Ultrasonography Advantages and Disadvantages

Ultrasonography Advantages and Disadvantages ULTRASONOGRAPHY Ultrasonography is a sound based diagnostic imaging technique used for visualising subcutaneous body structures including muscles joints vessels and internal organs for possible pathology and lesions. Sonography was introduced in the Medical field in early 1950s with steady development. The requirement of Ultrasound has gained importance in medical field and slowly its use in dentistry is also advancing. In Ultrasonography high frequency sound waves are transmitted in to the body by a transducer and the reflected waves are detected and displayed on a monitor. Sound reflection occurs between materials with different acoustic properties. The acoustic impedance of a medium is the product of its density and the propagation velocity in the medium. The transducers are intended to produce longitudinal waves therefore only those waves can pass through tissues get reflected, Audio frequency of a sound wave is 20 KHz any frequency above this is known as ultrasound. Medical Ultrasound uses the frequency of 1-15 MHz. The transducer contains quartz crystals and works on a principle called as piezoelectric effect. Piezoelectric effect is when a force is applied perpendicular to the faces of a quartz crystal an electric charge will result. This charge can be de ­tected and amplified, producing a useful electric signal. Conversely, if an electric sig ­nal is applied to the crystal, expansion or con ­traction of the crystal will take place depend ­ing on the polarity of the signal. Oscillating signals cause the crystal to vi ­brate, resulting in propagation of sound waves into the medium with which the crystal is in contact.52 Advantages of this imaging technique include – Non invasive Non ionizing radiation is used Simple Real time imaging Portable machine Can repeat and easy to store Less artifacts Disadvantages include – Operator and equipment dependant Hard tissue cannot be imaged Deep structures cannot be visualized Application of Ultrasonography in dentistry: Ultrasonography has been used as non-invasive technique for the imaging of relatively deep areas. Recently, however high frequency USG has been developed that can provide detail investigation of more superficial regions.53, 54 USG has extensive range of use in dentistry such as to detect cyst and tumors of orofacial region, lympadenitis, space infections, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders and mid face fractures. USG can detect of fractures of the maxillofacial region i.e. nasal bone fractures, orbital rim fractures, maxillary fractures, mandibular fractures, zygomatic arch fractures as well as reduction healing of fractures. Ultrasound is used to detect parotid lesions, where solid and cystic lesions are reliably differentiated and diffuse enlargement of the parotid gland (or) focal disease is readily shown by ultrasound. Sonographically, benign lesions usually appear well defined, homogeneous and hypoechoic, while malignant lesions tend to be ill defined and hypoechoic with heterogeneous internal architecture and enlarged cervical lymph node may be visible and reactive intra parotid lymph nodes may also be readily assessed.55, 56, 57 USG can also be used during FNAC. This technique offers the ability to sample non palpable diseases, gives access to different regions of the lesion and approaches the lesion from different angles. During biopsy of parotid gland there is chance of injuring the facial nerve (or) seeding neoplastic cells, under ultrasound guidance these can be avoided.56 The value of USG is well recognized in inflammatory soft tissue conditions of the head and neck region and superficial tissue disorders of the maxillofacial region. Ultra sound can provide the content of the lesion before any surgical procedure; both solid and cystic contents could be identified in ultrasound. The mixed lesions should be considered neoplastic and should be biopsied before surgical procedure.USG helps in detecting the extend of space infections in oral and maxillofacial region. Ultrasound is also an precise modality for measuring the thickness of muscles, data regarding thickness may provide information useful in diagnosis and treatment especially in follow up examination in cases of temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD).58 USG is indiacted in TMD to evaluate the osseous contours of joints and joint space, joint effusion, detection of disc position and dynamic evaluation and inflammatory disorders like Rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis etc. Ultrasound can also be used for detecting sialoliths in parotid, submandibular and sublingual salivary glands, which appear as echo-dense spots with a characteristic acoustic shadow.59 In Ultrasound, color Doppler sonography has been developed to identify vasculatures and to enable evaluation of the blood flow, velocity and vessel resistance together with surrounding Morphology. It can be used for detecting the course of the facial artery and for detecting hemangioma. So the use of ultrasound is unlimited, so proper application of this Imaging can be of use in detecting various normal pathological lesions in the maxillofacial region. Literature search Manjunath K et al (2011) evaluated oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) by clinical and histopathological examination, and compared the results with those from ultrasonographic technique.30 clinically diagnosed OSMF patients were subjected to both ultrasonographic and histopathological evaluation before treatment. Later, only ultrasonographical examination using 9-5 MHz transducer was done during 4thand 8thweek of treatment. Intralesional injections of a combination of dexamethasone sodium phosphate 4 mg/ml and hyaluronidase 1500 IU twice a week for 8 weeks were given. At each visit, following topical application of lignocaine 2%, 1500 IU of hyaluronidase was dissolved in 2.0 ml of dexamethasone sodium phosphate in a 2 ml disposable syringe and the drugs were injected at multiple sites submucosally by means of a gauge 24 needle, taking care that not more than 0.2 ml solution was injected per site. Prognosis of the lesion for the treatment was evaluated. Peak systolic velocity (PSV) of bloo d in the lesional area was statistically analyzed. 10 normal individuals without any mucosal lesions were considered as the control group.In normal individuals, ultrasonography delineated normal mucosa with uniform fine mottled appearance with interspersed hypoechoic areas. Colour Doppler and spectral Doppler depicted uniform distribution of blood vessels and normal peak systolic velocity of blood respectively. All OSMF patients were diagnosed upon clinical and histopathological examination. Clinical examination revealed 14 individuals with unilateral palpable fibrotic bands and 16 individuals with bilateral fibrotic bands whereas, ultrasonographic evaluation revealed 6 individuals with unilateral fibrotic bands and 24 individuals were with bilateral fibrotic bands, which was statistically significant. Ultrasonography demonstrated number, length and thickness of the fibrotic bands. Color Doppler and spectral Doppler showed decreased vascularity and PSV in lesional area. Prognosis ev aluation revealed 25 cases of good prognosis and 5 cases were showed poor prognosis. Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test revealed no significant difference of PSV was seen in poor prognosis patients.The study concluded that Ultrasonography could be a better diagnostic tool compared to clinical and histopathological examination.2 Krithika C et al (2013) assessed the sonographic features of the buccal mucosa in patients with oral submucous fibrosis (OSF).Three groups (controls with areca-related habits, controls without areca-related habits and clinically diagnosed OSF cases), each comprising 30 subjects, were included in the study. After a thorough clinical examination, transcutaneous B-mode ultrasonography was performed with a multifrequency linear transducer (5-10à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ °MHz) for anterior and posterior buccal mucosa bilaterally. Both clinical and ultrasound findings were recorded by three independent observers. One-way analysis of variance and Tukeys honestly significant difference post-hoc tests were used for statistical comparisons between groups and Pearson χ (2) tests to compare the proportions. Kappa statistics was used to determine the interobserver agreement. The submucosa that appeared hypoechoic in the control groups had significantly increased echogenicity in the case group (hypo- to isoechoic in 46.7% and isoechoic in 53.3%). The differentiation between the submucosa and the muscle layer appeared distinct in the control groups while it was not clear in the case group (indistinct in 50% and completely lost in 50%). The number of sites found positive on the ultrasound was significantly greater than the number of clinically positive sites. There was a very good inter observer consistency in clinical and ultrasound findings. Ultrasonography of the buccal mucosa demonstrated increased submucosal echogenicity and reduced echo differentiation between submucosa and muscle layer in OSF cases. Hence, it can be used as a non-invasive imaging modality to assess the disease extent and severity across the entire buccal mucosa to supplement clinical evaluation.7 P Rangaiah (2010) performed a hospital based cross sectional study to measure the thickness of submucosa with the application of high frequency ultrasonography (USG) in cases and controls and to correlate clinical and histological stages of the disease with the USG measurements. Study consisted of 20 subjects who were clinically and histopathologically proven of OSMF and 20 controls who were selected by matching the age body mass index to OSMF patients. Transcutaneous imaging of Buccal and labial submucosa was done using a high frequency (3-12 MHz) USG. The values were correlated with the habit and clinical and histological staging of the disease. Result The mean submucosal thickness of ABM for cases was0.209  ± 0.072 cms and for controls was 0.056  ± 0.011 cms, PBM for cases was 0.218  ± 0.080 and for controls was 0.057  ± 0.010 cms, ULM for cases was 0.149  ± 0.051 cms and for controls was 0.055  ± 0.015 cms, and for LLM for cases was 0.162  ± 0.052 cms and for the c ontrols was 0.060  ± 0.017 cms. The study group had a increased submucosal thickness when compared to control group in all the measured sites. A significant positive association was obtained in relation of submucosal thickness with frequency of chewing habits. An insignificant correlation was obtained with respect to submucosal thickness with duration of habit and duration of quid keeping. An incompatibility was noted when comparison of clinical and histological staging was done with USG measurements, which could be attributed to smaller sample size, unequal number of subjects in each staging of OSMF. But many cases showed definite increase in submucosal thickness as the disease progressed from early to advanced stage. Echogenecity pattern of submucosa showed areas of irregular hyperechoic (increased) linear streaks due to fibrotic deposits in cases. In the contrary the submucosa of controls appeared as a band of hypoechoic zone. Conclusion of the present preliminary study was abl e to establish the normal values of submucosal thickness ultrasonographically for a small group of South Indian population. The study showed a significant increase in submucosal thickness in OSMF patients which was measured ultrasonographically.60 Devathambi JR (2013) evaluated the efficacy of ultrasonography (USG) as a non-invasive tool in assessing the severity of OSMF and also to assess the relationship between OSMF and hypertrophy of the masseter muscle. The submucosal thickness in buccal mucosa and masseteric muscle hypertrophy were measured using ultrasound (10-15 MHz) in 60 patients comprising 30 OSMF patients and 30 controls. Results were analyzed by one way analysis of variance, Chi-square test and t- test. The range of the normal submucosal thickness in the study was between 0.045 and 0.056 cm.the submucosal thickness in OSMF patients ranged between 0.090cm to 0.258.As the stages of OSMF advanced there was an increase in submucosal thickness of the buccal mucosa as well as masseter muscle thickness in both relaxed and contracted state in the study group when compared with controls (P61 P Kant (2014) evaluated the efficacy of ultrasonography (USG) as a non-invasive tool in assessing the severity of OSMF and also to assess the relationship between OSMF and hypertrophy of the masseter muscle. The submucosal thickness in buccal mucosa and masseteric muscle hypertrophy were measured using ultrasound (10-15 MHz) in 60 patients comprising 30 OSMF patients and 30 controls. Results were analyzed by one way analysis of variance, Chi-square test and t-test. As the stages of OSMF advanced there was an increase in submucosal thickness of the buccal mucosa as well as masseter muscle thickness in both relaxed and contracted state in the study group when compared with controls (p62 Kamala KA et al (2010) investigated thickness of masseter muscle at rest and at maximum clenching position by ultrasonography with masseter muscle hypertrophy in OSMF patient and control group, and also to establish the normal value of masseter muscle thickness ultrasonographically and to prove that ultrasonography is reliable diagnostic technique for the evaluation of masseter muscle hypertrophy in oral submucous fibrosis patient. Ultrasonographic (3-12 MHz) measurement of masseter muscle thickness was performed in 40 subjects including 20 OSMF patients and 20 controls. Study group showed higher thickness both on right and left buccal mucosa when compared to controls. The