Democracy Is the Best Form of Government

Democracy is a form of government in which all eligible citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Democracy allows eligible citizens to participate equally—either directly or through elected representatives—in the proposal, development, and creation of laws. It encompasses social, economic and cultural conditions that enable the free and equal practice of political self-determination.The term originates from the Greek (demokratia) â€Å"rule of the people†,[1] which was coined from (demos) â€Å"people† and (kratos) â€Å"power† in the 5th century BCE to denote the political systems then existing in Greek city-states, notably Athens; the term is an antonym to â€Å"rule of an elite. † The English word dates to the 16th century, from the older Middle French and Middle Latin equivalents.A democratic government contrasts to forms of government where power is either held by one, as in a monarchy, or where power is h eld by a small number of individuals, as in an oligarchy. Nevertheless, these oppositions, inherited from Greek philosophy,[2] are now ambiguous because contemporary governments have mixed democratic, oligarchic, and monarchic elements. Karl Popper defined democracy in contrast to dictatorship or tyranny, thus focusing on opportunities for the people to control their leaders and to oust them without the need for a revolution. 3] Several variants of democracy exist, but there are two basic forms, both of which concern how the whole body of eligible citizens executes its will. One form of democracy is direct democracy, in which eligible citizens have direct and active participation in the decision making of the government. In most modern democracies, the whole body of eligible citizens remain the sovereign power but political power is exercised indirectly through elected representatives; this is called representative democracy.The concept of representative democracy arose largely from ideas and institutions that developed during the European Middle Ages, the Age of Enlightenment, and the American and French Revolutions Definition While there is no universally accepted definition of â€Å"democracy,†[5] equality and freedom have both been identified as important characteristics of democracy since ancient times. [6] These principles are reflected in all eligible citizens being equal before the law and having equal access to legislative processes.For example, in a representative democracy, every vote has equal weight, no unreasonable restrictions can apply to anyone seeking to become a representative, and the freedom of its eligible citizens is secured by legitimized rights and liberties which are generally protected by a constitution. [7][8] One theory holds that democracy requires three fundamental principles: 1) upward control, i. e. sovereignty residing at the lowest levels of authority, 2) political equality, and 3) social norms by which individuals and institutions only consider acceptable acts that reflect the first two principles of upward control and political equality. 9] The term â€Å"democracy† is sometimes used as shorthand for liberal democracy, which is a variant of representative democracy that may include elements such as political pluralism; equality before the law; the right to petition elected officials for redress of grievances; due process; civil liberties; human rights; and elements of civil society outside the government. [citation needed] In the United States, separation of powers is often cited as a central attribute, but in other countries, such as the United Kingdom, the dominant principle is that of parliamentary sovereignty (while maintaining judicial independence). citation needed] In other cases, â€Å"democracy† is used to mean direct democracy. Though the term â€Å"democracy† is typically used in the context of a political state, the principles also are applicable to private orga nizations. Majority rule is often listed as a characteristic of democracy. [by whom? ] Hence, democracy allows for political minorities to be oppressed by the â€Å"tyranny of the majority† in the absence of legal protections of individual or group rights. An essential part of an â€Å"ideal† representative democracy is competitive elections that are fair both substantively[10] and procedurally. 11] Furthermore, freedom of political expression, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press are considered to be essential rights that allow citizens to be adequately informed and able to vote according to their own interests. [12][13] It has also been suggested that a basic feature of democracy is the capacity of eligible voters to participate freely and fully in the life of their society. [14] With its emphasis on notions of social contract and the collective will of the eligible voters, democracy can also be characterized as a form of political collectivism because it is d efined s a form of government in which all eligible citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. [15] While democracy is often equated with the republican form of government, the term â€Å"republic† classically has encompassed both democracies and aristocracies. Democracy is the best form of government. Yes because†¦ Freedom Democratic states nearly always have freer people than autocratic states. They obviously have the right to vote for their government so by extension deciding the policy of their nation and what their nation should be like.They have more freedom of speech and expression than in autocracies. In particular they are free to criticise their own government. Represents the people The biggest virtue of Democracy is that it is government by the people for the people. The government represents the views of the people who elect them and can throw them out if the government does things that the people do not like. Unlike other forms of g overnment democracy is about the little man, everyone rather than the elite that are often disconnected from how everyone else lives their lives.Better governance due to transparency Democracy is as much about having checks and balances to the executive and having transparency of decision-making as it is about elections and the populace throwing governments out of power. In a democracy the parliament, the media and sometimes the judiciary all keep an eye on the executive and what is being done with the people’s money. They are therefore able to see if the executive is doing things that are detrimental to the country, are immoral, or even illegal. This can then be brought to a halt.Even where such actions are not visible on the surface there are separate institutions that have the power to investigate the executive and watch any ‘secret’ deals or actions that are going on away from public view. Respect of Human Rights Democracy as much it is understood, is the gov ernment of the people, by the people and for the people. If democracy is put at it appropriate performance, then, all facet of human rights is respected. The citizens would have the rights to exercise freedom of speech concerning the well-being of the populace in areas of the economy, education, health, infrastructural development, etc.Promotes Human Rights As much as Democracy is understood, it is a government of the people, by the people and for the people. The ability of the people to have a voice in the running of the State, in the economy, health, education, infrastructural development, etc creates a bit-balanced environment for governance to thrive; this can only be achieved in a democratic governance. This is not the case. The most developed and richest countries are all democracies.While they may well have been developing their democracies during their initial industrialisation democracy and the freedom it brings is increasingly necessary for economic growth once the country has moved to being mostly dependent upon services rather than manufacturing or natural resource exploitation for economic growth. Once this occurs then creativity becomes important and the freedoms associated with democracy are needed to foster this creativity that is needed for industries such as information technology, creative arts, research and development etc.Democracy is the best form of government. No because†¦ Freedom Except for the freedom to choose the government there is no reason why people cannot be as free under an autocracy as in a democracy. Represents the people Democracy does not do very well at representing the people. In first past the post systems a government may not even have the support of a majority of those who voted not even including that many will not have votes and many more will not have the vote. This means that it is often a small minority of the population who determines which party gets in to government.Once they are there they are rarely rep resentative of the people as they have several years to do what they like. Yes they need to think about re-election but that simply means they need to do more that the people like than the people dislike (or else have a good advertising campaign). Better governance due to transparency While this is mostly found in democracy it is not something that has to be exclusive to democracies. Autocracies can potentially be transparent and have checks and balances they however often do not simply because an autocracy often has the time, and the willingness to use force to prevent these from occurring.Economic growth Autocracies are better at big projects, they can get things done and as such they are likely to be better at creating economic growth if they have the will. In an autocracy there are not the avenues for dissent that can block building projects, the police or troops can be used to clear protests that in the west would slow down large infrastructure projects. As a consequence of thi s all the infrastructure that is needed to create a modern economy can be produced quicker and cheaper than would be the case in a democracy.Also the resource base of the country can be accessed faster (no pesky environmentalists preventing drilling and mining! ) and used more efficiently. Increasingly about money In some countries democracy seems to be increasingly about money. The U. S. is the obvious example where millions are spent on elections with big events and glitzy advertising campaigns. This is not what democracy should be about and it discourages other countries from moving along the path to democracy. Indeed it undermines the very idea of democracy. Democracy when money is involved to the extent that it is in the U. S. A. ecomes elitist and corporatist because only the elite and rich businessmen can afford to fund the campaigns for congress let alone for the presidency. The 2008 campaign for the White House cost $1. 6 billion and the whole 2008 election including senate and house of representatives races cost $5. 3 billion. Autocracies obviously avoid this immense expense by avoiding elections. Is democracy the best form of government? Disagree : By Richard What if someone was in power who cared about the people, stood for the people, was in touch with the people and was not corrupted by the power that Dictatorship brought him.Yes, it seems unlikely but what if? We could have the ability to do more, faster with less red tape, paperwork, and continual discussion (as with a dictatorship) coupled with the freedoms of democracy. The problem is the people always believe the mob (majority) to be right. The truth is people are easily manipulated when in a crowd or together as a majority on an issue. It takes but one person to convince 10 000 that his conviction is the right one. Nevermind what the minority of free thinkers, academics, intellectuals, or revolutionaries have to say or have warned against. Political Ideology is not the problem.Humans are. W e are self-righteous, greedy, self-serving, destructive, and worst of all manipulative. People always point me to the selfless acts of others they have witnessed in order to prove me wrong on my previous statement. But the fact is these selfless people are in the tiny minority, or as with Maslow's hierarchy of needs, already have 10 houses, 4 cars, 2 security guards and a 10 mil bank account. â€Å"Giving† to the poor doesn't detract from their riches as they resupply their wealth with shares bought and sold or actually working. Thus, they aren't losing wealth. They simply aren't gaining more.We need the minority just as much as we need the majority. That minority of free thinkers, academics, intellectuals, and revolutionaries are the ones that changed the world. They brought us medicine, computers, a better understanding of science and space, but most important of all a curiosity for knowledge. Democracy should protect the rights of the minority more often than it does. We r ely too much on what the mob thinks, when in actual fact they don't think. They just regurgitate the drivel fed to them by some sob who knows how to manipulate the mob for his own profit. And that is the biggest problem facing democracy.How do you overcome the this human condition where if we are in large groups, emotion replaces logical thought? Disagree : By Prashanth I think there are better forms of government other than democracy. Dictatorship is not completely bad neither is democracy completely good. Consider this form of government– Instead of having bulky political parties why not have leaders of parties etc stand as candidates for the post of President/Prime Minister. The people can directly vote for them. Better still we could invite applications for this post from the citizens. Based on screening them for leadership track record,no criminal cases etc. e could select the top 5 or 10 most eligible candidates. People can select the candidate who is most popular/likab le for 5 years. He could then select experts from different sectors as ministers. He could hand pick distinguished people from different sectors as expert advisory group who could debate/discuss proposed laws. He can hand pick worthy local people for mayor position in cities/villages who should interact directly with people and pass immediate orders to solve their problems. He should have a citizens forum where people directly give ideas to the Prime Minister/President.The judiciary to oversee the constitutional validity of laws passed,Election Commission,Constitution and an ombudsman to check corruption etc all of them will be there. This form of government will cut flab,be efficient and agile. It will eliminate unworthy but popular people from getting elected. Also the people debating will be experts in their field. There is greater likelihood of better decisions. As it is today the party leaders only call the shots. Then why not have worthy leaders directly elected by the people. These leaders will keep a balance between expert opinion,constitutional provisions and public opinion.

