History of the Apollo 1 Tragedy

History of the Apollo 1 Tragedy On   January 27, 1967, three men lost their lives in NASAs first disaster. It occurred on the ground as Virgil I. Gus Grissom  (the second American astronaut to fly into space),  Edward H. White II, (the first American astronaut to walk in space) and Roger B. Chaffee, (a rookie astronaut on his first space mission), were practicing for the first Apollo mission. At the time, since it was a ground test, the mission was called Apollo/Saturn 204. Ultimately, it would be called Apollo 1 and it was going to be an Earth-orbiting trip. Lift-off was scheduled for February 21, 1967, and would be the first of a series of trips to train astronauts for the moon landing slated for the late 1960s.   Mission Practice Day On January 27th, the astronauts were going through a procedure called a plugs-out test. Their Command Module was mounted on the Saturn 1B rocket on the launch pad just as it would have been during the actual launch. The rocket was unfueled but everything else was as close to reality as the team could make it. That days work was to be an entire countdown sequence from the moment the astronauts entered the capsule until the time that launch would have occurred. It seemed very straightforward, no risk to the astronauts, who were suited up and ready to go.   A Few Seconds of Tragedy Right after lunch, the crew entered the capsule to start the test. There were small problems from the beginning and finally, a communications failure caused a hold to be placed on the count at 5:40 p.m. At 6:31 p.m.  a voice (possibly Roger Chaffees) exclaimed, Fire, I smell fire! Two seconds later, Ed Whites voice came over the circuit, Fire in the cockpit. The final voice transmission was very garbled. They’re fighting a bad fire- let’s get out. Open ‘er up or, We’ve got a bad fire- let’s get out. We’re burning up or, I’m reporting a bad fire. I’m getting out.The transmission ended with a cry of pain.   The flames  spread quickly through the cabin. The last transmission ended 17 seconds after the start of the fire. All telemetry information was lost shortly after that. Emergency responders were dispatched quickly to help. The crew most likely perished within the first 30 seconds of smoke inhalation or burns. Resuscitation efforts were futile. A Cascade of Problems Attempts to get at the astronauts were stymied by a host of problems. First,  the capsule hatch was closed with clamps that required extensive ratcheting to release. Under the best of circumstances, it could take at least 90 seconds to open them. Since the hatch opened inward, pressure had to be vented before it could be opened. It was nearly five minutes after the start of the fire before rescuers could get into the cabin. By this time, the oxygen-rich atmosphere, which had seeped into the materials of the cabin, had ignited and spread flames throughout the capsule.   Apollo 1 Aftermath The disaster put a hold on the entire Apollo program. Investigators needed to probe the wreckage and figure out the causes of the fire. Although a specific point of ignition for the fire could not be determined, the investigation boards final report blamed the fire on electrical arcing among the wires hanging open in the cabin, which was filled with materials that burned easily. In the oxygen-enriched atmosphere, all it took was one spark to set off a fire. The astronauts couldnt escape through the locked hatches in time.   The lessons of the Apollo 1 fire were tough ones. NASA replaced cabin components with self-extinguishing materials. Pure oxygen (which is always a danger) was replaced by a nitrogen-oxygen mixture at launch. Finally, engineers re-designed the hatch to open outward and made it so that it could be removed quickly in the event of a problem. Honoring those Who Lost their Lives The mission was officially assigned the name Apollo 1 in honor of Grissom, White, and Chaffee. The first Saturn V launch (uncrewed) in November 1967 was designated Apollo 4 (no missions were ever designated Apollo 2 or 3).  Ã‚   Grissom and Chaffee were laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, and Ed White is buried at West Point at the US Military Academy where he studied. All three men are honored throughout the country, with their names on schools, military, and civilian museums and other structures.   Reminders of Danger The Apollo 1 fire was a stark reminder that space exploration is not an easy thing to do. Grissom himself once said that exploration was a risky business. If we die, we want people to accept it. We are in a risky business, and we hope that if anything happens to us, it will not delay the program. The conquest of space is worth the risk of life.   To minimize risks, astronauts and ground crews practice relentlessly, planning for almost any eventuality. as flight crews have done for decades. Apollo 1 wasnt the first time NASA had lost astronauts. In 1966, astronauts Elliott See and Charles Bassett were killed in a crash of their NASA jet crashed on a routine flight to St. Louis. In addition, the Soviet Union had lost cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov at the end of a mission earlier in 1967. But, the Apollo 1 catastrophe reminded everyone  again of the risks of flight.   Edited and updated by  Carolyn Collins Petersen.

Terms You Might Not Know Are Considered Racist

Terms You Might Not Know Are Considered Racist Some racist terms have been included in the American vocabulary for so long that many who use them are often clueless about their origins. Boy In most situations, the word boy is not a problem. Used to describe an African American man, however, the word is troublesome. Thats because historically whites routinely described black men as boys to suggest African Americans werent on equal footing with them. Both during and after slavery, African Americans werent viewed as full-fledged people but as mentally, physically, and spiritually inferior beings to whites. Calling black men boys was one way to express the racist ideologies of yesteryear. Despite its widespread use as a racial putdown, in Ash v. Tyson Foods, the U.S. Court of Appeals  decided that boy cannot be considered a racial slur unless its prefaced with a racial marker such as black. This decision has sparked controversy, considering that whites typically didnt call African American black boys during Jim Crow, but simply boys. The good news, according to Prerna Lal of Change.org, is that the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the holding, ruling that the use of the word boy on its own is not enough evidence of racial animus, but that the word is also not benign. That means the court is willing to consider the context in which boy is used to determine if its being uttered as a racial epithet. Gypped Gypped  is arguably the most commonly used  racist term  in existence today. If someone buys a used car that turns out to be lemon, for instance, he may complain, â€Å"I got gypped.† So, why is the term offensive? Because it equates the Gypsy, or Roma peoples, with being thieves, cheats and con artists. When someone says that they â€Å"got gypped,† they are essentially saying that they were conned. Explained Jake Bowers, editor of the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller ezine  Travellers Times, to the British newspaper the  Telegraph: â€Å"Gypped is an offensive word, it is derived from Gypsy and it’s being used in the same context as a person might once have said they ‘jewed’ somebody if they did an underhand business transaction.† But don’t take Bowers’ word for it. If you’re still debating whether or not to use the verb â€Å"gypped,† consider that Philip Durkin, the principal etymologist at the  Oxford English Dictionary  told the  Telegraph  that there is a â€Å"scholarly consensus† that the word originated as a â€Å"racial slur.† No Can Do and Long Time No See These two phrases have probably rolled off the tongues of most Americans at some point in time. However, the sayings are only mocking the attempts of Chinese immigrants and Native Americans, for whom English was a second language. Uppity Most people have no idea that the term uppity has racist connotations when applied to black people in particular. Southerners used the term for black people who didnt know their place and that term was usually followed by another racial slur. Despite its negative history, the word is regularly used by various races. Websters dictionary defines uppity as putting on or marked by airs of superiority and likens the word to arrogant and presumptuous. In 2011, the word got some national coverage when Rush Limbaugh said that Michelle Obama showed uppity-ism. Considering the Shyster Many people have come to believe that shyster is an anti-Semitic, but the origins of the word are linked to a Manhattan newspaper editor in 1843–1844. According to an article on Law.com, at the time, there was a crusade against legal and political corruption in the city, and the editor derived the term shyster from the German word scheisse, which means excrement. There are several reasons for the anti-Semitic confusion including the closeness to Shakespeares Shylock, and belief that the term came from the proper name of Scheuster, who some think was a corrupt lawyer. The etymology of the word indicates it was never intended as a racial slur, and that it was applied derogatorily to lawyers in general, and not to any one ethnic group.

