Education system in Saudi Arabia and the United States Research Paper

Education system in Saudi Arabia and the United States - Research Paper Example Similarities between the US and Saudi Arabian education systems In both countries, the government has a great influence on education. For instance, governments of both countries fund the free public education. It is mandatory for children to attend school in both countries. Education is offered by the public and private institutions in both countries. Public institutions are obliged to follow a common curriculum set by the various education boards. The private institutions are free to develop their curriculum, but the designed curriculum should be within the limits of low. The private institutions have freedom determine the fee to be paid by students for offering the education services. In both countries, the higher education has gone through massive improvement and transformation (Cordesman, 2003). The number of universities and tertiary institution in both countries has been on an increase in the past few decades. The government and the private sectors have been involved in developing the higher education in both the US and Saudi Arabia. In addition, the systems in both countries facilitate awarding of scholarships to students wishing to pursue higher education. Awarding of scholarships is open not only to the residents of the respective countries but also students from foreign countries. Essentially, the education systems of both countries accommodate foreign education exchange programs.

Clothing Design And Manufacture Work Placement Report Essay

Clothing Design And Manufacture Work Placement Report - Essay Example Harvey Nichols has stores in London,Edinburg City Centre, Birmingham and Dublin.   Additional stores are located in Saudi, Arabia, Hong Kong, Dubai and Istanbul.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Harvey Nichols began in 1813, as a small linen shop on the corner of Knightsbridge,with a single owner, Benjamin Harvey.   Soon after, Colonel Nichols joined, with hism exquisite imports of oriental rugs and silks.   The organization was purchased by the Burton Group in the 1980s and later, by the Dickson Group.   It returned to private ownership in 2003, by Hong Kong businessman Dr. Dickson Poon.   By the end of the fiscal year, in March 2007, â€Å"sales totaled 166.7 million pounds†(Business Week). The flagship store in London offers a restaurant, bar, wine shop and food market.  The organization opened its first stand-alone restaurant in 1996, in Oxo Tower.   In 1999, it opened Prism, in the financial district of London.   Future locations of stores include Bristol, J akarta and Indonesia.   Harvey Nichols has won numerous advertising awards, with its unique approach and style.   Opportunities for employment range from chef to fashion buyer.   The possibilities within the organization are limitless.   The Harvey Nichols web site includes many of the current product offerings, as well as a portal for journalists to obtain the most current information regarding new product release and current events.   It is estimated that â€Å"7,873 visit harveynichols.com daily†(statbrain.com).  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Graphene Oxide (GO) as Antimicrobial Property

Graphene Oxide (GO) as Antimicrobial Property Over the past several years scientists have studied graphene materials (graphene, graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide) for its antimicrobial properties and its future application in the biomedical field. To date, the exact mechanism for why graphene and its derivatives have antibacterial properties has not been fully understood due to experimental design variables. Scientists have agreed that oxidative stress, phospholipid extraction, and nanoknives all play an important role in the antibacterial properties of graphene materials. There are several techniques such as scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron spectroscopy, and mass spectroscopy that have been used to monitor change in morphology and cell death after exposure to graphene and its derivatives. Through these techniques scientist have been able to confirm that graphene materials are able to promote cellular death in both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, leading to its promising future also in pharma ceuticals. Graphene is a two-dimensional hexagonal structure, consisting of a basal plane (along the surface) and lateral edges, that are made up of sp2 hybridized carbons which form a conjugated à Ã¢â€š ¬ system. This à Ã¢â€š ¬-conjugated system makes graphene very hydrophobic and able to interact with the hydrophobic cell membranes of bacteria. Graphene oxide (GO) is most commonly prepared using the Hummers method, which consists of a multi-step synthesis. First the graphite material is oxidized to form graphite oxide