Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs as it relates to sexuality in older adults Research Paper

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs as it relates to sexuality in older adults - Research Paper Example The inclusion of air, water, food, excretion, sleep and homeostasis is understandable but many critics have argued that sex should not be included as the absence of the act does not result to severe consequences. Maslow, however, countered by arguing that sex is mandatory for the survival of the species. Aside from the perpetuation of our species, several researches have found that the importance of sex transcends this purpose. The common thread among these researches is the self-actualization realized thru sexual interaction and satisfaction. In the published study of Susan Sprecher of the Illinois State University involving premarital couples, sex and the satisfaction gained from the act was a major determinant of relationship satisfaction, level of affection and degree of commitment. As people commit sex and gain satisfaction, the quality of the relationship becomes more enduring leading to higher levels of moral values. In a study involving old Chinese people, Kwong and Kwan (2006) found that a higher level of active composure, general well-being and satisfaction when sexual intercourse is practiced. Sex was found to be instrumental to daily living and would compensate for the depressing effects of inadequate incomes and physical weakness. Another interesting study was that of Walters and Williamson (1998) who examined the importance of sex in people who had undergone amputation in the lower extremities. The study is significant in this paper because the participants were mostly old people. Results indicated that having sex reduces the feelings of powerlessness and depression associated with the disability. Amputees stated that they felt ‘whole’ again and that they can do anything in the world again. Old people also need a healthy body to overcome depressive tendencies and become positive thinkers. To do this, the immune system of their body should be in an excellent state. Charnetski and Brennan (2004) was able to

Globalization and Arab Spring Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Globalization and Arab Spring - Research Paper Example dared to rebel, especially because they knew that their messages and videos, uploaded to YouTube, which could be seen abroad and the worldwide media among others (Till, 2011). Consequently, the elements of globalization turned out to be decisive in inflicting a final blow to the cruel political systems prevailing in the Arab world. Social media, Mayfield (2008) asserts, could be stated as a group of new kinds of online media, which share the characteristics including participation, openness, conversation, community and connectedness, and brings the like-minded people closer to one another through its platform. Before embarking upon the topic under analysis, it would be advisable to define and discuss globalization and its impact on the Arab spring in a precise way, which is as following. The term globalization simply concentrates upon the expansion of multiculturalism in the wake of tremendous technological advancements that have paved the way towards fast communication processes bet ween the individuals and nations belonging to the pole-apart regions of the globe. In other words, globalization stands for the interconnectedness of the people at global scale through the sharing of technological equipments, corporate activities, cultural traits, social norms, political systems, religious values, traditional rituals and conventions at large. The term globalization, according to Brainpan, is not confined to few financial and industrial cooperation pacts between the nations; rather, the term refers to the integration of economies of the world through uninhibited trade and financial flows, as also through mutual exchange of technology and knowledge (Goyal, 2006:168). While expected by the political analysts one day or the other, the rebellions in Arab states were somewhat... The term globalization simply concentrates upon the expansion of multiculturalism in the wake of tremendous technological advancements that have paved the way towards fast communication processes between the individuals and nations belonging to the pole-apart regions of the globe. In other words, globalization stands for the interconnectedness of the people at global scale through the sharing of technological equipments, corporate activities, cultural traits, social norms, political systems, religious values, traditional rituals and conventions at large. The term globalization, according to Brainpan, is not confined to few financial and industrial cooperation pacts between the nations; rather, the term refers to the integration of economies of the world through uninhibited trade and financial flows, as also through mutual exchange of technology and knowledge (Goyal, 2006:168). While expected by the political analysts one day or the other, the rebellions in Arab states were somewhat horrendous for the world at large, which could not anticipate any dauntlessness move from the oppressed and suppressed subjects had been leading a miserable and pathetic life under the longstanding dictatorial regimes. Recent upheavals in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen and Libya, according to Hoover (2011), have caught many by surprise as the order of things has proven protean in a way that official experts and conventional wisdom were largely blind to.

