Explain the concept of time, value of money, and give some examples Research Paper

Explain the concept of time, value of money, and give some examples. Explain difference in ways to calculate FTEs and explain - Research Paper Example For instance, you can invest your dollar for one year at a 6% annual interest rate and accumulate $1.06 at the end of the year.   You can say that the  future value  of the dollar is $1.06 given a 6%  interest rate  and a one-year  period. It follows that the  present value  of the $1.06 you expect to receive in one year is only $1. A key concept of TVM is that a single sum of money or a series of equal, evenly-spaced payments or receipts guaranteed in the future can be converted to an equivalent value today.   Conversely, you can determine the value to which a single sum or a series of future payments will grow to at some future date. You can calculate the fifth value if you are given any four of: Interest Rate, Number of Periods, Payments, Present Value, and Future Value.   FTEs FTEs are basically the full time equivalents and help in analyzing the work done in hours according to the number of laborers employed. Efficiency indicators for benchmarking frequently require a benchmarking health unit to provide the number of FTEs involved in a particular activity. This is not a problem where programs are specialized, i.e. where full and part time staff is assigned to specific activities.

The Red Scare of 1919 Essay Example for Free

The Red Scare of 1919 Essay The Red Scare of 1919 was the first of two major periods in American History when fear of radicalism culminated in the persecution and deportation of Americans thought to be radicals (communists, anarchists, or socialists). An unprecedented event, the Red Scare of 1919 exhibits how popular suppression and fear of radicalism can have disastrous consequences. The causes of the Red Scare are numerous and varied, however, one of the most important factors that contributed to the scare was the acts passed during World War I. During the war, social-anarchists did not support American involvement, nor did they support the subsequent draft. In response to the dissent, Congress passed the Sedition Act (actually, amended the Espionage Act). It was important in relation to the Red Scare because it allowed for censoring of radical literature as well as regulation of the mail. It was directed against subversives and, therefore, cast a very broad net. Because of the Sedition act, many individuals were arrested for distributing media that criticized the American military (Eugene Debs, head of the Socialist Party, was one of them). It was in response to this act that Justices Oliver Wendell Holmes set forth the clear and present danger doctrine and marked the beginning of modern First Amendment jurisprudence. Therefore, the Sedition Act of 1918 was important in the imposition of censorship after World War I. Reds were seen as a danger to the American system of government, economic stability, and way of life. In this sense, the war produced an era of intolerance for subversives, and it was this attitude that provided a ripe setting for the Red Scare of 1919 to take place. The Sedition Act was the legal excuse people used to regulate, censor, prosecute, and deport Americans thought to be radicals. Intolerance during the war would cause Americans to fear immigrants and radicals afterward, and it would only take a little spark to cause full blown hysteria. The Bolshevik revolution in Russia only deepened Americans fears because they felt the same thing could happen on their soil. The labor unrest following the end of World War I would prove to be instrumental in igniting the fire that was the Red Scare of 1919. The years after the war were marked by economic turmoil and labor unrest. At first, laborers expected the good working conditions, a staple of the wartime economy, to continue after the war was over. The economy was in good shape because war time contracts had cased industry to boom. Labor was supported by the government during the war in order to keep production levels high. After the war ended, however, contracts were canceled, which caused rising unemployment, and managers stopped cooperating with labor. Also, the cost of living had risen 99% by 1919 because of inflation. Without government support, labor unions began to strike in order to recapture the gains they had made during the war. One such strike took place in Seattle and involved sixty thousand workers (Painter, 346). Soon, this strike and others were labeled as a communist effort to undermine the American economy. The cycle of hysteria had begun. Labor unions were seen as Bolshevik sponsored organizations, and union members were labeled as communists. America began to become afraid because they saw there way of life slipping away. This fear would soon turn into action. The fear of radicalism stemmed, as stated earlier, from the era of intolerance during World War I. Propaganda techniques that once united the American public against Germany and hyphenated Americans during the war were easily converted into an instrument to cast a negative light on Bolsheviks. After all, America was not happy with Russia leaving the war and instituting a form of economy that was directly opposite of capitalism. Bolsheviks, therefore, were seen as a threat to democracy. Likewise, the forming of the Communist International was seen as an attempt to spread communism throughout the world. People felt insecure after the war, and this feeling was only bolstered by the idea that communists were working to overthrow the American economy and government. When a series of mail bombs were discovered, one of which exploding at Attorney General Palmers home, they were labeled as a communist effort to undermine America. The Red Scare of 1919 had begun. Labor unions were hardest hit. However, anyone seen as radical was persecuted and labeled a red. Elected officials who were members of the socialist party  were dismissed from office. In fact, the New York State Assembly dismissed five elected socialists. However, the most vivid example of the extent of the scare is illustrated by the Palmer raids, in which six thousand people were arrested and five hundred were deported. There were very few Communists in the United States in 1919, yet Palmer viewed them as a huge threat. Encouraged by Congress, Palmer began a series of showy and well publicized raids against radicals and leftists. Striking without warning and without warrants, Palmers men smashed union offices and the headquarters of Communist and Socialist organizations. They concentrated, whenever possible, on aliens rather than citizens, because aliens had fewer rights. As quickly as it had began, the Red Scare of 1919 ended. Although the hysteria had subsided, consequences still arose. The scare, as well as the raids, was seen as unproductive. Of the numerous arrests made in association with the scare, only a small percent of the suspected communists were deported. Therefore, government persecution of subversives only stopped because it was not working as well as hoped, yet the fear and hatred of radicals was still looming in the distance. It would again resurface in the 1950s during the McCarthy era when another Red Scare, more organized and brutal, would take place. America had learned how to deal with reds, and these lessons would be effectively applied in the next crusade against communism in America. Finally, a more visible and immediate consequence of the Red Scare of 1919 was the mass fear of immigration that took place afterwards. The highly visual raids by Palmer had a deep effect on Americans because the raids exposed the enemy. Restrictions and quotas were placed on immigration, especially on those people coming from Eastern Europe. Fear of communists turned into hatred of immigrants, and American citizens would have a hard time excepting new arrivals. In many cases, immigrants were automatically labeled as subversives, anarchists, and communists. The association between immigrants and social upheaval would have a negative effect on American immigrants in the years to come, a fact most vividly portrayed through the trial of Sacco and Venzetti. Also, for many years to come, unions were seen in a negative light. The association of communism with unions would continue  to be a hindrance for labor and the advancement of labor reforms.

