Substance abuse Essay Example for Free

Substance abuse Essay It is quite clear that substance abuse almost always occurs within the context of other problems. Common presenting problems that are related to substance abuse are marital and family conflict, child abuse, unemployment, financial problems, multiple medical problems, depression, suicide, and problems with aggression and violence. In assessing the role of substance abuse within the context of other problems, we also need to understand the dynamics of other behavioral problems and how they may be exacerbated by substance abuse. It is estimated that most domestic violence occurs during periods when one or both parties are abusing some substance and that as many as two-thirds of homicides and serious assaults involve alcohol. Criminal behavior such as child abuse or sexual molestation may be committed when the perpetrator is under the influence of a drug or alcohol. In one study, Chasnoff (1988) found that 64 percent of all child abuse cases in New York City involved a perpetrator who was under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. Although researchers disagree about the exact nature of the relationship between substance abuse and violence, there is clearly a strong correlation between the two. Substance abuse does not only cause social problems, but it can also cause health problems too. For example, according to the American Health Association guidelines, cocaine use can cause a number of heart attack symptoms, such as chest pain, shortness of breath, anxiety, palpitations, dizziness, nausea and heavy sweating (Stengle, 18 March 2008). Physicians must remain aware that cocaine use can cause heart attack symptoms in younger patients with no heart disease risk factors, the guidelines said. Cocaine use can cause heart attacks, but only about 1% to 6% of those who use cocaine and experience chest pain have heart attacks. The guidelines warn that two common heart attack treatments blood thinners and beta blockers can cause injuries or death in those who use cocaine. Blood thinners can increase risk for bleeding into the brain for patients with elevated blood pressure caused by cocaine use, and beta blockers can increase blood pressure and restrict arteries in those who use cocaine (Stengle, 18 March 2008). We all know that alcohol abuse can lead to alcohol-related deaths from cancer, cirrhosis of the liver, pancreatitis, motor-vehicle crashes, falls, drowning, suicide, and homicide. Alcohol affects nearly every system in the body, and contributes to a range of medical problems, including altered immune system functioning, bone disease, hypertension, stroke, cardiovascular disease, reduced cognitive functioning, fetal abnormalities, traumatic injury, depression, gastrointestinal disorders, and cancers of the neck, head, stomach, pancreas, colon, breast, and prostate (Werch, 2002). Behaviorally, substance abuse can be considered any use of a psychoactive substance that causes damage to the individual or society or both. Becoming dependent on any substance is a process that occurs over differing periods of time for different individuals and varies with the use of different substances. A dependence on alcohol may take several decades to develop while an addiction to cocaine, especially crack cocaine, may occur almost immediately. There are, however, certain phases that individuals are likely to pass through as their dependence on a substance increases. An old proverb regarding alcoholism outlines the progression of addiction: â€Å"The person takes a drink, the drink takes a drink, and the drink takes the person. † The journey from controlled use to being controlled by their use is the nature of addiction. No one begins using alcohol or other drugs with the goal of becoming addicted. With these voluminous data about the ills of substance abuse, we should all know by now that we have to curb this problem that eating away our society. I also experienced substance abuse first hand because I have people close to me who had been affected by substance abuse. My cousin has drug problem as he is hooked with marijuana, while my uncle and aunt are alcoholics. I witnessed that how they engaged in prolonged, continuous substance abuse and saw how they were unable to function without using his drug of choice on some regular basis. They somehow neglect their daily needs to the point of not eating or caring for themselves. Attempts to control their usage are abandoned as the periods of intoxication and recovery encompass most of their time. My uncle allowed himself to undergo detoxification at a rehabilitation center but my aunt has developed cirrhosis because of her alcoholism. Ultimately, we need to join hands in informing everyone about substance abuse. Common misinformation about substance abuse may divert the focus of the problem to other factors that are then presented as the primary problem. It should start with the family of the abuser who should support their loved one in this matter. Starting from family, communities can then undertake several strategies to stop substance abuse because there is no single solution that can surely alleviate substance abuse-related harm to individuals and populations. The comprehensive approach should use a wide range of strategies that address the multiple causes and dimensions. These strategies should include educational approaches—such as public health education and awareness programs, including school and community-based prevention programs; environmental approaches—such as controls on the price and availability of alcohol and drugs, minimum age for purchase of alcohol, legislative measures to curb driving under the influence of alcohol, and restrictions on the promotion, marketing, and advertising of drugs alcohol; and health care efforts—such as primary health care screening, advice by health care providers, preventive services, and effective treatment using psychological and pharmacological approaches. References Mackesy-Amiti, M. E. and Fendrich, M. (1995, November). Delinquent Behavior and Inhalant Use Among High School Students. Paper presented at the American Society of Criminology meeting, Boston. NIH Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring Program. (2003). Preliminary Data on Drug Use Related Matters Among Adult Arrestees and Juvenile Detainees, 2002, Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice. Steingle, J. (20008, March 18). Cocaine May Cause Heart Attack Symptoms. Newsday. Retrieved March 22, 2008, from http://www. newsday. com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-cocaine-heart,0,6680577. story. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). (2006). National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) 2006. Office of Applied Studies. Retrieved March 22, 2008, from http://www. oas. samhsa. gov/nsduh/2k6nsduh/2k6Results. cfm#1. 1. Werch, C. E. (2002). Alcohol Use and Abuse. In Breslow, L (Ed. ), Encyclopedia of Public Health vol. 1, New York: Macmillan Reference USA.

