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The Links Between Media & Societal Violence

Saturday, April 21st, 2007

The links between media and societal violence are only to be assumptions of the public. For one thing there are many other contributors to violence; so, how is anyone really sure that media is at greater fault. Media violence these days is really just a replica to society’s everyday life. Without such activity taken in real life there would be no ideas for music, movies, television, basically nothing for the news crew to talk about. So the real question would have to be, is societal violence a contributor to media violence?

Body Language

Saturday, April 21st, 2007

Sometimes it’s easy to tell what is on a person’s mind by the way they position their body. Facial expressions also give clues as to what other people are thinking. The way a person stands, positions their arms, and smiles can tell a lot about them. Men and women typically have different movements, which mean different things.

People position their bodies in many different ways when standing. The most intimate of them being, face to face, hip to hip (Fenney 102). This is something that usually only men do when they’re mad. When conducting an experiment, in which she acted like a man for a day, Susan Fenney stood this way towards a male coworker. He would keep inching away from her. Within five minutes he had done two complete circles (Fenney 102).

Men usually take up more space while sitting down. It is not necessarily because they are bigger; men were raised believing that they have more power then women (Fenney 102). They are also more likely to take an armrest, and least likely to give up a subway seat to a pregnant lady (Fenney 102).

Children of Alcoholics

Saturday, April 21st, 2007

Growing up in an alcoholic family is certainly traumatic. In these homes, children experience a daily environment of inconsistency, chaos, fear, abandonment, denial, and real or potential violence. Survival becomes a full-time job. While most of us know that alcoholism is a disease, too few recognize it as a family disease, which may emotionally, spiritually and often physically, affect, not only the alcoholic but each member of the family. Little emotional energy remains to consistently fulfill the many needs of children who become victims of the family illness. For many years, professional psychologists were barely aware of the vast pool of suffering of the family of alcoholics. They concentrated on healing the alcoholic and felt that it solved the problems of the family as well. Today they realize that the whole family suffers this sickness and all must be made well. By looking at what it is like to live in a alcoholic’s home, the side effects, and how to cope with the problem there will be evidence to see how the disease negatively affects the children.

Alcohol Affects Us All

Saturday, April 21st, 2007

When people hear the word “drug” they usually think of an illegal substance such as cocaine, heroin, marijuana, or any other drug that can be found on the street. Most people never consider the fact that consuming alcohol can be just as harmful as illegal drugs, not only on the body, but on the mind and spirit as well (#1). If constantly abused, alcohol can be even worse for one than taking illegal drugs (#5) Irresponsible drinking can destroy a person’s life as well as the lives of those around them. When people become both physically and psychologically addicted to alcohol, they become an alcoholic and suffer from a disease called alcoholism. One denotation of this term is “a diseased condition of the system, brought about by the continued use of alcoholic liquors” (Webster’s Dictionary, 37). Another definition of this term, given to me by my English professor, Janet Gould who is in fact, a recovering alcoholic, is that alcoholism is a mental dependence and a physical allergy (#3). Alcoholism somehow affects us all through a parent, sibling, friend, or even personal encounters with a stranger. In fact “alcoholics may become angry and argumentative, quiet and withdrawn, or depressed. They may also feel more anxious, sad, tense, and confused. They then seek relief by drinking more” (Gitlow 175). Alcohol and Alcoholism is a big part in our society, which should be recognized and dealt with.In addition “about 7%” of all adults who consume alcohol in the United States today are considered alcoholics, or have suffered from some sort of drinking problem in their lives (Secretary of health viii). “Although there is no indication of how the alcoholism of families members is linked … [through genetics], studies show that about 50 to 80 percent of all alcoholics have had a close relative that was an alcoholic” (Caplan 266). Many times alcoholism starts during a person’s high school and college years; however some teenagers and young adults frequently abuse alcohol and never think about the physical, mental, and emotional toll that alcohol can have on a person’s life (#3). Alcoholism usually begins with social drinking then a person will find excuses to drink more often (Burgess 13). When alcohol is made more readily available to an individual, such as in a college environment, it increases the risk that person will drink excessively (Ewing 173) (#5). The chances of a person becoming an alcoholic are much higher for a person who drinks excessively and lower for a person who drinks moderately. Most alcoholics start out by building up a tolerance, causing them to drink higher amounts of alcohol to get the same effect; this tolerance is the starting point of an alcoholic’s dependence and causes many problems in an alcoholic’s life (#2). Alcohol begins to control the individual’s life and causes their drinking habits to conflict with their best interests (Burgess 16). Personal relationships can be torn apart, jobs are frequently lost, and the health of a person deteriorates when an individual begins to rely on a drink to get by (Burgess 16). Sometimes a person may start to drink at every waking moment of the day because they cannot deal with the withdrawals of being sober (Burgess 16).

Autism

Saturday, April 21st, 2007

Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life. This is the result of a neurological disorder that affects the functioning of the brain.

Autism is four more times prevalent in boys than girls. Autism shows no racial, ethnic or social boundaries. Family income, lifestyle and educational levels do not affect the chance of autism?s occurrence. Autism and its associated behaviors have been estimated to occur in as many and one in 500 individuals. In this essay, I will discuss the signs and symptoms of autism, types of autism, the diagnosis of autism and studies done on autism.

Autism affects the normal development of the brain in the areas of social interaction and communication skills. Children and adults with autism have difficulties in verbal and non-verbal communication, social interactions and leisure or play activities. This disorder makes it hard for them to relate to the outside world. It is hard for them to communicate with others. Aggressive and/or self-injurious behavior may be present in some cases. They may exhibit repeated body movement, such as hand flapping or rocking, unusual responses to people or attachments to objects and resistance to changes in routines. They possibly will experience sensitivities in the five senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell.