Does An Individual Enjoy Freedom Of Occupational Choice

Does An Individual Enjoy Freedom Of Occupational Choice Why do working- class individuals continue to enter working- class, gender stereotyped jobs? Why do working- class boys look for heavy manual work (Willis 1977), in trades such as plumbing, electrical engineering and forestry? Why do working- class girls still swarm towards traditional female occupations, such as nursing and rarely for example, seek training as electricians, joiners, technicians and computer operators? We might expect that new production patterns, and new systems of education and training, coupled with the promise of lifting barriers to opportunity, might have dislocated the processes of class and gender reproduction of careers- but little has happened to counteract the influence of class race and gender on career choice. (Wilson 2010: 51) In view of the above statement, critically evaluate the contention that the individuals enjoy the freedom of occupational choice. Occupational choice is without doubt one of the most important decisions an individual makes in their lifetime. Sofer (1973) reiterates this by stating that; It is often critical in determiningincome; standard of living; health; self- esteem; social relationships; the quality of ones life; and the environment one can provide for ones family, including the chances of ones children to enter particular occupations. (Williams 1974:15) The above statement reflects how it is often perceived that if a person is satisfied within their working environment, then other aspects of their lives will follow on from this. Work plays a huge role in our life and we contribute a large majority of our time and effort to ensuring that we have chosen the right career, beginning from very early childhood when we embark into the education system, right through to when we leave school and decide where to go next. The past twenty years have seen rapid advances in the theories of occupational choice, but to date there has been little agreement as to exactly how and why we preside in a certain occupation over another. More traditional theories sided with the belief that we either happen upon a certain role, or that it is down to the development of the individual thanks to a rational process of decision making. These concepts have recently been challenged by theorists who believe that alongside the developmental and chance aspects of occupational choice, there are structural factors which make a massive impact. The objective of this essay is to determine the extent to which an individual enjoys freedom of occupational choice. This will be addressed by firstly defining occupational choice, then exploring how the theory has developed, critically evaluating the contrasting opinions and providing necessary academic literature where needed. The essay will logically move through these theories in refer ence to the objective provided and then arrive at a conclusion, reviewing all of the above. According to Watson (2003), occupational choice is an individualised process through which the self concept grows as abilities, aptitudes and interests develop (Watson 2003: 183). This definition has developed over many years after numerous studies have been conducted into occupational choice and its determinants. Preliminary theorists deemed it to generally rely on chance events whether they are planned or unplanned, that would eventually influence an individual to make certain decisions (Bright et al 2004: no page). This was referred to as the happenstance theory of occupational choice, which is now seen as highly inaccurate since it did not consider the individual and their personality alongside occurring events during their lifetime (Bright et al 2004: no page). Back in 1951, Ginzberg et al carried out a major study into occupational choice which has become known as one of the originating theories on the topic. Ginzbergs research focus was on the individual, and how by making decisions through defined life stages, the self concept is adapted. They deemed the process to be largely irreversible which has formed the basis of the argument for many critics (Slocum 1959:183). Super (1957) is probably the most notable critic of Ginzberg et als theory. He argues that elements such as values and previous research had been ignored (Slocum 1959:184) and he also believed that an individual is matched to an occupational role not only because of their character and merit, but also by the opportunities which are available at the time (Williams 1974:31). Super had recognised the more vocational aspect of occupational choice that a child is subjected to whilst growing up, such as work experience and changing job roles. Supers work contained situational exper iences that highlight more structural factors such as the socio- economic status of the childs parents (Watson,T :2008:230) and the current availabilities within the labour market. Although Supers work delved into the subject much deeper than the proceeding research by Ginzberg, it has limitations due to the way that it only highlighted the potential influence of parents and peers on a child- nor does he examine how this impact can be either positive or negative. The weaknesses of the two studies mentioned so far include that both were carried out on white middle class American males, and therefore cannot be considered to be a true reflection of developmental occupational choice. More valuable research would include information on both sexes, and also recognise the impact of different social class status in the United Kingdom. Musgrave (1967), Mead (1934) and Miller and Form (1951) reinforce the latter point that the main drawbacks of Supers studies was that he failed to fully recognise the significance of parental and peer influence on a child (Slocum 1959: 142-3). Musgrave (1967) took the work of Ginzberg and Super and applied a more sociological stance to give recognition to the way in which we as individuals learn, watch and observe even before entering the labour market, which helps to shape our perception of society (Watson 2003:183). He formulated four stages through which an individual passes; pre-work socialisation, entry to the labour force, socialisation into the labour force and lastly, job changes (Williams 1974:101). The pre work stage focuses on how children imitate adults by games such as doctors and nurses where they take on an imaginary job, and act out how they perceive the role to be. This role playing or role-taking as Miller and Form (1951) refer to it then develops in the second and third stages which cover the individuals entry into a working environment and the career path they eventually decide on, whilst the fourth stage considers any changes that may happen occupationally (Slocum 1959:142). Role- playing shows the influence adults, and more specifically our parents can have on our career choice. A more recent study into the importance of parental roles has been carried out by Dryler (1998). Although on a Swedish cohort, she confirmed that parents in a specific industry will encourage their child to follow in their footsteps. In addition to this, she discovered that the parent of the same sex as the child is more influential if they are in a particular line of work (Dryler 1998:394). There are similarities between the work of Dryler (1998) and Greico (1987). Greico recognised that some individuals are not merely influenced by their parents, but physically supported toward a certain job by being sponsored or recommended (Watson 2003:185). The work of Dryler (1998) and Greico (1987) mirrored earlier observations by Bandura (1977) and Kohlberg (1966) that focussed on social learning and cognitive development, theories that both acknowledge how children emulate their parents, specifically those of the same sex to themselves (Dryler 1998: 377). Interestingly, Dryler also denoted t hat if the parent and child are of different sex, then the opposite is true (Dryler 1998:394). Whipp (1980) and Ram (1994) carried out research which is consistent with the findings of Dryler and Grieco, agreeing that a child can literally be pushed into a job of their parents choosing, which differs greatly from Ginzbergs original theory that individuals have freedom of occupational choice. This also demonstrates how children are not necessarily exposed to all the career opportunities available, and that their parents can be a driving factor in limiting this. These findings also support the theories of Marshall, Swift and Roberts (1975) that ability is nurtured which Hollingshead (1949) suggested can relate to where our parents are situated in the class structure as to how a child portrays a particular job role, which will be looked at in more detail in the next section of this