English coursework essay and commentary Essay Example for Free

English coursework essay and commentary Essay Many teenage girls might shock you with their answers. Describing themselves as ‘ugly’ and ‘fat’. Over the years body-image issues are plaguing girls across the country. As a result of this majority have taken up unhealthy weight-controlling behaviour. This is done by skipping meals, taking laxatives and excessive smoking. Did you know that 9 in 10 females are conscious and currently unhappy about their body image? More than half of these are young girls. There are over 1. 3 million eating disorders in the UK alone. Happy, healthy and heroic is the feeling once you overcome anorexia. It’s about time we waved goodbye to the itty bitty twiggy runway models and say hello to the healthy curves of the new faces in Britain’s model industry. Majority of the runway models meet the body mass index criteria for anorexia. However over the past few years the trend of stick-thin models has started to become unappetising. â€Å"When I was younger I had a poor self-image, very low self-esteem, and yearned for a better body. I destroyed EVERY single mirror in the house as I couldn’t bear the sight of my body. I used to sit and count my ribs. I didn’t choose to be that way, it just happened. A few years later by the age of 19, I was 16 stone. From suffering Anorexia to becoming one of the biggest teens in Britain, it was a shock. Then I decided to set myself a target, lose weight and appreciate what I have. I’m glad I’ve moved on and I wouldn’t want anyone else to go through what I did. Now at the age of 22, I weigh 11 stone now, which is the perfect weight for me. I am overwhelmed with my body and have learnt to appreciate what I have been blessed with. I hope to soon conquer the rest of Britain and help more teenage girls on the road to freedom. I don’t like to think of myself as being ‘small’ size, I’m average and I couldn’t be happier. †Katya Zharkova, plus size model. However Kate Moss has been criticised by campaigners after revealing she lives by a slogan which encourages people with anorexia not to eat. Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels. † – Kate Moss. Eating disorder charity Beat described the comments as dangerous and very unhelpful for sufferers. Kate shouldn’t have said so, however a spokeswoman for Mosss model agency claimed: This was part of a longer answer Kate gave during a wider ranging interview which has unfortunately been taken out of context and completely misrepresented. † Women come in all shapes and sizes, and all of us have got the right to present ourselves beautifully in gorgeous clothes. Whether you’re overweight or tall, skinny or small, we are all beautiful. Everyone is different, everyone is beautiful and everyone is normal. Remember that. Commentary I chose to produce an interpretation of women of different shapes and sizes. I have done this in a magazine/article form. The audience of this piece was aimed at young girls, teenagers and women. It is more common for them to have a stronger opinion on the matter. Throughout the article I have written in both active and passive voice, it varies the focus of each sentence and questions the reader. I have written in second and third person by using ‘you’ and ‘she’ which are both singular. This technique it allows the reader to understand different perspectives and direct the reader. The pronoun ‘you’ links in with trying to involve the reader, by using the rhetorical question ‘What do you see’ it almost gets the reader interested in reading the article right from the beginning, it asks for their opinion. The rule of three is used a number of times in this piece, ‘itty, bitty, twiggy’ is mainly used for emphasis on the fact that stick-thin models are a shadow of the past. There nouns used in this piece are both concrete and abstract. Concrete nouns can be experienced through the five senses, but abstract nouns cannot be accessed by the senses and tend to be intangible ideas that form a part of our life (love, hatred). By using attributive adjectives such as ‘gorgeous’ it gives the reader some additional information about the clothes before reading on. Superlative adjectives are used to compare nouns, ‘biggest’ tells the readers that Katya wasn’t big or bigger but she was the biggest. I decided to use contrasting celebrities point of view to indulge the reader in celebrities opinions. The verb ‘used’ indicates the tense of what Katya used to do; in this case she used to â€Å"sit and count my ribs†. This quote puts the reader in Katya’s point of view. The reader would imagine what it would be like to sit and count their ribs, but you can only sit and count your ribs if you are anorexic. The average healthy person has enough fat on their body to form a stomach. Katya was anorexic which meant she could feel her insides. I chose not to directly tell the reader that Katya was anorexic until the next few sentences, to make the reader wonder what was wrong. ‘More’ is an indefinite determiner used to put out to the reader a sense of discomfort most teenagers feel when it comes to body image and almost officialises the context. By using subordinate simple and compound clauses that are connected by conjunctions and followed on by a subject and verb. In this case ‘So’ makes the reader think about the fact that there are so many different eating disorder cases around the world. Overall, I think this piece is interesting because it is an article that questions the reader’s thoughts about what is right and wrong about being under and over weight. In my opinion it manages to interpret different views on the matter of being different shapes and sizes and at the end uses the quote â€Å"Everyone is different, everyone is beautiful and everyone is normal. Remember that. † This quote uses repetition which is an excellent feature for slogans, the use of repetition means the slogan will be catchy to the reader and will stay in the readers mind and that is what I wanted to achieve when I wrote the article.

