Sociology and Material Culture Free Essays

Haley Schweitzer Sociology 1010 Term Paper Sociology and Oops My Mistake Sociology is defined as, the study of people doing things together or more specifically, â€Å"the systematic study of the development, structure, interaction, and collective behavior of organized groups of human beings† (Merriam Webster Dictionary). This paper will examine the discourse of structure in sociology, the sociology of culture, and the deviance and sanctions in sociology. After discussing these topics, I will illustrate my act of norm breaking and how it ties in with these three areas of sociology. We will write a custom essay sample on Sociology and Material Culture or any similar topic only for you Order Now The structure of sociology can be identified as, the relationship of definite entities or groups to each other, enduring patterns of behavior by participants in a social system in relation to each other, and institutionalized norms or cognitive frameworks that structure the actions of actors in the social system. Basically saying within the structure are groups, statuses, roles, and institutions. In sociology, a group refers to two or more people who interact on a basis of shared qualities and experiences. A status refers to a specific position within a group, for example, a manager, employee, or a grandma. Within statuses there are two subgroups, ascribed status and achieved status. An ascribed status is one that is unalterable, such as a grandma. An achieved status is one that is obtainable, such as a manager. A role is an expected behavior within a status. For example, while an employee states the position of that role, the employee’s guidelines determine what behavior is appropriate for his/her role. This is the same concept for a status and a role. An institution is complex social structures that meet basic human needs. There are five main institutions: family, economy, education, politics, and religion. The sociology of culture consists of the beliefs, behaviors, objects, and other characteristics common to the members of a particular group or society. Through culture, people and groups define themselves, conform to society’s shared values, and contribute to society. Thus, culture is constructed from three components which are norms, values, and material culture. Norms are â€Å"rules† within a culture that specify how people should conduct themselves every day.  Read also  Sociology and Social Integration. For example, one norm that may vary among different cultures is oculesics (eye behavior). Americans, for instance, maintain fairly direct eye contact when conversing with others. Asians, on the other hand, may avert their eyes as a sign of politeness and respect. A culture’s values are its ideas about what is good, right, fair, and just. For example, a European that came to where I work said there was a saying in his country that Europeans worked to live, while Americans lived to work. So the values are different in America than they are in Europe. Material culture refers to the physical objects, resources, and spaces that people use to define their culture. These include homes, neighborhoods, schools, churches and so forth. All of these physical aspects of a culture help to define its members’ behaviors and perceptions. For example, technology is a vital aspect of material culture in the United States today. American students must learn to use computers to survive in college and business, in contrast to young adults in the Yanomamo society in the Amazon who must learn to build weapons and hunt to survive. Deviance is any behavior that violates social norms, and is usually of sufficient severity to warrant disapproval from the majority of society. Deviance can be criminal or non-criminal. Today, Americans consider such activities as alcoholism, excessive gambling, being nude in public places, stealing, lying, refusing to bathe—to name only a few—as deviant. Sanctions are socially constructed expressions of approval or disapproval. Sanctions can be positive or negative. A positive sanction rewards someone for following a norm and serves to encourage the continuance of a certain type of behavior. For instance, when parents reward a child with money for earning good grades, they are positively sanctioning that child’s behavior. A negative sanction is a way of communicating that a society, or some group in that society, does not approve of a particular behavior. For instance, imprisoning a criminal for breaking the law, and taking away a teenager’s television privileges for breaking curfew are all negative sanctions. The arena I chose for my norm breaking was my downstairs TV room with group of friends some of which I wasn’t well acquainted with. The statuses consisted of many friends with a few friends of friends. The roles to be played in the group were well mannered and somewhat proper of being at someone’s house that you don’t know very well. The expected roles of my close friends and I were to behave politely and welcoming. Most of my friends are well behaved but also a lot of fun to be around. I have a very diverse group of friends with all different kinds of beliefs. Now since new people I hadn’t met before were coming along I made the room all nice, clean and well organized. I didn’t want people to come and see my house for the first time and not want to come back. I