The Third Gender Evolutionary explanation for Male Homosexuality Essay Example

The Third Gender Evolutionary explanation for Male Homosexuality Essay Fag, faggot, fairy, fart knocker, felcher, fruit, fuck face, pansy, pantywaist, pillow biter, poof, poove, pouf, queen, queer, shit-stabber and turd burglar: just some of the culture specific slang words still in use today to address homosexuals and male homosexuality. As cited in Buss (1994) Helena Cronin says, We are walking archives of ancestral wisdom and perhaps it is true that ancestral wisdom has little to do with homosexual behavior when looked at it from the perspective of Darwinian sexual selection. Nonetheless, with an ongoing global campaign for homosexual awareness it becomes, in my opinion, an important part of evolutionary psychology to address homosexualitys progression as a probable byproduct of sexual selection. Evolutionary Theorists across the globe struggle with the idea of homosexuality in context to Darwin especially due to irregularities in defining sexual preference. Ideally, all men ought to be heterosexual so that they may procreate and achieve fitness. It is unlikely that sexual sterilization would not only survive but also thrive in circumstances present today. Nonetheless, Homosexuality with all the derogatory terms language has cultivated exists and finds in its category a growing number of men. As Stephen Dawkins (2005) recently said, The problem with verifying evolution is not that there hasnt been enough time but that there has been too much time. When seen from the evolutionary psychologists point of view the possibility of homosexuality as a valuable instrument in developing mating behavior becomes more and more viable in lieu of its contradictory nature. In my paper I hope to argue that male homosexuality is actually an evolutionary tool for efficiency in sexual selection by bringing together various theories by Buss. We will write a custom essay sample on The Third Gender Evolutionary explanation for Male Homosexuality specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Third Gender Evolutionary explanation for Male Homosexuality specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Third Gender Evolutionary explanation for Male Homosexuality specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer What Men Want Why They Want it Evolutionarily, men have a vested interest in furthering their chances of producing offspring and thereby propagating their genetic information. For this purpose they have two main mating strategies: 1. Short Term Mating Strategy 2. Long Term Mating Strategy Short Term Mating Strategy involves the male to be active in casual sex relationships with many women. This strategy is used to make sure that his reproductive value would increase at least by an average. The second strategy is an evolved strategy that benefits men who invest time and resources in a woman who would depend on these resources for her better survival. It is with the help of the Long Term Mating Strategy that the man ensures the possibility of reproductive success through a contractual relationship with a woman e.g. marriage. Having said this, Buss insists that male homosexuality is an extension of mans evolutionary heterosexual behavior: both of short and long term mating strategies. The two men require similar characteristics in their mates e.g. youth, good looking and are identical in their mating strategies except for one, that the homosexual man is attracted to men instead of women. Hamer discussed this difference as a possibility for a gay gene in his 1993 study. Although McKnight has pointed out that even though with there being a genetic difference between male homosexuals and heterosexuals, it is still largely an area that needs further research. This indirect evidence of a genetic basis for at least some forms of male homosexuality is supported by three decades of research reporting chemical and anatomical differences between straight and gay men. (McKnight, 1997) On further experimentation, McKnight writes on Hamers theory of the gay gene, At this preliminary stage we have no found support for Hamers suggestion (McKnight Malcolm, 2000) He further states, Our analysis failed to find a distinctive reproductive pattern, which might emerge with a larger sample size, but if repeated would suggest that the genetic mechanism is autosomal. (McKnight Malcolm, 2000) Buss writes that, Many men who prefer women as mates may nonetheless substitute a man as a sex partner, either because of an inability to attract women or because of a temporary situational constraint that preludes access to women (Buss, 1994) This is true in the case of prisons or forcefully held captives but not always true of the large population of gay men in society today. Buss (1994) further continues that, Male homosexuals and male heterosexuals seem to have indistinguishable mating preferences, expect with respect to the sex of their preferred partner. Evolutionary Problem / Solution regarding Homosexuality There are two main evolutionary problems with homosexual behavior that emphasize its extinction. Still, keeping conflicting motives in mind between evolution and homosexuality, the gay male introduces himself as a tool for understanding evolutionary motivations. 1. Procreation With similar mating strategies between male heterosexuals and homosexuals, it becomes increasingly complicated to understand why the homosexual man has survived and continues to do so. The two men (straight gay) share in common certain characteristic requirements of their mates. The straight male can produce children and therefore increase his evolutionary fitness. On the other hand, the gay male cannot reproduce. There are obvious disadvantages of homosexuality that natural selection would eventually select out such as the inability to procreate. Evolutionary advantage works to increase the average growth of the species and the homosexual male cannot be used as a catalyst. Yet, according to the Census of 2001 there has been a rise of gay population across the United States. McKnight (2000) exclaims in his paper that there is a real puzzle here and it goes to the heart of sexuality as no sex equals no children. While sex has more purposes than reproduction, begetting offspring is the ultimate end game a relationship more clearly understood in an age of unreliable contraception. He calls this phenomenon Child Hunger. It would according to evolutionary theorists be baffling to understand homosexuality in face with the fact that it results in no children and therefore is not child hungry yet it not only exists but increases rapidly. Male homosexual orientation is particularly problematic as it is a behavior that is clearly a reproductive liability. (Weinrich, 1978 as cited in McKnight, 2000) 2. Sexual Variability The idea of normalcy in terms of sexual behavior globally has changed drastically over and over again through the course of history. The categorization of men as homosexuals and heterosexuals labels, confines naturally sexual deviations into one or the other group. That many men having homosexual experiences as part of their development was deeply disturbing to the mid twentieth century, does not disguise that similar studies report similar findings at the end of the millennium. Kinsey (Kinsey, Pomeroy and Martin 1948) may have lifted the lid on the realities of human sexual experience but a half-century of further research merely confirms how plastic our sexuality is. (McKnight, 2000) This plasticity of sexual behavior increases the likelihood that homosexual behavior although conflicting with evolutionary psychology indeed is a process of increasing sexual deviations and therefore the possibility of natural selection in sexual experience. Through gay behavior the human male is abl e to explore all possibilities of sexual behavior that would excite and entice him into an evolutionary advantage over men who are not as sexually active. Origins of Homosexuality According to Buss (1994), the origins of homosexuality remain a mystery. Yet, the alarming increase in males who prefer men as their mates seem as if the origins of homosexuality similar to that of heterosexuality is the same. Sexual selection provides for variants in sexuality not unlike natural selection. If you accept that human sexual orientation is diverse and variable and above all plastic, then there is a certain sympathy for Murphys view: It is hard to see that there is any reason to study the origins of behavior that is morally, medically, psychologically (and perhaps even religiously) aproblematic. (Murphy, 1990 as cited in McKnight, 2000) Nonetheless, evolutionary theorists have studied the origins of homosexuality in great detail attempting to find a key difference between straight and gay men. Biological Influences as origin of homosexuality: Alexander (2000) initiated research in finding structural and functional differences between homosexual and heterosexual males. He writes that Burnham in 1977 had noted that females have smaller brains than males and therefore women were less intellectual then men. Although it is true that male brains are somewhat larger than female brains, this is the first example of structural difference that does not evince a measurable behavior difference. (Alexander, 2000) Similarly, the fact that there might be some structural differences between straight and gay men it does not account for the fact that there would be core differences in sexual preferences. Alexander (2000) further noted that the Committee for the Study of Sex Variants in New York City in the 1930s studied a homosexual population using various psychological tests, hormonal measurements and physiological measurements of the genitalia and other body parts including skull circumference. The authors of the study realized that there was no conclusive proof that any individual may be a so called sex variant and or might be more prone to homosexual behavior than the next person. (Henry, 1948 as cited in Alexander, 2000) These inconclusive studies provided for further research that might shed light on biological aspects of homosexuality. The early 1990s was a remarkably productive period of time for research into sexual dimorphism of brain areas. (Alexander, 2000) If there would be any biological connective that was found then it would also be possible to understand the motivations for homosexuality and categorize it in terms of evolutionary advantage, if any, by studying the population. This was not the case. Although there were studies done by researchers such as Allen and Gorski in 1990 and 1991 Taken together, these finding indicate that sexually dimorphic structures can be found in many different areas of the brain. (Alexander, 2000) A foremost breakthrough in these studies was by Swaab and Hofman, 1990 in which distinct differences were noted. The Suprachiasmatic nucleus of vasopressin-containing neurons was double in homosexual men when compared to heterosexual males. (LeVay, 1991) Further studies compared Swaabs findings with that of Allen and Gorski that concluded that the anterior commissure (found to be sexually dimorphic larger in females) also was different according to sexual orientation such that it was larger in homosexual males compared with both heterosexual males and females. Since the homosexual group did not fall between or have identical size to the female group, this outcame gave rise to another working hypothesis of a third sex the gay sex. (Alexander, 2000) Nonetheless Breedloves 1997 study proved that this hypothesis was false. Breedlove concluded that there was no evidence that the outcome mentioned before was not an effect rather than a cause. It is possible that differences in sexual beh avior cause, rather than are cause by, differences in brain structure. (Breedlove, 1997) Since there is no actual biological root that explains homosexuality, it is possible that similar to heterosexuality, it was used as a tool to better achieve fitness. Male homosexuality, in my opinion can be explained in evolutionary terms as follows: 1. Sex used as a tool for reciprocal altruism Women have evolutionarily used sex as a means to get resources and guarantee a mate through promising sex. Homosexuality, similarly, in men can be used to coopt resources and guarantee a long term partner that would invest resources. 2. Adoption of Children Homosexual men are also an added advantage in a social structure that produces excess children with little life expectancy without adequate domestic care. They can provide as means of adoption and surrogate parents an alternative to what may be now considered a family. 3. Reduction of Same Sex Conflict Homosexual behavior might also be responsible for creating coalitions amongst men that would eventually decrease male male aggression and therefore increase evolutionary advantage for the species by an average. These three suppositions go without any data to support them and I would find it interesting to look at studies that would explore homosexuality as an added advantage for evolutionary success.

