Co-Cultural Identities

Brody De Loria Instructor: Solveig E. Pedersen Oral Comm. A111 11/12/12 Co-Cultural Identities Cultural identity is the identity of a group or culture, or of an individual, as far as one is influenced by one's belonging to a group or culture. In recent decades, a new form of identification has emerged which breaks down the understanding of the individual as a coherent whole subject into a collection of various cultural identifiers.These cultural identifiers may be the result of various conditions including: location, gender, race, history, nationality, language, sexuality, religious beliefs, aesthetics and ethnicity. The divisions between cultures can be very fine in some parts of the world, especially places such as the United States, where the population is ethnically diverse and social unity is based primarily on common social values and beliefs. Everyone is a part of many co-cultural identities and they all have an effect on how one communicates with others.Some co-cultural ident ities may have more of an influence on someone’s decision making while communicating than others, but they all do affect us in one way or another. Some of these co-cultural identities you are born into, such as ethnicity or gender and others you gradually fall into throughout your life such as religion, depending on your experiences. No matter what co-cultural identities you belong to, they influence how we communicate with others because they are factors of what makes us who we are, and we can’t help that.What we can help is to know what those co-cultural identities are so we can understand when why we might be having communication problems with someone who belongs to other co-cultural identities. Also of interest is the interplay between cultural identity and new media. Rather than necessarily representing an individual's interaction within a certain group, cultural identity may be defined by the social network of people imitating and following the social norms as pr esented by the media.Accordingly, instead of learning behavior and knowledge from cultural groups, individuals may be learning these social norms from the media to build on their cultural identity. Political correctness is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts.An example of political correctness is the changing terminology used to describe handicapped people. In the past the term â€Å"crippled† was perfectly acceptable and not considered offensive. At some point, some politician decided â€Å"crippled† was degrading and the preferred term changed to â€Å"handicapped. † This, too, was eventually deemed offensive and â€Å"disabled† became the preferred term. Today, even â€Å"disabled† is considered degrading to some an d â€Å"differently abled† and â€Å"physically challenged† are used by those people.The same can be said for the changing uses of terms for Black Americans: â€Å"Negro† and â€Å"colored,† once perfectly acceptable terms, became offensive during the 1970s and â€Å"Afro-American† and â€Å"Black† came into use, which in turn gave way to â€Å"African-American,† and in broader usage, â€Å"people of color. † As well as language, political correctness discourages the use of racial or stereotypes in fiction out of concern that these stereotypes may become self-perpetuating.For example, frequently seeing the image black gang-members decked out in gold chains, carrying guns and listening to rap may pressure young black people into seeing this lifestyle as the more ‘acceptable' choice for their racial group. The common image of female-dominated occupations, such as; nurses, secretaries, care workers, etc, and of male-dominate d occupations; IT workers, military, machinery operators, mechanics, etc. , can discourage individuals of either gender from considering those occupations traditionally belonging to the other.

Helpful Predators in Agriculture Essay

The effective way of managing insect pests is usually through the execution of multiple methods, these differing tactics are assimilated into a single method to keep the pests at an acceptable level. Execution of multiple methods minimizes the possibility of the pests in adapting to any of the single method. An apt definition of integrated pest management, according to Cornell University’s Biological Control, would be, â€Å"An ecologically based pest control strategy that relies heavily on natural mortality factors and seeks out control tactics that disrupt these factors as little as possible† (Weeden, Shelton, and Hoffmann). These agricultural pests, according to Altieri and Nicholls, such as insects, nematodes, and weeds, are responsible for more than 30% damaged crop production worldwide annually. These losses had been consistent since the 1940’s, when farmers started using chemicals in order to control pests (10). These agrichemicals that have been used have its setbacks; they have proved to be costly to farmers, they are harmful to the environment and, despite its popularity, it had not proven to be 100% effective. As mentioned in Organic Gardening magazine, insect-pests continued to be a problem mainly due to the pests’ resistance and their unusual ability to adapt to a single method control strategy (1992). Many farmers are now looking for a solution that is less dependent on agrichemicals and focused more on copying nature’s way of predatory system, among plants and insects. This method, known as ecological pest management, delegates the entire farm as a complete complex system. This new method aims to keep the insect population at a manageable level with the use of many supporting or interdependent strategies, compared to the old method of aiming for the total eradication of every pest using one method for each pest. The method of ecological pest management uses forces that have been present in the natural world, longer even than the invention of agriculture itself. As plants develop their innate defense mechanism against pests, they were helped by factors within the ecosystem, such as: â€Å"1. Insects that prey on crop insects and mites by eating or sucking their juices. 2. Helpful parasites that appropriate pests for food. 3. Organisms that cause diseases to insects, at times being fatal, and keep them from feeding or reproducing; these organisms also prey on weeds. 4. Helpful fungi and bacteria that stays on roots, thereby retarding advances of disease organisms† (Altieri and Nicholls, 11). Biological control is much like a living insecticide. It is the employment of natural enemies with the purpose of managing pests. It usually involves manipulating an insect into attacking a pest insect. According to a report published by Sustainable Agricultural Network, the natural enemy may be a predator, a parasite, or a disease that will attack pests (78). Helpful predators belong primarily in the families of beetle, dragonfly, wasp, and bugs. Using chemical insecticides have been known to have eliminated these predators in farms. It has been studied that pests like Tetranychid mites, for example, have been plentiful in apple plantations where pesticides have wiped out entire predators’ population (Altieri and Nicholls, 80). Almost all predators prey on a vast variety of insect species and on different life stages, thereby making them very useful in managing insect pests. Some of the most efficient predators are spiders, lady beetles, ground beetles, lacewings, minute pirate bugs, big-eyed bugs, and syrphid flies (Altieri and Nicholls, 86). Conclusion Agriculture had been changing its ways, it has been steadily returning to nature for the answers it has long sought for. Insecticides and pesticides are gradually being stored in the shelves, resulting in a healthier soil, crops, and a healthier method of farming. Perhaps it is within the grand design, that when human ingenuity falters, we return to commune with nature. Works Cited Altieri, Miguel and Clara Nicholls. Manage Insects on Your Farm, A Guide to Ecological Strategies. Beltsville, MD, Sustainable Agricultural Network, 2005. Meet the Beneficial Insects, Organic Gardening. 09 February 1992. Retrieved 09 April 2009. Weeden, Catherine, Anthony Shelton and Michael Hoffmann. The Integrated Pest Management Strategy, Biological Control: A Guide to Natural Enemies in North America. Cornell University. Retrieved 09 April 2009.

Personal Finance Essay

1. Are you considered a default risk? How would a lender evaluate you based on â€Å"the five C’s† of character capital, collateral, and conditions? How could you plan to make yourself more attractive to a lender in the future? I do not believe I would be considered a Default Risk because I have a good credit score and I try to pay off what I spend on my credit cards that same month or fairly quickly so I don’t have to pay high interest rates. Based on the five C’s†¦ Character-I would be considered as a good character due to employment, residential, and repayment history. Capacity- I try not to carry high balances on my credit cards, therefore, my debt obligation is fairly low. Capital-Capital would be considered mediocre due to my asset and collateral base. Collateral- I would no have much collateral because most of my assets are in my spouses name. Conditions-I may be considered a risk under conditions considering I work for the auto industry. To make myself more attractive to a lender, I would probably use my credit cards more often and build up my credit history to make it stronger. I would also add my name to my spouses mortgage because he owned the home before he met me. I would also increase my income by working full-time opposed to part-time that way I could show that I would be able to afford to have a higher balance on my credit card. 2. Identify the last two items (consumer goods and durable goods) you purchased. Alternatively, select any two items you purchased during the last two months. Choose diverse items and analyze each item interms of the following factors: a. Why did you buy that item? How did you decide what to get? I recently bought an Ipad and a new pair (good) of running shoes. I bought the Ipad basically for a portable electronic reading device and something I bring with to keep up with my school work and it will also assist me with my job at work. I also decided to buy a really good pair of running shoes for walking & jogging. I usually purchase shoes that cost around $40-$50 but have never been happy with them. Where did you get your information about the item? I did a lot of research online and I also asked some of my peers who have these items their opinions and I also read reviews. Where did you go to buy the item? I bought my Ipad at the Apple store and I bought my shoes online. In what kind of market did you make your purchase? The market seems to be picking up so I would say it is a striving market. Where did the money come from for your purchase? I used money that was given to me as a gift from my parents to buy the Ipad and the shoes came from money I earned at work. How much did you pay for the item, and how did you pay for it? The Ipad was approximately $400.00 and the shoes were approximately $150.00 h. How would you rate your satisfaction with your purchase? I am very happy with both of my purchases. I am glad I did the research before I bought them and sometimes it’s better to get the more expensive item because I do believe you get what you pay for. i. If or when you purchase that type of item again, what might you do differently? The only thing I would do differently is be a little more patient and wait for the items to go on sale or find a coupon to use. 3. For a car you would like to drive, calculate and compare what it would cost you to buy it and to lease it. Use the Lease versus Buy Calculator athttp://www.leaseguide.com/leasevsbuy.htm. What would be the advantages of owning the car? What would be the advantages of leasing it? For your lifestyle, needs, and uses of a vehicle, should you buy or lease? 2014 Ford Explorer to lease it for 24 month, 12,000 miles per year with an A-Plan discount and $2500 down payment the payment would be $335 per month. To Purchase the vehicle on a 60 month loan with $2500 down would be $589 per month. The advantages of buying a vehicle is that it is a major investment, better finance rates, you do not have worry about miles, you can sell it to recover some equity or trade it in to purchase something new, you can keep it as long as you would like. It is your vehicle once it is paid off. The advantages of leasing a vehicle would be a low monthly payment, no down payment, getting a new car more often, fewer maintenances concerns, not having to worry about selling the vehicle, and GAP coverage is usually included if the vehicle is totaled. In our family we do both we have one vehicle we purchased and one we lease. I do not drive a lot of miles and I work at a dealership so I like to get a new vehicle every 2 years. I also like not having to worry about the vehicle breaking down etc†¦ We also own a vehicle so we do not have to worry about going over mileage if we take road trips, we have something that is ours to use as equity and we have a very good interest rate. 4. You are considering purchasing an existing single-family house for $200,000 with a 20 percent down payment and a thirty-year fixed-rate mortgage at 5.5 percent. a. What would be your monthly mortgage payment? The payment would be $908.46 per month. b. If you decided to buy two points for a rate of 5 percent, how much would you save in monthly payments? Would it  be worth it to buy the points? Why, or why not? The payment would be $888.75 and yes it would be worth it because you are saving $22.71 per month and that would add up over a 30-year period to $8175.60. c. When should you consider an adjustable-rate mortgage? If you are only planning on having a mortgage for a short time it would be wise to consider an adjustable-rate mortgage because the rate stays the same for 5 years then it could change afterwards either or the better or the rates could go up significantly.