thickness of masseter muscle was more in contracted stage than relaxed stage which was significant.63 J Jackowski et al (1999) compared the ultrasonographic appearances of the oral mucosa in health with patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc).An innovative 20 MHz US scanner was used to examine the lips, cheeks and oral vestibule of ten healthy persons and ten patients with SSc. The clinical, ultrasonographic and histopathological features of one patient with a fibro-epithelial polyp of the buccal mucosa are reported in detail. Two patients with SSc displayed increased echogenicity due to fibrotic deposits. A similar echo pattern was seen in the case of the histopathologically verified fibro-epithelial polyp of the buccal mucosa. The study concluded that 20 MHz sonography may be suitable as a non-invasive tool for evaluation of fibrosis of the oral mucosa.64 Praveen Kumar Pandey et al (2011) The purpose of the study was to establish the role of ultrasonography in determining the involvement of specific fascial spaces in maxillofacial region and the stage of infection, in indicating the appropriate time for surgical intervention and to compare clinical and ultrasonographic findings. Material and Methods Twenty five patients with fascial space infection in maxillofacial region were subjected to ultrasonographic examination following a detailed clinical and radiological examination. Ultrasonography guided needle aspiration was performed. Based on the findings, patients diagnosed with abscess were subjected to incision and drainage and those with cellulitis were subjected to medical line of treatment. Results More than one fascial space was involved in all patients. On clinical examination 64 spaces were involved, of them 34 spaces had abscess formation and 30 spaces were in the stage of cellulitis. On ultrasonography examination, 28 spaces were reported to have abscess formation and 36 spaces were diagnosed to be in the stage of cellulitis. On comparative analysis of both clinical and ultrasonographic findings, ultrasonography was found to be sensitive in 65% of the cases and having specificity of 80%. It was registered statistically significant (P Conclusions Ultrasonography is a quick, widely available, relatively inexpensive, and painless procedure and can be repeated as often as necessary without risk to the patient. Thus ultrasonography is a valuable diagnostic aid to the oral and maxillofacial surgeon for early and accurate diagnosis of fascial space infection, their appropriate treatment and to limit their further spread. Keywords:ultrasonography, maxillofacial surgery, abscess, cellulitis, differential diagnosis. The purpose of the study was to establish the role of ultrasonography in determining the involvement of specific facial spaces in maxillofacial region and the stage of infection, in indicating the appropriate time for surgical intervention and to compare clinical and ultrasonographic findings. Twenty five patients with fascial space infection in maxillofacial region were subjected to ultrasonographic examination following a detailed clinical and radiological examination. Ultrasonography guided needle aspiration was performed. Based on the findings, patients diagnosed with abscess were subjected to incision and drainage and those with cellulitis were subjected to medical line of treatment. More than one fascial space was involved in all patients. On clinical examination 64 spaces were involved, of them 34 spaces had abscess formation and 30 spaces were in the stage of cellulitis. On ultrasonography examination, 28 spaces were reported to have abscess formation and 36 spaces were diagn osed to be in the stage of cellulitis. On comparative analysis of both clinical and ultrasonographic findings, ultrasonography was found to be sensitive in 65% of the cases and having specificity of 80%. It was registered statistically significant (P 65 Mohit sharma et al (2014) detected the role of ultrasonography as an adjunctive diagnostic aid for fascial space infections of odontogenic origin as well as an aid in appropriate treatment planning and management of fascial space infections of odontogenic origin. The study group comprised of 30 patients of either genders, irrespective of age and presented with unilateral fascial space infection of odontogenic origin. After the clinical and radiographic examinations, patients underwent USG evaluation. USG-guided intraoperative aspiration was done to confirm the diagnosis. All the findings were tabulated and subjected to statistical analysis.USG was as accurate as USG-guided intraoral aspiration (Gold standard) in diagnosing fascial space infections of odontogenic origin with sensitivity and specificity of 100%. In cases of abscess USG showed a well-defined homogenous anechoic pattern, cellulitis cases showed an ill-defined heterogeneous hyperechoic pattern while edema showed an ill-de fined isoechoic pattern.The different stages of fascial space infections of odontogenic origin can be clearly depicted on the USG. The study concluded that different stages of fascial space infections of odontogenic origin can be clearly depicted on the USG and it can be used as a reliable adjunctive imaging technique in the diagnosis of fascial space infection of odontogenic origin.66 Prince CN et al (2012) assessed the diagnostic capability of real-time ultrasound imaging, together with the application of color power Doppler in the identification and differential diagnosis of the periapical lesions. Fifteen patients with periapical lesions of pulpal origin, diagnosed with clinical and conventional radiographic examination, were examined further using ultrasonography. The results from the biopsies of the lesions were compared and statistically analyzed. The differential diagnosis between periapical granulomas and cystic lesions, which were based on the ultrasonographic findings, were confirmed by the results of the histopathologic examination in 13 (86.7%) of 15 cases, one being granuloma and 14 being cystic lesion.67 Sumit Goel et al (2011) evaluated the efficacy of ultrasonography with color Doppler and power Doppler applications over conventional radiography in the diagnosis of periapical lesions.Thirty patients having inflammatory periapical lesions of the maxillary or mandibular anterior teeth and requiring endodontic surgery were selected for inclusion in this study. All patients consented to participate in the study. They used conventional periapical radiographs as well as USG with color Doppler and power Doppler for the diagnosis of these lesions. Their diagnostic performances were compared against histopathologic examination. All data were compared and statistically analyzed.USG examination with color Doppler and power Doppler identified 29 (19 cysts and 10 granulomas) of 30 periapical lesions accurately, with a sensitivity of 100% for cysts and 90.91% for granulomas and a specificity of 90.91% for cysts and 100% for granulomas. In comparison, conventional intraoral radiography identified only 21 lesions (sensitivity of 78.9% for cysts and 45.4% for granulomas and specificity of 45.4% for cysts and 78.9% for granulomas). There was definite correlation between the echo texture of the lesions and the histopathological features except in one case.68 Page 1

