Review and Response of the Reading Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Review and Response of the Reading - Essay Example She then goes on to talk about some of the more provocative art forms, especially in context of African Americans. Her detailed analysis of the various African American arts, which challenge the established morals of the society is very enlightening. I was particularly impressed by her thorough research in the field, as she refers to a number of artistic displays, some of them long since extinct. According to her, these arts, which were created by the African American, may be considered by many to be pornographic on the face of it, but when you look at these at another level, you realize that through these provocative art forms these African American artists are trying to point out how there bodies were used and abused over the years of slavery. Most of these artistic displays are extremely provocative, like the play by Robbie MacCauley’s â€Å"Aunt Sally’s Rape†, where she poses nude. To the upholders of false morality, this play may seem to be pornographic, but it has a much deeper meaning in that brings out the humiliations faced by the African American slaves who had no right even over their own body. This and several other arts mentioned by Fusco serve to bring out the irony of African American fate whose bodies were abused for the viewing pleasure of the white audience even as they had no control over it and than the moralistic people denounced these very black people for being pornographic. Nayland Blake in his dialogue with talk about some his similarly provocative arts. The most outstanding of his works is the â€Å"Gorge† where we see him being fed continuously for sixty minutes on the video. The fact that Blake is legally Black and the person feeding him on the video is also black is discussed in details in this dialogue. According to Blake, the notion of race has led to the African Americans being subjected to a number of horrors historically. Both Fusco and Blake talk about the horrors

Advantages And Disadvantages Relying On Field Notes English Language Essay

Advantages And Disadvantages Relying On Field Notes English Language Essay At the first step of this assessment I have to answer what the advantages and disadvantages are of relying solely on field notes, in comparison with producing a transcription of an audio or video recording. During the second half of the twentieth century, there was a huge growth in the amount of educational research and the emergence of a substantial methodological literature on how best to pursue it. The educational research became quite diverse, not only in the topics examined but also in the methodological and theoretical approaches that are used. Perhaps not surprisingly, disagreement is closely associated with such diversity, and there are even differences of opinion over what is and is not research, and what is and is not educational research(E891 Educational Enquiry, Study Guide, p. 63). Field notes or transcription of an audio or video recording are characteristics of reflective practice and of what is often referred to as action research. Nevertheless, a great deal of educat ional enquiry is carried out as a separate task from educational practice, even when it is designed to inform practice directly. In this matter, the researchers may not be educational practitioners themselves, although they frequently are (E891 Educational Enquiry, Study Guide, p. 63). Concerning the range of strategies that can be used to pursue educational research it is a wide range of issues such as laboratory and classroom experiments, large-scale surveys of the behaviour, attitude, etc. The results of the research, i.e. the data may be the product of direct observation on the part of the researcher or it may be produced by others, and can take a variety of forms, such as answering questionnaires by ticking in boxes on interview or observational schedules, numbers as recorded in published statistics, text from published or unpublished documents or from field notes written by the researcher during the course of observations or interviews, audio-or video-recordings and transcripts of these(Research Methods in Education, Handbook, p.26). A common way of conceptualizing this diversity is the distinction between quantitative and qualitative approaches and it is necessary, however, to emphasize that it is a very crude distinction and one that is potentially misleading. The most obvious distinction between the two sorts of research is that the former deals with numbers whereas the latter does not or does to a minor degree. Going back to the main point of the question I have to deal with the qualitative research since field notes or audio video recording are within this category. As interview transcripts are made and field notes of observation compiled the researcher continuously examines the data, by highlighting certain points in the text or making comments in the margins. The important points are identified by the researcher noting contradictions and inconsistencies, comparisons and contrasts with other data and so on. At this point the researcher is not just collecting data, but thinking about it and interacting with it. Much of these first attempts at speculative analysis will probably be discarded, but some ideas will no doubt take shape as data collection and analysis proceed. Much of this early activity may appear chaotic and uncoordinated, but such `chaos is a prolific seed-bed for ideas (Research Methods in Education, Handbook, p. 68). However, sometimes, because of the pressure of time, the notes the researcher makes may be little more than a scribbled comment, or a one-word `indicator particularly as the research goes on, one might write longer notes or memos or summarize parts of data that go together and that could be one of the disadvantages for the field notes. On the other hand, by writing the notes down, the researcher has the advantage of memorising better the outcome of the interview. Concerning though the audio video recording as it used to happen in the past, qualitative