Support Children and Young People’s Health and Safety Essay

1.1 Describe how current health and safety legislation; policies and procedures are implemented in the setting. Any policy or procedure, which defines or relates to the health and safety of all individuals in a school, is written in compliance with the Health and Safety at work Act 1974 as this is the legislation and by law must be abided by. Legislation Legislations are set by the law and are adhered to by making rules, policies and procedures for anywhere that is required to follow them, such as in a school setting. The head teacher is responsible for health and safety legislation, ensuring the school meets the objectives which are set out within its own policies and that the procedures are actively applied and updated regularly and revised, also that all health and safety guidance issued by the local authority is available to all staff and that the appropriate training is offered to help the staff perform these tasks. To ensure the environment is safe for the children the legislation requires risk assessments to be carried out at regular intervals for each room and outside space they use. This ensures all equipment is well maintained, age appropriate and safe to use and ensuring good hygiene standards are met. The law provides a number of different acts, which must be followed by schools in order to make sure children and its staff, are kept safe. Some of the current legislations in place at the moment are: Health and Safety at work Act 1974 The children’s Act 1989 RIDDOR 2013 COSHH 2002 UN Convention on rights of child Read more:  Essay on Children Health and Safety The health and safety at work act is implemented in my school, this ensures that not only the children are kept safe and out of danger but also the staff within the school too. The staff also need to know what they need to do in order to keep themselves and the children safe from any dangers they could/ may find around the school the school. They are required to report any hazards they find to the relevant person, follow the schools safety policy, make sure that their actions do not harm themselves or others, use any safety equipment provided and ensure all equipment is safe and appropriate. The school by law is required to have a health and safety policy, this gives information to all staff to make sure the school is kept as safe as possible. All new staff joining the school is provided with relevant training in health and safety and what to do in an emergency. There is also a health and safety policy for staff, which they must read and sign to agree to adhere to all points in the p olicy. Staff must ensure that any actions, which they take, are not likely to cause any harm or dangers to others within the school. This will include cleaning and tidying up of any equipment after use to ensure there is no risk of any potential risk occurring. For various jobs within the school such as handling food, doing experiments or attending to first aid incidents protective and safety equipment is provided and must be worn. This will be wearing plastic gloves and aprons whilst handling food to stop contamination, wearing Hi Viz jackets when off site to ensure staff and children are fully visible at all times. When using any materials and equipment within the classroom there are certain safety regulations they must meet to ensure they are fully safe and usable. Here are a couple of examples: The children’s act 1989 stipulates that as a school we must protect the children as far as we can when they are in our care and prevent any risks, which may occur. In my school this is implemented by ensuring all staff remain vigilant at all times by removing any risks such as coats and lunch boxes on the floor or in corridors, chairs left sticking out or wet floors where anyone can slip over. These risks can easily be removed ensuring a  safe environment is maintained, but some hazards are not able to be as easily removed so all staff need to be aware of the procedures of reporting concerns through management. The act also allows children to be healthy by having a fruit as a free snack and ensuring fruit and vegetables are available as a choice at dinner times, this encourages them to have their 5 a day. It requires children not only to be safe but to feel safe within their school environment this is ensured by having locked gates and CCTV on all gates ensuring only those permitted are allowed on the grounds. The school has an obligation under this act to ensure all staff are fully CRB checked, qualified and given regular training to ensure they keep to date with the ever changing legislations and policies. RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences). This is a legislation regarding reporting and record keeping of injuries. It sets out which illness and injuries need to be reported to the Health and safety executive or the local authority. It is set out within the schools health and safety policy the procedures, which need to be followed for these occurrences, and the legislation sets out which ones need reporting. Every school needs to have an accident book and injuries need to be documented in there. COSHH (The control of substances Hazardous to health regulations). The use of hazardous substances within schools can present hazards to staff and children so measures need to be put in place to eliminate any injuries occurring. The legislation also states that when using any hazardous chemicals protective clothing and equipment must be provided and used. Every school must be COSHH compliant. The picture below shows examples of Hazard symbols which will be visible on any hazardous chemicals and defines which ones need to be kept in a locked cupboard as may cause an injury. The UN convention on rights of a child is a treaty, which was drawn up by the governments worldwide to promise all children the same rights no matter who they are or where they come from. This is implemented in the school by ensuring all equipment and materials used are targeted for the specific age, so age and stage appropriate. This will also include making sure the desks and chairs are the correct size for the age of the children. Policies Schools must have policies to ensure the children and staffs are kept safe. There are many different policies within a school, which they draw up as their own guidelines for how the legislation is to be followed on the school premises. Some of the policies that are in place to set out how to adhere to the health and safety act are: Accident and Incident policy Site security Policy Visitors to the school Hazardous substances Policy Vehicular movement on site policy Critical incident policy Procedures Wherever there is a policy in place there will always be procedures in place too, these are set to show and tell you how the policy will be adhered to. This is quite clearly shown within the fire policy, it shows exactly what must happen in case of a fire or a drill and where everyone needs to meet and who needs to do what to ensue a safe exit is made by all. 1.2 Describe how health and safety is monitored and maintained in the setting. Health and safety is monitored and maintained in a number of ways within the school, there is a Health and safety policy, which all staff are given and must read, they are required to sign to declare they understand and will  fully comply to it. This will outline their main areas of responsibilities and the procedures for doing so. Staff training needs to be kept current and up to date so any amendments in the legislation or policies need to be passed on and implemented by all staff members quickly. Risk assessments are carried out regularly by the schools health and safety officer, this is done every six months to ensure all tools, equipment and the environment are fully safe and compliant. All electrical equipment should have the annual up to date approved PAT tested sticker on to confirm it is safe to use. Fire extinguishers should be checked annually and recorded on the outside of it. These tests ensure the equipment is fully maintained and fit for purpose. On a daily basis all staff should remain vigilant to prevent any hazards occurring, by constant monitoring and the removal of any dangers will ensure a safe and healthy environment for the children to learn in. Dangers can be coats and lunch boxes lying on the floor causing a trip hazard, water on the floor from the sink, chairs being left out, the classroom being at the wrong temperature or defected furniture. These are all dangers, which can easily be removed, but some hazards will need reporting and these should be recorded and reported immediately before an accident or incident occurs. A risk assessment is always carried out before any out of school visit can take place. This will ascertain what could go wrong and how that can be prevented. The school has a school trip policy and within that are procedures to follow if certain instances were to occur. Within the assessment it will outline all responsibilities for all members of staff attending on the visit Fire drills are practised every six months to ensure everyone in the school knows and adheres to the policy and fully follows all the procedures which are in place to ensure a quick and safe exit is made from the building to the specified fire meeting place. Regular staff meeting are held, where health and safety is always top priority on the agenda. Staff are reminded of any issues and informed of  any specific hazard, which may have arisen. Audits are always done on accidents and incidents, this is to monitor why and how they have occurred and what preventative measures can be put in place to minimise the risks of them reoccurring. 1.3 Describe how people in the setting are made aware of risks and hazards and encouraged to work safely All staff need to be aware of and are responsible for being vigilant at all times on health and safety matters. They need to be aware of the procedures of reporting concerns through management. Health and safety should be on the agenda and discussed at all staff meetings, any concerns, which are raised, should be dealt with immediately. Staff at all times should be visually monitoring, checking fire doors are clear, shelves are safe, equipment is safe and fit for use, etc. Safety checks should be routinely carried out on a regular basis. The head teacher should have a regular walk around to check there are no hazards, which have gone unreported. If a hazard is found then the correct procedures should be followed, reported and dealt with as soon as possible. All electrical equipment is required to be PAT tested annually and display an approved sticker on it confirming its safe to use and the date the test is next due. If the equipment is past its inspection date the equipment should not be used and a notice put on it saying, â€Å" do not use†. PAT test needs to be carried out by a qualified electrician, Fire extinguishers also need to be checked annually and the date of all checks and maintenance should be recorded and labelled on them. Staff and others in the school need to think about health and safety at all times, if there is a spillage a wet floor sign needs to be immediately placed around the area to warn people of the slip hazard. The spillage can then be cleaned up as soon as possible. The school is required to carry out annual risk assessment to ascertain which areas of the school are most  hazardous and ensure every measure is taken to minimise the risk of any accidents occurring. The school has a health and safety policy, which sets guidelines the staff, must follow relating to all health and safety issues within the school, procedures are quite clearly set ensuring all staff are fully aware of what they need to do if an incident or emergency was to occur. This ensures the school is a safe as possible environment. All new staff are provided with a copy of this policy which they must read and sign to agree to abide by it all times. They are given health and safety training and told what they need to do in emergencies.. All staff working in school has the responsibility to ensure that children are cared for and safe. The Children’s Act 1989 requires that we protect children as far as we can when they are in our care. By taking a balanced approach to risk management will ensure we are abiding by this act. Children as well as staff in school need to be aware of risks and hazards and are taught to keep themselves as safe as possible. There are a variety of ways in school we teach and show the children about health and safety issues they need to be aware of, here are a few: Posters around the school on hygiene Safety and hazard symbols they need to be aware of Allowing the children to take part in carrying out the risk assessments Signs around the school they need to adhere to Ensuring they know what and when to report issues to adults Hand washing pictures I the toilet PSCO visits to teach the children about stranger danger Fire officers to teach children about fire risks and how to leave a building quickly and safely in the event of a fire. Schools have eco warriors to help look after the environment ensuring it is safe and secure at all times Teaching they know about balanced risk management.

