Welcome Stranger (English Belonging Related Text)

Name of Text:â€Å"Welcome Stranger† Composer & Date of Publication:Stephanie Dowrick, 2008 Type of Text:Feature Article What is the text about? The text basically gets you to question whether you are an includer or excluder. It’s about people fitting in to different groups at all ages. Identify links to belonging: What elements of this text explore the concept of belonging? The whole text explores people’s connections to others in different groups and settings and questions our role in our sense of belonging and how we make other’s feel. Consider the composer’s purpose/intention: Why do you think the composer made this text?She’s giving her opinion and trying to persuade her audience to be more inclusive. She is informing her audience of the benefits of being inclusive. Who is the target audience for this text? Adult, professional audience. Identify the mood/tone of the text: (e. g. peaceful, anxious, cynical, hopeful, confused etc†¦ ) Critical, serious, persuasive, highly emotive. Identify forms and features relevant to the concept of belonging: Form and structure: argument, narrative, interview†¦ Feature Article Literary techniques: register, alliteration, similes, contrast, repetition, metaphors†¦Rhetorical question, imagery, appeal to emotions, alliteration, high modality, metaphor. Visual techniques: colour, layout, reading paths/vectors, modality, camera angles, colour, sound None Quotation Technique Effect How it represents belonging Do you give much thought to whether you are an â€Å"includer† by nature-or not? Rhetorical QuestionOpening rhetorical question engages the audience my making them stop to think. This article shows the enormous power that we as people have to enrich communities, groups and other peoples’ lives, including our own. â€Å"the image of a child standing alone in a crowded playground†.Imagery It appeals to our sense of emotions and fear of isolation. It represents a child not belonging in the group. â€Å"vital sense of inclusion† High Modality Emphasises how important belonging is. Very persuasive. It depicts perceptions of belonging and how important it is for our wellbeing that we do belong. â€Å"They are society’s treasures† Metaphor It positions us to want be one of those treasures/ it’s persuasive. We can identify with a treasure, because we all want to be treasured, that is looked after and appreciated-after all that is what is belonging is al about.What are the characters’ / persona’s / composer’s perceptions of their belonging? The composer’s perception of belonging is that it is important, and it is just as important to offer belonging to others, to give it, as well as to take it. What are the characters’ / persona’s / composer’s experiences and notions of: identity? Belonging gives people a sense of identity which provides security and happine ss. relationships? Our sense of belonging is dependent upon our connections with others. acceptance? Do we accept others. understanding? We have to understand people, the need to belong.Are there characters who enrich or challenge the group? Explain how they do this. The includers are the ones who encrich the community and the excluders challenge the community. Are attitudes to belonging modified over time? Do any characters make choices not to belong? Are there any barriers preventing belonging? The people who excluder others. How is this text similar or different to Strictly Ballroom? Similar: -ideas about belonging: both question the individual’s role and ability to enrich or challenge group -ideas of not belonging is explored in both texts both broaden our understanding of ourselves and the world- we question our own behaviour and the behaviour of others -both explore relationships and connections with people, groups and communities. -both explore notions of acceptance an d understanding -both explore barriers to belonging Different: -form: feature article and film -techniques: persuasive language and film techniques -purpose: to persuade, give an opinion and inform and to entrain -audience: professional 2008 and 1980’s adults

Religion-Effect of Dispossession on Aboriginals

Religion Discuss the connection between the dreaming and the land rights movement. Aboriginal spirituality is determined by the dreaming. The dreaming is a complex concept of fundamental importance to Aboriginal culture, embracing the creative era long past of the ancestral beings as well as the present and the future. The Dreaming's importance to the aboriginal people is emphasised through it providing for the obligations and responsibility of the aboriginal people, and furthermore accounting for their past, present, and future.The dispossession of land of the aboriginal people has led to various problems, including psychological and social issues experienced by communities and individuals, who in the past, have been forcibly removed from their land, their ‘home'. The Land Rights Movement is a movement targeted at recognising the issue of dispossession and progressing towards a. Thus Land Rights Movement, a movement based on the claims by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islan der peoples to repossession and compensation for white use of their lands and sacred sites, became the resolution.The motivation of this movement was ultimately base upon Aboriginal peoples reliance on a sense of spirituality connected to the land. As the movement strengthened, so too did the awareness of the effect of the dispossession, leading to an increase in the movement itself, and also enforcing the Aboriginal people’s sense of spirituality. Essentially, it becomes evident that the importance of the Dreaming was ultimately the reason for, and motivation behind the Land Rights movement. Thus it is needless to say that the Dreaming is fundamental to the Lands Rights Movement.Analyse the importance of the Dreaming for the land rights movement Land rights are of critical importance in relation to Aboriginal spirituality, because the Dreaming is inextricably connected with the land. Therefore the dispossession of Aboriginal native land is also the dispossession of Aborigina l spirituality. The link between the Dreaming, land and afterlife holds significance spiritual importance to the Aboriginal peoples as the land is the resting place for all aboriginal beings. Furthermore each Aboriginal community is connected with the land through their spiritual totems.Specific areas of Aboriginal communities’ have important spiritual meaning for those particular groups of aboriginal people-these are known as sacred sites. What’s caratagoried in ever aboriginal sacred site is the connection to the Dreaming and aboriginal mythology. There are special responsibilities attached to sacred sites such as important ceremonies like weddings and it could be a place of death for an aboriginal elder. The identity of an Aboriginal person is inextricably linked to the land and hence the land is like a mother for the people.

Critical Review of a Paper Investigating the Application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour to Alcohol Consumption During Pregnancy

