Wednesday, October 30, 2019

'Crime is a Symptom of Wider Malaise' - from the Perspective of Essay

'Crime is a Symptom of Wider Malaise' - from the Perspective of Positivism and the One Other Criminological Theory - Essay Example Crime is described in a sociological aspect, the behavior that infringes criminal law. It can be described in the course of laws, through official police reports of crime, or in the course of victimization surveys of people who are concerned about it, but possibly not involved with the department of police. In addition to this, â€Å"Crime consists of three principle divisions, 1. the sociology of law, which is an attempt to systematically analysis the conditions under which criminal laws develop and also an explanation of variations in the policies and procedures used in the administration of criminal justice. 2. Criminal etiology, which is an attempt at scientific analysis of the causes of crime; and 3. Penology, which is concerned with the control of crime† (Sycamnias n.d., para. 4). In general, crime has many definitions. One definition is crime is that, an act or an occurrence of inattention that is considered harmful to the wellbeing of the community, or to the principle s, or welfare of the circumstances, and is lawfully banned. Criminal activities keep increasing day by day in this world. The reason behind this could be various, but the crimes should be prevented at any cost, for the wellbeing of the mankind. Crimes happen due to certain reasons. ... ‘Crime is a symptom of wider malaise’, I would agree with this statement because malaise is a stage of mental depression, â€Å"a feeling of unease or depression† (Malaise 2012). A state of discomfort or stress leads to criminal activities generally. This could be treated and cured by increasing mental health and through anti crime awareness. If the reasons behind crimes are revealed, then the criminals should get appropriate punishment. Punishments are given to them in accordance to what they have done, and with the aim of preventing them for doing more crimes. But what I feel is, prevention is better than cure. Policies for preventing any forms of crime should be used awareness should be created in the society, so that criminal activities could be minimized. Punishments should be rigorous, so that those who have the tendency to the criminals should rethink. If the laws and punishments are not severe, it would increase the rate of crimes and would produce more cr iminals. Reasons such as family background, poverty, lack of education etc play a major role in creating criminals. In my opinion, criminals are not born; the circumstances create them as such. Circumstances mean family background, lifestyle, poverty, lack of education etc. There are many causes for crimes. Here I include 10 causes of crimes. â€Å"Lack of faith, imbalance, poor judgement, lack of love, poverty, deprived neighbourhoods, being a victim in a chain of events, poor parenting skills, ecological reasons etc† (Top 10 Causes of Crime 2007). The government has the responsibility to prevent crimes and secure the society. So it is the government’s responsibility to prevent crimes by implementing various

Monday, October 28, 2019

Cooking Is Something That Many People D Essay Example for Free

Cooking Is Something That Many People D Essay Cooking is something that many people do. Some do it as a profession, some do it for fun, and some do it because they have to. Most people cook because eating anything raw is unappetizing and boring. I cook because it is entertaining and almost hypnotizing in a sense that I become almost oblivious to my surroundings. Sadly, some times I share the feeling of most people, ? gwhy o why do I have bother to do this. ?h But even if preparing a dish for themselves, people tend to get caught up and forget about anything else that is going on. When other people are the ones who will be enjoying the dish, the cook tends to have a feeling of wanting to make them astounded or awed at his or her culinary skills by preparing a better dining experience. It is a constant struggle for perfection and creativity. In the professional environment of cooking, the atmosphere is exigent. It is a fast moving and demanding environment. When working in such a place, one is soon to forget the time that is passing. As the product of the chef is taking shape, it looks more and more like a piece of art, with an amazing array of colour topped with astonishing garnishes. Chefs are people endlessly exploring the continual horizon of creativity in which the food can spread in any direction of space atop a plate. Another great part of cooking is the faces, comments, and reactions of the diners. Their faces are filled with the expression that speaks the flavour of the food and the opinion of the people themselves. A picture is worth a thousand words. I always remember that phrase when the food is served in front of the diner. And after that they speak. Their words persuade and encourage you for a higher level of achievement. Well at least most of the time. These are the reasons why culinary arts is an amazing field for anyone.

Friday, October 25, 2019

The Physics of Swinging :: Physics Swinging Essays

The Physics of Swinging My son begs to watch me swing on one of the swing sets at the park. I tell him that there is so much work involved and I don’t know if I have the energy to do all of the many things it takes to make a swing move. It’s such an innocent plea, but complicated in the terms of the actual process of it. The physics of swinging has so many components. From resonance to force, and from the period of the swing to the conversion of energy, the process of swinging is actually a complicated matter. While you watch a person swing, place your hand at the maximum point of the swing’s achieved height and then count how many seconds it takes to return back to that same height. You have just measured the period of the swing. The period of the swing is the time it takes the swing to make one full move back and forth. The equation used to solve for the period mathematically is T = 2p (square root of L/g), where L is the length of the pendulum, and g is gravity. There are a few things that can change the period of a pendulum. As length increases and as the force of gravity increases so will the period. Likewise, when both gravity and length of the chains decrease, the period does also. My reference Mark Nethercott says that if there are no outside influences, the period stays constant at about 15 degrees of arch, but the amplitude must be low. This statement corresponds with Newton’s first law of motion (law of inertia) that says, â€Å"Every object remains at rest or in motion in a straight line at constant speed unless acted on by an unbalanced force.† (Physics, A World View p.31). A force other than gravity and the length of the swing can alter the outcome of a period. While standing with your hand out, measuring the period, give the person on the swing a push. â€Å"Periodic motion is motion that repeats itself at regular intervals of time and resonance is periodic increases of the amplitude of periodic motion due to a force at a constant interval. So while you push the person on the swing, you are creating a form of resonance for the swing.† –Mark Nethercott. There is one last force that changes the period of a swing, and that is squatting and standing, or leaning back and forth.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Reseach on Performance Work Systems in Local Councils the Case of Harare City Council in Zimbabwe Essay