Analysing Public Art and Geography

Analysing Public Art and Geography How can public art challenge the gendered nature of space? The world is getting more and more visual, and increasingly meanings are communicated through visuals (Rose, 2001). It is the aim of this research proposal to outline the final year project that is going to focus on interdisciplinary themes of space, art and gender. It will demonstrate how human geography engages with visual art, and how the research linking the two has expanded over the past few decades. It will show the issues that one may be presented with when researching art. An explanation will be given of how gender and body are viewed in geography. Geography and visual art Geography is recognised as a very visual discipline (Driver, 2003; Tolia-Kelly, 2012), that extensively engages with our vision (Roberts, 2012), and geographers have long been using various types of visual imagery and objects in their work (Garrett, 2011; Rose, 2003). Over the past decades, namely since the cultural turn, there has been greater interest in potential links between visual arts and geography (Rose, 2001). During this time the field of research has expanded from looking at landscape paintings from earlier centuries, to analysing broader spectrum of artistic mediums, both digital and analogue (Hawkins, 2012). It is understood that everyday images and objects that we see are not meaningless and static things, but are imbued with meanings that affect our behaviour and interaction with the world (Hall, 1997). Art in public space The term ‘art’ itself is an extremely broad concept, and there are many sub-disciplines in art that can be used to narrow down the research. This particular research is going to be focused on art in urban space. Nowadays many urban spaces are rich with artworks which are done in various mediums, and by utilising various methods. Arguably the traditional form of art in public space is public art. Public art commonly is defined as â€Å"either permanent or temporary artworks, including social and contextual art practices which are commissioned for openly accessible locations, that is, outside conventional settings such as museums and galleries (Zebracki, 2013:303).† An artwork may have an intended meaning, a set of ideas or ideals that its author wants the world to receive, and a meaning that is created by the audience upon its consumption (Baldwin et al., 1999). What makes it hard to predict how public art will be consumed, are the diverse publics or audiences that encounter it. A piece of art may be aimed at general public, but when different social groups read it , the diversity of meanings that it actually produces have to be taken into account. Therefore, in this sense the study of public art becomes a study of â€Å"the reception of art by [its] publics (Miles, 1997:85).† Geography, body and gender Geographers see body as a space. Many quote Rich when he talks about the body as â€Å"the geography closest in (1986:212).† It is the border between the inner world and the outer world. It is a space that is sexed and gendered, where sex is a biological product and gender a social one (Valentine, 2001). However, more recent academic work blurs the lines between the two, arguing that there is evidence of cases where bodies do not abide by the traditional views of sex and gender (Cream, 1995), and that both should be considered as social (Valentine, 2001). In social research gender is understood as â€Å"social, psychological or cultural differences between men and women (Knox and Pinch, 2010:235).† Historically geographers have viewed differences in gender roles as socially constructed (Castree et al., 2013). Therefore, characteristics that constitute what it means to be masculine or feminine are subject to change in space, place and time. More recently academics such as Judith Butler (1990) have challenged this view, and suggest that gender is a performance, rather than what one is. She argues that gender is performed through ritualistic repetition. From this viewpoint, which some call as post‑structuralist (Jagger, 2008), gender is â€Å"sustained through acts, gestures, mannerisms, fashion, and lifestyle (Castree et al., 2013:172).† Identities, roles and spatial relations between males and females in geography have often been analysed utilising feminist viewpoint. Predominant argument of feminist philosophy is that women in many areas of life are still unfairly treated as being in a subordinate position to men, and that the Western society remains largely patriarchal (Knox and Pinch, 2010). New Genre Public Art, Body and Gender Massey (1994) describes how large public spaces are reserved for males, and how often artworks depicting bodies of women are produced by men contributing to the male gaze, which extends outside the walls of galleries and museums (Miles, 1997). This prevalent masculine worldview is challenged by activism that is empowered by forms of new genre public art (Lacy, 1995). If we are to consider the relationship between public art and gender, the historical divorce that has existed between body and city, where most public artworks are found, should be kept in mind. Undesirable body processes are expelled from the city, and the civilised body is expected to contain them (Miles, 1997). This idea comes from the Cartesian view that body should be subject to mind (Longhurst, 1997). In Western culture body has become associated with negative traits, emotions