The Apology Is Plato s Retelling Of Socrates s Trail

The Apology is Plato’s retelling of Socrates’s trail. Within his account, he portrays Socrates as a confident, but almost haughty, and reasonable man. The main philosophical themes that Plato presents through Socrates are wisdom, justice, and his purpose in the community. Socrates is at this trial because he has been accused of two things: 1) â€Å"Socrates is guilty of wrongdoing in that he busies himself studying things in the sky and below the earth; he makes the worse into the stronger argument, and he teaches these same things† (Apology 19b) and 2) â€Å"Socrates is guilty of corrupting the young and of not believing in the gods in whom the city believes, but in other new spiritual things† (Apology 24b). In order to defend himself, Socrates recounts his life and actions. In his defense against the first accusation, Socrates tells the jury that when asked if there was anyone wiser than Socrates, an oracle said â€Å"no†. Socrates then says that he went to prove the oracle wrong by asking questions to the wise-men, the â€Å"Sophos†. In his quest, Socrates discovered that these men were not actually as wise as they claimed to be. These men claimed to know things even if they actually did not know. As Socrates said, â€Å"†¦he thinks he knows something when he does not, whereas when I do not know, neither do I think I know; so I am likely to be wiser that he to this small extent.† To Socrates, wisdom is the ability to admit ignorance. Since Socrates is able to admit what he does not know, he is

Cell Phone Usage while Driving Essay - 702 Words

In 2011, 1.3 million crashes were caused by someone using a cell phone that is at least 28% accidents per year. (National Safety Council) Most of us think its ok and that we will be ok â€Å"it’s just like adjusting the radio† but no, it’s not. â€Å"Texting and driving has become a greater hazard than drinking and driving among teens who openly acknowledge sending and reading text messages while behind the wheel of a moving vehicle.†(Long Island NEWSDAY) â€Å"The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that in 2010 driver distraction was the cause of 18 percent of all fatal crashes – with 3,092 people killed – and crashes resulting in an injury – with 416,000 people wounded.†(Federal Communications Commission) How many of us think†¦show more content†¦Debra stated â€Å"’ Ive felt no depression from this, I adjusted to having one arm’†. (DEBRA FORD) When I asked about the accident itself Debra said;†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ on a personal note, upon impact, I wasnt aware we were hit! I lost my hearing for like minute!! Steph grabbed my hair to hold me in place, After sliding approximately 176 ft. off pavement to ditch, we were on an incline sliding backwards and my elbow managed to get pinched between the window frame and ground, de-gloving the skin and muscle to my wrist, breaking the major bone up out of my arm. I remained calm. Making sure my daughter wasnt hurt. Due to all the dirt and debris, it managed to clot the bleeding. That’s what saved me! I remember feeling so blessed it was just an arm! Not my daughter or her arm, so I was at peace with that!! Every day in the hospital I just felt blessed because we were alive! It was just an arm, seem like no big deal, 15 days, 5 operations later and Im good!! Me and my daughter are alive and well. To me I feel very blessed.†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (DEBRA FORD) I was shocked to hear her say that â€Å"it was just an arm.† But I understand what she means. Debra was right. It was a blessing because the outcome could have been a lot worse than it was. That day I could have lost both my aunt Debra and my cousin Stephanie. In 2008 a court agreed that Vanessa McGrogan was at fault due to her being on her cell phone and orderedShow MoreRelatedBan on the Usage of Cell Phone while Driving808 Words   |  3 Pagesï » ¿Cell phone ban while driving Many states in America according to their research have found out that use of cell phones in cars have contributed to several accidents as well as traffic violations and are now legislating rules and regulations on cell phone usage so as to create safer driving environment in the states hence reducing the number of accidents each and every day caused by use of cell phones while driving. Jennifer Clark (2012 ) indicates that teenage drivers were banned from any cellRead MoreDangers of Cell Phone Use While Driving Essay1306 Words   |  6 Pageslast few decades, the use of cell phones has become a very common tool. Furthermore, Technology has certainly advanced, and the cell phone is becoming the most preferred mode of communication. The demand for a cell phone is growing every day. In addition, the use of wireless technology is affordable, and anyone can buy a cell phone at a reasonable price. They come in all shapes and sizes. They range from black to bright metallic white. American public use of cell phones is increasing everyday. AsRead MoreIncrease Public Safety And Prevent Unnecessary Risks Behind The Wheel While Operating A Motor Vehicle1398 Words   |  6 Pagesof this proposal is to increase public safety and prevent unnecessary risks behind the wheel while operating a motor vehicle. Drivers have a duty to themselves and to the public to operate their v ehicles in a safe manner free from distraction. The safest way to ensure against distraction and preserve everyone’s well-being is to abstain from all cell phone usage including dialing, talking, or texting while operating a vehicle. 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Out of the three there has been one that has become more common, and it’s only increasing if people don’t put a stop to it themselves. A usage of a cell phone should not be displayed at any point while driving. It can wait many have hadRead MoreRegulation Of Cell Phones : A Cell Phone938 Words   |  4 PagesRegulation of Cell Phones A cell phone according to the dictionary.com â€Å"a portable telephone that uses wireless technology to send and receive a phone signal. The cell phone covers an unlimited geographical area that is constantly being upgraded every year. A cell phone has a lot of advantages and disadvantages. Cellphones should receive stronger regulations to prevent texting while driving. They have been known to cause cancer and they may interfere with the functioning of aircraft. Firstly, while operatingRead MoreThe Banning Texting While Driving1463 Words   |  6 PagesMany states prohibit texting while driving. 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Establishing Character free essay sample

Breathing life into simple names, I became a writer. Exhaling carbon dioxide into them, my newborn characters reveal traits and backgrounds to amuse me. I watch carefully chosen words on paper become my marionettes, dancing in my notebook whenever I ask them to. I spend countless days scripting their every dialogue, laying down their foundation, lighting the flame to spark their thoughts. They become a part of meaˆâ€ tender children I have created, who suddenly have minds of their own. Lately they’ve caught me by surprise. Rather, their rebellion against my ideas has taken me by surprise. I brought them into this world; they weren’t supposed to defy their creator! But they didn’t approve of my smooth, unoriginal pathsaˆâ€ they sauntered through wild grasses like the anti-conformists I wrote them to be. They did what they wanted based on their beliefs and values I instilled on them on page one. We will write a custom essay sample on Establishing Character or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The characters, the storiesaˆâ€ they were all so radically different. But somehow I kept noticing something familiar reflected in all of my creations, something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Then it hit me. Me. I was Amy, I was Judeaˆâ€ Freya, Lily, Mark, Roger, Ellieaˆâ€ they were all in me. I realized how much Jude’s hatred for society was driven by my own independent, spiteful spirit. I learned how withdrawn I once was, due to having self-esteem as low at Amy’s. I became aware of how my self-reliant nature is only a misleading disguise to mask my need for companionship, as Freya discovered through meeting Jude. My constantly fluctuating morals have always made it difficult for me to define myself. Now I don’t need toaˆâ€ my characters have done it for me. By crafting them, I’ve let out pieces of me that have never been expressed before. In creating them, I’ve discovered myself.

