Economic Growth and Workers Essay Example for Free

Economic Growth and Workers Essay What basically the article of Mehring would want to states into the public would be the adverse effect of the economic growth on the labour market [workers]. It was states on his paper entitled â€Å"Vital Signs: A Not-So-Great ‘08† that market analysts predicts, as 2008 comes, the economy to be more dependent on the consumption level of the consumers. In this light, Mehring stressed that this would be impossible considering the current condition of one of the primary sector in the economy- housing. For the past years, housing sectors has been performing so badly after the end of 2005 as the demand of consumers for housing units declined dramatically giving the housing firm a hard hit on their financial capabilities. In this regard, members of the housing sectors were forced to lay-off some of their workers. Furthermore, the financial sector of the economy has not been performing well making the recovery of the housing sector to slow down. At the end of the day, it is the consumers, workers at the same time, which receives the entire burden since there is a big possibility for them to be fired from their jobs and/or to receive lower wages as the economy continuous to perform badly. From November last year up to the present, the number of jobless people continuously keeps on rising. Even though there are a lot of jobs that has been created at the start of this year, around 70,000 jobs, those are still not enough to compensate the job losses that occur in the labor market. Due to the fact that there workers receives lower incomes, logically, they can only consume less thus making the profit of the businesses to decline. It was identified that retail stores experienced significant drop on their sales even during the holiday season. Due to this, their profitability and outlook in the economy started to become dependent on the performance of the consumption level of the consumer group. Since the profit of the producers are negatively affected by the lower consumption of the consumers, as well as due to the fact that there is a large pool of unemployed people available in the labor market, there is a leeway for businesses to offer lower wages to their employees, and the cycle of burden goes on. Although, export market keeps on lowering down the bad performance of the economy through convincing the investors that there is still hope for our economy for avert the negative effects of recession to the entire economy. Because of the alarming effects of the bad economic performance of the country, the government has been identifying ways on how to increase the growth of the labor sector to improve the consumption levels of the consumers and thus improving the profitability of the business firms operating in the market especially those coming from the construction and housing sector. There are already around 350,000 job losses that occurred by the end of December 22 and the current level that we have is higher than with the average level of 2007. Meanwhile, most of the job growth falls under the service sector and they are accounted for around 150,000 of the 192,000 jobs that are added in October last year (Mehring 4). Inside the service sector, it is the professional services, health care, leisure and entertainment that contributes for the improvement of the service sector. In order for the government to fully address the problem regarding unemployment, they must focus their policies and programs for the betterment of the financial sector, private as well as the providing measures on how to increase the growth rate of the labor market. In short, finds ways on moving the economy away from the midst of recession and secure the concerned sectors of the economy for a sustainable economic growth. Critique and Insight Based from the article of Mehring, there is a clear relationship of economic growth and the labor sector which is comprises by the working class. Actually, Mehring presented in his paper how the cycle of recession and unemployment exists in our economy nowadays. Actually, it is a good thing that he mentioned it in his paper since it provides us of the reasons why the government is actually bound of which party they would protect the most, is it the private or the consumer group which could also be classified as workers. The not-so-good- performance of our economy for the past two years has been imposing serious threats to major industries and one of this is the housing industry. Here is the logic, by the time the demand housing units declined by the end of 2005, members of the housing industry starts to experience lower profitability. Due to this scenario, this housing industry starts to become incapable of sustaining the current level wage rate and what they will do is to either lay-off some workers and/or lowers down the wage rate that they pay for their workers in order to secure their profitability which eventually further decaying the income and purchasing power of the consumers [workers] and the cycle continuous. There have been studies saying that in order for the economy to progress impressively, the government must find ways to maintain a lower unemployment rate. But what is happening in our case would be a different one considering the response of the consumer group and the market condition of major business sectors. Here, the government must not only focus on the unemployment rate but also considering the welfare of the business firms in making actions to address the problem. There are times wherein the government is too much engross in solving the unemployment rate but sacrificing the welfare of the businesses and at the end of the day the problem still remain and become worse. I think, it would be better for our government to find solutions to increase the rate of job growth that will not affect negatively the businesses in the economy like lowering down the restrictions of FDI into the country in order for the foreign investors to be encourage establishing their businesses here, thus, making creating more jobs. Moreover, the government could lower down the taxes of the taxes of the domestic companies in exchange of not laying-off of workers. Another possible solution that the government could implement would be to lessen the trade barriers of the government to give way for the multinational companies to set up their branches here in the country and thus creating more jobs to the economy. The reason why I have been to much in particular of solving the problem regarding unemployment because when a person has a job he could earn an income and used it to his needs or simply as consumption. By the time consumption improves, then, businesses starts to perform better and so with the entire economy. In this scenario, we could see that economic growth and workers are really related to one another. Moreover, it is good that Mehring identified in his paper the connection of the financial sector in revitalizing not only the growth of the business firms but also its importance on upgrading the financial capabilities of the consumers. Growth of businesses firms [economic growth] as well as upgrading of financial capabilities of consumers [workers] is made possible by the financial sector if they would lower down their interest rate from borrowing in order for the businesses and consumers to borrow money from them and used this money to increase their purchasing power and their budget for operation. Since in this scenario consumer will be having more money [through borrowing], then, their consumption level will improved and so with the profitability of the business firms especially the housing and construction sectors which are currently in bad shape in terms of demand and profitability. In this regard, it would be necessary to say that economic growth and workers are interrelated to one another, and the performance of one could affect the other through various economic factors such as consumption pattern and supply level.

