English 101 Grit Essay

If â€Å"Grit†, as defined as a measure of perseverance and the way to achieve a long term goal to succeed in college, then who needs family support and resources? Angela Duckworth’s theory of ‘Grit’ is based on an area of psychology research that determines how to be successful in college. Duckworth’s theory argues that having ‘Grit’ or perseverance is the main force that will pull students through to complete college. While I believe Duckworth’s theory to be useful and that having â€Å"Grit† can be key to one’s success in college completion, I do believe that it is the backbone to many other traits and outside influences important to succeed in college. In the case of Donna Beegle’s Story, I think that Duckworth’s theory would be only somewhat useful to understand her success. In the article, â€Å"An Insider’s Perspective: The Donna Beegle Story,† Beegle tells her experience of overcoming extreme poverty and beating all odds and achieving a doctorate. During her road to success, Beegle had many outside influences that were the key to those achievements. She reached out to a Community Action Agency that really opened the doors for her and started a rippling effect towards key resources and influential people. First and foremost, the biggest stepping stone for her was when the agency connected her to the WIT (Women in Transition) program. Beegle states, â€Å"With an enormous amount of support from the WIT program staff and my family, I entered the community college to work on a two-year degree. (246) In addition to the WIT program, Beegle states, â€Å"The one thing that kept me from giving up was the â€Å"Section 8† public housing certificate from the Portland Housing Authority given to me by the WIT program. † (246) Beegle’s statement proves one of my points, that if it was not for that resource, she would have not have been â€Å"gritty† enough to continue her education. For people like Beegle, a GED was just not in the realm of capabilities for her, without those resources, she would not have been able to persevere to that point and beyond with her education. Secondly, let’s consider her family. Her family played a huge role to her success as well. Beegle’s parents watched her children while she attended college, and gave her the motivation and praise she needed to keep going. In addition Beegle’s brother Wayne provided an unusual and unexpected amount of support that led her to complete her two-year degree. Wayne was incarcerated for twelve years; during those years he had an endless amount of time to read and become something Beegle describes as â€Å"middle- class literate. †(248) It was her brother, who through letters back and forth between the two, helped her understand her assignments. Therefore, it’s her family’s support and help from her brother that allowed her to persevere. In addition to all of the resources and family support, Beegle was lucky to have crossed paths with a language specialist by the name of Dr. Bob Fulford. Fulford was the mentor in Beegle’s life that made a huge impact on her educational success. He went beyond his job as a professor of the university she attended, and really took the time to work with her and guide her through academic achievement and personal affairs. He also taught her how to write and corrected her speech. On top of that support from him, he also â€Å"linked her to a network of professionals in the community who continues to widen my range of possibilities. † (249) I believe Fulford’s guidance and encouragement were the key element to Beegle’s success. If it was not for him and other mentors like him believing in her and recognizing she was not â€Å"stupid†, she would not have the chance to better her education. For some people, Duckworth’s theory of ‘Grit’ and perseverance is just not enough to get a college student through to college completion. According to Beegle, â€Å"[m]entors, [m]iddle-[c]lass [l]anguage† (247) and people seeing her for where she was â€Å"[w]ere [k]eys to [m]y [e]ducational [s]uccess†. For me personally, if I did not have my family, financial aid and the Women’s Program at Highline Community College, I really don’t think I would be able to manage. Even if I had ‘Grit’, there are road blocks like child care and having affordable housing that make it possible for me to stay in college. In my experience, ‘grit’ has helped tremendously when combined with the other elements in my life. For example, I recently helped my mother move from her apartment she has been in for over 24 years, to her home she now owns. Between my brother and I and just a few friends, we spent weeks of packing, updating the new house and unpacking. It was ‘grit’ that helped me through doing this huge move while still making it to class every day, turning in all my homework, and acing two quizzes. I was determined to make school a priority over all the other important events that were going on around me. However, some might argue how ‘grit’ played a major role in Beegle’s and my own story, especially when faced with a big disadvantage such as poverty and severe lack of proper education and in my case, a single parent. They may say that the only way to overcome those obstacles is to persevere through it. It’s true that wanting an education and a better life is what will make someone become â€Å"gritty†. It is my ‘Grit’ that has helped me in my classes; there have been assignments that have made my eyes go cross and makes me feel like I just want to give up. But my inner grit comes out and I think of the long term and what I want for my daughter and I. It is those moments when I can say Duckworth’s theory is useful to my situation but not in the grand scheme of things. With grit alongside with these other elements, one can be successful. So in conclusion, I do think having ‘Grit’ plays a big part in one’s success to college completion or at least it is a great supporting factor. Do I think â€Å"All I need is Grit and I can get a degree? † No.  What I think is, grit can help through the hard times, when you feel like giving up, persevere through those obstacle and find another way to get to where you want to go. It is that inner quality of grittiness that will assist someone on their journey. Like Beegle states, â€Å"With subsidized housing, food stamps, mentoring from numerous people, and the support and encouragement of family and agencies, I was able to move forward and become educated. † (248) for me and others alike, ‘Grit’ is only one piece of the 500 piece puzzle.

Lack of Fruit or Vegetable Consumption

Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FINER) in 2008, the average Filipino eat less vegetable. Consumption of fruits and vegetables remains low, particularly among children despite of the benefits that can be gained from eating such. Vegetables are significant sources of essential vitamins, particularly vitamin a and c, minerals, ample fiber and . These are needed by the body In order to achieve proper nutrients. Nutritional Inadequacies are a serious problem that most of the people have lack of food supply.Vegetables are very essential to our body especially o the children because it can make their Immune system strong by getting the desired nutrition. One of the problems that we are encountered Is that most of us are not fun of eating vegetables. Other says that they don't Like the taste and the smell of It. Some vegetables possess the taste of being bitter and sour. We are developing product wherein we will eliminate the problem in not eating vegetables but they don't like the ta ste of it and those children are fun of eating candies.Almost every day they take candies as part of the life of a child. We are concern about their health that's why we propose a candy that is made of vegetable. Children are now enjoying eating candy and they can also eat without showing actual vegetables. Objectives There are many contributors to obesity, including excess consumption of â€Å"discretionary calories† (foods high in sugar and fat and low in essential nutrients), lack of fruit/vegetable consumption, and insufficient physical activity.This study contrasted physical activity, fruit/vegetable consumption, and discretionary calorie consumption from selected foods relative to the 2005 dietary guidelines Methodology The study will utilize the descriptive exploratory method of research. Its principal aim Is to describe the nature of situation as It exists at the time of the study and to explore the causes of the particular phenomena. This will adopt to determine how the vegetable may be used as candy through developing it Into product.The study will undergo the following phases: Phase I Inhalant Preparation II Preparation of Needed Materials Ill Formulation of the Product IV Testing Its Acceptability V Packaging/ Marketing Lack of Fruit or Vegetable Consumption By lampooning c, minerals, ample fiber and . These are needed by the body in order to achieve proper nutrients. Nutritional inadequacies are a serious problem that most of the to the children because it can make their immune system strong by getting the desired nutrition.One of the problems that we are encountered is that most of us are not fun of eating vegetables. Other says that they don't like the taste and the smell of it. Some vegetables possess the taste of being bitter and sour. Is to describe the nature of situation as it exists at the time of the study and to the vegetable may be used as candy through developing it into product. The study will undergo the following phases: Phas e I Initial Preparation IV Testing its Acceptability.

International Business Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

International Business Law - Essay Example Case #1 The case is presented within the jurisdiction of an international court of justice. Other countries have joined together to challenge oppose what they term as the annexation of the space country X. Joining them is country Y which may have the same interests as those of country X. They are justified to so do as they as signatories of â€Å"The Outer Space Treaty† which they did sign back in the year 1966 (Zines 2008). The case presented is the opinion of all member treaty was signed for the use and exploration of space was bringing conflicts among the superior state (Zines 2008). It came at a time when technologies were cropping up and great inventions being carried. The main purpose of this treaty was to ensure that weapons of mass destruction like nuclear bombs are not developed in the space. The super power countries don’t have trust in each other and they fear spying on their secrets Country X’s activities are within the provisions of the treaty. The treaty did state clearly that the space is freely accessible to the entire world and to any country that wishes to do so. This country is trying to explore the space scientifically which poses no danger to the world and other countries. It is not clear to the court that no other country has ever tried to intensify their activities in the space. Country X is a busy trying to explore the mysteries that are still hidden to the mankind. It has not in any case breached the terms of the treaty by occupying the space. Other allegations are that the country has put up its flag and claimed about 1000 square meters of the moon. The provision in the treaty is that no any country shall claim ownership on the ownership of space. Therefore, the court orders country X to remove its flag from the space and not to claim ownership of the area they have annexed. The landing station it has built on the moon is to be removed. This treaty did define that the space is free for all nations. However, the country has never been reported to carry out activities that may endanger life in the world. The court is just to order that the country needs to make their activities transparent to the world. The court has also found out that the countries launching complains are having fear of the unknown due to the secretive activities of the accused. Country X has promised to be responsible their activities and there are no complaints of negligence. It is stated clearly in the Outer Space Treaty that â€Å"countries exploring space are responsible and liable for any damage their activities may cause†. The court can conclude from whole proceedings that the accused country has established a base in the space. Reports of weapons and any arms are not there. The complaint brought by the 45 countries though presents the opinions of the world but these countries seem to have conflicts of interests. Take the case of country Y for example; joining the case afterwards. It beats logic how loud this country is launching it’s complain. The world today is being faced by cold war from the superpowers since they are the only ones that have the machinery to reach space. Country Y may be having interests in the in the space. Many decades have passed since man landed in the space. No any other country has ever tried building their base in the space. This country has not touched space objects like the steroids and the orbits. They use their own spaceship to navigate and have never touched the satellites. The court hereby rules that country X is free to explore the space. The case presented is a matter of further consultation among these countries. The decision has been arrived at since the court has found that these countries have common interests. They are all bound by the treaty they signed. Asking the court to exempt country X from space is unjust because a provision in the treaty allows them to do so. T he court, however, compels this country not claim

