Personal Health Analysis

Personal health analysis Crystal Lawson HALT/302 12/20/13 2 1 need to do a number of things to be able to improve my overall health. I know to make sure to eat healthy, exercise regularly, and seek medical attention regularly. I need to make sure to monitor my intake because it is easy for me to gain weight due to my thyroid disease. I would be willing to Join a gym so that I will be able to get the proper exercise that is needed because that will increase my metabolism.Which will help me become healthier. I will focus on my faith so there will be spiritual guidance in place that will help me along the way to an effective recovery. I think that the effective plan of setting goals will help me find the motivation that are needed to live a healthy life. Once the goals are met I will be able to see a difference In loss of weight, more energy, and will feel better about myself. I will make sure to attend doctor appointments regularly and make sure to take all medications as prescribed y the doctor.So that I will be aware of educational Information that will help improve my health condition, eat healthy food and avoid eating fast food and fatty foods because that Is how our body get out of range, and exercise at least four to five times a week because that will help me burn all of the unneeded calories that can cause me harm. I am going to make more time for exercise because that will give me the motivation to achieve my goals.

The Vygotskian Socio Cultural Theory Education Essay

Lev Vygotsky was a psychologist that revolutionised the universe with his theory on socio-cultural development. His theory of socio-cultural development centred on the impression that a kid learns through grownups or equals. In other words a kid ‘s cognitive development is engaged through the kid ‘s environment, this means that a kid develops through interaction with other persons. Vygotsky ‘s theory differed from other theoreticians theories ; one of them was Piaget, a Swiss psychologist. His theory was that kids learn from the interior out, this means that a kid takes their ain cognition to the universe ( as discussed in category ) . Piaget ‘s theory focused on two constructs, one was the construct of assimilation, which is a cognitive procedure whereby new experiences and information are placed in the cognitive construction of the kid. The other construct is adjustment ; this is a cognitive procedure which refers to the ensuing Reconstruction that takes top ographic point when new information is taken in. Vygotsky on the other manus believe that a kid ‘s acquisition takes topographic point from the exterior in, which merely means that a kid ‘s environment determines what s/he learns. In Vygotsky ‘s socio-cultural acquisition theory one must familiarize oneself with the constructs before we can get down to hold on the thought of theory and utilize it right. The most of import characteristic to hold on is the zone of proximal development. The zone of proximal development is defined as the difference between what a scholar can make without aid and what he or she can make with aid ( Wikipedia ; the zone of proximal development ) . In footings of one ‘s apprehension, the ZPD is the distance between the existent development degree of a kid as determined by independent job resolution and the degree of possible development of a kid as determined through job work outing through equal or grownup interaction. The existent development of a kid is the maps that have already matured and the scholar understands. The possible degree of development is the maps still in ripening, the apprehension has non developed. The ZPD allows scholars to intercede through societal interaction. ( Maths method: 1 ; Goba, B ) Vygotsky believed in three of import facets that form his theory, this is the societal context, linguistic communication and mediation. These three facets are of import in the sense that ; the societal context is the context in which scholars are coming signifier. So they may come into the universe with some sort of cognition already instilled in them, this cognition may non needfully be right. Some scholar ‘s societal context may implement some sort of racism this may do the kid racialist. In other words kids gain their cognition through societal contexts, from birth the kid ‘s societal interaction depicts the sort of cognition s/he will convey to society. Because the environment is of all time altering, cognition is of all time altering. So cognition is ne'er inactive. The following facet is linguistic communication being the frontal line for the footing of this theory. If a scholar can non understand linguistic communication be it mathematical, mark or the linguistic communication medium, the scholars knowledge can non turn and spread out because of a barrier with does non allow the development of the scholars cognitive construction. Language is a manner to pass on, and if linguistic communication is non understood than the communicating nexus is broken. And the last facet is the function of mediation. In order for effectual communicating to take topographic point at that place must be some signifier of mediation to help the communicating. This is where the ZPD comes into drama. The scholar may non understand a peculiar construct by manner of mediation, something or person that aids the apprehension so the kid goes from what they do n't understand to what they can hold on. Harmonizing to Vygotsky, â€Å" Every map in the kid ‘s cultural development appears twice: first, on the societal degree, and subsequently, on the single degree ; foremost, between people ( interpsychological ) and so inside the kid ( intrapsychological ) . This applies every bit to voluntary attending, to logical memory, and to the formation of constructs. All the higher maps originate as existent relationships between persons. â€Å" The socio cultural theory is so defined as a theory of larning that looks at the part society as made in an person ‘s development ( psycology.about.com ) . It does non merely concentrate on the scholar as an person but as the scholar and cultural context on a whole. Vygotsky explained this theory in footings of linguistic communication. He argued that societal interaction signifiers this new larning through the ZPD where scholars gain new linguistic communication through societal interaction. It outlines of a linguistic communication as uniting both the traditional behavioral and lingual place of linguistic communication. This theory of linguistic communication can propose that the function of the environment can bring forth differences in understanding. The socio-cultural theory was adopted by Jerome Bruner and made westernized, now it ‘s used all over the universe.Case survey:My name is Triona Pillay and I ‘m 19 old ages old. I live in an Indian township. This twelvemonth I did my instruction pattern 220 at an Indian school which many non American indians besides attend. After learning pattern 120 and all the different fac ets we covered with the fluctuations of school types we could travel to, I thought I ‘d be good equipped to manage any schoolroom state of affairs with the manner in which learning pattern 120 had instructed us to. However the schoolroom situations we encountered was different to the 1s we were told to conceive of. Traveling into Teach at a school where the medium of linguistic communication is English was what I perceive to be easy because that my place linguistic communication and that ‘s the linguistic communication that scholars should be familiar with. But that was merely the beginning of my job during my instruction pattern. Bing a mathematics pedagogue was more hard as scholars could n't hold on specific constructs. My first error was that scholars had prior knowledge to the subjects being taught, in the instance of my class: 10 category, the subject was analytical geometry. They did n't understand that when a negative is squared the figure because positive. The scholars taught prep was a gag and category clip was for socializing. And so I had the instructor ‘s position who said that the scholars know the work and they complain for nil that they do n't understand. Society has deemed that it ‘s by and large that black scholars that do n't understand English and wo n't be able to understand what is being asked, but in this school the Indian scholars got confused with the English. Simple operations like 3x=9, hence ten =3 the scholars did n't understand how the reply 3 is obtained. Another thing that I found dismaying was that the schoolrooms were obviously n simple with no existent postings to do the schoolroom a topographic point where scholars want to come. All in all my instruction pattern was a existent experience on how scholars and grownups and their environment act upon their behavior and public presentation. Something that I found rather absorbing was during a staff meeting and they were discoursing why a peculiar scholar behaves so horrid at school and one of the suggestions was because of the manner his male parent treats him. Apparently the male parent really hit the kid in forepart of the instructor and walked off and a twosome of other times the male parent sent the kid with burst lips. This is non the lone ground I believed for the jobs I ‘ve encountered. I believed at that school it ‘s a popularity competition were everyone wants to suit in so the brilliant people stick to the smart people and the blue 1s maintain to their kin. And one time you come to rate: 8 u get initiated into one of those tonss. This is my personal positions on the state of affairss that occurred during my instruction pattern and some of the grounds why I believe the state of affairss occurred.Problem work outing utilizing Vygotskian socio-cultural theory:The major job I identified during learning pattern was the deficiency of both mathematical linguistic communication and cognition and the ability of the scholar to show their thoughts or sentiments in category due to the linguistic communication barrier of practical English words. First I ‘d wish to indicate out that job can non be solved over dark. It requires gradual input from both the instructors and the scholars. My first program of action in my category is to promote reading in my category. Possibly I can propose that the school put in topographic point 30 proceedingss of rea dings in the forenoon. The section of instruction does direct schools educational newspapers that they can give to scholars to read. The more the scholars read the more the scholars build up their vocabulary. My co-workers and I can present 10 new, interesting and exciting words that the scholars can utilize during the hebdomad, at school to replace the mundane words that they use all the clip. Using Vygotsky ‘s rules will take some patients from both the scholars and the instructors particularly for instructors who have been learning for 20 plus old ages, many people are non subjected to alter. The following measure as a maths instructor is to construct on anterior mathematical cognition and actuate the scholars, so that if they understand the rudimentss the remainder will follow. I could besides promote the scholars with higher Markss to assist those who are missing behind. We can besides hold excess categories during the interruption to heighten their mathematics accomplishments. This is a great thought as scholars can remain out of problem and acquire work done. The scholars need proper staging and we as instructors need to supply the necessary counsel. Vygotsky introduced that a kid learns through his or her environment so if the kid is taught in an environment conducive to larning the kid may bask coming to that schoolroom and larn something. I could propose to scholars that they join equals who traveling to better their instead than act upon them negatively. The following thought is a slippery one because from the clip I was in school I noticed instructors who tried to make out to scholars whose environment at place is unstable, changeable down by parents who think they know it all and believe that the instructor is interfering and should mind their ain concern. To hold a parent meeting is sometimes ineffectual because the good scholars parents merely end up coming and the parents you need to see do n't. Harmonizing to Vygotsky in a schoolroom state of affairs we the instructors are the go-between, we should hence be care how we give off information because scholars are immature and can sometimes misinterpret what we say. So when instruction, as a hereafter instructor I need to do certain I ‘m clear and precise. Concepts need to be to the point and one should non crush around the shrub. I could besides present the construct of motive in my category. If I aid the scholars in their acquisition and even in their efforts in larning I will be able to take them from the known to the unknown. Using motive scholars will desire to â€Å" seek † and work harder and by this get a better usage of both the medium of linguistic communication and the mathematical linguistic communication as a whole. The schoolroom environment is another are that I can promote scholars development. If I make the schoolroom environment a merriment manner to larn and scholars wo n't acquire laughed at and hit down for seeking. Children learn from their errors so if I encourage them and they give the incorrect reply and we correct it, they wo n't bury. In decision my belief is that Lev Vygotsky was a psychologist whose theory greatly influenced the universe. His socio-cultural theory if understood decently can help both instructors and scholars efficaciously to accomplish top consequences. I besides believe that parents should seek their best to give their kids the best societal contexts and maintain them off from negative influences. As a hereafter instructor I ‘ve learnt a batch from Vygotsky ‘s theory and will utilize this theory productively when I start learning.

