My wedding ring hurts no more!

The principles illustrated here are the sensory adaptation and the senses of the skin. The text says that our senses are built to respond to change and contrast in the environment. When stimulus is constant or unchanging sensation tends to fade. Nerve cells (receptors) get tired and therefore, fire less frequently. So a “fitting” ring will feel as if nothing is on the finger.

But on the flip side, we can never get used to extreme or intense stimuli, and hence, can’t adapt to such stimuli. And just as in the case of a toothache or a strong odor, a very tight ring will produce very intense stimuli which we would be incapable of adapting to. Thus, we will not be able to ignore the tight ring as this will now cause a throbbing pain.

The skin not only protects our insides but also lets us identify objects that we can tolerate and those that we cannot. The basic senses of the skin include touch, warmth, cold and pain; nerve fibers in the skin are responsible for sensing these variations. Therefore, a fitting ring will fall under the basic sense of touch, while a tight ring will fall under that of pain.

Our brain is programmed to respond differently in these two cases of extreme and less frequent sensation as a survival mechanism. To begin with, we need to be able to ignore such unimportant sensations such as the fitting ring in our finger but, at the same time, be able to respond to extreme sensations such as a throbbing pain, a strong odor of gas leaks, and so on. Without this sensory adaptation, we would not be able to survive hazardous environmental conditions.

The text on the topic of sensory adaptation concludes by saying that the brain does require a minimum amount of sensory stimulation in order to function normally.

Notes:

Except where noted, the ideas in this article are adopted from a course text book (below) for general discussion purposes

Wade, C., & Tavris, C. (2011). Invitation to Psychology. 5 ed. New York: Prentice Hall.

Are there any differences between the brains of men and women?

There are anatomical and biochemical differences between a male and female brain as the text says. For example, a case study of autopsied brains showed that 11% of the female brain had more cells in the cortex, and brain scans that show larger frontal lobes and limbic systems in female brain and larger cortex and amygdala in men, or even some MRIs that show women using both sides of their temporal lobe in mental tasks.

However, I do think that any behavioral differences, as enumerated in the text, are as a result of stereo types and cultural roles or emphasis on gender roles. The structural differences in the brain do not result in behavior differences. The text points to a study in the rhyme-judgment task where both sexes performed equally. Another study on brain MRI scans on brains of women and men that scored equivalent IQ scores concluded that even though men had more gray-matter in areas associated with intelligence, they did however, score equally. Hence, the anatomical differences of the brain were no advantage to the men.

Moreover, men on average have a brain that weighs 11-12% more than women. But, men on average do weigh more and do also have head sizes that are 2% bigger than women. The collected from boys and girls of the same weight show no differences in brain size. (See Data from Dekaban, A.S. and Sadowsky, D @ http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/heshe.html)

The reason I bring this up is because much has beeen said about a “correlation” between brain sizes and intelligence (especially in animals). Studies have shown that larger animals need larger brains to control larger muscles and to process more sensory information through their skin; this has nothing to do with intelligence.

Notes:

Except where noted, the ideas in this article are adopted from a course text book (below) for general discussion purposes

Wade, C., & Tavris, C. (2011). Invitation to Psychology. 5 ed. New York: Prentice Hall.

Women Rights! What do you think about?

When you hear the phrase “women rights,” what do you think about? Well, if you are like most Americans, you think of women’s rights outside of Economically Developed Countries (EDCs) as economically and educationally deprived women. But this image pales when compared to violence against women. Women are often subjected to abuses during armed conflicts, and are often subjected to spousal and other domestic abuses at their homes.

Females make about half of the global population, yet there is a wide gulf in socio-economic welfare of women when compared to men. For instance, approximately 5% of countries have women leadership, only 17% of women make up national legislatures, and a meager 9% of women make world’s judges. Furthermore, women’s disfranchisement in a few countries is astonishing. Thus, not only are women barred from holding office in various divisions of their governments, they have no say in governance whatsoever.  About 70% of women globally live well below the poverty line. Women are less literate than men since there is an attitude in some countries that educating women in not a priority - an attitude that is often reinforced by cultural and religious fanaticism.

“The image of men fighting and dying in wars while women wait safely at home is substantially a myth. In many armed conflicts, women noncombatants suffer much more than male soldiers and civilians…women’s bodies become battleground over which opposing forces struggle” (Rourke, 2008). Abuses in the battlefield include rapes, forced impregnation, sex slavery, sodomy, mutilation, and other horrific crimes. In fact, 80% of all refugees from armed conflicts are women and their children.

Yet in society, women also endure noncombatant abuse. According to United Nations (UN) data, at least one third of all women have been beaten, forced into having sex, or abused at least once in their life. And depending on country, 40% to 70% of all female murders occur during domestic violence.

But all is not grim, there has been some progress internationally beginning in 1975 when the UN declared “International Women’s Year” as a kickoff of a decade for women. Later the United Nations Fund for Women (UNIFEM) began projects for women related welfare. And the adoption of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, CEDAW treaty of 1979, was instrumental in defining women’s rights on the international stage. Later, the fourth World Conference on Women (WCW) convened in Beijing, China. The convention had about 3,000 delegates from 180 countries. Moreover, there was parallel NGO convention with about 30,000 delegation representing about 2,000 NGOs that deal with women’s issues, at the same time.

So next time you hear of women rights, think again and do something.

