Saudi newspapers Al Riyahd and Alwatan Dissertation

Saudi newspapers Al Riyahd and Alwatan - Dissertation Example Decisive Storm, in the name of defending civilization, legitimacy, and humanity. Communication theorists have taken great interests in studying further the concept of framing theory in mass media. This is particularly because there is quite confused as to how this theory can be characterized in the theoretical and empirical perspective. In the earlier studies as that of Iyenger & Kinder (1987) and finally in McCombs, Shaw, and Weaver (1997), framing theory did not have much distinction between the concepts of agenda-setting theory. Agenda-setting theory is a communication concept, â€Å"which focuses directly on how media coverage leads to changes in the importance of different considerations†. Scheufele (1999) and another study DeVreese (2005), however, agrees that the framing concept has inconsistency in its application, especially in identifying the frames projected in the media. In a more developed study of Scheufele along with his colleague Tewksbury, the authors furthere d the distinction between Framing, Agenda Setting, and Priming based on how the progress of studying mass media effects. A most recent review from Borah (2011) expresses the even more pressing issues in the conceptual debates of framing theory. Amidst the vagueness of the concept of framing theory, this research considers how this theory can still explain the context of the effects of news on the audience. The framing theory encompasses the origin, evolution, presentation, and effects of frames (Tewksbury & Scheufele, 2009).

Prisoner Rehabilitation Essay Example for Free

Prisoner Rehabilitation Essay The rising inmate population and overcrowding in prisons is a problem. A lot of this problem comes from repeat offenders who have had a lack of prison rehabilitation. People have two different views about the prison system. The first is that prisons are jails and that everyone in the jails should suffer for their crimes. They feel since they are criminals and do not abide by the rules of society they should not be able to become part of a society. Others view prisons as correctional facilities where prisoners can accept their mistakes and be rehabilitated, eventually being assimilated. I feel that that jails are from criminals such as rapists, murders and other criminals that clearly will never be able to accept the rules society and show no hope of being rehabilitated. On the other hand I feel that some criminals see the light of there mistakes while in prison and want to move on and hopefully never return to prison. But prisoners loathing for prison alone cannot guarantee prisoners to not end up in the same position once free. Prisoners need to be cured in more ways than fearing punishment. I feel these prisoners need to be rehabilitated to the point that at the end of there sentence they realize that committing crimes is only a way out and feel they will not fall back into a life of crime and be ready to enter society as a free man with some aspirations of a law abiding life. But usually this never happens because of the way prison rehabilitation is. Prison Rehabilitation is mostly the experience of prison itself where you go in to a place that makes you live around criminals and never get out of the criminal mind state and never can grow to realize your mistakes and move on in your life. Towards the end of your sentence there is usally no help to integrate back into society at all, which is the most critical time for help. It seems to me that during the last years of a prisoner who has a good prison records sentence they should be eligible to enroll in correctional prisons that werent required to be paroled but provided a alternative to jail and provided you with not only more freedoms than jail but an opportunity to make it a smaller step into the real world than coming right from jail. This correctional facility soul purpose would be to rehabilitate while still providing similar jail atmosphere. It would be mandatory to take high school or college classes or be trained in certain vocational areas where your grades would determine eligibility. Along with these classes there would be a series of other classes that would integrate you back with society. This would be totally up to the prisoner to maintain and get the most out of this because that is what you have to do to succeed and be rehabilitated.

Introduction to Immunoglobulins: Structure and Research

Introduction to Immunoglobulins: Structure and Research Basharat ali OVERVIEW OF IMMUNOGLOBULINS INTRODUCTION The immunoglobulins or antibodies are a group of proteins present in the serum and tissue fluids of all mammals. Antibodies are produced by cells (B type) on interaction of membrane antibody with antigens. Secreted antibodies moves in the blood; and serve as the effectors of humoral immunity by neutralizing antigens. They therefore also constitute an element of the adaptive immune system. Secreted antibodies circulate in the blood stream where they acts as the effectors of humoral immune response by searching and neutralizing or eliminating antigens. The immunoglobulins are present in highest concentration and most easily obtained in large quantities from blood serum. The antibodies produced are specific to each of the epitope. BASIC IMMUNOGLOBULIN STRUCTURE PROCEDURES OF IMMUNOGLOBULIN MEASUREMENT: The development of Molecular Biology and production of mono-clonal antibodies have allowed us tohave diagnostic tools with a great sensitivity and specificity. They are known as KITS, which are both easy and simple to use and read. The techniques developed in recent years are: Among the above methods available now, we can point out,those that have more possibilities of performing serologic studies on a large scale level, and