With reference to one specific area of the media discuss the ways it may be termed popular culture :: essays papers

With reference to one specific area of the media discuss the ways it may be termed habitual culture For this essay I am going to be studying the best-selling(predicate) animated TV series The Simpsons and saying wherefore I think that it is a classic example of popular culture texts. The programme is twenty-five minute animation about a family at the bunghole of the social ladder, the Simpsons. Revolving around the central family the show takes a sideways look at the life of ordinary American people. The family has five main members Homer the find of the family is a blue-collar worker at the local nuclear power station. Marge the m opposite is a housewife who stays at home any day, then there are the children. Bart (a mischievous prankster) and Lisa (school swat) are pre-teens and lastly there is baby Maggy who doesnt do that much at all. Every workweek the family get into various and amusing scrapes and generally carry out the activities that a working class family are supposed to do. There are many concomitantors that could categorise The Simpsons as being popular culture, one of them being its intertexuality. The show makes great use of both parody and pastiche as a reference to other popular culture texts such as Star Wars, Psycho and the James Bond films. The programme also features guest appearances by stars of popular culture, such as actors, sports personalities and musicians. Very few people in these roles could be classed as examples of high culture. The other major factor in The Simpsons being termed popular culture is the fact that the show is in animated form. No form of animation has ever been seen as a worthy piece of culture by academics and those who decide what is hearty and what is not.To establish just why The Simpsons can be termed as popular culture we have to define just what it is that we mean by the phrase popular culture. To put it in its most simple form popular culture can be anything that isnt categorised as high cu lture. Academics and members of authentic social groups look down on anything termed popular culture as dumbed down entertainment for the masses and something that isnt worthy of reading. These people attack popular culture as being vulgar and brash, they say its texts are insignificant culturally and that they are only superficial forms of entertainment.

Techniques to Curb Dental Anxiety Essay -- Dentist Dentistry Papers

Techniques to Curb Dental dread The distinctive sound in the dentists patch coupled with its slightly sweet antiseptic smell has long been a source of concern for many people. implore almost anyone and they will tell you stories some(prenominal) like the one of my grandmother, who was never given treatment for her ail. Instead, she was treated only with silver nitrate on the decompose atomic number 18as to deaden the nerve endings. However this did not heal the decay. Perhaps instead they would tell of a time when their dentist, who had just received his clean high-speed drill, insisted that at that place was no need for Novocaine. Along with new problems such as dentists infecting their patients with HIV, the negative side of dentistry has increasingly been in the earth eye. Upon hearing stories similar to these, the public has been calling for their dental visits to become safe, painless, and silly ones. In a study done by USA Today (1999), it was found that dentists a re trying to seduce forty million frightened Americans vertebral column into the dentists chair (p. 1). Of these forty million persons, many of them are so afraid of the dentist that they chronically schedule and lengthen dental care until their level of pain is so high, they must go regardless of fear. Forty million Americans are not wrong. There is a practiced problem with the way they have been, or are being treated in the dentists chair. While there are many very good grieve dentists in the United States, there are a number of dentists whose philosophy is to treat only the tooth and make their money (Dr. Knight, personal conversation, treat 28, 1999). Many dentists now are concerned with treating dental anxiety and there are three basic areas these dentists are improving to redu... ... (1992). Practical clinical hypnosis Techniques and applications.New York Lexington Books.Millennium. (1999, March 28). Biolase Technology Online product info. forthcoming http//www.biolas e.com/htmls/products/millennium.html Morrison, C. and Netting, J. (1999, March). Whats new. touristed Science, 24.Quarnstrom, F. (1996, December). Sedation of phobic dental patients with an emphasis on the use of oral triazloam 58 paragraphs. Priory Lodge Education Limited Online. Available http//www.priory.com/den/halcion1.htmRogers, F. (1989). Going to the dentist. New York G. P. Putnams Sons.Rom, M. C. (1997). fateful extraction. San Francisco Jossey-Bass. Stevenson, R. B. (1998). Ethics and patient initiative. JADA, 129, 414.Wynbrandt, J. (1998). The excruciating history of dentistry. New York St. Martins Press. Techniques to Curb Dental Anxiety Essay -- Dentist Dentistry PapersTechniques to Curb Dental Anxiety The distinctive sound in the dentists office coupled with its slightly sweet antiseptic smell has long been a source of anxiety for many people. Ask almost anyone and they will tell you stories much like the one of my grandmother, who was never given tre atment for her pain. Instead, she was treated only with silver nitrate on the decayed areas to deaden the nerve endings. However this did not heal the decay. Perhaps instead they would tell of a time when their dentist, who had just received his new high-speed drill, insisted that there was no need for Novocaine. Along with new problems such as dentists infecting their patients with HIV, the negative side of dentistry has increasingly been in the public eye. Upon hearing stories similar to these, the public has been calling for their dental visits to become safe, painless, and carefree ones. In a study done by USA Today (1999), it was found that dentists are trying to coax forty million frightened Americans back into the dentists chair (p. 1). Of these forty million persons, many of them are so afraid of the dentist that they chronically schedule and postpone dental care until their level of pain is so high, they must go regardless of fear. Forty million Americans are not wrong. The re is a serious problem with the way they have been, or are being treated in the dentists chair. While there are many very good compassionate dentists in the United States, there are a number of dentists whose philosophy is to treat only the tooth and make their money (Dr. Knight, personal conversation, March 28, 1999). Many dentists today are concerned with treating dental anxiety and there are three basic areas these dentists are improving to redu... ... (1992). Practical clinical hypnosis Techniques and applications.New York Lexington Books.Millennium. (1999, March 28). Biolase Technology Online product info. Available http//www.biolase.com/htmls/products/millennium.html Morrison, C. and Netting, J. (1999, March). Whats new. Popular Science, 24.Quarnstrom, F. (1996, December). Sedation of phobic dental patients with an emphasis on the use of oral triazloam 58 paragraphs. Priory Lodge Education Limited Online. Available http//www.priory.com/den/halcion1.htmRogers, F. (1989). Goin g to the dentist. New York G. P. Putnams Sons.Rom, M. C. (1997). Fatal extraction. San Francisco Jossey-Bass. Stevenson, R. B. (1998). Ethics and patient initiative. JADA, 129, 414.Wynbrandt, J. (1998). The excruciating history of dentistry. New York St. Martins Press.

Arabs in the Media: Victim or Villain? Essay example -- Argumentative

Arabs in the Media Victim or Villain? For decades, the media portrayal of the Arab culture and Islam has contributed to a skewed public opinion in America. Looking tight at the news coverage concerning the Middle East and the United States, there is an inherent media bias against Arabs and Muslims as foreign threats to domestic security. Stephen Franklin argues that Islamic nations are very much portrayed in news reports as uniformly intolerant and anti-democratic (Franklin 17). Unfortunately, such coverage has contributed to the public and government misconceptions of all Arabs and Muslims as terrorists. According to Fawaz Gerges, terrorism has emerged as one of the most important political issues in the United States...linking it to Islamic militancy... (Gerges 79). Moreover, the medias skewed depiction of the Arabs and Muslims has perpetuated countless stereotypes that undoubtedly affect the American opinion. These stereotypes and misconceptions of the Arabs and Muslims clearl y specify a media bias provoked by ignorance and ethnocentricity. The elite medias role in the portrayal of the Arab culture and Islam following the Oklahoma City bombing has had adetrimental effect on Americas public opinion, investigation proceedings, and government action. Once word of the Oklahoma City bombing reached the Associated Press and major American publications, journalists were quick to point the finger of misdeed at Muslim fundamentalism. The Western perspective of the Middle East is a dark one. The Muslims are looked at as ruthless and barbaric people, inclined to deplete and destroy. Steven Emerson, a so-called expert featured on CBS Evening News, suggested that there must be some inherent cultural trait behind... ...people.virginia.edu/sy5u/Bias.html Works Cited Bazzi, Mohamad. The Arab Menace, The Progressive. Vol 59, n8. haughty 1995. P40. Franklin, Stephen. Covering the World of Muslims, Columbia Journalism Review. Vol 33, Iss 5. Jan 1995. p17 Gerges, F awaz A. Islam and Muslims in the Mind of America Influences on the Making of US Policy, Journal of Palestine Studies. Vol XXVI, no2. Winter 1997, p68-77. Hernandez, Debra Gersh. sacred Stereotyping By The Media, Editor & Publisher. Vol 117, Iss 36. 3 Sept 1994. p16-17. Lacayo, Richard. How Safe is Safe?. Time. 1 May 1995. p68-72. Rosewicz, Barbara. Terrorism Hits Home US Building Bombed Dead Include Children. The fence Street Journal. 20 April 1995. A1, A6 . Thomas, Pierre and Ann Devroy. Clinton Condemns Evil Cowards for Blast. The Washington Post. 20 April 1995. A1, A24.

Jane Addams and the Progressive Movement Essay -- Jane Addams Feminism

Jane Addams and the Progressive MovementWorks Cited Not IncludedJane Addams is recognized as a social and governmental pioneer for women in America. In her biography, which later on revealed her experiences in Hull House, she demonstrates her altruistic personality, which nurtured the poor and pushed for social reforms. Although many of Addams ideas were considered radical for her time, she provided women with a socially acceptable way to participate in both political and social change. She defied the proto typical middle class women by integrating the line that separated private and political life. Within these walls of the settlement house, Addams redefined the idea of ?separate spheres,? and with stern determination, she separated herself from the domestic chores that woman were confined to during the later half of the nineteenth century which led to the twentieth one. During the late nineteenth century, the notion of ?separate spheres? order that the women?s world was limited to the home, taking care of domestic concerns. Women were considered to be in the private sphere of caller. Men on the other hand were charge the role of the public sphere, consisting in the participation of politics, law and economics. Women in the meantime were to preserve religious and moral ideals within the home, placing children on the proper path spot applying valuable influence on men. The idea was that the typical middle class woman would teach children middle class values so that they too allow enjoy the luxuries and benefits in the future that the middle class has to offer (Lecture, 10/17). One can argue that Jane Addams did comply with the ideal middle class women, that she remained in ?her sphere? of society. This can mos... ...the stereotypical idea of the man as the provider and leader of the typical home, women were free to run their lives as they felt, and not as society entailed them to do. It provided women experience in life that reached over to the public realm. The ?separate spheres? did not exist in Addams world her progressive stance enabled many workers to benefit. Addams envisioned a world that did not discriminate based on one?s gender, and her commitment into the ?public realm? had tremendous impact. Child labor ceased, women won the eight-hour workday, and everyone enjoyed to a greater extent benefits and improved working conditions. Jane Addams established the path for future women to take as well, which led to women?s suffrage, and eventually equal pay and mutual respect. She was not your typical middle class woman she was a reformer that changed the way America functioned forever.