paper (Abercrombie and Warde 2003:141, Slocum 1959:147). However, it must be recognised that childhood observation of our parents may have totally the opposite impact, and a job role may be chosen simp ly to be different. The research discussed so far has mainly focussed on the individual and our behavioural maturation alongside values and beliefs, and how these achieved roles affect our occupational choice. Whilst the work into the developmental aspects of occupational choice is invaluable, it does not help to fully explain the issues mentioned by Wilson (2010) and Willis (1977) in the question. Therefore it is necessary to look at how the theory has developed, and widened to incorporate structural factors which are outside of the individuals control- also known as ascribed roles. Three advocates in the structural related factors field of theory are Roberts (1968), Kiel et al (1966) and Miller and Form (Furlong 1996: 561- 65, Williams 1974: 78 97). They understand that whilst psychology plays a huge part in our occupational choices, we are often faced with issues including, the current economy, gender, ethnicity and class which will be now be analysed in more detail. Traditionalists such as Kuh and Wadsworth (1991) believe that as individuals, we are born into one class- and it is very hard to migrate into other classes (Kuh and Wadsworth 1991: 537-555). In contradiction to this is the notion of social mobility, which is the ability of an individual to move from one class to another (Goodhart 2003). The Government is working hard to increase social mobility, and has appointed Alan Milburn to assist them further with their plans to eradicate the so called barriers to opportunity that Wilson (2010) refers to (Stratton 2010 and Wilson 2010). Hutton (2010) believes that the working class are simply not presented with as many opportunities as those in the classes above them, and Sennett and Cobbs (1972) went as far as to say that being working class creates psychological barriers acknowledging how it may not only be economic difficulties that affect an individual (Reay et al 2001:855-74). Goldthorpe (2003) counteracts this, stating how the class syst em is in decline in Britain, whilst Goodhart (2009) observes that there is no viable way of measuring who belongs in what class therefore statistics on class mobility are often complex and flawed (Goldthorpe 2003:239, Goodhart 2009). In his own studies, Goldthorpe (2003) draws heavily from the previous work of Ginzberg and Super with relation to the self concept development theory, but is distinguishable by the way in which parental class is addressed in more depth and he also incorporates modern empirical evidence to support his work (Goldthorpe 2003: 234). Although he deems class as important, he makes clear that this is only in the entry and lower levels of the labour market (Goldthorpe 2003:238). This is supported by Layder et al (1991), Giddens (1984) and Blau et al (1956), who agree that an individual is affected by different factors at different times in their life, particularly when they enter the institution system and the job market (Watson 2003:184, Williams 1974: 31). Goldthorpe (2003) refers to the rich as risk averse, highlighted by the recent stock market collapse where high paid city bankers still received huge bonuses and pay packets after losing millions of the nations money in risky transaction s. This translates the way in which the working class have to rely on education more heavily as they do not have as much to fall back on as their higher class peers (Goldthorpe 2003: 235). Pakulski and Waters (1996) disagree, stating that parents class makes no difference to their childs eventual occupational choice (Abercrombie and Warde 2003:130). In stark contrast to the earlier research, Garner (2008) states that social class is the single most influential factor in educational attainment, suggesting that our parents class is directly related to the grades we will eventually achieve, and also for what institution we gain them from (Garner 2008). Savage and Egerton (1997) and Westergaard (1995) agree with Garner (2008), claiming that children can do well in education purely because of the distribution of wealth (Abercrombie and Warde 2003:130-1). The Government seems to sit on the fence with regards to the impact of parental class on occupational choice; Nick Clegg and Harriett Harman are both of the opinion that whilst parents play a crucial role, ultimately class inequalities still remain (Stratton 2010, EHRC 2010)- explaining why the Government is taking such a stance on social mobility. The above discussion on social class shows how the stereotypical roles referred to by Willis (1977) may be undertaken by working class in dividuals purely due to the opportunities that are available to them and the class status inherited from their parents. Although Wilson (2010) suggests that this is still the case, the research mentioned has proved that this debate is not easily settled since there are strong arguments from either side by numerous theorists and influential figures. Another structural factor which may affect an individuals choice of occupation is that of gender. In todays modern society, the hypothesis is that gender inequalities have been eradicated, but the National Equality Panel found recently that men are still paid up to twenty one percent more per hour than women who have the same job role and qualifications (EHRC 2010). This report has been devastatingly critiqued by numerous academics, including Saunders (2010) and Caldwell (2010) who both believe that the EHRC have confused the meaning of inequality with that of prejudice and discrimination (Caldwell 2010:7 and Saunders 2010:14). This demonstrates how, like class, gender is a hard topic to define and quantify, therefore its affects on occupational choice are very difficult to measure. In 1984, Martin and Roberts looked at the relationship between gender and career choice, and found that a womans decision making process is related to the assumption that she will become a mother and therefore be more dedicated toward child rearing and domesticated duties (Watson 2003:192). This study suffers due to the fact that it is over fifteen years old and therefore cannot be considered as accurate in the present time. However, more recent work has been carried out by Riddell, Gaskell and Banks (1992), who discovered women are more likely to be pulled towards domestic subjects in early schooling (Abercrombie and Warde 2003:472), which illustrates how gender is already affecting occupational choice at a very young age by implying stereotypical roles to each sex . Although Riddell et als research is newer than Martin and Roberts it still has limitations because times have changed so much in the past ten years or so and it does not properly consider the aspirations of males compar ed to those of females. In 2000, Hakim demonstrated that preferences had changed dramatically, women were being offered more opportunities, and businesses had adapted to become more flexible towards them. She identified three work life preference groups; home centred, work centred and adaptive, claiming that most women in America and the United Kingdom could be placed into the adaptive group- therefore achieving a balance between their work and home lives (Watson 2003: 194). More recent studies have also found there to be a more wide range of job opportunities available to both sexes, with the armed forces being an example of how gender atypical roles have deteriorated. The Royal Air Force now offers over ninety percent of its roles to women, whilst the Navy and the Army have approximately three quarters of their roles available to both sexes (MOD, no date). This does however insinuate that not all opportunities are entirely equal- although progress has been made over the last century as attitudes have chan ged and women are looking for self fulfilment from their occupations (Watson 2003:194). Formal institutions have often been blamed for the different educational development of boys and girls. Timperley and Gregory (1971) found that there were approximately four times as many females wanting to continue on in education after school, whereas males were more likely to go straight into the labour market (Wilson 1974:193). Timperley and Gregorys paper would have been far more persuasive if it had been carried out in the last ten years and also if it had covered a nationwide cohort rather than just one particular area. Since this study, research has also begun to cover individual attitudes toward occupational roles, it cannot be said that women nowadays subscribe to the assumption that they will have children- many women are in fact the total opposite and careers are becoming first