Literacies for Learning Essay Example for Free

Literacies for Learning Essay The necessity for educational institutions to equip students with the skills to cope in a rapidly changing, culturally diverse and globalised 21st century society, has led academics, such as the New London Group, to encourage educators to acknowledge the various literacy forms utilised in the new millennium (The New London Group, 1996) and to adopt a pedagogy of multiliteracies. This essay will explore the components of a pedagogy of multiliteracies and identify the transformations needed for the successful implementation of multiliteracies into educational practice. Likewise, the notion of language as a social practice which influences teaching content and assessment practices in secondary education will be examined, as will the use of multiliteracies in the teaching of the Mathematics curriculum. To understand the role of multiliteracies in pedagogy theory development, it is important to define the term literacy. Literacy is an evolving term that refers to an individual’s ability to construct and comprehend meaning via the accepted symbol systems of one’s country or language group (Winch, Johnston, March, Ljungdahl, Holliday, 2010). These symbol systems include written and spoken language and visual information such as icons and other graphical information. While literacy was traditionally viewed as a cognitive process with a focus on reading, writing and numeracy identification, in recent years its definition has become broadened to encompass the burgeoning text types being generated via multimedia and information technology (Winch et al., 2010). These electronic text types have quickly established themselves as integral components of a diverse range of 21st century vocations and social interactions (Tan, 2006).  A pedagogy of multiliteracies encompasses multimedia and digital text forms as well as traditional written and spoken texts. Likewise, the central role of literacy in a diverse range of knowledge domains and vocations has resulted in educators being encouraged to view literacy as a vital skill underpinning successful teaching and learning in all curriculum areas. The New London Group (1996) viewed the role of design as an ever changing paradigm of three stage teaching and learning processes. The first step, ‘Available Designs’ is determining what resources are available. These resources include texts, symbols, audio and visual resources. The second step is ‘Designing’ which takes these ‘Available Designs’ and places them within a social context, such as the classroom or learning environment, and is facilitated by an individual such as a teacher. This step creates an output with new meaning for both the learning environment and facilitator. This knowledge or new meaning is known as ‘Redesign’ (The New London Group, 1996). Literacy is a social practice that is not just taught in secondary schools, it is something which is part of each individual’s everyday life. According to Anstey Bull (2000), the way in which an individual may read the world will be strongly linked to the contexts of their own life. The NSW Department of Education and Training (2006) maintains that literacy is a skill that continues to grow and develop and is fundamental to students’ success at school as well as for the rest of their life. For literacy to be successful in schools, it is planned in collaboration with parents and teachers. This collaborative approach reinforces that literacy is inherently a social practice. This approach must include a range of social influences and practices, in order to increase student’s knowledge and skill in the real world for real purposes (NSW Department of Education and Training, 2006). As literacy development is undoubtedly a whole school and community approach, it is essential that a multiliteracies pedagogy, be utilised in the teaching of all curriculum areas. The impact of societal and cultural change is clearly reflected in the mathematics curriculum through the use of digital technologies such as graphical programs and spreadsheets. This use of technology provides numerous opportunities for the teaching of multiliteracies. Through explicit teaching and learning  experiences of digital texts, students are provided with the skills to successfully navigate and comprehend information communicated digitally. These skills can be acquired through students being provided with opportunities to access information via Internet websites. Likewise, students can use information technology to construct their own texts, thus allowing them to communicate their understanding of concepts to others. This may be achieved by encouraging students to construct texts through the use of software programs such as Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Visio, both of which allow students to communicate information graphically. These digital mediums allow students to acquire skills which will assist them in acquiring real world skills which they can utilise to gain and construct meaning, both in and out of the classroom. (Winch et al., 2010). Technology is an essential part of the transformations taking place in the social, political, cultural and economic spheres of contemporary society (Groundwater- Smith, Brennan, McFadden, Mitchell and Munns, 2009). Secondary school teachers need to prepare students with the skills necessary for life in a rapidly changing, technological world. In order to equip students with these skills, teachers must possess deep knowledge of relevant technologies (Treadwell, 2008). The Mathematics curriculum includes teaching of: statistics, probability, algebra, financial concepts, economics, technology, measurement and trigonometry. These strands include skills applicable to an individual’s school/work life, social life and personal life. Mathematics content areas, focus on aspects of society, reform, technology and life skills. It is important for teachers to link the social practice of literacy with the factors of a pedagogy of multiliteracies to create the best teaching environment they can (The New London Group, 1996). Walsh (2006) cites an example of successfully teaching his students literacy practices, through social relationships. Students worked in groups and were able to demonstrate specific social language structures. They were able to â€Å"enact, recognise and negotiate† in a social environment (The New London Group, 1996, p. 3) by design and re-design of Internet web pages. The created web pages were diverse, with each student using their own discourse to create what they believed the web page should contain. Prior to using multi-modal and digital literacy mediums in their teaching, it is essential that teachers be aware of cognitive and language factors in learning. The  ability to use multimodal learning, digital literacies and genres specific to each curriculum area must be carefully planned by the teacher. According to Winch et al., (2010) a multiliteracy pedagogy involves developing the ability to use language purposefully and skillfully in a range of social settings, rather than learning isolated segments of knowledge such as grammar conventions and spelling. Multiliteracy includes the use and creation of multimodal and multimedia texts (Winch et al., 2010). Multiliteracy seeks to address the rapid changes in literacy brought about by globalisation, cultural and social diversity and information technology (Winch et al., 2010). In response to these societal changes, The New London Group (1996), questioned the role of schools and outlined a need for change in literacy teaching due to key changes in three areas of life: working life, public life and personal life (life worlds). Central to these changes, was the need for schools to integrate learning with life experiences that students have both in and out of the classroom. â€Å"As these three major realms of social activity have shifted, so the roles and responsibilities of schools must shift† (The New London Group, 1996, p.18). The New London Group advocated for a change in the way, education was delivered, by enhancing the existing structures and overlaying with a new â€Å"what† and â€Å"how† of literacy teaching (The New London Group, 1996). The ‘how’ of pedagogy comes from a view of how learning is acquired, embedded and utilised. The New London Group (1996) proposed that a pedagogy of multiliteracies is a complex blend of four methods of design. The first is Situated Practice which involves learning by creating meaningful learning experiences that allow students be in an environment where the learning replicates the social use of what is being learnt. It is an environment where risks can be taken and ‘trial and error’ is used to gain mastery of skills or knowledge. It should be used â€Å"developmentally, to guide learners to the experiences and the assistance they need to develop further as members of the community, capable of drawing on, and ultimately contributing to, the full range of it’s resources.