Review of the Child Protective Services Investigation Process Essay Example for Free

Review of the Child Protective Services Investigation Process Essay In the beginning of 2004, the tragic death of a young boy in San Antonio, TX raised concerns about Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services (TDPRS) procedures relating to the investigation of the child protective services (CPS) process, including responding to telephone reports and assessing the risk of maltreatment accurately. TDPRS is currently under investigation ordered by the Governor, Rick Perry. The Governor stated, there is enough evidence from various parts of the state to suggest that some of our most vulnerable children are not receiving the protection they need from abusive situations. The evidence leads me to believe we have a systemic breakdown in the safety net that must protect abused children (www.governor.state.tx.us July 1, 2004). This paper examines current procedures in the investigation process and provides recommendations for improvement related to several of the details and feature of the operations process. Reinventing government initiatives draw heavily on supply chain management, total quality management, business process reengineering, and just-in-time delivery concepts that fall under the Operations Management umbrella.(Chase, 2003). Because this review is narrowly focused on the CPS investigation process, there are several essential elements of child welfare services that are not addressed in this paper, including substitute care and permanency services. OVERVIEW OF FUNCTIONAL AREAS The overall goal of CPS is to protect the unprotected children from abuse and neglect. This report focuses on specific CPS functions and crosscutting themes. These functions are those that comprise the child protection response to allegations of abuse and neglect. Operational definitions described in this report include: * Screening and Intake the process by which CPS receives a referral and a report concerning allegations of child abuse or neglect, and decides whether or not to respond to the referral and report. * Investigation the process by which CPS determines whether child maltreatment has occurred or if a child is at risk of maltreatment, and the decisions and actions that are needed to ensure the childs safety. * Other CPS Response and Alternative Response a response to an allegation of abuse or neglect that assesses the needs of the child or family with or without requiring a determination that maltreatment has occurred or that the child is at risk of maltreatment for the purpose of providing the family with services. For each function, there are several different features. The workflow of these functions is described in Table 1. SCREENING AND INTAKE Receiving community referrals, which includes those from mandated professional reporters and the population at large, is the gateway to CPS. Features of the intake procedures include the availability to receive reports, methods for documenting reports, and timeframes for accepting and forwarding a report. Intake is available 24-hours a day 7 days a week, and centralized in Austin, TX. Referred reports are generally categorized into two groups. In the first group, CPS caseworkers are dispatched immediately for children believed to be in imminent risk of harm. In the second group, investigations are usually initiated within 10 days. The policies indicate that a decision protocol for forwarding cases for investigation. The hotline workers conduct quality assurance (QA) reviews on each case and decision to forward a case to investigation is made with supervisor approval. In case of sexual abuse and serious abuse, the case must be notified to law enforcement. INVESTIGATION The investigation function addresses the process of determining whether a child has been maltreated or is likely to be maltreated, and if services are needed to ensure the child will not be harmed in the future. TDPRS implemented the use of risk and safety assessment (IRA) as tools to guide decision-making as to when and how to intervene to keep children safe in the immediate future and to reduce long-term risk. The result of IRA was included at case closure, during case planning at any major decision point, or whenever circumstances suggest a childs safety is at risk. Investigators usually check if the childs family has had a prior validated report of abuse or neglect. Investigators then visit and interview the family, including initiating face-to-face contact with the children, and begin collecting information about the alleged maltreatment incident. If an investigator, during the initial investigation, believes that a child has been maltreated and needs the court to protect the childs safety, the investigator must initiate judicial oversight of the case, which can be time-consuming and complicated. While the investigator is following the procedures involved in investigating the alleged maltreatment, he or she is also developing a tentative plan to address those conditions in the home that CPS believes contributed to the maltreatment of the child. This plan ultimately becomes the case plan that outlines treatment services for the child and the family. The plan described what actions are required of all the parties involved to correct the condition that caused the maltreatment. OTHER CPS RESPONSE AND ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE The overall goals of alternative response