Political Socialization Essay

So what is Political Socialization? Our text book explains it as the way people acquire their political beliefs and values: often including their party identification, through relationships with their families, friends, and co-workers. To put it more simply, it’s our experiences with our parents, friends, school and society. It’s what we were taught in school about patriotism, and being civic minded. It’s also how our morality judges those experiences and is shaped by those experiences. Political Socialization is how we express ourselves in daily politic or if we express ourselves at all. It’s who and what we align ourselves with in order to feel we have a voice for our concerns in the larger public. The who, is usually a political party that we feel best represents our political believes and standpoints. There are several key elements in determining the level of political socialization which are important to outline. Political knowledge: just how much do you know about whom represents you and the current issues? People with high political socialization will generally know whom their representatives are in government and have at least a modest understanding of the major issues. They also know how to find out more about individual issues. How much do you discuss current issues with people: family members, friends, acquaintances? People with a high political socialization tend to discuss political issues that are important to them more than people with very little political socialization. Political Efficacy: what is your sense about your ability to impact government? Do you believe that if you get involved you can achieve your goal? Or do you believe that your voice will have no effect on current affairs. People with higher political socialization tend to feel that sense of efficacy. That if they get involved they can achieve their desired outcome. They don’t feel that they are just floating along with an inability to change their world. Political socialization tends to give people a tolerance for diversity. This means that people are not offended by opinions that don’t match their own. This reminded me of a conversation I had with a fellow student in my Geology lab last semester. We were ending a field trip and talking about various political topics (sitting in a pizza place in Berkeley of all places). My friend was telling me his opinion on a political subject, on which I did not agree. Instead of getting angry with him I simply said, ‘convince me’ and smiled. I wanted to see what the foundation of his argument was. I still wasn’t convinced. But, at least I understood better where he was coming from. This is an example of high political socialization leading to tolerance for diversity. Instead of being insecure about my own viewpoints, I was curious about his. This comes from a deeper understanding of what I believe. Political socialization brings a higher respect for other cultures and other systems. One may realize that other political systems while probably different are not inherently good or bad. You realize that the American political system is just one way of doing things. Each country has its own political identify which is the culmination of its’ history. People with higher political socialization tend to follow the action of the police and courts more. They tend to get less publicly enraged trusting that the justice system will work in the case of police misconduct or a court ruling that does not make sense. Last, people with higher political socialization tend to get involved in campaigns and elections believing and wanting to make a difference in their world. Who is the U. S. electorate? That’s us. It’s everyone in America. Whether you vote or not, whether you have the right to vote or not. You have the ability to speak and be heard by government. The voice of the electorate is what drives government. If we the citizens of the United States and of which ever state you live in say nothing to our elected officials, eventually they run out of things to do. Before we can know how to add or detract from the Madisonian Model, we must know what it is. The Madisonian Model is the model of government developed by James Madison which defines the balance of power in our government. Our government is divided into three main branches; the executive branch, the legislative branch and the judicial branch. Each branch is independent of one another and can override each other by constitutional procedure. The idea was to create a system of government where no part of the government could become too powerful. Does political socialization add to the functioning of the Madisonsian Model? Generally yes. But when Madison framed this model he was worried about just how much of the electorate had little to no political socialization. Madison and the Federalists saw the common man as an uneducated hoard that act out of emotion rather than logic. The Federalists did not want direct Democracy. They did not want everyone regardless of education level (especially in politics) in a direct position to make policy. They, Madison and the Federalists, wanted Representative democracy so that someone who had a high degree of political socialization could come and speak for a larger group. So political socialization adds to the Madisonian Model; the higher your political socialization the more active you generally are in politics and the more you take advantage of our Republic to voice your opinion.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding Essay

â€Å"My Big Fat Greek Wedding† is a romantic comedy that explores cultural differences in a combination of romance and humor. The story revolves around Toula, a thirty-year-old Greek American single woman, who lives with her family in the suburb of Chicago. She works in her family’s business, a restaurant called â€Å"Dancing Zorba’s.† Toula is expected to marry from their ethnic background. However, she struggles with her strict father to convince him that she longs for something else in life. She enrolls in college and takes computer classes. She manages her aunt’s travel agency and starts dating Ian Miller, a white high school English teacher. They date secretly for a while, before she has the courage to introduce him to her family. Her father is angry over her dating a non-Greek. The overall of the story occurs when both sides try to adjust to each other. This movie relates a lot to the five themes of geography we have been studying. It relates to location because they live in the suburbs in Chicago, which is a place. A location is people and places are positioned variously on the Earth’s surface. Also, the father lived in Greece before coming over to the U.S. So therefore, location relates to this movie. It also relates to place, physical and human characteristics distinguish one place from other places. In Greece, you have a very religion type of country. Houses are made to represent the Parthenon, which to the Greeks, is the home of Athena. Rather in, Chicago, you have very modern houses that don’t symbolize really anything. It relates to relationships within places also because in the movie, the family’s house in Chicago resembles the Parthenon, which you wouldn’t exactly see in such a city. It can also relate to movement because the family is constantly on the phone with each other. With Greeks, you would normally have a huge family, so they are constantly talking on cell phones or driving to each other’s houses to gossip. Also, last but not least, it can relate to region. The Earth can be divided into regions to help us understand similarities and differences of people and places. For example, Greece and Chicago are divided because they are very two different places. I really enjoyed watching this movie in class. It was very humorous and I learned a lot. Before watching this movie, I didn’t know that when you marry, your job as a woman is to basically cook, clean, and have kids. That shocked me completely. I loved the movie, however it was very predictable. By the way they set up the movie, you could easily tell what was going to happen next. But the overall movie was great. I would definitely recommend this movie to my friends to watch, it’s a very good movie if you just want to have a good laugh.

A Study On Classical Conditioning Psychology Essay

A Study On Classical Conditioning Psychology Essay In classical conditioning, an unconditioned stimulus (something that will always lead to a reaction of some type) leads to an unconditioned response (a natural reaction to the UCS). A neutral stimulus (NS) becomes paired with an unconditioned stimulus (UCS). This is also called the Pavlovian conditioning because Ivan Pavlov discovered classical conditioning in an experiment involving dogs. Eventually, the pairing of the NS and the UCS leads to an UCR. The conditioned stimulus (CS), which used to be the NS, will be associated with a response (CR). The CS really has no connection to the response but through the conditioning, the subject learns to associate their conditioned response with the CS. Classical conditioning is a form of learning in which the subject begins to associate a behavior with a certain stimuli. This paper discusses classical and operant conditioning, rephrasing what they are, and explaining them with real-life examples. Classical and operant conditioning are differ ent methods of learning. The two methods have the word conditioning in common. What is conditioning? Conditioning is the acquisition of specific patterns of behavior in the presence of well-defined stimuli. Both classical and operant conditioning are basic forms of learning. Classical conditioning is a type of learning in which an organism learns to transfer a natural response from one stimulus to another, previously neutral stimulus. This is done by manipulating reflexes. Operant conditioning is a type of learning in which the likelihood of a behavior is increased or decreased by the use of reinforcement or punishment. Operant conditioning deals with more cognitive thought process. These two forms of learning have similarities and differences. Their similarities are that they both produce basic phenomena. One such phenomenon is acquisition. Both types of conditioning result in the inheritance of a behavior. One of the most famous of experiments that illustrates classical conditioni ng is Pavlov’s Dogs. In this experiment, Pavlov sat behind a one-way mirror and controlled the presentation of a bell. The bell was the conditioned stimulus. A conditioned stimulus was an originally neutral stimulus that could eventually produce a desired response when presented alone. Directly after the ringing of the bell, Pavlov gave the dog food. The food was the unconditioned stimulus. This means that the food caused an uncontrollable response whenever it was presented alone. That response would be the salivation of the dog. A tube that was in the dog’s mouth then measured the saliva. When the unconditioned stimulus (US) was paired with a conditioned stimulus (CS), it eventually resulted in a conditioned response. Extinction results if there is a decrease in frequency or strength of a learned response due to the failure to continue to pair the US and the CS. Extinction can also occur in operant conditioning. The key to operant conditioning is reinforcement. Reinfo rcement is when a stimulus is presented that increases the probability that the preceding response will recur in the future. If reinforcement is withheld, extinction will occur in operant conditioning. Another factor that is involved in conditioning is spontaneous recovery. That is the reappearance of an extinguished response after the passage of time, without further training. If Pavlov’s dogs did not hear the bell for a few years, and if when they heard it later they drooled, it would be an example of spontaneous recovery. Something similar occurs with operant conditioning. If an animal was conditioned to behave in a certain manor, but then their reinforcement was stopped, that animal may still have a reaction to the stimulus at a much later date. Organisms that are being conditioned through operant or classical conditioning can go through something that is known as stimulus generalization. This is when there is a transfer of a learned response to different but similar stim uli. An example would be if one of Pavlov’s dogs salivated to the sound of a bell that was different from the one that they were originally conditioned with. Stimulus discrimination is another phenomena that occurs with classical and operant conditioning. Discrimination is when an organism learns to respond to only one stimulus and inhibit the response to all other stimuli. It is the reverse of generalization. If an organism hears many different sounds, but is only given reinforcement for responding to only one of the sounds, it learns to discriminate between the sounds. Some of the differences between operant and classical conditioning lie in the extent to which reinforcement depends on the behavior of the learner. In classical conditioning, the learner is automatically reinforced. That is how it learns to respond to a once neutral stimulus. In operant conditioning, the learner must provide a correct response in order to received the reinforcement. Another difference between the two forms of conditioning is the type of behavior to which each method applies. Classical conditioning applies to a behavior that is always wanted. It was Pavlov’s purpose to have the dogs salivate on command. In operant conditioning, a behavior can be learned or extinguished. If you wanted to train a dog not to do something, you would use a form of punishment. Classical and operant conditioning are similar, but they do differ in a few ways. Both are fairly reliable ways to teach an organism to act in a specific manor.

