Guitar Salon International Essay Example for Free

Guitar Salon International Essay The instrument I have chosen to research is the guitar. The history of the invention and manufacturing of this instrument can be traced as far back as 400 A. D, when Spain was occupied by the Romans. The guitar is seen as a direct descendent of the Roman tanbur or cithara; drawing influences from the Arabic ud and undergoing a number of modifications to finally become the acoustic or electric guitar that we see being used by some of today’s biggest artistes. The following two websites contain information about the history of the instrument and the manufacturing process: Guitar Salon International (www. guitarsalon. com) Fender Guitars (www. fender. com) The influence of the guitar on music performance is perhaps most evident in the evolution of rock n roll and blues. The music movement that began with Bo Diddley and gradually separated into myriad styles like grunge, pop rock and punk that have dominated the last fifty years or so of popular western music is heavily dependent on the guitar. Although the list of famous performers is an exhaustive one, the two names that really stand out are Jimi Hendrix and Buddy Guy, for their innovativeness and their lasting impact on pop culture. The creativity of the two artistes might be rooted in the fact that neither received any formal training. The following two websites contain all the relevant information from the artiste’s biography to the details of his releases and performances: www. jimihendrix. com www. buddyguy. net Music 2 Apart from the famous performers like Hendrix and Guy who revolutionized guitar playing, the instrument has also been utilized quite often by composers. Given the tonal range of the instrument, from the delicate acoustic sound to the raw, driven electric guitar sound, composers often write pieces intended to be performed on the guitar. Once again, if we look at the realm of pop culture, where cross medium interaction is abundant, two guitar pieces jump to mind for their resonance with the other content; the Top Gun theme and the guitar piece from Tarantino’s classic, Pulp Fiction. Harold Faltermeyer, the composer of the former is best known for his work in Top Gun and Beverly Hills Cop. The version of the Greek wedding song, Misirlou used in Pulp fiction was composed and performed by Dick Dale, the iconic guitar player who pioneered the Surf Rock movement. Detailed information on these two composers can be found on the following websites: www. dickdale. com www. haroldfaltermeyer. net The sheer volume of guitar pieces that have been composed over the years makes it near impossible to list the five most famous ones, but based on popular demand, here are the five that have captured the minds of listeners. Stairway to Heaven- Jimmy Page Eruption- Van Halen Free Bird- Allen Collins and Gary Rossington Eric Johnson- Cliffs of Dover Stevie Ray Vaughn- Texas Flood Music 3 The following two websites contain detail lists of the greatest guitar pieces of all time: www. guitarworld. com www. mahalo. com

Cross Cultural Marriage Essay

Cross Cultural Marriage Essay The world is an interesting and a diverse place to live in. An Intercultural Marriage is a union of two people involving numerous cultures and backgrounds. When two various cultures combine together, there may be significant challenges they have to face. Each race ensures there own culture. A culture may differ from one to another due socially transmitted behaviour patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought. Culture is a system of shared beliefs and values and is constantly evolving and changing around the world. The presence of intercultural marriages and intimacy is clear and expanding in societies throughout the Culture may consist of shared language, religion, or ethnicity. America is one of the greatest multicultural and multiracial societies in the world at the moment. Nevertheless, this may come across as a shock to most people but as lately as 1966, 17 states in the United States actually had laws against the interracial marriage a nd all of the states regulated marriage between whites and other races in the country. Discriminations against miscegenation are usual nowadays. Despite the significant number of intercultural marriages in the U.S today, mere empirical research has been done to determine the nature of these marriages (Ngye Snyder, 2000) and marital satisfaction. Communication style and interpersonal relationships are fundamental aspects of culture and can vary dramatically from one culture to another. There may be language and communication barriers. It is noteworthy to remember that everyone on this earth has culture, not just those clusters that are considered civilized. The majority of culture is unseen, below the surface. For example, when a Russian man marries an Italian it is not only the differences in native language (Russian vs. Italian) and religion (Eastern Orthodox vs. Roman Catholic) but also a host of cultural differences associated with such factors as expression of emotion, conflict expression and management, the role of the of family of origin in raising children (Sullivan Cottone, 2007). The beliefs and values that lie beneath the surface can be the most difficult to change when it is necessary. (Progressive Scholar, 2010) Interracial marriages are not always intercultural marriages, as in some countries, for example, in t he United States, people of different races can share the same cultural background. (Source Wikipedia, Last access 17th August) it is easy to comprehend why it is difficult to let go of a tradition or expectation. It isnt easy to deal with the legacy that weve all grown up within our ethnic, religious and socio-economic backgrounds. Though it seems to be a very romantic love story, in the beginning, the truth is, it can be very challenging and frustrating in real life. And it is simply not about being racist, marriage has a deeper meaning to it, which dwells in understanding it, is possible to have extremely strong and natural negative feelings surrounding an interracial relationship or a marriage even though youre not considered as racist. Legal or not illegal the question is should interracial marriages be encouraged? The union between two different cultures altogether will give space to different experiences and opportunities in life, but most difficulties in the marriage life where it is concerned. Adoptions to a different culture altogether maybe not turn out to be an easy task. Individually ethnic and cultural variances put pressure on the marriage itself. With two diverse cultures, a family often has struggled with understanding the differences between the families. Most of the time, such differences are not even recognized and unexplained. At this position an even larger problem with intercultural marriages. It is easy to look at why it is difficult to let go of a tradition or expectation. It isnt easy to deal with the legacy that weve all grown up within our ethnic, religious and socio-economic backgrounds. Numerous cultures will consume different marriage laws, customs and also parental disagreements which will lead to disputes. There will be lower material satisfaction, higher divorce rates due to logistics. Language barriers, different traditions and societys disapproval of these factors will lead to higher failure of the marriage. Hence, a union between two cultures should not be encouraged due to the factors mentioned above. The report will consist of three major factors which are mainly focused on miss- contribution towards an inter-cultural marriage. Initially how the marriage is affected by the cultural shock, diverse of marriage laws which can lead into disagreements plus adaptation to various cultures and environmental factors. Secondly, the societys points of view, Spouse facing discrimination due to colour and differences, if he/she is beyond the racial divide. The last point will conclude of dissipation of culture. The report contains information based on various countries and issues with diverse cultures marriages. 