Origins of Tissues Macrophages

Origins of Tissues Macrophages Ryan Lewis    Discuss current ideas about the origins of tissue macrophages and whether these origins influence the subsequent functions of macrophage Graphical Abstract Figure Legend: This figure highlights possible tissue macrophage origins and their development pathways. The essay discusses contradicting findings in the literature, involving three different publications; Sheng et al, 2015 (blue pathway), Hoeffel et al, 2015 (red pathway) and Perdiguero et al, 2015 (green pathway) which are shown in the figure. Cell positions relate to the time point they are established during embryonic development. Positions of yolk sac and foetal liver are also related to the times they are developed. Introduction In the late 19th century Ilya Metchnikoff discovered macrophages (Tauber, 2003) and since then our understanding of the immune system and its complexity has progressed to a stage where the macrophage is no longer as simple as was originally depicted by Metchnikoff. Although much more is known about tissue specific macrophages and their functions, the origins of these macrophages are less well understood including how their origins relate to the functions they have within specific tissues. This essay aims to address the current ideas about the origins of tissue macrophages and whether these origins influence the subsequent functions of macrophages. Macrophage Discovery and History As previously mentioned Metchnikoff discovered the macrophage late in the 19th century (Tauber, 2003). Metchnikoff published a paper talking about phagocytic cells he had observed in frogs, he described the phagocytic cells as being involved in host defence but also the clearing of dead and dying cells (Gordon, 2007). Mechnikoff then discovered the presence macrophages in starfish, which dont have a vascular system, which led him to the discovery of tissue-resident macrophages (Gordon, 2007). Metchnikoff received the Nobel prize for his studies on cellular immunity to infection in vertebrates which he shared with Paul Ehrlich who discovered humoral immunity (Gordon, 2007). It took roughly 80 years after Metchnikoffs discovery before the origin of the tissue macrophage was uncovered. It was proposed that tissue macrophages originated from circulating monocytes in the blood (van Furth and Cohn, 1968), this theory has persisted for the last 40 years however from recent studies we know t hat this is not the primary origin of the tissue macrophage. Shortly after the theory that tissue macrophages originated from circulating monocytes was proposed, it was discovered that tissue macrophages and monocytes are heterogenous and their heterogeneity is conserved in humans and mice (Gordon and Taylor, 2005). The discovery of monocyte subsets followed shortly after in 1983, which supported the theory that tissue macrophages originated from circulating monocytes (Yona and Jung, 2009). The theory that tissue macrophages are derived from circulating monocytes has been the prevailing view until very recently partly due to the arrival of advanced techniques including; fate mapping and ionizing radiation. In the last 5-6 years, many definitive publications have redefined our understanding of the origins of tissue macrophages (Epelman et al, 2014). Recent studies have shown that many tissue macrophages are established during embryonic development and continually self-replenish into adulthood independently of any input from circulating monocytes in the blood (Epelman et al, 2014; Ginhoux et al, 2010; Hashimoto et al, 2013; Yona et al, 2013). Tissue Macrophage Heterogeneity and Function Tissue macrophage have a huge degree of heterogeneity which reflects upon the specialization of their functions in different tissues and locations (Gordon and Taylor, 2005). Macrophage heterogeneity is required to ensure the tissue macrophage has the most effective phenotype to tackle its specific microenvironment, this is particularly important in the gut. Tissue macrophages in the gut isolated from the lamina propria have a unique phenotype characterised by high phagocytic and bactericidal activity but very poor production of pro-inflammatory cytokines which makes them perfectly suited to their microenvironment (Gordon and Taylor, 2005). There are many specialised tissue macrophages that have very distinct functions including; osteoclasts in the bone which breakdown bone deposits for bone remodelling, alveolar macrophages (dust cells) in the lung that break down foreign material and pathogens, and microglia in the brain which play a role in neuronal development homeostasis and the recovery from pathology (Boyce et al, 2008; Rubins, 2003; Prinz et al, 2014). The theory that tissue macrophage populations are replenished from circulating monocytes in the blood is somewhat true but the most diverse tissue macrophages such as microglia, alveolar macrophages and osteoclasts are replenished through self-renewal and proliferation (Yona and Jung, 2009). There is a substantial number of studies discussing whether macrophages originating from monocytes in the blood can differentiate into resident tissue macrophages. In most cases the monocyte subset that the macrophage originated from determines its ability to differentiate into a specialized resident tissue macrophage, this is particularly true in the lung as studies have shown only Ly6Clo, not Ly6Chi, monocytes have the ability to differentiate into enchymal lung macrophages (Landsman et al, 2007). In regards to the more complex and specialised alveolar macrophages in the lung, studies have shown that these macrophage s require a parenchymal lung macrophage intermediate (Landsman and Jung, 2007). Circulating monocytes in the blood were long believed to be the origin of specialised tissue macrophages but recent evidence has shown that this is incorrect and proven that many of these tissue macrophage populations are developed long before birth (Epelman et al, 2014). Origins of Tissue Macrophages Macrophages are first observed during embryonic day 6.5 and are produced in the yolk sac during what is termed as primitive haematopoiesis (Epelman et al, 2014). During this early stage in development macrophages are the only immune cell produced due to restricted progenitors in the yolk sac. During embryonic days 8.5 10.5 hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) emerge from the aorta-gonad meso-nephros (AGM) and give rise to all immune lineages (Epelman et al, 2014). At embryonic day 10.5 HSCs migrate from the AGM to the foetal liver, the foetal liver then becomes the major hematopoietic organ until birth. Only after birth do bone marrow HSCs become the primary progenitors and produce all immune lineages (Orkin and Zon, 2008). Microglia are the only tissue macrophages that are established in the yolk sac and are self-maintained through-out adulthood, all the other tissue macrophages are established from embryonic day 14.5 to birth and either self-maintained by proliferation or replenished b y HSCs in the bone marrow (Ginhoux et al, 2010; Sheng et al, 2015). The arrival of fat-mapping techniques have enabled researchers to precisely track embryonic macrophage populations into adulthood, giving an insight into the relationship between resident tissue