Aussie Slang Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Aussie Slang - Essay Example 8. To lend an air of solidity, concreteness, to the abstract; of earthiness to the idealistic; of immediacy and appositeness to the remote. (In the cultured the effort is usually premeditated, while in the uncultured it is almost always unconscious when it is not rather subconscious.) 9c. To soften the tragedy, to lighten or to 'prettify' the inevitability of death or madness, or to mask the ugliness or the pity of profound turpitude (e.g. treachery, ingratitude); and/or thus to enable the speaker or his auditor or both to endure, to 'carry on'. 15. To be secret - not understood by those around one. (Children, students, lovers, members of political secret societies, and criminals in or out of prison, innocent persons in prison, are the chief exponents.)" Australian slang, also known as Strine, is iconic to Australia and differentiated from the British English. Australian English is so different from the other varieties of English in accent and vocabulary that it almost sounds like a different language altogether. It must be admitted that the Aussie slang can be baffling to people from other parts of the world. Australians take pride in speaking their slang and believe that it reflects their attitude to life. The Aussie slang always brings to mind the harsh Australian land, and the no-nonsense "lets get on with it"

The similarity and differences of No Country for Old Men and Dead Man Research Paper

The similarity and differences of No Country for Old Men and Dead Man - Research Paper Example Similarly, Dead man is a movie that was directed by Jarmusch Jim, in 1996, and presents a storyline of a young man’s adventure, both mentally and physically, into the strange land. William Blake starts his journey to the western frontiers of America and encountered an odd and outcast Native American known as ‘Nobody’. The encounter with ‘Nobody’ helps William Blake to overcome difficult situations, which were hilarious and brutal. Similarities between No Country for Old Men and Dead Man There are varied similarities between the films, No Country for Old Men and Dead Man. First, both films are filled with darkness and uncertainty of life because both directors reveal issues of violence, murder and coldhearted villains. These act as the main duties of the central characters in both movies, and their lives are full of obscurity. Additionally, both directors tie uncertainty with pessimistic belief that there is little one can do about uncertainty aspects of human life (McCarthy 34). There is a lot of evil in both films because the directors keep reminding the viewer about the inherent evil of human beings in every scene. For instance, the marvelous expressionless humor is one of the darkest aspects in the film of No Country for Old Men. This has greatly affected the characters of different persons; for example, Chigurh is one character, who has dreadful characters because he engages in violence issues. Moreover, both films reveal the mysterious dead as the only certaint y, and at the same time reveal greatest mystery cases and violence. For instance, the adventure story in the Dead Man film represents certainty of life, to William Blake. Consequently, the journey is a long-lasting ceremonial to the person known as‘Nobody’ because his intention was to save Blake and bring him back to the spirit level of the human race. The non-western viewpoint about Nobody was that life was seen as an unending cycle; thus presenting the significance of the film title, ‘Dead Man’. Both films reveal cases of violence, some of which contributes to death; for instance, in the film of Dead Man, nobody helps in leading William Blake through situations most of which turns to be violent and on the same time hilarious. Contrary to Blake’s personality, he turns to be a criminal, a murderer and a vicious man, whose physical being slips away gradually. Both novels portray characters, most of whom are violent and engage in the world of cruel, br utal and chaotic occurrences. Secondly, both films presents the theme of evil. Many western genre films are full of evil; thus, many characters take part in evil things, in the society. Both directors acknowledge the evil practiced by the power-hungry rich men, who dominates the weak; innocent people are used to enable the powerful achieve their needs. For instance, many crimes are committed in both movies, whereby many people end up being victims of evil because the crimes committed are beyond measure (Raff 61). In addition, the theme of fate is revealed, and is the cause for violence cases, as every character in the movie strives to reach his or her destiny. For instance, the film of Dead Man is about a young man, who sets the journey and hopes to reach his destiny in order to accomplish his missions. Fate is also revealed in the film, No Country for Old Men, whereby we see violent cases taking place right from the