Policy Analysis of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Essay

Policy Analysis of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act - Essay Example The main purpose of the given work is to analyze the benefits and drawbacks of the new policy and provide recommendations for improvement. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: Policy Analysis Problems in the national health care system have long been a matter of serious public concern in the United States. Overspending, low efficiency, and the lack of insurance coverage have become the main policy priorities in America. More often than not, politicians and policymakers use health care problems to speed up their political careers. President Obama was probably the first to systematically address the problem of health care from within. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act marks a new stage in the evolution of American health care. Its potential benefits for common American citizens cannot be overestimated. Nonetheless, the controversy surrounding the ACA continues to persist, and it is imperative that policymakers address the existing policy inconsistencies, to ensu re that the proposed changes benefit the American society. Literature Review Needless to say, health care reforms and problems with health care provision are popular objects of empirical analysis. Much has been written and said about the main problems faced by American citizens and medical professionals. A wealth of strategies and recommendations was developed to improve the quality and efficiency of health care in the United States of America. Nonetheless, most policies provide only short-term solutions to issues surrounding health care provision. In this context, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is believed to have the potential to change the situation to the better. Given the scope of medical care problems in the United States, it is no wonder that the ACA has immediately become the most popular object of policy analysis. Health care professionals and medical practitioners provide their ideas regarding the new policy and evaluate its inconsistencies. Based on their findings, the proposed legal provisions exemplify both a promise and peril of health care in the U.S., depending on the direction American policymakers choose to take in their striving to improve the quality of medical care in America. In their study, Davis et al (2010) evaluate the financial consequences and implications of the new act. The authors analyze how the new law affects the quality, organization, and delivery of health care, financial incentives of health care providers, and its capacity to provide the best health care and improve health care outcomes for everyone (Davis et al, 2010). This study is probably the most successful attempt to reconsider the ACA from a financial viewpoint. Davis et al (2010) state that, prior to enactment of the Act, Medicate expenditures were projected to grow at 6.8 percent every year through 2019; with the ACA, these rates of growth will reduce by 5.5 percent. The fact is that the ACA involves a reform of Medicare, which will enhance the val ue of health care provided and, simultaneously, reduce the rates of spending growth (Davis et al, 2010). Another problem addressed by the ACA is the rapid growth of health care premiums, which burden millions of American families. With the new policy, including a public health insurance plan, system savings could reach an estimated $3 billion between 2010 and 2020 (Davis et al, 2010). The policy will also relieve the burden of health care pr

Unconscionable contract Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Unconscionable contract - Essay Example The rationale behind the doctrine of unconscionability is to circumvent the enforcement of unfair contracts. In the case at bar, Amy, who was a college student, was led to believe by the salesman that the home theater system, Alpo Model XL2, costs $3,000, when in truth and in fact, the actual standard cost of the theater system is only $1,000. The price given by the salesman was two times higher than the prevailing standard cash market price of the item bought by the buyer. Hence, the â€Å"rent-to-own† contract signed by Amy is considered unconscionable. Under the law, Amy has the remedy to demand the return of the excess $2,000 since the contract price is unconscionable, excessive and unfair on her part. Here, the salesman acted in bad faith at the time of the signing of the â€Å"rent-to-own† contract. Therefore, in order to cure the damage caused to the buyer, Amy can go to court and have the contract declared as unconscionable and oppressive, since there was a violation on the part of the salesman to fulfill his obligation in good faith in accordance with their contract. She can legally demand the refund of excess payment of $2,000. â€Å"It is the judge who has the power to declare whether or not a contract is unconscionable, and not the jury† (Emanuel,

Global enterprise Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Global enterprise - Essay Example The best way out was supposed to be the buying of the Asian car manufacturer, among which Mitsubishi and Nissan were considered. But as financial indices of Nissan didn't make Daimler company optimistic about it, the decision of buying 34% of Mitsubishi Company has been taken. The problems and risks of Daimler Chrysler after having bought 34% stake of Mitsubishi laid in the necessity to lock together the separate pieces of this consortium. There should have been solved the problem of cost savings and technology cross pollination between Chrysler and Mitsubishi. The benefits of the joint venture for both companies lied in sharing engines, transmissions, and other major components, which will finally reduce the costs of both participants, as well as will lead to the sharing of entire platforms which are the most expensive parts in car manufacturing. The main risks for Daimler were first of all, cultural difficulties in making the two companies work together. As one of the Daimler's managers has noted, 'when it is an Asian company and a European-American company, it is even tougher'. Another risks lied in the fact, that any investments (and buying Mitsubishi was the direct investing of Daimler) carry certain risks. Mitsubishi was the only car manufacturer in Japan, working with financial losses and getting no benefits. Thus for Mitsubishi it was a huge chance to restore its position on the market and enter other foreign markets. At the same time, Daimler Chrysler, with Mercedes-Benz being the best-selling foreign car in Japan, took only 0.8% share of Japanese market and needed to find an effective solution for expanding its activity to West Asia. In addition, in six months after the historical merge had been accomplished, Mitsubishi admitted, that it illegally concealed the customer's complaints in relation to vehicle defects on systematic basis. 3.Explain how the acquisition of 34 % and then 37 % stake of Mitsubishi cou1d help DaimlerChrysler to meet the fuel pact The purchase of 34% (and later 37%) of Mitsubishi stake by Daimler Chrysler led to the possibility for Daimler to meet the fuel pact. According to the Kyoto protocol of 1997, the main car manufacturing companies had to turn to the fuel cell production, and all Japanese companies have already had their own prototypes of ecological engines, among which Mitsubishi held strong position. Thus Daimler was able to turn to the ecologically-effective production with minimum costs. 4.Analyse, in the context of DaimlerChrysler global strategy, the following options for DaimlerChrysler regarding the objectives followed with Mitsubishi with their advantages and disadvantages: 4.1 export from the US and Germany; 4.2 licensing; 4.3 joint-venture; 4.4 wholly-owned subsidiary. From the viewpoint of the global strategies of both companies, it should be said that of course, it was becoming easier for Mitsubishi to export car details from the US and Europe, but at the same time, this was another possibility for Daimler to strengthen its positions in selling car platforms in Asia. The

Communication observations from in class movie, THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE Assignment

Communication observations from in class movie, THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE (2009) - Assignment Example was like going to the same journey the actors went through where their sincere search to understand other people’s outlook in life brought them to their own realization. There was a somewhat strong connection between the audience and the actors portraying the role. However, this could be considered indirect communication since there was no personal interaction between the two elements. Second, it was the connection pattern between the two brothers to the people they met along their journey. It was true in its essence that a person should put himself to someone else’s shoe to truly understand the condition of others. What gave the main characters the most powerful realization they had at the end of the story was their personal â€Å"experience† living with the people who had less in terms of material possession yet abundant with reasons to be happy and grateful with life. This was more interpersonal in approach. Finally, it was the intrapersonal communication pattern. The most compelling message of the movie was the question the audience would end up asking themselves. Therefore, one could only find genuine happiness and satisfaction by searching within. What was good about the people others tend to see as less fortunate was that tend to be more grateful and they treasured the greatest blessing given to them despite material lack- ‘life†, itself. Inner joy and peace is that every individual could find within is also the greatest reason for anyone to have a deeper understanding and appreciation of life. It only needs to take a few minutes to ask ourselves and reflect on

Leadership Philosophy Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Leadership Philosophy - Coursework Example positive influence, developing right priorities, integrity, creating positive change, problem solving, right attitude, developing people, vision, self-discipline and team building. All these aspects are very important in respect of a comprehensive approach to leadership. However, one of the most important qualities of a leader is to have a vision. A vision is a clear image or idea about the aspirations of a leader. A vision comprises a set of specifically defined objectives that an individual or a firm aims to achieve, along with ways to achieve the same. Vision can also be defined as a picture of the future, where a leader defines the aspirations, develops plans for achieving the same and predicts future changes related to the venture. Maxwell explained that vision is developed by combining the past, present and future ideas. An individual is able to learn different lessons from past experiences, which act as cornerstone for vision development. The present helps an individual in determining resources that he/she would require while giving a physical shape to the vision. The future enables development of the bigger picture of a particular idea conceived in an individual’s mind. The paper is a self-reflective essay about a particular vision of the author and the various measures to be adopted for giving physical shape to the vision. Personal health is an asset for every individual. Yet, with increasing complexity in the surrounding environment, most of us are unable to enjoy a healthy life. One of the important aspects of maintaining health is food. Our food consumption behavior is reflected on our health. For instance, high consumption of fast food results in obesity, while excessive dieting causes malnutrition and related diseases. Most individuals want to eat healthy food, but hate to compromise on requirements of the taste buds. Consequently, taste gets more preference over health. The above situation is common for almost every individual and considering

