demand curve) hence reducing the gain to

The Impact of Media on Behavior Essay Example for Free

The Impact of Media on Behavior Essay This chapter presents the background, problem statement, purpose, specific objectives, the scope and the significance of the study. This study intended to find out the relationship between parenting styles, mass media, peer pressure and the risk of teenage pregnancy among the youth using a case study of orphanage homes found in Rubaga division Kampala District 1.1: Background to the problem. Several past researchers have had interest in the relationship between parenting styles, mass media, peer pressure and the risk of teenage pregnancy among the youth in different contexts. For instance the research by Wingson (2009) was about the effects of mass media on teenager. He notes in this research that mass media has become part of everyone’s daily life. He adds that the development of technology is rapid in the world, from telegraph, radio, to TV, computer, mobile phone. He further noted that media makes the lives of the people at ease, along with Information and Communication Technologies they produce to increase the standard of living for the people to spend time. He concludes that, teenagers can easier to get mass media in computer. They can through computers to know different types of mass media that they want to have. Dr. Baumrind (1966) studied how parents responded to the needs of their children, parental responsiveness and how that determined a child’s  behavior. She also looked at how they demanded things from their children, in terms of their behavior. She used these two measures of parenting to form her seminal parenting styles theory, which would shape the voice of psychology and criminology well into the 1990’s. The research by Farinola, Donnerstein, (2001) was on sexuality and mass media. The research shows that sexual talk and displays are increasingly frequent and explicit in this mediated world. The research adds that sexual content that ranged from flirting to sexual intercourse had increased from slightly more than half of television programs in 1997-1998 to more than two-thirds of the programs in the 1999-2000 seasons, while the research of Rahaman Onike (2007) was social and health implications of teenage pregnancies. The research notes that the incidence of teenage pregnancy has become a global issue as a result of its consequence on population health, growth and development. Lastly Crystal, (1990) carried out research on the causes teenage pregnancies. His research shows that teenagers’ risky sexual behaviours are major factors which predispose them to unwanted pregnancies. He adds that non -perception of risks in their sexual behaviours and lack of adequate information about reproduction and sexual health issues are largely responsible for teenage pregnancies. The research concludes that sexual behaviours of the teenagers depend largely on societal constrictions and the level of cultural permissiveness which dictate the modes of sexual practices While much research concerning teenage pregnancy deals with either causal factors or prevention strategies, more information is needed about issues relating to parenting styles, mass media, peer pressure and the risk of teenage pregnancies. All these past researchers isolated the above relationship a gap the proposed study intends to fill. All in all, with the above theoretical and contextual gaps raised, a study of the relationship between parenting styles, mass media, peer pressure and the risk of teenage pregnancies is not only timely but also long overdue. In the context of this study, parenting style is seen as a psychological construct representing standard strategies that parents use bin their child rearing. There are many different theories and opinions on the best ways to rear, children, as well as differing levels of time and effort that parents are willing to invest (Wikipedea 2010). Many parents create their own styles from a combination of factors, and these may evolve overtime as the children develop their own personalities and move through life stages. A parenting style is affected by both the parents’ and children’s temperaments, and is largely based on the influence one’s parents and culture. However, for the purposes of this study, parenting style will be understood to refer to the way parents bring about their children. It will include the things that parents do to impart discipline and good behaviors in their children as accepted in the context of Uganda. According to Wikipedea (2008), mass media denotes a section of the media specifically designed to reach a large audience. The term was coined in the 1920s with the advent of nation wide radio networks, mass circulation of newspapers and magazines. However for the purposes of this research mass media will be used to mean news papers, magazines, radio stations and television programs related to issues of teenagers. In the context of this study, teenage pregnancy can be described as the pregnancy that occurs to the females between 13 – 19 years. This is more prevalent in Africa than other continents of the world. Akindele Oscar (1999) also defines teenage pregnancy as conception by children who are below the age of 21 resulting from either marital or pre-marital sex. Peer pressure refers top the influence exerted by a peer group in encouraging a person to change his or her attitude, values or behavior in order to conform to group norms Akindele Oscar (1999) 1.2: Statement of the Problem. According to Barnaba A (1998), youth peer pressure is one of the most frequently referred to forms of peer pressure. It is particularly common pressure because most young people spend large amounts of time in fixed  groups such as schools and sub-groups within them regardless of their opinion of those groups Meier (2008). In addition to this, they may lack the maturity to handle pressure from friends. Also, young people are more willing to behave negatively towards those who are not members of their own peer groups and relief from stress. They need to better understand their condition and choices for care. However, this is not the case for teenagers in most cases most vulnerable persons do not receive good parenting and in most cases they are more exposed to information without restriction. As a result most of the teenagers engage in more risky sexual behaviors they see in the magazines, in the news papers and on television. It is for this reason that this study sets out to investigate the relationship between parenting styles, mass media peer pressure and the risk of teenage pregnancies in Rubaga Kampala District 1.3:Purpose of the study The purpose of the study will be to establish the relationship to investigate the relationship between parenting styles, mass media peer pressure and the risk of teenage pregnancies in Rubaga Kampala District. 1.4:Objectives of the study 1.To establish the relationship between parenting styles and teenage pregnancies 2.To establish the relationship between mass media and teenage pregnancies. 3.To establish the relationship between peer pressure and teenage pregnancies. I.5:Research questions 1.How do parenting styles contribute to the risk of teenage pregnancies? 2.What is the contribution of mass media on the risk of teenage pregnancies? 3.How does peer pressure contribute to teenage pregnancies? 1.6:Scope of the study The study will be conducted in five selected orphanage homes found in Rubaga division of Kampala. Rubaga Division has five orphanage homes namely Sanyu Babies home, Nalukolongo, Hope Orphanage Home, Wakhissa Ministries, Cobap Nakulabye Project. Rubaga Division is selected because of its location in the heart of Kampala district and being a division with many community based  organizations. The content scope of the study will be based on the relationship between parenting styles, mass media, peer pressure and the risk of teenage pregnancies. 1.7:Significance of the study The findings of the study could be of value to Rubaga division residents because the research will help them identify strategies which can work for them as regards combating teenage pregnancies. To future researchers, the results of the study may support future researchers in having a basis for comparison of parenting styles and teenage pregnancies. Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) could find the study useful because it would enable them lobby policy makers and government to provide appropriate community services as regards the youth. To the youth, the results of the study will help them on knowing the best strategies of avoiding teenage pregnancies. Media houses may find it useful as it may help them in choosing the best programs for the youth. 