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White House Essay

Hydromorphone

Hydromorphone The name of the drug is called Hydromorphone. The systematic name (IUPAC) is 4,5-epoxy-3-hydroxy-17-methylmor-phinan-6-one. Hydromorphone has a chemical formula of C17H19NO3 . There are four functional groups in Hydromorphone: An Ether group A Ketone group An Amine group (tertiary) A Phenol group Stereochemistry and conformation: Hydromorphone has 4 chiral centres (Four different groups attached to a sp3 hybridised carbon one chiral centre). Therefore it has 24 = 16 stereoisomers. Carbon number 1 has R-configuration Carbon number 2 has R-configuration Carbon number 3 has S-configuration Carbon number 4 has R-configuration Hydromorphone is a semi-rigid molecule because it is composed of a five-member ring system: the phenolic ring (A), the cyclohexane ring (B), the cyclohexanone ring (C), the N-methyl piperidine ring (D), and the tetrahydrofuran ring (E). The molecule has a T shape. Rings A, B and E form a vertical plane where the C and D form the horizontal plane. Ring C exists in a chair conformation due to saturation of C-C double between C7 and 8. Ring D also exists in chair conformation. Synthesis: Commercially, Hydromorphone is made from morphine via either direct rearrangement (reflux alcoholic or acidic aqueous solution of morphine with platinum or palladium catalyst) or reduction of morphine via catalytic hydrogenation, this two reactions both produce Dihydromorphine. The Dihydromorphine then undergo Oppenauer oxidation, where it is oxidised with benzophenone in the presence of potassium tert butoxide or aluminium tert butoxide to form Hydromorphone. Drug stability: The half-life of Hydromorphone is 2.6hours through oral route, where it takes 18.6 hours for sustained release Palladone. Hydromorphone hydrochloride is affected by light, although hydromorphone hydrochloride injection may develop a slight yellowish discoloration, this change does not indicate loss of potency. Hydromorphone hydrochloride injection should be protected from light and stored at a controlled room temperature of 25 degrees C, but can be exposed to temperatures ranging from 15 to30 degrees C; freezing of the injection should be avoided. Hydromorphone hydrochloride tablets should be stored in tight, light-resistant containers, usually at 15 to30 degrees C; however, the manufacturer recommends that the 8-mg tablets be stored at 15 to 25 degrees C. Hydromorphone hydrochloride oral solution should be stored in light-resistant containers at 15 to 25 degrees C, and suppositories of the drug should be stored at 2 to 8 degrees C. Hydromorphone hydrochloride injection reportedly is physically and chemically stable for at least 24 hours in most common IV infusion solutions when protected from light at 25 degrees C. Hydromorphone is slightly soluble in water, freely soluble in alcohol and very soluble in chloroform. Formulation and packaging: In the U.K. Hydromorphone is only available in form of oral capsules and modified release capsules, which means it is released slowly to extend the length of the drugs effect. Available strengths for hydromorphone hydrochloride (Palladone ®): 1.3mg (orange/clear), net price 56-capsules pack =  £8.82; 2.6mg (red/clear), 56- capsules pack =  £17.64. Where for the modified (release Palladone ® SR): m/r, hydromorphone hydrochloride 2mg (yellow/clear), net price 56- capsules pack =  £20.98; 4mg (pale blue/clear), 56- capsules pack =  £28.75; 8mg (pink/clear), 56- capsules pack =  £56.08; 16mg (brown/clear), 56- capsules pack =  £106.53; 24mg (dark blue/clear), 56-cap pack =  £159.82. [BNF 56 page 235-236]. Lipinskis Rules: The molecular weight of Hydromorphone is 285 g/mol. (below 500) The Log P of Hydromorphone is +1.69. (lower than +5) There is only one hydrogen bond donating group, which is the hydroxyl group in Phenol. (less than 5 groups) here are only three hydrogen bond accepting groups. (less than 10 groups) The functional groups are generally stable to metabolism, i.e. hydrolysis and oxidations. According to the Lipinskis rules of five, Hydromorphone is an orally active drug. LogP and discussion of hydrophobic/hydrophilic properties: It is possible to predict the Log P of a molecule by using the Hydrophilic-Lipophilic Values (p Values) for organic fragments. This gives (+0.5 x 11) + (+2 x 1) + (-1 X 3) + (-1 X1) = +3.5. Therefore, the Predicted LogP = +3.5. Since 3.5 is greater than 0.5, hydromorphone is insoluble in water. (Soluble in water if smaller than 0.5) According to the predicted LogP, Hydromorphone is a very hydrophobic (lipophilic) drug and it can pass through the membrane layers in cell and enter the bloodstream (high absorption). Hydromorphone is insoluble in water because of its non-polar groups. They are: The long aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, i.e. cyclohexanes and the phenyl group. These non-polar groups will not interact with polar water molecules as they cannot form hydrogen bonds together and therefore insoluble. pKa and ionisation state: Hydromorphone has a pKa of 8.2 at 20 degrees C [Medicine Complete], it is weakly acidic. To calculate the percentage of ionization of Hydromorphone (weak acid) at different pH, Equation 1 can be used: Equation 1 % ionisation= 1001+antilog(pKa-pH) At pH 2: % ionization = 1001+antilog(8.2-2) = 6.31 x 10-5 % At pH 7.4: % ionization = 1001+antilog(8.2-7.4) = 13.7% At pH 10: % ionization = 1001+antilog(8.2-10) = 98.4% From the calculations on the previous page, I can conclude that only 6.31 x 10-5 % of hydromorphone is ionized at pH 2, i.e. in the stomach. Therefore, there are 100% 6.31 x 10-5 % = 99.9999% of unionised Hydromorphone which can pass through the membrane barrier and enter the bloodstream. Hydromorphone is highly absorbed by the body in stomach. Mode of action: Hydromorphone is an opioid analgesic; it reacts with the opioid mu-receptors. The mu-receptors are discretely distributed in the human brain with high density in the posterior amygdala, hypothalamus, thalamus, nucleus caudatus, putamen, and certain cortical areas. These receptors are also found in the spinal cord and gastrointestinal tract. It binds onto the mu-receptors and exerts its principle pharmacological effect on the Central Nervous System and gastrointestinal tract to produce analgesia and sedation. Hydromorphone is highly absorbed by the human body and it shows the analgesia effect very quickly once enter the body. It is 8 to 10 times stronger than morphine due to its hydrophobicity (very lipophilic). Bibliography: Samuel, B., Stanley,G., Robert, R. (2004), Process for the Synthesis of Hydromorphone, http://www.wipo.int/pctdb/en/wo.jsp?WO=2006005112IA=AU2005001002DISPLAY=DESC, Date accessed 23/04/10. Author unknown. (Date unknown), One-pot Isomerization of Morphine to Dihydromorphinone (Hydromorphone), http://www.erowid.org/archive/rhodium/chemistry/dihydromorphinones.html, Date accessed 23/04/10. Author unknown.