† (The New London Group, 1996, p. 33). Situated Practice should be designed to motivate students to want to know, and engage students in their learning in a safe environment . Assessment or evaluation is not considered part of Situated Practice. Overt Instruction is the second method of how a pedagogy of mulitliteracies is  implemented.  This involves teachers guiding and using effective teaching techniques such as scaffolding or explicit instruction to build student’s knowledge and confidence. Examination of the current secondary school’s Mathematics curriculum, (NSW department of Education and Training, 2010) reveals many opportunities for teachers and students to collaborate and engage in dialogue related to mathematical concepts which will guide and provide a scaffold for student learning. For example, the teacher makes links with prior learning, through asking open questions to the group, and uses multi-modal methods such as mathematical symbols, diagrams, charts and pictures to add to the learning. With each progression of new learning in the lesson, the teacher labels a new part of the diagram. Overt Instruction â€Å".includes centrally the sorts of collaborative efforts between teacher and student wherein the student is both allowed to accomplish a task more complex than they can accompli sh on their own and they are conscious of the teacher’s representation and interpretation of that task.† (The New London Group (1996, p. 20). Thirdly, Critical Framing focuses on the â€Å"how† of a pedagogy of multiliteracies, through the use and application of real world knowledge. This method is where assessment and evaluation of one’s self understanding can begin in relation to cultural, social, political and historical influences on what has been learned (New London Group, 1996). Teachers are able to encourage students to apply their learning in a practical sense and assess the transfer of student’s knowledge or skill. This knowledge is based on what they have previously learned, and requires students to â€Å"constructively critique it, account for its cultural location; creatively extend and apply it and eventually innovate own† and strengthen their ability to demonstrate what they have learned (The New London Group, 1996, p. 37). A mathematical example of this process is the conversion of degrees to radians. Its real life use is the calculation of the speed of a piece of machin ery. This calculation includes the formula in terms of radians rather than degrees. Finally, Transformed Practice is â€Å"where we try and re-enact a discourse by engaging in it for our real purposes† (The New London Group, 1996, p. 36).  Students need to think and learn outside their own discourse and think about how they can re-create their meaning, linking their own discourses to understand what they have learned. An example of this practice was where students were asked to plan and present a lesson including a Wiki activity and a Prezi (presentation tool) that teaches the concepts from a previous mathematics lesson. In groups, students collaboratively utilised the Internet to research topics, and create: work sheets for others to complete, interactive wiki activities, team tasks, and their own YouTube clips. The lesson included the use and creation of multimodal texts and scaffolding of existing knowledge. Students developed new knowledge through authentic multimodal texts such as image, sound, video and written text (Tan, 2006). Gunning (2002) explores the impact of reading and writing difficulties in a social stance, and highlights that poor instructions given by teachers can contribute to a student’s difficulties. Gunning’s (2002) observations and research serve as a reminder that teachers must be sure to provide the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of multiliteracies, to ensure each student has the opportunity to progress. Teachers need to evaluate their current practice and identify the text types typically used in the Mathematics content areas and consider the social needs and teaching strategies that will develop student’s literacy skills (Goos, Stillman., Vale, 2007). In a mathematics lesson, students were introduced to the ‘Simpson’s rule’ formula. The lesson’s aim was for students to measure the area beneath a real life object, gain an understanding of what is needed to complete the formula and how the variables are calculated. Students were required to work collaboratively in pairs, discussing various ways in which measurements were taken in order to obtain an accurate result in working out the area of the object. Likewise, students were required to engage in higher order thinking, in order to formulate possible solutions to the dilemma. These experiences provided students with the opportunity to be inclusive in their learning, and consolidate their understanding of key concepts that are relevant to the lesson goals (Prain Hand, 1999). Teacher observations and questioning during group work, guided the student’s discussions, with the teacher embracing a teaching style where multiliteracies were used. The New London Group (1996) have profoundly impacted on teaching practices, literacy research, policy curriculum and pedagogy (Mills, 2006). Gee (1991) explores  social literacy and the impact of a student’s discourse that are established outside the classroom, from their social group, fa mily and cultural ties. Their view of literacy as social practice and their emphasis on incorporating the rapidly increasing number of electronic and multimodal text types in 21st century society into teaching practice represents a clear break away from the single dimensional teaching of literacy. However, for multiliteracies such as digital literacies, multimodal resources and ICT to provide best learning for students, teachers must be prepared to embrace the view that literacy is a social practice and and an essential skill underpinning all curriculum areas. Teachers also need to recognise that each lesson they teach to students provides the opportunity to develop the student’s literacy skills. In order to facilitate this change in pedagogical ideology, teachers must be prepared to evaluate their current teaching practice and adopt a more holistic approach to developing literacy skills in their students. As a consequence, students should be exposed to participative learning experiences with re al life learning outcomes. References Anstey, M., Bull, G. (2000). Developing multiple and critical readings of text. Reading the visual: Written and illustrated children’s literature (pp. 201-214). Sydney: Harcourt. Gee, J. (1991) What is literacy? In C.Mitchell K. Weiler (Eds.), Rewriting literacy. New York: Bergin Garvey Goos, M. Stillman, G. Vale,C. (2007). Teaching secondary mathematics. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen Unwin. Gunning, T. (2002). Factors involved in reading and writing difficulties. Assessing and correcting reading and writing difficulties (2nd ed., pp. 26-62). Sydney: Allyn Bacon. Mills, K. (2006). Discovering design possibilities through a pedagogy of multiliteracies. Journal of Leading Design, 1(3), 61-72 NSW Department of Education and Training. (2010). NSW Department of Education and Training. (2007). Literacy K-12 Policy Retrieved from https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/policies/curriculum/schools/literacy/PD20050288.shtml?query=literacy+policy New South Wales Department of Education and Training. (2006). State literacy plan 2006-2008: Equitable literacy achievements for all students. Retrieved from http://www.curriculumsupprt.education.nsw.gov.au/policies/literacy/guidelinies/plan/index.htm Prain Hand (1999) Tan, L. (2006). Literacy for the 21st Century. Retrieved from http://iresearch.osprey.url3.net/iresearch/slot/u110/litreviews/literacy4_21st_century.pdf The New London Group. (1996). A pedagogy of multiliteracies: Designing social futures. In B.Cope M. Klantzis (Eds.), Multiliteracies, literacy learning and the design of social futures (pp. 9-37). London: Macmillan. Walsh, C. (2006). Beyond the workshop. Doing multiliteracies with adolescents. English in Australia, 41(3), 49-58 Winch, G., Johnston, R., March, P., Ljungdahl, L., Holliday, M. (2010). Literacy: Reading, writing and childrens literature (4th ed.). Melbourne: Oxford University Press Cope, Bill and Mary Kalantzis (eds), Multiliteracies: Literacy Learning and the Design of Social Futures, Routledge, London, 2000, 350pp. | link

Ambivalence And Its Imagery In Heart