For Rousseau, man is born free and everywhere he is in chains. Do you Essay

For Rousseau, man is born free and everywhere he is in chains. Do you agree with this assessment Discuss with reference to - Essay Example The first man who accustomed himself as an owner of a land had first brought the idea of tyranny and oppression in society. Prior to the idea, that society had succumbed to ownership; there have been less crime and hardship, and sorrow was out of sight. However, when man succeeded in the act of ownership with it began the invisible chain attached to every human being born. Furthermore, man emerged when he was first to think of himself, provide for his own needs, and was ignorant of his ability to own properties and be above with others. Nonetheless, the time came that he felt the difficulty to do things all by himself and do against the natural circumstances. The differing tides of the time, the changes of the environmental conditions, and other natural and unexpected circumstances had brought man to a point where he considered these as no longer natural. It became a significant source of hardship for him. In order to survive the hindrances, man needed to learn to be above other spec ies. He needed to eat; therefore, he hunted down other species, which had brought him to think that he is above them. This superiority brought man to boast and take pride of himself. As a result, the solitary man had evolved into seeing his likeness to other human beings. His ability to incorporate himself with others and his ability to be part of the lives of others came to being naturally, and at first, language was not needed in order to interact. Jean Jacques Rousseau added that, in line with man’s ability to interact and be above other species, he was able to evolve into a person who has learned the usage of tools. These primitive tools brought man to build huts. In these huts were families, considered as the smallest part of a society, which begun to hold property on where their huts stood. The families, which composed of a man and a woman, lived under one roof and were able to bear children. After the establishment of the first society, man became more convenient on hi s way of living. However, his needs accumulated and losing these needs and not sufficiently having these needs made him unhappy. Moreover, language emerged during the time when man experienced natural catastrophes. This had caused man to be able to communicate in order to combat and surpass these instances. Furthermore, in the emergence of language, man became more civilized and eventually formed nations. Along with this, the love within families heightened in the light of ideas and preferences of the nations. Negative ideologies also came about which also brought walls between the differences of the different group of people. People were grouped in accordance to the songs they were singing and to the steps they were dancing. A wall between people was established by identifying one as different from the others. This then caused inequality, and vices became real in the realm of societies. This had brought man to believe that, by nature, he is unjust, disrespectful and that politics m ust emerge to be able to maintain peace and order. However, this has been wrongly inferred because man, at its natural state is gentle. Moreover, the earliest society depicted happiness among its people; however, progress eventually brought inequality. Freedom was felt by every individual; however, the inevitable chains of slavery and captivity were brought to existence

Walden University Writing Center - the Temple of Writing Research Paper

Walden University Writing Center - the Temple of Writing - Research Paper Example In addition to these, the centre provides a grammar check facility, and to maintain academic integrity, there is a plagiarism detection tool integrated called Turnitin. Above all, the website gives a detailed description about writing in APA style. Walden University Writing Center: The Temple of Writing The online writing center of the Walden University introduces a student to what is known as the scientific way of writing. It offers the possibility of exploring APA style and formatting, taking up writing courses to improve one’s writing skills, participation in webinars, tutoring from professionals in the field of writing and expressing their views in the blogs of the writing center. The webpage is equally useful for a beginner as well as an experienced author. It caters to the individual needs of each student. One of the most attractive features of the writing centre is getting individual feedback from the Walden staff on the works the students upload on the site. A Step by Step Guide to Writing For an undergraduate student Walden University writing centre is a step by step guide unfolding the solutions to various problems he/she may come across while preparing his/her assignments. It provides an orientation to what exactly the assignment is about, the keywords to be searched, common writing terms in an assignment, thereby making the student develop a clear understanding about his/her assignment. The site provides training in preparing discussion posts. Though they are mini-essays they require ultimate attention and alertness as in preparing a research paper. There are options for preparing collaborative assignments which can improve a student’s ability in communication, time management, and delegation. As a beginner in writing, an undergraduate student definitely finds the writing guidelines very appropriate and useful as he/she progresses through the course. In addition to these services, the Walden University provides services like one to one tutoring and live webinars. Students are permitted to access Knowledge Area modules and work on it. In addition to these services, the student gets an opportunity to deal with capstone studies that give extensive help in improving one’s research paper. Individualized Learning The most interesting feature of Walden writing centre is one on one tutoring. Here the student makes an appointment with the tutor of his choice; then uploads his work for the review along with the instructions on areas to be focused on. Within 2 days the student will receive a feedback from the tutor. The feedback will include resources and suggestions on grammar, APA style adherence, basic formatting and regarding the flow of writing. The students are requested to submit their papers before 5 am EST on that day. The aim of this service is not to fix the errors in a paper but to improve the writing skills of the students. So the students should make sure to incorporate these suggestions in the next pap er they work on. Another very useful and vibrant service is the live webinars the centre provides. These are discussions on subjects relevant to perfecting one’s writing skills. There is a webinar archive which provides the details of past webinars. Making an Appointment To make an appointment with the tutor of your choice the student is requested to log on to ‘my Walden portal’. Click on the Academics tab, click on schedule an appointment and then tutor tab.        Ã‚  

