Wednesday, August 26, 2020

The Once and Future King by T. H. White | Symbolism

The Once and Future King by T. H. White | Symbolism The significance of imagery in writing ought not be underemphasized on the grounds that it connects the solid regular encounters of our lives with increasingly noteworthy translations the writer applies to those encounters. Images are a significant component in how writing works.(Oldham) Symbolism is utilized by T. H. White all through The Once and Future King, and every one of the images utilized improves and adds profundity to the story. The Questing Beast is in excess of a beast; it speaks to good for nothing quests.(Ogden-Korus) The blade is in excess of a weapon; it is an image for all that is respectable and bold in Arthurian legend.(Lozon) The Round Table isn't just a household item that King Arthur decided to put in his mansion; it is an image speaking to the standards of knighthood and Arthurs authority style.(Lupack) The Holy Grail isn't just a sought after fortune; it speaks to a guarantee of another beginning.(Howard) Symbolism in The Once and Future King is significant d ue to the improved profundity and importance it provides for the story as can be found in the Questing Beast, the blade, the Round Table, and the Holy Grail. Imagery is regularly hard to decipher in writing since images can have complex implications which go past their strict or a solitary importance. In truth, the most expressive images in writing do speak to a scope of implications. This regularly confounds and baffles perusers and results in them neglecting to value the full importance and profundity of an artistic work.(Ricouer) For instance, a banner can be significantly more than an image speaking to a specific nation. For some individuals, a banner can represent unique thoughts regarding the beliefs of what that nation speaks to them.(Ohio University) When the unpredictable implications of the images in The Once and Future King are found, another degree of comprehension is picked up by the peruser. It becomes clear that not exclusively is the anecdote about the Arthurian legend, it is about the soul and beliefs that are spoken to by that legend. The Questing Beast is a notable image of Arthurian legend.(Batt) As suggested by its name, its capacity is to be the object of missions. This brute, with an immense woofing commotion originating from its stomach, is frequently portrayed as having a panthers body, a snakes head, a lions rump, and a deers feet. In The Once and Future King, T. H. White uses this misconstrued animal to clarify Pellinores journey for the monster and to represent that there is actually no rhyme or reason for Pellinore to spend an enormous piece of his life in this mission. Pellinore holds no genuine individual displeasure against the monster, and seeks after him simply because everybody in his family has consistently done as such. Pellinores long hunt represents all the silly noble interests energized by valor ungrounded in the conviction may makes right. The improbable body parts which structure this mammoth represent the bedlam of those pursuits.(Ogden-Korus) When the peruser comprehends the imagery in t he Questing Beast, another importance and profundity is given to the story. The existence portrayed by the knights and, thusly, numerous missions looked for by individuals are regularly unbeneficial tries with no genuine reason. While the imagery in the Questing Beast speaks to unproductiveness, the imagery in the blade is vastly different. The mysterious blade of King Arthur is a weapon of extraordinary physical and supernatural powers, and is one of the most well known things related with Arthurian legend. It, be that as it may, is in excess of a weapon. In the blade is represented everything that is respectable and valiant on the planet. It is an image of solidarity, pride, power, and the position one man can order to bring a whole country under his rule.(Lozon) Such blades are made with the goal that lone a couple or one explicit individual can utilize them adequately in light of the fact that they are an image of celestial sovereignty. In T. H. Whites The once and Future King, the words engraved on the blade are Whoso Pulleth Out This Sword of this Stone and Anvil, is Rightwise King Born of All England.(p. 197) Arthurs capacity to pull the blade from the stone demonstrates his value as a pioneer and his acknowledgment of all the duty that such administration entails.(Lai) The blade is actually a test used to recognize external physical quality from an internal ethical quality, and just the commendable forces that quality.(Lai) Understanding the imagery of the blade in The Once and Future King offers profundity what exactly are the genuine characteristics of intensity and authority on the planet and the obligations that go with that initiative. Similarly, the genuine characteristics of intensity and authority are additionally represented in The Once and Future King by the Round Table. In the story, the table isn't simply the physical article around which Arthur and his knights sit, it is the physical portrayal of the fairness among them. Its round shape represents decency and equity for all. At the point when situated around the table, nobody could guarantee more significance than another. (Lupack) The extraordinary feeling of uniformity portrayed by the Round Table can be found in Robert Waces sonnet, Le Roman de Brut. Arthur formed the Round Table Of which numerous stories are told There sit his knights, Every one equivalent to the following: They sit similarly at the Table What's more, are similarly served. None of them can gloat That he sits in front of the following. None has a supported position, Furthermore, none is excluded.(9751-60) A comprehension of the feeling of equity represented by the Round Table empowers the peruser to understand the significance looking like the table. Further represented looking like the table is the whole request of knighthood and the code of gallantry to which the knights submitted themselves in their lives and in the interests they followed. This code of reasonableness was communicated by numerous qualities including politeness, respect, and loyalty.(Lupack) Each of these attributes pressure the significance of driving a good and equitable life. Through a comprehension of the imagery in the Round Table, the peruser increases a more profound thankfulness for the significance of right makes right and the need of uniformity throughout everyday life and its journeys. Despite ones missions throughout everyday life, the point of each is to get a fortune. In The Once and Future King, a significant fortune looked for is the Holy Grail. Perusing the story without understanding the representative importance of the Holy Grail persuades that it is just a cup. Understanding the imagery, in any case, prompts an a lot further energy about the importance of this fortune: its guarantee for a fresh start throughout everyday life. The difficulties engaged with acquiring that guarantee are reflected in the level of trouble it takes to accomplish it. A great many people would like to stick to the natural, regardless of how unacceptable it might be, as opposed to confront the new. The longing and the capacity to take a stab at change recognizes the saint from the remainder of humankind. (Howard) Looking at the representative significance of the Holy Grail gives the peruser a superior comprehension of everything that could possibly be accomplished through the journ eys in ones life. Taking everything into account, despite the fact that it is frequently hard to decipher imagery in writing, it is essential to do as such in The Once and Future King as a result of the upgraded profundity and importance the peruser can pick up from the story. From the Questing Beast, the peruser discovers that may doesn't really make right. The characteristics of noteworthy and valiant pioneers can be found in the blade. The Round Table backings the perfect that privilege does implies right. At last, the imagery in the Holy Grail reveals another importance to the journeys that one endeavors throughout everyday life. In fact, imagery in writing ought not be viewed as baffling. Rather, it ought to be seen as energizing since it opens ways to extra perusing, rehashing, and conversation. This, thus, gives a further understanding and importance to writing. Imagery, through the numerous layers of importance it passes on, gives writing its profound and enduring characteristics.

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Strategic Marketing Management Agency Organization

