The Impact of Media on Teens Essay Example for Free

The Impact of Media on Teens Essay Many adolescent teens are exposed to numerous encounters with the media that have a negative impact on their judgments, actions, and opinions. This is referring to the video games, movies, television shows, and magazines that surround them everyday. We begin to discover how it effects their decisions and behaviors. Adolescence is a time when young people are identifying important aspects of socialization like employment, gender rolls, and the development of morals, values, and beliefs. However, it is also a time when family influence and ties become weaker and outside presences become stronger and more important in the lives of the young. Appearance Most teens search for guidance, not from their parents but from a celebrity, pop star, or actor. These people may only be a role model for a short period of time simply because the teenager has a slight interest in they’re work or could even be as capricious as they released a new album that month. Some examples are make-up ads, â€Å"hot or not† articles, and even some television programs such as the Bachelorette create this false image of perfection that teenagers aspire to be like. This specifically targets their expectations, priorities and self-esteem. Teen girls initiate this mindset where they overanalyze every situation. The way they dress, the amount of makeup they put on, and even how they judge the appearance of the people around them including their friends. In a recent interview with Notre Dame Secondary School’s Child Youth Worker, Mrs. Kennedy states, â€Å"they strive to be what they see in magazines and on the news. It really begins to hurt and damage their self esteem† (Kennedy). With so many years of experience with the youth, Mrs. Kennedy’s very capable of describing how teenagers feel through various situations and why. She talks with teens everyday that go through self-esteem and family issues and agrees that the media, â€Å"especially the social media† (Kennedy), greatly affects the way teenagers view and judge  themselves. â€Å"Some movie ads can be very offensive to not only women but also men. Most stereotypes also developed from movies and television shows.† (Williams) Teenagers may not be physically forced to hide who they truly are but are frightened enough to choose to mask themselves. When high school student Matthew Smith was asked his opinion on the growing population of homosexual teens, he stated, â€Å"everyone now is more accepting to your sexuality than they would have been say 10..15 years ago. Media has really helped it along.† (Smith) Two other high school students had similar beliefs when it came to the openness teenagers are being given with their sexual preferences. This is one example of a positive influence the media has on the way teenagers can express themselves. They encourage teens to be â€Å"comfortable in their own skins† and to not be ashamed of their natural instincts. Some illustrations are the television show 1 Girl 5 Gays, the Gay Pride Parade, and even the numerous Gay/Lesbian support groups funded by some celebrities. Both teenage boys and girls are less ashamed of who they choose to have an interest in, in today’s society. In the latest survey conducted by Ashley Sanchez, 54% agreed that teenagers could be open with their sexuality. (Figure 1) Even if 46% disagreed, the good outweighs the bad. Over time, teens are becoming more and more focused on the useless things instead of the bigger picture. Their priorities have changed drastically. Media advertisements emphasize that in order to be considered what we classify as â€Å"cool† or â€Å"hip† we must own the latest gear or wear the newest line of clothing. In addition to this, many teens only follow what is socially acceptable. If it is not in the latest teen magazine it’s considered â€Å"totally last year† and will be shunned if worn. In a recent survey 44% agreed, and 24% strongly agreed that beauty and appearance is very important (Figure 2). This means more than half of the tabulated results find their appearance to be very important. This is a shocking result because it shows roughly how many teenagers really do care about the way they look. There are positive and negative affects that the media has on the teenage mind concerning their appearance and the way they see and portray  themselves. However, one must take into consideration that these statistics may increase in time because of the different ways one can access and is exposed to the media. Personality, Morals and Behaviour The way a teenager behaves weighs heavily on those who surround and nurture them throughout their childhood years. (Picard). Nonetheless, studies show that during adolescence the mind goes through drastic changes. The frontal lobe in the brain has not yet developed and this is essential for decision making and reasoning. That is one rationale as to why teenagers can be described as reckless and daft at times. A teenage mind is extremely vulnerable to outside influences. When they see their favorite actor or singer do something that is inappropriate they think it becomes acceptable. Approximately one million teens get pregnant and give birth every year in the United States. Eighty percent of those births are to unmarried teens. Teenage pregnancy has serious consequences for the mother, the child and society in general. Teenage pregnancy frequently leads to limited future prospects for many teen mothers who are unable to complete high school. Adolescents who have babies are also more prone to health problems and experience a maternal death rate 2.5 times higher than women aged 20-24(ProQuest Staff). For example, the shows 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom are two television