researchers relied primarily on written field notes as a source of data. However today, they use audio or video recorders, although they often supplement these recordings with field notes in order to provide additional information that may not be evident in the recordings which is one of its disadvantages. In addition, this might include such things as the layout of the setting, what happened before the recording began, talk that was too quiet to be picked up by the microphone, who was speaking to whom, non-verbal behaviour of various kinds, and behaviour that may be obscured on the video recording. Generally speaking, the aim when writing field notes is to provide as detailed and accurate an account as possible of the nature of a setting, and of what was said and done while the observation was being carried out (E891 Educational Enquiry, Media Guide, p. 8). Another advantage of the audio video recording is the opportunity the researcher has to play over and over the interview and clarify more what he hears. In contrast, by audio video interview, the interviewee loses his own privacy since an interview is more or less a confession. (824 words) Question 2 During the second half of the twentieth century, educational research has moved away from the use of the quantitative method and the associated reliance on positivist ideas about methodology, and towards various kinds of post-positivist approach although neither quantitative research nor the influence of positivism disappeared completely. Educational research came increasingly reliant on relatively unstructured forms of data, such as audio and video recordings, open-ended field notes, and published or unpublished documents even using material from the internet. This data was analysed in ways that did not rely on quantitative method, being designed instead to produce accounts that are similar in basic character to those written, for example, by historians (E891 Educational Enquiry, Study Guide, p. 81). As a result, qualitative researchers work mainly with relatively unstructured data which is not framed in terms of analytic categories at the point of data collection. Researchers are using observational data produced in the form of open-ended field notes describing what is observed in plain and concrete language, and/or through audio or video recordings which are then transcribed. In addition researchers may use data from relatively unstructured interviews in other words, those that do not involve asking a set of pre-specified questions, or offering informants a choice from pre specified answers. Instead, for the most part, their aim is to encourage informants to talk in their own terms about matters that may be relevant to the research. Once again, the data is recorded by means of field notes, and/or more usually by audio recording and transcription (E891 Educational Enquiry, Study Guide, p. 104). Moreover, observation as a source of data uses most kinds of documents, observation requires the researcher to record the data by means of field notes, audio or video recording. Whenever electronic recordings are used, these usually must be transcribed, which in a sense are time-consuming activities that must be carried out before the even more time consuming activity of analysis starts. Very often observation in qualitative research uses audio or video recording which usually provides a more accurate and detailed record than the use of field notes. However, these techniques still do not record everything. For example audio recordings omit nonverbal behaviour that may be very significant in understanding what is being expressed. On the other hand, camera angle will make some things visible and others obscure or out of focus. Furthermore, both audio and video recordings need to be transcribed, and errors can be introduced here. Even transcription involves inference (Ochs, 1979, p.2). The researchers have to be very careful when interviewing people and collecting data. In other words, they reject the idea that interview data can be used either as a window into the minds of informants or as a source of information about the social worlds in which they live. At this second part of my assignment the question which is needed to be answered is what would be lost by relying on audio recording rather than a video recording. Up to now, I have tried to analyse the usage of the audio video recording by the researchers and pick point advantages and disadvantages of this method. There is a need for more time to be consumed when we do the transcription of an audio instead of a video recording due to the fact that we can only listen to the audio instead of listening and watching a video recording. In addition, with the audio recording we lose important non-verbal and contextual information. Unless we are familiar with the speakers we may also find it difficult to distinguish between different voices. Wherever possible, supplement audio-recordings with field-notes or a diary providing contextual information. Moreover, audio recordings omit nonverbal behaviour that may be very significant in understanding. What is happening while a researcher is asking someone something that could be seen in the video recording is easier to be interpreted. Laughter or coughing could be very important on the ground of what it is said but is missing from the audio recording since both need to be transcribed and errors can be introduced here easier with audio recording since transc ription involves inference. Moreover, the usage of the audio recording may mislead the researcher since he only has the voice and not a picture of the interviewee. However it is more intimidating to video record an interviewer and it goes without saying that permission should be sought before any audio or video recording. (736 words) Question 3 Coming to the third part of the assignment, I have to point out the advantages and disadvantages of the structured interviewing. Structured interview falls into the educational research. According to Stenhouse A research tradition which is accessible to teachers and which feeds teaching must be created if education is to be significantly improved.