Data Analysis of American House Price Essay Example

Data Analysis of American House Price Essay 1. Terms of Reference This report is the outcome of an analysis and investigation of American house price in order to consider which factor influence the price. It is submitted as my project for Essential Data Analysis module on the Business Studies Programme. 2. Executive Summary The data was investigated using the software Minitab ver. 14. This program is very useful for analyzing big data set faster and easier. Through Minitab were created a graph for each requested point. In order o make the graph more understandable, it is provided a table with the more relevant statistic information. This allows a more comprehensive and understandable reading of the report and an easier and more efficient comparison among 2 or more variables in order to make a proper analysis. Correlation and Regression analysis was applied in order to establish the relationship between the price with the size and the distance to the nearest large town. We will write a custom essay sample on Data Analysis of American House Price specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Data Analysis of American House Price specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Data Analysis of American House Price specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The data set given as a sample to analyse contain data collected of 100 houses in America from 5 different township numbered from 1 to 5. Each house is described by its price, size, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, if it has or nor a pool and a garage, the distance from the nearest large town, how desirable it is (scale of value among 1 = very undesirable to 7 = most desirable), the township of belonging and its age. The aim of this report is to assess and evaluate the distribution of house price in America in the 5 townships used as sample. A conclusion is provided to summarise all the findings, interpretations and explanations followed by suitable suggestions. This report should help an investor to have a more clear background of which factor take into consideration before buying a house. 3. Introduction House and properties are ones of the fixed assets that have shown to have an increasing trend of value. Every year house prices in America increase with the inflation and gain even more value. The same applies worldwide to most of the house values. As the value of houses tend to increase overtime, a lot of people have decided to invest in properties. However, there are more factors to take into consideration before buying a house in order to evaluate if it worth the money asked on the market and if it will keep and increase its value. 4. Statistical Analysis: Findings The Findings of the report has been dived into 3 parts: a. The overall distribution of the house prices in the survey; this take into account all the house price within the 5 township without distinguishing for any other factor such as bedrooms and bathrooms number or size. b. An examination of the proportion of the houses with a pool. This proportion was then investigated in relation to the garage and in the 5 townships. c. An investigation of possible factors affecting the price such as the presence of a pool, the relationship with its size, the possibility of a link with the desirability and the distance to the nearest large town. 4.1 Overall Distribution of the house price By lLooking at Graph 1 it appears that the overall distribution is symmetrical. This is confirmed by comparing the value of the mean with the median: as the two figures have approximately the same value, it implies that the distribution is roughly symmetrical. The mean is the sum of all values divided by the datea set, 100. The distribution of house price varies between a minimum value of $127,70 and a maximum of $284,00 with a range of $156,30. However, 25% of the houses have a price between the minimum value of $127,70 and the value of the first quartile $179,93. 25% of the houses have a value between the third quartile $221,15 and the maximum value $284,00. The graph clearly shows that there is a higher concentration of houses with a price between Q1 ($127,70) and Q3 ($221,15). These represent 50% of the overall distribution. The value of the standard deviation indicates how spread are the data is spread in respect to the mean. 4.2 Examination of house with a pool As shown in the Graph 2 above, 55% of the houses (that represent 55 out of 100 houses in the data set given) have a pool. In the Minitab output the percentage equal the count because it is out of a sample of 100. As a result, 45% of the houses analysed does not have a pool. The Graph 3 shows the proportion of the houses with a pool and a garage. By looking at the table it is clear that the majority of the houses with a pool have also a garage, with 58,18% (32 out of 55 houses with a pool); while 41,82% (23 out of 55) houses with a pool do not have a garage. However, for houses without a pool, the proportion of houses without a garage is higher than houses with a pool where 82,22% (37 out of 45 houses) do not have a pool nor a garage. It is evident from Graph 4 that the proportion of the houses with a pool is not the same in all the 5 townships. In township 5, all the houses (100%) have a pool; followed by township 4 with a 94,4% of the houses. On the other extreme there is township 1 with only 13,33% (2 out of 15 houses) have a pool, followed by township 2 with 22,22% (6 out of 27 houses). As table 4 shows the proportion of houses with a pool are in ascending order with the number of township: township 1 has the lowest percentage and township 5 has the highest. This could be a coincidence. However, on the overall distribution, township 4 has the highest percentage of houses with a pool, with 32,73% (18 out of 55 total houses with a pool). 