Theory of Dyadic Social Interaction and Meanings free essay sample

Children often learn from elders what any given symbol means and once children learn these meanings they incorporate them into their cognitive schemata. According to Piagets (1972, 1954) theory of cognitive development, from approximately ages 4-7 children are in an intuitive phase where they can grasp logical concepts, but reality is not yet firm and is often dictated by authority figures. The role of authority figures to shape constructions of reality certainly does not end in childhood. Social constructionists such as Berger and Luckmann (1966) argue that individuals together produce a human environment, with the totality of its socio-cultural and psychological formations and understandings; social meanings are a human product (p. 52). It is not unusual, say, for an abusive romantic partner to convince his or her partner that the abuse is deserved or symbolic of care or even love. The dyadic construction of acts of abuse as signifying love or care may not e clearly understood by others outside the relational dyad, yet perceptions of abusive behavior as acts of love are common in abusive interpersonal relationships, along with sacrificing ones own interpretation of events so as not to lose the affection of the partner (Woods, 1999). In fact, in a recent episode of the popular television show Law and Order: Special Victims Unit (Denoon Platt, 2004) a teenager was placed in foster care due to a mothers complete and utter dominance over the child, with the episode focusing on the control the mother had over how her offspring interpreted the world around him. The psychologist in the episode did not have a name for this process of maternal domination, but compared the teenager to a puppet, merely appropriating his mothers interpretations of the world out of fear; the fear of losing her love, protection and their relational structure. Although this essay does not focus on children or abusive relationships specifically, it outlines a theory addressing the social construction of meanings in dyadic communicative interaction wherein there is disequilibrium between members in that process. Berger (2005), in his review of the interpersonal communication up until the 21st century, pointed out that very few interpersonal communication scholars have developed theories addressing this central tenet of communication meaning. His review argued that for the field to move forward interpersonal communication researchers should look more at interaction routines and the process of meaning-making between interactants. Around the same time as this review was being written, Koerner and Fitzpatrick (2002) published an article in Communication Theory arguing for a similar need for research examining intersubjectivity, meaning, and interactivity in the area of family communication. They argued the following: a complete explication of family communication needs to consider both intersubjectivity and interactivity (Fitzpatrick Ritchie, 1993). Intersubjectivity refers to the sharing of cognitions among participants in a communication event, whereas interactivity refers to the degree to which the symbol creation and interpretation are linked. ,Interactivity refers to the way that a family maintains its own structure through patterns of family members responses to each others communicative acts (p. 73, Koerner Fitzpatrick, 2002). Correspondingly, Miller-Day (2004) also presented a Necessary Convergence Communication (NCC) theory which focused on both intersubjectivity and interactivity in family member i nteractions, while addressing issues of power and dominance involved in the process of meaning-making between communicators. At this junction, in response to these calls for theoretical development in the area of meaning construction and dyadic social interaction in the fields of interpersonal and family communication, and building on the ideas introduced by Koerner and Fitzpatrick (2002), this essay will briefly review the original ideas of Miller-Days (2004) Necessary Convergence Communication (NCC) theory, elaborate on them, and then discuss how this framework might be a workable mid-range theory to assist communication scholars understand how the construct of power or dominance may influence the meaning construction process in interpersonal communication. A theory is a lens through which to examine human interaction and theories have four functionsdescription, explanation, prediction, and change (Griffin, 2000; Littlejohn Foss, 2005). The foundation of a theory is description and as Wood (2004) points out, before we can figure out how something works, we must describe it (p. 32). Therefore, the first task of building new theory is to describe its features. This essay provides a description of necessary convergence communication and identifies specific features that may be empirically tested. An Introduction to Necessary Convergence Communication Miller-Day (2004) argued that necessary convergence is a form of intersubjectivity that occurs during a pattern of interactivity when one communicator is dominant and the other submissive. When convergence of meaning occurs, meaning coordination tends to be coercive rather than cooperative with the dominant partners interpretive frame privileged over the submissive partners, leading to unequal contributions to the process of meaning coordination. Author Ayn Rand (1993) referred to this type of process in her novel The Fountainhead. Rand argued that some individuals tend to be â€Å"second-handers†Ã¢â‚¬â€people who don’t judge for themselves, who just repeat what others close to them say, embrace it, and make it their own. Miller-Days (2004) argument suggests that when the relational schema for the submissive partner is based on conditional regard—that is, she or he believes that acceptance in the relationship (e. g. , receipt of emotional resources) is contingent on meaning convergence; the submissive partner will converge with the dominant partners meanings for relational maintenance purposes. As discovered in Miller-Days family communication research (2004) and Miller (1995) and illustrated in the Law and Order episode mentioned earlier in this essay, not to converge with a dominant partners interpretation of symbols or events in any transaction would risk already precarious acceptance and approval in the relationship. An interpretive frame is defined here as cognitive structure that contains mental representations of meanings; the process of constructing meaning activates interpretive frames. Necessary infers that convergence is perceived as essential to achieving a certain result, and convergence indicates a tendency toward one point (Miller-Day, 2004). Thus, to obtain relational approval and avoid rejection, the submissive partner will accommodate the dominant partner by assimilating his or her interpretive frame. Within this model, convergence is relationally adaptive. This introduction to NCC as a theoretical framework offers an overview. But, to fully understand how this theory may be applied more generally to interpersonal relationships, I will elaborate on this theoretical framework, present the assumptions linked to it, describe its characteristics, and provide some theoretical statements for empirical testing. A-Priori Theoretical Assumptions Communication Is an Emergent, Creative Activity through Which Meanings are Coordinated Via Interpretive Schemata People approach the world through processes of interpretation. As human social animals we are in a constant state of interpreting and managing meanings, and interpreting meanings is an interdependent process. The assumption is that meanings are not inherent in objects, but instead arises out of social interaction. During social interaction, meanings are coordinated through interpretive schemata—mental structures consisting of organized knowledge about relationships. Interpretive schemata represent accumulated knowledge—the sum of past experiences—which help an individual interpret, understand, and predict the outcomes of interactions with others (Burleson, Metts, Kirch, 2000; Cragan Shields, 1998; Koerner Fitzpatrick, 2002). Moreover, interpretive schemata include expectations about what should happen in a given situation and serve to guide behavior. Interpretive schemata specific to relationships—relationship schemata—influence the â€Å"encoding and decoding of information, the inferences and evaluations people make †¦ and ultimately their interpersonal behavior† in relationships (Koerner Fitzpatrick, 2002, p. 80). This assumption presumes that the process of â€Å"making meaning† activates interpretive frames. Communicators then coordinate their meaning systems as filtered through these frames and then negotiate agreement. Understanding between the members builds intersubjectivity and hopefully leads to consensus (Crotty, 1998; Solomon, Dillard, Anderson, 2002). Implicit in this assumption are claims of coordination and negotiation. Coordination implies a state of equal rank, equal power, and harmonious order, whereas negotiation suggests that communicators confer with one another in order to reach an agreement. Coordination involves collaboration of all communicating partners. Communication Enacts Relationships The state of being in a â€Å"relationship† is inherently a communication process and must be understood as a series of transactions in which messages are exchanged. Relationships are formed across repeated transactions, with each new transact adding new information to the one that came before, building a cumulative database of information about the relationship (Burleson et al. 2000; Duck, 1992; Guerrero, Anderson, Afifi, 2001). Transactions are units of interaction affecting both interactants and carrying commentary on the interactant’s relationship. As Watzlawick, Beavin, and Jackson (1967) pointed out, each message (both verbal and nonverbal) carries information at two levels—the content level and the relationship level. The relationship level enacts the current state of the relationship and provides information about how the communicators see each other, th emselves, and their relationship. Communicative Transactions in Close Personal Relationships Have Implications for Personal and Relational Identities Relational members encode and decode information about themselves as well as for their partner, extrapolating this information to the relational unit (Aron Aron, 1986). Within this framework, the self is conceptualized as inseparable from dynamic interaction, with each transaction contributing to both self- and relational knowledge. Early work by Mead (1934) identified the centrality of essage exchange in personal identity management. More recent work in relational communication points out that both personal and relational identities are cocreated communicatively within the context of relationship (Wilmot, 1995). Personal identity development is really the unfolding of the self while retaining relational ties; identities are constituted and managed through relationships, not to their exclusion (Adams Marshall, 1996). Relational Culture Shapes Interpretive/Relational S chemata Relational cultures consist of shared meaning systems, routinized patterns of interaction, and norms that structure members’ roles and behaviors (Wood, 2000). These cultural norms shape relational schemata (Koerner Fitzpatrick, 2002), and these schemata are socialized across the developmental trajectory of the relationship. Socialization involves the â€Å"social and communicative processes through which cultural knowledge, resources and practices are made available and internalized† by cultural members (Burleson et al. , 2000, p. 35). As Entman (1993) demonstrated, culture is the stock of commonly evoked interpretive schemata and culture might be defined as the â€Å"empirically demonstrable set of common interpretive frames exhibited in the discourse and thinking of most people in a relationship† (p. 53). Relational schemata are the mental structures that are socialized within a relational culture, organize knowledge about relationships, and are used to process information relevant to these relationships. Therefore, relational cultures will share common schemata and should be reflected in the communication practices of relational members. Interpersonal Scripts Emerge From Relational Schemata Scripts are one form of communication practice enacted within relationships that emerge from relational schemata (Koerner Fitzpatrick, 2002). Relational scripts direct interaction, exemplify relational work, and dictate normative ways of issuing directives and responses. Scripted interactions are often routine, habituated, and overlearned through repetitive practice in the family culture (Sillars, 1995); however, these scripts are useful in directing the â€Å"typical† ways in which an interaction should be handled given the particular relational schema. When relational members become practiced in these roles and memorize their lines, these enactments become scripted. That is, partners may not think about their day-to-day ways of interacting with each other on a conscious level, but they may still tend to communicate in patterned ways with well-defined scripts that enact â€Å"appropriate† relational behavior. These a-priori assumptions are implicit in the theoretical framework of NCC. In summary, they presuppose that relational culture shapes partners knowledge of relationships; each partners accumulated knowledge of relationships helps her or him to coordinate meanings; patterned or scripted communication behavior emerges from relationship schemata; and this communication behavior is consequential for interpersonal relationships. Characteristics of Necessary Convergence Communication Necessary convergence communication can be captured by describing its three separate characteristics, equilibrium, weighted proportion of meaningfulness, and motivation, and two process dimensions, degree and chronicity (Miller-Day, 2004). These characteristics are illustrated in Fig. 1 and can be assessed in terms of their valence and intensity in any given interpersonal relationship. [Insert Figure 1 about here] Equilibrium When necessary convergence occurs, there tends to be disequilibrium in the relational coordination of meanings. Equilibrium refers to an equality of distribution; however when disequilibrium occurs, there is unequal power to determine meanings in interpersonal interaction. Power is a person’s ability to control valuable resources and is often tied to status. Any type of power such as expert power, legitimate power, or coercive power is relevant to equilibrium as long as the person is in control of resources considered valuable. Control of resources provide the potential for the exercise of power in most relationships, with resources being all knowledge, skills, emotions, words, actions, and materials that are at the disposal of the person. Given the distribution of resources within any specific interpersonal relationship, power might be evaluated by its outcome, which is dominance. Dominance refers to the degree to which a person can influence and impose their will on the other; its counterterm, submission, refers to the degree to which a person gives up influence or yields to the wishes of the other. I think it is important to keep in mind that dominance itself is determined by the submissive response of others. Moreover, as Burgoon, Johnson, and Koch (1998) pointed out, â€Å"While power enables the display of dominance, and dominant behavior may solidify power—though correlated—dominance and power are not interchangeable concepts† (p. 10). According to Miller-Day (2004), when NCC occurs the relational member who has higher status or more power in the relationship (e. g. , parent, teacher, boss, or romantic partner) would be dominant in imposing, rather than cooperatively negotiating, meaning in the relationship. Moreover, as one person’s power to determine meanings increases, the other person’s decreases, this then leads to an unstable situation in which the importance of one partner’s interpretive frame outweighs the partner’s. Weighted Proportion of Meaningfulness The second characteristic of necessary convergence occurs when one partner submits to the unequal distribution in the power to construct meanings in interaction. Dominance requires submission. Consequently, when a lower-status partner submits, she or he affords the dominant partner’s meanings more weight—more significance—in the transaction. Developmentally, as most individuals begin to acquire personal authority they naturally become differentiated from parents and others in their life, even as they remain emotionally connected (Nadien Denmark, 1999). However, as adults form unique relational cultures, they will develop new connections with others. Some times these relationships are purely social and require accommodation of meanings for social management purposes; for example, in the classroom where a professor does not encourage critical thinking but mandates rote memorization and resists any challenge of information. In this case, students are required to accommodate the professors meanings into his or her own understanding (and repeat that on the exam! ). Anyone who has ever been in a classroom with one of these instructors may empathize with students placed in a setting where there is a low tolerance for differentiation in thinking among members. But the case of relational partners where one partner is dominant in most realms of the relationships and the other submissive, there is both a social and emotional connection between partners. In this case, the dominant partner will typically closely monitor any behaviors that signify the submissive partners movement toward differentiation (uniqueness outside the relationship), regardless if emotional ties remain undisturbed. If the less powerful partner resists the imposition of meaning and challenges her partners construction of meaning in the dyadic interaction, then necessary convergence communication has not occurred. It is the absence of resistance the convergencethat is a key feature of this kind of communication. According to NCC, the less powerful partner will be motivated to converge because he or she feels it is necessary. Motivation Motivation is a reason for action, an incentive. This theory argues that when there is a compelling reason for convergence, such as is to avoid undermining the relationship or to secure relational acceptance, there is increased motivation to converge with the higher-status partner. When acceptance in the relationship is perceived to be conditional on that convergence, then convergence is perceived as relationally adaptive and the lower-status partner is more likely to perceive convergence as necessary. Necessary convergence, then, might be viewed as a form of secondary control. According to Rosenberg (1990), â€Å"Secondary control is an attempt to accommodate to objective conditions in order to affect a more satisfying fit with those conditions† (p. 147). Although convergence tends not to be explicitly demanded, lower-status partners will perceive it as a condition for relational acceptance. Manipulation of resources in a relationship, such as support, regard, or inclusion, emerged as a significant contributor to asserting dominance in the family relationships observed by Miller-Day (2004). As a form of psychological control, higher-status family members offered and withheld these resources contingent on the convergence of the lower-status member. The manipulation of emotional resources, therefore, was used to assert psychological dominance with the provision or withdrawal of resources providing a compelling motivation for lower-status partner’s convergence. According to NCC, once convergence is perceived to be necessary, and one accommodates the dominant partners interpretive frame at the expense of ones own, two additional characteristics become important when assessing necessary convergence: degree and chronicity. Process Dimensions Degree. The relative intensity or amount of convergence in any given dyadic interaction is important to the process of NCC. The following illustration captures different degrees of convergence. Example: An adult woman and a friend are talking. The friend comments that she likes the womans new hairstyle, pulled up on her head with a hair clip. The woman comments that she likes the style too. Soon the adult womans mother walks into the room, looks at her adult daughter, and with a tone of disapproval says, What have you done to your hair? It looks awful† Under conditions of high convergence, the lower-status woman would change her hairstyle extensively as a result of her mother’s comment, converging with her mother’s interpretation that the style was indeed horrible and altering her original interpretation to â€Å"fit† more closely with her mother’s. If asked by another, she would explain that the hairstyle looked awful so she altered it. Under conditions of moderately high convergence, the lower-status woman would significantly change her hairstyle as a result of her mother’s comment, but just to please her mother or to reduce conflict. The lower-status woman would not alter her own interpretation to fit with her mother’s interpretation; she would merely accommodate the alternative interpretation. Under conditions of moderately low convergence, the lower-status woman might make minor alterations in the hairstyle to integrate both perceptions of what was attractive into one style. Finally, under conditions of low convergence, the lower-status woman might listen to her mother’s comment but keep the style anyway because she likes it. As Miller-Day (2004) comments, there are times when we all perceive that it is just easier, necessary, or politically astute to adjust our interpretations to others’ view of the world. However, when there is extensive accommodation and convergence, obliterating personal interpretative frames constitutive of self, this might negatively influence personal identity. Chronicity. Convergence may be chronic or the pattern of convergence may occur across time and contexts. When lower-status individuals experience repeated failures in negotiating meanings in transactions with a partner across time (e. . , across the life course) and contexts (e. g. , attitudes, values, behaviors), this may instill a generalized expectancy of learned helplessness and â€Å"giving in. † Miller-Days (2004) data revealed that women who chronically engaged in necessary convergence had an undefined sense of self and lower self-esteem than women who did not engage in convergence. When boundaries betwe en individuals blur in personal relationships, identities may become undefined and convergence communication becomes the modus operandi. Piagets (1972) theory of cognitive development points out that in normal development, both assimilation and accommodation processes are used simultaneously and alternately throughout life. Assimilation being the process of using or transforming the environment so that it can be placed in preexisting cognitive structures and accommodation being the process of changing cognitive structures in order to accept something from the environment. Necessary convergence communication offers an explanation for those interactions where accommodation becomes the primary means of making sense of the world. Theoretical Suppositions of Necessary Convergence Whereas theoretical assumptions are claims already supported in the research literature, suppositions are considered true or existing but not yet proved. Miller-Day (2004) provided the groundwork for this theory development and I seek to build on that by offering the following suppositions about NCC. I believe these suppositions may provide the necessary building blocks for theory development and offer future directions for empirical testing. Supposition #1 Interactants with more power (e. g. expert, legitimate, reward) in a dyadic social interaction will exert more influence in the construction of meaning than interactants with less power. Coordination of meaning involves power and control and according to this theory meanings can be hijacked. When both partners share moderate levels of power in the relationship, it would be predicted that they would enjoy the equilibrium and co-construction of meaningshared cognitions with a relativ ely high degree of match between symbol creation and interpretation. But most theories assume co-construction and equilibrium in sharing cognitions. According to NCC, we need to factor in power status of the interactants in the dyadic construction of meaning. Although studies exist that explore social stratification and power in terms of race, gender, and larger cultural hierarchies (see, e. g. , Altheide, 1995; Lyman, 1994), rarely do scholars explore interpersonal dominance and perceptions of status in their attempts to understand meaning construction. Supposition #2 Under conditions where there is disequilibrium—unequal power—in determining meanings in dyadic social interaction, both partners will afford the dominant partner’s meanings more significance. If one participant in the communication event is dominant in the dyad then it is predicted that connections between symbol and interpretations can be coerced, and the interpretations of the dominant partner are privileged in that communication event. Supposition #3 Converging with a higher-status partner’s assigned meanings will function to maintain the relational identity. The act of convergence is relationally adaptive. The act of convergence in any given interaction will serve to protect the entangled identity of the participants and function to maintain the relational status quo. Partners in dominant-submissive relationships will maintains their relational culture through this patterns of responding to each others communicative actsby one requiring convergence and the other converging. Supposition #4 Among submissive partners, necessary convergence communication will be positively related to an undifferentiated self. Relationships demonstrate varying degrees of tolerance for intimacy and autonomy through interactions. In differentiated relationships partners are provided with autonomy, while maintaining respect and intimacy. In undifferentiated relationships boundaries are regulated, with high demands for connectedness, and ultimately impeding individual identity (Skowron Schmitt, 2003; Skowron, 2005). Supposition #5 The manipulation of emotional resources by the dominant partner in relationship with an undifferentiated partner will positively predict necessary convergence communication. It is posited that a communication partner who encourages emotional and psychological dependence through the manipulation of emotional resources (e. g. , love, acceptance) will also coerce a high degree of convergence in the communicative interaction. Respectively, a communication partner who is undifferentiated and submits to the dominant partner will perceive that convergenceor a shared interpretationis necessary to maintain the relationship. Supposition #6 The more chronic and the greater the degree of convergence, the more likely the submissive partner will have a generalized expectancy of learned helplessness predicting increased risk for depression. The theory of learned helplessness (Seligman, 1975) offers a model to explain human depression in which apathy and submitting to more dominant others prevails, causing the person to fully rely on others. This can result when life experiences cause the individual to understand that their own cognitions are irrelevant. Summary This essay introduced necessary convergence communication as a theoretical framework to help explain how meanings can be hijacked by others in interpersonal relationships. Under certain conditions it is predicted that dominant members in interpersonal relationships may be able to control the coordination of meaning in the relationship, subverting the interpretations of the submissive communication partner. Outlining characteristics of NCC (equilibrium, weighted proportion of meaningfulness, and motivation), two process dimensions (degree and chronicity), and posing 6 testable suppositions about NCC, this essay argues that this mid-range theory may be useful in understanding intersubjectivity and interactivity in dyadic social interaction where one partner is dominant and the other submissive. Whether that partnership is interpersonal or relational, there are implications for this kind of communication in understanding interpersonal influence and possibly even mental health outcomes such as depression. Future Directions There are criteria by which theories are judged to be effective. According to Shaw and Costanzo (1970) and Wright (1998), the following criteria may be used for evaluating theories and future research should examine this theoretical framework to assess if it meets these criteria. First, there is explanatory power—do the suppositions of the NCC theoretical framework enable scholars to explain as much of the communication phenomenon as possible? Next, is the theoretical model parsimonious—does it contain as few suppositions as possible, is it as simple as it can be? Is NCC internally consistent, that is, do the suppositions contradict each other? Does NCC have heuristic potential; does it suggest hypotheses to be tested through additional research? Finally, does NCC promote new understanding and have societal value? This essay outlines the features of NCC and proposes suppositions for empirical testing. Future research should test these suppositions with the potential to falsify and/or delimit this theoretical framework.

