Monday, September 30, 2019

Public Display of the Ten Commandments Essay

People often find memorization exhausting and more like tiresome. All those numerous words and lines to remember tend to tire and bore most of them. Moreover, most of the time, they tend to memorize just for the heck of it and not for the benefit of understanding and knowledge. The Ten Commandments are some of the most popular lines that Christians should memorize and know by heart. These lines have long served as Christians’ guiding passages and words towards the path to righteousness and morality. However, considering the generation today—when more and more people detest the idea of memorizing and reading very thick pages—will the Ten Commandments still possess their utmost effect? Will they be able to serve their purpose of guiding the people towards goodness when not all Christians nowadays are able to memorize them? In what ways can the Christian Church assure that people are still living up to the message presented by the Ten Commandments? These are just some of the uncertainties on the effectiveness of the Holy Bible in reminding people about the Ten Commandments. Is Reading Enough? Today, as the developments in the information technologies continue to rise, the usual activities like conversing, sending messages, and even reading can be done through the use of a computer and an internet connection. Considering this reality, doubts on whether people nowadays are still grasping the idea of the Ten Commandments by reading the Bible may arise. However, this can be possible if there are numerous electronic copies of the Holy Bible available for people to access anywhere, and such copies have plenty of attractive visual designs, as humans are inherently visual beings (Pahlavan 270). Human’s visual system is supported by other sensory organs which empower and strengthen its sensitivity to stimuli. Putting these facts in simpler terms, a person is said to have a natural tendency to prefer things which are more attractive to the sense of sight above other senses. Hence, it may be understandable why people tend to read more colorful and visually attractive materials compared to the intimidating and profound words of the Holy Bible. Knowing this, it can be inferred that putting a Bible beside a person who has the access to the internet and all its wonders would assure that that person would read it and understand what it says. Furthermore, people can no longer expect most children to prioritize the memorization of the Ten Commandments when they have all those tough and demanding homework and projects to do. Thus, is the Christian Church still assured that people read The Bible and the Ten Commandments everyday? If not, then how can the Ten Commandments be further promoted? Appealing to Human’s Visual Preference At present, the huge banners, billboards, posters, and different visual advertisements are typical scenery along roads, malls, and literally almost everywhere. Various creative, artistic, and innovative ways are now used just to disseminate information better. Nowadays, these methods are typically through very visual advertisements. The message of the Holy Bible, specifically the Ten Commandments, is considered as the most important and relevant teaching of the Christian faith. Compared to the public service announcements of the government, malls’ sales promotion, introduction of a new brand of soda, and all the other popular topics of ads today, it seems that the promotion of the Ten Commandments and all the other relevant messages of the Holy Bible has become a little unmerited. It is ironic that these messages are what appears to be the most significant and relevant messages for the people, yet why are there more ads for sodas, clothing lines, celebrities, and TV shows as compared to these important reminders? Also, if the Ten Commandments appear to be the greatest instructions and guidelines the people must comply with, why are there simpler and shorter road signs and traffic rules displayed compared to these profound yet very important words to follow and live by? This seems to be the greatest irony in today’s advertisements and visual display practices. The significance of the Ten Commandments has been an eternal and undying idea among Christians. People exactly know that the Ten Commandments are the written key for salvation and freedom for sin, yet these commandments are still left unadvertised and unannounced compared to how the big ad agencies promote different products which do not actually level to the significance of the Ten Commandments in people’s everyday lives. Looking at this truth, it may seem disturbing and appalling how people value information that modern advertisements promote while they leave the message of the Ten Commandments unnoticed or disregarded. It also seems depressing, considering how the attitude of people towards these commandments has changed over the generations. This change in attitude and interest might have been caused by the technological advancements that the intelligent and creative minds of people themselves have created. Thus, it may appear necessary for the advocates of the Holy Bible and the Ten Commandments to go and ride with the growing technology in order to assure that people are not forgetting the Ten Commandments. With this effort, it can also be assured that people will always be reminded about these commandments and what they really mean. The display of the Ten Commandments can be most typically seen in churches. People seldom see these messages displayed in billboards or in freedom walls and posters. However, knowing the importance of these commandments in the lives of people, will it be improper to publicly display this message, or is it more appropriate to leave these messages in the pages of the Bible, hence leaving the choice to people whether they will choose to read it or not. Considering the abovementioned claims about human beings as visual creatures, and about the growth of very powerful advertising techniques, it may indeed be necessary for the Ten Commandments to appeal to the human sense of sight in order to keep up with the powerful advertisements people see nowadays. There could be several ways on how this special message can be promoted in order not to violate other beliefs and culture. What matters most is to send the message and assure that Christians will always remember its significance wherever they go. A variety of learning theories attest that remembering does not usually happen in the blink of an eye. In reality, it actually takes most people a certain period of time to remember something and fully understand its meaning. Memorizing and remembering the Ten Commandment are not an easy task as well. It is not also everyday that a teacher asks their students to memorize the Ten Commandments. Thus, people are not really sure as to whether the Ten Commandments are still remembered and observed nowadays. With this, it only goes to show that proper endorsement, exposure, and promotion are what these commandments really need. If public displays make a brand of soda very popular worldwide, how much more help it could do if a list of simple messages would be displayed to remind the people about moral stability and righteousness of the world? If powerful advertisements can make a politician and a celebrity known globally, how much more can it remind people about God who should be the most influential and the most popular idol above anyone else? This is not a major impossibility; people are just being hesitant to make it happen. The Bottom Line The Ten Commandments, in reality, may not be the most popular set of phrases and commands there are for people to remember. Yet, these commandments must be the most popular and the most significant set of messages that people should remember to live by everyday. While most people nowadays tend to overlook and disregard the Ten Commandments, people can never deny or refute the fact that the commandments are the simplest and the most fundamental set of laws that Christians must follow each day of their lives in order to preserve their moral stability and their positive and open connection to the Lord. The Ten Commandments are even considered as the fence which, when broken, may let a sheep out in an open field without any direction and sense of security (Frederick 1). It does not actually take a Bible genius to understand and fully grasp the message of the Ten Commandments; what someone needs is a person who is ready and willing to embrace what the Ten Commandments say in order to understand it fully. Perhaps, having these commandments displayed publicly may not violate God’s will, for it might even give Him great help in disseminating the good news. If people are able to remember the many traffic rules there are on the roads. It may not be that hard to remember these simple commandments. If people are able to internalize popular phrases and quotes from politicians, it may not be that impossible as well for them to grasp what God is trying to teach people through the Ten Commandments. People are not always reminded everyday about the importance of the Ten Commandments and how these commandments should be lived out as well. Thus, displaying these special messages for public view may appear not just as a reminder but as an eternal and unchanging message as well of how the Lord wants His people to be always righteous and be on the right track. Works Cited Frederick, Allen. â€Å"Do the Ten Commandments Matter? †. Helium. com. 13 March 2009 . Pahlavan, Kourosh. â€Å"Designing an Anthropomorphic Head-Eye System. † Visual Attention and Cognition. Eds. C. Freska, H. S. Stiehl, and W. H. Zangemeister. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier Science, 1996. 269-292.