bought some different snacks and drinks for everyone to enjoy during the movie and hopefully make them feel more comfortable and at home. We all gathered on a typical Friday night to watch a movie at my house. One of my closer friends hasn’t had much experience with girls but recently I was able to hook him up with a kind of friend of mine so I invited them along to join us. When he and his girlfriend got to the house me and her started some small talk and she said he was lacking in the first kiss department. I told her he was probably just nervous but that I would get to the bottom of it. I thought about it since I had yet to do the whole norm breaking thing and decided this would be the easiest and most comfortable thing I would be able to do. I mean I had my close friends there but I also had some strangers that were most likely still trying to figure all the new people out. When the movie started I sat near the couple and observed both of their movements to decide whether or not to do it. The movie ended, I got up and turned the lights on and just as I predicted there she was sending millions of hints his way that he had to be seeing the whole time but still nothing. Well it was now or never I walked right up to her grabbed her face a planted one on her, I looked at her face bright red and utterly confused then looked at Blake and said, â€Å"Oh she was hinting at you†¦ sorry, my mistake,† and I walked out of the awkward, silent room for a minute to get myself together. I walked back to a rather confused room with very weird looks from everyone. There was silence for a couple of minutes then I explained to all of them why I did what I did. This resulted in a lot of laughter and uncontrollable crying. But still some judging looks. My negative sanctions were the strange looks from all the new people I had just met as well as the very embarrassed and angry look from Blake. Also that the new people that had come that had come that night would not return and when I would see them around town I was avoided and looked at as a â€Å"freak. † In conclusion, I was able to examine the sanctions of deviant behavior from a personal standpoint and the effects it may have when people decide to break norms in a situation after learning the structure of sociology as well as the rules of deviance and sanctions. How to cite Sociology and Material Culture, Papers

Artistic and Psychological Experiments

Question: Discuss about the Artistic and Psychological Experiments. Answer: Introduction The paper will aim to review the journal on psychology regarding synesthesia. Synesthesia is a condition whereby a feature such as a shape like a letter A and B evoke a perception of another condition e. A can evoke the red color while B evokes the blue color on an individual's perception (Dick, 2014). Another definition is that synesthesia is a phenomenon in which an individual experiences unusual perception evoked y the activation of unrelated sensory modality or through a cognitive process (Malim, 2011). According to the author, tests performed by Baron-Cohen, Burt Smith and Harrison established the authenticity of artificial colors. Regardless of the tests, the author states that it is still not clear at what stage the visual of color processing stream is evoked. The article tries to answer the above dilemma by posting questions as to whether it involves relating to high levels of mental association and memories or if the colors are evoked earlier in visual processing and imbued with qualia (Malim, 2011). The article explains that tests that involved the use of embedded shapes tasks, identified that synthetically stimulated colors could lead to pop-out and texture segregation, this shows that there is perceptual evidence for synesthesia. The author cites another test conducted by Hubbard and Ramachadran (2010) in which they encountered two synesthesias at least, who saw colors in numbers that do not exist in the real world. This test indicates that synesthesia may not be as a result of acquired learning but rather the individual's perception. In the article, various theories have made efforts to explain the synesthesia phenomenon. Such theory includes the cross-sectional theory. The theory suggests that synesthesia comes about as a result of cross-activation of between posterior temporal grapheme areas (PTGA) and the color processing area known as the V4. The disinhibited feedback theory explains that synesthesia arises from the disinhibiting of pre-existing feedback connections. The author highlights that similar finding such as those put forward by the cross-sectional theory, re-appeared during the test conducted by Hubbard and Ramachadran in 2010. The author includes another experiment that consisted of four participants who were asked to read the right words they would spot among a list of reversed words and wrong words. The test found that the average error rate for synthetics as 0.03% while that for non-synthetics stood at 23.8%. The author adds that during the same test some of the participants remarked that they first noticed the color before they could identify the shapes of the letters, and they used the color to clue them on the letters. This test concluded that the four synthetics of grapheme are processed unconsciously up to the fusiform and the cross-activate the color cells in V4 before the information is transmitted