Liberal studies

The purpose of this research paper is to understand how prostitution has evolved in New York City from the 19th to the 21st century. Jennifer James of the University of Washington proposed a social definition to prostitution as "any sexual exchange where the reward is neither sexual nor affectional” (Cooney & Quint, 1977, p. 3). One goal of this paper will be to demonstrate how the idea of any “reward” has vanished from modern prostitution. This research draws on secondary source books written directly and indirectly about the topic of prostitution as well as reports compiled by feminist interest groups in New York City. Previous research has been dedicated to sexually transmitted infections, AIDS, teen pregnancy (as cited in Stombler, Baunach, Simnods, Windsor, & Burgess, 2014, p. 109) and not to the reasons for, or methods of, sex workers. The words “sex worker” and “prostitution” (Stombler et al., 2014, p.110) have become red flags for any meaningful research. These restrictions hinder the exposing of how prostitution has evolved into an unscrupulous economic endeavor that not even the worker can find success in. This research paper highlights such changes in one city.

This paper explores different evolutionary perspectives as to why insulin resistance continues to persist as a genetic complex metabolic disorder (Samuel & Shulman, 2012) and should be explored from an evolutionary perspective. Yet there are still questions about what are the root causes of insulin resistance and how does it play a role in the metabolic syndrome. In a study conducted by the CDC, diabetes and obesity are both on the rise in the United States, “from 1994 to 2013…the prevalence of obesity and the prevalence of diagnosed diabetes rose in all states” (Maps of Trends in Diagnosed Diabetes and Obesity, 2015).  The root causes are still not known, but several theories are evaluated in this paper including the “thrifty genotype” and its connection to Paleolithic “feasts and famine” (Watve & Yajnik, 2007; Ségurel, et al., 2013), the “thrifty genetic phenotype”(Martin, Johnston, Han & Benyshek, 2000), The selfish brain theory (Peters, 2011), and the “carnivore connection hypothesis” as well as how The poor decisions we make force our bodies to act in a maladaptive manner that humans attempt to correct through pharmacology (Heile & Schneider, 2012).

At the onset of the 1960’s America experienced an era of social freedom, confidence in their government, and economic independence not known to any nation before. Socially the nation had finally emerged from the accusation based McCarthy-red scare era. One historian referred to the 60’s as “the definitive end of the Dark Ages, and the beginning of a more hopeful and democratic period.”  Faith in the incoming John F. Kennedy government was symbolized by a comparison made to the mythical kingdom of Camelot. It was “a magic moment in American history when gallant men danced with beautiful women, when great deeds were done, when artists, writers, and poets met at the White House and the barbarians beyond the walls were held back.”  Economically, the nation was facing a new boom as we were no longer entangled in a costly unwinnable Korean war. In fact “the median family income was $5,620, 30 percent higher in purchasing power than in 1950” providing Americans with real access to prosperity instead of the hollow credit based wealth of the 1920’s.  Publically, it seemed like America was entering a golden age. However the looming threat of a Cold War turning hot was on the minds of the nation’s political leaders. This singular threat of conflict with the Soviet Union and its proxies seemed to poison the American political landscape. During the prosperous decade of the 1960’s, lies, mistrust, and fear plagued America’s executive branch politically. It is difficult to see this prosperous age though such a negative viewpoint since the historical record attempts to glorify the successes of this period. However, by using film that is critical of the politics and individuals involved at the highest levels of our government, we can gain insight into the political undertone that existed and ultimately try to understand how paranoia damaged the nation’s leadership.

In a perfect world Twitter and technologies that are designed to increase social interactions would normally have been wholeheartedly embraced by academia. However, the mistrust that society has for teachers and the lack of innovation of our school systems has, in my opinion stifled the growth of education in ways that cannot be fully realized. However, for those educators that are still willing to take risks and venture into the digital world, Twitter technology can offer an abundance of learning interactions, fill in those missed golden moments of teaching, and possibly transform the world for those students that normally fall through the cracks of education.

Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) is a common medical complication experienced by women during pregnancy (Hyer & Shehata, 2005; (Yogev, Metzger, & Hod, 2009) and is possibly the A LITERATURE REVIEW OF GESTATIONAL DIABETES MELLITUS 1 most controversial due lack of standardized diagnosis (Nolan, 2011). More than 50 years after the term GDM was used with frequency (Khurana, Shetty, & Anand, 2015) there have been many answers concerning what risk factors contribute to a diagnosis of GDM, such as obesity and family history (Murphy, 2010). However, there has been no concrete consensus reached as to how physicians proceed in screening for GDM even within developed nations such as the United States (Yogev, Metzger, & Hod, 2009). What further complicate matters is that a global standard for screening of GDM cannot be agreed upon by major world organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Association of Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Group (IADPSG) (Hunt, Whitelaw, & Gayle, 2014). The purpose of this qualitative literature review is to attempt to evaluate the current practices of diagnosing GDM from a global perspective by checking in with different geographic areas worldwide including the United States, United Kingdom, Thailand, South Korea, and Mexico. This review will also highlight regional attempts at managing currently increasing GDM rates. The current literature increasingly references the need for early interventions (Coustan, 2013) and more rigorous screening coupled with the use of early diagnosis (Mccance, 2015; Park et al., 2016) for the best possible GDM outcomes regardless of geographic location.

The film “Europa Euorpa” directed by Agnieszka Holland recounts the story of a German Jewish boy that survived the holocaust by denying his Jewish heritage to Nazi soldiers and then ultimately joining them.  Loosely based on the autobiography of holocaust survivor Solomon Perel entitled I was Hitler youth Salomen, “Europa Europa” manages to tell a survivor story in an almost surreal manner.  Similarly the book Night written by Elie Wiesel describes the life of a teenager that survived the holocaust but could not hide his identity due to the love and dedication to his family. In Night, there are times when it seems that humanity has reached its lowest point illustrated by the horrific actions in the book. Both Wiesel and Perel approached a nightmarish situation in ways that seem impossible to comprehend as truth. Perel living a lie to survive and Wiesel refusing to let go of the life that he lived even when all seemed hopeless. Stories like “Europa Europa” and Night are not just stories, and they force those that have interacted with such retelling of factual accounts to become witnesses that ask the same question that Wiesel did during his acceptance speech of the Noble Peace prize. “Can this be true? This is the twentieth century, not the Middle Ages.”  These bodies of work become testaments to events that are so alien to modern humane civilization that one would like to believe that it is all fiction, when they are truly not. Discrepancies in the historical accuracy of both works can be explained by the massive trauma sustained by their story tellers. Delving into all the gritty details to determine the whole truth only furthers the satisfaction of those interested in the macabre actions of humanity at its worst and do not add to the value of the historical record.