Lion and the Jewel Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Lion and the Jewel - Essay Example First, the play illustrates how African culture and western civilization differ when it comes to marriage and family life. In particular, Soyinka’s play shows how the two differ on matters of child bearing. In the play, Sidi represents the traditional African culture while Lakunle represents the western civilization. Lakunle does not view child bearing as an important aspect of marriage. In his words, he says that he is not after a wife â€Å"To bring forth children by the gross†¦.† (Soyinka, 9). Sidi reacts to this by saying to him: â€Å"Heaven forgive you!† (Soyinka, 9). Clearly, Soyinka shows that African and western cultures have differing views on child bearing. Secondly, the issue of bride price and its role is another area where the two clash. In the play, Sidi insists that Lakunle pays her bride price before marrying her. Failure to do this will make her a laughing stock. She tells him that she will marry him â€Å"But my bride-price must first be paid†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Soyinka, 8). On the contrary, Lakunle, who embraces the western cultures, argues that paying bride price is an old custom, and terms it as â€Å"a savage custom, barbaric, out-dated † (Soyinka, 8). Lakunle is of the view that bride price is a humiliation to women and this amounts to buying women like commodities. Lakunle is thus left to choose between a traditional marriage where pride price is paid and a civilized one. Thirdly, Soyinka shows how the African society embraced polygamy, unlike the western culture where monogamy was the order of the day. In the play, Baroka, the king of Ilujinle, has many wives. Sadiku, the eldest wife, is in fact comfortable Baroka bringing in another wife. She woos Sidi to get married to Baroka, promising her that Baroka will not take another wife after her. Soyinka shows that unlike western cultures, polygamy is accepted in the African culture and is even supported by

Public sector management and governance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Public sector management and governance - Essay Example For example market-type mechanisms like contract giving. New public management also includes high emphasis on performance, maximization of outputs and great level of customer orientation. New public management developments include several economic, political, social and technological factors. Countries that adopt new public management are found to be witnessing fiscal and economic crises. This has resulted in the attempts to increase efficiency and reduce the cost of providing public services. The crisis encountered by the welfare state created several doubts about the role and institutional nature of the state. In many developing countries, developments in public administration and management have been accelerated by external pressures. Moreover, these reforms have happened in the background of structural adjustment programs. Other factors of new public management developments include pre-eminence of neoliberal ideas that existed in the late 1970s and the deployment of efficient int ernational management advisors and consultants on various reforms. Other factors in new public management include the development of information technology. For developing countries, new public management developments include great emphasis on proper governance and lending conditions. Earlier, new public management was considered as a phenomenon of developed countries, typically Anglo-Saxon, phenomenon. In the 1990s we have seen applications of different alternative of new public management practices in few developing economies and transitional economies. Downsizing and user fees are introduced in several countries, for example African countries. These activities are related to different structural adjustment works. Autonomous agencies included in the public sector are formed in certain countries. For example, the autonomous hospitals in Sri Lanka, Ghana and Zimbabwe. In Uganda and Ghana we found the hiving-off of excise and customs and revenue divisions to create executive agencies . Performance contracting as well as contracting out have been the major policy options in different crisis states. Contracting out has been considered as a tool to develop SOEs, state-owned enterprises. This provided more operational freedom to SOE managers while making them responsible for the performance of the enterprises. Grants, sanctions and rewards are implemented for the performance enhancement of enterprises. Performance contracts are introduced in different sectors like agriculture, transport and telecommunication. Countries like India, Bolivia and Ghana have implemented this. Contracting out is put into practice in the various sectors. Delivery of public services including road maintenance, waste management, laundry services, catering services, health services and other urban services are contracted out. In Zimbabwe we find the contracting out of different public services. Even though the adoption of new public management practices appear to be beneficial in certain case s, they have certain limitations to be applied in come crisis states. In Brazil and few other African countries new public management have brought cost savings while contracting out public works like road maintenance. However these techniques bring certain limitations in few states. The inefficiency of new public management in such countries reveals that there are institutional problems and other issues that