Stonewall Jackson essays

Stonewall Jackson essays On January 21, 1824, a baby would soon become an ambitious man. That man, though, will soon be in the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York. This man is Stonewall Jackson or Thomas Jonathon Jackson (his real name). When he first got to the Academy he looked awkward, only carrying two saddlebags and wearing homespun clothing. Even though he looked awkward, people saw him and could tell he was here to stay. Staying was not easy for Jackson. He was ready for military life, but had trouble with the academics. Every night he piled his grate full of coal and studied till it went out. Finally that helped, when he graduated he was seventeenth of fifty-nine compared to last of ninety-two who made it to enter. Though the academics were hard for him at the Academy, his schooling (in his childhood) were limited to classes taught by traveling teachers. He could only read, write, and do a little arithmetic. Also, he taught for a few years and got paid $5.64. That was one of the only good things in his childhood. Other than that it was very sad. To start this whole thing off, in 1826, his sister and father, died from typhoid fever when Tom was only two. Though, the very next day, after his fathers death, Laura was born, his younger sister. His mother tried to run the house, but couldnt do it by herself. So she married Blake B. Woodson. Even that couldnt stop what was going to happen next. While she was pregnant with her fifth child, her health began to decline. She then sent he and Laura to live with relatives. Shortly after, she died. He had to go spend time with his Uncle Brake. He hated it there, but needed money so he was serving legal papers on people and collecting bad depts. But Tom was an ambitious lad; he knew that he needed an education if he wanted to make something of himself. When he had an opportunity to apply to the U.S. Military Academy at West Poin ...

The Story of Philemon and Baucis

The Story of Philemon and Baucis According to ancient Roman mythology and Ovids Metamorphoses (8.631, 8.720.), Philemon and Baucis had lived out their long lives nobly, but in poverty. Jupiter, the Roman king of the gods, had heard of the virtuous couple, but based on all his previous experiences with humans, he had serious doubts as to their goodness. Jupiter was about to destroy mankind  but was willing to give it one final chance before starting over again. So, in the company of his son Mercury, the wing-footed messenger god, Jupiter went about, disguised as a worn and weary traveler, from house to house among the neighbors of Philemon and Baucis. As Jupiter feared and expected, the neighbors turned him and Mercury away rudely. Then the two gods went to the last house, the cottage of Philemon and Baucis, where the couple had lived all their long married lives. Philemon and Baucis were pleased to have visitors  and insisted that their guests rest before their little hearth fire. They even lugged in more of their precious firewood to make a greater blaze. Unasked, Philemon and Baucis then served their presumably starving guests, fresh fruits, olives, eggs, and wine. Soon the old couple noticed that no matter how often they poured from it, the wine pitcher was never empty. They began to suspect that their guests might be more than mere mortals. Just in case, Philemon and Baucis decided to provide the closest they could come to a meal that was fit for a god. They would slaughter their only goose in their guests honor. Unfortunately, the legs of the goose were faster than those of Philemon or Baucis. Even though the humans were not as fast, they were smarter, and so they cornered the goose inside the cottage, where they were just about to catch it.... At the last moment, the goose sought the shelter of the divine guests. To save the life of the goose, Jupiter and Mercury revealed themselves and immediately expressed their pleasure in meeting an honorable human pair. The gods took the pair to a mountain from which they could see the punishment their neighbors had suffered a devastating flood. Asked what divine favor they wanted, the couple said that they wished to become temple priests and die together. Their wish was granted and when they died they were turned into intertwining trees. What Is the Moral of the Story? Treat everyone well because you never know when youll find yourself in the presence of a god.

