I need a summary for those 3 articles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

I need a summary for those 3 articles - Essay Example Meanwhile the Quakers also made a minimal contribution to the college movement. In later times, Methodist and Baptist started establishing colleges which was a resort to middle class society of America. The American colleges soon became a medium of social investment. The American colleges gave birth to a concept of ‘self taught and self made man’ .By the end of 19th century, American colleges also propagated that a man should not spend more than half of his time on studies. An English men visiting American definitely found a very motivated young men and students who could serve the country at the best in the future. The American universities are in hard situation as to make choices in protecting the academic value and there were no political body taking leadership for it. Some universities prefer quality and want to preserve it and proved that they have brain as well as body.Some universities wants to improve the quality of citizen ship and ethical conduct of students .Few universities which maintained their integrity and marveled were Harvard, Stanford, Cornell, Yale, MTI,Brown, Berkeley and Michigan.Accomodating large number of students always been the problem faced by many universities.As economic growth is the responsibility of the Federal government , they are supposed to give subsidies to the graduates to increase productivity. The two areas which offer opportunity in America is education and healthsector.Higher education is becoming business minded where as they should be interested in producing good citizens with creative talent and productivity.Universties and society is interrelated and universities need to utilize full resources to upgrade the students and their utility to the society. Magnet schools which introduced in America in 20th century, gained popularity in 1970s as they promoted racial diversity and improved scholarship opportunities and catered to individual needs and interests of students.

Failed Products Essay Example for Free

Failed Products Essay A clothier, such as Levi Strauss, that has been around for 150 years is bound to have their share of hits and misses because fashion is terribly fickle and largely unpredictable. But this doesn’t mean you should ignore your target audience. In late 2002, Levi Strauss began a massive marketing push to launch what was being touted as one of the company’s most significant launches in history, Type 1 Jeans. The line unnecessarily went to great lengths to accentuate all those signature design details already long-associated with Levi’s, such as the red tab logo, buttons, rivets, and the two-horse back patch. To accompany the launch, Levi Strauss spent $2 million on an artsy, misguided  Super Bowl commercial  that confused viewers. Going against common practice, they placed Type 1 in retailers with inconsistent prices, ranging from $30 at a retailer like JC Penney’s to over $100 at Barney’s, with no discernable difference in quality. Levi Strauss pulled the entire line after less than two years and Type 1 proved to be the proud clothier’s most spectacular flop. How marketing can cause a product to fail? I have discussed in the past many good examples of  marketing helped a product to succeed. Apple is the first brand that comes to mind when we talk about marketing. The communication and design of the products has led to its wide spread success and Apple becoming one of the  most valuable companies in the world. But what about marketing failures? For every Apple there are many products that fail due to bad marketing strategies. In this piece I would like to discuss one of them-  The TATA Nano. - In a recent trip to Sri Lanka, I saw the TATA Nano being used extensively as a Taxi. As I asked around the average Sri Lankan felt that the Nano though a good car  did not carry enough prestige to be a passenger car. And this they felt was a result of the positioning taken by the marketing managers of the brand. As I look back at the previous campaigns for the Nano, it suddenly struck me that Nano was a consumer behavior assessment failure. The brand managers positioned the car as the next upgrade for a family of four with a two wheeler. But every such household had an aspiration to move to something better and not necessarily cheaper. Even if the consumer was in that income bracket, he aspired for something cooler. This point was not taken into consideration while the brand managers were coming up with the positioning. The next campaign focused on the tier 2 cities with bad roads and little or no inclination to move things along. This further hit the car sales. Finally now the Nano has been positioned as a cool car to have fun with. Also the colors and the powerful AC are being positioned as the differentiators along with the classic adage of better fuel efficiency that has helped its sales. I personally feel that positioning a product or service would be a strong spin off from consumer behavior and without understanding the hopes and aspirations of the masses a product is bound to not have the stickiness factor. TATA Nano was a classic case of a product manager who chooses not to respect the aspirations of his prospective consumers. A famous marketer once told me that â€Å"A man buys a car for what he wants to be and buys a house based on what he is†.