Why Do People Like Scarry Movies

For years people have been scared by horror movies and they continue going back. Alfred Hitchcock once said, â€Å"drama is life with the dull bits left out. † Why do people like to watch other people get hurt and die while being scared enough to make them jerk in their seat? Movie goers like horror movies because people in general have dull lives. Males just use it as a opportunity to get close to their partner, while females like to get scared while in the presence of their â€Å"man. † Every day people simply get up, go to work, and come home for supper before going back to bed. People believe that their lives are boring. That is why horror movies are popular. Movie goers like to be able to see blood, guts, fingers and toes, while having the ability to simply walk away. People in general want to have suspense in their lives but want to be able to turn it off. As for men, they like to be frightened as well as women, but most of all men like the sex appeal of horror movies. Almost every horror movie made in the last 20 years has a young attractive female actor running around mindlessly. If men were not attracted to this, then producers obviously wouldn’t make movies this way. Men would also rather take their partner with them to see these kinds of movies. Men know their â€Å"female friend† will want to cuddle up! Women on the other hand want to have the fear factor but want their partner to be by their side. Most women movie goers will NOT watch a horror film alone. They want to feel the protection of their â€Å"man. † It allows them to be scared while feeling secure at the same time. Men of course don’t mind this at all. They planned on it! Most horror movies are made for the viewing age of 17 – 30. The people in this age group still enjoy going out on the weekends to get away from the pressures of school and work. Horror movies give excitement and suspense in the lives of movie goers. It presents trust between partners when the girl jumps in her seat and clenches the arm of her boyfriend. It makes men feel strong as if they are protecting their partner. Horror movies allow movie goers to have a little bit of the real world while knowing they can go home and rest comfortably in their own bed.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Personal Org Ethics Case Study Four: A South African Investment Assignment Essay

The field of business is one of the areas in society wherein people involve in it have to make important decisions almost everyday in their jobs. Most of the time, decisions have to be made immediately especially with the competitive nature of the business industry. In relation to this, since most companies is a source of employment to thousands and sometimes even millions of people, the decisions made by the administration of organizations affects numerous people. Moreover, the influence of companies especially of multinational corporations has tremendous impact in the society that could actually inflict change upon them. This situation is greatly applicable in the case of the South African Investment. Texaco and Standard Oil, presently known as Chevron are the two major stockholders in the Caltex Petroleum Company. Each company owns 50 percent of the total stocks of Caltex. The company has dealings with the South African Government as the country is the primary source of oil that allows them to produce various petroleum products. In the same manner, South Africa also largely benefits from foreign investors because they contribute a huge portion to the country’s income. Caltex is the largest American company that invested in the country. Being the case, the company has a vital position in the economic robustness in the company and their decisions and actions would greatly affect the situation of the country. In line with this, advocate groups wants to use this strategic position of the company in order to further their cause of eradicating or at the very least addressing the issue of apartheid in South Africa. Apartheid allows the white minority of the country to dominate the majority of the citizens, which are mostly blacks. In this situation, the whites hold the advantageous position with the resources and power at their side, which leaves the blacks as second class citizens that have to suffer unfair and unjust treatments (â€Å"A South African Investment†). In 1977, the administration decided to expand the operation of Caltex in South Africa. They planned on building a plant that would further enhance the production of the company. However, this was met by protests coming from some members of the board that belong to the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility. This group greatly advocates anti-apartheid causes and one way in order to reach this objective is by convincing the Texaco and Standard Oil to pull out its investment in South Africa. Based upon my judgment, the utilitarian benefits of the expansion of Caltex is more important during that time as compared to the possible violation of moral rights. Utilitarianism focuses on the outcomes of an action. A decision or action is perceived to be ethically justifiable when it gave greater amount of benefit for the most people concerned (National Endowment for Financial Education, 2006). In the case of the Caltex plant expansion I deem that this would have more benefits rather than costs. First of all, the establishment of foreign companies in South Africa also helped improve the situation of the black population. This is observable in the improvement of the real earnings of black industrial workers that also aid in the lessening the gap between the white and black incomes. The expansion of Caltex would actually further enhance these benefits for the black people. Furthermore, if Caltex would removed its investment from the country it would hardly effect the black majority since all the benefits they from the foreign company would be lost. On the other hand, there is still a possible violation of moral rights as well as injustices against the blacks. This could be proven by the fact that even though adhere to the Sullivan code that would further improve the situation of blacks and uphold their rights it is still not binding since it still have to work within the South African law. The government of South Africa implements laws that have separate facilities for whites and blacks as well as the unequal pay among their citizens. Even though there are possible violations of human rights against the blacks from the expansion of Caltex, not pursuing the plan would even make life difficult for the blacks because even their source of livelihood coming from this company would no longer exist. Not only would they cease to have equal political rights but they will no longer have the means to sustain their everyday needs that is also essential for them to live. If I were in the position of one of the stockholders of either Texaco or Chevron, I will have different positions on the three resolutions that were presented. My decision would be guided by the maximum amount of benefit that my stocks and the company would gain from the decisions. Moreover, I would also think of the welfare of the majority of the stakeholders involved. On the first resolution, I would vote against the proposal of terminating Caltex operations on South Africa. I deem that ceasing operations in the country would bring detrimental effects to the company because the oil obtain from the country has an important role in the robustness of the company. In relation to this, it would also affect numerous people who would lose their jobs, which includes the black workers in South Africa. Moreover, such action would not make any substantial change in the issue of apartheid since there are still other foreign investors in the country and the government has other means to survive even if Caltex terminate its operation. I would also vote against the second resolution that requires Caltex not to sell its oil products to the police and military of South Africa. Based upon the South African law, refusing to cater petroleum products to the armed forces of the country is a clear violation of the law. As such, violating this rule would clearly put Caltex in a disadvantageous position that could threaten the operation of the company in the country as well in other nations. It could also be the cause for the unemployment of large numbers of its workers. Another reason is that doing so might only put the blacks’ citizens in a bad situation because the government might further exploit the blacks especially during such time of crisis for the country. Contrary to my previous positions, I would vote in favor of the third resolution that would ask the South African government to implement the Tutu principles. Caltex has established its important role in South Africa especially during the time when OPEC established an oil embargo in the country. As such, Caltex has the capability impose demands upon the South African government and they could do so by asking the implementation of the Tutu principle. This is a good way to improve the situation of the blacks in a sound and legal manner. There is a huge possibility that the South African government would grant it especially if they would analyze the situation that they are in. South Africa has a lot to lose if they would have conflict with Caltex while they are facing a challenging situation. By approving this resolution, many stakeholders would benefit from it, not only the blacks but also the company since they would have better relationship with those who advocate anti-apartheid issues and this could also boost their image of addressing societal issues. The managers of Texaco and Chevron should respond to these resolutions in a manner by which they would take into account the maximum benefit that all stakeholders could achieve from the decision. Being the case, they should also vote against the two resolutions and approved of the last. The managers should respond in such way because doing so would be beneficial to the majority of the people involve and this would also address the social issue of apartheid. Lastly, the management has a responsibility in making sure that the whole operation of its business is running smoothly. Their concerns should not solely be based upon the high income returns because they would not achieve such if they do not address the problems that are affecting their business. In line with this, they should not only look at the law and the rate of returns in deciding where to put their investments. They should also give due importance to the social and political situations of the country or a certain place that they would invest in. This is due to the fact that these factors play an important role in the overall success of a business. The important role that most companies have, not only in the business field but also in the society should be use properly so that they could also be agents of positive change in the world.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Film Adaptations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Film Adaptations - Essay Example It is no surprise that a film adaptation of a literary work has some differences from the way it is delivered in the book and this is due to a number of factors: collaboration of ideas, different perspectives, artistic direction, etc. Although a direct translation of a literary work may not really work with a film adaptation, the literary essence of it should be captured. This paper scrutinizes a film adaptation of the literary work of Tobias Wolff, This Boy’s Life, based on his memoirs of his youth. This tackles the important parts of the literary work and examines whether it is portrayed in the film the way it should be delivered. The Bond of a Mother and Son This Boy’s Life is the author’s recollection of his youth. It is a book written in 1989 and adapted in film under Warner Brothers Picture. Tobias Wolff, or better known as Jack in both the book and the film, has an incredible bonding with his mother, Rosemary. His relationship with his mother is shown bril liantly in the film, although, his mother’s name in the book is different in the Last Name 3 film, which is Caroline. In the book, both Jack and his mother travel quite a lot due to his mother’s search for a better life for the both of them. Being left by his father, Jack, together with his mother, struggles hard in order to put an end to their unhappiness and money issues. At the onset of the film, Jack and his mother are in search of uranium, heading towards Salt Lake in their Nash. This scene is an important part in establishing the kind of relationship the two has, which is very well portrayed in the film. In the book, Chapters One and Two of Part I, it is explained that Jack’s travelling with his mother gives him an early exposure to the realities of life, which becomes the foundation of his aspirations to give his mother a good life and put an end their misery, (Wolff, Part I Chapters One and Two) which is delivered well in the film through its wonderful d irection. Father Figure In both the film and the book, it is evident that Jack has terrible father figures. Roy, for instance, is a boyfriend of his mother who follows her from Florida to Utah and tries to get her by befriending Jack. He gives Jack a Winchester 22 rifle as a gift and takes Jack to spy on his mom at work. He makes it seem like a game and through this; he is able to get Jack’s friendship. In the scene where Jack is playing with his new gift from Roy, the rifle, he hears the creaking of the bed in the other room, realizing that Roy and his mother are making out. The musical scoring supports Jack’s realization that Roy only tries to befriend him to get to his mother without having to narrate his thoughts unlike in the book. Although in the film, some scenes like the ‘spying’ and other not-so-major things Roy does in the book are not seen. Overall, the film still does a great portrayal of a terrible father figure in Roy. Immediately after that, they leave Utah for Seattle to Last Name 4 escape Roy. The film is able to adapt well from the book in portraying an image of a mother who is always ready to fall for a relationship for the sake of giving her son a father figure he needs. She falls for the gifts and the company a man gives to her son but when she notices that it is all just to get her, she immediately escapes. â€Å"My mom had her own way of solving problems, she left them behind. That’s what she did with the Nash. She just left it there.† (Wolff, Part I Chapter Two) In the film, Jack’s mother throws the uranium detector in the trash right after she talks to a man who tells her that there is no uranium in Salt Lake. The arrival of Dwight, Jack’s new father figure whom his mother eventually gets married with, is an interesting event in both the book and