Free Will and Fate in Sartres No Exit and Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannus Essay

Free Will and Fate in Sartres No Exit and Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannus - Essay Example Although they conceded that man had the power to choose and make decisions for himself, they felt that these decisions inevitably ended up playing into the hands of fate. This can be seen clearly in Oedipus Tyrannus. Oedipus learns from the Oracle that it is his fate to murder his biological father and sleep with own mother. Upon learning of his fate, Oedipus flees from the land of his youth in an attempt to escape his fate. After he becomes king, Oedipus seeks to learn the truth behind the murder of his father which caused the land of Thebes to be cursed. He summons the blind prophet Teiresias who hints at the truth which eerily echoes the oracle's prediction: Even though Oedipus tried to escape his fate by attempting to flee, his destiny overrides his free will as he ignorantly winds up fulfilling the oracle's prophecies of patricide and incest. In this play, fate is seen as the master of man's destiny and it shows how man is virtually helpless when it comes to living out his preordained destiny. By contrast, Jean Paul Sartre's No Exit has the major underlying theme of existentialism; that is that man and man alone controls his destiny. Existentialism is the belief that there is no God or fate and therefore man is in charge of his own destiny. Basically, the past is past and has no bearing on today, what is here and now is the reality. Man has the free will to choose to be free or he can be imprisoned by letting other people choose his destiny for him. Also by allowing himself to become imprisoned by the past, man is condemning himself to a life that can't be lived. Of the three main characters in No Exit, two are doomed to an eternity in Hell because of their failure to take responsibility for their actions which got them there in the first place. Besides blaming others for her problems, Estelle even blames her death on fate, "then two years ago I met the man I was fated to love. We knew it the moment we set eyes on each other. He asked me to run away with him, and I refused. Then I got pneumonia and it finished me." Estelle is saying that because she denied her destiny, her punishment was death. In life and in death, Estelle allows others to create her self image rather than take responsibility for her own life, this can be seen when she asks the others repeatedly how she looks and through the use of Inez as her mirror, she shows how she is still letting other people determine who she is. Estelle and Garcin both refuse to give up the past, as they go over and over the events that brought them to Hell. Their inability to live in the present, in effect condemns them to Hell. In Hell as on earth, Garcin continues to leave his existence in the hands of other people. Garcin let other people decide who he was on earth, at one point even declaring, "I've left my fate in their hands." In Hell, he allows Estelle to determine who he really is by allowing her to define if he is a coward. Garcin's inability to leave Hell even when the door is open shows how he lets his fear of being responsible limit his choices and eventually condemns himself.

Atlantic Stingray (Dasyatis Sabina) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Atlantic Stingray (Dasyatis Sabina) - Essay Example DESCRIPTION: The Atlantic stingray, Dasyatis sabina (Lesueur 1824) has a disc shape typical to all stingrays, and it is one of the smallest in its family (Piercy). It has a spade-like body form, having a relatively long snout and a long, slender, whip-like tail (McEachran 177). It has a brown to or yellowish coloration on the dorsal side which goes lighter near the edges and white or light gray on the ventral side (Passareli). To distinguish it from other similar genera, characters such as a certain ratio of snout length (25-27% of the total disc width) and snout angle (maximum of 107-122Â °) confirm its species identity. The outer corners of the disc body are broadly-rounded, while the posterior margin is moderately convex. The floor of the mouth has a row of three stout papillae, and has 28-36 rows of teeth. Both males and females have similar-looking teeth, rounded and having flat, blunt surfaces, except during mating season when the males develop sharper and narrower sets for cl asping the female during copulation (Tricas 224). The tail is similar to a whip, long and tapered with a barb measuring up to 25% of the disc width, and this modified scale secretes venom from both the dorsal and ventral sides (Passareli). Maximum disc size could reach up to 12.8 inches in males and 14.6 inches in females living in coastal or brackish lagoons, while for freshwater rays sizes reach up to 8.7 inches for females and 8.3 inches for males. Like other members of the cartilaginous fishes, the Atlantic stingray is capable of generating weak electrical fields, both in finding prey and females at the benthic zone. FOOD: Food can be primarily anything that can be caught near the bottom of the habitat or the benthic zone, and these are mostly polychaetes, crustaceans, and bony fishes (McEachran 177). Other reported organisms that are hunted include bivalves, tube anemones, clams, nereid worms, and amphipods (Passareli). HABITAT: Atlantic stingrays live in brackish benthic water systems, where the saltwater meets fresh waters coming from estuaries (Johnson 75). There is a preference for sandy bottoms but with water depths less than 25m (Piercy). These fish migrate from brackish waters to fresh waters and back again, depending on the climate of the areas, which shows that they have varying but wide degrees of salt tolerance. Water temperature ranges for the species is around 24.5Â °C-31.0Â °C (Wallman 259). MATING: Initial studies mentioned that Atlantic stingray mating seasons start from late March when ovulation in females begin and lasts up to July (Johnson 74). Later studies indicated that the mating season could last as long as nine months, from August to April of the following year (Tricas 209). Changes seen in the males such as sharper teeth happen during the breeding season in order to clasp the females during copulation, which is comparable to some mating behavior of related species like in some sharks. PREDATORS: Predators depend on the location of the Atlantic stingrays. In brackish to coastal areas, sharks such as white shark, tiger sharks and bull sharks are the major predators (Passareli). In freshwaters, alligators are reported to be the major stingray predators. BEHAVIOR: Atlantic stingrays are non-aggressive fish, and only attack when stepped on (Passareli). When hunting for food, rays swim slowly near