Essay --

A merger is the combining of two separate firms to merge into one firm. Usually when two firms merge, the smaller firm will merge into the larger firm. Only the acquiring company retains its identity. There are An acquisition refers to the purchase of a company’s assets or the controlling shares of a company by the acquiring company. Types of mergers: Horizontal merger: This is a merger between two firms in the same line of business. These firms are always competitors. Vertical merger: This is a merger that exists when an entity merges with one of its suppliers forming a buyer seller relationship. For example, a merger between a company that produces furniture with a company that produces wood. Conglomerate merger: This is a merger that exists between unrelated firms from different industries. Both firms carry out different activities and are not competitors. For example, a brewing firm merging with a clothing industry. Process of mergers and acquisitions. Process of mergers and acquisition is very important because the process can greatly affect the benefits that a company would gain through mergers and acquisitions. The process is divided into different phrases. Phase 1 This is the business valuation stage. In this stage, the acquiring party should assess the situation of the their firm and its future capabilities. Will the company be able to maintain its market share, the return on capital or there core competencies? If not, then a merger and acquisition would be necessary. In this stage, the business should be valued and analyze whether a merger will help improve the firm’s valuation or whether the firm should use internal growth instead. The business should access the roles, it expects the merger to perform, and ... ...e firms merged to increase their market share. Hp was stronger on the consumer side compared to Compaq while, Compaq was stronger on the computer (pc) business and the commercial side if the companies merged, each would concentrate on their strengths and this would increase their market share. Why they failed. Hp had begun to miss its long-term goals and its estimates in the growth of both the pc markets and the business were very optimistic. The management failed to achieve what the merger had to offer and this caused the price of the stock to fall. Hp found it hard to overcome the problems that were associated with the strategic integration because hp had only been concentrating on its operational integration. Recommendations Hp should critically analyze their strategic integration and come up with solutions to the integration problems faced. Essay -- A merger is the combining of two separate firms to merge into one firm. Usually when two firms merge, the smaller firm will merge into the larger firm. Only the acquiring company retains its identity. There are An acquisition refers to the purchase of a company’s assets or the controlling shares of a company by the acquiring company. Types of mergers: Horizontal merger: This is a merger between two firms in the same line of business. These firms are always competitors. Vertical merger: This is a merger that exists when an entity merges with one of its suppliers forming a buyer seller relationship. For example, a merger between a company that produces furniture with a company that produces wood. Conglomerate merger: This is a merger that exists between unrelated firms from different industries. Both firms carry out different activities and are not competitors. For example, a brewing firm merging with a clothing industry. Process of mergers and acquisitions. Process of mergers and acquisition is very important because the process can greatly affect the benefits that a company would gain through mergers and acquisitions. The process is divided into different phrases. Phase 1 This is the business valuation stage. In this stage, the acquiring party should assess the situation of the their firm and its future capabilities. Will the company be able to maintain its market share, the return on capital or there core competencies? If not, then a merger and acquisition would be necessary. In this stage, the business should be valued and analyze whether a merger will help improve the firm’s valuation or whether the firm should use internal growth instead. The business should access the roles, it expects the merger to perform, and ... ...e firms merged to increase their market share. Hp was stronger on the consumer side compared to Compaq while, Compaq was stronger on the computer (pc) business and the commercial side if the companies merged, each would concentrate on their strengths and this would increase their market share. Why they failed. Hp had begun to miss its long-term goals and its estimates in the growth of both the pc markets and the business were very optimistic. The management failed to achieve what the merger had to offer and this caused the price of the stock to fall. Hp found it hard to overcome the problems that were associated with the strategic integration because hp had only been concentrating on its operational integration. Recommendations Hp should critically analyze their strategic integration and come up with solutions to the integration problems faced.

