Power Corrupts In Animal Farm, By George Orwell - 1187 Words

Power can not only harm- it can kill. In George Orwell’s novel, Animal Farm, published in 1945, power quickly corrupts society. The animals were just able to be free of the critical control of Farmer Jones, when another leader steps up- this time one of their own. When given too much power, Napoleon, the Animal Farm’s dictator, takes complete control over the farm. From repealing all rules earlier laid out, to the slaughtering of innocent animals, Napoleon makes it obvious he is in power. The farm animals remain faithful to this harsh leader despite the fact they get treated poorly and inhumanly. They become â€Å"brainwashed† into believing Napoleon has the best interest for each and every one of them. The theme that power corrupts is†¦show more content†¦The farm animals do not second anything their master, Napoleon, says. Although Napoleon speaks untrue things, deceiving all the farm animals, they believe every word he speaks into existence must be a ccurate. Napoleon receives worship for everything pleasant that takes place on the Animal Farm, even though he lies and many times he had absolutely nothing to do with goodness. Napoleon and his group of pigs begin to take complete control of the Animal Farm. They were the ones to make all the rules, and left all the other animals with very little power. When Napoleon were given all the power, they began to change the rules they had earlier laid out, without the animals’ opinions. â€Å" ‘Muriel, she said, ‘read me the Fourth Commandment. Does it not say something about never sleeping in a bed?’... ‘It says, ‘No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets.’ † The regulations that were earlier proposed slowly started changing but only for the pigs’ benefit. Napoleon and his pigs begin sending orders, giving the farm animals more and more work. Napoleon and the pigs did nothing except sit and watch, and of course, benefit from all the hard work the other animals did. â€Å"The pigs did not actually work but directed and supervised the others. With their superior knowledge, it was natural that they should Show MoreRelatedAbsolute Power Corrupts in Animal Farm by George Orwell Essays1287 Words   |  6 PagesAnimal Farm, by George Orwell, was written to show how absolute power corrupts, just as Stalin’s power did following the Russian Revolution in 1917. In the allegory Animal Farm, each character represents a political figure from the days around the Russian Revolution. For example, Joseph Stalin is represented by a pig named Napoleon, Squealer, another pig, represents Stalin’s propaganda department, and the dogs represent the Secret Police (KBG). Using the nine dogs that Napoleon raises (intimidation)Read MoreTheme Of Power Corrupts In Animal Farm1232 Words   |  5 Pagesamount of power, so he decided to use it negatively for others, but positively for himself. Meanwhile, he realized he shouldn’t do these corrupt acts, but it was too late! He got a call from his doctor who told him he’d been diagnosed with cancer. A theme that would fit this scenario a nd the book, â€Å"Animal Farm,† by George Orwell would be: Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. This theme would fit this book because the main character Napoleon, an animal of the Manor Farm, gets so muchRead MoreAnimal Farm Literary Analysis710 Words   |  3 PagesGeorge Orwell, a writer of many novels and other literature, one of his most known is Animal Farm.This book is where Orwell’s political style as well as other techniques he used in his writing were used most. Animal Farm is about farm animals who are being neglected by their owner, and they decides to overthrow him and take control of their farm. However, that is only the the outer layer of the story, looking under the surface, this is an allegory detailing the Russian Revolution. The author wroteRead MoreThe Power Of Power In George Orwells Animal Farm764 Words   |  4 Pagessay which was which(Orwell 133). In George Orwells allegorical novella Animal Farm, a successful rebellion, w as held against the Mr. Jones (the farm owner), as he mistreated the animals. After the expulsion of Mr. Jones, the farm lacked a figure of authority, so the pigs stepped up to that position as they were the most literate and the cleverest among the animals. Slowly it progressed to a state where the pigs had absolute power over the lives of the animals and the farm. Which led to a situationRead MoreAnimal Farm Character Analysis713 Words   |  3 Pagesâ€Å"ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS† (Orwell 134). In George Orwell’s allegorical fable, Animal Farm, a group of animals lived with their master, Jones. Jones was an unfair man who didn’t care too much about the animals. One day Jones forgot to feed the animals, so they revolted. The animals wanted a perfect place without the corruption of man. The currently animal controlled land of Animal Farm, the smartest of all animals, the pigs take control. To prevent a human-likeRead MoreAnimal Farm, By George Orwell, Uses Real World Examples1106 Words   |  5 PagesAnimal Farm, by George Orwell, uses real world examples to link a specific purpose to the unfortunate society. This novel is relevant to the world because in today’s society. Power is often misused and abused. Today’s world if full of scandals by people misusing funds, abuse of power, and taking advantage of the innocent.. To link this novel even more to the real word, Orwell compares Animal Farm to the Russian revolution, which leads to symbols thro ughout this novel. Authors today are extremelyRead MoreGeorge Orwell s Animal Farm1395 Words   |  6 PagesGeorge Orwell’s Animal Farm: The Power of Corruption In George Orwell’s Animal Farm, Orwell illustrates how power corrupts absolutely and how Napoleon degrades the structure and stability of Animal Farm because of the decisions that he makes. I will also expand on the idea of how Old Major’s ideas for an organized society get completely destroyed by Napoleon’s revolutionary actions. It was ironic and satirical that Napoleon’s own power annihilates Animal Farm. The satire in George Orwell’s AnimalRead MoreGeorge Orwell s Animal Farm993 Words   |  4 Pages In George Orwell’s Animal Farm despite how great a government system is, it is only as good as the people who govern. Animal Farm is a story about oppressed animals overthrowing their humans and taking control over the farm. However things were fine up until the pigs started turning corrupt. The story is told through the eyes of a common animal and the events that occurred on Animal Farm. The narrator is never known but it is apparent that is it just a common animal and this gives the retellingRead MoreExamples Of Conflict In Animal Farm1319 Words   |  6 Pagestechniques and compelling concepts to teach individuals powerful messages about conflict. The novella Animal Farm by George Orwell allegorically refers to the conflict of the Russian Revolution and demonstrates that the desire for power corrupts the human condition, leading to the deterioration of society. It also exhibits that the abuse of language is instrumental in manipulating the ignorant to gain power. Edward Zwick’s movie Glory provides an insight into the story behind a group of persecuted African-AmericanRead MoreAnimal Farm by George Orwell1100 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction: Widely acknowledged as a powerful allegory, the 1945 novella Animal Farm, conceived from the satirical mind of acclaimed author George Orwell, is a harrowing fable of a fictional dystopia that critiques the socialist philosophy of Stalin in terms of his leadership of the Soviet Union. Tired of their servitude to man, a group of farm animals revolt and establish their own society, only to be betrayed into worse servitude by their leaders, the pigs, whose initial virtuous intentions

A General Landscape Of The Human Development Context

2. Education in the human development context This part navigates into both scale levels of the model: A general landscape is provided by the dimension network analysis, and the bridge detail is delivered by the local scale analysis among subnetworks. Besides education, the ACS included other human development dimensions in the thematic groups numbered in Figure 2. Wealth is represented by several thematic groups (2, 6, 5, 9, 8, 11, 18), but health is limited to insurance coverage (12). Culture is represented broadly (1); Affiliations and some differentials such as gender and others were also covered (7, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17), as well as the relationships with the environment for establishment (3, 19). In the general landscape of the human development dimensions observed, education subnetwork had 18 links (degree) connected to 61.11% of other dimension subnetworks. Among these, 9.09% were exclusively incoming, 27.27% exclusively outgoing, and the majority of the relationships were cyclic (63.63%) (i.e., incoming and outgoing links with the same node). For the cyclic case and for the outgoing links, an outstanding relationship between education and the factor of culture was evidenced by the higher outgoing link weight (1.09 weight with p=3x10-9, and out/in weight ratio of 9.64 significantly different to the mean with p=3.63x10-5) which bears the influence of education over culture. The cyclic relationship between education and demographic characteristics was significant forShow MoreRelatedI Discovered : A Profound Enthusiasm For Learning About The Lives Of Ancient Peoples That Has Furthered My Determination1298 Words   |  6 Pagesvolunteer. That year I was chosen to work on a di fferent project; I was part of a small team tasked with excavating the recently discovered Philistine cemetery. 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Bipolar Essay Example For Students