The Grapes Of Wrath Essays (514 words) - Dust Bowl, U.S. Route 66

The Grapes Of Wrath John Steinbeck's purpose in The Grapes of Wrath The Grapes of Wrath entails a story of perseverance in dealing with oppressive labor conditions faced by migrant laborers during the Depression. Steinbeck's purpose contrived by the novel's tone, was to inform the public of the migrant's plight. Through analyzing the effective use of diction, comparison of man to animal, and organization of alternating narrative with serious discussion about the Depression, one can see the purpose of The Grapes of Wrath. By using the actual dialect of the Okies the dialogue becomes very realistic. Thus, Steinbeck brings the story to the public causing the reader's poignant involvement. Tom Joad says: ?They gonna burn the camp tonight, Ma. Now you know I ain't got in me to stan' by an' see our stuff burn up, nor Pa ain't got it in him, nor Uncle John. We'd come up a-fightin', an' I jus' can't afford to be took in an' mugged.? The Joads are in a hobo town and when trouble got started the authorities usually burned down these towns. The meaning becomes more effective with using dialect than proper English because it shows how proud they are and enunciates their emotions. Furthermore, it shows how the migrants suffer random attacks by the police, land owners, and other local Californians because of their origins and accents. In addition, Steinbeck subtley intertwines the idea that migrants are constantly being compared to animals or thought of as inhuman. For example, Tom Joad says: ? They're a-workin' away at our spirits. They're a tryin' to make us cringe an' crawl like a whipped bitch. They tryin' to break us . . . They're workin' on our decency.? One feels the hardship of these people, they have nothing except the family around them and their humanity which is quickly dwindling. When the Joads leave a service station on the way to California there is another instance where they are thought of as less. The service station attendant says: ?They ain't human.? This reinforces the general thought of Okies in the depression. Steinbeck achieves his purpose by making the comparison between man and animal apparent throughout the novel. However, the organization of The Grapes of Wrath is the most important characteristic of the novel. In affect it is two different basic stories. One is the narrative of the individual journey the Joad family experiences and the other is the general plight of migrant laborers in the Depression. The chapters trade off between the story of the Joads and the migrants accentual in whole describing and defeating the fiction about the Okies. Steinbeck effectively conveys to the public the inhumane conditions and hardships of migrant laborers. Because Steinbeck focuses on displaying the dilemma of migrant laborers during the Depression, he creates a novel which opens the eyes of the public. By analyzing the aspect of dialogue, the idea of inhumanity, and effective organization, the tone of The Grapes of Wrath is ultimately achieved. In turn, all of this creates an unforgettable story of the hardships endured by migrant laborers in the 1930's. English Essays

Aleksandr solzhenitsyn russian dissident

Aleksandr solzhenitsyn russian dissident *Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was becoming a dissident against the U.S.S.R. and the restricting communist government after he was arrested for the first time. He, through his entire life, was willing to sacrifice everything he had in order to point out that censorship was wrong and people should be able to speak their mind.*His childhood years were very rough. Aleksandr (pronounced Alexander) was born in Kisovodsk, Russia on December 11, 1918 (Academic American Encyclopedia Sno-Sz, p 59). His father was an artillery officer in World War I, and his mother was a typist and stenographer. Aleksandr never knew his father, because he died in a hunting accident before Aleksandr was born. After his father died, the Soviet government only allowed menial employment to his mother, so his family lived in relative poverty. Other than that, Aleksandr's childhood was relatively normal. He was a member of the Pioneers, the Soviet equivalent to Boy Scouts, and later joined the Communist Youth League.Aleksa ndr Rou - Kashchey bessmertnyy aka Kashchei ...At the age of nine he decided he wanted to be a writer, and before he was eighteen he decided that he was going to write a novel about the Russian Revolution. He said that during his childhood he "bore this social tension - on one hand, they used to tell me everything at home, and on the other, they used to work our minds at school. And so this collision between two worlds gave birth to such social tension inside me that somehow defined the path I was to follow for the rest of my life." Aleksandr had little literary education and read few western novels, and later said he regretted it (Major 20TH Century Writers, p 2792-2793).*After grade school Aleksandr went to the University of Rostov-on-Don and graduated in 1941, majoring in mathematics and physics (Encarta...