JoAnn Marshall - The Roles of Southern Women, Black and White, in Society :: Essays Papers

JoAnn Marshall - The Roles of Southern Women, Black and White, in Society Lillian Smith provides a description of the typical black woman and the typical white woman "of the pre-1960's American South" (Gladney 1) in her autobiographical critique of southern culture, Killers of the Dream. The typical black woman in the South is a cook, housekeeper, nursemaid, or all three wrapped up in one for at least one white family. Therefore, she is the double matriarch of the South, raising her own family and the families of her white employers: "It was not a rare sight in my generation to see a black woman with a dark baby at one breast and a white one at the other, rocking them both in her wide lap" (Smith 130). The southern black woman's duties extend far beyond rearing children, as she also serves as a family counselor, confidant, and nurse for the entire white family (Smith 129) and her own if time permits. She can do all this and more because she is strong, wise, and insightful in all areas of life (Smith 119). In short, the southern black woman is the cornersto ne of the southern, domestic life. The white woman in the South has an equally important role. The southern white woman is responsible for maintaining southern social order, better known as Southern Tradition. She establishes "the 'do' and the 'don't' of behavior" (Smith 132) in her children and believes, "If you could just keep from them all the things that must never be mentioned, all would be well!" (Smith 142). At the same time, the southern white woman sits atop the pedestal of Sacred Womanhood that her husband and his ancestors built for her (Smith 141). She meekly sits there, a symbol of southern society used to benefit men's ideals, feeling empty and powerless against everything going on around her (Smith 141-2). The whispers in her children's ears and her presence on that pedestal fulfill the white woman's role as protectress of Southern Tradition, but does not fulfill the southern white woman. In fact, the roles of the southern black woman and the southern white woman are equally important and equally oppressive: "In a culture where marriage and motherhood were women's primary roles, neither black nor white women were free to be fully wives or mothers, and neither were able to sh ield their children from the physical and psychic destruction of the racist society in which they lived" (Gladney 6).

Describe Functions of Management

Bachelor of Science HIV/AIDS Management and Community Development Student Name Runganga Fanuel Pharquior Assignment: Describe functions of management citing examples Management is the organization and coordination of the activities of a business in order to achieve defined objectives. Management is often included as a factor of production along with machines, materials, and money. According to the management guru Peter Drucker (1909-2005), the basic tasks of management include both marketing and innovation.Practice of modern management originates from the 16th century study of low-efficiency and failures of certain enterprises, conducted by the English statesman Sir Thomas More (1478-1535). Management consists of the interlocking functions of creating corporate policy and organizing, planning, controlling, and directing an organization's resources in order to achieve the objectives of that policy According to Peter Drucker management can be described as the organization and coordinat ion of the activities of an enterprise in accordance with certain policies and in achievement of clearly defined objectives.Management is often included as a factor of production along with machines, materials and money. Peter Drucker (1909–2005)†Management is a multi-purpose organ that manages business and manages managers and manages workers and work. Mary Parker Follet, simply states that â€Å"Management is the art of getting things done through people. † Many scholars who have studied management have come up with different definitions of management and its functions and some like Luther Gullick have come up with a list functions of management that include planning, organizing, directing, staffing, co-coordinating, reporting abbreviated (PODSCORB).However most scholars notably Koontz and O’Donnel are agreeable that the most important functions of management can be trimmed to only five namely planning, organizing staffing, directing and controlling. Pla nning involves mapping out exactly how to achieve a particular goal. It gives direction to the organization and enables managers to determine strategies to achieve organizational goals. Say, for example, that the organization's goal is to improve company sales. The manager first needs to decide which steps are necessary to accomplish that goal. These steps may include increasing advertising, inventory, and sales staff.These necessary steps are developed into a plan. When the plan is in place, the manager can follow it to accomplish the goal of improving company sales. Planning can be short