Autobiography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Autobiography - Essay Example This lack of parental supervision and guidance led me to fall into the wrong crowd. Although I was constantly bounced within the foster and educational system, I managed to keep my optimism about my future intact. Little did everyone at the community high school and mainstream high schools that I attended know that what they thought were behavioral issues such as acting as the class clown and rudeness towards authority were actually the methods by which I was trying to express my creativity. Having discovered my talent for music and writing helped ease the conflicts within my life and give me a direction. My talents did not go unnoticed in our town as I often find myself invited to perform my original compositions at local hotspots where I am always warmly welcomed and embraced by the audience. I even became a local celebrity in my own right when I was invited to perform at the Senior Center as my performance together with the choral group that I am a member of was covered by and reported by the local paper. All my experiences in life have led me to understand the importance of education and its direct effect on my life and on the life of those around me. I will be the first generation graduate in my family and I hope that my accomplishment over the adversities of life will serve as an inspiration to those around me. I want them to see me as an example of how it is never too late to take charge of your life and accomplish anything that you want to and gain recognition for it. I am looking forward to attending college either at a local or out of town university where I can learn all about the business world alongside the development of my love for music. I believe that business and music can make beautiful music together as a musician such as I must have the knowledge and skill to promote my talents as a business and invest the earnings that I make from my engagements in order to keep me financially secure in the

Music Through the Centuries Essay Example for Free

Music Through the Centuries Essay The period between 1400 and 1600 is called the Renaissance period. Also known as the period of rebirth, this period brought out the inventions that made a great impact on the lives of people up to the present. The critical and ambitious minds of inventors allow the invention of clock, gunpowder and eyeglasses. Consequently, certain aspects of music also changed. Polyphonic and imitation among voices became rampant. The vocals, whose main purpose is to bring forth emotion and meaning in music, were greatly utilized and some pieces of church songs were intended for a capella performance. With these, the Renaissnce period acquired the name Golden Age of A Capella Music. The impact on music was so vast that families for musical instruments develop. Harmony gained significant attention to the composers who favored blending over contrasting. At the same time, texture became richer because bass was registered for the first time. Some of the famous composers in this era included Josquin Des Prez and Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. If given the chance to choose a musical composition in this period, I will choose the Ave Maria by Josquin Des Prez. The song is very relaxing and soothing. It has a great combination of overlapping and alternating high and low notes. Vocals are good and an atmosphere of peace and lightness is exemplified as one listens to this music. After the Renaissance comes the Baroque period (1600-1750), which is characterized by splendid, glamorous and lavish effects on arts, science and music. The canopy of the altar of St. Peters Basilica was constructed and a number of natural laws were found such as the laws of pressure by Robert Boyle. Modes, which were rampant during the Renaissance and Medieval period, were replaced with major and minor tonalities. Basso continuo was greatly accepted and used, as well as the doctrine of affection, which allows the composers to express their feelings freely in music. Composers during this period realized that counterpoint, free use of dissonance, imitative polyphony and homophobic method are essential in their field of artistry. They showed emphasis on volume, texture and pace in music and frequent usage of basic triads and inversions. At the same time, the composers began to explore the inner ability of music to express human spirits and to depict natural phenomena. Opera also flourished because of the Italians desire to recapture the Greek drama where music played an important part. Solo vocalists and the style of homophony were utilzed to help the listeners focus on the melody of the song. Orchestra also began to take shape as string intruments such as violin became dominant. Famous composers that popularized this grandiose style of music included Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Vivaldo, and George Frideric Handel. To name one of the great muscial compositions in this era, I would prefer Cantata 80 of Bach. This song is festive-like with good transition of high notes and low notes. The song brings a warm and welcoming aura. This song expresses a high level of emotion as well as a great evidence of how good and hard it is to compose a piece of music. After the Baroque period comes the Classical period (1750-1825). During this period, the first edition of Encyclopedia Brittancia was released. The first vaccination was made and the electric battery was invented by Volta. Compared to Baroque music, Classical music has less complicated texture but has far more variety and contrast because of the use of words such as pitch, tempo, mood, and timbre. Melody is shorter than the Baroque music but with clear-cut phrases and cadences. Functional harmony was retained but tended to focus on slow rhytmic harmony. Metric pulses were present but were not emphasized. Moreover, occasional pauses and rhythmic set points were also common. On the other hand, the orchestra continued to develop with an additional section for the woodwind instruments. The same with the opera wherein piano is considered the most inportant intrument in every performance. Great importance was given on instrumental music, and sonata form was the most important design in this period. Using these styles of music, several composers became known during this period such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven. The Eine Kleine Nachtmusik by Mozart is an adorable and explicitly unique music. Listening to this music, one can feel the notes freely moving across the music sheet. It has charming and rich melodies that made this music a classical favorite not only in the past but also in the present. The joyful, skipping melody made this music enjoyable and light to hear. Classical period was succeeded by the Romantic period (1825-1900), also known as the Age of Sentimentality. It is during this time that telephone, light bulb, and radio transmissions were developed. In terms of music, there was a simultaneous development of musical extremes. Although basso continuo was totally abandoned, chromaticism flourished and textures were more developed. The virtuosity of the composers were enhanced and they put emphasis on beauty, elegance, and balance in their compostitions. Music became lyrical with dramatic contrasts in dynamics and pitch. Because this was the period for freedom of design and form, music became thematical. Programme music developed and the idea of nationalism flourished because of the need to break away from the strong influence of Germany on music. Fryderyk Franciskez Chopin and Franz Schubert were some of the famous composers in this period. The song of Erlking by Schubert is a good example of romantic music. This song is great because it is very enticing and one can feel the energy flowing through the entire piece. The continuous pulsation of notes gives this song a playful genre. It can be compared to prancing horses that can give one this feeling of excitement and curiosity. With the Classical Music declining, Modern Music became the reigning music in the 1900s. Some of the events that totally changed the history of the world are World War I and II as well as the Vietnam War. This change had a great effect on how music was viewed during this period. Modern Music focused on treating variety, continuity, and mood. Noise makers such as sirens and typewriters as well as percussion instruments became a vital part in this industry (Thinkquest, 1999). The aim to build an unusual music resulted to the employment of tongue fluttering and other special techniques. Dissonance is also preferred than consonance,which resulted to a development of fantasy-like, distant, and mystifying music. To gain an impression of imbalance, polyrhythm was employed. Some of the great composers in this era were Claude Debussy and Igor Stravinsky. The Ancient Voices of Children by George Crumb is a great example of how modern music should sound like. This work is extraordinary and mystifying. The music itself is powerful but there is a haunting effect that provokes the listeners to seek for musical images. It stirs up the emotions of the listeners through the tensions placed on the entire musical score. The musics great shimmering echoes and frequent echoing silence and passages made this song my personal favorite. References Thinkquest (1999) Characteristics of 20th Century Music. Retrieved from http://library. thinkquest. org/27927/20%20century_Characteristics. htm

Child Beauty Pageants Should Be Banned Essay -- Argumentative Essay, 2

Imagine you are at home, watching tv. Flipping through the channels, you see a preview for next week’s episode of Toddlers & Tiara’s. They show the girls dressed in frilly, sparkly attire, fake teeth, fake hair, fake tans, and makeup that could transform their faces into someone in their 20’s. These children are usually misbehaving, disobedient, overdramatic and they are between the ages of four and six. Any person could see that this lifestyle is incredibly harmful to these children not just because of what it does to their appearance, but what happens when these little girls’ minds become tainted with the thoughts of needing to be beautiful and talented in order for people to like them. They also learn that being beautiful means doing whatever it takes to make yourself look perfect, even if it means that everything about you is fake. At the same time, when these little girls are dressing up for these shows, they are being put in outfits that could b e worn by strippers. This draws attention to sex offenders and pedophiles, which could potentially end up in something tragic. Claude Knights, the director of child protection charity Kidscape, says, "We do know that predators or paedophiles continually tend to justify their interest in children by saying children are sexual beings. That children are now given a channel to become little Lolitas, to be portrayed as older, to almost become mini adults – these are all trends that give legitimacy to that kind of thinking." In the end, children’s beauty pageants are essentially harmful to both young girls safety and minds. It may not happen to some, but most of the young girls that compete in beauty pageants seem to have a bit of an attitude towards their parents and ... ...today.com/blog/food-thought/201108/child-beauty-pageants-what-are-we-teaching-our-girls>. "Child Beauty Pageant Statistics." OccupyTheory. N.p., 20 Dec. 2013. Web. 20 Mar. 2014. . Day, Elizabeth. "Living dolls: inside the world of child beauty pageants." The Observer. Guardian News and Media, 11 July 2010. Web. 21 Mar. 2014. . Image/Video Citations -http://susannemoore.wordpress.com/2011/07/30/childrens-beauty-pagents-eden-wood/ -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_7vsWF_Ox4 -http://www.soulfulspoon.com/2013/03/my-take-thursdays-how-to-recover-from.html#.U09T2yjrdSo -http://cynicalreview.wordpress.com/2010/09/09/child-beauty-pageants-harmless-fun-or-vomit-inducing-child-abuse/ -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRSUS4WZO5Q

