What do you find irritating about a certain media text Essay Example for Free

What do you find irritating about a certain media text Essay A media text that I find quite irritating is the reality television programme Big Brother. This programme has become something of a phenomenon since it began in the Netherlands in 1999, spreading throughout various countries normally a series or two each year. The show is based around a number of contestants who are isolated from the outside world in a Big Brother House one by one being eliminated until there is an ultimate winner. The show relies on its vast audience to vote for whom they would like to be eliminated from the house each week. It is this huge response that the producers receive each year that keeps the show running, however over the years, this huge following has resulted in each contestant only applying for the show because of the quick rise to fame that follows after the show ends, and according to the Learning and Skills Council; one in seven UK teenagers hope to gain fame by appearing on reality television. The media have also become obsessed with the programme, and it is not unusual to see these contestants on the front pages of magazines, revealing shocking stories of their past. The fascination and ultimate obsession that the public has with these ordinary contestants has caused many unnecessary disagreements both on and off the show, which have dominated newspaper headlines when there may be something of greater importance to account. The idea of Big Brother did originate from Dutchman John De Mol, however the shows name comes from George Orwells novel Nineteen-Eighty-Four, in which there is a character named Big Brother who oversees all of dystopian Oceania. The contestants that are sent into the house are often chosen from a sociological perspective, where tension can arise quite easily between people, i. e. placing a loud extroverted person with quite a withdrawn individual in the same room would cause a lot of arguments due to clash of personality. These clashes of personality have cause many incidents over each series of the show, often escalating each year. One example of this would be the fifth series of Celebrity Big Brother (a spin off show of Big Brother containing contestants of a small celebrity status) which took place in January 2007, where a row sparked by racial comments towards Asian contestant Shilpa Shetty was heard around the world. Channel 4 stated that they received a record number of complaints citing racial bullying, and blamed producers for not intervening with the situation. The current prime minister Gordon Brown was hounded by the media to give his views on the incident, which one may find incredibly absurd, as it seems we live in a world where a television programme has more priority than important political affairs. The reaction in Shettys native country, India, was also incredibly shocking as citizens took to the streets of India and burned effigies of the shows organisers. After this huge and rather outrageous reaction, many protested that Big Brother should be axed from Channel 4 and a new series should not return, however this is not happen and Big Brother returned in the summer for an eighth series. The continuation of the show has much relevance to the key concepts, involving the institutions that produce shows such as Big Brother and the audiences that consume them. The reaction that the media and audiences gave to the producers on the racial bullying that appeared on Big Brother may not have been incredibly positive, however it still caused an enormous controversial uproar in the media world, which acted as good publicity for the Big Brother brand. This is proven with the rating figures that followed with Big Brother 8 which were some of the highest the show had ever received, and there is a simple reason for this audiences are addicted to the taboo effect that the show can bring into the household, along with an incredible fascination with watching and analysing ordinary people in an extraordinary environment. What is normally kept behind closed doors in everyday life is available for all to see on national television, and audiences take full advantage of the fact that it is possible to peek into anothers personal space. The media (magazines, newspapers etc. ) observe this fascination and fuel it with articles that ridicule certain contestants to pass them up to the public for furthermore analysing and examination. However, the scrutiny of certain individuals on the show does not seem fair in my opinion, but the show has become so widespread it is now a known fact that any person that enters the house is aware that the media will ridicule their lifestyle. Screenwriter Sheryl Longin stated the difference to the brain between watching reality television and scripted drama is like the difference to our vision between High Definition television and 1970s quality video. In my opinion this is incredibly unfortunate as television is being dominated by these reality television shows due to our obsession with.

