Impact of capital structure on financial performance of real estate Essay - 1

Impact of capital structure on financial performance of real estate firms listed in Chinese - Essay Example n considered as a prominent industrial pillar of the national economy of China as it has fully impacted the employment, labour productivity, savings and total investment. The industry has a huge multiplier and hence it has the potential of being an important economic stimulus. Through employment, many households can afford a considerable high quality of life and in addition, pay tax for the government programs. Saving and investment has realized a lot of wealth creation and increased per capita income (Marketline, 2014). The real estate industry is essentially related to leasing and renting of residential and commercial properties. The paper is aimed at assessing the real estate companies that are listed on the Chinese stock exchange; correspondingly, background research has effectively focused on real estate development in Asia-Pacific region. Market analysis suggest that on average the Asia-Pacific real estate industry has witnessed growth of 13 percent between 2009 and 2013 while China alone witnessed growth as high as 16.8 percent. Moreover, the paper conducts a tour that is intended to find out the relationship between the capital structure and financial performance of the listed companies. Guo and Huang (2010) monitored that the growth rate of Chinese economy has been moderately high and consequently, it has become an important choice of foreign direct investors. Foreign capital has been a great source of Chinese economy and since real estate is an essential pillar of the national economy, large scale foreign investment flows therein. Guo and Huang (2010) observed that in most Asian economies, the stock market and real estate market are interdependent and integrated. Guo and Huang (2010) scrutinized the association between stock market and real estate market in China and recognized unidirectional relationship thereof. Studies suggest that since 2003, China witnessed heavy capital inflow as a result of liberalisation and the inflow was too huge to be

Overview Of The Enola Gay Controversy History Essay

Overview Of The Enola Gay Controversy History Essay The term History Wars was coined in the United States in 1994  [1]  . It was based on the controversy over how history should be represented for the decision of dropping an atomic bomb on Japan when the Smithsonians National Air and Space Museum drafted an exhibit entitled The Crossroads: The End of World War II, the Atomic Bomb and the Cold War around the refurbished Enola Gay to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the end of the war in 1995. This controversy centred around the failed 1995 Smithsonian National Air and Space Museums exhibit of the Enola Gay, which intended to examine intersection the end of World War II beginning with the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Along that process, various stakeholders in the representation of this historical event were embroiled including Smithsonian curators, veterans such as the Air Force Association and the American Legion, members of the United States Congress, academic historians, media, American public and even the Japanese. As early as in 1988, Smithsonians National Air and Space Museum (NASM) announced that they would display the Enola Gay as part of an interpretive exhibit on the end of World War II and the origins of the Cold War  [2]  . This announcement brought the museum into contact with a variety of interested groups. As the scripts developed, the exhibit had set off a heated controversy concerning national ideologies, the collective memory of self-victimization, and contestation over historical knowledge. The story of the Smithsonian and the Enola Gay reflected a larger battle in America over academic goals, cultural superiority, sacrifices, heroic effort and how should American remember their past.  [3]   This essay explores the ways in which the Enola Gay debate was fought out primarily in the American public media and in congressional hearings about history and memory. It will focuses on various predicaments in an attempts to produce a nations single and definitive public history and memory shared commonly and objectively by a nation. The Enola Gay controversy or some might called it the Smithsonian atomic bomb exhibit debates sparks a History Wars in American public. In fact, any attempts to produce or exhibit narratives about the past will always spark a controversy and incites various arguments and struggles over historical truth. This essay furthermore attempts to situate The Enola Gay debates within the larger context of the condition of the knowledge that describes those who were involved in this polemic. The Enola Gay controversy was not really about facts, nor was it about which side represented the facts more accurately. Rather, it centred on questions about for whom, for what objectives, and for whose community the event need to be remembered. The difference between the two different factions did not actually portray whether one side distorted the facts more than the other, although there were a number of events that which conservative politicians and veterans deliberately refused to acknowledge the existence of certain information, records and archives materials. Although those who involved in this debate be it veterans, Air Force Association, American Legion, news editors, conservative politicians, academic historians, Smithsonian curators and American public agreed that the main objective of the exhibit is to commemorate the important mission that led America to victory, there will always be different approaches on how to portray American as a saviour of the world and to acknow ledged the United States as the nation that ends the war. The conflation of the history wars with rhetoric of educational over the exhibit escalates during the development of the script. The exhibition main objectives were to showcase the plane that had dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima to end the war.  [4]  The script would have taken visitors through five sections moving from victory in Europe through the nuclear proliferation of the Cold War.  [5]  Along with the script preparation, gradually there are contradiction and different perspectives among the groups involved. The heated discussion of the initial script became public when the Air Force Association accused Smithsonian curators of politicizing the script.  [6]  These debates between veterans and curators foreshadowed a two-year struggle over plans for the exhibition. Veterans insist that the bomb had ended the war and thus prevented further loss of American soldiers lives, while academic historians and curators believed the other way round. The contradiction of the story which is one of a weapon that brought peace and victory and the other side weapon that brought destruction and terrify the world had created different views to American public  [7]  . Martin Harwit, the Smithsonians director, along with his curators, had held numerous discussions with veterans, academic historians and other interested groups in preparing the script of the exhibit.  [8]  During the preparation of the script and long before the official opening exhibition which is planned in August 1995, criticism on this exhibition increased largely due to the alleged political correctness and historical accurate polemic. There was an intense pressure against the Smithsonian from the veterans especially from the American Legion and the Air Force Association in developing the script. The Smithsonian wanted to tell a narrative purely based on the factual historical event while veterans insist on the portrayal of the struggling American troops, their heroic action that eventually fought to end the war and how the bomb could save approximately hundred thousand lives of American soldiers  [9]  . Tom Crouch, Chairman of the Institute of the Aeronautic Department at the Smithsonian Institute, already getting fed up with the continuous unresolved debates over the objectives of the exhibit, had asked this very important question in his memo to Harwit: whether the museum was producing an exhibit that was intended to make veterans feel goods or an exhibition that will lead our visitors to think about the consequences of the atomic bombing of Japan? Frankly, I dont think we can do both  [10]  . Veterans boasted that they had a number of powerful lobbying groups in Congress and they have the strength in number. They claimed that they have public backing and the American is always behind them. Their claim is true; on 27 August 1994, twenty four Congressmen sent a letter to the Smithsonian calling the exhibition as anti-American and a historically narrow, revisionist view of the Enola Gays mission  [11]  . When the veterans felt that they were going to be portrayed unfairly in the exhibition, they began to react and gather the support from those who felt the same way they did and started to interfere in the Smithsonian script. Veterans organization had a very high expectation that the exhibition would provide enough balanced historical context so that the reason to drop the bomb were justified enough or at least reasonable, legitimate and might be a necessary to avoid unbalance inference that will equal the bombing with more tragic incident such as holocaust. The politicians were also jumped into the bandwagon in support of the veterans resistance. Newt Gingrich, a Republican leader in House of Representative said that American had been tired and sick of being told by some so called historians that they ought to be ashamed of their country in the way they end the war  [12]  . In the following month, the Senate adopted Senate Resolution 257 which stated: . . . any exhibit by the National Air and Space Museum with respect to the Enola Gay should reflect appropriate sensitivity toward the men and women who faithfully and selflessly served, and should avoid impugning the memory of those who gave their lives for  [13]  . The Smithsonian is being criticized from all corners, from those who consider the exhibition as revisionist which is critical of the American History Wars to those who accuse the curators and the historians of staging and exaggerating which glorifies the decision of dropping the bomb. The curators and historians wanted the exhibition to be devoted solely to the justifications in using such a weapon and the task of the curators is to educate people, not to spread some kind of propaganda. Curators have not always been comfortable creating exhibits to celebrate technological prowess, devastating impact, losses of lives and wartime sacrifices. The curators saw the chance to display the Enola Gay as an opportunity to bring to a wider audience the issue of the consequences of the devastating impact for using such a terrible weapon and helping visitors to have better understanding the meaning and implication of the decisions and events that have shaped the subsequent history of the twentiet h century. The veterans accused the Smithsonian in denying the justification to drop the bomb at that time by questioning the morality and motives of President Trumans decision to end the war soonest possible  [14]  . On the veterans point of view, the decision is just a noble thing to be made which is to save as many American lives possible and to end the war immediately. As the script developed, both parties seem to be at loggerheads. The Smithsonian refusal to change the script infuriates the veterans. The American Legion insists that the script inferred that America was somehow in the wrong and her loyal airmen somehow criminal  [15]  . The congressmen step into the debate sided with the veterans and accusing the Smithsonian as a blatant betrayal of American history, biased and anti-American  [16]  . According to veterans, the script was a politically rigged program that made the Japanese in World War II look like victims instead of aggressors, and showed Americans as ruthless i nvaders, driven by racism and revenge.  [17]   Veterans reacted strongly to any Smithsonian attempt to remember the bombing that questioned the good war. They heavily criticized the progress of the script and particularly disturbed by the scripts suggestion that there were element of US aggression and imperialism even in what had been described as the most just and sacred of American wars ever fought.  [18]  While the curators wanted the public to interpret the consequences of the terrifying weapon and the horror of the war, veterans wanted the exhibit to commemorate the sacrifices they made to end the war. Their complaints reflected a perception that the curators and historians refusal to restructured the script as what the veterans wanted was seen as slap in the face of all Americans, including our courageous fallen, who fought from Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay.50 Bob Dole, a war veteran and a Republican Presidential candidate, told the American Legionnaires during the speech in Labor Day added that a generation of historians were in fact tend to be intellectual elites who seem embarrassed by America51. Charles B. Sweeney, the pilot who dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki, heavily criticized the curators and described it as an assault on our language and history by the elimination of accurate and descriptive words.52 The media also inflames the controversy by bringing the exhibition into disrepute. A day after the exhibition were cancelled, the editorial of the Washington Post wrote : It is important to be clear about what happened at the Smithsonian. It is not, as some have it, that benighted advocates of a special interest or right-wing point of view brought historical power to bear to crush and distort the historical truth. Quite to the contrary, narrow-minded representatives of a special-interest and revisionist point of view attempted to use their inside track to appropriate and hollow out a historical event that large numbers of Americans alive at that time and engaged in the war had witnessed and understood in a very different and authentic way  [19]  . The main problem is to decide who the decision maker in this exhibition is. Curators is just doing their job and they have the right to interpret the past based solely on their scholarly credentials and other primary resources such as archives, historical records, photographs, interviews, bibliographies and also advised from academic historians. In contrast, the veterans claimed that they too have the rights to portrayed the exhibition based on their personal and wartime experience. As far as the veterans concerned, their criticism is not solely against the suffering of the Japanese people due to the dropping of the bomb, but they call for more balance and the completeness of the story rather than for accuracy or fidelity to what happened in fact. Apart from contrary belief that veterans were at all time against the historical accuracy, veterans greatly appreciated the curators effort to portray the exhibition as much attractive as ever but they wanted them to be displayed more on the Americans favour rather than Japanese one. As a whole, all parties