Week 5, Discussion 1, the Age of Reagan Essay Example for Free

Week 5, Discussion 1, the Age of Reagan Essay He was the 40th president of the United States. He put into practice extensive new political and financial schemes. Reagan supply-side economic strategies, dubbed Reaganomics, implementing reduced tax rates to prompt economic development, calculating the money supply to decrease price increases, deregulation of the financial system, as well as decreasing government expenditure. In his presidential address he called upon Americans to begin an era of national renewal. In order to solve the major problems those country faces like both overseas and household, Reagan stated his recognizable movement expression: Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem. He also stated that United State will again be the exemplar of freedom and a beacon of hope for those who do not have freedom. He advanced domestic strategies that attributed a reduction of federal government accountability in solving social troubles, dropping limitations on trade, as well as into practicing tax cuts. Worldwide, he established a violent resistance to the extent of collectivism all through the world and a tough mistrust of the Soviet Union, which in 1983 he tagged an evil empire. Reagan campaigner a rearmed and strong military in addition, to what was in particular helpful of the MX projectile scheme as well as the Strategic Defense Initiative (Star Wars) plan. His economic strategies came to be identified like Reaganomics, an effort, from the Cannon perspective in order to balance the federal budget, increase defense spending, and cut income taxes. The President Sweared to look after right programs for instance Medicare and Social Security. Although, cutting the exp enditure for social programs by targeting waste, fraud and abuse. He clinched the assumption of supply side economics, that hypothesized that tax cuts encouraged economic growth which in turn amplified the governments income at an inferior tax charge. References: Isbouts, J. Johnson, B. D. (Writers) Johnson, B. D. (Director). (1998). Powerplay: End of the empire [Television series episode]. In J. Florescu, J. Isbouts, B. Johnson (Executive producers), Inside the Cold War with Sir David Frost. Los Angeles, CA: Porchlight Entertainment

Elements of gambling Essay Example for Free

Elements of gambling Essay There are two elements of Gambling, including game of chance and gambling mentality. Chance means people cannot control the outcome of an event but with possibility of winning. Player wagers money on irreversible bet in which the outcome relies on chance. Gambling mentality means the willing to take risk. To gamble on something is to take a risk on something in which the stake is involved. Pathological Approach to problem gambling Problem gambling is defined as pathological gambling under APA DSMVI. Pathological gambling is an impulsive control disorder in which there is a chronic and progressive failure to resist impulses to gamble. The concept of addiction of gambling is similar to alcohol and drug addiction in APA model. Gambling is a kind of process addiction. Gamblers enjoy the excitement, tension and anticipation over than the outcome of a gambling event. Gamblers described having the feeling of â€Å"high† similar to that experienced form cocaine in â€Å"outer-body†. There is a dominance in which people have intense preoccupation with gambling to the exclusion of other interests. There is also a problem of tolerance. It means gamblers will eventually spend more money than they intended on gambling, they will lose track of time and control over money betted. In other words, they will gamble from simple to complex high risk and high return betting. We can also see the gamblers have withdrawal symptoms, like irritable, nervous angry and restless. Action gambler Mahjong Tends to be arrogant Desire to control Self-centered, insecure, disregard for authority Easily frustrated, impatient and demanding Highly competitive but given up on the conventional way of competition Attracted to competitive games and those required skills Likely men who started their gambling activities at an earlier state. Gambling gives them a sense of self-enhancement and self-expression Escape gambler Lack of confidence / no self-esteem due to insufficient knowledge and skills Games with no skills involved, e. g. slot machine because no one will judge them Likely to be women who began gambling much later in life than action gamblers Gambling is an emotional reaction to whatever personal or relationship issues they are trying to escape from. Later pathological explanations on problem gambling All pathological gamblers were involved in social gambling for a period of time before they lost control over gambling A significant stressor or greater exposure to gambling often precipitated the sudden onset of pathological gambling. Modern Pathological explanations on problem gambling Modern pathology theories do not argue for determinism but instead rely on the concept of probability- in the sense of â€Å"the relative frequency of occurrence†, â€Å"relative chances of happening†- explain pathological gambling. E. g. Medical Model Medical Model-BlumeAn explanation for deviant behavior that locates its source within the individual and assumes that the behavior is the result of physiological, constitutional, or organic characteristics of the person interacting with the environment. Different psychological and physiological causes of gambling:1. Genetic abnormality that provide a predisposition for disease 1 / 2 2. Mental illness- resulting from obsession or a compulsion3. Abnormal level of dopamine=/=occurrence of sickness It depends on its interaction with other risk factors e. g gender, family influence, ageSolution: Counseling and financial management Weakness: Classical -gt; Ambiguous judgement.

