The Sleeper Curve Technology And The Media Media Essay

The Sleeper Curve Technology And The Media Media Essay Johnson notes that the sleeper curve is a comparison between the level of I.Q and other neurological capabilities in relation to the changing technology aimed at showing how the modern forms of technology and the media are responsible for sharpening our minds (Johnson, page 34). Contrary to most peoples expectations that TV and video games play a role in sharpening our minds, Johnson proves that the complexity of the TV shows aired and video games that are played have a fundamental role in sharpening our minds and making us more attentive. He notes that the attributes derived from playing games and watching television make us more perceptive and train our brains to things in a sound manner. He states that This growing complexity involves three primary elements: multiple threading, flashing arrows and social networks. (Jazz Corner 2005 and The New York Time, 2005). This way, our IQ levels are increased and our brains become more sharpened. He therefore advocates for young people to co ntinue playing video games and watching modern TV shows. He goes on the further state that, The quickest way to appreciate the Sleeper Curves cognitive training is to sit down and watch a few hours of hit programming from the late 70s on Nick at Nite or the SOAPnet channel or on DVD. (Jazz Corner 2005 and The New York Time, 2005). According to Johnson, a sleeper curve can be explained in three different models or levels which are the common driving forces in the sleeper curve. These driving forces include economic factors, neurological factors, and technological factors. The economic factors driving the sleeper curve include the changes that have been effected in the industry to suit the needs of the viewer while at the same time satisfying the financial needs of those in the show business industry. Changes have been cited in the television industry in recent times most of which have been due to changing consumer preferences. This has been done through the introduction of TV series aimed at meeting the viewers needs. For instance, there has been an increase in the story line complexity and television shows that aired 20 years ago re now being regarded as primitive by the viewers. This explains why older shows like the Dragnet cannot match up to most modern shows being produced such as the Sopranos. This has e nsured that people adopt the concept of Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ), in an attempt to understand peoples emotional intelligence through reading their minds (Johnson, p.98). For instance, the producers and media people have to read the viewers emotional cues, anticipate their inner feelings and thoughts (Johnson p.98,99). Likewise, when watching television with friends or families, one also has to read their minds; what they anticipate and feel about the program. Therefore, television provides a medium where one can assess peoples emotional intelligence (Johnson, p.99). Technology is a major factor that helps in the understanding of the sleeper curve. The ever changing technology is responsible for the sleeper curve. The technology that is used today cannot be compared to the technology that was used 20 years ago. Everything has changed. First there was the adoption of VCRs, and then came the introduction of CDs and DVDs. This also ranges from the video games that kids play to the TV shows being aired. For instance, the type of video games that were being played 20 years ago ( ie Pong or Duck Hunt), cannot be compared to the ones being played today ( ie Call of Duty or Halo). Most of the games played then just required minimal skills which ranged form motor coordination to pattern formation and understanding. The video games that are played today are very advanced as compared to those that were played back in the early 1970s. Modern video games create a whole new virtual world. For instance, digitalization has been on the rise in the show business. This is usually present in the TV and video games. For instance, Sleeper, the 1973 science fiction explains the incompatibility between the scientists in 2173 and the 21st century generation. The film is against the current generation trying to impose scientific and technological advancement used in cloning. However, current series such as Greys Anatomy embraces technology and scientific advancement by hypothesizing the probability of cloning in the near future. Therefore, the TV and video games pertaining technology helps compare cultures and the superiority of the current intellectual riches. The neurological aspect of the brain is an important factor to look at when dealing with the sleeper curve. The way we think and look at things today is not the same way people looked and thought of things 20 years ago. Today, education does not take place in class alone. There are numerous activities in living rooms and basements which help kids to become smarter today. The mindset of children today cannot be compared to the children in 1970 or 1980. Today, children get introduced to very complex aspects of technology at very young ages. This facilitates adoption of the current trends of technology at the tender ages. The change in the neurological setting is what facilitates an overall need in the change of how technology evolves and our reaction