Question: Depict about the Strategic Marketing Management for Agency Organization. Answer: Presentation: The current research study depends on the vital administration of an association. The association that has been picked in this examination for the investigation reason in an Australian based travel office association, The Flight Center Limited. The statistical surveying for this specific association has been finished by the market circumstance of the organization in Australia. The statistical surveying examination for the organization has been finished with the assistance of the PESTLE Analysis, Porters five Forces investigation, SWOT Analysis and Market division investigation. The association has been quickly portrayed in this investigation to give data with respect to the organization. The contenders and the vital situating of the organization have been recognized in this investigation. The pestle examination would be done to recognize the outer powers that are influencing the matter of the association and the SWOT Analysis has been done to show the qualities, shortcoming and other inside elements of The Flight Center Limited. The potential open doors for the market development have been talked about in the examination to show the extent of extension for the organization. Business portrayal: This The Flight Center restricted is a movement office association of the Australia .The organization has its home office arranged at Brisbane, Australia. The different administrations, for example, the movement and the movement related administrations including the flight administrations, travels, inns, rail passes, visas, voyagers mentor, vehicle recruits and others. The Flight Center Limited offers its types of assistance for both business reason voyagers and the recreation explorers .The Company works its administrations in the nations of Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, China, India, Singapore, Dubai, United Kingdom, United States and others. The Flight Center Limited won the Best travel organization bunch grants from the AFTA National Travel Industry Awards in the year 2009 (Flight Center Limited , 2016). The organization began in the year 1980s just with a solitary shop in Australia. From that point forward Company has actualized numerous procedures for its development and furthermore has encountered an astounding development during the time of its extension. Presently the organization has happened to about $1.8 billion organizations that comprises of in excess of 40 brands. This organization is one of the most biggest office of the world and has its Company claimed offices that works in about in excess of 14 nations worldwide and in excess of 90 nations the organization has its movement corporate travel the board arrange. The Flight Center Limited comprehensively has around 2800 business and utilizes around 19,000 individuals (Flight Center Limited, 2016). PESTLE Analysis: The pestle examination of The Flight Center Limited should be possible as follows: P Political 1. The standards and assessments of the Australia could impact the movement office of the nation as the guidelines set for the business should be followed. 2. The political shakiness of the nation could likewise be an outside factor influencing the business as the organization might be upheld to change the aeronautics course or the operational structure of the business. 3. The political decision factor would straightforwardly influence the business it would influence the assessments and the just arrangement of the nation. 4. The political elements of different nations where the business works of the nation would likewise influence the business. E Affordable 1. The swelling pace of the Australia is around 1.7%, the most elevated expansion rate ever in Australia. This higher pace of swelling isn't positive on the grounds that with the cost high of different elements the organization would need to cost for its other purchaser benefits as well. 2. The Flight Center Limited is organization that has extended well and needs to grow more. Along these lines, the monetary development of the Australia will play a significant in helping the association to grow itself. S Social 1. The way of life of the nation individuals has an incredible effect on this sort of industry. 2. The salary of the individuals of the Australia impacts the clients for The Flight Center Limited as the pay is factor on which depends the visit arranging of the individuals. 3. The media see the individuals of the one nation the sights of the other and in this way it empowers the individuals to visit different nations and travel. T Mechanical 1. The use of significant level innovation would be of incredible assistance for the business to progress in its development. 2. The RD encourages the Company to research and think about the diverse market openings however it requests for extra cost for the organization. 3. The use of web for making individuals mindful of the organization, special purposes and online appointments favorable circumstances helps the organization in lessening the issue. L Legitimate 1. The global laws of different nations influences the tasks of a movement organization as these laws are extremely severe and the organization must needs to tail it as it doesn't has any desire to lose any advantage that is being given to it. 2. The universal of one nation to different should be trailed by these sorts of organizations. 3. On the off chance that there any adjustment in the exchange connection between the Australia and the whatever other nation where the nation works, it would straightforwardly influence the organization business. E Ecological 1. The ecological guidelines influences these organizations. 2. The natural issues would build the wellbeing and security picture of The Flight Center Limited inside the individuals. Watchmen five Forces investigation Figure 1: Porters five powers (Source: As made by the creator) Bartering Power of Suppliers 1. The quantity of substitute sources of info is high in such ventures. 2. The cost required for the exchanging of the providers is low. 3. There is significant level rivalry among the providers of the Flight Center Limited. Danger of New Entrants 1. The capital necessity for the new contestants are exceptionally high. 2. Less odds of new contestants. Dealing Power of Customer 1. The voyaging offices are less and the quantity of clients is exceptionally high. 2. The clients have a restricted arrangement of alternative and need to browse there in particular. 3.The clients need to rely upon the merchants. Danger of Substitute Products 1. Flight Center Limited is the biggest and the most confided in movement organization of Australia in this manner, individuals lean toward it. 2. Not many of the other greater offices may go about as a substitute to the Company. Serious Rivalry 1. Flight Center Limited is one of the biggest firm in this manner, it faces less rivalry. 2. The business development rate is quick. 3. There are odds of significant level rivalry between a portion of the current travel offices. ID and the investigation of the contenders: The serious situations of The Flight Center Limited are as: Competition: Among such enterprises, the contention is high because of the expansion in the interest for the voyaging offices. With the raise in the interest of the travel industry, there is a rise of different travel organizations who offer various bundles at rebate rates. The business depends on a monopolistic sort of rivalry, where item separation is kept up so as to raise the interest of the items being offered (Hollensen, 2015). Purchasers: The level of the intensity of the purchasers of the organization is low as they need to pick and settle from the given choices from the organization. Cost of Entry: The cost section in such sort of movement office industry is moderately high and accordingly the organization entering this industry need to have an exceptionally high capital. Decent variety: The making a trip businesses need to help and give a domain which is liberated from any sort of separation. This broadened workforce of the organization would help both the representatives and the clients (Medlik, 2012). SWOT Analysis: S Quality This is one of the most biggest working travel organization of the nation in this manner, the organization as of now has extended well and overseeing of such a huge business profile without breaking a sweat demonstrates that the organization has a powerful administration framework. The organization likewise has a positive brand name and this additionally goes about as a Companys quality as it empower the overall population to have certainty and trust on the organization. W Shortcoming The main shortcoming of The Flight Center Limited is that because of the log jam in the economy of the business, the organization needs to confront extraordinary separate in the quantity of the clients who make a trip starting with one spot then onto the next. O Openings The expansion in the swelling rate is a demonstrate that the salary of the general individuals of the Australia is anyway expanding. The organization additionally has odds of growing itself with the assistance of the client audit of their administrations. T Dangers Aside from The Flight Center Limited, there are numerous other voyaging organizations in Australia; the primary danger of the organization is from other voyaging offices. Vital Evaluation and key engaging quality: The organization has extended well and overseeing of such an enormous business profile without hardly lifting a finger demonstrates that the organization has a compelling administration framework. The organization additionally has a positive brand name and this likewise goes about as a Companys quality as it empower the overall population to have certainty and trust on the organization. This has been one the purpose behind the allure of this movement office, Flight Center Limited by the overall population. Market division examination and showcasing openings The market division is the division of the market that is being dissected for the Flight Center Limited agreeing various elements that influence the market. The market division for the Flight Center Limited should be possible as follows: Geological factor: The land factor importantly affects the voyaging agen