2.1 ADAPTATION TO A DIFFERENT CULTURE The main intention of getting married is to emotionally, spiritually and physically unite men and women together, as husband and wife, it is a commitment made in the presence of God, and is valid until death. Intercultural marriages are often influenced by external factors that can create a confrontation and disagreement in relationships. Different cultures endure vastly diverse moral, ethical and value foundations that influence their perceptions of individual, family and societal lifestyle. When these fundamentals are operating alongside the foundation of different cultural roots, as in intercultural marriages, problems and disagreement oftentimes occur. It takes an effort to combine two cultures successfully, and a willing attitude to learn from both partners. The first argument against intercultural marriages is the cultural shock (adaptation to a new culture). When considering an intercultural marriage either one of the partners have to get introduced to a new culture. Ideally, both have to get used to each others cultures and laws to survive the marriage and this will create a lot of problems in the process. For an example A non-Muslim marrying a Muslim will have to obey to certain laws in Islam; Islam forbids marriage between Muslim women and non-Muslim men. Therefore, any partner will have to convert and obey Islamic rules (sound vision, 2010). In the case of Muslim men marrying Jewish and Christian women, the situation is different. While Islam does allow this, Muslim men marrying Jews and Christians need to remember that living in the West, if they end up divorcing, the children will almost automatically be given to the mother. The converting process from one religion to another and adapting to new laws will create massive problems that will even end the marriage. Additional wrinkle in U.S. Muslim family law practices stems from the structure of authority in Islamic jurisprudence since there has never been an official church certifying individuals to speak on behalf of the religion, the field is open for any dedicated Muslim to seek to act as imam and lead a community (Quarishi Syed- Miller, 2001) therefore, non-Muslims have a very rare chance of winning and surviving in the marriage due to different laws in different cultural laws. Moving on, Intercultural marriages have contrasting differences between traditions and cultures. Although a few studies have looked into this aspect, cultural differences also stimulate marital conflicts, particularly in intercultural marriages. In fact, the quantitative study of Takano (2002), pointed out that 19% of the marital discords in interethnic couples involved in his study are attributed to cultural differences.). Couples that enter a cross-cultural marriage bring into their relationship vastly diverse assumptions and expectations about marriage and family life. Many of these assumptions flow out of the values, unspoken rules and belief systems that permeate their primary cultures. These unspoken values have become so much a part of their lives that they are almost hidden from view. For an example, the way of celebrating Christmas is different in Germany rather than America (J). In fact, many of these cultural differences do not surface until after the couple is married. However, New experiences and new culture altogether may interest an adventurous spouse as its a unique once in a lifetime experience and the difficulties greatly depend on how religious and culturally bond the families are. Not all think out of the box, New strange land, parents and language may cause distress at the beginning of the marriage life. One spouse will live in the country of origin and the other will be a stranger in a strange land the pleasantness maybe fall apart after sometime when trying to fit into a different family, culture. Marriage and customs differ from one country and another culture.For example, Indian marriage customs are varying from marriage customs of Chinese traditions. In Japan the Japanese bride to be painted pure white from head to toe, visibly declaring her maiden status to the gods. There are two choices of headgear exist. One which is, the watabÃ…Â shi, is a white hood, the other is called the tsunokakushi, serves to hide the brides horns of jealousy. It also symbolizes the brides intention to become a gentle and obedient wife. During the period of the traditional wedding days, there would be a tilak ceremony (where the groom is anointed on his forehead), a cerem ony for adorning the brides hand then cover the feet with henna (called mehendi) accompanied by Ladies Sangeet (music and dance) and many other pre-wedding ceremonies. Hence, marriage traditions, customs and beliefs may clash due to the above points mentioned so far. Religion runs deeper since they practice their faith and it is a part of their cultural identity that they want to hang on to. The accurate, customs and special days associated with the religion remain significant to them. The regarding the worship of the children will matter some religions deny the validity of all others and insist on conversions or demand that the children should be brought up in that religion. A couple might face difficulty in deciding on this above point and the spouse form the other religion may feel inferior and down. For example, Orthodox Judaism teaches that the family must repudiate (sit shivah for) a child who marries a non-Jew: Islam demands obedience to Gods law only as revealed by Muhammad, and also requires that a Muslim marry a fellow Muslim. The Catholic churches until recent years insisted that a non-Catholic partner sign a prenuptial agreement to raise any Catholic children. Particular Christian sects preach that all outsiders are damned to eternal fire and prohibit any marriage to people of different faith. At this specific point, the problem may occur with the faith plays a major role in decision making this is if the partner is intensely religious. As they approach each others separate territory, there is a new language, new customs and a new standard of normal to be learned. While culture a certain behaviour might be accepted, here it might cause native offence. This sought of marriage is similar to a foreign alliance, with two separate people coming together and discovering the heritage and history of the other. 2.1 Disapproval from parents and rejection from society No man is different from the other; every human being is created equal. Some optimists believe its the mind of one that creates all the boundaries. But over the time when people get used to one way of living, it is likely that they maintain the trend, generation after generation, this is where culture plays a role. Once you are used to that play it is very hard to get rid of it or adopt a different style of living. Culture is a total of the inherited ideas, beliefs, values, and knowledge, which constitute the shared bases of social action (Collins Dictionary). So as these practices are a significant and unique part of a group of people at a particular period, they are no longer equal anymore, one would be different from the other from the thoughts and beliefs. Intercultural marriages go beyond the racial divide, Which will lead to discrimination by people around them and which may make it uncomfortable to family and parents Interfaith, intercultural and interracial marriages are subj ect to special stresses and strains beyond those experienced in most marriages. Issues are apparent from early in the relationship. Differences often emerge during wedding planning, and these can involve the expectations of partners families of origin about the wedding ceremony, etc. Child rearing can also bring religious, cultural and/or racial issues to the surface as decisions about religious practices and education are confronted for the first time. (Patricia S. Gregory A., 2003) Disapproval from parents for a cross-cultural marriage is customary. Parents should play a major role in their childrens marriage set up. As a matter of fact, the parents fear to risk the life of their unmarried children who might face discrimination from the partners family members. There may also be communication problems if they speak different languages. And It