demonstrations of underage pregnancy. None of these teen moms are married, and half of their children’s biological fathers want little or nothing to do with them. This taints both teenage girls and boys’ minds with deceitful and inaccurate interpretations of sex and love. Shows like these pollute the idea of raising a child and marriage with an easy way to fame. (Jennings) It changes teenage morals to the impression that since it’s on the television that it is okay to imitate their behavior. Not all teens are as naà ¯ve as to go and engage in sexual behavior just to be famous but the fact that these teenage mothers allow a recording crew to follow them around and film their day-to-day lives and constant arguments with their boyfriends is ludicrous and sends a terrible message to other teenage women. When students were asked if reality television could be educational, the results showed more than half of the students agreed that it could be  educational. (Figure 3) â€Å"I really don’t umde rstand how it could be educational. I think it’s more for entertainment purposes† (Kennedy). Many children born to teenage mothers suffer from low birth weight and other related health problems, with a large proportion of them having insufficient health insurance. Children of teen parents often receive inadequate care because teens are rarely able to provide the nurturing and stimulation required by infants for normal development. Although teen pregnancy rates declined throughout the 1990s, a 3 percent jump in births to teen mothers between 2005 and 2006 raised alarm that sex education programs and campaigns to reduce teen motherhood were failing. â€Å"Teens don’t understand what it means to be truly mature, or respecting themselves as a human, not an object†. (Mellor). Some people think that providing teenagers with contraceptives is the best way to lower teen pregnancy rates, while others think the focus should be on abstinence education (ProQuest Staff). Teenage violence has never really been a big topic of discussion, however one cannot ignore the on-and-off teenage rages that occur. Children all over the world are engrossed in warfare in their little boxed-up world that is their constant companion. Parents think nothing now about their teenage child playing violent video games for hours each day. There is the known positive correlation between habitual violent video game play and mild and severe forms of physical aggression. This study brings out the belief that children in highly individualistic cultures such as in the United States and Canada are more prone to this effect. All children will become more aggressive if repeatedly exposed to violent video games, and younger children are more susceptible to this than older ones. (Hulaimi). Teens in Nintendo mania may have issues with self-control. The part of the brain that video gaming stimulates is the amygdala, the part connected with emotional arousal. What the violent content of the video game does is stimulation of the brains arousal centers, doing little to the cortical areas involved in perception and thinking. (Jayson). Stereotypes are repetitively in the media. Some movies not only humiliates teenagers of specific races but also drives them away from their own culture because they are afraid of being teased or ridiculed. â€Å"If youre of a certain descent, you are portrayed in the media a specific way and most people adjust their personalities to fit those stereotypes.† (Nadesh). Teens begin to lose their true personalities because  they are trying to fit this mold of what the media deems is socially acceptable. Communication and Relationships Adolescence is a crucial time for friendships, and relationships to develop and become more serious. Websites like Twitter and Facebook have become extremely popular to the teenage population. It affects the way they communicate with one another. â€Å"Before, if two people wanted to talk to one another they would usually do it face to face or on the phone. But overtime, weve become so used to just chatting with people online or texting them that not only has it changed the way we communicate but also the kinds of relationships we have with certain people.† (Nadesh). A lot of teens feel driven by this lust or love concept. â€Å"Teens fall into traps very easily, especially when they truly believe the gestures are genuine† (Mellor). Since a lot of teens have barely experienced a real relationship they have a very vague perspective on love. Nearly 1.5 million high school students across the country experience physical violence at the hands of a dating partner each year, according to a website created by the National Dating Abuse Hotline and the awareness group, Break the Cycle. One in three adolescents have experienced physical, verbal, emotional or sexual abuse from a boyfriend or girlfriend. (Duret). Unlike adults, teens in abusive relationships dont typically live together or see one another much outside of school. Their battleground becomes the telephone and social media. This is where put-downs, name-calling and jealousy manifest in angry phone calls and Facebook posts. (Duret). There have been multiple cases where the teenager’s significant other’s jealousy would be pushed to the extreme and murders will occur. (Duret) The case of Brandon Nicholas Santos, 18, arrested on first-degree murder charges in the death of girlfriend Emilie Sineace, 16. Police said Santos drove to Sineaces suburban Lake Worth house Sept. 14 and sent her a text message to come outside. When she did, he fired six shots at her. Half of them hit her, and Sineace, an Inlet Grove High student and aspiring surgeon, died the next morning. Now Santos, who recently played football at Park Vista High, may spend the rest of his life in prison. Teens often bring