The Fall of the Roman Empire - 609 Words

The Fall of the Roman Empire There are adherents to single factors, but more people think Rome fell because of a combination of such factors as Christianity, and economy, and military problems. Even the rise of Islam is proposed as the reason for Romes fall, by some who think the Fall of Rome happened at Constantinople in the 15th Century. Most people think it occurred during the fifth century, after the western division of the empire. There were several reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire. Many often blame the initiation of Christianity for the decline. Christianity made many Roman citizens into pacifists, making it more difficult to defend against the barbarian attackers. Some say the money used to build churches could have†¦show more content†¦Another factor that had contributed to decline and fall of the Roman Empire was that during the last 400 years of the empire, the scientific achievements of the Romans were limited almost entirely to engineering and the organiz ation of public services. They built marvelous roads, bridges, and aqueducts. They established the first system of medicine for the benefit of the poor. But since the Romans relied so much on human and animal labor, they failed to invent many new machines or find new technology to produce goods more efficiently. They could not provide enough goods for their growing population. They were no longer conquering other civilizations and adapting their technology, they were actually losing territory they could not longer maintain with their legions For years, the well-disciplined Roman army held the barbarians of Germany back. Then in the third century A. D. the Roman soldiers were pulled back from the Rhine-Danube frontier to fight civil war in Italy. This left the Roman border open to attack. Gradually Germanic hunters and herders from the north began to overtake Roman lands in Greece and Gaul (later France). Then in 476 A. D. the Germanic General Odovacar overthrew the last of the Roman Emperors, Augustulus Romulus. From then on, the western part of the empire was ruled by the Germanic chieftain. Roads and bridges were left in disrepair and fields leftShow MoreRelatedFall of the Roman Empire1288 Words   |  6 PagesThe Pax Romana was a two hundred year time period where the Romans had peace and prosperity under Augustus. The Roman empire started to decline at the end of the prevail of the last five emperors, Marcus Aurelius in 161-180 A.D. The rulers in the next century had no idea how to deal with the problems the empire was having. There was many reasons to the fall of the Roman Empire but three stood out the most. The preliminary reason was the economy begins to decline. The alternative reasoning was RomeRead MoreThe Fall Of The Roman Empire1537 Words   |  7 PagesAncient Rome was an empire so dominant, wealthy and economically- stable which came to a dramatic fall in the period of 250AD- 500AD. Ancient Rome faced unexplained unfortunate events which crumb led the Great Empire from the affluent empire to a impoverished society. For centuries historians have timelessly theorised and analysed many debates and research in relation to the Fall of the Roman Empire. What really caused the predominate Roman Empire to fall? Did Rome fall naturally? Was disease, suchRead MoreFall of the Roman Empire758 Words   |  4 PagesTaylor Davino Professor Horsley HIS 126 3 March 2010 The fall of the Roman Empire Political, economic and social aspects were all involved in the fall of the Roman Empire. In 395 A.D., Rome was divided into two empires, with one capital in Rome and the other in Constantinople. During that time, the western Roman Empire was being invaded by barbarian tribes from the North. In 410, the Visigoth tribe succeeded in conquering the western capital in Rome. In 476, the western EmperorRead MoreThe Fall Of The Roman Empire1419 Words   |  6 PagesThe Roman Empire was a powerful governing body of extensive political and social structures throughout western civilization. How did this empire fall and were internal factories responsible? Slow occurrences in succession to one another led to the fall of the empire rather than one single event. The fall of the Roman Empire was a combination of both internal and external pressures, not just one, leading up to the complete decay of the cities—Rome and Constantinople. However, one could argue how oneRead MoreThe Fall Of Ro man Empire1185 Words   |  5 PagesThe Fall of Roman Empire Roman Empire was considered as one of the most influential and dominant Empire in the history that has ever existed. â€Å"The Roman Empire at its zenith in the period of the Principate (roughly, 27 BC to AD 235) covered vast tracts of three continents, Europe, Africa, and Asia† (Garnsey). It was an ancient, modern Empire, and it supported anyone who made discoveries and technological improvements. The Empire was the strongest governing body in the Mediterranean. If the RomanRead MoreThe Fall Of The Roman Empire1440 Words   |  6 PagesSophie Loren Plays a Leading Role in the Fall of the Roman Empire? The reason for the fall of the Roman Empire is a controversial topic under much historical debate. How did such a great empire, known for being one of the largest that lasted over a millennium, fall? The Roman Empire transitioned from a republic to an empire in 31 BCE. Augustus Caesar was the first emperor. He created harmony in Rome, but not in calendars as he added August as the eighth month to follow July, which was named afterRead MoreFall of Roman Empire1175 Words   |  5 PagesThe Fall of the Roman Empire The Ancient Roman empire was one of the most prominent and successful societies of its time period. By the end of their reign, the Romans had conquered almost all of the Mediterranean including parts of present day Europe, Asia, and Africa. Rome was at its strongest during the rule of Augustus Caesar, this time was known as the â€Å"Pax Romana† or Roman peace. It wasn’t until later, when Emperor Trajan took over in about 98 C.E. that the Empire reached its peak. AfterRead MoreThe Fall Of The Roman Empire1438 Words   |  6 PagesThe Roman Empire was one of the most powerful empires in the history of mankind. In 476 CE Odoacer defeated Romulus Augustus to capture Rome; most historians agree that this was the official end of the Western Roman Empire. There is much debate on how exactly Rome declined and eventually fell. The fall of Rome was a long process that took place over many centuries. There are five main schools of thought on why Rome fell. First, Christiani ty, offered by Edward Gibbons; He suggests that ChristianityRead MoreThe Fall Of The Roman Empire1495 Words   |  6 PagesFor a long period of time, the debate about the cause of the fall of the Roman Empire has been a popular topic amongst historians. Most of these historians look at the issue from a standpoint that accepts that there were most likely several causes. The main root of the issue is whether or not these causes were internal or external. Some historians even go more in depth and try to hypothesize what the internal or external causes were. In fact, Adrian Goldsworthy and Peter Heather do just this whenRead MoreThe Fall Of The Roman Empire1430 Words   |  6 Pages While the fall of the Roman Empire is well known, the exact causes of why it fell can be difficult to pinpoint. Many historians believe that Rome s downfall was due to poor leadership, weakened economics, or perhaps a combination of the two along with other seemingly unrelated factors. However, there is a string of evidence suggesting that there were three main components that took place to bring about the fall of the Roman Empire. These determinant attributes did not happen all at once, and there

