Friday, December 27, 2019

Health Issues Of Ill Health - 3083 Words

It is important that patterns of ill health are monitored as the Department of Health need to know where to target the funds, and need to know what areas they need to target. For example, if the levels of obesity are rising then the Department of Health needs to target this by putting in weight maintenance courses and referring patients to clinics or recommending operations if they are beyond helping themselves. Patterns of ill health help the Department of Health to see what areas are increasing and the reasons for this. The research into why this happens helps them to know how to tackle the problem. Statistics Statistics are used to monitor and recognise the patterns of ill health throughout the UK. Once statistics are collected they are published on the National Statistics website. It is important to monitor patterns of ill health and recognise where there is a dramatic increase or increase as then the health and social funding can be spent in areas which need more help. For example, if there is a rising problem with obesity, then funds can be spent to help those who are unable to control their weight, more services will be able to be provided to those who are obese. Illnesses such as obesity are on the rise but also illnesses associated with smoking, drinking and drugs are also, funding is targeted at providing help for those who suffer from these illnesses. Ill health is monitored through statistics, reports and patterns of ill health. It is observed through the use ofShow MoreRelatedMental Ill Health Is A Pervasive Public Health Issue Essay1094 Words   |  5 PagesIntroduction Mental ill-health is a pervasive public health issue impacting about 46 per cent of Australians aged between sixteen and eighty-five during their lifetime (AIHW 2016, p. 2). Results from the National Health Survey (ABS 2015) revealed mental and behavioural conditions to be the most prevalent long-term health condition experienced by Australians. Here, anxiety-related conditions were most frequently reported (ABS 2015). Amid the Australian population, those aged between sixteen and twenty-fourRead MoreThe Mental Impairment And Unfitness Act1285 Words   |  6 Pagesbecause a huge number of mentally ill offenders are being downgraded to extended status during custodial supervision orders. Moreover, offenders who have been released into the community’s care have been granted such measures through revocation of supervision orders. In contrast, the Mental Health Act 2000 has helped in determining how an individual should be processed through the criminal justice system or mental health system instead of his/her mental health issues. However, this legislation hasRead MoreMental Health For The Mentally Ill999 Words   |  4 PagesMental Health Brief What’s the issue? The lack of mental health services available to the mentally-ill and the deinstitutionalization of mental health hospitals have created a public health concern. These issues along with failed continuum of care strategies and a lack of community mental health services are major contributing factors to homelessness. In addition, the strict guidelines for psychiatric hospitalization are critical when analyzing homelessness among the mentally-ill. In many cases,Read MoreThe Link Between Homelessness And Mental Health983 Words   |  4 PagesWhat’s the issue? The lack of mental health services available to the mentally-ill and the deinstitutionalization of mental health hospitals have created a public health concern. These issues along with a failed continuum of care plans and a lack of community mental health services have been major contributing factors to homelessness. In addition, the strict guidelines for psychiatric hospitalization are critical when analyzing homelessness. In many cases, only the critically ill are meeting clinicalRead MoreIn Our Ever-Changing World, Mankind Has Always Been Concerned1389 Words   |  6 PagesIn our ever-changing world, mankind has always been concerned on how to deal with mentally ill people. Being mentally ill means having disorders that affect your mood and thinking. Also some examples of mental illness are; depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, etc. Mental illness is huge topic in the world and it is important to note, that, police officers should not be dealing with mentally ill people. It can be seen that there has been a link between police departments and mental situationsRead MoreA Review of Sexuality and the Chronically Ill Older Adult: A Social Justice Issue1341 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction This article â€Å"Sexuality and the Chronically Ill Older Adult: A Social Justice Issue† is published in the journal Sexuality and Disability and the authors are Verna C Pangman and Marilyn Seguire. The article provides an overview and outline on sexuality in the older adult with a chronic illness. In today’s world, according to Verna C Pangman and Marilyn Seguire, sexuality for the older adult and the elderly is a â€Å"taboo† word, and if mentioned, fear and apprehension by the older adultRead MoreThe Death Of Christopher Lopez918 Words   |  4 PagesA lawsuit has been filed over the death of Christopher Lopez who was a diagnosed mentally ill inmate. On March 17, 2013 Lopez died while incarcerated in the San Carlos Correctional Facility. Lopez died on a concrete floor struggling to breathe while guards watched through the food slot to his cell. The reality of it which is why this is beyond frustrating and unacceptable in America is because Lopez s was a sch izophrenic. Lopez was given a psychotropic drug to deal with his schizophrenia. LopezRead MoreIntroduction. Mental Illness Today Is A Social Crisis That1650 Words   |  7 Pagesand prisons that are ill-equipped to address their needs and, in particular, to provide adequate treatment. There are also many other factors in prisons that have negative effects on mental health such as overcrowding, violence, solitude, lack of privacy, isolation from social networks and family. Upon release into society, they are left with nowhere to turn for help or to receive treatment, leaving them as a potential danger to society and themselves. Our current mental health system is a let-downRead MoreMental Illness And Its Effects On People s Mood, Thinking, And Behavior1660 Words   |  7 Pagesbehavior. Many people don’t pay much attention to these disorders, because they are not familiar with psychiatric illness. Not paying attention to detecting and treating mental illness is an issue, be cause it can increase the risk of violence more than treated mentally ill people. For example, the failure to treat the ill can have dire consequences because it can increase the risk of mass shootings. Being able to recognize the signs of mental illness is important to help prevent incidents because most peopleRead MorePrejudice Against The Mentally Ill1157 Words   |  5 Pagesthe mentally ill is a prominent in Canadian society. Prejudice can be seen in Canada. There are government issued initiatives to help people with mental illness. The effects of prejudice can be felt by an individual, all of Canada, and the global world. Some of the organizations have succeed in their fight. Mental health prejudice is

Thursday, December 19, 2019

The Gilded Age By Mark Twain - 1217 Words

Coined the term the â€Å"Gilded Age, this time period of 1870-1900 was first referred to as this title by a book written by Mark Twain. In respect to the United States during this time, it refers to the overall appearance of the US to appear as if saturated in gold and opulence, otherwise known as a land of dreams. However, this was not the case because underneath this initial viewpoint, there was poverty and injustice that lined the streets of every urban city. Throughout this time period, many factors in business and social life of America contributed to the flourishing economy in the US. Things like transportation and technologic advancements, along with immigrants working to gain social standing all contributed to the economy during this time. Although viewed as a philanthropic time period solely for the purpose of economic growth, the Gilded Age produced a great deal of wealth acquired through excessive work of lower, laboring class citizens and promotion of social supremacy. Throughout this period of the Gilded Age, much of what is owed to the economic growth can be credited to the substantial impact of monopolizers on certain resources used in the US. John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, and J.P Morgan, to name a few, were some of the wealthiest people in the world at that time that attributed to the gain in US economy. Rockefeller with oil, Carnegie with steel, and Morgan with banking in the US all contribute to the economic growth during the Gilded Age. ThroughoutShow MoreRelatedThe Gilded Age By Mark Twain1300 Words   |  6 PagesSecond Gilded Age The Gilded Age is a term that is commonly used to describe the time period in American history in which the government â€Å"...was very favorable to the wealthiest Americans.† (Globalyceum Student Course Page 842) This period was named by the famous American author Mark Twain. Twain named this era the â€Å"Gilded Age,† because on the surface America seemed to be wealthy, but in reality it was falling into corruption and greed and was not at all wealthy. The â€Å"Second† Gilded age occurs rightRead MoreThe Gilded Age By Mark Twain1730 Words   |  7 PagesThe Gilded Age was a period from the late 1800s through the early 1900s. The name of this time period was given by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner in their book The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today which expresses this time using two stories. One of a Tennessee family trying to sell undeveloped land and the other of two upper class businessmen. This book visits the highs and lows of living in this age. Those who are rich and plentiful, and those who are dirt poor. Showing the struggle people wentRead MoreAnalysis Of Mark Twain s The Gilded Age1671 Words   |  7 Pagesviews in the United States. Good ideas came from good people, and their impressions and motivations were powerful, casting an image of wealth and awe-inspiring personality. It was what the famous writer Mark Twain called the Gilded Age for its magnificent impression yet troublesome mechanics. Mark Twain would be the one to know of the wonders and friction of ideas and people. His friend Nikola Tesla, the eccentric Serbian scientist, had major involvement in the peaks and troughs of this era. In factRead MoreThe Gilded Age By Mark Twain And Charles Warner2268 Words   |  10 PagesThe Gilded Age The Gilded Age was a great time in American history when industrialization was growing rapidly, and immigration to our country increased dramatically. Mark Twain and Charles Warner named this time of industrial prosperity the Gilded Age because the wealth of the fortunate masked the problems that the society faced. New inventions and corporations led to industrialization and immigration growing in our nation. Industrialization led to the creating of mass culture, which allowed peopleRead MoreEssay about Mark Twain641 Words   |  3 PagesIn the biography Mark Twain: The Divided Mind of Americas Best-Loved Writer by David W. Levy it was made clear that Mark Twain was very involved with all the society changes in his time period. Many of his novels have a theme circulating around the different changes and problems in society including slavery and racism. Mark Twain has been through the years preceding the Civil War, the Gilded Age and industrialization, this book explores his attitud e and actions during the time period. This bookRead More The Gilded Age Essay1094 Words   |  5 PagesThe Gilded Age Mark Twain collaborated with Charles Dudley Warner on The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today. Published in 1973, as Twain’s earliest work of extended fiction, The Gilded Age gives a name to the period of opulence and corruption at the end of the 19th century. Portraying the superficial luxury of Washington and high society, the authors describe â€Å"The general laxity of the time, and the absence of a sense of duty toward any part of the community but the individual himself† (Twain 203)Read MoreGilded Age Essay872 Words   |  4 Pagesfor the source of our troubles, we shouldnt test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power.† When Mark Twain and Charles Dudley coined the phrase ‘gilded age’ to describe what they saw in the late 19th century I’m sure they would agree wholeheartedly with Mr. O’Rourke. What does it mean ‘gilded age’? Gilded means to coat with a thin layer of gold, whic h I’m sure almost always is covering an inferior product. When one thinks of America one of the firstRead MoreThe Great Impact On Intellectual And Artistic Endeavors And Theses Ideas Essay1262 Words   |  6 Pagesare many important events that occurred during the Gilded Age. This age was birthed at a time following the Civil War, around the Reconstruction Era and it would continue to rise until its last breath before the dawn of the Progressive Era . It is the age that brought us Mark Twain and Huckleberry Fin, yet it is almost a forgotten era as the time periods before and after absorbs all the glory . Even though Mark Twain coined the name, â€Å"the Gilded Age,† it may be easier to remember the Industrial RevolutionRead MoreThe Pen Name Of Samuel Langhorne Clemens933 Words   |  4 PagesMark Twain was the pen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, one of the most famous writers of American Literature. He was born on November 30, 1835, in the tiny Midwestern village o f Florida, Missouri. He was the sixth child of John and Jane Clemens. As a four year old, his family moved to Hannibal and he began to become exposed to the social and financial problems of his era when. Hannibal was a small town near the Mississippi River where his father his uncle owned slaves. Twain created his own opinionsRead More Mark Twain Essay1449 Words   |  6 Pages Mark Twain was a pilot, a comic lecturer, a humorist, a short story writer, and a novelist, to name a few of his many accomplishments. On November 30, 1835, Samuel Langhorne Clemens, otherwise known as Mark Twain, became the first man of any importance ever to be born west of the Mississippi River. He has become an icon as the American writer. This is because his way of writing cannot be simulated by Europeans or anyone else, due to the fact that the western setting of America creates a