Managing Operations and the Supply Chain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Managing Operations and the Supply Chain - Essay Example In quality improvement teams, employees from the same department, division, or team of the organization brainstorm to identify a list of problems to resolve. The advantage of this approach is that the employees characteristically have the best view of their work environment and associated problems and can develop ideas to improve efficiency and effectiveness. The drawback to this is that the problems chosen by the group may or may not contribute to the Tower Records overall goals. Tower Records with a focused success paradigm can multiply the return on its investment for its quality efforts over an organization without a clear vision. With the myriad of problems any given group can identify, it is important that resources be allocated for problem solving that can contribute positively to the successful implementation of Tower Records strategy. Based on such considerations, it is evident that the need for specific criteria and models to verify the quality fit between the Tower Records and the business atmosphere in that it operates, and to effectively and efficiently manages the relationships among the actors within the network. Such relationships, in fact, are characterised by many-to-many connections instead of more traditional one-to-one. For that reason, a deep revision of current managerial techniques is dramatically requested. Regardless of huge number of works on this subject, (Harland et al., 2001; Lamming et al., 2000), reliable criteria for the analysis and the evaluation of Tower Records networks, based on the relationships among economic actors interconnected through Internet, are not yet available. Accordingly, managers usually operate according to empirical methodologies that often do not assure optimal quality performances. In order to contribute towards the solution of such a problem, preliminarily examined factors that mostly affect the Tower Records quality performances. It may be assumed that effectiveness and efficiency of Tower Records depend on the coherence between the characteristics of the atmosphere in that the embedded actors operate and the way in that relationships among embedded actors are managed. The management of such relationships, consecutively, is based on the following three factors (Cucchiella et al., 2002): The structures adopted to organize the relationships among the actors of the network (Tower Records organisational structures). The criteria adopted to manage such relationships (managerial criteria); and The activities to be carried out for coordinating the relationships (critical activities). With respect to the Tower Records organisational structures, Tapscott et al. (2000) define five types of b-web adopted to manage relationships among embedded actors based on the level of product-service value integration (high vs. low) and control type: Agora, Aggregation, Value chain, Alliance, and Distributive network. According to Nkkentved (2000), the managerial criteria may be instead, defined on the basis of two variables, the market fragmentation and the product/process complexity. Consequently, six types of criteria may be identified: Auction house; Independent

Strategic Position of McDonalds in the Fast Food Industry Essay

Strategic Position of McDonalds in the Fast Food Industry - Essay Example According to Derdak and Pederson, McDonald’s Corporation is the leading hamburger fast-food restaurant chain in the world. Maurice McDonald and Richard McDonald initially started the company in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant but Ray Kroc later brought it in 1995; Kroc was initially a franchise agent of the restaurant and he is the one who initiated the global expansion of the restaurant chain.According to Derdak and Pederson, McDonald’s Corporation is the leading hamburger fast food restaurant chain in the world. Maurice McDonald and Richard McDonald initially started the company in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant but Ray Kroc later brought it in 1995; Kroc was initially a franchise agent of the restaurant and he is the one who initiated the global expansion of the restaurant chain. Presently the McDonald’s Corporations has its own restaurants that it manages and there are licensed franchisees and affiliates that operate under the corporation’s portfolio. The refore, the net income of the company is attributed to sales from its own restaurants, licensing fees from franchisees, and royalties. The present headquarters of the corporation are in Oak Brook, Illinois in the United States, and it has presence in over thirty four thousand locations across the world. Among the popular dishes served at the McDonald’s restaurants include French fries, hamburger, Chicken, coffee, milk shakes, soft drinks, salads and desserts.

