Conceptual Framework Essay Example for Free

Conceptual Framework Essay The crossing of genders has been a hurdle that society has stumbled to accept since the beginning of time. Early hypotheses about the so-called cause of homosexuality originated from the psychodynamic perspective that men became gay because of a dysfunctional family system in which they were emotionally enmeshed with their mothers and had a distant relationship with their father. As a result, the thought of changing one’s sex immediately becomes a staple of criticism, despite the psychological effect it could have on the individual. Yet, Imani, a man who lives life as a woman, successfully copes with work, intimate relationships, family and peer relationships, and has developed a positive assessment of self. Imani is a resilient, creative, and resourceful individual, who has overcome societal myths that a transgender cannot function normally in society. Thus, this essay will attempt to outline Imani’s life journey and compare it to Hutchinson’s (2008) common risk and protective factors, while revealing how she copes with personal and professional relationships according to Werner and Smith (2001) ratings of the quality of adult adaptation and what she attributes her success. Six Criteria of Coping Understanding and coping with cultural differences becomes crucial when attempting to come out about gender or sexual identity. Social constructionist perspective suggests that â€Å"sexual orientation unfolds within a context of environmental or social influences† (Morrow Messinger, 2006, pp. 61). Growing up poverty stricken, Imani learned to cope at an early age. The eldest of six, Imani grew up without a positive male role model and poor, while dealing with sexual desires for the same sex. â€Å"I use to pretend like I was attracted to girls because that was the normal thing, but since I was twelve, I had sexual desires for other boys† (Imani, personal communication, February 6 2009). Therefore, recognizing her gender identity at an early age, but able to cope with the stigmas of society involved Imani’s ability to reconcile competing demands from the dominant society. In addition, feelings for the opposite sex thwarted Imani from forming peer groups at an early stage in her life. â€Å"Many gay men do not accomplish normal development tasks of adolescence, such as forming a peer group†¦therefore, when experiencing some of the emotionality of teenagers as adults in their twenties or older, there is dissonance between chronological age and developmental tasks they may be struggling with† (Mallon, 2008, pp. 150). Normally, this would have had an unfavorable effect, but, it had a favorable effect on Imani’s life. For example, Imani is a leader in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. She mentors young individuals that are dealing with gender identity issues. Imani has also been in a long term intimate relationship for fifteen years; which induces her happiness. â€Å"When I was growing up, being gay was taboo, but, today you can speak out about who you are and feel comfortable, so I’m taking full advantage of every opportunity and helping others who may feel isolated as well† (Imani, personal communication, February 6, 2009). Even in analyzing her relationship with her siblings, Imani is respected and accepted wholeheartedly by her entire family. This could be attributed to two major reasons. Firstly, Imani was a defiant child, but, she also helped rear her brothers and sisters, which established a sense of respect from them early on. She also was defiant and never conformed to the norm when instructed to complete a task. For example, if her mother instructed her to go right, she would go left. Secondly, unlike people in a cohort group born in the eighties, which are more adept to come out sooner rather than later, Imani made her decision to transform at age thirty-eight. â€Å"Coming out is a critical issue in the process of identifying, some people do not go through this process early in life† (Kane-DeMaios Bullough, 2006, pp. 10). For this reason, when Imani revealed her decision to become a woman, she perhaps displayed a defiant attitude, not to mention that her mother was supportive of her decision, likely instilled strength, support and understanding from her siblings as well. As a result, Imani shares a strong and supportive bond with her brother and sisters. Although Imani has been resilient in gaining acceptance from peers and family, her professional success is equally astonishing. Imani’s was employed with Phillip Morris, Inc, when she decided to transform. However, her employers were not accepting of her identity change, so, they increased her workload and refused to give her a stable schedule. To combat this deliberate injustice, she filed a grievance, several weeks later she was laid off. Werner and Smith (2001) noted that one of the main qualities of adult adaptation is work. â€Å"The individual is employed and satisfied with work† (pp. 36). â€Å"My former job was horrible at accepting me for who I was, so I decided to make a move and find employment elsewhere; where the people would make me feel comfortable and I would enjoy what I was doing. (Imani, personal communication, February 6, 2009). Imani is now gainfully employed as a supervisor with a prominent Medicaid service provider. Imani states, â€Å"There’s good energy at work. My colleagues respect me to the upmost and I enjoy helping clients. † Clearly, Imani’s ability to get past the ridicule of a former employee and successfully find employment without becoming discouraged about her gender identity is another emphasis of her resiliency. However, Imani contributes her success to having the courage to live as a transgender to education. Enrolling in VCU’s fine art program during the 70’s broadened my mindset about the world around me and myself, which has helped me become who I am today† (Imani, personal communication, February 6, 2009). Without question, academia can enhance an individual’s perception about the world around them, but, â€Å"the concept of accommodation is an important one in understanding the adaptation of transgender people† (American, 2009,  ¶ 3). Consequently, with Imani having the accommodation of a close knit, supportive family and long term partner has definitely added to her success. Therefore, it is should be pointed out that some risk and protective factors are inherent in the nature of resilient people. Risk and Protective Factors Werner and Smith (2001) noted that even in infancy there was something different about the high-risk children who never developed serious problems. They were active, affectionate, good-natured infants, alert and autonomous toddlers. One protective factor associated with Imani’s success was her development of advanced self help skills, which she acquired early in her life course. For instance, Imani learned early to cope with gender identity issues, despite being reared during a time when homosexuality and cross dressing were deemed taboo. In addition, coping with putting her childhood on hold while helping her mother take care of her siblings, Imani developed an identity of a leader. Evidently, this created strength of mind, which more than likely had an influence on the way Imani set out to accomplish goals or agendas. People who are heterosexual in orientation do not have to ponder on how to develop a heterosexual identity. In contrast, transgender people have as their task the â€Å"development of an identity that runs counter to the heterocentric culture in which they are socialized. † They must â€Å"come to terms with having a sexual orientation that is socially ridiculed, and they must formulate a sense of identity as a transgender person† (Morrow Messinger 2006, pp. 85). Although Imani’s early development of advanced self-help skills has played a pivotal role in her success during her life course, she still faced the risk factor of growing up in poverty. Coincidentally, this did not have a negative effect on her schooling or personal accomplishments. Hutchison (2008) suggest, â€Å" poverty alone is much less of a risk than extended poverty. Imani’s life serves as a perfect example for this suggestion. For example, Imani did not continue the family trend of living in poverty. Determined to set the pace for the rest f her siblings, she rose above the line of poverty in her early twenties. She graduated from high school and successfully obtained a college degree. One could raise the question, if her role as the older sibling, which induced a sense of responsibility, while trying to understand her identity issues, kept her from being vulnerable to the risk of falling off track, because she was preoccupied with the task of taking care of her brother and sisters, rather than the poverty situation in front of her. Undoubtedly, it is apparent that Imani’s deprivations growing up did not lead to a trajectory of failure. Hutchison (2008) points out that positive impact of historical events can reverse disadvantages in a person’s life trajectories. Therefore, being torn between the role of patriarch and matriarch at an early age, clearly, had a positive effect on Imani’s life. Conclusively, Imani’s life has been filled with many extenuating effects of internal oppression at an early age, which she was able to overcome at a later stage in her life cycle. The major turning point in her life was enrolling in college; which has made her a resilient, creative, and resourceful individual who possess much strength. Yet, born during a time when social reform was at its peak, Imani serves as a perfect example of resiliency, success and normalcy.

