Increasing the Minimum Wage in America

Increasing the Minimum Wage in America Raising the lowest wages in America has always been a controversial topic. The Federal Government establishes the minimum hourly wages that a worker can be paid and as such, these standards of income impact the entire nation.   These standards of income or minimum wages were written into law to control the unfair practices of sweatshops and other capitalistic, manufacturing firms. However, minimum wage laws of today ensure that the employee being paid is provided with enough money to afford necessities (Edward and Gilman, 1999).   Nevertheless, with rising energy costs, no real affordable heath-care system in place and rising fuel and food costs the minimum minimally covers the average Americans necessities. The controversy and or problems associated with standard wages stem from both the positive and negative impacts that it imparts upon society. For example, as minimum wages increase companies are less likely to hire new employees, to train or retool current employees or to off er incentives and or job advancements.   In reverse, as wages decrease firms began to experience higher levels of employee turnover rates, incidents of accidents and often are left with less qualified applicants (Doyle, 2017). Seeing that much of this countries workforce is made up of hourly employees these minimum wage imbalances typically disrupt the main source of income for many households in America.   Ã‚   Technology and various factors of life have changed over the years and has greatly advanced. However, what has remained stagnant; is the increases to minimum wages. As such, many people in America are unable to properly provide for their families. Poverty rates have increased as well as the number of the homeless, yet the Federal Government reports that our economy is improving. Nevertheless, many of this great, Nation’s citizens are unable to provide good and nutritional food for themselves and their families. Because of this we are now facing a rising epidemic of poor health and illness in this country. Due in part to the; depression, obesity, poor nutritional lifestyles brought on by poverty (T.H.G,2014). Throughout the years there has been research that has proven that workers who make more than minimum wage tend to be well and in good health. However, the Federal Government feels that by increased minimum wages create heightened levels of unemployment and that if minimum wages were increased above ten dollars per hour that these rates would elevate drastically. Truth be told, if minimum wages could increase as much as $25 an hour and firms and organizations would continue to grow and prosper because their inputs would always be higher than their outputs. Thriving companies like Amazon wouldn’t stop hiring and neither would they have to raise the prices on their goods to compensate for increased wages. Ideally, if wages were raised it would essentially grow the middle-class and low-income worker would be less reliance upon government assistance programs. As a result, hard working Americas are speaking out and protesting for a substantial increase to the minimum wages. This in essence is warranted because over the last few year’s inflation has increased however income has not. According to different reports given by the Labor Board, â€Å"2007 amendments increased the minimum wage to $5.85 per hour which took effect on July 24, 2007; $6.55 per hour effective July 24, 2008; and $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009.† Throughout much of this time America was fighting 3 wars, losing several companies to foreign barters, dealing with a real estate crisis as well as an extreme recession. So, these relatively menial increases were not in alignment with gas prices, inflation nor overall citizen expenses. Statics show at the beginning 2017, twenty-nine states have a higher minimum wage than the standard federal rate. Implementing a minimum wage increase would promote equality among the nation, while also paying workers a living wage which will aid in one being able to live a decent and healthy life. Despite the hesitation from employers, many American households live off minimum wage, for this reason lawmakers should increase it; which will aid American families with the ability to afford the cost of living. Problem The bare minimum of anything is less than average and as such is subpar! Minimum wage in supposedly ‘Greatest and Strongest Nation’ in the world falls closer to the wages extended to citizens in less developed countries. America is ranked number 9 and has a greater military and infrastructure than at least two of the countries that out pay their citizens. Australia which is ranked number one as it relates to highest minimum wages paid to it’s workers and citizens yet this country founded in 1901 and America was founded in 1776, a whooping 275 years earlier (Papworth, 2012). America’s Minimum wage institution was established in 1933, and upon its inception citizens were paid twenty-five cents an hour. Eventually the wages were raised regularly in the years after, with the time between increases generally ranging between a year, and up to five and six years.   On Jan 1, 1981, the minimum wage increased to three dollars and thirty-five cents and it remains at the level until 1990. The current federal minimum wage has remained the same for the same amount of time. It was last increased on Sept. 1, 2010 at seven dollars and twenty-five cents. (Pollin, Robert; Wicks-Lim, Jeannette,2016).   Currently there are eighteen other states including the District of Columbia who have a higher minimum wage than what is typically required by federal law. However, there are still six states that don’t even   participate in minimum wage.   The reason why this is a global societal problem is because approximately half of the people earning the minimum wage or less are younger workers who are under the age of twenty-five.   Many of these worked still live with their parents.   Statistic show that forty-one percent stay with their patents while fifteen percent are adults, who are raising a family and twenty-three percent are adults who are barely able to take care of themselves. Although, poverty has been a huge problem for many decades (for all types of families), government officials feel that raising wages would have little effect on these group of people. Researchers have proven that various states across America have a minimum wage that is higher than what is required at the government level.   However, the federal government gives each state an opportunity to manage their minimum wage by law, but the worker will get the higher pay of the two. â€Å"Many economists do not like minimum wage for the simple fact it puts a stop to low-income workers who essentially cannot produce enough monetary worth in their work to cover the minimum wage. Often during various years such as 2008-2012, a worker in these situations has to consider the government, by looking at one’s neighborhood, education level, race, and age (24-65)† (Greory,2014).   Another factor that could be essential to help increase minimum wage is the coast of living.   Although each state has the authority to have its own minimum wage, some states are less cost efficient than others which require more than the standard minimum. â€Å"Most of the global labor force, in any case, is the developing markets.   In addition, for some of these nations, initiating a minimum wage or raising it is unequivocally on the policy agenda. Yet, little is thought about the effects of minimum wages on labor and expectations for living standards in developing markets† (Gregory, 2014).   Ã¢â‚¬Å"The cost of living takes in to account the prices of different goods and services; whereas, housing affordability considers how expensive home prices are in relation to the median family income† (Cooper,2015). However, everyone feels that things are expensive and cost a fortune. After doing research, the states that have major metro areas (such as New York and San Francisco), often gain attraction for tourist and other perks which can make it least affordable.   If the cost of living is higher than minimum wage, it increases the ability to get another job or ask for government assistance. Statics also show that 30-50% of one’s income is spent on rent and utilities, which in some cases it is 90% of their household income.   â€Å"Although some people are rent-burdened, and cannot afford basics necessities, such as fresh fruits and vegetables; so alternatively, they consume un healthy food that eventual causes health problems†. (Tsao et al 2016). Most minimum wage worker due to the lack of income cannot afford the health benefits that they need to stay healthy. Nevertheless, their ailments worsen and often time an individual may start to have feelings of depression or feeling down about their situation, this type of mindset is also unhealthy for low income Americans. Solution A probable solution to increasing minimum wages is to guarantee basic income programs like Housing Urban Development also known as HUD.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"HUD is a public housing program for all sizes and types of families, which provides housing from houses to apartments, even for the elderly. This program was developed to provide housing and community development assistance and to make sure everyone has access to â€Å"fair and equal housing† (Reich,2015).     Another opportunity for low-income families is the government assistance program that helps provide food for low income families also known as the SNAP program. This program aids with food purchases for low-income or no income families; living in the United States. SNAP benefits cost about seventy billion dollars a year and provide for about forty-four billion people.   