(An introduction to Curriculum Research and Development, 1975, p.165). Furthermore, David Tripps words are very significant as he mentioned the importance of the educational research by saying that there is no doubt if educational research seeks to improve practice it needs to be grounded in educational events and not in academic theories (Critical Incidents in Teaching, 1993, p. 152). From my own experience, this is very important to me, since I recognised the fact that I had been very successful in the classroom while being ignorant of what academics considered knowledge essential to teaching. I actually became aware of the difference betw een knowledge of academics and knowledge of teachers after I had taken educational lessons in pedagogy as part of the compulsory pre service course so that I could continue teaching. Additionally, improving teaching is by grounding in educational research in realities of teachers everyday experience. We are all familiar with interviews from everyday life which basically the interview is an interactional format that consists of an interchange between one or more people by asking questions and a person (or a number of people) answering them. An interview can be distinguished from a test or an oral examination in that the aim is for the person questioned to provide information or opinions, while the interviewer does not usually make any explicit evaluation of the answers beyond what might be required for the sake of politeness (E891 Educational Enquiry, Media Guide, p. 10). Even though interviews are described in broad terms, we also recognise when an interview is taking place and it is also important to understand the considerable variation in their character. This is not just about differences in purpose but even research interviews may vary considerably in a number of ways. As it was mentioned before, it is possible to interview one or more persons simultaneously thus marking the distinction between individual and group interviews. Another significant difference concerns where an interview takes place on whose territory, for example. In structured interviews characteristic of survey research, interviewers in general, reveal as little as less possible about themselves, in contrast of what can be read from their appearance and behaviour. However, this is the case during the formal part of the interview; there is more to be disclosed in informal interchanges before or after the interview. However, in qualitative interviews, with their more unstructured format, it is common for interviewers to provide more information about themselves. In addition, some commentators have argued that they are obliged to do this, as part of an appropriate reciprocity that ought to operate between researcher and researched (E891 Educational Enquiry, Study Guide, p. 234). Another fact that the researcher should take into consideration when he or she is preparing a structured interview is the design of the interview. To avoid mistakes piloting is very necessary. Observation schedules and the way the researcher records observations also ne ed to be reliable, since it needs to mean the same to others as it does to you. You need to make sure that you negotiate with each other to arrive at mutually agreed definitions of the behaviours and situations you want to concentrate on. As Coolican points out: We know that each persons view of a situation is unique and that our perceptions can be biased by innumerable factors. An untrained observer might readily evaluate behaviour which the researcher wants reported as objectively as possible. Where the trained observer reports a hard blow, the novice might describe this as `vicious' (Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology, 1990, p.63). Coming back to my working experience, as an assistant head master, I experience structured and semi structured interviews almost every day. Being with young students from 15 to 18 years of age as educators we are in constant discussion with them. While I was studying for the structured interview my mind always goes back on the first days of each year for the first year students in school. Every assistant head master normally is responsible for at least 25 first year students; as a result, I always have freshmen at school that I have to interview them so I can have a brief idea about them. The interview is developed as a structured one and many questions could be answered by either answering yes or no or by filling in with a few words. The most important for me is to drain as more useful information as possible. Furthermore, based on the given participants answers to my questions, I have to determine not only the students personal problems, hobbies and interests but also oral fluency, vocabulary strengths, and general communication skills. This assessment target, which in a sense is not part of the structured interview it is a tool which I have to develop so that I can comment at the end of the interview for myself. As it is obvious, the interviewees are often nervous and sometimes are shy. I usually put a lot of effort to get as more as possible from the interviewee and this sometimes becomes more and more difficult for me. As Mcnamara mentioned the interviews are particularly useful for getting the story behind a participants experiences and the interviewer can pursue in-depth information around the topic but it is also useful as follow-up to certain respondents to questionnaires, e.g., to further investigate their responses. (General Guidelines for Conducting Interviews, 1999, p. 12). Whenever I come to the end of the interview, a lot of thoughts go through my head. The fact that I learn more about my students could become an advantage or a disadvantage for me or any interviewer. However, this part should stay with me or any other interviewer and I should explore more strengths or weaknesses of this method. As a starting point for the advantages of an interview I should mention the fact that all participants are getting equal chances to answer on the same questions and present themselves as best as possible since