Sexuality at Different Life Stages

Sexuality at Different Life Stages Sexuality at Different Life Stages Through the different stages of our lives we experience sexuality in one way or another. In the stage of infancy we experience sexuality by the suckling our fingers to vaginal lubrication or erections. As we grow into older children we experience sexuality in the form of kissing and games such as doctor, or I will show you mine if you show me yours. In the case of Ana she is in the stage of adolescence. This is the stage when our body starts going through puberty and our sexual hormones are raging.This is also the time when we want the adults to be the most informative and answer questions that we may have without judgment. Ana is at the point in her life where she is at a fork in the road and is unsure of what she wants to do, and is feeling like she is being torn because of comments she is hearing from her mom. As much as her mom thinks that she is trying to keep her daughter. The next stage in life is adulthood. During adulthood there can be many different ways that one will experience sexuality.In the case of Tom and Susan they are both retired and although Susan is newly retired and has found interest in sex again Tom is not showing any interest. This could be a simple issue that could be taken care of with talking or even with medication. Then you can have the issue like in the case of Bill and being paralyzed which one may need to be informed of the possibilities into how he can be intimate with his partner. It is stated in Ana’s case that she is in the adolescent stage of her life and in love with her boyfriend who she has been dating for three years now.Her boyfriend is three years older and has putting pressure on her to have sex, and her mom is telling her that Ana’s boyfriend is going to take advantage of her because she is young. Ana needs to understand that what was right for her mother, or for her boyfriend may not be right for her. Ana needs to get away from the people that are in her ears and she needs to listen to what is in her heart. I do not believe in telling you Ana that I condone sex among adolescence, because I do not.Although I feel that the more informed you are about not only the possibilities that could happen from having sex, such as teen pregnancy and STD’s, the more you as an individual will be able to make an informed decision. When deciding to have sex with someone you need to stop and think about the reason you are having sex with this person. Is it because you want to or is it because you are feeling pressure from that person to have sex? You need to know what you morally believe in and be able to stand up for what you believe in.As far as your mother you need to let her know and to put her mind at ease that when you are ready to have sex with someone that you will make sure that you are having sex for all the right reasons and that you will be responsible about the decision you make. Keeping the line of communica tion open between you and your parents will help in being able to be informed about sex and the emotions that go along with it. A man can have sex with someone and not have it mean anything, but unfortunately for girls it is not the same.When a woman has sex with someone it is because she has strong feelings for that person and want to be together with that person and because she loves that person, and unfortunately that is not always the case for the person you decide to have a sexual relationship with. Tom and Susan you have both entered a stage in your life where you are at different stages sexually. Susan you are feeling sexual desire again in your stage of life whereas Tom may be at the stage where he is unsure that he may be able to perform.We all as individuals go through this in this stage of life because life takes a toll on us from our appearance being changed and looking older to maybe sexually things not working the way we want them to and this can play a big role in how we feel about ourselves mentally. As far as the way you look, all that matters is what your partner thinks of you and Tom thinks that your are more beautiful than the day he married you. As for you Tom being nervous about the possibility of things not working when you want them to can create a lot of unnecessary stress that could add to the problem of things not working.We can try one of two things, you can go home leave all your worries in my office and just enjoy each other and remind each other what you guys mean to one another, or we can look into prescribing something that will help you when you find yourselves wanting to be in that intimate moment. In the case of Bill he is at a point in his life that most adults if they are lucky will never have to go through and that is being able to be intimate with someone when you are paralyzed from the waist down. With a situation like this you as the individual going through the problem needs to know and understand the extent of your i njury.Knowing the extent of the injury would be able to let you know if you were able to achieve an erection or not. With everything that goes on between couples normally this is one more thing that can and will cause stress. There are many ways that you and your mate can find pleasure from each other you just need to be willing to think outside of the box. We as individuals go through so much as we grow and mature, that we often complicate the simple things in life instead of taking things in stride. In the cases that we went through we discussed many different ideas that can either be complicating a relationship, or making it better.

Retribution Theology

God delivered the children of Israel out of the Egyptian’s abusive hands and gave them the Ten Commandments. These rules were given to live by and form an everlasting relationship with their God. But, if they failed to keep their end of the bargain, God would have to punish them. Retribution theology is the belief that those who are obedient to God are called righteous and will be blessed, while those that are disobedient are wicked and will be cursed (Tullock 2006). From the beginning of Exodus and beyond the Babylonian Exile, retribution theology was prevalent in the lives of Israel. The Old Testament writings reiterate God’s faithfulness towards Israel. â€Å"The Old Testament indicates that God’s law was specially revealed to Israel in the context of His redeeming and delivering His people from bondage,† (Bahnsen 1980). But before Moses, God established an unconditional covenant with Abram when he obeyed Him. God changed Abram’s name to Abraham and told him that his descendants would possess the land of Canaan forever. â€Å"I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. † (Genesis 12:2, NRSV). These descendants became known as Israel and after 500 years of being God’s chosen people, they became the slaves of the Egyptians. Since God is faithful and Israel was His people, He had to remove them from the oppression of Pharaoh. In a theophany, God appeared to Moses in a burning bush and commissioned him to deliver the children of Israel. Once God freed them and provided them an escape route, under the leadership of Moses, He endowed them with the law and His blessings. â€Å"Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. (Exodus 19:5, NRSV). After freeing them, God provided them with the means for remaining freed and receiving His provisions. In spite of their deliverance, the Israelites’ problems did not end with their exodus from Egypt. They suffered many trials and tribulations, but from the hand of the God who had promised to bless them (Deffinbaugh 1976). Because of their murmuring, com plaining, and unbelief, God allowed Israel to walk around in the wilderness for forty years. This was literally only a three day journey. In addition, God never intended for Israel to have to fight their way into the Promised Land; He wanted them to have faith and obey Him. Again, because of their disobedience, God allowed them to suffer the consequences of sin. God called Israel to be righteous before Him. Righteousness was what the people were to be and to do because of God. It meant to be in the right relationship with God, and to act accordingly in the world based on that moral relationship. He blessed Israel out of His love and cursed out of His righteousness or holiness (Deffinbaugh 1976). To be righteous was to have the teaching of God in one’s heart, to know and to understand the things of God. While the term could be used to describe ethical actions in the world, the primary focus of righteousness was toward God, what the people were in relation to God. Righteousness was the people’s relationship to God based on the fact, that â€Å"I am your God. † Therefore, God felt that He had every right to curse them when they were disobedient to His covenant. The first commandment God gave Israel was to have no other gods before Him because He was the one true God. Clearly, God knew and acknowledged that there were other gods or objects the people in that time worshipped. But He had proven to the Hebrew people that He was their deliverer, provider, and their God. The second commandment said not to make for themselves any type of idol, that God was jealous, and that He showed mercy to those that loved Him and kept His commandments. Now, He revealed His nature and how He was to be honored. It was only right, just and honorable that they worshipped and obeyed Him. There did not seem to be any secrets or mysteries on what God expected from Israel. But, Israel just could not stop worshipping idols. They continued to worship Baal, the god of sun, rain, thunder, fertility, and agriculture despite the prophets’ warnings. Many prophets such as Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Amos, and Micah warned Israel of their wickedness and the consequences. When Israel became a nation, God’s law of righteousness did not change. He still expected them to obey His word. God’s national blessings and cursings were conditional as well. If a nation repented of its sin and turned to God, its threatened judgment could be prevented. If a nation turned from God, its promised blessings would be taken away. Many forms of divine retribution can fall on a human life which is worse than immediate death. In fact, Jeremiah made just such a complaint about the punishment inflicted on Jerusalem (Lam. 4:6, 9). One might think also of King Saul, whose last days were burdened with such mental and emotional turmoil that death itself was a kind of release. 10:30-31. No one should regard such a warning as an idle threat. God Himself has claimed the right to take vengeance and to judge His people. In saying this, the author quoted twice from Deuteronomy (32:35-36), a chapter which most vividly evokes the picture of God’s people suffering His retributive judgments (cf. esp. Deut. 32:19-27). Those familiar with this text, as well as other descriptions of God’s wrath against â€Å"His people,† agree: it is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Not only did God operate in that manner of retribution theology, but Israel believed that if you obeyed the law, you would prosper. If you didn’t obey the law, you would suffer.