Ambivalence And Its Imagery In Heart There have been various discourses about a literary world of Joseph Conrad who has been called as one of the great pioneers in 20th English literature. Since he was a Polish author and wrote in English, his vocabulary, grammar and syntax was accepted as unusual and new at that time. Not only these multilingual aspects of him but his personal experience in French, England and Congo as a seaman before a writer deeply affected his many various works such as Almayers Folly, An Outcast of the Islands, Lord Jim, Nostromo, The Secret Agent, The Duel, Victory, The Shadow Line, and The Rover, Heart of Darkness. Moreover, it is important to find the fact that he wrote in the heyday of the British Empire to have a great grasp of his literary world. He wandered European countries and colonies of Europe and then settled in England. As a cosmopolitan as well as a man who always crossed the borderline between a country and a country, his issues of identity fully reflected his works and those issues and his racial and political attitude has often been controversial until now. Of a variety of controversies surrounding Conrads works, the most famous thing was provoked by the Nigerian writer, Chinua Achebe. In his essay, An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrads Heart of Darkness', he regarded that Joseph Conrad was a thoroughgoing racist (260) for reason that Africa itself was a foil to Europe, as a place of negations at once remote and vaguely familiar, in comparison with which Europes own state of spiritual grace will be manifest(261). Conrad, he says, portrays Africa as the other world, the antithesis of Europe and therefore of civilization(253), which makes Achebe say that Conrad took an antipathy against black people. The issue of racism in Conrads novels aroused controversy and it is ongoing now and it was absolutely inevitable considering how political and social situations he lived were. However, we should know that his unique descriptive style was remarked and differentiated from other established authors in England in that his ability to express incomprehensible and mysterious things was outstanding and which contributed to make his works the subject of the controversy and consistently to cause disputes on his certain viewpoint among many scholars who tried to find out it. Furthermore, he formed a diversity of lively discussions with race, social hierarchy and gender awareness as well as his distinct writing style and his complicated narrative structure. He also opened the arena of philosophical and historical arguments beyond literary criticism. Likewise, of the good number of strong points in his pieces, the reason his work, Heart of Darkness is meaningful for us living the present is that this novel surprisingly epitomizes ambivalence which means coexistence of two conflicting values or feelings. To explain, the world we are living is not fixed and secure. As the barriers between countries collapse and the world gets globalized, it is hard to hold a center point we can depend upon and we are in the uncertain situation that threatens our own distinctive identity. Accordingly, if we can try to indirectly understand Conrads ambivalent perspective in such a confused situation, it definitely helps us live our insecure lives. In this paper, I will deal with how Conrads ambivalent feelings and thinking about the wilderness, the African people and the white society was described in Heart of Darkness and look into what an effective imagery he used in embodying it literarily by using visual imagery, auditory imagery and layered narrative. Ambivalence in Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad tries to explore the inner side of a man by providing him with an array of different experiences in an exotic setting in Heart of Darkness. In Joseph Conrads psychological realism, Hyo-won Kim claims that Conrad often depicts psychological shocks and split personality that a protagonist suffers in tension of conflict between modern western civilization and primitive wilderness oxymoronically, an obscure unconsciousness and wonderful world of sub-consciousness of human from a skeptical perspective.(27) These conflicts between unconsciousness, consciousness and manifestation of sub-consciousness are showed in his description of the wilderness, the African people and the white society. 2.1 Ambivalent Description of the Wilderness In Heart of Darkness, the wilderness has two conflicting aspects. One is an object to be conquered by the superior European countries. Another is a sort of spiritual, supernatural existence not to be conquered by human being who is doomed to dead someday. It means that the first aspect is a reflected result of a desire of self-expansion and the second one relates to a desire for protecting oneself who is aware of finiteness of a life. For starters, as Chinua Achebe pointed out, Africa in Heart of Darkness functions as just a backdrop or setting that the protagonist, Marlow enlarged his world view.(60) What is important here is that Conrad overlooked the fact that Africa was also a place that many African people live an ordinary lives like white people do in Europe. He erased the culture and history of Africa and made it an abstract image like a sort of concept, fantasy or idea of European people. It gives European people a chance to make an arbitrary interpretation regardless of a fact, which shows how white European people has perceived and dealt with Africa with a feeling of superiority. For example, we can see this in the comparison between the Thames and the river Congo in the first part. And indeed nothing is easier for a man who has, as the phrase goes, followed the sea with reverence and affection, than to evoke the great spirit of the past upon the lower reaches of the Thames. (Heart of Darkness 2) What greatness had not floated on the ebb of that river into the mystery of an unknown earth! . . . The dreams of men, the seed of commonwealths, the germs of empires. (HD 3) The Thames is described as a starting point of mans intelligence, civilization and refinement. European people have reverence and affection to the Thames because it has the great spirit of the past and symbolizes the dreams of men. Accordingly, it reminds them of their greatness and their great past history. On the contrary, as the antithesis of the Thames, the river Congo is portrayed as the mystery of an unknown earth. (HD 3) The use of definitive word deprives Africa of its historical, cultural and political characteristics and covers the whole thing of Africa under the name of the mystery. The assumption is a tool to make European people invade and exercise a force on Africa as they want. That is, the white people go to Africa to satisfy their curiosity and affirm their assumption seeing only what they want to see there. It reveals transcendental desire of the white people in that they expand their geographical area and then are trying to see what they could not see. However, the white, Marlow who determines to go to Africa with ambitious mind is overwhelmed by the wilderness, which makes him feel like keeping himself away from the truth of things, within the toil of a mournful and senseless delusion.(HD 12) With a sense of awe and fear of the wilderness, he thinks that it blurs perception of reality. It can be interpreted that Marlow unconsciously knows that he is an invader who comes to Africa with a sense of European superiority and in front of the wilderness he feels unconsciously his insignificance, his mortality when he sees the infinite coast that always looks the same. In other words, the wilderness is memento mori to him. We can see that he is aware of the fact unconsciously by the following quotation. We called at some more places with farcical names, where the merry dance of death and trade goes on in a still and earthy atmosphere as of an overheated catacomb; all along the formless coast bordered by dangerous surf, as if Nature herself had tried to ward off intruders; in and out of rivers, streams of death in life. (HD 13) At the same time, he feels uneasy with the idea that the wilderness destroys him and leads him to death. It derives from a sense of guilt about the general European mind that considers nature as a target of conquest and suppression. The expression he uses such as intruders and death in life mirrors his subconscious horror well. 2.2 Ambivalent Description of African People African people, in common with the wilderness, are described differently reflecting Conrads ambivalent mind. Like the wilderness, African people are barbarous and thus an object of subjugation, modernization and detribalization with reason and enlightenment which is a solid foundation for Western imperialism. In contrast, he finds that human beings are always helpless against the force of nature and he sometimes identifies African people with nature. As a result, he also experiences supernatural power from them in harmony with nature. Additionally, what is important here is that he feels a sense of kinship as the same human being. To begin with, Conrad likens African people to black ants, naked beast and he does not forget to refer their skin color which is black. Sometimes, he eliminates their form or their presence by telling them simply black shadows or shades. In An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrads Heart of Darkness, Achebe says that in the place of speech African people made a violent babble of uncouth sounds and exchanged short grunting phrases even among themselves.