Divorce Research Paper

Divorce Crystal Perez Divorce is a big scary word for many. To some, it is a word that represents failure and a reason for them to raise the white flag in defeat. Trials and tribulations seemed to take their toll and cause reason for a significant change in lifestyle, routines, and marital status. To others, divorce is a reason to escape from a difficult and harmful relationship. Divorce is the final straw and the symbol of courage to leave when they had had enough. For whatever the reason, divorce has become extremely prevalent not just in the United States, but across the Earth. It is also a large reason for debate.Many feel as though divorce is looked at as a â€Å"get out of jail free card† and that people use it when they have decided that they want to move on. Many also see divorce as a harmful tool to tear a family to pieces. Regardless of how divorce is perceived, the fact is that it creates a very powerful change in families. The exact cause of a divorce is interchang eable from case to case. The cause and effect dynamic may display a pattern as to why many marriages fail. Factors and warning signs that may contribute to a failed marriage include factors before the marriage, and during a marriage.Such factors before a marriage include; his or her parents divorcing, either partner is under the age of 21, family is opposed to the marriage, cohabitation before marriage, a previous divorce of either partner, or a large discrepancy in age, background, interests, and values. (Berger 2009) While one may say that catching these warning signs early could prevent a couple from immaturely embarking on the trip down the aisle, many signs are simply ignored by pre-marital bliss. The warning signs for divorce while in the marriage may be more detectable.Such signs include; divergent plans and practices regarding childbearing and child rearing, financial stress/unemployment, substance abuse, communication difficulties, lack of time together, emotional or physic al abuse, and relatives who do not support the relationship. (Berger 2009) It has been said â€Å"many distressed marriages are happier after divorce, while those in merely distant marriages are less happy than they though they would be. † (Berger 2009) Many go into a relationship ignoring the faults of others; completely blind to potential risk factors or warning signs of a failing relationship. Why would they?To constantly look for fault in others and to always search for the problem could lead to a potentially lonely life. The saying that no one is perfect, while completely true, can ring in the ears of a man or woman looking for love. This statement can cause one to experience the common â€Å"overlooking the flaws† syndrome, and therefore send such star-crossed lovers down the aisle; never stopping to take a breath and consider the impossible†¦what if they are not truly compatible? The good news is that more so now than ever, individuals are deciding to exami ne their partners and themselves a little bit more carefully before tying the knot.The United States was the first nation to see the divorce rate rise significantly years ago. However, the divorce rate has remained steady for the past 15 years. (Berger 2009) To more closely examine the reasoning behind the steady rate, you have to consider where society was fifteen years ago. Fifteen years ago it was 1997; the year where the average income was $37,006. 00. (PeopleHistory. com 2004) Whether you consider it low or high today, the fact is that that $37,000 dollars was now being shared more frequently between powerful men and women. These women were executives, lawyers, professors, and collegiate professionals.One may say that these women had an unwavering sense of feminism and the mentality of being a strong, career-driven individual. It is at the age where women are not defined by their husband’s careers, but by their own accomplishments. With women taking their place in the wo rkplace, it may be safe to say that many found that a career was her top priority. Being a businesswoman and climbing the corporate ladder may have been reason enough for women to shy away from marriage until later in life; or quite possibly altogether. Whatever the case, women were allowed to be choosier in who they married, causing a lull in the divorce rate.Maybe women were realizing that they did not need marriage to feel fulfilled. Or maybe for the lucky ones, they really could have it all; maintain corporate executive status†¦and find and keep love. Although the divorce rate in the United States has kept steady for the past 15 years, the rates are still considerably high. Current divorce rates state that almost one out of two marriages end in divorce. This number is without considering that half of all adults do not get divorced. In fact, a large number of people never marry or many marry multiple times. Berger 2009) This brings up a great point as to why divorce rates ar e so high. We all know the tragic stories of those who have married multiple times on their desperate hunt to find happiness and true love. It evokes the question; while women and men can be wildly successful, why are they always looking for the fairytale? Why do we insist that somewhere, out there, our knight in shining armor will canter down the beaten path into our front yard and ask to be ours? Why do men proclaim that they will only settle down for the right woman; who coincidentally mirrors the only perfect woman in their life†¦ their mom?We have been told since we were young that we should never settle. We prepare ourselves for our futures, demand our friends to tell us the truth about â€Å"what’s wrong with us†, and have our hearts broken a million times because in the end, we are destined to find the one†¦right As a little girl, I remember my mom telling me to never settle for just anyone. â€Å"You have a lot to give and a big heart. Make sure the one who gets it really deserves it. † I have spent my life carrying around a heart that is locked up tight until I find that one perfect person who holds the key to it.It sounds like a fairy tale doesn’t it? For someone preaching about the idea that many marriages end because women expect a fairy tale, I still hold that fantasy in my own heart. We are told to not let just anyone in, but how do we know if they are that right person. In our favorite fairy tales, there is always a sign. For Snow White, it was true love’s kiss. If it were the wrong prince and not her true love, his kiss would not have woken her up. In which case, Snow White would experience her own trial and error process without ever having to go through the heartache of a breakup.For Sleeping Beauty, her Prince Charming would have never walked into her life without an arranged marriage. Luckily for her, true love’s kiss also woke her from her slumber. Apparently her betrothed just happened to be the right man for her. Watching these fairy tales growing up reinforces the idea that everyone has a true love. Everyone, no matter how difficult the situation, will eventually find the person that they belong to. Unfortunately for us, there is no sleeping spell that can wake us up with true love’s kiss. We have to continue searching for the perfect man; kissing any frog that comes our direction.So the question is, do we believe the fairytales too much? Do many marriages end in divorce because the man we marry just doesn’t turn out to be Prince Charming? Many go into a relationship giving the benefit of the doubt and hoping that just this one time; he or she will be perfect. Could it be possible that many marriages end because of disappointment? Another theory as to why divorces do occur so frequently is the fact that we watch men and women in the media divorcing their spouse like it is a right of passage; like after the 3rd one, you get a discount on your next w edding. Take Elizabeth Taylor for example.The glamorously successful film star earned her star status by acting in films since the age of ten. She was considered to be one of the last great movie stars of her time. While she is known for her films, she is better known for her precocious love life. With all of her star success, one would think that she would be content; but like any other human being, she longed for love. When she didn’t find it the first time, she continued to search for and marry anyone who made her happy for the time being. Taylor married eight times. This leaves one to question whether her marriages were a matter of love, or acts which filled a void in her heart.A more recent star that has followed the same path is Jennifer Lopez. Wildly successful and envied by many, one may say that she has it all. Lopez has also been on the search for love. She has married and divorced three times. This draws a fine line between when it is morally right for a divorce to take place. One may say that a couple must divorce when one or both parties are unhappy. This being said, how unhappy is unhappy enough? Couples fight, argue over petty things, and question their compatibility, but when is it right to call it quits? Fighting for a marriage may be as important as preparing for one in the first place.Celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez who get out of a relationship do not set the best example for those fighting for their relationship. The divorce factors that make divorces likely during a divorce; such as emotional and physical abuse, financial stress/unemployment, etc. are rarely present in celebrity divorces. If celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor, Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears, and Russell Brand can divorce for â€Å"irreconcilable differences,† why shouldn’t the general public? Divorce may be something that many tend to do on a whim when they have simply had enough, but in many to most cases, it is not just themselves that hey have to worry about. Most traditional families that experience a divorce have children who are involved as much as their parents. In certain cases, a divorce may be helpful for those in an abusive environment or those who experience more arguments than dinner conversations. Divorces from harmful relationships can teach children that when you are hurting, sometimes you need to get out. However, divorces that are granted because of â€Å"irreconcilable differences† may teach children that when the going gets tough, it’s best to just get going. Divorce can also hurt bonds between a specific parent if that parent and the child were close.The child could experience a feeling of loss and be subject to the grieving process, which will help them to move on through the loss. If both parents do not assist with this grieving process, problems within the process may be created. Many think that the grieving process is only experienced after a death. It in fact can and should be followe d after any situation that creates great trauma to one’s usual state. The process can be quite helpful in maintaining a stable state of being after a loss. There are times that the process may be complicated.For example, absent grief is a situation in which overly private people cut themselves off from the community and customs that allow and expect grief. (Berger 2009) Another situation of complicated grief is disenfranchised grief. This is â€Å"a situation in which certain people, although they are bereaved, are prevented from mourning publicly by cultural customs or social restrictions. † (Berger 2009) This would be a situation where a child is told not to cry about a situation or to â€Å"suck it up† and not be bothered by the current situation. These aspects of complicated grief may affect the child later on in his or her adult life.If both adults in the marriage decide that divorce is the best option for all members of the family, it is important for the child to be informed and to be allowed to grieve in his or her own way. Open communication can be very helpful in getting through a complicated time. With this open communication, the couple must understand that each child, at each age level, will respond differently. An example given by The University of New Hampshire: Cooperative Extension was that a child of preschool age may think that if he/she had done his/her chores or eaten dinner when they were told, their father or mother would not have gone away.Elementary-aged children may have the most difficult time accepting divorce. (UNH) The children are old enough to recognize that they are hurting, but have no idea how or if they can fix the pain. (UNH) Adolescents generally take a different approach to fixing the problem at hand. He/she may assume the responsibilities of a parent in order to take less stress off of a specific parent. They are old enough to understand that his/her parents are not only adults, but they are also act ual people dealing with a crisis. He/she may take stress on themselves because they feel responsible for fixing a problem that they have no control of.According to the University of New Hampshire, â€Å"studies have shown that boys raised by fathers and girls raised by mothers may do better than children raised by the parent of the opposite sex. † This is also a very important aspect to consider when divorcing, who lives with whom. The divorce is not just the dividing of the assets; it is also the dividing of the children. Schedules dictating which holidays are with a given parent, or who has them on the weekends can be stressful for not only the parents, but the children as well.This relates to the idea that â€Å"the children’s adjustment following a divorce has more to do with the quality of the parent-child relationship than with the gender and age of the child. † (UNH) If the child has working relationships with his/her parent on each of their visits, the c hild should not struggle to find a way to adjust. Regardless of the quantity of time between parent and child, the quality of the time should be enough for the child to feel as though he/she is not missing a source of comfort. The relationship between child and parent is quite possibly one of the most difficult aspects of divorce.As an individual, it is easy to put yourself first. For many, it’s what they have done for his or her entire life. In the beginning, you have an entire world of opportunity in front of you. The stresses of a part-time job and school seem like the most intense and terrifying aspect of your entire life; because it’s not just school, it’s everything else. Love lives, career choices, moves to different places near and far away; our minds are constantly churning out new ideas for our futures. Then once you decide on a place to live and a career, you focus on how to move to the top of the ladder and become all that you can be; after ll, that is what your college experience has prepped you for, right? Then you meet someone that you decide to settle down with. So now you’re balancing a career, marriage, and of course the idea that you still have a long life to live. Then as the song goes, first comes love, then comes marriage†¦then of course comes children. I’ve been told that children may quite possibly be the biggest blessing in one’s life; but then your days of dreaming for one are over. Your dreams and life changes have now become the life source for someone else who means more than your desire to cross items off of your bucket list.A divorce is one of those changes that affect many relationships. These other relationships may be more important than the relationship that you have with yourself. In my opinion, this should be the question everyone contemplating a divorce must ask themselves†¦does this decision affect anyone else? If so, will this decision improve the lives of everyone invo lved? It is hard to say if a divorce helps or hurts family. Each case is different and each case is full of reasons for a couple to stay or to leave. It is easy to listen to a best friend tell you how much you deserve better, or a mother saying that she wants more for you.However, in the end the choice is yours. It is human nature to gravitate towards people who make you happy. You would never befriend someone who gave you the cold shoulder and told you how much they disliked you. Just as someone going into a relationship never sets out to find someone who makes him or her unhappy. Even in the case of celebrities looking for love of their own, they never go out searching for disaster. Whether it is the fairy tale image, the feeling of needing someone in your life, or the initial feeling that you are perfect for each other, no one goes into a relationship hoping for failure.We are given one shot at life and are constantly told to go out and live passionately; live the life we’ ve always wanted! Why else would our role models tell us that we could have anything we want if we just pursue it? It is my honest belief that we go through life trying to find and hold onto the things that make us ridiculously happy. You could tell the divorcing couple who were once madly in love that you told them so, but it would not change the fact that at one time they were in love. They took a chance and believed that their love could withstand anything.The reality is that while this couple’s marriage failed does not mean that all will. Despite current statistics, the truth is that while one out of two marriages ends in divorce, one half of them work. One can be a cinicist, look at a statistic and look for failure. Or one can look at the statistic and hold onto the belief that they are the fortunate half. Divorce is tragic no matter how one looks at it, however no one can predict the future. If a couple is aware of themselves and their chances for success, their happine ss has no expiration date.Despite the statistics, the prior judgments, and the expectations of others, a marriage has every chance to defy odds and last forever. Stories like that are those that give this girl every reason to believe that I really can have my own fairy tale. Resources Berger, Kathleen Stassen. Invitation to the Life Span. New York: Worth, 2010. Print. Temke, Mary. â€Å"The Effects of Divorce on Children. † University of New Hampshire: Cooperative Extension. University of New Hampshire, May 2006. Web. 13 May 2012. . â€Å"The Year 1997 From The People History. † What Happened in 1997 Inc. Pop Culture, Prices and Events. Web. 14 May 2012. .

