Before I arrived in Ghana I had many stereotypes and ideas of what it would be like. I thought that I knew what to expect and that I was prepared for it, but I was wrong. Being in Africa was nothing like I thought it would be, but I love it just how it is.
During my first few weeks in Ghana I was overwhelmed with the culture change. Almost everything is different here than in the United States and I was bombarded with the differences. I slowly started to feel more comfortable and after a few weeks I was able to emerge myself more into the culture and notice more things. Ghana is not what I expected. There are many things that I love about it along with some things that I don’t.
There are many things that I like about Ghana include the friendly people, the sunny tropical weather, and the lack of industrialization in many areas. I love the adventure of being in a new place and having a completely new daily routine.
In the United States I always have to worry about being on time for everything, which is difficult for me. I love that time is not a issue here because of “ghana maybe time”. I can be late to most things and it doesn’t matter, which has saved me a lot of stress. I can tell that it is difficult for some people to adapt to “ghana maybe time”, but I think that it is wonderful and that it should be adapted everywhere. People can even show up to work late and it isn’t as big of a deal as it would be in other countries.
I enjoy the music and how ghanians freely dance to it. The atmosphere here is much different here than in the U.S. and I like it a lot. The music is less electronic which just makes it sound better. The average ghanian can dance much better than the average american. People here can really move their hips and move with the music, which I like much more than the popular grinding style that I see in the U.S. The only problem with going out dancing is that we are often bombarded with men, because men are rarely shy towards us at all in Accra.
There are also some things about Ghana that are unpleasant and have been difficult for me to adapt to. The open sewer system and the lack of drinkable tap water are some of those things. Walking down the street I can look at the water, or whatever it is, mixed in with pieces of trash and debris floating down the sewer. I can see and smell it's contents, although I try not to. Every now and then I will notice someone using the roadside sewer as their bathroom. I will also notice chickens, dogs and goats drinking and eating out of the sewer, the same animals that are used for eggs and meat. The sewer is often clogged with trash such as water sachets. Having to find water sachets to drink out of has made me realize how spoiled I have been growing up where the tap water is so pure and fresh.
Poverty is something that has also been a little overwhelming for me. In some areas it is so immense that people living there don’t even realize how horrible their living conditions are, because it is all they have ever known. The poverty has opened my eyes to how well off I am and how luck I am to have grown up in such a nice family.
The gender roles and relations are very different here from any that I have ever experienced. The men are very outgoing and the women seem to be much more shy and reserved. The men are always trying to talk to us telling us how beautiful we are and trying to hangout with us. This rarely happens in the U.S. and it often makes me feel uncomfortable.
Overall I have been enjoying my experiences in Ghana very much and I am extremely happy to be here. It can be difficult at times, but I am grateful to be here now! I am glad that many of the stereotypes and ideas I had about Africa are wrong and I am excited to tell my friends back home about all the wonderful adventures that I’ve been having.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
The Ideal Gas Law
Introduction
The purpose of this lab was to investigate several properties of gases and use the ideal gas law (eq 3) to explain the observations made. The lab consisted of a pressure-volume experiment which relates to eq. 1, and a pressure-temperature experiment which relates to eq. 2.
Equation 1, Boyle’s Law, shows the relationship of pressure and the inverse of volume.
P α 1/V (1)
Equation 2, Charle’s Law, gives the relationship of pressure and temperature.
P α T (2)
Equation 3, The Ideal Gas Law, is a combination of eq 1 and eq 2, where P is pressure, V is volume, n is the amount of moles, and T is temperature.
PV=nRT (3)
Procedure
In part one of the experiment the relationship between the pressure and volume of air was determined. Air was confined in a syringe which was connected to a pressure sensor. Data from the pressure sensor was saved on the computer. This data was analyzed and a graph created of pressure vs volume and of pressure vs 1/volume. The data was converted to the appropriate units and the number of moles of air in the syringe calculated using the Ideal Gas Law (eq 3).
In part two of the lab the temperature-pressure relationship was explored using a vernier testing apparatus, which consisted of a sealed flask with a pressure sensor and a temperature sensor connected, suspended in a beaker of water. Data was collected in 5°C intervals and saved on the computer. The data was analyzed and put into a graph comparing pressure and temperature.
Detailed procedures may be found in reference 1.
Results
In this lab the Ideal Gas Law was tested by measuring the pressure of gas in comparison to volume and temperature.
Figure 1 shows the data collected of Pressure level compared with the volume of the air.
Figure 1. The pressure of air measured by controlling the volume.
The average volume was 0.014 L ± 0.0039 and the average pressure was 1.4 atm ± 0.38.
As eq. 1 states, pressure is inversely related to volume.