1.8:Conceptual Frame work Fig 1: A conceptual framework showing the relationship between parenting styles, mass media, peer pressure and the risk of teenage pregnancies among the youth. The conceptual framework shows that parenting styles mass media influence and peer pressure have got an impact on the youth that in turn make the youth prone to pregnancies. CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2.0:Introduction Teenage pregnancy has become a growing concern nowadays and hence it has become imperative to look into the various causes of teenage pregnancy in  order to deal with this issue carefully. Teenage pregnancies are widely discouraged because the of health risks they raise for the young mothers and their babies. This problem is more prevalent in developed countries, particularly USA. As the name itself indicates, teenage pregnancy refers to pregnancy in young girls, mostly aged 13 to 17 years. Pregnancy at such a tender age is primarily due to lack of sex education. Lack of awareness about the causes and effects of teenage pregnancy is more often than not, a result of lack of proper communication between teenagers and their parents. Therefore, it is the duty of the parents to impart adequate sex education and education regarding reproductive health to their adolescent sons and daughters so that their children become aware of the various aspects related teenage sex and pregnancy. Schools and society also need to emphasize the risk factors associated with unprotected sex as well as the outcomes of unplanned teenage pregnancy, not to mention the significance of moral and ethical values. Lack of sex education is the most important but not the only cause of teenage pregnancy. Following are some other teenage pregnancy causes that can not be ignored. Teenage pregnancies create a host of other problems like incomplete education, unemployment, poverty, social embarrassment and numerous other emotional traumas. Further, early motherhood also affects the psychological development of the child adversely. Besides, bodies of teenage girls are not as developed as those of adult women in terms of childbearing, therefore they are likely to face certain complications as well. Moreover, the chances of maternal death can not be ruled out. Therefore, analyzing the various causes of teenage pregnancy can help a great deal in addressing this issue effectively and eventually reduc ing the cases of teenage pregnancies. 2.1:Parenting styles and the risk of teenage Pregnancy among the youth Despite what teens may say, their parents do play a critical role in determining what influences them. In many ways, parental behavior and the nature of the parent/teen relationship influences a teens decision to smoke, take drugs, become sexually active, and use contraception. Parental behavior can also affect teenagers choices to join a gang or participate in criminal activity. As a parent, you play a vital role in helping your child avoid risky behaviors. Actively listening to what your teen has to say will pave the way for conversations about topics that concern you, but setting harsh, unbending  rules may only drive your teen toward negative choices. If parents have a dominating parenting style and arent knowledgeable about their teens activities and interests, it is more likely that their teen will engage in risky behaviors. On the other hand, teens who report feeling connected to their parents are the least likely to engage in risky behaviors. Obviously, the reason at the base of any pregnancy is sexual intercourse. But several researchers would like to know why the phenomenon of teenage pregnancy is so widespread. The easiest answer is making an analysis of the relationship between parenting styles and the sexual behaviors that cause teenage pregnancies among the youth. Parents employ several strategies to influence the sexual behavior of their adolescent children. Parenting styles, parental communication and expectation and role modeling have an impact on the likelihood of teenage pregnancy. The influence of parenting strategies on teenage pregnancy is similar for male and female youth because pregnancy comes as a result of sexual intercourse between the two. Therefore teen pregnancy prevention programs should emphasize helping parents develop effective discipline coupled with warmth and support and high educational expectations. Research has shown that one of the causes of teenage pregnancy is the lack of a sense of personal responsibility for their own actions, lack of maturity, and most importantly a lack of knowledge regarding sexual intercourse and contraception. Related to this, teen pregnancy is often closely associated with poverty, limited education and employment opportunities. 52% of teenagers admit not understanding sex or birth control and this is a reflection of one of the most fundamental causes of teenage pregnancy, ignorance. Indeed, teens in North America, especially girls, are bombarded with mixed messages concerning intercourse. Sex is seen as immediate gratification with no consequences, but preparing for sex makes a girl promiscuous. Sex is seen all over the television and in videos, but equal treatment for birth control methods is completely absent. Open discussions about intercourse are very rare. If an adolescent girl experiences low expectations for her future or lack of control over her life, she is more likely to get pregnant. Depression in general is another one of the causes of teenage pregnancy, leading girls to engage in risky sexual activity. Abuse of alcohol or drugs also leads to poor choices about sex and contraception, often ending up in pregnancy. Growing up in a family  without an adequate amount of love or a father figure may also be one of the causes of teenage pregnancy; an adolescent girl will fall prey to the attentions of an older man in the hopes of receiving affection. Most girls are pressured by their boyfriends into having intercourse because they believe this will make their b oyfriends love them more. There is a relationship between teenage pregnancy, sexual behavior, and family type. Students from lone parent and/or teenage mother initiate families more commonly report sex, lack of contraception at first sex, and/or conceptions by age 15/16, and such associations can be explained by low parental strictness, difficult parent-child communication, and/or low parental input into sex education. Girls and boys from lone parent families or having mothers who are teenagers when they were born are more likely to report sex but not lack of contraception at first sex by age 15/16. Girls and boys with mothers having them as teenagers, and boys but not girls from lone parent families, are more likely to report being involved in conceptions by age 15/16. Teens say their parents influence their decisions about sexual activity more than any other source, according to a survey conducted by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. Also, when asked where they learned the most about preventing teen pregnancy, more teens said parents than friends or the media. Most studies show that the risk of teen pregnancy is reduced by open communication with parents, sharing of family values, and parental involvement in teens lives. Teenagers are less likely to start having sex when their mothers are deeply involved in their lives and successfully communicate their values on sex. Research has shown that stressing abstinence to teens is best, but also talking to them about contraception is not viewed as a mixed message by 70% of adults and by 80% of teens. Boys may be more influenced by fathers, siblings and peers on their decision to have intercourse. In a loving, supportive, and open way, parents need to communicate their feelings on premarital sex clearly to their teen in order to help their teen make important decisions regarding sex. The absence of positive family interaction and parental support, such as emotional support, closeness, and communication, can lead to a wide variety of risky behaviors among teens. Parents need to talk to their teens, consistently set rules and expectations for their teens behavior, and monitor what their teen does. Parents can support positive peer  relationships by giving their teenagers their love, time, boundaries, and encouragement to think for themselves. Previous research has attributed a girls increased risk of pregnancy to the possible consequences of a father leaving lower family income, conflict at home and weak parental monitoring. Girls whose fathers left either before they were born or up to age 5 were seven to eight times more at risk of becoming pregnant as an adolescent than girls living with their fathers. A fathers departure between ages 6 to13 suggested a two to three times greater risk of becoming pregnant. Having no father usually means less household income and a greater chance of other disadvantages, such as domestic violence or a depressed mother. Sometimes parents need help talking to their children about such difficult topics as teenage sexuality and pregnancy prevention. Teenage pregnancy prevention must be a way of life and a natural and integral way of thinking for children as the actions that lead to or away from teenage pregnancy lies squarely, and at the end of the day, solely with their teenage children. Children will be greatly influenced by the parental example that has been given them to follow is clear, but they will have to decide for themselves what actions they will take in any given circumstance. Sometimes parents need help talking to their children about such difficult topics as teenage sexuality and pregnancy prevention. Teenage pregnancy prevention must be a way of life and a natural and integral way of thinking for children as the actions that lead to or away fr om teenage pregnancy lies squarely, and at the end of the day, solely with their teenage children. Children will be greatly influenced by the parental example that has been given them to follow is clear, but they will have to decide for themselves what