all the questions are set up in such a way to give them the opportunity. Face-to-face structured interviews are quicker to conduct and they give better opportunity to assess the interviewees meaning and interpretation of the questions. They also help to identify any confusion that might come up from the so asked question or answer, more easily and efficiently. In addition, they allow the chance to present material to interviewees and get their reactions. Furthermore, face-to-face structured interviews are generally better than mail questionnaires with interviewees with unknown educational skills that may not be clarify for the questions asked. They are also helpful when sensitive information is looked for since interviewers normally can establish a trust with the interviewee and they are able to drain answers to questions that the interviewee may otherwise be negative to answer or to answer truthfully. In addition, where less is known about the way in which interviewees think about an issue or about the range of possible answers to a question, structured interviews has the chance for interviewers to ask additional questions, if needed to get reasonable answers. Moreover interviewees are asked the same questions in the same way. This makes it easy to repeat (replicate) the interview. In other words, this type of research method is easy to standardise and provides a reliable source of quantitative data. On the other hand, there are also disadvantages from the structured interview such as the associated one with obtaining data from tests, questionnaires and structured interviews. These methods are often aimed at capturing dispositions, such as respondents abilities, attitudes or tendencies to act in particular ways. However, peoples responses to particular questions or test items on particular occasions within the research context may be different from what they would typically say or do in other circumstances. In other words, their responses may be generated by particularities of the research context, and may not apply more generally. Even where the responses are the product of a disposition, researchers will not know exactly under what conditions this disposition is acted on (E891 Educational Enquiry, Study Guide, p. 148). However, interviews also develop the dynamic for an interviewer to intentionally or unintentionally influence results and violate consistency in measurement. The survey interviewees are very sensitive to cues given by the interviewers verbal and non-verbal behavior. As well, an interviewer has the opportunity to ask further questions or give clarifications and may undountefully influence the expected answers. Although they are faster to conduct than mail questionnaire surveys, face-to-face interviews are costly due to the amount of staff time required to conduct interviews and to the cost of travel. Coming to my interviews, I am, however, generally able to make fairly accurate judgments about students background and abilities. In most cases, I also get feedback as interviewer. Many participants said they found my tone of voice and my encouraging approach very helpful. That kind of feedback certainly helped me as the interviewer. (1540 words) Coolican, H. (1990) Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology, London, Hobber and Stoughton. E891 Educational Enquiry, Media Guide, (2007), The Open University. E891 Educational Enquiry, Study Guide, (2007), The Open University. McNamara, C., (1999), PhD. General Guidelines for Conducting Interviews, Minnesota. Ochs, E. (1979) Transcriptions as theory in Ochs, E. (ed.) Developmental Pragmatics, New York, Academic Press. Research Methods in Education, Handbook, (2003), The Open University. Stenhouse, L.(1975) An introduction to Curriculum Research and Development, London, Heinemann. Tripp, D. (1993) Critical Incidents in Teaching, London, Routledge.

Autism and Implications of Evidence Based Research on Therapeutic Inter

Autism and Implications of Evidence Based Research on Therapeutic Interventions in Youth The field of Autism continues to be an evolving and dynamic theme of exploration and research for professionals in the medical, educational, behavioral, and social science disciplines. The research around evidenced based therapies in these realms guides professional practice, interventions, programs, and long-term care for individuals with Autism. A review of the research studies published within the past five years on the use of positive behavioral interventions and supports in the management of behaviors for students with Autism within the educational setting will occur within this paper. The review of each research study will address the focus of the study, the questions the research study aims to answer, the sample the research study investigates, the experimental or research design used in the study, and finally the statistical tests used to derive the research results. The Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (2009) published the article, Updating a meta-analysis of intervention research with challenging behaviour: Treatment validity and standards of practice, which reviews the previous research pertaining to best practice and the success rate of different strategies to address challenging behavior in children with developmental disabilities. Authors Shane Harvey, Diana Boer, Luanna Meyer, Ian Evan sought to conduct an extensive systematic meta-analysis of the literature published on research studies in regards to problem behaviors in children with developmental disabilities. Harvey, Boer, Meyer, and Evans attempt to replicate as closely as possible a research study first published approximately two decades ago on a ... ...y, S. T., Boer, D., Meyer, L. H., & Evans, I. M. (2009). Updating a meta-analysis of intervention research with challenging behaviour: Treatment validity and standards of practice [Abstract]. Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 34(1), 67-80. doi:10.1080/13668250802690922 Kraemer, B. R., Cook, C. R., Browning-Wright, D., Mayer, G. R., & Wallace, M. D. (2008). Effects of Training on the Use of the Behavior Support Plan Quality Evaluation Guide with Autism Educators: A Preliminary Investigation Examining Positive Behavior Support Plans. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 10(3), 179-189. doi:10.1177/1098300708318796 National Autism Center (2009). National Standards Project-Addressing the Need for Evidence-Based Practice Guideline for Autism Spectrum Disorders (978-0-9836494-2-7). Retrieved May 26, 2012, from http://nationalautismcenter.org