Figure 2 shows the data collected of pressure compared with 1/volume of the air.
Figure 2. The pressure of air as a function of inverse volume.
The data in figures 1 and 2 were used to solve eq. 3 for the number of mols of air in the syringe, which was calculated to be 0.00076 mols. The value of R, calculated using the slope of the trendline in figure 2 was 0.072 L-atm/mol-K.
Figure 3 shows the relationship of temperature vs. pressure using the data obtained from the second part of the experiment.
Figure 3. The relationship of pressure vs. temperature of air.
The relationship of pressure and temperature is direct, as seen in eq. 2 and proved by the fact that the data made a linear graph. As temperature increases so does pressure, this is because when temperature increases the molecules increase in velocity and collide more frequently. The average temperature was 325 K ± 18.9 and the average pressure was 1.0 atm ± 0.055.
Discussion
In this lab the Ideal Gas Law was tested by observing a pressure-volume relationship and a temperature-pressure relationship. The R value of the data in Figure 1 was calculated to be 0.072 L-atm/mol-K, which has a 13% relative error when compared to the accepted value. This may be due to the fact that it was near impossible to precisely control how much the the syringe would tighten. It is also possible that the composition of the air in the room that the lab was done deviated slightly from where the accepted value was determined. The average pressure constant for part one was 115 ± 68.5.
From the data used to make figure 1, the average volume was 0.014 L ± 0.0039 and the average pressure was 1.4 atm ± 0.38. From the data used to make figure 3, the average temperature was 325 K ± 18.9 and the average pressure was 1.0 atm ± 0.055. These standard deviations are not bad, and probably exist due to human error. If the temperature was doubled the pressure would also double. The average pressure constant for part two was 0.0179 ± .000512.
References
1. General Chemistry Experiments: A Manual for Chemistry 204, 205, and 206,Department of Chemistry, Southern Oregon University: Ashland, OR, 2009
Application of LeChatelier’s Principle to Chemical Equilibria
Introduction
The purpose of this lab was to determine which way equilibrium shifts went by using LeChatelier’s Principle. LeChatelier’s Principle states that change in any of the parameters that determine equilibria will result in a system change, which will cause a change in the equilibria.
The equilibria of three solutions were found by executing and observing a variety of experiments for each.
First the equilibrium shift in a reaction (eq 1) involving the weak acid HSO4- in water was tested.
HSO4-(aq) + H2O (l) ⇌ H3O+(aq) + SO42- (aq) (1)
Next the equilibrium shift in a reaction (eq 2) involving the slightly soluble salt Mg(OH)2 was tested.
Mg2+(aq) + 2OH-(aq) ⇌ Mg(OH)2(s) (2)
Last the equilibrium shift in a reaction (eq 3) involving the hexaaquacobalt(II) ion, Co(H2O)62- was tested.
CoCl42-(alc) + 6H2O(l) ⇌ Co(H2O)62+(aq) + 4Cl-(aq) (3)
Procedure
For the first part of the lab the initial solution was prepared by adding NaHSO4 to five labeled test tubes, and then Thymol Blue as a pH indicator. When the pH is less than two Thymol Blue is red, when it is greater than two Thymol Blue is a red-yellow color. The first test tube was used as a standard. Na2SO4 was added to the second test tube until there was a color change. NaHSO4 was added to the third test tube until there was a color change. The fourth test tube was heated in a hot water bath, then cooled in a ice water bath. The opposite was preformed on the fifth. All observations were recorded.
The second and third parts of the lab were the same as part one but with different solutions and phenolphthalein as the pH indicator. Phenolphthalein is colorless unless the pH is greater than eight, at which point it turns pink. For part two the beginning solution was created from MgCl2 and NaOH, and HCl and Na4EDTA were the solutions added to the appropriate test tubes. For the third part of the lab the beginning solution comprised of water and CoCl42-, and ethyl alcohol, silver nitrate, and HCl were added to the appropriate test tubes.
Detailed procedures may be found in reference 1.
Results
The first part of the lab involved the reaction HSO4-(aq) + H2O (l) ⇌ H3O+(aq) + SO42- (aq). Table 1 contains the data and observations obtained from this reaction.
Table 1. Results of Equilibria for the NaHSO4 solutions.
| Disturbance | Observation | Equilibrium Shift |
| Na2SO4 | Lighter Red/Yellow Tint | Reactants |
| NaHSO4 | No Change | Products |
| Heated | Lighter Pink | Reactants |
| Cooled | Bright Pink | Products |
The Thymol Blue indicator did not work well in the heating/cooling portion of this lab. It should have indicated a basic pH when it was heated and a acidic pH when it was cooled, but it showed the opposite. For this reaction it is known that for this reaction that when the solution is heated it shifts towards the reactants, which is why it was an exothermic reaction.