The international transaction for the sale of goods is far too complex Essay - 1

The international transaction for the sale of goods is far too complex to attempt harmonisation of international trade - Essay Example At the harmonization of rules of the contract law, there is the possibility of several specific problems arising, which can be treated separately based on any visible differences about the notion. Therefore, this paper investigates the complexity of the international transaction for the sale of goods in harmonization of the international trade (Whittaker 2011, p. 371). There has been the conviction that the only real method of harmonization of the rule of contract law is possible only in private law in general. This has been evidenced by works of UNIDROIT that saw the emergence of international conventions. One of the conventions was used in Hague conventions, in 1964, on issues of international contracts for the sale of goods while the other was that in Vienna convention in 1980. Hague adopted a solution that comprised of the annex to uniform international sale law that, upon the ratification, was introduced directly into the domestic law of European countries This was regarded to be superior to the one from Vienna Convention. It was superior because the harmonized rules bound the participating states in a similar manner as that for international obligation. The major drawback today is the question on the international convention being the most appropriate avenue for harmonizing the contract law (Bellantuono 2010, p. 115). In my opinion, the complexity and intensity of the modern international commerce have encouraged several developments and other several ways of harmonization of the private law. The ‘contract out is regarded as the most interesting solution for a resolution introduced within the framework. A state may decline such a resolution. However, if the decline is not done within the time specified, the rules of the resolution may be considered as binding and may influence specific contractual clauses, or specific contracts. The model laws harmonize rules of particular contractual transactions of problems

Discuss Ghostwatch in relation to broadcasting's ideology of Essay

Discuss Ghostwatch in relation to broadcasting's ideology of 'liveness' and the centrality of liveness to television OR discuss broadcasting's inherent associations with haunting and the uncanny - Essay Example It has a capacity to broadcast a variety of program genres and can adapt to varying domestic and cultural contexts. It likewise shares with radio the capacity to broadcast events to mass audiences as promptly as they happen. This capacity of the television is viewed as characteristic of liveness (Davis, 2007). As society transforms and continuously becomes a witness to various historical and significant national and world events, the television has continued to develop with regard to its evolution from technological hardware transition to digital broadcasting and satellite services. The technological developments in television programming account for the creation of techno-material quality of television image of which liveness is a feature (Bourdon, 2004). This is without due regard to whether the television show was edited prior to the airing or is strictly ‘live.’ The content of television images is also influential to the concept of liveness, in which the television i mages are considered an audiovisual materiality created by technological processes (Davies, 2007). The technical and material quality of television image comprises its quality of liveness, indicating that liveness is a feature of all television images, regardless of whether the show is recorded and/or edited and strictly live (Davis, 2007). The concept of television liveness remains central to an understanding of television in general, despite a decline in the live broadcasting in the recent years (Bourdon, 2000). It is the viewer’s belief in live broadcasting which constitutes liveness, not merely an actual live performance of a show. This belief is influenced by the social context, the tele-visual text, and the audiences’ social characteristics alongside the temporal sequencing of television viewing. Liveness is not limited to the here and now of a television show, but is rather inclusive of edited shows such as non-fiction and non-live, as

Business Strategies Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Business Strategies - Assignment Example Therefore, it is capable of getting large and deep discounts from the suppliers, thus giving the company an augmented purchasing influence as compared to the retailers. By making more sales and fast stock turnover, the company collects imbursement from clienteles before the dealers payments due date (Thompson, 2009). Hence, Costco gets more markdowns on cost and pass the reserves on to the consumers by reducing the prices. Additionally, the threat of out of date stock, one of the foremost fiscal problems, is reduced. The main fundamentals of Costco’s policy are a reduced price, restricted collection and controlled merchandise line. The company’s costs for high-quality countrywide and local products were far much lower than its competitors. Costco’s inventory only consisted of products whose prices could be bargained, hence offer customers noteworthy savings in expenditure. The main aim of the pricing strategy was to limit its gain on trademark products and for th e private label creation, â€Å"Kirkland Signature†. ... However, the company purposely restricted the assortment in every merchandise category to rapid- selling model, magnitudes and colors. This gave the customers a wide selecting range for the commodities, hence male more sales. Additionally, the treasure-Hunt Retailing policy was used to entice the members. In this case, almost a quarter of the product hand-outs were frequently varying, so the company’s product buyers kept on looking out to make occasional purchases of goods that would petition to the business’ customers and that would be rapidly bought. Some of the products could always be found in the company, while a few of them were the treasure-hunt materials, which kept on changing. Therefore, customers could self-assuredly walk in the shops to buy them. Hence, customers procure these products every time since they may not be found in the next stock. The company acquired its products officially on the gray market from other merchants or distraught dealers who would want to avoid excess or slow-moving stock. As a result, it made more sales than its competitors who did not apply this strategy. Further, because of the company’s cheaper prices and being well known for treasure-hunt storing, it spent less on marketing as well as advertising their products. This is because; the company did not need to engage into widespread promotion of their commodities unlike other companies that were not that eminent, thus cut on expenditure. They only used direct mail advertising, which they believed was cheaper (Thompson, 2009). Costco also applied the growth policy, where they opened various locations each year, especially in the United States as well as worldwide. The company opened several warehouses in different countries that

Identify and discuss two nutrition problems facing america and 2 Essay

Identify and discuss two nutrition problems facing america and 2 recommendations to lwer the risk and health coasts associated with these issues - Essay Example Eating a balanced diet is a nutritional value that the Americans have ignored or do not follow, thus the rising economic and individual costs on healthcare. Past researches portrays that restaurants have increased due to the increase in demand for food and drinks from the Americans who do not like cooking and not observing the need for balanced diet. These poor nutritional habits are the cause of many deadly diseases that are expensive to maintain thus the need for the essay to discuss some of them. Obesity and diabetes are the major illnesses caused by poor nutrition habits that affect most of the American citizens and they facilitate the emergence of other chronic diseases (Duggan, Watkins, & Walker, 2008). Obesity is a body mass index (BMI) that is greater than 30 kg/m2 and it is caused by overeating and consumption of food rich in fats. Obesity and over weight is increasing at an alarming rate in the U.S. and this disease has led to the government increasing its resources on this disease to $150 billion. In the past 30 years, obesity and overweight have increased and currently more than 60% of the adults are either obese or overweight. The individual expenses have increased due to the increase of people paying to reduce weight. The increment in obesity is identical to the increment of restaurants in the U.S. since most people have adopted the consumption of fast food and Trans fats. The rate of children obesity is also in the rise since in 1974 only 5.1% of children were obese. The reports released in 2008 reveal that more than 14.6% of children were obese (Pan American Health Organization. 2010). The issue of obesity has become a global crisis. The World Health Organization (WHO) has listed it in its top ten-health crisis, and it is undertaking measures to enlighten the world on the issue of healthy nutrition. The BMI used by the WHO has been changed and

Film Report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Film Report - Assignment Example Those who were lucky to have gone to school and had learnt some English later indigenized the music into other languages. It was first produced in the wolof language since wolof was the biggest language group in Senegal. Since the introduction of the hip hop music, there are over three thousand thriving hip hop groups in Dakar. The groups are trying to deeply express whatever is burning in their hearts. All the groups being that they are using the hip hop music to create awareness of their countries political instability makes the country to be of particular interest in contemporary African hip hop movement. The once imported sound of fighting the power was now something distinctly Senegalese where it was only about democracy in the country. Senegal’s hip hop culture is grounded both in the local and in the transnational network of music and ideas. It’s hip hop mixes both sound and culture. When Awadi is questioned on the successfulness of hip hop in Senegal, he replies that they have a traditional connection with hip hop; traditional music called, Tulsa or kebetu where you play drums and talk on the beat. In hip life film Democracy in Senegal, the hip hop practitioners deeply exhibits that they were the ones who played the greatest role in the regime change in their country. They were not telling the people on who to vote for because they believed that all politicians in Senegal were the same but they adviced them to vote. The Sen kumpe group is very courageous.the group talks about anything including politics and is limited by nothing. The groups faces severe problems when reflecting these political issues one being that of The flag of Senegal where the media could not help in the airing of critical messages. The other one being that the groups received threats of being sued. So many people have gone into exile as a result. Bambino was threatened that his house was to be burnt down if he continued talking