1.0 Introduction This chapter forms the basis of the study on the assessment on the role of high performance work systems have on Harare city council workers for effective and efficiency service delivery. This paper is going to provide a background of the study stating the problem, purpose and importance of the study. To add to the above, the objective, anticipated constraints and research questions, including literature review and research methodology are going to be highlighted. 1.1 Background of the study Performance has been a widely researched subject by most social scientist and industrial psychologist in an attempt to establish what motivates people to do what they do, and why they do it. An organisational performance has always been an issue for managers, as it is believed that satisfied workers tend to be more productive, creative and committed to their jobs. There is therefore need to establish whether high performance work systems are what bring satisfactory performance or there are other factors. High performance work systems is a complex and multifaceted concept, which can mean different things to different people. However, the researcher in this study attempted to establish the role of high performance systems, whether it brings positive or negative results with particular attention at Harare City Council. 1.2 Statement of the problem The dilemma at hand is that the Harare city council workers are said to be hindering the performance circles of which are of particular appeal to affect the residents. The council provide services to the residents which are not helpful but only distract them from developing their communities in the proper manner they desire. This is happening due to the failure by the council to carry out good research on its performance since today employees are expected to work in teams rather than solely on their own. They are expected to keep learning new skills and to assume broader roles through the employment security, selective hiring of new personnel, self-managed teams and decentralization of decision making as the basic principles of organizational design, comparatively high compensation contingent on organizational performance, extensive training, reduced status distinctions and barriers including dress, language office arrangements, and wage differences across levels, extensive sharing o f financial and performance information throughout the organisation. 1.3 Objectives of the study 1 To investigate and establish the role of high performance work systems in relation to organisational performance as this affects the service delivery. 2 To establish what causes poor performance and service delivery in the organisation. 3 To find out ways of maintaining and improving staff loyalty, motivation and performance. 4 To recommend on changes to improve council performance and staff welfare policy. 1.4 Significance of the study As a researcher it is of paramount importance to conduct a study on the role of high performance work systems by the local authority. One can easily notice that it is important to carry out this research as it: The research findings of this research were also intended to assist management in addressing concerns and expectations of staff in order to harness their full contribution and effort to the benefit of the organization. The organization would then use the research findings to redesign its human resources policies towards the workers welfare and provide the answers to the questions presented on the sub problems of the research problem. Employees could use the research as a platform to express their concerns and desires to management, which they would not probably get, and also use it as a reference point to those who would intend to do their own researches. 1.5 Literature review Review of related literature is the most important part of research. It refers to the systematic exploration of issues related to the one’s research which has been treated to date by various authors and authorities. According to the high performance work systems Assessment, â€Å"by social impacts we mean the consequences to human populations of any public or private actions that alter the ways in which people live, work, play, relate to one another, organise to meet their needs and generally cope as members of society.† The concept of high performance work systems and organisational performance High performance work systems have been defined as a distinctive managerial approach that enables high performance through people. (1987). High performance work systems are somewhat not quite the same as motivation, but the two are closely linked. Many thoughts and views have been developed to define performance at work but much of it explains one’s reaction, feelings and emotions towards the accomplishment of organisational goals. Many research studies were however founded to explain how people react in the manner they do in their jobs. Various factors have been associated with one’s performance. These factors include: * The level of pay and benefits, * The perceived fairness of the promotion system within a company, * The quality of the working conditions, * Leadership and social relationships * The job itself. Different models were developed to account for the attitudes that people develop at various situations. The following models of job satisfaction shall be discussed to aid the understanding of high performance work systems at work. Classical theories of Maslow (1943), Herzberg (1968) and Vroom in relation to high performance work systems have been the basis of the modern day studies. Abram Maslow proposed a hierarchical theory of five needs, which gained popularity over the years and formed a basis for management studies to human motivation at work. Having been simplified by Clayton Alderfer made a fine-tuning to the hierarchical explanations of human needs to that of three levels. Abbreviated to ERG, (Existence, Relatedness and Growth), Existence needs constituted Maslow’s physiological and safety needs, and Relatedness included internal esteem and social needs and lastly, the Growth stage was made up of self actualisation and external esteem needs. The Wikipedia encyclopaedia cited various models of which can help to explain high performance work systems that were written to by different authors as follows: * The two-factor theory * The job characteristics model * The fulfilment theory * The equity theory These models shall be discussed below to aid the research to find the basis of high performance work systems in the workplace. Theories of Employee Motivation for performance The two-factor theory This theory also known as the motivator-hygiene theory is the work of Fredrick Herzberg (1968). The theory is on the premise that employee satisfaction has two dimensions namely â€Å"hygiene† and â€Å"motivation†. (Agarwal.1983). According to Herzberg, Hygiene factors include those aspects such as company policies, supervision, salary, interpersonal relations and working conditions. Motivators include those aspects that satisfy people such as achievement, recognition, the work itself, responsibility and advancement. The model was criticised by researchers who failed to empirically measure of satisfaction as being a methodological artefact. (Wikipedia encyclopaedia). High performance work systems characteristics Model The model was proposed by Hackman and Oldham (1976), which states that there are five core job characteristics, which impact three critical psychological states. The five core job characteristics include: * Skill variety: employees use a variety of skills to complete their jobs, skills that have been acquired by long years of study and/ or experience and are the primary reason for their employment and work allocation in a business organisation * Task identity: involvement of the employee in all steps of the job, thus providing identification with the task. * Task significance: The significance of the job being properly executed to the well being of the organisation. * Autonomy: The freedom to do the job with responsibility and by oneself. * Feedback: The provision of feedback providing information about the excellence of performance of the job. The three psychological states include: * Experienced meaningfulness, * Experienced responsibility for outcomes, and * Knowledge of the actual results. The Fulfilment theory According to Agarwal (1983), fulfilment theory regard satisfaction as resulting from outcomes (rewards) a person receives or the extents to which a person’s needs are satisfied. The difficulty with the fulfilment approach is that satisfaction is a function of not only what a person receives but also what he feels he should receive and/or wants to receive. People have different expectations and what satisfies one may dissatisfy another. Equity Theory According to literature by Agarwal (1983), a person’s satisfaction is determined by his perceived equity. Received equity is, in turn, determined by his input-output balance as compared to his comparison others’ input-output balance. Input-output balance is a perceived ratio of what a person receives from his job relative to what he put in the job. According to the equity theory, either under reward or over reward can lead to dissatisfaction although the feeling associated with them are different. As illustrated by the following diagram the comparison may result in one feeling unfairly treated when outcome received appears lower than others or feels guilty when received more than others. The equity theory A Perceived outcomes actually received A = B Satisfaction A < B Dissatisfaction A > B Guilty and discomfort Perceived personal input B Perceived personal outcome that should be received Perceived outcome of comparison others Perceived input of comparison others Fig 1.Equity Theory (Agarwal 1983) Determinants of high performance work systems Agarwal (1983) says that there are various factors that determine performance. These are discussed below. Employee Supervision As with Herzberg hygiene factors, supervision is critical to provide leadership to employees’ performance. A good leader is one who establishes trust from his followers and promotes feedback. He knows how to treat employees at different situations. Research has shown that low performance and low productivity occurs when a supervisor is a laissez faire type of leader. Agarwal (1983). Research has also discovered that those people’s reason to seek employment is to get paid (money) though not a motivator but they desire to be paid fairly. Management must always ensure consult for salaries and benefits to see whether their employees match the market. (Putting Theory Into Practice, October 1999 publication) The work group in relation to employee performance Employees need to socialise with others to create an environment of belongingness, develop a sense of camaraderie and teamwork. Social interaction creates organisational performance though depending on their affiliation. Inappropriate behaviour should not be encouraged though because of influences, but strong reprimands should be exercised. (Putting Theory Into Practice, October 1999 publication) Job content in relation to high performance work systems Employees need to feel that the work or task they are doing is of great importance to the company. Their contributions result in positive outcomes. It is therefore essential for management to recognise as an important a task to the overall achievement of the organizational goals. Agarwal cited Herzberg, Mauner and Suyderman as holding a view that job content factors such as achievement, recognition, advancement, responsibility and the work itself tend to provide satisfaction but their absence such as supervision, working condition, company policies and salary tend to produce dissatisfaction but their presence does not produce satisfaction. Age in relation to performance According to Agarwal (1983), some research works have reported a positive correlation between age and performance. Older workers tend to be more satisfied with their jobs than their younger counterparts because older workers are said to have adjusted to their jobs while young workers still have ambitions and need for advancement. Job Satisfaction and performance The analysis of results from the work of Herzberg et al, on twenty-six studies focusing on the relationship between job satisfaction and performance, fourteen of these showed that workers with positive job attitudes had higher performance than those with negative attitudes. Nine studies have shown that job attitudes and performance were not related, and in three studies, workers with positive attitudes had poorer performance records than those with negative attitudes. Lawler, 1977 and Porter, 1961, hold the view that it is productivity that leads to satisfaction and not the vice versa. Performance leads to rewards and if these rewards are considered to be equitable in relation to the perception of the worker of the rewards of his referent others and his perceptions of what he should receive, he will experience satisfaction. The following is the illustrative diagram. Model of performance leading to satisfaction Perceived equity of rewards in relation to referent others Performance Reward intrinsic & extrinsic Satisfaction Perception of how much he should receive Fig 2.Source: Agarwal 1983: Model of performance leading to satisfaction Adapted from Lawler III & Porter â€Å"The effect of Performance on job satisfaction†, Human relations, October, 1967 P23 1.5 Justification of the study The area of discussion is worth studying because it aims at alerting the management of the Harare City Council how their service provision are being hindered by the employee performance, thus organisational performance is affected as well. As such the research is vital as it will help in gathering or adding information on the importance of high performance work systems being as well as its importance to the Ministry of local government urban and rural development. The Minister will be able to see if there are any amendments which need to be done and if there are any gaps left which need to be filled. Furthermore the research will see the researcher attain the ultimate goal for a Bachelor of science Honours degree in Local Governance Studies 1.6 Research Methodology Various techniques will be exploited to achieve the proposed objectives of the study. Haralambos (1995:36) asserts that: Any academic subject requires methodology to reach its Conclusions, it must have ways of producing and analysing Data so that theories can be tested, accepted or rejected without a systematic way of producing knowledge the findings can be dismissed. The researcher is going to use both quantitative and qualitative techniques to come up with conclusions as both techniques can be used to complement each other as well as questionnaires. According to wordiq.com (2011), quantitative research is the numerical representation and manipulation of observations for the purpose of describing and explaining the phenomena that those observations reflect. It is bent on developing and employing mathematical models. On the other hand, Qualitative research is a method of inquiry appropriated in any different disciplines. It means a non numerical data collection or explanation based on the attributes of the source of data. Qualitative research is used to gain insight into people’s behaviour, attitudes, value systems, motivations concerns, aspirations, culture or lifestyles. Christensen (1994) expressed that a sample makes a better study. Leedy (1993) agreed with the same idea saying that, â€Å"the larger the sample the better.† I wil l select the people that are going to give relevant information to this study for example the most affected people and the possible problem solvers. 1.7 Research Tools (a) Interviews (Group The researcher intends to use interviews as a research technique. Gray et al (2007) allude that the best data gathering technique for survey research is the interview. These interviews will be done in groups so as to save time. (b) Observation The researcher will use observation in tackling the research problem. The rationale for using this technique is that the researcher intends to learn about the sensitive issues that participants might be unwilling to disclose or talk about with regards to the research. (c) Analysis of secondary sources The researcher will make use of other researchers that have been studied in relation to the field under study. This will be done in order to weigh the impacts that the previous researchers have had. Target Population The study will be focussing on the Harare City Council employees. Anticipated constrains Wikipedia (2011:4) notes that any limit or restriction given for the design process is called a constraint. The study is likely to encounter a number of challenges which may compromise the quality of research results and these include: (a)Access to information The information is mostly confidential in the Harare City Council thus releasing information might be problematic. Some may be reluctant to disclose such information as such the respondents will be guaranteed that their information will be treated with utmost privacy and confidentiality. (b)Resources Resources such as time and finance may compromise the quality of the research as the researcher is a student with other university commitments RESEARCH REFERENCE LIST Argawal R.D.(1983) Organisation and Management, Mcgraw-Hill, Tata Boxall P., Macky K. & Rasmussen E., (2003)‘Labour turnover and retention in New Zealand; the causes and consequences of leaving and staying with employers’ Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources. Vol 41 (2)., Cascio, W.F. (2003) Managing Human Resources: Productivity, quality of work Life profits (6th ed.). McGraw-Hill Irwin. French, W.L. (1998) Human Resources Management. Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company Ivancevich et al (1989):Foundations of Personnel ,Human Resources Management Kreitner, R., & Kinicki, A. (2001) Organisational behaviour (5th ed.). Irwin McGraw-Hill. Milkovich, G.T., & Boudreau, J.W. (1994) Human Resource Management (7th ed.). IRWIN Publishers, USA. Morrell W. H., Loan-Clarke J. & Wilkinson J (2004), ‘Organisational change and employee turnover’, Personnel Review, vol 33 (2) Morris W.T. (1972). Management for Action: Psycho Technical Decision making. Reston. Mowday, R., Porter, L., & Steers, R. (1982) Employee-organizations linkages – The Psychology of commitment, absenteeism and turnover: Academic Press, .London Rhodes, S.R., & Steers, R.M. (1990)., Managing employee absenteeism Addison: Wesley Publishing Company, USA Spector, P.E. (1997)., Job satisfaction: Application, assessment, causes and Consequences: SAGE Publications, USA Van der Merwe, R., & Miller, S.(1988),. Measuring absence and labour turnover: A Practical guide to recording and control. Lexicon Publishers., J

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Does Language Shape Culture?