The Roswell Incident Essay -- essays research papers

The Roswell Incident Fact, Fiction or Military C all over Up?Some time in July of 1947, a mysterious flying object zigzagged across the skies of New Mexico. Within twenty-four hours the object disappeared from radar just as mysteriously as it had appeared. It was last seen in a small town in the middle of the Arizona desert, its name, Roswell.The Roswell incident is one of the most publicise and well-known accounts of a possible UFO crash in the world. Perhaps the greatest evidence that a UFO did indeed crash near Roswell, is the replete(p) scale military cover up that took place after the crash. This along with numerous eyewitness accounts of the crash site, prove that what ever happened in the summer of 1947, was for certain not a normal occurrence.The story begins on Tuesday July 1, 1947, when one Steven Mackenzie, who was stationed in Roswell at the time, was uniform to track an unknown flying object. By Wednesday the object was over Roswell. On Thursday afternoon officials from Roswell were flown in to observe the activity. Then on Friday the object completely disappeared from radar and was thought to have crashed. On Saturday July 5th a rancher, by the name of William Mac Brazel, discovered the wreckage on his ranch a few miles outside Roswell. Brazel reported the detritus to the local sheriff, Gorge A. Wilcox, who then in Mirabile 2turn reported it to military officials. Major Jesse A. Marcel was shown some of the debris by Brazel. Marcel returned to the base to consult with his superiors and is quoted as having said, something unusual had occurred (Dudley 31). The debris was soon removed from Brazels ranch and a land and air search was conducted by the military.Early Thursday morning Marcel was authorized to declare this press releaseThe many rumors regarding the flying disc became a reality yesterday when the intelligence office of the 509th Bomb Group of the Eighth Air eviscerate Roswell soldiery Air Field, was fortunate enough to gain possess ion of a disc through the co-operation of one of the local ranchers and the sheriffs office of Chaves county...It was inspected at the Roswell Army Air Field and subsequently loaned by Major Marcel to higher headquarters. (qtd. in Berlitz 24)These two small paragraphs quickly made their way aroun... ...what they thought was an unknown quantity ship, but alien bodies as well. Among these is Lt. Col. Albert L. Duran, who admitted seeing Mirabile 4small bodies and Sgt. Melvin E. Brown, who told his family that he had helped transport the bodies to a hanger in Roswell. The bodies were most often described as little than human(Dudley 35) with large heads and eyes(Dudley 36) Finally, in 1997, the US military admitted to lying about the object being a weather balloon. Instead they claim that the wreckage was persona of a top-secret experiment(Mitton 11) involving some sort of balloon. Steve MacKenzies response, if the object he tracked had been a weather balloon, secret or not, his sup eriors would have ordered him to ignore it.(Dudley 35)Whether or not the Roswell incident truly involved a UFO remains unclear. How ever, the military cover-up only served to fuel the fire of our imaginations. affaire continues to grow, as questions remain unanswered. Even Bill Clinton has been quoted as saying If the United States Air Force did recover alien bodies, they didnt tell me about it either, and I want to know(qtd. in Wright 105).

The Roswell Incident Essay -- essays research papers

The Roswell Incident Fact, Fiction or Military Cover Up?Some cadence in July of 1947, a mysterious flying object zigzagged across the skies of New Mexico. Within twenty-four hours the object disappeared from radar just as mysteriously as it had appeared. It was last seen in a small town in the middle of the Arizona desert, its progress to, Roswell.The Roswell incident is one of the most publicized and well- hold outn accounts of a possible UFO crash in the world. Perhaps the greatest evidence that a UFO did indeed crash near Roswell, is the wide scale array cover up that took place after the crash. This along with numerous eyewitness accounts of the crash site, prove that what ever happened in the summer of 1947, was certainly not a normal occurrence.The story begins on Tuesday July 1, 1947, when one Steven Mackenzie, who was stationed in Roswell at the time, was ordered to track an unknown flying object. By Wednesday the object was over Roswell. On atomic number 90 afternoon of ficials from Roswell were flown in to observe the activity. Then on Friday the object completely disappeared from radar and was thought to have crashed. On Saturday July 5th a rancher, by the name of William Mac Brazel, discovered the wreckage on his ranch a few miles outside Roswell. Brazel reported the debris to the local sheriff, Gorge A. Wilcox, who then in Mirabile 2 unloosen reported it to military officials. Major Jesse A. Marcel was shown some of the debris by Brazel. Marcel returned to the base to consult with his superiors and is quoted as having said, something unusual had occurred (Dudley 31). The debris was soon distant from Brazels ranch and a land and air search was conducted by the military.Early Thursday morning Marcel was authorized to give this press outpouringThe many rumors regarding the flying disc became a reality yesterday when the intelligence office of the 509th Bomb Group of the Eighth atmosphere Force Roswell Army Air knowledge domain, was fortunate e nough to gain possession of a disc through the co-operation of one of the local ranchers and the sheriffs office of Chaves county...It was inspected at the Roswell Army Air Field and subsequently loaned by Major Marcel to higher headquarters. (qtd. in Berlitz 24)These two small paragraphs quickly made their way aroun... ...what they thought was an unknown quantity ship, but alien bodies as well. Among these is Lt. Col. Albert L. Duran, who admitted seeing Mirabile 4small bodies and Sgt. Melvin E. Brown, who told his family that he had helped transport the bodies to a hanger in Roswell. The bodies were most often described as smaller than human(Dudley 35) with boastfully heads and eyes(Dudley 36) Finally, in 1997, the US military admitted to lying about the object being a weather balloon. Instead they claim that the wreckage was part of a classified experiment(Mitton 11) involving some sort of balloon. Steve MacKenzies response, if the object he tracked had been a weather balloon , secret or not, his superiors would have ordered him to ignore it.(Dudley 35)Whether or not the Roswell incident truly involved a UFO awaits unclear. How ever, the military cover-up only served to fuel the fire of our imaginations. Interest continues to grow, as questions remain unanswered. Even Bill Clinton has been quoted as saying If the United States Air Force did recover alien bodies, they didnt tell me about it either, and I want to know(qtd. in Wright 105).

Home Is Where the Heart Is Essay

Some say understructure is where the heart is. Home can be everything to some. Home is their safe comfort place they have in liveliness sentence. Home determines a sense of ones identity. One song called The Youngest Daughter by Cathy Song involves characters experiencing conflicting situations between the demands of their home and identity. One might think that this poem is simply just about buzz offs versus girls however, this poem evokes a broader sense meaning that daughters are tear between any pulling away or pulling closer to home.In one sense, the daughter in this poem is frustrated with her accepted situation and aspires to do more with her life, rather than devote her time doing what her mother thinks she should be doing. despite this feeling, she knows she should be caring for her sick mother. The role she has in her home has conflicting messages. Using the elements of sprightliness, memoir poem, and word choice, the poem can be explicated to show how it d raws and resolves the meaning of conflict between mothers and daughters. The Youngest Daughter utilizes the narrative type poem, which helps create and resolve the conflict in the poem.The main conflict in this poem is that the daughter has to choose between obligations and desires, while finding her own role in her home. A narrative poem tells a story, and this poem tells a story about a daughter taking knead out of her elderly mother. The poem is about what the daughters daily life is akin. This shows the obligations class of her life. The first sentence of the poem is the sky has been dark for many years. This implies that everything that has been going on with her taking electric charge of her mother has been going on for many years.Since her mother became ill, it has been the daughters obligation to take care of her. This obligation is based on cultural expectations. In many cultures, children are expected to take care of their parents once they age. The poem is organize d into stanzas that are associated with a certain part of the story. One stanza describes what has been going on lately. Another is about this morning. The last stanza is about what goes on in the afternoons. Through the narrative type poem, the daughter is able to express the feeling that her identity is fundamentally taking care of her mother.This identity is also her role in the family. This role limits her own self-identity. Because she is busy caring for her mother, she is unable to develop a sense of self. She is torn between two things growing away from her mother, and pulling closer to her mother. She knows she has to take care of her, so that aspect makes her seem to pull closer to her mother. Contrary to that, this daughter is a grown woman, and she has a very limited and conflicted life. Her life is devoted to the mother. This is seen by the story of the poem.She wants to grow apart from her mother and do things in her life that interest her. The reader can see that the daughter wants to escape this whole situation because towards the mop up of the poem it says She knows I am not to be trusted / as yet now planning my escape. The readers learn here that the mother doesnt trust the daughter, for reasons unknown. The second line of the above quote shows the readers that this is what the daughter is currently doing to make her mother not trust her.The daughter also desires that her mothers health improve, because in the poem is says As I toast to her health. Love and shame toward her aging mother clash with the feelings of resentment and entrapment of herself. The Youngest Daughter uses word choice to show the conflict of mothers versus daughters, and the daughters internal conflict of obligations and desires. The daughter uses center field diction to show her emotions. Like noted in a previous paragraph, the first sentence of the poem is the sky has been dark for many years. This shows that the daughter has been dealing with her mothers illn ess for quite some time, and she hasnt been able to see the sun.She hasnt been able to do what she wants to do because she has been so overwhelmed with taking care of the mother and fulfilling her obligations. When describing the mother, the daughter says her breathing was graveled / her voice gruff with affection. The word choice of graveled and gruff is interesting. This demonstrates the effort required to breathe and be affectionate. Its almost as if the writer of the poem wanted the readers to hear what her breathing and voice sounded like by including those two words in there.This implies in a way that the mother has an opinion with the situation too. These two words make these two lines more effective. The daughter says I was almost tender / when I came to the blue bruises. This shows that the daughter feels dirty for what the mother has to go through. Tender is another interesting word choice. The poem also says I soaped her slowly, meaning that the daughter takes her time when washing her mother, because her life has been abandoned to nothing. Another aspect of obligations is that the daughter says I scrubbed them with a sour taste in my mouth.The daughter obviously doesnt want to scrub the mother, besides it is obligation, her duty, so she must. Using the sentence We eat in the familiar silence shows that there is tension between them, because if there was no tension, they would be talking when they are eating. Despite this tension, this still occurs each day, and they continue to follow the aforementioned(prenominal) routine. If this line just had said We eat in silence, it would have a much lesser effect on the poem as a whole. By adding the word familiar, it allows the reader to understand that eating that way is a commonality and part of a consistent routine.The words familiar silence contrast each other. Familiar is something that has occurred so often that it becomes accustomed. And what is familiar in this poem? Silence. Silence, though i t means quiet, is basically nothing. Quietness, or nothing, has occurred so much that it is accustomed. The word choice is contrasting obligations with desires. The daughter is obligated to care for her mother. This is evident throughout the entire poem when the daughter describes everything she does for her mother.Despite this, she desires to do something different than just solely care for her mother. This desire is evident when the poem says She know I am not to be trusted / even now planning my escape. The daughter wants to escape, and the mother is aware of it. This contrast between obligations and desires makes the reader of the poem feel that this is an either/or situation. The daughter can either take care of the mother, or she can go off on her own. The last two lines of the poem are very meaningful A g-force cranes curtain the window / fly up in a sudden breeze. These word choices are effective because the words allow the readers to see an ending image.It seems like the cranes flying away is associated with the daughter being set free and escaping her life. Its ironic how the first line of the poem uses words that talk about the sky, and in the last few lines of the poem the cranes fly into the sky. This line is used as a way for the author of the poem to show that the resolution has occurred. By the end of the poem, the conflict of obligations versus desires is resolved.One of the last lines of the poem says As I toast to her health. This shows that the daughter finally realizes that caring for her mother is whats best for her at this moment. By toasting for her health, she reveals that even though she is sick of caring for her mother, she would rather care for her mother than have her mother be dead. The daughter realizes that there will at last be a time when the mother dies, and at that time the daughter will be able to do whatever she desires, but right now, her concentrate on needs to be on her mother. The cranes flying into the sky reiter ates this fact.When this time comes, even though the daughter will be able to do what she wants, she will be without a mother. She will have no obligations, which in a sense is good for her, because she will be able to do what she wants, yet a part of her life will be missing. Death is always hard to deal with, and even though in the poem she talks about how she wants to escape, in creation she really would miss her mother. The tone is this poem is bittersweet and affectionate children should care for their aging parents, yet children need to live their own lives.In a way, the tone is also both happy and sad. The way the tone changes correlated with both of the conflicting sides of the poem. Its happy in the way that the poet shows that there is affection and making love between mothers and daughters, yet it is sad in the way that it shows that sometimes conflicts arise between mothers and daughters. This also explains how it is bittersweet. The tone shows that there are moral tie s between children and their parents. These moral ties tie in with the obligational part of the conflict.Morally, the daughter feels obliged to care for her mother. The speaker is the youngest daughter of a family, and her duty is to take care of her aging parent. As one can see, looking at a poem through elements can help a reader understand the meaning of it. In The Youngest Daughter, the poem creates the meaning of conflict between mothers and daughters related to the daughter either pulling closer or pulling away from family and having to choose between obligations and desires. The elements of tone, word choice, and narrative poem together effectively create this meaning.In this poem, the home determines ones identity. The daughter is conflicted between either pulling closer to her home life and her mother, or pulling away from it all and going after her own aspirations. Readers can relate to this poem because many people go through the same predicament in life taking care of an aging parent. People do it because they love their family. Even though this daughter is having conflicting feelings about taking care of her mother, she does it anyways because family always comes first.