without the need of highly technical resources. The popular methods used are: ELISA IMMUNOELECTROTRANSFERENCE OR WESTERN BLOT INDIRECT IMMUNOFLUORESCENCEOR IMMUNOPEROXIDASE SERONEUTRALIZATION ELISA: Few types of ELISA are used for the detection of ANTIGENS and ANTIBODIES. So far the following types of ELISA are used for the detection of specific antibodies: INDIRECT ELISA. COMPETITIVE ELISA. INDIRECT ELISA It is the common method used for antibody detection.It involve thecoating of the ELISA plate with the antigen against the specific Ig’s that may be present in the serum. The antigens can be from viral or bacterial product, and or even whole virus molecules. It is more common to use only those proteins with immunological interest, instead of using all the antigenic mixture.Thenext steps will include the addition of serum, incubation and washing;addition of the conjugate, incubation and washing and at last, the addition of the substrate, stopping the reaction and reading the results. COMPETITIVE ELISA This technique is also very common for the detection of specific antibodies. We have an I.G (monoclonal of polyclonal) of a known antigen. This antigen has previously been bound to the plate.It is known as competitive ELISA because the serum is incubated with the antigen previous to its incubation with the antiserum bound to the plate. Therefore, both compete for the antigen. IMMUNOELECTROTRANSFERENCE / WESTERN BLOT Immunoelectrotransference, Immunoblotting or western blotis an immune-enzymatic technique used for the detectionof specific antibodies.This method is recommended whenever it is necessary tostudy a large number of sera which have not given proper results using other techniques. Fig. Required objects to perform Immunoelectrotransference Technique:antigen-nitrocellulose sheets, PBS tampon, +ve / -ve control sera, conjugate, substrate solution and plastic plate. In order to obtain the antigen-nitrocellulosesheets, proteins are first separated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Later, these proteins are electrically transferred from the gel to the nitrocellulose sheets. These sheets are then cut and will act as the antigen substrate. Each one of these pieces are then incubated with the test sera and washed. Then, a labelled anti-immunoglobulin (IgG or IgM) is added. If there is any antibody bound to the antigenic protein, they will be revealed by the addition of the conjugate.One or more specific precipitation lines will be observed depending on the existence of specific Ig’s against one or more proteins. It is a very sensitive and easy technique to perform and to understand. No special equipment is needed. This technique is especially for the study of small numbers of sera.As it does not require special tools, it is possible to perform it in laboratories with little equipment. Fig. The last step of the method. We can observe thedifferent lines where testand control serum have reacted. INDIRECT IMMUNOFLUORESCENCEOR IMMUNOPEROXIDASE Indirect immunofluorescence or immune-peroxidase are techniques that use the specifity of histology and the sensitivity of the immunological methods. These techniques usually involve the use of cell cultures infected with the virus or bacteria from which we need to know whether or not the unknown sera have antibodies. In the case of Ig’s being present in the unknown sera, after an incubation period, those antibodies will bind to the infected cells. This reaction can be observed with a fluorescence or ordinary microscope after the addition of an anti-immunoglobulin labelled with peroxidase respectively. Fig. Indirect immunofluorescence technique. Mammalian cells infected by the swine fever virus. Antibodies bound to the infected cells can be seen, the areas of the cell with higher viral replication have more bound Ig’s and therefore, a higher light intensity. SERONEUTRALIZATION This method is known asthereference method for every serological study. The use of this technique has made it possible to measure the capability of Ig’s present in the test sera of neutralizing the biological activity of an antigen. Inseroneutralization, we go a step further, and the potential of the serum of neutralizing the biological activity of an antigen can also be known.These tests are very common in labs when theassessment of the capability of a serum against microbial toxins, or viruses is needed. They are however, highly specific and sensitive and are considered as reference methods for every serological evaluation. In the case of viruses, we can determine the capability of a given serumfor neutralizing the virus infectivity on a susceptible cell line.A viral solution, of a uniform concentration and which has previously been in contact with different dilutions of the test serum, is added to the cell culture. The observation of the cells at different times allows one to see if these cells are being infected or not by the virus, using either conjugated dyes or looking for the cytopatic effect. We can measure, in this way, the serumcapability for neutralizing the virus. Fig. Infected cell layer. Laboratory techniques for monoclonal immunoglobulin measurement Following arelaboratory methods used to identify and quantify monoclonal immunoglobulins. SERUM PROTEIN ELECTROPHORESIS The serum protein electrophoresis (SPEP) method determines specific proteinsin the blood to help identify some diseases. Serum protein electrophoresis uses an electrical field to separate the proteins in the blood seruminto groups of similar size, shape, and charge. Blood serum contains two major protein groups: albumin and globulin. Both carry substances through the bloodstream. Using protein electrophoresis, these two groups can be separated into five smaller groups: Albumin. Alpha-1 globulin. Alpha-2 globulin. Beta globulin. Gamma globulin. Each of these five protein groups moves at a different rate in an electrical field and together form a specific pattern. This pattern helps in identifying diseases. Fig.Schematic of serum protein electrophoresis.The position of polyclonal Ig’s in normal serum and the anode (+) and cathode (-) are indicated. CAPILLARY ZONE ELECTROPHORESIS This method is an alternative way to agarose gel electrophoresis for the measurement of serum proteins. Protein separation is performed in a liquid buffer system. The separated proteins pass an U.V detector that measures absorbance at 200 to 215 nm to determine the protein concentration. Fig. CZE.