and femininity, and mind with rationality, knowledge and masculinity (Valentine, 2001). Furthermore, it is somehow seen that men transcend the body, for whom it is merely a container of their mind, and that women are more affected by their â€Å"fleshy† (Longhurst, 1997:491) instincts and therefore their bodies. Moreover, this view has had an influence on social sciences. Rose (1993) argues that white males tend to other difference, and that this has shaped how geography has been studied over the years. It was only in the latter part of the 20th century that academics started to critically look at how mind has been given privilege over the body in geography (Longhurst, 1997), and it was recognised that in fact everyone is affected by their embodiment (Rose, 1997). Body is the tool through which masculinity or femininity is acted out (Puwar, 2004). As performativity suggests, these materialise through the act of doing. It is therefore the aim of this research to analyse how public art captures these performances, and how it communicates and constructs gender in the eyes of its publics. Case study Butler’s work is often linked with gender and performativity, but it is rarely used when public art is studied. This research will try to expand the body of work on new genre public art considering gender politics. It will take into the account the latest research on gender and performativity, and will analyse how perceived gender roles are read through performances and acts that are captured in public artworks. Greater Manchester has been chosen as the site for the research, with public artworks that range from sculptures depicting historic figures from Britain’s imperial past, such as, Queen Victoria, to contemporary street art that seeks to challenge the status quo, such as found in Northern Quarter. Conclusion This research proposal outlined the final year project that will analyse public art and gender by looking at performances that are captured in artworks. It demonstrated how body and gender are understood in geography. It showed how body is an agent through which gender is acted out, and how body as an artistic subject captures these performances. Art has been an important part of geographical work and research in the past, and as the visual imagery and objects become more important in the modern society, more and more meanings are conveyed through visuals. This research will explore what meanings public art conveys about gender roles, and how these meanings are read by artworks’ publics. The main aim of this research is: to analyse the way public art can challenge the gendered nature of space. The objectives to achieve this are: to explore the way that Tankpetrol aims to disrupt traditional genderings of public space; to analyse the meanings encoded in the artwork of Tankpetrol; to analyse the consumption of Tankpetrol’s artwork and how it impacts on people’s ideas of gendering public space. References Baldwin, E., Longhurst, B., McCracken, S., Ogborn, M. and Smith, G. (1999) Introducing Cultural Studies. Athens: University of Georgia Press. Butler, J. (1990) Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. London: Routledge. Castree, N., Kitchin, R. and Rogers, A. (Eds.). (2013). A Dictionary of Human Geography. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Cream, J. (1995) ‘Re-solving riddles: the sexed body.’ In Bell, D. and Valentine, G. (eds.) Mapping Desire: Geographies of Sexualities. London: Routledge, Driver, F. (2003) ‘On Geography as a Visual Discipline.’ Antipode, 35(2) pp. 227–231. Garrett, B. L. (2011) ‘Videographic geographies: Using digital video for geographic research.’ Progress in Human Geography, 35(4) pp. 521–541. Hall, S. (1997) ‘Introduction.’ In Hall, S. (ed.) Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. London: SAGE, pp. 1–12. Hawkins, H. (2012) ‘Geography and art. An expanding field: Site, the body and practice.’ Progress in Human Geography, 37(1) pp. 52–71. Jagger, G. (2008) Judith Butler: Sexual Politics, Social Change and the Power of the Performative. London: Routledge. Knox, P. and Pinch, S. (2010) Urban Social Geography: An Introduction. 6th ed., London: Pearson. Longhurst, R. (1997) ‘(Dis)embodied geographies.’ Progress in Human Geography, 21(4) pp. 486–501. Miles, M. (1997) Art, Space and the City: Public Art and Urban Futures. London: Routledge. Puwar, N. (2004) Space Invaders: Race, Gender and Bodies Out of Place. Oxford: Berg. Rich, A. (1986) The Politics of Location, in Blood, Bread and Poetry: Selected Prose 1979–1985. London: Norton Co. Roberts, E. (2012) ‘Geography and the visual image: A hauntological approach.’ Progress in Human Geography, 37(3) pp. 386–402. Rose, G. (1993) Feminism and Geography: The Limits of Geographical Knowledge. Cambridge: Polity Press. Rose, G. (1997) ‘Situating Knowledges: positionality, reflexivities and other tactics.’ Progress in Human Geography, 21(3) pp. 305–320. Rose, G. (2001) Visual Methodologies: An Introduction to Researching With Visual Materials. London: SAGE. Rose, G. (2003) ‘On the Need to Ask How, Exactly, Is Geography â€Å"Visual†?’ Antipode, 35(2) pp. 212–221. Tolia-Kelly, D. P. (2012) ‘The Geographies of Cultural Geography II: Visual Culture.’ Progress in Human Geography, 36(1) pp. 135–142. Valentine, G. (2001) Social Geographies: Space and Society. London: Pearson. Zebracki, M. (2013) ‘Beyond public artopia: public art as perceived by its publics.’ GeoJournal, 78(2) pp. 303–317. LINARDS DAVIDANS