Zinn Essay Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Zinn Assignment - Essay Example Zinn has strong arguments and I agree that the perspective of the victims of â€Å"progress† is valuable to history. According to Zinn, racism was created to ensure that slavery, which was profitable for some people, could continue. To prevent collaboration between white and black people, which could lead to a successful rebellion against the wealthy people, certain laws were introduced. These laws declared blacks as inferior to whites, which produced a racial awareness. Inferior status and derogatory thinking blended into racism. I agree with Zinn, because his arguments are well thought through. Knowing the cause(s) of racism is important to be able to overcome it. Chapters 4 to 8 are all dealing with types of violent and nonviolent resistance or rebellion against various forms of oppression, such as the American Revolution. The fight against oppression is still a topic nowadays and it will always be an issue. Therefore, it is important to know how people rebelled against oppression in the past. In Chapter 7, Zinn addresses how women dealt with oppression and how some women demanded to be treated equally. Many women refused to accept their domestic position, which influenced the women’s rights movements. I found it very interesting that women did not only stand up for their own rights, but that they also spoke out against slavery. It seems that many women fought two battles, which is

The Basseri of Iran culture Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Basseri of Iran culture - Research Paper Example The kinship factors include the patrilineal, the marriage and the divorce aspects of the Nomadic tribe of Basseri and the way it is different to the cultural values to the rest of the country. The social organizational factors is a combination of a number of factors that include the rite of passage in the nomadic society, the headmen that lead the tribe and the Khan who is usually a wealthy person having a number of followers of his own that makes him strong enough to head the society. Economic Organization Nomadism The Basseri Nomads of Iran are the tent-dwelling pastoralists who are under a chief and politically centralized. It is officially stated that the Basseri are Shitte Moslems but such a religious affiliation does not exist to a very big extent among these people. These people seem to be very uninterested in religion generally. The ritual activities of these people are very few as they offer no communal prayer and are more likely to ignore the Islamic feast days. Even the ho ly month of Ramadan seems to be a very unlikely proposition for most of the people. It is concluded that because of the migration that these people had to do early in their history, there was progressively built tension and excitement and most people were confused whether the economic activity was a religious one or not. These tribes responded more to the movement that was in a more dramatic form rather than considering the utilitarian aspects of the whole movement. There was highly complex essence of tribal organization in Iran that was centralized Uymaq system. The Uymaqs were not only the pastoral nomads but were a combination of three economic forms, the pastoral, the commercial and the agricultural. Importance of Livestock The individual households of the Basseri of Iran hold usually herd their animals together in one or even more than one flock of 400 to 600 animals. This figure limits the number of households that are grouped together. The members of the camp are usually are widely drawn from both consanguineal and affinal groups. Some of the members are not even the immediate groups of these people in the society. The shepherds are usually hired by the members of the camp for the service contracts of one year so that they can care for a single flock of 400 to 600 goats and sheep. For every ten lambs that are born in the spring, they receive one lamb for their work all the year. Even if they quit a bit earlier, there is no pro-rated agreement as the lambs have not been born yet. All of the households owns and milks its own animals separately even though they are gazed together. Also, different households pay, give food and other materials needed by the shepherds in their contribution depending on the number of animals that they own with the addition of the two assistants that the shepherd usually has. Environmental Adaptation The major concentrations of the population of the vertical nomads in Iran occur during the summer. The camps are usually composed of as many as fifty tents during that period of the year. However, during the winter migrations, the camps are composed of as many as twelve tents and as few as one tent. The camps are usually separated by an hour long walk from the neighboring camps and also the pasture areas. However, the visiting between people from one camp to the other and staying connected with each other is a regular activity of the nomads in Iran.