(A)Normal serum.(B)Monoclonal protein peak in ÃŽ ³-region, indicated by a small arrow on right. IMMUNOFIXATION ELECTROPHORESIS For this method, a patient’s serum is applied to several wells of an agarose gel, and after electrophoresis, specific antisera are overlaid on individual lanes of the gel. These antisera are typically against IgG, IgA, IgM, and ÃŽ », although other specificities may be useful for identifying unusual bands. A lane fixed with acid is also included for comparison. Following removal of the antisera, gels are washed and stained with Brilliant Blue or Amido Black. Although IFE is non-quantitative, it is regarded as the â€Å"gold standard† method to confirm the presence of a monoclonal protein and to distinguish its heavy and light chain type. Fig. Serum immunofixation electrophoresis. (A)Normal serum.(B)Monoclonal IgGÃŽ » intact immunoglobulin.(C, D)Monoclonal IgDÃŽ » intact immunoglobulin with ÃŽ » FLCs. FÃŽ »: anti-free ÃŽ » antisera. IMMUNOSUBTRACTION: Immunosubtraction can be used in place of IFE for typing the majority of monoclonal bands, but it is less sensitive. In this technique, Ig’s against IgG, IgA, IgM, are incubated with serum aliquots, then CZE is performed to determine which reagent remove an electrophoretic abnormality. Fig. IgGÃŽ º immunosubtraction example.The monoclonal protein peak is removed with addition of anti-IgG and -ÃŽ º antibodies. URINE CAPILLARY ZONE ELECTROPHORESIS The measuring of urine proteins by CZE is more challenging than serum analysis because urine have electrolytes, organic acids and other metabolites that can interfere with the test. To prevent this, urine samples need to be pre-treated by filtration, or dialysisand for this reason, the routine use of urine CZE is limited. Reason for Immunoglobulin Measurement Measurement of Ig’s is performed for two reasons: Detection of immunodeficiency Determination of the nature of a paraprotein in monoclonal gammopathies History of Procedures ELISA: Before 1970s, a radioimmunoassay using radioactively-labeled antigens or antibodies was the only test available. In a radioimmunoassay, the radioactivity provides the reporter signal indicating if a specific antigen or antibody is present in the sample. WESTERN BLOT Western blotting evolved from Southern blotting (Ref 1), invented byEdwin Southernat University of Edinburgh in 1975. BACTERIAL AGGLUTINATION: Two scientists, Herbert Edward Durham (-1945) andMax von Gruber(1853–1927), discovered specific agglutination in 1896. RIA: In 1950s, the radio-immunoassay (RIA) was developed by Rosalyn Yalow and Solomon Berson.  This group was later awarded the Nobel Prize in 1977 for developing an RIA to detect and measure blood glucose levels in diabetic patients. REFERENCES: http://autoimmunityblog.com/2011/09/28/orgentec-autoimmune-diagnostics-history-of-indirect-immunofluorescence-technology-ift/ http://www.sanidadanimal.info/cursos/inmun/quinto1.htm#ELISA https://ahdc.vet.cornell.edu/sects/clinpath/test/immun/igs.cfm http://chemwiki.ucdavis.edu/Analytical_Chemistry/Instrumental_Analysis/Capillary_Electrophoresis http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/mesh?term=Fluorescent+Antibody+Technique

The College Life :: essays research papers

The College Life Schedules are a difficult thing to balance. A person must find the time to complete a number of tasks in a day. A normal adult may have time to get everything done and still have time to spare. The normal college student on the other hand is constantly on the go. College students have busy schedules that include working, studying, and socializing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Most college students work. How else are they going to have the money for all those late night pizza deliveries? Part time employees usually eat on the road on the way from school to work. They work about 5 or 6 hours a day and then head home tired and ready for bed. Maybe not every night but usually there is some kind of paper to be written or chapter to be read. Full time college students that are also full-time workers have to plan everything out in order to make the time to get everything done. One of the things most college students don’t make time for is housework. They often wait until everything is dirty to start the laundry. Dishes are another thing that tend to pile up. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner plates and glasses add up after a week.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  College students must find time in their busy schedules to study. In order to keep up they must do daily assignments. Reading every night helps to prepare for the exams. Taking notes in class and out of class are also necessary. Students also have exams at the end of the semester that require hours of studying. Waiting until the last minute and then cramming it all in is often a final resort. Many students who have kept up just go over and recall the information. All students must find time to study in order to pass.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To escape from studying and working college students are known for socializing. They may help out in service clubs. Visiting a nursing home can be relaxing and comforting for both people.