(2006), Hydromorphone, http://www.patient.co.uk/medicine/Hydromorphone.htm, Date accessed 23/04/10. Hildebrand, K., Elsberry, D., Anderson, V. (2001), Stability and Compatibility of Hydromorphone Hydrochloride in an Implantable Infusion System, Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 22 (6), Page 1042-1047. Author unknown. (2010), Hydromorphone Suppository, http://www.drugs.com/cdi/hydromorphone-suppository.html, Date accessed 24/04/10 Lipinski, C. (2004), Lipinskis rule-of-five, http://www.bioscreening.com/reference/lipinski_rule.htm, Date accessed 24/04/10. Author unknown. (2009), Showing drug card for Hydromorphone (DB00327), http://www.drugbank.ca/drugs/DB00327, Date accessed 24/04/10. Clarkes. (2006), Clarkes Analysis of Drugs and Poisons Hydromorphone, http://www.medicinescomplete.com/mc/clarke/2009/CLK0851.htm, Date accessed 24/04/10. Author unknown. (2008), Monograph Hydromorphone Hydrochloride, http://www.medscape.com/druginfo/monograph?cid=meddrugid=11338drugname=Hydromorphone+Rectmonotype=monographprint=1, Date accessed 24/04/10. BMJ Group,. (2008). British National Formulary 56, London, RPS Publishing. Bruice, P,. (2004). Organic Chemistry, Fourth Edition,Prentice Hall ,Pearson. Lo,K,. (1998) Synthesis of N- Phenethylnorhydromorphone, https://circle.ubc.ca/bitstream/handle/2429/11862/ubc_2001-0456.pdf;jsessionid=8D12F28D380E801AE9A422C0F9CD3435?sequence=1, Date accessed 26/04/10

Homosexuality Post War

Homosexuality Post War The Democratisation of Gender after the Sexual Offences Act (1967) and How It Affects Queer Studies E.M. Forsters novel Maurice, written between 1913 and 1914, but not published after his death in 1970, is a seminal work providing a moving, personal portrayal of homosexuality and homophobia in 20th-century England. Exploration of its detailed accounts of attitudes about homosexuals and their various reactions to the discrimination they faced—for instance, denying their homosexuality and marrying; embracing their homosexuality, but discreetly; leaving the country for more open-minded cultures—serves as an excellent starting point for exploring the underlying cultural framework and values which will form the subject matter of this essay. Of no small note is that Forster, whose reputation as a literary genius, believed his own homosexuality too powerful a secret to come out, as it were, until after his death, in a way squandering his own social power and the potential to liberate both himself and other homosexuals. Britain, origin of so much cultural and political vibrancy and of the democratic principles which are now held to be self-evident in modern Western nations, had a particularly difficult time ridding itself of a virulent and persistent form of discrimination: its stubbornly conservative refusal to accept homosexuality and homosexual behaviours into the cultural norm of its society. Indiscreet homosexuals in England of the 20th century could look forward to a life of bigotry and discrimination, to say nothing of financial and personal ruin and imprisonment, as homosexuality was still a criminal offence in England until 1967. â€Å"The limits of the sexually acceptable are still there. Geographical location and economic status significantly affect how free individuals are to choose to be open about their sexual orientation. And some orientations are still problematic.† As the above quotation suggests, the issue of homosexuality remains a divisive issue. This is in spite of forty years passing since the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Britain; forty years that have also witnessed the gay community (both males and females) move in from the margins of mainstream society in order to occupy more powerful positions of authority. This has been meted out in political office, in popular culture and in the global mass media. Yet, in spite of this, there remains at the dawn of the twenty first century a sense that homosexuality is a lifestyle that stands at odds to all that decent society holds dear. Even in the United Kingdom, probably the most secular country in the world, the moral aspect of homosexuality is never far from the surface of the debate over how gay people are supposed to integrate into a predominantly heterosexual sphere. This is the crux of the debate discussed herein. For the purpose of perspective, the following essay must adopt an integrated approach, attempting to synthesise the theoretical and historiographical debates regarding the experiences of gay people in post war Britain. In this way, we can trace the social, political and legal evolution of the democratisation and liberalisation of sexuality and gender in the UK while at the same time offering a critique of the aims and achievements of the gay movement at this time. Furthermore, the continuities and changes of the homosexual landscape in post war Britain can be more accurately depicted amid the relevant academic literature of the times. A conclusion can then be sought that attempts to place the Sexual Offences Act of 1967 within its correct historical and theoretical context. First, however, a brief overview of this Act of Parliament must be ascertained so as to establish a conceptual framework for the remainder of the discussion. The Sexual Offences Act that was passed by Westminster in 1967 was a landmark piece of legislation that sought to address the harsh legal inequalities between homosexual and heterosexual people with regards to their private lives and the way in which these private lives were dictated by the public and political sphere. The impetus behind the reform of laws pertaining to homosexuality in the United Kingdom came from the Wolfendon Report, which was commissioned in 1957 to highlight the essential differences between crime and sin. Essentially, while society and the manufacturing of cultural consensus may indeed have deemed homosexuality as a sin (or a sickness) to equate it with criminality was deemed in many circles to be anachronistic and blight against post war British civilisation and its values. This is an important point and one that ought to be borne in mind throughout the discussion: the 1967 Sexual Offences Act marked the first serious attempt at the legal decriminalisation of homosexuality in the United Kingdom since the Buggery Act of 1533 when the British state first sought to wrest the issue of gay coupling away from the ecclesiastical courts and into the legal courts of the realm. Viewed through this prism, the 1967 Sexual Offences Act can be seen to be a symptom of the broader civil rights movement of the 1960s which oversaw the criminalisation of inequality relating to gender, race, creed and religion in all of the major countries of the western hemisphere. The Act could not have come about without there first having been in place the existence of liberal youth culture that was able to use the tools available within a democratic state in order to lobby the political establishment for social and cultural reform. Thus, although the Act itself has since been open to charges of hypocrisy (the result of the Act witnessed an increase rather than a decrease in the numbers of arrests of gay men for breaking the new law) and prejudice (the Act clearly and identifiably differentiates