4.3 Investigation of Factors affecting the house price The box plot clearly shows that the overall distribution of the price for the houses with a pool is higher than houses without a pool. By comparing the data from table 5 it is clear that all the values relative to the distribution (mean, median, min, 1st quartile, 3rd quartile and maximum) for houses with a pool are higher. This leads to state that the houses with a pool are generally more expensive that houses without. Moreover, by comparing the mean and the median value for both groups, it is possible to identify that the distribution for the houses without a pool is skewed to the left or negatively skewed. This indicates that there are a few extreme low values that pull down the value of the mean. However, the * indicates that there is also an extreme high value of $250,20. By comparing at in the same way the houses with a pool it emerges that the distribution is roughly symmetrical because the value of the mean and the median are very close. Another important consideration about the distribution is given by the quartiles that in the graph are represented by the lower and higher limits of the boxes. The 1st quartile of the houses with a pool ($195,90) is higher than the 3rd quartile of houses without a pool ($192,05). This implies that 75% of houses without a pool haves prices similar to the lowest 25% of houses with a pool. However, the standard deviation measures how spread the data set is. The houses with a pool have a higher standard deviation, which impliesy that they have a more variable set in which each value is more distant to each other and to the mean while they are slightly more concentrate for the houses without a pool. By comparing the values of the range and inter-quartile range in relation with the standard deviation, it is clear that the houses with a pool have a higher dispersion in price and the prices are more spread out than houses without a pool. The scatter plot in graph 6 gives an indication that there is a relationship between the house price and the size of the house. The upward trend indicates that there is a positive linear relationship as both variables are moving in the same direction: when the size rises, the price rises as well. In this case it worth to continue investigating the relationship. However, the point are scattered quite broadly, so it is necessary to analyse the value of r in order to determine how strong the relationship is. The correlation coefficient (0,65) indicates that there is a positive (given by the sign +) relationship, and not very strong given by the value being lower than 0,8. The regression equation is Price = -11,1 + 0,0979 * sqrFt However, the value of the intercept is not statistically meaningful. This is given by the value T being -0,44 and also because logically a house price cannot be negative. In spite of this, the model is still good because the value T of the gradient (or slop) is statistically significant as T = 8,46. Nevertheless, the slope is very low and it indicates in increment of $0,0979 for each extra sqrFt. The value of R-Sq suggests that only 42.2% of the house prices are explained by the size. This implies that there are other more significant factors that explain the changes in price. By eye it is also possible to estimate that the houses with a square feeootage between 1900sqrFt and 2300sqrFt are more frequent. However, it is important to consider that this graph takes in consideration the houses over the 5 townships with or without pool and with different numbers of bedrooms and bathrooms numbers. The scatter plot shows the relationship between the house price and the distance to the nearest large town. It actually clearly illustrates that there is not a relationship between the two variables. This is confirmed by the correlation coefficient equal to 0,042. Moreover, as it is explained by the R-sq value, only 0,2% of the house price is related to this relationship. It is not necessary to continue this investigation any further. 5. Conclusion The following is a summary based on the findings: 1. The overall price distribution is roughly symmetrical and there is a higher concentration (50%) of houses with a price between $127,70 (Q1) and $221,15 (Q3). (Graph 1 Table 1) 2. The proportion of houses with a pool is slightly higher than houses without a pool: 55% against 45%. (Graph 2 Table 2) 3. The majority of houses with a pool have also a garage but the highest proportion does not have neither of the two. (Graph 3 Table 2) 4. The percentage of houses with a pool increase with the township with number 1 having a minority of houses with a pool and 5 having 100% of houses with a pool. 3 out of 5 towns have a higher proportion of houses with a pool. (Graph 4 Table 4) 5. Houses with a pool are more expensive that houses without. 75% of houses without a pool have a lower price than the 25% lowest prices for houses with a pool. (Graph 5 -Table5) 6. There is a positive relationship between the price and the size of the house; although this relationship is not very strong. Per each extra square feet the price rise of $ 0,0979. There is a higher concentration of houses with square footage between 1900sqrft and 2300sqrft. (Graph 6 Table 6) 7. There is a link between the price and the desirability of a house. However, this relationship is not very strong. (Graph 7 Table 7) 8. The distance between the house and a large city does not affect the price. (Graph 8 Table 8) 6. Recommendations Based on the above conclusions of the analysis, the following are suggestions for an investor interested in buying a house in one of the 5 townships: 1. The most popular and thus more demanded price for a house is between $127,70 and $221,15. For a Luxury house the highest demand would be between $245 and $275. Over this amount the demand is very low which imply that it is very exclusive. It depends by the main aim of the investor. 2. There is a slightly higher demand for houses with a pool. 3. If the investor decides to buy a house with a pool, it is suggestible to have a garage as well. Otherwise it is more convenient to have a house without any of the two. 4. If the house is in township 3 to 5, it is highly recommend to have a pool, especially for the last one. 5. The pool will make a huge difference for the value of the house. The value will rise by about 75% if it has a pool. 6. The bigger the house is, the more it values. However, houses with less than 1900sqrft are not very demanded. There is a medium demand for houses with a bigger size. 7. Desirability scale 6 has a highest average and median price and it had a good demand. 8. It is not relevant the distance between the house and a big city. NOTES: All the figures used to refer to the price are expressed as thousands of dollars ($ ,000). In order to determinate the demand, it has been used the assumption that the higher frequency has a higher demand. For example: in township 5 all the houses have a pool. It implies that every

15 Groovy, Awesome, Swell and Cool Words

