Research Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Research Paper - Essay Example The gendered roles of men and women institutionalized the supremacy of men which was further reinforced by the fact that being the bread-earners, they were naturally the heads of their families. This kind of male dominance prevailed since centuries, until the mid-twentieth century, when women’s rights activists initiated historical movements. Up till then, women did not have many chances of getting high education as compared with men. However, with the passage of time, they became aware of their political and social rights and sought to fight for them. In many countries of the world, women were deprived of their inheritance, and so much was to be done to earn their birth rights. For instance, the right to express themselves; the right to have a voice or opinion; the right to earn or work; the right to marry the person of their choice; the right to have or not to have children; the right to vote; the right to divorce; the right to adopt a religion; or simply the right to live t heir own lives, rather than being dictated by the norms of society or the patriarchal system. Prior to this awareness, they had no rights over their own bodies or sexuality. Having right over your own body means having the power to decide for yourself. Self determination was denied to women since ancient times; but the dynamics of the twentieth century changed the mindset of all and sundry, once various movements in different parts of the world gained momentum. Perhaps the first step was to step out of the domestic domains and enter the work force with men. As their roles changed, there developed a natural urge to change their social and political status. After a long journey, women today can claim to enjoy equal benefits at workplace, access to therapeutic abortion, maternity leave, etc. The health exception drew additional legitimacy from Britain’s passage of a therapeutic law in 1967. In the late 1960s, reformers succeeded in securing laws for therapeutic abortion in a num ber of states, which set up complicated processes heavily supervised by medical committees that allowed women to end pregnancies in â€Å"hardship cases† involving rape, incest, the probability of a deformed child, or the threat of death. (Stansell, 315) The Abortion Law is yet a controversial topic in many parts of the world. However, women’s rights’ activists that were in favour of this law hailed the decision of the government in this regard. The official law prevented women from aborting themselves at home that posed severe health risks for them. However, abortion by choice is yet not a simple task in many states and is only performed where necessary. If the reasons of abortion are primarily for the health or honour of women, or in case of a deformed child, then women are granted this right. Conservative societies, like Japan were reluctant to change their attitude towards women, as demanded by the women’s rights’ activists. Regarding the abort ion rights in Japan, during the 70’s and 80’s, a massive change was witnessed among women who fought for women’s rights. This movement spread awareness among women about their rights whether to have a baby or not. â€Å"...women in the reproductive health movement diligently prevented the revision of the national law that would have limited access to abortion. The revision would have legally nullified women’

Meningitis Due To Intravenous Immunoglobulin Therapy

Meningitis Due To Intravenous Immunoglobulin Therapy Acute Aseptic Meningitis Due To High Dose Intravenous Immunoglobulin Therapy for Guillain-Barrà © Syndrome Abstract The majority of adverse reactions of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) therapy are mild, transient and self-limiting; however, potentially serious complications are rare and occur in less than 5% of patients receiving IVIG therapy. IVIG associated transient aseptic meningitis is an uncommon adverse effect and this phenomenon has been seldom described in literature. We report a case of aseptic meningitis due to high dose IVIG therapy in a Guillain-Barrà © syndrome (GBS) patient. The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis revealed high cell counts with predominance of lymphocytic cells, raised protein, normal glucose level and no growth of the organism on culture. He was managed symptomatically with adequate hydration and analgesic. Our patient improved without neurological complications. This case emphasizes the importance of recognizing IVIG associated neurological complications in GBS patients. Keywords Aseptic meningitis; Guillain-Barrà © syndrome; Intravenous immunoglobulin