Gran Torino Transcultural Analysis Essay

Gran Torino starring Clint Eastwood was about a man’s struggle in adapting to the changes in his environment when confronted by unfamiliar exposure to cultural differences. The film was chosen because it told a story about one’s struggle with traditional practice, cultural diversity, gender roles, and the acceptance of others. In terms of culture, there was an abundance of traditional practices related to the Hmong community. The screenplay was written by Nick Schenk and the movie was filmed in July 2008 (Longwell, T). Gran Torino was directed and produced by Clint Eastwood, who also played the role of the main character known as Walt Kowalski. Walt was an American man and a Korean War veteran who resided in a neighborhood that became inhabited by Hmong families (Gran Torino, 2008). The relationship that Walt had with his own family was disconnected and distant because his sons embraced the modern way of living but Walt was more traditional. Walt was portrayed as a grum py old man who did not like to socialize with others. All of that changed when Walt became associated with the Hmong children next door, Thao and Sue. Walt saved Thao from being taken by the Hmong gang members and was viewed as a hero by the Hmong families despite the fact that Walt was just trying to keep other people off his lawn. Upon an unexpected invitation by Sue, Walt’s world became intertwined with the Hmong community as he was introduced to various traditional Hmong customs and foods. After a series of events, the Hmong gang returned and injured Thao’s family which prompted Walt to seek redemption from his war past by sacrificing himself for the safety of Thao and Sue. The film portrayed culture clashes between an American and Hmong families while focusing on the struggles that Hmong immigrants endure to survive within their community. The Hmong population was great in Minneapolis, Minnesota and it was the original setting of Gran Torino and also the home town of screenplay writer Nick Schenk (Longwell). Schenk had never written any other featured films prior to Gran Torino and it was his first recognized piece. In the early 90s, Schenk worked at a factory where many of his co-workers were Hmong and he gained some knowledge about the history of Hmong people (Longwell). The Hmong sided with the U.S during the Vietnam War but ended up in refugee camps due to communist takeover after the U.S. troops left, which resulted in the Hmong fleeing to the U.S. to escape from the communist forces (Gran  Torino, 2008). Schenk began to incorporate Hmong families into the story with a Korean War veteran to emphasize a clash of cultures. The intended purpose of this film was to express the cultural barriers in the language, customs, and gender roles between Hmong people and Americans. The writers and directors did a great job on portraying masculinity as the perceived dominant role between the characters. In Gran Torino, Walt criticized Thao for doing things that men are not supposed to do such as gardening. Thao does a good job in representing role reversal because he was proud to do women chores like washing the dishes and gardening. Walt tried his best to look after Thao and made Thao masculine by teaching him how to talk to other â€Å"real† men. Walt believed that real American men are supposed to be strong, fight for themselves, pay taxes, and work hard at a hands-on laboring job. Walt eventually helped Thao become a man by getting him a â€Å"real† job, tools for construction work, and social skills to interact with other men. This film was derived from Schenk’s prior experience as a factory worker with other Hmong people and this writer did not create any other significant work subsequent to the production of Gran Torino. The plot of t he movie was to show how two different types of culture collide and interact. In addition, there was also indication that masculinity in males was important as shown by the main character, Walt. The sub-plot was to show the viewers that men are not supposed to be barbaric but to become a sophisticated people with class and follow society’s rule. The main characters were Walt Kowalski, Spider, Thao, and Thao’s older sister, Sue. Walt played the dominating male that represented how a real man should be. Spider, Thao and Sue’s cousin, represented an antagonist barbaric villain that supposed to be a gangster whom terrorized Walt’s neighborhood. Thao played an innocent feminine teenage role that Walt believed was not masculine, but has class and self-respect. Sue played the smart, sophisticated, typical school Asian girl who ended up getting injured by her cousin, Spider, and his gang. It was through the interaction with Sue and Walt that the viewers were able to experience Hmong history and cultural customs. In one of the scenes during a car ride home, Sue explained to Walt the origin of Hmong people and she also invited him to her house for meal where Walt thoroughly enjoyed the foods of Hmong culture. Walt and Spider treated Thao like a child because they both wanted to teach Thao how to become a man. Spid er taught Thao that  he needed to become a barbaric person to become a â€Å"real† man, while Walt taught Thao that hard work and following society norms was what a â€Å"real† man should do. Sue was the only main female character that was able to change Walt’s mind about Hmong people. Because of Sue’s persistence, Walt decided to help her and her family from Spider and his gang. Walt became the protagonist at the end of the movie by risking his own life to bring down Spider and his gang and restoring peace to the community. My opinion about the film was that the director did a good job on portraying masculinity and how a real man should act and treat a woman. There were a lot of racism coming out of Walt’s mouth about Asians, but in the end, I believed he had a change of heart about his Hmong neighbors. I believe he came to realizations that not all Asians are the same as he remembered during his Korean War days. The way Walt finally gave a confession to the priest and how he died for his neighbor was really unexpected. The acting of Walt’s character by Clint Eastwood was really good as well. Walt’s character caught my attention and made me want to know more about his previous life, especially when he talked about how he was in the Kore an War. The cinematography could have been better and at times, it felt like I was watching a biography rather than a movie. One of the flaws was that Walt did not get in a fight for his rude behavior towards everyone that he encountered. Another flaw was that he sacrificed his life for a neighbor when he knew that