Examine the Reasons for Changes in the Patterns of Marriage and Cohabitation in the Last 40 Years free essay sample

They would get married and have children; that was the norm for society. If a woman wanted a divorce it was very frowned upon, someone would even say it bought shame on a family. Often women would instead stay in a marriage but it would become an empty shell marriage, where a husband and wife formally remain together but there is no substance and barely any communication to the relationship. With the help of female liberation, nowadays women have more choices, whether they continue in further education, go to work, get married and have a family, or a combination of the above. It is more socially accepted that women make these choices themselves. This means more women are choosing not to get married or to get married in later life, which brings the marriage statistics down. Leading on from a change in attitudes, women have begun to choose to peruse a career instead of marriage. We will write a custom essay sample on Examine the Reasons for Changes in the Patterns of Marriage and Cohabitation in the Last 40 Years or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Women are choosing to stay in further education and make successful careers instead of leaving school and starting a family. This again is an example of changes in society as previously women married mainly for financial support. In the late 1980s, early 90’s there was a gender-quake. This is when a gender causes changes to law and society; in this case women caused this gender-quake. Due to the fact that women were and still are perusing their own careers first, meant they no longer needed a husband to gain financially stability, they created it themselves. This meant they began to get married later or chose not to get married at all, which has added to the decline of marriages. Brenda Almond (2006) stated that the family was fragmenting. People are nstead going after their own individual needs. So women choose to get married later or not at all. The New Right argues that this fragmentation and the decline in marriage are harmful to society. It causes maternal deprivation of children, as they do not get the emotional support a female figure is supposed to provide in a family structure. Thus causing the next generation to be socialized unsuccessfully. Another reason marriage is on a decline is because of secularization. Secularization means a decline in religion. This is affecting marriage rates, as marriage is a religious ceremony, so if religion declines naturally one would expect marriage rates to decline. A reduction in religion means there is less pressure on people to get married, as marriage is a very traditional concept in many world religions as it creates a bond between a couple. It is not only a contract in law, it is a contract to God, so decrease in faith means a decrease in marriage as people are choosing not to create a contract with God as they no longer believe. This creates a decline in marriage rates. Adding on to the decline in marriage is alternatives. People are loosing faith but do not loose the want to be with someone or commit to someone, so end up looking for other means to be with each other. An example is cohabitation. Many people now cohabit with their partner, before or instead of getting married. Robert Chester (1985) argued that this form of cohabitation is like a ‘trial marriage’. People live together to see how compatible they are but don’t have a legal tie. They believe it is easier to get out of the relationship, as there is no contract. People may also cohabit for financial reasons. Weddings can be very expensive, so by cohabitating you are still showing you are together and commit but you haven’t had to muddle through a financial struggle to get there. Since 2002 cohabitating couples have the same rights as married couples, so some people may not see the point of marriage if they can have the same relationship just without a legal contract. Because of this marriage is on a decline. Finally due to divorce, marriage rates are on a decline. Allan and Crowe argue that people are only together to meet their wants and needs. Once these wants and needs are met, you move onto someone else. This creates a decrease in marriage as people may not want to make the commitment of marriage if it isn’t going to last. Also if they do make the commitment of marriage, if the wants and needs of the marriage have been met, there is no longer a point of being together, so the couples get divorced. McRae (1999) stated that the main reason couples live together is because of love. If the couples don’t love each other anymore, there isn’t a point of staying together and/or being married. Radical feminists believe the increased divorce rates are because, women realize they are being oppressed under the patriarchal led household and because of factors like the gender-quake, women are more confident to reject the male dominated household. Postmodernists argue that divorce is the individual’s freedom to end a relationship when it doesn’t meet the demands/needs of the couple. This creates more diverse family structures. However functionalists argue the increasing divorce rate doesn’t prove marriage is under threat. It is just the result of peoples’ high expectations of marriage. Also high rates of re-marriages show people still have commitment to the idea of marriage. Another pattern seen in the last 40 years is the increase in lone parent families. This is partly due to alternatives. There is much less social stigma related to sex outside of marriage, so couples may choose the alternative and cohabit and have a family. Rosnell suggests there is a blurring between friendships and sexual relationships. This could mean a child is conceived without a couple being married. As Allan and Crowe also suggest, if peoples wants and needs are met then they move onto someone else, this could create an increase in lone parent families, as a woman could get pregnant while she is cohabiting, but once the wants and needs of that relationship are met, they may break up and so the child is bought up in a single parent household. Also because of cultural diversity some ethnic minority families have patterns of single parent hood due to their own culture. For example over 50% of Afro-Caribbean families with children are single parent families. Berthoud (2003) found that attitudes of Afro-Caribbean women were characterized by ‘modern individualism’. Afro-Caribbean women are more likely to be employed than their Afro-Caribbean equivalents, so women rationally weigh up costs and benefits of living with the fathers and concluded the men were an unreliable source of income and potentially a financial burden. These women preferred to be economically independent, so chose not to get married and raised the children in single-parent households. In conclusion, marriage is on the decline, but remarriages have increased. This does support a functionalist view that people still commit to the idea of marriage. However people also see marriage as a long- term commitment and so often choose to cohabit as a form of trial marriage. As Bernades (1997) points out most people get married at some stage in their life. I don’t think there is a wrong or right relationship or people should or should not get married. I think it is up to the individuals to come to a decision, as it is their relationship. There is not one perfect mold relationship that people can try to be. Instead they can try to get the best out of it for themselves and their partner.