actions they will take in any given circumstance. A child who can openly and honestly speak with their Parents about anything and everything literally has the greatest single gift, and the largest possible safety net, a Parent can provide to their child. Children need to know how Parents feel about sex. They need to know the reasons for and against engaging in sexual behaviors and the possible consequences regarding each course of action. Discuss your views about sex and its proper time and place in a healthy and happy life. Parents should just start talking and see where the conversation takes them. Children are taught in school the importance of safe sex and the use of condoms to prevent an unwanted pregnancy and/or sexually transmitted  diseases, including AIDS. Parents should ensure their children understand these issues even if the plan is for their children to not be sexually active at this time in their lives. Having a clear understanding of safe sex practices can prevent a teenage issue that leads to sex from being a larger and more damaging issue than it has to be. Parents need to know who their children are spending time with. They should get to know their children’s friends and their friend’s family. Friends who share common thoughts and beliefs are more likely to support children in wholesome and proper activities. In the parenting style taken up by the parents, there should be clear family rules regarding the age at which our children can start dating, and those first dates should be group events engaged in wholesome activities. Parents should also realize that the risk of teenage pregnancy increases dramatically when girls date boys who are 1 to 3 years older than they are. Parents who can help their children see a bright future are the same Parents who are helping the cause of teenage pregnancy prevention. The chances of teenager delaying sexual activity are greatly increased if their futures appear bright, they have goals for their future, and they can see how proper behavior and correct actions will help them get to where they want to go in life. Teenagers who are active and successful in school are more likely to have a clear vision for their future, and hence avoid behavior that could put at risk the future they want to achieve. Parents should help their children to believe in themselves, to have a healthy self-image and positive self-esteem and enjoy a solid vision for their happy tomorrows. Parents should help teenagers to see that their choices of today will directly affect their tomorrows. Having that clear vision of a bright and hopeful future makes teenage pregnancy prevention a logical and welcome avenue to the future life our children desire so desperately to enjoy. Some parents help children know their parts and to learn their lines well, so that when the action scenes of their lives are lived they can be the hero of their own stories and avoid the heart ache scenes that don’t have to be a part of their productions. 2.2:Mass media and the risk of teenage pregnancies among the youth. Mass media is designed to reach large audiences with technology. Its purpose is meant to give us entertainment and information we need to act as a society. Media is everywhere; there is no escaping from it. Almost every home in urban areas has at least one TV, the  internet, and a cell phone. There are more forms of media available today than ever before; consequently, teens are exposed to a lot of information. The media is supposed to portray what is normal; therefore, it affects what society considers normal. Teens are much more impressionable then adults. What the media tells them is normal affects them more. The media’s portrayal of body image affects teens negatively through using stereotypes, encouraging sexual behavior, and promoting unnecessary products. The media portrays single parent homes, teen pregnancy, and the social issue that America faces in a positive light. Music Television (MTV) has several shows which portray teen pregnancy as a positive attribute of life: Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant. Teen Mom is an American reality television series that premiered on MTV on December 8, 2009. The perceived sensitivity of sex as a research topic and a focus on television t o the exclusion of other media unfortunately has restricted the kind of research that has been done. Much of the empirical work has been analyses of content that allow only speculation about what effects the content might have on audiences. But an emerging set of studies that go beyond content to address how audiences select, interpret, and apply sexual content suggests that the media may play an important role, especially for young people Steele, (1999). The mass media are an increasingly accessible way for people to learn about and see sexual behavior Wikipedea, (2010). The media may be especially important for young people as they are developing their own sexual beliefs and patterns of behavior and as parents and schools remain reluctant to discuss sexual topics Roberts, (2000). In the United States, young people spend 6 to 7 hours each day on average with some form of media. A national survey in 1999 found that one third of young children (2 to 7 years old) and two thirds of older children and adolescents (8 to 18 years old) have a television in their own bedroom. Many of those televisions also are hooked up to cable and a Videocassette Recorder (VCR) (Roberts, 2000). Sexual talk and displays are increasingly frequent and explicit in this mediated world. One content analysis found that sexual content that ranged from flirting to sexual intercourse had increased from slightly more than half of television programs in 1997-1998 to more than two-thirds of the programs in the 1999-2000 season. Depiction of intercourse (suggestive or explicit) occurred in one of every 10 programs (Kunkel, Cope-Farrar, Biely, Farinola,   Donnerstein, 2001). Many teens admit that sexualized content in film, television and music helps influence them to engage in sexual activity before they are ready. One fifth to one half of music videos, depending on the music genre for example country, rock, rap portray sexuality or eroticism DuRant et al., (1997). Two thirds of Hollywood movies made each year are R-rated; most young people have seen these movies long before they are the required 16 years old Greenberg et al., (1993). Although teen girls and womens magazines, such as Seventeen and Glamour have increased their coverage of sexual health issues over the past decade, the majority of advertising and editorial content in these magazines remains focused on what girls and women should do to get and keep their man Walsh-Childers, Gotthoffer, Lepre, ( 2002). The Internet has increased dramatically the availability of sexually explicit content. Computer and Internet use is diffusing more rapidly than any previous technology; as of the end of 1999, more than half (56%) of all adults in the United States were online. It is expected that by 2010 most U.S. homes with children will have access to the Internet Taylor, (1999). The word sex is the most popular search term used on the internet today Cyber Atlas, (2001). The internet may have both positive and negative effects on sexual health. According to one national survey of young people (10-17 years old) who regularly used the internet, one out of four said he or she had encountered unwanted pornography in the past year, and one out of five had been exposed to unwanted sexual solicitations or approaches Finkelhor, Mitchell, Wolak, (2000). At the same time, a number of sites, such as the American Social Health Associations iwannaknow.org, promote healthy sexual behavior and provide young people with advice on communication in relationships as well as methods for protecting against sexually transmitted diseases. Despite increasing public concern about the potential health risks of early, unprotected sexual activity, most of the mass media rarely depict three Cs of responsible sexual behavior: Commitment, Contraceptives, and consideration of Consequences. Although more than half of the couples who engage in sexual intercourse on television are in an established relationship, 1 in 10 are couples who have met only recently; one quarter do not maintain a relationship after having sex Kunkel et al., ( 2001). Only about 1 in 10 of the programs on television that include sexual content  mentions the possible consequences or the need to use contraceptives or protection against STDs. Unintended pregnancies rarely are shown as the outcome of unprotected sex, and STDs other than HIV/AIDS are almost never discussed Kunkel et al., (2001). Abortion is a taboo topic, too controversial for commercial television and magazines Walsh-Childers et al., (2002). The urge to have sex and get pregnancy is now stronger because of the fact that one has an encounter with media. There are teenagers who are getting pregnant just to be on these reality television shows.Teen sexuality is influenced by the mass media today more than any other time in history. Internet, television, music video and sexually explicit lyrics all contribute to adolescents’ attitudes and behavior concerning sexual activity. Only 9% of the sex scenes on 1,300 of cable network programming discusses and deals with the negative cons equences of sexual behavior. The Internet and the anonymity therein allow adolescents real concerns relating to false information on health issues, sexuality, and sexual violence in the world of intimate sexual relationships. In 2006, a survey conducted by The Observer in Britain showed that most adolescents in Britain were waiting longer to have sexual intercourse than they were only a few years earlier. In 2002, 32% of teens were having sex before the age of 16; in 2006 it was only 20%. The average age a teen lost his/her virginity was 17.13 years in 2002; in 2006, it was 17.44 years on average for girls and 18.06 for boys. The most notable drop among teens who reported having sex was 14 and 15 year olds. One group of Canadian researchers found a relationship between self esteem and sexual activity. They found that students, especially girls, who were verbally abused by teachers or rejected by their peers, were more likely than other students to engage in sex by the end of the Grade 7. The researchers speculate that low self esteem increases the likelihood of sexual activity: low self-esteem seemed to explain the link between peer rejection and early sex. Girls with a poor self-image may see sex as a way to become popular, according to the researchers. 