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Cosmopolitanism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Cosmopolitanism - Essay Example While in Europe he integrated with Romany people that his English contemporaries. His integration with the people enabled him to acquire Gypsy wandering culture. For instance while he was in Marseilles, France he learned Modern Greek, French, Italian, and Neapolitan dialect. Those languages came handy when the family traversed Europe especially France and Italy before settling in Britain. He learned an intermediate language between French and Spanish called BÃ ©arnaise in addition to classical Greek and Latin. I think Burton was an exemplary linguistic and a great European swordsperson that saw him expelled at Britain’s Oxford college since he had contravened one of its by-laws against mixing with other races. He challenged a fellow Oxford college student that had heard of his prowess with the Saber that ridiculed his walrus moustache. Burton later traveled to Asia to work for the East India Company in Sindth, India. He learned Gujarati, Marathi, Persian, and Afghan. He deepened his Arabic and Persian languages that he had started learning while in England. He traveled to the Arabian Peninsula in 1853 and admitted to Mecca and Medina as a pilgrim while he posed as a Pathan from India’s Northwest Frontier Province. Later on in 1858, he traveled to Africa together with his colleague John Hanning Speke. Historically, they were the first Europeans to see Lake Tanganyika. . Other places he visited in Africa included Somalia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Lagos, and Cape Coast.

Quantitative Methods and Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Quantitative Methods and Analysis - Essay Example Hence it is important to select optimal level of sample size. The sample size depends on some variables or parameters which should be considered by the researchers. These four parameters are: the level of statistical power, p level, variability associated with treatment, and error variability (DMS, 2006). The first sample size calculator selected is available on the website of Raosoft (2004). This calculator calculate sample size on the basis of margin of error or confidence interval, confidence level, population size, and response distribution. For example with 10% margin of error or confidence interval, 95% confidence level, 2000 population size, and 50% response distribution the sample size according to this calculator is minimum 96 subjects. The second sample size calculator selected is available on the website of Macorr Research Solutions. This calculator calculate sample size on the basis of confidence level, confidence interval, and population. For example, if the confidence level is 95%, confidence interval is 10%, and population size is 2000 the sample size according to this calculator is 92

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Gilgamesh Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Gilgamesh - Essay Example He wants to be immortal so badly that he is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve that state. Then he is met by a human figure whom is not aware of his own potentials as a human. They create a unique friendship and bond. This human figure aids him in realizing his existence as a human and not only as a god. Finally, when losing his new friend, humility begins to set in and the truth of his immorality is faced. Gilgamesh goes on a quest for everlasting life to get his dear friend back. The quest is similar to this thing we call life here on earth! Gilgamesh is happy with his kingly status. He realizes that he is more god than human and possesses supernatural powers. The story begins with Gilgamesh of Uruk. He is known as the greatest king on the earth. He is also known to be the strongest King-god who ever existed. The people who belong to Gilgamesh are everything but happy. They express their concerns in regards to his abusiveness. He abuses his powers and sleeps with women before their husbands do. In order to help solve this situation, the goddess of creation Aruru creates the wild-man Enkidu who is made human by Shamhat, a temple prostitute. Enkidu is known as Gilgamesh’s counter part. â€Å"When he sees her he will draw near to her and his animals, who grew up in his wilderness, will be alien to him.† (Carnahan) Enkidu and Gilgamesh become friends and go off on a journey of the inner soul. The quest that he goes on at first is for his own honor. He wants to go and create a monument for himself. He wants to be elevated to the highest point that he can be. It is not about others at this point. It is only about him. His journey is for his own selfish gain. â€Å"I have not established my name stamped on bricks as my destiny decreed; therefore I will go to the country where the cedars are cut. I will set up my name in the place where the names of famous men are written, and where no man’s name is written yet, I