priority. Harper and Haq (2001), support this by stating that British women who delay motherhood, are likely to be more ambitious in terms of their educational and occupational achievements (Harper and Haq 2001:713). This can also be related to the way in which gender roles have in some cases switched altogether, with some men choosing to stay at home with the children whilst the woman of the household is the main breadwinner. However, this is hard to measure since studies cannot clarify individual aspirations and boys may not apply themselves as much as girls if they believe that the occupation they want to go into does not need high grades, particularly if they are looking at trades or the armed forces. Although class and gender are two of the most prominently researched structural factors that may impact on an individuals occupational choice, Wilson (2010) also mentions the issue of race. The afore mentioned EHRC report found that white working class boys and black Caribbean boys historically have bad attainment grades (EHRC 2010), whilst Haw (1998) concluded from her study that some staff were confused with regards to the treatment of Muslim pupils (Abercrombie and Warde 2003:474-5). Blackwell (2003), looked at the impact of ethnicity in greater detail, and implied that occupational choices in different ethnic groups can largely be related to historical and political reasons. She also noted that ethnic segregation in occupational roles is less than gender segregation, highlighting how differentials can be created by the individual, rather than by the market (Blackwell 2003:726-7). Most studies in racial impact on occupational choice have been slanted towards the opportunities avai lable in the market, but it would be more useful if the authors had considered individualistic factors that relate to culture and political views. Taking into account the studies mentioned; it would seem that ethnicity is not a deciding factor of an individuals occupational choice- and further studies could focus on whether this is true. Returning to the question posed at the beginning of this paper, it is now possible to state that whilst an individual does have freedom of occupational choice to some extent, there are, as Wilson (2010) states, many factors which also have an impact. The findings of this essay suggest that when the individual proceeds through the development of self concept, they can be influenced by parents, peers, class, formal institutions, the current economy, gender and their ethnicity. Further work needs to be done to establish whether individuals in the present times are still impacted by the socio-cultural factors mentioned by Willis (1977), and also to attain whether aspirations are affected by opportunity availability. It is now more acceptable to see women in roles such as plumbing and engineering, but the impact of gender and class is still being argued. Structural factors are very much related to the individual in the sense that certain job roles have historically been filled by certain class origins or by a particular gender- and it has proven difficult to change peoples perceptions of certain careers. New government policies are attempting to eradicate inequalities, although it will be difficult to change individual attitudes and values towards certain jobs- especially in the tough economic climate that is being experienced due to the recession. Overall, it could be said that if an individual is given a fair and varied exposure to all job roles available, then it will be down to their own choice, but in reality this will be very hard to achieve because what may be a good job for one person, may not be perceived as that to another. Word Count: 3260 words (Excluding bibliography) References Abercrombie, N. and Warde, A. (2000) Contemporary British Society. 3rd ed. Cambridge: Polity Press Blackwell, L. (2003) Gender and Ethnicity at Work: Occupational Seggregation and Disadvantage in the 1991 British Census British Journal of Sociology, Vol 37, pp. 713-31 [online] Available at: [Accessed 16/11/2010] Bright, J.E.H. et al. (2005) The Role of Chance Events in Career Decision Making Journal of Vocational Behaviour, Vol 66, Part: 3: pp. 561-576 [online] Available at: [Accessed 19/11/2010] Caldwell, C. (2010) Inequality in a Meritocracy Financial Times, 30th January, p. 7 [online] Available at: [Accessed 20/10/2010] Carol, A, Parry S. (1968) The Economic Rationale of Occupational Choice. Industrial and Labor Relations Review. 1968. pp183-196 [online] Available from Business Source Premier [Accessed 20/10/2010] Chang, T.F.H. (2003) A Social Pyshcological Model of Womens Gender-typed Occupational Mobility Career Development International, Vol 8, Part: 1: pp. 27-39 [online] Available at: [Accessed 15/11/2010] Dryler, H. (1998) Parental Role Models. Gender and Educational Choice The British Journal of Sociology, Vol 49, Part: 3: pp. 375-398 [online] Available at: [Accessed 20/10/2010] EQUALITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE (2010) How Fair is Britain? Executive Summary The First Triennial Review. EHRC [online] Available at [20/10/2010] Furlong, A. et al. (1996) Neigbourhoods, Opportunity Structures and Occupational Aspirations British Journal of Sociology, Vol 30, Part: 3: pp. 551-565 Garner, R. (2008) Social Class Determines Childs Success The Independent, 18/09/2008, [online] Available at: [Accessed 19/10/2010] Goldthorpe, J. (2003) The Myth of Education Based Meritocracy- Why the Theory Isnt Working New Economy, pp. 234-239 [online] Available at: [Accessed 20/10/2010] Goodhart, D. (2009) Oh Do Keep Up: Social Mobility Is Far From Dead Sunday Times, 26/07/2009 Harper, B. Haq, M. (2001) Ambition, Discrimination, and Occupational Attainment: a Study of a British Cohort Oxford Economic Papers, Vol 53, Part: 4: pp. 695-720 [online] Available at: [Accessed 15/11/2010] Hutton, W. (2010) Extract: Them and Us: Politics, Greed and Inequality- Why We Need a Fair Society The Guardian, 26/09/2010, [online] Available at: [Accessed 19/10/2010] Kuh, D. Wadsworth, M. (1991) Childhood Influences on Adult Male Earnings in a Longitudinal Study British Journal of Sociology, Vol 42, Part: 4: pp. 537-555 [online] Available at: [Accessed 16/11/2010] Ministry of Defence (MOD) (no date) Equality and Diversity in the Armed Forces [online] Available at http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/WhatWeDo/Personnel/EqualityAndDiversity/. Accessed 15/11/2010 Reay, D. et al. (2001) Choices of Degree Or Degrees of Choice? Class, Race and the Higher Education Choice Process British Journal of Sociology, Vol 35, Part: 4: p. 855-874 Saunders, P. (1997) Social Mobility in Britain: an Empirical Evaluation of Two Competing Explanations British Journal of Sociology, Vol 31, Part: 2: pp. 261-288 Saunders, P. (2010) Difference, inequality and unfairness: the fallacies, errors and confusions in the Equality and Human Rights Commission report- How Fair is Britain Civitas Online Report, October [online] [Accessed 20/10/2010] Slocum, W.L. (1959) Some Sociological Aspects of Occupational Choice American Journal of Economics and Sociology. January 1959. pp 183-196 [online] Available from Business Source Premier [Accessed 19/10/2010] Stratton, A. (2010) Nick Clegg Outlines Plans For More Social Mobility The Guardian, 18/08/2010, [online] Available at: [Accessed 19/10/2010] Watson, T.J. (2003) Sociology, Work and Industry. 4th ed. London: Routledge Williams, W.M. (1974) Occupational Choice. London: George Allen and Unwin LTD Willis, P.E. (1977) Learning to Labour: How Working Class Kids Get Working Class Jobs. Farnborough: Saxon House Wilson, F.M. (2010) Organisational Behaviour and Work. a Critical Introduction. 3rd ed. Abingdon: Routledge

It Is Not Natural for Young People to Feel Stressed Essay