Bipolar Essay AbstractPrevious research suggests a significant difference in word recognition time between the left and right visual fields, with word recognition and response time of the right visual field significantly faster than the left visual field. The current study investigated bilateral visual fields on word recognition time by means of an online computer program consisting of 55 participants. It was hypothesized that men would respond faster than women, and the right visual field reaction times would be faster than the left. Results indicate that sex had no significant effect on reaction time. However, words presented in the right visual field were responded to significantly faster than words in the left. Supporting previous findings of a right visual (left hemispheric) advantage. The Effect of Bilateral Visual Fields on Word RecognitionWhen examining word recognition, there are a variety of factors that come into play. These factors include the role each hemisphere plays in terms of lan guage processing as well as the physiology of the brain. Further, when examining word recognition one must further understand the assortment of variables that come into play when dealing with word recognition. These include, but are not limited to the handedness of participants in word recognition studies, the type of words that are being studies (for example words of differing length, commonly used words versus less commonly used words), the manner by which participants are attending to the stimuli that are being presented, and the manner that words are presented. Understanding the role that each hemisphere of the brain plays in recognizing words, and the physiology of the brain is fundamental to the understanding of studies of word recognition. A primary tenet of neuropsychology is that the left hemisphere specializes in language, and language processing, while the right hemisphere plays less of a role in the processing of language (Grimshaw, 1998, Nicholls Wood, 1998). It should also be noted that stimuli presented to the right visual field has direct access to the left hemisphere, while information presented to the left visual field must first go to the right hemisphere, cross the corpus callosum, and then be interpreted in the left hemisphere (Grimshaw, 1998, Nicholls Wood, 1998). Because each hemisphere of the brain specializes in its own functions, one hypothesis is that the corpus callosum acts as a shield between hemispheres (Grimshaw, 1998). This hypothesis provides formal reasoning for the generally lowered reaction times that is often encountered when stimuli are presented to the left visual field (Nicholls, Wood, 1998). HandednessPrevious research has indicating the importance of handedness (which hand individuals prefer to use on typical everyday tasks) in word recognition. Research has indicated that cerebral lateralization plays a contributing factor in the processing of language. Specifically research has suggested that left handed individuals have weaker cerebral lateralization, thus the typical right visual field advantage that is shown in right handed individuals is not as predominant, and occasionally a left visual field advantage is seen in left handed individuals (Nicholls Wood, 1998). In a study conducted by Leventhal (1988) the role that cerebral dominance plays on the participants ability to recognize words were examined. The participants consisted of both left and right handed undergraduate students. The participants were presented words to the left visual field and the right visual field that were either emotionally neutral or emotionally stimulating. Previous word recognition studies have found that prosody is generally influenced by the right hemisphere, while language is processed in the left hemisphere (Grimshaw, 1998). Leventhal (1988) found that participants who were right-handed recognized more words presented in the right visual field than the left visual field, while left-handed participants recognized more words presented in the left visual field than the right. Overall, right-handed participants recognized more words than left-handed participants. Leventhal (1988) concluded that all participants were equally capable of recognizing words, but that a significant difference was found in reaction time between right-handed and left-handed participants. Handedness obviously plays an integral role in determining reaction time in word recognition tasks. The primary question that is presented upon reviewing the research available is why this occurs. If the left hemisphere always dictates language processing, why is it that left handed individuals occasionally show more rapid word recognition when stimuli are presented to the left visual field? Research has suggested that left handed individuals experi ence weaker brain lateralization, which could pose a feasible answer to this dilemma (Nicholls, ; Wood, 1998). AttentionThe effect that visual cues play on the role of word recognition is another variable that must be taken into account when examining word recognition. There have been studies that suggest that the right visual field has an advantage over the left visual field because words presented in the right visual field enjoy enhanced retinal attention versus stimuli presented in the left visual field (Batt, Underwood, ; Bryden, 1995). As such a variety of studies have been developed to divert attention from the right visual field to the left in order to change the area of retinal attention from what is thought to be the right to the left, in order to determine if this retinal attention may play a role in word recognition. Nicholls and Wood (1998) conducted a series of experiments to assess the contribution of attentional mechanisms to the right visual field advantage for word recognition. In the experiment the participants were presented with visual cues that were valid, invalid, or neutral. A valid cue was a cue that was shown in the same visual field as the stimulus was presented. Invalid cues were presented in the opposite visual field than the field that words are presented. Cues that were considered neutral were presented to both visual fields at the same time. Results of the experiments indicated words presented to the right visual field were likely to have lower levels of error in identification, as well as faster reaction times. The cueing effect discussed earlier was stronger for the left visual field than for the right visual field, which indicates that the left hemisphere requires less attention to process words. The right visual field advantage appears to reflect the left hemispheres enhanced capacity for processing verbal information. The asymmetrical effect of the cue suggests that attention does play an important role in perceptual asymmetries. A similar study performed by Lindell and Nicholls (2003) which examined the effect of cue position on hemispheric performance. This study also found that cue position had no effect on left hemisphere performance, suggesting that the right visual field enjoys an attentional advantage. Reaction times for word identification were faster and with fewer errors in response to words in the right visual field than the left visual field (Lindell Nicholls, 2003). Lindell and Nicholls (2003) also found that the right hemisphere showed a faciliatory effect of beginning cue, drawing spatial attention to the initial letter cluster, which enables efficient implementation of the right hemispheres sequential strategy. Proverbio, Zani, and Avella (1997) investigated hemispheric specialization for spatial frequency processing by measuring reaction times to sinusoidal gratings in 12 healthy subjects. Results showed that reaction times were significantly faster in the left visual field than the right visual field for low frequency gratings and faster in the right visual field than the left visual field for high frequency gratings. Proverbio et al. (1997) found overall reaction times were faster to high frequency gratings, and also found a significant interaction between frequency and visual field. Proverbios (1997) results show that reaction times to targets in a selective attention task differ as a function of spatial frequency and visual field stimulation. These results indicate a hemispheric specialization for the ability to identify low versus high spatial frequency in a selective attention task (Proverbio et al., 1997). Word PresentationResearch has shown that a visual field difference exists in word recognition, with words presented in the right visual field processed more quickly and accurately than words presented in the left visual field (Eviatar, Ibrahim, Ganayim, 2004; Iacoboni Zaidel, 1996; Jordan Patching, 2000; Leventhal 1988; Lindell Nicholls, 2003). Words have been found to be processed more quickly when presented in the right visual field rather than the left visual field because for most people visual word recognition is achieved by neural mechanisms situated in the left hemisphere (Farid Grainger, 1996). Iacoboni and Zaidel (1996) compared behavioral laterality effect in a lexical decision making task using cued unilateral and bilateral presentations of different stimuli to right-handed undergraduate students. Words were found to be processed more quickly than nonwords in both visual fields, but words produce more accurate responses in the right visual field. Bilateral presentatio ns were found to increase hemispheric independence in word recognition, with a bilateral presentation showing a word advantage in the right visual field and a nonword advantage in the left visual field (Iacoboni Zaidel, 1996). Unilateral presentations showed a significant word advantage in the right visual field, but no significant differences in the left visual field. Overall, unilateral presentation produced more accurate and faster responses than bilateral presentation. High frequency words were recognized with more accuracy than low frequency words, wordness and word length interaction was found. Iacoboni Zaidels (1996) hypothesis that after an initial similar perceptual process, words and nonwords are processed by independent, parallel processes was supported by the results of their study. Jordan ; Patching (2000) studied the bilateral presentation of words in the left and right visual field, as well as nonlaterally. Nonlateral words were shown centrally to stimulate particip ants reaction to words presented in the right and left visual field, similar to a fixation point. These nonlateral words were incorporated to alter the perception of the words located in the left and right visual fields. Participants were rated on their accuracy to correctly recognize words that were presented simultaneously as the nonlateral word. These words were given a perceived identity of the actual word being presented in the left or right visual field. For example, romp and ramp were presented to the participant at the same time, and the participant was asked to recognize the word not presented in the center of the screen. Participants were able to more accurately report words on the right visual field. However, participants responded to words in the left visual field more problematically. Jordan and Patchings (2000) findings also suggests that right visual field words frequently altered the perceived identity of the left visual field. To Kill A Mockingbird Essay SummaryMethodParticipantsA convenient sample of 55 (29 women and 26 men, age range 11 to 60) volunteered to participate in the current study. Six participants were left handed, 47 were right handed, and 2 were ambidextrous, as determined by self report. Participants included Christopher Newport University students, Christopher Newport University alumni, friends, and relatives of the experimenters. Participants were not compensated for their participation. All participants were treated in accordance with the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (American Psychological Association, 1992). MaterialsParticipants used their own computer that was connected to the internet in order to participate in the study. To begin this study, participants must download the necessary plug-in indicated as to have the appropriate system requirements: http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveAuthorware;P5_Language=English. The website used to run the experiment is located at: http://psychexps.olemiss.edu/Exps/Word_Recognition/startwr.htm PsychExperiments is an online social and cognitive psychology laboratory, developed by funding from the U.S. Department of Educations FIPSE program. The site consists of a variety of interactive experiments, a collective data archive, and downloadable support for materials that both participants and experimenters can use to gather data. Both sites can only be visited by a computer that is connected to the internet. In the current experiment, all data was collected using the PsychExperiments website. ProcedureEach participant accessed the website featuring the current experiment individually at a time convenient for them. Participants were given sufficient instructions (in either the form of email or printed out directions) about how to access the experiment. The experiment was accessed at psychexps.olemiss.edu. Participants were instructed to click on participate in experiments, located on the top left portion of the page. From there, participants were instructed to download the plug-in (located on the left side of the screen) necessary to install the program experiment on the participants computer. Then participants clicked on Lab Experiments, also located on the left side of the page. After that, participants were told to choose Word Recognition Study, and then to Run Word Recognition Study. Once the experiment was accessed, a description about the experiment and instructions on how to proceed were given by the program to participants. Participants were then given the option of participati ng. Participants who chose to participate then selected the appropriate region and project affiliationin the current study, participants were instructed to select the region including Virginia for their region, and Velkeys Project One as their affiliation. After this, demographical data (including age, sex, and hand preference) was collected before the actual experiment began. Once the experiment began, a total of 16 words were presented to each participant, with an indeterminate amount of trials because the experiment continued until the participant correctly identified all 16 words. To start each trial, the participant was prompted to press any key. To assure central fixation, a pulsating plus sign appeared in the beginning of the screen at the beginning of each trial. The pulsating plus sign stayed on the screen for 3-5 seconds and then a word was presented in either the left or right visual field, and then removed. The length of the time the word was presented depended on the number of times the word had been presented before. The participant was then prompted to type the word they saw flash on the screen. Once a word was correctly identified, it was removed from the words being presented. If the word was incorrectly identified, it was randomly presented again later in the experiment for a longer period of time. The experiment continued until all words had been correctly identified. ResultsThe position of words presented on the screen had a statistically significant effect on reaction time, F(1,53) = 17.654, p ; .001, h = .25. Participants mean recognition time for words presented on the left side of the screen .119 s, (SEM = .003). The mean recognition time for words presented on the right side of the screen was .108 s, (SEM = .002) (see figure 1). These results supported the experimenters hypothesis that words presented in the right visual field would be recognized more quickly than words in the left visual field. There was no statistical significance found to suggest an interaction between position of words presented on sex of participants, F(1, 53) = 1.552, p = .218, h = .028. Further, no statistical significance was found to suggest that sex had an effect, F(1, 53) = .271, p = .605, h = .005. These results failed to support the hypothesis of the experimenters that males would display a mean recognition time that was more quickly than females. DiscussionResults of the current study support the researchers hypothesis that words presented in the right visual field were recognized more quickly than words presented in the left visual field. These findings are consistent with previous research indicating a right visual field advantage. Several limitations were present in the current study. The convenient sample used in the current study was not representative of the population. In addition, not enough left-handed participants were included to study a handedness effect on word recognition. Previous research indicates that handedness has a significant effect on word recognition. Studies have shown that right-handed individuals have a stronger right visual field advantage than left-handed individuals because of weaker cerebral lateralization (Nicholls Wood, 1998); some studies have even found left handed individuals exhibiting a left visual field advantage (Leventhal, 1988; Nicholls Wood, 1998). Another problem which arose in the current study was accessing the project website. Many participants had problems downloading the required software plug-in in order to complete the experiment affecting the sample. The current study expands upon existing literature in the field of cerebral lateralization by reproducing previ ous findings indicating a right visual field advantage in word recognition (Batt et al., 1995; Iacoboni Zaidel, 1996; Leventhal, 1988; Jordan Patching, 2000; Nicholls Wood, 1998). Words presented in the right visual field were recognized more quickly overall than words presented in the left visual field. Future research in the word recognition and hemispheric specialization could examine the affects of handedness on word recognition by sampling equal amounts of left and right handed individuals. The contradictory findings of an overall right visual field advantage on word recognition for both left and right-handed individuals can be further examined in this way. ReferencesAmerican Psychological Association. (1992). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct. American Psychologist, 47, 1597-1611. Bub, D., Lewine, J. (1988).Different modes of word recognition in the left and right visual fields. Brain Language, 33, 161-188. Ellis, A. W. (2004). Length, formats, neighbours, hemispheres, and the processing words presented laterally or at fixation. Brain and Language, 88(3), 355-366. Ellis, A., Young, A., Anderson, C. (1988). Modes of word recognition in the left and right cerebral hemispheres. Brain Language, 32, 254-273. Eviatar, Z., Ibrahim, R., Ganayim, D. (2004) Orthography and the Hemispheres: Visual and Linguistic Aspects of Letter Processing. Neuropsychology, 18, 174-184. Farid, M., Grainger, J. (1996). How initial fixation position influences visual word recognition: A comparison of French and Arabic. Brain and Language, 53, 351-368. Iacoboni, M., Zaidel, E. (1996). Hemispheric independence in word recognition: Evidence from unilateral and bilateral presentations. Brain and Language, 53, 121-140. Jordan, T., Patching, G. (2000). Perceptual Interactions Between Bilaterally Presented Words: What you get is often not what you see. Neuropsychology, 17, 566-577. Lavidor, M., Ellis, A. W., Pansky, A. (2002). Case alternation and length effects in lateralized word recognition: Studies of English and Hebrew. Brain and Cognition, 50(2), 257-271. Lavidor, M., Ellis, A. W. (2002). Word length and orthographic neighborhood size effects in the left and right cerebral hemispheres. Brain and Language, 80, 45-62. Leventhal, G. (1988). Cerebral dominance and attentional bias in word recognition. Perceptual Motor Skills, 66, 791-800. Lindell, A. K., Nicholls, M. E. (2003). Attentional deployment in visual half-field tasks: The effect of cue position on word naming latency. Brain and Cognition, 53(2), 273-277. Nicholls, M. E. R., Wood, A. G. (1998). The contribution of attention to the right visual field advantage for word recognition. Brain and Cognition, 38, 339-357. Ohnesorge, C., Van Lancker, D. (2001). Cerebral laterality for famous proper nouns: Visual recognition by normal subjects. Brain Language, 77, 135-165. Proverbio, A. M., Zani, A., Avella, C. (1997). Notes and discussion: Hemispheric asymmetries for spatial frequency discrimination in a selective attention task. Brain and Cognition, 34, 311-320. Voyer, D. (2003). Word Frequency and laterality effects in lexical decision: Right hemisphere mechanisms. Brain Language, 87, 421-431. Weems, S., Reggia, J. (2004). Hemispheric specialization and independence for word recognition: A comparison of three computational models. Brain Language, 89, 554-568.