Comparing the Ideology of Lenin and Stalin Essay examples -- Lenin vs

Compare and contrast the ideologies and the political and economic practice of Lenin and Stalin. Every state is based upon and driven by some ideology. Imperial Russia was based upon autocratic absolutism for over 400 years. Following the Bolshevik seizure of power in 1917, a new era dawned upon Russia. For the next 36 years she would be in the hands of two men that would attempt to apply a new, vastly different creed in ruling and transforming this country. Vladimir Ilich Lenin, as the leader of the Bolshevik party, ruled Russia from October 1917 till his death in January 1924. He was succeeded by Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin, who also ruled until his death in March 1953. Both men claimed to ascribe to the broad ideology of Socialism and Marxism; both were to develop their own versions -- later to be called Leninism and Stalinism; both were to attempt to practically apply their respective ideologies whilst attempting to deal with a plethora of prevailing conditions such as internal resistance and civil war, economic collapse and foreign invasion. This paper will examine the sim ilarities and differences between both the ideologies, and the actual economic and political practice, of Lenin and Stalin's beliefs. A significant historiographical issue to be aware of in the comparison of Lenin and Stalin is that between the two, Lenin was by far the greater political theorist and ideologue and yet had much less effective time, 6 years, to put his ideas into practice . Stalin on the other hand, was much more a man of action who produced comparatively far less written material, but who exercised his power for almost 30 years. Also Lenin had the unique opportunity to oversee the installation of a new order from scratch whereas Stalin... ...actice were the 5 year plans, collectivization and industrialization. In November 1929, Stalin published an article called The Great Turn. His main argument was that for the USSR to move into the modern age she had to industrialize and the agrarian problem had to be solved once and for all. His solution was to collectivize all agriculture and to destroy the "kulaks" as a class. Over the next six years the Russian and Soviet peoples endured a holocaust comparable to that suffered by the Jews in World War 2, one that would cost over 5 million lives. The language Stalin used was as evil as any denunciation of the Jews by Hitler: "To take the offensive against the kulaks means to deal the kulak class such a blow that it will no longer rise to its feet†¦Of course the kulak can't be admitted to a collective farm. He can't because he's an accursed enemy†¦"

