PROGRAM INCEPTION Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

PROGRAM INCEPTION - Research Paper Example vance knowledge about education, to encourage scholarly inquiry related to education and to promote the use of research to promote education (AERA, 2012). To achieve this mission, the organization runs several programs related directly or indirectly to education. According to AERA (2012), the key programs that this organization runs are educational research and policy, government relations, social justice, professional development and communication and outreach. All these programs help in one way or the other in the improvement of education in the country. Although the organization has so far done a recommendable job in terms of education improvements, it still has a room for more and better contributions in education. This organization can only achieve this through introduction of more key educational and instructional programs that can improve education. One of such program the organization can adapt is ‘Training the Trainers’. This program, as the name suggests, would involve training the personnel who take part in education of both students and teachers profession. In this program, the trainers will be trained on research practice and ethics required in undertaking an education research. The main objective of this program would be to equip teachers and educators with skills and information that can enable them to conduct research on their students successfully. The program would also give the teachers and educator the skills and information on how to use the findings of a research to improve education without violating individual’s rights. According to Kuhet al (2010), this would enable the teachers and educators in selecting effective education practice that would promote education in the whole country. The way in which I will design the program will depend mainly on the standards that it is required to meet by various stakeholders. Since the standards should vary from one situation to another, I will design the program in a specific way to suite its

Macroeconomics Bachelor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Macroeconomics Bachelor - Essay Example It was noted that Central Banks have been successful in their policies which controlled inflation particularly in controlling insulating countries from shocks such as high oil prices. This mechanism will be explained using various macroeconomic principles. The money supply is directly linked with inflation as shown in the famous Quantity Theory of Money (QTM). This model links the level of money supply to the level of prices of goods and services sold, thus inflation. The famous equation of the TQM is MV = PT, where P is the average price level, T is the volume of transactions of goods and services, V is the velocity of circulation, and M is the money supply in the economy. From this equation, we can see that money supply and price level have direct relationship. We should note that TQM assumes that V and T are constant in the short term, leaving only M and P variable. Consequently, when the money supply doubles, the price level in the economy also doubles. Thus, Central Banks can either increase or decrease the money supply in order to do the same in inflation. In the statement being analyzed, Central Banks are able to avoid wage-price spirals (which are considered P in the QTM) by pursuing a contractionary monetary policy. According to Mishkin (2004), lowering the money supply is done by raising discount rates which discourages bank borrowings, open market sale which tightens reserves and monetary base, and raise the reserve requirement among banks which shrinks the available funds for banks to grant as loans to borrowers. Also, another method usually done in open economies and has replaced monetary targeting is called inflation targeting. Inflation targeting is "an economic policy in which the central bank of a country estimates and makes public a projected or 'target' inflation rate and then attempts to steer actual inflation towards the target through the use of interest rate changes and other monetary tools (Inflation Targeting 2006)." Instead of directly controlling inflation by changing the level of money supply, central banks opted to manipulate interest rates. As interest rates and inflation are inversely related, the central bank raises interest rates if inflation appears to move above its target. Meanwhile, if inflation appears to be below the target, the central bank will lower interest rates. This policy has been adopted first by New Zealand in 1989. Inflation targeting has also been adopted by countries like the United States, Britain, South Korea, and Brazil. Inflation targeters have also set a time horizon over which to reach their targets. This usually depends on how high the starting rate of inflation is relative to the desired rate. Since, inflation targeting requires transparency; central banks periodically release inflation reports, and press statements (IMF 2003). 2. Outline the effects of such monetary policy on price expectations in the central bank's domestic economy. Inflation targeting, in order to be fully effective in curbing hyperinflationary expectations require transparency which