macrophages and circulating blood monocytes (Epelman et al, 2014). As previously discussed, microglia are the only tissue macrophage originating from the yolk sac and arise before embryonic day 8 (Ginhoux et al 2010). Fate mapping analysis was used to determine that the origin of microglia was the primitive myeloid precursors in the yolk sac and also proved that microglia are self-maintained independently of any circulating blood monocytes (Ginhoux et al, 2010). There is also evidence that Langerhans cells originate from the yolk sac but only partially (Sheng et al, 2015). The fate mapping study by Sheng proved that microglia and Langerhans cells were the only tissue macrophages that originate from yolk sac precursors and th at most adult tissue macrophages originate from a second wave of haematopoiesis driven by HSCs. (Sheng et al, 2015). The number recent of publications concerning tissue macrophage origins is staggering and is most likely attributed to the arrival of fate mapping techniques. With the large surge of new studies regarding tissue macrophage origins it is important that a clear understanding is generated but this is not always possible with such a complicated subject. Contrasting Studies into Tissue Macrophage Origins There are a few recent studies concerning tissue macrophage origins which are particularly interesting. Sheng (Sheng et al, 2015) arrived at the conclusion that most tissue macrophages originate from HSCs however there are a few publications which contradict Shengs findings. Perdiguero concluded that yolk sac derived erythro-myeloid progenitors, were origin of almost all tissue macrophages which contrasts greatly with Shengs observations. (Perdiguero et al, 2015). Perdiguero also concluded that microglia were derived from erythro-myeloid progenitors rather than primitive yolk sac progenitors that was observed by Sheng, although both do come from the yolk sac (Perdiguero et al, 2015; Sheng et al, 2015). Perdiguero predicted that almost all other tissue macrophages originated from erythro-myeloid progenitors (Perdiguero et al, 2015; Sheng et al, 2015). A study by Hoeffel aligned well with Perdigueros observations but Hoeffel observed that primitive yolk sac progenitors gave rise to mic roglia rather than erythro-myeloid progenitors that was observed by Perdiguero (Hoeffel et al, 2015; Perdiguero et al, 2015). As well as the difference in the development of microglia, Hoeffel predicted that erythro-myeloid progenitors migrated to the foetal liver, giving rise to foetal monocytes which were then responsible for the production of tissue macrophages. (Hoeffel et al, 2015). Each of these 3 examples also propose a separate proposed major path of ontogeny and differentiation to adult tissue macrophage state. Perdiguero proposes erythro-myeloid progenitors from the yolk sac as the major precursor of tissue macrophages, Heoffel proposes erythro-myeloid progenitors from the foetal liver, as foetal monocytes, as the major precursor and, Sheng proposes that HSCs from the foetal liver are the major precursor (Perdiguero et al, 2015; Hoeffel et al, 2015; Sheng et al, 2015; Guinhoux and Guilliams, 2016). Although the observations made by Sheng are profoundly different to those m ade by Perdiguero and Hoeffel it could be down to the fate mapping technique they used. The model they used is not adapted to distinguish between late erythro-myeloid progenitors and foetal HSCs which has clearly effected the conclusion they have come to (Guinhoux and Guilliams, 2016). Although fate mapping has great potential in advancing our knowledge of cellular ontogeny there are certain limitation that come with it and these limitations must be considered when designing experiments and analysing data (Guinhoux and Guilliams, 2016). Do Tissue Macrophage Origins Matter? Determining the origins of tissue macrophages may be valuable for furthering our knowledge and understanding of their development but do their origins have any influence in determining their function? As well as ontogeny, diversity in the functions of tissue macrophages can also be attributed to the local signals received by the macrophages. These local changes can drive the expression of unique transcription factors which in turn lead to different functions (Lavin et al, 2015). There is a lot of evidence to suggest that the tissue macrophages microenvironment can alter its function, the plasticity of tissue macrophages allows them to adjust their functions to inflammatory events (Lavin et al, 2015). Using ionizing radiation most embryonic-derived tissue macrophages can be eliminated, they can then be replaced with donor-derived bone marrow progenitors to determine if the wild type state of the tissue can be restored. Using this technique, studies have proven that bone marrow progeni tors can completely restore the enhancer profile and transcriptional programme of the embryonic-derived tissue macrophages that were eliminated (Lavin et al, 2015). A very recent study has shown that yolk sac macrophages, foetal liver monocytes and adult bone marrow monocytes can all successfully differentiate into alveolar macrophages in the lung after the removal of the native alveolar macrophages using ionizing radiation (van de Laar et al, 2016). The study also showed that other already developed tissue macrophages, liver, peritoneal and colon macrophages cannot successfully differentiate into alveolar macrophages in the lung. This finding suggests that the plasticity of the mononuclear phagocyte system is at its largest during the precursor stage and after differentiation to tissue-resident macrophages no further phenotypic changes of macrophage types can take place (van de Laar, 2016). Perhaps the most interesting finding from this study is that the alveolar macrophages differ entiated from yolk sac macrophages, foetal liver monocytes and bone marrow monocytes were still able to self-maintain and prevent alveolar proteinosis (van de Laar, 2016). Similar results have also been observed with Kupffer cells. Kupffer cells were eliminated from the liver using diphtheria toxin-mediated depletion allowing its niche to become vacant. Observations showed that circulating monocytes can engraft the liver and adopt the transcriptional profile of the eliminated Kupffer cells and also become long-living self-renewing cells like their eliminated counterparts (Scott et al, 2015). These new findings question whether the origin of tissue macrophages is truly important to their function as the progenitors and monocytes tested have all been able to restore the tissues lost macrophages successfully without any loss of function. Conclusion Although determining the origins of tissue macrophages and other members of the immune system is important for the progression of our knowledge it remains to be seen whether the actual origins have any implications on the function of the tissue macrophages. The techniques used in the publications discussed are still very new and still require refinement, I believe further refinement of the techniques will enable a more detailed and accurate description on the origins of tissue macrophages and the role the origins play in their function. References       BOYCE, B.F., YAO, Z. XING, L. 2009Osteoclasts have multiple roles in bone addition to bone