PUBLIC ADMIN police foundations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

PUBLIC ADMIN police foundations - Essay Example The very fact that Canada is one of the most competitive societies compared to that of the dominating countries, along time the US has proved its ability to spread its dominion in almost any form of government. No matter how hard Canada shall deny the fact that they will outlive the power of America, they will not be able to do so, without learning the American verity. Further, the US is globally recognized to be the biggest fish in the ocean of commerce that those who intend to fish for a greater catch will need to go along with the flow of the ocean. Hence, it is evident that Canada is thriving hard to sustain its social ego to combat in the realm of trade and commerce against America. Statistical repots have shown that there exist an immense issue with regard to the status of the US-Europe, being the next big star in the limelight-and that Canada is looking for means to beat the mark which has long boggled their economical egos. However, Canadians become unaware that the more they try to fit in the world of lights and glory, they are already becoming Americans in that certain field. The maple is blooming with fine fruits but its roots are being blown by the hurricanes of Americanization-little do we know, the trunk could no longer hold its origin and the bigger tree will overrate Canada's empire. Which level of law enforcement is most effective Unexpected circumstances come in the most unanticipated manner in any form of state. Due to the immense rise of globalization, competition and the never-ending debate on worldwide dominion, terrorism has prudently become the top rated problems in any country. However, in the age of the 21st Century, several critics and environmentalists struck the humankind with the shocking discovery on the condition of the earth's ozone layer. Global warming, the most controversial environmental dilemma has now been marked as a truth in the society's lists of dreadfulchaos. With this, the Canadians-like all the other members of the United Nations are building a campaign in saving the environment for the sake of the future's generation. As a matter of fact, the pressure has been given to every resident in the country wherein the levelof enforcing the laws, which adheres to the campaign, has brought several individuals to a sudden dismay. Not only that, long term plans for development in infrastructures and other sort of governmental plans also shifted in an enormous diversion of financial allocations. It may then be argued that the enforcement on environmental awareness has moved even the large companies in the area of jurisdiction and the famous political icons (Parson). In a logical point of the argument, it shows that the law has been treated in flying colors-a very rare scenario in the context of liberalism. Moreover, the fact that the policies in environmental control have already started a milestone with explicit results in success, collaboration is considerably at its peak. Health along with resources is undeniably the most well

Family Law Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Family Law - Research Paper Example According to a survey report, 43 to 46 percent of all marriages that have happened in the US in the year 2000 will eventually end in divorce (Smith et al., 1453). This paper explores the US law of divorce and dissolution of marriage on the grounds of husband’s chronic alcoholism and physical violence. It shows that divorce and dissolution of marriage are two separate ways of separation. As per Section 3105.01 of Ohio Divorce Law extreme cruel behavior of either spouse and chronic alcoholism of either spouse are considered as valid reasons for dissolution of marriage. Therefore, Jennifer was granted divorce. As for child custody, court considers the best interests of the child. In this case, it was granted that Martin is alcoholic and violent therefore Steve will not be safe if he stays with his father. Therefore, Jennifer was granted custody of her son. Moreover, Jennifer will find it difficult to do a full time job because she will have to look after a minor child; therefore she was spousal support. Martin and Jennifer have been married for 9 years and they have a son Steve who is 7 years old. The first year was happy and peaceful for the newly married couple. In the beginning of their second year Martin left his old company and joined a new multinational company as a software developer. After joining the new company, Martin often complained about cultural dissatisfaction and low salary. This job dissatisfaction was manifested in Martin’s personal life as he began to get engaged in long arguments with his wife and began to neglect his son’s studies. Martin gradually developed a habit of drinking alcohol along with some of his colleagues either at office parties or at their residence. Initially, Jennifer was not concerned since Martin was a light drinker and although he returned home in late evenings slightly

The Bacchae of Euripides Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Bacchae of Euripides - Essay Example Dionysius was the son of the supreme deity, Zeus, and a Theban princess, Semele. His delivery was extraordinary and Semele’s sisters had propagated the lie that Zeus was not the father of Dionysius. Pentheus, being the king of Thebes, had barred god Dionysius from all traditional public rites. Dionysius plans to proclaim his lineage and reclaim his reverence as a god among the Greeks. The god assumes the form of a human being and travels to Thebes, where he practices his rites with his followers, the Bacchae. Pentheus directs the arrest of Dionysius, yet in lengthy dialogues, the god, while disguised as a human persuades Pentheus to mask himself as a woman and go witness the rites of Bacchae, the followers of Dionysius in the mountains (Bloom 39). The naive Pentheus climbs a pine tree better scrutinize the rites. Once in the tree, Dionysius’ resounding voice directs the maenads to behold the man who repudiated their god and derided their rites, and orders them to punish the intruder. The god’s voice sends the maenads into frenzy. Seeing Pentheus in the tree, they become possessed, thinking he is a mountain lion. With Agave, the mother of Pentheus, leading them, the maenads encircle the tree, bring it down with their hands and descend upon Pentheus with ferocity (Bloom 40). Pentheus takes out his headdress in the hope that his mother could recognize him, but to no avail. He is dismembered limb by limb, first by his mother, then by all the maniacal maenads. Out of her senses, his mother tears Pentheus head off, believing it is the cranium of a lion, and jazzes exultantly around the countryside. After a distressing realization scene where she recognizes she has slain her own son, Agave and the other are banished (Bloom 41). The students’ performance gives the audience the opportunity to experience the power of the Dionysian experience without having to suffer what Pentheus, Agave and others suffer. They succeed in transforming the meta- tragedy of the story into the sacrificial ritual drama. They successfully take the audience into the world of metaphysical depicted by the freeing of the nation by the death of Pentheus. The students create an excellent illusion tragedy as they seek to convey the message of the play, which causes the audience to lose themselves as they give in to the deeper sense of their selves. The actors also bring out the author’s intention very well; their performance does not obliterate the textuality of the drama. The actors particularly excel in demonstrating the Dionysus’ interjection through use of the force and value of ambivalent monosyllable. The students also portray the alienation effect well. The appearance of the gods on the stage helps to create perfect stage epiphany. From the audience’s perspective, these appearances have no referential aspects of meaning, because the way in which god speaks his opening remarks or seems as deus ex machina on the tragic stage, does not infer in any way the manner in which divinities could be perceived in the reality outside the theatre. The audience does not see the theatrical representation of a religious experience, an epiphany, but decodes the code in strict narrative terms. The acting tries to retell the story but as an audience one can feel that there is something more than a story. There is a meaning, or a riddle, which one must try, to some extent, to understand. Nevertheless, the actors should improve on