are to provide a response option to those families whose situations did not meet the mandate or criteria for CPS involvement, to serve low-risk or low-severity situations, or to improve family situations. This is to emphasize partnering the families with the community and creating a network for the family, protect children and assist parents to recognize and remedy conditions harmful to their children, provide preventive services before the need of CPS involvement is required, and prevent the family from potentially being re-referred. The causes of child abuse and neglect are complex, and a case plan can involve referrals to an array of individuals, including caseworkers from other units in the agency, private service providers such as mental health and counseling professionals, other public agencies such as housing and transportation services. CURRENT WORKFLOW Documenting business process flows visually not only helps in ISO and QS initiatives, but it is the first step toward continuous improvement. (Gould, L. 2000) A good way to start analyzing a process is with a diagram showing the basic elements of a process (Chase, 2003) Table 1 describes the overview of current workflow from the time the report of maltreatment was reported to CPS until the completion of the investigation. Table 1 UNDERLYING PROBLEMS Because child protection is a critical service and because of the seriousness consequences of errors, CPS must seek to insure the quality, timeliness, and accuracy of the process both through detailed specifications (laws, regulations, and policy) and thorough supervisory oversight. However, the process must be balanced with systems that give workers and supervisors sufficient flexibility to apply sound professional judgment. Increases in the number of maltreatment cases, the changing nature of family problems, and long-standing systemic weaknesses have placed the CPS system in a state of crisis and undermined its ability to fully carry out the responsibilities for abused and neglected children. First, child maltreatment reports have risen steadily across the state. The caseloads of CPS have grown correspondingly, and CPS cannot keep pace with this workload. Second, these caseloads are increasingly composed of families whose problems have grown more troubling and complicated, with substance abuse a common and pervasive condition. Finally, systemic weaknesses, such as difficulty maintaining professional and skilled workforce, inconsistently implementing policies and procedures, and poor working relationships with outside resources has created a long-standing problems. The combined effect of difficult caseloads and systemic weaknesses may endanger the lives of children coming to the attention of CPS. In CPS, the staff sometimes deal with life-and-death issues, the knowledge of and consistent application of appropriate policies and procedures are critical. However, CPS staff is unable to consistently apply existing policies such as inadequate safety assessment. This is because policies change frequently, no procedures manual exists, and information is inconsistently distributed to all staff. By necessity, CPS should work efficiently and effectively with outside resources to protect children. However, the outside resources, like CPS, also face problems associated with the large volume of increasingly complex cases, budget cuts, and Medicaid reform. Unnecessary time spent to transfer or refer cases diverts the investigator from performing investigative activities on other open cases and create congestion in workflow. COMPARE AND CONTRAST WITH OTHER PRACTICE In 1994, Missouri developed a new strategy to handle the overwhelming number of reports coming into its CPS system. Missouri recognized that state government, acting alone, had neither the resources nor the local community, neighborhood, or family base to effectively alter the cycle of abuse and neglect. The agency and local CPS offices have turned to the broader community of churches, schools, mental health providers, and others to expand their reach. By developing partnerships with these community groups, CPS is able to quickly increase the number of people available to serve children and their families, without increasing CPS staffing levels. The model in this state is also based on the premise that not all CPS cases require the same traditional approach. Instead, the models incorporate a flexible response, whereby CPS cases can be grouped according to the nature of the allegation, recognizing that different types of allegations required different responses. RECOMMENDATIONS Build Community Partnership Different types of maltreatment require dramatically different prevention and treatment strategies. It is critical for CPS to form partnerships between CPS and community service providers. This will allow the cases to be referred and transferred more smoothly and in a timely manner. However, ultimate success will depend on the CPS staffs ability to overcome certain challenges, such as developing willingness within the community to become more active in protecting children from maltreatment and to adapt to new roles and responsibilities. Refine the Key Performance Requirement Key Performance Requirements How to Achieve These Requirements Report Receipt (Intake) * Community awareness of when and how to report * Minimal wait to reach the intake workers * Effective use of the CAPS (agency computer system) * Enhanced phone system that provide real time