came into agreement that they wanted to make this exhibition a success. Everybody involves in the controversy over the exhibition seems to agree that the decision to drop the bomb will resulted various interpretation but it is clear that the decision made in 1945 will be viewed differently as in present day. The veterans came into agreement that the exhibition should tell another side of the story about Enola Gay so that the balanced display would allow visitors to make their own judgement about what happened, how and why. The Enola Gay controversy clearly demonstrates that one cannot effectively seek proper representation in a national public sphere solely by claiming to possess knowledge that is solidly based on factual authenticity. To differentiate between factual history and imaginary commemoration is problematic precisely because it can prove debilitating when trying to prevail over those who adhere to opposed understanding of history. Moreover, as observed in the Smithsonian dispute, to rationalize the demand for the representation in the public sphere by opposing ones legitimacy on factual authenticity alone may unwittingly help perpetuate the myth that the subaltern history is more accurate than mainstream history. As The American Legions national commander, William M. Detweiller declared in November 1994: More than anything else, our disagreements centre on the estimate numbers of lived saved by the use of atomic weapons in 1945. Does it matter? To the museum and the historians, it seems to be of great importance in determining the morality of President Trumans decision. To the American Legion, it matters less, if at all.  [20]   In truth, to all concerned, it mattered a great deal. In the end, everyone believed that memory and history had been abused, and the controversy over the Enola Gay exhibit became a useful symbol for all sides in the history wars going in America. Controversies over museum exhibition clearly demonstrate that political correctness has displaced historical accuracy over issues of humanities, race and history itself.  [21]   If this is true, then the controversy accompanying this fiftieth anniversary marked a dark spot in Americas collective memory, when latent struggles came to the surface about which histories needed to be remembered or forgotten. These are not just academic questions, because public memories are also forms of cultural practice. Scholars should therefore attend to the ways historians, curators, the media, and ordinary citizens participated in the creation of the symbolic repertoires that made up the Enola Gay dispute. For the veterans, the exhibition will display not only the historical memories of the American veterans but also at their sense of personal and national identity. They wanted the exhibition to reflect their past glory and to portray themselves as the saviour of America who risks their lives in order to bring peace to America and the entire world. The exhibit floundered when pressure from conservative politicians and veterans groups denounced it and Congress threatened to cut the museums funding  [22]  . In the end, after the exhibit had finally been cancelled, Harwit admitted that his curators were defeated by veterans organizations whose summed membership stands six million strong.  [23]   The history wars have a negative influence not because they encourage public debate about historical matters, thereby removing control of them from the authority who really in the know about the subject matters. History is unceasingly controversial because it provides so much of the substance for the ways a society defines itself and considers what it wants to be. The history wars, though unnerving and nasty, offer the public an opportunity to talk with historians and about how history is written, how research has changed in recent decades, and how arguments about the past illustrates the future. History does matter, and it is important for American at the end of the twentieth century to understand how the recent history wars have unfolded, how these struggles are connected to earlier arguments over interpreting the past and what does it tell us of current state of present society. This controversy became a new battle in a war over American culture life and the exhibition is a new ex perience for American public especially in the way the debates were fought between various sides. History Wars are not only occurred or debated in America alone, but in other countries as well. Around the world, various History Wars have sparked over museum exhibits, national commemoration, public anniversaries, history textbooks, usage of jargon and parades.5 Where ever there are past event, there will be History Wars sparked by that particular event. In the past twenty years, there are debates about events that happened in the past. These debates all exhibit the same characteristics: the same obsessive collective pronouns and terminology, as well as the same parochialism and national preoccupations. Such example was a tragic event of infamous holocaust that still been debated until today by different party. There will always be a group of history revisionist, left wing or far-right denial that will keep on debating the truth about events that happened in the past. The debates on History Wars are not restricted in the western society but it also being debated everywhere. In the Far East during the Sino-Japanese War in 1937, the Japanese Army committed atrocities against the inhabitant of Nanking which will be remembered in history as The Rape of Nanking. The Japanese aggression caused the massacre of more than 260,000 Nanking civilian  [24]  and the Japanese government refusal to confess their past aggression and apologizing their atrocities infuriates the Chinese Government and its people. In the Japanese textbook, there were nothing being mention about their atrocities in the past and refusal had been condemned by China and other nations  [25]  . In Australia, History Wars represent an ongoing conflict between conservative, leftist groups, politicians and academic historians over the early white settlements and the behaviour of Australias settlers in regard to the indigenous peoples. The History Wars have also been an integral feature of the cultural war conflicts in Australia of recent years and of the consequent attacks on the academic historian publicly. The politician, journalists and revisionist and academic historians try to interpret issues about treatment of Australias indigenous people, the stolen generations, Black Armband view and others  [26]  . Such questions dominate the History Wars; in this case a Smithsonian lengthy politicised and polarised debate that have raged over years. Such dispute show how issue on nations past has become in US, as academic historians, curators, veterans, politicians and media find themselves increasingly entangled in a heated public debate. It was a paradox where while school children in US found that the subject of American history is being too boring  [27]  , the perspective wasnt shared by the people of the older age, in fact it seems more fraught than ever, in this case at least in this Smithsonian debate. As Richard H. Kohn, professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said that the cancellation of the original Enola Gay exhibition may constitute the worst tragedy to befall the public presentation of history in the United States in a generation .  [28]  In my opinion, this exhibit is a major opportunity to inform not only the American people but to all m ankind about war and its consequences and the tragedy of the cancellation was a great loss.

