Report On the Interview With Mtcp Participant Essay

Last Wednesday, 23 July 20003, I had an interview with one of the MTCP participants from Zimbabwe. We started our conversation at 9.21 pm. The conversation took about 2 hours to finish and it was held at 7th Block where all the participants reside. Firstly, I did some ice-breaking session with him. I introduced myself to him and after telling him the reasons why I need to interview him, he started to introduce himself. His name is Mr. Bernard , and his surname is Sitete. He came from Zimbabwe, South Africa. He work as an English lecturer at Nyadire Teachers College, Zimbabwe. He was married with one wife and two children. His wife work as a teacher at one of the secondary schools there. Zimbabwe has two ethnic group. The majority ethnic is Shona which consist 80% of the population. The other ethnic group is Ndebele which came from South Africa to Zimbabwe. Their official language is Shona , but there are some dialect that were used by people in certain area. Their official religion is Christian, but they prefer to use their own religion called Traditional African Religion. Traditional African Religion is quit the same with Christian. But, there are certain parts that show the major different with Christian. For Christian, they believe in Jesus Christ but for Traditional African Religion, they do not use Jesus Christ asking for something and to get to god . They use their own ancestors to ask for and to get to god. The religion belief in one god. For them to get to god, they must go through their ancestors. In their society, ancestors play big roles. To get through their ancestors, they have to do some ceremony as their way of praying. In the ceremony, they have to do hand-in-hand beer (made from traditional crops) drinking, dancing with certain steps, play drums, and so on. This ceremony was done to ensure their continuous contact with their ancestors. They do have their traditional costumes called Nhembe. They wear head dress, like a hat which made with feather and animal skins. Their body clothing was made with animal skins such as leopard, lion, tiger, cheetah, and so on. They do not wear any shoes. But now, they only use the traditional costumes when doing some traditional dance, festivals and ceremony. Nowadays, they use modern clothing like T-shirt, Jeans and so on. They also have their own taboos. They can’t have sex with their own mother, daughter, sister and anybody who have blood relationship. They also cannot beat their parents at all. If they do so, when their parents died, their soul will haunt them until all of their family died. The same case happened when they killed any human. It is because, they believe that when one person died, their soul will stay alive and will haunt the person who killed him or her. They also must respect the graves. They cannot show finger to the grave cause it will cause the soul of the graves will get angry and they will be cursed. They cannot marry in October cause this is the ‘dead month’. If they get married in this month, their marriage will not last and they will get misfortune. They also cannot have a bath in certain area where they believed that there are mermaids. The mermaids will take the persons. He also told me about the marriage customs. When they turned to 13 years old, they reach their maturity. So, they can get married. The woman has to go to the man’s family to ask them to propose her. After that, the man’s family will propose the woman and do some agreements about the marriage and also the Lobola ; also known as Dowry. The lobola can be some cash money or goats or sheep or anything else that was agreed by both families. The reasons of marriage are to connect two families. So, they do not mind if they cannot pay much for the lobola. The man also can borrow from the woman. But after marriage, the man has to pay the debt. If the debt cannot be paid until his wife die, the corpse cannot be buried. So he has to pay the debt first. In the society, they were allowed to polygamy, but the law banned polygamy. They have to register their marriage at the court but they also can get married traditionally. As in other ethnic culture, they also have their festivals. As a Christian follower, the celebrate Easter and Christmas. Their way of celebration is the same with any other place in the world. They also have their Rain Making Ceremony to ask for rain. They must do a dance to ask for the rain with their ancestors. They also have their own kind of Harvest Celebration. The celebration must be done in the kitchen. It symbolized their grateful to their ancestors for giving good harvest to them. Their traditional food is Sadza. Sadza is a maize meal. It cooked like porridge until it become quite thick. They eat Sadza with some curry and so on. They also eat rice. But they eat it in special occasions such as wedding, birthday and so on. Lastly, he told me that he like Malaysia. Malaysia is a nice country . It is very clean with many interesting buildings such as Petronas Twin Tower, Kuala Lumpur Tower, Telekom Tower and many more. This country also has many places of interest. For him, the weather here is too hot, but he likes it. The conversation ended after two hours. Before I left, we shared our address in order to keep in touch with him.

Character Analysis of Hugo’s Javert Essay

Hugo’s character Javert sees anyone who may have commit a crime as simple as the theft of a loaf of bread as a social malefactor, a blight on all of society, a prime evil who needs to be eliminated, removed from the general population, and a devil that can be neither reformed nor tamed. Javert is the true rationalist. Like Medieval philosophers, he believes that people will naturally resort to evil, and that these people can never be saved or reformed. Javert is the true rationalist because he believes the law is the highest authority, sees Jean Valjean as purely evil, and because he wholeheartedly believes in the infallibility of the law. Javert believes the law is the highest authority throughout Les Miserables. When his character is first described, Hugo states â€Å"It will be easily understood that Javert was the terror of all that class which the annual statistics of the Minister of Justice include under the heading: People without a fixed abode† (57). Javert believes that all of those that live in poverty are destined to be criminals because they are forced to live without being able to satisfy certain wants, and that people, who are naturally bad, will violate the law to satisfy themselves. Javert, quick to punish anyone of a low social status, is also quick to punish himself. When he falsely accuses Monsieur the Mayor of being a convict, he asks to be dismissed. To the Mayor, he says â€Å"I denounced you as a convict- you, a respectable man, a mayor, and a magistrate. This is a serious matter, very serious. I have committed an offense against authority† (69). He believes that he has violated the law and should therefore be punished for it, even though he has proved himself to be a worthy inspector and only is guilty of a minor infraction. He believes that any man, despite any previous or future actions, is inherently evil if he has ever done wrong, so Javert automatically condemns himself because he has commit a crime. Javert also believes that the word of the law always supercedes the word of a normal man. Champmathieu, who denied being Jean Valjean, was, in fact, not him, but Javert was positive that he was because the police had accused him of it. When Champmathieu proclaimed his innocence, Javert said of him â€Å"Champmathieu plays off astonished† because he believes that there is no shadow of a doubt  on whether this man is Jean Valjean. The police accused him of this, so they must be right. The police, because they are the envoy of the law, the supreme judge of character, must not be wrong, they are infallible in his eyes. Javert is a true rationalist because he believes that the law decides what kind of person you are, and the law is the highest authority, and that once judged by the law, a man cannot change. Javert is a rationalist because he believes that man is incapable of reform. Throughout the novel, Javert pursues Jean Valjean because he is a convict who is a danger to society. In M_ sur M_, Jean Valjean showed he was reformed by giving to his fellow man before taking for himself. In M_ sur M_, Jean Valjean made 600,000 francs, but not without giving 1,000,000 to the people of the town. Javert pursues him even though he proved himself to be good for the community. Javert is relentless in his pursuit because he firmly believes that a convict is incapable of reformation because he has shown himself to be a doer of evil, and someone who has done evil is inherently evil. When Jean Valjean saved Cosette from the Thenardiers, he showed that he was capable of love and that he was no longer bitter from years of incarceration. Nevertheless, Javert chases after him because he believes he is still a threat, because of his evil nature. Afterwards, Jean Valjean made it his life’s purpose to raise Cosette and give all his money to the poor, to better their circumstances. When Thenardier intended to kill Jean Valjean, Javert came not to stop a crime in process but to get Jean Valjean. Javert even pursued Jean Valjean after he had spared Javert’s life at the barricade. Even after the innumerable good, selfless deeds that Valjean performed Javert pursued him because he thought Valjean was still and would always be evil, because a man’s soul cannot change, is predestined to good or evil, love or violence. Javert shows he is a rationalist because he is blind to the fact that Valjean has reformed, because it is impossible for a man to do so. Javert shows he is a rationalist because he believes the law is infallible with all his soul. When saved by Valjean, Javert is confronted with a moral dilemma. He knew that he had to bring back Valjean or else he was in violation of his duty, and that if he were to let Valjean be free he would  be equally as evil. Hugo describes this predicament â€Å"Javert felt that something horrible was penetrating his soul, admiration for a convict† (336). Javert felt that he was becoming evil because he empathized with a purely evil man. As he empathized with Valjean, â€Å"all the axioms which had been the supports of his whole life crumbled away† (336). Javert was infected by a terrible disease, compassion. Compassion blinded his objectivity and was rendered an unworthy judge, now he was merely a wretch of a man, with a soul as black as Jean Valjean’s. Because in his mind, the mind of a true rationalist, there was only right and wrong, there were only two ways about this. He could either turn the evil man in or die for aiding and abetting the fugitive. Javert must do either the right, and prove himself true, or do wrong and prove himself evil. He must be either good or evil, because there is no such thing as a gray area, and no such thing as compassion, only seeds of evil in his soul. He was his own judge, jury, and executioner. He killed himself because he had failed before the eyes of the law, he failed to do right and was thus proven evil, and did not deserve to live. For this he was a rationalist. Javert represents the true rationalist in this novel because he believes the law is the highest judge of men. The law is the world’s guiding light and is always true. It is infallible, and the judge, a dispensary of the law, is the direct envoy of God. Jean Valjean is purely evil, and his attempts at repentance are only attempts to get out of trouble and to once again be assimilated into his surroundings, so he can once again do evil. Valjean is only a wolf, attempting to wear a sheep’s skin. His beliefs lead him to be so close minded that he is unable to deal with the fact that the law might be wrong. His mind is his own gallows, because he believes in the supreme power of the law. His rationalist beliefs are his noose, the ultimate cause of his death.