15 Groovy, Awesome, Swell and Cool Words 15 Groovy, Awesome, Swell and Cool Words 15 Groovy, Awesome, Swell and Cool Words By Michael Whats your favorite word of compliment or admiration? How do you express approval? These are important questions for each generation of young people, who want their vocabulary to distinguish them from previous generations. Its not fool-proof: a slang expression of approval is often fashionable in one place or time but not another, and may even coming back into fashion later. A word that is fashionable in one school might be considered outdated in another. Perhaps the longest reigning compliment is Cool! after an unusual run of popularity among several generations of young people, it remains fashionable in 2019. But in the last century, dozens of similar words have come in and out of fashion. ace Meant top quality, as in the highest playing card in a standard deck. A flying ace in World War I meant a pilot who had shot down five or more planes in combat. A student who gets an A on a test can say, I aced it! But once upon a time, it was used as a positive exclamation: Ace! meant Great! awesome typical of GenX youth (those born roughly between 1961 and 1981), but also used by American preteens in 2019. Example: This popcorn is awesome! One of several contemporary uses of a stronger word in a weaker sense, awesome originally means producing terror, then full of awe or awe: The volcano erupted in an awesome shower of fire. More recently, it has been used for anything thats moderately interesting (such as rocks, socks and clocks in the Lego Movie song Everything is Awesome.) Perhaps this usage expresses a hope for a life thats more than moderately interesting, or else, youthful enthusiasm. bad An example of contrarianism in youth slang (bad means good), but still with the original connotation of rough or evil. That is, a girl would not say, Oooh, thats a bad bouquet of flowers! Thank you! Ill put them in a vase right now. bully One of the favorite adjectives of U.S. President Teddy Roosevelt, meaning grand or excellent. Used in this sense in Great Britain by 1680 and revived in popularity America around 1844 (Bully for you!). Its meaning changed from the Middle Dutch boele, meaning lover or boyfriend, later probably used similarly to Ooh, your boele is really bad! I like him! to the current sense of someone who is cruel to those weaker than himself. But when Roosevelt was President (1901 to 1909), it was probably as popular as cool is today, and meant approximately the same thing. cool This word has also kept its Old English meaning of low temperature. Someone with a cool head is not hot-headed or easily angered he has control of his passions. But a dispassionate person might also lack compassion for others, an implication of cool in the 1957 musical West Side Story. In the 1940s, tenor saxophonist Lester Young popularized the word as an expression of calm approval and satisfaction. If you ask teens in the Teens if they need anything, maybe something to eat or drink, they may respond, No, Im cool or No, Im good. It has been spelled kewl, but thats now dated or ironic. crack Used in the phrase crack shot, an accurate marksman, but it means good or skilled in general. Samuel Johnsons dictionary definition involved quickness or smartness. epic Frequently used by young gamers but common among many young male Americans, meaning very cool and exciting, Originally used for important events or great objects worthy of long works of heroic poetry such as the Iliad, the Odyssey, the Aeneid, Beowulf, and Paradise Lost. Political campaigners like to refer to the epic accomplishments of their candidate, if any, the last time her or she was in office, if ever. groovy Popular in the 1960s among surfers and hippies. It even became the title of a Los Angeles television show in 1967, live from the beach in Santa Monica. But it originated in the Jazz Era of the 1920s, from the phrase in the groove, referring to the groove on vinyl records. If you were in the groove, you were part of the latest music scene. gucci From the high-quality clothing line, used by YouTuber Matt Smith to mean high quality or good. When a former enemy becomes your friend, you can say about your relationship, Its all gucci. In a 1999 magazine interview in Harpers Bazaar, singer Lenny Kravitz calls his bedroom very Gucci. hep According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the word hep was first used in 1862 to mark the cadence of a march, like this: HEP 2 3 4 HEP 2 3 4 The words Left left left-right-left served the same purpose and also made it clear which foot you should put forward when. By 1900, it had already begun to mean trendy. decades before it was adopted by beatniks and hippies. hip Originally spelled hep, this word referred to the most current-conscious residents of the 1960s. Someone who was hip knew all the latest jargon, wore the latest fashions, and understood the latest ideas. To say Im hip with that meant I know what youre talking about and I agree. So a hippie at the time was someone who was very hip. Of course, being trendy is a moving target the word was first used in this sense in 1904, and trends have changed substantially since then. mod Beginning about 1958, the mod youth culture was typified by young sharp-dressing, scooter-riding working class Londoners, but spread around the world. So in the early 1960s, if something was mod, it was trendy. Long after mod stopped being a common compliment, an American TV series called The Mod Squad debuted in 1968 and ran until 1973. Its young undercover detective stars were more hip than mod, using solid and groovy as their compliments. The word was revived effectively later according to a middle-aged GenXer, That word was so 80s. sick Another example of contrarianism in youth slang. Being ill is disagreeable, but something that is sick is attractive. In other words, calling a skateboard sick is an expression of admiration. On Mark McCrindles list of the most annoying youth phrases in Australia, fully sick is number 2. swell By 1786, a swell was a dandy, a fashionable person with a swollen sense of self-importance. But it became an exclamation of admiration. In the musical The Music Man, set in 1912, Professor Harold Hill warns parents against sinister influences on their sons: Are certain words creeping into his conversation? Words like like swell! But it was too late: by 1930, expressions such as Thats just swell! had become common in the United States. wild The theme song of The Patty Duke Show (1963-1966) says about the two main characters (both played by Patty Duke) What a wild duet! Perhaps a 1960s reaction to the staid 1950s, where wild behavior was not acceptable. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Comparative Forms of Adjectives40 Synonyms for â€Å"Different†Types of Plots

