The Socio Economic Attainment Of Adoptees - 1214 Words

During the second half of the 20th century, there has been unprecedented growth in adoptions (Selman, 2009; Stolley, 1993). Not only has the number of adoptees more than doubled from approximately 50,000 in the 1940’s to more than 110,000 in 1990 (Stolley, 1993), but this increase has been the inspiration of significant studies related to the psychological, social and physical health of the adopted population. Furthermore, in the past four decades, the U.S. has become the number one destination of adopted children from foreign countries. While there have been significant studies to provide a portrait relating to how adoptees adapt to their families, (L. Hamilton, Cheng, Powell, 2007; Hellerstedt 2008), there remains major unanswered†¦show more content†¦Thomas examines the relationship between adoption status and schooling progress differs between foreign-born and U.S. born children. He also examines if foreign-born adopted children are more likely to lag behind in school compared to U.S. born adoptees. Lastly, he examines if adoption status results in differentiated patterns of educational inclusion among immigrant children. In addition, he also examines how these variations are associated to racial and ethnic differences. Thomas tests four hypothesis. Hypothesis 1 proposes adopted children have a schooling disadvantage compared to biological peers but the disadvantage is smaller among immigrants compared to U.S. natives. Hypothesis 2 tests whether adopted children of immigrant parents are more lik ely to fall behind in school compared to their peers with U.S. born parents. Hypothesis 3 suggests foreign born adoptees have less favorable schooling outcomes compared to adoptees born in the United States. Hypothesis 4 proposes minorities, especially Black face additional barriers of prejudice and discrimination and because of this realize the least educational gains when compared to white peers. Thomas avoids two common shortcomings of studies oabout adopted children. Many are based on â€Å"convenience samples† and â€Å"small numbers of observations† (Brodzinsky, 1993; Shiano Tuan, 2008). By using pooled data from the American Community Survey (ACS) over a