This number represents about fourteen percent of the population, which adds up to be $125.51 per month for each person. SNAP is one of the largest nutrition programs in American; for low income families.   After reviewing the article The Effects of Minimum Wage on Food Stamps, many government officials feel that one should not have it both ways, they should not be able to collect on both benefits. Their rationale is that if minimum wages increases, that the Snap benefits decrease.   This would have an adverse effect on one’s health or possible affect the children in that household.   Government officials have spent numerus of time on discussing the issue for the welfare plan. However; since 2014, there has been an estimated increase on minimum wages and a decrease in SNAP participation, by 3.95 percent.   These results indicate that the government is going in the right direction in saving taxpayer money (Reich,2015). Although these individuals receive SNAP benefits some households still are facing the greatest hardship and most likely face a decrease in food security, rather than people who are not receiving SNAP benefits. However, SNAP enrollment seems to increase in periods of prosperity. Another solution to increasing minimum wages could be raising the child tax credit.   Families with children could really use the extra money that is provided form the benefit from child tax credit program. Many government officials are in favor of increasing the child tax credit, they say it is highly unlikely that it would be and increase in minimum wage. However, this strategy would help struggling families with children with the benefits and necessities that they need. Although most federal governments oppose of the minimum wage law they feel that there better solution for helping workers that only make minimum wage such as the earned income tax credit.   This tax credit is set up for a person who is poor and has earn a certain about due to his or her wages throughout the year.  Ã‚   The earn income tax credit has several advantages for the poor and it favors those who make minimum wage. â€Å"One argument often made by minimum wage advocates is that higher minimum wage is necessary to prevent or mitigate the reduction in market wages associated with the labor supply response to a more generous EITC† (Neumark&Washcher, 2011, p. 714).   The standard minimum wage does not cost the tax payer any money because of the higher income tax credit. This is one of the programs that was created so the government would not have to raise minimum wages, by only creating it for low income workers, who are eligible to receive it.   â€Å"Economist around the globe, feel that training programs are criticism of raising the minimum wage it is the pay rate of low-skilled people and entry level jobs†(Neumar&Wascher,2002).   The government could install training programs that could potentially improve employee outcomes and help them to be more successful in getting a high paying job. Evaluation of the Evidence The evidence used here is all justifiable and dependable and without bias. The various of sources used here are scholarly, peer-reviewed articles which make the information justifiable. There are a few sources used here that would be considered popular sources.   After reading the article, American Journal of Public Health, the authors (Tsao et al 2016) worked with the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, they referenced their work and without bias. This article helped shed light on the health of low-income families. It also helped to explain how beneficial it would be if there was and increase in minimum wage and the effects it would have on and families.   The Effects of Minimum Wage on Food Stamps, is a credible scholarly source to show how the government reasons for not raising minimum wages but should create more programs to help individuals who are suffering with low-income or no income at all.   As a result, the article proved that the government is going in the right direction in saving taxpayer money.   This article is essential to research because it sheds light on the way minimum wages affect people who are less fortunate.   It also takes a closer look at those who have to use government assistance programs in order to support their families.     Statistical data provided gives rationale for raising the minimum wage and to utilize the table of data. Once again, this source is reliable, valid and unbiased. Several of the sources provide statistical data that need to be illustrated. â€Å"The statistic from this graph clearly shows the percentages of families’ income and of those who would be affected by a minimum-wage increase on a generally low to moderate level.   Nearly, 70.7 percent of affected families have a total family income of less than $60,000, and nearly a quarter (23.6 percent) have total family income of less than $20,000. Among all U.S. families, the median family income in 2010 was $60,395† (Current Population Survey, 2010) . Some of the surveys results are incorrect due to lack of education and inaccurate information being provided at the time the survey was given. The source Neumak and Wascher, shows support on finding a solution to help low-income workers.   They were able to shed light on how poverty has affected workers which have low-incomes.   Cooper explains, the percentages of youth and adults that are targeted by the fast food industries and that have no education (2015). This source explains why the government will not increase minimum wage because of the targeted age group. Ethical outcomes of Solution Some journalists have stated negative impacts, such as turnover rates and untrained workers for small businesses if wages are increased, the positive aspect of raising wages would have, overall.   After reviewing the statistical data, it shows that mostly teenagers are targeted when mentioning minimum wage, this is because they are one of the largest group that is affected by the minimum wage, which makes it effects more discernable.   After reading the article Pay Equity and the National minimum wage, the author points out that reservation wages of younger workers, which is lower than adult workers. Citizen throughout the country have had many concerns about the status of minimums wage getting abused form primary earners in poor families, more than for the wages of teenagers and other secondary earners form higher-income families. It also raises arguments on why young workers are receiving such low pay and sheds light on the national minimum wage.   The theories of wage control vary, but details pay levels and pay dispersion; thus, proving that pay differs around the world.   These differences are based on job requirements.   Younger adults are also targeted by the fast food industries because of no job experience and lack of education.   Most young adults are just trying to earn extra money rather than trying to take care of a family.   â€Å"The average age of affected workers is 36 years old. A larger share of affected workers is age 55 and older (15.3 percent) than are teens (10.7 percent). About two-thirds of affected workers are 25 years old or older† (Cooper, 2015).   There have been numerous of research obtain to show that most teenagers will not be affected by the increase because most teenagers only work part-time because they attend school. Teenagers could also learn these lessons from many other activities or discussions.   Young adults should not just rely on minimum wage; but continue their education, which would lead to an opportunity of getting a better job, when they become an adult.   They will not only have job experience but know the value of money and how it can help provide for their families.   Ã‚  There is various reason on why minimum wage should be increase because society feels like worker are less likely to quit on higher-paid jobs. Sheposh explains how minimum wage has the lowest rate of pay that was set out for mostly the fast food industry.   The government or union negotiated and calculated hourly, weekly and monthly incentives to come up with the first national minimum-wage law.   He presents the establishment and timeline of minimum wage and how it affects certain parts of the country. States like Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee do not implement the minimum wage law.   According to this article each state and municipality can set its own wage.   â€Å"Minimum wage has always been a controversial issue and will continue to be an issue as the cost of living is always rising† (Sheposh, 2016).   However, minimum wage was not meant for workers to rely on as a permanent career, but to only use as temporary financial support.   There are many reasons that minimum wages should be increase for a worker. The standard minimum wage pay for participating states varies between $7.25 and 9.00; which in today’s society typical family of three people, would barely be able thrive.   However; from a business perspective, the employer gains profit by paying the workers less, but still has the exception for that worker to work hard and come to work every day.   In the article Santa Monica’s Minimum Wage: Assessing the Living Wage Movement’s New Frontier,it mentions that Santa Monica proposed a plan that would raise the minimum wage to $12.25 per hour (2005). After reviewing the statistical data of this source, it shows that many businesses would close due to the increase.   Studies also show that some business relocate, this is done so they will not have to pay the workers more money. It is unfair that some businesses cheat their employees out of money, so they can make more profit.   