and then this is exfoliated via sonication to form a single layer of material called GO. Through the oxidation process oxygenated functional groups are introduced into the basal surfaces and lateral edges of GO. On the basal surface of GO, the functional groups of epoxides and hydroxyl groups are present, whereas, the larger groups such as carboxyl and carbonyl groups form along the lateral edges. It is important to note that with the introduction of the oxygenat ed functional groups, the basal plane and lateral edges will need to adopt sp3 hybridized carbons, which results in the formation of defect regions where the à Ã¢â€š ¬-conjugated system is broken. The presence of these defects will be explored in more detail below as these areas are critical in the antibacterial properties of GO. In the literature, GO and other graphene materials have demonstrated through both physical and chemical mechanisms they have the ability to reduce bacterial cell count of both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria1. Several pivotal studies have been conducted in order to determine the key mechanism behind the antibacterial properties of GO. Nada et.al studied the antibacterial mechanisms using Raman spectroscopy2, Zhang et.al studied the antibacterial activity using mass spectroscopy3, and Yusong et.al examined the effects of extraction of phospholipids from E-coli by graphene nanosheets4.These studies have led to the development of several mechanisms including the cutting of the membrane wall by the sharp edges of the defect sites (nanoknives), phospholipid extraction and oxidative stress. The various experiments to date regardless of experimental design demonstrated that it is not a single mechanism that is responsible for the antibacterial properties of GO but rather a combinat ion of several mechanisms that can contribute to the overall antibacterial properties. Ultimately, it is the breakdown in the cell membrane that causes intracellular leakage of vital proteins, nucleic acids, and cytoplasmic material that results in the loss of reproduction and cell death. The cutting mechanism also referred to in the literature as nanoknives is one of the most important mechanisms that lead to the antibacterial properties of GO. The sharp lateral edges of GO are able to penetrate into the cell membranes inner and outer layer. This leads to the loss of cell membrane integrity and leakage of intracellular materials such as the cytoplasm, nucleic acids, proteins and amino acids. Nada et al used a variety of techniques, such as Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to observe the cellular changes (deformation or loss of cell membrane integrity) of bacteria, such as E Coli when exposed to varying concentrations of GO material. Raman spectroscopy was used to determine how E.coli reacts to an increasing concentration of GO. From the research done by Nada and team the bands with the greatest change were those of adenine (a nucleic acid) (729cm-1), the S-S stretching vibrations (490cm-1) of the disulphide bonds (found on the surface of the cell) and the amide group (found in proteins) bending vibration at 610cm-1.2 The intensity of each of these bands increased with the increase in GO concentration. This positively confirms that GO had penetrated into the cell membrane, causing the loss integrity and allowing the intracellular material such as adenine and other proteins to leak from the cell. Once this material was leaked from the cell, its vib rational absorption increase the signal in the Raman spectrum intensified. The examined the effects of GO on E. coli using SEM was used to observe the morphological changes in cells after exposure to GO. Figure 1 below, shows the morphological effects on E. coli with increasing GO concentration2. Image A represents the control of E. coli cells. In image B, E. coli was treated with low concentration of GO causing morphological changes seen by the distortion (flattening or squishing) of the rod shape. As the concentration of the GO treatment increases the sharp edges of the GO material are able to penetrate into the cell membrane (as seen in the red arrow in image c) and lead to a loss of cell membrane integrity resulting in the leakage of the intracellular material. 