term or long term, and ensures proper utilization of human and non-human resources thus helps in minimizing confusion ,risks, wastages and uncertainties. Planning is important in forecasting and catering for unforeseen adverse events by putting contingency measures in place. For example hospital managers may have an emergency plan in place to handle things like disease outbreaks or accidents.Henri Fayol argues that to organize a business is to provide it with all the necessary resources for it to function fully. Organizing is the process of bringing together physical financial and human resources in order to achieve organizational goals. After a plan is in place, a manager needs to organize a team and materials according to the plan. Assigning work and granting authority are two important elements of organizing. The organization process involves identification of what is supposed to be done, classification of activities, assigning of duties, and delegation of responsibility and authority.An example can be of a farm manager who is faced with a planting season with a group of workers and many fields and crops to plant. He has to quantify the amount of work to be accomplished over a given period thus organizes his staff into small groups each with a foreman responsible for tillage, planting, irrigation etc. He should go on to come up with a time frame when he expects the tasks to be performed and ensure that all the resources required that include seed, fertilizers etc are in place for the task to be accomplished in time. Staffing is concerned with keeping adequate staff levels to keep the organization well manned all the time.This involves having the right person for the right job and the main purpose is selecting the properly qualified person for the job. It might also involve staff development by organizing on job training or training and retraining of staff to meet the dynamic demands of the organization. After a manager discerns his area's needs, he may decide to beef up his staffing by recruiting, selecting, training, and developing employees. A manager in a large organization often works with the company's human resources department to accomplish this goal.An organization might acquire new machinery and realize that they need new members of staff to operate the machine or an organization may soon realize that their enterprise is growing and need mo re staff to man its new branches. Directing deals mainly with setting in motion the action of people in an organization and is involved with supervising, motivating, leading, and communicating the goals of the organization to the workers. Directing involves supervising how work is done and ensuring staff is motivated enough to accomplish the organizational goals by offering incentives to ensure workers have a zeal for work.Managers might discover that in order to accomplish a task in time there is need to work long hour and may find it fit to provide food on site and also introduce incentives for the workers prepared to work overtime. After the other elements are in place, a manager's job is not finished. He needs to continuously check results against goals and take any corrective actions necessary to make sure that his area's plans remain on track. Directing consists of a process or technique by which instruction can be issued and operations can be carried out and goals achieved as originally planned.Controlling implies ensuring that everything is in conformity with set standards to achieve organizational goals. It involves measuring the accomplished against the set standards. According to Koontz and O’Donnell controlling is the measurement and correction of performance activities of subordinates in order to make sure that the enterprise objectives and plans are accomplished. The process is concerned with establishment of standard performance, measurement of actual performance, comparison of actual with the set standards and isolating deviations if any and finally corrective action.The success of any organization big or small hinges on the quality of its managers and more often than not enterprises run by poorly equipped mangers in terms of knowledge depth usually operate poorly and eventually collapse whilst those run by astute mangers flourish and prosper. References 1. Harold Koontz and Cyril O’Donnel, Essentials of Management (1976) 2. Henri Fayol, (1841-1925), Principles of Management 3. Luther Gullick (1937), Science of Administration 4. Mary Parker Follet (1900-20) Classic School of Management 5. Peter Drucker (1909-2005), The Principles of Management 6. Sir Thomas More (1478-1535) Oregon State University

Transsexuals and those who choose gender re-assignment surgery