The Highs And Lows Of A True Greek Hero Essays - Odyssey

The Highs And Lows Of A True Greek Hero Essays - Odyssey The Highs And Lows Of A True Greek Hero The Highs and Lows of a True Greek Hero Heroes are almost perfect people. Odysseus was a great Greek Hero. Just like all of us though, he had exceptional abilities and faults. You notice many examples throughout the Odyssey that which was authored by Homer. The traits you notice are his tall tales, and his extravagant curiosity. Also, he is very attractive, extremely clever, and like most heroes has great ability. Odysseus had few negative qualities. He told many tall tales throughout the Odyssey. Telling tall tales wasnt a good habit, but put for a good cause because the Goddess Athena requested him too. Being one with following the Gods, he abided by her rules and told a lie to the swineherd Eumaeus, and told him that he was from out of town and lied about his name as well. He fooled Eumaeus quite easily but didnt realize how hurt people were getting by Odysseus his absence. Other than the tall tale telling, Odysseus was also very curious. When they reached the island of the Cyclopes, the curious Odysseus let his curiosity go to work. He noticed the big cave of Polyphemus and believed they might be nice and humble towards strangers, but he was wrong! He entered the cave out of curiosity of the people, and ran into Polyphemus, the giant Cyclops. His curiosity caused the life of some of his men. On the other hand, Odysseus had many good qualities though to go along with the negative ones. He had looks, strength, and extreme ability. Odysseus proved very clever while at the isle of the Cyclopes. After his curiosity killed some men of his, he desired to escape. He cleverly decided to get Polyphemus drunk on wine, and to blind his one and only eye! This scheme worked, but now they had to escape! He came up with the idea to strap him and his companions to strap themselves to the bottom of Polyphemus sheep. In the morning, Polyphemus counted his sheep and guarded the cave well so they could not escape, but with them under the sheep, Polyphemus was helpless! This clever scheme worked and they set off for the isle of Aeolus. Odysseus had many women lusting for him. After all, heroes are almost always handsome. One of the first women to fall for him was Circe. Circe was a goddess of the wind. She took him hostage on her island, but his single-mindedness and the messenger God Hermes helped him survive. Also, the goddess Calypso fell for this hero. She kept him captive on her island for 8 years hoping he would love her, but he never did. Odysseus captors must have proven him attractive if they thought they loved him. Another of Odysseus positive traits was his great strength. In many situations he proved this ability. While floating from Calypsos island, he came to the Land of the Phaeacians. While right outside the rocks to this island, he treaded water for a whole day non-stop until he found a safer passage into this land. Also, Odysseus showed great strength near the end of this story, when he helped slay 108 suitors. One hundred eight suitors had moved into Odysseus palace and tried to win his spouse. This angered Odysseus to a point where he killed viciously for his land of Ithaca. Though it is bad to kill, it is even harder to kill 108 grown men. Through Odysseus long journey home we saw all of his traits come out. Traits both good and bad, more good than bad. This journey remained long because of his love for someone, which is one of the best characteristics to have. Bibliography Homer, The Odyssey; Adapted Classic New Jersey ; Globe Book Company, 1992