Business management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Business management - Essay Example Nevertheless, society seemed to have heeded the call. Burke (2002) elucidated on the necessity of change in organizations as an avenue for survival and viewed such change as a means of adapting to their particular environment. In the realm of work and organizations, critical contrast is now being focused on modernism and post-modernism. I also believe that the gradual switch from the former to the latter workplace standard can provide an idea of how much change work and organisations endured in this generation. Grint (2005) ascribed ‘certainty, stability and consensus’ to modernist organizations vis a vis their opposites of ‘instability, uncertainty and dissensus’ to the post-modernist ones. Grint’s three sets of opposite words generalize the paradigm shift from modernism to past modernism in the course material depiction of structural change from rigid bureaucracies to flexible organizations; the consumption trend from mass markets to niche markets; from technological determinism to technological choic e; from differentiated, demarcated and de-skilled to highly de-differentiated, de-demarcated and multi-skilled jobs; and from central and standardized to complex and fragmentary employment relations based on Knights and Willmott (2006). Although the current model of organizational processes have revolutionized society and industry in more ways than one, I do, however, also acknowledge Harding’s (2003) argument that the so-called modernist epoch was never ‘superseded’ (Jameson, 2002) and has not really gone away, but metamorphosed into the ideals we know now as post-modernist to ‘fill voids of understanding that exist in the modern world’. Viewed in this sense, the transformations we perceived are not necessarily changes, but continuity, which in a way animates Weil’s (1968, cited in Grey, 2005) remark

M&A Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

M&A - Essay Example According to the information, it is known that the company had revenues drastically raisin from $92 million to 127 million, in 2011. This information alone is enough to give me enough reasons to acquire the company. The role of any business is to make profits, or at least break even. Therefore, critical analysis of the statement of financial positions should be done in order to come up with factual information concerning the move. In terms of competition, the company is doing well, to a point of out doing some other better companies. The company is also able to compete favourable with the competitors who directly supply the products to the customers. The other significant information which I want to know is the pricing strategies of the firm. I need to understand the way the company formulates its pricing policies, the way it deals with customers and how it adjusts its prices. One important issue, which is important concerning investment acquisitions, is getting to understand about pricing strategies. If the prevailing price was $10, then the investor cannot come and arbitrarily fix the price at $20 as this will result to loss of customers and the market grip. Looking at the financial statements will furnish me with enough information so that I can make informed decision about the firm. The firm’s historical performance, as shown by the revenues and gross profit margins, is of great help in making valid conclusions. It is also important to analyse the asset base of the company, as this will make me know whether it will be able to produce efficiently. The first way to learn about all this information I have listed is to visit the company’s website. Here, much of the company’s information concerning the financial status is obtained. The information will act as a directive of whether to invest or not. Visiting the company website is also helpful as I am able to get updated information concerning the company, the manager, the objective

Resume Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 17

Resume - Essay Example I have written a few lyrics myself from ideas that run in my mind and through observing the environment around me. I’m currently thinking of learning the piano as it is very interesting and good music can be made from it. One of the most significant challenges I had to face was when one night as I was reading for my exams the next day, a friend of mine came to me and cried for help as her parents fighting were fighting too much. I stopped reading first and consoled her. I then went to ask for my mother’s advice. My mother decided that my friend would spend the night at our house. This was after mother spoken to her parents. As a student, I learned that giving back to the community was an important thing. Through our study group, we organized cleaning of the environment at a local estate where we collected and burnt garbage. Another situation was when we went to children’s home at our town to donate clothes and food. I once donated blood for the Red Cross when they came to our school and the most memorable moment was when we went around villages teaching them about hygiene and health. I once witnessed discrimination taking place in our school. The drama club leader who was the one choosing 10 students out of 30 students for a trip seemed to base his choices on looks. The good-looking ones got all the positions. I responded by confronting him and going to report him to the principal. From here I learned that discrimination is a vice that should not be practiced. My established goal are, to pass my exams, to always aim for the highest, to succeed in life and be the best at what I do. Ways of accomplishing these goals include working hard in everything I do, giving all I got to everything that I do, having a positive attitude towards life and finally have a mentor. An example that demonstrates my work diligence is the creation of an environment that will support

Individual Leadership Growth Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 15

Individual Leadership Growth Reflection - Essay Example I have found that I calm and patient when I differ with other people’s opinions, drawing them to my personality. I have high regard for innovation and creativity. It is important to me as an individual that in all areas of life, people be allowed to explore their ability to come up with new ideas. I have found that it is innovation that people find better alternative solutions to the problems they have. Through creativity and innovation, people are able to enjoy the process of work much more. People that have not been allowed this explorative ability are usually much more likely to give little input. This is because they are working out of obligation and not motivation; the end result cannot be successful. In a world where more and more issues are controversial, people have learned to define their opinions as â€Å"grey.† For me, however, I have found that my opinions can only be classified as either â€Å"black† or â€Å"white.† This is to say that my sta nd on any issue whatsoever is very clear. I also ensure that my stand, though not enforced, is known. This would allow my followers to be in a position, in my absence, to make a decision that would concur with my line of thought. It is important that followers be able to understand their leader so that incidence of conflict is not a likely occurrence. In my interactions with people, I have found that I only encourage people to do as I would. This is because I would wish that a situation does not bring about negativity into their lives. If I feel that is an act would bear negative results, I tell them to carry on with it. However, I am uncomfortable with telling people to carry on and act on something in a manner that I myself would not. I would prefer that this approach is reciprocated to me. From my experiences, I have come to the conclusion that people reciprocate what you to do them – if you are honest; they are likely to give you the same.