Harmful Effects Of The Concentration Of Media Ownership Media Essay

Harmful Effects Of The Concentration Of Media Ownership Media Essay There has been a tendency in the media world that companies merger into larger media giants in order to reach a better, more secure financial status and to constitute stronger firms. Hunt and Ruben highlighted another aspect to media company mergers. They say, the world had become one large marketplace and, as the investment jargon suggests, a few players dominate the distribution and the production of services and the goods in the world.(140) This is also true to the media business. As the mass media offers huge and fruitful monetary opportunities, some of the most influential businessmen and investors dove into the media industry, forming huge media branches with concentrated ownership, like the Australian Rupert Murdoch, who became the strongest and richest media mogul of our time. By controlling such large percentages of the mass media, Murdoch has great power in his hands, which might mean certain dangers towards the public. In our modern society, the media enjoys enormous importance, since the overwhelming majority of the people familiarize themselves with current affairs, the happenings of their surroundings and the happenings around the world through the mass media. I strongly believe, that such concentration of media ownership, overall, is harmful to the public. According to Dominick, the media system currently working in the United States of America and many European countries, (by now, most probably in most European countries), is a model with decentralized control and private ownership.(62) This model of course may seem better than a system of media supervised and controlled by a central power, probably by a government, as common, westward looking, sense dictates. This system gives the opportunity of exercising freedom of speech, and the accessibility to all materials and information, excluding of course information concerning homeland security. This seems fair and nice, but in reality, I believe, the system works a bit differently. Since the moguls of media industry are virtually the owners of the mass media, they enjoy complete authority over their property, and authority over what their companies publish or broadcast. This is a power that can very easily be abused. Since for the owners of giant media branches, the mass media is just another field of financial opportunities, they usually customize their material in order to attract the largest audience, giving the opportunity of advertising on a huge scale. The money oriented nature of this kind of media ownership puts the quality of information published to the people under dispute. As Wilson pointed it out, a particular example of this phenomenon is Rupert Murdoch and his actions in the United States, where he purchased a number of newspapers, including the New York Post, and managed to turn them into papers publishing sensationalist articles in order to boost the selling. Wilson goes on saying that this demonstrates that Murdoch was not particularly interes ted in providing quality information and journalism to the public, but was more into making profit.(410) Consequently, the quality of the information declined in these papers, not informing the public properly. Apart from the ethical question of the example above, it also raises issues concerning the response of the public to the sensationalist information. It is also possible that these articles may contain information that cannot be proven, or worse, not true at all. This may result in the misdirection of public opinion, and can lead to serious consequences. Another important issue concerning the concentrated ownership of media chains is the question of objectivity on the side of the journalists. Since the resident Gods of the media chains have expectations of profit and ,in some cases, forming the overall opinion of the medium in crucial topics like politics or economy, there may be a multi-layered system of pressure in the hierarchy of the owners and workers of these firms, all concentrated on the journalist. The simple worker crumbles between the principles of objective journalism and the thoughts of the editor not letting their work to be published, or worse, losing their job. In the giant media chains owned by powerful media moguls, journalistic objectivity may be under pressure, so in this way the quality of information presented to the public may be biased, or faulty. Conflict of interest can also be a major factor in the mass media, and within the media giants with centralised ownership, the phenomenon may exist on a considerable scale. Wilson brought up an example for this issue as well. He writes about a case in 1987 when a congressman from Kansas called for an order by the Congress to require General Electric, the second largest producer of defense weaponry of the United States, to sell its company owned television network, NBC. The congressman disputed how the television network could give an objective report about the Strategic Defense Initiative without having conflict of interest.(405) This example of Wilson highlights a very important issue concerning media chains, journalistic objectivity and the quality and quantity of information presented to the public. It is most probable, that a news agency such as a chain of newspaper or a television network cannot report objectively about the affairs of those businesses, in which they own corpor ate holdings, because such a situation would include heavy biasing, filtering information, and of course withholding information. The very last point is the issue of the possibility of political bias of media giants. Reliable Sources, a programme on CNN gave a short coverage on Rupert Murdoch and his appearance in an interview with Marwin Kalb, at George Washington University, in which Murdoch openly criticised his rival television networks, MSNBC and CNN. Murdoch said his rivals tend to be Democrats while his own network, Fox News are not Republicans. Later on at the question and answer round of the interview, Murdoch said they have people at Fox News who are affiliated with the Democratic party, but when he was asked to name people, he struggled to name even one worker. Consequently the information output of Murdochs network may be politically biased. When it comes to the effects of this sort of bias on the public, I believe it may be the most harmful. Political bias may result in dividing the public, may induce reactions from people who feel exposed or vulnerable, and may as well make people paranoid. I beli eve, that in some cases, this can be the aim of such enterprises motored by corporate power and driven by profit. For example in election time, the media support or attack of a certain political party has enormous force, and helps to bias and persuade the electorate. In concluison, I strongly believe that the concentration of media ownership is harmful to the public, concerning the following points made. Firstly, the profit-oriented nature of media chains with concentrated ownership can affect the quality and quantity of information published to the people. Secondly, conflict of interest may be a major factor in information publishing by such media powers. Lastly, biasing, and namely politically biased information dissemination has large grounds in these chains. (1162 words) Sources: Brendt, D. Ruben. and Hunt, T. Mass Communication: Producers and Consumers. Harper Collins College Publishers, 1993. Print. Dominick, J. R. The Dynamics of Mass Communication. McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, 1990. Print. Wilson, S. L. Mass Media / Mass Culture: An Introduction McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1993. Print. Reliable Sources Highlights Murdochs Inability to Name a Democrat Employed by Fox News. Media Matters for America 11. April 2010. Web. 13. April 2010.