Sociology in New Zealand Essay Example

Sociology in New Zealand Essay Example Sociology in New Zealand Essay Sociology in New Zealand Essay The country of New Zealand consists of two dominant cultures: Western-influenced European culture, and the Maori culture. This paper will focus on the sociological aspects of the environment, family, and aging in respect to the Western-influenced European culture only. I say that the European culture of New Zealand is Western-influenced because beliefs and values of Western cultures are affecting those of their own society. Based on findings regarding the three sociological topics that will be covered in this paper, the environment, family, and aging, the society in New Zealand is primarily a functionalist society. I have found that in New Zealand, the culture, under the influence of the environment and family structure, fulfills the functionalist theory, while aging implements the interactionist theory. These theories show how the New Zealand culture is one of efficiency, as these topics (the environment, family, and aging) have important roles as to how the society as a whole functions. However, it is not a completely functionalist society- it is also an interactionist society as the citizens are socially aware of each other and this awareness affects their behavior. The way the people of New Zealand behave, when influenced by the environment and their family structure, folds back into society, and benefits it as a whole. These topics follow the functionalist theory originally presented by sociologists August Comte, Herbert Spencer, and Emile Durkheim. These three sociologists had slightly differing views of functionalism, but the main message remained constant: that society is comprised of interconnected parts, each of which has its own function. The parts rely on each other to function optimally, or are interdependent, and if a part fails to carry out its function, it can negatively affect the other parts. This disrupts the unification of society and causes conflict, which, from a functionalist point of view, is a symptom of disease. Inversely, when all parts fulfill their roles, then society would be in a stable, unified, â€Å"disease-free† condition. Furthermore, the society will only thrive when stable and when its citizens cooperate with its collective conscience, or accepted basic values and rules of behavior. There are a few criticisms of this theory, however. Many argue that functionalism is merely an ideal state, as it refers to society as an effectively running machine with no complications. This is not always the case, as society is almost never free of conflict. Another argument is that the functionalist theory disregards the influence of whoever creates and maintains social agreements. (Kier, 2010) With these criticisms in mind, it is safe to say that no society completely fulfills the functionalist theory. Thus, the society of New Zealand is not completely functionalist, although some aspects are, such as the environment and family. ENVIRONMENT The country of New Zealand is a group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, located to the southeast of Australia. The terrain is predominantly mountainous, with some large coastal plains. Despite the fact that most of its terrain is mountainous, a majority of the New Zealand people live in urban environments that are mainly situated along the coast. That is not to say that the surrounding, non-urban environment is unimportant. Only about 13 percent of this land is used for crops, while the other 87 percent is reserved for industrial, urban, tourist, and residential purposes. The majority of the land is used to support and maintain the citizens’ way of life and their economy. The country is involved with a number of international agreements primarily regarding marine life, as New Zealand is located in the Oceania region of the world. New Zealanders, an outdoor-loving people, hold their environment in high regard. In a survey held in 2004 by the Growth and Innovation Advisory Board, 87 percent of New Zealanders consider the environment to be important. The same survey found that New Zealanders deem the quality of their natural environment to be in the top three most important aspects of New Zealand, the other two being quality of life and quality of education. (Ministry for the Environment, 2000) The main current environmental issues that the country faces are deforestation, soil erosion, and the invasion of native flora and fauna by foreign species. Another, although not as current, concern of New Zealand is marine maintenance. Some preventive and restoration measures that the government is taking include the Conversation Act 1987, which was established to promote conserving the natural and historic resources of New Zealand and laid the foundation for the development of the Department of Conservation, and the International Tropical Timber Agreement 1983, which was developed to encourage nations to establish strategies that strove for the conservation and sustainable exercise of tropical forests and their natural resources. The goal of conservation also has economic reasons. As n island nation, the land is one of the primary means to support the lives of the New Zealand citizens, so the environment is very important to the people of New Zealand. So as to keep this stable way of life, New Zealanders under their government are implementing laws to clean up their pollution and conserve what has remained untouched by industrialization and urbanization. For example, as members of the Kyoto Protocol, a contract be tween nations that strives to cap the world’s carbon emissions, the New Zealand government has implemented a new carbon tax for all households and businesses. New Zealanders care about preserving and cleaning their environment because of the role the land plays in their society. They are intent on improving and sustaining their environment because they have realized, just as many other industrial countries have, that the world’s natural resources are depleting, and that if the citizens wish to maintain a comfortable, consumerist way of life, then these resources must be preserved. New environmental laws must be implemented to prevent further damage, lest citizens lose the convenience of having their own cars and other extraneous materials. Kier, 2010) Furthermore, the environment is prevalent in their lives through business, recreation and tourism- it stimulates their economy and supports their lifestyle. Moreover, the state that their country is in is what the rest of the world sees. If the country of New Zealand appears unable to manage its resources and satisfy the consumer demands of its people, it is likely to be taken less ser iously and looked down upon. The environment plays an essential role in the lives of New Zealanders, and always will- its function is timeless. It is the foundation, on which they set their behavior, and it continues to affect what they do and how they live, fulfilling functionalist theory. FAMILY As in most cultures, family is a huge aspect of life. Family, from a sociological point of view, is a social construct, and is a social unit rather than a biological unit. Family is a social construct because, over time, the definition of family has changed. In the past, family was considered â€Å"a group of people related by blood, marriage. † However, many people have family bonds with others that they have no relation to, changing the idea of family from a biological unit to a social unit. In New Zealand, the definition of family has expanded to include not only the European culture, but the Maori culture that occupies the country as well. In new Zealand, a family is taken to be â€Å"a family group, including an extended family, in which there is at least one adult member with whom a child or another adult member has a biological or legal relationship; or to whom the child or other adult member has a significant psychological attachment; or that is the child’s or other adult member’s whanau or other culturally recognised family group. (Department of Labour, 2000) These people, one’s family, support each other and teach each other accepted norms and behaviors of society. Now, there are a number of different types of families, the first being couple-only families. There are also nuclear families, stem families, and compound families. A nuclear family consists of a couple and their child(ren), or a single parent with his/her child(ren), while a stem family consists of a couple, a married child and their spouse, and their children. The last type of family, the compound, is when two families combine after a divorce. Birks amp; Hodgson, 2002) For a majority of the past century, the prevalent family type of New Zealand was the nuclear family. (Statistics New Zealand, 2007) However, over the years, the number of couple-only families has grown the fastest, outpacing the growth of nuclear families, which has become the slowest growing family type. As shown from this information, the value of starting a family with children has decreased as time continued. Statistics on changes in New Zealand’s household income (New Zealand Treasury, 2000) show that, since 1998, the gross household income has been decreasing. Because of this decline, working age citizens have been working harder than before to make enough to support themselves and be able to live comfortably, thus improving their quality of life. From this information, I have found that New Zealand citizens replaced family with work in their hierarchy of values. This could mean either of two things, the first being that family is not valued as highly as work and a steady income, and the second being that the role of a support system a family plays is assumed and stable, and thus can be put aside so that other things (work) may be addressed. All of this does not necessarily say that the New Zealand society is completely focused on work. Based on the fact that New Zealanders highly value a good quality of living, and the gross household income has been decreasing over the years, working has become one of the top values of New Zealand citizens, but it has not replaced the family or the support system it provides. Granted, this support system is small due to the fact that most families consist of couples only, but the members of the family provide support nonetheless. So instead of depending on family for a large support network, lately New Zealanders depend on family for a steady income in order to have a better quality of living. Despite the change in what New Zealanders rely on their family for, the family has a function in their lives. New Zealanders edit their behavior in correspondence to how the family carries out its role, following functionalist theory. AGING Other sociological aspects of the New Zealand culture follow different theories as well, as aging fulfills the interactionist theory. This theory claims that human beings determine their behavior by comparing themselves to those around them. George Herbert Mead is credited with this theory, as he stressed that society is maintained through our interpretation and communication of â€Å"mutually-agreed-upon† symbols. Our mutual agreement of these symbols, which are typically words, gestures, body language, and anything of the like, is what keeps our society together. Under the interactionist theory, old age (the actual number of years one has aged) is not important. What is important, is society’s definition of the word â€Å"old†, as the culture decides what that label constitutes. For example, a society considers physical, biological appearance and capability when deciding who is and is not old. In New Zealand, as in many cultures, those considered old are no longer influential contributors to society. They become burdens rather than assets. As there is no set age as to when a person is considered â€Å"old†, New Zealand society has set a timetable to inform citizens of their age status. One way of doing this is by setting a mandatory retirement age. While New Zealand does not have a mandatory retirement age, it does have a minimum age, 65 years old, which still does its job in telling whomever that they are considered old in their society. Of the elderly population, only 3-6 percent lives in nursing homes, or residential care, leaving a vast majority to live with their children and their families. (Ministry of Health, 2004) This low percentage shows that it is not customary to consign the elderly into nursing homes. Those who make up this small statistic are admitted primarily because of major factors such as sudden changes in circumstances or health (no one is capable of caring for them) and major disabilities, such as dementia. Of course, there is always the choice few that personally decides to live in residential care. This high rate of retired citizens living with their families further displays the economics of the country, as well as their value in quality of life. Previously, I had mentioned the decrease in gross household income for New Zealand families. Because of this, the authority figures of the household consider the cost of an extra person to support living in the home versus the cost of said person living in residential care. In most, if not all, cases, the notion of having their elderly live in their home wins, as it turns out to be less expensive than residential care rates. (Ministry of Health, 2004) Keeping the elderly at home rather than residential care also portrays the social value of a high quality of life. Once again, the people of New Zealand compare the quality of life in a nursing home to the quality of life at home with their families. Being surrounded by your loved ones makes life better, makes for a happier citizen, as opposed to being surrounded by the sick and independently incapable. From this, I find that, while New Zealand families are financially minded, they also put improving the quality of life for the elderly in their list of priorities. The size of the elderly population remaining at home continues to rise, while both the working age and underage populations decrease. The elderly are quickly becoming the largest, most influential group in society. Ministry of Health, 2004) As such, their demands for civil rights specifically established for their age group grows as well. This demographic shift (increase in elderly and decrease in working age population) leads to a smaller work force. Because of these results, employers are will likely need to become flexible with whom they hire, and retain older workers. As such, the New Zealand government is implementing a Positive Ageing Strategy, which promotes the value and participation of the elderly in society. (Office for Senior Citizens, 2001) Not only does this strategy look to provide for the eeds of the older age group, but it also strives to increase the opportunities in which the elderly can contribute to society. In advocating this strategy, the government hopes to put the idea of aging into a more positive light. As many people see the elderly as a burden, one of the goals of this strategy is to make said age group more self-sufficient. By engaging the elderly and providing means with which they can contribute to society, the more they are valued by the rest of society and the less dependent they are on their children- instead of being liabilities, the elderly can become assets to society once again. Not only do the demands for elderly civil rights rise, but so do demands for more specialized health services. I said before that the Positive Ageing Strategy also looks to provide for the needs of the elderly. These needs differ than those of the working age and underage groups. In light of the goal to improve the quality of life for the elderly, the government is working to satisfy the need for more specialist and support services to address conditions related to age, such as hip replacements and cataracts. (Office for Senior Citizens, 2001) New Zealand culture’s agreed definition of the word â€Å"old† provides a means to keep the society unified. This unification allows them, the citizens and the government, to agree upon social values and determine what changes need to be implemented to satisfy demands and needs of the elderly. This demonstrates how mindful of their elderly the citizens of New Zealand are. In the case of aging and the elderly, it is a social value to improve the quality of life for the elderly, and an increasing belief to look at aging with a positive attitude. In allowing the elderly to continue to contribute to society, and live with their families rather than nursing homes, the members of New Zealand society are improving and maintaining the quality of life for those in this age group. This also gives the elderly a chance to once again contribute to society, hopefully casting them in good light. Additionally, these actions have economic benefits as well. When the elderly remain a good percentage of the workforce, companies save money that would have been used to train new employees and purchase unnecessary equipment. Also, by having their elders live with them, families can save money and continue to focus on increasing their household income. Aging does play a role in society, giving it a functionalist aspect, but it mainly adheres to the interactionist theory. As per interactionism, New Zealanders determine their behavior on judgments passed based on the social definition of â€Å"old. † CONCLUSION I find that the society of New Zealand, like most societies, is a combination of perspective theories, namely the functionalist and interactionist theory from investigating these three topics. New Zealand is a functionalist society in that two social aspects, the environment and family, are important to the culture because of the functions they carry out. The interactionist theory comes into play when discussing aging in New Zealand. Age is one of the social criteria in each other that citizens are aware of, and this attentiveness influences their behavior. The environment is important to New Zealanders and affects how they behave because of its function in their society. It sustains the way they live, it provides means for a thriving economy through industry, business, and tourism. The resources with which the environment supports its inhabitants are decreasing, and the citizens are reacting in ways to save these resources. Due to the decline of the gross household income and the high value in quality of life in New Zealand, family has become not only a source of emotional support, but a source of financial support as well. As a couple-only family is the currently dominant model, the emotional support system is small, but if both members work, the financial support is relatively large. Thus, the family is important because it fulfills two roles, emotional and economic. Aging is important to New Zealand society in a number of ways. It provides a way in which the society can be unified, in setting the stage for social values and beliefs to be communally agreed upon. One such value is to improve the quality of life for the elderly, and an increasing belief to look at aging with a positive attitude. In this way, the New Zealand society shows that they are aware of their elderly. This coupled with the notion of giving the elderly a chance to once again contribute to their communities allows this age group to be seen positively, opening the gateway for the rest of the society to behave positively in response. While the country of New Zealand is functionally driven and efficient in the sense that the importance of a social aspect corresponds to how much it benefits society, it is also socially aware, as its citizens use the comparisons they have between each other to determine how to behave. The environment and family are not the only factors of New Zealand society that follow the requisites of functionalism, nor is aging the only sociological aspect that implements interactionist theory. In this sense, New Zealand society fills out aspects of both functionalist and interactionist theory.