The Effects of One-Child Policy on Chinese Kinship

Burt Jiang Anthropology 331 4/22/2013 Term Paper The origins of Chinese civilization derive its roots from the Huang-he and Yangtze Rivers. Like other ancient river valley civilizations, these two rivers provided early Chinese settlers with the raw materials necessary to sustain culture and society. Burgeoning from small, scattered clans, autonomous groups of Chinese villages situated around the rivers would in turn become the building blocks of the ancient Chinese dynasties to the modern day, People’s Republic of China.The system of clans became an effective method of identifying one’s own lineage through the maintenance of a single surname throughout the clan. As the social structure of the clan grew, the complex interactions among clan and non-clan members eventually synergized to create China’s own form of kinship. Anthropologists have since come to classify Chinese kinship under the broader term of Sudanese kinship. The Sudanese, and by extension Chinese, ki nship is considered the most complex system with a separate designation for almost every one of ego’s kin based on generation, lineage, relative age, and gender.As observed, the Chinese kinship system already has a strictly defined scheme of kin identification, but the monikers only serve as an outline of China’s kinship system. The true backbone of Chinese kinship draws its source from Confucian ideals, ideals that have been deeply ingrained in Chinese dogma since the late fifth century B. C. Among his teachings of filial piety and ancestor worship, Confucius outlines for the Chinese people the five most basic interactions: interactions between ruler and subject; father and son; elder and younger brother; husband and wife; and between friends.Of the five interactions, the interactions between father-son, and husband-wife, have seen the greatest amount of development and change throughout to course of China’s history. As China exited the feudal age and entered t he modern world as The People’s Republic of China, the two interactions identified experienced considerable changes while maintaining their signature Chinese accent. Feudal China’s departure, and the advent of communist China, has brought forth rapid family reform and ultimately, the initiation of the One-Child Policy. Even in the face of rapid modernization and reform, the trong influences of Confucian ideals and an intrinsic patrilineal descent pattern still characterize Chinese kinship; however, the introduction of the One-Child Policy, and its ramifications, has put stress on the traditional Chinese family structures as well as possibly creating many more problems future generations must solve. Of all the pseudo-religious institutions that took hold in China, Daoism and Zen Buddhism, most notably, the concept of ancestor worship put forth by Confucius is by far the most ubiquitous in Chinese culture and kinship relationships.Defined by the nine agnates, Confucius t ook great efforts to outline the nuclear family as clearly as possible, three generations prior to the ego, the ego, and three generations after the ego. Within the nine agnates, ancestral worship and filial piety became the driving forces that perpetuated kinship interactions in China for generations. Thus forms the cyclical cycle of Chinese kinship, the younger generations are kept in line by the rules of filial piety while the older generation is kept in memory and reverence via ancestral worship.The importance of ancestor worship can be conceptualized and materialized through the complex mourning attire and rituals exhibited by the Chinese people. Much like the suru’ai of Kwaio, individuals in mourning must display no worldly attachment, must not be seen in public, must have abstain from sexual activity, and generally must live a life of detachment throughout the mourning period (Akin March 11). The mourning period is defined by the relationship of the mourner to the indi vidual that has passed away; consequently, the duration of this period can range from three months to three years based on the strength of the bond shared.During a time of mourning, individuals must also wear complementing attire to signify which stage of mourning he/she is in; hence the attire has evolved into the five degrees of mourning attire. Chinese mourning rituals were taken very seriously within the clans and the act of proposing to an individual exhibiting any stage of the five degrees of mourning attire was considered highly immoral and taboo. Rituals of ancestor worship, like mourning ceremonies and attire, serve to underscore the importance of the ancestors to the Chinese people.The sterility, and structure, of the mourning period is an excellent example of the reverence Chinese individuals hold for their deceased kin; to interrupt the transition from individual to ancestor is still considered highly disrespectful and taboo even in modern China. Ancestor worship provide s a broad blanket of allegiance for the Chinese kinship system. The importance of ancestor worship is to keep entire clans together, but the smaller familial units require a force more tenable and exact.Within the nuclear family, Confucius saw the wisdom to conceive of another ideal that complements the notion of ancestor worship, that idea being filial piety. Filial piety, in turn, provides the construct in which the five relationships, outlined earlier, can be practically maintained and perpetuated. Confucius’ relationship of father and son is kept constant by the power of filial piety. Younger generations are taught to respect and heed the advice of their forefathers. Consequently, this interaction creates an incredibly structured kinship system in which obedience is preferential to individuality.The rules defined by filial piety culminated in the written document known as The Great Qing Legal Code, introduced during the Qing Dynasty, 1644 to 1912. This document not only p rovided, in great detail, the laws and codes regarding kinship bonds on all five levels of relationship, but it also included the punishments if those bonds were broken or tested by crime (Jones 29). Criminal activity was therefore punished more severely if the crime committed was within the clan, and further intensified if the offence was committed against a higher ranking individual.The importance of upholding the kinship relations set forth by Confucius can be seen in the Code’s punishment for breaking the first and foremost relationship of ruler and subject. Punishment for breaking China’s most important bond resulted