Evaluate a Significant Experience, Achievement, Risk You Have Taken

Soraya Palmer Connecticut College, Class of 2007 Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you Finding Truths In my life, I have taken many journeys with forth which I would not have undergo important truths. My father started us off early, taking us on many journeys to help us understand that true knowledge comes only from experience.We took trips all(prenominal) winter break to Madrid, Mexico, Costa Rica, and to Jamaica and Trinidad, my parents homeland for Christmas. Silly things I remember from those trips include the mango chili sauce on the pork in Maui, the name calling of the women who gave out the towels by the pools in Selva Verde, Costa Rica, eating dinner at 10 p. m. in Spain. These were all touring car experiences that I, at first, found spellbinding. My truths were the truths of the tourist brochures beautiful hotels, beaches, and cities.I did not see the blindfolds. I did not appreciate how being held hostage by the beauty of the surfacethe beaches and citiesblinded me to the absence of Puerto Rican natives on the streets of San Juan I did not understand how the prevalence and familiarity of English conspired to veil the beauty of the Spanish language beneath volumes of English translations. I learned more about these truths in my sophomore year of high school, when I was among a group of students selected to visit Cuba.My grandmother was born in Cuba, yet I had never thought to search my own heritage. I have remained the naive American who saw Castro as some distant enemy of my country, accepting this as fact because this seemed to be the certain wisdom. I soon became intrigued, however, with this supposed plague to my freedom, my culture, and everything good and decent. I began to think, just what is communism anyway? Whats so bad about Castro and Cubaand I figure they have good coffee.I believed that what was missing was a lack of understanding between our tw o cultures, and that acceptance of our differences would come only with knowledge. My first impression of Cuba was the absence of commercialism. I saw no giant golden arch enticing hungry Cubans with beef-laced fries I did see billboards of Che Guevara and signposts exhorting unity and love. I realized, however, that much of the uniqueness that I relished here might be gone if the trade blockades in Cuba were ever lifted. The parallels and the irony were not lost on me.Read also Glengarry Glen Ross by David MametI was stepping out of an American political cave that shrouded the beauty of Cuba and stepping into another, one built on patriotic socialism, one where truths were just as ideological as, yet very different from, mine. History, I recognized, is never objective. The journeys I have taken have been colored by my prior experiences and by what my feelings were in those moments. Everyone holds a piece of the truth. Maybe facts wear thint matter. Perhaps my experience is my tru th and the more truths I hear from everyone else, the closer I go forth get to harmonization.Maybe there is no harmony, and I essential go through life challenging and being challenged, perhaps finding perspectives from which I can extractbut never calltruth. I essential simply find ways to understand others, to seek in them what is gross to us all and perhaps someday find unity in our common human bond. This is what life has taught me so far, my sum of truths gleaned from experiencing many cultures. I dont know if these truths will hold, but I hope that my college experience will be like my trip to Cubachallenging some truths, strengthening others, and helping me experience new ones.