Sixties Essays (1240 words) - Counterculture Of The 1960s, Hippie

Sixties Many social changes that were addresses in the 1960s are still the issues being confronted today. The ?60s was a decade of social and political upheaval. Inspite of all the turmoil, there were some positive results: the civil rights revolution, John F. Kennedy's bold vision of a new frontier, and the breathtaking advances in space, helped bring about progress and prosperity. However, there was alot of negative effects: student and anti-war protest movements, political assassinations, and ghetto riots excited American people and resulted in lack of respect for authority and the law. The decade began under the shadow of the cold war with the Soviet Union, which was aggravated by the U-2 incident, the Berlin Wall, and the Cuban missile crisis. along with the space race with the USSR. The decade ended under the shadow of the Vietnam war, which deeply divided Americans and their allies and damaged the country's self-confidence and sense of purpose. Even if you weren't alive in the ?60s, you know what they meant when they said, "tune in, turn on, drop out." you know why the nation celebrates Martin Luther King Jr.' birthday. All of the social issues are reflected in today's society: the civil rights movement, the student movement, the sexual revolution, the environment, and more controversial of all, Hippies. The sixties is also known for its rapid birth rate. Nearly 76 million children were born to this generation, and for that they are called the "Baby Boomers." Suprisingly, even though so many children were being born, not many parents knew how to raise them. The parents of the 50s and 60s were so concerned with the world around them that going to work was the only image children had of their fathers. Kids didn't understand why they worked so much just to gain more material possessions. Children of this generation grew up learning just about how to be free and happy. Most of the time, when thinking back to the sixties, people remember hearing about things such as sex, drugs, and racism. However, what the often tend to overlook is the large emphasis freedoms had on the era. This does not just refer to the freedoms already possessed by every American of the time. This focuses on the youth's fight to gain freedom or break away from the values and ideas left behind by the older generation. These fights were used to help push for freedoms from areas such as society's rules and values, competition, living for others first, and the older generation's beliefs as a whole. Including the freedom to use drugs. The younger generation just wanted a chance to express their own views rather than having to constantly succumb to the views of the older generation. In order to find these unique and different qualities in each other and themselves, the younger generation turned to drugs. This was another freedom which they were required to fight for since the older generation did not support drug use as a source of pleasure and creativity. This could basically be considered an out right rejection of the older society's values. Drugs were also seen as a freedom from reality. Then enable the youths to escape to a different kind of world. Because of the youths' great desire to achieve a universal sense of peace and harmony, drugs were sometimes a very important part of one's life. Sometimes, they would plan a day or evening around the use of a major drug so they could enjoy it to the fullest extent. This could almost be considered ironic in the sense that while trying to gain one freedom, the ability to use drugs, the youths appeared to have lost another freedom, the ability to live their own lives. It seems more as if their lives were controlled by the drugs and the drugs' effects than by the people themselves. The combination of the defiance, revolution, and drugs created a major hippie era. Thousands of hippies would flock to the party capitals of the world for the high of a life time. Haight Ashberry, San Francisco, was once considered hippie central for the world. Here people would just line the streets with drug use, sex, and wild music. In 1967, came the "Summer of Love." This period was not unlike the previous acts of hippies, just more intense. And to top off the hippie era, one of the largest concerts in the world took place in Woodstock, New York. During several days of music, sex, and drugs were abused heavily, almost to the point of

Abolishing Mandatory Attendance For Schools Essays - Student

Abolishing Mandatory Attendance For Schools Essays - Student Abolishing Mandatory Attendance For Schools So that nobody has to go to school if they don't want to, by Roger Sipher states that compulsory attendance laws should be abolished. His argument is that students that don't wish to be in school are antagonistic to the school and prevent others form learning, and therefore not be forced to attend school. There are six advantages. Although these six advantages produce enormous dividends, there are still some major flaws with his plan. First flaw with the plan is where are the children going to go? The children can't just run the streets not being able to even read or write. Therefore you need supervision, but with supervision comes money. And there are not many people who would even take this babysitting job because of the money. Money is the second big issue. The funds are just not there to run a quality, high-tech school and pay the teachers. Thirdly, can children of that age make a sound decision about something as important as school? No, of course not. Children of this age just don't have enough experience with life to make that important of a decision for their future. Another motive for children not performing up to standards is the pressure. Maybe to much pressure is being put on students to perform in this high-tech world. The emphasis as faded away from the basic skills of reading and writing and arithmetic and has now focused on technology. The pressure needs to be taken off the children at such a tender age in their lives. And be put back on what really matters. The students who chose to be antagonistic can be sent to alternative schools such as Boot camps, Boys and Girls club, YMCA, and other local programs and organizations. The problem here is not attendance; the problem here is attitude. Although this plan has great features there is however an effect that is detrimental. The ability to read, write, and even the basic arithmetic are skills that everyone NEEDS to know. What in the world are you going to do with a kid that is in his twenty's and can't perform these basic skills. This is not going to be good. Although Sipher's plan is a very good idea, the cons outweigh the pros. This plan would solve many problems, but in the long run it would create more.