higher up where the color is used to infer the grapheme (Dark, 2009). The experiment also concluded that in projector synthesis, the phenomenon seems to occur at earlier in sensory processing. The initial stages of letter processing, the visual inputs are used to trigger the component features of the letters (the lines and curves). The trigger leads to the activation of all letter and character that consist of all or some of the component features. Therefore following this logic, the participants managed to identify the right words through processing the synthetic colors relatively earlier and sending the extra information to a higher level of sensory processing, and thus providing additional insight into reading the distorted words and backward-written texts (Baron-Cohen Harrison, 2014). Strengths of the article The author has managed to deliver the overall understanding of the synesthesia phenomenon through the support of several pieces of research, experiments, and theories cited by other authors. The use of pictures in the article further enhances the understanding of the phenomenon as well as the degree at which the experiments were conducted. The statistical data incorporated in the literature has also contributed to the genuineness of the findings. The structure of the article seems more of a review rather than a research as it relies heavily on other researchers work rather than the author's findings or experiments. However, the article's structure is well simplified and can deliver the point easily to the leader. The over reliance on other people's work brings about the question of credibility as some findings may be structured in a biased way. Cases where such issues of credibility arise include, the Ramachandran way of personifying characters and letters. She suggested that according to her perception, letter A seems to be the jealous one while B is quiet and non-assertive (Campen, 2010). Such findings leave the reader with a question as to whether the synesthesia phenomenon is learned or is dependent upon the individual's way of viewing life. Conclusion The article has managed to deliver the most relevant points to the reader. This is due to its simplicity in writing and structure. However, the credibility of the findings still remains questionable. References Baron-Cohen, S. Harrison, J. (2014).Synaesthesia(1st ed.). Cambridge, Mass: Blackwell. Campen, C. (2010).Artistic and psychological experiments with synesthesia(1st ed.). Cognition, Object Formation, Speech Perception, Time Perception, Visual Attention, Visual Information Processing, Visual Memory. (2009).Perception Psychophysics,71(1), 3-4. https://dx.doi.org/10.3758/app.71.1.3 Dark, V. (2009). Switching between memory and perception: Moving attention or memory retrieval?.Memory Cognition,18(2), 119-127. https://dx.doi.org/10.3758/bf03197088 Dick, A. (2014). Iconic memory and its relation to perceptual processing and other memory mechanisms.Perception Psychophysics,16(3), 575-596. https://dx.doi.org/10.3758/bf03198590 Malim, T. (2011).Cognitive processes(1st ed.). London: Macmillan.

What is the difference between brute, social, and institutional facts Essay Example

What is the difference between brute, social, and institutional facts Paper Searle starts his explanation of social reality by outlining brute or observer independent facts. Searle is a realist and does not subscribe to the view that all of reality is somehow a human creation and that there are only facts dependant on the human mind. The foundation of Searles construction of social reality to use his metaphor of construction is that there is a reality totally independent of us. These facts, which act independently of us, are brute facts. Searles rough and ready approach is to ask whether these features would exist if there had never been human beings or sentient creatures. Would a hydrogen atom contain one electron? Yes. Would a rectangle of plastic with a magnetic strip be a form of exchanging wealth? No. Generally speaking the natural sciences deal with these features. In Searles theory the world is made up of particles in fields of force described by atomic theory and human beings have evolved from ape like creatures due to evolutionary biology. The brute features of an object are an intrinsic part of its existence and are not affected by attitudes towards it, and it is therefore described as observer independent. Searle clearly distinguishes between the features of a stone that are observer independent and observer relative by comparing two statements; that object is a stone and that object is a paperweight. A stone is a stone because of its atomic structure and physical constituents, however the statement that it is a paperweight is dependant on attitudes towards it. Another person may think of it as a weapon, or as a building material. We will write a custom essay sample on What is the difference between brute, social, and institutional facts specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on What is the difference between brute, social, and institutional facts specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on What is the difference between brute, social, and institutional facts specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The difference between brute and observer dependant is reasonably simple when applied to a stone if the barrier of language