Profile of an Adolescent Bully Essay

From 2000 to the present time, there have been well over 600 peer-reviewed articles published on bullying. When compared to the less than 190 articles that were published from 1980 to 2009, one has to acknowledge that this area of research has exploded. Research indicates that between 10% and 30% of children and youth are involved in bullying and that bullying also increases during the middle school period as children enter adolescence (Cook, Williams, Guerra, Kim & Sadek, 2010, p. 65). Talk to any adolescent in school today and they will have their own story about their experience with bullying and there is a consistent agreement that it is becoming more complex to address. This essay is intended to inform the audience of some of the different behaviors and characteristics of bullies, the different methods of bullying, and to explore the possible reasons for origination in order to assist in future prevention and intervention efforts. Where is the Research? While performing research for this paper it became quickly noticeable that studies profiling a bully’s traits are scarcely performed. The focus of most research is in areas such as the methods of harassment used by bullies (i. e. cyber bullying), or the ramifications towards society caused by being bullied [i. e. school shootings (Barnett, Miller-Perrin, Perrin, 2011, p. 280). ] There is little research focused solely on profiling the bully him/herself. If society is going to make a longstanding change and truly break the cycle of harassment between adolescents than the background of the bully should be explored and assessed. While a profile of a potential victim is offered, it is used to better complete an accurate understanding of the adolescent bully. Definition of a Bully Bullying is commonly defined as a specific type of aggressive behavior intended to distress a vulnerable person and includes intent to cause harm, occurs repeatedly and involves a power imbalance (Barnett et al. , 2011, p. 160). During childhood, bullies are rejected, isolated, and disliked by their peers. Social acceptance for the bully changes during adolescence to being well accepted and liked by their peers. This could be due to the children’s gradual transition into adolescence resulting in an increased knowledge in social problem solving, or gaining an ability to negotiate a confrontation with others thereby diffusing volatile situations (Cook et al. , 2010, p. 71). Two Types of Bully’s Currently, there are two types of bully’s that are invading American grade schools, the typical bully and the bully victim. The typical bully.  An adolescent described as being loud, assertive, somewhat socially and academically challenged, hostile, possesses negative attitudes and beliefs about others, minimal problem-solving skills, and comes from a family environment typically characterized by conflict and poor parental monitoring (Cook et al. , 2010, pp. 75-76, Batsche & Knoff, 1994, p. 166). The bully victim. An adolescent holding negative attitudes and beliefs about him/herself and others, has minimal social competence, does not have adequate social problem-solving skills, has poor academic performance, and s not only rejected and isolated by peers but also negatively influenced by the peers with whom he or she interacts with (Cook et al. , 2010, p. 76). A possible motive for a bully victim to become aggressive at school is that they may be experiencing their own victimization due to the emotional and psychological effects of being a victim at home (Rivers, Poteat, Noret, Ashurst, 2009, p. 212), and are exposed to family models of aggression resulting in violence contributing to violence (Barnett et al. , 2011). Beyond Primary Roles There has been a significant change as to how bullying behavior is understood. With the expansion past primary roles such as bully and victim, Rivers et al. have defined secondary roles that can categorize all participants of a victimization scenario. The assistant bully plays an active but secondary role to the bully. The reinforcer is considered to be a pupil that joins in laughing at the victim or encouraged the bully. Outsiders are aware that the bullying is taking place but will actively remove themselves from the situation. Lastly, the defender is seen as one that directly intervenes or displays help-seeking behavior when involved in bullying situation, and is most times a female (2009, p. 12). Motives The motives of bullies range from satisfying the need for power or to be affiliated with another person or group that is powerful, to a partial or total inability to manage anger. Dependent on their environment at home, they may exert themselves to attain a sense of control in their lives. On closer observation, bullies often demonstrate problems with impulsivity, a need to dominate others, and show little sympathy or empathy for their victims. Some bullies even admit that they â€Å"like† being a bully and may have a slightly justified outlook on their social role. Parents of Bullies Research has shown that parents of bullies prefer authoritarian parenting styles, will sometimes reject their child or show hostility, may show inconsistent parenting while supervising at a minimum, and have poor problem-solving skills (Batsche & Knoff, 1994, p. 166). The parents of adolescent bullies have failed to model positive conflict resolution or how to satisfy their need for attention, therefore the bully will continue with harassing others because it has proven to be an effective strategy (Cook et al. , 2010). The bully may also be witnessing interparental violence at home (Barnett et al. , 2011, 161). Rivers et al. have shown that children who witness violence at home regularly are more likely to require counseling to overcome the emotional and relationship difficulties they experience (2009). Not addressing negative behavior patterns may result in the behaviors continuing into adulthood, resulting in bullying others at their workplace, and increasing their likeliness of being convicted of a criminal offense during adulthood than their noninvolved peers. They are also at a higher risk for experiencing psychiatric problems, difficulties in romantic relationships and substance abuse problems (Cook et al. 2010, p. 79). Leaving this issue unaddressed also allows for the bully to possibly simulate the same environment that was conducive to their becoming a bully while raising their offspring therefore possibly making bullying intergenerational. Different Modes of Bullying Once seen as mostly physical in nature, bullying has now transformed into a ten-headed monster that spans from physical/direct bullying to various forms of indirect bullying such as turning friends against their peers, threats, and teasing. Bullying has also been made more complex and autonomous with the introduction and ease of accessibility to technology. Now bullies use tools such as text, e-mails, websites and chat rooms to torment their victims (Barnett et al. , 2011, p. 279). Measures of bullying. These measures need to encompass the three broad domains of behaviors that constitute bullying: direct physical bullying, direct verbal bullying, and indirect bullying in which the person or group of persons doing the bullying is not necessarily identified (Carbone-Lopez, Esbensen & Brick, 2010, p. 334). Most common types of bullying are verbal, then physical, then threats. Boys have always gravitated more towards physical bullying while girls tend to verbally bully their victims (Barnett et al. , 2011, p. 280). One of the reasons suggested was that girl verbal skills develop earlier than boys and until recently, it was seen as socially unacceptable and unladylike to physically bully (Strohmeier, Wagner, Spiel & von Eye, 2010, p. 187). The general concept of bullying entails a distinct type of aggression characterized by a repeated and systematic abuse of power. There are many acets to bullying that include but are not limited to physical aggression, verbal aggression (e. g. name calling and threats), relational aggression (e. g. , social isolation and rumor spreading), and cyber-aggression (e. g. , text messaging and e-mailing hurtful messages or images), a new venue for inflicting harm in an increasingly electronic youth culture (Strohmeier et al. , 2010, p. 187 ). The technology boom of today has brought new ways of communicating with each other. E-mail, instant messaging, Facebook, Myspace and texting are some of the new facets of communication. Gone are the days of writing letters or simply giving someone a phone call; people find personal confrontation easier to avoid and use these technologies to hide behind instead. The art of conversation is quickly giving way to this type of messaging and avoidance. Today’s society finds it much easier to verbally attack someone behind a phone or computer than to do it face-to-face. Victims Characteristics. Victims are characterized as submissive and non-assertive (Barnett et al. , 2011, p. 161). More often being smaller than the bully; the victim may be more sensitive, unhappy, cautious, quiet, and/or withdrawn (Cook et al. 2010, p. 65). Because the victim allows for the bullying to continue, one can only assume that they have passive or submissive characteristics. They may also be insecure and will not normally assert themselves. When attacked they withdraw and cry and since they are vulnerable, they will not retaliate. There is also an alternative type of victim termed the â€Å"provocative victim. † These victims are overactive, may have irritating behaviors, and are anxious along with showing aggressive traits (Green, Felix, Sharkey, Furlong & Kras, 2012, p. 1). These types of victims could possibly be a bully victim in the making. Age range. Victims are normally the same age and in the same class as the bully (Rivers et al. , 2009, p. 212). Therefore the bully will spend enough time with the victim to know them well. The bully does not have as much opportunity to victimize younger students since the chance to be around them lessens as they progress through school. The number of older pupils with opportunity to bully at decreased risk to selves decreases as the bully ages. Gender specifics. When explored, the reasons for bullying another peer differ by gender. A study done by Beaty & Alexeyev states that boy bullies pick on others because they â€Å"do not fit in,† are physically weak, or due to the clothes they wore (2008, p. 2). Victims also include those that are special needs, deviate from the norm, or differ in sexual orientation or race (Barnett, 2011, p. 161). Girls also primarily bully others because they â€Å"do not fit in,† but differ greatly when choosing who to pick on according to cognitive abilities. While boys have a tendency to victimize other pupils with special needs, girls chose to victimize what would be considered as â€Å"overachievers† (Rivers et al. 2009, p. 213). Conclusion Now knowing all of this information, how can it be put to use when addressing bullies in their earliest stages? Schools can use this profile of a bully as a window into what makes them become the people they are. Teachers will be able to identify a bully and address background situations such as family structure to offer counseling to the bully and their family. They could also assist victims within the school in learning social skills to deter bullies from picking on them as well.