Monstrous Discourse & the Cultural Moment Research Paper

Monstrous Discourse & the Cultural Moment - Research Paper Example The paper will appoint the good works of Francisco De Goya artistic work – Sleep of Reason, which in this case is a prophetic outlook of how human nature will create monsters, and monsters rule the world. Another close appointment is the literal works by Scott Poole Monster in America, in which the author attempts to examine how America has created its own, social, economic and political problems. The paper is structured into four main parts. Firstly, Goya presentation of Sleep of Reason; secondly, Poole discuss on Monsters in America. Thirdly, the paper will appoint the application of artifacts, which in this case, the research will elaborate how artifacts initiate monsters into action. Fourthly, the document will present an argument on the freedom monster and how it has been applied to continuously cause belligerence against humans. Table of Contents Part I 5 Cultural moment to in the understanding the context 5 PART II 6 Poole’s Monsters in America 6 PART III 8 Appoi ntment of Artifacts in the interpretation of the two parts 8 PART IV 9 The Monsters of Freedom and development 9 The Metaphor of Monsters 10 Ambiguity and the Gates of difference 11 How Man create Monsters 12 The Presence of Monsters 13 The act of Self Consumption 14 Death and Mutation 15 Summary 16 Conclusion 17 PART I Cultural moment to in the understanding the context Scholarly, dreams present a vivid description, in which the writer focuses on social, economic and political issues. A dream may fail on the account of realism; however, descriptions presented in the dream may be applied to provide a coherent reflection of real life situations. In this case, the dream is consciously developing vivid description by applying logics and fact verification in the general concept of how practices, beliefs, and institutions are based. To present description, the combined application of art and science is so much influential in a dream, and in this case, the dream is analyzed on a rationali ty scale (Snow, 23). This exegesis will attempt to explore how a cultural moment – in this case influenced by dreams- creates substantive effects on the scope of social anxiety. The dream is largely applied by Goya to reflect on a given global revolution of Monsters, and how on several presentations social anxiety of the people is based on the economic and political account (Snow, 44). This reflection attempts to present how citizens consider and analyze themselves based on â€Å"self-fear, rejection, embarrassments, and criticism. Based on the setting period of the context, it is cognitive to understand, that the society was attacked diverse challenges, which by use of imagery they are presented by bats. The American cultural moment presented by sleep of reason has deep relation with scholarly aspect of thinking, intellect and cognition. Man attempts to comprehend the prevailing challenges, and analyzes them with cause, truth, effect and falsehood. However, it coherent to u nderstand that Sleep of Reason present a personal evaluation mechanism, at which the dreamer (read a citizen) will attempt to review his inner personal feeling, for the general good of the society. As this document will endeavor, self- conscious will attempt to alter attitudes, beliefs, institutions and beliefs of the society. The individual will evaluate personal self beliefs based on the prevailing cultural moment, and in this case, establish whether he meets the required humanism threshold of that

The History of Caste in India Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

The History of Caste in India - Term Paper Example It is therefore at all times difficult to interpret the past without letting the concerns of the present interfere. What can be ascertained with reasonable confidence is that by the 2nd century BCE the current caste system was in place, with the exception of the ‘Untouchables’ which did not appear until 600 years ago.1 Both systems were hierarchical and existed across the vast Indian Territory in varying and often quite different forms. In economic terms, being a member of the higher classes opened the door to relative wealth and prestige, whereas membership of the two lower castes meant generally living in poverty. In addition, in social terms ‘pollution’ was a serious problem between the castes, particularly for the lowest class, leading to severe and often humiliating exploitation.These conditions were portrayed as a largely homogenous Indian phenomenon by British Colonial Administrators and Orientalists, during the 18th and 19th centuries. The latter in particular took an intense interest in India and their works have until the middle of the 20th century represented the sum total of scholarly opinion. Although their interpretations are now often regarded as superficial and naive, a large component of the historical research then undertaken is still recorded as relatively sound and has found its ways into later works. It was only in the 20th century that views of simplicity and homogeneity were challenged, principally through events on the ground in India. Whereas Ghandi is often seen as something of a watershed in these stirrings, there were in fact others who attempted to challenge the established order. One of these is Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, of particular importance here because he himself came from the lowest caste. He believed in his later years that Hinduism was corrupted beyond redemption and converted to Buddhism, whereas Ghandi maintained steadfastly throughout his life that division between the castes could be mended by r eturning to a purer form of Hinduism. It has now been recognized, however, that the problem is far more complex and that post-independence anti-poverty programs, whilst bringing a measure of relief to the lowest caste, are now the source of escalating violence, particularly in those states that have the highest poverty rates. There have been many reports of ‘Harijan atrocities’2, often involving degrading acts perpetrated by higher caste members and sometimes even leading to multiple deaths of members of the scheduled caste. Whilst these higher caste anxieties do not always translate into violence, they generally take the form of discrimination in social, educational and employment settings. And although some of this is waning, from convenience rather than conviction, rural areas are far more orthodox and discrimination here is much more marked. As with any hierarchical system, those at the top will fight for their privileges and are unlikely to let go of their higher s tatus. Thus it seems that the Indian caste system is here to stay and the best the lower castes can hope for is that in time they can share in India’s growing wealth and that the ‘polluting’ element of their condition will fade into oblivion. How fast these changes will occur will largely depend on how

Disaster nursing and emergency preparedness Essay

Disaster nursing and emergency preparedness - Essay Example Furthermore, tertiary prevention is evident from restricting the reuse of gloves by the healthcare professionals and patients (Veenema, 2012). Innovative Examples One of the major consequences of a natural disaster like an earthquake is the loss of people especially including the loss of children. This creates an innovative opportunity for the nursing professionals to contribute in communicating to the family members of such people (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2014). Phase of the Disaster: Do the Three Proposed Interventions Fall The three proposed interventions fall under the phase of disaster management of nursing practice. The reason behind the selection of such phase is that it would provide a comprehensive nursing experience and exposure in different stressful circumstances (Veenema, 2012). People or Agencies Facilitate by the Proposed Interventions The proposed interventions undertaken during the nursing disaster management trip to Haiti would facilitate the healthcare professionals including doctors, nurses, and others to get practical understanding regarding management of patients in challenging situations. It would also facilitate the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and the government agencies to execute similar interventions in order to provide effective assistance to the affected people. This proposed intervention is extremely useful with regard to humanity. Moreover, these people or agencies are considerably related to disaster management at large (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2014).

Meaning of Life and Success Essay Example for Free

Meaning of Life and Success Essay Extended Definition Essay Success The most Important thing In my life Is thought to be happiness. In order to achieve success you must adjust to very situation with ease. Success Is It the process of doing a task and receiving a positive result, or Is It simply achieving ones own personal goals. According to The American Heritage dictionary success Is, the achievement of something desired, planned, or attempt. The word success itself means to achieve your goal or get the point that you looking for. Some people success meant to them to be rich or to finish school and work high pay Jobs. But for me success means more han that. Success means to me have peace and love; also to get married and to enter heaven after this life is over. To be sure, everybody who has peace and love is a successful succeeding person. Wthout peace and love there is no success. You wake up in the morning and you dont worry about anything that day; that is success for me, because the life is short, you dont have to be concerned about anything. Also if you have a family that loves you and is always happy for what you are doing, that is success. In addition, if you take care of your old parents and they love you and they live a happy life, which is uccess tor me. Additionally, success Is also something that Is viewed differently In the eyes of everyone. This is because success means doing what I have always wanted do being where I have always wanted to be. My goal In life Is to eventually get married toa good wife and have many happy children and If I accomplished that, then I could view myself as having success. Lastly, meaning of success for me Is to enter the heaven after this life Is over. We know that life in this world is too short, and we dont know when we are going to die and what we are going to get after this life. That is a simple answer; do good deeds in this world and you are going to be successful in the Ife hereafter. That means you enter the heaven for sure and that is big reward from God to his mankind. There is no dying after this life; that means f you dont enter the heaven you will be the loser and who ever go in the heaven will be the winner. In conclusion, I still agree with the Idea I presented: however according to the dictionary and many other resources, success means to them achievement. But according to my own opinion success means to believe the ones of God, and to have eace and love in your whole life, and to get in heaven the life hereafter. Meaning of Life and Success BY elm12696 The most important thing in my life is thought to be happiness. In order to achieve success you must adjust to very situation with ease. Success is it the process of doing a task and receiving a positive result, or is it simply achieving ones own personal goals. According to The American Heritage dictionary success is, the achievement of Without peace and love there is no success. You wake up in the morning and you you dont have to be concerned about anything. Also if you have a family that loves uccess for me. Additionally, success is also something that is viewed differently in the eyes of where I have always wanted to be. My goal in life is to eventually get married to a good wife and have many happy children and if I accomplished that, then I could Lastly, meaning of success for me is to enter the heaven after this life is over. We this world and you are going to be successful in the life hereafter. That means you no dying after this life; that means if you dont enter the heaven you will be the loser In conclusion, I still agree with the idea I presented: however according to the

CanGo Corporation Essay Example for Free

CanGo Corporation Essay CanGo does not seem to have any legitimate process flow charts, especially for its operations facility. Two floor plan layouts were drawn up. One for the current operation processes and one which shows the operation facility if CanGo invests and implements an ASRS (automated storage and retrieval systems). These two floor plans were referred to as flow charts. Flow charts consist of shapes and connectors which are labeled stating the flow of the processes, the decisions that can be made at specific stages, and outcomes of those decisions. Accompanying a flow chart would be the floor plan and written documentation outlining and explaining the entire process. Recommendation Classes Consulting recommends that CanGo draws up an actual flow chart, as well as the floor plans and written documentation explaining the processes in their operations facility. In addition, costs, financial effects (both current and future), and other details should be included for both the current operations system and the proposed ASRS and barcoding system. Having all of this documentation will show where improvements can be made and where costs can be cut. It will show and explain in detail the actual processes used for receiving, picking, and shipping. A floor plan will not take into account the actual details such as how long it take to pick books, how crowded it is on the operations floor, nor how the employees feel about the possible change. If, after creating this documentation, CanGo decides to go ahead with the new barcode and ASRS the flowchart will help in the creation and setup of the new systems. In addition, if financing is needed to install the new systems, having this documentation will show the lenders that CanGo has thought it through and can give details.