The connectionist model theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The connectionist model theory - Essay Example In Experiment 2, the prime–target pairs had different main verbs. Facilitated target sentence processing was observed in both Experiments 1 and 2 when the target sentences were preceded by a prime sentence with the same syntactic structure. These results provide the first evidence of lexically independent, between-sentence structural priming in online sentence comprehension. Abstract: Strong evidence suggests that prior syntactic context affects language production (e.g., J. K. Bock, 1986). The authors report 4 experiments that used an expression–picture matching task to investigate whether it also affects ambiguity resolution in comprehension. All experiments examined the interpretation of prepositional phrases that were ambiguous between high and low attachment. After reading a prime expression with a high-attached interpretation, participants tended to interpret an ambiguous prepositional phrase in a target expression as highly attached if it contained the same verb as the prime (Experiment 1), but not if it contained a different verb (Experiment 2). They also tended to adopt the high-attached interpretation after producing a prime with the high-attached interpretation that included the same verb (Experiment 3). Finally, they were faster to adopt a high-attached interpretation after reading an expression containing the same verb that was disambiguated to the high-attached versus the low-attached interpretation (Experiment 4). Attachment during Comprehension.† Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition. 2005. Vol. 31, no. 3, pp. 468-481. 16 February 2011

Compare two Faulkner stories, A rose for Emily'' and '' Barn Burning Essay

Compare two Faulkner stories, A rose for Emily'' and '' Barn Burning '' in terms of the author's ideas and the - Essay Example The town’s people felt sorry for her after the death of her father. They were curious about her way of living and they kept a close watch on Emily. She again suffered a major blow when she got close to a newcomer in town known as Homer Borron who refused to marry her. But she found out her own way to deal with the situation and poisoned him and kept his body with her for thirty years. This was discovered in the end when she died and his body was found in her house. On the other hand Barn Burning is a story revolving around a troubled man known as Abner Snopes. Abner Snopes has always been involved in troubling other people as he is accused from the very beginning of the burning the barn of Mr Harris. Abner Snopes is presumably suffering from sort of problem because of which he cannot compromise with the circumstances of his life. He has two a son named Sartoris who has a role to play in informing the authorities about the actions of his father. After being accused Snopes is as ked to leave the city which he does in a timely manner. He joins the farm of Mr de Spain where he is again accused for ruining the rug of the owner. In the latter part of the story Snopes is again seen to be planning a fire on the barn of de Spain. His son Sartoris informs de Spain indirectly about the fire and runs away hearing gun shots in the end from the barn. The story â€Å"A Rose for Emily† presents Emily as a very stubborn lady who lives her life in her own way and finds her own ways to deal with situations. She constructs her own ways and methods to lead her life and does not care about the restrictions of society. This can be seen when Emily refuses to pay the taxes and the stubbornness she shows towards the pharmacist when she asks for arsenic without a prescription and does not abide by the rules. She also poisons Homer Barron when he refuses to marry her to keep him with her. This is against the norms of the society but she has her own way of living. Considering the other story of Barn Burning it can be seen that the character of Snopes is almost the same as that of Emily. It is seen that both characters face from some sort of difficulty in coping up with the matters of life. Emily has been left secluded all her life whereas Snopes even with a family cannot keep a control on his temper. Snopes also has a very bad temper as it can be witnessed from the story. He ends up revenging at different instances as shown by William Faulkner. He burns the barn of Mr Harris when he asked to pay a dollar for his hog entering into his premises and he attempts to burn the barn of Mr de Spain too when he accuses him of ruining the rug. This clearly shows that both the characters share certain characteristics which make them revenge. Both the characters are stubborn in their language and this can be witnessed in their actions respectively. It is because of this stubbornness that Emily ends up killing Homer Barron and Snopes hitting Sartoris. Isolation is a t heme which can be found in both the stories of William Faulkner. Sartoris is an example of a character in Barn Burning who has been living in isolation from other children of the town. Same is the case with Emily who has been living in isolation because she was never allowed to interact with the people living in the town. Both the characters underwent a change because of the isolation that they were living in. Sartoris acts in a different manner as he betrays the loyalty promised to his family whereas Emily cannot withstand

The effects of rape on victims