A few kind world for superstition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

A few kind world for superstition - Essay Example People believe that wizards and witches speak with spiritual beings, and they have the power of either carrying out good or bad. Furthermore, because of their relationship with spiritual beings, witches and wizards have the capability of foretelling the future. This is just a superstitious belief. Superstition has four major manifestations amongst people (Davis, 2). The first type of manifestation is referred to as the vain observance manifestation (Davis, 2). Vain observance refers to the use of techniques for purposes of obtaining a result or a consequence, that by following the natural process, it would be difficult to obtain the results under consideration. A good example of vain observance is sorcery and witchcraft. Sorcery relies on spiritual beings or demonic forces for purposes of controlling other people, or causing harm to them. Furthermore, sorcery and witchcraft aims at gaining an advantage over other people through un-natural means or methods. This is for the benefit of the sorcerer, or the wizard (Murphy, 13). This aspect of vain observance has come under criticism by some leading religions such as Christianity and Islam. These religions condemn the existence of sorcerers and magicians, and they are viewed as deceiving the society. This is because they use demonic forces to manipulate and lie to the people. By looking at this crit ique, it is therefore possible to denote that even the church believes in the existence of spiritual beings, and their capabilities. The second manifestation of superstition is divination (Davis, 3). Divination refers to an attempt of gaining insight to a situation or question through an occultist process. Throughout history, many people have used divination through a variety of forms or procedures. This is by interpreting sign, events, omens, or an alleged contact with a supernatural being

Critical care orientation and the importance of developing clinical Research Proposal

Critical care orientation and the importance of developing clinical reasoning - Research Proposal Example It is important not to distill the critical thought process as it pertains to clinical endeavors with simple, smart sounding labels, like wisdom or 'know-how'. II. DEFINITION OF CLINICAL REASONING Clinical reasoning must be more than a simple application of theory, because patients are individuals – and the therapist/nurse must adapt a treatment plan towards the individual, personal needs of each patient. Clinical reasoning under the perspective of certain researchers becomes a largely tacit phenomenon (Matingly, 1991). Our understanding of critical thinking as it pertains to the clinical setting has matured over the course of the decades. There are several key items for critical thinking for the professional to consider. The American Philosophical Association (APA) has defined critical thinking as: '...purposeful, self-regulatory judgment that uses cognitive tools such as interpretation, analysis, evaluation, inference, and explanation of the evidential, conceptual, methodolo gical, criteriological, or contextual considerations on which judgment is based' (APA, 1990). But there are other professional bodies that have also required a critical thinking mandate be added to curriculum, in many fields – not just nursing. ... 1995). In the dimension of nursing and clinical responsibility, critical thinking is the foundation of quality care, as well as professional standards of accountability. The professional must consciously cultivate the characteristics of efficient clinical mindset. This includes the ability to place events within the proper overall context, self-confidence in the nurse's ability to perform the necessary job functions, as well as a certain flexibility. The nurse must also cultivate creativity when time, resources, or both are limited, as well as a certain intellectual curiosity, leading to a state of mind that is always willing to learn more and adapt novel technologies and clinical modalities when and where they will prove effective in the practice of the individual medical professional. This dovetails with the ability for critical reflection on one's self, and on one's job performance. The nurse must be analytical in regards to new information, and the requirements with a willingness to seek out and verify potentially useful discoveries; vetting innovations for their clinical utility, as well as, ultimately, a long-suffering perseverance against adversity. More recently a comprehensive definition was also provided by the National League for Nursing Accreditation Commission: The deliberate nonlinear process of collecting, interpreting, analyzing, drawing conclusions about, presenting, and evaluating information that is both factually and belief based. This is demonstrated in nursing by clinical judgment, which includes ethical, diagnostic, and therapeutic dimensions and research (NLNAC, 2007, p. 8). How then are we able to determine what thinking processes meet the critical thinking standard