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

The Bermuda Triangle Essay Research Paper The free essay sample

The Bermuda Triangle Essay, Research Paper The Bermuda Triangle On a bright, clear June twenty-four hours a plane, go throughing through what is called the Bermuda Triangle, sends a SOS signal to the tower. Suddenly, the wireless contact suffers a interruption, the plane neer makes contact once more. One can merely conceive of what happened to those people aboard the aircraft, many may state that the disappearing concerned UFO? s, while others say that it had to be a error. Yet, there appears to be another account, they were victims of the? Devil? s Triangle? . ? It was described as a topographic point where ships sail off the terminal of the Earth, where planes mount up into the sky neer to come down once more, and where crewmans and aviators disappear forever. ? ( Winer xiii ) Even though this country consumes ships and planes? at a rate of 40 to 50 a twelvemonth? ( unknown 9 ) , Ralph Stephen, a scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution insist that? There? s perfectly nil scientific back uping the phenomenon [ Bermuda Triangle ] . We will write a custom essay sample on The Bermuda Triangle Essay Research Paper The or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page There? s nil cryptic at that place? ( unknown 9 ) . If nil were at that place, the unaccountable could be explain and century old enigmas solve, yet no sensible account has come away, therefore the Devil? s Triangle prevarications waiting for its following victim. The Bermuda Triangle/Devil? s Triangle covers about 1,140,000 sq. kilometer ( about 440,000 sq. myocardial infarction. ) between the island of Bermuda, the seashore of southern Florida, and Puerto Rico. Actually, ? The Devil? s Triangle? is non a trigon at all. It is a trapezium, a quadrilateral country in which no two sides or angles are the same. And the first four letters of the word trapezium more than adequately depict it? ( Winer 9 ) . This stretch of sea normally generates just conditions and good navigation H2O conditions, these conditions make it difficult for some to understand why so many ships and planes seem to vanish in this country. The Bermuda Triangle has been around for many centuries. Actually, it began manner before America was named America, it began with Christopher Columbus. ? It is mentioned in the great adventurer? s history that the dark before the history-changing find, he and his crew saw what appeared to be a light-green radiance visible radiation that at times would travel approximately. Anthropologists theorize that what he saw were cooking fires in angling canoes of Carib Indians traveling up and down in the moving ridges # 8230 ; But no affair what it was, Indians, semblances, or UFO? s, that the seamans saw on that dark in 1492 along the eastern periphery of the Bahama Islands, strange and unusual things have been go oning in that country of all time since? ( Winer xiv ) . Two old ages after his foremost trip to the new land Columbus set pes on America dirt once more. He holding sailed the ocean blue one time earlier, noted the air current blowing from the West. This happened to alarm his inter-intelligence, for he warned Bobadilla against puting canvas for Spain. Acerate leaf to state Bobadilla refused to take attentiveness of the warning. From the crews of the five lasting vass out of 27 ships that began their joinery from Hispaniols to Spain, we learn what happened as they passed through the? Triangle? . ? Rain moved perpendicular to its proper way. Sails disintegrated. Masts snapped. Men screamed. Others knelt down to pray # 8230 ; Then without warning the air current and rain were gone. All was still but the sea. The Sun explosion through wind-driven clouds. And half the fleet was gone? ( Winer 26-7 ) . The work forces thought that they were in for safe seafaring from at that place on out, they had no manner of cognizing what was traveling to swoop on them like a mad, hungering tiger. ? Again lightning flashed, but there was no sound of boom. The shrilling air currents drowned it out. Paint was blasted from hulls # 8230 ; by the driving rain? ( Winer 27 ) . Had their captain merely listened to Columbus? warning, he may hold saved his work forces and himself the hurting and enduring that came following. ? Caravels smashed together and sank as one. Those who open their eyes into the wind-driven rain had their eyeball splattered out of the sockets # 8230 ; organic structures were multitudes of lacerate flesh # 8230 ; Mouths that opened to shout spewed away blood alternatively of words # 8230 ; Those deceasing prayed to populate. Those populating prayed to decease? ( Winer 27-8 ) . Of the 17 ship that were lost, no 1 has been able to happen any hint of them, therefore they are considered the first victims of the? Bermuda Triangle? . Not merely did the disappearings addition since Columbus? clip, they get harder to explicate. There are many unexplained disappearing associated with the? Bermuda Triangle? , such as the instance of Herbie Pond. Herbie was a rumrunner in 1931, he was so considered one of the best aeronauts, particularly in the rumrunner industry. On a bright cheery twenty-four hours Herbie landed in a grazing land to free himself of the liquor he was transporting. After he and the purchasers were through with concern he checked the fuel and oil. ? As the three autos move away, Herbie revved the engines, and the plane roared across the grazing land and rose swimmingly into the air # 8230 ; toward the ocean, West End, another lading of whisky, and the? Devil? s Triangle. ? That was the last of all time seen of the Curtiss Robin and Herbie Pond, [ he is the ] first known aeronaut to hold vanished in the? Devil? s Triangle? ( Winer 33 ) . ? A navy Configuration transporting 42 individuals including married womans and kids of service forces vanished northwest of Bermuda on October 30, 1954. More than a 100 planes and ships searched for yearss, but no hint of the large four-engine Connie or those who had been aboard it was found. The naval forces could offer no explantion as to the disappearing? ( Winer 39 ) . A navy destroyer has set times to describe in to the base, when the clip is missed the base radios the destroyer to corroborate where-abouts. One twenty-four hours a destroyer took off from its base, it kept up with its report-ins absolutely. Then one study was missed, the base tried to reach the destroy, but was unable to make so. A hunt party was send out. After non happening anything, the hunt was called off. About two yearss subsequently a study came in from the losing ship, the exact study that came in right before the ship disappeared everlastingly. ? On the dark of Friday, November 9, 1956, a twin-engine navy P5M patrol bomber roared skyward from Hamilton, Bermuda. The plane was # 8230 ; equipped with a particular magnetic anomalousness sensor. A wireless message was transmitted from the plane shortly after it was airborne. Nothing was of all time heard from the Martian P5M or the 10 work forces abroad her? ( Winer 39 ) . Many of the doomed vass go unreported and many that are reported to the seashore guard seems to be kept in secretiveness. The seashore guard responds to many calls of hurt merely to happen an empty ocean within the bounds of the Bermuda Triangle. ? On February 2, 1953, an SOS was received fro m a British York conveyance plane transporting 33 riders and crew of six en path to Jamaica # 8230 ; Two hebdomads of intensive seeking revealed no hint as to the destiny of the plane or victims? ( Winer 39 ) . In the country of the? trigon? more and more planes and ships disappear each twelvemonth. If there were nil cryptic out at that place so why are the above histories enigmas alternatively of solved instances. The topic of this country will be for many more old ages on of the chief subjects of conversation in waterfront coffeehouse and casinos of the Caribbean. What could be the cause of so many disappearings within the trigon, what devours planes and ships and leaves no hint of grounds? Over the old ages many theories have accumulated. ? Theories about trigon abound. One of them is that gases leaking from the ocean underside cause detonations that cloud the surface and impact low-flying aircraft. Another attributes the accidents to place ? infrasound? wave that become magnified in a storm and tear ships and planes apart. But Berlitz advances a more provocative account. He thinks there may be a 400-foot-tall pyramid on the ocean floor that releases electromagnetic forces so powerful they can cause? the decomposition of people and vechicle? ( unknown 9 ) Another theory refering the? Bermuda Triangle? consist of whirls and vortexs, ? it is a elephantine whirl or vortex that originates from a hole in the floor of the ocean..maybe caused by the chilling of the Earth? s interior. When it reaches the surface, it pulls in all of the surrounding air. It can draw in aeroplanes winging every bit high as 10 thousand pess. It pulls down large ships and anything that floats go forthing no hint? ( Winer 206 ) The followings of the asleep Edgar Cayce believe that the lost metropolis of Atlantis is located good within the boundaries of the Bermuda Triangle. Possibly magnetic attraction or some type of magnetic circumstance could be related to the Bermuda Triangle. Norman Slater believes the victims have become entrapped in a clip machine state of affairs, a kind of a funnel that can keep articles in an unseeable dimension for periods before out of the blue let go ofing them once more. ? ? Time is non a simple invariable fluxing measure that we assume it to be. It may sometimes let go of these ships and planes from the other dimension in which they are suspended, and they will return to the infinite from which they vanished. I don? T want to be at that place when it happens, ? says Slater. If It will be atrocious, for the crews will be skeletons. ? ( Winer 199 ) If nil unusual was present in this country known the universe over as the ? Devil? s Triangle? or the Bermuda Triangle, so why would at that place be so many theories about what makes the ships and planes disappear into the deep blue yonder. Whatever claims the lives of so many each twelvemonth, there appears to be something present. ? There exist another country where cryptic disappearings of ships, planes, and yachts happen even more frequently than in the? Devil? s Triangle? ( Winer 210 ) . This topographic point is located on the other side of the universe, ? If one were to tire about straight through the centre of the Earth from a point near the centre of the? Devil? s Triangle, ? he would come out in an country off the east seashore of Japan # 8230 ; the? Devil? s Sea? ( Winer 210 ) . There were so many unexplained losingss of ships and planes in this alleged? Devil? s Sea? , that the Nipponese authorities became concerned and sent out a monolithic research vas to comprehend what was go oning. It must hold made its find, because the it was neer seen or heard from once more. Not merely the lost ships and planes tie the Bermuda Triangle and the? Devil? s Sea? together. ? It is a correspondence that, although coincidental, is more than circumstantial # 8230 ; you will retrieve that the compass does non indicate to the true North Pole but instead to the magnetic North pole? ( Winer 211 ) . Depending on were on was located would do a different sum of fluctuation. ? However, there are two longitudinal or meridian countries where compass fluctuation does non be # 8230 ; One of these topographic points is off the east seashore of Florida. The other is off the east seashore of Japan. So both the western appendage of the? Devil? s Triangle? and the western appendage of the? Devil? s Sea? are the lone two acmes where the compass really points to the true North. What happens to those who disappear in to the Bermuda Triangle, do they live or die, do they understand what has happened? One adult male survived to state his Tell of the? Triangle? , This adult male was Bill Verity told person that on his ocean trip from Fort Lauderdale to Ireland in a twelve-foot plyboard sloop, the hardest portion was being trapped by a lightning barrage. It occurred in the? triangle. ? He informed the hearer. He said that he had neer seen such lightning. ? Lightning bolt after lightning bolt striking the H2O. All snake pit had broken loose? ( Winer 201 ) . Of class, no 1 knows for certain or will ? Until the sea spews forth the secrets of the? Devil? s Triangle, ? there will ever be self-proclaimed visionaries and ballyhoo artists capitalising on the sea? s greatest enigma. Some will impute the mystery to UFO? s, others will fault Martians, and a few will pick up where Edgar Cayce left off and accuse Atlanteans who sporadically emerge from the deepest trenches of the sea in their extremely sophisticated hydrospace conveyance and abduct less intelligent, inferior earthbound homo existences? ( Winer 200-1 ) . ? Human mistake, # 8230 ; weather phenomena, # 8230 ; or whatever else might be doing ships, planes, and yachts to disappear in the? Devil? s Triangle? will go on to happen. It is rather possible that at this really minute some unfortunate aeronaut or seaman is out at that place contending for his life as he discovers one of the secrets of the? Devil? s Triangle? ( Winer 213 ) . When professionals, including scientist, the naval forces and philosophers all venture Forth into what may be a decease trap, a topographic point of uncertainness to attempt to detect or bring out a haunting enigma, that means that something is at that place. Ralph Stephen stated merely his undiscovered sentiment when he said? there? s nil cryptic there. ? The Bermuda Triangle exists, there is mounting sums of grounds and a turning copiousness of theories, runing from hypoteadical to extensively researched. In the hereafter we may happen out what secrets the Bermuda Triangle truly holds and someday be able to explicate how, why, and what happens in the? Devil? s Triangle, ? or possibly one of us may venture Forth into the? Triangle? and larn its secrets for ourselves, neer to uncover them to the universe. Winer, Richard. ? Devil? s Triangle. ? New York: Bantan Books, 1974: xiii-41,182-213 Unknown. ? Bermuda Triangle: Fact and Fiction. ? Newsweek 18 July 1983:9