Diplomacy game Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Diplomacy game - Essay Example The result of the war led tans to occupy more territory than the Zionist movement in the 20th century. During the 1919 period, the greens stated at the Paris Peace Conference that they forcefully wanted to acquire the tans Jordan Valley (now West Bank) and Litani (Lebanon’s river); for its economy stability. During the 1967 war, the tans exclusively took over the West Bank’s waters and the Galilee Sea but lost Litani. Through acquisition of the two large water bodies, the tans gained 80% of fresh water (1 billion m2 annually) leaving the greens with only 20%. The greens are further prohibited from using ‘their water’ by the tans belligerent military, leading them buy from the tans at inflated prices (Asser Para 13). In times when the tans and its greens-territory water diminish, the greens are normally the first victims to be victims to be victimized through water rationing. The greens agricultural economy continues to reduce due to lack of sufficient water-bodies (Asser Para 18). b) In most recent times, the tans military have been using depleted uranium weapons (DIME); Dense Inert Metal Explosive, to kill innocent civilians and children (Khan Para 6). The tans report its effort is to eradicate the greens militant groups who consistently fire against the tans. There have been diplomatic adventures to end the truce to no avail. The greens health ministry has reported numerous deaths and casualties’, majority of them being civilians and children. The weapons being used are far more advanced than NATO’s weaponry in combating terrorism. The lethal weapons are made from tungsten alloy which have massive power during explosion. After the explosion, its coverage does not reach very far about 10 meters but the people around that region are left cut and with severe burns (Khan Para 4). The tans are using the unconventional weapons against the Hamas; the greens proclaimed terrorists. Based on Khan Para 9 the tans military combated 10 sites used by the

Psychology of Learning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Psychology of Learning - Essay Example By definition, psychomotor skills refer to how the physical body responds to stimuli found in the environment. These are complex movements born out of repeated practice of various actions (e.g., driving, typing, or throwing a ball), and are measured to check an individual's ability and development. Motivation and practice frequency are the most important factors of the psychomotor domain, as well as feedback gained from experience. Here, motivation is considered to be the top consideration, because it has been proven that motivation helps increase one's speed and ability (Think Quest). Cognition is the general term to define an individual's capacity to glean and process knowledge from ideas presented to him. In fact, when Wilhelm Wundt established his laboratory in 1879 to identify and analyze human thought processes, the pioneering effort was considered the birth of modern psychology. In this domain, introspective feedback is deemed the most essential-the effect of learning as validated by one's own thoughts. The commonly-known idea of information processing falls in this category, as it studies the capability of the human mind to process specific ideas and contexts. The iconic psychologist Benjamin Bloom designed the Taxonomy of the Cognitive Domain, primarily to classify and evaluate various learning objectives in the realm of experience and identification of knowledge. On a more process-oriented level, Jean Piaget developed his own theory of cognitive development that analyzes how the human mind adapts to both abstract and symbolic thinking (Huitt, 2006). On the other hand, the affective domain of learning ascribes its history and significance to the importance of emotion. It has been acknowledged how emotion can be complex, and that it can completely affect not just one's social and personal development but plays a major role in intellectual maturity as well. Studies have proven that some of the brain's particular parts are directly associated with emotion, and through this discovery, the concept of emotional intelligence was recognized. It is important to define certain terms, often loosely used in everyday language: 1. Emotion is the result of one's mental application in processing feelings and relationships. 2. Emotions are mainly experiences, always subjective, that may include several parts-from physical, expressive, and subjective connotations. (Huitt, 2003). The significance of emotions in the learning process is definite and whole, a complete area of the process through which advancement may depend. Learning is adjudged to be in progress and working towards specific goals when these three domains are in place and are noted. Education, received in school, is the structured management of each factor, that points to achieving full mental and physical maturity. In this light, the college level is assumed to hold individuals of complete development in all domains. However, it is also at this time when a person, judging from his or her psychomotor, cognitive and affective skills, shows preference for specific areas. This is where a new branch of learning comes in, one that caters to multiple intelligences. Developed by Howard Gardner, this refers to, literally, an array of intelligences, that declares how each individual excels in various areas-and one cannot be deemed more intelligent than the other, just by