Banquos Murder Macbeth Essay Example for Free

Banquos Murder Macbeth Essay This morning, our beloved Banquo, friend of the king, was found dead. His body, bearing a slit throat and twenty deep lacerations to the face, was discovered by a farmer from the area. The farmer discovered the body outside of his Salmon farm roughly a mile from castle Dunsinane. The motive for this horrific act is still questionable. Upon questioning the farmer police were unable to discover any leads. Although the farmer produced no useful information the crime scene yielded a possible location for authorities to begin the search. When officials investigated the ditch were Banquo was found they observed footprints and drags marks that led to the road outside Castle Dunsinane, there was also another set of footprints that led straight to the castle to suggest a possible connection between the castle and the murderers. When the authorities found the scene where Banquo was expected to be murdered, a total of five sets of footprints were found at the crime scene along with blood and two sets of horse’s hoofs. The police were able to eliminate two sets of footprints as Banquo’s and another as his son Fleance’s, based on the size. What still concerns authorities is the disappearance of the young Fleance. The boy was thought to be with Banquo at the time of the murder. Police are searching for the boy diligently. The face of the murdered Banquo after his body was found a mile from Castle Dunsinane. The face of the murdered Banquo after his body was found a mile from Castle Dunsinane. From the crime scene the police have concluded that they are looking for three possible murders. With the fifth set of footprints leading away from the scene, police began their search at the castle. The authorities talked with King Macbeth, who was reported to have been acting strangely at the court gathering the previous night. The king said, â€Å"I drink to†¦our dear friend Banquo, whom we miss. † The king continued on to say that he will miss his good friend and also hopes that Banquo finds heaven. Lady Macbeth was also asked for a statement and she refused, saying only she was too weak with sadness to speak of the event. In conclusion, authorities have no credible leads or motives for this terrible crime at this time. Police ask that anyone with any information regarding the murderers contact them at their field office. Their office is in Castle Dunsinane on the second floor, they ask that people with information please contact them as soon as possible.

Ecological Footprint Analysis Of Iran Environmental Sciences Essay

Ecological Footprint Analysis Of Iran Environmental Sciences Essay Nowadays by increasing the population of the world, more than ever we are and should be more concerned about our resources compared to our consumption. If we look at the research we can realize that our consumption is overshooting the Earths natural capacity to product our needs as well as digesting our waste. To evaluate a measurement to study how sustainable countries develop and how much they care about the environment and its capacity some scientists developed a model which is based on a simple question; Do we fit our planet by continuing our current lifestyle? This method is called Ecological Footprint. Definition of Ecological Footprint (EF) The concept of the Ecological Footprint was introduced by Rees (1992) and elaborated by Wackernagel and Rees (1996, 1997) among others. The EF can be compared with the productive biological capacity of the available land and the sea to this population (WWF, 2005). The EF measures the demand for natural resources. For its creators, the EF is a measure of the impact of the population expressed in terms of the appropriate area; it is the surface of ecologically productive territory in the diverse categories (arable lands, pastures, forests, sea and CO2 absorption area), necessary to supply the resources of energy and matter that a population consume and to absorb its wastefulness considering its current technology (Wackernagel and Rees, 1996).One characteristic term of this methodology is the biocapacity or interest from natural capital. Thus, the biocapacity measures the bioproductivity or biological productivity in an area. The average biological productivity of a hectare of the earths productive surface area is called global hectare (GHA) and is used as the common unit of comparison. Bioproductivity is the ability of a biome (e.g., arable land, pasture land, forest land, productive sea) to produce biomass, which is defined as the weight of organic matter, including animals, plants and micro-organism (living and dead), above or below the soil surface. Thus, the biomes have different levels of bioproductivity. Some of it is built or degraded land. Biocapacity is dependent not only on natural conditions but also on prevailing land use (e.g., farming use, forest use). The use of bioproductive area as an aggregate unit is a powerful and resonant means of measuring and communicating environmental impact and sustainability. It is crucial to note that the biocapacity represents the theoretical maximum sustainable capacity for a year. While ecological overshoot by definition reveals the degradation of natural capital, the ecological remainder does not guarantee the sustainability of production. Rather, as the Footprint of production approaches the biocapacity and the ecological remainder narrows, the likelihood that the country will experience environmental stressor degradation escalates, at least over longer periods of time. In the EF, by comparing the demand with the available supply it is possible to estimate the ecological sustainabil ity of territories or countries. A nations ecological footprint correspond to the aggregate land and water area in various ecosystem categories to produce all the resources it consumes, and to absorb all the waste it generates on a continuous basis, using prevailing technology. Methodology of Footprint Calculation: FUNDAMENTAL ASSUMPTIONS OF ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT ACCOUNTING Ecological Footprint accounting is based on six fundamental assumptions (Wackernagel et al. 2002): à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The majority of the resources people consume and the wastes they generate can be tracked. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Most of these resource and waste flows can be measured in terms of the biologically productive area necessary to maintain flows. Resource and waste flows that cannot be measured are excluded from the assessment, leading to a systematic underestimate of humanitys true Ecological Footprint. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ By weighting each area in proportion to its bioproductivity, different types of areas can be converted into the common unit of global hectares, hectares with world average bioproductivity. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Because a single global hectare represents a single use, and all global hectares in any single year represent the same amount of bioproductivity, they can be added up to obtain an aggregate indicator of Ecological Footprint or biocapacity. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Human demand, expressed as the Ecological Footprint, can be directly compared to natures supply, biocapacity, when both are expressed in global hectares. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Area demanded can exceed area supplied if demand on an ecosystem exceeds that ecosystems regenerative capacity (e.g., humans can temporarily demand more biocapacity from forests, or fisheries, than those ecosystems have available). This situation, where Ecological Footprint exceeds available biocapacity, is known as overshoot (deficit). What does a per person national Footprint actually mean? A per person national Footprint measures the amount of bioproductive space under constant production required to support the average individual of that country. For example, a five-hectare per person Footprint means that an average individual in that country uses all of the services produced in a year by five hectares of world-average productive land. This land does not need to be within the borders of the individuals country as biocapacity is often embodied in goods imported from other countries to meet consumption demands. What is included in the Ecological Footprint? What is excluded? To avoid exaggerating human demand on nature, the Ecological Footprint includes only those aspects of resource consumption and waste production for which the Earth has regenerative capacity, and where data exist that allow this demand to be expressed in terms of productive area. For example, freshwater withdrawal is not included in the Footprint, although the energy used to pump or treat it is. Ecological Footprint accounts provide snapshots of past resource demand and availability. They do not predict the future. Thus, while the Footprint does not estimate future losses caused by present degradation of ecosystems, if persistent this degradation will likely be reflected in future accounts as a loss of biocapacity. Footprint accounts also do not indicate the intensity with which a biologically productive area is being used, nor do they pinpoint specific biodiversity pressures. Finally, the Ecological Footprint is a biophysical measure; it does not evaluate the essential social and economic dimensions of sustainability. Statistical Data: The statistics shown the next page are extracted from ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT ATLAS 2009, Published 24th November 2009 by GLOBAL FOOTPRINT NETWORK, RESEARCH AND STANDARDS DEPARTMENT, Oakland, California, United States of America Interpretation of Data: As we can see in the tables the Total Ecological Footprint of Iran is 2.66 compared to its Total Biocapacity which is 0.99. It means that for this country the Total Ecological Footprint is roughly 160% more than its Total Biocapacity which is by definition a biological overshoot and can lead to degradation of natural capital or resources. In other words, our demand is much higher than our demand and this can be a warning for us at least in longer periods of time and there should be decisive measures to reduce the factors which contribute to higher Footprints. How to improve the situation: In simple words it can be said that to improve the situation beside any rules or policies which governments can take, all people can take effective steps to reduce their stressors on environment by decreasing their consumption as well as their waste. There are some simple ways suggested by experts: A) Reduce your Carbon Footprint A1) Use cleaner transport * Walk, bike, or take public transit whenever possible. * Avoid allowing your car to idle. If youll be waiting for more than 30 seconds, turn off the engine (except in traffic). And dont take the drive-through-park the car and walk inside instead. * Have your vehicle serviced regularly to keep the emission control systems operating at peak efficiency. Check your cars air filter monthly, and keep the tires adequately inflated to maximize gas mileage. * Avoid short airplane