The New Jim Crow Mass Incarceration Essay - 1401 Words

Michelle Alexander’s book, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, examines mass incarceration in the United States, why the criminal justice system works the way it does towards minorities, the detriments associated with mass incarceration as it relates to offenders, and much more. In the introduction of her book, Alexander immediately paints the harsh reality of mass incarceration with the story of Jarvious Cotton who is denied the right to vote among other rights because he, â€Å"has been labeled as a felon and is currently on parole† (1). Other information Alexander presents in her introduction are her qualifications as an author of the book, and gives a brief summary of each chapter and how each one is laid out. Her qualifications are she is African-American civil rights attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and is also an Associate Professor at the University of Stanford Law School. From a critical standpoint, Alexande r seems very qualified to write on the topic, being part of the marginalized group and also being an expert in the legal field of which the topic covers, enhances her ethos to where one could consider her an expert in mass incarceration topics, as they relate to African-Americans. Overall, the introduction of her book does a great job starting out giving a stark reality of topic at hand, giving brief statistical references about mass incarceration in the United States, and giving an outline for her book. TheShow MoreRelatedThe New Jim Crow : Mass Incarceration1370 Words   |  6 Pagesunrecognizable ways that fit into the fabric of the American society to render it nearly invisible to the majority of Americans. Michelle Alexander, in her book, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness shatters this dominantly held belief. The New Jim Crow makes a reader profoundly question whether the high rates of incarceration in the United States is an attempt to maintain blacks as an underclass. Michelle Alexander makes the assertion that â€Å"[w]e have not ended racial caste in America;Read MoreThe New Jim Crow : Mass Incarceration1361 Words   |  6 PagesBook Review Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness The premise of the ‘The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness’ by Michelle Alexander, is to refute claims that racism is dead and argue that the War on Drugs and the federal drug policy unfairly targets communities of color, keeping a large majority of black men of varying ages in a cycle of poverty and behind bars. The author proves that racism thrives by highlighting theRead MoreThe New Jim Crow : Mass Incarceration1477 Words   |  6 PagesThe New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Color Blindness, by Michelle Alexander. The New Press, 2010. 290 pages. Reviewed by Ashlei G Cameron. Michelle alexander is a highly acclaimed civil rights lawyer, advocate and legal scholar. As an associate professor of law at Standford law school, she directed the Civil Rights Clinic and pursued a research agenda focused on the intersection of race and criminal justice. In 2005. Alexander won a Soros Justice Fellowship that supported the writingRead MoreThe New Jim Crow : Mass Incarceration1199 Words   |  5 Pagesthose who did read her book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration In The Age of Colorblindness. Michelle Alexander stated that The most despised in America is not gays, transgenders, nor even illegal immigrants - it is criminals. That was an important quote since the stereotypical criminal in our racially divided America in most cases are those of color also known as blacks. This is why the criminal justice system in the United States promotes the mass incarceration of blacks that can be seen throughRead MoreThe New Jim Crow : Mass Incarceration1081 Words   |  5 Page s Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness outlines how the criminal justice system has systematically designed new methods of discriminating against African Americans. The book advocates for racial justice, specifically, for African Americans and contends they [African Americans] were targeted and subsequently incarcerated, by white voters and public officials, through the War on Drugs campaign. President Reagan and his Administration exploited racialRead MoreThe New Jim Crow : Mass Incarceration1347 Words   |  6 PagesHunter Silver Dr. Kendall Smith English 103-4120 10 November 2015 High Incarceration Rates Due to Racism Racism effects the the high incarceration rates according to Michelle Alexander, the author of â€Å"The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. This scholar writes about how the civil rights movement has been taken back by the mass incarceration of black Americans in the war on drugs. Alexander also explains how the severe consequences that these black men carry on afterRead MoreThe New Jim Crow Mass Incarceration Essay1797 Words   |  8 PagesJim Crow laws are regarded as part of the racial caste system that operated in the Southern and Border States in the years between 1877 and the mid-1960s. Under the series of the anti-black laws, African Americans were treated as inferior and second class citizens. The laws have been argued to have represented the legitimization of the anti-black racism in the US. The book The New Jim Crow Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness is written by Michelle Alexander and originally published byRead MoreThe New J im Crow : Mass Incarceration Essay1096 Words   |  5 PagesAlexander, Michelle. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. New York: The New Press, 2010. Study Questions for â€Å"The New Jim Crow†: 1) What is the relationship between the War on Drugs and the spread of crack cocaine through inner city neighborhoods in the 1980s? President Ronald Reagan officially announced the current drug war in 1982, before crack became an issue in the media or a crisis in poor black neighborhoods. A few years after the drug war was declared, crackRead MoreThe New Jim Crow : Mass Incarceration1239 Words   |  5 PagesIn 2013, Michelle Alexander published her book, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, hoping it served as a call to action. Immediately this book received a huge amount of attention because of the controversial topics presented. This book opened a lot of people’s eyes to the term colorblindness, a sociological perspective referring to the disregard of racial characteristics. There is no racial data or profiling, no classifications, and no categorizations or distinctionsRead MoreThe New Jim Crow : Mass Incarceration1547 Words   |  7 PagesSSP101 Final Michelle Alexander is a noble civil rights advocate and writer. She is best known for her 2010 book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the age of colorblindness. Michelle Alexander writes that the many gains of the civil rights movement have been undermined by the mass incarceration of black Americans in the war on drugs. She says that although Jim Crow laws are now off the books, millions of blacks arrested for minor crimes remain marginalized and disfranchised, trapped by