Female Genital Mutilation in Egypt Essay Example for Free

Female Genital Mutilation in Egypt Essay Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a socio-religious practice that is very prevalent in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. It entails the partial or total removal of the female external genitalia for cultural or any other non-therapeutic purpose. As of 1999, at least 130 million girls and women were believed to have undergone FGM. In the same year, it was estimated that about 2 million girls are at risk of being subjected to some form of the procedure every year (WHO 3). FGM is criticized mainly for its detrimental effects on a woman’s physical and psychological health. Girls and women who had been subjected to FGM may die of hemorrhage, shock, urinary tract infections or tetanus (WHO 21). They may likewise experience psychological disorders such as severe depression, anxiety and psychosomatic illnesses (Markle, Fisher and Smego 79). Advocates of FGM, however, claim that Islam requires the practice in order to preserve a woman’s chastity (WHO 6). The actual origins of FGM are very obscure – ethnologists and historians have come up with different theories regarding the existence of the practice. While FGM is commonly associated with Islam, historical evidence shows that the former has predated the latter by at least 1,200 years. The procedure was believed to have been first discussed by the Greek historian Herodotus (484 – 425 BC) (Bullough and Bullough 205). According to his writings, the Ethiopians, the Hittites and the Phoenicians during the 5th century BC were already practicing FGM (UNFPA n. pag. ). The early Romans, the Egyptians and the Arabs likewise performed FGM – there are historical accounts of Egyptian mummies exhibited signs of having undergone the procedure (UNFPA n. pag. ). For the ancient Egyptians, FGM was regarded as a sign of distinction among the aristocracy (Momoh 5). In Western Europe and the United States, FGM was known as clitoridectomy. Until the 1950s, doctors in these regions used clitoridectomy to treat â€Å"ailments† in women such as hysteria, mental disorders, nymphomania, masturbation and lesbianism (UNFPA n. pag. ). FGM is usually done on girls between 8 to 10 years old. Reproductive health experts, however, point out that the procedure is already being carried out on younger girls – there have been cases wherein infant girls were subjected to FGM just a few days after their birth (WHO 147). FGM is classified into four general types: a. Type I – Excision of the prepuce, with or without excision of part or the entire clitoris. b. Type II – Excision of the clitoris with partial or total excision of the labia minora. c. Type III – Excision of part or the entire external genitalia and the stitching or narrowing of the vaginal opening (infibulation) (Momoh 6). d. Type IV – Pricking, piercing or incising of the clitoris and or the labia; scraping of tissue surrounding the vaginal orifice; cutting of the vagina and or the introduction of corrosive substances or herbs into the vagina to induce bleeding or to tighten the opening (UNFPA n. pag. ). FGM is usually performed by traditional midwifes or village barbers. They use unsterilized instruments such as razor blades, knives, broken glass, scissors or sharpened stones. Furthermore, they conduct procedures without anesthetic in unhygienic settings (WHO, 148). A new phenomenon, however, has emerged in the recent years – the â€Å"medicalization† of FGM. Despite laws banning the practice of FGM, hospitals in Egypt, Kenya and Sudan now clandestinely perform the procedure. Under the pretext of an illness, female teenagers in these countries are circumcised in the hospital either early in the morning or late at night. The procedure is done during these hours in order to evade detection and arrest. The punishment for performing FGM is relatively stiff – a $625 fine or incarceration for up to a year. But doctors willingly look the other way for the money – medical practitioners in Kenya, for instance, are paid between $37 and $125 for every procedure they perform. Traditional practitioners, in sharp contrast, could charge only as much as $25 (Nzwili n. pag. ). Egypt’s current problem with FGM can be traced back to the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in 1994. The ICPD was held in Cairo – supposedly a turning point in the understanding of health, development and women’s rights in the Islamic world. Critics, however, pointed out that the Cairo Program of Action merely â€Å"forwarded a holistic vision of the connections between sexual ad reproductive health and women’s economic autonomy, social and political equality, access to education and freedom from violence† (Chavkin and Chesler 35). The issues regarding the right of women to control their sexuality and the relevance of this right to achieving health and social justice were inadequately discussed (Chavkin and Chesler 35). Despite this shortcoming, the ICPD managed to transform the issue of FGM from a relatively low-profile subject into matter of national debate. Conservative religious leaders who participated in the conference and their allies in the Egyptian press expressed their approval of FGM by claiming that it is an important part of national and religious identity. Progressive women’s groups, on the other hand, argued that the practice perpetuated the inferior status of women in Egyptian society. In the process, this dispute on FGM showed that the topic of women’s rights is simply a means for Egyptian politicians to attain popularity among the electorate (Chavkin and Chesler 35). Eager to make a good impression on all the foreign delegates of the ICPD, particularly on those from the West, the Egyptian minister of health stated that FGM was already a dying practice in Egypt. But on the very next day, CNN reported about the circumcision of a young girl that took place somewhere in Cairo (Chavkin and Chesler 35). The minister, in an act of political face-saving, declared that the Egyptian government was determined to confront and put an end to the practice. In order to appease Egypt’s conservative sector, meanwhile, he signed an ambivalent decree which allowed only public medical facilities to perform FGM. The law even included provisions which set standard fees and special days when families could book appointments (Chavkin and Chesler 36). The aforementioned aftermath of the ICPD showed the greatest obstacle towards fully implementing anti-FGM policies and programs not just in Egypt but in all other countries that practice FGM – the reconciliation of universal imperatives of human rights with the values of local cultures. The same dilemma also hounded other FGM-related fatalities, particularly the death of four-year-old Egyptian girl Amira Hassan. She died in 1996 due to anesthesia-related complications while undergoing FGM. Instead of pressing charges against the doctor, Ezzat Shehat, Hassan’s parents simply dismissed her demise as â€Å"a will of God† (HURINet n. pag. ). They believed that subjecting their daughter to FGM was their duty as good Muslims (HURINet n. pag. ). Most Egyptians continue to believe in the said relationship between FGM and Islam. A 2005 UNICEF report on the practice revealed that about 97% of women between 15 and 49 years old were subjected to circumcision (Reuters-AlertNet n. pag. ). Despite a 2008 law which renders FGM punishable by three months to two years in prison and a fine of LE 1,000 to LE 5,000, the practice continues to be secretly carried out in Egypt. According to the country’s conservative and religious groups, FGM is necessary to maintain a woman’s chastity (Samaan n. pag. ). Indeed, cultural and religious beliefs are also major factors behind the issue of FGM in Egypt. The practice has already existed long before the advent of Islam. And for a good reason – patriarchy was already in existence even before the emergence of religion. For a patriarchal society to survive, female sexuality must be limited and controlled (Turshen 146). FGM is regarded as one of the most effective means of controlling a woman’s sexuality. The clitoris, the labia minora and the labia majora – the organs removed in FGM – enable a woman to enjoy sexual intercourse. In a patriarchal society, women are not supposed to experience the pleasures of sex. They are supposed to be sexless beings, faithfully serving their respective families and engaging in sex only for the purpose of procreation. Women who do otherwise are considered promiscuous (Turshen 146). It is therefore believed that circumcised women are less likely to be unchaste and commit adultery. In addition, FGM is viewed as a means of emphasizing femininity. When a woman is circumcised, the parts of her body that are metaphorically seen as male, such as the pubic hair and the clitoris, are removed. During ancient times, it was believed that the clitoris â€Å"would grow and protrude like the (penis)† (Turshen 150). Men, on the other hand, undergo circumcision in order to enhance their sexuality. Male circumcision entails the cutting of the foreskin of the penis. A circumcised penis is believed to be more