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Abortion comprehensive assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Abortion comprehensive assignment - Essay Example Some people from the section term abortion as murder, or killing of the innocent soul. According to the medical experts, â€Å"An abortion is when the pregnancy is ended so that it does not result in the birth of a child. Sometimes this is called termination of pregnancy.† Abortion in the United States has been going on for centuries; unwanted pregnancies have been in existence for very many years and in one way or the other such pregnancies were eliminated. Before the18th century women carried out abortion at will as there were no laws that restricted or barred the women from doing so. Due to the lack of any specific laws so many women carried out abortions that some states started coming up with laws to restrict abortions. The first law was the Connecticut statute 1821 the statute prohibited the use of â€Å"toxic substances to cause miscarriage.† Soon afterwards other states followed New York law in 1829. After the New York law various states came up with laws that punished the abortion providers, restricted abortions and at times punishing women seeking to carry out abortions. The first ever United States Federal law to be enacted was the Comstock Law of 1873. The law allowed a special postal agent to open mails suspected to contain abortion or contraceptive. The main aim for the law was to suppress the circulation of â€Å"obscene materials† From the year 1900 up to1960s, abortions were outlawed. As a result many women turned to unsafe abortion. In the year 1965 a total of 265 deaths were reported to have taken pace as a result of unsafe abortions. New York as well as California reported complications with 20% being as a result abortions. As a result of the numerous deaths associated with unsafe abortions, a series of cases were taken to the Supreme Court and some women were granted the right to carry out abortions (Solodnikov,  2011). During the great depression that took place in the

Monday, September 23, 2019

Revolutionaries and Freemasonry Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Revolutionaries and Freemasonry - Research Paper Example It often calls itself "a strange system of ethics covered in allegory and demonstrated by symbols (Word IQ.com, 2010). As King (1998) asserts, freemasonry is the worlds oldest and leading system. Its customs look back to most basic history. Masonry in its existing structure appeared when the inhabitants of London, England perceived its public incidents in 1717. Although masonry, mainly in its initial days had some aspects of confidentiality, the first publicity of the evidently highly confidential Masonic ceremony essentially emerged in 1696. Tens of thousands of books has been published about this secret organization since then. In spite of the good works done by its members, Freemasonry has repeatedly suffered the slings and arrows of those who seek to use its silent nature in opposition to it for over three hundred years. Freemasonrys singular principle is to make good men better and its bonds of friendship, kindness and brotherly love have survived even the most divisive political, military and religious conflicts through the centuries. Freemasonry is neither a forum nor a place of worship. It i s not a religion nor does it teach a religious philosophy. For almost three hundred years, it has attracted men of high moral character who support the doctrine of self-control, resilience, caution and justice. Great thinkers and revolutionaries were highly influenced by the Masonic dogma and activities. It is asserted that advancing in time from 1789, enormous revolutions were led by Freemasons: Simon Bolivar, Josà © de San Martin and Bernardo O’Higgins in South America; Vicente Guerrero, and later Benito Juarez, in Mexico; Josà © Marti in Cuba, Josà © Rizal in the Philippines, and Giuseppe Garibaldi in Italy. Most remarkably, the Texans who rebelled against the government of Mexico, and fought a triumphant war of secession, were mainly masons, and certainly, all the presidents and vice-presidents of the Republic of Texas were masons too

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Home School vs. Public School Essay Example for Free

Home School vs. Public School Essay I prefer home schooling over public schooling; which one do you prefer? There are both pros and cons for both Home Schooling and Public Schooling. I am going to explain this all to you in my essay. I personally was home schooled for a few years during middle and high school. All of elementary school and part of middle school I went to a regular school. My reasoning for choosing to be home schooled is I have Agoraphobia which is an anxiety disorder caused by situations where people perceive the environment as being difficult to escape or get help. As soon as I would walk into a class room I would have a panic attack. One thing I liked about public school was being able to play volleyball. I loved playing it for the little bit of time that I was in middle school. Even though I wasn’t really all that great, So I didn’t play very much. That is one con of being home schooled. You cannot play sports affiliated with any school. A pro for public schooling is you have a group environment to learn in with others to help you. On the other hand with home schooling you are on your own. In home schooling you have less choices of curriculum as you would if you were going to public school. You also have more diversity in public school. When going to public school you have a higher student to teacher ratio, now with home schooling there is a small teacher to student ratio. In home schooling you are free to choose your schedule, as in public school your schedule is strict and chosen for you. Public school chooses the curriculum for you. Unlike in home schooling you can choose your own. There are now roughly millions of children being home schooled. Being home schooled teaches students to be independent in their learning choices. Sometimes home schooling can be more expensive than going to public school. Teachers are not always qualified to teach all subjects, and colleges sometimes have stricter admission policies concerning home schooled students. It is also harder to provide social interaction when being home schooled. Like I had stated before I prefer home schooling but everyone has their own opinions. This is the reason why I have enrolled myself into the University of Phoenix online. So that I can have the flexibility of my classes, this way I can work around my everyday life and not miss out when it comes to spending time with my boys. I hope that the information in my essay was helpful to you.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Environmental Responsibility in Global Capitalism