2.3:Peer Pressure and the risk of teenage Pregnancy among the youth The incidence of teenage pregnancy in relationship with peer pressure has become a global issue as a result of its consequence on population health, growth and development. It is undoubtedly a worldwide concern since the Cairo  international conference on population and development held in 1994 has raised it as an issue among others. Teenagers are children who fall within the chronological age of twelve to nineteen years. Teen, of course, is a period when a child begins to develop secondary sexual characteristics, started to assume higher social responsibilities and started to express sexual feelings and desires. This is a delicate period in the life of the children for all physical changes have great impacts on the psychological functioning of the child. Teenagers’ risky sexual behaviours are major factors which predispose them to unwanted pregnancies. Non perception of risks in their sexual behaviours and lack of adequate information about reproduction and sexual health issues are largely responsible for teenage pregnancies. Sexual behaviours of the teenagers depend largely on societal constrictions and the level of cultural permissiveness which dictate the modes of sexual practices (Crystal, 1990). Biological determinants, socialization agents such as family, peers, religious institutions and mass media have powerful repressive effects on teenagers’ sexual behaviours. An adolescent female in need of money is likely to be tempted to engage in pre-marital sex by friends who come from rich families or those that use sexual activity to get money and this could result into incident of unwanted teenage pregnancy. Students whose parents are low income earners face the higher risk of engaging in pre-marital sex and this could eventually lead to teenage pregnancy and increase in drop out rate of school. Lack of adequate knowledge of sexuality education accounts for increase in teenage pregnancies. This is because; information about sex is got from peers who may also be less knowledgeable. Knowledge of sexuality education is essential to the development of right sexual attitudes and behaviours. When adequate and accurate information are not available, many teenage students would accept miss-information for truth. Peer group influence is another factor that predisposes teenagers to early and unwanted pregnancies. According to the result of the study conducted by Oladepo and Akintayo (2001), peer group influence was ranked first among the causes of teenage pregnancies. Free mixing of the opposite sex also linked with prevalence of teenage pregnancies. Akinboye (1982) in his contribution states that unrestricted interactions and social activities regularly involving male and female adolescents tend to create an atmosphere for inter-personal  affection, love and even result into sexual activities. Peer influence on the youth sometimes is related to going out or visiting different places where one may learn risky behaviours. Watching sexual stimulating magazines and movies may expose the teenagers to early sexual life and unwanted pregnancies. Participating in nude festivals and watching of pornographic films and images on the internet are also risk factors. Family instability and disorganisation which may be caused by poverty, lack of mutual trust and understanding between parents may cause child neglect and consequently could result into teenage pregnancy and increase in drop out rate of the school. Legalization of abortion and early exposure to sexual life can cause teenage pregnancy. According to the report of a study conducted in Nigeria by Nicholas in 1986, he found out that 24.4 per cent of the girls by the age of 15 years have had sexual intercourse, 63 per cent by 18 years while half of the Nigerian females have become mothers before the age of 20 years. Peer influence is also directly and indirectly related to pre-mature drop out of school which is also a factor which predisposes female students to fall a victim of teenage pregnancy. The drop-out female students after leaving the school due to one reason or the other find it difficult to cope with life; so, took to hawking and in the process may get impregnated. In this case friends may influence one to get married or to join businesses. CHAPTER THREE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.0:Introduction This chapter presents the research design, population, sampling strategies, data collection methods, data collection instruments, data quality control, data collection procedure and data analysis that will be used in the study. 3.1:Research design The study will use an explanatory survey design that will be quantitative and descriptive in nature. This design was chosen because it can appropriately investigate the relationship between parenting styles, mass media, peer  pressure and the risk of teenage pregnancy among the youth in orphanage homes in Rubaga Division of Kampala District. Orphanage homes are chosen because, in most cases these are the places where the children who are victims of unwanted pregnancies are taken for care. 3.2:Area of study The study will be conducted in Rubaga Division in Nakulabye Parish that is COBAP Nakulabye, Nalukolongo Orphanage home, Sanyu Babies home in Namirembe Bakuli Parish, Hope Orphanage home and Wakhissa Ministries in Bakuli. Five orphanage homes will be randomly selected as they are the only orphanage homes available in the area of study. The researcher will also go to 3 radio stations in the area of study that is Super FM, Central Broadcasting Service and Ssuubi FM. 3.3:Study population The study will involve 60 care providers and employees of the orphanage homes at least 12 from each of the selected orphanage homes. 15 employees of radio stations in the area of study will also be used to answer questionnaires. At least 5 employees from each radio station that is Super FM, Central Broadcasting Service and Ssuubi FM. The researcher will target presenters of those programs related to the topic of study. Children from the orphanage homes are left out because in most cases they are young and below 18. The researchers may even seek for secondary data from the records available. Questionnaires will be used for they are to bring out concerns and needs of the target population in relation to the care providers and children under care. The care providers are chosen because they are in direct administration of the affairs regarding the children and they are equipped with information about unwanted pregnancies 3.4:Data collection The main instruments for data collection were interview guides and questionnaires. Questionnaires will be administered to collect data about the relationship between parenting styles, mass media, peer pressure and the risk of teenage pregnancy among the youth in orphanage homes in Rubaga  Division of Kampala District. 3.5:Procedure and data collection The researcher obtained an introduction letter from the department of Mental Health and Community Psychology from her supervisor. The researcher then will approached the administrators of the five orphanage homes and the three radio stations and introduced herself with the help of the letter. The researcher then will ask for permission to conduct research in these organizations and their areas of operation. The different respondents, service providers are to be requested to consent before the questionnaire is administered on to them. Informed consent will sought after the respondents are assured that the research findings are to be treated as confidential. 3.5:Data analysis Data collected will be edited, categorized or coded and organized in themes and there after it will be analyzed in line with the objectives set at the beginning of the study. For the quantitative data, tally method will be used manually, similar responses will be grouped together to ascertain the number and percentage of respondents who came up with similar views. For qualitative data, views and opinions of respondents will grouped, analyzed and established if they have a bearing on the relationship between parenting styles, mass media, peer pressure and the risk of teenage pregnancy among the youth. All this will be done by use of frequency tables and tabulations at the level of report writing and presentation. 