is typical of parents to want their children to find a spouse from there own religion and culture, just to make life easier, and this a better place to live. There are situations where they decide to migrate to the spouses country, which Is living far away from there own family. The parents of an interracial couple usually feel that they have been lowered by their children. A cross-cultural communication in a marriage should respect differences. In marriage you just dont marry another you interconnect with another family as a whole.Intercultural marriages can also include people from different races getting together, a sit uation where there are much more complicated issues when it comes to marriage. (the cultural difference is greater). On the contrary, there is intercultural marriages present within the country like in India, The culture of India is an amalgamation of these diverse sub-cultures spread all over the Indian subcontinent and traditions that are several millennia old.Religiously, Hindus form the majority, followed by Muslims The Republic of Indias state boundaries are largely drawn based on linguistic groups; this decision led to the preservation and continuation of local ethnolinguistic cultures. Thus, states differ from one another in language, culture, cuisine, clothing, literary style, architecture, music (Wikipedia) Another problem is that many of the couples have to encounter is societal disapproval. We have to cope up with our society in spite of our own opinion. The society, on the other hand, considers intercultural marriages as straying from traditional values. A Society is an organization of people who share a common cultural and social background. (Oak, 2007) The consequences of marriage affect every aspect of society. It occupies the most intimate aspect of personal privacy and personal love and reaches the pillars of the sacred institutions of a culture. Marriage is the pillar of society, but it is also the pillar of government, business, and the military. (Wood, 2010) There are mere open-minded people who would give all the support they can, there will always be others who would make the couple feel unwelcome. The most abusive treatment would come from other children. During courtship, many of the racial differences might have overlooked, but after marriage, the couple might find t dif ficult to make adjustment as each group practices a different way of life. Another discouraging occurs when the couples try to participate in social organizations. Although societys disapproval will not affect the couple as seriously as parental disapproval, it is still an issue that cannot be ignored. (http://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/25504.html). Sure as it is multicultural marriage requires a lot of sacrifices. We have to cope up with our society in spite of our own opinion. The society, on the other hand, considers intercultural marriages as straying from traditional values. A Society is an organization of people who share a common cultural and social background. (Oak, 2007) The consequences of marriage affect every aspect of society. It occupies the most intimate aspect of personal privacy and personal love and reaches the pillars of the sacred institutions of a culture. Marriage is the pillar of society, but it is also the pillar of government, business, and the military. (Wood, 2010). In this global world nowadays people are becoming accepting more than they used to, and less ignorant. In the eyes of the person who is getting married this may no longer matter as love has no boundaries. It really does not. Maybe our soul mate is from a different country and religion altogether. Marriage is a union of two who are in love. The relationship depends on the person in them. Care and trust are more important than what the persons religious or cultural background is. There will also be less discrimination amongst races. Nevertheless, There comes a point where it really does matter, because a marriage needs to be maintained throughout with commitment and understanding, it is a bond that is virtually irrevocable. In order to be more comprehensive, it is excelling if they have a grip on what it is, even better having practised the same. Parents agreement for a marriage would be very important and as it is a blessing from them indeed in the years ahead, many face this problem, because parents do not think like the present generation does. Also the society holds the view that a marriage is the stability provided by a life-long promise of remaining together which makes marriage the institution most suited to rearing and socializing the next generation of members, a necessary task if the societys norms, values, and goals are to be maintained and if the society itself is to be is to be immortalized (M White, 1995). Each culture has its own way of communicating, arguing, eating, sharing, and showing affectio n. Most cultures remain intact by passing along their nuances, habits, and sayings for hundreds of years, with only slight variations occurring within each generation. (Henshaw, n.d) 2.3 Culture dissipation There are numerous cultures available throughout the world. People around the globe are similar in their essential humanity: we communicate with each other, we sustain ourselves with food, and when we sleep we often dream. Yet we speak different languages, eat different foods, and dream different dreams. These are what we call the cultural differences. (Jervis. N, 2006). Let not scores of men/women abandon their culture and disappoint there parents and family in any way. All religions that accept or desire converts have had to adapt themselves to the cultures where they spread or they would not have been accepted. (Jervis. N, 2006) In the new era, as intercultural marriages are present, dissipation of culture is on the increase. As people migrate, get married to people of different culture and religion, there will be less who maintains the traditions ethics and values that they are nurtured with. These differences like religion, ethics etc. affects the spiritual stability of the marr iage in an unforeseen manner. Why is culture so important? In a society, groups of people are interactive and interpersonal. In order to understand the groups to which one belongs, it is important to recognize the various cultures or habits and traditions within each group. It makes for a better understanding between diverse groups. (yahoo-ask answers) Lets get this through, cultures are constantly changing. The attitudes, values, goals the practices that characterize each society. Technological innovation and contact with other cultures may cause these to change dramatically. An intercultural marriage is one of the causes for cultures to go extinct. And it promotes cultural discontinuity. Cultures do changes, they are never static. The responsibility of us to maintain it .also some convert from one religion to another after an intercultural marriage due to the influence of the new environment this may not always be good. After the marriage the spouse most probably the female might not experience the same traditions and ethics in the new family. There will be no one to maintain its cultures are connected to language and traditions and religions.cultural continuity is important, continuity requires that a culture stays the same thats impossible just that certain central aspects of a culture, such as particular beliefs or traditions, remain (gorigirl, 2009) On the other hand, some people believe an intercultural marriage does bring about many cultures together and ensures freedom, unity in the society and traditions should be revisited because if not women nowadays will be locked up in kitchens like in the 16th century. Cultural diffusion is good. Less racial discrimination because no one is neglecting anyone due to cultural barriers. It will also help over racists minds of few. No boundaries for love will make life easy for couples from different cultures We will always love our traditions and respect it as a part of us and would love to even teach our kids the same way. But with intercultural marriages sacrifices have to be made. Intercultural marriage is a perfect example of the creative destruction that, when successful, leads to both great innovation and happy, meaningful lives. Every marriage consists of the creation of a new family culture -but with intercultural marriages, each individual is bringing a completely distinct culture and set of traditions to the table to be combined. (gorigirl, 2009) Misbelieving in cultures will give a person no direction and sense of identity and uniqueness; people will become less traditional, religious because of the influence of many cultures and will also lead to language death. Part of our culture is language and it affects the cultural identity of the tribes or ethnic groups. They will not stick to one culture and would adjust according to there ideas as the culture is destroyed (mixed) and ignored by them. People would be less civilized after some generation as they are not nurtured according to one way of living, they will easily adapt to any change which maybe gives them no identity. 