Analytical Essay Sample on #8220;A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Analytical Essay Sample on #8220;A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings† by Gabriel Garcia Marquez The short story â€Å"A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings† by Gabriel Garcia Marquez exposes the tendencies of human nature and society in general. The reactions of all the members of the community to the events in the story reflect their inclinations as human beings, both good and bad. Pelayo lives in rural area with his wife and child. One afternoon he was shocked to find that a very old man with wings was lying face down in the mud in his courtyard. At first he was frightened and ran to retrieve his wife to see what she would make of it. Upon her arrival they had both stared at the man together in a mute stupor for quite some time. This is a typical reaction from most people in such a situation. At first they were in a state of fear, fear of the unfamiliar. When people are exposed to a scenario that is out of the ordinary for them and conflicts with their everyday lives they grow afraid and even hostile. Then a stage of curiosity follows, Pelayo and his wife quietly observe the man from a distance as to gather any information they can about him. After observing the man who seemed frail and uncivilized they decide to call upon a neighbour who might be knowledgeable in such situations. She wasted no time in proclaiming that he must be an â€Å"angel†. Her re action to the man with wings was influenced purely by her faith. Her blind assumption was made because of what she has been taught and what she wanted to believe. This is typical of people who are very religious as they tend to interpret various events as having a deeper more meaningful significance. â€Å"The angel was held captive in Pelayo’s house.† (Marquez 487) Marquez’s choice of words reflects her intention to show Pelayo’s hostility towards the angel. He also watched over him all afternoon with a bailiff’s club. He is obviously uncertain of the angel and decides to imprison him and take no chances. He does not think very much of the angel because he â€Å"drags† him into in a chicken coop and locks him up among the hens. This act demonstrates basic human nature, the angel was old, unattractive, and decrepit, so he tosses him in a filthy coop. Pelayo judges him solely on his appearance, had the â€Å"angel† looked like an angel is supposed to like and had been all white, attractive, and sophisticated, Pelayo would most likely honour and respect him rather than treat him like an animal. Pelayo even considered putting him on a raft and leaving him to die on the high seas. The members of the community quickly learned of this â€Å"angel† that has been found and they became very interested. â€Å"The simplest among them thought that he should be named mayor of the world. Others of sterner mind felt that he should be prompted to the rank of five-star general in order to win all wars. Some visionaries hoped that he could be put to stud in order to implant on earth a race of winged wise who could take charge of the universe.† (Marquez 488) This shows the hopes and expectations of the members of the community. Many had dreams of grandeur and had relied on this angel to put an end to all worldly problems as if he was sent down from god. These expectations however were not rational, they were merely based on their own beliefs and the hype that this angel had generated. Human beings in general are always looking for the easy way out and the simplest way to get a means to their end. This angel served as the answer they had all hoped for. As the story moves forward the people of the town come to realise that this angel was not at all what they had expected nor hoped for. They have grown hostile towards him, they had begun pulling out his feathers, throwing stones at him, or even burning him with an iron. This type of reaction is not unusual in such a situation, they have grown bored of this angel as he does nothing but lie still and try to make himself comfortable. This type of behaviour is exemplified in everyday life in the case of celebrities. As entertainers they keep us amused and fulfill our needs, but when their product turns stale or their songs get played out we lose interest and turn against them. We see this everyday on late night television where hosts poke fun at such celebrities, recently we have seen what the media hype has done to Michael Jackson’s reputation. Meanwhile the carnival has come into town and suddenly everyone has forgotten about the angel and stopped caring. Why see the angel when you can see the tarantula woman? Something bigger and better has arisen and the people of the community have moved on to the next big thing. Why do people act the way they do? Is it selfishness? It is a fact that man’s greatest goal is his own happiness, therefore he can sometimes be insensitive to the people that he walks all over in order to achieve it. Altruism is possible, but even then man gains some satisfaction from his unselfish act, which contributes to his happiness. The society in this short story perfectly reflects human nature and how it sometimes can be ugly. However, for the most part individuals are able to differentiate what is and is not moral and act decently.

Policy making Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Policy making - Essay Example This therefore makes Canada’s healthcare system evenhanded for most of its citizens as most medical facilities costs are subsidized. Conversely, privately run healthcare systems in the US substantially injure the effective delivery of services for citizens (HealthPAC online n.d). According to the National Bureau of Economic Research website (n.d) the US healthcare systems spend a superior percentage of its GDP on healthcare totaling to 16 percent. However, Canada spends much lower percentage at 10.4 percent. This arguably helps in the proper provision of healthcare services. Additionally, Canada unlike the United States performs better in healthcare provisions measures namely rates in infant mortality and life expectancy. The US practices closed systems on grounds that they operate privately. This amplifies the fissure between the upper and low class citizenry. For example, most patients are locked out of the healthcare facilities because of high costs of services and inappropriate insurance systems. Conversely, an aspect of an open system of healthcare is evident in Canada since the operations in the healthcare system are delivered by the government thus subsidizing the cost for many nationals. Policymaking helps in the collective, efficient and transparent provision of services in any sectors of the economy and proper adherence to the same helps in the overall success of the policymakers and citizenry in general. Healthcare system is without doubt vital in the reduction of mortality rates thus emphasis on proper healthcare payment is a good reformation strategy. Nurses remain critical ingredients in the healthcare profession, proving the necessary services that doctors are not able to do. In this regard, proper remuneration is paramount ensure the safe running of the healthcare services in any given country. However, the remuneration packages should not compromise the effective

Learning Log Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Learning Log - Essay Example The situation makes it difficult for the visiting Chinese to enjoy. This idea influenced the owners of this restaurant to create an opportunity to the Chinese in heart of London. Many clients visiting the restaurant have remarked that the restaurant has enabled them to acquire the best in a foreign land. The restaurant respects and promotes Chinese culture. Reception of clients who visit this restaurant would attest to the above fact. The restaurant location is heart English land where one would expect to meet the English culture. However, the uniqueness of the restaurant stem up from the fact that it roots for the native culture of the Chinese. This is the best that a person would imagine especially when an individual has been dreaming of experience the native culture. Language is an aspect of culture, which influences all other activities in the society. The restaurants prefer addressing its Chinese visitors in Chinese language and other visitors in the most appropriate language (T ouro). The idea is to protect the business from failing to cater for the interest of the society. Serving the needs of Chinese people as well as the needs of the people who embraces the Chinese culture is the sole objective of the restaurant. This objective is evident through the long-term service that the restaurant has offered to the society since its inception in 1890s (Chongqing Expat Club, 2008:3). ... Today the practices in the restaurant indicate respect for the Chinese culture. Human culture differs owing to the fact that people live in various geographical regions. The practices observed in London by Londoners are much different from practices of Chinese in Beijing. How the fabric that formed the foundation of the restaurant anticipated to carry the practices alive. My placement at Chongqing San Jia Xiang restaurant exposed me to two events; first, exercises my communication skills in an international environment second to retain stress. The restaurant offers services to international guest visiting or residing in London. Communication is a crucial tool in the hospitality industry that dictates the number clients. Clients visiting various recreational facilities are keen to reception in their new environment. The restaurant offers a warm reception to people (Touro). Exposure to new environment offers an opportunity for learning new approaches. I was not an exception to this exe rcise. I had to receive clients, listen to their demands and respond. The experience was good because the management managed to influence my reaction whenever I misunderstood the clients. People have different abilities yet they need services. It means I had to develop skills of response as well as skills of controlling my temper whenever the demands were out of my taste. The organisation concern promotes an environment where a person could be able to learn. Individual’s presentation influences ones ability to handle clients. The restaurant management and staff created an environment, which encourages an individual to be presentable. The restaurant holds routine departmental meetings, which aims at analysing and attending to problems of the workers. The

