Cultural Similarities and Differences of Hip-hop in the U.S. and Essay

Cultural Similarities and Differences of Hip-hop in the U.S. and France - Essay Example Price added that Hip Hop is a thought-provoking music contained therein is the culture and sentiments of the displaced minorities. Considering the emergence of Hip Hop in various Western countries, this paper focuses on the Hip Hop culture in the U.S. and France. Accordingly, this paper contends that the fundamental similarity of Hip Hop culture in both countries lies in the representation and ways of expression of the minorities, regardless of the range of differences, which lies in the different ways in which the displaced minorities attempt to reconstruct themselves. Similarities Primarily, the Hip Hop culture in the U.S. and France is a product of the Liberation Movement that attempts to emancipate minority groups from social and cultural displacement, particularly the Afro-Americans. Relatively, the Afrocentric themes of the American and French Hip Hop create the relatedness of the American and French Hip Hop. Hip Hop develops in the U.S. and France in the same time frame, which is during the 1970s-1980s, and the said music genre serves as a medium of expression for the displaced minorities and immigrants, particularly the youth in their attempts at social integration (Marshall 570). The movement aims to integrate cultural minorities, such as Afro-Americans and Latinos, with the mainstream society without prejudice (Price 1).

Swinburne, His Poetry and Religion Essay Example for Free

Swinburne, His Poetry and Religion Essay Before one can attack an individual, group, or ideology, it is a logical requirement to achieve a considerable amount of knowledge on the particular subject. This was adhered to by Swinburne, whose familial background and values necessitated his education in the Anglican Church. He knew much about the scriptures, as well as the corresponding interpretative methods of apocalyptics, prophecy, and typology. With this knowledge, Swinburne was equipped with means and ways to express his own interpretations through poetry. Acknowledging the Victorian society’s preference for biblical allusions, he regularly made use of language that contained religious references that often challenged the issues of the Roman Catholic Church. Swinburne took a fancy to attacking organized religion, particularly the Catholic Church’s involvement in a divided Italy. Parody and blasphemy started to make their way into Swinburne’s works, although he never dismissed the existence of the Church—in fact, its absolute presence became the foundation for his poetry. In â€Å"Hymn To Proserpine†, a 100-line dramatic monologue, is all about the mythological figure Proserpine, offspring of Zeus and Demeter, who eventually became queen of darkness, and, in Swinburne’s terms, death. The Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate, historically known to have opposed Christianity, takes on the main task of being the voice of the poem. Included in the epic are mentions of a â€Å"pale Galilean†, which is a thinly-veiled reference to Jesus Christ. Such a bold statement completely revealed Swinburne’s ties to paganism and atheism, which was soon criticised by the press. Another work, â€Å"Atalanta in Calydon†, also surprised readers due to its dramatic entrance in the literary world, which was maintained by poetry of subtle and mostly quiet character. Patterned closely after classic Greek drama, it also utilises elements unique to this traditional form—but with the signature style in rhythm and metrical agility. With its Greek structure and ancient themes of being in control of your own fate and the belief in divine intervention, Swinburne succeeded in going beyond the typical Greek tradition of religious acceptance, and appeals to the spirit of man to overcome and conquer the tyrannical rule of the gods. Quintessentially Swinburne, with his partiality and focus on sensual and sexual pleasures, upheld the beauty and spirit of life by denouncing the forces that controlled death and decay. On the other hand, one of Swinburne’s most popular works, â€Å"Poems and Ballads†, no longer attempted to hide behind the cloak of traditional styles or references. It outwardly declared the poet’s trashing of convention, and introduced themes that celebrated immoralities such as sexual freedom and philistinism. Within the work, the subjects of â€Å"The Leper†, â€Å"Anactoria†, â€Å"Faustine†, and â€Å"Laus Veneris† were all directly proclaiming the benefits of physical and sexual obsession, as well as excessive and abusive living. Once more, paganism figured prominently as Swinburne’s larger theme, with the work dedicated solely to the cult of the goddess of pain—from whom escape will only result in death. But like the previous â€Å"Atalanta†, Swinburne’s use of rhythm and magical verse was worthy of applause; his ability to move within the restricted format nimbly yet exuding the emotions designed per work is a feat still left unchallenged even by many modern poets. Movement appears to be Swinburne’s skill—as evidenced by the slow and unhurried â€Å"Laus Veneris†, the haste and quickness in â€Å"The Triumph of Time†, the carefree lightness of â€Å"Faustine†, and the swiftness in â€Å"Dolores†.

Measuring Public Attitudes to Reality TV | Methodology

Measuring Public Attitudes to Reality TV | Methodology 1. Outline the considerations you would make in deciding between using the Thurstone, Likert or Osgood method. Highlight the particular context and conclude with a clear decision about which of the three methods you would chose. The three social research methods of attitudinal measurement are appropriate for use in this experiment as they all give statistical evidence to support the questions relating to various attitudes taken from a general consensus of people. However, each has its own merits to be considered. The Thurston, Likert and Osgood methods can give a representation of social attitudes toward Big Brother, however, which is the most ideal requires some consideration of their procedural processes. The nature of measurement and descriptive qualities in each method was considered before a test was decided and questionnaire constructed. Thurstone was one of the primary social scaling theorists. He used the average rankings of a set of attitudinal statements based upon a given topic to determine a set of agree/disagree responses. He formulated three different methods that all worked upon a uni-dimensional scale. These were the method of equal-appearing intervals, the method of successive intervals, and the method of paired comparisons (Thurston, 1928). The three methods crucially differed in how the scale values for each item were constituted from their base source. However, in all three cases, the resulting scale was rated the same way by respondents. This labour-some method did not take into account any indifference towards the statements or the degree to which negative and positive attitudes could vary. In questionnaire format it relies upon closed questions to gain its data and measure attitude. Furthermore, it indicates a mean average as its descriptive data between that of agreeing and disagreeing in each state ment category,which does not capture the nature of the deviation or sway of general trends in attitude. Neither does it allow for a consideration of word connotation within the statements. Due to these considerations this method of measuring attitude was rejected for this experiment. The Likert technique was developed after the Thurstone scale. With this method to social research a set of attitudinal statements were also presented to subjects. Subjects were asked to express agreement or disagreement according to a five point or seven point scale measuring the variance of attitude towards the statements (Likert, 1932). Each degree of agreement or disagreement was given a numerical value from one to five / seven rather than being defined as a closed agree or disagree category. A total numerical value was then to be calculated from the total number of responses. This method is suited to our experiment as it can be applied to established attitudinal theories such as Ajzen’s Theory of planned behaviour as a way of drawing out not only attitude but intention and concepts that help shape our attitudes. Essentially, the Likert method can be broken down into segments pertaining to the theory of planned behaviour to reveal a more sophisticated set of results that in dicate a fuller relationhip than that of the Thurstone method. However, one more method that relates to the Likert method should be considered before moving on. The Osgood method was developed in conjunction with the Likert technique. Using the scale as the basis for the measurement of attitude, Osgood concerned himself with the significance of meaning, and in particular connotation of words. Typically subjects would be given a word or concept, such as race, and would subsequently be presented with an array of adjectives in which to describe that word / concept (Osgood, 1957). The adjectives would then be represented at either end of a five point / seven-point scale similar to the likert scale. Due to this, Osgood was able to contrive a map or model of peoples connotations for given concepts from which attitudes could be understood. However, there are problems for using this method for our experiment. Firstly, there is the problem that this map depends entirely on the presumption that all adjectives mean the same to everyone. Because of this, the method itself becomes contradictory as it begins from the general assumption that peoples connot ations for certain cocepts differ. However, it also depends upon the assumption that, for certain words at least, they do not differ. And secondly, there is nothing in this test that attempts to negate the onset of socially desired responses from participants. For this reason, the Osgood test for connotational attitude was dropped as the method for this experiment in place of the five category Likert test. 2. Provide a detailed description of the steps you would need to take at each stage of scale construction, using your chosen method. In the first stage of developing the Likert method for this experiment, relevant attitudinal questions would have to be established and drawn up. Based upon the preliminary research into certain perceived attitudes towards Big Brother, these questions should be drawn up and applied to a five point scale ranging from strong agreement through to strong disagreement. These should be comprised into sets of varying attitudinal question types that relate to the different categories apparent in the Theory of Planned behaviour. These sets should consist of questions relating to social norms, attitudes and perceived behavioural control (Ajzen, 1991). For example, the first two sets of questions should be taken into account, that is the subjective norm and the attitude, and categorised as one set. For example, based upon the measurement method of the likert five category system, typical questions relating to these sets could be ‘do you think Big Brother is valid?’ and ‘do yo ur friends tink big brother is valid?’. These provide us with indicators of varying attitudes from which behaviour could be measured as an outcome. For instance, questions then asking ‘would you watch Big Brother?’ or ‘is it your intention to watch Big Brother?‘ would give us an indication of the strength and nature of the forces creating the attitudes towards Big Brother. A third set of questions relating to the perceived behavioural control could then tell us of how people perceive the viewing of Big Brother and how that affects their attitudes and intentions towards watching the show. According to the theory of planned behaviour, these three attitudinal variables inform the intention from which behaviours can be understood (Ajzen, 1988, 1991). By taking the findings of this questionnaire through the method of the Likert scale, we are providing ourselves with a technique which can register, incorporate and analyse the findings of a limitless amount of subjects and find trends in the different ways that people have formed attitudes towards Big Brother. It is with the Likert model that an attitudinal questionnaire based upon the theory of planned behaviour was constructed to answer the main question put forward by this experiment. An example of the three sets of questions based primarily upon the theory of planned behaviour and developed at this stage are as follows: I like to Watch Big Brother? Strongly Agree / Agree / Indifferent-Unsure-Never Seen It / Disagree / Strongly Disagree. My Friends Think People Should Watch Big Brother? Strongly Agree / Agree / Indifferent-Unsure-Never Seen It / Disagree / Strongly Disagree. It is Morally Acceptable to Watch Big Brother? Strongly Agree / Agree / Indifferent-Unsure-Never Seen It / Disagree / Strongly Disagree. The next stage should be firstly concerned with eliminating ambiguous or leading questions such as those involving the terms ‘hate‘ and ‘love‘ or ‘nice‘ and ’kind of’ etc. This can be done where confusion is noticeable manually or where indicated on the results of pilot studies. This stage should then be concerned with content validity. This can also be done via a pilot test; by using the questionnaire to test a group whose attitudes are well established. For example, you would expect members of a Big Brother fan club or groups that promote Big Brother to score positively on attitudinal questions relating to Big Brother. However, if the results show that they did not score positively then this can be taken as an indication that there is something wrong with the questionnaire. Conversely, if they do score positively then the pilot test can be deemed valid. Alternatively, a professional or expert in matters of attitudinal tests could be consultd for clarity. After these questions have been arranged according to category and the pilot test and/or expert has given sufficient content validity, a sample group should be targeted and asked to participate. On defining that target group, an introduction giving them the required and ethical briefing should be performed, and on their completion a debriefing and contact address should be disclosed. On retrieval of the results, an appropriate measurement should be carried out to establish the descriptive and inferential statistics of the likert test. The procedure for the Likert does not involve mean averages as these merely convolute the sway of the attitudinal range. Rather, median and modes are better equipped to give descriptive data as the significant range is concerned with general trends rather than precise measures. Bibliography Ajzen., I. (1988) Attitudes, Personality and Behaviour, Milton Keynes: Open University Press. Ajzen, I., (1991) The Theory of Planned Behaviour. Organizational Behaviour and Human Decision Processes, 50, 1-33. Osgood, C, E., Suci, G, J., Tannenbaum, P, H., (1957) The Measurement of Meaning. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. Thurston, L, L., (1928) Attitudes can be Measured. American Journal of Sociology, 33, 529-544. Likert, R., (1932) A Technique for the Measurement of Attitudes. Archives of Psychology, 140, 1-55.