Symbolic Significance in Chinese Culture and My Life Essay Example for Free

Symbolic Significance in Chinese Culture and My Life Essay We need to see the history of dumplings to find out the answer. Back to hundred years ago, dumplings are more like delicacy rather than a nice food to appease people’s hunger. When China was an economically backward country, people always eat cheap roughage such as corn, millet or rice as main meal. Smith describes rice is â€Å"a basic component of routine domestic and ritual activity. † (Smith, 2006) Dumplings were not the same thing. They were only appeared in Spring Festival as a decent food to highlight the day. Therefore, food like dumplings was also represented a happy and wealthy life that people wanted and pursued. Because of this reason, dumplings could have an outstanding impact in people’s everyday life. Although in nowadays dumplings is not a luxury food any more, people are still enjoy having dumplings whenever traditional festivals. The thousand years custom have formed to a culture appearance, carry down from generation to generation. No doubt, dumplings bring Chinese people infinite hope and happy, from past till now and possibly in the future. Dumplings gradually transferred from a general food to an influential mascot. This is because the dumplings are provided a satisfaction for people’s psychological need. In another words, Chinese people gave the auspicious meaning to dumplings in the process that people tried to create a health and good life. In the variable kinds of Chinese traditional food, dumplings are not the most â€Å"coroneted† one, but people only chose dumplings as a mascot. According to Lee, â€Å"a group’s customs and rules about appropriate social behavior can reflect important cultural values. (Lee, 2009) Except dumplings are very delicious, I think its unique looking is more correspond with Chinese national characteristics. Dumplings are a classic farcie food, contrast with burgers or pizzas, which all the material is clear at a glance. No matter what the stuffing of a dumpling is, people cannot know just by looking at it. The hidden character of dumplings just corresponds with Chi nese diffidence personality. Therefore, the decision was made by Chinese people according to their own appreciation standards, which meet their psychological needs. There are many different customs about dumplings in different regions of China. My grandparents are living at a country side in the north of China. They have a custom that bride needs eat dumplings in the wedding day. When I was very little, the bride was carried by a sedan to bridegroom’s house on the wedding day. Before that day, the mother of the bride would prepare 40 dumplings and hide them under the sedan seat. When the bride arrived on the husband’s home, the relatives would boil the hided dumplings for the bridal and the groom. The entire process means the new couples will happy and together forever. Lenkeit says that â€Å"culture is constantly changing†¦It changes internally through innovations and inventions-new ideas and combinations of old ideas to create new things. † (Lenkeit, 2009) This point explains the change of this custom. Since woman do not use sedan any more, a new â€Å"rule† replaced the old custom applied in weddings. In recent years, the mother of the bride will make some really spicy dumplings and ask groom to eat. She uses the â€Å"terrible† dumplings to show that it is not easy to get her daughter. In addition to those customs of dumplings in my hometown, dumplings also have impacts in my recent life. This is the second year since I came to US. I spend Spring Festival with my friends last year. We made a great dinner and many dumplings together to celebrate the most important holiday of the year. Like the customer for Christmas that people usually buy gift for their family members, the heart of Spring Festival is making and eating dumplings. Carrier indicates that the gift creates problems â€Å"because the objects people confront in such societies overwhelmingly are impersonal commodities. And because these objects are impersonal, they do not make good gifts. † (Carrier, 1993) For this point, dumplings would never cause problems. Although people could easily buy dumplings from supermarket, making dumplings is also an important part in Spring Festival. The process of making dumpling is more complex than making other food, but the process allows people stay together and communicate. In conclusion, dumplings are indispensable in Chinese traditional activities.

Effects Of Moderate Hyperhydration On Blood Pressure Biology Essay

Effects Of Moderate Hyperhydration On Blood Pressure Biology Essay Introduction The heart is an efficient machine that supplies the body with oxygenated blood and recycles unoxygenated blood (Weedman, 2009). Unoxygenated blood comes into the heart, is pumped to the lungs, oxygenated, and then returned to the heart to be pumped to the rest of the body (Weedman, 2009). Blood pressure (BP) can be found by measuring systolic over diastolic pressure. Systolic pressure is the pressure in the blood vessels while the hearts beats while diastolic pressure is measured by the pressure after the heart beat (Weedman, 2009). Diastolic pressure is also called the filling stage because it occurs when the heart is in a state of relaxation and the semi-lunar valve is closed (Weedman, 2009). In opposition, systolic pressure transpires during contraction where the tricuspid and bicuspid valves are closed (Weedman, 2009). Heart Rate (HR or also