resorption.Critical Reviews in Eukaryotic Gene Expression, 19.3, 171-180 EPELMAN, S., LAVINE, K.J. RANDOLPH, G.J. 2014Origin and functions of tissue macrophages.Immunity, 41.1, 21-35 GINHOUX, F., GRETER, M., LEBOEUF, M., NANDI, S., SEE, P., GOKHAN, S., MEHLER, M.F., CONWAY, S.J., GUAN NG, L., STANLEY, E.R., SAMOKHVALOV, I.M. MERAD, M. 2010Fate mapping analysis reveals that adult microglia derive from primitive macrophages.Science, 330.6005, 841-845 GUINHOUX, F. GUILLIAMS 2016Tissue-resident macrophage ontogeny and homeostasis.Immunity, 44.3, 439-449 GORDON, S. 2007The macrophage: past, present and future.European Journal of Immunology, 37, 9-17 GORDON, S. TAYLOR, P.R. 2005Monocyte and macrophage heterogeneity.Nature Reviews: Immunology, 5.12, 953-964 HASHIMOTO, D., CHOW, A., NOIZAT, C., TEO, P., BEASLEY, M.B., LEBOEUF, M., BECKER, C.D., SEE, P., PRICE, J., LUCAS, D., GRETER, M., MORTHA, A., BOYER, S.W., FORSBERG, E.C., TANAKA, M., VAN ROOIJEN, N., GARCIA-SASTRE, A., STANLEY, E.R., GINHOUX, F., FRENETTE, P.S. MERAD, M. 2013Tissue-resident macrophages self-maintain locally throughout adult life with minimal contribution from circulating monocytes.Immunity, 38.4, 792-804 HOEFFEL, G., CHEN, J., LAVIN, Y., LOW, D., ALMEIDA, F.F., SEE, P., BEAUDIN, A.E., LUM, J., LOW, I., FORSBERG, E.C, POIDINGER, M., ZOLEZZI, F., LARBI, A., NG, L.G., CHAN, J.K., GRETER, J.K., BECHER, B., SAMOKHVALOV, I.M., MERAD, M. GINHOUX, F. 2015C-Myb(+) erythro-myeloid progenitor-derived fetal monocytes give rise to adult tissue-resident macrophages.Immunity, 42.4, 665-678 LANDSMAN, L., VAROL, C. JUNG, S. 2007Distinct differentiation potential of blood monocyte subsets in the lung. Journal of Immunology, 178.4, 2000-2007 LANDSMAN, L. JUNG, S. 2007Lung macrophages serve as obligatory intermediate between blood monocytes and alveolar macrophages.Journal of Immunology, 179.6, 3488-3494 LAVIN, Y., MORTHA, A., RAHMAN, A. MERAD, M. 2016Regulation of macrophage development and function in peripheral tissues.Nature Reviews: Immunology, 15.12, 731-744 ORKIN, S.H. ZON, L.I. 2008Haematopoiesis: an evolving paradigm for stem cell biology.Cell, 132, 631-644 PERDIGUERO, E.G., KLAPPROTH, K., SCHULZ, C., BUSCH, K., AZZONI, E., CROZET, L., GARNER, H., TROUILLET, C., DE BRUIJN, M.F., GEISSMANN, F. RODEWALD, H.R. 2014Tissue-resident macrophages originate from yolk-sac-derived erythro-myeloid progenitors.Nature, 518, 547-551 PRINZ, M., TAY, T.L., WOLF, Y. JUNG, S. 2014Microglia: unique and common features with other tissue macrophages.Acta Neuropathologica, 128.3, 319-331 RUBINS, J.B. 2003Alveolar macrophages: wielding the double-edged sword of inflammation.American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 167.2, 103-104 SCOTT, C.L., ZHENG, F., DE BAETSELIER, P., MARTENS, L., SAEYS, Y., DE PRIJCK, S., LIPPENS, S., ABELS, C., SCHOONOOGHE, S., RAES, G., DEVOOGDT, N., LAMBRECHT, B.N., BESCHIN, A. GUILLIAMS, M. 2016Bone marrow-derived monocytes give rise to self-renewing and fully differentiated Kupffer cells.Nature Communications, 7, 10321 SHENG, J., RUEDL, C. KARJALAINEN, K. 2015Most tissue-resident macrophages except microglia are derived from fetal hematopoietic stem cells.Immunity, 43.2, 382-393 TAUBER, A.I. 2003Metchnikoff and the phagocytosis theory.Nature Reviews: Molecular Cell Biology, 4, 897-901 VAN DE LAAR, L., SAELENS, W., DE PRIJCK, S., MARTENS, L., SCOTT, C.L., VAN ISTERDAEL, G., HOFFMANN, E., BEYAERT, R., SAEYS, Y., LAMBRECHT, B.N. GUILLIAMS, M. 2016Yolk sac macrophages, fetal liver, and adult monocytes can colonize an empty niche and develop into functional tissue-resident macrophages.Immunity, 44.4, 755-768 VAN FURTH, R. COHN, Z.A. 1968The origin and kinetics of mononuclear phagocytes.The Journal of Experimental Medicine, 128.3, 415-435 YONA, S., KIM, K.W., WOLF, Y., MILDNER, A., VAROL, D., BRECKER, M., STRAUSS-AYALI, D., VIUKOV, S., GUILLIAMS, M., MISHARIN, A., HUME, D.A., PERLMAN, H., MALISSEN, B., ZELZER, E. JUNG, S. 2013Fate mapping reveals origins and dynamics of monocytes and tissue macrophages under homeostasis.Immunity, 38.1, 79-91 YONA, S. JUNG, S. 2009Monocytes: subsets, origins, fates, and functions. Current Opinion in Hematology, 17.1, 53-59

Comparative Advantages Of Presidential And Parliamentary Systems Politics Essay

Comparative Advantages Of Presidential And Parliamentary Systems Politics Essay At the birth of every nation is the key structural question, how best to govern ones people and state. This has predominantly been met with two, very differing and opposing answers that of presidentialism and parliamentarism. The variables that determine this choice are inherently entrenched in the political, social and economic history of the state in question. As such one cannot dismiss one particular system on a political or ethnocentric basis, but evaluate it on its applicability and suitability to the state that it presides in, and the impact the innate strengths and flaws of both systems. However given the huge number of political systems to study and the national variations that occur within each state it would be impossible to present a comprehensive comparison of the systems, as such I will focus on two systems in particular, the United Kingdom and the Unites States of America. These can be regarded as the figureheads of their respective systems and the models upon which most other systems are based. The American constitution was created in 1787 with the radical idea that no single branch of the political structure should have precedence over another. As such the concept of separated power was introduced. This involved a significant departure from the traditional forms of government of the colonial states that had controlled and exploited the New World states such as the US itself. The governments of the industrialised imperialists tended to be dominated by the executive. This is another significant factor which encouraged these ex-colonial states to reject the democratically imperfect parliaments of the European imperialists in search of a fairer, more representative system inspired by the ideas of Aristotle  [1]  . Therefore both the executive and legislative is elected separately and therefore have dual democratic legitimacy. Therefore neither body is accountable to the other such as in the British parliament, so there is no danger of one branch holding more power and dominating the other. This ensures a more balanced government and one that more correctly expounds the political will of the public. The fact that there are bicameral and presidential elections makes the system much more representative and democratic then in the UK where only the legislature is elected. It also makes the political institution more flexible to the changing tide of public opinion. For instance if the British public becomes dissatisfied with its Labour government after its election it may have to wait five years before they can vote against them, whereas in the US elections for at least one aspect of government occur every two years, enabling government to better represent the contemporary political desires of its c itizens. This arouses another key component of the presidential model; it has set term times for its officials. For instance the President is in office for four years and can only be removed by being impeached by the congress, a very rare move. This gives the system a stability and removes the uncertainties of the parliamentary system where the threat of both the vote of confidence and anticipated elections always hang over the government. Anticipated elections though inducing a certain amount of uncertainty into the parliament, they also give the government a much greater flexibility then that of its American counterpart, enabling them to alter the political landscape of the parliament to react to the changing moods and reality of the domestic and international environment. New elections may be called before the obligatory five years for a number of reasons, for instance to strengthen a parties ruling majority, to introduce a new government if one cannot be created or becomes unworkable or t o respond to crises such as a huge scandal in government.  [2]   In terms of elections in the Congress the framers ensured that both houses of the bicameral legislative should be elected, in keeping with the founding democratic principles of the American constitution. This leads to a much fairer and representative governing of the people as all aspects of the legislative and presidency are elected by the people. However the relatively high number of elections may go some way to explaining the extremely low voting turn out of the American people, perhaps somewhat apathetic to elections they dismiss as commonplace and thus irrelevant. These dual Presidential and Congressional elections allow the opportunity for both a legislative and government division. If different parties occupy each house or the congress is united against the opposing administration there can be a divided government. This can lead to a deep division within the presidential system if the two sides disagree, it can be very difficult to enact legislation or concur on appointments to the Supreme Court  [3]  , famously described by Rauch under the term of demosclerosis. However, few examples of a unified government since WWII demonstrate that unification does not guarantee efficient, informed, timely and effective public policy  [4]  , as seen under Jimmy Carters administration and due to the individualist based nature of US politics rather then party orientated. In fact the potential delays associated with dual democratic legitimacy ensures that policies are not rushed and are mutual accepted by both the executive and legislature. The third branch of the presidential system is the Supreme Court, yet Schubert has shown that it is only since 1957 has the supreme court began to exert its power over the congress and president by asserting its constitutional right to veto laws it deems unconstitutional. Previously to this the Supreme Court had only struck down Presidents actions fourteen times, failing to maintain an effective separation of power by undermining the system of balance and checks that the US model is based on.  [5]  A more independent and aggressive judiciary helps to ensure that the constitutional rights of the public are preserved and to limit the powers of the executive and legislative. However there still remains the capacity for a combined, presidential, congressional and federal over turning of the Supreme Court ruling so as to ensure the balance of power remains. Though the British parliament encompasses a number of similarities with the US model such as a bicameral legislative and three branched system, it still remains profoundly different in how these institutions are created and distributed. Most importantly only the legislative is democratically legitimate. This means that the executive originates from and is appointed by the legislative. This has a number of critical implications. Without the potential legitimacy conflicts that may occur in America the government can rule much more efficiently and quickly then the grid locked Presidential model. However the executive is prevented from abusing this power by the fact they have no democratic power base and as such, are accountable to the legislative by a vote of confidence. This allows a flexibility in the parliamentary system that America lacks. If the government suffers from ineptitude, an unworkable hung government or national crisis the government can be expelled and new elections call ed. This has only occurred once in Britain in 1979 when the minority government of Labours Callaghan was removed with a vote of no confidence when the government had become hung and ineffective  [6]  . The UK also has an unelected head of state, albeit a de jure power role. Though this is extremely undemocratic when compared to the US system, monarchists argue that the royal family acts as a symbolic vessel for all the heritage and wisdom of the previous generations and is a fundamental institution of the British consciousness. The same can also be said for the lower house of the UKs bicameral legislative. The house of Lords is another unelected part of the parliament, albeit much less influential then the house of parliament. This gives the parliament a stability, in its continuity that the permanently changing congress lacks, even if this is at the expense of democratic inclusiveness. The house of Lords also acts as the highest judiciary court of the parliamentary system. They can repeal government decisions only by legal precedents as the UK has no constitution. This streamlines the political structure and thus reduces the opportunity for inter-branch conflict which would slow down and inhibit the mechanism of governing as demonstrated by the demosclerosis that occurs in the US. However this is an obvious merging of powers and allows room for the abuse of power and conflict of interests, and as such is a serious flaw in the UK system. The traditional form that parliament or legislature takes is that of a majoriatarian, where there is one dominant party with a majority of seats (51 %plus). With Britains tradition of a ministers loyalty to their party and the whip system, they have very disciplined parties compared to America. This allows the party with an absolute majority to pass their legislative quickly and efficiently. Whereas in the US, despite the importance of party labels, member of Congress are independent players who vote not primarily out of party loyalty but to advance their constituency and career interests  [7]  . This means that the fluidic environment of Congress relies on undisciplined parties in order for it to function in a divided government, the existence of a whip system in such a divided government would produce comprehensive grid lock. This is a final example of the inherent indigenous nature of politics, what works in one state may not work in another. This is evident in the wide spread failure of president democracies such as in South Vietnam. Americas attempts during the Cold War to remake the third world in its image have obviously been an over-riding disaster. Both these systems require a number of prerequisites in the nation they are being implemented in. America requires a lack of ideological rigidity, undisciplined parties and locally-orientated politics  [8]  , whereas Britain needs public deference to its political rulers and an allegiance to authority. So despite each systems blatant imperfections they are ideally suited to the two entirely different nations they exist in.