It continues to be controversial topic around the globe that the less fortunate or low-income community would be better if the government officials would come together and increase the minimum wage.   This would be beneficial, instead of developing various programs such as SNAP, earned income tax credit, and federal housing. It gives them a chance at a better life and helps them take care of their families, especially those who have unaffordable health issues.   It is immoral and unjustifiable to make someone work forty hours a week and still not be able to live.   Everyone’s situation is different but giving them the opportunity to take care of their families is morally right and ethical. If the government will increase minimum wages and keep certain government programs, then add the installation of training programs to benefit low-income and uneducated workers, they will have the opportunity to get a higher paying job.   In turn, they would no longer need the aid of federal programs; thus, this will be a great solution for the worker, as well as, the government. Minimum wages were set to only help the younger workers while in school, and other adults with no job experience. Many economists argue that by increasing minimum wage does not only help low-income worker, but all workers.   Conclusion While increasing minimum wage will always continue to be a controversial topic around the world, the wealthy have argued that the poor would be better off if the government officials would not waste their time trying to increase minimum wage.   They should instead, create more programs that will be beneficial to workers to help them get better paying jobs.   Some feel that minimum wage will reduce employment, but not by as much as there are so many people who want to work, but can not due to health issue, education, and various other issues. Increasing minimum wages has benefits for all workers, not just the one that the government targets like young workers, single adults, and worker who are 55 and older.   President Barack Obama has stated on many occasion that increasing the minimum wage is very essential to addressing the income gap in America. Raising minimum wage does not just help families financially, but it helps them feel better about themselves.   Morale would increase because they would be able to take care of their families and develop good morals and standards. However, it can help take care of health issues and not use federal programs, because they will obtain a higher paying job, which will carry health insurance and that they can afford. Making more money with just a simple increase can give a household an opportunity to be successful and take care of one’s family.   Poverty in America is at an all-time high and the lower-class has been affected by the increase in the cost of living. We have to find a way for government officials to make the decision to increase minimum wages. References Brosnan,  P. (n.d.). The Minimum Wage in a Global Context.  The Handbook of Globalization, Second Edition. doi:10.4337/9780857931443.00020 Cooper, D. (2015). Raising the Minimum Wage to $12 by 2020 Would Lift Wages for 35 Million American Workers | Economic Policy Institute. Retrieved from http://www.epi.org/publication/raising-the-minimum-wage-to-12-by-2020-would-lift-wages-for-35-million-american-workers/ Doyle, A. 14 Dec 2017. Pros and Cons of Raising Minimum Wage. Web. https://www.thebalance.com/pros-and-cons-of-raising-the-minimum-wage-2062521 Edwards, P., & Gilman, M. (1999). Pay equity and the national minimum wage: What can theories tell us? Human Resource Management Journal, 9(1), 20-38. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/199448047?accountid=32521 Gregory,  T. (2014). When the Minimum Wage Bites Back: Quantile Treatment Effects of a Sectoral Minimum Wage in Germany.  SSRN Electronic Journal.  doi:10.2139/ssrn.2567167 Meer, J., & West, J. (2016). Effects of the Minimum Wage on Employment Dynamics. Journal Of Human Resources, 51(2), 500-522. Neumark, D., & Wascher, W. (2002). Do Minimum Wages Fight Poverty. Economic Inquiry, 40(3), 315. Papworth, J. 26 Oct. 2012. How Good is Great Britian’s Minimum Wage? Web.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   https://www.theguardian.com/money/2012/oct/26/how-good-britain-minimum-wage Pollin, Robert; Wicks-Lim, Jeannette.   A $15 U.S. minimum wage: How fast-food industry could adjust without shedding jobs.   Journal of Economic Issues (M.E. Sharpe Inc.).  Sep2016, Vol. 50 Issue 3, p716-744. 29p. 10 Charts. DOI: 10.1080/00213624.2016.1210382 Reich, Michael.  Industrial Relations. â€Å"The Effects of Minimum Wage on Food Stamps†.  Oct2015, Vol. 54 Issue 4, p668-694. 27p. 8 Charts, 1 Map DOI: 10.1111/irel.12105. Sanders, R. H., & Williams, E. D. (2005, February). Assessing the Living Wage Movement’s  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   New Frontier. Santa Monica’s Minimum Wage:, 19(1). doi:10.1177/0891242404268705 Sheposh, R. January,2016 2p. â€Å"Minimum Wages around the World† Salem Press. Web. 26 Jan. 2016. http://www.wageindicator.org/main/salary/minimum-wageontier. Santa Monica’s Minimum Wage:, 19(1). doi:10.1177/0891242404268705 Tsao et al. (June 2016). Estimating potential reductions in premature mortality in New York City from raising the minimum wage to $15. American Journal of Public Health, 106(6): 1036-1041

The Purpose of This Study

THE INTERNET'S EFFECT ON TEENAGERS Joshua Benjamin Mr. Ferraro Cooper City High School Last Revised: January 31, 1999 INTRODUCTION The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of internet usage on a user's life. Internet addiction is a serious complication effecting America's teenagers. An abundance of support, self-help, and anonymous therapy web sites are available to the public, but there has not been much distinguished attention given to the matter by media other than the Internet.A myriad of collegiate surveys (see references cited) exhibit static results of the Internet's effect based on the participant's age, gender, race, and lifestyle. Many people find the Internet to be the ideal place to socialize with others because of it's faceless medium and effortless ways to find others with similar interests; through the many ways of communication over the Internet, the common prejudices of life are not evident. A significant issue, are the obscured inconveniences one may enc ounter during their day-to-day internet experiences.As companies ‘snaz up' their websites more and more, the user is required to wait for more data to download. The common user does not care to wait for all the attractions and wishes to view what that they come looking for, information. Discomfort is endured as the user sits, and waits for minutes at a time as a status bar slowly progresses to the 100% complete mark. Over time, slightly disturbing events such as this build upon one another and it is hypothesized that it can impose on a user's psychological health over time. Some studies emphasize on internet usage in relation to social and civic interaction.Others highlight the similarities and differences between internet addiction and other addictions. Still others stress on what the user does online and how that affects him or her. One college researcher's study focuses on Internet users' in relation to their various daily tasks. He states, â€Å"Buying products cheaper ov er the Internet is not a big concern of the questionnaire respondents. The Internet seems extremely attractive to the questionnaire participants. Only ten percent decreased their internet usage last year. More than fifty percent answered that Internet use from time to time, often or always replaces watching TV. 0% of the respondents considered themselves as addicted to or dependent on the Internet. The results show a significant difference in the answers from addicted versus non-addicted users. This leads to the conclusion that addictive behaviour can exist in Internet usage. On the other hand, the answers based on the common symptoms of addiction questions are not so strong in the addicted group that one can speak of an addiction, in which for example continued, persistent use of the Internet appears in spite of negative consequences. (Egger, 1996) Whether the Internet is increasing or decreasing social involvement could have enormous consequences for society and for people's perso nal well-being. In an influential article, Putnam documented a broad decline in civic engagement and social participation in the United States over the past 35 years. Citizens vote less, go to church less, discuss government with their neighbors less, are members of fewer voluntary organizations, have fewer dinner parties, and generally get together less for civic and social purposes.At the individual level, social disengagement is associated with poor quality of life and diminished physical and psychological health. When people have more social contact, they are happier and healthier, both physically and mentally. As one might suspect, these activities do not have the same appeal to teenagers and adults alike. The most prominent contrasts by age were not surprising. Teenagers were more likely to use the Internet for schoolwork and for getting educationally-oriented information.It is perhaps less obvious that adults rather than teenagers were more likely to use the Internet to get p roduct information, to purchase items, to read the news, and to view sexually-oriented materials. Teenagers were more likely to use the Internet to play games, to listen to music, and to meet new people. Compared to other groups, both adult women and teenage boys were especially likely to report using the Internet for advertising, for selling, and for making money. † (Kraut, Lundmark, Patterson, Kiesler, Mukopadhyay, Scherlis, Zdaniuk, Thielke, Patterson, 1998. )Some may view addiction as when a task becomes a necessary