Introduction The paper to be reviewed is an investigation by Duncan, Forbes-McKay and Henderson (2012) into the application of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB, Ajzen, 1988, 1991) and its effectiveness in predicting intention to carry out health related behaviours. The TPB is a social cognition model, meaning that it seeks to predict intention to carry out a behaviour and to understand why individuals may fail to adhere to a behaviour to which they were once committed. The theory claims that three variables can be used to predict an individual’s behaviour: the individual’s attitude toward the behaviour, the attitude of significant others toward the behaviour and the individual’s perceived control over a behaviour. Perceived control over behaviour is governed by both internal factors such as an individual’s skills or available resources, and external factors such as actual opportunities to carry out the behaviour. Unlike the individual’s attitude toward the b ehaviour and the attitude of others, perceived control over the behaviour is believed to influence both the intention to carry out the behaviour and the behaviour itself. In particular, the authors were investigating whether the TPB could be used to predict intention to consume alcohol during pregnancy. Previous research has found the TPB to be useful for predicting a range of other health related behaviours (Godin and Kok, 1996) and alcohol consumption behaviours in particular (Marcoux & Shope, 1997; McMillan & Conner, 2003). The authors focused on the role of TPB in being able to predict the consumption of alcohol during pregnancy. Drinking during pregnancy is a major health issue. It has been found to influence a number of outcomes for the child including maladaptive behaviours (Sood et al., 2001) and weight at birth (Mariscal et al., 2006). Despite its relation to negative outcomes for the child, up to 54% of women in the UK have claimed to have consumed alcohol during their pre gnancy (Bolling et al., 2007). Study Description 130 women based in the Aberdeenshire area returned a questionnaire that was distributed to them at their 20-week pregnancy scan. Of these, analysis was carried out on 116 women. The questionnaire included questions designed to gather information on demographic details, past and present alcohol consumption, and TPB variables. The TPB variables included measuring the participants’ intention to engage in the behaviour, their attitude toward the behaviour, their beliefs about the subjective norm and their perceived behavioural control. The study found that the majority of participants made changes to their drinking behaviour once they found out that they were pregnant, with these changes taking the form of a reduction in alcohol consumption. 64.7% abstained from alcohol altogether during their pregnancy, 34.5% continued to drink to some level and 0.9% did not answer. Of those women who continued to drink during their pregnancy, 13.4% were drinking above the recommended maximum lev els whereas the rest were drinking one to two units between two and four times per month. It was also found that although most participants received information about drinking during their pregnancy, 12.9% received no information. In relation to the TPB theory, it was found that women who abstained from drinking after finding out they were pregnant had significantly higher scores on the intention scale, suggesting that they had a significantly greater intention to quit alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Abstaining participants also had significantly higher scores on the subjective norm scale, indicating that they felt more pressure from what others thought about drinking during pregnancy. Abstainers were also found to have significantly lower scores on the attitude scale, suggesting a much less positive attitude toward the behaviour of drinking during pregnancy. In contrast,, the scale that measured perceived behaviour control did not show any significant differences between thos e women who abstained and those who continued to drink during their pregnancy. Attitude toward the behaviour and the influence of what others thought of the behaviour were found to be strongly and significantly correlated with intention to carry out the behaviour of abstaining from alcohol during pregnancy. TPB was able to explain 59.3% of variance in intention to drink during pregnancy. Furthermore, the theory was able to correctly classify 91.8% of cases and as a result, was statistically able to distinguish between drinkers and abstainers. The authors concluded that as attitude was found to have the greatest statistically significant contribution to predicting intention and to contribute significantly to predicting actual behaviour, it would be an ideal candidate for intervention focus. As perceived behaviour control was the only TPB component found not to contribute, the authors suggest that the model without this component would be appropriate for predicting intention to consume alcohol during pregnancy. Critical Review The reviewed article addressed an important health issue, namely investigating how drinking alcohol during pregnancy could be reduced by understanding what drives or stops women from having the intention to carry out this behaviour. The finding that attitude toward drinking whilst pregnant has a significant impact on both intention to drink during pregnancy and actual drinking during pregnancy could have wider clinical and educational applications. Nevertheless, the authors are vague in how their findings could be applied in the real world and fail to make useful suggestions based on their data. The finding that some women were not provided with information pertaining to the consumption of alcohol during pregnancy is also an important one because it highlights that some health trusts are failing to help women make informed decisions about this subject. However, it is not touched upon in the discussion. The study’s introduction is a little weak in that it does not make an overly convincing argument as to why their chosen topic is important and worth investigating. It makes only a brief reference to the negative impact that alcohol consumption can have on both mother and baby, and the literature to which it refers is quite outdated. This suggests that a thorough and recent literature review may not have been carried out. Furthermore, the study could present a much stronger argument as to why the TPB may be applicable to this health behaviour in particular. There is some justification in that the authors of the paper chose this particular theory on the premise that a socially-based theory such as TPB could highlight risk factors for the consumption of alcohol during pregnancy that could be more easily influenced than previous risk factors that have been identified such as drinking habits before pregnancy and socioeconomic status (Stewart & Streiner, 1994; Yamamoto et al., 2008) . Risk factors such as these cannot be easily changed. In contrast, risk factors based on attitudes toward a behaviour can be more easily altered through education or government interventions. The discussion does not flow particularly well and the overall conclusions of the study are not entirely clear. An advantage of the TPB is its holistic approach. It attempts to understand the behaviour of an individual in the context of both an individual’s attitude toward a behaviour, their perceived control over that behaviour and how they perceive others to judge the behaviour. However, our intentions to carry out a behaviour or not are the result of an incredibly complex process during which many variables are taken into account. Although the limitations of the study’s methodology are touched upon in the discussion, the authors fail to explore the limitations of the TPB and how these may affect their findings. For example, McKeown (1979) argued that negative health behaviours are determined on the individual level by the choices we make to behave in a certain way. Therefore, the theory may place too much emphasis on the importance of what others think of a behaviour. Indeed, in the current study, individual attitudes toward a behaviour were found to be more influential than subjective norms. One criticism of this study is its potential lack of representativeness, both culturally and geographically. Ethnic minorities made up only 6.9% of the sample, meaning that the results may not be generalisable to ethnic minorities. Furthermore, the sample was collected from only one geographic area, although the authors argue that their findings are in keeping with previous studies that used samples from a much wider geographical area (Anderson et al., 2007; Bolling et al., 2007). There may also have been a bias in the way in which participants were recruited. Women were approached by the researchers whilst awaiting their 20 week antenatal scans in hospital. The scans are designed to screen for any anomalies in the baby and to check that development is normal. These scans are not compulsory, potentially creating a bias in the sample. For example, Alderdice et al. (2007) found that women without qualifications or women from areas of high deprivation were significantly less likely to u ptake an offer of a 20 week screen for Downs Syndrome than women from affluent areas or women with degree-level qualification. This suggests that the women who were approached by the researchers in the current study may have been under-representative of women from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Furthermore, the study does not provide detail on the demographic information of the women who responded to the questionnaire, which would have been useful in evaluating generalisability. The measure used to ascertain TPB variables was developed using guidelines for the development of questionnaires designed to measure TPB behaviours (Francis et al., 2004). However, the measurement used was not a validated questionnaire. Furthermore, the authors do not provide examples of how they measured the three variables of intention, subjective norm and perceived behaviour control. This means that the measure cannot be opened up for scrutiny or re-used in later studies to assess its validity and reliability. Before the main study, a small pilot study was carried out with seven pregnant women to ensure that the questionnaire was easy to understand. Pilot studies are essential for establishing a sound study design (van Teijilngen & Hundley, 2001). Although, it should be noted that the authors did not report the results of any reliability or validity tests. As part of the test battery, the study did use the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, a reliable and valid measure for gathering information on alcohol consumption that was developed by the World Health Organisation (Saunders et al., 1993, Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network, 2004). This measurement has been reported to be superior to other measures designed to collect data on the same subject (Reinert & Allen, 2002). Self-report measures in themselves have a number of limitations. Firstly, they are subject to social desirability bias. Social desirability bias acknowledges that participants may report carrying out behaviours that are socially desirable or may cover up being involved in behaviours that are frowned on. Based on the finding that subjective norms had a significant impact on both intention and behaviour, social desirability bias may have affected the results of this study. If participants were so influenced by what others thought of alcohol consumption during pregnancy, then they may have been likely to cover up occasions on which they did drink during their pregnancy. This means that the number of participants who did drink during pregnancy may have been higher than the study reported. Recommendations for Improvement and Future Research If this study is to be replicated, it could be improved in a number of ways. Firstly, ethnic minorities must be better represented. Great Britain is now a multi-cultural country and research must reflect this. The authors must provide more information or a copy of the questionnaire designed to measure TPB variables so that reliability and validity can be assessed. A useful future study would be to assess the impact of an intervention designed to change the attitude of women who do not perceive drinking alcohol during pregnancy to be an issue. As attitude was found to be the most important factor in intention to carry out this behaviour, the currently reviewed study would be strengthened if an intervention based around attitude was found to change behaviour. References Ajzen, I. (1988). Attitudes, personality, and behavior. Milton Keynes, UK: Open University Press. Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, 179-211. Alderdice, F., McNeill, J., Rowe, R., Martin, D. & Dornan, J. (2008). Inequalities in the reported offer and uptake of antenatal screening. Public Health, 122(1), 42-52. Anderson, S., Bradshaw, P., Cunningham-Burley, S., Hayes, F. Jamieson, L., MacGregor, A. et al. (2007). Growing up in Scotland: A study following the lives of Scotland’s children. Edinburgh, Scotland: Scottish Executive. Bolling, K., Grant, C., Hamlyn, B. & Thornton, A. (2007). Infant Feeding Survey, 2005. Leeds, UK: The Information Centre. Duncan, E.M., Forbes-McKay, K.E. & Henderson, S.E. (2012). Alcohol use during pregnancy: An application of the theory of planned behaviour. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 42(8), 1887-1903. Francis, J.J., Eccles, M.P., Johnstone, M., Walker, A., Grimshaw, J., Foy, R. et al. (2004). Constructing questionnaires based on the theory of planned behaviour: A manual for health service researchers. Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK: Centre for Health Services Research. Godin, G. & Kok, G. (1996). The theory of planned behaviour: A review of its applications to health-related behaviors. American Journal of Health Promotion, 11, 87-98. Marcoux, B.C. & Shope, J.T. (1997). Application of the theory of planned behaviour to adolescent use and misuse of alcohol. Health Education Research, 12, 323-331. Mariscal, M., Palma, S., Llorca, J., Perez-Iglesias, R., Pardo-Crespo, R. & Delgado-Rodriguez, M. (2006). Pattern of alcohol consumption during pregnancy and risk for low birth weight. Annals of Epidemiology, 16, 432-438. McKeown, T. (1979). The role of medicine. Dream, mirage or nemesisOxford, UK: Blackwell Publisher Ltd. McMillan, B. & Conner, M. (2003). Using the theory of planned behaviour to understand alcohol and tobacco use in students. Psychology, Health, and Medicine, 8, 317-328. Reinert, D. & Allen, J.P. (2002). The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT): A review of recent research. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 26(2), 272-279. Saunders, J.B., Aasland, O.G., Babor, T.F., de la Fuente, J.R. & Grant, M. (1993). Development of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT): WHO collaborative project on early detection of persons with harmful alcohol consumption. Addiction, 88, 791-804. Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network. (2004). The management of harmful drinking and alcohol dependence in primary care: A national clinical guideline. Edinburgh, Scotland: Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network. Sood, B., Delaney-Black, V., Covington, C., Nordstrom-Klee, B., Ager, J., Templin, T., et al. (2001). Prenatal alcohol exposure and childhood behaviour at age 6 to 7 years: I. Does- response effect. Pediatrics, 108(2), 34-43. Steward, D.E. & Streiner, D. (1994). Alcohol drinking in pregnancy. General Hospital Psychiatry, 16, 406-412. van Teijilngen, E. & Hundley, V. (2001). The importance of pilot studies. Social Research Update, 35, 1-4. Yamamoto, Y., Kanieta, Y., Yokoyama, E., Sone, T., Takemura, S., Suzuki, K. et al. (2008). Alcohol consumption and abstention among pregnant Japanese women. Journal of Epidemiology, 18, 173-182.