up the 2009 case of RB singers Chris Brown and Rihanna. The celebrity couple turned a national spotlight on domestic violence among young adults when Brown was arrested and sentenced to probation for attacking Rihanna (Duret). The couple separated in the aftermath, but recent media reports have them back together. This sends teens a confusing message about domestic violence. It gives them the idea that if you love each other enough, you can work through situations like this. People are asking questions like: Is there such as thing as Facebook Addiction Disorder? The fact of the matter is it’s not so much a disorder, but it is a form of addiction. Mental Health Experts around the world are probing the dark side of social media. â€Å"When people become too comfortable talking behind a computer they end up being uncomfortable talking in face-to-face. Lots of awkward teens out there that don’t know how to keep a conversation going anymore.† (Goorahoo). We are in an era where Internet devices are always on and meeting face-to-face is becoming increasingly rare as people choose to meet screen-to-screen. There are some very valuable things about social media and networking, and there are also some dangers. Historically, the changes have been in musical taste and style of dress. Now it has to do with technology and the use of technology to deal with social relations. (Pilieci). Facebook, (Figure 4) has more than 800 million users accessing it regularly, and roughly 425 million accessing the site using a mobile device. There are 18 million Canadians on Facebookmore than half our population and with that more than 12 million of them visit the site daily. On a per-capita basis, [Figure 4] [Figure 4] Canada has the highest number of Facebook users in the world. The average Canadian has 225 friends on the social network, though recent studies from the University of Waterloo have shown that as many as half of our friends are people we dont even really know. (Pilieci) Larry Rosen, professor of psychology at California State University, Dominguez Hills, outlined the results of some recent research, which also points to the darker side of social media. He found that Teens using Facebook have more narcissistic tendencies while young adults who have a strong Facebook presence show more signs of other psychological disorders, including anti-social behaviours. Some psychologists are calling this Facebook Addiction Disorder. This is basically when people are afraid to disconnect from social media services because they think theyre going to missing something important. While older groups may be using it to see pictures of family members or brag about their latest accomplishments, younger generations are using it to gossip. (Pilieci). It’s also a danger because as soon as something is on the Internet it can never be erased. In a way the social media is actually making us sick. It constructs the indication that the unhealthiest relationships are normal, and that spending five hours a day on a network is reasonable. It corrupts the way we socialize and get closer to other people. To a certain extent, teens are allowing themselves to have open profiles with private information that anyone can have access to. They are not only endangering themselves but potentially also their ‘225 facebook friends.’ The Aftermath and Physical Damage Suicide can date back to as early as 500 BCE where in the Greek colony of Ceos, citizens over age 60 years or incapacitated by illness are allowed to commit suicide by drinking state-provided poppy juice or hemlock. Fast-forwarding to1980, in a 17-month period, 28 teenagers took their own lives in Chicagos privileged North Shore suburbs. Researchers reveal statistics that show rising signs of violent discontent among youth from affluent families. (ProQuest). Bullying is a major aspect to teen suicide. (Figure 5). â€Å"Bullying will be a HUGE problem no matter where you’re from. When you’re bullied you feel like there is no way out. You get pushed so far to the edge that you give up and just kill yourself. This is happening more and more often because of our accesses to technology and instant communication.† (Goorahoo). Teens have this tendency to want to feel in power. As soon as they have power, it’s a constant battle to sustain their title. Bullies will torment their victim into such a deep state of depression that they will begin having suicidal thoughts. The exact causes of suicide are complex, with an interplay of psychological, biological, social and environmental factors.  However about 95% of cases spring from mental illnesses such as depression or schizophrenia. (Picard) Many people, especially the young, keep their suffering a secret because they don’t know where or who to turn to. The media renders a lot of help hotlines and prevention programs but how much are they really enforcing it? School is the ideal setting for prevention. School Boards are bombarded with requests to implement health-promotion programs, and suicide-prevention lectures; however, there is little evidence that any of this is very effective. Those who routinely cut-themselves are usually victims of some form of bullying and find that by harming themselves it releases their emotions. Whether they are gay, lesbians, victims of sexual abuse, or just people of a certain culture. Nevertheless, young men are still about five times more likely to die of suicide than young women. (Picard) Media also plays a role in this because of the way men are anticipated to act. They feel the need to persistently have this macho, egotistical persona but what studies now show is that men can be just about as self-conscious as women. Teen boys hide their emotions, feelings and thoughts a lot more than teen girls. Especially when they are with their