referred to as pulse rate (PR)), read by taking a pulse either on neck, upper arm (most precise measurement) or wrist, uses arterial pressure to calculate the rate that blood is flowing through the arteries (Weedman, 2009). It differs from blood pressure and is the number of times the heart beats in one minute (Weedman, 2009). Heart rate and blood pressure are great points of interest in the human population because of the importance of the heart in human anatomy. The heart muscle is pertinent to survival and therefore been tested and experimented on habitually. Many tests have been done on the heart by many well established doctors. One of these studies tests the effect of respiratory ailments and stress on heart rate (Weber, 1985). The results show that heart rate and blood pressure are directly correlated with stress, meaning that when someone is stressed the harder their heart pumps and the more pressure is put on the muscle(Weber, 1985). Nevertheless, there are many other factors that affect heart rate and blood pressure. Most of the factors discussed share a direct correlation with heart rate. There are also some lifetime diseases that stem from vascular problems that were before thought to have little to no affect (Skoog, 1996). For instance, a study conducted about Dementia revealed that most victims also consistently had high BP. There is more hypothesized evidence that supports this claim, but it has yet to be proven. Despite the ambiguity of the correlation of BP and Dementia, there are many health related concerns that surrounds BP and HR. This is pertinent to the experiment conducted because it questions what health hazards surround dehydration. As the research of BP and HR becomes more involved, so do the experiments concerning them. In the experiment conducted in LIFE103, a biology class at Colorado State University, 27 subjects tested the affects of hydration on BP and HR/PR. It is hypothesized that there will be a significant change in both BP and HR this is relevant because previous studies showed that a change occurred in similar experiments (Mountain and Edward, 1992). Its predicted that BP and HR will decrease after the addition of water into the body. Materials and Methods All variables were kept as similar as the environment would allow and subjects didnt consumer water for two hours before experimentation was started. There was an uneven mixture of male and female and all students were of different weights, but roughly fell into a broad spectrum of normal weight. Three basal readings were taken from the 27 participants. The participants measured themselves using a sphygmomanometer and recorded both heart rate and blood pressure. These were then averaged and if the average was off, additional measurements were taken. Heart rate and blood pressure served as the independent variables, while the dependent variables were the water and the environmental factors. After basal measurements were completed students drank 2 cups of water. Water temperatures varied from room temperature to cold and data was separated according what temperature water subject drank. The subjects were given five minutes to consume the water. A reading was taken directly after the water was completely consumed. Readings of BP and PR were taken in increments of three minutes since the initial reading until the time struck twelve minutes. There were five total readings. Information from all of the subjects was gathered and charted. Data was analyzed by comparing data to previous tests, earlier hypothesized values, and T tested. Probabilities were found and then information was compiled into a list of results. Excel was used to assemble the results and create graphs and tables. Results The experiment took approximately twelve minutes after water was consumed. The 27 subjects did not drink anything for at least two hours prior, dehydration levels; however were minimal because students were told to keep at a comfortable hydration level (and two hours isnt sufficient to dehydrate a body completely). Hydration levels after drinking approximately two ounces of water were also minimal because of the small amount drunk. Differences between heart rate and pulse rate are not obvious before and after consumption of water. The pulse rate (or heart rate) had a more visible change. Comparing averages of final PR (twelve minutes after water was drunk) to the basal reading yielded a change, but it was within a hundredth of a decimal point. The change in blood pressure was also nonexistent. Though, if compared the values of diastolic and systolic pressure change more significantly than the values of the PR. The data is summarized below in a mixture of charts and written description. This simply surmises that the average PR basal reading is less than the average post PR at twelve minutes. However, the data is inconsistent because the basal reading is a collection of three different measurements and there could be unknown outliers. Doing a T test, the information is shown to be probable (P PR T Test PR vs PR PR1 Basal vs PR 12 min PR2 Basal vs PR12 min PR3 Basal vs PR12 min PR0 min vs PR12 min PR3 min vs PR12 min PR6 min vs PR12 min T Test .00028 .00028 .00079 .772211 .979664 .413052 T test scores based on excel calculations concerning an experiment performed in class. (P Table 1 The results were inconclusive, the changes were so minimal that (when averaged) the difference between the beginning pulse rate and the final pulse rate were within hundredths of a decimal of each other. Blood pressure had little