Odyssey and Victoria Secret Model Essay

Odyssey and Victoria Secret Model Essay Odyssey and Victoria Secret Model Essay Obstacle 1: Opinions Opinions can ruin anybody’s confidence. Once, I dressed up in my new shirt, but a girl came up to me and said, â€Å"Your shirt is so ugly!’’ After that I grabbed my jacket and zipped it up tight. I really thought the shirt looked nice, but one person’s opinion destroyed the confidence I had that day. In the Odyssey, Circe told Odysseus that all his men will perish. If Odysseus told his men about Circe’s opinion about Odysseus’s men then they could have tried to live longer, learn from their mistakes and be a little more careful. Obstacle 2: Bullies Bullying is now seen worldwide and has stripped away every ounce of confidence one person might have possessed. I’ve experienced many years of being bullied and my self-esteem has evaporated. Many people can’t handle the effects of bullying so they call on a greater force to help stop it such as a god, a teacher or parents. The Odyssey has a great example of bullies like when Odysseus taunted the Cyclops while escaping. The Cyclops felt weak because he was defeated by a puny mortal. The Cyclops had to call upon his father, Poseidon, for help to destroy Odysseus and his men. Obstacle 3: Society (Media) The social media has conducted itself to make everyone believe that beauty is created with adding pounds of makeup and prancing around like a Victoria Secret Model. Cover Girl has changed its slogan to ‘’Easy, Breezy, Better’’ instead of the classic ‘’Easy, Breezy, Beautiful.’’ This is a simple example of how society is changing the way ‘beauty’ is seen and breaking down every girl and boys’ confidence including mine. In comparison to The Odyssey, Odysseus believes he has to be tough like when he saw his dead mother in the underworld. He didn’t cry because he wanted to stay strong and continue to find Tiresias. Obstacle 4: Influences (Peer pressure) Influences can only lead to bad decisions. Many of my friends have influenced me to try new things such as a different style. But, it didn’t suit me so I chose my own thing. Odysseus’s men have a habit of drinking and while under the influence they’d make bad choices. Eurylochus, one of Odysseus’s men, told everybody that dying of hunger is

Valentines Day Quotes for the Single Person

Valentine's Day Quotes for the Single Person If you are single, then Valentines Day may not be the  best time of the year for you. In fact, some are calling it, Singles Awareness Day. Seeing other people celebrating their love can make you a little envious. Even if you have a great life and arent actively seeking a partner, its easy to start hating on the holiday and perhaps feeling sorry for yourself. However, dont be let down. Lift your sagging spirits by reading these Valentines quotes and by dreaming of your own happily-ever-after. It doesnt have to include a knight in shining armor or a princess to be rescued. Mike Primavera You are never alone on Valentines Day if youre near a lake and have bread. KushandWizdom.tumblr I am constantly torn between I dont need anyone and Hey you, please fall in love with me. Emily Heller Ive been single for a while and I have to say, its going very well. Like... Its working out. I think Im the one. Robert Burton No cord or cable can so forcibly draw, or hold so fast, as love can do with a twined thread. Alexandra Penney The ultimate test of a relationship is to disagree but to hold hands. Mignon McLaughlin No one can understand love who has not experienced infatuation. And no one can understand infatuation, no matter how many times he has experienced it. Anonymous A kiss is something you cannot give without taking and cannot take without giving. Theodor Reik The lover is a monotheist who knows that other people worship different gods but cannot himself imagine that there could be other gods. Henny Youngman A kiss is the shortest distance between two. Mae West I have found men who didnt know how to kiss. Ive always found time to teach them. Marguerite de Valois It is the same in love as in war; a fortress that parleys is half taken. Todd Ruthman It is the things in common that make relationships enjoyable, but it is the little differences that make them interesting. William Shakespeare Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind. Aerosmith Falling in love is so hard on the knees. Anonymous True love is when you put someone on a pedestal, and they fall - but you are there to catch them. Mignon McLaughlin In the arithmetic of love, one plus one equals everything, and two minus one equals nothing. Jacques Benigne Bossuel The heart has reasons that reason does not understand. Philip Robinson And when the future hinges on the next words that are said, dont let logic interfere, believe your heart instead. Luciano de Crescenzo We are, each of us angels with only one wing; and we can only fly by embracing one another. Julius Gordon Love is not blind - it sees more, not less. But because it sees more, it is willing to see less. Aristotle Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.

Systems Requirements Engineering Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Systems Requirements Engineering - Essay Example It is the phase that encompasses those tasks that go into determining the needs to meet the goals, taking account of the possible conflicts and specifying the overall risks. A sub-phase of the requirements specifications which deems high importance is Software Requirements Specification (SRS). SRS is a description of a behavioral aspects of the system which includes all the interactions that the users will have with the product (Stellman & Greene, 2005). Modeling is a central part of all activities that lead up to the deployment of a good software (Booch et al, 2005). Modeling is exactly the role that Unified Modeling Language plays in requirements specifications. The role of Unified Modeling Language is to model interactive systems, whose behaviors emerge from the interaction of their components with each other and with the environment (Goldin et al., 2001). In traditional computation, algorithmic models were sufficient for description of requirements. However, todays interactive systems which are capable of self reconfiguring and adapting to their environment, algorithm tools do not suffice. Unlike traditional procedural languages, UML provides support for the inherently open-ended preliminary steps of systems analysis and specification, which are becoming increasingly complex (Wegner, 1997). UML is used to visualize, specify, construct and document the artifacts of the software-intensive system. A software of any nature or propor tion will have multiple methods, functions, interface and external and internal accesses. To support such a broad mix of entities, UML provides different views to analyze this software. Analysis of each of this views gives the software designer a set of requirements which can be consequently forward engineered. The prominent views provided by UML are Use Case View, Component View, Deployment View, Concurrency View and Logical View (Eriksson & Penker, 1998). Use Case View: Requirements capture has two objectives: to find the true requirements and to represent them n a suitable way for the users, customers and developers (Jacobson et al., 1999). True requirements are the end user functionalities desired by the user of the system. These functionalities must be presented in a way such that users spend minimum amount of time understanding it. Use Cases can be applied to capture the intended behavior of the system being developed, without having to specify how that behavior is implemented (Booch et al., 2005). UML provides Use Case diagrams to model the Use Case View. Logical View: The purpose of logical view is to specify the functional requirements of the system. This means that the logical view shows both the static and dynamic views of the system. The logical view concentrates on getting the best logical grouping of functionality into objects (fincher, 2007). The main artifact of logical view is the design model which gives a concrete description of the functional behavior of the system. UML provides Class diagrams and Object diagrams to model