First Paper: “The House on Mango Street” -- Literature Review

First Paper: â€Å"The House on Mango Street† In The House of Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros depicts the character of Esperanza as a coming-of-age female who dreams about having a house of her own. The house will bring for her the personal and family stability that she needs; as evidenced by the way the author uses the house to represent Esperanza’s search for what she wants to be as an artist and as a woman. This is significant because it speaks about how people may use their imagination as a means to reinvent themselves. Socially speaking, the concept of property is related to the possession of tangible and intangible things by an individual or a particular group. This idea of property brings benefits for some people: it gives the feeling of having accomplished something in their lives, along with the stability that allow individuals to develop new ideas and projects as a result of having more confidence. More important, this idea of property brings for people a sense of belonging that is a fundamental part of their success in any community. In The House of Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros starts the story with a main character who describes her family journey to a new house, the House on Mango Street. Despite describing a history of constant moving from different places that has ultimately constituted the girl’s family, the author implies in this description a sense of family unity that is based on the premise of acquiring property: â€Å"†¦we were six—Mama, Papa, Carlos, Kiki, my sister Nenny and me (†¦) The house on Mango Street is ours, and we don’t have to pay rent to anybody†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p. 3). However, when what people accomplish in their lives do not meet their expectations, frustration and disappointment may come alone. This is Esperanza... ...that defines her personality in terms of who she is away from her family heritage. Rather than assuming a name simply because it was given at birth, Esperanza is looking to create her own history away from her parents and her sister; consequently, changing her name will be for Esperanza a very important part of her process toward finding an identity. â€Å"In English my name means hope. In Spanish it means too many letters. It means sadness, it means waiting.† For the first time, Esperanza mentions her name, but she implies a negative connotation in it. Her complaint about having a name with so many letters might express her discomfort when trying to be part of a community, because her name has a longer, harder and foreign pronunciation in comparison to the names of her siblings: Carlos, Kiki and Nenny, which are more suitable into the sounds of the English language.

A Case Study on Schizophrenia and Delusional Disorders in the Film A Beautiful Mind

The John Forbes Nash, Jr. biopic A Beautiful Mind (2001) detailed the dramatic rise and fall of the celebrated Nobel Prize winner and mathematician as he battled the debilitating effects of schizophrenia to eventually attain international acclaim.Schizophrenia, a mental disorder characterized by an inability to perceive reality, affects roughly one percent of the human population. In the film, John Nash’s disorder is depicted through a series of delusions that eventually leads to a downward spiral which almost incapacitates Nash. It also showed the various treatments Nash had to undergo in his fight to overcome schizophrenia.Symptoms and DiagnosisWhile schizophrenia is usually experienced by people in their adolescence, just â€Å"as they are about to spread their wings† – as Nasar said in the New York Times – Nash â€Å"was struck when he had already begun to soar† (Lautin, 2001, http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2001/02/27/page3/). John Na sh began to visibly exhibit the symptoms of schizophrenia in 1958 when he was approximately 30 years old. When Nash’s mental disturbances began, he was working at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his wife Alicia was pregnant with their son.During this time, he began having delusions – he believed that he could see encrypted messages in newspaper articles, and often missed classes and lectures, so absorbed was he in his quest to decode the newspapers. Soon after, his delusions escalated and he began to think that he was being recruited into a secret code-breaking unit of the military.Once, he disrupted a lecture by announcing to his students that he would appear on the cover of a magazine masquerading as the pope. He also believed that spies were trying to reach him through the New York Times. He also refused an offer from the University of Chicago, believing that he was about to be appointed as the Emperor of Antarctica.Nonetheless, the film showed that th roughout Nash’s stay at Princeton, from 1945 to 1949, he was already having delusions. While at Princeton, he believed that he had a roommate, whereas records show that he had lived alone. He also believed in the existence of his roommate’s young niece, a little girl that sometimes accompanied his roommate.As a consequence of his growing schizophrenia, Nash was forced to resign from MIT, and was practically incapacitated for the following two decades. In 1959, Nash began to become increasingly paranoid, forcing his wife to admit him into the McLean Hospital where he was treated with chlorpromazine injections.The McLean Hospital is a private psychiatric institution which employs treatments such as counseling, psychoanalysis, and group and family therapy. There he was placed under observation for 50 days and was eventually diagnosed with â€Å"paranoid schizophrenia and mild depression with low self-esteem† (Wikipedia, 2006, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Forbe s_Nash#Schizophrenia).A Beautiful Mind portrayed John Nash’s disorder as a succession of visual hallucinations: the roommate in Princeton, the roommate’s niece, the operatives that recruited him into a covert code-breaking mission, the encoded messages in newspaper clippings, and the spies that pursued him.Bu the symptoms of Nash’s disorder that were depicted in the film are misleading and inaccurate. If these symptoms were exhibited by someone in real life, the physician might suspect that the patient is merely suffering from the effects of a drug or he might send the patient for an MRI to assess the presence of a brain tumor. Hallucinations and â€Å"split personalities† are not always indicative of schizophrenia. The version of the disorder portrayed in A Beautiful Mind does not reflect what actually occurs in real life.