1) Stress It is not natural for young people to feel stressed and hopeless about the situations they face. All young people want is to be happy, to make a real difference they need our help to develop a more positive mental attitude and to understand that the real source of their happiness or their stress and to develop the inner strength and confidence to deal with any situation, however challenging, is an important goal. Many young people today put too much emphasis on materialism as a source of their happiness and need our help in understanding the importance of one’s inner values example sharing and caring, moving away from â€Å"us† and â€Å"them† and using their resources to help others respecting the rights of others interdependence and our reliance on others compassion and forgiveness gratitude. It is unrealistic to expect young people to be able to avoid conflict and that is why we need to teach them how to seek a win/win resolution to conflict. This involves hel ping them to look at situations from different perspectives, not just their own. Young people also need our help in making full use of the opportunities that come their way. Many young people do not have self belief and need our help in identifying their strengths and past successes. This requires different thought processes that involve the young person distancing themselves from strong emotions in order to analyse situations using clarity and objectivity to see what is actually happening, to assess what needs to be done and to develop a strong sense of purpose. This was the young person is able to act out of a clear awareness of their situation not out of anger or fear. They have a better chance of remaining calm in adversity and will have developed their inner strengths. Young people are no different to us, they want to overcome stress. There is no simple technique that will guarantee a calm and peaceful mind because each young person is different and lots of factors are involved e.g. the young person’s background, the support they can draw upon, health, education. What you can do is help young people to challenge the way that they think and in doing so improve their attitude, outlook and approach. You can help young people to develop the inner discipline they need to identify those factors which lead to stress and those that help develop a calm and peaceful mind. Then it is a matter of simply helping the young person to experience firsthand the benefits of eliminating the negative factors and of cultivating the positive. Benefits are likely to include increased flexibility and creativity, being more open and willing to reach out to others. This approach does not only benefit the young person but their family, school or workplace and society as a whole. Each young person will have their own baseline of happiness and no matter what good or bad things happen to them they will return to this level of happiness. This baseline can be influence by how the young person sees a situation e.g. by comparing themselves with others they see as more fortunate their baseline happiness goes down. But if they compare themselves with those who are less fortunate it goes up. Research has also shown that when young people use their resources to help others their baseline happiness goes up. It can be helpful to explore with young people which thoughts they find he lpful and which are harmful. Similarly they can explore which emotions and behaviours are helpful and which are harmful in terms in terms of the levels of stress experienced both short and longer term e.g. which behaviours provide temporary relief and which bring lasting happiness. There are a variety of approaches and methods that can be used but it takes time and the repeated application of these techniques so that the young person becomes familiar with what is happening, is able to identify the lessons learned and apply them when making decisions. It takes time for a young person to reflect on what brings lasting happiness and to reset their priorities and align their resources and efforts to what is truly of value and what gives their life meaning. Relationships are important to young people but it is often difficult for them to connect with others without fear and apprehension, they can be a major source of stress. Young people need help to understand how interconnected and interdependent we all are and how being open and flexible, sharing problems can bring down barriers and reduce feelings of isolation. Intimacy is important to our physical and psychological well-being. Young people need our help to understand the true meaning of intimacy i.e. the sharing of one’s inner self with another. They also need help in finding opportunities to broaden their definition of intimacy by including friends, family, colleagues, acquaintances and even strangers, opening themselves up to opportunities to bond. One way is to explore with young people how they feel when they meet somebody who is friendly and what are the practical benefits of this e.g. can turn to this person if I need help. You can then develop it further by exploring what it means to be the person who needs help by encouraging the young person to put themselves in the other person’s place and explore how they would react using their imagination. Then taking it one step further by encouraging the young person to let go of their own viewpoint and to develop an awareness and respect for the other person’ feeling. Another approach might be to encourage the young person to look for similarities in their own lives and those of others. It is a relationship in which we recognise that the young person is a fellow human being with the same need to live a less stressful life and one where we are willing to reach out and offer human affection, warmth, friendship and sensitivity to young people’s feelings. One of the major sources of relationship stress is the nature of power within the relationship. It can be helpful for young people to explore the sources of power, role and relationships before moving on to look at the feelings, what is shared and where there are connections. This approach is especially helpful in relating to each other as individuals, appreciating and valuing each other’s contribution. It is important to invest time in getting to know the young person’s basic characteristics as an individual before trying to relate at a deeper level i.e. beyond the superficial, willing to share the ups and downs of their lives, to demonstrate a responsibility and commitment. Building relationships with young people underpinned by feelings of compassion not only benefits young people it will also improve your own physical, emotional and mental health. You will feel calmer and will be less likely to suffer from depression. You will also have higher feelings of self-worth Organ Transplant An organ transplant replaces a failing organ with a healthy organ. A doctor will remove an organ from another person and place it in your body. This may be done when your organ has stopped working or stopped working well because of disease or injury. Not all organs can be transplanted. More than one organ can be transplanted at one time. For example, a heart and lung transplant is possible.Not everyone is a good candidate for an organ transplant. Your doctor or a transplant center will do tests to see if you are. You probably are not a good candidate if you have an infection, heart disease that is not under control, a drug or alcohol problem, or another serious health problem. People who need an organ transplant often have to wait a long time for one. Doctors must match donors to recipients to reduce the risk of transplant rejection. This is when the recipient’s body turns against the new organ, causing it to fail. People who have transplants must take drugs the rest of their lives to help keep their bodies from rejecting the new organ. Ironically, the increasing success rate of organ transplant procedures is one reason that organ transplant waiting lists have risen so dramatically since the late 1980s. The first organ transplants, performed in the late 1950s and 1960s, were characterized by high mortality rates; a major problem was that patients’ immune systems often rejected the foreign organ. The introduction of the drug cyclosporine in the 1980s helped mitigate this problem, and organ transplants subsequently became less experimental and more routine. Statistics indicate that in 1998 organ transplant procedures were successful 70 to 95 percent of the time, depending on the organ being transplanted. With these increasing success rates, more doctors have recommended the procedures. However, raising awareness about organ donation is a slow process, and the need for more organs is immediate. Thus the biggest dilemma facing the transplant community is, â€Å"How can the number of organs available for transpla nt be increased?