Transsexuals and those who choose gender re-assignment surgery Free Online Research Papers With the help of modern medicine, many transsexuals throughout the country and globe are able to experience relief from the gender conflicts they experience. Becoming educated about transsexuals and the facts surrounding gender re-assignment surgery are key ingredients for tolerating and accepting this prevailing hamlet. According to the text, â€Å"medical estimates place transgenderism at about 1 in 30,000 for MTF and 1 in 100,000 for FTM. However, many gender activists claim that these figures vastly underestimate the true prevalence and are based on statistics of the number of sex reassignment surgeries performed rather than the overall number of people who are living transgender lives [and] prevalence may be at least 10 times higher† (Hock, p. 385). With numbers this great, and possibly greater, it is highly probable to cross paths with such a person in an educational, social or work setting, and some people may even â€Å"date, have sex with, and even marry a postop erative transsexual and be unaware of the person’s transgender status unless he or she† were to divulge the truth (Hock, p. 386). Ergo, tolerance and acceptance of transsexuals and those who choose gender re-assignment surgery is even more exigent. The first step to achieving a complete understanding of gender re-assignment surgery is briefly educating oneself on the history of transsexuals and gender re-assignment surgery. The concept of transsexuals has been referred to in classic literature by such authors as Herodotus and Shakespeare and â€Å"[w]ell known historical examples of psychosexual inversion span the time from the Roman emperor Caligula to the famous French diplomat Chevalier d’Eon† (Edgerton, Knorr and Callison). In 1830, â€Å"German author Friedreich first called attention to this syndrome in the medical literature†; in 1870, â€Å"Westphal was the first to give a clear and complete description† of transvestism; in 1949, Cauldwell was the first to coin the term transexualism (Edgerton, Knorr and Callison). Regarding the birth of gender re-assignment surgery, there are varying opinions. Some believe that early â€Å"examples relate to practices carried out in ancient cultures. Gender reassignment surgery (GRS) developed from reconstructive procedures for congenital abnormalities. Some surgery was disguised, techniques were not recorded, and operations were carried out in secret† (Goddard, Vickery, Terry). However, it is also argued that even though â€Å"castration has been used throughout recorded history, and penectomies have not been unknown, it is not always clear that people given these operations desired any change of sex† (Edgerton, Knorr and Callison). Therefore, the first documented case of GRS was reported in 1931 by Abraham. (Edgerton, Knorr and Callison) During the 1950s, Sir Harold Gillies and gynecologist Dr. Georges Burou developed the first of two methods for male-to-female gender re-assignment surgery, which â€Å"used invagination of the penile skin sheath to form a vagina†(Goddard, Vickery, Terry). Howard Jones from Johns Hopkins developed the second method of this avant garde concept, which used penile and scrotal skin flaps. Both methods serve as the basis for all male-to-female gender re-assignment surgeries performed today. While development of male-to-female GRS was in progress, Burou was also independently developing female-to-male gender re-assignment surgery in his Clinique du Parc in Casablanca. His method consisted of â€Å"the anteriorly pedicled penile skin flap inversion vaginoplasty† and this â€Å"technique was to become the gold standard of skin-lined vaginoplasty in transsexuals† (Hage, Karim, Laub). According to the text, gender re-assignment surgery has evolved into a multi step process that requires â€Å"psychological counseling, hormone therapy, and a pre-surgical transition period† before surgery can even take place. For both transitions, there are several surgeries that have â€Å"anatomically very realistic† results. A male-to-female gender re-assignment surgery may involve any or all of the following: penectomy (removal of the penis), uroplasty (rerouting of the urethra), orchiectomy (removal of the testicles), vaginoplasty (the use of penile skin to construct labia and a vagina), breast implants, chondrolaryngoplasty (reduces the size of the Adam’s apple) and phonosurgery (raises voice pitch). A female-to-male gender re-assignment surgery may involve any or all of the following: mastectomy (removal of breasts), hysterectomy (removal of uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries), metadioplasty (creation of small erectile phallus from the clitoris), pha lloplasty (formation of a penis from tissue taken from other areas of the body and transplanted using microsurgical techniques in the genital area; requires a penile implant for erection), uroplasty, scrotoplasty (reshaping and stretching of the labia to resemble a scrotum and the insertion of silicone prosthetic testicles). If performed in the United States, such surgeries can cost anywhere from $18,000 to $50,000 while other countries such as Thailand offer GRS costing anywhere from $7,000 to $10,000.