Polio Essay Essay Example for Free

Polio Essay Essay In this world, there are over 12,000 diseases caused by either bacteria or viruses, and most of them are yet to be discovered. One of the dreadful diseases revealed is polio (which is shortened for poliomyelitis) (Ballard). The polio virus enters the body through the mouth, multiplies in the throat and intestine, and spreads through the blood to the central nervous system. Thus, the virus attacks the CNS, which can lead to paralysis. The paralysis would start with the legs, and would be visible due to the atrophy, and the muscles wasting away due to the lack of use (Hecht). Many have spent their whole life in iron lungs due to paralysis in the chest muscles (Ballard). There are three types of polio: mild, non paralytic and paralytic (Hecht). Only 1% of all polio patients develop paralytic polio (Hecht). In 1947, as Jonas Salk searched for a vaccination, he came upon the conclusion that a chemical called formaldehyde can eliminate the virus (Ballard). Another scientist named Albert Sabin desired to weaken the virus, instead of killing it (Ballard). Thus, this lead to the invention of oral vaccines that people can swallow (Ballard). A severe disease called post-polio syndrome, which is an illness of the nervous system develops, and can appear 15-50 years after a patient has been affected by polio (Hecht). People and children can contract polio due to a variety of factors, which are present in several third world countries. It still remains to be an underlying health problem in many developing countries (Ballard). The following is a case study about the several societal and political factors that are affecting Pakistans polio eradication program. Pakistan is one of the four countries (along with Nigeria, India, and Afghanistan) in which polio has remained endemic since the World Health Assembly in 1988 (Katz). In the early 1990s, almost 20 000 cases of polio were reported, although, the numbers have been fluctuating up and down ever since (Katz). Firstly, immense floods in the summer of 2010 have ravaged the Swat Valley in Pakistan resulting in the displacement of millions of people, the absence of running water and electricity, and the closure of at least 500 health clinics and facilities (Katz). Secondly, the weaknesses in the delivery of services and issues of poor health systems governance are a major factor in  the failure to achieve eradication (Nishtar). Lastly, the absence of polio vaccines from non-health sectors such as war and conflict zones and the refusal of parents to vaccinate their children have increased the number of polio cases in the country (Nishtar). The challenges and threats Pakistan faces in the eradication of Polio jeopardizes the world wide efforts, and as long as a single child remains infected, children in all countries are at risk of contracting polio (Nishtar). In general, the polio virus is highly contagious and each and every country that is still under the threats of polio must be careful and responsible enough to see the warning signs before it is too late. Polio usually develops as the result of contact with either polluted water or the mosquitoes that breed in such water. (Bano et al.) Also, the improper sanitization and lack of clean water and electricity promotes the growth of deadly viruses and bacteria (Bano et al.). The only remaining solution for Pakistan is to develop a plan for National immunizat ion days, where the entire government must educate every one of its citizens to vaccinate their children and reduce the risk of contracting polio (Nishtar). After so many dreadful years, India and Nigeria have shown promise of possibly attaining eradication in the next several years (Kelland). Other countries have diligently strived to eradicate polio by spending over $6 million dollars on vaccination campaigns (Draper). Comparable to the Pakistan case study stated above, there are many issues that contribute to polios existence in developing countries. There is an increased rate of international travel which contributes to the spread of polio (Hecht). If the world wants to eradicate polio permanently, we must try to contain the virus, involving all the countries laboratories, identifying and destroying the source of polio viruses and establishing a post eradication immunization policy with W.H.O (World Health Organization) (Hecht). Each developing country also has to determine the diverse economic, cultural, social and geographical factors responsible for the persistence of polio (Bano et al.). Other reasons of polio still being wide spread are due to the low levels of literacy (causing the community to be unaware of vaccines), people following an unhygienic life, laborers who do not properly wash their hands before eating and improper drainage systems (Bano et