Violent Media free essay sample

Most of us would also disagree that violent media is good for our children. How is this topic relevance to society? Violent media is often blamed for several catastrophic events linked to rough media influencing these events. As intense activity keeps exploding over the years, more and more disastrous events keep arising making us ask ourselves is violent media good or bad for our kids? . There are also writers that would approve Ferocious Media to be used as a tool to master your children inner rage. Writers like Gerard Jones that would approve violent media such as comic books to help children overcome some of their fears. As always there are two sides in one story and ill be using several sources that relate to the topic and ill ‘be giving you examples, evidence, facts about whether violent media is a worthy choice for you children to be using or a poor choice that should be kept away as they grow up. We will write a custom essay sample on Violent Media or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page One of the sources ill be using is of the writer Gerard Jones, â€Å"Violent media is good for kids†, original published in 2013. Jones argues â€Å"children need violent entertainment in order to explore the inescapable feelings that they’ve been taught to deny, and to reintegrate those feelings into a more whole, more complex, more resilient selfhood. †(Jones 374). Jones believes that every story whether good or bad can have a positive outcome as a development function. Jones writes â€Å"pretending to have superhuman power helps children conquer the feelings of powerlessness that inevitably come with being so young and small†(Jones 374). Letting your children watch or read violent entertainment can help them overcome some of their fears and can also help teach dependency. Violent stories can be harmless if use properly. His purpose is to illustrate the reader to have an open mind and focus more on the positive side of violent media and not just the negative. Violent media can often be misunderstood; there are also aspects of it that can help hundreds of young people. Being a dad myself it’s a fascinating topic to go over in detail. It’s relevant to the world because violent media can often be link to catastrophic events over the last few years. In response to this Jones states â€Å" I’m not going to argue that violent entertainment is harmless. I think it has helped inspire some people to real-life violence†(Jones 375). This clarifies Jones in not acting in complete denial, he’s completely aware of what violent media can also accomplish, he also discusses that it has helped hundreds of people for every one its damage. Young people are very vulnerable and can be easily influence by others, one way of guiding them it’s the use of storytelling. Storytelling can be highly effective, this includes violent stories, and in helping the young develop their social skills, teaches how to be independent and can help overcome fears. The second source is be discussing is â€Å"Games† written by Steven Johnson published in 2010. Video games can be easily portrayed as a complete waste of time, but there are aspects of video games that can have a positive outcome. Video games are also linked to violent media, making it an argument whether video games help people or make situations worse. I will use this source as a clarification to the topic; I will support my main topic with evidence from this source. Video games can almost always be looked as a completely waste of time, but is that all they do? There are some few good things about video games that can help people in some ways. Johnson writes, â€Å"The best that can be said of them is that they may help promote eye-hand coordination in children. The worst that can be said is that they sanction, and even promote aggression and violent responses to conflict†(Johnson 196). In response to this argument Johnson states video games have bad history among people, they are only observe as tool for destroying our children rather than helping them. Truth is playing video games may not actually be a complete waste of time, it can help people skills in performing tasks and it can also benefit visual intelligence. Johnson comments â€Å"We hear a lot about the content of games: the carnage and drive-by killings and adolescent fantasies. But we rarely hear accurate descriptions about what it actually feels like to spend time in these virtual words†(Johnson 201). Johnson makes a strong argument, spending time in virtual word means putting yourself in the game by exploring what’s around you, exercising your visual memory, and exploring things or places that you never even knew existed. Johnson also compares reading a book, which can tragically isolate people, in oppose to video games, which can be used as a tool to help socialize among other gamers. Video games are by far a more engaging hands-on tool that can be used to explore your mind, help the young to socialize with their colleagues and assists you exercise your visual memory like no book can’t. The third source ill be