Cultural Determinants of Terrorism Essay Example for Free

Cultural Determinants of Terrorism Essay Orchestrated objectives within well-organized terrorist groups suggest that principles of organizational psychology apply to terrorist organizations, under the cultural influence of each one (Borum, 2004). There is much cause for optimism in understanding terrorist organizations, for as Alder and Gunderson (2008) write, â€Å"Luckily, we have learned that global complexity is neither unpredictable nor random† (p. v). The call for research has never been more pressing. Introduction â€Å"Terrorism is an elusive subject, evading precise political, jurisprudential, and cultural definition† (Oliveri, 2008, p. 49). It depends upon the definition of ‘terrorism’. â€Å"With over 100 definitions, this is not an easy task; there is no common understanding of what constitutes ‘terrorism’; no clear and universally acknowledged definition actually exists† (Franks, 2007, p. 2). The definition Munger (2006) proposes that is used for this paper is, â€Å"Culture is defined as the set of ‘inherited’ beliefs, attitudes, and moral strictures that a people use to distinguish outsiders, to understand themselves and to communicate with each other† (p. 131). The distinguishing characteristic of ‘them’ and ‘us’ is perhaps the fundamental belief generated within cultures that makes terrorism towards others possible. Whether viewed in terms of extremist Muslim culture or right-wing American culture, cultural identity supports the conflict of ideologies. Ward (2008) says, â€Å"Terrorism has taken the academic world by storm† (p. 248). The Psychology of Terrorism only became a legitimate academic study in 1982; â€Å"terrorism is far from a new phenomenon, traceable to the French Revolution and the Nihilists of 19th Century Russia† (Franks, 2007, p. ). Undoubtedly, it goes much further into the annals of history than the 19th Century, â€Å"the concept of terrorism had no meaning in history until the modern era† (Bratkowski, 2005, p. 764). Prior to modernity, terrorism was so much a part of daily culture it was normal behavior, without a specific word for it. In fact, for most of Christendom, â €Å"humankind has always provided a justification for killing and instilling terror in fellow humans† (p. 764). It is only recently that most cultures have placed a label of immorality on selective murder to achieve political or cultural ends. Our species has a protracted history and prehistory of terrorism. One might wonder why terrorism has â€Å"taken the academic world by storm†. Insights from Psychology â€Å"Terrorist violence most often is deliberate (not impulsive), strategic, and instrumental; it is linked to and justified by ideological (e. g. , political, religious) objectives and usually involves a group or multiple actors/supporters (Borum, 2004, p. 17). Since terrorist objectives originate within multinational organizations, principles of organizational psychology apply to all terrorist organizations, under the cultural milieu of the organization in question. What is now certain is that terrorism is not a psychopathological aberration, as was originally thought in psychoanalytical circles (Crenshaw, 1992). Terrorist organizations are composed of clear-headed individuals, often with advanced university degrees. Merari (1991) collected empirical data on suicide bombers, and found that psychopathology is almost never a factor in a terrorist’s profile. In fact, â€Å"prevalence of mental illness among samples of incarcerated terrorists is as low as or lower than in the general population† (Borum, 2004, p. 34). This is a clear indicator that we are dealing with psychologies of organization, and not groups of crazed sociopaths. Survival of the organization, a tenet of organizational psychology, has clear implications for the terrorist mindset (Post, 1989), even though â€Å"research on the psychology of terrorism largely lacks substance and rigor. While cultural factors are important, much study remains. â€Å"Future research should be operationally-informed; maintain a behavior based focus; and derive interpretations from analyses of incident-related behaviors† (Borum, 2004, p. 3). The main problem with such a venture might be that terrorists are not giving interviews or taking surveys. Borum points out that â€Å"there is a broad spectrum of terrorist groups and organizations, each of which has a different psychology, motivation and decision making structure† (p. 5). This further underscores the need to be on guard against the ‘stereotypical terrorist organization’: there is none. In a terrorist organization, â€Å"two key narcissistic dynamics are a grandiose sense of self and ‘idealized parental imago’. If one can’t be perfect, at least one can be in a relationship with something perfect† (Borum, 2004, p. 9). Association with a world figure such as Bin Laden satisfies this need; this can lead us back to US culture: promulgation and amplifying worldwide terrorism, via the news media. Bin Laden often makes the evening news, and every time he does, his ‘world stature’ is elevated, especially in the min ds of his followers. It the name Bin Laden was unknown, how much less effective would al-Qaeda become? Media has some degree of culpability, if not complicity in promulgating terrorism worldwide by providing free publicity to organizations and their cause. According to Paul Marsden (CPM, 2001, p. 1), â€Å"the amount of media coverage devoted to these events, by television networks and newspapers, correlates positively with the rise in subsequent `copycat events. This is darkly consistent with the substantial body of evidence for suicide contagion the idea that suicides beget suicide. † If distraught teenagers copy Columbine style shootings, how much more are suicide attacks from terrorist cells encouraged by watching the evening news? Unintentionally but effectively eulogizing angry teens and terrorists alike hold moral implications for the major news media, which need addressing by society. Organizational Psychology provides some insight: if a culture perceives it is losing its ability to contribute its share to the world stage, conflict will result (Rahim, 1986; Katz ; Kahn, 1978). Considering that entire cultures may feel they are losing their ability to contribute because of intervention of external cultures upon their own culture is likely one requisite to the creation of worldwide terror organization formation. Cultural factors of extremist Muslim society While many in the West view extremist Muslim terrorism as irrational behavior by deranged individuals, â€Å"it is perfectly possible to understand terrorism as a rational decision problem, if we accept the premise that culture matters† (Munger, 2006, p. 132). â€Å"Islamic societies, not exclusively, but perhaps to a greater extent than most other nations, are committed to an idea of the perfectibility of humans in societies, through moral education and imposition and enforcement of moral law (Sharia) based on the Quran† (p. 142). This religious adherence adds a great deal of resistance to compromise from outside cultures, and bolsters the extremist elements within Islamic society. Much of the cultural foundation of extremist Muslim culture is their unique interpretation of the Quran: â€Å"The contemporary terrorist mentality and culture, which are rooted in absolutist, either-or, good-and-evil world views, resist efforts to negotiate. Accommodation, bargaining, and mutually acceptable compromise are not envisioned as possibilities within many terrorists’ mental framework† (Smelser ; Mitchell, 2002, p. 1). It appears that once a terrorist organization is established, the only ways to eliminate it is either when they accomplish their objectives, to destroy them, or to take away their reason to exist, which will allow Skinnerian extinction to follow over time. The ‘destroy’ method is problematic and costly: how does one destroy an ideology? Islamic terrorists are well-connected using technology; their geographic locality is literally everywhere and nowhere. Culturally-attuned uses of information technology† are a major source of cross-cultural influences in the creation and sustaining of terrorist organizations (Bailey ; Grimaila, 2006, p. 534). Terrorist organizations are expert in spreading and sustaining their ideology around the world. Once indoctrinated into a group, people will generally follow orders, no matter how extreme or violent, as long as the individual perceives that the order was issued from the appropriate authority (Milgram, 1965). Cultural influences caused normal students at Stanford to transform into ‘merciless prison guards’; once given the role and the authority, al-Qaeda recruits mold easily to orders from Bin Laden. Not only do they have a physical authority, which relieves their individual conscience from objecting, but also they further believe that Allah Himself sanctions Bin Laden and themselves in their efforts to establish Sharia law throughout the world (Bailey ; Grimaila, 2006). There is substantial agreement that the psychology of terrorism cannot be considered apart from political, historical, familial, group dynamic, organic, and even purely accidental, coincidental factors† (Borum, 2004, p. 22). Borum also states, â€Å"Significant differences [exist] both in, 1) the nature and level of aggression in different cultures, and 2) aggression can be environmentally manipulated; both findings that argue against a universal human instinct [of violence]† (p. 12). Diamond (20 04) argues that environmental influences are paramount in understanding why cultures are the way they are. The Fertile Crescent, once the cornerstone of agriculture, became radically altered once all the forests were clear-cut, leaving mostly a barren desert environment. It is interesting to note that the foundation cultures which harbored the seeds of al-Qaeda all come from this former environmental paradise. Therefore, while culture probably has the most influence on the creation of terrorist organizations in the short term today, environment certainly has a large degree of impact over the long term, and might have a large impact in the short term via militaristic or political manipulation. For many critics, global or ‘hyper’ terrorism has become an ultimate expression of acutely depressed geopolitical chaos† (Ward, 2008, p. 252). Geopolitical chaos produces environments ripe with opportunity for recruiters toward the cause of terrorism. Without addressing and rectifying the chaotic areas of the world, it is highly doubtful, that global terrorism will end. Cultures th at feel oppressed or depraved on the world stage may rise in rebellion against the oppressing culture(s), with or without religious dictate. Muslim culture is producing the lion’s share of high-visibility terrorists in the world today (Borum, 2004). One way to understand Muslim culture as it relates to the creation of terrorism is to look at Hofstede’s dimensions. Generally, Islamic countries have large inequalities of status, forming a small ruling group, and a large ruled group with limited power. Hofstede (2001) shows, those Arab cultures have large Power Distance (PDI) (80) and Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI) (68). When these two Dimensions are combined, it creates a situation where leaders have virtually ultimate power and authority. It is not unusual for new leadership to arise from armed insurrection – the ultimate power, rather than from diplomatic or democratic change† (Borum, 2004, p. 44). Virtually the only method available for the downtrodden in Arab society to express their need for change is by armed insurrection. This is a valuable insight into the cultural creation of Arab-based terr orism, possibly the most important one. Naturally, from the ‘terrorists’ point of view they are not terrorists at all but â€Å"freedom fighters†, fighting with their only available means to enact positive change. Does this mean efforts at establishing democracy in Muslim states are likely to fail? Cultural roots run deep, and are resistant to change by outside cultures (Weiten, 2004), so the question of democracy introduced and established by Westerners is a highly speculative venture. Finally, take the case of a female suicide bomber. It was originally assumed that the young woman who committed this act was â€Å"innocent, ignorant, and of questionable morality† (Brunner, 2007, p. 961). It is difficult for Westerners to imagine otherwise. Subsequent interviews revealed that she was educated, showed no signs of emotional disturbance, and was â€Å"as highly intelligent and more independent than other girls in her society, but still fully within the range of normal† (p. 961). The key point is that she was â€Å"fully within the range of normal†, according to the culture that she grew up within. By not understanding her culture, Western culture had labeled her â€Å"innocent, ignorant, and immoral†, overlooking key factors with which to fully understand why a mentally stable young woman would commit such an act, and more importantly, to be able to deal realistically with the rise of extremist terrorism through a lack of cultural understanding. Cultural factors of the United States There is a cultural precedence of powerful nations to label other nations as ‘evil’: a threat to ‘civilization’ (Ivie, 2005). In the U. S. , â€Å"this is a very old cultural theme, deeply ingrained into the political psyche† (p. 56). This cross-cultural mindset of powerful nations is one part in the creation of terrorists in weaker cultures, a type of self-fulfilling prophecy: the call to destroy the ‘barbarians that threaten democracy’ is an ancient one; Greece and Rome had similar ongoing open-ended campaigns against terrorists, as does the U. S. today (p. 55). The main trouble with an open-ended campaign is that it never ends†¦ another cultural perception that needs adjustment on the world stage in order to arrive at peace in the world. Looking at the cultural history of the US, the ‘savage’ has always been the object of distain and genocide, in order to ‘make way for civilization’ (Ivie, 2005). The genocide of indigenous peoples of the North American continent is well documented, even using biological terrorist tactics of germ warfare; giving ‘gifts’ of small-pox laden blankets to Indians without acquired immunity against devastating disease (Diamond, 1997). Oliverio (2008) writes, â€Å"It was also a matter of common sense that the Aryan race was superior. This taken-for-granted reality of Aryan superiority led to the extermination of millions of American Indians, millions of African slaves bound for America, and countless indigenous cultures throughout the world† (p. 21). Powerful cultures that label weaker cultures as savages are a powerful impetus to the creation of terrorism. It is a recent habit of the American Right to wage war against abstractions (Comaroff, 2007, p. 381). The line between metaphorical and real war, blurred beyond recognition, gives rise to such cultural terms as ‘the war against drugs’, ‘the war against poverty’, ‘the war against illegal immigration’ (Sherry, 1995), and has become the standard of cultural mind-set in America today. Again, the US has a â€Å"militarized world-view extended to declaring metaphorical wars on disease, crime, engaging in ‘trade wars’ with foreign competitors, and fighting ‘culture wars’ with one another† (p. 58). â€Å"Culture wars† is the main point in question: how can peace ever prevail if acts of war against culture prevail? Even the Olympic Games that followed 9/11 became a forum for the core Bush Doctrine (Falcous ; Silk, 2005). How does the reduction of civil liberties fare with the response to terrorism? Not allowing college professors to speak out against governmental policies associated with the war on terror (Crowson ; DeBacker, 2008, p. 296) is one form of right-wing authoritarianism that many Americans think needs implementation. A disturbing trend of loss of personal freedoms that some associate with fascism. Taken as a whole, US domestic and foreign