Challenging perspective on child development Essay

Challenging perspective on child development - Essay Example N.A.E.Y.C. stating Developmentally Active Practice brought forth 12 principles of Child Development and Learning as a guide for People who work with children (Bredekamp and Copple, 1997) 'Development 'denotes maturation of functions. It is related to the maturation and myelination of the nervous system and to the acquisition of a variety of skills for the optimal function of the individual.'[Ghai OP, Gupta P, Paul VK. 2003] Growth and development is affected by genetic and environmental factors. Phenotype that is parental traits, Character of parents, Race, Sex, Biorhythm and maturation, genetic disorders like chromosomal abnormalities, gene mutations are all genetically determined. Environmental factors-Fetus grows in the maternal uterine environment. Maternal undernutrition, anaemia, maternal tobacco consumption go to decrease growth while nutritional supplements increases growth. Maternal intake of medicines like Thalidomide, antiepileptic drugs like valproate, and Rubella vaccination can cause congenital abnormalities. After birth nutritional statu... er birth nutritional status, exposure to chemicals, infections and infestations, trauma, maternal metabolic factors, social, emotional, and cultural factors all can influence the growth of the child. Behavioural Development of the child - In the postnatal life the newborn lies in a helpless manner with disorganized activity. As he grows he acquires better coordination of motor activity and reacts to his environment, with willful manner. At an anticipated age with a difference of a few months, children attain maturity of different biological functions. This can be interpreted by Denver developmental screening tests which measures gross motor, fine motor and adaptive; personal, and social and language factors. Behavioural development of the child is dependent on a variety of mutually interactive factors such as heredity, biological integrity, physical, psychosocial and emotional stimuli. Prenatal maternal illness, bad obstetric history, perinatal factors, social factors, established diseases all can affect behavioural development. Thus the catch phrase "Nature and Nurture' for roles of heredity and environment in human development originated in France, back in the 13th century. Nature Theory - It is known for years that traits such as hair colour and eye colour are determined by specific genes encoded in each human cell. Proponents of Nature theory take it a step further to tell the more abstract traits like intelligence, personality, aggression, and sexual orientation are all encoded in an individual's DNA.. "1. The search for behavioural gene is the source of constant debate. 2. the most debated issue pertaining to nature theory is the occurrence of the 'gay gene' pointing to a genetic component to sexual orientation. 3. An April,1998 article of LIFE Magazine

Public life Essay Example for Free

Public life Essay Early Years When Brown and his family moved to New York, he learned that the pro-slavery forces in Kansas were confrontational. Brown left for Kansas after learning that the families of his adult sons were completely unprotected from any possible attack. He collected funds and weapons along the way and even held an anti-slavery convention in Albany. Despite the stir because of his support for unrest to liberate, Brown still managed to get financial support. He gathered more anti-slavery forces in Ohio. Brown and his forces were going to stop at nothing to stop the pro-slavery actions in Kansas. He believed that the pro-slavery forces, or the Border Ruffians, will eventually become violent themselves. He used this as justification for his disregard for the law. Brown was angered by the violence displayed by the Border Ruffians, and also the political manipulations happening to quell the northern abolitionist movement. Brown learned that his family was to be attacked next by the Border Ruffians and the pro-slavery neighbours squealed about the support that his family was giving him. In May 1856, five pro-slavery settlers were killed by Brown’s men. They were taken from their homes and slashed to death by swords. According to Brown, he did approve of the murder, but he never participated in it. Two of Brown’s sons were captured by Henry Pate, a pro-slavery captain. But Pate was soon captured with twenty-two men. Pate was forced to sign a treaty that exchanges their freedom with the freedom of his two sons. Pate was released, but his sons’ release was to be postponed till September. Pro-slavery forces from Missouri came to Kansas under the command of Major General John Reid. They headed towards Osawatomie, Kansas, determined to crush the abolitionist forces there. Some of Reid’s men killed one of Brown’s sons in the morning of August 30, 1956. Brown was clearly outnumbered by Reid’s pro-slavery forces, but they still defended their posts. They managed to wound 40 and kill 20 of the Reid’s men. Reid ordered his men to retreat into the forest, and Brown’s men managed to capture four of Reid’s men. This display of bravery in that situation that clearly went against him was viewed as an act of heroism by Northern abolitionist forces. Brown was then known by the nickname, Osawatomie Brown. A month later, Brown met Free State leaders in Lawrence to help plan for a possible assault by the pro-slavery forces. Pro-slavery forces from Missouri were engaging attacks in Kansas. Battles ensued, though large damages were nipped in the bud when Kansas governor John Geary called for disarmament and offered clemency to soldiers of both sides. Brown fled from Kansas with his sons to gather more funds and support from the north. Brown travelled eastward to collect more funds. In his travels, he met with many prominent abolitionists like William Lloyd Garrison and Gerrit Smith. Some of the wealthy abolitionists he met agreed to provide Brown with funds. This group of financers become known as the â€Å"Secret Six†. How much of Brown’s plans the Secret Six knew still remains a mystery until today as these men were just there to fund Brown with â€Å"no questions asked. † On January of the following year, Brown received pledges of weapons from different abolitionist organizations and individuals. He travelled more and continued to look for funding. He received help in forms of numerous pledges but little of these pledges were translated to cash. Brown met with Hugh Forbes in New York in March. He hired Forbes to be the tactician and drillmaster of his army. Both met in Tabor and formulated a plan for their anti-slavery crusade in the south with them disagreeing with some of the details of the plan. They left for Kansas six months later without Forbes receiving his salary. He decided to leave for the east instead of going with Brown to Kansas. Brown travelled to Ontario to attend a Constitutional Convention. Chatham, Ontario’s population were mostly dominated by slave fugitives. It was here that Brown’s provisional constitution was adopted. Brown was elected as the commander-in-chief and Elder Monroe, an African man was elected as minister, and shall act as president until a new one was elected. Many of the delegates signed the Constitution, but only a few joined Brown’s forces. Many intended to join but Forbes attempted to reveal the plans to Henry Wilson, a Massachusetts senator. Many of the members of Brown’s inner circle felt fear that their names will go revealed to the public. The members of the Secret Six were divided. Some of them wanted Brown to execute his plans rapidly, while some insisted for postponement. To derail Forbes’ knowledge of his plan, Brown returned to Kansas and remained there for 6 months. He joined forces with James Montogomery, the leader of the raids in Missouri. Brown led his own attacks, managing to set 11 slaves free. He took the liberated man with him to Detroit and to Canada. He went from city to city to collect more support. He reconnected with the Secret Six, visited his family and departed for Harpers Ferry. Upon arrival in Harpers Ferry, he rented a farmhouse nearby for his new recruits. He never received the number of recruits he expected to come to support him. He revealed the plan to some of his supporters and some of them expressed their worry and qualms about the plan. One of them, Douglass, already knew of Brown’s plan since 1859 and has tried numerous attempts to avert the enlistment of blacks in Brown’s army. Some of the weapons fit for a thousand men arrived late September, but Brown only had 21 men. A month later, Brown led 19 of his men to attack the armory of Harpers Ferry. He planned to distribute the weapons here to arm the slaves in the locality. He would then lead these men to the south to liberate more slaves. His plan was to free the slaves of Virginia to maim the institution and kill off the life-line that kept the economy alive in the south. They easily entered the town and they captured the armory with no resistance. They also spread the news to the local slaves they were going to be freed soon. Things went awry when a passenger train arrived in town. One of the train staff warned the passengers about Brown’s men. Brown ordered him to halt then, but seeing that his warning was not heeded, shot him openly. News of the raid reached Washington by late morning. Brown’s men were held inside the armory by the angry residents of the town. Military men sealed off the bridge, the only escape route available. Brown moved inside the armory and had the doors and windows blocked. The soldiers and townspeople outside prevented the exit of anyone inside the armory, and sometimes, Brown’s men would shoot at the people outside. Brown sent out his son, Watson, and one of his men under the bearing of a white flag and yet the men outside shot them. Exchanges of shots were fired, and Oliver, another of Brown’s sons were wounded and killed. On October 18, John Brown’s fort was surrounded by the military. They were encouraged to surrender, but Brown refused, saying that he would rather die there. The military men then broke the doors and walls of the armory down and captured the men inside. Brown was charged with murder of 5 men, instigation of a rebellion among the slaves and treason against the state of Virginia. The court found him to be guilty on all three counts on November 2. He was sentenced to be publicly hanged a month later. On November 2, after a week-long trial and 45 minutes of deliberation, the Charles town jury found Brown guilty on all three counts. Brown was sentenced to be hanged in public on December 2. Before he died, he wrote, I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with blood. I had, as I now think, vainly flattered myself that without very much bloodshed it might be done. METHODOLOGY The results of this study were obtained via data collection from documents from the internet, several books and journals. Data analysis of the information was performed and some personal opinions of the author were also injected into the analysis of the data gathered.

The Basel Convention - Movements of Hazardous Waste and their Disposal :: Politics Environment Environmental

The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Waste and their Disposal Abstract On March 22, 1989, leaders from 105 nations unanimously adopted the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Waste and their Disposal. The Basel Convention is the first international convention to control the export of hazardous and other wastes. Since the Convention celebrated its 10th anniversary in 1999, it is an appropriate time for an appraisal of how the Basel Convention has affected international trade of hazardous waste. To fully understand the Basel Convention and its ramifications, it is first critical to comprehend the damage caused by hazardous waste. Second, an analysis of the Basel Convention and its criticisms are explored. Next, an examination of the Basel Ban and its significance are presented. Then, the implications for recycling in relation to the Basel Ban are discussed. Finally, three important lessons to take from the convention are provided. "It is a grave abuse and an offence against the solidarity of humanity when industrial enterprises of rich countries profit from the weak economies and legislation of poorer countries by exporting dirty technologies and wastes which degrade the environment and health of the population." --- Pope John Paul II, October 22, 1993 On March 22, 1989, after 18 months of intense negotiations, leaders from 105 nations unanimously adopted a treaty restricting shipments and dumpings of hazardous wastes across national borders. The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Waste and their Disposal, conducted under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), is the first international convention to control the export of hazardous industrial wastes (Ruloff, 1989). A driving force behind the convention is the steady increase in international trade of hazardous waste over the past decade. There is a growing number of tempting, but environmentally questionable waste disposal contracts being offered and taken by nations (Ruloff, 1989). To combat this trend, the convention has three main objectives: to reduce transboundary movement of hazardous waste while minimizing their generation; to promote the disposal of such wastes as close as possible to their places of origin; and t o prohibit the shipment of hazardous wastes to countries lacking the legal, administrative, and technical capacity to manage them in an environmentally sound manner. Since the Convention celebrates its 10th anniversary in December 1999, it is an appropriate time for an appraisal of how the Basel Convention has effected international trade of hazardous waste.