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

Women in Advertising free essay sample

Every day we are exposed to advertising, we drive down the highway and see billboards, we scroll down our news feed on Facebook and see side ads, and our favorite shows cut to commercials on television. According to Jean Kilbourne, advertising is an over 100 billion dollar a year industry and we are exposed to over 2000 ads a day. Advertisements don’t just sell us products, they sell images, values, and concepts of success, worth, love, sexuality, and normality. By doing so, they tell us what we should be. They set unrealistic standards, especially for women. The women in advertisements are more often than not young white women portrayed as beautiful housewives and sex objects, or in other words, these women are objectified. Advertisements should be critically analyzed because they are one of the main sources of influence for young people and what they teach may not be what is best for society. We will write a custom essay sample on Women in Advertising or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Advertisements often sexualize the product they are trying to sell. Axe commercials are one of the first advertisements that come to mind. One commercial for Axe hair products from 2012 portrays a story of love between a disembodied head of hair (the male) and a dismembered pair of large breasts (the female), that closes with them transforming into the attractive people they represented under the line: â€Å"Hair: it’s what women notice first† (Bahadur). This commercial is a prime example of how women are objectified in advertisements as it suggests that the first thing men notice are breasts and gives the impression that all women are just a pair of breasts for men to ogle. This also teaches young women that if they want men to want them, they need to have large breasts and be overall attractive. Another sexualized advertisement was posted by Belvedere vodka on Facebook and Twitter, then removed almost immediately. The ad pictures a man seemingly taking advantage of a woman and says â€Å"Unlike some people†¦ Belvedere always goes down smoothly† (Bahadur). Belvedere apologized on Twitter because the ad was interpreted by some as joking about rape and abuse of women. Objectification also presents itself in the form of control and superiority, so even if it isn’t interpreted as being about rape, the image still shows a woman being objectified. The man in the image is clearly in control of the female, suggesting he is superior to her. An artificial world is created by advertisements in which men are the most important and it is rare to see a woman portrayed as poor, unattractive,  overweight, struggling, or disabled. This is not the same as reality, so women grow up in a world â€Å"where many women start to feel old and unattractive even in their 20s†¦ [and] where even the youngest and most beautiful women often worry constantly, and cannot match in real life their photographed, objectified image† (Frank). Women then buy beauty products (which are also advertised by these ’perfect’ women) in an attempt to make themselves reach the goal of looking just like the women on TV or in magazines (Kilbourne). Many women spend hundreds, even thousands of dollars to alter their faces and bodies into a more appealing shape and size. There are studies that show a trend that young women start worrying about their weight and appearance at younger and younger ages (Zimmerman and Dahlberg). That’s not very surprising, considering that children too are exposed to massive amounts of advertising. They see the same images and videos we do everyday, and their brains absorb more than ours. It isn’t just advertisements though. Rothenberg points out that, â€Å"Even Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck and a few other beloved Disney characters were slenderized and sexualized†, and asks if we are â€Å"OK with filling our children’s minds with these images†. Frank, and the men of NOMAS, believe that â€Å"massive objectification of women may contribute to a climate in which violence and exploitation of women are both tolerated and tacitly encouraged†. So then, are we as a society desensitized and oblivious towards objectification? â€Å"Contemporary women may be unfazed by the sexual objectif ication found in todays advertising† (Zimmerman and Dahlberg). With the advertisements I described earlier, there were mixed reactions. The comments on the post were mostly either about how they weren’t offended and found the advertisements humorous, or they were ambivalent. There weren’t very many commenters who were completely offended by the advertisements. What I noticed was that those who were offended were all females, and there were more females who were not offended. A study that two students at Canisius College examined for their paper showed that, compared to women a decade ago, women today are more forgiving towards companies that show an offensive portrayal of women. What about those who take what they see in advertisements to heart though? Plenty of women and young girls actually believe that the women of the artificial world that advertisements create are what they should strive to  become. â€Å"There is the real tragedy, that many women internalize these stereotypes and learn their limitations, thus establishing a self-fulfilling prophecy† (Kilbourne). They start surveilling themselves, and become ashamed of their bodies. â€Å"[This] then leads [them] to buy things to make [them]selves feel better about [them]selves and then [they] †¦ become the object† (Rothenberg). They go on diets and when diets don’t work, they stop eating and develop eating disorders. This is not solely the work of advertising, but also the culture we live in. Not all advertisers portray women in such a way. Dove created their Campaign for Real Beauty  ®, Real Beauty Sketches, and Ad Makeover spots to increase awareness of the messages other advertisements send to women in today’s culture (Rothenberg). However, even though these women are more ‘realistic’, they are still pretty women who wear makeup and nice clothes like models and actresses do. It’s a great idea, but it’s not enough. Advertisements need to start portraying women more realistically, as people with thoughts and feelings, not as mere objects for entertainment and enjoyment that can be controlled and taken advantage of. There was once a day when no one would ever have thought to objectify females in advertising, and it may have gotten completely out of control in recent years. Advertisements have more types of media at their disposal, and they have access to more viewers. Until I enrolled in Sex Gender and learned about objectification, I never really noticed it. Thinking back I realize how much it permeated the media, and I see now how it still does, maybe to an even greater extent than ever before. Perhaps the images and values distinguished through the objectification of females in advertisements don’t affect everyone, but they do affect many young girls and women. It’s important that people recognize and understand what is going on in these advertisements because many of the effects that stem from it are hazardous to young women and young girls alike.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Ethical Issues Related to Reproduction Essay Example