The effects of rape on victims Irina Anderson explores the current rape perception of both male and female rape and whether the respondents gender affects this perception in a journal article called What is a typical rape? Effects of victims and participants gender in female and male perception which was published in The British Journal of Social Psychology. This article also investigates the cultural lag theory of male rape. The findings in this study demonstrate that, contrary to predictions made at the start of the article, when asked to describe a typical rape, male and female, it was the stranger rape stereotype that was the prevailing way most used to describe this. It was also shown that instead of lagging behind female rape according to the stranger-acquaintance dimension, male rape was conceptualized in terms of other factor, for example sexual orientation, which were often deemed homophobic. I found this journal article interesting and accessible to read. After reading the hypothesis proposed at the begi nning of the article, I was intrigued to see that many of the predictions were in fact proved false at the end of the article, for example it was predicted that when asked to describe a typical rape participants would describe an acquaintance rape where as in previous years the stranger rape stereotype was the way most described a typical rape. However the results of this study show that in fact the stranger rape stereotype is still the predominant way people imagine a typical rape. This led me to question how much rape perception has actually changed in our society. I also found that both the aims and findings of the research were clear, accurate and relevant; they were clearly laid out and overall I found the article effortless to read. In addition the acknowledgment of the limitation to the research enhanced the article. The article begins by giving a brief summary of previous studies and research which has been carried out to investigate the same research topic. The ideas of acquaintance rape, where the victim is raped by someone known to them e.g. boyfriend, date, relative, friend, and stranger rape stereotype, where the victim is raped by someone unknown to them, are introduced and the ideas surrounding them are discussed. For example acquaintance rape is usually expected to happen indoors and the victim having spent time with the perpetrator prior to the rape. In contrast stranger rape is expected to happen outdoors, usually at night where the victim is grabbed, overpowered and raped. Date rape s also briefly discussed and used to support predictions that rape perceptions has changed considerably in the last few years due to increased media coverage of the topic. The issue of male rape is then raised and questions are raised such as are men raped in the same circumstances as women? It is describe d as more frequent phenomenon than previously believed. The ignorance and disbelief surrounding male rape creates myths and misconceptions in society for example Most men who are raped are homosexuals. This makes some researchers believe that male rape perception is lagging behind that of female rape, that is current male rape perception is at the stage female rape perception was at years ago in terms of the knowledge people have of it. I believe the author has succeeded in successfully introducing the research topic and conveying the main aims of the research. The one possible fault I have for the introduction is that the author does not discuss why she feels the topic of research is important and why she decided to carry out the study. I believe this would enhance the article even more for the reader. In the method section of this article Anderson explains in detail how the study was carried out. She describes how one hundred and nineteen undergraduate students were asked to take part; she also lists their gender and ethnicity. The participants were asked to describe what they believe to be a typical rape. Both male and female were included. The gender of the participant and the gender of the victim were the independent variables. Participants were assigned randomly so that women could be assigned to either a female rape or a male rape. Similarly men could be assigned to either female rape or male rape. They were asked to include details that led to the incident, details of the incident itself and details following the rape. Characteristics of the victims and the perpetrator including feelings and thoughts were also asked for. Anderson then moves on to describe how these accounts of typical rapes given by participants were analyzed. She describes the coding manuals given to coders who must sort the participants text into text which adhere to characteristics of the stranger rape stereotype and those which describe an acquaintance rape. This is the most important section of the article; any deficiencies would undermine the validity of the results. The only deficiency I could locate in this section was the fact that all the participants were university students; however the author recognizes this as a limitation at the conclusion of the article. Overall I found this section of the article to give a very comprehensive account of how the study was carried out. It covers all aspects that are important to the aims of the article. In my opinion the results section of this article is excellent. The findings are clearly laid out for the reader. Headings help divide the finding into different sections for example testing hypothesis 1 and frequency of category use in female rape. These headings also help list the results in terms of the original research question and predictions given at the beginning of the article. Tables are also used which illustrate different types of categories of description used by participants and the number of female and male who used these categories. Direct quotations are also inserted to give the reader insight into the types of descriptions participants gave which I found very interesting e.g.: due to the physical difficulty of male rape the perpetrator would typically be larger and stronger than the victim. The author acknowledges the results do not match the predictions made at the beginning and explains the possible reasons for this by stating perhaps researchers presumption that societies rape perception has evolved is in fact false and perhaps our perceptions have not progressed as much as it was thought. The cultural lag theory of male rape was only partly supported by the findings. Although female rape was described more in terms of acquaintance rape than male rape, the other aspect of the theory, that male rape would be described in terms of stranger rape stereotype more than female rape, was not supported. In fact many other factors played a part in the description of male rape such as penetration, the rapists strength and power over the victim and the victims shame and humiliation. Thus proving that female and male rapes are conceptualized along different continuums. The results overall highlight the importance of periodically examining rape perception and the effects of gender. The discussion section addresses the main findings of the article and any new information gained which can be added onto previous information discovered in previous research. Anderson discusses the