to the different aspects of technology. Viewers have a need to maintain their connection between the virtual world physics and their brain chemistry, therefore, they are attracted to systems that explore the environment and have clearly de fined rewards in spite of them probably having the virtual characters. This explains why the people who are above the age of twenty are not attracted to the rescue princess like games or videos like Nintendo or Zelda. The more grown up video games such as Halo or Call of Duty and the The Sopranos are what they are watching or playing. Additionally, people love mind bending files like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Momento and Pulp Fiction which help them develop neurologically. For instance, Momento uses a reverse chronological order whereby the audience is barely aware of the events preceding in attempt to confuse them. As the film ends, both narratives converge and one understands that the investigation taking place resulted to someone death. Watching the television shows provides a platform for improving our neurological development. Consequences The sleeper curve undermines the long headed belief that pop culture is on a race to the bottom, where the cheapest thrill wins out every time. Johnson quickly states that the sleeper curve has not yet become more superior than the traditional culture. It undermines the premise that mass culture pales in comparison to High Art in its aesthetic and intellectual riches. However, to me his argument is invalid. The sleeper curve has greatly impacted the popular culture generation in the way they live and has therefore become more dominant than the traditional culture. In comparison to the older generations, the impacts of video games, TV shows, and technology are greatly felt in the society today. This has changed the American cultural values and the pop culture which was disregarded is now being embraced in a different style and people view it from a different perspective. Earlier on, people detested videos with extreme violence which are now embraced and used to make kids sharpen brain s. They improve the level of perception and increase the analysis speed of viewers. The TV shows and video games are actually making people smarter as opposed to the belief that nothing good can come out of TV shows and video games. The videos and TV shows are now incorporated in education and children are able to grasp more within a limited span of time. Children can now cope with school subjects like mathematics by using video games like Dungeon and Dragons that help kids to increase their calculation capabilities. Additionally, embracing the current trends in technology increases important learning skills such as reading speed and accuracy. Modern TV shows have subtitles that allow viewers to quickly read through and grasp the concept of the TV shows. This way, viewers can master how to read through these subtitles and lines with ease and use the same strategy when studying large volumes of books or numerous readings. The video games that were present 20 years ago are not the same as those which are played today. Games like Pac-Man and Tetris which were very popular back in the 1980s and 1990s are not as challenging as the video games today. Take for instance, a game like Grand Theft Auto 3 which requires mor e than just pattern recognition and motor coordination. Modern games are designed not only to create a challenge for the players, but also to sharpen the skills of the players. Modern games are created to bring into existence an imaginary world which has a lot of details and is very competitive in nature. Importance of understanding the Sleeper Curve It is very important to understand the sleeper curve because of the impact it has on our daily activities. Everyone is affected by the sleeper curve either directly or indirectly. The sleeper curve also affects the way we interact with the environment in general. Understanding how the sleeper curve operates is an important thing to put into consideration. If we are able to understand the changes brought about by the sleeper curve and the resulting effects, we can understand these changes and how vital these changes are as it helps one to come to terms with and evaluate the sleeper curve. This is because video games and TV shows have a great influence in our lives today. If video games and TV shows make kids smarter, then they should be looked into deeply. Anything that affects the social, cultural, and educational aspects of children should probably be looked at very closely. The advantages accrued to the sleeper curve outweigh the negative effects and therefore, people should embrace modern forms of technology particularly the video games and modern TV shows. As we have seen, video games and modern TV shows are major contributors in our cognitive thinking and which increase our IQ. Children who play video games and watch modern TV shows are generally smarter and their smartness is explicitly shown in the educational field. Children learn how to grasp so much in such a small amount of time which also teaches them how to find their way out of difficult situations. People should therefore engage in, embrace video games and television shows to actually see the quickest way to appreciate the sleeper curves cognitive training (Jazz Corner 2005 and The New York Times 2005).