3.0 Conclusion Diversity and unity amongst people are the best, But this world is not perfect. A relationship is hard to maintain. Especially an intercultural or interracial marriage as they have to face new challenges every day, there are many hurdles they should overcome. Family and society perceptions matters. Unity is a good thing and discrimination should be lessened but miscegenation is always not the solution to reduce or top discrimination, it should come within our selves and not with due to the respect of a relationship as if it is so, it might fade after sometime when the spark of the love is faded. Many difficulties should be overcome by a success of an intercultural marriage like maintain a family. The shared beliefs and values of people should not leave them after some time, it should always in them, an intercultural marriage is affected by the cultural shock, diverse of marriage laws which can lead into disagreements plus adaptation to various cultures and environmental factors. Lang uage barriers and different traditions they are nurtured by people. Spouse facing discrimination due to colour and differences, if he/she is beyond the racial divide and dissipation of cultures occur. Sometimes the differences of each other may be too hard to handle over time also let not let go of our religion and beliefs and values due to a marriage, as our future generations need a proper culture to adapt to and to be brought up properly. Let not our own traditions breakdown. 6.0 Recommendations As intercultural marriages are faced with many barriers, due to family issues and adaptation to the culture. A marriage is not easy to maintain and its more challenging as its an intercultural marriage.As in this modern era people should be more accepting and diverse. Parents should be more attentive about the unmarried childrens desires, think more out of the box and support them throughout regardless of the cultural barriers. They should focus more on the person and the character and not judge them by the race or religion that person belongs to. Pre-marriage counseling would help to smoothen the beginning of the marriage, due to the differences Avoiding conversions to other and have faith in what they always believed in and not to change because of a marriage. Parents should always give there blessings to a marriage no matter how much they like it or not, because it does affect the couple emotionally and psychologically The society should be more accepting to differences They couple should get together and spend more time each of their familys and the places they were bought up , for the spouse to feel comfortable and less strange in adopt to changes Family and relatives should always help and support the couple throughout because its a tough challenge they have to face. Extra attention should be given to the differences and weak points of the couple so they can work on it before things go out of hand.as it is very much possible due to the differences in each other For traditions and cultures to be continued till today people should be more rational and moral. Supplementary research can be done on areas like impact on: Family life, Impact on children, nature of intercultural marriages. As these areas are not covered in the above repot, these will help expand the topic into further branches Recommended areas to research on: Advantages of intercultural and marriages in the new era. Bibiloigraphy Ballard., (2006), The International YWAMer magazine , 6th of january 2006, issue june 2006. Berry, F (1992). Langston huges, before and beyong harlem .USA: Carol PuB.Co.Group.P56-75 Donovan, S Corbin, J (2007), Intermarriages, 5th october 2007, viewed on 16th of july 2010, Available :http://www.jstor.org Deborah T, You Just Dont Understand: Women and Men in Conversation (New York: Ballantine Books, 1990), pp. 188-215 Gorilgirl, ( 2009), Broken Traditions? Intercultural Marriage and Cultural Continuity, 13th of july 2009, Available: http://gorigirl.com/broken-traditions-intercultural-marriage-and-cultural-continuity.Last accessed on 16th of july 2010 Myers; Jane, E.(2005) , Marriage satisfaction and wellness in India and the United States, 22nd of March 2005, Available: http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-133015418/marriage-satisfaction-and-wellness.html.HYPERLINK http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-133015418/marriage-satisfaction-and-wellness.html.LastLast accessed on 22nd of September 2010. Nancy J, ( Ph.D).(2006) What is a culture, (N.d)Available : http://www.p12.nysed.gov//ciai/socst/grade3/whatisa.html.HYPERLINK http://www.p12.nysed.gov//ciai/socst/grade3/whatisa.html.LastLast accessed on 19th of September 2010. Romano, D(2006), Intercultural marriage, prmoses and pitfalls, 8th january 2006, Available: http://www.amazon.com/Intercultural-Marriage-Promises-Dugan-Romano/dp/187786451X. Last accessed on 26th of july 2010 Tiergert, V. Difficulties faced by intercultural relationships (2008)Availble : http://www.helium.com/items/1957887-difficulties-faced-by-intercultural-relationships. Last access on the 1st of September 2010

Criminological Research Topics Aims And Rationale Social Work Essay

Criminological Research Topics Aims And Rationale Social Work Essay The case of Sabina Akthar is a tragic case, which shows negligence of the Crown Prosecution Service(CPS). Sabina Akthar and Malik Mannan had married through arrange marriage in Bangladesh. When Akthar found out that her husband had a mistress, problems occurred in their marriage. Akthar had faced domestic violence from her husband and as result made complaints to the police. Mannan was arrested and about a month later he was released on bail. Mannans bail conditions included clauses such as; he was not to contact his wife or visit her home. After Mannan had broken his bail conditions on several instances he was re-arrested. However on this occasion he was released without charge and also his bail order was dropped. After Mannan was released he carried on sending Akthar text messages in which he threatened to kill her. Few days after these messages Mannan had stabbed Akthar from her heart, which caused Akthars death. After the young womans death the Crown Prosecutions Service accepted that they were negligent in the way they have handled the case and apologised to Sabina Akthars family (Guardian 2009). The British Crime Surveys (BCS) measurement of the culture effect on domestic violence is different to the police statistics. According to statistics the culture effect on domestic violence plays an important role here. The aim of my research is to define how culture has an effect on domestic violence in the United Kingdom amongst the white ethnicity. Due to the experience I have gained through volunteering in the Coventry Refugee Centre I have gained knowledge about different countries and the cultures those countries have. In the United Kingdom victims of domestic violence are mainly women and children. For many women their home is where they suffer abuse at hands of somebody who is really close to them. Most victims of domestic violence face long term physical and psychological damages. The person who abuses them does not