using is title â€Å"The impact of media violence on children and adolescents† written by Eugene V Beresin, M. D published in 2012. Violent media has been experimental studied and proven to cause children and adolescents to act violently. Violence at its highest point right now targets anything with violence related, what would it be like 100 years from now? How do we stop it? I will use this article as a contradicting viewpoint to violent entertainment. Watching violent television, playing violent video games, even watching music videos that contain violent scenes influence kids and adolescents into doing things that can be portrayed to them as â€Å"normal†. With 99% of homes having a least one TV at home its come to the conclusion to experts that watching violent television programs are affecting our children today. Beresin states â€Å" The typical American child will view more than 200,000 acts of violence, including more than 16,000 murders before age 18†(Beresin 1). This raises a red flag in the matter of how violent media can affect children over the years. Beresin writes â€Å"very young children will imitate aggressive acts on TV in their play with peers†(Beresin 1). Young children are unable to distinguish between fact and fantasy, this can cause them in thinking violence is an OK thing. Also, violence can translate to daily life tricking people on justifying violent acts. Violent acts such as the Connecticut school shooting, that raise a red flag once more, adolescents tempted to use violence in hope of their problems getting solved. Beresin writes â€Å" They may come to see violence as a fact of life and, over time, lose their ability to emphasize with both the victim and the victimizer†(Beresin 1). Violent entertainment can be use as a brainwasher making someone thinking acting violently is completely normal. Its like fashion, everyone wants to wear the latest styles, people follow other people, violence is no different, they want to mock other violently acts but sometimes it goes a little too far. As far as video games Bersesin is concerned about the fact that children get to act out the violence making children tolerable into acting violently among their peers. Violence media is frame as one of the main cause today involving violently acts with all the violence events exposed in every direction we face. The fourth source ill be discussing is â€Å"playing violent video games: good or bad? † written by Darcia Narvaez, Ph. D, published in 2010. We already discuss how video games are good on some ways now where going to talk about the bad things about video games. I will use this source as a contradicting viewpoint to my main topic, stating some of the bad intentions of violent video gaming. As always there are two sides to one story, in this case there are good things and bad things about violent video games. Narvaez states, â€Å"In violent video game play the player learns to associate violence with pleasure. This undermines moral sensitivity†. Playing violent video games can have a negative effect on your children, we’re designed to feel good when doing something good for someone, playing violent games those the opposite of that, builds up anger towards our peers. It gives people other ways into looking at things; it tricks minds into thinking negative taught and storing them inside our brains forever. Narvaez writes â€Å"The player practices violent behavior hundreds if not thousands of times†. These really puts in consideration the phrase â€Å"the more you practice the better you’ll get†. By doing something constantly it becomes an automatic response, it becomes something normal. Not only does violent game influence one but it also teaches someone how to behave like a criminal, how to hurt somebody, how to kill a person, and it does all of this without someone even realizing it. Finally, Narvaez writes â€Å"video games can be addictive because they give immediate rewards for learning†. This can hurt our brain development making people into making not so developed decisions as we get older. Video games damage ours brains making us vulnerable when making tragic decisions. When I was in 2nd grade, everyday afterschool I would play video games in my room for at least three hours and on the weekends I would play 5-6 hours a day. I would play all kinds of video games but the ones that I was most attracted to were shooting games. It became a huge problem not only with my grades but it also isolated me from my classmates. Playing video games has made my ability to concentrate a massive problem. The only thing I could concentrate on was the clock in the wall just waiting for the end of class so I can go back home and play some more games. It became such a problem that my parents started to notice it and it didn’t take time for them to intervene with my obsession. My gaming console was taking away and instead I was sat down and I was force to do homework. My story shows how video games can affect you if constantly using them without giving yourself a time limit. Not only are they time consuming but it can affect you on the long run.