Young Black Men Fallen By The Wayside Research Paper

Young Black Men Fallen By The Wayside - Research Paper Example John Casor, in 1654, became the first black man to become a slave and this began a stream of events that led to the growth of slavery and the dehumanizing treatment of a black person. The consequential and constant bad treatment of blacks has lowered the perception a black person as a less than perfect person in comparison with the rest. This has led to son black people blaming the color of their skin for their woes to a point of murder. Jimerson (2013) attributes under development among black families to the low self-esteem that was set in motion before the American Revolution to enable the blacks to be normal members of the society. The Martin Luther King era was a significant time to the black in America and all over the world. Lack of equal chances has denied the black families to develop. Racial self-hatred leads a child away from the concentration of schoolwork as they try to fit in the society. They also believe that they inferior to other race in the school, so they believe they can perfume better than the rest; that lack of self-belief leads them to perform badly. Self-doubt in young black men makes them feel as if they are being looked down upon because of their skin color even when they are being corrected rightfully. It will always make them move away from their jobs to look for others that they consider are fitting for them (Vogel et al, 2011). Michael Jackson, hate for being black pushed him to the extreme of trying to discolor himself. The amount of money he used was staggering. Many musicians, like dancehall star Vybz Cartel, try to bleach themselves into being white, an act that costs them a fortune. The financial status of these young men is always poor and most of them are always in debts as they seek to change their appearance through artificial means. The integration of races is an issue not only in the United States but also everywhere in the world. It exists even in communities that are the most liberated and

Answer 7 individual questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Answer 7 individual questions - Essay Example The individual cannot breakdown such proteins leading to their accumulation and final death of the host as the proteins demand for more space. Viroids contain RNA as the nucleic acid and have no protein coat. Their infection materializes in the company of viruses. A case example is the viroid, Hepatitis D usually evident in the caspid of the virus, Hepatitis B. Bacteria are ubiquitous and unlike viruses, they lack the membrane enclosing the DNA contained in their nucleus. This makes them reproduce quickly via binary fission, independent of other cells. Bacteria also adapt to new environments and replicate even faster to overwhelm the hosts immunity. Consequently, a disease is evident. Viruses in the lytic cycle attach their phage on the host cells using tail fibers. Their penetration occurs once the lysozyme cell wall opens up allowing the tail sheath to contract and enforce DNA and tail core inwards (Harvey, 2007). In this cycle, production of phage proteins and DNA transpires, followed by mellowing and assembly of phage particles prior to their release once the cell wall of lysozyme breaks. Lytic cycles lead to lysis and eventual death of host cell. Chemical bonding and signaling to produce enzymes regulate the process. Latent cycle also known as lysogeny and temperance marks a period of no virulent activity. In this case, prophage DNA may be integrated in the hosts nucleic acid inducing specialized transduction and phage conversion in the future (Tortora, Funke & Case, 2010). This results to a provirus that allows infected cells to function normally for some time. The cycle involves the production of repressor proteins, which in spontaneous occasions may fail, making the virus to enter the lytic cycle. Viruses act as co-carcinogens, in that they propagate cancer progression. In some cases, they cause cancer, though pathology results after a long time. It is said that 10% of

Writing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Writing - Assignment Example The firm has utilized a strict domestic strategy in the United States. ABC Consulting is currently looking to expand oversees. The location the organization is targeting is Prishtina, Kosovo. Country Profile: Kosovo Prishtina is the capital of Kosovo. It is the largest city in the country with a population of 400,000 (Albanian). Approximately 22% of the country’s population lives in Prishtina. The city is considered the region with the highest education in the country due to the presence of the University of Prishtina. The two official languages of Kosovo are Albanian and Serbian. English, French, and German are also spoken by the younger generations. Muslim is the most practiced religion in Kosovo. Atifete Jahjaga is the current president of Kosovo. The country has an efficient public transportation system that is used by most people. The unemployment rate of the country is very high hovering around 40%. The majority of the citizens that are employed work in the public sector or in small family businesses (CultureGrams). Marketing Mix ABC Consulting must develop an effective marketing strategy to penetrate Kosovo. Despite the fact that the country is poor there are plenty of business opportunities for the company due to the fact that there are a lot of small businesses. These business owners could benefit from the services ABC Consulting offers. The marketing strategy the firm must develop has to take into consideration the marketing mix.

Sociology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 8

Sociology - Essay Example I called another friend and we carpooled; he drove. It was quite a drive so it’s a good thing that there was no drinking after all. On the way, we were talking about how the others were doing now, what keeps them busy and entertained. We finally arrive. The door of the house opens and the smile of a beautiful lady, which neither of us knew, greets us. â€Å"Hello,† she says, â€Å"I’m Ann. I’m Matt’s girlfriend. He’s in the kitchen right now but your friends are already in the dining room.† We enter the dining room, and were surprised to see everybody seated and having the same sort of puzzled, amazed look on their faces. Ann guides us to our seats and sits down herself. Then, Matt comes in, but we couldn’t see his face, that is, until he puts down a giant turkey right in the middle of the table. Everybody exchanges looks. One friend then says, â€Å"Didn’t we celebrate thanksgiving already? What’s the turkey for Matt?† Matt replies, â€Å"Of course it isn’t thanksgiving. But it doesn’t have to happen only once a year you know. You can be thankful anytime. In fact, I have a lot to be thankful for. I called you all up and you’re all here. And of course, you met Ann. I’m thankful for her too, of course†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Matt goes on talking until we finally get to taste the delicious bird, the stuffing, and the cranberry sauce. We all went home happily. But most of all, we all went home thankfully. We were thankful tha t everybody was doing well, thankful that we all came, and, certainly, thankful that we all have a friend like

Comparison Analysis Of George Seurat, Sunday Afternoon On The Island Essay

Comparison Analysis Of George Seurat, Sunday Afternoon On The Island Of The Grande Jatte, 1886, And Paul Gauguin, The Day Of The Gods, 1894 - Essay Example The essay "George Seurat and Paul Gauguin paintings" discovers two famous paintings, Paul Gauguin’s The Day of the Gods and George Seurat’s Sunday Afternoon. The paintings both depict the cultural gathering that a body of water can evoke. However, the gathering within the work of Seurat is defined by the formal and modest visage of the 19th century while Gauguin’s work reveals the naturalistic culture of Tahiti. The two pieces allow the viewer a distinct opportunity to see a transition between one form of painting to the next. The style of painting that George Seurat is most known for is that of pointillism. Pointillism is defined by a technique of applying paint where the artist uses small dots of color to shade and move the eye as if to create actually rounded and formed figures. The eyes create the illusion of the image as the tiny dots are blended, revealing the imagery through a trick of the eye. To look at a pointillist painting up close is to see nothing b ut a mass of dots, but when one stands back, the dots combine to create the intended imagery. Seurat had a tremendous scientific interest in the way in which they eye sees color. In the 1880’s, Seurat and Paul Signet developed pointillism as a way of stretching the scientific theories of the visually representation reinterpreted through specific, rigid rules of application. Pointillism is defined by paint that is not mixed on a palate; use of primary colors; individual dots or points of color; brushstrokes that are carefully place.

Clinton Trial Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Clinton Trial - Essay Example However, in 1998, he was accused for perjury and obstruction of justice during a case against him. These two accusations were related to a scandal concerning a white house intern. Although he was acquitted by the U.S Senate and completed his term in office the trial marked a great part of American history. Clinton’s Trial President Bill Clinton’s trial for the charges brought up against him of perjury and obstruction of justice, started in January 7 1999, in the Senate. As indicated in Article 1 of the United State Constitution, Chief Justice William Rehnquist of the Supreme Court was sworn in to preside over the trial and the juniors sworn in were the 100 senators. This was the second time in the United State history that the senate conducted a trial of a head of state (Sigelman et al, 2001). The origin of Clinton’s trial was in a sexual harassment lawsuit claimed by one Paula Jones in Arkansas in May, 1994. Paula Jones was a former Arkansas state employee. Paul a claimed that in May 8, 1991 while she was helping to staff a state-sponsored conference at the Excelsior Hotel in Little Rock, a member of at that time Governor Bill Clinton’s security, Danny Ferguson, came to her and told her that the Governor was asking to meet her in his hotel suite. Jones saw this as an opportunity to advance her career therefore she took the elevator to the Governor’s suite. According to her statement, Jones claims that when she got to the suite, the Governor, Clinton at that time, continuously made increasingly aggressive moves on her. In her account, she claimed that the Governor forced her to do sexual things but, according to the security guard outside the suite, Jones looked happy when she got out of the Governor’s suite. The lawyers of Clinton asked the court to dismiss Jones claims in 1997 saying it would only disrupt his work at the white house but the supreme court ruled against the president and allowed the discovery of the case to continue that was in May 1997. An independent Counsel Ken Starr was the one in charge of the investigation (umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/clinton/). Counsel Ken had history with investigating the officials in the white house although many of his cases had failed to hold in court for example his case on the land deal years earlier known as White-water. It was during this investigation that he got prove of Clinton’s misuse of power by being intimate with an employee, Monica Lewinsky. Consequently, Clinton’s trial had a lot of impact to the political sector mainly in Clintons rating and publicity. During this Lewinsky/impeachment controversy, Bill Clinton received the highest job approval ratings of his administration. Furthermore, as the Lewinsky situation unfolded, Clinton's approval in terms of his job went up, not down as was expected. Moreover, his ratings remained high for the duration of the impeachment proceedings. However while Clinton's job approval rati ng went up during the scandal with Lewinsky and the trial, his poll numbers though went down concerning the question of honesty, integrity and moral character as a political leader. As a result of this low ratings about his moral character and honesty led to change the political leadership of the United States. George.W.Bush was the president elected defeating Gore in the 2000 presidential elections and according to