information, manage call distribution to available workers, and support estimation of staffing requirements Screening * Immediate response to high risk situations * Reasonable timeliness of decisions on other situations * Sound screening decisions * Screening guidelines that provide consistent direction * Immediate access to relevant information system * Real-time consultation from experienced supervisors Assessment (Investigation) * Sufficient thoroughness; reasonable and prudent efforts made to obtain relevant information * Timeliness of decisions * Decisions consistent with information and with policy * Assessment guidelines that provide consistent direction * Assessment timeliness requirements that balance thorough information gathering with responsiveness * Reasonable caseloads and adequate number of staff * Accessible consultation from experienced supervisors Management Reporting * Information that enables management to make sound judgments regarding overall performance and other matters, such as staffing requirements * Information that enables supervisors to manage caseloads and monitor quality and timeliness * Use of the information to identify targeted improvements where needed * Real-time information about on-going cases * Reports on both the detailed (by worker) and summary (by unit) level on caseloads and case status (pending, deadlines, overdue, etc.) * Reports of quality assurance findings * Designation of specific performance measures that will be tracked and monitored with comparisons across local offices * Management reports on overall program performance including workload, timeliness, quality assurance results, investigation outcomes, list of outside resources, etc. CONCLUSION TDPRS is facing increased reports of child abuse and neglect, as well as a disturbing increase in the number of families with severe and multiple problems. The burden to improve the ways CPS responds to children at risk of abuse and neglect falls on state and local governments. When a process is operating at capacity, the only way to take on more work without increasing the waiting time is add more capacity (Chase, 2003) CPS management must recognize that the traditional approaches to child protection cannot keep pace with the demand for services. CPS needs to reach out to communities to establish partnerships among service providers, as well as our citizens. Furthermore, the CPS management team must look at the entire workflow of the operations process and recognize long-standing systemic problems. It is critical to seek ways to correct deficiencies and to build and maintain the personnel that will support the operations management strategies. REFERENCES: Chase, R. (2003). Product design and process selection. Operations Management for Competitive Advantage, Tenth Edition. The McGraw-Hill Companies. Chase, R. (2003). Operations strategy and management change. Operations Management for Competitive Advantage, Tenth Edition. The McGraw-Hill Companies. www. tdprs.state.tx.us www.governor.state.tx.us Gould, L. (2004) Designing a better business. Gardner Publications, Inc. Retrieved from www.autofieldguid.com on 8/23/04 McDonald W. (2001). National study of child protective services systems and reform efforts Literature review. Retrieved from www.aspe.hhs.gov.hsp/protective01/ on 8/22/04. http://www.gao.gov/archive/1997/he97115.pdf

How to Play Texas Holdem Essay Example for Free

How to Play Texas Holdem Essay As a hobby for my spare time, I play poker. Texas Hold’em to be precise a game of skill, chance, and luck. This game can be a compotation, or just a way to have some fun with some friends. There are many different places to play holdem you can play at home, city leagues, or at the casino. Here are some basic rule and tips to playing the game; The game starts out by selecting a dealer, either by draw or setting posion. Once the dealer is picked and the cards are shuffled, and ready to start the deal. The two players to the left of the dealer put out blind bets. The first person to the left is the small blind while the second person from the dealer is the big blind. Every player is dealt two cards, face down. These cards are called hole or pocket cards. The first move, or action, falls on the player to the left of the big blind. This person can call the big blind, raise it or fold. This process continues around the table, clockwise. After the betting is completed, one card is placed face down this is called the burn card, three cards are then dealt face up in the center of the table, which is called the board. The first three cards in Texas Holdem are called the flop. These cards â€Å"community cards† meaning everyone can (and will) use them in combination with their own hole cards to make the best hand. From the flop on, betting begins with the player to the left of the dealer, who can check or bet. A forth card is dealt face up after the burn, is placed on the board. This is called the turn card. Another round of betting. A final card is dealt face up. This card is called fifth street or the river. A final round of betting occurs. The remaining players show their cards and the person who make the best five cards hand by combining their pocket cards with the cards on the board wins. In some rare cases in Texas Hold’em, the five cards on the board will actually be the best hand, in which case everyone left in the hand divides up the pot. Now you know how to play and all the Texas Hold’em rules. Have fun.

