The study of ideology in The Handmaids' Tale based on Althusser's view

Ideology has always been the most vital apparatus for each government and dominant groups of society to keep their superior position so that every inferior subject could remain obedient and live like a programmed machine that is required to operate according to some fixed and rigid codes. Sometimes these codes are so apparent and tangible in the society that breaking them would result in sheer oppression such as impressment, exile and even execution. However in modern era the controlling and domination are not applied through force and physical attempts yet it does not mean it ceased to exist. The traditional ways of oppression are not extinct; yet they remain in new forms, tools and weapons which in Althusser's terminology they are called RSA. Nevertheless there is another difference in modern time; it has been attempted to control the minds of people through other less vivid weapons. These weapons could poison the minds of subjects and control and train them in a way that dominant groups want without taking any violent action. This method of controlling mind is ISA in Althusser's view. The handmaid's tale (1988) mostly concerns with the ideology of ruling class and the way the ruling class shows the ideology to subjects by force and discourse shapes the way through which suppressed class perceives the world. The main character of this novel who is a woman is oppressed in different ways and her identity and believes are influenced by the ideology of the society consciously and unconsciously. Since the story takes place in Gilead as one small part of the world, it could be symbol of other societies and the analysis of that society can be extended to other parts of the world so this is a microcosmic study

Identification and Prioritization of Risk and Its Effect of the Renewable Energy Life Cycle Based on Performance and Risk Indicators

Risk management consists of two aspects of risk control and risk assessment in the electricity market. So, risk control should cover the risk and work out of the way of optimal investment portfolios. Thus, the aim of this research is producing solar electricity life cycle profitability. First to identify existing risks in the production of electricity using Delphi technique between 300 experts in 15 Powerhouse. Then, the grey ANP model was the adoption of the New Energy Organization of Iran. The number of risk factors were collected by subject literature in renewable energy in Iran that have analyzed and selected the high-risk factors by ANP GREY method. Finally, to examine the life cycle of solar power, the authors analyzed financial indicators and the life cycle’s factors which relates to performance and risk variables, then, the Regression model used in three stages of life cycle. Finally, the result provides incentives for the energy system to support production renewable electricity and aid to increase the profitability of the renewable energy cycle

Quality of Root Canal Obturation Performed by Senior Undergraduate Dental Students

Introduction: There is a direct relationship between the quality of root canal obturation and success of endodontic therapy. The aim of the present study was to assess the quality of canal obturation performed by undergraduate dental students at the Faculty of Dentistry, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. Materials and Methods: Records of 200 endodontically treated teeth from patients who were visited by undergraduate students between 2009 and 2010, at the Endodontic department, Faculty of Dentistry, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, were randomly selected for evaluation. Periapical radiographs of all treated teeth were assessed in terms of canal obturation quality (i.e. adequate density and length). Statistical analysis of data was carried out using SPSS software and chi-square test. The Statistical significance level was set at P=0.05. Results: Forty-five percent of teeth fulfilled the criteria of an acceptable root canal obturation. Adequate length and density of root filling was found in 89% and 34% of teeth, respectively. There was a significant difference between maxillary and mandibular teeth regarding the length of root canal obturation (P=0.004). A significant difference was observed between molars and other tooth types. The frequency of root canals with an acceptable filling was significantly greater in the anterior teeth compared to premolars or molars. Conclusion: The technical quality of root canal treatment performed by undergraduate dental students was found to be less than ideal

Althusserian reading of The Handmaid's Tale

Louis Althusser (1918-1990) builds on the work of Jacques Lacan to understand the way ideology functions in society. He thus moves away from the earlier Marxist understanding of ideology. In the earlier model, ideology was believed to create what was termed "false consciousness", a false understanding of the way the world functioned. Althusser explains that for Marx "Ideology is [...] thought as an imaginary construction whose status is exactly like the theoretical status of the dream among writers before Freud. For those writers, the dream was the purely imaginary, i.e. null, result of the 'day's residues" (1971:108). Althusser, by contrast, approximates ideology to Lacan's understanding of reality, the world we construct around us after our entrance into the symbolic order. For Althusser, as for Lacan, it is impossible to access the real conditions of existence due to our reliance on language. This could be seen throughout the novel by Margaret Atwood who writes The Handmaid's Tale (1985) based on the concept of ideology. This is about how the heroine of the story and other women in the society are manipulated by the ideology of ruling class through a communist society. In such a world nothing is real and everything is just an illusion that is made by ruling class. The subjects trapped or forced to believe such misconceptions and unreality through different techniques that are employed by the rulers. The dominant forces and ideology are so strong that the subject at the end gets a new identity since she is required unconsciously without her knowing. The other aspect shown by this novel is the failure of revolution and communism in this society and persistence of capitalism that it never disappears

The effect of sexual health counseling on women’s sexual satisfaction in postpartum period: A randomized clinical trial

Background: Many couples experience decreasing sexual satisfaction in postpartum period. Various sexual health counseling approaches have been designed for postpartum women to address their common sexual concerns and problems. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of Women’s Postpartum Sexual Health Program (WPSHP) on women’s sexual satisfaction in postpartum period. Materials and Methods: The study was a single blind randomized clinical trial on 75 postpartum women aged 18–35 yr with low sexual satisfaction who attended urban health-care centres in Mashhad, Iran in 2016. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21, and the Larson Sexual Satisfaction Questionnaire. The intervention group received counselling based on the WPSHP, a four-session, group- and couples-based program. The control group  just received postpartum routine care. Results: Both the intervention and control groups were homogeneous for demographic variables. According to the Mann-Whitney test, sexual satisfaction score in the  intervention group was significantly higher than the control group 8 weeks after the intervention (p < 0.001). According to the Wilcoxon test, there was a significant difference in the mean score of sexual satisfaction before and after intervention in the intervention group (p < 0.001). Conclusion: WPSHP caused higher levels of sexual satisfaction. It is therefore recommended to use this program in women during the postpartum period to promote their sexual satisfaction. Key words: Sexual satisfaction, Sexual counseling, Sexual health, Postpartum