part of a user's life. â€Å"While the online experience can enrich and expand people's lives, it can also seduce the vulnerable into ignoring the real world. It demonstrates how a bright young man who is doing well in school and who has real-life friends can easily go through a period when things are more interesting on the Net than off. This is what leads him to see his online experiences as a â€Å"genuine† part of his life. He still had a life offli ne, but at the time of our conversation, events there were not going so well.From this perspective, the comment about real life not being his best window seems a bit less sinister. † (Turkle, 1996) â€Å"Frustration with the sluggish speed of a browser is about the most serious psychological pitfall that most of us face when surfing the World Wide Web. But for as many as five million Americans, experts say, the Internet has become a destructive force, its remarkable benefits overshadowed by its potential to disrupt the lives of those who can't resist the lure of round-the-clock social opportunities, entertainment, and information.For such people, work, friends, family, and sleep are replaced by a virtual world of chat rooms and games. Only recently, however, have psychologists begun devising strategies to wean on-line addicts from their endless browsing and chatting. † (Potera, 1998) â€Å"While drug and internet addiction have a lot in common, there are, of course, si gnificant differences. Drug addiction is a physical dependence whereas the Internet is not. The Internet has been called a behavioral addiction. A behavioral addiction is one in which an individual is addicted to an action and not necessarily a substance.People can become addicted to activities even when there is no true physiological dependence or physiological addiction. This basically means that behavioral addicts do not have any kind of physical dependence to the Internet. Any activity can be addicting if done to extreme. For example, some of the normal everyday activities that can be addicting are jogging, eating, sexual activity, work, etc. Everyone has heard of the workaholic, well that is a behavioral addiction just like the Internet.If it â€Å"changes your emotional state in some way† then it can be classified as a behavioral addiction. This type of addiction is actually very common. Someone with the ability to recognize what type of addiction they have is helpful, but what about those people who don't even know they're addicted? Internet addiction, like any other addiction, has signs and symptoms. One sure sign that person is addicted is if they deprive themselves of sleep in order to spend more time on-line. Usually an addict will average less than five hours of sleep.Another sign that someone might be addicted is if they neglect other important activities such as work, family and friends, or socializing in general to surf the Internet. Other symptoms include: losing track of time while on-line, or people close to you complain about the amount of time spent on-line, logging on while already busy with something else (work, family time, etc. ). These are just some of the many signs that point to addiction to the Internet. Once it is determined by the symptoms that a person is addicted, look for side effects of the addiction. † (Cochran, 1996)One individual has evaluated, to quite an extent, the effects of Internet use on a population as well as internet addiction. She has published her conclusive results on the Internet. An excerpt from one of her reports states, â€Å"Especially vulnerable, Young [Dr. Kimberly S. Young, assistant Professor of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh at Bradford] believes, are those who are lonely, bored, depressed, introverted, lack self esteem, or have a history of addictions. Research among sociologists, psychologists, or psychiatrists has not formally identified addictive use of the Internet as a problematic behavior.This study investigated the existence of internet addiction and the extent of caused by such potential misuse. On the basis of this criteria, case studies of 396 dependent Internet users (Dependents) and a control group of 100 nondependent Internet users (Non-Dependents) were classified. The length of time using the Internet differed substantially between Dependents and Non-Dependents. Among Dependents, 17% had been online for more than one year, 58% had only been on- line between six months to one year, 17% said between three to six months, and 8% said less than three months.A total of 83% of Dependents had been online for less than one full year which might suggest that addiction to the Internet happens rather quickly from one's first introduction to the service. In many cases, Dependents had been computer illiterate and described how initially they felt intimidated by using such information technology. However, they felt a sense of competency and exhilaration as their technical mastery and navigational ability improved rapidly.It is important to note that estimates were based upon the number of hours spent â€Å"surfing the Internet† for pleasure or personal interest (e. g. , personal e-mail, scanning news groups, playing interactive games) rather than academic or employment related purposes. Dependents gradually developed a daily internet habit of up to ten times their initial use as their familiarity with the Internet increased. In co ntrast, Non-Dependents reported that they spent a small percentage of their time on-line with no progressive increase in use.This suggests that excessive use may be a distinguishable characteristic of those who develop a dependence to on-line usage. (Young, 1996) Astoundingly, internet subscribers and websites continue to proliferate exponentially, as the following excerpt describes, â€Å"The Web currently has about 16,000,000 users a year, with a growth rate predicted as doubling annually. Lycos estimates some 80,000,000 Web pages currently and expects to see the billionth Web page in 1997. Advertisers seem to make money on the Web – at least those selling Web advertising.Jupiter Communications issued a study indicating that Web based advertising revenue reached $312,000,000 in 1996 and predicted $51,000,000,000 by the year 2000. (Searcher, 1997) The Internet's effect on human culture is much like other forms of technology have exhibited in the past, as one researcher just ifies. â€Å"Psychologists are not even sure yet what to call this phenomenon. Some label it an â€Å"Internet Addiction Disorder. † Let's not forget the very powerful, but now seemingly mundane and almost accepted addiction that some people develop to video games.Video games are computers too†¦ very single-minded computers, but computers nevertheless. Or how about telephones? People get addicted to those too, and not just the sex lines. Like computers, telephones are a technologically enhanced form of communication and may fall into the category of â€Å"computer mediated communication† – as the researchers are dubbing internet activities. In the not too distant future, computer, telephone, and video technology may very well merge into one, perhaps highly addictive, beast.A teenager who plays hooky from school in order to master the next level of Donkey Kong may be a very different person than the middle aged housewife who spends $500 a month in America O nline chat rooms – who in turn may be very different from the businessman who can't tear himself away from his finance programs and continuous Internet access to stock quotes. Some cyberspace addictions are game and competition oriented, some fulfill more social needs, some simply may be an extension of workaholism. † (Suler, 1996 Rev. 1998) One researcher believes the Internet is and continues to become more of a crucially integral part of our lives. There are obvious parallels today. Predictions abound about how the Internet will, or won't change the way we shop, vote, bank and think. Like the telegraph, its true effects are likely to be subtle, long-term, and no less dramatic in the context of history. The Internet may well take the telegraph one step further, connecting the global community and defining an international ethos. Yet for now, as starry-eyed internet advocates promise spectacular and immediate social change and the occasional skeptic pooh-poohs its impa ct, the Net's ability to generate hyperbole and ho-hum reactions seems to be mimicking its revolutionary ancestor.The historical similarities are instructive. † (Harris Adler, 1995) Based on the above literature, the researcher hypothesizes that interactive chat with people, probably would provoke most teenagers' extreme use of the Internet. Unrestrained use of the Internet should produce a negative effect on those that use it excessively. METHODS There were 125 participating responses which consisted of worldwide Internet users between the ages of 12 and 20 years old. The study was conducted via a survey that was available on the Internet's World Wide Web, at the address . A link to the survey was placed on a frequently visited website.Approximately 149 responses were received throughout the collection period, 24 of the 149 received were discarded due to incomplete information resulting in the 125 complete surveys used for evaluation. The survey asked questions regarding the subjects' Internet use and how it affects his or her personal life. Since the survey was conducted online, all entries were by Internet users only. Procedure: †¢ 1. Compose survey in a HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) creator. The answers should be in the outline of form functions (pop-up menu, radio buttons, selection list). Name the file â€Å"survey. shtml†. †¢ 2.Create a warning webpage perchance the viewer is sensitive to material contained in the survey, create a link to the survey (survey. shtml), so the viewer can follow it to the survey. You may want the link to explain that you are not liable if the material harms them. Name the warning page, â€Å"index. html† (the file named â€Å"index. html† is the webpage that is automatically loaded as the default page when someone visits a website). †¢ 3. Find a UNIX-based server for serving the survey webpage. †¢ 4. Upload the warning and survey webpages onto the UNIX server in your website folder using a FTP (file transfer protocol) client. 