Does Anything Break Because it is Fragile? :: Philosophy Philosophers Essays

Does Anything Break Because it is Fragile? ABSTRACT: I maintain that dispositions are not causally relevant to their manifestations. The paper begins with a negative argument, which is intended to undermine David Lewis’ recent attempt to restore causal potency to dispositions by identifying their instantiations with the instantiations of their causal bases. I conclude that Lewis’ attempt to vindicate the causal credentials of dispositions meets obstacles that are analogous to (though importantly different from) those that beset Donald Davidson’s attempt to accord a causal role to the mental. I then consider an argument recently given by Frank Jackson against the causal relevance of dispositions (to their manifestations). Jackson’s argument relies on a conception of dispositions that is not likely to be shared by those who defend their causal relevance. I sketch an alternative conception of dispositions that links them more closely to their causal bases, but argue that even on this model disposition s are causally impotent. The paper closes with a defense of the claim that dispositions, in spite of their causal irrelevance to their manifestations, are nevertheless causal-explanatorily relevant to them. We regard dispositions as being causally responsible for their manifestations. We say that the glass broke because it was fragile, that the rubber band stretched because it is elastic, and that the arsenic killed him because it was lethal. Some philosophers have denied this. According to them, dispositions are causally irrelevant to the effects in terms of which they are defined. This view was defended by Elizabeth Prior, Robert Pargetter and Frank Jackson, and has been (tentatively) endorsed by David Lewis. According to them, fragility is the second-order property of having some or other first-order property (e.g., a given molecular structure) that tends to cause breaking under certain circumstances. But then, they infer, it is this first-order feature (the `causal basis' of the glass's fragility), and not fragility itself, that is responsible for causing the breaking. Fragility is thus conceptually after the fact as concerns the causation of breaking: the glass counts as being fragile only in consequence of its having some other, first-order property that is causally responsible for its breaking when struck. Lewis has always seemed uneasy with this view. He has called it a "disagreeable oddity" that must be dispatched if the identification of dispositions with second-order properties is to win our unequivocal support. In a recent paper, he takes himself to have done just that.

Michelangelo Essay -- Biography, Michelangelo, Vatican City

As a child, Michelangelo was taken to Florence, where he was apprenticed to the painter Ghirlandaio: he seems to have found his master’s somewhat bland style uncongenial, preferring the more dustere and monumental art of Giotto and Masaccio. (Gowing447) Michelangelo ultimately chose to becoma a sculptor, and at the age of sixteen he went to study at a new school sponsored by the most powerful man, in Florence Lorenzo de Medici. (Field298) In 1496, Michelangelo was in Rome, where he was able to study far finer examples of classical art than he could have found in Florence. (Field447) The limited influence of his works includes a few cases of almost total dependence, the most talented artist who worked in this way. (Hill392) In 1505, Michelangelo was summoned to Rome to make a gigantic tomb for Pop Julius II in St. Peters, the project was to obsess him for more than three decades, as successive powerful patrons demanded his services for other commissions. (Gowing447) Pope Julius II called Michelangelo to Romie in 1505 to design his tomb, which was to include about forty life size statues. The project occupied Michelangelo off and on for the next forty years. Of it he wrote, â€Å"I find I have lost all my youth bound to this tomb.† (Hill392) Then in 1508, the pope ordered him to paint the vault of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican: the result was the most influential single work in the history of European art. (Gowing447-8) †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Sent abt medicis fam †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. At one of Medici’s functions that Michelangelo got into a fight with another student, who punched him in the nose. For the rest of his life, Michelangelo had a flattened nose, which makes him easily recognizable in portraits. ( Field298) A reconciliation between Julius II, and Michelange... ...ll the people of Florence could see it. But there was a problem. They had to figure out how to get it there. More than 13 feet (4 meters) high and made of marble, David was obviously extremely heavy. An architect was called in to construct a special wooden frame from which David was to be hung with ropes. The ropes were tied with a special kind of slipknot, invented by Michelangelo. They got tighter and tighter the more weight there was on them. Four men took five days to move David from the church to the square. People packed the square to look at the new statue, but not everyone liked what they saw—a naked man standing out in the open and some threw stones at it. Gradually, however people began to appreciate the statue and to see that Michelangelo had given them a great and inspiring symbol. From then on his name, like his statue, soared above Florence. (EBSCO)