policy regarding oil consumption, and support for oppressive regimes, is set aside in deference to critical scrutiny of individual behavior and the forms of ‘moral lassitude’ associated with a culture of dependency† (Hay ; Andrejevic, 2006, p. 344). So at least part of the U. S. cultural mindset is about securing its own economic interests at the expense of decency and fairness on the world stage. Many people think that the U. S. would never have bothered with Iraq if they had no strategic oil supplies, especially in the Middle East and Europe. This belief can only inflame world tensions further. Understanding cross-cultural inter-dependencies A surprising interdependency, regards the Bush Administration itself. According to Kellner (2004), not only Jihadists are responsible for ‘spectacular acts of terror’, but also both Bush administrations. They deployed â€Å"Manichean discourses of good and evil which themselves fit into dominant media codes of popular culture; that both deploy fundamentalist and absolutist discourses† (p. 41). This is extremely similar to the â€Å"contemporary terrorist mentality and culture, which are rooted in absolutist, either-or, good-and-evil world views, resist efforts to negotiate† (Smelser ; Mitchell, 2002, p. 1). The Bush administration openly declares its refusal to communicate with terrorist organizations or states, which is absolutist. We know that incentives flourish within such organizations (Munger, 2006). Incentives usually take two forms: 1) recruit members that are prone to obey and please within a cultural setting (e. g. collectivist rather than individualist cultures), and 2) â€Å"Create a set of incentives that reward loyalty, by giving access to excludable near-public (â€Å"club†) goods† (p. 131). Mohammed Atta reportedly was â€Å"at a strip club spending a lot of money, shouting anti-American slogans, and left a copy of the Quran before he left† (USA TODAY, 2001, p. 1). This incident seems to have fallen under ‘club goods’ instead of operational funds, because it was the night before the hijackings, and such excessive cash was no longer needed. This says nothing of the influence U. S. culture had on Atta, a devout Muslim going to a strip club, one day before he â€Å"meets Allah†. There is no such thing as a ‘terrorist state’, in the absolute sense. Triandis, Bontempo, Villareal, Asai, and Lucca (1988) have shown that national cultures never equate to individual or subgroup cultures, so while a totalitarian governing body may indeed be a terrorist organization, the general populace can in no way be held accountable for the actions of a few. It is a stereotypical mistake to label an entire country as terrorist. It is important to realize that â€Å"both differences and similarities in behavior occur across and within cultures; psychological processes are characterized by both cultural variance and invariance† (Weiten, 2006, p24). Regrettably, â€Å"quite a few nations are culturally reasonably homogeneous† (Hofstede, 1998, p180), and this may mean that a few nations may be mostly extremist in their outlook. Discourses from the Bush administrations paralleled closely to speeches given by Hitler, Pope Urban II, and others: â€Å"an appeal to a legitimate power source external to the speaker; an appeal to the importance of the national culture under attack; the construction of an evil enemy; and an appeal for unification† (Graham, Keenan, ; Dowd, 2004, p. 213). Kellner (2004) feels that â€Å"the disparity between the vast amount of information freely available to all through multimedia sources, and the narrow vision presented on the major news media via television is a travesty†, and a major cultural factor responsible for the deployments of the Bush administrations’ controlled mass media (p. 61). While arguments that ‘freely available news sources from uncontrolled sources’ might suggest this no longer to be a cultural factor, culture by nature takes time to change, and most Americans probably place more credence in the evening news than the newer Internet sources (Kellner, 2003). Another example of how cross-cultural misunderstandings regularly occur between nations: â€Å"when one cultural message sender transmits information to another culture, chances of accurate transmission are reduced† (Alder ; Gunderson, 2008, p. 72), and when nations or organizations refuse to send information between cultures as both the Bush administration and the al-Qaeda organization currently do, virtually no chance of accurate transmission occurs. Stalemate results and wars go on, indefinitely; clear contributors to terrorism. Perhaps nowhere is the question of terrorism more complex than in the European Union: â€Å"European counterterrorism culture is a difficult concept due to the fact that the regional level of analysis encapsulates a range of different national cultures. Europe has always been a rich mixture of various cultures, and ‘terrorism’ is a culturally charged term† (Rees, 2007, p. 220), hence the difficulty in consensus. Conversely, in China, we could expect to find a unified definition of terrorism under the centralized government (Diamond, 1997). While China is suspect of â€Å"using the post-9/11 discourse of counterterrorism to cloak their own domestic priorities† (Rees, 2007, p. 224), most of their counterterrorism efforts are likely to gain support with the Chinese public as being in the accord of the countries best interest: China being a collectivistic nation. â€Å"Terrorists focus their recruitment where sentiments about perceived deprivation are deepest and most pervasive† (Borum, 2004). This helps us to understand why American involvement in Iraq actually helps create recruitment opportunities for al-Qaeda. Destroyed economies, infrastructure, and family support (via killed family members), create extreme deprivation, desperation to right cultural wrongs, and enrage cultural dictates for retribution (Borum, 2004). It even gives insight into where al-Qaeda might be concentrating recruitment efforts in America. For youth torn between two cultures in a foreign land, identity crisis may result from exposure to the foreign culture, and the chiasm between their parent’s cultures: â€Å"radicalism offers simple answers to the big questions they are grappling with† (Ongering, 2007, p. ). The human tendency to stereotype will easily adapt to simple answers rather than grapple with difficult questions (Weiten, 2004). Extrapolated, it may be easier to recruit a terrorist, than to prevent a person from taking up the cause in the first place. Does cultural pressure on a subgroup help to create violent extremists? Muslim communities in America, â€Å"Not only had their religion being p resented incorrectly, but its adherents were being equated with terrorists† (Baker, 2006, p. 302). Considering the degree that Muslim communities in the Western world are subject to intensified scrutiny, and even unwarranted acts of violence against them by US citizenry (Ward, 2008), a good assumption is that many young Muslims will adapt an extremist ideology in response to cultural threat (Sirin ; Fine, 2007), and some of those extremists will turn terrorist. It seems to be a never-ending spiral escalation of one cultural assault upon the other: the ‘Crusades’ continue†¦ It is a real ‘Which came first, the chicken or the egg? ’ question. Which side began this milieu of cultural attack and counterattack? Perceptions run the gamut: â€Å"The terrorist presents a story of heroism and necessary sacrifice. The counter-terrorist presents a counter-narrative of defiance and vengeance, replacing the image of the martyr with that of inhumanity, even bestiality† (Ward, 2008, p. 254). We reminded again of weaker cultures as ‘savage’, and as we have come to see, cross-culturally, nothing could be further from the truth from both extreme perspectives. Another cultural misunderstanding that may have helped to escalate tensions is the perception that the Muslim community in America did not stand up in unison and denounce the acts of 9/11 as atrocious. This initial silent response interpreted by many Americans as tantamount to condoning such acts of terrorism (Munro, 2006). Paradoxically, this lack of public outcry may have been the result of Muslim culture itself, with the majority of Muslims feeling that it was obvious that they had nothing to do with the attacks, and therefore no reason to take a public stand (Munro, 2006). A form of ‘vigilante counter-terrorism’ develops in American culture, which gives rise to anti-Muslim sentiment and acts of violence (Johnson, 2003). One probable contributing factor is termed: â€Å"Sudden Jihad Syndrome† (Pipes, 2006). The perpetrator, â€Å"for all outward appearances, a young Muslim man, well adjusted to Western society, considered friendly; one day, without warning, he acted out an independent Jihad, which injured nine students† (Pipes, 2006). Such unforeseeable and unpredictable behavior influences non-Muslims to stereotype many Muslims as having the same potential toward â€Å"Sudden Jihad Syndrome†. This of course creates an atmosphere of suspicion and mistrust between cultures: how can you tell who the enemy is just by looking at them? Discussion There is no cultural ‘quick fix’ to this pervasive problem confronting the modern world. â€Å"The general policy approach has to be adaptive, opportunistic, and multisided. The conventional problem-solving logic so attractive in American culture—find a problem and then fix it—is of limited utility, and a longer term, more contextualized approach is necessary† (Smelser et al. , 2002, p. 4). For instance, the Global War on Terror (GWOT) as espoused by the Bush Doctrine includes toppling ‘rogue nations’ as part of the effort to thwart terrorism (Borum, 2004). Focusing on ‘nation rebuilding’ of states, that are otherwise subject to deterrent, rather than on organizations that transcend geographic localities and are not subject to deterrent, is a lack of proper cultural understanding of the issues, and will lead to further cultural misunderstandings. It makes sense that if powerful cultures do not make accusations against weaker cultures not understood, or interfere in the sovereign rights of weaker nations, that a large amount of terrorism will fail to manifest by lack of unwanted cultural impetus from foreign powers. One of the biggest troubles seems to be, that powerful countries can arouse their masses which are â€Å"easily pressed into service to rally the nation, quell dissent and effectively inoculate the public against any alternative perspective† (Ivie, 2005, p. 56), the main point being to limit any alternative cultural perspectives as being legitimate relative to one’s own ‘superior’ cultural perspective. This is error. â€Å"An increasingly militarized culture of fear† (p. 9), such as is dominant in the US today, and which has been developing over many decades, cannot reduce the threat of terrorism in the world. Indeed, Muslim culture dictates that retribution be demanded when a family member is taken. Each errant US bomb inevitably creates more ‘terrorists’ (Borum, 2004), cultural ‘deviants’ are created that never would have existed otherwise. Rumors and hundreds of websites have sprung up claiming that FEMA has erected hundr eds of internment camps on American soil is a disturbing part of the changing culture in America today. A Google search of ‘American internment camps’ will pull up hundreds of unsubstantiated claims of such camps, including specific locations; further highlighting the cultural atmosphere of increasing paranoia. Finally, what can help prevent Muslim youth in the U. S. from taking a violent path? According to Sirin and Fine (2007)â€Å"Research that the successful integration of both one’s own culture and the dominant culture, leads to more positive developmental outcomes†¦whereas marginalization, that is disengagement from both cultures, is associated with mental health problems for immigrant youth† (p. 52). Society certainly would do well to address issues of marginalization, in order to help prevent future â€Å"Sudden Jihad Syndrome† (Pipes, 2006). Conclusion While this paper has focused mainly on US and Muslim extremist involvement, state and non-state respectively, it is important to remember that many other states and organizations exist whic h perpetrate terror. Terror is a two way street, with few exceptions. Perhaps the ultimate defense against terrorism is to understand the cultural and cross-cultural causes of it, and with proper knowledge, address the issues at hand. We must avoid stereotypes at all costs, because â€Å"Nearly all terrorists are extremists, but most extremists are not terrorists† (Borum, 2004). â€Å"Long-term orientation versus short-term orientation† (Franke, Hofstede, ; Bond, 1991) may provide insights into which culture holds greater strength in the GWOT. U. S. culture demands immediate results, and has little tolerance for long term strategies, while extremist Islamic culture is bond by the vision of Mohammed, and is prepared to sacrifice for centuries if need be (Borum, 2004). Fortunately, unnecessary warring between cultures may diminish substantially as one of the biggest single benefits of cross-cultural understanding and application of organizational psychological research (Brislan, 1983). â€Å"It is argued that we now live in an age of ‘hyperterrorism,’ where the nature and scale of terrorism has reached a new level, and that the question of ‘How to deal with international terrorism is quickly becoming the defining issue of our age’† (Ward, 2008, p. 248). It is imperative that we make every effort to understand the cross-cultural determinants of terrorism, regardless of cost. Additionally, â€Å"terrorism is a discourse that affects all our lives, and the collateral argument that terrorism somehow validates the occasional abrogation of so many of our most cherished legal principles, is something that should concern all of us† (p. 249). Hogan (2006) offers: â€Å"Due to the logistical and analytical challenges of cross-national comparisons, studies to date have concentrated largely on single nations† (p. 64). While much work remains, understanding the vast scope of cultural interdependencies that help create terrorism is an extremely complex task yet must be undertaken if we are to come to terms with global terrorism. As Hostede (1998) states, â€Å"constructs are products of the mind with which we attempt to understand and predict human behavior in an infinitely complex world†, and all constructs are flawed to some degree. In an infinitely complex world, we will never entirely eradicate terrorism in its many manifestations. Our best hope to eradicate the bulk of organized terrorism is through scientific understanding and conscientious application of rational solutions, freed from cultural bias. â€Å"Culture lies entirely on the â€Å"nurture† side of the ledger, as against â€Å"nature†, or truly nherited traits† (Munger, 2006, p. 134). Solutions to the specter of terrorism will manifest through understanding and responding to such cultural nurture. This paper has posited that understanding other cultures can help to reduce tensions between cultures, which give rise to terrorism and counterterrorism conflicts. As Munger (2006) points out, â€Å"a shared understanding of something that identifies insiders, and excludes outsiders because they do not share this understanding† (p. 133), is perhaps the fundamental commonality between conflicting sides. If we can short-circuit this exclusionary identity concept, by education and promulgate understanding by either, or both sides, and act upon it with responsible communication between parties, then perhaps modern terrorism as we know it will eventually end. It may take many years, because established terrorist organizations are not open to compromise (Smelser ; Mitchell, 2002), but such efforts may play a large part in helping to prevent future recruitment, and help eliminate the need for terrorist organizations within the cultures that originally spawned them; losing their luster they slowly fade from existence.