Free Essays on America Play Interpretation

The â€Å"whole† referred to in â€Å"The America Play† seems to embody definitive moments in American History, such as the assassination of President Lincoln. Park focuses not on the celebrated figures of heroism, but those who contributed to the shaping of the country, but have yet to receive credit. The digging of a â€Å"hole† represents the search for the history of unrecognized African-Americans. In Act I, the Foundling Father speaks of the â€Å"Lesser Known† who is compared to Abraham Lincoln and only receives recognition through this association. In trying to find his own voice, the Lesser Known becomes an imitation of Lincoln’s legend. The Foundling Father states that, â€Å"he [The Lesser Man] wanted to grow and have others think of him and remove their hats and touch their hearts and look up into the heavens and say something about the freeing of the slaves. That is, he wanted to make a great impression as he understood Mr. Lincoln to have made,† (Act I, 214). In search of his own identity and recognition, the Lesser Man only lives out the events, and even death, of an already historically recognized figure. Lincoln’s death is made into a gruesome joke, and literally an amusement. No heroism is associated with the sufferers of slavery themselves, forcing the Lesser Man to gain acknowledgment vicariously though an already established historical figure. . A later generation also digs with the intent of uncovering a part of African American history that has been lost in the past. Lucy tells Brazil, â€Å"Itssalways been important in my line to distinguish. Tuh know the difference. Not like you Fathuh. Your Fathuh became confused. His lonely death and lack of proper burial is our embarrassment. Go on: dig. Now me I need tuh know thuh real thing from thuh echo. Thuh truth from thuh hearsay,† (Act II, 21). Lucy seeks to find more than what is acknowledged American H... Free Essays on America Play Interpretation Free Essays on America Play Interpretation The â€Å"whole† referred to in â€Å"The America Play† seems to embody definitive moments in American History, such as the assassination of President Lincoln. Park focuses not on the celebrated figures of heroism, but those who contributed to the shaping of the country, but have yet to receive credit. The digging of a â€Å"hole† represents the search for the history of unrecognized African-Americans. In Act I, the Foundling Father speaks of the â€Å"Lesser Known† who is compared to Abraham Lincoln and only receives recognition through this association. In trying to find his own voice, the Lesser Known becomes an imitation of Lincoln’s legend. The Foundling Father states that, â€Å"he [The Lesser Man] wanted to grow and have others think of him and remove their hats and touch their hearts and look up into the heavens and say something about the freeing of the slaves. That is, he wanted to make a great impression as he understood Mr. Lincoln to have made,† (Act I, 214). In search of his own identity and recognition, the Lesser Man only lives out the events, and even death, of an already historically recognized figure. Lincoln’s death is made into a gruesome joke, and literally an amusement. No heroism is associated with the sufferers of slavery themselves, forcing the Lesser Man to gain acknowledgment vicariously though an already established historical figure. . A later generation also digs with the intent of uncovering a part of African American history that has been lost in the past. Lucy tells Brazil, â€Å"Itssalways been important in my line to distinguish. Tuh know the difference. Not like you Fathuh. Your Fathuh became confused. His lonely death and lack of proper burial is our embarrassment. Go on: dig. Now me I need tuh know thuh real thing from thuh echo. Thuh truth from thuh hearsay,† (Act II, 21). Lucy seeks to find more than what is acknowledged American H...