Measuring Responses of Spinach Leaves in Various Light Waves

Measuring Responses of Spinach Leaves in Various Light Waves Photosynthesis: Measuring the responses of Spinach Leaves in various Light Waves Abstract The object of this study was to measure the amount of Spinach Floating Disks in each of the petri dishes per each experiment set. The experiment was measured by using 100 mL of a 0.2% solution of Sodium Bicarbonate NAHCO3 that was poured into each of the three petri dishes for the two experiments. The 1st experiment tested Carbon Dioxide (CO2) levels created from Sodium Bicarbonate (NAHCO3) in this experiment as to test the hypothesis in comparison to that of Oxygen (O2) to determine as one level increases so will the other. In the 2nd experiment used the working hypothesis which stated that the red dye that simulates the red light spectrum will produce more photosynthesis than that of the blue, whereas green will produce very little if any. Outcomes of the 1st experiment showed that light-dependent photosynthesis reacted to the heat lamp producing more oxygen. Respectively, the red dye had a 100% effective rate of photosynthesis and oxygenation. Introduction According to the Laboratory Investigations for Biology, 2nd Ed. The process of photosynthesis can be summarized in the equation below (John, 2016). Chloroplasts 6CO2 + 12 H2Oà ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¨C6H12O6 + 6H2O + 6 O2 By definition photosynthesis is the process in which some organisms and plants use sunlight to create food from carbon dioxide or CO2 and water or H2O. The products for photosynthesis can be described as the use of carbon dioxide with water to make glucose. A sugar that plants use as a source of food or convert to starch and is stored. A byproduct of this process is oxygen (John, 2016) and (Freeman, et al., 2017). There are two phases in photosynthesis. The 1st phase is known as the light dependent reaction phase. This phase requires a chemical process to occur where the pigment chlorophyll absorbs light energy. It then, in turn use high-energy bonds of ATP and NADPH molecules to complete the process. The 2nd phase of photosynthesis is called carbon-fixation process. This phase does not require light because the energy has already been captured (John, 2016). This phase is similar to the 1st phase in which ATP and NADPH are being used except this process uses carbon dioxide to make glucose. According to (Freeman, et al., 2017) glucose is a simple sugar that is a six-carbon monosaccharide and is the major source for plant food. As stated previously plants can turn glucose a carbohydrate into starch for later use or to reinforce cell walls of the plant. The photosynthesis process as a whole takes place within the chloroplast. Chlorophyll, the green color of plants is a pigment that uses enzymes and other molecules which are required for photosynthesis (John, 2016) Carbon Dioxide (CO2) levels created from Sodium Bicarbonate (NAHCO3) in this experiment is the hypothesis being tested in comparison to that of Oxygen (O2) to determine as one level increases so will the other. If the least amount of diluted NAHCO3 was used up, then the Spinach Leaf will not produce large amounts of Oxygen. This experiment is measuring various strengths of NAHCO3 as the independent variable. Other variables not recorded would include room temperature, the size of the sample, and the health of the plant. In this case the number of the disks floating in the solution is the dependent variable. For this experiment ten punched Spinach Leaf Disks were used for testing purposes. The more oxygen released from each of the disks increases the ability of the disk to float to the surface of the petri dish. This process works because the liquid is being replaced with gaseous compound and regains it buoyancy. For this experiment light was used as the control. According to (Yao, et al., 2017) the increase in photosynthesis rate correlates with the intensity of the light being used. It is also mentioned that a light that is too intense can reduce the photosynthesis rate. Which facilitates an important goal of finding the optimal conditions for cultivation. As explained earlier, the level of development of the chloroplasts is directly affected by photosynthesis. (Yao, et al., 2017) explains that this directly affects the rate of growth of a plant and have different identifying markers under varying light intensities. Leaf morphology which shows plasticity is a reflection of this, where under weak light conditions an experiment on eggplants has shown a specific decrease in of the Datura according to (Mao et al. 2012) taken from (Yao, et al., 2017) in an expanded report on Effects of light intensity on leaf microstructure and growth of rape seedlings cultivated under a combination of red and blue LEDs. (Farquhar and Sharkey 1982) of the same report by (Yao, et al., 2017) caution high-light intensity can cause serious oxidative damages and destroy the photosynthetic system to leaf tissues. Using the determined information from (Yao, et al., 2017), in this lab the experimenters created a unique experiment not to dissimilar from the Effects of light intensity on leaf microstructure and growth of rape seedlings cultivated under a combination of red and blue LEDs. To simulate the light wave spectrum of the Red, Blue, and Green (RGB) the experimenters used food coloring to dye the solute. Where the working hypothesis state that the red dye that is used to simulate the red light spectrum will produce more photosynthesis than that of the blue, whereas green will produce very little if any. The dependent variable will again be the number of floating Spinach Leaf Disks. The independent variable in the unique experiment are the various colors being introduced with the heat lamp for light as a form of light spectrum. The control will be the heat lamp. Replication of this experiment will be conducted by the team of experimenters next the unique experiment station in this report. In this experiment if the red manipulated spectrum of light produces the most oxygen then the other independent variables blue and green will produce little to no oxygen. Methods       According the lab manual by (John, 2016); The experimenters were to conduct three separate light tests to determine oxygen production if any which will cause the Spinach Leaf Disks to float. 