Human Resource Managers, Stress and Work Performance Research Paper

Human Resource Managers, Stress and Work Performance - Research Paper Example Most highlighted factors include job stress, work load, de-motivation and low satisfaction. Literature Review: Job stress is a term used to define the stress related to work that is the outcome of the struggle made by an employee in order to yield high efficiency and performance by accomplishing its tasks, assignments and targets within the due time. This occupational stress may affect the performance of an organization (Weiss, 1983). It has been noted that job stress is becoming a growing concern for majority of organizations and particularly, for the human resource management (Dewe, Driscroll, & Cooper, 2010). Over the years, numerous researches and studies have been conducted in order to understand the importance of stress management. It was concluded that with the advancement in technology and industrialization job stress is increasing rapidly. Job stress has not only effected the mental health and well being of the employees but it has also becoming a growing concern for the emp loyers to deal with the various problems occurred as an outcome of job stress (McGowan, 2006). The Effects of Stress in a Job: Different researches have indicated that numerous health-related issues can emerge due to stress. There could be different factors that would contribute in raising the job stress such as de-motivation and job dissatisfaction. According to Weiss (1983), job dissatisfaction can lead to job stress which can adversely affect the working capacity and the performance of an employee. As a result, this would make the entire organization suffer from low performance and growth. The Impact of Stress on Performance: A clear relationship has been observed between job performance and the job stress. It should be remembered that job performance involves the efforts and struggle of an employee to accomplish its tasks within a specific time. On an account, according to different researches that have been conducted it is concluded that there are four types of relationships be tween the job stress and the job performance. These relationships include negative linear relationship in which stress is responsible for lowering the productivity. In positive linear relationship the performance can be increased by increasing the stress. On the other hand, curvilinear relationship gives rise to mild stress which becomes responsible for elevating the productivity but as the employee faces the stress, the productivity restore to its previous state. However, in the fourth relationship, one factor decreases with the decrease in other factor (Smith and Sainfort, 1989). Factors that Result in Job Stress: There could be number of factors resulting in job stress such as: 1- External factors: External factors include the organizational and family-related conflicts. 2- Internal Factors: These include all the internal factors within an organization. Stress Management in a Work Place: Workplace stress is becoming a concern for all the organizations around the world. It is dire ctly affecting the mental health and the well being of all the human beings suffering from stress. It has been observed that ineffective dealing with stress management could affect adversely, however; managers can implement different techniques to encounter job stress.

Cross Cultural Managment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Cross Cultural Managment - Essay Example In this context, therefore, cultural intelligence can be described as the ability of individuals in the working place to develop a sensible working condition despite their affiliations (Ang & Livermore, pp.38; Earley, Ang & Tan, pp.3). This essay shall aim at analyzing two articles in an attempt to find out which article is the most applicable to proving the importance of ‘Cultural Intelligence’ (CQ) to the manager of Global Alliances. The essay shall incorporate both theoretical and practical justifications on the importance of ‘Cultural Intelligence’ (CQ) in any organization. According to Triandis, just like in Peterson, (pp.177) and Lundby (pp.301), cultural intelligence is vital for survival of any organization. In his work, he indicates that no flourishing interaction can exist without the staff embracing the aspects of cultural intelligence. Triandis (pp.20) indicates that if the organization has to be successful in inculcating feelings of cultural int elligence among the workers, they have to be keen to detect any kind of flaws that might be existent in the workplace that might harbor successful incorporation of basics that can inculcate roots of cultural intelligence among the workers. ... This entails the ability of the individuals to understand the perceptions and behaviors of the concerned parties in regard to their cultural backgrounds. Of essence, he emphasizes that in the case of varying cultures, individuals must be quick to focus more on the context of their workforce unlike content of what they might have communicated. At times individuals are likely to behave according to the way other people behave in varying cultures, a factor Triandis (pp.20) refers to as ideocentrism. He also explains the concept allocentrism that may alter thriving of cultural intelligence in the workplace. On a practical aspect, in the case of a manager, it would be beneficial if one assesses all kinds of information given by the concerned parties, before making a judgment especially if disputes exist between sections of employees. Collecting tangible evidence unlike insinuations or clues would be beneficial to the manager. Secondly, culturally intelligent persons must be keen to identi fy behaviors that exist in the tough situations in the workplace (Livermore, pp.53). This interprets that, in the course of coexisting in the working environment, there are higher chances that individuals may conflict as a result of interactions in the society. Triandis (pp.22) indicates that chances are probable that individuals are likely to conflict in the quest to make their opinions heard in the workplace. Practically, the managers may consider gathering all kinds of information that would allow them make judgments that are biased, but for the good of the entire workplace. On another view point, a culturally intelligent person is one that is able to handle circumstances that emanate from cultural variances. Triandis

GASB and FASB Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

GASB and FASB Accounting - Essay Example Whereas FASB has the objective to establish and improve standards for financial accounting and reporting that will help in guiding and educating public including auditors and other users of financial statements.   GASB was constituted in 1984 to succeed National Council on Government Accounting as a standard-setting body for state and local governmental bodies, whereas FASB issues standards and other pronouncements for entities other than governmental bodies. However, when there are no pronouncements on certain issues from GASB, the pronouncements issued by the FASB shall become applicable to governmental bodies as well. So far as business organizations are concerned, they have to abide by the standards issued by FASB. Non- business organizations, non- government organizations follow FASB and the government organizations come under the domain of GASB.   GASB is very specific to state legislature while issuing pronouncements. FASB, on the other hand, issues pronouncements that are universal and cater the business on a federal basis. In fact â€Å"FASB receives many requests for action on various financial accounting and reporting topics from all segments of its diverse constituency, including investors and the SEC. The auditing profession is sensitive to emerging trends in practice, and consequently, it is a frequent source of requests. Requests for actions include both new topics and suggested review or reconsideration of existing pronouncement.†(Facts about FASB, page 1)   It is believed that governments need not show profits like other financial entities.

Critically evaluate the contribution that music can make to health and Literature review

Critically evaluate the contribution that music can make to health and wellbeing - Literature review Example People with mental health issues can benefit from music because it takes them away from thinking of themselves as patients by promoting their self-esteem, social recognition, confidence and status especially when they participate in singing (Bradt & Dileo, 2009:2, Music for stress and anxiety reduction in coronary heart disease patients). The relationship between arts and health has been a topical issue for a long time. The linkage between arts participation and health has been developed for instance the influence of sports on physical health and the influence of music on mental health. It is indeed true that arts participation has an effect on key health indicators. Music, health, and well-being: A review by Raymond and Macdonald (2013) asserts that musical participation as part of arts participation has a direct influence on the mental health and well being in people. Research has indicated that music contributes to mental health and wellbeing of people in different stages of life for instance children and the elderly. Rose Perkins and Aaron Williamon (2013) in their article Learning to make music in older adulthood: A mixed-methods exploration of impacts on wellbeing explore the links between older adulthood, wellbeing lifelong learning and music and posit that music has an important aspect for healthy ageing (Unkefer & Thaut, Eds. 2009:23). By healthy ageing, Unkefer & Thaut, Eds. (2009) refer to the absence of illnesses in old age in terms of social, physical and mental health. In this respect Unkefer & Thaut, Eds. (2009) acknowledge the fact that, â€Å"There is a growing body of literature exploring the relationships between music and wellbeing in the ageing population, and we know that music is a powerful part of many older adults’ lives† (Perkins & Williamon, 2013:551). While citing other sources, Downey, et.al, (2013)

Affluenza Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Affluenza - Essay Example This heady mix of wealth and power need to be counterbalanced by accountability and responsibility for the general public. But, going by the evidence presented by the authors of this book, the outcomes so far have been harmful for the people at large and the environment in which they live. The poor people are especially badly hit by this phenomenon (de Graaf et. al, p.112). While the rich are getting richer than ever before, the real incomes of the poor in America have stagnated or declined. In this way the poor are disadvantaged twice, as the consumerist society keeps promoting ‘affluenza’. In this context, one can understand the importance of delving further into this topic and learn more about its role in promoting a regressive consumerist culture. The following passages will cite pertaining arguments from the book in support of the thesis, which is that the poor are punished twice as a result of Affluenza. A major manifest symptom of Aflluenza, the authors point out, is the general decline in sense of self-worth among Americans. A culture that endlessly promotes materialism and accumulation of wealth with barely any mention of other aspects of healthy living such as harmonious family life, participation in communal activities, etc. is fundamentally wrong. What psychologists refer to as low self-esteem is alternatively called as ‘status anxiety’ by social commentators. These are especially more evident in poor peoples’ conceptions of themselves, as they suffer from ‘Affluenza’ - â€Å"the bloated, sluggish and unfulfilled feeling that results from efforts to keep up with the Joneses† (de Graaf et. al, p.172). In other words, it is the influenza like ailment that affects citizens when they march mindlessly in pursuit of affluence. As the authors pertinently state, â€Å"theres a downside to this obsession, and in our

