The Emerald Forest Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Emerald Forest - Essay Example This cleaning of forests angered the tribes living in the forests known as the Invisible people and The Fierce People (â€Å"The Emerald Forest†). The story gets its real essence when one-day Markhem takes his family for a tour of the forest and his son Tommy gets abducted by the Invisible people (â€Å"The Emerald Forest†). The invisible people are environmental friendly people, who are very close to nature considering it as their friend and living happily in their forest in their own community unless Markhem comes to destroy their peace and take away their home (â€Å"The Emerald Forest†). They kidnap his son because they assume that Westerners or termites as they call them are the destroyers of the world, but the child is innocent and so should not live with these murderers. Tommy is adopted by the chief of the tribe Wanadi who loves and brings him up as his son. Markhem searches a lot for Tommy but does not find him until after ten years when Tommy rescues hi m while fleeing for his life from the Fierce People (â€Å"The Emerald Forest†). Markhem asks Tommy to return to him and his world but Tommy refuses and says that now his world is this forest and his people are his tribe. Markhem even asks their chief Wanadi, who is the authority of the Invisible People to convince Tommy to return but Wanadi says that â€Å"If I tell a man to do what he does not want to do, I may no longer be the chief.† Meaning that even being the authority there he has no right to force people to do something they don’t want to do.... The chief does not give any command or order to his people, not even his son to follow, rather he understands that it is the basic right of every human being to follow his will and wish (â€Å"Proyect†). However in the modern western world, lives of humans are ruled by orders and commandments given sometimes by their parents, sometimes by teachers, later by their employees, and overall by the governments, policemen etc (â€Å"Proyect†). It was not just that there was a wide gap between the authority structures of these two societies but their entire life style, culture, norms, traditions etc all were opposite. The people of the traditional societies still use artillery, spears and arrows to fight and they walk to cover long distances (â€Å"The Emerald Forest†). The use of technology is very limited or almost nonexistent in their lives as they are closer to nature and lives together. In contrast to them, modern western society uses technology to a large extent (à ¢â‚¬Å"The Emerald Forest†). There are modern methods of fighting like machine guns and bombs, aero planes, railways cars etc to travel to far away distances in just hours, large machines are used for construction and to cut off forests. This advancement in technology has both its benefits and costs (â€Å"The Emerald Forest†). With technology comes the easiness to do things and time gets saved in travelling. As Wanadi says to Markhem â€Å"When I was a boy, the edges of the world was very far away, but it comes closer each year.† However with benefits comes the cost too. As more vehicles are produced, so have the pollution from air, land and water increased as well (â€Å"The Emerald Forest†). This pollution is destroying our respiratory system by going inside us

Personal Statement Essay Example for Free

Personal Statement Essay I am a young person who finds education very significant to man’s life. I set goals for myself in order to be successful in everything I do. I am active both in academics and social works. I have joined in numerous extra curricular activities such as in organizations including clubs and excel on my academic subjects at the same time. Lending a hand to our fellows is such a noble and satisfying experience. I have an amazing experience that is really worth remembering for. Life is all about giving and making others happy. Extending an arm to someone in need is one way of saying thank you to God for the blessings I have received each day. I been blessed abundantly and I want to share what God has entrusted to me. There is no such joy when you see someone being blessed and joyful because of what you have done for him or her. I believe that Nursing is caring, it is an art, a science, client centered, holistic, adaptive, concerned with health promotion, health maintenance, and health restoration and most of all I firmly agree that Nursing is a helping profession. It is the nurse’s responsibilities to take care of the client who are in need of health attention. We should be able to help the client relieve his feelings of pain or in other words to alleviate the sufferings of the client but not to the extent that they will be too dependent on us for all activities they will do. They should also be responsible enough to look after themselves and do care for their own bodies like in terms of hygiene, taking of home medications or prescribed medications and to follow the orders of the health team. Most adults care for themselves, whereas infants and people weakened by illness or disability require assistance with self-care activities. To assist those who are incapable of doing self care needs. To help them recover from their illness in order for them to regain their strength and return to their well fit bodies. Clients should be responsible to provide themselves with their personal care needs that sometimes nurses cannot take track due to other responsibilities. Because nursing