100 mL of a 0.2% solution of Sodium Bicarbonate NAHCO3 was poured into three petri dishes. The first test measures the amount of floating disks in a light devoid room. In this case the petri dish with ten disks was placed in a drawer as to keep any light from disturbing the experiment. This part of the process is known as the 2nd phase or carbon fixation as mentioned in the introduction of this paper. The second test uses natural room light, or fluorescent tube lights to measure the amount of floating disks. Using a second set of 10 disks in a petri dish the experimenters allowed ample amounts of room light to expose the disks in order to measure the 1st phase in photosynthesis, light-dependency. The last and final test of the three experiments measures the amount of floating disks under a heat lamp. The experimenters waited 30 minutes for each of the experiments before gauging results. Following the lab manual by (John, 2016) for the unique experiment, the testers duplicated the three test process for step three only. Still measuring the amount of floating disks, the experimenters added the RGB dye to each one of petri dishes. Again the 100 mL of a 0.2% solution of Sodium Bicarbonate NAHCO3 was poured into three petri dishes. Each of the three petri dishes were left exposed to heat lamps for 30 minutes. Results The experimenters evaluated each of the initial three tests under three different conditions. Complete darkness, natural light, and under a heat lamp. Phase 1 of photosynthesis consisted of light dependent plants. Plants grown under natural light served as the control. As identified in (Table 1), the control or natural light did not produce any floating disks. While under increased light, the heat lamp the Spinach Leaf Disks thrived and photosynthesized to the extent of 100% of expected results. Phase 2, or the Carbon Fixation process which does not require light had no effect. Carbon Fixation of the plant did not store enough energy to start photosynthesis. In the unique experiment phase 2 was not conducted. The results of the unique experiment that was tested in three different color spectrums; RBG is listed in (Table 2). Predominately the synthesized red spectrum of light produced the most results of the three colors tested. Table 1 Results of Subjecting Spinach Leaf Disks to Different Light Conditions Light # of Disks Floating % of Disks Floating Dark 0 0% Room Light 0 0% Under Lamp 10 100% Table 2. Results of Subjecting Spinach Leaf Disks to Different Color Spectrums Color # of Disks Floating % Disks Floating Red 9 90% Green 3 30% Blue 5 50% Discussion In experiment one carbon dioxide (CO2) levels created from sodium bicarbonate (NAHCO3) in this experiment was used as the hypothesis that was being tested in comparison to that of oxygen (O2) to determine as one level increases so will the other. The hypothesis was accepted in this experiment. As was predicted, the more light that was exposed the more oxygen would be produced which would cause the disks to float. Sources for error in this experiment would include improper set up of the vacuum flasks conducted by the previous lab experimenters. Other errors would include bad sampling techniques of the Spinach Leaf Disk. More time in this experiment would improve or give more accurate results for photosynthesis. It would allow a greater measure of values from the experiment. Also conducting multiple sets of the same experimented in order to gain and average ratio to gauge success or failure. In this experiment the learned outcome was that photosynthesis works in two ways. The 1st is light-dependent photosynthesis and the 2nd was carbon fixation. Secondary outcomes learned in this experiment are that different light spectrums produce different results. Where red would produce more oxygenation that blue or green which produces little to no oxygen. In the Unique Experiment the working hypothesis stated that the red dye that simulates the red light spectrum will produce more photosynthesis than that of the blue, whereas green will produce very little if any. Limitations and error of this experiment will include the same listed above in the 1st experiment as well as how little or how much dye is used in the testing of the light spectrum. With greater time and multiple test of the same experiment averaged values could be derived from the test to give a more accurate result. Cited References John, D. (2016). BSC 2010L Laboratory Manual USF St. Petersburg (1st ed.). Boston MA: Pearson Custom Library. Freeman, S., Quillin, K., Allison, L., Black, M., Podgorski, G., Taylor, E., Carmichael, J. Biological science (6th ed.). Hoboken: Pearson Higher Education, [2017]. YAO, X. (2017). RESEARCH ARTICLE: Effects of light intensity on leaf microstructure and growth of rape seedlings cultivated under a combination of red and blue LEDs. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 16(1), 97-105.

Investing strategies by age Essay -- essays research papers

Investing Strategies Pre-Career (16-25) – During this investment period in my life my goal is to have safety of principal while still receiving income. This is a very low risk portfolio strategy. Income will most likely be low because I will hopefully be enrolled in a post secondary education and graduate school. During this time I will be taking very minimal risks by investing in securities such as; T-bills, Canada, government and corporate bonds, stalwarts (blue chips), preferred shares, and possibly two or three small cap stocks in order to diversify my portfolio as well as incorporate some risk into it as well. Blue-chip stocks are very reliable and low risk because they are large companies with millions of assets and a great investment for this stage of my life. Early Years (25-35) – This time in my life will hopefully be one where I am able to spend a proportion of my income on investing in order to grow my portfolio. Hopefully at this point of my life I will have a high paying job after graduate school and will have income to spend. Although cash would be tight when attempting to raise and support a family, the portfolio must be balanced as well. Therefore, having money equally spread out between bonds, blue-chip stocks, and small caps would be the best scenario to grow my portfolio as well as keeping the risk at moderate degree. I would focus on all five types of stocks that I have previously researched; yet I will still have less money in speculative and potential turnaround because the risk is quite high. Establishment Year (35-55) – This is a very important investing stage in my life because I will have the money to be able to invest freely as well as be quite aggressive in the way I invest. The securities that I will most likely invest in are moderate to high-risk securities that can profit in high return. Investing in a few specified bonds for my possible child’s education and for safety of principle. As well as some blue-chip stocks, and mainly higher risk stocks such as cyclical, speculative and potential turnaround. These stocks are the best for growing my portfolio, although