Intercultural Interview Analysis Essay

Intercultural Interview Analysis Essay Intercultural Interview Analysis Essay Cultural changes have been witnessed in most parts of the world. In the current world, it is becoming difficult to maintain indigenous cultures. This is attributed to the rate at which technology is transforming the world across borders and making interactions between people of different cultures easier. The interaction has facilitated erosion of several aspects of people’s cultures. In place of these cultural norms, people adapt universal ways of doing things which determine how they carry out social aspects of their lives. However, this has not always been the case; people had distinct cultural values that determined how they went about their economic and social affairs. These elements identified the different cultural groupings back then. Consequently, understanding these aspects and adapting to them represent the greatest challenge for people who work across borders. Even though there have been continuous erosion of most cultural values, these changes are more pronounc ed in the younger generation. The older generation is more rigid in the aspect that they have held to cultural values. Understanding a people’s culture is critical in communicating with the people. It is the reason why one has to know the culture before setting out to interact with a different cultural group. The best way to understand cultural differences is by carrying out interviews. This paper structures such an interview with a fellow student who is a Mexican. Interview structure The questions to ask in the interview are modeled to understand the differences between North American culture and Mexican culture. These questions put emphasis on the importance of communication in the Mexican culture, and how communication is facilitated across different members of the culture. The first question will ask recognizable differences on how people communicate in America as compared to Mexico. The second question will focus on whether there is equity across gender groups in the Mexican culture. The third question focuses on the use of non verbal signs in both cultures while the last question will ask the difficulties in adapting to American culture if one is from Mexico. Getting adequate answers to these questions will help in understanding the Mexican culture and how communication can be facilitated between an American and a Mexican. Interview analysis The interview which took about 30 minutes brought out certain differences as well as similarities between the two cultures. Most importantly, it helped provide information on how communication can be facilitated between the two cultures. Starting with the differences, the Mexican culture has a different inclination on what prompts their interest in conversations. In North America, it is easy to elicit conversations through fairy tales and detective stories as these thrill a significant part of the American communication. This is very different from Mexicans who find thrill in stories themed on love myths and legends. The difference is critical in establishing what mode of communication to adopt in reference to Americans or Mexicans (Crouch, 2004). It is worth noting that Mexicans delight in fantasy or fantasizing while Americans prefer hard reality. Using factual information as a head start for a conversation with a Mexican may not prompt a conversation and it would hinder communicat ion between the individuals. Americans are automatically trusting. On the other hand, Mexicans are automatically suspicious and require a clear indication of intent coupled with actual evidence before trusting. To encourage communication with a Mexican, one needs to give them time to understand the person or else they would become suspicious. Consequently, in such cases, no meaningful communication would take place. Americans encourage criticism and are not opposed to change. Mexicans on the other hand eschew criticism and are fearful of change. Criticizing a Mexican the same way one would do to an American would attract a hostile reaction which would hinder effective communication. There are also views on gender equity which impacts communication between Americans and Mexicans. Americans have little emphasis on male supremacy and talking to a woman is not taken as belittling a man. In contrast, Mexicans are a patriarchal society where talking to a woman preferentially is viewed as demeaning to a man. This disco urages sober communication and in some instances elicits hostility from the predominantly patriarchal society. However, there are some similarities in the two cultures, the most common being use of gestures in communication. These gestures include nodding which means acceptance and shaking of one’s head which denotes negation (Mente, 2009). These are the only clear cut similarities impacting on information between the American and Mexican cultures. In conclusion, intercultural analysis enabled by this kind of an interview involves an actual encounter between two participants who represent different linguistic and cultural backgrounds. It presents an opportunity to identify similarities and differences between these linguistic and cultural backgrounds. By identifying these differences and similarities, those seeking to interact have a basis of doing it successfully by creating the right impression. The right impression encourages communication and makes it easy to elicit information or conduct business in the foreign culture. However, the success of this is dependent on the structure of the interview which should include questions on all aspects that impact communication within the other culture. From the above comparison, it is easy to understand the Mexican culture and this facilitates easy communication within the cultural setup.

Roles Played by Financial Institutions in an Economy Essay

Roles Played by Financial Institutions in an Economy - Essay Example Financial Institutions play a very important role in the economy by the provision of various financial instruments (Frank, 2003). Different types of Financial Institutions provide different services to its members or clients. For example, Banks provide such services as mortgages, loans, and credit cards while on the other hand a financial institution such as Insurance Firms provide services such as insurance services, securities and buying and selling services of real estate. These financial institutions, however, interconnect with one another to provide different roles in the economy. Some of the major roles of Financial Institutions are discussed in this essay as follows. The first major role of financial institutions in the economy is that the financial institutions motivate the financial sector of the economy. Financial institutions such as banks in most cases will use the resources that they own to benefit themselves (Sera, 2005). They will use these resources to make profits for themselves and for their own growth. This is however helpful to the economy of a country as there will be an increase in the business of investing when these financial institutions grow. This because there will be a boost in the financial instruments such as an increase in the number of loans that a bank can give to an individual or to other companies. With the growth of these financial institutions, the financial sector of the economy becomes motivated and the economy of the country is strengthened. The second role of the financial institutions in the economy is that the financial institutions will introduce and develop Niche strategies.  