2 This effect was not isolated to only gram-negative bacteria but also gram-positive bacteria as well, in which the thickness of the cell membrane is different however similar results were observed. Therefore, the thickne ss of the cell membrane does not play a critical role in the nano-knife cutting mechanism as GO was able to penetrate both the inner and outer cell membrane walls. The size of the GO also plays a key role in the cutting ability of GO due to the changes in the basal plane and lateral edges. A study lead by Perreault examined how altering the size of GO changed the cell viability of E. coli. GO sheets were altered by varying the sonication time and power in order to obtain GO sizes ranging from 0.65  µm2 down to 0.01  µm2.5 Using live/dead fluorescence staining it was determined that there was no change in cell viability (%living) when the bacteria was not in contact with GO as shown in the control of figure 2.5 The green dots represents the number of colony forming units (CFU) alive and the red dots are dead CFUs. The smaller sheet size of 0.01  µm2 has significantly lower cell viability (30%) when compared to the 0.65  µm2 sheet (73%).5 This phenomenon is explained by the fact that as the size of the GO material is decreased the amount of defects in the sp2 hybridized carbons of the basal plane and edges increases. T he defects are caused by either the addition of oxygen groups or shrinkage in size that destroys a portion of the basal plane. This effect creates additional sharp edges in both the lateral edges and basal plane leading to more nanoknives that are capable of cutting through the cell membrane. This allows for increase areas of interaction with the bacterial. This was also confirmed using SEM where larger sheet sizes (0.65 µm2) showed very little deformation and almost normal cell structure whereas smaller sheets (0.01  µm2) appeared to be flattened and deformed leading to a compromised cell structure5. It is interesting to note that the amount of surface defects also plays a critical role in the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that will create oxidative stress to the cell membrane and additional loss of membrane integrity. Therefore, it is impossible to determine if only the physiochemical mechanism of cutting is the single mechanism that impacts cell viabili ty or multiple mechanisms do. In reality, with smaller GO size the loss of cell membrane integrity and intracellular leakage can be attributed to both the nano-knife effect and oxidative stress due to the increase in defects. This mechanism also has been shown to work in combination with other mechanisms such phospholipid extraction in which after cutting into the cell membrane the phospholipids are better able to be extracted by GO. This effect is due to hydrophobic attraction between the phospholipid tails and the à Ã¢â€š ¬-conjugated sp2 carbons of the basal plane. This will be discussed in further details in the later sections. GO is highly hydrophobic due to the à Ã¢â€š ¬-conjugation of the basal surface which allows it to interact with the phospholipid layer of the bacterial cell membrane. The oxygenated groups on GO provides a hydrophilic portion of the compound that is able to interact with the polar heads of the phospholipids. Yusong et al performed a detailed experiment on this and showed that extraction of the phospholipid molecules via hydrophobic interactions causes cell membrane deformation and collapse.5 There are two main mechanisms for the extraction of the phospholipids depending on the size of the GO material. With larger GO materials, the nanosheet will lie along the cell membrane causing a disruption of the phospholipid membrane; allow the GO material to embed itself into the lipophilic portions of the membrane1. For smaller GO materials, the sheet will lie perpendicular to the membrane and penetrate through the cell membrane (either partially or completely) via the nano-knife mechanism. This further supports the theory that it is not a single mechanism that allows for the antibacterial properties but a combination of several. The extraction of phospholipids occurs in several steps (see Figure 3). The first step involves a slight shifting of phospholipids due to the docking of the GO nanosheet as described by Yuesong (Image a).4 Next the phospholipid head will begin to break through the cell membrane and climb up the GO sheet (image b). This climbing effect is observed as result of the strong attractive forces between the hydrophobic regions of the basal plane and the hydrophobic tails of the phospholipids. This extraction process will continue until the GO material is covered completely with phospholipids with several layers of phospholipids climbing at the same time (image d). The phospholipids will evenly spread over the surface in such a way that the hydrophobic tails will align with the hydrophobic regions of the basal surface and the polar heads will align with the oxygenated functional groups of GO (images e and f).4 The loss of the phospholipids from the cell membrane causes a loss in membrane dens ity which weakens the cell membrane. Due to the loss of density and the penetration of the GO into the cell, cell membrane integrity is lost resulting in the leakage intracellular fluids. This effect can be seen with the aid of TEM as morphological changes are easily identified using this method of analysis (see figure 4)4. Image A represents the initial state in which no morphological changes have occurred when E-coli was