Women and Advertising Free Essays

string(175) " women is to look like the next model in the Victoria’s Secret advertisements, which is one of the few catalogues a man generally grabs from the mail pile nd eagerly reads\." 2AHIFA? JELAI It’s the Image that Is Imperfect Advertising and Its Impact on Women Advertisements and media images have a stronger impact on shaping gender images than books on feminism and scholarly experiments on gender equality. Stereotypes and generalisations in ads continue to objectify women, and place stress solely on their appearance, thus devaluing their innate worth. INDHU RAJAGOPAL, JENNIFER GALES Prologue I n examining higher education, there is a tendency to assume that all students have equal opportunities and only merit matters. We will write a custom essay sample on Women and Advertising or any similar topic only for you Order Now There are, however, some unique factors that mitigate chances for qual treatment for all groups because of different ascriptive characteristics of students who wish to access, and achieve merit in, higher education. Gender is one such ascriptive characteristic that blocks girls and women both socially and academically from realising their fullest potential. In this paper, we will examine how gender-based social images that are transmitted through the media act as barriers to realising students’ full potential in their life. Could higher education intervene in and vitiate these media images? As far as gender issues are concerned, it can be proven that the power of advertisements nd media images has a stronger impact in shaping gender images than what books on feminism and scholarly experiments have on gender equality. On the assumption that education shapes our intellect, we proceed to explore in this paper how media shape the images, especially those of girls and women. The I mage-Making As we sit here watching the new Levi’s commercial – yes, the one with the catchy tune with the singing belly buttons – we find ourselves becoming a victim to the Economic and Political Weekly power of advertising. We were thinking how good these jeans would be especially for someone with my body type as we hum he song and do the dance. Then it hit us we are turning into the advertiser’s best friend – the one who believes anything they say. Furthermore, we are getting ready to tell our friends about the new ‘item’ on the market and how there are jeans to fit women with the wide hip too! The power that advertisements carry with them is sensational. They have the ability to change and shape people’s opinions of themselves with one picture of an image that is technologically modified to represent the advertiser’s perspective of what is seen as perfect by viewers. The key word is advertiser’s perspective bec ause often he person who has created what she or he deems as the ideal image has also created the model. Often advertisements do not correctly represent the majority of society or even a small percentage of how women actually look. This analysis is intended to enlighten readers on the effect advertisements carry with them, specifically on women. First the discussion will expand on the societal milieu that ads hold, and then continue to explain the effects consumerism and promotional messages on this group of individuals. By looking at advertisements, and at theoretical and scholarly literature as well as popular culture material on the topic, this nalysis will show how the images advertisements allude to can influence and shape a woman’s perspective of herself. Matlin (1987) explains how the media’s misrepresentation of women in advertise- August 10, 2002 ments has created plenty of stereotypical representations of women. She lists seven empirically documented stereoty pes that have been created by advertisements. Matlin’s1 sixth stereotype states that women’s bodies are used differently from men’s bodies in advertisements [Matlin 1987: 43]. In advertisements, men are shown accompanying the female and looking directly into the camera whereas females are portrayed with their eyes ooking away from the camera. Women are often shown in a sexual or vulnerable position in order to sell the product, whether it is an advertisement for shaving cream or alcoholic beverage, for instance, Edge Shaving Cream, Pepsi-Cola or Absolute Vodka. Is this a reasonable representation of how women act and dress? No, it is not; but these types of ads are able to change what women think they should look like. When magazines feature pages on â€Å"make your butt look good in every outfit†, you have to wonder whether your butt does not look good now. You think: â€Å"I must have had a problem all along and I never noticed! Then, as you read on, y ou see some skinny and obviously attractive woman is advertising this article, which makes you think, â€Å"I will benefit and look like her if I read this article and buy the product†! Matlin illustrates how, when women look at advertisements showing beautiful female models, they tend to be less satisfied with their own attractiveness [Matlin 1987:44]. It is evident that the media will be the catalyst for these women to have body image problems. But do you blame them? Anyone would be self-conscious of his/her image after looking through a magazine filled with attractive women who portray unattainable images. Matlin describes how the medium is an important force in shaping reality [Matlin 1987: 43]. It is these stereotyped representations that help to shape womens’ opinions of what they should look like. Often girls and women forget that, and become sensitised by advertisements. They do not realise that they are conforming to what the ads show by reading the magazine ad’s prescription that will help them look like the woman in the ad in just three weeks! Realistically, these gender stereotypes only create more barriers for women. By creating 3333 these unrealistic images of women both genders are affected by these unreasonable nd often unattainable expectations and goals. The power of ads shapes men’s expectations for finding women who are over five feet and six inches tall, but still weighing less than 100 pounds, who look great in tight clothes, and demure and submissive. This is not a practical or reasonable expectation. In real life situations, it creates a downwa rd spiral of disappointment and disillusionment. We live in a world where the goal of many North American women is to look like the next model in the Victoria’s Secret advertisements, which is one of the few catalogues a man generally grabs from the mail pile nd eagerly reads. You read "Women and Advertising" in category "Essay examples" Kang tries to answer the question: what messages do magazine advertisements on women transmit to society (1997: 979)? Following closely on Erving Goffman’s original study on gender analysis, the findings in this article are quite similar to the original survey that not much of a change has occurred over the years in the way women’s roles are portrayed. Advertisements have consistently confined women to the traditional role of a mother, or beauty, or sex symbol, and these do not represent women’s diversity [Kang 1997: 981]. This is similar to what Matlin refers to as gender stereotypes in ads. Ads use women not as humans but as objects. Stereotypes and generalisations in ads continue to objectify women, and place stress solely on their appearance, thus devaluing their innate worth. Kilbourne (1995) points out that a picture ad by only looking at one part of the body, for instance, the breasts, dismembers the woman’s body and objectifies her. This effect is demonstrated in alcohol or beverages or perfume ads that use a women’s body as the bottle. Ads seem to show more often skinny women cleaning the bathroom, making dinner or even worse putting on make-up; the women in these pictures are never heavy or even verage in size. The ads are made to portray unrealistic and over-exaggerated images. Women may indeed be engaged in such tasks; but how many women at home are organising their husband’s clothes and dusting antiques, wearing the latest makeup collection or the newest and trendiest outfit? These ads are so reminiscent of the 1950s image of June Cleaver waiting for her husband Ward to come home, while she cooks dinner and waters the plants wearing her pearl necklace. Again, we 3334 see the emphasis on the woman being attractive, no matter what role she plays. Once more, we see that advertisements ranslate and portray attractiveness as being tall, skinny and with flawless skin to condition the onlookers and attract them to such representations made in the ad. Kilbourne is a pioneering researcher on the topic of misrepresentation of women in advertisements. She is an avid lecturer, and has produced many videos on the topic of her lectures. Her most recent book Can’t Buy My Love (1999) talks about the way advertising can influence women and mould their opinions. Just as we are more vulnerable to the glory and heartbreak of romantic love than we will ever be again, at no time are we more vulnerable to the eductive power of advertising and of addiction than we are in our adolescence [Kilbourne 1999: 129]. Thus, we are shown how a woman is actually influenced by ads and can end up physically trying to change to fit what she sees as acceptable because the advertisers show her that she needs to be skinny. In her video ‘Killing us Softly 3’, Kilbourne continues to look at magazine advertisements and the images they promote. She looks carefully at what Goffman outlines as his â€Å"categories† to analyse advertisements. 2 Kilbourne’s mandate is to make people take ads seriously because they do have an effect on humans and specially marginalised groups in this case, women. In her video, she touches on the obvious, but often forgotten, fact that technology plays a part in what we view as the perfect-looking person [Kilbourne 2000]. It is impossible to remove every line or blemish to create the illusion we viewers try to create. That is why I feel that ads are not healthy for women because they give that fond hope that we could look like that person if we just, do/use ‘this’ and take ‘that’. What many viewers do not realise, as Kilbourne so quickly pointed out, is that often what we see are advertisements that have been air-brushed or created from a atabase of physical parts of various attractive human beings [Kilbourne 1995]. So Kilbourne asks the real question: when only 5 per cent of women can look like models why do we rush around to look like something we cannot be? [Kilbourne 2000]. Kilbourne’s research proves that young girls are easily influenced by these ads and will do anything to create the look granted as attractive. Cultivating a thinner body offers some hope of control and success to young women with a poor self- image [Kilbourne 1999: 132]. The image of beauty in thinness is often the only body type ever advertised, and therefore shown to women. Marilyn Monroe was a national sex symbol, but was a size 12! [Kilbourne 2000]. It was originally thought that the extra skinny women would wear clothes well for a designer, and that way the audience would only see the outfit not the body because there was not much to see. Unfortunately, that plan backfired and the media had a field day with stressing the beauty of the women under the supposed item in question, the outfit. In the past, women who were skinny were not attractive, and were even thought of to be living a povertystricken life because they were so thin. In the present day, many young girls do not ee that these images of being thin are unattainable, and turn to being anorexic or bulimic [Stemple and Tyler 1974: 272]. Having advertisers choose what is sexy is not correct or healthy for a society. Girls live day by day on what is cool or not because the latest issue of Cosmopolitan dictates what is cool. Their life revolves around the new ‘get fit diet’, or around the top that makes them look like they have extra big breasts. The advertisement in the Martha Stewart magazine (January 2002) is an example of how women of all ages can become the new target audience. It would be logical o assume that ‘Billi Jo’ can be seen as a middle-aged person (shown in the picture of herself in the inset before she lost weight). Following her use of the Jenny Craig Ultimate Choice Program, she was able to lose weight and feel good again. Keep in mind that it does state that results are not typical, but still the persuasive language and attractive picture only assist in making the advertisement truthful. The advertisement was featured in the prestigious Martha Stewart magazine. This magazine personifies a specific image of good taste and sophistication, which is another way to promote these ad images s acceptable. Kilbourne talks about the objectification of women. This is a common advertising tactic often used. â€Å"Many ads feature just a part of a woman’s body – a derriere, a headless torso† [Kilbourne 1999:258]. An article in Newsweek explored the truth of stereotypes and how these stereotypes affect the genders. In the eyes of Cross (1996), this can be seen as gender typing: the process by which we identify not only people, but also vocabulary and speech patterns, gestures and behaviours, objects Economic and Political Weekly August 10, 2002 and activities as either masculine or feminine [Cross 1996: 94]. By allowing this to happen, stereotypes are formed and perpetuated by the people who believe in these gender stereotypes. Claude Steele, a Stanford University psychologist, showed something more important – the impact on targets of a stereotype whose behaviour is most powerfully affected by it. A stereotype that pervades the culture the way ‘ditzy blondes’ and ‘forgetful seniors’ do, makes people painfully aware of how society views them – so painfully aware, in fact, that knowledge of stereotypes can affect how well they do on intellectual and other tasks [Begley 2000: 66]. This in turn emonstrates the truth of how gender stereotyping contributes to this problem and sustains its existence. Generalisations of this nature can be seen to have a role in advertising campaigns. Either they are the ads that create the gender stereotype or sustain it through pictures and catchy slogans, such as ‘you’ve come a long way, baby’. The a d for Victoria’s Secrets shows a woman, but all you see is her body with a caption of ‘all you see is curves’. This model’s gestures and behaviour are portrayed as feminine, and she only helps to further the idea of women as objects and more so as merely shadows in the dark. Another example of how popular culture material only encourages the stereotypes to exist is e-mail that defines what are seen to be the differences in male and female vocabulary patterns; this is a demonstration of what Cross defines as gender typing. Stemple and Tyler (1974) are able to give a brief synopsis of the historical changes of women in advertisements, ultimately showing how the portrayal of women has not changed very much over time. There is still the emphasis placed in the ads on what we should be, but not what we are. The ever so prominent theme still jumps out to the reader of how advertising elped to create an obsession with a woman’s physical appearance. The obsession became so deeply imbedded in women in a short span of time that they began to believe that if they did not work to look like the women in the advertisements – beautiful and youthful – they would never get or keep a man [Stemple and Tyler 1974: 272]. The most surprising aspect of this article was the survey conducted on how 30 college women interpreted these advertisements. Stemple and Tyler found that these women were not affected by the images the ads showed and felt no real Economic and Political Weekly negativity. These results were questionable, but still useful in showing the different assumptions that can be made on this topic. Not knowing the criteria or specifics of these individuals, I speculate that the sample that saw these ads was small, and maybe these women have been exposed to this type of ad so often that they are immune to the message and image from these ads. As mentioned earlier in this paper, Kilbourne talks about how ads need to be taken seriously and not disregarded because there is a larger picture that results out of the message the advertisements give off; the idea of ‘perfection’ for women. She has shown how women’s obsession with body image has been nurtured by the advertising industry, and how historically this has not changed the idea that only skinny and pretty women live on earth. Women have to remember that it is the image that is imperfect, not the body [Wrinkler 1994: 231]. Sullivan and O’Connor give you an idea of alternative bias on the topic of advertisements influencing what women think. Results indicate that current advertisements in some ways reflect more acutely the true diversity of women’s social and occupational roles than did those of earlier time periods (1988: 181). This is not to say that hanges have not occurred in the area of advertising. We have seen an increase in the appearance of males in magazines, but they are still not being degraded in the same manner as women are usually portrayed. This is an extreme limitation to a controversial argument that ads create an unrealistic image of what women should look like and in turn causes women to feel a large sense of insecurity about themselves. One reason for the findings could be that this article did take its conclusions from the late 1950s to the early 1980s. On the contrary, the earlier article by Stemple and Tyler (1974) concluded that not much as changed in the way women are shown in ads. Sullivan and O’Connor looked specifically at the connection between social changes and the way in which the media has reflected these changes in advertisements since 1910. These authors are able to argue that ads have gone against what they have been stereotyped to do; show women in the home, needing the help of a male, and as decorative pieces. They feel that those responsible for the creation of magazine advertising have begun to recognise the increasing economic and social status of