Suffolk County Legislators

Today, we are in an age where local government is extremely important. Each county of every state has elected legislators that represent town throughout that county. I have selected two legislators which are both republican. The first is Cameron Alden a 49 year old man that represents the greater Bay Shore Area. He is also on the Conservative and Independence lines. The second legislator is Angie Carpenter, a very nice lady, that represents West Islip. Cameron Alden was born on August 28, 1950, in Bay Shore and grew up in Islip, Long Island, New York. He graduated Islip High School in 1968, where he played varsity football, basketball and baseball. Mr. Alden graduated from Suffolk County Community College in 1970 with an AA degree. He was a member of the SCCC varsity baseball team. Mr. Alden graduated from Dowling College in 1974. He was a member of the Pi Alpha Sigma Honor Society and played varsity basketball and golf Mr. Alden attended Tuoro Law School, graduating in 1990 with a Juris Doctor. He was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1991. (www.co.suffolk.ny.us) Prior to attending Law School he was a local Bay Shore business owner. A catering/grocery store and school bus companies were among those he owned. (www.co.suffolk.ny.us) Alden chose community-development work after undergoing a mastectomy during a bout with male breast cancer in law school, which â€Å"totally changed my focus† to an interest in public service.(Interview) He practiced law at the Town of Islip Community Development Agency, which provides affordable housing and economic development projects in the Town of Islip. He is a former Assistant Town Attorney for the Town of Islip. Cameron Alden was elected to serve as a Legislator for the Tenth District and sworn into office January 2, 1998. Legislator Alden has been selected by his colleagues to serve as Vice-Chairman of the Parks/Land Preservation and Planning Committee. In addition Legislator Alden is a member of the Energy/Environment and Transportation, Health and Human Services, Public Works, and Finance Committees. (www.co.suffolk.ny.us) The 10th Suffolk County Legislative District (L.D.) serves Islip, East Islip, Bay Shore and Brentwood. There are 52 election districts (E.D.s) with 33,058 registered voters. (www.co.suffolk.ny.us) Alden says his primary focus would be to ease the burdens on taxpayers. A critic of the LILCO-LIPA deal, Alden admits he does not yet have many specific legislative initiatives but says he is the better candidate because his fiscal policies would be more conservative. (Interview) Currently Cameron is working on a proposed bill that would support the elimination of taxes on clothing in Suffolk county. This proposed bill would enable signs 6to be erected throughout Nassau asking consumers to come shop in Suffolk due to its no lax bill as long as the clothing items are under one hundred and ten dollars. He has also worked on such other bill like trying to raise the salaries of Suffolk county legislators because he fells they are underpaid. Mr. Alden does not really receive a large amount or Pac money from anyone but he does have many supporters. These supporters include the Police and other safety bureaus and also many factory unions. (Interview) Angie Carpenter was born on Long Island in the mid fifties and is currently happily married and a mother of two. (Interview) Angie's dedication to the community is what led to her nomination to run for the Legislature, a position she has held since February 1993. (Interview) Legislator Angie M. Carpenter is founder of ACT Communications Group, a full-service advertising and marketing company specializing in multi-media graphic design and printing. The business is currently run by her sons Richard and Robert enabling her to devote her attention full-time to her duties as an elected official in Suffolk Government, but still affording her the opportunity to remain sensitive to the concerns of the business community. (www.co.suffolk.ny.us) Angie continues to devote her time and efforts to her community and constituents. As former Chairman of the Legislature's Economic Development and Education Committee, Angie Carpenter worked to bring the Touro School of Health Services to downtown Bay Shore which is opening early in 1999. She has worked tirelessly to increase aid to Suffolk Community College, and led the fight to cut tuition costs so that the college is affordable for all of our residents. (www.co.suffolk.ny.us) She continues in her role as an avid supporter of the college and is extremely proud of the fact that the fastest growing campus of Suffolk County Community College is in her legislative district. Angie worked from the beginning, to see the construction of the $54 million-dollar Health and Technology Building scheduled to be completed in the Fall Semester of 2000 (Interview). Angie has almost served every committee during her tenure on the Suffolk County Legislature. Currently Angie is serving as the Legislature's Budget Committee Chairman, and Vice Chairman of the Public Safety Committee. She continues to serve as a member of the Economic Development and Education Committee, Budget Committee, Consumer Protection, Labor and Investigations, and Veterans and Seniors, as well as the Public Safety Committee, Parks, Planning and Land Preservation Committee, the Health and Human Service Committee, Sports Committee, and the Public Works Committee. (www.co.suffolk.ny.us) In the past, Angie has helped in implementing a mass transportation public information program for Suffolk County, enacted a linked Deposit Program to promote local business expansion, directed the County Health Department to provide free testing for prostate cancer and cosponsored a resolution to provide environmentally safe golf course management to help protect our groundwater and hopefully help reduce the risk of breast cancer. (www.co.suffolk.ny.us) She has made efforts to invest in the county†s Timber Point Golf Course to maximize its economic potential and preserve jobs for the county workers employed there. (Interview) Most recently, Angie co-sponsored legislation to rollback sales tax on clothing and shoe purchases under on hundred and ten dollars per item. Angie has also sponsored a resolution to â€Å"boot† the vehicles of deadbeat parents that are not complying with the child support payments. This â€Å"booting† of cars is huge lock that goes over the tire and wheel and makes automobile impossible to drive. A resolution that Angie sponsored last year now requires the Suffolk County Health department to hold annual Public Hearing and Health Fair. This gives government an opportunity to hear first hand from our residents about the County†s health care delivery system and also raises public awareness or what is available. (Interview) Over the years, Angie's commitment to her community has been recognized time and again with honors from Islip Town, Boy Scouts of America, Loyal Order of the Moose, The American Legion, Pronto, Zonta International, the West Islip and Bay Shore School Districts and Suffolk County Arts Council, to name a few. She has been involved in the community as President and founder of the Chamber Council of Islip Town, President of the West Islip Chamber of Commerce, Vanderbilt Museum Trustee, Board of Our Lady of Consolation, Salvation Army, Youth Enrichment Services and ASK US (an after school care program in West Islip). (www.co.suffolk.ny.us) Angie has dedicated her efforts to the growth and expansion of business here in Suffolk. She has brought education to the forefront as one of the many issues addressed under her leadership, and continues her unwavering commitment to her family, community, and those she was elected to serve. (www.co.suffolk.ny.us) She receives her support from many people including the Police, the Suffolk County UNE, and many other unions countywide. (Interview) Legislators, Cameron and Angie are very willing to do what their people are asking for and sacrifice a lot of their time to make their residents happy. In my own opinion I think Angie Carpenter is a better Legislator than Cameron Alden because I feel Angie had sponsored and produced more bills than he has and in my eyes she is a nicer and more heart worthy person.

Free Essays on Knowing Oneself

Essay Knowing oneself is difficult. Some people can understand a part of themselves in the span of their lifetime. Most are totally clueless of which they are. It is a gift if one is able to unravel the mystery of his persona. I consider myself lucky that I have an idea of who I am. Being myself can be both fulfilling and stressful because each of my traits has its good and bad effects. Being hyperactive is a big plus but it also has its drawbacks. To some people, hyper activeness means being friendly but to some it means chaos. When a hyperactive person talks to someone, he makes him or her laugh or get amused, the others get annoyed. This trait of mine made me acquire a lot of friends but some feel different on how I act. Maybe they’re just jealous. Having an open mind makes everything much better. People find it easier to approach you and open up their feelings. It also makes relationships easier to handle. Another outcome would be learning various things through other people. On the other hand, this trait can also pull one down. Numerous people don’t appreciate open-mindedness. They think that open-minded people are load and vulgar. Creativity is a factor of success. One can achieve a goal effortlessly if one is creative in their works. Many people are recognized because of their unique style and manner of doing things. However, envious people get in the way. It is a blessing to have talents and creativity. These people pull the ones on top just to get even. One of my bad traits is being irritated easily in certain situations. Sometimes I get annoyed easily and get mad. A sudden burst of rage fills me and this overwhelms me. This causes me to shout, be cranky and at times quiet. I know that this is bad but it is hard to control. Once you’re like that, it stays in your system. Some are turned off because of this unlikable characteristic but I try to explain that I just had a hot head that time. Lastly, being hands... Free Essays on Knowing Oneself Free Essays on Knowing Oneself Essay Knowing oneself is difficult. Some people can understand a part of themselves in the span of their lifetime. Most are totally clueless of which they are. It is a gift if one is able to unravel the mystery of his persona. I consider myself lucky that I have an idea of who I am. Being myself can be both fulfilling and stressful because each of my traits has its good and bad effects. Being hyperactive is a big plus but it also has its drawbacks. To some people, hyper activeness means being friendly but to some it means chaos. When a hyperactive person talks to someone, he makes him or her laugh or get amused, the others get annoyed. This trait of mine made me acquire a lot of friends but some feel different on how I act. Maybe they’re just jealous. Having an open mind makes everything much better. People find it easier to approach you and open up their feelings. It also makes relationships easier to handle. Another outcome would be learning various things through other people. On the other hand, this trait can also pull one down. Numerous people don’t appreciate open-mindedness. They think that open-minded people are load and vulgar. Creativity is a factor of success. One can achieve a goal effortlessly if one is creative in their works. Many people are recognized because of their unique style and manner of doing things. However, envious people get in the way. It is a blessing to have talents and creativity. These people pull the ones on top just to get even. One of my bad traits is being irritated easily in certain situations. Sometimes I get annoyed easily and get mad. A sudden burst of rage fills me and this overwhelms me. This causes me to shout, be cranky and at times quiet. I know that this is bad but it is hard to control. Once you’re like that, it stays in your system. Some are turned off because of this unlikable characteristic but I try to explain that I just had a hot head that time. Lastly, being hands...