General Mills Inc. Executive Summary Essay Example for Free

General Mills Inc. Executive Summary Essay Executive Overview General Mills (NYSE:GIS), our company, is a global consumer foods company. We develop distinctive value-added food products and market with our unique brand names. We work continuously to improve our established products and to create new products that meet our customers’ potential needs and preferences. Our company has $14.88 billion in sales last year. Our sales has grown substantially throughout the years due in large part to our popular brand names, this however is only part of the reason that we has been so successful. We markets global brands such as Green Giant, Old El Paso, HÃ ¤agen-Dazs, Yoplait, Cheerios, Betty Crocker, Bisquick, Progresso and many others with competitive prices. The average U.S. shopper purchases at least one of our products every time they visit the grocery store. In this business model for our company, we include the important inputs and assumptions for the Balance Sheet (historical and future data), Income statements and other estimated model – WACC, Terminal Value, Enterprise Value, Stock Price, etc. After estimating enterprise values in the future, we can find that our company is undervalued. Stock holders are supposed to add holdings of shares and gain more equity. Analysis of the Model All the statistics used in this model can be found in Google Finance, Yahoo Finance and Bloomberg. In calculating the ratios and forecast financials for our company, some trends are difficult to estimate because the data online is not all included. Once we had the ratios calculated, we can find trends and used them to forecast out the balance sheet, Income statement and cash flow statement for the next five years, which would bring us to 2016. Revenue Growth – According to the Sheet FSM-Input, we can find the percent growth % for the last four years are 9.73%, 7.61%, 0.72%, 0.57%. Because it changes a lot in the five years and the rate in recent two years is really low. We use the average growth rate for the next five years. So we are forecasting settling into annual growth of 4.66%, more in line with long-term general growth trends. COGS – In the same sheet, the gross margin from 2007 to 2011 is 39.39%, 39.05%, 38.73%, 42.77%, and 43.21%, in line with analyst forecasts which are also in line with company guidance. These margins are increased from the estimates. We also use the average data for the next five years. SGA – Increase in SGA to 21.44% of revenue for 2011 is under a trend of increasing from 19.21% these five years. We generally forecast a decrease to 20.38% (average) for 2012 and thereafter. It should be a slower revenue growth in the long term, so as for SGA. Tax Rate – Average Income tax rate is 33.8% for the next five years, which between 29.62% to 37% in the last five years. CapEx – Accord the increasing trend of the last five years for CapEx of revenue, we give the assumption that it will increase by 0.5% each year in the next five years. As most of the data are close to this level, we think this assumption appears justifiable. Cost of Debt, Cost of Equity – we used the data of year 2011 to estimate the future value – for the value of WACC. All the data are collected from Bloomberg. Also, the cost of equity can be calculated by CAPM, as the risk-free rate plus the Market Risk Premium multiplied by Beta. Beta – calculated by running a regression comparing yearly returns of GIS for the last five years, and modified with the information from Bloomberg. Risk free Rate – calculated as the average yield on the 10 year Treasury rate over the last six months. In addition, the interest rate for cash and short term debt is almost zero here. Growth rate – we used the dividend growth rate here, as the dividend for last four years as follows: 1.29, 1.22, 1.12, and 0.96. We calculate the increase rate and select the minimum one 1.66%. It is used for the current Terminal Value and the following estimation of equity value. From the Balance Sheet and the Ratio analysis, we can calculate the capital structure of our company. And the above is the result of current value. Our WACC is almost constantly these years – around 5.50% via from 5.04% to 5.82%. We also use the scenario analysis for how the WACC and growth rate affect enterprise value and equity value. The full report shows all the forecasting data for 2012 – 2016, it clearly estimate the financial trend of our company (attachment). For the data used in this model, some of them are current data, the other are historical or most recently or average number. It only depends on actually situation – for which method is much more realistic. Conclusion The current enterprise value is $41,335 million and the equity value is $34,455 million. According to yahoo finance, the shares outstanding of our company are 647.31 million, so we can calculate the stock price for next year is $53.23. It will increase in following years. Also, the WACC of our company is always around 5.5%, we can use Monte Carlo Simulation to run the estimation of Equity value by changing WACC, growth rate and COGS/Revenue each year. The random calculation displays as the full report in attachment. The most important thing is that, according to our estimation, the next five-year we will get additional funds needed increasingly with no surplus funds; which means, our assets increase faster than our liabilities. Therefore, our company goes well in the short term future based on this model. In conclusion, General Mills Inc. is undervalued currently, it is recommended for customers to add holding of stock shares. Overall, our company has a long history of impressive performance and has returned significant value to its shareholders. While we operate in a mature industry with limited growth potential, we have a proven ability to seek out new opportunities and continue to grow revenue year after year. We should do our best to let us continuous be one of the world’s most respected packaged food producers. Sources Market Watch. General Mills Inc. Company Profie (2012). Retrieved from: http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/gis/profile General Mills Inc. (GIS) Annual and other reports. (2012). Retrieved from: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=74271p=quarterlyearnings General Mills Inc. (GIS). Key Statistics. (2012). Retrieved from: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=GIS+Key+Statistics General Mills Inc. (GIS) Current key data. (2012). Retrieved from: http://www.google.com/finance?q=gis Historical Data from Bloomberg.

