Holden’s Trust Issues

Throughout the book Holder shows multiple signs of people trying to help him, but he ultimately pushes them away. I believe that this stems from his original problem when he lost both of his brothers. He trusted that his family would stay and protect him, but when Allele died and D. B. â€Å"sold out,† his parents sent him away. So to Holder, the word trust means betrayal. When Allele passed away, Holder thought that Allele had left him.He knew in his mind that Allele did not die on purpose but Holder could not decide who else to blame. He â€Å"broke all the windows in the garage†¦ Even tried to break all the windows on the station wagon†¦ But [his] hand was already broken. † (Slinger 39) And to literally add insult to injury, the fact that he could no longer put his hand into a fist constantly reminded him of Allies departure. According to Holder, It had not been long after Allies death when D. B. Left. When D. B. Left, to Holder, that was the ultimate betra yal. At the time of the narrative, D.B. Lived â€Å"out in Hollywood†¦ Being a prostitute† (2). The one word Holder used the most was probably phony. When his brother sold himself out, Holder probably became furious for leaving and called him a phony. Holder's bitterness towards â€Å"phoniness† probably came from the betrayal he received from his brother. But this still did not anger him as much as the betrayal he received from their parents. Holder believes that his parents hate him because they keep shipping him to different schools after he continues to get kicked out of them.He thinks that they are disappointed and ashamed of him. At the beginning of the story, he predicted that they will be â€Å"pretty irritated about [getting kicked out again]†¦ [since] this is the fourth school [he's] gotten kicked out of† (9). He thinks that his parents have given up on him and Just keep sending him to different schools to keep him out of trouble. Due to his emotional trauma, Holder cannot trust anyone anymore. He tries to make friends with a lot of people throughout the book, but something always came p that would not allow him to.This probably came from his belief that he will be betrayed and humiliated if he got to close. So he tried to be friends, but his subconscious made excuses to push these people away. He begins realizes this at the end of the book when he begins to leave New York, but his sister, Phoebe, tries to go with him. He realizes that him pushing his sister away is Just what his family did to him, and he does not want to scar his sister as well, so he decides to stay. Holder's Trust Issues By administer