trips-take a bus or train instead. A2) Add energy-saving features to your home * Install compact fluorescent bulbs in all your home light fixtures-but remember, compact fluorescents contain mercury, so look for low-mercury models and be sure to dispose of old bulbs safely through your local hazardous waste program. * Weatherproof your home. Make sure your walls and ceilings are insulated, and consider double-pane windows. Eliminate drafts with caulking, weather strips, and storm windows and doors. * Insulate your water heater. Even better, switch to a tankless water heater, so your water will be heated only as you use it. * Choose energy efficient appliances. A3) Adopt energy-saving habits * Keep thermostat relatively low in winter and ease up on the air conditioning in summer. Clean or replace dirty air conditioner filters as recommended to keep the A/C operating at peak efficiency. * Unplug your electronics when not in use. To make it easier, use a power strip. Even when turned off, items like your television, computer, and cellphone charger still sip power. * Dry your clothes outside whenever possible. * Make minimal use of power equipment when landscaping. * Defrost your refrigerator and freezer regularly. * Choose green electricity. Many utilities give you the option to purchase electricity generated by wind and solar power for a small rate surcharge. * Purchase carbon offsets to make up for the energy use you cant eliminate. B) Reduce your Food Footprint * Eat more local, organic, in-season foods. * Plant a garden-it doesnt get more local than that. * Shop at your local farmers market or natural foods store. Look for local, in-season foods that havent travelled long distances to reach you. * Choose foods with less packaging to reduce waste. * Eat lower on the food chain-going meatless for just one meal a week can make a difference. Globally, it has been estimated that 18% of all greenhouse gas emissions are associated with meat consumption. C) Reduce your Housing Footprint C1) Choose sustainable building materials, furnishings, and cleaning products. * Explore green design features for your building, like passive solar heating, a rainwater catchment or grey water recycling system, and recycled materials. * Choose efficient appliances, including low flow shower heads, faucets, and toilets. * Choose furnishings that are second-hand, recycled, or sustainably produced. * Plant drought tolerant plants in your garden and yard. * Use biodegradable, non-toxic cleaning products. C2) Adopt water-saving habits * Take shorter, less frequent showers-this not only saves water, but the energy necessary to heat it. * Dont use the garbage disposal. Compost instead. * Run the dishwasher and the laundry machine only when full. * Wash cars rarely, or better yet, take them to a carwash. Commercial carwashes use less water per wash than home washers, and they are also required to drain used water into the sewage system, rather than storm drains, which protects aquatic life. * Avoid hosing down or power-washing your deck, walkways, or driveway. * Regularly look for and fix leaks. D) Reduce your Goods and Services Footprint * Buy less! Replace items only when you really need to. * Recycle all your paper, glass, aluminium, and plastic. Dont forget electronics! * Compost food waste for the garden. Garbage that is not contaminated with degradable (biological) waste can be more easily recycled and sorted, and doesnt produce methane gases (a significant greenhouse gas contributor) when stored in a landfill. * Buy recycled products, particularly those labelled post-consumer waste. Glossary Ecological Footprint: A measure of how much biologically productive land and water an individual, population or activity requires to produce all the resources it consumes and to absorb the waste it generates, using prevailing technology and resource management practices. The Ecological Footprint is usually measured in global hectares. Because trade is global, an individual or countrys Footprint includes land or sea from all over in the world. Ecological Footprint is often referred to in short form as Footprint. Ecological Footprint and Footprint are proper nouns and thus should always be capitalized. Global hectare (gha): A productivity-weighted area used to report both the biocapacity of the Earth, and the demand on biocapacity (the Ecological Footprint). The global hectare is normalized to the area-weighted average productivity of biologically productive land and water in a given year. Because different land types have different productivity, a global hectare of, for example, cropland, would occupy a smaller physical area than the much less biologically productive pasture land, as more pasture would be needed to provide the same biocapacity as one hectare of cropland. Because world bioproductivity varies slightly from year to year, the value of a gha may change slightly from year to year. Overshoot: Global overshoot occurs when humanitys demand on nature exceeds the biospheres supply, or regenerative capacity. Such overshoot leads to a depletion of Earths life-supporting natural capital and a build-up of waste. At the global level, ecological deficit and overshoot are the same, since there is no net-import of resources to the planet. Local overshoot occurs when a local ecosystem is exploited more rapidly than it can renew itself. Land type: The Earths approximately 11.9 billion hectares of biologically productive land and water are categorized into five types of surface area: cropland, grazing land, forest, fishing ground, and built-up land. Also called