Analysis of Buried Child by Sam Shepard Essay -- Buried Child Sam Shep

Analysis of Buried Child by Sam Shepard Sam Shepard has always written plays that have numerous illusions to frustrate the reader. Shepard has also been known for several twists in his plays, and also makes the reader believe in something that is not real. Born in 1943, Shepard always enjoyed Theatre and Playwriting. Now, nearly 60 years of age, Shepard is one of the most famous playwrights in America. In Shepard’s Buried Child, there are many twists and turns that have the reader wondering and wanting more. Buried Child can be similar to classic plays such as Oedipus Rex, where Shepard includes the theme of incest. He has also included many symbolic objects and Native American symbols of renewal with the large quantity of vegetables in the backyard of the family’s house. There are seven main characters in this play, the majority belonging to one family. The first impression seems like the family in the play are a normal Middle American family. Dodges one-track alcoholic mind, Halie’s irritating personality, and Tilden’s distant relationship with his father seems fairly typical of an elderly family; however, this is far from the truth. The play begins with Dodge, who is in his seventies, may not have much longer to live. He has an unhealthy cough, which gives the thought that he is extremely ill. In the play, Shepard is pointing out that Dodge is not only sick physically, but also mentally. His vicious cough seems to show the progression of his illness throughout the play. The introduction of Tilden, Dodge’s son, is quite unusual; he enters the house with an armful of corn and drops it in front of his father. The significance of this action will be noticed further into the play. When Tilden brings the corn in from the backyard, his father looks at him and tells him to give the corn back, thinking he has stolen it. Dodge snaps, "I haven't planted corn back there since 1935, so take that damn corn back form where ever you got it.† Yet, Tilden argues that the entire back yard is filled with tall stalks of corn, carrots and potatoes. Tilden is a young man living with his parents after getting in trouble in New Mexico. Halie, Tilden’s mother and Dodge’s wife, is abnormally protective of Tilden, which he is not allowed to do or say anything without the permission of Dodge or herself. Halie is constantly worrying about Ti... ...the family, and will hopefully lead them in a positive direction. The ending of this play comes to the conclusion that this family can never be a normal Middle American family. This family is at a loss, and will probably never see life the way that they have before. I believe the message Shepard is trying to reach out to the reader is that secrets and dishonesty can tear a family apart and make them go insane. Unfortunately for this play, the terrible secret was exposed too late. Shepard created an ending which the world could appreciate its simplicity yet complications. Buried Child explores the inner tensions of a rural existence, father-son relationships, and the place women hold in an ambiguous domestic atmosphere. Simply poetic, humorous, and mysterious, Buried Child is a vision of a troublesome family transformed into a symbol of America's loss of innocence. This play made Shepard a Pulitzer Prize winner in 1979, and is very much earned. Bibliography Jacobus, Lee A. 1994. The Bedford Introduction to Drama--Third edition. Microphil Publications. American Repertory Theatre. â€Å"Past Productions: Buried Child.† Dec. 96 http://www.amrep.org/past/buried/buried.html