Current phase of economic growth in singapore nitin raj

Current phase of economic growth in singapore nitin raj CURRENT PHASE OF ECONOMIC GROWTH IN SINGAPORE NITIN RAJ Introduction The international economy has experienced fundamental changes during last two or so decades. Economic activity is becoming not only more internationalised but also meaningfully, it is becoming globalised in a world of complexity, interconnectedness and mobility. Today we live in a rapidly changing and increasing competitive world of globalisation. This report is brief analysis about the economic growth of Singapore (republic of Singapore) and stumble of it while recession. Singapore, an island in southern Asia is highly acclaimed global market friendly economy, major contribution of which is manufacturing of electronics. Being one of the busiest ports it is the fourth largest economy foreign exchange centre. This report will play particular attention to: Evaluation of current phase of economic growth in Singapore. Factors contributing current phase of growth/contraction in economy. Discussion on some methods of managing the economy by the Government. Singapore has successful free market economy with strong market economy with strong service and manufacturing sectors. It has one of the highest per capita gross domestic product in the world. Singapores location on major sea lanes and its industrious population have made important hub for south-east Asia region. Singapores small population, external market dependency and suppliers have pushed it towards economic openness free trade and free markets. Effective government policies have been key reason in Singapores historically strong economic performance. Singapores economic growth To know about GDP, first we have to know that what this term actually is, GDP is gross domestic product, which means, The total value of goods and services produced within a countrys borders during a fixed period, usually one year, obtained by adding the value contributed by each sector of the economy .you can think of it as the size of the economy. EVOLUTION OF ECONOMY OVER LAST TWENTY YEARS Figure 1 (Source: International monetary fund- 2009 world economic outlook) TABLE 1 YEAR GDP PER CAPITA % CHANGE 1989 15621.62 10.86% 1990 17044.27 9.11% 1991 18277.45 7.24% 1992 19308.1 5.64% 1993 21486.89 11.28% 1994 23735.75 10.47% 1995 25421.68 7.10% 1996 26811.78 5.47% 1997 28585.21 6.61% 1998 27557.65 -3.59% 1999 29738.55 7.91% 2000 32864.45 10.51% 2001 31936.05 -2.82% 2002 33478.7 4.83% 2003 36016.97 7.58% 2004 40179.48 11.56% 2005 43754.29 8.90% 2006 47444.57 8.43% 2007 50447.62 6.33% 2008 51226.03 1.54% 2009 49433.48 -3.50% Singaporean GDP is at a good state as of late. Its per capita GDP is among highest in world. There has been a steady rate of growth in last five financial years. GDP in year2003 2.02 % 2004 1.10% 20058.10% 20066.40% 20077.90% 20087.50% The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Singapore reduced at an annual rate of 2.80% in the last quarter of December 2009. Singapore Gross Domestic Product is worth 182 billion dollars or 0.29% of the world economy, as per the reports of World Bank. Unemployment Rates The unemployment rate in Singapore was 2.10 percent in December of 2009. Country Interest Rate Growth Rate Inflation Rate Jobless Rate Current Account Exchange Rate Singapore 0.02% -2.80% 0.20% 2.10% 8324 1.4018 Year Mar Jun Sep Dec 2009 3.30 3.30 3.40 2.10 2008 1.90 2.20 2.30 2.50 2007 2.80 2.30 1.70 1.70 Singapore has enjoyed virtually full employment for long periods of time. In tandem with the global economic crisis and the economys contraction, unemployment as of end-June 2009 rose to 3.3% and resident unemployment reached 4.6%. The inflation rate in Singapore was 0.20 percent in January of 2010 Country Interest Rate Growth Rate Inflation Rate Jobless Rate Current Account Exchange Rate Singapore 0.02% -2.80% 0.20% 2.10% 8324 1.4018 Year Jan Mar Jun Sep Dec 2010 0.20 2009 4.30 2.60 0.00 -0.50 -0.50 2008 6.60 6.70 7.50 6.70 5.50 2007 -0.60 0.20 1.70 3.00 3.70 Business cycle The five stages of the business cycle are growth, peak, recession, trough and recovery. In starting year of Singapores economy, its growing with faster rate and from year 2003 up to 5 years it reaches to peak, and after some years it starts declining and now it is in trough stage, now it should try some new methods to grow up, and recover its economic level. Factors contributing current phase of economy are as follows Contraction: Recession: Singapore is the first Asian economy to enter in recession. Recession is directly phasing to unemployment, it increased 3% in year 2009. Singapores economy is heavily dependent on export activities and its going down up to 18% International trade is also going down to 3.2% Causes for economic development of Singapore: A foremost reason is increasing demand of electronic products all over the world. The construction sector is also helping