Effect of Technology on Human Social Interaction Essay

Humanity has come far from its primitive beginnings. From sticks and stone wheels to the fantastic technology of today. Each tool made toward the betterment of life more wondrous – and many times more dangerous – than the next. Humans have come from stone tools to hydrogen bombs. Humanity has become so accustomed to – so connected to — technology that it can no longer live without it. If all electricity were to somehow cease to be a thing in the world, society might very well collapse before our eyes. Really, there is no stopping this evolution, whether humanity as a whole see error in technology or not. In â€Å"The Evolution of Technology,† George Basalla asks how the world came to such a point that it could not stop its advancement. I question its exact effects. The advancement of media technologies in the 21st century have greatly impacted society. More specifically, the merging of modern media technology and the various social settings of socie ty has had major influence on social interaction between individuals. The media technologies of today effect social interaction in many different ways. Modern media technologies can encourage the interaction of many groups of people claiming different backgrounds, ethnicities, and generations. It can aid in bridging gaps both generational and cultural. To the contrary however, media technologies in any social setting can – according to the studies in â€Å"The Impact of New Media Technologies on Social Interaction in the Household† – easily result in a growing privatization in areas of life that, in an earlier, less technologically advanced time, would have been shared with friends and family. People are using technology separately rather than in groups. How are 21st century media technologies impacting social interaction among individuals? Do modern media technologies actually bring members of every social group together and increase social interaction amongst one another, or do they more commonly cause social division instead? Media technologies are now much more involved into people’s every day routine s than ever before. Media technologies of today have changed much of life in the last few decades. The mere pace of life has increased to levels that those of earlier decades could only have imagined. Much of the world has come into a time in which most things are instantly achieved (â€Å"Proceedings of the Media Ecology Association: Volume 11†). It is,  in fact, the era of instant gratification, in which much is sacrificed in the search for convenience and efficiency. Many see the ever falling value of face to face social interaction as being directly connected to the spike in modern media technology. Communication through technological media, in particular has advanced by leaps and bounds. With the click of mouse or the touch of a screen people are, in seconds, be put into contact with others that are tens of thousands of miles away. While this marks a definite height of media technology – linking people that would, in another time, not have been so connected, it would seem as though the use of the technology to communicate instantly with typed words on a digital screen has replaced other modes of human interaction. Younger members of generations of the 21st century have chiefly taken to the latest forms of communication: emailing, texting, messaging, et cetera†¦ Physical and interpersonal communication had been the status quo for hundreds of years. A person’s personality and ability to speak, convey his or her ideas with charisma, and articulate well using not just words, but body language and eye contact have long been the defining characteristics of the greatest people of our societies. This is changing. It has become the preferences of the general public to send emails instead of taking the time to write letters, to send texts messages from phones instead of calling from them, and to friending someone on a social network instead of asking to spend time with them. It can be seen that the ever falling value of face to face social interaction and communication as being directly connected to the spike in modern media technology. In another way, technological media used for recreation al purposes has had its various effects on social interaction as well. Gaming for instance, is one entertainment that has for years been met with very mixed opinions and arguments. I will not venture to link the meager social skills to or violent behavior to the playing of video games here. There are many examples of video games bring people closer together. Upon interviewing several people that play video games regularly, I found that many play video games with other people. Many play video games with their friends and family. A percentage of these people even said it was a routine of their family to have â€Å"game night† as a sort of tool to encourage familial bonding in the household. On the other hand, however, there was a significant number of people that I interviewed that played and preferred to play their video  games alone and spent little time with their families or in social settings away from video games. These people spent many hours alone with nothing but a screen, a game controller or mouse (depending on the medium the game was being played on), and sometimes an opponent and fellow gamer several miles or states away. When asked about other activities they took part in during the week or weekends, their responses were meager. Few partook in other activities, social or otherwise. In this way, one can understand video games to be a hindrance to the social interaction of the many individuals that play them. A gamer, distracted by a screen for countless hours a week does not have the time a person unimpeded by such things may have to take part in regular conversation with his or her peers. Television is yet another technological medium that has been argued over in its decades of use. Perhaps the varying viewpoints on the positive and negative aspects of television stem for the many purposes it can and has served. There are many channels on any cable television that are geared toward the moral and academic education of their viewers. There are also many more channels that are meant for the simple enjoyment of their watchers. A number of researchers propose that spending a small amount of time watching the more wholesome programs can, to some degree, strengthen families and friendships (â€Å"Inclusive Leisure Services†). Then, of course, there are many researchers that continually warn against television. Television is among the easiest of society’s media technology; easiest to operate, easiest to access, easiest to become addicted to. It is also possibly the most passive of media technologies today requiring almost no thought to use recreationally. Television, without the motive of the viewer to have conversation with those around, presents little chance for growth of social interaction between individuals. Now, possibly the most controversial, though fastest growing media technology in use: the cellular phone. There has never been any denying the convenience of the device. There have been, however, thousands of complaints and arguments against the cell phone for its ability to capture and hold the attention of its user. The cell phone has recently become all forms of media technology rolled into one: the telephone for calls, the camera for photographs, the music player, the television for vi ewing movies and TV shows, and the internet for all other digital uses, and so the list goes on†¦ The younger generation of today can only just  imagine the world in which most, if not everyone, has a cell phone – which, ironically, was not so many decades ago. The benefits of the modern cell phone to social interaction are obvious. Though more advanced than it was years ago, it still holds to its original purpose. The cell phone still provides the easiest, most convenient way to contact friends and family. In an emergency, it remains to be the best way to call for help. Modernly speaking, one can always send a quick text to ask how a friend is doing. Several million people would not be able to function or go through their daily routine without their cell phone. However, the opposition lives on. Many researchers maintain that the cellular as it is today is one the largest distraction to social interaction rather than the aid that others believe it to be (â€Å"The Impact of New media Technologies on Social Interaction in the Household†). Schools and certain work places have banned them for the fact that the people can’t seem to keep them from interrupting their work and learning. It is possible to now to walk into a room filled with people that in decades earlier would have been filled with individ uals mixing and socializing with each other, but now, could be packed with overzealous texters and social networkers gazing down at small screens in the palms of their hands. This generation has been described as incessantly â€Å"plugged in† – constantly in communication and in touch with technology (â€Å"Plugged In: generation Y Guide to Thriving at Work†). No other device is credited as much for the decline in values for face to face physical interaction than the cellular phone. Nor is any other device so credited for it advantages. It is evident that digital media technologies, such as television, video games, and cell phones have increasingly lead to social isolation and a growing privatization in social settings that would’ve been very different decades ago. It is also true that communication in general has become more impersonal than ever with the advancement of these technologies. Digital technologies are negatively affecting social interaction and communication between individuals. It is right to worry about the drastic changes they present society’s relationships and values. In order for digital technologies t o positively impact social interaction, friends and family have used these devices as a way of communicating and interacting with each another. This has to include using the media technology as a medium to interact, such as, playing a computer game  together or watching television together and discussing it afterwards. It is important for individuals to consume new media technologies together – thus, promoting togetherness – instead of individually. By consuming technology individually, this leads to social isolation. In turn, this results in a drastic decrease of communication and social interaction in all social groups. Though one thing is clear: as the presence of technology in our lives becomes more pervasive, the greater the changes in our interactions will be. Works Cited Basalla, George, The Evolution of Technology, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989 Dattilo, John, Inclusive Leisure Services, New York: Venture Publishing, Inc., 2002 Erickson, Tamara, Plugged In: generation Y Guide to Thriving at Work, Cambridge: Harvard Business Review Press, 2008 McGrath, Siobhan, The Impact of New media Technologies on Social Interaction in the Household, Ireland: Nui Maynooth, 2012 Rose, Ellen, Proceedings of the Media Ecology Association: Volume 11, Maine: Media Ecology Association, 2010