Csecsei Luca 12. IB Does language shape culture? Most questions of whether and how language shapes thought start with the simple observation that languages differ from one another. And a lot! Just look at the way people talk, they might say. Certainly, speakers of different languages must attend to strikingly different aspects of the world just so they can use their language properly. The word order can be completely different among languages. And also there are tenses in some languages that we do not have, use or do not know what it really means. Such as the subjunctive in spanish language. It is a tense which is the hardest to learn while learning spanish, because such a tense that has so many meanings does not exist nor in hungarian, neither in english. I had the chance to spend a year in the U. K. and i also to take spanish there, i experinced that to learn this tense is just as hard for the english as it was for me when I learned spanish in my previous school, which was a spanish-hungarian bilingual school. Culture is learned, but taught through the language. Language is never the entity which has been invented in isolation. It certainly has evolved gradually with the continuous development of a culture. A culture being a building made of different beliefs in supernatural, social behaviors, human emotions, or way of expressing feelings, the language has continually adapted accordingly to accommodate these identified notion and gesture of human activity. Finding a symbolism every time to register it in the language, thus contributing to its growth. A language has always been a weapon to express one's ideas and feelings. And the reason enough to make this weapon more efficient to handle one's need of expressing things with intended accuracy. It has been tuned-up with each new finding, getting honed up continually to get its flawless shape with developing culture. Culture is determined by the language it uses with a great extent. The first thing that comes to my mind is always slang. Language clearly shows where people belong, if someone speaks really mincing his words that shows he is educated nd nor grown up on the streets like most of the people who use slang words and developed a whole new language between them. We are all members of a social group and members of `society? as a whole. People interact in many ways and communication is just about the most common and among the most important. Whatever is meaningful to a group, from their everyday life to their traditions constitutes their very own culture and is generally respec ted by all group members. Language is only one of such items. For ethnic minority groups that may have a language of their own, their language is a cornerstone in their culture. Take a look at dialects anywhere int he world. It clearly shows different customs, not just in language or communication. There a lots of dialects in South-America, for instance. Spanish in Latinamerica differs a lot from nations to nations, or we can also say, from culture to culture. There are dialects also in our country, Hungary. And people on the north of the country speak in a different way, like pronounce sounds so much different. Use words and expressions that we do not use at all. They also have differently built, constructed and decorated houses, songs, tales and wear different clothes as their costume. Taken together I do think linguistic processes are obtrusive in most fundamental domains of thought, unconsciously shaping us from the nuts and bolts of observation and perception to major life decisions. Language is central to our experience of being human and is central to our beliefs, and the languages we speak profoundly shape our culture.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Fahrenheit 451 Essays - Fahrenheit 451, Social Science Fiction

Fahrenheit 451 Essays - Fahrenheit 451, Social Science Fiction Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury?s science-fiction novel Fahrenheit 451 has literary elements that strengthen its interpretation. The theme of this novel is the significance of a person?s independent thought. The literary movement of this piece of literature is Romanticism. Through the use of Guy Montag, an emotionally distressed individual who realizes the importance of independent thinking, Fahrenheit 451?s theme and literary movement are better understood. The theme of Fahrenheit 451 is the importance of an individual?s independent thought and the individual?s creative ability. Guy Montag never thought about what he did because he was told what he did was appropriate for society, and also he is happy with his role in society. He felt like that until he met Clarisse McClellan, a 17 year-old girl that society calls a mental case because she questions society. She ?teaches? Montag about the past when society did not fear the firemen. When he talked to the his colleagues they laugh at him because they believe what their handbook says. ?The only action these characters take is to maintain their status quo-the way things are. In contrast, Clarisse, Montag and Faber are individuals who wonder about their world and, in the case of Montag and Faber, are able to make attempts to change things? (Telgen 145).He had been taking the books at some of the midnight runs he had, but never really wanted to find out what is written in them until after he found out that Clarisse died. A person that helped Montag expand his creativity was Professor Faber. He was a man that Montag remembered he had met when he needed someone else?s guidance to do the right thing for himself. Professor Faber tells Montag about how society has depended on technology for many things and that Shah 2 technology threatened the development of the mind. ?In Bradbury?s novel, education?s emphasis on technology leads to a culture where people understand how things are done but never bother to wonder why things are done? (Levy 1314). This type of education does not encourage the persons with unique abilities to look into depth and find a reason for why things are done. ?School is shortened, discipline relaxed, philosophies, histories, languages dropped, English and spelling gradually gradually neglected, finally almost completely ignored. Life is immediate, the job counts, pleasure lies about after work. Why learn anything, save pressing buttons, pulling switches, fitting nuts and bolts (Bradbury 55-6). This is the quote that Captain Beatty, Montag?s boss, said to Montag when Montag was not sure about being a fireman. Novels have many aspects that influence the author in determining the type of plot they should include. The literary movement of Fahrenheit 451 is Romanticism. It has six different characteristics: 1) emphasizes individualism, spontaneity, and freedom from rules; 2) shows a solitary life, not a life in society; 3) shows a belief that imagination is superior to reason; 4) reflects a devotion to beauty; 5) shows a love and worship of nature and fascination with the past, especially with myths and the supernatural; 6) shows a passionate love of country (Donnell 2). Montag emphasizes disposition, whimsical tendency, and salvation from regulations by changing his belief about community after being a fireman for 12 years. ?Bradbury has been called a romantic, and his romanticism often surfaces in the themes he investigates: the conflict between human vitality and spiritless mechanism, between the creative individual and the conforming group,...? (Paradowski 356). Clarisse McClellan and her family showed a life not within the standards of society and also they are people that remain alone and not associate with society. We had some false alarms on the McClellans, when they lived in Chicago. Never found a book. Uncle had mixed records; antisocial. The girl? She was a time Shah 3 bomb. The family had been feeding her subconscious, I?m sure, from what I saw of her school record. She didn?t want to know how a thing was done, but why. (Bradbury 60) What Captain Beatty said about the McClellans proves they were considered outcasts. Professor Faber shows the confidence that imagination is greater to understanding. This was proven by the quote, ?The magic is only in what books say, how they stitched the patches of the universe together into one garment for us? (83). This means that the only things that is needed is the information provided in books that help explain the items that are not explained by the reason. The plot and theme are captured more thoroughly through the use of distinct characters and their points

Monday, October 21, 2019

Ask yourself these questions when deciding if you should move for a job

Ask yourself these questions when deciding if you should move for a job A job offer in a new city, state, or country can be a hugely tempting opportunity. Change of scenery! New job! New people! Excitement! But before you make this huge life decision, there are some questions to ask yourself first. Is this really what I want?A job may look like the total right fit on paper- it’s in your field, it’s more pay, it’s in a city you’ve always wanted to live in. But before you say yes, think about what this job means for your goals. Will you be able to grow in the job? How does it align with your career goals? What is your next step after this job? It can seem premature to start thinking about your next job, but if this isn’t a role where you’re going to be able to grow and evolve in your career, you’re changing an awful lot in your life to take it.How stable is this job offer?This is also a chance to do a little extra digging on your potential company’s future. If it seems like it’s on shaky ground , your awesome opportunity may turn quickly into sudden unemployment. If you can, seek out feedback from others who’ve worked there before. If you start seeing patterns like high turnover or major disgruntlement from former employees, then you might want to give some second thought to whether this is the job and the company you hope and expect it will be.How will this affect my personal life?Let’s put the career move aside for a second- what about outside of work? If you’re moving alone to this new place, are you ready for the challenges of doing a new city or town all on your own? What are your resources going to be? If you’re moving as part of a couple or a family, it’s time to consider their needs as well. Will you be happy while your spouse is miserable and unable to find a job? Will your kids need to be uprooted from friends/school/activities? Work-life balance is essential in any career, so you need to think about how your home life will be c hanged by this work move.What are the costs and the logistics of moving?If you’re accepting a new job in a new city or town, your new company may cover moving expenses, like moving trucks, car rental, temporary housing, or realtor fees. But the company might not. Before you accept and commit to moving for this new gig, be sure you’re aware of what your new company will- and won’t- cover to get you there. And it’s not just the obvious moving costs as well. Will you need to buy new furniture? What are average housing and living costs in your new place?If a move is going to cost you thousands of dollars, and this isn’t reflected in your new salary, then you’re making a huge financial commitment as well.Grabbing a new job and moving to a new place can be exhilarating, and a great jump-start to your career. But before you sign that offer letter and start packing the U-Haul, it’s important to think long and hard about whether it’s tr uly the right choice for you.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Free Social Security Death Index (SSDI) Online Search