Definition and importance of a tree butt

Definition and importance of a tree butt The butt of a tree is its bottom portion and this basal portion of the trunk is distinctively different from a trees branches, roots, and upper trunk.   A trees  butt is above the roots but separated from the trunk which continues upward toward the terminal bud A trees butt is often referred to by loggers as the bottom log of a felled tree. The first cut  nearly always starts at the butt or base of the tree for the initial cut. It is the most valuable part of the tree when sold and converted to a wood product A tree butt is also important when tree disease is detected at or near ground level. Butt rot diseases  are serious concerns for tree owners and tree managers. A basal rot will inevitably weaken  the tree to the point where its support system is compromised  resulting in trunk failure and the eventual death of the tree. The butt of a tree is also its most valuable section to a timber grower. If there is a defect in the butt log which by definition is the first 16 feet of a tree trunk, the trees lumber grade is diminished considerably. Butt Rot and Effects on Trees Butt rot  is a serious disease of trees and all species are susceptible to a greater or lesser degree. Fungal pathogens are the primary causal agent of butt rot  and attack the moist, vulnerable and under-protected lower portion of a tree trunk where its largest diameter is recorded. A tree is most  vulnerable to rot where the bottom end of the trunk  stem  makes contact with the  soil. The tree butts location, when diseased, can  attack the roots as well causing a disease known as  root rot. These kinds of  infections are  likely to impair the transport properties of the  xylem  tissue found in the cambial region under the tree bark. Again, it also weakens the stem and makes the plant more vulnerable to toppling. Rot in the area of the tree butt can spread to the roots and/or  move up and into the tree compartment producing a roughly conical column of dead, rotted wood which increases in size proportional to a trees age and ability to compartmentalize and stop the spread. These wood-decay diseases can start as a root or butt disease but can  overlap as both root and  stem decays. Most are caused by Basidiomycota  or fungi. They may get in through wounds in the lower part of the tree or penetrate roots directly. Understanding a Butt Log and Its Quality The highest quality logs typically  come from the first or lowest section  called the butt log by timber harvesters. The butt log is where the best, highest quality wood veneer and lumber is found. Wood veneer (usually hardwood) that is sliced  or plywood (usually pine) that is rotary cut  command high prices. It should be noted that high-quality trees with butt log damage or disease will negatively affect what will be paid at the timber harvest time. Buyers of veneer and plywood quality wood will  require certain minimum log lengths depending on the mills operation and set up.   A  common minimum used in North America is  8 feet plus an extra 6 inches  for trim allowance. However, different veneer markets have different requirements for species, wood color and grain quality and can take logs as long as 11 feet plus 6 inches. Top grade veneer logs may have a 14-inch diameter minimum and extra prime grade  can only come from the first butt cut. What is Tree Butt Swell? All trees will have some taper but the most valuable timber tree will maintain a cylinder-like form extending up the trunk. Any extra expansion of  tree trunk butt above the normal stump flare is called butt swell and is normal in some tree species (especially trees on wet sites like cypress and tupelo gum). Sound wood within the butt swell can be used but only as non-construction materials including wood chips and specialty items. Timber cutters are  recommended to cut above the swell for construction logs. Butt swell is considered a defect for veneer logs.

Aerobic Training vs. Anaerobic Training Comparative Essay

Aerobic Training vs. Anaerobic Training Each person has different goals when wanting to become physically fit, but not many people know the difference between aerobic and anaerobic training. Even though aerobic and anaerobic training both contribute in maintaining overall health and both produce energy through glycolysis, which is the conversion of glucose into pyruvate, the training are different to achieve different results and the metabolic processes used by these two types of training are different. It is very important to know how to distinguish the differences between aerobic and anaerobic exercises to achieve different goals. Both aerobic and anaerobic training are equally important as stated by Lauren Bateman, â€Å"However, you need both anaerobic and aerobic exercise to be truly healthy† (Bateman, 2006-2011). I will discuss the difference between aerobic and anaerobic training so that you can achieve your goals effectively and proficiently. Aerobic training consists of physical activities such as jogging, brisk walking, rowing, cycling, skiing, and swimming. These are simple exercises that are performed at a low or moderate intensity and at longer period of time. When performing aerobic exercises, you activate the slow twitch muscles in your body. Lauren Bateman states, â€Å"Aerobic exercise means that you need to get continuous and large amounts of oxygen in order to generate energy† (Bateman, 2006-2011), so aerobic training produces energy through glycolysis by using oxygen to break down glucose as part of its metabolic process. Aerobic training should be for individuals whose goals are to lose weight and get slimmer, burn fat and tone their body, improve the circulation of blood and transportation of oxygen in the body, or strengthening and the muscles involved in respiration which is increasing their stamina. Anaerobic training consists of physical activities such as sprinting, jumping, weightlifting, and stress training. These are high intensity exercises that are performed for a short period of time. When performing anaerobic exercises, you activate the fast twitch muscles in your body. As stated by Lauren Bateman, â€Å"Anaerobic exercise such as weight lifting does not require large amounts of oxygen because the activity itself is very brief and intense† (Bateman, 2006-2011), so anaerobic training produces energy through glycolysis by the use of phosphocreatine, stored in the muscles, to break down glucose instead of oxygen as part of its metabolic process. Anaerobic training should be for individuals whose goals are to increase speed, power, strength, body mass, and agility depending on the anaerobic exercises. For instance, sprinting improves speed and power, weightlifting improves strength and body-mass, and vertical jumps improve muscular power and agility. In conclusion, choosing whether to conduct aerobic or anaerobic training depends on the goal that certain individual is trying to achieve. Even though aerobic and anaerobic training both contribute in maintaining overall health, it is very important to know how to distinguish the differences between aerobic and anaerobic exercises to achieve different goals effectively and proficiently. Even though it is important to know the difference between aerobic and anaerobic training, just remember they are also equally important. References Bateman, L. (2006 – 2011). Aerobic Vs Anaerobic Exercise. Retrieved June 8, 2011, from Todays Women and Health Website: http://www. todays-women-and-health. com/anaerobic-exercise. html

Health of Family Business' Consultant's Report Essay

Health of Family Business' Consultant's Report - Essay Example It took a time to establish a brand name in the competitive market. Still this a room for improvement in the operational and strategic issues and activities. Organizational structure is not clearly defined among the employees. There are no clear-cut hierarchy levels. When there are no managerial levels then defiantly there is a lack of role clarity among the employees. The customer base is segmented into different segments and then company may design different product lines in order to attract any particular segment. The Apparel store do not have a marketing department rather there is only a marketing manager who himself focus on all the marketing demands and then make strategic plans to fulfill that particular demand. Form marketing point of view the Apparel store is doing well as compare to the competitive businesses. Nevertheless, the Store may face certain challenges regarding their financial matters. Overall Zara apparel store is working in a good condition. There is a five-year plan to extend the branch of the Apparel Store in the next cities also. Zara Apparel store should focus on the distribution strategy because the customers are facing certain delivery problems. Zara Apparel Store is a local famous clothing family owned business, working successfully for the past decade in the local operational area. The famous person of the locality started this clothing business in 2001. The store was a small one at the time of inauguration but now the operations are so widen that it covers a major portion of the local market. In the next 5-7 years, the owners have a plan to expand the operational serving area into the near geographical boundaries. The owners of the family owned business Zara Apparel Store have also a planning to make an extension in the product lines of the business. Currently the business is serving a major portion of the customer market by offering desired

Sickle-cell anemia and malaria Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Sickle-cell anemia and malaria - Essay Example In other words, there are some natural selection traits that favor sickle cell-anemia allele in some individuals. Malaria occurs in the tropical zones and is caused by a protozoa transmitted by the anopheles female mosquito. As such, people from an African descent have the sickle cell anemia allele considering that heterozygotes for the allele are protected from malaria while not showing any significant characteristics of sickle-cell anemia. These people can then live to adult age and transfer these alleles to their offspring, which guarantees the transfer of the allele along the genetic line of individuals, leading to a new gene pool. Therefore, for some recessive alleles that are destructive to the recessive homozygotes, natural selection is an important process through which the heterozygotes of the recessive alleles have to survive (Sabeti, 2008). For instance, when an individual carrying the sickle cell allele is in an area where malaria is not prevalent, having the sickle cell anemia allele does not guarantee any survival advantage. As such, in countries such as United States, there are much fewer cases of sickle cell alleles compared to tropical regions such as in Africa. However, the disease is still reported among people of the African descent, though on low frequencies. This is because, the time required for the allele frequency to reduce significantly to negligible amounts has not passed. With the passage of time, the sickle cell anemia may become extinct in these areas. Application of advanced technologies would ensure individuals are in a position to make better and informed decisions on reproduction, which may help in ensuring extinction of a number of genetic diseases from passing through

Ancient Epic and Tragedy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Ancient Epic and Tragedy - Essay Example Seated around the altar of Zeus are Amphitryon, the man known as the father of Heracles, Megara, the wife of Heracles, and the three sons of Megara and Heracles. Heracles himself is believed to be dead, descended into the kingdom of Hades to retrieve the three-headed dog Cerberus, never to return. Amphitryon summarizes the history of the family as the play opens, introducing Megara and her three children and repeating the reason why Heracles had to leave his family. He embarked on his tasks for Eurystheus in order to succeed to the Fortress of Argos. However, because of the circumstances of his birth, Heracles has always to contend with the jealousy of Hera, the queen of heaven: ‘Whether Hera’s jealousy, or Fate’s decree, imposed/Such labours on him, who can say?’ (154) Heracles father is Zeus, the king of heaven, who seduced Alcmene, the wife of Amphitryon. Amphitryon raised Heracles as his own son and loves and protects Heracles’ sons as his grandc hildren. Megara’s father, Creon, was king of Thebes but has recently been deposed by Lycus; this makes their situation very bleak and dangerous, Amphitryon states: Grandfather, mother and children are hemmed in and threatened on all sides. Murder leads to more murder in the rhetoric of this kind of tragedy. Lycus, in order to seize and consolidate power, must murder the royal family and all their descendents and relatives he can get access to. So, the family tableau with which the play opens, is one of tragic proportions already as they are prisoners of Lycus surrounding the altar of Zeus to appeal to the gods for their help. Overruling anything Megara might be able to do, however, is the jealousy of Hera that manipulates the situation around Heracles. Megara asks: ‘So now, father, what hope, what means to save our lives/Have you in mind?’ (155). Hope is the talisman that Amphitryon hangs on to and ‘hope’ is centered upon Heracles.