Haitian Vodou Essay Example for Free

Haitian Vodou Essay Vodou, A Haitian religion deeply rooted in colonialism stems from several African sources, which have constructed and maintained a hybrid Africana and European diaspora in the Caribbean. In an effort to preserve African tradition and spiritual belief, slaves in Haiti prior to the Haitian Revolution of 1791, established and developed the heterogeneous religion known as Vodou. As Vodou became a more prominent aspect of slave culture in Haiti the hybridization between traditional Africana religion and European religion fashioned a new system of belief. The fusion of Catholicism from Europe and African religions make up one of the most influential religions in Haiti today, in fact Vodou plays an imperative role in Haitian life. In addition to having a tremendous effect on Haitian religious practices, Vodou also plays a fundamentally important role in driving Haitian politics, economics, community, and social relations. From a student and non-Haitian perspective I seek to obtain knowledge on how Vodou has and continues to play a detrimental role in every aspect of Haitian life. Through analyzing and cross-examination of several texts it appears that without boundaries Vodou is important. Before delving into how Vodou effects nearly every aspect of Haitian culture I would like to first analyze the importance of understanding the roots and origin of a belief and practice that has become such a prominent aspect of Haitian life. In the eighteenth century the slave trade in Haiti ushered in a number of African slaves from various groups. These groups of African people brought with them to Haiti their traditions, beliefs, and lifestyles. In â€Å"Haitian Vodou† of Creole Religions of the Caribbean, the authors state that the slave trade was in fact the European way of â€Å"destroying all cultural connections† to the homelands of the slaves (Fernandez-Olmos and Paravisini-Gerbert 101). European slave owners and slave traders thought it necessary to force European ideals and beliefs onto their slaves, ridding and dismantling the beliefs and tradition of their native land. In this respect the slave trade played a significant role in the creation of Vodou, catalyzing Afro-European syncretism into a new belief system. Vodou began as a way for slaves to hold on to their cultural beliefs, and helped refute the impositions of Catholic religion that the French attempted to employ, as they saw it necessary to condition African slaves to their lifestyle (102). In my opinion Afro-European syncretism is one of the more complex and intriguing religious developments as it pertains to Vodou. In Voodoo Africa’s Secret Power author Gert Chesi describes the fusion of African and European culture stating that slaves brought with them the gods of Africa to the Caribbean where they then blended with the Saints and other Catholic and Christian symbols (Chesi 231). The imposition of Catholic and Christian beliefs by Europeans onto African slaves made it nearly impossible for African slaves to remain entirely devoted to their home land beliefs and traditions. African slaves in Haiti adopted Vodou as a means of maintaining their traditional beliefs, however, Christian and Catholic ideals were still important influential factors in the establishment of Vodou. The spirits often associated with Vodou known, as Lwa are similar to Saints in the Catholic Church. Slaves in Haiti dealt with the pressures of forcibly having to adapt to European religion by integrating their belief system with that of the European belief system. I think that Slaves in Haiti used Vodou as a stabilizing factor in Haitian culture. The ritual and practice that developed through the integration of European tradition with African tradition ensures that African tradition will remain considerably important regardless of the fact that Europeans once tried to dismantle African tradition and impose Western tradition on those slaves living in Haiti. Vodou serves as a mechanism for passing on tradition from generation to generation. In Voodoo: Truth and Fantasy the author states that Vodou has emerged as a vibrant cultural force in twenty-first century Haiti (Hurbon 126). This statement supports the idea that Vodou has and continues to have a role in Haitian life and Haitian culture. Vodou has undoubtedly helped restore an almost lost identity to African slaves in Haiti, and has allowed generation after generation to know and understand the beliefs of the homeland from which their ancestors originated. The foundation of many Haitian affairs may not be solely rooted in Vodou, however, the religion holds weight in many political spheres throughout Haiti. Starting from the moment of its development, Vodou has been politically important to Haiti. In fact, its very creation resulted from various political, cultural, and religious â€Å"struggles for freedom† (33). After analyzing the roots of Vodou it has become quite apparent that Vodou played an important role during Haiti’s revolutionary period. During and before the Haitain revolution Vodou was used as a means of protecting and politicizing the interest of Haitian slaves. From that time forward Haitian people have continued to use Vodou as a political tool to protect their interests and assets. Vodou has indeed been subjected to â€Å"persecution at the hands of both Church and state† leaving many non-believers and outsiders to attribute negative connotations to Vodou as a whole (117). In 1835 Vodou began to publically suffer from political ostracizing under president Jean-Pierre Boyer who passed a penal code that called for the imprisonment of six months to two years for followers of Vodou practicing superstitious act (118). It seems to me that the reason behind the ban on Vodou practices not only stemmed from political issues occurring at the time, but also from past political experiences in Haiti. Hurbon does not mention Boyer’s reasoning behind implementing a penal code, therefore allowing one to speculate whether or not Boyer, although Haitian had ties to France. The reason I bring this point to light is because for one, Jean-Pierre Boyer sounds relatively French and secondly Boyer implemented a code that put restrictions on a religion that has roots deep within African culture. In addition to dealing with the idea of possible imprisonment, if caught practicing Vodou, Haitians also faced the possibility of abandoning and giving up the African culture and belief that was associated with Vodou. In response to government restrictions some Haitians created secret societies in order to keep the bonds of Vodou ritual and ties to kinship in motion. In 1957 President Francois Duvalier also known as â€Å"Papa Doc† started a political rehabilitation for Vodou (118). Duvalier’s involvement in Vodou was for the soul purpose of engaging the Lwa through ceremonies in order to gain the Lwas’ good will and also to spark enthusiasm in those who practice Vodou. Papa Doc’s presidency marked a period characterized by dark magic and sorcery. This period in Haitian history displays the negative aspects often associated with Vodou. In my opinion President Francois Duvalier’s understanding of Vodou curtails from misinterpretation and misuse. Duvalier did not seem to grasp the reasoning behind certain Vodou rituals and ceremonies, using them only as a way to advance himself politically. During Duvalier’s reign Haiti saw tremendous political change resulting from the misunderstanding or misuse of Vodou. On one hand Jean-Pierre Boyer refused to let any one in Haiti practice Vodou because of the negative connotations surrounding the religion. On the other hand Francois Duvalier used Vodou to bolster his political appeal, which dismantled the meaning and reasoning behind the ceremonies and rituals performed by those who practiced and truly understood and appreciated the meaning that those Vodou acts carry. In Creole Religions of the Caribbean, the authors mention that within Vodou practices the chief communicators that draw â€Å"konesans† or connaissance/knowledge are the Oungand and the Manbo (Fernandez-Olmos and Paravisini-Gerbert 107). The Oungand and the Manbo are believed to receive knowledge passed down from the Lwa. The Oungand and the Manbo act as political leaders and have rural political power within their own community because the ability to communicate with the Lwa is looked up to. In Michel Laguerre’s book Voodoo and Politics the author states that Francois Duvalier used the political power of the Oungand and the Manbo to establish legitimacy among those who practiced Vodou (Laguerre 87). Today Vodou can be represented in popular culture as dark, sadistic, and involving many acts of superstition, denying it a position central to Haitian culture. However, despite the misconceptions surrounding Vodou today many religious works are carried out by Haitian elites. This goes to show yet another transformation in Haitian politics, and Vodou’s role in shaping a new system of life. From my examination of the texts that emphasized Vodou’s relationship to Haitian politics I have concluded that Vodou does in fact affect politics in Haitian communities and Haiti as a whole. The relationship between Vodou and Haitian economics is a long-standing phenomenon that has existed prior to the Haitian revolution in 1791 and continues to exist today. The slave trades influence on the creation of Vodou links the existence of the religion and also the economics involved between masters and sellers of slaves. During this time the Haitian economy was being stimulated by the slave trade. As the slaves grew weary, a number of rebellions occurred and Vodou greatly affected the plantation economy that the Haitian people originally were forced into. According to Omos and Gerbert, the economy in Haiti shifted from one of plantation to that of a â€Å"rural economy† of â€Å"subsistent farmers† working their own lands (Fernandez-Olmos and Paravisini-Gerbert 103). Vodou practices and rituals play an important role in shaping and maintaing Haitian economics. The initiation and sacrificial rituals performed by many Vodou sects involve a great amount of â€Å"financial sacrifice† (Fernandez-Olmos and Paravisini-Gerbert 117). From my examination of several texts, including that of Olmos and Gerbet I have concluded that preparation for the many Vodou festivals, initiations, and temple gatherings are intensive and call for many financial sacrifices from those who may already be financially unstable. Animal sacrifice plays an important role in the finances of Haitian people. In Voodoo Africa’s Secret Power the author, Gert Chesi, included various photographs of Haitian Vodou sacrifices and rituals. Many of the photographs throughout Chesi’s book showed the sacrificing of cattle, sheep, and chicken. The cross-examination of various texts did not leave me with much information on the Haitian economy as it related to Vodou, however, I was able to infer that the economic sacrifices made by Haitian people were performed in order to obtain personal advancements or for the betterment of the community as a whole. Some sacrifices were performed to win the protection and trust of the Lwa spirits, and some sacrifices were performed in hopes that the Lwa would shed some rain to strengthen planation production. I think that the Haitian economy and the Vodou religion are dependent on each other. The dependency I see in the relationship stems from the fact that without an economy like the one in Haiti, Vodou would not be as prominent or even meaningful to the Haitian people. The economy as it is creates a buffer for Vodou as a religion. The economy allows for Haitians to use their beliefs and connections with the spirits to envoke hope, or optimism that the plantation life in Haiti will somehow flourish. This claim can be supported through the existence of rituals performed for protection, knowledge, and even rainfall. In Hurbon’s, Olmos’ and Gebert’s, Chesi’s, Laguerre and Michel’s and Smith’s descriptions of Vodou in Haitian culture one thing is for certain, Vodou has and continues to influence communities through and through. In Chesi’s pictorial account of Vodou in Haiti one can see pictures of various ways that the religion is linked to community. In one picture, Chesi captured a ritual being performed near a beach where one individual was having a ritual performed on him (ritual not clear from picture) while dozens of his Vodou community member looked on and supported him. What puzzles me the most is how instinctual and ritualized Vodou actually is. Chesi’s pictures show dozens and dozens of Haitian people flocking to support another Vodou practice, but for what reason? Why do these members feel so indebted to one another? From my observation the answer to this question comes from the simple fact that Vodou needs a sense of community mong its members to remain relevant. It was from the simple yearning to keep tradition relevant that Vodou stemmed, so it appears to me that the idea of community or family has been long standing, even deep within Vodou’s African roots. Hurbon’s choice of words within Voodoo: Truth and Fantasy shed’s lite on the communal aspect of Vodou a little differently. Like Chesi, Hurbon acknowledges the importance of community, even stating that Vodou â€Å"bring families together in large gatherings, a festive way of ensuring that religious traditions will endure† (Hurbon 14). In Hurbon’s text it appears that the family and passing of tradition from generation to generation is in fact important to the survival of Vodou. In my examination of Hurbon’s text it seemed as though Hurbon was promoting a balance of kinship and communal ties. Hurbon states that it is important to have family agreement in order to have a positive communal bond. One aspect of Hurbon’s text was that Vodou was often referred to as â€Å"a cult dedicated to spirits. † Hurbon did not let the wording of her description interfere with the way information was conveyed, however, I found it quiet bias that she would call Vodou a cult. Personally I associate the word cult with negative connotations. It is unclear whether Hurbon planned on conveying Vodou in a negative light, but one thing is for certain a cult describes a group of people or the communal bond that Vodou encourages. In Michel’s and Smith’s book, Voodou in Haitian Life and Culture: Invisible Powers, The authors proceed to explain how the â€Å"magical† or â€Å"superstitious† aspect of Vodou conveys a sense of community among its supporters. The authors show that not only is Vodou practice a family effort, but a community effort as well. Smith and Michel both depict a type of Vodou were literally everyone in a community is involved. From small children to the eldest members of a community, all play an important role in carrying on and performing the tradition of Vodou culture. The elaborate rituals and preparation described by the authors is only made possible through communal efforts. From my understanding of the community in Vodou culture, it appears that only through community and unity can tradition be kept alive. Despite any negative connotations Vodou may have, each author showed how important Vodou is in respects to several aspects of Haitian culture. Vodou is not only a religious matter, but also a political, economic, and social one as well. On May 14, 2013 guest lecturer Carnie Fabious stated, â€Å"Vodou is a way of life. † This statement alone sums up what Vodou was, and what Vodou continues to be in regards to Haitian culture. Fabious’ words show the importance that Vodou plays in all aspects of Haitian life, and demonstrates how relative the religion is to such a vast group of people.