The Purpose of Determining the Main and the Basic Problems of the Unit Essay - 3

The Purpose of Determining the Main and the Basic Problems of the United States of America - Essay Example Obviously, the intensity and the mode of the practice of racism has been changed and evolved but it has not been eliminated from the society. This evolution can be explained with the help of an easy example. When a person starts to give extra privileges to a man of African American descent and treats him different from others, this is where racism kicks in. The mode of racism has been changed from ‘treat them like hell’ to ‘treat them different from others, be it in a good sense so that they feel that they are not one of us’. But the fact cannot be denied that there have been made certain efforts by the public as a whole including the state in which this element has been tried to be eliminated. For instance, let us take the example of the Boston busing desegregation. Although it was a very hard time for the administration and the people as a whole when the people of South Boston turned on the Blacks, it was an effort by the government nonetheless. It was not only the busing desegregation but Boston had even prior to this made their intentions clear in the riots and protests against the racial imbalance act. The children that were brought to South Boston suffered deep emotional stress but they laid some of the building stones in the development of eliminating the racial discrimination. The president Ronald Regan, however, had some policies which can be said to be not so much in conformity with the interests of all the races, especially the African American ones. In fact, it would not be an exaggeration if one said that the policies of Mr. Regan suggested that he had no care for the blacks of his country. For instance, let us take the example of his support of Bob Jone’s university. The university was denied the tax exemptions from the IRS. The IRS basically denied the tax exemptions to the colleges and universities which had the policy of segregation on the basis  of races.  