(Hock, p. 386) The first gender re-assignment to receive media attention was the male-to-female re-assignment of Christine Jorgensen. Christine, born a man, lived as George Jorgensen until she had her gender re-assignment surgery in February of 1953. Christine grew up knowing that she was biologically a man but psychologically a woman and after her service in the military ended, she began hormone therapy consisting of the female hormone estradiol. Because of the nescience that enveloped the United States medical community concerning gender re-assignment surgery during the 1950s, Christine found it difficult to find a doctor willing to help her resolve her gender conflict and reach her goals. Eventually, a doctor in Denmark was able to perform surgery that consisted of a bilateral orchiectomy, removal of the scrotum and a penectomy. Several years after this initial surgery, Christine had cosmesis surgery to construct a vagina. As a result of the media coverage she received, Christine became â€Å"a spokesperson for transgender, gay, and lesbian causes† (Hock, p. 386). Sexual and physical health after gender re-assignment surgery is a major concern for candidates. One study conducted by the Department of Plastic Surgery, Ghent University Hospital, Gent, Belgium states that â€Å"[t]actile and erogenous sensitivity in reconstructed genitals is one of the goals in sex reassignment surgery† (Selvaggi, Monstrey, Ceulemans, T’Sjoen, De Cuypere, Hoebeke). The study outlines â€Å"specific surgical tricks used to preserve genital and tactile sensitivity† that focus on the preservation of the clitoris, the inguinal nerve, two dorsal nerves of the clitoris for phalloplasty and preservation of the glans penis, the prepuce and the penile shaft for vaginoplasty. The study states that a â€Å"long-term sensitivity evaluation† was performed on the â€Å"27 reconstructed phalli and 30 clitorises† of the 105 total phalloplasties and 127 vaginoclitoridoplasties performed over a ten year period of time at the Ghent University H ospital. The study concludes that â€Å"all female-to-male and 85% of male-to-female patients reported orgasm† and the tactile sensitivity techniques that are practiced at the hospital are essential for achieving such results. (Selvaggi, Monstrey, Ceulemans, T’Sjoen, De Cuypere, Hoebeke) For obvious reasons, gender re-assignment surgery is a major medical procedure. Any surgery presents the possibility of adverse health effects and urogenital surgical procedures are no different. They can include a variety of issues from urinary tract problems to sensations of phantom genitals to Lupus Erythematosus Tumidus. One study in Japan suggests that through the course of their research, â€Å"several complications occurred such as partial flap necrosis, rectovaginal fistula formation and hypersensitivity of the neoclitoris† (Namba, Sugiyama, Yamashita, Tokuyama, Hasegawa, Kimata). Every person is different and while there are factors that contribute to such problems, it is difficult to predict what adverse effects, if any, someone who elects for these types of procedures will experience. In 2007, a research study based on the hypothesis that Lupus Erythematosus Tumidus can be induced by gender re-assignment surgery was published in the Journal of Rheumatology. The study highlights that the pathology of Lupus Erythematosus Tumidus is both intrinsic and extrinsic. It is stated that â€Å"[t]he intrinsic abnormalities are complicated, with diverse genetic polymorphisms described in different ethnic groups, strongly suggesting that the actual pathology underlying the immunologic disarray might not be the same for each patient† (Zandman-Goddard, Solomon, Barzilai, Shoenfeld). Extrinsic factors are outlined in the same study as the exposure to â€Å"drugs capable of modulating immune responses such as exogenous estrogens.† The study indicates that it is presenting information about â€Å"the first reported case of sex reassignment surgery and the subsequent development of cutaneous lupus† and that the purpose of the report is to â€Å"emphasize t hat environmental triggers including high doses of estrogens as part of sex reassignment surgery may lead to the development of lupus in a nonpredisposed individual.† One study published in Archives of Sexual Behavior , the official publication of the International Academy of Sex Research, observed â€Å"preoperative preparations, complications and physical and functional outcomes of male-to-female sex reassignment surgery† on 232 patients. Each patient had penile-inversion vaginoplasty and sensate clitoroplasty which was performed by the same surgeon using the same technique on each patient. It is reported that almost all the patients stopped hormone therapy and received electrolysis to remove genital hair prior to the gender re-assignment surgery. While none of the patients â€Å"reported rectal-vaginal fistula or deep-vein thrombosis†, at least a third of the patients â€Å"reported urinary stream problems.