Ira Aldridge :: essays research papers fc

Ira Frederick Aldridge was born on July 24, 1807 in New York. However, his birthplace remained questionable until 40 or so years ago. It has also been listed as Senegal(Africa), and Maryland. However conclusive evidence was found in the 1950s that he was born in New York. Included in this evidence are his British Naturalization papers and Death Certificate. His father was Reverend Daniel Adlridge , a straw vendor and preacher in "Old Zion". His mother was Lurranah. Ira grew up in a house on what is now West Broadway in New York City. He attended the African Free School No.2, which provided free education for Black children. The African Free School was established in 1787 on Cliff Street with one classroom for 40 children. After it was burnt down in 1814, it was relocated to No. 245 William Street. In 1820, A second African Free School was built in 1820 on Mulberry Street. This was known as the Arfrican Free School No. 2. It was here that Ira attended school. However, it is believed that he also attended No. 1 in his earlier childhood years. The African Free Schools are credited with contributing to the Abolitionist movement. They inspired them to fight for equal rights and use themselves as living examples that Blacks and Whites have the same potentials. Ira spent much of his childhood at neighborhood theaters where he watched Black people perform many roles varying from skits to Shakespearean roles, such as Richard III. He mainly attended two theaters. The first one was the Park Theater that opened in 1798.Two frequent actors were Brits by the names of James and Henry Wallack. In this theater he didn't get such great seats since it was segregated, so he preferred the African Theater, owned by a gentleman by the name of Mr. Brown. One of the actors who frequently performed there was James Hewlett. He was very talented and had a profound impact on young Ira. When he entered his teens he performed a skit called "Opossum up a gum tree" locally. People were impressed, and he was dubbed the "African Roscius." Ira became friendly with the Wallacks and was their personal attendant. In that time, when Blacks were starting to be accepted in American culture, a religious profession was something to aspire to. Therefore, Daniel constantly urged Ira to follow in his footsteps. He took him out of the theater so he could sit next to him in his church.

My Christmas Day

Alaysha Green Mr. Raymond Villegas ENG 1010 Jan. 31, 2011 FYI: When you are writing papers, make sure everything is evenly spaced. There should only be a double space between the information and the title My Christmas Day Of 2010 As I woke up with the sun’s rays in my eyes, I hit my phone alarm clock, which since it was ringing at 10 a. m. As I walked (the way you wrote this makes it a fragmented sentence. If you add a subject and change the verb it is not fragmented) down the beige hallway, into the ocean theme bathroom. I turned on the bathroom light, and turned then the water on to wash my face.When you have the same action in the same sentence to different objects you can eliminate the second verb so it doesn’t sound so repetitive After washing my face with warm and soapy water, I took my blue face towel to dry my face off. Good, great description Finished with my face, I realized that it was Christmas morning. This is a great revelation here. I was thinking it was a typical day so I’m glad you held off saying it was Christmas till later in your paragraph. It gives that feel that we (audience) are walking up with you and when we come to our senses we realize it’s Christmas. Good job.I walked down the hallway further to my son, Tydarrius’, Cars theme room filled with a car theme. Standing next to his bed, and waking him up, he jumped out of bed, and said â€Å"Yay! It’s Christmas†. He ran to the Christmas tree to turn on the bright and shining lights. He was amazed and dazzled with all the presents in the front of him. His eyes glistened and sparkled as he took the paper off the presents. Good paragraph. There were a few ways of writing some of the sentences you wrote but otherwise it was good Scuffing off to the freshly white painted living room to watch him, open his gifts, I told him. â€Å"I hope you like your gifts, baby†.When I read your draft in lab, it needed some work. Now I like the revisions that you have made to your draft. I can see a vast improvement When he got through with gift wrappings, we threw all of the wrappings in our black gallon size trash can. Sometime later, my mom and dad came over to the house. Tydarrius opened the big red front door with double locks on it for from (is from what you are trying to say here? ) them. Tydarrius and I hugged them and said â€Å"Merry Christmas†. As they walked in the door, they pulled out two gifts with snowman wrapping. Tydarrius ran to the gifts with great excitement and with speed.Tydarrius ripped open the presents. The first present he opened was a yellow and black motorcycle with driver. His second gift was a v-tech reader book called â€Å"What That Noise†. As he played with his toys, I wandered off from the family room directly into the my apple themed kitchen. I turned on the kitchen lights and started to cook on the white gas stove, cooking breakfast for my son and me. The aroma filled the air with t he smell of scrambled eggs, crispy turkey bacon, and buttery grits with cheese. Good I laid his food on the Thomas and Friends plate ware which sits in dining room. I called him to the red oak square dining room table.He ate his food with the speed of lightening. Great paragraph The time was 12:00 p. m. , when we decided to go to my Aunt Shirley’s house for a visit. The sun still shined bright as we walked outside into the cold and crisp air to get into the light blue Nissan pathfinder. As we drove, I saw a lot of people smiling, laughing, and playing with their families. Kids were playing with their Christmas toys too. As the car stopped, we arrived in front of my aunt’s house. My father parked the truck in front of white picket fence of my aunt’s house. My aunt’s house is a brick house with wild flowers growing in and out the front and back yard.It’s surrounded by a bright, white, picket fence with an open and closed gate door to enter in. We arr ived at her house at 12:45 p. m. As we walked in her house, she said, â€Å"Merry Christmas to you. † She offered us to sit down on the black leather sofa, in her Jungle themed living room. This is a great paragraph. Notice I didn’t have to make any corrections. In this paragraph. Everything flowed nicely. The house was filled with the aroma of delicious and tasteful foods like The food she cooked included fried chicken, honey baked ham, fried turkey, barbecue ribs, and fried pork chops.Her sides included were organized in a row and began with rice, collard greens, baked Mac-cheese, squash, green beans, macaroni salad, and pasta salad. Her desserts included There mouth watering deserts such as banana creme pies, pumpkin pies, sweet potato pies, and chocolate cakes. After a long visit at my aunt’s house, it was finally time at eat. We said the Lord’s prayer and ate. When the feast was over, we sat around and sang Christmas songs on the red oak piano in the dinner hall. We sung sang Christmas songs such as Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Silent Night, and Santa Claus is Coming To Town.I don’t think these words have to be underlined because they are not a book. I think they have to be italicized or used with quotation marks. You can check in your resource book Everyone sang all the songs okay, but little Brian from next door sang off key on purpose to get attention from everybody who was singing. This sentence sort of came out of the blue and you didn’t mention before who Brian was or continued talking about him. In this situation you have to ask yourself â€Å"What is the importance for having this sentence about Brian in my story. When the singing was over, we walked back into the living room to pursue more entertaining activities. You should begin a new paragraph here since you are no longer singing. Dancing is in the same genre as singing but it is an action entirely different and you switched to another room. Back in the family room we started a dancing contest which included everyone in the house. We started dancing to old and new hip hop party music. As soon as the music started, my shy and quiet cousin, Jada, was embarrassed about dancing in front of people. I pulled her up off of the black leather sofa.At first she was standing there like a kid who forgot their line in a school play. Good analogy She took a deep breath and danced like a video diva on a BET music video. After dancing, we sat in the den and listened to a Christmas story called, â€Å"It Was the Night Before Christmas†. Everybody sat around my Aunt Shirley, like she was Santa Claus telling the story himself. As she told the story, everyone was as quiet as a mouse. When the story ended, everyone cheered as loud as people that were in a football stadium. Great analogies in this paragraph The time was now 3:00 p. when we decided to play a board game like Sorry and Pictionary. My cousins, Jada and J. D, and I played one game of Sorry together. The game started off with me in 1st place, Jada in 2nd, and J. D in 3rd place. I had 3 pegs on the board. I was red, Jada was blue and had 2 pegs on the board, J. D. was yellow and had 3 pegs on the board. As the game came to an end, I had all my pegs expect one. It was still on the board. My cousin, Jada, had 2 more pegs to get home. My cousin, J. D, had one more to get home. I passed J. D on the game board and won the game. Good.As you write this story it seems to get easier for you to tell it and describe what’s going on. In the beginning of the story your writing seemed forced but now it’s starting to relax. The next game we played was called Pictionary. We split up into two teams. One team included my Aunt Shirley, Cousin Jada, my mother Theresa, Robin, Patricia, and me. We called our team, The Divas. The next team, Ballers, included my father Danny, Alvin, Terrance, Josh, and family friend James. After a long struggle, te am Diva won the game with 10 points. Ballers lost with 7 points. Both teams played an excellent game. There is a nice flow to this paragraph.I didn’t take part in Scramble, because I was tired and needed a break. So I sat in a kitchen chair to watch and listen to the Scramble match that was going on. I watched the Scramble match between my cousins, Jada, Terrance, Larry, and family friend James. Larry won the game. Jada came in 2nd place. James in 3rd place. Terrance lost completely, with no points on the board. He was cooler than a cucumber about the loss. Another great analogy After the game playing was over, I walked from the kitchen to the living room. I sat down on the black sofa in the living room with Cousin Jada as she talked about her new boyfriend.She seemed to be very happy and her face was as bright as northern lights in the night sky. As she talked about him to me, Jada described him as tall, dark-skinned, smart, and handsome man with powerful shoulders and muscl es. I was very happy for her, but felt a little envy too. This was your strongest paragraph in the essay. Good job. After my long conversation with her, I walked slowly outside next to white picket fence, where my cousin J. D was standing. J. D. began talking about his plans after high school graduation. I stood there with him, because I wanted to listen to his ideas. He turned and asked me, â€Å"What choices do I have†?I replied to him, â€Å"You can get a job, go into military, or continue your education at Virginia College like me†. Then I told him,† I am very proud of you for coming so far†. J. D thanked me for believing in him. I said, â€Å"Remember to keep up the good work†. I walked back into the living room to look at the clock. The time was now 6 p. m. You should begin a new paragraph here My family and I told everybody goodbye. We strolled outside thru the gate and jumped into the blue Nissan Pathfinder truck. My parents took Tydarrius an d me back home. They told us goodbye. They jumped back into the truck and left down the black concrete street.As we walked up the seven wooden stairs and into the house, I locked the front door behind us. Then we enjoyed the rest of the evening with each other. I liked your conclusion. I think you could have re-capped the day with your family a bit more. I was having so much fun hearing about the games, singing, dancing, and eating that I forgot your day began with just you and your little boy. A conclusion should include a little of everything you mentioned in your paper. Alaysha Wow! You have come a long way from the 1st draft that I read. There were a lot of editing mistakes and sentence structure mistakes in the beginning of the essay.Please continue to look things up in the reference book (smaller one than your book) to find the answers on correct sentence structure and grammar. In order to be prepared for my job, I have to go back to the resource book often. Rules do change so it’s a never ending battle of study. Also I highlighted some phrases or words in yellow that you use repeatedly. If you describe a room or situation in one way try describing another room in another way. Thank you for your hard work. Your grade is on the next page. 95%= A / -05 points for editing in the beginning of your paper.