between homosexual and heterosexual people with regards to the ‘age of consent with twenty one being used for gay people in comparison to sixteen for straight people) it should nevertheless still be seen as an important milestone in the evolution of a more egalitarian British society. Certainly, in legal terms, 1967 must be seen as the starting point of any discussion with regards to the democratisation of homosexuality in post war Britain as before the advent of the Sexual Offences Act homosexual acts were seen as essentially criminal activities and therefore placed outside of the bounds of the rules, regulations and customs of decent, civilised society. Therefore, while mainstream culture and the political establ ishment may well have both publicly and privately continued to denounce homosexuality in all its forms as a sin (and preferred to keep homosexuality firmly outside of the realms of civilised society), the removal of the spectre of a criminal offence telegraphed a major turning point in the way in which gay people were viewed and treated in post war Britain. Furthermore, without the Act, the subsequent achievements of the gay movement in the UK would never have been able to begin to take place as the legal framework in which the gay movement lobbied for reform during the 1970s and 1980s would not have existed. Democratisation of sexuality in post war Britain thus begins in 1967. However, as suggested above, the 1967 Sexual Offences Act has left itself open (particularly within the gay community) to claims of being as an essentially conservative measure that was only passed due to reasons of political expediency as opposed to the political establishment in Britain actually wishing to see a tangible democratisation of sexuality. By establishing such a high age of consent for gay couples, the Act only served to cement the social stigma associated with homosexuality because after this point it was seen by law in Britain to be a coupling that was deemed unsuitable (and illegal) for young people to engage in. Considering that the teenage years are the most important stage of sexual development in both males and females, the high age of consent deliberately aimed to restrict the practice of homosexuality amongst the very demographic that would be most likely to engage in ‘experimental sexuality. This only increased the sordid image of homosexuals in Britain a t the time, implying that adult homosexual men were in some way intent upon ‘grooming young males to join their own sexual brand of subculture. Viewed through this prism, the Sexual Offences Act can be seen to be a positive legal step but likewise a negative cultural step. The increase in the number of arrests of gay men in the years that immediately followed 1967 should be seen as testimony to this ultimate perpetuation of inequality pertaining to sexuality which was the socio-political residue of the Sexual Offences Act. In this way, the myth of the permissive society was established to satisfy the libertarian ideology of the left wing of the political elite. The satisfaction and status of gay people, on the other hand, seems not to have been a consideration concerning the passing of this landmark piece of domestic legislation. In specific terms of the evolution of queer theory, the 1967 Sexual Offences Act can be seen to have helped to create fertile grounds for the blossoming of the domestic and international gay rights movement because of the way in which the Act of Parliament served to legally solidify the differences between homosexual and heterosexual people. This sense of marginalisation from mainstream society was aided by the Stonewall Riots which took place in New York City in 1969 in response to police brutality against homosexual and transgender people at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village. This episode provided the impetus behind the formation of the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) which was established in July 1969, quickly becoming a trans-national phenomenon that deeply influenced the gay rights movement in the UK. The cumulative result of the prejudices legalised in the 1967 Sexual Offences Act in addition to the prejudices brutally realised in New York City in the Stonewall Riots was to con struct a gay movement that was both durable and international. Furthermore, the perceived injustices of the 1960s also served to ally the lesbian and gay movements so that one tangible homosexual community was evident by the turn of the decade in both Europe and the United States of America. This time period was therefore a crucial moment in the development of queer theory in post war Britain. However, it can be argued that by forming a global gay movement that judged membership with the movement in terms of sexual identity, international movements such as the Gay Liberation Front succeeded only in affirming the divisions put forward by measures like the Sexual Offences Act. Queer theory, from the outset, was intent upon challenging the mainstream socio-political status quo by using means that were essentially counter productive in light of the gay movements arguments that gender and sexual identity was not ‘fixed or compartmentalised according to ones sexuality but was in fact much more fluid and interchangeable. Indeed, queer theorists have since argued that the compartmentalisation of gender is likewise flawed with Anne Fausto-Sterling arguing that â€Å"male and female are not enough.† By separating ‘them'(heterosexuals) from ‘us (homosexuals and transsexuals) the queer movement merely served to corroborate the fragmented vision of mainstream s ociety and to further alienate homosexuality from mainstream culture and, as a result, to condemn queer theory to a discernible subculture status. Consequently, the 1967 Sexual Offences Act taken within the broader context of the worldwide civil rights movement of the 1960s can be seen to be an important milestone within the evolution of queer theory as not only did politicised society initiate a clear dividing line between the homosexual and the heterosexual communities but also the homosexual community itself was largely responsible after this point for perpetuating this divide. In the final analysis therefore, it is difficult to envisage this development as positive or progressive. Indeed, as Michael Botnick demonstrates below, this lack of awareness on both sides of the historical debate resulted in a discernible lack of consensus by the turn of the millennium. â€Å"The lack of open-mindedness toward complex and graduated positions makes it difficult to obtain a full hearing of the issues, especially if those issues are value laden and cognitively dissonant to the audience (generally the public at large, the state, major corporations or other mega-organisations such as the media.)