5. Download the â€Å"TECform† CGI script, available at , then upload it to your UNIX server. The program allows results to be E-mailed to you. †¢ 6. Make a request to the administrator of your UNIX server to setup the TECform CGI script for you. If this cannot be done, follow the instructions that come with the script and configure it on your own. †¢ 7. Configure the questionnaire webpage using the instructions that came with the TECform script so webpage and the program may interact so the results can be E-mailed to you. †¢ 8.Inform classmates that use the Internet, and Internet users worldwide (via internet chat, newsgroups, and any other form of advertising) of the location of the online survey and request that they complete and submit it. RESULTS The ages of the subjects that participated in the study were in their mid-teens. 98. 5% of the respondents were male and 1. 5% were female. Most of the subjects were age 16 (20%), only 1. 6% of the respondents were age 12. 89. 6% of the subjects currently reside in the United States of America (including it's external regions), there was also a scant amount of Canadian subjects (7. 0%) and an irrelevant one subject each from the following countries: Japan, Finland, Sweden, and Brazil. The subjects' unweighted GPAs (Table 1. 2) demonstrated consistency with national statistics; the mean of the subjects' GPAs were A's, B's and C's, most had a B average. Of the 125 responses, 0% of the respondents had a failing GPA (one that rounded to O in the nearest tenth). The amount of respondents with A+ and D grades were about the same; 5. 5% of the respondents had an A+ average; 4. 8% of the respondents had a D average.The study reveals that as connection speed increased (waiting time for a website decreased), the actual time spent online per day increased (Table 2. 1). An average of 5. 33 hours was spent online daily by the respondents (Table 2. 1). T ime spent online ranged from a low of 4 hours to a high of 6. 55 hours per day. Intriguingly, the poles of the subjects' GPAs exhibited quite excessive amounts of time on the Internet, about 7. 7 hours per day (Table 2. 2). Those with A+ grades spent approximately 6. 72 hours online per each day. Those with a GPA score of C spent about 6. 31 hours online per day. Subjects with D grades spent around 8. 7 hours online per day; together the C and D grades' hours averaged to about 7. 5 hours per day. Again, there were no responses with a failing GPA. As Table 2. 3 explains, about 38% of the subjects replied that they were negatively effected by their Internet use, 62% answered that they were not effected negatively. Notwithstanding, whether they said they were effected negatively or not, the subjects' context of use is very similar. The two areas of use that differed the most were chat and web surfing. 36% of those that responded â€Å"yes† and 29% of those that responded â€Å" no† said they spent most of their online time in chat. 8% of those that responded â€Å"yes† and 33% of those that responded â€Å"no† said they spent most of their online time surfing websites. The respondents that thought they were effected negatively were the ones that chatted 6% more often and surfed the web 7% less. CONCLUSION The higher speed connection one has to the Internet, the more they can do at a time. One of the fastest connections, 10 Megabyte per second (shared T3) connections are extremely costly (about $25,000 / month) and most plausibly, a subject with access to a T3 would be a part of an educational institute in which the school would pay for Internet access.Figure 1. 1 illustrates that those with higher speed connections use the Internet for longer periods of time. It is a possibility that those who get a ‘rush' by using the Internet may be prepared to invest in higher speed connections. Figure 1. 2 illustrates that those who create Int ernet media spend the most time online per day and those who read newsgroups spend the least amount of time online per day. Internet users that create internet media most likely spend their full time online doing so, as opposed to others who use multiple areas of the Internet in their sessions.Subjects that mainly chat online also spend a great deal of time online (5. 5 hours/day). This backs up the hypothesis which puts forth that internet chat instigates a habit. As Figure 1. 3 conveys, most of those who create internet media (such as websites and advertisements) do not think that their Internet use affects their health negatively, it is sound to gather that they do not believe it affects them negatively because they may consider their use as part of their job. Figure 1. 3 also indicates that those who think they are effected egatively by the Internet generally chat more often than those that browse the World Wide Web. It can be assumed that those who chat excessively believe that their Internet use affects their life in a negative way. Thus, the researcher's hypothesis is correct. This is striking, the Internet's exponential growth first began with the popularity of America Online and it's chat rooms. The Internet was not perceived to be used socially for chat as much as it is today. The majority of subjects do not think their Internet use has a negative effect on their social habits or emotional well-being (Figure 1. ). This is typical, heeding that any type of addiction is seen as an abnormality among a civilization. However, there was a definite group that believe it does effect them negatively. If these teenagers proceed with their net habits and current circumstance, a major disorder may develop over ensuing years. The study provides an awareness to the community regarding overuse of the Internet among the emerging society of adults. It points out the different components of the Internet that the majority of teenage addicts are liable to obsess on.Over use of the Internet can genuinely restrain teenagers' experiences in life, their performance academically, overall happiness, and physiological well-being. The term ‘addiction' is used loosely in this study; withstanding, society's perception to this growing problem can be flexible depending on how varieties of people view the definition of addiction. The WordNet dictionary defines addiction as, â€Å"being abnormally dependent on something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming. † One researcher has termed the study of internet addiction as â€Å"Psycho technology. The Internet most certainly can be psychologically habit-forming, becoming a part of one's daily practices. To improve this study, the researcher would have restricted the ages of the subjects even slimmer, perhaps to ages 16-18. Also, the researcher would have redefined certain questions on the survey for worthier comprehension among the subjects, in particular the final one which stated, â₠¬Å"Does your internet usage affect your social or mental health in a negative way? † A more appropriate question could have been, â€Å"Do you believe your internet usage may obstruct the achievement of your personal goals? Then a separate follow up, â€Å"If so, do you think using the Internet is worth more than achieving your goals? † The researcher suspects the results regarding daily use may have been biased because the link to the survey was placed on a website that could be categorized as directed to more advanced users than basic or intermediate. This, however, cannot be confirmed, the results stand rational. Lastly, the researcher suggests including a personal comment field in the survey, quotes of intensely effected users would be a good addition to the study.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Notably, I thank the respondents of the survey for taking the time out of their active day to fill it out completely and in their best efforts, without you, this study would be completely inaccurate and not worthwhile. Second, I thank my parents for fully supporting my interests and pursuits. I also thank Dr. Young and Carnegie Mellon University for publishing their research, studies, and links to other articles on the Internet. Thanks to Rob J. Meijer for programming the comprehensive script used to process the survey results.Acknowledgements to Apple Computer, Inc. for developing a stable system and word processor to work in without fear of losing my manuscript (though I still save the document every 20 seconds). Finally, Mr. D. Ferraro for providing an abundance of answers to my countless questions and hours of helpful input. I hope each and every Internet user finds my study helpful to their enrichment and studies. REFERENCES CITED Internet Behaviour Questionnaire and Addiction Egger, 1996 HomeNet ProjectStudy by: Kraut, Lundmark, Patterson, Kiesler, Mukopadhyay, Scherlis, Zdaniuk, Thielke, Patterson, Carnegie Mellon University, 1998. The Psychology of Cyberspac e Turkle, 1996 Trapped in the Web Psychology Today; Potera, 1998 Research Over Internet Addiction Cochran, 1996 Internet Addiction: The Emergency of a New Disorder Dr. Young, 1996 Internet/Web Growth Exponential as Usual Searcher, 1997 Psychology of Cyberspace – Computer and Cyberspace Addiction Suler, 1996 revised 1998 Creation of a E-nation Canadian Geographic; Harris-Adler, 1995 WordNet Dictionary – Version 1. 6

Compare and Contrast Happines in Candide, Rasselas, Essay...