Management in context Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Management in context - Essay Example e union density is an expression of the proportion of eligible workforce which can be used as an indicator of the degree to which workers or employees are organized. Trade union density differ from geographical areas by the fact that it lays emphasis on level of organization of workers and not how they are distributed all over the world. Female are more likely to join trade unions because they have unique challenges that need to be address contrary to those facing the male employees. Such include maternity offs. Therefore they need such issue to be handled generally by trade unions. In servicing strategy, the members are like third parties to the trade union and they do not play active roles in them while in organizing strategy, the members are the union themselves by playing a very active role in it. Public sector employees are more likely to engage in industrial actions because they enjoy a lot of job security compared to those in the private sector. They are not under any risk of job loss even when they go on strike or other industrial

Critically assess the arguments in support of and against the Essay - 1

Critically assess the arguments in support of and against the acknowledgement of the legally binding nature of the right to wate - Essay Example However all these procedures cannot be undertaken by the help of stagnant and dirty water. Humans require free access to the clean and germs free water as the dirty water would be harmful for them rather facilitating the bodily functions. Unhealthy and contaminated waster causes various serious diseases which at times becomes fatal for the human existence such as diarrhea which cause death to more than 2 million people all over the world and the majority of the victims are children as their immune system is not as developed as adults’ so they easily fall prey to the germs in contaminated water. In addition to this water is also used for agricultural purposes. Dirty water ruins the vegetation and harms the farming land as well. People living in cities usually have better access to clean water but the food that they consume is contaminated which indirectly causes harm to their health. Considering the significance of water in the development and sustenance of human beings it has been declared a human right to consume neat and clean water. But as other basic human rights are being violated throughout the globe similarly there are many who do not enjoy the right to water. ... Water is one of them which is being greatly wasted and misused by the agricultural people, industrial wastes, excessive domestic usage and overall environment change (Linsay Knight, 2003). Before arguing about the right to water lets first consider the basic explanation of human right as in the international law. Human rights are given due protection by the international law on the basis of various standards. It ensures the complete protection of human dignity and freedom. It further includes the political and cultural rights to safe guard the distinctiveness of human societies, the social and economic rights to guarantee the prosperity, development and success of humans. It basically reflects the strong affiliation between the government and individuals in order to ensure them about the fulfillment of their fundamental rights. In broader terms the human rights revolves around the principles of respect, protect and fulfillment of each others’ needs and water (WHO, 2002). This is an important aspect of the right to water as now it has a close binding with the law. The principle of respect requires the government to show no direct or indirect intervention in the supply of clean and harmless water. Protection principle requires the government to stop the intervention made by the corporations and businesses in the supply of water and finally the fulfill principle requires the government to ensure the fulfillment of all the stated principles in regard of the right to water. The ‘hot strains’ as named by the scientists are the parts of the world which are turning hot by every coming day. These areas of the world are facing extreme shortage of water including water for consumption and water used for other purposes. These areas include the

Ancient Epic and Tragedy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Ancient Epic and Tragedy - Essay Example Seated around the altar of Zeus are Amphitryon, the man known as the father of Heracles, Megara, the wife of Heracles, and the three sons of Megara and Heracles. Heracles himself is believed to be dead, descended into the kingdom of Hades to retrieve the three-headed dog Cerberus, never to return. Amphitryon summarizes the history of the family as the play opens, introducing Megara and her three children and repeating the reason why Heracles had to leave his family. He embarked on his tasks for Eurystheus in order to succeed to the Fortress of Argos. However, because of the circumstances of his birth, Heracles has always to contend with the jealousy of Hera, the queen of heaven: ‘Whether Hera’s jealousy, or Fate’s decree, imposed/Such labours on him, who can say?’ (154) Heracles father is Zeus, the king of heaven, who seduced Alcmene, the wife of Amphitryon. Amphitryon raised Heracles as his own son and loves and protects Heracles’ sons as his grandc hildren. Megara’s father, Creon, was king of Thebes but has recently been deposed by Lycus; this makes their situation very bleak and dangerous, Amphitryon states: Grandfather, mother and children are hemmed in and threatened on all sides. Murder leads to more murder in the rhetoric of this kind of tragedy. Lycus, in order to seize and consolidate power, must murder the royal family and all their descendents and relatives he can get access to. So, the family tableau with which the play opens, is one of tragic proportions already as they are prisoners of Lycus surrounding the altar of Zeus to appeal to the gods for their help. Overruling anything Megara might be able to do, however, is the jealousy of Hera that manipulates the situation around Heracles. Megara asks: ‘So now, father, what hope, what means to save our lives/Have you in mind?’ (155). Hope is the talisman that Amphitryon hangs on to and ‘hope’ is centered upon Heracles.

Critically assess the arguments in support of and against the Essay - 1

Critically assess the arguments in support of and against the acknowledgement of the legally binding nature of the right to wate - Essay Example However all these procedures cannot be undertaken by the help of stagnant and dirty water. Humans require free access to the clean and germs free water as the dirty water would be harmful for them rather facilitating the bodily functions. Unhealthy and contaminated waster causes various serious diseases which at times becomes fatal for the human existence such as diarrhea which cause death to more than 2 million people all over the world and the majority of the victims are children as their immune system is not as developed as adults’ so they easily fall prey to the germs in contaminated water. In addition to this water is also used for agricultural purposes. Dirty water ruins the vegetation and harms the farming land as well. People living in cities usually have better access to clean water but the food that they consume is contaminated which indirectly causes harm to their health. Considering the significance of water in the development and sustenance of human beings it has been declared a human right to consume neat and clean water. But as other basic human rights are being violated throughout the globe similarly there are many who do not enjoy the right to water. ... Water is one of them which is being greatly wasted and misused by the agricultural people, industrial wastes, excessive domestic usage and overall environment change (Linsay Knight, 2003). Before arguing about the right to water lets first consider the basic explanation of human right as in the international law. Human rights are given due protection by the international law on the basis of various standards. It ensures the complete protection of human dignity and freedom. It further includes the political and cultural rights to safe guard the distinctiveness of human societies, the social and economic rights to guarantee the prosperity, development and success of humans. It basically reflects the strong affiliation between the government and individuals in order to ensure them about the fulfillment of their fundamental rights. In broader terms the human rights revolves around the principles of respect, protect and fulfillment of each others’ needs and water (WHO, 2002). This is an important aspect of the right to water as now it has a close binding with the law. The principle of respect requires the government to show no direct or indirect intervention in the supply of clean and harmless water. Protection principle requires the government to stop the intervention made by the corporations and businesses in the supply of water and finally the fulfill principle requires the government to ensure the fulfillment of all the stated principles in regard of the right to water. The ‘hot strains’ as named by the scientists are the parts of the world which are turning hot by every coming day. These areas of the world are facing extreme shortage of water including water for consumption and water used for other purposes. These areas include the