Introduction Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) therapy is recommended in Guillain-Barrà © syndrome (GBS) patients. The majority of adverse reactions of IVIG therapy are mild, transient and self-limiting; however, potentially serious complications are rare and occur in less than 5% of patients receiving IVIG therapy. According to Kemmotsu et al., IVIG associated transient aseptic meningitis is an uncommon phenomenon occurring in about 1% of patient. The common adverse effects are headache, nausea and vomiting, myalgia, low backache, tachycardia, mild grade fever and flushing. The serious complications are aseptic meningitis, thromboembolism, transverse venous sinus thrombosis, myocardial infarction, acute stroke, acute encephalopathy, posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome, anaphylactic reaction, acute renal failure and serum sickness. IVIG associated transient aseptic meningitis is a very rare complication. Our patient developed aseptic meningitis following intravenous immunoglobulin therapy. Case Presentation A 14 years old boy presented with two days history of acute onset pure motor, progressive, symmetric, areflexic, flaccid quadriparesis without bladder/bowel, bulbar, respiratory symptoms or autonomic dysfunction. He had no history of fever, preceding illness of diarrhea, respiratory tract infection or any toxin exposure. A clinical diagnosis of Guillain-Barrà © syndrome (GBS) was made with Hughes Disability Scale 4. Nerve conduction study was suggestive of pure motor, predominantly demyelinating affection of right ulnar, bilateral median, bilateral tibial and bilateral peroneal nerves. Electrocardiogram (ECG) and serum potassium level were normal and urinary porphobilinogen was negative. Clinical profile and electrophysiological parameters fulfilled the Asbury criteria of GBS. Intravenous immunoglobulin was given according to the recommended dose (0.4 mg/kg/day). His weight was 45 kg and total 90 gm IVIG was planned over five days in divided doses. On the fourth day, after receiving 72 grams of IVIG infusion, the patient developed progressive worsening headache, neck pain and recurrent vomiting. There was no history of fever, loss of consciousness or visual symptoms. His temperature was normal. On neurological examination, meningeal signs: neck rigidity, Kernig signs and Brudzinski signs were positive. Bilateral fundi were normal. There were no other focal neurological signs. Investigations Hemogram and blood biochemistry were within the normal range. Blood culture was sterile. X-ray chest was normal and Mantoux test was negative. Lumbar puncture showed normal opening pressure and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis revealed pleocytosis (Total cell counts: 180 cell/dl) with lymphocytic predominance (85%), raised protein (110 mg/dl), normal sugar (56 mg/dl) and normal chloride (111 mEq/L) levels. CSF gram stain, AFB stain, KOH preparation, India ink and CSF culture for bacteria and fungi were negative. CSF TB PCR and HSV PCR were negative. MRI brain with gadolinium contrast was normal (Figure 1). Differential Diagnosis Diagnosis of acute aseptic meningitis was based on clinical features, CSF findings, negative viral markers and negative culture. The diagnosis of IVIG associated aseptic meningitis was made as there was a strong temporal relationship between onset of aseptic meningitis and high dose IVIG therapy; the extensive search for other causes of meningitis was negative and the improvement of symptoms within few days. However, possibility of viral meningitis was also thought, but absence of prodromal symptoms, no identifiable rise in serum viral titres and self-improvement of symptoms ruled out the possibility of viral meningitis. Treatment His symptoms were managed with hydration and analgesics. No antibiotic or antiviral therapy was given. A very slow infusion of IVIG was continued under strict supervision until completion of full dose therapy on the next day. The signs of meningeal irritation-neck rigidity, Kernig’s signs and Brudzinski signs disappeared over next two days. Outcome The patient was discharged in stable condition with Hughes GBS Disability Scale 1. He recovered completely without any neurological sequelae. He was asymptomatic after three months of followup. Discussion The exact pathophysiology of IVIG induced aseptic meningitis is not clear. The various postulated mechanisms of IVIG associated aseptic meningitis are direct toxic effect, immunologic drug hypersensitive reaction, allogenic immunologic reaction, hypersensitivity reaction to various stabilizing agents and cytokine release triggered by the therapy. Wada et al. showed the excitotoxic effect of IVIG in acute encephalopathy following