in what is known as: â€Å"The extermination of nine kindreds†. Any individual who commits treason against his/her emperor would be subject to the complete annihilation of his/her nine agnates, effectively erasing that individual’s bloodline (Jones 16).This incredibly overt punishment trickled down, with lesser severity, to the other fou r relationships, and ultimately underlined the importance of loyalty to kin and emperor. Filial piety’s significance is further stressed in the father-son relationship because of China’s early affinity to the patrilineal descent system, echoes from the country’s roots in the clan structure. Since only males can bear and preserve the family surname, loyalty of the son to the father became critical in a patrilineal descent system.In order to ensure the lineage’s continuation, carefully arranged marriages between families would rise as the forefront solution. Chinese kinship, like many other systems, relies on the institution of marriage as bridge between two bodies of people. Recognized in Confucian teachings, a married couple is considered the most basic social unit from which other relationships stem. In Chinese culture, marriages were generally arranged by a matchmaker who would bless the union. After the marriage, the wife would be incorporated into the husband’s family; thus resulting in the importance of the production of sons to keep the family surname.Throughout history, Chinese marriages and kinship revolved around the production of viable sons to carry the family name. Like Kwaio societies, fertility of the mother proved to be of paramount importance when evaluating a marriage relationship (Akin February 20). It is important to take note, however, that while monogamy was the accepted practice, polygamy gained prominence in imperial families that could not produce a healthy male heir, a problem solved also by nurture kinship (Akin January 23).Once married, divorce was possible only if the wife was proved to have engaged in one of these seven offences: failure to observe filial piety to the parent-in-laws, failure to bear a son, consistently vulgar or lewd, harbors jealousy, has a vile disease, gossips too much, or commits a theft. Although unusual to western societies, gossip is viewed as a poison to families and clans because of its inherent proclivity to hyperbole and fabrication. Patrilineal descent’s importance can be clearly observed in marriage rituals as divorce is only possible if the female fails to produce a son or commits other errs.There are, however, three distinct situations in which a wife is guaranteed immunity from a divorce, those three situations being: the wife has no family to return to, the wife has observed a full three year mourning period for her parent-in-law, or if her husband was poor during marriage and is currently wealth. In conjunction with ancestor worship, filial piety, and the structured marriage system, Chinese kinship has developed these three hallmark pillars to safeguard strong kinship bonds of father-son and husband-wife from one generation to the next.Although only briefly mentioned earlier, the wedding ceremonies themselves are a testament to the extravagance and importance of a decision such as marriage to the Chinese people. Categorized by the si x etiquettes, Chinese wedding ceremonies consisted of: the proposal, birthdates, bride price, wedding gifts, arranging the wedding, and the ceremony itself. Each of the six etiquettes involves a highly organized succession of events that would lead to marriage of husband and wife. The first two steps, proposal and birthdates, involve a matchmaker evaluating a potential daughter-in-law for marriage.If the divination rituals, Suan Ming, are positive and both sides of the marriage accept the terms, the next step would be submitting a bride price (Wolf 102). Bride price, or betrothal gifts, is then presented by the matchmaker to the bridegroom’s family completing the pre-wedding rituals. The actual wedding ceremony is somewhat austere in comparison to its preparation. It simply involves, in western society terms, the exchanging of vows and good blessings followed by paying respects to the Jade Emperor, other deities, and each family’s ancestors.Finally, the wedding banquet is the closing event in the marriage process and is often more lively and festive. Traditionally, the groom is responsible for the cost of the wedding invitation, pastries, the banquet invitations, and the wedding itself. Wedding banquets are elaborate and consist usually of five to ten courses, with ingredients such as  shark's fin,  abalone,  lobster,  squab,  sea cucumber,  swift nests,  fish roe  in soup or as decoration on top of a dish to symbolize fertility, and local delicacies (Wolf 88).Customarily, the father of the bride is responsible for the wedding banquet hosted on the bride's side and the alcohol consumed during both banquets. The wedding banquets are two separate banquets: the primary banquet is hosted once at the bride's side, the second banquet, smaller banquet, at the groom's side. While the wedding itself is often based on the couple's choices, the wedding banquets are a gesture of appreciation, to those that have raised the bride and groom, suc h as grandparents and uncles.Additionally, this gesture incorporates the ideas of nurture kinship, in which kinship persists and even thrives beyond the nuclear family. Grandparents, aunts, and uncles, of both sides of the family would often offer help in raising a family’s child in an attempt to establish nurture kinship bonds. These bonds would then be materialized through gift exchange during the wedding banquet and other important family occasions. The two banquets serve also to ensure the relatives on each side meet the relatives on the other side (Wolf 49).Thus out of respect for the elders, wedding banquets are usually done formally and traditionally, which the older generation is thought to be more comfortable with. As one can see, the six etiquettes of the marriage and its accompanying practices come together to create a single cohesive event meant to bring two families of different clan origins together as one. The traditions and conventions of Chinese kinship that have been examined have been kept constant for much of the nation’s history until the late 19th century and early 20th century.As political turmoil and growing dissatisfaction with the incumbent Qing Dynasty rose, the Chinese population made a push towards reform. After two decades of consolidation, dynastic China emerged from the feudal era as The Republic of China in 1912 headed by Sun Yat-sen. During the Nationalist era, Chinese kinship saw a slow movement towards modernity, a topic discussed in other sources but not focused on in this paper (See Hinton and Zarrow). The one exception to the evolution of kinship in China during this period was the residual influence of The Great Qing Legal Code.Although never referred