give them any chance to make their own decision; therefore after a while some victims believe that there is no way out of their sufferings and gives up on trying to escape. This research seeks to determine the impact of cultural effect on domestic violence in women and children in United Kingdom. Key literature Domestic violence also known and expressed as fie beating or intimate partner violence usually coexists with child abuse about half of the time (Hamel. J, Tonia L. Nicholls 2007). Husbands who beat their wives are much likely to apply for permanent residence for their undocumented wives than husbands who do not beat their wives. Therefore immigration status appears to be another way in which abusive husbands control their wives in the UK. Abusive husbands often threaten their wives with deportation if they do not comply with the husbands wishes. Frequently undocumented abused wives are afraid to cooperate with child protection authorities for fear that their husbands might retaliate by turning them into immigration authorities. Women who cooperate with investigations of child abuse and or domestic violence have unusually good access to legal permanent residency but they are unlikely to be aware of this. Battered immigrant women face several impediments to seeking protection and servi ces. These impediments including language barriers, negative perceptions of the law enforcement and legal system, fear of deportation, cultural and religious issues and discrimination (Gabriel 1994). When it comes to the culture effect on domestic violence Uganda has the highest crime rates of domestic violence, 41 % of women reported being beaten or physically harmed by their husbands. This can be related to the economic factors and conditions as well as different life styles and cultural variation in Uganda. According to the statistic the media has been considered one of many contributing factors in domestic violence. It has been criticized for its portrayal of violence in movies, television and printed form resulting in the desensitization of people with regard to their tolerance of violence. On the other hand the media has also been used as a modern communication tool in increasing public awareness of domestic violence and increasing support for ongoing research, funding education and prevention and treatment programs and support for improvement in the laws the criminal justice system and the public policy. The impact of income inequality and social structure may also create more domestic violence towards women. Mens unemployment or part time employment has been associated with increased rates of domestic violence. (Natalie, Sokoloff and Pratt 2005). Recent study found that unemployment was a significant predictor of violence. This suggests some men might perceive employment as a critical component of their masculine identity and resort to violence as an effort to regain lost status. Some studies report that middle class Asian women are more likely to experience domestic violence than white middle class women among some ethnic and racial minority groups are attributable in part to poverty. Some research has suggested that the discrepancy between employment and income places women at risk. When women earn more than men or have a higher education qualification and employment skills, many men feel psychologically threatened and some use violence to reassert power in their relationship. Many immigrants coming to England to find a better life to live for themselves and for their children but the barriers the immigrant face are really tremendous. New culture that they face as well as language barriers their husbands take advantage of this and start intimating their partners that their husbands may report their views to the UK immigrations service. Different countries and cultures may have their own values and attitudes toward a woman place family, marriage, sex roles and divorce and women may not notice that the domestic violence is against the law they may not know that they have the legal option to end the abusive relationship. Domestic violence can occur in families from all cultural and ethnic group and beliefs and intervention policies and practices in treating battered women should accommodate their diverse cultural backgrounds. The British Crime Survey statistics shows that one in five women has experienced domestic violence in their lifestyle and many of these women ended their relationship because of abusive relationship. . According to the survey shows that woman chose to stay in abusive relationship because of fear if the women attempts to leave they will be tracked down and beaten or killed because of this the most women think that any prison time would be temporary and the subsequent and consequences even worse. Methodology My research approach will reflect a subjectivism. I believe this perspective is most appropriate for my investigation because people got their own ideas and it will be in subjectivism way the result that I will get in the end it will not be based on one interview. My methodology will be based on interviews, qualitative, subjectivism and interpretivism. Every interview that I will do will have different view and different ideas in it. I will be dealing with human views rather than materials. In order to finish my dissertation I need to understand how women are expected to behave within different cultures, believes and religions. For example as I have spent two years at the Coventry Refugee Centre as an interpreter and a case worker this has given me a good knowledge about diverse people and I understand their opinions and feelings. Therefore I believe the experience that I have gained within that work environment will be very helpful to me while I am conducting my interviews. To update my literal review I will also use secondary data. As my secondary data resources I will use books and contemporary articles. This will enable me to widen my knowledge and understanding of the general theory aspects on culture effect on domestic violence. I will also get some help from the Coventry Refugee Centre by going on their websites and also by speak to them face to face when needed. This secondary data will help me to design the interview questions in order to get the best answers. For my research I will also do face to face semi-structured interviews to understand the effect of culture on domestic violence. I will also use internet searches. I have applied to volunteer within the victim support scheme. I am hoping that the experience I will gain from this work placement will give me the opportunity to find out more information about victims of domestic violence which will help to finish my dissertation. I will do some interpretivisim to assess the meaning of domestic violence. This will provide me a good feedback about the domestic violence and the trust in the police and Criminal Justice System. These questioners will provide me some quantitative data. In order to get answers that are representative and non-biased these questioners will be given to randomly selected women. The qualitative result that I have gained from the interviews will be used in two ways. First of all I will compare them to the secondary data which is the theory aspect of the research. Secondly I will compare the questionnaire results (practice). Through comparing these data I will examine the views on domestic violence. As the results that are gained through the interviews will be qualitative, which means these statistics will give me an opportunity to analyses the results in order to create some charts, graphs and pies. As I worked as an interpreter and a case worker at the Coventry Refugee Centre it is easy for me to access into the centre and get the support that I need. I have decided to choose my participant through my work experience place, because my topic is based on culture effect on domestic violence and there are many women who been victims of domestic violence in their home countries. I will hopefully do my interview at the Refugee centre and I will inform my participa nts that everything that they say throughout the interview will be confidential and that no one will be allowed to see