Functionalism in Family Essay Example for Free

Functionalism in Family Essay It wasn’t until I was eight years old that I was finally adopted. My adopted family, who I consider to be my real family, taught me a lot. They help shape and mold me into the person that I am today. According to our class textbook, â€Å"the family, in its many varying forms, is present in all human cultures† (Schaefer, pg. 306). The family is impacted by all three sociological theories. In my paper I will discuss the impact that all three of the theories. Functionalism, Conflict and Interactionism, have on the social institution of family. I believe that the social institution of family is what makes us who we are. It helps to form our personality and our lives when we become adults. My family taught me how to make moral decisions in my life, how to become an independent individual in society and how to manage a family of my own. I pretty much do not follow one exact theory. I agree with many of the different aspects of all three theories. The first theory I will discuss will be the Functionalist theory. As outlined by William F. Ogburn, the family is meant to perform six paramount functions as follows: * Reproduction Protection * Socialization * Regulation of sexual behavior * Affection and Companionship * Provision of Social Status I agree with Ogburn on many of these functions. I think that the family teaches you companionship and how to form an affectionate relationship with someone. I also agree tone of the main functions of a family is Reproduction. God says in the Bible that we are to be fruitful. It is our duty to reproduce to make more beings on earth. My family also serves as a security blanket for me. I know when all else fails my family will always be there for me and take me back with no questions asked. The functionalist theory affects the views of an individual in a family in many ways. To me it makes them a more stable person, with more traditional views. Functionalism does not leave too much room for social change within a family. Usually units of a family have a set of beliefs that they were raised on and consider the norm for them. TO stray from this would be abnormal and not right. Functionalism was a strong belief years ago when things were more traditional. This was just the way of life. This theory to me would be one of the main reasons why many people are against things such as gay marriage, unmarried couples having babies and shacking up and unwed mothers. On the other side of the spectrum we have the Conflict theorists. â€Å"Conflict theorists view the family not as a contributor to social stability, but as a reflection of the inequality in wealth and power that is found within the larger society† (Schaefer, pg. 292). Although I do agree with many of the aspects of the Functionalist theory, I agree with some of the points that the Conflict theory makes as well. I know for a fact when I was a child, my brother got away with murder. There were things that I couldn’t do that my brother could do because he was a boy. I had a friend who parents wouldn’t allow her to go anywhere, she had to go to High School down the block from her home, she couldn’t go to the mall until she was 18, and she was forced to go to college near home. Going away to college was a no- no for her as far as her parents were concerned. However, her younger brother went to a High School way across town from their house, he was hanging out at the age of 13, and he went away to college hours from their house. Many families in many cultures tend to be male chauvinistic, and bring out about inequality between the sexes. This was the way of life in the United States at a time. The man was the one who went out and worked and brought home the bacon. There were things that a man could do that woman couldn’t. The man was the sole provider and the authoritarian. Nowadays, women have just as much say so as men do. I have much power and authority in my family. My kids consider me and their stepdad to be equals. We make decisions and compromises on many things such as the bills, household needs and the children. Although there has been great change in this shift of power from man to woman in a family, there are still some situations where things have not change as much. Studies have shown that â€Å"for every stay-at-home dad there are 38 stay at home moms† (Schaefer, pg. 292). The conflict theory affects the views of individuals in a family because the man a sense of power and authority. It makes the women out to be subservient to her husband or to man period. It lends to situations such as Domestic Violence. I came across an article by Kathryn Yount and LiLi, it discusses Egyptian women’s justification of Domestic Violence. In a study done, â€Å"5,450 women in Egypt, they found that one half justified wife hitting or beating for some reason† (Yount, 2009). It is the conflict theory that leads many women to believe and justify Domestic Violence. There is little change for social change with the conflict theory. As described in our textbook, â€Å"conflict theorists al so view the family as an economic unit that contributes to social injustice† (Schaefer, pg. 292). Society view women as subservient and believe their role to be that of a woman in the kitchen cooking, barefoot and pregnant. Last but not least we have the Interactionalist theory. Unlike the conflict and the functional theory, this theory observes the relationship between individuals in the family and how they interact with one another. â€Å"In a study of both black and white two=parent households, researchers found that when fathers are more involved with their children (reading to them, helping them with their homework, or restricting their television viewing), the children have fewer behavior problems, get along better with others and are more responsible (Schaefer, pg. 293) The relationship between family members can determine the outcome of one’s behavior. This theory provides a lot of knowledge on fixing problems in a family. My son was acting up in school and I could not figure what his problem was. When my fiancee and I became more involved with him and his work, having join Boy Scouts, and talking to him one on one, his behavior changed. I received less and less calls from his teacher about him acting up in school. In family matters: the importance of mattering to a family in adolescence, Gregory Elliott, â€Å"demonstrated that the lack of mattering in one’s family contributes to the degree of connectedness one feels to the social order (Churchill, 2010). Relationships between family members matter a lot. I have a friend who had a horrible relationship with her mother. In turns she had a bad relationship with her daughter, and her daughter has a bad relationship with her daughter. Tough love was a major problem in their situation. The Interactionist has the greatest affect on family member’s views. It makes one more open-minded and understanding. It leaves plenty of room for social change within a family. By studying the relationships between family members we will be able to substantiate behaviors and why certain things happen. Society will in turn change their views on family life and accept change and different forms of families. Many people find it strange that it doesn’t matter to me that my kids biological farther refuses to pay child support and I still want him to see his kids as much as possible. I came across a study done by Yoshi Sano, Leslie Richards and Anisa Z’vonkovis in the Journal of Family Issues. I found that â€Å"Contrary to some father’s claims that mothers gate keep their access to children, the majority of mothers in the study just wanted increased father involvement. The mother’s desire for active father child interaction was not dampened by their frustration at the lack or irregularity of child support payment, which mothers tended to accept given the lack of economic opportunities in rural communities† (Sano, Richards, et. al, 2008). I believe that out of all three theories interactionism teaches one the most and has the greatest impact on family. We can learn from our interactions with one another and others as well. Functionalism is different from all three because it just basically believes that the family has basic functions. It doesn’t go on any evidence or studies. The Conflict theory believes that family brings about conflict. Its sole purpose is to cause inequality between the sexes. The social institution of family is affected by all three of the theories. I feel that and truly believe that it would benefit best form the interactionist theory. This can be backed up by studies and research. It will help to make society more understanding. References Churchill, C. (2010, February). Family matters: the importance to family in adolescence. Choice, 47(6), 1168.

