Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory free essay sample

Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory identifies 5 environmental systems that act with bi-directional influences amongst context and individuals to describe human development. From most intimate to least intimate, the components of this theory include: microsystems, mesosystems, exosystems, macrosystems, and chronosystems (Berk, 2010). This paper will describe how each of these systems shapes an individual’s life progression by analyzing their effects at the ages of twenty-five and forty-five on an interviewee, Kitty. These ages were chosen specifically because of the significant gap in their maturity levels. The majority of people experience different settings and relationships as young adults than they do later in their life and therefore the contexts the individual faces will be appropriately different at each of the two time periods. The most immediate connections and activities that are made on a day-to-day basis fall under the category of a microsystem (Berk, 2010). The birth of Kitty’s first daughter falls under this level of Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory. We will write a custom essay sample on Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page At the age of twenty-five, Kitty’s daughter became the center of her attention and therefore one of the most important microsystems in her life at this time. She gave her child support, comfort, and everything necessary for survival, while the child motivated her mother to mature and take on more responsibility. This is an example of how there is always a bi-directional influence of the context on the individual. This system can also be found later in the development of Kitty’s life in her relationship with close friends. Now, at the age of forty-five her children no longer live at home, and Kitty’s microsystem focus has shifted to the relationships she has forged with close friends. On Friday Nights, Kitty and her husband go out to dinner with another couple, the Jensen’s thus providing each other with friendship and advice. The next stage in the Ecological Systems Theory, known as the mesosystem, is comprised of the interactions between multiple microsystems (Berk, 2010). Kitty worked as a secretary at the age of twenty-five. The relationships she has created at work are considered mesosystems to how she interacts with her child and husband at home. When there would be an altercation at work she would come home after having a bad day and reflect this behavior in how warm and inviting she was towards her daughter and husband. This system can work vice versa also. If her daughter is up sick all night, it will show in how irritable she is towards her co-workers the next day. These two microsystems, though nonrelated both have a bi-directional effect on Kitty and on each other. Even though Kitty’s microsystems have changed throughout time, this exchange can still be found in her forties, specifically forty-five. While it is no longer her baby that would influence or be influenced by Kitty and her outside relationships this trend is still relevant. Take for example her newest microsystem, Mr. and Mrs. Jensen. If Kitty has an altercation with her boss on a Friday while at work she is no longer in the mood to go out to dinner with them that night as she normally would. The microsystem she has with her boss effects the microsystem she has with her close friends. The third level of Bronfenbrenner’s model is the exosystem in which outside settings influence the individual. While these circumstances do not directly involve Kitty, they still have some kind of impact on her immediate surroundings (Berk, 2010). An example of how she is affected by societal forces is when the Challenger Shuttle exploded in 1986. While Kitty had no direct link to the Challenger mission, its impact brought her community as a whole closer together and in exchange created more microsystems for her. This same environment can be found !3 when Kitty is forty-five. Around this time the war in Iraq had begun and because of it her community had grown closer together to support those who had gone overseas to fight. The final stage of the Ecological Systems model is the macrosystem or the cultural contexts the individual is immersed in (Berk, 2010). The support or lack thereof by the community falls into this category. At twenty-five, Kitty lived in a poorer neighborhood where there was very little support from the institutions and community organizations that are usually present in the more affluent neighborhoods. These can include good day cares, quick emergency assistance, and community leaders that have its member’s interests at heart. By the time Kitty reached age forty-five her socioeconomic status had increased to an upper-middle class level where she is living in a nice neighborhood with all of the above mentioned community institutions. This can be traced back to when her first daughter was born and the microsystem it created. Having a child pushed Kitty to grow and work harder to make a better life for herself thus being an integral part in her development to where she is at this stage of her life. The chronosystem in Bronfenbrenner’s model represents time. Internal and external forces work side by side to influence human development. People can change their development through their choices or the environment can change it for them (Berk, 2010). Adapting at age twenty-five and becoming a more mature individual after having a child is an example of how Kitty fits into the chronosystem. By the time she has reached forty-five, this adaptation has caused a much different life course than the one she had previously been on. Through this paper I learned that the five-systems in the ecological model created by Bronfenbrenner, work interchangeably to influence the development of a person’s life. Each area of the model has an equally important affect on maturation and helps to shape individuals into !4 what they are today. This showed me that while we influence our environment so too does our environment influence us and this interplay between the two is the foundation of the Ecological Systems Theory.