the answers that they have given in the questionnaires. However there are some difficulties to do this interview for example some of the participants may not speak English. Therefore I will also try to arrange an interpreter for them where needed in order to finish my research proposal. Ethnical issues Researching about domestic violence is not easy. While I am doing my research there are several ethical issues which I need to pay close attention to not to cause further distress to the participants. For example some question may cause distress to participants if they are asked in a certain way. Therefore I will need to design my questions in a way which my participants will not feel uncomfortable to answer them. Conducting a research on domestic violence might be a stressful investigation. This is because the topic is a very sensitive topic as it is not psychologically easy for people to talk about their tragic experiences. Therefore this study might cause potential or further pain and harm to the individual who have or still experiencing abuse by reminding them events that they do not wish to remember. It may also expose incriminating information and expose individual to risk. Consequently I need to be fully prepared to deal with the likely effects of the research. For example the effects of my research on participants on their families and on the researchers themselves (conduction such research may be distressing) may be defeated by a debriefing session at the end of the research. In this debriefing session participants will be able to speak to professional psychiatrists about their experience within the research. During this session participants can discuss any particular concerns they have about the research. Another example of a sensitive issue is false memory and recovered memory. This is a debate which has been going on over the past 20 years. A famous memory psychologist Elizabeth Loftus has written about the validity of recovered memories of childhood abuse. According o Loftuss studies these memories commonly come to light only after therapeutic sessions with people who use techniques such as guided imagery to explore early life experience. This domestic violence research is socially sensitive because there are potential consequences for people who have claimed to have recovered memories and for their families. Therefore to complete my research I need to consider including some ethnical guidelines document. I will sign this document and included in my proposal to state that I have tried to deal with ethical issues as best as I could. Also the questions that I will ask during the interview have to be approved by my tutor. I will also ask my participants to sign a consent form which will state that the interviews done are totally confidentially and that they are willing to take part in this research. Data that will be collected through the interviews will be confidential therefore I will be keeping this data with me at all times until my research is complete and I will not let anyone else to see it. I will be dealing with woman with cultural views, being sensitive to other cultures is easier said than done. Cultural sensitivity has nothing to with the art and music of a culture and almost everything to do with respect, shared decision making and effective communication. Too often researches ignore these values, the life style and the cognitive and affective world of the subject. soz jus on the phone to ma man. bu ma cwk is on my laptop n im on my pc bu jus write bou wha research method u gna use like for mine im doin case stdies n interviews n lyk u gta say whether u gna use qualitative method or quantitative methods n why u using those methods das it reallyysoz jus on the phone to ma man. bu ma cwk is on my laptop n im on my pc bu jus write bou wha research method u gna use like for mine im doin case stdies n interviews n lyk u gta say whether u gna use qualitative method or quantitative methods n why u using those methods das it really Reflection I have learnt too many things about the research method and technique that are used in it. Having completed this research that is based on culture effect on domestic violence improved my argument skills in a paper. Through using and collecting data and with example of statistics my arguments have become much better than how it was used to be. My researching skills also improved in a positive way during this research proposal. In previous researches for my study I used to get stuck on how to gather information but now I am able to use largely different resources I can now understand the topic more widely and it also helps me to make a better argument. In my opinion this research is my best research paper that I have done in my life. The grade that I will get for it might not show a good grade but what I learned from it will benefit me for my future researches. I spent about two days just for doing the actual research. It will be useful for the next year when it come to the dissertation by using these new techniques that I have learnt from this research proposal, hopefully then I will be able to put my points across more effectively and clearly. How to write a research proposal will benefit me in future lessons in my life. Due to the experience that I have gained while preparing this proposal I will be able to give good exa mples about the topics that I will be preparing a proposal for in my future academic life. I will also be able to give and create a better arguments and counter-arguments in my future research proposal. To do my dissertation I have to stay focus on my chosen topic in order to complete it by using different skills that I have learned from this research proposal.

Christianity and The Chronicles of Narnia Essay -- Chronicles of Narni

Christianity and The Chronicles of Narnia      Ã‚  Ã‚   C. S. Lewis, a well-known author and apologist, is best known by people of all ages for his seven volume series entitled The Chronicles of Narnia. As Lewis wrote about the land of Narnia, an imaginary world visited by children of this world, he had two obvious purposes: to entertain the readers and to suggest analogies of the Christian faith. Although some feel that his stories are violent, Lewis is successful at using fiction to open peoples' hearts to accepting Christ as their Savior because he first entertains the audience with a wonderful story.    Lewis talked about how he came to write the books of Narnia, saying that they "all began with a picture of a Faun carrying an umbrella and parcels in a snowy wood" (Lewis 79). The Chronicles tell of the different adventures of English children as they visit the kingdom of Narnia and fall in love with the lion Aslan. Aslan, "the son of the Emperor over Sea," can be compared to this world's Jesus Christ (Schakel 133). As a child, Lewis always favored fairy tales and fantasies; as an adult, he decided to write one (Lewis 60). And so began The Chronicles of Narnia. Rather than planning to write a fictional book that succeeded in using apologetics, Lewis admits that the "element" of Christianity, "as with Aslan," entered "of its own accord" (Hooper 31). Walter Hooper, C. S. Lewis' biographer, describes Lewis as being the most religious man he ever met (Schakel 132). For this reason, no matter what Lewis wrote, his religion would greatly impact all of his works.    Although Christian symbolism can be found... ...rtainer.    Works Cited    Dorsett, Lyle W. and Marjorie Lamp Mead, eds. C. S. Lewis Letters to Children. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1985.    Holbrook, David. The Skeleton in the Wardrobe: C. S. Lewis's Fantasies: A Phenomenological Study. Lewisburg: Bucknell University Press, 1991.    Hooper, Walter. Past Watchful Dragons: The Narnian Chronicles of C. S. Lewis. New York: Collier Books, 1979.    Lewis, C. S. Of This and Other Worlds. Ed. Walter Hooper. St. James Place, London: Collins, 1982.    Martin, Holly Bigelow. "C. S. Lewis in the Secular Classroom." The Bulletin of the New York C. S. Lewis Society 22.4 (1991): 1-7.    Schakel, Peter J. Reading with the Heart: The Way Into Narnia. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1979.   