the economy to grow and survive in the market. It expands its hands up to 16.4% Government strategies and tactics are also playing crucial role in economic development for this south East Asian country. We can conclude that in some sector economy gets into contraction and the main factor which helped in contraction is recession. Due to recession tourism industry effected, unemployment increased, and its export also got down. In some sector, still some growth is there, like demand for electronic products, pharmaceuticals, educational sector all helped Singapore to grow lot. But in current phase Singapore is going in contraction, in almost every sector of economy. Flow of income The terms circular flow of income refer to an economic model which explains the reciprocal circulation of income in between producers and consumers. The methods to manage the economy are: First method is to reduce the unemployment rate as in December 2009 the unemployment rate is 2.10% and due to high worldwide recession it is continuously increasing. Due to unemployment, tourism sector is being effected, and also the service sector as people are jobless. Government is trying to match the perfect level of employment, as in 2010 worlds first youth Olympic is going to be held in Singapore, so tourism sector will b get effected by this, Singapore government is opening two large base royal casinos to attract tourism, this can also help in reducing unemployment. Second method can be price cut, as 60% firms in Singapore are owned by government, so it can cut the prices, by cutting down its manufacturing cost, the cost has to be reduced in recovery stage, then it can use new techniques which can help in reducing wastage, government should reduce taxes also on some products like medicines, education, tourism sector, communication sector, all this will help to get recover from recession stage. Public sector debt : Debt is the total amount of money that a country (or company) owes. In January 2010, there was net borrowing of  £4.3 billion, which compares with net borrowing of - £5.3 billion (net lending) in January 2009. The PBR forecast for 2009/10 is net borrowing of  £178 billion. Public sector net debt, expressed as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), was 59.9 per cent at the end of January 2010 compared with 50.0 per cent at end of January 2009. Net debt was  £848.5 billion at the end of January compared with  £708.0 billion a year earlier. Public sector deficit: Deficit is in simple words expenditure over revenue, a situation in which liabilities exceed assets, expenditures exceed income, imports exceed exports, or losses exceed profits. Singapore recorded a general government deficit of S$4054 Million in Jan/10 that is of 14% of GDP as compared to previous period S$4017 million .Due to worldwide recession Singapore also has to bear this public sector deficit. Significance of these figures: Government borrows loan and money for the sake of people only, it want to increase the production by cutting taxes , want to reduce unemployment and start new projects so that people can get jobs. By starting new projects government wants to increase the standard of living of people, and their purchasing power. Conclusion Singaporeone of the four tigers of Asia (others are Honkong, Taiwan and South Korea) has a highly developed and successful open-market economy. Few years back it had a GDP higher than that of most developed countries. Its economy recovered by 2006 from the global recession in 2001 but again the GDP of Singapore economy declined and its a prediction by various economist it will decrease at a rate of 2.8% in year 2010, but some predictions say just opposite of it as per promises done by the government it will increase at rate of 3 to 5 percent and according, as far as I studied about Singapores economy, it is now in a trough stage of business cycle, that is fourth stage, now its time for recovery, the last stage of business cycle, so it has to grow up now, by cutting prices or by reducing unemployment rate. Tourism in Singapore has also a vital role. After a big loss it has started growing smoothly. Worlds first youth Olympic game is going to be held in Singapore; hopefully it will promote the tourism sector. Employment will also groom this year. Two casinos are also going to start this year, which can help it in increasing tourism,. The global recession seems to coming at its end so the European countries and United States will soon regain their importing capabilities which will help Singapore to re establish its development back again. Singapore had suffered a lot. Till last year they worked on saving jobs. Now as the market conditions have improved job qualities are taken into consideration. Improvement in world business, rise of Singapore manufacturing, export, tourism, government commitment has shown good signs and it is believed that this small island will soon achieve its lost growth.