3.6:Limitations of the study 1Willingness of the organization management to allow the researcher to use the premises during the research period. This is because sometimes information broadcasted is kept confidential and people are keen on exposure. 2The results of the study may depend on some respondents’ willingness to answer the asked questions 3Literature available about the subject may be limited and difficult to access. 3.7:Ethical considerations Informed consent will be sought after the respondents are assured that the  research findings are to be treated as confidential. Participation in the study will be voluntary and individuals will be free to participate or not to participate even withdrawing from the study will be accepted. Since there is a lot of stigma attached to unwanted teenage pregnancy, only individuals who are willing to disclose will be studied. Information will not be tied to individuals to ensure there is no personalization of issues discussed. The researcher will not disclose the names of the radio stations and orphanage homes. References Ogun State/UNFPA (1998) Gateway Reproductive health: News and views – vol. 1 No.8 Awoniyi A. (1985) Child study educational practice: Nigeria, Macmillan Publishers Ltd. Lagos. Barnaba A. (1988) Parenting styles and adolescent behaviours: Lagos, Spring Publishers. Fayombo G.A. (2004) Human Development across life span: Ibadan, Alafas Nigeria Company. Fieldman R.S (2000) Essentials of understanding psychology: Boston, McGraw Hill. ARFN (2001) Helping youths cope with their adolescent years: Youth Scope (1), 1-6. Azuzu M.C. (1994) Human Sexuality: A primer: Ibadan, Ambassador Publications. Crystal C.D (1990) School Health and Practice: Lagos, Vantage Publishers. Akinboye, J.O. (1982) Strategies for handling adolescent and youth problems: Department of Guidance and Counselling, University of Ibadan. Jekel (1977) Primary and Secondary prevention of adolescent pregnancies – Journal of Nigerian School Health 41. Taylor N.W. (1999) A textbook of Hygiene for teachers in West Afr ica: London, Longman and Green Publishing Company. Manlove J. Early motherhood in an intergenerational perspective: the experiences of a British cohort. J Marriage Fam1997;59:263–79. Botting B, Michael Rosato, Wood R. Teenage mothers and the health of their children. Popul Trends1998;93:19–28. Ermisch J, Pevalin D. Who has a child as a teenager? ISER Working Paper 2003/30. Colchester: Institute for Social and Economic Research, University of Essex, 2003. Dearden K, Hale C, Blankson M. Family structure, function and the early transition to fatherhood in Great Britain: identifying antecedents using longitudinal data. J Marriage Fam1994;56:844–52. Ellis BJ, Bates JE, Dodge KA, et al. Does father’s absence place daughters at special risk for early sexual activity and teenage pregnancy? Child Dev 2003;74:801–21. Woodward L, Fergusson DM, Horwood LJ. Risk factors and life processes associated with teenage pregnancy: results from a prospective study from birth to twenty years. J Marriage Fam2001;63:1170–84. Kiernan K. Transition to parenthood: young mothers, young fathers—associated factors and later life experiences. Welfare State Programme Discussion Paper WSP/113. London: London School of Economic, 1995. Barber JS. The intergenerational transmission of age at first birth among married and unmarried men and women. Soc Sci Res2001;30:219–47. Kahn JR, Anderson KE. Intergenerational patterns of teenage fertility. Demography1992;29:39–57. Wellings K, Nanchahal K, Macdowall W, et al. Sexual behaviour in Britain: early heterosexual experience. Lancet 2001;358:1843–9. Miller BC, Benson B, Galbraith KA. Family relationships and adolescent pregnancy risk: a research synthesis. Dev Rev2001;21:1–38. Taris TW, Semin GR. Parent-child interaction during adolescence, and the adolescent’s sexual experience: control, closeness and conflict. J Youth Adolesc1997;26:373–98. Lewis O. La Vida: a Puerto Rican family in the culture of poverty—San Juan and New York. London: Secker and Warburg, 1967. Joseph K. Caring for people. London: Conservative Political Centre, 1972. Murray C. The emerging British underclass. London: Institute of Economic Affairs, 1990. Murray C. Underclass: the crisis deepens. London: Institute of Economic Affairs, 1996. Welshman J. The cycle of deprivation and the concept of the underclass. Benefits2002;10:199–205. Rutter M, Madge N. Cycles of disadvantage. London: Heinemann, 1976. Denham A, Garnett M. From the cycle of enrichment to the cycle of deprivation. Benefits2002;10:193–8. Stephenson JM, Strange V, Forrest S, et al. Pupil-led sex education in England (RIPPLE study): cluster-randomised intervention trial. Lancet 2004;364:338–46. Oakley A, Rajan L. Social class and social support: the same or different? Sociology1991;25:31–59.

College Education Essay Example for Free

College Education Essay In his essay entitled â€Å"How to Get a College Education†, Jeffrey Hart described the negative effect of Allan Bloom’s book The Closing of the American Mind on his Dartmouth freshman composition course students. These students, Ivy-leaguers and top test scorers, disliked the book’s criticism of their mentality but at the behest of Hart’s impromptu oral quizzing, could not adequately discuss historical figures and events. Although Hart’s freshman class realized the gaps in their education, Hart asks what a real college education is, deplores the advent of specialization, and discusses what does or does not constitute real education. Hart’s concern with education lies with the end result: to produce a citizen. But while Hart gives excellent examples for what subjects he thinks constitute a real education in light of telos, a goal, he implies, rather than specifies, that such an education must cater to proactive, independent thought over ideologically based curriculum and courses. It is through well-rounded, balanced independent thought, Hart argues, that a citizen who can â€Å"recreate his civilization† be made. In the first example, Hart names a curriculum engaged in â€Å"so-called post modernist thought† as something to avoid. It is one of the three â€Å"intellectual fads†, in which the use of the word â€Å"fad† describes a fashionable conduct as enthusiastically followed by a group. This way, Hart indirectly refers to post modernist thought as ideological and lacking in independent thought. The second â€Å"fad† refers to Affirmative Action, which Hart describes as an â€Å"ethos† or â€Å"mentality†. â€Å"Ethos† describes the disposition of a culture or a group, and â€Å"mentality† refers to the set of a person or a group’s mind; and both words conjure a certain blindness that Affirmative Action is supposed to fight. Again, Hart reflects on the dearth of nuance and consideration in such courses. Thirdly, Hart directly mentions ideology when he writes about Marxism, victimology, and identity politics, in which â€Å"scholarly pursuit† is put aside in deference to â€Å"’Studies’ programs†. Hart calls many of these courses â€Å"nonsense† and â€Å"distraction†, but fails to directly write that the single underlying theme of such courses is that because they operate under an ideology, they do not foster free thinking and independent rationality. Hart underlines his position for independent rationality by going on to discuss courses and curricula that he thinks support the end goal of citizenship. Rationality is implied when Hart takes on the subject of requiring a student to know and understanding themes in civilization, a task that maneuvers beyond mere adherence to ideological standards. The student must know his civilization: â€Å".. its important areas of thought, its philosophical and religious controversies, the outline of its history and its major works. The citizen need not know quantum physics, but he should know that it is there and what it means. Once the citizen knows the shape, the narrative, of his civilization, he is able to locate new things — and other civilizations — in relation to it. † By referring to controversies, major works, and narrative, Hart’s stance on education is of well-roundedness, independent thought, and being comfortable on differing sides of issues—a stance not suitable to the ideologically minded. Hart makes connections to Athens and Jerusalem in order to outline how a student may develop her college education. Both Athens and Jerusalem were and are centers of independent thought. Athens refers to the ancient Greek capital in which rational thought, philosophy, and democracy were birthed; it was the birthplace of philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle: Of things useful and necessary only those that are free should be taught, and the young should partake in nothing of a vulgar, mechanical sort or that will render body, soul, or thought unfit for virtue. (Philips 154). Jerusalem, since the reign of Solomon, has been the spiritual capital of three major religions in the world today. Independent thought emerges out of Jerusalem in the guise of Abraham who sought argument with God, and Jesus, who argued and fought with the spiritual leaders priests and scribes, or Pharisees and Sadducees—of his day (Columbia). A student, dynamically engaged with both scientifically rational and enlighteningly spiritual sides, can succeed in mastering themes of his or her civilization with independence of thought rather than subsisting on an ideological track. Such a student would be able to carve for him or herself a true education with a goal of not being simply educated, but a goal of becoming an involved, active citizen of society, and of a civilization. Hart discusses China as a final example to his essay. Hart reminds us that one could consider China, who has lacked the dynamic interaction between science and spirituality, and who is world renowned for its collectivist culture, one in which independent thought is frowned upon. Again, Hart does not directly mention this, but references it with mentioning China with its â€Å"symbols†: Great Wall and Forbidden City. REFERENCES Jerusalem. The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2007. Philips, Peter L. The Politics of Aristotle. University of North Carolina Press, 1997