Rosa Lee Cunningham Case Study

Rosa Lee Cunningham Case Study Rosa Lee Cunningham is a Black American woman who has lived a pathetic life being a victim of extreme poverty, child abuse and deprivation of love and nurturance from her mother. The traumatic experiences in her life has led to her addiction to a lifestyle that further degrades her as a person instead of rising from her unfortunate situation. From childhood, she has learned the harsh reality that black girls needed to be trained to care for the family and household while black boys are pampered. Rosa Lee underwent hard labor for the family under the watchful eye of her severely harsh mother, Rosetta. Education was not given a priority in Rosa Lees growing years. Her mother would prefer that work and chores were done well and schooling was not as important, as she inculcated to Rosa Lee that she would never amount to something more than engaging in domestic work. Rosa Lee felt deprived of play in her childhood, as she needed to chop wood, carry heavy things, scrub a room spotless and cater to her familys every need. As an adult, being overly clean with the house became her way of coping with stress. Rosa Lee craved for her mothers approval. Her attempts to be close to her mother were often met with hostility. When she learned to shoplift nice things to offer her mother, she would be reprimanded, but later, as her mother would inspect the merchandize, would throw her arms around her with appreciation. Such acts of intimacy were short-lived, as Rosetta did not hesitate to inflict physical harm at Rosa Lee whenever she displeased her. On the other hand, her father, Earl Wright, an alcoholic had better regard for her and indulged her with whatever coins he can spare for her whenever he was drunk. In school, Rosa Lee felt that her poverty was holding her back from becoming what she was destined to be. In her puberty, she noticed that other children had nice clothes while she wore rags. At this age, the need to belong and be noticed by other children becomes very strong. Her first shoplifting episode was borne out of this desire to be upgraded in terms of fashion. From then on, stealing became a way of life, and she became better and better at it until such time when she managed to subtly slip merchandize in her waiting bag or under her skirt. Rosa Lee fared poorly in school, not realizing that she was a slow learner until she had the unfortunate episode of being thrown out of a class with a teacher she admired. With Mrs. Whitehead, she felt that she was learning, and enjoyed her teaching strategies. However, when she was caught in her class, she was instructed to join another class which Rosa Lee wanted to escape from in the first place. This prompted her to become truant in school. Since she never took school seriously after Mrs. Whitehead, she did not develop her literacy skills to the fullest. This lack of reading skills proved to be disadvantageous to her. Her misdemeanors have brought her to troublesome situations, leading to an early pregnancy at age thirteen. She had to stop schooling to have her first born which her mother cared for. Soon after, she found herself pregnant again, and again and again, making her a mother of multiple children before she reached her twentieth birthday. Her promiscuous behavior is a desperate call for help to be released from her mothers clutches. Once, she succeeded in having a man marry her only because he was threatened by Rosetta, but a few months later, Rosa Lee found herself back in her mothers house as she had no other way to go because her husband beat her. To feed her children, she had to resort to prostitution and selling illegal drugs. She always justified such ways of generating income as means of survival for her eight children. Her steady income came in the way of welfare checks which her mother had full control of. Rosettas idea of child-rearing was to Rosa Lee, inappropriate. The noble cause of setting the children on the straight path (ex. that stealing is bad) is often implemented by violent acts. Such beatings or harsh cursing became a staple situation in Rosa Lees household. The traumatic events and painful feelings that come of it made Rosa Lee vow that she would never do harm to her own children. Because Rosa Lee had no credible role model for morality, she set her own standards, which unfortunately were easily bent. She herself taught her children to steal clothes so they had something nice to wear or other things so they had something to sell to buy food. Later on, she would involve her children and grandchildren in the drug trade because policemen dont usually go after young children. She never expected that they would get hurt in the process, but failed to consider that she was putting them at high risk. When Rosa Lee eventually became a drug addict herself, it became so natural to her and her children to share the illegal drug use. Their joint drug sessions impressed upon the children her tolerance of such a habit, making it convenient for them to justify it and even depend on their mother to supply it or money to get it from their drug dealers. This series of substance abuse shared by Rosa Lee and her six children merited them jail sentences and even acquiring the HIV virus for Rosa Lee and her two children she shared needles with. It is pathetic that Rosa Lee and her children do not learn from the consequences of engaging in their drug habit, since upon release from jail, they are soon at it again. Even the threat of the AIDS disease did not deter them from continued pursuit of the next high. Waking up to a painful reality of poverty and hopelessness after the high has worn off, her children merely exist. They do not have the drive to go out and make something of themselves to live normal lives. Instead of being employed in a decent job, they would rather depend on Rosa Lee who pushes herself to do what she does best selling drugs and shoplifting just so her children are fed, housed