Environmental Responsibility in Global Capitalism Environmental Responsibility in Global Capitalism Global capitalism refers to an economic system and a method of production in which industries, trade, and means of production are mostly owned by private investors and corporations for profits. In a capitalist economy, capital accumulation, stiff competition for the markets and wage labor are common to the parties to a transaction. Even as capitalism and democracy increase human wealth, leading to an improved lifestyle, nations should regulate their industries and agricultural production so that they become environmentally friendly. This essay will thus seek to clarify how capitalists strive to maximize profits with environmental conservation as a critical issue. In my reading, the stronger governments may be disadvantaged when they implement policies that work towards environmental responsibility. The regulations are in favor of avoiding pollution and encouraging recycling. Their weak counterparts may continue with the whole idea of environmental degradation; hence producing cheaper products. The result is unfair competition in the world market. (Rolston, 2012, p. 2) For fair competition, both the strong and weak governments should enforce regulations that would ensure the industries only carry out production activities that are friendly to the environment. China’s current advancement in its economy shows its willingness to trash its environment for earning profits and exposing its citizens to a lot of health risks. The author of the book â€Å"a new environmental ethics† states that coming out of poverty requires an efficient state to enforce workers rights and environmental health. Without the implementation of such policies, workers may suffer from pollution, especially from air and water. Health problems are not only meant for the poor who, in this case are the workers but also the rich who suffer the consequences of pollution caused by the environment. Trading blocs such as the World Trade Organization have been against the environmental regulations by their member states. Capitalists are also up to the point that environmental concerns do not directly affect international entrepreneurs as capital will flow to the poorer countries. The investors argue that the development in poor countries would make them rich enough to afford environmental protection after some time. The environmental race seems to be moving to the bottom instead of heightening. Capitalists should find ways of maximizing profits for their businesses while keeping in mind the whole concern of environmental conservation. The world Trade Organization has not considered the consumption of genetically modified foods to be of a discussion in the health sector. The trading bloc argues that so long as the food is safe for consumption, there is no need for raising an alarm. The only advice the trading bloc gives is for consumers to boycott the products if they wish. Such misunderstanding brings confusion to the users who do not know which direction to take considering consumption of certain products. Statements that are issued by capitalists regarding their products make consumers have the notion that environmental conservation is a voluntary activity. Ever since, voluntary programs have never been done to the best, and that is the case in voluntary environmental protection. (Rolston, 2012, p. 3) A major problem with globalized capital based development is that the rich grow richer as the poor become poorer. Capitalists have continued to look for cheap labor in order to maximize their production. Such global inequalities created by capitalists have made the attempts to secure the environment unsuccessful. Wealth is inappropriately distributed leading to a gap between the economic statuses of nations. (Rolston, 2012, p. 3) It is unethical to conserve nature but fail to take full measure of the distribution of the benefits of exploiting natural resources. The overconsumption among the rich developed countries and under -consumption among the poor in developing nations is a cause of environmental degradation in both the sets of nations. The escalating consumption patterns with changes in population growth continue to create a difference in the state of the environment. Utilization of natural resources in countries varies, depending on the population and the consumption patterns. The author of the book also explains how both the developed and underdeveloped countries suffer from environmental degradation in different capacities. (Rolston, 2012, p. 5) Social fairness is associated with environmental protection and a more fair distribution of the world’s wealth is needed for the environmental preservation to last. Both the wealthy and the environmental ethicists are faulted for overlooking the poor in their concern to save the elephants. The setting aside of the biodiversity reserves and forest reserves makes the poor more unfortunate as the wild animals cause destruction to plants and crops in the areas inhabited by the poor people. Such damage to crops may be a source of environmental degradation in the areas. The crops and vegetation play an important role in the control and prevention of soil erosion that causes water pollution. The silt deposited in water bodies will not only have an impact to the poor but the wealthy as well. Sediments cause clogging of water pipes that are used globally hence affecting everybody. (Rolston, 2012, p. 6) It the book, it is noted that international markets and religion are the two places where humans learn a sense of global concern and fairness. The dimension of faith is expected in the world religions that compare individual behavior with the act of compassion and respect for human beings. In Christianity and Buddhism, for instance, fairness in markets would be encouraged to show concern for the poor. (Rolston, 2012, p. 8) The dimension of religion in environmental conservation should be given a priority in order to show respect for the gods. Global fairness would ensure that the developed countries carry out activities that do not lead to unfair competition in the world markets. The same would apply to the developing countries who should not take advantage of the opportunity they are given to production. Locally, fair trading can be reinforced by punishing the breakers of the laid rules and regulations. In international markets, the implementation of punishment for law breakers is hard. Thus, it is upon the competitors to promote the peaceful existence and fair competition. For such to exist, religion plays a significant role in guiding those involved in the transactions. The Chinese remarkable economic growth has been among the most histrionic development progress in the universal economy over the past few years. Nevertheless, the evolution of Chinese financial progression has had tremendous ecological effects. In the previous couple of years, the brief ascent in social and in addition budgetary irregularity, natural griminess, amassing rural emergency, predominant focal debasement and fading frequent administrations have developed to unsafe heights that could hypothetically lead to a volatile state (Chun, 2013 ,p. 34). In this part of the essay we emphasis on the conservation influence of Chinese e entrepreneurship improvement. Chinas vast populace and also its developing significance in the universal economy makes the environmental disaster go far beyond China itself. It is a significant portion of the evolution of the international ecological crisis (Lu, 2007, p. 19). Capitalism is focused in the search of profit and the continuous, strong force from the competition makes private industrialists, associations and the conditions to take after revenue accretion on progressively higher scales; this leads to populace intensification. The activities of the entrepreneurial financial scheme tend to result in endless incline in the revenue imbalance and prosperity distribution among nations (Rolston, 2012, p. 21). The inclination concerning slanting the slanting unevenness could, in the long run, lead to finish decays in expectations for everyday comforts for some individuals universally, coming about to a socially untenable state. The developing economic activities results in the exhaustion of materials. Besides, production and manufacture activities lead to material wastes that are a significant adverse effects on the ecology. Limitless economic development outcomes to drain off the resources and lead to environmental squalor. By use of a formula, the impact of capitalist buildup on the ecology can be figured: Ecology effect= Population Ãâ€"AffluenceÃâ€"Technology Hypothetically, if technological advancement can result in less ecological effect per dollar in central the population, then affluence can be immense (Philander, 2012, p. 54-56). As the Chinese drifts to a market entrepreneurial scheme connected to the universal entrepreneurial economy and ethos, resources deplete plus ecology deterioration takes into the course in vast and large levels. During the economy developing years, China was and still is a major producer of industrial wastes. China is a global factory in addition to a dumping site (Lu, 2008, p. 61). The environmental crisis is calamitous not only for China but also for the entire world. Conferring to a World Health Organization report, seven of the ten most inhabited cities in the globe are Chinese. Air contamination results to approximately 300,000 demises annually. In excess of 35 percentage of the aggregate lives claimed by air pollution are Chinese. Acid rain affects approximately more than a quarter of China (Gallagher, 2007, p. 37-39). Large scale air pollution from automobiles has recently worsened the situation. Most of China’s inhabitants who rely on bicycles and public channels of transport suffer from the dirty, polluted air as well as inclining traffic brought by the combustion of fuel in the automobiles. The consumption autos in China is increasing at 18.5 percent annually. Cleaner technology tried to be put in place cannot regulate the pollution if this tendency continues. Water scarceness issue in China is immense (Lu, 2008, p. 16). Upper China mainly experiences water inadequacy. Yellow River flows beneath Loess Plateau where much of vegetation is swept away by erosion; this leads to a decrease in the capability of the plants to hold and reserve water and the water supply from Yellow River has decreased. There is violent rivalry for water amid many farming upstream districts and the industrialized downstream districts. Owing to water scarcity, as well as mass contamination of shallow water, many towns and villages are progressively getting water from subversive reserves. Effluence is deteriorating the aquatic catastrophe. In a preceding report, in Pearl River Deltas besides Yangtze River Delta areas, the water crisis is dominant and the water is considered inconsumable due to heavy effluence (Gallagher, 2007, p. 57). China’s 27.9 percent total land is an expanding desert and more than a quarter of the land suffer from high extents of erosion. More than 35 percent of the total land is tainted due to erosion plus pollution (Chun, 2013, p. 35-39). The high growth of industries and urban centers is demanding more agricultural land. The rest of the agricultural land is affected by pollution from chemicals, mining activities, and effluence from industries. According to an International Energy Agency report, the Chinese are the reason for 7 percent consumption of the global primary energy in 1974 besides 14 percent in 2003. China’s energy consumption is approximately 4 percent and if this trend endures it will double in less than two decades (Chun, 2013, p. 41). Recently, China’s energy demand has risen. Amid the years 2000-2004, China was accountable for 40 percent of the worldwide total increase in energy depletion. The escalation in the use of individual automobiles in the past decade lead to a vigorous increase in oil consumption. China uses its energy much more inefficiently compared to other developed capitalist nations thus China needs to fuel its vigorous economic advancement by upgrading its efficiency instead of inclining energy consumption. In relation to other countries, China’s energy consumption per dollar of GDP is greater than the global average only by a small percent that proposes that China has bounded its potential to increase energy efficiency (Larsen, 2004, p. 68). Chinas developing interest in vitality and hunger for oil happen against the foundation of a creating worldwide vitality emergency. The world right now relies on upon oil and gas for 56 percent and all types of fossil powers for 80 percent of its aggregate essential vitality utilization. There is developing confirmation that worldwide oil and gas creation could achieve a top and begin to decrease in the advancing decade. A developing reliance on coal would quicken the consumption of coal and significantly intensify the effect on an unnatural weather change (Gallagher, 2007, p. 62). Soon it is exceptionally impossible that the different types of renewable energies can supplant the fossil fills to manage the present levels of world vitality utilization and future monetary development. The current Chinese development example could enormously quicken the happening to the worldwide vitality emergency and lead to possibly exceptionally perilous geopolitical circumstances. Climate structures forecast that global warming would result in reduced rainfall in northern China and increased the fuel in southern China. The North China Plain has been experiencing water shortage since thirty years ago. On the other hand, southern China has regularly been covered by floods (Philander, 2012, p. 51-56). Climate alteration in China could cause a decrease in its agricultural yield especially affecting rice, maize as well as wheat. In short, climate change may significantly worsen the Chinese water crisis as well as loom if food security. Recently, environmental awareness amid city inhabitants has advanced. Cities like Beijing is being cleaned up and cleaner, gas-fueled power stations are being constructed. However, polluting firms are moved to rural areas in place of being retrofitted to decrease effluence and waste water should be treated instead of being sent away to the sea. As a result of these actions, the rural inhabitants are affected by environmental squalor unfairly (Philander, 2012, p. 61). For example, the profit- making capitalist firms has a huge role in generating pollution. Farmers endure the consequences of heavy metal pollution without any mode of reimbursement. More than 100 million are affected by this crisis. Farmers may be ignorant of the ecological effects of the polluting firms at early levels in any case, which is evident to that something is not right when the waterway runs dark or when a kid pass away. Nevertheless, complaints from the poor rural farmers are not considered and little is done (Larsen, 2004, p. 73). The central government is contingent on the revenues made by the firms. In other circumstances, the administrators are major shareholders of the contaminating firms; therefore have a direct interest to retain the firms in a production mode and reduce expenditure as much as possible. When the affected have no valid channels to discourse their complaints, social turbulence is inevitable. Finally, Chinese capitalist growth is bearable. In the event that the ebb and flow development example proceeds, in the not extremely inaccessible future, China may need to battle with significant vitality emergencies, intense decreases in sustenance generation, fatigue of usable water assets, wild general wellbeing emergencies and calamitous characteristic debacles (Larsen, 2004, p. 89-93). Not just the Chinese economy would need to develop and the current social structure would fall, the potential outcomes on the populace could be excessively terrible, making it impossible to envision. To forestall such a self-annihilation from happening, it is important to change generally the whole existing social and financial structure. The economy must be arranged towards meeting the populaces essential needs as opposed to the quest for benefit and capital aggregation (Philander, 2012, p. 65). To balance out and enhance China ecological conditions, China needs to most importantly settle its general utilization of vitality, water, and area assets and afterward steadily decrease the utilization of these assets to manageable levels. In conclusion, as capitalism teaches anyone never to be satisfied with their income, and instead promote endless growth, environmental conservation should also be brought to a high gear. The escalating consumption in developed countries and an increasing world population, in general, should be a motivating factor in controlling environmental degradation. We ought to be reminded that the escalating numbers of people, who would if they could, work together in preventing and controlling environmental pollution. It is through the efforts of everybody that the beautiful environment will be preserved even as production activities are growing. References Chun, Lin. China and Global Capitalism. 2013. 19 May 2015. Gallagher, Mary Elizabeth. Contagious capitalism globalization and the politics of labor in China. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2007. Larsen, Lene. Responsibility in world business managing harmful side-effects of corporate activity. Tokyo: United Nations University Press, 2004. Lu, Haitian. The role of China in global dirty industry migration. Oxford: Chandos, 2008. Philander, S. George. Encyclopedia of global warming climate change. 2nd. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: SAGE Publications, 2012. Rolston, H. A new environmental ethics. New York: Routledge, 2012.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Impact of Pro-Eating Disorder Websites