Enviroment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 7

Enviroment - Essay Example However, very little has been done to minimize the overdependence as dramatic increase has been witnessed over the years and the trend is expected to continue. The main concern of the American Jewish Community is the fact that the enemy is being strengthened at the expense of national security while the government is also concerned about the economic growth. There is an urgent need to adopt new and environmental friendly sources of energy such as wind and solar energy so as to reduce the overdependence on oil. Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFÉ) was enacted to help reduce energy consumption through the manufacture of vehicles that uses fuel efficiently. The legislation has since been neglected by the congress leading to an increase in the number of fuel guzzlers. The Brighter Source Company which is owned by Israel plans to put up a major solar power plant after receiving a major funding from the government. This tender was awarded to the firm since it uses the most advanced level of technology and expertise given its familiarity with desert conditions. The move is seen to be a major boost to the U.S- Israel ties. This project will greatly reduce importation of oil from the Middle East and will also strengthen the image of U.S as the world’s super

The Esoc Board Essay Example for Free

The Esoc Board Essay As mentioned in Lecture 3 and the textbook, most logic circuits today are built using programmable logic devices (PLDs). These devices allow circuits to be built directly onto single chips, without the need for interconnection of separate, single purpose ICs. The eSOC II (electronic System-on-a-Chip) board is designed to allow a direct interface between the Quartus II software and the Altera Cyclone II EP2C8 FPGA. The board provides an interface to the chip, along with supporting interface hardware. Details about the construction and use of the eSOC II board are available in the eSOC II Users Guide supplied with the board. The following is a summary of data taken from that Guide. The eSOC II board is shown in Figure 1 (taken from the User Guide from Arches Computing Systems). The board contains the Altera FPGA (in the center), a 24 MHz clock source (U8 to the left of the FPGA), and numerous input switches and output displays. Figure 1 – eSOC II Board (from User Guide September 6, 2006) There are three types of input switches, single-pole-double-throw (SPDT) toggle switches (S1 and S2), debounced push-button (SPST) switches (DB0 and DB1), and non-debounced push-button switches (B0 – B3). Bouncing is a mechanical effect where a switch rapidly alternates between â€Å"on† and â€Å"off† when pressed as the metal contacts make and break connection as the parts â€Å"bounce† off each other. A debounced switch is designed so that any closure produces a single on to off or off to on indication. The output features include red LEDs (RED0 – RED7), green LEDs (GRN0 – GRN7) and two seven-segment displays (Digit0 and Digit1). The FPGA uses a random access memory (RAM) technology. This will be explained in a later course, for now the key concept is that a program is stored and maintained only as long as the power is applied (like a document you forget to save, the data disappears when the power is removed). This means that every time the eSOC II board is turned off, the program in the FPGA is lost. There is a method to save a program using a different type of memory that is on the board. This memory, U3, stores the program even after power is removed. This feature will be explored in a later course.