The Visual Feedback From Video Games Media Essay

The Visual Feedback From Video Games Media Essay Video games are electronic games that engage the user through an interactive interface. The interaction involves the use of visual feedback mechanism which is generated on a specially designed video device. Just like any other medium, the use of video games can be used as an effective communication channel. The content of the specific game is however the determinant of the specific ideology that it expresses. It has been proven through elaborate research that video games have a profound influence in the manner which an individual thinks and behave. Certain experimental and analytical data shows that the playing of video games has a direct influence on ones thoughts. The playing of violent video games has been proven to increase the level of aggressive and hostile thoughts (Anderson, Buckley, Gentile, 2007; Anderson, Carnagey, Flanagan, Benjamin, Eubanks Valentine, 2004).The engagement of a player in games that have positive content has also been proven to elicit positive outcomes. A perfect example is the playing of video games by children which has been proven to help in weight management. In this paper we explicitly investigate whether video games side with certain British political ideologies. In the recent past, researchers have questioned the validity of passing on political ideologies in videogames. This has always drawn the conclusion that the reputation of the video game industry despite being a disposable form of entertainment which serves a very wide audience does in fact have a degree of political discourse. This notion of political ideologies being encoded in the some games is true but has a degree of flaw. Thus notion for example overlooks the effort of certain independent game designers and developers. Games such as Super Columbine massacre RPG and Cutthroat Capitalism go to a large extent to dispute the notion of apolitical landscape in the industry of videogames. The level of success in the process of communicating the various political statements which incorporate military, social and economic issues just illustrate the political nature of these videogames. Video games by design and existence are a true example of cultural artifacts which bear a certain degree of political messages. It is a proven fact that even the simplest of the video games despite their low level of mindlessness can never fail to portray the politics of the underlying culture in which they are designed. The mainstream video which games do seem to lack political ideologies in actual sense have an implicit political undertone. The basic design of these games is not supposed to handle or tackle any form of political issue directly. The design also does not allow for the carrying of political messages covertly. The reality however is that the games do reflect the underlying social values and most of the popular ideologies of the resident culture in which the game was intended to be deployed in. Even in the conservative and economically centered eighties or even the liberal society, politics are in fact intertwined in the very underlying codes of the video games that we do enjoy Video Games and the Brain Researchers have in past conducted experiments to investigate the influence the mechanism and relationship that occurs in the brain when an individual is playing a computer game. The work of researchers published in Nature (1998) ,a British journal indicated that the brain secrets a special hormone called dopamine when one is laying a computer game. Dopamine is a pleasure inducing chemical that is secreted whenever an individual engages his/her mind in the playing f video games. The New brain research that was conducted years back (Bartholow, Bushman Sestir, 2006) was the first to show that the playing of violent video games results in bad health of the players. The emphatic responses of the brain to the simulation of certain real-life violence such as shooting with a gun and bombing are also elicited. It was also explained by Walsh (2004, 2006). That the exposure of a teenaged brain to video games results in certain violent long-lasting effects. A group of British researchers embarked on a research to understand the neurochemical outcomes of playing video games (Koepp et al. 1998).They measured the amount of dopamine hormone which gets released whenever subjects were engaged in playing a video game. The video games were of action genre. The action game involved the maneuvering through a battlefield full of landmines and tanks. Dopamine is a special neurotransmitter that necessitates the modulation of certain information that is passed from one brain area to another. The particular interest in dopamine was because of its role in the control and influence of a wide range of human behavior. Some of the behaviors that it influences are pleasure, learning and even addiction. An example is the fact that in most cases of drug addiction, pleasure is achieved by increasing the level of dopamine in the brain. By employing a special form of brain imaging technique called (Positron Emission Tomograph) the researchers were in a position to determine the effects of playing a video game on the level of dopamine that is released. The result showed a rapid surge in the amount of dopamine that was released in the brain. The areas that were most noted to have these dopamine surges/release are the areas that are attributed to learning and reward. The injection of amphetamines intravenously gave out comparable results. The observed surge in dopamine and its resulting implications are never well known but is a success in rats. This implies that dopamine may indeed be very crucial in the process of modifying the brain following a certain period of perpetual engagement in training activities. Bao Etal conducted a study using groups of rats. One group of rats was paired with the presentation of a certain tone of about 9-kHz.The observation made was that there was a particular expansion in the brain area that is devoted to the used tone. This was just in the rats that had concurrent of dopamine simulation. (Bao, CHan, and Merze nich,2001).Their conclusion therefore was that dopamine plays a very integral role in the process of learning. This was what caused the neural realignment in the rats. The conclusion from this experiment is that the large increase in the amount of dopamine that is observed when a person plays a video games has a role that is similar to the one in the rats. The dopamine released leads to a faster rate of learning and pleasure. The Dominant British political Ideology The term ideology was first made use of by French philosopher Destutt de Tracy in the nineteenth century. He used it to refer to the science of human ideas. However several definitions have been coined for the word. The term ideology is however used to refer to a certain particular set of ideas and assumptions that are necessary in the shaping of ones understanding of the world. It was however argued by Leys (1983:14) that ideology refers to any set of social ideas that become part of the operative assumptions of the general political practice of a certain particular social group. The very nature of an ideology is usually interpreted to be very coherent in that the main ideas within the specific ideology will usually tend to show a high degree of coherent with one another. The main ideologies that dominate the British way of life are conservatism, socialism and liberalism. Methodology Participants The participants were gathered from a certain popular social online video gaming platform. To explore the questions as to how often the participants engage themselves in playing video games and How this video games affect politics, the research was undertaken by interviewing six hundred participants of which the majority were male compared to females. There were 65% of males compared to 45% females. The participants were aged between eighteen years and forty years with the mean age being 25year and a standard deviation of 0.64. Procedure Data collection was done between the months of January and February the year 2010. The affair was random and after informing the officials of the underlying research it was on. The participants were recruited randomly through random sampling technique which was geared towards a generalized finding that gives a wider scope of views from the respondents, and avoidance of biasness. This was done to eradicate biasness and to get various views from different people who comes from all forms of employment. The main concern of the research was to analyze how people especially teenagers look up for political information online. Secondly there was a concern was how they had persuaded people into voting in elections; thirdly they sort to know how the people had been living informed on politics and other current affairs in the past six months, forth is whether they have stayed committed to their civic participation. And lastly the research sort to see how interested the participants are in polit ical issues around them. The research engage in analyzing both the activities and interests of the participant from that earlier ages because though teenagers do not always involve themselves in political issues as compared to their adult counterparts, they are at a critical age where experimentation are eminent that can help in the development of new political ideologies that give them certain political identities. Each person participating filled an anonymous survey questionnaire that was to give details of their attitudes towards videogames, what they know about them, how often they play and lastly, their perception of politics and how video games affects it. The participants were told that video games included any games played on a computer, video arcades, and handheld devices among others. The data collectors were also taught and trained the manner in which the survey was to be conducted. (Walsh, 2000) The research uses logistic regression and multivariate linear methods in their analysis between the participants background information variables and their civic quality in playing video games together with the above five concerns of the research on what the participants engage in. the games can then be categorized under various groupings such as those that tries to coin the thoughts of participants on moral issues, how they help people learn about problems in the society, how they help in influencing communities decision making procedures, and the nation at large. And lastly some are categorized on how they help in teaching about social issues. The above statistical methods are used because they assist in controlling factors such as how parent may influence the civil participation of the youths and also how participants incomes can affect their civil and political participation. The analysis due to past researches on the topic goes ahead to categorize influencing measures in four different categories that includes; the political characteristics of the games played which talks about how the participants and whether they have any civic experiences that influence political issues or supports them. Another is the social context of the games played which assesses the way the games are played. This could be in solitude or in groups. It also assesses the political behaviors and attitudes, this deal with the magnitude of involvement of the participants to gamming and their political involvement. Also there are demographic variables. They include analysis on age, gender, race and also household incomes. It also analyses the frequency of the games played. Therefore on this research our main concern will be on the variables listed below. Variables Amount of time spent on video games: the participants were asked how much time they spend playing their favorite video games. This time was categorized into week days and weekends which helped in calculating the amount of time people use in playing the video games weekly. Video games exposure: the participants were again asked to name at least three of their favorite video games. On each video game named the participants were expected to rate how often they play this game on a seven point Likert scale. Also the participants were asked to rate how the video game related to politics on the same Likert scale. On the scale it is interpreted that 1 represent a no relation to politics while 7 mean a higher relationship to politics. The video game political relation score was calculated. The participants were also asked to rate their video games relation on a 1 to 10 scale to show how much trends of politics in video games has changed in the past two to three years. Video game limit: the participants were again asked how often they limit themselves from playing video and the period of time they use in playing the video games. Underlying video game political inclination: The participants were asked to state the general mood that laying the game elicited as concerns the major British political ideologies. The model There exists broad based and multidisciplinary body of research work that deal with the effects of video games on various social phenomena, some borrow their relevance applications, game theory. DeGroot (1974) came up with a perfect self updating model , whereby persons adjust their personal belief regarding a certain event (also called the state of the world) by way of observing all persons with whom they have a common social tie and in effect taking an average of their friends averages. Political ideologies and beliefs do necessarily involve a certain level of personal stubbornness but is not explicitly explored by the model, however the DeGroot updating model is still relevant towards the process of forming a political ideology, especially when the aspect of social video gaming which is so connected and impressionable is concerned. In this research however, we do a slight modification of the DeGroots model in order to include an element of political judgment as well as a decreasing level of an individuals sensitivity to others views in a bid to capture the overall maturation state and solidification of the various political views and ideologies. For this purpose we begin by employing DeGroot model which has a simple stochastic configuration having the following parameters. The model is employed in gauging a persons view regarding the elements of British political ideologies that they derive or perceive to be entailed in the video games. The model is a follows. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.(1) Where n is denotes the number of direct links that an individual i has with certain other people j in the online gaming network. I reconfigured the model to incorporate some of the most observed realities of British political ideology acquisition. In the model we assume that a person maintains an autoregressive component in his or her ideology. The model then becomes as follows. . à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦(2) Allowing the general political ideology to start out at time 1 as i b~ + e , in which ÃŽÂ µi is a random error term which is drawn from N(0,s 2 ) . The expectation of ÃŽÂ ²i, and 2 is b~ is arrived at by inspection, as the expectation ( ) i E b~ + e is b~ , Which leads us back to equation (2). Variance of ÃŽÂ ²i,2 is evaluated the equation Nis clearly decreasing. Therefore, one can boldly infer that more connections of n can lead to correponding ÃŽÂ ²s which quickly converges to the equilibrium of mb~ and to each other.2 This model however comes with a certain number of assumptions, some of which are more concrete than others. The initial assumption is that it does not take into account the weightings or a measure of the strength of the various different ties. Conclusion Video games have been proven to have profound effects on the players thoughts. Certain ideologies can also be passed or rather contained in the video games. The exact nature of the ideology that a particular game may pass varies significantly with the nature of the game. Certain games have specific political ideologies that dominate their main theme. The study reveals that a great degree of political ideology is encapsulated in the British games. The designers of various games area at times motivated by certain political ambitions in the process of designing the games. The main political ideology that is eminent in most games is conservationism and it is mainly expressed in terms of strategy of the games. Most British gamers enjoy playing games that replicate the old battlefields campaigns. Literature Review Many theorists have come up with similar and different arguments concerning the relations of video games, politics and culture of different regions of the earth. When participating in these social practices, players of the game have the opportunity to involve themselves in new identities. For example, while playing the game Sims Online a presidential political contest of Alphaville erupted between, Baynes who is 21 years old, and Laura who is a 14 year old girl. Political jockeying and voter fraud accusations emerged just like it would in a real political activity. These occurrences created learning opportunities to Laura and Baynes about the realities of real politics and what they entail. This very election attracted national attention as pundits engaged in debates on the significance of games where players could not only run political systems in their virtual lives, but could also engage in political debates and arguments. Lauras political campaign, platform and alliances were substantial enough to initiate a stronger police force and run an overhaul of the system of judiciary. This creates an understanding of how deep it can be to gain ex perience in online virtual worlds. These games contain very rich contexts for learning since players are able to have new and powerful identities and actually experiment on them.( Shaffer 2004) According to Terry Flew (2005) digital games are on the increase in society, a thing which has created social isolation especially teenage boys, who hide in bedrooms; thus fail to actively engage in the society. David Marshal (2002) agrees with Flew though he is against the effects of the out come of his research He found out that games are dynamically social and extensive social conversations emerge from online gaming in huge multi-player formats. For example, the Sims Online has created entire social and political structures in some communities that have adopted a social gaming prospect in their daily lives. These online gamers actively participate in various forms of communication which includes one-on-one correspondence. These kinds of games are massive, social and intimate. On the other hand, McArthur (2008) argues that the amount of time young people play, or the frequency of the plays are significantly related to most outcomes of both civic and political occurrences in pour daily lives. McArthur continues to emphasize that the gaming influence to games has increasingly persuaded others on the voting process, charity contribution, volunteer work, and also in growing interest as far as political views and events are concerned. MacArthur finds very little evidence supporting the aspect of videogames in the promotion of attitudes and behavior that undermine behavior as well as civic commitments. On the same note, there is also little evidence supporting an association of video game playing and that of a vibrant civic and political life. McArthur concluded that the frequency of playing games was associated with only two political and civics outcomes i.e. an increase in political interest and protesting with variations that only emerge according to the leve l of frequency a gamer has to play. Henry Jenkins, a prominent scholar in digital media highlighted potential participation of cultures that come up as a result of engagement with the digital media. Such participatory cultures are in support of communities that share the same interest and involve themselves in sharing and creating what they create with others. Those with experience join in to mentor those who are coming up. With the kind of report put forth by Jenkins, the newly created participatory culture presents more opportunities for gamers to, participate in community life as opposed to isolation, engage in civic debates, or to be leaders in politics. Extensive opportunities through participation may gradually change self perception and encourage social ties with other inhabitants. In order to be empowered, one is supposed to make meaningful decisions within a civic point of view. For example, citizenship skills are learnt through engaging into political acting in order to understand choices to be made in politi cal terms; all these require steps from watching political news and acting politically. This is more like having interest in politics acting in a game world and then acting politically in the real world. Henry Jenkins (2007) Developmental Psychologists concerned with adolescent behavior have suggested that nurturing is very important during the early years in life i.e. child and teenage years. This is the time that teenagers try to anticipate the lives of adulthood and work hard to understand who they are, who they want to be and how they relate to the society. Gibson (2003) notes that the development of sociopolitical orientations is very critical; therefore assessment of the importance to which young members of the society experiment with civic and political activities available to them is crucial in development of future participation. Brown and Thomas in their arguments in virtual worlds write that players learn to create new innovations within networked environments that are well suited to social interactions, problem solving and effective communication. For example, in world of warcraft, players generally come together to form guilds in which they associate together and coordinate in how to attack and destroy the enemy as well as plan to raid the enemy. When new members are recruited, they undergo training as well as ways of resolving conflict among the guild members. This calls for the establishment of an implicit or explicit code of conduct. This kind of interaction and social influence prepares young people on the future stance of their lives. Douglas Thomas (2008) Sasha Barab and Kurt Squire have qualitatively studied the content of the game Civilization IV. This is a game where players begin to join a group settlers living in an underdeveloped land. After joining the piece of land, they try to think deeply on how they will develop the land to the standards of a big city; they therefore send a number of scouts to go and explore the territories that surround them. In order to do this, they are expected to set up a group of warriors who are supposed to fight and protect their city. These players start their ways from the Stone Age period and keep moving until the modern twenty first century. This is a process where they have to develop ideas and make wise decision on how to introduce religion, reading e.t.c at the same time; trade negotiations take place as well as talks on governing their territories especially financially and politically. This kind of simulation enables players to have opportunities of learning about the dynamics of political, economical, as well as the legal system that are stipulated in a real government. This simulation also provides opportunity for players to acknowledge their civic identities due to their experience as civic leaders in the virtual world. Such cognitions and attitude coincide with the players behavior, thus help them develop and practice civic skills. With this study, Squire and Borab concluded that young people gain both civic and political knowledge through playing commercial video games such as Civilization IV. Borab and Squire (2004). There also have been games purely designed to be used within a basic education context. Games such as Quest Atlantis include a narration based on a storyline of young male and female protagonists. This is meant to initiate a proper understanding in pupils about the purpose of some of the activities they carry out in their daily prospects. This game has also helped students perform batter in their studies, especially in subjects like, language arts, social studies and science. For example, in social studies; students have developed and appreciated history and its relationship to their present lives and the adoption of various perspectives of making decisions. As far as gaming in an educational setting is concerned, studies show that players under the guidance and intervention of adults yield more productivity and worthiness as opposed to the players under the reflection of peer groups. Other arguments though state that games with more distinct design features can facilitate greater ci vic learning conditions without the intervention of an adult. Borab and Squire (2004). More literacy scholars have introduced the new versus the old literacy in this new technology era of global understanding. Meyer and rose (1999) interprets the old literacy concept based on the assumption that the basic carrier of information in our culture is the print and the most important knowledge is the ability of students to express and understand themselves through text. Right now technology is catching up, thus the new definition of literacy has changed to mean the ability of a student tot be able to express self through digital technology which is rapidly becoming the sole carrier of information. This is critical in todays education context. This education context requires the knowledge of print literacy; this call for both the old (print) and this new (digital) concept to enhance more skilled literacy. It simply shows that there is a perverse challenge of literacy in both the digital and the non-digital innovations of our daily lives. (Meyer Rose, 1999) Electronic games have actually been used in the classroom by teachers to associate the traditional ways of teaching. Young people have always been inspired by some character in the games. This invokes some sense of attention and concentration which are part of the teachers goals in the teaching process. After the digital game use, pupils begin to reveal some real enthusiasm for writing diaries, text, coloring and making drawings; this also motivate them to keep proper records for what they have learned and drafted in the classroom. They also go on to discuss their projects in broader perspectives, thanks to the games their teachers introduce to them in classroom. The game world in schools is particularly stronger in the United Kingdom for the sole contribution of contributing and advancing personal skills in innovation and creativity. These games develop intellectual and social skills that includes self confidence, ability to explore and cooperate, enterprise and initiative, responsi bility, independence e.t.c. (Meyer Rose, 1999) According to Zimmerman and Salen, games are forms of organized play with a set of rules and guide to players. If a game is well designed with a meaningful purpose, then the game will definitely yield positive results meaningful play which is a very good learning condition. This definition of meaningful play simply means the results of the relationship between the outcome and the action in a game which are integrated and discernable into the wider view of the game. When the real design focuses on meaningful learning results, then it is able to preserve playfulness which is deserved by children and at the same time serious learning. Games really motivate players to concentrate on mastering their tasks according to how the game is supposed to be played. The innovation of very distinct elements of game design such as rewards, goals, rules, multisensory cues, interactivity, and narrative context, have proven necessary to kindle the expected outcomes of learning. For example, EVE Online is an online game that one has to subscribe to in order to play. Its nature as a casual game doesnt in any way undermine the gain of knowledge while playing it. EVE Online is all about dominating a market by setting up a number of corporations. This game has attracted so many prominent personnel including, MBAs, city traders, economists, chief executives e.t.c. to gain knowledge of complex financial lessons that they can practice in the real world. One of the gamers was interviewed and explained that once one has managed to conquer a virtual corporation spanning the universe, you can then easily be able to manage a real corporation spanning the earth. (Zimmerman and Salen 2004) Games are interactive mediums with to fully understand becomes a core challenge. Within game worlds, players have the agency. These games are therefore inhabited by the gamers, within the theories of digital games, a reliable game should be able to constrain players through the narratives and the rules that they are bound to. It is also important that the players be given the actual control for entering the virtual world. Kreimeier, 2000 continues to explain that the game developers desire is always be able to design games that enable the players to fully engage themselves in the game world. In this way, games are constructions by both the players as well as the authors. For example, the Grand Theft is a game representing the inner L.A in a way that leads players to understand some of the limited choices urban youth have, this game also has a way of inviting them to try the personae of the black man in the inner city; and the experience the sensations of the urban culture and the lif e of an urban gang member. The Grand Theft game allows gamers to inhabit this for a particular view point and also help in the development of the identities within them. (Squire, 2004). Deux Ex is a very popular game design as a science fiction game. It contains characters of duplicitous leaders of the government, very powerful corporations and also full of terrorists who are sponsored by the government. Warren Spector who designed the game offers moral choices to the gamers on whether to trust organizations or to trust individual people. In a world where no moral decision is right, the player is left tot rethink of who he wants to joint the competing organizations such, as family royalties, government or corporations. This kind of game helps us know the must important things and choices to make; as well as what to ignore when making very important decisions. All these game are differently understood and interpreted by different player.(Black 2004) According to Tom Malone (1981), there is an intrinsic motivation of games to players through challenge, control, fantasy, curiosity and opportunities for competition, collaborative play and social interaction. He goes on arguing that games have a way of creating presence, or emotional immediacy which is one of their most appealing features; the core to this is that we are entering the word to this and not merely manipulating the screen pixels. Clinton (2004) says on the other hand that immersion is fundamentally built through the game world interaction. These verbs given to players- jumping, punching, running, diving and kicking through and over enemies and few other obstacles are the building blocks through which gamers become war lords, action heroes, or civilization leaders. Clinton maintains that the digital worlds cognition is mediated thoroughly by players action capacity. Thus the players actions become the players interface with the world. Clintons observations go on proving that the first thing a player does before playing a particular game is to familiarize him with the game controls. This action gives him total control of the characters body and what he can do in the virtual world. In the real world this helps a player to conform and find out his abilities that he can use to venture through his day-to-day