Socio Cultural Impact Of Television On Youth Media Essay

Socio Cultural Impact Of Television On Youth Media Essay This study has analysed Socio-cultural Impact of Television on Youth. The purpose of this study is to find out the impact of television programmes on youth. As a communication technology, television has a great acceptance and is being used extensively in India. Television viewership is no more restricted to the upper and upper-middle class of India as it used to be a few years back. Being inexpensive and easy to access, television spread rapidly in India. It has become one of the common household commodities. Therefore, this study attempted to understand whether demography influenced the viewership patterns of respondents or not. Television provides a variety of local and foreign channels and helps people in selecting programmes according to their taste and choice. Therefore, the first part of this study explored respondents preferred channels and kinds of programmes, reasons for watching television, preferred time of watching and control over the remote. It justified the application of Uses and Gratification Theory. This theory identifies television consumption patterns according to needs and satisfaction of targeted segment. The gratification factor leads to the exposure of programmes which in turn can generate impact. Main part of the present research comes under the impact tradition. It demands discussion on theories based on observational learning and information processing emphasize lasting impact of exposure to media contents. Thus, the study also applies Cultivation Theory in terms of impact through exposure and Social learning Theory which says that viewers attend and learn from models which are attractive, powerful, rewarding and similar to themselves. They do not act immediately on what they learn from television. Instead, they store such knowledge to be used when their own circumstances elicit it. Hence, the framework of this research is based on the set of three theories i.e. Uses and Gratification Theory, Cultivation Theory and Social Learning Theory. These theories are discussed below in relation with the present study in brief. 2.1Uses and Gratification Utility Theory, often known as the Uses and Gratification Approach offers another way of explaining why people expose themselves to some communications and not others; why they perceive a fraction of these to which they are exposed and why they remember- correctly or incorrectly. Blumler and Katzs Uses and Gratification Theory suggest that media users play an active role in choosing and using media. Users take an active part in the communication process and are goal oriented in their media usage. Theorists say that media users seek out source that best fulfils their needs. Uses and Gratification Theory assumes that users have alternate choices to satisfy their needs (Griffin. 2000).55 Uses and Gratification Theory takes a more humanistic approach to looking at the media usage. The theory takes out the possibility that media can have an unconscious influence on our lives and how we view the world. The idea that we simply use media to satisfy a given need does not seem to fully recognize the power of media in todays society. 2.2 Cultivation Theory Cultivation Theory in its most basic form, suggests that television is responsible for shaping or cultivating viewers conceptions of social reality. The combined effect of massive television exposure by viewers over time subtly shapes the perception of social reality for individuals and, ultimately for our culture as a whole. Thus, cultivation research is in the effects traditions. Cultivation research looks at the mass media as a socialising agent and investigates whether television viewers come to believe the television version of reality the more they watch it. Gerbner and his colleagues argue that television drama has a small but significant influence on the attitudes, beliefs and judgement of viewers concerning the social world. The focus is on heavy viewers. People who watch a lot of television are likely to be more influenced by the ways in which the world is framed by television programmes than are individuals who watch less, especially regarding topics of which the viewer ha s little first-hand experience. Light viewers may have more sources of information than heavy viewers. 58 This study has used Cultivation Theory by George Gerbner as a guide in exploring the consequences. Under guidance of this theory, this study may be able to emerge as a new theory. Essentially, the theory states that heavy exposure to mass media namely television creates and cultivates attitudes more consistent with a media fabricated version of reality than with what actual reality is. The cultivation theory asserts that heavy viewers attitudes are cultivated primarily by what they watch on television. Gerbner views this television world as not a window on or reflection of the world, but a world in itself (Mc Quail. 1993: 100).59 Cultivation theorists are best known for their study of television and viewers and in particular, for a focus on the topic of violence. However, some studies have also considered other mass media from this perspective and have dealt with topics such as gender roles, age groups, ethnic groups and political attitudes. Cultivation theorists argue that heavy viewing leads viewers (even among high educational/high income groups) to have more homogeneous or convergent opinions then light viewers (who tend to have more heterogeneous or divergent opinion). The cultivation effect of television viewing is one of the levelling or homogenizing opinion. Gross considered that television is a cultural arm of the established industrial order and as such serves primarily to maintain, stabilize and reinforce rather than to alter, threaten or weaken conventional beliefs and behaviours (Boyd. Barrett. Braham. And Peter, B. 1987: 100).60 2.3 Social Learning Theory The principle understanding of social learning theory is tied the social context of learning. According to Bandura, behaviours and responses that are repeated, perceived as real, distinct, functional and salient are more likely to be attended to, thus more likely to be learned. When observing an event, which receives some kind of reward like social approval, pleasant experience and when the observer feels confident to perform, its symbolic imitation is facilitated. The social cognitive principle has been widely employed to explain in television effects on a variety of social issues such as aggression, ethnic stereotypes, alcohol, attitudes and behaviour. It also stresses the importance of viewers cognitive activities when consuming television messages (Bandura. 1977). 63 Socialization process of person is influenced by innumerable factors such as family, school, environment factors etc. Direct experience and participation are important parameters which shape the youths impressions of the perceived structure of their environment. Mass media, particularly television plays a crucial role in bringing the outside world into homes. As an important institution, mass media enters the socialization process of an individual. De Fleur and Sandra (1989) stated despite general in nature, social learning theory is particularly relevant to study the impact of mass communication because the description and portrayal of social life is a frequent subject in media contents. The most common (and pervasive) examples of social learning situations are television commercials. Commercials suggest that drinking a certain beverage or using a particular shampoo will make us popular and win the admiration of attractive people. Depending upon the component processes involved (such as attention or motivation), users may model the behaviour shown in the commercial and buy the product being advertised. Actions of characters in the audio-visual media can serve as a model for others to imitate. Modelling Theory is also useful for describing the application of general Social Learning Theory which explain how new behaviours are acquired by people from media portrayals. An individual observes a character, identifies him/her as a mo del and remembers actions of model and performs them when confronted with similar circumstances (DeFleur and Sandra. 1989).64 In light of all these theories stated above, it is important to mention that the researcher has formulated a combination of the three theories in order to assess what is the main reason of their watching, their preferred channels and programmes. While on the other hand, it has also measured what kind of impact are taking place in the lives of the sample under study? If there are some affects that are changing attitudes of youth under the study. Are these effects long-lasting or short term. Hence, the researcher intended to explore all this for which the base of above mentioned theories was most suitable and required. It was also assumed that the youth (aged18-25 years) are vulnerable to influences and tend to be inclined towards change. Youth would serve as a barometer to assess the influence of television. Hence, youth of age 18-25 were selected for the study to determine the degree to which their attitudes were influenced by television. Now, with the availability of the foreign channels, an important question arises: does a youths behaviour reflect what his/her has watched on the television screen? The impact of foreign television programmes on youth involves a number of indispensible factors such as interest in the programmes, viewing pattern, reasons for watching, attitude towards programmes and models of social reality that these programmes promote. The study aimed at finding out whether and to what extent television affect youth in Rohtak and Jhajjar districts. The researcher aimed at finding answers to questions such as what youth think about these programmes in terms of their preferences and relevance. Is there any restriction on youth for watching television channels? Whether they experience an impact of these programmes on their attitudes or not?

Attending a Jazz Concert Essay -- Papers Music Description Essays

Attending a Jazz Concert The latest concert that I attended was the NEIU Jazz Ensemble. It was held in the NEIU auditorium. This was my first time attending a Jazz concert. Therefore, I didn’t know what kind of music to expect or any music that I was familiar to. This concert was a new experience for me. It was far different from a rock concert held in some big venue. The purpose of this concert was to give people a taste of the NEIU Jazz Ensemble. The heritage or the background of this concert was strictly Jazz music. I was excited about my attendance at this concert. It would be the first time I was going to a Jazz concert. I knew that I wouldn’t be disappointed or get board there. The music they played was not the kind that makes you dose off. I always loved the sound of a trumpet. My favorite musical group the Dave Matthews Band has a trumpet player, and this is how I started enjoying the sound. Therefore, I knew that this concert must be worth going to. This concert gave me a chance to look more deep into what Jazz music is all about. The music that was performed was Jazz. The entire Ensemble had fifteen people in it. There were only fourteen actual performers. One guy was the director of the whole thing and he was composing. The composer composed with his hands instead of a composing stick. This was an interesting observation for me. The instrument that were used at this concert were the Woodwinds which had five players on it. This was the most players in one category of instruments. The Woodwind players were seated in the first row. Other instruments used were the Piano, Bass, Drums, Trombones and the Trumpets. There was one vocalist. There were two Trombone pla... ...ng at NEIU this year, I didn’t expect too many people to be present. When the word gets out on how good they were, I think that they will have a larger audience for next semester shows. In all, the audience was very well behaved and their presence was very satisfying to the performers. This concert had a good effect on me. My sole reason for going was to get an insight of what Jazz music is really like. When I got there I really liked what I heard. I am going to look more into this type of music. This is the type of music that you just want to sit back and relax and listen. It’s not to slow where you are at the point of falling asleep. Jazz music has got a certain element to it that no other type of music that I have heard thus far have. In all, this concert was a wonderful experience for me. I found a passion for a different brand of music.

Censorship of Electronic Communication Systems Essay

Communication system of society is changing rapidly with the time. In ancient ages people use to communicate with shouting. If people are much more apart from one another the letter writing was the only means of communication just before 500 years. Due to rapid development of science, now a days a message can be passed to millions of people who all are scattered in whole world by a simple electronic communication system. Due to electronic communication devices true as well as false message can be spread to the people with in short time, this may cause negative impact on society and country. For shake of betterment sometime it is necessary to censor some of the news, ideas, books etc in the electronic communication. Electronic Communication. Every day, in our work and in our leisure time, we come in contact with and use a variety of modern communication systems and communication media, the most common being the telephone, radio, television, and the Internet. Through these media we are able to communicate (nearly) instantaneously with people on different continents, transact our daily business, and receive information about various developments and events of note that occur all around the world. Electronic mail and facsimile transmission have made it possible to rapidly communicate written messages across great distances. Facebook, twiter, Hi5, blogs, online radio, online newspaper etc are the easiest way to spread a news or rumor. Censorship. Censorship — the control of the information and ideas circulated within a society — has been a hallmark of dictatorships throughout history. In the 20th Century, censorship was achieved through the examination of books, plays, films, television and radio programs, news reports, and other forms of communication for the purpose of altering or suppressing ideas found to be objectionable or offensive. The rationales for censorship have varied, with some censors targeting material deemed to be indecent or obscene; heretical or blasphemous; or seditious or treasonous. Thus, ideas have been suppressed under the guise of protecting three basic social institutions: the family, the church, and the state. Censorship is the suppression of speech or other public communication which may be considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or inconvenient as determined by a government, media outlet, or other controlling body. It can be done by governments and private organizations or by individuals who engage in self-censorship. It occurs in a variety of different contexts including speech, books, music, films, and other arts, the press, radio, television, and the Internet for a variety of reasons including national security, to control obscenity, child pornography, and hate speech, to protect children, to promote or restrict political or religious views, and to prevent slander and libel. It may or may not be legal. Many countries provide strong protections against censorship by law, but none of these protections are absolute and it is frequently necessary to balance conflicting rights in order to determine what can and cannot be censored. Example of Censorship: 1. Mobile network coverage was not allowed in Chittagong hill districts for insurgency problem. Insurgents and miscreants used to communicate with each other and operate against general people. 2. Censorship is also imposed on social media like facebook, tweeter, YouTube in many Muslim country like Syria, Pakistan , Bangladesh, Indonesia etc for protesting against disrespect to their beloved prophet. 3. People below 18 years are not allowed to watch or visit some of the adult site or web/books. 4. Recently in our country its one of the hot topic .Some blogger insulted our beloved prophet through the blog. To stop violation among people Bangldesh government stop some of the blogs. Benefits of Censorship It is evident that the hotly debated issue concerning media censorship is hardly started, especially in today’s ever changing media. With the ever changing medial rules and regulations, media authorities are always on their toes with regards to evaluating what is fit for publication or broadcast. This article aims at highlighting both the pros and cons of censorship. 1. National Issue: a. In present days a country involve in developing nuclear weapon impasses ban on telecasting or broadcasting any news regarding nuclear weapon subject. b. A scandal or spreading obnoxious picture of very high official of the country needs a immediate censorship on electronic midea. 2. Censorship on news: During martial law special censorship is done in print and electronic media. 3. Protects young children. The most obvious benefit of censorship includes radical regulations aimed at protecting children from obscene content. Moreover, media censorship help prevent hate speech and other organizations that spread hate ideologies. By filtering media content, parents are sure that their children are safe from obscene content. 4. Upholds social value Internet censorship, on the other hand suppresses the sharing of information to such an extent that some websites are not accessible. In fact, some countries from different parts of the world have installed internet/media censorship to help keep the values and tradition restored/ or alive. With that said, media censorship plays an essential role in safeguarding moral and social value in the society. 5. Protects against sexism and racism We are all familiar with the saying that our children are future leaders. Many folks have devoted their time to molding their children’s ‘’future’’. Since children learn from their peers and what they see on television, media censorship aims to protect them against sexism, racism and segregation. That way, children are raised well and with admirable social values.