Examine the view that theoretical issues are the most important factor influencing sociologist’s choice of research methods Essay

Many sociologists argue that theoretical issues are the most important factors to affect choice of method. Theoretical issues refer to what we think society is like and if we can obtain an accurate and truthful picture of it. There are four different concerns regarding theoretical issues which influence sociologist’s choice of research methods. Validity is a method that gives a true or genuine picture of what something is really like, which helps the researcher easily find out the truth. Sociologists argue that the use of qualitative methods such as Participant Observation gives a more valid, truthful account as it provides us with a deeper insight through firsthand experience. The next issue that influences sociologist’s choice is reliability which comes from Latin, replica meaning an exact copy of something. This results in the method being able to be repeated and creates a less bias and more accurate research again and again. Quantitative methods such as written ques tionnaires can be used as they are more reliable results than qualitative methods such as unstructured interviews. Another theoretical issue is representativeness which refers to how much of the characteristics you are looking for is represented by the people being studied. For example if a sociologist is researching single parent homes, you will not interview nuclear families, because they are not representing the variables they are looking for. Similarly if someone is investigating delinquency, they will not conduct their research in a place that is very well developed or a place that has a lot of wealthy people living there, because it would not be representative of the phenomena they wish to study. The last theoretical issue is methological perspective which is a choice of method that is influenced by their perspective – their view of what society is and how we should study it. There are two contrasting perspectives on choice of methods: positivism – which prefers quantitative data and seeks to discover patterns of behaviour and see’s sociology as a science. Whereas the interpretive perspective prefer qualitative data and seek to understand social actors (those who exercise free will) meanings, they reject the view that sociolog y is a science. However with practical issues may be seen as an important factor which influences sociologists choice of research methods. It is important to understand the topic or group being studied. For  example, if the topic is sensitive, such as domestic violence, bullying, grades at school etc. For sensitive information, unstructured interviews would be the best research method as the researcher can build up a rapport with the participant, meaning that the participant would be more likely to open up to the researcher. For example, Dobash and Dobash carried out informal interviews on women who had experienced domestic violence. Another practical factor that affects choice of method is the social characteristics of the researcher. For example a 30 year old man from the upper middle class would find it impossible to pass off as a 17 year old female sixth form student from a working class area. This would mean that they wouldn’t be able to use covert participant observation as a research method. Instead, they should use questionnaires for information if they need quantitative data (e.g. roughly how many hours they do homework for) or semi-structured interviews if they wanted qualitative data (e.g. to talk about if they were happy with their subject choice). Lastly some sociologists may agree that ethical issues has the biggest impact on the choice of research methods – ethical issues involve right and wrong or what is considered good, and what is considered evil in a society. The methods that sociologists use to study people may raise a range of ethical questions. There has been a guideline put in place by The British Sociological Association for the conduct of research. Vulnerable groups which special care should be taken where research participants are particularly vulnerable because of their ethnic background, age, physical or mental health. For example when a researcher is studying children at school, they should regard an issue of child protection and need consent from both the child and the parent/career and provide information that children can understand. Confientiality and privary where researchers must keep the identity of research partipcants secret in order to help prevent possible negative effects of them. They should also respect the privary of research participants. Personal information conserning any participant should be kept confidential. In conclusion Theoretical issues is the biggest influence of their choice of research methods because of the major influence on the choice of research topic; for example a new right research er will want to study the effect of welfare benefits on the growth of lone-parent  families, since the idea of welfare dependency is central to their standpoint. Contrastingly, a feminist researcher will likely be more inclined to choose to study domestic violence, as opposition to gender oppressions lies at the core of feminist theory

Alternate assessment