change. Systolic pressure decreased slightly as did diastolic, but it was too such a degree that the change could be accounted by many variables. Drawing these conclusions, earlier hypothesis and prediction cannot be supported (this conclusion supported by T-test). The chart below shows the change of pulse rate after the water was consumed. There is no significant change as the time progresses. Average of PR taken at times 0,3,6,9 and 12 were used compared to the time that the experiment progressed over. Figure 2 Comparatively, blood pressure had similar results. On a time scale, blood pressure had no distinctive change. Figure 3 is the change in systolic pressure over time while Figure 4 is the change of diastolic pressure over the time stretch that the experiment was done in. It shows that nothing can be conclusively found about either pressure because the unpredictable nature of the line. Discussion As earlier hypothesized blood pressure will change and so will heart rate, however they will not be affected heavily because of the small amount of change that is being inflicted upon the subjects. It was predicted that after an amount of time without drinking any water the subjects heart rate will speed and after water has been added, heart rate will slow down. Alternatively, the experiment could have been improved with more control. There were many variables that were not accounted for. Water temperature, amount of water drunk, amount of exercise allowed to be exerted by the subjects, sex of subjects, size of subjects and normal heart rate and blood pressure of subjects were not consolidated in the experiment. This could contribute to experimental error, for the hypothesis and predictions are supported according to many experiments done by professional, scientists. These experiments have slightly different variables and test for slightly different results, but their results are conclusive to what should have been found in the experiment conducted in class (this experiment was also performed more professionally with greater differences in the control group and tested group). In opposition to hydration, dehydration has a lasting effect on heart rate as well (Montain and Edward, 1992). Understanding how dehydration affects heart rate is pertinent to understanding how hydration affects it (Montain and Edward, 1992). Expectations would be that they are complementary of each other and this study titled Influence of graded dehydration on hyperthermia and cardiovascular drift during excursive focuses on the dehydration aspect on the body and how the heart rate and blood pressure react (Montain and Edward, 1992). Hyperthermia is another aspect of this experiment, but seeing as it does not pertain to the experiment conducted in class, it will be overlooked (Montain and Edward, 1992). Directly pulling information from the Montian experiment, there were a certain number of cyclists that took part in the experiment, but they all fell into the same category: capable, normally low heart rate people (1992). Though there was no difference in the amount of sweat that the cyclists produced, there was a significant difference in their heart rates based on what amount of liquid that they consumed (there were four different groups, each assigned to a different amount of water) (Montain and Edward, 1992). The study shows that the level of dehydration directly correlates with HR (Montain and Edward, 1992). The amount of water in the blood indirectly correlates with Heart Rate meaning that the less water there is the harder the heart has to beat in order to get the stagnant blood through the veins and arteries and into the entire body (Montain and Edward, 1992). The x-axis is time (out of 110), this shows that heart rate. The heart rate increases with the smaller amount of fluid. An experiment performed by Nadel et al. similarly tests the effects of hyperhydration and hypohydration on the heart rate and the circulatory system, however, the investigation compares and contrasts the two different conditions other than going into depth in one over the other (1980). Maximal arm blood flow was taken for both of the experiments and when in a hypohydration condition, the blood flow was reduced by almost 50% (Nadel et al. 1980). Though there was a difference in the amount of blood when hyperhydration conditions were met (subject drank 2 liters of water), the difference was not significant enough to make a large impact on the subjects heart rate (Nadel et al. 1980). However, when the subject then exercises the heart rate is abnormally slow compared to normal and hypohydration conditions (Nadel et al. 1980). A sufficient amount of water also helps maintain a constant internal temperature (Nadel et al. 1980). Temperature is actually a very good way to measure the blood p ressure and as seen in the figure 7 blood flow can be measured against temperature to find that the less water a person has, the higher the temperature is (Nadel et al. 1980). Measures blood flow versus temperature (rectum or esophageal temperature is always used in cases like this). An earlier experiment performed in the early 1940s noted in Effect of hydration state on circulatory and thermal regulations studied the same topic, but in a different manor (Nadel et al. 1980). Their findings were conclusive that even when hypohydration conditions are achieved, when water is given to the subject in large quantities, hyperhydration conditions are easily established and a quick rebound of water replacement in the body takes place (Nadel et al. 1980). In fact, the