they do pose a high risk, at this point in my life I will be able to afford the loss. The key to this time in my life is to use risk to my advantage and be able to receive capital gain and dividends. Pre-Retirement Years (55-65) – This time period in my life will be mu... ...s on the economy. When the economy is doing well, the risk is low and visa-versa. AlarmForce – The AlarmForce Company is a growth stock because of the constant growth that it has had over past years. The best stage to invest in this stock would be when you have a relatively moderate-low risk investment portfolio. This is because the growth stock usually rises at a slower pace but continues to rise, therefore the best period to invest in this stock would be during the early years and the pre-retirement years because there is growth needed, but the risk level is moderate-low. Dimethaid Corporation – The speculative stock that I researched was Dimethaid, which is a drug creator and fabricator. This is one of the riskiest stocks that I researched because of their unstable history and their fluctuating stock prices. The time that I would choose to purchase this investment would definitely only be during the establishment years. This is because it is the only time when I will have freedom to invest in companies and I will have a much higher risk tolerance. Because the stock is high risk, this is the only reasonable investing period where I can afford the loss of the original investment

Lucid Dreaming Essays -- Reserach Dreaming Dreams Essays

Lucid Dreaming Austin based filmmaker Richard Linklater recently released a movie that is a dream. By that I mean both that it is about a dream, and that it is dreamlike. "Waking Life" received mixed reviews, but it also sparked new interest in an idea that has actually been around a long time: lucid dreaming. In this paper I intend to explore the concept of lucidity in dreams, and to concentrate on the research of Stanford University's Stephen LaBerge, who has used lucid dreaming as a tool to better understand the biological phenomena of sleep and dreams. Basically, "lucid dreaming" is being aware that you are dreaming(1). In the late 19th century, Frederik van Eeden published his observations about his own lucid dreams. He reported the sensation of "being able to freely remember the circumstances of waking life, to think clearly, and to act deliberately upon reflection, all while experiencing a dream world that seems vividly real(2) (3)." Lucid dreams are not reported often, although a 1988 study by Snyder and Gackenbach indicated that as many as 58 % of people report having had at least one lucid dream in their life time, with 21 % having them as regularly as once a month(2). LaBerge was the among first scientists to provide scientific evidence supporting the phenomena in the early 1980s(4). His research has shown several techniques to be successful tools to help an individual learn how to become lucid in a dream. Lucid Dreaming: Fact or Fiction? Scientific debate regarding the validity of lucid dreams has existed for some time. Some believed that so-called lucid dreams were not dreams at all, but brief arousals from the sleeping state analogous to day dreaming. As recently as 1985 David Foulkes ... ...ry, dream lucidity appears to be a valid phenomena and one many people hope to achieve for themselves. Whatever your interest in the topic, you are sure to find an outlet for it in the plethora of internet resources available on the topic. Internet Sources: 1)Lucidity For All http://www.ld4all.com/index.html 2)The Lucidity Institute Site: "Lucid Dreaming: Psychophysiological Studies of Consciousness during REM Sleep, by Stephen LaBerge, Ph. D. http://www.lucidity.com/SleepAndCognition.html 3) The Lucidity Institute: "A Study of Dreams" , by Frederik van Eeden http://www.lucidity.com/vanEeden.html 4) "Waking the Dreamer", Levity.com http://www.levity.com/mavericks/lab-int.htm 5) "Dreaming: Lucid and Non Lucid" , by David Foulkes http://www.sawka.com/spiritwatch/dreaming.htm 6) The Lucid Dreaming Guild http://www.geocities.com/lucidguild/

The Passing of the Crown by Shakespeares Henries Essay -- Henry IV He

The Passing of the Crown by Shakespeare's Henries      Ã‚  Ã‚   In his histories from Richard II through Henry V to Richard III, Shakespeare depicts the English monarchy as a game between family and friends of vying for a gold ring -- the crown. Shakespeare gives his reader a central metaphor through which to see this equation in King Henry IV part one. The prank Prince Hal, later King Henry V, and his friend, Poins, play on their friends, particularly Falstaff, parallels the plot's focal passing of the crown.    In the first act, Poins outlines his plan to play a prank on Falstaff and their other friends to Prince Hal, "They [Falstaff and others] will adventure upon the exploit [of stealing money from travelers] themselves, which they shall have no sooner achieved but we'll set upon them" (I.ii.169-71). This exactly represents the larger action that takes place in this same piece. King Henry IV, previously Bolingbroke, usurped the crown from King Richard II in Shakespeare's play of that title, and now, in this King Henry Hotspur is trying to take from "Bolingbroke," the name he contemptuously insists on using for the king, the crown which the king 'rightfully' stole already. Hal's prank can, in fact, be seen as the summarizing play within the play so popular in Elizabethan drama. Not only does Hal's light-hearted game sum up the events of this history, it also works as a microcosm of the events in King Richard III, a tragedy wherein Richard steals the throne from his brothers, Ed ward and George, who, in turn, stole it from Henry VI. The metaphor becomes even more obviously applicable when we hear Falstaff's self-defense for giving up the stolen money so easily, "Was it for me to kill the heir apparent?"... ...taining the position and participating in its ceremonies is a game. However, I don't think this means that the role is an impossible one to actually possess, that it's always simply an unreachable construct that everyone pretends at. I think it just means that Shakespeare sees the crown as not being as serious a thing to possess as is commonly thought. It's a joke, a gag, a prank, always a gold ring made of cardboard. Where there's "a kingdom for a stage," so too can there be 'a stage for a kingdom' (Henry V, prologue line 3). Being King means playing.    Works Cited Shakespeare, William. Henry IV: part one. Ed. P. H. Davison, New York: Penguin Books, 1996. Shakespeare, William. Henry IV: part two. Ed. P. H. Davison, New York: Penguin Books, 1997. Shakespeare, William. Henry V. Ed. A. R. Humphreys, New York: Penguin Books, 1996.   