The concept of assessment, in everybody’s mind is that of the score card generated by the student as a result of the examination. A certain portion of the student community, however, is not able to take part in such exams, (Massanari Carol B. )and get a score card as the rest of their community. Such students may be suffering from any cognitive disabilities, or has deficits in communication or language. They may need highly specialized education program or educational support systems, like, assistive technology and personal care systems (NYSAA).Such students cannot perform in the routine examinations, even after the accommodations are made. The alternative assessment system is designed by the Education Department, to benefit such students. The alternate assessment system the performance of a student based on : – Portfolio : consisting of samples of actual work/models done by him/her – Parental feedback: which accounts for his interests and activities beyond the s chool hours – Observing a child in a classroom – The performance of a child related to a specific activity (Massanari Carol B. )An interesting fact to be noted is that the standards for students eligible for alternate assessment are the same as those approved by the board of regents for all students. A student achieving a alternative assessment level 1 would indicate that he participates passively, in activities based on mandatory alternate performance indicator, for a single learning standard. Whereas, a level 4 would indicate that he can perform the skills independently and accurately, based on at least two learning standards and four alternate performance indicators. (NYSAA)The alternate assessment system is very authentic also, because it is designed and promoted by the Education Department of the Government of the United States. The Alternative assessment system is very useful and important as it is of great help to the students who could not take the general asse ssments. It gives them the advantage of not being left behind, because of their inability to take the general tests. Collection We live only one life. In this short time span there is so much to know, so many things to do. Engaging our mind constantly and continuously enriches our mind.It is this richness of mind which would make us live our life in a satisfactory way. I use all my extra time in collecting information on events that can be considered historic. They may be newspaper or magazine clippings, personal photographs or electronic data from the internet. Such a passion many times reveals many interesting facts, raises many questions or is simply amazing to our minds. I would like to share what some of my collections reveal. Till the devastation of New Orleans by a hurricane, the administration of the most powerfulcountry on this world was not aware of the fact that the land on which such a big human habitat has developed is much below the normal sea level. Science teaches us that there is no atmosphere on moon. The flag of the United States, which Neil Armstrong hoisted on the surface of moon, is fluttering. How? There was a gap of at least 50 minutes between the attack on the twin towers of WTC and on the Pentagon. What was the most sophisticated military and air force of the super power of this world doing during this 50 minutes? Was it impossible to trace the missing planes?The precision with which late President John F. Kennedy was hit by the bullet is evident from the fact that the X-ray plates, taken immediately after the shoot out, reveal that his skull had no brain. Pictures of natural beauty are simple refreshing to mind. I refer back to them whenever I feel monotonous. The colorful farms of Switzerland, the vast stretches of deserts, the snow clad mountains, or the deep ocean sea life,,, nature is always very refreshing. Enrichments of mind is should go on continuously throughout our lives, irrespective of age and profession.That is precisely what a habit of collection does. References : 1. NYSAA, New York State Alternate Assessment with Severe Disabilities, Retrieved on 17 August 2007 from : http://www. vesid. nysed. gov/specialed/publications/policy/broch.htm#What%20is%20the%20NYS%20Alternate%20Assessment?2. Massanari Carol B. , P. HD, Mountain Plains Regional Resource Centre, Alternate Assessment Q & A, retrieved on 17 August 2007 from: < http://72. 14. 253. 104/search? q=cache:ik3ImYzbTZUJ:www. usu. edu/mprrc/infoserv/pubs/q%26aaa. pdf+alternate+assessment+in+math+and+its+uses&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=in >

Nicaragua1 essays

Nicaragua1 essays Have you ever wanted to go to a place during our winter season that is warm or hot most of the year? Well, most people choose Florida, or California. But, why not go out of the country this winter and try the largest country of Central America, Nicaragua. I did lots of research on Nicaragua, and I hope you learn as much as I did. To begin my report, I will give you some brief history. The first inhabitants of Nicaragua were the Nicaro Indians. This way of life was blended with Spanish settlers when they first came. The name of this tribe was from a great Indian chief, whose name was also Nicaro. This chief was so famous that the country of Nicaragua was also gotten from his name. Next, I will tell you about the land of Nicaragua. It is located in Central America, and is the largest country there. It is on the continent of North America. Nicaragua is 50,193 square miles (130,000 square kilometers). Honduras borders Nicaragua in the north, and it is bordered by Costa Rica on the south. There are two oceans that border Nicaragua. On the east, there is the Carribean Sea and on the west is the Pacific Ocean. Nicaragua has many different types of land forms. There are mostly volcanoes, some active, behind the coastal plains and along the Pacific border. The active volcanoes cause some danger to the coastal cities, but there haven't been any serious accidents. The largest volcano in Nicaragua, the Santiago Volcano, lies south of Nicaragua's capital city. Lots of steam rises from the little holes that surround the volcanoes. East of these volcanic regions are the Central Highlands. This part of Nicaragua is rainy and has some evergreen and deciduous forests dotted around. The forest's floors are flat, not hilly like some other regions. Very few people live in this forest-like place. There are also some lakes in Nicaragua. One lake, Lake Nicaragua, is the largest one in Nicaragua and Central America. The other lake ...