Race & Ethnicity Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Race & Ethnicity Relations - Essay Example THE APARTHEID South Africa has been marked with 350 years of colonialism and apartheid movement which has ingrained the superiority of fair skin, narrow features and straight hair in the minds of the locals (Manning, 2004). At the same time, have a broad nose or curly hair or even black skin is associated with ugliness. The local Zulu or SeSotho language has been abandoned in favor of English which sounds classier and associated with being civilized and educated (Manning, 2004). This, combined with a preference for music that is classic European as opposed to the ‘noisy’ African â€Å"marabi† or tap dance have resulted in the belief that it is more worthy to live the life of a â€Å"white† as opposed to a â€Å"black† in Africa (Manning, 2004). It is not uncommon to associate Africans as laborers who live in shanty, overcrowded towns and are uncivilized whereas Westerners are associated as being smart, working in white-collar jobs and being more educ ated. This racial stereotyping has resulted in the birth of a false ideology that the white skin is superior which is manifested in the mindset of both the white and black South-Africans. The above has its roots in the Apartheid movement which resulted in the geographic separation of humans defined through decree. It was a gradual and procedural process of systemically categorizing humans based on race. Although history has defined the start (1948) and the end (1994) of this policy, it cannot be classified as a one-off event since its ideology was borrowed from the subtle yet dominant arbitrary categorization of South Africans during the colonial era of British rule (Franchi, 2003). These colonialists had already constructed the racial difference by â€Å"Europeans† were distinguished from â€Å"coloreds† or the native Africans. Henceforth, an act was passed which divided the population into four categories namely the White, Colored (those belonging to mixed races), Ba ntu (native Black Africans) and Asians (that included people from the subcontinent as well as China) (Franchi, 2003). This, however, was later followed by a more severe legal implementation of the actual â€Å"Apartheid† policy that exacerbated the exploitation and de-humanization of the local indigenous majority at the hands of the White colonist minority. Social privilege was granted to the South Africans that were â€Å"white-skinned† such that they monopolized political authority to continue to enjoy this supremacy. This policy encompassed all spheres of life including political, social and economic aspects that progressively deprived the Black South-Africans of their dwellings, nationality and civil liberties. Laws were passed in this regard from 1948 to 1958 that prohibited the sharing of land, education, labor, marriage, sexual relations and social services between the native Black South Africans and their White counterparts (Franchi, 2003). Black South Africans were required by law to bear â€Å"pass-books† that contained their work and home address (Franchi, 2003). Indigenous South Africans who failed to produce necessary documents upon spot checks were later subjected to brutal treatment and expelled to their demarcated regions (Franchi, 2003). What had begun as a political oppression had now traumatized the lives of the indigenous blacks of South Africa. This psychological imprint remains fresh in the minds of many such natives to date. However, this was not all.

Project management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 6

Project management - Essay Example 48). The difference between the two is that one focuses on the delivery of quality products (control), while the other works on ensuring that the confidence of delivering quality products is present (assurance). This paper will examine the difference and relationship between the two, and how organizations are using these concepts to ensure their products are exceptional in a highly competitive market. Both these terms work toward ensuring that the final products meet the required standards of quality. Quality control is often seen as a reactive measure, where the quality of a product is tested and screened. It involves all the operational skills and techniques that are needed to fulfil the different requirements in a quality product. Quality assurance, on the other hand, is seen as a preventive strategy. In this strategy, the company is keen on planning, filing, and assenting to guidelines that work on assuring the quality of products (Webber & Wallace 2011, p. 83). At the beginning of any project, QA must be carried out to ensure that the risks identified and specified are mitigated. QA is often regarded as a pro-active managerial tool or technique, which is used to guarantee a certain level of quality in a company’s product. Appropriate QA and QC should be undertaken once a project has been chosen. This is in order to provide the necessary and pertinent information on the project to avoid the risks that may be present as with any project (Rose 2005, p 76). In the case of the UK stabilisation and solidification treatment and remediation, adequate QA and QC must be guaranteed to ensure a consistent and systematic approach to dealing with the entire process. This is from the project’s conception/beginning to the project’s end/completion. It is through adequate QA and QC that the treatability studies, testing and design procedures, and the construction

AIDS is a Mass Murder Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

AIDS is a Mass Murder - Essay Example The concept revolves around knowing that many problems that come into being related to behavior are usually caused by health related problems. This is how marketing is prone of understanding the health problems of people to address the behavioral aspect of it. Social marketing has been evolved into focusing entirely on benefiting the society. It pushes for non-profit based marketing. (MacFadyen, 2003).Social marketing itself ensures that the design, implementation and control of programs seek the acceptability of a social idea or any practice that is focused entirely on a specific target group. (Kotler P. a., 1975). Social marketing has been taken in the wrong context by some people and the confusion of understanding the purpose of it became a problem. Some expected gaining the benefit of products being sold while others looked as social marketing as a campaign that would boost the sales of their products in the long run. Just like commercial marketing, the usage of social marketing is to persuade people towards protecting themselves from health hazards and environmental hazards. (Weinreich). The product is not necessarily a physical product that is being offered to the public, but instead it could be a message to the public to help them understand the dangers of a health hazard. The usage of the marketing mix may be useful in implementing an effective social marketing campaign. This technique is being used internationally by health programs in order to influence the social behavior of the people it is targeting. (Weinreich). The method of social marketing is basically adapting with commercial marketing methods to focus on the social front instead of a product promotion.(Nations). Products are made available to those who fall in the category of individuals who are paid low incomes. Condoms, for example, sometimes fall into this category and are promoted with this method to ensure that individuals are educated about birth control methods and AIDS prevention meth ods. Earlier, condoms were considered to have been purchased only by sex workers and were usually hidden behind the desk of pharmacies but with social marketing, people are being educated about the benefits of condoms and are becoming a product of normal usage. With this development, social marketing programs can also help populations overcome problems and lead of effective HIV/AIDS prevention. (Nations). There have also been misunderstandings among people about how social marketing programs compete with the public health sector system. This is incorrect; such programs are only existent to support the public health sector. These programs, in fact, pressurize the public health sector to improve their services and utilize their resources more effectively and efficiently. They also help individuals who fear going in public and purchasing condoms. (Nations). This awareness increase in the understanding of AIDS/HIV with such programs has started to show a relatively promising impact on l imiting the disease. Now the impact is majorly on increasing the confidence level of the high-risk individuals which would require tackling barriers in communication and understanding. AIDS protection programs are trying to destroy the social stigma that has been created. This is by discouraging people from discrimination and to prevent them from getting to such a point where individuals with AIDS are embarrassed to be seen in public. Destroying the social stigma that has been created is the core step to understanding and assessing the risks involved with HIV/AIDS. Public

Argument essay on Should the government provide health care Research Paper - 1

Argument essay on Should the government provide health care - Research Paper Example This is made worse by the fact that the country has continued to record slow economic development leading to a significant rise in the rate of unemployment, meaning that more and more people will continue to consider healthcare as a secondary necessity as compared to other needs such as food, education and shelter. This paper is a critical evaluation on whether the government should provide healthcare to its citizens. As earlier mentioned, a healthy population is a healthy nation. This means that a country which is free of diseases stands to benefit from its human resources especially in various sectors of the economy such as Agriculture, building and construction, mining, management among others. This is due to the fact that these people earn their living by the virtue of their presence and attendance to their duties and responsibilities, which can be compromised by sickness. In this context, the government should come up with a policy of ensuring that healthcare provision especially in medical check ups is paid for by the government. This would encourage people to visit health centers on regular basis to have their checkups (Halvorson 26). Diseases such as cancer, diabetes, heart infections, and tuberculosis among others would then become easy to detect and control at their earliest stages of development. This principle has been applied world wide for testing and treating infections such as HIV /AIDS and it has proved to be fruitful. It is wrong to find that medical checkup among majority of citizens is perceived as a luxury since it demands for them to dig deeper into their pockets. Consequently, infections such as those of the eyes and teeth continue to affect citizens despite the fact that they can be corrected if detected early enough. It is estimated that approximately 15 million people failed to acquire eyeglasses while another 25 million could not access dental care with regard to 2005 statistics (Halvorson 45). It is sad to

Teaching Strategies and Curriculum Planning Used in Classroom Essay

Teaching Strategies and Curriculum Planning Used in Classroom - Essay Example Charlene`s house has a lot of books for adults and children, and she is read stories frequently during the day. Items to play with like slides, swings, toys, and art supplies are in Spenser`s house all at Charlene`s disposal. The children are only allowed to watch television at night under supervision. Charlene has a stroller that helps her to walk at least once every day around her home and her neighborhood. Furthermore, she has developed needed skills of her age like noticing most sights and color or bright things including an understanding of some gestures being made to her. She also uses actions to bring her points across. On social development, Charlene enjoys the sense of touch and likes dancing, swinging, and lifting of objects around her. She looks at sights that interest her and makes sounds or faces when people play or talk to her. She also enjoys smiling and can also get upset when her family is not around her. Currently, Charlene can walk on her own, eat solid foods and say small words. She explores everything around her and likes communicating with her family through smiles and screams. To further on the approach of this study, I would probably need to know more on how Charlene`s parents discipline her when they want to correct her actions and how she responds to different types of punishments. Punishment could involve injecting physical pain, humiliating the child or withdrawing affection from the child (Atkin, 2005). The data in the study also indicates Charlene`s demonstration of manipulative abilities by reaching for and releasing objects and use of her hands, eyes, and mouth to explore the surroundings. She also shows interest in different activities which indicates that she has a positive learning approach as she pays attention to sounds and sights and uses her senses to explore the environment.  