theory was used primarily to establish the profession’s place in the university, it is not surprising that nursing theory became more firmly established in academia than in clinical practice. It is much advisable to be theoretically competent, that is to excel in the education of nursing, before one can render great service to those who are in health need. One should be able to provide emotional support to those individuals who are ill not just physically but as well as emotionally, nurses should also provide spiritual environment towards the clients so as to give light to their emotions and also guidance. This passion started way back my childhood days. I have seen how horrible the health care system was and witnessed a lot of people who have poor health conditions and my heart really went out with them. I could not believe of what I have witnessed so after witnessing such heart failing scenario, I started dreaming to be a nurse. When I was in my elementary and high school years, I always cracked my books and studied hard, especially in science related subjects, and that determination made me a competent student. Thus, learning the science concepts will transport me to a higher level of science studies that would fulfill my dream to be a nurse. In addition, I know deep in my heart that I am not equipped enough in this area however I am more than willing to learn and spend more time than traditional nurse students in order to build my science foundation. I will not give up this dream of mine until I will achieve it. Moreover, I am a diligent student and never give up easily. I really work hard to achieve my goal. Whatever the people might think of me I believe it is never too late as long as I am sure and motivated that this is the path I want to take in. Moreover, my dream to be a nurse motivated me to involve in science experiments and investigations. I indulged and exposed myself in these studies, so I can gain knowledge and be equipped. The laboratory research exposure has strengthened my investigative and organizational abilities while also becoming familiar with the functions of a medical research department. While the clinical exposure have taught me what it is like to become a nurse, their daily routine, the problem and issue encounter and most importantly how to interact with patients with warmth and encouragement.

A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty

A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty At an early age, authors Abhijit and Esther knew already that poverty existed. Through stories and observation, they were aware about the situation yet these did not satisfied them instead it motivated them to study, to enhance their knowledge and understand why poverty is such a problem that eliminating it is very difficult. The two authors have lots of question and because of that they made this book Poor Economic: A radical rethinking of the way to fight global poverty. Affected by outstanding generalization with the undisclosed frontline solutions about poverty and economics, the authors plead to several opinions and investigation to check on how poor managed to fight poverty. They were very concerned about the situation and wishes to let us see the other side of eliminating poverty. In addition to that, why does poor people cannot entirely get away with the problem despite the full efforts of the government of technologically advanced countries and private organization? There ar e a lot of solutions but it is not completely effective or not the answer that the people really need. Spanning five continents to find solution, authors engaged in research for 15 years to investigate about global poverty and illuminate many practical and cost effective ways on fighting it. Through the years, I have always known that poverty is not a secret and is very rampant all over the world. Up to the present time and with everyone helping, why is it still there? Covering many valuable issues, this book is a great way to understand and discover the problems that many countries experience that may or may not contribute to poverty. This is a must-read book for all those people who cares about poverty, its nature and the people who is suffering from it. There are a lot of factors to consider when we tackle about poverty. A lot of issues that needs to be uncovered and solutions that needs to be evaluated over and over again to ensure its effectivity. In this book review, I am hoping that I can give justice to what these author is trying to say and giving my own opinion on the things they have discovered. My teacher told me that economics is a positive change in the fall of the production of goods and services of a certain country. I believe that it means equity, equali ty, in equilibrium with the supply and demand. Although there is a positive rise and fall in one country, it doesn’t mean that everyone or every nation are able to experience that. One country may have all the resources while others don’t have even just a clean water to drink. How can one place have an equilibrium when it actually has a little resources that affects the supply for every demand? It is in that manner that poverty really becomes a problem. The book helps us to understand why poor needs to borrow in order to save, although their children go to school they often do not learn, they miss out on free life-saving immunizations as well as paying drugs that they do not need and living on 99 cents a day. Battling poverty needs patience, careful thinking and