al.). Additionally, a large  number of children are malnourished and extremely poor and health workers impose costs for vaccination services that are meant to be provided for free (Nishtar). Despite almost a billion dollars being donated for campaigns encouraging polio eradication, due to a shortfall of funds and lack of transparency in governance (Nishtar), there is much delay in interrupting the poliovirus transmission in third world countries (Kelland). According to Donaldson, who is the Chairman of the National Patient Safety Agency in UK, These are the children that the world forgot, growing up with no protection from polio at a time when most of the worlds parents have long forgotten what polio even is. He also mentioned that, If the funding gap isnt bridged, future generations will surely look back and wonder how this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to destroy polio†¦was allowed to slip through our fingers. (Kelland) In conclusion, polio used to be an endemic before the 20th century and is still a major dilemma in third world countries today. We should be obliged to take action for this crisis and eradicate polio once and for all. Factors promoting the spread of polio, including poor sanitation, inadequate amount of clean supplies and low levels of literacy, require attention and should be solved with the assistance of money, dedicated health care workers and the government. Education, experimentation and discoveries which grow out of them are the best tools to protect the health of others (Hecht). All in all, the lesson to be learned is that the fight against infectious diseases will never come to an end and we must continue to strive on to at least reduce the risk of those in our society obtaining these diseases or illnesses. Works Cited Ballard, Carol. _From Cowpox to Antibiotics_. Chicago: Reed Elsevier Inc. 2006. Print. Bano, Gulnaz, et al. Impediments in the implementation of polio eradication program. _Journal of_ _Natural Science, Biology and Medicine._ Gale Science In Context. 2011. Web. 25 Feb 2013. Draper, Stark Allison. _Epidemics Deadly Diseases Throughout History_: _Polio._ New York: The Rosen Publishing Group Inc. 2001. Print. Hecht, Alan. _Deadly Diseases and Epidemics: Polio_. New York: Chelsea House Publishers. 2003. Print. Katz, Samuel L. Chasing polio in Pakistan: Why the worlds largest public health initiative may fail. _Journal of Clinical Investigation_. Science In Context. 2011. Web. 26 Feb 2013. Kelland, Kate. Polio eradication drive imperiled by funding shortfall. _Reuters Health Medical_ _News._ Gale Science In Context. 2012. Web. 24 Feb 2013. Nishtar, Sania. Pakistan, politics and polio. _Bulletin of the World Health Organization._ Science In Context. Feb. 2010. Web. 26 Feb. 2013.

Pick a developing country Essay Example for Free

Pick a developing country Essay The Philippines is a Southeast Asian country composed of more than seven thousand and one hundred islands. Its capital is Manila and it’s a developing country with a population of about 90 million people. Filipinos, the people of the country, speak Filipino, the national language, and English. The country has a long history of colonialism, having been subject to the rule of three foreign nations: Spain, the United States, and Japan. These three colonial periods in the history of the country produced lasting effects on its culture, political system, economy, and geography. Although the Philippines has a long history of being a colony, its people had resisted colonizers when the interests of the country were endangered. The first colonizers of the country were the Spanish. It’s believed that nearby territories in Southeast Asia traded with the Philippine islands long before the Spanish came. The first recorded resistance against Spanish colonization occurred in 1521 when Spanish explorers, led by Ferdinand Magellan landed in Mindanao, the southernmost region of the country (Schirmer Shalom, 1987, p. 193). According to historians, the Spaniards claimed the islands as Spanish territory and violated the women of the natives. They also attempted to baptize the natives as Christians, resulting in the resistance of some of the natives. Native leaders then decided to make war with the Spaniards and consequently killed the crew members, including Magellan. The Philippine history of colonialism did not end with the death of Magellan, however. In 1565, the Spanish returned to the Philippine islands with superior imperialistic techniques and weaponry. Within ten years, most of the seven thousand one hundred islands of the country had fallen to Spanish rule (Schirmer Shalom, 1987, p. 193). Through coordinated resistance movements across the country, the Philippines was able to break from Spanish rule in 1898, the first complete liberation of an Asian country from a European colonizer. Philippine independence though was short-lived because Americans, who fought the Spaniards to free Cuba, eventually annexed the archipelago as part of their strategy to achieve global dominance (Go