The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn: Critique :: Free Essays

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Critique Biography Mark Twain, the pseudonym of Samuel Clemens, was, as a literary writer, a genius. His use of numerous literary devices throughout the novel are quite unique. Examples of them would be, irony; "Here was a nigger, which I had as good as helped to run away, coming right out and saying that he would steal his children - children that belonged to someone that had done me no harm." p. 88; and colloquial enunciation; I ast 'm if dey 'uz gwyne to grab a young white genlman's propaty, en git a hidin for it?" p. 112 Samuel Clemens was a very controversial writer in his time. Although he was fiercely criticized, he was among the first writers to incorporate views other than that of a reverential main character into his stories, and he was also a primary user of colloquial enunciation. Plot Synopsis The plot is, as the title suggests, about the adventures of an unruly and carefree boy named Huckleberry Finn. The novel depicts the 1900's southern social climate in a manner that is not only satirical, but psychoanalytically intuitive. In it, Huck, as he is commonly known, runs away with a slave named Jim. As they travel along the Mississippi river, in the southern region of the United States, they undergo many extraordinary adventures. Analysis One of the most predominant themes in this novel is that of deception. Deception, in one form or another, is used with an avid consistency throughout the story. Two personifications of deception were the characters, King and Duke. They were "entrepreneurs" of deception (which is a polite way of saying hustlers). Samuel Clemens writes about them so ingeniously, that after a while the reader is able to understand the true nature of these tricksters, and that most of what they utter is either fabrication or a twisted truth.