Free Social Security Death Index (SSDI) Online Search The Social Security Death Index, commonly referred to as the SSDI, is a database containing the names and dates of birth and death for over 77 million Americans. This massive database is a wonderful resource for genealogists, and is available in many online locations for free search. To learn more about about the Social Security Death Index, and what it can tell you about your ancestors, read How-to Guide to the SSDI. Note about free Social Security Death Index Access: In late 2011, a number of genealogy sites removed or restricted access to the free SSDI database, the public version of the SSA Death Master File. The following sites still provide free SSDI access as of December 2015: FamilySearch- SSDI Search Free online search of the SSDI, a name index to deaths recorded by the Social Security Administration beginning in 1962. Free, unrestricted search. This database was last updated on 28 February 2014, just prior to restrictions enacted in March 2014 which require that newly reported deaths will not be made available in the public version of the Social Security Death Index for three years after the individuals death. As such, new deaths reported after February 2014 will not be available in this database until 2017. Social Security Death Master File, Free Tom Alciere makes available this free version of the Social Security Death Master File, current as of November 2011, and searchable by name or social security number. This copy does not have available the death-residence location or death benefit payout ZIP Code. For additional search features for accessing these files, check out the SSDI search tool at DonsList.net. GenealogyBank- Free SSDI Search Advanced search features make this free version of the SSDI easy to use (with registration). However, it is only current through 2011, stating that due to  compliance with Section 203 (Restriction on Access to the Death Master File) of the Budget Act of 2013, they are no longer able to display SSDI records for individuals who have died within the previous 3 years. More importantly, GenealogyBank  does not  provide social security numbers for any individual in the database, whether or not the death was recent. Searching the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) in One Step Steve Morse has created a very handy search form which enhances the search abilities of many of the free SSDI search engines on the Web. You can choose from a variety of free SSDI databases to search through this flexible search interface. Ancestry.com also offers a searchable version of the SSDI, but it is available only to paying subscribers and not free. It is current through mid-March 2014, but does not include social security numbers for individuals who died within the past 10 years.  Going forward, new records will be available when they are older than 3 years (1095 days), to comply with U.S. law. More on the SSDI Tips for Searching the Social Security Death IndexHow to Request a Copy of a Social Security Application SS-5Social Security Numbering: How to Tell Where a Social Security Number Was Issued

Saturday, October 19, 2019

The Importance of Mentorships for Career Advancement Essay

The Importance of Mentorships for Career Advancement - Essay Example A positively-framed gender bias is that women cannot be managers because they are also homemakers, which means that they cannot provide the needed time and dedication to demanding management work (Foster). These biases are serious issues because they can become sources of gender/sex discrimination that will impede women’s potential for promotion and professional development. Two problems with lack of mentoring are non-promotion and poor social networks, both of which can be important in promotion decisions and individual professional development. Many executives are still men, so they have accumulated crucial knowledge and skills in doing their jobs. They are essential mentors to women who aspire to reach their positions someday. If these male executives do not want to mentor young women, they are denying the latter the chance to be groomed for executive positions, thereby contributing to gender discrimination and gender wage gap. In addition, male executives already have professional and non-professional social networks that may directly or indirectly contribute to the professional development and promotion of subordinates. Women who do not have access to male mentorship may lose access to these networks too, which can be essential in the politics of promotion and processes of individual professional development. Hence, male executives should not have biases against mentoring young women, in order to prevent gender discrimination and to increase women’s number in their ranks. "Despite the increasing participation of women in advanced education and managerial and professional ranks, they are still under-represented at the top levels of management and in expatriate assignments".   Why do you believe this is the case?   Please explain.

International Influences to Democratization Essay

International Influences to Democratization - Essay Example It is a government by the people and for the people. As opposed to authoritative regimes, a democratic government is more open and more responsive to the needs of the people. It is a government in which the cities are involved in the process of democratization. The process of achieving a democratic regime is not that smooth and sometimes it may even involved shedding of blood. Democracy cannot take place overnight and that is why it has taken many countries in the world a lot of time to come up with a democratic regieme. There is also a factor of the vested individual interest in every regime which makes it hard to achieve opening in a government. In may cases democracy has been achieved throngs the influence of the internals community and not from the process of internal democratization. Although internal democratization unconsidered to be the best form democratization, sometimes it is hard to achieve due to the clout of few individual who want to maintain their vested interest in the governments that they are running. That is why the process of democratization has remained to be different in different parts of the world depending on the influence of the international community. (Keane 2000, p. 39) As the wave of globalization brings that world to a global village, there are more openings in the government which has been enabled by the increased flow of information from one place to another, government have become more exposed to the scrutiny of the world and they have been gauged by the way they are having open regimes. One of the critical issues of democracy in nations has been the respect of human rights. In this case there have been class for the need to observe international human rights. Democracy has been marked by some key factors which are concerns of human nature. For example the respect of human rights has been used as one of the most important gauge to measure the level of democracy in a nation. Presence of free and fair poll which elect leaders of the country has been used as another gauge of democracy. The electoral process and the ability to meet the needs of the citizens is one of the most important factor that signify how open and democratic the country is rules. (Currain 2006, p. 69) Democracy is based on institutions. Therefore its the way a country formulate institution that will help it uphold the above said principles of democracy that will determine how it will be able to have democratic regime. This is one of the reasons why the process of democracy takes a long time to achieve and why it may need the influence of the international community. Institution like the election commission or any other body which is free from the executive or the legislative arm of the government is very important to ensure that a democratic regime is put in place. A democratic regime should also be able to uphold the principles of rule of law. This means that it should have a constitution in place the will effectively serve the needs of the people. A condition is the most important tool or institution as is used to uphold the principles of democracy in a country. The judicially system should be fair and free from the influence of the executive which will help it to rule the count ry according to the principles of the rule of law. (Rita 2000, p. 64) Comparative democratization in

Friday, October 18, 2019

IPod Research Progress Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

IPod Research Progress - Essay Example libraries and online journals in a bid to achieve this purpose and a lot of potential books and magazines have been earmarked for further use during the course of the study. To keep track of the required excerpts and information from these various books, an excel sheet has been prepared and is being constantly used to keep track of the specific pages and sections within these literary sources so that it may be possible to revert to a specific page within a particular book or magazine with minimal effort, thereby providing more time to invest qualitatively in performing the requisite analysis. In a similar fashion, efforts are also underway to study and understand various market research theories and methodologies with the intention of selecting the appropriate ones that can be used for the research. Information pertaining to market research is available from a plethora of related books that contain vast discussions on areas such as product design, marketing, competitor analysis and branding. Although the study is being performed in a highly structured manner, it is true that certain difficulties were observed. Although local libraries contain a plethora of information on Apple’s products, it was soon evident that a large part of this information was in fact a few years old and the best books available offered information up to a few years since the launch of the iPod. To counter this deficiency, it was soon decided to rely extensively on online digital libraries such as Questia and the ACM portal. These online sites provided access to the latest books and journals, thus helping provide up to date information and helping make the research outcome more productive and qualitative. To obtain data on market perceptions and latest trends, it had been mentioned earlier that the study would utilize the inputs from various companies and professionals dealing in market research within the consumer electronics market with a specific focus on digital music players. To

Psychological Testing and Assessment Paper Essay

Psychological Testing and Assessment Paper - Essay Example Psychological test is one of the recognized measurement tools used in psychology. Cohen, Swerdlik and Sturnam (2013) define psychological test as devices and/or procedures used to measure psychological variables with regard to their effects on human life. Cohen, Swerdlik and Sturnam (2013) alternatively define psychological test process of determining psychology related variables through use of procedures and devices designed to produce a sample of behaviors. Counselors, and marriage as well as family therapists rely on psychological tests to accomplish their treatment goals of dysfunctional elements in their clients. Counselors need psychological tests such as interviews and observations to study behaviors and conducts of their clients. Interviews enable counselor to perform personality, intelligence, attitude, brain and behavioral tests on clients. Marriage and family therapists perform personality tests on related individuals facing difficult time to understand inherent motivators to act as they do. Personality tests enable counselors to weigh trust, confidence, courage, self-esteem, understanding, honesty and transparency between and among clients (Nichols, 2013). Measuring trust is usually important in marriage therapy where couples experience problem due to distrust. A married woman may use observations of behavioral change in the partner to suspect infidelity. If the two have not found time to talk about their challenges, the woma n would continue to express distrust in the marriage and behave in a manner that only escalates instability in the marriage. Marriage and family therapists also measure honesty levels in their clients to determine commitment of related members in their relationships. Honesty here, concerns open and truthful communication among members. Therapists understand dishonest communication have great propensity to lead to unstable relationship within families.