How does Shakespeare invoke a sense of evil in Macbeth? Essay

Narrating the climactic downfall and eventual death of a Scottish thane, â€Å"Macbeth† is widely regarded as one of Shakespeare’s four great tragedies, alongside â€Å"Hamlet†, â€Å"Othello† and â€Å"King Lear†. â€Å"Macbeth† is typical of the other three tragedies through several key factors, the first of which is the qualities of the protagonist. As with the other tragedies, Macbeth is a notable man of high status who bears many heroic qualities, including extreme valour and honour. However, much like with Othello and his jealousy, Macbeth is undone by his greed and ambition, his fatal flaw, or â€Å"harmartia† in the Greek. These flaws play a role in the hero’s fall from grace and eventual death, and these occurrences imbue the audience with a sense of loss and waste; thus the genre is deemed a ‘tragedy’. If the protagonist was solely brought down by his own flaws the piece would cease to be a tragedy, as there would be no sense of loss or waste upon the hero’s demise, as they would appear to be malevolent and deserving of their downfall. Instead, Shakespeare also incorporates external factors contributing to the downfall; in the case of â€Å"Macbeth†, Lady Macbeth and the Witches are used, coaxing Macbeth into regicide. If the protagonist were to be influenced too heavily by the separate circumstance then the hero would begin to appear as a puppet, completely corrupted and controlled. A fine balance is found during Shakespeare’s four great tragedies between character-based flaws and external circumstances’ influencing the hero’s actions, and subsequently the feeling of tragedy is massive. This is perhaps a defining factor as to why these four tragedies have received so much acclaim, after all a tragedy is defined by the effect it has on the audience. â€Å"Macbeth† however makes one large departure from the generic formulae in that throughout the play Shakespeare conveys a sense of concentrated evil, not seen in the other tragedies. Concentrated evil is achieved through various characters in the play including the witches, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Indeed, evil is commonplace throughout â€Å"Macbeth†, with children being slaughtered and various assassinations. Shakespeare’s acclaimed inclusion of the witches is a prominent factor in the suggestion of evil throughout the piece. Indeed, immediately in the first scene, you are instantly submerged into this dire, supernaturally influenced world, plagued by the presence of these malevolent witches. Consequently, the sense of evil is evoked right from the opening of the curtains. An aspect of the witches which grabs our attention immediately is the intermittent rhyme and riddle of their dialogue. As the second witch answers â€Å"when the hurley-burley’s done, when the battles lost and won† this unconventional rhyming speech supplements the witches’ already alien nature, as well as adding confusion as to what these riddles portend. Also, as the witches chant in unison â€Å"†¦hover through the fog and filthy air† it seems they share a magical link by which they may indulge in the same evil thoughts. This, for the audience of the time, would be a disturbing piece of imagery. At times what the witches say may be paradoxical, adding to the dialogue’s riddling nature, for example when they drone â€Å"fair is foul and foul is fair†. The aberrant speech style of the witches is used by them throughout the play, with the exception of ‘Act 3, Scene 5’ which will be discussed later. It is also evident from this first scene that the witches have an unholy alliance or affiliation with the future and time. The third witch proclaims â€Å"that will be ‘ere the set of sun† displaying her knowledge of future events, and so augmenting the witches already supernatural, malevolent image. With this development the sisters seem all the more potent as with their knowledge of the future comes also the ability to meddle and pervert it. Displayed also is the witches’ association with the elements as the first witch questions â€Å"in thunder, lightning or in rain?†, as though they have a slight mastery over the elements. The thunder and lightning of the scene is more evidence of their power over the elements. We see the witches’ use of familiars when the first witch says â€Å"I come, Graymalkin†, a tool with which the sisters may communicate to the devil. Again, the application of this familiar, in this case a cat, adds further to the witches’ malevolent aura, and the sense of concentrated evil. Over the years, different directors have added various features in order to maintain the scene’s originality. For example, Polanski’s version saw the witches on a beach burying a severed arm, whilst, in contrast Frain’s version depicted the witches as children on a council estate. As the play progresses, the witches’ spiteful, vindictive nature becomes ever more apparent, as they display their malevolence during various scenes. Notable for exhibition of evil is Act 1, Scene 3 in which the sisters describe how they deprived the hapless sailor of sleep, stating â€Å"sleep shall neither night nor day, hang upon his penthouse lid†. This shocking image is made doubly repulsive by how the witches seem to be thoroughly enjoying the whole scenario. Moreover, in the same scene, the witches brandish a severed â€Å"pilot’s thumb†, another revolting image, which is indeed evident of their malicious nature. An example of them dabbling in the dark arts is seen in Act 4, Scene 1 where they brew the vile potion, chanting the theatrically legendary lines â€Å"double, double toil and trouble; fire burn and cauldron bubble†. With repulsive detail, they describe the ingredients of the potion, one such being a â€Å"liver of blaspheming Jewâ €  and a â€Å"finger of birth-strangled babe†. This horrific concoction is indicative of their very nature: vile and against society and nature. Due to these malevolent acts, the witches are often referred to as and associated with, agents of evil, for example in Act 4, Scene 1 Macbeth refers to them as â€Å"you secret, black, and midnight hags!†. Another example can be found in Act 1, Scene 3 where Banquo calls the witches â€Å"the instruments of darkness†. They influence the characters to such an extent that they refer to them with such titles; this is further evidence of the witches’ concentrated malevolence. It must not be forgotten also that the witches were the ones who originally ensnared Macbeth with promises of greatness, which were partially accountable for him committing regicide. This can be seen in Act 1, Scene 3 as the third witch greets Macbeth, saying â€Å"All hail Macbeth that shalt be king hereafter†. Had the witches not tainted the noble Macbeth, he may have never fallen and so the evil of the witches can be held partially responsible. The witches can be seen meddling once more during Act 4, Scene 1 where they blind Macbeth into believing he is nigh on invincible with several prophecies. And so, Macbeth becomes complacent, fooled by the witches’ misleading prophecies. Their malevolence is clear to see through their misguiding of Macbeth, as well as the other example given. The witches are depicted as having a haunting physical presence, both through their actual physical appearance and through their chilling language. In terms of their physicality, the witches are only described once during the play by Banquo in Act 1, Scene 3. He describes them as being â€Å"withered and so wild in their attire†, telling directly of their abnormal manifestation. Also, Banquo tells of how the witches â€Å"look not like the inhabitants of the earth†, showing how they are supernatural to such an extent that even their appearance makes us question whether they of this world. Disturbingly, the witches’ appearance is so distorted that their very gender is ambiguous, as Banquo describes how their sex â€Å"man may question†. Their strangeness in appearance would immediately show to the audience the witch’s malevolence, as well as encouraging a sense of foreboding towards them. Along with their appalling appearance is their unorthodox and seemingly corrupting language. As discussed before, their language generally is spoken like a rhyming chant, further supporting their supernatural image. Implementing this chant-like dialogue enhances the threat which the witches impose on the audience, such as during Act 4, Scene 1 where a witch drones â€Å"By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes† , far more chilling then a non-rhyming alternative. As the play progresses, Macbeth’s mind seems to be defiled by the witches, so far that at times even his language seems tainted and so echoes theirs at regular intervals. For example, during Act 3, Scene 4 Macbeth cries â€Å"It will have blood they say, blood will have blood† and in Act 4, Scene 1 he declares â€Å"I conjure you by which you profess†. Both these quotations bear a resemblance to the dialogue adopted by the witches and as such it seems as though Macbeth is either tainted by their influence or just obsessed with them. This is further suggestion of their evil, as their malevolence is such that their influence seems to have corrupted Macbeth’s mind. In complete contrast, during the scene of ‘dubious authorship’ (or Act 3, Scene 5), the suggestion of evil through the language is comparatively tame and the established speech conventions adopted by the witches are neglected. Shakespeare cleverly omits the witches’ usual language style in order to highlight their angst at having angered Hecate. Rather then using the typical chanted rhyming style, instead what little the witches do say is blunt and concise, as when a witch says â€Å"come, lets make haste; she’ll soon be back again†. Aside from the lack of rhyming, the witches’ speech lacks its usual dark and evil content; for example a witch simply questions â€Å"why how now, Hecate, you look angerly?† This is heavily altered from their previous dialogue, for example during Act 1, Scene 3 when a witch declares â€Å"like a rat without a tail, I’ll do, I’ll do and I’ll do†. This quotation contains various dark themes, for example the disfigured rat, and is vastly different from the dialogue seen in Act 3, Scene 5. The speech in this scene also lacks the usual complexity used in other scenes, instead adopting a far more concise and simple language. However, because the witches make no reference to evil during this scene, this does not mean that their characters become less malevolent in nature. This is because they make no reference to evil as they are so fearful for their own safety, thus they still seem as vindictive and malicious as ever, only with self-preservation as a priority. â€Å"Macbeth† includes various themes which were relevant to the audience at the time; thus the play bore a higher significance to them, one such being the inclusion of the weird sisters. James I, King of England at the time, had a particular obsession with the hunting and executing of witches, caused by having nearly been killed during a storm, which he believed to have been caused by witches. This hate for witches filtered through the kingdom, meaning the persecution of witches or witch sympathisers was commonplace. James’s paranoia went so deep that he even wrote a book entitled â€Å"Daemonologie† inciting hate towards witches and other like creatures. Thus witches were widely regarded as a threat to the contemporary Renaissance audience and so when Shakespeare included the â€Å"three weird sisters† in â€Å"Macbeth† the audience became more emotionally invested in the performance. Also, the prevailing theme of regicide, central to the play, w ould hold significance to the somewhat paranoid king, thus further immersing him in the drama. Although the witches are certainly responsible for triggering the eventual decision to commit regicide, it must be acknowledged that Macbeth himself is culpable and so may be considered partly malevolent. Highlighting his drastic choice of evil is his initial potential and heroic virtues described in Act 1, Scene 2. The Captain exclaims â€Å"brave Macbeth- well he deserves that name† telling us how his comrades admire his valour and respect his courage. We are then told how Macbeth fought â€Å"disdaining fortune†, thus fighting unafraid against the odds. Macbeth is then likened to â€Å"valour’s minion†, symbolising just how courageous and brave he is; that he is the darling or minion of courage. And so with these references, we expect great things from this protagonist when he arrives on stage. It is because of this description that Macbeth’s fall into darkness and evil seems all the more pronounced; that a celebrated soldier, of such audacity, c an fall into such a concentrated crucible of evil, killing a virtuous king, his best friend and even a helpless family. Also augmenting the perceived concentration of evil in â€Å"Macbeth† is the fact that he knows full-well the evil of his actions. Indeed, just before killing Duncan during Act 1, Scene 7 Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth that he no longer wishes to kill Duncan, stating â€Å"we will proceed no further in this business†. Therefore, it is discernable that he knows the consequences of his actions and so when he does eventually commit the crime it seems all the more malevolent; he knows what he is doing yet he continues nonetheless. Furthermore, throughout the play, particularly at the beginning when he is less corrupted, Macbeth uses euphemisms to hide the shocking alternative word and to an extent to stop himself hearing the reality. In Act 1, Scene 7 Macbeth says in a soliloquy â€Å"if it were done when it is done, then ’twere well† referring to the murder of Duncan as ‘it’. Again, this adds to the evil of the final crime as it is clear Macbeth knows exactly what he is doing, and the malevolent significance the murder bears. Macbeth shows, through these two media, that he has a conscience which he is choosing to ignore and so more responsibility for the crime can be placed on him, as the witches clearly didn’t influence him to the extent where he didn’t know what he was doing. Another contributor to the evil present in â€Å"Macbeth† is the heinous nature of all of the murders; first a gracious and fair king, then his long standing best friend and comrade (Banquo), then an attempted assassination on Banquo’s helpless son, and finally the murder of Macduff’s innocent family. A sensational aspect is present in each of these murders making them seem all the more shocking and repulsive. Due to the vile nature of each of these murders, the concentrated evil present in â€Å"Macbeth† becomes all the more obvious. Also, the necessity of some of the murders is questionable; for example, what was the need to murder Macduff’s innocent family? The murder of Macduff’s family seems entirely out of spite, rather than an actual requirement. With these grim murders, Macbeth is perceived to be host to an even greater concentration of evil, especially in the later stages of the play were he is arguably unaffected by his malicious ac tions. An inner evil is conveyed through the mental torture Macbeth experiences in the later stages of the performance, which defiles his mind and his sanity. Evidence of the inner torture Macbeth experiences is seen in Act 3, Scene 4 where the ghost of Macbeth’s former friend Banquo haunts him, unseen to all else. Gory to behold, this apparition is most likely an embodiment of Macbeth’s guilt at having killed his former friend, as we see Macbeth shout; â€Å"thou canst not say I did it†. This attempt to relieve himself of the blame is really only confession of his guilt. Moreover, the evil blighting Macbeth’s mind can be seen again through his inability to sleep. In Act 2, Scene 2 Macbeth tells his wife of how â€Å"Macbeth does murder sleep, the innocent sleep†, evidence of his disability. Due to the evil things he has done, Macbeth’s mind has become contaminated and so he is tormented, to the point where he can no longer sleep. Indeed, at one point Macbeth even professes to Lady Macbeth about his inner torment, saying â€Å"full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife† in Act3, Scene 2. In any case, the change in Macbeth’s thoughts as the play progresses is easily discernable; and so an inner evil corrupting his thoughts is arguably present. Throughout the play, Macbeth always appears to be preoccupied with the witches and this may be partly the reason for the corruption of his mind. Often, in his dialogue he refers to the sisters and genuinely seems beset by their deceitful words. For example, in Act 3, Scene 1 Macbeth tells a servant of how Banquo â€Å"chid the sisters when they first put the name of king upon me†. References such as this towards the witches are commonplace in Macbeth’s speech and it seems he has developed an indissoluble link with them, resulting in his obsession with them. This link can be seen also, as mentioned previously, in Macbeth’s dialogue, which often echoes that of the witches. Even the first words Macbeth utters are akin to lines of the witches, where he remarks; â€Å"so foul and fair a day I have not seen†; paradoxical language similar to theirs. At one point, during Act 2, Scene 1, Banquo even questions Macbeth as to whether his mind still lingers over the witches and he replies â€Å"I think not of them†. Macbeth certainly seems influenced by the witches, and we even see that just before the killing of Macduff’s family he visits the sisters. It is possible that the witches are also responsible for Macbeth’s inability to sleep mentioned above, as we know that they have engaged in such acts previously on the unfortunate sailor. Further influencing and at times controlling the actions of Macbeth is his wife, Lady Macbeth. More so in the early stages of the play, she can be found cleverly manipulating her husband, playing upon his weaknesses to ensure he secures his place as king. As Macbeth tells her how he no longer wishes to kill Duncan in Act 1, Scene 7, she responds â€Å"art though afeard†, questioning his masculinity and classifying him a coward. Had she not guided Macbeth in this sequence, it is questionable whether he would have proceeded with the murder at all. In the same scene she also plans out the detestable details of the murder, and so in this case she can be considered the main agent. This is certainly indicative that there is a concentration of evil present in Lady Macbeth, even if its manifestation is less pronounced than her husband’s. Additionally, in order to provide her with the inner strength to commit the murder, during Act 1, Scene 5 she attempts to conjure up evil ministers, declaring â€Å"come you spirits that tend on moral thoughts†. This act is testimony to her evil; that she would be willing to affiliate herself with damned spirits in order to kill an innocent old man. Also, Lady Macbeth is so eager to kill the king that she is even willing to reject her femininity. In a soliloquy during Act 1, Scene 5 she utters â€Å"unsex me here and fill me from the crown to the toe top full of direst cruelty†. This unnatural (and chilling) denial of her sex shows how willing she is to commit murder. Through all these ill plans towards Duncan and despite bearing the knowledge that his life may well end that night, in Act 1, Scene 6 Lady Macbeth shows just how devious she is as she acts the part of a welcoming hostess, telling the king â€Å"your majesty loads our house†. At this stage in the play Lady Macbeth’s subtle nature of evil is clear to see. Finally, as with her husband, it is obvious that Lady Macbeth registers the enormity of the crime through her pang of conscience before the murder and continues nonetheless. It is true that during Act 2, Scene 2 she tells Macbeth of how â€Å"had he not resembled my father as he slept, I had done it†. This is evidence of her conscience, although she still lets her husband kill Duncan, ignoring her inner sense of right and wrong. Because of this, Lady Macbeth gradually becomes insane and descends into a hell of her own making, famously saying during Act 5, Scene 1; â€Å"hell is murky†. Shortly after these w ords Lady Macbeth commits suicide, relinquishing her life because of the evil she is aware she has committed. Contributing in a different way to the evil atmosphere found in â€Å"Macbeth† is the adept language implemented by Shakespeare, which persistently evokes the intended malevolence. A dramatic way in which Shakespeare conveys evil is through the use of disease imagery, for example â€Å"canst thou not minister to a mind diseased†. Particularly to the audience of the era, disease was exceptionally feared as it was often fatal due to the lack of medical knowledge, and for this reason the inclusion of these references conjured markedly strong dark thoughts. The idea of disease by definition is that of spreading corruption and defilement, and this it seems is reminiscent of the spread of evil in â€Å"Macbeth†, and so such references are therefore a reminder of the irresistible contagion caused by a tyrannical king. Similarly, the theme of concealment is also used throughout, regularly conveying a distressing sense of the unknown as well as the ominous threat of hidden evil. At one point Duncan tells of how â€Å"there’s no art to find the mind’s construction in the face†, a chilling image of how there is no method by which a person can read another’s intentions based upon their external make-up; this is bitterly ironic given that Macbeth is tricking Duncan all along. In disguising intention, evil can remain hidden – disguise imagery therefore reminds the audience of a character’s hidden intent. Given this overlapping theme of disguise and deception, the audience are always aware of a malevolent atmosphere in â€Å"Macbeth†. Another common method of evoking the sense of evil is Shakespeare’s regular reference to night and blackness. This brand of imagery plays upon humanity’s primitive fear of the unknown; thus in making regular references to darkness Shakespeare ensures that an evil presence is always felt. The play boasts many memorable teaming references to darkness; a typical one can be found in Act 1, Scene 5 where Lady Macbeth proclaims â€Å"come thick night and pull me in the dunnest smokes of hell†. Aside from the obvious reference to hell Shakespeare cleverly refers to darkness to evoke the feeling of deception and hidden evil, as well as the primitive evil of the darkness on its own. On the same note, the theme of cancelling out light is integrated as well as when Macbeth notably says in an aside â€Å"stars hide your fires, let not light see my black and deep desires†. Perhaps the most obvious pattern in â€Å"Macbeth† in terms of sinister language is the regular reference to predatory animals. Animals can often portend omens which in â€Å"Macbeth’s† case translate into dire events; however at times in Shakespeare’s application they can also just conjure up dire images. On occasion the characters allude to animals related to ill omens; for example when Lady Macbeth says â€Å"the raven himself is hoarse†, the raven being the bird of ill omen. Or in other cases the reference may just be made in terms of sinister imagery, like when Macbeth says â€Å"full of scorpions is my mind†. At times the imagery also contains biblical-related animals; for example when Lady Macbeth tells her husband â€Å"look like the innocent flower but be the serpent under it†. In this case the serpent is a sinister use of imagery as it is related with the biblical ‘fall’ and so is often an animal linked with male volence in literature. Shakespeare’s choice of regularly adding emphasis on blood further exaggerates the evil perceived by the audience, as well as darkening the image of the play. In particular, the murder of Duncan conjures many references to blood, for example Macbeth says â€Å"will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?† In this manner, emphasis is added on Macbeth’s bloody hands, questioning whether even all the ocean’s waters will clean them. Likewise, the spots of blood described on Lady Macbeth’s hand are also highlighted, to the point where she believes her hands are still blood stained several days after the murder, crying â€Å"out damned spots! Out I say!† The explicit references to blood add to the sinister content of the play through their dire implications; blood after all symbolising pain and suffering. A debatable topic within â€Å"Macbeth† is whether the main source of evil in the play extends from external supernatural sources or from Macbeth himself. However, as mentioned previously, if Macbeth is regarded as being influenced too heavily by the witches, he begins to seem like their puppet- easily manipulated. If Macbeth is seen as to be too easily manipulated this draws from his heroic status; how could such a strong character be so easily turned against his will? As such, I feel Macbeth is just as responsible for the atrocities as the witches. The tyranny brought about by this combined concentration of evil affects the whole kingdom, even at times supernaturally, for example after Duncan’s death Lennox tells of how â€Å"the night has been unruly: where we lay, our chimneys were blown down†. As you can see, the disruption brought about by the death of the king is even portrayed to affect the weather. This idea used by Shakespeare in which everything is affected by the death of the king is in conjunction with the ‘chain of being’. The concept of this was a large hierarchy in which God was placed at the top and below him was ranked king; below this was all other organic life. Regicide means that everything below Duncan in the ‘chain of being’ would be disrupted, and would only return to order once the rightful king was restored. This happens in â€Å"Macbeth†: once the rightful king, Malcolm, takes the throne, then the disruption is purged and order returns over the whole kingdom. However, in spite of the regained regime, the final impression of Shakespeare’s masterpiece is that of lingering evil; the witches are still to an extent at large and who is to say the process will not repeat itself again with them partially corrupting yet another star-crossed victim. â€Å"Macbeth† is a play in which evil reigns and flourishes throughout and so it seems only fitting that the final impression masterfully created by Shakespeare should be that of lingering evil.