Ecosystem Toxic Chemical Threat Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ecosystem Toxic Chemical Threat - Essay Example SECTION TWO Question1. Is this an Acute or Chronic Environmental Threat? The presence of heavy metals in our environment causes chronic hazards to aquatic life and environment. This is because the metals are accumulative poisons that affect their health adversely when they expose or consume them frequently for a longer period of time. Similarly, it has a long-term effect on the environment through constant emissions or discharge to soil, water and surface depending on the source of the contaminants, level and duration of exposure (Palmer 121) Question 2 Is this a systemic (ecosystem) or Targeted Species Threat? Heavy metals are majorly released into the environment largely by manmade activities such as industrial processing and discharge from sewage plants and agricultural activities. This makes it to be more hazardous to both environment and aquatic life, hence, attracting deep concern globally on its mitigation options and control. Question 3 How likely is it that the chemical will be discharged in sufficient amount to do serious harm? The rate at which wastes from the industries and agricultural or sewage plants are releasing their contaminated discharges having lethal heavy metals into aquatic environment is astonishingly high. Given that these activities are manmade and owing to steady increase of global population, the rate at which these activities takes place also increases, generating sufficient amount of deadly heavy metals into marine ecosystem that can result into negative impact on the lives of aquatic population. Question 4 How severe are the consequences of the potential exposure? Potential exposure to heavy metals has adverse effects to aquatic life. For example, presence of cadmium in the ecosystem and in aquatic environment poses adverse effect to both the environment and the aquatic life. According to UNEP (2002), it is recognized as one of the most lethal hazardous water contaminants and could be harmful at every level in ranging from organi sm to cell elements. The harmful value for fish falls within the acceptable limit range of 0.5 ?g/dm3 to 21.1 mg/dm3. Given that this heavy metal has a chronic effect, its accumulative contamination effects can cause detrimental disturbance to aquatic life and the ecosystem. For example, in the case of fish, its effects range from abnormal behavior in fish metabolism, movement behavior to anorexia. Safety and Health Agency (OSHA) clarifies that it is a prospective aquatic carcinogen and is highly linked with anomalous functioning of the aquatic blood cell system. Based on its effects, both the species of chromium are connected to DNA malfunctions of the aquatic animal upon exposure. Similarly, long term accumulation of chromium in the marine environment has adversely affected the aquatic life in this ecosystem. Chromium majorly exist in both Cr (III) and Cr (VI) oxidation states. Chromium (VI) is considered to be more disastrous to aquatic life compared to the former ion Cr 3+. This is because it is readily soluble and mobile in aquatic environment. Question 5 How wide spread is the ecological threat - How many ecosystems and/or species are threatened by the expected exposure? According to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report released in 2004, this group of

Reynoldss Views of Ise Shrine Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Reynoldss Views of Ise Shrine - Assignment Example One of the biggest arguments in their favor is that the continual destruction and rebuilding of the shrine is part of the modernist aesthetic (324). The strong points of Reynolds’s organization are that the long historical introduction builds up well to his claim so that by the time Reynolds makes it seems logical. However, at the same time, that long historical introduction makes the essay somewhat difficult to read. It seems like Reynolds could have spent a lot less time on historical facts or at least applied them more directly to his main argument. Reynolds validates his authority throughout the essay. On the one hand, he continually cites Japanese sources, which makes it clear that he is very familiar with his topic and able to make statements about it. On the other, he writes at great length about many aspects of both Ise Shrine’s history and the aesthetics of Japanese modernism. Reynolds clearly has authority to write about modernist views of Ise Shrine.

Wal-Mart Organization in Indiana Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Wal-Mart Organization in Indiana - Essay Example Wal-Mart as an entity operates under particular virtues that ensure that it can deliver on its promises. All branches are expected to subscribe to the same and the one in Indiana is no different. The company promises to provide high-quality merchandise to its clients. That would mean that the kind of products that one would find at the store would not be found anywhere else. That is not practical in today’s world. No single outlet can claim to offer the best since there is always some other store out there that can do it better. The store strives to live up to its promise for friendly services. On this front, they can beat their competitors' hands down. That is because they can train their workers to ensure complete customer satisfaction. The store also promises the lowest prices, but that is not the case since there are some stores that can offer lower prices and that include the local shopping joints. The entity also claims to provide the best shopping experience on the internet. That is a major flop in their promises front since the internet is filled with numerous advertisements as well as products that are better off. That means that the firm can deliver in some areas while it still needs to polish up on others. The entity has been operating under the banner of one very crucial mission statement. They believe that it is within the retailer’s boundaries to help the customer save money and live better. They would like to improve their customer’s social wellbeing by ensuring they can help them save an extra penny. The savings would go a very long way in ensuring that they can live up to their mission statement. The values held by the organization would include bringing the founders philosophy closer to the people through the use of the internet.  They can use the internet in marketing to make sure they can appeal to the public to buy from them and hence help the consumer save.  Ã‚  

Crime Theories Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Crime Theories - Essay Example They are involved in doing frauds, money laundering, cheating, stealing and trading private information and so on. According to the theory, people are pressurized to commit crime and moreover, an individual has his own requirements and expected opportunities that are formed on the basis of social structures and in case of unavailability of desired needs and opportunities, an individual is made to commit a crime (Siegel, 2011). Like street crimes, white collar crime can also be considered under strain theory. The people who are socially sound can perceive some blockage in their set goals and requirements related to their financial success and consider this as straining due to which, they can be equally involved in committing crime. In addition, they can also regard the provided opportunities as inadequate due to which, they can be pressurized to commit crime (Taylor, et al., 2005). The strain theory is the most relevant in terms of being a cause of digital crime as the criminals can be socially deprived as well as blessed and can regard the provision of opportunities as lacking. The digital crime involves people from such countries that are poor globally such as African countries as well as from wealthy countries such as USA. Mostly, the criminals of digital crime have ambition of getting richer by selling private and crucial information of one competitor to the other (Taylor, et al., 2005). People who are socially and economically stressed commit digital crime. People can be strained when they fail to accomplish their goals due to which, they are involved in digital crime. They are involved in hacking, selling personal information of their employers, leaking secrets, committing frauds, corporate espionage and so on (Siegel, 2011). Tunnell (2005) gives information about the criminal Dannie Martin who has a poor background and lack of any opportunity to get success and economic stability in life and all he

Comparable Destinations, Different Paths Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Comparable Destinations, Different Paths - Essay Example The letters also explain why nobody else has been to Utopia. The reason is so ridiculous that it lends believability to the statement--someone had coughed and the exact longitude and latitude had not been heard, but Raphael was being sought to disclose the information. The first book tells of the traveler Raphael Hythlodaeus, to whom More is introduced in Antwerp and also explores the subject of how best to counsel a prince, a popular topic at the time. Plato doubtless did well foresee, unless kings themselves would apply their minds to the study of philosophy, that else they would never thoroughly allow the council of philosophers, being themselves before, even from their tender age, infected and corrupt with perverse and evil opinions (More 8). More tries to persuade Raphael that into the lucrative service of royalty, acting as an advisor to kings or lords. Raphael, however, seems to be saying that his views would not be listened to because such men are too corrupt to understand so pure a study as philosophy. Raphael speaks of Plato, of whom he seems to emulate the thoughts and ideals. The above statement screams of Platonic thought, suggesting that kings must be philosophers as well in order to rule fairly and wisely. More seems to consider it a philosopher's duty to ... While Raphael has chosen to embrace the idea of starting again, the character More desires to fix things as they are. "The difference is only a matter of one syllable," Raphael says as a way to illustrate the short distance from service to servitude (More 7). One syllable indeed. This simple sentence may offer a clue that can answer a question of much debate in regards to More's Utopia. The question is, as a reader, can one accept this imaginary society as a realistic blueprint for a working nation On the other hand, should one assume that More had no intention of his book being taken seriously One could arguably maintain either position. More's Utopia most definitely works if viewed as a satire. By taking into account More's use of these puns, one can deduce that his intention in writing Utopia is to reveal more about the current state of politics in 16th England than it is to offer a model for an ideal society. Support for such an argument can be easily supported by simply looking at the title of the book. The word "Utopia" has two roots. However, depending on which root is chosen, the meaning of the word changes drastically. "Utopia" is a combination of the syllable eu, which can be translated as "good," and the word topos, which means "place." At the same time, if one assumes that the ou prefix is used, which has a negating tone and translates into "no," then suddenly More's "good place" becomes "no place." The difference is only a matter of one syllable. More's hints at absurdity extend beyond simply the use of pun in the title/name of the island, being found in even his description of the island of Utopia. According to the