Community Service Argument Essay

Community Service Argument Green Bay High Schools are being faced with a very controversial issue, which revolves around whether or not community service hours are needed to graduate. High schools are arguing that 24 hours of community service are needed to graduate from their facility of learning, but many frustrated students are voicing protests to this demand. This situation has caused much controversy among the school system and many arguments have risen in support and against this community service issue. Supporters of the community service project argue that if students fulfill their 24 hours of community service in high school they will develop into upstanding pillars of the community. They believe that students will become better aware of what the real world is like by doing community service and giving back to their community. Students will learn valuable life lessons by participating in community service and will feel good about themselves for helping others in need. Protestors have struck back with a very solid argument. They feel that if high school students are forced to do community service they will begin to see it as a punishment and as something that they have to do because it is required instead of something that they want to do because it is the right thing to do. Students will in the future look back at the community service projects that they were forced to do throughout high school and will continue to carry a negative outlook on community service for the entirety of their lifetime. Another idea that the protestors give about this community service issue is time constraints will make it close to impossible for high school students to fill the necessary 24 hours needed to graduate. High school students have an enormous amount of things going on in their lives. They attend school daily for 7 hours, participate in extra-curricular activities, and have part-time jobs. High school students have such a limited amount of time for themselves, as it is that by tacking on another time-consuming project like community service is ridiculous. Supporters argue back that high school students only need to fulfill 24 hours of community service throughout 4 years, that really isn’t asking a whole lot of time commitment. If students budget their time and start the community service when they are a freshman all they need to do is an hour every other week and they will still be done  with a year or so to spare. A final controversial issue that pops up is transportation. The protestors argue that freshman and sophomores in high school do not have their driver’s license, so how are they expected to get to their community service site when their parents or friends are at work or just to busy to give them a ride. Unless the school offers a means of transportation for the students there really is no solution to this problem. The supporters argue that students can find community service projects close to home or if they live in the country find another student to car pool with. Forcing students to complete 24 hours of community service in high school in order to graduate is a very controversial issue. Both sides have solid arguments about why community service should or should not be forced upon students. Community service is a wonderful thing that everyone should be required to do at some point in their life, but are high school students mature and responsible enough to take on community service projects at this stage in their life?

Dna Polymerase Gene Expression, Transcription And...

DNA is the genetic material of cells and the production of RNA and/or proteins from the information stored in DNA is called gene expression. There are two steps in gene expression, transcription and translation. Transcription starts off inside the cell, specifically where DNA resides, in the nucleus. The process of transcription is then executed by the enzyme, RNA polymerase which then makes mRNA. Here is a summary of the steps; First the RNA polymerase binds to the DNA strand at a specific nucleotide sequence of the gene (promoter). Then it unwinds and unlinks the two strands of DNA. After that it uses one of the DNA strands as a guide or template. Then it matches new nucleotides with their complements on the DNA strand (remember RNA has uracil instead of thymine). Then it binds these new RNA nucleotides together to form a complementary copy of the DNA strand (mRNA). Then it stops when it encounters a termination sequence of nucleotide bases which is the stop codon. mRNA could happily live in a single-stranded state (as opposed to DNA s desire to form complementary double-stranded helix). In prokaryotes, all of the nucleotides in the mRNA are part of codons for the new protein. However, in eukaryotes only, there are extra sequences in the DNA and mRNA that don t code for proteins called introns. This mRNA is then further processed the introns get cut out, the coding sequences get spliced together, a 7-methyloguanosine cap is added to one end of mRNA, and poly-A tailShow MoreRelatedGene Expression in Eukaryotes696 Words   |  3 Pages Gene expression in eukaryotes can be broken down into three stages. These stages include Transcription, RNA processing, and Translation. These steps are similar to gene expression in prokaryotes but RNA processing is specific to gene expression in eukaryotes. Transcription Transcription happens in the cell nucleus. 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