Eve’s Apology Essay -- Literary Analysis, Aemilia Lanyer

Is this an apology or blame? In the beginning, God tells Adam not to eat the forbidden fruit. Adam disobeys God by doing so, but most people put the blame on Eve. In the poem, â€Å"Eve’s Apology,† Eve expresses her feelings toward the entire situation and shows how she is not to blame. She blames Adam for the pain we endure today. Eve eats from the forbidden tree out of curiosity. She wants to share it with Adam, so he can feel like she feels. Eve gives the fruit to Adam out of love, but she does not force him to eat it. Adam has control of his mind, so he disobeys God on his own. â€Å"Do not the thing that goes against thy heart† (Lanyer 424). Aemilia Lanyer, the author of the poem, â€Å"Eve’s Apology,† lived in the mid 1500’s and 1600’s. Living in this time period, had much influence on her writing. She published her landmark book, Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum, the same year that the King James Bible and three of Shakespeare’s plays were published (Wilhelm 424). Lanyer brings out the life of this poem with the poetic devices, irony, and unusual language. To begin, the poem, â€Å"Eve’s Apology,† uses many different poetic devices such as alliteration, assonance, rhyme scheme, and simile. The author uses a great number of alliteration, which is the repetition of constant sounds generally at the beginnings of words. Alliteration can be seen in the words â€Å"what† and â€Å"weakness† in line 3. Some more examples of alliteration throughout the poem are â€Å"subtle serpent’s† (23), â€Å"he had him† (24), and â€Å"with words which† (30). Assonance, the repetition of the same or similar vowel sounds in stressed syllables that end with different consonant sounds, is another poetic device that the author uses greatly. Some examples of assonance are found in lines 10 â€Å" The ‘p... ...g this poem, the author reveals older examples of words and phrases that we do not know or use today. Throughout "Eve's Apology," Layner confidently makes her point of female inequality and female injustice by using poetic devices, while continuing to keep an ironic tone and bring out unusual language. She is clearly trying to prove that woman and men are equal. She suggests that because Adam is a man, thus "stronger" than Eve, he should be held responsible for eating the forbidden fruit rather than the "weaker" Eve. Layner believes that men should not look down upon women as lesser and weaker than themselves; she successfully proves that women deserve an equal status with men. Throughout the poem, Layner makes the point that the reason men have always been condescending to woman is dishonest because men are actually more at fault for the pain we endure today.

Biography of Karl Marx Essay -- Karl Marx Biographies Essays

Biography of Karl Marx 15Karl Marx was born on May 5, 1818 to Heinrich and Henrietta Marx in the historical city of Trier. Karl was one of seven children raised within a comfortable middle class home provided by his father. Marx’s father worked as a counselor-at-law at the High-Court of Appeal in Trier. David McClellan believes that, â€Å"Trier first imbued Marx with his abiding passion for history.†1 Although the Marx family was linked to a long lineage of Jewish ancestry, Heinrich converted his family to Protestantism in order to keep his position at the courthouse. â€Å"Some have considered this rabbinic ancestry to be the key to Marx’s ideas and see him as a secularized version of an Old Testament prophet.†2 Overall, Marx was raised in a very loving, supportive, environment, and maintained a special relationship with his father throughout his life.3 In 1830, Marx began school at the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Gymnasium, a Jesuit foundation that had become a respectable high school with a liberal headmaster. While in high school, Marx was known as a bully and acted more as a leader to the students than as a close friend. His marks were less than average in history related subjects, French, and mathematics. Marx, however, did earn excellent marks in Greek, Latin, and German.4 In 1835, Marx graduated from high school and fell in love with Jenny von Westphalen the daughter of a powerful politician. The couple was secretly engaged in the summer of 1836, but, because of their conflicting ancestries, their families would not allow the wedding to commence for seven years.5 After the couples engagement, Marx was enrolled into the University of Bonn on October 17,1835 as a stud... ... beyond him to change the world. Notes 1 David McClellan, Karl Marx: The Legacy (London: British Broadcasting Corporation, 1983), 11. 2 McClellan, 12. 3 Top Biography â€Å"Karl Marx: Ancestry and Birth† August 2000, (March 2002). 4 Eugene Kamenka, The Portable Karl Marx (The Viking Portable Library 1983), xiv. 5 Kamenka, xv. 6 Maximilien Rubel and Margaret Manale, Marx Without Myth (New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1975), 12. 7 Top Biography 2. 8 Kamenka, xvi. 9 Kamenka, xvii. 10 McClellan, 20. 11 McClellan, 26. 12 Rubel and Manale, 85. 13 Kamenka, xix. 14 Karl Marx. 15 Marx/Engels Image Library