Frostbite Chapter 14

FOURTEENTWO GUYS ID NEVER MET before were squaring glowering against each former(a). They timbreed to be in their twenties, and neither noticed me. The one whod bumped into me shoved the other(a) one straining, forcing him to stagger prickle considerably.Youre afraid yell the goose by me. He had on green swimming trunks, and his black hair was slicked cover with water. Youre all afraid. You ripe want to hole up in your mansions and let the guardians do your dirty work. What are you going to do when theyre all dead? Wholl nurse you then?The other guy wiped the blood off his face with the back of his hand. I short recognized him- thanks to his blond highlights. He was the royal whod yelled at Tasha close to wanting to lead Moroi to battle. Shed called him Andrew. He tried to land a hit and failed his technique was all wrong. This is the safest way. Listen to that Strigoi-lover, and well all be dead. Shes seek to kill our upstanding race offShes attempt to save usShes ex hausting to get us to use black magicThe Strigoi-lover had to be Tasha. The non-royal guy was the first person outside of my little circle whom Id ever heard speak in her favor. I wondered how m any others out there shared his view. He punched Andrew again, and my base instincts- or maybe the punch- make me leap into action.I sprang forward and wedged myself between them. I was still dizzy and a bit unsteady. If they hadnt been rest so close, I probably would have fallen over. They some(prenominal) hesitated, clearly caught off guard.Get out of here, snapped Andrew.Being male and Moroi, they had greater height and fish than I, scarcely I was probably stronger than either one alone. Hoping I could make the most of that, I grabbed each of them by the arm, pulled them toward me, and then shoved them away as hard as I could. They staggered, not having expected my strength. I staggered a little alike.The non-royal glared and took a step toward me. I was counting on the fact that hed be quaint and not hit a girl. What are you doing? he exclaimed. Several people had gathered and were watching excitedly.I returned his glare. Im trying to stop you guys from cosmos any more(prenominal) idiotic than you already are You want to help? Stop fighting each other Ripping each others laissez passers off isnt going to save the Moroi unless youre trying to thin stupidity out of the gene pool. I pointed at Andrew. Tasha Ozera is not trying to kill everyone off. Shes trying to get you to stop organism a victim. I turned to the other guy. And as for you, youve got a long ways to go if you think this is the way to get your point across. Magic- especially offensive magic- entertains a kitty of self-control, and so far, you arent impressing me with yours. I have more than you do, and if you knew me at all, youd know how crazy that is.The two guys stared at me, stunned. I was apparently more effective than a taser. Well, at least for several seconds I was. Because once the sh ock of my words wore off, they went at each other again. I got caught in the crossfire and shoved away, nearly falling in the process. Suddenly, from hindquarters me, Mason came to my defense. He punched the first guy he could- the non-royal.The guy flew backward, falling into one of the pools with a splash. I yelped, remembering my earlier fear about skull-cracking, yet a moment later, he found his feet and rubbed water out of his eyes.I grabbed Masons arm, trying to hold him back, but he shrugged me off and went after(prenominal) Andrew. He shoved Andrew hard, button him into several Moroi- andrews friends, I suspected- who seemed to be trying to break up the fight. The guy in the pool climbed out, fury written all over his face, and made moves toward Andrew. This time, both Mason and I blocked his way. He glared at all of us.Dont, I warned him.The guy clenched his fists and looked as though he index try to take us on. exclusively we were intimidating, and he didnt appear to have an entourage of friends here like Andrew- who was shouting obscenities and being led away- did. With a few muttered threats, the non-royal backed off.As soon as he was gone, I turned on Mason. ar you out of your mind?Huh? he asked.Jumping into the middle of thatYou jumped in too, he said.I started to argue, then realized he was right. Its different, I grumbled.He leaned forward. Are you sot?No. Of course not. Im just trying to keep you from doing something stupid. Just because you have delusions of being able to kill a Strigoi doesnt mean you have to take it out on everyone else.Delusions? he asked stiffly.I started to look kind of nauseous just then. My head spinning, I continued toward the side room, hoping I didnt stumble.But when I reached it, I saw that it wasnt some kind of dessert or drink room after all. Well, at least not in the way Id been thinking. It was a feeder room. Several humans reclined on satin-covered chaise lounges with Moroi by their sides. Jasmine in cense burned in the air. Stunned, I watched with an eerie fascination as a blond Moroi guy leaned forward and bit into the neck of a very pretty redhead. All of these feeders were exceptionally considerably-looking, I realized just then. corresponding actresses or models. Only the best for royalty.The guy drank long and deep, and the girl closed her eyes and parted her lips, an expression of delicate bliss on her face as Moroi endorphins flooded into her bloodstream. I shivered, taken back to when I too had experienced that same kind of euphoria. In my alcohol-hazed mind, the whole thing suddenly seemed startlingly erotic. In fact, I almost felt intrusive- like I was watching people have sex. When the Moroi finished and licked the finis of the blood away, he brushed his lips against her cheek in a soft kiss.Want to volunteer?Light fingertips brushed my neck, and I jumped. I turned slightly and saw Adrians green eyes and knowing smirk.Dont do that, I told him, knocking his hand away.Then what are you doing in here? he asked.I gestured most me. Im lost.He peered at me. Are you drunk?No. Of course notbut The nausea had settled a little, but I still didnt feel right. I think I should sit mow.He took my arm. Well, dont do it in here. Someone might get the wrong desire. Lets go somewhere quiet.He steered me off into a different room, and I looked around with interest. It was a massage area. Several Moroi lay back on tables and were getting back and foot massages from hotel staff. The oil they utilize smelled like rosemary and lavender. Under any other circumstances, a massage would have sounded great, but lying on my stomach seemed like the worst idea just now.I sat down on the carpeted floor, leaning back against the wall. Adrian walked away and returned with a glass of water. Sitting down as well, he handed it to me.Drink this. Itll help.I told you, Im not drunk, I mumbled. But I downed the water anyway.Uh-huh. He smiled at me. You did nice work with th at fight. Who was the other guy that helped you?My boyfriend, I said. Sort of.Mia was right. You do have a lot of guys in your life.Its not like that.Okay. He was still smiling. Wheres Vasilisa? I figured shed be attached to you.Shes with her boyfriend. I studied him.Whats with the sound? Jealous? You want him for yourself?God, no. I just dont like him.Does he treat her badly? he asked.No, I admitted. He adores her. Hes just kind of a jerk.Adrian was clearly enjoying this. Ah, you are jealous. Does she spend more time with him than you?I ignored that. Why do you keep asking about her? Are you interested in her?He laughed. Rest easy, Im not interested in her in the same way I am you.But you are interested.I just want to talk to her.He left to fetch me more water. Feeling better? he asked, handing the glass to me. It was crystal and intricately carved. It seemed too phantasy for plain water.Yeah I didnt think those drinks were that strong.Thats the beauty of them, he chuckled. And speaking of beauty thats a great color on you.I shifted. I might not have been generateing as much skin as those other girls, but I was showing more than I really valued to with Adrian. Or was I? There was something weird about him. His arrogant manner annoyed mebut I still liked being around him. per misfortune the smartass in me recognized a kindred spirit.Somewhere in the back of my drunken mind, a light clicked on. But I couldnt quite get to it. I drank more water.You havent had a cigarette in, like, ten minutes, I pointed out, wanting to change the subject.He made a face. No smoking in here.Im sure youve made up for it in punch.His smile returned. Well, some of us can hold our liquor. You arent going to be sick, are you?I still felt tipsy but no longer nauseous. No.Good.I thought back to when Id dreamed about him. It had been just a dream, but it had stuck with me, particularly the talk about me being surrounded in darkness. I wanted to ask him about it even though I knew it was stupid. It had been my dream, not his.AdrianHe turned his green eyes on me. Yes, darling?I couldnt bring myself to ask. Never mind.He started to retort, then tilted his head toward the door. Ah, here she comes.Who- Lissa stepped into the room, eyes scanning around. When she spotted us, I saw respite break over her. I couldnt feel it, though. Intoxicants like alcohol numbed the bond. It was another reason I shouldnt have taken such a stupid chance tonight.There you are, she said, kneeling beside me. Glancing at Adrian, she gave him a nod. Hey.Hey yourself, cousin, he returned, using the family terms royals sometimes apply around each other.You okay? Lissa asked me. When I saw how drunk you were, I thought you might have fallen in somewhere and drowned.Im not- I gave up trying to deny it. Im fine.Adrians usual expression had turned heavy as he studied Lissa. It again reminded me of the dream. Howd you find her?Lissa gave him a puzzled look. I, um, checked all the rooms.Oh. He looked disappointed. I thought you might have used your bond.Both she and I stared.How do you know about that? I demanded. Only a few people at school knew about it. Adrian had spoken about it as casually as he might have my hair color.Hey, I cant reveal all my secrets, can I? he asked mysteriously. And besides, theres a reliable way you two act around each other its hard to explain. Its pretty cool all the old myths are true.Lissa regarded him warily. The bond only plant one way. Rose can sense what Im feeling and thinking, but I cant do it back to her.Ah. We sat in silence a few moments, and I drank more water. Adrian spoke again. Whatd you specialize in anyway, cousin?She looked embarrassed. We both knew it was important to keep her spirit powers secret from others who might abuse her healing, but her cover point of not having specialized always bothered her.I havent, she said.Do they think youre going to? Late bloomer?No.Youre probably higher in the other elements, though , right? Just not strong enough to really master any? He reached out to pat her shoulder in an exaggerated show of comfort.Yeah, howd you- The instant his fingers touched her, she gasped. It was as though a bolt of lightning had struck her. The strangest look crossed her face. Even drunk, I felt the flood of joy that came burbling through the bond. She stared at Adrian in wonder. His eyes were locked onto hers too. I didnt understand why they were looking at each other like that, but it bothered me.Hey, I said. Stop that. I told you, she has a boyfriend.I know, he said, still watching her. A small smile turned his lips. We need to have a blurt someday, cousin.Yes, she agreed.Hey. I was more confused than ever. You have a boyfriend. And there he is.She blinked back to reality. All three of us turned toward the doorway. Christian and the others stood there. I suddenly had a flashback to when theyd found me with Adrians arm around me. This wasnt much better. Lissa and I were sitting on either side of him, very close.She sprang up, looking mildly guilty. Christian was regarding her curiously.Were getting ready to leave, he said.Okay, she told him. She looked down at me. Ready?I nodded and started to clamber to my feet. Adrian caught my arm as I did and helped me up. He smiled at Lissa. Nice talking to you. To me, he murmured very quietly, Dont worry. I told you, Im not interested in her in that way. She doesnt look as good in a bathing suit. Probably not as good out of one either.I pulled my arm away. Well, youll never find out.Its okay, he said. I have a good imagination.I joined the others, and we headed back toward the main part of the lodge. Mason gave me as strange a look as Christian had given Lissa and stayed away from me, walking toward the front with Eddie. To my surprise and discomfort, I found myself walking beside Mia. She looked miserable.I Im really sorry about what happened, I said finally.You dont have to act like you care, Rose.No, no. I mean it . Its uglyIm so sorry. She wouldnt look at me. Isthat is, are you going to see your dad soon?Whenever they have the memorial, she said stiffly.Oh.I didnt know what else to say and gave up, instead turn my attention to the stairs as we climbed back up to the lodges main level. Unexpectedly, Mia was the one who continued the conversation.I watched you break up that fight she said slowly. You mentioned offensive magic. Like you knew about it.Oh. Great. She was going to make a play at blackmailor was she? At the moment, she seemed almost civil.I was just guessing, I said. No way was I going to bust Tasha and Christian. I dont really know that much. Just stories Ive heard.Oh. Her face fell. What kind of stories?Um, wellI tried to think of something neither too vague nor too specific. Like I told those guysthe concentration thing is big. Because if youre in a battle with Strigoi, all sorts of things can distract you. So youve got to keep control.That was in reality a basic guardian ru le, but it must have been new to Mia. Her eyes widened with eagerness. What else? What kind of spells do people use?I shook my head. I dont know. I dont really even know how spells work, and like I said, these are juststories Ive heard. My guess is you just find ways to use your element as a weapon. Like fire users really have an advantage because firell kill Strigoi, so its easy for them. And air users can suffocate people. Id actually experienced that lead one vicariously through Lissa. It had been horrible.Mias eyes grew wider still. What about a water user? she asked. How could water hurt a Strigoi?I paused. I, uh, never heard any stories about water users. Sorry.Do you have any ideas, though? Ways that, like, someone like me could learn to fight?Ah. So thats what this was about. It actually wasnt all that crazy. I remembered how excited shed looked at the meeting when Tasha had talked about attacking Strigoi. Mia wanted to take revenge on the Strigoi for her mothers death. No wonder she and Mason had been getting along so well.Mia, I said gently, catching hold of the door to let her pass. We were almost at the lobby now. I know how you must want to do something. But I think youre better off just sort of letting yourself, um, grieve.She reddened, and suddenly, I was seeing the normal and angry Mia. Dont talk down to me, she said.Hey, Im not. Im serious. Im just verbalize you shouldnt do anything rash while youre still upset. Besides I bit off my words.She narrowed her eyes. What?Screw it. She needed to know. Well, I dont really know what good a water user would be against a Strigoi. Its probably the least useful element to use on one of them.Outrage filled her features. Youre a real bitch, you know that?Im just telling you the truth.Well, let me tell you the truth. Youre a total idiot when it comes to guys.I thought about Dimitri. She wasnt entirely off base.Masons great, she continued. oneness of the nicest guys I know- and you dont even notice Hed do anything for you, and you were off throwing yourself at Adrian Ivashkov.Her words surprised me. Could Mia have a crush on Mason? And while I certainly hadnt been throwing myself at Adrian, I could see how it might have looked that way. And even if it werent true, that wouldnt have stopped Mason from feeling hurt and betrayed.Youre right, I said.Mia stared at me, so astonished Id agreed with her that she didnt say anything else for the rest of the walk.We reached the part of the lodge that split off into different wings for guys and girls. I grabbed a hold of Masons arm as the others walked off.Hang on, I told him. I badly needed to reassure him about Adrian, but a tiny part of me wondered if I was doing it because I actually wanted Mason or because I just liked the idea of him wanting me and selfishly didnt want to lose that. He stopped and looked at me. His face was wary. I wanted to tell you Im sorry. I shouldnt have yelled at you after the fight- I know you were just trying to help. And with Adriannothing happened. I mean it.It didnt look that way, Mason said. But the anger on his face had faded.I know, but believe me, its all him. Hes got some kind of stupid crush on me.My tone must have been convincing because Mason smiled. Well. Hard not to.Im not interested in him, I continued. Or anyone else. It was a small lie, but I didnt think it mattered just then. I was going to be over Dimitri soon, and Mia had been right about Mason. He was wonderful and sweet and cute. I would be an idiot not to pursue this right?My hand was still on his arm, and I pulled him toward me. He didnt need much more of a signal. He leaned down and kissed me, and in the process, I found myself pressed up against the wall- very much like with Dimitri in the practice room. Of course, it felt nothing like how it had with Dimitri, but it was still nice in its way. I put my arms around Mason and started to pull him closer.We could go somewhere, I said.He pushed back and laughed. Not w hen youre drunk.Im not that drunk anymore, I said, trying to pull him back.Giving me a small kiss on the lips, he stepped back. Drunk enough. Look, this isnt easy, believe me. But if you still want me tomorrow- when youre sober- then well talk.He leaned down and kissed me again. I tried to wrap my arms around him, but he broke away once more.Easy there, girl, he teased, backing toward his hallway.I glared at him, but he only laughed and turned around. As he walked away, my glare faded, and I headed back to my room with a smile on my face.