Child Abuse and Neglect Essay -- Violence Against Children

Did you know that in 2011, nearly five children died every day in America from child abuse and neglect? In this research paper I will discuss what is child abuse and neglect. Then, we will discover why some parents choose to abuse their children. Next, I will dive into a discussion about the long term effects of child abuse. Finally, we will explore what age groups are affected by abuse. What is child abuse and neglect? According to Child Help, there are different forms of abuse. There is physical abuse which means any non- accidental injury to a child which includes hitting, kicking, slapping, burning, hair pulling, throwing, and whipping. There is also sexual abuse which is any sexual act between an adult and a child. This would be fondling, intercourse, and pornography. Example of another type of abuse would be emotional abuse which is any attitude or behavior that interferes with a child’s mental health. This would include yelling, screaming, shaming, and name-calling. What is neglect? Well this means a failure to provide for a child’s physical needs. There are different types of neglect such as physical, educational, emotional, medical. Physical neglect is leaving a child alone for an excessive period of time given the child's age and cognitive abilities. Educational neglect is when the Schmidt2 child is not allowed to attend school. Emotional neglect is when the parent encouraging the child to steal or engage in other illegal activities. Medical neglect is withholding medically indicated treatment from disabled infants with life-threatening conditions.Which would include a lack of supervision, inappropriate clothing for the weather, and denial of medical care. Most people wonder why parents choose to abuse their children... ...their children get an automatic child abuse charge and usually get their children taken away. Also sometimes parents have to take parenting classes to show they know they made mistakes. Work Cited Streetman, Cori P. "NATIONAL CHILDREN'S ALLIANCE." National Children's Alliance Digital Media Kit. National Children's Alliance, 2009. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. Young, Daphne. "National Child Abuse Statistics." Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse. Child Help, 2013. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. Smith, Melinda. "Child Abuse & Neglect." : Recognizing, Preventing and Reporting Child Abuse. Help Guide, Aug. 2013. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. Berman, Laura. "Effects of Sexual Abuse." Oprah.com. N.p., 2013. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. McLean, Lynne. "What Is Child Abuse?" Collin County Children's Advocacy Center: Short and Long Term Effects of Abuse. Children's Advocacy Center, 2013. Web. 27 Nov. 2013.

The Struggle in Sylvia Plaths Lady Lazarus Essay -- Lady Lazarus Essa

The Struggle in Lady Lazarus  Ã‚  Ã‚      Lady Lazarus repeats the struggle between Nazi and Jew which is used in Daddy, with the Nazi atrocities a background across which the amazing, self-renewing speaker strides. The speaker orchestrates every aspect of her show, attempting to undermine the power an audience would normally have over her. She controls her body, instead of being a passive object of other eyes. The speaker orders her enemy to Peel off the napkin, telling the audience that there is a charge for her performance, but death to her is nothing but a big strip tease. Do I terrify? she asks rhetorically, she knows her effect on them. Lady Lazarus intentionally contributes to the spectacle that fetishises her; she compartmentalises herself, These are my hands, / My knees, harshly mocking the gentlemen and ladies as she reveals their morbid avidity. She is both pitying and scornful: Do not think I underestimate your great concern. Her disenfleshment at the hands of the enemy, viewed avidly by the peanut-crunching crowd, is something that she wills, just as ...

Thorn Queen Chapter Twenty-Five

Leith stood there, frozen, eyes on the gun. Finally, swallowing, he slowly lifted his gaze to my face. He was pale, so pale that he could have been on the verge of passing out. â€Å"Eugenie†¦you're hurt†¦are you okay? There's blood on your bandage†¦.† I didn't doubt it and didn't bother to check. â€Å"Stop it. Just stop your fucking concerned act. I don't want to hear it.† In the corners of my eyes, I saw the gentry girls edge their way toward me like some sort of honor guard. I started to tell them to back off, but Leith had no real magic, and I was the one with the gun. â€Å"What are you†¦? It-it's not an act, I swear it. I care about you. I love you.† â€Å"Love me?† I snarled. â€Å"People in love don't fucking drug and rape other people!† â€Å"It wasn't rape. Did I ever hurt you? Did I beat you?† For a moment, I was so stunned that I couldn't even speak. â€Å"You†¦you're serious, aren't you? You really believe that? You really believe you didn't do anything wrong!† â€Å"It was the only way I could convince you†¦the only way I could convince you that we're meant to be together. Normal courtship didn't work. Neither did Mother's attempt to just capture you and bring you to the Rowan-â€Å" â€Å"Her attempt to what?† â€Å"She used her magic to bind the power of several animals together and-â€Å" â€Å"Jesus Christ! That was her?† Katrice had sent Smokey to bring me back for Leith. Lovely. Girard had mentioned her love of woodland animals but not her ability to control them. â€Å"Look,† Leith rambled desperately. â€Å"We'd be a great team-you know we would. We'd have two kingdoms. You saw what I was able to do to help yours! With your power and my ingenuity-â€Å" â€Å"Ingenuity?† I cried. I would have laughed if it wasn't all so horrible. â€Å"You have none! You've got a tiny bit more technological know-how than the average gentry, but everything else you stole from humans. You traded it in exchange for these girls' self-respect. You didn't even have the balls to kidnap from your own people!† Again, much like when he'd raped me, I wished he'd be more belligerent. This idyllic, faux love was worse. It made everything he'd done to me worse. I could feel my temper surging, anger racing through me. I could hardly see because of my fury. Or maybe it was the blood loss. Odder still was a strange shift in the air, a cooling off. It had been humid and stuffy before, but it was definitely cooler now. Not in the way that heralded a Volusian appearance but something different altogether that I couldn't quite put my finger on. â€Å"I won't do it again, I swear. If that's what you want, if that's what'll make you happy and let us be together†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He took a step toward me, and I fired a warning shot that just cleared his arm and hit the cupboard behind him. He promptly stopped moving, face going paler still. â€Å"Don't move!† I screamed. â€Å"Don't even think about touching me.