Rumination Disorder: Causes, Epidemiology and Treatment

Rumination Disorder: Causes, Epidemiology and Treatment Rumination disorder is an eating disorder whereby an infant or toddler brings back up and re-chews food that was already swallowed and digested. This is known as regurgitation. In most cases, the re-chewed food is then swallowed again; but occasionally, the child will spit it out. For this to be considered a disorder, the behaviour must have occurred to a child who had been eating normally previously, and it must occur frequently for atleast a month. The behaviour may occur during feeding or right after eating. What Are the Symptoms of Rumination Disorder in Babies and Kids? Symptoms of rumination disorder in infants and toddlers may include (1) repeated regurgitation of food (2) repeated re-chewing of food (3) weight loss (4) repeated stomach aches (5) raw and chapped lips. Infants, in addition, may make unusual movements such as straining and arching the back, holding the head back, tightening abdominal muscles and making sucking movements with the mouth. These movements could suggest that the infant is trying to bring back up the partially digested food. What Causes Rumination Disorder? The exact cause of rumination disorder is unknown although there several speculation. According to () some factors that may contribute to this disorder are those that are physical. Physical illness or stress may trigger the behaviour. It may be a way for the child to get attention; it has been found that neglect from the primary care giver may cause the child to engage in self comfort.It has been found that rumination may occur in a state of self relaxation , self absorption and self pleasure. It appears to have a self soothing or self stimulating function. The infant gets some satisfaction from this. For the first four to six months of an infants life, breast milk or an alternative formula is a baby’s source of energy and nutrients (Santrock, 2011). it has been found that breast fed infants have lower respitory tract infections, they are less likely to develop otitis media (a middle ear infection) and breast fed infants have fewer gastrointestinal infections (Santrock, 2011). According to (Chial, Camilleri, Williams, Litzinger, Perrault, 2003) rumination is a functional gastrointestinal infection. This suggests that there is a possibility that children who develop this disorder may have had a lack of breast feeding as an infant which further elaborates that neglect from the primary caregiver is vital. Rumination is common in disorders such as bulimia nervosa. It is a learned disorder and comes from a manifestation of rejection. http://www.webmd.com/children/guide/eating-disorders-in-children-rumination-disorder?page=3 Epidemiology It is difficult to know exactly how many people are affected by this disorder mainly because most cases are not reported. Children tend to outgrow it and as they grow into the adolescent stages and adulthood, they become embarrassed by it and it often happens in secret. Rumination disorder is generally uncommon. Rumination disorder occurs often in infants between the ages of three and twelve months as well as in children with cognitive impairments. It may occur slightly more often in boys than in girls, but few studies of the disorder exist to confirm this. (webmd) For the purpose of this paper, the South African context will be put into consideration. It is important to remember that reality is socially constructed. South Africa is a diversified country with many cultures. Amongst many of the African cultures, western culture is often overlooked and shunned upon. It is difficult to change the minds of others and it would be unethical for an â€Å"outsider† to come and talk against their belief systems. When there is behaviour that is unusual, it is common for the average traditional African woman or man to put their trust in the customary traditional healer. People tend to keep their parental and ancestral roots, this is quite common more often in the homelands where majority of the financially deprived stay; even though sometimes it happens that those who move to the city to look for jobs may adopt new ways of thinking but still truly remaining to their roots. Because of these strong traditional beliefs, primary caregivers may opt for traditional healers than westernised medical attention. It is also much easier to go to a traditional healer than it is finding a good clinic or good health care facility. The social and economic pressures make it hard for children to get the right kind of medical attention. It is common for these primary caregivers to believe it is witch craft, it is something they learn. When something cannot be explained, it is easier to put blame in witchcraft. —often with grandparents staying in rural areas and the younger people moving to the cities in search of employment, better education, and health care. The effects of disrupted bonds are manifold. In our field, the geographical separation between young mothers and the maternal grandmothers has particularly far reaching consequences. We have called our Service theMdlezana Centre. This is a Xhosa word depicting the early bond between mother and child, when they are still one unit—equivalent to the Winnicottian term of the state of primary maternal preoccupation. Infant Mental Health was a new concept in 1995, but it took root in the city of Cape Town immediately. There are no problems in obtaining referrals to the Rondebosch pillar —in fact, at times we are inundated, and can barely cope with the workload. In Khayelitsha, the situation is different and the population was initially hard to reach. There are various reasons for this: In a community where unemployment is unimaginably high, where families are disrupted, where there is often no food, the emotional life of the infant is not a priority. Mothers, who are the main caregivers (I have only seen fathers on two occasions in the past five years) are often depressed and suffer in silence. They have a helplessness that is real and in a way adaptive in the sense that the great majority of women have no choice, but to cope and make do with what they have. They bear their fate stoically and will not spontaneously open up. Then there are cultural factors in that one does