Argument essay on Should the government provide health care Research Paper - 1

Argument essay on Should the government provide health care - Research Paper Example This is made worse by the fact that the country has continued to record slow economic development leading to a significant rise in the rate of unemployment, meaning that more and more people will continue to consider healthcare as a secondary necessity as compared to other needs such as food, education and shelter. This paper is a critical evaluation on whether the government should provide healthcare to its citizens. As earlier mentioned, a healthy population is a healthy nation. This means that a country which is free of diseases stands to benefit from its human resources especially in various sectors of the economy such as Agriculture, building and construction, mining, management among others. This is due to the fact that these people earn their living by the virtue of their presence and attendance to their duties and responsibilities, which can be compromised by sickness. In this context, the government should come up with a policy of ensuring that healthcare provision especially in medical check ups is paid for by the government. This would encourage people to visit health centers on regular basis to have their checkups (Halvorson 26). Diseases such as cancer, diabetes, heart infections, and tuberculosis among others would then become easy to detect and control at their earliest stages of development. This principle has been applied world wide for testing and treating infections such as HIV /AIDS and it has proved to be fruitful. It is wrong to find that medical checkup among majority of citizens is perceived as a luxury since it demands for them to dig deeper into their pockets. Consequently, infections such as those of the eyes and teeth continue to affect citizens despite the fact that they can be corrected if detected early enough. It is estimated that approximately 15 million people failed to acquire eyeglasses while another 25 million could not access dental care with regard to 2005 statistics (Halvorson 45). It is sad to

What Democracy Is and What It Is Not Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

What Democracy Is and What It Is Not - Essay Example The Zimbabwe issue is center stage at the moment and is a clear example of how democracy can be exploited and manipulated to suit a select few. As a requirement for making democracy possible, a competition was available against those who held center stage in the political arena for more than a decade. The race was carried out and there was no majority consensus of more than fifty percent of the electorate. Less than 90 days later the same electorate returns to power a person they had initially rejected, even narrowly Is it safe then to say that within the ensuing time between polls a massive change of heart had come over the nation's electorate and can it be a majority decision when less than fifty percent of the eligible voters turned out the second time around (p97). To use the nation in transit democracy scoring system (2006), I would give the nation a score of 6.00 to 7.00! Suffice to say that the authors may have listed the conditions that make democracy possible which can be substantiated by several texts but they failed to move me from the position where I believe that as long as we are human with individualistic personalities with the need to put self first, a complete democracy will remain a utopia.

Christmas Holiday Essay Example for Free

Christmas Holiday Essay This holiday it was wonderful for me because it was more fun than anothers holidays for now. I got a good time and especially it was great because i spent with my familly, i am lucky for that because i have a big familly. Usually the Christams holiday is important for me, than childrens go to carols for Christmas at houses of peoples for announcement the birth of Jesus Christ. I like to go for sining and this year i was togeter with my brother and a good friend, i maked much money and i divided in three. On Christmas Eve i decoraded tree and for both my grandparents and the parents. I spended my Christmas in Harman and for New Year i come at my grandparents with my paretns and i spended with they and with uncle, aunt and my cousins. All it was great but with one exception i dont liked because not was snow, i like when is much snow that make the to have spirit this holiday,that is so special and so beautiful,is great when see snow flakes. For night the New Year i got many fireworks and petards, i like this part,this custom and i think that liked at all peoples with exception of my grandmother,her dont like the this because is afraid of that but i think that is for their noise deafening,if it dont was that noise with sure her would like. I think the Christmas and New Year is important and special for everybody,in every year we spend this wonderful moment with all familly and we enjoy with great love.