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep Free Essays

Is a science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick first published in 1968. The main plot follows Rick Deckard, a bounty hunter of androids, while the secondary plot follows John Isidore, a man of sub-normal intelligence who befriends some of the androids. We will write a custom essay sample on Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep or any similar topic only for you Order Now The novel is set in a post-apocalyptic near future, where the Earth and its populations have been damaged greatly by Nuclear War during World War Terminus. Most types of animals are endangered or extinct due to extreme radiation poisoning from the war. To own an animal is a sign of status, but what is emphasized more is the empathic emotions humans experience towards an animal. Deckard is faced with â€Å"retiring† six escaped Nexus-6 model androids, the latest and most advanced model. Because of this task, the novel explores the issue of what it is to be human. Unlike humans, the androids possess no empathic sense. In essence, Deckard probes the existence of defining qualities that separate humans from androids. The book’s plot served as the primary basis for the 1982 film Blade Runner. Setting Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? takes place in 1992 (2021 in later editions), years after the radioactive fallout of World War Terminus destroyed most of Earth. The U. N. ncourages emigration to off-world colonies, in hope of preserving the human race from the terminal effects of the fallout. One emigration incentive is giving each emigrant an â€Å"andy† — a servant android. The remaining populace live in cluttered, decaying cities wherein radiation poisoning sickens them and damages their genes. Animals are rare and people are expected to keep them and help preserve them. But many people turn towards the much cheaper synthetic, or electric, animals to keep up the pretense. Rick Deckard owned a sheep, but it died of tetanus, and he replaced it with a synthetic sheep. The main Earth religion is Mercerism, in which Empathy Boxes link simultaneous users into a collective consciousness based on the suffering of Wilbur Mercer, largely an endless walk up a mountain in which stones are thrown at Mercer, the pain of which the users share. The television appearances of Buster Friendly and his Friendly Friends, broadcast twenty-three hours a day, represent a second religion, designed to undermine Mercerism and allow androids to partake in a kind of consumerist spirituality. It is revealed that neither Mercer nor Friendly are actual humans despite popular belief. edit]Androids Androids are used only in the Martian colonies, yet many escape to Earth, fleeing the psychological isolation and chattel slavery. Although made of biological materials and physically all but indistinguishable from humans, they are considered to be pieces of machinery. Police bounty hunters, such as Rick Deckard, hunt and retire (kill) fugitive androids passing for human. Often, Deckard’s police department will collect and analyze the corpses of suspected â€Å"andys† to confirm that they are, in fact, artificial. Earlier androids were easier to detect because of their limited intelligence. As android technology improved, bounty hunters had to apply an empathy test — the Voigt-Kampff — to distinguish humans from androids, by measuring empathetic responses, or lack thereof, from questions designed to evoke an emotional response, often including animal subjects and themes. Because androids are not sympathetic, their responses are either absent or feigned, and measurably slower than a human’s. The simpler Bonelli Test, used by another police department in San Francisco, measures the reflex-arc velocity in the spinal column’s upper ganglia, but is very painful to the subject, as well as the results taking longer to produce. Plot summary The novel follows bounty hunter Rick Deckard through one day of his life, as he tracks down renegade androids who have assumed human identities. The novel begins with Deckard feeling alienated from his wife who, he feels, is misusing her mood organ by choosing inappropriate moods, like depression. Deckard meets Rachel Rosen when travelling to Rosen Industries to test the validity of an empathy test on the new android type: the Nexus 6. Rachael is an attractive female android Deckard initially believes to be human. Rachael believes herself to be human as she has memories implanted from the niece of her manufacturer. She attempts to turn Deckard away from bounty hunting. Deckard becomes confused about humanity, morality and empathy. He is arrested after attempting to retire the second android and taken to what appears to be a fully functional and publicly accessible police station—but it is not a police station Deckard knows about. Deckard escapes with fellow bounty hunter Phil Resch after deducing that the station is staffed by androids. His moral quandary deepens after working briefly with Phil Resch, who Deckard learns is a particularly callous fellow bounty hunter. Deckard’s story is interwoven with that of J. R. Isidore, a driver for an animal repair shop who cannot qualify to leave Earth due to his low IQ. Isidore lives alone in a nearly entirely empty apartment building with little outside contact other than his Empathy Box. Pris Stratton, an android identical in appearance to Rachel, moves into the building and the lonely Isidore attempts to befriend her. Pris and her friends get Isidore to help them trap Deckard as he comes to retire them. Once Deckard realizes the size of the challenge ahead, he enlists Rachel to help him, and they proceed to have sex. By Deckard’s having sex with her, Rachel hoped to stop him from bounty hunting, but he will not and drops her off. Deckard nevertheless succeeds in killing the androids, causing Isidore to break down from the loss of his only friends, and earning him a citation for the record number of kills in one day. He returns home and his wife reports having seen Rachael Rosen kill his real pet goat. He understands that Rachael was taking revenge and is thankful that the loss is only financial; the android could instead have killed his wife. He travels to an isolated desert to meditate and has an epiphany. He also finds a toad, thought to be extinct and considered to be Mercer’s favorite animal. Deckard brings it home, where his wife discovers that the toad is in fact synthetic. Deckard is not glad but â€Å"prefers† to know the toad is artificial. How to cite Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Essay examples