Foster, 2003, p. 148). Filipinos resisted their colonization by the United States, resulting in the Philippine-American war. The US tried to suppress the resistance of Filipinos through various techniques, including the establishment of a US government in the country. Just as the US and the Philippines were finishing plans for independence, however, Japan invaded the country during World War II. The Philippines and the US, now working together, defeated the Japanese colonizers in 1944. The US granted the Philippines its independence in 1946 . Today, the Philippines still bears the unmistakable marks of its long history of colonialism. The Filipino language, which is mostly composed of the native dialect of Tagalog, includes many Spanish terms. Words like â€Å"mesa† (table), â€Å"libro† (book), â€Å"lugar† (place), and â€Å"kalye† from the Spanish â€Å"calle† (road) are just some examples of the Spanish language’s impact on the native tongue (Schirmer Shalom, 1987, p. 204). It’s not only in the Filipino language that the long Spanish rule is evident, however. Many elements of Filipino culture have traces of Spanish colonization. For instance, many Filipino families today still practice the Spanish siesta or sleeping during the afternoon. Traditional Philippine clothes like the â€Å"camisa de chino† for men and the â€Å"baro’t saya† for women look like derivatives of traditional Spanish dresses. While the Spaniards ruled the Phillipine islands for the longest time among all other colonizers, Americans perhaps have the deepest impact on the culture of the country. Today, many Filipinos, including the government, treasure the supposed friendship of the Philippines with the United States. The Philippine government has constant contact with the US government and is very vocal about its support of US policies and stands on global issues. The English language is spoken or at least understood by most Filipinos living in the country. Hollywood films do not need to be translated to the Filipino language in order for locals to understand the content. Malls in the country are lined with American shops which many Filipinos frequent. The local media is filled with American films and songs which people tune in to every day. In fact, many Filipinos learn the English language through the media and not through schools, although the English language is taught in elementary and high school (Go Foster , 2003, p. 198). The Philippine government also derives many things from its American counterpart. The government has a President, Senate, House of Representatives and judiciary arm. It is protected by an armed force with the president as its commander-in-chief. Perhaps the most glaring difference between the Philippine and the US government is that the former does not adopt the federal system. Charter change movements in the country recently however, are trying to change that to adopt the federal system (Go Foster, 2003, p. 153). Since the Japanese colonization of the Philippines was short-lived, it left few lasting impacts on the country. The Japanese government still supports the victims of its invasion today, though, especially the veterans of the war and its victims. The Japanese colonization of the country is taught at history classes, ensuring the awareness of young Filipinos of their unfortunate past with Japan (Ikehata Yu-Jose, 2003, p. 328). Past wounds have made the Philippines a very open country to all nations and races of the world. Many Filipinos today love Japanese culture, which is exported to the country mostly in the form of anime (Japanese animation) and computer products. The Philippine government also works together with the Japanese government to improve the lives of citizens (Ikehata Yu-Jose, 2003, p. 328). The geography of the country also bears many marks of colonialism. Manila became the capital city of the country mainly due to the fact that it has ports that welcome ships from other territories. Manila though is not the most prosperous city in the Philippines today. Quezon City, also located in the national capital region, has a wider area and grows at a tremendous pace. Makati City, the Philippine business center, is dotted with skyscrapers that house many multinational companies that do business in the country (Espiritu, 2003, p. 23). The Philippines is a rich source for cheap and skilled labor for many developed countries worldwide because of the Filipinos’ mastery of the English language. There is a booming outsourcing and call center industry in the country which provide young Filipinos with stable jobs. It’s very convenient for American companies to hire call center agents in the country because Filipinos know the English language by heart. Compared to other sources of labor in the world, Filipinos are easy to train to adopt the American English accent. Filipinos are also known as hard-working individuals, making them tempting investments to multinational companies (Espiritu, 2003, p. 23). Resistance though doesn’t disappear even in this age of friendship with past