friends. This is because the media displays the impression of a sensitive man as a homosexual. In most cases, this is not true, of course. All of these bottled up emotions eventually leads to substance and drug abuse. The media blames movies and television shows for this, but those things are the media. Marijuana is the most popular illegal drug in the world, within the United States alone 23 percent of high school students said theyd recently smoked marijuana, making it more popular than cigarettes. (Ritter) Sometimes the habit is developed straight out of the teen’s home or family, but for the most part teen’s smoke simply to have something to do with their friends. (Figure 6) Drinking, on the other hand, mainly has to do with family difficulties. Teens use it as a stress reliever or to forget certain memories. â€Å"Even parent’s drinking occasionally may be influential to their kids without even knowing it.† (Kennedy). Along with all of this comes the increasing number of non-active teenagers. With fast food restaurants frequently being built within a mile radius of most homes it becomes a very convenient place to dine. Teens enjoy going to fast food restaurants for two main reasons: to eat a meal for a cheap price, and to be away from home for a little while. For children of normal weight, the risk of developing high blood pressure or pre high blood pressure rose 6% for every 1,000 milligrams of sodium consumed per day. But the risk rose 74% for children who were overweight. (McKay) Since fast food restaurants are in such convenient places for teenagers to just pop in and eat a burger, they will do it. It’s not only extremely unhealthy because most fast food restaurant’s meat is processed but teens won’t do much physical activity afterwards to work it off. Obese teens not only make easy targets for bullies, in the case of girls, theyre more likely to turn into bullies themselves, according to the findings of a Canadian study on the social fallout of being overweight. (Kirkey) Since a teenager’s priorities have changed, so have their extracurricular activities. Teens are more concerned with shopping and instant messaging one another than maintaining a healthy diet. According to Statistics Canada, 17 per cent of children in Canada are overweight; nine per cent are obese. (Kirkey) Although, there’s maintaining a healthy diet but then there’s going to the extremes with not eating at all. Eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa may be caused by environmental factors, which switch on specific genes that trigger the dysfunctional eating behaviour. (Cresswell) Many teens will not allow themselves to eat because of what someone said, or something they saw on the television. This occurs in men also, however men don’t stop eating they go on protein diets. This can also be harmful to their body because your body needs some fat in order to function. Media surrounds teens everywhere they go whether they like to acknowledge it or not. Most teens are becoming more aware of their surroundings and the influences around them by the age of fifteen but do not think much of it until around eighteen. In today’s world people cannot live without media.  Thus, we know that various media and its artifacts can have a lot of effects on our daily lives, our society, and us. We must understand that a lot of what we see on television, hear on the radio, or see in the print are there in order for us to change our minds about certain views or opinions. So, to fully understand and comprehend the nature and effects of the production techniques of the media and its effects on the teenage mind we must consider the many aspects of media. Work Cited Cresswell, Adam. Environmental Factors May Trigger Anorexia. Weekend Australian. 25 Aug 2012: 8. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 14 Dec 2012. Duret, Daphne. High School Dating Violence on the Rise. Palm Beach Post. 14 Nov 2012: A.1. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 2 Dec 2012. Goorahoo, Khamron. Personal interview. 6 Dec. 2012 Hulaimi, Wan A. The Impact of Violent Video Games on Children. New Straits Times. 22 Apr 2012: 21. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 2 Dec 2012. Jayson, Sharon. Study the Player, Not the Video Game. USA TODAY. 15 Sep 2011: D.3. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 6 Dec 2012. Jennings, Alicia. â€Å"When You Trust Someone and It Threatens Your Body.† Teen Voices. 24 2008. 22-23. Print. Kennedy, Mrs.. Personal interview. 11 Oct. 2012. Kirkey, Sharon. Obese Teen Girls More Likely to Be Bullies, Says Canadian Study. Postmedia News. 21 Jan 2012: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 6 Dec 2012. McKay, Betsy. New Study: Sodium a Concern for Children. Wall Street Journal. 17 Sep 2012: A.2. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 5 Dec 2012. Nadesh, Janani. Email interview. 5 Dec. 2012. Picard, Andre. â€Å"Everyone Has a Role In Being Vigilant About Cries for Help.† Globe and Mail. 28 Sep 2011: A.8 SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 05 Oct 2012. Pilieci, Vito. Do Social Networks Make Us Sick?. Ottawa Citizen. 24 Mar 2012: B.1. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 6 Dec 2012. ProQuest Staff. At Issue: Teenage Pregnancy. ProQuest LLC. 2012: n.pag. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 2 Dec 2012. ProQuest Staff. Suicide Timeline. Leading Issues Timelines. 2012: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 2 Dec 2012. Ritter, Malcolm. Teen Pot Use Linked to Later Declines in IQ. Baxter Bulletin. 27 Aug 2012: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 1 Dec 2012. Smith, Matthew. Personal interview. 11 Dec. 2012. Williams, Tee-Ara. â€Å"Are These Movie Ads a Big Mistake?† Teen Voices. 08 2004: 56-57. Print.