Roman Times :: essays research papers

MOM IN THE JACUZZI It was not until I read my first erotic story about mothers and sons, that my Mom became my object of desire. I cannot describe my Mother as a sex goddess. She is the typical forty-something, with brown hair and eyes, about five foot and two inches tall, and weights 130 lbs. Mom just oozes motherhood. Her one enduring physical quality is her big breast. They're not large. They're just really nice. So now every son's dilemma, how do you seduce your mother? I kept a small collection of magazines about family encounters to fuel my imagination and to help plan the ultimate seduction. I fantasized about many scenarios with my Mom, but one of my biggest fears was that my Mom or Dad would find the magazines. Fortunately, as an only child, I was spoiled with a large bedroom and bath in the full-basement of my parent's ranch style home. I had plenty of privacy, which is important to a college student living at home. The only draw back was that the laundry room was located between my room and the bath, and about three times a week, I had to endure my Mom doing laundry, while I tried to sleep. After four years of fantasizing, opportunity knocked. I was standing in the middle of our living room, massaging Mom's shoulders, while talking with both my parents. Nothing erotic about the massage, it was just a chance for me to touch my Mother. I mentioned that Mom should get in the Jacuzzi. I said, that I had not been in the tub for months, and I asked Dad if the water was ready. He replied that the tub was clean and ready for use. My Mom then said, that she got into the tub every day. I responded by questioning when, and stated, that I haven't seen any bathing suites hanging up to dry. She replied, every morning when your Dad leaves for work, and that she doesn't wear a bathing suite. My mind started racing with images of my Mom skinny dipping in the hot tub, and me sleeping through the whole thing. As luck would have it the next two days were Saturday and Sunday, and my dad was home. Monday morning I was standing at my bedroom door listening to my Dad drive off to work. A few minutes later, I heard my Mom walk out side heading for the Jacuzzi.

Research Papaer Essay

The terms ‘youth’, ‘teenager’, ‘adolescent’, and ‘young people’ are all used to describe people in the phase of life that marks the conversion from childhood to adulthood. While there is universal agreement on the transition from childhood to adolescence, when exactly adolescence ends and adulthood begins is less clear as the stage of adolescence is culture-specific and therefore different in every society. In some cultures, the transition from teenager to adult could be very short, while, in other cultures it could be longer (Govindasamy et al. 2002). The World Health Organization (WHO, 2009) defines ‘adolescents’ as people aged 10-19; ‘youth’ as those aged between 15-24; and ‘young people’ as those aged between 10 and 24 years old and ‘teenager’ as people aged 13-19 years. Traore (2010) agrees that age has been used to differentiate adolescents from teenagers based on their physi cal development. This study, however, prefer to take females in the age group between 13 to 19 years as ‘teenagers’. In this study, the term ‘teenagers’ was used throughout. The incidence of teenage pregnancy remains high around the world. According to Nanda (2006), teenage females give birth to 15 million infants every year. Thus, teenage pregnancy is a concern from both a human rights and a public health perspective. Teenage pregnancy and its effect on teenage motherhood are among the major societal problems confronting the contemporary global community (Gatara & Muriuki, 2005). In Ghana, for example, one report estimates that nearly one-third of the childbirths recorded in public hospitals occurred to women under 19 years of age (Xinhua, 2006). The prevalence is higher in the rural areas and small- to-medium-sized towns which are often under-represented in the hospital birth statistics. A survey conducted by the UN Regional Institute for Population Studies reported that one out of three girls aged 15 to 19 living in Ghana’s Central Region has had a child (Xinhua, 2006). Similar prevalence of teenage pregnancies have been described for other African countries (Mwansa et aI. , 2004). One study in Swaziland found that females aged 15-19 years accounted for 32. per cent of the total fertility (Gule, 2005). Another study reported that females in the same age group contributed 103 births per 1000 women in the Kenya (Gatara ; Muriuki, 2005). It has been estimated that at least one out of twenty girls is likely to give birth during the school-going age. Data for Botswana also show that by 2004, about 25 percent of girls 15-19 years old were already mothers (Curtis, 2008). Two years later, in 2006, 56 per cent of the girls ha d dropped out of secondary schools in the country due to pregnancy (Mashalaba, 2009). On explaining the factors that contribute to teenage pregnancy, (Anderson, 2001) found that in poor neighbourhoods, teenagers experience less control over many aspects of their lives than the non-poor.. Anderson (2001) has further reported that some impoverished teenage girls consider childbirth as a rare source of self-esteem, or a sign of growing up, while sexual conquest brings a feeling of accomplishment to some teenage boys to whom legitimate opportunities may be blocked (Farley, 2005). The discussion of teenage pregnancy and childbirth therefore, tends to characterise the problem as mainly a feature of the poor segment of society. Besides, a literature review (Lewis, 2006; 2009) shows that aside poverty, factors such as early exposure to sexual activity, lack of sex education, weak parental control and supervision, peer pressure, low self-esteem and the need for self-fulfillment are associated with teenage pregnancy. It is in light of these factors that this study seeks to assess the factors that influence teenage pregnancy and their effects in the Sunyani Municipality in order to help policy makers address the problem. 1. 2 Problem Statement Teenage pregnancy has long been a worldwide social and educational concern for the developed, developing and underdeveloped countries. Many countries continue to experience high incidence of teenage pregnancy despite the intervention strategies that have been put in place. In 2000 approximately 530,000 teenagers in the United States became pregnant, out of which 51% gave birth (Coley ; Chase-Lansdale, 2008). Available literature suggests that in Africa, the total fertility rate has declined to an average of 2. 