treated with GO.4 Over time as the phospholipid extraction occurs, the cell membrane density will decrease as shown in images b and c seen by the Type B arrows. The last step in the process is when cell integrity is lost and the intracellular material begins to leak. This effect is also observed in the images d-f where the cells are transparent due to loss of the cytoplasm4. This confirms that the phospholipid extraction occurs with the aid of the nanoknives leading to loss in cell viability. Another group of scientist lead by Zhangs used mass spectroscopy to map the metabolites of E-coli before and after exposure to GO.3 A typical mass spectrum of E-coli without GO treatment is shown Figure 5a. The most important peaks are at m/z 306 which corresponds to glutathione (GHS), which is an antioxidant commonly found in E. coli, and the membrane phospholipids phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and phosphatidylglycerol (PG), at approximately m/z 600-8003. As the concentration of GO increased the overall intensities of the GSH, PE and PG all decreased (see fig 5b). This aligns with the previous studies of Yusong in which the extraction of the phospholipids leads to a decrease in cell membrane density. This was clearly observed by the decrease in signal intensities of both PE and PG. In the mass spec results obtain by Zhangs team there was also a decrease in GSH intensity. GSH is a critical antioxidant found in E. coli and will act as a scavenger for any free oxygen radicals that may be present in the bacterias environment. GSH prevents the oxidative breakdown of the phospholipid membrane that can also lead to a loss of cell membrane integrity and intracellular leakage. This finding confirms the previous hypothesis that there are many mechanisms running in parallel that ultimately attribute to the overall antibacterial properties of GO. In this very example, the nano-knives are able to cut into the phospholipid membrane and start the chain reaction of phospholipid extraction. This extraction causes a decrease in phospholipid density which in parallel with the cutting of the membrane by the nanoknives and oxidative stress leads to a loss in cell membrane integrity. This loss in cell membrane integrity leads to a loss of intracellular material such cytoplasmic mate rial, nucleic acids and proteins.. As demonstrated by the mass spectrum results obtained by Zhang et al, oxidative stress occurs when there is a decrease in antioxidant concentration (such as GSH)3. The consumption of GSH occurs in the presence of reactive oxygen species (ROS) which are typically composed of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), superoxide anions (O2*), hydroxyl radical (OH*) or singlet molecular oxygen species(1O2)1. When the antioxidants (such as GSH) are depleted the ROS compounds will then cause oxidation of key lipids in the cell membrane, proteins or even nucleic acids. The formation of the ROS compounds occurs due to the very nature of GO. When graphite is oxidized to form graphite oxide, the basal plane obtains additional defects as the result of the loss of à Ã¢â€š ¬-conjugation. This loss of à Ã¢â€š ¬-conjugation occurs due to the introduction of the oxygenated functional groups such as epoxides and hydroxyl groups which creates sp3 hybridized carbons. The introduction of the sp3 carbons alters the planer geometry of the basal plane by introducing tetrahedral carbons, creating defects in the lateral edges and basal plane. Additional defects can also be introduced as mentioned in the previous section when the size of the GO material is decreased. As the size of the sheets decreases the ability of the GO to stay as a perfect hexagonal structure also diminishes as the structure gets distorted to accommodate the smaller size. The process of oxidative stress begins with the formation of ROS compounds. Oxygen is absorbed to the surface of the basal plane or lateral edges at the defects sites to form surface oxides. These surface oxides release ROS species in the presence of antioxidants as a result of a redox reaction. In the presence of GSH (an antioxidant found in E. coli), the surface oxides found on GO are reduced by an electron transfer from GSH. Another GSH molecule will then donate a proton to the ROS species, causing its reduction and subsequent release of a water molecule.5 The deprotonated GSH molecule will then react with another GSH molecule to form glutathione disulphide. If GSH is not available, the ROS species will then oxidize the lipids in the cell membrane to form as a lipid peroxide radical causing oxidative stress to the cell membrane. This oxidative stress will continue down the cell membrane until the lipid peroxide radical encounters an antioxidant bound to the cell membrane such as V itamin E. It is important to keep in mind that with an increased amount of free oxygen radicals the extent of oxidative