The second part of the lab involved the reaction Mg2+(aq) + 2OH-(aq) ⇌ Mg(OH)2(s). Table 2 contains the data and observations obtained from this reaction.
Table 2. Results of Equilibria for Mg(OH)2 solutions.
| Disturbance | Observation | Equilibrium Shift |
| HCl | Clear | Reactants |
| Na4EDTA | Darker Pink | Reactants |
| Heated | Lighter Pink | Products |
| Cooled | Increased Precipitate | Reactants |
The pink color from the phenolphthalein caused it to be difficult to accurately discern the quantity of precipitate when it was heated and therefore did not accurately express the shift in equilibrium. For this reaction it is known that heating the solution shifts the equilibrium towards the products, which is why it was an endothermic reaction.
The third part of the lab involved the reaction
CoCl42-(alc) + 6H2O(l) ⇌ Co(H2O)62+(aq) + 4Cl-(aq). Table 3 contains the data and observations obtained from this reaction.
Table 3. Results of Equilibria for CoCl42- solutions.
| Disturbance | Observation | Equilibrium Shift |
| Water | Lighter Pink | Products |
| Silver Nitrate in 100% Ethanol | Precipitate, Purple | Products |
| Ethyl Alcohol | Light Blue | Reactants |
| Hydrochloric Acid | Bright Blue | Reactants |
| Heated | Blue | Reactants |
| Cooled | No Change | Products |
When the solution was heated it shifted towards the reactants, which is why it was concluded that it was an exothermic reaction.
Discussion
In part one the pH indicator did not turn the correct color, which lead to the incorrect conclusion that the reaction was endothermic. It is known that the equilibrium for this reaction lies on the reactant side, which is why it is an exothermic reaction. In part two of this lab the quantity of precipitate in the solution did not noticeably increase, which is why it was thought that it was an exothermic reaction. It is known that in this reaction precipitate should form when heated, therefore indicating that the equilibrium shifted to the products and that it is an endothermic reaction. The probable reason that there was no observation of an increase in precipitate was the presence of phenolphthalein, which made detecting a change in the quantity of precipitate difficult. The reaction of part three of this lab was found to be exothermic, because the equilibrium shifted towards the reactants when the solution was heated.
LeChatelier’s Principle explains that when the temperature, pressure, or concentration of a reaction are changed, an equilibrium will shift as a result, in order to counteract the change. In this lab we changed many of these factors and changed the equilibriums and used LeChatelier’s Principle to aid in determining which side of the reaction the equilibrium lied on.
References
1. General Chemistry Experiments: A Manual of Chemistry 204, 205, and 206, Department of Chemistry, Southern Oregon University: Ashland, OR, 2008. 2009. pp. 101-103
2. Brown, LeMay, Burnsten, Murphy. Chemistry: The Central Science. 11th Edition. Pearson Prentice Hall. Upper Saddle River, NJ. 2009. pp. 649-653.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Anthropological Learning
During the term we have discussed various topics and concepts that will help me in understanding the social life we live in. Culture is giving meaning to experiences that are passed on and shared. Our culture affects how we perceive others and our beliefs. In my opinion culture is the basis of our moral conduct. The cultures we belong to or associate with are not permanent, they are constantly changing. As they get passed down people change their culture in order to accommodated the society in which they live in. Our culture maybe seen as natural from the inside but for outsider it seems arbitrary. Learning about culture is important because in order to understand other people you need to understand their culture.
It is important to understand other cultures because people need to empathize with other’s believes in order to understand their needs. For example when I work in hospital as a nurse, I must understand that someone may not believe in euthanasia because of the culture they come from. When you have an ethnocentric way of thinking it inhibits on how well you relate to others and it would inhibit me from helping and fulfilling their needs as a health-care provider. If I do not understand other’s culture and their set of believes, I will fail at my job. It is important that people have a relativist point of view because even though you may not agree with someone's believes you have to understand the culture that they live in is different, and therefore everyone’s believes are right.
The concept of personhood varies from society to society. Understanding these variations is important in my life because we live in a world where I will have to work with people that come from different personhoods. Even though our society has an egocentric self point of view, in order to work in the field of nursing you are expect to change from being egocentric to sociocentric. You are expected to do so because nursing is a career were you must learn how to work and rely on others. The concept of egocentrism also has it’s positive aspects. I feel that people sometimes need to focus on their on personal goals and be competitive in order to have motivation to succeed. The negative aspects of living in a egocentric society is that we become to worried about our individuals needs and we forget about our society. We are constantly competing against each other which causes us to never learn to develop our self in terms of how well we coexist with one another. The way we develop our self and our identity determines who we are and how we relate and communicate with others.