Environmental Science in Today’s World Essays

Environmental Science in Today’s World Essays Environmental Science in Today’s World Essay Environmental Science in Today’s World Essay In a market economy, food flows in the direction on the economic demand. Need is not taken into consideration. This statement is a justification of the realities of life in today’s world. Various people have different needs, but in order for this needs to be fulfilled, that person should be willing and able to acquire it. The willing part is easy to fill in, but sadly, not all of us could continue with the able part. Many of us lack the resources necessary to acquire our needs. This is where poverty comes in – when you have the need but you don’t have the means to acquire it. Consider this situation: there are a lot of hungry children in the world today, and at the same time, there are domesticated cats that go hungry. When these cats are hungry, their owners buy them food, thus satisfying their need for food. But for the hungry children, not all of them are able to satisfy their need for food. They have the willingness to eat, but theyâ⠂¬â„¢re not able to do so because they lack the money to buy food. They have a poor family which can’t provide their needs, unlike the hungry cats whose owners are able to buy their cat food. This is the underlying theme in Environmental Science itself, wherein environmental problems have a cultural and social context, wherein man and his society directly or indirectly affects the environment. That is why it is necessary for us to comprehend the roles of the society, culture and economics in order to solve these problems. These problems and interactions revolve on man, and he is the only one who can solve it. Also, human survival is said to depend on the practices of development so that it could attain sustainable systems, wherein it could support the coming generations of man, without jeopardizing his needs today. This requires proper management of common resources so that it would last for a long time. Also, conservation and development should go hand and hand with each other so that people can live their lives to the fullest, and this is the concept of sustainable development. References: Environment.   2005. March 12 2007. usgs.gov/themes/environ.html. Environmental Science.   2007. March 12 2007. collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/sub_envsci.html?envsci.

Sexual discrimination in South Korea Research Paper

Sexual discrimination in South Korea - Research Paper Example Sexism also propagates in personal views as well as instances that have an impact in the existence of individuals of another sex. For instance, a person looking for work may encounter discriminatory appointing activities, or if employed, unequal treatment or compensation compared to workers who are of the opposite sex (Macionis and Linda 298). In addition, sexual harassment is also a form of sexism or sexual discrimination. In contrast, sexual harassment is a more emotionally impactive, expressive, and extreme form of sexism. In all the countries of the world, it is illegal to harass an individual because of the individual’s sex. Harassment can entail unwelcome sexual advances, physical or verbal harassment of a sexual form, sexual harassment, and requests for sexual favors. Nonetheless, sexual harassment can also comprise offensive statements about an individual’s sex. For instance, it is unlawful to harass a female member of the population by making unpleasant statements about females in general (MacKinnon 121). The harasser and the victim can be from either sex, or also, the harasser and the victim can be of identical sex. Although laws of different countries do not outlaw cases that are not extremely serious, offhand statements, or restrained teasing, harassment is unlawful when it is extremely severe or frequent that it establishes an offensive or hostile environment or, in an employment situation, when it results in an undesirable employment verdict, for example, the victim being demot ed or fired.

Applying Theory to Practice Problem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Applying Theory to Practice Problem - Essay Example The Neuman model perceived clients as being in a state of dynamic equilibrium with the environment. The environment is also considered a perceptual field that surrounds each person. Neumann has focused on the stress factors and the reaction of each person to the condition that brings about the stress. She brought forth the conviction that stress factors comprise the environment. She further argues that the disequilibrium in the body system that is caused the stress is a tension. This tension acts as the stimuli, which has the potential of causing the illness to the individual that is suffering from the stress. The environment is subdivided into two components that include the internal and external factors. The internal factors comprise of the forces that occur within an individual or intrapersonal stress factor. In our case, the example is smoking which the patient is involved in after being discharged. The external environment consists of interpersonal stress factors that result from interaction with other individuals. This is in terms of changes in the roles that can bring about stress to an individual. The physiological issues in patient perspective involve things like the ability to see, hear and have mobility. There are other things like the ability to breath, sleeping, feeling, eating, speaking and the vital signs. This variable focuses on the physiological wellbeing of the patient. The psychological variables involve the non-verbal behavior, attitudes, coping pattern and response to stress. These things focus on the psychological status of the patient. Therefore, by ensuring that the patient psychological status is appropriate one wil be able to facilitate the things that ensure the well-being of the patient is considered. There are various expectations in this variable that are recognized through evaluation of the patient’s behaviors and the way the patient handles stress. The social variable reflects much on the individual’s values

Identification of Morphological and Physiological Characteristics of Unknown Bacteria Essay Example for Free