Four Women in American Music History

American music history has grown an incredible amount in the last hundred years. Prior to that time, there were very few styles of music that originated in America. However, with the advent of jazz and related styles, American music culture was born. Blues is one of the early styles of music that is truly American, and there are many American artists who sang or performed in that style. In fact, blues is still popular today, although it has changed over time. Blues is an important and long-term American musical style, which has had many effects on musical culture from the early 1900s through today.Bessie Smith was an early blues singer. She was popular in the 1920s and 30s, and was known as much for her hard-drinking, rough life as much as her music. She sang about what she knew. Bessie was an African American woman who indulged in sex and alcohol, and had a strong temper. She never gave up without a fight, either in her music or her life. Getting into a fight with Bessie wasnâ€℠¢t something a person wanted to do, either, because she was over six feet tall and weighed about two hundred pounds. Bessie had a history of getting into fist fights with people, male or female.She also took off after her ex-husband with a gun when she found him cheating on her, after beating up his lover. However, Bessie herself was known for sleeping with a number of both men and women (Whitney). Musically, Bessie was not really trained. She could not read music, and relied on other musicians to write her songs down for her. She did write her own lyrics, though. She was a formidable presence on stage, able to sing loudly and strongly because of her size, and her tendency to sing in the range that was easiest for her.In writing her music, Bessie tended to modify existing melodies, and sometimes create new ones, so that they lay well in her â€Å"good† range (Whitney). Here is an example of Bessie’s lyrics, which show her feelings about life plainly: â€Å"I ain't no high yella, I'm a deep killer brown. /I ain't gonna marry, ain't gonna settle down. /I'm gonna drink good moonshine and rub these browns down. /See that long lonesome road, Lawd you know it's gonna end,/and I'm a good woman and I can get plenty men† (Whitney). Bessie was also known as something of a racist.While her fans were both black and white, she was rude to both whites and lighter-skinned blacks. Even at the height of her career, when she had enough money to live as she chose (even as a white person might, in the early 30s), she chose to stay on the streets and to live the life that was familiar to her. Her lyrics here show her thinking on this matter: â€Å"Mister rich man, rich man, open up your heart and mind,/Mister rich man, rich man, open up your heart and mind;/Give the poor man a chance, help stop these hard, hard times./While you're livin' in your mansion you don't know what hard times means, /While you're livin' in your mansion you don't know what hard times m eans; /Poor working man's wife is starving your wife is livin' like a queen† (Whitney). Ethel Waters is a blues singer who began performing later in Bessie’s career. While Bessie was primarily performing and well known during the 1920s, Ethel became better known in the 1930s (her career did officially begin in 1921, though). Ethel was specifically a different kind of blues singer than Bessie, and in fact was different from her in many ways.Ethel is also of African American decent, but she grew up in the North and was heavily influenced by white performers. When she began performing professionally, Ethel joined a group of blacks who called themselves â€Å"Cakewalk singers,† which was distinctly different from the more traditional blues singers, like Bessie (PBS). Ethel’s acceptance of whites can be traced to what was a very rough beginning for her. She was born when her mother was only 12. Her mother had been raped by a white man, John Waters. Ethel, then, is half-white, and carries her father’s surname.She was raised by her maternal grandmother in poverty, and began singing at age 5. Her beginnings are much more similar to Bessie’s, but what she did with herself later differs widely (Myers). Ethel worked with a number of famous jazz performers, including Duke Ellington. In addition to her singing career, Ethel was also an actress, an area of her life that eventually came to the forefront. Her singing style was not nearly as strong as Bessie’s, but she performed very theatrically and managed to capture the audience’s interest in all of her music.This came in handy, as she continued performing through the 1960s and 70s, working at that time with Billy Graham (PBS). Ultimately, Bessie’s influence on Ethel was very indirect. Both were jazz singers in a time when African Americans were first on the rise in popularity on the stage. Bessie’s grit may have given Ethel opportunities she might not hav e otherwise had. In many other ways, though, the two were very different; attitude, style, and more. Dinah Washington is another important singer in this chain of history.Her birth name was Ruth Jones, and she was born in 1924. She is significantly younger than both Ethel and Bessie, whose careers were near their peaks when she was born. Music was in Dinah’s family from the beginning. Her mother was a church pianist, and taught her to play at a young age. She was accompanying and touring by the time she was 16, and had already won prizes. However, although her initial roots were in the church, Dinah longed to work in secular music, namely jazz (Dahl).At age 19, Dinah got her big break, singing with Lionel Hampton’s Big Band, then one of the most popular music styles. By 1945, she was recording her own solo work for the Apollo label and Mercury records, and by 1948, she was on her way to major stardom. 