Trifles ( A Play) by Susan Glaspell Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Trifles ( A Play) by Susan Glaspell - Essay Example The fact that Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters are addressed as such while the men are called â€Å"County Attorney† and â€Å"Sheriff† somehow simply affords the women a rather cheap, subservient role of a wife and somehow demeans the role of women in society in general. Aside from being assigned subservient roles, the women in the play are shown to be â€Å"worrying over trifles,† which implies that women in 20th century America are concerned about anything but useful (Glaspell). In the play, Haley somehow ridicules the women for â€Å"worrying over trifles† because instead of worrying about the crime, they worry a lot about the preserves that Mrs. Wright has left frozen (Glaspell). The two women also busy themselves with other â€Å"trifles† such as Mrs. Wright’s sewing things (Glaspell). The fact that women are shown to be worrying over trifles may also imply that they too should be treated like trifles themselves. The play also shows that women are inferior to men and should simply just keep themselves silent. What Mrs. Hale means when she mentions, â€Å"We think the—cat got it,† seems to be the old expression to mean that one is speechless: â€Å"Has the cat got your tongue?† (Glaspell; Holstein 285). This means that women in America in the early 20th century somehow did not have a voice of their own in a male-dominated society. In fact, throughout the whole play, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters are considered ignorant by the men. The suspect Mrs. Wright may also have been forced to keep silent by her husband, and so this could have become her motive for killing him. Moreover, one symbol in the play used to show that the silence of women is the dead bird in the birdcage with its neck wrung. The singing bird was once Mrs. Wright – â€Å"one of the town girls singing in the choir† (Glaspell). However, her marriage turned her into a dead bird that

Golden Temple (Amritsar, India) Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Golden Temple (Amritsar, India) - Research Paper Example History of the Golden Temple The Golden Temple, also known as Harmandir Sahib which stands for the Temple of God, is regarded as one of the holiest places in the world and the holiest shrine in Sikhism. It is situated in Amritsar, Punjab, India. It is located at 31.620045Â ° N, 74.876397Â ° E. Amritsar means ‘Pool of Nectar of Immorality’; this was from a tank that was excavated by the fourth guru of Sikhism in 1577 CE who was later called Amritsar, thus, the name of the city which grew around it (Pletcher, 129). In the process, Harmandir Sahib, an impressive house meant to be the abode of God, grew at the centre of this tank becoming a supreme venue of Sikhism. Civilization during the construction of the Golden Temple This structure was erected in the late 16th century under the governance of the forth and fifth gurus. It was constructed under very strict supervision of the authority that had very great influence on the public works at the time. Construction of the Ha rmandir Sahib The construction of the Golden Temple started in 1574 at a site surrounded by a small lake in some thin forest; the land was donated by the Mughal emperor Akbar, the third of the six Mughals, who was so impressed with the lifestyle in the town that as a result gave a parcel of land and revenues of quite a number of villages in the area. Guru Ram Das expanded the lake and constructed a small town surrounding it which he later named after Guru Ram Das as Guru Ka Chak. Between 1581 and 1606, the construction of the full-fledged gurdwara (temple) was done under the leadership of the fifth guru, Guru Arjan Dev (Brockman, 189). The initiation of the construction of the temple was done by Hazrat Mian Mir who laid the first foundation stone in December 1588 CE. Construction was complete by 1601 but refurbishment and decoration continued over the years up to about 1604. Installation of the Guru Granth Sahib was done in the 1660s. In the middle of the eighteenth century, the tem ple was attacked by some Afghans who were later killed by the Sikh army. The temple had to be reconstructed in the year 1760. Size of the Golden Temple The 40.5 square feet temple was constructed on a 67 feet square platform which is centrally located at the Sarovar tank. It has four doors in the four directions; to the East, West, South and North. It has an arch which located at the shore end of the causeway with door frames measuring eight feet, six inches in breadth by ten feet high. It has artistic decorations at the door panes which open to the bridge and walkway leading to the main structure of the Temple. The bridge is with a circumambulatory path which is thirteen feet wide. This path that leads to Har ki Paure, the steps of God, runs round the main place of pilgrimage. The main building of the Sri Harmandir Sahib, a three storied structure, is 202 feet in length and 21 feet in width. Whole of this structure is technically functional. The first floor has its roof at a height of 26 feet and 9 inches with a front decorated with repetition of cusped arches. The Temple has a four feet parapet rising all round the sides with four Mamtees at all the four corners. The third storey rises exactly on top of the central of the main sanctuary. This small square room with three gates holds a regular recitation of Guru Granth Sahib. A low fluted Gumbaz which has a lotus petal motif in relief at the base and an inverted lotus at the top supporting the Kalash is held up on top of this room.

Enviroment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Enviroment - Assignment Example With that, there are a number of air pollution challenges that need to be taken into concern by all governments in the world so as to eliminate the chances of air pollution becoming tragic to life. First is the emission of smog and smoke from industries. Ozone smog is lethal when subjected to higher temperatures since it can cause severe health issues to humans. Some of the health issues include: severe asthma for individuals who already have the respiratory challenge, lung burn problems, eye irritations and throat damage. Smog has other adverse effects such as acidic rain due to the fact that it contains sulphur compounds. Acidic rain can be very dangerous to the existing water supplies. For example: If acidic rain would pour on earth; that means that the water we drink shall have higher quantities of sulphur- This is very dangerous to public health. In addition to that, acidic rain will cause damage to plant cover as well as organisms in the soil. In this case, human beings as well as animal life will be affected when they consume plant cover that has higher components of sulphur. Another effect of acidic rain is that it speeds up the decay process of objects that is comes into contact with. With those examples, it can be vividly stated that, smog and smoke air pollutions are very dangerous and both can cause a massive challenges to the existing human life, animal life and the earth. A second form of air pollution is through Green House Gases (GHG) such as: Carbon dioxide, Methane, Nitrous Oxide and Fluorinated gases. Carbon dioxide is as a result of burning fossil fuels, the use of petroleum and natural gas. Methane originates from coal burning. Nitrous Dioxide originates from the use of fertilizers that have higher contents of nitrogen and other waste products. According to a 2011 report released by the U.S Greenhouse Emissions, it was revealed that the total emissions of carbon dioxide were 84%, Methane was 9%, Nitrous Oxide was 5% and Fluorinated gases we re 2%. In addition to that, the report revealed that electricity was the highest contributor of GHG emissions by a total of 33%; the transportation sector had a total of 28%, industries had 20%; commercial and residential sector had 11%; agricultural sector had 8% (EPA, â€Å"Overview of Green House Gases†). This report clearly indicated that GHG are still a challenge due to the reason that they are still emitted from the different sources. However, according to a comparison of GHG emissions from 2010 to 2012 it is clear that GHG emissions are slowly decreasing (EPA, â€Å"Trends in Greenhouse Gas Emissions†). The most intensifying risk about GHG is that they take hundreds or even thousands of years to be completely depleted from the atmosphere. With that, they are prone to affect human life in the long term. The challenge brought about by these gases is that they prevent the release of heat from the earth into the atmosphere – ozone layer. As a result, this cau ses the earth to retain too much heat thereby leading to the global warming effect. The global warming effect causes a change in global climate. That is; it causes warmer temperatures to be experienced in different parts of the world. As a result, these higher temperatures lead to water evaporation from the existing water supplies. In areas where the global warmin

To compose a proposal for research paper Assignment - 1

To compose a proposal for research paper - Assignment Example Literature Review: In this research it will entail studying and analyzing previous studies conducted in a similar research topic and evaluation of the theses and hypotheses developed by the authors. Articles, books and other relevant documents to the research problem will be identified, located and analyzed to determine what has already been done thus stimulating new ideas and approaches. Further, literature review will not only provide suggested recommendation but also form a framework for interpreting research findings. I plan to conduct proposal paper with the methodology of action research strategy, which is usually conducted with the aim of solving an immediate problem, in this case, treatment of special needs children. Data will be collected systematically from sources of similar law requirements using the probabilistic method of systematic random sampling. Using this strategy, the information will be selected randomly and ranked in accordance with its applicability in this health law so that an appropriate mechanism to create the law will be developed (World report on disability 21). The selection of relevant information will be crucial in this research thereby researchers will be required to apply judgmental evaluation while observing ethical research procedures. The planned proposed paper’s variables relating to the health law addressing treatment of special needs children will undergo analysis through two procedures; conceptualization and operationalization. This technique ensures that the findings will not only be valid to the entire concept but also reliable. Variables that may affect achievement of sufficient measurement and analysis consist of extraneous variables given they may be easily overlooked by the researcher and cause errors in applicability of the law. This research will statistically minimize their effects by considering every angle while establishing relevant

MGT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 8

MGT - Essay Example factors are comprised of enhanced commitment, enhanced cooperation, justified behavior, improved decision-making, enhanced control, improved communications and shared perceptions. The original source of the culture reflects the vision of the founders. When the culture is in practice certain organizational practices help maintaining it. Organizations help employees adapt to the culture through socialization that helps employees understand the culture and become enthusiastic and knowledgeable with customers. Employees learn culture in a number of ways in which the most common ways are through stories, rituals, material symbols and language. Organizational stories contain narrative of significant events or people which serves as genuine examples of learning, thus stories provide clear picture of the organization`s goal. Rituals on the other hand are repetitive sequences of activities that express and reinforce the important values and goals of an organization. Moreover, symbols help in demonstrating an organization`s personality by determining how an employee shall dress, speak and behave in an organization. In order for the culture to be strong it is very important that values and ideologies shall be held important and embraced throughout the organization thus the organization shall ensure that its features shall not in any way contradict the employee’s own culture. Therefore it is necessary to take into account the emerging themes and the responses to those by both employees as well as customers. After many conflicts, managers today, agree that the excellence of a firm depends on efficiency from all factors including customers, employees, autonomy and entrepreneurship. And the excellence can result only from the blend of these factors. However, certain leaders apply dysfunctional management practices such as attention seeking, unrealistic thing and suspecting not only others but self as well such that it results in the lack of delegation of responsibilities