Youre Writing Blogs Wrong

Youre Writing Blogs Wrong If youve been maintaining a blog to draw traffic to your website, hows that going for you? Are you seeing the traffic you hoped to see from it? If youre running a business, does that web traffic include the right customers (or audience)? If not, then lets look at some things you might be doing wrong and discuss the best ways to correct those mistakes so your blog will do what it is meant to do- reach the right audience and help you grow your business or succeed in personal branding.Common mistake 1 – Expecting immediate resultsTheres no doubt that blogs are incredibly useful in building a business or reputation. However, a common mistake that bloggers make is assuming that this benefit will be instantaneous. As soon as the blog goes up, business will start pouring in, right?Well, no. Not exactly. A blog is different than print advertising in traditional media in that an audience must be built- steadily and over time. Blogging is not an immediate results type of advertising for several reasons. First, a blog helps you increase your sites visibility on Google, but that takes time to happen. Second, a blog helps you show your expertise, but to be considered an expert, you need to demonstrate a lot of knowledge (more than one or nine or even twenty posts can convey). Finally, a blogs audience isnt instantaneous. Your audience will grow from activities like sharing on social media and word of mouth, and that will take some time to happen. So dont give up within a few months if youre not seeing the results you want to see. Be patient, keep blogging, and give the blog time to grow. Youll be glad you did.Common mistake 2 – Focusing on SEOWeve all heard about SEO and using it to help Google index your site closer to its front page results, and a blog can certainly make this happen. However, writing a blog strictly for this purpose is not a good long-term plan and there are plenty of reasons why. First, your primary purpose in writing a blog is to share you r expertise and build influence in your field. Second, you want your audience to share the content you write- thats how your blog will grow its readership. If you overload your blog with too much SEO content without focusing on the quality and voice of the information, your expertise is buried beneath keywords and the content will be moderately interesting, at best. Put simply: write for your customers, not for SEO. Keeping focus on your customers will ensure that you publish high-quality content that they will want to read and (ideally) share with others.Common mistake 3 – Not allowing your content to have personalityNo one wants to read boring writing, even if its about a topic that interests them. Think of some of the best writers you know and think about what makes them so unique. Its the personality of their writing, isnt it? Its the voice of the author that makes them interesting, familiar, and almost seem like theyre speaking just to you when you write. Its that trait that makes favored writers so engaging, and you should use that exact approach when writing a blog for your business or personal brand.This means youll need to be personable. Write as if youre speaking with your client instead of like youre writing for a text book or press release. Its this voice that will make your audience want to read more because we all like to read writing that speaks to us on a personal level. Engage your audience with humor, stories, photos- anything that can draw people in on a personal level. An SEO-laden, 500-word, boring blog entry simply wont do that.Another great benefit to personable and engaging blog entries is that it keeps your business from seeming faceless. It adds character and projects something about you, as the owner, that your customers want to know. People like knowing theyre doing business with other REAL people, not just faceless corporate enterprises.Common mistake 4 – Not being consistentMany bloggers begin with a lot of fireworks and end up sizzling out. Not publishing consistently means that not only will you lose the audience youve gained so far- youll also be seen as potentially out of business or dated. This does not mean that you have to publish a new post daily (or even weekly). Sometimes publishing too much content can be just as harmful, particularly if the content youre publishing becomes stale, repetitive or boring to read.The best way to ensure consistency in your blogging practices is to make a good judgment about how often you can reasonably publish new content. If you can publish once a month consistently, make that your goal. If you can manage more than that- biweekly or even weekly- then thats even better, but the important thing is publishing consistently.Common mistake 5 – Making it all about youFinally, keep in mind that while the blog is meant to show your expertise, it shouldnt be all about you. The main reason for this is your readers will become bored very quickly, even if you lead the most exciting life imaginable. Instead of constantly publishing about your accomplishments, ideas, event participation, etc., focus instead on current events related to your line of work. Showing your audience that you understand your field and keep up to date on current happenings reveals as much about your level of expertise as constantly writing about yourself and your own viewpoints.

Slavery, Reparation and Restorative Justice

Slavery, Reparation and Restorative Justice 1. Background Barely two hundred years ago, slavery was common and accepted in the countries of Europe as well as in North America. The hunting ground was, in an overwhelming majority of cases, the African continent. White slave traders, sometimes helped by local Africans, plundered the land for men and women, who were taken away in captivity to work on among other places, plantations, farms and town building projects for white masters in North America, the Caribbean islands and other European colonies. Slavery and its attendant evils rank right at the top of the list on the worst horrors perpetrated by humankind. There are many who believe that the enormity of the crime outweighs the Jewish holocaust and the dropping of the atom bomb. The only comparable evil the world has seen is the persecution of women, the causes of which, however, are very different. The abolition of slavery took place over the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, from most parts of the world. The 1815 Declaration Relative to the Universal Abolition of the Slave Trade 6 (the 1815 Declaration) was the first international instrument to condemn it. The abolitionist movement began as an effort to stop the Atlantic slave trade and to free slaves in the colonies of European countries and in the United States. A large number of agreements dating from the early nineteenth century, both multilateral and bilateral, contain provisions prohibiting such practices in times of war and peace. It has been estimated that between 1815 and 1957 some 300 international agreements were implemented to suppress slavery. (Weissbrodt Dottridge, 2002, p. 3) Greater interest has naturally been taken in American slavery for it was far more extensive and lasted longer. There were many thousands of slave holding families in the US at the time of the civil war. The abolition of slavery divided American society right down the middle and culminated in a great civil war in which thousands of Americans lost their lives. Slavery has been defined as the status or condition of a person over whom any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership are exercised (Weissbrodt Dottridge, 2002, p. 4). Tragically, this ownership included the prerogative to behave violently with one’s slaves and it can be said with certainty that the history of slavery in the US would not have been so much of a slur on the white people but for the continuous and horrific violence perpetrated upon the slaves by their white masters. Even after the formal abolition of slavery, violence continued and even escalated against African-Americans in the US. Lynching, an extreme form of mob violence which took its’ cue from vigilantism and found easy acceptance, was used with telling effect. From the 1880s mob violence reflected white Americas contempt for African-Americans and mob violence became the means of asserting white dominance. African-Americans suffered grievously under lynch law. In addition to lynching of individuals, race riots with blacks as victims happened with periodic ferocity. Furthermore, mobs used especially sadistic tactics when blacks were the prime targets. By the 1890s lynchers increasingly employed burning, torture, and dismemberment to prolong suffering and excite a festive atmosphere among the killers and onlookers. White families brought small children to watch, newspapers carried notices, railroad agents sold excursion tickets to lynching sites, and mobs cut off black victims’ fingers, toes, ears, or genitalia as souvenirs.(About Lynching, Pg 1) Incredible as it may appear, extreme forms of violence against African-Americans was commonplace even a century ago and it is easy to understand the emotional scars and disturbed psyches of the Africans and the African Americans. For most whites slavery is little more than an unpleasant memory of a time gone by. For many Africans and African Americans, however, it remains a festering wound that is kept raw by feelings of oppression and discrimination. In recent times, there has been much talk of reparation and social justice to recompense for these crimes and to integrate African-Americans with the peoples of the world, to enable them to take their place as people of dignity and respect. The basic argument is clear as rainwater: Slavery was a crime as horrible as any imaginable. People were tortured, enslaved, and unfairly deprived of the fruits of their labor. They were denied the right to hand down any appreciable assets. And their descendants, who were promised freedom and forty acres, were lynched, segregated, discriminated against, and, in virtually every way, excluded from enjoying the full fruits of freedom, They never got their land. And they only recently have been given the opportunity to earn anything approximating fair compensation. Hence a debt is owed. (Cose, 2004) My background as a criminologist and my origins from an ex-slave country prompted me to take up research in the subject area. A number of informative books and articles on the issue, some of which are listed in the bibliography, were available for reference and catalyzed my decision to research the area under discussion in depth. I hope this effort will throw further light on this grievous period of history and enable a deeper understanding of the anguish felt by the millions who have been scarred by these happenings. 2. Definition of Research Question The vastness of the subject and the scale of the work, already investigated and published in the area, pre-empts the possibility of general research being of specific use. It is essential to establish a particular focus in the area of slavery and reparation. Violence, physical and emotional, being an intrinsic and important element of the slavery experience, continues to dominate the minds and play upon the psyches of the African-Americans and descendants of erstwhile slaves in other parts of the world. It is thus necessary to try to focus on the best means of reparation, which will largely redress these past hurts and injustices. There have been many cases of emotional reparation in the recent past concerning people who have been hurt by other communities. The British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, apologized to the Irish for the potato famine in the nineteenth century. Pope John Paul II did the same for the Churchs treatment of heretics during the Inquisition. Australia continues to apologize for its treatment of the aborigines. In the US, President Clinton has apologized to Hawaiians for the overthrow of their Queen a century ago. Apologies and reparations have been given to the Japanese- Americans, who were placed under detention after Pearl Harbor. In this context, what sort of reparation will be relevant for the African- Americans in the US? Martin Luther King gave an interview to Playboy magazine in 1965, during the course of which he said, Can any fair-minded citizen deny that the Negro has been deprived? Few people reflect that, for two centuries, the Negro was enslaved and robbed of any wages potential accrued wealth which would have been the legacy of his descendants. All of Americas wealth today could not adequately compensate its Negroes for his centuries of exploitation and humiliation. (Cose, 2004) Others feel that an apology for slavery is mindless mush. Slavery finally is not something where a simple apology makes any sense. Those who advocate a formal apology believe that such a step would have an ameliorating effect upon race relations, but many others sharply disagree. Professor Thomas Sewell writes, First of all, slavery is not something like stepping on someones toe accidentally, where you can say excuse me. If the people who actually enslaved their fellow human beings were alive today, hanging would be too good for them. If an apology would make no sense coming from those who were personally guilty, what sense does it make for someone else to apologize today?' (Parker, 2000, p. 18) The Research Question can thus be defined as follows: What will be the most suitable form of emotional and material reparation which will alleviate the traumas being faced by descendants of slaves and achieve a significant disconnect with the history of violence embedded in their psyches? Along with this, two subsidiary questions will need to be investigated. Who should be responsible for giving the reparation, citizens, companies or state? How will the reparation be used to benefit the sufferers? Education, benefits, status?† 3. Research Methodology The Research Methodology will necessarily focus on the study and analysis of the origin, consolidation, propagation and abolition of slavery in the US, the regions where its practice was prevalent and the companies, communities and individuals who have benefited most from the practice. The harm inflicted on the African-American community will need to be investigated with respect to numbers affected and atrocities committed, pre and post the abolition of slavery. While it is an accepted fact that documented records of atrocities are incomplete to a great extent, the available material, interpreted properly should also throw up some relevant insights into the issue. The research assignment will also need to focus on the reparation being demanded and being given internationally to other affected communities, namely the Jews of Europe, the Indians in the US, the Irish in the UK, the other castes in India and the aboriginals in Australia as well as recent international thoughts and agreements on the issue. There is substantial literature available on the subject, some of which have been listed in the bibliography. Statistical data is available from state records for perusal and analysis. It is also proposed to take interviews with a number of people (at least a hundred) with connections ancestral connections to slavery, descendants of slaveholders and slaves. These interviews will necessarily have structured questions, most of which will be open-ended to facilitate qualitative answers. Too many problems are not expected in the assignment, as a significant amount of data will be available from printed literature and governmental archives. Interviews with white and Afro-American respondents will need a certain amount of search and co-ordination but co-operation should be forthcoming, especially after they are informed of the purpose of the research. Standard project monitoring tools and simple software will ensure the meeting of planned completion targets and scheduled presentation of the thesis.