colonizers. There are still many social movement groups in the country that promote the interests of the country by resisting the influence of the United States and other foreign nations. These nationalistic groups follow developments in the government to ensure that Filipino interests are not compromised because of foreign interests or corruption within the government. Some of these groups also recruit members from schools and mobilize them through protests or demonstrations (Pomeroy, 1992, p. 25). The Philippines is now free but experts claim that modern forms of imperialism are still affecting many aspects of the country. Although the age of colonialism is over because the US and other foreign nations cannot put up governments in the Philippines anymore, their cultural influences are still felt by Filipinos as globalization speeds up. Accepting foreign influences in the culture, government and economy of the country is not necessarily disadvantageous to Filipinos, but it’s always best to focus on their own interests as a nation. The development of the Philippines will be faster once it learns to balance the lessons it learned from colonialism with the present realities it confronts. References Espiritu, Y. L. (2003). Home Bound: Filipino American Lives Across Cultures, Communities, and Countries. University of California Press. Go, J. and Foster, A. L. (2003). The American Colonial State in the Philippines: Global Perspectives. Duke University Press. Ikehata, S. and Yu-Jose, L. N. (2003). Philippines-Japan Relations. Ateneo de Manila University Press. Pomeroy, W. J. (1992). The Philippines: Colonialism, Collaboration, and Resistance. International Publishers Co. Schirmer, D. B. , Shalom, S. R. (1987). The Philippines Reader: A History of Colonialism, Neocolonialism, Dictatorship, and Resistance. South End Press.

Representation of Genders in the Media

Representation of Genders in the Media Course Diary Entry 1 Liesbet Van Zoonen: Feminist Media Studies (chapter 6, pp 87 104) 1. ABSTRACT The sixth chapter of Van Zoonens book Feminist Media Studies, Spectatorship and the Gaze, provides a compelling introduction to the area of feminist film studies, more specifically, to different issues surrounding the concept of the gaze. Van Zoonen draws on the arguments of Laura Mulveys work, who used psychoanalytic tools in explaining why women are presented in the media as being looked at and men as the ones who act. Van Zoonen stresses the difficulty of the proponents of psychoanalysis to explain the pleasures of female spectatorship, which, nevertheless, can be accounted for by employing different perspectives on media studies. After discussing ideas regarding the male gaze, Van Zoonen turns her attention to the way images of men are presented in popular media, emphasising the fact that, out of fear that their image could be homosexualised, different methods and narrative codes are employed in order to make the objectification of male bodies less evident. Hence, the traditional perception of men being the ones who have the power and women the ones who are looked at is still in place in patriarchal cultures, even though there are signs of trying to put it aside. 2. OUTLINE women are constructed in western popular media as being the passive object of the male gaze, whereas men as being the ones who act; the psychoanalytical paradigm was employed to explain this state of facts a) Laura Mulvey used psychoanalysis in her study of gender media representations as a useful tool in explaining the pleasures of male spectatorship, though failing to explain the independent female pleasure of looking at men scopophilia the deriving of sexual pleasures simply by looking narcissistic identification the desire of men to identify themselves with other men, presented on the screen as flawless characters the film industry is linked to patriarchy, according to Laura Mulvey; both scopophilia and narcissistic identification are achieved by the way filmmakers frame the action, including the objectification of women the male gaze fear of castration the trauma suffered by boys when discovering the physical gender differences is diminished by the way male spectators take control over womens bodies in the film industry one of the problems of the way Mulvey employed psychoanalysis it equates masculinity with being male and femininity with being female b) Mary Ann Doane contends the impossibility of reversing the gender roles (i.e. men becoming feminine and women masculine) no preconditions of voyeurism in women in childhood women do not experience the distancing from their mothers that boys do because of the sexual differences the female spectator can become masculinized by identifying with the male characters in the film or narcissistically identifying with objectified female characters c) criticism of the psychoanalytic paradigm: it reinforces the patriarchal norms by excluding the possibility of women to derive pleasure from viewing media products Women derive pleasure by looking at other women the