The Life Course Perspective The Culture of Living

The life course perspective is a sociological way of defining the process of life through the context of a culturally defined sequence of age categories that people are normally expected to pass through as they progress from birth to death. Included in the cultural conceptions of the life course is some idea of how long people are expected to live and ideas about what constitutes â€Å"premature† or â€Å"untimely† death as well as the notion of living a full life — when and who to marry, and even how susceptible the culture is to infectious diseases. The events of ones life, when observed from the life course perspective, add to a sum total of the actual existence a person has experienced, as it is  influenced by the persons cultural and historical place in the world. Life Course and Family Life When the concept was first developed in the 1960s, the life course perspective hinged upon the rationalization of the human experience into structural, cultural and social contexts, pinpointing the societal cause for such cultural norms as marrying young or likelihood to commit a crime.   As Bengston and Allen posit in their 1993 text Life Course Perspective, the notion of family exists within the context of a macro-social dynamic, a  collection of individuals with a shared history who interact within ever-changing social contexts across ever-increasing time and space (Bengtson and Allen 1993, p.  470). This means that the notion of a family comes from an ideological need or want to reproduce, to develop community, or at the very least from the culture which dictates what a family means to them, particularly. Life theory, though, relies on the intersection of these social factors of influence with the historical factor of moving through time, paired against personal development as an individual and the life-changing events that caused that growth. Observing Behavioral Patterns From Life Course Theory It is possible, given the right set of data, to determine a cultures propensity for social behaviors like crime and even athleticism. Life course theory merges the concepts of historical inheritance with cultural expectation and personal development, which in turn sociologists study to map the course of human behavior given different social interaction and stimulation. In A Life Course Perspective on Immigrant Occupational Health and Well-Being, Frederick T.L. Leong expresses his frustration with psychologists tendency to ignore the time and contextual dimensions and use primarily static cross-sectional designs with decontextualized variables. This exclusion leads to the overlooking of key cultural impacts on behavioral patterns. Leong goes on to discuss this as it relates to immigrants and refugees happiness and the ability to integrate into a new society successfully. In overlooking these key dimensions of the life course, one might miss how the cultures clash and how they fit together to form a cohesive new narrative for the immigrant to live through.

Gender Discrimination Women s Struggle - 2540 Words

Gender Discrimination: Women’s Struggle in the Workplace Richard Weaver The University of Memphis Abstract This research paper examines gender discrimination in the workplace. Gender discrimination is a problem that women face daily in our society. This report will examine the causes of gender discrimination and the affects it has on women in the workplace. It will discuss the glass ceiling concept, how gender discrimination affects women’s family life, and how women’s job performance is considered when discussing gender discrimination. Gender Discrimination: Women’s Struggle in the Workplace This research paper discusses gender discrimination in the workplace in order to shed light on the injustices that women face and to offer suggestions as to how it can be overcome. This paper analyzes and discusses concerns raised by national scholars and provides an evaluation of the problem of gender discrimination and how it is faced by most women in today’s society. The key elements that will be discussed in this paper are the glass ceiling, work-family relationships, and job performance problems that women in the workplace face. Glass Ceiling The glass-ceiling concept is the idea that there is a barrier that keeps women from reaching high positions within their careers. This barrier accounts for the lack of women in high placement positions in jobs. Even though the glass ceiling is an intangible barrier, it presents a real problem thatShow MoreRelatedWomen Struggles By Nina Revoyr1481 Words   |  6 PagesCourse Unit Date Women Struggles in History In her Novel, Southland, 2003, Nina Revoyr captures the struggles that women, especially those of the Asian American descent, have navigated through history. The novel provides interesting material on many fronts including aspects such as sexuality, multiracial and multigenerational family saga. 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Research Ethics In The Intensive Care Unit