1959 was her biggest year, when she sang â€Å"What a Dif’re nce a Day Makes† (Dahl). In her personal life, Dinah was similar to Bessie. She had many husbands, and she drank a lot. In fact, alcohol and drugs eventually killed her at the end of 1963 (Dahl). In addition, she also loved the finer things, including fur, clothes, and cars.Her personality was known as â€Å"feisty,† and she could be snapping one minute and generous the next (Cohodas). At first glance, Christina Aguilera doesn’t look much like the other stars. For one, she isn’t black. For another, she was born after all of the other singers had died. However, it is her roots and influences that she is similar to them. Like Dinah, she is biracial, with a mom who is Irish and a father who is Ecuadorian. Her father was in the military, which meant that Christina traveled a lot as a child (Biggest Stars).Also like the other singers, Christina was interested in singing and performing from the time she was a young girl. Her family was also musical, with her mot her performing on violin and piano professionally. Christina had a brief, two-year stint on The Mickey Mouse Club when she was a child, working with other singers who later became famous, like Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake (Biggest Stars). Christina’s initial music was definitely pop, with her first number one single titled â€Å"Genie in a Bottle. † The single topped both the U. S. and UK charts in 1999.For awhile longer, Christina continued in the pop genre, recording for the movie Mulan, and singing a new version of â€Å"Lady Marmalade† with several other female pop stars (Biggest Stars). Christina’s work eventually began to seem less significant to her, and she decided to record her 2002 album â€Å"Stripped. † The album was the first that really showed her background and influences. Her comments about this album: â€Å"Coming off of the height of being a part of such a big pop-craze phenomenon, that imagery of that cookie-cutter sweet heart, without it being me, I just had to take it all down and get it away from me.And that is why I actually named the album Stripped, because it is about being emotionally stripped down and pretty bare to open my soul and heart. † This album used many different influences, including soul, R&B, rock, hip-hop and Latin (Biggest Stars). Aguilera’s influences were similar to the earlier stars mentioned. She looked to soul and R&B, both of which are styles typically recorded by African Americans. The blues aspect of R&B, in particular, is interesting to note. Aguilera was following in the footsteps of the other female jazz singers with this style.Also, similar to Dinah Washington, Aguilera sang pop (Dinah did pop in addition to her jazz roots). In general, all four of these women have things in common, and things that are different. Each grew up under similar circumstances, often with mostly maternal influences. Most had some kind of musical background at home. Most grew u p poor, and all had an early talent for music and singing. Most also had a taste for sex, drugs, and some rougher things in life, and had a hard time at one point or another. However, each was unique.Bessie was certainly the biggest and most blunt of the group, while Christina stood of the opposite end as the â€Å"sweetheart† of pop for awhile. Christina was also different in that she was not of African American decent in any way, although Ethel was also half-white. Some of the singers, namely Dinah, had their start in gospel music, while others went straight for jazz or pop. Overall, it is interesting how strikingly similar the artists are, even though there are also very big differences in their lives and styles.Their stories and backgrounds are surprisingly similar in some respects, but very different in others. These four women are just some of the amazing performers from the rich tapestry that is American music history. Sources Burns, Ken. â€Å"Ethel Waters. † J azz. Accessed on December 4, 2007. Website: http://www. pbs. org/jazz/biography/artist_id_waters_ethel. htm. â€Å"Christina Aguilera Biography. † Biggest Stars. Accessed December 4, 2007. Website: http://www. biggeststars. com/c/christina-aguilera-biography. html. Cohodas, Nadine (2004).Queen: The Life and Music of Dinah Washington. Accessed December 4, 2007. Website: http://www. dinahthequeen. com/. Dahl, Bill. â€Å"Dinah Washington. † Accessed December 4, 2007. Website: http://www. vervemusicgroup. com/dinahwashington. Myers, Aaron. â€Å"Ethel Waters. † Accessed December 4, 2007. Website: http://www. wntb. com/blackachievers/ethlwaters/. Whitney, Ross (1995). â€Å"Reflections Of 1920's And 30's Street Life In The Music Of Bessie Smith. † Accessed December 4, 2007. Website: http://bluesnet. hub. org/readings/bessie. html.