† At this point in the discussion, attention must move away from the historiographic look at the formation of the gay rights movement within the context of the late 1960s to turn instead towards analysis of queer theory in post war twentieth century Britain. As has already been intimated, the evolution of queer theory in the UK is intrinsically tied to the advent of the Sexual Offences Act of 1967. The injustices conceptualised in this Act served to galvanise the gay community amid the broader backdrop of a civil rights movement that was established in order to attempt to attain parity on the grounds of race, religion and gender as well as parity on the grounds of sexuality. This wider multicultural influence is the key to understanding how the doctrine of queer theory in post war Britain quickly became divorced from the social, cultural and political reality of maintaining a subcultural movement within the context of a liberal democracy. It is certainly no coincidence that the guiding principle of queer theory was inherently similar to the guiding principle of the other civil rights movements of the epoch: all highlighted the fallacy of using identity (be it sexual, racial, religious or gender) as a means of organising political society. All of these movements should therefore be viewed as part of a wider post-structuralist theory which advocated the end of identity based upon gender, sexuality, race and religion in favour of adopting a more egalitarian approach. In this way, post-structuralist theory was keen to destroy the link between â€Å"dominant western forms of rationality with male power and control over women and nature, which is associated with violence, oppression and destruction.† Queer theory should be seen as an important part of this desire to deconstruct male-ordered politicised society and to reconstruct this society not along lines pertaining to identity but along lines pertaining to humanity instead. In terms of results, the deconstruction of male-centric society can be seen to have had a positive impact upon the fusion of homosexual and heterosexual cultures in post war Britain, certainly after the 1980s when the AIDS epidemic in the United States quickly became a worldwide manifestation of what Stan Cohen had in the 1970s referred to as ‘moral panic disseminated by an increasingly powerful global mass media apparatus. Whereas the 1970s and the 1980s can be seen as a historical period of continuity with regards to the perpetuation of sexuality-based injustices in Britain, the 1990s on the other hand can be interpreted as a period of change when the barriers constructed by male-ordered mainstream society were slowly, yet clearly being eroded in o bvious ways. Politicians, for instance, in the 1990s were no longer punished in any tangible electoral way for being ‘outed as homosexual. The briefly successful New Labour career of Peter Mandelson is testimony to this development. Likewise in popular culture where international stars such as George Michael (who was afraid to admit his sexuality in the 1980s) have been able to thrive in both the heterosexual and homosexual spheres regardless of their own sexual preferences since the 1990s. The turn of the millennium also witnessed a legal progression concerning gay people and their civil rights with amendments to the Sexual Offences Act (passed in 2003) in Britain eventually giving rise to parity with heterosexual people with regards to the age of consent. Indeed, it can be argued that the 2003 Sexual Offences Amendment Act is as fundamental and extensive as the changes which were telegraphed when the Theft Act (1968) replaced the outmoded Larceny Act (1916). In the UK in the twenty first century the age of consent for both heterosexual and homosexual people is at last set at sixteen, finally putting to an end the decades-long association of homosexuality with perversity and social abnormality. Yet, appearances can be deceptive. While the 1990s and the first decade of the twenty first century may appear to be the dawn of a new era of equality with regards to gender and sexuality, the reality may in fact be better understood as a period of continuity with the perceived advances of gay people during this time being nothing more than a mirage as male-dominated society continues to give piecemeal concessions to those marginalised elements of post modern culture in order to maintain the faà §ade of a permissive contemporary society. â€Å"It seems were an altogether more open, more tolerant, sexier society and its getting better all the time. Or is it? Is mainstream culture just flirting with a bit of the other in order to keep us all on a broadly straight line?† This sense of duplicity inherent concerning queer theory and socio-political reality in the contemporary era has served to render queer theory a doctrine of continuing importance in western culture. Contemporary gender theorists such as Judith Butler (whos book Gender Trouble was published in 1990 selling over 100 000 copies internationally) directly challenged the notion of gender (and indeed sexuality) as a means of cultural identity, going so far as to cite the creation of international feminism as the reason behind womens continuing experience of inequality. Butler thus called for a re-evaluation of queer theory in light of the mistakes made by the various civil, gender and sexual rights movements of the 1960s. â€Å"The domains of political and linguistic ‘representation set out in advance the criterion by which subjects themselves are formed, with the result that representation is extended only to what can be acknowledged as a subject. In other words, the qualifications for being a subject must first be met before representation can be extended.† Butlers theory remains a cornerstone for queer theory in post war Britain as the travails of the womens since the passing of the Sex Discrimination Act in 1964 largely mirrors the troubles of the gay movement since the inception of the Sexual Offences Act in 1967. As a result there is a large body of academic literature available that is dedicated to queer theory and to placing contemporary queer theory within the historiographical context of the gay experience in the past forty years. Much of the commentary bequeathed by this body of literature tends to underscore the essential continuity that characterises the development of sexuality in Britain (and indeed throughout the West) since the 1960s. Jeffrey Weeks, for example, sees this continuity as a symptom of contemporary societys inability to comprehend sexuality within its correct (and complex) historical context. â€Å"There is a struggle for the future of sexuality. But the ways we respond to this have been coloured by the force of the accumulated historical heritage and sexual traditions out of which we have come: the Christian organisation of belief in sex as sacramental and threatening, the libertarian belief of sex as subversive, the liberal belief of sex as source of identity and personal resource, all rooted in a melange of religious, scientific and sexological arguments about what sex is, what it can do and what we must or must not do. We are weighed down with a universe of expectations. Sexuality could be a potentiality for choice, change and diversity. Instead we take it as destiny, and all of us, women and men, homosexual and heterosexual, young and old, black and white, are held in its thrall, and pay its expensive dues.