Question: Discuss about the Report of Research Ethics In The Intensive Care Unit. Answer: Introduction An Intensive Care unit (ICU) is a specialized department of any hospital, where patients with severe, critical and complicated illnesses are constantly monitored, until their body condition is stabilized. ICUs are also segregated on basis of their specificity, such as the Neonatal ICU, Pediatric ICU, Post surgical ICU, Trauma ICU, Burns ICU, etc. The ICU in Alfred Hospital, Australia, is an advanced unit with extensive facilities for patients and their caregivers. The staff-patient ratio in the ICUs is always higher when compared to the postoperative or recovery wards, as the patients cannot be afforded to be left unattended; even a minute of improper monitoring would lead to mis-management and unwanted complications. Working in the intensive care unit of a hospital can be physically and mentally tiring, as one must always be on his toes, constantly monitoring the patients.(Doric, 2008) There is another dimension to the workload, and that is the ethical aspects that are needed to be taken to be considered, but are often relegated as the least important priorities. Even though ethics are personal tenets, there needs to be an ethical harmony among the staff, so that patient management goes on unhindered. Performing a research in the confines of an ICU is not very easy, but is highly essential to understand the effectiveness of medical care in the critical stages of illness. However, there are a lot of ethical dilemmas which the staffs of the ICU face, which affects their performance badly and tends to question their own motives. This paper analyses the ethical considerations on performing a survey among staff and patient families in the Intensive Care Unit of Alfred Hospital,(The Alfred Hospital, 2014) its relevance to the corresponding issues addressed in the ethics application form, and effective management strategies in obtaining an ethical clearance for those issues. Ethical Implications of ICU Research Upon conducting a study involving the ICU, its staff, and its patients, it is most important to know that the conditions out there are highly dynamic, and things can go from stable to deteriorating in a matter of minutes.(Luce White, 2009) As a result, the staffs are on a high alert, and high on stress. There are also strict unwritten rules on privacy and confidentiality, so the staff might not divulge much to the interviewer. Three major ethical implications are discussed, with their corresponding link in the ethics application mandated by the National Ethics Application Form (NEAF) of the Australian Government.(Australian Government, NHMRC, 2015) The effective strategies which could be employed in order to obtain ethical approval are also discussed. A Conflict of Opinions and Decisions There is always the need to make decisions that can be very difficult to the decider; whether it is admission into the ICU, change in treatment protocols, taking the patent off life support, etc, without the patient having a say on it. Though medical knowledge and logic prevails over emotions, the decision maker is challenged ethically. An honest opinion by the nurse in charge might not go well with the patient, and a professional expertise of the anesthesiologist might be just unacceptable by the surgeon. Sometimes, a conflict of opinions might prove to be a very costly mistake.(Breen, 2001) However, all these issues would be kept highly confidential. This issue co-relates to the section of taking ownership of the research information, in the ethics application. The ownership of the information shall strictly with the researcher, in order to safeguard the privacy of the interviewee. The strategy that shall be employed, in order to obtain ethical clearance for this issue shall be mandating the maintenance of anonymity of the persons interviewed, thus protecting their identity. It shall be reiterated that the decisions made by the staff are the best that they could do in certain circumstances even though it might not have been favorable to the patient.(Nelson, 1997) Ethical Dilemma A staff of the ICU has to deal with either prolonging the vitals of a person by putting him on life support, or taking the person off life support and let Nature do its course. In both cases, the action is dependent on the decisions of the physicians, nurse, and the caregivers of the patient, but the ethical responsibility lies with the staff in charge of the patient. Sometimes, a critically ill patient might have to be discharged from the ICU, in order to accommodate an even more critically ill patient. This sometimes is futile, as the patients health status tends to deteriorate, and sometimes this premature discharge could be fatal. But, that is the way the process is, owing to limited beds in the ICU. This puts the staff under severe ethical pressure, which they have to deal with very often.(Chow, 2014) This issue co-relates to the question Is there a risk that the dissemination of results could cause harm of any kind to individual participants - whether their physical, psychological, spiritual, emotional, social or financial well-being, or to their employability or professional relationships - or to their communities? from the ethics application. The strategy that shall be employed, in order to obtain ethical clearance for this issue shall be avoiding probing into details which cause unwanted sensitive reactions and repercussions from the interviewee. For example, a patient with no caregivers, it is the responsibility of the staff to decide on his stay in the ICU, and to introduce or remove life support if needed. However, this action might have legal implications, which might be dangerous for the staff and the hospital as well. Thus, no question that is sensitive to the point of discomfort shall be asked, and the integrity of the participant would be maintained.