is ignored, brute facts require the institution of language in order that we can state the facts, but the brute facts themselves exist quite independently of language or any other institutions. Searle uses the example of colours as a more complicated example of brute reality. If Searle had published his theory before the work of seventeenth century physicists he would have asserted that colour only had brute features, however due to advances in light physics colour is now seen as observer relative. Building on the foundation of a brute reality, which is not open to interpretation. Searle then arrives at social and institutional reality. His early example of sitting outside a cafe and ordering a drink in terms of social reality is extremely complex. Searle states that there are three essential components of social and institutional reality that explain the ordinary social relations that occurred in the cafe: collective intentionality, assignment of function and constitutive rules. The assignment of function can be seen as the first building block in Searles construction of social reality. Preceded by the idea that there are brute facts, which cannot be challenged by human thought or intentionality, the assignment of function is a product of thought and consciousness. There are no functions naturally occurring in brute reality. Both humans and animals assign function and uses to objects. There are examples of simplistic functions in the animal world such as an animal using a lake or pool to drink from. The chair I sit on has been assigned the use of me sitting on it because it is the right height off the ground, can support my weight and is comfortable. It is also the product of an industrial process, which has involved the assignment of function at every level of production from the raw materials used upwards. The chair has been constructed with the intention of me sitting but I can also assign different uses to it. Collective intentionality is the second step. Species of animals have a biologically innate collective intentionality, meaning that not only will they co-operate with each other on order to achieve a task, but that they share a collective intentionality. Searle states that we intentionality is irreducible to I- intentionality and that the crucial element is a sense of doing something together, from this we derive our own individuals intentionality from the collective intentionality we share. Searle states that any fact involving collective intentionality is a social fact. Collective intentionality and assignment of function are essential to the construction of social reality. A world of levers, screwdrivers and beauty all require thinking creatures to assign function and to behave with a collective will. Social facts do not require linguistic or cultural apparatus to exist. To use a log as a seat I do not have to possess the linguistic skills to identify the stone to another person through speech or to have seen someone else use it as a seat, it is simply the physical characteristics of the log that appeal to me. This leads on to institutional facts, a special sub class of social fact. Where social facts are created by collective conscious activity, institutional facts also require the institutions of language and culture to exist. Only linguistic creatures can create institutions. Institutional facts require the distinction to be made between regulative rules and constitutive rules. Regulative rules regulate the behaviour of those taking part in an activity. Constitutive rules bring behaviour into existence, the rules constituting that behaviour. A feature of institutional reality is that it can be created by performance utterances. Searle classes these speech acts as declarations, the utterance of this meeting is adjourned creates the fact. Searles explanation of constitutive rules forming an institutional fact is the example of money. His belief is that x counts as Y or that X counts as Y in context C. and this counts in the example of all institutional facts, institutional facts only existing within a system of these constitutive rules. Institutional facts require a set of systematic relations with other facts. Searle uses the example of money in that for money to function it requires other institutions, the institutions of exchange and ownership. Money requires the next step from collective consciousness and imposition of function. The function of money is not assigned because of its physical properties in the way that a branch can be used as a lever. The function of money only exists because of cooperation and acceptance. This is the next logical step required for something to be an institutional fact. To expand on this point Searle uses the example of a wall as an example of assignment of function, collective consciousness and finally institution. Firstly the wall is constructed due to its physical properties, the imposition of function is due to its scale. Searle then imagines that the wall crumbles and gradually evolves from being a physical barrier to a symbolic barrier. The people that have built the wall still think of it as a wall and boundary but it no longer possesses the physical attributes. The crumbling wall has been assigned a status. The example of a wall is central to Searles social reality and the idea of institutional facts, and reveals the continuous line from molecules and mountains to legislation and money, from basic assignment of function to the creation of hugely complex institutions like the stock market.