The Heckscher-Ohlin Model

1. The Heckscher-Ohlin model The Heckscher-Ohlin model is a mathematical model of the international trade and its balance. It is established upon the theory of David Ricardo for the competitive advantage and it strives to predict the arrangements of the international trade and production, which are based on the capacity of a given country to trade. Its essence consist in the statement that the countries that produce, will be exporting the goods, which manufacturing use their plentful and cost-competitive factors and will import goods that use the scarce factors of the country. Here we are talking about the factors of production, which are the land, labour and capital. Their abundance or their lack defines in which products the country has a competitive advantage. Meaning that they have advantage for producing those goods, for which the necessary factors and inputs are abundant in the country, therefore it is cheaper to produce them locally and export them instead of importing them. We can give the example of country like Belgium – here the labor and the land factors are not abundant, therefore the goods that require for the production those factors will be imported, because then it will be more cost effective. And vice-versa, because in Belgium there are a lot of engineers, technicians and it is rather well technologically developed country, it will be more advantageous to export goods, which require for their production those abundant factors – for ex. computers, IT etc. 2. Criticism on the H-O model & Leontief Paradox There is much criticism upon that model; therefore I’m going to state the most important of it here: * The little predictive power of that model, which was a critic by Bernstein and Weinstein, who claimed that the H-O model and its factor endowments of each country are not a reliable forecast. * The identical production function – the H-O model postulate that the production functions are corresponding for all the countries that are involved in the international trade. But it’s an unrealistic statement, because even between the most developed countries the competition is determined from various factors like technology etc. * In the H-O model, the capital is by definition assumed as consistent, identical and transferable to any form, since the capital goods may have many forms. There is no explanation how the capital is measured. So all this leads to a controversy around the concept of homogenous capital. * The unemployment factor is excluded from the model, which makes it really unrealistic. * The assumption that all firms are identical, because all the countries have the same production function is another weak point of the model. * The H-O model was supported by politicians, because it gave them an excuse for restriction upon the immigration lows at that time. * Probably the most significant criticism is called the Leontief Paradox. Mr. Wassily Leontief conducted an econometric test in 1954 of the implication of the H-O model in the US. And he found out that nevertheless the US was a country rich on capital it still was exporting mostly goods for the production of which the labor factor was decisive or ‘labor intensive goods’. And they were importing products, produced in countries with abundant capital as well or ‘capital intensive goods’. This paradox proves that the H-O model is not taking into account all of the necessary factors in order to be more accurate and applicable to any given country. 3. Response by H-O The main response was that the model has been further developed and extended in order for it to be more realistic. Thus by taking into consideration new features, factors and variables in the international trade (like tariffs for ex.) the predictive power of the model has been increased. The three scientists that contributed the most for those ameliorations are Paul Samuelson, Ronald Jones, and Jaroslav Vanek.

Phoenix Advertising Essay

Our success in the past has been largely due to out of the box creativity and qualitative team work which has resulted in high standards of performance. It is now time to put in a dose of brainstorming and lateral thinking to recognize the internal hassles that are affecting the general scheme of work. When things are not moving smoothly it’s essential to revisit the existing system and find out the root cause. The careful strategy planning that we use to create winning campaigns for our clients has to be brought in to solve the present impasse. Before an outsider tells us that we have a problem, we need to put our house in order. To find the solution we need to agree on two things. First, we have to accept the fact that there are problems which are affecting the performance of the employees. And second, work up a mutually beneficial solution that will have long term benefits. We can start with the question, WHAT? What is the cause of the trouble? We always focus on client satisfaction as the crucial aspect of agency survival. What we often tend to forget or disregard is the question of employee satisfaction. Effort recognition and sincere appreciation goes a long way in creating a positive environment that is conducive to excellent performances. The disagreement between the servicing teams and the creative teams is as old as advertising itself. Every firm will have its own strategy on how best this can be dealt with. The need of the hour is communication. The management has to sit down and talk it out with the team on a more frequent basis. This will foster a more personal relationship which will result in better levels of understanding that is lacking at present. The next question is HOW? The answer is simple. The accounts crew which serve as contact points between the company and the client usually get the laurels for a successful campaign. This leaves the rest of the team in disappointment which translates as frustration with the next job. Perfect servicing is nothing without innovative ideas and vice versa. Similarly, a sound idea may fizzle away with bad design execution and unimaginative copy. The question is not whether a copywriter is more important than the art director. We believe that every individual has a share in creating good work. This recognition of the importance of everyone in the team is crucial to boosting the team spirit. A sense of give and take is essential between the accounts and creative teams. If the servicing people stubbornly insist that the client is king and expect the copywriters and designers to make constant changes according to the whims of the client, there is bound to be trouble. Working with yesterday’s deadlines and unnerving pressure can bring the creative team to a quick burnout. To avoid this, a daily schedule is absolutely essential. What happens in most cases is that the workload is not evenly distributed. A daily preview of who is expected to do what will give everyone a clear idea of how much work is on the anvil and how best to meet the deadlines. A weekly review of work which will involve every person in the company is the first step. The meeting can be held at the end of every week, at a given time which should be convenient for everyone. The agenda will be an update of the work that has been done during the week, an overview of new jobs, client feedback, possible pitches and a personal comments session where everyone can speak about what they feel is important for the success of the company. Such an open platform will not only bring a sense of transparency to the agency but also create a sense of confidence in the minds of the employees because they will understand that their opinions also count. A feeling of belonging is integral to the very idea of team work. To make this happen, we have to foresee the obstacles we will certainly have to face. Initially there will be some wrangling about the need for such meetings and any given time will be inconvenient for every other person. The word â€Å"compulsory† works magic when it comes to finding time for something. But setting a time and place and sticking to it against all odds is equally important. The next question is WHY? Though everyone in the company is working hard enough, the joint effort is not very visible. To create a sense of unity and to pep up the team’s spirits, an interactive workshop must be conducted every three months which will again involve everyone in the company. In the advertising industry, changes take place on an overnight basis. There is always something new to learn. Keeping up with the flow is possible only when there is a frequent discussion of every issue. Be it new soft wares, award winning ads, fresh perspectives from the creative angle, what the competition is up to etc. Like Burnett once said, creative ideas flourish only in places which have a sense of fun. Workshops are very effective in both cases. Inspiring speeches and group activities will help remove the sense of separateness that the employees now feel. Of course, we don’t need another Ogilvy to tell us that job hopping is part and parcel of every advertising firm. But we should get a revitalizing shot right away to ensure optimal performance. It is only when an employee puts in his/her resignation letter that the management begins to ask whether there was a problem. Instead, there should be a system in which the management is closely aware of every individual’s level of satisfaction within the company. This will help forestall problems and help retain the work force. This leads us to the question WHEN? There’s no time like now to start anew. Every department can review their internal issues and learn to take responsibility for success and failures instead of playing Passing the Buck. Change need not come from the grassroots. It can start at the top. The management can lead by example, and rest assured that everyone will follow. A clear agenda need to be drawn up immediately. To surmise, we need Daily meetings with accounts and creative teams. Weekly round up of work with the entire agency. At least three workshops a year. To encourage people to voice their views. Deal with disproportionate recognition of efforts. Hold the team together at all cost. And above all, we need to do this right away. I sincerely hope that we can make a difference to how things are run, enhance our professionalism and strive towards a better tomorrow for ourselves and the company. Thanking you, Place Date (This is just for your perusal) References    Ogilvy David Confessions of an Advertising Man Garba Kabir Alabi, The Trouble With The Advertising Industry, The Guardian, (24th March 2008)

Family Life Education Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Family Life Education - Assignment Example Family education needs to begin by changing inequal and unfair family dynamics along gender lines, embracing alternate conceptions and providing people with the tools to manage conflicts. To be clear, I am not assuming that all families must be the same. Polygamous families with multiple wives or husbands, polyamorous couples with children who have open sexual relationships, gay families who adopt children, cohabitating couples that don't want to get married... moral or religious considerations aside, all of these family structures need support and protection. It's in no one's interests to have a broken family, no matter what kind of family it is. This is where family education and family therapy needs to start: Putting aside normative judgments about what families should do and instead give people goals to identify and solve their own problems. Like all good education and psychology, the Pygmalion effect has to be avoided: We can't change people into what they want; we can only help them be better at doing what they want. Allen and Baber (1992) argue that family education has to embrace feminist theory to work. They point out that many of the fundamental conflicts between people are informed by gender norms and patriarchy: â€Å"[F]eminist analyses reveal the detrimental and often devastating effects that traditional family roles, economic exploitation, and social inequalities have on women's health and general well-being† (Allen and Baber, 1992, p. 1). And it's not just women who suffer. Indirectly, patriarchy and gender inequality cause cascading effects: Women are unhappy and stressed, so they can't find satisfaction and happiness, so they pursue outside romance or affairs or divorce their husbands, which in turn harms children. Directly, patriarchy creates artificial and misguided assessments about the roles men, children and women should and do perform that never made much sense and make absolutely no sense now. The Leave It to Beaver model of an a uthoritarian father, supportive mother and obedient children is not the way most people choose to live their lives. Family educators thus need to be educated and trained to understand these kind of persistent inequalities, recognize them when they occur and deal with them. A great example is found in the second shift and in maternity leave (Hochschild, 2003; Wise, 2008). The second shift is when women have to work eight hours at work just like men. This is because the change in the economy has made it so people have to have two breadwinners to make ends meet. Ironically, feminist successes at getting women into careers didn't precipitate changes in underlying family structures and distributions of work: Instead, women work eight hours a day at a job then another eight hours a day at home, doing domestic work. It's true that men do pick up some of the slack, but never in a really consistent way according to Hochschild's (2003) research. Similarly, women get put into a â€Å"mommy tr ack† not because they don't want to work but because it's impossible to imagine having their husbands take more time off work. â€Å"Unless the social structure supports shared sacrifice, sacrifice will end up being made by those with the least institutional power, irrespective of one’s personal desires† (Wise, 2008). In the United States, men don't receive paternity leave, so

Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 3

Case Study - Essay Example E.ON has shown good business sense when it adopted some serious almost desperate measures to control emissions for which its employees and their non operation actions were responsible. Employees cannot be restricted where daily work related operations are concerned. However when it comes to daily non-operations activities, the firm wants to ensure that its employees are seen as environment-caring souls. Thus E.ON has come up with a series of actions that is meant to reduce emissions and these measures include giving up expensive cars, car pooling, use of company’s hybrid cars and even preferring public transport or bicycles. E.ON understands that UK is currently facing an emission crisis. In a desperate attempt to reduce CO2 emissions, UK is planning to close almost one third of its power plants in next 12 years. By 2020, UK wants major reduction in emission to achieve a 60 percent reduction by 2050. Increasing concentrations of ‘greenhouse gases’ from human activities arc expected to cause a significant change in the earth’s climate. This may have important consequences for the environment of the UK. The main gases involved are carbon dioxide (CO2 ), methane (CH4 ), nitrous oxide (NO), chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and ozone (O3 ). These gases absorb outgoing infra-red radiation which has been reradiated from the earth’s surface. Observed global temperature increases over recent years are consistent with estimated increases caused by increased greenhouse gas concentrations. Although a molecule of CO2 is less potent than molecules of other greenhouse gases, the quantity of emissions is relatively so large that CO2 is the major contributor to global warming. Under its Climate Change Program, the UK is committed to reducing CO2 and CH4 emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2020. Total UK emissions of CO2 fell by 7 per cent, and of CH4 by 15 per cent, between 1990 and 1995, largely reflecting the decreasing use of coal in

Ageing and managing health Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Ageing and managing health - Essay Example 5. Instruct the patient’s family members to keep all pathways in the patient’s home free from any cluster. 6. Intruct the patient’s family members to place a non-skid mat inside the patient’s shower room. 7. Encourage the patient to participate in gait training exercise programme once she has been discharge from the hospital. 1. Environmental factors such as dim light or poor lighting, unsafe stairways, irregular floor surface, and the presence of hazardous things like loose rugs, slippery or wet floors and telephone wires that scattered around the house will increase the patient’s risk of accidental falls (Timby, 2009, p. 424). 2. The installation of handrails or grab bars inside the shower room, around the bedroom, stairs, and bathroom will help reduce the patient’s risk of accidental falls (Timby, 2009, p. 424). 3. Placing a strip of light-colored adhesive tape on the edge of each stair will help increase the patient’s visibility of the stairs (Timby, 2009, p. 424). 4. Wearing non-skid soles will help reduce the risk of accidental falls (Timby, 2009, p. 424). 5. Freeing the pathways from clusters will reduce the risk wherein the patient’s Zimmer frame might accidentally touch other things causing her to loose her balance (Timby, 2009, p. 424). 6. The use of non-skid mat inside the patient’s shower room will help prevent the patient from falling (Gulanick and Myers, 2011, p. 63; Timby, 2009, p. 424). 7. Studies show that patients who are active in exercise can strengthen their muscles, improve their ability to balance and coordinate their body movements, increase their bone density which are all necessary in terms of reducing the patient’s risk for falls (Gulanick and Myers, 2011, p. 63). Problem Goal Intervention Rationale The patient... Discharge care plan is pertaining to the process of developing a plan for the transfer of patient from the hospital to his designated place to stay.It is equally important to know that the patient is no longer in pain at the time the patient is about to leave the hospital. It is equally important to know that the patient is no longer in pain at the time the patient is about to leave the hospital. To ensure that the patient is properly being taken cared of after being discharged from the hospital, the student nurse should focus on identifying continuing care that the patient will be needing to improve her overall well-being. After analyzing the case of Mrs. Jones, the following discharge care plan was created: Problem Goal Intervention Rationale Other than the history of falls, the patient is suffering from postural hopotension due to the intake of bendroflumethiazide. Postural hypotension increases the patient’s risk of accidental fall due to dizziness and inability to balance and coordinate her body movements. Other risk factors of accidental falls include: poor eye sight or impaired vision, neurological disorder, decreased lower muscle strength, brittle bones due to osteoporosis and ageing (Timby, 2009, p. 423). To reduce all factors that can increase the patient’s risks of falls. 1. Assess and teach the patient’s family members to modify the home environment of the patient by removing all things that can increase the patient’s risk of falling (Gulanick and Myers, 2011, p. 63). 2. The patient prefers to microwave and eat frozen meals for lunch. To ensure that the patient is receiving proper nutrition.

Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 18

Assignment - Essay Example We need to take action to stop them and come up with a much more reasonable and considered response to the problem. This is what informed and responsible citizens do: they work together, discuss ideas and come up with solutions that make sense to everyone. The Occupy movement has been a parade of fools so far. This is very unfortunate because there are social problems out there which require solving. Sadly, the Occupy movement has manipulated the homeless and used them as a rallying point. We need to take back our own public spaces from these people and we need to treat the homeless who truly need our help with real dignity and respect, and not use them as some sort of political pawn, as the Occupy organizers have been doing. Homeless people deserve to have a home and receive treatment. We need to ensure that this happens and they are not abused by those who would use them solely for political purposes. It is important for citizens like us to take a stand for those who are most vulnerable and whom no one else can help. Denver is a beautiful city with great potential. It is sad to see so much political energy being expended about homelessness which is only one of several issues facing the city. The people of Denver need to speak to their local representatives about these issues. We need to be very concerned about what happens in our public spaces. Downtown is a place for everyone. It is a place for families to enjoy themselves and for tourists to bustle about. It is not a place for constant political noisemaking and abuse. The citizens of Denver need to speak with one voice on this matter. Occupy and its shenanigans are not acceptable and we will stand up these criminals and clear the streets of their garbage if necessary. We all share this wonderful city. No one group or idea owns the city and can take control of our public spaces. Sadly, according to one

Examination of Curriculum and Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Examination of Curriculum and Assessment - Essay Example plan for learners in grade 3-5 the curriculum is well designed as it meets most of the requirements in terms of the objectives of the study the deliverables that are expected out of the learning process and the entire process it topped up with a comprehensive assessment, which will test the level of comprehension of the learners to ascertain if the objectives of the course were indeed met. The course is fashioned in the right manner and it will serve of great significance to the students since the knowledge that they will gain revolves around the daily experiences in their lives especially in the American society where the issue of immigration is a significant problem since there is an influx of a vast number of unregistered immigrants who illegal cross over the border to seek refuge in the country. Some of the learners may be experiencing this problem first hand thus, the lesson will tend to give them knowledge and facts about the issue while elaborating the background of the proble m and the potential solution that can be sought to solve it amicably (Hyland & University College, 2000). The immigration lesson plan is designed in a manner that it gives the learners an in-depth perspective on the topic by dispensing a pool of knowledge that is related to the issue of immigration in the world and particularly in America hence helps them to have a higher degree of risk and how experts use the very information and knowledge to formulate relevant policies that will help to deal and solve the problem amicably. Furthermore, the primary aim of any syllabus is to equip learners with the skills of critical thinking so as they can be able to utilize the knowledge they have acquired in class to devise a solution for the challenges that they face in their environment (Leyendecker & Akker, 2008). The immigration lesson touches on the social issues that are predominant in the American society, hence, the learners are privilege to utilize the skills of thinking critically and

Homework2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Homework2 - Essay Example The GDP comparison of the Arab nations and the developed countries broken down above helps to deinstitutionalize the myth that the Arab world possesses a stronger economy as a result of having large reserves of oil. The sum totals of all the Arab league nations’ GDP only serve to march that of France and the United Kingdom (Noland & Pack 152). Even when combined together, the GDP of Arab league nations’ still fall below the individual GDP’s of Germany, Japan, and the United states. These figures serve to show that Arab world economy world is not as strong as it gets thought to be when compared to the economies of developed nations. A majority of the Arab league nations’ heavily rely on oil as their major source of GDP and export. Their economies thus are less diversified as they largely depend on oil when compared to the economies of developed countries such as the US, Germany, Japan, France and the UK (Tucker 526). There is need for the countries that fal l in the Arab world to diversify their economies so as to raise the level of their GDP to a competitive level against the developed