Same Sex Marriage Should be Legal Essay -- Homosexual Couples Should H

Marriage is the sacred bond between two people who love and cherish one another. Traditionally this bond has been held between man and woman. With so many changes in the world, there are more openly homosexual people in our society. Though people have become more accepting of the existence of homosexuality, gays and lesbians are still considered unequal when it comes to marriage. Homosexual couples should have the same rights to marry as heterosexual couples. Denying this right is unjust and is discrimination towards a group of people. Same-sex marriage has become more of a political issue when it really should be left up to one’s own personal and religious beliefs. Even though there are a few states that recognize legal same-sex marriage or domestic partnership, couples still have to face feeling inferior because of the little to no benefit they are given, while heterosexual marriages have an abundant of rights, privileges and benefits. If it is our constitutional right to get married to the person our choice then let it be. It should not matter what the next person feels because they have the right to feel the way they want to feel just as a person can fall in love and marry their significant other. Marriage is supposed to unite two people together for better and worse for the rest of their lives. Why would anyone want to deny another person the opportunity to commit their life to another person regardless of gender? According to a chart by Christine Vestal, a staff writer at Stateline.org, there is only six states that allow same-sex marriage: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire. New Jersey and Connecticut are the only two states that recognize civil union for same-sex couples al... ...d religion. Many may feel that it is simply tradition for a man a woman to be married and homosexual marriage is just not the norm. On the other hand, what I just mention was also not normal and yet we as a nation have overcome them. It has taken time and great effort to win these rights and the privilege to make our own choices. Today many are more open-minded and tolerant of the existence of homosexuality and homosexual couples and there are a handful of states that are more accepting of the ideal of same-sex marriage. It is only a matter of time before the rest of the nation accepts this. Works Cited Oison, Theadore B. â€Å"The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage† Newsweek 09 Jan, 2010: Web. Saunders, Cat. â€Å"Gay Marriage? Absolutely!† The News Time July 2000: Web. Vestal, Christine â€Å"Gay marriage legal in six states† Stateline 04 Jun, 2009: Web.

How Xerophytes Are Adapted for Water Loss Essay

Biology essay: describe the adaptations shown by xerophytes to reduce water loss A Xerophyte is a type of plant that is well adapted to water. Water loss is something that is very bad for the plants if the ratio of water lost to water taken in is too drastic. The cells may lose their turgidity and may even submit to plasmolysis, which will result in the plant wilting and eventually dying. Water loss via transpiration (loss of water vapour from the aerial parts of a plant due to evaporation) is fundamentally inevitable due to the fact that plants exchange gases with the atmosphere, via their stomata-the pores in a leafs epidermis . The bad aspect of this is the fact that the plants must photosynthesise in order to acquire the energy vital for their survival; for this exchange to occur the plant must be able to allow the gases in and out of the leaves, and to do this the stomata must open, meaning that water can be lost due to the opening of an exit, and also the change in the water va pour potential gradient. Water potential is the measure of the tendency/ability of water to move freely in a solution. Water moves from an area of high water potential to an area of lower water potential, and this is what causes the water vapour in the plant to be lost to the outside atmosphere, due to the difference in the water potential gradient, and we call this â€Å"moving along the water potential gradient†. If the water potential outside the plant was higher than the water potential inside the plant, then the plant would absorb water vapour rather than lose it, but because of the extreme weather conditions, and the difference in water potential the plant loses rather than gains water. The potential of water vapour is the same concept, and simply means the same thing but in terms of the gaseous form of water. Most plants can reduce water loss by structural and behavioural adaptations such as: * A waxy cuticle on the leaf will reduce water loss due to evaporation through the epidermis * The stom ata are often found on the undersurface of leaves, not on the top surface- this reduces the evaporation due to direct heating from the sun * Most stomata are closed at night, when there is no light for photosynthesis * Deciduous plants lose their leaves in winter, when the ground may be frozen (making water less available) and when temperatures may be too low for photosynthesis. However although xerophytes do execute these adaptations, they also have a number of adaptations specific to their own requirements that reduce the rate of water loss. Firstly, the surface area. Xerophytes have much smaller leaves, often shaped like needles. This reduces the surface area of the leaves significantly; hence the total leaf surface area is also reduced. This means that there is a much smaller area for the water vapour to escape from, this works well because the smaller the surface area, the smaller the quantity of water that can escape, therefore the less water lost. The thorn like structures reduce the area exposed for transpiration. Pine trees are prime examples of this, as they have small needle-shaped â€Å"leaves† that h ave a small surface area, therefore are able to retain more water as a result, because less of the area is exposed, and so transpiration cannot occur as abundantly. Next, includes the way mesophyll, the spongy inner tissue of a leaf that is composed of loosely arranged cells of irregular shape, is densely packed together. This reduces the cell surface area that is exposed to the air inside the leaves, meaning that the space for water to have access to is reduced, because the cells are more compact, thus creating a sealed wall where water cannot escape into and less water will evaporate into the leaf air spaces as a result, hence reducing the rate of water loss. A third factor of xerophytes that they have adapted themselves to include the waxy cuticle, which appears on all plants, is a lot thicker than the typical cuticle. The waxiness reduces evaporation further, particularly cuticular transpiration, where water escapes from fissures through the cuticle. This is because the cuticle, found at the epidermal (outermost) layer of cells, is made up of a complex formula of waxy substances known as Cutin, which acts sort of like a waterproof layer to p revent the loss of water from the surface cells, therefore reducing the amount of water that could be lost to the atmosphere. Fourthly, closing the stomata when water availability is low will reduce water loss and so reduce the need to take up water. This is because when the stomata is open for various reasons including gas exchange, water can escape from the openings made by the stomata, this is bad or a plant like a xerophyte which wants to retain as much after as possible, therefore keeping the stomata closed as much as possible increases the plants chances of retaining water, particularly when water is scarce. Next, hairs on the surface of the leaf trap a layer of air close to the surface. This air can become saturated with moisture and will reduce the diffusion of water vapour out through the stomata. This is because the gradient of the water vapour potential between the inside of the leaf and the outside has been reduced, for if there is a â€Å"barrier† of water between the inside of the cell and the out, then the gradient of water potential is significantly reduced, because the difference in water potential is less, hence water will not want to move from an area of high water potential to an area of low water potential. Pits containing stomata at their base also trap air that can become saturated with water vapour, and so also reduce the rate of water loss. This will reduce the gradient in the water vapour potential between inside and outside the lea, so reducing loss by diffusion. Behavioural aspects of adaptations that xerophytes achieve include rolling their leaves up so that the lower epidermis is not exposed to the atmosphere which can trap air that becomes saturated. This is another way to reduce or even eliminate the water potential gradient. Another point to make is that some plants have a low water potential inside their leaf cells. This is achieved by maintaining a high salt concentration in the cells. The low water potential reduces the evaporation o water from the cell surfaces as the water potential gradient between the cells and the leaf air spaces is reduced. An excellent example of a xerophyte is marram grass. A dense green plant with protruding spikes that appears in tufts, which you often see dotted along the coastal scenery. Its principal habitat is sand dunes and the conditions are very severe and can be particularly brutal at times, with winds and salty, dry terrain. The features described above mirror a lot of the characteristics that marram grass possess, such as rolling up its leaves to trap air inside as well as a thick waxy cuticle to reduce water evaporation rom surface cells, and hence is a very good example of a xerophyte. In conclusion, xerophytes are very durable plants that have adapted exceedingly well to living in such harsh conditions. Their features allow them to retain water incredibly well, and that provides them with an advantage to living in places such as the desert in comparison with a normal plant.