† Weeks succinct observations quoted above could quite feasibly have featured in his best selling book, Coming Out (originally published in 1977) such is the lack of tangible progress made by mainstream society in the authors view. This is entirely due to the fact that the vast majority of society has managed to evade the true nature of the issue where sexuality is neither a ‘choice nor a ‘cross to bear but is instead a complex fusion of the two. Weeks concludes that it is the very absence of a ‘right or ‘wrong answer with regards to the definition of sexuality that makes mainstream society unable to adequately confront the issue of homosexuality even at the start of the twenty first century. Of course, the issue of homosexuality has been greatly affected by the rise in significance (at least in cultural terms) of bisexuality. Not only has bisexuality served to confuse the majority of mainstream society (in so much as mainstream society has been instructed to think in terms of black and white; right and wrong) about the nature of homosexuality, the advent of bi-theory has telegraphed a schism in queer theory. Indeed, it is a common view of the bisexual community that traditional queer theory â€Å"can be understood as a particularly virulent strain of the disease affecting contemporary theory more generally, especially in so far as it addresses sexuality as a central concern in the guise of ‘queer theory.† Thus, the very term ‘queer is seen, ironically, as an exclusive phrase that implies that bisexual people, on account of their continuing sexual association with heterosexual people, are intrinsically more allied to straight culture than they are to the homosexual community. This schism mirrors the divide in the feminist movement when a more radical ‘second wave of feminism â€Å"drew, in the first instance, upon the theoretical writings of lesbian feminism in the early 1970s† only for the lesbian feminist community to later accuse the heterosexual feminist community of ‘betrayal on the grounds that straight women continued to participate in sexual activity and engage in what Pateman terms ‘sexual contracts with men in the guise of sex, marriage, home and family. Further confusion has been added to this maelstrom with the advent of trans-theory and the increasing legal and political recognition of trans-gender people, which has clearly impacted upon the evolution of queer theory in post war Britain. Jason Cromwell sees this development as â€Å"making the visible invisible†, which is in direct opposition to the principles of the gay community which has historically intended to make the invisible visible. In addition there are not surprisingly critics from the straight mainstream culture who see queer theory as a barrier (rather than a facilitator) to a greater democratisation of sexuality in the contemporary era. Critics argue that queer studies places too much emphasis upon differentiation which, in turn, elevates the status of the gay and lesbian experience to a position that is over and above its true worth within the broader sphere of cultural studies. This only serves to increase the gulf between the ‘included and the ‘excluded members of society. Furthermore, queer theory has been challenged in a more direct way as critics argue the primacy of the queer belief that sexuality is not ‘fixed. Tim Edwards, for example, has recently argued that sexual identity is in fact much more rigid and compartmentalised than queer theory suggests. Edwards does not agree with the assumptions made by, amongst others, Judith Butler and David Gauntlett who both show how, for ins tance, the media has helped to solidify the construction of identity based upon gender and sexuality respectively. Instead he argues that in real terms gender and sexual identity does not only exist at the level of discourse (as argued by Butler) but instead exists as â€Å"an institutional social practice.† It can be seen that queer theory and its discontents have historically argued over ideological terrain pertaining to sexuality, gender and identity with a discernible lack of consensus emerging from the ensuing theoretical debates. It is also noticeable that the Sexual Offences Act of 1967 remains largely conspicuous by its absence from the vast majority of this theoretical debate with regards to queer theory in post war Britain. Where the Act is mentioned, it tends to be referred to as a piecemeal political measure that â€Å"proved repeatedly unsuccessful, largely because of popular mobilisation against restrictive changes.† Even in legal terms, the Sexual Offences Act of 1967 remains open to charges of being a draconian, anachronistic measure by contemporary queer theory as it was still deemed a criminal offence for people under the age of twenty one to engage in homosexual activity. This only served to criminalise the essential experimentalism inherent in young people of b oth sexes and to perpetuate the association of homosexuality as a sordid and sinful affair. A more important watershed date according to post war queer theorists was the 1980s and the advent of the AIDS epidemic. Beginning on the west coast of the United States and quickly transferring over the Atlantic to Britain and Western Europe, the AIDS epidemic was an epidemic more in terms of the effect that it had upon mainstream, straight culture than the medical effect that the virus had upon the human race. Looking back on the media texts and images of the time, one can certainly see how the disease was blown out of all proportion to its true danger. Furthermore, it is plain to see that this was due to the sexual nature of the illness and, specifically, the fact that it had begun in the gay community. Once more, therefore, gay men were accused of leading a hedonistic lifestyle the lack of the practice of safe sex being the starting point for the spreading of the disease. The AIDS epidemic also served to re-ignite traditional Christian doctrine that was and remains vehemently opposed to the legalisation and democratisation of homosexuality. Hard-line Christian activists even went so far as to claim that the AIDS virus was Gods punishment to all society for allowing gay people the right to practice their sordid sexuality in mainstream culture. The combined effect of this hysteria served to make the 1980s as opposed to 1967 the key date in queer theory in post war Britain. As Jeffrey Weeks declares, â€Å"the homophobia that was encouraged by AIDS demanded, and in fact greatly strengthened, lesbian and gay identities.† With this in mind, attention must now be turned towards reaching a conclusion as to the significance of 1967 within the broader discussion of the democratisation of sexuality in post war Britain. â€Å"That some people have decided preferences does not seem to be in doubt. What is now fast disappearing is the myriad of ways in which various human societies have managed to cope with the fact.