Ethical Issues Related to Reproduction Essay Example Ethical Issues Related to Reproduction Essay Ethical Issues Related to Reproduction Essay Ethical Issues Related to Reproduction Ethical issues Abstract The current developments in the medical technology combined with the declining influence of religious morality in the community have made the church encounter different issues associating to life and death, which were additionally nonexistent in the past or were of comparatively associated with varying happenings, in our traditions. It is vital to handle these matters, and provide some outline in relation with the laws of the scriptures. It is not our concern to address these matters profoundly, but to offer sufficient foundation for the ethical decision-making. It has been defined that about 10-15 percent of married couples in the world are infertile, an extra 10 percent have few children than they expected. Childlessness is a burden to most people and couples currently. Nothing could be done to correct or cure infertility in the past, but in the modern days, there are even more other alternatives than needed because of the advances in medical technology. However, there are moral and ethical repercussions embedded in these processes, which makes these practices undesirable. Introduction Assisted reproduction (ARTs) is one way of having children without necessarily engaging in intercourse. Many individuals who opt for ARTs because of infertility and other approaches of curing their infertility have become futile. Some individuals with no fertility challenges choose ARTs to reduce the risk of transmitting some genetic turmoil. However, many scholars have taken different sides on the usefulness of the approach. Some encourages its use with minimum reservation, stressing on the gains they provide the infertile couples and woman who desire to reproduce without a partner of the opposite sex. Those supporting ARTs claim that the community ought to respect personal decisions concerning reproductive issues, referring to the official and ethical rules of individual dependency and lack of proofs that ARTs leads to substantial damage (Scott, 2000). Those opposing have demonstrated concerns on some given aspects or effects of these technologies. They are worried that too much application of ARTs in the society would result to children being products of manufacturers as per the parent’s condition, instead of distinct individuals to be adopted and loved unconditionally. On the other hand, the process is too costly implying that the approach will only help the rich because they can afford such expenses, while the poor will remain with the problem. In addition, the method is still undergoing investigation hence, it is not clear whether the ARTs processes are entirely safe for both the mother and the offspring or not. Connection between reproductive cancers and hormones are known, but women taking these procedures have not been assessed to analyze their risk to these dangers (Wennerholm et. al, 2000). The world has entered into a new age where babies can scientifically be developed in a Petri dish using the sperm of a man and the egg of a woman, then the ensuing embryo transferred to a second woman’s womb for gestation. By the application of fertility drugs and regular inspection, the embryo can develop in to a full baby that can then be given back to the parents who initiated the process, i. e. he persons who donated the sperm and the egg for the procedure. This is what surrogacy is all about. Starting with the idea of creating the child in a test tube and transferring to the womb is in itself shocking as much as ethics are concerned. Infertile couples consider this the best method of having children, but the natural birth and baby development are not followed. Children ought to develop na turally and seek to inherit the genes of its parents, but in this case, the baby has genes from three different people. The other thing is the issue whereby a woman requests another woman womb at a cost. Individuals paying medical costs for a third party purportedly carrying their child, and who may at last refuse to give out the baby, engage in unethical ways (Storey, 2011). Sperm and egg donations also have some ethical issues in that both donors have some rights as pertaining to their donations. The clients have a right to be updated on the disadvantages their sperm or egg has with the likely complications that may result in case someone decides to purchase them. Ethically, that is not an acceptable practice has babies should develop naturally in their initial stages without being investigated for defects and other complications. On the other hand, sperm and egg banks are highly selective as to who should donate them. For instance, in California Cryobank accepts only graduate donors from  some universities. The procedure of the reproduction should not have such selection procedures. In contrast, those banks that do not have restrictions may allow someone to donate several times, which the children being created because of purchasing the sperm may come from one individual hence, resulting to related babies. The difference between ultra selective donor banks and those, which cater for the population that is more â€Å"normal,† put up some ethical issues. Ethical dilemmas surrounding surrogate parenting Surrogate parenting has many dilemmas especially regarding the relationship and ownership of the baby. The most common is the conflict of interest among the commissioning parents and the surrogate mother. Under this condition, it should be clear as to who should have full rights of the baby. Screening the concerned couples for proper identification of the surrogate mother should be carried out to reduce some of the dilemmas. Another dilemma may result when the surrogate mother feels that she is being exploited by the couple and not being well compensated. In such a case, she may end up refusing to let go of the baby and instead seek a court injunction. In addition, the traditional and cultural variances existing in the society has some complications regarding this form of bringing up the children. Women who volunteer as surrogate mothers are considered not complete by other cultures and this need to be resolved because it can affect the development of the child later in life (Storey, 2011). A family is usually made up of father, mother, and the children. However, in this case, the children have different parents attached to them. This makes the definition of a family not to be inclusive as we have a third person claiming and having links to the child. A child in a family definition has only one biological mother and one biological father. Because both mothers have a linkage to the child, it leaves room for the definition of the family to include such exceptional cases when defining a family (Storey, 2011). B. elective abortion Selective abortion is moral because the multiple surviving embryos may cause more harm to the mother before and after birth. For instance, the conception of such embryos may compete themselves for the reduced requirements provided by the mother, leading to retarded development since they would not get enough. In case, all the embryos are left to live, the society should be able to cater for all their needs especially helping the mother and the fam ily in financial terms to raise all the children at a go. The society should also provide basic amenities such as specific training schools for the mental retarded, and support them as much as they can (Bouchard et. al, 1995). Those with defects should be provided with aiding machines or tools that can enable them move from one place to another. For those who are willing, they should also volunteer to take up the responsibility of medical expenses and other requirements prescribed by the healthcare officers. c. Ethical issues surrounding abortion Abortion, for many years, has been illegal in most countries, but nowadays people are fighting for it to be legal. However, in religious beliefs, any form of terminating human life is murder, regardless of whether it is a fetus, infant, or purportedly minor members of the society like the handicapped and the old. Abortion is murder, and it breaches the sacredness of God’s given life. Christians believe that life starts at conception and God alone has the right to take it. Nevertheless, pro-choice supporters claim that restricting abortion raises the occurrences of unsafe abortion, since the accessibility of professional abortion can minimize such cases. Sometimes, those incidences result to maternal mortality. The ethical discussion concerning abortion normally rotates on matters of whether the fetus can be given any rights especially the right to life and whether the woman has some rights over her body. In some places, abortion is only allowed if the life of the mother is in danger, or if the fetus is deformed (Bouchard et. al, 1995). Conclusion Reproduction starts with the interaction between the opposite sexes, after which embryos can develop. Modern technologies have reduced the challenges of childlessness through the various inventions, although some individuals still do not appreciate the God-given life, ending up killing others through abortion. Abortion is of two types: direct abortion is never morally accepted while the indirect abortion, which occurs due to some unavoidable events, is allowed as a way of saving the mother. The pro-life argue from the Christian point of view and have to follow the doctrines, for it is the foundation of their living. Any form of birth control is, therefore, unacceptable as it leads to depriving someone life and is morally wrong in the society. Illegal abortion is also extremely risky as it may endanger the life of the mother, as well. References: Bouchard L, Renaud M, Kremp O, Dallaire L. (1995). Selective abortion: a new moral order? Consensus and debate in the medical community. International Journal of Health Service, 25 (1) 65-84. Scott, G. (2000). Ethical Issues and Assisted Reproductive Technology: Human Reproduction. 15, (1) 944-948. Storey, G. (2011). Ethical Problems Surrounding Surrogate Motherhood. Retrieved on June 16, 2011, from yale. edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/2000/7/00. 07. 05. x. html

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Critical reflection of classroom observations Essay

