Domestic Violence Essays (1703 words) - Domestic Violence, Abuse

Domestic Violence Essays (1703 words) - Domestic Violence, Abuse Domestic Violence Domestic Violence in America Introduction: Today in American society we have many social ills. Perhaps one of the most upsetting, at least to me personally, is domestic violence. Domestic violence can come in many shapes and forms and affects many different people. Reasons vary for spousal/child abuse, but none are justified. Police/community programs have recently had a more pro-active role in domestic violence, but that is not a solution to our problem at large. On the micro level, the ultimate responsibility of elimination of violence rests on the victim. On the macro level, we must look at our society critically and analyze why we have such an immense problem and how we can help correct it. In the following sections I will discuss domestic violence issues and attempt to offer some solutions. I will frequently use anecdotal evidence, as well as statistical figures. I assign genders to the abuser and victim using he and she or husband and wife frequentlythis is for simplification. Although most victimization is male against female, I am generalizing for simplicity. Discussion: Domestic violence is a prevalent issue in the United States. There is much controversy as too how much violence actually exists in America (much of it takes place behind closed doors and is difficult to identify), but assuredly we have a problem with the issue as it is reported that almost 4% of American families experienced severe physical violence of a degree that had the probability of inflicting injury or death upon the victim (stabbed, gun used, beat up, punched) (www.silcom.com/paladin/madv/faq-dv.html). This 4% may seem like a small figure, but it equates to four million victims (and that only includes the major injury-inflicting violence). Another source states that 1 in 3 women will be assaulted by a domestic partner in her lifetime (www.npcts.edu/uo/handson/domviol/statfact.html). Another source indicates that 63% of parents have engaged in violent acts towards their children (Assaults Against Women and Children, p. 219). Truly this issue is unacceptable in a civil society such as ours. Domestic violence, when most people hear that term, think of husbands assaulting wives. This is an unfair generalization. Violence is more likely against women than men but nevertheless women are sometimes the perpetrators. Another fact left in the corner when discussing domestic violence is how much occurs between high school boyfriends/girlfriends. Figures indicate that 1 in 10 high school students has experienced physical violence in dating. The figure rises to 22% for college students (www.npcts.edu/uo/handson/domviol/statfact.html). Perhaps most importantly and tragically, children can be affected by domestic violence in both direct and indirect ways. A clear estimate of abuse is difficult to determine due to data collection methods and a precise definition of violence against children, but statistics indicate that up to 3 million children are abused/neglected each year Of this number, a mere 150,000 cases are reported. (Dont Call it Child Abuse, Its Really Poverty, p. 260). This number is astronomical and totally unacceptable. Even if children are not directly abused, many witness their parents abuse each other. As a child I witnessed domestic violence (fortunately mostly verbal) nightly when I was young. I didnt understand why they fought so much and so often. I couldnt imagine the way I would have felt had my parents truly injured each other. Most of the time they broke stuff and yelled and screamed. I remember the only way I could interpret the situation (like many other kids) was to blame myself. The emotional stress violence places on kids (even if not directed at them) is a very serious issue. There are many reasons that spouses choose to beat their wives/children. One explanation that is popular is that of frustration. The (often) male authoritarian figure in the household in todays society is often threatened by a burden of responsibilities. Even if the wife does work, often the male feels responsible to be the breadwinner. If he is unable to fulfill his role, or if he feels that the role is threatened, (job problems or wife earning more), he is likely to become disgruntled. This stressful situation leaves the person feeling powerless and without control. The one place where he (again, most of the time it is a male) can have total power and control is

A Quiz About Semicolons in Run-In Lists

A Quiz About Semicolons in Run-In Lists A Quiz About Semicolons in Run-In Lists A Quiz About Semicolons in Run-In Lists By Mark Nichol Replacing a semicolon functioning as a weak period (one separating two independent clauses that are so closely related that dividing them into distinct sentences weakens their impact) with a comma is a grammatically indefensible error known as a comma splice. But various strategies for replacing a semicolon deployed as a strong comma (one separating items in a run-in list that are themselves lists) with actual commas are valid and sometimes it’s necessary to correct improper use of semicolons. Devise a solution for supplanting semicolons in the following sentences with commas, and compare your revisions to mine: 1. â€Å"Issues include workplace environments; hiring, training, and promotion practices; and management styles.† 1. The order of the items in this run-in list can be altered so that the complex item (a list element that is itself a list) trails the others; the structure of the final phrase in the following revision clearly identifies it as a single item parallel in structure to the first two without semicolons as signal markers between the three larger elements: â€Å"Issues include workplace environments, management styles, and hiring, training, and promotion practices.† (However, avoid this solution if list items deliberately organized chronologically or by some other scheme of logic would be put into disarray by the revision.) 2. â€Å"Issues include workplace environments; management styles; hiring, training, and promotion practices; and outsourcing and the use of part-time and contingent workers.† This extended version of the previous example is easily modified as well, without altering the syntax of the revision shown above. Represent the simple first and second list items and the complex third item as a list, as in the example above, and insert the conjunctive phrase â€Å"as well as† before the next two items: â€Å"Issues include workplace environments, management styles, and hiring, training, and promotion practices, as well as outsourcing and the use of part-time and contingent workers. 3. â€Å"There can also be organ deformities, including heart defects; heart murmurs; genital malformations; and kidney and urinary defects.† If it weren’t for the subordinate clause â€Å"including heart defects,† no semicolon would be necessary in this sentence. So, to avoid retaining the mostly excessive semicolons, find another way to include the additional information outside of a traditional in-line list. Retain the phrase as a parenthesized phrase, but, as in the previous example, employ â€Å"as well as† and separate the remaining list elements with commas: â€Å"There can also be organ deformities (including heart defects), as well as heart murmurs, genital malformations, and kidney and urinary defects.† 4. â€Å"Damage can be minimized by shielding the testes, ovaries, and/or uterus; surgically moving ovaries out of the irradiation field; or altering the treatment schedule.† The presence of a verb at the head of each list item sufficiently distinguishes the items, so semicolons are unnecessary: â€Å"Damage can be minimized by shielding the testes, ovaries, and/or uterus, surgically moving ovaries out of the irradiation field, or altering the treatment schedule.† If the items in a semicolon-laden run-in list share a verb, try assigning a distinct verb to each item so that you can replace the semicolons with commas. 5. â€Å"The plant sucks in 785 million gallons of water a day; coal-fires it to temperatures up to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit to turn it into highly pressurized steam; then pipes the steam into a giant turbine that spin magnets inside wire coils to produce power.† Semicolons are employed to distinguish list items that are complex, as defined above, not those that are wordy. Despite the length of the three items in this sentence’s list, semicolons are excessive; separate the items with commas: â€Å"The plant sucks in 785 million gallons of water a day, coal-fires it to temperatures up to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit to turn it into highly pressurized steam, and then pipes the steam into a giant turbine that spin magnets inside wire coils to produce power.† 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 Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:When to Capitalize Animal and Plant NamesDeck the HallsMankind vs. Humankind