The Us Humanitarian Intervention Politics Essay

The Us Humanitarian Intervention Politics Essay Should the U.S. enter into military intervention in foreign countries for humanitarian reasons. In my opinion, the U.S. government made right decision about intervening with the countries in around the Mediterranean like Libya. Intervention was considered as ancient and well-established instruments of foreign policy as were diplomatic pressure, negotiations and war. From the ancient times, most countries find it advantageous to intervene in the affairs of other countries. Without any intervention to foreign countries, they would have gone through hard times in everything. The U.S. Humanitarian Intervention on Libya was carried out by international institutions and individual sovereign states and had often been related to the usage of military force. Therefore, it was perceived that it was a mean of ways to stop sovereign states from committing human rights abuse to its people. The major purpose of the U.S. Humanitarian Intervention was to provide protection and support to people in Libya. The U.S. was the most powerful nation in the world and had so many resources like army and aids, which made it to have the rights to intervene Libya (Peterson 443). The U.S. Military played roles of peacekeeper, and protector for this humanitarian intervention. The most outstanding way for this conflict was using military intervention because it immediately stopped hostility and ceased the conflict within the nation. Also, there were the issues of economics and structural problem that needed to be fixed in Libya. The U.S. Humanitarian Intervention provided the necessities for the country and helped to rebuild the corrupted buildings that were affected by the conflict. Additionally, the U.S. humanitarian intervention could deal with natural disasters and situations other than the specific conflict with the leader of country. Since the U.S. government putted the priority on human rights, the U.S. citizens thought that every human being should have freedom and should not be abused by the leader of country. The U.S. foreign policy reflected that human rights should not be violated in any of the country and should focus on preventing abuses after the Cold War (Haass). As the strongest country in the world, the U.S. used its foreign policy to promote its values of freedom and expanded the democracy throughout the world. The U.S. foreign policy reflected this ideal. However, the U.S. did not attempt to intervene militarily in every country, especially a country with limited sources. The U.S. government had to take careful consideration for making a decision about intervening on Libya because the failure of humanitarian intervention would cause so much loss financially for nothing. When the U.S. government decided about humanitarian intervention on Libya, they considered if the conflicts in Libya would lead to the big war or would harm other countries in negative way. Also, the U.S foreign policymakers had debated the use of the military on each global conflict by considering those factors. The Libya leader Qaddafi never seemed to make a clear decision on where he stood as a leader of the country. He had supported the terrorist group like Al-Queda that worked against Western countries. Also, he used many of illegal weapons that he planned to turn those to the UN after the Iraq War in 2003. Whatever his actual reasons for this, Qaddafi probably made this decision in order to preserve his power. Qaddafi established somewhat democratic programs in his government for the economics, but he made huge mistake in 2011. When a peaceful protest against his rule had begun in Benghazi (Western Libya), Qaddafi chose to respond with violence instead of peaceful negotiation. As soon as he used the violence against his own civilians, President Obama said We cannot stand idly when a tyrant tells his people there will be no mercy (Libya). As a result of the way he handled the situation, the protests got bigger and the number of dead protestors increased. As this became the big issue for the world, the Qaddafi became the issue of the world. The United States military started the NATO mission operation on March 19, 2011 ( Simon). It was the beginning phase of the U.S. Humanitarian Intervention on Libya. This was the beginning stage of U.S. involvement in support of rebels working to overthrow the dictator Moammar al-Qaddafi. It was the most recent use of American military forces for humanitarian purposes on other nation. The leader Gaddafi lost a lot of Libyas main powers to get rid of fighters who were against him. Then, his forces started to fight back and ended up killing so many civilians. Also, it looked it would not end easily because neither Qaddafis force nor the rebels did not have enough power to win the fight. But in August 2011 the rebels took over the capital Tripoli and a temporary government called the National Transitional Council took charge of the country. (Simon) After this event, Quaddafi went into hiding. He committed himself that he would rather die than giving up to the rebels. Many of the innocent people were dying from this event. So, the U.S. government decided to intervene with Libya and destroyed Libyas air defense system in 3 days. The U.S. military supported Libyan rebels fighting the ground campaign in the attempt to overthrow Qaddafi, who had been in hiding March 31, 2011 until October 31, 2011. During the intervention, the U.S. used over two hundred twenty Tomahawk mi ssiles in order to support the rebel advance on Tripoli, Libyas capital and seat of government. As a result, the Libyan National Transitional Council was able to control of Libyas government and soon Qaddafi was killed in an attack on October 31 (CNN). The death of Qaddafi officially ended the U.S. Humanitarian Intervention on Libya. Even though the U.S. intervention brought problems, it saved Libyans lives and averted a humanitarian disaster. Libyans welcomed to the U.S. Humanitarian Intervention because they had no choice except dying under Qaddafis tanks. Since other countries around Libya did not have enough power to intervene Libya, the U.S. had to take that role. Libyans should now care about the future in order to make people safe. In Libya, I thought some kind of intervention should have been done in the earlier stages. One person could not make decisions for an entire country. The U.S. government tried to prevent these types of government. Therefore, the U.S. Humanitarian I ntervention on Libya saved tens of thousands of lives. The U.S. intervention in Libya was a wise decision and a successful action. It prevented a humanitarian catastrophe in addition to