stress increases and the overall cell integrity decreases. As mentioned earlier, the size and shape of the GO plays a key role in determine the extent of the oxidative stress. As the size of the GO material decreases from 0.065 to 0.01 µm2 the amount of surface defects increases. Again this is due to the loss of the conjugation and destruction of the basal plane. With the smaller GO material the presence of additional defects allows for the formation of many more surface oxides that can later be reduced to form ROS compounds. These ROS compounds then will continue to deplete the antioxidants and lead to further lipid peroxidation. This effect will continue until enough oxidative stress exists to cause the membrane to collapse and bacterial death to occur. Perreault and team demonstrated this effect when they examined through Raman spectroscopy and cell viability testing that the size of the GO material plays a critical role in the ability of the material to induce oxidative stress. Figure 6 shows that as the size of the sheet decreases, the amount of disorder due to the defects (D band) increases. Therefore there is a direct correlation to number of defects and the ability of GO to form ROS species that interact with GSH. This is further confirmed with the graph in figure 6a which shows the %loss of GSH decreases with the increase in GO size. Therefore it not only the nanoknives that that are influenced by the size of GO but also oxidative stress due to the adsorbed oxygen and ROS formation. As demonstrated through the various studies conducted by Nada et al, Zhang et.al, and Yusong et al the key antibacterial mechanisms of GO are cutting via nanoknives, phospholipid extraction and oxidative stress that contribute to the overall antibacterial properties of GO. The research to date indicates it is not a single mechanism that creates the antibacterial properties of GO but a combination of all factors. How much antibacterial is dependent on the physical size of GO plays and the number of defects in the basal surface and lateral edges. As the size of GO decreases a larger degree of surface defects forms. These defects play two important roles in the antimicrobial properties of GO. First, an increase in surface defects creates an increase in the number of sharp edges that causes a loss of cellular membrane integrity. Directly, the cell membrane is compromised by the penetration of the nano-knives resulting in intracellular leakage of the cytoplasm, amino acids, proteins and n ucleic acids, Indirectly, once the nano-knives cut into the cell membrane it becomes embedded through attractive force between the hydrophobic tails of the cell membranes phospholipids and basal plane promotes phospholipid extraction. This extraction causes a decrease in cell membrane density which further breaks down the membrane causing additional intracellular leakage of key nucleic acids, cytoplasm and proteins. Lastly, the increase in surface defects of the basal plane increases the presence of reactive oxygen species. These species will react with any antioxidant present in the bacterial cell depleting their levels. Once depleted or reduced, the ROS will cause oxidation of the cell membrane lipids leading to a chain reaction of oxidative stress through the cell membrane. This also will lead to a loss of cell membrane integrity and intracellular leakage of key proteins and nucleic acids responsible for cell growth and replication. Without this material the bacteria cell will di e leading to the antibacterial properties observed in GO. With the development of drug resistant bacteria, new and inventive ways to treat bacterial infections need to be explored. GO with its unique chemical and physical properties show much promise as the next antibacterial treatment. Additional studies need to be conducted to determine the cytotoxicity of GO in animals and humans in order to development new treatment therapies. Zou,X.; Zhang, L.; Wang, Z., Luo, Y. Mechanisms of the Antimicrobial Activities of Graphene Materials. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2016, 138, 2064-2077 Nada, S.S; Yi, D.K; Kim, K. Study of antibacterial mechanisms of graphene oxide using Raman spectroscopy. Sci. Rep. 2016, 6, 28443; doi: 10.103,srep28443 Zhang, N.; Hou, j.; Chen, S.; Xiong, C.; Liu, H.; Jin, Y.; Wang, J.; He, Q.; Zhao, R.; Nie, Z.. Rapidly probing antibacterial activity of Graphene oxide by Mass Spectrometry-based metabolite fingerprinting Sci. Rep. 2016, 6, 28045; doi: 10.1038,srep28085 Yusong, T.; Lv, M.; Xiu; Huynh, T.; Zhang, M.; Castelli, M.; Liu, Z.; Huang, Q.; Fan, C.; Fang, H.; Zhou, R. Destructive extraction of phospholipids from Escherichia coli membranes by graphene nanosheets. Nat. Nanotechnol. 2013, 8, 594-601, doi:10.1038/nnano.2013.125 Perreault, F.; Fonseca de Faria, A.; Nejati, S.; Elimelech, M. Antimicrobial Properties of Graphene Oxide Nanosheets: Why Size Matters. ACS Nano. 2015, 7, 7226-7236