9 children per woman (Dickson, 2002). A decline in fertility rates has been associated with a high use of contraceptives among women and also the legalisation of abortion in most African countries (Swartz, 2002). Despite the decline in the total fertility rate, teenage pregnancy has been found to be significantly high (Dickson, 2002). The high prevalence of teenage pregnancy in societies characterised by poverty, low education, fewer job opportunities and families headed by mothers who gave birth to their first children in adolescence (Dryfoos, 2006; Macleod, 2009). Teenage pregnancy is also associated with other problematic behaviours such as alcohol and drug use, and early initiation of sexual activity, which have been identified as predictors of pregnancy (Coley ; Chase-Lansdale, 2008). Plant and Plant (2002) argue that risk or problem behaviour is associated with social disadvantage, poverty, homelessness, unemployment, bad housing, fragmented family structure and stressful life events. The youth emulate the behaviour of their parents and of their society, thus social and cultural factors influence patterns of risk taking (Plant ; Plant, 2002). The high incidence of teenage pregnancy has become a major societal and educational concern, as it seems to perpetuate poverty and low levels of education (Furstenberg et al. , 2007; Morgan, 2007). Also due to changing social circumstances and values, teenage pregnancy is a tolerated phenomenon in modern Ghanaian society. Social permissiveness towards sex outside marriage, and absence of serious social repercussions like isolation or exclusion following an out of wedlock birth, contribute to the high rate of teenage pregnancy (Parekh ; De La Rey, 2007). It has also been argued by Preston-Whyte and Zondi (2002) that the high value placed on fertility and education encourages adolescent girls to aspire for both motherhood and academic qualifications. The high cultural value placed on education and fertility is seen as a contributory factor to the prevalence of teenage pregnancy (Preston-Whyte ; Zondi, 2002). Education and the link employment prospects enhances the possibility of improved quality of life and thus may be one of the factors that encourage adolescent to continue with school after child birth (Kaufman et al. , 2001). Even though pregnant teenagers may not officially be prevented from remaining at school, realistically, due to the demands of parenting, they may be forced to drop out of school, for example, in instances where there is no one to look after the child while the teenage mother continues with her schooling. Sometimes the pregnant teenager feels isolated from her peers. She may be embarrassed by her condition and have difficulty fitting in with her non-pregnant peers and as a result may drop out of school. Parenting teenagers often have to deal with strained family relationships. Sometimes parents react with anger to the pregnant teenagers. She may be blamed or ostracised for causing a problem (Cervera, 2004). Consequently, she may not get assistance and support from her family members forcing her to drop out of school in order to raise her child. Based on the aforementioned problems and its effect on the teenager, child, family and the society, this study seeks to assess the factors that influence teenage pregnancy and their effects in the Sunyani Municipality in order to help policy makers address the problem. It has been established that there has not been any similar study concerning teenage pregnancy and their effects on teenagers at the Sunyani Zongo community. Although there have been countless cases of teenage pregnancy in the community depriving affected teenagers from furthering their basic education. The aged in the community based on interaction with the researcher revealed that people come to the community to seek the support of the residents in response to their questionnaires, their projects aimed at other relevant community related problems but none of them is focused on teenage pregnancy. 1. 3 Justification of the Study Little attention has been given to psychological variables and processes that predict the occurrence of teenage pregnancy (Coley ; Chase-Lansdale, 2008). Most literature focuses on social factors, which predispose teenagers to falling pregnant. Pregnancy may cause psychological distress, as it is often associated with dropping out of school, either before or shortly after childbirth (Zondi, 2002). Teenage mothers are more likely to present with symptoms of depression when compared with their non-parenting peers and older mothers (Kalil ; Kunz, 2000). The transition to motherhood puts teenagers at a greater risk for psychological distress because they are socially, cognitively and emotionally immature to cope with the demands of motherhood. This study examines the experiences of pregnant learners, both in a scholastic and personal context. It assesses how these learners are affected by the demands of coexisting motherhood and adolescence. There appears to be little research done on how Ghanaian pregnant adolescent learners perceive their situation and how they cope with the demands of adolescence and of motherhood. The results drawn from the study would form a basis for further research on the psychological effects of pregnancy during teenagers and may also be of value to designing intervention strategies. 1. 4 Research Objectives The study focused on the following objectives. 1. 5 General Objective To assess the factors that influence teenage pregnancy and their effects in the Sunyani Municipality (SM) in order to recommend policy actions for policy makers. 1. 5. 1 Specific objectives This study intended: To assess the influence of socio-economic status on teenage pregnancy; To identify the effect of peer pressure on teenage pregnancy; and To examine mass media exposure and its effect on teenage pregnancy. To assess the effects of teenage pregnancy in the Sunyani Municipality. ` To make recommendations based on the findings of the study. . 5 Research Questions Based on the specific objectives of the study, the research seeks answers to the following questions: What is the influence and effects of socio-economic status on teenage pregnancy in the SM? What are the influences and effects of peer pressure on teenage pregnancy in the SM? How does the mass media exposure impact on teenage pregnancy? What are the co nsequences of teenage pregnancy in the Sunyani Municipality? 1. 6 Significance of the Study The outcome of this study will provide useful information about the psychological well-being of pregnant teenagers. This will assist mental health professionals in developing appropriate psycho-educational programmes to address the psychosocial challenges associated with teenage pregnancy and motherhood. Furthermore, the findings of the study will help to inform public debate that could lead to the development of appropriate policies on how to deal with the challenge of teenage pregnancy and motherhood. Also victims of teenage pregnancy will get the opportunity to disclose information about their experiences in order to help in their addressing problems. Considering the nature of this study, including student affairs professionals, counsellors or psychologists, and those interested in woman’s issues would be assisted to identify the factors associated with teenage pregnancy in the Sunyani Municipality and their effects on the teenager, the child and the society. Future researchers, who would study into determinants of teenage pregnancy in the Municipality, would also have a complement or a basis for their literature review. Finally, the research is likely to raise questions leading to further research. 1. 