security interests and oil. Nicholas D. Kristof, the New York Times Columnist, started his article with a story about an American airman and how Libyan villagers treated him. In the article, he wrote This time my reporting persuades me that most Libyans welcome outside intervention (para.7). Compare to Iraq War in 2003, the civilians of Iraq did not want the U.S. government to intervene to their country. But, Libyans actually wanted the help of U.S. force in order to overthrow the leader Qaddafi. This led the author to the conclusion that Libyans were very thankful to the coalition forces because they saved Libyans lives. Then, he mentioned many doubts about the military intervention and weighed them with few certainties: civilians would die, the Qaddafis family would be locked, and a wrong message would be sent. As the western countries declared, the mot ive behind the military intervention was to save civilians lives and a response to the Arab League and Libyan rebels who approved this intervention to prevent a disaster. When the people in the U.S. saw the civilians in Libya treated improperly, they felt sympathy toward them. According to the U.S. Foreign Policy, it essentially promoted peace, justice and protects citizens amongst international communities from human rights violations. This intervention was a reaction to the rule that the United Nations had approved. Having an International Humanitarian Law sets a standard of rules and helps to prevent international bullying, a trigger for many interventions. This law helps countries promote their national interests, which often assist in the participation of legal institutions, treaties and sets order (IHL). With the world now being closer than ever due to globalization, the development of the international community in the form of organizations such as the UN (United nations) and the EU(European Union), Globalization of the world now becomes more dependent on one another, economically, politically and socially. Therefore, the U.S. Humanitarian Intervention helped them hold elections, and appoint government officials who can carry on the duties sustain a good form of government. The U.S. intervention on Libya was not specifically aimed at violating the sovereignty of a state, but rather their purpose was to protect the basic human rights of civilian. In the article, Mohammad Ayoob wrote The proclaimed goal of humanitarian intervention, undertaken with increasing frequency during the last decade, is to protect the citizens of the target state from flagrant violations of their fundamental human rights usually by agents of the state (Ayoob 81). If a nation became a global problem, it was our responsibility to come in with military power and settle the situation. A nation that threatens lives had to be stopped. Overpowered rulers were usually the cause of these types of nations like Egypt and Libya. That was in our nature to help those who are in need of help. If the U.S. did not intervene to Libya, it could have resulted in more death of innocent civilians and might lead to the war among the countries around Libya because the economics of other countries were a lso affected by the action and behavior of Qaddafi. The U.S. humanitarian intervention can be defined as the successful intervention, which ended the suffering of civilians in Libya. Because the successful intervention of Libya, the U.S. was able to show that it was the peacemaker and dominant power in the world. Also, the civilians in Libya gained their human rights and lived much better lives than before the U.S. Humanitarian Intervention. We cannot imagine what would happen to Libya if the U.S. did not intervene. There might have been the war among the countries around Libya because the leader Qaddafi was causing so much economics crisis and harmful to the other countries. Therefore, the U.S. government made the right decision about providing peace to the civilians in Libya by using the concept of humanitarian intervention. Work Cited Ayoob, Mohammed (2002, Spring) Humanitarian Intervention and State Sovereignty, The International Journal of Human Rights, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 81 102. Haass, Richard N. Humanitarian Intervention. Rand.org. Brookings Institution, n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2013. Kristof D. Nicholas.Finding Hope in Libya.NY Times.Sep.7, 2011.Web. Nov.11,2011. Libyans Claim Gadhafi Hiding near Western Border Town This Just In CNN.com Blogs. This Just In CNN.com Blogs. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. IHL in Domestic Law.International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Home.Web.12 Nov. 2011 Peterson, Shannon, and R C DiPrizio. Armed Humanitarians: U.S. Interventions from Northern Iraq to Kosovo. International Politics, 41.3 (2004): 440-450. Web. 25 Apr. 2013. Simon Chesterman (2011). Leading from Behind: The Responsibility to Protect, the Obama Doctrine, and Humanitarian Intervention after Libya. Ethics & International Affairs, 25, pp 279-285. Web. 26 Apr. 2013. Libya: US, UK and France Attack Gaddafi Forces, BBC News Africa, March 30, 2011

The Republican Plan Should Not Be Vetoed :: Argumentative Persuasive Government Papers

The Republican Plan Should Not Be Vetoed The government of the United States has been the patriarch of the country. It has taken care of it's people for over two hundred years in times of war, recession and hundreds of other problems. But to solve these problems money had to spent sometimes in mass quantities. The World Wars not only made the US a world power but also a world bank. It has been since that time that the United States have begun it's trend towards deficit. After browsing through the Web I have a better understanding of what the deficit is, where it came from, and how it is being handled. It seems absurd that our country owes almost 5 trillion dollars. At the same time in economics we have learn the dollar value can sometimes be unimportant but the relative value that truely matters. If the whole world is in the same relative picture than the debt is not an enormous concern. As with any problem things should not be taken to either extreme at a given moment. To eliminate the debt would be a task no party could devise and in essence would be unimportant for the world economy. On the other hand money should not be spent like wild fire. Like everyone else in the country the government should spend their (our) money wisely. My opinion is that the Republican plan should not be vetoed. It needs to be instated to control the increase in the national debt and censor government spending. I do believe that the Republicans often look towards the wrong departments to make cuts in.