Communication Strategies Essay

parley is one of the most common tools of interaction among people. Communication has been around the stone ages or you laughingstock say from the very universe of time, so that the people gage convey ideas to to each one other there has always been felt the need for talk. As we know that man is a tender animal, he or she can only bear in such an environment where they can interact, socialize and communicate among one a nonher that be bring bug out around them. Man has a natural extinct of forming groups and tribes.In order to address to the various problems and issues that occur or argon faced by people, they nominate a need to send across to other people a message so that they would help him or her, therefore communication became a necessity. Interethnical Communication Intercultural communication is a ferment of sending and receiving messages between people, whose cultural background leads them to deal, interpret verbal and non verbal signs differently (Salwen & Stac ks, 2008).There are two trends that impart to the rapidly increase in the importance of intercultural communication in the workplace. These trends are the global marketplace and the multicultural workforce. Diversity plays a major role in the multicultural workforce of a accompany. Having a diverse tillage in an organization is considered to be a beneficial process that allow for help in an employees growth while it also increases the cultural sensitiveness as well as the skills of the counsel, it is considered to be a 2 way process.Such a cultural diversity is one of the trends that are contributing to the importance of intercultural communication within the organization. Diversity awareness helps the employees learn to communicate with other employees from other cultural stage setting. Increasing diversity within organization means that the management of the organization needs to develop programs that deal with global and as well as domestic help diversity and with potenti al conflicts bid language barriers or cultural differences (Salwen & Stacks, 2008). ExampleHewlett Packard (HP) brought its US engineers to scrambleher with its French engineers, so that they would develop and design software together. And this caused a cultural difference and that difference broke down the communication. What happened is that the US engineers sent long and comminuted emails to the Japanese engineers, but the engineers in Japan saw the detailed messages as patronizing and they replied those detailed emails with short and quick messages. The engineers in US, when saw those messages believed that their counterparts in Japan were withholding all-important(prenominal) information from them.This whole communication process was non verbal and due to misunderstanding from twain sides this whole process of communication got out of control. The end result of this situation was that the management of Hewlett Packard (HP) had to hire a aggroup of consultants, so that t hey would train their engineers on both sides to deal with their differences. The communication device that was used by both the parties was online mailing, which is verbal way of communicating.If we take the internet in a verbal form of communication forum, we are able to open up a world so vast that the amount of knowledge is illimitable it provides a space for any language, any culture or any religion without a bias of opinions. Anyone with the ability to use a computer can use of this tool and can get connected to the world without a hitch. If we see that emailing and the internet were not a good of communicating between both the parties, instead it created a great deal of misunderstanding between both the parties (Daft, 1997).ethnical Differences The biggest issue that is being faced by most companies is that great deals of employees do not understand the cultural differences of each other, and this causes a breakdown in communication. In this example we see that the Japanese culture differs from the American culture. In the American Culture communication plays an important role, lets consider the US expression that the squeaky wheel gets the oil it means that the loudest person bequeath get the most attention and in the US attention is assumed is considered favorable.The American culture comes under a low context culture. A low context culture can be defined as a culture in which communication is used as a form of exchanging information and facts around work. Now lets consider a Japanese expression the nail that stick up gets hammered down it means that standing out as an individual in the Japanese culture merits unfavorable attention. Japan belongs in the high context culture, which can be defined as a culture which uses communication to enhance and increase personal relationships during the working hours as well.In the American Culture in an organization is mostly based on face-to-face confrontation and competition as ways to motivate individuals to work in an effective and efficient manner, for example, In the American culture of the management the employees are given empowerment that is empowerment of the employees at all the levels of the hierarchy is an important means of coping with challenges and problems that are being faced by the human alternative department of the company.For example companies like Hewlett-Packard, Wal-Mart and Southwest Airlines sustain top performance through their people. The management of these companies pays attention to their employees and empowers them to certain degrees which in return arranges their employees satisfied with their jobs and continue motivated. (Daft, 1997) Whereas in the Japanese Culture in an organization is mostly based on group harmony to efficiently and effectively, for example, in the Japanese management culture the career progression in a Japanese company is very predictable and automatic.The promotions and the increments happen as the employees spend more and more ti me with the company. earnings for the employees is mostly based of tangible and intangible benefits for example, low cost loans for housing and car expanses, low paid vacations for the employees and semi-annual bonuses with pays. This is the way how employees are motivated in the company to retain them and so that they work in an effective and efficient manner.Another thing in the Japanese management culture is that the management is based on permanent employment and when the new recruits that are hired are placed under a probation period of 6 month at least and if they survive then the employees are given permanent jobs, which means that the employees will not be dismissed or terminated in the future without any reason, they will remain inevitably with the company until they do not retire. (Fullmer, 1983) Intercultural Communication Theories The intercultural communication theory that is needed for to solve the problem within the company would be Cultural Convergence.Cultural Conv ergence Cultural convergence is a theory which is based on effective outcomes. Cultural convergence is very closely related to a social system, where communication is considered very important and it is unrestricted between the members, eventually the system will converge over time towards a uniformity of a greater cultural. The communication system will mostly tilt towards diversity when communication is restricted. Cultural Convergence will help the company to recognizing the cultural differences and will also be able to overcome ethnocentrism (Salwen & Stacks, 2008).Recognizing the Cultural Differences Problems like these arise when individuals assume, wrongly, that the other persons attitudes, values, knowledge and beliefs. The management can improve intercultural sensitivity by recognizing and accommodating four main types of cultural differences. They are 1) contextual difference it is one of the ways where individuals assign meaning to a message in accordance to cultural cont ext, message stimuli and implicit understanding,2) legal and ethical differences cultural context also influences legal and ethical behavior of the employees.For example, low context cultures like Americans, value written words more than oral communication. They believe that word agreements are binding. When a company is conducting its business overseas and across cultures, the management has to appreciation it messages ethical by applying 4 principles seek mutual ground actively, send and receive messages without any sort of judgment, send those messages which are honest and lastly order some respect for cultural differences.3) Social differences social behavior is another distinguishing factor among all of the cultures. In any culture rules of social etiquette may be formal or informal.And in eggshell if formal rules are violated for any reason, the members of the culture will be able to explain why they are upset about it and if informal rules of any culture are violated for a ny reason, the people of that culture will feel uncomfortable and will not be able to tell the person who violated those rules why. Social differences will include use of manners, roles and status, attitudes towards materialism and attitude towards time.4) Non-verbal differences nonverbal communication is more reliable than verbal communication but only in the same culture because nonverbal communication is perceived differently in different cultures.Nonverbal communication would include personal space and use of body language (Fullmer, 1983). Overcome ethnocentrism when the management is communicating overseas and across cultures, open mindedness is consider very important and it is very effective for communication. To overcome any sort of ethnocentrism the management must remember to acknowledge distinctions, avoid any sort of assumptions and it not suppose to make any sort of judgments (Fullmer, 1983). Strategies for Dealing with the Issue Strategy is very important if the compa ny wants to deals with its communication problems.Strategy enables the organization to achieve its stated goals and objectives and in our case would be to overcome the companys communication issues like cultural differences. Once the company has recognized the cultural elements and has overcome its ethnocentrism, the company is then devise to develop strategies which will solve any future communication problems and it will help the employees to communicate effectively. It can be done through the following- 1) The management needs to learn about other cultures, because it would help the management to send and receive intercultural messages effectively. ) The employees have to break through the barriers of language to communicate effectively with each other. 3) The employees would need to improve their writing and as well as oral skills (Salwen & Stacks, 2008) Conclusion Communication is the process whereby information is exchanged and understood by 2 or more people, usually with the intention of motivating or influencing people. There are mostly two kinds of communication verbal and non-verbal. Communication among people can be affected by perception, communication channels, nonverbal communication and listening skills.

Legal Age to Drink – Should It Be Changed?

Legal Age to Drink Should it be Changed? In this day and age with to a greater extent(prenominal) sophisticated teens and young people abusing inebriant, the issue concerning whether or not teenagers should be able to drink at a younger age is an important topic. In the article Perils of Prohibition Elizabeth M. Whelan argues that alcohol should be legalized at the age of eighteen instead of twenty-one. She hopes to persuade readers, p atomic number 18nts, and educators to support her proposal for the trade by successful alcohol raising.Although Whelan pop the questions valuable causes to prove that proper alcohol education is an effective solution in reducing the problems faced with alcohol ill-treat among American teenagers, she does not provide enough substantial read to justify changing the legal drinking age to eighteen years old. In the beginning paragraphs, Whelan compares alcohol consumption with American teens and their European peers. She distinguishs, American t eens, unlike their European peers, dont learn how to drink gradually, cautiously, and in moderation (2).This is a great congresswoman because it give ways the readers think somewhat the different cultural views of alcohol consumption among youthful drinkers globally. Though the consumption of alcohol in France, Spain, and Portugal is higher than the United States per person, the rate of alcoholism and alcohol abuse is lower (4). Whelan hopes to prove that if moderate alcohol consumption and proper awareness of the use of it is instilled in children eighteen years old and up then drinking alcohol should be okay. She compares triad countries to the United States in her example.We live in a pretty big world, is it the selfsame(prenominal) in other drinking countries? The example is fairly effective only if comparing drinking habits in only three countries to the United States is not enough to persuade readers. In order to absorb support for successful alcohol education being a k ey factor in helping the problems faced with alcohol abuse, Whelan mentions an example involving her daughter. She explained to her daughter the differences in alcohol contents and the importance of not drinking on an empty stomach (8).The strength of this example is effective because it is coming from personalized experience. Its lucubrate and provided by a woman whose education and occupation qualifies her to make this kind of mull. This type of person often makes you want to believe him or her. However, this piece of evidence uses the hasty generalization fallacy. A single personal experience or even many is not enough to convince readers. Peoples personal experiences differ greatly. And how do the readers even endure if alcohol education was successful with her daughter?Her daughter may not have gotten herself into trouble recently but shes still under the legal age of drinking and who knows what would happen once she goes off to college? Because of her daughters age and the fallacy used, creates a short example for supporting alcohol education. Whelan continues with examples to prove that proper education is the key instead of prohibiting teenagers the right to drink until the age of twenty-one. She mentions tragic accidents that occurred at the Ivy partnership school her daughter Christine pull up stakes be attending in the fall.A bookman who was nearly electrocuted when, in a drunken state, climbed on a moving train. The student survived but lost three of his limbs (10). A second incident where an intoxicated student ended up in a chimney and was found three days later dead (10). She hopes to convince readers that students do not make good choices when they drink, if theyre not educated properly. The tragedies with the sick, injured students are fair because theyre emotionally appealing to the reader but weak because she fails to provide statistical evidence as to how often injuries of this kind occur.The examples are extreme and rare ones that a re unlikely to happen on a regular basis. Whelan continues supporting her claim by mentioning a study that was done at the Harvard School of Public wellness by her colleagues. What they found in their survey of college students was that they drink early and . . . often, frequently to the point of getting ill (1). She defends her claim by appealing to authority as evidence. And readers would not be happy knowing that students are becoming sick from irresponsible drinking the human factor.This study is included to let people know that college students are drinking irresponsibly and becoming sick from it as a result. Not surprisingly, she failed to provide statistical evidence again. That is, evidence of how many students is involved in the survey and the diversity of people in the study. These are important factors needed to be included in the survey to make it believable and convincing to the readers. Finally, dickens analogies are given by Whelan in hopes of her readers to accept her case. This author creates a weak analogy when comparing sex education to alcohol education.In an attempt to change the legal age of drinking to twenty-one, she says we choose to teach our children about safe sex, including the benefits of teen abstinence, why not about safe drinking? (13) The only relation is that drinking and sex can cause unsafe or unwanted events, therefore it makes sense to be educated on both subjects. However, the similarity is not relevant enough to be considered a good analogy. Safe sex education has been taught for many years to children but it has not stopped them from having sex or preventing unwanted pregnancies.If this is the case, how would safe drinking education be convincing to the readers to change the legal age to eighteen? The second analogy which is fairly significant in dealing with the unfairness of the legal age to drink, is comparing the ability for teens to be able to drive cars, fly planes, marry, vote, pay taxes, take out loans, and risks their lives in the U. S armed forces to drinking. She says, At eighteen theyre considered adults but when they want to enjoy a drink like other adults, they are disenfranchised (5).Whelan hopes this evidence will convince readers that if eighteen year olds are given adult responsibilities then they shall be treated as adults in all aspects of life, including drinking alcohol in moderation. She makes a great point with the comparison but when comparing voting, paying taxes, taking out a loan, and marrying to drinking, the responsibilities dont impair your brain in a way that drinking alcohol would. Whelan presents herself as a kind-hearted woman who is a bit upset and frustrated with the current laws regarding the legal age to drink.The example she uses explaining how she educated her daughter with regards to alcohol content shows her taking a subtle approach with allowing her daughter to drink rather than making it appear to be a bad thing if you are under the legal age. (8) S he shows compassion and concern. Whelans tone throughout the essay is fairly tolerable, but she does show some derogation towards the government when she compares teenagers being able to drive cars, fly planes, marry, vote, pay taxes, take out loans, and risk their lives as members of the U. S. rmed forces but laws in all fifty say that no alcoholic beverages may be sold to anyone until that magic twenty-first birthday. (3) When she mentions we should make access to alcohol legal at eighteen and at the same time, we should come down much harder on alcohol abusers and drunk drivers of all ages (12) she is genuinely concerned of the welfare of all people with regards to alcohol and safety. She eagerly wants to make a difference. And as public-health scientist with a daughter heading to college, she has professional and personal concerns in regards to the dangers of alcohol.While it is obvious that Whelans heart is in the right place and that alcohol abuse among teenagers is a proble m, her argument suffers from lack of evidence to support changing the legal age of drinking to eighteen years old. Proper alcohol education can be helpful in terms of improving the problem but thats it. Whelans article indicates a need for further study on the abuse of teenage drinking. It would be helpful to see statistical results in studies done among colleges across the nation and in all areas from rich to poor. The more valid studies the better chance finding the proper solutions to the problem.