Thomas Hobbes State of Nature

Thomas Hobbes’ â€Å"State of Nature† argument: Morality as a prerequisite for peaceful social co-existence I have chosen to write about what Thomas Hobbes’ calls â€Å"The State of Nature† and how morality is needed in order to maintain peace among different societies. I will begin by briefly describing â€Å"The State of Nature† argument and illuminate some of the basic features within this theoretical situation. Then, through the use of excerpts from Hobbes’ book The Leviathan I will give specific facts regarding the conditions of human life as expressed within the state of nature.Next, I will demonstrate how these specific facts caused Hobbes’ to conclude that human life within the state of nature will be ruled by constant fear of other people, otherwise known as the â€Å"state of war†. I will then offer solutions for individuals to escape such an unpleasant situation because the majority of humans would find that life unde r constant fear of being harmed is unacceptable. Next, I will discuss James Rachels’ beliefs concerning the two fundamental conditions that would ultimately allow people to escape the state of nature by enabling individuals to work together.Lastly, I will explain why by putting these two fundamental conditions in place it amounts to an agreement, known as the social contract, between people to obey the basic rules of morality; I will also define the term social contract. The state of nature argument suggests that people would naturally do whatever was necessary to obtain their wants and desires without considering the consequences of their actions; there are no innate moral values that control people’s actions nor is there pure good or evil.Hobbes’ writes that morality solves the issue of societies’ tendency of self-interest and is needed in order to promote a healthy, peaceful environment for all people (Rachels, 80). Hobbes’ believed that life in this manner would be short, hard, and nasty. He dreaded a life in which there would be â€Å"no industry, no society, no commodities, no letters, no arts, and no account of time† (Rachels, 81/Excerpt from The Leviathan). There are four basic facts about life which according to Hobbes’ would make life awful; they are the equality of need, scarcity, the essential equality of human power, and limited altruism (Rachels, 81).More specifically, these four facts highlight that all humans require the same basic things in order to survive such as food and shelter however the world is not equipped with the proper amount of these needed resources to supply all beings with and no one individual is entitled to a larger share of these goods than another human being because everyone is capable of being overpowered or outsmarted; lastly, this poses an issue because everyone will put the needs of themselves above others in times of conflict so all human beings must be able to stand up for themselves.No one person is ever more powerful than another human being however a person’s desire to power others poses a major concern; Hobbes’ believes that human life within the state of nature will be ruled by constant fear of others. Hobbes’ states that the worst result, stemming, of the state of nature argument is the â€Å"continual fear and danger of violent death† (Rachels, 81/Excerpt from The Leviathan). Hobbes maintained that the constant back-and-forth mediation between the emotion of fear and the emotion of hope is the defining principle of all human actions. Either fear or hope is present at all times in all people.In a famous passage of Leviathan, Hobbes states that the worst aspect of the state of nature is the â€Å"continual fear and danger of violent death. † In the state of nature, as Hobbes depicts it, humans intuitively desire to obtain as much power and â€Å"good† as they can, and there are no laws preventing the m from harming or killing others to attain what they desire. Thus, the state of nature is a state of constant war, wherein humans live in perpetual fear of one another. This fear, in combination with their faculties of reason, impels men to follow the fundamental law of nature and seek peace among each other.Peace is attained only by coming together to forge a social contract, whereby men consent to being ruled in a commonwealth governed by one supreme authority. Fear creates the chaos endemic to the state of nature, and fear upholds the peaceful order of the civil commonwealth. The contract that creates the commonwealth is forged because of people’s fear, and it is enforced by fear. Because the sovereign at the commonwealth’s head holds the power to bodily punish anyone who breaks the contract, the natural fear of such harm compels subjects to uphold the contract and submit to the sovereign’s will.

THE DEATH PENALTY IS ALWAYS WRONG essays

THE DEATH PENALTY IS ALWAYS WRONG essays The real question is whether killing people is fundamentally wrong, or whether it is only wrong in a given set of circumstances. Most would agree that intentionally killing someone in cold blood for personal satisfaction is wrong. We might agree that killing 10 people in order to save 5 people is also wrong. We may differ on whether killing 1 innocent person to save 1000 others is wrong. Intentionally killing other people is always wrong no matter what. If there is a grey area between morally wrong killing and morally right killing, then where do we draw the line? More importantly, who has the right to draws that line? A total of 904 executions have been carried out in the United States since 1976, when the death penalty was reinstated after the Supreme Court banned it four years before (pg 1). This is a staggering figure and does not show that things are going to slow down. The use as a deterrent is not working. The point of capital punishment is to kill the people who kill people to show other people that killing people is wrong. But if killing people is wrong, then why is it considered that the State is right to kill people? Capital punishment therefore sends a clear message that killing people is perfectly acceptable and is actively endorsed by the State. A study following 25 condemned men ended after 12 of them had been executed, and the other 13 had been exonerated of their crimes after new evidence was produced. Pg 47. We really do not know how many people are on death row for false charges or for the police trying to seek their own justice. Once you execute a prisoner it is forever, you will not be able to bring them back. Even if new evidence is found the damage has already been done. Contrary to public opinion, it is actually a more expensive process than life imprisonment. With all the appeals, proceedings and hearings that occur for people on deat ...