The social construction of gender is a huge part of how we develop our self. Instead of treating both females and males equally we differentiated how we socialize and treat them from the minute we know their biological gender. This also creates expectations and norms from society on how each gender should be. Our society teaches females to be helpful, submissive, and easy going. Males in our society are taught to be strong and tough. Males are discouraged to show signs of emotion and pain but females are almost expected to be more emotional and have little pain tolerance. In the American culture when people don’t meet these norms we don’t know how to address this “third” gender like other cultures do, this primarily because we focus and rely on gender roles instead of on preference.
For the most part we are just submitted into these gender roles without us being able to choose what we prefer. We assume that girls should wear pink, like dolls, and want to play tea party without giving her a choice of playing with cars and the color blue. We throw these gender roles at children without realizing that we are doing it. In some cases children are even perceived as being different or even unusual because they break the gender norms. People do not stop to think that males would be biologically attracted to playing with dolls because just like females, they are animals that have a need to look after their young.
Two other crucial aspects to developing our self are race and language. Race is often confused with culture. They are often connected but are not the same. Race is the biological difference in physical characteristics that humans have. Because race and culture are often seen as the same thing we associate and develop ourselves on the basis of race. We tend to develop into these stereotypical norms of race because that is what we have been taught to do. Some people are even proud to have these norms. Language is how we often emphasis these norms and stereotypical ideas. We relate the word “black” with being negative, while we associate “white” with being pure and clean. We also refer to things as being female or male in languages. Him, and her, el and ella, every languages makes this distinct point of differentiating between male and female.
In process of learning about how all these aspects create the self, I realized that once we stop making assumption about how people should be, we can then learn how to treat each other as equals. We can overcome racial and gender inequalities if we stop expecting people to fit into norms and expectations we have. All these concepts have made me realize my own preconceived notations about culture, race, and gender. I have been limiting my thinking to the assumptions I have of people. Now I will be more aware of not expecting people to be and act a certain way because of the norms that are implemented by society. All these concepts can be used in my personal life because how we socialize is affected by how we identify ourselves and how we identify others in our society. If we always expect people to fit into the norms we will never learn to appreciate the diversity our world has to offer.
The construction of social hierarchy also puts limits on developing a society. Like everything else social hierarchy has different levels in different societies. Social classes are used in the United States to rank people in our social hierarchy. The social class you are in is affected by your socioeconomic status, gender, age, and race. Race and gender are permanent, but even though people can change many of their other aspects most people will remain in the same class. I attribute this to people not having the same opportunities to move into a new social class. For example, we all know that in order to become established and be placed in higher ranking class you must go to school because that is how people make the most money. However, people who live in poverty can’t afford school therefore it is hard for them to move up in the social hierarchy the ranking of classes.
Ranking people in social hierarchies increases the gap of equality. People assume that social hierarchy is a biological principle, or they have an individualistic view that they worked for and deserve their ranking, and therefore they accept it as part of life. This also creates more inequality because it makes people think they are not smart and they accept this because they see it as being their fault. These hierarchies often lead to negative adaptations to survive in poverty. The book Cultural Anthropology: A Problem Based Approach, talks about Puerto Ricans building their own economic system that is supported by drugs in order to survive. This not only happens here in America but also in many third world countries. The gap between the rich and poor is so large in third world countries that people have no choice but to get involved with illegal things such as drugs, human trafficking, and corruption. Learning about social hierarchies is relevant to my everyday life because it is important to acknowledge that we still live in a society that is not equal and in order to change this we must acknowledged that it is a problem. As a nursing major social hierarchies will be addressed at work, with patients and staff. Knowing about these hierarchies will help me treat everyone fairly.
Throughout the class I learned about all the little aspects that contribute to us being a society. Even though societies see things differently I can still relate to aspects of their culture and now I understand why people have different believes and how they are acquired. I think our society has made huge progress when it come to inequality but there are still many improvement needed. After learning about other societies and the aspects that increase inequality, I believe we still have to overcome the less emphasized aspects that make a huge part of the inequality, such as gender, race and class, so that we can finally overcome it. Through the readings I also realized that even though people see America as being very diverse and open to changes, in some other societies the people have better developed ideas of how a society should work. For example with gender, women may be able to have the same jobs as men but in usually women still make less than men. In many other cultures gender roles can be overcome but in America those gender roles still exist and it’s unfortunate that it impacts our children. From now on I will try to view things like a cultural anthropologist would, be a blank slate, and learn from others with assumption of what they believe is true.