Audiovisual Cues in Bilingual Language Acquisition

Audiovisual Cues in Bilingual Language Acquisition Article title: Bilingualism modulates infants’ selective attention to the mouth of a talking face Authors: Pons, F., Bosch, L., Weikum et al., 2007). Significant research has been conducted to explore the auditory domain of bilingual language acquisition and there is strong evidence that both bilinguals and monolinguals rely on redundant audiovisual speech (Rosenblum, 2008; Stein, 2012; Sebastià ¡n-Gallà ©s et al., 2012). However, this paper seeks to understand the importance of audiovisual cues as a mechanism that bilingual infants utilize during complex language processing in comparison to monolingual infants. METHODS (234 words) To test these predictions they conducted two experiments each on infants whose native languages were Spanish/Catalan. The goal of the first experiment was to extend the findings of previous studies about monolingual, native English speaking, infants’ use of audiovisual speech cues to infants whose native languages are eithe r Spanish or Catalan. Sixty monolingual infants (with native languages of either Spanish or Catalan) participated in this experiment and formed three groups: 4, 8 and 12 month-old infants with 20 participants in each group. Stimuli, 45-second videos of one of two female actors speaking a monologue in English or Spanish/Catalan, were presented on a computer screen in front of the infant. Each infant watched one video of a monologue in their native language and a second video of a monologue in English. Throughout the procedure, an eye-tracker was utilized to enable researchers to collect data about their attention to two areas of interest (AOI), the speaker’s mouth and eyes. The second experiment investigated how bilingual infants’ selective attention to these AOI changes and develops in their first year of life. 63 Spanish-Catalan bilingual infants (once again divided into groups of 4, 8 and 12-month-olds) were presented with the same stimuli as in the first experimen t and researchers tracked their eye movements to AOI. They conducted a Mann-Whitney test to compare the vocabularies of the monolingual and bilingual infants and found no significant difference between their lexica. DISCUSSION (399 words) The results from the first experiment successfully extended the findings of Lewkowicz and Hansen Tift’s (2012) study to monolingual speakers in Spain of Catalan or Spanish. They saw the same developmental trends with language acquisition and attention to AOI with this group of infants: when presented with both native and non-native audiovisual stimuli 4-month-old infants spent more time attending to the eyes of the speaker and 8-month-old infants spend more time attending to the mouth of the speaker. When presented with stimuli in their native language, the 12-month-old infants spent equal time looking at the mouth and eyes but with stimuli in their non-native language they spent more time looking at the mouth than the eyes. One of th e most intriguing comparisons explores the differences between the monolingual and bilingual infants’ developmental pattern of attention during audiovisual stimuli presentation (comparing Experiment 1 and 2). They found the biggest differences at 4-months and 12-months. 4-month-old bilingual infants attended equally to the mouth and eyes while the 4-month-old monolinguals spent more time attending to the eyes. 12-month-old bilingual infants spent more time attending to the mouth in both native and non-native language presentation while the monolinguals attended more to the mouth only in non-native trials. On average the bilingual infants spent more time attending to the mouth of the speaker than monolinguals at their same age. These findings support evidence that audio input is not the sole contributor to language acquisition and differentiation. Visual cues are crucial in understanding and interpreting speech because there is not a 1:1 relationship between speech signals a nd meaning; we must use hermeneutics and external cues to make sense of language. The McGurk Effect demonstrates this idea: when just using audio input a person hears â€Å"ba, ba† but when provided with audiovisual stimulus, a person hears â€Å"da da† as a result of hearing â€Å"ba, ba† but seeing the mouth produce â€Å"ga ga.† These early studies illustrate the importance of visual input but do not explore how this reliance on external cues during development is different for bilinguals. This paper offers fascinating evidence that shows how monolingual and bilingual infants rely on audiovisual input to acquire, perceive and comprehend language. Research still must explore how these effects continue after 12 months old, once native and non-native language systems are more defined: do bilingual young adults still look more at the mouth than the eyes of a speaker? REFERENCES Bijeljac-Babic, R., Serres, J., Hà ¶hle, B., & Nazzi, T. (2012). Effect of bilingualism on lexical stress pattern discrimination in French-learning infants. PLoS ONE , 7 (2), e30843.       Bosch, L., & Sebastià ¡n-Gallà ©s, N. (2001b). Evidence of early language discrimination abilities in infants from bilingual environments. Infancy , 2 , 29-49. Lewkowicz, D. J., & Hansen-Tift, A. M. (2012). Infants deploy selective attention to the mouth of a talking face when learning speech. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA , 109 , 1431-1436. Oller, D. K., Eilers, R. E., Urbano, R., & Cobo-Lewis, A. B. (1997). Development of precursors to speech in infants exposed to two languages. Journal of Child Language , 24 , 407-426. Pons, F., Bosch, L., & Lewkowicz, D.J. (2014). Bilingualism modulates infants’ selective attention to the mouth of a talking face. Psychological Science , 26.4, 490-498. Rosenblum, L. D. (2008). Speech perception as a multimodal phenomenon. Current Directions in Psychological Science , 17 , 405-409. Stein, B. E. (2012). The new handbook of multisensory process- ing . Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Weikum, W. M., Vouloumanos, A., Navarra, J., Soto-Faraco, S., Sebastià ¡n-Gallà ©s, N., & Werker, J. F. (2007). Visual lan- guage discrimination in infancy. Science , 316 , 1159.