(57) Likewise, African people has no great difference from beasts in this novel and even reminds us of devil coming from Hell. catch im, he snapped with a bloodshot widening of his eyes and a flash of sharp teeth -catchim. Giveim to us. To you, eh? I asked; what would you do with them? Eatim! he said curtly. . . . (HD 42) His attitude that separates himself from African people by emphasizing their inhumane aspects suggests how he perceives African people. That is, he just seems to want to confirm that he was a more superior, privileged white person. As a result, his purpose of exploration is not based on enlargement of worldview or self-expansion. He just has a sense of pity for the ignorant natives with the superiority of European culture. However, as we discussed in the ambivalent description of the wilderness, there also exists ambivalence about some of the African people. Similarly, Conrad gives supernatural spirit and power to an African woman who is some kind of mistress to Mr. Kurtz. She was savage and superb, wild-eyed and magnificent; there was something ominous and stately in her deliberate progress. And in the hush that had fallen suddenly upon the whole sorrowful land, the immense wilderness, the colossal body of the fecund and mysterious life seemed to look at her, pensive, as though it had been looking at the image of its own tenebrous and passionate soul. (HD 66) Her appearance leads us to think of a possessed shaman who connects this world and the next. A shaman mediates between the world and the next and manages affairs of human that usual people cannot know and do. In this sense, she is a superior existence to Marlow and that is what Conrad suggests. In addition, in Joseph Conrads Ambivalent Criticism of Imperialism, Sang-kee Park explains that this woman in harmony with the background of nature expresses the vital force that European people do not possess. Park also indicates that there is a stark contrast between richness and vigor of the African woman and paleness of the Mr. Kurtzs fiancà ©e.(17) From Achebes claim that Conrad lavishes a whole page quite unexpectedly on the African woman (56), we know Conrads intention showing that Marlow is attracted by her fecundity and full vitality. It means that Marlow is struck as small mortal human being before the woman who symbolizes infinity or a perpetual life. Two kinds of African people I explained above are in the opposite sides and represent Marlows ambivalent feelings of African people. Meanwhile, there is another man who lies between the extremes, who is Marlows African helmsman. He drops down with a spear in his heart and gives his white master a look in final moment. And the intimate profundity of that look he gave me when he received his hurt remains to this day in my memory like a claim of distant kinship affirmed in a supreme moment. (HD 54) After his death, he realizes that a subtle bond between Marlow and his helmsman is broken. A significant point is that he notices a sense of fellowship after death because it suggests that in a matter of life and death human being are equal regardless of race, national identity and power. Furthermore, there are some African people on the verge of starvation who startle Marlow by the fact that they do not eat European people despite of hunger. Marlow finds out that cannibalism is no more than their custom; they also have self- restraint opposed to beasts. Consequently, these direct experiences weaken a deep-rooted previous prejudice or a sense of superiority in Marlow and expand his civilized identity in European cultural context to a cosmopolitans perception. In the Images of the Superior man and the mean man in Heart of Darkness, Cheol-soo Kim says that Conrad pursues Marlow to do self-expansion as a protagonist in the open world by overcoming self-centered viewpoint and escaping himself from a narrow worldview and to recover relationship with others. (7) Additionally, it implies criticism of western culture that constructs self-centered empire as a result of oppressing others. As we examine, the description of the African people in Heart of Darkness has two differen t aspects which are hatred (abomination) as others and affection (fascination) as the same human being. This citation shows that clearly. Land in a swamp, march through the woods, and in some inland post feel the savagery, the utter savagery, had closed round him, all that mysterious life of the wilderness that stirs in the forest, in the jungles, in the heart of wild men. Theres no initiation either into such mysteries. He has to live in the midst of the incomprehensible, which is also detestable. And it has a fascination, too, that goes to work upon him. The fascination of the abomination-you know. (HD 106) Through those proceedings, Marlow seems to approach the truth of a life. However, Conrad never resolves the ambivalence in Marlow even at the ending of this novel. Depending upon the story, we can just assume that a series of experience would enrich Marlows life but cannot conclude what truth is because Conrad sticks to his distinctive oblique writing style. Ambivalent Description of White Society Achebe asserts that the Thames too has been one of the dark places of the earth but conquered its darkness, of course, and is now in daylight and at peace. Then he tells that Conrad divides the river Congo and the Thames into bestiality and civilization. (253) However, description of white society is not always positive even though description about greatness of the Thames is splendid. White society in this novel is seemingly refined and elegant but his underlying idea of it sometimes seems to be inexorable and uncomfortable. We would catch his skeptical tone about white society representing civilization, culture, politics and economy. We can see this in the following scene that Marlow arrives in a city to sign a contract to be a seaman. A narrow and deserted street in deep shadow, high houses, innumerable windows with venetian blinds, a dead silence, grass sprouting between the stones, imposing carriage archways right and left, immense double doors standing ponderously ajar. I slipped through one of these cracks, went up a swept and ungarnished staircase, as arid as a desert, and opened the first door I came to. Two women, one fat and the other slim, sat on straw-bottomed chairs, knitting black wool. (HD 8) As Marlow says that the city makes him think of a whited sepulcher, the image of city is different from what we usually regard crowded and dynamic. His description of the city is prosaic, coercive. Plus, when we recall that a whited sepulcher implies confinement, death and hypocrisy, we can presume his unconscious feelings of the city. Park also says that Belgium, a capital of European imperialism, is showed a whited sepulcher referred in Matthew 23. This expression is originally a figure of speech used by Jesus Christ to criticize a faqih laying stress on formal ostentation and hypocrisy of Pharisee. He claims that the inside of a whited sepulcher is full of death and smuttiness even though the outside of it is beautiful and coated cleanly. (274) Likewise, Conrad portrays Belgium as a place death and hypocrisy which is the center of imperialism. The image of the city gives us a feeling like a phantom town where no human lives and displays that civilization gets rid of vitality of hu man life. We also cannot overlook two women knitting black wool because an act of knitting closely relates to humans impending doom when we recall Charles Dickenss A Tale of Two Cities, in which Madame Defarge knits with the steadfastness of Fate' (HD 103) Thus, the descriptions of the Thames and the city have ambivalence in that each represents light and darkness, peace and death. Additionally, there are many white people in Heart of Darkness. As a foreigner in Congo, Marlow encounters two types of white people. As Marlow decides to go to Congo out of his curiosity and passion, he meets the same kind of people who have inquiring mind or curiosity about life. Marlow first meets a doctor who wants to measure Marlows head saying that I always ask leave, in the interests of science, to measure the crania of those going out there.(HD 10) He is the man who dedicates to a progress of science and believes that he can do it. I have a little theory which you Messieurs who go out there must help me to prove. This is my share in the advantages my country shall reap from the possession of such a magnificent dependency. The mere wealth I leave to others. (HD 10) His remark shows that he does not care of personal economic benefit but he cares of the advance of science and the advantage of empire. The old doctor has a sense of duty, dream and lofty ideal to make new discovery. Marlow then sees a white man under a hat like a cart-wheel beckoning persistently with his whole arm (HD 55) at the river-bank. He is a young Russian man and has looked after Mr. Kurtz. Marlow envies him and he is captivated by his spirit of adventure. If the absolutely pure, uncalculating, unpractical spirit of adventure had ever ruled a human being, it ruled this be-patched youth. I almost envied him the possession of this modest and clear flame. It seemed to have consumed all thought of self so completely, that, even while he was talking to you, you forgot that it was he-the man before your eyes-who had gone through these things. (HD 59) The reason Marlow is enchanted by him is the fact that the Russian man keeps his pure mind and hope even though he is in savage and crude situation contrary to himself who is disappointed by secular white people and fearful barbarism. Meanwhile, the other description is completely different from them. The previous captain before Marlow is murdered by African people. There was misunderstanding about two black hens between the man and African people, in the process, he tried to show self-respect and finally beat the chief with hammer. In A Comparative Study of Narrative Structure on Heart of Darkness Apocalypse Now: Modernism vs. Postmodernism, Mi-Sook Um indicates that he is a precursor of Mr. Kurtz in that he goes to the Africa with a torch to realize noble ideals that enlightens barbarians. (5) In the jungle, Marlow faces impulsiveness and violence of white society when an opportunity offered at last to meet his predecessor, the grass growing through his ribs was tall enough to hide his bones.