he could have called the cops on Spider and his crew for possession of a fire arm and shooting his neighbor’s house, rather than choosing death at the end. Also, I believed the movie could have been better if they left out his illness from the doctor’s visit. If they had left that out and continued with the suicidal death in the end rather than risking Walt’s life because of a terminal illness, Walt’s character would have been more heroic. On the contrary, a strength of the movie was when Sue corrected Walt about the pronunciation of her race while giving him a history of where Hmong people came from and why they immigrated to America. The ultimate strength was when Walt died for his neighbor by going to Spider’s apartment complex with witnesses around to see h im get murdered. Throughout the movie, the film showed the audience that Walt always carried a gun to scare off his foes, but at the end, he realized that he did not need a weapon to bring down Spider and his gang. One of the things that I learned from the film was that nurses should not be too quick to judge someone based on appearance, like how Walt called all the Asians â€Å"gooks† without knowing their nationality. In one of the scenes in the movie, Walt was in the waiting room at the hospital for a check-up and a nurse mispronounced his name. The nurse called him â€Å"Koski† while his name was â€Å"Kowalski.† Walt gave her a disgusting look and the nurse did not apologize or asked if she was mispronouncing his name or not. As a future nurse, I want to maintain a professional role and acknowledge patients by their correct name. Correctly pronouncing a patient’s name also eliminates human error and also prevents doctors from diagnosing the wrong person. In conclusion, I would recommend this movie to people who are uneducated about Asian culture. There were a lot of racist terms that Walt used in the movie about Asians and the stereotypes of Asians eating dogs which are not true. I would rate the movie a 4 out of 5 stars because the movie was rich in cultural content and character development. The film is appropriate for audiences ages 13 and up and mainly geared toward mal es. There were a lot of violent content and gang related terms involved. As a result of watching this movie, I learned that one can change if surrounded by the right people under inevitable circumstances such as Walt’s culture clash with his Hmong neighbors. In addition, helping one another was the most rewarding take home message of Gran Torino. Whether I am helping a patient or just lending a helping hand to my next door neighbor, I will remember to be kind as to prevent one another from going down the wrong paths. References Eastwood, C. (Producer & Director). (2008). Gran torino [Motion Picture]. Burbank, CA: Warner Bros. Longwell, T. (2008). Eastwood recognizes Hmong immigrants with new film. Reuters. Retrieved May 27, 2014, from http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/12/09/us-gran-idUSTRE4B81ZC20081209

Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior

In the article, â€Å"Why Chinese mothers are Superior, Chua describes her efforts to give her children what she describes as a traditional, strict â€Å"Chinese† upbringing. ] This piece was controversial. Many readers missed the supposed irony and self-deprecating humor in the title and the piece itself and instead believed that Chua was advocating the â€Å"superiority† of a particular, very strict, ethnically defined approach to parenting. In fact Chua has stated that the book was not a â€Å"how-to† manual but a self-mocking memoir. In any case, Chua defines â€Å"Chinese mother† loosely to include parents of other ethnicities who practice traditional, strict child-rearing, while also acknowledging that â€Å"Western parents come in all varieties,† and not all ethnically Chinese parents practice strict child-rearing. Chua also reported that in one study of 48 Chinese immigrant mothers, the vast majority ‘said that they believe their children can be â€Å"the best† students, that â€Å"academic achievement reflects successful parenting,† and that if children did not excel at school then there was â€Å"a problem† and parents â€Å"were not doing their job. ‘ Chua contrasts them with the view she labels â€Å"Western† – that a child’s self-esteem is paramount Amy makes it clear that the Asian kids are not born smart (For the most part, at least) It is hard work and training from the parents that shapes the children into these wonder kids. To prov e her point she lists up a number of things that her daughter were never allowed to do, such as: * Have a play date * Watch television or play computer games * Attend a school play. And so on.. Prohibitions that seems totally unreasonable for us â€Å"westerns†, as she loosely has named us. Throughout the text she covers several perspectives on parenting, which of a few I surprisingly agree on. Most of her viewpoints I deeply disagree with though and is far from my idea about proper parenting. Each time she lists up one of her perspectives, she compares the Chinese perspective with the Western perspective. She does this in a very subjective manner I think. She is very clever rhetorically. At some parts of the text, I actually caught my self being very close to getting dragged towards her side. I found it quite amusing to feel the power of pathos, but at the same time a bit daunting. According to Amy, the main difference between Chinese parents and Western parents is the way they see their children. Western parents believe that respecting their children’s choices, their individuality and always encouraging them to pursue their true passions is the way. In contrast, Chinese parents believe that preparing their children for the future, and.. Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior Children all over the world are raised in hundreds of different ways. Some parents strive to get a successful child, some are more casual, and some parents even relive their youth through their kids. China is on the running course with the rest of the world, and when it comes to creating masterminds, China is way ahead of everyone else. Should we follow, or should we simply go on the way we always have? In the article â€Å"Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior† by Amy Chua, we’re informed about the differences between the western way of raising children and the Chinese way.She is a Chinese mother herself, and from her perspective she explains how she has raised her children by excluding them from every social activity, both within school, but also during their extracurricular.Her opinions are pretty clear, and she doesn’t hesitate to express how much she thinks her way of raising children is better than the western way. She explains that not all Chinese mothers are l ike her â€Å"Conversely, I know some mothers of Chinese heritage, almost always born in the West, who are not Chinese mothers, by choice or otherwise†1.Throughout the article, she states that the western way of raising children is not as good as the Chinese, and even though some western parents think they’re strict towards their children, it’s nothing compared to the Chinese idea of strict â€Å"†¦even when Western parents think they’re being strict, they usually don’t come close to being Chinese mothers. (†¦ ) my Western friends who consider themselves strict make their children practice their instruments for 30 minutes every day. An hour at most.For a Chinese mother, the first hour is the easy part. It’s hours two and three that though†2. This proves that she truly thinks that she, and the rest of the hardworking Chinese mothers, are superior. Throughout the article, she also resorts to studies, that have examined the opi nions of 50 western women and 48 immigrated Chinese women, all mothers. â€Å"Almost 70% of the Western mothers said either that â€Å"stressing academic success is not good for children† or that â€Å"parents need to foster the idea, that learning is fun†Ã¢â‚¬ 3.The opinion of the Chinese mothers was a whole different story, though â€Å"By contrast, roughly 0% of the Chinese mothers felt the same way†4. Dragging these studies into her article doesn’t only make her reliable, she also argues very well for her case. The fact that she is a professor at Yale Law School also backs up her reliance. Being a professor for future lawyers usually requires being good at arguing, which she certainly is.In her article, she has included stories and experiences from her own life, in which she was also raised the Chinese way: Play to be the best, or don’t play at all. The first experience she explains is how her father used to call her names when she was disres pectful towards her mother â€Å"†¦ when I was extremely disrespectful to my mother, my father angrily called me â€Å"garbage†Ã¢â‚¬ 5, but she also states that she was never negatively affected by his name-calling â€Å"I felt terrible and deeply ashamed of what I had done.But it didn’t damage my self-esteem or anything like that†6. Throughout the article, she uses humor even though she seems to be a strict lady, that doesn’t waste time messing around â€Å"One guest named Marcy got so upset she broke down in tears and had to leave early. My friend Susan, the host, tried to rehabilitate me with the remaining guests†7. This shows that she does, even though it might be a bit hard to detect, have a sense of humor. She is pretty subjective in this article, since she assumes that every Chinese child is an A-class student.This is, though a bit of a paradox, since she in the start of the article wrote that not all Chinese mothers are the same â₠¬Å"If a Chinese child gets a B – which would never happen – there would be a screaming, hair-tearing explosion. †8. She is convinced, that a Chinese parent can treat their child in any way they want to, calling them names and forcing them to do things, they don’t want to do, whereas western parents can’t be critic at all or demand anything of their child without ruining the self-esteem of their child â€Å"Chinese mothers can say to their daughters â€Å"Hey fatty – Lose some weight.†By contrast, Western parents have to tiptoe around the issue, talking in terms of â€Å"health† and never mention the f-word, and their kids still end up in therapy for eating disorders and negative self-image†9. In the modern world, it’s all about stepping up and making a name for yourself, no matter if you’re on Wall Street or a part of the underground music revolution. Many years ago, China’s economy was a wreck, peopl e starved and you had to be the best to survive.Call it Darwinism, but these people had to fight to be something, and I think this is how this Chinese way of raising children was created, and we learned from Amy’s article, that Chinese children are still raised this way. If a young child is brilliant at for example an instrument and a video is posted on Youtube and it goes viral and people hear about it, they sometimes ask â€Å"Is the kid Asian? †. Then people laugh, but it’s funny because it’s true!The Chinese, not to speak of rest of Asia, has conquered a big part of the market for manufactured products, and everywhere you go you see the stamp â€Å"Made In China†. No wonder if everyone in China raise their children like Amy does. When all this is said, I think children should be allowed to be children. It’s healthy for them to create social bands, but if they’re cut out from all social activity by their parents, they will automati cally become the outcast in their class.This is why we on American high schools always see white and black kids hang out together, but the Asians are usually for themselves. It’s natural to make boundaries for your child, the child should know the difference between right and wrong, but should definitely not learn that socializing is wrong. Maybe Amy didn’t get damaged in the process of being perfected by her parents, but I’m sure not every Chinese child is like her. We keep talking about leaving a better planet for our children – But how about leaving better children for our planet? Why chinese mothers are superior â€Å"Nothing is fun until you’re good at it.† That statement is the essence of the Chinese way of parenting. Studies show, that Chinese parents spend about 10 times as long as Western parents on academic activities with their children on a daily basis. But the question is, will all that discipline and those high expectations really create content and successful adults or does it in fact create children who will eventually resent their parents?The article was brought in The Wall Street Journal in 2011 and it is written by Amy Chua’s and from her point of view. She is a professor and a mother of two. She believes in the Chinese way of parenting – that discipline and expecting nothing less but perfection from your children, will eventually create happy and successful adults. In the article she argues for the reason why the Chinese upbringing is successful. She is married to a Westerner and therefore she has recognized three big differences in the Chinese and Western parental mind-sets.Amy believes these three differences to be the reason why Chinese children have a tendency to perform better at school. First of all, she thinks that Western parents are too concerned with their children’s self-esteem. As she says it: â€Å"Western parents are concerned about their children’s psyches. Chinese parents aren’t. They assume strength, not fragility, and as a result they behave very differently.