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Postmodernism can help in our understanding of 'popular' film Essay

Postmodernism can help in our understanding of 'popular' film - Essay Example He went ahead to describe that this ideology of survival of humans was linked to as capitalism. Marxism described capitalism as a notion where there existed labour division among people and class separation was existence in the manner that where was a significant difference in power and wealth. As a result, Marxism theory was based on capitalism and he linked this aspect to explain how the society works in a cyclic manner. According to Birchall (2008) when Karl Marx theory of capitalism was related to art, capitalism sought to create a value of any object in terms of money, so art was no exception. With that, art was also reduced to consequent value such that, even if the piece of art was regarded as high art, according to the capitalist theory by Karl Marx , the art definitely had a price value that was attached to it. According to Freeland (2001) Sigmund Freud spoke about art as a way to express â€Å"unconscious feelings† that the artist may even lack (p. 157). He explained that, â€Å"[The artist] is urged on by instinctual needs...; he longs to attain honour, power, riches, fame and the love of women; but he lacks the means of achieving these gratifications. So like any other with an unsatisfied longing, he turns away from reality and transfers all his interest, and all his libido, on to the creation of his wishes in the life of fantasy, from which the way might readily lead to neurosis† (p. 157). This can be elaborated to mean that Sigmund viewed art as a matter that was related to an urge to produce art and get wealthy and famous but not as a means to express to the society. Discuss how Postmodernism can help in our understanding of 'popular' film Postmodernism in the film â€Å"The Matrix Trilogy† Baudrillard Jean was a philosopher who came up with theories related to postmodernism in art and the impact that this art had. Some of his works revealed aspects such as "Simulacra and Simulations". According to Baudrillard (1994), "the  simulacrum  is never that which conceals the truth--it is the truth which conceals that there is none. The simulacrum is true† (p. 1). He talked about the presence and use of simulation and simulacra in art such that it would relate to reality. He described it as the â€Å"generation by models of a real without origin or reality: a hyper real†. He went ahead to describe that a lot of models have been created and simulated in a manner that would look real without doubt whereas â€Å"the real is produced from miniaturized cells, matrices, and memory banks, models of control-and it can be reproduced an in finite number of times from these† (p.2). When Baudrillard Jean stated this, he meant that simulation could be produced from aspects such as matrices and the output could also be manipulated and repeated over and over again until the abstraction of the real object has been produced by the simulation vector. As a result, no clear distinction could be made between the real object or image and the false one as they both appeared inspiringly similar. When this methodology of "Simulacra and Simulations" was translated to the film, â€Å"The Matrix†

Financial management of channel tunnel Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Financial management of channel tunnel - Essay Example Eurotunnel was mainly financed by bank loans from a large consortium of over 100 European and Japanese banks. Eurotunnel also raised substantial amounts of equity in four public offerings during the construction of the Tunnel, mainly from small shareholders in France and the UK. The marketing of the shares was pitched towards small shareholders. In the end, the Channel Tunnel costs about 10 billion to build (compared with initial estimates 8 years earlier of about 5 billion). Of this 10 billion, 8 billion was raised in debt from banks and 2 billion in equity. The last fund-raising exercise took place in May 1994, just 2 months before the new services were to begin, when 800 million of new equity and 700 million of debt was raised to get the project finished and up and running. By then the banks and many shareholders were very nervous about the costs and delays to the project and the prospects of recouping their investment. Eurotunnel shareholders have seen their investment crumble by around 90% since the company went public in 1987. Construction costs spiralled and revenues fell short of forecasts, leaving the company struggling with debts of 9bn (6.4bn). Shareholders have never been paid a dividend. The UK government has already made it clear that there can be no question of any public money for Eurotunnel, and there is no change in that position. Eurotunnel shareholders are mostly French private investors. But it said it could not afford to do so without help in cutting the burden of repayments on debts which it ran up during vast cost over-runs on the tunnel's construction in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Euro tunnel begs for rescue plan (Clark, 2004)2. 2. Andrew, Clark, (2004) Guardian, retrieved from the website on 19th Feb' 06. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/) Financial Management of Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) The Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) is the largest civil engineering infrastructure project currently being constructed in the UK with a budget of 5.3 billion (S$14.8 billion). The Project is split into two sections. Section 1, 70 km long from the Channel Tunnel to Fawkham Junction in North Kent is scheduled for completion and operational running of Eurostar trains by September 2003. Section 2, 39 km long, completes the Link from North Kent to St Pancras in central London and is programmed to be operational in January 2007 (Davies and Joy, 2004)2. The London & Continental Railways Limited (LCR) was awarded the contract to build the CTRL in February 1996 and to run the British arm of the Eurostar International train service (Eurostar UK). Initially, LCR proposed to fund the construction of the link from private finance through debt and equity raised on the back of future revenue from Eurostar, UK and from direct government grants. This overtly optimistic plan backfired and LCR abandoned its plans to raise private finance and approached the Department for additional grants in return for a share of future profits. After reviewing the options, the department of transport decided to restructure the existing deal with LCR. In 1998, the government set out the principles of a negotiated restructuring which enhanced public

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Postmodernism can help in our understanding of 'popular' film Essay

Postmodernism can help in our understanding of 'popular' film - Essay Example He went ahead to describe that this ideology of survival of humans was linked to as capitalism. Marxism described capitalism as a notion where there existed labour division among people and class separation was existence in the manner that where was a significant difference in power and wealth. As a result, Marxism theory was based on capitalism and he linked this aspect to explain how the society works in a cyclic manner. According to Birchall (2008) when Karl Marx theory of capitalism was related to art, capitalism sought to create a value of any object in terms of money, so art was no exception. With that, art was also reduced to consequent value such that, even if the piece of art was regarded as high art, according to the capitalist theory by Karl Marx , the art definitely had a price value that was attached to it. According to Freeland (2001) Sigmund Freud spoke about art as a way to express â€Å"unconscious feelings† that the artist may even lack (p. 157). He explained that, â€Å"[The artist] is urged on by instinctual needs...; he longs to attain honour, power, riches, fame and the love of women; but he lacks the means of achieving these gratifications. So like any other with an unsatisfied longing, he turns away from reality and transfers all his interest, and all his libido, on to the creation of his wishes in the life of fantasy, from which the way might readily lead to neurosis† (p. 157). This can be elaborated to mean that Sigmund viewed art as a matter that was related to an urge to produce art and get wealthy and famous but not as a means to express to the society. Discuss how Postmodernism can help in our understanding of 'popular' film Postmodernism in the film â€Å"The Matrix Trilogy† Baudrillard Jean was a philosopher who came up with theories related to postmodernism in art and the impact that this art had. Some of his works revealed aspects such as "Simulacra and Simulations". According to Baudrillard (1994), "the  simulacrum  is never that which conceals the truth--it is the truth which conceals that there is none. The simulacrum is true† (p. 1). He talked about the presence and use of simulation and simulacra in art such that it would relate to reality. He described it as the â€Å"generation by models of a real without origin or reality: a hyper real†. He went ahead to describe that a lot of models have been created and simulated in a manner that would look real without doubt whereas â€Å"the real is produced from miniaturized cells, matrices, and memory banks, models of control-and it can be reproduced an in finite number of times from these† (p.2). When Baudrillard Jean stated this, he meant that simulation could be produced from aspects such as matrices and the output could also be manipulated and repeated over and over again until the abstraction of the real object has been produced by the simulation vector. As a result, no clear distinction could be made between the real object or image and the false one as they both appeared inspiringly similar. When this methodology of "Simulacra and Simulations" was translated to the film, â€Å"The Matrix†

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Sexually transmitted diseases Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Sexually transmitted diseases - Essay Example The foremost factor that contributes to the pending problem is that people are not knowledgeable about the dangers and risks of sexually transmitted diseases. In-depth awareness of the causes, risks, and effects of STDs is clearly lacking in the public. Such lack of awareness is evident in the lifestyle that many Americans live today. Although people may have realized the need for safe sex, they continue to be uninformed about the other ways by which they can contract sexually transmitted diseases. Increasing awareness regarding sexually transmitted diseases has become a growing concern in today's society. Various means of educating the public have been continuously been explored. However, the most important public information source has yet to be fully utilized, the media. The media in the modern times has served as the primary means people gain knowledge about the various issues that are present in society. It is from the media that people get information about current issues ranging from politics, global affairs, economics, and public health. The media is the information resource that has the most extensive reach. Moreover, the influence of media in the lives of people is vast. It can sway public opinion towards one side. (Stoughton) With such great influence over public perception and opinion, media can easily promote awareness regarding important issues such as STDs just as it promotes awareness regarding violence so easily. This paper will discuss the role of one form of media, newspaper, in increasing the public's knowledge and awareness regarding sexually transmitted diseases. New articles found in the nationally-circulated newspapers that tackle the issue of STDs will be analyzed to determine the extent to which the issue is discussed. Furthermore, past researches and studies will likewise be reviewed. The primary objective of this study will be to determine the extent to which print news media informs the public regarding sexually transmitted diseases. Review of Related Literature In this section, previous studies will be discussed to determine what their findings suggest about the coverage that the subject of STDs receives from print news media. Also, news articles from nationally-circulated newspapers will be analyzed to ascertain whether sexually transmitted diseases received ample substantive news reporting from the newspapers. Furthermore, this section will discuss how print new media reports STDs to the public and whether such kind of reporting contributes to increasing the awareness of the public significantly regarding the problem. A study conducted by Davidson and Wallack (2004) involved a content analysis of articles from the leading American newspapers to determine the type of new coverage that print media outlets gave to the issue of sexually transmitted diseases. The results of the study revealed a lack of substantive reporting on the subject of sexually transmitted diseases. Davidson and Wallack found that less that one-fourth of the articles they reviewed contained anything that pertains to the causes, consequences, prevention, signs, or symptoms, screening, transmission, treatment, trends or rates of STDs. (2004). Most of the articles contained statistical information regarding sexually transmitted diseases. According to Davidson and Wallack (2004), statistical information may be what journalists perceive as newsworthy about STDs; journalists report that they are