The Syndetic And Asyndetic Coordination English Language Essay

The Syndetic And Asyndetic Coordination English Language Essay This chapter is devoted to throwing some light on the theoretical aspects of the research work. The term coordination is central to this study. Nevertheless, derivations of coordination as a branch of linguistic study, how it has been explained and used in other genres will be looked at in order to set-up a conceptual framework that would help to make things clear and lay the foundation for subsequent analysis. 2.1. The Concept in Focus Coordination Haspelmath(2000) defines coordination as syntactic constructions in which two or more units of the same type are combined into larger units and still have the same semantic relations with other surrounding elements (1). Bloomfields similar definition of coordination contrasts it with subordination: Endocentric constructions are of two kinds, co-ordinative (or serial) and subordinative (or attributive). In the former type the resultant phrase belongs to the same form-class as two or more of the constituentsIn subordinative endocentric constructions, the resultant phrase belongs to the same form-class as one of the constituents, which we call the head. (195). Both of these definitions are syntactic, and emphasize the balanced syntactic relationship between coordinated items. In addition, both definitions state that the structure resulting from coordination is of the same type (semantic in Haspelmaths definition, syntactic in Bloomfields) as the coordinated items. Yuasa and sadock in agreement with the observation of Bloomfield further mention 5 criteria that confirms the presence of coordination: Reversibility : changing the order of the conjuncts does not affect the truth conditions. Application of the coordinate structure constraint: the constituents of one clause cannot be questioned separately. No backward anaphora: a pronoun in the first clause cannot co refer with a full NP in the second clause. Multiple conjuncts are possible. All the conjuncts are equally asserted. (87-111.) Halliday and Hasan describe coordination as an intrasentential structural device . However, Halliday and Hasan do acknowledge that sets of sentences similar to coordination do exist especially if they share parallel structure, and view coordination as a structure of the paratactic type (223) Cathrine Fabricius-Hansen and Ramm, W (2005) describe coordination as being used as a means of clause combining and information packaging at discourse level and differs from a sentence sequence by explicitly instructing the reader to keep the two propositions together in discourse processing. For example in establishing a discourse structure, licensing the inference of certain discourse relations to hold between the conjuncts, while blocking others. As a means of constructing (more) complex (clause/VP) constituents from simpler ones of the same syntactic category, coordination can be compared to certain kinds of adjunction, i.e. syntactic subordination. (175-213). Coordination has been viewd by various scholars as processes used by languages to combine units to make other units. Or as a part of the basic efficiency of language through which simple units like phrases and the simple sentence are re-cycled to make longer and perhaps more complex units. Dickens (2009) re-categorizes coordinators as existing in a semantic cline with disjuncts. By this he means a scale of varying levels of coordination: while coordinators such as and establish an equivalent and non-adverbial relationship between two clauses such that neither is subordinate to the other, disjuncts like since establish some degree of indirectness and an adverbial relationship between the clauses (42:1076-1136). 2.3. Types of Coordination Syndetic and asyndetic coordination Haspelmath and Quirk et al define asyndetic and syndetic coordination as Coordinate constructions lacking overt coordinator (asyndetic coordination) or having some overt linking devices such as conjunctions; and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet.(syndetic coordination). a). Slowly and stealthily, he crept towards his victim. And Asyndetic coordination as when the relationship of coordination is not marked overtly; a). Slowly, stealthily, he crept towards his victim. Though there exist a relatively fixed order for subclasses of adjectives in asyndetic coordination, but the order is said to be relatively free when a coordinator is present. 2.4. Asyndetic Coordination Asyndeton Despite its formidable name asyndeton is nothing more than a different way of handling a list or a series,Asyndeton uses no conjunctions and separates the terms of the list with commas. It differs from the conventional treatment of lists and series, which is to use only commas between all items except the last two, these being joined by a conjunction. Asyndeton is linked to asyndetic coordination. Asyndeton produces a hurried rhythm in the sentence. Corbett (1971) cites Aristotles observation that asyndeton was especially appropriate for the conclusion of a discourse, because there, perhaps more than in other places in the discourse, we may want to produce the emotional reaction that can be stirred by, among other means, rhythm, (470). Asyndeton is the instance of conjoining constructions in which there are no coordinators (also referred to as juxtaposition); monosyndeton, in which there is one coordinator; and polysyndeton, in which more than one coordinator is used. 2.5. Syndetic Coordination Polysyndeton Polysyndeton is a way of handling a list or a series. Polysyndeton places a conjunction (and, or) after every term in the list (except, the last). It differs from the conventional treatment of lists and series, which is to use only commas between all items except the last two, these being joined by a conjunction. Polysyndeton is linked to Syndetic coordination , as opposed to Asyndeton which is linked to Asyndetic coordination. Monosyndetic and Bisyndetic Coordination Coordinations may either have a single coordinator (monosyndetic) or two coordinators (bisyndetic). Haspelmath (2000) further proffers some relevant constituency tests for monosyndetic coordination: (i) Intonation: In certain cases, English and forms an intonation group with the following phrase, not with the preceding phrase. (ii) Pauses: In English, it is much more natural to pause before and than after and. (iii) Discontinuous order: In special circumstances, the coordinands may be separated by other material, as when a coordinand is added as an afterthought. In English, the coordinator must be next to the second coordinand (e.g. My uncle will come tomorrow, or my aunt). Not my uncle or will come tomorrow, my aunt. (iv) (Morpho)phonological alternations: When the coordinator or one of the coordinand undergoes (morpho)phonological alternations in the construction, this is evidence that they form a constituent together. (121) 2.6. The Nature of Coordination Contrastive Coordination Conjunction and Disjunction Haspelmath (2000) states that many languages distinguish between normal coordination such as A and B, X or Y, which may also be referred to as conjunction and what might be called contrastive coordination: both A and B, either X or Y. The semantic difference he views is that in contrastive coordination, it is emphasized that each coordinand belongs to the coordination and each of them is considered separately . Hence, it creates opposing notion of meaning inherent in the text because two things cannot be separately similar. And like conjunction, disjunction markers are often polyfunctional . Dickens (2009) states that Disjuncts display some coordinator-like properties, so they are grouped on a continuum with coordinators (1089). Halliday and Hassan see conjunction as a cohesive device that relates sentences. Conjunctive elements they state, are cohesive not in themselves but indirectly, by virture of their specific meanings; they are viewed as not primarily devices for reaching out into the preceding text, but express certain meanings which presuppose the presence of other components in the discourse, as similary described by Bloor and Bloor (1995) . Halliday and Hasan (1976) indicate that conjunctive relations are not tied to any particular sequence in the expression. Nevertheless, amongst the cohesion forming devices within text, conjunction is seen as the least directly identifiable relation. Conjunction acts as a semantic cohesive tie within text in four categories: Additive, adversative, causal and temporal. Additive conjunction acts to structurally coordinate or link by adding to the presupposed item and are signaled through and, also, too, furthermore, additionally, etc. Additive conjunction may also act to negate the presupposed item and is signaled by nor, andnot, either, neither, etc. Adversative conjunctions act to indicate contrary to expectation ( 250) and are signaled by yet, though, only, but, in fact, rather, etc. Causal conjunction expresses result, reason and purpose and is signaled by so, then, for, because. Adversative coordination seems always binary, it must consist of two coordinands, so is described as causal and then is described as temporal. (227) Halliday and Hassan acknowledge that conjunction is derived from coordination, they argue that Conjunction à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ is not simply coordination extended so as to operate between sentences, noting that one difference between coordinate and and conjunctive and is that coordinate and can link any number of items, whereas conjunctive and links pairs of sentences.   