reasons behind the participants which described a typical rape in terms of the stranger rape stereotype. It is here blame attributions are discussed. Anderson notes it is a possibility that participant didnt write more about acquaintance rape as they assumed the victim would therefore be more blameworthy. This is strengthened by the fact that women, when describing a female rape, used the stranger rape theory more than men and similarly men, when describing a male rape, used the stranger rape stereotype more than women. This perhaps proves that when writing about a victim of their own gender they preferred the stranger rape stereotype as they believed it would steer the blame away from the victim. In my opinion this article contains all the key elements of a good journal article. From the beginning the author explains clearly the key arguments and main points of the text. She also includes relevant background information and makes concrete predictions. The method and results of the study are clearly laid out and are easy to follow. Another aspect covered in the text is the acknowledgment of its limitations. Any good journal article is aware of the limitations of the findings and in this article they are clear. The way in which male rape is discussed is quite interesting as it not a subject many articles discuss. The idea of the lag theory was also remarkable, that the situation of male rape perception in society today was that of female rape years ago. Also the fact that males themselves described male rape in a homophobic and mocking tone intrigued me. For example, one of the two bufties edge towards the lone man. One of the very few limitations in this text is that all the p articipants were students from one university, a population which may be more aware of rape than the general population. It is noted that a study of the perceptions of rape held by police, medical personnel and juries may enhance findings in the future. Another fault I have with this article is that I believe the author should go into more detail on why she thinks this research is important and why she decided to conduct this study. In addition, while reading the findings of this research it struck me that another reason the majority of participants chose a scenario which adheres to the stranger rape stereotype is they may feel under stress to give certain answer or they may try to please the researchers by giving the answer they believe the researchers desire. In conclusion, I found this article to be comprehensive, relevant and interesting. All main ideas are clearly stated and concrete predictions are made from the start. The results examine the effects of gender in rape conceptualization and the importance of examining male rape alongside female rape to gain further insight into the differences in gender perception. A broader source of participants is acknowledged as a future improvement that could be made to studies such as these. The results section of the paper is, to me, the most impressive section. The findings are examined in a concise manner, taking particular notice of the reasons the results contradict the predictions made at the start. Overall I think this is an excellent example of a psychological journal article, it adheres to all the guidelines which helps make a journal article impressive and overall I found it hard to fault

Developmental disorders of renal disease

Some of the common developmental kidney disorders include polycystic kidney disease, congenital nephrotic disease, nephroblastoma, renal agenesis, duplication anomalies, fusion anomalies, malrotation, multicystic dysplastic kidney disease, renal dysplasia, renal hypoplasia, etc. Congenital nephrotic disease is an inherited disorder that may present at birth in which the infant has proteins present in the urine (proteinuria) along with swelling of the body (oedema). The condition is rare and is usually found in children born in Finnish families. Children born with the disorder have a protein found in the urine, known as ‘nephrin’.Several substances such as proteins, fats, blood proteins, etc are excreted in the urine. The individuals develops several symptoms including swelling, low birth weight, malnutrion, kidney failure, poor appetite, infections, presence of blood in the urine, poor general health, cloudy appearance of the urine, etc (Charytan, 2006). Nephroblastoma o r ‘Wilm’s tumour’ is a condition characterised by the formation of a malignant tumour in the kidney. It commonly occurs in infants and children. Wilm’s tumour is a very frequent tumour that develops in the abdomen in children.The condition is frequently related to other birth defects such as urinary tract abnormalities, enlargement of one half of the body, missing iris, etc. As the condition is more frequent in identical twins, it is considered to have a genetic link. The tumour seldom spreads to the other parts of the body. One in every 200, 000 children develop this disorder. The child may develop several symptoms including abdominal pain and swelling, presence of blood in the urine, fever, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, malaise, hypertension, constipation, cloudiness of the urine, etc (Nanda, 2006).Polycystic renal disease (Cystic renal development disorder) is a familial condition in which the affect individuals develop cysts in the kidney. The co ndition is an autosomal dominant condition and the symptoms less frequently develop in childhood. One in every 1000 develops the symptoms of polycystic renal disease. In childhood, an autosomal recessive version of polycystic renal disease can also develop. The child may develop severe symptoms along with renal failure with a fatal outcome. Lung function insufficiency is another frequent complication that can result in death.The common symptoms of polycystic renal disease include abdominal pain, abdominal swelling, presence of blood in urine, flank pain, excessive passage of urine, drowsiness, hypertension, joint pain and swelling, nail defects, cysts in other portions of the body such as testis, liver and pancreas, colon defects, swelling of the kidneys, bile duct defects, portal hypertension, fibrosis, brain abnormalities, kidney stones, anaemia, frequent urinary tract infections, renal failure, liver failure, rupture and bleeding of the cysts, etc. The child has a positive family history of polycystic renal disorder.The exact manner in which multiple cysts are formed in the kidney is not understood clearly. However, a