women in America [Sullivan and O’Connor 1988: 188]. The reasons for August 10, 2002 hese assumptions could range from their choice of magazines analysed to the nature of sample group they used. Even though they were able to state that changes had occurred on the image and the way women are used, they still felt that there was room for improvement. How many ads realistically depict women in their true form? The argument would seem to centre on whether advertisements have changed to realistically portray women or that there is no change in their portrayal. But both sides will agree that there can always be more improvement in this area. The true goal of advertisers is to create an image hat will generate profits for the product they are selling. The question remains whether these advertising executives are conscious of the societal problems created by them or whether they have intentionally created them as part of their selling strategy. We will never be told. We do know is that they do profit from advertisements that encourage girls to want something more, something difficult to attain/achieve in the context of where they are now. Looking through va rious current magazines, it was apparent that the stereotypes are evident, but maybe not to the extent that we have seen in the past. Could a hange be taking place? Sullivan and O’Connor feel that advertisements are changing with time. Women should be better represented, and not as Matlin would say, stereotyped characters. Kilbourne disagrees with this so-called change, and feels that much larger problems have been created by advertisements. Her research has shown that women’s selfesteem goes down at adolescence due to advertisements that portray a fake reality of women to these susceptible teenage minds [Kilbourne 2000]. This is not to say that men are left out of this process of stereotyping. They are stereotyped too, but men are usually generalised as being too ld or extremely wealthy [Kilbourne 2000]. Advertisements for men often do not degrade them by comparing them to objects, or focus on their thighs being too large and hence needing the new cream to create long er legs in four days or less! Advertisements and Their Impact A recent article in a York University student newspaper, Excalibur (January 2002) illustrates the feeling the university student experiences with advertisements and the allure of new products. The caption defiantly uses gender-specific terms to only 3335 emphasis the stress of being a woman these days. If people do not ‘smooth their wrinkles or improve their pigment’, they ay not feel like a woman or even a person. This ad seems to carry plenty of sarcastic overtones of hate for this type of environment at York University. It seems that institutions such as a university are a focal point for advertisers to market their new ideas and watch if the trends take off. Another article in the university newspaper contributes to this materialistic critique of the university environment. The title, ‘You are What You Wear’, sums up the basic point of how the York students feel that clothes, and in a larger sense looks and appearance, shape the views of others. The interesting point of the article is that t is written from a black woman’s point of view on the topic of ‘label’ dressers. The author seems to be more embarrassed that black students follow the trends and sport the labels because, â€Å"wearing these name brands gives the wearer an elevated status† [Barnes 2002:8]. Her argument seems to be similar to mine, that if you know yourself, then you may not be caught up in this fashion trend. But when looking at university students and this fashion environment, I cannot help but question whether this is a problem only for this age group. Advertisements have now changed their target towards multi-audiences with ne ad. Why would we think that this label issue affects only our demographics? Well it does not, and the message sent through ads is that everyone should be a part of this cultural trend of dressing well. Advertisements have the power to make the poo r, rich, fat or skinny students feel insecure about their selves. If they did not, then what good would these ads be? The insecurity created by pictures ensures that the consumer will be spending or trying something to fix their appearance. Labels are just another area where advertisers use a name to target the audience. A name goes a long way, especially when ttractive individuals wear the advertised clothes. Klein (2000) attacks this problem created by advertisers. A major reason why these advertisements are placed in schools is due to one basic fact. The advertising agencies are aware that students form their opinions in this environment, and take them with them wherever they go. Is it not better to start at this easy, impressionable age and have students edified into believing what the advertisements preach? They want conformity and lack of decision on 3336 the consumer’s part. That is what I see as so ironic, we are in an institution to learn and form our own views and n ot try to be haped by others. Oddly enough, in a university or college, there is an effort made in using other people’s views, and then shaping our own, for example, to learn about Freud’s or Erikson’s theories on child socialisation and then creating your own point of view. The use of popular cultural material creates a vehicle that makes it a lot easier to shape a person’s point of view. This is second nature to the advertisers producing this abundance of ads in magazines. The university is seen as an ideal starting point. Klein focuses on the university as a tool/ venue used by brand-name companies to establish themselves. For example, many universities will turn to the scientific community for funding of new university building and locations, such as the University of Western Ontario’s 3M Centre devoted to research in the sports medicine field. Or they will accept donations placing these company names before the university name on the large sign that greets students before they enter their new learning environment. Klein concludes by saying how, â€Å"university campus in particular with their residences, libraries, green spaces and common standards for open and respectful discourse play a crucial, if now largely symbolic, role: they are the one lace left where young people can see a genuine public life being lived† [Klein 2000: 105]. This seems to be ideal but not evident from our conversation on advertisements and the power they hold to possess individuals to create unrealistic goals for themselves. Universities are filled with logos – ideals and images to follow which only crea te a larger plain of unrealistic pictures of what women should be like. The difference between viewing an image and hearing or imagining is that ones imagination can create an unrealistic image in a person’s mind. Itamar Marcus is the Canadian director of the Palestinian Media Watch, which is a privately funded organisation that monitors the media’s influence on the citizens of that country. Through his presentation on the topic of media and the powerful influences they create, he demonstrates the power pictures and words have. He explains that the media has shaped the lives and views of these people. People believe what they have been told, and furthermore what the specially edited books tell them [Marcus 2002]. In this case, Marcus shows how the school books have been rearranged to teach the youth a history different from what is taught elsewhere in the world. The Palestinian ids learn that Israel is not a country, and they are told that cities like Jaffa are a part of their land. By viewing these distorted maps or pictures they believe what they are told even more. This shows the power that words carry and the effect that images have on a group of people. Another example is the manner in which the youth of Palestine are taught to hate westerners. With pictures of westerners raping and killing their people, they are made to believe what they are told to be the truth about the western world. Marcus points out how images such as these are so â€Å"powerful† that the youth are socialised to become martyrs or their country because they see it as the right way to act. The government is using its power to create images that are not necessarily true. Verbal or written images will coerce individuals to use their own reference to imagine the truth, but pictures show exactly what they want us to believe. This is a situation illustrating how the way an image when projected with design has power and an undeniable appeal and validity. In North America, the advertisers use their power to create unrealistic images for whatever products they are hired to advertise. These images have the power to create an impression, a desire and a reality that ay not always be true. By creating a possibility, a hope and a dream, women are made to he ar and then see pictures of other attractive women achieving these goals through using or having these products. These images have a strong and somewhat subliminal effect on them. It is easy to forget that we need to celebrate the differences among human beings and the uniqueness of each. We are not ‘transformer toys’ or ‘robots’ that can change body parts with a snap of the wrist and a new outfit. Advertisers hope that we will buy into these changes. Unfortunately, this misconception is perpetuated by the advertising industry. The more that women and even men realise that it is all right to listen and read the ads as long as you realise it is not a way to judge yourself by their standards that you will survive in the advertising war of pictures and words. It seems hard not to be concerned with your appearance when there is such an emphasis to look good, right or wrong. Essentially, this paper has been looking at various literature and current advertise- Economic and Political Weekly August 10, 2002 ments to speculate what effect advertisements have on women’s self-images. There still is another facet of the topic that has roubled me: is it not a question of socialisation? Does the way a woman is socialised as a child maturing into adolescence determine the likelihood of her being affected by the media’s depiction of women? If a young girl is taught to be confident and happy with her own self, would she still be influenced by advertisements? Why should the advertisements have the final say on beauty? The simple answer is that we let them. Can girls be properly taught that these pictures and images are not always truthful and that they should not use them as a mirror? Could self-confidence be the proper tool for teenaged girls to overcome he messages from the advertisements? As Marshall McLuhan said, the medium is the message. We need to teach girls how to deal with the message. The message will continue to be strong and distorted. Instead of fighting the images, we should teach girls that these ideals are unattainable and that they should not literally kill themselves to try to look like something that is impossible to achieve. Possibly these young women have been socialised into a pattern of insecurity or worthlessness even before they view advertisements. When they see these images on paper, the images reinforce what they already assumed about their role and omen’s roles in society. It has been stated, however, that since the early 1900s advertisements have depi cted women in an insulting and often degrading manner. Hypothetically if the women who grew up during these periods are now mothers, then most likely they taught these norms to their daughters as well. Then the next generation is influenced by these advertising stereotypes, and in turn transfer these ideals to its youth. It believes in what was shown because it was not taught any better. Socialisation is a lifelong process, but it does not guarantee that a person can change or has the tools to change. With presentday slogans of ‘girl power’ from the Spice Girls, it seems hard to take them seriously when the same girls preaching girl power are wearing close to nothing on stage and over-made up with exaggerated cosmetics and costumes. Stemple and Tyler touch on how the women’s liberation movement has been devalued. The authors showed, however, that ads are a blatant co-opting of the women’s movement; the offensive ‘baby’ in ‘you’ve come along way, baby’ clearly indicates we have not [Stemple and Economic and Political Weekly Tyler 1974: 273]. It has been shown that advertisements create a vicious cycle that emands an audience to become engulfed with an idea in order to create a profit for their clients. These advertisements and social ideas, rather than education that teaches you to be objective and critical, have been engraved in one’s culture and in the psyche of the general population. It seems to be illogical and naive on the part of any women who feel they need to starve themselves or throw up their food in order to look ‘good’. It is obvious to see how these girls feel that this is what they are supposed to do to deal with societal pressures of looking a specific way. It is difficult to accept, but women have been ingrained with hese pseudo-images. In turn, women and girls buy into this fantasy in the hope of fulfilling their desires and dreams. -29 Notes 1 Margaret Matlin outlines what she views as ‘stereotyped representations’. She states, â€Å"Hundreds of studies have been conducted in the representation of women in the media. From these resources we can draw the following conclusions†. She continues on to outline seven stereotypes that target women these are: 1) Women are relatively invisible; 2) Women are relatively inaudible; 3) Although most women are employed they are seldom shown working outside the home; 4) Women are shown oing housework; 5) Wom en and men are represented differently; 6) Women’s bodies are used differently from men’s bodies in advertisements; 7) Women of colour – when they are shown at all – are often represented in a particularly biased way [Matlin 1987: 43-44]. Her conclusions are helpful in deciphering the reality of how women are affected by advertisements. It was very useful to have these stereotyped representations to add a sense of soundness to the conclusions made on the advertisements and the societal situation that has been created. 2 Kang, Mee-Eun, ‘The Portrayal of Women’s Images in Magazine Advertisements: Goffman’s Gender Analysis Revisited’ Sex Roles: A Journal of Research 37 11/12 (1997): 979-996. pp 984985: The following theoretical definitions in Goffman’s Gender Advertisements are utilised in this study: (1) Relative size: One way in which social weight (eg, power, authority, rank, office, and renown) is echoed expressively in social situations is through relative size, especially height. The male’s usual superiority of status over the female will be expressible in his greater girth and height. It is assumed that differences in size will correlate with differences in social weight. (2) Feminine touch: Women, more than men, re pictured using their fingers and hands to trace outlines of an object or to cradle it or to caress its surface or to effect a â€Å"just barely touching†. This ritualistic touching is to August 10, 2002 distinguish from the utilitarian kind that grasps, manipulates, or holds. (3) Function ranking: When a man and a woman collaborate face â⠂¬â€œ to face in an undertaking, the man is likely to perform the executive role. This hierarchy of functions is pictured either within an occupational frame or outside of occupational specialisations. (4) Ritualisation of subordination: A classic stereotype of deference is that of lowering oneself hysically in some form or other of prostration. Correspondingly, holding the body erect and the head high is stereotypically a mark of unashamedness, superiority, and disdain. The configurations of canting postures can be read as an acceptance of subordination, an expression of ingratiation, submisssiveness, and appeasement. (5) Licensed withdrawal: Women more than men are pictured engaged in involvements which remove them psychologically from the social situation at large, leaving them unoriented in it and to it, and dependent on the protectiveness of others who are present. Turning one’s gaze away rom another’s can be seen as having the consequence of withdrawing from the current thrust of communication (p 62). The individual can also withdraw his/her gaze from the scene at large, and be psychologically â€Å"away† from the scene. References Barnes, Alicia (2002): ‘You are What You Wear’ Excalibur, February 1. Begley, Sharon (2000): ‘The Stereotype Trap: from ‘white men can’t jump’ to ‘girls can’t do math,’ negative images that are pervasive in the culture can make us choke during test of ability’, Newsweek, November 6, p 66, downloaded from: Gale Group Database, January 30, 2002. Cross, Mary (1996): Advertising and Culture: Theoretical Perspectives, Praeger Publishers, Westport, CT. Kang, Mee-Eun (1997): ‘The Portrayal of Women’s Images in Magazine Advertisements: Goffman’s Gender Analysis Revisited’, Sex Roles: A Journal of Research 37, 11/12, 979-96. Kilbourne, Jean (1995): ‘Slim Hopes: Advertising and Obsession with Thinness’, videotape, Cambridge Documentary Films. – (1999): Can’t Buy My Love, Touchstone, New York: Simon and Schuster. – (2000): ‘Killing Us Softly 3: Advertising’s Image of Women’, Videotape, Cambridge Documentary Films. Klein, Naomi (2000): No Logo, Random House, Toronto. Matlin, Margaret W (1987): The Psychology of Women, Orlando, Florida: Harcourt Brace and Company, pp 41-45,461-70. Marcus, Itamar (2002): The Encouragement of Suicide Bombers and Terrorists in the Official Palestinian Authority Newspapers (a speech) January 22. Stemple, Diane and Jane E Tyler (1988): ‘Sexism in Advertising’, The American Journal of Psychoanalysis, 34. 1, pp 271-73. Sullivan, Gary L and P J O’Connor (1988): ‘Women’s Role Portrayals in Magazine Advertising: 1958-1983’, Sex Roles: Journal of Research, 18. 3/4, pp 181-88. Winkler, Mary G (1994): ‘The Model Body’, The Good Body: Asceticism in Contemporary Culture, Yale University, Connecticut. 3337 How to cite Women and Advertising, Essay examples

Pitts Special Biplane free essay sample

This paper introduces and discusses the Pitts S-2B aircraft, and the history of the company that manufactures this aircraft, along with the inventor, Curtis H. Pitts. The following paper examines how the Pitts planes revolutionized aerobatic performance and competition. The writer discusses how flying in the 60s was redefined with the introduction of the S1-S Pitts Special, a small, powerful and agile biplane that dominated the sport during the period. This paper argues that the tiny Pitts was a marked contrast to the large Yak-52 monoplane used by the USSR and other eastern block countries. Pitts Specials, in all their varieties, are eager to please. And they respond well to a loving touch. They become transparent and take on the personality of the pilot, making him, or her, the composer. The Pitts lets them write the melody as they alone hear it (Davisson). While it is still a very popular training and show aircraft, the Pitts S-2B is no longer in production, is has been superceded by the Pitts S-2C. We will write a custom essay sample on Pitts Special Biplane or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Replacement parts can still be purchased from Aviat Aircraft of Afton, Wyoming. To many pilots, their Pitts Special becomes more than an airplane. It becomes a living, breathing entity that completes them both as people and as pilots. Maybe thats the real gift of Curtis Pitts. Its not so much the victories, as what he has added to so many lives. Few people make that kind of contribution to the world. But then, few people have designed the likes of a Pitts Special.

The Upward Battle free essay sample

I’m a dictator. Ask any of the paper’s staff members about my tactics, and they’ll probably compare me to Mussolini himself. O.K., I’m too critical. I refused to ask for help. I thought I was the Superwoman of high school journalism. And to say the least, I wasn’t. The newspaper adviser of 13 years left after my sophomore year. With his experience in journalism, he was able to advise the editors through tough budget problems, tell them how to handle power struggles, edit copy and bring new ideas to the table. He participated in regional workshops and was an active scholastic media leader in the state. He was a lively member of the staff. We were lucky. I was the first editor in the paper’s history who would not have him to hold my hand, and I thought I could handle it. I would get more students involved in the paper. We will write a custom essay sample on The Upward Battle or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page People would fight for coverage, and readers would make checking the Intermission website a daily activity. I swore I would be the editor who would change the reputation of the paper. Well, sometimes your expectations don’t line up with reality. I failed my paper in more ways than one during my junior year: For one, we never felt united. The designers and photographers were in a completely different building than the writers and copy editors. Classes went on where none of the writers saw my face. I went in with the mentality that I was the â€Å"Almighty Editor-in-Chief† who the staff would automatically respect, fear, and obey. Instead, they treated me as a parent: agreeing to complete the task, but the moment I left the room, they went back to their naps. I had to hold my staff’s hand like they were in kindergarten. Secondly, I never communicated with my adviser. With multiple e-mails sent before the school year even started, I came off too strong. I expected him to know everything about journalism. I expected him to have past experience in the field and to be as eager I was to get started. I quickly realized how optimistic I had been. I never took the time to show him the ropes. He was left behind, and to this day, he still thinks it was his fault. The apology note he wrote in my yearbook does not lie. And lastly, I was awards-driven. My previous adviser always mentioned one editor who set the record for the most papers published in a year, who won the paper numerous awards at our state competitions, and who was an alternate for North Carolina High School Journalist of the Year. I wanted to be her, but I focused on the wrong things. My eyes were only on the prize, and I forgot about the steps to getting there. Impatience, selfishness, and overconfidence are the characteristics of the dictator that once ruled over the Intermission newspaper. A new era of democracy has begun. Now, I’m a democratic leader.

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Motorola Inc. Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Motorola Inc. - Research Paper Example Of significance to the situation is considering the external opportunities and threats that Motorola Inc. has to take into account. Furthermore, Motorola Inc. also needs to be aware of its internal strengths and weaknesses. The SWOT analysis is a method that companies use to assess and analyze internal and external factors so that they can use them to make further judgments for the future. Internal and external factors are divided into a two by two matrix. The four quadrants are allocated to strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, hence the name SWOT. When assessing the strengths, the company may look at numerous factors including the company’s capabilities unique selling point and competitive advantage, its knowledge and experience base, innovative aspects and price and quality etcetera. For Motorola Inc. its strengths include the fact that it has a lot of knowledge and experience in the field, having dominated it for such a long time. It is also in the process of i nnovating, to keep pace with the modern times and is investing heavily in WiMax technology. The weakness part of this analysis usually includes aspects like disadvantages, gaps in capabilities and lack of competitive advantage, it also encompasses the company’s vulnerability and pressures and problems of reliability, predictability etcetera. Motorola Inc.’s weaknesses have cost the company dearly in terms of revenue, profits and market share. It has failed to keep its pace as fast as some of its competitors and has duly lost to them some of its market share and profit levels. Also, it has been having financial difficulty and hasn’t been able to streamline costs with a deflated economy and falling profits. The opportunities quadrant includes aspects like market developments, technological innovation, new or niche markets, new USPs or tactics, product or brand development, investment in research and any other external factors that might positively affect the busin ess. Opportunities for Motorola Inc. seem few in these economically and financially hard times. The market has developed into a much more technologically savvy one; Motorola Inc. has tried using this to its advantage by innovating using WiMax technology. With the help of this, it will develop and restructure its products to streamline them with market demand while keeping costs low. Threats include aspects like, adverse political, legislative or environmental effects; it also includes factors like competitors’ competitiveness, market demand, economy, and etcetera. Threats that are causing the most damage to Motorola Inc. over the recent years include the condition of the economy for one. The economy has been in a slump, which means that peoples’ consumption has gone down; this has lead to a significant drop in the demand of mobile technology. Consequently, this has caused Motorola Inc.’s profits to decrease and costs to increase, creating recent fiscal losses fo r the company. Moreover, competitors like Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Apple Inc. and RIM have really stepped up their game recently and in some cases found very profitable niche markets that they are quite comfortably exploiting. As a result they are enjoying a good profit level and growing market shares, even in these depressed economic conditions. Motorola Inc. is considering some strategic options to effectively combat the bad times. Their main aim is to cut down the losses and return the firm to