Written methods Essay Example for Free

Written methods Essay E-mail is used in Perkins as a fast and detailed way to communicate to communicate between departments of the business and a way to send documents from one place to another quickly by attaching them to an E-mail.  ICT robots are used as an easy way to build the engines because all they needed to do was to install some software and programme them for what they are needed to do. Written methods  Financial documents are used as communication to customers and to confirm that their order has been received. There are a variety of financial documents starting with the Order form then going to the delivery note followed by the credit (if needed) ect. Letters are also used as communication to customers, suppliers and other Perkins factories.  Oral  Department meetings are used in Perkins because it is a way for the heads of each of the departments to say what is happening in their department and also to assign jobs to each department and to show others designs for their newest engines. These meetings are time consuming and they might also cause conflict between colleagues sharing their opinions about what is happening in the business. These meetings are held once a week in Perkins and they are attended heads of all functional areas or the head of one department and their employees. Production meetings are used to share ideas about what the next engine will be like. These meetings are also time consuming and can be disrupted easily by lateness.  C2  Communication inside functional areas  Email is used inside the functional areas to send information to other employees this is good because it keeps the employees up to date with what is happening within the department, it is also a fast way of communicating and you can also attach documents. Email can also be bad because employees might send the wrong information or they might send it to the wrong employee. Department meeting are useful inside Perkins no matter if it is a meeting with all the department heads or just the one head of that specific department (this is the one I shall talk about in this paragraph) this is a good method of communication because it means that all employees shall know what their newest assignment but these meetings can also be bad because they are easily disrupted by people being late and these meeting can also cause conflict between workers and compromise the amount of engines made, if some employees are not getting along it will bring down worker morale. Fax is used inside functional area to send important documents around the functional area of the business. This is good because it is like a photo copier and a telephone because employees can send other employees documents and still have the original copy.  Between functional areas  Fax is used between functional areas in the same way as they use it inside the functional area of the business.  Intranet is used between functional areas because it is like a closed circuit internet just for Perkins. It is used to give employees a basic idea of what they may need to do. This is made by the Administration department to let employees know what customers they are providing for and what types of engines they would like. Email is used between functional areas because they can send documents of what the customer wants and how they want it made. This is used by employees to send each other information quickly and neatly.  Communication with people outside the business  The telephone is used to contact people outside Perkins. This can be used to contact people who work for Perkins or customers of Perkins (Perkins generally does not phone customers but they use letters and financial documents) Telephone conferencing is used to have three or more way conversations for people who work at home for Perkins this is useful because they dont have to keep putting people on hold. Telephone conferencing can also be bad because employees may not be able to understand others if they are from other countries. This can also be used to communicate with rich customers.  Letters are used to communicate with customers to see what they want and if they are still loyal to Perkins. They are also used to communicate to shareholders so they can have the information about how the business is running.

Evolutionary Roots of Deception: Book Review

Evolutionary Roots of Deception: Book Review Loredana Lenghel Deception – Evolution’s Hidden Agenda â€Å"Deceit is the Cinderella of human nature† (2004, p.2) says David Livingstone Smith in his book â€Å"Why We Lie, The Evolutionary Roots of Deception and the Unconscious Mind†. The author tries to show, through several examples and intriguing connections, that lying is an evolutionary adaptation which allowed the human species to thrive. He argues that â€Å"Deceit () is essential to humanity but disowned by perpetrators at every turn† (2004, p.2). The book proves to be an ambitious try at showing that deception is an intrinsic part of cognition; that it comes naturally to all humans. Even more spectacular is his try to convince us that deception is controlled by the unconscious mind, thus allowing for self-manipulation. For this purpose, Smith uses The Machiavellian Mind Theory arguing that humans’ extra Intelligence allows them to overcome primal needs, thus being advantageous for social manipulation. The author’s aim is to convince the reader that manipulation plays a central role in the evolution of humans. He argues that in order for our ancestors to thrive in the ever developing social context and increase their fitness, they were required to come up with ways to mediate social encounters. He starts by showing that everyone is a â€Å"natural-born liar†. From baby monkeys to human infants, from religious myths to children stories, lying is ubiquitous and a part of all cultures. Smith argues that lying does not resume to just words, people also lie with their bodies and actions. Even more intriguing, lying is not always aimed at someone else. He proposes that â€Å"we are equally adept at deceiving ourselves† (2004, p.21). The unconscious is actively trying to conceal information from us through the process of self-deception; an idea not unique to Smith (Chance et al., 2011; Hippel Trivers, 2001). He continues to show that not only humans are â€Å"manipu lators and mind readers†. He gives