The Second Rate Speaker Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Second Rate Speaker - Essay Example The presentation is on the entrepreneurship within the Computers Industry and is a two-part presentation to be delivered by Mr. Bruce. However, part 1 of the presentation did not go well as Mr. Bruce certainly lacked preparation and was unable to impress the audience. Many of the audience were of the opinion that they may not be able to attend the second session provided the quality of the presentations and the jokes shared by the speaker. During the first session, he touched many topics which were not directly related with the topic and kept on sharing things which were directly related with the topic of discussion. It was clearly evident that either there was a clear lack of interest by Mr. Bruce or there was lack of preparation and skills to deliver such kind of informative sessions. There were many occasions where he completely failed to deliver what was required therefore a rapport with audience cannot be developed easily during the session. In order to deal with the situation, there are few options available which may be needed in order to ensure that next session remains productive and informative for the participants. One of the options is to basically disallow Mr. Bruce and hire someone else to deliver rest of the sessions. Secondly, Mr. Bruce can be coached in how to deliver effective presentations which can keep the interests of the audience as well as deliver the required message to the audience. 1. A coaching session may kindly be arranged for Mr. Bruce to provide him effective tools and techniques as to how to develop a presentation and what kind of information is required to be included. Further, through this short coaching session, the overall feedback of the participants should also be provided to Mr. Bruce. In the light of the overall feedback, the coaching session shall be developed. 2. This coaching session will be in-house and delivered by our own Staff based upon the overall criteria defined and outlined by

Minimum Wage is a frequent topic of political debate. Analyze the pros Essay

Minimum Wage is a frequent topic of political debate. Analyze the pros and cons of such a policy using the relevant theoretical - Essay Example This made it a requirement of all states to set this as their minimum wage limit but this does not make it mandatory because some states exhibit variations of this set minimum. Some states, like California, have higher limits of this wage, which is at $8.00 while others, like Georgia, have wage limits below that federal limit at $5.15 per hour. These differences are made possible, by the municipal and state laws, which make it possible, for individual states to set their own minimum wage limits by exercising their right to enact their own by laws. This enables them to determine the limit of minimum wage, with respect to the economic potential of that a given state because it would not make sense to match the minimum wage with a rich state in terms of resources. This is an analytical discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of the minimum wage policy in the United States of America using a theoretical construct approach. Minimum wage from an economists view is disadvantageous to the market system of demand and supply. This is because when the minimum wage is raised the number of people vying for that job position increase, but the employer’s willingness to offer the position decreases because it is an increase in expenses in terms of salaries. In this scenario, employers would rather delegate the duties to be filled, by the new position to existing employees, than offering the job position. On the other hand, if the minimum wage were reduced, it would give employers an opportunity to create more job opportunities in organizations because they can afford to do so. This would depend on the amount of the wage set because a minimum wage of $1 per hour would not attract anyone, but student workers could consider a $4 per hour. Setting up the minimum wage law disrupted the functioning of supply and demand system because it dictates what employers should pay, instead of letting the two factors standardize the field on their own. Market factors of demand and supply govern the number and type of jobs available along what each job category would pay (Schmidt, 19). Increasing the minimum wage deprives a group of young Americans the much needed life lessons, which can be acquired when one works minimum wage job. This is because these jobs are popular with interns, workers in training and students, which help them, learn early in life how to handle money and relate with people in different circumstances (Schmidt, 16). They instill the values of hard work, responsibility and hard work early in their lives and motivate them to aspire to go to college and acquire advanced skills, which can enable them get better paying jobs in the future. Raising the minimum wage reduces the number of these types of jobs because employers will not be willing to offer these job positions because of increased salaries. This will translate to the emergence of a generation of Americans who have no value for hard work and responsibility, which would be detrimen tal to the economy of the country. It means that most of the American society in the future will lack a driving force that is essential in inculcating work ethics that are vital to a vibrant economy characterized by a work force that knows and understands the benefits of hard work. An increase in the minimum wage will result in a decrease of job opportunities that offer invaluable experience that is a prerequisite in almost all well paying and stimulating jobs in America. New entrants into

Violent Media Essay Example for Free

Violent Media Essay Violent media is inevitable in our daily lives. In recent years, the popular media seem to have become increasingly violent. Whenever you turn on the TV, read the newspaper or comic books and also when you play video games you can easily find that violence is one of the most popular forms of entertainment. Some people believe that violent media have positive effects on young people and children, however others think that violent stories are harmful to kids and we need to keep them away from them. I think that violent media can affect children in many bad ways. According to Gerard Jones, violent media has positive effects on kids because through this stories, they can meet their emotional and development needs. Also they can help children and young people improve their self-knowledge and sense of potency though heroic, combative storytelling. Jones also believes that violent media is a positive influence on children because some cartoons, bloody videogames, toy guns and other â€Å"creative violence† gives children a tool to master their rage and also says that children need violent entertainment in order to explore the inescapable feelings that they had been taught to deny. Jones makes some good points. He says that violent media makes children more confident and with the idea of superheroes and it makes them feel powerful, when in reality they feel powerless since that comes with being â€Å"young and small. † He used the example of his son. He said that his son was afraid of climbing trees and the writer read him an old Tarzan Comic book and that made him a more confident kid. After that his child climbed the tree. Kids always try to imitate what they see. However others think the opposite, that violent stories are harmful to kids and we need to keep them away from these stories. Cartoon violence makes children more aggressive â€Å"High levels of violence in cartoons such as Scooby-Doo can make children more aggressive, researchers claimed. They found that animated shows aimed at youngsters often have more brutality than programmers broadcast for general audiences. And they said children copied and identified with fantasy characters just as much as they would with screen actors. The study also found that youngsters tended to mimic the negative behavior they saw on TV such as rumor-spreading, gossiping and eye-rolling. The U. S. psychologists quizzed 95 girls aged ten and 11 about their favorite TV shows, rating them for violent content and verbal and indirect aggression. The shows included Lost, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, American Idol, Scooby-Doo and Pokemon. The researchers found that output aimed at children as young as seven, which included a number of cartoons, had the highest levels of violence†. In my opinion violent media can affect children in many bad ways. It might make them feel addicted of wanting to see more media images or video games of violence just because they find it cool and also because their friends also like it. Moreover violent media might cause aggressive behavioral problems, they can become less aware to hurt and sorrows of other people and they would be more afraid of their environment, and finally they would be more aggressive and bellicose. Everything that children see or hear in the media early on their lives affect them in some ways. Unfortunately, violence is one of the most popular forms of entertainment.

What the Utopian World Created Essay Example for Free

What the Utopian World Created Essay Divergent by Veronica Roth and â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† by Kurt Vonnegut Jr, are stories of a dystopian world that take away peoples power and control. In Divergent the leader took over the people’s minds and psychologically controlled them to do what the government wanted to do. In â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† such as the government wanted power so they psychologically controlled people by handicaps where a buzzing sound go off in your ear. In doing this people would lose their train of thoughts, so the people would never know what the government was doing. The government did this so no one would ever gain more power than them, people may have noticed that the government did not do this to make things equal because they did not do it to their selves only to the people. The government/ leader used psychological control in Divergent and Harrison Bergeron through serums and handicaps, making both worlds dystopian societies. In Divergent serums is used to make people be psychologically controlled so the government can have them get rid of another faction. This is a world where they have 5 factions, which are futures for the people to live in. The Erudite which is a faction that all the smarts people live in do not like the Abnegations who are the more selfless people, so they had the dauntless faction take serum so they would kill the Abnegations. The thing is the serum does not work on the divergent people. Divergent people are people that are good at everything and dose not really fit in to a faction. Being Divergent is risky and rare so they enter a faction so no one would know they were Divergent. Beatrice the main character was divergent and found out about the serum because she was not psychologically controlled because she was Divergent, and went to the leader/government. When she got there the government said â€Å"Everyone is awake, but everyone is silent†¦they are sleepwalkers†¦of course. Eric said every Dauntless was injected yesterday. So now the entire faction is brain dead, obedient, and trained to kill† (Roth 416-417). This in psychological control because they use serum to take over a whole faction minds to do what the leader said, which made this world dystopian. In â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† handicaps were used in this a dystopian story to have psychological control. The government of this world would put handicaps on people; a handicap is something that makes the people not be able to perform their talents. Some of the handicaps were a buzzing sound that goes off in your head every 30  second so people lose your thoughts, if you were strong you had to wear weights to make people weak, and if people could see you had to wear glasses to make you see worse. â€Å"A buzzer sounded in George’s head. His thoughts fled in panic, like bandits from a burglar alarm† (Vonnegut). This is an example of George who was Harrison Bergeron; the main characters dad loses his memory which is psychological control. The government wanted to make a perfect society by making everyone equal but in doing that they had to use psychological control (handicaps) which turned the utopian world which they were trying to make a dystopian world. The government/ leader used psychological control in Divergent and Harrison Bergeron through serums and handicaps, making both worlds dystopian societies. With saying that the world were both try to have equality and be a perfect societies and by doing that the government had to do things to make it a dystopian. These stories are both great example of psychological control though handicaps and serum.