Reasons for Israels Invasion to Lebanon in 1982 Essay

Reasons for Israels Invasion to Lebanon in 1982 - Essay Example The relations between Israel and Lebanon have a long history, and vary depending on the historical timeline. To understand the reasons behind the Israeli Invasion to Lebanon in 1982, one needs to highlight the history of the two nations. Before the emergence of First World War, the Ottoman Empire was the ruler of the land that is currently Lebanon and Israel. The empire had a division system over the land, setting up series of sub districts and districts. During this time, Palestine had no administrative or political establishment, and Lebanon was a term that referred to the area between mountains and the Sothern Syria. The boundary between Lebanon and Palestine was the district of Beirut . The Zionists, influential at the time, were silently taking notice of the Lebanon in the early 1900s, especially the southern parts. In 1916, the region’s division into zones by the Sykes-Picot agreement was the first attempt of establishing a border between Palestine and Lebanon. Britain w as controlling the southern part (Palestine), and the French had the other northern half. The Zionist began lobbying for the Liwani River to be part of Palestine, arguing that the viability of the northern side was dependent on the river’s resources.... Later, anti-Zionists Arabs became the dominating political power in the southern Lebanon, and that was the beginning of security issues in the region. After the Second World War, Britain and France were again focusing on the issue of the border between the Syria, Palestine and Lebanon. Some of the lessons the Christians in Lebanon learnt were that the southern part of Lebanon was better off a part of Palestine. This would be an effort to restore Lebanon as a truly Christian nation. The border matter was now in the hands of the UN, but still there was no solution. The result was the development of extremist anti-Zionist Arabs in the southern parts of Lebanon, and the eventual involvement of PLO forces in the border conflicts3. Israel and Lebanon had been having conflicts since the onset of the twentieth century, with Israel directing its effort to have a peaceful North. On the other hand, Lebanon was harbouring terrorists within its boundaries like the Palestinian Liberation Organizat ion (PLO), down playing Israel’s efforts. The PLO terrorists began infiltrating Israel in the late 1970s, and spread terror to the non-enthusiast civilians against them. Around March 1978, the terrorists from the organization kidnapped and killed an American tourist in one of Israel’s beach, and proceeded to hijack an Israeli civilian bus. On interception of the bus by Israeli police force, the terrorists began firing on the police. Among the passengers in the bus, 34 Israeli civilians lost their lives in the attack, leading to more severe damage of the relations between the two countries. Responding to the attacks, the Israeli force invaded Lebanon destroying terrorist bases near its borders in the southern parts of the nation. After two months

The Hydrogen Bond Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Hydrogen Bond - Essay Example The nature of the hydrogen bond in addition to some other factors, such as the disordered arrangement of hydrogen in water imparts unusual properties to H2O that have made conditions favorable for life on Earth. For example, it takes a relatively large amount of heat to raise water temperature one degree. This enables the world's water bodies to store enormous amounts of heat, producing a moderating effect on the world's climate, and it makes it difficult for marine organisms to destabilize the temperature of the ocean environment even as their metabolic processes produce enormous amounts of waste heat. One of the most important noncovalent interaction within molecules is the hydrogen bond, a dipole formed when a hydrogen atom covalently bonded to an electronegative atom is shared with a second electronegative atom (typically an oxygen, nitrogen or fluorine atom), such that the proton may be approached very closely by an unshared pair of electrons. Hydrogen bonds play a significant role in the unusual thermodynamic properties of water and ice, and the DNA double-helical and protein a-helical and b-structure conformations are extensively hydrogen bonded. Hydrogen Bonds can be formed between different molecules (Intermolecular) or between the different parts of the same molecule(Intramolecular).

How We Are Teaching Children to Think Inside the Box Essay Example for Free

How We Are Teaching Children to Think Inside the Box Essay When children come home from school, parents usually sit down with them, go through their homework folders and ask their child, â€Å"so, what did you learn at school today?† Twenty years ago, the child may have commented on what they learned in art, music, social studies or geography. Now, a child will comment only on what they learned in their reading circle or in their math book. The fault for this lies within the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. Standardized testing has turned teachers into test proctors and schools into testing facilities. Students are no longer receiving a broad education that covers many subjects; instead, their learning is streamlined to fit the content that is on the standardized tests. The NCLB Act is not working as it was intended, and as a result the American children are falling even further behind other developed nations. In fact, American students are ranked 19th out of 21 countries in math, 16th in science and last in physics (DeWeese 2). The No Child Left Behind Act needs to be tossed out before we do irreversible damage to the education system. It is not too late – we can turn everything around by getting rid of costly standardized tests, ensure students receive a broad education that includes classes in arts and music, which will better prepare them for higher education, and give control back to the individual states. In 2002, the No Child Left Behind Act was enacted by Congress, which was intended to close the learning gap between Caucasian students and minority students. The NCLB promised to promote accountability amongst teachers and school administrators, as well as assuring that all children would be proficient – according to standards set by the individual states – in reading and math by the end of the 2013-2014 school year (Ravitch 2). In addition, NCLB stated that by the end of the 2005-2006 school-year every classroom in America would have a highly qualified teacher (Paige 2). The most reliable way that the drafters of No Child Left Behind proposed collecting the data that they needed in order to keep track of accountability and proficiency was by mandating that each state issue their  students in grades 3 through 12 a standardized test annually that covers the subjects of reading, writing and math (Beveridge 1). The test that is issued is given to all students, whether they are Caucasian, African American, Hispanic, disabled, etc. and schools are graded based on the proficiency of their students. Each state sets a yearly goal that increases each year based on the mandates of the NCLB Act, in which all students will be 100 percent proficient in those three subjects by the year 2014 (Ravitch 2). On paper, the NCLB Act looked like a blessing to schools that are located in areas of low-income, minority areas and advocates for children with learning disabilities because these tests were meant to highlight the schools that are doing poorly and ensure they receive funding and training in order to turn the scores around (Darling-Hammond 1). In a letter that is addressed to parents on their website, the U.S. Department of Education explains that the NCLB Act provides â€Å"more resources to schools† through funding and â€Å"allows more flexibility† when allocating the funds (3). According to Linda Darling-Hammond, a Professor of Education at Stanford University, â€Å"the funding allocated by NCLB – less than 10 percent of most schools’ budgets – does not meet the needs of the under-resourced schools, where many students currently struggle to learn† (2). Another way schools get their funding is through the taxes that we pay. It makes sense that schools located in an area that has higher income would receive more funds than schools located in a low-income area. What happens is that with the limited funding, schools in low-income areas need to prioritize funding to raise the standardized test scores of their students because once a school fails to show improvement in their standar dized test scores, they are placed on probation the second year and parents are given a choice to leave the failing school, taking their child and the funding attached to that child to a school that is rated better. â€Å"In the third year of a school’s failure, students are entitled to free tutoring after school† according to Diane Ravitch, a research professor of education at New York University (2). The funding provided by NCLB is supposed to help pay for the free tutoring, but, like was stated before, the funding provided is not enough. What happens when a school is mandated by law to provide resources, but it cannot find room in their budget? That’s  right, they cut funding elsewhere. In an article written by Angela Pascopella, the Austin Independent School District superintendent Pascal D. Forgione explains that â€Å"NCLB also requires that schools in need of improvement set aside 10 percent of their local Title 1 funds for professional development †¦ this creates no flexibility in budgeting† (1). When schools need to restructure their budget in order to pay for tutoring and retraining teachers, the arts and music programs are the ones that suffer most. NCLB places so much emphasis on the outcome of the standardized tests. Can you really blame the school districts for re-emphasizing the importance of standardized tests when their funding relies on it? States were put in charge of providing their own assessment tests in order to provide a more focused education to their students and ensure that the students meet the state’s standards of proficiency. Tina Beveridge explains that â€Å"in 2007, the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) cost the state $113 million †¦ [and] many districts