My Monday Essay -- Descriptive Essay Day Mondays Essays Papers

My Monday Faint, distant voices echo through the dense, plastered walls. Only seconds later, I hear the ear-splitting clamor, resonating from my jet-black alarm clock. Twisting and turning around, fighting my way through the entangling satin sheets, I find my way to the source of the bellowing sound, and then I clumsily hit the snooze button. Eight peaceful minutes pass until the same obnoxious sound calls out again. This time, I willfully hit the tiny, round off button. Stretching my stiff arms towards the stars, and yawning like a bear after waking from a long, deep hibernation, I stumble out of bed and put my fuzzy, red and black ladybug slippers on my tired, cold feet. A look of horror appears on my face when I see my frazzled hair in a far away mirror. Regaining my composure, I continue onward to the subdued, vacant bathroom, to get ready for another unpredictable, manic Monday. First things first, I flip the light on to activate the dormant bathroom, and I answer nature's call. After washing my hands in the tepid water, I grab my nut-brown hairbrush, and battle my way through the overwhelming tangles. Completing that formidable task, I pull the round, blue bottle of Noxzema out of the golden, oak cabinet to wash my face. Scents of menthol, camphor, and eucalyptus filter through my head and awaken my senses. Now fully awakened, I scamper to the kitchen, grabbing my blue and yellow bag of doughnuts, and pouring myself a cup of cold milk. Chocolate tickles my nose when I open my bag of delicious doughnuts. While enjoying my savory breakfast, the bong of the grandfather clock warns me that it is almost time to depart from my comfy home. Immediately I gather all of my belongings, jump in my red Oldsmobile, and rush to ... ...me wish the end of the day came faster, so I can go to work. Coincidentally enough, the dismissal bell rings, and I am off to work. When I get to work, my boss sends me to the warehouse to plant an endless amount of tiny, green petunias. The smell of fertilizer and cocoa mulch gives me a splitting headache that rests at the base of my head. After three long hours of tedious work, I exhaustedly drive home. My mom greets me when I arrive at home, and I watch television with her for a short time. I then help her grill a thick, juicy steak, and bake russet potatoes for dinner. After dinner I take a long, hot, invigorating shower. I finish up my chores and eat a snack before turning in. Finally, I tell my parents goodnight, and I crawl into my maroon, satin sheets, pulling my soft, down comforter over my tired head, already dreaming of what's in store for tomorrow.

Lady Macbeth’s Confession letter to Macbeth Essay

I am very sorry to say that I cannot live with the murder on my mind. Whenever I am asleep I dream about his death and I dream that my hands are full of blood. I am afraid of dark and I sleep walk reliving the night King Duncan was murdered. I cannot cope with the change in our life. I wish our life could go back to normal all the excitements all the joy, happiness and when you have beaten the Repel Scottish Lords. All the rewards you got for winning the battles. Since you have met the witches you have changed a lot you don’t even have time for your wife who you use to call the â€Å"my dearest partner in greatness†. Why did you have to meet them witches because I think they are the one who ruined our sweet life. We were living so peacefully and happy since them three â€Å"evil weird sisters† told you that you can be future king if you kill Duncan. You wrote to me and told me about the evil witches predictions. I know I am the one to blame for forcing you into murdering King Duncan. If he didn’t visit us and stayed with us this never have happened. I looked so easy and made me think that I have got the best chance to get him killed and make you the king because I wanted you to be happy. Since he died my life gone so bad and miserable I think it’s the guiltiness and I cannot live with it no more so I have decided that I am going to suicide.

Jobs of the Future

Jobs of the Future In The Economist, there is an article called Into the Unknown (November 13, 2004. ) This article also appears in the book Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum. The author of Into the Unknown is unverified. In this article, the author talks about how the jobs of the future will come to change. Machines and mechanical devices are taking over the jobs of physical workers and the work force demands are ever changing. â€Å"Mechanical devices are already ousting skilled clerical workers and replacing them with operators†¦ Opportunity in the white-collar services is being steadily undetermined. –Stuart Chase, an American writer. This quote was published in his book, Men and Machines in 1929. Our concerns about manufacturing jobs heavily relates to the concerns that Stuart Chase had. As more technology is produced more jobs are being lost, although new jobs are being created. This is more prevalent with production technology. This new technology yields l ower cost and higher profits. This in turn lifts demand for new goods and services. The facts state that new jobs are being created, but there is always worry about the jobs that are to come in the future.America has a considerable amount of technology jobs to India in the past few years. On the contrary, the number of technological white-collar jobs in the U. S has risen. This goes to show how when jobs are lost, more often than not new ones are created. The boss of Wipro, Azim Premji, says â€Å"IT professionals are in short supply in America, within the next few months, we will have a labor shortage† (177. ) This can further confuse us Americans about lost jobs. Some say that about 14 million Americans (about 11% of the workforce) hold jobs that are at the risk of outsourcing (177. Some of these jobs include paralegals, legal assistants, computer professionals and computer operators. Ashok Bardhan, an economist at the University of California at Berkely, says that some of this work can be done elsewhere now. This may or may not have an effect on jobs and revenue. This of course heavily depends on supply and demand in the market of labor and the effort of the American workers to re train in different fields. Computer professionals have been noticing that certain maintenance jobs are no longer in as much demand in America.Indian programmers are willing to do this work much more cheaply. This causes companies such as IBM re train their employees in these skills. Many of these jobs face both foreign AND automated competition. As new technology surfaces, it continually causes employees to re train and even sometimes change jobs Although it may seem as if these jobs will be taken, the jobs of the future are ever changing. As jobs are eliminated, new ones emerge and this cycle will continue to happen.