It is important to understand other cultures because people need to empathize with other’s believes in order to understand their needs. For example when I work in hospital as a nurse, I must understand that someone may not believe in euthanasia because of the culture they come from. When you have an ethnocentric way of thinking it inhibits on how well you relate to others and it would inhibit me from helping and fulfilling their needs as a health-care provider. If I do not understand other’s culture and their set of believes, I will fail at my job. It is important that people have a relativist point of view because even though you may not agree with someone's believes you have to understand the culture that they live in is different, and therefore everyone’s believes are right.
The concept of personhood varies from society to society. Understanding these variations is important in my life because we live in a world where I will have to work with people that come from different personhoods. Even though our society has an egocentric self point of view, in order to work in the field of nursing you are expect to change from being egocentric to sociocentric. You are expected to do so because nursing is a career were you must learn how to work and rely on others. The concept of egocentrism also has it’s positive aspects. I feel that people sometimes need to focus on their on personal goals and be competitive in order to have motivation to succeed. The negative aspects of living in a egocentric society is that we become to worried about our individuals needs and we forget about our society. We are constantly competing against each other which causes us to never learn to develop our self in terms of how well we coexist with one another. The way we develop our self and our identity determines who we are and how we relate and communicate with others.
The social construction of gender is a huge part of how we develop our self. Instead of treating both females and males equally we differentiated how we socialize and treat them from the minute we know their biological gender. This also creates expectations and norms from society on how each gender should be. Our society teaches females to be helpful, submissive, and easy going. Males in our society are taught to be strong and tough. Males are discouraged to show signs of emotion and pain but females are almost expected to be more emotional and have little pain tolerance. In the American culture when people don’t meet these norms we don’t know how to address this “third” gender like other cultures do, this primarily because we focus and rely on gender roles instead of on preference.
For the most part we are just submitted into these gender roles without us being able to choose what we prefer. We assume that girls should wear pink, like dolls, and want to play tea party without giving her a choice of playing with cars and the color blue. We throw these gender roles at children without realizing that we are doing it. In some cases children are even perceived as being different or even unusual because they break the gender norms. People do not stop to think that males would be biologically attracted to playing with dolls because just like females, they are animals that have a need to look after their young.
Two other crucial aspects to developing our self are race and language. Race is often confused with culture. They are often connected but are not the same. Race is the biological difference in physical characteristics that humans have. Because race and culture are often seen as the same thing we associate and develop ourselves on the basis of race. We tend to develop into these stereotypical norms of race because that is what we have been taught to do. Some people are even proud to have these norms. Language is how we often emphasis these norms and stereotypical ideas. We relate the word “black” with being negative, while we associate “white” with being pure and clean. We also refer to things as being female or male in languages. Him, and her, el and ella, every languages makes this distinct point of differentiating between male and female.
In process of learning about how all these aspects create the self, I realized that once we stop making assumption about how people should be, we can then learn how to treat each other as equals. We can overcome racial and gender inequalities if we stop expecting people to fit into norms and expectations we have. All these concepts have made me realize my own preconceived notations about culture, race, and gender. I have been limiting my thinking to the assumptions I have of people. Now I will be more aware of not expecting people to be and act a certain way because of the norms that are implemented by society. All these concepts can be used in my personal life because how we socialize is affected by how we identify ourselves and how we identify others in our society. If we always expect people to fit into the norms we will never learn to appreciate the diversity our world has to offer.
The construction of social hierarchy also puts limits on developing a society. Like everything else social hierarchy has different levels in different societies. Social classes are used in the United States to rank people in our social hierarchy. The social class you are in is affected by your socioeconomic status, gender, age, and race. Race and gender are permanent, but even though people can change many of their other aspects most people will remain in the same class. I attribute this to people not having the same opportunities to move into a new social class. For example, we all know that in order to become established and be placed in higher ranking class you must go to school because that is how people make the most money. However, people who live in poverty can’t afford school therefore it is hard for them to move up in the social hierarchy the ranking of classes.
Ranking people in social hierarchies increases the gap of equality. People assume that social hierarchy is a biological principle, or they have an individualistic view that they worked for and deserve their ranking, and therefore they accept it as part of life. This also creates more inequality because it makes people think they are not smart and they accept this because they see it as being their fault. These hierarchies often lead to negative adaptations to survive in poverty. The book Cultural Anthropology: A Problem Based Approach, talks about Puerto Ricans building their own economic system that is supported by drugs in order to survive. This not only happens here in America but also in many third world countries. The gap between the rich and poor is so large in third world countries that people have no choice but to get involved with illegal things such as drugs, human trafficking, and corruption. Learning about social hierarchies is relevant to my everyday life because it is important to acknowledge that we still live in a society that is not equal and in order to change this we must acknowledged that it is a problem. As a nursing major social hierarchies will be addressed at work, with patients and staff. Knowing about these hierarchies will help me treat everyone fairly.