and even given money to get their drugs. For Rosa Lee, this is her way of showing love for them. Prolonged use of dangerous drugs, and her high level of stress have resulted in some physical illnesses in Rosa Lee as manifested by seizures, memory lapses and stomach pain. To manage it, she has been receiving her daily dose of Methadone at the community clinic. However, at times, such symptoms become too much to bear and she ends up confined in the hospital. This paper attempts to analyze Rosa Lees psychological profile and diagnose her psychological situation using a multiaxial evaluation from the data gathered from her life story by Leon Dash and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). Axis I: Substance Abuse/ Dependence Rosa Lees manifested symptoms may be diagnosed as Substance Abuse/Dependence. Under DSM-IV-TR (text revision of 2002). Following are the usual behaviors exhibited by substance abusers/ dependents: SUBSTANCE ABUSE: Manifests one or more of the following behavior:ÂÂ   Failure to fulfill major obligations: Rosa Lee has been habitually tardy in settling her bills, resulting in cut-off of services. She is unable to manage her finances, as she misappropriates her budget to her and her childrens drug supply instead of food for everybody or payment of utilities. Use when physically hazardous: In spite of the threat of her HIV virus turning into a full-blast AIDS disease, or simply when she knows that her physical condition makes drug use lethal for her, Rosa Lee continues to indulge in drugs. Recurrent legal problems: Rosa Lee has been arrested several times for shoplifting or busted for selling or using drugs. Recurrent social or interpersonal problems: Rosa Lee is unable to control her childrens addictive behavior. She continually supports their drug habit by handing them the money to buy drugs and then tries to save them whenever they get in trouble associated with their drug use. Personally, she is frustrated with how they treat her but she seems helpless as she keeps her feelings usually bottled up inside and occasionally pushed to the limit. Since she has vowed never to be like her abusive mother to her children, she instead indulges their whims even if it brings disastrous results for them. With SUBSTANCE ABUSE the user has a choice: he/she uses in spite of illegal, unsafe consequences, or inappropriateness of the drinking/drugging experience. (DSM-IV-TR, 2002). With Rosa Lees history of drug use, she continues to use drugs despite her awareness of its consequences to herself or her family. SUBSTANCE DEPENDENCE (ADDICTION/ALCOHOLISM) Manifests three or more of the following behavior: Tolerance: Rosa Lee tolerates the consequences that follow her drug use pain, inability to function normally, even her childrens seemingly abusive behavior towards her. Withdrawal: Rosa Lees body responses to drug use withdrawal are usually associated to how she takes medication to control the accumulated and related symptoms that the use of dangerous drugs have caused. Since her reading skills are inadequate, she is not accurate in following the dosage of the prescribed medication, causing her body to react with seizures, memory lapses, etc. Large amounts over a long period: Rosa Lees intake of drugs/ illegal substances depends on its availability. The more drugs available for the taking, the more she can consume. This has gone on for most of her adult life. Unsuccessful efforts to cut down: Despite her numerous attempts/ announcements to stop and reform her life by avoiding drugs, she would usually fall back into the drug habit. Time spent in obtaining the substance replaces social, occupational or recreational activities: Rosa Lees numerous commitments have usually been missed due to her drug problem. Continued use despite adverse consequences: Rosa Lee has gotten herself in dire circumstances because of her substance abuse/ dependency. Her repetitive confinements in the hospital, the threat of AIDS, the risk of being hurt by drug dealers may force her to stop using drugs, but when a stressful event comes to her life, or when her defenses are down, she would weakly give in to the temptation of taking drugs when it presents itself. Axis II: ÂÂ  Developmental Disorders/ Personality Disorders From the data gathered, Rosa Lee seems to present a number of developmental disorders. From childhood, it was shown that she was a slow learner and her inadequate literacy skills has led her to troublesome consequences (e.g. misreading prescribed dosages of medication has caused her aggravated physical illnesses; her lack of understanding of simple systems such as billing or legal consequences has pushed her further in deeper problems). Her poverty and feelings of deprivation has pushed Rosa Lee to impulsively steal from stores. Gaining approval from her family members due to the merchandise she has stolen has become the reward for this inappropriate behavior. Her usual excuse for it is just trying to survive, a rationalization she has passed on to her children and grandchildren. Rosa Lee shows some obsessive-compulsive behaviors when she is stressed. She cleans her house in earnest to the point that it is spotless. Axis III: Physical Conditions Rosa Lees prolonged substance abuse/ dependency has caused her a lot of physical illnesses such as memory loss, body pains, seizures, general malaise and most of all, HIV from sharing needles when injecting dangerous substances to the body. Such illnesses has made Rosa Lee progressively weaker physically confining her to her bed whenever these attack. Axis IV: Severity of Psychosocial Stressors The prominence of her mothers role in her life has greatly affected the formation of her character and personality. Rosa Lee was terribly afraid of her exploitative and cruel mother who forced her to do things against her will. She was physically and verbally abused. In spite of this, Rosa craved for her love and affection. When she already felt suffocated of her