Sir Gawains Green Knight Character Analysis Essay Example for Free

Sir Gawains Green Knight Character Analysis Essay Why did the author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight include a character with a bizarre complexion and magical abilities? Why do most people do weird things? Unfortunately, there is no obvious reason for the latter; however, there are quite a few explanations for the former. â€Å"The Pearl Poet,† as the unknown author is referred, wrote the poem around the late 1300s in England—a time and place in history in which knights, kings, and castles were not just parts of fairy-tales. One of the most important aspects of English society in the late 1300s was chivalry, or the ideal traits of a knight, which included courtesy, generosity, and romance. From the poet’s advanced literary techniques, many scholars consider him to be an educated man who had a purpose in creating such a peculiar character. Bertilak de Hautdesert, or the Green Knight, is a major character in the story for he serves as the antagonist to Sir Gawain. His set of circumanstances when deciding the challenges present the protagonist of the story with the main difficulties throughout the poem. Although he has multiple personalities throughout the poem (not only is Bertilak this fabled knight with abilities people can only dream that they have, but also The Host of the castle that Gawain stays at until the time comes to meet his own doom), which makes him a round character. The Green Knight is also definitely a static foil to Gawain. His entire character does not change throughout the poem—he has almost complete control of the events—and presents a contrast for the protagonist of the story. Although Gawain appears to be seen as possessing civilized characteristics, it is actually the antagonist of the story that possesses these traits. The Green Knight is not just a character with magical abilities, for he represents some of the most coveted human qualities—a friendly, well-rehearsed response to almost every situation and a strong desire to maintain the chivalric duties of society. From the start of the story, it is clear that the Green Knight possesses quite a few superhuman qualities. His description presents him as the toughest knight in existence. â€Å"Lightning like he seemed /And swift to strike and stun /His dreadful blows, men deemed, /Once dealt, meant death were done.† He is strong enough to carry a â€Å"helmet-smasher† with a four-foot long axe blade. Everything about his description in the beginning points to him being this freak of nature. His green hue, his green hair, the Green Chapel, and even his green horse represent the natural world. Like a tree being able to grow the same limb multiple times, Bertilak claims the ability to regenerate body parts. As Gawain is pretty confident that he has dealt with this mysterious force by striking off its head, the Green Knight, while bleeding from the deathly blow, picks up his own head and tells Gawain to meet him in a year for an equal strike. These magical characteristics set the stage for what seems to be the most formidable foe to the protagonist. As the antagonist to Gawain, readers should be terrified and repelled by the Green Knight, but many people are drawn to this mysterious stranger. For what reasons does Bertilak draw the attention of readers? Is it the same reason that many people are drawn to Iago from William Shakespeare’s Othello and to the Joker from The Batman Comics, or is there another reason than being pure evil, which he is not, that the antagonist of this story is so popular? There seems to be no stimulus that can anger the Green Knight. It seems he is unaccustomed to any negative feelings such as hatred or revenge. His emptiness of irrittability is seen throughout the poem. In the context of the time period, lordship and chivalry were important aspects of the cultural norm. As a member of the court of Arthur, the king’s nephew, Gawain, is committed to following Arthur. When Gawain enters The Host’s house, he is expected to be loyal and obedient to his temporary lord. Gawain receives kisses from this man’s wife. The Green Knight (The Host of the castle) is either unphased by this betrayal or very good at hiding his emotions as seen by the following quote: I pretended one stroke, a threat, a joke, /But left you whole; I had the right, /Because of our other agreement, in my castle; /You kept it faithfully, performed like an honest /Man, gave me everything you got. /Except that you kissed my wife: I swung /For that reason but you gave me back her kisses. /So all you got, for that, was a puff /Of air. /An honest man /Need never fear. No man would consider another an honest man when secretly kissing his wife, and not many people would do well when put in a situation like the one Bertilak is in during the poem. This is just one example of the Green Knight’s will to respond well to any kind of stimulus in the environment. The stealing of the girdle by Gawain presents the character foil of Sir Gawain as none other than Bertilak when he does not act violently as a result of Gawain’s non-chivalric behavior. Using magic would have been cheating, and cheating was strongly prohibited in the rules of chivalry. Chivalry—readers hear of this word every day when discussing Medieval Europe—had a strong influence on knighthood in the society in which the Pearl Poet lived. In the poem, Sir Gawain is supposed to represent this perfect knight, but his foil comes up the victor in almost every test of chivalry that Gawain is put in by the Green Knight. The Green Knight maintains his chivalric duties to society in almost every situation in the story. He might be a superhuman freak of nature who mysteriously appears at just the right time to King Arthur’s response for a marvelous story by someone in his court and demands for someone to play a game, but he does all of this in a well-behaved manner that seems to represent the most virtuous knight. As The Host, he is also seen as a respectable, noble man who clearly fits the definition of a civilized man. The most important aspect of all his characteristics is the fact that he is this immortal creature that determines the rules, yet he abides by the rules even when his foil tries to cheat and manipulate the circumstances so that he can win. It is this noble distinction that clearly sets the fine line between artificial knighthood seen in Sir Gawain and the real deal seen in the personality of Bertilak de Hautdesert. As is shown in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, misconceptions of reality can pose a threat to the naked eye’s perspective. Gawain definitely is not a chivalric knight: he steals kisses from a lord’s wife, he cheats when attempting to use the â€Å"magical† girdle, and he succumbs to his instinctual fear of mortality when put in the events of the poem. The Green Knight, on the other hand, represents not only the divine traits of nature but also the true representation of what a knight should be: his well-mannered response to stimulus and his duty to maintain the code of chivalry. Readers should take some time to examine the situation at a microscopic level. Even though he is an immortal force of nature that can design his own circumstances, he abides by the rules set fourth by himself and by society, which is why people are so attracted to him.