Critical reflection of classroom observations - Essay Example Lesson aims for the students: The main aim of the lesson was to give the students an opportunity to developskills for generating a conversation more so with a stranger. Specific Skills: By the end of the lesson, the students were expected to generate a general idea of conversation starters through the completion of a specific task. The subsidiary aim of the lesson was to shine light upon the learners on they ought to speak and to learn the appropriate vocabulary for conversing with people under different circumstances. Anticipated Problems & Solutions: As is expected in every lesson, this lesson had its anticipated problems. Pronunciation was the first anticipated problem because the students would have found the new vocabulary in the text hard to cope with. Not only was the new vocabulary posing the problem of mispronunciation, it also had the possibility of making students to slow down in their reading. The students were also expected to present something that they generated from t he task that the teacher gave them. It was therefore expected that some of the students would be shy during the presentation. ... To eliminate the anticipation of the students being shy, the teacher had to make the lesson as interactive as possible and make sure that all the students participated in the activities. Assumed Knowledge: The basic assumption of the lesson was that the students were familiar with the concepts of starting a conversation, especially with a stranger. Materials: Delisle, R. (1997). How to use problem-based learning in the classroom. Alexandria, Va, Asociation for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Ellis, R. (2009). A typology of written corrective feedback types. Gear, A. (2006). Reading power: teaching students to think while they read. Markham, Ont, Pembroke Publishers. Harding da Rosa, J-M. (2012) ‘Managing your classes’ in English Teaching Professional, issue 82 ,pp 22-24. Harmer, J. (2007) The Practice of English Language Teaching (4th Edition). Hativa, N. (2001). Teaching for effective learning in higher education.Dordrecht, Kluwer Academic Publishers. Hebden, M. & Mason, J. (2003).Classroom organization.English Teaching Professional. Issue 28.Pp 23-5. Jacobs, G. M. and Ball, J. (1996) ‘An Investigation of the Structure of Group Activities in ELT Coursebooks’ in ELT Journal 50/2 99-107. Saginor, N. (2008). Diagnostic classroom observation: Moving beyond best practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Senior, R. (2008) 'Developing Rapport' in English Teaching Professional, issue 54. Tudor, I. (1993) ‘Teacher roles in the learner-centred classroom’ in ELT Journal (1993) 47(1): 22-3. Widdowson, H. G. (1987) ‘ The Roles of Teacher and Learner’ in ELT Journal, 41/ 2 83-8. Wilson, K. (2008) ‘Facilitator Talk in EAP Reading Classes’ in ELT Journal, 62/4, 366-374. Zepeda, S. J. (2009). The instructional leader's guide to informal

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Managerial Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Managerial Economics - Essay Example There are several factors that contribute to the pricing of houses in a free market. The Basic Principle of demand and supply This basic principle of demand and supply would chiefly govern the housing market, i.e. when the demand for housing increases the prices will tend to go up in order to reach equilibrium at the present level of supply. This is a typical example of demand and supply. The equilibrium is determined when the price at which the buyer would like to make purchase coincides with the price at which the seller would like to make the trade. Now the value of the housing properties is determined by both the supply side and the demand side factors which include the price at which the seller would like to go for the transaction with a prospective buyer and the actual price which the buyer would like to pay (Ngai and Tenreyro, 2009, p.7). Now when the demand for residence in a particular locality is high then the dearth of supply would cause the market power to shift from the buyers to the sellers and hence prices would be determined by the seller. Thus, when there is excess demand in the housing market the sellers may hoard the residential unit in order to create a price differential and make more profits. On the other hand when the demand for housing is low the sellers might compromise on the prices and it would be a buyer’s market where the buyer would have a lot of control over the settlement of the prices. The demand for housing at a particular area may increase due to demographic reasons as well. Suppose a new industry is set up in a place where previously there was no human establishment, then labour migration will take place in that particular area and those people would need residential investments. Again as the number of divorces is increasing people these days need more residential units separately and hence the demand for housing increases. In the above figure we see that the initial demand for housing in a particular area id D1 and th e initial supply is S1. The vertical axis would represent the prices of the housing units and the horizontal axis would represent the quantity of houses traded in the market of that particular area. The initial equilibrium price and quantity is at P1 and Q1 respectively. Now due to population inflow, the demand for housing units increases to D2. The supply remaining constant at S1, the new equilibrium would be at the point P2Q2. A point to be noted in this context is that due to an increase in demand the quantity supplied is increasing but at the lesser rate than that of the prices, i.e., P1P2 would be greater than Q1Q2. It should be noted that the supply here is relatively inelastic. The reason behind this is that there is a lag in time in between the price change and the augmentation of supply in housing in that area. When the supply of housing becomes more elastic as in the above figure, the supply curve would move in the rightward direction indicated by the arrow. The new supply curve will be S2. Now if we assume that the demand is unchanged then the prices would tend to go down to P3 which is a price that is higher than P1 but lower than P2. On the other, the equilibrium quantity would further move upwards to Q3 which is higher than both Q1 and Q2.  

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Disproportionate Representation of African American Students in Special Education Essay Example for Free