Impact of Pro-Eating Disorder Websites Kosalina Vignarajah Harithra Chandrasehar Abstract This paper examines the impact of pro-eating disorder websites as determined by the researches done on the area. During the course of this paper, we have critically analyzed the findings, methodologies and conclusions given in eight research papers while providing suggestions for our opinions on them. After the analysis, we have come to a conclusion that pro-eating disorder websites are harmful to both novice viewers and regular viewers as these websites negatively affect the self-esteem, perceptions of beauty and the patterns of thinking. However, these websites are also a forum through which people with eating disorders communicate, which acts a supportive network, and is therefore positive as well. Key words: Pro-eating disorder websites, thinspiration, Pro-ana/pro-mia. Kosalina Vignarajah Introduction Nothing tastes as good as thin feels is a quote which is often seen in pro-eating disorder websites (Bardone-Cone Cass, 2006). Pro-eating disorder movements or websites focus mainly on influencing individuals to practice disordered behaviors of eating (by sometimes undermining the harm it can do) and increasing the eating disorder behaviors overtime without seeking treatments from professionals. These websites claim that they are pro-ana and/or pro-mia (for anorexia and bulimia respectively) and that they represent a lifestyle choice rather than eating disorders (Csipke and Horne, 2007). The objective of this paper is to understand the impact of pro-eating disorder websites on people. This paper will mainly focus on why pro-eating disorder movements negatively impacts people already diagnosed with eating disorders. Additionally, this paper will have an in-depth explanation of pro-eating disorder websites, what these websites contain that benefits and negatively impacts the users, find appropriate approaches to reduce the consequences of these sites, the precautious steps that clinical professionals/therapists could take to help the victims, and the limitations and possible future studies will also be explored. Pro-Eating Disorder websites Pro-eating disorder websites are where individuals with anorexia or bulimia join together to feel like a community, share values and beliefs (Csipke and Horne, 2007). These movements are especially spread through websites have main three goals: the sites prevent from seeking professional help; increase the behavior of eating disorder, and using the guise of support to harm the users (Yom-Tov, Fernandez-Luque, Weber, Crain, 2012). Csipke and Horne (2007) have characterized websites regarding eating disorders into four main types: (1) eating disorder websites run by professionals concerned with health; (2) recovery sites run by people with eating disorders; (3) moderate pro-ED sites that consists of beliefs and quotes regarding being thin, and (4) severe pro-ED sites that consists of ANA creed or commandments which is similar to a movement and contains inspirational facts and information about maintaining a low body weight and looking thin. Most of these sites contain images and messages that motivate disordered behaviors; drugs that help induce vomit; chatrooms that include individuals that support each other; a disclaimer to warn people who accidently come across the site and sometimes information about the organizer of this site is given (Overbeke, 2008). Also most of the sites have calorie charts and BMI calculator to advice the users of the exercises to undertake, to reduce weight and to help hide the disorders from others (Csipke and Horne, 2007). Addition to sharing thinspiration pictures of thin supermodels, the users who have eating disorders find themselves more deep into these websites because of the identity that these sites provide. And in this way, they are taught self control on food consumption and encourage to diet or fast with other fellow chatters, this is one of the main defense statement of pro-eating websites (Csipke and Horne, 2007). The contents of these sites could be harmful and is a health concern, as explained below. Impact of Pro-Eating disorder websites Csipke and Horne (2007) concluded that there was a positive impact (without counting the motivation to diet together) on frequent users of the pro-eating website , who were supported emotionally found themselves connecting with other users who had the same view and thought than the silent users who were physically supported to maintain restricted eating behaviors. It is important to remember that a frequent user of the sites is not safe from disordered eating behavior, and also it is difficult for the users to come out of this behavior to recover because these sites gives them an identity. Despite giving sense of belongingness, clear identity, and practical information in regards to anorexia, the sites have negative impacts such as lowered self esteem, and self-efficacy of being perceived as overweight which leads to eating disorders (Overbeke, 2008). For example, Bardone-Cone and Cass (2006) stated that women who viewed pro-anorexia website showed an increase on their perceived weight and a decrease in how attractive they looked to opposite sex compared with women who viewed neutral sites, thus both the mood and the cognition of women are affected by viewing pro-eating disorder movement websites. Also users of pro-ana sites had a longer duration of illnesses and higher number of absenteeism of school due to health concerns (Overbeke, 2008). The impact of pro-eating disorder on eating disorder is a topic that requires more attention in the future, especially the role the sites play in helping to maintain and increase eating disorder behaviors, an explanation of these popularities despite the negative impact and the reasons for why the individuals continue access these sites (Overbeke, 2008). Approaches to Reduce the Impact of Pro-Eating Disorders Websites A better approach can be taken to prevent these sites causing more harmful effects such as a censorship to shut down these sites from stopping the frequent users and also the users yet to connect with the site members (Csipke and Horne, 2007). Parents should also educate themselves and their children with media literacy that gives a critical evaluation of the media and its messages and it is wiser to use block technology at home computers if the children were alone with a technical device or else place the computers in public area of the house (Bardone-Cone and Cass, 2006). It is the duty of the parents to be aware of their childrens health to not only check for eating disorders but to also prevent from other diseases. Yom-Tov et al. (2012) illustrated that some of the countries like Israel has taken the precaution of these harmful sites and have banned advertisements containing severely underweight models. On the other hand, the online servers (e.g Yahoo, MSN) have taken it upon themselves to create awareness for the harmful drugs used for eating disorder. Overbeke (2008) suggested that by understanding the factors that influences the popularity of these sites, professionals can take relevant steps to prevent popularity of these sites. Clinical scientists should defend against statements such as these where pro-Ana movements is compared with homosexuality, that given time pro-Ana movements will be considered as a chosen lifestyle as homosexuality is considered today (Overbeke, 2008). Treatments could include acknowledgement of these sites and how to address these issues with clients to prevent relapse and help acquire a healthy eating behaviors by letting the clients know about the influence these sites have on their health (Csipke and Horne, 2007). In addition to above mentioned precautions that parents and therapist could take, there are some areas of studies that require the attention of researchers to study on. For example, The ambiguity of pro-Ana makes it difficult for the researchers to study on it because different meaning is given to pro-eating disordered movements by many and most of the studies are pilot or descriptive studies that are not evidence enough to make conclusion from to check the real impacts (Overbeke, 2008). Therefore, Yom-Tov et al. (2012) emphasized that future studies can focus on interventions where warnings about the content of the sites should be clear, understandable to any user, and importance should be given to adhere to these warnings to avoid being caught up in problems that may lead to eating disordered behavior. As mentioned above, the use of blocking from the internet servers for these sites is necessary because a caregiver cannot monitor the users all the time, and parental control software should be present for the users especially to avoid the first time users attention towards these sites. Harithra Chandrasehar â€Å"E-Ana and e-Mia: A Content Analysis of Pro–Eating Disorder Web Sites† is an article by Borzekowski et al. analyzes the content shown in a one hundred and eighty pro-eating disorder websites. According to the article, pro-eating disorder websites are often defined by their urging of viewers to use unconventional and dangerous methods to lose weight such as using laxatives. The article also mentioned that 79% of the websites were interactive thus giving viewers a forum, and that they contain â€Å"thinspiration†, tips and techniques to lose weight, and â€Å"reverse triggers† – pictures of morbidly obese people (Borzekowski et al. 2010). What was most fascinating was the details accumulated regarding the sites such as them being very easy to understand as they were compiled in eighth grade English which aids its ability to cater to its audience, and more importantly, that most of the sites had themes – including bringing control to life t hrough eating-disorders, isolation from those who they think are fat and impure, and as artistic transformation (Borzekowski et al., 2010). A drawback of this study is the unavailability of information regarding the â€Å"underground† websites which are pro-eating disorder, as they may contain the most damaging information, as opposed to what is found in the public domain. The article titled â€Å"Potential risks of Pro-eating disorder websites† claims that despite the negative out-cry against them, that there are currently around five hundred websites which are pro-eating disorders currently on the internet, and that around 200-400 users will be accessing those sites at any given time, while also mentioning that those who view these websites can be girls of twelve years or younger. This article also shed light to three important factors which seem to carry the most risk to those viewing a pro-eating disorder website. They are; â€Å"Operation under the guise of support†, â€Å"reinforcement of disordered eating, and â€Å"prevention of help-seeking and recovery† Interestingly it also mentions that not all pro-eating disorder websites are anti-recovery as some websites encourage the users to seek help when their eating disorder progresses (Rouleau, von Ranson 2010). This does confirm the fact that eating-disorder websites are a fo rum which provide support and comfort too. However, it is also possible that the triggers in the website may discourage people from seeking help, despite the disclaimer in the beginning of the page. A suggestion to counter these pro-eating disorder websites would be to have a website which appears along with the pro-eating disorder websites, which is run by completely recovered individuals who once lived with eating disorders, who can understand and even guide a person to seek help. The site can even be monitored by clinicians. The research titled â€Å"What does viewing a pro-Anorexia website do? An experimental examination of website exposure and moderating effects† seems to be a remarkably well-thought out study. It is also a study that has been cited by many research articles discussing this topic. Technically, the article seems to be quite flawless as it covers every aspect necessary, including a pilot study, the randomization of participants, explanation of methods of testing used, and the explanation of results. the results of this study determined that viewing a pro-anorexia website made a significant impact on the participants compared to those who viewed the control websites in terms of a negative mood, low social self-esteem, low appearance self-esteem, higher likelihood to exercise and think about weight in the forthcoming days. This study was a critical point in the research of pro-eating disorder websites as it showed the immediate after effects of viewing one. Unfortunately, it has not followed the participants out of the lab and analyzed how these websites affect their life after the initial viewing – despite the debriefing they received and the availability to psychological help. (Bardone-Cone, Cass 2007). It would be interesting to know whether any of these participants returned to viewing these websites, and to understand what drew them to it as they are considered first-time viewers, (and should technically have no reason to search for companionship in an eating-disorder website which is the reason given by many people living with eating disorders when asked why they access these sites), and whether viewing these articles and images are as damaging as they were the first time, or if the effect of it reduces each time through desensitization as the Bardone-Cone and Cass study suggests. It would also be interesting to know what changes will occur in the results if the subjects were male, or if they were from a culture that appreciates body fat, or even if it were someone who is obese and having a good self esteem. The variations of the sample are quite necessary as these sites are quite freely available on the internet, and therefore it is important to find out how different people react to these websites, as opposed to only considering the stereotypical relationship between women and anorexia. However, it would be quite dangerous to expose people to sites like these without having a good understanding of their psychological state, as eating disorders can be hidden for so long, and disguised as many other less harmful things that it may be difficult for the researchers to notice changes in a participant unless it is a long term study. The final article â€Å"disordered eating in a digital age† is a questionnaire/survey which was linked to pro-eating disorder websites, which was answered by those accessing the site. The results were then analyzed to determine the harm caused, and although it has been impossible to determine the causality of many of these negative symptoms including low BMI, low quality of life, co-morbidity of illnesses along with psychological diagnosis, and an alarming twenty one sick days in a month of thirty days, but its strongly linked to eating disorders and these websites (Peebles et al. 2012). However, this research had a response rate of less than 40% which is not an adequate sample, while only English websites were accessed. However this study was one of the best online studies conducted in this area, was well analyzed, and the article contained the survey for references which can be helpful to the reader. Conclusion The articles above show comprehensive details about pro-eating disorder websites. Upon careful reviewing of both articles and some of these mentioned websites, it is easy to understand that there is a completely different mind-set attached to those who have purposely disordered eating habits. It seems to be like they think that they have a higher purpose, a better understanding and purer image of the human body. Their mentality seems like that of a cult, a united front with adherence to a strict regime, but it’s members breaking down within it unable to cope up with the stress and the difficulty, but struggling each day, because if they don’t, their entire belief system and the purpose they have assigned to themselves may fall apart. Perhaps one of the most ethical ways to help these people who may not acknowledge that they require it is by doing more research about pro-eating disorder websites which helps develop their dangerous bonds and by matching each of it with a less harmful blog/website run by clinicians but is suitable and accessible to the general public. Another such proactive action would be having a minimum standard guideline that these pro-eating disorder websites need to adhere to, required by law, where the harm is detailed and the ways to get help are found, like the warning that is mandated on packs of cigarettes. It is best if these websites can be closed down by all internet servers as a matter of public safety, and encourages instead a forum or web pages which speak creatively about the struggles of beating eating disorders and victory. In the case of research, it would be best to do more studies with diverse samples, and to do studies which assess the long term effects of these websites. It would be also interesting to have a research perspective about why these websites should exist, and it would be ideal if this research could be conducted by those who believe in the pro-eating disorder movement as it would be a good way to understand each other, with the basis of science. References Bardone-Cone, A. M., Cass, K. M. (2006) Investigating the Impact of Pro-Anorexia Websites: A Pilot Study. European Eating Disorders Review 14, 256-262. Bardone-Cone A M. and Cass K M. (2007) What Does Viewing a Pro-Anorexia Website Do? An Experimental Examination of Website Exposure and Moderating Effects, International Journal of Eating Disorders 40:6 537–548 DOI 10.1002/eat Borzekowski D LG, Schenk S, Wilson J L, Peebles R (2010) e-Ana and e-Mia: A Content Analysis of Pro–Eating Disorder Web Sites. American Journal of Public Health, Volume 100, No 8. Csipke, E., Horne, O. (2007) Pro-Eating Disorder websites: users opinions. European Eating Disorders Review,Volume 15, Issue 3, pages 196-206. Overbeke, G. (2008) Pro-Anorexia Websites: Content, Impact, and Explanations of Popularity. Mind Matters: The Wesleyan Jounral of Psychology, 49-62, Vol. 3. Peebles R, Wilson J,Litt I F,Hardy K K;Lock D (2012) Disordered Eating in a Digital Age:Eating Behaviors, Health, and Quality of Life in Users of Websites With Pro-Eating Disorder Content. Journal of Medical Internet Research 14.5 Rouleau C R, von Ranson K M (2010) Potential risks of pro-eating disorder websites, Clinical psychology review 31- Elsevier. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2010.12.005 Yom-Tov, E., Fernandez-Luque, L., Weber, I., Crain, S. P. (2012) Pro-Anorexia and Pro-Recovery Photo Sharing: A tale of Two Warring Tribes. Journal of Medical Internet Research.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Cloning Plants :: essays research papers