willingness to learn. In the book, poverty trap was mentioned. As an example, poor countries are poor because they are hot, infertile, malaria infested and often land locked making it hard for the people to be productive without an initial large investment to help them deal with these endemic problems thus lack of modern technologies to help them progress. Coupled with having no possible resources for funding and payment for the ventures, these contribute in worsening poverty. I believe it is true because how can you start saving when you even can’t find a way to find income sources. A person can’t plant in an infertile soil so he has no products to sell and no investors that will finance a business providing loads of work for the local helping them earn a living. No access to good education is also stated in this book. In reality, education is a vital requirement find a decent job and make a living for yourself and for the family. As a solution foreign aid was mentioned to be the key. Billions of aid funds are being used to fight poverty, yet very small amount of work had been completed in analyzing their outcomes. Does foreign aid really help the poor countries? Is it enou gh? Based on what I have seen in the past years, there are people who really strive in working for a better life but the resources are really not enough making difficult for them to really earn enough to sustain their daily needs and wants. Indeed, some poor people managed to have their own stories of success in starting businesses but sadly it never went high enough to provide jobs to other individuals. Some have businesses but does not make much money. Although, they have monthly income but there are also a lot of deductions such as rent, daily expenses for food and other needs of the family which make it hard for them to really save. These results to unavailability of purchasing stocks for their store leading to bankruptcy. So a portion of the cause why businesses of the poor don’t grow is the nature of the businesses they operate and how they handle their profit. For the past years, foreign aid helped a lot of people all over the world making it one of the important solut ions in fighting poverty. Undoubtedly, the most significant goal why nations seek out and agree to take foreign aid is for the purpose of economic progress. Developed Countries are considered to have a moral obligation to help and to assist the poorer countries to have a sustainable progressive lives. Other advantage of foreign aid is the improvement of health through delivery of health teachings, medicines and equipment. Receiving money for investment from developed countries supports to produce more jobs for the people, improved infrastructure, and stabilize their economy. Foreign aid has other advantages, such as fighting hunger, saving lives and providing civilians with shelters, clean water and medicine. Although it is quite easy to believe that, some people argue the capability of foreign aid to really help combat the insufficiency in food, shelter, job and other resources needed by the poor individuals. Foreign aid’s usefulness is usually unassessed or even though it is being assessed, the approached may sometimes not convincing at all. Some also argue that it prevents people to search for their own solution. It makes sense that because of foreign aid, some people tend to wait for rich countries to help without even trying to search for possible solutions. It builds a culture of dependency that is keeping poverty difficult to fight and as a result poor remains poor. Aside from that, anti-aid people does not believe about the presence of poverty trap which I do not agree. Indeed, there is a presence of different views which I think both have point to share. An inconvenience of foreign aid is a higher percentage of dependency from the rich nations. The leaders of poor countrie s that accept aid gains reliance on a secured movement where they can support the people of their nation, they can also put money to other areas of the country which require funding. Foreign help can also be used to situate poor nations in political or economic pressure leading to being in debt with the supporting country. What could be really the effective way to abolish poverty? Moreover, solutions come with problem like for example, the reluctance to take risk and difficulty in trusting a possible investor, the poor wasted an opportunity. As mentioned in this book, poor nations usually have a very large family size. Absence of family planning and access to contraception methods in overpopulated families makes fighting poverty difficult. As a result, many experienced increase financial burden leading to low education rates and medical care. Politicians all over the world, private citizen, economists and every people who are trying to help, fail to recognize the exceptional reasons that lead to poverty for example attempting to erase it that usually attempts to eradicate it are usually foolish. Contrary to what we think, poor individuals need more of something than just food or money. In reality, the poor need programs that allows them to have a chance to succeed and fight poverty. To support that statement, I strongly agree to give these individuals the necessary opportunities, lots of them, yet they still need to work for it. In addition to that, I consider poverty a weakness but not a disability that will weaken your spirit in doing something for yourself. For example, if your land is infertile, sight other resources