† I still couldn't believe it, still couldn't believe he was going on like this. I kept thinking about what it had been like in bed with him, that forcing and total violation of my body. Once more, there was a slight shift in the air, and I realized what it was. The barometric pressure. I didn't know how I knew, but I did. It was dropping. Rapidly. Ozone wafted through the air. â€Å"I love you,† he said in a small voice. â€Å"You are a self-centered, fucking asshole rapist,† I replied evenly. â€Å"And I-I am the Thorn Queen.† As the words left my mouth, I suddenly understood what Dorian had meant about me needing to believe I was queen. In that moment, I did. And a person like Leith did not do something like that to someone like me. â€Å"I'm the Thorn Queen,† I repeated. Now the air stirred, around us, causing the curtains to flutter and a few things to fall off the counter. â€Å"And you are going to pay for what you've done.† â€Å"Eugenie, stop. Put the gun down.† I lifted my eyes from Leith's cringing form, and this time, I did laugh-but it was more of a choking sound. Kiyo, Dorian, and Roland stood in the entrance to the kitchen. My saviors. After leaving that front door open when Art had come home, it was like anyone could just traipse right in. â€Å"Jesus Christ,† I said. â€Å"You guys are a little too late.† It was Kiyo who had spoken, his face tense and worried. â€Å"Everyone needs to calm down. You got him, Eugenie. It's over. Put the gun away now.† Roland was tense too, his face unreadable as he stood with his own gun. Beside him, Dorian didn't seem overly worried, but there was none of that usual laughter on his face. â€Å"You don't know what he's done,† I growled. â€Å"You keep talking about mercy, but at some point it has to end. He needs to die.† The wind grew stronger. Some of my hair whipped in my face, but I had no free hand to brush it aside. â€Å"I didn't do anything!† exclaimed Leith. He looked to the other men, face desperate and pleading. â€Å"I won her fairly. You know how it is. Back in the old days, that's how it was. The man who caught the queen became king. If she's pregnant, she's my common-law wife.† I saw disgust on Roland's face, his hand tightening on the gun. He started to lift it, but Kiyo, still apparently the spokesperson, made a small motion that caused my stepfather to lower the gun back down. Slightly. â€Å"That tradition is like a thousand years old,† Kiyo told Lieth. â€Å"It means nothing anymore. She's not yours.† â€Å"Besides,† I said, my gaze back on Lieth. â€Å"Do you really think I'd have your baby if I didn't want to? If I'm pregnant, it's an easy problem to fix.† His mouth dropped open. â€Å"You wouldn't†¦that's blasphemous†¦Ã¢â‚¬  And indeed it was among the child-hungry gentry. Abortion was nothing I relished either, but there was no way on this earth I would bear a child born of such brutality. A gust of wind suddenly picked up considerably, nearly knocking me over. The kitchen window shattered. Kiyo was still unmoved. â€Å"Eugenie, stop it. Stop the magic. Put the gun down. We'll take him and the girls back. We'll deal with him in the Otherworld.† â€Å"How can you say that?† I shouted. â€Å"You heard him! How can you let him walk after all this? You don't know what he's done!† â€Å"He doesn't necessarily have to go free,† argued Kiyo. â€Å"There are other ways.† A blinding flash suddenly burst in the kitchen, leaving me dazzled and unable to see for a moment. At the same instance, there was a crackling roar, so loud that I thought my eardrums would burst. And like that, the means to control lightning clicked in my brain. I understood the patterns, what I needed to summon it-and how to work my emotion into it as Ysabel had said. I set the gun on the counter. â€Å"I don't need this,† I told Leith. The wind was roaring around us now, knocking objects everywhere, blowing my hair like a cloud of fire. I was the center of the storm. A very, very faint roll of thunder-nowhere near as loud as the last one-sounded around us. I turned my gaze to Leith, wondering if my violet eyes had darkened the way Storm King's had when angry. â€Å"I'm going to suck the air from you and then blast you out of existence with lightning.† Leith sank to his knees. â€Å"Please†¦please don't do this†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The same words I'd uttered to him the first time he'd assaulted me. The storm raged more strongly around me. â€Å"I'm the Storm Queen,† I said in a low voice. â€Å"And you will pay for what you've done to me.† Kiyo took a step forward. I knew him well enough to guess his thoughts. He was considering attacking me but too greatly feared what I could do with the magic as it grew stronger and stronger. He made one last desperate plea. â€Å"If you care anything about your people-about those girls-you won't do this. He's a prince. You kill him, and his mother will declare war on you. You think the drought was bad? Imagine armies sweeping in and devastating your land. Villages burned. Innocent people killed. Is that what you want? Can you do that to them?† Around us, the storm raged, and within me, my hate for Leith was a storm of its own, a poison running through my veins. I wanted him to suffer. I wanted him blighted. I wanted him dead. He could not be allowed to be free of his sins. And yet†¦somewhere in all that hate, all that fury, Kiyo's words penetrated. Is that what you want? Can you do that to them? I stared at Leith for several more heavy seconds. And then, bit by bit, the storm began to recede. No more lightning. The wind faded. Clouds vaporized. The pressure rose to levels similar to those outside. Leith sagged in relief, and I noticed how ragged my breathing was from the exertion of such power. â€Å"No,† I said softly, feeling all the energy run out of me. I was tired. So, so tired. â€Å"I don't want a war. I†¦I can't unleash something like that.† Then, for the first time so far, Dorian spoke. â€Å"I can,† he said. And before anyone really realized what was happening, he strode across the kitchen. His sword came out from its sheath, brilliant and deadly in the light, and he plunged it straight into Leith's body. The Rowan Prince stiffened, eyes going wide, as Dorian pushed the blade further into Leith's stomach. Time stood still for all of us. I don't think anyone-well, except for Dorian-really believed it had happened. A moment later, Dorian jerked the sword out in one swift, harsh motion. Leith's body fell to the ground. Dorian had used the new sword, I realized, the iron-laced one Girard had made. Blood poured out from where it had impaled Leith, as well as from his lips. It was a hundred times worse than the mess Art had left, and as that deep red liquid pooled and pooled, a bizarre image of blooming roses floated across my mind. I wondered if I was going to pass out. Kiyo surged forward, like he might save Leith, but we all knew it was too late. The prince was already dead. Kiyo turned to Dorian in rage. â€Å"What have you done?† Dorian's face was calm, voice smooth as he slid the sword-blood and all-back into its sheath. â€Å"What you should have done.† Kiyo stared at Dorian, who returned the gaze squarely. Kiyo's face was a mixture of many things: outrage, shock, fear. â€Å"You have no idea what you've done†¦what you've unleashed†¦what you've unleashed on her†¦.