not easily share with strangers one’s intimate family problems. There is a sense of privacy and possibly shame and thus problems are often borne silently. A visit to a Traditional Healer is for many a more familiar option. I shall return to this point shortly. The infants themselves are mostly not a problem— they are generally quiet and seemingly content—this is an observation that all western visitors who come with me to the clinic make. The wait is often long, but the noise level low and there is immense patience, even in the babies and toddlers. It is only the physically obvious, such as delayed milestones, that will readily be seen as a reason for a consultation. On a diagnostic level the infants fall into three broad categories: developmental delay, failure to thrive, and increasingly, depression. When a condition sets in after birth, then the presence of evil spirits or bewitchment is  very much in the foreground. For whatever individual reason, the protection of the  ancestors has been withdrawn and the child has become exposed to forces of evil, the  impundulu. The muthiis said to drive out the evil  spirit or to strengthen and protect the child against it. Mostly these interventions are  harmless from a medical perspective —however, there are some mixtures which, when  ingested, can cause gastrointestinal symptoms. Operations and anesthetics are at times viewed with great fear. This may have to do  with a giving up of the child to be put to sleep —which, in effect, could mean a kind  of death. The father of one ill infant whom we saw and who required surgery spoke  about â€Å"sacrificing† his child. The healer who was involved in this case also said to the  parents that surgery would interfere with the workings of themuthihe was using. The  end result was that the child did not receive the operation in time and died. A working alliance with traditional healers is being established with the recent founding  of the Traditional Healers’ Association. It is hoped that with collaborating with the traditional  healers in diagnosis and treatment gaps can be bridged and unnecessary suffering be prevented. I will end this section by giving a brief case illustration. How Is Rumination Disorder Diagnosed in Infants and Children? The diagnosis of rumination syndrome is based upon the characteristic symptoms and the absence of signs of disease. Although diagnostic criteria (symptombased, Rome II) for childhood functional gastrointestinal disorders have been developed, such criteria for children and adolescents with rumination syndrome have not been defined. The lack of formal criteria for diagnosing rumination syndrome in children and adolescents likely contributes to the lack of awareness of the condition and to the difficulty in making the diagnosis. We anticipate that such criteria will be developed in the future. How Is Rumination Disorder Treated in Children? Rumination disorder is a voluntary, learned behaviour which patients are frequently unaware. As infants grow older, clinical features of regurgitation are similar to those of bulimia nervosa. Before one can be diagnosed it has been found that individuals with this disorder undergo several medical interventions and experience prolonged symptoms before a diagnosis is made. (Chial, La Crosse, Camilleri, Bean, 2009) One important aspect in the history is the timing of the regurgitation. Diaphragmatic breathing has been shown to be clinically beneficial in rumination syndrome; although this type of treatment can only take place starting from ages where toddlers can understand. According to (Chiktara, van Tilburg, Whitehead, Tall, 2006) this method is useful to treat children as young as six years of age. Patients should be encouraged to practice diaphragmatic breathing midway through the meal or after meals for three different 5 min periods of inactivity with 10 min in between periods. They should also repeat this plan after each episode of regurgitation. The goal is for diaphragmatic breathing to occur unconsciously during events that may incur regurgitation. Treatment of rumination disorder mainly focuses on changing the childs behaviour. Several approaches may be used, including:Continue reading below Changing the childs posture during and right after eating Encouraging more interaction between mother and child during feeding; giving the child more attention Reducing distractions during feeding Making feeding a more relaxing and pleasurable experience Distracting the child when he or she begins the rumination behavior Aversive conditioning, which involves placing something sour or bad-tasting on the childs tongue when he or she begins to vomit Psychotherapy for the mother and/or family may be helpful to improve communication and address any negative feelings toward the child due to the behavior. There are no medications used to treat rumination disorder. What Complications Are Associated With Rumination Disorder? Among the many potential complications associated with untreated rumination disorder in infants and children are: Malnutrition Lowered resistance to infections and diseases Failure to grow and thrive Weight loss Stomach diseases such as ulcers Dehydration Bad breath and tooth decay Aspiration pneumonia and other respiratory problems (from vomit that is breathed into the lungs) Choking Death What Is the Outlook for Children With Rumination Disorder? In most cases, infants and young children with rumination disorder will outgrow the behavior and return to eating normally. For older children, this disorder can continue for months. Can Rumination Disorder Be Prevented in Infants and Children? There is no known way to prevent rumination disorder in infants and children. However, careful attention to a childs eating habits may help catch the disorder before serious complications can occur. (culture and psychiatry journal) The culture of the patient In addition to individual factors—such as level of education, medical knowledge, and personal life experiences—culture will contribute to the patient’s understanding of illness, perception and presentation of symptoms and problems, and reaction and adjustment to illness. The patient’s expectations of the physician, motivation for treatment, and compliance with treatment recommendations are also influenced by culture.