Free Essays on Curleys Wife Of Mice And Men

Appearance Curley’s wife is an unnamed character in the book of Mice & Men. Her appearance is more of a show girl image. She is described in chapter 2, page 32 as having full rouge lips, wide spaced eyes, heavily mad up. Her finger nails were real, her hair hung in little rolled clusters like sausages. She wore a cotton house dress and red mules on the insteps of which were little bouquets of ostrich feathers. On page 81,chaper 4, there is another good description of her when she enters the bunk house and asks â€Å"any of you boys seen Curly?† . ‘Her face was heavily mad up. Her lips were slightly parted. She breathed strongly, at though she had been running, with an appearance that did not suit her surroundings’. She is called by different names such as Loo Loo (page 56) by the other men. On other occasions she is called rat trap (page 36), tart (pages 31, 32 and 105), good looking (page 35), girl (page 40,85 and 100), jail bait (page 57), bitch (page 35 and 90), tramp (page 35 and 104). History Curley’s wife lived in the Salinas when she was a kid. She then met an actor who said she could be in a show but her mother wouldn't let her, because she was too young. She also met another guy who promised her a place in the movies because she was a ‘natural’. He said he would write her a letter from Hollywood but it never came. Curley’s wife thought her mother had stolen it (Page 93 & 94). She never made it in the movies but she still hoped to before she died (Lennie killed her). Personality Curley and his wife have recently got married. His wife is discontent and doesn’t really like Curley. She wants to be accepted and have more friends, so she flirts with the workers. She has a very split personality. She threatens Crooks when he annoys her. She is kind to Lennie and opens up her dreams and inner feelings to him. But she ... Free Essays on Curleys Wife Of Mice And Men Free Essays on Curleys Wife Of Mice And Men Appearance Curley’s wife is an unnamed character in the book of Mice & Men. Her appearance is more of a show girl image. She is described in chapter 2, page 32 as having full rouge lips, wide spaced eyes, heavily mad up. Her finger nails were real, her hair hung in little rolled clusters like sausages. She wore a cotton house dress and red mules on the insteps of which were little bouquets of ostrich feathers. On page 81,chaper 4, there is another good description of her when she enters the bunk house and asks â€Å"any of you boys seen Curly?† . ‘Her face was heavily mad up. Her lips were slightly parted. She breathed strongly, at though she had been running, with an appearance that did not suit her surroundings’. She is called by different names such as Loo Loo (page 56) by the other men. On other occasions she is called rat trap (page 36), tart (pages 31, 32 and 105), good looking (page 35), girl (page 40,85 and 100), jail bait (page 57), bitch (page 35 and 90), tramp (page 35 and 104). History Curley’s wife lived in the Salinas when she was a kid. She then met an actor who said she could be in a show but her mother wouldn't let her, because she was too young. She also met another guy who promised her a place in the movies because she was a ‘natural’. He said he would write her a letter from Hollywood but it never came. Curley’s wife thought her mother had stolen it (Page 93 & 94). She never made it in the movies but she still hoped to before she died (Lennie killed her). Personality Curley and his wife have recently got married. His wife is discontent and doesn’t really like Curley. She wants to be accepted and have more friends, so she flirts with the workers. She has a very split personality. She threatens Crooks when he annoys her. She is kind to Lennie and opens up her dreams and inner feelings to him. But she ...

The latest technology has negative effects also Research Paper

The latest technology has negative effects also - Research Paper Example Their drawbacks associated with computers include the time that students and young generation waste playing games, chatting, listening to music and net surfing. In addition, the continuously changing software has made it impossible for older employees to continue working with the new technological advancements at their work places. This factor has led to an increase in unemployment. However, there is a technique available to solve this issue which involves the participation of employees in training programs but it would lead to higher costs for the businesses. The security issues that are linked to the data stored in computers are also counted as a drawback of computers (Haugen & Musser 2007). The technology has helped people in making it easier for the people to communicate, interact and share easily and speedily. Cell phones are one of the fastest ways of communication today. They have brought a great change in the communication means. People are now able to communicate each other from any part of the world. The benefit of the cell phones is that it is faster than other communication mediums and is available for the users all the time regardless of the place. The drawbacks, however, cannot be ignored. People often misuse cell phones. Younger generation wastes hours