(Sprung Cohen, 2003) Encountering Psychological Stresses Any hospital staff is exposed to death so much, that they might appear to be immune to it.(Azoulay, 2005) But on the contrary, constant exposure to patents dying causes a psychological burden, sometimes leading to guilt if they had had a chance a chance to handle the patient. Usually, this leads to an ethical dilemma when presented with a patient having a similar condition in the future; whether treating him the same way would risk his life, and whether treating him differently would cause newer complications.(Oerlemans et al., 2015) This issue is related to the section of the ethics application, which deals with obtaining willing consent of the participant. Often, the medical staff tends not to refuse consent to a researcher, as they feel obligated to the medical fraternity. However, this leads to several issues affecting the staff. The strategy that shall be employed, in order to obtain ethical clearance for this issue shall be asking questions to the participants only when they are willing to respond, and not make it an obligation to answer. For instance if a physician had erred on a drug dosage, and the patient had succumbed to it, he must not be made to talk about it unless he volunteers to.(Osmon, 2004) The interview shall be direct, and shall be stopped on the event of the staff feeling uncomfortable on answering them. Taking a closer look at all the three issues, it is evident that they all point to one trait decision making. The staff of the ICU, or any hospital staff has to be rational and quick in their decision making process, which would save them from many complications later. However, ethical issues are bound to crop up even with good decision making, as the patient concerned is unable to provide any input except his physical status, which is reduced to just numbers. Hence, confronting the staff on their stance in the ICU must be done only if they consent to it. Conclusion Ethics is the most important component in life, with ethical decision making being an integral part of life. In the ICU, where critical care is mandated, a lot of ethical dilemmas are bound to occur; this affecting the staff concerned. Interestingly, these issues carry a low ethical risk, when compared to certain other cases dealing with criminal and legal issues. It must be understood that the staff in the ICU work to their full capacity, going beyond their means to save the patients life and stabilize his vitals. Sometimes, it is beyond their control that mistakes happen, yet they feel morally bound to take responsibility for the issues. In short, healthcare professional become second victims of their own practice. As a researcher, it is important that the research be carried out considering all ethical implications and considerations. Questioning the staff on the grounds of an interview must be done with great care, as there would be many sensitive issues, and answering them would cause several repercussions, as several issues are bound by confidentiality.(Patten, 2007) On a positive note, it is research that makes the world aware of the ethical issues faced by the staff. Thus, it must be used wisely and with discretion, if a productive gain is expected out of the research. Maintaining high levels of ethics in performing research would ensure quality research and would provide to the outside world a good understanding of the ICU and its immense ethical content. References Australian Government, NHMRC, 2015. National Ethics Application Form (NEAF). [Online] Available at: https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/health-ethics/national-ethics-application-form-neaf [Accessed 03 August 2016]. Azoulay, E..P.F.., 2005. Risk of post-traumatic stress symptoms in family members of intensive care unit patients. American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine, 171(9), pp.987-94. Breen, C.M., 2001. Conflict associated with decisions to limit life sustaining treatment in intensive care units. Journal of general internal medicine, 16(5), pp.283-89. Chow, K., 2014. Ethical Dilemmas in the Intensive Care Unit. Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing , 16(5), pp.256-60. Doric, A.G..D.E.L.T.K.N., 2008. The impact of an ICU liaison nurse service on patient outcomes. Critical Care and Resuscitation, 10(4), p.294. Luce, J.M. White, D.B., 2009. A History of Ethics and Law in the Intensive Care Unit. Critical Care Clinicians, 25(1). Nelson, R.M., 1997. ETHICS IN THE INTENSIVE CARE UNIT - Creating an Ethical Environment. Critical Care Clinics, 13(3), pp.691701. Oerlemans, A.J., Sluisveld, N.v. Leeuwen, E.S.v., 2015. Ethical problems in intensive care unit admission and discharge decisions: a qualitative study among physicians and nurses in the Netherlands. BMC Medical Ethics, 16(9). Osmon, S..H.C.B..D.W., 2004. Reporting of medical errors: an intensive care unit experience. Critical care medicine, 32(3), pp.727-33. Patten, M.L...B.R.R., 2007. Understanding research methods: An overview of the essentials. Pyrczak Publishers. Sprung, C.L. Cohen, S.L., 2003. End-of-life practices in European intensive care units: the Ethicus Study. Journal of American Medical association, 290(6), pp.790-97. The Alfred Hospital, 2014. The Alfred Intensive Care Unit. [Online] Available at: https://www.alfredicu.org.au/ [Accessed 3 August 2016].