Identification of Morphological and Physiological Characteristics of Unknown Bacteria Essay Obesity is a word that everyone is currently familiar with. The media and health professionals have been working tirelessly to make the general public aware of its prevalence and detriments to society. With the staggering statistics of 32.2% prevalence in adults and a range of 13.9% to 18.9% prevalence in children and adolescents, these outstanding numbers stand out for themselves. (1) Increasing rates of obesity are associated with higher risk factors for other diseases such as; Type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases, colon cancer, diverticulitis, cancer of the endometrium, and breast cancer. (2) Knowing how to combat obesity will lead to decreased complications of the condition as well as a lower risk factor for other diseases. In light of these significant numbers, our group chose to explore the relationship of dietary fiber to aid in the prevention and treatment of obesity, therefore also reducing the incidence other diseases. Our focus was on making a hot meal with a simple modification to increase the dietary fiber available. The original recipe is a white rice pilaf with the adjustment being made with a substitution of brown rice. This change will boost the fiber intake from 0.8g per serving to 2.6g per serving. The represents a substantial jump in accessibility to a vital part of our diet. We expect favorable results in the acceptance of our modification. The texture is a bit hardier, cooking time is longer, and cost is slightly higher, but we believe the benefits outweigh these variables. The RDA recommends between 25g-30g a day, but the average American receives only 12g-13g per day.(3) With this easy alteration, we hope to increase these low numbers that the average American receives up to the reco mmended levels. Purpose The purpose of our research study is to substitute brown rice for white rice in a pilaf. This pilaf can be eaten for lunch or dinner as a hot side dish or main dish. It is intended to introduce a serving of a whole grain in the diet and with it bring an increase dietary fiber. Literature Review Introduction The frequent occurrence of this disease, as mentioned above, has produced many scientific research studies concentrating on remedying and reversing the trend. Finding and interpreting the results was uncomplicated. I used the online databases; Google Scholar, Medline, and Cinhal to gather my data. My keywords included obesity and dietary fiber. I assembled strong studies that encompassed sample sizes ranging from 11-74,091 participants, with timelines up to twelve years, and accommodating populations in the United States, Spain, Finland, Brazil, Italy, Greece, the former Yugoslavia, Japan, Serbia, Belgrade, and The Netherlands. These studies centered on three different aspects of the relationship between dietary fiber and weight. These are expanded upon below. A synopsis of the reviewed studies can be found in Appendix 1. Correlations of the Development of Obesity Seven out of the ten studies compared the connection between dietary fiber intake and the development or current status of obesity. (2, 4-9) All studies included self reported questionnaires to collect sociodemographic, health history, physical activity, anthropometric, bowel movements, and dietary data. The most common dietary form used was the Food Frequency Questionnaire, with six complying. (2, 4-5, 7-9) The last study utilized twenty-four hour recalls. (6) Other measurements included height, weight, and subscapular skinfold thickness. The entire body of findings revealed that higher fiber intake was inversely related to long term weight gain and increased body fat. Reporting measures were diverse but included the same positive trend. Higher fiber intake equated to an average weight of 1.52kg less, a 48-49% lower risk of weight gain, and a BMI that was 1.5 less when compared to low fiber intake. Some studies investigated other variables in addition to increasing fiber. One study addressed physical activity in addition to increased fiber as a therapy. (5) This study along with another explored the incorporation of a low fat diet along with the high fiber diet. In both, dietary fat was not directly associated with reduction of body fat or obesity but showed a compounding result when correlated with higher fiber. A lower BMI difference of 2.75 was established on a low fat and high fiber diet. (6) Development of Diseases related to Obesity Two studies were taken on to look into the increased use of fiber to decrease the risk of obesity leading to Type 2 diabetes. (10, 11) In a large cohort with a sample size just under 36,000, self reported dietary and weight figures were collected. (10) After six years of follow up, the statistics were analyzed and the results showed a 22% lower risk of the development of diabetes from the highest quintile of dietary fiber intake. These optimistic results were in consensus with the other study. This study had more stringent controls and divided participants into two groups. (11) One received standard care and the other received intensive exercise and dietary counseling. Oral glucose tolerance tests and body composition measurements were calculated. After a four year follow up, the high fiber group gained 75% less than their low fiber counterparts, 0.7kg gain versus 3.1kg gain, respectively. Treatment of Obesity The last study out of the ten engaged the most scientific disciplines. (12) The sample was already obese. They participated in controlled feeding in a metabolic kitchen. The cross over design allowed for six weeks on either a low or high fiber diet with a six week washout period in between them. Daily logs were kept and an OGTT and Euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp was used every two weeks for measuring results. At the conclusion, fasting insulin was 10% lower, the AUC was lowered, and the rate of glucose infusion was higher after the higher fiber diet. Limitations All of the studies employed self reporting figures in some form, whether the basis of all of their information or for at least some part. This may lead to underreporting, overreporting, or misinterpretation. The definition of a whole-grain or high fiber food varied among studies. Recipe and ingredient databases or non-comprehensive food frequency questionnaires may aid in inaccurate recordings of intake. Although the study utilizing the metabolic kitchen was the best scientific representation among the studies it is worth mentioning that it was sponsored and funded by the General Mills Corporation. This could lead to a possible conflict of interest and hence a limitation to the studies findings. Conclusion The complete compilation of studies supports the purpose of our recipe modification. Each emphasized the importance of replacing low fiber foods with fiber rich foods to help prevent or reduce weight gain. The significant correlation between fiber and obesity has been established in this review. The protective role of fiber, along with physical activity and dietary fat, should be included in advice and management therapies tailored to this condition and other related to it. Materials and Methods For our subjective evaluation we designed three separate score cards; demographic, evaluation, and preference. Samples of the score cards can be found in Appendix 2. Sociodemographic For the demographic background we included questions regarding age range, household income range, ethnicity, and educations. We also included six questions probing background information on exposure and open-mindedness of our products.