responsive to sexual arousal than an uncircumcised one; thus the ancient belief that circumcision is necessary for virility. Furthermore, a circumcised penis is easier to keep clean. Circumcision eliminates the formation of smegma, a combination of oil, moisture and dead skin cells which serves as a lubricant during sexual intercourse (Turshen 146). Islam does not directly state that all Muslims must be circumcised regardless of gender. However, much of the existing Islamic literature today emphasizes a special link between Islam and FGM (Turshen 151). The most well-known hadith (oral traditions that record the Prophet Muhammad’s speech and actions) about FGM tells of a debate between Muhammad and Um Atiyyah, a woman who used to circumcise female slaves. Muhammad was said to have asked Um Atiyyah if she continued to practice her profession (Denniston, Hodges and Milos 148). She said she did, adding that she would not stop doing so â€Å"unless it is forbidden and you order me to stop doing it† (Denniston, Hodges and Milos 148). He then replied, â€Å"Yes, it is allowed. Come closer so I can teach you: if you cut, do not overdo it (la tanhiki), because it brings more radiance to the face (ashraq) and it is more pleasant (ahza) for the husband† (Denniston, Hodges and Milos 148). Since the first centuries of Islam, however, Muslim scholars have been scrutinizing the authenticity of the hadiths. They believe that majority of the hadiths were â€Å"contradictory and (contained) affirmations that gave a bad impression of the Islamic religion† (Denniston, Hodges and Milos 148). In lieu of the hadiths, Muslim scholars came up with their own explanations behind the association of FGM with Islam. The first theory was that FGM was a means of saving women from the degradation that they experienced in the pre-Islamic era. For the Muslims, the pre-Islamic era was the â€Å"Age of Ignorance† – a period of corruption, bloodshed, moral turpitude and social chaos (Akhtar 23). Women in the pre-Islamic era had few rights. The practice of burying infant females in the sand was very rampant. Those who managed to live to adulthood, meanwhile, had no other means of survival except through prostitution (Akhtar 23). It has been mentioned earlier that the organs removed in FGM – the clitoris, the labia minora and the labia majora – enable a woman to enjoy sexual intercourse. By removing these organs, therefore, it was expected that women would no longer take pleasure in sexual intercourse and abandon prostitution in the process. The second theory is that some Islamic societies might have acquired the practice of FGM from other cultures or religions. During Muhammad’s time, the Jews were considered as the elite of Arab society. Consequently, it became inevitable that Islam was influenced by Jewish doctrines and practices such as circumcision (Denniston, Hodges and Milos 148). But this begs the question of how come even Muslim females are circumcised – the Jews circumcise only males. The answer is that Islam might have tailored certain Jewish doctrines and practices to suit its own objectives. One of the objectives of Islam was to uplift the status of women (Akhtar 23). In order to achieve this goal, Islam put its own flavor to the Jewish practice of circumcision. As a result, even Muslim women were required to undergo circumcision. Despite varying explanations regarding the origins and purposes of FGM, one thing is certain – it is not without detrimental physical and psychological effects. The most immediate negative effects of FGM are severe pain and hemorrhage, which, in turn, can result in hypovolaemic shock and death. Other direct effects include abscesses, wound contamination and local infections – obvious results of performing the procedure in unhygienic surroundings using unsterilized tools (WHO 149). FGM also has substantial long-term risks. The practice usually obstructs the drainage of urine, vaginal secretions and menstrual blood. This occurrence, in turn, results in chronic pelvic infections, menstrual dysfunction and menstrual pain. Urinary retention, meanwhile, leads to chronic urinary tract infection and renal damage. When menstrual blood is unable to flow out of the body, abdominal pain and swelling ensue (WHO 149). The abdominal distention that circumcised women experience due to the lack of menstrual flow has been misinterpreted as a pregnancy. As a result, some circumcised but unmarried women have been subjected to honor killings – killed by their male relatives in order to preserve the honor of their clan. FGM also exposes a woman to the risk of contracting HIV. Unsterilized instruments may transmit HIV-infected blood into an HIV-negative patient (WHO 149). Women who underwent FGM may also experience difficulties in sexual intercourse after the procedure. Penetration may either be painful or impossible due to a narrow introitus. Prolonged postcoital bleeding and anorgasmia may likewise take place. In some cases, surgery was necessary to open up the vagina for penetration (WHO 150). FGM may render a woman infertile. Chronic pelvic infections often lead to the obstruction of the fallopian tubes. The latter is one of the most common causes of ectopic pregnancy, which can lead to the death of both the mother and the baby. Narrowing of the introitus, meanwhile, may force a couple to use the anus or the urethra for sexual intercourse. Fluctuating hormones during pregnancy put circumcised women at more risk for genital and urinary tract infections than their uncircumcised counterparts (WHO 150). The most common psychological disorders among circumcised women are depression and anxiety – they have to conform to parental and societal expectations while dealing with pain, complicated recovery and other long-term health effects. Painful sexual intercourse may result in them having immensely traumatic memories of their wedding night. Circumcised women also have to live each day in fear – they constantly view each cyst that grows in them as a possible symptom of cancer or other serious ailment (WHO 152). When the physical pain becomes too much for them to endure, they might resort to suicide. Female genital mutilation is one of the worst forms of violence that can be inflicted on a woman. In an effort to tie her to the home, she is horribly mutilated and made to live in constant pain for the rest of her life. A circumcised woman is also made to live in fear. She is constantly warned by society that to avoid circumcision is to face ostracism and even condemnation. Much still has to be done before FGM will finally be abolished. But the first step remains to be education. Societies must be made aware of the importance of educating girls. Numerous studies have already proven that girls who have attained basic education are healthier and are less likely to die in childbirth than those who did not. When the members of a particular society – both male and female – are healthy, this society becomes productive. Works Cited Akhtar, Shabbir. The Quran and the Secular Mind: A Philosophy of Islam. New York: Routledge, 2007. Bullough, Vern L. , and Bonnie Bullough. Human Sexuality: An Encyclopedia. New York: Taylor and Francis, 1994. Chavkin, Wendy, and Ellen Chesler. Where Human Rights Begin: Health, Sexuality and Women in the New Millennium. Chapel Hill: Rutgers University Press, 2005. Denniston, George C. , Frederick Mansfield Hodges and Marilyn Fayre Milos. Male and Female Circumcision: Medical, Legal and Ethical Considerations in Pediatric Practice. New York: Springer, 1999. â€Å"Egyptians Stand by Female Circumcision. † 10 December 1996. The Human Rights Information Network (HURINet). 27 February 2009 http://www. hartford-hwp. com/archives/32/018. html. â€Å"Egypt Mufti Says Female Circumcision Forbidden. † 24 June 2007. Reuters-AlertNet. 27 February 2009 http://www. alertnet. org/thenews/newsdesk/L24694871. htm. Markle, William H. , Melanie A. Fisher and Raymond A. Smego. Understanding Global Health. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional, 2007. Momoh, Comfort. Female Genital Mutilation. Abingdon: Radcliffe Publishing, 2005. Nzwili, Fredrick. â€Å"In Africa, FGM Checks into Hospitals. † 5 December 2004. Women’s ENews. 27 February 2009 http://www. womensenews. org/article. cfm/dyn/aid/2097/. â€Å"Promoting Gender Equality: Frequently Asked Questions on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting. † n. d. United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). 27 February 2009 http://www. unfpa. org/gender/practices2. htm. Samaan, Magdy. â€Å"Shoura Council Passes Child Law, Criminalizes FGM. † 12 May 2008. Daily News Egypt. 27 February 2009 http://www. dailystaregypt. com/article. aspx? ArticleID=13659. Turshen, Meredeth. African Women’s Health. Trenton: Africa Word Press, 2000. World Health Organization (WHO). 1999. Female Genital Mutilation Programmes to Date: What Works and What Doesn’t. Geneva, Switzerland: Department of Women’s Health – Health Systems and Community Health. World Health Organization (WHO). Mental Health Aspects of Womens Reproductive Health: A Global Review of the Literature. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2008.