(HD 7) The Companys chief accountant shows well how western modernization and capitalism covers violent act of crime and a system isolates human from touches of humanity. I met a white man, in such an unexpected elegance of get-up that in the first moment I took him for assort of vision. I saw a high starched collar, white cuffs, a light alpaca jacket, snowy trousers, a clear necktie, and varnished boots. No hat. Hair parted, brushed, oiled, under a green-lined parasol held in a big white hand. He was amazing, and had a penholder behind his ear. (HD 17) Um explains that the chief accountant neglects African peoples groans with starvation and disease and do his work hard, which shows snobbery in that he regards African people as an obstacle in doing his job. (5) His books, which were in apple-pie order (HD 17) means his irrationality because this achievement can be made under exploitation and sacrifice of African people. Marlow calls it achievement and accomplishment. Nevertheless, Marlows remark that his appearance was certainly that of a hairdressers dummy; but in the great demoralization of the land he kept up his appearance (HD 17) unconsciously suggests ugly aspect of humanity and in that sense; the accountant is like a hollow man who have no hearts. In other words, the accountant signifies both extreme moderation, self-control and pitilessness, cruelty. The rest of white people are blind to personal gains and corrupted. That is inside and outside of western European imperialism and we can grasp that it reflects the contradictio n of European ideals from his ambivalent description of the white people. Imagery of Ambivalence There are some effective imageries of ambivalence in Heart of Darkness. To convey his theme symbolically, Conrad often uses visual imagery such as white and black, light and darkness, auditory imagery such as frenzy and silence and unique narrative structure. 3.1 Visual Imagery It is easy to compare Heart of Darkness with an aesthetic architecture because the structure of the story is systematically composed with the beginning, the middle and the end charged of various symbols. The beginning part as embryo of the story starts description of a steamboat. The Nellie, a cruising yawl, swung to her anchor without a flutter of the sails, and was at rest. The sea-reach of the Thames stretched before us like the beginning of an interminable waterway.(HD 1) We can easily bring out a mans exploration against nature or a mans quest into the abyss of the soul with a regard to a boat and the river. Accordingly, the term interminable means invisible reverse of ones soul and the hidden inside of life. In The Mythic Structure of Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness, Hyun, Young-Min also explains that Marlows journey into the mystery of an unknown earth thus symbolizes not only mans venture into his past history but also a quest into the abyss of human soul. (14) Likewise, Con rad tries to show inexpressible or incomprehensible things to us by detailed expression like this with these symbols. Conrad often also uses visual contrast such as white and black, light and darkness. The image of whiteness in the story appears in a white sepulcher, ivory and light and white people and the bald head of Kurtz. In the case of light and white people in the beginning part, light and whiteness are a symbol of enlightenment that eliminates darkness representing evil and barbarism but it reveals the other side as the story goes. Park, Sun-Hwa, in To make you see through the Symbols in Joseph Conrads Lord Jim, says that Marlow thinks that the natives are murderer or barbarians with wickedness, aggressiveness and violence before he goes to Congo but he realizes that the natives have strong vitality and are living harmoniously with nature. On the contrary, white people who are exploiting them and make them starve are indeed barbarians. Thus, whiteness suggests hypocrisy of civilized people, and black is the power of life force. (9) We can know these symbols of whiteness in the description of the accountant wearing white clothes and ivory representing of humans self-centeredness, vanity and depravity of human nature. (9) To be specific, Hyun, Young-Min explains that thus this light is suggestive of the whiteness of civilization which blights and impoverishes the black savages relentlessly instead of playing a role of the torch to enlighten them. This light is symbolic of the spiritual emptiness of a white man indicated in Kurtz. The blinding symbolism of European civilization is well expressed in Kurtzs painting of a woman, draped and blindfolded, carrying a lighted torch(HD 25) (12) When we regard destructive nature of fire (torch or light), we can find out that it has ambivalent imagery. The image of black and darkness is referred in the skin color of African people, two women knitting black wool in Brussels, Mr. Kurtz and the wilderness. It is associated with death, horror and emptiness in soul. At first, darkness of the wilderness means both horror and a sense of awe for Marlow because he feels fear of infinite power of nature. Black people are also a target to be improved, humanized to need enlightenment (light). However, as he sees the terrible scenes of imperialism which are suffering beings, a variety of kinds of corruption and Mr. Kurtz who is a devil incarnate, the meaning of darkness comes to change into dark side of civilization and European imperialistic people with profoundly dark souls. That is, he is shocked by the fact that Chaos or Hell expressed as darkness is not in the wilderness, but the world of civilization, culture he lives in. Accordingly, such an ugly truth enlightens Marlow, which could be regarded as being in Hell or Chaos because the truth shakes his world supporting his previous conception and conviction. In the same vein, it closely relates to Marlows significant remark on dying Mr. Kurtz that His was an impenetrable darkness. (HD 75) and Mr. Kurtzs final remark, The horror! The horror! (HD 76) 3.2 Auditory Imagery Especially, Conrad overthrows auditory imagery as regards to the core theme of the story and shows the process that Marlows thinking changes. Silence in the Thames shows peaceful and orderly world that conquered all of the confusion and disorder before. On the contrary, silence in the river Congo is a threat to Marlow because it makes him feel a sense of guilt by giving him time to reflect on himself. And outside, the silent wilderness surrounding this cleared speck on the earth struck me as something great and invincible, like evil or truth, waiting patiently for the passing away of this fantastic invasion. (HD 23) This is because he subconsciously realizes that the reason he is here does not be resulted from simple curiosity and pure passion of exploration. As a result, he feels that he is not different from white people that he gets totally disenchanted. I became in an instant as much of a pretence as the rest of the bewitched pilgrims.(HD 27) Therefore, since the act of soul-searching leads him to see the hidden truth under the surface, he fears of silence in the wilderness that gives a chance of self-examination and makes him know his self-deception. You know I hate, detest, and cant bear a lie, not because I am straighter than the rest of us, but simply because it appals me. There is a taint of death, a flavor of mortality in lies, which is exactly what I hate and detest in the world what I want to forget. (HD 27) In terms of frenzy or noise from wilderness, he considers it primitive for the reason that African people are all savage and barbarous at first. Nevertheless, he becomes confused as he sees the brutal scenes of imperialism, so eventually he starts feeling that it is fury of nature. Perhaps on some quiet night the tremor of far-off drums, sinking, swelling, a tremor vast, faint; a sound weird, appealing, suggestive, and wild and perhaps with as profound a meaning as the sound of bells in a Christian country. (HD 19) Free from a private individual, he thinks that invaders coming to Africa are receiving punishment for Europe-centered mind which conquers and exploits nature and only pursues ones benefit. Compared to a bell in a Christian country, it shakes the earth because the sound of nature relates to the conscience in humans mind. As for the final burst of Kurtz, it is the moment of change from Marlows previous abstract ideal idea to realization of reality. He always listens about Mr. Kurtz from the general manager, the accountant and the Russian man in the station. The stories about Kurtz are just full of words like God. He was just a word for me.