Influence of Media on Young Peoples Opinions

Influence of Media on Young Peoples Opinions The mass media has a great influence on people and especially on the younger generation. It plays an important role in shaping the opinions and positions of young people. Argue for or against this statement. Quynh Huong Ly As communication technologies and platforms continue to advance and evolve, the mass media is increasingly becoming a more influential factor in modern society. It is a powerful tool that has a strong impact on the population as a whole and in particularly on the younger generation. In modern society, the mass media has the ability to shape both the opinions and positions of the younger generation who are more curious and can more easily be influenced. This can not only create new cultures, but can also change lifestyles to some degree by shaping opinions and positions. This essay will discuss the three major influences that the mass media has on the younger generations and their effects in supporting the statement â€Å"The mass media has a great influence on people and especially on the younger generation. It plays an important role in shaping the opinions and positions of young people†. Firstly, advertisements are changing young peoples views on beauty concepts and stimulat e consumption. Secondly, the influences of social media platforms such as Facebook are shaping behaviour trends and lifestyles. Finally, music has shape emotions and a source of inspiration in creating new career ideas for the younger people. Nowadays, advertisements have great power to impact minds and create new habits amongst the younger generations. Large parts of their lives are connected with advertisements through various forms of media such as the radio, films and magazines. And according to Vitelli (2013) â€Å"Television, Commercials, and Your Child†, advertisers try to target young people by: concentrating on new products with special features, producing advertisements which are familiar with daily life so audiences do not realize they are watching commercials and making them lose the ability to distinguish between reality and the advertising that they are watching every day. More recently, with the development of more far reaching platforms of mass media, the thousands of messages about perfect the body images presented on posters and on television shows have re-shaped opinions on what is the ideal body shape for women. The powerful messages have made women obsessed with the new female body standards. T rying to fit into what is represented as attractive by the mass media, have caused stressed and have had a negative effect on some women, in particular the younger women who feel the need to comfort more. An example about the negative influences of advertisements on the young generations is building up their impossible expectations about attractive appearances by using luxury images of supermodels and celebrities, who they hope to look like (Wikipedia 2014). Therefore, teenagers tend to try keep their body thin through putting themselves on a diet, doing exercise or even getting cosmetic surgery while they are never satisfied with their bodies. In addition, it is suggested that using the dynamic beauty of young people for fast food advertising is also one of the causes of changing eating habits and rising obesity rates on the youth (Ashton 2004). In some cases, they are attracted by the advertisements when people with good shape, are eating fast foods and might think that it is heal thy foods or even eating them will help to keep their bodies as good as in the advertisement. The rates of obesity in children and youth have almost tripled in the last quarter century. Approximately 20% of youth are now overweight with obesity rates in preschool age children increasing at alarming speed (The impact of food advertising on childhood obesity 2014). Although the role of advertising in modern society is undeniable because it is used to both introduce new products to the public and is the shortest way to motivate consumption, it is generally believed that advertisements have consequences on peoples mind, especially on the younger generations because advertisements generally have always exaggerated the truth, also changed the opinions and positions of young people. In recent times, social networking sites have become more popular than ever, they also directly impact on behaviour of people, particularly on adolescents in what way as they decide how to connect each other and how to respect their relationships. Social networking sites have become a major revolution in society. There are a lot of advantages that can be associated with this, but an alarming tendency out of this, is that the young people seem to be more isolated in their own world and don’t learn how interact with society As a result, they gradually lose their communications skills and the intimacy of face-to-face interactions (Dakin 2014). ) In the past, face to face was the best way which people chose to communicate to each other. With the appearance of Facebook, peoples’ lives, minds and the behaviours of the youth have changed. Young people are highly addicted to Facebook as they spend a lot of time on the internet to update status, post on walls, and even whateve r they make. This leads to them ignoring spending time with families or hanging out with friends in order for them to sit in front of computer screen to validate their importance in society. The number of â€Å"Likes† they have, the more this validates their confidence (Sameer 2011). In addition, the development of social networking is one of the reasons why the young people are becoming the narcissist. According to Harrington (2013), in â€Å"Hey you, it’s all about me†, the teenagers are documenting everything they do in their lives and posting selfies on social networking to get more attentions from others, and falling in love themselves. Young girls are more likely to be dissatisfied with their shape and weight, even if they are very healthy and balanced from this (Sameer 2011). For example, with the support of Photoshop technologies, the photos on Facebook are probably more attractive than the real life. This creates pressures on teen girls try to keep thei r appearances as perfect as the pictures on the internet. The revolution of social networking sites impacts strongly on the younger generations through changing their views about communications in a virtual world. One product of the mass media that is a big influence on the youth is music, which deeply affects the lifestyles of teenagers, the controlling of emotions and building up personality on people. In modern society, there are many technologies such as iPhone, iPod which can effectively connect the youth to music where they go. It is believed that the young generations listen to music while they are eating, studying and sleeping. Therefore, music seems to play a special role in shaping their opinions and positions. The explosion of music videos on YouTube brings young people to a new fashion culture when they tend to copy images of their idols (Wixom 2013). For example, new fashion trends often approach the public through the superstars in their music videos. When the youth search and watch the videos on internet, they are easily attracted in styles of celebrities, so they try to dress or let their hair similarly to famous people and might think they look more attractively. Nowadays, the re are young teenagers develop their music career in that way they produce videos, update them on online websites to share with people. If the music products were successful, they could become famous people even after one day. Actually they have made career decisions based on factors of the mass media. Consequently, benefits of music are inspiring and creating a lot of opportunities for the youth to make their dreams come true (Wixom 2013). Furthermore, the lyrics on music songs strongly influence on minds, emotions and behaviours of teenagers. The information on the internet is generally uncensored and young people also are supported by many search tools. Therefore, they can easily be impacted their spirit by the unconformable lyrics which can create rebellious tendencies or the early sexual awareness of young people (Holden 2014). For example, many songs are composed based on the love story and the events in real life. Although the messages on those songs might be given by the ind ividual views, but they still have a great power. Especially, when young children listen to music constantly, they generally tend to react and think as lyrics in songs. As a result, they are aware of the problems in society very soon and grow up faster than their real old. Although the influence of music to young people with both negative and positive, but it is gradually becoming one of the determinants of behaviour and thinking of the younger generations. In conclusion, modern society has created a major mass media revolution with the help of the availability of all the new technologies available such as television, magazine, music, social media and the internet. This has given the mass media an enormous power in influencing the perceptions and lifestyles of the younger people. It could even be stated that the perceptions and lifestyles of the younger generations are mostly influenced by the information provided by the many forms of media, as they search based all decisions from the information provided on the internet. The internet is used for scientific information, entertainment and connecting friends. The ideas and views from the internet are usually derived from the masses, so they have both positive and negative, but young people are given the choice to see and believe what is of value to them. Therefore, they should choose the most appropriate approach in order to get the best value that the mass media are contributing to human . All things as above have proven the mass media shape opinions and positions of youth. References American Psychological Association 2014, ‘The impact of food advertising on childhood obesity’, American Psychological Association, viewed 13 November 2014, http://www.apa.org/topics/kids-media/food.aspx Coleman, R 2008, ‘The becoming of bodies’, Feminist Media Studies, vol.8, no.2, pp.163-179, viewed 12 November 2014, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14680770801980547 Dakin, P 2014, ‘Social media affecting teens concepts of friendship, intimacy’, CBC news, 24 February, viewed 18 November 2014, http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/social-media-affecting-teens-concepts-of-friendship-intimacy-1.2543158 Harrington, S 2013, ‘Hey you, its all about me’, The Sydney Morning Heralb, 20 September, viewed 12 November 2014, http://www.smh.com.au/comment/hey-you-its-all-about-me-20130920-2u5fe.html Holden, M 2014, ‘The Influence of Pop Music on Teens in the US’, Global post, viewed 26 November 2014, http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/influence-pop-music-teens-17843.html Media Smart 2014, ‘Televisions Impact on Kids’, Media Smart, viewed 13 November 2014, http://mediasmarts.ca/television/televisions-impact-kids Pediatrics 2006, ‘Children, Adolescents, and Advertising’, Pediatrics, vol.118, no.6, pp.2563-2569, 01 December, viewed 18 November 2014, http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/118/6/2563.full Sameer, M 2011, ‘Impact Of Social Networking Sites On Youth’, Youth Ki Awaaz, 02 June, viewed 20 November 2014, http://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2011/06/social-networking-impact-youth/ Shah, A 2012, ‘Media and Advertising’, Global Issues, 04 March, viewed 15 November 2014, http://www.globalissues.org/article/160/media-and-advertising Vitelli, R 2013, ‘Television, Commercials, and Your Child’, Psychology Today, 22 July, viewed 17 November 2014, http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/media-spotlight/201307/television-commercials-and-your-child Wikipedia 2014, ‘Effects of advertising on teen body image’, Wikipedia, 24 November, viewed 24 November 2014, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_advertising_on_teen_body_image Wixom, R 2013, ‘The Influence of Music’, The Church of Jesus Christ of latter – day Saints, September, viewed 26 November 2014, https://www.lds.org/youth/article/the-influence-of-music?lang=eng

Flash! :: essays research papers

FLASH!   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On august 6, 1945 an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Thousands of people died instantly from the initial blast. Others died later because of flash burns and radiation sickness. Those who lived had to move away from their homes and toward the parade grounds and parks. Any doctors that were uninjured had to work nonstop all day and night mending wounds. Some people mysteriously die and others are unrecognizable because of the flash burns covering their bodies. The few people that had survived the blast had to try to put their lives back to normal. Homes had been destroyed and family members killed. Now new people had started moving into Hiroshima once news spread that is was safe.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The book Hiroshima was an enlightening view of what went on during the atomic blast and the days after. The part that sticks most in my mind was when Mr. Tanimoto was trying to help burn victims on the shore of the river. When he grabbed the one woman’s arm to pull her out to the boat he was using to transport injured people chunks of her skin slid right off. I could visualize the skin coming off because of a similar but not nearly as extreme of an experience. I had burned my arm on an oven rack and when I was wiping off my arm the skin peeled right off. As I read the section I could imagine a large piece of skin peeling off of a human hand and I thought that I would lose my dinner.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another thing that remained in my memory throughout the novel was that people put their beliefs before their injuries. Mr. Tanimoto mention that he was ashamed that he could walk when he saw all of the injured people lying about unable to move. Dr. Sasaki didn’t sleep for the first three days because he knew it would be wrong to. Amazingly though, the injured had no shame they walked naked with burns from head to toe and thought nothing of it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The bomb fell silently and as in struck the ground a bright flash lit the whole city. The residents who lived through couldn’t seem to realize what kind of bomb it was. Some thought it was a cluster of many bombs. Rumors spread that a plane that had flown over had sprayed gasoline all across the city. Another said that magnesium powder had been dropped and reacted to the power lines.