Ethnic Variation among Cancer Patients Essay -- Medical Research

Ethnicity is a term used to distinguish individuals and classify them into groups based on cultural and occasionally physical characteristics. Ethnic groups vary in the degree to which they exhibit common ethnic factors from those who share no or little cultural traditions to those who share a wider range of factors such as cultural traditions, place of origin, ancestry, language, and religion. To clarify the misunderstanding between ethnic groups and ethnic minorities, ethnic groups vary in their size from those of a small number which called minorities to those of a large number which called majorities(Stillwell & Ham, 2009). There is a substantial evidence that suggests the presence of disparities among different ethnic groups and different socio-economic levels(Hill et al., 2010a, 2010b; Jeffreys et al., 2005; King, 2000, 2001; Tobias & Cheung, 2003) . Maori, for instance, have a lower life expectancy rate than that of non-Maori, to be exact Maori have life expectancy low er by 9 years than non-Maori (Hefford et al., 2005; Tobias et al., 2009 ). Moreover, they show higher susceptibility rates to disease, particularly heart and respiratory diseases and diabetes, compared to non-Maori(Hefford et al., 2005; King, 2000, 2001; Tobias et al., 2009). Similarly, people of low socio-economic level - poor education, housing, and low income- have poor health status (King, 2000, 2001; Tobias & Cheung, 2003). In fact, although ethnic groups are closely related to socio-economic status, ethnic disparities exists in all different groups with different socio-economic level(Tobias & Cheung, 2003). In order to explore ethnic disparities in depth, studies that prove cancer inequalities among different ethnic groups will be provided. ... ...alth Metrics, 1(1). doi: 12773214 Stillwell, J. & Ham, M. (Ed.). (2009). Ethnicity and Integration: Understanding Population Trends and Processes- Volume 3. Dordrecht, Heidelberg, London & New York. Springer. Doi: 10.1007/978-90-481-9103-1 Tobias, M., Blakely, T., Matheson, D., Rasanathan, K. & Atkinson, J. (2009). Changing trends in indigenous inequalities in mortality: Lessons from New Zealand. International Journal of Epidemiology. 38, 1711-1722. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyp156 Hefford, M., Crampton, P. & Foley, J. (2005). Reducing health disparities through primary care reform: the New Zealand experiment. Health Policy. 72(1), 9-23. doi: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2004.06.005 Blakely, T., Tobias, M., Robson, B., Ajwani, S., Bonne, M. & Woodward, A. (2005). Widening ethnic mortality disparities in New Zealand 1981-99. 61(10), 2233-2251. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2005.02.011