Happiness Throughout history humankind has been trying to define happiness. What is it exactly and how do we obtain it? We always think that happiness is a place to be or a destination and technically, that is the main premise or goal of our lives; to obtain happiness. So our whole lives go by from the minute were born to the last breath we take in a quest to work hard in order to reach that destination. Naturally, many philosophical writers have jumped on the bandwagon and put in their two cents of their views on the matter of happiness. Alexander Pope talks about the relationship and purpose man has to the universe in An Essay on Man, Voltaire wrote about living in blind optimism with a false notion of happiness in Candide, and Samuel†¦show more content†¦Or can a part contain the whole? Is the great chain, that draws all to agree, and drawn supports, upheld by God or thee? ( Pope 369) According to Pope, we as humans should learn to simply accept our position in the great chain of b eing. If we are able to do so, we will be able to successfully live happy lives. Man’s place in the chain is below the angels but above beasts. Each element of the chain is only a part, so we as humans are only part of the whole of God’s plan. Then we have Voltaire who wrote Candide. Voltaire was one of those people who started questioning life as it was being lived as opposed to Pope who accepted life the way it was. He was not an Atheist because he did believe in a God. Although he believed in God, he had a problem with religion and questioned things written in the Bible, so basically he was a confused individual looking for answers. These questions are what led him to write Candide. In Candide, Voltaire mocked various aspects of religion and the way people viewed life, especially people like Alexander Pope. Candide heavily mocked Pope’s views in An Essay on Man. Voltaire as opposed to Pope, realizes that there is evil in the world. At first, Voltaire was a fan of Pope but later abandons such an optimistic view which he formerly believed in, because he realizes that man has suffered through so much misery and hardships that it just did not make sense. He focuses on

The Financing Of Mortgage Bonds - 3425 Words

In the 1980s innovation was added to the traditional old bond. A bond was basically a promise (from government or corporation) to make interest payments on borrowed money, and, to eventually pay back the borrowed money. For generations, financial markets traded bonds in this way. Given that a bond was an income in a way based on borrowed money, Wall Street, in the late 1980s decided to create â€Å"bond-like† financial products from other debt-based income like credit cards, student loans, and most importantly in this case, home mortgages. The â€Å"mortgage bond† was created and became a financial product that was bought and sold by Wall Street investment banks. The mortgage bond would collect many home mortgages, purchased from lenders, and†¦show more content†¦They enticed these customers by creating a new type of mortgage- variable rate, with low to zero initial interest rates, which later reset to higher levels. A large number of Americans took on these m ortgages not realizing the real estate trap they were getting themselves in caused by their own actions. In the 2000s, as the mortgages became lower quality, Wall Street’s mortgage bond became even riskier. This should have made them more difficult to sell to investors because it would affect their ratings since riskier products should have lower ratings. However, the conflict was between Wall Street and the rating agencies since it’s Wall Street who pays these agencies. Likely because of this conflict, rating agencies assigned surprisingly high ratings for these ever risky mortgage bonds. Despite the boom in mortgage bonds, Wall Streets desire for more profits grew and led them to focus on the low ratings of the bottom (riskiest) tranches of the mortgage bonds. 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“To Kill A Mockingbird” Is A Classic Novel Of American

â€Å"To Kill a Mockingbird† is a classic novel of American literature. It brings many useful lessons regarding racist and prejudiced people to readers. The novel was written by Harper Lee and published in 1960. A narrator of the novel is Harper Lee herself. Its characters and themes were built based on an observation of Harper Lee when she was ten years old. In the novel, the author mentioned that she lived with her father. Her mother died when she was two. Lee’s father, Atticus Finch, has played as a moral hero and an integrity lawyer. Also, he has served in the novel as a widowed father. Thus, he needs to raise two young children alone, and indeed parenting is considered as the most responsible as well as a difficult job. 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The effects of Vitamin D deficiency in pregnant women Free Essays

1. INTRODUCTION This research proposal has been written to show how a study into the effects of Vitamin D on pregnant women may be undertaken. This would be better as â€Å"This is important as it has recently been suggested that the recommended dosage of 10 micrograms of Vitamin D may be incorrect (NHS, 2013). We will write a custom essay sample on The effects of Vitamin D deficiency in pregnant women or any similar topic only for you Order Now This shall be considered by undertaking an empirical study into whether or not 10 micrograms of Vitamin D should be taken by women during pregnancy. 2. INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY This study shall be completed by undertaking an empirical study. This will seek to ascertain if pregnant patients that take the recommended dosage of 10 micrograms attain the benefits, which are stated by the National Health Service (NHS, 2013). This could help to identify if the recent research, which has been published by the University of Bristol and the University of East Anglia, is correct. The ‘Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) – which is also known as Children of the 90s – is a long-term health research project. More than 14,000 mothers enrolled during pregnancy in 1991 and 1992, and the health and development of their children has been followed in great detail ever since ‘ (ALSPAC, 2013). 3. PROBLEM STATEMENT During pregnancy, many women have been told by medical practitioners that they should take the recommended dosage of 10 micrograms of Vitamin D to ensure that their unborn chid develops strong bones and does not develop rickets (NHS, 2013). However, results from the ALSPAC longitudinal study shows that the benefits from taking Vitamin D at the recommended dosage of 10 micrograms during pregnancy may not be so beneficial (Lawlor, Wills and Fraser, 2013). This research seeks to ascertain if these claims are correct and whether or not the recommended dosage of Vitamin D needs to be changed for pregnant women. 4. RESEARCH AIMS AND OBJECTIVES In conjunction with the problem statement above, the following aims have been formulated: To use available and relevant data, to investigate whether the recommended dosage of 10 micrograms for pregnant women is correct To use the findings from the above aim to make recommendations for how the dosage needs to be altered for pregnant women. Additionally, the following objectives have been developed: To evaluate how a dosage of 10 micrograms of Vitamin D benefits pregnant women. To evaluate how changing the dosage of Vitamin D benefits pregnant women. To make recommendations for the appropriate dosage of Vitamin D which should be taken by pregnant women 5. PROPOSAL STRUCTURE The proposed outline of the dissertation is described in the next section. 6.LITERATURE REVIEW To date, in the United Kingdom the National Health Service has recommended that the effects of a 10 microgram dose of vitamin D is essential to ensure that unborn children develop healthy bones. This is also supported by evidence in the existing academic literature (see as an example: Dror, 2013; Kovacs, 2008; Stephenson, 2006). Therefore, medical practitioners have advised all pregnant women that this is how what they should take during pregnancy (Bui Christin-Maitre, 2011; NHS, 2013). However, recent research, which was published in March 2013, has contradicted this information (ALSPAC, 2013: Lawlor, Wills and Fraser, 2013).These findings need to be explored further as many other research studies have not reached these conclusions. Therefore, to seek to ensure that the correct advice is given to women who are pregnant, it is important that this study is undertaken. 