NOTE:

Except where noted, the ideas in this article are adopted from a course text book (below) for general discussion purposes.

Rourke, T. John. International Politics on the World Stage. 12 ed. New York: McGraw-Hill., 2008.

jQuery and desktop to web applications

We had an amazing experience with jQuery as we tinkered with a few user interfaces (UI), and the power that the ready-made scripts can unleash. To begin with, jQuery was very easy to use on our blogs even for the least avid student. As a freelance Java programmer, I have always wanted to learn the tricks of coding light and portable interactive objects such as drag and drop, resizable, and so on, but always found myself creating resource intensive code that was not very portable. But with jQuery, that problem is addressed in a very neat and reliable UI; this is something that I will definitely incorporate in my web development; why re-invent the wheel?

On the question about what desktop applications would be perfect candidates for extending to web applications, the views of many students were as varied as there are computing applications. There were many who felt that desktop office applications like Microsoft office should extend to web applications. However, that is already available, in some form, in applications such as Google application or Zoho applications. Some also thought that a good graphics software program like Photoshop should be available online. Adobe has a graphics editing software online called Photoshop express that’s more like a light version that may suffice for even the intermediate user.  Other students, including myself, wished for online video editing software that has more advanced features that will yield professional results; a lot of what is out there is just too mediocre. I also suggested desktop printer fleet management software that is available as a web application.

Interactive site with JavaScript

This week we created interactive websites using the power of JavaScript. As I understand it, JavaScript is a lightweight programming language that can be used to code programs to run on the server side as well as run on the client side. However, my experience with JavaScript is that is used in handling dynamic content on the client side that HTML alone cannot handle. JavaScript can be used to display dynamic web styles and manipulate web content on the fly.

Above all, for a web site to be useful today there needs to be an efficient way to "persist" the data and access that data on the fly. JavaScript is one way of doing this; it has been around for a while and it is freely available without the requirement of setting up development environment with toolkits or compilers like those used in Java’s applets and servlets, Microsoft’s ASPs, and so on. And JavaScript’s longevity means that it has been tried and proven to be a reliable web programming language.

My ideal site in the use of JavaScript would be a search engine that sorts academic results and groups them into major categories or subjects e.g. sociology, philosophy, economics, mathematics, and so on. That would help in web research.

Is debt relief both an economic necessity and an obligation of humanity?

I was on the fence on this one for a while – we are talking about wiping (or not) $40 billion of debt owed by 18 of the world's poorest countries. Both options have very real effects on people who have little input in decision making since most of these states lack fair representative governments. Thus, on the one hand, if debts are forgiven the countries may or may not invest in programs that alleviate poverty, and the other hand, if the debts remain these countries will most likely not invest in the said programs. Therefore, I am willing to bet on the slim chance that money saved via debt relief will be put into good use. A good example given in the text is that of Tanzania, where freed up monies were used to fund educational programs that enabled about 1.5 million kids attend school.

Nevertheless, I think the notion that debt relief is an economic necessity and an obligation of humanity is correct. To begin with, current governments that qualify as a Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) may have played little or no role in spiking their country’s debt; it may have been the work of dictators who were accountable to no one as they engaged in shady deals on shoddy projects.

Some argue, however, that foreign aid to Least Developed Countries (LDCs) is better than debt relief as it has a more direct effect on various socio-economic programs that improve living conditions. I disagree with this theory. I think that foreign aid is essentially “liquid cash” that is prone to abuse and mismanagement. And most of these countries employ extremely inefficient methods in raising taxes/tariffs. Furthermore, the little that is raised is often lost in the bureaucratic machinery. Therefore, in order to balance their budgets, most LDCs have become dependent on foreign aid. Foreign aid has been tried and yielded mediocre results; HIPC program is relatively new which might be just what LDCs need. 

NOTE:

Except where noted, the ideas in this article are adopted from a course text book (below) for general discussion purposes.

        Rourke, T. John. 2008.  International Politics on the World Stage. 12th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Military Approach and Terrorism

Military approach will only interrupt or delay terrorism. Terrorism is more complicated than just mere criminal activities; it is a violent response with a political agenda. Terrorism has many sympathizers and in many cases, state sponsorship. Therefore, on the short-term, terrorist targets can be pressured via intelligence activities and economic strategies such as freezing the assets of individuals and groups that finance these movements.

On the long-term, the root causes of terrorism have to be addresses. Terrorism is similar to America’s “war on drug” where efforts to combat drug use have failed miserably due to the lip service paid on the root causes. Therefore, terrorism must be engaged at the system analysis level, state analysis level, and individual analysis level.

At the system analysis level, global economics must be addressed in an effort to ensure an equal distribution of wealth. But that is just the work of academics; it is not going to happen as there can never be an agreed upon approach by all actors, and in good faith. However, an effort that will attempt to eradicate exploitation of LDCs by industrialized nations might just be a good start.

At the state level analysis, international actors should have little doubt that international policies by the polar powers are fair. For instance, it should be self-evident that policies applied on Israelis as well as the Palestinians are fair. We cannot pretend that unfair policies on either side will simply fly under the radar.

At the individual level analysis, the best that can be done is to support efforts on educating the masses. Illiteracy is still a major problem in LDCs for it is just too easy to “brainwash” uneducated people.

NOTE:

Except where noted, the ideas in this article are adopted from a course text book (below) for general discussion purposes.

        Rourke, T. John. 2008.  International Politics on the World Stage. 12th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.