†One proposal is to reverse the current system in which doctors must obtain a patient’s (or his or her family’s) consent in order to remove organs after death. Under a policy of â€Å"presumed consent† all patients would be presumed to want to become organ donors unless they explicitly state otherwise. Presumed consent proposals have consistently been met with strong opposition, however, on the grounds that they violate an individual’s right to make medical decisions for themselves. â€Å"Mandated choice† or â€Å"required response† policies are less extreme alternatives to presumed consent. Advocates of mandated choice policies argue that rather than waiting for people to volunteer for organ donation, hospitals or government organizations should require individuals to state their preference about organ donation, perhaps when they obtain their driver’s licenses or file tax returns. Texas, Colorado, and several other states have implemented required response policies, but, on average, rates of organ donation have not risen dramatically as a result. Researchers are also working on developing artificial organ s. As of February 2002, five people have received fully self-contained artificial hearts. The artificial heart has rarely been used because it is still highly experimental and because recipients must be willing to have their own heart removed to make room for the artificial replacement. Although there are many technical hurdles to overcome in the field of artificial organs, researchers are hopeful: Various laboratories in the United States and around the world are developing artificial hearts, lungs, livers, pancreases, bladders, and blood.In addition to developing artificial organs, scientists are working on techniques to grow human organs from a patient’s own cells. Instead of waiting for a donor, for example, a patient in need of a heart transplant might one day only have to wait until researchers can grow one in the laboratory. Some of the research involved in tissue engineering is tied up with cloning and stem cell research, and thus raises ethical questions. Such research is also at the cutting edge of biotechnology, and therefore it may be decades before it bears fruit. Nevertheless, the medical community is eager to explore this potential solution to the organ shortage. Although tissue engineering, artificial organs, and xenotransplantation provide hope for the future, the thousands of people currently on organ transplant waiting lists are counting on altruistic organ donation. The field of organ transplantation is one of the miracles of modern medicine, but its power to save lives depends directly on the availability of organs. CAUSES AND EFFECT ESSAY Obesity refers to excess amount of body fat, more than what is considered healthy for a given height. Generally, obesity is more in females than males because men have more muscles than women; muscles burn more calories than other type of tissues that have tendency to accumulate fat. Obesity has many predisposing factors like genetic, lifestyles and emotional factors, which may result on serious health problems. Obesity has been a serious issues that happening among us. According to the reports, Malaysia was being ranked 6th in the Asia with high obesity issues in 2010. Obesity is always being misunderstood by the people whereby they think overweight is considered as obesity. However, obesity is about having too much fat in the body. It is related with the eating patterns and habits which play an important part in order to live a healthy life. Therefore, obesity occurs with different causes and lead to several impacts on an individual. Do you know what the causes of obesity are? We never think about the causes of obesity, but they are very simple and common because it depends on the good habits that we have. If we count all the causes that provoke obesity maybe there are a lot, but we only need to focus on some of them. Because of emotional problems, bad eating, and the lack of exercise many people are overweight. The first cause is concentrated on emotional problems because sometimes they eat a lot to forget the problems or to relieve a feeling of emptiness. Many overweight people eat all the things that they see on the refrigerator because they feel alone, they try to full their body with food because their soul feels so bad and they need attention. Overweight people do that action to attract people’s attention because they need that other people to help them. Bad eating is the next cause that provokes obesity. Overweight people always eat junk food and it is the main cause why they increase their weight. They never eat fruits or vegetables, but always eat hamburgers, hotdogs, coca-cola, and others. This kind of food gives them more weight, in addition, gives them more problems. Overweight people eat because they need to eat, but its gluttony. The final cause is the lack of exercise which is important to reduce weight. People most of the times spend hours watching TV and don’t do anything that help their health. The lack of exercise is common in overweight people due to they can’t play, run, and they get tired very fast. Even when they can’t do exercise, they need to try doing a little bit because it’s so important to lose weight. We know that emotional problems, bad eating, and the lack of exercise are some of the causes of obesity. If we don’t pay attention to them, we will be exposed to many problems. This problem can be eradicated if we avoid all the things that cause obesity because we need to take care of our lives. Obesity affects the individual and the country. The biggest effect is on the individual. First of all, being overweight has health risks. Obesity can lead to heart disease, diabetes, and other conditions. The quality of life suffers, as it is difficult to enjoy exercise or move. Another result is lack of self-esteem. This can lead to depression, eating disorders and crash diets. The country is also affected. It becomes very expensive for the government to provide advanced medical care such as heart transplants. Unhealthy citizens are also less productive. and their children learn poor eating habits. Obesity or even being overweight has serious effects on the individual and the society. Both need to take action to examine the causes of this problem and find solutions. Obesity, because it alters the relationship between the lungs, chest wall, and diaphragm, has been expected to alter respiratory function. Non-smoking, young adults with spirometry, lung volume measurement by nitrogen washout, and single-breath diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide . Changes in respiratory function were of two types, those that changed in proportion to degree of obesity–expiratory reserve volume and those that changed only with extreme obesity–vital capacity, total lung capacity, and maximal voluntary ventilation. When compared with commonly used predicting equations, we found that mean values of subjects grouped by degree of obesity were very close to predicted values, except in those with extreme obesity in whom weight (kg)/height (cm) exceeded 1.0. In 29 subjects who lost a mean of 56 kg, significant increases in vital capacity, and maximal voluntary ventilation were found, along with a significant decrease in single-breath diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide. Because most subjects fell within the generally accepted 95% confidence limits for the predicted values, we concluded that obesity does not usually preclude use of usual predictors. An abnormal pulmonary function test value should be considered as caused by intrinsic lung disease and not by obesity, except in those with extreme obesity. In conclusion, obesity is a major problem which founded in every economic class and has a lot of complications .Obesity can be reduced by eating a healthy diet, including a variety of foods, especially grain products, vegetables and fruits. The diet should be moderate in salt and low in fat and cholesterol. Reinforce the need for regularly physical activity for at least 30 minutes each day. Obesity has brought a lot of disadvantages or negative impacts internally and externally in our life. Everyone should have start to concern with their health condition and daily lifestyle from now on to avoid obesity. A balance diet and regular exercise would be th e key of a healthy lifestyle. CAUSES AND EFFECT OUTLINE Introduction Obesity refers to excess amount of body fat, more than what is considered healthy for a given height. Generally, obesity is more in females than males because men have more muscles than women; muscles burn more calories than other type of tissues that have tendency to accumulate fat. Obesity has many predisposing factors like genetic, lifestyles and emotional factors, which may result on serious health problems. Obesity has been a serious issues that happening among us. According to the reports, Malaysia was being ranked 6th in the Asia with high obesity issues in 2010. Obesity is always being misunderstood by the people whereby they think overweight is considered as obesity. However, obesity is about having too much fat in the body. It is related with the eating patterns and habits which play an important part in order to live a healthy life. Therefore, obesity occurs with different causes and lead to several impacts on an individual. Conclusion Obesity has brought a lot of disadvantages or negative impacts internally and externally in our life. To sum up, everyone should have start to concern with their health condition and daily lifestyle from now on to avoid obesity. A balance diet and regular exercise would be the key of a healthy lifestyle.