† (Lawrence) Another problem linked with gender re-assignment surgery is reported episdoes of phantom genitals which is comparable to the phantom limb phenomenon. First described by Weir Mitchell in 1871, phantom limb is the â€Å"vivid sensation of still having a limb although it has been amputated† (Ramachandran, McGeoch). Since these episodes are not restricted to people with amputated limbs, it is reported to also occur â€Å"after amputation of the penis or a breast [and] 60% of men who have had to have their penis amputated for cancer will experience a phantom penis† (Ramachandran, McGeoch). The first documented case of â€Å"‘phantom penis’ was reported by Crone in 1951 (Namba, Sugiyama, Yamashita, Tokuyama, Hasegawa, Kimata). Recent studies have shown that phantom sensations may be a result of â€Å"‘cross’ activation between the de-afferented cortex and surrounding areas† (Ramachandran, McGeoch). Another contributing factor to phanto m limb is that â€Å"our body image is innately ‘hard-wired’ into our brains† and it is interesting to note that â€Å"congenitally limbless patients can still experience phantom sensations† (Ramachandran, McGeoch). In the aforementioned study, researchers hypothesized that â€Å"due to a dissociation during embryological development, the brains of transsexuals are ‘hard-wired’ in manner, which is opposite to that of their biological sex.† Proving or disproving this hypothesis will be essential to â€Å"showing the basis of transsexuality and provide farther evidence that we have a gender specific body image, with a strong innate component that is ‘hard-wired’ into our brains. This would furnish us with a better understanding the mechanism by which nature and nurture interact to link the brain-based internal body image with external sexual morphology† (Ramachandran, McGeoch). With an understanding that this phenomenon plagues a greater pool of people than once assumed, researchers from the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama, Japan observed and documented the sensations of phantom erectile penis in 14 male-to-female patients that they performed vaginoplasty surgery on during an almost seven year period. Their conclusions state that just after their gender re-assignment surgery â€Å"some patients feel that their penises still exist, but by several weeks postoperatively, this sensation has disappeared† but that there was one case where the â€Å"sensation of a phantom erectile penis persisted for much longer† (Namba, Sugiyama, Yamashita, Tokuyama, Hasegawa, Kimata). One 52 year old patient who underwent male-to-female re-assignment during this study reported â€Å"the feeling of a phantom erectile penis for over six months and was enhanced when the patient was standing.† After a second surgery, the phantom sensation disappeared. Since transsexuals seeking gender re-assignment surgery are trying to reach a goal that includes lifestyle satisfaction, research has been conducted to find out if gender re-assignment surgery will actually help transsexuals reach this goal. While there are possible adverse physical effects to gender re-assignment surgery, one study says that â€Å"[n]o single complication was significantly associated with regretting SRS. Satisfaction with most physical and functional outcomes of SRS was high; participants were least satisfied with vaginal lubrication, vaginal touch sensation, and vaginal erotic sensation† (Lawrence). Another study also reported on by Lawrence â€Å"examined factors associated with satisfaction or regret following sex reassignment surgery (SRS) in 232 male-to-female transsexuals operated on †over a six year period of time. A vast majority of the patients who participated in this study reported â€Å"that they were happy with their SRS results and t hat SRS had greatly improved the quality of their lives. None reported outright regret and only a few expressed even occasional regret.† While one may feel dissonance as a transsexual, gender re-assignment surgery patients have been proven to be â€Å"better adjusted in life† than those who continue their struggle â€Å"trapped† in the wrong body. (Hock, p. 386) A few issues rarely traversed in the medical field that are pertinent to the understanding and tolerance of transsexuals and gender re-assignment surgery are recommended for further study and observation. For example, there is limited research or published studies concerning transsexuals who have undergone GRS and their adjustment to society, or furthermore, society’s adjustment to them. It would be intriguing to learn if transsexuals feel as though society accepts them more before or after their surgery. Another issue that would be intriguing, is to learn about patients’ postoperative relationships. The text says that a transsexuals new genitals are so anatomically real that it is possible to meet, date, have sex with or even marry such a person without even realizing it. This deserves further study. While a transsexual manages their gender dissonance, gender re-assignment surgery has proven to be a feasible solution. With references in classic literature and well known historical figures, transexualism has been around for hundreds of years. Study and development of gender re-assignment surgeries are relatively new, but the field has many pioneers who are striving to help improve the quality of life for transsexuals