7 Scope of the Study For feasibility purposes, the study focused on how socio-economic status; peer pressure and early exposure to sexual activity by the mass media influence teenage pregnancy and their effects on the teenager, child and the society. The study considered school going teenagers who dropped out of school due to teenage pregnancy in the Sunyani Municipality. In the study, a pregnant teenager was pregnant girl aged 13 to 19 years. Besides, psychological effects in this study referred to the presence of symptoms related to somatic complaints, anxiety and insomnia, social isolation, and depression. The current study focused on pregnant teenagers who were drawn from the Sunyani Municipality who attended antenatal clinic (ANC) at the Sunyani Municipal Hospital (SMH) during the period of data collection. 1. 7 Delimitation Even though the study was carried out in Sunyani Municipality, concentration was on teenagers at Sunyani Zongo community considering the fact that they have stake in the topic understudy. This research was conducted within the following parameters: the influence and effects of socio-economic status on teenage pregnancy: he influence and effects of peer pressure on teenage pregnancy:: the influence and effects of mass media exposure on teenage pregnancy: the consequences of teenage pregnancy on teenagers. 1. 8 Organisation of the Chapters The research is in five different chapters. In the first chapter, an insight is given as to what the study is all about with the statement of research problem, research questions and objectives, significance of the study, limitat ions of the study, and the organization of the essay. In the second chapter, an overview of relevant materials related to the study is discussed. In the third chapter, the researcher presents the methodology used in the study; chapter 4 will focus on the presentation and analysis of data, and the final chapter will look at the conclusions and recommendations. CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2. 1 Introduction This chapter reviewed several selected studies which relate to the topic. The chapter focused on literature related to socio-economic status and teenage pregnancy; peer pressure and teenage pregnancy, mass media exposure and teenage pregnancy as well as the effects of teenage pregnancy 2. 2 Socio-economic status and Teenage Pregnancy It has been revealed that teenage pregnancy is often associated with low socio-economic status ( Dryfoos, 2006). Economically disadvantaged teenagers are characterised by low levels of education and lack of employment opportunities (Preston-Whyte & Zondi, 2002). Certain family characteristics have also been identified as factors that put teenagers at risk of becoming pregnant in early life. Factors such as poverty, single parent families –especially the female headed households, poorly educated parents have been associated with teenage pregnancy (Furstenberg et al. , 2007). Teenagers from one-parent headed families are apt to suffer from deprivations that may lead them to seek affection, security and a sense of significance elsewhere (Chillman, 2006). There are two contrasting views on the subject of single parenting. In some sources it is argued that most parenting adolescents have been found to come from impoverished single parent families, which are often headed by a female (Swartz, 2002). In the other source, children raised in single parent families are more likely to have been victims of an unstable family environment, have experienced a divorce or parental conflict (Russell, 2004). Negative family environment plays a major role in contributing to early teenage sexual experience and teenage pregnancy (Cunningham & Boult, 2002; Macleod, 2009). A family’s low economic status with all the factors associated with it, impacts negatively on teenagers’ attitudes towards early pregnancy. Life experiences associated with poverty minimise the perceived repercussions of adolescent pregnancy (Preston-Whyte & Zondi, 2002). Andorka (2008) stated that people with higher income show lower fertility levels at the earlier stage of socioeconomic development than people with lower income. Other basics of economic conditions such as economic security also seem to have a significant influence on teenage pregnancy (Andorka, 2008). A study by Kamal (2009) showed that a significant negative relation was found between teenage motherhood and the wealth index. About three out of four women with a poor wealth index started childbearing before they reached the age of nineteen. Choe et al. (2001) showed that woman’s education was significantly related to the probability of child bearing before the age of 20. The results of a study by Were (2007) also showed that teenage pregnancies were perpetuated by poor educational access as women with low levels of education tended to be the victims of teenage birth. Because educated woman were more likely to participate in the labour force than their uneducated or lower educated counterparts, women who were working also tended to delay their first marriage and first birth compared with those women who were not working. In Ghana, Bogue (2009) argue that education showed a stronger and more consistent relationship with teenage pregnancy. The level of education of women is a socioeconomic indicator which is frequently found to be negatively related to teenage pregnancy. This is because educated women tend to marry and use contraception later compared to women who have a low level of education (Bongaarts, 2008). Furthermore, Cochrane (2009) also stated that education was positively related to more favourable attitudes toward birth control, greater knowledge of contraception, and husband-wife communication. Thus, concerning the context of the study, it assumes that the level of educational attainment of women may affect the timing of childbearing among women. . 3 Peer Pressure and Teenage Pregnancy Preston-Whyte & Zondi (2002) found that schoolmates exerted a lot of pressure on their peers to engage in sexual relations. Some studies have found that teenagers often cite their peers as being of strong influence on their sexual behaviour (Preston-Whyte & Zondi, 2002; Chillman, 2006). Teenagers’ need for approval and a desire to belong to a group makes them vulnerable to peer influence thereby leading to them to teenage pregnancy (Kamal, 2009). Nowadays teenagers’ preferred position is to stay away from their parents, to avoid to be controlled by parents. They rather listen to their peers than to their parents. Bezuidenhout (2002) said that during that time norms and values taught by parents start to fade out and are replaced by liberal sexual values orientated by peers. Preston-Whyte and Zondi (2002) mentioned that peer pressure plays a role in teenage pregnancy. Buga et al. (2006) found that 20% of girls and 10% of boys respectively indicated that they had initiated sexual activity because of peer pressure. Wood et al. (2006) said peer pressure takes a form of exclusionary practices (e. g. sending sexually inexperienced teenagers away when having discussions concerning sexual matters). Again Mfono (2008) indicated that one of the dynamics operative in sexual relations is that girls and young women are under pressure to demonstrate that they are sexually capable of giving birth. Furthermore, Rozakis (2003) believed that many teens are pushed by their friends into doing something they are not ready for, and really do not understand that peer pressure can be a very strong and persuasive force for sexual relations during adolescence. Peer association has been indicated as one of the strongest predictors of adolescent sexual behaviour and teenage pregnancy (DiBlasio & Benda, 2004). Youth that do not engage in sex tend to have friends who also abstain. Those that are sexually active tend to believe that their friends are sexually active as well. Males, particularly those over 16, report more pressure from peers to be sexually active while females report more pressure from partners (Guggino & Ponzetti, 2007). Moore and Rosenthal (2003) pointed to the following ways peer influence can operate: Through sharing of information, which can serve as a guide in decision-making about sex (this may include inaccurate information). Through prevailing attitudes about sexuality (implicitly reflected in their behaviour and serving as a role model or explicitly stated in discussions etc. ). For example, there is some research evidence that the age of first intercourse is related to the perceived peer approval of premarital intercourse (Daugherty & Burger, 2004). 