Cloning is asexual reproduction. Cuttings are taken from a mother plant in vegatative growth, and rooted in hydroponic medium to be grown as a separate plant. The offspring will be plants that are identical to the parent plant. Cloning preserves the character of your favorite plant. Cloning can make an ocean of green out of a single plant, so it is a powerful tool for growing large crops, and will fill a closet quickly with your favorite genetics. When you find the plant you want to be your "buddy" for the rest of your life, you can keep that plant's genetic character alive for decades and pass it on to your children's children. Propagate and share it with others, to keep a copy, should your own line die out. A clone can be taken from a clone at least 20 times, and probably more, so don't worry about myths of reduced vigor. Many reports indicate it's not a problem. Cloning will open you to the risk of a fungus or pests wiping out the whole crop, so it's important to pick plants that exhibit great resistance to fungus and pests. Pick the plant you feel will be the most reliable to reproduce in large scale, based on health, growth rate, resistance to pests, and potency. The quality of the high, and the type of buzz you get will be a very important determining factor. Take cuttings for clones before you move plants from vegetative grow area to the flowering area. Low branches are cut to increase air circulation under the green canopy. Rooted clones are moved to the vegetative growth area, and new clones are started in the cloning area using the low branch cuttings. Each cycle of growth will take from 4-8 weeks, so you can constantly be growing in 3 stages, and harvesting every 6-8 weeks. Some types of plants are more difficult to clone than others. Big Bud is reported to not clone very well. One of my favorite plants, Mr. Kona, is the most amazing pot I ever smoked, but it is hard as hell to clone. What a challenge! I noticed other varieties that were rooting much quicker, but it was the stone I was after! Once you find the psychoactive, almost hallucinogenic properties of some Indica/Sativa hybrids, you never want to smoke a pure Indica again. Indica is however, great medicinally, so I like to grow a few pure strains too.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Juvenile Crime :: essays research papers