Head Injuries in Sports Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Head Injuries in Sports - Assignment Example What then becomes the main question is to what extent the current environment will attempt to ameliorate the risks that recent studies have indicated. As such, three of the fundamental questions which much be engaged with are concentric upon the following: 1) to what extent has mental health evaluations of current and former players revealed with regards to the health consequences of frequent and prolonged head injuries, 2) to what extent has this level of long-term head injury been discussed and researched within the medical community, 3) what preventative measures, both in the way that the game is played, coached, and recruited can help to ameliorate this risk and are any of these approaches likely to take hold within the current environment that defines today’s sporting environment. Additionally, and most importantly, the research will focus upon the level and extent to which stories pertaining to this topic have been represented and ultimately forgotten within the current news media of the past five years. As a means of informing this particular piece of research, the author has chosen to focus a level of analysis upon the death of Junior Seau; a renowned NFL player whose suicide has long been suspected to be the result of CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encepalopathy). With the death by suicide of a well known footballer, Junior Seau, the attention of the news media and society has shifted towards the role that head injuries sustained in sport have towards the mental health and quality of life that players can expect to experience. Moreover, head injury is not something that is restricted to football, it is exhibited within sports such as boxing, hockey, and soccer on a daily basis (Neselius et al., 2012). Each of these sports, as well as a variety of others that are too numerous to list, create an expectation of contact and a high likelihood that sustained exposure of the

Competitive advantages with the merger of exxon and mobil Case Study

Competitive advantages with the merger of exxon and mobil - Case Study Example Unlike other companies in this industry, such as Shell, Exxon-Mobil now has a new knowledge base of talented professionals that supersedes other industries. The revenues earned by Exxon-Mobil have also provided the firm with new opportunities for further acquisitions, including its 2010 purchase of XTO Energy (Miller, 1). This acquisition has given the business much higher competitive edge due to its capital purchase as XTO is a leader in providing new innovations in unconventional energy resources, including natural gas and fossils fuels that burn cleaner than competitive products. This is a competitive advantage since regulations for clean air emissions are targeting firms and Exxon-Mobil is already geared for compliance and will be able to avoid non-compliance fees and taxation like some of its gas industry competitors. It is clear that the company’s largest competitive advantage comes in the form of high profitability. Miller, Don. â€Å"Exxon Deal for XTO Energy May Set Off Wave of Energy Mergers and Acquisitions†. Money Morning Magazine Online. Accessed October 8, 2011 at

George Washimgton Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

George Washimgton - Annotated Bibliography Example Biographers identify the family home at Bridges Creek, near Potomac, in Westmoreland County as Washington’s birthplace (Thayer 7). Washington’s family had owned tobacco plantations and slaves and his father Augustine Washington had entered iron mining works. Washington was the â€Å"eldest son of Augustine Washington and his second wife, Mary Ball Washington, who were prosperous Virginia gentry of English descent (Ameslab.gov). It is a startling piece of information is that George Washington had not gained formal education and his informal education includes variety of subjects such as mathematics, the Classics, surveying, map making and the rules of civility. After the death of his father George Washington went to live with his half brother Lawrence at Mount Vernon and Lawrence treated Washington as his son. Young Washington has six siblings including Lawrence, Samuel, Elizabeth, John Augustine and Charles. Lawrence had married to the great Fairfax family in Virginia and Lawrence’s care and moral support provided inspiration to young Washington’s life. The Virginians played a prominent and influential role in Washington’s life in developing a prolific career. George Washington is widely accepted as the ‘father of his country’ and with his distinguished service as a military general contributed prolific victories for revolutionary army in independence struggle. Washington’s military service was not popularly appreciated because it lacked a series of conquests and large scale battles. Anyhow, Washington’s military career emphasised effective leadership, strategic, tactical expertise and trained. Washington’s early military life began in the French and English battle for capturing the control of the upper Ohio Valley (McJoynt). He had started his military career as a commander who led Virginian expeditions in the Western territory in 1754. After some minor