Censoring Of A Free Nation :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Does the American public enjoy paying exorbitant rates for gasoline? Airplane Tickets? Food? The truth is that no one enjoys paying these grossly inflated prices just to line the pockets of money- hungry capitalists. The United States government, in an effort to control the industrialists, has created laws that contribute to the very thing they are trying to control. The nation’s main concern should be to help the â€Å"working man,† 85% of the nation, by not controlling the corporations that supply them with the products they desire, but by controlling the prices at which these items are sold. The current anti-trust laws are doing this very thing. The U.S. government is forbidding the American people from choosing who and what they want to spend their hard earned money on. With the creation of monopolies lies the future of this country, not the downfall as many Americans are led to believe. The people of this wonderful nation, this Free nation, sho uld demand the immediate revocation of the current anti-trust regulations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many people are of the opinion that ungoverned capitalism will lead to the downfall of American society, from an economic standpoint. This viewpoint, while based on a very true precedent, is merely a projection of falsified ideals from an ill-informed public. The very laws that you feel are protecting you are actually destroying your right of choice. Yes, everyday the American people buy a corporation’s product and consequently show they believe that product, or corporation, to be superior to the competition. It is with this overwhelming consumer support that the company comes to monopolize a market. Due to the manufacturing of a superior product the company is forced to dissolve, and yet another fine American corporation is destroyed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some may say that a monopoly destroys the small, family owned businesses, and in the process kills the spirit of entrepreneurship all together. This is but a small price to pay, since the creation of conglomerates would begin a new era of technological advancement. The increase in allocation of funds for research along with the drive to beat out the competition could lead the world into the new age renaissance. The theories of Darwinism would be of great use in the business environment. If left to compete with no restrictions the superior companies would emerge victorious, thus creating a more stable, more efficient business world. The progress of the nation could be increased two-fold with the right motivation and resources.