genetic cause has been outlined. Once the kidney cysts are formed, they tend to swell, resulting in deterioration of the kidney function. The individual develops several symptoms (Silberberg, 2007). Renal agenesis is a condition in which the kidneys fail to develop. It can occur unilaterally as well as bilaterally. In the bilateral form, several other conditions such as pulmonary hypoplasia, oligohydramnios, facial defects, limb abnormalities, etc, occur resulting in fatal outcomes.In the unilateral form, the individual develops trigone and ureteral orifice defects, absence of the ureter, etc. This form is less severe compared to the bilateral version. The individual can survive provided the kidney function is managed appropriately (Merck, 2005). Duplication anomalies are conditions in which the individual develops extra collecting systems. Th is may affect one kidney or both, and may involve the ureter, calyx, ureteral orifice and the renal pelvis. These conditions have to be treated very carefully depending on the extent to which function is affected (Merck, 2005).Fusion anomalies are conditions in which the kidneys are united to one another. However, the ureters are separate and enter the bladder on either side. Several conditions such as vesicoureteral reflux, congenital renal cystic dysplasia, etc, tend to occur more frequently with fusion anomalies. A condition known as ‘horseshoe kidneys’ is characterised by the fusion of the renal parenchyma bilaterally. It is one of the most common kidney fusion abnormalities. The ureters tend to function normally. Sometimes the point at which the renal pelvis is united to the ureter is abnormal resulting in urinary obstruction.The second most common kidney union anomaly is ‘crossed fused renal ectopia’ in which the kidneys are present on one of the body , and the ureter crosses the midline of the body and empties into the bladder of the either side. Pancake kidney or ‘fused pelvic kidney’ is a condition in which the kidney is single or fused and is emptied into 2 ureters and collecting systems (Merck, 2005). In multicystic dysplastic kidney, the kidneys consist of multiple cysts, cartilage, primitive tubules, and multiple cysts. The individual develops several symptoms such as infection, swelling, hypertension, etc.Renal dysplasia is a condition in which the renal tubules, vasculature, collecting tubules, etc, develop abnormally, resulting in distortion of the normal kidney function. In renal ectopia, the kidneys are not placed in their exact anatomical position resulting in several problems such as obstruction. Renal hypoplasia is a condition in which the ureteral bud gives rise to an underdeveloped and small kidney. However, the size of the nephrons is normal. The individual can develop hypertension (Merck, 2005). Ur eterocele is a condition in which the ureter is enlarged at the point it is inserted into the bladder.At this point, the flow of urine into the bladder is seriously affected resulting in obstruction and hydronephrosis. In neurogenic bladder, due to a defect in the spine at the lumbosacral region, the nerves that supply the bladder are affected resulting in improper drainage of the bladder. The individual is at a risk of developing several problems such vesicureteral reflux, infection, renal hypertension, scarring, renal failure, etc. Hydronephrosis is a condition in which the ureter and the collecting system are dilated (Conley, 2007). References: Charytan, D. M. (2006). â€Å"Congenital nephrotic syndrome.† Retrieved on January 26, 2008, from Medline Plus Web site: http://wwwils.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001576.htm Conley, S. B. (2007). â€Å"Congenital kidney diseases.† Retrieved on January 26, 2008, from Alberta University Web site: http://cnserver0.nkf.med.ualberta.ca/nephkids/congdiseases.htm Merck (2005). â€Å"Renal Anomalies.† Retrieved on January 26, 2008, from Merck Web site: http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec19/ch290/ch290b.html Nanda, R. (2006). â€Å"Wilms tumor.† Retrieved on January 26, 2008, from Medline Plus Web site: http://wwwils.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001575.htm Silberberg, C. (2007). â€Å"Polycystic kidney disease.† Retrieved on January 26, 2008, from   Medline Plus Web site: http://wwwils.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000502.htm

Spartan Women

Spartan women were given great privileges as they Involved their prominent sections In society In regards to education, family, religion and the economy, which soon became desired by women all over ancient Greece. Ancient historians such as Plutarch, Xenophobe, Aristotle, Plato, Euripides, Herodotus, Discusses and Aristotelian provide valuable insight to the girls, women and mothers of Sparta, as they left no records themselves. Plutarch famous Sayings of Spartan Women alms to promote a Spartan society where females play an essential role in the Indoctrination of their sons and where mothers are painted has brutal patriots.Women were perhaps the most important eater of Spartan society for many reasons and even so their most important role was to give birth to healthy sons for Sparta. They weren't allowed to spin or weave like women from other parts of Greece; such menial tasks were meant for the helots – state owned slaves. Source 2 (Plutarch on Sparta, p. 1 60) â€Å"When an Ionian woman was priding herself on one of the tapestries she had made (which was Indeed of great value), a Spartan woman showed off her four most dutiful sons and said they were the kind of thing a noble and good woman ought to produce, and should boast of them and take pride in them.This quote illustrates that for Spartan women, skills in handicrafts were not essential, and were not regarded as important as bearing healthier, stronger sons for the army. Xenophobe stated, â€Å"For free women the most important Job was to bear children. † In order to Inculcate the offspring with patriotism, the mother had to have the correct attitude herself. Spartan mother did rear their sons according to the customs and expectations of their state and society.They were proud of their role in shaping new generations of citizens as cited in Source 2, women who produce strong offspring's (sons) should feel superior to other omen and should be proud of their self righteousness. It implies tha t women with strong sons were strong themselves because it is believed that strong Spartan women and men create a strong offspring. ‘Great value' also suggests