Adoption & Measure 58 in Orego essays

Adoption & Measure 58 in Orego essays Oregon adoptees won a nineteen month court battle to see their birth certificates, which have been sealed since 1957. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Conner refused to continue a hold on Measure 58, an adoption rights law approved by voters in Oregon in 1998. Six birth mothers had filed law suits to prevent this. The new las is retroactive and they feared they would be open to contact from children they had given up for adoption so many years ago. That ist would upset their current lives ans their families didn't know about them giving up a child for adoption. The birth mothers argued that Measure 58 violated their constitutional right to privacy. This change is a good thing. Now oregonions have recognized that adoption should not be hidden in shame, and everyone has the right to know who their parents are. That is is a good thing to pur a child up for adoption so they can have a good home that the real parents couldn't give them. Adoption experts estimate there are about 79,000 adoptees in Oregon. The State office for Services to Children handled about 2,200 last year and estimates the new law will affect about 25,000 Oregonions. So far only 16 Oregon mothers have attached forms to their children's birth certificates saying they do not want contact. If adoptive parents, birth parents, siblings and friends are considered, there is probably not a life in oregon that is not touched by adoption. It will not be an easy road for adoptees, even with Measure58. A birth mother's real name does not always appear on the certtificate, so it's hard to locate a birth parent. It isn't just to cause trouble that adoptees want to know, they may have health problems, and want a medical history. Their are many reasons and I think it's a good thing. ...

A Natural History of the Dead essays

A Natural History of the Dead essays As one begins to dissect Ernest Hemingways short story A Natural History of the Dead, a great deal of meaning can be found through the situations he conveys. Through his commentary and the experiences of Mungo Park, much can be learned about Hemingways views and ideas. Upon quick read, one might think this is a simple-minded story about death and its place in history. However, it actually has a much deeper idea hidden in it. Hemingway is revealing to the reader how trivial death actually is. In fact, A Natural History of the Dead is completely irrelevant except to provide the reader with examples of how death is only a small part in the tremendously large scope of nature and the rest of the world. In his short story, Hemingway provides examples as to why death is just one facet in the big picture of life. Early in his story, Hemingway jump-starts the theme that is to be stressed through the rest of the short story by depicting many smaller experiences and cases. One such story is his description of dead bodies on the battlefield. He explains that one of the most surprising things seen on a battlefield is the paperwork scattered among the bodies. One does not remember the smell of the battlefield as much as the incredible amount of paper strewn about. By way of this example, Hemingway shows that even though a person might die, the rest of life, and everything that person has touched, goes on. After reading this particular part of the story, a real life example immediately came to mind. Throughout the September 11th disaster, it was common knowledge that many of the bodies of the deceased were never found, and most likely never will be. Yet, hundreds of thousands of documents proving these people had lived remain. Financial statements, tax returns, employment records, and so on were e verywhere to be found, but the body of the person often was not. Once again, it shows that death pales in comparison ...

Role Of Special Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Role Of Special Education - Essay Example ADHD/LD is needed to be considered as a disability, and teachers are required to undergo special orientation regarding the disability and difficulty faced by such adolescents. A proper coordinated approach between parents of ADHD/LD adolescents and teachers is crucial to bring about a supportive atmosphere for the ADHD/LD adolescents in school. The authors rightfully concluded that ADHD/LD being a genetic/neurobehavioral disorder, the best possible course of action by the school authority would be to arrange for regular counseling sessions and professional group therapy and lastly, but most importantly to boost the self-esteem of the adolescents.The teacher’s knowledge and attitude towards attention deficit hyperactivity disorder had been surveyed. In this study, questionnaires given to teachers in one hundred and ninety-six elementary school teachers in Shiraz Province of Iran had been filled anonymously on ADHD. The study revealed teachers low attitude score towards ADHD chi ldren which reflected in their weak tolerant attitude towards an ADHD adolescent. Most of the teachers were found to unaware of ADHD. However, majority believed that there is the need for awareness of any ADHD students in their classes. A significant correlation was observed between knowledge and attitude of the teacher, which means those with higher knowledge about ADHD have the more tolerant attitude. Majority of the teachers opined that ADHD adolescents are at risk for delinquency, truancy, depression.

Women's Studies. Gender Violence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Women's Studies. Gender Violence - Essay Example Women abuse is very popular and it has become like an order of the day since in some societies even a boy child does not give an elderly woman the deserved respect equal to the one he would give to a male counterpart. In various societies, a woman is considered as a weaker success who cannot handle some tasks. Could problem have been the society we live in? Or is it our forefathers’ who initiated this? But then what are we doing to curb this kind of mistreatment? Can we all rise up and say no to gender violence? This piece of writing analyses the issue of gender violence. Undeniably, issues of gender violence are on the rise and something ought to be done about it. Some of the court decisions regarding these violence are actually not satisfying and I believe very punitive action will solve this matter to a very large extend. Talking about human rights, this is among the issues that should be addressed. A female child or a woman must enjoy her freedom once and for all without e ven an inch of denial. It is upsetting to hear that even celebrities who should lead these campaigns such as Chris brown are involved in this kind of character. This is certainly perturbing and it leaves someone wondering who should lead the campaign geared towards eradicating this kind of vice in the society if even the most respected people in the society are guilty of it. Who is in a good position to solve this abuse? I am convinced that we can all come together and treat all females equally by knowing that they are all human beings who deserve freedom and have rights given to them by their creatures. The following story is one of the sad stories of gender violence which is very rampant in military. Amanda Tenorio was a 28-year old divorced mother of two whose husband turned violent to shortly after marriage and later became a victim advocate for Army Community Services at Joint Base Henderson. Being a gender violence survivor, she was actually the best person to address this iss ue particularly after her husband’s unvarying thrashings caused her grave damages such as dislocated knees and brain injuries that eventually put her into unconsciousness. Tenorio together with other domestic violence survivors have strongly come out to condemn this act more so out of the military families that also seem to experience most of the violence. Tenorio feels that it is important to address this issue and she strongly believes that helping people through education is really vital especially the many victims that we come across almost on daily basis. The program which is aimed at eradicating and creating awareness amongst military families is put on all military installations. The program which focuses on treatment and interventions as well as trying to assist both the victim and the abuser has more than 800 clinical social workers and quick quickly responds to emergencies that would require either healthcare and shelter interventions. It is also revealed that some of the causes of violence are stressful situations such as financial difficulties, military trimming, or even handling of outcome of combat and the increase of this violence immensely worries the military leaders and domestic violence workers thus making the program to be focused on everyone in the military. Although war is very violent, it is not supposed to contribute to domestic violence and therefore it should change the attitude of the soldiers towards violence by making soldiers even better people. Loss of job can however bring stress such as how to complete mortgage or pay bills and this only requires counseling since violence can never solve this situation. The program that was started by Tenorio is therefore intended

Convince my teacher to pass english class Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Convince my teacher to pass english class - Essay Example I have been able to make new friends because I speak English, the communication barrier which existed earlier is not there anymore and they have also accepted me in their friend circle with open arms and it has been a great change, earlier it was not the same. They are a very welcoming group but there was a communication barrier which restricted my progress but I have worked on removing that barrier and I firmly believe that it has been completely removed now. I consider this a really big achievement and I also feel that not everyone can learn a new language, it requires a lot of hard work and understanding to learn a new language and I have done exceedingly well. English language is considered to be one of the toughest languages and I felt the same initially but as we went along I started getting a grasp of it and now I have started reading novels and other pieces of literature which has helped me even more. Finally, I deserve to pass because I have made great progress and there is no denying this fact. I have shown keen interest in the course and I have worked on both my writing as well as spoken skills and as a result of that I am able to write and speak well in English. I also deserve to pass this class because I have performed better than my peers, there are many who are yet to learn even a single sentence but my growth has been at a different level when compared to them, this is why I deserve to pass this

Marketing Environment Essay Example for Free

Marketing Environment Essay Before we start with marketing environment it is important to know what a market is and how can marketing be defined as. A market is any structure that allows buyers and sellers to exchange any type of goods, services and information. †¢The market facilitates trade and enables the distribution and allocation of resources in a society. †¢Markets allow any tradable item to be evaluated and priced. A market emerges more or less spontaneously or is constructed deliberately by human interaction in order. †¢Marketing can basically be looked upon as the interaction between marketing mix variables and environmental variables. †¢It is only with the help of marketing variables, that the market managers tackle the environmental variables. †¢Marketing is an ongoing process of planning and executing the marketing mix for products, services or ideas to create exchange between individuals and organizations. According to Kotler â€Å"Marketing is a social and managerial process by which individuals and groups obtains what they need and want through creating, offering and exchanging products of value with others†. The American Marketing Association defines marketing as:- â€Å"The performance of business activities that direct the flow of goods and services from producers to consumers or users†. †¢Marketing tends to be seen as a creative industry, which includes advertising, distribution and selling. †¢ It is also concerned with anticipating the customers future needs and wants, which are often discovered through market research. †¢Essentially, marketing is the process of creating or directing an organization to be successful in selling a product or service that people not only desire, but are willing to buy. In the words of Stanton â€Å" Marketing is a total system of interacting business activities designed to plan ,price, promote and distribute want satisfying products and services to present and potential customers†. Therefore good marketing must be able to create a proposition or set of benefits for the end customer that delivers value through products or services. Government agencies, political parties, pressure groups and laws create tremendous pressure and constraints for marketing management. †¢Laws affect product design, pricing and promotion. Irrespective of the political ideologies, intervention in the marketing process has become common in every nation. †¢The legal environment is also referred to as public policy environment. The vast government network of laws and regulation, policy decisions, government bureaucracy and the legislative processes have varied impact on marketing strategies. †¢Multinationals like Coca Cola and IBM had to flee India during 1977 due to a hostile political environment. The positive political situation has permitted these corporations to again operate in the country. The impact of political and legal forces may be summarized as under: ? Substantial amount of legislation regulating business exists to protect consumers from unfair business practices, to avoid unfair competition, to safeguard small firms and to conserve foreign exchange. ?Marketing managers are required to get full knowledge and understanding of political and legal forces for achieving their goals. Political factors include government regulations and legal issues and define both the formal and informal rules under which the firm must operate. For example †¢Tax policy †¢Employment laws †¢Environmental regulations †¢Trade restrictions and tariffs †¢Political stability †¢Study and knowledge of economic forces is essential to preparing effective marketing plans. †¢Anticipation of future economic conditions will enable the firm to devise appropriate marketing strategies. Under economic environment, a marketing manager generally studies the following factors and trends: †¢Trends in cross national product and real income growth †¢Pattern of income distribution †¢Variations in geographical income distribution and trends †¢Expenditure patterns and trends Trends of consumer savings and how consumers like to hold their savings †¢Borrowing pattern, trends and governmental and legal restrictions †¢Major economic variables Economic factors affect the purchasing power of potential customers and the firms cost of capital. For example †¢Economic growth †¢Interest r ate †¢Exchange rates †¢Inflation rates †¢Economic conditions affect marketing directly because such organizations are themselves a part of the market place. For instance, the costs of all inputs positively respond to upward swing of economic condition. †¢This will affect the output price and consequentially affect the sales.