They view conjunctions as expressing one or other of a small number of very general relations (238). In the same vein Halliday and Matthiessen (1999) in relation to its cohesive function state that In conjunction, the various logical-semantic relations of expansion that construe clause complex structures à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ are deployed instead as a source of cohesion. They argue that among other resources which construe clauses and clause complexes into longer stretches of discourse without the formality of further grammatical structure are conjunction and lexical cohesion (530-31). Halliday Matthiessen (1999) in extending the notion of language resources as tools of broadening and reaching out into meaning states that: in principle, any particular type of expansion or projection can be interpreted in either way, either as paratactic or hypotactic; but in fact there is some degree of partial association: certain combinations are favored, and others correspondingly disfavored. For example, in English, when one process is construed as a simple restatement of, or addition to another, the two are likely to have equal status; whereas where one is seen as enhancing the other they are usually unequal a means is secondary to what has been achieved by it, a cause is secondary to its effectà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦The second type of expansion consists in extending one process by construing another one as an addition to it (with and as the limiting case); or as an alternative to it, a replacement for it, or as some form of reservation or contrast. Here the grammar typically employs conjunctions, like and, or, but, instead, besidesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The third type of expansion is one of enhancing the first process by anoth er one setting up a specific semantic relationship, of which the principal ones are time, cause, condition, concession and means. Here again the grammar deploys a range of different conjunctions, which mark either the enhancing clause (when, because, by, though, if and so on) or the one that is being enhanced (e.g. then at that time, then in that case, so, thus, yet), (520-1). Scott Drellishak (2004) in his thesis: A Survey of Coordination Strategies in the Worlds Languages quotes Gleitman (1965) as viewing conjunction as one of many syntactic processes that serve the purpose of indicating contrast or reducing repetition ; conjoined sentence that does not indicate contrast or reduce repetition is described as not serving any purpose. (268) 2.7. Phrasal Coordination If two expressions have different semantic roles it will not be possible to coordinate them. Although it is sometimes said that the coordinands must belong to the same phrasal category; for instance, (tea) NP or (in a Nigerian Restaurant) PP is said to be ungrammatical because it consists of an NP and a PP. However, coordination of different phrasal categories is often possible when both have the same semantic role. Also in phrasal coordination, the order of conjoined words can be influenced by the tendency for the shorter word to come first and within phrasal coordination, there can be ellipsis of the determiner (Quirk et al:610). 2.8. Clausal Coordination When two or more clauses are coordinated, certain clause constituents are often ellipted from all but one of the clauses. More often than not , the effect of ellipsis is no more than to suggest a closer connection between the content of the clauses but sometimes the effect is to indicate that there is a combined process rather than two separate processes. And and or as clause linkers are restricted to initial position. Coordinated clauses with and and or are sequentially fixed in relation to the previous clause and cannot be transposed without producing ungrammaticality in sentence structure , a clause containing a conjunct may be linked to a preceding clause by one of the coordinating conjunctions (and, or, but) but not all the conjuncts admit each coordinator (Quirk et al:552-553). 2.9. Parataxis in coordination Parataxis is viewd as the grammatical arrangement of equal constituents, clauses in this case. The parataxis is the hallmark of coordination; in most cases, the equality of the clauses is evident both grammatically and semantically; coordination can link constituents at any rank. It creates parallel grammatical structures- structures that are identical in function and usually form as well. 2.10. Symmetric and asymmetric coordination Coordinate constructions are said to have symmetrical properties such that conjuncts are paratactically construed, that a conjunct is not subordinated to another conjunct, that conjuncts have the same syntactic and semantic function ; on the other hand they have asymmetric properties such as command relationship between the first and the second conjuncts. This case is refered to as balanced and unbalanced case of coordination. 2.11. Approaches to Coordination Analysis and Coordination in Different Genres In poetic texts, the study of coordination is quite sparse and limited. For instance Miller (2007) explores biblical Hebrew poetry and the relationship of coordination to verbal gapping is what forms her point of focus. She comes up with the findings that asyndetic coordination is the hallmark of biblical Hebrew poetry and especially early poetry (41-60). Millers corpus contains 123 lines from the book of Isiah. Svetlana Petrova Michael Solf (2008) explore rhetorical relations and verb placement in the early Germanic languages . it presents a diachronic study about the distinction between coordination and subordination in discourse,it focuses on Old High German and on other early Germanic languages. Petrova and Solf consider other kinds of data, mostly from declaratives, in support of the claim that verb placement serves certain discourse functions in early Germanic languages. They come up with the finding that Verb fronting seems to have a clear functional purpose, as it is used to mark episode boundaries in Old High German. The study goes further in identifying some correlations between verb placement and discourse-structuring phenomenon in Old English, Old Saxon, and Old Norse, with similar discourse-structuring functions. A cross -linguistic approach is adopted in the study as opposed to functional approach in analysis. Ash Asudeh and Richard Crouch (2002) examine Coordination and Parallelism in Glue Semantics exploring points of convergence and divergence between approach to coordination and similar Categorial Grammar (CG) approaches. The research discusses parallelism in connection with the Coordinate Structure Constraint. The paper presents an account of the semantics of coordination, framed within the theory of Glue Semantics. The goal of a GLUE derivation as explicated in the study is to consume all the lexical premises to produce a single conclusion; stating the meaning of the sentence. Further asserting that Semantic ambiguity results when there are alternative derivations from the same set of premises. This study shares common interest with the present one as both relates coordination to instances of cohesion. While this study argues for a glue approach to coordination the present study differs on the ground of functional approach of analysis to coordination in poetic texts. David Bell (2007) examines both the frequency and function of SIA (sentence initial and) and SIB (sentence initial but) in academic writing and its importance in understanding language in literary texts. While coordinator and is more frequent in academic prose than but, SIA is much less frequent than SIB. Collected data show a marked difference in the use of SIA and SIB across different genres of academic writing with SIA and SIB being far more prevalent in the humanities journals. Furthermore, the study shows that SIA, when compared with other additive connectives such as moreover, furthermore, in addition, etc., is the most frequently occurring additive marker in academic writing, while SIB is the second most preferred connective after however. With regard to function, the study goes on to argue that both SIA and SIB in academic writing function in three very similar ways: (i) to