Employment-At-Will Doctrine Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Employment-At-Will Doctrine - Assignment Example The at-will employment doctrine is applied in all states in the US apart from Montana (National Conference of States and Legislatures, 2014). In its unmodified form, the doctrine of employment-at-will allows the employer to fire employees as he deems fit without suffering legal consequences. It is, therefore, possible to legally fire an employee. However, the doctrine is a default rule that can be altered by contract. For instance, a contract can provide for a fixed employment term or allow dismissal only for a cause. In the United States, companies usually negotiate employment agreements only with high-rank employees. Collective bargaining agreements usually protect represented workers against termination without cause. Causes include employee’s misconduct, poor performance or economic necessity. An employment contract may specify instances or employee actions that would result into termination for cause (National Conference of States and Legislatures, 2014). Thus, to mitigate the harsh consequences of employment-at-will, courts and statutes carved out exceptions to the doctrine of employment-at-will. Exceptions to the doctrine fall under Common Law and Statutes. Public policy exception to the employment-at-will doctrine protects employees against employment actions that contravene public interest. For instance in most states, an employer cannot fire an employee for declining to violate the law at employer’s request or for filing a workers compensation claim after sustaining an injury while on the job. Public policy is the most widely recognized exception in most states (Muhi, 2001). This is the second major exception to the employment-at-will doctrine. It is applied when an implied contract is created between the employer and the employee, irrespective of express or written instrument regarding the kind of the employment relationship existing. Although employment is usually not governed by contracts,

1997-1998 Asian financial crisis Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

1997-1998 Asian financial crisis - Term Paper Example Erroneously creditors usually thing the root of the crisis can be found in badly regulated financial systems or mismanaged exchange rates of the borrowing countries. On the other hand the debtor government tries to find financial help to make things easier with the social costs related to the crisis through forgiveness of the debt, new financing or rescheduling. Fortunately, the creditors and debtors are in equal circumstances when it comes to sharing responsibility of bad lending and all the problems do not fall on the borrowing country citizens. In the middle of the Asian crisis Malaysia disputed that the cause of the financial crisis was in growing financial integration and the reiteration might only be eliminated by reforms of the financial system on the international level. Considering the weakness of bargaining position and the will to bear the access to public and private credit flows, the governments of the debtor tend to make some typical adjustments in policy; their explicit lack of financial background is to guarantee this is the case. They might be interested or not in fulfilling all the amount of reforms sought by the institutions of finance such as IMF and creditors. More than that it is quite possible for the governments to show resistance to the reforms due to interest group and composite tension or just due to origin and na ture of political organizations and the overall process of making decisions. Causes of the Crisis. The economy of Thailand displayed a significant rise path for more than ten-year period before the crisis began in 1997. The account deficit at that time slightly exceeded 5% and the high increase gave birth to budget excess for a number of years. Simultaneously, huge capital inflows were piled up along with a differential high interest rate and under the regime of fixed exchange rate, including deregulation

Sociology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 19

Sociology - Essay Example On the other hand, there is the individual autonomy. The individual professional autonomy of the physician is not only limited to his/her ability in making clinical decisions and in securing the necessary medical services for patients but it also encompasses the autonomy in pertinent to control over one’s own work, which may include the structure and schedule of the work (Stoddard et al, 2001). In line with this, allied health professions have challenged medicine’s professional autonomy. Currently, physicians’ economic stature is challenged from two sides. One is the increasing income gap between the specialists and the general practitioners and the other is coming from the National Health Services, which now requires doctors to produce job plans for the working week, the presence of preauthorization requirements, reducing their freedom to refer and their employment contract being held by Health Authorities (Harrison & Ahmad, 2000). In the same regard, the politi cal standing of medicine’s professional autonomy has been opposed by the inceptions of governmental guidelines, bodies and policies that allow stronger governmental regulations. This is perceptible in terms of clinical audits, and the creation of governmental bodies like the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), National Services Frameworks (NSF) and Commission for Health Improvement (CHI), which provide the guidelines and frameworks that, limits medicine’s professional autonomy (Harrison & Ahmad, 2000). Finally, the clinical autonomy of the physician is challenged by the following concept of patient at the centre of care, of the practise of team management of care, which works on the supposition that health care providers are all equally important in rendering health care services, and that clinical decisions ought to be substantiated and justified by external research findings (Harrison & Ahmad, 2000) These

Are virtual organisations Multinational Enterprises (MNE) Assignment

Are virtual organisations Multinational Enterprises (MNE) - Assignment Example According to Preston (n.d), there are four key characteristics of virtual organizations as a process. Virtual organisations involve developing relationships with a wide range of partners each having a core competence that complements the others. It capitalises on the ability of telecommunications technology to overcome distance and time related problems. Furthermore, it involves trust between parties. Virtual organisations are also motivated by specific opportunities. As soon as these opportunities are exploited enterprises move on to form new partnerships and alliances. 2.0 Description of MNEs A multinational enterprise (MNE) or corporation (MNC) is an entity that operates in more than one tax jurisdiction whether as a single tax payer entity or as a group of such entities (Fernandez and Pope 2002). MNEs have their headquarters in one country (the parent/home country) and operate subsidiaries in several other countries known as host countries. There are a number of enterprises world wide that operate in this way. MNEs continue to grow and expand their operations because of WTO trade rules which facilitate globalisation as well as the growth of electronic commerce and information technology. Some MNEs have budgets that are larger than some countries and this indicates the extent of their power and influence as it relates to the setting of trade rules and regulations by international bodies. Multinational enterprises have many dimensions to them and can be viewed from several perspectives. These dimensions include and are not limited to management, ownership, strategy and structure. In terms of ownership, it may be argued that an enterprise is multinational if it is owned by nationals of more than one country. Companies that fit this particular criterion include Shell and Unilever which is owned by both British and Dutch interests. Many multinational enterprises do not meet this test as most of them originated in one country. In terms of the management criterion the managers are from different nationalities according to the countries in which they operate. However, as a starting point most multinational enterprises use persons from their home country to lead the management team in the initial stages of their operations in host countries. In terms of strategy, multinational enterprises seek to maximise their profits globally by entering new markets. The structure of these companies is such that the head office which is located in the home country controls the operations of the subsidiaries and assists in the direction and coordination of their activities. According to Moran (2007) MNE investments in the developing world occurs in four distinct forms. They are Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in extractive industries, FDI in infrastructure, FDI in manufacturing and assembly, and FDI in services. However, multinationals operate in not just developing countries but also developed countries. In addition to FDIs they also provide licenses and mana gement agreements in the fast food and hotel sectors. Therefore, FDI and licensing are the two ways in which MNEs

Management information system Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Management information system - Case Study Example Each activity is interrelated and monitored accordingly. ERP takes a formal business approach. The approach is based on business model that is tested and well defined. For example, there is already a well defined logistics management or supply chain management model. All the data is maintained in a centralized database. All information relating to different activities of the organization are all stored at a single place and can be accessed when needed. Changing to ERP is expensive as the entire business process needs to be modified but proves to very beneficial once implemented. Benefits of implementing ERP The whole business process becomes very effective and efficient as a result of ERP implementation. As the different units like the development team, sales team, customer service, deliver team, all will be working i8n tandem and this will make the whole system more effective and also economical. Inventory can be managed better. The production team will know at any time how many uni ts are there and what is the demand as it is all automated. There is better co-ordination between the various departments in the organization. Customer service can be improved manifold as the communication inside the organization will be faster and also the lead time will be reduced.