area type. Ecological deficit/reserve: The difference between the biocapacity and Ecological Footprint of a region or country. An ecological deficit occurs when the Footprint of a population exceeds the biocapacity of the area available to that population. Conversely, an ecological reserve exists when the biocapacity of a region or country exceeds the Footprint of its population. If there is a regional or national ecological deficit, it means that the region or country is either importing biocapacity through trade, liquidating its own ecological assets, or emitting wastes into a global commons such as the atmosphere. In contrast, the global ecological deficit cannot be compensated through trade, and is equal to overshoot. Carbon Footprint: When used in Ecological Footprint studies, this term is synonymous with demand on CO2 area. The phrase Carbon Footprint has been picked up in the climate change debate. Several web-calculators use the phrase carbon Footprint. Many just calculate tonnes of carbon, or tonnes of carbon per Euro, rather than demand on bioproductive area. The Ecological Footprint encompasses the carbon Footprint, and captures the extent to which measures for reducing the carbon Footprint lead to increases in other Footprint components. Biological capacity, or biocapacity: The capacity of ecosystems to produce useful biological materials and to absorb waste materials generated by humans, using current management schemes and extraction technologies. Useful biological materials are defined as those used by the human economy. Hence what is considered useful can change from year to year (e.g. use of corn (maize) stover for cellulosic ethanol production would result in corn stover becoming a useful material, and thus increase the biocapacity of maize cropland). The biocapacity of an area is calculated by multiplying the actual physical area by the yield factor and the appropriate equivalence factor. Biocapacity is usually expressed in global hectares. Natural capital: Natural capital can be defined as all of the raw materials and natural cycles on Earth. Footprint analysis considers one key component, life-supporting natural capital, or ecological capital for short. This capital is defined as the stock of living ecological assets that yield goods and services on a continuous basis. Main functions include resource production (such as fish, timber or cereals), waste assimilation (such as CO2 absorption or sewage decomposition) and life-support services (such as UV protection, biodiversity, and water cleansing or climate stability). Refrences: ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT ATLAS 2009, Published 24th November 2009 by GLOBAL FOOTPRINT NETWORK, RESEARCH AND STANDARDS DEPARTMENT, Oakland, California, United States of America E C O L O G I C A L E C O N O M I C S 6 6 ( 2 0 0 8 ) 6 2 8 6 3 7, Sustainability of nations by indices: Comparative study between environmental sustainability index, ecological footprint and the energy performance indices http://www.myfootprint.org/en/take_action/reduce_your_footprint/ http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php

The Fun Atmosphere of Knoxville, Tennessee :: Tourism

The Fun Atmosphere of Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville, Tennessee, keeps its citizens and visitors busy with many options for shopping and food at places like The Old City and the college strip. The town also makes for a cheap vacation spot with high-energy nightlife. The city gives its visitors a wide variety of shopping options from the antique and thrift shops of the Old City to the West Town Mall and ritzy plazas of West Knoxville. The antique shops of the Old City prove to be a hot spot for the frugal tourist. Downtown K-Town is a popular antique shop located in the Old City that is best known for opening up on selected weekends with everything in the store on sale for half price. There are also a few thrift shops around the Old City, such as Frenchys’ Hip Hop, that provide the low-budget shopper with a mixture of second hand clothing and trendy new material. West Knoxville caters more to the visitor who is looking for a finer quality of shopping, and is located about ten minutes from the college strip. West Town mall is always busy with shoppers jotting in and out of its many shops from Proffits to Abercrombie & Fitch. This is the answer for parents on a family vacation because at the mall there is a wide variety of shops, so everyone will have access to a store that interests them. Around the mall are located several shopping plazas chalked full of small, pricey shops that sell unique designer clothes and accessories that are usually imported. Sophies and BeBe are two "designer" shops that sell mainly women’s clothing and shoes. They will definitely put a dent in your budget, but for the tourist who came financially prepared these are a couple of fine shopping stops for unique apparel If you are looking for nightlife in Knoxville, the college strip is the best place to be. O’Charlies on the strip is usually packed with sports fans and is open late into the night. This is a great place if you are interested in sports because there are televisions positioned throughout the restaurant (and one big screen out on the patio) that are usually tuned into a sports station. The scene for most college students in Knoxville after about ten o’clock is Moose’s’ Music Hall, which is located just across the street from O’Charlies. Moose’s’ attracts a variety of club-goers because they always have events going on such as weekly foam dancing and concerts.