Monday, August 17, 2020

Depression Symptoms, Reasons, Self-Test, Therapy

Depression Symptoms, Reasons, Self-Test, Therapy Depression is a condition which starts by causing mood disorders and changes in your thinking, feeling and your generally functioning. It then proceeds to cause feelings of helplessness, hopelessness and even worthlessness.This is the point at which you are diagnosed with depression as you lose touch with much of life. You start imagining an impending doom even though there are no threats.Typically, everyone feels depressed at one point in time but they may not necessarily be diagnosed with depression. If it’s really bad, they may suffer from anxiety. If the anxiety is however left unchecked, it can lead to depression. Though closely related, anxiety and depression have some differences.The 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) indicates that in 2015, 16.2 million American adults had experienced at least one major depressive episode. Women were also at higher risk (8.5%) of experiencing an episode as compared to men (4.8%).According to WHO, more than 300 million peopl e globally suffer from depression. It is also the leading cause of disability worldwide.In some cases, depression can be an extreme result of untreated and worsening stress. In such a case, the stress will lead to anxiety and eventually depression. Still, some people experience depression without going through stress or anxiety.SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSIONAs with any other condition, depression has symptoms by which it can be detected.Some of these symptoms are the same as those of anxiety due to the close relation between the two conditions.These symptoms are:Feelings of helplessness and hopelessnessThis is very characteristic of depression as it signifies that you have come to the end of yourself. You either feel like giving up or you simply give up.You look at the situations you are in and can only see them from a negative perspective. You are convinced that things are so wrong that they cannot change. More than that, you believe that there is nothing you can do to make things better.Y ou then give up and start having suicidal thoughts. These may escalate to actual attempts to commit suicide.If you have had suicidal thoughts or have attempted suicide, you need to know that the situation you are in is not beyond improvement. Things can definitely get better. To stop experiencing these thoughts, get help by calling 1-800-273-8255 or seek help from here.Loss of interest in daily activitiesOne of the visibly evident symptoms of depression is the loss of interest in the activities which previously brought you joy. This is referred to as anhedonia.Every human being has certain likes and desires to enjoy time with friends and family as part of bonding. For you however, this is not the case.From the hobbies you had to any activity you may be invited to participate in, nothing stirs up your interest. At the same time, you no longer care about any pastimes like swimming, reading or even watching TV.Related to the loss of interest is the reduced ability to feel pleasure. If you engaged in an activity you previously enjoyed, you may still be unable to derive any pleasure from it. This includes partying, listening to music and even having sex.To manage this, it is important that you continue with your regular activities. You can reduce the number of activities but don’t stop them altogether. Also, stay open to support from friends, family and online communities.Changes in appetite and weightDepression also affects your appetite levels. This can go either way. You may experience increased appetite and go on a binge while eating foods which are unhealthy. On the other hand, your appetite levels may decrease and you start skipping meals.As a result, you will end up with either an increase or decrease in weight. Since you will be feeling an inability to control this, more feelings of helplessness may develop. Your overall health will also be negatively impacted.For example, an increase in food intake can lead to bigger health problems. One of the things yo u may be doing at this point is emotional eating. This can happen almost naturally, as you reach for some food to make yourself feel better.Since you will most likely not be cooking, you will just reach for some junk food. But did you know that eating junk food can lead to depression? When having depression and eating junk food, not only are you destroying your health but also feeding your depression.Self-loathingThis is a big telltale sign of depression, especially at an advanced stage. You begin hating yourself for something that you may have done which you feel was wrong. Although normal responses to wrongdoing are acknowledging the wrong, apologizing then moving on, this doesn’t work for you.Instead of following through this process to the end where there is self-forgiveness, you only go as far as acknowledging the wrong you did. Your view of the wrong is magnified and although you may not know it, you blow it out of proportion.You end up only seeing how wrong you are and how big the wrong is. Being a normal person, you will obviously make other mistakes. And since you never moved on past the previous one, you will end up labeling yourself a failure.You feel immense guilt and start telling yourself that you make more mistakes than everyone else. You harshly criticize yourself and ignore any forgiveness you have received from the people you wronged. You do not believe that they forgave you because you think that your mistake was too big to be forgiven.This leads you to think that you are not as good as others. You focus on the good and success of others while only seeing your failures. Eventually, you end up with feelings of worthlessness.If you have gotten to this point, a good way of dealing with those feelings is to say to yourself that you are worth it. You are important.You have something to offer to the world. Whether it makes sense or not, tell yourself, repeatedly, that you are important and try your best to believe it.“Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” Napoleon Hill.Here is a video to help you fight off those feelings of worthlessness. Speaking creates your reality. If you consistently tell yourself that you are important, you will gradually develop the strength to act accordingly. And this will help you lessen the bad situation.Feelings of worthlessness make you isolate yourself and think that you are of no value. This opens the way for suicidal thoughts to flourish.Changes in sleepWhen experiencing depression, one of the common symptoms you will have is changes in your sleep patterns. Whereas normally you would have stayed awake during the day then sleep at night, this routine changes. Or the sleep duration changes.Depression can cause various changes in your sleep. It may be that you will completely lack sleep or sleep but be unable to do so for long enough for your body to recharge. Though insomnia can also be experienced at lower or even normal levels of stress, it becomes worse wh en depression is the underlying factor.Another sleep problem is oversleeping. This is just as bad as having little or no sleep. It directs your mind to operate in an unusual pattern. Instead of waking up in the morning and going to work or doing your home chores, you oversleep and by the time you wake up, you’re already tired.Still, sleep changes can occur in a different manner. You may go to bed in good time and plan to wake up at a certain time. Nevertheless, you will wake up earlier than you expected. You may lose all your sleep at 3:00 am and be unable to get back to sleep. This is known as early-morning wakefulness.Do not think that as the name suggests, you will be waking up early thus become more productive. You will actually be very unproductive. The first reason is that you never had enough sleep. Secondly, you woke up early as a result of depression, not because you are pursuing the completion of a project.Anger or irritabilityAnger is an emotion that is part of the huma n body. As such, it must be expressed whenever it arises. As normal as getting angry is, it is quite different if you have depression.Depression makes you irritable. You become short-tempered and can easily get angry. At the slightest provocation, you can burst out in anger.This is even in situations where there really is no validity in your over-reaction. To you however, you are not over-reacting but just responding accordingly.At the same time, irritability makes you prone to violence. With every outburst of anger, you move closer to making violence your normal response to situations which do not please you. This deteriorates without much of your knowing. It is only those around you that may notice the worsening.Another sign of irritability during depression is restlessness. You simply lack the ability to be patient, whether with people or when in situations beyond your control. You cannot relax or stay calm either while waiting for something or just to allow yourself some rest.Lo ss of energyAs someone experiencing depression, you will often find that you do not have enough energy to undertake tasks you used to normally do well. If you were taking twenty minutes to complete a task, the same may now be taking you one hour.Your easily become exhausted even without doing a lot of physically-intensive work. You feel physically drained and quickly run out of the energy required to perform important duties.You will also be sluggish in your work. Whether at your place of work or at home, you become unable to carry out tasks with speed. You may know that you have a deadline but still, be unable to bring yourself to work as fast as needed.Engaging in escapist behaviorsHaving recognized your wrongdoings and isolated yourself, you will naturally seek ways of relieving yourself of the thoughts you have. This is because feelings of worthlessness and suicidal thoughts are oppressive in nature.Your body is made to naturally protect you from harm. So when these thoughts ove rwhelm your mind, you will look for an outlet to release them so that you can feel good about yourself.The easiest and quickest route you may take is that of substance abuse. You will likely start by abusing social drugs. Though you may have a temporary relief, you risk addiction and other health problems.Other escapist behaviors include compulsive gambling. You do not just gamble to get rich but gamble just to take your mind away from the thoughts troubling you.Gambling can be attractive because it makes you feel good when you win. Unfortunately, the wins are not always guaranteed and by gambling, you just increase your depression levels. With some casinos operating round the clock, you may lose track of time and spend days gambling without going home.Betting is also a common form of gambling. This gives the impression of convenience with options available for betting through your mobile phone. Betting companies have gone mobile to enable people bet from virtually anywhere.The prob lem with these escapist behaviors is that you do not feel like you have anything to lose. You can easily put in all your life savings on the bet hoping to win big. You either fail to realize or you disregard the fact that betting firms and bookies are businesses. As such, they ensure they make profit.You lack concentrationFor you to be productive and effective in what you’re doing, it is important to concentrate. This is however a problem when suffering from depression. Despite knowing the importance and even making efforts, you are not able to concentrate.This makes you produce mediocre work. As a result, you set yourself up for feelings of failure. If in employment, your colleagues or boss will definitely complain about the quality of your work. If in business, customers will express dissatisfaction with what you do.This creates some pressure on you to perform better. Your stress levels increase but you are still unable to work things out. Comparison against others will be inevi table, especially when the complaints continue.You may be given compulsory leave at work or forced to shut down your business since you are no longer making any profit.Making decisions is also a big challenge for victims of depression. This is closely tied to the inability to focus. You may have a small issue to deal with but are unable to focus on the real problem.If the problem arose some time back, then you may have challenges remembering the details of the situation. This is because memory loss is also one of the problems that accompany depression.Not understanding the situation, you fear making the wrong decision and end up making no decision at all.The below video explains how depression leads to indecisiveness and how you can handle the situation. Unexplained aches and painsDepression does not only affect your mind but also your body. In any case, doesn’t your mind control the whole of your body? A problem in your mind can cause many other problems all over your body.Depres sion leads to sudden and unexplained body aches, the most common being headaches. You may easily dismiss this to be a symptom of stress but soon realize that it’s not going away. The headache may also not be treatable using regular over-the-counter medication.Back pains are also common as well as muscle pains.You may also experience stomach pains. If you are a woman, you may mistake these to be menstrual cramps, especially if it happens around the time of your menstrual period. These pains are however quite consistent and may be on and off.CAUSES OF DEPRESSIONDepression, like any other condition, has its causes. Rarely will it have only one cause. In most cases, it will be a combination of factors that have worked together to give birth to it.At the same time, these causes can be easily addressed if the symptoms discussed above are identified and addressed early. This will stop the initially-small problem from degenerating and getting out of hand.Depression can be caused by:Life e ventsLife has its ups and downs and everyone goes through them. But people respond to the challenges in life differently. Some are able to cope better than others, thus come out of challenging times better or unscathed.Others unfortunately come out wounded while still, others get stuck in those bad times. This can happen especially psychologically when the event is no more but you are still ruminating about it. You are unable to move on from the effects of what happened. This is how many people get into depression.Something may have happened, shaking you at a personal level. For example, the death of a loved one causes grief. If the grief does not end, it may lead to depression. Or you may have escaped death by a whisker. The memory of such an event haunts you and makes you fearful that it may happen again.Bereavement-related depression can make you feel that there is no need to live if the dead person is no longer alive. You may become preoccupied with thoughts of what you had plan ned to achieve together.If it was your only child, you may have invested a lot of emotions into your relationship with him. You held all his dreams and ambitions dearly and he was a part of your life. His death seems to take away a part of you leading to a sense of emptiness and hopelessness.All the same, bereavement-related depression can be managed, especially if recognized early. Counseling services can be sought while family and friends give support.Another life-related cause of depression is the lack of jobs. You may have great academic qualifications, have sought employment in many companies and gone for numerous interviews. While thinking that you passed the interview, you may be told that you didn’t.Or you simply don’t hear from the interviewers.You may conclude that you will not make much out of yourself due to joblessness. You may get discouraged and believe that you cannot own a home or start a family because you don’t have an income.There are things you can do to a lleviate depression as a result of unsuccessful job searches. For example, you can do volunteer work. This helps you sharpen your skills while networking with people. You never know where your job opportunity will come from.Childhood experiencesThe source of depression in some cases can be traced to childhood experiences. Children are very sensitive and can pick up negative aspects of life quite easily. This is because their minds are developing at a fast rate.For example, your parents’ divorce could have affected you. Though you never understood everything about it, you suddenly realized you no longer had both of your parents. In case there was shared custody, having to wait till the weekend to see your other parent may have had devastating effects on you.You may also have gone through neglect or abuse as a child. Any form of abuse always makes it difficult to move on with life unless properly dealt with. If there was abuse in your home, it may have taken a long time to stop. If the abuse stopped but there was no counseling, then you never got healed.Wounds from abuseâ€"physical, psychological or emotionalâ€"take time to heal. When you face anything similar to the abuse, the memories come back and apart from the haunting, fear also comes upon you with the possibility of crippling you beyond any action. You may want to isolate yourself in an effort to keep yourself safe from the perceived danger.Another cause of depression related to your childhood is the failure to keep up with your peers. This may have come in the form of your inability to read as well as your friends or matching up to their skills in sports.You may have been gifted differently thus unable to express yourself in the same ways as your peers. If this was not made known to you as a child, then you may have concluded that you were not good enough. Yet, it is only that you are unique.This opens the way for depression by downgrading your sense of self-worth, thus affecting your self-esteem. As i t may have happened, you most likely tried engaging in popular sports later on but never made an impact. You may even have suffered humiliation and decided never to try any sport.Such experiences can seem to have gone away until triggered later in life by a similar situation. This is a sure trigger for depression.GeneticsDepression is believed to be caused by both genetic and environmental factors. Of these two, genes is the cause in up to 40% of the cases with the environment being the culprit in the remaining 60%. More than that, you have up to three times more likelihood of experiencing depression if either your parents or siblings have the condition.This means that almost half of those with depression could have had it as a result of a genetic link.Looking at the symptoms of depression discussed above, you will easily manifest anger and irritability if one or both of your parents are irritable. Some pains and aches like chronic headaches and migraines can be hereditary. This add s more weight to the gene factor as a cause of depression.Physical health problemsYour physical health can also contribute to your chances of developing depression. This is mainly because of the stress involved in managing some health conditions. It may simply be overwhelming for you to keep up with all the dosages and requirements for managing those conditions.This can especially be the case if you rarely get sick. When you suddenly become unwell, you have trouble keeping up with the lifestyle change.It may be a disease that takes a long time to treat or a condition that you have after being involved in an accident. For example, you may have to use a wheelchair after a road crash that left you paralyzed from the waist downwards.Apart from the treatments involved and probably several surgeries, this can have a massive dent on your moods and ability to enjoy life as you once did. You will not be able to participate in many social activities or go out as often as preferred.Your privac y will also be interfered with because you need assistance in changing clothes and even bathing. Such occurrences can have a lasting impact on your mental health and lead to depression.Hypoglycemia can also lead to depression. The low blood sugar levels act as a trigger for depressive episodes. If you are already predisposed to depression e.g. through genetic links, this becomes an even bigger risk factor.Other mental health problemsMental health problems have a direct link to depression. This is largely due to the stress that comes with coping with them.For example, if you have anxiety, you will most likely experience depression. Or episodes of it.The line between anxiety and depression can be very blurred, especially if you are either mildly depressed or experiencing high levels of anxiety. For example, extreme anxiety can make you nervous, causing you to think that you’re about to make a mistake.Seeking to do a perfect job, you become stressed and prone to having a panic attack . You become fearful that you are not in control. If this situation recurs many times and you don’t develop coping skills, you will end up depressed.Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can also cause depression. 70% of all Americans have experienced a traumatic event in their lives. From these, up to 20% develop PTSD.Examples of traumatic events include being violently attacked, involved in a car crash, kidnapped, raped or sexually abused, witnessed extreme violence or any other situation which causes you to fear for your life.If you have had such experiences, then your likelihood of developing depression is high. A quick way of reducing these chances is by getting away from the environment in which the traumatic event happened.Other disordersThere are other disorders which could lead to depression. Some of them cause depression due to high levels of stress generated. Others however, especially those that are mood disorders, lead to depression as a result of worsening or untreat ed conditions.One such disorder is Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD). This is mainly experienced by children and adolescents and the main characteristic is irritability. This irritability is persistent and outbursts of anger are common. Their tempers flare quickly and their reactions are usually more severe compared to how their peers would react if in the same situation.Another disorder is the Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD), which is a severe extension of the Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS). The symptoms include extreme sadness, irritability, extreme mood shifts and feelings of hopelessness. These symptoms normally resolve once menstruation starts.PMDD can make you believe that you cannot control yourself or your body. This causes feelings of helplessness. On the other hand, some symptoms like irritability can damage your relationships. This can leave you feeling hopeless and believe that you will never build any friendships or even a family.Cyclothymia (cyclothymic disorder) is a mood disorder characterized by emotional ups and downs. It is classified as a type of bipolar disorder whose mood shifts are less severe than those of Bipolar I and II disorders. The highs (hypomanic symptoms) can include feelings of euphoria and an increased drive to achieve goals.The lows (depressive episodes) include feelings of hopelessness, sudden weight loss or gain, fatigue, restlessness and suicidal thoughts.SELF-TESTIt is easy to determine whether you have depression or not. Having been a subject of much research and study, the symptoms have been used to help people diagnose themselves. This also helps you know what exactly you are dealing with, helping you better explain your condition to your doctor.To confirm whether your symptoms indicate depression, you can take this simple online test. It is short and will quickly give you the results and tell you where you stand on the scale of depression.There is an alternative test here which is a bit more detailed. After taking the test, you will be provided with a snapshot report with a summary evaluation. You can optionally purchase the full results for $ 4.95.THERAPYHave you taken the test and ascertained that you have depression?Fear not. No matter the level of depression you are at, it is not the end of life. Depression is treatable and so it is advisable that you immediately seek professional medical help. You will be able to start a treatment program and get more out of life. Watch the below video for some encouragement. As you talk to your doctor about your condition, he will diagnose you and tell you which treatment is best for your specific case.The different types of therapy can be divided into three categories. These are medical, psychological and alternative therapy. These are discussed below.MedicalDrugs used to treat depression are called antidepressants and many different types are available. You however should discuss with your doctor the possible side effects to ensure using the best option. Common antidepressants include:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) â€" these are usually the first medication prescribed by doctors as they have fewer major side effects when compared to others.Serotonin-norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors (SNRIs) â€" these have various uses apart from being used for depression. They are also taken for anxiety, obsessive compulsory disorder, menopausal symptoms etc.Tricyclic antidepressants â€" these are powerful and normally very effective in tackling depression. The only downside of using them is that they cause severe side effects. They can only be prescribed after SSRIs have been confirmed to provide no relief.Other medications â€" your doctor may prescribe other medication to help make the antidepressants more effective. Such medication may include mood stabilizers and antipsychotics.PsychotherapyThis involves talking with a mental health professional and is often referred to as “talking therapy”. In most cases, psychotherapy will be recommended as treatment to be taken alongside medication. This is because it helps you remain well after recovery from depression.There are various psychotherapy options from which your psychotherapist will choose the best for you. Some of them are:Cognitive behavior therapy â€" this option is centered on helping you change your outlook of life. Since depression typically makes you think negatively, CBT helps you develop a habit of positive thinking.Interpersonal psychotherapy â€" this treatment is based on the assumption that depression and interpersonal challenges are related. This is because most of the depression cases can be traced to aspects of your social life at work or in relationships. Therefore, once you are able to recognize the connection between your relationships and your vulnerabilities, e.g. weaknesses due to your personality, then you’re better able to cope with life challenges.Positive psychology â€" this will focus on the conditions that lead to an optimal functioning and a happy life. This will mainly be through engaging in activities which help you improve your well-being. One of the biggest things you learn from this is letting go of anger and resentment.Self-help and alternative therapyAt times, you may not be able to seek medical attention immediately. The good news is that it is possible to still start therapy on your own.Some of the therapy options available are exercising, taking foods rich in omega-3, taking St. John’s Wort and other depression-relieving supplements.It is important to note that any kind of medication taken should be done after consultations with your doctor about the side effects. Alternatively, do a thorough research online but note that seeing a doctor remains the best option since he can carry out tests to determine what your body may or may not react to.Ensure you know how the medication you’re taking will interact with your body in case you’re taking other medication. Also note that you should not abruptly stop taking the medication.CONCLUSIONDepression can affect your life negatively if not dealt with. The most comforting thing to know is that it is treatable.Do not be discouraged or allow yourself to go on a downward spiral. Talk to your doctor.Also reach out for support from your family and friends.