† This statement is somewhat true. Western parents have a tendency to tiptoe around an issue; because they are petrified they might hurt their child’s feelings or damage their child’s self-esteem.If you expect your children to be fragile, they most likely will become fragile. If you on the other hand expect strength, and that they can handle the truth without getting a damaged self-esteem, they will be strong. But as always there must be moderation in all things. Amy Chua says: â€Å"That’s why the soluti on to substandard performance is always to excoriate, punish and shame the child. The Chinese parent believes that their child will be strong enough to take the shaming and to improve from it.†Punishing your children for a disappointing performance at school by castigating the child is very far from the Western parental mind-set. If you are disappointed in your children, it is better to be honest with them and tell them you know they can do better and what you expect of them in the future. It is unnecessary to lambast your children. It seems, that in Amy Chua’s mind respect and fear is the same thing, which in my mind seems hopelessly out of date.You should not fear your parents; instead they should be the ones in whom you could always seek comfort and support. Amy Chua has a completely different mind-set on where children are in the social hierarchy, which is the next big difference between Chinese and Western upbringing.Amy Chua believes that the second big difference between Chinese and Western upbringing is, that Chinese parents believe their kids owe them everything. In this part she uses her husband as an example of what a Westerners view is: â€Å"It’s parents who foist life on their kids, so it’s the parents’ responsibility to provide for them. Kids don’t owe their parents anything.†This is an opinion most Westerners share. It is a culture difference. It is  not only the Chinese culture, but also the Muslim, Jewish etc. that have this type of social hierarchy, where it is the older you are, and the higher status you have. Amy Chua may exaggerate when she says Chinese children owe their parents everything, but a lot of Westerners could learn to show more respect towards the elderly people. We could learn something from each other’s way of parenting, even though they are opposite of each other.In the next part Amy Chua points out the last big difference between the two very different ways of parent ing. â€Å"Third, Chinese parents believe that they know what is best for their children and therefore override all of their children’s own desires and preferences.† To explain the reasoning behind this statement, Amy tells a story from her own life, when her  daughter refused to play a piano piece because it was too hard. But Amy made her do it and in the end she did it and performed it perfectly. To a certain degree, it is okay for parents to make their children do something they do  not want to, because it takes practice.What you have to be careful about is keeping them away from the things they want to do. If they have a desire to something, not allowing them will only enhance that desire, and in the end that might cause some kind of drastic reaction from their part. Once again it is a really big difference between the Chinese and the Western mind-set. Western parents usually encourage their children to pursue their desires and support their decisions, whereas the Chinese parents believe they know what is best for their children.The fact that Western parents allow their children to do what they want with their lives, makes the Chinese parents think that Chinese parents care more about their children, because they won’t let them turn out badly. On the other hand, Westerners think that Chinese parents are callous people, who do not let their children be children. Amy think’s that is a misunderstanding on both sides, because as she says: â€Å"All decent parents want to do what is best for their children. The Chinese just have a totally different idea of how to do that.† Amy respects both ways of parenting, but it is oblivious throughout the article that Amy Chua believes the Chinese way of parenting is the right way to go.Amy Chua’s views on parenting might be slightly provoking to a lot of people, but she argues well for the reasoning behind it. In the article it seems that there are no consequences of the Chine se parental mind-set. But there always is. There is a possibility that Amy Chua’s way of parenting might cause her children to resent her at some point, when they realize that not every parent is like that. Also undermining the creative subjects like gym and drama is not the way to go.A lot of studies show the importance of creativity in a child’s life and exercise is crucial for children as well. It is also important to remember that the social intelligence is just as important as  the logical one, and maybe more. When the children are going to job interviews etc. it is very important to be socially qualified, and they won’t learn that by being kept away from sleepovers, play dates and so on. There are definitely consequences of the Chinese way of upbringing that Amy describes, just as well as there is of the Western way.Even though Amy is an advocate of the Chinese way of parenting, she does not glorify it. She uses humour and exaggeration to engage the read er for example: â€Å"If a Chinese child gets a B – which would never happen – there would first be a screaming, hair-tearing explosion.† She amplifies a lot in the examples she uses in order to emphasize just how different Western and Chinese parents are. An article is not engaging if it only consists of statistics and surveys. But like Amy does use those statistics and surveys to back up her own story. By doing that, the story becomes more believable. As readers we are much more interested to hear a personal story that is part of a greater hole.Amy also engages the reader by making a bold headline: â€Å"Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior†. When we read that we instantly feel a desire to know why and which arguments she has for making such a statement.The article ends with a summary of the contrast between the Western and Chinese parental mind-set. Both are very positive, but still very different. In that way Amy enlightens how both ways of parenting can be equally as good. The message of the article is that we should learn from each other’s way of parenting, and just because one environment is different, does not mean it is not equally as loving and nurturing as the other.