The Portrayal Of Women In Horror Films

The Portrayal Of Women In Horror Films This dissertation will consider the roles of women in the horror film genre and will deconstruct the way in which the conventions of the horror film prescribe such roles. Despite continued criticism for presenting women in a negative manner, many of the films explored here appear to suggest strong female representation so it will possible to investigate the position of the female from a number of different angles allowing a fluid discussion and counter argument. The passive female roles will be studied from the perspective of the male gaze and abjection, whilst active female roles will be explored from the role of the mother and the outcome of The Final Girl. As it would be impossible to discuss the entire history of the horror genre and womans relationship to it within the space available, so three chosen films will support the discussion. In all cases these films are regarded as classic horror films and, importantly, landmark and watershed moments in the horror genre. Psycho (1960), The Exorcist (1973), and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) all represent meta statements in the history of the genre and provide essential examples of the arguments discussed here. It should also be noted that all three films contain also ambiguous female characters for example; Mrs Bates in Psycho, the cross dressing Leatherface in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and the possessed Regan in The Exorcist who will all be debated. Significantly the films were produced and released during periods of change for womens rights, including the beginnings of the womens liberation movement in the early sixties though to the publishing of The Female Eunuch by Germaine Greer, and Spare Rib magazine in the seventies. This help to fuel the debate more significantly as the selected films span a time when women in the real world (as opposed to the constructed world of the cinema) had made great steps toward equality through the feminist movement. Horror films are told as stories of good versus evil. The drama of their narratives tends to derive from the clash between a monster and an innocent, So I want to understand why so many gratuitous, unjustified acts of violence towards woman could be justified on screen. I will consider the following aspects: male gaze, abjection, family structure, and the outcome of the final girl in the context of horror film genre. These are four common tendencies embedded within the literature of women and horror film and the background to these discussions will be framed within the context of the chosen films. This writing will deconstruct and examine the structure of those films, the motives behind their structure, and will consider their target audience. It will examine the symbolism that is used to express the plots and sub-plots and, most importantly, consider the roles of the female characters in those films. I will employ psychoanalytic and feminist theory to explore the female roles and will interpret commentary on Freudian and Lacanian theory, including castration anxiety and the role of the subconscious and apply them to horror film. Semiotic and populist perspective will also be considered to set out this debate. Much has been written on the subject and over twenty books have been researched to discuss this consideration of women and horror film in detail. Key texts include: Ways of Seeing (1972) by John Berger, Men, Women and Chain Saws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film (1992) by Carol J. Clover, The Monstrous-Feminine: Film, Feminism, Psychoanalysis (1993) by Barbara Creed and Powers of Horror (1982) by Julia Kristeva. The texts outline the intellectual context into which this dissertation enters. People assume that horror film exclusively represent women in a reactionary fashion, but further analysis has suggested that female characters are not as weak and vulnerable as they first may appear. For example The Final Girls last moments have been radically written and rewritten across the remakes and sequels to give new meaning. Analytical and theoretical analysis has been informed by the writing of Laura Mulvey and in particular her discussions of the male gaze. Mulvey argues in her polemic essay Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema that cinema was primarily created for the male spectator exploiting women as objects of desire. Julia Kristevas essay The Powers of Horror provides essential understanding on the position of abjection in the context of horror and mortality. All of the above writers discuss theoretical studies and theories of Dr Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan who are both indirectly referenced throughout this dissertation. Barbara Creeds The Monstrous-Feminine and Carol Clovers book Men, Women, and Chainsaws will inform debate around the matriarchal figures in Psycho and the outcome of the final girl in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. CHAPTER 1 Gendered Spectatorship The male gaze is made explicit in the horror genre, and this is inscribed in both the aesthetics of the films and its exhibition context. One of the most important essays about women in cinema is Laura Mulveys theory on the male gaze. As Mulvey states: The cinema offers a number of possible pleasures. One is scopophilia (pleasure in looking). There are circumstances in which looking itself is a source of pleasure (1989, p16). (do I reference?) If scopophilia can be defined as love of looking or deriving pleasure from looking, then this can be a definition of the cinema experience. Cinema is, after all, a form of visual entertainment. It involves the individual singularly engaging with the screen and its projections as a form of escapism and even relaxation, and can be comfortably achieved alone as it involves very few social skills, since the viewers only commitment to the process is to look. However, once we question how the film is viewed and who views the film, the relationship becomes more complex. The purpose of this essay is to question how the female is viewed from the perspective of the spectator; to question how women are portrayed in horror films, and how they are looked at. It will explore the argument that cinematic looking comes from a male perspective and will question what kind of pleasure is obtained from looking at horror films from this perspective. As Mulvey explains: The cinema satisfies a primordial wish for pleasurable looking (1989, p17). It allows the spectator the opportunity to observe in an entirely passive role while the action takes place. The experience of cinema is a one-sided arrangement between the film itself and its viewer. However, as Mulvey discusses regarding Dr Sigmund Freud, it also goes further, developing scopophilia in its narcissistic aspect (1989, p17). Scopophilia can also suggest that sexual pleasure can be derived from looking at objects; that how they are interpolated can make them erotic, and while they are not erotic in their own right through their relationship with the spectator they can become sexually objectified. The celebrated psychologist Dr Sigmund Freud isolated scopophilia as one of the component instincts of sexuality which exist as drives independently of the erotogenic zones. At this point he associated scopophilia with taking other people as objects, subjecting them to a controlling and curious gaze (Mulvey,1989, p16). The history of art emphasises this aspect of scopophilia. Throughout art history, painters have been commissioned to paint female models as objects of desire that have been and still are masquerading as works of art more closely related with pornography than with the great masterpieces. Moving forward, Clover debates that the cinematic gaze, we are told, is male, and just as that gaze knows how to fetishize the female form in pornography it also, she suggests (going on to relate this to cinematography), knows how to follow a female character as she moves through a forbidding house, and scrutinise her face for signs of fear in a way that it does not do with male characters, since: a set of conventions we now take for granted simply sees males and females differently. (1992 p50-51). This suggests that the ownership in the context of cinema is the cause of the effect that the viewer, by objectifying the figure on screen, gives it new meaning, a new social place. By simply being viewed, new rules apply. To place this into the context of women within horror, the male can now view the woman and the conditions and events around her in a newly detached manner and freely let the actions against her take place on the screen. In psychoanalytic terms, the female figure poses a deeper problem. She also connotes something that the look continually circles around but disavows, claims Mulvey (1989, p21). This could be suggesting that as the spectator is assumed to be male, the appearance of a female (ie non-male) form creates an anxiety around the potential for castration and an un-penised body à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦hence unpleasure. Mulvey argues in Lacan: and Post feminism by Elizabeth Wright (2000, p45-46) that the look is linked to the discovery of sexual difference, and that the lack of a penis must be filled by multiple images of glamourised women as a substitute for the imaginary phallus. Mulvey writes that cinema, and in particular horror cinema, is inclined to focus attention on the human form (1989, p17). The human form and the human condition are key aspects in the horror genre, especially the female body. Horror displays visceral and exaggerated versions of our basic desires and a strong and aggressive version of body lust. The horror film in particular relies on the physical human form and hostility towards the body to carry its plots and storylines in the most extreme sense. This is clearly not a natural state of being: to be seated in a darkened room, with a huge rectangular screen in view and surround sound at high volume. But this is the environment of the cinema, where the viewer is asked to focus on exaggerated and extreme events far beyond the realms of real life in the name of entertainment. Here, not unlike in other places in the media, the female form is prevalent, to be exhibited again for entertainment and it is the female characters in the horror fi lm genre that appear to command most of the attention on the cinema screen. Mulvey suggests that, since the world displays such disparities between the genders, with the masculine nearly always holding the reins of power: Do I reference here as well? pleasure in looking has been split between active/male and passive/female. The determining male gaze projects its fantasy onto the female figure, which is styled accordingly (1989, p19). So since society isnt equal in terms of who holds the power, either sexually or otherwise, women act a certain way because they are aware of how men expect them to be that is, passive and sexualised. Mulvey states this as a symbolic equation, woman = sexuality. (1989, p35). John Berger differentiates men from women as he describes a mans presence as being defined by what he is capable of doing to you or for youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦but the pretence is always towards a power which he exercises on others. (1972, p39-40) Expand Mulveys view is that narrative cinema positions its spectators as male, catering only for male fantasies and pleasures (p39 Feminist Film Theorists). This suggests that women are objectified in film in general (and for the purposes of this argument, substantially in horror films). Mulvey also claims that the spectator/viewer/audience is said to be a man; cinema almost expects its viewers to be male and therefore creates characters and plots to fulfil a mans gaze. So prevalent is this notion that Mulvey claims narrative cinema does not offer a place for female spectators'(p40 Feminist Film Theorists); that cinema essentially isolates the female as a serious viewer: As the spectator identifies with the main male protagonist, he projects his look onto that of his like, his screen surrogate, so that the power of the male protagonist as he controls events coincides with the active power of the erotic look, both giving a satisfying sense of omnipotence. (Mulvey, 1989, p20). Shorten Clearly men can easily identify with the male protagonist but the female audiences have to distance themselves from their femininity in order to participate in the cinematic experience; critics refer to this as gender confusion. Freud would argue that to share these experiences, woman would have to revert back to her pre-Oedipal phallic phase. It might now be relevant to explore the male gaze specifically functions in the context of the horror genre. Looking back at the history and evolution of the horror film, the cinemas flourished at a time when there was less available to the public and strong moral codes and rules about relationships were in place. The clichà ©d idea of horror films was being scripted and edited to fulfil the role of the dating couple on a Saturday night. (pg 61 Horror: The Film Reader Edited by Mark Jancovich (different authors per chapter) The cinema was a place where young couples could escape family life for the few hours of a date. It allowed them space to be alone together at a time, before the sexual revolution, when men were expected to be chivalrous and protect and provide support for their female companion, as Mark Jancovich explains: Women cover their eyes or hide behind the shoulders of their dates. (pg 61 Horror: The Film Reader Edited by Mark Jancovich (different authors per chapter). This then created an opportunity for the male viewer to comfort his date as she squirmed and shrieked at the on-screen horror. He could become closer and more intimate as she was lured into vulnerability by the action projected in front of her. Mulvey highlights this dominant order: As an advanced representation system, the cinema poses questions about the ways the unconscious (formed by the dominant order) structures ways of seeing and pleasure in looking. (1989, p15) Paraphrase or include in text. Given this climate, the notion of the girl as victim was allowed to evolve. A connection could then be made between the female viewer and her on-screen female counterpart, in that the spectator cannot bear to look on helplessly as her cinematic alter ego that is, a close representation of herself suffers the horrors of rape, mutilation and murder. Mulvey argues that women have had two different functions within cinema: as erotic objects for the characters within the screen story, and as erotic objects for the spectator within the auditorium. (1989, p19) There is clear evidence of this in Tobe Hoopers The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It follows the story of a group of young Americans as they venture into the countryside and meet their fate in the shape of a disturbed and hostile cannibalistic family whose weapons of choice are butchers tools and chainsaws. The three young men meet their deaths quickly, paving the way for the females more drawn-out and gratuitous torture. While one of the women meets her slow, lingering fate via a meat hook and deep freezer, the other is chased and tortured repeatedly across the final third of the film. Female characters in horror films are generally young and attractive. They maintain a key role in the film; examples of this would be Laurie in Halloween and Marion in Alfred Hitchcocks infamous Psycho. When Michael Myers pretty sister meets her fate in the opening scene of Halloween, she is pursued by (and through the eyes of) her killer; indeed, throughout Halloween the story is often seen/told through the eyes of the killer, a technique referred to as the POV (point-of-view) shot. But before the murder takes place, the audience