Sunday, May 24, 2020

Why Did the US Enter the Vietnam War

The US entered the Vietnam War in an attempt to prevent the spread of communism, but foreign policy, economic interests, national fears, and geopolitical strategies also played major roles. Learn why a country which had been barely known to most Americans came to define an era. Key Takeaways: U.S. Involvement in Vietnam The Domino Theory held that communism would spread if Vietnam became communist.Anti-communist sentiment at home influenced foreign policy views.The Gulf of Tonkin incident appeared to be a provocation for war.As war continued, desire to find an honorable peace was motivation to keep troops in Vietnam. The Domino Theory The American foreign policy establishment tended to view the situation in Southeast Asia in terms of the Domino Theory beginning in the mid-1950s. The basic principle was that if French Indochina (Vietnam was still a French colony) fell to the communist insurgency which had been battling the French, the expansion of communism throughout Asia would be likely to continue unchecked. Taken to its extreme, other nations throughout Asia would become satellites of either the Soviet Union or Communist China, much like nations in Eastern Europe had come under Soviet domination. President Dwight Eisenhower invoked the Domino Theory in a press conference held in Washington on April 7, 1954. His reference to Southeast Asia becoming communist was major news the following day. The New York Times headlined a page one story about his press conference, â€Å"President Warns of Chain Disaster if Indo-China Goes.† Given Eisenhower’s credibility on military matters, his prominent endorsement of the Domino Theory placed it at the forefront of how many Americans for years would view the unfolding situation in Southeast Asia. Political Reasons: Anti-Communist Fervor On the home front, beginning in 1949, fear of domestic communists gripped America. The country spent much of the 1950s under the influence of a Red Scare, led by the virulently anti-communist Senator Joseph McCarthy. McCarthy saw communists everywhere in America  and encouraged an atmosphere of hysteria and distrust. Photo of Senator Joseph McCarthy. The McCarthy Era was marked by dramatic accusations that communists had infiltrated the highest levels of American society as part of a global conspiracy. Getty Images Internationally, following World War II, country after country in Eastern Europe had fallen under communist rule, as had China, and the trend was spreading to other nations in  Latin America, Africa, and Asia as well. The US felt that it was losing the ​Cold War, and needed to contain communism. It was against this backdrop, then, that the first military advisers were sent to help the French battle the communists of Northern Vietnam in 1950. (That same year the  Korean War  began, pitting Communist North Korean and Chinese forces against the U.S. and its UN allies.) French Indochina War The French were fighting in  Vietnam  to maintain their colonial power and to regain their national pride after the humiliation of  World War II. The United States government had an interest in the conflict in Indochina from the end of World War II until the mid-1950s, when France found itself fighting against a communist insurgency led by Ho Chi Minh. Throughout the early 1950s, the Viet Minh forces made significant gains. In May 1954, the French suffered a military defeat at Dien Bien Phu and negotiations began to end the conflict. Following the French withdrawal from Indochina, the solution put in place established a communist government in North Vietnam and a democratic government in South Vietnam. The Americans started supporting the South Vietnamese with political and military advisors in the late 1950s. Military Assistance Command Vietnam The Kennedy foreign policy was rooted, of course, in the Cold War. And the increase of American advisers reflected Kennedy’s rhetoric of standing up to communism wherever it might be found. Nguyyan Dinh Thuan, Chief Cabinet Minister to President Ngo Dinh Diem of South Vietnam, confers with President Kennedy in his White House office today. Thuan delivered a letter from President Ngo Dinh Diem dealing with the Communist threat to his country. Bettmann Archive / Getty Images On February 8, 1962, the Kennedy administration formed the Military Assistance Command Vietnam, a military operation intended to accelerate the program of giving military aid to the South Vietnamese government. As 1963 progressed, the issue of Vietnam became more prominent in America. The role of American advisers increased and by late 1963 there were more than 16,000 Americans on the ground advising South Vietnamese troops. The Gulf of Tonkin Incident Following Kennedy’s death, the administration of Lyndon Johnson continued the same general policies of putting American advisers in the field beside South Vietnamese troops. But things changed with an incident in the summer of 1964. American naval forces in the Gulf of Tonkin, on the coast of Vietnam, reported being fired upon by North Vietnamese gunboats. There was an exchange of gunfire, though disputes about what exactly happened, and what was reported to the public, have persisted for decades. The U.S.S. Maddox DD-731 was the victim of an unprovoked attack in international waters off Vietnam, the Navy announced in Honolulu 8/1. The attack was made near the Communist Chinese held island of Hainan. Bettmann Archive / Getty Images Whatever happened in the confrontation, the Johnson administration used the incident to justify a military escalation. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was passed by both houses of Congress within days of the naval confrontation. It gave the president broad authority to defend American troops in the region. The Johnson administration began a series of air strikes against targets in North Vietnam. It was assumed by Johnson’s advisers that air attacks alone would cause the North Vietnamese to negotiate an end to armed conflict. That did not happen. Reasons for Escalation In March 1965, President Johnson ordered U.S. Marine battalions to defend the American airbase at Da Nang, Vietnam. It marked the first time combat troops were inserted into the war. The escalation continued throughout 1965, and by the end of that year 200,000 American troops were in Vietnam. In 1966 the troop totals rose again to 400,000. By the end of 1968, American troop totals peaked in Vietnam at 540,000. Throughout the late 1960s the mood in America transformed. The reasons for entering the Vietnam War no longer seemed so vital, especially when weighed against the cost of the war. The anti-war movement mobilized Americans in vast numbers, and protests against the war became commonplace. American Pride During the administration of Richard M. Nixon, the levels of combat troops were reduced from 1969 onward. But there was still considerable support for the war, and Nixon had campaigned in 1968 pledging to bring an honorable end to the war. The sentiment, especially among conservative voices in America, was that the sacrifice of so many killed and wounded in Vietnam would be in vain if America simply withdrew from the war. That attitude was held up to scrutiny in a televised Capitol Hill testimony by a member of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War, future Massachusetts senator, presidential candidate, and secretary of state, John Kerry. On April 22, 1971, speaking of losses in Vietnam, and the desire to remain in the war, Kerry asked, â€Å"How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake.† In the 1972 presidential campaign, Democratic nominee George McGovern campaigned on a platform of withdrawing from Vietnam. McGovern lost in a historic landslide, which seemed, in some part, to be a validation of Nixon’s avoidance of a speedy withdrawal from the war. April 30, 1970, Washington, DC. In a TV speech to the Nation from the White House, President Nixon announced that several thousand American ground troops entered Cambodia to wipe out Communist headquarters for all military operations against South Vietnam. The President is shown here standing before a map of Cambodia. Bettmann Archive / Getty Images After Nixon left office as a result of the Watergate scandal, the administration of Gerald Ford continued to support the government of South Vietnam. However, the forces of the South, without American combat support, could not hold off the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong. The fighting in Vietnam finally ended with the collapse of Saigon in 1975. Few decisions in American foreign policy have been more consequential than the series of events that led the United States to become involved in the Vietnam War. After decades of conflict, more than 2.7 million Americans served in Vietnam and more than 50,000 lost their lives, and still, the reasons why the US entered the Vietnam War to begin with remain controversial. Kallie Szczepanski contributed to this article. Sources Leviero, Anthony. President Warns of Chain Disaster If Indo-China Goes. New York Times, 8 April 1954. p. A1.Transcript of President Eisenhowers Press Conference, With Comment on Indo-China. New York Times, 8 April 1954. p. A18.The Indochina War (1946–54). Vietnam War Reference Library, vol. 3: Almanac, UXL, 2001, pp. 23-35. Gale Virtual Reference Library.