Remember doing something mischievous or wrong when you were a kid and getting the label "delinquent" slapped on you ? Did you ever wonder what it meant ? That is what my topic for today is . . . juvenile delinquency. In this report I will: define juvenile delinquency, give the extent of juvenile delinquency, give some suggestions on what causes juvenile delinquency, and what is being done in various communities to deal with this growing problem. The legal term juvenile delinquent was established so that young lawbreakers could avoid the disgrace of being classified in legal records as criminals. Juvenile delinquency laws were designed to provide treatment, rather than punishment, for juvenile offenders. Young delinquents usually are sent to juvenile courts, where the main aim is to rehabilitate offenders, rather than to punish them. But the term juvenile delinquency itself has come to imply disgrace in today's society. A youngster can be labeled a delinquent for breaking an y one of a number of laws, ranging from robbery to running away from home. But an action for which a youth may be declared a delinquent in one community may not be against the law in another community. In some communities, the police ignore many children who are accused of minor delinquencies or refer them directly to their parents. But in other communities, the police may refer such children to a juvenile court, where they may officially be declared delinquents. Crime statistics, though they are often incomplete and may be misleading, do give an indication of the extent of the delinquency problem. The FBI reports that during the early 1980's, about two-fifths of all arrests in the United States for burglary and arson were of persons under the age of 18. Juveniles also accounted for about one-third of all arrests for larceny. During any year, about 4 % of all children between the ages of 10 and 18 appear in a juvenile court. The percentage of youngsters in this group who are sent to court at least once is much higher. A third or more of those boys living in the slum areas of large cities may appear in a juvenile court at least once. Girls are becoming increasingly involved in juvenile delinquency. Today, about one of every five youngsters appearing in juvenile court is a girl. In the early 1900's, this ratio was about 1 girl to every 50 or 60 boys.