The Use And Abuse Of Technology Media Essay

The Use And Abuse Of Technology Media Essay Technology can be defined as science applied to practical purposes. It is more than hardware and silicon chips. In propelling change and altering our belief systems and culture, technology has joined religion, tradition, and family in the scope of its influence. Its enhancements of human muscle and human mind are self-evident. But technology is also a social amplifier. It stretches the range, volume, and speed of communications. It inflates appetites for consumer goods and creature comforts. It tends to concentrate wealth and power, and to increase the disparity of rich and poor. In the competition for scarce resources, it breeds conflicts. In social-psychological terms, it alters our perceptions of space. Events anywhere on the globe now have immediate repercussions everywhere, with a portfolio of tragedies that ignite feelings of helplessness. Technology has also skewed our perception of time, nourishing a desire for speed and instant gratification and ignoring long-term impacts. Nowadays, when the rapidness of development and research is so impressive, it is easy to think about the advantages of modern technology. Nevertheless some people argue that science can destroy mankind. Im quite agreeing with them, and I believe that modern technology is destroying the values of our Islamic society somehow. Computers, Cellophanes and the World Wide Web are examples of the modern technology; which are used widely nowadays, and they affect our moralities and manners badly, not because they are useless, but because we used to get the negative aspects out of every thing around us. Therefore, the most frequently asked question is: Does technology go the right way and will it save or ruin our Islamic civilization? In this project I wish to set out some of the benefits, the drawbacks and an Islamic view of one of those modern technologies which called The Internet, the influence of it on the Islamic world and the internet from an Islamic respective. As starting point for the Muslims contribution in dialogue with other sectors of society, especially other religious groups, concerning the development and use of this amazing technological mechanism. The Internet is being put to many good uses now, with the promise of many more, but much harm also can be done by its improper use. Which it will be, good or harm, is largely a matter of choice-a choice to whose making the Muslim society brings two elements of great importance: its commitment to the dignity of the human person and its long tradition of moral wisdom. WHAT IS THE INTERNET? Ten years ago, the Internet was practically unheard of by most people. Today, the Internet is one of the most powerful tools throughout the world. The Internet is a collection of various services and resources. The Internet or the World Wide Web is indeed a wonderful and amazing addition in our lives. The Internet can be known as a kind of global meeting place where people from all parts of the world can come together. It is a service available on the computer, through which everything under the sun is now at the fingertips of anyone who has access to the Internet. A human brain to our eyes appears approximately six inches in size only but inside this little bowl hidden an ocean of ideas and thoughts. Internet is not that little word as is generally understood but actually it is the name of whole computer worlds universe which is carrying with it sea of knowledge and information that deals with each and every topic that exists on the face of the earth. Today Internet is providing eve ryone peculiar knowledge and information that one needs. There is no department left about which information are not available on the Internet. In Tokyo, the city of Japan, an exhibition of Information Technology was held in which it was announced that any one who would tell a department name about which no information are given on the Internet would be awarded a prize of one million $ US. However, no one could win the prize at the end of the exhibition. Thus nobody could point out the topic. The internet has allowed our world to become a globally connected network that advances knowledge everyday. A few years ago the internet was changed forever with the creation of Napster. Napster was the first program that allowed internet users to download music and files with a click of the mouse. However, Napster was a company that was said to be profiting from the website, so musicians took a stand and shut Napster down. By that time millions of people had already become used to the idea of free downloads and wanted more. THE INTERNET AND SOCIAL CONNECTION: The last few years in the society have seen incredible changes technologically and culturally. Life has become increasingly easier as machines designed to improve living standards proliferated. Communications and travel capabilities have advanced dramatically, with long distance phone calls soon to be a thing of the past. Computers have brought so much information home that many students do all their research from the comfort of their desktop. Socially the changes have been just as great, though perhaps not always for the better. Children have massacred one another on school grounds. The income inequality gap has steadily risen. Overall, people are feeling less connected to one another than ever before. Many sociologists subscribe to the belief that the internet, in-home computer usage and widespread availability of virtual access, are transforming modern social and economic life. Problematic to these issues, however, is whether the changes have been beneficial or detrimental. The paper shows that some argue that the internet is causing social isolation and forcing a break from genuine social relationships, while others argue that the internet leads better social relationships by freeing people from mundane restraints of geography, isolationism or factors outside normal controls (e.g., illness, schedules). This group argues that the internet allows people to become socially involved on the basis of common interest rather than the vicariousness of convenience. If people were to use the Internet primarily for entertainment and information, the Internets social effects might resemble those of television. However, research has shown that interpersonal communication is the dominant use of the Internet at home. That people use the Internet mainly for interpersonal communication, however, does not imply that their social interactions and relationships on the Internet are the same as their traditional social interactions and relationships, or that their social uses of the Internet will have effects comparable to traditional social means of communication ADVANTAGES OF THE INTERNET: In fact, the advantages are out weigh the disadvantages. The most common thing the Internet is used for is research. Children and students are among the top people who use the Internet for research. Today, it is almost required that students use the Internet for research. Thirty percent of teachers give assignments requiring research from the Internet. In the classroom, sixty-six percent of teachers use the Internet to teach. The Internet has become one of the biggest sources for research. Almost everyday, research on medical issues becomes easier to locate. Web sites have become available for people to research diseases and talk to doctors online at sites. Another popular thing to do on the Internet is to check out the news. Almost all local news can be obtained through the Internet. Using the Internet to get the weather allows people to view weather all over the world. Live radar all over the country and local forecasts are just to name a few of the things that may be obtained for weather information on the Internet. Shopping online has also become a huge success and is considered a great advantage of the Internet. No matter what people are shopping for, it can be found on the Internet. People do not even have to leave their homes. A few companies have collected millions of dollars using the Internet for selling. Clothing is probably one of the most bought items online. Almost every major clothing store has its on Web site. Just one click of the mouse on the items they want to purchase and the items are delivered to their front door. DISADVANTAGES OF THE INTERNET: Despite all of these advantages of the Internet, there are numerous disadvantages. Many fear the Internet because of its disadvantages. They claim to not use the Internet because they are afraid of the possible consequences or are simply not interested. People who have yet connected to the Internet claim they are not missing anything. Today technological society must realize, it is up to them to protect themselves on the Internet Children using the Internet have become a big concern. When children are online, they can easily be lured into something dangerous. When children talk to others online, they do not realize they could actually be talking to a harmful person. There are a number of tools available today that may help keep the Internet environment safer for children. Some companies, such as America Online, try to monitor everything that is said and done on their online service; however, because thousands of chat rooms are available, it is simply impossible for everything to be monitored. In other words, children want to explore things; however, there are people on the Internet that are just too believable. Most parents do not realize the dangers involved when their children log onto the Internet. Prophet Mohammad SAW Said: كلكÙ†¦ Ø ±ÃƒËœÃƒËœÃ‚ ¹ Ùˆ كلكÙ†¦ Ù†¦ÃƒËœÃ‚ ³ÃƒËœÃ‚ ¦Ãƒâ„¢Ã‹â€ Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ Ø ¹Ãƒâ „¢Ã¢â‚¬   Ø ±ÃƒËœÃ‚ ¹Ãƒâ„¢Ã…  ÃƒËœÃ‚ ªÃƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¡) (, thus parents should be aware of what their children are doing or seeing .. It is the duty of parents to raise their children upon the teachings of Islam by using all possible good means. In fact, the Internet can help parents in this regard if it is used correctly. However, parents should guide their children to the ways of using it in a positive way and protect them against misusing this service. The prominent Muslim scholar, Sheikh Muhammad Iqbal Nadvi, Imam of Calgary Mosque, Alberta, Canada, and Former Professor at King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, States: There are many ways of protecting both children and ourselves from the haram (unlawful) as follows: 1. By creating a barrier between us and sins. 2.By providing alternatives to take us away from the haram. Parents need to establish firm and healthy channels of communication with their children and explain to them the Islamic position concerning these issues and how to deal with them. The best way to achieve this is to be a good role model for their children, for if they see their parents as a good example, they will learn the good from them as well. Parents are supposed to introduce alternatives to them. There are many good Islamic websites that they can visit and learn from. They can be given tasks to do on each website, and then can receive prizes for that. Most importantly we must teach our kids how to choose the right friends, who are aware of Islamic teachings and can protect them from learning about haram.. One of the Islamic rules is the consideration of the other rights. The accessibility and freedom of copyrighting is also one of the disadvantages of the Internet. E.g. Musicians are one of those who are worried because of that. They are upset because the Internet provides their music online at no charge to customers. File-sharing services, such as Napster, provide copyrighted songs to all Internet users. The main concern is the music is free! Musicians feel they are not getting paid for their work. Because of Napster, it is almost impossible to close down all file-sharing services; there are too many of them to count. Legal cases have developed across the country with copyright owners declaring that their music is being plagiarized by people on the Internet. Another major disadvantage of the Internet is privacy. Electronic messages sent over the Internet can be easily snooped and tracked, revealing who is talking to whom and what they are talking about. People should become aware that the collection, selling, or sharing of the information they provide online increases the chances that their information will fall into the wrong hands. Consequently, they will become a victim of identity theft, one of the worst privacy violations with potentially devastating financial consequences. When giving personal information on the Internet, people should make sure the Web site is protected with a recognizable security symbol. On the other hand, this does not mean they are fully protected because anyone may obtain user information. Today, not only are humans getting viruses, but computers are also. Computers are mainly getting these viruses from the Internet; yet, viruses may also be transmitted through floppy disks. However, people should mainly be concerned about receiving viruses from the Internet. Some of these dangerous viruses destroy the computer entire hard drive, meaning that the user can no longer access the computer. Virus protection is highly recommended. THE INFLUENCE OF THE INTERNET ON THE ISALMIC WORLD: Although there has been a tremendous amount of discussion in the popular press about how the Internet is changing all facets of Islamic social life, research on the impact of the Internet is only beginning to emerge. A review of the studies reported in this issue suggests that the Internet may have had less impact on many aspects of social life than is frequently supposed. In many cases, the Internet seems to have created a new way of doing old things, rather than being a technology that changes the manner in which people live their lives. As a consequence, the policy implications of increasing Internet use may be less than is often believed. PRIOR STUDY: (The Internet and Youth Subculture in Kuwait) Abstract Young people in Kuwait constitute both the highest concentration of Internet users (estimated to be approximately 63% of all Internet users in Kuwait) and the largest sector of Kuwaiti society. Moreover, as argued in this article, young peoples Internet practices are likely to stimulate the most significant changes in Kuwaiti society. This article scrutinizes a handful of descriptions by young Kuwaiti of the importance and implication of the Internet in their lives. Survey Research on Kuwaiti Youths and the Internet, 1996-2001: This was the first professional conference to consider the development and impact of the Internet in Kuwait, and the Islamic World in general, ever held in the Gulf. The papers presented that independently came to the same conclusions: 1- Kuwaiti youths seem to be the most deeply effected by the transformations in communicative practices enabled by the Internet. They focused on the ways in which the Internet was detrimental to face-to-face social ties between peers and among family members. They argued that customarily, young (and old) Kuwaiti men had gathered in the late afternoon and evenings to drink tea and eat sweets together. Women had done the same. With the introduction of the Internet, young people argue that they find it more enjoyable to surf the net in the evenings instead of participating in traditional social rituals. A recent regional survey found that 55% of Internet use takes place between the hours of 4:00 p.m. and 12:00 a.m., the hours when tea and home visits, or visits to the diwaniyya (male social clubs) are most likely to occur(  [1]  ). 