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Sociological Autobiography - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 5 Words: 1611 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2019/03/13 Category Literature Essay Level High school Tags: Autobiography Essay Did you like this example? When we make decisions and experience things, we often describe them as being our own, ours. However, when we think about why we made those decisions and why we experience things we come to realize that we are influenced by society to make decisions for us. There are many external societal factors that influence our beliefs and values which in turn affect how and why we make decisions. My family, friends, and society in general have heavily influenced the way I have lived my life and the person that I am today. I was birthed into this world on January 24, 2002 in the city of San Jose, California, eyes wide open, ready to be shaped and molded into the individual that society wanted me to become. Immediately I was given the ascribed status of a girl. A quick glance was all it took to confirm what then became my gender and that was that. With this social label my parents, in result, treated me according to societys view of how a girl should be treated. This included pink and purple everything, dolls and dollhouses. It wasnt until I got a little older and would play with my cousins that that stereotype began to change. I grew up surrounded by a lot of family mainly because my culture is very family-oriented, but also because my family was so large in number. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Sociological Autobiography" essay for you Create order Most of my first cousins, especially those close to my age, were male. Because many of my cousins who I played with as a child were male, I started to participate in more boy activities. For example, playing in the dirt and mud, playing basketball, and playing video games. I do not recall my parents or family ever saying anything about me participating in these activities however, I do remember an occurrence when I was in kindergarten in art class. The art teacher had assigned us an art project where we were to paint a picture for our dads for Fathers Day. I decided to paint flowers for my dad because at the time he liked to garden and had all kinds of vegetables and flowers growing in our backyard. When I had told the art teacher what I was going to paint she told me to paint something else, like a car. At the time I didnt understand why I couldnt paint flowers for my dad when I knew that he would like it, but that didnt matter because flowers are girly and not meant for boys. This was just the first of my experiences with societys gender roles. I am the youngest and only girl out of three other siblings. However, they are all half-siblings. I have two older brothers from my father and one older brother from my mother. Because of this, and because of the large age gap between my brothers and I, I never experienced that close sibling relationship with them. Being not only the youngest, but also the only girl had a huge influence on who I am today. My dad had only ever had sons, so he, in a way, treated me like another son. He wanted me to play all kinds of sports like my brothers did. I was never an athletic person, and still am not, so I never played any sports that my brothers played like football and baseball. My dad also was rougher with me because he didnt want me to be soft. Because of this I was called a baby or wimp if I cried over little things. My mom however, always defended saying that it was okay for me to cry though her reasoning was because Im a girl and you must be more careful around me because I am not as tough as a boy. Growing up in the Bay Area the community that I was surrounded by was extremely diverse much like here in Sacramento, if not more so. There was a great mix of people from different cultures, religions, and backgrounds. The neighborhood that I grew up in specifically was inhabited mostly by middle class families, my own included. Being around people of the same or similar social class and economic backgrounds caused less discrimination and prejudice toward people when it came to social statuses and salaries. Being raised in this community also encouraged diversity especially in race and ethnicities, so even at a young age, seeing people of different skin colors participating in various cultural practices became a norm. Though I am half African American and half Chamorro, I was raised predominantly by my maternal side of the family. My mother and my mothers side of the family being Pacific Islanders, I grew up with their beliefs, norms, and values solely because that was what I grew up with. As a Pacific Islander, more specifically a Chamorro/Guamanian, our culture is centered around a very social lifestyle. Our culture is also extremely family-oriented and that includes both immediate and extended family members, so as I was raised, family was taught to be one of the most important values in life. Another important value that was taught is storytelling. Passing down stories through generations was taught to be important in order to keep the culture alive. Because Pacific Islanders are not a very common race compared to others based on population sizes, there is often prejudice towards Pacific Islanders since there is such little common knowledge about us. Pacific Islanders as a group are often generalized to all be Hawaiian or the same as Hawaiians when that is not the case. At a young age when people would ask me where I am from and I would tell them that I am from Guam, they would be confused, which even at a young age I understood because it is a very small island on the other side of the globe, and I wouldnt expect them to know. It was often difficult to feel involved or connected with classmates and groups in school because of the race being so underrepresented. In turn, I embrace my ethnicity and culture as much as possible and will be sure to pass those values on to my future children. One way I embrace my culture right now is through cultural dancing. I have danced with a local Polynesian dance group since I was nine years old. In the group we perform Hula, Tahitian, and other Polynesian dances. Hula and Tahitian dancing are often sexualized because of the movement of the hips and the type of attire worn, especially by women, when dancing and performing. When I would tell people that I danced Hula and Tahitian, many times guys would say things like, Oh, so you can move your hips? Society portrays the Hula Girl in a way to attract tourists or a public relations campaign. As a result, sometimes people dont take the performances seriously or do not recognize the significance of the dance. This is just another example of the lack of common knowledge of Pacific Island cultures. Another value that Pacific Islanders have is practicing religion. There is no one religion that is enforced specifically however, Catholicism is predominantly practiced within the race. My father is not a very religious person and that was just how he was raised, but my mother was raised in a very Catholic home. Consequently, I was raised in a Catholic family. My maternal grandmother often pushes Catholicism on me and my other cousins. If someone were to ask me right now what religion I follow, I would tell them Catholicism but only because that is the only religion that I was taught about or practiced. As I have grown older and have been more educated on different religions and on how different people view religion, my belief about certain practices and their purpose has faltered. I believe in God, but many of the beliefs and rules of the Catholic faith I have begun to question. Religion is very complicated. As I am growing and truly finding what I believe in, I begin to question who is right? Who is wrong? Is there a right or a wrong? Overall, my religion is something that I am continuing to question every day and will continue to change as I discover myself and my true beliefs. Sexuality and my sexual orientation were not something that I ever really thought a lot about. Growing up I knew that I was attracted to the opposite sex. It wasnt until I got older, around middle school, when I was properly educated about the different sexual orientations. At that time, it was starting to become more common for people around my age to discover their sexuality. Becoming more educated on the various sexual orientations, my orientation did not change however, I became more open to a possible change. All my life thus far I have only ever been attracted to the opposite sex, heterosexual, but I cannot say that I will never be attracted to someone of the opposite sex or someone of a different gender identity. The way that society and the people in my life have defined race and ethnicity, social class, and gender have greatly affected how my life has developed thus far. They have shifted the way I view my roles as a mixed race, middle class, female. The things that I have experienced and learned have affected and will continue to affect the way I live the rest of my life. Society has a huge impact on our lives and will continue to change and shape the way we live throughout time. Our experiences in the social world are what make us who we are.

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Media Role in Everyday Life Free Essays