Throughout the class I learned about all the little aspects that contribute to us being a society. Even though societies see things differently I can still relate to aspects of their culture and now I understand why people have different believes and how they are acquired. I think our society has made huge progress when it come to inequality but there are still many improvement needed. After learning about other societies and the aspects that increase inequality, I believe we still have to overcome the less emphasized aspects that make a huge part of the inequality, such as gender, race and class, so that we can finally overcome it. Through the readings I also realized that even though people see America as being very diverse and open to changes, in some other societies the people have better developed ideas of how a society should work. For example with gender, women may be able to have the same jobs as men but in usually women still make less than men. In many other cultures gender roles can be overcome but in America those gender roles still exist and it’s unfortunate that it impacts our children. From now on I will try to view things like a cultural anthropologist would, be a blank slate, and learn from others with assumption of what they believe is true.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Social unequally is a huge problem that needs to be fixed. Of the developed countries, the US has relatively low life expectancies, and high violence rates, mental illness, teen pregnancies, violence, drug use, and many other issues. In the article Want a Good Life? Your Neighbors Need it, Too, these issues are compared with incomes in different societies. It was found that “The psychosocial effects of inequality affect the quality of human relationships” (Jarvis, 3). The US would be much better off if the government could manage, at least on some level, the salaries of it’s citizens. It is ridiculous how some people can make so much more money than others who work just as hard!
I have never had a problem getting good healthcare myself, so I never realized how big of a problem healthcare really is in the US until fairly recently. The healthcare system in the US “is superb for people who can afford it, but falls woefully short for those who cannot” (Eitzen, 145). It makes me quite sad that people cannot get the health care that they need and deserve, and it is a big social problem in the US. I believe that Obama’s new healthcare plan is a huge step in the right direction for improving the system. Many of my family members and friends, from all different situations, support the healthcare bill. Action has been taken on the social problem of healthcare, which is hopefully not going to be much of a problem in the years to come.
I have never had a problem getting good healthcare myself, so I never realized how big of a problem healthcare really is in the US until fairly recently. The healthcare system in the US “is superb for people who can afford it, but falls woefully short for those who cannot” (Eitzen, 145). It makes me quite sad that people cannot get the health care that they need and deserve, and it is a big social problem in the US. I believe that Obama’s new healthcare plan is a huge step in the right direction for improving the system. Many of my family members and friends, from all different situations, support the healthcare bill. Action has been taken on the social problem of healthcare, which is hopefully not going to be much of a problem in the years to come.
Social Problems Causing Juvenile Delinquency
Juvenile delinquency is a growing problem worldwide. There are a variety of causes and solutions to this problem in each society. The reasons for the increase in this problem all have to do with industrialization and changing society. The root causes are an increase in preoccupied parents, income inequalities, children’s independence and lack of funding for schools and after school programs. Societies that are being challenged with juvenile delinquency are faced with the need to find a way for their particular society to intervene effectively on the issue.
In the examination of a variety of different approaches to juvenile delinquency, it was concluded that some of them are good and work well, and some do not. Out of the countries that we studied the most, India’s approach to the problem was deemed to be the least effective of the countries that we examined. Their fight against juvenile delinquency, as well as Japan’s, is focused upon police intervention. This is not a good way to deal with the problem of juvenile delinquency, as the police have a bad reputation with the juveniles, and it is not effective at preventing crimes from occurring. Another part of India’s problem in solving juvenile delinquency is their economy. They have other social problems that are more important, such as child labor, which they must solve first. Because they can’t afford to solve their primary social problems, it is near impossible for them to solve their juvenile delinquency issues.
Our cross-cultural analysis and the information from our interviewee agree that the more successful solutions are the ones that focus on prevention. Preventing juvenile delinquency could be achieved in many societies by educating people, restructuring social institutions, and getting children involved in good after school activities. The only way any change can take place is by educating the people of the society.
Society must know that it is a real and growing problem in order for them to make any effort to change it. They need to know that it’s the society that is causing the problem, not the kids. They also need to know that it would be beneficial to have some government intervention, as more change would be possible if government programs and non-government programs would work together. People should also be educated on some of the specifics of why juvenile delinquency has become a problem. Education could be achieved through media and community meetings.
The next step in prevention is to restructure who has power and where money gets spent. The ethnic minorities and the lower class, whom are responsible for a large percentage of juvenile delinquency, need to have better representation. This representation needs to push for the things the children of that particular society need. Things that the representatives could push for are more funding for schools, more bilingual teachers and staff, and after school activities. The countries that we studied in our cross-cultural analysis use some of these steps, but need to improve upon some of their methods in carrying them out.