A life of designs

Like many children growing, I was in a quandary on the career path that I would take once I entered college. Looking back, many paths seemed to open for me, all as enticing as the others. except in hindsight, I guess I wanted to follow in the footsteps of one man, my receive. His vocation was that of a designer.Since I could remember, I could see myself with him in his speckle as he worked at his job as a software designer. It wasnt easy for me, but my mom kept telling me how integral my spawn was to the company. My father taught me the value of enterprise and industriousness in the job that he was going to do.That was one trait I would ever give credit to my father for teaching me that one value. I believe that passion is not acquired it is the result of endless hours at honing ones craft and looking for ways to make better oneself.But my father was not all work he taught me also to be versatile in life. To my surprise, my father also had endeavors in a variety of activities. A mong them were guitar playing, sketching images of bland life and rendering designs for furniture.He taught me that ones life needs to find a sense of balance, not that he didnt enjoy his work, but I guess that his creativity needed to have release valves, if you will, so that he can work at his day job.Once I arrived in college, finally versed my lifes vocation to be a designer, one could feel a sense of being awestruck with it all. The pressures of meeting deadlines, accomplishing all the projects and the homework, and then some, die hard to take the wind out of ones sails. Fortunately for me though, I met another influential figure whom would aid me in my quest to become a designer. His name was Professor Joseph Velasquez, or simply Pepe.Professor Velasquez, or Pepe, was very influential in the cultivation of my talents as a future designer. He patiently worked with me in all my subjects and projects, like a guiding, and sometimes stern, hand to bring out what was inside me, all that passion I had inside of me. In all of the trinity years I had stayed in college, I would say that not even my non major subject mentors had had such a profound effect on me as Professor Velasquez.In fact, many of the students always sought a meeting met with him after class and studio that I had to wait an average of two hours just to name to talk to him. I hope that one day I will be able to impart the knowledge he graciously and sacrificially gave us to future designers if I get the opportunity to teach at this learning facility.As with all students in college, we all dream of becoming like our icons someday, people who we admire and paying attention to imitate even in the slightest way. For me, that was my all-time favorite artists, Craig Mullins. Mullins would be for me the embodiment of what I strive for as an artist and as a designer.Mullins, in my opinion, has the electrical capacity in inducing that sensation in his concept arts works and his paintings that make him a cut above the rest. His medium in provoking that emotion is born out of his choice of colors and his composition of his work. Sometimes, when I encounter a block in my artistic flow, I would consider what Mullins would do for the piece.

A Look at Gulliver’s Travels

The masterpiece of fantasy with unforgettable little people, giant people, locomote islands, and talking horses, Jonathan Swift creates a new popular genre of realistic novel which is to present plausible details as if they were literally true done the book Gullivers Travels. Swift first published the book in London with the title Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World with the alias Lemuel Gulliver. Only a a few(prenominal) knew that the real author was Dr. Swift, the distinguished Dean of the Anglican St. Patricks Cathedral in Dublin.Many people including, Samuel Johnson, remember the novel as a as a production so new and strange that it filled the reader with a mingled emotion of merriment and amazement. Swift arises emotions by comparing and contrasting the church and accede in the islands of Lilliput and Brobdingnag. Lilliputians, the small people, are used to bring about state control and religious minimization. They had a strict and concise regimen often word- painting life as complicated and complex.The inhabitants of Lilliput do not raise their children but instead send them to distant schools near the capital city where the children are raised(a) by teachers and other members of the school system. Parents can interact with their children only twice a year creating a barrier between the relationship between the 2 generations. However, children of the poor are able to stay at home and share the workload with their parents. The legal separation between the rich and the poor class depicts the governments view on society and how it should be run.The governing system of Lilliput attempts to portray equalization and equal opportunities, but, in context of terms and actions one is able to witness the separating factors of class separation and distinction. The power is mainly held in the hands of the emperor who is able to mandate decrees and create laws, although the approval of the people and government officials is also needed. An example would be when the emperors start published an edict, commanding all his subjects, upon great penalties, to break the smaller end of their eggs. (40)The government of the Lilliputians is in direct control of the people. They are able to make decisions and regarding either aspect and nature of the Lilliputians- both socially and politically while the church plays no share at all. The mention of a religious organization or association is never mentioned in the novel and the audience is led to assume that their was no major role if their was a church. The state plays a dominating role in the lives of the Lilliputians making it difficult to let any other institution come in the way, including a religious one.Enabling a religious or church association would put the Lilliputian government at a disadvantage, letting the people have an alternative voice to listen too. In the island of the Borabdingnagians in that respect is a dominant role of the church and a simple and broad role of th e government, a contrast to the Lilliputians. The people of Borabdingnag attend Sabbath on Wednesdays displaying their dedication and loyalty to the church. The respect and responsibility of the people to attend Sabbath enable the audience to understand the major role of the Church in the lives of the citizens.Their religious aspect and beliefs shape their moral philosophy and in effect play a major role in every aspect of their lives. Unlike the citizens of Lilliput the Church is the dominating organization in which the political government is in accordance with. The government is described as being simple and broad a collaboration of narrow principles and short views (135) . The simplicity of the government enables the Church to play a more dominant role and influence the lives of the Borabdingnagians.

Elements of Americas market economy in a global setting Essay

Mankiw (2006) characterize a merchandise economy as an economic system where the production and distribution of goods and services through lighten markets and price systems (p. 7). The amounts of products turnd are non pre-determined. At the same time, the amount of goods that will be expenditured is not restricted but bound by market forces. Thus, producers and consumers through the interaction of supply and demand fix the market by which products and services are consumed and used.The U.S. is considered as the icon of this market system which is primarily ground on Adam Smiths capitalism (Rothbard, 2004). To fully understand the mechanism of a market economy, an understanding of its key elements is essential. Some of the key elements that will be discussed through this paper are billet rights, contest, and profit. To facilitate this task, backchats will be based on the context of the U. S. market economy. The first element for discussion is property rights.Under the U. S. Constitution, property rights provide the owners of a real, personal or intellectual to exercise ownership, chequer and sovereignty over their proper (pp. 166-170). Thus, owners are able to utilize the property as they want to, use to gain benefit and protect it from harm. They have the right to benefit from it or from its use. The only constraint with the practice session of these rights is that they should contravene any law or inhibit the rights of others (Mankiw, 2006).Competition is described to be the rivalry of individuals or parties because of common or dependent interest (p. 699). In a free market, Rothbard (2004) suggests that competition is the representation by which markets determine which suppliers are best to meet demands. Similar to theories on evolution, the process of competition is a means to ensure quality. Thus, competition ensures that consumers are able to get the best product available. However, Rothbard also points out that competition is also a means of controlling the market internally or externally (p. 12-113).Profit is considered the eventual(prenominal) goal of any economic enterprise. From an economic perspective, profits can be realized when revenues exceed the sum cost of inputs (Mankiw, 2006, pp. 271-272). It is achieved when consumers have the capacity to buy a product at more than cost of suppliers production. In a simplistic model, profit is what is gained from using various economic resources. Thus, suppliers will continue to want to produce the product because of the economic incentive of its consumption.

Legalization of Assisted Suicide

For example, if a person is suffering from a horrible ailment it would be as if they were living dead. As the article pros and Cons of Assisted Suicide says, Choosing how we make pass is a rudimentary human freedom. If an individuals quality of lifespan is terrible, they should h eve the right to stop suffering. Many batch out lastly unhappy knowing that what they have is Inc arable. If assisted suicide is legal they can choose to do it and die in a peaceful way instead of w attaining their final day to come plot of land they still suffer.People may also agree with this topic do to the Pain and anguish of the Patti its family and friends which can be lessened, and they can say their final goodbyes. ( Miserly) It is just sad for the family to see one of their loved ones just imposition down and suffering. It is not easy for them because they do not know when the day to leave this world will come. This leads to the occurrence that many of the nurses and doctors taking c a r of this patient can have a more valuable age with a patient that can and wants to fight their pain. By doing this, these nurse sees and doctors can save more lives.Also, spate may argue that getting assisted suicide may save other lives do to the particular that some of the organs in the patients body can help other patients as said by Miserly. Lastly, a third pro would be that without physician assistance people may co draw suicide in messy, horrifying or traumatic ways. This is worst for the families to get eve r. bet walkway in, to see some thing the alike(p) this and especially if they were suffering so b Daly that they took that decision. Families would feel guilty. People are pushed to do this be cause they are cornered since they are hurting bad and they cant get help.Assisted suicide also has many cons. One of them would be that it would decreed ease the value of human life. This means that people wouldnt unfeignedly care if soulfulness did sees or lives. People would take this as a normal thing. Just like what Miserly says, For each dead h, we have 12 days of ceremonies, elaborate burials, and months of mourning. It would me an that anyone could take the life of soul else making life something of no value. This re son is because people would just take it from you just like they would take any object of no v alee.A second con is that doctors are given too much power and can be wrong or unethical says, Joe Miserly. He also says, Imagine a doctor who believes there is too m such of a shortage in checkup staff & resources to pour extra time & money into elderly people. He may eternally inclination of an orbit towards the side of no hope when the odds are sketchy. We always rely on doctors and on their opinions alone we got to know that doctors arent always accurate on what they say . We trust them so much, but who knows that instead of terce months of life you have 6? Also, what if that virus is just temporarily or even that they messe d up the results.By legalizing t his assisted suicide away it would be like giving doctors the right to choose who they want alive. The last con is that Miracle cures can occur. One can get well from one day to the next. Also, the science is go so fast that doctors can make a medicine that c an cure whatever you have. Doctors should always try nothing but their best to keep their Patti ants alive. What if there is actually a cure and the doctors are still not quite aware of it? Miserly says, You have to consider the constant medical and pharmaceutic advances that just might el ad to a miracle recovery.We should neer get to a point where we elapse more time looking f r a way out of life than for a way to sustain life. Through this quote we see that it is always beet err to fight for life to keep going and assisted suicide should not be an option In conclusion, people should never give up and take the easy path. Even thou GHz a lot of people suffer at the end maybe everything can be worth it. It wont be an easy thing to keep living in pain but giving up and giving the right for someone to kill you not be consider an option. As a result, assisted suicide should not be legalized because no one SSH loud be able to take someone elses life away.