2- young people are unlikely to use the Internet along with other family members (just over 10% did), which means that family ties are potentially jeopardized by Internet use. Instead, youths share their ideas and positive energies in cyberspace with people they dont know personally. While such interactions foster a positive sense of being one with the world. Only 7.8% of the students surveyed by Mazeedi and Ismail were taught to use the Internet by a family member. Thus the authors conclude that families dont set the rules of standards on how to use the Internet ethically and academically. Moreover, since students often use the Internet to meet with the opposite sex (more than 30% admitted to this as a regular practice) Islamic sanctions against interactions with the opposite sex outside of relatives and marriage are transgressed(  [2]  ). 3- Throughout my fieldwork, I met people who had fallen in love, or attempted to, via the Internet. One person I interviewed explained that her brother and sister-in-law had fallen in love via the computer. They met in a chatroom. Over time they developed a regular cyber-relationship. One day, several months into the relationship, they decided to meet in person. When they went to pay for their Internet subscriptions at the Ministry of Communication building, they decided to wait for each other near the entrance. It was love at first sight and they decided ultimately to marry. There were some problems, however, because he was Shii and she was Sunni, and her parents refused to bless the engagement. Ultimately love won out, and their wedding cake was shaped like a computer, a symbol of the amazing tool that brought them together, enabling the transgression of sectarian lines which divide Kuwaitis and interrupting the ritual of arranged or semi-arranged marriages(  [3]  ). 4- 73.4% of students who use the Internet felt that it was being used in socially abusive and ethically unreliable ways. Similarly, 61.1% of those surveyed felt that the morals and behavior of the students have been affected negatively by the Internet(  [4]  ). 5- Students continue to misuse the Internet. Many of them sneak into Internet cafes to freely browse through sites linked with immoral activities without check(  [5]  ). 6- Cyber-relations could in fact help young men and women in Kuwait to understand the other gender in a way that might improve communication between the sexes in marriage and the family. Moreover, the Internet might give young people more sovereignty over the choice of a spouse. Often family members choose a spouse for their child based upon standards related to what might improve or protect the social status of the family as a whole(  [6]  ). 7- While some Kuwaiti students are critical of the ways in which the Internet enables them to violate the norms they are raised to hold, others are taking full advantage of the Internet as a vehicle for challenging Kuwaiti societys increasingly conservative view of proper public interaction between the sexes. Students increasingly find cyberspace an attractive place in which to experiment with unfamiliar or endangered forms of social interaction. To a degree, students cyber-relations reveal that the Internet supports decentralization, individual empowerment, resilience and self-sufficiency. practices which coincide with the design principles of the technology. The fact that many Kuwaiti youths remain critical of such practices illustrates how Muslim values help to filter and buffer the meanings and implications of such experiences. Local cultural and social frameworks both shape what is revolutionary about the use of a new tool, and in addition, influence the pace of change(  [7]  ). A research project about the effects of the Internet on the social Arab world (  [8]  ): Dr. Albrecht Hofheinz(  [9]  ) put the cyber world into the context of social behavior in order to identify more clearly whether any possible effects of virtual changes are becoming apparent in the real world. As for if people are dealing with religious and political questions, and how do transnational and local publics connect and interact with one another? He commented: In the 1990s, Internet enthusiasts had a vision: all you need is a modem, a PC, and an Internet connection to have the world at your fingertips. This gave rise to the hypothesis that the entire structure of the way in which public opinions are formed would be transformed by significantly facilitating access to publication opportunities for a large number of people. It was felt that public debates would spread around the world, thereby bringing about a radical change in the formation of opinions in Arab-Islamic countries. The theory was that the emancipator effect of this development would be twofold: larger sections of society would become more involved in the formation of opinions and this, in turn, would result in greater participation in decision-making processes. In other words, the Internet would spread democracy. The aim of his research project was to test the theory that more people would get involved in the opinion formation process and would have more to contribute to this process as a result of the Internet. Implicitly, this would pose a threat to the hegemony of traditional hierarchies and authorities in terms of shaping opinions: The theory was that it would soon become second nature to Internet users to form their own opinions and not simply to refer to a single authoritative source and blindly follow the opinions presented there. The fact that users would themselves be able to comment on material published by others and discuss solutions in a non-hierarchical manner would result in the development of a social dynamism that would inherently help accelerate the democratization of decision-making processes. That was the theory on which this research project was based. About the developed of the use of the Internet in Arab countries he claimed: We cant generalize. The state reaction to the Internet phenomenon differs from country to country in the Arab world. None of these countries now completely rejects the Internet. However, some treat the occurrence more restrictively than others. The first countries to open up to the Internet in the early days were traditional, liberal economic, pro-Western states like Jordan, Lebanon, Kuwait, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain. As for the free access to the Internet in the Arabic world he commented: A comparison of the countries in the Arab world reveals that some allow completely free access to the Internet while others channel all Internet traffic through a filter. This central filter allows them to block access to specific sites. But anyone with technical know-how can get around these filters. This sort of filter censorship can be found in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Syria. The Saudis, for example, only opened up public access to the Internet in 1999 after a long delay: they waited until the technical requirements for total filtering were fulfilled. Beforehand, the debate had centered on how Saudi society could be protected against damaging influences through the Internet. Dr. Hofheinz commented on the way that Arab countries are dealing with the Internet: Many Muslim thinkers and scholars were very careful and feared that the Internet could lead to an infiltration and wearing down of Muslim social and moral standards. In this context, discussions with Islamic overtones took place. These same discussions had other overtones elsewhere: in Asia, for example, but also in Europe and anywhere people think that the Internet might lead to a homogenization of the cultures. In concrete terms, this means that western or American cultural values and ideas are disseminated under the existing balance of power. This discussion has not become any less powerful to this day. On the other hand, Islamic groups were some of the first to make use of the Internet. At the end Dr. Hofheinz talked about his theory: My initial theory has not proven well-founded in the short term. But that doesnt mean that all opportunities have been wasted. I would say instead that the initial theory was naive in its radicalism. It was quite simply naive to expect the introduction of the Internet to unleash a political tidal wave. One has to examine what socialization process are being promoted on the Internet. The trend is clear: the Internet reinforces the role and the self-confidence of the subject. Even the chatting of young people should not be underestimated. It is easier to talk openly in chat rooms about things that are usually only talked about among friends. I still believe that this will lead to a change in political culture: not necessarily a radical change and not only as a result of the Internet, but the Internet is undoubtedly an important factor. THE INFLUENCE OF THE INTERNET FROM AN ISLAMIC PRESPECTIVE: Many researches and scholars consider the internet as the real reason for the flourishing of the so called Islamic Virtual Ummah, what do you think? In so far as virtual today has become virtually identical to cyberspace, this is certainly correct. Further, there is no doubt that the Internet has contributed greatly to a new growth of pan-Islamic feelings among many of its Muslim users. This phenomenon should, however, not be regarded in isolation from its social and historical context. Muslim activists on the Internet have been drawn first and foremost, in the beginnings, in the 1990s, from among these circles, and they have found in the Internet an ideal medium to share reflections on their beliefs, identity, practicies, policies, social life, moral ways, etc. In other words, to think of themselves as a community in new ways that were more self-reflected, and less bound by tradition, than tended to be the case back home. And this new community is often referred to, or thought of as, a virtual ummah. In how far do you think what happens on the Internet has any effect on real life? Especially in the context of the murder of Theo van Gogh in the Netherlands: the murderer apparently used texts from the extremist websites in the letter he left on the body of his victim. The Internet is thus less revolutionary than it is often made to appear. Rather, it is the latest incarnation in a long development of media that have helped Muslims (among other people) to imagine their belonging. The Internet is a medium; media, consumed, are part of peoples socialization and can influence their thoughts and acts. To say so much is trivial but it has to be said since some people still question the effect of the net on real life. Exactly how, and to what extent, media influence peoples thoughts and acts is, however, a very different question. After 40 years of research into the effects of television, there is no unanimity among researches about the nature and quality of these effects. And the debate continues on how exactly to measure such effects. Comparatively speaking, Internet research is still in its infancy, but the problems are essentially the same. People are influenced in their thoughts and acts by a great variety of factors, and to posit some simple linear connections between material posted on the net, or peoples online activities, and their acts in real life, is too simplistic. All that can be said with some certainty is that the Internet is likely to play an increasingly important role in peoples socialization, and that therefore the way material, thought, ideas, social relations etc are presented on the net is going to exert a growing influence on real life. With regard to Islam, for example, this means that increasingly, only material easily accessible on the net will be considered by the majority of Muslim Internet users in the construction of what Islam means, and how one should live properly as a Muslim. Do you think that the Internets effect of reducing and simplifying complicated and rich cultural and religious traditions will eventually lead to a loss of Islamic knowledge and traditional authority? And do you think this is necessarily a dangerous or undesirable development? Primarily it is an unavoidable development that should not be lamented so much as is taken as a challenge. And secondly, the simplification of the scholastic canon that is speeded by the Internet (but which in itself is a development that started much earlier, in the 18th century C.E.) is but one side of a larger development which at heart is dialectical. One the one side, the complicated scholastic tradition is reduced to relatively simple truths but on the other hand, these truths get reappropriated by many more people than ever before, and in the process of this appropriation new ways of thinking are engendered, which in turn will lead to a new culture, or rather, new rich cultures, and new traditions, over time. In your opinion, to what extent is Islam represented on the internet? And in compared to other religions? With regard to the first part of the question, it is noticeable that the representation of Islam on the Internet started from the periphery so to speak- from the US- (and European) based on Diaspora. For long, their voices on the Internet were much more prominent than voices from the established centers of Islamic learning in the Muslim heartlands, and that has sent the note, to an extent. What are the most popular Islamic websites on the net? It is not al-Azhar, or the Zaytuna or Deoband. Rather, it is sites like Islam Online, Amr Khaled, Islamweb, al-islam.com, Isalm Todayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Sites that operate from the sides of the old establishment, if you will (and I include Islamweb from Qatar and al-Islam.com from Sakhr among the sides here). So, the representation of Islam on the Internet clearly has changed from what it was before. And one may also argue that for seasoned users those who know how to find things the plurality of voices has dramatically increased. If one knows how to find, one can find pretty much anything on the net today, including pretty much any of the many representations of Islam. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, today society is in the middle of a technological boom. People can either choose to take advantage of this era, or simply let it pass them by. The Internet is a very powerful tool. It has many advantages; however, people need to be extremely aware of the disadvantages as well. People on the Internet participate in a unique electronic culture. Like all other cultures, the Internet culture has its own norms, standards and expectations for members of the electronic community. A number of resources exist to help people who are new to the Internet learning about its electronic culture. These resources usually address one of two topics: ethics or etiquette. Internet etiquette, which is often called netiquette, is similar to and often overlaps with ethical issues; however, netiquette is less a strict code of conduct and more an understanding of what constitutes good manners and electronic community expectation