Purloined Letter Essay -- essays research papers

A Critical Analysis of â€Å"The Purloined Letter† by Edgar Allan Poe  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Edgar Allan Poe’s background influenced him to write the short story â€Å"The Purloined Letter†. One important influence on the story is that Poe seem to feel inferior to his class mates while in college, which may have been why he wrote Dupin to be seen as superior to his colleagues. While at the University of Virginia he owed others high amounts of money because of gambling, he would drink excessively to help hide his feelings of inadequacy. (Taylor) The second influence on this short story I believe is Poe’s extent in the United States Army. He time in the military was unsuccessful. Because of his experience he made the Perfect of the police a little lacking in intelligence. This background, together with a believable plot, convincing characterization, and important literary devices, enables Edgar Allan Poe in â€Å"The Purloined Letter† to develop the them that characteristic of the human animal to overlook the obvious.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This story does not have a surprise ending nor does is really have a sense of suspense. You know from the beginning who took the letter, but you do not know what information was contained in the letter and how that information would have affect the queen. The only surprise may be in where the letter was keep throughout the story, in plain site. The Perfect of the police searched the Minister’s lodgings many nigh...

The Comfort of Strangers by Ian McEwan :: English Literature

Review of The comfort of strangers by Ian McEwan ================================================== This is a very interesting book by McEwan as well as being rather confusing. The name ‘the comfort of strangers’ fits the storyline perfectly. This is a very mysterious book in which the two of the main characters Caroline and Roger are slowly tightening the noose on the necks of the other two main characters Mary and Colin. I think the book fits into the mystery genre as far as the writing of the author goes and I found that some parts of the book reminded me of ‘Enduring Love’. The way that that Colin and Mary blindly get involved with Roger shows one of many weaknesses in the novel. Roger’s shady character and his weird story about how his father was very strict and how his jealous sisters made him eat chocolate so that he would get into trouble with his father along with other things should have kept Mary and Colin away. Stories like this one, which require the reader to suspend disbelief as the actors venture further and further into the abyss are extremely hard to pull off, so it's not surprising that McEwan doesn't quite manage it. An author can get away with making his characters naive, but at the point where the reader is yelling at them and calling them idiots for following along with the novel's plot, that author has lost control of his own narrative. A big complaint that reviewers have had with this novel or rather this ‘short story’ is that the author works around taboo issues meaning he may talk about them for a moment or two and then ignores them. Another problem which links onto this is that many times the author builds up the story as something really dramatic is going to happen and then nothing out of the ordinary happens for example when Mary jumps in the water you would think that one of them may drown but it turns out to be something just ordinary. I think this has a negative effect on the reader as well as the fact that sometimes the reader is left to ‘fill in the gaps’ themselves when we are not given enough detail on the characters or the storyline. There is no real solution at the end of the novel. Another problem with the novel is how Mary and Colin’s sex lives suddenly become great again after meeting Caroline and Roger. Another similar instance is when Roger punches Colin in the stomach for NO reason. The setting of the novel, which is Venice, is not really used well by