Unidentified Flying Objects: Fact or Fiction? :: essays papers

Unidentified Flying Objects: Fact or Fiction? Unidentified flying objects, or UFOs, as they're fondly called, are one of the century's most intriguing and controversial mysteries. Since ancient times, UFOs of all types have been accounted for. More today than ever, hundreds of thinkers, theologians, and scientists have tried to answer why there are or whether there aren't UFOs. According to some, the speculation that UFOs are alien spacecrafts from another world is an absurd and foolish proposal. Others vehemently disagree and assert that extraterrestrial life is not only possible, but such life forms may be superior, technologically advanced beings who visit our Earth regularly. Are these "flying saucers" a figment of our imagination? Or, are they a genuine reality we prefer to dismiss because we fear the scary truth that we are not the only master race? Are we hesitant because society dubs such "immature" psycho tantamount to subscribing to belief in ghosts? These are a few of the many pertinent UFO questions the mature individual must address. One of the most popular theories that support and explains the existence of alien beings is the ancient astronaut theory. This theory contains three main schools of thought. The first states that aliens bred with our primitive forebears thereby creating modern man. The second is quite similar. Aliens performed genetic engineering on apes thereby creating the Homo Sapiens and man's intelligence. The third, and least accepted, is that colonists from another galaxy came to Earth, mated with the primitives and established a high level of culture, before being destroyed by some natural catastrophe. And upon this catastrophe and destruction, we build and grow (Fitzgerald 1). Berossus, a Babylonian scholar, may have been the first astronaut historian. He said that " animals endowed with reason" bestowed the Sumerian culture before 3000 BCE. The Sumerians, along with their cultural inheritors, the Babylonians, never referred to such beings as gods. Rather they were depicted as "disgusting abominations," a description only deserved by uninvited alien visitors (2). One step further takes the astronaut theory and surmises that with it, we can understand the later religious cultures, such as the Hebrews who are thought to have borrowed much of Sumerian practice. Such religions and secret societies, with their elaborate and complicated rituals may actually be "preserving from a previous epoch fragments of an esoteric and little understood knowledge, just as the Egyptian, Hebrew, and Mayan priests guarded in their temples the inspired word of their self-possessed creators (3)." Alien originators may have set down certain

Aristotles Life Essay

Aristotle (384-322 BC) was a Greek philosopher, educator, and scientist, and was also one of the most influential thinkers in Western culture (World Book 663). Through his writings, Aristotle considered, summarized, criticized, and helped to further develop many of these traditions from which he had learned from Plato, his teacher. He was born in Stagira, and both of his parents died when he was a boy. His legal guardian named Proxenus raised him (World Book 663). At the age of 18 years of age, Aristotle entered Plato’s school in Athens called the Academy. When Plato died in 347 BC, Aristotle left the Academy to live with some of Plato’s disciples who were living with Hermeias. In 334 BC, he returned to Athens and founded a school called the Lyceum (World Book 663). His school, philosophy, and his followers were called peripatetic, which is Greek for walking. The reason for this name was because Aristotle did most of his teaching while he was walking with his students. After Alexander the Great’s death in 323 BC, Aristotle was charge with impiety by the Athenians, which was a similar crime that was brought upon another philosopher, Socrates. Worried that he would be set to death for this charge, Aristotle fled to the city of Chalcis. A year after his arrival in Chalcis, Aristotle died (World Book 663). Aristotle’s Physics Aristotle work on basically all of the basic known subjects (Math, Science, Literature, English, Ethic, etc†¦). He also made his contribution in the field of Physics and Metaphysics (means after physics). Aristotle’s Physics is composed of several books and each is broken up into different parts of physics. In Aristotle’s Physics, he thinks that natural objects are substances, and that they consist of both matter and form. Matter and form cannot be separated from one another (Internet). He goes on to explain that all substances have within each one of us, is the origin of our change and movement.

The PubMed Database

For the purposes of this literature search, the PubMed database that is available through the web Services was utilized. The focus of the research was stress and fatigue among medical students and the relationship between stress and depression. For this reason, the following five search terms were used: medical students, stress, fatigue, depression, burnout. Because of using these 4 search terms, 11 articles were found. The following provides a summary of information contained in those articles. Stress is a major issue among health care providers around the world. It affects their ability to provide care to those in need but affecting mostly medical students which leads them to fatigue. This problem really puts a lot of pressure on medical students leading to burnout which may result in depression. Therefore, there should be a mechanism to provide a better quality of life for medical students. The prevalence of various forms of distress have not been thoroughly studied among medical students. So, a survey was conducted in the united states to evaluate stress, burnout, depression, fatigue and other forms of stress in seven medical schools. Almost all the medical students have had some sort of distress in their academic life. As a result of that, their life quality will mostly be poorer than normal students. The severity of distress depends on how many stressors are present in students' life. Based on the survey, all forms of distress were independently associated with suicida l ideation or serious thoughts of dropping out on multivariable analysis [1]. There are a lot of various factors that can affect medical students some of which are self-related others are environmental-related. From my point of view, there are mainly two types of students. First, are the ones who are able to cope with stress and that is due to some reasons. One, they have a strong social environment where they get the support they need to pass through obstacles and get emotional care. Second, they do not need to take part time jobs in order to get money as their parents already provide them enough money.Last but not least, they have not been through serious life stressing situation as maybe losing one or both of their parents or family members which will contribute to their stability of life and not experiencing burnout. While on the other hand, there are the opposite kind of students where they do not have stable social environments, which may lead to a rough stressful life. And also, they may need to manage their own selves in order to get money and that can be very stressful. Furthermore, they would be more likely to experience fatigue and have lower quality of life. Similar to what is written there was a study done in five institutions in the united states where they have done surveys to this matter to 1321 medical students. Results shown that, resilient students were less likely to experience depression, had a higher quality of life, were less likely to be employed, had experienced fewer stressful life events, reported higher levels of social support, perceived their learning climate more positively and experienced less stress and fatigue [2]. 1. Dyrbye LN, Harper W, Durning SJ, Moutier C, Thomas MR, Massie Jr, et al. Patterns of distress in US medical students. [Internet]. Medical teacher. U.S. National Library of Medicine; 2. Dyrbye LN, Power DV, Massie FS, Eacker A, Harper W, Thomas MR, et al. Factors associated with resilience to and recovery from burnout: a prospective, multi-institutional study of US medical students. [Internet]. Medical education. U.S. National Library of Medicine; 2010

Is The Secret Sharer an appropriate title for this short story? Essay

1. Is The Secret Sharer an appropriate title for this short story? Support your ideas with detail from the text. In The Secret Sharer, a captain escapes his ship where he was held captive after murdering a member of the crew. He swims to another ship and admits the whole truth to the captain. Both captains have bad relationships with their crew and they empathise with each other. Legatt, who came from the other ship, is to be kept secret from the crew as his life depends on it. They have to keep quiet and whisper. An intense relationship is built up between the two of them. The captain always refers to Legatt as my â€Å"other self†, â€Å"my double† or â€Å"my second self†. This indicates that they belong together such as lovers. It implies that they are one person and are bound together. Legatt tells the captain immediately that he just killed a man and the captain just accepts it without question. He understands why he did it. They trust each other totally. Between them they know everything about each other, they knew each other before their eyes met. For Legatt to expose himself to a complete stranger there would have to be a bond. It is a twisted love at first sight. Another aspect of the title’s secretively is brotherhood. The two captains conspire together like brothers. â€Å"Whispering side by side, with our dark heads together and our backs to the door, anybody bold enough to open it stealthily would have been treated to the uncanny sight of a double captain busy talking in whispers with his other self.† They both look alike and are conversing in whispers. They are even sitting the same way. Like two little twin brothers making up some plan, which will guarantee that they get into trouble. This comes before sharing a secret; this is the creation of a secret, which will only be between those two, so effectively they are sharing the secret. Legatts existence is so secret that the captain starts to doubt he even exists. He is so secret that he cannot exist. â€Å"An irresistible doubt of his existence flickered through my mind. Can it be, I asked myself, that he is not visible to other eyes than mine?† He begins to think that Legatt is so secret, that he is imagining him. This shows us that the relationship is so secret and fantastic, that he cannot believe it. Legatt is barely described; we know only that he has dark hair, is pale and resembles the captain. In the beginning he was glowing phosphorescently, which reminds us of ghost. So he is almost spirit like. This reflects the title in that the secrectness of his existence cannot be shared. The captain describes Legatt to be like himself, he is a mirror. The captain can understand Legatt instantly as if he were in his shoes. He shares his very soul with Legatt, which is so unreal he can’t believe it. It’s double secret, materialistically he cannot tell the crew and has to hide him, and spiritually because he has shared his heart with Legatt. In conclusion, â€Å"The Secret Sharer† is an appropriate title for this account. The title can be interpreted into different meanings all of which can be associated directly to the story. The title focuses wholly on the relationship between the captain and Legatt.