are offered a completely superfluous view of her naked body, seen through the male gaze as she brushes her hair. It could be argued that the female characters occupy many on-screen hours and appear to dominate the films, yet on closer inspection the real lead role is saved for the star psychopath, who is almost always male. It could be debated that male spectators are therefore being asked to identify with the killer. With respect to Halloween there are a number of shots explicitly from Myers physical point-of-view with an acoustic close-up of his monstrous heavy breathing (Isabel Pinedo 1997, p52). It cannot be proven that the whole audience identifies with him but they are forced to see through his murderous gaze, which almost compels a form of affinity. Horror genre is traditionally thought of as low culture. It has a casual tone and audiences have grown to expect violence, nudity and cheap thrills. This position in low culture appears to grant a licence to horror films to get away with more than high art cinema, and horror is rarely studied for meaning or metaphor to the same extent. But because of these lower expectations, the reality can be stretched (not unlike in cartoons), leading to irrational storylines with horror far more extreme than could be expected in real life. Therefore, it could be argued that horror films make explicit the assumption of a male spectator which is, according to Mulvey, only implicit in all popular cinema. Other films, under the pressure of higher expectation, have to keep such a misogynist perspective more contained, but horror can afford to make it overt. Clearly all normal rules do not apply. So, once reality is dropped in favour of visual pleasure, why do we ask audiences to witness hostility and brutality against women? Brian De Palma assesses the motives behind this argument. It is, he suggests, not that women are presented for male pleasure but that they provide a greater capacity for terror in the audience: If you have a haunted house and you have a woman walking around with a candelabra, you fear more for her than you would for a husky man. (Clover, 1992, p42). This provides a greater margin for a violent death. But why is this? Why would a woman be more vulnerable than a man in this age of equality? The answer to this lies far deeper than in the relatively trivial world of the slasher movie or psychological thriller. This genre is simply a form of entertainment and perhaps not the place for intellectual analysis, as John Carpenter hinted when he was challenged with the notion that he is responsible for the tasteless massacre of sexually active women. He claimed that, although the victims in his (and so many other) horror films are indeed the more sexually active characters, to insist that this is why they die is to miss the essential pointThey get killed because they are not paying attention. How do I reference Carpenter? And it could be argued that academics were reading a little too much into Halloween, since a male character is also murdered straight after sex with his girlfriend. One could even claim that this balances the plot and clears the director of the accusation that he is somehow guilty of misogyny. However à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦argues that: His death is usually only a device to remove protection from the now vulnerable female. (pg 165 Bitches, Bimbosà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦). This suggests that the male character is now secondary and his death is insignificant by comparison to the murder of the female. It could also be argued that Carpenter and other celebrated film makers just want to make entertaining horror and dont intend to make hateful statements against women, or objectify them for the male gaze, but that this is simply what people find exciting and why they fill up cinemas. Irrespective of Carpenters intentions, the standards of what is considered entertainment tell us a great deal about our views towards women in horror cinema and perhaps in society as a whole. CHAPTER 2 The Abject Feminine The ultimate figure of abjection is the corpse. As the horror genre is ultimately obsessed with death one could suggest that horror fetishizes the abject. It has been suggested that the horror film attempts to bring about confrontation with the abject. (p4 Horror Film and Psychoanalysis: Freuds Worst Nightmare.) Creed refers to Kristevas notion of the border: When we say such-and-such a horror film made me sick or scared the shit out of me we are actually foregrounding that specific horror film as a work of abjection or abjection at work almost in a literal sense. (1993, p10) By the presentation of repulsion one knows what is not repulsive; to understand abjection one must understand boundaries. As we grow up we stop playing in dirt and become more dignified; this is something we learn from society as well as from our mothers teaching us how to be clean and proper. This notion references Lacans concept of the mirror stage, Kristeva supports: It is thus not lack of cleanliness or health that causes abjection but what disturbs identity, system, order. What does not respect borders, positions, rules. (1982, p4). Woman and abjection The horror genre has a historical tendency to represent the female form as abject. In Kristevas view, woman is specifically related to polluting objects, which fall into two categories: excremental and menstrual. This in turn gives woman a special relationship to the abject. (1982, p10) What we are scared of is not the matter that we expel but what it signifies loss of identity, loss of control, death and the unknown. Nor is it the end of a natural life that contributes to the tension of horror cinema, but an endless list of horrific deaths that we could possibly encounter. Paul Wells backs this notion with his comments on the forbidden facets of the human body its propensity to foul secretions and physical corrosion which are linked to our relentless descent towards death, and which are reflected in images of abjection in the horror film (2000, p16). IS THIS 2ND PERSON? When we are children our parents encourage us to respect boundaries about cleanliness and behaviour, and we reject the abject. But in the context of the horror film there is perverse pleasure that allows us to explore our curiosity about the abject. The abject confronts the repressed/un-civilized side of the ego and allows us to investigate the other. The horror film makes good use of the abject. Julia Kristeva uses her experience with milk as a child in an attempt to explain the idea of abjection: Food loathing is perhaps the most elementary and most archaic form of abjection. When the eyes see or the lips touch that skin on the surface of milkà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦I experience a gagging sensation and, still farther down, spasms in the stomach, the belly: and all the organs shrivel up the body, provoke tears and bile, increase heartbeat, cause forehead and hands to perspire. Along with sight-clouding dizziness, nausea makes me balk at that milk cream, separates me from the mother and father who proffer it. (p23 Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection by Julia Kristeva). Does this need to be cut? This could suggest that when a skin forms on top of milk, it is crossing over a border or breaking a rule regarding what is acceptable as good food, and so the milk is no longer pure. The milk has perhaps split into two; milk being the acceptable form and its solidified state being the abject. Hence it fulfils a similar role in our imagination as a corpse does over a living, breathing body. We will no longer accept/drink the milk as it has turned bad and represents death, a state beyond living. The maternal body grows and delivers a living being but it is also the sister of the corpse so it can remind us of life but also death. If we confronted the abject in everyday life we would be constantly aware of our own mortality. Milk described in the context above provides an effective example of abjection, as it suggests the differential between acceptable breastfeeding as a child and unacceptable breast-feeding as an adult. The Exorcist was the first of many possession films. Its premise involves an innocent young girl named Regan McNeil who displays abnormal behaviour in the middle class American home she shares with her mother and house keeper. Throughout the film her father appears absent so it is her mother (Chris McNeil) who bears witness to the profound and hostile series of events and paranormal behaviour as the plot unfolds. Creed states that: The possessed or invaded being is a figure of abjection in that the boundary between self and other has been transgressed (1993, p32) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦by the devil himself, who appears to be the only male central figure in the film until the arrival of a psychiatrist and two Roman Catholic Priests. Within the plot of The Exorcist, Regans character is a vehicle that allows the portrayal of abjection to the mass audience. Had a young boy been cast in a similar role, the horror could have been undermined, but due to our own preconceptions of femininity and youth, the possession portrayed within this young girl only adds to the horrific events. Regan is the most passive of female victims, repeatedly switching from tearful little girl to demonic aggressor. She expels her bodily fluids, blood, vomit and urine; she is a playground for bodily wastes (1993, p40). Creed goes on to point out that the female body is more abject because its maternal functions acknowledge its debt to nature 1993, p11). She also points out that, as Regan cavorts and flaunts herself, we become all too aware of the forbidden fascination of the abject , as well as its horror, inherent in the fact that this young girl has overtly flouted her respectable feminine function, and has; put her unsocialized body on display. And to make matters worse, she has done all of this before the shocked eyes of two male clerics. (p 198 Post-Theory: Reconstructing Film Studies. edited by Bordwell, D and Carrol, N) Creed (1993, p37) puts forward: In Kristevas view the abject represents that which disturbs identity, system, order. Regans possessed soul projects this through levitation and deep spoken foul language. As the film continues, an exorcism takes place in the form of a battle between the Church and the Devil. If religion could be used to explore the abject, no film does it more tellingly than in The Exorcist. Creed puts forward, according to Kristeva: Kristeva argues that, historically, it has been the function of religion to purify the abject. (1993, p14) As the film comes to an end, Regan is saved by the church and restored to purity. She turns to hug the one person who saved her: a male Priest, or perhaps God himself? Spectator In the real world, when confronted with something genuinely repulsive, we reject that object of repulsion. But in the cinema it is not necessary to fully block what confronts us. The positioning of the spectator within the cinema experience must be recognized if abjection is going to be fully absorbed. The viewer happily sits as the spectacle of horror unfolds and is projected onto them. Though the viewer has no control over the events projected before them, the unpleasant acts witnessed by the spectator can comfortably be dismissed when the credits roll and the film is over. Viewing the horror film signifies a desire not only for perverse pleasure where boundaries are crossed, both attracting and repelling (confronting sickening, horrific images/being filled with terror/desire for the undifferentiated) but also a desire, once having been filled with perversity, taking pleasure in perversity, to throw up, throw out, eject the abject (from the safety of the spectators seat). CHAPTER 3 The Absent Mother Relationships in the maternal melodrama are almost always between mother and daughter; it is to the horror film we must turn for an exploration of mother-son relationships. The latter are usually represented in terms of repressed Oedipal desire, fear of the castrating mother and psychosis. Given the nature of the horror genre its preoccupation with monstrosity, abjection and horrific familial scenarios the issues surrounding the mother-child dyad are generally presented in a more extreme and terrifying manner. (Creed,1993, p139) Cut down One area of female representation that is more ambiguous is the figure of the Mother in the horror film genre. No longer could the killer be simply defined by gender. At the beginning of the 1960s audiences were subjected to a new kind of cinematic terror, as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ explains in her essay: The monster was no longer out there; it was in here. The monster was the human mind. (Pg 160 Gary, J and Sheila, S (ed) Bitches, Bimbos and Virgins: Women in the Horror Film) As Hitchcocks psychological thriller Psycho was released The early sixties audience would be led to believe that the approachable Norman Bates (played by Antony Perkins) was simply a victim of his over-zealous mothers bullying. But as the plot unravelled, the film presented a deeply obsessive human mind as the real monster, as Steven Jay Schneider further explains: When used to shed light on horror cinema, psychoanalysis in its various forms has proven to be a frightful and provocative interpretive tool (Pg 187 Schneider, S. J. Horror Film and Psychoanalysis Freuds Worst Nightmare) The film follows its self-sufficient central female character, Marion Crane, jaded by her affair with a married man, as she embezzles a large amount of money from her male employer and leaves town in pursuit of a new life. On arrival at the infamous Bates Motel she meets the proprietor, the twitchy but approachable and, more importantly, passive Norman Bates, who is clearly attracted to Crane, something she comfortably takes in her stride, suggesting a non-passive female. However, on closer inspection, Marions actions throughout the first section of the film are defined by male characters she comes into contact with: her lover Sam, her male employer and the male client, the highway patrol officer and Norman Bates who all define her destiny with their attitudes towards her. Robert Kolker supports this theory: Psycho: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the mix of pleasure and pain common to all horror viewing, and aligned with a feminine subject position, is negotiated differently by men than by women. (p193 Alfred Hitchcocks Psycho: A Casebook edited by Robert Kolker) Throughout the first part of the film Marion is portrayed as feminine, attractive and defying the typical representation of women in horror films; however, from the perspective of the male gaze Bates watches Marion, unbeknown to her, through a hole in the wall as she undresses and prepares to shower. Normans eye is filmed in extreme close-up, drawing attention to the activity of the voyeurism. (1993, p145). As the camera lingers on her it is this scene that suggests that Hitchcock cannot break away fully from the traditions of the horror genre where the female becomes objectified and is observed from the gaze of the active male. Norman Bates mother is another female character significant to the plot, not seen but heard off-screen discouraging her son from having any social contact with the newly arrived female and, throughout most of the film, verbally abusing her son. Surrounded by stuffed birds, Bates even states a boys best friend is his mother. The viewer can assume that he is a loyal and reliable son. However, as Lacans theorys are refered : The baby is bound to its image by words and names, by linguistic representations. A mother who keeps telling her son What a bad boy you are! may end up with either a villain or a saint. (2010, p43) Norman Bates appears to be gentle and sensitiv