Strategic Management and Governance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Strategic Management and Governance - Essay Example According to research, the inclusion of sustainable considerations in the process of formulation usually forms the basis of sustainable competitive advantage for most of the firms. In this relation, it is apparent that it is essential to have a sustainability focus during the formulation of strategy. Subsequently, it is important to critically analyze how this process has helped firms to achieve complete sustainable competitive advantage. Besides, this paper will also evaluate the relevance of the sustainable considerations during the formulation of strategy when an economic recession period is being experienced. In strategy formulation, sustainable consideration refers to environmental, social and economic considerations use din strategy formulation. Therefore, there is a great importance that lies in the ability to consolidate various factors that play a certain role in the organization of effective processes and activities within any organization or firm. In the current environment, there are various environmental, social and economic terms that have been developed to refer to the concept of sustainable development. This is in relation to the organization. The most common ones are corporate social responsibility, sustainability and corporate citizenry. The aspect of sustainability is based on one of the simplest principles. It entails the need to put everything that is required for survival and wellbeing independent on the natural environment in either a direct or indirect way. In this sense, with sustainability, human beings and nature are able to create and sustain an environment that produces product harmony. In turn, this environment can permit the fulfillment of the economic and social requirements among other needs of the present and future generations. Sustainability is a crucial element in the process of corporate management where environmental, financial and social performance in the effort to achieve competitive

Welcome Letter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Welcome Letter - Essay Example Foreigners are welcome in the United States. Due to the diverse ethnic and racial composition of the student population on campus few will actually realize that you are foreign students. Learning the basics about the United States culture is important. In the United States we eat three times a day. Eating at fast food restaurants is a common occurrence. I recommend that as you start meeting people inside and outside of class inviting them to enjoy a meal during lunchtime at the cafeteria or at fast food restaurants is a good way to enjoy time with other people while sharing a meal together. Sports are a major part of our culture. Our school has several sporting teams. Students at our university enjoy going to these sporting events. Most of them are free of charge for students. There are many extracurricular activities going on at our campus everyday. To enjoy the full college experience it would be good for you guys to attend the art expositions, theater events, music shows, and seminars by professionals that occur every semester at our university. Social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace are a hot trend among young people in America. If you donâ€℠¢t have one you should open an account immediately particularly one in Facebook which is the industry leader in social networks. Facebook has 750 million users worldwide (Facebook, 2011). This is a great way to meet friends. You should invite your classmates to be your friends on Facebook or any other social network. As students that are enrolled at our university I know you have high educational goals. You should visit the educational counselors of our school to share with them your aspirations and goals. They can help you create a long term plan for your future. This university is not a walk in the park from an academic perspective. All curriculums are very hard and it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to succeed academically. If you need help don’t hesitate

Inhibition of DNA processing in heavy metal carcinogenesis Essay

Inhibition of DNA processing in heavy metal carcinogenesis - Essay Example Nonetheless, although it has been noted that some heavy metals may inhibit SSB (single strand break) rejoining, the effects on single strand break end-processing enzymes has never previously been investigated. First, an analysis on the DNA replication as a result of topo-1 enzyme will be done. This will show how topo-1 enzyme is responsible for winding of DNA structures. A picture analysis will be included to show evidence of the process. As mentioned earlier, different heavy metals have effects on the living organism’ DNA. The metals will be discussed together with their effects. This paper also explores inhibition of superoxide dismutases. This enzyme catalysis the dismutation of extremely reactive superoxide ions to generate hydrogen peroxide and numerous lines of evidence propose that these enzymes play significant part in the development and also response to treatment of cancers. These are enzymes that control under-winding and over-winding of DNA. DNA winding comes from the intertwined nature of its double-helical structure. For instance, during replication of DNA, DNA is overwound before a replication fork. When it is not controlled, it will eventually lead to a halt in DNA replication. A similar process is observed during transcription. To overcome the topological problems resulting from the double helix, topoisomerases are bound to single or double stranded DNA and cut the phosphate spine of the DNA. This untangles the DNA releasing the DNA spine again. Since the chemical composition of the DNA remains the same, the untangled DNAs are chemical isomers. Therefore, topoisomerases are isomerase enzymes which work on the DNA topology. The N-terminal domain is then preceded by a highly conserved, 421 amino acid core domain that contains all of the catalytic residues except the active site tyrosine. A protease-sensitive and poorly conserved linker domain

The death penalty Essay Example for Free

The death penalty Essay During act1 the play starts were a group of people in Salem go dancing in the woods with a slave woman called Tituba, Reverrand Parris sees this but is spotted doing so, the girls run away.  The next day reverrand Parris is beside Betty who is ill, the doctor suspects the girl has been taken over by supernatural forces. Parris questions Abigail, who was with her, he asks her about witchcraft and Tituba, he then sends for reverrand Hale, an authority on witchcraft. Mr Mrs Putnam see how Betty is and says that she sent her daughter Ruth to raise spirits of her dead babies to see who murdered them so that is another reason for the happenings in the woods that night. Later the girls who were dancing in the woods joined Betty beside her bedside, theyre all woried that they may be tried for witchraft. Abigail has them on their own, she slaps Betty to try to sustain her, she also worns the other girls not to breath a word of when she drank blood in the woods, she uses scare tactics. Abigail and Proctor starts talking about their affair and their affections for each other, while Betty is next to them in bed hearing every word they say, Betty then screams to stop them. Parris, Rebbecca, and Giles come to see whats happened with Betty, Rebbecca manages to restrain her. Parris wants to have a witch hunt, but proctor doesnt believe in witches, they start to argue. The Putnams continue to disagree with the rest of the towns people of Salem about land rights, which creates a lot of tension.  Reverrand Hale tries to wake Betty but doesnt succeed, he then turns to Abigail questions her about the witchery, in hesitation shes quick to accuse Tituba. She accuses two others, realises Titubas escape by naming others, she chants the names of the other girls in the villiage that she believes has seen the devil, Hale is pleased shes confessed and tells her to continue talking. Crucible: A melting pot where basic elements are mixed together to give an explosive force.  This is the title of the play, I think this title is very fitting with the contents of the play, it seems to be like when the characters (basic elements) are put together, they produce arguments, action, tension, fear(explosive force).  Arthur Millers background He was born in New York, 17th October 1915, he was brought up in the brooklyn area. His father owned a clothing factor which collapsed, following this lead Arthur Miller to produce the play Death of a salesman and A view from a bridge set in Brooklyn. During his college years he managed to write plays although he had college and other jobs at the same time.  His first success was All my sons which was about a father forced to realise dangerous moral comprimises changing the American dream of wealth. His biggest hit was Death of a salesman in 1949 which won the Pulitzer Prize. The crucible won an award in 1953, but wasnt an immediate commercial success, this was the time of Mc Carthyism. Mc Carthyism is an issue in which to consider in the play, with Salem being a very theocratic society. In the arrly 1950s Joseph McCarthy, a senator, managed to create a national campaign against communists, ex-communists and anyone who assoiated with them. He made many unfounded statements about the numbers of secret communists in important positions, as chairman of a senate commitee he interrogated many witnesses and tried to make them inform on friends and colleagues. As the anti-communist hysteria increased many people were hounded from their jobs or were prevented from working. McCarthys unproven accusations and aggresive interrogations gradually brought him into disrepute. Witchcraft is an important scene in which act 1 is dramatic, witchcraft was a serious matter in those days, and even more in a religious community. Witchery led to deaths, fall outs, false accusations, murders, tortures, exectutions, being burnt etc which if used in the play, which it was, it can be used to build extreme dramatic situations which can have a powerful effect on the audience. Witches were thaught to be in league with the devil, who was their master, the devil/satan is believed to roam the world for human souls to tempt into hell. He is a supreme enemy of everything thats good and holy. The Christian churches persued and persicuted supposed witches. A common test for a person accused for being a witch was pricking with a needle. All witches were supposed to have somewhere on their bodies, a mark made by the devil himself which was insensitive to pain. Any who were found guilty suffered the death penalty. Whichcraft trials in Salem were common, I think Arthur Miller used it in his play to worry the audience into thinking death was appartant and inevitable, when witchery was present. Whenever death is present in a play, the dramatic tension is bound to rise because death is a most serious matter to anyone. If ever witchery or satanic happenings occured in Salem, it would most probably be taken to court until someone was proven guilty and hanged, maybe Arthur Miller knew this and thaught that the audience would know it too? therefore rising the dramatic tension in the play.