State of the economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

State of the economy - Essay Example Approached within the paper will be the global macroeconomic issues surrounding Gross Domestic Product, unemployment, inflation and interest rates. Specific geographical areas of interest are the United States, Brazil, Germany and Japan. The current global economic outlook is important to understand when looking to expansion of current a current business. Currently the in the United States, â€Å"Current-dollar GDP -- the market value of the nation's output of goods and services – increased 3.5 percent, or $126.3 billion, in the fourth quarter to a level of $14,871.4 billion. In the third quarter, current-dollar GDP increased 4.6 percent, or $166.4 billion.† (Gross national product, 2011)The rate of unemployment currently in the United States has increased to a reported 9.2% in March of 2011 which is substantially higher than prior years. Inflation as reported in â€Å"The inflation rate in United States was last reported at 2.1 percent in February of 2011† (Unit ed States Inflation Rate, 2011) Currently the interests rates are being artificially depressed thanks to massive infusions of new money as a result of the Quantum Easing plan. In comparison Brazil in 2010 had a GDP of 2.194 trillion dollars with 7% unemployment. (Brazil, 2011) Germany had a GDP of 2.96 trillion dollars in 2010 with 7.4% unemployment. (Germany, 2011) Japan on the other hand had a GDP of 4.338 trillion dollars in 2010 with unemployment under all of the above at 5.1%. (Japan, 2011) When compared to the United States there is a very definite fiscal possibility available for global expansion. To retain market share at this point it would be necessary to increase our geographical market nationally at the very least. When compared to the United States there is several obvious discrepancies, more importantly the lower levels of unemployment make it easy to see that there is possibly more available income. In looking at the economic indicators such as the GDP, unemployment, interest rates and inflation it becomes clear that one of the prime indicators that should be addressed that would affect a portion of our customer base is inflation. The rate of inflation will most affect those consumers on a fixed income as they have the most to lose based on individual buying power. Japan for instance has maintained a low rate of inflation with a zero being reported in February of 2011. (Statistics Japan, 2011) This allows for a much higher purchasing power for consumers of our Shades of Youth line which directly caters to older individuals, these same individuals may be retired and on a fixed income. Germany is another nation with low rates of inflation and as a result this would be a good line in these locations as there is available purchasing income in the baby boomers market in these nations. Brazil on the other hand currently has over 6% inflation which would make it more difficult, though not impossible to sell a luxury like Shades of Youth. Super Clean an d Super White are both more necessary items than Shades of Youth and as a result we would want to market these in all three global areas as well as nationally. Because the global economy is suffering in many areas there will be a drive to consolidate business’s and promote stronger globalization pushes from current conglomerates. By taking

Women can be better leaders than men Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Women can be better leaders than men - Essay Example During all centuries it has been considered that men are those who win in this unequal battle. I strongly believe that it happens due to the fact that we have been living in the patriarchal society. It can be explained by the fact that up to the 20th century the most important thing both in the life of individual and in life of the whole countries was physical force. The world lived in the state of permanent wartime – the weapon emplacements appeared in the whole world, every time in different places. And the only thing that could contribute to the result of war was men force. Since ancient times men were chosen to be leaders of societies, tribes, droves and countries. In today’s world that is subordinated not to the physical force but to the intellectual one, women have much more possibilities to show their creativity and potential. More and more women nowadays run the companies or societies, participate in political life and at the same time have those responsibilities of mothers, daughters and sisters. So, the question is â€Å"Does gender influence the leadership potential and skills? What is the difference in the way a woman or man leads other people in an organization oÐ º society? Do those women who obtained the leading posts have any distinguished qualities of character? Why do they have it when the majority of women prefer to neglect it? Female leaders are more aggressive and convincing, demand strictly the orders to be done and, surprisingly, tend to take greater risks than male do. I would like to notice, that it has always been believed that men are more risky creatures than women are, but according to the latest researchers women are more impulsive and that is why they easily take risk. Scientists claim that women are more flexible in communication but at the same tougher in their demand, they are more sympathetic with the problems of the suppliers and employees. Women demand from the members of the organization

Hancock & film Essay Example for Free

Hancock film Essay Hancock is a film starred by Will Smith as Hancock himself. This film separates itself from the rest of the films for it is an unconventional story of a super hero. The media has instilled in its audience that as a superhero, one must be a good role model. He should be, if not perfect at all, at least close to being one. And yet, this film is a story of the superhero who was a drunkard and undisciplined and selfish man. He seemed ordinary. It was hard to somehow believe that he can save lives. That was what was special about this film. It created a new image of a superhero. It showed a different angle on creating a good superhero. It showed that man is capable of becoming a hero, no matter how bad he can become at times. With these differences it had, it was rather right to question if the film was an effective superhero film. The location and the setting of the film were appropriate to its story. It had the view of an everyday and ordinary life of an ordinary man. Since Hancock was not to be considered as the typical superhero, it seemed that he was treated as an ordinary but strong character. His environment emphasized his strength and his goodness. His strength was presented when people around him tried to insult him. This was shown in scenes where he was called an asshole and then he made sure he was able to teach the person who called him with such name a lesson. Nonetheless, he was provided with the attitude of goodness. His environment was filled with criminals and law breakers. It showed that even if Hancock was drunkard, he wanted to make sure that he saved lives and put criminals in jails. The Mise-en-scene of the film was even so effective in aiding the story through out the duration of the film despite the weakness of the storyline. Hancock, as a superhero film, was expected to have low angle shots to show the authority of the protagonist or the superhero. However, there were a number of high angle shots in the film which suggests the authority of the audience. The shots of Hancock were always either close up shots or medium shots. This focuses the film to Hancock himself. It relayed the message to me that Hancock should be closely watched for the story centers around him and I, as an audience, am a part of his environment. With this, there seemed to be something different with the film. It is not just any typical superhero film. It is rather more emotionally attached in the part of the audience, given the high angle shots and the close up and medium shots of the character. This may be a good one, but also, it can be a bad one. Focusing on its bad effect, it lost its capacity to establish the authority and superiority of the lead character, who was supposed to be treated as an ordinary human yet a superhero. The shots were not moderately thorough which resulted to the was confusion in the shots whether he should be an ordinary lead character or the superhero. If the cinematography was good, it should have made it possible for the audience to identify the character’s role with its visual content, even without the dialogues of the film. The editing of the film was fairly clean. However, there were effects which were slightly disorienting or confusing. One example is when Hancock flew with the car of the pursued criminals. The car bumped on buildings but the buildings were broken instead of the car. One would ask the question, ‘How can that be possible? ’ Although it must aslo be considered that this film is a fiction and it should contain improbable scenes. As the audience, my reason for stating that the editing was fairly clean is because it was able to put to visual an ordinary setting. There were clean cuts of the frames. The transition from one scene to another was clear. On the other hand, there were only minimal special effects like the flying of Hancock, the breaking of the buildings, cars and roads. Other than that, there was nothing more to suggest in the editing that Hancock was a superhero film. Moving on to the musical scoring and sound effects, the film was able to have its audio presented well. The musical scoring was appropriate to the scenes where it was played. An example is when Hancock was flying and the song was Get out the Way by Ludacris. There were birds and other things that were blocking him in flying faster to where he was needed. Another example is the scene where Hancock was in jail and Ray and Mary were thinking about him. The background sound was dramatic and it showed the emotions of the character towards each other. The sound effects were in same manner as appropriate as the musical score. The crashing of the cars, the breaking of the buildings, the flying of Hancock, the cheering and booing of the crowd, the flashing of the camera of reporters, and many other sound effects were placed in the proper scenes. Even the small details were given the proper sound effects. Nothing was taken for granted when it came to the audio. The characters’ delivery of their lines was clear which suggests the usage of proper and reliable devices. The volume of the background sounds were also just enough for the audience to get the hold of both the emotion of the character and the setting of the scene. All in all, the sound of the film acted as its soul. And it is but fair that this made the film live justifiably well in its technical sense on music and sound. The most important contributor in this film was its Mise-en-scene. It was well provided and it was very effective in its purpose in identifying the film as a superhero yet, seemingly ordinary world of Hancock. It was a very good establishing point of the story. It was able to tell the story as clearly as possible. Although I must say that the story was not as strong as it should have been and the cinematography lacked a little organization. Still, the Mise-en-scene was able to provide the audience the factors and elements they it needed in order to be well-informed about the film. It provided the proper imagination for the audience to fully grasp what the scriptwriter and the director wanted to convey. The question whether Hancock was an effective superhero film or not, I must answer that it did not have the strongest justification for a yes. The visual of the scenes were good, however the shots and angles were not as good. There seemed to be something missing in the scenes. The sound in the film provided the audience well with aid to the visual but it was not quite enough. The film needed a tighter interconnection of the visual and the audio in the technical aspect so as to deliver the story well. And although the Mise-en-scene and the sounds of the film were independently provided well, it still lacked the spice to say that the film was indeed an effective superhero film.