to by name since the fall of the Qing, the collection of codes put forth by China’s forefathers manifested itself as a strict penal code during the Republic era, and would be re-adapted based on socialist law during the People’s Republic era (Jon es 229). Even when the governments representing China adjust to better fit its changing political landscape, the influences of Confucian teachings still resonate deeply in Chinese kinship and culture. Ultimately, the capitalistic ways of Nationalist China began to brew dissatisfaction among the classes as predicted by the rising popularity of Marxist theory at the time.The issues described by Marx, such as class conflict, were only exacerbated by China’s already enormous proletariat population. Eventually, and inevitably, The Republic of China was usurped by the communist oriented People’s Republic of China, headed by Mao Zedong in 1949. Mao’s rise to ascendancy and the subsequent initiation family reform policies such as the One-Child Policy has had tremendous consequences on traditional Chinese kinship structure and maintenance. The communist party’s policies regarding family and kin have persisted into the 21st century with some repercussions already a pparent, and others that have yet to be evaluated.The newly formed People’s Republic of China introduced itself to the modern world as a backward, unsophisticated nation of peasants led by a few intellectuals. Needless to say, the communist party saw prudence in creating a new image for itself. Family size and structure rose to the top of the communist party’s agenda as a target for transformation. In 1979, the Chinese government embarked on an ambitious campaign of market reform following the economic stagnation of the Cultural Revolution. The government saw strict population containment as essential to economic reform and to improvement of living standards.So championed by The State Family Planning Bureau, the One-Child Policy was introduced. In its execution, the Policy did everything the Chinese government hoped for by preventing roughly 100 million child births as of 2009 (Hesketh 1173). Although effective in containing China’s population growth, the One-Ch ild Policy proved to have meaningful impacts in other aspects of Chinese culture, particularly Chinese kinship. The Policy’s repercussions are in direct conflict with China’s oldest tradition of ancestor worship.A ritual that had been a driving force of Chinese kinship since the very beginning of feudal China is now at odds with the policies of modern China. Specifically, the One-Child Policy has created a conundrum known as the four-two-one (referred to as 4:2:1) phenomenon. The phenomenon is the estimated ratio of grandparents to parents to children currently existing in China (Hesketh 1171). Immediately, the most apparent issue is the imbalance of the ratio between grandparents to grandchildren, essentially for every one child there exist four grandparents.This many not seem like an issue to western societies, but China’s enormous population, a result of post-WWII baby boom trends, exacerbates the ratio to a breaking point. Traditional kinship bonds dictate t hat the younger generations must care and nurture for their elders. However with such an unbalanced ratio of individuals between the generations, China’s sons are failing to support their fathers while jeopardizing their own livelihood. Confucius’ signature relationship of father-son is now threatened greatly by the incurred financial burden of China’s youth.Changes in kinship structure and, to a lesser degree, family structure are driven by changes in fertility and mortality. The drastic reduction in fertility has substantially reduced the number of children born to each family, so that the extensive horizontal kinship ties of China’s past have essentially been curtailed (Jiang 128). However, improvements in mortality have brought unprecedented longevity to China’s elderly, and an overlap of generations that has made vertical kinship ties increasingly common (Jiang 129).Ancestor worship is at odds with China’s new agenda of population refor m and containment. The sudden reduction of horizontal kinship bonds and gross amplification of vertical kinship bonds forces China’s newest generation to pick between financially stability, through neglecting their elders, or supporting their elders, through draining their own personal capital. Similar to ancestor worship, the Confucian concepts of filial piety and marriage are also tested by the One-Child Policy.Starting with filial piety, the stipulation that families can only bear one child has put tremendous emphasis on patrilineal descent and the birth of sons. In feudal China, citizens were given the opportunity to produce as many offspring as needed and yet some families still failed to produce sons, and lineages were lost. Now, with only one opportunity, modern Chinese families have put an unprecedented level of importance to a mother’s ability to bear a male child. This in turn critically affects the father-son dynamic established by Confucius.Instead of overt ly obeying one’s parents, male children in China now understand the importance of their position, and exploit it. China’s newest generation of males have exhibited an unrecorded level of sexual, social, and media experimentation, generations of sexual and individual repression are just now starting to be shattered (Fong 1103). Additionally, the One-Child Policy has had mixed impact on the status of females and by extension marriage. With very limited contraception available for women, the One-Child Policy has forced families to prioritize the birth of males over females.This inevitably leads to the marginalization of the female gender in modern China and an incredibly imbalanced gender ratio. However, the results of the Policy on woman’s social status in China are not completely skewed to one, negative aspect. Those women who are kept by their families have just recently seen an unparalleled lift in their social positions and powers. Daughters empowered by the s upport of their parents, with no sons to favor, are able to defy detrimental norms while strategically using ones that give them advantages in the educational system and the job and marriage markets (Fong 1105).Furthermore, divorce rates have never been higher in modern China as a result of the empowered female gender. Women are more freely seeking new relationships and marriages, a notion inconceivable during the height of Confucian marriage practices. Modernity is an atypical force. Traditional kinship relationships and marriage practices of China are not necessarily broken by modern policies, like the One-Child, but they are certainly altered from their ancestral conceptualizations in feudal China. Chinese kinship is one of the most unique and complicated kinship systems ever examined.The kinship bonds established by the Chinese people may appear outwardly strict or