Compare the Opening and Closing Scenes in Of Mice and Men Essay

Of mice and men is a great novel written by protest writer John Steinbeck. It is a sad story about the life of two migrant ranch workers George and Lennie, and the conflicts between the reality and their relationship and dream. The opening and closing scenes are both set in the same place – Salinas River, however readers can sense totally different feelings from these two scenes. In this essay I am going to compare the opening and closing scenes of this novel focus on the following points: 1) the description of nature to evoke feelings, 2) The dialogue, and the way George and Lennie speak to each other, to explore how George change towards Lennie, 3) The dream George and Lennie share, to explore how Steinbeck protests against the reality. The opening scene in of Mice and Men is happy and peaceful compared to the closing scenes. Before the entry of the two main characters, Steinbeck gets the audience involved by describing the idyllic setting: the beautiful, colorful, peaceful and poetic evening in Salinas River. He creates the pleasant atmosphere brilliantly by sensational words like ‘deep and green’ water, ‘yellow sand’, ‘golden foothill slopes’, ‘fresh and green’ willows, ‘mottled’ sycamores. Just like a strong warm visual effect colorful oil-painting, the Willow Pool in Salinas River vividly present to us. It is also a calm peaceful riverside, little creatures like lizard, rabbit, coon, dears, heron are freely and actively wondering on the riverside. The feeling of relaxation in a warm afternoon is evoked and emphasized in depicting. â€Å"The water is warm too, for it has slipped twinkling over the yellow sands†; â€Å"†¦the leaves lie d eep and so crisp that a lizard makes a great skittering if he runs among them†¦.† This untainted beauty of the nature and the relaxed serenity atmosphere that Steinbeck wisely opens with tending toward the Romantic. It suggests a purity and perfection sense–>sense of purity to the reader that associates with the innocence of Lennie; indicates the idealized friendship and the romanticized dream between George and Lennie. On the other hand it helps to emphasize the changing atmosphere when two protagonists enter into the scene. By comparison to the same scene in the closing ending–scene it hints about the future trouble and the calm before the storm. The setting is also a symbol of a place free from society, a safe sanctuary for Lennie and George, where they can be themselves. That’s why George chooses to let Lennie come back here when he meets trouble, and even Lennie is finally killed by George in mercy here, the Salinas River does keep Lennie safe from the torture of being killed curly. The description of the landscape also helps us to develop an understanding of the background of the great depression. â€Å"There is a path through the willows and among the †¦ sycamores, a path beaten hard by boys†¦., and beaten hard by tramps †¦.† â€Å"†¦the limb is worm smooth by men who have sat on it.† Boys working in the ranch swim here and tramps traveling pass here trying to get job, use it as a rest area. It shows the background of great depression, people struggle with financial freedom, they had to drift into the country for jobs in the farming industry. The ending of the novel occurs at the exactly same place where the story started. The landscape is still the same; however they suggest a totally different feeling. â€Å"Already the sun had left the valley†; â€Å"by the pool among the mottled sycamores, a pleasant shade had fallen†. The sunset is normally symbolic the end of life, it is a subtle foreboding–indication of the impending death of Lennie. The changing landscape in the coming evening is also described in the other three plots. All these plots are following by the description of the chasing people coming nearer. Steinbeck uses the description of setting as an important tool to convey that Lennie’s death is impending. Readers can also notice that the peaceful and untainted atmosphere is replaced by violent – a heron ate a snake and waiting for another. The scene is not anymore slow and relaxed; instead â€Å"A far rush of wind sounded and a gust drove through the tops of the trees like a wave.† Dry leaves â€Å"scudded a few feet†; Things become swift and dramatic; they are signifying the turmoil George and Lennie have and are going to suffer. Apart from using the setting to underline the themes, Steinbeck is also accomplished–excelled in using creatures and their imagery to illustrate the themes and suggest the foreboding on what George and Lennie will suffer. In the opening chapter, as the human footsteps approached, the rabbits â€Å"hurried noiselessly for cover†; the heron â€Å"labored up† and â€Å"pound down river†. â€Å"For a moment the place was lifeless†. Creatures like lizards, rabbits, herons, coons, deers are in possession of the peaceful land, however when human being invaded, we can suddenly sense the tension in this scene — the dangers can lurk–appear at every turn, weak creatures can become prey anytime. They are good indications of a predatory world that George and Lennie are in. In the closing chapter, Steinbeck reflects some animals in the first section. He vividly describes the cold, deliberate way a large heron killed a water snake. The unsuspected snake â€Å"glided smoothly up the pool†, it is totally unaware that â€Å"in the shallows† there is a heron stood â€Å"motionless† waiting for it. â€Å"A silent head and beak lanced down and plucked it out by the head, and the beak swallowed the little snake while its tail waved frantically†. Death of the helpless water snake comes so quickly, surely, and to the unaware. Normally, snake is a symbol of evil, however here it is utter–>completely helpless, and it is eaten by a heron, which is commonly regarded as a sign of goodness. This dramatic scene implies the helpless and unsuspecting Lennie who will be killed by his best friend -George, who is as cool as the heron (the situation forced George to shoot Lennie quickly). George killed Lennie with mercy, because he knows at least Lennie will die with happiness and without fear like the unaware snake. In the opening chapter of Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck solidly established the character profile for George and Lennie, as well as their relationship. Apart from the description of their physical characteristics, Steinbeck achieves this heavy reliance on the great proportion of direct speech dialogue between George and Lennie. The language that George and Lennie used in their conversation is fairly simple and contains commonly used American slang like â€Å"brang†, â€Å"would of†, â€Å"gonna†, â€Å"kinda† â€Å"for a sack†, etc. This help to reflect the setting and their down-to-earth uneducated ranch worker’s lifestyle and make an authentic–>real sense. The relationship between George and Lennie is clearly established right from the beginning of the book when George sternly warns Lennie to stop drinking water from the pool. â€Å"Lennie, for God’s sake don’t drink so much'†; â€Å"You gonna be sick like you w last night.† â€Å"‘you never oughta drink water when it ain’t running†. George said these â€Å"sharply† and â€Å"hopelessly†. Readers can soon perceive–>feel that George is clearly a leader and guardian who guides and protects Lennie. He looks out for Lennie’s safety and instructs him on what to do. He talks to Lennie in a patronizing but a caring way. Whereas, Lennie is a big, half-wit, child-minded person, who is also sweet and loving. â€Å"That’s good,† he said. â€Å"You drink some, George. You take a good big drink† â€Å"Look, George. Look what I done† Just like an innocent child, Lennie enjoys the pure pleasure by drinking and playing the water, and his first thought is to share the pleasure with George. With the plot progression, we got clearer that George is a small but clever, level-headed man. He loves Lennie, takes care of Lennie, guides Lennie, and protects Lennie like a father. He looks after all Lennie’s affairs, even carrying Lennie’s work card for him. He also always bails–bail Lennie out of the trouble, or even potential trouble, as he knows Lennie can get himself into trouble very easily. George instructs Lennie â€Å"Get into the brush till I come for you† if Lennie gets into any trouble. Meanwhile, although George is Lennie’s mentor–guardian, he also looks up to Lennie’s feeling, respects his behavior with understanding even though sometimes it seems odd. When George found a dead mouse, he takes the dead mouse away from Lennie. This hurts Lennie’ feeling and he starts to whimper. George â€Å"put his hand on Lennie’s shoulder† to comfort him. He did this for Lennie’s good. â€Å"I ain’t takin’ it away jus’ for meanness†. That mouse ain’t fresh†¦.you get another mouse that’s fresh and I’ll let you keep it a while†. He promises Lennie to give a pup for Lennie to pet. â€Å"First chance I get I’ll give you a pup,†¦That’d be better than mice. And you could pet it harder.† He even plans a future with Lennie, â€Å"..we’re gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres †¦.