Minnisota V Riff Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Minnisota V Riff - Case Study Example The defendant then left the store at about 12.20 a.m. He discarded the hammer in the side alley between Marquette's Market and Art Own's Hardware. There are witnesses to prove that he ran home and also when he discarded the money bag and dropped $2 of the money. He used the money to purchase a guitar. There was a Canadian $5 bill purported to have been stolen from Marquette's Market. The defendant was arrested the day after by Officer Schield at 3.30 p.m. on the ground that he broken into, entered, and burglarized Marquette's Market. The Defense's case is that the defendant, Ronald Riff, won over $900.00 in a poker game between 8.30 p.m. and 12.00 a.m. of the night of the alleged burglary. There are witnesses to prove that Riff won a great deal of money, including the Canadian five dollar bill found in Riff's person. Riff borrowed a tan cloth money bag from Red's Pleasure Palace to put his winnings into. He took the hammer from Rusty Fender's to protect himself and his money. He never stopped by Marquette's Market, but he did toss away the hammer at the point as he ran home. Riff had no motive to steal from Marquette's Market as he had won enough to pay off his debts to Vibes and buy a new guitar. The prosecution has proved that the defendant, Ronald Riff, is guilty of stealing $910 from Marquette's Market after breaking into the store. There is no doubt about Riff's involvement in the crime.

Liberal Arts current political controversies Research Paper

Liberal Arts current political controversies - Research Paper Example Simply speaking, if one takes into consideration the ethical, political and strategic issues related to the usage of drones as warfare devices, one simply comes to the conclusion that the drone usage is not only unethical and wrong, but pragmatically speaking, it is also counterproductive. One salient factor that both ethically and practically puts to question the combat usage of drones is the number of civilian deaths that could be attributed to drones (Clodfelter 252). Though the CIA and the military emphatically try to dilute the overall emotional and ethical significance of the civilian deaths caused by drones by labeling these deaths as the ‘collateral damage’, yet, the fact is that a responsible and ethics driven nation like the United States of America simply could not resort to the usage of a technology that has the potential to cause unwanted civilian causalities (Clodfelter 252). The Bureau of Investigative Journalism tends to put the civilian deaths caused by drone strikes between 446 and 978, of which 179 to 209 happened to be children (Matthews 1). There is no denying the fact that the usage of a technology that has the potential to kill innocent children and civilians simply could not be justified by extending any tactical or strategic reason. Besides, the global association of drones with the death of innocent children and civilians jeopardizes the very image and reputation of the United States of America (Brunstetter & Braun 340). The civilian deaths caused by drones make people associate US with arrogance and highhandedness and makes them go against the US (Brunstetter & Braun 341). Thereby this depletion of the nation’s image and the unwanted and unwarranted civilian deaths must immediately be stopped by putting a ban on the usage of drones for tactical strikes. Besides, the drone usage in the light of the civilian causalities is counterproductive as it embarrasses the politicians who have to deal with the ramifications of such blunders and many a times make the non-combatants take the enemy side. The other big factor that puts to question the tactical usage of drones without US is that the drones not only negatively impact the collective moral of the military personnel, but they also hamper the gaining of situational awareness by the forces deployed on the ground (Hazelton 30). Deployment at the forward posts or behind the enemy lines, while evincing a sense of camaraderie with the fellow colleagues and working on the basis of the inputs facilitated by the intelligence agencies and the informers, turns the military personnel into highly motivated and skilled combatants. Besides, the forces deployed on the ground do have the ability to differentiate between the civilians and the enemies and this immensely decreases the scope for collateral damage. The other thing is that an effective military campaign is always based on the situational awareness gained by the forces at the ground level (Hazelton 30). The warriors operating on the frontline have a thorough understanding of the ethical and tactical objectives they aspire to achieve. However, both these objectives are simply curtailed by the usage of drones. The people operating drones from the faraway locations neither tend

Human Recources Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Human Recources - Essay Example This needlessly and unreasonably marginalizes people categorized as being religious or belonging to any religion. Title 7 of the Civil Rights Act 1964 limits the abuse by any employer. It provides a guideline to the employers’ acts and decisions and to a certain extent even his belief towards managing his employees. Title 7 of the act states that it would be an unlawful employment practice if an employer intentionally or unintentionally tends to limit or classify his employees in any way that an employee is deprived of an opportunity towards the employment or affects the status of the individual. As part of the title 7 under the civil rights act 1964, constructive dismissal is considered as unfair and unlawful employment practices. The law prohibits firing employees without cause. Constructive dismissal is a way for an employer to circumvent the intentions of the civil rights act by creating such an atmosphere in a work place that an employee has no option but to resign. In th is case the former employee is alleging that the practice of constructive dismissal has taken place. ... s it prove that the employer was targeting any specific employee in order to get rid of the individual or creating circumstances for constructive dismissal. The former employee would need to prove that these changes in the factory scheduling had no other reason than to discriminate against certain religions. In order to successfully defend against these allegations and respond to the former employee’s allegations, the company has to show the necessity of the change in schedule and why it was inevitable for the management of the company to reverse back the change that was brought about. I believe if we can demonstrate that these changes were necessary for the business needs, we will be successful in our defense. Firstly, production facilities that use a just in time factory schedule for production might get raw material supplies at night. If such a company changes its factory schedule from day hours to night hours, some employees might not prefer the new schedule and would need to quit their jobs. In this case the company has a demonstrated need for a change in schedule and any employee no longer used to the new schedule cannot allege constructive dismissal. Second, instead of getting raw material supplied for production daily, the company shifts to buying raw material in bulk for the next week, in order to be more efficient. Again, the company needs to prove that this change might have not been suitable for certain employees but the change is clearly motivated by business needs rather than discrimination prohibited by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in order to reply to the employee’s charge of constructive dismissal. Title 7 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 provides a definition to religious discrimination by stating that it involves treating a person unfavorably

Me, Myself and Madness Essay Example for Free

Me, Myself and Madness Essay What is madness? Madness cannot be categorized into one definition, nor can it be simplified into one specific action. In Hamlet, Hamlet, prince of Denmark, is consumed by madness and is alternately driven to his own death. Despite the fact that many people believe that Hamlet’s mad behavior was planned and controlled. It is arguable that his madness was not feigned, and he was actually insane. Hamlet was drove into madness by the demonic possession of the ghost of Hamlet, the deep grudge he had for his mother Gerturde, and the craving for revenge he had for the death of his father In act 1, scene 4, Hamlet, Horatio and Marcellus are confronted by the ghost that has been roaming around the outskirts of the castle. Hamlet sees, and recognizes that the ghost that has been haunting his home is none other than the spitting image of his father, the late king Hamlet, who was inconspicuously murdered by his own brother Claudius, who later becomes king of Denmark, instead of Hamlet. The ghost calls out for Hamlet to follow him alone into the woods. Hamlet’s perseverance led him to believe that the ghost of his father had the answers that he desperately needed, and for that, Hamlet decided to follow him alone. Horatio (warning Hamlet against following his father’s ghost) gravely warned Hamlet that if he follows the ghost, it might â€Å"deprive your soverereignty of reason and draw you into madness.† In other words, Hamlet’s madness began when he became possessed (both body and mind) by the ghost of his father to bring about his evil deeds. In this case, Hamlet lost his mind when he erased himself from his own brain and replaced it with his father’s commandments. In addition, Hamlet’s madness was also driven by a deep grudge he had for his mother Gerturde. After the death of Hamlet’s father, Gerturde remarried within a month, to his brother Claudius. Hamlet shows provocation at Gerturde for happily marrying so soon. And to add insult to injury, it was to his uncle, of all people. Hamlet questions the faithfulness his mother has towards him,  and later doubts the love Ophellia has for him. For this reason, Hamlet displays resentment, not only towards his mother, but to Ophellia, who was uninvolved in the tragic death of his father, and the sudden remarriage of his mother to his uncle. In act 3, scene 1, Hamlet and Ophellia are having an emotional conversation with each other. Hamlet screams to Ophellia â€Å"get thee to a nunn’ry, why would tho be a breeder of sinners.† For this reason, Hamlet yells â€Å"get thee to a nunn’ry† several times because he exhorts ophellia to become a nun, so that way, she may never breed sinners, like him. Even tho he offends Ophellia by saying this, the insult is more intentionally made for his mother Gerturde. The lack of faithfulness his mother has causes the vulgar behavior he has towards Ophellia, which henceforth progresses Hamlet’s madness.