Analyse the Opening Chapter of Great Expectations :: Great Expectations Essays

Analyse the opening chapter of Great Expectations The author Charles Dickens wrote ‘Great Expectations’ as a series of instalments, which then put together and turned into a novel. It has been written in first person narrative, which is good because you get to know pip very well. My expectations of the opening chapter of ‘Great Expectations’ Where far from what I experienced when we actually read the book. It was also set in the olden days. By the end of the story I found it quite entertaining. In the first paragraph we expect to be introduced to the plot, characters and the setting. In this first chapter Pip meets the convict up on the graveyard, which is the highlight of the chapter. The convict scars pip into bringing him ‘whittles’ which means necessary like food and drinks. The convict also gets pip to bring him a file because pip mentions that his brother in law is a blacksmith. Pip is scared of the convict because of the language he uses ‘keep still you little devil or ill cut you’re throat. When a ‘fearful man, all in course grey, with an iron on his leg. A man with no hat, and with broken shoes and with an old rag tied round his head. A man who had been soaked in water, and smothered in mud, and lamed by stones, and cut by flints, and stung by nettles, and torn by briars; who limped, and shivered and he glared and growled; and whose teeth chattered in his head as he seized me by the chin’ says that to a young child we believe to be about 11 – 14 years old Pip is going to do everything he is asked to do and exactly when he says it. The first character to be introduced was Pip. In the first paragraph he introduces himself and tells us that his fathers name was ‘Pirrip’ and his Christian name is ‘Philip’ so he mixed the two names together and came up with ‘Pip’. His mother and father died before he can remember them and there was no such thing as photos in those days so they do not know what they look like or what they are like to talk to and get on with. Pip got introduced first because he is the main character. The other character we meet in this chapter is the convict. The author gives the convict an animal imagery when he 'ate the bread ravenously'. Pips character is polite and he speaks to the convict who is threatening his life using words like 'kindly please to let me keep

What Drive Individuals to Commit Crime

Every crime is the result of individual, physical and social conditions. (Ferri, 1893). In â€Å"Thinking seriously about crime† Jock Young described crime as â€Å"a product of the undersocialisation of the individual. This can be a result of (a) an innate genetic or physiological incapacity of the individual to be easily socialised; (b) a family background which was ineffective in the use of socialisation techniques in its child-rearing practices; (c) a social setting which lacked coherent and consistent consensual values†. This statement nicely introduces this essay, as all the main aspects that lead people in to crime will be discussed. Drugs are constantly the issue of intense government and political debate. Drugs and Alcohol are major factors in why people commit crime. An individual may be dealing in drugs to make money; they may commit crimes to feed their habit or they may just use drugs for recreational use. All these are practices are illegal. In the United States of America the number of inmates and prisoners has more than tripled since 1980. Four out of every five got there with the help of drugs and alcohol, says a report released by the National Centre on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University. The report says: Of 1.7 million prisoners in 1996, 1.4 million had violated drug or alcohol laws. They had been under the influence when they committed their crimes, they had stolen to support their habit or had a history of drug or alcohol abuse that led them to commit crimes. In â€Å"The Drugs-Crime Connection† John Ball discusses the criminality of heroin addicts. â€Å"There is a general agreement among criminologists that an increase in criminality commonly occurs following the onset of heroin addiction†. Ball goes on to present the results of a survey conducted on a large group of heroin addicts and their activities whilst on and off heroin. The results are quite significant and clearly show that more crimes were committed whilst on heroin. It is important to note that most of the crimes reported were for theft and that drug use or possession was not classified as a crime. This is hardly surprising. Drug addiction is expensive. But have these people been propelled in to crime or are they committing crime by their own choice? It was most likely that they chose to take heroin but eventually could not come off it. They were then forced, because of their