The Important Role of Mathematicians in Society Essay -- essays resear

The Important Role of Mathematicians in Society Thesis Statement This report will focus on the professional field of mathematicians. It will highlight some of the history, responsibilities, opportunities, and requirements of this occupation. Outline I.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Introduction A.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A condensed history of mathematics B.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Famous mathematicians and their accomplishments II.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Body A.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Opportunities for mathematicians B.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Education and training C.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Requirements D.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Earnings III.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Conclusion A.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Good mathematicians are problem solvers Mathematicians: Making numerous contributions A mathematician is described as someone who uses logic or theory to solve problems. Mathematicians and their craft have been making milestones in history ever since the Neanderthal man became homo - sapiens and began communicating, with the use of speech. The first period of time in the history of mathematics is known as the Chinese / Egyptian / Babylonian Period. This era starts in 50,000 B.C., and reaches to 601 B.C. During this primitive age, man used notches in bones, and clay tokens for counting. Sundials were used as a method of telling time and keeping track of the days. The most infamous mathematician from this time was Ahmes of papyrus. Ahmes was the author of the Egyptian scribe â€Å"The Rhind papyrus†; it is one of the oldest mathematical documents in existence. The Greek Period (600B.C. – 499 A.D.) took mathematics far beyond the realm of counting and measuring time. The Greeks brought a variety of great minds to life, including Thales of Miletus, Archimedes, Apollonius, Euclid, and Democritus. They began using logic to explore new mathematical concepts. Pythagoras of Samos was one of the foremost logical minds of this age. He is the inventor of abstract mathematics, and the founder of the â€Å"Pythagoras Theorem†. This theorem is still used today, in modern geometric equations The Hindu / Arabian Period (500A.D. – 1199A.D.), gave us Aryabhata the Elder and Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khowarizmi. Al-Khowarizmi wrote a very important Egyptian book titled â€Å"Al-jabr† His book helped to advance the study of algebra, and is re... ... salary for a government mathematician is $62,000; for mathematical statisticians, $65,660   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In conclusion, â€Å"Good mathematicians do not rush in to apply a formula or an equation. Instead, they try to understand the problem situation; they consider alternative representations and relations among variables. Only when satisfied that they understand the situation and all the variables in a qualitative way do they start to apply the quantification.† Bibliography   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mathematics its power and utility Sixth Edition Karl J Smith   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Math & Mathematics The history of Math Discoveries around the World   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Vol. 1&2 Leonard C. Bruno   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Career Discovery Encyclopedia Volume 5 Ferguson Publishing company   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Encyclopedia of Careers & Vocational Guidance- Eleventh Edition VOL. 1 & 3 Ferguson Publishing Company   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A History of Mathematics –Midair MacCormaic

Religious Symbolism in John Steinbecks The Grapes of Wrath Essay

Religious Symbolism in John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In his novel The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck portrays the movement of a family of migrant workers, the Joads, from Oklahoma to California during the Great Depression. Steinbeck's novel, though it is surprisingly lacking in surface-level symbolism, was "conceived [on] simultaneous levels of existence, ranging from socio-economic determinism to transcendent spirituality" (DeMott, xiii). One of the many levels on which this novel can be read is as a parallel to the stories of Christ and the Exodus (Louis Owens, John Steinbeck's Re-Vision of America, quoted in DeMott, xiii). Steinbeck intertwines allegories based on these two stories throughout his novel. Through these intertwined religious textures, and the destitution and depression that constitutes the greater part of the novel, Steinbeck conveys the message of the impending "death of religion" while at the same time establishing his novel as a sort of new gospel for the people. On the surface, one can read Steinbeck's novel in one of two ways: by reading the longer, even-numbered chapters, one gains a close understanding of the life of this particular family. But by reading the shorter, odd-numbered, "intercalary" chapters, which could almost constitute a short novel in and of themselves, one begins to comprehend the "epic sweep" of the exodus of multitudes of workers to California, the apparent promised land. Steinbeck intended to separate these two stories in the reader's mind, as we see in his journal kept while writing the book, published later as Working Days: I find that I am not very satisfied with the numbering of these chapters. It may be that they simply will be numbered with large nume... ...apes highlight the differences between the times in which the two stories were written, and the flaws of the culture in which Steinbeck wrote. The approach of looking at this epic as it relates to the Christian tradition sheds some new light on it, and in addition shows that Steinbeck truly meant this work to be remembered for all time.    Works Cited DeMott, Robert. "Introduction". The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 1992: vii-xliv. Levant, Howard. "The Fully Matured Art: The Grapes of Wrath". The Novels of John Steinbeck: A Critical Survey. Columbia, Mo.: University of Missouri Press, 1983. New Revised Standard Version Bible. New York: American Bible Society, 1989. Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 1992. Steinbeck, John. Working Days: The Journals of the Grapes of Wrath. Ed. Robert DeMott. New York: Viking, 1989.