eliminated teaching positions as a result, despite the use of stimulus money. As budgets are cut nationwide, the funding for nontested subjects are affected first† (1). The fact that the distribution of funds is based on the outcome of the standardized test scores mea ns that we are blatantly failing the inner-city schools. A school will be placed on probation if they fail just one category ranging from proficiency of Caucasian students all the way down to the proficiency of the students who are just learning the English language. Schools located in higher income areas don’t really have to worry as much about budget cuts because those schools are located in areas that are predominately white and with parents who are active in their children’s education. On the other hand, schools in low income areas have to provide tutoring and other mandated actions in order to improve their proficiency rates, all the while their students are learning in â€Å"crumbling facilities, overcrowded classrooms, out-of-date textbooks, no science labs, no art or music courses and a revolving door of untrained teachers† (Darling-Hammond 2). After a few years of a school not showing improvement through their test scores, their entire teaching staff could be fired. We just saw this happen last year in Providence, Rhode Island. The school board terminated 1,976 teachers because of insufficient results and the need to make budget cuts (Chivvis 1). The turnover rate for  teachers is already extremely high, as much as 50 percent leave within 5 years in urban areas (McKinney et al 1) and the pressure of working in a low-income school district where schools are lacking basic teaching necessities is not all that appealing. The inability of low-income schools to offer teachers incentives because of funding, and with the added stress of job security, it makes one wonder how any highly qualified teachers are in the classroom. On top of that, the curriculum for students has gotten so narrow that it has taken a lot of the creativity and individualization that once attracted the best of the best to the teaching profession. Susan J. Hobart is an example of one of those teachers who used to love doing her job because she was leaving her mark on her students, in a positive way. In Hobart’s article, she tells of a letter she received from one of her students prior to the NCLB Act. The letter explained that Hobart was â€Å"differen t than other teachers, in a good way. [They] didn’t learn just from a textbook; [they] experienced the topics by ‘jumping into the textbook.’ [They] got to construct a rainforest in [their] classroom, have a fancy lunch on the Queen Elizabeth II, and go on a safari through Africa† (3). The student goes on to explain that the style of teaching she experienced during that time is what she hopes she can do when she becomes a teacher too. Unfortunately, that student’s dream will most likely not come true because the fact is that when schools are placed on probation, like Hobart’s school, they â€Å"teach test-taking strategies similar to those taught in Stanley Kaplan prep courses †¦ and spend an inordinate amount of time showing students how to ‘bubble up’† (1). With all the time and energy being placed on teaching children to read and write, you would think that they would be proficient by the time they enroll in college, right? Wrong. â€Å"42 percent of community college freshmen and 20 percent of freshmen in four-year institutions enroll in at least one remedial course †¦ 35 percent were enrolled in math, 23 percent in writing, and 20 percent in reading,† according to the Alliance for Excellent Education (1). Scho ols are so reliant on the standardized tests in order to gauge how students are understanding material that they have slacked-off in other areas like teaching basic study skills and critical thinking skills. When most of these kids graduate from high school and enter into a college setting, especially the ones who need to take remedial courses to catch-up to where  they should be when they graduate, they’re taken completely off guard with the course load and they will either succeed in managing it or struggle for the first few semesters, but the majority will drop out without a degree (Alliance for Excellent Education 1). High school is meant to prepare students for higher education or to enter the workforce, but the government is spending millions of dollars in order to remediate students and doing what high school teachers were meant to do (Alliance for Excellent Education 3). So, who is to blame? The supporters of No Child Left Behind acknowledge that there are some faults to the Act, but those like Kati Haycock believes that â€Å"although NCLB isn’t perfect, the Bush administration and Congress did something important by passing it. They called on educators to embrace a new challenge – not just access for all, but achievement for all †¦ there are no more invisible kids† (1). Supporters feel as though benefits such as holding teachers accountable for all students, including those with disabilities, and weeding out the schools that have a long history of doing poorly outweighs the negatives and that with time, the NCLB Act can be reformed to work as efficiently as it was enacted to work. Ravitch disagrees, stating that â€Å"Washington has neither the knowledge nor the capacity to micromanage the nation’s schools† (3). We have to agree with her as concerned citizens and parents. While the NCLB Act meant well when it was passed, it’s time to acknowledge that the government has spent billions of dollars trying to improve the education of America’s youth, yet 10 years later American students are still falling behind the mark set by other industrialized nations and the 201 3-2014 school year is quickly coming upon us. Not only are we falling behind globally, but minorities are still struggling behind Caucasian students. The gap between Caucasian students and minority students, that was intended to close through the NCLB Act, has remained just as far apart. E.E. Miller Elementary School, located here in Fayetteville, NC, just released their annual report card to parents. The chart below shows the break-down of students who passed both the reading and math tests provided at the end of the 2010-2011 school year. African American children, Hispanic children, and children with disabilities are still lagging far behind their Caucasian peers. African American children passed at 49.4 percent, 25.5 percent of students with disabilities passed and Hispanic children passed at rate of  56.9 percent. Remember that the NCLB expects this school, along with every other school in the Nation, to be at 100 percent proficiency by the end of the 2013-2014 school year. Source: Education First NC School Report Cards, E. E. Miller Elementary: 2010-11 School Year, Public Schools of North Carolina State Board of Education, Web, 26 Oct. 2011. In order to put this chart more in perspective, below is the 3-year trend for E.E. Miller. [pic] Source: Education First NC School Report Cards, E. E. Miller Elementary: 2010-11 School Year, Public Schools of North Carolina State Board of Education, Web, 26 Oct. 2011. While math scores are steadily improving, reading scores (the solid line) are declining. E.E. Miller has been on probation for at least 3 years, having provided tutoring to children who were struggling last year. Even with those efforts, the end of the year test suggests those students are still struggling in reading. These mandates are not working. States are spending millions of dollars per year to fulfill all of the required obligations without any fruition. We need to put education spending back into the hands of the states with more substantial federal funding. The federal government cannot expect every public elementary school, middle school and high school in this nation to fix a problem that has been prevalent for many, many years with this one-size-fits-all approach to learning. It will not happen with No Child Left Behind, and it definitely will not happen by the end of the 2013-2014 school year. We can no longer sit and watch while students in America struggle to compete o n a global level in nearly all subjects. Teachers are not educating our nation’s students to think critically and to form their own ideas or opinions; instead, teachers in failing schools are stuck teaching a curriculum that directly corresponds to what is being tested, and we are failing to prepare them for higher education. The future citizens we are molding will be of no use to society if they cannot think for themselves, which will happen if they remain in the current system. We need to undo this one-size-fits-all curriculum and re-broaden our children’s education to include subjects that will teach them think outside the box. Works Cited Alliance for Excellence in Education. â€Å"Paying Double: Inadequate High Schools and Community College Remediation.† Issue Brief: August (2006). All4Ed.Org. Web. 30 Oct. 2011. Beveridge, Tina. No Child Left Behind and Fine Arts Classes. Arts Education Policy Review 111.1 (2010): 4. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. Web. 20 Oct. 2011. Chivvis, Dana. â€Å"Providence, RI, School Board Votes to Lay Off All Teachers.† AOL News (2011). Web. 28 Oct. 2011. Darling-Hammond, Lisa. â€Å"No Child Left Behind is a Bad Law.† Opposing Viewpoints. Web. 14 Oct. 2011. DeWeese, Tom. â€Å"Public Education is Failing.† Opposing Viewpoints. Web. 14 Oct. 2011. Education First NC School Report Cards. â€Å"E. E. Miller Elementary: 2010-11 School Year.† Public Schools of North Carolina State Board of Education. Web. 26 Oct. 2011. McKinney, Sueanne E., et al. â€Å"Addressing Urban High-Poverty School Teacher Attrition by Addressing Urban High-Poverty School Teacher Retention: Why Effective Teachers Persevere.† Educational Research and Review Vol. 3 (1) pp. 001-009 (2007). Academic Journals. Web. 28 Oct. 2011. Paige, Rod. â€Å"No Child Left Behind: A Parent’s Guide.† U.S. Department of Education (2002). PDF File. 28 Oct. 2011. Pascopella, Angela. Talking Details on NCLB. District Administration 43.7 (2007): 22. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. Web. 28 Oct. 2011. Ravitch, Diane. Time to Kill No Child Left Behind. Education Digest 75.1 (2009): 4. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. Web. 20 Oct. 2011.