IVIG therapy. The IgG is an active ingredient of intravenous immunoglobulin capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier, penetrates the meninges, and enters the brain parenchyma. In our patient, aseptic meningitis developed after 72 hours of initiation of IVIG. However, in literature, most patients developed aseptic meningitis within 48 hours of beginning IVIG therapy. According to Jarius et al., aseptic meningitis was frequently associated with polymorphic pleocytosis in the CSF examination; however, our patient had lymphocytic pleocytosis. Most of the side effects associated with IVIG are mild, self-limited and related to the infusion rate and no specific therapy is required. Risk factors for IVIG associated aseptic meningitis are history of migraine and rapid, high dose infusion of IVIG. Slower infusion rate, proper hydration, antihistamines and analgesics may help to prevent mild reactions. Systemic steroid may be required in severe cases. Our patient was under strict supervision and no medical treatment was given. He improved without any neurological complications. Headache and fever are well-recognized side effects of high dose IVIG, aseptic meningitis has rarely been reported in the literature in GBS patients. A high index of clinical suspicion should be kept for IVIG induced aseptic meningitis and should be confirmed by careful neurological examination and CSF analysis. Take-Home Message Acute aseptic meningitis may develop as a transient, self-limiting complication of high dose IVIG therapy in GBS patient. Early recognition and management is required to prevent permanent neurological sequelae. IVIG therapy should be continued in mild aseptic meningitis as the IVIG infusion is a life saving drug for GBS patient, at a slow infusion rate, with proper hydration, histamines and analgesics. This case emphasizes the importance of recognizing IVIG associated neurological complications in IVIG treated GBS patient. References Figure Legends Figure 1. Normal MRI brain with gadolinium contrast

Media Advertising and Sex Essay -- Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Advertisements are everywhere, combining images and words together to create a message to sell a product. The initial impression is that the advertisers are just trying to sell their products, but there often seems to be an underlying message. It is often heard that â€Å"sex sells.† So, many advertisers will use beautiful women and men in their advertisements to try to market a product. The hope is that â€Å"sex will sell,† and people will go out and buy what the ads are selling. There are many advertisements and commercials that use this approach. Prime examples of this are the advertisements for Orbit Gum and A Diamond is Forever. Also, the commercials for Levi jeans use sex to promote the sale of their brand. As a way to explain how and why the media uses â€Å"sex to sell,† many articles have been written concerning this. For instance, â€Å"Sex as Symbol in Fashion Advertising† by Arthur Asa Berger talks about the sexual undertones us ed in ads as a way to sell products. Similarly, Jean Kilbourne’s â€Å"Beauty†¦and the Beast of Advertising† discusses the portrayal of women in advertisements as sex objects. Finally, â€Å"Analyzing Signs and Sign Systems† by Arthur Asa Berger offers ways to analyze advertisements and their use of sex. No matter what the advertisement is for; although it may seem that an advertiser is only trying to sell a product, the ways the advertisements are presented often have a hidden meaning. For example, in the ads for A Diamond is Forever; although, the company is selling engagement rings, it portrays a couple in a sensual pose. In the ad, it looks as though they are naked. The man is bending over the woman with his hands creating the shape of an oval around her. Their faces are touching, and ... ...or a better lover if their products are used. With so many different advertisements out there, watch out for many ways that sex is being used to deceive people into buying products that cannot fulfill all the promises in the ads. Works Cited Berger, Arthur Asa. â€Å"Analyzing Signs and Sign Systems.† Reading Culture. 4th ed. Ed. Diana George and John Trimbur. New York: Longman, 2001. 192-193. - - -. â€Å"Sex as Symbol in Fashion Advertising.† Reading Culture. 4th ed. Ed. Diana George and John Trimbur. New York: Longman, 2001. 186-191. A Diamond is Forever. â€Å"Advertisement.† People. Aug. 2003: 64. Kilbourne, Jean. â€Å"Beauty†¦and the Beast of Advertising.† Reading Culture. 4th ed. Ed. Diana George and John Trimbur. New York: Longman, 2001. 193-196. Levi Jeans. ABC. Ch. 7. June 2002. Orbit Gum. â€Å"Advertisement.† People Aug. 2003: 72.