talking with friends mostly on useless topics. This does not only waste their time but also cost them in monetary terms. People also use it to send messages which include some disgracing jokes about religions, races and cultures. This fact is creating distances among the people and is posing a threat to the overall peace among the people belonging to different backgrounds (Castells, 2007). Video games are also another source through which it can be proved that technology is increasing our daily life problems. The popularity of video games has been increasing as shown by the investments made to meet the increasing demand. The innovations and technological advancements played a vital role in increasi ng the demand for video games. It has been observed that children of ages between 8 and 18 are found to have spent at least 40 hours per week in some form of media. This also includes the sharp rise in the exposure to video games by younger generation. The increasing popularity of video games has encouraged the exposure to video games to children aging 2 years with a minimum of 1 hour per day spent on games. Children falling in the age group of 8-13 years are observed to have played video games nearly 7.5 hours a week. Anderson’s (2001) research further illuminates the fact that children are exposed to video games which are never supervised by their parents or elders. Adams (2010) further explains the problem in terms of age-directed games that 85% of children play game which are designed and launched for adults. Adams’s argument points towards the heavy exposure of violence and negative exposure about female body, relationships and negative ideals in those games. Ande rson (2005) reveal the statistical data to explore the effects of media on individuals and the society. Anderson explains that by the age of 18, almost every American child is exposed to 40,000 killings by one or the other form of media. Violent games play a great role in altering the behaviors of the children. Early exposure to violence brings about a change in their viewpoints, habits and practices. Anderson’

Discussion week 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Discussion week 2 - Essay Example system results to wrongful conviction because a public defendant has very many cases to handle and lacks ample time to spend on each case, and this affects the quality of representation (Collica & Furst, 2012). In the long rand, there is wrongfully conviction because the Public defender does not comprehensively analyze the case. There is also poor contact between the public defender, and there is unfair conviction. In contrasting the level of representation illustrated by Bright to the level of representation to white collar, corporate, and environmental crimes is to say that money has power and influence. A plaintiff without money to hire a competitive Public defender receives poor representation in the court of law, and the case does not favor him/her (Collica & Furst, 2012). In solving these issues, every state should adequately fund the public defender system because everyone should get fair and justified trial. It becomes difficult to receive a fair trial if the representation is poor. Adequate resourcing and funding the public defender program results to a fair trial and effective representation. The war on drugs has resulted to increased imprisonment. There has been heavy taxation in order to imprison and rehabilitate the drug victims. According to Collins (2012), since the commencement of war on Drugs, there has been a great increase of those convicted. There has been unequal percentage of the minority groups convicted and imprisoned without proper investigation. In the year 2003, there was a high rate of imprisonment of African Americans accuses of drug abuse in US (Collica, 2012). However, the use and trafficking of illegal drugs among the white and the African Americans is equal, yet the African Americans are the ones accused and imprisoned. This is unfair and against the constitutional rights on discrimination based on race and color (Collica, 2012). The increase of immigrants in US has reduced the crime rates. Indeed, immigration has a

Effect of Formic Acid Supplementation on Brioler Chickens

Effect of Formic Acid Supplementation on Brioler Chickens Effect of Formic Acid supplementation on some biochemical parameters of broiler chickens Murad K. Al-Fadhli*, Nora Q. Abbas *, Mustafa J. Jalil* * Ministry of Science and Technology, Animal and Fish Research Center Abstract: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of adding different concentrations of the organic furmaric acid to the drinking water on some biochemical parameters of broiler chickens aged between 21 and 42 days. Organic formic acid was added to the drinking water in the following concentration (0.1%, 0.2%, and 0.3%) represented the treatment group (T1, T2 and T3) respectively. In the control group (T4), the drinking water was free of formic acids. Blood samples were collected at 21 and 42 days of age. At 21 days of age, data indicated that the first treatment group (T1) showed a significant increase (P†°Ã‚ ¤0.05) in serum total protein and albumin and significant decrease (P†°Ã‚ ¤0.05) in each of serum cholesterol, triglycerides and serum glucose. The second treatment group (T2) was also showed a significant increase (P†°Ã‚ ¤0.05) in serum total protein