Child Obesity Media And Technology Children And Young People Essay

Child Obesity Media And Technology Children And Young People Essay The topic of this research is looking into child obesity and whether it gives cause to come under child neglect laws. This will be done in a literature review format incorporating interviews to look at fact and opinions on the matter. The results provide a complex over view and debate the topic thoroughly, taking into consideration affecting factors. Yes, child obesity can be neglect if a parents have persistently ignored guidance and failed to seek needed help. It can also be no as not every child obese case gives cause to be considered neglect and it is extremely rare. Obesity is a condition in which weight gain has reached the point of seriously endangering health. While some people are genetically more susceptible than others, the direct cause of obesity in any individual is always an excess of energy intake over energy expenditure (Chambers and Wakely, 2002: X). The issues arisen from criminalising child obesity being under the law of child neglect will be critically discussed in this dissertation. Obesity is a major concern in the UK, proven to potentially shorten lives by up to 9 years, health professionals are starting to express their worries of parents outliving their children as a consequence of the health problems that accompany obesity (Kellow, 2011). Some of the possible health implications of child obesity are: diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and osteoarthritis (Sullivan, 2004 and Heaton-Harris, 2009). In 2010 20% of boys and 17% of girls aged 11-15 could be described as clinically obese, with 14% and 15% aged between 2-10 being obese. From 1995 child obesity has risen 6% for boys and 3% for girls (reference). This would make nearly 1 in 5 of all children not just overweight, but a t the point of serious health issues (Health Survey for England, 2010). It is already said to be costing the UK  £2 billion annually (Kellow, 2011) and estimated to increase to  £50 billion annually by 2050 if trends continue (Butland et al. 2007). The increase in child obe sity has sparked a moral panic about the concern for childrens health driving the government to do more to protect children from becoming obese. Obesity is defined by BMI which stands for body mass index. BMI is calculated by dividing a persons weight (in kg) by their height (in meters). To be classed as obese a persons BMI would need to be over 30, and to be classed as morbidly obese, which is extreme cases of obesity the BMI would need to be 40 or above (Chambers and Wakely, 2002). This is not what you expect to be talking about when discussing children, as the stereotypical image of a child is healthy and happy, getting plenty of exercise and being fed properly. However, Heaton-Harris (2009:14) provides an opposite portrayal, saying Obese children are less active than the average pensioner. She then goes onto explain that overweight children will get out of breath after 5 minutes due to the additional strain on the heart to pump excessively around the body, which is too large and demanding oxygen rich blood. It is clear from the statement that Heaton-Harris (2009) argues that obese children are very disadvantaged and unfit. Children are vulnerable and dependant on parents and guardians and it is their duty is to make sure their children are healthy and happy. Ford-Martin (2005) says that children learn by example and that as a parent or guardian you are their primary role model. The parents or guardians of children struggling with obesity are therefore failing their children as the child is severely unhealthy and is at risk of severe health problems. It currently can become a child protection issue if children are allowed to eat excessive amounts of food, or have a seriously unbalanced diet (Grady, 2012). In extreme cases children can be removed from parental or guardian care by the court due to the affecting factor, children being obese. The fact that children sometimes need protection from parents if they are obese is interesting and leads onto the discussion whether this should also be a punishable offence. As it stands the definition of child neglect is, a persistent failure to meet a childs basic physical and/or developmental needs. Neglect includes failing to provide for a childs health, education, emotional development, nutrition, clothing, shelter, safety and safe living conditions, and includes exclusion of the child from the home and abandonment. It is different from poverty, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), because it happens when there is failure to provide the resources to meet a childs needs if those resources exist or should be available (Bovarnick online, 2007). This definition explains under current statute what would be classed as child neglect and as you can see this covers a very wide spectrum. Although it does say failing to provide for a childs health (Bovarnick online, 2007).This could allow child obesity to fit into this category. Although generally the main focus of child neglect is failure to provide a child with something not allowing children excessive amounts of something. The question this dissertation sets out to answer is whether or not child obesity presents the scope to be punishable by law under child neglect statute. The aims are to establish how much blame is on the media, technology and parents to establish whether or not it is justifiable to hold them responsible for the obesity state their child/children are in. This question will be looked at through current literature and interviews to see what people think about the issue also. The first chapter discussing the role media and technology play on the obesity state of the youth in the UK. The second chapter puts forward the debate on whether or not parents should take the main responsibility of their childrens obesity state. The third and final chapter deliberates the on-going debate on the issues of child obesity being a form of child neglect taking into consideration both of the discussed issues presented in the previous chapters. The impending investigation takes the format of a literature review, which incorporates interviews also. There is extensive literature on the topic of child obesity in the UK which is taken advantage of in the format being used to answering the question set out. As well as gathering qualitative data from interviews to get opinions and see if they back up the literature found. Chapter 2: Methodology The methods section is the most important aspect of a research paper because it provides the information by which the validity of a study is ultimately judged (Kallet, 2004:1129). 2.1: Research design and rationale Child neglect and child obesity are both current issues and can both impose health problems to children. It is an on-going debate whether child obesity should come under child neglect laws which can hold parents or guardians responsible and therefore punish them for the obesity state their child/children are in. These two topics for investigation are strongly linked and consequently showing a need to investigate them together and answer the question whether child obesity should be criminalised. The methodology used to conduct this investigation into child neglect and child obesity is mainly library based research but incorporated into the research investigation is a short interview to compare with the literature based findings. The methodological approach needs to fit the purpose and the question being researched. Therefore justification for the methods used in any research being conducted needs to be established (Kumar, 2011). This is also backed up by Robson (2002), who articulates the data collected by the researcher in any topic is dependent on the particular research question and aims. Winstanley (2009) and Saunders et al., (2007) state there are two categories research can be separated into; primary research and secondary research. According to Sorenson (2010) the difference between the two is how the research is gathered: primary research is collected by the researcher whereas secondary research is carried out using already existing data. Secondary data according to Bryman and Bell (2007) and Zikmund (2003) is when, documents by other researchers are analysed by people most commonly not involved in the collection process. This allows experience and knowledge to be drawn from other academics which may be vital to the subject area being discussed. This paper is at an under-graduate level making expert knowledge and expertise crucial in making the paper of value in the academic world. Zikmund (2003) also draws attention to the lower cost, which is also a main advantage over primary data which can be expensive. Saunders et al. (2007) comment that secondary research allows a wide range of information to be gathered such as: quantitative, qualitative, descriptive and explanatory data. However every form of data collection comes with weaknesses. Secondary data may provide a lot of good quality information but may not link entirely with the given research questions and aims providing no value towards further research; this is something researchers need to consider. In a lot of instances it can be near impossible to find sufficient information (Zikmund, 2003). Also if pre-existing data is relevant, credible and specifically what the researcher needs to discuss time and effort designing and collating new research maybe a waste of the researchers time. Secondary research was the main data collection method chosen as it seemed the best choice to answer the question on whether child obesity should or is criminalised. When talking about a debate that already exists it is paramount to include current literature, especially when this issue is a current governmental and political matter. With an abundance of existing research in this area, secondary data collection was the easiest method and the most appropriate main form of data collection. However the weaknesses pointed out do need to be noted as secondary data can provide such a wide scope of data and most of it may be irrelevant and only relevant data needs to be discussed, this will be discussed in more detail under the inclusion/exclusion of data. The debate on criminalising child obesity is a current one in the academic world however this dissertation took a new direction, by adding interviews as there would have been no point carrying out something that had been done before. The secondary data gathered was in the form of a library based dissertation also known as a literature review. This is the main source of information being used to discuss the issues of child obesity and whether criminalising it is appropriate and considers: journals, newspapers, reports, textbooks, abstracts, media sources both electronically and in hard copy format (Hart, 1998). Hart says that a literature review is The selection of available documents on the topic, which contain ideas, data and evidence written from a particular standpoint to fulfil certain aims or express certain views on the nature of the topic and how it is to be investigated and the effective evaluation of these documents in relation to the research being proposed (1998: 13). Literature reviews are seen as very important and as Aveyard (2010: 6) explains them to be like jigsaw puzzles as you piece each part of the puzzle (piece of literature) together to give the reader the overall picture. Therefore playing an important part allowing all relevant information on a given topic to be in one place at the same time, this brings to light conflicting academic works to be seen together which may have gone unnoticed before. This type of research can also incur new insights to be drawn as a result of re-analysing previous sources. However Aveyard (2010) notices they are useful but in order to be reliable they need rigour and structure. The idea is not to find literature to back up the desired answer but to open-mindedly collate information to reach and answer on a predefined question. This is very important as literature reviews permits the overall picture to be seen and therefore hopefully eliminating bias so the researcher needs to adhere to this and this why it is vital that a systematic approach is taken. Hart (1998) establishes that literature reviews need to present all available documents on the chosen topic not just selected few to give the reader everything to make up their mind. This poses a difficulty as the resources available to an under graduate student will not allow a team of researchers and there are time constraints. This is why a systematic approach will be adhered to but may not reach the exact same criteria a fully funded and resourced literature review will. To present information to allow a reader to reach his/her own conclusions on the predefined question, whether childhood obesity should be criminalised, it will be thoroughly researched selecting only relevant information. The systematic approach used key terms (Appendix 2: 54) to search the library data base at Buckinghamshire New University and the internet. This was systematic do uncover any relevant literature which ensured everything relating to the topic was read and if found useful was then included in the discussion. However this is not the only form of data collection being used as primary research is also being used in the form of interviews which shapes the literature already in circuit to cater directly to the needs of the question and objectives giving and already existing topic area a new direction. The dissertation aims to uncover not only current issues and debates but peoples attitudes and thoughts which are only possible if opting to incorporate primary data also that adds value to the issues being presented. The interview questions were formed around the literary findings, which then allowed the literature and interviews to be compared and discussed. Interviews were conducted as part of the research which is one of the main methods of gathering primary data; permitting data to be brought together that has not been gathered previously. Ghauri et al. (2005) highlights one of the main advantages of using primary research methods is the data is going to be relevant as it is specifically gathered to the specialised research area, this is also backed up by Zikmund (2003). Being able to shape the data being gathered to suit the needs of the study allows consistent information to be provided. Saunders et al. (2007) points out that a main limitation to primary research is interviewee and interviewer bias when using focus groups. The research in this study does not involve focus groups for this exact reason to decrease the chance of bias. However the interviewees and interviewer were criminology students and may present a bias for that reason. Having bias makes it less reliable which affects the validity and also makes it hard to generalis e results, this is something to be taken into consideration for this study. Nevertheless this is a valid point and makes the study less reliable but not an easy issue to overcome given the ethical restrictions and materials available for the study. The library based element and the interview section are both focusing on qualitative data, however there will be some secondary data featured in the form of quantitative statistics jotted throughout. Bryman (2001: Page number) describes qualitative research to be a strategy that usually emphasizes words, feelings, perception, and qualitative research tends to be concerned with words rather than numbers. The point of the dissertation is to look into the perception people have and the way society see child obesity and what they think in regards to it being criminalised. Hoepfl (1997) stated that qualitative research allows data to discover the meaning of events rather quantitative using numbers to establish facts. Qualitative data provides the means to find out what peoples attitudes