even ascetic, but underneath the guise of structure, is an incredibly resilient dogma that still influences kinship in China today. Confucius’ ideas of ancestor worship, filial piety, and marriage all amalgamate to create a system of kinship that has withstood dynasties, regimes, and political parties. The recent challenges presented by the One-Child Policy have certainly put strain on traditional kinship relationships like that of father to son.Yet, the elevation of the female gender and increased fluidity in marriage rituals signify that Chinese kinship is not as stagnant as some anthropologists believe. No matter how much change is imposed on China’s kinship, the voice of Confucius will always permeate families, marriages, siblings, and children. Works Cited Directly used in paper: Akin, David. â€Å"Doubts, Critiques, and Revisions of Kinship Studies. † Anthropology 331. University of Michigan. Ann Arbor, 23 January 2013. Akin, David. â€Å"Totem, Taboo, and Identity (part 1). † Anthropology 331. University of Michigan.Ann Arbor, 11 March 2013. Akin, David.  "Marriage as Exchange. † Anthropology 331. University of Michigan. Ann Arbor, 20 February 2013. Fong, Vanessa L. â€Å"China's One-Child Policy and the Empowerment of Urban Daughters. †Ã‚  American Anthropologist  104. 4 (2002): 1098-109. Print. Jiang, Lin. â€Å"Changing Kinship Structure and Its Implications for Old-Age Support in Urban and Rural China. †Ã‚  Population Studies  49. 1 (1995): 127-45. Print. Jones, William C. The Great Qing Code. Oxford: Clarendon Press; New York: Oxford University Press, 1994 Hesketh, Therese, Li Lu, and Zhu Wei Xing. The Effect of China's One-Child Family Policy after 25 Years. †Ã‚  New England Journal of Medicine  353. 11 (2005): 1171-176. Print. Wolf, Arthur P. , and Chieh-shan Huang. Marriage and Adoption in China: 1845-1945. Stanford: Stanford UP, 1980. Print. Additional Research Hinton, William. Fanshen; a Documentary of Revolution in a Chinese Village. New York: Monthly Review, 1967. Print. Zarrow, Peter Gue. After Empire: The Conceptual Transformation of the Chinese State, 1885-1924. Stanford, CA: Stanford UP, 2012. Print.

Psychology and Association Test Essay

Experimental psychology is an area of psychology that utilizes scientific methods to research the mind and behavior. While students are often required to take experimental psychology courses during undergraduate and graduate school, you should really think of this subject as a methodology rather than a singular area within psychology. Many of these techniques are also used by other subfields of psychology to conduct research on everything from childhood development to social issues. Experimental psychologists work in a wide variety of settings including colleges, universities, research centers, government and private businesses. Some of these professionals may focus on teaching experimental to students, while others conduct research on cognitive processes, animal behavior, neuroscience, personality and many other subject areas. Those who work in academic settings often teach psychology courses in addition to performing research and publishing their findings in professional journals. Other experimental psychologists work with businesses to discover ways to make employees more productive or to create a safer workplace, a specialty area known as human factors psychology. Do you enjoy researching human behavior? If you have a passion for solving problems or exploring theoretical questions, you might also have a strong interest in a career as an experimental psychologist. Experimental psychologists study a huge range of topics within psychology, including both human and animal behavior. If you’ve ever wanted to learn more about what experimental psychologists do, this career profile can answers some of your basic questions and help you decide if you want to explore this specialty area in greater depth. An experimental psychologist is a type of psychologist who uses scientific methods to collect data and perform research. Experimental psychologists explore an immense range of psychological phenomena, ranging from learning to personality to cognitive processes. The exact type of research an experimental psychologist performs may depend on a number of factors including his or her educational background, interests and area of employment. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics:â€Å"Experimental or research psychologists work in university and private research centers and in business, nonprofit, and governmental organizations. They study the behavior of both human beings and animals, such as rats, monkeys, and pigeons. Prominent areas of study in experimental research include motivation, thought, attention, learning and memory, sensory and perceptual processes, effects of substance abuse, and genetic and neurological factors affecting behavior. † Experimental psychologists work in a wide variety of settings including colleges, universities, research centers, government and private businesses. Some of these professionals may focus on teaching experimental methods to students, while others conduct research on cognitive processes, animal behavior, neuroscience, personality and many other subject areas. Those who work in academic settings often teach psychology courses in addition to performing research and publishing their findings in professional journals. Other experimental psychologists may work with businesses to discover ways to make employees more productive or to create a safer workplace, a specialty area known as human factors psychology. Experimental psychology is an approach to psychology that treats it as one of the natural sciences, and therefore assumes that it is susceptible to the experimental method. Many experimental psychologists have gone further, and have assumed that all methods of investigation other than experimentation are suspect. In particular, experimental psychologists have been inclined to discount the case study and interview methods as they have been used in clinical and developmental psychology. Since it is a methodological rather than a substantive category, experimental psychology embraces a disparate collection of areas of study. It is usually taken to include the study of perception, cognitive psychology, comparative psychology, the experimental analysis of behavior, and some aspects of physiological psychology. Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) was a German physician, psychologist, physiologist and philosopher, known today as the â€Å"Father of Experimental Psychology† Some Famous Experimental Psychologists: Wilhelm Wundt later wrote the Principles of Physiological Psychology (1874), which helped establish experimental procedures in psychological research. After taking a position at the University of Liepzig, Wundt founded the first of only two experimental psychology labs in existence at that time. (Although a third lab already existed – William James established a lab at Harvard, which was focused on offering teaching demonstrations rather than experimentation. G. Stanley Hall founded the first American experimental psychology lab at John Hopkins University). Wundt was associated with the theoretical perspective known as structuralism, which involves describing the structures that compose the mind. He believed that psychology was the science of conscious experience and that trained observers could accurately describe thoughts, feelings, and emotions through a process known as introspection. Psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus was one of the first to scientifically study forgetting. In experiments where is used himself as the subject, Ebbinghaus tested his memory using three-letter nonsense syllables. He relied on such nonsense words because relying on previously known words would have made use of his existing knowledge and associations in his memory. In order to test for new information, Ebbinghaus tested his memory for periods of time ranging from 20 minutes to 31 days. He then published his findings in 1885 in Memory: A Contribution to Experimental Psychology. His results, plotted in what is known as the Ebbinghaus forgetting curve, revealed a relationship between forgetting and time. Initially, information is often lost very quickly after it is learned. Factors such as how the information was learned and how frequently it was rehearsed play a role in how quickly these memories are lost. The forgetting curve also showed that forgetting does not continue to decline until all of the information is lost. At a certain point, the amount of forgetting levels off. What exactly does this mean? It indicates that information stored in long-term memory is surprisingly stable. In the realm of mental phenomena, experiment and measurement have hitherto been chiefly limited in application to sense perception and to the time relations of mental processes. By means of the following investigations we have tried to go a step farther into the workings of the mind and to submit to an experimental and quantitative treatment the manifestations of memory. The term, memory, is to be taken here in its broadest sense, including Learning, Retention, Association and Reproduction. The principal objections which, as a matter of course, rise against the possibility of such a treatment are discussed in detail in the text and in part have been made objects of investigations. I may therefore ask those who are not already convinced a priori of the impossibility of such an attempt to postpone their decision about its practicability. Gustav Fechner did not call himself a psychologist, some important historians of psychology like Edwin G. Boring consider the experimental rising of this science in Fechner’s work (1979, p. 297). More specifically, it was Fechner’s famous intuition of October 22, 1850 that, according to Boring (quoted by Saul Rosenzweig, 1987), gave opportunity to his work as a psychophysicist (Rosenzweig also remembers that this date that serves as reference to this event, is curiously close to Boring? birthday, October 23rd). In a more concise way, if we think Fechner’s psychophysics work as the junction of a philosophical doctrine (that correlates spirit and matter as aspects of the same being), an experimental methodology (correlating the variations of stimulus and sensations perceived) and an assemblage of mathematical laws (the famous Weber-Fechner law); in addition, the last two aspects are considered especially relevant to the rising of psychology. Nevertheless, to think that the rising of a science is restricted to the establishment of experimental procedure and to a mathematical formalization, is to forget a whole field of questioning in which the instruments created by Fechner could, in the middle of the 19thcentury, overcome some obstacles and answer some questions, notably the ones made by the critic philosophy of Immanuel Kant. Ernst Weber was a German physiologist and Psychologist. He was regarded as a predecessor of experimental psychology and one of the founders of Psychophysics, the branch of psychology that studies the relations between physical stimuli and mental states. He is known chiefly for his work on investigation of subjective sensory response (sensations) to the impact of external physical stimuli: weight, temperature, and pressure. Weber experimentally determined the accuracy of tactile sensations, namely, the distance between two points on the skin, in which a person can perceive two separate touches. He discovered the two-point threshold – the distance on the skin separating two pointed stimulators that is required to experience two rather than one point of stimulation.

The World Of The Atlantic Ocean - 1372 Words

Introduction Beginning in the 15th century, European explorers crossed the Atlantic Ocean and conquered almost all of the New World. Mexico, the Caribbean islands, and South America all became part of a vast area of European colonies known as Latin America. The British, French, Dutch, and Portuguese all had territory in this region, but the most notable conquistadors were the Spanish. New Spain included most of the Caribbean islands, Mexico, almost all of Central America, and the entire western coast of South America. Throughout all of these colonies, Spanish society was controlled by a strict social system. At the top of the social hierarchy were the peninsulares, European-born colonists who dominated the government. The peninsulares were†¦show more content†¦The Creoles led the revolutions in Latin America because of a desire for political power, nationalism, and economic conditions. Body Paragraph 1 Political power was a huge motivator for the Creoles. As the second highest class in the New World, The Creoles had growing economic and social influence, but the peninsulares monopolized all administrative positions (Doc B). Even though Creoles composed a much larger percentage of the population than did peninsulares, only 12 Creoles were judges, compared to 87 peninsulares. The Creoles possessed some power, but real authority remained tantalizingly out of reach, residing only in the hands of the peninsulares. The peninsulares power over all other Latin Americans was an important source of frustration for each social class, but it was especially infuriating to Creoles, since many of them were educated in Europe and well-versed in Enlightenment thinking. They believed in the democratic ideals of fair representation and equality, values that conflicted with the very foundation of the hierarchical Spanish colonial system. Just as those Enlightenment ideas had led the bourgeoisie to re volt in Europe during the French Revolution, they caused the Creoles to revolt in New Spain during the Latin American revolutions. However, at the same time, the Creoles were also motivated by power in a way that was much less reflective of Enlightenment