Creating a Healthy City

Creating a Healthy City Environmental health should be a great concern for each individual person as well as our nation and the whole world. Environmental health addresses all the physical, chemical, and biological factors affecting health and our environment. t which includes air, land and water. Environmental health extents to the chemical we use such as BPA and the effects it can and may have on our children, fuel in the economy and additional sources of fuel, building green, environmental disease and sources of energy in which all of these items can have an effect on the environment and our health.Here are other aspect of environment health that I would have never consider to be part of our concern or environment; but have just as of an impact as anything else. Bioterrorism warfare is critical because without the governments’ prevention and methods many of us could be affected by chemical warfare. This weapon can kill and destroy our very lives. Buying locally is another e xpect of environmental heath that is critical to our community is buying our food locally from farmers and growers in our area. This is a great benefit of knowing more about where your food comes from.It so much more too environmental health in which I do not have the time to discuss. One major item is creating a healthy environment in our communities and cities to help established a better life. Bottom of FormCreating a healthy city is to improved living conditions and better health services in association with various development activities by incorporate different ways to make the city healthy. By creating a healthy city would be committing to the development and maintenance of physical and social environments which support and promote better health and quality of life for residents.Building a health City would be to consider green building, recycling, educating and protecting the water, air and land in which residents maintain their living. Maintaining a healthy environment is c ritical to increasing quality life and years of healthy living. Healthy City would require and include high political commitment, collaboration, community participation, integration of activities and development of a city health profile and a local action plan. Once the plan has been established and implemented it’s important to monitor and evaluate by incorporating views from all groups within the community.These are critical steps in making the city environmental healthy. In order for Stockbridge to become a healthy city it will require some planning just to implement small changes and goals first then move to larger objectives. One area in which Stockbridge can begin is just to begin implementing a recycling plan. In large cities such as New York they have trash pickup and recycle pickup. Trash has to be divided into two categories. This is something that is a small goal for Stockbridge to introduction to the community.This is a small start but it’s a big change tha t can help to established or start the process of a healthy environment in the city. Beginning someone where is a start to healthy living. Having a health city will cost money and time. Money will needed to be generated in order for us to have the community in which we want or deserve to have. Producing a plan is one thing; but have the money to implement the plan is another which could affect the process and progress of the community.Its important for the city official to reach out the people in the community and to give them an understanding of how important is our environment to the city. The present encomic situation is what would have a great impact or obstacle in the city to obtain the funds need to make changes; but this where the community comes in and fund raisers are established to make our city environmental health. Introducing a clean environment healthy city would require information how important having a clean city is important to the community. A health city is about clean air, water, land and waste disposal for better living in the community.Understanding the air we breathe is essential that’s why green emission is established to reduce the amount of carbon that is leaked in to the air which can cause breathing issuing. Having clean water and plenty of water is a something our body cannot live without. Land is major because the quality of land effects food and the types of food in which we can choose from and eat. Land is different from place to place and each area yields certain kinds of food that is necessary for the nutrients we need. When our air, water and land is destroyed where do we go and how do we survive.Environmental Health should be a global concern because earth is our home. Some of the environmental issues of global warming–global dimming—water pollution, air pollution; land pollution and land degradation are affecting humanity throughout the entire world, these and other issues affects every species on the planet earth. Its imperative that mankind listen to the cry of the environment and begin to work together to save our planet. We can all play a part play by taking concern for endangers species, and being careful not to pollute our water and our land.Environmental Health effects and impacts our entire existence and every person should be aware of what the issues are and how they can help to change or fix them because it can and will affect our air, water and food. We do not take an interested to protect and preserve our planet we are looking at killing and destroying ourselves. References Hilgenkamp, Kathryn (2006) Environmental health ; Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Massachusetts, chapter 8-10, pgs. 134-191 Omi, Shigir MD (2000) Regional experience in making a Healty city, retrieve June 14, 2012 http://www. who. int/quantifying_ehimpacts/publications/prevdisradio/en/index. html Creating a Healthy City Creating a Healthy City Environmental health should be a great concern for each individual person as well as our nation and the whole world. Environmental health addresses all the physical, chemical, and biological factors affecting health and our environment. t which