Contrasting Silkos Yellow Woman and Chopins Story of an Hour :: comparison compare contrast essays

Contrasting Silko's Yellow Woman and Chopin's Story of an Hour On the surface, the protagonists of Silko's "Yellow Woman" and Chopin's "Story of an Hour" seem to have little in common. Yet upon closer inspection, both stories relate tales of women who are repressed by the social tenets that define their roles as wives. From the viewpoint of Western society, the narrator of "Yellow Woman" might be considered immoral for her willing sexual encounter with a stranger. However, the stories related by her grandfather of the Yellow Woman demonstrate within her culture a more accepting attitude of her brief interlude: "Yellow Woman went away with the spirit from the north and lived with him and his relatives. She was gone a long time, but then one day she came back and brought twin boys."(188) Her grandfather certainly liked telling the stories and seems to have admired the Yellow Woman on some level. Other societies do not share the Western idea of moral sexual behavior. The Egyptian ruling class, for example, sometimes married brother to sister, and other cultures have incorporated fertility rites into their belief systems. Even within our own society, marriages to cousins, which are considered wrong today, were not uncommon in past centuries. Given that her attitude regarding sex and marriage might diff er from the Western norm, the central conflict of the story seems to be the narrator's desire for freedom to choose her own destiny versus her more Westernized view of her role as wife and mother, a role that is traditionally subservient to the husband in Western society. There is the sense that she finds her daily life dull, though perhaps not unhappy, and when a chance encounter turned sexual, she again takes on a subservient role to a male. Her inability to make sense of her conflicting feelings causes her to appear weak and lacking in character and portrays her in a negative light. By contrast, Louise Mallard, the protagonist in Chopin's "Story of an Hour", is a moral woman and loving wife, at least by Western standards. Her life is defined by the accepted social ideal of a husband's will as final. She is so inured to this concept that only upon hearing the news of his death does her true feeling of something "too subtle and elusive to name" (199) come forth. What she acknowledges to herself is that her marriage is not happy for her and she often resents her subservient role and "a kind intention or a cruel intention made the act seem no less a crime".