and intentions are about fundamental topics (Ghauri et al, 2005). This permits researchers to broaden knowledge and insight in their chosen topic. This is very useful and one of the main reasons interviews were picked was to develop an understanding of whether obesity is seen as criminal as it will give an insight to peoples opinions on the issue as well as comparing it to current literature available. Interviews were chosen as they have potential to gain rich and insightful data (Robson, 2011). Sarantakos (1988) highlights the main advantages of interviews are: there flexible and adaptable, they directly ask the questions and can assess non-verbal behaviour, which can sometimes reverse the meaning. Robson (2007) also highlights that direct face to face interviews have advantages as you can measure the seriousness which participants take the exercise and you get a higher response rate as it is harder to say no. Although Sarantakos also points out that there are disadvantages such as biases are hard to rule out and that interviews are very time-consuming considering the time it takes to transcribe interviews. Interviews were picked from this study to gage an understanding of what people thought about childhood obesity as from interviews you can directly ask the questions you need answered. It was tailored to the topic of the dissertation which allowed the discussion of both literatu re and the data found in the interviews. Interviews not only helped to gage an understanding and present data for discussion but as it was done whilst the literature was being gathered it showed areas that were in need for research to cover the topic of child obesity. For example, in one interview the topic of illnesses and diseases that can make you obese was discussed about bringing to light this new area to be included. The interviews will be carried out on two separate days with 5 interviews on one day and 5 on the other. All interviewees were handed a leaflet (Appendix 3:55-56) to inform them that the interview will remain anonymous and that they can stop at any time and this leaflet is then signed by each interviewee to ensure consent is present. Participant numbers will be used when discussing in the main paper and no names will be included within the dissertation to keep identities confidential. There will also be a verbal introduction read out to participants to ensure consistency (Appendix 4: 57). 10 students will be asked the same three questions in the same order. Interviewees will be both genders but all over the age of 18 attending Buckinghamshire New University. They were interviewed in a rentable room in the library of Bucks New University. All interviews were recorded on a Dictaphone and transcribed after all participants had completed the interview. The interviews will be structured a nd based upon four questions (appendix 4: 57). Interviewees were asked to explain their answers in as much detail as they could. A main advantage of the research design is that it incorporated both secondary and primary research by being a library based review including short interviews to compare and possibly back up the literature based findings. The disadvantages of just doing one form of research will be minimised as you will decrease the disadvantages of doing primary or secondary by using both. For example a main disadvantage of using primary research is researcher bias which can still occur but will be compared to other literature on the same topic so this will be minimised, this makes the results found in the dissertation a higher validity. 2.2: Data Analysis 2.2.1 Library Based Research A library based search is an analytical overview of literature on a given topic. In order to present the literature found in from the library search it was thoroughly studied and then broken down into the three chapters. They were broken down into chapters to specifically analyse each section of information uncovered giving the direct access to then compare to the interview findings. 2.2.2 Interviews Gibbs (2007) describes coding as the direction you take when analysing your data, where you systematically link together similar theories and descriptions. Robson (2011) explains the importance of thematic coding has to drawing points of interest out of data. Thematic coding was used to analyse the data gathered from the interviews as the reason they were carried out was to gage what people thought about child obesity. The interviews consisted of peoples thoughts and ideas and being able to dissect the meaning of these gives value to the data collected and transforms it to a functional format, this is then used when discussing the issues that arose. Being able to identifying general themes from the interviews was necessary in understanding more about the phenomenon. It was especially useful in pin pointing specific areas in need for discussion as child obesity is a broad topic; this was how the chapters were chosen. There were a lot of advantages to thematic coding such as: flexibility, being easy to pick up, within reach to those with little or no experience and it allowed key features to be summarised which then made it easy to remark on in the chapters. However the main disadvantages these were: being flexible it gave the potential for a broad range of data which could then be confusing to interpret and use and that coding may be limited to description or exploration and not very focused towards interpretation (Robson, 2011). Robson (2011) then goes onto describe the five phases to thematic coding: the first phase is familiarising yourself with data, the second phase generating initial codes, the third identifying themes, the fourth constructing thematic networks and the fifth and final phase integration and interpretation stage. Miles and Huberman (1994) mention that there are more than one stage to coding the first level is attaching labels to groups and the second putting the initial themes into a smaller amount of themes. 2.3: Inclusion/Exclusion of Criteria Research materials included in the research investigation would need to be from the UK and information from other countries or discussing other countries will be excluded as the points will not be as relevant, unless it specifically addresses the UK or is used in a comparative style. Another crucial point is the date period which is something the researcher should be aware of (Zikmund, 2003). If a publication was older than 10 years it is not likely to still be of importance, however in the case of childhood obesity it seems to be a newly mediated topic which can mean that all information is still of relevance. So literature that is older than 10 years will only be included if it seems to still be of significant importance or a pivotal point for discussion. Chapter 3: Child Obesity, media and technology Of course, with the important role comes responsibility, the media must operate in an ethical and responsible way (Browne, J, 2011, online). This chapter looks at the part media and technology play in the child obesity epidemic. The media cannot be punished for neglecting children as they do not owe the same duty of care parents do, establishing how much the media affects the problem of obesity nevertheless will benefit the overall argument. It can be broken down into three categories, firstly the rise in technology, which has increased sedentary activities among youths. Secondly, with the issue of child obesity increasing this has led to an upsurge of media coverage on the issue (Kim and Wills, 2007), the ways in which the issue is portrayed may too affect child obesity. Thirdly studies have shown that advertising of junk foods may be directly linked to the increase of child obesity, and has been a topic of much discussion in recent years. It is important to remember that not only are media there to inform but they aim to educate and entertain and are getting paid so it is important to remember they may have hidden agend as (Melville-Brown, 2007) as well as their aim being to publicise health problems not rectify them. 3.1: Literature Findings 3.1.1 Sedentary lifestyles amongst youths The involvement children have with physical activity has noticeably decreased over the past 20 years. Dr Watkins (cited in Cole and Kmietowicz, 2007:334) stated that free range children have been replaced with battery reared children reared in cyberspace, and thats the reason for the epidemic of childhood obesity. This highlights that the increased participation in sedentary activities, that are more readily available for the children of today, play a huge role in their lives and may impact on the statistical increase of childhood obesity. The changes in lifestyle that causes lack of physical exercise and the consumption of more high in fat foods are thought to be major influences to obesity, even when taking into consideration genetic causes that are coming to light more and more (Warren et al., 2003). What are the pin point changes in society that caused this change in lifestyle? We now live in an instant culture (Heaton-Harris, 2009). Children in todays society spend their time pl aying video games and socialising on the internet rather than meeting face to face. It is these sedentary pursuits that allows children to do little exercise and encourages them to snack more. Ford Martin (2005) found that 92% of children had a home gaming system and the average time a day children spend in front of a media screen is 6 and a half hours. It is no wonder that child obesity is on the rise and physical activity is at an all-time low among young children. It is starting at such a young age as a Kaiser family foundation study (cited in Ford-Martin, 2005) found that a third of all children aged six and younger had their own televisions in their bedrooms. The children of today do not know anything different than sitting down in front of computers and televisons. It is not that sedentary activities are what children are most commonly engaging in.   It is worrying because it is replacing physical exercise of  youth  altogether  (Ofcom, 2004). Ofcom (2004) emphasise that there is a correlation between watching television, poor diet, poor health and obesity with children and adults. Steinbeck (2001) links the decrease in physical activity to the increase of child obesity; Biddle, Gorely and Stensel (2004) believe this to be true also. It would appear to attempt overcoming the child obesity epidemic children need to lessen their time involved in sedentary activities and partake in more physical activities. 3.1.2 Media Coverage Rodgers (2009, online) believes there is currently a panic surrounding child obesity in the UK with this sudden rise of media attention. Marsh and Melville (2011, online) describe moral panics as an exaggerated social reaction to something embraced by the mass media, which is caused by the activities of certain groups and/or individuals. This becomes the source of major public concern that amplifies the panic surrounding such activities. The TV series Jamies school dinners (2005), presented by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, made a huge impact on child obesity, the media coverage on the topic and public perceptions. The Chef uncovered that 97% of school children were getting a totally unbalanced diet on a daily basis and this needed to change for the benefit of childrens health. A nutritionist on the series explained that the current school dinners lacked fruit, veg and vitamin C which are crucial in forming immunity (Jamies School Dinners, 2005). The TV series not only changed the public perception, more importantly led to changes by the government to ensure children had healthier school dinners. The Department for Education (2013), explains the governments current stance that there are strict nutrient-based standards that all schools in England need to comply with. This includes food and drink that can be obtained throughout a school day. The Government clearly state that they take the issue of healthy school dinners seriously, as it can affect childrens willingness to learn, behaviour and eating habits for life. The Schools Food Trust (2007, online) is a document that sets out the compulsory standards the Government insisted on that needed to be in place by September 2009. A 2011 article in the Sunday Observer shows that since the positive change to healthier school dinners that there has been an increase in not only learning as test results show but absences have dropped by 14% (Boffey, 2011). The media therefore has positive effects as well as negative. The media has seen to be useful for informing people about child obesity and helping to overcome the epidemic, as Jamie School Dinners is a prime example. However the media is widely known to provide misconceptions, which could worsen the issue. As it has been discussed child obesity is prominently featured in the media. When an important issue such as a childs health is at stake it is important that the issue is honestly portrayed ensuring it can be dealt with effectively. An argument is that the media portray only the extreme cases of obesity as that would be shocking news stories (Winterman, 2012). This then leads people to think that to be obese you would need to be extremely obese which may be cause for confusion and misunderstanding. As shown when half of parents underestimated the size of an obese child which implies that the media maybe the cause of this dangerous misconception (Winterman, 2012). If parents are misinformed by the media this could have life threatening affects for children who are obese, especially if it encourages the parents to believe that their children are not obese and do not take much needed action. It has also been noted that prime time TV shows about obesity, that dominate popular channels, give the wrong impression about obesity also. Boyce and Inthorn, (2007) studied programmes that were dedicated primarily to obesity, and came to the realisation that the shows directed blame on individuals generally rather than a public health issue. They tended to give the impression that it was down to self-control and discipline of the individual, with weight control being easily attainable as a result. The study also found that the programmes failed to improve levels of knowledge on obesity as it used shame and humiliation to persuade people to lose weight not knowledge. Jones (2006) backs this relaying that lack of correct information is a key problem. Rees et al. (2011) interviewed children about obesity, and they also shared the opinion shared by most TV programmes on obesity and thought if a child was obese they were to blame as it was something the media made out to be controllable . This false idea that obesity is easily controllable is wrong and may cause a lot of bullying in schools. 3.1.3 Advertising Its not just TV programmes that are thought to be affecting the ideas around child obesity; also adverts for unhealthy food are being blamed for the increase in child obesity (Carvel, 2003). It had been established beyond reasonable doubt that advertising of unhealthy products influences what children not only eat and drink but also the brands they prefer. Boyce, (2007) agrees that advertising is widely seen to encourage unhealthy consumption, particularly with children, as food is the most frequently advertised product on childrens TV. Coon and Tucker (2002) conducted a literature review into journal articles and concluded based on their findings that children exposed to advertising were significantly more likely to opt for advertised food products than those not exposed. Ofcom (2004) provided research also to suggest that there is a direct link to childrens food choices and advertisement. The report written by Barclay (2011) expresses clearly the governments stance, which indicates that they strongly agree junk food adverts encourage childrens ill health. From July 2007 such adverts were not restricted but totally banned from childrens TV by Ofcom, in what one would presume