An every woman matters study Essay

In this country, many feel as though wellness c atomic number 18 is a right of the citizens. I myself struggle with this idea as I do believe we need to cite the health care needs of our country but do non feel responsible for those that film poor health care decisions on a daily basis and look for us as a country to care for them. With that same thought, I feel a responsibility to help those that are truly trying and are not offered health care benefits through their employers, and cannot afford to purchase health care insurance, as well as the underinsured. We invite to take a stance of what is best for the whole. Our health strategy struggles with devil to health services for everyone. The government is very focused on easing this access through its programs. In 1965, the passage of Medicare and Medicaid were revolutionary in that it provided coverage for the elderly and low income to include the disabled. art object not perfect it opened more opportunities for access. In 2010, another revolutionary policy can into beingness with the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This pushes employers to either supply health coverage of face a penalty. For the smaller employers that offer coverage, in return they receive a tax credit. Again, this effort is to reduce those uninsurable and underinsured in our country through federal policy (Kovner & Knickman, 2011). We are fighting an uphill battle with health care, because as we have tried to make health care more accessible to the citizens of this country we are seeing the cost rise at alarming rates. Kovner and Knickman (2011) points out that between 1999 and 2009 household income rose 38% while insurance premiums rose 131%.This creates more underinsured and uninsured Americans to care for which is an economic crisis for this country that we must address. We have to find new and different ways to overcome the economic obstacles we face with rising cost. Thaler (2013), in his condition in The New Yo rk Times, says no single change will free our health care system to be transformed into one that we need and that we need to try many new approaches that are not in lined with the typical way of thinking. He offers some suggestions that make a lot of sense. He says we should first look to change our way of thinking about services. He says we should be paying providers for care their patients healthy instead of paying for test and procedures. The federal government should protect providers with a proven whole tone record of care and from malpractice lawsuits.Patients can opt out of these providerscare but who would realisti refery do that given up the quality they receive? Evidence-based practices should be employed with care to avoid unnecessary tests such as CT scans and M.R.I.s that many times leads to more unnecessary, unrelated tests. He also believe more naught needs to be spent to employ pharmacist, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants and allow to practice to th e fullest extent to allow to allow primary care physicians to spend more time with patients. The idea of promoting health to avoid health care issues is far less costly than treating a disease process once it arises. I am a firm believer in preventative medicine and not enough energy is butt on this type of health care. We are far too focused on what I call reactive medicine. Improved quality has been proven through research to be more cost effective. each(prenominal) care should be evidence-based to help improve the quality and decrease cost in the long run.ReferencesKovner, A. R., & Knickman, J. R. (2011). Jonas & Kovners wellness Care Delivery in the United States (10 ed.). New York, NY Springer Publishing Company. Thaler, R. H. (2014, February 23). Overcoming Obstacles to Better Health Care. The New York Times. p. BU6. Response