across the globe. As with any surgery, gender re-assignment surgery poses several risks, most of them postoperative. Since gender re-assignment surgery is both physically serious and irreversible, and has possible adverse affects such as Lupus, urinary tract issues or even phantom genitalia, the decision to have such procedures is a long process. Beginning with intense psychological preparation, hormone therapy and a period of transition, gender re-assignment surgery can not be completed until all these steps are completed successfully. On a promising note, stu dies conducted on overall satisfaction of patients who receive GRS overwhelmingly show that patients now feel a greater quality of life and are satisfied with their decision of gender re-assignment. References Bullough, 1975. Transexualism in History, Archives of Sexual Behavior, 4(5). January 18, 2009. Edgerton, Knorr, Callison, 1970. The Surgical Treatment of Transsexual Patients, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 45(1). January 18, 2009. Goddard, Vickery, Terry, 2007. Development of Feminizing Genitoplasty for Gender Dysphoria, Journal of Sexual Medicine, 4(4). January 19, 2009. Hage, Karim, Laub, 2007. On the Origin of Pedicled Skin Inversion Vaginoplasty: Life and Work of Dr. Georges Burou of Casablanca, Annals of Plastic Surgery, 59(6). January 18, 2009. Lawrence, 2003. Factors Associated with Satisfaction or Regret Following Male-to-Female Sex Reassignment Surgery, Archives of Sexual Behavior, 32(4). January 19, 2009. Lawrence, 2006. Patient-Reported Complications and Functional Outcomes of Male-to-Female Sex Reassignment Surgery, Archives of Sexual Behavior. January 18, 2009. Namba, Sugiyama, Yamashita, Tokuyama, Hasegawa, Kimata, 2008. Phantom erectile penis after sex reassignment surgery, Acta Medica Okayama, 62(3). January 18, 2009. Ramachandran, McGeoch, 2007. Occurrence of phantom genitalia after gender reassignment surgery, Medical Hypotheses, 69(5). January 18, 2009. Selvaggi, Monstrey, Ceulemans, T’Sjoen, De Cuypere, Hoebeke, 2007. Genital Sensitivity after sex reassignment surgery in transsexual patients, Annals of Plastic Surgery, 58(4). January 18, 2009. Zandman-Goddard, Solomon, Barzilai, Shoenfeld, 2007. Lupus Erythematosus Tumidus Induced by Sex Reassignment Surgery, The Journal of Rheumatology, 34(9). January 19, 2009. Hock, 2007. Human Sexuality, Gender: Expectations, Roles, and Behaviors, 373-374 385-386. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Research Papers on Transsexuals and those who choose gender re-assignment surgeryInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesMoral and Ethical Issues in Hiring New EmployeesResearch Process Part OneMind TravelThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug Use19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraAnalysis Of A Cosmetics AdvertisementPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyCapital PunishmentMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever Product

How Much Information Will an Individual Store in His or Her Iconic Memory essays

How Much Information Will an Individual Store in His or Her Iconic Memory essays How Much Information Will an Individual Store in His or Her Iconic Memory? How much information will an individual store in his or her iconic memory? In a given time, individuals are able to perceive more information than they can verbally encode. This is the process by which a visual stimulus is transformed to neurons to enable the brain to store information in the immediate memory. The rate of transfer is how fast an individual can encode something in a given time, which is stored in the immediate or short-term memory. It is stated that visual input can be stored in some medium, that later will be recalled. When the duration of the stimulus is limited, information is not properly encoded from a stimulus to a verbal code and it is lost from immediate memory. This is a cognitive process. The term icon was introduced by Neisser (1967) to refer to the brief persistence of information from a visual display after the display is no longer present. Early experimenters, such as Erdman and Dodge (1898), had been concerned with this phenomenon and asked ho w much information could be acquired at a single fixation reading. The typical finding from briefly presenting a set of letters and having the subjects report as many letters as possible (full-report) was that the perceptual span was 4 to 5 letters. In replicating Sperlings experiment we hope to see why iconic memory as well as duration recall is limited. He has shown that the duration of an icon has to do with the ability of an individual to encode the visual information. One limitation to the study of the icon is, its very brief duration. As individuals begin reporting the contents of the icon, it is already disappearing. Sperling invented the partial-report technique to overcome this difficulty. His third experiment is being replicated to understand the problem at hand. He used manipulations to control the rate at which i...