Treating traumatic stress in children and adolescents Essay Example for Free

Treating traumatic stress in children and adolescents Essay Introduction                      Trauma, according to the National Trauma Society, is the among the leading causes of death in the last forty years and accounts for close to 80 percent of the general population in the US. The study shows that children and adults are the common victims; approximately half of the adult population in their late teens is victims to a case of maltreatment or trauma while about 25 percent report more cases. Chemtob and Abramovtiz (2008) undertook studies in preschool and noted 53% of the children experiencing 1 of the 13 cases. This figure however secludes other causes of trauma, as it does not entail sexual and physical abuse. Trauma starting at such an early stage in life sets the ground for psychopathology in later stages of life. This paper shall focus on the nature of traumatic injury, what causes it, the varied forms of trauma present and how to cope as well as vital treatments available. Traumatic Experience                      Trauma is any case that experiences a prolonged or irregular harm of the body. The experience is life threatening and may overwhelm the mechanisms in the body vital in protecting the body. Several people go through many instances of trauma. Severe trauma like combat exposure and serious accidents are common instances. However, even the most successful people face traumatic experiences. Issues in childbirth, sickness or injury, parental drunkenness or insanity as well a parental divorce are common instances of traumatic instances for children (Boer, and Verken, 2009). In future, motor vehicle cases, surgical processes, lack of employment or passing away of loved family members are all cases that are life threatening. The issue regarding trauma or other bad experiences is the level at which it affects with the happiness of an individual. Other people can succumb to depression and dysfunction even from less what appears as less serious cases. This form s of reactions relates to an individual’s health and how much trauma the have experienced in the earlier part of their life. When one is able to go through hard times in life, like being happy, then the traumatic event forms part of their past allowing them to live their present life. In cases where the traumatic cases are not well managed or connected to the body, then an individual’s experiences is lived as though the past and present are still connected. A good instance a Vietnam person who is aware of his mental condition that is at present while his body still lives as though it is still in the early 70s. The person is bound to suffer from panic attacks and paranoia on a daily basis and this noted from the varied symptoms of misery (Blaustein, Kinniburgh, 2007). The body processes and not the actual event that took place are the main causes of the post-traumatic dysfunction. The war that took place in Vietnam took place long in the past. The events that take place in him are memories to people who have not recovered. The trends in the person’s body and nervous system operation, that started much earlier, form the basis of emotions, and thoughts that make a person agonize over unresolved trauma. There are several forms of trauma, like natural di sasters which experts states is common in 13-30 percent of people who have gone through such experiences of natural disasters. The natural disasters may range from earthquakes, fires, floods, and volcanic eruptions. Other forms of traumatic event comprise of mass interpersonal violence, fires, vehicle accidents, sexual assaults and violence among others. Early Development of Trauma                      Getting to know of the ways interpersonal relationships at the start of life affects the progress of neural pathways used in self-regulation. This is vital as it helps us know the formation of an individual’s personality, behavior, and persistent trend in the family dynamics. A psych neurobiological aspect that is keen on the first years of a person’s life when the human brain is growing rapidly those other parts of their life. Traumatic events have an impact on a person’s mind and body and have long-term impact on their life. Secure attachment bonds are the most effective process to help in coping against trauma-induced psychopathology in children and adults (Blaustein, Kinniburgh, 2007). The increasing number of children who have the signs of psychiatric disorder in the modern day and create challenges to community and mental state to assess the vital elements of attachment formation and the time many people believe is the ba sis where all psychiatric disorders arise. Nature and Causes of Trauma                      A person’s life goes through several issues among them; a review one’s life in terms of the success, failures and things set to achieve; looking for a meaning in life like their place in the society, things valued against expectations; conversant of ageing, the goals to meet and; the physical attributes like grey hair, and hormones. These changes in a person’s life affect a person’s life resulting to depression and trauma. Trauma events can be objective or subjective lacking the ability to control something. Traumatic cases may not arise due to disasters; they can also be due to accidents, and stress. This makes a person to suffer from varied signs of trauma. There is similarly other factor in the social realm like trauma like war or politics that can lead to extensive or unexpected cases of trauma. Cases like when one watches dangerous instances that may lead to the death of a person or witnessing the death of a person c an cause trauma, while instances of human rights violations like kidnapping or torture are most common causes of posttraumatic disorders (PSTD)( Alexander, 2012). There are also cases of domestic violence that cause trauma like marriages, child abuse and sexual cases. Studies show that sexual violence is a common cause of trauma. The trauma may have notable effects on a person’s emotions. Avoiding emotional distress is viable but may not work; however, stopping emotions can be stopped by intense emotions. Therefore, there is a probability to manage emotions, reflect, and control them before they become hard to control. Emotions like fear and anxiety are notable in experiences. Keeping aware of things allows one to apply defense mechanisms before they go out of hand. Additionally, it is necessary that one becomes aware of the symptoms of trauma. Every person responds differently, this can lead to emotions like anger and fear and it may be destructive on an individual’s life like keeping distance from friends and misusing drugs. It is easy to see a person with traumatic signs. They are grouped into physical, behavioral, emotional, and cognitive signs. A person’s body may react by facing pains, tiredness, lack of appetite, and lack of sleep. These signs are common irrespective of the physical condition of the person. The emotional signs arising from trauma are fear and anxiety, shock and belief. This makes a person become overwhelmed. The emotional stress that arises due to trauma can affect a person’s behavior and their relation with other people (Blaustein, Kinniburgh, 2010). They remove themselves from the social setup, start abusing drugs, and acquire poor tendencies. The pattern of though acquired by a person is affected by the event and cognitive signs like poor concentration, and difficulty making decisions arise. These signs begin once the traumatic event is experienced. This event is hard to recover from and may take up to years to acquire their original state. The victim-based elements can lead to variations of the impact of traumatic experiences, which regard to: gender, age and lifestyle, and nervous system as well as the distress surrounding the experience. Trauma can alter the meaning of life and create feelings and experiences not easily grouped in diagnostic guidebooks. These existential effects comprise of notable emptiness, lack of connection with the spiritual being or disruptions in ability to care and trust (Arvidson, et. al., 2011). There exist varied forms of traumatic reactions like depression, psychotic depression, anxiety, and stress. Trends applied in the flow of energy and information defined as chaotic states show the absence of resolution of trauma. The impact is that it interferes with the capacity to adapt to changes in an environment. The attachment association at the start of life shapes the maturity of a child’s brain, which starts an adaptive activity in the assessment visual and auditory socio-emotional communicative signs and stress reaction. This model of critical understanding into child development similarly operates in teenagers and adults. Reid states that trauma takes place before there is sufficient differentiation of the person from others and before one acquires the ability to symbolize, a child is not able to remove itself from experience. This is common in adults and children going through traumatic disorders. Effects of Trauma                      When faced with a dangerous situation, people in most cases go through feelings of fear and helplessness. This experience can be through physical harm or witnessing an event. After these experiences begin to go through experiences that changes how they see life. The length of time these problems are noted may have a bad impact on the victims. There are varied effects that arise from these conditions; a person may get overwhelmed with fear and others may begin showing symptoms. The most common symptoms include mental and physical re-minder of the experience(s). Re-experiencing the trauma is common in the survivors. This means that they continue to have similar mental, emotional, and physical experiences that took place sometime back. This can be thinking about the trauma, witnessing image of what took place, feeling disturbed and feeling physical impressions similar to what took place. The victims acquire the feelings and act a though the trauma is taking place again; they start feeling vulnerable, panic, anger and think of harming people (Roth, 2013). This is since they are anxious and get agitated, they get trouble sleeping and concentrating. These problems are never voluntary and the victim finds it hard to control it from taking place. Mentally, the experience can comprise, bad memories, change of mood when reminded of the event, difficulty controlling emotions due to anxiety and difficulty concentrating. There are similarly physical reactions to trauma like difficulty sleeping, getting agitated, startled by loud sounds, getting sweaty and shaky when faced with certain situations and difficulty breathing. Due to these upsetting feelings, the trauma victims in most cases behave as though they are in constant danger when stressed or something reminds them of an event. They may tend to feel unsecure in cases that are not dangerous. Since these people acquire the feeling of danger in certain circumstances, they may become aggressive in cases that are not necessary. Although going through the signs are not a pleasant feeling, they show that the body and mind are trying to handle the traumatic experience. These signs are automatic and there is a probability that going through these signs are part of the mind’s effort to make sense of what takes place. Post Traumatic Symptoms                      There are two forms of symptoms for traumatic victims: secondary and associated symptoms. In secondary symptoms, issues arise due to post-traumatic experiences and avoidance signs. For instance, since a person wants to evade talking about a traumatic experience an increased number of symptoms may arise as a result. As time goes by, the secondary symptoms are a trouble and affect the victim compared to the first experience and avoidance signs. Associated symptoms are issues that arise indirectly from excessive fear; however, it may take place because of things that take place at the time the trauma happened. For instance, a person who is psychologically traumatized in an accident may be harmed physically and depressed due to he cannot work or leave the house. There are varied issues known as secondary or associated trauma signs: aggressive tendency to other people can take place due to frustration over the ability to manage the traumatic signs (Lopez, 2012). Similarly, it can take place when other events that took place at the period of trauma make the person angry. Some people become aggressive since they grow up in a family with people overreacted when they become angry and could not manage their feelings. Since anger makes people to stay away, they similarly hinder people from creating a positive connection and getting assistance. Anger and aggression have the ability to result to job issues, marital and relationship is sues as well as loss of close associates. Similarly, guilt can arise when traumatic sign make it hard to meet the daily responsibilities. Moreover, it can take place when people start doubting their actions or what they missed in trauma. Most people in trying to resolve issues end up blaming themselves. This is not genuine and it does not take into consideration issues that arise. This leads to extensive levels of distress and can stop a person from meeting other people. The society in such cases ends up blaming the survivor and this is not right. The victims can at times feel disconnected from their friends, family, and associates. In most cases, it does not take into consideration the reason as to why the event took place and starts having trouble in expressing what they feel. After the traumatic experience, the victims are not able to handle some issues and stop trying to mend their relationships with friends and family (Roth, 2013). The victims can similarly face some physical signs and issues that arise due to facing extended period of physical distress or anxiety. They hence stop going for medical checkups, as it is constant reminder of trauma and leads to anxiety and hence poor health. The habits commonly applied by victims of trauma like consumption of alcohol have the effect of deteriorating the health of victims. Similarly, other things can take place like when going through trauma like physical injury (Lieberman, van Horn, 2008). Lastly, misuse of drugs and alcohol are other ways that people going through trauma us e to stop any bad feelings. These common steps would prove harmful to the victims in future. However, the posttraumatic experience signs and other trauma-connected issues could take up a big chunk of an individual’s attention when they do through pain, and distress. Effective Therapeutic Interventions                      People have varied meanings to their lives and this is common in their experiences and life choices made. The life forms their identity and it is shaped by psychological, cultural or event. It is hence necessary to take into consideration the elements necessary for effective management of traumatic experiences. The ability to sustain continuity at a general life perspective and trauma level is believed to be a sign of managing trauma. This ability ought to show itself and the victim should be aware. Acquiring meaning from life is a vital step in coping with trauma. The most effective process entails an inner search for value of life to the victim. Questions like why and what to achieve are some of these questions for the survivor in getting meaning. The realization of the ability of the body as a problem and solution in post-traumatic experiences results to the emergence of psychotherapy. In reference to talk therapy as a model of coping with trauma, the method acts as though the mind and emotions are an area of healing. The body processes are more accurate when compared to using talk or emotional elements (David and Driscoll, 2013). The strength and persistence of traumatic experiences shows that we are able to repeat tendencies, feelings, and thoughts in a repetitive manner. These patterns may go on for long disregarding efforts to control it. This persistence arises due to past traumatic instances having being due to life or death. The interventions affecting the ameliorating trauma ought to focus on advancing the effectiveness of psychobiological communications in the body attachments and maximizing the maturation of limbic-autonomic connections and brain systems applied in regulation. Assessing oneself is the most effective way to coping with trauma among the varied ways available in assessing oneself in cases of traumatic experience. Possessing the feeling of responsibility, guilt or passiveness are what goes through an individual. These factors start to rise when coping begins. According to psychologists and spiritual leaders, there ought to undertake several processes to cope with trauma. The first step is to taking good care of the body, it can be physical injury or emotional affliction. This is through eating fruits and a balanced diet, constant exercise like running and sit-ups as well as getting enough sleep to get a healthy body (Kuhn, and Pieramici, 2011). These steps are vital as it helps an individual cope with stressful situations and improves their mood. Additionally, one is able to mobilize their support model through creating a good relationship and connecting with others going through these experiences. When one is able to talk about what they experience they are in a good position to understand their emotions and are able to note what needs rapid action. Keeping a normal schedule is another professional measure that helps cope with trauma. The victims should stay in touch with others and avoid keeping to themselves. Their daily activities should progress as normal as this will allow them to setup themselves and acquire a sense of order and avoid life iss ues that arise. Having fun with life is another way to coping with stressful situations, as doing things that one likes; cooking, watching the television, or singing. This allows one to restore their life. Victims of traumatic experiences in most cases go through hard times in life and may feel secluded from others. In such instances, it is recommended to seek help from experts like psychiatrist, counselors, spiritual leaders, or other people who may offer valuable assistance (Allen, 2008). In this regard, meditation and prayer are useful ways and is often encouraged by spiritual leaders like pastors and priests. Looking for spiritual guidance could be of great help to victims in getting to understand and get answers to questions or doubts people face in life. In all the efforts applied to help victims of trauma to cope with the condition, it is highly recommended that they do not do things that would aggravate their condition. This could be like avoiding drug, stressful environments, and harmful people. It is common for trauma victims to engage in drugs as a way to ease their pain. However, professional studies and advice show that these drugs pose a harm in any progress made to get b etter (Legome, and Shockley, 2011). It is hence more advisable to take time and follow doctors and pastor’s advice. Taking time off to relax, walk in parks and listening to soothing music is helpful. Spending time with family and friends are also vital in soothing the mind.   Spiritual and Practical Methods to coping with Trauma                      Trauma is both a psychological and emotional change of the body. An effective of treating the mind is through soothing the mind and acquiring meaning to life. This can be through use of spiritual and practical measures in handling trauma. Spiritual leaders like pastors and priests are known and keen to handling depression and trauma. They help individuals to handle depression and trauma. They are of the belief that prayer allows us to handle issue we face in life. Christians see trauma as one where it stimulates through the feel of guilt or harming other people’s feelings as well as having outlived God’s will leading to depression. Moreover, when one has the feeling of death, it can harm and lead to trauma (Johnson, 2011). In this regard, meditation on the Holy Scriptures, prayer and other spiritual activities can allow one have the ‘balm of Gilead’ that heals the sick or sin. References are made to the scriptures on how G od comforts the depressed and not pulled down by depressions. There is justification for spiritual healing, though spiritual leaders call upon their follows to acquire a more practical model and look for treatment from health professionals. Conclusion                      Posttraumatic experience is a condition that causes much distress to its victims. This paper has focused on varied issues that relate to posttraumatic experiences and considers it an act of detachment of the memory from the self. It focused on the causes of trauma. They are varied types like those caused by natural disasters; floods, fire, and earthquake: there those that arise from personal experience like sexual harassment, rape, accidents, and death. Its victims have symptoms that are easy to identify like depression, lack of concentration, sweaty and shaky. They have some memories that trigger a reaction of fear and insecurity. The victims end up being in a state that they lose control of themselves. The effects that arise from this condition is that they can harm themselves and those close to them, they become detached from the social setup and this may lead to them getting involved in drugs and alcohol to cope with it. It is treatable and this is through psychotherapy, which involves the victims, process and integrates so that they can in the end work as other memories work as opposed to working on its own. Therapy entails handling and comforting the victim to restore the feeling of safety. They victims here are allowed to tell their story and are able to understand themselves and their environment in a setting of light and hence restore relationships. This process is with the help of professionals like counselors and psychiatrists. Similarly, the treatment can take a spiritual turn where pastors and priests help the trauma victims to cope with their conditions. Spiritual and professional are vital as they help restore the person in a state of peace and tranquility. Overall, trauma victims need a lot of love, care, and consideration for them to get back to their initial state. They need to go through exercises, relaxation and go about their normal activities with the help of friends and family. The ir future is hence brighter and goes back to normal with the society playing a role. References Alexander, J. (2012). Trauma: A Social Theory. Cambridge: Polity Allen, J. (2008).Coping With Trauma, Second Edition: Hope Through Understanding. Arlington: American Psychiatric Pub Arvidson, J. et. al. (2011) Treatment of Complex Trauma in Young Children: Developmental and Cultural Considerations in Application of the ARC Intervention Model. Journal of Child Adolescent Trauma, 4: 1, 34 — 51 Blaustein, M., Kinniburgh, K. (2007). Intervening beyond the child: The intertwining nature of attachment and trauma. British Psychological Society Briefing Paper, 26, 48–53. Blaustein, M., Kinniburgh, K. (2010). Treating traumatic stress in children and adolescents: How to foster resilience through attachment, self-regulation, and competence. New York, NY: Guilford Press. Boer, P. and Verken, C. (2009). AO Handbook: Orthopedic Trauma Care: Orthopedic Trauma Care. New York: Thieme. Chemtob, C. M., Nomura, Y., Abramovitz, R. A. (2008). Impact of conjoined exposure to the World Trade Center attacks and to other traumatic events on the behavioral problems of preschool children. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 162(2), 126-133. Johnson, S. (2011). Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy with Trauma Survivors: Strengthening Attachment Bonds. New York: Guilford Press Kuhn, F. and Pieramici, D. (2011). Ocular Trauma: Principles and Practice. New York: Thieme. Legome, E. and Shockley, L. (2011). Trauma: A Comprehensive Emergency Medicine Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Levetown M. (2008). Communicating with children and families: from everyday interactions to skill in conveying distressing information. Pediatrics.121: pp. 1441-1460. Lieberman, A., van Horn, P. (2008). Psychotherapy with infants and young children: Repairing the effects of stress and trauma on early attachment. New York, NY: Guilford Press. Lopez, L. (2012). Trauma Counseling: Theories and Interventions. New York: Springer Publishing Company. Roth, M. (2013).Memory, Trauma, and History: Essays on Living with the Past. New York: Columbia University Press. V., David and Driscoll, P. (2013). ABC of Major Trauma. New York: John Wiley Sons Source document