Mother Teresa Essay -- essays research papers

She dedicated her life serving the poor. She loved the unloved, cared for the un-cared, helped the dying, the cripple, and the mentally ill. She served everyone with her love and the love of God. She touched the hearts of those who doubted her because of her love and commitment to God. Mother Teresa lived an extraordinary life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, later named Mother Teresa, was born on August 26, 1910 in Skopje, Yugoslavia. She was born into an Albanian Roman Catholic family. There were three children, one boy and two girls. She was the youngest. She attended the government school. In her teens, Agnes became a member of a youth group in her local parish called Sodality. Through her involvement with their activities guided by Yugoslavian priests, Agnes became interested in missionaries in India. There, letters from Yugoslavian priests working in Bengal were read. Young Agnes was one of the Sodalists who volunteered for the Bengal Mission.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When she turned eighteen, she left home to join the Irish Loreto order, whose Sisters ran a mission in Calcutta, India. Mother Teresa’s first assignment was teaching high school girls in Calcutta from 1929 to 1946. There she taught geography at the St. Mary’s High School. For some years, she was a principal of the school and was also in charge of the Daughters of St. Anne, the Indian religious order attached to the Loreto Sisters.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  By December 1, 1928 Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu had chosen the name of Sister Mary Teresa of the Child Christ after Teresa of Liseux. â€Å"On May 24, 1937, Sister Teresa committed herself to her vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience for life and in doing so became, as was then usual for Loreto nuns, ‘Mother Teresa’† (Spink 17).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1946, she wanted to work directly with the poor. She applied for permission to go out and work among the poor in the slums of the city. â€Å"It was among these people that she felt a call to work, and to spend the rest of her life, in daily contact with them† (Spink 224). Her request to work with the poor was granted. Finally, she changed from the uniform of the Loreto order to the customary cheap Indian sari. Her work started after an intensive course in nursing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In addition to the Sisters, Mother Teresa founded four other bra... ...d.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Establishing one’s goal and devoting her life to the helpless, this is the story of Mother Teresa. Not only was she a servant of god, she was recognized as a mother to many. â€Å"I'm just a little pencil in his hand. Tomorrow, if he finds somebody more helpless, more hopeless, I think he will do still greater things with her and through her† (Crimp 85). Mother Teresa lived an extraordinary life. With one word to describe her, I would say she was miraculous.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Work Cited Crimp, Susan. Touched by a Saint: Personal Encounters with Mother Teresa. Notre   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dame, Indiana: Sorin Books, 2000. Muggeridge, Malcolm. Something Beautiful for God: Mother Teresa of Calcutta. New   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  York: Harper & Row, 1971. Spink, Kathryn. Mother Teresa: A Complete Authorized Biography. San Francisco:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  HarperSanFrancisco, 1997. -------.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Miracle of Love: Mother Teresa of Calcutta, her Missionaries of Charity, and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  her Co-workers. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1981.