Cold Equations

1. ) What does the pilot want? To save the girl. 2. ) Is the pilot likely to succeed? Most likely not because by doing so he would kill others. 3. )What does the sister want? She wants to live. 4. ) Is the sister likely to succeed? I doubt it cause of there being a law and there seems theers no other way then her diying. 5. ) What does the government want? For the girl to be thrown off the ship. 6. ) Is the government likely to succeed? I belive so. 7. ) What should happen? The girl should be saved. 8. ) What will happen? The girl will most likely die. 9. )Is the pilot a â€Å"good† person or a â€Å"bad† person?Explain. The pio;t is a good person because he truly wants to save the girl but under the surcanstances he knows he can’t. 10. ) Is the sister a â€Å"good† person or a â€Å"bad† person? Explain. The sister is a good person because over all she didn’t mean to have all this happen to her she was just innocent to the knowlage of the la w. 11. ) Is the government â€Å"good† or â€Å"bad†? Explain. It is good it is just doing what it has to do . 12. ) What does the title refer to? It mearns that all the math is saying that he girl must die even though its not very just. 13. ) Is this story scary? Sad? Funny? Something else? Explain.I think it is sasd because of a iniocent girl having to die. 14. ) What does the author want me to think or feel? I geuss sad. 15. ) What is the central idea of this story? That this girl is a stole away but theres not enough fuel to carry them all safely so they must throw here overboard even it its not very humanly . 16. ) What might different people do in this situation? Mabey if it was a different pilot he would have already thrown her into spaceor mabey found away to save her. If it was a different girl she may have just accepted what she did an go overboared or she could have found away to save herself.