The Development Of Multisensory Integration In Humans Psychology Essay

The Development Of Multisensory Integration In Humans Psychology Essay Understanding how multisensory integration develops in children and how it assists them to understand the ambiguous information in the environment is now a question at the forefront of Science. This study set out to examine and compare three different age groups of children 4-5 years old attending Reception, 6-7 years old attending Year 2 and 8-9 years old attending Year 4 in a local Primary School, to see if they benefit from multisensory information (e.g. integration of sound and vision) to disambiguate ambiguous figures that has more than one representation provided in an experiment. The results revealed that children in Year 4, 8-9 years old, showed an advantage in reaction time in congruent trials (where sound is assisting the participants to see the ambiguous figures facing the direction of the target, incongruent trials (where ambiguous figures were presented with a simultaneous acoustic cue and the auditory cue is incongruent to the subsequent target presented), and finally n eutral trials (where sensory auditory cue was not related to ambiguous figures at all). The results of this study showed that childrens increasing age is having an important and positive impact in processing multisensory information by enabling and enhancing childrens ability to understand and to recognise ambiguous figures more effectively. Key words: Multisensory integration, Ambiguous figures, Visual attention. Introduction: The development of multisensory integration in human beings: Humans and animals are hardwired with a sophisticated and unique multisensory system which enhances their understanding of the environment that they live in (Stein et al., 1996; Gillmeister Eimer, 2007) and allows the integration of information between various senses. These different senses are touch, sound, vision, smell, taste and self motion. These extraordinary senses not only exclusively provide us information about our surroundings (e.g. assists us in hearing, seeing etc), but also complex understanding that cannot always be understood through just a single modality but requires multimodal integration. Multisensory or multimodal integration refers to the idea that multiple senses interact with each other to help provide us a coherent representation of various objects, events or situations to promote better understanding of our perceptual environment. We tend to recognise an object or an event better when it is represented through more than one modality (Gondal et al; 2005; Mol holm, Ritter, Murray, Javitt, Schroeder Foxe 2002). Scientists and Psychologists have been studying how multiple senses integrate to support us to make sense of complexity of our environment for centuries. In the early years these senses were studied independently (e.g. Berkeley 1709; Locke 1690). In 1980s scientists began to study the in depth processes involved within and how these senses interact together at the level of the single neuron. The recent research has been improved immensely which has contributed productively in order for us to understand the processes involved in multisensory integration (e.g. Campbell 1987; Stein Meredith 1994; Naumer Kaisar 2010). New and improved methods like functional imaging, transcranial magnetic stimulation etc has enabled us to better grasp the under lying processes involved in multisensory integration in the human brain. Psychologists and Researchers are at a stage where newly developed methodologies are being applied to different questi ons in development of multisensory integration at a neural level (Wallace, Meredith Stein 1998). There have been empirical studies in the past showing how multisensory stimuli benefit adults, but there is a gap in research with regards to when and how it develops in children. To date there has not been any research, which has explored the role of multisensory information in recognizing ambiguous figures in children. As human adults our multisensory system integrates various signals from our senses to unify functional representations. Electrophysiological, behavioural and neuroimaging studies has made it evident that different senses through our nervous system that are related to a same situation or event and are congruent in time and space increase the possibility of accurate and effective encoding a lot more than individual senses. Ernst and Banks (2002) Alias and Burr (2004) have suggested that human adults integrate excessive information in a statistically optimal manner. A fundamental question that stands is whether the optimal multimodal integration is present in children at the time of birth or does it develop during their childhood and when do children start to use multimodal integration to understand their ambiguous environment? It is fundamental to learn if early multisensory development could benefit the developing brain. The human sensory system is immature at birth, but refines as it develops essentially. Paus (2005) pointed out that brain mapping between sensory and motor conformity is updated frequently and that it is a continuous process where neural reorganisation and cognitive changes occur up until early adolescence. (Neil et. al; 2006; Barutchu, Danaher et. al 2009) pointed out that if adults benefit from the multisensory inputs; naturally children are expected to have an advantage of multisensory inputs via their nervous system as well. Numerous behavioural studies reported that human infants can identify relationships between various multisensory inputs (Bahrick and Lickliter 2000, 2004; Bahrick et al. 2002; Lewkowicz 1988a, 1996; Neil et al. 2006). Research has shown that in very early development multisensory binding is formed (Kohl and Meltzoff 1982). During the phase of gestation between 6-7 months, touching its lips results in foetal Humphrey (1964). Streri Gentaz, (2004) suggested th at even though infants are able to transfer the multisensory information across the senses at birth the advantage of multisensory integration is not observed generally until after birth (Gogate and Bahrick, 1998, Hollich et al., 2005, Bahrick et al., 2002, Walker Andrews, 1997). At the age of 8 months an infant shows multisensory facilitation of reflexive head and eye movements during spatial localization and this theory is consistent with the co-activation models Lewkowicz Shimojo, (2006). Patterson and Werker (2003) performed a preferential looking paradigm study on 2 month old infants and observed that infants were able to match voices with faces showing that infants are integrating some multisensory information. Lewkowicz (1992) studied development of multisensory information in infants 4, 6, 8 and 10 months of age, he presented the participants audio visual stimulus, (e.g. a bouncing object on the monitor) the results revealed that infants were sensitive to the temporal associ ations amongst the visual and auditory stimuli. Processes that involve multisensory facilitation tend to develop with postnatal experiences in humans and other species (Jamie Lickliter, 2006; Lickliter et al., 2006, Wallace Stein, 1997, Wallace Stein, 2001). On the contrary studies using the McGurk effect has shown that speech perception is not influenced by our vision as much in infants or young primary school age children as in adults (Massaro, 1984, McGurk MacDonald, 1976). The leading question is when do children start combining multisensory information to understand their complex environment? Two classical theories shed light in this area, The developmental integration view, which states that in newborns the ability to perceive multisensory coherence develops gradually through childs exploration experiences of the world (Piaget 1952). The second theory is the Developmental differentiation view which states that at the time of birth some of the multisensory perceptual abilities are present in infants but the other more com plex abilities emerge later in life through perceptual learning Gibson (1969, 1984). Recent research has showed us evidence that neural and behavioural limitations and the relative experience play a central role in the typical development of multisensory processing (Walker 1997). Another complexity in humans is that different senses are developed at different rates. For example, senses like touch, vestibular chemical and auditory senses begin to function before birth and finally vision develops (Gottlieb 1971). The differential rates in developmental period could worsen the challenges for adjustment and cross modal integration for example eye length, intraocular distances, growing limbs etc in humans. In contrast, some perceptual skills do not develop early in life (e.g. auditory frequency discrimination), Olsho (1984); Olsho et al; (1988). Brown et al (1987) suggested that projective size and shape are not understood until children are about 7 years of age, and research has shown that contrast sensitivity and visual acuity carries on developing until the age of 5-6 years of age. (Rentschler, et al 2004) suggested that the understanding of object manipulation also carries on developing until the age of 8-14 years. (Morrongiello et al 1994) suggested that tact ile object recognition in sighted and blind children does not develop until the age 5-6 years. Various other complicated capacities that are dependent on experiences e.g. (Elliot 1979; Johnson 2000) facilitation of speech perception in noise is immature throughout their childhood. The developmental time frame when audio visual integration is developed in children is still unclear. Hearing and vision are two of the most important multisensory modalities that humans constitute. Audio visual integration plays a vital role in many tasks e.g. understanding of speech in noisy environments or orientation towards a novel stimulus. Development of auditory system begins before vision but is not certain when these two senses begin to integrate in humans. When presented with auditory and visual stimuli, it can be perceived as a same unitary event or as two separate unimodel events. Radeau Bertelson (1977). The binding and segregation of unimodal stimuli is dependent on low level structural factors (e.g. the temporal and spatial co-occurrence of the stimulus), as well as more cognitive factors (e.g. If the stimuli are semantically congruent or not and whether the person observing is assuming that the two stimuli should go together). Numerous recent studies have shown evid ence that auditory stimuli can be mislocalized towards visual stimuli when they are presented at the same time Welch Warren 1980, P. Bertelson Gelder (2004). It has been argued in the past that when two or more sensory inputs are presented and that they are highly consistent the observers tend to treat them as a single audio visual event (Welch Warren, 1980, Jackson, 1953) therefore it is more likely to assume that they share a common spatiotemporal origin and consequently there are more chances of them to bind them in to a single multisensory event. The binding of a specific pair of visual and auditory stimuli is dependent on various different factors. Spatiotemporal coincidence plays a vital role in different forms of audio visual integration (Slutsky Recanzone 2001, Zampini, Guest, and Shore Spence 2005) but research has also shown that there are exceptions Vroomen Keetels (2006). Neil et al, (2006) examined reflexive orienting in infants, 8-10 months old. The infants showed reaction time advantage for single visual auditory cues over combined cues. On the contrary, Barutchu et al, (2009) performed a study with young children by testing them in a manual button pressing task, and revealed that most children are unable to show the same multisensory advantages until the age of 7 years old. It was proposed that the differences showed in development of audio visual integration reveals the possibility of differential development of reflexive orienting, which depends on the superior colliculus and sensory decision making, is dependent on cortical integration of sensory evidence. Barutchu et al (2009) performed a similar study in order to examine the development of multisensory orienting and button pressing for the same audio visual stimuli where eye movements were recorded of children aged 4-13 years old, N = 19 in response to auditory beeps, visual flashes showed at 20Â ° eccentricity. It was observed from the results that the total mean AV saccadic latencies were significantly shorter than either Audio or Video and the results revealed a trend towards shorter Audio visual latencies than those hypothesised by statistical support or facilitation Miller (1982). Results of this experiment showed that children aged 4 years old when examined in a saccadic orienting task are capable of showing reaction time advantage consistent with cue integration and that this ability is dependent on the early development of sub cortical multisensory processing Wallace Stein (1997). Research on children in their later childhood around 6 years and older showed the influence of multisensory information on speech precepts, balance and size judgements Gori et. al (2008). In the brain multisensory integration occurs across various different levels which involves sub cortical areas like the superior colliculus, early cortical areas like the primary auditory and visual cortices and higher cortical areas like the superior temporal sulcus and intraparietal areas. For example freezing effect Vroomen de Gelder (2000) or pip and pop effect Van der Burg et al (2008) in which auditory temporal information is needed to form illusory visual onsets tend to occur in the primary visual areas while illusions for example Mc Gurk effect, McGurk Mac Donald (1976) takes place at a higher cortical areas due to the complexity of information. The areas involved in brain that facilitates audio visual integration in humans can be seen in figure no 1. C:UsersLocstaPictures1-s2_0-S0001691810000715-gr2.jpg Figure number 1: Showing brain areas involved in audiovisual attention Studying the sensory system and multimodal integration development matters to humans as it plays a very important role in cognitive processes. Numerous anecdotal reports from clinicians and parents have stated that significant percentage of sensory impairment, atypical ties are found in children and adults suffering from autism spectrum disorder (Cesaroni Graber, 1991; Grandin 1992; ONeill Jones 1997). In 1970s scientists dedicated a large amount of research in sensory processing whilst exploring the field of ASD, and researchers found evidence of impaired sensory modulation (Stroh Buick, 1964), this study provided initial evidence for anecdotal and clinical reports of problems in multisensory integration among individuals with ASD. Multisensory processes facilitate children in numerous cognitive processes that are important in learning. Fifer et. al (2011) tested the link between auditory noise in the background, multisensory integration and childrens general cognitive abilities in children. Eighty eight children participated in this study with the mean age of 9 years and 7 months. A simple audiovisual paradigm was used for detection. The results showed that children who have enhanced ability for multisensory integration in both quite and noisy conditions are more likely to score above average on the Full Scale IQ of Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV). 