Promote Professional Development Essay Example for Free

Promote Professional Development Essay Principles * Professional development deepens and broadens knowledge of content. Knowledge of a common core of content—which we deï ¬ ne as including the â€Å"various ways of knowing† that are intrinsic to each discipline—allows us to communicate, to work together toward common ends, to function as a cohesive democratic society, and to ï ¬ nd shared ground on which to build tolerance for our differences. * Professional development provides a strong foundation in teaching. * Professional development develops an understanding of: 1. The most useful ways of representing ideas 2. The most powerful illustrations and analogies for representing a concept 3. It makes learning speciï ¬ c things in a content area easy or difï ¬ cult; 4. It bring kinds of questions that help to reveal and develop understanding 5. It is the most effective strategies to address the misconceptions that commonly arise with regard to particular content at particular developmental levels, given with speciï ¬ c background experiences and prior knowledge. see more:what are the components of a personal development plan * Professional development provides knowledge about the teaching and learning processes. 1. Creates and maintains appropriate, orderly teaching and learning environments 2. It brings any assessment issues and clears any misunderstanding. * Professional development contributes to measurable improvement in one’s achievement. * Professional development is intellectually engaging and addresses the complexity of one’s job role. * Professional development is job-embedded and site speciï ¬ c that helps in the day to day growth of one’s knowledge and skills. * Importance: It is a tool for self-management of your development. It can provide a framework to support your development in a number of different ways. Fundamentally, its a question of regularly setting yourself objectives for development and then charting your progress towards achieving them. Its about being clear where you are, where you want to be, how you plan to get there, and how this meets current and future business needs and it is about a continuing process of reflecting on your learning and your experience to maximise its value. There is an expectation that regulators will be life-long learners in order to keep their professional skills, knowledge and experience up to date in an ever changing legislative, social and economic environment, and to ensure positive development through the right experience, and by getting the most (in terms of learning) from that experience. As a professional, you have a responsibility to keep your skills and knowledge up to date. It helps many of us already to externally verify our accreditation. Reflective learning provides a positive opportunity to identify and achieve your own career objectives. Reflecting on past experience and planning for the future in this way makes your development more methodical, and helps you to assess, and get the most from your learning. Potential Barriers to professional development: * Time Time is a crucial factor in personal growth and development, and many individuals lack enough of it. Between work responsibilities, childcare issues and just trying to survive on a day-to-day basis, you may find yourself lacking the hours necessary to devote to your own goals. * Attitude A negative attitude is a major factor in this area. If you start out with the belief that positive development is unlikely to occur, then no matter how hard you work on it, your belief will sabotage any efforts you may make. * Family Family also can be a hindrance when it comes to personal growth. Often, individuals are entrenched with ideas from their families about how much someone can develop as a person, so they dont seek to move past these set levels. * Peers Peers also can complicate our efforts to improve ourselves. Peers often try to sabotage our goals, either consciously or unconsciously. They degrade our efforts toward growth because those efforts remind them of the growth they could be pursuing, but have chosen to forgo. * Motivation Lack of motivation can be an enormous barrier to personal development. Without motivation, you have little energy to accomplish tasks leading to growth. With the right amount of motivation, however, those tasks can seem easy, and even enjoyable, to accomplish. * Money Personal growth does not have to take a great deal of money to accomplish, but depending on your goals, a lack of it can stall your efforts. Materials to learn about new topics and ways of living often cost money, but they are an investment in you. * Failure to Plan Lack of proper planning and preparation can lead to haphazard attempts to fulfil goals a recipe for wasted energy and efforts. If you are trying to break a habit, start a new career or glean insights into your thought processes, be sure to have at least a rudimentary plan to reach these goals. * Distractions Distractions, whether in the form of minor demands or activities that offers immediate gratification, can be counted on to undermine your efforts toward personal growth. * Perseverance Finally, when trying to reach personal goals, we often forget that perseverance is a key. Dont expect to achieve your dreams overnight. Overcoming obstacles consistently is the only way to become the individual you want to be. Different sources and systems of support for professional development The following are the different sources and systems of support for professional development * Inductions given for new staff. These includes giving information regarding the policies and procedures, what the company expect from them, their rights, etc. (copy of 24 hour induction form attached) * Appraisals The Annual Staff Appraisal scheme is based on objective setting in all aspects of an individual’s job, based on the contributions that they make. The review period will cover the previous 12 calendar months * Development plans A Professional Development Plan (PDP) is a short planning document that examines an individual’s current CPD needs, looks at how these might be met and lists objectives for the future. It helps the individual to structure and focus one’s training needs and should address the following points: Where am I now? Where am I going? How am I going to get there? In producing a PDP, one should: Consider once current job and the skills they need to do it competently. What changes are likely to occur in the next few years? The individual should list both short and long-term ambitions. Be realistic about their ambitions and the time needed to achieve them. Think about the areas in which they will need to target the CPD to achieve their ambitions – be realistic and prioritise. A PDP is not a request for unlimited training. Their employer will be interested in the business case for their PDP. Look to the future; don’t restrict one’s self to thinking about current professional responsibilities. Should they strengthen existing skills or develop new ones? List their priorities for the next two years. These will form the basis for deciding what CPD opportunities to take up. It is important to remember that their priorities are not cast in stone; they may decide to change them in the future. They should review and update their PDP regularly to respond to changing needs, challenges and opportunities. * Shadowing – when an individual require more supervision to ensure the quality of their job and provide teaching how do we expect them to work. * in-house training – providing all the in house training will make an individual feel that they are valued and this help them to practice in a safe way. * Training organisations – using other training organisations helps build relationship outside and helps with building competence in dealing with other individual. * Mentoring is providing support and encouragement to individual to manage their own learning in order that they may maximise their potential, develop their skills, improve their performance and become the person they want to be. * Supervisions is one of the most important drivers in ensuring positive outcomes * Reflective Practice Reflective practice is a way of studying your own experiences to improve the way you work. It is very useful for health professionals who want to carry on learning throughout their lives. The act of reflection is a great way to increase confidence and become a more proactive and qualified professional. Engaging in reflective practice should help to improve the quality of care you give and close the gap between theory and practice. The following examples of reflective practice which will provide some idea of the various methods one can choose from. Gibbs reflective cycle Gibbs reflective cycle is a process involving six steps: * Description What happened? * Feelings What did you think and feel about it? * Evaluation What were the positives and negatives? * Analysis What sense can you make of it? * Conclusion What else could you have done? * Action Plan What will you do next time? It is a cycle because the action you take in the final stage will feed back into the first stage, beginning the process again. Johns model for structured reflection This is a series of questions to help one think through what has happened. They can read the questions here This can be used as a guide for analysing a critical incident or for general reflection on experiences. John’s model supports the need for the learner to work with a supervisor throughout the experience. He also recommends that the student use a structured diary. He suggests the student should ‘look in on the situation’, which would include focusing on yourself and paying attention to your thoughts and emotions. He then advises to ‘look out of the situation’ and write a description of the situation around your thoughts and feelings, what you are trying to achieve, why you responded in the way you did, how others were feeling, did you act in the best way, ethical concepts etc Rolfe’s framework for reflective practice Rolfe uses three simple questions to reflect on a situation: What? so what? and now what? He considers the final question as the one that can make the greatest contribution to practice. * What is the problem? was my role? happened? were the consequences? * So what was going through my mind? should I have done? do I know about what happened now? * Now what do I need to do? broader issues have been raised? might happen now? Factors to consider when selecting opportunities and activities for keeping knowledge and practice up to date * Relevance -It has to be relevant to the job role. * Time The length of the activity should be consider/ or how long will it take for you to finish the training or course. Sometimes you can get bored and loose the motivation because it is dragging to your job role or to your other responsibilities. * Benefits – It has to benefit the company, yourself, other staff and most especially people receiving your service. * Benefits for you: 1. enhanced reputation and job satisfaction 2. increased confidence and self esteem 3. improved career prospects and employability 4. improved professional status 5. Development is a transferable skill. * Benefits for your other staff: 1. better quality training 2. up-to-date advice and information 3. training that employs new approaches and methods 4. training that better meets needs 5. Greater confidence in the training provided for your organisation. * Benefits to the people who receives service: 1. enhanced reputation more likely to be seen as credible and reliable and to become a trusted organisation in care 2. more influence from the MDT’s 3. Family and friend of the people who uses services can be good ally and so as the service user 4. A more exciting learning environment and opportunities to learn from each other. (MDT’s) * Benefits to the organisation: 1. staff who can do the job 2. more likely to achieve evolving organisational goals 3. managers can be confident that staff skill levels are compliant and up-to-date with requirements 4. improved employee engagement 5. enhanced external reputation * Refresher course to be available – This help you update if there is a refresher course available for some of the trainings you take. * Cost – cost of the training usually is an issue especially if the training budget should be distributed amongst staff. Check for charity organisations who provide courses and take the opportunity to take it as long as it is related to your job role * Availability – it is difficult when the training you like to do is not available straight away and you will need to wait for it to be available. This can be frustrating at times and hinders the development plan. Beyond these factors it is good to get a balance of learning across: * Maintenance and development needs What you need to keep refreshed and up-to-date against what will be new areas of learning for you. * Specialist subjects and training skills/knowledge If you train in a particular subject area you will need to maintain you technical abilities and knowledge, as well as developing your skills and knowledge as a trainer. * Performance requirements and personal aspirations As well as the learning you have to undertake for your job and professional requirements, you may also have personal aspirations or long terms plan you want to prepare for. * Different learning methods Even if you have a preferred learning style it is important to involve yourself in a range of different approaches. Challenge your preferences sometimes – maybe opting for a highly participative learning activity, even though you would normally choose to learn through researching or reading – and develop your other styles in doing so. Continuing professional development (CPD) is the action we take to maintain, update and grow the knowledge and skills required for our professional role. As the name suggests, it is an on-going commitment, lasting for as long as we remain within our profession. There are many reasons why we are motivated to learn new things. The fact that we are in this profession suggests that we are already enthusiastic learners. CPD requires us to focus a part of our learning specifically on areas that are related to our profession. One of the key features of CPD is that it has to be: SMARTSpecific – be clear about what you want to achieve; what is the actual result or outcome that you want?Measurable – how will you know that you have achieved? What will you see, hear and feel that will tell you that you have achieved?Achievable – the objectives in your plan should be realistic and achievable steps to take you closer to your overall ambitions.Relevant – your objectives should be steps to larger career and personal aspirations, not just random pieces of learning.Time-bound – each outcome should have an achievable end-date – ideally within the timescale of your CPD planning period.|