Anxiety and the effect on a golfers performance

Anxiety and the effect on a golfers performance Anxiety can be defined as a negative unpleasant emotional state in which feelings of apprehension, nervousness, worry, distress and uneasiness are felt (Weinberg Gould, 2007 and Reber Reber, 2001). This statement states that anxiety would seem to be a hindrance and generate negative feeling for a person. Woods also states that is a negative emotional state, caused because a situation can or may be perceived as being threatening to them. In relation to sport anxiety may be thought to be through out a competition however Hassmen (p.278) states sports psychology researchers have assumed that an individuals anxiety level experienced immediately before a competition (i.e. state anxiety) has a moderating effect on subsequent athletic performance Hassem raises the argument that the feelings before a sporting event for the athlete can have an impact on an athletes perfomance, (Martens, 1971) and relating this to Weinbergs definition it would seem to be a negative effect. This is however co ntradicted by Hanin(2000) who looked at this in more depth and who suggests that there is mounting evidence that indicates athletes vary significantly in the level of anxiety that benefits the athletes performance. This therefore suggests that anxiety is a individually measurable state and not toally a hinderance, as supported by Hassmen (2000 p.278) who proposed that the optimal level of anxiety for performance can vary considerably across athletes. This statement gives light to the fact of an optimal level of arousal that shall be addressed later on. However According to Maynard (1995) the general consensus of practitioners and researchers has been of the idea that anxiety impairs performance in sport. Therefore we have the identification of anxiety and what it is supposed to be, also the different factors that it can entail, it is stated as a negative (Weinberg Gould, 2007 and Reber Reber, 2001 Maynard 1995) and also as a positive with Hassmen (2000) suggesting that there is an optimal arousal level that will help the athlete. This is however contradicted by Jones (1991) that the precise identification of the relationship between anxiety and performance has proved elusive. This is therefore suggesting that more research needs to be conducted in to the area of anxiety and to try and determine the effects if any and the relationship between them, before conclusions can be drawn. Different types of anxiety Spielberger (1971) proposed that anxiety was influenced by peoples traits and states in response to certain situations. Trait anxiety is a predisposition to perceive certain environmental situations as threatening (Cox, 2007). Woods(1998) relates this to sport and claims that a person who is trait anxious and suffers form trait anxiety would worry about the condition of the ground for the next football match a month in advance. Relating this to golf , a trait anxious person would worry about the weather the people there well in advance of situation arising. State anxiety differs from trait anxiety in that it can be seen as a temporary emotional state characterised by feelings of apprehension and tension (Cox, 2007 and Weinberg Gould, 2007). In relation to golf this may the the reaction to standing on the first tee of a compettion it is environment injusied and a repsonse to a situation. It may also changew under circumstances for example when the round is under way, anxiety levels may drop. (Woods 1998) Martens et al (1990) proposed that anxiety not only included state and trait but was also multidimensional in its nature in that it also includes cognitive and somatic factors. Polman(2007 p.39) also agrees and states anxiety consists of three independent but also interacting components, somatic(emotionally), cognitive(worry), and behavioural. These are mainly associated with state anxiety, and the two different types of anxiety somatic and cognitive are not always oth present in a athlete. For example Woods (1998) suggests that some individuals may show signs of having high somatic state anxiety before an event, but however at the same time they may come across very calm and mentally strong, showing ow signs of cognitive state anxiety. Cognitive anxiety is the mental aspect of anxiety caused by fear of negative social evaluation, fear of failure and loss of self esteem (Cox, 2007). There are also cognitive trait and cognitive state types of anxiety which again are mental responses to anxiety which are either predisposed or in response to certain environments (Cox, 2007). Maynards (1995 p.52) Definition Cognitive anxiety is the mental component of anxiety caused by the negative expectations about successor negative self-evaluation, (Burton,1988.p.46) Somatic anxiety is the awareness of arousal in the body, for example when standing on the first tee of a large golf event some people may respond to the situation with an increase in heart rate and muscular tension (Cox, 2007 and Woods, 2004). This is supported by Maynards (1995) view somatic anxiety is the physiological or affective component of anxiety that is directly related to autonomic arousal (Burton,1988.p.46) this gives two different factors of anxiety that also can be broken in to there own sub categories which as stated earlier gives reasoning for the multi dimensional theory of anxiety. Maynard states with this intervention of multidimensional that there seems to be enough research to show that anxiety is a complex multidimensional construct that differentiates anxiety in to somatic and cognitive and the sub groups. This is based on the research of Borokvec (1976) and Davidson (1976) in to the development of the understanding of anxiety. Therefore Jones (1991) may be seen as irrelevant. Measurements of anxiety To test somatic anxiety measures such as monitoring breathing rate, monitoring heart rate using an electrocardiogram and muscle response using an electromyogram can be used (Woods, 2004), it is important to acknowledge however that although performers may exhibit physiological evidence of stress, they may not report feeling stressed, it is therefore advised that numerous physiological and psychological tests are carried out to measure anxiety (Woods, 2004). Somatic anxiety is also made up of somatic trait and somatic state which again are physical predisposed or responses to situations The multidimensional theory of anxiety proposed that cognitive anxiety has a negative linear relationship with performance, whereas somatic anxiety has an inverted U shaped relationship with performance (Hardy et al, 1996). There are two main sources of anxiety that affect performance (Woods, 2004 and Murphy, 2005), pre-competitive anxiety occurs in anticipation of competition (Martens et al, 1990) and competitive anxiety that occurs during competition. Weinberg and Genuchi (1980) found that precompetitive anxiety was higher in players during the competitive rounds of golf than during the practice rounds, Cook et al (1983) however concluded that players performance affected anxiety, not anxiety having an affecting performance. Endler (1978) determined that there are five specific factors that increase anxiety in anticipation of a competitive situation; fear of performance failure, fear of negative social evaluation, fear of physical harm, situation ambiguity and disruption of a well learned routine. Sub Categories to come? One of the test for anxiety that is the most renowned is the Sport Competitive Anxiety Test abbreviated to SCAT test, this is a derived to show the anxiety in a performer through a questionnaire, the SCAT test has been developed to asses competitive A-trait in performers (Martens) The competitive A-trait is defined in three ways the first being the individual differences that a person may have when perceiving a threat either physically or mentally to the state response to the threat. The last is the combination of the two. (Martens) This is different from A-State which focuses on a persons dealing with the situation as the event is occuring The SCAT test is a combination of questions that are given in such a manner to try and lead the participant away from guessing that, it is about anxiety. This is done by the introduction of questions that can be totally random, to make the participant think of an aspect of the game and hopefully add to the validity of the results. If not and the p articipant can guess that it is a study in relation to anxiety then they may feel the need not to be laboratory bias and put answers that are not true to them selves. Csai-2 stands for Competitive State Anxiety Inventory Anxiety optimal arousal The relationship between arousal and anxiety is thought to need one there so that the other can exist. Both Cognitive and Somatic Anxiety are closely Associated with the concept of arousal, which refers to the intensity and dimension of behaviour, the state of the organism varying on a continuum from deep sleep to intense excitement (Martens ) and arousal are very closely linked anxiety is seen to be one of the negative forces that can effect arousal.(Oxedine 1970) however according to woods(p.91) arousal is neither a positive nor a negative, it is the perception of arousal that may lead to stress and anxiety. Therefore this is the link between anxiety and arousal. According to wood it is the perception of arousal that people perceive differently and may lead them to feel uneasy, anxious or stressed. For example if two golfers are standing on the first tee and the are perfectly matched ability wise, but have pycholoigical differences when dealing with anxiety, and therefore effecting the arousal level of the player and visa versa, with the player dealing with arousal by being anxious, if the player does not deal with this as well as the other then this may have a detrimental effect on there performance . Anshel(1997) states that anxiety has a psychological basis and arousal is the physiological side therefore both are interlinked. When researching however it seems that stress anxiety pressure are all used interchangeable in this relationship, and needs to be taken in to consideration. For Example Kremer and Scully (1994) argue that separating arousal, anxiety and stress is too tidy and because there is considerable overlap and interaction between them. When relating this to sport then, they may be seen as being used overlapping, for example a golfer suffering form anxiety stress or pressure, may be seen as negative. However as we will see the right amount of any of these symptoms, can help an athlete in the right situations; there fore there may need to be some more clarification on these subtle difference between them and what they actually entail. Arousal is a blend of physiological and psychological activity in a person, and it refers to the intensity dimensions of motiviation at a particular moment. (Weinberg p.78) this contradicts Anshel statement of them being two parts to one symptom. Woods(p.90) finds that arousal refers to the state of alertness and anticipation that prepares the body for action: it involves physiological activity (such as increased heart rate and cognitive activity (such as increase in attention) This supports Weinberg theory and leaves the thought that arousal is taken in to consideration just before competing and, there does seem to be a direct link between anxiety and arousal, and this impact on the performance. Arousal is neither a positive nor a negative; it is the perception of arousal that may lead to stress and anxiety. Arousal is seen through many different measuring tools firstly is the drive theory this is the theory which was developed by Hull (1951) and Spence (1956) woods P.94. The drive theorys more focused at athletes that are highly skilled for example relating this to golf any one who is a single figure golfer. This entailing that have a grasp of technique and there skill is well learned and autonomous and can be repeated easily. The drive theory then goes on to state that with this ability level that the higher the pressure or arousal the better the performance, and will allow the athlete top perform the skill very successfully. (Woods) This theory is adapted in to a formula and highlighted by Anshel() who looks The Drive Theory has been criticised for the fact that it is not clear what a well learned skill is and can be defined as (woods), also research has shown that after a certain point arousal becomes a hindrance and detrimental( Weinberg Golud) this there fore leads to a system that would have an optimal arousal level. Which is incorporated in the in Inverted U theory. The inverted U theory is a theory that is developed a shows a curvilinear relationship between arousal and relationship. (Anshel) Starting off with low levels of arousal in relation to lower standard then normal, as arousal increases so does the performance, (Weinberg Gould) this is the same principle as the drive theory however it is curved at the optimal level of arousal and then begins to dip afterwards as seen below (Weinberg Gould) FIGXXX Therefore the more arousal and anxiety after this the performance will decrease. Thus the effect of arousal on performance is based on the optimal level given the particular skill.(Anshel p. 73) This theory was bought up to account for some of the criticism of the drive theory(Woods) In relation to the optimal level of arousal Hanin looked at the alternative view of individualized zones of optimal functioning. (Haninà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦w and g p.87) This view on arousal levels is different for two main reasons one of these being that the optimal level of arousal does not always occur in the middle of the continuum it can vary between different athletes (Weinberg Gould) some performances may peak at a very lowlevel of arousal and anxiety and others at a very high level of arousal. This is all to do with the type of person that they are. As stated before anxiety is the reaction to arousal levels and perceiving a situation as threatening therefore if an individual does not see a situation as a threat then there arousal and anxiety may be lower and it may take a certain situation to induce this peak performance and optimal arousal level. The other difference between the inverted U and the IZOF is that the, IZOF has not one singular point that is the optimal level of arous al however a bandwidth and continuum (Weinberg Gould) this therefore gives an easier range for an athlete or performer to aim at and to try and achieve rather than a specific point, which may seem very difficult. Catastrophe Model Supporting evidence for these and against these Methodology Pilot study The pilot study that was carried out involved the two questionnaires that were previously revised in the literature review the SCAT test to find trait anxiety and the CSAI-2 questionnaire to determine the amount of state anxiety. The test were administers and different stages one two days before and renamed and adapted and the other ten minutes before the game began. The first one administered was the CSAI-2 questionnaire on the recommendations of Martens (p.52) as he states that when the CSAI-2 test is delivered together with the SCAT test it recommended that the CSAI-2 test is delivered first as not to impact the results of the SCAT test. The tests were no longer then five minutes each and the questions in the SCAT tests that were not important, were adapted to be golf specific and related to other parts of the round and game, for example how often do you use a routine in your set up, and how often do you play to your handicap these are spurious items on the questionnaire. I used t o players one of a low handicap and one of a higher handicap; these two roughly encompass the range of my final sample group for testing. The two participants played 6 holes of golf with me the researcher watching and I informed them that I would be taking pictures and detailed notes of the round, for them and also to take there scores. This would be to see later on if there scores in the test would have any correlation between the state and trait anxiety, so if they are a generally anxious person or if they only getting anxious at threatening situations and how they deal with this. If they play the holes in a worse score then they would normally do relating to there handicap, and stroke index is going to have to be taken in to consideration, and if they scored highly on the CSAI-2 test or the SCAT test then there could be some correlation between the two scores, and this what we are going to be looking for. Copies of the questionnaires and the score cards for the rounds can be foun d in the appendices. Subjects The Subjects that were chosen are all from Bourn Golf club located in Cambridgeshire and are all members and have been for at least three years. They all play on average twice a week, therefore they no the course well and feel comfortable playing there. This should take away form any anxiety about the unknown and focus on the competitive anxiety and arousal. The players range from a Touring PGA professional to a 22 handicapper golfer with the average in the UK being 20 so the range is from elite player to beginner, there will be 8 participants ranging between the ages of 21 and 60. Therefore the adult version of the CSAI-2 shall be used rather than the child version. The participants that were found for the study were all volunteers and happy to undertake the study all consent and ethics forms are attached in the appendices. Materials The materials used in the study were largely questionnaire based. The first questionnaire used was the CSAI-2 test it is a test that is formed up of 27 questions and a scale of 1-4 is used with 1 being the response not at all and 4 is the response very much so. The CSAI-2 is used to measure anxiety scores and in particular state anxiety scores. This is the measuring tool that was redeveloped from the CSAI questionnaire it was redeveloped by Martens, Burton and Vealy 1990, there are different forms of the CSAI-2 one for children and one for adults, the questionnaire not only measures anxiety it has been adapted to look at the two different types of anxiety as stated before the cognitive side of anxiety the psychological side and the somatic side the physiological symptoms related to anxiety, these can be seen as sweaty palms, being uneasy and not relaxed. The second questionnaire that is going to be given is the SCAT test this will be given after the participants have had a practise and just before they go out to play there holes. The Scat test is used to measure trait anxiety, this is looking at the persons genetic make up if they are generally a anxious person regard less the situation they are in. The SCAT test consists of 15 questions with 5 spurious items with in it to prevent the participant from gathering that the questionnaire is looking at anxiety, also the questionnaires are going to renamed, the instructions shall be kept the same however the titles shall be Competing in sport 1 which will be the CSI-2 questionnaire and Competing in sport 2 which shall be the SCAT test. Procedure The procedure was started with the participant filling out the consent forms and reading the ethics forms. The next step was for the participants to go through the proceedings with the researcher and to make sure they fully understand and are content with what is going to be asked of them, the researcher then went on to inform the participant that they are going to be filmed, as this is an out side stressor that would normally be present on the golf course. However Ii is only the illusion they are going to be filmed there will be no tape in the came as it is data that is not useful or needed. With this it will add another component to the environment and the player may see it as an item to raise arousal and then consequently anxiety is an effect from this, this will give the basis for the results, will this rise in arousal and anxiety improve the players performance or be detrimental, for the participants. The next step is to go through a score card and in relation to there handicap put the scores down on the holes that they would normally have. This will be the basis of the results this is in comparison to a control group that the players normally perform to. This also is adding a target for the players, that may have the same effect as the camera After this they will be assigned the CSAI-2 questionnaire and asked to complete this, to break up the questionnaires as stated by Martens (1990), the participants shall be asked to take part in a warm up and hit a few balls to have a practise. This also reduces the risk of injury and gives the players time to get used to the researcher being there and the surroundings. The net step that was undertaken was to take players to first tee, and to mark the score card on each hole for the player. The study should last approximately