psychoanalytical paradigm and beyond a) some argue that the bonding between girls and their mothers creates the pre-conditions of finding pleasure in looking at other women b) women have coexisting latent homosexual and manifest heterosexual desires Chodorows theory of female development c) Arbuthnot and Seneca assert that the psychoanalytic theory is concerned with male spectatorship and thus not appropriate to examine female experiences and motivations Women derive pleasure by looking at men a) Christianity repressing the abundance of nude representations of men made the patriarchal order imperceptible, whilst it still is the substratum of most societies b) the female gaze which is masculine by definition looking at the male body is less dangerous than the homosexual gaze c) narrative and visual techniques lessen the degree of subjection of the male body to the gaze of the female spectatorship e.g. staring back at the viewer, looking up or away from the camera, the text accompanying the images personifying male bodies and thus creating characters men presented as active (e.g. signs of physical activity or labour) and in control, just happening to be looked at, not as posing specifically for being viewed by female or male spectators male bodies presented like romantic objects, not sexual ones (e.g. Playgirl) 3. LITERATURE REVIEW The three chapters I have chosen Kaplans (1983), Staceys (1988) and Van Zoonens (1994) which do not offer a comprehensive discussion of the issue of the gaze, draw on the psychoanalytic explanations of the male gaze and attempt to explain which are the pleasures derived by female spectators watching media products. Hence, all authors use Laura Mulveys and Mary Ann Doanes ideas as a starting point for their discussion; Kaplan argues that psychoanalysis is a useful tool [] [, but not] necessarily uncovering essential truths about the human psyche (1983: 23). She further argues that it can explain only the current structural organization of society, which, I would argue, is a Marxist perspective; in her view, cinema is seen as a means of releasing the tensions created by the industrial society and psychoanalysis as a necessary means to understand the causes of these (Kaplan, 1983). Stacey (1988) identifies the gaps in Mulveys line of argument, more precisely the discussion of the male as an erotic object (which Van Zoonen analyses) and of female homosexuality, and exploits the latter to address one of the issues tackled in little depth by Van Zoonen (1994): female homosexual pleasure, which has been ignored by studies within the psychoanalytic framework. Stacey (1988), like Van Zoonen (1994), draws on Mary Ann Doanes idea that womens pleasures are not related to fetishism and voyeurism, as mens are and further acknowledges Mulveys argument according to which women oscillate between male and female identifications. In discussing possibilities for understanding and explaining the female gaze, all three authors argue that the reversal of roles is impossible without losing the specific gender identification; the female spectator becomes masculinized and vice-versa, and thus the structure remains basically unchanged (Kaplan, 1983). Stacey (1988), as does Van Zoonen (1994), rhetorically asks if women necessarily have to occupy feminine positions and men masculine ones. I would suggest that masculine and feminine actually refer to a set of characteristics associated with men and women respectively only because it has traditionally been thought that they occur more often in the specific gender from which their names derive. Hence, they are not intrinsic to men or women. However, there remains the problem that they are in opposition, not on equal terms. Moreover, if these names which refer to gender and sexual roles would be disregarded, I think it would not be a problem for female spectators to adopt an active (masculine) stance anymore. Further discussing the feminine and masculine spectatorships, Stacey (1988) contends that the subjectivities of spectators should be also taken into account, even if their standpoint is seen as masculine. Kaplan notes, drawing on Mary Ann Doanes argument, that if attempting to confer female spectatorship an active role and not masculinizing it, there is the danger of denying pleasure and of disembody[ing] their spectator (Kaplan, 1983: 28). An active main female character nearly always loses her traditional feminine characteristics in so doing [] of kindness, humaneness, motherliness (Kaplan, 1983: 29). The problem with this statement is that all these characteristics of femininity are actually constructed in the same way as concepts like active, sexually desirable etc are. Therefore, Kaplans statement does no justice to the role of the female spectator. The dominant images of women, all male constructs, as Kaplan (1983) emphasizes, are the objects of male fetishism and voyeurism, as all three authors mention. In addition to Van Zoonens (1994) overarching discussion of these Freudian concepts, Kaplan (1983) points at three male gazes