Disproportionate Representation of African American Students in Special Education Essay Abstract In 2011 there is still disproportionate representation of African American Students in special education classes. This can be defined as conflict in the education environment because, government legislation mandates that No child be left behind, yet African American students, males in particular, are disproportionately being just that, left behind. The purpose of this study is to discuss disproportionate representation. What it means and who it affects most will be identified. Contributing factors such as socioeconomic status and race and ethnicity will also be discussed. Possible solutions in the form of equity and early intervention will be discussed as well. Lastly with these factors identified, it is the hope that feasible and probable solutions can be reached or at least recommended. Review of Literature For more than 40 years the topic of Disproportionate representation has been addressed by scholars. The data collected has been qualitative and quantitative. According to Bollmer, Bethel, Garrison-Morgen, and Brauen â€Å"The issue of disproportionate identification and placement of racial/ethnic minorities in special education has been investigated extensively (Bollmer, Bethel, Garrison-Mogren, Brauen, 2007). † They go on to share that the risk ratio, which is used to compare one racial/ethnic groups likelihood of receiving special education and related services to all other students is one of the most useful tools in this research (Bollmer, Bethel, Garrison-Mogren, Brauen, 2007). Sometimes referred to as disproportionality, disproportionate representation covers both over and underrepresentation. Overrepresentation happens when the percentage of students from one group is larger than expected based on their numbers in the general population. Underrepresentation is occurring when a specific group of students are involved at a lower rate than their numbers in the general population. According to Beratan â€Å"The disproportionate representation of minority students in special education is as clear of a racist outcome as one can find. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA) formally recognizes such disproportionate representation as a problem in special education (Beratan, 2008). † He goes on to share the following thoughts and statistics: A) Greater efforts are needed to prevent the intensification of problems connected with mislabeling and high dropout rates among minority children with disabilities. B) More minority children continue to be served in special education than would be expected from the percentage of minority students in the general school population. C) African-American children are identified as having mental retardation and emotional disturbance at rates greater than their White counterparts. D) In the 1998-1999 school year, African-American children represented just 14. 8 percent of the population aged 6 through 21, but comprised 20. 2 percent of all children with disabilities. E) Studies have found that schools with predominately White students and teachers have placed disproportionately high numbers of their minority students into special education (Beratan, 2008). Disproportionate representation not only speaks to the overrepresentation of African-American students labeled as learning disabled, but also to the gross lack of African-American students being labeled gifted. Bonner and Jennings share â€Å"According to the literature, African American males have been disproportionately place in special education classrooms and underrepresented in gifted and talented programs (Fred A. Bonner I. M. , 2007). † Bonner and Jennings go on to say that â€Å"The story of the African American male in gifted and talented programs is one of widespread underrepresentation (Fred A. Bonner I. M. , 2007). † Bonner and Jennings further share that lack of instructor referrals, substandard performance on standardized norm-referenced test scores and student and family choice contributed to the underrepresentation of African American males in gifted programs (Fred A. Bonner I. M. , 2007). The  authors continue to expound on this phenomenon by stating â€Å"Due to the potential for underachievement among African American students in first, second, and third grade, a time in which most identification processes for these programs are implemented, these students often go unidentified (Fred A. Bonner I. M. , 2007). † Artiles and Bal maintain that African American males and Native American students appear to be the most affected groups at the national level (Artiles Bal, 2008). While disproportionate representation has touched all minority groups, African American males in particular have continually been identified as the most over represented population in Special education. Several factors are said to contribute to the disproportionate representation of minority students in Special Education. Yolanda Anyon shares: Barton and Tomlinson (1981) argue that the identification of students with learning disabilities and subsequent placement in special education is a form of social control to minimize problem behaviors in mainstream classrooms. Other researchers have documented that teachers and principals refer children for special needs assessment who are causing the biggest problems in the classroom be it passivity, failure to learn material or aggressiveness (Anyon, 2009). She further goes on to share â€Å"in this way, special education primarily serves social control functions in schools as it legitimizes the removal of â€Å"deviant† students from regular classrooms (Anyon, 2009). † Socioeconomic status is said to increase the likelihood that student will be placed in special education. It is also said that race and ethnicity of students can be a large variable that causes excessive amounts of students of color to be referred and placed in special education. Skiba and fellow scholars share: Among the most longstanding and intransigent issues in the field, the disproportionate representation of minority students in special education programs has its roots in a long history of educational segregation and discrimination. Although national estimates of disproportionality have been consistent over time, state and local estimates may show varying patterns of disproportionality. A number of factors may contribute to disproportionality, including test bias, poverty, special education processes, inequity in general education, issues of behavior management, and cultural mismatch/cultural reproduction (Skiba, et al. , 2008). They further go on to say that â€Å"special education was born out of, and owes a debt to the civil rights movement†, alluding to the fact that both the inspiration for and the strategies used by those whose work resulted in the initial national special education legislation came from the civil rights movement (Skiba, et al., 2008). They also maintain that â€Å"concerns about racial inequity were central to litigation that led to the promulgation of the first special education legislation (Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, IDEA) (Skiba, et al. , 2008). The scholars aptly point out the irony of racial disparity rates of special education service remaining one of the key indicators of inequity in our national educational system (Skiba, et al. , 2008). An additional contributing factor that they share is â€Å"A second factor that might contribute to a disproportionate rate of representation in special education among students of color are sociodemographic factors associated with economic disadvantage (Skiba, et al. , 2008). Skiba, et al, give this insight into the role of poverty in disproportionate representation: In order to directly assess the contribution of poverty to the disproportionate representation of African American students in special education, Skiba et al.(2005) studied the relationship of special education enrollment, race, socioeconomic and demographic factors, and test score outcomes in a sample of 295 school districts in a Midwestern state. Across ordinary least squares and logistic regression equations, poverty made a weak, inconsistent, and often counter-intuitive contribution to the prediction of disproportionality across a number of disability categories (Skiba, et al. , 2008). While there are no definitive causes of the issue of disproportionate representation the above named ones come up in study after study which lends ample credence to them as real and possibly surmountable issues. â€Å"It might well be expected that the students whose educational opportunities are limited will be more likely to be referred for special education services (Skiba, et al. , 2008). Another point expressed by Skiba and fellow scholars is: Of the possible links between general education practices and special education disproportionality, however, only the proportion of culturally consonant teachers in the teaching force has been directly investigaed. Serwatka, Derring and Grant (1995) found that as the percentage of African American teachers increased, overrepresentation of African American student in the emotionally distrubed category decreased. Similarly, in a cross-state comparison, Ladner and Hammons (2001) found that the discrepancy of African American and white rates of eligibility for special education rose in direct proportion to the percentage of the teaching force that was White, especially in districts with a White percentage of more than 60% (Skiba, et al., 2008). Just as there are no definitive causes identified, there are not any fool proof solutions laid out for correcting the issue of disproportionate representation. There are varying thoughts about strategies such as the following: If disproportionality in special education is multiply determined, no single intervention strategy can be universally relied on to reduce racial disparity. Rather, complex causality clearly suggests the need for comprehensive and multifaceted assessment and intervention plans. In particular, the possibility that the determinants of disproportionality are locale-specific suggests that remediation plans must be driven by local needs assessment capable of identifying unique local patterns (Skiba, et al. , 2008). Early intervention approaches are said to possibly reduce disparities to the level that economic disadvantage is at work (Skiba, et al. , 2008). â€Å"Early intervention would not be expected to address systemic failures or bias and would hence fail to address disproportionality that is due to institutional inequity (Skiba, et al. , 2008). † Researchers are beginning to look at the problem of disproportionate representation within the arena of equity studies (Artiles Bal, 2008). According to the authors â€Å"researchers, practitioners, and policy makers continue to debate this problem and critical questions remain unanswered (Artiles Bal, 2008). They go on to question the ability to, or lack thereof, explain how the phenomenon of disproportionate representation consistently remains in existence. Artiles and Bal have raised the following questions â€Å"How have researchers approached the study of this problem, and what are some key gaps in this knowledge base? Does the problem exist in the United States only (Artiles Bal, 2008)? † These scholars have chosen to conduct research on â€Å"the problem of disproportionate representation as related to equity concerns in educational systems’ responses to difference (Artiles Bal, 2008). Artiles and Bal share the following about equity in the United States educational system: Educational equity in the United States has aimed historically to enhance access and participation for students considered different. For instance, programs were created to address the educational needs of students who have different ability levels or whose proficiency in English is limited (i. e. , special education and bilingual education, respectively) (Artiles Bal, 2008). They further go on to share that special education in the United States was created as an answer to some of the issues of difference: The creation of special education was a landmark achievement in the attention of students considered different on the basis of ability. Special education legislation entitled these students to free and appropriate public education, individualized educational programs, due process, and education in the least restrictive environment. Interestingly, an increasingly louder debate has emerged in the past 40 years in the United States about the disproportionate representation of ethnic minority and poor students in special education (Artiles Bal, 2008). Laws that require states report placement data as it pertains to socioeconomic and racial lines to stay abreast of the problem of disproportionality have been imposed. States and school districts that find themselves faced with the issue of disproportionate representation are required to take remedial actions to address it (Artiles Bal, 2008). If equity is the solution and special education was designed to level the playing field, why then the issue of disproportionality? This same question is posed by Artiles and Bal, â€Å"But why then is placement in programs that purportedly address equity issues for students with different ability levels considered a problem when it involves other groups of different students, namely, ethnic minorities and poor students (Artiles Bal, 2008). † While that is a very rational and valid line of questioning, it is far too complicated to answer without factoring in the historical issues that plagued African American students long before special education legislation was implemented. Conclusions Disproportionate representation of African Americans in special education is not a new phenomenon. It has been studied and researched for well over 40 years. Whether it is referred to as disproportionality or disproportionate representation, the terminology covers both over and under representation within a group. While most of the research addresses overrepresentation, there is some out there that speaks to the underrepresentation of African Americans in gifted programs, more specifically African American males. There are no concrete reasons for this phenomenon, but several different factors have been considered contributing factors. Socioeconomic status and race and ethnicity are often the most discussed contributing factors. Special education having roots that stem back to civil rights legislation lends a great amount of credence to the belief that those two factors are probably the leading cause of disproportionate representation. The research shared a very specific accusation of how racism plays a very real part in disproportionate representation. Examples to that end were that studies have found that schools with predominately White students and teachers have placed disproportionately high numbers of their minority students into special education and African-American children are identified as having mental retardation and emotional disturbance at rates greater than their White counterparts. In regards to equity Skiba and fellow scholars give this advice to educators in regards to making effective interventions: Thus, educators and policy makers seeking effective interventions to close special education equity gaps must be willing to openly discuss and address issues of race, ethnicity, gender, class, culture, and language. Moreover, processes chosen to address inequity must have at their core a mechanism to ensure that the perspectives of all stakeholders, especially those of historically marginalized groups who have been the recipients of unequal treatment, are represented when interpreting data on racial and ethnic disparities (Skiba, et al. , 2008). As educators we must take heed to the information shared about disproportionality. Though this information is not new, it must continue to be shared as if it was. While this resarch was specifically about African Americans, other minorities are affected by disproportionate representation. I will be more cognizant of how I determine whether or not to suggest a student be tested for special education services. It is so easy to refer them, before taking the time to investigate the reasons behind the undesireable behavior. Works Cited Anyon, Y. (2009). Social Theories of Learning Disabilities: Understanding Racial Disproportionality in Special Education. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 44-57. Artiles, A. J. , Bal, A. (2008). The Next Generation of Disproportionality Research Toward a Comparative Model in the Study of Equity in Ability Differences. The Journal of Special Education, 4-14. Beratan, G. D. (2008). The song remains the same: Transposition and the disproportionate representation of minority students in special education. Race, Ethnicity and Education, 337-354. Bollmer, J. , Bethel, J. , Garrison-Mogren, R. , Brauen, M.(2007). Using the Risk Ratio to Asess Racial/Ethnic Disproportionality in Special Education at the School-District Level. The Journal of Special Education, 186-198. Fred A. Bonner, I. M. (2007). Never Too Young to Lead: Gifted African American Males in Elementary School. Gifted Child Today, 31-35. Skiba, R. J. , Simmons, A. B. , Ritter, S. , Gibb, A. C. , Rausch, M. K. , Cuadrado, J. , et al. (2008). Achieving Equity in Special Education: History, Status, and Current Challenges. Exceptional Children, 264-288.