Development Of Buddhist Education

Buddhism has greatly influenced present day Vietnam. The rise of its civilization can be traced through the effect of Buddhism on the different dynasties. The early wars won by Vietnam can be associated with Buddhist leaders and even the faith that kept the people together during the years of suffering was Buddhism. It has been proclaimed before as the national religion of the country because of its contribution to society and it is only fitting that it be included in the education of Vietnamese children.To gain a better understanding of the development of Buddhist education in Vietnam, we need to know first the roots and development of Buddhism as a religion, what are its beliefs, how it affected the lives of the Vietnamese populace, how it was integrated to education and from thereon discuss the developments that went through up to contemporary times. Buddhism: Origin and Teachings Buddhism originated from southern Nepal around 530 B. C. as an offshoot of Hinduism. Gautama Buddha, â€Å"a prince who bridled at the formalism of Hinduism as it was being interpreted by the priestly caste of Brahmans† , was its founder.He spent years meditating and wandering as an ascetic until he discovered the path of enlightenment to nirvana. Nirvana according to him is â€Å"the world of endless serenity in which one is freed from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. † Buddhism espouses that there are four noble truths – man is born to suffer in successive lives, earthly pleasures and possessions are the cause of this suffering, man shall be delivered from suffering upon cessation of this craving, and following the eight fold path, man shall achieved deliverance – and through this he shall receive salvation.The foundation of the Buddhist concept of morality and right behavior, the eightfold path, consists of right views, or sincerity in leading a religious life; right intention, or honesty in judgment; right speech, or sincerity in speech; right conduct, or sincerity in work; right livelihood, or sincerity in making a living; right effort, or sincerity in aspiration; right mindfulness, or sincerity in memory; and right concentration, or sincerity in meditation†. It is the most important religion in Vietnam.Unlike other religions, â€Å"Vietnamese Buddhism stays on earth rather than ascends up to heaven, attaches to exorcism and prayers for wealth, happiness and longevity rather than heads toward nirvana. † Most Vietnamese practice Mahayana Buddhism rather than its Hindu counterpart. The doctrinal distinction between the two consists of their differing views of Gautama Buddha: the Mahayana school teaches that Gautama was only one of many â€Å"enlightened ones† manifesting the fundamental divine power of the universe; the Theravada school teaches that Gautama was the one-and-only enlightened one and the great teacher, but that he was not divine.The Mahayana sect holds further that laypersons can attain n irvana, whereas the Theravada school believes that only ordained monks and nuns can do so. The beginnings of Buddhism in Vietnam The early beginnings of Buddhism may be traced back from as early as 300 B. C. It was said that Therevada Buddhism have been â€Å"imported directly into Vietnam from India through sea routes since the 2nd century A. D. † Although some believe that â€Å"Buddhism spread first from China to Vietnam's Red River Delta region in approximately the second century A.D. , and then from India to the southern Mekong Delta area at some time between the third and the sixth centuries† , evidence shows that Buddhism reached Vietnam even before it entered China. In the past, Vietnam was very much like the intersection between India and China. At that time, either walking, or by boat, people made a trip from India to China or vice versa, in doing so they must cross Vietnam. Vietnam, therefore, was a good place to stop by for foreign business people as well a s Buddhist monks.Back to 3rd century BC, after King Asoka organized the Third Council -a Conference to Collect the Dharma- at Pataliputra, India, he sent 9 Buddhist monk delegates overseas. The monks went from Afghanistan to the Mediterranean to teach Dharma. One of these, lead by Sona and Uttara went to Burma then Indochina, including Viet Nam. Now, in Haiphong -60miles north east of HaNoi- there is a memorial tower to commemorate King Asoka that was built by local Vietnamese Buddhists at that time to express their gratitude to King Asoka.From that evidence, we may come up with conclusion that Buddhism came to Vietnam as early as 300 years BC, even before China. Then in the second century, Buddhism in Vietnam became more popular and developed with the contributions of Marajivaka, K’Ang Seng Houei, Tchi Kiang Liang three great Buddhist monks who came from India and a local scholar, Mecu Fo. Because Mecu Fo is a key character in Buddhism’s development in Vietnam, we sho uld take a closer look at him. He was Vietnamese or might have been born and raised in a great Chinese-Vietnamese family.We must take into consideration that his place of birth was not originally a Chinese territory, it was just annexed to China from Vietnam. Since he was skilled in Chinese education, he used this skill in order to convert more people into Buddhism. Mecu Fo was mandarin and took advantage of his position to teach his people about Buddhism. Due to his contributions in the propagation and spread of Buddhism in Vietnam, he is considered as the first ever Buddhist lay man in Vietnam. Buddhism: Its Role in Liberation and Its Golden AgeDuring the Ly and the Tran dynasties, Buddhism achieved a golden age in Vietnam. It was during the time of Emperor TRAN NHAN TONG that the first Vietnamese Meditation, Truc Lam Yen Tu was founded , this however did not come until 1010 several decades after Vietnam’s independence from China. However, it is accurate to say that Buddhis m was a very important element in the country’s fight for freedom. For several centuries, the Chinese conquered Vietnam and ruled the people with an iron hand.The Chinese’s main objective was to transform Vietnam into another Chinese territory and annex it afterwards to mainland China. In order to achieve their goal, great atrocities were done to the people both physically and psychologically, the Chinese even employed Sinicization or cultural invasion in order to uproot Vietnamese culture from its citizens and replace it with theirs to ease the annexation. Despite the suffering, there was one thing that kept the Vietnamese people from breaking down and it was their religion.By living on the teachings of Buddhism, the people believed that the wicked shall eventually be punished and that they should keep on surviving until that day comes. During the Chinese rule, revolutions such as that led by two sister trung aimed at liberation were attempted but to no avail. In thes e revolts, Buddhism also played a great role, its temples became the common meeting grounds for freedom fighters and the perfect place to mobilize troops. Finally, in 939 a Vietnamese general named NGO QUYEN, led the Vietnamese people to victory over the Chinese on the decisive battle on Bach Dang river thus ending the Chinese rule.After the war, Buddhist monks in coordination with the newly established government tried to build the kingdom. To show his gratitude, the emperor Dinh Tien Hoang helped organize the Shangha and named Khuong Viet and Phapthuan, both Buddhist monks, as his national security adviser and Secretary of State respectively. Another major milestone for Buddhism during this dynasty was that it was declared as the national religion by the emperor, who was himself a Buddhist.The establishment of the kingdom was coupled with several hardships, the most crucial of all is the threat of another Chinese invasion. Although at first was a mere thought among the people, it became clear when a Chinese spy disguised as a delegate for diplomatic relations entered Vietnam to size up its military power. Upon entering Vietnam, the first person the delegate met was a ferry-man who was to take him to the capital, he was however surprised when the ferry-man was able to converse with him at a level worthy of government office.When the delegate arrived and conversed with Vietnam’s national Security adviser, he concluded based on his meeting with the ferry man and Khuong Viet that Vietnam was well-prepared for an invasion and that invading it would be disastrous. Apparently, the ferry-man who amazed and confused the delegate with the level of learning of a mere ferry-man was Phaptuan in disguise. In the end, the two highest-ranking monks were responsible for averting a possible attack through their diplomatic skills and it forever went on in history as the first diplomatic war won by Vietnam.After more than 30 years, the Chinese began to strengthen its mil itary force on the borders of Vietnam resulting to an election of a fitting leader to decide on the course of action on the said threat. The leader chosen was a talented, kind and high moral man, he was the Commander in Chief of the army and is known as Ly Cong Uan, thus started the Ly Dynasty. Ly Cong Uan was a Buddhist monk raised by Zen Master Van Hanh in a Buddhist temple who then became his national adviser. Under his reign, 300 Buddhist temples were built and the Sangha was well organized with over 1000 monks. He incorporated Buddhist teaching in all aspects of governance.