examples of deception from the animal sphere, from camouflage and mimicry to more sophisticated ways of deception, such as language, he argues that these are proof that deception is an evolutionary advantage. Mind reading, an organism’s ability to predict another’s behaviour, increases its chances of survival, thus acting as an adaptation. It is the driving force behind evolution because â€Å"Mind reading facilitates deception, and deception encourages mind reading† (2004, p.35). In â€Å"The Evolution of Machiavelli† he elaborates on the roots of deception and self-deception. He argues that deception was used by our ancestors to conceal their true intentions. The ones that were superior in this aspect had an edge over others. He presents Nick Humphrey’s papers in which he argues that the race between the best deceiver and the best mind-reader was what gave birth to human intelligence, allowing them to manage the increasing social complexity. This hypothesis is supported by others, who, by looking at the neocortex’s size, brain part involved in relationship mediation, found evidence in support for the social intellect theory (Dunbar, 1992). They argued that the ratio of the neocortex volume is the best predictor of group size. Moreover, Orbell et al. argued that Machiavellian intelligence could have evolved alongside cooperation (Orbell et al., 2004). This idea raises the question whether, as Smith said, unconscious deception would be eve n more beneficial for cooperation and the increase of the human species. His next chapter builds on the idea that self-deception is possible due human mind’s division into unconscious and conscious regions. He argues that the time between the unconscious awareness and conscious perception is what allows the Machiavellian module to act and distort the information. He supports Freud’s idea that â€Å"consciousness had no role in mental processing† (2004, p.97). To portray this intriguing proposition of self-deception being an adaptation, Smith used a creative analogy. He argued that humans are constantly part of a game of â€Å"social poker†. In order to win it, one needs to anticipate the other player’s move by using the mechanisms of deception and mind-reading. To improve their own strategy and avoid being foreseeable, the mechanism of self-deception became an adaptive advantage. By believing the lie themselves, other players could not predict their moves. This analogy shows the benefits of self-deception. That being sai d, some argue that even though there might be short-term psychological benefits, self-deception can come with long-term costs, such as an inaccurate prediction of future performance (Chance et al., 2011) or loss of information integrity which can result in inappropriate action (Hippel Trivers, 2011). The device that allowed for this to happen, he says, was the evolution of language, which ushered the struggle between deception and detection. Language offered an advantage in the social poker game, giving more chances of success to those with this skill. In his view, social exchanges are monitored by the unconscious Machiavellian mind. This module is sensitive to both the conscious and unconscious cues of others because it is the Machiavellian module itself who communicates through unconscious verbal insinuations. He argues that this idea is â€Å"less bizarre than it might at appear† (2004, p.121). Coded communication might have evolved due to the language’s initial purpose, gossip. Concealing information from third parties and exchanging confidences through cheap gossip allowed for secret alliances and a favoured position in the social circle. He affirms that â€Å"For our species, all roads lead to self-deception and thus to unconscious communication† (2004, p.147). At a first look online, it is noticeable that only with the title this book has stirred some controversy. Commentaries stating that the book â€Å"got them hooked† from the beginning were prevailing. The book was generally regarded as an interesting read, but not a piece of strong evidence for its propositions. Pinker (2010) did not view it as an attempt to persuade readers, but rather, as an attempt to recruit researchers into conducting studies to test the theory’s value. Others regarded the book as highly speculative without even considering the â€Å"obvious counterarguments† (Sager, 2004). Sager argued that not even the speculations seem plausible, thus begging the question whether they could even lead to anything more. Dickins (2005), although being less critical, agrees with the general argument that the connection made between the unconscious and deception is questionable. In conclusion, Smith’s book presented itself as a worthwhile read. First catching my attention by not completely disregarding Freud’s theories, and then using it to stir controversy upon human integrity, it undoubtedly offered some food for thought. Even though converting readers into believers of its cause is improbable, the book will make them critically analyse their interactions and looks for the smallest hints of (self)deception. The style of writing and creativity in portraying ideas were an additional bonus to the book’s appeal, raising interest in Smith’s other works. Bibliography Chance, Z., Norton, M. I., Gino, F., Ariely, D. (2011). Temporal View of the Costs and Benefits of Self-Deception. PNAS, 15655-15659. Dickins, T. E. (2005). A Necessary Pain in the Heart. Retrieved March 02, 2014, from Human Nature. Dunbar, R. I. (1992). Neocortex Size as Constraint on Group Size in Primates. Journal of Human Evolution, 469-493. Hippel, W. v., Trivers, R. (2011). The Evolution and Psychology of Self-Deception. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 1-56. Orbell, J., Morikawa, T., Hartwig, J., Hanley, J., Allen, N. (2004). Machiavellian Intelligence as a Basis for the Evolution of Cooperative Dispositions. American Political Science Review, 1-15. Pinker, S. (2010). The Cognitive Niche: Coeolution of intelligence, sociality, and language. PNAS, 8993-8999. Sager, A. (2004). Review Why We Lie The Evolutionary Roots of Deception and the Unconscious Mind . Retrieved March 02, 2014, from Metapsychology: http://metapsychology.mentalhelp.net/poc/view doc.php?type=bookid=2262 Smith, D. L. (2004). Why We Lie The Evolutionary Roots of Deception and the Unconscious Mind. New York: St. Martins Griffin.