Reaction Paper of World Economic Forum Essay Example for Free

Reaction Paper of World Economic Forum Essay Child labor refers to the employment of children at regular and sustained labor. This practice is considered exploitative by many international organizations and is illegal in many countries. Child labor was employed to varying extents through most of history, but entered public dispute with the advent of universal schooling, with changes in working conditions during the industrial revolution, and with the emergence of the concepts of workers and childrens rights. This definition is from the Wikipedia. Why does this exist? To whom will be the blame be given? Is it the parents, who raised their children to work, or the children themselves who decided to work to overcome hunger and thirst for survival? Is it the government that has to be responsible to this or this is all because of the inevitable poverty we are now experiencing today? For me, I have to blame all because in each problem of the society we encounter, it is not always that it is only a problem of one but rather it is a problem of all. We tend to forget that the ones affected to this kind of problem are also of our kind, Filipinos. We should always remember this statement, â€Å"One for all, and all for one.† I have mentioned above that are the parents to blame for this kind of problem. I say yes, a big yes for me. Why? It is simply because the parents are the first people that the child may know and they are the one who nurtures the child. Moreover, the parents are the one responsible if ever their children have nothing to eat and wear for everyday living. The parents in the society are expected to provide all their children needs for the bore them not to be slaves in the family. The parents are expected to give the right to education for their children to earn knowledge and not send them to factories that would bring them sickness just to earn money. But now, all the expected things turned out wrong. Some parents even do not mind if their children are already at the streets asking alms, some are into drugs, and some engage to crimes such as robbery and prostitution. If I were the parent, I had rather just send them to DSWD and see them eating and playing than watching them earn a living at the young age. I do not say that putting the child to DSWD is another irresponsible act the parent had made but it will be the best alternative answer to the problem. Are the children also to blame? I can say that the children have also something to deal with this. Even if the child is only four years old and has no sense of maturity yet, the child has something to play with this. Sometimes, it is the children’s decision to work for their families. They are working not because they want to eat, but rather gave the money to their parents, hoping that this money results to something that is good for their stomachs. In some cases, the children also are the ones that decide to leave the family because they see that the family cannot give the happiness they are asking for. So, the children have no choice but to leave independently and find their own living. The worst is that the children may engage into crimes such as killing, stealing, and prostitution. This is really happening in the society today. I can share an experience of one of our maids of our family. I admit that we hired her at her minority age. She was only 15 when she entered our home. After months of working in our house, we had already given her our trust. One day, we invited her to come into our lola’s house for the fiesta. She agreed to come rather than staying at home alone, and we wanted her to come because maybe she will be stealing anything from the house without our knowledge. We cannot give all our trust to a certain person right? Anyways, we had the time to go to the beach. The tide was so low that the sea was very far from the shore. Our maid never knew that the water was shallow. The dived and end up with bleeding wounds in her face. We immediately went home to cure her wounds. When we went home to back in Tacloban, she was not feeling easy. I think that the scars in her face made her actions limited and a little bit more conservative. After 3 days after the said incident, she left our house without any permission. We immediately reported this to her parents. Time passed but still no news was heard. We have now a new maid but of legal age. Years passed, and suddenly our roads had crossed each other. I have seen her near the seawall in the city but the thing that stunned me most is that she was already carry with her a child. This story is just one example of what can happen to children in our society. Is the government part of the problem? I’ll answer this question with a yes again. The government is expected to implement laws for this and make sure that these laws are nationwide followed. The government should play as the provider of the needs that the households cannot provide. It is sometimes reasonable that the government cannot provide them all but at least they will show that they are concerned to this problem. I can see that some policemen maltreat these children. Better if we just leave them alone and just catch them if they are now doing beyond the limitations. I’m disappointed to those government officials who did not do an effective action to eradicate this problem in our society. I am not an anti-government individual but I guess this is reality. Man is a power-seeker according to Thomas Hobbes so man really has the tendency to retain his power when he is in power and the outcome is that the poor will always be poor. Lastly, the poverty we are facing is the best reason why the children are into this action. Poverty is the reason why the parents cannot send their children to school, where the children are expected to learn and to socialize with our children. Poverty is also the main reason why the parents cannot provide the quality of happiness each child is longing for. The conception of poverty because of overpopulation is quite wrong. It some points it is true that this overpopulation can affect the way of living in a family but what now for China that contribute a big fraction to the world’s population. China is a big country in both economy and population. If China can make a difference why cannot we? As a conclusion, I am really against to this kind of problem in the society and besides who are happy watching children working not for themselves but to others. I am really thankful to my parents that I was raised efficiently, providing me anything that could bring to a better outcome. Time will come that I will be a parent. I am hoping that somehow there will be changes in our society that is concerned to this problem. It is still not the end for this. The solution is just there. All are aiming that this can be totally eradicated in the future.