The Battle Of Midway In The Pacific :: War History American Historical Essays

The Battle of Midway in the Pacific Nothing distinguished the dawn of June 2, 1942, from countless other dawns that had fallen over tiny Midway atoll in the North Pacific. Nothing, that is, except the tension, the electric tension of men waiting for an enemy to make his move. On Midway's two main islands, Sand and Eastern, 3,632 United States Navy and Marine Corps personnel, along with a few Army Air Force aircrews, stood at battle stations in and near their fighters, bombers, and seaplanes, waiting for the Japanese attack they had been expecting for weeks. The carrier battle of Midway, one of the decisive naval battles in history, is well documented. But the role played by the Midway garrison, which manned the naval air station on the atoll during the battle, is not as well known. Midway lies 1,135 miles west- northwest of Pearl Harbor, Oahu. The entire atoll is barely six miles in diameter and consists of Sand and Eastern islands surrounded by a coral reef enclosing a shallow lagoon. Midway was discovered in 1859 and annexed by the United States in August 1867. Between 1903 and 1940, it served both as a cable station on the Honolulu ­ Guam ­Manila underwater telegraph line and as an airport for the Pan American Airways China Clipper (Miracle 5). In March 1940, after a report on U.S. Navy Pacific bases declared Midway second only to Pearl Harbor in importance, construction of a formal naval air station began. Midway Naval Air Station was placed in commission in August 1941. By that time, Midway's facilities included a large seaplane hangar and ramps, artificial harbor, fuel storage tanks and several buildings. Sand Island was populated by hundreds of civilian construction workers and a defense battalion of the Fleet Marine Force, while Eastern Island boasted a 5,300-foot airstrip. Commander Cyril T. Simard, a veteran naval pilot who had served as air officer on the carrier USS Langley and as executive officer at the San Diego Air Station, was designated the atoll's commanding officer. Along with the naval personnel manning the air station was a detachment of Marines. The first detachment was from the Marine 3rd Defense Battalion; it was relieved on September 11, 1941, by 34 officers and 750 men from the 6th Defense Battalion under the command of Lt. Col. Harold D. Shannon, a veteran of World War I and duty in Panama and Hawaii. Shannon and Simard meshed into an effective team right away. World War II began for Midway at 6:30 a.m. December 7, 1941, when the garrison received word of the Japanese attack on