Impact of the US Media on Public Attitudes

Impact of the US Media on Public Attitudes The impact of the media on public opinion, in countries across the globe, including the United States, is the subject of a growing body of academic and public discourse. The media has grown to become the main conduit for the publics understanding of world events. If the media can be said to provide wide-ranging and balanced coverage of news events there seems little or no problem of negative influence on public opinion. However, the belief in the neutrality of media coverage is not without its critics and the manipulation of news affects the attitudes and behaviours of those it is aimed at, namely the wider American public. The following argument will espouse the view that the media in the current period of time do have an influence on public attitudes and behaviour. Furthermore, the media are in turn influenced by external factors, which can result in the manipulation of public opinion for means preferable to the ruling establishment and business. Before embarking on a definitive answer to this question one must firmly establish definitions that will be used throughout the essay. The first issue is whether or not we can identify and employ the term media as if it were a single entity. This essay will adopt the position that media in this circumstance pertains to the news media of electronic and print journalism. There are of course vast differences between the coverage of news networks such as CNN and newspaper publication such as The New York Times. However, the argument for the all-encompassing use of the term is persuasive. Timothy Cook, for example, explains that the strong similarities of news processes and news content across modalities (television, newspapers, and newsmagazines), size of organization, national or local audiences, etc., point to the news media as a single institution (Cook 1998, p. 84). Thus, for the purposes of this analysis the term media will be taken to represent a monolithic structure encompassing b roadcast, print and digital formats. On a further point of clarity it is necessary to establish the meaning of political attitudes and behaviours. Without resorting to a dictionary definition the distinction here appears to be with peoples thoughts, private or public, and actions, such as the physical act of voting. The measuring of public opinion is complex and has been researched and discussed thoroughly elsewhere. This essay will utilise the existing literature to establish that the media does have an effect on public attitudes and will as such go on to analyse the nature of the influences. The reliance upon the media for information is a key factor in understanding its influence. In his discussion of the issue Timothy Cook states that in the United States, the privately owned news media are relied upon to provide communication from the elite to the public, as well as within the public as a whole (Cook 1998, p. 82). This reliance places the media in a powerful position of mediating not only between the American public but also between the citizens and the state. Despite the multiplicity of news outlets the content, as noted above also by Cook, is often largely similar. The effect of dominant stories being emitted across the media spectrum is one of influencing the political and other attitudes and behaviour of the American public. In his article on the subject Donald Jordan reaches the conclusion that in both newspaper items and television broadcasts experts and commentators wield heavy influence (Jordan 1993, p. 191). The crux of their influence comes in the empowering of the media, by the public, who tend to place a great deal of weight upon the importance of the news stories that reach the front page or television screen. In turn the political importance placed upon this by the public comes as the public seek to judge the stance of politicians on the issues in the media, regardless of whether the said politicians are linked to the news event (Cook 1998, p. 126). It is this perceived influence that in reverse drives politicians to respond even if the issue does not react strongly. In addition to placing a degree of importance on news stories that reach them via the media, there is also reason to suggest that the American public believe what the media say about an issue. Indeed, Hustler publisher Larry Flynt argues that many Americans buy into the newss propaganda on a nightly basis (Flynt 2004, p. 183). If one takes buy into to mean agree with or accept as fact the influence of the media becomes apparent, [t]he reporter is the recorder of government but he is also a participant (Cater in Cook 1998, p. 1). The media, under these assumptions, cannot be viewed as the benign distributors of news, but also the selectors of news and the formers of opinion. The main argument against the above description is that of active audience analysis. This approach contends that audiences routinely interpret corporate messages in ways that suit their own needs, not that of media proprietors or advertisers. However, this argument itself is disputed by those suggesting this dismisses the cumulative effect of repetitive media messages (Herman and McChesney 1997, p. 194). The traditional argument is that the media serves the public well as a force for their democratic right to know (Taylor 1997, p. 1). The American media, and indeed the media of other western democracies, is heralded as a fundamental component of the virtuosity of free speech. In the conflicts against Iraq the rhetoric in the media contrasted the free speech of the media in democratic countries against the state-run media of Husseins Iraq. The irony here is the negated recognition of media censorship by western countries during times of conflict. More worryingly this censorship can often be identified as self-censorship as media organisations seek to remain with the official government and military information channels that dominate the flow of news from the battlefield. In this atmosphere the publics right to know appears to be more akin to the public right to know what the authorities want it to know. Professionalism is also enlisted to support the assertion that the media is acting upon the best interests of the public. The argument purported suggests the individual journalists have professional pride in their work and a moral work ethic that counters efforts to influence their output. However, this does not appear to be the case and tainted news stories emerge that influence the public perception of events. The lack of diversity in news sources, as previously referred to in Cooks account, does not reflect the multiplicity of interpretations that professionalism and personal interpretation by individual reporters would suggest. Despite any well-meaning intentions the most used sources of information by journalists are official channels. Journalists also work within the remit of the editorial policies of their institutions and other dominating factors that shape the news agenda. With conformity of opinion and repetition of news stories, combined with a public willingness to place greater emphasis on the importance of events in the news, the power of the American media to influence the public attitudes and behaviour towards issues becomes apparent. The editorial policies of the media appear to be free-chosen ideals, shaped by the political leanings of those in charge. In the case of newspapers, such overt political leanings are accepted if not expected. However, even with such freedom of choice one can argue that the conservative elements of the American establishment dominate the media agenda. Larry Flynt argues the media is dominated by these influences, which are able to insert their message into the media machine: Where did these ideas come from, and why are they so popular? The answers lie in our newspapers, magazines, radio, and television, and in the people who run them. On the right, you have media piranhas who lie, distort, and â€Å"work the ref† until our heads spin. On the left, you have press poodles who either just do what theyre told, or are too reasonable and polite to compete with ranting, conservative lunatics (Flynt 2004, p. 148). With this in mind one can argue the more conservative elements in politics are managing to portray their version of events. If this is the case and the public place greater faith in those messages purported by the media, then the political attitudes and behaviour of the American public can be said to be influenced. The re-election of George Bush, for example, would appear to substantiate such assertions. The increased commercialisation of the industry also plays a part in the influencing of public opinion. As has been noted the maturing of commercial broadcasting not only substitutes entertainment for public service; the U.S. experience suggests that maturation brings with it a decline in variety of viewpoints and increased protection of establishment interests (Herman and McChesney 1997, p. 143). News has to be important and interesting, for the viewing public to remain engaged. This brings about the introduction of value-laden assumptions to the selection process as news is filtered by editorial staff to provide entertaining news to keep ratings, and hence advertising revenue, high. Once more the unfiltered, diverse media is actually revealed to be both ideologically and economically sieved to produce a product to engage the public. Any discrepancy from this formula can prove troublesome, as Bernhard asserts, because [p]ointing to the social costs of capitalism is still mistaken fo r disloyalty, or for psychosis (Bernhard 1999, p. 178). The same is true for any criticism of a war effort, with the attackers facing the wrath of media and public criticism if messages are deemed unpatriotic. It is also argued that commercialisation leads to the isolation of the public from the political system. This view is put forward by Herman and McChesney: [T]he commercialisation of broadcasting has further weakened democracy by delocalizing (nationalizing) politics, because, as Gerald Benjamin notes, appeals made in one place or to one group may be immediately communicated regionally or nationally. Thus the distributive politics of particular appeals to particular groups can no longer be made by candidates without their first calculating the possible effects on other groups in their electoral coalitions. The individual is more isolated, political participation tends to be reduced, and the idea of collective social action is weakened (Herman and McChesney 1997, p. 147). The political system is altered by the mass reach of media. The individual is weakened and their political attitudes and behaviours are thus altered. Political action at a local level by determined groups is less possible now and the bigger picture much be considered. While the political power of the individual is weakened so too in the breadth of knowledge they attain from the media. Commercialisation and the modern media system have led to the trivialisation of news. Events are edited and selected to appeal as entertainment. The illusion of an informed American public appears justified by the mention of events from afar but, asks Phil Taylor, to what extent this can be said to be the case is debateable: In reality, does the practice of covering world events in twelve column inches or a three-minute news segment encourage prejudice rather than empathy, national pride rather than international harmony, and emotional rather than rational judgements? (Taylor 1997, pp. 1-2). The answer would appear to be yes to each, as while the public are presented with the faà §ade of a multifaceted media machine the content is still highly selective. The outlets may be numerous but the depth is lacking. As the media world moves evermore to the instantaneous and 24-hour news culture the demand to produce a vast quantity of visually-orientated images quickly supersedes any depth of understanding the American public could seek to ascertain. The appeal to emotion does little to stimulate educated discussion upon issues. Instead, if the carefully selected news agenda wishes it can appeal to the public to behave in a way favourable to the governments wishes. For example, during the 1999 Kosovo Conflict the media in the United States and Great Britain played great attention to the human interest stories of Albanian refugees to stir public sympathy for intervention on their behalf. However, the irony was that the chosen form of intervention, solely from the air, while resul ting in no politically damaging allied casualties, did little to stem the flow of refugees. Having referred to conflict one is also inclined to believe that the above interpretation of the media in the context of war may differ. When one takes into account the negative connotations assigned to the medias role during the Vietnam War the relationship would at first appear antagonistic and preclude any bowing on the part of the media to government will. However, the trend for assigning journalists to press pools in the 1990-1 Gulf War demonstrated an effective way of embedding journalists, not only physically, but also mentally with American forces. Cooperation between the media and the government manifested itself in ignoring and attempting to change public opinion, as Phillip Knightley explains: [S]izable minorities in both the United States and Britain were against such a war and although the mainstream media largely ignored their protests, these had to be dampened down unless they gained strength. Hussein had to be demonised. He was painted as being ruthless, another Hitler, a fanatic, deranged, a psychopath, hated by his own people and despised in the Arab world. Further, from the moment his troops had arrived in Kuwait they had committed unspeakable atrocities (Knightley 2001, p. 486). In addition to the restriction of information the media echoed government messages demonising Hussein and his actions. In this respect opposition to the conflict became tantamount to support for Saddam Hussein. Opposition was deemed unpatriotic. By ignoring public protest and presenting this interpretation of events the American public were being shamed into non-verbal opposition and the opinions of proponents of the war were bolstered by the apparent large-scale acceptance of their opinions, as witnessed through the media. Such a perception of events in conflict is at odds with the reality highlighted by Flynt in this and the subsequent conflict in Afghanistan: [W]e had no media with the troops in Afghanistan. Hardly anyone realized that most western reporters were being kept far from the front lines. The war news was being censored. We were being spoon fed commentary and military press releases masquerading as hard news. That was not only an insult to the American people, it was a huge disservice to news coverage in general (Flynt 2004, pp. 162-163). On a subject as emotive as conflict one would expect a mass media to be rife with opinions and conflicting views, representing the fears and worries of a diverse American public. The reverse was in fact true. The media demonstrated in the most tense of times that not only could and would it shape the perception of the conflict to the American people; it was also willing to gloss over public attitudes and expressions of dissent in a misled quest for patriotism in a manner that had historical precursors: In joining forces to sell the Cold War to the American people, government and industry professionals clearly knew they violated precepts of a free and independent press, but they justified it to themselves as a necessary patriotic duty in a fearsome age (Bernhard 1999, p. 179). Military conflict is one arena where the influence of the media is enhanced as the American public thirst for information. However, it also appears to be the occasion when the media is most likely to filter the information it provides. As with military confrontations