Disadvantages Of Cosmetic Surgery Essay Example For Students

Disadvantages Of Cosmetic Surgery Essay Nobody knows about cosmetic surgery better than Edward Mondeck and his twochildren, ages 9 and 11. Rosemarie Mondeck, 39, decided to have a bit of tummyfat removed after having two kids. She let the doctors use a new procedurecalled tumescent liposuction. The patients are primed prior to surgery byinjecting large amounts of diluted local anesthetic and epinephrine, drugs thatshrink capillaries. They reduce bleeding and make it easier to suck fat outaccording to doctors. After the drugs were injected, Rosemarie went into cardiacarrest and died. All she had was a fatty area above her bellybutton,states Edward. Look at what can happen. This goes to show you that cosmeticsurgery is not only dangerous, but can also result in death. Cosmetic surgery isdefined as a surgery that improves ones self-image by correcting a certainarea of the body that the patient finds unsightly. Its biggest benefit ispsychological. It is used to minimize age-related features in baby boomers suchas wrinkles and sagging skin. A big part of self-esteem is feeling that youlook good. We can cure an insecurity in 30 minutes that a psychiatrist cantcure in 30 years, H. George Brennen, M.D., Plastic and ReconstructiveSurgery, states in the magazine article from Young and Modern. Many people wantto get cosmetic surgery because they feel that they dont look good. Acertain level of attractiveness can open doors. It can make a difference in ateens social life and later on, in a career, (Bloch 60). It can help youto look better and pursue a career in modeling or a field related to looks. Shouldnt people accept themselves for who they are? As Andrea Cooper statesin the article Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Make Me the Prettiest of ThemAll, All the cosmetic surgery in the world wont help if you dontfeel good on the inside. It wont change you if you already dont feelgood about yourself. You will just make it worse by trying to change yourself soyoull feel more attractive. People age. Especially today when they are activeand in the work force. They feel good on the inside, but when they look at theirimage, they look at a face or body that they dislike. I dont see a problemat all with matching what you see with how you feel, (Davis 77). If you werehoping cosmetic surgery would add excitement and spice to your life, or rekindlean old flame, you might be disappointed. It will only change physical aspects. Your mental aspects may still be disappointing. Youre still yourself, you arejust learning to cope better with your body now that you like it. You can learnto be more confident and self-assured. During the periods in between thewars, Americans participated in a new, visual culture, where appearance seemedto rank even higher in importance. The postwar era also saw an increase insurgery to minimize or eradicate physical signs of race or ethnicity,(Shepard 2006). Americans began to see people of different origins, and theyliked their look better. Other people didnt like their appearances an examplebeing blacks. Whites thought they were better than blacks and used them asslaves just because of their skin color. Things like that make you want tochange your looks so that other people wouldnt make fun of you or ridiculeyou about your looks. Research shows that today looks play a major role in oursociety. Women and men look at magazines and see the pictures of the skinnymodels. Then they thi nk that theyre ugly and fat because they might not bethat skinny or have those perfectly proportioned face. Remember the sayingits whats on the inside that counts. You should go by that because thepictures of the people you think are perfect probably have many moreproblems than you. Live to like yourself and dont go by what others think ofyou. Some types of cosmetic surgery are rhinoplasty, the reduction of a nose,otoplasty, to correct protruding ears, blepharoplasty, which is to removedrooping skin around eyes, and rhytidectomy, face-lift. People tend to wantblepharoplasty as they get older. It has many complications that could arouseincluding bleeding, swelling, delayed wound healing, infection, drooping ofupper or lower lid, asymmetry, double vision, and dry eye syndrome. Duringrecovery, the first 24- 48 hours you have substantial swelling and blurryvision. The stitches arent removed until four to five days later. Breastenlargements are a common sought surgery. Women want bigger breasts so that menwill like them better or just to look bigger. Complications that could occur aredelaying wound with diabetes, history of radiation, autoimmune disease, smokers,capsular contracture, bleeding, infiction, and irregularity of skin. Afterhaving surgery there is swelling, and there may be some asymmetry. The firstweek you cant lift anything or exercise. The outer shell of the silicon isfilled with saline. If the saline get a hole, the leak can result in a flatimplant and necessitating surgical replacement. Risk of serious complicationsfor most cosmetic procedures is as high as 2%, with some procedures being moreproblematic, (Podolsky 74). Listen to all of these complications that couldoccur and recovery methods. Are you willing to go through this? What if thishappens to you while you are getting surgery? Are you willing to risk yourperfectly normal body for one that could be even worse after surgery? Thinkabout all of these. This was only two of the types of surgery. T hink about howlong it would be to list the rest of them. When you go in to talk to the doctorabout your surgery, they will most likely either take a picture or they have acomputer-imaging machine to show you what the change will look like. For apicture, if only the lighting, angle, and film are changed, you can look like atotally different person with great results when no surgery has been done. Inthe computer imaging, its technically impossible for your surgeon toreplicate those results. You will go into surgery thinking you know whatyoull look like when youre done, but when you get done, you will looktotally different. Sometimes people are going through life changes and theythink that it will solve their problem, so they go ahead with it. In the end,people are more depressed after the surgery because they dont like the waythey look. Doctors should advise patients to look at the whole picture andsuggest procedures that are in keeping with your overall appearance. Today amore natura l appearance is popular. Liposuction has become the nations favoritecosmetic procedure. It is not appropriate to get liposuction done for generalobesity. You have to have always consistently eaten well and worked out. Youhave to try to rid yourself of the problem area first. If it doesnt go awayafter trying, then you might consider it. Slick marketing campaigns make iteasy to think of cosmetic surgery as just another off-the-shelf consumerproduct, its purchase about on par with buying a new computer system. Butsurgery is surgery. There is pain. Recovery can be lengthy and uncomfortable. Hamlets procrastination and co Essay24 June l998: 2006. Shiffman, Dr. Felix. Cosmetic Surgery. Internet. http://www.drshiffman.com/BIO.html. 4 April, l999: 5:07 p.m. Shiffman, Dr. Felix. Cosmetic Surgery. Internet. http://www.drshiffman.com/FACIAL.html. 4 April l999: 5:11 p.m. Siebert, C. The Cuts That Go Deeper. The New York Times Magazine. 7 July l996: 20-25,34. Health Care