45%. Children with low verbal and non verbal ability showed reduced multisensory integration in either quite or noisy condition. About 20% showed better multisensory integration when there was background noise present. The findings of the experiment showed evidence that consistent multisensory integration in quiet and noisy conditions is some ways related to the development of general cognitive abilities. Ambiguous figure recognition: Ambiguous figures are figures that represent themselves in more than one way. In the past decades idea of ambiguous figure reversal has been meticulously studied by psychologists. The earliest designs of picture ambiguity may be as old as prehistoric cave art Melcher Wade, (2006). Another famous example of ambiguous figures is the Necker cube, the founder of Necker cube was a Swiss naturalist Necker (1832) and after that era other ambiguous figures were seen e.g. duck/ rabbit (Jastrow 1900) and the vase faces (Rubin 1958). Psychologists have been very interested in ambiguous figures as it provides insights to cognitive and sensory processing by means of visual processing. (Toppino 2004) performed a thorough review of ambiguous figures research, and stated that ambiguous figures opens a wide window in the fundamental mechanisms involved in the processing of the visual system which includes sensory, cognitive, motor and physiological processes. Perceptually ambiguity is the norm with regards to its special features. Particular features of an object for example distance or size cannot be seen only by our retinal input, our experiences drive our perception and information about our environment that we live in so in other words our knowledge of past experiences derived helps us in disambiguation of precepts. These experiences could be visual or involve other senses for example taste, smell, hearing, temperature or pain (Gregory, 1966). The history has showed two main theories of reversing representations of bi stable figures satiation theory and cognitive theory. Toppino et al (2005). Satiation theory states that reversing two different representations of ambiguous figure happens through a process analogous that leads to neuronal exhaustion due to tiredness when images of colours are perceived (Kohler, 1940; Long Toppino, 1981). When participants stared at a green patch and then shift their view to a white patch they eventually see red colour. What actually happens is that staring at a green colour patch fatigues the green neurons being fired in the brain and when the attention is shifted to white colour patch then the red neurons that are not fatigued dominate. Keeping this theory in mind when participants perceive a duck as an ambiguous figure, will weaken the neurons that represents the duck, and then representation of rabbit is perceived. Cognitive theory states that reversal of ambiguous figure can only happe n if the person observing the figure is aware consciously that the figure is ambiguous. (Girgus, Rock, Egatz, 1977; Rock Mitchener, 1992; Rock, Gopnik, Hall, 1994; Rock, Hall, Davis, 1994). Satiation theory and Cognitive theory map on to top down vs. bottom up processing debate. In a study performed by Girgus et al, (1977), high school students were shown ambiguous figures and they were made aware beforehand that the figures are reversible but they were not told the possible alternatives. Results showed that one half of the students made spontaneous reversal. In another study performed by Rock Mitchener, (1992), about one third of participants were able to reverse spontaneously. Cognitive development in children is a very complex developmental process and certainly is not as simple as it seems. Martin J. Doherty and Marina C. Wimmer looked at which cognitive processes and developments are important for children to experience reversal to understand ambiguous figures in children. 138, 3-5 year old children participated in these two studies to test the idea that a complicated understanding of ambiguity is needed to learn bistable stimuli (Gopnik et al 2001) Duck or rabbit? In the first experiment a novel Production task measured the ability to recognise ambiguity of the figures. The children found this task easier than the Droodle task and the level was similar to the False Belief task and was significantly correlated to the False Belief Task. The same findings were tested again in second study and the results showed that it was much more difficult to perceive the reversal of ambiguous figures than the Production or the False Belief task. The results revealed v ery interesting findings that children only try to reverse the figures when they understand the representational relationship amongst the figure and its ambiguity. The process that helps in reversal of figures is difficult, and most probably need developments in areas such as executive functioning and imagery abilities. Ambiguous figure reversal studies are also been found to be useful in showing indications of the presence of autistic traits in a big number of population. In a study performed by (Best, Owens, Moffat, Power and Johnstone 2008) showed evidence that the performance of adolescents in reversing ambiguous figures has showed in advance, the probability of participants to have characteristics of autism, poor mental abilities and superior visio- spatial attributes. (Best et al) has emphasized that there is clear evidence that ambiguous figures studies is a very important modality to be studied in understanding autism on the contrary there is also evidence that even though autistic children who are unable to reverse ambiguous figures appropriately later in life they develop the ability to reverse Ropar, et al (2003). Capps, Lisa, Gopnik Alison, Soble David (2005), performed a study on young children to examine ambiguous figure perception and theory of mind. They observed that about one third of 5-9 year old children were successfully spontaneously able to reverse the ambiguous figures where as autistic childrens did not perform well in reversing ambiguous figures as normal children. It is surprising though that ambiguous figure studies and multisensory integration being such an important modality in understanding cognition and visual processing etc there has not been extensive research done on childrens understanding and perceiving of ambiguous figures. Gopnik, Rock and Hall (1994) studied the perception of ambiguous figure task in children and suggested that figure reversal is much more complex than just low level perceptual process, they also found that even though children were informed of the ambiguity of the figures, 3 year old children still failed to reverse and only 50 percent of the 4 year old children were successfully able to reverse the main result is that young children aged under 5 are unable to reverse ambiguous figures Gopnik and Rosati (2001), Rock Gop nik and Hall (1994). Centuries of long term research with adult participants suggests that bottom up (lower level) processing in our brain and higher level cognitive processes (top down) processes play a fundamental role in assisting us to disambiguate ambiguous figures. Top down processing theory suggests that there is a voluntary control over the ability to reverse; knowing that we are dealing with ambiguous figures which have more than 1 interpretation to them is an important element and the willingness to reverse the ambiguous figure. On the contrary bottom up processes in our brain assists us in disambiguating ambiguous figures are related with neural weakness/ satiation as predicted by Gestalt Psychologists. Marina et al (2005) performed four studies with 63 children, 3, 4 and 5 year olds, results showed evidence that in young children the concept of more than 1 interpretation develops around the age of 4 but the perception of ambiguity develops around the age of 5. The role of visual attention in processing multisensory information in humans: Visual attention plays an important role in processing multisensory information which helps humans to select information across the visual field. It is considered that genes are somewhat or partly responsible for the development of our attentional networks in the brain but there are other important factors (e.g. particular experiences provided by caregivers and also the culture that we live in play a vital role). We attend to the visual information in our surroundings by simply looking at various locations. The centre portion of our eyes is called fovea, as fovea tend to have better vision it provides us a benefit when viewing different locations. There are two types of attention covert attention and overt attention. Simply looking at different locations e.g. finding your motorcycle in the parking lot or your friend in a restaurant this type of attention is called overt attention when its easier to observe their eye movement, another type of attention which enables us to attend to va rious locations without the movement of our eyes is called covert attention. According to John Colombo (2001) Rudimentary forms of various attention functions are present at birth, but each of the functions exhibits different and apparently dissociable periods of postnatal change during the first years of life. Susan E. Bryson (2010) suggested that humans ability to move attention in space effectively plays a vital role in our ever changing world. From very early in life, our ability to selectively orient or redirect attention allows us to connect with key others, to learn about and make sense of the world, and to regulate our emotional reactions. The functional anatomy reveals that orienting system is connected to areas of the parietal and frontal lobes in our brain. Posner (1980) suggested that orienting can be implied by showing a cue where you want the participants attention at a specific space which provides a platform for the participant to pay attention towards the cued position by moving or not moving their eyes. FMRI studies have showed evidence that superior parietal lobe is connected with orienting after the presentation of cue Corbetta et al (2000). The alerting mechanism tends to be associated with parietal and frontal regions of the brain. It has been seen that ongoing vigilance and performance tasks activates specific levels of alertness and these tasks has the ability to activate parietal and frontal areas of the right hemisphere in the brain Coull et al (1996); Marrocco et al (1994). Neuropsychological experiments have shown evidence in animals that an unexpected sound can enhance perceptual processing of suc ceeding visual stimuli. Recent studies Nadia et al (2002) have shown that perceptual processing enhancement also exists in humans. This phenomenon can be explained by means of cross modal interaction effects. Nadia et al (2002) showed in a study that auditory stimuli can enhance visual system in a detection task in humans as well. Michael Posner (1994) has performed very interesting research in order to study attention in humans and the three attention networks using the ANT (Attention network test) flanker task, which is an effective tool and allows us to test voluntary and involuntary attention. It helps us to study how brain pays attention to emotional events Fan et al. (2002), Posner and Peterson (1990). In this study subjects were asked to keep their eyes fixated at a point when flanking stimuli are presented on the right or left side of the fixated points. Posner stated that flanking stimuli can be detected easily even when their eyes are fixated on the cross hairs Posner (199 4). In conclusion Multisensory facilitation starts at a very early age and continues to develop throughout the childhood. Nardini et al (2006) suggested that children automatically combine auditory and visual information and this multimodal integration is matured around the age of 9-10 years. One possible domain is when children use auditory and visual information to disambiguate ambiguous figures in order to understand how multisensory integration assists young children to disambiguate ambiguous figures. Therefore this study employed an experimental design similar to Posner Michael (1994), flanker task. The role of multisensory integration in understanding ambiguous figures can be very useful for young children and atypically growing children suffering from (e.g. autistic spectrum disorder or dyslexia). Thus I proposed a study to examine what role does multisensory integration specifically audio and visual integration play in disambiguating ambiguous figures in young children. Hence it was decided to investigate the possibility that participants performance will be faster in congruent trials (where an ambiguous figure is shown with a simultaneous sound, and the auditory cue was congruent with reference to subsequent target). For example an ambiguous figure showing a duck and a rabbit, the sound accompanying it was quack representing, the duck which is facing towards the left side and the target (star) appears on the left side as well. Whereas for Incongruent trials (auditory cue is not congruent with reference to the subsequent target). Finally neutral trials where ambiguous figures are presented with non related simultaneous sound (e.g. sound of a motorcycle racing) presented with an ambiguous figure showing a duck and a rabbit and then a target appears on the left or right of the screen. Method: Participants: After seeking ethical approval from the Department of Psychological Sciences Birkbeck University of London and authorisation from all parents of young children, 45 young male and female healthy children from a local primary school were randomly employed to participate in this experiment. Three participants (1 female from reception class, 1 male from year 2 and 1 female from year 4) did not complete the study so their incomplete data were extracted from the study. Six children with learning disabilities also participated in this study but their data was discarded due to ethical purposes, as performing this experiment with disable children was not one of the aims of this study, I aimed to perform this study with healthy children, and so the results could be generalized to a healthy population of children. The experiment was performed on three different age groups of children. The first group consisted of 4-5 year old children who attended reception class, the second group had 6-7 year old children who attended grade 2 and third group 8-9 year old children who attended Year 4 in a local Primary School. The study was completed in three different early morning sessions. Stimuli: The stimuli (ambiguous figures) were displayed on the laptop screen using an e-prime programme developed by Dr Denis Mareschal. The ambiguous figures were black in colour the background was white as shown in figure no 2. The target was presented on either the right or left side of the screen. The participants were to respond to the target according to which side it appears on by pressing the corresponding right or left key on the mouse. On the Incongruent trials the target appeared in the opposite direction and congruent trials the flanking target appeared in the same direction and in neutral trials the ambiguous figure was shown with a non-related sound. Participants viewed the screen from about approximately 64 cm. The target used in this study flanker (star) can be seen in figure no 3. Figure number 2: Showing ambiguous figures used in this study representing more than one interpretation in one figures. Figure no 3: Showing the flanker (Star) presented on either right or left side of the ambiguous figure to alert the children in this experiment. Design: This non-routine experiment is based upon Michael Posner (1994) and Eriksen and Eriksen (1974) flanker task experiment. The computer based programme called E-prime Ambiguous Figures (a commercial experiment programme application) that runs on Windows XP presented on a 12 inch monitor to study the role of multisensory information in disambiguating ambiguous or bi stable figures in children. Trials are divided in to 6 blocks and each block consisted of 45 trials, 15 congruent, 15 Incongruent and 15 neutral trials. At the initial stage of the programme it asks for session number, gender of the participant and finally for his or her date of birth, upon completion of all this information press OK. Instructions appears on the screen Look for the star click the right mouse button if it is displayed on the right side of the screen and click the left button if it is displayed on the left side of the but