includes air, land and water. Environmental health extents to the chemical we use such as BPA and the effects it can and may have on our children, fuel in the economy and additional sources of fuel, building green, environmental disease and sources of energy in which all of these items can have an effect on the environment and our health.Here are other aspect of environment health that I would have never consider to be part of our concern or environment; but have just as of an impact as anything else. Bioterrorism warfare is critical because without the governments’ prevention and methods many of us could be affected by chemical warfare. This weapon can kill and destroy our very lives. Buying locally is another e xpect of environmental heath that is critical to our community is buying our food locally from farmers and growers in our area. This is a great benefit of knowing more about where your food comes from.It so much more too environmental health in which I do not have the time to discuss. One major item is creating a healthy environment in our communities and cities to help established a better life. Bottom of FormCreating a healthy city is to improved living conditions and better health services in association with various development activities by incorporate different ways to make the city healthy. By creating a healthy city would be committing to the development and maintenance of physical and social environments which support and promote better health and quality of life for residents.Building a health City would be to consider green building, recycling, educating and protecting the water, air and land in which residents maintain their living. Maintaining a healthy environment is c ritical to increasing quality life and years of healthy living. Healthy City would require and include high political commitment, collaboration, community participation, integration of activities and development of a city health profile and a local action plan. Once the plan has been established and implemented it’s important to monitor and evaluate by incorporating views from all groups within the community.These are critical steps in making the city environmental healthy. In order for Stockbridge to become a healthy city it will require some planning just to implement small changes and goals first then move to larger objectives. One area in which Stockbridge can begin is just to begin implementing a recycling plan. In large cities such as New York they have trash pickup and recycle pickup. Trash has to be divided into two categories. This is something that is a small goal for Stockbridge to introduction to the community.This is a small start but it’s a big change tha t can help to established or start the process of a healthy environment in the city. Beginning someone where is a start to healthy living. Having a health city will cost money and time. Money will needed to be generated in order for us to have the community in which we want or deserve to have. Producing a plan is one thing; but have the money to implement the plan is another which could affect the process and progress of the community.Its important for the city official to reach out the people in the community and to give them an understanding of how important is our environment to the city. The present encomic situation is what would have a great impact or obstacle in the city to obtain the funds need to make changes; but this where the community comes in and fund raisers are established to make our city environmental health. Introducing a clean environment healthy city would require information how important having a clean city is important to the community. A health city is about clean air, water, land and waste disposal for better living in the community.Understanding the air we breathe is essential that’s why green emission is established to reduce the amount of carbon that is leaked in to the air which can cause breathing issuing. Having clean water and plenty of water is a something our body cannot live without. Land is major because the quality of land effects food and the types of food in which we can choose from and eat. Land is different from place to place and each area yields certain kinds of food that is necessary for the nutrients we need. When our air, water and land is destroyed where do we go and how do we survive.Environmental Health should be a global concern because earth is our home. Some of the environmental issues of global warming–global dimming—water pollution, air pollution; land pollution and land degradation are affecting humanity throughout the entire world, these and other issues affects every species on the planet earth. Its imperative that mankind listen to the cry of the environment and begin to work together to save our planet. We can all play a part play by taking concern for endangers species, and being careful not to pollute our water and our land.Environmental Health effects and impacts our entire existence and every person should be aware of what the issues are and how they can help to change or fix them because it can and will affect our air, water and food. We do not take an interested to protect and preserve our planet we are looking at killing and destroying ourselves. References Hilgenkamp, Kathryn (2006) Environmental health ; Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Massachusetts, chapter 8-10, pgs. 134-191 Omi, Shigir MD (2000) Regional experience in making a Healty city, retrieve June 14, 2012 http://www. who. int/quantifying_ehimpacts/publications/prevdisradio/en/index. html

Religion and Homosexuality in the United States Essay