† Dorian glanced down at Leith's body, then Art's, and then back to Leith. The look of contempt on his face clearly showed just how beneath his acknowledgment they were. They were not even worth his notice, not even worth regarding as people as far as Dorian was concerned. He looked back up at Kiyo. â€Å"I know what I've done. And do you think I'd really abandon her to the consequences? Leave her alone to them? Besides†¦Ã¢â‚¬  A wry smirk crossed Dorian's face. â€Å"I'm the one who did it. I'm the one Katrice will come after.† Kiyo shook his head. â€Å"No. She'll come after both of you. You shouldn't have done it.† After what felt like an eternity, my voice had finally come back to me. I wet my lips, trying to speak. â€Å"Maybe,† I whispered. â€Å"Maybe he should have†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Silence fell over us all, thick and heavy. Kiyo gave me a look†¦I couldn't fully interpret it. â€Å"You're in shock. You don't what you're saying. We'll get you and the girls back to the Otherworld. Art's records might show us how to track the others.† I looked back and forth between his and Dorian's faces. I wouldn't go so far as to say I hated all men, exactly, but suddenly, I just couldn't be with either of them, even though I loved them both. Plus, at the moment, I didn't want anything to do with the Otherworld. I shook my head. â€Å"No. Take the girls†¦I'm not going.† Dorian arched an eyebrow. â€Å"What will you do?† I turned toward Roland for the first time in a while. He still had his gun, but it was lowered now. He'd been ready to attack the whole time but had been content to let the other two men take the lead in this. Later, I would have to find out how this motley crew had banded together. Right now†¦right now I was more concerned with the look on Roland's face. He was regarding me like he didn't know me. I felt a piece of my heart break. â€Å"I want†¦Ã¢â‚¬  And to my shame, I felt tears burn in my eyes, which was just stupid. Throughout this entire week, I'd never cried. I'd taken it all straight-faced. I'd fought and killed today without remorse. Now†¦now it was like a lifetime of sorrow was coming out of me. â€Å"I want to go home,† I said. The tears escaped, running down my cheeks. â€Å"I want to see my mom.† For a second, I thought Roland was going to turn away, condemn me as the half-gentry he'd always feared I would turn into, the one who'd lied to him about her involvement in the Otherworld. I think if he had turned away, I would have died then and there. Instead, he held out his hand. I couldn't actually bring myself to take it. I didn't think I could let anyone touch me right now. I loved all the men here, but right now, I was inexplicably afraid of them. Still, I felt safe leaving with Roland. Roland was my father. Understanding my feelings, he lowered his hand and simply beckoned. I approached him, stepping over the bodies in the kitchen. â€Å"Okay,† Roland said softly, his own eyes shining with tears. â€Å"Let's go home.†

The Pragmatic Education Philosophy

Pragmatism emerged from the writings of John Dewey who believed that experimentation was the best approach for educating young minds. For example, pragmatists feel that field trips, educational excursions etc are more effective in teaching students about the world instead of audio-visual aids. Pragmatism includes such as thoughts as futurism, and educational humanism and Reconstructionism. Pragmatic education philosophy doesn't assign a traditional role to the teachers who are only seen as guides and not exactly more knowledgeable beings. George R. Knight in his book on education philosophies explained that pragmatism focuses on real life experiences as the main source of knowledge and education. They gives the example of field trips as he says that for a child to learn about dairy products, its better to take him to a barn and let him experience the whole thing himself instead of showing him a movie on the subject. (p. 75) Idealism is an important philosophy that gained greater influence over education in the 20th century and was not so popular prior to that. It has been present in the educational field for a long time emphasizing the reality of ideas, thoughts, and mind over material and matter. William E. Hocking who is a modern thinker in this area maintained that due to emphasis on ideas; this philosophy should have been called â€Å"idea-ism† instead of idealism. This is because idealism is more concerned with intrinsic values such as honesty, truth, courage etc while idealism in the case of education stresses the importance of ideas, thoughts and mind precisely. Educationists working on idealistic philosophies would concentrate more on the development of ideas instead of more physical things believing that this would lead to action automatically. Students are taught that they create or produce what they think and they are told to strive for perfection. Realism is more or less a reaction to idealism. This philosophy maintains that material and physical world exists independent of ideas and thoughts. Whether we think about a mountain or not, it does exist. It will exist even if we don't think about it or have never had an idea of what a mountain is like. Realist educationists would want students to learn through their senses of smell, feel, and taste since they believe in the existence of the natural world. They also maintain that the best way is to learn through experiencing the physical world. Nature plays an important role here as educationist would prefer to teach through observation of natural order. The teachers with realistic bend of mind would want students to development judgment and ethics by experiencing and observing the world. Behavior psychology is also one of the important branches of study for realist educationists. Existentialism philosophy focuses on emotions more than the intellect. The person, his values, beliefs, ideals, and identity are of greater importance than his intellectual capacity and for this reason it views education in slightly negative light. This is because they feel that a student learning through traditional educational means would become nothing more than a pawn in capitalist world. To become a whole and healthy human being who has a unique personality and thinking capacity, it is important to allow the students to explore the world on their own. â€Å"Existentialism is not a philosophy but a label for several widely different revolts against traditional philosophy. Most of the living â€Å"existentialists† have repudiated this label, and a bewildered outsider might well conclude that the only thing they have in common is a marked aversion for each other. (Kaufmann: 75) The teacher in this case would be seen as a facilitator instead of an authoritarian figure. Existentialism supports the idea of allowing students all possible answers to a question instead of handing them down one answer as the only and final solution. Existentialism has something in common with pragmatism as both advocate a curriculum based on individual needs instead of fixed theories and ideas.