Aquarius Case Analysis Essay

1) Analyze Aquarius in terms of the five contextual variables: * Goals: Aquarius has realized a huge problem in regards to the rapid turnover of their major accounts. An agency reorganization would be a realistic goal in changing their competitive techniques. This reorganization might be able to set them apart from the other agencies by reducing their response time and increasing the communication between the different departments to boost efficiency. * Culture: In my opinion I believe that Aquarius has a very low and undefined organizational culture. It seems like the employees are all looking out for themselves and trying to get ahead of everyone else. These values although unwritten provide the glue to having everyone on the same page and are absolutely essential in providing clients with top of the line work. * Size: Since Aquarius is a mid-sized firm with various specialists on the professional staff of the operations and marketing divisions I would say they have anywhere from 1 000-1500 employees. With this many employees it is critical to have effective communication between the different departments. This would in turn increase flexibility in this unpredictable environment. * Environment: Changes in the environment is the main reason why the agency is considering the need for reorganization. It is typical for advertising agencies to gain/lose clients quickly, this is why is it so essential to have everyone in the organization effectively communicating with each other in order to satisfy their clients and reduce turnover. * Technology: Aquarius has a number of different specialists on their team that work together in assisting their clients, but there is always room for improvement in regards to better communication. It would seem to me that Aquarius would have a number of different programs and internet sites to assist them achieving their services. 2) A new organizational structure that takes into consideration the contextual variables in the case and the information flows is the divisional structure. This structure is suited to fast change in an unstable environment and provides high product or service visibility. A major problem that occurs in Aquarius is that each client account is coordinated by an account executive who acts as a liaison between the client and various specialists. Unfortunately this isn’t followed because sometimes the account executives don’t even know what is going on until a week later. The divisional structure leads to customer satisfaction because product responsibility and contact points are clear. This in turn involves high coordination across functions which will make everyone check with the executive first to get approval before contacting the client. Coordination across functions will allow their services to adapt to the requirements of the individual clients and perform beyond their expectations. This structure would allow Aquarius to achieve their goals while increasing their organizational culture as a whole and being able to adapt more quickly to this unstable environment. 3) Would a matrix structure be feasible for Aquarius? I my opinion I believe that a balanced matrix structure would be hard to implement and maintain. This is due to the fact that account executives as one side of the authority structure would often dominate over the specialists. In order for the account executive to do their job correctly they need everyone on their side and in coordination to run important information by them first. Perhaps a better alternative would be a product matrix where the executives have primary authority and the specialists assign technical personal to the projects and provide advisory expertise as needed. With dual authority I feel that it would be frustrating and confusing for everyone, there needs to be a clear contact points. There would always be a need for frequent meetings to resolve any conflicts between the different authorities, it would simply just require to great of an effort to maintain the power balance.