† George is also a short-tempered person, he often gets irritated, weary, frustrated with the difficulties of his responsibility for taking care of Lennie, such as Lennie’s forgetfulness. When Lennie forgot where they are heading to, George swears and scolds in anger: â€Å"So you forgot that awready, did you? I gotta tell you again, do I? Jesus Christ, you’re a crazy bastard!† â€Å"The hell with the rabbits. That’s all you ever can remember is them rabbits. Of Mice and Men.K. Now you listen†¦.† The way George treat Lennie is just like the way an overtaxed–frustrated parent treats a little boy. Lennie asks for ketchup childishly during the dinner. This innocent request sparkle–sparkles George’s frustration again. He â€Å"exploded† his voiced â€Å"furiously†, and â€Å"rose nearly to a shout†. He launches a long complaining speech about the difficulties that Lennie brought to him; states that without caring for Lennie he can live a far easier life. In anger George declares† If I was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job an’ work, an’ no trouble. No mess at all†¦.† On the other hand, despite George’s harsh, derogatory responses, Lennie never gets annoyed. Because–because Lennie looks up to George as an idol, he mimics action of George’s. He loves George and treats him as the most important person in his life. Each time when Lennie realizes he has done something wrong, he always try to please George and quell–calm his anger, because he is afraid George will leave him. â€Å"Lennie knelt and looked over the fire at the angry George. And Lennie’s face was drawn with terror.† â€Å"George† very softly â€Å"I was only foolin’, George. I don’t want no ketchup. I wouldn’t eat no ketchup if it was right here beside me.† When George said if they got ketchup, Lennie can have some, Lennie said â€Å"I’d leave it all for you†¦and I wouldn’t touch none of it.† He even suggests he can leave George alone and go live in a cave. Although Lennie is half-witted, he has enough sense to know that George loves him, so he plays with George’s guilty conscience, and sympathy for George to ask him to stay with him. As expected, George feels guilt to his friend as early as when he sees Lennie’s â€Å"anguished face†. â€Å"I been mean, ain’t I?† he said to Lennie â€Å"I want you to stay with me, Lennie. Jesus Christ, somebody’d shoot you for a coyote if you was by yourself†¦..Your Aunt Clara wouldn’t like you running off by yourself,†¦.† George knows clearly without him his dim-witted friend Lennie cannot survive by his own. Also as a promise to Lennie’s Aunt, George feels responsible to look after Lennie. After Lennie is assured that George will not leave him, he pleads George to recite their familiar dream. On the thought of their dream, George’s voice turns to â€Å"deeper† and â€Å"rhythmically†. It is very contagious, as a reader–readers we are immediately drawn in by the dream, which is just as beautiful as the landscape that Steinbeck describes in the open setting — free and idyllic. â€Å"Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world†¦.They ain’t got nothing to look ahead to.† â€Å"With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. We don’t have to†¦..But not us.† These important quotes further highlights to us that George is actually a royal, loving, devoted friend rather than father, brother or guidance. Because he is so willing to admit that he appreciates Lennie’s companionship, because he needs Lennie emotionally, they rely on and look after each other. Also he knows it is the companionship and the special strong bond they share that set them apart from other homeless lonely ranch workers,their friendship make a strong support during the hardships and predicaments in the special era. Despite his annoyance, George stays with Lennie by a combination of the motivations of pity, responsibility and gets a company in the hard time. It is these facts that propel–push George to stay loyal to Lennie and devotes Lennie through thick and thin. In the closing chapter, readers can soon notice the way George and Lennie talk to each other changes. † ‘What the hell you yellin’ about?'†. When George sees Lennie again in the pool, he still swears, however it is his only way to talk. He turns a lot quieter this time. He is softer to Lennie, without scolding or blaming like before. When he repeats the life he yearns for followed by Lennie’s request, his tone is â€Å"woodenly† and â€Å"monotonous†, with â€Å"no emphasis†. By contrast, in the opening chapter, his long speech with same content was emotionally rich and lyrical. When George recounts the dream to Lennie again before he shoots Lennie, he struggles to maintain his co mposure and optimism, as at that moment his heart is in despair. However he did try to give Lennie a hope that their dream is achievable and will fulfill soon. â€Å"Ever’body gonna be nice to you. Ain’t gonna be no more trouble. Nobbody gonna hurt nobody nor steal from’ em.† â€Å"Look acrost the river, Lennie, an’ I’ll tell you so you can almost see it†. Right before George kills Lennie in mercy, George declares: â€Å"no, Lennie. I ain’t mad. I never been mad, an’ I ain’t now. That’s a thing I want ya to know.† This is the finally words George talk to Lennie, in this sentence; we can sense how loving and devoted George is to his friend Lennie. Lennie talks to George with great sense of guilt and intense fear. As he knows he has done another very bad thing. He is still unaware of the bad fate that facing him. What he is afraid of is George will disapprove and leave him this time. He knows every time when he causes trouble, George will complain about his burden, and threaten to leave him. He then plays the trick again to gain sympathy and make sure George won’t leave him. Different with before, this time George didn’t get irritated, and assure Lennie that he won’t leave. â€Å"I knowed it† Lennie cried. â€Å"You ain’t that kind†. Lennie still holds the childlike faith that George will always be there for him. This assured faith relieves him a lot. Same as the opening in the novel, Lennie further requests George to repeat the dream again, because the dream gives both him and George comfort. George never wants Lennie to be hurt, but in the end he realizes that he is out of options to protect Lennie, the death of Lennie is inevitable–unavoidable. In order to protect Lennie from suffering tortures in a painful death. George is forced to shoot Lennie while Lennie is occupied with their shared dream of the farm, which is his favorite story and always soothes and comforts him. With the respect, love and responsibility towards Lennie, George has chosen the best option in the situation, and gives Lennie the best gift he can, the gift of peace, which can save Lennie from a hellish life in a forever asylum-dreadful life. One of the main themes in Of Mice and Men is American dreams. During the Great Depression the harsh realities make people lonely and powerless and hopeless, to share a dream of a better place is the only outlet to comfort them and help to transcend–from the troubles they face. Steinbeck introduces this dream for George and Lennie in the very first chapter. â€Å"With us it ain’t like that. We got a future.†- Despite the hard and gruff reality, George is still an idealist and self-motivated man at the beginning of the novel. He believes through their hard working, his dream of â€Å"live off the fatta the lan† can be achievable , and there is something better up ahead, as he got Lennie. It is Lennie and their strong bond that keep them from the terrible isolation that the other men experience, and gives George a special sense of purpose to strive for. Their friendship sustains their dream and makes it possible. However, with a world filled with harsh adversity and predatory–circumstances, their relationship just can’t simply sustain. George and Lennie are forced to separate tragically. By killing Lennie, George is also forced to shoot his dream, forced to surrender his faith of the Land of Promise. Without Lennie, George is now in loneness and hopelessness, just the same as anyone among the legion of poor, homeless, powerless migrant workers. The tragedy for them is, no matter how hard they work they are doomed–fated to a life of wandering, no matter how intensely they dream, their dreams can only help transcend their circumstances, but no way to be fulfilled. The faded American dream in the closing chapter sadly shows that a land of freedom, contentment, and safety is not possible to be found in this world, it is only an Eden-like place. Actually, at the end of the opening chapter, when Steinbeck deliberately wrote on the rabbit with different colors which Lennie desired is already a hint of the unrealistic fantasy of George and Lennie. Through the comparison of the opening and ending scenes in Of Mice and Men, we can find that the settings are very important in these two parts, Steinbeck used them to help evoke different feelings and hint about the future troubles, as well as symbolize the main themes. Dialogues between George and Lennie are the main content of these two scenes, they help to characterize the main roles and establish and develop the main themes – loneliness, friendship, and dream. Through these main themes Steinbeck portrayed the hardship that ranch workers like George and Lennie encountered during the heartbreaking Depression era. He has succeeded in describing the cruelty and insurmountable -extremely difficult challenges during the Depression.