social darwinsim history essays

social darwinsim history essays Social Darwinism and its use to Justify Business Practices of the 19th and Thesis: The need for a justification of enormous wealth of a few and an unimaginable poverty of millions was, as many tend to believe, fulfilled by the emergence of a theory called Social Darwinism, which on one hand was regarded as a primary defense of business activities, and on the other, was I. Definition and origin of Social Darwinism III. Overemphasis on Social Darwinism B. Relied on Christian and other arguments During the late 19th, and early 20th century, the United States experienced a growth of industry like it has never seen before. New patents and inventions flourished. New products flooded the market. While thousands of poor, hungry, and unemployed crowded the streets, the rich were busy displaying their enormous wealth. Even though the need for reform was overwhelming, for the majority of Americans, nothing was being done. The big bosses were able to buy off the politicians and persuade them to vote in their favor. While the rich were getting richer, and the poor getting poorer, the politicians watched. The need for a justification of the enormous wealth of a few and an unimaginable poverty of millions was, as many tended to believe, fulfilled by the emergence of a theory called Social Darwinism, which on one hand was regarded as a primary defense of business activities, and on the other, was nothing more than a myth. Social Darwinism, the experts say, "was a short-lived theory of social evolution, vigorously discussed in America, which rationalized and justified the harsh facts of social stratification in an attempt to reconcile them with the prevalent ideology of equalitarianism. The emergence of Social Darwinism was perhaps the most visible effect on the social sciences of Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species" (Tax and Krucoff 402). In simple terms, Social Darwinism was an application (ma...