Roads vs Public Transit Essays - Transport, Road Transport

Roads vs Public Transit Essays - Transport, Road Transport Roads vs Public Transit Some people think that governments should spend money on improving roads and highways rather than on improving public transport . ESSAY: | - There is no doubt that governments spend more and more money on improving roads and highways nowadays. Nevertheless, some think that improving public transport is much more important. In my opinion, firstly governments should invest money in public transport . First of all , buses, trains and subways are significant for people who have no cars. They also should have a right to be transported in comfort. Secondly, by improving roads people will use cars more often and, as a result, degrade the environment. What is more , with flexible public transport people will avoid traffic jams which usually make people arrive late at their destinations. However, some people believe that improving roads and highways is a priority task for governments. They think that dangerous condition of roads can lead to various car accidents as well as to traffic jams. That is why it is necessary to solve problems caused by unacceptable road conditions. This may be partly true, but I am convinced that governments should not forget that public transport in most of cities and towns is in bad shape . Using public transport will encourage people to preserve the environment . Besides, with well-organized public transport people will have no need to use large parks which would allow more space for gardens . Summing up, I strongly believe that spending money on improving public transport is beneficial and reasonable. Not does it make people's lives more comfortable, but also makes the environment clean and friendly .

Precedent- Statutory Interpretation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Precedent- Statutory Interpretation - Essay Example ferentiates the English Common Law system from Civil Law, where every case is tried based on a judge’s or jury’s interpretation of law at a particular time, regardless of the outcome of similar cases in the past. This begs one big question: Given that the judiciary has the task of interpreting laws and giving judgments when two or more parties do conflict; add to the fact that it is supposed to play a role that is separate from the legislature, has stare decisis effectively made English courts the rivals of Parliament in making laws? To be able to do that, let us examine the current rules of court in Britain. There are different rules of precedent for each court. There are cited as follows: (â€Å"Rules of precedent†, n.d.) Their Lordships regard the use of precedent as an indispensable foundation upon which to decide what is the law and its application to individual cases. It provides at least some degree of certainty upon which individuals can rely in the conduct of their affairs, as well as a basis for orderly development of legal rules. Their Lordships nevertheless recognise that too rigid adherence to precedent may lead to injustice in a particular case and also unduly restrict the proper development of the law. They propose, therefore, to modify their present practice and, while treating former decisions of this House as normally binding, to depart from a previous decision when it appears right to do so. In this connection they will bear in mind the danger of disturbing retrospectively the basis on which contracts, settlements of property and fiscal arrangements have been entered into and also the especial need for certainty as to the criminal law†¦.This announcement is not intended to affect the use of precedent elsewhere than in this House. Many people believe that the House of Lords is bound by the rules it set, but his statement has implied that the House of Lords is not really bound by its own decisions,

Commercial and Investment Banking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Commercial and Investment Banking - Essay Example Lending relationships, particularly those that are long-term associations make it simpler for small sized organizations to have access to outside funds. Owing to the risky nature of the small firms, it becomes very difficult for them to borrow funds if they lack lending relationships with banks. However, such kind of organizations predictably attempts to get access to further diversified sources of funds, after they have formed long-term lending associations with banks. Thus, it can be stated that the organization’s preceding lending association with a bank enables it to gain admission to the public securities market. Furthermore, the association of the organization with a bank persists to play a crucial role even when the organization is capable of issuing public securities. Nonetheless, when an organization diversifies its sources of funds, it has to face certain consequential drawbacks. The funding diversification restricts the bank’s readiness to assist the organiza tion when it faces financial distress. This restriction in the bank’s flexibility is true even when the organization had taken up only diminutive values of public debt. In spite of everything, it can be conclusively stated that a good lending relationship with a bank augments the probability of fruitful negotiation when an organization encounters financial difficulties (Berlin, 1996). Answer 2 a) Kwan (2004) defines a large bank merger as the amalgamation of the operations of two banks, which are huge in size and the merger provides a large geographic scope to the subsequently merged institute. In the recent years, the large bank mergers have been an indication of the process for creating an extensive nationwide banking franchise. b) The regulatory modifications in the 1990’s have created immense opportunities for the banks to pursue the overseas economies. The banks have benefitted in terms of economies of scale as well as scope. Mergers have enabled the banks to prov ide the number of products and services and as a result, the unit price of production has reduced. Additionally, the expansion had created a circumstance where the shared expenses of providing two corresponding services are not more than the joint expenses of providing the two services separately. c) It is believed that mergers can increase the bank’s capability to diversify risk. Prior studies have implied that geographic spreading out would offer diversification advantages to a banking organization. This can be accomplished in the form decreased portfolio risk on the asset side, in addition to a decline in the funding risk on the liability side. Banks are likely to attain these benefits as it spreads funding actions over a wider geographic region. Furthermore, studies have also indicated that product extension could result in diversification benefits. The benefits would be more distinguished amid the banking as well as the securities activities, while it would be less promi nent in the activities between banking and insurance (Kwan & Laderman, 1999).