Homosexuality Post War

Homosexuality Post War The Democratisation of Gender after the Sexual Offences Act (1967) and How It Affects Queer Studies E.M. Forsters novel Maurice, written between 1913 and 1914, but not published after his death in 1970, is a seminal work providing a moving, personal portrayal of homosexuality and homophobia in 20th-century England. Exploration of its detailed accounts of attitudes about homosexuals and their various reactions to the discrimination they faced—for instance, denying their homosexuality and marrying; embracing their homosexuality, but discreetly; leaving the country for more open-minded cultures—serves as an excellent starting point for exploring the underlying cultural framework and values which will form the subject matter of this essay. Of no small note is that Forster, whose reputation as a literary genius, believed his own homosexuality too powerful a secret to come out, as it were, until after his death, in a way squandering his own social power and the potential to liberate both himself and other homosexuals. Britain, origin of so much cultural and political vibrancy and of the democratic principles which are now held to be self-evident in modern Western nations, had a particularly difficult time ridding itself of a virulent and persistent form of discrimination: its stubbornly conservative refusal to accept homosexuality and homosexual behaviours into the cultural norm of its society. Indiscreet homosexuals in England of the 20th century could look forward to a life of bigotry and discrimination, to say nothing of financial and personal ruin and imprisonment, as homosexuality was still a criminal offence in England until 1967. â€Å"The limits of the sexually acceptable are still there. Geographical location and economic status significantly affect how free individuals are to choose to be open about their sexual orientation. And some orientations are still problematic.† As the above quotation suggests, the issue of homosexuality remains a divisive issue. This is in spite of forty years passing since the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Britain; forty years that have also witnessed the gay community (both males and females) move in from the margins of mainstream society in order to occupy more powerful positions of authority. This has been meted out in political office, in popular culture and in the global mass media. Yet, in spite of this, there remains at the dawn of the twenty first century a sense that homosexuality is a lifestyle that stands at odds to all that decent society holds dear. Even in the United Kingdom, probably the most secular country in the world, the moral aspect of homosexuality is never far from the surface of the debate over how gay people are supposed to integrate into a predominantly heterosexual sphere. This is the crux of the debate discussed herein. For the purpose of perspective, the following essay must adopt an integrated approach, attempting to synthesise the theoretical and historiographical debates regarding the experiences of gay people in post war Britain. In this way, we can trace the social, political and legal evolution of the democratisation and liberalisation of sexuality and gender in the UK while at the same time offering a critique of the aims and achievements of the gay movement at this time. Furthermore, the continuities and changes of the homosexual landscape in post war Britain can be more accurately depicted amid the relevant academic literature of the times. A conclusion can then be sought that attempts to place the Sexual Offences Act of 1967 within its correct historical and theoretical context. First, however, a brief overview of this Act of Parliament must be ascertained so as to establish a conceptual framework for the remainder of the discussion. The Sexual Offences Act that was passed by Westminster in 1967 was a landmark piece of legislation that sought to address the harsh legal inequalities between homosexual and heterosexual people with regards to their private lives and the way in which these private lives were dictated by the public and political sphere. The impetus behind the reform of laws pertaining to homosexuality in the United Kingdom came from the Wolfendon Report, which was commissioned in 1957 to highlight the essential differences between crime and sin. Essentially, while society and the manufacturing of cultural consensus may indeed have deemed homosexuality as a sin (or a sickness) to equate it with criminality was deemed in many circles to be anachronistic and blight against post war British civilisation and its values. This is an important point and one that ought to be borne in mind throughout the discussion: the 1967 Sexual Offences Act marked the first serious attempt at the legal decriminalisation of homosexuality in the United Kingdom since the Buggery Act of 1533 when the British state first sought to wrest the issue of gay coupling away from the ecclesiastical courts and into the legal courts of the realm. Viewed through this prism, the 1967 Sexual Offences Act can be seen to be a symptom of the broader civil rights movement of the 1960s which oversaw the criminalisation of inequality relating to gender, race, creed and religion in all of the major countries of the western hemisphere. The Act could not have come about without there first having been in place the existence of liberal youth culture that was able to use the tools available within a democratic state in order to lobby the political establishment for social and cultural reform. Thus, although the Act itself has since been open to charges of hypocrisy (the result of the Act witnessed an increase rather than a decrease in the numbers of arrests of gay men for breaking the new law) and prejudice (the Act clearly and identifiably differentiates between homosexual and heterosexual people with regards to the ‘age of consent with twenty one being used for gay people in comparison to sixteen for straight people) it should nevertheless still be seen as an important milestone in the evolution of a more egalitarian British society. Certainly, in legal terms, 1967 must be seen as the starting point of any discussion with regards to the democratisation of homosexuality in post war Britain as before the advent of the Sexual Offences Act homosexual acts were seen as essentially criminal activities and therefore placed outside of the bounds of the rules, regulations and customs of decent, civilised society. Therefore, while mainstream culture and the political establ ishment may well have both publicly and privately continued to denounce homosexuality in all its forms as a sin (and preferred to keep homosexuality firmly outside of the realms of civilised society), the removal of the spectre of a criminal offence telegraphed a major turning point in the way in which gay people were viewed and treated in post war Britain. Furthermore, without the Act, the subsequent achievements of the gay movement in the UK would never have been able to begin to take place as the legal framework in which the gay movement lobbied for reform during the 1970s and 1980s would not have existed. Democratisation of sexuality in post war Britain thus begins in 1967. However, as suggested above, the 1967 Sexual Offences Act has left itself open (particularly within the gay community) to claims of being as an essentially conservative measure that was only passed due to reasons of political expediency as opposed to the political establishment in Britain actually wishing to see a tangible democratisation of sexuality. By establishing such a high age of consent for gay couples, the Act only served to cement the social stigma associated with homosexuality because after this point it was seen by law in Britain to be a coupling that was deemed unsuitable (and illegal) for young people to engage in. Considering that the teenage years are the most important stage of sexual development in both males and females, the high age of consent deliberately aimed to restrict the practice of homosexuality amongst the very demographic that would be most likely to engage in ‘experimental sexuality. This only increased the sordid image of homosexuals in Britain a t the time, implying that adult homosexual men were in some way intent upon ‘grooming young males to join their own sexual brand of subculture. Viewed through this prism, the Sexual Offences Act can be seen to be a positive legal step but likewise a negative cultural step. The increase in the number of arrests of gay men in the years that immediately followed 1967 should be seen as testimony to this ultimate perpetuation of inequality pertaining to sexuality which was the socio-political residue of the Sexual Offences Act. In this way, the myth of the permissive society was established to satisfy the libertarian ideology of the left wing of the political elite. The satisfaction and status of gay people, on the other hand, seems not to have been a consideration concerning the passing of this landmark piece of domestic legislation. In specific terms of the evolution of queer theory, the 1967 Sexual Offences Act can be seen to have helped to create fertile grounds for the blossoming of the domestic and international gay rights movement because of the way in which the Act of Parliament served to legally solidify the differences between homosexual and heterosexual people. This sense of marginalisation from mainstream society was aided by the Stonewall Riots which took place in New York City in 1969 in response to police brutality against homosexual and transgender people at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village. This episode provided the impetus behind the formation of the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) which was established in July 1969, quickly becoming a trans-national phenomenon that deeply influenced the gay rights movement in the UK. The cumulative result of the prejudices legalised in the 1967 Sexual Offences Act in addition to the prejudices brutally realised in New York City in the Stonewall Riots was to con struct a gay movement that was both durable and international. Furthermore, the perceived injustices of the 1960s also served to ally the lesbian and gay movements so that one tangible homosexual community was evident by the turn of the decade in both Europe and the United States of America. This time period was therefore a crucial moment in the development of queer theory in post war Britain. However, it can be argued that by forming a global gay movement that judged membership with the movement in terms of sexual identity, international movements such as the Gay Liberation Front succeeded only in affirming the divisions put forward by measures like the Sexual Offences Act. Queer theory, from the outset, was intent upon challenging the mainstream socio-political status quo by using means that were essentially counter productive in light of the gay movements arguments that gender and sexual identity was not ‘fixed or compartmentalised according to ones sexuality but was in fact much more fluid and interchangeable. Indeed, queer theorists have since argued that the compartmentalisation of gender is likewise flawed with Anne Fausto-Sterling arguing that â€Å"male and female are not enough.