† As Naphy aptly suggests, the rate at which homosexuality has been integrated into mainstream culture should be judged within the much wider context of western civilisation over the past two thousand years as opposed to the forty years that have passed since the inception of the Sexual Offences Act in 1967. Ultimately, although progress concerning the democratisation of homosexuality may have met many obstacles in a variety of different guises be they legal, political, social, religious or cultural there cannot be any doubt that the gay community landscape has changed beyond all recognition in Britain since the end of the 1960s. Moreover, it would be difficult to launch an argument against 1967 being the key year within this evolution of queer theory in modern Britain as this was the date that marked the beginning of the solidification of a trans-national gay movement as well as the end of the historical marginalisation of homosexuals within the broader context of mainstream society . The fact that the fruits of this dual, spontaneous realisation did not immediately materialise in the form of a democratisation of sexuality should not be seen as a great surprise. Like the womens movement of the same era, there can be little doubt that the legal measures passed by parliament such as the Sex Discrimination Act served only to halt the advance of womens rights as the movement inevitably splintered on matters pertaining to race, ideology and increasingly sexuality. In this way, the lesbian agenda became increasingly divorced from the mainstream feminist agenda in the same way that the bisexual agenda has become noticeably more antagonistic towards queer theory and the homosexual community. It can be argued that this is nothing more than an inevitable by-product of a post-industrial capitalist society that has made a cultural and economic commodity of sex and sexuality to such a degree as to destabilise the solidarity of the global gay and womens movements worldwide. T hus, being a political as well as a sexual activity, homosexuality has been (and will remain) both historically and theoretically deeply influenced by the social, political and economic environment in which it is culturally defined. Bibliography Botnick, M.R. Gay Community Survival in the New Millennium. New York and London: The Haworth Press, 2000. Butler, J. Gender Trouble. Hammondsworth: Penguin Classics, 2006. Cohen, S. Folk Devils and Moral Panics. London: Paladin, 1973. Cromwell, J. Transmen and FTMs: Identities, Bodies, Genders and Sexualities. Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 1999 Edwards, T. â€Å"Queer Fears: Against the Cultural Turn.† Journal of Sexualities. Vol. 1, No.4, 2004. Eisenstein, H. Contemporary Feminist Thought. London: Unwin, 1984. Fausto-Sterling, A. The Five Sexes: Why Male and Female are not Enough. Kimmel, M.S. (Ed.) Sexualities: Identities, Behaviours and Society. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. Gauntlett, D. Media, Gender and Identity: an Introduction. London: Routledge, 2002. Hall, L.A. Sex, Gender and Social Change in Britain since 1880. London: Macmillan, 2000. Kimmel, M.S. (Ed.) Sexualities: Identities, Behaviours and Society. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2004 Naphy, W. Born to be Gay: a History of Homosexuality. London: Tempus, 2004. Pateman, C. The Sexual Contract. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1988. Spargo, T. Foucault and Queer Theory. London: Icon, 1999. Storr, M. â€Å"Post-modern Bisexuality.† Weeks, J., Holland, J. and Waites, M. (Eds.) Sexualities and Society: A Reader. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2002. Weedon, C. Feminist Practice and Poststructuralist Theory. Oxford and New York: Blackwell, 1987. Weeks, J. â€Å"Necessary Fictions: Sexual Identities and the Politics of Diversity.† Weeks, J., Holland, J. and Waites, M. (Eds.) Sexualities and Society: A Reader Cambridge: Polity Press, 2002. Weeks, J. Coming Out. London: Quartet Books, 1977. Weeks, J. Sexuality and its Discontents: Meaning, Myths and Modern Sexualities. London: Routledge, 1995. Homosexualities in Post War Britain: The Democratisation of Gender after the Sexual Offences Act (1967) and How It Affects Queer Studies Core Course: Gender and Society in Britain and Europe, c.1500 to the Present

Measuring Viscosity :: Papers

Measuring Viscosity Aim - to determine how the mass of Corn flour added to 100ml of water affects the viscosity (gooeyness) of the final mixture. Background - Corn flour, when added to water increases its gooeyness of viscosity. Although this value cannot be actually measured, a person can determine a rough value of its viscosity by recording how long an amount of the mixture takes to flow from one receptacle to another. The longer it takes to flow, the more viscous the mixture. The solution which is created from mixing cornflour with water is a gel. The flour forms a suspension in the water. Gels are created by mixing liquid and solids together to form a jelly-like mixture. A gel is a semi-solid which can move around, but not as freely as a liquid. Within a gel, the solid makes a kind of network which traps the liquid and makes it unable to flow as freely as before. Hypothesis - I predict that the higher the mass of Corn flour used, the more viscous the mixture will be because the solution which is created from mixing cornflour with water is a gel. The flour forms a suspension in the water. Gels are created by mixing liquid and solids together to form a jelly-like mixture. A gel is a semi-solid which can move around, but not as freely as a liquid. Within a gel, the solid makes a kind of network which traps the liquid and makes it unable to flow as freely as before. Variables Independent Variables Dependent Variables Temperature Temperature of water Stirring Size of containers Angle to pour liquid at Mass of Corn flour Viscosity of mixture Method 1. Pour 100ml of water (at room temp.) into a 140ml beaker 2. Add 15g of Cornflour to this water, and stir 30 times (1 time is one revolution around the beaker) 3. Have ready a retort stand with clamps and another beaker or

Essay --

In this article, Christopher G. Petr presents results of surveys conducted to assess how foster children perceive independent living services put in place to help them adjust as they reach adulthood. Petr makes the point that while most current foster children were optimistic about their futures and believed that these programs were useful in getting them ready to adjust to life after they are age-out from foster care, some of the out of custody youths felt that they had not received adequate services. Among the arguments Petr uses to support this point are the two interviews with subjects "A" and "C". Petr reports that their scenarios are at the opposite ends of a spectrum he heard from the 27 people interviewed. He presents lots of anecdotal evidence from the interviews to support these arguments, including that A was using services like a tuition waiver and living subsidy to help her get a college degree and expressed appreciation for this help. Subject C, on the other hand, had no job and was not continuing his schooling and said he did not know he could get a tuition waiver or...