mothers hold on her and her life, she found ways to get away from her such as getting pregnant and marrying early, which backfired and led her back to her mother. Being a breadwinner of the family (both her own children and her mother and siblings) pushed Rosa Lee to work harder at acquiring income to support them all. In spite of this, she felt unappreciated and taken advantage of, but she passively accepted her fate. Continuously supporting her children even in their adulthood was also a strong psychosocial stressor for Rosa Lee, as they were very much dependent on her that they even expect her to save them from the detrimental consequences such as bailing them out of jail, covering for their transgressions and taking their place to suffer the consequences of their own misdemeanors. Rosa Lees idea of maternal love is just to give and to give, as her selfish and inconsiderate children continually take and take, giving their mother nothing in return. The environment where she lives in is another source of stress for Rosa Lee, as it eggs on her continuous engagement in the drug trade. If she or any of her children is guilty of crossing anyone, the threat of harm becomes prevalent. Axis V: Highest Level of Functioning Upon the thorough and keen reporting of Leon Dash, Rosa Lee has been portrayed as a street-smart woman who is truly a survivor in the context of her personal situation. She knows how to manipulate the sentiments of judges or other people who easily fall for her deceptive demeanor. She manages to acquire the necessary income for her family to survive in dire circumstances. When things are carefully explained to her and made sure that she understood the consequences of her behavior, Rosa Lee does the necessary action to normalize her life and become drug-free for a certain period of time. Her weak will may be made stronger with careful scaffolding of reminders and even threats to her safety. She also needs to be prodded to assert herself when it comes to her children who control her emotionally by pushing the right buttons. Proposed Treatment Plan In coming up with an appropriate treatment plan for Rosa Lee, many factors are to be considered. Like in most cases, treatment needs to combine psychological therapy with the treatment of the physical addiction. Before any treatment plan is attempted, Rosa Lees intrinsic desire to be reformed must be expressed. The decision to be healed of her addiction should help her commit to being cooperative with the concrete vision that she will indeed be free from the bondage of the addiction. To cleanse her body of the chemicals she has ingested, Rosa Lee needs to go through medical detoxification. While detoxification alone is rarely sufficient to help addicts achieve long-term abstinence, for some individuals it is a strongly indicated precursor to effective drug addiction treatment. (National Institute on Drug Abuse, n.d.). As it is, Rosa Lee has been taking her doses of Methadone, a drug that helps her in stabilizing her life and reducing her illicit drug use. Her treatment plan must likewise include treatment and management of her HIV positive state to prevent it from becoming a full-blast AIDS disease. Priority should be helping Rosa Lee regain her physical vigor and feisty spirit. Since her immediate environment is one factor that encourages her addiction, she must be moved to a less threatening environment that promotes well-being. Being in a stress-free environment greatly helps in achieving peace. A conducive environment also facilitates deep introspection and coming up with an action plan to pursue a drug-free and positive lifestyle after the treatment process. The most important element in the treatment plan is Rosa Lees psychological therapy. Managing the effects of her trauma from childhood entails getting to the root of it. Therapy must include her revisiting of the past and steps to achieve closure from the psychological pain inflicted by her overpowering mother and the prejudicial socio-cultural environment that exploited her dignity as a person. Family therapy is essential in the healing of Rosa Lees affliction. Since the dysfunctional members are likewise culprits in encouraging Rosa Lees addiction, they themselves must undergo psychological therapy not only for her but also for their own good. In doing so, an empowered sense of self and responsibility is hoped to be developed. Psychotherapy will help in treating Rosa Lees emotional wounds. The need to understand why things turned out the way they are should be met so the individual is equipped to resolve the situation and move on. One example is for Rosa Lee to understand the dynamics she shared with her mother and how she should manage the strong feelings her painful relationship still brings about. Being able to manage it will help her in dealing with stressful situations associated with her mother. Rosa Lees strengths should be used in the treatment plan. Among these are her deep love for her family and her creative and critical thinking abilities. In helping her understand how her dysfunctional behavior puts her children and grandchildren at risk may help her shift her paradigm on love. Encouraging her to be strong in denying her children the whims which may bring them harm by using tough love may be effective in likewise strengthening her character. She may find it very difficult at first considering giving in to all her childrens whims has been her parenting style for a long time and her way of showing love for them, but eventually, as she reaps the fruits of her sacrifice, she will eventually be accustomed to it. Her creative and critical thinking skills may be called upon whenever she feels tempted to relapse into her addiction after treatment. She may find ways and means to avoid anything that would trigger her urges to take illicit drugs like old co-drug dependent friends, drug dealers, or even places she associates with her former life in the drug trade. In the book, there were