What Everyone Should Know About World War I

World War I was an extremely bloody war that engulfed Europe from 1914 to 1919, with huge losses of life and little ground lost or won. Fought mostly by soldiers in trenches, World War I saw an estimated 10 million military deaths and another 20 million wounded. While many hoped that World War I would be the war to end all wars, in actuality, the concluding peace treaty set the stage for World War II. Dates: 1914-1919 Also Known As: The Great War, WWI, the First World War The Start of World War I The spark that started World War I was the assassination of Austrias Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie. The assassination occurred on June 28, 1914, while Ferdinand was visiting the city of Sarajevo in the Austro-Hungarian province of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Although Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the nephew of Austrias emperor and heir-apparent to the throne, was not very well liked by most, his assassination by a Serb nationalist was viewed as a great excuse to attack Austria-Hungarys troublesome neighbor, Serbia. However, instead of reacting quickly to the incident, Austria-Hungary made sure they had the backing of Germany, with whom they had a treaty before they proceeded. This gave Serbia time to get the backing of Russia, with whom they had a treaty. The calls for back-up didnt end there. Russia also had a treaty with France and Britain. This meant that by the time Austria-Hungary officially declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914, an entire month after the assassination, much of Europe had already become entangled in the dispute. At the start of the war, these were the major players (more countries joined the war later): Allied Forces (a.k.a. the Allies): France, the United Kingdom, RussiaCentral Powers: Germany and Austria-Hungary Schlieffen Plan vs. Plan XVII Germany didnt want to fight both Russia in the east and France to the west, so they enacted their long-standing Schlieffen Plan. The Schlieffen Plan was created by Alfred Graf von Schlieffen, who was the chief of the German general staff from 1891 to 1905. Schlieffen believed that it would take about six weeks for Russia to mobilize their troops and supplies. So, if Germany placed a nominal number of soldiers in the east, the majority of Germanys soldiers and supplies could be used for a quick attack in the west. Since Germany was facing this exact scenario of a two-front war at the beginning of World War I, Germany decided to enact the Schlieffen Plan. While Russia continued to mobilize, Germany decided to attack France by going through neutral Belgium. Since Britain had a treaty with Belgium, the attack on Belgium officially brought Britain into the war. While Germany was enacting its Schlieffen Plan, the French enacted their own prepared plan, called Plan XVII. This plan was created in 1913 and called for quick mobilization in response to a German attack through Belgium. As German troops moved south into France, French and British troops tried to stop them. At the end of the First Battle of the Marne, fought just north of Paris in September 1914, a stalemate was reached. The Germans, who had lost the battle, had made a hasty retreat and then dug in. The French, who couldnt dislodge the Germans, also dug in. Since neither side could force the other to move, each sides trenches became increasingly elaborate. For the next four years, the troops would fight from these trenches. A War of Attrition From 1914 to 1917, soldiers on each side of the line fought from their trenches. They fired artillery onto the enemys position and lobbed grenades. However, each time military leaders ordered a full-fledged attack, the soldiers were forced to leave the safety of their trenches. The only way to overtake the other sides trench was for the soldiers to cross No Mans Land, the area between the trenches, on foot. Out in the open, thousands of soldiers raced across this barren land in the hopes of reaching the other side. Often, most were hewn down by machine-gun fire and artillery before they even got close. Because of the nature of trench warfare, millions of young men were slaughtered in the battles of World War I. The war quickly became one of attrition, which meant that with so many soldiers being killed daily, eventually, the side with the most men would win the war. By 1917, the Allies were starting to run low on young men. The U.S. Enters the War and Russia Gets Out The Allies needed help and they were hoping that the United States, with its vast resources of men and materials, would join on their side. However, for years, the U.S. had clung to their idea of isolationism (staying out of other countries problems). Plus, the U.S. just didnt want to be involved in a war that seemed so far away and that didnt seem to affect them in any great way. However, there were two major events that changed American public opinion about the war. The first occurred in 1915 when a German U-boat (submarine) sunk the British ocean liner RMS Lusitania. Considered by Americans to be a neutral ship that carried mostly passengers, Americans were furious when the Germans sank it, especially since 159 of the passengers were Americans. The second was the Zimmermann Telegram. In early 1917, Germany sent Mexico a coded message promising portions of U.S. land in return for Mexico joining World War I against the United States. The message was intercepted by Britain, translated, and shown to the United States. This brought the war to U.S. soil, giving the U.S. a real reason to enter the war on the side of the Allies. On April 6, 1917, the United States officially declared war on Germany. The Russians Opt Out As the United States was entering World War I, Russia was getting ready to get out. In 1917, Russia became swept up in an internal revolution that removed the czar from power. The new communist government, wanting to focus on internal troubles, sought a way to remove Russia from World War I. Negotiating separately from the rest of the Allies, Russia signed the Brest-Litovsk peace treaty with Germany on March 3, 1918. With the war in the east ended, Germany was able to divert those troops to the west in order to face the new American soldiers. Armistice and the Versailles Treaty The fighting in the west continued for another year. Millions more soldiers died, while little land was gained. However, the freshness of the American troops made a huge difference. While the European troops were tired from years of war, the Americans remained enthusiastic. Soon the Germans were retreating and the Allies were advancing. The end of the war was near. At the end of 1918, an armistice was finally agreed upon. The fighting was to end on the 11th hour of 11th day of the 11th month (i.e. 11 am on Nov. 11, 1918). For the next several months, diplomats argued and compromised together in order to come up with the Versailles Treaty. The Versailles Treaty was the peace treaty that ended World War I; however, a number of its terms were so controversial that it also set the stage for World War II. The carnage left behind by the end of World War I was staggering. By the end of the war, an estimated 10 million soldiers were killed. That averages to about 6,500 deaths a day, every day. Plus, millions of civilians were also killed. World War I is especially remembered for its slaughter for it was one of the bloodiest wars in history.