Periodontal Health of Libyan Pregnant Women

Periodontal Health of Libyan Pregnant Women Abstract Background: Pregnancy-related changes are most severe on gingival tissue; those observed changes have been the object of interest for a long time. A number of researchers reported the association between periodontal health of pregnant women and socio-economic status. No study on such subject has been performed so far in Libya. The aims of the present study are to evaluate the periodontal status in a sample of Libyan pregnant women and to identify the association between various socio-economic variables (education, occupation and income) and womens periodontal status. Pregnant womens age, stage of pregnancy and number of pregnancies were particularly considered in the analysis of the data. The obtained data could be helpful in planning oral health promotion and periodontal disease prevention programs for pregnant women. Materials and Methods: A total of 34 Libyan pregnant women in varying stage of pregnancy attending the gynecology department at the policlinics in Benghazi-Libya const ituted the target population. After the participants filled in a questionnaire, their periodontal status was assessed by the researcher using the Community Periodontal Index (CPI), any relationship to socio-economic variables (educational level, occupational status and income) and womens age, stage of pregnancy and number of pregnancies was evaluated. Data-entry and analysis were performed with the help of SPSS. Results: The results showed that the CPI scores tends to increase as socio-economic status decrease. Furthermore, the CPI scores tends to increase as womens age, stage of pregnancy and number of pregnancies increase. Discussion: The CPI scores of pregnant women were high indicating a moderate to severe periodontal disease. Such finding may be related to the fact that the majority of pregnant women were relatively old, in their third trimester, multigravidae, with primary level of education and house wives. Conclusion: The results revealed that periodontal health of Libyan pr egnant women tends to associate with socio-economic status, womens age, stage of pregnancy and number of pregnancies. Therefore oral health promotion and periodontal disease prevention programs should target the identified risk groups. Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The introduction will give a description of the context within which the study took place, statement of the problem, description of the country in which the study took place and the policlinics in which the study was undertaken. Also the introduction will provide information on the motivation and objective of this study and the study question. Background   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sex-specific medicine is medicine tailored to meet the specific needs of men and women, based on the results of scientific research. Clearly, more research is needed, particularly as it relates to women. Studies are under way and more are being designed to answer specific questions and determine specific strategies to prevent and treat diseases that have particular impact on women (Krejci Bissada, 2002). Womens health issues have come to the forefront of medical research only within the last decade. This came about only after significant pressure was exerted by physicians and activist groups that recognized that the majority of clinical trials involved men primarily and that sex differences were not being addressed (Angell, 1993). These inequities prompted the Institutes of Health to begin funding research focused on sex differences. This, in turn, triggered other investigations into a variety of womens health issues, and an increasing body of sex-spe cific scientific literature has emerged (Krejci Bissada, 2002). The prevailing medical viewpoint relates to biological functions in the male as the norm, while the female is considered to be exactly the same except for reproductive functions. This has lead to a lack of awareness of the need to study the implications of gender differences in periodontal tissues (Covington, 1996). Although teeth are gender free, the supporting tissues of the periodontium are vulnerable to the physiological variations in the levels of circulating steroid hormones in males and females (Tilakaratne et al., 2000).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the enduring puzzles of public health is why some populations are healthier than others. For years dentists and periodontists have been aware of the effects of pregnancy on the oral health of expectant mothers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Pregnancy is associated with great anatomical and physiological changes of varying kinds (Herman, 1923). Pregnancy-related changes are most severe on gingival tissue; those observed changes have been the object of interest for a long time. Many investigators have stated that bleeding on probing and increased periodontal pocket are more common in pregnancy. The severity of the gingival inflammation in pregnant women is greater when compared to gingival inflammation in normal women (Hiling, 1950). All the studies show a high prevalence and an increasing severity of gingivitis during pregnancy. In an effort to determine the nature of this increased inflammation, many more studies have since been carried out. Three main schools of thought have prevailed in regard to its etiology. Some believe in a local etiology (Monash, 1931), others in vitamin C as a primary factor (Hiling, 1950), and others in the importance of the hormonal factors (Ziskin Nesse, 1946).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Socio-economic status is associated with a variety of health-related behaviors. Epidemiological studies indicate that lower SES is associated with poorer health outcomes. A multitude of disease conditions are associated with socioeconomic status, and cause/effect (e.g., social stress as a contributory cause of heart disease) is plausible (Marmot Wilkinson, 1999) Generally, those who are better educated, wealthier, and live in more desirable circumstances enjoy better health status than the less educated and poorer segments of society. Periodontal disease is a common disease in humans that may be affected by the socio-economic status. The effects of the socio-economic status on periodontal conditions in pregnant women have been reported by a number of researchers and there has been speculation as to whether hormonal changes during pregnancy or pre-existing conditions of general, oral health and socio-economic status have a greater effect on the develop ment of periodontal disease during pregnancy. Dentistry can be vital in improving prenatal outcome and maternal or fetal dental health through screening, referral and education of pregnant patients. Statement of the Problem   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Relevant topic in pregnant women concern. No study on such subject is being recorded so far in Libya. Given the possible association between periodontal disease and severe systemic conditions such as cardiovascular disease, periodontal status may itself be a risk factor for mortality (Beck et al., 1996). What has come to the forefront of recent periodontal investigations, however, is the relationship between periodontitis and adverse pregnancy outcomes (Krejci Bissada, 2002). A recent report (Jeffcoat et al., 2001) indicated that the risk of preterm birth was directly related to the severity of periodontitis in the mother. Pregnancy affects the initiation and progression of gingivitis and periodontitis (Brian Perry, 2002) and this disease if left untreated, can lead to teeth loss. Periodontal disease is a chronic condition with an infectious origin. Person-to-person transmission of periodontal pathogens occurs via saliva, and increased frequency of e xposure to infectious saliva increases the likelihood of bacterial colonization (Asikainen et al., 1997). Periodontal pathogens can be transmitted among family members (Asikainen et al., 1997), and familial transmission may be a risk factor for progression to periodontal disease (Zambon, 1994). Periodontal disease was chosen because its prevention and treatment provide a second major part of the workload of practicing dentists. Both dental caries and destructive periodontal diseases are highly prevalent and create much morbidity all over the world because they are very expensive to treat, requiring skilled personnel and considerable amounts of professional time.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Understanding socioeconomic influences on periodontal health in pregnant women is important for planning and implementing effective prevention strategies against periodontal disease since many studies have shown that the periodontal disease in pregnant women not only influences their own oral health status but also may increase their risk of other diseases such as atherosclerosis (Slade et al., 2003), rheumatoid arthritis (Mercado et al., 2000), diabetes (Thorstensson et al., 1996), impact pregnancy outcome (Offenbacher et al., 1996; Jeffcoat et al., 2001), and their offsprings risk of developing early and severe dental caries (Caufield et al., 1993; Kohler et al., 1983). Libya   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This study took place in Libya, officially known as the Great Socialist Peoples Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. Located in North Africa and bordering the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Libya lies between Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Ghad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west and has a coastline of around 1900 kilometers along the Mediterranean Sea (World Health Organization [WHO], 2007). With an area of almost 1.8 million square kilometers, Libya is the 17th largest country in the world by area (United Nations [UN], 2003). The climate is mostly dry and desert like in nature. However, the northern regions enjoy a milder Mediterranean climate. Tripoli is the capital. The main language spoken in Libya is Arabic, which is also the official language. The religion in Libya is Islam. Libya is culturally similar to its neighboring Maghrebian states. Libyans consider themselves very much a part of a wider Arab community. The flag of Libya consists of a green field with no other characteristics. It is the only national flag in the world with just one color and no design, insignia, or other details.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The main cities are concentrated in the northern part of the country along the coastal area. The six largest cities are Tripoli, Benghazi, Alzawia, Musrata, Derna and Sirte. The total population in 2007 was 6.16 million people (United Nations Population Division [UNPD], 2007). About 85% of the population is urban (UNPD, 2007), mostly concentrated in the two largest cities, Tripoli and Benghazi. The total life expectancy in 2007 was 74 (female 76.5, males 71.3) (UNPD, 2007). Libya is witnessing an increase in the adolescent age group with 32% of the population below 15 years old in 2006 (WHO, 2007). As a result, the countrys population is fairly young, and the proportion of Libyans aged 65 years and over was 5% in 2006 (WHO, 2007).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Libya is an oil-producing country, with its main income coming from oil revenue, as well as some petrochemical industry and agricultural activities. Libya receives no external funds as development aid from any source of any kind (WHO, 2007). Health care, including preventive, curative and rehabilitation services, is provided to all citizens free of charge by the Government. Health expenditure as a percentage of GDP in Libya is about 3.3% (WHO, 2007) and health expenditure per capita in Libya is US $222 (WHO, 2007). The Government spends 60 million Libyan dinars (1$ =1.256LD) annually for the medical treatment of Libyan citizens abroad (WHO, 2007).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Population with access to health services (urban and rural) is 100% (WHO, 2007). Major hospitals are located in urban areas. It should be noted that the country has achieved high coverage in most basic health areas (United Nations Development Programme [UNDP], 2002). The mortality rate for children aged less than 5 years fell from 160 per 1000 live births in 1970 to 18 in 2007(United Nations International Childrens Emergency Fund [UNICEF], 2007). In 2007, 99% of one-year-old children were vaccinated against tuberculosis and 98% against measles (UNICEF, 2007). All payments in the private sector come directly as an out-of-pocket payment with the exception of some banks, private companies and the oil sector, which subsidize their employees medical coverage in the private sector. Some communicable diseases still pose a problem, such as AIDS, hepatitis, measles and tuberculosis. Noncommunicable diseases have become a major cause of mortality and morbidity. The prevalence and incidence of noncommunicable diseases has increased dramatically over the past 20 years (WHO, 2007). Contributing factors include ageing, injuries and lifestyle habits. Cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, diabetes and cancer account for significant mortality and morbidity rates and have put considerable strain on health expenditure (WHO, 2007). The main causes of death are cardiovascular diseases 37%, cancer 13%, road traffic injuries (RTI) 11% and diabetes 5% (WHO, 2007).Tobacco use among youths of school age (13-15 years) is alarming, 15% of students currently use some form of tobacco products and 6% of students currently smoke cigarettes(WHO, 2007). Obesity is also emerging as a major health problem. Road traffic accidents (RTA), which result in 4-5 deaths per day and even higher figures for disability, are a major burden of disease (WHO, 2007). It is fair to say that Libya has, overall, made a very good job of providing comprehensive healthcare to all Libyan citizens whatever their regional domicile in the country (Otman Karlberg, 2007). 2nd March and Ibn-Zohr Policlinics   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The policlinics in Libya perform a key role in maintaining health in Libyas population. Anyone in Libya can use the policlinics. It serves the Libyan people free of charge .There are 39 policlinics in Libya, with the capacity of handling approximately 50.000 to 60.000 patients. They are out-patient clinic for all medical specialties staffed by specialty physicians in most areas of medicine. This study was undertaken at the 2nd March and Ibn-Zohr Policlinics.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The 2nd March policlinic is located at Al-Hadaek area in Benghazi-Libya, well connected to other parts of the city and can be reached within 15-20 minutes by car from any part of the city. Open from 8 am to 3:30 pm, six days a week. This policlinic has a variety of different healthcare services staffed by specialized physicians and excellent nursing staff. It comprises eight different departments, namely, dental department, gynecology department, internal medicine department, pediatrics department, public health department, ophthalmology department, first aid department and pharmacy. The dental department provides diagnosis, extraction, scaling and radiological services. The internal medicine department provides chronic disease management, acute illness treatment and follow-up of patients discharged from hospitals. The gynecology department provides family planning to prevent unwanted pregnancies, to manage gynecological disorders and to provide contra ceptive information and services and also antenatal and postnatal care. The pediatrics department provides management of common childhood illnesses. The public health department provides access to the national immunization programme which is a major part of policlinic services, and growth monitoring for babies. The ophthalmology department provides ophthalmological disorders management. The First aid department provides first aid services, bandage changing and minor surgery procedures like dressing and removal of stitches. The outpatient pharmacy provides the medication for the Libyan people free of charge. The typical patient visit flow starts with registering at the reception; then the patient is referred to the clinic according to his/her complain, takes a number and waits for his/her turn, sees the doctor, goes to laboratory or X-ray (if required), sees the doctor again then drops the prescription at the pharmacy and takes the medication or is further referred to the hospital.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Ibn-Zohr policlinic is located at El-Berka area in Benghazi-Libya, and can be reached within 10 minutes by car from any part of the city having the same functioning system as other policlinics in Libya. It comprises four different departments, namely, dental department, gynecology department, public health department and dermatology department. Hypothesis   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For this study it was assumed that periodontal disease is common in Libyan women and may be influenced by pregnancy and socio-economic status. This study was conducted based on a quantitative approach to the association between socioeconomic status and periodontal health condition of pregnant women, considering 34 Libyan married pregnant women, varying in age from 20 to 41 years old, living in Benghazi-Libya. To avoid confounders, the participants for this study were recruited at random and from two policlinics in different geographic areas in Benghazi-Libya .The participants were recruited from the gynecology clinic at both 2nd March and Ibn-Zohr policlinics, during June 2009. After filing in a questionnaire by the participants about socio-economic status, the participants received an oral examination by the researcher to evaluate their periodontal health status. All socioeconomic components will be discussed in relation to their impact on the periodontal health of pregnant women. The socio-economic components that were considered in this study were: education, occupation and income. The womens age, number of pregnancy and stage of pregnancy were particularly considered in the analysis. Objectives   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The aims of this study were to evaluate the periodontal status in a sample of pregnant Libyan women and to investigate the relationship between various socio-economic variables (education, occupation and income) and the identified periodontal status.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It will be interesting to compare and to investigate the different components of SES and periodontal condition of Libyan pregnant women and see if some have more influence than others. To analyze and discuss the data in the light of a possible influence of socio-economic status related factors on periodontitis in pregnant women, information about pregnant womens age, stage of pregnancy and number of pregnancies was obtained and particularly considered in the analysis of the data. The data thus obtained could be helpful in planning oral health promotion and periodontal disease prevention programs for pregnant women. The Study Question   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This paper focused on the association between Libyan pregnant womens socioeconomic status and their periodontal health condition in Benghazi-Libya. This study seeks to answer the following research question: Is there an association between Libyan pregnant womens socioeconomic status and their periodontal health status? Literature Review   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This section contains what is known on the most important aspects related to the research question. It will show the past work done on the stated study question and what is known about the problem that is being studied. The literature section provides in-depth information on the socio-economic status history in Libya including a section specifically for Libyan women, and will give in-depth information on the periodontal health, periodontal health and socio-economic status, periodontal health and pregnancy, and on periodontal health, pregnancy and socio-economic status. Methods and Search Strategy   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Different methods and strategies to search for information on periodontal health, pregnancy and socioeconomic status were used. Search of the literature for review papers published in medical electronic databases such as PubMed and bibliographies were undertaken using a set of predetermined keywords. The search strategy was initially developed and implemented for PubMed but revised appropriately to suite the other database. Furthermore different individual journals were searched such as the Journal of American Dental Association and others included on the BioMed Central and the Springer Link websites. Additionally, official Libyan websites concerning general information about Libya and socio-economic status history in Libya were searched such as www.gpc.gov.ly. No restriction was placed on the year of publication.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The search strategy involved using a combination of terms relating to periodontal health, pregnancy and socio-economic status to identify relevant articles. For periodontal health, the following keywords were used: periodontal health, periodontal disease, periodontal status, dental status, oral health, oral disease, periodontitis, gingivitis, periodontal destruction, periodontal condition, and peridontium. For pregnancy, the following keywords were used: pregnancy, pregnant, gestation, reproductive, and gravid. For socio-economic status, the following keywords were used: socio-economic, socio-demographic, and socio-cultural, social class, social factors, education, occupation, employment, income and finance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The titles and abstracts of the studies identified by the search were screened for possible inclusion in the review. All potentially relevant articles were thoroughly reviewed. Their reference lists were searched for any related articles.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The initial search revealed approximately 630 studies. After review of the abstract and / or complete text and after discarding the duplicates, around 125 collected articles served to identify potential articles that related to this study. The studies were grouped into categories; periodontal health, pregnancy, socio-economic status, periodontal health and pregnancy, periodontal health and socio-economic status, and periodontal health, pregnancy and socio-economic status (relevant studies). Socio-economic Status (SES) History in Libya   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The living standards of Libyans have improved significantly since the 1970s, ranking the country among the ones with the highest quality of life in Africa. Urbanization, developmental projects, and high oil revenues have enabled the Libyan government to elevate its peoples living standards. The social and economic status of women has particularly improved. Various subsidized or free services (health, education, housing, and basic food products) have ensured basic necessities. Many direct and indirect subsidies and free services have helped raise the economic status of low-income families, a policy which has prevented extreme poverty. Libya is not a highly polarized society divided between extremes of wealth and poverty (CIA World Factbook, 2001).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Regarding the growing role of women in Libyan society, undoubtedly impressive amount of legislation dealing with womens equality has been developed recently (Otman Karlberg, 2007). Socio-economic Status (SES) Components   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Socio-economic status (SES) is a complex phenomenon predicted by a broad spectrum of variables that is often conceptualized as a combination of financial, occupational, and educational influences (Mueller Parcel, 1981). Socio-economic status may be defined as any measure which attempts to classify individuals, families, or households in terms of indicators such as occupation, income, and education (Marshall, 1998). The social and economic conditions in an individuals life are important determinants of its overall health situation. Most crucial factors are hereby education, employment and income (WHO, 2005). One of the strongest and most consistent predictors of a persons morbidity and mortality experience is that persons socioeconomic status (Marmot et al., 1987). Socioeconomic status is typically divided into three categories, high SES, middle SES, and low SES to describe the three areas a family or an individual may fall into. When placing a family or individual into one of these categories any or all of the three variables (education, occupation, and income) can be assessed. Nearly all epidemiological studies use SES as an explanatory or a control variable, or for the selection of subjects or matching criteria (Wnkleby et al., 1992). Education   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A persons educational attainment is considered to be the highest level (grade or degree) of education they have completed. Education is an important factor contributing to better job opportunities and a higher income, which can again impact an individuals health in a positive manner. Many studies have documented strong inverse associations between education and all-cause mortality (Feldman et al., 1989) as well as life expectancy (Sagan, 1987). Education may facilitate the acquisition of positive social, psychological, and economic skills and assets, and may provide insulation from adverse influences (Wnkleby et al., 1992). Higher education enhances furthermore the access to health information and improves the health seeking behaviour, whereas a low educational level bears a higher risk of inadequate coping with stress, depression, and hostility (WHO, 2005). The most plausible hypothesis is that education may protect against disease by influencing life -style behaviors, problem-solving abilities, and values (Liberatos et al., 1988).Education is available for all individuals regardless of employment status, has high reliability and validity (Liberatos et al., 1988).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Over time, education has become the most commonly used measure of SES (Liberatos et al., 1988). Educational level is generally stable after early adulthood, easily reported, and can be collected as a continuous variable (Wnkleby et al., 1992). It is may be the most judicious SES measure for use in epidemiological studies (Wnkleby et al., 1992). In studies that have a cost or time restraint but need a measure of SES as a potential confounding variable, education is an expeditious choice (Wnkleby et al., 1992).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Education in Libya is free for all citizens. The 1969 Libyan Constitutional Declaration states,â€Å"Education is a right and a duty for all Libyans. It is compulsory until the end of primary school†. Libya boasts of the highest literacy and educational enrolment rates in North Africa (WHO, 2007). The adult literacy rate is 86.8% (male 94.5%, female 78.4%) (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization [UNESCO], 2007). The main universities in Libya are: Al Fateh University (Tripoli) and Garyounis University (Benghazi). Significant numbers of Libyans attend university abroad, mainly in the United States of America and Europe (WHO, 2007).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During the late 1960s, the percentage of females in elementary education was between 11 and 19%. By early 1970 the rate shot up to 37% and by 1990 it had escalated to 48%. The percentage of women at university level developed from 3% in 1961 to 8% in 1966, 20% in 1981 and then to 43% in 1996. By the early 1990 the number of females at all levels of education became equal to the number of males (Otman Karlberg, 2007). Occupation   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Occupational status as one component of SES encompasses both income and educational attainment. Occupational status reflects the educational attainment required to obtain the job and income levels that vary with different jobs and within ranks of occupations. Additionally, it shows achievement in skills required for the job. Occupational status measures social position by describing job characteristics, decision making ability and control, and psychological demands on the job. Occupation measures prestige, responsibility, physical activity, and work exposures (Susser et al., 1985).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Libya, commencing with the Constitutional Declaration of 1969, which asserted the equality of all citizens before the law, and the Declaration of the Establishment of the Authority of the people in 1977, which asserted, â€Å"Women and men are equal as human beings. Discrimination between men and women is a flagrant act of oppression without any justification†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The legal position of women was reinforced by a series of important enactments through the 1980s and 1990s, for example women can become judges since 1991, while many work as doctors and engineers in the oil industry (Otman Karlberg, 2007). Women were mobilized in the military and in the political system in the late 1970. There are also women lawyers and pilots. The percentage of women in the workforce is 32% (WHO, 2007). Income   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Income refers to wages, salaries, profits, rents, and any flow of earnings received. Income can also come in the form of unemployment or workers compensation, social security, pensions, interests or dividends, royalties, trusts, alimony, or other governmental, public, or family financial assistance. Income reflects spending power, housing, diet, and medical care (Susser et al., 1985). That better health is associated with higher income is well established.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Income is related to health in three ways: through the gross national product of countries, the income of individuals, and the income inequalities among rich nations and among geographic areas (Marmot, 2002). The income measure of SES can be used as a quantitative measure but is often grouped into categories due to peoples reluctance and/ or inability to report their exact income. The sensitivity of this information is often problematic since many are unwilling to give out their income level, even in broad categories. Further complications with this measure include that it is relatively unstable over time and is age dependent since income tend to rise throughout ones career and then drop after retirement.(Loue Sajatovic, 2004)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The gross national income per capita (PPP international $) in Libya is US$ 14 710 (WHO, 2009). Approximately 7.4% of the Libyan population live below the poverty line (CIA, 2005 est.). In Libya, opportunities for upward social movement have increased; and petroleum wealth and the development plans of the revolutionary government have made many new kinds of employment available, thus opening up more well paid jobs for women especially among the educated young. Periodontal Health   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This section deals with the normal features of the tissues of the periodontium, knowledge of which is necessary for an understanding of periodontal disease. A section specifically for periodontitis epidemiology, etiology, pathophysiology and its main signs and symptoms is included. Normal Periodontal Anatomy   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The tissues that surround and support the teeth for normal function form the periodontium (Greek peri- â€Å"around†; odont-, â€Å"tooth†). The periodontium consists of the gingiva, periodontal ligament, cementum and alveolar bone.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The gingiva is divided anatomically into the marginal (unattached), attached and interdental gingival. The marginal gingiva is the terminal edge of the gingiva surrounding the teeth like a collar, but is not adherent to it and it can be separated from the tooth surface with a periodontal probe. The cemento-enamel junction (CEJ) is where the enamel of the crown and the cementum of the root meet. The Marginal gingiva in normal periodontal tissues extends approximately 2mm coronal to the CEJ. The space between the marginal gingiva and the external tooth surface is termed the gingival sulcus. The probing depth of a clinically normal gingival sulcus in humans is 2 to 3 mm (Manfra-Maretta, 1990). The attached gingival is continuous with the marginal gingiva. It is firm, resilient, and tightly bound to the underlying alveolar bone. Attached gingiva is bordered coronally by the apical extent of the unattached gingiva, which is in turn defined by the depth of t he gingival sulcus. The apical extent of the attache