† By separating ‘them'(heterosexuals) from ‘us (homosexuals and transsexuals) the queer movement merely served to corroborate the fragmented vision of mainstream s ociety and to further alienate homosexuality from mainstream culture and, as a result, to condemn queer theory to a discernible subculture status. Consequently, the 1967 Sexual Offences Act taken within the broader context of the worldwide civil rights movement of the 1960s can be seen to be an important milestone within the evolution of queer theory as not only did politicised society initiate a clear dividing line between the homosexual and the heterosexual communities but also the homosexual community itself was largely responsible after this point for perpetuating this divide. In the final analysis therefore, it is difficult to envisage this development as positive or progressive. Indeed, as Michael Botnick demonstrates below, this lack of awareness on both sides of the historical debate resulted in a discernible lack of consensus by the turn of the millennium. â€Å"The lack of open-mindedness toward complex and graduated positions makes it difficult to obtain a full hearing of the issues, especially if those issues are value laden and cognitively dissonant to the audience (generally the public at large, the state, major corporations or other mega-organisations such as the media.)† At this point in the discussion, attention must move away from the historiographic look at the formation of the gay rights movement within the context of the late 1960s to turn instead towards analysis of queer theory in post war twentieth century Britain. As has already been intimated, the evolution of queer theory in the UK is intrinsically tied to the advent of the Sexual Offences Act of 1967. The injustices conceptualised in this Act served to galvanise the gay community amid the broader backdrop of a civil rights movement that was established in order to attempt to attain parity on the grounds of race, religion and gender as well as parity on the grounds of sexuality. This wider multicultural influence is the key to understanding how the doctrine of queer theory in post war Britain quickly became divorced from the social, cultural and political reality of maintaining a subcultural movement within the context of a liberal democracy. It is certainly no coincidence that the guiding principle of queer theory was inherently similar to the guiding principle of the other civil rights movements of the epoch: all highlighted the fallacy of using identity (be it sexual, racial, religious or gender) as a means of organising political society. All of these movements should therefore be viewed as part of a wider post-structuralist theory which advocated the end of identity based upon gender, sexuality, race and religion in favour of adopting a more egalitarian approach. In this way, post-structuralist theory was keen to destroy the link between â€Å"dominant western forms of rationality with male power and control over women and nature, which is associated with violence, oppression and destruction.† Queer theory should be seen as an important part of this desire to deconstruct male-ordered politicised society and to reconstruct this society not along lines pertaining to identity but along lines pertaining to humanity instead. In terms of results, the deconstruction of male-centric society can be seen to have had a positive impact upon the fusion of homosexual and heterosexual cultures in post war Britain, certainly after the 1980s when the AIDS epidemic in the United States quickly became a worldwide manifestation of what Stan Cohen had in the 1970s referred to as ‘moral panic disseminated by an increasingly powerful global mass media apparatus. Whereas the 1970s and the 1980s can be seen as a historical period of continuity with regards to the perpetuation of sexuality-based injustices in Britain, the 1990s on the other hand can be interpreted as a period of change when the barriers constructed by male-ordered mainstream society were slowly, yet clearly being eroded in o bvious ways. Politicians, for instance, in the 1990s were no longer punished in any tangible electoral way for being ‘outed as homosexual. The briefly successful New Labour career of Peter Mandelson is testimony to this development. Likewise in popular culture where international stars such as George Michael (who was afraid to admit his sexuality in the 1980s) have been able to thrive in both the heterosexual and homosexual spheres regardless of their own sexual preferences since the 1990s. The turn of the millennium also witnessed a legal progression concerning gay people and their civil rights with amendments to the Sexual Offences Act (passed in 2003) in Britain eventually giving rise to parity with heterosexual people with regards to the age of consent. Indeed, it can be argued that the 2003 Sexual Offences Amendment Act is as fundamental and extensive as the changes which were telegraphed when the Theft Act (1968) replaced the outmoded Larceny Act (1916). In the UK in the twenty first century the age of consent for both heterosexual and homosexual people is at last set at sixteen, finally putting to an end the decades-long association of homosexuality with perversity and social abnormality. Yet, appearances can be deceptive. While the 1990s and the first decade of the twenty first century may appear to be the dawn of a new era of equality with regards to gender and sexuality, the reality may in fact be better understood as a period of continuity with the perceived advances of gay people during this time being nothing more than a mirage as male-dominated society continues to give piecemeal concessions to those marginalised elements of post modern culture in order to maintain the faà §ade of a permissive contemporary society. â€Å"It seems were an altogether more open, more tolerant, sexier society and its getting better all the time. Or is it? Is mainstream culture just flirting with a bit of the other in order to keep us all on a broadly straight line?† This sense of duplicity inherent concerning queer theory and socio-political reality in the contemporary era has served to render queer theory a doctrine of continuing importance in western culture. Contemporary gender theorists such as Judith Butler (whos book Gender Trouble was published in 1990 selling over 100 000 copies internationally) directly challenged the notion of gender (and indeed sexuality) as a means of cultural identity, going so far as to cite the creation of international feminism as the reason behind womens continuing experience of inequality. Butler thus called for a re-evaluation of queer theory in light of the mistakes made by the various civil, gender and sexual rights movements of the 1960s. â€Å"The domains of political and linguistic ‘representation set out in advance the criterion by which subjects themselves are formed, with the result that representation is extended only to what can be acknowledged as a subject. In other words, the qualifications for being a subject must first be met before representation can be extended.† Butlers theory remains a cornerstone for queer theory in post war Britain as the travails of the womens since the passing of the Sex Discrimination Act in 1964 largely mirrors the troubles of the gay movement since the inception of the Sexual Offences Act in 1967. As a result there is a large body of academic literature available that is dedicated to queer theory and to placing contemporary queer theory within the historiographical context of the gay experience in the past forty years. Much of the commentary bequeathed by this body of literature tends to underscore the essential continuity that characterises the development of sexuality in Britain (and indeed throughout the West) since the 1960s. Jeffrey Weeks, for example, sees this continuity as a symptom of contemporary societys inability to comprehend sexuality within its correct (and complex) historical context. â€Å"There is a struggle for the future of sexuality. But the ways we respond to this have been coloured by the force of the accumulated historical heritage and sexual traditions out of which we have come: the Christian organisation of belief in sex as sacramental and threatening, the libertarian belief of sex as subversive, the liberal belief of sex as source of identity and personal resource, all rooted in a melange of religious, scientific and sexological arguments about what sex is, what it can do and what we must or must not do. We are weighed down with a universe of expectations. Sexuality could be a potentiality for choice, change and diversity. Instead we take it as destiny, and all of us, women and men, homosexual and heterosexual, young and old, black and white, are held in its thrall, and pay its expensive dues.† Weeks succinct observations quoted above could quite feasibly have featured in his best selling book, Coming Out (originally published in 1977) such is the lack of tangible progress made by mainstream society in the authors view. This is entirely due to the fact that the vast majority of society has managed to evade the true nature of the issue where sexuality is neither a ‘choice nor a ‘cross to bear but is instead a complex fusion of the two. Weeks concludes that it is the very absence of a ‘right or ‘wrong answer with regards to the definition of sexuality that makes mainstream society unable to adequately confront the issue of homosexuality even at the start of the twenty first century. Of course, the issue of homosexuality has been greatly affected by the rise in significance (at least in cultural terms) of bisexuality. Not only has bisexuality served to confuse the majority of mainstream society (in so much as mainstream society has been instructed to think in terms of black and white; right and wrong) about the nature of homosexuality, the advent of bi-theory has telegraphed a schism in queer theory. Indeed, it is a common view of the bisexual community that traditional queer theory â€Å"can be understood as a particularly virulent strain of the disease affecting contemporary theory more generally, especially in so far as it addresses sexuality as a central concern in the guise of ‘queer theory.