Fighting for Hunger

In this topic, we will see how Filipinos fighting for their hunger. We can see that there are so many people who starve to death, and the government didn't do anything about this problem. I hate how the government didn't do anything to solve this problem. There are many Filipinos who begging for food for them to live. My opinion here is we should help the others, if we help the others we can save a life. Starvation is not a joke we we're talking about million lives here. The government should take an action to this issue. There are so many cases that people die because of the hunger or starvation, they die because they can't do anything to stop their hunger, they just wait for someone to give them a food. So my opinion here is let's stop this problem now let's push the government to do something in this problem. If they can't do anything then let's encourage other people to help the people who's in need. If the government can't help them, I guess it's time to help the other people for them to have a longer life. The main problem here is the government didn't do anything to solve this problem. Many Filipinos died because of hunger or you can call it starvation. The rate of starvation in our country is increasing every year and every year the number of deaths in our country is increasing as well, it is all because of the starvation. I guess we are all aware that our country is rich in street people or you can call it as a homeless people, they are the one who experienced this problem, they can't do anything because they don't have any job or any money to buy their foods. We can help the by giving them a food or at least a small amount of money. In this way, we can help the others in a simple way. The problem here is why the government didn't do anything to solve this problem, they didn't do anything to save the others life. The fact that the government didn't do anything, we should help the one who's in need. If we have extra food or extra money we should give it to the people who can't afford to buy foods. We can always start a feeding program for the hungry people. I think there are many feeding program in our country.In this way we can help others, we can save the others by giving them a food or a money. There are many ways to help the people who's in need. If the government can't take any action to this then I guess it's time for us to make a move. We can help by starting a feeding program, giving a small amount of food and money to the people who's in need. We can help others in a small way if we want to I think it's time to help and care for the other people. Always remember that sharing is caring.

What is the crisis in the British family a crisis about? How is the crisis gendered?

The term ‘family' officially evokes the image of a heterosexual, nuclear institution where each member is related to the other by marriage/law or blood, and the state, religion, media and other important institutions in our society encourage this image. However, lived realities are often very different and in recent years this form of the family, which is assumed to be normal and the norm, has been displaced by various other family forms which are labeled as deviant and which are assumed to be the root of current social problems. Hence has risen a ‘crisis' in the British family. This crisis has been highlighted by the various social institutions mentioned above which encourage the heterosexual nuclear family form. Quoting Wright and Jagger, according to them ‘the turn of the century is marked by a growing crisis in the family, a crisis that may prove terminal unless decisive action is taken', and the crisis has been pointed out as the collapse of marriage and the ‘family'. This crisis however is not new and a similar was said to have risen at the end of the 19th century. Like now, the crisis then too had been a rise in social problems and women had been identified as the cause. Single mothers, working mothers, woman opposing the dominant ideology of ‘womanhood' were and are labeled as the cause of the ‘crisis'! As Gittins say, ‘Ideals of family relationships have become enshrined in our legal, social, religious and economic systems, which in turn reinforce the ideology and penalise or ostracise those who transgress it. ‘[Gittins 1992] The crisis in the family can thus be seen as nothing more than a gap between the ideological construction of the family and the diverse realities of family life. [Gittins,1993] The different alternate family forms that have come up and become increasingly common in the last few decades such as the single parent (specially single mother) family, extended families, communes, homosexual families are seen as social threats. This is because they resist the patriarchal ideology that is prevalent in the nuclear family form where the male is all-powerful. Resistance to this form of the family has seen the rise of the gendering of the family crisis with the blame falling on the women. This crisis as mentioned above is not something new and was seen before in the 1890's when the results of it were deemed to be the evils of those times – namely illegitimate children, women not having children, prostitution, homosexuality etc. The family – which by the way was the white, middle class, heterosexist family – was seen to be the buffer against these social evils. In these families the sexual divisions of labor played an important part in the claiming of moral superiority. The industrial Revolution which preceded this period can this be seen as the time when the seeds of change were sown, because even though at this time the ‘domestic ideology' of the middle class was established, working class women became increasingly involved in paid employment working away from home – and hence rose the first crisis. Indeed, the cause of the crisis at this time was seen to be the ‘bad' mother – invariably a working class woman in paid labor. With World War II however, women had to take up jobs and it allowed them more freedom. Gradually the 20th century saw changes in attitudes and legislation – though it did take a very long time. The most important legislative changes were perhaps the right of divorce for women and the decriminalization of gay relationships. These factors were important in