Personal emergency and disaster plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Personal emergency and disaster plan - Essay Example Thunderstorms are also not rare here (about 40-50 days annually) with March and April being the periods of most severe storms. Not being part of Tornado Alley, Indiana is vulnerable to tornadoes. Three most severe tornadoes in the history of the United States – the 1925 Tri-State Tornado, the 1965 Palm Sunday Tornado Outbreak and the 1974 Super Outbreak – affected Indiana. The 2005 Evansville Tornado took away the lives of 25 people (Indiana State Climate Office 2008). The accidental disasters include technological disasters such as hazardous material incidents, household chemical emergencies, nuclear power plants, fires. For instance, chemicals are used in all the industries providing everyday life of modern people. The sources of hazardous materials include chemical manufacturing, hospitals, service stations, waste sites. All of them are hazardous for people and it is impossible to guarantee safety from mistakes. Humans are inclined to make mistakes sometimes. No one can guarantee entire safety from fires. Finally, one is to be aware of the possibility of intentional disasters, that is, those related to terrorism and wars. Acts of terrorism may include: the usage of chemical, biological, nuclear or radiological weapons, assassinations, bombing. Universities and colleges are considered the secondary, â€Å"soft† targets (FEMA 2006; IUK 2006, SUU 200, Northwestern University 2005). We are not safeguarded from disasters. However, one can get prepared to them and know what to do if any of the disasters occurs. Tornadoes are the nature’s most violent storms, causing devastates and fatalities. Appearing as a rotating, funnel-shaped cloud extending from a thunderstorm to the ground with whirling winds, tornadoes reach 300 miles per hour, their damage paths being more than one mile wide and 50 miles long. Some of them are not visible at the beginning, a cloud of debris marking the location of a tornado. They

Human wk10 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Human wk10 - Essay Example These were questions that came to my mind when I started reading this chapter. Reeve (2009) points to research that suggests that extroverts are happier than introverts but I am not sure this is true. I know several introverts who live very happy lives without having to be very social. When I think about teens in Liberia, I would think that many of them would be happy with their lives because they may have no reason not to be happy. As an example, these children may all have similar experiences that move them more towards happiness than towards sadness. Many of the girls will be motivated to achieve more because they are feeling happy. Reeve (2009) states that arousal is important when thinking about motivation. The inverted-U curve suggests that when someone has a low level of arousal they are more likely to have a poor level of performance. In my understanding, arousal could be seen as engagement. In other words, if someone is engaged in learning, they are more prone to follow thro ugh with their goals. The girls may have a low level of arousal in the beginning, but if their education is stimulating and begins to engage them, they would be more prone to have a higher level of arousal. I would also think that stress would come into play with else girls because they may not have been in a classroom or formal education in the past. This could initially mean that they could become overly aroused. Reeves states that this could cause anxiety and other negative emotions that could impede their progress. When looking at personality and goal achievement, Jayasurija, Caputi, Gregory and Meloche (2007) found that students with a high achievement motivation were more prone to develop self-efficacy skills in computer use. They saw that goal orientation was a personality trait for those students who were the most motivated were more prone to develop self-efficacy skills in computer use. They saw that goal orientation was a personality trait for those students who were the m ost motivated to achieve their goals. Lee, Sheldon, and Turban (2003) suggest that individuals must have an understanding of self-control in order to develop strong mental focus. Mental focus helps an individual become more involved in their goal orientation, thus allowing a student to have a way to feel more positive about achieving their goals. Mental focus would also help in perceived control when an individual has challenges sticking to their goal. Students in Liberia may have difficulty understanding how to set and achieve goals but it would seem that their personalities would show quickly as to those who would have a higher or lower level of perceived control. Reeve (2009) states that those with higher levels of perceived control would be more apt to move their goals from inaction to action. References Jayasuriya, R., Caputi, P., Gregory, P, and Meloche, J. (2007). The role of achievement goal orientation in the development of self-efficacy during computer training. Retrieved February 5, 2011 from http://www.pacis-net.org/file/2007/1288.pdf Lee, F.K., Sheldon, K.M., and Turban, D.B. (2003). Personality and the goal striving process: The influence of achievement goal patterns, goal level, and mental focus on performance and enjoyment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88 (2), 256-265. Doi: 10.1037/0021-9010.88.2.256 Reeve. J. (2009). Understanding motivation and emotion (5th ed.). CA: Wiley. Assignment 3 Loretta is a professional illustrator who decided to go back to school. She chose a well known, accredited correspondence school that

Sickle cell enemia Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Sickle cell enemia - Research Paper Example The disorder shortens the life expectancy of patients with few living beyond the age of fifty. Since its discovery, doctors have worked towards developing a cure for the disease. The cure has been elusive and only methods for reducing severity of the disorder such as taking penicillin and folic acid and the use of hydroxyurea for causative treatment of the disorder. Other management practices include blood transfusion therapy that raises the number of red blood cells in a patient. Bone marrow transplants in children have also been proven to significantly reduce severity of the disorder (â€Å"Woman Cured of SCA† 6). In June 2012, researchers from the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Science Systems, announced that they had developed a new transplant technique that successfully cures a sickle-cell anemia patient. The stem cell transplant requires one to have a genetically-compatible and uninfected sibling. The donor is first given drugs that cause an increase in the number of the stem cells in their blood. The donor’s blood is then taken and processed and then stored in sub-zero temperatures. At the time of the transplant, the blood is thawed and transfused in the patient ( Woman Cured of SCA 6). The transplant which is known as leukapheresis has been carried in at least 25 patients, 22 of whom have been completely cured. The therapy remains by far the most successful ever attempted to cure sickle-cell

Human wk10 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Human wk10 - Essay Example These were questions that came to my mind when I started reading this chapter. Reeve (2009) points to research that suggests that extroverts are happier than introverts but I am not sure this is true. I know several introverts who live very happy lives without having to be very social. When I think about teens in Liberia, I would think that many of them would be happy with their lives because they may have no reason not to be happy. As an example, these children may all have similar experiences that move them more towards happiness than towards sadness. Many of the girls will be motivated to achieve more because they are feeling happy. Reeve (2009) states that arousal is important when thinking about motivation. The inverted-U curve suggests that when someone has a low level of arousal they are more likely to have a poor level of performance. In my understanding, arousal could be seen as engagement. In other words, if someone is engaged in learning, they are more prone to follow thro ugh with their goals. The girls may have a low level of arousal in the beginning, but if their education is stimulating and begins to engage them, they would be more prone to have a higher level of arousal. I would also think that stress would come into play with else girls because they may not have been in a classroom or formal education in the past. This could initially mean that they could become overly aroused. Reeves states that this could cause anxiety and other negative emotions that could impede their progress. When looking at personality and goal achievement, Jayasurija, Caputi, Gregory and Meloche (2007) found that students with a high achievement motivation were more prone to develop self-efficacy skills in computer use. They saw that goal orientation was a personality trait for those students who were the most motivated were more prone to develop self-efficacy skills in computer use. They saw that goal orientation was a personality trait for those students who were the m ost motivated to achieve their goals. Lee, Sheldon, and Turban (2003) suggest that individuals must have an understanding of self-control in order to develop strong mental focus. Mental focus helps an individual become more involved in their goal orientation, thus allowing a student to have a way to feel more positive about achieving their goals. Mental focus would also help in perceived control when an individual has challenges sticking to their goal. Students in Liberia may have difficulty understanding how to set and achieve goals but it would seem that their personalities would show quickly as to those who would have a higher or lower level of perceived control. Reeve (2009) states that those with higher levels of perceived control would be more apt to move their goals from inaction to action. References Jayasuriya, R., Caputi, P., Gregory, P, and Meloche, J. (2007). The role of achievement goal orientation in the development of self-efficacy during computer training. Retrieved February 5, 2011 from http://www.pacis-net.org/file/2007/1288.pdf Lee, F.K., Sheldon, K.M., and Turban, D.B. (2003). Personality and the goal striving process: The influence of achievement goal patterns, goal level, and mental focus on performance and enjoyment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88 (2), 256-265. Doi: 10.1037/0021-9010.88.2.256 Reeve. J. (2009). Understanding motivation and emotion (5th ed.). CA: Wiley. Assignment 3 Loretta is a professional illustrator who decided to go back to school. She chose a well known, accredited correspondence school that

Ted Bundy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Ted Bundy - Essay Example Around the time Ted began college, joined the Republican Party, and answered calls with Ann Rule, he met the love of his life. This woman partly triggered something evil in Ted. She had long brown hair parted in middle, a common hairstyle in the sixties. When the woman, Stephanie, broke up with Ted in 1968, he was devastated, dropping out of college (Schum). Many of Ted Bundy’s later victims had long brown hair parted in the middle. Another factor happened in 1969 that sent Ted down the path of destruction; he found out his sister was really his biological mother (Lohr). These two events sent Ted on a hunting spree leaving women dead across American, from Washington to Florida. Finding out about his true origins seemed to invigorate Ted, sending him back to college. Ted also began dating Meg Anders. This relationship seemed to get Ted together, leading him to graduate from the University of Washington in 1973 and accepted into the Law program in Utah. Around this time he began seeing Stephanie and Meg at the same time. The pressure seemed to overwhelm Ted. During this period, he committed his first known attack, and then murder. The first woman Bundy attacked survived, barely. â€Å"On January 4, 1974, 18-year-old Joni Lenz became Bundy’s first victim† (Lohr). Lenz was sexually assaulted with a bed post, beaten with a crowbar, and left in a coma. Because of her injuries, â€Å"she was left with brain damage†. Ted attacked another Washington Law student, Lynda Ann Healy, at the end of January 1974 (Lohr).