Reducing juvenile delinquency is a challenging process that requires a lot of time and work by a lot of people, but is an obtainable goal. If the necessary steps described in the paragraphs above were taken, juvenile delinquency would be reduced to a small fraction of what it is now. Not all communities have the resources to make the change necessary in stopping juvenile delinquency, but the ones that do should make them, because it will make drastic improvements in many lives.
Bibliography
- Heiner, Robert. "An Introduction to the Sociology of Social Problems." Social Problems: an Introduction to Critical Constructionism. New York: Oxford UP, 2010. 5. Print.
- "Juvenile Delinquency and Substance Abuse." National Criminal Justice Reference Service. Web. 8 May 2010.
- "Juvenile Justice: Facts And Figures." American Bar Association - Defending Liberty, Pursuing Justice. Web. 8 May 2010.
- Roberts, Cynthia H. "00.02.05: Juvenile Delinquency: Cause and Effect." Yale University. 2005. Web. 8 May 2010.
- Shepherd Jr., Robert E. "Criminal Justice Magazine Article." American Bar Association - Defending Liberty, Pursuing Justice. 1996. Web. 8 May 2010.
- Smith, Carolyn A. "Juvenile Delinquency: An Introduction." The Prevention Researcher. 2008. Web. 8 May 2010.
- "Youth at the United Nations: World Program of Action for Youth - Juvenile Delinquency." Welcome to the United Nations: It's Your World. Web. 8 May 2010.
- "Juvenile Delinquency, World Youth Report, JDWYR, 2003." United Nations. United Nations, 2003. Web. 8 May 2010.
- "Numbers Speak." Juvenile Justice National Desk. N.p., 2010. Web. 8 May 2010.
- “Overview of the Effects of Violence in the Media." Young Media Australia. qtd. Pearl, Bourhilet & Lazar 1982. Australian Council on Children and the Media, 27 Jan. 2009. Web. 8 May 2010.
- Rickard, Erika. "Paying Lip Service to the Silenced; Juvenile Justice in India." Harvard Human Rights Journal 21 (2008): 155-66. Web. 10 May 2010.
- White, Richard. "Targeting Youth Gangs at a Grassroots Level." Australian Institute of Criminology 62 (2007): 1+. AIC.GOV.AU. Web. 7 May 2010.
- Ortega, Phil. Interview. May 2010.
Monday, May 17, 2010
AHA Application essays
1. One typed Autobiography
It was about this time that the younger of my brothers graduated high school and moved away to go to college, leaving me the only child at home. When I got to high school I joined the rowing team. Rowing team meet for several hours almost every day of the week, it was very big commitment. I enjoyed it for three racing seasons, it was a good workout and a fun group of people. In my junior year I joined the Iceaxemen Mountaineering Club at my high school. I loved this club and the people in it. The leader and many of the the Iceaxeman were leaders for a local Christian Church. I was active in this Church with this group from my mountaineering club. With this club I did many activities such as rock climbing, mountain climbing and camping. I will always remain close to some of these friends but I rarely find time to rock climb now.
I am a product of the environment that I was raised in. Eugene is a very eco friendly city. The majority of people who live here are into recycling, I learned that in 2nd grade even before I learned where the bathroom was. My family tries to eat sustainable local produce, recycle, compost, garden, decrease our energy usage, use eco friendly products and do things that we know will be good for the environment. I try to bicycle whenever possible and decrease my fossil fuel use. It’s a lifestyle that I plan to maintain for forever.
I have always loved learning about new people from different walks of life. It’s just a yearning that I have had. My experience has been limited to family vacations to Mexico and when I was in 5th grade my Grandmother took our extended family to Peru. We got to hike around Machu Picchu and the Inca ruins, we traveled to Peruvian villages, had a Shaman preform his magic and visited Lake Titicaca where the people still live the same as in 200 AD. It wasn’t until I was much older that I appreciated what a wonderful adventure it was. During my sophomore year I had the opportunity to do an exchange with a family friend in France. I got to spend a month in France with her and her family, then she came back with me for a month. It was a great experience that really opened my mind about the European culture.
After I graduated, I moved to Ashland to attend Southern Oregon University. At first the transition was a little difficult, but I quickly became accustomed to dorm life and made new friends. I am a pre-nursing student, balancing my time with school work and fun. I have been loving college life but I am looking forward to adding some adventure and world knowledge to my college experience in this coming year.
One typed Transitional Experience Essay
I have experienced many transitions in my life as stated like changing schools, and moving from California to Oregon when I was in the second grade. However, I feel that moving away to college was the most significant transition for me. It was the beginning of a whole new life for me. Being totally on my own, responsible for my budget, classes, career choices, making new friends, cleaning, and cooking for myself. Being independent gave me a lot more responsibility than when I was living at home. I lived in the dorm my first year at school and this year I live in an apartment with a friend.
