Lizanne de Beer, 2014120162 Essays - Archaeplastida, Tshepo, Coconut

Lizanne de Beer, 2014120162 ENGL 3728 Dr Philip Aghoghovwia / Ms Manuela Lovisa 21 August 2017 COCONUT RESPONSE PAPER Coconut , written by Kopano Matlwa , sets up a double narrative of two black girls, Fikile and Ofilwe , growing up in post-apartheid South Africa, and narrativises each girl's struggle to define her own identity in a space where culture is conflated to signify class position. Matlwa's story depict how young black women negotiate the ways in which their home cultures mix with the increasingly globalized and media-saturated reality they see around them. Education is a component of this as well and schools are the setting for much of the girls' interactions with different cultures, while simultaneously being depicted as racially problematic institutions in the novel. Education is seen not only as a status marker in the novel, but as an escape from troubled home-lives. Coconut 's structure mirrors Stuart Hall's concept of differences in cultural identity as the unstable points of identification which are made, within the discourses of history and culture (Hall, 2011: 226). Hall's concept of identity illuminates the reading of Matlwa's text which is not simply a narrative of black and white or occurring in one fixed time and space. Rather, it stages the identities of these young girls in an intensely diverse South Africa and the complexities and hindrances they face in their search for themselves. Matlwa's investigation of the issues of black identity in post-Apartheid South Africa is focalised through the two accounts of Ofilwe and Fikile , which run parallel to each other and at times intersect. The novel's title derives from a derogatory term used to refer to a person who is black on the outside but white' on the inside. This white on the inside refers to many cultural markers of identity, particularly language. Lynda Spencer elaborates that "the term coconut' refers to one who speaks English most of the time, choosing it over an African language, or who is unable to speak an African language, and who is considered to act white." (67). Matlwa uses dual protagonists and narrators to examine the cultural identity of contemporary Black South African women. In order to showcase the identities of the protagonists, Matlwa details intricate cultural landscapes for the characters. The construction of the novel is peculiar since it is not chronological a nd has a break in the middle where a different story is told with a different narrator. What makes the term coconut' so particularly cutting is that its use is also drawn along racial lines but it loses some of its potency when used by someone white. The remark is most cutting coming from another black person because it represents an attack on the authenticity of blackness'. The generation who made it through the struggle is now suddenly drawing lines in the sand. Black identity in South Africa cannot escape the political and social past and yet comments like these seek to trivialize the sacrifices and strife of those who prospered so astoundingly after 1994 and moved from the rural townships to the suburbs. Intriguingly, the role of education is also complicated through its sometimes negative effects on the characters in the novel. Both the girls and their families have a complex relationship to education, Ofilwe's mother is judged and ridiculed by the family for not having completed high school while Ofilwes rebellious brother, Tshepo , an accomplished high school student, is urged by his father to study actuarial sciences rather than African literature. Tshepo himself realises that the status accorded to a prestigious education is illusory ( Matlwa , 2007: 80). Language is a divisive subject for the Tlou family. Education is more than a status marker for the Tlous ; it is not only about which schools are attended but, in the case of university education, what subjects should be studied. It is interesting that there is a very singular goal of education in the views of the adult characters. Education is seen as a necessary tool for advancement and procur ing a suitable career that will facilitate a spouse and children. Tshepo is the most politically conscious and self-aware character we come across in this novel: " Tshepo reckons that