that sons were worth more than daughters, as sons are the only ones that can achieve the greatest honor in Sparta.Women were encouraged to display patriotism by sacrificing the men whom they loved and so highly did they prize the warriors med, that they are said to have said tears of Joy over the bleeding bodies of their wounded sons. Source 1 (Plutarch on Sparta, p. 60) â€Å"As a woman was burying her son, a worthless old crone came up to her and said: ‘You poor woman, what a misfortune! ‘ ‘No, by the two gods, a piece of good fortune,' she replied, teacake I bore him so that he might die for sons, they took pride in the bravery that had led to that fate.The women were ordered not to mourn, to suffer in silence during their son or husband's death. The character of Spartan women is marked with uncomm on firmness. At the shrine of patriotism they immolated nature. Undaunted bravery and impeached honor was, in their estimation far beyond affection. If a son came home from Sparta without his shield the mothers wouldn't tolerate a son's act of cowardice and dishonor to Sparta. Sources tell us that a Spartan woman killed her son, who had deserted his post because he was unworthy of Sparta. She declared: â€Å"He was not my offspring†¦ Or I did not bear one unworthy of Sparta. † The education of women was a uniquely Spartan concept within the polis, Spartan women were well educated and brought up in an orderly fashion to become proper mothers for the state, manage killer (state-owned property) and partake in religious festivals. As Spartan boys were surrendered to the agog (Expatriate training program) Spartan girls remained at home with their mothers to get educated, learn reading and writing, as well as being organized into bands for team games and choral singing.In thes e bands they were taught, and had to regularly perform, choral lyrics of myths that had been immoralities through ancient songs and poems. Many of these poems would have come from the Parthian (a collection of work composed by Spartan poet Oilcan). Girls also learned the basis (a form of dancing/exercise where the girls do rump Jumps). Whilst in these bands the Spartan women also trained in gymnastics and athletics, such as running, wrestling and Javelin throwing. Spartan women of all ages were encouraged to mix and train with the Spartan men and enter sporting competitions to get fit and strong.Plato commented on the Spartan women's education: â€Å"there are not only men but women also who pride themselves on their education; you can tell that what I say is true and that the Spartan have the best education in philosophy. † The reasoning behind this idea of physical training is that while Spartan women trained with Spartan men, the men old choose the strongest woman and marr y her because if both parents were strong and healthy then they are more likely to give birth to a strong and healthy child, which was of great importance to the Spartan men and especially women as demonstrated in source 2.Spartan women had a great deal of influence and power on Sprat's economy. They were the ‘men' of Sparta when their husband and sons were at war or at the agog. The Management of killer was an essential skill for Spartan women. As each expatriate owned a killer, the killer would be inherited by the wives and mothers of Sparta to raise their sons who would eventually inherit the killer. This means that they controlled the family wealth which affected the entire Spartan agricultural economy which there fore shows there power on the economy and therefore on Sparta.Spartan male citizens were dependent on their wife's efficiency to pay their â€Å"dues† to the cystitis. The management of the killer was not Just a responsibility which separated them from wom en from other Greek cities, this role was a crucial element in the Spartan economy. In Athens and Greece poorer women worked on Sparta, as manual labor and handcrafting was seen as an act for the helots only and his is also exemplified in source 2 as the Spartan women doesn't have time to do low acts like handcrafting and manual labor. Her main goal is to produce healthy and fit children and manage the Spartan economy.Aristotle disapproved of the power women wielded in Sparta, especially in the economy, and felt it contributed strongly to the downfall of the once mighty polis. In his writing he frequently mentioned that the trend to give women economic power could lead to a contrariety, a government controlled by women. Growth in economic prestige and immense power is apparent wrought the story of Princess Kinas, the daughter of King Archaisms and champion of two Olympic chariot team races. This wealthy equestrian expert was the owner of a twice Olympic champion chariot team (396 an d 392 SC).She dedicated a statue to herself at the Olympic sanctuary in Olympus. Which according to historians indicates that, â€Å"To compete was a mark of wealth, since horses require a great deal of grass and grazing land is not plentiful in Greece† and this tells us that as a result â€Å"women had effective control of plentiful wealth. † Archaeological evidence provides us with a deep understanding of how important he role of religion was in Sparta and to Spartan women. Evidence comes from the sanctuary of Artemisia Orator, here hundreds of votive offerings were found and the majority of them were lead figurines in the shape of women.Theories suggest that it is linked to childbirth. This theory suggests that pregnant women would make these offerings for three purposes: either to ask for a successful childbirth as many women died from giving birth in antiquity, to ask that they bear a strong and healthy son, fit to become a warrior of Sparta or to make offerings t o the goddess Aphrodite Hear, when their daughters were married. According to Plutarch, Ulcerous stated that only women who had died giving birth would be allowed to have a marked grave – further archaeological evidence reinforces this custom.This shows how important childbirth was to the Spartan in that â€Å"only women who lost their lives to perpetuate the state were honored as heroes. † Yet it is also possible that the female-shaped figurines represented the understanding of importance and deep respect for the ‘maternal figure' in Spartan religion – as the Spartan took up many female gods from Greek mythology. At the temple of Athena of the Bronze House there are numerous bronze tastes of Athena and Aphrodite, typifying the importance of matriarchal figures in Spartan religion.