Famous Stones and Their Legends and History

Famous Stones and Their Legends and History Certain stones started out as dumb common boulders, like all the rest. But one day they got a lucky break, and now theyre genuine rock stars. Heres a few of them. Family pride leads me to start with Plymouth Rock, that sturdy icon of American strength and faith. Its a chunk of Dedham Granodiorite that, the legend goes, was sitting where John Alden of the Plymouth Colony first stepped on American soil in 1620. That great man is my ancestor 13 generations back, but I didnt learn this legend in my fathers lap; instead I read about it on some Web site. And the legend isnt actually true either. In fact Plymouth Rock is a fraction of its old self, having suffered many indignities during its up-and-down history. I prefer the idealized image of the rock in its better days, as shown on a souvenir plate from the John Alden Shop in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Surely no humbler-looking object has ever been depicted by the porcelain artists at Jonroth Co., England, unless they made a plate to commemorate mashed potatoes (which would be a good idea). Somewhat more exalted, if only in being higher off the ground, is the Blarney Stone, set in the battlement of Blarney Castle in Cork, Ireland. Kissing the stone gives you the gift of persuasive speech. Legend has it that this boulder is half of the Stone of Scone, awarded to the great Cormac McCarthy for supporting Robert the Bruce in the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. A geologist recorded his judgment that the Blarney Stone is the same stuff as the rest of the castle, which is made of local limestone (a lower Carboniferous biomicrite, to be more precise). I swear its true, but the last time I checked the Web page documenting that, it had mysteriously vanished- something that almost never happens! Was the geologist himself talking blarney? Im not sure, because another legend has it that the true Blarney Stone was taken away, which means the geologist was looking at a sham stone. The Stone of Scone itself is the rock upon which the kings of Scotland were crowned, and the Scots know it as the Stone of Destiny. The English took it in 1296 when they conquered Scotland and had the stone built into the royal coronation chair to keep the tradition alive. (The stone was returned in 1996, but can be taken back whenever its time to crown a new monarch.) You see already that if the English took it in 1296, then Robert the Bruce could not have split it with Cormac McCarthy in 1314. The Stone of Destiny is a block of yellowish sandstone of uncertain origin. Legend traces it to ancient times as the very stone upon which Jacob laid his head in Genesis chapter 28, and thus it is a solid symbol of the Promised Land. But a legend says the stone the English took in 1296 was a fake! That would solve the discrepancy with the Blarney Stone- if we assume that one is also a fake. Perhaps the most exalted rock in every sense is the Black Stone of the Kaaba, a dark boulder set in silver on the wall of Islams central shrine, the Kaaba, in Mecca. It marks the starting point of the walk around the Kaaba at the heart of the holy pilgrimage called the hajj. Islamic experts make it clear that the Black Stone is not holy in itself. For instance, the Black Stone was once taken away for many years, and the hajj was not affected. (Perhaps the royals of the British Isles could learn from this.) The Black Stone has its own story, a good one. It is said that when the patriarchs Abraham and Ishmael were building the Kaaba, the stone was delivered to them by the archangel Michael. That story is consistent with the Black Stone being a meteorite, and indeed meteorites have been prized and revered by many different peoples around the world. But I wouldnt ask any Muslim, even a geologist, to waste one second of their hajj examining the stone to satisfy my curiosity. Scientists too have given names to stones- even geologists, who you think might know better. For example there are the rocks on Mars, sitting around the landers. But my favorite example is the roster of 162 sliding rocks of Racetrack Playa, in the California desert. Each one is being mapped with GPS technology by geologist Paula Messina of San Jose State University, and each of them bears a womans name. In fact each stone has its- I mean, her own Web site, and if thats not fame I dont know what is. Every year the stones are found sitting on the vast dry lakebed, but not in the same position. Behind each one is a shallow track in the cracked playa mud, proof that some rare combination of wind, water and physics animates them when no one is there to see. Thats no legend . . . merely a mystery. (But just in case youre keeping up, heres the latest and most plausible explanation.) PS: The Japanese created an art form out of stones: suiseki. The idea is to find natural stones that reproduce things like mountains, but on a desktop scale. Suiseki stones arent famous but they are beautiful, and sometimes quite valuable. See some examples of this Earth art.

Human Resources Administration In Education And Schools Essay

Human Resources Administration In Education And Schools - Essay Example Strategies that can be used to create and deliver effective staff development programStaff development is a training process viewed in two dimensions. It includes in-service training program where individuals in an organization given opportunities to further their education to enable them to prepare for future positions and training is aimed to prepare individuals to be able to handle new job assignments. Staff development connotes the organization’s efforts in its program to provide the need-based training and education to its workers to enable them to become competent in handling their present or future assigned tasks.Several strategies can be used to create an effective staff development program. There are two mostly use: on the job training and assistant to training. On the job training mostly happen on the job and this method is an effective method of training. It is easiest to organize and less costly. Employees get placed in the actual work situation that makes them pro ductive. They learn by doing the real work that is the best training method for jobs that are hard to simulate or can be learned quickly by performance. With assistant to training process, a trainee studies under a master worker for a given period or until a trainee acquire necessary skillsInitiation of an effective induction process is one way that the organization can contribute to personal assimilation, as well as to the personal development, security, and need the satisfaction of each member of the organization.