body reaches a steady condition in much less time than it takes the body to get into a critical condition. This illustrates the fast effects of water retake in the heart rate and body (Nadel et al. 1980). These detailed experiments are crucial in helping to understand why the classroom experiment had differed results. The study size, though it certainly inflicted the value of the data, was not the problem, but the quality of the subjects. They were all of different athletic potential and did not have similar heart rates or blood pressure rates. The collection procedure itself could also have some error. Subjects measured their own pressures and rates and did not exactly time it between each three minute intervals. There was also not enough time to collect sufficient data (hours of dedication were needed, not minuet minutes). However, this cannot completely dismiss the experiment, but seeing further evidence from the studies illustrated earlier, it is clear that the classroom results do not correlate with any of this previous research. Even though the experiments were exactly the same, similar results should have been expected because the basic outlines for both of the experiments were the same (Mountain vs. classroom experiment). Therefore, even if both experiments were testing for something different they should have experienced comparable outcomes. Data and conclusions drawn from this experiment are skewed and cannot accurately portray what happens when a sudden increase in hydration happens in the body. Therefore the null hypothesis has failed to be rejected. Sources Cited Weber KT, Janicki JS. 1985. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing for evaluation of chronic cardiac failure. The American journal of cardiology 55: Issue 2. Weedman and Sokoloski. 2009. Biology of Organisms: A Laboratory Manual for LIFE103. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. p 173 184. Skoog MD, L. Nilsson MD, G. Persson MD, B. Lernfelt MD, S. Landahl MD, B. Palmertz MD, L-A. Andreasson MD, A. Odà ©n PhD and A. Svanborg MD. 1996. 15-year longitudinal study of blood pressure and dementia. The Lancet 347: 1141 1145. Montian J and Coyle F. 1992. Influence of graded dehydration on hyperthermia and cardiovascular drift during exercise. Journal of Applied Physiology 73: Issue 4. Nadel E R, Fortney M S, Wenger C B. 1980. Effect of hydration state of circulatory and thermal regulations. Journal of Applied Physiology 49: Issue 4.

Polygamy and monogamy practices

Polygamy and monogamy practices Since creation, according to bible, God created man and woman as well as animals which were both male and female. In such a situations where there exists animals of different sex, it allows the reproduction and stability of one generation after another generation. Human beings are known social beings, and in most cases need one another to survive, therefore its difficult to exclusively depend on themselves. To produce offspring, they usually marry and have children which in turn, becomes the standard of creation for the human population. Even though we all share the similarity of being human beings, there still exists differences in what we believe in and the values that we attach to various things. One of these things, is the topic of marriage, which by definition, is a reunion of a man and a woman to come together and live together as a husband and wife. Due to the diverse objectives that people have in marriage, some people consider that having one wife (monogamy) is the ideal met hod, whereas others believe in having a number of wives (polygamy) (Family,2009). This paper seeks to have an in-depth look at the two issues; polygamy and monogamy by looking at what the proponents of each thinks about it as well as look at countries that have practiced them. It will also look at pros and cons of each as well, and why people should respect one another despite which side they take. Last but not least, the paper will analyze the cultural beliefs of the two groups and dig deeper on why they hold on their beliefs and reasons they give to support their stand. Monogamy, is one of the most widely used form of marriage and its supporters believe in one man/woman to one wife/husband. Monogamy is derived from the Greek word mono, which means alone, and gamos, meaning re-union or marriage. It is believed that the majority of the human race practice monogamy as opposed to polygamy. One benefit considered of monogamy, is that it increases the chances of offspring survival because the parents collaborate together and raise the child ( Edward,1928). This perception does seem to be changing with time due to complexities of fast paced, modern life though. In the past, it was common for men to go to work while the woman was supposed to maintain the house hold duties, which also included raising the children. The modern world has changed this though, and now there is no distinct roles between men and women. Equally now, both must work hard to cope and deal with the challenges of modern life. Monogamy can be categorized and broken into four groups: soci al monogamy, sexual monogamy, marital monogamy and genetic monogamy. There exists small differences between these groups and that is why this paper all discussion will be centered on the man and woman perspective of monogamy. Many communities have in the past and are currently now practicing monogamy. Monogamy is as old as Adam and Eve, for during creation, God created one woman and one man. It is anticipated by some people that Christianity has a connection