that you may use aside from that useless land. I strongly believe that all problems have their own sets of solutions, it’s a matter of discovery and resourcefulness. Besides many people are trying their best to help and give support to each individual who are suffering. The book is designed to answer questions and help us understand why fighting poverty is not easy. It tackled a lot of solutions not being used or understand properly. Helping through funding is good as long as choosing the right kind of project will be prioritize. For example food for the indigent, pensions for the elderly and clinics for the diseased infected areas where everyone making sure figuring how best to run it. Deciding on helping the less fortunate when we can will make a difference, understanding that poverty is merely not just having money but not really having enough capability in realizing their full potential as a human being are just some realization I have learned from this book. I believe there are a lot of things to be considered and properly planned to ensure that what we think poor people needs is really what they are needing. Aside from that, both public and private actions should be done. In addition, proper planning for more accessible pathways should really be considered for every poverty causing factors. For education, the government should have encouragement programs to ensure parents compliance in making their children go to school. Roadways should be accessible and safe for everyone especially for the students. Free education is really a big help and should be instilled its importance to the poor. Funding health teachings through seminars, conference, and house to house visit about family planning is a must also. Everyone has the right to progress and poverty is just an obstacle. Although it is very hard but I believe everything has solution that still needs to be discovered in the near future that will really eradicate poverty completely. As long as everyone will help one another genuinely and the presence of the people who takes time to study and search for an answer, it will never be that far. In correlation, I believe that poor people in poor nations should also do something for themselves and merely not accept the fact that th ey are poor, they must not just wait for us to give something or help them to achieve something for themselves. They must acquire valuing their own strength and actions in order to realize that absence of action there is no development. Development needs skills and cleverness, when inhabitants feel safe and assured adequately, they will invest in their kids and let them leave home to get new occupations in the metropolis. These possibilities might be wrong but trying to do these will develop the lives of the deprived and merely not waiting for economic evolution which remains unbearable. To the degree that we distinguish how to get rid of poverty, there is no purpose to endure the waste of lives and ability that poverty passes with it. As this book presented, even though we have no charmed potions to wipe out poverty, we do recognize a number of things about how to develop the poor people’s lives.

Shakespeares Macbeth - Lady Macbeth Far Worse than Macbeth :: GCSE English Literature Coursework

Lady Macbeth Far Worse than Macbeth      Lady Macbeth is depicted as being much worse than her husband in Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth. Although they both think of murdering King Duncan as soon as they hear the witches' prophecies, Macbeth thinks more about what he may or may not do, whereas Lady Macbeth immediately appeals to evil spirits to give her the strength to kill Duncan. When Macbeth first hears the prophecies, and when the prophecies begin to be fulfilled, he does think of killing the king, but also, towards the end of Act 1, Scene 3, he thinks that perhaps he doesn't need to do anything to become the king : "If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me without my stir." On the other hand, Lady Macbeth, on receiving the letter telling her about the witches' prophecies, she immediately thinks that she and Macbeth will have to kill king Duncan. She also decides that Macbeth is too nice to kill the king, sayin that he "is too ful o' the milk of human kindness" and when she hears the Duncan will visit their castle that night, she immediately appeals to the evil spirits, to (ironically) give her the strength to kill the king. In Act 1, Scene 7,   Macbeth is doubtfull of Lady Macbeth's plot to kill the king. He doesn't think that he will be able to live with the guilt of killing his king while he is staying under his very roof, and then decides that he will not kill the king. This shows that Macbeth is thinking about what he is going to do, and shows that he does feel guilt and is weighing up the situation, unlike Lady Macbeth who never thinks twice about killing the king. When Lady Macbeth notices that Macbeth has left the room, she goes to speak to him. Macbeth firmly tells her that they will not kill the king : "we will proceed no further in this business".   Lady Macbeth, however, tells him that his love is worth nothing if he refuses to go through with the plan, saying that his love is as accountable as his indecisiveness. Macbeth wants his wife to love him and wants her to trust him, so he agrees to go through with their plan. The way Macbeth questions and thinks about killing the king shows that he knows that killing the king is wrong and that he will feel guilty if he does so.