2. 4 Mass media exposure and Teenage Pregnancy Lucas (2004) stated that the age at first marriage is the one of the determinants of fertility and is classed as the intercourse variable. Early entry into marriage or a union is considered to be strongly connected with early child bearing. The supposition is that it will expose women to regular sexual intercourse through the mass media, and therefore increase the possibility of conception (Mahy & Gupta, 2002). Gupta and Leite (2009) stated that access to the media was found to be the most significant predictor of fertility among young adult women in Brazil based on an analysis of DHS data. In this region, the mass media are believed to play an important role in promoting social attitudes about fertility and reproductive behaviours, especially given the country’s linguistic homogeneity (Gupta & Leite, 2009). It can be assumed that women who are used to being exposed to mass media are likely to understand the risks of teenage motherhood, and, as a result, they tend to delay their pregnancies. It is clear from different sources that the media often plays a major role in influencing teenage pregnancy. Parents can hardly consistently monitor what programmes their teenagers are watching. Rozakis (2003) believed that television is the main source of sexual socialization in many teenagers’ lives in the USA. According to A Rozakis (2003), in a single year there were 20, 000 sexual messages on television used to sell almost anything you can imagine: cars, travel, soft drinks, toothpaste, and clothing. Television also shows six times more extramarital sex than sex between husbands and wives. During the absence of any elderly person children become bored and want to experiment with many things including exploring TV channels as source of entertainment. Devenish et al. (2002) agreed that the media also portray sex as fun and exciting. Bezuidenhout (2004) added that sexually arousing material, whether it is on film, in print or set to music, is freely available to the teenager and such information is often presented out of the context of the prescribed sexual norms of that society. Schultz (2004), in his empirical study, suggested that sex educators, social workers, other helping professionals, and parents should work together to counteract distortions that affect adolescents’ sexual development and sexual growth, and professionals and parents need to recognize the reality and power of the media as an influence on sexual growth. All of the above can influence teenager’s behaviour and encourage them to experiment with sex which will lead to unwanted teenage pregnancies (Schultz, 2004). Similarly, Moore and Rosenthal (2003) pointed out that television, films and other forms of media have removed a lot of the mystery surrounding sex by increasingly explicit portrayal of sexual acts, which can provide a model of sexual behaviour. The stereotypic portrayals often do not provide positive role models with hedonistic values rather than responsibility being promoted (e. g. planning for sex being rarely included) (Moore, 2000). According to McCabe (20055), the media’s message is that teenagers should be sexually experienced. 2. 5 Effects of Teenage Pregnancy Teenage pregnancy has been associated with a number of negative effects, hence it is perceived as a social problem (Furstenberg et al. , 2007; Macleod, 2009). In medical literature it has been associated with obstetrics problems such as high infant and maternal mortality, risks of clandestine abortion, delivery complications and low infant birth weight (Dickson, 2002). Other complications for the teenage mother are limited educational opportunities, self-determination and a poor quality of life (Prater, 2002). At the broader social level the high teenage fertility rate has been found to have a negative effect on the economic development (Varga, 2003). Some young mothers do not get support from their families. They may be rejected by their families and blamed for introducing a permanent crisis (Hudson & Ineichen, 2001; Cervera, 2004). In a situation where there was a pre-existing interpersonal problem, there is a potential that tension might be orchestrated (Dryfoos, 2006). Therefore conflict may arise between the pregnant daughter and other members of the family. Some sources have reported positive results, indicating that sometimes a family reorganises itself in order to adjust to the new member of the family (Cervera, 2004). The family may react with dismay or anger when they discover about the pregnancy, but when the baby is born the family may become the source of support for the mother (Moore, 2000). Positive family support has been associated with emotional adjustment and mental stability for both mother and child (Camerana et al. , 2008). According to Kalil and Kunz (20088) young mothers who lived with a supportive family tended to cope better. In the Ghanaian context, a child of an unmarried mother belongs to its mothers’ family (Burman, 2002). It is very unlikely that her family will reject a teenage mother (Kaufman et al. , 2001). Most communities no longer practice acts of exclusion to the unmarried mother and her child (Parekh & De La Rey, 2007). In her review of South African studies on teenage pregnancy, Macleod (20099) stated that teenage mothers reported a perceived improvement in the relationship with their parents. Parents were reported to relate to teenage mothers as adults. Thus parenthood gave the teenage mothers an entry to adulthood (Preston-Whyte & Zondi, 2002). Prater (2002) stated that teenage pregnancy and subsequent parenting could create major obstacles to any learner’s achievements at school. Thus, pregnant learners are impaired by their situation. Even though they have as much potential for academic success as their non-parenting cohorts, there are multidimensional causes for their academic failure. Many investigations have shown that early pregnancy hinders educational attainment. Erikson (2004) reported that teenage mothers exhibited a ‘syndrome of failure’, which included a failure to remain in school. Pregnant learners are more likely to drop out of school for at least an academic year. The dual role of being a mother and a learner is stressful (Parekh & De