frequent references to the power of religion over her. This may mean that Rosa Lee finds it important. Being exposed to the teachings of her chosen religion may help her acquire proper understanding of moral values. It would be ideal if religion and spirituality would be her substitute for the ultimate high she is perennially in search of. Even at a late age, she may still be given tutorial sessions on developing literacy skills. Not only will she learn to read and write, but her confidence and self-esteem will be improved, giving her hope for a better future. Vocational rehabilitation such as engaging in arts and crafts, gardening, cooking, etc. will not only keep her mind off her addiction but also equip her with more skills. Such skills will help her find appropriate, decent and gainful employment to start her off in her reformed life. Rosa Lee is also recommended to get into assertiveness training to enable her to non-defensively express her emotions. This will help her not to be easily taken advantage of people, especially her family members who are always out to get a cut of her welfare checks. She will likewise be empowered to think of herself positively, and even contest the societal norms and beliefs she grew up on, which were partly responsible in lowering her self-esteem. An effective treatment plan attempts to administer to her medical, psychological, vocational, social, and even legal needs. Rosa Lee had left a lot of pending legal cases, and these need to be resolved or if need be, she should be amenable to face the verdict responsibly. As Rosa Lee gets better in her treatment plan, consistent monitoring of her progress must be assessed continually and modified as necessary to ensure that the plan meets her changing needs. Recovery from drug addiction can be a long-term process and frequently requires multiple episodes of treatment. As with other chronic illnesses, relapses to drug use can occur during or after successful treatment episodes. Addicted individuals may require prolonged treatment and multiple episodes of treatment to achieve long-term abstinence and fully restored functioning. Participation in self-help support programs during and following treatment often is helpful in maintaining abstinence. (National Institute on Drug Abuse). The complications in Rosa Lees life have contributed to the state she is currently in. Like a pack of a wrongly- knitted ball of yarn, her treatment plan should carefully release the knots to unravel the strands so a more accurate weave may be started and completed before she finally expires. No matter how unfortunate one lives his life, there is always hope for change. In Rosa Lees case, if she is determined to turn her life around, no one can stop her from achieving the happiness and fulfillment a clean life and amend her ways and teachings she has previously imparted to her children and grandchildren. She will continue to carry the burden of being responsible for her family being the matriarch, but change needs to begin with her. Hopefully, positive change will rub off on her children and grandchildren. Only then could a trans-generational woundedness begin to heal, as she may be the first real credible role-model they can ever have.

Christian Places of Worship

————————————————- â€Å"Christian places of worship should be plain and simple? † Discuss. Ollie Gardner This debate is a very strong subject for certain people and religion. For example the Catholics think that it is right to show their appreciation of god by designing their places of worship with big stained glass windows, huge organs and a big bold altar etc. However the Protestants started out rebelling against the Catholics saying that you should not have to show your appreciation with money and gold but with commitment and feeling should be enough. No religion is right or wrong. Looking at the Protestant way of thinking about it that places of worship should be plain and simple. I can see many reasons why people do believe in this thought. One reason could be because they think that god does not have to be â€Å"bribed† or given these big expensive gifts to appreciate his followers and the people. That merely showing your commitment to him and well being should be enough to gain your love or that you already have his love. God in my point of view is not someone to judge someone by his or her wealth but by his or her actions. Meaning that wherever you worship in a church, at home in your bedroom, on the street in an alleyway with beer cans on the floor is good enough to show your respect and thanks. He does not think of you anymore by showing him and giving him gifts with great wealth. You might be quite poor and cannot afford to do anything quite so big and bold and might just want to do your own prayer at home or anywhere of your choice, which is still fine. On the other hand I can see why you would want to show your appreciation via: gifts, big services and god plated lecterns etc. It’s like on Valentines Day when you give you loved ones a present, card or gift of some point. I know the feeling of walking in to the Bath Abbey and being blown away by the remarkableness and memorising stain glassed windows that fill the room with colour. You do in some way feel that sense of astonishment and holiness as you witness something like the Bath Abbey. I can also see the commitment to god by giving him gifts of great wealth and big glamorous services. It shows hat if they have been lucky enough to be very wealthy or maybe not that much but to give what they can does show a certain amount of strong commitment. In conclusion either decision is fine, and god will not think of you any differently. In my point of view I would go with Protestant way of belief just because I think that god loves you whoever you are and we can show are own love to him, not by fancy lecterns and pulpits and a big choir but just by however way we feel like. Could be at home or anywhere tha t is most comfortable to you.