Responses to the Boasian School of Anthropology Essay Example for Free

Responses to the Boasian School of Anthropology Essay The Boasian school of anthropology, headed by Franz Boas, was among those that pioneered modern concepts in anthropology. The Boasian school was critical of overgeneralizing perspectives or theories in the sciences, including the cultural evolutionary school in anthropology, choosing instead to adopt rigorous empiricism in its approach. The Boasian school believed in the world having distinct cultures and that cross-cultural generalizing often made in the natural sciences are not possible in anthropology. The school today uses the four field approach that divides the field into socio-cultural, biological, linguistic and prehistoric anthropology. While Leslie White was educated in the Boasian school of anthropology, he later began to question the anti-evolutionary views of his early education. He developed and advocated an anthropological, ethical and political view of the world almost targeted against the Boasian school. Leslie White embraced two contradictory models of culture: the sut generts conceptions from his Boasian education and the materialist-utilitarian framework developed out of his concern with cultural evolutionism. White never reconciled the two but he definitely gave stress to the Boasian-based sut generts in case of conflicts. White feared that the Boasian schools concept of cultural determinism represented an emasculation of anthropology and instead advocated science and evolution, particularly 19th Boasian School 1 century theories. White regarded culture as superorganic made up of the technology, social organization and ideology levels. It should be noted, however, that White still held on to the Boasian-based sut generts and that he still tended to downgrade the impact made by the natural environment on culture and society. Julian Steward was a fellow evolutionist with Leslie White. Differing slightly from White, Julian stewards concepts of evolution and progress was not limited to 19th century concepts. Steward, who was a pluralist in terms of openness to other views, never sharply broke up with the Boasian school. But he did find anomalies in the historical particularism paradigm of the Boasian school. Steward viewed evolution as recurrent forms, processes, and functions, in opposition to Boasians repudiation of evolution and regularity in culture. He also perceived culture as superorganic, similar to a limited extent to Whites culturology. Steward’s multi-linear evolution aspect of his approach to anthropology differed from the extreme particularism of the Boasian school but without adopting the antithetically unilinear evolution concept of White. Boasian School 1 References (December 2006). The Paradoxical Anthropology of Leslie White. Retrieved from the American Anthropological Association Website http://www. aaanet. org/gad/history/088white2. pdf. Leslie White. (2006, July 25). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 22:16, December 4, 2006, from http://en. wikipedia. org/w/index. php? title=Leslie_Whiteoldid=65691607. (May 2006). ESP/ANT 133. University of California Davishttp://www. des. ucdavis. edu/ esp133/133-08l. htm.