and albumin, in addition to serum cholesterol but it showed significant decrease (P†°Ã‚ ¤0.05) in both serum triglycerides and serum glucose. Whereas the third treatment group (T3) was showed a significant increase (P†°Ã‚ ¤0.05) in each of serum total protein, albumin, cholesterol, and serum triglycerides, but it was showed non-significant differences (P†°Ã‚ ¥0.05) in serum glucose concentration. The result of the blood samples that was collected at 42 days of age indicated a presence of a significant decrease (P†°Ã‚ ¤0.05) in serum total protein level, non-significant differences (P†°Ã‚ ¥0.05) in both of albumin and cholesterol level, but it was showed a significant increase (P†°Ã‚ ¤0.05) in both serum triglycerides and glucose levels in the first treatment group (T1). The second treatment group (T2) was showed a significant increase (P†°Ã‚ ¤0.05) in each of serum total protein, triglycerides and serum glucose levels, but it was showed non-significant differences (P†°Ã‚ ¥0.05) in serum albumin level and non-significant decrease (P†°Ã‚ ¥0.05) in seru m glucose levels. The result from the third treatment group (T3) indicated non-significant differences (P†°Ã‚ ¥0.05) in each of serum total protein, albumin, cholesterol levels, and non-significant decrease in serum glucose levels. Indicated results showing the importance of adding organic formic acid to the drinking water in the improvement of some physiological traits of broiler chickens. Key words: organic acids, formic acid, physiological traits, broiler chickens. Introduction: Broiler chicken meat is considered one of the most important sources of animal protein and the poultry production rate was 25% of the total global production of meat (1). Broiler chicken meat is characterized by their high nutritional value as it is rich in the essential elements in addition to its easy digestion (2). Poultry production has consistently in recent years to find the ways to improve the growth rates in order to obtain the highest conversion efficiency of food as well as reduction of the negative effects of the diseases that lead to heavy economic losses. One of the most important ways to control the negative effect of the diseases was the introduction of the antibiotics in the poultry production (3). However, use of these antibiotics on a large scale has led to the development of the bacterial resistance to antibiotics. In addition to that, use of antibiotics lead to cumulative harmful effect on poultry meat as it alters the bacterial environment and leading to weakenin g performance of poultry production (4). Therefore, the research tries to find an alternative to antibiotics to control the negative effect of the diseases and among these alternatives to antibiotics was the use of organic acids and the addition of probiotic to poultry feeds (5). Organic acids are weak acids that are commonly found in fruit juices and fermented foods and that are added to foods as preservative agents (6). Organic acids have been used for decades in feed preservation, for protecting feed from microbial and fungal destruction or to increase the preservation effect of fermented feed. Organic acids have increasingly and successfully been supplemented in feed in broiler production. The way of action of organic acids seems to be related to a reduction of pH in the upper intestinal tract, interfering with the growth of undesirable bacteria and modifying the intestinal flora (7). The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of adding different concentrations of t he organic formic acid to the drinking water on some physiological traits of broiler chickens. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in the chicken field of the poultry section in the Center of Animal Resources and Fisheries Agricultural Research Directorate Ministry of Science and Technology, which included the field and laboratory study to examine the effect of adding formic acid in the drinking water on the productive performance of broiler chickens. 84 mixed sexes broiler chickens (Rose Type), one-day old, were used for the experiment. These broiler chickens were distributed randomly inside a closed room into four groups as the following: First group (Treatment 1): The Drinking water treated with 0.1 % formic acid. Second group (Treatment 2): The Drinking water treated with 0.2 % formic acid. Third group (Treatment 3): The Drinking water treated with 0.3 % formic acid. Fourth group (Control group): Free of formic acid. Each group was further sub-divided into three replicates of 7 birds per replicate. A photo period of 24 hours day was maintained since the start of the experiment and until the end of the sixth week by using electric lamps. The ingredient and the chemical composition of the diets presented in Table 1. They were analyzed using N.R.C (1994) procedure. Feed and water were provided ad libitum during the experiment. Table 1: The ingredient and the chemical composition of the diets Ingredients Percentage composition Yellow corn 43 wheat 12 Barley 9 Soybean meal 20 Animal protein concentrate 12 Oil 3 Limestone 0.7 Salt 0.3 Total 100% Calculated levels Crude protein (%) 21.14 ME (Kcal/kg) 3032 Protein-energy ratios 143 Lysine (%) 0.82 Methionine + Cystine (%) 0.73 Crude fiber (%) 2.16 Blood samples were collected at 21 and 42 days of age from the wing vein and centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 