The Narrator In Raymond Carvers The Cathedral

The Narrator In Raymond Carvers The Cathedral Fiction writers use various ways in telling their story. One of such ways includes the establishment of the position through which the storyteller is to convey the plot. Raymond Carvers Cathedral is a perfect example of a story from a first person narrator. A first person narrator lacks a complete hold and knowledge of other characters and often gives incomplete information and perceptions about them. In the story, the use of first person narrator gives the story in the perspective of I. The anonymous character in Cathedral is revealed as having misconstrues and limitations in the story (Stern 50) His flaws are evident in the manner in which he interacts with other characters in the story. Nevertheless, the author gives the narrator an opportunity to grow and prove his stereotypes wrong. Confusion and ignorance are a great impediment for ones true focus in life. A slight moment with the truth can be a turning point in a persons life; giving an opportunity to remedy past mistakes and misconceptions. The narrator is presented as having various inadequacies and flaws which prevent him from getting a clear view of the world. Perhaps, the narrators prejudice against blind people reveals more about his character. The narrator clearly shows his uneasiness with the blind man visiting, And his being blind bothered me. My idea of blindness came from the movies. In the movies the bind moved slowly and never laughed (Carver 186). Apparently, the narrator foolishly searches for any reason to dismiss the blind man. For instance, the narrator says, Id always thought dark glasses were a must for the blind. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.I remembered reading somewhere that the blind didnt smoke (Carver 190-191). The blind man is a friend of his wife and is paying the couple a visit. Evidently, the narrator is naÃÆ' ¯ve and ignorant about blind people. Through the reactions and actions of the narrator, we are able to infer some elements of his character flaws. For instance, it is undoubtedly true that the n arrator is overly insecure. As a man of the house, he is afraid that the feminine can take away his position. This is demonstrated symbolically through the use of the castle in the story (Bullock 343). The masculine castle of the narrator is demonstrated by the differentiation of whatever is inside and outside. As a male, the narrator must be able to not only prevent any form of external intrusion but also the threat of the feminine power he lives with. Surprisingly, the threat he faces is his own feminine nature. The narrator is devoid of self-awareness. His attitude towards Robert, the blind man and his wife depict a great deal of the narrators insensitivity. In fact, he betrays himself through his inarticulate manner of speech. A plethora of flaws can be drawn from the mannerisms shown by the narrator (Bugeja 80). The author applies the present situation of the narrator as well as the past experiences to paint a full picture about the life of the narrator. As a working person, there is nothing desirable about the narrators job. From the story, we gather information that the narrator is struggling with bad habits. In the past, the narrators wife is said to have attempted to commit suicide. She also has had a divorce and seemingly, her marriage to the narrator is definitely an unhappy one. Yet, the narrator does not seem to be there for her. The narrator is not only a drunkard but also a drug addict. He spends most of his time after work in his living room watching TV. Worse still, he does no t seem to have a flicker of enthusiasm about his marriage. In fact, he does not show signs of intimacy with anybody in his life. All these are signs of ignorance and insensitivity. The transformation of the narrator comes rather unexpectedly. From the beginning of the story, he can see Robert as a mere blind man. He resents him and dismisses him as useless and weak. In fact, the narrators stereotypical associations of the blind man are not different with that of a common person. However, a turning point comes in his life when he spends time with Robert. At first, the narrator feels rather awkward that his wife does not keep her guest comfortable. Robert, aware of the narrators weaknesses and his lonely life, endeavors to create a relationship with him. He takes advantage of the narrators TV viewing habits to dispel the stereotypes and misplaced perceptions of the narrator. Unknown to the narrator, Robert is possesses very string personality. Unlike the narrator, the blind man is self sufficient, confident, sensitive, perceptive, and self-assured as well as gregarious. Moreover, Robert is immensely knowledgeable; possessing a heightened capability and awareness. As it dawns on the narrator, disability is not inability. The narrator recognizes the humanity possessed by Robert in spite of his blindness. The growth of the narrator comes along with his revised perception and stereotypes about blind people. The use of the cathedral is significant in the story. It is used as an implied metaphor suggesting the isolation that the narrator faces as a masculine figure. The craving for the masculine narrator to maintain his power and ego seems as an imprisonment (Lacan 1280). After obtaining re-assurance from Robert, the narrator clearly changes his direction. The blind man does not meet the stereotypes possessed by the narrator about blind men. The moment he spends with Robert turns out to be his turning point. The TV program on cathedrals offers a chance for the narrator to come into self recognition, allying all previous fears about blindness. As the narrator draws the cathedral while his eyes are closed, he expresses the liberty he feels. He admits that I was in my house. I knew that. But I didnt feel like I was inside anything. This is certainly a transformation of the earlier masculinity held by the narrator. The symbolism in the use of cathedral is that when the narrator draws it, he i s designing a new masculinity different from that of the castle. The narrator escapes from his feeling of insecurity embracing a new dawn; a complete rebirth. The dependency of masculinity on others to achieve its full potential is depicted in the response given by Robert about cathedrals. Being blind, Robert describes a cathedral as he has just heard from the TV. According to the blind man, generations of the same families worked on a cathedralà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. Men who their lifes work on themà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. never lived to see the completion of their work (Carver 190). In this, it is evident that that just like Robert is a crucial catalyst towards the development of the narrator, men are similar to cathedrals and have to have these supports. To help hold them up, so to speak. These supports are called buttresses (Carver 191). Men need support like the cathedrals for them to reach the up. According to the narrator, men built cathedrals during the olden days for them to be closer to God. The metaphor presented through the use of a religious building shows a need for design directed towards religious dimension. Although the dimension is not presented through doctrines, we can decipher it from the church wedding for the blind man and his wife (Bullock 345). Ignorance can pose a great danger in the life a person; particularly in their daily interactions with other people. Failure to adopt open mindedness and a free focus towards life can render an individual into imaginary blindness. Physical blindness does not mean mental blindness; a physically blind person can show a normal person with clear vision the way. Stereotypes are the dwelling places for confusion and ignorance; favoring the perpetuation of misplaced imaginations and beliefs.

Mise-en scene :: Free Essays

Mise-en scene The literal translation of the word mise en scene means, "to put on stage" or "placing of a scene", and is used to describe those visual aspects that appear within a single shot. These definitions are derived from the terminology of the theatre; additional meanings have been added in recent years to apply the term in the cinema, the more open definition now also encompasses sound. Ira Konigsberg defines mise en scene, in "The complete film dictionary" as "Mise en scene, in discussions of film, refers to the composition of the individual film, the relation of objects, people and masses; the interplay of light and dark; the pattern of colour; the camera's position and angle of view, as well as the movement within the frame". The use of mise en scene in films is now often registered as the imprint that the director puts upon their cinematic vision, the totality of how the director designs and actuates given scenes. The many areas they fall into being: Setting is usually perceived as a signifier of authenticity, such as the place where the events are happening, they are a constructed setting for action. Often settings are invented, they do not exist, and are set in the future or space, films such as Star Wars or the Fifth Element. Locations can not only be recognised and help us to place the characters within a film, but can also through the film itself create their own space and meaning. Props are devices for conveying meaning which films are dependent upon. They are definers of genre, examples of which are weapons in action films. They can also however become unique signifiers of meaning in a particular film, while all scenes are constructed around numerous props, our attention is often attracted to a particular significant one by the use of close up or dialogue. This shows the significance of the objects, we know that thy will be important in the narrative. Costume and Make-up these are variants of props but are tightly

Mother Daughter Relationships - Mothers and Daughters in Amy Tans The Joy Luck Club :: Joy Luck Club Essays

Mothers and Daughters in Joy Luck Club Amy Tan's novel, The Joy Luck Club, explores the relationships and experiences of four Chinese mothers and four Chinese-American daughters. The difference in upbringing of those women born during the first quarter of this century in China, and their daughters born in California, is undeniable. From the beginning of the novel, you hear Suyuan Woo tell the story of "The Joy Luck Club," a group started by some Chinese women during World War II, where "we feasted, we laughed, we played games, lost and won, we told the best stories. And each week, we could hope to be lucky. That hope was our only joy." (p. 12) Really, this was their only joy. The mothers grew up during perilous times in China. They all were taught "to desire nothing, to swallow other people's misery, to eat [their] own bitterness." (p. 241) Though not many of them grew up terribly poor, they all had a certain respect for their elders, and for life itself. These Chinese mothers were all taught to be honorable, to the point of sacrificing their own lives to keep any family members' promise. Instead of their daughters, who "can promise to come to dinner, but if she wants to watch a favorite movie on TV, she no longer has a promise" (p. 42), "To Chinese people, fourteen carats isn't real gold . . . [my bracelets] must be twenty-four carats, pure inside and out." (p. 42) Towards the end of the book, there is a definite line between the differences of the two generations. Lindo Jong, whose daughter, Waverly, doesn't even know four Chinese words, describes the complete difference and incompatibility of the two worlds she tried to connect for her daughter, American circumstances and Chinese character. She explains that there is no lasting shame in being born in America, and that as a minority you are the first in line for scholarships. Most importantly, she notes that "In America, nobody says you have to keep the circumstances somebody else gives you." (p. 289) Living in America, it was easy for Waverly to accept American circumstances, to grow up as any other American citizen. As a Chinese mother, though, she also wanted her daughter to learn the importance of Chinese character. She tried to teach her Chinese-American daughter "How to obey parents and listen to your mother's mind.