It’s because of this transition that I have become a stronger person. I am still trying to learn how to strengthen the precarious balance between my school, work, and socializing in my life. Moving away to college has made me examine my priorities and decide on my goals. I am striving very hard to achieve them.
I grew up in a medical family with my father being a physician and my mother and three of my aunts being nurses, so it’s not much of a surprise that I have found my passion in Nursing. I find most all things medical related to be very interesting and I don’t get nauseated by the sight of blood. I did a surgical rotation for my senior project in high school and found that when blood came spurting at my face, I wanted to know where it was coming from and thinking about what it takes to stop it. It is for these reasons that I decided I want to be a surgical nurse. Being a nursing student requires a lot of studying and responsibility. I have adjusted to my new life full of responsibility quite well and I am happy where I am now in my life, and excited for the challenges and adventure my future will bring me.
I want going to Ghana to be the next transition in my life. I have always wanted to go to Africa and work and live with the African people. I think that my compassion for people and desire to be a nurse would be a great asset to me for this semester in Ghana. I have few illusions, I know that there will be some difficulties but I am optimistic that they can teach me some good lessons to live my life by.
It was about this time that the younger of my brothers graduated high school and moved away to go to college, leaving me the only child at home. When I got to high school I joined the rowing team. Rowing team meet for several hours almost every day of the week, it was very big commitment. I enjoyed it for three racing seasons, it was a good workout and a fun group of people. In my junior year I joined the Iceaxemen Mountaineering Club at my high school. I loved this club and the people in it. The leader and many of the the Iceaxeman were leaders for a local Christian Church. I was active in this Church with this group from my mountaineering club. With this club I did many activities such as rock climbing, mountain climbing and camping. I will always remain close to some of these friends but I rarely find time to rock climb now.
I am a product of the environment that I was raised in. Eugene is a very eco friendly city. The majority of people who live here are into recycling, I learned that in 2nd grade even before I learned where the bathroom was. My family tries to eat sustainable local produce, recycle, compost, garden, decrease our energy usage, use eco friendly products and do things that we know will be good for the environment. I try to bicycle whenever possible and decrease my fossil fuel use. It’s a lifestyle that I plan to maintain for forever.
I have always loved learning about new people from different walks of life. It’s just a yearning that I have had. My experience has been limited to family vacations to Mexico and when I was in 5th grade my Grandmother took our extended family to Peru. We got to hike around Machu Picchu and the Inca ruins, we traveled to Peruvian villages, had a Shaman preform his magic and visited Lake Titicaca where the people still live the same as in 200 AD. It wasn’t until I was much older that I appreciated what a wonderful adventure it was. During my sophomore year I had the opportunity to do an exchange with a family friend in France. I got to spend a month in France with her and her family, then she came back with me for a month. It was a great experience that really opened my mind about the European culture.
After I graduated, I moved to Ashland to attend Southern Oregon University. At first the transition was a little difficult, but I quickly became accustomed to dorm life and made new friends. I am a pre-nursing student, balancing my time with school work and fun. I have been loving college life but I am looking forward to adding some adventure and world knowledge to my college experience in this coming year.
One typed Transitional Experience Essay
I have experienced many transitions in my life as stated like changing schools, and moving from California to Oregon when I was in the second grade. However, I feel that moving away to college was the most significant transition for me. It was the beginning of a whole new life for me. Being totally on my own, responsible for my budget, classes, career choices, making new friends, cleaning, and cooking for myself. Being independent gave me a lot more responsibility than when I was living at home. I lived in the dorm my first year at school and this year I live in an apartment with a friend.
It’s because of this transition that I have become a stronger person. I am still trying to learn how to strengthen the precarious balance between my school, work, and socializing in my life. Moving away to college has made me examine my priorities and decide on my goals. I am striving very hard to achieve them.
I grew up in a medical family with my father being a physician and my mother and three of my aunts being nurses, so it’s not much of a surprise that I have found my passion in Nursing. I find most all things medical related to be very interesting and I don’t get nauseated by the sight of blood. I did a surgical rotation for my senior project in high school and found that when blood came spurting at my face, I wanted to know where it was coming from and thinking about what it takes to stop it. It is for these reasons that I decided I want to be a surgical nurse. Being a nursing student requires a lot of studying and responsibility. I have adjusted to my new life full of responsibility quite well and I am happy where I am now in my life, and excited for the challenges and adventure my future will bring me.
I want going to Ghana to be the next transition in my life. I have always wanted to go to Africa and work and live with the African people. I think that my compassion for people and desire to be a nurse would be a great asset to me for this semester in Ghana. I have few illusions, I know that there will be some difficulties but I am optimistic that they can teach me some good lessons to live my life by.
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