The Great Depression Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Great Depression was a period, which seemed to go out of control. The crashing of the stock markets left most Canadians unemployed and in debt, prairie farmers suffered immensely with the inability to produce valuable crops, and the Canadian Government and World War II became influential factors in the ending of the Great Depression. The 1920’s meant prosperity for Canada. Canadians living in the 1920’s were freer in values, less disciplined, and concerned with material things more than ever before. Many people wanted to get rich quickly, and stock markets in New York, Toronto, and Montreal shot up. On October 24, 1929, many people wanted to sell stocks through the New York Stock Exchange. More stocks were being sold than bought, and they began to slump. The stock crash became known as the Great Crash of 1929. On Thursday October 29, 1929, the stock markets in Toronto, Ontario and Montreal, Quebec also began a steep descent. Suicide became common among men whom the crash meant financial failure and social ruin. After the stock crash a period of Depression occurred and unemployment was common. By 1933, one out of every four workers in Canada was without a job. Men begged for jobs cutting grass or shoveling snow. Wages were so low that even people with jobs ran into debt. Many businessmen went bankrup t and people all over the country were laid off. Many men disappeared in efforts to look for work. The province of Saskatchewan set up Relief Commission in 1931. For many, the acceptance of Relief meant failure. Those who did except Relief received $5.00 a week, or sometimes less. By 1932, many unemployed men were living in Relief Camps across the country. Work in the Relief Camps usually consisted of meaningless tasks. The camps provided its men with a poor diet and bunks to sleep in. Those living outside of Relief Camps could barely feed their families. Meals consisted of starchy foods such as bread and potatoes. With unemployment rates soaring, many people could not afford coal to heat their homes or to pay electricity bills. Single men, 18 years or older, were housed in rooming houses. In 1933, the Federal Government began herding single men into work camps run by the army. Camps held more than 115, 000 men over a four year period. Men in camps were paid twenty cents a day for l umbering or road building. All over Canada peopl... ...rnment became active in the lives of businessmen and workers alike. Mothers received a family allowance. War veterans received money also. Unemployment insurance was created and any man out of work could apply for it. By 1936 some parts of Canada began to recover from the Great Depression. In Montreal Public Holding Projects were underway, and the Trans Canada Airway gave jobs to men. For Canada, the real end of the Great Depression was caused by the start of World War II. The Great Depression lasted ten years and was followed by five years of World War. During the war the need for materials was massive. Chemical factories, aluminum works, and lumber processing all began to employ men. People could begin to buy more than they had during the Great Depression; therefore the manufactures could produce more. Prairie Provinces also benefited because the markets for wheat had began to recover. The Great Depression in Canada posed many problems for Canadians. During this period the economy suffered, unemployment rates raised, and farmers struggled through the drought of the Dirty Thirties. The Great Depression truly was an uncontrollable force assisting the shape of present day Canada.