Assess the View That Factors Within Schools Are the Greatest Influence on Social- Class Differences in Educational Achievement Essay

Assess the view that factors within schools are the greatest influence on social- class differences in educational achievement. (20 marks) I am going to be looking at the view that schools and the education system determine how successful each individual student will become; sociologists have very mixed opinions about whether the education system is beneficial to all pupils. There are some sociologists that believe labelling and stereotypes affect the way a student achieves within the education system. To label a student means to attach a meaning or make a presumption about their behaviour, labelling can be detrimental to a student while at school, for example, if a student isn’t focused in one of their lessons and isn’t as successful as they could possibly, the teacher will label the student as distracted and possibly lazy, not doing as much work as they should be; if in meetings teachers discuss this with other teachers it could possibly influence their opinion on the student and realise they are not reaching their full potential. When teachers first meet their pupils they automatically make an assumption about them on how they look and how they carry themselves, if a student comes in to a classroom with a hood on, baggy trousers and with a bad attitude it can be quite easy for a teacher to suggest the student isn’t going to be intelligent or an asset to the class room. Once a teacher sees a student dressed inappropriately for school and carrying themselves in a certain way, it’s almost natural that they begin to question the social class of the student, in this case they would assume the student is working class, and that education isn’t something of a priority to the student. Becker (1971) studied labelling in secondary schools, using interviews of 60 high school teachers; he found that teachers stereotyped students based on their work, conduct and appearance. Teachers saw middle class children as the closest to their stereotype of the ‘Ideal pupil’ and working class did not come close to this ideal. These stereotypes lead to ‘The Halo Effect’ this is the idea that when a middle class student is entered in to the education system they succeed based on their social class, it gives them an instant advantage over all of their peers who may be of a lower class. Differentiation refers to the way teachers categorise students regarding their abilities, their appearance, mannerisms and general behaviour; setting and streaming are other forms of differentiation. Setting is when you organise pupils into sets regarding their ability in that subject, however sometimes if a pupil is good at a majority of their subjects, they will be placed in high sets for all, just because they clearly have the ability is a number of other subject, they are seen as generally intelligent. Ball (1981) believes streaming can have negative conseq uences for pupils, in his study of beachside comprehensive he found that it was in fact phasing out and replaced with mixed ability teaching, which means groups are formed with pupils of high ability’s and low abilities and the aim is that the high ability students will encourage and influence the other students to achieve and become more proactive with their learning. This can have a reverse affect and in some cases students with high abilities underachieve with the disruptive students in the class. As middle class students are seen as the perfect type of student, polite, cooperative, and generally higher achievers, teachers appreciate and warm to this more than the typical working class student. A working class student is seen as talkative, they look scruffy and education isn’t as much of a priority or an enjoyment, it’s something they have to do. Working class pupils require a lot more encouragement and time from teachers to understand basic points and knowle dge that middle class pupils would typically understand easily. The middle class do suffer as well, just because they are seen to come from a good background and supportive parents, that does not necessarily mean they are going to do well in every subject, they can be forgotten about and glide though school years with the assumption they will get the grades they need by the end of the year. The working class do demand a lot more attention and if they do not see success in their work or exam results, they will become frustrated and ‘Resistant anti-school subcultures’ that oppose the values and norms the education system encourages; therefore finding rewards and status within their group of friends. The two subcultures that the education creates are ‘The pro- school subculture’ filled with positivity and rewards, expectations are high and positive stereotypes; If we look at the opposing subculture ‘The Anti- school subculture’ filled with negative stereotypes, labels, low sets and streams and low expectations. These subcultures show two opposite ends of the spectrum, with high achievers and low achievers, however, it’s the ones in the middle who receive the most attention and support, as teachers accept that Pro-school subculture will achieve anyway and ‘the anti-school subculture’ will fail, neither receive a gre at deal of attention or time but are left to their own devices. Overall the education system is the biggest influence on social class differences in education; they have two extremes, the successful ones and the ones who will just go menial jobs or manual labour for the average wage. The education system idolises the middle class as a whole and don’t take people for individuals, the education appears to care more about their reputation and their place in the league tables than they do about their students. The social class of students sets them up for success for failure, assumptions are made as soon as the student walks through the door, every time it’s a parents evening or an event students are always being judged. The education system doesn’t promote equal opportunities for everyone, they know who is going to pass or fail, the ones in-between are the ones they focus on to bring up the percentage of pass rates on the school, not for the good of the student. Ma ny sociologists such as Marxists believe the education system ignores wider problems, they assume all teachers label pupils and that it will have a negative effect upon a pupil.