The Changing Direction Of Hip Hop Music Essay

The Changing Direction Of Hip Hop Music Essay Popular culture abounds in gender stereotypes. In the mass media, women have often been trivialized, marginalized and presented as inferior to men. Nearly always media depictions of women have relied on the opposition of good vs. bad. Taking into consideration popular music, it has been argued that the naÃÆ' ¯ve portrayal of women that prevailed decades ago has now given way to greater diversity, more complexity, and dramatically mixed messages about the individual female persona and womens roles in society. Despite this, it is still very unlikely for women to be presented as independent, intelligent, or superior to men. Moreover, the sexism is more prevalent and more extreme in some types of media or music genres than in others. One of the most popular hip hop genres, rap music, seems to be expanding the bar of its popularity by presenting extremely misogynistic portrayal of women. In this chapter I will focus on the reasons why this troubling trend have been closely related to h ip hop and what response it have received from the media and various social and political organizations. As indicated in the first and the second chapter many instances of rap songs present a myriad of violent and misogynistic messages. As long as hip hop music grows in popularity its lyrical content can no longer be ignored. Many critics have recently taken a critical look at hip hop phenomenon and the messages rap music conveys. Some, as bell hooks, would argue that rap music can be considered as a backlash on feminism and an attempt to reinforce male supremacy. Others would claim that this music serves to present men superiority over women as a natural and normal hierarchy. According to Patricia Hill Collins, rap can be perceived as one of the controlling images and used as a tool to subordinate black women. It is also argued that raps misogynistic lyrics may serve to justify violent behavior toward black women. Nowadays hip hop is a phenomenon which is spread worldwide. It is produced by giant production companies for mass distribution and consumption targeted to youth. Messages and images presented in this type of music catch attention of all racial groups. That is why the pursuit to impose superiority over black women may be extended to women in general. Images perpetuated in rap music contribute to gendered socialization and may be responsible for reinforcing gender inequality. Glen Ford, the executive editor of the Black Agenda Report electronic journal, claims that the industry executives and producers in order to take the full advantage of the popularity of hip hop and increase sales encourage artists to use provocative, explicit lyrics. Aspiring rappers are being used as raw material for the final product that sells. The whole marketing strategy is usually tailored long before the given rapper signs the contract. The artists image and behavior is adjusted to the current market demands. The rappers persona and the song seem to be just a final touch to the whole marketing process. On the other hand, those artists who do not comply with such a controversial strategy are being marginalized. As a result, rappers often abandon political and social messages and focus on money and sexual exploitative motifs, in response to corporate control. The issue of the music industry being a responsible party for setting disturbing trends in contemporary hip hop is well documented in Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes by Byron Hurt. An avid hip hop fan and director of this well acclaimed documentary challenges the big record labels to take responsibility for the destructive sexist images perpetuated in rap hits. The movie consists of numerous revealing discussions with aspiring as well as successful male rappers and hip hop moguls. During one interview, the director asks an aspiring rapper why he would rather turn to violent and misogynistic messages in his songs than political or social issues. The rapper answers that they the industry do not want to hear nor accept that: They usually dont give us deals when we speak righteously. To support this statement, a former president of pioneering hip hop recording company Def Jam Records Carmen Ashhurst, suggests that the emergence of a controversial genre, gangsta rap, was preceded by buying out the minor independent labels which would focus on more ambitious issues in the produced rap songs. Ashhurst states: At the time that we were able to get a bigger place in the record stores, and a bigger presence because of this major marketing capacity, the music became less and less conscious. Nowadays a few entertainment corporations in liaison with corporate dominated radio have gained a total control of the market. Independent labels have little share in the existing market and the most successful ones usually serve as subcontractors to the major labels. They also depend on bigger companies in terms of record distribution and business survival. Tricia Rose, in one of the interviews, claims that young people nowadays are under enormous marketing pressure. Instead of finding the way how to express what they really feel, they are being encouraged how to see their creativity through the marketing logic and how to sell it. They are forced to fit their products into existing marketing demands. Moreover, she claims that in case of black youth this is even more complicated as the corporate spaces for their expression are narrower. The diversity of their representation in music is limited. The industry dictates what can be considered as being real black. This statement seems to be true as in case of white artists it is easy to find them in every category of music, whereas black artists are nearly always associated only with hip hop genres as soul, RB, or rap. Moreover, as Rose claims, white artists are able to perform their individual self, while black artist manifest their blackness in the first place. Such a limited access to avai lable ways of presenting their black identity has led to perpetuation of negative stereotypes that haunt black community. Through the marketing perspective, rap has turned out to be a success but its artistic value has diminished. Yet, in case of sexism hip hop cannot be exclusively held responsible, as this problem pertains not only to the black society. But it is important to note that exploitation of women has become almost a requirement in order to establish rappers identity of a successful, respectable black male artist. Black female rappers in order to fit into the creative spaces available to them are forced to silently agree upon such terms. This is particularly troubling for black females who have been struggling for a long time to refute the image sexualized and exploited by white patriarchal supremacist society. Tricia Rose claims that the rappers cannot be blamed for the oppression of their female counterparts. They only act as the middle men and the prominent music executives are to be blamed for making profits on the negative representation of black society, and predominantly its female part. As stated before, what makes hip hop so appealing is not only the music and beats but mainly its powerful lyrics. According to publicist and political activist, Kevin Powell, the most salient point of the record companies marketing strategy is to make radio stations play the song nationwide over and over again. He notes that many listeners of hip hop would not only buy the popular single or record heard on the radio but they will also grasp the subliminal message conveyed by the lyrics. Powell, by judging the popular male rap lyrics, concludes that the only way one can be a real black man is to act like a hard gangster, women and homosexual hating thug. Objectification of women, as noted in the first chapter, occurs in a great share of top rap hits. The hits that have reached the top charts and sold in millions of copies. This suggests that denigrating women is a successful marketing tool for music industry executives, but in fact the consumers contribute to the selling process. Deni grating portrayal of women together with vicissitudes of the life in the hood partly occur as a response to a supposed consumer demand for symbolic, stereotypical representation of the ghetto and its inhabitants. It is important to note that the fans of rap music are not only young blacks from the ghetto. Many of avid listeners are white youth, who may have little firsthand experience of living in disadvantaged areas. For them hip hop songs may serve as a source of information. One of the white hip hop fans, interviewed by Hurt, admitted that for a representative of upper middle-class white suburban area, rap serves as a means of experiencing completely different culture. The question arises whether rap music can be treated as a reliable basis for evaluation of black culture or those are the industry forces merely responsible for the content of the music. Watkins in his article on black nationalism claims that explicit and misogynistic rap lyrics have revived common beliefs about black social pathology and deviance. The interviewed white hip hop fan also confirmed that in his opinion rap music reinforces racial stereotypes held by many whites. As mentioned before, rap music initially developed out of the experiences of youth in disadvantaged black neighborhoods of the Bronx and aspired to be a real voice of the ghetto. Thus, theoretically speaking, the messages conveyed by rap songs should have mirrored the real life of Americas inner cities. Contemporary hip hop phenomenon is still marketed by the same strategy, as being a reflection of the urban life on the streets. Keith Negus in his article broadly presented how the music industry agents work on their productions to reflect the cultural phenomenon of hip hop. He states that one of the strategy to grasp the real street experience is that the music industry sends its agents into the streets, clubs and other public places of disadvantaged neighborhoods in order to gather information about the newest trends and prevailing issues. Gender relations and violence constitute one of the pervasive concerns of the ghetto context. The harsh conditions of the ghetto may put its residents in sharp mutual conflict and make them turn to unconventional, illegal sources of gaining self-esteem. As argued in the first chapter, economic success and violence are considered one of the ways to gain respect in the ghetto. One of the studies of disadvantaged African-American neighborhoods of the late sixties indicates how crucial it was for the black unpriviliged men to be perceived as superior to women, despite the fact that in some cases such behavior was far from reality. More recent research of Miller and White shows that also today degradation of women shapes gender relations of the inner cities. It is argued that such a way of conduct stems from the set of rules that regulate life in the ghetto. For young men in such neighborhoods, the street code praises sexual achievements, promiscuity, and the exploitation of women: Because of the implications sex has for their local social status and esteem, the young men are ready to be regaled with graphic tales of one anothers sexual exploits. . . . Status goes to the winner, and sex is prized as a testament not of love but of control over another human being. The goal of the sexual conquests is to make a fool of the young woman. . . .[The male] incurs sanctions [from his peers] for allowing a girl to rule him or gain positive reinforcement for keeping her in line. . . . In many cases the more the young man seems to exploit the young woman, the higher is his regard within the peer group. Due to the poor socioeconomic conditions African American men are said to be deprived of the traditional traces of dignity. The street code favors celebration of material success and life of a women-exploiting pimp. Concluding findings listed above, it may be argued that both neighborhood and the industry influences rap lyrical content. As the corporations have been usurping the black mass culture for decades, hip hop seems to be an another product line. The issues as objectification of women have become a troubling global trend. In order to change it, not only the misogynistic nature of hip hop music needs to be revised but also the mass expectation for the product reshaped. As the author of Pimps Up, Hos Down: Hip Hops Hold on Young Black Women, Tracy Sharpley-Whiting claims, nowadays hip hop is only more explicit form in articulating mens conflicted relations with women. The problem boils down to the question of the ideas about masculinity and the role which men have to perform in American culture. She claims that contemporary men and boys feel displaced, as they compete with alpha women and girls in every aspect of life in ways that their fathers and grandfathers did not. Concurrently, she notes that men are in conflict with American ideals concerning manhood and a patriarchal society. Supposedly the only area t hat men feel able to exert power and dominance is in the field of sexuality and violent strength. Physical and sexual degrading attitude towards women, presumably, aims to bring back the balance in the female dominated world. Sharpley-Whiting notes that as much as hip hop have become a rawer form of expression the customers tastes also coarsened. The multi-billion generating music industry caters for these tastes as many rap consumers find degrading women entertaining. Similar point of view is presented by a hip hop culture researcher, Darren Rhym, in his study on gangsta rap and misogyny. He shares the same idea that hatred toward women is triggered by men who struggle to empower themselves.   Gangsta rappers who are notorious for misogynistic and, supposedly, men empowering lyrics, use rap music to define themselves, their lifestyle and outlook on life in general. Gangsta rappers share self-centered views of their community and the world.  Ã‚  They search for the way how to assure themselves as men, same as white men when they become successful.   That is why rappers usually present themselves as being greatly misunderstood victims of the establishment and apply a me against the world approach. By doing so they can claim innocence and adopt power position which enables them to view black women as objects and reasons for their failures. Even though, as it has been stated before, misogyny toward black women is present in the code of the stree t, restructured content of rap music can be used as a powerful tool to rejuvenate gender relations in the ghettos. As it is rather a hard and long-term process to change the socioeconomic conditions under which hip hop is created, it seems to be easier for the media and various institutions to influence the music executives to promote more affirmative content of hip hop songs. Especially that, as Rhymes notes, the most successful rappers who acquired enormous wealth somewhat lose their ghetto credibility. Gangsta rappers commonly identify with the inner-city black community and the hardship of the urban life. However, once a rapper achieves a material success he is no longer a part of the world he raps about.  