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Essay -- TV Television Show Essays

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Mentors feature prominently in the Gothic genre. From Dr Van Helsing in Bram Stoker's Dracula, who leads the young heroes into their quest to annihilate the Count, to Rupert Giles, the Watcher in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, older and more experienced adults have provided essential guidance for the younger protagonists of the genre. The differences in media of expression and the subsequent adaptations from novel to television series has not affected the presence of this character, more than a hundred years after the publication of Dracula in 1897. What also unites the novel and the series is their fin-de-sià ¨cle resonance. According to Elaine Showalter, sexually and socially subversive themes feature strongly in periods of cultural insecurity. In addition to the century that separates Buffy from the Count, there has been a plethora of vampire movies and books of various merits. As a result, the late-twentieth-century average spectator knows the basic facts of vampirism. Therefore, the creators of Buffy the Vampire Slayer need to challenge their audience through another aspect of the series. Turning to their advantage what might have been a serious hindrance, they adopt a self-reflexive ironic perspective on the genre. This tenuous but innovative tension between borrowing from the tenets of the Gothic and moving away from them is especially appreciable when one evaluates the Watcher, Giles. Giles embodies both the principles of continuity and daring innovation that characterise the series and contribute to its appeal. The similarities between Dr Van Helsing in Dracula and Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer create a sense of thematic and structural continuity through different media. They share a sim... ...Unofficial Critical Companion to Buffy and Angel. Ed. Roz Kaveney. London: Tauris, 2001, 98-119. 8. Wall, Brian and Michael Zryd. "Vampire dialectics. Knowledge, institutions and labour." Reading the Vampire Slayer. An unofficial critical companion to Buffy and Angel. Ed. Roz Kaveney. London: Tauris, 2001, 53-77. 9. Jung, C. G. The Phenomenology of the Spirit in Fairy Tales. 1912. Trans. R. F. C. Hull. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1967. 10. Heilbronn, Lisa M. "Natural Man, Unnatural Science: Rejection of Science in Recent Science Fiction and Fantasy Film". Contours of the Fantastic. Ed. Michele K. Langford. New York: Greenwood, 1990, 113-9, 115. 11. Auerbach, Nina. Our Vampires, Ourselves. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1995, 5. 12. Tudor, Andrew. Monsters and Mad Scientists. A Cultural History of the Horror Movie. 1989. Oxford: Blackwell, 1991, 114.

ESL Education Essay

Facilitating education and learning of English language in developing countries has been a challenge for ESL teachers through the years. The capability of these countries to continually adapt to the globalizing economy has been gradually increasing and this also applies in learning the English language. Thus, the challenge for ESL instructors is to create and improve on mechanisms that will enhance a better facilitation of English language education among students in the developing countries. Continuous development of ESL programs has been prevalent in the recent years. Also, there is an increased diversity of participants who seek to learn English. Instructors of the language on the other hand have been welcoming these changes. â€Å"English language arts teachers are especially open to embracing the richness this diversity brings to their classrooms, yet many feel ill-prepared to teach students for whom English is a second, third or possibly fourth language. † (Young, 1996, p. 17) However, the proliferation of students who are studying ESL does not evenly match instructors who facilitate their education. This situation paves the way for ESL students taking part in an English classroom that is handled by non-trained ESL instructors which greatly affects and undermines the development and learning process of students. â€Å"Despite the increase in the number of trained ESL specialists over the past 10 years or so, it is no secret that vast numbers of limited English proficient (LEP) students still spend either all or large portions of their academic life with regular or content classroom teachers. (Penfield, 1987, p. 21) Another important issue in ESL education is the facilitation and processes involved in teaching. â€Å"Issues surrounding ESL education focus on determining the ‘best’ approach to help non-native speakers of English gain appropriate academic skills. † (Young, 1996, p. 17) In addition, there have been increased outputs of literature pertaining to enhancing ESL education in schools. One issue that is addressed in studies are listening and speaking ca pabilities of ESL students. However there had been discrepancies with application of these methods on the other hand for ESL instructors. â€Å"Though these studies have been helpful to EAP teachers, few have looked beyond reading and writing skills to what college/university professors actually require with regards to academic listening and speaking skills and which of these tasks are most problematic for ESL students in a tertiary institution. (Ferris & Tag, 1996, p. 298) Thus, efficient communication, enforcement of strategies, and stabilizing the curriculum are the possible options that institutions can make in addressing these needs. The next section looks into possible strategies that can be implemented to facilitate the challenges ESL teachers face in teaching English among non-native speakers. One possible solution is creating a monitoring criterion for ESL students. This would entail ESL educators of continuously creating necessary measures and dynamics to enhance learning for their students. â€Å"During formal and informal meetings these teachers continually discuss inherent shortcomings of the procedures used in assessing their students, share their shortcomings of the procedures used in assessing their students. † (Ernst, 1994, p. 323) With this, ESL students are assured that their individual performance are assessed and evaluated to further help them in acquiring and learning the language. Also, ESL teachers must develop both listening and communication strategies with students to facilitate the learning process and develop efficient mechanisms of education. â€Å"Somehow we need to help them bridge the gap between the safe interactions they experience in ESL classes and the activities they find more challenging and threatening in content classes. † (Ferris & Tag, 1996, p. 312) Creating