Friday, November 15, 2019

Concept Of E Commerce It Information Technology Essay

Concept Of E Commerce It Information Technology Essay You are required to choose an E-commerce website and asses it in terms of seven unique features. Which of the features does the site implement well and which feature poorly in your opinion. Provide your detailed findings and suggestion for improvement? Assume that, you had bought two products through online. Explain why you choose to buy that product through online, pros and cons of online purchase. Table of content Introduction Nowadays most of the peoples in this generation will spend most of the time sitting in front of computer and online. At this moment, most of the peoples will use e-commerce website purchase things rather than go shopping mall and purchases things. In this question , students are required to choose an E-commerce website and assess it in term of seven unique features and explain in details which are the features are implement well and which features poorly in our own opinion, not only that, there are also required to give suggestion the improvement for the poorly features. The seven features of e-commerce such as, Ubiquity, Global Reach, Universal Standards, Richness, Interactivity, Information Density, Personalization and customization. Most of the e-commerce website will include those seven unique features, just a problem between which is good and bad. In order to have a successful e-commerce website, these seven unique features are important. Main body Question 1 From the early and humble beginnings, where peoples are still using the traditional transaction and most of the companies does not have their own website, but nowadays e-commerce sees billions traded annually and not only small companies, even large companies also could not afford without a website. Indeed, for many companies, their presence on the Internet is their window to the world and they are also considering as e-commerce businesses. Actually what is e-commerce? E-commerce also called as Electronic Commerce. E-commerce is a type of industry where purchasing and selling of products or services are conducted through over the internet and other computer network. E-commerce are involves digitally enabled commercial transactions between and among organizations and individuals. There are two categories e-commerce which are classified by nature of market relationship and classified by type of technologies used. In classified by nature of market relationship are included B2C (Business -to-Consumer), B2B (Business-to-Business) and C2C (Consumer-to-Consumer). Classified by type of technologies used are included P2P (Peer-to-Peer) and M-Commerce (Mobile Commerce). Require having a successful e-commerce website, these are the seven unique features for the e-commerce website is needed. These are the seven unique features for e-commerce, Ubiquity, Global Reach, Universal Standards, Richness, Interactivity, Information Density, Personalization and customization. Ubiquity It is available everywhere such as work, home and any other places via mobile device. When anytime Marketplace is created or extended beyond traditional boundaries and removed from a geographic location. Shopping can take place anywhere. It can reduce costs and save time such as parking fees and wasting time purposely go to the shopping mall and spend time to search for the items. It can make more convenience for customer. Global reach Total numbers of consumers or users an e-commerce business can have. Technology Dimension Business Significance Technology reaches beyond national boundaries Commerce is enabled across cultural and national boundaries seamlessly and without modification. Marketplace includes potentially billions of consumers and millions of businesses worldwide. The next one is universal standard. Universal standard Universal standard is about to lowers market entry for merchants and search costs for consumers. It can reduce product search cost and by creating a single, one world market place, where price discovery becomes faster, simpler and more accurate. Easily to get the information about all the suppliers, prices, and delivery terms of a specific product anywhere in the world. Richness It can provide information richness which is more powerful selling environment for consumers. E-Commerce technologies have changed the traditional tradeoff between reach and richness with audio, video and text message. Instead of using traditional technologies like TV, radio and magazines, most of the peoples will rather use Internet and web get the marketing messages. In the internet and web are able to provide millions rich marketing messages for audiences. Interactivity Consumers or users can be interacted the content in a dialogue that dynamically adjusts the experience to the individual, and make the consumer a co- participant in the process of delivering goods to the market. It is quite similar to face-to-face experience. Comparing to the TV or radio, it is on a massive global scale. Information density Information density amount and quality of information available to all market participants, it can reduces information cost and raises quality Information processing, storage and communication costs drop dramatically while accuracy and timeliness improve greatly. Information becomes plentiful, cheap and accurate. For example, price discrimination in which a merchant can sell the same goods to different targeted market with a different price. Personalization or customization In this features are allow consumers personalized messages to be delivered to individuals as well as groups personalization of marketing messages and also allow consumers customize the products and services based on individual characteristics and consumers needed. In this question are required to choose an e-commerce website, the e-commerce website that are going to choose will be www.ebay.com.my. What is eBay? EBay was founded since 1995 which is an American multinational internet consumer-to-consumer corporation, headquartered in San Jose, California. It was started as a place to trade collectables and hard-to-find items. Today eBay is a global marketplace where businesses and individuals can buy and sell practically anything, but mostly eBay is more on a type of e-commerce which is consumer-to-consumer. Peoples can get information without register in the website, need to register only when peoples wants to buy or sell the products. Peoples can buy what they want in eBay, it is because for everyone. They can buy the things that they want with a great price. These are the example items can found in eBay, electronics, designer fashion, your favorite toy, rare antiques, new cars and furniture. When peoples are looking for those items, they will look for eBay website. eBay also is a best place for peoples to sell things, millions of peoples in this world will just sell things on eBay every day for make some extra money, clear up clutter around the house, start their own business and jump-start holiday savings. At the same time, people s are no need to worry about the products that had been sold will go wrong, eBay will have many programs in place to help you trade with peace of mind, such as feedback system, buyer protection program and dedicated security center. EBay is one of the e-commerce website including all the seven unique features of e-commerce technology and significance. But eBay are not perfectly can do well with all the seven unique features; it has great and poor too. These are the seven unique features of e-commerce will list in sequence from greatest to the poorest. Ubiquity will be the greatest for eBay; it is because eBay are available to everywhere as long as you can online then you can get the information of the products that you looking for. The second will be global reach; eBay is available for everyone in the world, so the number of the users or consumers will be a lot, it is under a global reach level, but there might be some problem that can be reconsider is the users or consumers will be too many and it is hard to be maintain the users or consumers, the marketplace is too wide. Thirdly, universal standard, peoples can get lower cost on eBay and easily to find supplier on eBay, but the price is not fixed and some more consumers have to pay more for the eBay commission. Richness will be in the middle, eBay will just provide information with text and photos, the information sometime will not be so accurate, in order to improve the richness in eBay, it should require sellers to provide a video for their products to make the products information more accurate and clear. EBay quite poor in interactivity, it is hard to have a contact with the sellers; eBay should prepare a more convenience program that allow consumers to contact sellers instead of just reach messages to the sellers. EBay very poor in personalization and customization, it is because eBay is consumer-to-consumer method, so the products sell in eBay mostly is second hand, it is very hard to customize the products for the consumers, they should prepare a form in the website for consumers to write down what they want to change for the products. Lastly, this is the poorest features for the eBay, information density, better do not expect the products will be quality, the items that sell in eBay most probably are second hand or third hand or even more, eBay should compulsory to the seller to have warranty for their products, and improve the limitation, set limited years for the products, for example, if a products that had been more than 10years, do not allow the seller to put in the eBay and sell it. In my opinion, the most important is about the information density feature for eBay, if they can give warrantee for the quality of the products, this warrantee will enroll more peoples use eBay to sell or buy things. Conclusion In conclusion, nothing is perfect in this world, so every e-commerce website will have well and bad, does not have any e-commerce website can fully do well for all the seven unique features. They can only do is keep ask for feedback and suggestion from the consumers or users and keep try to improve the weakness to be better and better, to have a better quality of the website, the more users and consumers only will be enrolled. Especially, eBay is one of the e-commerce website that for the whole world with consumer-to-consumer method to serve consumers, although it is quite convenience to get the products information for peoples needed, but peoples who going to buy products from eBay better do not give too much expectation for the products quality, must be aware of it, it is because the products might not be exactly look as better as the photo provided in the website. Introduction In this question I am required to assume myself is a consumer of online purchase. I had bought two products through the online purchasing website. Why I want to buy those products through online? Why I dont want to go to the shop and buy those products? In this generation online purchase are very common. In this question I do not only have to explain the reason why I want to buy those products from website, I also have to explain in details about the pros and cons of online purchase, which is the advantages and disadvantages of online purchases. Actually, there are not only advantages for online purchase, behind every advantage will also have disadvantage. Although nowadays online purchase are very convenience and more save cost, but there are also certain issues happens we have to be aware, maybe those issues happen will make our money lost and our privacy will be leak out. The answer will telling about we should aware and how to avoid our privacy information and how the hacker get our information and where they get from. Main body Question 2 The two products that I will choose to buy through online are desktop computer and mobile phone. Why choose online purchasing? It is quite convenience comparing to go to the shopping mall or those device shop for research, their prices and the equipment. First of all is about why I will choose to buy desktop computer through online purchasing. Buy a desktop computer with a reasonable and even cheaper price and also specialist for games is not that easy, have to do search for many information and price list. If buying through online, no need to waste my time go to the shopping mall and computer center look for the information and prices, it makes me save time so I can take more time to check for the other brands of the desktop computer price and save cost, I no need to pay the extra parking fees at the computer shops and shopping mall, can just take the money that had saved to assembly more equipment for my desktop computer in order to make it run more faster because it is buy for gaming. Through the online purchasing website can get all the information about the desktop computer including prices. For example, buying a dell desktop, I can just go to a e-commerce website which is sell dells devices and see which of the desktop computer are most suitable for gaming, I can check for the price in the website and try to customize that what I want for my desktop computer such as from 4GB RAM upgrade to 8GB RAM and 500GB hard disk space upgrade to 1TB hard disk space. Not only has that, buying mobile phoned also same, we able to check what the market price for the phone are, and the details for the phone that we looking for, see is it whether the phone really suitable for me or can get even better than that with the reasonable price, can have some packages through the online purchasing website and more convenience. This is why I will choose to buy desktop computer and mobile phone through online purchasing. There are many pros and cons for online purchasing. pros is something similar like advantages of online purchasing and cons is something similar like disadvantages of online purchasing. Pros of online purchasing First of all, it is quite easy to shop through online purchasing. Peoples just needed to have an average internet connection and also some basic knowledge about how to use internet browser to run the e-commerce website. We can just type in their web domain name to browse their website, so that we can get the information about what they are offering, read reviews, make rational buying decision and make comparison with the product from the same categories. Would it be nice to get everything delivered at your doorsteps without you even stepping outside your homes? Purchasing products through online we can get buying our grocery just sitting on our comfortable sofa and watch our favorite TV shows. We also can have some comparisons, read reviews, view user ratings and make uniform and rational buying decisions in online purchasing web. It is much more convenience for us to do quick comparisons, so that we can get a chance to search the entire positive and negatives of a certain product or service. Can we have discount through the online purchasing? Yes! Since there are many online shopping website exists, of course there will be many competition on internet between different shopping websites, but customers always the first, so many websites will offers many kind of promotions for customer such as, gift certificates, shopping points, discount and cash back benefits. Who will be the people who win those offers? We are the persons can won it. No hard cash for online purchasing, its mean buying products without paying cash. We can get the products that we wanted without paying anything in cash. Everything will be handled by our credit card or PayPal account. Especially, those electronic products like plasma television. Cons of online purchasing While shopping on the Internet can be a pleasing and rewarding experience, the negatives or disadvantages associated with Internet shopping cannot be neglected. Let us take a look at some of the disadvantages of online shopping. Firstly, online shopping actually we do not physically seen the items, which mean we can only see the items through the photo provided on e-commerce website, we could not see the items that we bought until it arrive. Normally the photo of items that we see will be much better than once we have the item in front of us. Secondly, online security is quite weak, although online payments are safe but not always, there might have some of the e-commerce websites are not secure enough or do not encrypt our personal credit card date, if hacker has break into the sites system, our credit card data and information will be leak out. Thirdly, certain peoples computer might have spyware on their computer, if we using this computer to purchasing items through online purchasing, it is a risk of our credit card information and personal data been stolen by our own computer. Fourthly, it can cause spam issues on our email, when we bought something through the website such as, a digital camera. We are happy when we receive it, but days pass we will suddenly receiving a hoard of emails offering discounts, special schemes, promotions and so on from the website. When every time they have any special promotions or disco unt, the website will keep sending messages to our email, it is because after we bought products from their website, the website may do have a clause in their privacy policy document that our email able to share with third parties to send us relevant offers, it is quite annoying. Lastly, sometime it may cause online connection issues, due to the internet connection unstable, or sometime there will be a time too many visit the website will cause internet connection problems, when we add items to our online shopping cart, after entering credit card information and submit it, at this moment the internet connection error, we may not know is it the order went through correctly or not. After refresh the screen it may cause double billing or double ordering. Conclusion In conclusion, buying desktop computer and mobile phone from website really very convenience for me, I can get more information not only for the brand that I looking for, at the same time I can also have more information about the other brand of the desktop computer and mobile phone, might be I can found there is another brands products price and features also reasonable than what I looking for. Beside this, the pros and cons given in the question I had learnt a lesson about how to safety buy products from online website. Before buying items through online, make sure our connectivity are going smooth and double check the whole computer it is any spyware in my computer, make sure the whole computer is clear and connection is smooth, only confirm the products that had picked and key in the information that are required that the website asking for. Choose the website that are most people use also very important, dont choose the website that not common without confidentially and nobodys know, or else our money also might gone without anybodys knowing. So choose the website with high confidentially and most people know.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Martin Luther King Jr. Headed Research Essay