with the origin of monogamy ( Edward,1928). Europe just happens to be one of the countries where Christianity took its toll and spread rapidly. Before Christianity, Europe practiced polygamy. The roman culture believed in monogamy to such an extent that those who failed to observe the rules, faced dire consequences. Due to the severe penalties, some people even went to the extent of killing their wives so that they could have an opportunity of marrying another one. Cesar is an example of one who banished and killed his wife in o rder to get the opportunity of marrying another one (William,u.d.). This indicates how strong their culture laws were and how people desperately tried to abide by them. The great conqueror Napoleon, was also forced to divorce his first wife so that he could marry another one order to birth a son. This shows how deep rooted these cultures were by going to the extent of making a laws which were to be observed by all of the population. These cultures main goals were making sure the chances of immorality were reduced, as well as helping couples remain committed to each other. It is evident that no matter how strict a country was, monogamy is hard to uphold as it can be seen in Rome, where although marriage was monogamous, the sexual relationship did not follow the same, and mating was polygamous (Eshleman, 1994). People abided by the rules, and most cultural beliefs were upheld and embraced by the community. One downside to these beliefs, was lack in acceptance by all of its citizens an d some accepted it just because they lacked any alternatives. The communities that practiced monogamy stood a better chance of having families that worked together towards a common goal like raising children, giving them parental love and attention which are very crucial to the development child. As opposed to polygamous family, where most of the time the husband can not afford to be with all wives and his children at the same time. A polygamous father quite simply, cannot afford it. The children from these families are not likely in most cases to fully enjoy the parental love of both parents like those from monogamous family. In the Roman Empire, the consequences of bigamy were severe as death. This means that the citizens had no other option but to abide by them. The Empire saw it as a way to reduce the numbers of unwanted children, lower the levels of immorality, and lessen the amount of single mothers resulting from divorce, due to unfavorable conditions that arise with polygamy . Even though this culture was imitated, it still has its weakness because most its foremost people had children outside marriage as well as concubines on the side. It showed disregard for human rights, because some women were divorced or murdered so that the men could get the opportunity to marry another one. The culture also lacked proportion matching especially in comparison to modern days since the male to female ratio does not compute. This means that a great number of women would turn out to be single since their population is so high. In turn, the women who birth children out of marriage, will raise children that are not able to receive parental love from the father. Those children then do not have much choice but to lean on what they see their mother doing, and in some cases, the traits they acquire, might not be ideal ones. Polygamy is derived from the Greek word, which means the practice of having many women. This practice is very old and was practiced in many countries throughout the world. The practice is predominant in many African countries, where ones wealth is calculated in terms of how many children one has. They believe that when one person is in position to feed many mouths, that it translates to that one person having enough wealth since poor people could not afford to feed numerous children. Other countries have different reasons to why they allowed its citizens to practice polygamy. This discussion will focus on one of the African countries, Kenya, where currently, some of its communities still do practice polygamy (volume 10, 1967). Before colonization, people used to have their own standards of living as well as doctrines and laws that they had to abide by. Kenya happens to have more than 42 tribes where each tribe has its own beliefs and culture to follow. Most of these tribes, acknowledge polygamy and it is suggested by Ngugi (2006) that women once they perceive that they are reaching old age, could suggest that their husband marry another younger woman who to help him with house hold chores as well as marital needs. To many Kenyans, they believed polygamy to be essential in making it possible for the continuation of a generation. This was a time when children used to die in large numbers at extremely tender ages, due to diseases like measles, polio amongst others. It was then considered vital for a man to marry many women and reproduce many children so that even if a majority of them were dying, the hopes and chances that a few of them would survive was increased. The Kenyan culture accepted polygamy and eve n women themselves did not feel cheated nor did they object to it. A good example is the Luo community in Kenya in currently, polygamy is still practiced. Wife inheritance which is also a part of polygamy is being practiced as well (Ngugi, 2008)). According to their culture, this habit is encouraged to discourage the chances of the widowed woman from going out to look for other men, and instead be inherited by one of the brothers of her deceased husband. Another