The Flea and The Sun Rising Essay -- Literary Analysis, John Donne

The metaphysical era in poetry started in the 17th century when a number of poets extended the content of their poems to a more elaborate one which investigated the principles of nature and thought. John Donne was part of this literary movement and he explored the themes of love, death, and religion to such an extent, that he instilled his own beliefs and theories into his poems. His earlier works, such as The Flea and The Sunne Rising, exhibit his sexist views of women as he wrote more about the physical pleasures of being in a relationship with women. However, John Donne displays maturity and adulthood in his later works, The Canonization and A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning, in which his attitude transcends to a more grown up one. The content of his earlier works focused on pursuing women for his sexual desires, which contrasts heavily with his latter work. John Donne’s desire for physical pleasure subsides and he seeks to gain an emotional bond with women, as expressed in his later poetry. The two poems The Flea and The Sunne Rising capture John Donne’s primary motive to get in bed with women. Donne wrote these poems at an early age, and at that time he was seeking nothing more than a sexual relationship. His poetry depicted clearly how sexist he was at the time and how he used to perceive women as a medium of pleasure. The content of his early poems express an immature and desperate image of Donne, who is dominated by his fixation on the sensuality of women. In The Flea, Donne shows his desperation to have sex by addressing a flea that has sucked the blood of both him and the woman he is persuading. It is quite awkward how the poet uses this obscure image of the flea as a symbol of love and sex to convince the woman that... ...) This is one of the most important claims that Donne makes because he indirectly inducts himself and Anne into the canon of saints, thus making them sacred. The poem ends with Donne calling upon all those who have suffered from similar criticisms; this further dignifies Donne as a saint-like figure. Therefore, both of Donne’s latter poems expose the transformation that Donne acquires when he meets Anne. His sexist attitude and views transcend to a more spiritual and emotional one. John Donne’s early works viewed women as tools for sexual pleasure, as seen in The Flea and The Sunne Rising. He was very sexist and objectified women as sexual beings. However, when he meets Anne, his work becomes more concentrated on the spiritual and emotional aspects of love. He views Anne as an equal and considers his experiences with her to be more romantic in a non-sensual way.

Essays --

Sports injuries can have a shocking impact on athletes and the search for effective psychological rehabilitation methods have been ongoing. One study using the limitless sports injury survey found that athletes that healed the fastest engaged in more positive self-talk goal setting and healing imagery than slower healing athletes. It was found that the mental strategy of goal setting was the most productive technique and scientists believe the reason for this is that it is easy to learn and is within the athlete's control. The results of the study would suggest that there are many psychological factors that play an vital role in injury recovery. A number of other studies have demonstrated that speed of recovery was artificial by goal setting, attitude, descriptions, and social support. One study verified that imagery can be helpful in injury rehabilitation. Imagery is used often in training and competition, but athletes don't use it as often for recovery from healing and need to be reminded of its efficacy. It has been found that an athlete's inability to return to pre-injury performance levels was due to psychological factors and stressors rather than physical ones. One of the factors with an impact on performance levels post-injury is the athlete's perceived incapability to demonstrate the same skills they enjoyed pre-injury. One example of this is a rugby player who returned to the game after suffering a shoulder injury. He favored the injured shoulder and used the other shoulder more frequently. The result of this behavior was that he put extra pressure on the one shoulder setting himself up for future injuries. When an athlete returns to the game before they are truly ready the risk for more injures or re-injury is i ncrease... ...s can help distract you from pain. There are several steps to take in order to change negative self-talk that leads to increased pain into positive self-talk which speeds up the healing process and leads to decreased pain. The first of these steps is for the individual to make a list of all negative self-talk engaged in. The second step is to change each negative statement on the list into a positive statement. One example would be the following, I'm tired and don't feel like attending my support group tonight, but if I don't go I might miss out on some good tips like the ones I learned last month. I can always leave the meeting a little early step is to practice the positive self-talk. Even though it doesn't come naturally and may take some time to become comfortable with keep at it until it becomes second nature. (Anybody's Sports Medicine Book pg. 156-172)

The Great Gatsby and the American Dream :: The Great Gatsby

Introduction F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, â€Å"The Great Gatsby†, is one of the few novels he wrote in 1925. The novel takes place during the 1920’s following the 1st World War. It is written about a young man named Nick, from the east he moved to the west to learn about the bond business. He ends up moving next to a mysterious man named Gatsby who ends up giving him the lesion of his life. After love circles with Gatsby and his cousin Daisy, lastly Jordan and gossip resulting with killings end up discussed over his experience resulting going back east. Through reading the book, it shows how the experience of selfness and World War 1 made the high social optimistic over their lives. It showed how they wanted to forget the past and build themselves back into their social class. Also, by the experience of Daisy and Jordan treatment from the men in the stories allows the reader to see how time still hasn’t changed how relationships work with men. This novel is a great novel to give an example on how reality is to people even the high class. Through the discussion of the passage, poem and scholarly article will show how the path towards the American Dream can turn into a negative or positive outcome in a person’s life. Theme When Mr. Fitzgerald wrote â€Å"The Great Gatsby,† he described the actions of the human society. In a certain way, not only did he describe and critic the high class but also the lower class, which ended up critiquing the American Dream. The American Dream was a idea give to believe that a human being should pursue being happy, wealthy, and loved which has cause any human being to go in search for this idea. All that is end up being found is the fact of having the illusion of having more material is to be happy than being happy by valuing what you already have. Gatsby would be a great example of not valuing his materials. He had everything he wanted – except Daisy of course – but he never used or appreciated the materials he was surrounded by. â€Å"You know, old sport, I’ve never used that pool all summer,† said Gatsby. He didn’t value anything but Daisy since the reason for everything he did was for her. It only leaves to question to whether he really loved her or wanted her wealth or maybe just even the accomplishment of having her.