Impact of Photography and Film on Art

Impact of Photography and Film on Art Photography and film have changed our notion of art. Discuss. To explore how photography and film have changed our notion of art, we must elude to Walter Benjamins essay, The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction[1]. Here, Walter Benjamin, discusses how art changed in the face of technology, and how state economies, the way art is perceived, the impact of reproduction, and how the meaning of artworks change through time, is discussed predominantly in the wake of film. He also puts forward the idea of the value of the work of art is linked to its authenticity. â€Å"The presence of the original is the prerequisite to the concept of authenticity.† And sites various reactions to the emergence of film. â€Å"I can no longer think what I want to think. My thoughts have been replaced by moving images[2].† He writes about the impact of the reproduction of art. â€Å"Mechanical reproduction of art changes the reaction of the masses toward art†, and the difference between aspects of film and other art forms. When comparing the painter and the cameraman, Walter Benjamin compared them to a magician and a surgeon. â€Å"The magician heals a sick person by the laying on of hands; the sur geon cuts into the patients body.† When Walter Benjamin wrote his essay, film was emerging as a powerful art form, â€Å"The shooting of a film, especially of a sound film, affords a spectacle unimaginable anywhere at any time before this†, and obviously influenced The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, possibly fearing that arts heritage would be lost in the wake of technology, â€Å"The technique of reproduction detaches the reproduced object from the domain of tradition.† The purpose of this essay is to take these ideas and re-evaluate them in our 21st century world, to enable us to explore how our notions, or ideas and conceptions of art, in relation to photography and film have changed. Through examining our notion of art and how it has been manipulated through photography and film, we will be able to gauge what art means to us, its use, what influences art, and how we perceive it. Arguably the biggest impact over the last two to three decades on art has been the rise of the market economy. Through striving for profit, the media industry that arguably utilises art has been greatly affected. The use of art has become a kind of dictated president. The use of demographics has largely dictated what kind of films and television programmes people watch. In relation to art, the question has to be asked: Is there room for art in demographic driven film? This can be explored further in relation to television, especially where reality television is concerned. In his essay, Walter Benjamin ask a similar question, â€Å"The question remains whether it provides a platform for the analysis of the film.† Perhaps to answer this question we need to look at other art forms. Music, like film has gone through a change in how it is made, and there is arguably a clear division between commercial music, and music from artists wanting to express themselves. Where as twenty years ago the pendulum was arguably more balanced, with the advent of television talent programmes and their subsequent success, the popular song has become formulaic. The creativity, or the â€Å"cult† element has been lost in the commercialism of music, and subsequently it is more like painting by numbers, than a tapestry of sound. This argument to a degree is now present in the film industry. Film scripts, particularly in the action genre, seem to fit a certain format, and subsequently, one seems a lot like another, save perhaps a few exceptions. Art has little scope for recognition in this kind of film. Walter Benjamin: â€Å"The masses seek distraction whereas art demands concentration from the spectator.† The merits of which still seem to prevail. This leads us to the question, what do people actually want from their film going experience? If art is an expression of idea through a creative medium, then this is not art that is being sought, or offered, as there is no expression of ideas, but rather a tried and tested rerun of what sells. Marketing has played its part in changing our notion of art. It has not only conducted research into demographics, but also packaged the film to make it more fit for consumption by a mass mainstream audience. It has kind of duped us into believing that we want to see a film that we really do not. This clever use of marketing and its power should never be underestimated. Its reach stretches to wherever there is a product and consumer. The driver here is money and investment, and film companies want a top return for their outlay. Though this is understandable, the results are arguably limiting the scope of art to take form. Western Governments may not have been directly responsible for the demise of art to commercial demographics, but by allowing the rise of the market economy to strive for greater profits above all else, ideas driven film inevitably was always going to be displaced to a more profitable, formula led system. In this way, Western Governments have created the condition for this kind of film making to exist. If art is suffering in commercial film, it is growing from independent film makers. Here, it could be argued that the art of film making still exists, where the demographic driven formula of the commercial sphere is rested, and ideas are used to guide a film from beginning to end. It should also be noted that with the advent of websites such as Youtube, and Flickr, and more affordable technology, film making and photography are arguably more affordable to the average person in the street than ever before. How much of the content of these sites is art is questionable, but nonetheless, keen people looking to explore the worlds of film making and photography, are striving to achieve something more than just a home video and snapshots, and now have the tools to explore their own creativity and self expression. In the minds of most people, film is a source of entertainment. It is not a crucible for culture. Most films that people see would have undergone the demographic research we have discussed previously, and been screened in front of a test audience. Depending on the results of the test audience, the film may have been edited again. Art, which is arguably in short supply, may well have been lessened further as a result. As Walter Benjamin stated, â€Å"The public is an examiner, but an absent minded one.† Photography, on the other hand, seems to come into its own when used for its shock power. Photographers have carved out a niche for themselves in this arena by combining the controversial with a particular topic. It has also shown to be an instrument of real power, especially on a battlefield, where a dead body can tell a thousand words. Where photography perhaps has the edge over film on an artistic level, is that there are no demographics to dictate the content of the picture. In fact, the art of photography lies in the technique of the photographer. Art in this form, is what people are left with. Photographers have a freer rain to practise their art than their film contemporaries. Our notion of art in photography is what we are left with when we view the picture. Exactly what this is, is hard to determine, but for all intense and purposes the art is still there. The power of the camera should never be understated. Injustices, tragedies, and humours moments are remembered by all. 9/11, the Tiananmen square massacre, Vietnam, are all images that have stayed with people long after the events have taken place. Art is not something that immediately is apparent, but the statement by Marinetti[3] that, â€Å"War is beautiful†, does resonate in some way. Though other feelings are prevalent to: Shock, fear, intrigue, horror and abhorrence. If a destruction of another human being can be classified as beautiful, then perhaps this is because of authenticity, which provides the basis of value for a genuine work of art. Perhaps a student being unjustly killed, a village being massacred or people being crushed to death in a collapsing building, gives the lives lost a meaning albeit a grim one, and here in lies the art, both genuine and authentic. It is a nice thought that art is intrinsically linked to something profound, and something that represents humanity. Walter Benjamin wrote, â€Å"But the instant the criterion of authenticity ceases to be applicable to artistic production, the total function of art is reversed. Instead of being based on ritual, it begins to be based on another practice-politics† Indeed, politics, in our day and age is about gaining advantage where possible to reinforce a position through manipulating facts and arguably truths. Perhaps artistic value in film and pictures that depict tragedy is lost once the act moves into the political arena, as through manipulation authenticity dies, and with it the value of life and death. One could say that the death of authenticity, is actually the death of art in mass market media. Tragedy, seems to be all around us, and now you can watch the events of it on a hundred television channels. The world wide web which is accessible to many people around the globe, can show tragic events at any time of the day. Perhaps the authenticity is dying because we are saturated by similar images. We are becoming immune to its effects and therefore immune to art itself. We have seen it every week in one form or another. Many actors are groomed in the same way, and so look similar. The uniqueness is lost to the mainstream, and so art is lost, for without uniqueness there can be no art. The Mona Lisa would not hang in the Louvre if twenty million people had there own copy painted by Leonardo De Vinci hanging in their kitchens. To this end, Walter Benjamin states that, â€Å"Thus the same public which responds in a progressive manner toward a grotesque film is bound to respond in a reactionary manner to surrealism†, could not have predicted the deadening of sensibilities due to the saturation of horrific imagery. Perhaps then, Franz Wefel[4] who states, â€Å"The film has not yet realized its true meaning, its real possibilities..these consist in its unique faculty to express by natural means and with incomparable persuasiveness all that is fairylike, marvelous, supernatural†, was more in tune with what film, cinema, and television would become. Arguably, it has realised its potential and has done so for some time, with the magical quality coming in the form of various visual, and special effects. Creating an illusion in this sense, is arguably the art of the film. Where a counterpoint exists, is that many effects are duplicated- The hero does not fight one deadly monster, but five. Authenticity is lost, through duplication. Only where all these effects come together to give us something unique, can art be created. Perhaps then, the exhibition is where we begin to understand the true meaning of art. Arguably, this arena is where we are most exposed to it. Art is all around us and in everything, but through mainstream media it has been removed and not replaced by anything tangible. The gallery offers the photograph to the viewer as it was meant to be seen, and not perhaps through the same eyes of the photographer, but has taken a different meaning from shutter click to development. The art is prevalent, and our notion and awareness of creative expression is heightened. The impact is optimised, unlike a computer monitor where it can blend into a mirage of other pictures. Unlike an art form from civilisations long dead, where the art form would have been created for a ritual, and later as a valued artwork in an exhibition, contemporary photographic art is seemingly created to become a valued artwork in an exhibition. Though the picture was taken to convey an idea or a concept. The gallery offers us art, and to many of us this is the first image that springs to mind when the word ‘art is mentioned. With art prevailing less in mainstream film, can it be argued that it prevails less in society? The traditional journey of an art form whereby it starts by serving a purpose and ends as an exhibition piece does not apply. This was recognised by Walter Benjamin. â€Å"Today photography and the film are the most serviceable exemplifications of this new function.† Interestingly, he eludes that the â€Å"artistic value†, may not be that important. â€Å"later may be recognized as incidental†. Evidently, by examining the past, we can see that art has changed as it has aged. As Walter Benjamin states, â€Å"Work of art in prehistoric times when, by the absolute emphasis on its cult value, it was first and foremost, an instrument of magic. Only later did it come to be recognized as a work of art.† Applied to film and photography, the better remembered creations are ones that are unique in their approach and what they achieve. The finished product is not a paint by numbers affair, and is a creative process from start to finish. In conclusion, our notion of art through the mainstream is diminishing. Market forces, demographics, and clever marketing, has turned potential works of artistic creations of film, into a film made to a formula. In this environment, the film looses its uniqueness as it is made to a set criteria, like its predecessor and indeed, its successor. Once this happens, the film has lost its uniqueness and subsequently, it has lost its art. It is probably fair to put forward the statement that not many people associate mainstream film making with artistic achievement. Rather as a source of entertainment, whereby the only opinion expressed is whether or not they liked it. So Walter Benjamins analysis, â€Å"The public is an examiner, but an absent-minded one†, still prevails today. With the advent of the world wide web, and images and imagery effectively available on demand, we are becoming saturated with images of a similar nature. No matter how tragic, and how disturbing, they have in their own way become part of the mainstream, and as a result we have become desensitized not only to the horror we are witnessing, but the long term implications the events may have. Like popular cinema, their art is diminishing through loosing authenticity. They are no longer original, but duplicated which puts them into the realm of the political arena. The same can be said of the still image. Once it can be seen on websites and available on demand, it looses authenticity and therefore its art. This is also true of a truly horrific event that genuinely shocks. Through this genuineness, we discover the authenticity. This authenticity is arguably the basis of art, and through it the event has meaning. This is particularly important where there has been loss of life, as the peoples lives and deaths have significance. Once this event moves to the political arena however, it looses its authenticity as facts and truths are manipulated for the benefits of individual careers, rather than the common good. When the art dies, so does the meaningfulness of the lives lost. Therefore, our notion of art begins and ends in galleries. Exhibitions, are the only place where we see art for arts sake. From a contemporary perspective, art has become created to be seen, and to convey an idea through self expression. There are no market forces here, no demographics were at work when a photographer took the picture of a condemned building, or a child in a classroom. Just the desire and the impulse to create something from an idea. The photograph tells a thousand words, and the art is there because the picture that hangs in the gallery is unique, and this in our mainstream world is the only notion of art. [1] Walter Benjamin Marxist philosopher [2] Duhamel Dadaist commentator [3] Fillipo Tommaso Marinetti Idealogue, poet. [4] Franz Wefel (1890 1945) Czech-born poet, playwright, and novelist, whose central themes were religious faith, heroism, and human brotherhood. His best-known works are The Forty Days of Musa Dagh(933), a historical novel that portrays Armenian resistance to the Turks, and The song of Bernadette(1941)

Medical Patient Records :: Electronic Medical Records

Medical patient records are organized domcuments created to obtain patient medical history and previous care. Medical records are personal documents stored by his or her health care provider. Each medical record has enough information to distinguish each patient . It contains their first and last name with gender and age. Every patient's medical records are different some contain more information due to their medical history. If a patient has alot of problems and have been treated then their file would have more information . Certain records also contain history of complaints and procedure, few records have photographs with a short summary of what is present. Medical records can be electronically stored , traditioanlly handwritten and even voice recorded. Medical records that are written on paper and kepted in folders are divivided into informative sections It contains medical terminology terms that any person in the medical field can read It should be written in either black or blue ink. Each provider should always document the evaluation and results of every visit during the visit. It is prohibited to pre-date or backdate an entry. If there is to be a mistake written in a wrong patients file it should be dated and signed by the person that is revising the file; this shows proof that it was corr ected.. The purpose of a medical record is for the health care provider to provide endless care to the individual patient. It serves a source for planning patient care and the services provided to that patient. Medical records begin from when the patient born. It contains diseases, illness and whatever the patient tells their physician about his or her past and present status. It also contains lab test results, medication that was ever prescribed. It also contains allergies, referrals ordered to other health care providers and plans for further care. Medical patient history inlcude families history and the status of the family members death if known. It tells relationships of the patient, his or her career and schooling this helps the physician to know and explain behavior of a patient in relation to illness or loss. It contains different habbits such as smoking use , alcohol , diet and exercise. History of vaccination is included and blood test prooving immunity. If a patient is hospitalized there are daily updates that are entered in the medical record; it documents clinical changes and new information.