reason that is supported by those who practice polygamy, is to bring about a balance between men and women. Since the womens numbers are many, it is believed by the men practicing it, that more women in turn will be able to get husbands. The African culture means well in practicing polygamy, and has good intentions in doing so. These women and communities as a whole, believe it better to have a co-wife and abolish the need for their men to have hidden relations with other women outside the marriage. Therefore there was no more secret business, and men could inform their wives of their intention to marry another woman as they deemed right (Ngugi,2008). Lately though there has been a decline in the practice of polygamy, resulting from many people embracing Christianity i n Kenya. Many are now abiding by doctrines of the church and because of this immorality and promiscuity is on the rise. Research has shown that both married women and men are having other relationships outside their marriages, contributing to a high HIV infection rate in these groups. Polygamy is associated with such benefits as the impartiality in the distribution of wealth. This is because polygamy in most cases is practiced by men who are financially stable. By them marrying many women, there will be a steady flow of cash, either through gift or even just by merely supporting the women that he marries (William,2009). Immorality and promiscuity rates also decline along with sexually transmitted diseases, for the simple fact that a man will be content with women he has. There are also more morals imposed in such a society, and instead of women resulting to using devices such as sex toys to fulfill their needs, they stand a much better chance of getting men who will satisfy their ne eds sexually instead. Human beings are emotional and require a channel or means of satisfying those feelings. When that opportunity is not presented, they can result to other untraditional means to satisfy their emotions. Polygamy also has its shortcomings which can vary depending on how it is practiced. When it occurs with individuals who are not economically stable, children might suffer and lack basic needs due to the number of children the man will be providing for. It also neglects the children of paternal love since they can not have their father on daily basis. It can also make women feel not fully appreciated and wonder why their man would be looking at other women. In the current times, it can lead to mistrust, and increasing the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases (Mirriam, 2006). In looking at both polygamy and monogamy, each one of them seems to have its advantages and disadvantages. Keeping in mind that humans are social beings who like to interact with each other, people should learn to appreciate other peoples cultures since we can perceive things differently and what some may consider as right, may be considered as very wrong in another country. Even though this has always been a controversial topic as to what people recognize as its pertaining issues, but it is really time for people to appreciate the difference that exists between people and the only way to solve this is by learning about the positive things from the given cultural community and disregard what could be perceived to be of less importance (Jenks, 2006). Communities can not exist on their own and they require a collaboration with others to co-exist peacefully. It is important to not only realize but appreciate that there are disparities between these two types of marriages and the childre n brought out of each of them exhibit the differences in the values that they learned from their parents. Research done has indicated that children from polygamous family might have more negative attitudes towards their step siblings and are often lacking in genuine love towards each other. In extreme cases, they sometimes rise against one another and even cause bodily harm to one another. Often lacking in fatherly love, they generally seem to perceive their father in a negative light as well. All that having been said, people will continue behaving differently and that is why laws play a vital role ensuring that people abide by them and operate within those boundaries. Through social interaction, people get to discover other peoples different ways of living and their abilities to interact with each other. References Jencks E N (2009).The History and Philosophy of Marriage: Or, Polygamy and Monogamy Compared: Oxford publishers Ngugi, J. polygamy in Kenya.Nairobi. Oxford publishers. Miriam K. (2006).Polygamy: a cross-cultural analysis. New York: Up. A citizen of Massachusetts (1882).Marriage: monogamy and polygamy on the basis of divine law, of natural law University of Michigan James Campbell An international journal of social, political and legal , Volume 10: 1967: retrieved on 6/12/2009 from: n+monogamy+and+polygamylr=client=firefox-a Edward B. (1928). The Journal of general psychology, Volume 1 retrieved on 6/12/2009 from http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=Kv37YlSy7oICq=journals+on+monogamy+and+polygamydq=journals+on+monogamy+and+polygamylr=client=firefox-a Say NO to monogamy and YES to polygamy.2009. Retrieved on 6/12/2009 from http://www.hipforums.com/modules/Journal/viewentry.php?journalnoteid=13005 William M .The family, society, and the individual: retrieved on 6/12/2009 from: gamydq=journals+on+monogamy+and+polygamylr=client=firefox-a Eshleman, J. (1994). The Family. retrieved on 6/12/2009 from: ygamylr=client=firefox-a