M2 – Discuss Two Major Theories of Ageing in Relation to the Development of Your Chosen Individual.

[pic] BTEC Extended National Diploma in Health & Social Care (Social Care) Unit 4 – Development through the Life Stages Assignment Title: Lecturer: Rebecca Drozd Room – Email – You will also need to: †¢ Word processed your work †¢ Include your name, pin & page numbers in a footer †¢ Use Harvard Referencing System in your work including a reference list †¢ Provide evidence of wider research by using various sources, e. g. websites, journals, text books. †¢ 1. 5 line space †¢ Use 12pt font size (Arial or Comic Sans) †¢ Please bring this Assignment Brief with you to every lesson.Launch date: First Submission date: Second submission date: | | |You are an investigative reporter on a celebrity magazine. You have been asked to discover all that you can about the development | |of a famous person of your choice. | Task One Produce a fact file which clearly describes the physical, intellectual, emotional and social development for each of the life stages of an individual to include relevant pictures, graphs and charts (P1) Grading Tip | |Your fact file needs to include information on the following: | | | |Life stages: conception; pregnancy; birth and infancy – 0-3 years; childhood – 4-9 years; adolescence – 10-18 years; adulthood – 19 | |-65 years; older adulthood; 65+; the final stages of life | | | |Definitions: growth; development; developmental norms; developmental milestones; life course; maturation; life expectancy | | | |Development; holistic development; physical, intellectual, language, emotional and social at each life stage; potential causes and | |effects of delayed and arrested development | Expand your fact file to include a discussion on the nature-nurture debate in relation to the development of your individual (M1) Add a written evaluation on how nature and nurture may affect the physical, intellectual, emotional and social development of two stages of the developm ent of your chosen individual (D1) Grading Tip | |Use the following key words: | |Nature-nurture debate: key principles; biological programming; the effects of experiences versus heredity; maturation theory | Task Two | | |Your editor at the magazine has now asked you to research the life factors and life events that have influenced the development of this | |celebrity. | Develop your fact file further, and explain the potential effects of five different life factors on the development of the individual (P2) Grading Tip | | | |Use the following key words: | | | |Life factors: genetic, eg predisposition to particular conditions, cystic fibrosis, coeliac disease, asthma, brittle bone disease, | |rheumatic disease; biological, eg foetal alcohol syndrome, maternal infections, effects of diet in pregnancy; environmental, eg exposure to| |pollution, damp/ overcrowded housing, access to recreational facilities, access to health and social care services, bullying, family | |dysfunction, effects of culture, religion and beliefs, effects of discrimination; socioeconomic, eg income, expenditure, education, values | |and attitudes, peer groups, employment status; lifestyle, eg nutrition and dietary choices, alcohol intake, use and misuse of substances |Add a written statement that clearly explains the influences of two predictable and two unpredictable major life events on the development of your chosen individual (P3) |Grading Tip: Your fact file needs to include relevant pictures, graphs and charts. | |Use the following key words: | | | |Major life events: differences in effect of predictable and unpredictable events; eg the birth of a sibling, leaving home, leaving | |care, leaving prison, serious injury, illness, starting school/ nursery, beginning and changing employment, redundancy, bereavement, | |marriage, parenthood, divorce; the interrelationship between factors. | Launch date:First Submission date: Second submission date: Task Three |Vocational Setting: | | | |Your editor is very impressed with your work and has asked you to imagine that your chosen individual is now growing older. Will they| |still travel as much? Will they still like to be photographed? What kind of health and social care services will they require? Your | |fact file will need to include an explanation of the physical and psychological changes which may be part of the ageing process.This| |will require research to find the relevant information as your chosen individual may not be at this stage. | Expand your fact file to explain the two theories of ageing (P4) Discuss two major theories of ageing in relation to the development of your chosen individual. (M2) Include an evaluation on the influence of two major theories of ageing on health and social care provision. (D2) For your chosen individual, explain the effects of physical and psychological changes which may be associated with ageing (P5) and discuss the effects on self-esteem and self-confidence of the phy sical changes associated with ageing how those changes could affect their self-esteem and confidence. (M3) Grading Tip: | | | |Use the following key words: | | | |Physical changes: hormones; menopause; cardiovascular system, eg atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease; respiratory system, eg emphysema, | |chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; nervous system eg motor-neurone disease, degeneration of the sense organs, degeneration of the nervous| |tissue, cognitive changes,; muscular skeletal, eg rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, effects of degenerative disease, muscle wasting due | |to poor absorption of nutrients; skin, eg loss of elasticity, effects of exposure to ultra violet rays, effects of smoking; the effects of | |illnesses that are more common in ageing | | | |Psychological changes: effects on confidence; effects on self-esteem; effects on ageism; effects of, eg role changes, loss of partner, | |retirement, increased leisure time, financial concerns, culture, religion, beliefs; theories of ageing, eg social disengagement, activity | |theory; application to current health and social care provision |

Bringing the Jobs Home