in popular media, identified by Laura Mulvey: that of the film-maker, of the film viewer and of male characters in the film. According to this explanation of females position in the film framework, Kaplan argues, the man owns the desire and the woman (1983: 27), whereas female spectators only receive and return the gaze but cannot act upon it (1983: 31). Hence, male and female spectatorships are different in essential respects. All three authors have a feminist standpoint in common from whence they look at the representation of women in popular media. Stacey (1988) is probably the most dedicated of all three to the feminist cause, discussing issues which are taboo for other scholars (feminist or not): the homosexual female spectatorship. The arguments they bring forward overlap, being complementary in the respect that all offer new information. However, they do not discuss each others contribution to the feminist debate mainly because all three (Stacey to a lesser degree) offer an overview of the arguments brought forward by Laura Mulvey and Mary Ann Doane. All three concluded by pointing to the need of further discussing the sources of pleasure for female spectators both in relation to men and to other women. Moreover, the problem of confounding gender identifications with sexuality in film studies has also been stated as being an issue. 4. CROSSCUTTING THEMES The issues concerning the representation of genders in the media is one of the most important areas of concern for feminist scholars because of the many assumptions hidden under what comes across as common-sense. Nevertheless, this is only one of the issues in which feminists are interested. Among the general concern with the resources of conferring women a secondary role in patriarchal societies, feminists address issues of work and employment, and of motherhood. These two themes have several links with those raised by Van Zoonens chapter on the male and female gaze in popular media. One of the most evident crosscutting themes is that of womens passivity and male activity and control. As we have seen in Van Zoonens chapter (1994), female spectatorship is constructed as being passive and to be looked at, whilst male spectators act upon women by looking at their objectified bodies. Witz (1993/1997) asserts that women have traditionally been seen as having the natural duty to do the domestic work, not men, and that feminists struggled to determine the official recognition of this second job women performed. At least since the 18th Century, when the Victorian Domestic Ideology constructed women as passive, men have had the active role in a family, working in order to earn a wage for the household. Women, on the other side, have been seen as confined to the private sphere of life and, thus, as being passive since they did not have an active role in the public sphere, as men did. This way of seeing women as inferior to men has survived until the present day, when women have also acceded to work positions, and it can be easily seen in the structure of the labour market and in the representation of women in the media. The images of women in popular media, as objects of the male gaze, are opposed to representations of motherhood in different cultures. Reynolds notes that the good mother is endlessly patient, forgiving, nurturing and, most important of all, unfailing in her love (1996: 41); this characterization powerfully contrasts with the images of women as sexualized objects or as secondary characters who only disrupt the narrative. For children, mothers are the main characters of their stories and are entirely feminine (whereas the character of a mother in popular media would be either masculinized or it would be the object of the male gaze). Nevertheless, as Reynolds further argues, the problem is that in reality mothering [is] synonymous with subjugation (1996: 42). Moreover, motherhood is linked with psychoanalysis and the way boys suffer a trauma when they discover their difference from their mothers. In conclusion, the chapters I have looked at on different topics written by feminists share the same view that women are currently oppressed in patriarchal cultures. Women share subordination roles in media, at work, in the family etc. However, the hegemony of patriarchy is most evident in media representations of women. References: Kaplan, E. Ann (1983) Women and Film: Both Sides of the Camera, London and New York: Routledge, pp. 125-141 Reynolds, Kimberly (1996) Mothers in Madoc-Jones, Beryl Coates, Jennifer An Introduction to Womens Studies, Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 38-61 Stacey, Jackie (1988) Desperately Seeking Difference in Gamman, Lorraine Marshment, Margaret (Eds.) The Female Gaze: Women as Viewers of Popular Culture, London: Womens Press, pp. 112-129 Van Zoonen, Liesbet (1994) Feminist Media Studies, London: Sage, pp. 87 -104 Witz, Anne (1993/1997) Women and Work in Robinson, Victoria and Richardson, Diane (Eds.) Introducing Womens Studies, 2nd edition, London: MacMillan, pp.239-58