Biblical Movie Versus Biblical Story

The process of translating a book story into film is known as Film or Movie Adaptation. Movie adaptation gives meaning and life to the stories that are confined in books. It is basically spoon-feeding a viewer of scenes and characters in contrast to the tedious imaging demanded of the reader in the written accounts. What is observable in Movie Adaptation is that there are an obvious similarities and differences with written accounts.Primarily, the reason is due to the fact that written accounts are too long to fit into the usual time runs or that although the topic was interesting, it lacked entertaining scenes that would draw a crowd of modern viewers or does not evoked the kind of emotion that is expected of such a situation or incident. That is why stories taken form books oftentimes were not literally translated into films. Story revision however must be done carefully and with a degree of discretion especially involving historical events.Fictional stories can be easily manipulat ed but true stories should stick to the truth (Dudley 95). The Biblical movie the Passion of the Christ based on the historical crucifixion of Christ, true to its nature as an adaptation, had similarities and differences from the written account. Similarities and differences can be observed on the personality and characters of the Biblical figures as well as portrayal or delivery of certain scenes. II. Discussion A. Similarities 1. Biblical CharactersThe most prominent Biblical characters portrayed in the film are Jesus, Mary and Mary Magdalene, Jewish religious leaders, Roman soldiers and Pilate. In the gospels, Jesus is presented as a humble, loving, compassionate and forgiving person whose origin is both divine and human. He was born for the sole purpose of dying on the cross for man’s redemption (Thompson 1085). In other words, the defining moment of his life is his death through the crucifixion. Mel Gibson’s movie The Passion of the Christ strictly adheres to the Biblical personality and character of Christ.Christ’s is never seen as vindictive in spite of the abuses and insults heaped upon him by the persecuting Jews and Romans. His love and compassion goes forth freely as he asks God to forgive them for according to him they do not know what they were doing. He humbly accepted his cruel fate at the hands of his creation.. His love for Mary was extraordinarily communicated through his eyes. But what the movie had enforced in Jesus character was his unbelievable restraint in the midst of angry mobs.His refusal to speak, to call the angels of heaven to save him, or to his divine powers to smite his accusers was very admirable and worth emulating. Another prominent figure of the story is Mary, Jesus’ Mother. The Biblical movie coincided with the written presentation of Mary as a devoted, sacrificing and loving mother, pure and simple at heart. Her compassion and anguish at the plight of his Son and her willingness to surrender to the will of God can make a viewer appreciate Mary more in the movie. Alongside Mary was the devoted Mary Magdalene whose penitent heart showed forth in the movie.Another prominent character from which the popular â€Å"washing of hands† idiomatic expression is taken (signifying a person’s way of removing guilt or participation of an action or decision) is Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea. Like the Bible Pilate is portrayed as a cowardly, fearful man who cannot stand up to his convictions (Thompson 1019). The last groups to have made a deep impact in the movie are the persecuting Jewish religious leaders and the Roman guards. They can be described as the blatant antagonist of the story (Satan is the prime antagonist but his wicked ways were more subtle).The Jewish leaders and the Jews were portrayed as a group of men hungry to see Jesus crucified. These vengeful and hateful attitudes are faithful to the description of the Bible. The Bible clearly said that they even prefer to see Barabas free, the notoriously convicted thief, than to let Jesus escape the crucifixion. Portraying Jews in such a manner arose protest from the other races, especially the Jews, declaring that it has anti-Semitic undertones (Carroll 2004). The Roman soldiers on the other hand were also seen to as cruel.Although not directly involved with Jewish skirmishes on religious matters, they were also eager to take part in the vicious carnage. Some of them however showed signs of a tender side. 3. Dialogues and Setting The entire movie was devoted to the final hours of Jesus on earth. It began with his prayer in the garden at Gethsemane, his arrest at dawn upon the betrayal of Judas, to his being brought before the Jewish Sanhedrin, his appearance before Pilate, his agony on the way to cross and finally his crucifixion. Generally, these scenes are faithful to the Biblical account.Some dialogues spoken fits the biblical statements, such as Jesus words â€Å"Father forgive them for they do no know what they do† , as well as the dialogues of Jesus and his disciples during the last supper and many others. The whipping of Jesus on the way to the cross, his being nailed in it between the two convicted thieves , the casting of lots of the Roman soldiers are also found in the Bible. The way Jesus was being scourged and bloodied invoke man’s deepest sympathy or appreciation for his suffering and passion for humanity.The bible even said that due to flogging â€Å"he was so deformed that he does not resemble like a Man†(Thompson 714 ). B. Differences Although the Biblical movie has many similarities with the Biblical story, it also had many obvious differences. Many people may argue that the addition of such a scene may be excused as â€Å"Hollywood’s artistic liberties† for the purpose of expanding the Biblical text or widening the confines of the story in order to draw more appreciation and understanding of the topic on hand. 1. Portrayal of the crucifixion.The movie was focused on the final hours of Jesus, from dawn to three o’clock in the afternoon when Christ’s died. The agony and torture on the way to the cross and Christ’s eventual crucifixion was shown in a vivid, horrifying detail: flesh come off after whipping, Christ’s hand was stretch beyond limit when nailed on the cross, constant whipping from beginning to end of the journey, a bloodied Christ’s keep falling off, and a nailed Christ was turned flat on the ground with such forceful brutality sending a cloud of dust in the air.It was the first time that such a bloody and cruel portrayal of Christ’s crucifixion ever hit the big screen. Though the Bible did mention whipping and nailing, it did not evoke the same imagery of torture as seen on the movie. The movie seems to be too brutal and full of bloodshed( Carroll 2007). One reason perhaps is because the Bible did not exactly offer a detailed account of suc h event while the main focus of the movie was the crucifixion itself. The problem may be due to the fact that it was easier more to picture what really occurred on screen than on paper.In other words, the emotion of the moment is easily communicated and understood through the big screen. There is a possibility that such forms of cruelty are experienced by Jesus in the hands of the Roman soldiers for Roman soldiers are known to be cruel executioners (Perry 98). What the movie was trying to achieve though is that the viewer will appreciate what Jesus did for them, and not to treat Jesus crucifixion as just another historical event of his life. 2. Scenes not found in the Bible.There are countless scenes not found in the Bible. Some of the notable scenes are: Jesus crushing the serpent with his foot in the Garden of Gethsemane. This scene can never be found in the Bible (Thompson 1017). The significance of the serpent could be that since it is a popular symbol of Satan, it signifies tha t Satanic influences are near, ever ready to dissuade Jesus from fulfilling his supreme mission of dying in the cross . When Jesus crushed the serpent’s feet, it means that he was victorious over the devil.The scene may help the viewer to realize how hard it must have been for Christ to surrender to the will of the Father with regards to the way he was going to die. A sensitive reader may then appreciate how strong and noble Christ’s really was. Satan , in the form of a beautiful woman, did came to tempt Jesus to forego his mission in saving men for she argued that it was a burden too hard to bear for a single man. Both the conversation and satanic appearance in the Garden were not recorded in the Bible. What is disturbing in that scene (and in many scenes afterwards) however is that Satan was represented by a beautiful woman.Nowhere in the Bible is Satan portrayed as such though he may â€Å"appear as Angel of Light:† It would have been more realistic and relig iously fitting if Satan was portrayed as a male. The scenes on the way to the cross were full of incidents that can never be read in the Bible. For instance, Mary and the traditional Veronica wiping the face of Jesus with a fresh linen handed to them by the wife of Pilate. Although not found in the Bible, this is clearly an accepted tradition in the life of Christ by the Catholic Church.According to traditional Catholic stories the face of Jesus became imprinted in the linen and was then preserved( . The female Satan also kept appearing on the way to crucifixion, obviously taunting Mary. Another scene worth mentioning is that Jesus met Mary on the way to the cross. This is not mentioned in the Bible, nor was it implied that she was there at all. Biblical account tells of the appearance of Mary at a later time, when she stood at the foot of the cross of Jesus with the disciple John at her side.The arrest and trial of Jesus happened so fast so that probably Mary did not arrive until J esus reached Golgotha. In the light of this argument, the much earlier appearance of Mary is a clear deviation of the Biblical account and may not be considered as Hollywood artistic liberties. In the movie the nailing of Jesus on the cross was very brutal wherein the Roman soldiers stretched his hand beyond its limits to match the hole on the cross so that his arms was literally broken. Aside from that, Jesus and his cross was turned together in order to hammer the protruding nail at the back of the cross.It was a very pitiful and painful sight indeed. What was notable and sickening is that amidst that scene is a bird, probably a vulture that plucked the eye of the crucified men. III. Contribution of Movie Adaptation to Biblical Story In the movie the passion of the Christ, the reader was brought into a live and detailed enactment of the sufferings of Christ during crucifixion. Some scenes were added to draw a heightened emotional response which the director or the creator of the s tory believed was originally present in the situation( Dudley 95).But since the movie is based on the Bible which is believed to be the inerrant Word of God, certain scenes not mentioned in the Bible should not be included unless strongly implied, because they may bring confusion or disrespect to the faith from which it was based. Also, Jesus is indeed a historical figure whose events mentioned in the Bible truly occurred so that truth is essential to the movie. III. Conclusion The Biblical movie The Passion of the Christ revolves around the final hours of Christ based on the Biblical story.Naturally, since it was derived from the Bible, it depicts scene mentioned in the Biblical account. However, some scenes were added that can be classified as â€Å"Hollywood’s artistic liberties†. In some scenes, particularly the nailing of Christ where his hand was stretched beyond its limitation so that it crunched or when the cross from which he was nailed was turned upside down so that Jesus was beneath the cross, the reader cannot help but appreciate what Jesus did. In other words, that scene evokes the rightful emotion of gratitude for what Christ did for men.However, some scenes may not be rightfully expanded but actually deviates from truth like when Satan appeared as a beautiful temptress. Work Cited 1. Dudley Louise and Austin Faricy. The Humanities. New York: MacGraw-Hill, 1973. 2. Carroll, James l. An obscene portrayal of Christ's Passion. Globe Newspaper Company. February 2004. Retrieved November 9, 2007 from http://www. boston. com/ae/movies/articles/2004/02/24/an_obscene_portrayal_of_christs_passion/? page=2 3. Perry, Marvin. A History of the World. New York: Houghton-Mifflin Company, 1988. 4. Thompson, Frank Charles. The Thompson Chain-Reference Bible. Zondervan Bible Publishers, 1983.