The book under review is: â€Å"Bringing the Jobs Home† or â€Å"How the Left Created the Outsourcing Crisis–and How We Can Fix It†. In this book the author, Todd G. Buchholz, gives a conservative economist’s views on the origin of outsourcing of jobs meant for Americans to people in other countries, and how the trend can be reversed to return jobs to Americans in the United States. His analysis of the problem of outsourcing of jobs places the origin of the phenomenon squarely at the doorsteps of liberals, who he termed â€Å"The Left†.Todd G. Buchholz, to all intents and purposes, sees the problem of outsourcing of jobs from America to foreign countries not as a global phenomenon, deriving its origin from globalization; but as a problem contrived and sustained by American liberals and democrats, whose policies deprived American workers of their god-given rights to jobs in their own country. The critical questions one should ask are: What are the re al reasons that led American corporations to consider outsourcing of jobs? In what ways can the trend be reversed?If one objectively views Buchholz’s analysis of the origin of outsourcing problem as rather strange and ultraconservative, his recommended solutions to the problem are more than weird. In a world that is fast shrinking into one big global village, and where American cultural and economic influence have penetrated even the most remote outposts of human civilization, and in all areas of human endeavor; Todd G. Buchholz’s recipe for fixing the outsourcing crisis, are to say the least isolationist; a throwback to the era of American protectionism.Todd G. Buchholz’s views on solving the outsourcing crisis, when placed in the context of today’s world, are like driving a car in the reverse gear on an expressway. Description and Analysis Background Information about the author The author of the book Todd G. Buchholz is an internationally known economi st and financial expert. He once served as a director for economic policy to the United States president. He has also served as financial adviser to such well known investment companies as Goldman Sachs and Soros Fund.In addition Todd G. Buchholz has managed an investment that is famous worldwide. He has written for such top of the shelf newspapers as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times among his many other publications on financial policy. Todd G. Buchholz has thrown new light onto old problems in the area of financial and economic management. One of his other well known books is: New Ideas from Dead Economics. Todd G. Buchholz is generally regarded as a well respected conservative economist.His views on economic policy directions are well known and sought after by companies and governments. Purpose of the Book The purpose for which Todd G. Buchholz wrote this book was to highlight the problem Americans have to face by the policy of outsourcing jobs to workers overseas to t he detriment of jobless Americans. Todd G. Buchholz attributes much of the problem to the policy of globalization which was initiated by previous governments of the United States controlled by the Democratic Party, which he collectively labeled â€Å"The Left†.Some of the unfavorable conditions emanating from wrong-headed policies of â€Å"The Left† which he felt led to the crisis of outsourcing of jobs by American companies include: an education system which continues to produce graduates who do not have the necessary competence required for modern job requirements; thus forcing American companies to look elsewhere for reliable workers; a suffocating tax regime which forces companies to pay for an over bloated social security programs; pro-union laws which restricts well educated foreigners of American Universities from staying back to work in the United States; and to compound it all, an American legal system that favors plaintiffs in frivolous lawsuits and which awa rds unnecessarily high financial damages against companies. Todd G.Buchholz’s solution to these problems, and which he claims will lead to reversal of direction of policy of outsourcing, is that legislation should be passed in all the problematic areas highlighted above in favor of protecting the free market tradition of the United States. Todd G. Buchholz first identified the root causes of why American companies and businesses outsource, as a combination of the negative effects of such societal forces as â€Å"nasty tax collectors, dull school bureaucrats, and sharp lawyers† which working together, force American companies to take their business overseas, where government policies and societal conditions are more favorable to free enterprise. He then gave the following recommendations: To reduce the high cost of hiring American workers, should legislate tax cuts and have less regulations on doing business in the United States. Todd G.Buchholz also advocates stricter education standards in American schools and colleges so as to improve the quality of graduates being churned out annually. He also recommends the reduction of the lawyer population in the United States through giving disincentives to American law practice, by restricting admission and raising standards required to qualify for admission to law schools and at the Bar. Significance of the work This book written by an expert who knows his onions is significant in many respects. By joining the debate on the vexed question of outsourcing of jobs overseas by American companies Todd G. Buchholz, has given us a fresh dimension to a problem which has now assumed a crisis dimension.American youths and older workers should not be put at such a terrible disadvantage by what has now come to be seen as wrong headed government and policies. Government of the United States needs to do more to give incentives to American companies wishing to continue business operations at home. Review of Critical Qu estions The two critical questions poised at the onset are: What are the real reasons that led American corporations to consider outsourcing of jobs? In what ways can the trend be reversed? From the analysis of Todd G. Buchholz’s work, it is obvious that there is a crisis of underemployment of labor in the United states due to outsourcing of jobs overseas by American companies.Moreover, urgent steps need to be taken to reverse the trend, and to encourage American businesses to bring back outsourced jobs to the United States. Todd G. Buchholz’s work addresses these two questions. His remedies, though conservative in outlook, give us a starting point in addressing the issues raised in his book. Summary In summary, Todd G. Buchholz has given us a starting point in frontally confronting the crisis of outsourcing jobs overseas by American companies which face daunting problems of overpricing of incompetent labor at home in addition to government interference in business and labor matters. Reference Buchholz, Todd G: Bringing the Jobs Home: How the Left Created the Outsourcing Crisis–and How We Can Fix It, Sentinel HC, 2004