La Rey, 2007) and impinges on school achievement. School attendance, is also disturbed by such things as babysitting arrangements and the health of the child. Furstenberg et al. (2007) referred to what is termed ‘role overload’. He defined ‘role overload’ as the strain that exists when the teenage mother simultaneously attempts to meet the demands of parenting and schooling. Parenting learners cannot participate in experiences enjoyed by their peers, for example, extra-curricular activities, which can add much value to the total school experience of most teenagers. Despite these hardships schooling emerged as important (Prater, 2002). Depression has been correlated with teenage pregnancy (Hamburg, 2006). Parenting teenagers are more likely to present with higher levels of depression when compared with non-parenting adolescents and older mothers. In most literature psychological distress among adolescent mothers is perceived as resulting from psychosocial stressors related to the adjustment into the role of being the mother (Kalil & Kunz, 2000). In some literature it is argued that teenage girls are predisposed to depression (Galambos, 2004). It is postulated that teenage girls are more prone to experiencing mothers of the same ethnic and socio-economic status had similar findings (Field et al. , 2006; Hudson & Ineichen, 2001). It was found that infants of teenage mothers are more likely to receive less verbal stimulation and to have developmental delays. These negative effects were associated with the fact that teenage mothers had limited knowledge of developmental milestones and held punitive child rearing attitudes. Literature concludes that teenage mothering is contributory to poor cognitive development of the child. Low education levels of the mother, poor socioeconomic status and negative attitudes towards child rearing are correlated with the child’s poor developmental outcome (Field et al. , 2006). Cunningham and Boult (2006) also postulated that the young mother’s immaturity, social inexperience and lack of child rearing skills have a negative effect on the child. The young mother and her off-spring are at a risk of becoming victims of crime like incest, rape, neglect, abuse, family violence and of participation in criminal activities such as drug trafficking, prostitution etc. In the Ghanaian context the teenage mother often resides in her parental home (Preston-Whyte & Zondi, 2002) and the child is often in the care of an adult during the day either the grandmother or at an alternative day care. This implies that the child of a teenager is more than likely to receive parenting from an adult mother figure and to benefit from this interaction (Camerana et al. , 2008). Multiple care giving has also been found to be of benefit for the mother. While an adult is looking after the child, the mother gets the opportunity to attend to other responsibilities thus alleviating the stressors for the mother.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl When I had heard that New York Times’ Crime Columnist, Marilyn Stasio, had written about former Entertainment Weekly critic, Gillian Flynn’s newest thriller, the best-selling crime novel of the summer, Gone Girl, I was compelled to see what she had written. Stasio begins by setting Flynn’s newest piece on a pedestal of literary genius. Her use of the English language made it as tempting as bait to a fish: â€Å"Gillian Flynn’s latest novel of psychological suspense will confound anyone trying to keep up with her quicksilver mind and diabolical rules of play. She goes on later in the article to comment of her fearless ability to strip dense pretenses from her characters and lay them bare across the pages of the novel for all her readers to see. I was sold at â€Å"psychological. † The article commends the author on her clever usage of a double narration technique. This, ties in with Flynn’s supposed unique abi lity which allows us, the readers, to closely view the elaborate maze of a book that she has created. If you don’t pay attention to where everything is headed, you’ll be lost before you can flip the page.The specific uses of the two narrators (who are also the main characters) are one of the only things that I agree upon with Stasio. One of the narrators gives us his confused perspective of the main plot which only leads us to a red herring. We are fed a selective amount and quality of information that creates a neon sign in our head that says, â€Å"HE KILLED HER. † The other narrator, just as useful, gives us disturbing accounts of events that, as Stasio says, are â€Å"instances of marital discord [that] might flare into a homicidal rage. If nothing else reeled me in, the words â€Å"homicidal† and â€Å"rage† definitely led me to believe the story would inevitably lead to a climactic ending that mirrored something that could only be found in a Saw movie. I was left as a man is left disappointed at an altar. I felt as if I had wasted a good portion of my life on something that didn’t deserve to scrape dirt off the bottom of my shoes. The story turned out to be one of those classic rich girl abductions where she is returned unharmed as if nothing ever happened.And as an added twist, she turns out to be an attention craving psychopath with problems that stem from her perfect parents who are successful writers. The subject of every one of their stories is based off their daughter. Anything she does wrong, the subject of their book does correctly. This is one of many things that should have led to a gut-wrenching finish, but instead led to one homicide and a cliff hanger that could mean absolutely anything: â€Å"I really truly wish he hadn’t said that.I keep thinking about it. I can’t stop. / I don’t have anything else to add I just wanted to make sure I had the last word. I think I’ve ear ned that† (Gone Girl 430). After finishing the first chapter of the novel, I realized that Stasio had summarized all of it in the second paragraph of her article. This epiphany was followed by another brutal five chapters of pre-examined reading. Stasio might not realize it but, she has taken away the only pleasure one could have from reading this novel.The beginning is so innocently written that you would think that our main character could never kill his wife, no matter all the evidence that piled up. It would be possible to ignore the smile he gives the press when they told them about his wife. It would be possible to ignore him increasing his wife’s life insurance before she disappears. It would be possible to ignore his young and pretty girlfriend. But you simply cannot ignore Stasio’s plot spoiling review. â€Å"Diabolical†¦underhanded†¦trickery†¦devilish way† are all words Stasio uses to describe Flynn’s new novel.The only word I can come up with to describe Stasio’s article is â€Å"hypocrite! † Stasio’s perspective on the novel seems filled with excitement and satisfaction, but the truth is upon closer inspection, you can tell that she really couldn’t find anything kind to say, (not that I blame her). My problem with it was how she led me to believe the book would be worth spending valuable time reading. Truth be told, I would rather jump off a bridge. It would definitely be more thrilling than Gone Girl. Maybe Stasio could lead them to believe someone pushed me.