Inherent Evil of Man Exposed in Lord of the Flies :: Lord of the Flies Essays

Inherent Evil of Man Exposed in Lord of the Flies The novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding used a group of British boys beached on a deserted island to illustrate the malicious nature in mankind. Lord of the Flies dealt with the changes the boys underwent as they gradually adapted to the freedom from their society. William Golding's basic philosophy that man was inherently evil was expressed in such instances as the death of Simon, the beast within the boys, and the way Ralph was fervently hunted. Through the story Simon acted as the Christ Figure. The death of Simon symbolized the loss of religious reasoning. As the boys killed Simon they had let out their savage urges and acted in a cannibalistic manor. Even after the death of Simon Jack and his tribe did not feel any penitence to what they had done, killing to them had become second nature.The circle became a horseshoe. A thing was crawling out of the forest. It came darkly, uncertainly. The shrill screaming that rose before the beast was like a pain. The beast stumbled into the horseshoe."Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!" (Golding 141).In this quote a figure had crawled out of the forest and the ring had opened to let it inside. Mistaken as the beast by the Jack's tribe, Simon was beaten to death. After the group disbanded for shelter from the storm. The storm subsided and the tides moved in and out, Simon's body was washed to sea. Here because of the storm, the darkness and fear the boys became hysterical. They acted savagely not knowing what they were doing. The boys did not take a second look to what their actions were. They had let their malicious urges control them. He cam-disguised. He may come again even though we gave him the head of our kill to eat. So watch; and be careful (Golding 148). Here Jack is warning his tribe about the beast. Not caring or taking any notice to what had taken place with Simon. Jack or his tribe does not feel any remorse for the murder they had committed, whether they realized that or not. To Jack and his tribe what they had done was a pretentious accomplishment. A death could go by their eyes blindly. One example in the book referring to William Goldong's view to society was the beast.

Pancreas Essays -- science

Pancreas Name and Functions The part I researched, which has only one name, is the pancreas. The pancreas is an organ that produces digestive juices necessary to break down food. It also produces insulin and glucagons. Insulin and glucagons are two hormones needed to break down sugar and to regulate our metabolism. The pancreas provides a lot of power to the body. For example, it allows you to eat many foods and allows your body to feed your cells the energy they need. It also allows you to exercise without decreasing your blood sugar. As you can see the pancreas has a lot of jobs, without the pancreas it would be difficult to live. Organization in the Body If you didnft have a pancreas you would have to give yourself hypodermic shots everyday for the rest of your life. The pancreas is part of the digestive system. Organs located near the pancreas are the stomach, the small intestine, the liver, and the gallbladder. The stomachfs function is to digest and store food and the small intestine and it is used for digestion and the absorption of nutrients. To absorb nutrients, take out poisons, and produce bile you need the liver, and to store that bile you need the gallbladder. The pancreas is located deep in the abdomen between the spine and stomach. It is partially behind your stomach but the other part nestles in the curve of the duodenum. The digestive juices in the pancreas flow through a duct to the duodenum into the small intestine. The digestive juices con...

Bitter Sweet Symphony by the Verve :: Music Bitter Sweet Verve Essays

Bitter Sweet Symphony by the Verve A contemporary song must be carefully chosen to be put in the UTD time capsule. The song must cover the many characteristics assembled in this class as well as the many characteristics of our generation. à ¬Bitter Sweet Symphonyà ® by the Verve is the perfect song to combine these positive and negative aspects. It will fairly portray to the future the many colors of the students of UTD. à ¬Bitter Sweet Symphonyà ® should be chosen by the class, because it is the ideal song to accomplish getting our message to the future accurately. It is important for the complexities of our generation to be shown through the song our class chooses. à ¬Bitter Sweet Symphonyà ® accomplishes expressing the differences in our lives and how we see and react to the world around us. The youth of this generation lives many different lives with different wants and ambitions driving us and a different life style and past to withhold us. One thing we have in common is we have all experienced joy and sorrow, some more than others and some to a greater extent. à ¬Bitter Sweet Symphonyà ® combines crucial elements of lyrics and music to represent our generationà ­s complexities. Through its poetry, the song combines thoughts of good times and the remembrance of the bad. Using the symphony to illustrate oneà ­s past and naturalness was a brilliant move. This correlation of lyrics and music is like no other and à ¬makes all attempts from this day on to create à «rock classicsà ­ utterly redundantà ® (Time Out). Taking the simple fact that à ¬Bitter Sweet Symphonyà ® combines elements of todayà ­s youth leads to another idea. In portraying the characteristics of each one of us, it will equally represent us all. In expressing the bitter and sweet sides of a personà ­s life, the song accurately captures the importance of each individual, specifically each individual in this generation. For each person in this class, on this campus, and of this generation there is an aspect of à ¬Bitter Sweet Symphonyà ® that will reflect them. The reality of life is what the song reflects, and reality is something everyone can relate to. The song combines critical characteristics of reality to equally represent each youth of today.

“My Place” by Sally Morgan Essay

The longest journey of a person is the journey inward, Dag Hammerskjvld. An inner journey is a powerful voyage of the mind, soul and spirit that impacts on all aspects of a persons life. Inner journeys provide personal, spiritual and intellectual growth and development. Experiences that allow personal development and growth will change the way that some aspects of life is viewed. Daisy and Gladys embark upon inner explorations about acceptance of their aboriginality, their spiritual identity as aborigines and their self esteem/ self worth. Gladys faced many challenges and obstacles in her life. At Parkerville children’s home Gladys resented the colour of her skin. â€Å"I wanted to be white; I even hoped a white family would adopt me†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Gladys’ fear of authority and her aboriginality stemmed from her mother Daisy. Upon confessing her nationality, an old lady exclaimed â€Å"Oh you poor thing†¦What on earth are you going to do? †¦ Mum told me I must never tell anyone what I was, that was when I started wishing I was someone different†¦ mum made me really frightened, I was really scared of authority.† This use of verbatim gives a subjective viewpoint of a character. It gives its own individuality, speed and rhythm to Gladys’ story. Throughout the book Gladys moves from denial to a passive acceptance of her aboriginality to pride. â€Å"I feel embarrassed now to think that once I wanted to be white†¦I’ve changed since those days† The natural vernacular used by Gladys gives her story individuality and through the use of everyday language positions the wider audience to respond to the story. Her changing viewpoint about her preferred skin colour signifies personal growth and development as she is now accepting herself holistically rather then in fragments. Daisy’s life has been scarred with physical and sexual exploitations and hardships. â€Å"I’m ‘shamed of myself, now. I feel ‘shamed for some of the things I done. I wanted to be white; you see†¦what was wrong with my own people?† The emotive use of verbatim with words such as â€Å"‘shamed† create an individual speech pattern for Daisy’s story and adds veracity. The comparison between what she feels now and what she felt previously show inner growth and self exploration. Saying that she wanted to be white and now acknowledges and appreciates the fact that she is black is a big  positive and progressive step for Daisy. â€Å"†¦he told us we must save ourselves for marriage. Most of us had already been taken by white men. We felt really ‘shamed†¦ There I was stuck in the middle. Too black for the whites and too white for the blacks.† Daisy held little control over her life; she was constantly downtrodden and made to feel like a second class citizen or half human. â€Å"Sal the fights gone out o’ me. I got no strength left†¦Blackfellas got to show the white man what they made of. I like to think the black man will get treated same as the white man one day†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Daisy lets go in the end because she finally accepts her aboriginality. The emotive language used positions the audience to respond with empathy. My place as well as the inner journeys of Daisy and Gladys has taught me many valuable lessons about journeys. I learnt that not all inner journeys result in wholeness and attainment. Though I also learnt that even a small amount of personal growth and development can change and impact upon a person tremendously. Inner journeys involve self exploration in which individuals review their growth and development in the light of experiences which challenge and test them. Inner exploration can provide clarity, direction, increased self esteem and better insight into oneself, others and the surrounding world. Gladys and Daisy both experience inner journeys as they explore their aboriginality and themselves. The women both learn adapt and change as they survive through numerous challenges and obstacles transforming into more wholesome people.

