The Causes and Symptoms of Spina Bifida essays

The Causes and Symptoms of Spina Bifida essays Research has shown that mothers who have some form of prenatal education, and who are cared for by qualified physicians, have significantly lower risk pregnancies. Education is a key factor in preventing possibly severe birth defects such as, "spina bifida." Each day an average of 11 babies are born with neural tubal disorders or NTD's like spina bifida, or anencephaly. "Ninety-five percent of neural tube defects occur in women with no history of neural tube affected pregnancies." NTD's can occur early in pregnancy, often before a woman even knows she is pregnant. "In September, 1992, based on randomized control trials and observational studies, the United States Public Health Service published a recommendation, stating that "all women of childbearing age in the United States should consume 0.4 mg of folic acid daily to reduce the risk of having a pregnancy affected by a neural tube defect." (The Spina Bifida Association of America 1). "Each year, 300,000 to 400,000 infants worldwide are born with spina bifida and anencephaly," (Oakley S116). If new mothers, and even young women in general, were more educated about how their diet, and actions effect their babies, the number of cases of NTD's would be greatly diminished. Spina bifida occurs when the spine fails to close properly during the first few weeks of pregnancy. "The central nervous system and spine develop between the 14th and 28th day after conception" (Bloom 79). "Spina bifida occurs when there is a failure of development of the boney canal which surrounds the brain and spinal cord. In the spine, the affected vertebrae have a defect posteriorly (at the back) so that a boney ring does not completely surround the spinal cord. This leaves a gap so that, instead of the posterior arm being whole it is divided - that is bifid. The fault may occur in one or more of the vertebrae but it is most common around waist-level," (Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus 1). People ...

Definition Essay Sample on Gender The Role of Men and Women

Definition Essay Sample on Gender The Role of Men and Women Introduction The English dictionary defines gender as a word that is commonly used to refer to the quality of a human being either masculine or feminine. However, the word gender in modern times is used to refer to the debate on the role of both male and female members of society. In the past years the roles of both men and women were clearly defined with the men being the breadwinners while the women were the care providers for both the children and the men who were their husbands. Why I want a wife However, with the structure of society having changed so drastically in the past few years, the clear line that defined the role of both men and women has now been blurred as their roles have overlapped with time. It is no longer sufficient to classify the male gender as the provider for the family or the female gender as the caregiver for the family. The definition of both male and female sexes is no longer clear with members of both sexes performing roles that were initially reserved for the other gender. Men are no longer the sole providers for their families as women have been economically empowered and are now running big companies competing with their male counterparts. Women are also not the sole caregivers for their children as more men are now opting to become stay at home dads so that they can take care of their children. What are men good for? The primary role reserved for men as providers was the defining role that has been the guiding principle in society with regard to what society expects of the male population. However, this role has been usurped by women in modern society who now work and also provide for their families. The time for women to stay at home while their men go to work is long past as women hold top positions in many big organizations worldwide. Women have proven themselves as able workers who are able to deliver at the workplace and in many cases have even performed better than men in positions such as customer service representatives and even as secretaries. However, the transformation of women from housewives into corporate leaders has not been without struggle as women have had to fight for their position in society as equals with men. The initial discrimination they faced in past decades as most employers preferred male employees to women has been eroded through a fighting spirit and determination t o prove to society that they too can work. In the current society we have many women who have top leadership positions in big corporations, and these companies have succeeded even under female leadership tom prove that women are just as good as men if not better. In the past it was the role of the women to be the primary caregiver to the children, who also included taking care of their husbands, however, this role, is no longer reserved for women as more men choose to become stay-at-home dads so that they can care for their children. These men who stay home and take care of their children take on a role that has been shunned by men for centuries as it was believed that men did not possess the quality of nurture. It was strongly believed that only women could nurture children, especially during their formative years when they are fully dependent on their care givers. However, many men are now taking over the role of nurturing their children and research indicates that they are excelling at this role. This means that men too can nurture a young child and give it the same care that a woman would give to the same child. Although men may not be able to breastfeed a child, which was the main reason that most of society believed that only women coul d care for infants, they can provide care in many other ways. It is now evident that men too can nurture a young child as the primary caregiver and that this role is not only reserved for women, which is another changing face of gender. A third role that was designated for women was that they were supposed to be subservient to men, attending to all the needs of their husbands and supporting them. This role included things such as washing their husband’s clothes, cooking for their husbands, cleaning the house as well as washing the children’s clothes. It was clearly defined that the husband had executive power in the household and that his every wish was to be obeyed without question. However, this power has shifted greatly in recent years as women no longer have the lesser role in relationships, but are considered as equals with men. Most relationships are nowadays extremely consultative where the opinions of both partners carry equal weight and no partner has authority over the other partner. Men are no longer the masters while women are relegated to being their servants, in many situations, men will be found carrying out some of the chores such as cleaning the house or even doing the laundry. Why is it so hard for men and women? In conclusion, it is clear that the roles of both the female and the male gender in society are changing significantly as has been demonstrated above. Men are no longer the sole providers as more women are now working and have top leadership positions in major companies, which mean that women are also acting as providers for their families. It is also clear that women are no longer the sole caregivers for their children as more men are choosing to become stay at home dads so that they can take care of their children. It is clear now that the definition of gender has evolved greatly over time. Do you need an original custom definition essay on this topic? Our essay writing service can write a high-quality non-plagiarized definition paper for you.

Travel Agency Sector in the United Kingdom Essay

Travel Agency Sector in the United Kingdom - Essay Example The barriers to market entry in the travel agency sector are low, therefore, increasing the intensity of the competition. Most travel agents are shifting their marketing to online bookings in order to remain competitive. In 2013, the penetration of in-store bookings fell from 25 percent to 18 percent from the previous year (www.store.mintel.com). The agencies are facing numerous challenges due to an increase in mobile internet penetration. The two leading travel agencies in the UK are TUI Travel plc and Thomas Cook Group plc. Thomas Cook travel agency is one of the leading UK-based travel agencies, and it is also listed on the London Stock Exchange. The agency owns a number of tour operators and charter airlines in the United Kingdom. The agency also extends its presence to Belgium and the Scandinavian countries. It is also the owner of Condor (scheduled airline) and Hotels4u (booking website). Currently, Thomas Cook has a customer base of 19.1 million and 32,722 employees making it the second largest travel agency in Europe and the UK. Thomas Cook ranks second after TUI UK Limited, which has 4,644,025 passengers licensed (CAA 2015). This Group attributes its growth to the introduction of new products and its winter sun initiatives (Thomas Cook 2015, p. 1). Table 1 shows the overall performance of Thomas Cook for the two-year period. TUI Travel plc is the leading travel services provider in the United Kingdom. The Group offers high-quality travel services to its 30 million customers in 31 major source markets. These services include flight bookings and the entire holiday services (TUI Travel plc 2014). Despite the high competition in the travel industry, TUI Travel plc recorded an underlying operating growth profit of 11 percent at constant current rates (TUI Travel plc 2014, p. 1).  Ã‚