Islamic State in Iraq and Syria Essay

Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is one of the biggest threats the Middle East is facing right now. ISIS started in Iraq in 2004 where a person called Abu Musab Al-Zarkawy established Al Qaeda in Iraq. During his time as Al Qaeda leader in Iraq Al-Zarkawy tries to make genocide against the Shiaa (another Islamic belief) population living in Iraq, eventually Al-Zarkawy gets killed by a US airstrike and Abu Ayub Al-Masri takes over and announces the formation of Islamic State in Iraq at that time. Al-Masri also gets killed by in a joint American-Iraqi operation and then Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi (the current leader) takes over. In April 2013 ISI declares that it will join with Al Nusra front in Syria (Another terrorist organization and Syria) forming the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. Later that month Al-Nusra leader rejects that merge, and then AL-Qaeda broke ties with ISIS for being too extreme. ISIS aims to make an Islamic Sunni state across Iraq and Syria. ISIS is known for doing a lot of atrocities to its victims including public executions and group murder. ISIS has many victims including the Shiaa population, the Christian population, and any Sunni who dares to oppose their views or ideologies. The group has beheaded three American journalists until now and will do it again if it finds another foreign journalist. The so called Islamic state controls hundreds of square miles and still till this moment trying to capture more lands by attacking villages and cities. The groups at first tried to make money by extortion and robbery but now he gains money by capturing cities. ISIS till now has about ten thousand followers. ISIS is not only a human rights and political issue it is also a huge economical issue in the Middle East. The ambassador of Italy in Saudi Arabia, Mario Boffo said â€Å"I hope this phenomenon will disappear as soon as possible, because it can affect the region’s economy if the situation lasts for another year, Investors will be scared to come not only to Saudi Arabia but also other countries in the region,† As Boffo said the ISIS economical threat in the Middle East isn’t only in Saudi Arabia, it is also in the Arab states, especially those who are in the GCC. The Arab states in the GCC are spending billions of dollars on infrastructures that require international labor and international expertise. Therefore Italy, America, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and UAE formed a coalition to respond to the ISIS threat in Iraq and Syria without sending troops on the ground. Although the ISIS threat is far away from the United States of America we will have some economic problems. As we all know the Middle East is the most part in the world that exports oil to the world including the United States of America. If the ISIS threat grows and stretches to places like Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia then the oil industry might enter in a worldwide oil disaster. If the ISIS threats continue the oil price in the world market will rise causing the price of oil here in the US to rise as well. In my opinion ISIS is a threat we should face sooner than later because in every day we lose innocent lives are being taken the more economic problems we will have.

Child development Essay

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED? Body Changes 1. The study of human development is a science because it depends on theories, data, analysis, critical thinking, and sound methodology just like every other science. 2. The five steps of the scientific method are: 1) begin with curiosity 2) develop a hypothesis 3) test the hypothesis 4) draw conclusions 5) report the results. 3. The research on SIDS illustrates the replication and application of the science of child development by repeating the study and using different participants from other cultures. 4. Known: – birth order did not matter – other factors can increase the risk -sleeping position mattered -back sleeping reduced SIDS Unknown: – if its genetics. – why it still occurs 5. Nature refers to the influence of the genes that people inherit. Nurture refers to environmental influences, beginning with the health and diet of the embryo’s mother and continuing lifelong, including family, school, culture, and society. Brain Development 6. 7. Exaggeration of human sex differences is distortions that develop mentalists seek to avoid. People tend to notice differences and jump to conclusion that something important is lacking. 8. 9. 10. People from several groups can share a culture because it is a system of shared beliefs, conventions, norms, behaviors, expectations and symbolic representations that persist over time; it is a powerful social construction. 11. The term race has been used to categorize people on the basis of physical differences, particularly outward appearance. The term ethnic groups are people whose ancestors were born in the same region and who often share a language, culture, and religion. 12. SES reflects family income, but not income alone. The education and occupation of the head of the household, or of both parents, and sometimes the average education or income of the other residents of the neighborhood, also used to determine SES. Improved Motor Skills 13. 14. 15. The implied view of human development is an ongoing, ever changing interaction between the physical, cognitive, and psychosocial influence. The crucial understanding is that development is never static but is always affected by, and affects, many systems of development. Injuries and Abuse 16. It is more accurate to consider the system of development rather than each part in isolation because just like the way the natural world changes over time, the human growth follows diverse patterns and paces. 17. Bronfenbrenner emphasize in his ecological systems approach that develop mentalists must consider all the systems that surround each person, just as a naturalist examines the ecology of each organism, considering the interrelationships between it and its environment. 18. All persons born within a few years of one another are said to be the same cohort. Members of each cohort are affected by the values, events, technologies, and culture of their era. 19. The biosocial development includes all the growth and change that occur in a person’s body and the genetic, nutritional, and health  factors that affect that growth and change. The cognitive development includes all the mental processes that a person uses to obtain knowledge or to think about the environment. The psychosocial development includes development of emotions, temperament, and social skills. 20. Scientific observation requires researchers to record behavior systematically and objectively, using behavioral definitions and timed data. The experiment is the research method that scientists use to establish cause. 21. Experimenters use a control group as well as an experimental group to find out whether an independent variable affects the dependent variable. 22. Using independent and dependent variables make it easier to learn what causes what because the researcher can conclude how the independent variable caused whatever changes occurred in the dependent variable. 23. 24. 25.