the influence of media affects not only US public but also beyond. As Edward Herman and Robert McChesney point out the American model for global media is the likely ideal for other world media, as is, arguably, the democratic system of government (Herman and McChesney 1997, p. 137). This also includes cultural infiltration of the American way of life with publics of other nations. Herman and McChesney go so far as to state that: We also think it very important to recognize that media effects are inseparable from broader economic, political, and cultural influences, such as external military occupation and rule, foreign indirect rule through sponsored authoritarian regimes†¦ military and police aid and training, economic and financial linkages, and tourism and educational exchanges, all of which are at least as imbalanced as media exports and imports (Herman and McChesney 1997, p. 155). In a mass media world, where the reach of information is global, perhaps one should consider not only the influence on the American public, but also the worldwide cultural influence. The impact of the American media on public attitudes and behaviour is great. The media have an unparalleled hold over information dissemination to the wider public and the message, according to many commentators, is all too readily accepted. However the messages portrayed are not the result of individual reportage and endeavour on the part of journalists. The mass media is shaped by government and commercial interests that combine to reduce diverse outlets to the same messages. In times of heightened national interest in the news agenda, such as during conflict, the process is more restricted than normal. In essence the media present the contradiction of a mass, diverse organism that through the widespread regurgitation of similar messages, lends credence to those messages, influencing the publics judgement as to their infallibility. Bibliography Articles Jordan, Donald, Newspaper Effects on Policy Preferences, Political Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 57, 1993, pp. 191-204. Books Bernhard, Nancy, U.S. Television News and Cold War Propaganda, 1947-1960, (Cambridge: 1999). Cook, Timothy, Governing with the News. The News Media as a Political Institution, (London: 1998) Flynt, Larry, Sex, Lies and Politics. The Naked truth about Bush, Democracy and the War on Terror, (London: 2004). Herman, Edward and McChesney, Robert, The Global Media. The New Missionaries of Corporate Capitalism, (London: 1999). Knightley, Phillip, The First Casualty. The War Correspondent as Hero and Myth-Maker from the Crimea to Kosovo, (London: 2001). Taylor, Philip, Global Communications, International Affairs and the Media since 1945, (London: 1997). The impact of the media on public opinion, in countries across the globe, including the United States, is the subject of a growing body of academic and public discourse. The media has grown to become the main conduit for the publics understanding of world events. If the media can be said to provide wide-ranging and balanced coverage of news events there seems little or no problem of negative influence on public opinion. However, the belief in the neutrality of media coverage is not without its critics and the manipulation of news affects the attitudes and behaviours of those it is aimed at, namely the wider American public. The following argument will espouse the view that the media in the current period of time do have an influence on public attitudes and behaviour. Furthermore, the media are in turn influenced by external factors, which can result in the manipulation of public opinion for means preferable to the ruling establishment and business. Before embarking on a definitive answer to this question one must firmly establish definitions that will be used throughout the essay. The first issue is whether or not we can identify and employ the term media as if it were a single entity. This essay will adopt the position that media in this circumstance pertains to the news media of electronic and print journalism. There are of course vast differences between the coverage of news networks such as CNN and newspaper publication such as The New York Times. However, the argument for the all-encompassing use of the term is persuasive. Timothy Cook, for example, explains that the strong similarities of news processes and news content across modalities (television, newspapers, and newsmagazines), size of organization, national or local audiences, etc., point to the news media as a single institution (Cook 1998, p. 84). Thus, for the purposes of this analysis the term media will be taken to represent a monolithic structure encompassing b roadcast, print and digital formats. On a further point of clarity it is necessary to establish the meaning of political attitudes and behaviours. Without resorting to a dictionary definition the distinction here appears to be with peoples thoughts, private or public, and actions, such as the physical act of voting. The measuring of public opinion is complex and has been researched and discussed thoroughly elsewhere. This essay will utilise the existing literature to establish that the media does have an effect on public attitudes and will as such go on to analyse the nature of the influences. The reliance upon the media for information is a key factor in understanding its influence. In his discussion of the issue Timothy Cook states that in the United States, the privately owned news media are relied upon to provide communication from the elite to the public, as well as within the public as a whole (Cook 1998, p. 82). This reliance places the media in a powerful position of mediating not only between the American public but also between the citizens and the state. Despite the multiplicity of news outlets the content, as noted above also by Cook, is often largely similar. The effect of dominant stories being emitted across the media spectrum is one of influencing the political and other attitudes and behaviour of the American public. In his article on the subject Donald Jordan reaches the conclusion that in both newspaper items and television broadcasts experts and commentators wield heavy influence (Jordan 1993, p. 191). The crux of their influence comes in the empowering of the media, by the public, who tend to place a great deal of weight upon the importance of the news stories that reach the front page or television screen. In turn the political importance placed upon this by the public comes as the public seek to judge the stance of politicians on the issues in the media, regardless of whether the said politicians are linked to the news event (Cook 1998, p. 126). It is this perceived influence that in reverse drives politicians to respond even if the issue does not react strongly. In addition to placing a degree of importance on news stories that reach them via the media, there is also reason to suggest that the American public believe what the media say about an issue. Indeed, Hustler publisher Larry Flynt argues that many Americans buy into the newss propaganda on a nightly basis (Flynt 2004, p. 183). If one takes buy into to mean agree with or accept as fact the influence of the media becomes apparent, [t]he reporter is the recorder of government but he is also a participant (Cater in Cook 1998, p. 1). The media, under these assumptions, cannot be viewed as the benign distributors of news, but also the selectors of news and the formers of opinion. The main argument against the above description is that of active audience analysis. This approach contends that audiences routinely interpret corporate messages in ways that suit their own needs, not that of media proprietors or advertisers. However, this argument itself is disputed by those suggesting this dismisses the cumulative effect of repetitive media messages (Herman and McChesney 1997, p. 194). The traditional argument is that the media serves the public well as a force for their democratic right to know (Taylor 1997, p. 1). The American media, and indeed the media of other western democracies, is heralded as a fundamental component of the virtuosity of free speech. In the conflicts against Iraq the rhetoric in the media contrasted the free speech of the media in democratic countries against the state-run media of Husseins Iraq. The irony here is the negated recognition of media censorship by western countries during times of conflict. More worryingly this censorship can often be identified as self-censorship as media organisations seek to remain with the official government and military information channels that dominate the flow of news from the battlefield. In this atmosphere the publics right to know appears to be more akin to the public right to know what the authorities want it to know. Professionalism is also enlisted to support the assertion that the media is acting upon the best interests of the public. The argument purported suggests the individual journalists have professional pride in their work and a moral work ethic that counters efforts to influence their output. However, this does not appear to be the case and tainted news stories emerge that influence the public perception of events. The lack of diversity in news sources, as previously referred to in Cooks account, does not reflect the multiplicity of interpretations that professionalism and personal interpretation by individual reporters would suggest. Despite any well-meaning intentions the most used sources of information by journalists are official channels. Journalists also work within the remit of the editorial policies of their institutions and other dominating factors that shape the news agenda. With conformity of opinion and repetition of news stories, combined with a public willingness to place greater emphasis on the importance of events in the news, the power of the American media to influence the public attitudes and behaviour towards issues becomes apparent. The editorial policies of the media appear to be free-chosen ideals, shaped by the political leanings of those in charge. In the case of newspapers, such overt political leanings are accepted if not expected. However, even with such freedom of choice one can argue that the conservative elements of the American establishment dominate the media agenda. Larry Flynt argues the media is dominated by these influences, which are able to insert their message into the media machine: Where did these ideas come from, and why are they so popular? The answers lie in our newspapers, magazines, radio, and television, and in the people who run them. On the right, you have media piranhas who lie, distort, and â€Å"work the ref† until our heads spin. On the left, you have press poodles who either just do what theyre told, or are too reasonable and polite to compete with ranting, conservative lunatics (Flynt 2004, p. 148). With this in mind one can argue the more conservative elements in politics are managing to portray their version of events. If this is the case and the public place greater faith in those messages purported by the media, then the political attitudes and behaviour of the American public can be said to be influenced. The re-election of George Bush, for example, would appear to substantiate such assertions. The increased commercialisation of the industry also plays a part in the influencing of public opinion. As has been noted the maturing of commercial broadcasting not only substitutes entertainment for public service; the U.S. experience suggests that maturation brings with it a decline in variety of viewpoints and increased protection of establishment interests (Herman and McChesney 1997, p. 143). News has to be important and interesting, for the viewing public to remain engaged. This brings about the introduction of value-laden assumptions to the selection process as news is filtered by editorial staff to provide entertaining news to keep ratings, and hence advertising revenue, high. Once more the unfiltered, diverse media is actually revealed to be both ideologically and economically sieved to produce a product to engage the public. Any discrepancy from this formula can prove troublesome, as Bernhard asserts, because [p]ointing to the social costs of capitalism is still mistaken fo r disloyalty, or for psychosis (Bernhard 1999, p. 178). The same is true for any criticism of a war effort, with the attackers facing the wrath of media and public criticism if messages are deemed unpatriotic. It is also argued that commercialisation leads to the isolation of the public from the political system. This view is put forward by Herman and McChesney: [T]he commercialisation of broadcasting has further weakened democracy by delocalizing (nationalizing) politics, because, as Gerald Benjamin notes, appeals made in one place or to one group may be immediately communicated regionally or nationally. Thus the distributive politics of particular appeals to particular groups can no longer be made by candidates without their first calculating the possible effects on other groups in their electoral coalitions. The individual is more isolated, political participation tends to be reduced, and the idea of collective social action is weakened (Herman and McChesney 1997, p. 147). The political system is altered by the mass reach of media. The individual is weakened and their political attitudes and behaviours are thus altered. Political action at a local level by determined groups is less possible now and the bigger picture much be considered. While the political power of the individual is weakened so too in the breadth of knowledge they attain from the media. Commercialisation and the modern media system have led to the trivialisation of news. Events are edited and selected to appeal as entertainment. The illusion of an informed American public appears justified by the mention of events from afar but, asks Phil Taylor, to what extent this can be said to be the case is debateable: In reality, does the practice of covering world events in twelve column inches or a three-minute news segment encourage prejudice rather than empathy, national pride rather than international harmony, and emotional rather than rational judgements? (Taylor 1997, pp. 1-2). The answer would appear to be yes to each, as while the public are presented with the faà §ade of a multifaceted media machine the content is still highly selective. The outlets may be numerous but the depth is lacking. As the media world moves evermore to the instantaneous and 24-hour news culture the demand to produce a vast quantity of visually-orientated images quickly supersedes any depth of understanding the American public could seek to ascertain. The appeal to emotion does little to stimulate educated discussion upon issues. Instead, if the carefully selected news agenda wishes it can appeal to the public to behave in a way favourable to the governments wishes. For example, during the 1999 Kosovo Conflict the media in the United States and Great Britain played great attention to the human interest stories of Albanian refugees to stir public sympathy for intervention on their behalf. However, the irony was that the chosen form of intervention, solely from the air, while resul ting in no politically damaging allied casualties, did little to stem the flow of refugees. Having referred to conflict one is also inclined to believe that the above interpretation of the media in the context of war may differ. When one takes into account the negative connotations assigned to the medias role during the Vietnam War the relationship would at first appear antagonistic and preclude any bowing on the part of the media to government will. However, the trend for assigning journalists to press pools in the 1990-1 Gulf War demonstrated an effective way of embedding journalists, not only physically, but also mentally with American forces. Cooperation between the media and the government manifested itself in ignoring and attempting to