Ocd Research Paper

psychoneurotic Disorder OCD stands for stalkive-compulsive disorder. An individual with OCD tilts to worry ab turn up legion(predicate) different things. On average, one out of fifty adults currently circumvent down from this disorder, and twice that many take a leak had it at nigh point in their lives. When worries, doubts, or superstitious beliefs aim excessive then a diagnosis of OCD is made. With OCD it is vox populi that the brain gets stuck on a particular thought or urge and near cant let go. close to often race with OCD describe the symptoms as a case of mental hiccups that wont go away. This builds problems in information processing.OCD was generally thought as untreatable until the arrival of modern medications and cognitive expression therapy. Most batch continue to suffer regular though they had years of ineffective psych some otherapy. Today treatments tend to serve up nearly people with OCD. OCD is non totally curable simply is somewhat treatable . OCD is a potentially disabling condition that whitethorn persist passim a mortals flavour and get worse without treatment. An individual with OCD be deduces trapped in a pattern of instant thoughts and behaviors that atomic number 18 senseless and distressing but be thoroughgoingly powerful and hard to overcome.OCD can pass along in cases from mild to severe, but if left untreated can destroy a soulfulnesss life and cleverness to function at work, crop, and even at home. Some of the worries and rituals can get out of control. An individual life becomes dominated by thoughts and behaviors they know project absolutely no sense but they argon nerveless to control. sight with OCD tend to fear un veritablety these people ar plagued by persistent and recurring thoughts or obsessions that they find very disturbing. These thoughts ordinarily reflect exaggerated apprehension or fears that hand over no primer on reality.A soul who suffers from OCD has constant doubts virtually their behaviors and constantly renders assurance from other people. Many people who suffer from this disorder feel compelled to exercise certain rituals or routines to help relieve the care caused by their obsessions, up to now the relief is only short. Some rituals or obsessions include make clean, manipu new-fashioneding, repeating, slowness, and hoarding. Usually an individual has twain obsessions and compulsions, though some quantify they have only one or the other.A person with OCD usually wants everything around them to be perfect. What is 1? Most common symptoms of OCD go along with a certain compulsion for instance A need to tell, ask, or confess goes along with praying. A need to have things just so goes along with hoarding or saving. Forbidden thoughts equals arranging. Excessive ghostly or example doubt = counting. Intrusive sexual thoughts or urges cause touching. Imagining losing control or aggressive urges causes checking. Imagining having ill-trea ted ones self or others creates the symptom of repeating.Fear of contamination or germs causes constant slipstream. Compulsions argon intrusive thoughts, impulses, and images that feel out of control and occur over and over again. A sufferer does not want to have these ideas and knows that they dont make any sense but find them intrusive and disturbing. A person with OCD whitethorn be obsessed with the idea they ar contaminated or whitethorn contaminate soulfulness else and worry excessively around dirt and germs. This person could overly have an intense fear that they harmed someone else although they usually know it is not realistic. What 3Some of the most common obsessions of OCD in electric shaverren ar extreme vexation with order, concern that a task or assignment has been done poorly or incorrectly, concern with certain sounds or images, fear that a disaster will occur, there is also the fear of AIDS, fear of getting dirty, fear of losing cardinal things, recurring t houghts, and a fear of saying something wrong. Checking compulsions atomic number 18 rituals that are precipitated by fear of harm to oneself or others and this includes the checking of admissions, locks, heaters, alarms, faucets, switches, and other objects that could be a threat.This can create problems for the learning of a tyke. For example while getting ready for school a youngster may check his or her books several clips to make sure they are all there even to the point where the child is late for school. Once the child is in school they may call to return home and check their books once more. These rituals may also interfere with the completion of homework. This could make a child work late at night to complete an assignment that could have taken ten minutes to complete. Repeating compulsions are rituals in which some one repeats a certain action over and over again.These rituals can in some cases be anxiety driven and in other cases have to be done just so. For insta nce a person might walk backward and forward or get up and down from a chair many times until the ritual is performed just right. These rituals are also connected with counting rituals. In children the rituals can assume many forms in the classroom. This could put out to many repeated questions because the child may need to remember or know something. On written assignments the schoolchild could endlessly cross out, trace, or rewrite letters or words.Lockers can also cause a problem because the combination may need to be repeated several times till it feels right. watch taking is most likely impossible because the schoolchild is compelled to take every word down. Computer scored tests are a nightmare because the student has to fill in the circles perfectly. Uncomfortable feelings such as fear, disgust, doubt, or a sensation that things have to be just so usually accompany obsessions. A person tries to make their obsessions go away by performing certain compulsive rituals. These compulsions are acts that an individual may perform repeatedly, often according to certain rules.OCD symptoms do not give a person pleasure but a sense of temporary relief for a short period of time. The relief is only temporary and the discomfort always comes back. These relieve make up a lot of time and interfere with a persons social life and relationships. The less common form of OCD is hoarding which is the excessive saving of typically suffering items. A most commonly thought form of OCD is contamination. This is the awareness of germs, disease, or the presence of dirt that evokes a sense of threat and an incredible inspiration to reduce the presence of contamination.The compulsion of contamination acquires a cleansing solvent such as hand washing and chronic make clean. Steven1 Another common form of OCD is checking. Checking involves door locks, lights, switches, faucets, stoves, or items left unchecked that might pose a threat to ones well world or the well being of o thers. It is not uncommon for people to check items among 10 to 100 times a day. The impulse to recheck can remain until the person subsists a reduction in tension contempt the realization that the item is secure.One other less common form of OCD is ordering in which a person feels compelled to place items in a designated spot in order. Although contamination fears ofttimes lead to excessive washing they can also have the opposite affect, shoes may be untied, teeth unbrushed, clothing may be slovenly and hair may be dirty. In these cases, fear of contamination of personal objects or body parts leads to the individuals refusal to touch them. A combination of excessive hand washing and sloppiness in other areas of grooming had even been reported. Obsessions revolving around a need for symmetry may result in compulsive arranging.Children who engage in symmetry-related rituals may also feel compelled to have both sides of their bodies identical. For instance a child my spend an inord inate amount of time tying and retying shoelaces so that each side of the bias is perfectly even or balanced. Symmetry rituals may consist of taking steps that are identical in length or speaking with equal stress on each syllable. In a classroom, symmetry rituals may be seen in the students compelling need for order. Books on a shelf, items on a desk, or problems on a page essential be arranged in a precise manner so that they can appear symmetrical to the student.Most people recognize at some point that their obsessions are not just worries about real problems but are coming from their thinkers. Compulsions are excessive or unreasonable but the sufferer has to perform them. OCD poor insight is an individual that not recognize that their beliefs and actions are unreasonable and unreal. Extreme severe distress tends to happen when the symptoms wax and ware over time. OCD symptoms can start at any age from as early as preschool too as late as adulthood. 1/3 of 1/2 of adult suffere rs s assist that their symptoms started during their childhood.On an average people spend 9 years seeking a diagnosis and see up to 3 to 4 doctors. Studies also show that it takes an average 17 years from the time OCD begins for an individual to find appropriate treatment. What 3 OCD may be under diagnosed and untreated for a number of reasons. People with OCD may be skinny about their symptoms or lack insight on the illness. Many healthcare providers are not well- cognize(prenominal) with the symptoms and are not trained to provide treatment. Some people may also not have access to treatment resources. This is unfortunate since early diagnoses and proper treatment can help an individual.Research suggests genes do pushover a role in development of the disorder yet no specific genes have been make up for OCD. Childhood on fix up tends to run in the family. An increasing risk for a child getting OCD is if the rear has it. When OCD runs in families it seems to be inherited but not the specific symptoms. One example is if a child has checking rituals his mother might wash excessively. There is no single proven cause for OCD. Research suggests that OCD could involve problems in communication between the brain and deeper structures although this is not proven. what 4 For many years only a small minority of healthcare professionals patients had OCD there for it was thought to be rare. OCD went unrecognized often because many of those struck with it kept their repetitive thoughts a secret and failed to seek treatment. This led to the underestimate of the number of people with the illness. obsessions 1 In approximately 80% of all cases, people performing the rituals are painfully aware that their behavior is unreasonable and irrational. OCD is an anxiety disorder the thought associated with OCD is bizarre.The thoughts associated with OCD are recurrent obsessions that create an awareness of alarm or threat. Obsessions can take form of a threat or physical alarm to oneself or others. People typically engage in some turning away or escape response in response to the psychoneurotic threat. There are three main branches of OCD. The most common and well-known branch of OCD is known as OC where the undoing response generally involves some overt behavior. The next branch of OCD is purely obsess ional this involves the escape or avoidance of noxious and unwanted thoughts.There are a number of treatment strategies, which are specific to obsessive problems. For example, motivations neutralizing behavior and other counter-productive strategies, increasing selective attention and increased negative mood. These avail to maintain the negative beliefs and therefore the obsessive-compulsive problem. Most recently developments in cognitive therapy suggest that the disclose to understanding obsession problems lies in the way the intrusive thoughts, images, impulses and doubts are interpreted. The general and specific aspects of cognitive-behavioral treatm ent are described.The important negative interpretations usually include the idea that a persons actions can result in harm to onset to others. This responsibility interpretation has several consequences. steven 1 OCD can change and affect a persons life in many ways sometimes alienating them from their friends and family. Many sufferers with OCD are neer diagnosed because they are so secretive about their symptoms. They are afraid to let people know and are even embarrassed about their compulsive reactions. It is a fact that approximately one million children and adolescents in the United States alone suffer from OCD.This means that 3 to 5 children in an average elementary school and 20 teenagers in a large high school are currently suffering. OCD affects adolescents during an important time of social development. Schoolwork, homework, and friendships are affected most often. Most children are to young to realize that there obsessions and compulsions are unusual. Adolescents are embarrassed because they dont want to be different from other people and they worry uncontrollably about their behavior. These adolescents usually hide their rituals in front of friends at school or at home and become mentally exhausted and strained.Children and adolescents that suffer from OCD are different from adults because they express their disorder in special ways. new(a) children often say their rituals are silly. Young childrens OCD is never really recognized by their parents until they are about 3 or 4 sometimes even older. To get a proper diagnosis the child should be brought to a doctor or psychiatrist. While a child is at school they usually erase and redo their assignments, which usually results in late schoolwork. Classroom concentration is usually limited because a child is obsessing about their fears and rituals.Parents should tell a childs teacher about the OCD and may ask for occasional pull ahead reports. OCD is not contagious and parents are often blamed for t he disorder they are utter to have maternal perfections, inappropriate toilet training, or even under parenting. The cause for OCD is neurobiological. Although life events can also aid in the onset of OCD. Childrens OCD is often said to be started by a death of a love one, a divorce, moving to a new location, or unhappiness with changes in school. Approximately 80 portion of children and adolescents with OCD at some point during their illness will develop a washing or cleaning ritual.The most common compulsion is hand washing. An individual may feel compelled to wash their hands extensively and according to a self-prescribed manner for minutes or hours at a time. Other individuals may be less thorough about washing or cleaning but may engage in the act a number of times a day sometimes even hundreds. During school these rituals may manifest themselves in the school setting as subtle behaviors not obviously or at one time related to washing or cleaning. The students teacher shoul d be alert if the student frequently excuses himself or herself from the classroom under voiding or guise.This child could actually be seeking a private area in which to carry out the cleaning rituals. Another sign is the presence of dry, red, chapped, cracked, or even bleeding hands. Bleeding hands are a result of washing with strong cleaning agents such as Mr. Clean to free themselves of contaminants. OCD sufferers usually experience obsessional thoughts that lead to compulsive avoidance in these cases, individuals may go to great lengths to avoid objects, substances, or situations that are capable of triggering fear or discomfort.For example, fear of contamination may result in the avoiding of objects usually found in the classroom, things like paint, glue, paste, clay, tape, and ink. A child may even inappropriately cover their hands with clothing or gloves or may use facial tissue, shirts, or shirt cuffs to open doors or turn on faucets. A student with an obsessive fear of harm may avoid using scissors or other nippy tools in the classroom. A child may even circumvent the use of a certain opening because a passage through that entry may trigger a repeating ritual.Children and adolescents with OCD may also engage in compulsive reassurance seeking. In the school setting, they may continually ask teachers or other school personnel for reassurance that there for example are no germs on the drinking fountain or that they have not made any errors on a page. Although reassurance may serve to allay the anxiety or discomfort that frequently accompanies their fears the relief is often short lived, different situations typically arise in the classroom that pose new fears or discomfort for the student.Number obsessions are typically common among young boys. yet certain numbers are safe other numbers are bad. An obsession with a particular number may result in a childs having to repeat an action a disposed(p) number of times or having to repeatedly count to a part icular number. Some children with strong religious ties have an obsessive fear that they are doing something evil. This symptom of OCD is called scrupulosity and causes an individual to tell themselves that they constantly commit sins, and they must pray constantly or find ways to condone their imagined sins.Members of the catholic religion who suffer from this may go to confession many times a week. Some individuals create elaborate systems to avoid certain thoughts, memories, or actions, or to replace or equalize sinful thoughts with pure good ones. One of the most reported obsessions in youth with OCD is a fear of contamination. This fear may center on a concern with germs, dirt, ink, paint, excrement, body secretions, blood, chemicals, and other substances. Recently, an increase in obsessions with AIDS had also been witnessed.Preoccupation with contamination may lead to the avoidance of suspected contaminants or constant findings in studies such as testing the effectiveness of d ifferent therapies strongly suggest that it is the working alliance or bond between therapist and patient, which is paramount to cure success. Interpersonal aspects of treatment such as 1. comfort 2. confidence and 3. a true commitment from both patient and therapist make a great deal of difference in fostering an asynchronous transfer mode of collaboration. To be successful both the patient and the therapist need to bring their fullest devotion to the explicit and connotative contract of therapy.By saying this it means that at the end of each session both parties need to come to an agreement of the next weeks take exceptions. The patient must except the responsibility and be willing to participate in his or her challenges. Clients can choose to share the challenges of this therapy with an experienced partner or they can choose to decline. The principles of this therapy centralise on fostering a sense of cure independence on the part of the client. Equally important to trainin g, knowledge, experience, and credentials are understanding, compassion and warmth.Most often the cognitive-behaviorist believes that self-disclosure is a healthy part of any relationship, including a therapeutic one. Therefore when a client answers questions about themselves it is considered a natural and healthy part of the therapeutic exchange. steven phillipson 1 The basic premise of this therapy is based on the belief that at the heart of depression exist malformed and irrational thinking patterns. Such patterns revolve around our machine rifle reactions toward life circumstances, which create upsetting delirious consequences.CBT was developed to assist patients to oppose rationally to automatic irrational thoughts. Here automatic thoughts are said to be mental reflexive reactions to upsetting events. Typically, the approach teaches people to learn to identify our reflexive reactions or beliefs that occur as a consequence to upsetting events, that are responsible for the pe riodic upset we experience. tralatitious therapist that specialize in CBT revolve around on teaching clients to substitute rational thinking for automatic irrational thinking. steven phillipson 2Basic CBT believes that within all of us exist irrational ideas. This therapeutic discussion is based on therapists faith in our ability to learn how to sort out the difference between being rational and irrational. At the heart of learning is the belief that we learn from society, family, and religion how to think in dysfunctional and irrational ways. Traditional CBT for patients suffering with OCD is therefore likely to be counter productive toward achieving a beneficial therapeutic outcome. This approach assumes that persons are reacting irrationally to a rationally safe situation.The problem is that the absolute majority of OCD patients are aware that what they are doing is bizarre and irrational. Most can even predict that the risk of danger is infinitesimal. Yet they feel overwhel mingly compelled to act out some escape response. Therefore using handed-down CBT activating event, automatic thought, emotional reaction, and rational response would be futile. Traditional CBT was developed as a treatment for depression. The two basic components entail, 1. the behind the scenes strategizing and 2. the front line conflict.It is very important not to compound up the appropriate application of these two separate strategies when dealing with OCD. The manner in which one conceptualizes a battle and the behavior exerted in fighting it, are very different. steven phillipson 3 Cognitive therapy for OCD predominantly focuses on the two mentioned aspects of this disorder. The premier aspect initially involves having sufferers develop a healthy and informed understanding of how the mechanisms of OCD operate. This focus will be referred to as cognitive conceptualization.Cognitive conceptualization includes having the sufferer separate themselves from the emotional or moral implications of what the disorder seems to represent. Many people who suffer from the purely obsessional form of this condition and responsibility experience tremendous amounts of guilt trip and shame for having these thoughts or being responsible for the wellbeing of others. Also involved with the first aspect is having clients appreciate that giving in to a ritual or embracing the risk of the obsession, requires reservation a series of genuine choices and are not pre-programmed reflexive reactions.Critical aspects of this focus involve reshaping ones response set to the risk. This involves concentrating on ones relationship with their condition as that of making choices in the matter of giving in the ritual, or not. This viewpoint is in difference to perceiving the reaction to cognitive threats as obligatory or as having no choice in the matter. In practice this translates into having patients reframe their disposition from, I had to to I chose to.Research has clearly showed tha t acknowledging our choice in the matter of facing difficult life challenges increases ones tolerance to adversity. Consistently studies have demonstrated that our ability to tin pain is greatly increased as we acknowledge our choice in relation to the decision to seek relief or to tolerate the discomfort. As our perceptible sense of control increases so does our willingness to tolerate discomfort. A minor but crucial aspect of cognitive-conceptualization involves educating people about the actual risks pertaining to their specific concerns.Unfortunately medical science doesnt offer total certainty. Therefore telling someone that the chances of getting AIDS from a door guest is slim at best, does little to take away the general concern. Some people claim to have been guided by their disorder for so long that they have forgotten their real instincts. In addition, fit informed that people who auricle about being a danger to others rarely actually do damaging things or that person with anxiety disorders almost by no means develops schizophrenia might educate, but rarely provides lasting relief. Steven Phillipson 4 Cognitive-management is the second goal of CT this involves teaching individuals to respond to obsessive threats in a way that there is little to no debate in response to being spiked. The main goal is to reduce conflict or mental escape in formulating a response to the upsetting thought. The end product is referred to as habituation. Principles are also included in cognitive-management. These principles enhance greater levels of tolerance toward the physical discomfort, generated by the anxiety.The principles include making space for the discomfort and looking upon it as something to be managed effectively, rather that just achieving a period of relief. The search to eliminate the spike is more than likely the greatest cognitive misconceptualization that people bring to the therapeutic process. Eventually the goal of CT for OCD is to manage he spik e effectively, not to focus on its existence or disappearance. The same thing could be said about the experience of anxiety. Tolerating anxiety focuses on developing room for the experience.Developing room for its presence enables the brain to focus on other information. Cognitive conceptualization focuses on helping take out a sense of culpability, guilt and shame, which is pervasive among obsessive-compulsive sufferers. To access the ideas and philosophy of cognitive-conceptualization in the midst of the challenge would be unadvised because it would tend to be reassurance oriented. The goal for later on in the treatment is instructive in aiding a persons respond effectively to the cognitive prompt of the danger with the least resistance, which thereby allows habituation.Creating an aggressive disposition toward a challenge is tremendously advantageous toward a successful recovery. Aggressiveness is defined as actively looking for anxiety provoking challenges. Paradoxically, when a person seeks an anxiety provoking challenge there tends to be a greater likelihood that experiencing reduced levels of anxiety is achieved. This comes out due to changing the conditions significationum from endless escape to approach. As we seek challenges there is less likelihood of finding them. Cognitive therapy for OCD has two main applications 1. o help people understand the guidelines of anxiety disorders overall plan 2. to provide specific suggestions in response to the moment of being challenged by awareness that there is some imminent danger. Cognitive principles to assist sufferers develop a healthy disposition in the direction of their anxiety is The statement within the question lies the answer proposes that when confronted with a seemingly sincere risk, relying on the consciousness that there is doubt and therefore making the strength of mind to receive the possibility will get rid of a enormous quantity of difficulty solving. steven phillipson 6 The ultimate aspect o f cognitive management entails deliberately creating the consciousness and nature of the chance while harming in the uncovering exercise. This strategy suggests that combining the behavior a compulsive act with a self-talk enhances the impingement of an uncovering exercise. Making the choice to put up with the risk tends to close down the brains natural proclivity to alert its host, through physical uneasiness and cognitive warnings, that you should feel unpleasant until the danger is removed.Overall CT involves providing a sufferer with specific responses to the spikes and educating them about the distinction between having these concerns and separating ones identity from the topics of the condition and highlighting general strategies which facilitate anxiety management. This goes to say that providing reassurances and attempting to educate the sufferer about the truly limited risks involved in the spikes is counterproductive and alienating. steven phillipson 7 lead to excessive washing.