The Power of the Martian Chronicles Essay -- Martian Chronicles Essays

The Power of the Martian Chronicles      Ã‚  Ã‚   The Martian Chronicles is a collection of short stories by Ray Bradbury These stories all relate to the idea of humans visiting mars, but are only connected by the loosest of threads. At times, it can appear as if Bradbury was grasping mercilessly, searching for something to draw together the random conglomeration of human situations his mind had created individually. The entity that embraced all these stories and melded them from half-hour kiddy-show format stories into a great two-hour special feature novel was the forth planet from the sun, earth's neighbor and Bradbury's stage for The Martian Chronicles, mars.       This association of a foreign planet and Bradbury's reputation as a science fiction author immediately identified The Martian Chronicles as a work of science fiction. Decades later, in an essay on the novel, Edward S Gallagher (Gallagher 55-82) said that The Martian Chronicles "is one of those acknowledged science fiction masterpieces." Bradbury was breaking new grounds, creating respect for science fiction as a literary genre that would be admired by those involved in the literary establishment (Marowski and Matiz 321.) The blue and orange cover of the paperback version of the book depicted characters more reminiscent of Fantasy & Science fiction magazine's artwork than of Bradbury's vague descriptions of his Martians.       Whilst The Martian Chronicles was being shelved in the science fiction section of libraries and bookstores everywhere, die-hard science fiction fans and literary critics scratched their heads. They pushed up their thick glasses and straightened their pocket protectors whilst collectively wondered why this... ...ri: Gale -Research Company, 1987. p 321.    Card, Orson Scott How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy. New York: Writer's Digest -Books, 2001. p 11.    Clute, John Science Fiction Illustrated Encyclopedia. London: Dorling Kindersley, 1995. -pp 201-203.    Sullivan, Anita T "Ray Bradbury and Fantasy" English Journal. December 1972: pp -1809-14.    Bradbury, Ray "Ray Bradbury: Poet of Fantastical Fiction" Science Fiction Voices #2. -1979: pp 20-9.    Pell, Sarah-Warner "Style is the man: Imagery in Bradbury's Fiction" Ray Bradbury. -1980: pp 180-194.    Knight, Damon "When I was in knee pants: Ray Bradbury" Search of Wonder: Critical -Essays on Science Fiction. New York: Advent Publishers, 1967. pp 108-13.    Levin, Martin "The Machineries of Joy," The New York Times Book Review. February -16, 1964: pp 38-9.

How the Computer Works :: Personal Computers PC

Many people assume that computer are difficult to understand and difficult to use; however, the first step is understanding and learning to use the computer. The types of hardware that all computer systems use and the types of software that make them run. Like millions of computer users, microcomputers where used to play games, explore the Internet, write papers, build spreadsheets, or create a professional-looking proposal or flyer. You can perform all these application without understanding exactly what goes on behind your computer case or monitor screen. We the computer user, turn on the machine, load software program, and use that software to accomplish a task without knowing what goes on behind the scenes or the basic functions of the computer components. It is also important to know how to protect the computer. The complete computer system consists of four parts; hardware, software, people, and data. The term hardware refers to the physical components of the computer, such as the monitor, keyboard, memory chips, and hard drive. The term software refers to the set of instructions that directs the hardware to accomplish a task. People are the customer operators, known as users. Data consists of raw facts, which the computer stores and reads in from of numbers. In order to perform a computing task, hardware is used by software for four basic functions: input, processing, output and storage. The computer user interacts with a computer in a language that the user understands, but software must convert that instruction into a form that hardware can understand. Hardware stores data and communicates with software by only one fundamental method--binary--and, in effect, speaks a language that only has two words, "on" and "off." All communication, storage, and processing of data inside a computer are in binary until presented as output to the user. The binary number system, is the language of the computer. The central, most important hardware device in a computer is the central processing unit (CPU) or microprocessor. Date received by input devices goes to the CPU, and output travels form the CPU to output devices. The CPU stores data and instructions in storage devices and performs calculations and other processing of data as well. A method for the CPU to communicate with the device will need to send data to and/or receive data from the CPU.