Television in the Information Age Essay -- TV Media Technology Essays

Television in the Information Age Introduction Television. Most Americans today cannot imagine life without it. It is how we relax, laugh, learn, and stay up to date on current events. The inventors of television may not have realized the impact of combining sound with moving pictures. For the first time in the history of the world we were and are able to peek into the lives of people we will never meet and visit places we will never go. It has even changed the way we communicate with each other in our everyday lives! Who has not heard or used the phrase coined by the sitcom, Seinfield, â€Å"†¦not that there’s anything wrong with that†¦.†? This analysis will first examine the origins of television and the evolution of television technology throughout the years. Next, it will examine the current trends within the industry, and how our government has shaped these trends, the companies that are involved in the industry, and finally, the future of television in the new sub-age of the Infor mation Age, the Digital Age. History The Information Age has its origins in the late nineteenth century when people began to see a need for ways to communicate large amounts of information to large numbers of people over a large geographical area quickly and accurately. Each Information Age invention acted as a catalyst for the next innovation, which without fail was an improvement upon its predecessor. This continuous improvement was made possible by constant research and discovery in the sciences, which enabled the development of new technologies crucial to the advancement of the objectives of the Information Age. The invention of the radio caused scientists to begin thinking about a way to develop an infor... ...result in the inseparable linkage of the two technologies. In the process of this linkage the TV in the traditional sense will start looking more and more like a computer. When this process is complete, the analog TV may have to step down from its position as the most influential Information Age invention to date and hand its â€Å"title† on to the computer. Forty years from now children may not even know what an analog TV is or how they work save what they read in a school history textbook. Computers have infiltrated nearly every area of life in general including medicine, transportation, art, music, -the list is endless, and therefore, its infiltration of TV is not surprising. For more information about the history, evolution, mechanisms, technology, marketplace, or future of TV and current trends in the industry please see this analysis’ supplemental links. Television in the Information Age Essay -- TV Media Technology Essays Television in the Information Age Introduction Television. Most Americans today cannot imagine life without it. It is how we relax, laugh, learn, and stay up to date on current events. The inventors of television may not have realized the impact of combining sound with moving pictures. For the first time in the history of the world we were and are able to peek into the lives of people we will never meet and visit places we will never go. It has even changed the way we communicate with each other in our everyday lives! Who has not heard or used the phrase coined by the sitcom, Seinfield, â€Å"†¦not that there’s anything wrong with that†¦.†? This analysis will first examine the origins of television and the evolution of television technology throughout the years. Next, it will examine the current trends within the industry, and how our government has shaped these trends, the companies that are involved in the industry, and finally, the future of television in the new sub-age of the Infor mation Age, the Digital Age. History The Information Age has its origins in the late nineteenth century when people began to see a need for ways to communicate large amounts of information to large numbers of people over a large geographical area quickly and accurately. Each Information Age invention acted as a catalyst for the next innovation, which without fail was an improvement upon its predecessor. This continuous improvement was made possible by constant research and discovery in the sciences, which enabled the development of new technologies crucial to the advancement of the objectives of the Information Age. The invention of the radio caused scientists to begin thinking about a way to develop an infor... ...result in the inseparable linkage of the two technologies. In the process of this linkage the TV in the traditional sense will start looking more and more like a computer. When this process is complete, the analog TV may have to step down from its position as the most influential Information Age invention to date and hand its â€Å"title† on to the computer. Forty years from now children may not even know what an analog TV is or how they work save what they read in a school history textbook. Computers have infiltrated nearly every area of life in general including medicine, transportation, art, music, -the list is endless, and therefore, its infiltration of TV is not surprising. For more information about the history, evolution, mechanisms, technology, marketplace, or future of TV and current trends in the industry please see this analysis’ supplemental links.