Product Life Cycle with Examples of Different Products

Product Life Cycle with Examples of Different Products Free Online Research Papers It is a generally accepted statement that 90% of the products we use today did not exist in their current form five years ago. Similarly, 90% of the products we will be using five years from now do not currently exist. Whether this statement is entirely accurate or not, we can all identify products that have changed from their original form and/or content. And, with todays rapid changes in technology, almost every product will undergo some sort of modification during its lifetime. This idea is demonstrated by the Product Life Cycle concept, which shows the path a typical new product takes from its inception to its discontinuation. To be precise, it describes the stages a product goes through from its introduction, through its growth until it is mature and then finally its decline. Moreover, it’s associated with changes in the marketing situation, thus impacting the marketing strategy the marketing mix as well. Knowledge of the product’s life cycle can provide valuable insights into ways the product can be managed to enhance sales and profitability. Marketing activities are heavily dependent on the stage in the product life cycle. Products do not last forever. A typical cycle for a product is as follows: First a product will be developed. The prototype will be tested market research carried out before it is launched onto the market. There will be no sales at this time. * In the introduction stage the product is launched in the market. The firm will create product awareness develop a market for the product. No profits are made at this time as development costs have not yet been covered. Iris-based personal identity cards are in the introduction stage of the product life cycle. IIt may take some products a substantial amount of time to catch on in the market before they enter their growth phases. These products have been referred to as high learning products. These products often are complex to understand or use, may be extremely expensive, may not be easy to sample before committing to purchase, or may not be compatible with existing social values. The result is that the product’s rate of acceptance in the market is slowed. The impact on the marketing mix is as follows: a) Product- branding quality level is established, and intellectual property protection such as patents trademarks are obtained (if it’s a new product). b) Price- Price skimming may be used if the product is a new development there are no competitors. Or pricing may be low penetration pricing to build market share rapidly. c) Promotion- Informative advertising is used until the product becomes known. Promotion is aimed at innovators early adopters. d) Place- Limited product availability in few outlets/locations. * In the growth stage sales start to grow rapidly. Profits start to be made as more and more customers buy the product. But competitors see the opportunity and enter the market. Some just copy the most successful product, or try to improve it to compete better. Others try to refine their offerings to do a better job of appealing to some target markets. The new entries result in much product variety. The Internet, more specifically the World Wide Web component of the Internet, is probably in the growth phase of its life cycle. The advantages of the Internet have resulted in its very rapid acceptance in consumer and business markets. Furthermore, iPod (portable digital music player) is also in the growth stage of its life cycle. The impact on the marketing mix is as follows: a) Product- product quality is maintained additional features support services may be added. b) Price- is reduced a little as new competitors have entered. c) Promotion- advertising is focused on building brand. Advertising is changed to persuasive advertising to encourage brand loyalty. d) Place- distribution channels are added as demand increases customers accept the product. * In the Maturity stage competition gets tougher as aggressive competitors have entered the race for profits. Industry profits continue to go down during maturity because promotion costs rise and competitors continue to cut prices to attract more business. During the maturity phase, less efficient firms cant compete with the increasing pressure on prices and drop out of the market. The maturity phase of the life cycle is the longest phase for most products. Sales grow at a decreasing rate and then stabilise. Price wars and intense competition occur. At this point the market reaches saturation. Producers begin to leave the market due to poor margins. Refrigerators illustrate a product that has hovered at maturity for decades. Moreover, refrigerators will continue to remain in the mature stage of the PLC until a new technology emerges that fills the same need. The impact on the marketing mix is as follows: a) Product- features may be enhanced to differentiate the product from that of competitors. b) Price- competitive pricing or promotional pricing is used there are a lot of price wars. c) Place- distribution becomes more intensive incentives may be offered to encourage preference over competing products. d) Promotion- emphasizes product differentiation. A lot of persuasive advertising is done. Many different approaches are used as appropriate to the product. Sales promotion tools like premiums, discounts, coupons, cash rebates, free goods, specialty advertising, and demonstrations are used. * In the Decline stage, new products replace the old. Price competition from dying products becomes more vigorous, but firms with strong brands may make profits until the end because they successfully differentiated their products. They may also keep some sales by appealing to the most loyal customers or those who are slow to try new ideas. Costs, because competition is still intense, continue to rise. Profits, as expected, continue to erode during this stage with little hope of recovery. Typewriters are in the decline stage of the product life cycle. As sales decline, the firm has several options: a) Maintain the product- possibly rejuvenating it by adding new features finding new uses. b) Harvest the product- reduce costs continue to offer it, probably to a loyal niche segment. c) Discontinue the product- liquidating remaining inventory or selling to another firm that is willing to continue the product. When the product reaches the end of maturity stage (i.e. the saturation stage) of its product life cycle, the firm may stop sales starting to fall by adopting extension strategies. These are ways that sales may be given a boost. Some possible ways businesses might extend the life cycle of their product are as follows: 1) Introduce new variations of the original product, e.g. a children’s version 2) Use a new advertising campaign 3) Sell into new markets, e.g. export the product to another country 4) Introduce a new, improved version of the product 5) Sell through additional, different retail outlets 6) Modify the augmented product. Services can be added where none existed before adding free set-up and delivery are good examples. In reality very few products follow such a prescriptive cycle. The length of each stage varies enormously. The decisions of marketers can change the stage, for example from maturity to decline by price-cutting. Not all products go through each stage. Some go from introduction to decline. It is not easy to tell which stage the product is in. Remember that PLC is like all other tools. Use it to inform your gut feeling. Strengths – The product life cycle is considered as both straightforward and powerful model. By using the model as guidance, effective and timely marketing will take the product through each stage and can be planned in advance. The product life cycle can also be use to alert the marketer, when the product is in the stages of growth and maturity, to integrate extension strategies during this period to maintain the high profit level. Weaknesses – It is hard to tell which stage the product is in, as there are constant short-term fluctuations due to external factors, consequently marketing actions could be taken too early or too late. By failing recognize the stage of product in the product life cycle model; it can cause business failure for especially a small business. In conclusion, it is fair to say that the model can only be used to help identify the symptoms of each stage. Each product will spend different lengths of time in each stage and there is no physical way of showing this on the product life cycle model. However, the better your financial control, the more you will be able to track individual product. Research Papers on Product Life Cycle with Examples of Different ProductsMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductRiordan Manufacturing Production PlanBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfOpen Architechture a white paperDefinition of Export QuotasAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaPETSTEL analysis of IndiaThe Project Managment Office SystemIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalAnalysis Of A Cosmetics Advertisement

The Rape and Murder of Sarah Goode

The Rape and Murder of Sarah Goode In the summer of 2014, petite, 21-year-old Long Island mother and medical technician Sarah P. Goode disappeared. Her partially decomposed body was found in a wooded area about a week later. The resulting autopsy and criminal investigation revealed Goode had been brutally raped and stabbed to death by a man whose sexual advances she had earlier rejected at a party.   Search for the Missing Mom On June 8, 2014, Goodes family called Suffolk County police Sunday to report her missing. She had not been seen for two days. The family began passing out fliers and neighbors pitched in to search. The next day, Goodes gray 1999 BMW was found parked in a wooded area in Medford, not far from the home Goode shared with her mother and 4-year-old daughter. Although the car had not been broken into, police said it was found under suspicious circumstances. Suffolk County Detective Michael Fitzharris would not comment on those circumstances, nor did he reveal whether or not Goodes personal belongings had been found in the car. This is a 21-year-old gainfully employed Long Island girl. Everyone has to have their vehicle out here, Fitzharris told reporters. For her family to not see her for a few days †¦ we take that very seriously. It was later learned that police had discovered clumps of hair and blood inside the vehicle. Using K-9 units, police swept the wooded area where Goodes car had been found. On June 12, 2014, almost a week after shed vanished, a group of searchers found her body in the woods within a mile of the site where  her  abandoned car had turned up the day after shed been reported missing.   Killer Charged   On July 12, 2014, Dante Taylor, a 19-year-old former Marine from Mastic, Long Island, whose advances Goode rejected at a party theyd both attended was arrested in connection with her murder. A bloody handprint in Goodes car and text messages between him and Goode on the night she went missing linked Taylor to the murder. Taylor was arrested but later released after it was learned that police had taken fingerprints, DNA, and cellphone evidence without probable cause and had questioned him without reading him his rights. He was arrested again a month later on unrelated charges in Vero Beach, Florida, and extradited for trial. Taylor was arraigned on murder charges in a Central Islip courtroom. As prosecutor Janet Albertson described the events surrounding Goodes death, about 50 of her family members were present in court, some responding to the horrific details in vocal anguish, others in verbal taunts. Goodes brother-in-law was removed from the courtroom. Albertson described the gory scene police found inside of Goodes blood-soaked car. She went on to present evidence that Taylor had brutally raped Goode and had subsequently beaten her so badly with a sharp metal object that a piece of metal had been found embedded in her skull. Goode had been stabbed more than 40 times. After she was dead, Taylor dumped Goodes body, nude from the waist down, in the woods. Police and Prosecutorial Misconduct Tarnish Conviction During the trial, the prosecution was sanctioned by state Supreme Court Justice John Collins for withholding evidence from the defense that included a series of Crime Stoppers tips pointing to other potential suspects. It was also learned that police destroyed a threatening message from a boyfriend with whom Goode had recently split up. Nevertheless, Taylor was found guilty of first- and second-degree murder, and attempted rape in the first degree in the death of Sarah Goode and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Convicted Killer Dies in Prison On October 2017, the 22-year-old convicted killer was found dead at the Wende Correctional Facility near Buffalo, New York, where he was serving his life sentence. Goodes family responded to the news with a Facebook post, which read:   â€Å"The monster who so violently ended Sarah’s young life will no longer breathe another breath, will no longer see another day, will no longer have the privilege of living a life- something he made certain she could not do. Sarah’s beauty is eternal. Her laugh is unforgettable. Her memories are carved in the hearts of all whom she met.† However, Taylors trial attorney, John Lewis Jr., insisted that his clients conviction was a travesty and a perversion of justice, stating: â€Å"It’s a tragedy. His death is just another injustice in a string of injustices. I just hope someone is held accountable for his death. Now Suffolk County will not be held accountable for the injustices it committed in getting his conviction.† Sources Landau, Joel. Long Island Police Searching for Missing 21-Year-Old Mother of 4-Year-Old Girl. New York Daily News, June 9, 2014 Tracy, Thomas. Body Found in Long Island Woods Is the Missing Mom of 4-Year-Old Daughter. New York Daily News, June 13, 2014Nolan, Caitlin and Brown, Stephen Rex. Family of Murdered Long Island Mom Weep, Shout as Accused Killer Appears in Court.  New York Daily News, July 14, 2014Fuller, Nicole and Smith, Andrew. Dante Taylor, Convicted Killer, Dies in Prison, Officials Say. Newsday, October 9, 2017

Inspiring Policy on Disease- and Emergency-Related Issues Essay

Inspiring Policy on Disease- and Emergency-Related Issues - Essay Example cy is on the process of being revised as the policy network grapple with the issue of whether routine mammograms for women starts at the age of 40 or 50. This particular issue is dependent on the movements of the current health care reform being undertaken in America. In examining the trajectory of breast cancer policymaking beginning in the 1980s towards the 1990s, one can identify the glaring fact that a single policy could take years to be made. This is demonstrated in Lillquist’s (2001) study on breast cancer policymaking, which mapped out the timeline of the most important legislative achievement to date, The Breast and Cervical Cancer Mortality Prevention Act. Legislative hearings on this policy began in 1984 and this stage in the process took six years before a bill was finally introduced and passed into law in 1990 (Lillquist, p.20). The period taken by the process was, as a matter of fact, short in comparison with the conventional lawmaking since breast cancer as a health problem is considered a special case with special characteristics. According to Lillquist, the breast cancer issue became an amalgamation of environmental, racial, aging and feminist issues (p.24). These characteristics entailed the political leverage that helped expedite policymaking. It must be noted that during the 1980s, the policymakers are lukewarm to the issue, treating breast cancer as part of a wider health policy. Prior position during this period did not consider services as the government’s responsibility (Lillquist, p.19). Kasper and Ferguson pointed out that even when breast cancer has been identified as a social issue since the 1970s, public policy responses were minimal (p.18). But in the course of the legislative process, this changed because of the advocacies of the National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC). This group, which was composed of cancer survivors, worked tirelessly to raise the level of public awareness on the issue and get people involved. By the time a

Two questions of us history Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Two questions of us history - Essay Example The causes of Great Depression were more profound in that strong policies for dealing with global financial crisis were dubious in absence of authority. This means that the dominant economic supremacy, which have the global reserve currency and can offer liquidity and expanding demand were the main cause of the Great Depression. The collapse of the British hegemonic supremacy and the unwillingness of the US to step into hegemonic role vacated by the UK government were the deeper causes of Great Depression. The fiscal policy was not only the central measure for economic recovery, but also the historians argue that the New Deal implemented to control the crisis was even worse because it delayed the upturn (Perry 16). However, the research study of the New Keynesian policy that suggested fiscal policy argued that this policy contributed nothing to the restoration or economic recovery. This is because of the trade deficit; thus the new agenda were developed during the anti-New Deal agenda, which focused on the issue of precautions or measures for controlling economic crisis. The congress implemented diverse policies under the New Deal including fair Labor Standard policies, whereby child labor and new wage policies were implemented. The state government also implemented other policies including social security measures and unemployment compensation have been among the aspects put in place for solving economic crisis. One of the long lasting effects from WW2 is the shift of political or military power from Europe to the Soviet Union and the US government. The good thing is that the WW2 contributed to formation of treaties such as South East Asia Treaty, which was established for defense in Far East. Although the WW2 led to bad effects such as increased deaths, destruction of properties due mass bombing, the end of war led to significant transformation including countries gained