Gender Differences in Depression Essay

Abstract From early adolescence through adulthood, women are twice as likely as men to experience depression. Many different explanations for this gender difference in depression have been offered, but none seems to fully explain it. Recent research has focused on gender differences in stress responses, and in exposure to certain stressors. I review this research and describe how gender differences in stress experiences and stress reactivity may interact to create women’s greater vulnerability to depression. Keywords gender; depression; stress Across many nations, cultures, and ethnicities, women are about twice as likely as men to develop depression (Nolen-Hoeksema, 1990; Weissman et al., 1996). This is true whether depression is indexed as a diagnosed mental disorder or as subclinical symptoms. Diagnosable depressive disorders are extraordinarily common in women, who have a lifetime prevalence for major depressive disorder of 21.3%, compared with 12.7% in men (Kessler, McGonagle, Swartz, Blazer, & Nelson, 1993). Most explanations for the gender difference in depression have focused on individual variables, and studies have attempted to show that one variable is better than another in explaining the difference. In three decades of research, however, no one variable has single-handedly accounted for the gender difference in depression. In recent years, investigators have moved toward more integrated models, taking a transactional, developmental approach. Transactional models are appropriate because it is clear that depression impairs social and occupational functioning, and thus can have a major impact on an individual’s environment. Developmental models are appropriate because age groups differ markedly in the gender difference in depression. Girls are no more likely than boys to evidence depression in childhood, but by about age 13, girls’ rates of depression begin to increase sharply, whereas boys’ rates of depression remain low, and may even decrease. By late adolescence, girls are twice as likely as boys to be depressed, and this gender ratio remains more or less the same throughout adulthood. The absolute rates of depression in women and men vary substantially across the life span, however. In this review, I focus on two themes in recent research. First, because women have less power and status than men in most societies, they experience certain traumas, particularly sexual abuse, more often than men. They also experience more chronic strains, such as poverty, harassment, lack of respect, and constrained choices. Second, even when women and men experience the same stressors, women may be more likely than men to develop depression because of gender differences in biological responses to stressors, self-concepts, or coping styles. Frequent stressful experiences and reactivity to stress are likely to have reciprocal effects on each other. Stressful experiences can sensitize both biological and psychological systems to future stress, making it more likely that individuals will react with depression. In turn, reactivity to stress is associated with impaired problem solving, an d, as a result, with the accumulation or generation of new stressors, which may contribute to more depression. STRESSFUL LIFE EVENTS Women’s lack of social power makes them more vulnerable than men to specific major traumas, particularly sexual abuse. Traumas may contribute directly to depression, by making women feel they are helpless to control their lives, and may also contribute indirectly, by increasing women’s reactivity to stress. Women’s social roles also carry a number of chronic strains that might contribute directly or indirectly to depression. Major changes in the frequency of traumatic events and in social roles coincide with the emergence of gender differences in depression in adolescence, and may help to explain this emergence. Victimization Women are the victims of sexual assault—defined as being pressured or forced into unwanted sexual contact—at least twice as often as men, and people with a history of sexual assault have increased rates of depression (see Weiss, Longhurst, & Mazure, 1999). Sexual assault during childhood has been more consistently linked with the gender difference in depression than sexual assault that first occurs during adulthood. Estimates of the prevalence of childhood sexual assault range widely. Cutler and I reviewed the most methodologically 174 sound studies including both male and female participants and found rates of childhood sexual assault between 7 and 19% for females and between 3 and 7% for males (Cutler & Nolen-Hoeksema, 1991). We estimated that, in turn, as much as 35% of the gender difference in adult depression could be accounted for by the higher incidence of assault of girls relative to boys. A few studies have examined whether depression might be an antecedent rather than a consequence of sexual assault. Depression does appear to increase risk for sexual assault in women and men, but sexual assault significantly increases risk for first or new onsets of depression. Childhood sexual assault may increase risk for depression throughout the life span because abuse experiences negatively alter biological and psychological responses to stress (Weiss et al., 1999). Children and adolescents who have been abused, particularly those who have been