Essay Sample on Divorce and Marriage

Essay Sample on Divorce and Marriage Marriage is a social institution recognized by custom and law. It is a relation that exists between one or more men to one or more women. Custom or law gives recognitions of the duties and rights of the parties involved in such an institution. The union may result to children being born in it. In general, the societal expectation is one where there is sexual gratification between a husband and wife. There are legal issues that may arise as a result of adultery, which may force one partner to dissolve the marriage. This relation is at some point regarded as an economic institution in which a husband is fully responsible for the needs of the wife and children. With the current women empowerment in the society they are also able to provide for their families. A father has a general control and power over his family but for the children his powers are for a limited time. This comes as a result of the need for children to practice decision making and show responsibility especially at adul thood. Marriage is in accordance to the laid down custom or law and the consent of each parties involved must be considered. Parents for example may ask for a bride price and after this is settled a marriage takes place. These are important steps especially where the conditions stipulated by custom or by law are complied with. The origin of marriage is seen to be a habitual practice from the medieval period. A man and woman would live together, have sexual relations and from this union children would come forth. The father would play their role as a protector and supporter of his family while his wife nurses and cares for the family. As time passed it was accepted by custom and by law and it became legal social institution. Marriage is therefore seen to be an intimate relationship which the society, the government and religion recognizes. Marriage has many forms but the major one constitutes a man and a woman. Marriage is the basis of a family unit in which procreation takes place. Through a marriage setup children can grown, be protected and shown love through provision of food, shelter, clothing, education among others. There are a variety of intentions that one has in mind while planning to enter into marriage. Some of the major reasons may include need for legal stability, social and/or economic stability. Through marriage, there is a provider, protector and the union is legally bound. Marriage can be witnessed in a wedding celebration and this marks the beginning of individual obligation to each other and to the society at large. There have been changes in the understanding and approach of marriage from the older days. In the United States marriage for example was a consideration of status as well as an oversight on the future economic stability and prosperity of the person. It was therefore an economic arrangement in which one would choose their potential spouse and so they would plan to marry. Marriage ceremonies between same sexes were done in the 5th-14th centuries by the Roman Catholic Church. Many issues about marriage caught the interest of many leaders and Pope Alexander II in 1975, prohibited marriages between couples who were closely related and especially with no more than 6 cousins related to a person. In the 16th century, only with the permission of local political authorities, servants and day laborers would be free to marry in Bavaria and Austria. In1921 this order was fully abolished. Public wife selling was witnessed in the 1960s-1870s where a divorced wife was tied with a rope around her neck and sold in public. Until 1686, marriage was rather a civil ceremony for the puritans in Massachusetts Bay. In the British colonies, there was no penalty given for interracial marriages until 1662 when Virginia doubled fornication fines for interracial couples. Maryland banned interracial marriages in 1664 and subsequently, in 1750 interracial marriages had been outlawed in all southern colonies. Married women, until mid 19th century, had no legal standing under the English common law in all American states. It was until 1848 that women had the right to own property while married, through the Married Women Act. At the age of 10 years, consent for sexual intercourse was allowed in most American states while in Delaware it was at the age of 7 years only. With parental consent young boys of 14 and girls of 12 would marry, as late as 1930. In 1940, married women could not make legal contract in twelve states. Anti-Miscegenation laws were declared unconstitutional in Virginia and other states such as Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas among others. Fourteen states had in the fifteen years prior to the decision, repealed their anti miscegenation laws. This included Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Nevada, and Oregon among others. Ten states had by 1990, outlawed rape in marriage. This was after New York outlawed rape in marriage in 1978. Rape in marriage was seen as a crime in thirty-six states and this was only in certain circumstances. It was surprising that in four states, rape in marriage was never a crime. Marriage has had lots of controversies but the initial union in the religious world was the social union that benefited the society. It is seen as the union of one man and one woman blessed and united by a religious leader as seen in Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhists and Hindu. The privileges enjoyed in marriages are of benefit while particular concerns were raised on homosexual couples. The commitment of traditional couples which constituted a man and woman could be seen as that of same-sex couples and so they have continued