Teaching Strategies

The book â€Å"Dharma Punx† was written by Noah Levine, the son of bestselling author and Buddhist teacher Stephen Levine. As a writer, he uses a natural, conversational and empathic voice to narrate his story in order to reach out to others who have gone through the same ordeal as he did.This book, which was written in a very thorough narrative serves more or less as his autobiography, focusing primarily on what would probably the most turbulent moments of this life when drifted from one â€Å"movement† to another, from punk rock to drugs and alcohol which nearly sent his life crashing down to the point of self-destruction or suicide which he attempted several times, hence the title of the first chapter is â€Å"Suicide Solution† (Levine, 2003, p. 1).The starting point of Levine's story was at the detention facility where he was confined and at the time, he was going through withdrawal symptoms as the adverse effects of drugs and alcohol were being flushed out o f his system. It was at this point that he would begin to retell his tale on how he got into that situation. Born in 1971, his parents hailed from the â€Å"hippies† generation of the 1960's where they revolted against the establishment at the height of the Vietnam War and one of their mantras was â€Å"Make Love, Not War!† as well as the overflowing freedom of expression of their generation that also indulged in free drugs and sexual promiscuity as well, thereby making the term â€Å"psychedelic† an understatement for their generation that turned to drugs as a way to escape a harsh, brutal and cynical reality they wanted to repudiate.They were trying to create their own brand of utopia but somehow, this would not be perfect as well, and this would be reflected in Levine's own family.  In his childhood years in the late 1970s and early '80s, Levine loved to skateboard but partly out of curiosity and influence, he got hooked into punk rock and often watched pun k-rock concerts as well as looking the part of a punk rocker by the time he was in his teens. Punk rock was to his generation what the psychadelic â€Å"hippie† movement was to his parents. Levine said that the situation of his generation made them turn to this fad – like him, the youth of his generation had to cope with problems like broken homes, irresponsible parents who were either alcoholic or drug dependents; there was no responsible adult who could guide them.His parents had divorced by then and he would spend time with each of them, shuttling between their homes in California and New Mexico. Both his parents remarried but his mother's second marriage was fraught with trouble and the irony of that was she met her second husband in a meditation retreat while his father was able to move on and remarry a woman whom he truly loved and gave him a happier marriage (Levine, 2003, p. 5). However, without his â€Å"enlightened† father around to guide him, the youn ger Levine was susceptible to the temptations of the materialistic world.By the time he was six years old, he already began smoking marijuana and was also trying out other banned substances as well like cocaine. This also came hand in hand in partaking of alcohol which would stay with him for most of his youth. He was so addicted into drugs and alcohol that by the time he was in high school, he had become very violent, often getting into trouble ranging from brawls to vandalism that he was arrested several times for such behavior, something he appeared to have welcomed, owing to his punk rock influence, his own way of defying authority.He eventually dropped out of school and lived like a vagrant, often stealing to support his habit (Levine, 2003, pp. 21-24). In his recent detention in 1988, the point where he was at his very low that his road to â€Å"enlightenment† would begin. When his father visited him, he was the one who had set him on the path by encouraging him to try meditation (Levine, 2003, pp. 3-4). At first, Levine regarded Buddhist teachings as â€Å"bullshit† but the moment he made an effort to try it, he underwent a profound transformation.He began the 12-step program and started attending meditation sessions. He was eventually released and he started on a new path in life. Over the next few years, Levine worked hard on his spiritual growth, even practicing celibacy and taking a pilgrimage to the Far East in search of enlightenment and even meeting and learning from the Dalai Lama himself! He would eventually finish his studies by getting a college degree but he did not stop there.He went further and obtained a graduate degree in counseling psychology as well. He followed in his father's footsteps by also becoming a Buddhist teacher and of all the places where he would like to teach, he chose to be at the very same detention facility where he used to be remanded. Although he is a totally reformed and transformed individual, there i s one thing from Levine's past that he has not repudiated, his passion for punk rock. He still listens to punk rock, and still acts, looks and dresses the part.He still sports tattoos but the difference now is that his tattoos are Buddhist-inspired such as the lotus flower and Sanskrit inscriptions, making Levine a look-alike of Hollywood actor Vin Diesel famous for his role as agent â€Å"XXX† where he would also sport tattoos. One of the things Levine discovered about Buddhism is that it is very open-minded into tolerating anything that would compliment it. Buddhist teachings, particularly the Zen school of thought, say that if an individual can be one with that particular subject, that is also Buddhism.Levine himself will attest that punk rock, contrary to what conservative thinkers may think, is not anathema to society at all. This is, of course, looking at it from a Buddhist perspective. Other people tend to view punk rock as wild, violent and to a certain extent, destru ctive. As Levine would also admit, he turned to punk rock as a way of defying the status quo of his generation, much like his parents were part of the â€Å"hippie† movement as an expression of defiance of the status quo of their own generation as well (Levine, 2003, p.  34).The nice thing about Buddhism is that it has a way of channeling the excess energy away from the destructive path. If there was one other thing that Levine learned from his enlightenment, it is that death is not the answer to his problems when he was attempting to commit suicide. For most people, to take one's life is the way of the loser, notwithstanding the â€Å"samurai† concept of suicide where they would take their own lives to erase the stigma of the shame. It does not apply here and this can be interpreted in several ways.From the Hindu/Buddhist perspective, there is the concept of â€Å"karma† and reincarnation where one's conduct in the present life would have an influence on what will become of them in the next. While these beliefs recognize death (as a natural occurrence), it does not encourage people to commit suicide. Based on â€Å"karma,† the one who commits suicide might find himself or herself reincarnated in a much lower life form because of this and surely, no one would like to be reborn as an animal or a microscopic organism!In most beliefs, death is not the end, but rather the beginning of the next phase, provided it would be allowed to take its natural course. Committing suicide would disrupt the grand design for the individual in the universe. One notable aspect of Buddhist Dharma is the direction one's path will be, depending on the choices made. Levine's somewhat troubled past serve as the basis of his writings and teachings. â€Å"We all sort of have a different doorway to dharma or spiritual practice. Suffering is a doorway.For me it was the suffering of addiction, violence and crime which opened me at a young age, 17 years old. I w as incarcerated, looking at the rest of my life in prison and thought, ‘Maybe I will try dad's hippie meditation bullshit. ‘ Suffering opened me to the possibility of trying meditation. † (Levine, 2003, p. 246) All in all, â€Å"Dharma Punx† is not only an autobiography, it is a spiritual journey of one individual who has endured probably the worst life can throw at him, send him on the wrong direction but through corrective â€Å"enlightenment,† was able to bounce back and become spiritually whole again.And if the spirit is â€Å"whole,† the physical body will follow as well. Noah Levine went through hell and came out of it intact. If this were to be applied in international relations, one thing Buddhism can teach is violence and hatred is not the answer to the problems in the world. Buddhist teachings teach compassion and empathy and if nations would like to establish close relations with one another, they have to begin by establishing a spir itual connection which is first done by â€Å"letting go† of one's self.Buddhism teaches that the reason why there is so much suffering in this world is due to worldly desires. In international relations, the struggle for power often puts nations at odds with one another and this often leads to wars. Buddhism teaches the opposite, in letting go of these desires and to empathize. In doing do, not only are friendly relations established, but one's own interests will be met by others and one need not worry about it anymore.Finally, â€Å"Dharma Punx† is a very enlightening book which is highly recommended to anyone, not necessarily to those who went through the same ordeal as the author went. The author had been there and had done that yet he would not encourage anyone to go through it. Nevertheless, the book is very helpful for anyone who needs to be steered to the right direction of real happiness which is something no worldly goods can provide.