mark off a discourse unit by indicating the last item on a list; (ii) to indicate the development of an argument; and (iii) to indicate a discontinuity or shift with a previous discourse unit. This is in line with Halliday and Hassans (1975) view as regard the function of SIA and SIB. The study further asserts that whereas the most common function of SIA is that of indicating the last item on a list, the most common use of SIB is in the development of arguments.It argues that SIA and SIB perform special functions than the alternatives of asyndetic or zero coordination, the use of discourse markers that share their broad semantic function: Moreover, furthermore, in addition, and however, respectively, or intrasentential coordination cannot perform. The study proffers that the features allow SIA and SIB to preface a wider range of lexico-grammatical units such as interrogatives, stance adverbs and other discourse connectives and to create a tighter cohesive fit. It comments that it is these special features of cohesion which are held to explain the occurrence of SIA and SIB in academic writing. The focus here is on the use of SIA and SIB in academic discourse, it excluded occurrences of SIA and SIB in academic writing from other modes such as in transcripts of conversations, in quotes from fiction or in poetic texts which is the sole focus of the present research. Halliday and Hasan (1975) on SIA as part of their larger discussion of conjunction as one cohesive device in the larger concept of cohesion describes coordination as an intrasentential structural device while conjunction is seen as a cohesive device that relates sentences. In their examination of conjuncts, SIA is described as signaling an additive relationship between sentences while but is described as an adversative. Halliday and Hasan note that one difference between coordinate and, and conjunctive and, is that coordinate and can link any number of items, whereas conjunctive and links pairs of sentences (235). Halliday and Hasan distinguish a further use of SIA, which they suggest comes closest to its structural function as a coordinator, they call it next in a series' (236). They suggest that another example would be a series of points all contributing to one general argument. In this function, Halliday and Hasan argue that And retains some of the retrospective or retrojective effect, i.e. projecting backwards that and has as a coordinator (236). Here, SIA is viewed as signaling not the last item on a list but rather the continuation of an ongoing list of items. The study explicates that however, apart from the cases cited above where cohesive And operates similarly to coordinator and, the typical context for SIA is one where there is a total, or almost total shift in the participants from one sentence to the next, and yet the two sentences are very definitely part of a text (235). Another common context in narrative fiction for this shift is at the boundary of dialogue and narrative. What have been shown here is that SIA and SIB provide special features of cohesion that alternative forms of coordination do not. Schiffrin (1986, 1987, 2006) examines utterance and turn-initial and in conversation. She argues that and has two roles in talk: An ideational role where it coordinates idea units what she calls a discourse coordinator role, and an interactional or pragmatic or discourse marker role where it continues a speakers action, i.e. marking the speakers upcoming utterance as a continuation of the content and structure of an interaction, and these two functions most often occur simultaneously (1987: 128). As a marker of functionally differentiated idea units, the presence of and signals that the speaker identifies an upcoming unit as structurally coordinated or equivalent to a prior unit. In this way, and can differentiate among other things in narrative, support and position in arguments and explanations, and can also differentiate discourse topics. However, Schiffrin stresses that identifying the nature of these units depends on textual information beyond and itself (1987: 141). In Summary Halliday and Hasan (1976), and Schiffrin (1986, 1987, 2006),see SIA as bracketing discourse units, continuing discourse units, or signaling a shift between discourse units; and what determines the discourse function of these signaled discourse units is constructed by the interaction of the linguistic properties of and with the discourse context in which it occurs. Sotirova (2004), using the works of D.H. Lawrence, has argued that SIA, as well as other connectives, are used by Lawrence to signal perspectival shifts in free indirect style (227). Huttar (2002) has examined the use of both discourse-initial and (DIA) and SIA in poetry. Huttar argues that DIA is often used to establish an imagined context already in progress or imagined prior events from which the present utterance is understood to continue. An extremely common form of DIA is that of a question addressed in response to an implied interlocutors statement and often expressing surprise at the previous implied statement. Cotter (2003) on the other hand examines the use of SIA and SIB in newspapers over a one hundred year period. She used a 100,000-word corpus of newspaper articles a mixture of local and national syndicated articles, general news, and feature articles published between 1900 and 1995. Over this period, she noted an increasing occurrence of SIA/B and concurrent decline in temporal connectives. Among other factors, Cotter argues that these connectives help to create local and global coherence in news narratives, introduce new speakers and ideas, and link a series of short paragraphs. Cotter sees this increasing use of SIA/B as indicative of a historical shift from more text-centered to more reader-centered prose. Dorgeloh (2004) looked at SIA in a corpus of British English made up of LOB (Lancaster-Oslo/Bergen, 1961) and FLOB (Freiburg Lancaster-Oslo/Bergen, 1991). She indicates a decline in the use of SIA in both academic and newspaper writing. From her analysis she concludes that in written Modern English, SIA, where it does occur, marks functional shifts on a more global level of discourse (1777). This research departs from much of the previous studies, by presenting a functional linguistic analysis which was proffered by Halliday et al. Earlier researches often focus on the frequency with which certain linguistic features occur, yet another description focuses on the functions of those features. Functional descriptions of language like the one to be adopted here, are more valuable since they offer some understanding of communicative purpose and, thus, explain the use and frequency of linguistic features.

Human Genome Project Essay -- Genetics Science Biology Essays

Human Genome Project Human curiosity is one of the most powerful engines that drive new knowledge, development, advancements and life improvements today. Some 100,000 or 200,000 years ago Homo sapiens emerged, and up to today humans are still searching for answers such as what we are and where we came from. For all of the diversity of the world's more than five billion people, full of creativity and contradictions, every human mind and body is built and runs with fewer than 100,000 kinds of protein molecules. And for each of the proteins, a single corresponding gene is responsible to ensure an adequate and timely supply. Genes are often described as the biological blueprints or recipes for life and are found in the DNA, carrying the genetic information from one generation to the next. Many people are convinced that genes are special, that they contain a person's essence, which has enormous spiritual and commercial value. In the deepest sense, we are who we are because of our genes, and therefore it is essential to gain knowledge about the manifold mysteries of life, our genes, and our biological inheritance in full ultimate molecular detail. With advances in molecular genetics, it became possible to launch the Human Genome Project (HGP) - a sequencing project that determines the genetic makeup of an organism by reading off the sequence of the three billion DNA bases, which encode all of the information necessary for the life of the organism. Profits, curiosity and dreams of better methods to prevent and treat diseases are driving efforts to find and decode human genes. The sequence of our genome will ultimately allow us to discover the secrets of life's processes, the biochemical basis of our senses and our memory, our dev... ...n genome project in disease prevention. Preventive Medicine. 23:591-594. Koenig, R. 1997. Watson urges "put Hitler behind us'. Science 276:892. Maddox, J. 1995. Directory to the human genome. Nature. 376:459-460. McConkey, E. 1993. The Human Genome Project. In: Human genetics. The molecular revolution. E. McConkey (ed.). England. Jones and Bartlett Publishers Inc. 306-317. Pearson, M. L. and D. Sà ¶ll. 1991. The Human Genome Project: a paradigm for information management in the life sciences. FASEB. 5:35-39. Velà ¡zquez A. and H. Bourges. 1999. Implications of the Human Genome Project for understanding gene-environment interactions. Nutrition Reviews. 57 (5):S39-41. Wade, N. Dr. J. Craig Venter: The genome's combative entrepreneur. Obtained from www 10-16-1999: http://search.nytimes.com/search/daily/bin/fastweb?getdoc+site+site+25726+0+wAAA+Craig%7EVenter