(HD 27) Finally he listens to his voice though. It means the distance between our idea or expectation and the real situations. Although His expectation to meet Kurtz realizes, he finds out Kurtz degrades beyond his control and reason. However, we should remember that this story is also handed down by the listeners, who are Marlow and anonymous speaker. Accordingly, it shows that there is always room for reinterpretation, distortion and beatification. I did not see the man in the name any more than you do. Do you see him? Do you see the story? Do you see the anything? It seems to me I am trying to tell you a dream making a vain attempt, because no relation of a dream can convey the dream-sensation, that commingling of absurdity, surprise, and bewilderment in a tremor of struggling revolt, that notion of being captured by the incredible which is of the very essence of dreams. . . . (HD 27) Finally, when we consider that voice instantly disappears as soon as it emanates, we can understand that it is analogy of our mortal life. No matter how we try to approach the truth, it is demanding to have a clear sense of it. In addition, the meaning of such an act or the truth is likely to get discolored because we are living in a limited time. All we can do is interminable effort as if we walk in complete darkness. 3.3 Imagery of Narrative Above all, when we read the beginning part of the story, it does not seem to be interested in the very corner story as if glow brings out of a haze.(HD 3) A detailed portrayal of landscape discourages us to read and catch it because diffuse sentences and overflowing adjectives overwhelm us. Therefore, we cannot get the idea because even making a picture in our head reaches a limit even though visual details should extend the range of perception. Interestingly, though, that is how to Conrad displays his idea, which is a symbolic setting. That is, he takes advantage of the fact that we cannot comprehend feelings and situations at that time because those moments already passed and even we pick a story up from others. The point is that it is inevitable that there are gaps between idea and reality, the real situation and experience that we think and rearrange by our feeling and thinking. For example, it applies to Marlows journey because he goes to Congo with yearning for exploration but he becomes disillusioned. It shows that his ideal idea is betrayed by reality. Furthermore, since Marlow depicts his past experience, his depiction might have been changed by his subjective analysis. Kurtzs story is also conveyed by Marlows perspective. In addition, an anonymous speaker is telling Marlows story, which means that opinions of the anonymous speaker are projected in the story. In this sense, in Vision, Illusion, and Misinterpretation in Conrads Under Western Eyes, Jong-Seok Kim indicates that of special importance is the fact that the problem of illusion is not restricted to the novels protagonist and narrator alone; it is also true of the novels other main characters. For them, the world is like a blank page on which they project their own ideas, hopes, prejudices, and des

Relationship Roadblocks :: essays research papers

Relationship Roadblocks   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first major topic the text brings forward in chapter 6 is the concept of relationship roadblocks. As the name implies these seven categories act as the downfalls to relationships. The concepts cover a wide range of types of problems from being tongue tied to giving up too much of your self to have a relationship. These concepts also happen at many different stages in relationship development however they primarily occur during the beginning or pre-relationship period. The first roadblock to a relation ship is high expectations. This concept describes how pop culture; media and even friends relationships can make us want to have the perfect relationship when that perfect relation ship does not exist. I do want the perfect relationship but do realize that in order to achieve this takes much effort on both persons part.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The second is holding the believe that a relationship should be easy. This makes the claim that because people communicate everyday that communicating in a relationship should be very easy. I do fall victim to this roadblock. I like to enjoy relationships and all the fun and happiness that go along with them however I do not like to deal with the inevitable problems that come up with them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Fear of failure is the third roadblock to relationships. This is when people are scared to get into a relationship. I do not suffer from this roadblock. I believe that if you don’t try and fail sometimes you have zero chance of trying and succeeding.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The forth roadblock states that If I just relax, a good relationship will find me. This states that people expect friendships and relationships will just appear and present themselves in front of you. This philosophy believes that if you put forth effort to find someone you won’t find them. This makes no sense to me finding a good relationship   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The bozo pill is the ultimate mistake when trying to start a relationship. This is when you see an attractive person and your mind goes to mush. You can’t discern words, even your own name to say them. The bozos could also be tripping or running into something. Generally the bozos is embarrassing yourself during the first impression and ruining any chances you had for beginning a friendship. The most important point is that the first impression is unforgiving you need to try to be smooth. The book makes the point that this happens to every one at some time.

MP3 File Sharing Hurts America Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive Essay

MP3 File Sharing Hurts America Before the present time of computers and various media player technology, trading music files on the internet was practically unheard of. Today MP3 music files have become file format that is widely â€Å"swapped† over the internet. The problem with trading MP3's is that it violates copyright laws. However, this hasn’t stopped the tens of millions of file sharing software users who continue swap MP3’s. MP3 piracy is a costly business for many companies, and the disadvantages outweigh the advantages of â€Å"P2P† file sharing. File sharing is a costly, illegal practice that hurts not only the consumers, but the artists as well. MP3 is a relatively new form of piracy, only being around for about ten years. The fact that the MP3 format takes up as little as one megabyte for a one minute clip, makes it an attractive storage factor for pirates. And with the CD-R and CD-RW drives, people can convert MP3 files to common CD format, burn to a CD, and play in any CD player, and be listening to a mix of their favorite songs within a half hour of downloading the song. With MP3 players becoming more and more popular options in cars, you can burn MP3 files directly to a CD without converting to a standard audio file and have over six hours of music on a single CD! â€Å"It is estimated that such illegal product costs the music industry more than 300 million dollars a year domestically.† This is why the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is taking a strong stance against MP3 piracy. The damage done to the recording industry in lost profits, increased prices, and lost jobs is overwhelming. In an attempt to put a damper on file swapping, and recapture lost revenue the RIAA has been suing people ... ... released in January that surveyed 1,358 Internet users in late fall found the number of Americans downloading music dropped by half from six months earlier, with 17 million fewer people doing it nationwide. I find that to be an impressive figure. The damage done to the music industry as well as genuine consumers of the music industry is huge. Online pirates are costing the music industry millions and millions of dollars in lost revenue. The chances of these pirates being caught are constantly increasing. Even though the anti-piracy organizations have made considerable progress, their current anti-piracy methods will not completely stop online piracy. Until these organizations can increase copyright protection, and inform the uneducated pirates who believe their points are valid, they will be fighting an up hill battle, no matter how many lawsuits they file.