Elements of Childhood in Platos Lysis :: essays research papers

Childhood in the Ancient world was viewed in somewhat of a different light then in the post Greco-Roman world of Europe circa the Medieval age. For this very reason the attitude, language, and style of the writings that are found from the Ancient world must be considered in the context of their time period. Classical Greek writers like Plato comprised extensive works detailing their own teachings through plays or epic poems. Plato commonly would write plays in which his teacher, the famous philosopher Socrates, would commence in extensive dialogue and debate with several other characters. As a student of Socrates, Plato viewed his teacher as a great man who’s teachings were worthy of documentation and most of the present-day knowledge of Socrates’ works are through the writings of Plato. In addition to the philosophical merits of these works, they are also of great importance because they provide the reader with a first-hand look at the attitudes of the Ancient Greeks towards such things as the ancient idea of Childhood.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Lysis,† written by Plato in approximately 380 BCE (the exact year is unknown) is an in depth look, through the teachings of Socrates, at the nature of friendship, desire, usefulness and personal identity. This work is relevant to our course about childhood because the characters in the dialogue that Socrates is speaking with are youths. Socrates reveals through his teachings many of the ancient attitudes towards different aspects of â€Å"childhood.† It is quite apparent that this outlook on children more closely resembles the later ideas of the Renaissance, rather than those found in Medieval history. Due to the obsession with knowledge and learning found in both the Classical and Renaissance eras, those who partook in the learning, the youth of society, held a much higher standing in society than the children of the plague-ridden society of the 14th and early 15th century. This specific work by Plato is particularly interesting and relevant because in the text Socrates talks about childhood in great extent and he seems to have a great appreciation for the young men in Greek society. Socrates also employs a much different style of teaching than that is found in later Judeo-Christian society of Europe. Plato describes this method with great admiration as he writes, â€Å"Socrates maintains his character of a 'know nothing;' but the boys have already learned the lesson which he is unable to teach them, and they are free from the conceit of knowledge.

Porphyrias Lover, My Last Duchess and The Flea all have the theme of Es

Porphyrias Lover, My Last Duchess and The Flea all have the theme of love in them Porphyrias Lover, My Last Duchess and The Flea all have the theme of love in them. But they are not all the same theme of love for example Porphyrias Lover is obsessive and seductive love whereas; The Flea is more like sexual love. Robert Browning writes both Porphyrias Lover and My Last Duchess and John Donne writes The Flea. I think Porphyrias Lover and My Last Duchess are alike as Robert Browning uses similar themes of love in them e.g. Obsessive and Possessive. The Flea is a completely different poem altogether. It is more of a sexual poem rather than obsessive but it could be argued that it is obsessive as well because the male is obsessed with having sex with the lady. Porphyrias Lover is about a man obsessing over Porphyria, who is already with someone else, Porphyria seduces him and tells him that she loves him- ‘She put my arm about her waist, and made her smooth white shoulder bare and all her yellow hair displaced†¦. Murmuring how she loved me’. Her lover then realises Porphyria loves him and he debates what to do, he then thinks of something to do that will make Porphyria his forever, ‘and all her hair in one yellow string I wound three times her little throat around and strangled her.’ He killed Porphyria and is happy and confident about what he has done ‘And thus we sit together now, and all night long we have not stirred, and yet God has not said a word!’ Porphyrias Lover is a Dramatic Monologue in which and obsessive lover kills his mistress. Robert Browning uses personification an pathetic fallacy to set the mood of the lover, ‘ The sullen wind was soon awake, it tore the elm- tops down for spite, and d... ...to be killed because she smiled at other men, ‘ Oh sir, she smiled, no doubt, whene’er I passed her, but who passed without much the same smile? This grew; I gave commands; then all smiles stopped together. This poem is like Porphyrias Lover because is contains possessive love and so does Porphyrias lover. I don’t think it is like The Flea because it has no seductive love in it at all. I think this could be down to the fact that Porphyrias Lover and My Last Duchess are both written by Robert Browning and so they will be written in a certain style of writing. The Flea however is written by John Donne and is slightly different to both the other poems! I enjoyed studying these types of love poetry because I thought it was interesting how there are so many types of love. I think I have shown that all the poems are related to each other in different ways.