Monday, October 14, 2019

Existence of God Essay Example for Free

Existence of God Essay †¢Translate and/or explain the following terms: aesity, arete, endoxa, ergon, eudaimonia, peccatum, telos, virtus, vitium – Arete: Greek for virtue, or excellence – Virtus and vitium: Latin for virtue and vice – Endoxon (endoxa): Greek, reputable opinion(s) †¢Ergon: Greek, function/characteristic activity – †¢Eudaimonia: Greek, happiness, well being †¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Peccatum: Latin, sin †¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Telos: Greek, end, aim †¢Discuss and/or apply the following concepts: doctrine of the mean, the endoxic method, the function argument, omnipotence The Endoxic Method- reputable opinions for ex. Happiness as uniquely human, as under our control, as requiring activity. The Function Argument-To know whether P is a good instance of its kind, you need to know the function (ergon) of P ? A virtue/excellence (arete) of P is a characteristic P needs in order to fulfill its function. The Doctrine of the mean-1. For any given situation, there is a specific affectation appropriate to it, e. g. , desire, anger, fear, confidence, envy, joy, pity, etc. 2. For any given affectation, one can exhibit it either too much, too little, or in the appropriate amount 3. The virtuous person always exhibits an affectation in the appropriate amount. -for ex. Truthfulness: virtue regarding telling the truth about oneself? Defect: self-depreciating Excess: phony omnipotence- all power and unlimited power †¢Distinguish goods that are, according to Aristotle, valued for the sake of other things, valued for their own sake, and valued for their own sake and for the sake of other things you want some things that gets you other stuff. for example money so its a sake for other things. valued for own sake-having a yacht gives you pleasure but then enjoying it with more friends and travel the world and give you more pleasure. the one good. happiness is the one thing that every one wants and is valued for its own sake. e †¢That which is valued only for its own sake and for whose sake everything else is desired †¢That which is valued for its own sake and for the sake of other things †¢That which is valued only for the sake of other things. †¢Discuss why Aristotle rejects conventional views that identify happiness with pleasure, honor, and virtue, and what he thinks this tells us about the nature of happiness Aristotle rejects three common conceptions of happiness—pleasure, honor, and wealth. Happiness, he says, cannot be identified with any of these things (even though all three may be part of an overall happy life). Pleasure, he says, is found in satisfying desires—but whether or not we can satisfy our desires is as much up to chance as it is up to us. †¢The life of pleasure. Problem: the life fit for a pig †¢The life of honor. Problem: not under our control †¢The life of virtue. Problem: compatible with inaction †¢Distinguish between psychological, somatic, and external goods, explaining how they contribute to Aristotle’s conception of happiness External goods- attractiveness, wealth.. Psychological Goods- mental health.. Somatic goods- â€Å"Nonetheless, happiness evidently needs external goods to be added, as we said, since we cannot, or cannot easily, do fine actions if we lack the resources. For, first of all, in many actions we use friends, wealth, and political power just as we use instruments. Further, deprivation of certain things —for instance, good birth, good children, beauty— mars our blessedness. For we do not altogether have the character of happiness if we look utterly repulsive or are ill-born, solitary, or childless; and we have it even less, presumably, if our children or friends are totally bad, or were good but have died. †¢Discuss the roles of habituation and right reason in Aristotle’s analysis of virtuous action function of human beings is knowledge and it what  separates from animals. virtuous action is what a rational person who acts for the right reason. but you also have to feel the correct emotions and feelings to do virtuous actions and be properly affected which means that you find the right things pleasant. And wants to do the right thing. so if you dont feel like you want to give money to homeless and still give it it does not count as a virtous thing. the teachers ice cream technique- dont want to do it but do it for ice cream but over time the kids want to do it because it is the virtuous thing to do. †¢Identify and describe Aristotle’s three requirements for friendship and his three different kinds of friendship Pleasure-friendships- Most common among theyoung, fades easily utility-friendships,- most common among the old and also fades easily. character-friendships- You love a person because of the good qualities she or he possesses. genuine friendship. †¢Explain what Aristotle means when he claims that friends are â€Å"second selves† â€Å"A friend is a second self, so that our consciousness of a friends existence makes us more fully conscious of our own existence. † and Friendly relations with one’s neighbors, and the marks by which friendships are defined, seem to have proceeded from a man’s relation with himself. For men think a friend is one who wishes well and does what is good, or seems so, for the sake of his friend, or one who wishes his friend to exist and live, for his sake† †¢Explain why Aquinas thinks God’s existence is self-evident, why it nonetheless may not be evident to us, and how Aquinas thinks God’s existence can be made evident Not every human realizes the existence of god. †¢Examples of self-evident propositions: †¢A pig is an animal; a bachelor is an unmarried male †¢Being self-evident in itself versus self-evident to us †¢Aquinas: â€Å"I maintain that God exists is self-evident in itself since its subject and predicate are identical†¦[but] the proposition is not self-evident to us† (197). †¢Question 02: can God’s existence be made evident? †¢Perhaps God’s existence is an article of faith, not of reason †¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"There are two types of demonstration: those that argue from cause to effect†¦and those that argue from effect to cause† (198). †¢Hitting a pool ball, pressing the ‘on’ button, hand on the stove. †¢So, from what effects do we infer God’s existence? †¢God’s effects in the world, Mozart and his music †¢Understand Aquinas’ ‘unmoved mover’ and ‘teleological’ arguments for the existence of God and articulate at least one objection to each Argument one of five: the unmoved mover (200). Everything has a cause, but causes can’t go on infinitely. The first uncaused cause is God. Objections: why must it be God? Maybe time is infinite? Telos: the end toward which a thing strives. Everything in nature has a telos. If a thing is non-intelligent, some intelligence must give it its telos. Objection: nature is not telonic in this way †¢Discuss why the question ‘can God create a stone that God cannot lift? ’ is said to be paradoxical and how Aquinas tries to resolve the paradox †¢The paradox of omnipotence: can God create a stone he cannot lift? †¢If God can, there is something God cannot do, i. e. , lift the stone †¢If God cannot, there is something God cannot do, i. e. , create the stone †¢If there is something God cannot do, God is not omnipotent †¢Therefore, God is not omnipotent †¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"So we conclude that God’s power extends to anything possible in itself and not implying contradiction. Clearly then God is called omnipotent because he can do everything possible in itself. † (p. 249). because if god cannot lift the the stone he created, he is not omintipitent and also if he cannot create that he cannot lift therefore he is not omnipotent so either way god is not omnipotent so aquinas says that god creates certain laws in the universe that he himself cannot break which is considered absolute possibility and relativee possibility is what he can change. †¢Explain what Aquinas means when he claims evil does not exist because evil does not exit because evil is absence of happiness. †¢Understand the weak and strong versions of the problem of evil and discuss Aquinas’ solution to the problem Strong version of the problem †¢If an omnipotent, omniscient, perfectly good God exists, then evil does not exist †¢Evil exists †¢Therefore, an omnipotent, omniscient, perfectly good God does not exist Weak version of the problem †¢Evil exists †¢The non-existence of God is a more plausible explanation of evil than is the existence of an omnipotent, omniscient, perfectly good God †¢Therefore, it’s more plausible that God does not exist If an omnipotent, omniscient, perfectly good God exists, then evil does not exist. †¢Aquinas’ answer to the problem of evil †¢Why is there evil and sin in thet world? †¢Evil is the necessary result of freedom of the will †¢Thus, God does not command sin, God permits sin †¢Does God cause evil and sin? †¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"God is responsible for sinful actions but not for sins† 296 †¢Distinguish Aquinas’ conceptions of eternal, natural, and human law †¢Human law †¢Quoting Cicero: â€Å"laws start with what nature produces, then by use of reason certain things become customs, and finally things produced by nature and tested by custom are sanctified with†¦the weight of laws† (420). †¢Eternal law †¢God as divine legislator: â€Å"Clearly†¦the entire community of the universe is governed by God’s reason† (417). †¢Divine providence: ordering of the universe toward good †¢Natural law †¢Non-moral sense: laws of nature. †¢Moral sense: guides the actions of animals †¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"Since everything subjected to God’s providence is measured by the standards of his eternal law, as we have said, everything shares in some way in the eternal law, bearing its imprint in the form of a natural tendency to pursue the behavior and goals appropriate to it. Reasoning creatures are subject to God’s providence is a special, more profound way than others by themselves sharing in the planning† (418). Eternal law is identical to the mind of God as seen by God himself. It can be called law because God stands to the universe which he creates as a ruler does to a community which he rules. When Gods reason is considered as it is understood by God Himself, i. e. in its unchanging, eternal nature (q91, a1) , it is eternal law.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