Capital Punishment Essay Example for Free

Capital Punishment Essay Capital punishment is viewed by the law as the act of deterring a person from performing a certain crime that poses threat to the lives of human being. Through capital punishment, life is lost and this method in a way makes sure that a particular crime isn’t repeated by a particular person thus completely deterring the person from repeating the crime. It should be noted that though death penalty is practiced, in some instances it is discriminatory and it may not award justice to the accused party. In many instances, innocent peoples have been subjected to capital punishment when in actual since they have been innocent. In other cases, the guilty have been freed because of insufficient evidence. This therefore leaves the question as to whether it is viable for death penalty to be encouraged. The cost incurred when putting a person to death, the trials and sometimes the effects have led to many countries thinking otherwise about the issue and many are drafting the bills that are intended to abolish the act. My personal view on capital punishment is that the law should be abolished as it does not achieve the expected results and does not give the accused party the room to change behavior and in some cases, the innocent are subjected to the sentence though they didn’t perform the crime. To support this, the following facts can be made. Status of Using the Death Penalty In the U. S. Various positions have been taken concerning death penalty or capital punishment globally. Some countries have been in favor of capital punishment while others abolished the act and still others have never passed such a law. In some countries mostly in the African continent, countries have this law in place but anybody sentenced to death is not subjected to the capital punishment but they are jailed for life. In America, there are mixed reactions as some countries and state do exercise the punishment while others do not. Still, others have abolished the law concerning capital punishment. To be specific, the number of countries or states that have favored and practiced this law 37 states while 13 of the states do not favor capital punishment. Many presidents have indicated that death penalty does not work or rather doe not achieve the intended purpose. What is the Purpose of the Death Penalty Advantages/benefits of the Death Penalty There are various benefits that are associated with death penalty/ though it may not be real that they are real benefits, capital punishment is entitled to Deter a person accused of doing a certain crime from repeating the same crime or similar again. This being the case, capital punishmen6t should be advocated as it would reduce the number of capital offenders in society. At the same time, capital punishment may serve as a warning to others who may have been involved in the act to desist from committing crimes that may lead to capital punishment. Still, those who may be starting the act may fear and desist from committing these crimes for fear of the consequences. Because of the various options given to an accused person, to some extent it is difficult to kill an innocent person. This therefore being the case, capital punishment is important as it eliminates those people who are likely to disturb the societal peace. It shoed be noted that various chances are given to the accused to prove their innocent. The judges do not rule in favor of capital punishment unless they are sure that the provided evidence justifies a person to be sentenced to capital punishment. It is also sometimes to credit death penalty on the bases of an eye for an eye. If a person is therefore accused and convicted of murder or killing, why shouldn’t they be given the same fate so that it can act as a way of retribution. Many people fear death and killing a person as a sentence may forbid others who may be planning to kill others as they would think that they will also be killed if caught. A convicted [person may also kill others in prison if they know that the only possible penalty they ,may receive is fine or life imprisonment. This being the case, they should be killed to avoid killing others. Therefore death penalty is an important war to incapacitate a person. Disadvantages/disbenefits of the Death Penalty Death penalty has a lot of disadvantages and these include the fact that there may be a possibility of false conviction. This being the case, an innocent person may be killed because of may be shoddy witnesses, bribery or if there was a grudge between the parties involved. There have been mane cases where a person is convicted to be killed but just before the act takes place, new evidence delinks the person from the act. Still others were killed only new evidence obtained that de alienated the already killed person. This therefore indicated that death penalty has a lot of flaws. At the same time, the costs involved before a person I convicted of cap[ital punishment are many. A lot of time is also consumed to try the accused. It should be noted that some people because of the various trials may have repented. The system may be biased. Since we have seen that there are a lot of cost implications that are involved in the process, those who don’t have the financial capabilities may not be able to afford the required lawyers, or money required to sustain the accused. At the same time, social status and racial backgrounds play a big hand in determining who will be hanged. What are the Alternatives to the Death Penalty Advantages/benefits of the Alternatives There are various alternatives to death penalty. One of the alternatives would be to sentence the accused person to life imprisonment. This would ensure that the accused is not part of the society or rather he or she is not dealing with the society in a direct way. This therefore would deter and incapacitate the person from commuting the crime. At the same time, some people do kill unintentionally and they are not able to prove this fact in court. They may therefore feel remorse and change their behavior thus becoming good members of the society.