Interleukins in diagnosis of perinatal asphyxia: A systematic review

Background: Biochemical markers including interleukins (ILs) has been proposed for early diagnosis of asphyxia. Objective: This study has aimed to systematically review the significance of IL measurements in the diagnosis of perinatal asphyxia. Materials and Methods: PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Embase, and Scopus databases before 2017 were searched for the following keywords: asphyxia, neonatal, interleukin, and diagnosis. A total of 13 out of 300 searched papers were finally selected for evaluation. Interleukins under study were IL6 and interleukin 1β (IL-1β). Interleukins had been measured in 10 studies by serum samples, 2 studies by samples of Cerebro Spinal Fluid (CSF), and 1 study by sample of umbilical cord blood. The inclusion criteria were: studies on neonates, with adequate information from the test results and studies using markers other than ILs to detect asphyxia; however, studies with only abstracts available were excluded. Results: Research on the issue suggests that IL6 > 41 Pg/dl has the sensitivity of 84.88% and the specificity of 85.43%, whereas IL-1β > 4.7 Pg/dl has the sensitivity of 78% and specificity of 83% in the diagnosis of neonatal asphyxia. Among diagnostic ILs for neonatal asphyxia, combination of IL6 and IL-1β had the highest sensitivity, that is, 92.9%. Conclusion: IL6 and IL-1β of serum samples were used in the early diagnosis of perinatal asphyxia and are useful predictors for the outcomes of perinatal asphyxia and its intensity. In addition, simultaneous evaluation of IL-1β and IL6 can improve the sensitivity of the early diagnosis of perinatal asphyxia

Influence of Two Preparation Techniques on Transportation of Simulated Type II Root Canals

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the changes of canal configuration in simulated type II root canals that were instrumented by two different techniques using ProTaper Universal rotary files. Methods and Materials: Sixty simulated type II root canal in resin blocks were made and randomly divided into two groups. Pre and post-instrumentation images of resin blocks were prepared using stereomicroscope from three surfaces of blocks included two longitudinal section (mesiodistally and buccolingually), and one cross sectional surface. In the first group (G1) the straight canal was instrumented to the working length and the other canal was instrumented up to the area of canals junction. In second group (G2) both canals were instrumented to working length. The superimposed pre and post instrumentation images were assessed by the Adobe Photoshop software. The degree of transportation, centering ability, perimeter, surface and aspetic ratio (AR) in cross section and longitudinal section at apex, 3 mm and 5 mm above the apex, were measured. SPSS software, t-test and Mann-Whitney test were used for statistics analysis. Result: In mesiodistal direction, canal transportation was more (P=0.024) only in junction point in G2 which both canals were instrumented to working length. Also, surface changes were more significant (P=0.02) in G2 in cross sectional direction. The other parameter and also apical transportation had not significant difference in two groups. Conclusion: According to the results of this study, it can be concluded that both two preparation methods of type II canals can be used by rotary instruments.Keywords: Apical Transportation; Canal Transportation; Nickel Titanium; Root Canal Preparation; Root Canal Shap

Vertical Thin Film Transistors for Large Area Electronics

The prospect of producing nanometer channel-length thin film transistors (TFTs) for active matrix addressed pixelated arrays opens up new high-performance applications in which the most amenable device topology is the vertical thin film transistor (VTFT) in view of its small area. The previous attempts at fabricating VTFTs have yielded devices with a high drain leakage current, a low ON/OFF current ratio, and no saturation behaviour in the output current at high drain voltages, all induced by short channel effects. To overcome these adversities, particularly dominant as the channel length approaches the nano-scale regime, the reduction of the gate dielectric thickness is essential. However, the problems with scaling the gate dielectric thickness are the high gate leakage current and early dielectric breakdown of the insulator, deteriorating the device performance and reliability. A novel ultra-thin SiNx film suitable for the application as the gate dielectric of short channel TFTs and VTFTs is developed. The deposition is performed in a standard 13.56MHz PECVD system with silane and ammonia precursor gasses diluted in nitrogen. The deposited 50nm SiNx films demonstrate excellent electrical characteristics in terms of a leakage current of 0.1 nA/cm² and a breakdown electric field of 5.6MV/cm. Subsequently, the state of the art performances of 0.5µm channel length VTFTs with 50 and 30nm thick SiNx gate dielectrics are presented in this thesis. The transistors exhibit ON/OFF current ratios over 10^9, the subthreshold slopes as sharp as 0.23 V/dec, and leakage currents in the fA range. More significantly, a high associated yield is obtained for the fabrication of these devices on 3-inch rigid substrates. Finally, to illustrate the tremendous potential of the VTFT for the large area electronics, a 2.2-inch QVGA AMOLD display with in-pixel VTFT-based driver circuits is designed and fabricated. An outstanding value of 56% compared to the 30% produced by conventional technology is achieved as the aperture ratio of the display. Moreover, the initial measurement results reveal an excellent uniformity of the circuit elements.1 yea