Svante August Arrhenius Essays - Panspermia, Svante Arrhenius

Svante August Arrhenius Svante August Arrhenius was born at Uppalsa, Sweden, on February 19, 1859 His intelligence and creativity were apperent nt from an early age--he taught himself to read when he was three Although credi ted with many scientific innovations, he remains best known for his ionic theory of solutions, For which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1903 Arrhenius henius died in Stockholm on October 2, 1927 Science is a human endeavor subject to human frailties and governed by personalities, politics, and prejudice ces. One of the best illustrations of the often bumpy path of the advancement of scientific knowledge is the story of Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenius. When Arrhenius henius began his doctorate at the University of Uppsala around 1880, he chose to study the passage of electricity through solutions. This was a problem that had baffled scientists for a century, The first experiments had been done in the 17 70s by Cavendish, who corn pared the conductivity of salt solutions with that of rain water, using his own physiological reaction to the electric shocks he rece ived! Arrhenius had an array of instruments to measure electric current, but the process of carefully weighing, meas uring, and recording data from a multitude of experiments was a tedious one. After his long series of experimerits were performed, Arrhenius quit his laboratory bench and returned to his country home to try to formulate a model that could account for his data, He wrote, "I got the idea in the night of the 17th of May in the year 1883, and I could not s leep that night until I had worked through the whole problem." His idea was that ions were responsible for conducting electricity through a solution. B ack at Uppsa]a, Arrhenius took his doctoral dissertation containing the new theo ry to his advisor, Professor Cleve, an eminent chemist and the discoverer of the elements holmlum and thulium. Cleve's unlnterested response was what Arrhenius had expected. It was in keeping with CIeve's resistance to new ideas he had not even accepted Mendeleev's periodic table, introduced ten years earlier. It is a long standing custom that before a doctoral degree is granted the disse rtation must be defended before a panel of professors. Although this procedure i s still followed at most universities today, the problems are usually worked out in private with the evaluating professors before the actual defense. However, w hen Arrhenius did it, the disserta tion defense was an open debate, which could be rancorous and humiliating. Knowing that it would be unwise to antagonize his professors, Arrhenius downplayed his convictions about his new theory as he de t ended his dissertation. His diplomacy paid off: he was awarded his degree, albei t reluctantly, as the prolessors still did not believe his model and considered him to be a marginal scientist, at best. Such a setback could have ende d his scientific career, but Arrhenius was a crusader; he was determined to see his theory triumph. Recognizing his low credibility in his home coun try, he sen t his dissertation first to Rudolf Clausius, a German seientist who had fimnulat ed the second law of thermodynamics, but Clausius wasn't interested. He next app roached Lothar Meyer, another German scientist who had gained prominence for his work on the periodicity of the clements, but Meyer was also unresponsive. Final ly, Arrhcnius found the right champion in Wilhelm Ostwald, a German profes sor o f chemistry at Riga. Ostwald, already known as a defender of revo lutionary chem ical causes, fully accepted the idea that reactions in solu tion often involve i ons. In 1885 Arrhenius began work ing in Ostwald's laboratory, continui ng his research on ions. Reading everything he could find on the sub jeer, he ca me across a research paper written by a Dutch scientist, Jacobus van't Heir, whi ch was particularly helpful in placing the ionic theory on firmer gnound. In 1887 Arrhenius went to Amsterdalm to nicer van'l Heft At 22 years of age, van't Help had postulated the existence of stereochemistry; that is, that atoms in molecules have definite relative positions in space. This theory was initially criticized harshly, and van't Heft, aided by Ostwald, had to fight to have it accepted. The ionic theory was yet another unaccepted theory for which both Ostwald and van't Heft' would extend their support. By the time Arrhenius returned from Amsterdam, Ostwald had moved to Leipzig, where he had be come professor of chemistry. It was there that Ostwald and Anhenius put together