Linguistic Structure of the Unconscious by Lacan

Linguistic Structure of the Unconscious by Lacan Lacans View of the Linguistic Structure of the Unconscious and Implications for the Relevance of Psychoanalysis to the Social World Jacques Lacan has been called the most influential psychoanalyst since Freud. The impact of his work, both as a theory of the unconscious and as a repertoire of clinical practices, is reflected in the use of Lacanian methods by over half of psychoanalysts worldwide. Lacanian concepts and constructs also are thriving outside the consulting room, in the studies of literature and film, in feminist studies and legal studies, international relations and social policy. But what does psychoanalysis have to do with the social world? Historians, social and political scientists have contested a role for psychoanalysis in their respective social domains. There is fear that psychological reduction is inevitably results, lowering the objective social sphere to the subjective level of a culture on a couch. However, the theory and practice of psychoanalysis need not be atomistic. Freud regarded the study of institutions, languages, literature and art as a necessary prerequisite to successfully comprehending the analytic experience. Like Freud, and in his project of returning to Freud, Jacques Lacan studied and borrowed from a range of disparate fields, including philosophy, structuralist anthropology, literature, music, topography and semiology/linguistics. He agreed with Freudon the legitimacy of social analysis inspired from a psychoanalytic perspective. In A Theoretical Introduction to the Functions of Psychoanalysis in Criminology (1950), Lacan expresse d his position as follows: It may be well that since its experience is limited to the individual, psychoanalysis cannot claim to grasp the totality of any sociological object, or even the entirety of causes currently operating in our society. Even so, in its treatment of the individual, psychoanalysis has discovered relational tensions that appear to play a fundamental role in all societies, as if the discontent in civilization went so far as to reveal the very joint of nature to culture. If one makes the appropriate transformation, one can extend the formulas of psychoanalysis concerning this joint to certain human sciences that can utilize them (Stavrakakis, 1999, p. 3). Anthony Elliott (1992) cited Lacans ideas as establishing the principal terms of reference for thinking about the interconnections between the psyche and social field (p. 2). In this vein, Feher-Gurewich contended that Lacans psychoanalytic approach is founded on premises that are in sharp contrast to the ones which have led to the failure of an alliance between psychoanalysis and social theory (Stavrakakis, 1999, p. 14). One set of these premises is the topic of this discussion. The following is an attempt to explain Lacans claim that the unconscious is structured like a language and to discuss the bearing this claim has on the relevance of psychoanalysis to the social world. First, a brief overview of Lacans career, or project, may assist in supporting this analysis. Overview of Lacans Project Although many perceive his theoretical works as impenetrable or as an incoherent jumble, there are common threads throughout. Lacan consistently viewed his mission to be a return to Freud. The keynote for this return was his placement of language as the central construct in theory and in practice(Clement, 1983). The Mirror Stage Beginning in the late 1930s, after the publication of numerous case studies, Lacan began to focus on the emergence of the sense of self, the function of the I. He termed this emergence the Mirror Stage in the development of a childs sense of self during the first two years of life. Drawing upon revelations from his own psychoanalytic experience, together with the work of psychologists such as Henri Wallon, Charlotte BÃÆ' ¼hler, and Otto Rank, Lacan posited that the childs emergent sense of self is formed upon entry into language, the realm of the symbolic, and always in reference to some other. That other could be the childs own image in a mirror, the mother or any number of other objects with which the child associated self via Freuds mechanism of narcissistic identification. The mirror stage is the origin of a fundamental alienation or split in the individuals sense of self. The speaking subject (I) becomes de-centered from the ideal ego (me). Because self is oriented toward an other who is perceived as ideal/omnipotent, and thus as a potential rival to the self, the ego that emerges from this stage is characterized by a hostility that threatens its very existence. Lacan concluded that human identity is formed only within this intersubjective context in which alienation and aggressivity characterize the natural state. Rather than being the first step toward the formation of a healthy and stable ego, his proposal that  mà ©connaissance,  or misperception, is central to the ego formation flew in the face of a basic construct of ego psychology, that the ego is the origin and basis of psychic stability. In 1953, Lacan broke with the dominant faction of ego psychologists and formed his own professional group, the Socià ©tà © franaise de psychanalytique (SFP). The Discourse of Rome During the first meeting of this group, in Rome that year, Lacan presented a paper which quickly became known as the manifesto of the new society. He argued that speech and, more generally, language were central to psychoanalytic practice and to any theoretical conclusions that might be extrapolated from it. He drew upon and adapted the semiologic principles of Ferdinand de Saussure and the philosophical traditions of Hegel for his theoretical vocabulary. It is during this time that Lacans public focus shifted clearly from the developmental to the linguistic. Drawing from the language of music, he posited three registers of functioning, the symbolic, imaginary and real. The symbolic, a function of speech/language, was seen as central and in dynamic interaction with the imaginary. Lacans acerbic characterization of the ego as the seat of neuros is rather than the source of psychic integration and his emphasis on the symbolic organization of the human psyche opened new territory for psychoanalytic theory. Lacan credited Freud with the concept and blamed his ego-psychologist followers for obscuring the point. Meta-theory The charge that psychoanalysts had abandoned the founding texts of their profession exacerbated tensions between the ego psychology and the SFP until Lacan left the group in 1963 to form another organization, the École Freudienne de Paris (EFP). Lacan continued his close readings of Freuds texts, but he now began to introduce a number of terms and concepts not found in Freuds own work. By the time his selected essays appeared 1966, his seminars were standing-room-only. Many in the crowd associated him with structuralists such as Jacques Derrida, Claude Là ©vi-Strauss, and Michel Foucault. As with other members of this group, Lacan was often criticized for the difficulty of his style. Within the EFP itself, many of the practicing analysts were concerned about what they perceived as the increasingly theoretical and academic emphasis of Lacans work. During this stage of his career, Lacan began work toward a meta-theory of psychoanalysis, constructing ideas about Lacanian ideas. His construct of the three registers expanded to three-plus dimensions. He attempted to recast his earlier insights in the more precise language of mathematics, employing topological figures, such as the Klein bottle and Borromean knot, to illustrate and explore the relationship among his theoretical constructs. However, many of Lacans followers criticized this approach, complaining that his arguments were increasingly incomprehensible and irrelevant to clinical practice. Lacans response was the dissolution the EFP and the founding of yet another association, the École de la Cause Freudienne, which he directed until his death in 1981. The Structure of the Unconscious and Relevance to the Social World In the  Introductory Lectures to Psychoanalysis, Freud commented that the unconscious can be compared to a language without a grammar (Laplanche Pontalis, 1983). Lacan, using structuralist linguistics, attempted to systematize this contention, arguing that the unconscious is structured like a language, and that it speaks/  ca parle. A symptom, Lacan claimed, may be read as an embodied metaphor. As Freud had argued, what is at stake within a symptom is a repressed desire objectionable to the consciously accepted self-conception and values of the subject. This desire, if it is to gain satisfaction at all, accordingly needs to be expressed indirectly. For example, a residual infantile desire to masturbate may find satisfaction indirectly in a compulsive ritual the subject feels compelled to repeat. Just as one might metaphorically describe ones love as a rose, Lacan argues, here we have a repressed desire being metaphorically expressed in some apparently dissimilar bodily activity. Equally, drawing on certain moments within Freuds papers On the Psychology of Love, Lacan argues that desire is structured as a metonymy. In metonymy, one designates a whole concept (e.g.: military force) by naming a component of it (e.g.: a sword). Lacans argument is that, equally, since castration denies subjects full access to their first loveobject (the mother), their choice of subsequent love objects is the choice of aseries of objects that each resemble in part the lost object. According to Lacan, the unconscious uses the multivalent resources of the natural language into which the subject has been inducted (what he calls the battery of the signifier) to give indirect vent to the desires that the subject cannot consciously avow. While Freud is interested in investigating how the polymorphously perverse child forms an unconscious and a superego, and becomes a civilized adult, Lacans focus is on how the infant develops the illusion commonly termed as a self. His essay on the Mirror Stage describes that process, showing how the infant forms an illusion of an ego, of a unified conscious self identified by the word I. For Lacans theory, the notion that the unconscious, which governs all factors of human existence, is structured like a language is central. Freuds account of the two main mechanisms of unconscious processes, condensation and displacement, reinforce this claim. Both are essentially linguistic phenomena; meaning is either condensed (in metaphor) or displaced (in metonymy). Lacan noted that Freuds dream analyses, and most of his analyses of the unconscious symbolism used by his patients, depend on word-play (e.g., puns, associations, etc.) that are chiefly  verbal. According to Lacan, the contents of the unconscious are acutely aware of language and of the structure of language. Hence, the unconscious, structured like a language, serves to reveal a symptom of neurosis or psychosis through this medium. Lacan followed ideas laid out by Saussure, but adapted them to his use. He argued that Freud had understood the linguistic nature of human psychology but that he had simply lacked the Saussurean vocabulary necessary to articulate it. Saussure talked about the relationship between signifier and signified in the formation of a sign, and contended that language is structured by the negative relation among signs (i.e., the existence of a sign is dependent on its distinction from another sign). For Lacan, the contents of the unconscious form signifiers and these signifiers form a signifying chain. One signifier has meaning only if it is distinct from some other signifier. There are no signifieds in Lacans model; there is nothing to which a signifier ultimately refers. If there were, then the meaning of any particular signifier would be relatively stable; there would be a relation of signification between signifier and signified, and that relation would yield meaning. Lacan posited that re lations of signification do not exist in the unconscious; rather, there are only negative relations in which one signifier can exist only if it is distinct from another signifier. Because of this lack of signifieds, the chain of signifiers constantly slides and shifts in an endless series, like actors in search of a play. There is no anchor operating in the unconscious, nothing that ultimately gives meaning or stability to the system. The chain of signifiers is constantly in play, in Derridas sense; there is no point at which a definitive meaning can crystallize. Rather, one signifier only leads to another signifier, and never to a signified (Lacan, 1966). Lacan posited this as the nature of unconscious content: continually circulating chains of signifiers, with no anchor or center. This is Lacans linguistic translation of Freuds depiction of the unconscious as a chaotic realm of shifting drives and desires. While Freud attempted to bring those chaotic drives and desires into consciousness so they could be understood and made manageable, Lacan theorized that becoming an adult, a self, is the process of trying to halt the chain of signifiers so that stable meaning, including the meaning of I, becomes possible. According to Lacan, however, this possibility is an illusion, an image created by a misperception of the relation between body and self Even sexual identity is determined by the subjects relation to the signifier, not by some innate, biological predisposition. For Lacan, what Freud described as the oedipal phase is actually a moment in which the individual faces the option of accepting or rejecting the signifier in the place of the object or the imaginary other. Although Freud called this signifier the phallus, its primary characteristic is not its status as a biological organ that one may or may not possess. Rather, this primordial signifier possesses the fundamental property of being separable from the object it represents. Freud identified this possibility as castration, but Lacan claimed that it is simply the functional principle that enables the signifier to appear as such. Sexuality and, more generally, personal identity is thus not biologically determined but instead constructed through ones relation to the symbolic order. Most of Lacans work from this period traces the connections between specific properties of the signifier and their effects in human experience. He claimed that the entire structure of intersubjective relations is determined not by the individuals involved but by the way those individuals model on a moment of the signifying chain which traverses them. Because the signifier is autonomous from the signified, the link between them, ordinarily considered to constitute meaning, is an effect of the signifier itself and its relation to other signifiers in the signifying chain. Lacan described the way that illusory meaning comes about by referencing Roman Jakobsons distinction between two poles of language, metaphor and metonymy. Lacan contended that these functions account for the sense of meaning although there is a barrier between the signifier and the signified, or between the symbolic and the real. According to Lacan, meaning never consists in language, it insists in the chain of signifiers as one supplants the other metonymically. Language seems to mean in the usual sense due to displaced signifiers that function as the signified in Saussures model. Subsequent signifiers merely refer back to earlier ones, and it is this retrospective reference that sustains the  effect  of reference in the absence of a referent or an actual signified. Lacan described this effect as the creative spark of metaphor (Beneveuto Kennedy, 1986). It is, for Lacan, the seat of the subjective. Traditionally, subjectivity has been understood as a juncture of words with objects, situated on the bar between the signifier and the signified or the border between language and the world. That border, Lacan argued, is within the unconscious. Read through Saussures influence and Lacans emphasis on the autonomy of the signifier, Freuds discovery of the unconscious established an absence in the subjects relation to the object and to the self. This absence or lack, termed the other, can be thought of as the object of desire. Lacan contended that the concept of the unconscious reveals a subject constituted in relation to an Other it cannot know and oriented toward an object that it can never possess. As discussed in the Mirror Stage, this splitting is brought about by the subjects entry into the symbolic, supplanting the imaginary unity derived through identification with the other. That identification is replaced by a more complex relation to the symbolic Other. Introduced in the Discourse of Rome the Other designates a number of concepts for Lacan; e.g., death, the symbolic father, the role of the analyst, the unconscious. For Lacan, Freuds angry father becomes the Name-of-the-Father or the Law-of-the-Father. Submission to the rules of language itself; i.e., the Law of the Father, is required to enter into the Symbolic order. To become a speaking subject, you have to be subjected to, you have to obey, the laws and rules of language. Lacan designated the structure of language, and its rules, as specifically paternal, calling the rules of language the Law-of-the-Father in order to link the entry into the Symbolic, the structure of language, to Freuds notion of the oedipus and castration complexes. The Other is posited as the center of the system, that which governs the structures shape and the manner in which all the elements in the system can move and relate. The term Phallus also is used to designate the Other, emphasizing the patriarchal nature of the Symbolic order. The Phallus limits the play of elements and stabilizes the structure. It anchors the chains of signifiers with the result that signifiers can have stable meaning. Because the Phallus is the center of the Symbolic order, of language, that the term I designates the idea of the self. Lacan has referred to this anchoring effect as a point de capiton or quilting point ( Stavrakakis, 1999). This quilting point has particular significance for the useful application of Lacanian psychoanalytic theory to social domains. Without it, the practitioner is left with a postmodern concept of an endlessly fluid chain of signifiers, signifying nothing in terms of a relatively stable identity or meaning. For Lacan, the slipping chain is halted by the prominent role attributed to certain signifiers in fixing the meaning of whole chains of signifiers. Lacan described this effect as everything radiating out from and being organized around this signifier, similar to these little lines of force that an upholstery button forms on the surface of material. Its the point of convergence that enables everything that happens in this discourse to be situated retroactively and retrospectively (Stavrakakis, 1999, p. 60). This is the point with which all concrete analyses of discourse in the psychoanalytic and the social world must operate. Discussion Lacans great contribution to contemporary culture is his teaching about rhetorical performance and cognition, doing and knowing. The revolutionary dimension of Lacans pedagogy for Felman (1987) is the dialogism of the performative and constative, how in practice they undermine, deconstruct, and yet inform each other. The interactions of doing and undoing form the dynamic basis, Felman said, of psychoanalysiss ineradicable newness (12), its evergreen vitality and unceasing revolutionary nature. Building on this insight, Lacan has shown experience, largely unconscious, to be structured like a language, since human behavior manifests the dialectical interaction of conscious and unconscious experience, the double writing of that which is  enacted beyond what can ever be  known  at any one moment. For example, Gallop (1987) pointed out that the psychoanalyst learns to listen not so much to her patients main point as to odd marginal moments, slips of the tongue, unintended disclosures. Freud formalized this psychoanalytic method, but Lacan has generalized it into a way of receiving all discourse (p. 23). Lacan was often and roundly criticized as a self-aggrandizing showman, a sloppy theoretician, an intentionally inscrutable speaker and author, a postmodern, post-structural want to be, and a polygamously perverse human. Many disciples justified his obtuse style of presenting ideas as an attempt to model his concepts within the instrument of his linguistic style. Others found his style to be sufficient reason for avoiding Lacans work altogether. In addition, his clinical practices, such as the abbreviated session, were frowned on by many traditionalists in the psychoanalytic community. However, Lacans linguistic approach to the unconscious serves as an important counter to the more-entrenched biological and neurological constructs. His synthesis of Freudian theory with Saussurean semiology generated new conceptual tools for critical research and reading in the social sphere. These tools allow a dynamic analysis of social process from the perspective of What is this doing? rather than What does this mean? References Beneveuto,B. Kennedy, R. (1986).  The Works of Jacques Lacan. London: Free Association. Clement,C. (1983).  The Lives and Legends of Jacque Lacan; A. Goldhammer(trans). New York: Columbia University Press. Elliott,A. (1992).  Social Theory and Psychoanalysis in Transition. Oxford: Blackwell. Felman,S. (1987).   Jacques Lacan and the Adventure of Insight: Psychoanalysis in Contemporary Culture.   Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Gallop,J. (1987).  Reading Lacan. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. Lacan,J. (1966). Of structure as the inmixing of an otherness prerequisite to anysubject whatever. In R. Macksey E. Donato (eds),  The Structuralist Controversy, Baltimore: John Hopkins, 1970. Laplanche,J. Pontalis, J.B. (1983).  The Language of Psychoanalysis; D.Nicholson Smith (trans.). London: Hogarth. Stavrakakis,Y. (1999).  Lacan and the Political. London: Routledge.