The Media and Today’s Youth

The Media and Today’s Youth Today, there is no escape from the flamboyant displays of sex and violence on television, in the movies, and in commercial advertising. When watching the morning news, the television floods with reports of sexual assault and murder. When waiting in line at the grocery store, it is impossible to ignore the headlines accusing wives of cheating and husbands of abuse. When driving on the highway, it is difficult to concentrate on the road with audacious billboards with half-naked women around every corner.Similarly, it seems that today’s children are becoming increasingly dependent of modern technology including cell phones, video games, and internet, making the sex and violence seen in the media more accessible than ever. So if a young girl is experimenting with sex before she has even reached puberty, or if a young boy brings a gun to elementary school, this behavior cannot be blamed on characteristics inherited at birth. Rather, it is the unav oidable truth that young people are corrupted by the constant exposure to the provocative media.Children were certainly not born with the aforementioned negative behaviors, therefore it must be a direct effect of the environment. So does this mean that people are born moral and molded into violent, promiscuous creatures? According to the ancient Chinese philosopher Mencius, humans are â€Å"inherently good† and in order to demonstrate the ability of outside forces to molest the natural good nature of humans, he compares the human heart to a barley seed.Though all seeds, like the human heart have the potential to grow just as strong and healthy as the rest, there is always the possibility that external obstacles will inhibit some from succeeding as much as others. Similarly, the philosopher Hsun Tzu explains that the environment that a person grows in will significantly affect the person he or she is soon to become. Although he contrasts the argument of Mencius in his beliefs that humans are born with evil tendencies and are only made good through training and education.Both philosophers, however, agree that training and mentoring is vital to shaping behavior. If a man is surrounded by evil, it is inevitable that he will develop evil characteristics. Therefore, the theories of both Mencius and Tzu contrast the current values of American popular culture. Constant exposure to pop media promoting uninhibited sex is leading to a total loss of conservative values, especially among young girls. Values such as monogamy, loyalty, modesty, and self-respect are crucial to maintaining a decent image of the American Woman.Fashion magazines directed toward young women are bursting with photo-shopped ads for perfume, jewelry, and clothing showing women with little clothing covering their hourglass frames. If kids are exposed to over 250,000 commercial advertisements by the age of 17, then it is impossible to deny that this influences their views on what types of behav ior is appropriate. Not only are young girls pressured to keep up with unrealistic body images but also with ridiculous norms of behavior for their age group, including drinking excessively, dressing provocatively, and acting recklessly.Watching a show every week like Jersey Shore which openly glorifies sex and drinking will undoubtedly begin to make young girls believe that such behavior is desirable. A typical episode of this popular show includes an entertaining portrayal of a small group of young Italian adults who are paid to act foolishly. On a typical day, the group of â€Å"guidos† spend time working out, tanning, drinking, and helping out at a beach-side t-shirt shop on the infamous Jersey Shore boardwalk. The end of the show highlights their evening routine including unhealthy amounts of alcohol, minimal clothing, and lots of sexual content.Girls who act inappropriately at a young age were clearly taught how to do so by the poor role models who are paid millions of dollars per year to corrupt American youth. To make matters worse, these ideas seem to be reinforced with displays of sexual innuendo everywhere young people look. The explosion of personal computers within the last 20 years has allowed children to have more access to adult content than ever before. The internet is flooded with websites streaming free pornography and all a child needs is a computer and Google search.While there are some ways that parents can censor what their children view online, most kids are knowledgeable enough about computers to get around any firewalls. Additionally, there is very few children today who do not own a smartphone; a personal device that opens the doors to unlimited searching without censorship. But who needs porn when there is sexting? Today’s young people seem to be increasingly more open to send each other sexually explicit text messages or pictures without true control over where they are sent.The idea of sexting would seem much more sc andalous, however, if they were not observing such behavior from their role models on TV, in magazines, or on the internet. Unfortunately, sex in the media is not the only problem. Violent video games are becoming increasingly more realistic and allow people to live vicariously through the animation, causing real-life violence to seem mundane. For example, the game Grand Theft Auto is wildly popular among the youth as it allows players to earn points through stealing cars, mugging pedestrians, assaulting prostitutes, and murdering strangers.This type of game is obviously entertaining, but should not be available for kids at the local videogame provider. To make matters worse, the quickly advancing technology allows for a more life-like picture than ever before. Therefore, the line drawn between fantasy and reality becomes blurry; a dangerous problem when it comes to violent crimes. Kids who are involved in gang violence and vicious crimes had to have learned this behavior from somew here.While it is a valid point that television and videogames cannot make a person do something they do not want to do, it is undeniable that the media is capable of putting the idea in that person’s head. While adults are able to put violent and sexual content inside of context, children are not mature enough to realize the difference between how people act on entertainment television versus real life. With adult content becoming available to increasingly younger age groups, it appears that there is no limit to how young children are able to access the world of sex and violence.Hsun Tzu reinforces this argument with his statement that â€Å"environment is everything† when it comes to the root of human nature and his belief that values are learned through practice. The corruption of today’s young people is a negative bi-product of the digital revolution and has created colossal problems for the youth of society. But it is your responsibility as the youth of Amer ica to take a step back and realize that we need to hold on tight to our morals and values if we want to preserve The American Dream.