addiction, to go out and commit crime. So in a way they were propelled in to committing crime. But the question should be asked: What propelled them in to taking drugs? Are individuals who grow up or live in poverty propelled in to committing crime? It is certain that individuals who live in poverty are more prone to committing crime than individuals who live in opulence. Comparing crime figures for different areas will clearly show that. But do individuals who live in poverty only commit crime for financial gain? The fact that money is not in abundance is not a just reason to commit crime. There are many people who live in less privileged areas that do not commit crime. So what is the main reason why a person will commit crime? An Individuals† upbringing surely plays the most significant part in determining how they will turn out in life. An article published by Reuters in 1998 discussed the effects absent fathers had on children: â€Å"Sons with absent fathers are more likely to be jailed†. When a father is not present in the home, his son is twice as likely to end up in jail, according to a new study by Cynthia Harper of the University of Pennsylvania and Sara S. McLanahan of Princeton University. Tracking a sample of 6,000 males ages 14 to 22 from 1979 to 1993, the sociologists also found that even after accounting for differences due to race, income and education: The boys who grow up with a stepfather in the home were â€Å"more at risk than those with an absent father, with roughly three times greater risk of incarceration than those who live with both their parents†. Young men whose parents divorce during their adolescence were â€Å"roughly one and a half times as likely to wind up in jail as children from intact families† — faring slightly better than boys who were born to single mothers. While whites have lower rates of father absenteeism than blacks, white youths whose families split are at a higher risk of incarceration than their black peers. The presence of live-in grandparents in households without fathers â€Å"appears to help improve youths' chances of avoiding incarceration†, the study found. The lack of a decent role model in a childs† upbringing can cause many problems. When a child is growing up he/she needs discipline. They need to know what is right and what is wrong. Discipline is best administered by both parents and not just the mother. The statistic above clearly show how detrimental an absent father is to a child but other homes have fathers who, although present, did not nurture their children, or provide basic instruction on establishing healthy boundaries. Child abuse is found in families at every income. It is much more common at the lower income levels. Children who grow up in violent homes tend to use violence when they become adults in marriage and as parents. Each generation directly affects its descendants and indirectly influences later generations in the same family line. If a child grew up in an abusive household and later went on to commit violent crime, would his upbringing be a major factor? From the evidence presented here it can be concluded that an individuals† upbringing has a significant influence on their life. So an individual can be propelled in to crime. But perhaps he/she still has to be a certain type of person? Can people be born bad? The possibility that genetic research might identify genes for criminal Tendencies† has stimulated intense controversy. Media interest in the case of Stephen Thomas Mobley in which a ‘genetic defence† was pursued, together with News coverage of a conference in London in 1995 on ‘The Genetics of Criminal and Antisocial Behaviour†, brought the question of a link between genetics and Criminal behaviour to wide public attention. Mobley was convicted in February 1994 of the murder of John Collins and sentenced to death. Inspired by patterns of aggression in the Mobley family tree, his lawyers attempted to put together a genetic defence, not in hope of an acquittal, but to try to have the sentence reduced from death to life imprisonment (Mobley vs. The State 1995). The defence claims that there is a pattern of aggression and business success in Mobley†s ancestry that suggests a relevant genetic underlying for his criminal behaviour. In Mobley†s case the jury rejected the genetic defence. Whatever the merits of that particular case, might the findings of Behavioural Genetics provide any grounds for a legal defence? Since then a steady output of Newspaper articles and television documentaries have reflected continuing interest and concern over the suggestion that criminals might be born, not made. The nature/nurture debate rages on in many channels, but amongst psychologists and geneticists it is largely resolved that both are important. There are two possible theses of Genetic Determinism. Firstly there is ‘Weak Genetic Determinism† which suggests genetics