to fight for their rights and the legalization of their marriage. The sacred value of marriage should not be changed despite the fact that advocates are aggressive on the issue that it should be redefined to suit gay marriage. When the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court made a ruling in 2004, and said that civil union was not enough, this raised national debate. A number of people wanted the definition of one man-to- one woman to stand and others wanted it to separate same-sex institutions, with others against it. In 2004, California and New York mayors were authorizing same sex marriages while defying law and these marriages were said not to be legally binding. (Nancy 2001) In 1619, Virginia enacted a law in which if a bond married a Negro, Mulatto or Indian, they would be banished in the woods so that they are cast out of the colony. Later on, in 1724, there was introduction Louisiana after the slaves were freed. Laws that were known as black codes were used to control and even forbid marriages constituted by slaves while the slave master was not consented. In 1769, the English common law showed that husband and wife were one. A constitution was written in 1787 and was adopted the following year. It was effective in 1789 and replaced the articles of federation, which was the government document of the USA. It remains to be the basic law of central government. In 1839, Mississippi granted the women a right to hold, with their respective husband’s permission, property in their own name. This saw many states legalizing this grant to women so that they would have control over property and earnings. This was in 1900. In the Missouri vs. Celia case of 1855, the case was used to show that enslaved women had no right or legal recourse if they were raped by their masters. This meant that black women had no right to defend themselves after an act of rape by the master. When the Mississippi black code was passed, it was an attempt to control slaves and ensure social inequality. This prohibited blacks, in 1865, from marrying whites and in this case, it was punishable as was seen through life imprisonment. More was to come and in the United States, an immigration act of 1917 banned immigration of Asians and those with abnormal sexual instincts and until 1990, lesbians and gay immigrants were excluded from coming into the United States. (Nancy 2001) In a case of New York v. Sanger, doctors would advice married couples on use of birth control pills for health purposes. The law was still enforced but was overturned in 1965 on all state laws that prohibited the use of contraceptives. In 1948, in Perez v Sharp case, there was a ban on interracial marriage in the California Supreme Court. This was the first state high court to declare it unconstitutional but later on in 1967; the U.S Supreme Court declared that there was freedom to marry allowing for interracial marriages on all Americans. This was evidenced in the case of Loving v. Virginia. The immigration act in 1965 admitted different races and nationalities and emphasized on family reunification with great concern. The act defined a family to be strictly on hetero sexual and nuclear ties and banned on lesbian and gay deviates. In 1969, California adopted a divorce law that allowed divorce by mutual consent and especially where one party simply wants it. The major challenge in this was that one party can refuse to sign the separation agreement. In 1981, there was an over turn of events when the states laws described a husband as a head and master and having control of property which is jointly owned with his wife. (Nancy 2001) . Articles were published and they advocated for legalization of same-sex couples and this was especially because these authors were gay and wanted to pursue their demand. In 1990, the congress repealed ban on gay and lesbian immigration. Homosexuals were disqualified as foreigners and were not allowed to come in to the United States. It was in 1993 that Hawaii Supreme Court said that the ban on same-sex couples from marrying must be justified and in 1998, it was amended to allow strict marriage to men and women only .In 1994, gays and lesbians sought to be part of the humanitarian law as a social group rather than an immigration group. A Person Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act explicitly promoted marriage and formation of heterosexual families. The federal law supported two parent families and in the same year, 1996, the Defense of Marriage Act defined marriage as exclusively between one man and a woman. It was evident that this act did not recognize same sex marriage at all. In 1998, there was a covenant marriage legislation in which couples promised to stay together for life and that they would denounce the no-default divorce. In the same year, May 1998, Alaska ruled that it was a fundamental right to choose a marital partner. The following year, the Vermont Supreme Court allowed for same-sex marriage to occur and that they have all rights and benefits of marriage but no marriage licenses. A governor in Oklahoma in March 2000 announced a $10 million plan that encouraged marriage than divorce and in 2001 gay and lesbian couples in Massachusetts filed law suits seeking a right to marry. This followed with other New Jersey lesbian and gay couples suing the state court for denial of their right to marry. In 2003, the US Supreme Court struck down the remaining anti-gay sodomy laws which were in Texas and in other states. In 2003-2004, the Federal Marriage Amendment was proposed but was defeated in congress. The amendment ought to have denied marriage rights to same-sex couples by indicating that marriage would only exist between a man and a woman.