The Use of Form and Rhythm in William Carlos Williamss poem, The Dance

The Use of Form and Rhythm in William Carlos Williams’s poem,â€Å"The Dance†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In William Carlos Williams’s poem, â€Å"The Dance†, Williams uses the inspiration of a painting by Peter Breughel to shape his poem. Peter Breughel’s painting called â€Å"The Kermess† depicts a peasant dance of the mid fifteenth century. It shows the form and rhythm of the dance. Williams also captures the form and the rhythm of this dance in his poem. In William Carlos Williams poem, â€Å"The Dance† the open form, suggested images, and rhythm embodies the dance depicted in the painting â€Å"The Kermess† by Peter Breughel.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Breughel’s painting, â€Å"The Kermess†, all of the people that are dancing, do so around and around each other. The opening of Williams’s poem establishes the rhythm of the entire poem. In lines two and three, â€Å"the dancers go round, they go round and around†(Kennedy 234), Williams establishes a bouncing and circular motion in the poem. This bouncing and circular motion is also emphasized by the absence of line stops in the entire poem (Diggory 156). Every line continues to the next giving the poem the feeling of a circular motion. The open form of the poem helps to continue the bouncing rhythm throughout Williams’s entire work.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Williams continues to establish a rhythm by mentioning musical instruments. The peasants dance to â€Å"the squeal and the blare and the tweedle of bagpipes, a bugle and fiddles†(Kennedy 234). This alludes to the bagpipe player keeping the beat of the dance f...