The Deadly Ebola Virus :: Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever (Ebola HF)

"The only sound is a choking in his throat as he continues to vomit while unconscious. Then comes a sound like a bed sheet being torn in half, which is the sound of his bowels opening at the sphincter and venting blood. The blood is mixed with his intestinal lining. He has sloughed off his gut. The lining of his intestines have come off and are being expelled along with huge amounts of blood" (Preston 17). Ebola hemorrhagic fever is probably the most publicized virus since AIDS. And for a good reason too. People "crashing out," vomiting their organs, bleeding all over the place, it certainly catches one's attention. Richard Preston's The Hot Zone, Robin Cook's Outbreak and miscellaneous exposà ©s on television have alerted the public to what was once considered a minor problem. Ebola is extremely dangerous and much study is being devoted to it so it does not become a major threat to the human race. "Ebola is one of the most pathogenic viruses known to science, causing death in 50%- 90% of all clinically ill cases." It is known for its sudden onset of fever, weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat that is followed by vomiting, diarrhea, organ disfunction and internal and external bleeding. It can be in the body 2 to 21 days before any symptoms can be noticed. There is no vaccine and scientists do not know where it originated. Ebola is transmitted by contact with blood, secretions, organs or semen of infected persons. It was first identified in Sudan and Zaire in 1976 (World 1996). There are four known varieties of Ebola; Ebola Zaire, Ebola Sudan, Ebola Reston and Ebola Tai. Zaire, Sudan and Tai cause illness in humans and primates unlike Reston that affects primates only. What makes them different from each other is not their shape, for that is quite similar, but their gene structure. Ebola Zaire and Ebola Sudan were first isolated in 1976 at the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, Porton Down in England and the Institute for Tropical Diseases in Antwerp, Belgium. Years later, Ebola Zaire and Ebola Sudan were found to be different strains by Dr. Joseph McCormick of the CDC. In 1989, Dr. Peter Jahrling of the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) identified the Reston strain. Ebola Tai was identified in 1995 by Dr. Bernard LeGuenno of Institute Pasteur in Paris.

Globalization process Essay

Due to the emergence of globalization process, many changes are taking place within the mainstream business activity. As the organizations becoming to more and more globalized, the need to have a uniform set of international standards is strongly felt. This argument is based on the fact that since organizations are becoming global and have to face the different legal as well as cultural environments therefore in a bid to reduce the bottlenecks for the international firms as well as creating a uniform set of accounting rules and regulations, it is critical that a convergence shall be made to the international accounting standards so that a uniformity can be achieved. The experience of EU and Canada has been successful so as those of other countries who are making a transition to the international accounting standards. This experience is also considered as a strong signal for the US to adapt to the new standards because it is connected with the global world. The complexities of the international trade have led much international business to remove the conflict between the different standards in place and as such the effort from the US is one of the attempts to converge to the International standards to achieve the desired results. However, it is also critical to note that many argue that such transition will be costly for the American firms because an earlier transition to Sarbanes Oxley has been a costly proposition for the many companies and most of them may be reluctant to adapt to the new standards. The costs, however, may be relatively high but the added benefits which US firms may enjoy after this convergence may greatly outweigh the benefits. The uniformity of the standards will allow international firms, especially to be more flexible and support the initiatives taken by the Security and Exchange Commission to make a phased transition to the adaptation of the IFRS. The process of this convergence can be difficult to assess as it is a phased process however, given the fact that more than 85 countries have adapted the IFRS itself indicate that more and more countries are now willing to adapt to the international standards in order to facilitate the businesses to adapt a uniform set of standards. Such large scale adaptation of the standards however, also creates cultural as well language problems as the correct and accurate interpretation of the standards itself is an issue to deal with. Language and culture therefore are two of the potential impediments which can restrict the true applicability of the standards even if the standards are fully implemented and adapted by the countries. If we assess the globalization of accounting standards with special reference to US, we will also come to know that few of the international firms in US have already adopted the standards for their foreign subsidiaries and as such this process may not be as complicated to them as they may perceive it. However, what is also critical to note that those firms which have only the domestic presence within the US market may find it difficult to cope with the increasing costs as well as adapting to the new standards? This will not only require investment into improving the skill level of the employees as well as would require additional funds to implement the new system.

Advanced Medical Technology Corp Essay

in that respect atomic number 18 numerous factors, apart ready the amount involved and security or collateral onwardered, a jargon or any lending institution considers when granting a loan to potential borrowers. Some of the just about important are a descent/ caller-ups fiscal standing, its fiscal obligations, the purpose for borrowing, past financial dealings of the borrower and its existing businesses with other entities. All of these are important factors to determine whether or non a bank shall tie its specie down to the borrower.Advanced Medical engineering Corpoproportionn (AMT), a growing family, is thirstily interested in borrowing peachy from Western national bevel of San Francisco, atomic number 20 in the amount of $8 jillion to maintain its latest market stake and to exploit new markets. The president of AMT believes that accustomed the current standing of the company, sales allow for continue to grow in the akin pace. Here are the issues Western Na tional Bank of San Francisco should serve into and study in order to come up with a decision regarding the loan request of AMT (1)Current financial conditionThe financial statements of AMT for the years 1983, 1984 an 1985 shows that the company has been experiencing electronic network losses for the past third years, primarily brought about by intemperately spending on research and development. However, despite the losses, it seems that the companys net increase strand has been improving in a continuing velocity. From 1983 to 1984, the net profit margin of the company improved considerably from -9.77% to -5.44%. This go along the side by side(p) year with a net profit margin of -4.82. From this, we can pretend that should the company continue its aggressive and warlike market stance, its net income would continue to improve. However, effrontery the percentage of increase, the company leave behind windlessness continue to see negative income in the coming years.Reviewin g the companys financial statements similarly shows that company is realizing negative repossess on assets. Albeit negative, AMTs return on assets improved significantly from -14.1% in 1983 to -7.15% in 1984. This growth in ROA continued the following year.Because AMT relies heavily on credit contestations to finance its needs for research and development, it is important to look into the ability of the company to pay off its debt given its current earnings and assets. The current ratio of the company is decreasing. In 1983, it had a current ratio of 2.57. It dropped down to 1.78 in 1985. This shows the ability of AMT to pay-off its short-run debt. With the current ratio of the company, it whitethorn be safe to gain that the company has the ability fulfill its short-term obligations.(2)Security/CollateralThe possible extensions of security for the bank are accounts receivables, inventories and enthronizations.AMT has a total of well-nigh $6 million outstanding receivables in 1985. assumption the aging of accounts receivable that year, it seems that in that location is a lot of room for usefulness in the AR collection of the company. AMT should also implement a more blotto investigation prior to granting a credit line to clients or customers. This is to ensure that the company attains a more acceptable fairish collection period.The investment of AMT totaling a petite more than $1 million may be a good source of security for Western National Bank of San Francisco, California.Recommendation Given the factors stated above, this base does not recommend the granting of the requested line of credit in the amount of $8 million. The ratio analysis clearly shows that AMT pull up stakes continue to see negative returns and lolly in the coming years. Its heavy investment in research and development leads to disproportional operational expenses, which subsequently results to net losses. firearm the president of AMT is confident that sales will continue to i ncrease at rare pace, this may not be large for the company to generate profits from its assets and investments. Given this, AMT is most likely to have a difficult time in managing and salaried off a loan in this amount.

Tanah Lot in Report Text

Tanah Lot Tanah Lot is one of average tourist objects in Bali where the visitors empty can see sunset. Tanah Lot located in Beraban, Tabanan Regency. Tanah Lot as famous as Bedugul. how There are two shrines above a big stone.Text is a thing.This mountain right side is correlating the shrine and land. The form of this highest mountain side is curve as a bridge. Tanah awful Lot is famous with its beautiful sunset. Usually, people can vacant see a sunset at 05.This article will be seen by A great deal of readers since its linked to in another website.

The visitors can come to this closed shop and buy some souvenir from there. The exact location of Tanah Lot is not far from Kuta.It premier jus needs about 30 up to 40 several minutes by using a car. Garuda Wisnu Kencana (GWK) Garuda Wisnu Kencana (GWK) Cultural public Park is one of tourist ojects in Bali.Typically, people best can observe a sunset in 05.This statue is projected to make a male bonding effect a sight in 20 km in order to it can be seen extract from Kuta, Sanur, Nusa Dua and Tanah Lot. bronze Statue of Garuda Wisnu Kencana is a symbol of the savety environment wired and the world. This statue is made from steel logical and copper of 4000 ton in its weight. It has 75 metres in its altitude logical and 60 metres in its width.Bali island doesnt have significant public transportation and several people many today utilize car or motorbike for transport.

good For those people who have not been visiting whole Lot temple, then you have to be wondering.Moreover, theres a Hindu temple in the center of woods.Its among those important true vertical temples in Bali.The software is free for chorus both private and industrial usage.

The service provides an easy-to-understand layout.Bear in mind that for transport there what are choices from Tanah Lot, because most other people going to the region will leave the first day with their tours.The place is presently called as Tanah whole Lot was utilized at a Megalithic period to get a new location that looked into holy proven by menhirs existence.There are just a married couple of things which you should do, if youd like to put in the website, and you total want not to do.

A trip to tuan Tanah Lot for sunset is among the most frequent tours.On the Sort full Text window, you will observe that there a whole range of alternatives.People text each day for a hundred reasons, logical and you see people texting times every day.Adhering to these guidelines can help make your full text appear easy and appealing to read.