Argument Essay, 1. I believe Existence of God. 2. God does not exist Research Paper

Argument Essay, 1. I believe Existence of God. 2. God does not exist. For example, like The Ontological Argument - Research Paper Example It would be no exaggeration to contend that human thought has been seized with the idea of God, from times immemorial (Safa and Ahmadi D1). Substantiations relating to the existence of God constitute some of the enduring features of philosophical discussion. Some of the classifications of the corroboration of God’s existence are those that are conceptual or dependent upon aspects of the created order (Cumming 3). It is a mystery, as regards the manner in which supernatural faith interacts with human beings. The highest knowledge relating to God that can be derived solely from philosophical considerations has been defined as the preambles of faith or the praeambula fidei. The few individuals who experience the act of belief, do not find these preambles of faith to be exceedingly enigmatic. These fortunate individuals have testified that the true believer enjoys the grace, which can be termed the intelligence provided by faith (Grzesik 258). It is indeed faith that induces one to seek God and thereby admit one’s shortcomings. As a consequence, individuals are enabled to comprehend that help from the Lord is essential to avail of the benefits provided by Him and to transform the intellect to understand the higher truths. This entire process of transcendence is critically dependent upon faith (Grzesik 259). Arguments that support or oppose the existence of God can be classified as deductive or inductive. Ostensibly, the existence of God tends to be difficult to establish, despite several of the atheists being rational human beings. This state of affairs has been attributed to certain ontological assumptions regarding the nature of the world and the nature of God (Crutcher 430). Presumptions regarding the existence or non – existence of God, tend to possess a circular nature. This is due to the fact that such arguments attempt to establish their hypothesis by making an assumption regarding the non – existence or reality of

Native American, Cochise Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Native American, Cochise - Essay Example However, this traditional system of governance was gradually disrupted by the whites. In their quest to overturn the traditional, the white settlers faced some form of fierce resistance from the Native Americans under the leadership of their chiefs and these conflicts resulted in bloodshed in different situations. One of the chiefs remembered for his sworn hatred and resistance to American dominance is Cochise. The history of Cochise is a must read since it enlightens the readers about the events that took place in the 17th century before the birth of ‘democracy’ in America which characterises the present day government in this country. Cochise was an Apache Indian Chief and his territory covered parts of Arizona and New Mexico (HistoryNet, 2013. There are various key events that defined Cochise such as his involvement in different battles against the white settlers. When the white settlers invaded America, they were resisted by the natives which culminated in different battles. Cochise played a significant role in waging some of these battles in defence for their peace. The critical event in the history of Cochise happened in 1872 when a high powered delegation was dispatched to negotiate with him in order to stop Apache war in the Southern Arizona. According to Sweeney (n.d), the top officials sent from Washington had realised that Cochise was the key person to approach in order to obtain lasting peace with the Chiricahua apaches. Thus, it can be seen that this person was critical in as far as the attainment of peace was concerned. Born around 1810, Cochise grew up in the native America but somehow during his mid thirties, things began to change as they started experiencing some conflicts with the Mexicans as well as the white settlers. Having assumed chieftainship around this age, Cochise had no problem settling with these new comers. However, the turning point was in 1860 when cattle belonging to whites were raided and a child was kidnapped. Co chise was suspect in this incident and was summoned together with his family to try to address this issue. This led to the arrest of his family but he managed to escape and from then started to wage war with the whites in revenge for killing members of his family. After the incident, various battles ensued between Cochise’s people and the Americans and Mexicans and these resulted in loss of life. Cochise declared hatred against the white Americans for killing his people and he dedicated himself to fight until the bitter end in defence of his homeland and people. Originally, the Indians lived in the mountainous mountains in the Southwest and they managed to defend their homeland territory under the chieftainship of their great king until a peace treaty was signed in 1872. Up until today, Cochise is one of the few people recognised in the American history for waging a bitter war against the whites in defence of their territorial integrity and sovereignty. He is one of the nativ es to cause sleepless nights to the Americans since they could not easily subdue this great fighter who had a combative battalion. Up until the end, Cochise came to be admired by the Americans for his outstanding guerrilla warfare skills that resulted in the death of many Americans. Though he also lost a great number of his own people through these conflicts, Cochise was not defeated in his cause for defending the territorial integrity of his homeland. He is remembers as one native fighter who defeated the

Inclusion of Children With Disabilities

Inclusion of Children With Disabilities Contemporary research and theoretical perspectives concerning the best way to cater for children with Special Educational Needs in early childhood years in the United Kingdom favour inclusion of children with most kinds of disability within the mainstream educational setting. This position is strongly leveraged by English legislation which has strengthened the endorsement of inclusion over the past 20 years, as will be seen in the body of this paper. The sense in which ‘inclusion is meant when used in Ofsted position papers or policy documents or embraced by Local Educational Authorities and espoused on local Council websites, is for children with reported emotional, physical or psychological disadvantage, to be accommodated within the existing structures of early childhood and primary school settings. The term ‘inclusion has been noted for its susceptibility to ambiguous usage, as it may refer to enhancing partnerships between children and parents in the educational process, or â€Å"concerned with minimising all barriers to learning and participation, whoever experiences them and wherever they are located within the cultures, policies and practices of a school.† In this view, â€Å"there is an emphasis on mobilising under-used resources within staff, students, governors, parents and other members of the schools communities. The diversity of students is stressed as a rich resource for supporting teaching and learning.† Moreover, more recently inclusive education has been viewed as â€Å"disabled and non-disabled children and young people learning together in ordinary pre-school provision, schools, colleges and universities, with appropriate networks of support.† The tension between the more precise usage referring to provision of mainstream educational access for children with special educational needs (SEN), and the broader sense of the term as a reference to removing all types of exclusion on the basis of class, gender, race or religion, has been noted in a report averring that â€Å"whilst schools at the time the project began were increasingly being encouraged to become more inclusive and were able to access guidance on approaches to developing inclusive practices, this required them to make sense of often different and frequently nebulous definitions of ‘becoming inclusive in various texts. Some of these texts, for example, understood inclusion specifically in relation to children identified as having special educational needs. Others saw it as an issue not simply in special needs education, but in provision for all groups of children who had historically under-achieved in the education system, a version of inclusive education related directly to the governments wider ‘social inclusion agenda concerned with ensuring that all social groups participated in the opportunities and activities of ‘mainstream society. Nonetheless, The Centre for Inclusive Education has outlined attributes of an educational setting marked by an ‘inclusive ethos. Some notable features include: â€Å"valuing all students and staff equally; increasing the participation of students in, and reducing their exclusion from, the cultures, curricula and communities of local schools; restructuring the cultures, policies and practices in schools so that they respond to the diversity of students in the locality; reducing barriers to learning and participation for all students, not only those with impairments or those who are categorised as `having special educational needs; learning from attempts to overcome barriers to the access and participation of particular students to make changes for the benefit of students more widely; viewing the difference between students as resources to support learning, rather than as problems to be overcome; acknowledging the right of students to an education in their locality; improving schools for staff as well as for students; emphasising the role of schools in building community and developing values, as well as in increasing achievement; fostering mutually sustaining relationships between schools and communities and recognising that inclusion in education is one aspect of inclusion in society.† In addition to this helpful delineation, this charitable research body has distinguished the social model of disability, (which they favour as more equitable), from the medical model of disability, (which they deem to be outmoded and more prone to promote exclusion). The charter states, that â€Å"according to the social model of disability, barriers to learning and participation arise from the interactions between learners and the learning environment or from the nature of the setting itself. This contrasts with a medical model in which disabilities and difficulties are attributed to inherent ‘deficits in individuals to be identified and treated as ‘abnormal in segregated settings.† The rationale for inclusion is usually posited â€Å"because children whatever their disability or learning difficulty have a part to play in society after school. An early start in mainstream playgroups or nursery schools, followed by education in ordinary schools and colleges, is the best preparation for an integrated life. Education is part of, not separate from, the rest of childrens lives. Disabled children can, and are, being educated in mainstream schools with appropriate support.† The imperative for Special Educational Needs children, from an early childhood age on, to be accommodated within mainstream educational settings, is also supported by its representation as a matter of human rights. The assertion that all children have a right to learn and not be discriminated against is endorsed by disabled adults who demand an end to segregation right across the social spectrum. Further arguments to support the current political posture with regard to mainstreaming SEN children, focus upon the educational benefits to those with special needs, suggesting they do better academically and socially, as well as assisting educational resources on the whole to be used more efficiently. Moreover, the social imperatives include the conviction that segregation and exclusion teaches children to be ignorant and prejudiced, making the bridge building process of normal relationships beyond their grasp and therefore more difficult in later adult life. Finally, it is noted that inclusion confronts â€Å"deeply held, false beliefs about the impossibility of ever including all children in mainstream, the supposedly ‘huge expense of full inclusion, and the so-called sanctity of parental choice.† Recent legislation since approximately 1990 has had a profound effect upon the educational policies and provision of education for early childhood years SEN children. The Education Act 1993 (section 160) was subsequently consolidated into the Education Act 1996 (section 316). In 1993 the general principle that children with special educational needs should, (where this is what parents wanted), normally be educated at mainstream schools was enshrined into law, conditional on school to accommodate needs of both SEN children and mainstreamed children. Moreover, the statement emanating from the UNESCO world conference in Salamanca, Spain in 1994, urged all governments to â€Å"adopt as a matter of law or policy the principle of inclusive education, enrolling all children in regular schools, unless there are compelling reasons for doing other wise.† The new British government in 1997 published ‘Excellence for All Children Meeting Special Educational Needs, which embodied a strategy to improve standards for pupils with specials educational needs. The policy, ‘Meeting Special Educational Needs A Programme of Action was published in 1998. It undertook to review the statutory framework for inclusion in conjunction with the Disability Rights Task Force. The Task Forces report ‘From Exclusion to Inclusion published in 1999 recommended â€Å"a strengthened right for parents of children with statements of special educational needs to a place at a mainstream school†. The Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 apparently delivered a strengthened right to a mainstream education for children with special educational needs. The Act has amended the Education Act 1996 and transformed the statutory framework for inclusion into a positive endorsement of inclusion. The Act seeks to enable more pupils who have special educational needs to be included successfully within mainstream education. One implication is that in theory at least, parents who have early childhood SEN children have a genuine right to choose either mainstreaming or dedicated SEN schooling for their child. In addition to the implementation of these legislative measures, the SEN specialist standards have been designed as an audit tool to help teachers and headteachers to identify specific training and development needs in relation to the effective teaching of pupils with severe and/or complex SEN. The statutory framework for SEN leaves no doubt that the presumption of the law is that children with special educational needs should be educated in mainstream schools. The Education Act 1996, reinforced through an amended regulation inserted by the SEN and Disability Discrimination Act 2001, makes this principle clear: ‘Where a statement of special educational needs is maintained for a child, then he or she must be educated in a mainstream school, unless that is incompatible with the wishes of his or her parents, or the provision of efficient education for other children. In so stating, the law formalises what has been increasingly the practice in the majority of LEAs over the last decade. In this context, use of the word ‘inclusion leads frequently to confusion, since the same noun is also applied to a raft of policies designed to secure the full participation in society (social inclusion) of people deemed for a variety of reasons to be ‘at risk. Clearly, not all pupils with SEN are at risk of social exclusion, though some are; equally clearly, not all children at risk of social exclusion have SEN. The process of diagnosis of children for SEN classification is is some ways problematic. According to the Audit Commission (2002), â€Å"One in five children a total of 1.9 million in England and Wales are considered by their school to have special educational needs (SEN). Despite the significant numbers involved, they have remained low profile in education policymaking and public awareness. National targets and performance tables fail to reflect schools work with them and a lack of systematic monitoring by schools and local education authorities (LEAs) means that poor practice may go unchallenged.† The Wrexham County Borough Council website illustrates the process of diagnosis. â€Å"Only a small percentage of children with special needs require a statutory assessment and a statement. The SEN Code of Practice identifies a staged approach to meeting the special needs of children. Schools are required to adopt a graduated response to special needs that include a range of strategies and varying levels of intervention. As a parent you should be informed by school if your child has special educational needs and how these needs are being met. The SEN Code of Practice identifies the stages of identification and meeting special educational needs as follows: Monitoring, Early Years Action/School Action , Early Year Action Plus/School Action Plus, Statutory Assessment and Statement of Special Educational Needs.† The existence of an annual review is heartening from a stigmatization and needs equity perspective. Ones childs â€Å"statement will be reviewed annually. The LEA will notify the school when your childs review should take place and the school will set the date and organise the review. The purpose of the review is to look at the progress made over the previous twelve months in relation to the objectives on the statement.† The Derby LEA illustrates the role of statutory authorities. â€Å"A statutory assessment is a detailed investigation to find out exactly what your childs special educational needs are and what special help your child needs. It is only necessary if a mainstream school or early education setting cant provide all the help that your child needs.† Issues pertaining to gender, social class, culture and language have been well addressed byu Topping. â€Å"Despite the focus on social and educational inclusion and on ‘joined-up thinking the discourses of SEN and of equal opportunities, in terms of race and gender, have remained distinctly discrete. Although the literature on learning difficulties and disability sometimes makes reference to ‘social class, the gender or ethnicity (‘race) of pupils is rarely mentioned. Similarly, research on ethnicity and gender issues rarely acknowledges Special Educational Needs (SEN) and disabilities.†