San Francisco and Influenza :: Journalism Spanish Flu Health Essays

San Francisco and the Spanish Flu SAN FRANCISCO--No one can deny the amount of patriotism San Franciscans have for their country especially during the Great War. Rallying, Parading, and marching down the streets of San Francisco are where these civilians choose to be, whether they like wearing gauze masks or not. Such undertakings, however, are exactly the kinds of activities a community seeking to protect itself from Spanish Influenza should definitely avoid. With the commotion of World War I many San Franciscans fail to notice the rapid rate at which people are falling victim to the epidemic influenza. Origins at this time are not specifically known although it was dubbed the name, Spanish Flu, for its early affliction and large mortality rates in Spain. The influenza, also known as the Spanish Flu, is affecting roughly all of northern California economically and socially whether San Franciscans notice it or not. Several schools, churches, and buildings are closed due to preventive orders by authorities. Insurance companies and the Government are spiraling downwards financially as they become responsible for the victims of this deadly influenza. Moreover, ordinances mandated the wearing of gauze masks in public places. Such laws are outraging civilians as well as important politicians. Individuals against the mandatory wearing of gauze masks appealed the law while others chose to be arrested rather than wear the masks. Governor Stephens attempted to set an example for all Californians by wearing a gauze mask to a meeting at the Capitol. Even state senators are ordered to wear masks when attending meetings in the senate. On January 12, the public health committee of the Alameda County Medical Society suggested and presented codes of conduct to combat the influenza epidemic. The Medical Society advise civilians to wear gauze masks when congregating with two or more people. Military reservations and forts are being quarantined to halt the spread of the influenza epidemic. Agreements cannot be made between local authorities and civilians nor can they accept the safety precautions local authorities are trying to apply. While newspapers such as The San Francisco Chronicle have explosive front page headlines of the war, the deadly influenza epidemic seems miniscule in comparison. There are far too many articles on insignificant stories of divorces, crimes, and debutantes of San Francisco. Of what was actually mentioned in between the pages of war talk were the repeals over the laws requiring civilians to wear gauze masks.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Post World War Two Immigrants :: history

Post World War Two Immigrants During World War Two Australians finally realised just how vulnerable they were to enemy attacks. The reality of this possibility hit home hard when the Japanese attacked Darwin and when Japanese midget subs penetrated Sydney harbour. We now realised that our island was not an impenetrable fortress. They government also realised that our country was dangerously under-populated. The fact was that we had too much space and only 7 million people living in it which once again made us very vulnerable to attack. The government realised something must be done. In 1947, during a historical speech made by the minister for immigration, Arthur Augustus Calwell announced that Australia was opening its doors to European immigrants, preferably British. Refugees and immigrants from all over Europe rushed to apply for visas. While many different cultures migrated to Australia the two we are going to focus on are the Italians and the British. At the conclusion of the war Italian soldiers and POW’s returned to a destroyed Italy. The only thing worse than the immense destruction was the human suffering. The displaced Italians sought refuge in communal camps while dreaming of escape to countries such as Canada, the USA and Australia. Italy had been looking for an overseas country that would accept its unemployed, homeless Italians and when Australia opened her doors to them Italy’s President encouraged his people to â€Å"learn a foreign language and emigrate†. Meanwhile the Britain was also in ruins and although they had won the war, it had come at a big loss. Luckily though for the British, Australia was very keen for British refugees to make up a large part of Australia’s refugee take-in. In Arthur Augustus Calwell’s initial speech he said, â€Å"It is my hope that for every foreign migrant there will be ten people from the United Kingdom.† So from the start it was obvious that 'White Australia' was the cornerstone of the immigration policy. Australia established schemes to attract immigrants from post war Britain and they created Australian Citizenship in 1948 so that ‘Australians’ were no longer British subjects. Meanwhile, much stronger and stricter restrictions were imposed against the Italians. They were only permitted to immigrate if they already had close family already resident in Australia. The Italians suffered because they were not a priority group. The British had been given assistance and had been allowed to bring their families with them into Australia.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Martin Luther King Essay

On August 28 1963, the one hundred anniversary of president Lincoln’s emancipation proclamation, Reverend Martin Luther King delivered the now famous â€Å"I have a Dream† speech at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. Dr. King wasn’t just a man who gave a speech. He was a man with a dream and in that dream, he set a tone that would ring in America for the rest of history. This speech brought to the minds of many inattentive American’s a previously unknown civil rights orator, speaking of truths of racial discrimination and inequality in a manner that could no longer be easily ignored. This speech would ring true in America from that point forward because of its direct, truthfulness ease and the obvious reality with it described from the personal perspective of African Americans. The 1960s was a pivotal period in American history. Social crises were being reached on a number of levels, including the increasing skepticism over American invol vement in Southeast Asia. Civil rights issues were becoming prominent as Negros were increasingly aware of growing injustice in an country which claimed that â€Å"all men were created equal.† Dr. King helped us open our eyes in order to set not only the blacks from being inferior to whites, but as equals. They saw, from Dr. King, that the reality was far from the profession. Dr. King was a man with many goals in life. He started his educational goal by attending Atlanta University Laboratory School and Booker T. Washington High School. Because of his high score on the college entrance tests in his junior year of high school, he went on to Morehouse College without formal graduation from Booker T. Washington. Having skipped both the ninth and twelfth grades, Dr. King entered Morehouse at the age of fifteen. In 1948, he graduated from Morehouse College with a Bachelors degree in Sociology. That fall, he enrolled in Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania. While attending Crozer, he also studied at the University of Pennsylvania. He was elected president of the senior class and delivered the valedictory address, he won the Pearl Plafker Award for the most outstanding student, and he received the J. Lewis Crozer  fellowship for graduate study at a university of his choice. He was awarded a Bachelor of Divinity degree from Crozer in 1951. In September of 1951, Martin Luther King began doctoral studies in Systematic Theology at Boston University. He also studied at Harvard University. His Ph.D. degree from Boston, a Doctorate of Philosophy in Systematic Theology, was awarded on June 5, 1955. Logos comes from â€Å"the word of God† or â€Å"principle of divine reason and creative order, identified in the Gospel of John when the second person of the trinity incarnate in Jesus Christ.† When Dr. King decided to use rhetoric in his speech, God truly did have a hand in what played out on August 28, 1963. Dr. King didn’t use the newspaper and the radio to tell this non-fictitious story; he used personal experiences, what he saw and he didn’t ever look at the color of the skin but at person inside excluding the race. When Dr. King says â€Å"But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we’ve come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.† He’s saying its been 100 years and we still don’t have what we have been promised. The rights for African Americans were installed in this nations hard drive 100 years prior but the program never ran. The United States disproved these inalienable rights to the black community because the US didn’t like change and this was a momentous change for the country. We were trying to delay it as long as we could but no man woman or child should ever be denied there rights all because of ones opinion of someone’s skin regardless of what rank in society. Ethos comes from the Latin word â€Å"character† used to describe the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize a community, nation, or ideology. July 4th 1776 the now famous document called â€Å"The Declaration of independence† was written declaring our independence and freedom, white or black, from King George III. It is stated in the first paragraph, â€Å"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, Government’s are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of theses, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new  Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most lik ely to effect their Safety and Happiness.† When men signed the Declaration, our founding fathers made this document that was the stepping-stone of this newfound world that we call America, a stepping-stone for equality, love, compassion for every man woman and child who took a step on the land. President Lincoln, Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King, President Kennedy all died so that this document made by Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, John Adams, Robert R. Livingston and signed by 56 men who believed that this would be a new era of a true honest beginning. Last but not least Pathos, pathos which means â€Å"suffering, experience and emotion†. Dr. King used something in his speech called anaphora, which means that he used a word more than once to really gather the readers or audiences attention. He uses this a lot when he says â€Å"But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the c hains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we’ve come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.† Dr. King wants to grab that attention and hold it to show not only white people but black people that one hundred years later â€Å"the negro is still not free.† We were so imbedded with idea that white is so very superior, right and justice and African Americans are so much less than that and deserve so very little because we saw every little bit of information through adults and our environments. African Americans have suffered for to long and while reading or hearing Dr. King’s speech my heart torn to a white citizen because of how more than half of the white community could actually allow this to really take place but I applaud the ones who gave there whole heart and soul to make this country filled with more equality than inequality. Dr. King highlights what Logos, Ethos and Pathos truly mean throughout his speech. When he spoke about logos we could see inside the heart of Dr. King his beliefs morals, and who really was as a man. Ethos we saw how he brought  to surface the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. These two documents was their check and when they went to cash this check it read â€Å"insufficient funds.† Pathos was when Dr. King used words like â€Å"I have a dream, A hundred years later, and Freedom Ring† over and over to shed that emotion and torment that they as a people all experienced. There is an old African Proverb that is my absolute favorite quote â€Å"if there is no enemy within the enemies outside can do you no harm† only when we learn to turn the other cheek like Dr. King said than we can only be truly free. http://www.constitutionfacts.com/us-declaration-of-independence/fascinating-facts/ http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pathos http://www.searchquotes.com/quotation/When_there_is_no_enemy_within,_the_enemies_outside_cannot_hurt_you./25314/ http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Depression and African-American Men Essay