6.1. RESEARCH QUESTIONS In line with the findings from the literature review above, provisionally, the following research questions have been developed. How does a dosage of 10 micrograms of Vitamin D benefits pregnant women How does changing the dosage of Vitamin D benefit pregnant women What is the appropriate dosage of Vitamin D, which should be taken by pregnant women 6.2. METHODOLOGY This study shall be based on a number of patient records, which shall be chosen at random. In examining the records, it is hoped that a comparison between these pregnant women that took a 10-microgram dosage, those that took other amounts and those that took nothing may be compared. Form here it will be possible to seek to understand how much Vitamin D pregnant women should be taking during their pregnancy so that new recommendations may be made if necessary. 6.3. RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY The research philosophy, which has been adopted for this study is positivism. This will allow the empirical investigation to be undertaken and it will be derived from a critical and objective based method (Sundars, 2003). 6.4. RESEARCH APPROACH The research approach, which has chosen for this study is quantitative in nature, as it will be based on a review of existing patient records and undertaking statistical analyses. This will allow the researcher to explore the problem, which was outlined above and to see if any new recommendations should be made to pregnant women. 6.5. RESEARCH STRATEGY The research strategy, which has been chosen for this study is a review of existing patient records. Therefore, a documentation review shall be undertaken. 6.6. DATA COLLECTION The review of patient records shall be undertaken by contacting medical practitioners and patients to seek to attain permission to their records, once this has been achieved, a number of records shall be chosen at random these shall be used to collect information to investigate the research problem. 6.7. DATA ANALYSIS All analyses shall be based on the patient records, which are used during the data collection phase of this study. Statistical tools such as, SPSS shall be utilised to undertake analyses of the results from these patient records. 6.8. ACCESS Access to this these records shall be established by contacting medical practitioners and patients, to identify patients who have been pregnant who are willing to take part in tis research. 6.9. RELIABILITY, VALIDITY, AND GENERALISABILITY The findings from this study should be reliable and repeatable, as patient records shall be chosen at random and empirically analysed. This will ensure that the parameters of the study are net and that the results can be generalised to wider populaces. 6.10. ETHICAL ISSUES Issues such as, patient confidentiality and privacy shall be considered during the design and implementation of this research to seek to ensure that all participants’ details remain confidential and that they are all fully aware of the nature of the research and why it is being conducted. 6.11. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS As this research is based on secondary sources, the data, which is available, may limit the findings. However, if this is the case then the parameters of the study shall be re-examined to seek to ensure that these limitations are minimised where possible. 7 CONCLUSION In conclusion, this study shall be undertaken by seeking to identify and critically evaluate a number of patient records. This will enable the researcher to understand how much vitamin D pregnant women should take to help to ensure that their unborn child has healthy bones. Then a number of recommendations may be made where this is appropriate. 8 TIME CHART TasksTask LeadStartEnd Literature ReviewResearcher01/08/201329/01/2013 Write Up ResultsResearcher29/08/201330/09/2013 Write MethodologyResearcher21/09/201321/10/2013 Contact SubjectsResearcher21/10/201321/01/2014 Collate DataResearcher21/01/201421/10/2014 Examine DataResearcher21/10/201421/12/2014 Write up resultsResearcher21/12/201421/02/2015 Write discussionResearcher21/02/201521/04/2015 Write conclusionsResearcher21/04/201521/08/2015 REFERENCES ALSPAC (2013). Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Available from http://www.bristol.ac.uk/alspac/ (Accessed 01/08/2013) Bui, T., Christin-Maitre, S. (2011, October). Vitamin D and pregnancy]. In Annales d’endocrinologie (Vol. 72, p. S23). Dror, D. (2013). Vitamin D in pregnancy. In Handbook of vitamin D in human health (pp. 670-691). Wageningen Academic Publishers. Kovacs, C. S. (2008). Vitamin D in pregnancy and lactation: maternal, fetal, and neonatal outcomes from human and animal studies. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 88(2), 520S-528S. Lawlor DA, Wills AK, Fraser A, (2013) Association of maternal vitamin D status during pregnancy with bone-mineral content in offspring: a prospective cohort study. The Lancet. Published online March 19 2013. NHS (2013) Doubt cast on the benefit of Vitamin D during Pregnancy. Available from http://www.nhs.uk/news/2013/03March/Pages/doubt-cast-on-benefit-of-vitamin-D-in-pregnancy.aspx Accessed (01/08/2013) NICE (2013) Vitamin D and pregnancy. Available from http://www.nice.org.uk Accessed 01/08/2013 Saunders, M. (2003) Research Methods for Business Students. South Africa: Pearson Education. Stephenson, J. (2006). Vitamin D and Pregnancy. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 295(7), 748-748. How to cite The effects of Vitamin D deficiency in pregnant women, Essay examples

Doing gender free essay sample

This essay is going to explain and discuss theorist’s understandings of gender as something we do rather than being a fixed part of who we are. Firstly, it is important to define the difference between sex and gender, bringing in Judith Butler’s views. Then the essay will explain and discuss Erving Goffman’s ‘dramaturgical approach’ to social interaction, and Judith Butler’s understandings of gender as performativity, using various academic sources. Both these two theorists view gender as a kind of performance. Performance as an explanation of the self or identity is an interactionist idea, which was first put forward by Erving Goffman (Woodward 2000). Goffman has questioned the concept of identity, the self, identity seems private, unique, and natural to the individual it was these controversial ideas of first Goffman, then Butler in specific reference to gender, who challenged these instinctive human beliefs thus theorizing gender identity. While there are numerous theories regarding gender identity, most of them view gender as construction, a set of behaviours prescribed by society that individuals learn and become more proficient at as they mature. We will write a custom essay sample on Doing gender or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Gender tends to be referred to as the social characteristics associated with being male and female members of society (Woodward 2000). Gender roles are cultural and personal which are learned through many institutions in society, although they do vary among different cultures. They determine how males and females should think, speak, dress, and interact within society (no author). However, sex is a biological distinction determined by the anatomical traits essential to reproduction such as reproductive and chromosomal attributes (Punch et al 2013). Butler argues that sex is biological given from birth, which can only be altered in extreme cases and due to certain conditions. For example, if you were born with disorders of sex development, which is a group of conditions where your reproductive organs and genitals do not develop normally, you will have a mixture of male and female sexual characteristics. For example, you may be female but with male chromosomes and vice versa, this is gender being socially constructed (no author). Boys and girl’s sex and gender are seen as natural and unified, but contradictorily, behaviour appropriate to them must be encouraged throughout their life. Sex is an ascribed status because a person is born with it, but gender is an achieved status because it is a learnt behaviour. Butler sees gender as constructed through your own repetitive performance of gender (Butler 1990). In other words, gender is labelled by the way you present yourself physically and the way you act through a sequence of practices and