Computers Cause Laziness :: Technology

Looking around at daily life, I noticed a pattern of computer oriented devices that make life easier. While I do agree with faster production and less work, I can not allow this degenerative spiral of laziness to continue, it is out of control. These devices are in most daily activities ranging from waking up to an alarm clock to watching the news before going to bed. All of these computerized facets of our society help to increase our daily productivity and help us do whatever it is we need to accomplish in the day in the easiest way possible. The computer age is upon us and it will continue to grow in influence until society revolves around it daily, without any need for improvement. . In personal computers, the industry has been creating faster machines that can store more information than before. For example, speed, the microprocessor has been tweaked to perform high rates of data transactions. What this means for the average person is that we can be much more productive in a day than the average person 50 years ago. to allow faster hook-up to the Internet, fiber optic lines have been added, to transfer data about 35,714,285 times faster than conventional phone lines (about 28,000 bits per second has been pushed to about 1,000,000,000,000 bits per second). This may seem ridiculous to you but if you stop and think how many lazy people get on-line every day to order movies, pizza, and do there E-bay all from the comfort of home you will see that this is not only ridiculous but scandalous and down right insane. As speed enhances, memory and storage space is needed to hold excess information. â€Å"Double data rate three, synchronous dynamic random access memory† or DDR3 SDRAM is a new, faster memory module that helps transfer RAM data about 80 times faster than normal RAM. For long term storage of large amounts of data, hard drives have been under a constant upgrade of performance, and it is not uncommon to find hard drives about 300 gigabytes to 1 terabyte on the market. One terabyte may not sound like a lot of space to you so to give you an example it’s like having the ability of storing 13 million movies on your computer or 26.7 million songs and its all to keep you fat lazy and dumb. Along with technology, an ease of use factor has been instilled in the modern day PC's so it’s easier for the elderly and the toddlers to use.