First of all it is important to understand what really constitutes depression. All of us feel down from time to time perhaps based on having a â€Å"bad day†. However when feelings of sadness last for several weeks, months, or years, and are accompanied by other symptoms such as change of appetite, isolation from family and friends, sleeplessness, etc. these are symptoms of depression. In 1999 Dr. David Satcher, Surgeon General of the United States, and an African-American, released a Report on Mental Health that was a landmark moment for America. This was the first comprehensive report on the state of the nation’s mental health issued by America’s â€Å"physician-in-chief.† It is both an inventory of the resources available to promote mental health and treat mental illness, and a call to action to improve these resources. It paints a portrait of mental illness, filling the canvas with the faces of America, revealing that the effects of mental illness cut across all the nation’s dividing lines, whether gender, education, economic status, education, or race. However, the 2001 supplement to the original 1999 report indicates that it probably affects African American men more adversely than it does the general population.†Mental Health: Culture, Race and Ethnicity,† which is the title of the supplement by Dr. Satcher, says that â€Å"racial and ethnic minorities collectively experience a greater disability burden from mental illness than do whites.† The supplemental report goes even deeper in that it highlights the disparity that exists for black men in mental health as it does in relation to most health problems. For example, African-American men are more likely to live with chronic health problems, and studies show that living with chronic illnesses increases the risk of suffering from depression. In a 2002 report, â€Å"The Burden of Chronic Diseases and Their Risk Factors, † the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention points out that African American Men have the highest rates of prostate cancer and hypertension in the world. The report also says that black men are twice as likely as white men to develop diabetes, and suffer higher rates of heart disease and obesity. The American Cancer Society’s report entitled â€Å"Cancer Facts and Figures†, and written in 2003 found that black men are more than twice as likely as white men to die from prostate cancer. We are also more likely than others to wait until an illness reaches a serious stage before we seek treatment. Often times treatment is not sought until we are in emergency rooms, homeless shelters, or prisons. According to a report by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation in 2003, men in general are three times less likely than women to visit a doctor, and African-American men specifically are less likely than white men to go to a doctor prior to them being in poor health. This is the case for physical ailments. When one factors in the stigma attached to mental illness, and other barriers that keep us from getting help, it is easy to see why black men are even less likely to seek treatment for depression. Yet, the nation, including the African-American community is often silent on this issue. The silence on the subject among blacks is due, in part, to our lack of vocabulary to talk about depression. We call depression â€Å"the blues† in the black community. We have been taught, at least in the past, and, to a certain extent even now, to shrug off this mental state. For many of us, it is not just a fact of life; it is a way of life. When bluesmen used to sing, â€Å"Every day I have the blues† or â€Å"It ain’t nothing but the blues† or similar words from hundreds of songs, they do more than mouth lyrics. They voice a cultural attitude. They state an accepted truth at the heart of their music: Having the blues goes along with being black in America. In addition, from the time we are young boys, black males have ingrained into us an idea of manhood that requires a silence about feelings, a withholding of emotion, and ability to bear burdens alone, and a refusal to appear â€Å"weak.† The internal pressure to adhere to this concept of masculinity only increases as we sometimes experience various forms of racism in a society that historically has sought to deny us our manhood. The internal wall that often keeps black men away from psychotherapy goes along with external barriers built just as high, if not higher. Mental health practitioners are overwhelmingly white, with the proportion of black psychiatrists, psychologists, and psychoanalysts estimated at less than three percent of the nation’s total. This would mean that even if black men were to break through the self-imposed barriers and seek professional help for mental issues, it may be difficult to find someone with whom they can build a rapport, and whom they feel can relate to them, and they can trust. This feeling of comfort is what allows a patient to reveal his most intimate secrets. As Dr. Richard Mouzon, a prominent black clinical psychologist puts it, â€Å"Many of us grow up feeling that it is dangerous to give up too much of yourself to the white man.† There’s no denying that access to mental health care is restricted for Americans in general. In private health insurance policies and government medical assistance programs, psychotherapy is too often considered a luxury rather than a necessity. It has been said often times that the only people with a guaranteed right to health care are the inmates of our jails and prisons. That is even more true of mental health care.Unfortunately, this is a right that is of marginal value; while many black men receive their first treatment for mental illness behind bars, that treatment is likely to be directed at keeping them under control rather than alleviating the effects of their illness. Our health care system assures preventative measures and early intervention for mental health problems only to the privileged, just as it does for physical health problems. The disparity is so great in minority communities that for many, mental illness receives attention only when it reaches a florid stage, in public hospitals’ emergency rooms and psychiatric wards, or worse, in its aftermath, when people with mental illness may end up behind bars and in morgues. According to a new study reported on by the † Health Behavior News Service†, jobless African-American men appear to be at a greater risk of suffering from depression. While the issue of unemployment offers at least one possible explanation for why the symptoms of depression might be experienced, more puzzling is the fact that African-American men who were making more than $80,000 per year were still at a higher risk for depression. In order to come to their conclusions, Dr. Darrell Hudson, Ph.D., and his fellow researchers carefully screened the data provided by the â€Å"National Survey of American Life.† During their analysis, they took into account how much various factors such as social class, income, education, wealth, employment, and parental education level related to depressive symptoms. â€Å"After measuring depression in a very comprehensive way, the results were not very consistent. We need to figure out as a general public: Is there a cost associated with socioeconomic position or moving in an upward trajectory?† said Dr. Hudson. For the purpose of the research 3,570 African-American men and women who experienced depressive episodes within the past year of their lives were studied. Men who made over $80,000 per year reported more symptoms of depression than those making less than $17,000 per year. However, unemployed black men were more likely to report depression during that year compared to employed men. Men who completed some college or beyond were less likely to experience depressive symptoms than those who did not complete high school. Women, on the other hand, did not appear to suffer the same rates of depression. Females who earned between $45,000 and $79,000 were less likely to report symptoms of depression than those with the least income. The study appeared in the journal â€Å"Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology.† According to Dr. Hudson: â€Å"One thing could be going on with African-American men with greater incomes. The more likely they are to work in integrated settings, the more likely they are to be exposed to racial discrimination. Racial discrimination can undermine some of the positive effects of socioeconomic position like the increased benefits of more income.† Some black men who suffer from depression may think suicide is the answer. It is not. Men that become suicidal don’t realize that they are repeating the cycle, burdening their children with the same loneliness the father had endured. Their kids would grow up with the knowledge that their father had taken his life. Depression can be very paralyzing to African-Americans. This vile illness affects men from all walks of life, from the black executive to the young street hustler. In many documented cases, several socially advanced black men have suffered from depression for many years and refused to receive treatment. This is a very disturbing undercurrent. If educated, accomplished, and highly informed black men refuse to seek treatment for depression, just imagine how difficult it is for uneducated or poor black men to seek help. Some experts believe that depression is likely a key factor in a 233 percent increase in suicide in black males ages 10-14 from 1980 to 1995. According to Dr. Satcher: â€Å"Black men feel that they have to be twice as good as other people, that you can’t be weak because people will take advantage of you. Those pressures work powerfully against a black male seeking treatment for depression and other mental illnesses.† About one in four African-Americans is uninsured, compared with about 16 percent of the U.S. population overall. African-Americans are less likely to receive antidepressants, and when they do, they are more likely than whites to stop taking them. Particularly troubling to those who study and treat mental illness in black men is their disproportionately higher rates of incarceration than other racial groups. Nearly half of the U.S. prison population is black, and about 40 percent of those in the juvenile justice system is black. It is a very difficult and very serious situation for these young men and for society. Psychiatrists who work with the homeless as well as with black youth say they see dozens of black males each year head to jail or juvenile justice when they should be in treatment centers.They blame,in some form or another, depression, or other related mental illnesses. â€Å"It happens all the time and it’s very alarming,† said Dr. Raymond J. Kotwicki, Medical Director of Community Outreach Programs, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, at Emory University School of Medicine, in a recent statement. While all mental illnesses often come wrapped in some sort of stigma or negative connotation, mental illnesses in black men are even more entangled. Historical racism and current cultural biases and expectations all play a part, mental health advocates say. Nearly two-thirds of African-Americans believe that mental illness is a shortcoming that can be overcome through prayer and faith, according to a study by the National Alliance for the mentally ill. Certainly prayer and faith may be helpful to someone suffering from mental illness, but is not a replacement for treatment by a professional. The neglect of emotional disorders among men in the black community is nothing less than racial suicide.Many experts argue that the problem of depression in black America can be traced back to the time of slavery, when it was believed that blacks were unable to feel inner pain because they had no psyche. This myth has damaged generations of African-American men and their families, creating a society that sometimes has defined black men as being violent and aggressive, without considering that depression (or other related mental illnesses) might be one root cause. The consequences of untreated mental illness can be dire. And the tragedy of the worst outcomes can be no greater than when the disorder is depression, one of the most common and treatable mental illnesses. The disease is painful, and potentially fatal, but eighty percent of those who get treatment get better. Yet, quite sadly, only twenty-five percent of those who need help get it. African-American men are especially prone to put ourselves in mortal danger because we readily embrace the belief that we can survive depression by â€Å"riding out† the illness and allowing it to run its course. The internal walls we build to keep out the world, along with the walls that society sometimes builds to isolate us, cut us off from the help we need. So we suffer, and we suffer needlessly. Please do not be ashamed of seeking help if you feel that you are suffering from depression, or any mental illness. There are very likely resources right in your own city or town such as a county Mental Health Center, even if you are uninsured. Those who are insured may choose a private hospital or psychiatrist, but don’t hesitate to get help. One resource that is available would be to call 1-877-331-9311, or 1-877-568-6230 to talk to a specialist at any time. This could change your life immensely, and could indeed save your life.