listening strategies can also make ESL students feel comfortable and secure that their interests are seen and provides them the avenue to express what they really want. ESL teachers should simulate free-form classroom lecture discussions for their students and analyze videotaped classroom interactions with their students so that ESL students can be better prepared for the realities. † (Ferris & Tag, 1996, p. 312) Another possible alternative is the creation of â€Å"ESL Task Group†. â€Å"This group should consist of representatives of the total school community, be small enough for efficient operation, and be chaired by most competent person available. † (Levenson, 1969, p. 1) With the creation of this, the group must follow the necessary phases that includes (1) gathering information, (2) observation and evaluation, (3) surveying and (4) constant communication with important groups and organizations. Another issue that can be addressed is the issue of writing among ESL students. ESL teachers must be keen to adapt and understand the dilemma these students have in the correct and proper way of writing. â€Å"ESL writers should neither be treated as completely different from native speakers nor as completely the same, that a middle ground is desirable. (Chan, 1988, pp. 84-85) In addition, ESL writers must not be discriminated of expressing their intentions and ideas in class. â€Å"Like native speakers of English, ESL writers can and should be encouraged to write as a means of discovering what they think and know and as a means of commu nicating their sides. † (Chan, 1988, p. 85) Lastly, adequate and continuous training must be given to future and current ESL instructors. Recognizing that each one is vital for the success of the program, constant awareness must be made regarding this issue. The most obvious pedagogical solution to students’ dilemma is to train professors to respond clearly and effectively to students’ informal questions and comments. † (Ferris & Tragg, 1996, p. 312) In addition, there needs to be a collaborative effort between non-ESL teachers and ESL instructors since they both have the same objective – educate. â€Å"Collaboration with other teachers who are ‘becoming’ mainstreamed ESL teachers serves as another important avenue for support. â€Å"(Young, 1996, p. 19) By being dynamic, issues regarding ESL facilitation can be eased and create learning.

Neutralization Test for Virus

NEUTRALIZATION TEST FOR VIRUS Neutralization of a virus is defined as the loss of infectivity through reaction of the virus with specific antibody. Virus and serum are mixed under appropriate condition and then inoculated into cell culture, eggs or animals. The presence of unneutralized virus may be detected by reactions such as CPE, haemadsorption/haemagglutination, plaque formation, disease in animals. The loss of infectivity is bought about by interference by the bound Ab with any one of the steps leading to the release of the viral genome into the host cells.There are two types of neutralization;- Reversible neutralization – The neutralization process can be reversed by diluting the Ab-Ag mixture within a short time of the formation of the Ag-Ab complexes (30 mins). It is thought that reversible neutralization is due to the interference with attachment of virions to the cellular receptors eg. the attachment of the HA protein of influenza viruses to sialic acid. The process requires the saturation of the surface of the virus with Abs.Stable neutralization – with time, Ag-Ab complexes usually become more stable (several hours) and the process cannot be reversed by dilution. Neither the virions nor the Abs are permanently changed in stable neutralization, for the unchanged components can be recovered. The neutralized virus can be reactivated by proteolytic cleavage. Stable neutralization has a different mechanism to that of reversible neutralization. It had been shown that neutralized virus can attach and that already attached virions can be neutralized.The number of Ab molecules required for stable neutralization is considerably smaller than that of reversible neutralization, Kinetic evidence shows that even a single Ab molecule can neutralize a virion. Such neutralization is generally produced by Ab molecules that establish contact with 2 antigenic sites on different monomers of a virion, greatly increasing the stability of the complexes. An ex ample of stable neutralization is the neutralization of polioviruses, whereby, the attachment of the antibody to the viral capsid stabilizes the capsid and inhibits the uncoating and release of viral nucleic acid.Viral evolution must tend to select for mutations that change the antigenic determinants involved in neutralization. In contrast, other antigenic sites would tend to remain unchanged because mutations affecting them would not be selected for and could even be detrimental. A virus would thus evolve from an original type to a variety of types, different in neutralization (and sometimes in HI) tests, but retaining some of the original mosaic of antigenic determinants recognizable by CFTs.Because of its high immunological specificity, the neutralization test is often the standard against which the specificity of the other serological techniques is evaluated. Before the neutralization test is carried out, the known components that are to be used must be standardized. To identify a virus isolate, a known pretitred antiserum is used. Conversely, to measure the antibody response of an individual to a virus, a known pretitred virus is used. To titrate a known virus, serial tenfold dilutions of the isolate is prepared and inoculated into a susceptible host system such as cell culture or animal.The virus endpoint titre is the reciprocal of the highest dilution of virus that infects 50% of the host system eg. 50% of cell cultures develop CPE, or 50% of animals develop disease. This endpoint dilution contains one 50% tissue culture infecting dose (TCID50) or one 50% lethal dose (LD50) of virus per unit volume. The concentration of virus generally used in the neutralization test is 100 TCID50 or 100 LD50 per unit volume. The antiserum is titrated in the neutralization test against its homologous virus.Serial twofold dilutions of serum is prepared and mixed with an equal volume containing 100TCID50 of virus. The virus and serum mixtures are incubated for 1 hour at 3 7oC. The time and temperature for incubation varies with different viruses. The mixtures are then inoculated into a susceptible host system. The endpoint titration contains one antibody unit and is the reciprocal of the highest dilution of the antiserum protecting against the virus. Generally 20 antibody units of antiserum is used in the neutralization tests.