Alternative education Essay

Education in its general sense is a form of learning in which the knowledge, skills, and habits of a group of people are transferred from one generation to the next through teaching, training, or research. Education frequently takes place under the guidance of others, but may also be autodidactic. Any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts may be considered educational. A right to education has been recognized by some governments. At the global level, Article 13 of the United Nations’ 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Etymology Etymologically, the word â€Å"education† is derived from the Latin educatio from educo which is related to the homonym educo from e- and †duco . Type of education Education can take place in formal or informal educational settings. Formal education Systems of schooling involve institutionalized teaching and learning in relation to a curriculum, which itself is established according to a predetermined purpose of the schools in the system. Schools systems are sometimes also based on religions, giving them different curricula. Curriculum In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses and their content offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults. A curriculum is prescriptive, and is based on a more general syllabus which merely specifies what topics must be understood and to what level to achieve a particular grade or standard. An academic discipline is a branch of knowledge which is formally taught, either at the university–or via some other such method. Each discipline usually has several sub-disciplines or branches, and distinguishing lines are often both arbitrary and ambiguous. Examples of broad areas of academic disciplines include the natural sciences, mathematics, computer science, social sciences, humanities and applied sciences. Educational institutions may incorporate fine arts as part of K-12 grade curricula or within majors at colleges and universities as electives. The various types of fine arts are music, dance, and theater. Preschools The term preschool refers to a school for children who are not old enough to attend kindergarten. It is a nursery school. Preschool education is important because it can give a child the edge in a competitive world and education climate. While children who do not receive the fundamentals during their preschool years will be taught the alphabet, counting, shapes and colors and designs when they begin their formal education they will be behind the children who already possess that knowledge. The true purpose behind kindergarten is â€Å"to provide a child-centered, preschool curriculum for three to seven year old children that aimed at unfolding the child’s physical, intellectual, and moral nature with balanced emphasis on each of them. † This period of education is very important in the formative years of the child. Teachers with special skills and training are needed at this time to nurture the children to develop their potentials. Primary schools Primary education consists of the first 5–7 years of formal, structured education. In general, primary education consists of six or eight years of schooling starting at the age of five or six, although this varies between, and sometimes within, countries. Globally, around 89% of primary-age children are enrolled in primary education, and this proportion is rising. Under the Education For All programs driven by UNESCO, most countries have committed to achieving universal enrollment in primary education by 2015, and in many countries, it is compulsory for children to receive primary education. The division between primary and secondary education is somewhat arbitrary, but it generally occurs at about eleven or twelve years of age. Some education systems have separate middle schools, with the transition to the final stage of secondary education taking place at around the age of fourteen. Schools that provide primary education, are mostly referred to as primary schools. Primary schools in these countries are often subdivided into infant schools and junior school. In India, compulsory education spans over twelve years, out of which children receive elementary education for 8 years. Elementary schooling consists of five years of primary schooling and 3 years of upper primary schooling. Various states in the republic of India provide 12 years of compulsory school education based on national curriculum framework designed by the National Council of Educational Research and Training. Secondary schools In most contemporary educational systems of the world, secondary education comprises the formal education that occurs during adolescence. It is characterized by transition from the typically compulsory, comprehensive primary education for minors, to the optional, selective tertiary, â€Å"post-secondary†, or â€Å"higher† education for adults. Depending on the system, schools for this period, or a part of it, may be called secondary or high schools, gymnasiums, lyceums, middle schools, colleges, or vocational schools. The exact meaning of any of these terms varies from one system to another. The exact boundary between primary and secondary education also varies from country to country and even within them, but is generally around the seventh to the tenth year of schooling. Secondary education occurs mainly during the teenage years. In the United States, Canada and Australia primary and secondary education together are sometimes referred to as K-12 education, and in New Zealand Year 1–13 is used. The purpose of secondary education can be to give common knowledge, to prepare for higher education or to train directly in a profession. The emergence of secondary education in the United States did not happen until 1910, caused by the rise in big businesses and technological advances in factories, that required skilled workers. In order to meet this new job demand, high schools were created, with a curriculum focused on practical job skills that would better prepare students for white collar or skilled blue collar work. This proved to be beneficial for both employers and employees, for the improvement in human capital caused employees to become more efficient, which lowered costs for the employer, and skilled employees received a higher wage than employees with just primary educational attainment. In Europe, grammar schools or academies date from as early as the 16th century, in the form of public schools, fee-paying schools, or charitable educational foundations, which themselves have an even longer history. Alternative Alternative education, also known as non-traditional education or educational alternative, is a broad term that may be used to refer to all forms of education outside of traditional education . This may include not only forms of education designed for students with special needs, but also forms of education designed for a general audience and employing alternative educational philosophies and methods. Alternatives of the latter type are often the result of education reform and are rooted in various philosophies that are commonly fundamentally different from those of traditional compulsory education. While some have strong political, scholarly, or philosophical orientations, others are more informal associations of teachers and students dissatisfied with certain aspects of traditional education. These alternatives, which include charter schools, alternative schools, independent schools, homeschooling and autodidacticism vary, but often emphasize the value of small class size, close relationships between students and teachers, and a sense of community. Alternative education may also allow for independent learning and engaging class activities. Special In the past, those who were disabled were often not eligible for public education. Children with disabilities were often educated by physicians or special tutors. These early physicians set the foundation for special education today. They focused on individualized instruction and functional skills. Special education was only provided to people with severe disabilities in its early years, but more recently it has been opened to anyone who has experienced difficulty learning. Vocational Vocational education is a form of education focused on direct and practical training for a specific trade or craft. Vocational education may come in the form of an apprenticeship or internship as well as institutions teaching courses such as carpentry, agriculture, engineering, medicine, architecture and the arts. Informal education Autodidacticism Autodidacticism is self-directed learning that is related to but different from informal learning. In a sense, autodidacticism is â€Å"learning on your own† or â€Å"by yourself†, and an autodidact is a self-teacher. Autodidacticism is a contemplative, absorbing process. Some autodidacts spend a great deal of time reviewing the resources of libraries and educational websites. One may become an autodidact at nearly any point in one’s life. While some may have been informed in a conventional manner in a particular field, they may choose to inform themselves in other, often unrelated areas. Notable autodidacts include Abraham Lincoln, Srinivasa Ramanujan, Michael Faraday, Charles Darwin, Thomas Alva Edison, Tadao Ando, George Bernard Shaw, Frank Zappa,and Leonardo da Vinci . Indigenous Indigenous education refers to the inclusion of indigenous knowledge, models, methods and content within formal and non-formal educational systems. Often in a post-colonial context, the growing recognition and use of indigenous education methods can be a response to the erosion and loss of indigenous knowledge and language through the processes of colonialism. Furthermore, it can enable indigenous communities to â€Å"reclaim and revalue their languages and cultures, and in so doing, improve the educational success of indigenous students. † Education through recreation The concept of education through recreation was first applied to childhood development in the 19th century. In the early 20th century, the concept was broadened to include young adults but the emphasis was on physical activities. L. P. Jacks, also an early proponent of lifelong learning, described education through recreation: â€Å"A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play, his labour and his leisure, his mind and his body, his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself he always seems to be doing both. Enough for him that he does it well. † Education through recreation is the opportunity to learn in a seamless fashion through all of life’s activities. The concept has been revived by the University of Western Ontario to teach anatomy to medical students. Open education is fast growing to become the dominant form of education, for many reasons such as its efficiency and results compared to traditional methods. Cost of education has been an issue throughout history, and a major political issue in most countries today. Open education is generally significantly cheaper than traditional campus based learning and in many cases even free. Many large university institutions are now starting to offer free or almost free full courses such as Harvard, MIT and Berkeley teaming up to form edX Other universities offering open education are Stanford, Princeton, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Edinburgh, U. Penn, U. Michigan, U. Virginia, U. Washington, Caltech. It has been called the biggest change in the way we learn since the printing press. Many people despite favorable studies on effectiveness may still desire to choose traditional campus education for social and cultural reasons. The conventional merit system degree is currently not as common in open education as it is in campus universities. Although some open universities do already offer conventional degrees such as the Open University in the United Kingdom. Currently many of the major open education sources offer their own form of certificate. Due to the popularity of open education these new kind of academic certificates are gaining more respect and equal â€Å"academic value† to traditional degrees. Many open universities are working to have the ability to offer students standardized testing and traditional degrees and credentials. There has been a culture forming around distance learning for people who are looking to enjoy the shared social aspects that many people value in traditional on campus education that is not often directly offered from open education. Examples of this are people in open education forming study groups, meetups and movements such as UnCollege. Liberal arts colleges A liberal arts institution can be defined as a â€Å"college or university curriculum aimed at imparting broad general knowledge and developing general intellectual capacities, in contrast to a professional, vocational, or technical curriculum. † Although what is known today as the liberal arts college began in Europe, the term is more commonly associated with Universities in the United States. Community colleges A nonresidential junior college offering courses to people living in a particular area. Learning modalities There has been much interest in learning modalities and styles over the last two decades. The most commonly employed learning modalities are: Visual: learning based on observation and seeing what is being learned. Auditory: learning based on listening to instructions/information. Kinesthetic: learning based on movement, e. g. hands-on work and engaging in activities. Other commonly-employed modalities include musical, interpersonal, verbal, logical, and intrapersonal. Dunn and Dunn focused on identifying relevant stimuli that may influence learning and manipulating the school environment, at about the same time as Joseph Renzulli recommended varying teaching strategies. Howard Gardner identified a wide range of modalities in his Multiple Intelligences theories. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Keirsey Temperament Sorter, based on the works of Jung, focus on understanding how people’s personality affects the way they interact personally, and how this affects the way individuals respond to each other within the learning environment. The work of David Kolb and Anthony Gregorc’s Type Delineator follows a similar but more simplified approach. Some theories propose that all individuals benefit from a variety of learning modalities, while others suggest that individuals may have preferred learning styles, learning more easily through visual or kinesthetic experiences. A consequence of the latter theory is that effective teaching should present a variety of teaching methods which cover all three learning modalities so that different students have equal opportunities to learn in a way that is effective for them. Guy Claxton has questioned the extent that learning styles such as VAK are helpful, particularly as they can have a tendency to label children and therefore restrict learning. Recent research has argued â€Å"there is no adequate evidence base to justify incorporating learning styles assessments into general educational practice. † Instruction Instruction is the facilitation of another’s learning. Instructors in primary and secondary institutions are often called teachers, and they direct the education of students and might draw on many subjects like reading, writing, mathematics, science and history. Instructors in post-secondary institutions might be called teachers, instructors, or professors, depending on the type of institution; and they primarily teach only their specific discipline.

Cannibalism Through The Ages

Cannibalism Through The Ages Cannibalism Through The Ages Cannibalism has always been a controversial issue. A person cutting someone else's foot off, frying it in a pan, then eating each toe one by one"Â ¦ just the very talk of it makes some people feel ill. They wonder why someone would actually eat another human being. Through movies like Silence of the Lambs and Alive, people have seen the reasons why cannibals eat what they eat. Whether it is extreme starvation or homicidal tendencies, the general public does not like the idea of eating one of their own kind, even if the reason is justified. Contrary to popular belief, cannibalism was widely practiced throughout history (well not widely, but people did it). It happened during prehistoric times, colonial times, and even today. The Neanderthals did it, the Aztecs did it, the Chinese do it, so why doesn't everybody else do it? According to recent findings in France by anthropologists, the Neanderthals evidently ate bears, wolves, deer, and"Â ¦ oh yes"Â ¦ hu mans.The spread of human cannibalism (anthropophagy) in...These Neanderthals, who lived in Europe from 120,000 to 30,000 years ago, butchered their fellow friends, ate what was inside (including the brains), and then threw away the bones along with the other animal bones. Six skeletons were found in a cave in France that show cuts and chip marks on the bones. Most skeptics say that the marks are from other carnivore animals that ate the people, but marks were found on the side and inside of the skull, which could only have been done with a stone tool and a creature with an opposable thumb. Other skeptics say that the Neanderthals may have cut up their comrades as a burial custom, and didn't eat them at all. Those types of burial customs are somewhat common in scattered parts of the world. But these...