John Irving, a prayer for owen meany Essay Example for Free

John Irving, a prayer for owen meany Essay In the first chapter of A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving displays an expansive, articulate style that relies heavily on rich descriptions to create detailed portraits of the New England of his youth, especially the title character who inspires him to believe in God and Christ. Irving’s language throughout the chapter is articulate and his sentences long, perhaps to accommodate his rather abundant, detailed descriptions; it is almost oratorical without being florid or long-winded, reflecting the fact that the narrator is descended from a prominent New England family (including the Puritan minister for whom he is named). He also relies heavily on memories, moving from his recollections of Owen to broader discussions of his own family and hometown, creating a context for the subsequent action and thus giving his memories a deeper meaning. In addition, Irving uses Owen as a symbol of Christ-like divinity – the boy is something of a martyr for his suffering (indeed, he never tells on his peers for their abuses), and yet he takes away the narrator’s mother, however unintentionally, by hitting the foul ball that kills the narrator’s mother (hence the chapter’s title, â€Å"The Foul Ball†). Irving avoids sounding childish by using articulate adult language, but he conveys a child’s point of view by speaking in a matter-of-fact way about how he and his peers picked on the frail, undersized Owen. He conveys no immediate judgments or apologies for his actions (indeed, as a child he feels no shame for it), and he does not analyze his motivations. For example, when Owen offers a surprisingly mature complaint about church services, the narrator says, â€Å"To these complaints, and others like them, I could respond only by picking up Owen Meany and holding him above my head† (Irving 23), showing how other children are unable to comprehend Owen. He also implies adults’ stupidity by mentioning his oblivious Sunday school teacher and how the police chief and coach quarrel over the ball after his mother’s death. The author wants the reader to understand his world (hence the detailed discussions of his town, family, and relationship with Owen) and especially Owen’s complex role in it. Though he mentions his Christianity at the very start, the narrator does not preach or scold the reader, admitting that he is a rather lazy Christian but also making clear that he feels deeply indebted to him (despite Owen’s role in his mother’s death) and makes the reader feel sympathy for the victimized Owen. Irving’s language is richly descriptive without becoming tedious, and he recalls Owen’s characteristics humorously, especially his diminutive size and high-strangled voice (Owen’s words always appear in capitals). Irving communicates respect for Christianity, but not for the ritual or doctrine – he admits his laziness and calls his approach â€Å"a church-rummage faith† (Irving 2). Instead, he believes in the divine power channeled through Owen, whose intelligence and deep understanding of God set him apart from his peers. Irving implies that both the narrator and New England, despite their Puritan past, find religion uninspiring until Owen appears, and that Owen has vastly more potential to influence events than is shown in the first chapter. More explicitly, he evokes New England’s provincial values, especially the split between insiders (the descendants of Puritans, like the narrator) and outsiders (later arrivals, like Owen’s Irish-Catholic family), and Irving contrasts the region’s harsh religious past with the narrator’s spiritual barrenness, for which Owen ultimately becomes a remedy. In the book’s first chapter, Irving shows the reader a rich picture of his characters’ world, creating the context in which the narrator’s transition from nonbeliever to Christian occurs. He presents Owen in a sympathetic light, as a wise yet victimized figure whose suffering and kindness bring enlightenment into a milieu that needs it. Irving, John. A Prayer for Owen Meany. New York: Ballantine, 1989.