Grimshaw V. Ford Motor Company Essay

Facts: 1. Ford developed a new model, later to be known as the pinto, changing the design drastically. 2. Ford discovered that the fuel tanks position was in a ‘vulnerable place’ and the car failed to met crash safety standards. 3. Ford was aware of the small cost to help the fuel tanks meet standards but refused to use them due to the slight delay in production that might occur and approved production of the prototype. 4. A 1972 Ford Pinto was involved in a rear ending when it unexpectedly stalled causing the care (presumably the fuel tank) to burst into flames. 5. A Mrs. Lilly Gray was died as result and her son 13 year-old Richard suffered severe and permanently disfiguring burns to his face and entire body. Legal Procedure/History: 1. Grimshaw sued the Ford Motor Company for punitive damages. 2. Grimshaw awarded damages in the amount of about $3.5 million. 3. Ford appeals punitive damages. 4. Appeal is denied and decision to award punitive damages up held. Issues (Holdings): 1. Did Ford exhibit â€Å"malice† which is necessary to establish in order to award punitive damages? (Yes) 2. The punitive damages awarded are too high for current Californian law, is this unlawful? (No) Reasoning: 1. Malice has been also interpreted to mean â€Å"a conscious disregard of the probability that the actor’s conduct will result injury to others.† 2. Although higher than monetary penalties under government regulations, the punitive damages are to prevent firms in the future from disregarding safety and possible negative consequences. Rule of Law: 1. The primary reason for having and awarding punitive damages is to â€Å"punish and deter the conduct by wrongdoers and others.† Your Response: I completely agree with the decision. Questions 1. Punitive damages were awarded due to the fact that Ford was found to have acted with malice in regards to their production of the Pinto. It has been also interpreted to mean ‘a conscious disregard of the probability that the actor’s conduct will result injury to others.† And this is exactly what Ford did when they disregarded the fuel tank findings and refused to add the safety precautions to the fuel tank. Although higher than monetary penalties under government regulation, the punitive damages were high in order to set an example so that firms in the future would be deterred from disregarding safety and possible negative consequences when producing their products. 2. Although the cost is higher than the saving in the short run I believe it would be to Ford’s benefit to take on the cost of adding the additional safety measures due to the fact that in the long run with more and more deaths attributed to what could be called the ‘greedy, callous’ nature of Ford, sales could decrease. By absorbing the $137.5 million and allowing the public to know of Ford’s action (due to our concern over their safety) could possibly generate a good amount of future sales. On the other hand should the public discover that deaths could have been prevented public trust in the company could decline causing Ford’s sales to suffer the same fate. 3. First the actual cause of Holmes accident should be verified, if it was indeed due to the tires, then yes he should be allowed to appeal for a trial. 4. First of all, even though they bare the heaviest blame (in my opinion) they weren’t the only ones responsible for the advancement of the Pinto’s design. Putting them in jail would just make way for Ford to replace them with others who could potentially make the same decision. It would also be sending the message to other firm’s officers to make sure that they aren’t the ones holding the bag at the end of the day. This only put a few in the industry on guard. Having the entire company pay punitive damages causes the entire industry to be on guard and makes all within the company liable. On the other hand, having to pay such exorbitant amounts could potentially cause a company to go out of business or cause them to downsize (fire employees to save money) effecting all that work there, whether or not they were involved in the design and decision making process. (I.e. they could fire janitors that work at their offices.)

Challenging depression: The go-to guide for clinicians and patients Essay

Dealing with depression Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As a result of high rate of depression in the community, researchers wanted to find out how this depression can be reduced. To start it up he described depression as a resultant effect of physical stress. Many suggestions to deal with this subject were put forward thus making the researcher to come up with a hypothesis claiming that there will either be reduced rates of depression if depressed victims are subjected to physical exercises or there will be no effect.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Before coming up with above hypothesis it was noted that mostly depression affects you if you are idle or if small things build up in your mind for a long time. The main objective of research was to find out if physical exercise can overcome depression in away. To full fill this, a group of depressed victims were to be exposed to physical exercise. To know whether their rate of depression is reducing, their behaviours were compared to non depressed individuals.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To make his research successful, victims were required to fill in forms which reflected the level of activity and also to fill rating scales on thoughts feeling and moods. It was noted that one common behaviour different between the depressed and non depressed is the rate at which they smoked. Most none depressed though smokers did not smoke at high rates as opposed to the depressed. It was further noted that as physical training went on, the rate at which the depressed individuals smoked reduced.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Scientifically it is true that when a person subjected to physical exercise, endorphins and morphine chemicals are released in the body. Both chemicals trigger a good feeling in the body thus reducing depression (Zetin, M., Hoepner, C. T., & Kurth, 2010).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   From above findings it was concluded that one of the cheapest ways to reduce depression is to subject depressed individuals to physical exercise. The researchers hypothesis that is physical exercise reduces depression that was tested against physical exercise can not reduce stress was accepted. References Zetin, M., Hoepner, C. T., & Kurth, J. (2010). Challenging depression: The go-to guide for clinicians and patients. New York: W. W. Norton & Company Source document

Prenatal and Postpartum Scenario Essay

There is importance to providing a safe and healthy environment for your child to develop and grow, whether it be during gestation or the first few months of life. In this pamphlet we will discuss the activities that a pregnant or postpartum woman can do to positively affect their infants future development. There will be discussion as to why each activity is important and also how it will affect your Childs future development. The following activities are for pregnant women who want to positively affect their future Childs development. During the gestational period playing music has shown to be beneficial to a Childs development, studies show an enhancement in verbal skills, as well as spatial, and emotional skills (Ho, March). The next activity is frequently talking to your unborn child, this helps to build a bond and your baby will recognize your voice at birth. Engaging in belly massage throughout your pregnancy will assure your unborn child it is loved even before you are able to hold him or her in your arms. There is a way to get your partner involved to in this activity, having your partner massage your belly with oil will release pleasure hormones to your child, providing you with stress relief and relaxation. It is important to always be aware of stress levels while pregnant, stress hormones can make your child feel anxious. Engaging in activities such as prenatal yoga, meditation, or even relaxing in a warm bath can provide much needed relief from stress. (Black, Jan). The activities in this section are focused on postpartum period to positively affect your Childs future development. The first activity is skin to skin contact with your newborn. This will foster the bonding between you and your child. This helps the newborn to feel a sense of security and builds positive self esteem. This can also help to reduce pain from childbirth experience for new mothers (Berger, 2010). The next activity is simply talking and reading to your child everyday. This  activity will develop language skills through imitation of the sounds heard, it also helps to offer a larger vocabulary to your child. (Berger, 2010). Another great activity is giving your baby a massage. This will relax your baby which is especially helpful at bedtime. There are therapeutic reasons as well, it can reduce gas and colic making for a happy baby and mom. (Spehar & Frey, 2001). References Berger, K. (2010). Invitation to the Lifespan. New York, NY: Worth Publishers. Black, S. (January 17, 2001). Getting to Know You†¦:Tune into Your Swelling Belly to Give Your Baby a Head Start. Daily Record, 8. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/docview/327648644 Ho, L. (March 31 2000). Unborn Thrive on Music. South China Morning Post, 4. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/docview/265578863 Spehar, J., & Frey, R. (2001). Infant Massage. The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine, 3(3.4), 2328-2331.

Dhaping human behaviour Essay

Socialisation is the lifelong process by which human behaviour is shaped through experience in social institutions (e.g. family, which is a crucial factor in primary socialisation). Through socialization, individuals learn the values, norms (formal and informal rules), and beliefs of a given society.  In considering the nature of the self, it is necessary to include a still more fundamental social scientific issue – the extent to which human beings are being formed by biological inheritance (i.e. genetic determinism), or through socialisation (i.e. cultural determinism); the issue called nature-nurture debate. Another way to put this is the difference between instinct and learned behaviour, where instinct is inherited, and learned behaviour acquired through socialisation. Sociologists does not really consider instinctive behaviour; therefore, most sociologists would only accept there are inborn needs of food, shelter and sex. Other than these three, sociologists prefer the fact that human behaviour is shaped by social experience rather than that it is biologically ‘given’.  However, although the direction of sociology is towards social explanation, there is no contradiction between social and biological explanations of behaviour. It is just a matter of empirical research by biologists, sociologists, social biologists and by other relevant subject specialists to find explanations of human behaviour. According to sociologist Charles Cooley, there are two types of socialisation: primary and secondary. Those factors that are involved in primary socialisation are usually small, involve face-to-face interaction and communication and allow the individual to express the whole self, both feelings and intellect. Usually, those factors are the family, peer groups, of close friends and closely-knit groups of neighbours. Within these groups, through personal experience, the individual learns ‘primary values’ such as love, loyalty, justice, sharing, and etc. Freud claimed that the first few years of a person’s life – those usually spent amongst primary groups – are the most important in forming the structure of the person’s character. In contrast, secondary groups are usually large, more impersonal and formally organised, and exist for specific purposes. In the secondary stage, the individual learns by himself or herself more values and norms which are to be applied for the individual to fit in. This includes learning how to organise and conduct oneself in formal contexts (backgrounds) and how to behave towards people who have different degrees of status and authority. One of the crucial agents of secondary socialisation is school. Trade unions and professional associations, also secondary socialisation agents, can affect an individual’s behaviour when an individual agrees to conform to the beliefs, aims and regulations of the organisation. Therefore, indirectly, the individual accepts a socialising influence on his or her conduct. In both primary and secondary groups, the mass media (e.g. radio, television, the cinema) also plays a vital part in socialising individuals. For example during primary socialisation, by watching certain cartoons, a child (although indirectly) can already be socialised of his or her gender roles, such as patriarchal ideology (e.g. where the cartoon might portray the girl as the weaker one, always being bullied and being the helpless, damsel in distress; while the boy will then be the hero). Later, during secondary socialisation, magazines (a form of mass media) can also reinforce gender roles such as saying that girls must learn to cook so that they could cook for their husbands later in marriage. One way of studying the role of society in shaping human behaviour is to examine the development of individuals who were either completely or nearly excluded from any social interaction for a period of their lives. This includes cases of those who spent most of their childhood isolated from others in the wild (such as the ‘Wild boy of Aveyron’ and the two girls, ‘Wolf children of Bengal’) and those who were cut off from others through confinement (imprisonment), also during childhood (such as the cases of Anna and Isabelle). The case of the wolf children revealed that their behaviour was very similar to the wolves that had apparently raised them. They preferred raw meat, moved on all fours and lacked any form of speech. There is a more recent case described by O’Donnell where a 14 year old boy found in the Syrian desert had exceptional speed and had adopted some of the behavioural characteristics of the gazelles he was found with.