Obsessive-compulsive Behaviors Essay -- essays research papers

Obsessive-Compulsive Behaviors "Compulsive" and "obsessive" have become everyday words. "I'm compulsive" is how some people describe their need for neatness, punctuality, and shoes lined up in the closets. "He's so compulsive is shorthand for calling someone uptight, controlling, and not much fun. "She's obsessed with him" is a way of saying your friend is hopelessly lovesick. That is not how these words are used to describe Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder or OCD, a strange and fascinating sickness of ritual and doubts run wild. OCD can begin suddenly and is usually seen as a problem as soon as it starts. Compulsives (a term for patients who mostly ritualize) and obsessives (those who think of something over and over again) rarely have rituals or thoughts about nuetral questions or behaviors. What are their rituals about? There are several possible ways to list symptoms of OCD. All sources agree that the most common preoccupations are dirt (washing, germs, touching), checking for safety or closed spaces (closets, doors, drawers, appliances, light switches), and thoughts, often thoughts about unacceptable violent, sexual, or crude behavior. When the thoughts and rituals of OCD are intense, the victim's work and home life disintigrate. Obsessions are persistant, senseless, worrisome, and often times, embarrassing, or frightening thoughts that repeat over and over in the mind in an endless loop. The automatic nature of these recurant thoughts makes them difficult for the person to ignore or restrain successfully. The essence of a Compulsive Personality Disorder is normally found in a restricted person, who is a perfectionist to a degree that demands that others to submit to hisher way of doing things. A compulsive personality is also often indecisive and excessively devoted to work to the exclusion of pleasure. When pleasure is considered, it is something to be planned and worked for. Pleasurable activities are usually postponed and sometimes never even enjoyed. With severe compulsions, endless rituals dominate each day. Compulsions are incredibly repetitive and seemingly purposeful acts that result from the obsessions. The person performs certain acts according to certain rules or in a stereotypi... ...ty to discard worn out or worthless objects." (A.P.A.,'80) So much is asked about where our everyday lives stop and OCD begins. The basis of Obsessive -Compulsive Disorder is still unknown. The evidence for a biological cause is compelling but unfortunately it is still necessary to speak of the biology of behavior in vague terms. The effect of a drug, and the normality of many of the families with an OCD kid makes the importance of "poor upbringing" as a cause of OCD uncertain to say the least. This is a disease that may be thought of as doubts gone wild. Patients doubt their very own senses. They cannot believe any reasurance of everyday life. Reassurance does not work. The notion that there is a biological basis for a sense of "knowing" has interesting philosophical implications. We are normally convinced that what we see and feel is truely there. If this is a "doubting disease," and if a chemical controls this sense of doubt, then is our usual, normal belief in what our everyday senses and common sense tell us similarly determined by our brain chemistry?

Travel Writing: Romantics to Newspaper :: Analysis Literature Traveling Essays Papers

Travel Writing: Romantics to Newspaper After reading various works from Romantic travel writers such as Gilpin, Wordsworth, Goethe and others, I was interested in how their writings' conventions have changed when a different medium is used. Every Saturday the local newspaper, The Edmonton Journal, has a section that is strictly dedicated to travel destinations and topics pertaining to travel. Appropriately named "Travel," this section describes exotic locations for tourist and travelers. Its articles contrast the Romantics' description of the environment by having less emphasis on the picturesque and sublime, more focus on historical background, and greater detail in the lives of people living there. I believe that these differences are credited largely to one factor; the writing's medium influences what is being stressed as the purpose of the writer is different. Travel articles focus largely on describing nature only in terms of basic description. When referencing a scene with specific characteristics (such as cliffs, waterfalls or mountains) the Romantic writer describes the scene as if the reader has very little experience or expectation for what the scene should look like. The result is often elaborate description after elaborate description. Newspaper travel sections do not concern themselves with such sensory description near the same extent for a number of reasons. The newspaper focuses less on creating imagery for the reader because of the increase in availability to travel, images of the picturesque and sublime on television and movies, and the presence of photographs physically next to the text. 1. Nearly every article, within this section, is accompanied by a large photograph showing the landscape. By presenting the writers' description of the land next to the photograph, the article intrinsically promotes a comparison by the reader, contrasting the colourful photograph with the writer's words. If the photograph presents a landscape different from the vivid description of the travel writer (which inevitably happens with readers' mental constructs) the reader will find it hard to trust the writer in the accuracy of description. The writer wisely follows the saying that a "picture says a thousand words" and is better off letting the picture do the talking. After all, the journalist has less space and more constrictions than the novelist does. 2. The dominant concern for the travel journalist is conveying what they want in a limited space. The journalist does not have space to elaborately describe every cliff, river or valley. It is, therefore, up to the writer to assume that, with the addition of the given photographs, the reader would be able to visualize a serene waterfall or placid lake.

Religion and Various Team Members

What does the Bible say about caring for the sick? How do the roles of the various team members within the healing-hospital blueprint address caring for the sick from a biblical standpoint?The biblical passage supporting caring of the sick is: â€Å"Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.† (James 5:14). This scripture states the power of prayer and that God has the direct power to fully heal any illness that overcomes a body. It also means that God has power over someone who is sick or for someone who is praying (elders of the Church), over a sick person, and the power to keep praying until the person is healed. This bible verse also means that if a person is a follower of the Lord they will be relieved of their sickness and their sins will be forgi ven. The roles of various team members in the healing hospital addresses caring for the sick without bias on diversity and individualism. The biblical standpoint is by doing spiritual assessments and interventions for all religions , beliefs , faiths, and allowing the spiritual leader such as a chaplain to perform prayer or practices that allows components of healing.