string(124) " workshop is not to deny that these institutions will also have political roles to play and manipulative techniques to use\." Analyse the following quote: â€Å" it is because the media are central to our everyday lives that we must study them†¦ as social and cultural as well as political and economic dimensions of the modern world. † (Roger Silverstone, Why Study the Media? 1999. ) criteria understand respond to question construct logical argument key terms/concepts used accurately provide relevant examples where required Reading 1. We will write a custom essay sample on Media Role in Everyday Life or any similar topic only for you Order Now 1 Why Media Studies is Worthwhile: Bazalgette ‘Media studies is controversial because it is still new and because it deals with things that are not only continuing to change but are also the focus of many anxieties. 2000:5 ‘Newspapers, film, radio, television and, increasingly, computer software and communications networks are generally considered to be immensely popular in ways that are not fully understood and about which there is little consensus. They are consequently blamed for all kinds of social ills, political problems and cultural degeneracy. Each of these media has also, in its time, been seen as the harbinger of apocalyptic change – for better as well as for worse. Similar essay: Disagreement in Natural Sciences But because the oldest of them – the mass circulation press – has only been in existence for little more than a century, the process of change has been too fast for anyone to arrive at definitive conclusions about what its social, political and cultural effects really are. ‘As much as everyone likes to think they rebel against their parents and teachers, and keep up to date with new ideas and technologies, we are all substantially formed through the frameworks of ideas and thought of earlier generations, and we all find change difficult. ‘ ‘Change almost always provokes strong feelings: excitement, anxiety, tension, fear, anger. The media, conspicuous and changing objects in a world that is itself changing, are a particularly public focus for these kinds of emotion and argument. There is therefore much disagreement about how the media should be understood, regulated and consumed. 2000:6 It is essential to recognise that media studies, even as we enter the twenty-first century is still new. ‘†¦. it is a subject still in the process of being formed. Full of disagreements and different claims as to what it is ‘really about’. It is also a hybrid subject: that is to say, the ideas and approaches that it draws upon come from many different sources. The mass circulation press, the cinema, radio, television, digital software and the internet each attracted comment, analysis and speculation from the start (2000:7) Everyone who spoke or wrote about these media was themselves already educated within existing academic disciplines and motivated by particular interests 2000:7 Nevertheless, hybrid d isciplines do appear all the time: semiotics, structuralism, sociolinguistics, and many more. Media studies snaps them all up: there can never be too many different ways of analysing just what is really going on in those fleeting images. Those rapt audiences. Those smoke filled boardrooms of owners. Technology and theory 2000:8 – The media themselves change much faster than any theory. In fact it is often changes in the media – even basic technological changes – that impel changes in the academic construction of the subject. As I write this in the late 1990s we have moved into a period of what are profound changes brought about by digital technologies. Until the 1980s the term ‘media’ meant what it said (although it was, and still is, widely misused as a singular noun). It refers to numbers of different ways of physically reproducing and carrying meanings. The whole point of a media text is that it moves and flows: the meaning is never ‘there’ at a given moment, but in juxtaposition and sequence, in the tension between one moment and another. 2000:8 2000:9 Media studies is thus a catch-all title designating a wide variety of courses, and since these are all embroiled both in developing a coherent theoretical base and in keeping up with technological and institutional developments in the media themselves, does it even make sense to lump them all together? 2000:9 In media studies you are asked about the profit motive. In media studies you are asked this. You are asked to look at cinema and television as industries which employ large numbers of people and to understand how they work, how they are financed and why they produce what they do. 2000:10 In media studies you may be asked to think about films, television programmes or other ‘media texts’ in the same way. But you will certainly also b asked to think about how they address you – or other people – as a member of a group: as British, say, or as a black person, or as a man, or even – but how often? – as all three. By asking you to think about texts in this way, and by making you investigate who made, say, a film or programme, and why, and in whose interests, media studies is essentially political. Every investigation of even quite short or trivial texts potentially leads into larger questions about power structures in society and how they are organised. 2000:10 – It is just as ‘political’ to be asking questions about who owns this newspaper, who financed this film, and why; or perhaps more interestingly, who wouldn’t finance that film and why, or how one kind of television programme is more likely to be made than another. The politics of the media affect our lives as much as the politics of Parliament or Congress, and can be more satisfying to investigate since the evidence is all around you every day. 2000:10 At the same time it is the inclusion of this political dimension that media students often find the most satisfying and worthwhile aspect of the subject. ‘You stop taking things at face value’. You should beware of media courses which render the subject down to a few handy maxims such as ‘the basic function of all media is to sell audiences to advertisers’. To object that this can hardly apply to public service broadcasting or a community video workshop is not to deny that these institutions will also have political roles to play and manipulative techniques to use. You read "Media Role in Everyday Life" in category "Essay examples" But it does reassert the principle that there is more than one way to look at any text. A political dimension to critical analysis should add complexity, not simplification 2000:10 So far, I have identified two basic principles that media studies courses are likely to have in common: using economic and political perspectives as key ways of understanding the media. These are the most characteristic differences between media studies and most other subjects. But no course will concentrate on these areas alone. 2000:11 One of the strengths – and also the challenges – of media studies is precisely that it asks you to consider texts from different and often sharply contrasting perspectives. What do you study in media studies? 2000:11 Just what – if anything – constitutes a valid argument for studying one text, or one group of texts, rather than another? There are five main ways of answering this question? Popularity (2000:12) The emphasis might be on the phenomenon of mass audience pleasure and on understanding and legitimating the enjoyment people derive from these texts or in contrast, the aim of the analysis might be to reveal how audiences are manipulated and deluded by stereotypical or reactionary material Exemplification is an obvious ground for worthiness of study, especially when the aim is to illustrate an aspect of theory, such as genre or representation. Notoriety (2000:12)– is an interesting and useful reason for studying a text that can offer a way in to thinking about social, political and cultural contexts. Texts which are interesting to study in their own right, but whose notoriety reveals much about their conditions of production or consumption, include banned or controversial television documentaries etc ‘Such ‘case studies’ form the starting point or central exemplar which can illuminate aspects of the media we don’t normally think about or see. Turning points and groundbreaking texts could be included in the previous category, but texts can be significant without being notorious, especially in retrospect. Aesthetic value (2000:12-13) s a criterion that many media teachers would deny using as a way of selecting or judging texts. 2000:13 What is it all for? ‘It is also obvious that the media industries themselves are hard to get into and rely increasingly on freelancers, ‘2000:14: that a knowledge of history, politics, economics, accountancy, law – you name it – would be equally useful as a basis for working, as, say, a journalist o r editor It is increasingly likely that, whatever job you do or whatever your domestic circumstances, there will be more opportunities for you to engage with the media, and not just as a consumer. Indeed, the field of ‘alternative’ and subversive media production may be the one that grows fastest over the next few years (who knows? How could you tell? ) as access to technology and circulation systems widens Inside or outside the corporate producers, the new voices will come from the people who are already literate in the new media What media studies can really do is open up your understanding of how things work, how people become informed – or misinformed – and how the myths and ideologies that govern all our lives are created and sustained. Reading 1. Media and Communications: Theoretical traditions 2002:23 The field of Australian media and communications theory and research is in a unique position. On one hand, it is highly derivative†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. this is partly due to general globalisation of ideas today, but also to Australia’s past as a British colony and in more recent decades, to its dependence on the United States. On the othe r hand, in Australia we are able to observe and compare the influences and models emanating from the metropolitan centres of the Northern Hemisphere and to selectively combine and modify them in accordance with our own national reality and place in the world -.. dentify the origins of the major paradigms or schools of thought which have arisen in European and American theory and research as they apply to media and communications; to trace the formative influence they have had on particular styles of work in Australia; and to show how they have become transformed in the process of being adapted to our experience here EUROPE VERSUS AMERICA 2002:23 .. ‘European means heavily interpretive and holistic in scope – that is, taking a macro perspective, looking down on society as a whole. Its sociopolitical stance is critical of society as it exists, and most often specifically Marxist. In its methods, it is deductive in that it applies general principles to the analysis of particular cases By contrast, the American approach is strongly empirical and micro in its scope – at its extreme, its form of knowledge relies on the direction observation of distinct phenomena, preferably controlled and measurable occurrences, like in a laboratory experiment. Its sociopolitical stance is said to be liberal or pluralistic – in other words, it is not aligned with any sector of society which has an interest in changing the world, but in that sense, it is really more conservative 002:24: However ideas do not belong to geographical territories and it is important to appreciate that, even if critical theory has traditionally been weak in the United States, Europe in fact has not only produced the characteristic critical and interpretive schools of thought, but also has a strong tradition of ‘positivism’, which is much more aligned with ‘Americanâ€⠄¢ empiricism and functionalism (Giddens 1974). Positivism is basically the idea that the methods of natural science can and should be applied to understand and control society and culture, which includes the media. Western Marxism and Ideological Critique 2002:24 In order to understand contemporary media studies, it is crucial to understand the significance of the Frankfurt School and its tradition A critique of the rise of the mass media (mainly the new media of cinema and radio in those days) which has defined one important direction for Marxist criticism ever since 2002:25 This is the ideological critique of the media Reading 1. 3 Self and Experience in a Mediated World Reading 1. 4 New Media and Technological Development A Beginner’s Guide to Textual Analysis How to cite Media Role in Everyday Life, Essay examples