characteristics which have then overtime become labelled as masculine and feminine, a good example of this is using public toilets, as soon as a man or woman walk into the toilet, this is gender being performed. These practices that are forever repeated are solidified into what is recognised as gender (gender and popular culture). Butler suggests that gender can be performed in many different ways. Transgendered, cross-dressing or drag are all examples of how gender is performed, in other words gender is an act, and a performance (Woodward 2002). This shows when looking at transgender as an example, because a boy you see in a supermarket because of the way you recognise them may in fact be mistaken and actually biologically be a boy. The performative nature of gender is more apparent in drag performances, because you have a chance to get up on stage and perform the gender you would like to be. Men present themselves as women by imitating femininity, for example wearing women’s clothes, make up and adopting women’s gestures. Butler expresses drag as an important example, that all gender is a performative construct, which is not linked to sex. Butler does argue that gender performativity is not a free choice, whereby an individual can carry out as and when they like, however others socially police it (Lloyd 2007). There will be consequences if individuals stray away from the accepted behaviour, this is where butler refers to the notion that gender gives the appearance of being natural behaviour, because it is forced upon the individual from birth and is almost insisted on throughout childhood and adolescence years. Butler suggests that the concepts of sex and gender are independent of each other, which are socially constructed and used to control people. It is widely presumed that a girl will become a woman and a boy will become a man through a process of natural development, which is based on his/her chromosomal sex, but nature will not do all the work. You do not have to be biologically male to display masculine behaviour (Woodward 2002). Gender issues such as intersex people show that â€Å"gender is a fictive production, it is not determined by sex because it is not a fixed thing we possess, but something people do† (Milestone et al 2012: 15). Heterosexual matrix is a term used in understanding that an individual has a fixed sex from birth either male or female. Culture creates a gender, which in turn determines desires towards the opposite sex, for example males and females being attracted to their opposite sex. Heterosexuality is shown to be the norm and accepted within society, whereas homosexuality is not (Punch et al 2013). Butler disagrees with this conception; she argues that each individual person may perform a specific identity, which may result in having some desires towards the same or opposite sex (gender trouble). Butler States that binary sex does not follow the construction of men will accrue exclusively to the bodies of males or that women will interpret only female bodies. (Butler 1990: 10). A key principle in Butler’s work is the question that if gender is socially constructed then why is there only two genders, in theory there could be hundreds. Erving Goffman whose work is linked with symbolic interactionism. â€Å"This perspective relies on the symbolic meaning that people develop and rely upon in the process of social interaction† (Crossman), which was influenced by George Herbert Meads work. Goffman’s focus was in human interaction and the presentation of people in everyday settings, especially public places (Monnier). Goffman developed Mead’s work by still focusing on the importance of the symbolic, on the self and on the idea of roles, rather than implying the word identity as such, Goffman discusses how roles are performed (Woodward 2002: 9). Because our social identities are shaped by our roles and interactions within society, Goffman uses the metaphor of the theatre to analyse social life as dramaturgy (Monnier). Dramaturgy is the analysis of human behaviour, where people put on a show, with the people being the actors (Abercrombie et al 2006), although the interactions are not rehearsed they are the individuality’s own expressions which can change depending on the social interaction. For Goffman ‘performing’ social roles was meant in a sense that, we as human beings incorporate our everyday lives in to an on stage performance. He believed we use front and backstage situations to determine how we play our role and how we manage these in our ability to respond (Lawler 2008). According to Goffman the aim of our act is to create and control certain impressions that we choose to pass over to our audience, or family and friends. Goffman believed that individuals have many different roles, which involve presenting yourself differently, and negotiating different forms of social interaction, however, these can change depending on who they were with (Punch et al). For example, this shows when playing the role of a son or daughter because it is very different compared to playing the role of a husband, wife or work colleague. Furthermore, when interacting with others, dress, language and gestures are used to influence how others see our behaviour, for example wearing a suit for a job interview, which makes you look respectable, wearing spectacles can make you look intelligent, and a solicitor carrying a briefcase can make you look professional and sophisticated. This shows that we are all aware of how to behave depending on the type of interaction we find ourselves in. This part of the theory could be related to gender as use of props that is seen as belonging to either gender group, an example of this would be long hair is a sign of femininity, the media portrays that it is desirable for women to have longer hair than men (punch et al). Gender performativity is a big part of everyday life. Many people are always performing gender norms based on their biological sex by using cultural norms. With reference to women, this performance starts as soon as you get up in a morning, the majority of women will go for a shower, get dressed and put on makeup for the day. Visiting beauty salons and hairdressers on a regular basis. However, not all females will follow these beauty norms, especially certain cultures and sexuality’s, but the ones that do will feel it helps with their physical persona of femaleness. People also tend to dress differently depending on the occasion, for example, attending a job interview wearing a skirt and a nice blouse would seem appropriate and  smartly dressed, but on the other hand, attending the doctor’s surgery dress would be casual wear such as, jeans and a jumper. These are relevant examples of gender performativity because it shows that gender is part of every society and is based on the way we present ourselves physically not our biological makeup or sex. In conclusion, this assignment shows that Butler’s ideas are similar to Goffman’s, were both theorists believe that certain aspects of our lives are performed. However, Goffman focused on social interactions, whereas Butler focuses on gender being performed especially by women, which she referred to as gender performativity. Both Goffman and Butler’s theories discuss gender (and identity in general) as performance. Goffman’s and Butler’s theories also indicate that while everyone does not perform gender in the same way, there are cultural expectations for what it means to be a man and what it means to be a woman. These expectations interact with expectations related to individuals’ often competing multiple identities as well as their own desires, producing variations in gender performances. They both believe that the concept of the ‘self’ is not a fixed one because it could easily be changed to suit the environment and the company that the individual was in at any one particular time, for Goffman this was within social interaction and for Butler the focus was specifically on gender. Overall, this essay highlights that by doing gender is not just about behaving in a particular way, it is also about believing certain gender norms and engaging in practices that map on to those norms. By doing gender, we reinforce the notion that there are only two mutually exclusive categories of gender. The internalised belief that men and women are essentially different is what makes men and women behave in ways that appear essentially different. Gender is maintained through socially constructed displays of gender.