Teens Go Gaga over Vampires

Teens Go Gaga Over Vampires: Its Causes and Effects Abstract This article will identify and discuss the reasons why teenagers are obsessed with vampires and what effects does it have on them. Study shows that this obsession has a great impact on both the teenager as an individual and to the people who surround her. The researcher studied and investigated the topic by finding different articles, essays, data and surveys from different sources in the Internet, as well as reading some vampire novels herself.The survey conducted by the researcher was among teenagers aged 14 to 16 who are Filipinos. All the research done about what cause this obsession came to one particular conclusion. Teens are obsessed and are addicted with vampires because they happen to fall in love with the vampire’s characteristics, some value the vampire’s physical appearance, while others take notice of the vampire’s romantic actions. This obsession has a lot of effects to our society today, both positive and negative.Teens Go Gaga Over Vampires: Its Causes and Effects Vampire, the word itself says it all. Even though the term vampires was not made known to people before the 18th century, most people agree that vampires originated long ago during the prehistoric times in many different cultures that are related to vampires (Betonio, 2011). Many choose to believe that vampires are just myths that only exists in people’s minds and imagination.Many also believe in the existence of vampires in our world, that they are not just myths and stories, but are real. People even classified vampires according to their kind. According to Agnes Embile Jimenez (2008), there is the Danag, which is a Filipino vampire known originally as a harmless vampire who helps the humans in their livelihood until one day when the Danag sucked all the blood out from a woman whose finger was wounded.There is the Romanian Varacolaci, who is described as a powerful undead being who has the abilit y to morph into a beautiful human. There is the very fast vampire from Slovakia who is called as the Nelapsi. Last but not the least, there is the Italian vampire, the Stregonibenefici, who is said to belong to the good side and is an enemy to all other vampires who do not side with the good.Some additional kinds of vampires from Sarah Todd (2008) are the Lilith, a Hebrew demon, who drinks the blood of a baby; the African vampire, the Adze, who drinks coconut milk, palm oil and blood and who appears as a firefly but turns human-like once captured; the Impundulu or the Lightning Bird, who is a giant bird who has the ability to turn into a handsome man to lure women whose blood they will consume; the Asanboam who lives in trees and flies down whenever they see a possible prey; the Ramanga who were originally human but evolved eventually due to the nail parings they eat and the sucking of their master’s lost blood; Jiang Shi, the Chinese vampire, who is made when the soul dead c annot escape its body; and the Caribbean vampire Loogaroo, a female vampire. In literature, the first major work about vampires is the short German poem, The Vampire, which was written by Heinrich August Ossenfelde in 1748. The first example of a vampire who has no choice to be one and loathes himself is Varney from the epic book, Varney the Vampire, which was written by James Malcolm Rymer in 1845. Carmilla, written by Sheridan le Fanu in 1872, was the first book with an erotic vampire. The story was about a heroine seduced by a female vampire whose blood was later drunk by the vampire. In 1897, the famous Dracula by Bram Stoker was published.Bram Stoker mixed death, blood, and sex with medieval vampire myths and vampire stories that are present during his days. After almost half of a century, Richard Mattheson wrote the book I am Legend where the story revolves around a post-apocalyptic age where vampirism is a disease. This was often called as the first modern vampire novel. In 1 975, Salem’s Lot by Stephen King was introduced to the world. King made the 20th century Maine as the setting of the story. After a year, the most famous Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice changed the whole concept of vampires. Vampire Chronicles featured vampires who are romantic and are the opposite of how they were first introduced (Laming, n. . ). In the year 2005, Stephenie Meyer published the phenomenal Twilight, the first book to the epic series that gave birth to billions of vampire-addicted teens and tweens in the 21st century. It all started when Meyer dreamt of a scene in 2003 wherein a handsome young vampire was talking to an ordinary human girl. After having this dream, she decided to make a story out of it. After many sleepless nights and countless instances where she wanted to give up, she still continued on working. And all that work finally paid off when that dream finally became Twilight. Twilight is about a story of two individuals who fell in love with each o ther.The difference it makes from other love stories is that Twilight is a love story between a human and a vampire, specifically Edward Cullen and Bella Swan. Bella Swan was just an ordinary girl, but to Edward Cullen, she was the most exquisite thing he has ever seen in his 104 years of existence. He treated her better than how he treated anyone else, even himself. He loved her like there is nothing else to love. He made her his reason for living. All these were perfectly described in the book. As someone who was able to read about their love story, who would not fall in love with this mythical being. Edward Cullen was the reason why teenage girls are obsessed with vampires today. Edward Cullen was the cause for this century’s cult-like vampire fans.This obsession has great effects to the lives of those teenagers who are addicted to these vampires. Because vampires in novels, movies and television show nowadays tend to have better qualities than humans that attract teens, s pecifically girls, causing them to be obsessed and to be addicted to the vampires. Teenage girls say that they like these vampires because of their characteristics. Discussion Vampires is novels, movies and television are already given a brand new image by authors these days which is based on the 19th century European Vampires (Rhoads, 2007). These authors do not describe them as how vampires were originally introduced.The word vampire itself is also associated with the word vamp, which means a woman who uses her charms or wiles to seduce and exploit men as a noun, and to practice seductive wiles on as a verb (Merriam-Webster, 1999). Instead of giving them a horrifying image, they gave them an image that everyone would want for themselves. Before the year 2000, most people still refer to vampires as monsters who seduce their prey who drain their prey’s blood afterwards even though the image of vampires in literature started to change as early as the 19th century. They also de scribe vampires as creatures who are scared of any kind of light because light may hurt them and may make them vanish into nothing. This description also came to the theory that vampires only attack during night, sleep in coffins and live in very dark places.Physically, they were described as creatures who have fangs as their teeth, powder-white skin and who wears black robes, which make them look like they are black and white. It is also said that vampires are cold-skinned because they are already considered as lifeless beings who continue to live despite the fact they do not have blood flowing inside of them. In 2005, when Twilight was published, vampires were described differently altogether. In almost all books published after 2005, proceeding Twilight, vampires are described as â€Å"beautiful people†. Vampires are described as more human-like, without fangs for their teeth, and even vary in skin color. They do not die nor do they age.Though they still drink blood, becau se this is what makes them a vampire, authors like Stephenie Meyer described her main characters, the Cullens to be exact, as â€Å"vegetarian vampires† or vampires who do not drink human blood but drinks animal blood as a substitute. While Twilight features vegetarian vampires, Blue Bloods still have vampires who drink human blood, but in a different manner. Even though they drink human blood, they do not drain the humans, they just drink a bit of the human’s blood to sustain their lives; they are prohibited to drink all the blood a human has. They even have a name for this event, â€Å"Caerimonia Oscular† or more popularly known as the â€Å"sacred kiss†.The humans from whom they drink blood are called their â€Å"human familiars†, and once they drink from a human, that human will be physically attached to the vampire. In other words, that human will fall in love with the vampire who drank from them. Most of these characteristics are found in alm ost all vampires today, some are even found in novels that involve fallen angels. Some of these famous vampires are Schuyler van Alen and Jack Force from the Blue Bloods series by Melissa de la Cruz, Zoey from P. C. Cast’s House of Night Series, Elena Gilbert from Vampire Diaries by L. J. Smith and of course, Edward Cullen from Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Saga.Besides the characteristics of these vampires, they make a great impact to the people who surround them. Another factor that attracts teenagers to them is how they treat those that they love and care for, and how those they love feel about them as well. Presently, many authors continue to write love stories about vampires, even though they were thought as heartless monsters who do not have the ability to love before. In books, vampires love differently from humans, which is why humans fall in love with them. Vampires treat the one that they love like he or she is the last being in the whole world. They will do any thing for the one that they love, even though it is the hardest thing that they will ever do.They would want to die if they found out that the one that they love is now dead. They will want everything that is the best for the person they love. They will respond very quickly and would want to answer â€Å"yes† all the time. They will sacrifice anything just to keep the one they love safe from danger. Most importantly, they will never look at or be interested in someone else other than the person that they love; they will always remain faithful and would love unconditionally. Though the way that a vampire loves is incomparable, no one should belittle how a human loves the vampire who loves him or her as well. Since they are just humans, they sometimes get confused about who they really love.But even so, they will still realize that the one that they truly love is the vampire who loves them. They become obsessed about their vampire â€Å"boyfriend† or â€Å"girlfriendâ⠂¬ . They want to spend every minute with the one that they love. They become attached to these vampires. Some would even agree to let the vampire drink their blood. Of course, they would also want to die for the safety of the person that they love. Since humans in novels, books, movies and television shows are already obsessed and addicted to these vampires, teenage girls who gets a chance to read these books or watch these shows and movies also get obsessed with the vampires featured in each.They say that they like these vampires because of their supernatural abilities, their physical appearance, which they describe as â€Å"hot†, their immortality, the forbidden love that the vampire and human has, and the butterflies that these vampires send to their stomachs. The attitude that humans in novels and movies have toward these vampires is still acceptable since they exist in the same world. The unhealthy thing for these teenage girls is that they become obsessed with these v ampires even though they already know that they are just fictional characters and that they do not exist in real life. Because of everything about these vampires, teenagers become addicted to them.Some even say or admit that they have already fallen in love with these vampires. As they are addicted to these vampires, most do not even have the slightest idea of what effects this obsession has on them. Some say that it affects them positively, but they fail to admit that those positive effects cannot be compared to the negative effects it has on them. Some positive effects or benefits this obsession can cause them to love reading books. If they loved reading the first book, they will continue on reading the following books in the series; and if they already read the whole series, they will continue to read other series that have the same qualities they loved in the first series that they read.Reading these novels will help them broaden their vocabulary and enhance their skills in Engl ish. It will also develop their patience and concentration. With benefits, there will always be side effects. The negative effects that this obsession has on teens are greater than the benefits it has. Firstly, because of their addiction, they forget to prioritize. They do not set their priorities straight and tend to give importance to those things that do not really need importance then forgetting about the things that really matter. They also forget about the real issues in their lives. They get stuck up on this â€Å"vampire world† of theirs. They never think of anything else besides these vampires.There are also those who think that it is good to be obsessed with your boyfriend or girlfriend just like what Twilight tells them (McCarthy, 2009). Some also become insecure of themselves because of the way the vampires are described. They also never get contented of what they have and would wait for a better one, a perfect one, just like how the vampires are stated in books. As Wyck Godfrey (n. d. ), director of Twilight, accidentally said, â€Å"There’s a huge amount of danger in this movie [Twilight]. There’s also just the excitement of a teenager doing things that are verboten. These are things that people connect to. And not just girls; I think that guys will discover it’s dangerous, there’s action, there’s a thriller element to it, and then, ultimately, that it’s cool to be a vampire. Another negative effect this obsession has on teens is that they bite, cut and suck blood from themselves. Though this is far from being true, it really does happen. This problem was even included in an article from consumer reports entitled â€Å"10 Troubling Teen Trends† by Dr. Orly Avitzur(n. d. ). These are just some of the common effects of this addiction to the teenagers as individuals, and most of them do not even realize it. But this obsession does not only affect these teenagers, but also all the people who su rround him or her. If they do not realize what effects this obsession has on them, how more can they realize the effects it has to their society, community or family.Parents, siblings, other family members, teachers, classmates, friends and others admit that they are also affected by obsession that teenagers have on vampires. Parents say that their children who get addicted to theses vampires bring nothing but trouble to them, especially to Christian families. First, because of this obsession, teenagers waste their time reading these nonsense books and watching these nonsense movies, leaving no amount of time for them to study or do their home works or projects. Before reading these books, they would buy them, and when these books are adapted into movies, they will surely watch them, wasting a lot of money.Some parents also admit that their children tend to follow these vampires. To Christian families, it has greater effects since the Bible stated that those who drinks blood and cla ims to be vampires are committing a sin against God (Goodwyn, n. d. ). You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meat of strangles animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell. Acts 15:29  (Zondervan, 1983) Siblings and friends are also influenced by this obsession. If the teenager who is obsessed with vampires is older than his or her siblings, the younger siblings would follow the older sibling and would end up addicted to vampires as well.The same principle goes with the individual’s friends; they also follow what their friend does. There are also individuals who get addicted to vampires as well because of wanting to fit in. Some individuals who do not know anything about these vampires moreover are fascinated by them, say that they are bothered by the obsession teenagers have on these supernatural beings. They say that they do not like going to malls whenever a new vampire movie comes out, like Twilight, b ecause the mall gets too crowded. Consumers, like the teenagers, take these productions positively because they do not know what they are in for. Because the consumers continuously accept these offers, producers keep on producing them.The only positive outcome of this obsession is to the producers. This obsession is the source of their income. Due to this obsession, they get huge amounts of profits in producing vampire-affiliated shows, books, films or even products that feature the pictures of these vampires. Almost all are aware of the continuing growth of the population of teenagers who are addicted or obsessed with this kind of literature. Some may benefit from it but most just suffer from it. Some say that this obsession is almost like a mental illness wherein everyone, from children to adults, rich or poor, is a candidate. The teenager’s obsession on vampires is becoming a severe case in our society today.They even have terms like OCD, which stands for Obsessive Cullen Disorder or OVD, which means Obsessive Vampire Disorder If drug addiction, alcoholism, casino addiction and cigarette smoking can be cured through therapy in rehabilitation centers, vampire obsession most certainly can be cured. It’s all in the matter of the mind. If you are obsessed with something, you can’t help but spending almost all of your time doing things related to your obsession. You should start taking small steps towards your goal. Try to do some other stuff that does not have anything to do with vampires. Think of other things or do things which will occupy your mind so that you will forget about the vampires first.Slowly do these things until you know that you are already â€Å"cured† from your disorder (Patrick, n. d. ). Parents and other people who surround the individual should also show their support. They should also be with the individual every step of the way. This will help in boosting the individual’s confidence that he or she can d o it. Parents and friends should also comfort the individual whenever he or she is having a breakdown. If it can be cured, then it surely can be prevented. If you realize or happen to observe that you are beginning to have a different view, a better one, about these vampires, you might be starting to become obsessed or addicted to them. You should stop as early as you realize this.If you continue on reading books about them or watching movies where they are portrayed, you will get addicted to them in no time. Once you become addicted, it will take a long process before you will be able to totally get rid of your addiction. Preventing this addiction will also need your concentration. You should concentrate about your goal. You should stop yourself from anything that tempts you to read those books or watch those films and shows again. Of course, just like in curing this addiction, parents should always be there for the individual and should be very supportive. Parents should say that they are proud that their child knows how to stop his or her self. The obsession teens have on these ictional vampires found in literature has a lot of different effects both to them and to the society. Even though some may benefit from this obsession, those benefits cannot be compared to the numerous negative effects it has to the individual and to his or her surroundings, especially to the individual’s parents, siblings and friends. It is encouraged that teenagers should start dealing with their obsession as it may lead to a condition which is much more worse than what they have now. People who are surrounding the individual should know how to give their support and encouragement, especially parents. References Avitzur, O. (n. d. ). 10 troubling teen trends.Retrieved August 12, 2011 from http://www. consumerreports. org/health/healthy-living/health-safety/10-troublesome-trends-to-talk-to-your-teen-about/overview/index. htm Betonio, D. (2011). 20 spectacular must read vampir e books. Retrieved July 25, 2011, from http://www. tripwiremagazine. com/2011/07/vampire-books. html Godfrey, W. (n. d. ). A christian response to vampire obsession. Retrieved July 25, 2011, from http://www. cbn. com/entertainment/screen/goodwyn-vampires-twilight-obsession. aspx Goodwyn, H. (n. d. ). A christian response to vampire obsession. Retrieved July 25, 2011, from http://www. cbn. com/entertainment/screen/goodwyn-vampires-twilight-obsession. spx Holy Bible, New International Version. (1983). Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House. Jimenez, A. E. (2008). Kinds of vampires. Retrieved July 25, 2011, from http://www. empressofdrac. com/2008/09/29/kinds-of-vampires/ Laming, S. (n. d. ). A brief history of vampires in literature. Retrieved July 25, 2011, from http://www. abebooks. com/books/dracula-twilight-sookie-stackhouse/history-vampires-literature. shtml Patrick. (n. d. ). Learn more about reading addiction. Retrieved July 25, 2011, from http://www. readingaddicti on. com/20/beating-addiction/learn-more-about-reading-addiction McCarthy, C. (2009). Obsession and risk talking: What new moon