Elderly need care, not neglect and indifference Essay

PHYSICALLY, the elderly are not longer as able and agile as the young. To most old people, walking can be an ordeal – and crossing the road is even more difficult without help. While it is already hard for most of the aged to get to the other side of a busy road that has no pedestrian crossing, what is even sadder is that motorists seldom stop for them. Old people whose sense of judgement is impaired through ageing, are frequently run over on the road. They can no longer handle heavy traffic, and left to their own devices, are likely come to grief. As one observer notes, it seems modern society is built by the young for the young – a dynamic creation that does not give much consideration to the old, sick, handicapped or disabled. The infirm and frail elderly are usually tolerated as a liability or nuisance, and with self-esteem ripped away from them, they suffer in silence as they go through what is left of their twilight years. This busy world is certainly not looking too kindly on old folks. Crossing the road is just one problem the elderly encounter, another is getting onto a bus. The old timer is usually the last to get on. And even if he manages, he very likely will have to stand. Rarely does anyone care give up his or her seat for an old man or woman. In the old days, the family unit was strong. Today, it is breaking up as young men and women travel widely in search of greener pastures. Normally, what this entails is neglect – with the elderly being left to fend for themselves, most times under very difficult circumstances. The more fortunate ageing parents may have a child or two staying with them while the less lucky ones may have to live out their lives in an old folks’Â  home – or in their empty house after all the children have flown the roost and may only return to visit once in a blue moon. Such a situation poses a very real problem for society and it is what the old dread most – being unwanted and uncared for while on borrowed time. There are other problems old folks face but none can be as painfully heart-breaking as the indifference and neglect shown them by their own flesh and blood. Most senior citizens end up in welfare homes because they are abandoned by their families – frequently at public hospitals which, in turn, have little choice but to turn them over to shelters run by the government or NGOs. In most cases, family members refuse to take their elderly parents back. Invariably, these public hospitals have to hand the abandoned old folks to NGOs. Even so, shelters, run by benevolent societies, are mostly full these days. According to the Social Welfare Department, between 2008 and 2011, the number of old folks, abandoned by their families, has steadily gone up one per cent each year. Welfare homes caring for the 60 and above, admitted 340 senior citizens last year compared to 248 in 2010. Stats from the National Population and Family Development Board, an agency under the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry, showed that as at 2004 when the Fourth Malaysian Population and Family Survey was undertaken, over half a million elderly parents were not given financial support by their children. It is, of course, unfair and incorrect to say all young people desert their parents in their old age. What is obviously a disturbing trend though is that a lot of sons and daughters are leaving their ageing parents to die at old folks’ homes. Why? In trying to look for an answer, sociologists argue it is important for society to understand the needs of young people with changing times. These experts explain that young couples nowadays need to work to support themselves and their own growing families. As such, most not only send their old parents to welfare homes but their own children to nurseries or playschools as well just to keep up with the rat race. While it’s reasonable for young families to want their own space and privacy, there are some who simply do not want to look after the elderly due to what is generally referred to as the generation gap manifesting itself in the lack of understanding and tolerance for the changes in their parents’ behaviour which could be caused by insecurity and mental illnesses. Whatever the reasons that may have caused the young to shirk their responsibility of caring for their elderly parents, they, nonetheless, still have the moral responsibility to support and cherish them. After all, the young will themselves become parents and grow old one day – and quite naturally, also expect their own brood to look after them in the final phase of life. Needless to say, it’s important to inculcate filial piety in children at a young age. Wholesome family values such as caring for the elderly spontaneously out of love should be continuously fostered to create a truly caring Malaysian society.