Our Barbies, Ourselves Summary Essay -- essays research papers

Our Barbies, Ourselves Summary In an article in Interview Magazine, Emily Prager discuses her opinions of Mattel's toy doll Barbie being designed by Jack Ryan, husband to Zsa Zsa Gabor, and designer of military missiles. The concept that a doll for young girls was designed by such a person greatly shocked Prager." Suddenly a lot of things made sense to me" says Prager. The element that Ryan designed Barbie may explain some of the key aspects of the doll itself. Although Barbie was created as a toy for girls, the sexual nature of the doll suggests it was created for the pleasure of men and envy of women. Prager compares the figure of Barbie to the kind of women who would be seen in the Playboy mansion or be a frequent guest on explicit television shows. This is the image of a mans... Our Barbies, Ourselves Summary Essay -- essays research papers Our Barbies, Ourselves Summary In an article in Interview Magazine, Emily Prager discuses her opinions of Mattel's toy doll Barbie being designed by Jack Ryan, husband to Zsa Zsa Gabor, and designer of military missiles. The concept that a doll for young girls was designed by such a person greatly shocked Prager." Suddenly a lot of things made sense to me" says Prager. The element that Ryan designed Barbie may explain some of the key aspects of the doll itself. Although Barbie was created as a toy for girls, the sexual nature of the doll suggests it was created for the pleasure of men and envy of women. Prager compares the figure of Barbie to the kind of women who would be seen in the Playboy mansion or be a frequent guest on explicit television shows. This is the image of a mans...

Reading methods

English 1001 requires you to take additional classes including English 105 and 106, personally I do not like this method of classes but I do enjoy my 105 class out of all of them, because of this I am always given tons of reading material! In my 1001 class I recently read an article called â€Å"O. K. Glass† by Gary Shteyngart which is an article about the glasses developed by Google that can take pictures, record video, enable video chat with another person over Skype, and many other functions.When I was reading this article about 2 weeks ago it became extremely confusing to figure out ho was talking either the author or the person he was interviewing. I used this article to write a critical examination essay, examining the aspects of the article and deciding whether I agreed with the author or not. The Reading was about how the author was able to get ahold of a pair Google Glass and he was invited by Google to attend their Google Basecamp, which was to teach him about the fu nctions of Google Glass and all the possibilities using these glasses could produce.Shteyngart went around interviewing people on what they thought of Glass and also conducted his wn tests on it as a part of this article. For this reading I chose KWL+, personally I feel this strategy works the best for me it helps me remember what I read and shows me what I already knew. Some of the questions I came up with for this reading were why did Google not make the glasses compatible with Apple products, I realize they are competitors but more than 70% of the population that would buy Google Glass has an Apple IPhone.The reason you want the glasses to be compatible is because when they are synced the glasses they will show your phone screen through the lasses and you are also able to have a phone call without holding your phone. I also wondered about the quality of the camera on the glasses, considering the glasses are fairly small I wondered if it was as good as an IPhone camera. What I did learn from using KWL+ was that the audio recording on the glasses sounds like you are underwater when you talk, definitely something Google needs to work on.Also this accessory will only appeal to those willing to pay a hefty price tag of $1 500 for this pair of tech glasses. Even with the price tag in consideration almost everyone thinks hey are awesome: â€Å"that is so dope' says a college studentm (O. K. Glass). I believe Google Glass definitely has a place in todays society of ever advancing technology, 10 years ago something like this would be unheard of as well as way over the price tag of $1500.If Google is able to work out the kinks with the compatibility with Apple products I think the glasses will sell even better, and also working out the issues with the voice recognition. Shteyngart's article was relatively unbiased, it really did a great job of focusing on what the people thought of the glasses and what didn't work and hat worked straight forward and no deceptive sta tistics were in the article. One thing that helps Google Glass is that it is the first of its kind, nothing like this is available anywhere else.The glasses are scheduled to be released in 2014 so we will have to wait and see if Google is able to work out the kinks with its product. I plan to research the Glasses when the first real reviews come out in 2014 because I am excited to see if they are really worth buying. I will definitely use the KWL+ strategy again because it works the best for me and helps me retain information doesn't work well I will use ole faithful, KWL+.