† Thus, the very term ‘queer is seen, ironically, as an exclusive phrase that implies that bisexual people, on account of their continuing sexual association with heterosexual people, are intrinsically more allied to straight culture than they are to the homosexual community. This schism mirrors the divide in the feminist movement when a more radical ‘second wave of feminism â€Å"drew, in the first instance, upon the theoretical writings of lesbian feminism in the early 1970s† only for the lesbian feminist community to later accuse the heterosexual feminist community of ‘betrayal on the grounds that straight women continued to participate in sexual activity and engage in what Pateman terms ‘sexual contracts with men in the guise of sex, marriage, home and family. Further confusion has been added to this maelstrom with the advent of trans-theory and the increasing legal and political recognition of trans-gender people, which has clearly impacted upon the evolution of queer theory in post war Britain. Jason Cromwell sees this development as â€Å"making the visible invisible†, which is in direct opposition to the principles of the gay community which has historically intended to make the invisible visible. In addition there are not surprisingly critics from the straight mainstream culture who see queer theory as a barrier (rather than a facilitator) to a greater democratisation of sexuality in the contemporary era. Critics argue that queer studies places too much emphasis upon differentiation which, in turn, elevates the status of the gay and lesbian experience to a position that is over and above its true worth within the broader sphere of cultural studies. This only serves to increase the gulf between the ‘included and the ‘excluded members of society. Furthermore, queer theory has been challenged in a more direct way as critics argue the primacy of the queer belief that sexuality is not ‘fixed. Tim Edwards, for example, has recently argued that sexual identity is in fact much more rigid and compartmentalised than queer theory suggests. Edwards does not agree with the assumptions made by, amongst others, Judith Butler and David Gauntlett who both show how, for ins tance, the media has helped to solidify the construction of identity based upon gender and sexuality respectively. Instead he argues that in real terms gender and sexual identity does not only exist at the level of discourse (as argued by Butler) but instead exists as â€Å"an institutional social practice.† It can be seen that queer theory and its discontents have historically argued over ideological terrain pertaining to sexuality, gender and identity with a discernible lack of consensus emerging from the ensuing theoretical debates. It is also noticeable that the Sexual Offences Act of 1967 remains largely conspicuous by its absence from the vast majority of this theoretical debate with regards to queer theory in post war Britain. Where the Act is mentioned, it tends to be referred to as a piecemeal political measure that â€Å"proved repeatedly unsuccessful, largely because of popular mobilisation against restrictive changes.† Even in legal terms, the Sexual Offences Act of 1967 remains open to charges of being a draconian, anachronistic measure by contemporary queer theory as it was still deemed a criminal offence for people under the age of twenty one to engage in homosexual activity. This only served to criminalise the essential experimentalism inherent in young people of b oth sexes and to perpetuate the association of homosexuality as a sordid and sinful affair. A more important watershed date according to post war queer theorists was the 1980s and the advent of the AIDS epidemic. Beginning on the west coast of the United States and quickly transferring over the Atlantic to Britain and Western Europe, the AIDS epidemic was an epidemic more in terms of the effect that it had upon mainstream, straight culture than the medical effect that the virus had upon the human race. Looking back on the media texts and images of the time, one can certainly see how the disease was blown out of all proportion to its true danger. Furthermore, it is plain to see that this was due to the sexual nature of the illness and, specifically, the fact that it had begun in the gay community. Once more, therefore, gay men were accused of leading a hedonistic lifestyle the lack of the practice of safe sex being the starting point for the spreading of the disease. The AIDS epidemic also served to re-ignite traditional Christian doctrine that was and remains vehemently opposed to the legalisation and democratisation of homosexuality. Hard-line Christian activists even went so far as to claim that the AIDS virus was Gods punishment to all society for allowing gay people the right to practice their sordid sexuality in mainstream culture. The combined effect of this hysteria served to make the 1980s as opposed to 1967 the key date in queer theory in post war Britain. As Jeffrey Weeks declares, â€Å"the homophobia that was encouraged by AIDS demanded, and in fact greatly strengthened, lesbian and gay identities.† With this in mind, attention must now be turned towards reaching a conclusion as to the significance of 1967 within the broader discussion of the democratisation of sexuality in post war Britain. â€Å"That some people have decided preferences does not seem to be in doubt. What is now fast disappearing is the myriad of ways in which various human societies have managed to cope with the fact.† As Naphy aptly suggests, the rate at which homosexuality has been integrated into mainstream culture should be judged within the much wider context of western civilisation over the past two thousand years as opposed to the forty years that have passed since the inception of the Sexual Offences Act in 1967. Ultimately, although progress concerning the democratisation of homosexuality may have met many obstacles in a variety of different guises be they legal, political, social, religious or cultural there cannot be any doubt that the gay community landscape has changed beyond all recognition in Britain since the end of the 1960s. Moreover, it would be difficult to launch an argument against 1967 being the key year within this evolution of queer theory in modern Britain as this was the date that marked the beginning of the solidification of a trans-national gay movement as well as the end of the historical marginalisation of homosexuals within the broader context of mainstream society . The fact that the fruits of this dual, spontaneous realisation did not immediately materialise in the form of a democratisation of sexuality should not be seen as a great surprise. Like the womens movement of the same era, there can be little doubt that the legal measures passed by parliament such as the Sex Discrimination Act served only to halt the advance of womens rights as the movement inevitably splintered on matters pertaining to race, ideology and increasingly sexuality. In this way, the lesbian agenda became increasingly divorced from the mainstream feminist agenda in the same way that the bisexual agenda has become noticeably more antagonistic towards queer theory and the homosexual community. It can be argued that this is nothing more than an inevitable by-product of a post-industrial capitalist society that has made a cultural and economic commodity of sex and sexuality to such a degree as to destabilise the solidarity of the global gay and womens movements worldwide. T hus, being a political as well as a sexual activity, homosexuality has been (and will remain) both historically and theoretically deeply influenced by the social, political and economic environment in which it is culturally defined. Bibliography Botnick, M.R. Gay Community Survival in the New Millennium. New York and London: The Haworth Press, 2000. Butler, J. Gender Trouble. Hammondsworth: Penguin Classics, 2006. Cohen, S. Folk Devils and Moral Panics. London: Paladin, 1973. Cromwell, J. Transmen and FTMs: Identities, Bodies, Genders and Sexualities. Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 1999 Edwards, T. â€Å"Queer Fears: Against the Cultural Turn.† Journal of Sexualities. Vol. 1, No.4, 2004. Eisenstein, H. Contemporary Feminist Thought. London: Unwin, 1984. Fausto-Sterling, A. The Five Sexes: Why Male and Female are not Enough. Kimmel, M.S. (Ed.) Sexualities: Identities, Behaviours and Society. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. Gauntlett, D. Media, Gender and Identity: an Introduction. London: Routledge, 2002. Hall, L.A. Sex, Gender and Social Change in Britain since 1880. London: Macmillan, 2000. Kimmel, M.S. (Ed.) Sexualities: Identities, Behaviours and Society. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2004 Naphy, W. Born to be Gay: a History of Homosexuality. London: Tempus, 2004. Pateman, C. The Sexual Contract. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1988. Spargo, T. Foucault and Queer Theory. London: Icon, 1999. Storr, M. â€Å"Post-modern Bisexuality.† Weeks, J., Holland, J. and Waites, M. (Eds.) Sexualities and Society: A Reader. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2002. Weedon, C. Feminist Practice and Poststructuralist Theory. Oxford and New York: Blackwell, 1987. Weeks, J. â€Å"Necessary Fictions: Sexual Identities and the Politics of Diversity.† Weeks, J., Holland, J. and Waites, M. (Eds.) Sexualities and Society: A Reader Cambridge: Polity Press, 2002. Weeks, J. Coming Out. London: Quartet Books, 1977. Weeks, J. Sexuality and its Discontents: Meaning, Myths and Modern Sexualities. London: Routledge, 1995. Homosexualities in Post War Britain: The Democratisation of Gender after the Sexual Offences Act (1967) and How It Affects Queer Studies Core Course: Gender and Society in Britain and Europe, c.1500 to the Present