All About the USS Gerald Ford Aircraft Carrier

All About the USS Gerald Ford Aircraft Carrier One of the newer aircraft carriers is the Gerald R. Ford class, the first one to be named the USS Gerald R. Ford. The USS Gerald Ford is being built by Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Shipbuilding.The Navy plans to build 10 Gerald Ford class carriers, each with a  50-year  life span. The second Gerald Ford class carrier is named the USS John F. Kennedy and construction started in 2011. This class of aircraft carriers will replace the Nimitz class USS Enterprise carrier. Ordered in 2008, the USS Gerald Ford was scheduled for commissioning in 2017. Another carrier was scheduled to be completed in 2023.   A More Automated Aircraft Carrier The Gerald Ford-class carriers will have advanced aircraft arresting gear and be highly automated to reduce manpower requirements. The aircraft arresting gear (AAG) is built by General Atomics. Prior carriers used steam launchers to launch aircraft but the Gerald Ford will use the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) built by General Atomics. The carrier is nuclear powered with two reactors. The latest in stealth technology will be employed to reduce the ships radar signature. The Raytheon enhanced weapon handling and integrated warfare control systems will further improve ship operation. Dual Band Radar (DBR) will improve the ships ability to control aircraft and increase the number of sorties that can be made by 25 percent. The control island has been completely redesigned to enhance operations and be smaller. Aircraft carried by the carrier can include F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, EA-18G Growler, and F-35C Lightning II. Other aircraft on board include: EF-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraftE-2D Hawkeye for conducting battle management command and controlMH-60R Seahawk helicopter for antisubmarine and anti-surface warfare dutiesMH-60S Fire Scout unmanned helicopter. Current carriers use steam power throughout the ship but the Ford class has replaced all the steam lines with electric power. Weapons elevators on the carriers use electromagnetic hoists instead of wire rope to reduce maintenance costs. Hydraulics have been eliminated and replaced by electric actuators. Weapons elevators are built by Federal Equipment Company. Crew Amenities The new carriers will have enhanced quality of life for the crew. There are two galleys on the ship plus one for the Strike Group Commander and one for the Ship’s Commanding Officer. The ship will have improved air conditioning, better work spaces, sleeping and sanitary facilities. It is estimated that the operating cost of the new carriers will be $5 billion less over the ships life than the current Nimitz carriers. Parts of the ship are designed to be flexible and allow for future installation of speakers, lights, controls, and monitors. Ventilation and cabling are run under the decks to allow for easy reconfiguration. Weapons On Board Evolved Sea Sparrow missileRolling Airframe MissilePhalanx CIWSCarries 75 aircraft. Specifications Length 1,092 feetBeam 134 feetFlight deck 256 feetDraft 39 feetDisplacement 100,000 tonsPower generation from two nuclear reactors designed by Bettis LaboratoryFour shafts for propulsion (propulsion units built by General Electric and turbine generators are built by Northrop Grumman Marine Systems).Crew size 4,660 crew including ship staff and air wing personnel, 800 less than current carriersMaximum speed 30 knotsRange is unlimited since nuclear reactors can power the ship for many yearsApproximate cost $11.5 billion each To sum up, the next-generation aircraft carrier is the Gerald R. Ford class. It will carry superior firepower through over 75 aircraft, unlimited range using the nuclear reactors, lower manpower, and operating costs. The new design will increase the number of missions that the aircraft can complete making the carrier even more of a force.