repeatedly abused over an extended period of time, tend to have poorly regulated biological response to stress. Abuse experiences can also negatively alter children’s and adolescents’ perspectives on themselves and others, contributing to their vulnerability to depression (Zahn-Waxler, 2000). do nearly all the child care and domestic work of the home. In addition, women are increasingly â€Å"sandwiched† between carin g for young children and caring for sick and elderly family members. This role overload is said to contribute to a sense of â€Å"burn out† and general distress, including depressive symptoms, in women. In the context of heterosexual relationships, some women face inequities in the distribution of power over important decisions that must be made, such as the decision to move to a new city, or the decision to buy an expensive item such as a car (Nolen-Hoeksema, Larson, & Grayson, 1999). Even when they voice their opinions, women may feel these opinions are not taken seriously, or that their viewpoints on important issues are not respected and affirmed by their partners. My colleagues and I measured chronic strain by grouping inequities in workload and heterosexual relationships into a single variable, and found that this variable predicted increases in depression over time, and partially accounted for the gender difference in depression (Nolen-Hoeksema et al., 1999). Depression also contributed to increased chronic strain over time, probably bec ause it was associated with reductions in perceptions of control and effective problem solving. Girls also feel that if they pursue male-stereotyped activities and preferences, such as interests in math and science or in competitive sports, they are rejected by their peers. For many girls, especially white girls, popularity and social acceptance become narrowly oriented around appearance. This narrowing of acceptable behavior for girls in early adolescence may contribute to the increase in depression in girls at this time, although this popular theory has been the focus of remarkably little empirical research (NolenHoeksema & Girgus, 1994). There is substantial evidence that excessive concern about appearance is negatively associated with wellbeing in girls, but these findings may apply primarily to white girls. In addition, very little research has examined whether appearance concerns and gender roles are risk factors for depression or only correlates. REACTIVITY TO STRESS Even when women and men are confronted with similar stressors, women may be more vulnerable than men to developing depression and related anxiety disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder (Breslau, Davis, Andreski, Peterson, & Schultz, 1997). Women’s greater reactivity compared with men’s has been attributed to gender differences in biological responses, self-concepts, and coping styles. Biological Responses to Stress For many years, the biological explanations for women’s greater vulnerability to depression focused on the direct effects of the ovarian hormones (especially estrogen and progesterone) on women’s moods. This literature is too large and com- Chronic Strains Women face a number of chronic burdens in everyday life as a result of their social status and roles relative to men, and these strains could contribute to their higher rates of depression (see Nolen-Hoeksema, 1990). Women make less money than men, and are much more likely than men to live in poverty. Women are more likely than men to be sexually harassed on the job. Women often have full-time paid jobs and also Gender Intensification in Adolescence Social pressure to conform to gender roles is thought to increase dramatically as children move through puberty. For girls, this may mean a reduction in their opportunities and choices, either real or perceived. According to adolescents’ own reports, parents restrict girls’ more than boys’ behaviors and have lower expectations for girls’ than for boys’ competencies plicated to review here (but see Nolen-Hoeksema, 1990, 1995). Simply put, despite widespread popular belief that women are more prone to depression than men because of direct negative effects of estrogen or progesterone on mood, there is little consistent scientific evidence to support this belief. Although some women do become depressed during periods of hormonal change, including puberty, the premenstrual period of the menstrual cycle, menopause, and the postpartum period, it is unclear that these depressions are due to the direct effects of hormonal changes on mood, or that depressions during these periods of women’s lives account for the gender differences in rates of depression. More recent biological research has focused not on direct effects of ovarian hormones on moods, but on the moderating effects of hormones, particularly adrenal hormones, on responses to stress. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis plays a major role in regulating stress responses, in part by regulating levels of a number of hormones, including cortisol, which is released by the adrenal glands in response to chemicals secreted by the brain’s hypothalamus and then the pituitary. In turn, cortisol levels can affect other biochemicals known to influence moods. People with major depressive disorder often show elevated cortisol responses to stress, indicating dysregulation of the HPA response. An intriguing hypothesis is that women are more likely than men to have a dysregulated HPA response to stress, which makes them more likely to develop depression in response to stress (Weiss et al., 1999). Women may be more likely to have a dysregulated HPA response because they are more likely to have suffered traumatic events, which are known to contribute to HPA dysregulation. In addition, ovarian hormones modulate regulation of the HPA axis (Young & Korszun, 1999). Some women may have depressions during periods of rapid change in levels of ovarian hormones (the postpartum period, premenstrual period, menopause, and puberty) because hormonal changes trigger dysregulation of the stress response, making these women more vulnerable to depression, particularly when they are confronted with stress. The causal relationship between HPA axis regulation and the gender difference in depression has not been established but is likely to be a major focus of future research. Subordinate their own needs and desires completely to those of others, they become excessively dependent on the good graces of others (Cyranowski, Frank, Young, & Shear, 2000). They may then be at high risk for depression when conflicts arise in relationships, or relationships end. Several recent studies have shown that girls and women are more likely than boys and men to develop depression in response to interpersonal stressors. Because depression can also interfere with interpersonal functioning, an important topic for future research is whether the gender difference in depression is a consequence or cause of gender differences in interpersonal strain. Coping Styles By adolescence, girls appear to be more likely than boys to respond to stress and distress with rumination—focusing inward on feelings of distress and personal concerns rather than taking action to relieve their distress. This gender difference in rumination then is maintained throughout adulthood. Several longitudinal and experimental studies have shown that people who ruminate in response to stress are at increased risk to develop depressive symptoms and depressive disorders over time (Nolen-Hoeksema et al., 1999). In turn, the gender difference in rumination at least partially accounts for the gender difference in depression. Rumination may not only contribute directly to depression, but may also contribute indirectly by impairing problem solving, and thus preventing women from taking action to overcome the stressors they face. Self-Concept Although the idea that girls have more negative self-concepts than boys is a mainstay of the pop-psychology literature, empirical studies testing this hypothesis have produced mixed results (Nolen-Hoeksema & Girgus, 1994). Several studies have found no gender differences in self-esteem, self-concept, or dysfunctional attitudes. Those studies that do find gender differences, however, tend to show that girls have poorer self-concepts than boys. Again, negative self-concepts could contribute directly to depression, and could interact with stressors to contribute to depression. Negative self-concept has been shown to predict increases in depression in some studies of children (Nolen-Hoeksema & Girgus, 1994). One consistent difference in males’ and females’ self-concepts concerns interpersonal orientation, the tendency to be concerned with the status of one’s relationships and the opinions others hold of oneself. Even in childhood, girls appear more interpersonally oriented than boys, and this gender difference increases in adolescence (Zahn-Waxler, 2000). AN INTEGRATIVE MODEL Women suffer certain stressors more often than men and may be 176 more vulnerable to develop depression in response to stress because of a number of factors. Both stress experiences and stress reactivity contribute directly to women’s greater rates of depression compared with men. Stress experiences and stress reactivity also feed on each other, however. The more stress women suffer, the more hyperresponsive they may be to stress, both biologically and psychologically. This hyperresponsiveness may undermine women’s ability to control their environments and overcome their stress, leading to even more stress in the future. In addition, depression contributes directly to more stressful experiences, by interfering with occupational and social functioning, and to vulnerability to stress, by inciting rumination, robbing the individual of any sense of mastery she did have, and possibly sensitizing the biological systems involved in the stress response. Important advances will be made in explaining the gender difference in depression as we understand better the reciprocal effects of biological, social, and psychological systems on each other. Key developmental transitions, particularly the early adolescent years, are natural laboratories for observing the establishment of these processes, because so much changes during these transitions, and these transitions are times of increased risk. Additional questions for future research include how culture and ethnicity affect the gender difference in depression. The gender difference is found across most cultures and ethnicities, but its size varies considerably, as do the absolute percentages of depressed women and men. The processes contributing to the gender difference in depression may also vary across cultures and ethnicities. Understanding the gender difference