Global Warming Essay -- Causes and Effects of Climate Change

Pollution in our world is leading to increased global warming. Global warming is a problem that if it doesn’t effect us, it will effect all future generations. Global Warming is a problem that all of us can solve, and it should be solved through the work of our community. Global Warming is caused by the Greenhouse Effect. The Greenhouse effect causes the sun’s rays to come in the earth’s atmosphere, and when it bounces back, more and more of the sun’s rays stay in the Earth, heating up the average global temperature. Greenhouse gasses cause the addition of the Greenhouse Effect. Greenhouse Gasses cause an increase in the Greenhouse Effect. Greenhouse Gasses are created whenever a fossil fuel is burned. It is not the burning of the fossil fuel, but the emissions of the gas from the burning fossil fuel that adds to the Greenhouse Effect. Greenhouse Gasses in this planet are natural, but with added amounts of Greenhouse Gasses, the Greenhouse Effect gets much stronger. There are several simple solutions, but many people don’t care about the environment enough to help stop Global Warming. One Step to stop Global Warming could be to turn off your computers when you finish with them, because computers use electricity, witch is created mostly by the burning of Fossil Fuels. Another Step to control Global Warming could be to use Public Transportation, rather than each person driving around in a car, because each less car reduces the level of oil burned. Another way to stop Global Warming could be to Recycle, because lots of garbage is burned, adding to the Greenhouse Effect. Global Warming is a serious problem, and it needs to be solved, NOW! The global warming hypothesis originated in 1896 when Svante Arrheniu... ... course of geologic time without any assistance from human activity. Says Singer, â€Å"The human component [in recent global warming] is thought to be quite small. . . . The climate cooled between 1940 and 1975, just as industrial activity grew rapidly after WWII. It has been difficult to reconcile this cooling with the observed increases in greenhouse gases.† Singer also argues that temperature observations since 1979 are in dispute: Surface readings with thermometers show a rise of about 0.1 degree C per decade, while data from satellites and balloon-borne radiosondes [miniature transmitters] show no warming—with possible indications of a slight cooling—in the lower atmosphere between 1979 and 1997. Until the science behind the global warming theory is more settled, Singer and other skeptical scientists advocate placing no limits on the consumption of fossil fuels.

Mass Media and Violence

Mass Media and Violence Is it hard to believe that just forty years ago only a few privileged American families had televisions in their home? In recent years, it is estimated that a whopping ninety-eight percent of Americans have one or more television sets in their home. Motion pictures, televisions, video games, and the internet are just some forms of mass media that have emerged since the last century. With the rise of mass media, the increase of violent behavior has increased as well. Mass media influences many factors of people’s lives such as moral beliefs, behavior, and values.Violence in mass media is greatly dominating our society and continues to do so. It causes aggression and is a growing epidemic among the youth. Scott Barbour praises the American Academy of Pediatrics: â€Å"The vast majority of studies conclude that there is a cause-and-effect relationship between media violence and real-life violence. This link is undeniable and uncontestable. † It is n o lie when they say the average American child witnesses 200,000 acts of violence on TV by the age of eighteen. Watching violent TV shows or movies promotes aggression.People want to follow what everyone else is doing so they will follow and may even commit what these actors are doing on the television. According to L. R. Huesmann, research shows that fictional TV and film violence contribute to both short and long-term increase in aggression and violence in young viewers. Children are in particular are affected by violence, aggression, or sexual abuse in our media because of their helpless psychology. Some forms of aggression include truancy, lack of social skills, and failing out of school. It is no doubt that the media that promotes violence and aggression is the same one to have an effect on society.This is a monkey see, monkey do world and people may not even know that they being effected, but they are. Especially with the next generation coming up, they sort of are growing up with the violence. It becomes more and more traumatic as they see it more. According to Mughal, children and teen’s values and beliefs will become more aggressive. He goes on to say that media portrays war as entertainment [in video games]. War is not entertainment and nobody wins in real war while real people are getting killed. This illustrates another problem: can ociety depict from reality and fantasy? Most of the recent shootings in the United States were committed by the youth. Is it just a coincidence or is it because of the hostility displayed on their television sets? Many people think that violence in media is entirely based on real life. They proclaim that since we live in the real world, the media cannot possibly be more violent than what we already know. Actually, it is impossible for people to know all horrific events that have taken place. Also, some would say that it is up to the individual to decide what to be exposed to. That is not true, since you are expos ed to cruel media whether you know it or not. Even on the news, â€Å"Crimes such as murders, robberies, and abuse are shown as deviant behavior† rather than actual violence. In conclusion, violence in media does affect society. It is a growing wave and teaches aggression. Some solutions could be placing regulations on TV and motion picture producers. If gun makers have regulations on guns they make, why not placing rules on producers? Also, parents should be aware of what their children watch.There is no way to be completely censored of the media but it can be kept at a minimum. Times have changed since the last show of Leave it to Beaver. If there was less violence in the media, there will be less violence in the real world as well. Works Citied Cline, Victor. â€Å"How the Mass Media Effects Our Values and Behavior. † . N. p. , n. d. 20 Dec 2012. Dean, Gregory. â€Å"A Mediated Culture. † Marketogrpahy N. p. 23 Nov 2010. Web. 19 Dec 2012. Barbour, Scott. â₠¬Å"What Causes Teen Violence? † Teen Violence, pg 49-51. San Deigo, CA. 1999. Print. Huesmann, L.R. and Taylor, Laramie. â€Å"The Role of Media Violence in Violent Behavior. † 2006. PDF. 21 Dec 2012. Mughal, M. A. â€Å"Mass Media and its Influence on Society. † Opinion Maker. N. p. , 18 Jan. 2011. Web. 22 Dec. 2012. Norton, Eric. â€Å"The Dangers of Violence in Modern Mass Media. † Center for Community Health Partnerships. N. p. , 22 June 2009. Web. 21 December 2012. ——————————————– [ 2 ]. Cline, Victor. â€Å"How the Mass Media Effects Our Values and Behavior. † . N. p. , n. d. 20 Dec 2012. [ 3 ]. Dean, Gregory. â€Å"A Mediated Culture. † Marketogrpahy N. p. 3 Nov 2010. Web. 19 Dec 2012. [ 4 ]. Barbour, Scott. â€Å"What Causes Teen Violence? † Teen Violence, pg 51. San Deigo, CA. 1999. Print. 4 Barbour, 49 [ 6 ]. Huesmann, L. R. and Taylor, Laramie. â€Å"The Role of Media Violence in Violent Behavior. † 2006. PDF. 21 Dec 2012. [ 7 ]. Norton, Eric. â€Å"The Dangers of Violence in Modern Mass Media. † Center for Community Health Partnerships. N. p. , 22 June 2009. Web. 21 December 2012. [ 8 ]. Mughal, M. A. â€Å"Mass Media and its Influence on Society. † Opinion Maker. N. p. , 18 Jan. 2011. Web. 22 Dec. 2012. [ 9 ]. Norton, Eric. [ 10 ]. Dean, Gregory.