5 minutes by using Hettich centrifuge to separate the serum samples and the obtained sera were aspirated into sterile vials and kept in deep freezer (-20 °C) for the later analysis of the serum biochemical parameters that include the serum total protein, albumin, cholesterol, triglycerides and glucose and these analysis was estimated by using the Vegasys chemical analyzer device (AMS Co., Italy). Statistical analysis was performed with statistical program Statistacal Analysis System (SAS) (2001). Means were compared by the Duncans multiple range test at the level of 5% probability (1955). Results and Discussion: The results illustrated in Table (2) indicate the serum biochemical analysis of the broiler chickens at 21 days of age. These data showed a significant increase (P†°Ã‚ ¤0.05) in the concentration of serum total protein and albumin in the treatment groups (T1, T2 and T3) in compartment with the control group (T4). Serum cholesterol concentration was significantly increased (P†°Ã‚ ¤0.05) in the treatment groups (T2 and T3) while it was significantly decreased (P†°Ã‚ ¤0.05) in the treatment group (T1) in compartment with control group (T4). Serum triglycerides concentration showed a significant decrease (P†°Ã‚ ¤0.05) in the treatment groups (T1 and T2), while it was significantly increased (P†°Ã‚ ¤0.05) in the treatment group (T3) in compartment with control group (T4). Serum glucose concentration was also significantly decreased (P†°Ã‚ ¤0.05) in the treatment groups (T1 and T2), but it was non- significantly increased (P†°Ã‚ ¥0.05) in the treatment gr oup (T3) in compartment with control group (T4). Table (2): Serum biochemical analysis of the broiler chickens at 21 days of age. Treatments Total Protein g/dl Albumin Cholesterol triglycerides Glucose T1 (0.1%) 3.84 + 0.31 a 1.566 + 0.98 b 134 + c 2.34 111.66 + c 2.73 235.33 + b 3.52 T2 (0.2%) 3.86 + 0.31 a 1.813 + 0.01 a 154.33 + 6.64 b 114.66 + 9.20 c 293.33 + 7.05 b T3 (0.3%) 3.64 + 0.12 b 1.7933 + 0.06 a 169.33 + 7.68 a 140.33 + a 8.55 370.0 + 10.26 a T4 control 2.97 + 0.24 c 1.506 + 0.17 c 150 + 10.11 b 120 + b 5.53 361.66 + a 3.69 The data in Table (3) showed the serum biochemical analysis of the broiler chickens at 42 days of age. These results showed a significant decrease (P†°Ã‚ ¤0.05) in serum total protein concentration of the treatment group (T1) and significant increase (P†°Ã‚ ¤0.05) in the treatment group (T2) but there were non-significant differences (P†°Ã‚ ¥0.05) in the treatment group (T3) in compartment with the treatment group (T4). Serum albumin concentration showed non-significant differences (P†°Ã‚ ¥0.05) between the treatment groups (T1, T2, and T3) and control group (T4). There were also non-significant differences (P†°Ã‚ ¥0.05) in serum cholesterol concentration between the treatment group (T1 and T3) while it was significantly increased (P†°Ã‚ ¤0.05) in the treatment group (T2) in compartment with the control group (T4). Serum triglycerides concentration was significantly decreased (P†°Ã‚ ¤0.05) in the treatment group (T3), while it was significantly incr eased (P†°Ã‚ ¤0.05) in the treatment groups (T1 and T2) in compartment with the control group (T4). Serum glucose concentration showed a significant increase (P†°Ã‚ ¤0.05) in the treatment group (T1) and non-significant decrease (P†°Ã‚ ¥0.05) in the treatment groups (T2 and T3) in compartment with the control group (T4). Table (2): Serum biochemical analysis of the broiler chickens at 42 days of age. Treatments Total Protein g/dl Albumin Cholesterol triglycerides Glucose T1 (0.1%) 3.686 + 0.19 c 1.803 + 0.12 157.66 + 5.17 b 129.33 + 7.83 a 356.33 + a 4.35 T2 (0.2%) 3.883 + 0.13 a 1.793 + 0.72 170.66 + a 8.78 123.33 + 9.24 a 289.33 + c 4.17 T3 (0.3%) 3.840 + 0.10 b 1.836 + 0.04 157.66 + b 4.97 114.33 + 4.80 c 259.33 + 5.81 c T4 control 3.846 + 0.15 b 1.77 + 0.14 149.33 + 8.74 b 121.33 + b 7.03 3055.33 + 2.60 b In this experiment, the addition of formic acid to the diet resulted in reducing the mortality rate and this result was agreeing with previous results indicated a decrease in the proportion of the mortality rate when using a probiotics containing organic acids in the diets of broiler chickens (8). In this study, the addition of formic acid to the diet resulted in significant decrease in the total cholesterol. The results obtained from the present study are in agreement with the results obtained by (El-Kerawy 1996) (9). The significant reduction in serum cholesterol could be attributed to the probiotic secretion of organic acid that stimulate the probiotic bacteria Lactobacillus acidophilus to reduces the cholesterol in the blood by deconjugating bile salts in the intestine, thereby preventing them from acting as precursors in cholesterol synthesis (Abdulrahim et al., 1996) (10). In the present study, the addition of formic acid to diets was significantly decreased the serum triglycer ides concentration and this decline may be due to secretion of the inuline and the inulin in turn has an inhibitor effect on the triglycerides synthesis processes (11). This experiment was showed a significant age-related difference either in the levels of the serum total protein, albumin and serum glucose. These age-related changes have also been observed in broilers chickens reported by (Sribhen C. et al, 2003) (12). 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