Philosophical Aspects of Literary Objectiveness :: Philosophy Philosophical Papers

Philosophical Aspects of Literary Objectiveness ABSTRACT: Gadamer’s hermeneutic philosophy avoids the problem of literary objectiveness altogether. His approach witnesses the general fact that an indifference towards literary objectiveness in particular, leads to a peculiar neglect of par excellence literariness as such. It seems obvious, however, that the constitutive aspects of the crisis of literary objectiveness cannot be shown to contain the underlying intention of bringing about this situation. At this point, one can identify what could probably be the most important element in a definition of literary objectiveness. In contrast to ‘natural’ objectiveness and objectiveness based on various societal conventions, the legitimacy of a literary work is solely guaranteed by its elements being organized in accordance with the rules of literary objectiveness. Thus when the crisis of literary objectiveness intensifies, literariness will also find itself in a crisis. This crisis detaches new, quasi-literary formati ons from various definitions of literariness. When literary objectiveness ceases, however, to be understood as a system constituted by various objective formations aiming to correspond in one way or another to the ‘world’, scientific analysis of literary objectiveness will be rendered impossible. The crisis of literary objectiveness thus brings about the crisis of the theory of literature and the philosophy of art. Gadamer explicitly argues that the scientific approach proves to be inadequate in the analysis of artistic experience. This attitude results in the categorical rejection of a scientific orientation (and so in a complete indifference towards literary objectiveness), but he seems to overemphasize an otherwise correct thesis on the non-reflexive character of artistic experience. It is the anti-mimetic and Platonic character of Gadamer’s aesthetic hermeneutics that determines the status of literary (artistic) objectiveness in his system of thought. What is of crucial importance, however, is to point out that this aesthetics entails a fundamental reduction of the significance of literary objectiveness. As soon as the essence of aesthetic object-constitution is taken to be re-cognition (plus the emanating aesthetic possibilities), the absolutely natural interest in the original object represented by a work of art.Undoubtedly, Gadamer’s conception answers a number of questions that tend to be ignored by other theories. It is just as obvious, however, that Gadamer completes here the aesthetic devaluation of the objective domain. It is not the characteristics of the ‘original’ that constitute the image, but in effect the image turns the original into an original. Paraphrasing this claim one arrives at a near paradox: not objectiveness makes a work of art possible, but a work of art lends objects their objectiveness.