Martin Luther King Jr was a well known civil rights leader in the 1960’s. He inspired many African Americans with his speeches and his non-violent movement. He had vision, courage and concern three out of the six characteristics mention by Campbell (2002) that create a leader. Even though he was well know for stopping segregation it is important to study his effective leadership. Many High School students have studied about Martin Luther King Jr. However, there is much more to King. We need to study his courage to step up and create sit-ins and protest, concern for others right and vision to tie all these in and make them possible. In addition, we need to look into these characteristics that made him a strong catalyst for change. It is the purpose of this paper to discuss the findings about the leadership and characteristics of Martin Luther King Jr. Also adding to how this leader improved the reading and writing skills to this papers author. The questions posed for the research described here are the following: 1. What important findings were made during this research? a. Why was he concerned about the rights they had? b. How did sit-ins and boycotts help King? c. What did it take to accomplish his goal? 2. Which of the leaders personal characteristics seem to be most important for his success as a catalyst for change? 3. What did the author of this paper learn about him/herself as the research, reading and writing for this assignment progress? 4. What conclusion can be drawn from this research? Findings about the Leader Martin Luther King Jr most important accomplishment was concerned about the civil rights that black people had King tried to protect the freedom of discrimination based on â€Å"gender, religion, race, national origin, age or sexual orientation.† (History Alive ch. 46) King wanted to give African Americans their rights to freedom of speech. he saw to gain equality through the world. also King wanted to stop the discrimination that was mostly based on race. this would stop the segregation that was going on and open the doors of opportunity and a better community. Much of Kings work was controversial during the time in which he lived. People opposed King because he encouraged sit-ins and boycotts. In one of the many sit-ins four college students sat in white people spots and refused to move because they were not getting served. The students dressed like they were going to church and the sit-in lasted for almost two weeks. Many white people fought the black people and the black people were arrested. They were able to get bailed for fifty dollars or do the thirty-three days in jail. Then the marches started and one girl marched up to the mayor and she said that it was unfair. Three weeks later black people got served.(History Alive.p 69) In the Montgomery Bus Boycotts was organized because of the segregated buses. The boycott lasted 328 days with no one riding the bus. Martin Luther King Jr lead the black people in this boycott. In 1955 black people had to sit in the back of the bus and white people sat in the front, sometimes black people had to give up their seats. Black boycott leaders got attacked by white people. Some of which got their homes bombed. Even though they were attacked they stuck to their non-violent system. eleven months later the segregation was considered unconstitutional. King said that, â€Å"it wasn’t a victory for them or whites, but justice and good will.† (History Alive. p 69) Kings ideas were important for the time in which he lived. People opposed King because they knew he would accomplish his goals. It took a lot of Kings time to accomplish desegregation and equality, but he was able to accomplish all the sit-ins, boycotts and marches with the help and support from his family, church and his followers who wanted the justice that King wanted to achieve. The Leader’s Personal Characteristics The three personal characteristics that, according to Campbell are necessary to become a strong exceptional leader are vision, concern and courage. These three characteristics best describe Martin Luther King Jr. King’s vision was shown through his speeches, sit-ins and boycotts. King wanted the future of his people and the future generation of young African Americans to be better and equal. He wanted to put a stop to the segregation and the discrimination that was going on through this time period. King knew that his vision would come true when these problems would come to an end. King wasn’t concern for himself only. He was concern for the entire African American community. King tried to prevent the hate that was being shown by the white people towards the black people to stop. Once this stopped King knew that the children growing up in this time period wouldn’t grow up with the same hatred shown by their parents. He wanted to put a stop to all of it so it wouldn’t spread to the young minds of the children as well as in the parents. This was all accomplished by King through his courage. He went through many risks. King not only put his life in danger, but the life of his family and his followers. The sit-ins, boycotts and marches brought hate and violence to King and his followers as well. There were times that they experienced mob attacks and bombings on their own home. All of which put King in danger for following and making justice happen. Fighting for every ones rights using non-violent movement was difficult, but courageous. King using this type of movement was significant and brave because he didn’t fight back when they would get attack and going out with this movement in mind against all those people that apposed King showed his true leadership skills. Learning about Myself as a Reader and Writer This experience has made me a better reader because it helped me improve my note taking and helped me focus on a certain topic. My note taking has become more in depth and I’m able to pull out the important part or parts of the articles were are reading. Having focused notes also helped me stay focus on this topic. I learned how to focus on a specific topic for each paragraph in my essay. Writing was a difficult part for me because I didn’t know exactly what I had to write about sometimes, or I wouldn’t have a clear sense of direction, or explanation to what I was, or had to do. This caused me a lot of confusion, so that leads into why I didn’t do so well in my papers. It was the little assignments we got that confused me the most because I didn’t find a connection from the little assignments to the bigger one. Also because we mixed how to write the paper along with finding facts and integrating sources. It would have been more helpful if we had spilt that into two different sections and having one section to do with MLK, finding the facts and integrating sources as one section and how to write the paper as another. The things I need to work on the most are writing and making connections with the assignments provided. Due to the fact that, that was my point of confusion during the assignment. Also it was writing that I scored the lowest in and this shows that I didn’t become a better writer throughout the course of this assignment Conclusion Where are we in racial equality today? what would Martin Luther King Jr think or do? Today were are not as bad in racial equality as in the time of Martin Luther King Jr, but we do experience racial hate and judgement today, mostly against Hispanics. If King was alive today, his reaction would probably be the same as when he experienced the discrimination against African Americans. He probably wouldn’t like the way people are being treated and would feel the same type of tension he did when he was a catalyst for change in the 1900’s. King would try to find away to help and also make this stop by using the same method, such as non-violent movement. King would have to change his way of solving this to get the same success he had if he tried to be a catalyst for change during this era because of the different time periods Citations Campbell, Scott. â€Å"Great Leaders Grow Deep Roots The Six Characteristics of Expectional Leaders.† . N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Jan 2012. . King, M.. â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail.† â€Å"letter from a birmingham jail†. University of Pennsylvania, 1963. Web. 8 Dec 2011. Carson, Clayborne, et. al. of the Martin Luther King Research and Education Institute. The Martin Luther King, Jr. encyclopedia. Greenwood Press: Westport, Connecticut. 2008. Goff, Brent. History Alive!: Pursuing American Ideals. Teachers Curriculum Inst, 2008. Web. .

Sunday, November 10, 2019

I Do Not Believe in Ghosts

I do not believe in ghosts When I was little I lived in a house that was haunted. Wait don’t go! I know, I know, this subject is tired. The thing is I don’t even believe in ghosts. At least that is what I tell myself now, but back then I’m telling you that house was haunted. We moved there when I was in first grade and the first time I saw it, I started crying. Something about the house just seemed wrong. It was â€Å"pretty†, but it gave me a really ugly feeling.All sorts of weird, creepy, and inexplicable things would happen there. We had three dogs when we lived there, two of them ran away, and one went crazy and couldn’t live with us anymore. We had rabbits and they all died. We stopped getting pets. The toilet would flush itself. Once, I was talking back to my mom and she told me to stop or God would punish me and I said something along the lines of â€Å"yeah, right† and then the ground shook. I kid you not there was an earthquake, but no one except my mother and I felt it.Apparently, only our house shook. Another time, my brother who was an infant at the time was in his bassinet under a lamp that was hanging from the ceiling. I looked at my mother and told her she shouldn’t put him there because that lamp was going to fall on him. I walked over and moved the bassinet and as soon as I moved him the lamp fell. Crazy! It makes no sense to me that I have such clear memories of this house that was seemingly possessed and yet, I do not believe in ghosts. Do you?