Tuesdays with Morrie Novel Analysis

3) He lived in the late 1970s. â€Å"It is the late spring of 1979†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (pg. 3) Morrie is a sociology professor at Brandeis University. â€Å"†¦the senior class of Brandeis University†¦my favorite professor†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (pg. 3) Morrie has a wife named Charlotte, and two sons named rob and Jon. â€Å"Morrie with his wife Charlotte; Morrie with his two sons rob†¦ and Jon. † (pg. 91) Mitch is about fifty one years old and lived in the 1990s. He is a sports journalist. â€Å"I earned a master’s degree in journalism and took the first job offered, as a sports writer. ’ (pg. 16) He has an older sister and a younger brother. â€Å"You have an older sister too right? † (pg. 94), â€Å"I do indeed have a younger brother†¦two-years-younger brother. † (pg. 95) Morrie’s fortune changed when he was diagnosed with ALS. â€Å"Morrie had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (pg. 7). ALS caused Morrie to â€Å"have trouble walking† (pg. ), and it caused him not to do a lot of other things like use the bathroom by himself. â€Å"Connie would wheel him to the toilet, then lift him from the chair and support him as he urinated into the beaker. † (pg. 49) His moral character also changed because he said, â€Å"Now that I’m suffering, I feel closer to people who suffer than I ever did before. † (pg. 50) Mitch’s fortune changes when the newspaper he works for goes on strike, â€Å"†¦the unions at my newspaper had gone on strike. † (pg. 44) His moral character also changes because Morrie â€Å"finally made him cry†. pg. 186). Mitch’s knowledge changes because he learns that â€Å"offering others what you have to give† will give you satisfaction. (pg. 126). He also learns how to find a meaningful life by â€Å"devoting yourself to loving others, devoting yourself to your community around you, and devoting yourself to something that gives you purpose and meaning. (pg. 127) I think that Morrie is a round character because we see different sides of him. We see a very emotional side like on page 185 when it says, â€Å"His eyes ot small, and then he cried†¦Ã¢â‚¬  we also see a carefree side like on page 5 when it says, â€Å"He would close his eyes and with a blissful smile begin to move to his own sense of rhythm. † I also think he is a static character because his personality, morals, or feelings didn’t change. I think Mitch is also a round character because we see different sides of him. We see a tough side on page 30 when it says, â€Å"I wear old gray sweatshirts and box in the local gym and walk around with an unlit cigarette in my mouth†¦Ã¢â‚¬  We see an emotional side on page 186 when Morrie finally makes him cry. I think Mitch is a dynamic character because in the beginning of the story Mitch is more concentrated on his work. â€Å"In a few years, I was not only penning columns. I was writing sports books, doing radio shows, and appearing regularly on TV†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (pg. 16) Then in the middle of the story he didn’t concentrate on work because he went to visit Morrie every Tuesday. I think the most important lesson Morrie taught me was to appreciate everyday in every way. Morrie said, â€Å"The loving relationships we have, the universe around us, we take these things for granted. (pg. 84) After reading this book I truly do realize that I take things for granted. I also think â€Å"detachment† really helped me. Morrie said, â€Å"Detachment doesn’t mean you don’t let the experience penetrate you. On the contrary, you let it penetrate you fully. That’s how you let it go†. (pg. 103) I think Morrie is saying that you should feel one emotion for a sho rt period of time then let it go so you can experience another one. The first lesson to appreciate everyday in every way relates to the world. I think it relates to the world because like Morrie said, â€Å"We are too involved in materialistic things, and they don’t satisfy us. † (pg. 84) By concentrating on materialistic things, we don’t realize the love of our family and the world around us. I think the lesson â€Å"detachment† also relates to our world. Everyday we see and hear people talking about something that happened a long time ago, and they don’t experience another emotion because they are stuck on that one. Tuesdays with Morrie Novel Analysis 3) He lived in the late 1970s. â€Å"It is the late spring of 1979†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (pg. 3) Morrie is a sociology professor at Brandeis University. â€Å"†¦the senior class of Brandeis University†¦my favorite professor†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (pg. 3) Morrie has a wife named Charlotte, and two sons named rob and Jon. â€Å"Morrie with his wife Charlotte; Morrie with his two sons rob†¦ and Jon. † (pg. 91) Mitch is about fifty one years old and lived in the 1990s. He is a sports journalist. â€Å"I earned a master’s degree in journalism and took the first job offered, as a sports writer. ’ (pg. 16) He has an older sister and a younger brother. â€Å"You have an older sister too right? † (pg. 94), â€Å"I do indeed have a younger brother†¦two-years-younger brother. † (pg. 95) Morrie’s fortune changed when he was diagnosed with ALS. â€Å"Morrie had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (pg. 7). ALS caused Morrie to â€Å"have trouble walking† (pg. ), and it caused him not to do a lot of other things like use the bathroom by himself. â€Å"Connie would wheel him to the toilet, then lift him from the chair and support him as he urinated into the beaker. † (pg. 49) His moral character also changed because he said, â€Å"Now that I’m suffering, I feel closer to people who suffer than I ever did before. † (pg. 50) Mitch’s fortune changes when the newspaper he works for goes on strike, â€Å"†¦the unions at my newspaper had gone on strike. † (pg. 44) His moral character also changes because Morrie â€Å"finally made him cry†. pg. 186). Mitch’s knowledge changes because he learns that â€Å"offering others what you have to give† will give you satisfaction. (pg. 126). He also learns how to find a meaningful life by â€Å"devoting yourself to loving others, devoting yourself to your community around you, and devoting yourself to something that gives you purpose and meaning. (pg. 127) I think that Morrie is a round character because we see different sides of him. We see a very emotional side like on page 185 when it says, â€Å"His eyes ot small, and then he cried†¦Ã¢â‚¬  we also see a carefree side like on page 5 when it says, â€Å"He would close his eyes and with a blissful smile begin to move to his own sense of rhythm. † I also think he is a static character because his personality, morals, or feelings didn’t change. I think Mitch is also a round character because we see different sides of him. We see a tough side on page 30 when it says, â€Å"I wear old gray sweatshirts and box in the local gym and walk around with an unlit cigarette in my mouth†¦Ã¢â‚¬  We see an emotional side on page 186 when Morrie finally makes him cry. I think Mitch is a dynamic character because in the beginning of the story Mitch is more concentrated on his work. â€Å"In a few years, I was not only penning columns. I was writing sports books, doing radio shows, and appearing regularly on TV†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (pg. 16) Then in the middle of the story he didn’t concentrate on work because he went to visit Morrie every Tuesday. I think the most important lesson Morrie taught me was to appreciate everyday in every way. Morrie said, â€Å"The loving relationships we have, the universe around us, we take these things for granted. (pg. 84) After reading this book I truly do realize that I take things for granted. I also think â€Å"detachment† really helped me. Morrie said, â€Å"Detachment doesn’t mean you don’t let the experience penetrate you. On the contrary, you let it penetrate you fully. That’s how you let it go†. (pg. 103) I think Morrie is saying that you should feel one emotion for a sho rt period of time then let it go so you can experience another one. The first lesson to appreciate everyday in every way relates to the world. I think it relates to the world because like Morrie said, â€Å"We are too involved in materialistic things, and they don’t satisfy us. † (pg. 84) By concentrating on materialistic things, we don’t realize the love of our family and the world around us. I think the lesson â€Å"detachment† also relates to our world. Everyday we see and hear people talking about something that happened a long time ago, and they don’t experience another emotion because they are stuck on that one.

African Americans 1877 to Present Research Paper

African Americans 1877 to Present - Research Paper Example The Compromise of 1877 occurred when the Democrats agreed they would not block Hayes victory as long as the Republicans removed their federal troops from the South. Louisiana, South Carolina, and Florida became democratic states as a result, and it was the end of the reconstruction era. The Southern white people resulted in violence and intimidation against African Americans because of the end of the reconstruction period. Blacks were kept from exercising their democratic right to voting and white supremacy was dominant in the area. There were many Supreme Court decisions that limited the reconstruction amendment laws and were against the Black community (Campbell & Fraser, 2008). The 14th and 15th Amendments give African Americans the right to be American citizens and protect them using the constitution. They were also not allowed to vote. Southern Democrats had made a promise to the government to protect the rights of the Black people, but they did not honor the promises. The feder al government stops interfered in the affairs of the South, which led to discontent among the Black community, who were not allowed to vote in any election. The results of the Reconstruction era led to the massive exodus of African Americans from the South and many migrated to Kansas. The African Americans, however, got hope as the first Black women’s college open in 1881, the Spelman College. There is also the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute that began in the same year in Alabama. It was one of the few Institutes for higher learning for the African Americans. In 1982, the American Colonization Society that founded Monrovia in 1847, the present-day Liberia continued with the movement of African Americans to Liberia. The leader of the Society Robert Finley believes the migration of African Americans back to Africa would be a solution to the problems they were encountering in America. More than twelve thousand slaves were successfully relocated

Renting an Apartment Is a Better Option than Buying a House Essay

Renting an Apartment Is a Better Option than Buying a House - Essay Example Correct economic decisions are very essential in the long run and can prove to be beneficial. One such economic decision relates to the choice with regard to renting an apartment or purchasing a house. This choice is an extremely important decision that needs to be taken with care as both renting an apartment and buying a house have their own positive points as well as drawbacks. There are supporters of both these decisions with a few people considering renting as a better option whereas the other group believes that buying is a much wiser decision. Thus, it can be said that renting and buying have their own benefits and drawbacks and a decision needs to be based according to personal needs and the option which serves as a more profitable settlement for the person. Renting is basically a process in which a person rents a house or an apartment for a living but does not have any ownership rights over the house. He has an obligation towards the landlord of a paying a fixed amount to him every month according to the joint decision taken by them. Renting can be considered to be a good option for people who choose to shift every now and then. This is because a person can easily leave a rented house and move to another city rather than having the burden of actually going through the process of selling his house after a few months. Thus it is argued that renting is the best option for people who do not wish to stay in one place for more than a period of two years (Rockwell Publishing Co. 2006, Law 2003). According to Thomas Z. Lys who is a professor of accounting at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, "If you believe you'll be moving in the next four or five years, I'd rent." The New York Times carried out a survey in this regard and provided for the fact that owing to the rise in the prices of buying a house, renting is a very suitable option considering the economic factors. The analysis identified very important facts that renting an apartment w as a better and reasonable option if considered from the financial point of view.  

Dossier regarding a recent russian contemporary affair Essay

Dossier regarding a recent russian contemporary affair - Essay Example The paper focused on the notion that sentencing was executed with a personal grudge from the president Putin himself and also revealed the picture of pro-â€Å"Pussy Riot† case. But it also reflected a bit of criticism of the case in an indirect manner supporting the convicted by stating that they have performed an act of hooliganism which further reflects the strictness of the Russian government in this case (Pussy Riot members jailed for two years for hooliganism, 2012). In the article â€Å"Anti-Putin Stunt Earns Punk Band Two Years in Jail† published in August 2012 on NY Times also criticized sentencing of the Pussy Riot Case and highlighted on the global reactions in favor of the case. Giving the instance of the performance of the band members and their subsequent conviction the report stated that it was a kind of forced sentencing on the alleged persons. The report also highlighted that the members of the band had no intentions of hurting the Orthodox sentiments b ut their performance was a symbol of protest against the third time election of Putin as the President through manipulation and loosening the attributes of democracy (Herszenhorn, 2012). The convicted were also not given proper flexibilities in defending themselves. In the article â€Å"History Repeated Itself as Farce in 2012† from Moscow times published in 7th January 2013 by journalist Roland Oliphant also reflects its sympathy for the members of Pussy and blames the Russian President as a move to curb down the opposition and also making its authority over the opposition and establishing anti democratic aura but the report also directs that western media have exaggerated the issue and the event can occur in the west as well (Oliphant, 2013). 3. Vladimir Putin and controversy Vladimir Putin in Russia after serving a term from 1999 to 2008 in Russia as the Prime Minister and President was also re elected as the President of Russia in 2012 (White, 2011, p.175). Although Russi a follows a pure democratic regime but the presidential election was not a favorable outcome for a large fraction of people in Russia. Huge constraints have come from the opposition political parties in Russia like that of People’s Freedom Party and Republic Party of Russia with the notion that Putin has manipulated the votes in his favor and have jeopardized the crux of democracy. On the eve of the Presidential election, there were military troops in the streets and there were more than hundred of arrests. One of the opposition leaders stated that, â€Å"If it was a free election, why have they flooded the entire city of troops? They fear us† (Stewart and Palmer, 2012). On the eve of Presidential election and his victory, Putin was found shading tears. The protestors criticized this action of the president by stating that this tear was seen for the first time in Putin’s eyes after gaining victory in the elections by a share of 64 per cent votes. Anti Putin camp aigner Ilya yashin stated that, ‘It is the first time within the last 12 years we saw the tears of the dictator’