Creativity, Play and Learning (Arts in Early Childhood Education) Personal Statement

Creativity, Play and Learning (Arts in Early Childhood Education) - Personal Statement Example The teacher gave me extra lessons outside class, allowed me to keep my work safe in his office and provided me with the right kind of pencils, brushes and colours. The completed work was quite remarkable on its own right, though fidelity to the original work was questionable. When I look back to this incident, I feel that the teacher had in fact gone out of his way to accommodate my need for artistic expression. During that period, he was the most accessible person to me – through every act of understanding and kindness he displayed. Another experience made me feel on the contrary, as my teacher did something uncharacteristic of him. In one of his classes, he asked us to draw outline pictures of a building. I happened to sit with a close friend of mine who could only draw one-dimensional picture. I felt I could help him produce a better work and tried to explain to him some techniques of creating a two or three dimensional effect. My teacher considered this as a distraction and raised his voice – asking me to focus on my work and to let my friend focus on his work. He needed finished works by the end of the class. I felt restricted and uneasy about this, and found that it had a totally negative impact on my own work during that class. The idea of following strict rules during a creative endeavor disheartened

Prohibiting smoking in public places Research Paper

Prohibiting smoking in public places - Research Paper Example The legal system should regulate smoking in public places by prohibiting it,and by rigorously enforcing the ban.Murder,robbery,aggressive actions,sale of drugs that are considered to be dangerous,overt sexual acts,unauthorized use of explosives,transport of toxic materials,and many other potentially dangerous or offensive actions are strictly regulated or fully banned in public places. Cigarettes are dangerous and offensive to those people who are exposed in public places. The term, â€Å"in public,† implies shared space. It must be considered that there are ill people, infants and children, pregnant women, elderly people, valuable and contributing members of society, animals, birds, insects, trees, plants, and air in that shared space. All are vulnerable to contamination and poisoning by toxins released in cigarette smoke. It is the purpose and duty of the legal system to protect people in shared space, as well as to uphold the protections promised in the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Second-hand smoke is damaging and illness-inducing. Victims are involuntarily exposed, and many have no voice or social influence to fight against this injustice. Infants and children, for example, cannot voluntarily leave a smoke-filled area, but are at the mercy of adult choices. It is known that the effects of second-hand smoke on children places them at risk for developing frequent colds, asthma, coughs that do not go away, ear infections, high blood pressure, learning and behavioral difficulties (The Cleveland Clinic). People who work in restaurants or other service-related industries, where they are frequently exposed to second-hand smoke, are another high risk group with no real choice to stop exposure, if they leave the area, they risk losing employment and income. If they stay, they regularly absorb carcinogens and various smoking-related toxins into their body, increasing their risk of lung cancer, heart disease, asthma, emphysema, eye and nose irritati on (The Cleveland Clinic). Smoking cigarettes is potentially fatal. Because it is voluntary, it can be seen as an act of slow-motion suicide. When a smoker smokes, in public space, he/she is performing a public act of self-destruction, witnessed by children, teenagers, and other emotionally impressionable people. It is a horrifying act, a slower death than catching one’s body on fire, in protest, or jumping off a skyscraper, but horrifying anyway. Civilized people, who choose to kill themselves, should do so in private, not demand witnesses. This argument has merit precisely because the average person is informed about the potentially fatal consequences of smoking. The act of smoking raises imagery, based on real information in the minds of informed witness. The witness understands that smoking can lead to heart attacks, strokes, and lung cancer. The witness has seen examples of yellow teeth and yellowed nails on a smoker. The witness has smelled the stale aroma hanging in a smoker’s hair, house, and clothing. Perhaps the witness mourns the death of a loved one, lost to the consequences of smoking. The witness is involuntarily confronted by this imagery, when a smoker lights up in shared space. If the shared space is a restaurant, the witness suffers damage to a healthy appetite. If the witness has asthma, or other respiratory illness, the smoker obliviously antagonizes another’s health condition. If the shared space includes pregnant women, their unborn children are also endangered, along with the mothers-to-be. Along with the pregnant woman, the fetus comes into higher risk of developing lung cancer, emphysema, heart disease, allergies and asthma (The Cleveland Clinic). If the shared space is a public event, attention is forcibly re-directed to the smoker. If the shared space is a church hall or parking lot, the witness may suffer offense to his/her faith. If the shared space is a park, the beauty of connection with nature is compromised . The smoker sets a bad