Frustrated rappers may then look for various topics that will keep them real and connected with the ghetto. The motif of degrading women commonly seen in many rap songs, may be used as a strategy to regain credibility or acceptance of the home community. Needless to say, thi s is a wrong and disturbing technique. There are other topics to rap about that rappers may choose and still remain genuine. They may use their from-rags-to-riches life experience and share it with their underachieving counterparts. Not only will they sound authentic serving as a role model but also inspire pursuit of better life and lifelong dreams among the inhabitants of the inner-cities. It can be noted recently that hip hop is facing an increasing backlash. Such an attitude towards rap in particular has been preceded by many infamous events. The 2005 Academy Award for best original song in a feature film went to Three 6 Mafias controversial Its Hard Out Here For a Pimp from the film Hustle and Flow. The song performed at the Oscars, provoked a strong criticism of hip hop for perpetuation of the exploitation of women. In 2001, white rapper Eminem was awarded a Grammy for his album, The Marshall Mathers LP. As examined in the first chapter, the lyrics in this album contained extreme hostile and misogynistic messages toward women and homosexuals. The award was greatly condemned by many womens social groups. The most shocking and turning point in the rap popularity was the release of infamous video Tip Drill, by a male rapper Nelly. It caused a major havoc when it was first aired in 2003 on the late night show BET Uncut The BET Uncut Show was a television program aired by Black Entertainment Television (BET) during the early 2000. The aim of the show was to promote cheap, overtly sexual and nearly pornographic rap music videos. The videos were made by well-known hip hop artists, as well as by lesser-known artists who would seek for broader recognition. Due to the nature of the shows content it was broadcasted at 3 in the morning. The content and imagery was strictly adult and this surely contributed to the popularity of the show. Despite its appeal the BET Uncut Show was considered by many viewers poor in taste. Many complained the show promoted depiction of women as sex objects. This came to a boil when Nelly released the most infamous video in BET Uncut history. The video, Tip Drill, presented a raunchy, half naked women who danced suggestively with other women and men and pretended to engage in a sexual intercourse. The most controversial part was the moment when Nelly slid his credit card down a womans buttocks. This video hit the height of controversy ever presented in hip hop. Nelly initially had been scheduled to appear during a charity event at Spelman female college in Atlanta, Georgia, to promote bone marrow awareness. When this video aired, he was confronted with a statement from student groups from predominantly black Spelman college that they could have no longer continued to support rappers who presented women as hypersexual objects. Students representatives claimed this attack was not directly aimed at Nelly but they would have rather presented their opposition to the troubling direction into which hip hop was shifting. After hearing the concert would have been boycotted, Nelly canceled his appearance during the event. At the beginning of 2005, the African American womens magazine ESSENCE started a campaign against sexism in rap music. The magazine targeted black women, launched massive critique of the music industry for creating songs and videos that portrayed black women as sex objects. ESSENCE shed light on many instances how the music affected young black girls. The magazine not only expressed its disapproval with the depiction of black women in rap but also requested feedback from readers on ways to challenge it. It also promoted positive hip-hop artists and sponsored public discussions with rap artists. In 2006, Spelman College and ESSENCE magazine joined forces to launch a program Take Back the Music. One of the organized panel sessions hosted scholars as Dr. Tarshia Stanley, assistant professor of English at Spelman; Kevin Powell, author and activist; as well as representatives of the music industry: Michael Lewellen, a vice president of public relations, BET; Brian Leach, a vice president of AR, TVT Records; hip hop artist and actress MC Lyte and the editor of ESSENCE magazine Michaela Angela Davis. The panelists attempted to seek for answers to the questions such as: Where Are We Now? How Did We Get Here? Where Are We Going? The gathering also aimed to examine the visual and lyrical depiction of African American women and the impact that these images had on global community. The main goal was to start a dialog in order to initiate a positive change in hip hop. The discussion was concluded with the statement that producing lyrics and images that counter balance the misogyny could be a step all involved parties could take. The Take Back the Music meeting initiated by ESSENCE inspired discussion on the increasingly popular musical genre at various levels. Soon after the program had been launched more institutions brought up the issue of healing the hip hop from misogyny. In 2006 Berkley College of Music also took the effort and joined the movement encouraging new directions for rap. The school included in its curriculum the class that would be devoted to critical thinking and social impact of black music. The change in the curriculum turned out to be a success as the classes filled up immediately. The college also aimed to provide summer program scholarships to the winners of ESSENCEs hip-hop songwriting contest. Cynthia Gordy, an assistant editor of the magazine, found the contest important as the young college artists are the future of hip hop. The initiative has been also endorsed by a range of the underground artists and organizations as the Boston Hip-Hop Alliance, a group that supports positive hi p-hop artists and community organizations. Although the positive hip hop movement have been successfully ignited the real change still needs to be executed by the big record companies who dictate what is being produced. There are many popular and talented rappers whose lyrics depart from misogynistic messages. Tracy Sharpley-Whiting names a few as: Common, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Brother Ali, Zion I, Mr. Lif or Lupe Fiasco. These rappers in their songs avoid messages about violence, misogyny or importance of material success. Through their rhyming skills, they would rather call for unity and activism of the black American society. As Sharpley-Whitng rightly claims, what we hear on the radio is not the only hip hop available. These artists do not produce as many records as 50 Cent, or Eminem and that says more about the consumers than it does about the rappers. According to Scherazade Daravulla King, a director of Bostons Project: Think Different a group focused on production of positive hip-hop ESSENCE as a media organization cannot create a movement: The media needs to be connected to grass-roots efforts working to promote positive images and positive messages, and I think thats where its kind of missing the boat. There are still plenty of hip-hop artists that are true to their roots and the history of the genre. We just need to work to amplify those records. Thomas F. DeFrantz, an associate professor of music and theater arts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, finds the critiques of hip hop as essential. Concurrently, he points out the fact that the music industry is not the only responsible party for passing the negative message through hip-hop.   He claims that there must be something more than just chasing the financial profits as: People love having sex and talking about sex. There were also instances where the program launched by ESSENCE faced less optimistic and tougher audience. Such scenario happened during a heated debate titled Images of Women in Hip Hop at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York in 2005. The panelists included rapper Remy Ma, underground emcee Jean Grae, author and radio personality Karen Hunter, ESSENCE editor Akiba Solomon and DJ Beverly Bond. The program ended up shortly after it had started as panelists and audience members fiercely struggled to articulate their opinions. Over 300 attendees listened nervously to the panelists debated on hip-hops approach toward women before loudly voicing their own ideas. Interestingly, the audience seemed to be equally divided. Younger people would tend to claim that hip-hops depiction of women accurately reflects the behavior of many females, while older attendees, who may have remembered what hip hop used to mean, blamed the contemporary raps content for negative effects on the behav ior of both young men and women. Unfortunately, the panel ended up without mutual consensus, leaving many listeners disappointed. The conclusion drawn from the meeting may be that the community does not ignore the fact that women are being presented in negative light and feel the need to discuss the issue in details. Looking back at the history, the critical approach to hip hop seems to be nothing new. In the beginning, rap was considered by many not a real music but just a noisy behavior. But the criticism rarely came from the youthful audience itself whose identity was defined by this genre like no other. Nowadays hip hop faces an unprecedented backlash. Although the turning point is hard to be clearly identified, after 30 years of growing popularity, rap music is now battling with an alarming sales decline and growing criticism about the cultures negative effect on society. The popular rapper Nas, challenged the condition of rap by giving a thought provoking title to his latest album Hip-Hop is Dead. According to recent statistics, this title may be closer to the truth than ever. Music sales are down in general, but rap sales slid an alarming 21 percent from 2005 to 2006. For the first time in 12 years no rap album was among the top 10 sellers of the year. The author of Hip Hop Generation, Bakari Kitwana says that it is a natural consequence as the members of hip hop generation grow older and are less eager to defend it.. The study conducted by the Black Youth Project in 2006 indicated that a majority of youth thought rap consisted of too many aggressive images. In the same year, a poll of black Americans by The Associated Press and AOL-Black Voices, showed that 50 percent of respondents said hip-hop was a negative force in American society. This radical shift may have been partially caused by the lack of balance and consistency in presented images. The avid listeners may have had enough of the dark side of hip hop. Another point why black community is turning its back on hip hop may be, as noted by Baltimore Sun pop critic Rashod D. Ollison: The music, dances and images in the video are clearly reminiscent of the era when pop culture reduced blacks to caricatures: lazy coons, grinning pickaninnies, sexually super-charged bucks. Howeve r, it is hard to predict whether the dropping sales trend continues in a long run as, according to Ollison, America is sick and loves violence and sex. It may seem that the only instances of hip hop being discussed broadly in the media are its misogynistic, violent lyrics and explicit videos. However, some critics see the positive sides in hip hop. Bakari Kitwana in his book The Hip Hop Generation compares hip hop cultural phenomenon to the civil rights movement and proves its great potential to impact social change. He enumerates great public events that have shown how hip hop can extend its impact beyond popular culture and influence on the politics serving as a strong unifying tool. For instance, in 1997 the rap group The Fugees held a fund and awareness raising concert on behalf of Haitian charity organizations. Another example of how strong hip hop can talk to the minds of young people is the case of Mumia Abu Jamals fight for justice. He was sentenced to death in 1982 for killing a white policeman who engaged in confrontation with Jamals brother. Jamals supporters claimed that the fact he was a former Black Panther made him re ceive an unfair trial. He did not admit to having committed the crime, and claimed he had been set up for his political past. His rally for justice was supported by many rappers. Their songs permeated with critical opinions of penal system and reached the minds of their fans. By giving this example Kitwana argues that rap may serve as an informative tool and influence many young peoples opinions regarding the death penalty and racial inconsistencies of American justice. Nevertheless, hip hop is still more likely to be geared at controversy and money making by the executive moguls and rap artists themselves. Kitwana states that the hip hop generation, comprised of African Americans born in 1965-1984, need a national organization, one that would not only take advantage of the great economic power of the hip-hop industry but also focus on issues of education, employment, injustice and crime. To support this claim, Kitwana, in one of the interviews, underlines the success of Russell Sim mons Hip-Hop Summit Action Network which helped the United Federation of Teachers and the Alliance for Quality Education gather nearly 100,000 people to protest against New York Mayor Mike Bloombergs $358 million cut in education subsidy. The protest was personally supported by hip hop stars such as Sean P. Diddy Combs, Alicia Keys and LL Cool J. The event was not only recognized by the press but also brought about a feasible effect. The demonstration made Mayor Bloomberg restore $298 million to his initial budget proposal. Although the importance of this event is significant, there is still a lot to do for hip hop generation to catch on politics according to Kitwana. He claims that hip hop cultural phenomenon, if wisely led, can surpass the achievements of the civil rights movement. Indeed, the whole hip hop generation stands on the solid foundation grounded by the success of civil rights and Black Power activists. Yet, hip hop seems to be a more active and rebellious way of expres sion. It may become a political movement as its greatest power is the ability to spread the word quickly and influence the masses. It provides the most relevant outlook on the present issues of the inner cities. In the early beginnings it may have been considered just a meaningless noisy trend. However, the past twenty years have revealed how powerful and long-lasting this trend is. Not only has it become acknowledged in the mainstream America but also has had a massive impact at an international level. This phenomenon may provide new black leaders with an access to unparalleled force of economic power and broad audience of followers which hip hop culture has generated. On the other hand, according to Kitwana, the major problem is that the work of black political activists of this generation is still undermined by the celebrity culture. He claims that the synergy of politics and hip hop should not be about rappers becoming political leaders. The rappers can act as a stimulus force a s in case of the Million Man March, where many black men appeared partly because rappers made it fashionable to support black causes. The rappers should not be leaders but their appearance during such events may help to catch the medias attention on important, troubling issues of black society. Kitwana hopes that perhaps then the media will divert the perception of hip hop as being just violent and misogynistic: Poor black people, especially young blacks of this generation, have not had a voice until the emergence of rap. If you can get past pimps and hos, hip-hop conveys the message of poor people not having jobs and having inadequate education . . . but that other message of pimps and hos is overshadowing that. Kitwana admits that there are two sides to hip hop. He is not defending it, nor accusing of being violent or misogynistic. Although he also sees the negative impact of it in terms of anti-black images or glorification of material success, he is more focused on stressing the positive impact of hip hop. He outlines the possibilities this phenomenon can provide to rejuvenate black society. He rightly notes that the music is contradictory but so are the messages the society is exposing its people to. He claims that young people have turned to music and films in order to look for answers on how to be young and black. That is why these media should be used wisely in order to fill the young minds with right answers for their troubling questions. Conclusion Rap is not just music, it is a part of African-American culture.  It has also proven to be a very inspirational phenomenon for young people. Initially it has developed to reflect the real life of the American inner-cities. Along with growing popularity of the beats and rhymes

To Kill a Mockingbird - The Powerful Character of Atticus Finch Essay

To Kill a Mockingbird - The Powerful Character of Atticus Finch In the beginning epigraph of To Kill a Mocking Bird, Harper Lee quotes a statement made by Charles Lamb: "Lawyers, I suppose, were children once." As told through the eyes of the rambunctious elementary school child, Scout Finch, we see not only how she and her brother's lives are affected by their community, also how they develop and mature under the watch of their father, lawyer Atticus Finch. As a wise role model to his town of Maycomb as well as his children, Atticus Finch becomes a prominently admirable character. As a father, lawyer, friend, and foe, Atticus Finch proves himself to be an honest, selfless, and courageous human being. Throughout many of the books main events, it is always clear that Atticus Finch holds true to his morals and beliefs despite all obstacles. After returning from reading to Mrs. Dubose, a morphine addict, with her brother, Jem, Scout asks her father, "Atticus, what exactly is a nigger-lover?" Having heard the term used many times referring to her father it is easy t...

Patriarchy in Hamlet Essay -- Essays on Shakespeare Hamlet

Patriarchy in Hamlet  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚   William Shakespeare’s Hamlet employs the concept of patriarchy in several scenarios and each on different levels. These levels of patriarchy, if even for the same character, vary in their role in the play. Three patriarchal characters are easily identified: the ghost of Hamlet’s father, the king Claudius, and the lord chamberlain Polonius. Despite their variances each patriarchy displays values and actions which are key factors in bringing about the cataclysmic ending to Hamlet. Claudius fills the role of father figure as both king to a nation and stepfather to young Hamlet, whose father has died unexpectedly. It is revealed later that Claudius is responsible for the death of his brother, King Hamlet. This very act of murder to obtain the throne and marry his own sister-in-law, an act equal to incest in the eyes of their society, displays from the first the poor quality of monarchy that can be expected from Claudius. Young Fortinbras of Norway feels that since the King Hamlet is dead he is entitled to his inheritance of land, and rightly so as the contract was drawn between King Hamlet and Fortinbras’s father. The young Fortinbras is obviously some form of a threat to the kingdom, a thought expressed as well by Horatio and Bernardo as they stand watch in the opening of the play (1.1.80-125). Claudius does not appear to be overly concerned with the matter. He sends two couriers to Fortinbras’s sick uncle asking that he stop Fortinbras and his at tack on Denmark. Meanwhile, it seems as if Claudius does not give the matter another thought. It is odd that he does not more safely guard the kingdom that meant enough to him to kill his own brother to obtain it. He of all people should know what one ... ...blishers, 1999. Chute, Marchette. â€Å"The Story Told in Hamlet.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from Stories from Shakespeare. N. p.: E. P. Dutton, 1956.    Homer. â€Å"The Odyssey.† The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. Expanded Edition in One Volume. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1997. 101-336. Shakespeare, William. â€Å"Hamlet.† The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. Expanded Edition in One Volume. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1997. 1634-726.    Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html No line nos.    Ovid. â€Å"Metamorphoses.† The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. Expanded Edition in One Volume. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1997. 684-99.      

Smart House :: essays research papers

Smart House Some people think that it is difficult to find a relationship between home and computer. Usually people think that computer just using in a company and office. It is a misleading concept as we have a SMART HOUSE. The complete SMART HOUSE System has been available since early 1993. In a SMART HOUSE, people build a relationship between computer and home. The SMART HOUSE is a home management system that allows home owners to easily manage their daily lives by providing for a lifestyle that brings together security, energy management, entertainment, communications, and lighting features. So, the SMART HOUSE system is designed to be installed in a new house. Moreover, the system can be installed in a home undergoing reconstruction where walls have been completely exposed. The SMART HOUSE Consortium is investigating a number of different option to more easily install the SMART HOUSE system in an existing home. Moreover, the SMART HOUSE system has been packaged to satisfy any home buyer's needs and budget. The system appeals to a broad segment of new home buyers because of the diverse features and benefits it offers. These segments includes professionals, baby boomers in the move up markets, empty nesters, young middle- class, two - income families, the aging, and all who are energy conscious and technologically astute. Therefore, the SMART HOUSE system is suitable to install in new homes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Firstly, more saving can be gained when the SMART HOUSE System offers several energy management options that have the potential to reduce a home owner's utility bill by 30% or more per year depending on the options installed. For examples, a smart house can turn lights on and off automatically, it can help save on your electric bill. Moreover, the heating and air conditioning can be more efficiently controlled by a computer, saving tremendously on the cost of maintaining a consistent temperature within a large house. The exact level of savings will pay vary by house due to local utility rate structures, size of home, insulation, lifestyle, etc.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Secondly, it is an easily operating system. Home owners can control their SMART HOUSE System using a menu driven control panel, touch-tone phone, personal computer, remote control or programmable wall switch. All SMART HOUSE controls are designed to be simple and easy to use. Because smart houses are independence, they can help people with disabilities maintain an active life. A smart house system can make such tasks easier by automating them. Lights and appliances can be turned on automatically without the user having to do it manually. For people with short term memory problem, a smart house can remind

Tractors in Asian Pacific Countries

* Imported Tractors: Australia, Japan, New Zealand * GDP per capita: Hong Kong, Australia, japan * Population: China, India, Indonesia * Number tractors in country: Japan, India, china * Agricultural Growth: China, South Korea, India Australia: 2/5 Japan: 3/5 New Zealand: 1/5 Hong Kong: 1/5 China:3/5 India: 3/5 Indonesia: 1/5 South Korea: 1/5 All of them. All 6 tables You need to calculate the initial score, weighting and the final score * Hard Copy 20% of total grade. * 20% attendance, 20% group project Characteristic: Big, High performance, and expensive ( very important to have some rational thinking why you would like to select it to be shipped to your specific country) * Recession started in 1947 to 2010 * Demand is lower, so they need to excess capacity and sell to the world * The target market in all Asian pacific * China and japan are the biggest industries in the world * India has the large population * Common wealth nations –Australia and New Zealand * Malaysia and I ndonesia are a pair, both tropical * China and japan are a pair New Zealand and Australia are a pair * 5 factors: opportunity, type of the demand, trade, market sustainability, political (government, recession etc. ) and economic environment. Internal and external supply. Market consideration: * Tell about the population of the ten countries. Type of the demand, the tractor use (because some don’t even use tractors), Imported tractor ( some countries never import the tractors but use their own tractors)IMPORTANT, do they portray desire? Do they have money? , agricultural growth( some countries never grow on agriculture such as Hong Kong), GDP.If they import tractor then they have a potential market. GDP, do you have money GDP per person. Consistent Growing or are they shrinking? Imported tractor is more imp than GDP, GDP is more important than agricultural growth then more important than tractor use. The least important is the population because they may not have to grow thei r own food but buy/import their foods. IMPORTED TRACTOR AND GDP MOST IMPORTANT! * 3 very important, 2 important, 1 is fairly important, . 5 less important, * Need to measure the weighted average mean *