the rise in the alternate family forms. The argument that the heterosexual family is the ‘norm' can however no longer be held valid. There is a vast discrepancy between the actual family forms and the ‘cereal-packet family' considered the ideal! In 1961 over half of all households consisted of a married couple with dependent children and in 1992 this proportion had dropped to 24%. In 2001 19% all households consisted of an adult couple and dependent children – the couple not necessarily married. Marriage certainly has become less popular in the last 2 decades. Cohabitation, teen pregnancies, the number of children outside marriage has seen a marked increase. Homosexuality also has become much more widely accepted in society and many homosexual couples live with their children – adopted or from previous relationships. Divorce rates have also shot up dramatically with 1 in every 3 marriages ending in a divorce. These changes have been constructed into a national crisis by the state and the media. The statistics have been used to create moral panic among the people. In Britain, the government whether the New Right or the New Left have supported the ‘traditional family'. In the debates and policies of the New Right or the New Left, there is seen to be a particular connection between deviant family forms and social ills and there can be seen a particular vision of the individual, family and state responsibility. Policy units, the think tanks like the Social Affairs and the Economic Affairs units and the newspapers rather than the academic press stress are the agencies that stress more on the importance of the ‘traditional family values'. [Jagger and Wright, 1999] The lobbyists on behalf of the ‘ normal' family say that government policies and feminist ideologies threaten it. Government policies however far from threatening the nuclear family form strongly support it. In fact the Conservatives called themselves the party of the ‘family' and deviant family forms such as homosexual relationships and cohabitation were actively discouraged. The 1988 Local Government Act stated that it was an offence for local government employees or institutions to promote the acceptability of homosexuality as a family relationship. The Conservatives also shifted away from state provision and the emphasis lay on the family as a source of provision and rhetoric as well as legislation supported this. The moral panic shifted from the unemployed male scrounger to the female lone parent on benefit. The benefits given to single parents were cut down and the Child Support Act was introduced. Refamilisation – by which fathers were tried to be reinserted into the family by being made responsible for his child after separation made life very difficult for those people who had been divorced. This rhetoric of traditional family values however helped the state to back out of much of its fiscal responsibilities! The Labour Governments emphasis has also been on the family. Legislation based on the ‘families role in society' has been passed. As Frazer says, there is ‘an insistent emphasis on ‘the family' as the relevant and significant institution' together with ‘the insistence that rights must be correlated with duties, obligations and responsibilities'. It does seem from the government's emphasis on the family that the terrain of family offers the illusion of a cheap and feasible political program. Other than this emphasizing on family also obscures the failure of the politicians in other spheres such as economics or likewise. The media also plays an important role in this invocation of ‘the family' – the ‘cereal-packet family' being a noteworthy propaganda and the stress on the current ‘crisis'! Religion is another important social institution that encourages the nuclear family maintaining it to be moral and healthier that the other family forms. It has been seen that in all these cases of addressing this crisis by the state, the media or any other institution the focus has been on women as the cause of the crisis and consequently social problems. The single mother is seen as the source of current social evils like poverty, children's indiscipline, crime and juvenile delinquency. Fatherless families are seen to be more of a problem with no one to impose authority and discipline! The discourse of lone/single motherhood as a social threat as it helps to resist close scrutiny of the content of hegemonic masculinity and fatherhood. [Lister, 1996] and conceals the fear that if men lose their relevance to the family life they also lose control over women and children. The traditional nuclear family, which is patriarchal, enforces this ideology through the strict gendered division of labor and other family forms without these gender divisions are not seen as desirable or normal. The traditional family is seen as one in which the male is the breadwinner and the woman is the homemaker – looking after the house and the children. This was in fact the Victorian middle class ideology. Though today women are no longer thought of as not going into paid work, it is still considered that her primary duty lies in looking after the home – thus she has a double burden of her job and housework. Men however have no such responsibilities and the symmetrical family that Young and Willmott talk about in which housework is shared equally between men and women instead of men thinking that they are doing a favour by helping, will take a long time to come if it ever does come at all! These family relationships – the inequality of women in their relationships with men ( in either marriage or cohabitation) is linked to wider social and economic factors and is infact sanctioned by the power of the state. Thus gendered division of labor is a part of the ‘normal' family ideals. The crisis in the family means that this gender division no longer works within a majority of the families anymore. This is the feminist explanation for the rise of a ‘crisis' in the family by the media and the state. The patriarchy that is based on the exploitation of women's unpaid labor at home constructs alternate family forms as a ‘crisis' and blames women as the cause of social problems, advocating the return to the ‘normal, heterosexual, nuclear family' for a better and healthier society!