Mental Health and the Prison System

Who are the victims of mental health and how they are treated within the legal and prison system? Mental health or mental illness, base on the question, ‘is concern with illnesses of the mind, or with treating illnesses of the mind.’ (Longman, p.890) These illnesses, which affect the mind, create hallucinations that can lead the people who suffer from them to cause harm to the innocent people who fall victim to them. According to the Longman dictionary, the word ‘victim’ refers to ‘someone who has been attacked, robbed or murdered’. (Longman, p.1593) It can also refer to someone who suffers because they are affected by an illness. In January 1999, a young woman was pushed from behind, in front of a New York City subway train, to her death. Her murderer was a mentally ill patient who had refused to consume his medication. This young woman’s name was Kendra Webdale and the Kendra’s law was named after her. She was considered a victim of mental health. There are many other cases who were fall victim to these illnesses. Due to their mental illnesses, many people questioned whether these ‘criminals’ should be charged and face the consequences or should they be treated in the hospital for the mentally ill under strict control and supervision. They are being view as the victims of the mental health for the reason that they are not in their ‘right’ minds to judge. This occurs because they are suffering from the illness affecting their mind. Looking from the patients’ point of view, they are undergoing a lot of stress due to their conditions as they have fears that they are not accepted by the family, friends and society. With the stress they are undergoing, they might not be able to face the fact and would not want to take their medication. This had led to intervention of the legal system to control the situation. According to Kendra’s Law, a procedure has to be followed for obtaining court orders for certain individuals with mental illness to receive and accept assisted outpatient treatment (AOT). (Office of Mental Health, 2006) The mentally ill individual who can qualify for AOT must be at least 18 years old and shows a sign of being incapable of surviving on his own. In view of the concern that the patient may do serious harm to others in the society, an AOT is more likely to benefit him. The request for AOT can be done by the parent, spouse, sibling, director of a hospital, licensed psychologist or a probation officer. However, there are some lawyers who contest that the law will only serve to violate the patient’s process protection. In addition, many wonder if the implementation of this law is strong enough to force a person to take medication. There is always the possibility of the patient having tried to seek treatment but failed. As such, the government should not simply laws to force the taking of medication but for the state to provide medication as well. In the case of the prison system, there has been a significant increase in the number of inmates who are found to be severely mentally ill. Despite the increase in the number of inmates, the medical treatment necessary for this group of inmate did not increase. Moreover, the staff handling them are not properly trained and thus, many of these inmates are being victimized in the prison cells due to their disorganized speech and behaviour. Their inability to communicate well with others may in turn antagonize their officers or fellow inmates. In conclusion, the victims of mental health do not necessarily refer to only the ones suffering from the illness but those who are indirectly affected as well. The patients should be given proper and better treatment and the society should also be educated on how these patients need to be treated in order to survive in the society. Bibliography 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Harold E. Shabo. 2001. Social Costs: Criminal Justice and Mental Health System Gaps which Contribute to the Criminalization of Mentally Disordered Persons. California. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Longman. 1999. Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English: International Students Edition. Pearson Education Limited. Spain. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Office of Mental Health. 2006. An Explanation of Kendra’s Law. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   About: Mental Health. 2006. Forced Mental Treatment has a Place.   http://www.mentalhealth.about.com/cs/schizophrenia/a/commit204.htm 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Mental Health Services. 2006. Bureau of Mental Health Services. http://www.drc.state.oh.us/web/mentalhealth.htm

Future Worlds Essay

I think future worlds will change earth entirely; there will probably be teleports and other, various new machinery that could revolutionize the way humans live and survive. Working may be a thing of the past if Robots start taking shape. Various kind of medical advancements might change how long we can live for; eternity might be possible in years down the track, that would make earth very crowded and we humans possibly would have to move planet and inhabit another land and environment, this could also make us evolve and we might need skills like wings or gills to help us survive the new living conditions. Other forms of life might be on other planets and cross breeding between ‘alien’ and ‘human’ might have an effect on the physical and mental changes of humans. If life down the track ends up like how it is stereotyped, then hover cars and flying cars might be the way we transport. Food might also be different, due to the fact that we are killing off animals as a source of meat. Plant life might also die off due to those same reasons. Another possible outcome in the future is the ice caps could melt, causing humans to become water bound, this could either wipe us out, or we could maybe adapt to these changes and change the way we can survive the new prominent element. War could also be another way the world is changed, as much is it is a horrible thing, it could help out thinning the numbers of humans populating earth. War could also make people in general poorer, which might stop the rapid growth in technology. After a war, lots of jobs would become available to repair, make or farm new things to help things improve and to regenerate growth in the world. The downside to wars is, smaller countries could be over run, many people die, families lose loved ones and people are forced to live with such vivid memories while fighting. The way the world is, really does depend on how us humans can maintain earth’s natural resources and how much the technological advancements can improves or hinder the way the world develops. Technological advancement to nuclear warfare could put an end to the world all together, Australia alone has 23% of the world nuclear power, if sold to the wrong people, the world could be gone or heavy mutation could occur, changing life form. A future world, at the moment is really just your imagination, there is very little knowledge of what the world will do, is there really a god? Will there be an Ice age? No one can really know for sure just yet, it is all an assumption and what you think in your own head.

Employment: Education and Students

1. Describe the skills or attributes you believe are necessary to be outstanding when working in student support services. You have to be able to relate and understand with the students on a positive level to reach an optimal outcome from any situation. Hillside Academy taught me when dealing with students with special needs it's best to go for an approach where you can talk with them one on one and get a better understanding as to how they are thinking, what would be the best possible outcome and what is the best solution to the problem without a non-violence approach.Students what to know they have the support of an adult faulty member with whom they can trust and build a positive solid relationship with and I think all these key factors help to create an outstanding student support service. 2. Please identify and describe any significant differences you would promote in a school which a majority of the students are African-American and Hispanic/Latino.I would promote a program whe re African Americans and Hispanic/Latino both have the opportunity to learn about each others cultures so that the students have a better understanding of each other and point out the similarities in each culture so that the students can come together as one. I feel as though the two cultures don't fully understand each other as a whole and that creates a cultural clash. I would be fully interesting in creating a positive environment with the schools staff and resources to provide a common ground that will create stable relationships amongst the students and faulty members.Throughout my years of employment working with the youth and previous staff members I have learned to be a good listener, a great problem solver in the most chaotic and worst situations, a positive team player and most importantly a compassionate and understanding person. I am enthusiastic about applying my skills which I have acquired through previous experience and I look forward to being apart of the team to ma ke an influential difference in the Proviso Township High Schools. . How would you address a wide range of skills in your classroom?Dupage school A lot of planning. The easiest thing to do is pull small groups. If your school uses 3 group rotation it is easy to implement. If your school uses another method of instruction you can pull groups during any independent work time. When some students are completing an independent assignment you pull another group to work with you (on that same activity or anther lesson all together. ) When the students need to complete the same activity you can differentiate by setting different goals for different students.In writing assignments you can alter the number of sentences that need to be written, how much sentences need to be extended, or how many details need to be included. Some students may edit on their own, some with a partner, or some in a small group with you. For reading assignments you may need to give different leveled books to differe nt kids. You can find many books on the same topic at different levels. Most times your teacher manual will list alternative book options for more advanced or struggling readers.For reading assignments that all students need to complete try choral, echo, or partner reading for those who need it. Math is the easiest to differentiate. Some kids can use manipulative and some might be able to use mental math. Additionally, you can do an introduction and guided practice to the whole class. Whoever can complete the independent assignment on their own can do that and you can pull a small group for those students who still need guided practice or more scaffolding.