in depression is important for at least two reasons. First, women’s high rates of depression exact tremendous costs in quality of life and productivity, for women themselves and their families. Second, understanding the gender difference in depression will help us to understand the causes of depression in general. In this way, gender provides a valuable lens through which to examine basic human processes in psychopathology. Recommended Reading Cyranowski, J.M., Frank, E., Young, E., & Shear, K. (2000). (See References) Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (1990). (See References) Nolen-Hoeksema, S., & Girgus, J.S. (1994). (See References) Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Larson, J., & Grayson, C. (1999). (See References) Young, E., & Korszun, A. (1999). (See References) References Breslau, N., Davis, G.C., Andreski, P., Peterson, E.L., & Schultz, L. (1997). Sex differences in posttraumatic stress disorder. Archives of General Psychiatry, 54, 1044–1048. Cutler, S., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (1991). Accounting for sex differences in depression through female victimization: Childhood sexual abuse. Sex Roles, 24, 425–438. Cyranowski, J.M., Frank, E., Young, E., & Shear, K. (2000). Adolescent onset of the gender difference in lifetime rates of major depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 57, 21–27. Kessler, R.C., McGonagle, K.A., Swartz, M., Blazer, D.G., & Nelson, C.B. (1993). Sex and depression in the National Comorbidity Survey I: Lifetime prevalence, chronicity, and recurrence. Journal of Affective Disorders, 29, 85–96. Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (1990). Sex differences in depression. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (1995). Gender differences in coping with depression across the lifespan. Depression, 3, 81– 90. Nolen-Hoeksema, S., & Girgus, J.S. (1994). The emergence of gender differences in depression in adolescence. Psychological Bulletin, 115, 424–443. Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Larson, J., & Grayson, C. (1999). Explaining the gender difference in depression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77, 1061–1072. Weiss, E.L., Longhurst, J.G., & Mazure, C.M. (1999). Childhood sexual abuse as a risk factor for depression in women: Psychosocial and neurobiological correlates. American Journal of Psychiatry, 156, 816–828. Weissman, M.M., Bland, R.C., Canino, G.J., Faravelli, C., Greenwald, S., Hwu, H.-G., Joyce, P.R., Karam, E.G., Lee, C.-K., Lellouch, J., Lepine, J.P., Newman, S.C., Rubio-Stipc, M., Wells, E., Wickramaratne, P.J., Wittchen, H.-U., & Yeh, E.K. (1996). Cross-national epidemiology of major depression and bipolar disorder. Journal of the American Medical Association, 276, 293–299. Young, E., & Korszun, A. (1999). Women, stress, and depression: Se x differences in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis regulation. In E. Leibenluft (Ed.), Gender differences in mood and anxiety disorders: From bench to bedside (pp. 31–52). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press. Zahn-Waxler, C. (2000). The development of empathy, guilt, and internalization of distress: Implications for gender differences in internalizing and externalizing problems. In R. Davidson (Ed.), Wisconsin Symposium on Emotion: Vol. 1. Anxiety, depression, and emotion (pp. 222–265). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.

presidential term essays

presidential term essays Although the debate over term limits dates back to the birth of our nation, the problems still exist. Term limitation is not strictly a modern topic. The presidential term limit also aroused debates amongst the founding fathers of the United States (Milkis 36). The president of the United States is elected by the entire nation, therefore government is kept near to the people. The people have the right to choose and judge who they will and will not elect into office. The presidential term limit should be bolished because it prevents and deprives society of experienced servants. Term limitations reduce the incentives for political accountability. Our founding fathers believed that imposing term limits would create enhanced participation in government and greater representation of the people. Arguments between our founding fathers were common especially when they were creating the presidency. Our fore fathers had many ideas about term limitations, some for the limitation and some for no limit, in 1797 the convention voted to have only one term (Milkis 36). Many delegates saw that the advantages of reeligibility were powerful, but the issue remained. Reeligibility will not only give the nation a way to keep a good president in office, it also gave the executive who is running for office a good motive to good behavior and to do everything to the best of his ability once in office. Reeligibility would also give an executive with ambition and avarice a good motive to be reelected. The issue still remained alive. According to Noah Webter the president of the United States of America is elective (McCormick 41). If the president of the Unites States of America is able to lead the nation into prosperity and progress there is no reason why he should be restricted to a two four years term. There have been great presidents in the United States that could have served for more then two ...