I.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Introduction Religion-led moral crusades are not novelties in American history. The abolitionist movement, for instance, originated from religious teachings about freedom and equality among all human beings. Early education reforms and laws barring commercial business on Sundays also had similar foundations (Walzer 4). In the early 20th century, the temperance movement agitated for a prohibition on sales of alcohol due to religious beliefs about the evils of liquor. In the 1960s, black churches and religious leaders took the lead in the struggle for equality for African-Americans (Walzer 5). Since the late 1960s, however, conservative Christian denominations have increasingly become the voice of religion-based moral fervor in the United States. The 1973 Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion, is generally acknowledged as the root cause of this phenomenon. Many right-wing Christian organizations held the aforementioned ruling responsible for the prevalence of premarital sex, easier access to birth control, decriminalized abortion, homosexuality and no-fault divorce laws. They believed that for a sound and healthy society to take place, these social â€Å"evils† must be stopped (Walzer 5). Fundamentalist Christians considered homosexuality to be the most dangerous among the above-mentioned social â€Å"evils.† This is because the sexual orientation and behavior of homosexuals â€Å"(clash) with the moral and religious teachings of the Bible† (Walzer 5). Simply put, homosexuals are â€Å"immoral† for the reason that their gender and lifestyle deviates from the Judeo-Christian principle of sexual relations as a means of procreation. They must therefore be denied any venues in which they could â€Å"spread† their â€Å"immorality,† such as gay civil rights (Walzer 5). The conflict between faith and homosexuality in the US eventually divided Christians between those who regarded homosexuality as a morality issue and those who viewed homosexuality as a social justice issue that both society and organized religion must address instead of ignore (Dawkins 290). This research paper will utilize the Marxist theoretical frameworks of dialectical and historical materialism. Dialectical materialism is based on the argument that history is defined by an endless struggle between different social classes. Historical materialism, meanwhile, asserts that the present state of a given society can be explained and understood by studying its past (Boobbyer 142). These theoretical frameworks are applied to the research paper through the study of the histories of gay civil rights and church-state relations in the US. To prove the thesis, the researcher will conduct a critical analysis of current government statistics or research data that are related to the topic. Qualitative descriptions of relevant government policies or research data will likewise be carried out. II.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Data and Data Analysis Conservative Christian denominations often attack homosexuality by warning the public about the increasing number of homosexuals in the US. As they are operating on the premise that homosexuals are â€Å"immoral,† these religious groups would therefore claim that the rise in homosexuality would translate to an increase in social â€Å"evils† such as HIV/AIDS and pedophilia. They would further drive this point home to audiences by bombarding them with related statistics from â€Å"reputable† sources. In the end, bigotry and homophobia are reinforced among the addressees. Recent statistics do show an increase in homosexuality in the US from previous decades. The 1994 National Health and Social Life Survey (NHSLS) showed that an estimated 4.3 million Americans (2.8 million men and 1.5 million women) identified themselves as â€Å"homosexual or bisexual† (Sprigg 78). In addition, about 1.4 million Americans (0.9% of men and 0.4% of women) were exclusively engaged in same-sex relationships since age 18 (Sprigg 78). By 2000, according to the Washington, D.C.-based gay rights organization Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the gay and lesbian population in the US reached about 10,456,405. Data from the 2000 US Census, meanwhile, revealed that the number of same-sex couples in the country rose to 601,209 from 145,130 in 1990 (Burda 1). But the aforementioned figures are misleading. The institutions that produced these statistics do not have a clear idea of what constitutes â€Å"homosexuality,† â€Å"bisexuality† and â€Å"same-sex relationships.† Numerous studies on human sexual behavior have proven that it is possible for human beings of the same sex to engage in sexual activities regardless of sexual orientation. The term â€Å"homoerotic behavior† refers to same-sex sexual behavior that is performed for reasons that do not include homosexuality. Possible motivations for homoerotic behavior are identity crisis, exploration, same-sex bonding, glorification of maleness or femaleness and lack of opposite-sex partners (Turner 158). Mistaking homoerotic behavior for homosexuality is dangerous, as doing so has detrimental effects to both homosexuals and society in general. Positive qualities that could grow out of same-sex bonding, like caring, intimacy and nurturance, are suppressed and undervalued because such traits are associated with homosexuality (Abramson and Pinkerton 239). Furthermore, negative gender stereotypes are reinforced. â€Å"Masculinity† is linked with emotional detachment and superficial forms of socialization such as drinking, smoking and gambling. â€Å"Femininity,† on the other hand, is connected to submissiveness and lack of initiative. Experts have long debunked the â€Å"connection† between homosexuality, HIV/AIDS and pedophilia. It is true that HIV/AIDS was initially called the â€Å"gay cancer† because majority of its first victims were homosexual men. But this does not mean that HIV/AIDS is a disease that is restricted to homosexuals or that homosexuals alone are responsible for its spread. HIV/AIDS is spread by behavior and not by sexual orientation. A heterosexual who practices unsafe sex is just as prone to the disease as a homosexual who has a similar lifestyle. It is also not true that homosexuals are more prone to pedophilia than heterosexuals. As a matter of fact, about 90% of sexual abuse on children was committed by heterosexual men. A 1994 study that was published in the journal Pediatrics revealed that out of 296 cases of child sexual abuse, there were only two in which the perpetrator was a homosexual. Moreover, a heterosexual partner of a close relative of the child was the alleged offender in about 