European Union Law structure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

European Union Law structure - Essay Example One of the most obvious examples of a unitary state is United Kingdom. Also called a constitutional monarchy, UK is governed as one single unit. The Government is led by a Prime Minister and other cabinet ministers who enforce executive power on behalf of the Queen. The political power of UK government can transfer political powers to lower levels, regionally or locally elected assemblies, governors or mayors but the central government retains the principal right to recall such delegated power (Wikipedia Unitary State and United Kingdom) A federal State is composed of different self-governing regions often called states which are united by a federal government. The self-governing status of the states is constitutionally entrenched and can not be altered by a decision made by the central government. Even though the sovereignty of each state is constitutionally granted, a federal state is not only a group of independent states. The states do not have any power in terms of foreign policy for example which is the burden of the central government. A federal State comes from an initial agreement to come together in order to solve mutual problems or provide for mutual defense as it was the case for United States with the Articles of Confederation in 1781. (Wikipedia, Federal State) The United States are naturally the best example of a federal State. While each of the States has its own written constitution and different laws, the federal government composed of the Congress, the President and the Supreme Court. The Constitution limits the powers of the federal government to defense, foreign affairs, the issuing and management of currency, the management of trade and relations between the states, the protection of human rights, welfare and education. (Wikipedia Unites States) 3. Supranational State A Supranational State is an entity where power is held by independent appointed officials or by representatives elected by the legislatures or people of member states. All the member states still have power but they must share this power with other actors. Furthermore, decisions are made by majority votes in consequence it is possible for a member state to be forced by other member states to implement a decision against its will. (Wikipedia Supranationalism) In the following part of our essay, we will try to analyze The European Union through different perspective in order to approach our findings with one type of state that we have described in the previous paragraphs. II. How is the European Union composed The father of the European Union is the European coal and Steel Community (ESCS) which was created in 1951 following a proposition by the French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman which he made in 1950 in a speech inspired by Jean Monnet. Composed of six members, Belgium, West Germany,

The Tension between Centripetal and Centrifugal Forces in Australia Essay

The Tension between Centripetal and Centrifugal Forces in Australia - Essay Example The Australian Commonwealth of States was set up in response to the need among the people to withstand and oppose the forces of colonialism, as symbolized by the rule of Britain. The authors of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution were Chief Justice Griffith and Justices Barton and OConnor, who had intended that the Constitution of Australia should exist on its own merit and not merely as a British statute. The Australian Commonwealth Act of 1900 has accorded Federal powers to the Commonwealth such that Constitutional control of the Privy Council is retained, while central powers are reduced to their narrowest limits and in this manner, has made it possible for the States to unite under one common umbrella of central defense to proclaim national independence in the future. The Federation of six Australian States was formulated with the knowledge that the Commonwealth and the States were in and of themselves, sovereign states with their own spheres of authority. In formulating the Australian federation, the founders were not anxious to toe the Canadian line which was deemed too centralist and were more inclined to favor the loose administrative style of the American Federation that was more decentralized3. Through this, the Commonwealth was conferred with the powers to maintain the peace and to make laws for peace, order and for the good of the Commonwealth in all the areas that had been designated under Section 51 of the Constitution, whereby the States were permitted to retain all their powers, with the exception of those powers that were wrested away, for the common good of the Commonwealth. Such areas included defense and foreign affairs. Areas not specifically identified under the â€Å"central† jurisdiction are  designated as â€Å"resid ual powers† which in the case of a Federation like Australia are considered to be within the purview of the States, since Australia has a decentralized federal system, unlike Canada that has a centralized federal system of Government.

Discsussion Board Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Discsussion Board - Essay Example This is what this literature plans to discuss and will show using factual research and reports from the White House's National Strategies on drug trafficking. Drug Trafficking depicts the illegal activities of drugs being distributed through out the world. It is a criminal occurrence and has created wide spread alarm in many parts of other countries but particularly in the United States. In the 1960's the main area of concern was in the trafficking of heroin and its subsequent abuse. Also at this time there were other illegal drug activities gong on, specifically with drugs that were considered to be recreational and psychoanalytical but which posed just as serious a problem as the harder drugs such as heroine, and cocaine. The milder drugs like marijuana were also rampant and being elicited and distributed by many drug dealers and those smuggling it over the border. Because of past concerns and the current problems in law enforcements attempts to curtail the illegal distribution of these heavier drugs, there have been several policies established and strategies developed in order to gain a tighter reign on criminal drug cases involving the trafficking of them. The Bush Administration has set aside funding for cracking down on drug abuse and the trafficking associated with it. ... There have been other government agencies that have received funding as well but the ones listed are the most proficient on controlling illegal drug use. The 2003 national Drug strategy campaign has been one of the largest iniatives by the government to dissuade the youth from becoming associative with drug trafficking and drug usage. It is believed that by educating the youth about the consequences of drugs, they will be deterred from it and drug sellers and traffickers will be less able to sell to the youth and therefore their capabilities to distribute illegal drugs will be minimized in this category (National Drug Control Strategy 2003). Drug prevention programs seem to be very effective in bringing knowledge to the youth on what thy can expect if they fall into the trap of drugs and the selling of them. These programs make it clear that the misinformation that has been handed to the youth by drug sellers indicating that it is a simply teenage fad and it is ok to experiment with drugs during the teenage years, have been substantially dispelled so that young people have a clearer interpretation of what is truth and what is a lie concerning drugs. This has been very effective in decreasing the amount of drug trafficking around the youth population although there still exists a number of concerns. What has come into existence in the educational system now is a program that legally can test teenagers who are suspected of having a drug problem. The main goal in this program is not to punish the youth who are found to be associated with a form of drug use but rather to get them into proper treatment facilities where they can be rehabilitated and properly counseled as to the outcome they

UNIT 3 INDIVIDUAL PROJECT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

UNIT 3 INDIVIDUAL PROJECT - Essay Example Preferably, all of the businesses exist for profit. Upon the conceptualization and realization of the said endeavor to put up an airline business, one must recognize the market, the competency, and the problems that are to be encountered in dealing with this kind of establishment. These illustrations points out to a certain airline which penetrate the skies and continues to soar high-the Virgin Atlantic Airlines. Wikipedia (2006), described this airline as â€Å"an airline belonging to Richard Bransons Virgin Group. It operates long-haul routes between London and North America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. Its main bases are London Heathrow (LHR) and London Gatwick (LGW). Virgin has a smaller base at Manchester Airport (MAN) serving the USA and the Caribbean. The company holds a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Type- A Operating Licence, which permits it to carry passengers, cargo, and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats.†1 With the saturation of key markets around the globe, the airline has a promising future with regards to its navigation to the skies as well as it is regarded as one of the rising competitors of major airlines in the world. If we are to look into the history of this airline, it was set-up in 1982 by a lawyer and by the former chief pilot of the laker airline. During its beginnings, the co-owner of the airline has no thorough knowledge in running a business airliner and this prompted him to outsource and pirate employees in other airlines who has the expertise and knowledge in handling activities concerning airline operations. â€Å" One of the owners got the idea of putting up the enterprise from London to the Falkland Islands in June 1982, when the Falklands War ended and there was an apparent need for such a service†2 If we are to analyze this strategy, the owners have succeeded in heir preliminary strategy and that is to move where your market is. In such a case, the target

HIPAA Violations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

HIPAA Violations - Essay Example Nancy Lee states, â€Å"If Congress did not enact legislation, HIPAA requires the Secretary of HHS to propagate regulations on privacy protections† (Fernald 61). Fernald (2002) argues that the government or law enforcers should not levy medical professionals, who share a patient’s information for protection of their own because they may need to do so in order to promote high quality health care (Fernald 45). Additionally, a medical professional may at time be forced to share a patient’s medical records with the public in order to seek for financial support, in case the patient’s family or friend permits him or her to do so (Fernald 47). Nass and her Co-authors (2009) also support this opinion. They argue that,, in case of emergent diseases or infections, health professionals are faced with the challenge of designing a proper method of controlling the spread of the disease (Ness et. al. 81). One of the most valid means of controlling the spread of a disease’s outbreak is the sharing of patients’ information. Through this, they shall have violated the HIPAA regulations, but the government or law enforcers sho uld not levy penalties on them because such situations are urgent and need quick response. These situations provide valid grounds why the government or law enforcers should not levy medical professionals for protecting their own. Whenever a nurse is creating their facility’s HIPAA forms, they must be cautious in letting the patients know that it is their rights to revoke the permission for the disclosure of confidential medical information only to the people they name. â€Å"Without the information, the HIPAA form is considered invalid, and should the nurses release the information to third parties, such acts shall be considered violation of HIPAA regulations† (Gerard et. al. 187). Sometimes, the release of wrong information of a patient can occur

The legality of downloading mp3 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The legality of downloading mp3 - Research Paper Example There are many contradictory opinions on this subject, and the fact that day by day the number of illegal mp3 downloads grows just makes the matter more and more actual and painful for the people whose work is being stolen. Transmitting mp3 files over the Internet has become by far the most popular method of distribution, generating in this way controversial and intense debates. This subject has been chosen for the research paper not only due to the indisputable popularity of the illegal actions, but also because of the fact that most of us have at least once downloaded the music we like by using these illegal sites, even if we are aware that it was wrong. Nevertheless, â€Å"the law enforcement community in the twenty-first century seems to have finally awakened to the fact that ...computers are here to stay†1 and something must be done in order to solve this problem as efficiently as possible. The term paper will be focused on revealing the essence of the growing popularity of illegal mp3 downloads, the legal matters that arise from these actions and come up with some recommendations on combating this phenomenon. The author will focus both on the national Canadian context, as well as on the international one, pointing out the main differences and similarities and analyzing them. The paper will be finished with the conclusions, where the personal opinion of the author is expressed, as well as some recommendations, which, in the author’s opinion, could improve the statistics. It is not possible to talk about illegal mp3 downloads in Canada, where downloading music from peer-to-peer networks is legal, uploading it being against the law. â€Å"Canada has a private copying levy, which grants the right to make personal, non-commercial copies of sound recordings. Canada has imposed levies (fees) on recording mediums like blank CDs and similar items. These levies are used to fund musicians and