has a role in the causation of a range of Behavioural and/or personality traits, such as aggression, dominance and IQ which are relevant to criminality. Secondly there is ‘Strong Genetic Determinism† which suggests genetics is a causally sufficient condition (under normal circumstances) for a range of behavioural and/or personality traits that Lead to criminality. But can an individuals genes lead to a life in crime? Are they the main contributing factor? Weak genetic determinism seems to be the more plausible theory. Strong genetic determinism would suggest that there exists something like a â€Å"Murderer gene† or a â€Å"Bank robber gene†. We clearly know this not to be true. We would then see a more even spread of crime throughout the nation if this were so. The premise that genes contribute towards persons† outcome in life can be accepted. If an individual has genes which make them highly aggressive then that person would be more prone to violent situations than a person whose genes make them a less aggressive person. The same would apply to IQ and dominance. However, it is sensible to say that not enough is known about genetics to make these theories solid fact but enough is known to show that genes can influence a person when certain situations exist. It is therefore safe to conclude that an individual is not propelled in to crime because of his genes, they can only influence him. This essay has looked at many possible reasons why individuals are propelled in to committing crime. We know that individuals† upbringing is clearly a large factor in determining an individuals† outcome in life. When an individual is being brought up he/she are taught what is right and wrong by their parents. The data shown in this essay clearly shows the detrimental effect that absent parents have on a child. The possibility that genetics plays a key role in the reasons why people commit crime has been looked at. It is safe to say that most likely, individuals are not propelled in to crime because they were â€Å"born bad†. It is also safe to say that not enough is known about genetics to present a concrete conclusion on the matter. From the data shown we know that when people are on drugs such as heroin, they will commit crime. Most individuals commit crime of their own accord. Whether they had a poor upbringing, they live in a â€Å"problem area†, are on drugs or have â€Å"criminal genes† they still commit crimes for personal gain. They are not propelled in to committing anything.

Crash Character Analysis

The movie Crash is about a wide variety of people of different races in Los Angeles, California and how they all interweave with each other. In the movie Crash there are many characters that begin to change their ways throughout the movie. One person in the movie that has changed the most is the character Sandra Bullock plays her name is Jean Cabot.The reason being why she has changed is because one night after having dinner, her and husband Rick Cabot are car jacked at gunpoint by two black men in a prestigious and wealthy environment of California. From this experience she is emotionally scarred and stereotypes every race that is not in front of her face. In one scene of the movie, the Cabot’s are getting new locks in their home after they were hijacked. The man who is changing the locks on the door is a Hispanic male who is stereotyped by Jean because of his shaved head, pants around his bottom, and his tattoos. Jean insists to Rick that as soon as the locksmith leaves that he will sell the keys to his â€Å"gang banger† friends right as he leaves.The man overheard Janet and leaves the keys in front of her. Janet felt remorse for the words she had said about the locksmith because of her false accusations. In many other scenes of the movie Janet is seen verbally abusing her Hispanic maid Maria. In one scene of the movie, Maria came late to work due to driving her son to school. Janet comes downstairs into the kitchen and finds that Maria did not empty out the dishwasher of all the clean dishes from the night before. Janet lashes out on Maria every chance she gets and eventually fires her.During the end of the movie, Janet Cabot has a realization of her behavior and actions towards anyone who is not the same color as her. One scene of the movie Janet is seen talking on the phone with her friend of ten years about daily events and ends the conversation. After the conversation has ended, Janet falls down the stairs and can’t move. Janet call ed her friend of ten years to come help but she said that she was to busy getting a massage and would not be able to come. In desperation Janet called Maria who came right away to help. In an epiphany, Janet realizes that her maid that she verbally abused everyday was her best friend. She then realizes what is actually wrong and it is mot because of her car being stolen it is because  she is just angry all the time.