Monday, May 4, 2020

Micro Organisms and Infectious Diseases Infectious Diseases

Question: Discuss about the Micro Organisms and Infectious Diseases for Infectious Disease. Answer: Micro Organisms and Infectious Diseases Microorganisms constitute the majority of the living material of the planet and play a major role in maintaining the ecosystem of the earth. They are either beneficial for the life or can cause harm as well. The main categories of microorganisms include bacteria, virus and fungi. The key features of bacteria include the fact that they are the prokaryotic cells that have the ability to absorb nutrients from their surrounding environment or can produce their own nutrients by the utilization of light energy or other mechanisms. They have plasma membrane and cell wall for protection and possess both RNA and DNA. They use flagella and slimy layer for locomotion (Stowell et al. 2014). Bacteria play a major role in the recycling of nutrients and they can be of three different shapes like rod-shaped, sphere shaped and spiral shaped. Viruses are the obligate intracellular parasites that are made up of a protein coat, capsid or envelope and a nucleic acid that contains either RNA or DNA. Using the machinery of the host cell, viruses multiply inside the host cell (Zhou et al. 2013). The nucleic acid in the virus can be either single or double stranded. Fungi are the eukaryotic cells containing a membrane-bound nucleus and having cell walls. The cell walls of fungi are composed of chitin and they are achlorophyllous. They are heterotrophs and they obtain their nutrients by absorption. Commensals are the organisms that build up a relationship with another organism in such a way that the former benefits from the latter without affecting it. In this relationship, one organism obtains food and other benefits from the other organism without benefitting or harming the other. Commensals play an important role in the prevention of infections. This is done by denying the entry of the invading organisms to the target site by producing substances that inhibit the growth of the invading organisms and even kills them (Hasegawa et al. 2012). Therefore, the human host can have a variety of benefits from the commensals like cleaner skin, improved digestion and protection from infections. Examples of commensals in the human body are the bacterial species of Moraxella and Neisseria. Pathogens are the microorganisms that are responsible for producing diseases and the diseases that the pathogens cause in human beings are known as pathogenic diseases. Soil contamination has been the m ost persistent and oldest potential for harboring the pathogens. Pathogens are known to play a variety of roles that include restricting the distribution of plants, regulating the populations, regulating the growth and reproduction of the host and affecting the shelter and food for the animals (Daszak et al. 2015). It becomes easy for the pathogens to move from one species to another when the individuals live close together and therefore, they tend to have a high mortality. Examples of pathogens in the human body are Pseudomonas and Streptococcus. Spreading of microorganisms is called as transmission. The process of transmission involves a number of stages that includes escape from the reservoir or host of infection and transporting to the new host. This is followed by the entry to the new host and finally the exit from the new host. Different pathogens have the ability of transmission through various modes. There are various routes of transmission of the microorganisms that includes person-to-person, food, water, insects and fomites. Person to person transmission is occurred by touch, contaminated body fluids and blood, saliva and air. Cold virus can be transmitted by shaking hands whereas HIV and hepatitis B is spread through contaminated blood (Ribeiro and de Oliveira 2012). Flu and cold can spread through the saliva of the infected person on kissing and the diseases like tuberculosis, mumps and measles spread by sneezing and coughing. Harmful microbes can enter the food during the process of production and is transmitted b y consumption. The animal and human feces transmit diseases like cholera and typhoid by contaminating the drinking water. Insects like houseflies are responsible for transmitting pathogens to the food like E.Coli and Salmonella and mosquitoes are responsible for transmitting malaria. Fomites are the non-living objects that include toys, towels and bedding that transmits disease-causing microorganisms and the fungus Trichophyton is transmitted through the floors of changing rooms and towels (Smith and Mueller 2015). The routes of entry to and exit from the human body lead to the transmission of the microorganisms from one host to another. The routes of entry include oral ingestion through food, breakage of skin through the wounds and by touch or contact with sexual transmission of body fluids. Poor processes of food manufacturing and poor processes of food preparation allow the microbes to grow in the food material and therefore lead to the food borne illnesses. E.Coli is a species of bacteria that is often found in the unpasteurized fruit juice and undercooked hamburger meat can have their direct consequences on the elderly and children. Cryptosporidia, Giardia and Salmonella are the microorganisms that infect the water bodies by the fecal matters and can cause diarrhea (Miller and Palenik 2014). Wounds are responsible for breaking the integrity of the tissues and skin through scratches, scrapes and cuts on the superficial layers. Depending on the depth and extent of the wound, the microorganis ms infect the wounds that are also mediated by the environment of the wound and the type of microorganism present on the skin. Direct physical contacts as touching and sexual contacts can be responsible for the transmission. Cold virus is transmitted by shaking hands whereas Hepatitis B and HIV is transmitted by sexual contact. Sneezing, coughing, vomiting and excretion forms the routes of exit of microorganisms. These processes release millions of microorganisms in the air as droplets of saliva or mucus and infect the individual whoever breathes in these particles (Mahon and Flaws 2014). Microorganisms are responsible for causing pathological conditions in the human body by entering the body at different sites and causing diseases by various mechanisms. The microbial invasion is countered by the first line of defense, which is followed by the second line of defense. The defense mechanism of the host body consists of natural barriers, nonspecific immune responses and specific immune responses. Natural barriers include the skin, mucous membranes, respiratory tract, GU tract and the GI tract that bars the invading microorganisms. Skin invasion becomes easier for the microbes in case of an injury or surgical incision. The mucous membranes have secretions with antimicrobial properties and contain IgA, IgG and immunoglobulins that prevent the binding of the microbes. Respiratory tract has the filters in the upper airways and GI tract has acidic pH with secretions with antibacterial properties like intestinal secretions, bile and pancreatic enzymes. GU tract acts by produci ng Tamm-Horsfall mucoproteins that remove the microorganisms (Gallo and Hooper 2012). Nonspecific immune response includes cytokines like interferon-gamma, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, IL-6 and IL-1. These are produced by the activated lymphocytes and macrophages with increased neutrophil production by the bone marrow and by IL-8. A variety of antibodies like immunoglobulins is produced because of specific immune responses. Antibodies help to eradicate the microorganisms by activating the complement system and gathering the WBCs. By defending all these barriers, the microorganism enters the blood circulation and spreads throughout the body thereby causing the symptoms. The reason why not all the microorganisms lead to disease is the effectiveness of the defense mechanism. Infection happens when the microorganisms enter the host body and initiates multiplication. In response to the microbial infection, the immune system comes up with the defense mechanism including the antibodies and the white blood cells. During the process of elimination of the microbial infection from the body by the immune system, various symptoms occur like rash, headache, malaise and fever. However, the secretion of the chemicals like interferon avoids disease due to infection by helping the antibodies to target the invaders (Parham 2014). Apart from the defense mechanism of the body, vaccination can also help to prevent diseases due to infections by creating memory T and B cells that are specific for a particular pathogen. These memory cells act by responding effectively to the repeated pathogenic attacks. Zika virus generally does not have any signs and symptoms or have only mild symptoms. The commonly observed signs and symptoms of Zika virus are rash, fever, conjunctivitis and joint pain. Associated signs and symptoms include headache and muscle pain. The signs and symptoms usually develop after traveling to a Zika virus prone region. Zika virus is related to the West Nile, Dengue and yellow fever viruses and plays an active role in the development of Microcephaly where a pregnant woman is infected and the fetus develops with a small head and brain (Musso et al. 2014). Complications of neurologic problems and dehydration are the rare signs and symptoms of the infection and the prognosis of the infections involves acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, Guillain-Barre syndrome and eye abnormalities. The treatment of Zika virus infection has not been defined specifically as the disease is mild and no specific treatment is required. Patients suffering from the infection of Zika virus sho uld be provided with plenty of rest with enough intakes of fluids to prevent dehydration (Campos, Bandeira and Sardi 2015). Fever and pain can be treated with the common medicines like paracetamol and acetaminophen and worsening of the symptoms should be dealt with appropriate medical advice and care. Vaccination is not available for this disease and prevention is the best way to keep the disease away. Bibliography Campos, G.S., Bandeira, A.C. and Sardi, S.I., 2015. Zika virus outbreak, Bahia, Brazil.Emerging infectious diseases,21(10), p.1885. Daszak, P., Cunningham, A.A., Patel, N., Schloegel, L.M. and Hero, J.M., 2015. Extinction by infection: the underestimated role of pathogens in biodiversity loss. Gallo, R.L. and Hooper, L.V., 2012. Epithelial antimicrobial defence of the skin and intestine.Nature Reviews Immunology,12(7), pp.503-516. Hasegawa, M., Kamada, N., Jiao, Y., Liu, M.Z., Nez, G. and Inohara, N., 2012. Protective Role of Commensals against Clostridium difficile Infection via an IL-1Mediated Positive-Feedback Loop.The Journal of Immunology,189(6), pp.3085-3091. Mahon, C.R. and Flaws, M.L., 2014. Host-Parasite Interaction.Textbook of Diagnostic Microbiology, p.23. Miller, C.H. and Palenik, C.J., 2014.Infection Control and Management of Hazardous Materials for the Dental Team5: Infection Control and Management of Hazardous Materials for the Dental Team. Elsevier Health Sciences. Musso, D., Nhan, T., Robin, E., Roche, C., Bierlaire, D., Zisou, K., Shan Yan, A., Cao-Lormeau, V.M. and Broult, J., 2014. Potential for Zika virus transmission through blood transfusion demonstrated during an outbreak in French Polynesia, November 2013 to February 2014.Euro Surveill,19(14), p.20761. Parham, P., 2014.The immune system. Garland Science. Ribeiro, M.M. and de Oliveira, A.C., 2012. Analysis of the air/water channels of gastrointestinal endoscopies as a risk factor for the transmission of microorganisms among patients.American journal of infection control,40(10), pp.913-916. Smith, C.C. and Mueller, U.G., 2015. Sexual transmission of beneficial microbes.Trends in ecology evolution,30(8), pp.438-440. Stowell, S.R., Arthur, C.M., McBride, R., Berger, O., Razi, N., Heimburg-Molinaro, J., Rodrigues, L.C., Gourdine, J.P., Noll, A.J., von Gunten, S. and Smith, D.F., 2014. Microbial glycan microarrays define key features of host-microbial interactions.Nature chemical biology,10(6), pp.470-476. Zhou, J., Wang, D., Gao, R., Zhao, B., Song, J., Qi, X., Zhang, Y., Shi, Y., Yang, L., Zhu, W. and Bai, T., 2013. Biological features of novel avian influenza A (H7N9) virus.Nature,499(7459), pp.500-503.