82% of the said cases (Moe 70). Apart from baseless and damaging myths, another assault that Christian fundamentalists carry out on homosexuality is the elimination of gay civil rights. Proposition 8, passed in California’s general elections on November 4, 2008, was a constitutional amendment that prohibited same-sex marriage in the state. Catholic and Mormon organizations overwhelmingly supported the proposition, arguing that same-sex marriage threatened the sanctity of marriage and the family. These groups were likewise concerned that allowing same-sex marriage to remain legal in California would deprive children of the right to have a â€Å"normal† family – one that was composed of a father and a mother (Kuruvila n. pag.). The enactment of Proposition 8 is ironic, considering that one of the largest and most active homosexual communities is based in San Francisco. There were already about 18,000 same-sex couples who got married in California just four months prior to the passage of Proposition 8 (Garrison, DiMassa and Paddock n. pag.). The proposition would thus force the state’s homosexual couples to get married in one of the five remaining US states where same-sex marriage is legal – Maine, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts and Vermont (Montanaro n. pag.). Although Proposition 8 won 52% of votes (The Huffington Post n. pag.), some of California’s leaders are questioning its legality. The Democrat-controlled state Legislature, for instance, argued that the Constitution cannot be revised by a mere majority vote – it would strip the minority group of their constitutionally protected right. At present, California’s Supreme Court is dealing with a series of lawsuits that involve the contention of Proposition 8 (Ewers n. pag.). III.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Findings Even if the US Constitution clearly stated that there is an official separation between church and state, American society remains to be a â€Å"deeply religious polity† (Walzer 5). Simply put, American society is a democracy that continues to be heavily based on religious doctrine. This phenomenon is a legacy of the country’s colonial past – the first whites that came to the US were members of spiritual communities fleeing religious persecution in England. Consequently, the Founding Fathers declared that the US would not have an official state religion. All citizens were allowed to worship as they pleased and to openly propagate their faiths (Walzer 5). But this did not mean that the debate about the role of religion in American life has ended. The leaders of the US in its formative years were overwhelmingly of Christian faith. Thus, it became inevitable that the legislative and judicial philosophies of American society were founded on Christian principles. The Founding Fathers, for instance, believed that despite the absence of an official religion, the US should be a â€Å"Christian nation whose morality should be reflective of Christian values† (Walzer 4). It is true that many Christian denominations were responsible for instigating much-needed social changes in various parts of American history. But as American society became increasingly pluralistic in the succeeding centuries, the need for more secularism in its major institutions emerged. This dilemma resulted in a conflict between conservative Christian denominations and a Christian populace that was slowly becoming tolerant of behaviors that were used to be considered as deviant, such as homosexuality. In the process, certain aspects of the societal and legal discussions of gay civil rights were negatively affected (Walzer 6). Although judges are supposed to be neutral interpreters of the law, personal experiences (including religious training and beliefs) still shape their perspectives both consciously and unconsciously (Walzer 6). Indeed, Christian fundamentalist groups are notorious for their attempts to hinder the passage of or weaken laws that promote homosexual rights (Walzer 7). In the name of religion, conservative Christian organizations will not think twice about harassing homosexuals and gay rights associations, as well as interfere with the creation and enactment of gay civil rights laws. It is no longer surprising, therefore, if legal rights for homosexuals such as same-sex marriage, protection from workplace discrimination and adoption by gay parents were attained only in the recent decades. Pastor Fred Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church is an example of how far fundamentalist Christians could go just to prove their homophobic stance. He once organized a picket at the funeral of homosexual rights activist Coretta Scott King, proclaiming that her soul would be punished in hell due to her advocacy. Since 1991, Phelps has reportedly organized 22,000 anti-homosexual demonstrations in the US, Canada, Jordan and Iraq. These protest marches of his often displayed homophobic slogans such as â€Å"THANK GOD FOR AIDS† (Dawkins 291).   IV.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Conclusion Conservative Christian denominations in the US were unprepared for the increasingly liberal atmosphere of American society. They therefore harshly criticized everything that was associated with it, particularly homosexuality. For Christian fundamentalists, homosexuals were â€Å"immoral† because they do not comply with the Judeo-Christian principle of sexual relations as a means of procreation. Such a way of thinking eventually spawned all forms of harassment against homosexuals, such as damaging and baseless myths, deceptive statistics and laws that hinder the enactment of gay civil rights. It would be impossible for the US to claim that it is a Christianity-based democracy when homophobia is rampant in its turf. Homophobia can be eliminated from the country by educating people regarding the myths and the facts surrounding homosexuality. Stiffer penalties for and stricter implementation of laws against hate crimes would also help. As long as people are discriminated upon for any reason other than involvement in criminal activity, there can be no such thing as a free or just society.