Young Male Violence and the Communities that Nurture It Essay examples

Jerry sat nervously at his desk, staring at the clock while about twenty pairs of eyes momentarily glanced over or glared at him. The seconds were slipping by far too quickly as the teacher finished explaining the homework assignment for the next day, and Jerry could feel the sweat slipping down his back in just the same way. All day long he had heard second hand threats from the other kids at school that Tim Stern was going to pound him before the day was through, and Tim sent vicious looks his way to reaffirm the rumors. The bell rang and Jerry darted from his seat; he ran down the hallway to his locker where he grabbed his skateboard for the ride home. A couple of his friends ran into him, and together they began sprinting out of the school building. One of the teachers yelled after them, â€Å"Slow down boys! There’s no fire!† They hadn’t been fast enough, because Tim and his friends and a whole group of onlookers were already waiting in the alley just beyond the school parking lot. Jerry threw his things on the ground. Tim was furious because Jerry had verbally humiliated him the day before in a restaurant most of the kids at school hung out at; to make matters worse, Jerry had just started dating Tim’s ex-girlfriend. The crowd was excited because both of the boys were pretty well built; bets had been placed, and the cliched chant, â€Å"Fight! Fight! Fight!† spilled out before Jerry and Tim could even exchange words. Without hesitation, Tim threw the first punch and Jerry, stumbling backward, tripped and fell to the ground. The crowd of kids roared and Tim shook hands with some of his buddies. While no one was looking, Jerry sprung up and dealt a hard blow to the back of Tim’s head with the trucks of his skateboard. T... ...minance. If you will recall, in the beginning of this report I stated that a teacher was calling out to some young men, â€Å"There’s no fire!† However, in reality there is a fire, and this fire takes the form of the pressure on young males to be violent members of our species. Whether it is an urban community’s physical violence, a suburban community’s mental violence, or the sexual violence common to both, it is interesting to note that so much of it is strongly upheld and created by the working culture of men. Much of the violence has to do with the pressures on males to be providers: something we often think has disappeared. Ultimately, it is exactly these kinds of pressures, norms, and customs in combination with a general need for acceptance that amount to the stress on young men to make it to the top. This is what fuels the fire of young male violence.

Male Friendship :: essays research papers

What is a friend? Maybe they are people who will listen to you, or people who you can boss around all the time, or maybe even just people who don’t have to do anything but sit with you at lunch. As Asher put it, â€Å"‘Friends are important sources of companionship and recreations, share advice and valued possessions, serve as trusted confidants and critics, act as loyal allies, and provide stability in times of stress or transition†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (qtd. in Dolich 1) Even in the beginning, when man was first created and put in the Garden of Eden to work the ground, there was a need for friendship and companionship. As God says while watching Adam work, â€Å"‘it is not good for man to be alone. I will make a companion for him.’† (qtd. in Adam†¦2:18). From the rib of Adam, God created Eve who was to be Adams companion forever. Do we even need this companionship, and if so is it important? As a recent poll of high school students shows, forty percent believe that friends are very important to them. While only ten percent believe that friends weren’t that important at all. Sixty percent of those questioned said that if their friends were to change and become more popular, then they would change themselves as well just to fit in and keep the friends they had (survey 2005). As one of these students points out, â€Å"Well it’s better than being alone all the time, this way at least you have someone to hangout wit h and talk to†(interview 2005). So in a day and age when teenagers especially are known for trying to act as individuals, we can see that in most cases people are the products of the influences put on them by their friends.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Artwork whether it is a painting, a drawing, or photograph; is a big way to express the importance of friendship. The photograph Be a True Friend, shows two male friends. Out at night, in a boat, not doing much but rowing. Along with this photograph is a caption saying, â€Å"the only way to have a friend is to be one† (Be a True Friend). From the caption, as well as the picture itself, you get the impression that these two people who aren’t doing anything but rowing, are great friends. You get the feeling that they don’t have to do anything but be there for one another, and because they are there for one another they are the greatest of friends. Male Friendship :: essays research papers What is a friend? Maybe they are people who will listen to you, or people who you can boss around all the time, or maybe even just people who don’t have to do anything but sit with you at lunch. As Asher put it, â€Å"‘Friends are important sources of companionship and recreations, share advice and valued possessions, serve as trusted confidants and critics, act as loyal allies, and provide stability in times of stress or transition†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (qtd. in Dolich 1) Even in the beginning, when man was first created and put in the Garden of Eden to work the ground, there was a need for friendship and companionship. As God says while watching Adam work, â€Å"‘it is not good for man to be alone. I will make a companion for him.’† (qtd. in Adam†¦2:18). From the rib of Adam, God created Eve who was to be Adams companion forever. Do we even need this companionship, and if so is it important? As a recent poll of high school students shows, forty percent believe that friends are very important to them. While only ten percent believe that friends weren’t that important at all. Sixty percent of those questioned said that if their friends were to change and become more popular, then they would change themselves as well just to fit in and keep the friends they had (survey 2005). As one of these students points out, â€Å"Well it’s better than being alone all the time, this way at least you have someone to hangout wit h and talk to†(interview 2005). So in a day and age when teenagers especially are known for trying to act as individuals, we can see that in most cases people are the products of the influences put on them by their friends.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Artwork whether it is a painting, a drawing, or photograph; is a big way to express the importance of friendship. The photograph Be a True Friend, shows two male friends. Out at night, in a boat, not doing much but rowing. Along with this photograph is a caption saying, â€Å"the only way to have a friend is to be one† (Be a True Friend). From the caption, as well as the picture itself, you get the impression that these two people who aren’t doing anything but rowing, are great friends. You get the feeling that they don’t have to do anything but be there for one another, and because they are there for one another they are the greatest of friends.

Pro Con Gay Marriage

Pros of gay marriage: Two People who love eachother should be able to publicly celebrate their commitment Equality is protected in the due process clause in the constitution ( Constitutional Right) Same sex marriage helps adoption 100,000 children in the united states are waiting to be adopted!Refusing people the right to marry causes psychological damages ( this effects society in a negative way) Access to hospitals and care ( Marriage benefits healthcare coverage) Marriage has been changing over the years ( interracial marriage) there is no one definition for Marriage Massachussets was the first state to legalize gay marriage and they have the lowest divorce rate ( highest divorce rates occur in the states that have the more strict â€Å"gay† laws If marriages sole purpose is to procreate than why are infertile couples granted the right to still marry It doesn't hurt society or anyone in particular.The only thing that should matter in marriage is love Denying them is a viola tion of religious freedom (civil and religious marriages are two separate institutions). Born gay argument : â€Å"Although all people in all societies with rare exceptions are socialized to be heterosexual, the predictable, universal appearance of homosexual persons, despite socialization into heterosexual patterns of behavior suggest not only that homosexual orientation is biologically based but that sexual orientation itself is also biologically derived. Experiences argument: â€Å"While there are different theories about how the sexual orientation develops, experts in the human sexuality field do not believe that premature sexual experiences play a significant role in late adolescent or adult sexual orientation. † Mental disorders DEBUNKED!!! â€Å"Psychologists, psychiatrists and other mental health professionals agree that homosexuality is not an illness, mental disorder or an emotional problem. Over 35 years of objective, well-designed scientific research has shown t hat homosexuality, in and [of] itself, is not associated with mental disorders or emotional or social problems.When researchers examined data about these people who were not in therapy, the idea that homosexuality was a mental illness was quickly found to be untrue Con’s of gay marriage: The institution of marriage has been defined as the union between a man and a woman ( Supreme court decision (oct 15 1971 baker v nelson) – definition has some connection with the book of genesis It may cause a slippery slope effect where people who are into beastiality and other â€Å"taboo† relationships could seek the right to marry if gay is allowed.People who are against gay marriage should not have to support something with tax dollars they find wrong such as health benefits for gay couples ( extending to gay couples would result in 596 million dollars being spent plus an additional 302 million) Children being raised in a same sex home would not be provided an optimum envi ronment because they need mother and father rearing ( studies link to earlier sexual activity also a report was done the American psychological review?Children raised with gay parents were more likely to become gay themselves) Marriage should not be extended to same-sex couples because homosexual relationships have nothing to do with procreation. Allowing gay marriage would only further shift the purpose of marriage from producing and raising children to adult gratification. Marriage is a religious right According to a July 31, 2003 statement from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and approved by Pope John Paul II, marriage â€Å"was established by the Creator with its own nature, essential properties and purpose.No ideology can erase from the human spirit the certainty that  marriage solely exists between a man and a woman. Most religions consider homosexuality a sin. It would further weaken the traditional family values essential to our society. It confuses childre n about gender roles and expectations of society, and only a man & woman can pro-create The gay lifestyle is not something to be encouraged, as a lot of research shows it leads to a much lower life expectancy, psychological disorders, and other problems BORN GAY: NO!! What is clear, however, is that the scientific attempts to demonstrate that omosexual attraction is biologically determined have failed. The major researchers now prominent in the scientific arena-themselves gay activists-have in fact arrived at such conclusions. There is no support in the scientific research for the conclusion that homosexuality is biologically determined. † Concerns for parenting and childhood : A good relationship with the same-sex parent meets a child's psychological needs for love, worth and affirmation as a boy or a girl. Where there is a lack of affirmation or even rejection, these legitimate needs are not met.If a girl's femininity is unaffirmed, she may come to believe that she is unacce ptable to her mother and therefore to women in general. In an attempt to fill the hole in her heart, she may look to other women for acceptance, perhaps even hoping (at a subconscious level) to gain femininity by association. Puberty later eroticizes these emotional needs, adding a sexual dimension. † http://gaymarriage. procon. org/ http://www. balancedpolitics. org/same_sex_marriages. htm http://borngay. procon. org/view. resource. php? resourceID=000005