Essay on The meaning of marriage in the modern American society

Essay on The meaning of marriage in the modern American society Essay on The meaning of marriage in the modern American society Essay on The meaning of marriage in the modern American societyThe modern society is changing and transforming. One aspect of such change is the transformation of the meaning and the role of marriage in American culture. The considered argument written by Ryan Anderson is named In defense of traditional marriage. In this essay, the author focuses on the issue of redefinition of the role of marriage in the modern society and the shift of the focus of marriage as a union of a man and a woman aimed at rearing children to the understanding of marriage as an emotional union of people. The purpose of this paper is to perform a critical analysis of Andersons arguments and to consider counter-arguments. The key thesis of this paper is the following: the concept of marriage in the American society is evolving, and it will be fair to legalize same-sex marriages to account for these changes and to improve the well-being of the members of nontraditional unions.The main argument of Anderson (2013 ) is the following: the notion of marriage should be rightly understood by the American legal system and the importance of family as a procreative union should be recognized. The premises of Andersons argument include historical role and meaning of family. Anderson (2013) also mentions that the concept of marriage related to the union of a man and a woman even in those societies where same-sex relationships were perceived as normal, acceptable and were not stigmatized. The author points out that such historical facts illustrate the perception of family as a procreative union of a man and a woman in the history of the mankind. The author further concludes that the current legal definition of marriage correctly reflects the meaning of family and the government rightly recognizes, protects and promotes marriage between a man and a woman as the ideal institution for procreative love, childbearing and childrearing (Anderson, 2013).The considered argument primarily relies on inductive rea soning as the author uses separate historical facts and definitions to make conclusions on the role of marriage in the society in general. On one hand, the author rightfully uses inductive arguments since he is willing to arrive to a more holistic and integral understanding of marriage. However, his reasoning is weak because he only cites examples that support his argument and ignores historical examples of marriage perception which are against his argument. For example, there existed marriage rituals and practices of same-sex relationships in Mesopotamia; however, the author either does not consider this counter-example or omits mentioning such historical examples which might weaken his argument. In any case, such omissions weaken his argument and make it very questionable.The author also uses some deductive steps in his reasoning: for example, he argues that marriage has public purposes that transcend its private purposes (Anderson, 2013) and further uses this statement to itemize the most common public purposes such as child-rearing. Furthermore, he also uses reasoning which resembles deductive when arguing that one need not appeal to distinctively religious arguments to explain why marriage is a natural union of a man and a woman: Anderson (2013) uses this statement to conclude that many nonreligious thinkers in different cultures supported such view on marriage. However, Andersons deductive reasoning is in fact unjustified because his abstract statements are not linked to the following specific statements using logic; instead, Anderson uses various examples to make his abstract arguments seem stronger, therefore applying hidden inductive reasoning (which is also not justified by evidence in this case). Overall, Andersons argument has a lot of weak points and questionable statements, and therefore cannot be accepted as valid.Furthermore, it is possible to construct a counterargument to Andersons argument basing on peer-reviewed research and analysis of the institution of marriage and the role of marriage in the modern American society. First of all, as the society is changing and evolving, the functions of different social institutions and the meaning of these social institutions change. The role and functions of family in the society are changing as well. According to Cherlin (2004), the concept of marriage experienced significant changes during several recent decades.Cherlin (2004) explores two transitions of the role and meaning of marriage that took place in American society during the 20th century; the first transition was from institutional to companionate marriage, and the second transition was from compassionate to individualized marriage with greater emphasis on self-development and personal choice. At the same time, Cherlin (2004) finds that symbolic meaning of marriage has increased, while its practical and procreative meaning has somewhat declined. In the context of the evolving notion of marriage, same-sex families shoul d be recognized as legal and equal to the traditional families because these unions equally represent the choice of the partners and activate their self-development. In the modern understanding of marriage, there are no factors requiring the presence of strictly a man and a woman in the family union, and therefore the legalization of same-sex marriages is the rightful legal response to the social change.One of key Andersons premises refers to the idea that the major meaning of family recognized by the state is responsible procreation. This is true, and the presence of various social programs and family/child assistance options offered by the state illustrates the truthfulness of this premise. However, Anderson (2013) further assumes that procreative role of family is only possible for families including a man and a woman. He does not present any relevant evidence for such conclusion and merely links this idea to the biological conditions of procreation. At the same time, modern achi evements of medically assisted reproduction create opportunities for same-sex partners or other non-typical unions to gain procreative meaning as well. Due to these changes, it is not reasonable to limit the vision of family as procreative union to the union of a man and a woman only.One more premise that Anderson uses is that a family consisting of a man and a woman is the best place to rear children and is optimal for their development from biological and social points of view. Andersons arguments are refuted by many researchers; for example, the study of Joslin (2013) shows that two largest state social benefits programs – benefits for the members of the U.S. military and Social Security benefits – do not link family benefits to biological relationships. Instead, these programs extend the benefits to the families in which children might be biologically unrelated to one or both parents or carers (Joslin, 2013). Furthermore, the research of Pennings (2011) shows that the welfare of children in same-sex families is not affected by the biological fact of having two parents of the same gender; instead, the well-being of such children is largely affected by the presence of social discrimination, stigmatization and by the lack of recognition of same-sex families as families in the society. Hence, legal recognition of same-sex unions as families will improve the well-being of children in these families.Overall, the arguments in defense of the traditional perception of marriage presented by Anderson are weak and can be refuted using relevant research evidence. It is essential to recognize that marriage and family as social institutions experience transformations and certain deinstitutionalization nowadays. It is also important to recognize these changes at the federal level and to create the appropriate legislation. Furthermore, as it is shown by Pennings (2011), both adult members of nontraditional family unions and children reared in such families wi ll benefit from such recognition due to the reduction of discrimination and social stigmatization.