Mans Relationship with Nature in Hughes and Wordsworths Poetry Essay

Man's Relationship with Nature in Hughes and Wordsworth's Poetry Concentrating on one Poem by each Poet, Compare and Contrast the ways in which Hughes and Wordsworth Present Man’s Relationship with Nature Both Hughes and Wordsworth have beliefs about man’s relationship with nature, but I feel that they see the relationship between the two in different ways. Hughes has a more pessimistic and negative approach, feeling that nature must protect herself from man’s destructive nature, while Wordsworth believes that nature is a teacher and nurtures you. Wordsworth uses a more optimistic and positive approach in his poetry. Wordsworth sees nature in a romantic and spiritual sense that protects and is constantly feeding and inspiring man’s mind and helping it to grow. On the other hand Hughes sees man as interfering and destructive towards nature and is excluded from its harmony. Hughes personality is much more complicated and hard to deal with, so to speak, than Wordsworth’s; this is reflected in his attitude towards nature because he thinks that nature is a violent and brutal enemy towards man and even itself. From this you can tell that he is quite a brooding and depressive man. I have chosen to compare ‘Work and Play’ by Hughes and by Wordsworth I have chosen ‘Expostulation and Reply’ and ‘The Tables Turned’ which are poems on the same subject but ‘The Tables Turned’ is set later on in the day and is the ‘Companion-Piece’ to ‘Expostulation and Reply’. I chose to study these two poems because I think that it is very interesting how the beliefs of Hughes and Wordsworth are presented, showing that they both have an admiration for the beauty of nature and its power, and how Hughes believes that in comparison m... ... the relationship between man and nature. This is because Wordsworth lived in a period in time that was called the romantic era, this is reflected in his views and the ways he writes as a poet. Whereas Hughes who lived in the 20th century, had quite different views about man’s relationship with nature. I think that this is because the period of time that you live in influences you very heavily in the way you write or express anything. This is because public attitudes change along with what is accepted and what is not, or what the public will find most popular. I think that if Hughes had lived in Wordsworth’s time his style of writing would not have been as popular as it is today, this is because Hughes style of writing has a more dramatic and dark edge to it whilst Wordsworth’s poetry is more romantic so to speak and has a gentler way of putting things.

Music Diaries :: essays research papers

The Beatles   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I enjoyed the music of The Beatles. I felt that their songs were fun and uplifting. They had enjoyable beats and were easy to dance and listen to. Listening to their music didn?t put me to sleep. That is a good thing. They didn?t always have to have a meaning behind their music. Some of the songs that they wrote were just a result of them screwing around.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The one thing that I did notice was that I could understand every word they were singing in their songs. That is another reason that I enjoyed their music so much. There have been many groups in the past, and there are many groups today that don?t know how to make music. All they can do is make racket and scream into a microphone.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There were a couple of Beatles songs that did have a very serious meaning and others that were just about drugs and good times. Unless you were sitting down and really analyzing their music you were not able to figure out that they were singing about drugs. After they met Dylan there music did make a drastic change, but they still had the respect of their audiences and still do today. They have definitely made a difference in the music industry. May 21, 1998 period 1 Queen   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Queen is a very fun group to listen to. Their upbeat crazy music keeps people listening. They became more and more popular with every new album they released. Queen?s songs often had several hidden meanings. We think that they were just having fun when they wrote certain songs, but in reality they were expressing themselves. A lot of the meanings went unknown for a very long time and some are still making people wonder.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  They also had a very talented band. This made it easier to make the background music in their songs interesting. The guitar solos are excellent, the drummer is great, and the vocals are very enjoyable. There are many that feel that the fact that the lead was a bisexual changed the quality of their music. I don?t believe that. Queen was Queen, no matter what, they were good.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There is a reason that they had nineteen albums, eight gold and six platinum, they played quality music. I am glad there music is still appreciated around the world today. May 21, 1998 period 1 The Sex Pistols   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This is a group I wouldn?t mind never hearing again.

Gendered Societal Expectations of Appearance and Their Effects Upon the Individual Essay

It has long been generally accepted that we as humans are influenced greatly by the things that surround our everyday lives. These things can include friends, family, co-workers, the media and even society as a whole. The society in which people live can play a huge role in how they view themselves and how they view others. Over the years researchers have come up with many theories as to how and why society has such a large influence on people. Now-a-days there are appearance prescriptions for everything in our society. It is not good to be too fat, but it is not good to be too skinny either. The way a person looks, dresses and acts is a large factor in how other people will think about, talk about and respond to them. These societal prescriptions also differentiate between other factors such as gender, race, level of education and more. Interestingly most of these prescriptions for appearance in society today are relatively unspoken until someone violates them. This paper will attempt to shed some light on the complex societal prescriptions regarding personal appearance and body imaging; more specifically it will delve into how those prescriptions are gendered within society and how people respond both positively and negatively to those prescriptions. As previously stated appearance prescriptions are very strong in our society especially when it comes to societal expectations regarding gender. These gendered expectations cause people to do all types of things for the sole purpose of fitting in to societal norms. Some women exercise religiously to maintain a good looking body, other women go tanning regularly because they think it is embarrassing, or even unacceptable, to be pale; there are also many men who do the same things for the same reasons. While looking good is not a bad thing sometimes these societal prescriptions, or expectations, can cause people to go too far. When people are not satisfied with themselves and their appearance they can become desperate and have feelings of inadequacy about their physical appearance. These feelings of inadequacy can lead to depression or making destructive decisions which can include but are not limited to over-eating or even eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia. There have been numerous studies done on the relationships between societal pressures to be thin and body dissatisfaction among both men and women. One such study, from the University of Texas at Austin that studied the effects of social pressure to be thin on women said that â€Å"These same pernicious messages (that one is not thin enough) are thought to foster negative affect, because appearance is a central evaluative dimension for women in Western culture† (Stice, 2003). This study tested what sources most influence societal expectations of appearance and the different ways those expectations can negatively affect women (Stice, 2003). It concluded that some of the biggest social pressures to be thin come from the mass media, family members and peers (Stice, 2003). It also concluded that the negative effects of these social pressures can go in two different directions, this is not to say that women negatively affected cannot fall victim to both types of effects (Stice, 2003). A synopsis of this study could say that societal expectations to be thin often create body dissatisfaction within women (Stice, 2003). This body dissatisfaction, which can often lead to depression, frequently leads to either restrictive dieting or binge eating. Restrictive dieting, while not bad in itself, can lead to unhealthy eating habits such as eating disorders, laxative abuse or other methods of losing weight that can be extremely harmful to the person practicing them, and binge eating â€Å"because it is commonly believed that eating provides comfort and distraction from negative emotions† (Stice, 2003). A similar experiment, coming from the University of Toronto, studied the relationship between body image and depression among adolescents regarding adiposity (Chaiton, 2009). This study suggests â€Å"that body dissatisfaction may mediate the relationship between overweight and depression† (Chaiton, 2009). It goes on to suggest that the relationship found between obesity and depression is differentiated by gender because of the difference in societal expectations placed on women and men (Chaiton, 2009). The study concluded that females experience body dissatisfaction almost solely when they believe they are overweight, whereas both males who believe that they are under or overweight experience body dissatisfaction which can in all cases lead to some level of depression (Chaiton, 2009). As the aforementioned study showed societal expectations concerning appearance can, and often do, affect men just as much as they do women (Chaiton, 2009). Our society pushes men to be big, muscular and manly. To certain degree the more muscular a man is the more attractive he generally is within society. A study from an international journal regarding social behavior and personality concluded that the attractiveness of a man is more important in determining social desirability than the age of the man in question (Perlini, 2001). Comparatively the results of these two studies add up to say that the attractiveness of a man is one of the main factors in determining societal desirability and one of the biggest factors in being attractive is being muscular or strong. This puts a lot of pressure on males to be concerned with how they look in comparison to society’s expectations of how they should look. There are numerous different theories as to why societal expectations differ between genders, but none that can definitively explain why prescriptions concerning appearance are the way they are (i. e. women should be skinny and men should be muscular). Some theorists take a biological approach saying that something within the genetic makeup of human beings causes men to be larger and more muscular and likewise causes women to be smaller and skinnier; therefore it is innate within human beings to prefer women to be skinnier and men to be more muscular. Other theories use a combination of nature, a biological approach, and nurture, an approach that says how and where people are raised effects how they view the world, to explain why there is such a gendered difference in societal expectations. While still others use strictly nurture based theories to explain these differences. An experiment from Colby College testing the awareness of preschoolers to societal expectations of gender showed that by the age of five or six humans can easily differentiate between what society expects differently of men than of women (Raag, 1998). Granted this study tested the societal expectations of gender based on toys (tools and dishes) and how the children themselves reacted to the toys as well as how the children thought others (parents, babysitters, friends, etc. ) would react to them playing with the aforementioned toys (Raag, 1998). On the whole the children were able to identify that the tools were for boys to play with and the dishes were for girls; the children also, with no hesitation, said that boys playing with dishes or girls playing with tools would often be responded to negatively by parents or babysitters or the like. That means that while this study cannot shed light on the societal expectations of strength versus thinness it does give some credence to the nurture side of the theories mentioned earlier (Raag, 1998). In summation the societal expectations of appearance can have both positive and negative effects upon people. Society pushes for women to be thin, but not too thin and for men to be muscular, but not too muscular. Society pushing people to be in shape is not a bad thing; studies have shown that being physically fit is not only good for people physically, but also mentally. When people feel attractive it boosts their confidence and self-esteem which has been proven to increase mental health. It just happens to be that some of the anxiety or stress put upon people to look good to others can cause them to do harmful things to themselves and others. For instance constant pressure from the media and other outside influences to be skinny and tan has led countless females to have eating disorders and go artificial tanning all the time, neither of which are conducive to being physically healthy. Those same influences have led to countless males developing eating disorders as well to lose weight or even start using all types of drugs, that harm themselves and can harm, or cause them to harm, others, such as anabolic steroids or pro-hormonal supplements simply to gain muscle mass at unnatural and unhealthy rates. The best thing anyone can do to help society as a whole to resist unhealthy expectations regarding appearance is to spread awareness. It may sounds overplayed but awareness about a problem and the education necessary to fix or even just alleviate that problem is always to first step to solving that problem. At the end of every abovementioned study the researchers conducting the study talked about the significance, or importance of that study, and every single researcher included somewhere in that section that raising awareness about the issue at hand was one of the most significant aspects to their respective studies. This is because being aware and educated about a problem is one of the most important and fundamental ways to confront a problem; especially one of this magnitude. This problem will never be solved if society as a whole does not become aware of, and change, how it effects people’s everyday lives regarding physical appearance.