Watching the World Fall Apart A Post

Watching the World Fall Apart A Post War is one of the most hideous concepts that the humankind has ever come up with. While it is quite understandable that at the current stage of the development of humankind, some conflicts still have to be resolved with the use of coercive methods, war as a massive homicide still remains a truly revolting idea; and nowhere is this confrontation of common sense and humanism as evident as in the artworks of the artists of the WWI period, the time when the entire world seemed to be crashing into little pieces.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Watching the World Fall Apart: A Post-WWI Vision of the World in the Works of Otto Dix, Max Beckmann and George Grosz specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The artist whose name seems to be the most recognizable all over the world, Otto Dix and his works seem to be a perfect start for an analysis of the art of the WWI era. The frightening images in the given picture capture the horror th at seized the world as the WWI erupted. It is quite symbolic that the audience cannot see the faces of the people in the picture; however, it is not as much symbolic as the fact that the faces in the picture, with gas masks on them, remind much of skulls, with empty eye sockets looking like hollow tunnels leading to nowhere. Dix, O. (1924). Stormtroops advancing under gas. Definitely one of Dix’s strongest works, the given piece of art crosses with an artwork of another famous artist of the WWI era, Max Beckmann. Comparing the aforementioned picture by Dix with Beckmann’s Hell Series seems a touch far-fetched, seeing how the rest of Beckmann’s works are far from being as on-the-nose as any of Dix’s paintings. However, the Hell Series was created as a response to the WWI events, which makes the given comparison rather legitimate. Unlike Dix, though, Beckmann does not seem to have his signature work, like Dix’s Stormtroops. On the contrary, every si ngle piece of the Hell Series seems a piece of a single entity. Anyway, the Hell represents the author’s vision of the WWII and its insanity.Advertising Looking for essay on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Beckmann, M. (1919). Hell. It is quite remarkable that in the given series, Beckmann avoided using his traditional color palette in several paintings, while in other ones belonging to the series, the color cast was quite aggressive, with a remarkable prevalence of orange and blue color. Beckmann, M. (1938). Hell of the birds. The given feature of Beckmann’s works draws the line between his vision of the WWI and the one of Dix; the latter considering war a blood-hungry beats that turns people into machines designed solely for killing, Beckman clearly sees the pain and torture that the nations were going through, as well as the humanist dilemma between the need to protect oneself and o ne’s family and the ethical unacceptability of a murder, even the murder of an enemy. Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Watching the World Fall Apart: A Post-WWI Vision of the World in the Works of Otto Dix, Max Beckmann and George Grosz specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Beckmann and Grosz: Selected works (n. d.). The last, but definitely not the least among the artists who made a difference by showing the world the true face of war, George Grosz also had a very distinct way of expressing his attitude towards the WWI. What is remarkable is Grosz’s being a German; therefore, by viewing his works, the audience finally gets to see the response from the other side of barricade. Weirdly enough, Grosz clearly focused on the bureaucratic implications behind the WWI process. For instance, the ink drawing Made in Germany, as well as Das neue Gesich der herrschenden Klasse, does not display either horror or magnif icence; on the contrary, it shows the measly details of the post-war life in Germany, therefore, offering a grotesque vision of the WWI processes. Grosz, G. (1921). Das neue Gesich der herrschenden Klasse. Despite the common theme, there are a number of differences between the artworks of the three painters, each of them reflecting his own experience and, therefore, personal vision of the war. To start with, the choice of the medium that the artists used to convey their ideas to the audience differs greatly. While Beckmann definitely preferred oil on canvas, Grosz and Dix clearly trusted in the powerful effect of lines drawn with the help of ink. However, the differences between the three artists are not restricted to the formal elements of the paintings. It is clear that each of the artists incorporated his unique experience to create the paintings, which sets the artworks in question miles apart.Advertising Looking for essay on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More As it has been mentioned above, Grosz was the only one of the three who consciously mocked the meanness of the German bureaucracy of the time (Lazzari Schleiser, 2011). The given mood in his art can be explained by harsh disappointment, which the artist had to go through after volunteering for the military service. The mockery of the German bureaucracy comes as a result of him being disillusioned. Beckmann’s motivations are a tad more complicated, yet nonetheless obvious. Having to participate in the WWI, which resulted in him getting injured, he had a very personal hatred towards the WWI and the people who started it (Huppauf, 1997). The given specifics of Beckmann’s vision can be traced easily in his post-war paintings, especially in Hell of the birds, where an individual is being crippled and executed by the crowd. In his turn, Dix indulges into depicting the macabre of the WWI, the revelry of death, which he observed in the Battle of Somme (Tatar, 1997). When comp aring the artworks of the three artists, one might notice that of all three of them, Dix was the only one who was able to see the grotesque side of this macabre, while the other two displayed the horrors of the war with trepidation and dread. Dix’s attitude towards the war seems to suck out all the emotion from the faces of the characters in his works; instead of portraying dismay and confusion, he left the faces covered, making it sure that the participants of the macabre in his artwork have little to no idea of what they are doing and why they are doing it. A complete loss of humanity and at the same time the hope for humanity is, thus, being depicted in a very graphic manner. Even though the three artists use completely different techniques, each having his own recognizable style, their paintings share a common idea, i.e., the fact that war is a hideous crime against humanity. With that being said, it must be admitted that the ways in which the three artists envisioned the WWI share the intense feeling of despair and fear. By far three most influential artists of the beginning of the XX century, Beckman, Dix and Grosz managed to embrace the horror that seized every single human being at the time and depict it in a way that makes the audience literally sense the atmosphere of the 1914–1918. Reference List Beckmann, M. (1919). Hell. Retrieved from https://www.metmuseum.org/~/media/Images/Exhibitions/Temporary/Max%20BeckmannHell2002491an534.ashx?mw=481 Beckmann and Grosz: Selected works (n. d.). A JPEG file. Retrieved Beckmann, M. (1938). Hell of the birds. Retrieved from artcyclopedia.com/index.html Dix, O. (1924). Stormtroops advancing under gas. Retrieved from http://learning.hccs.edu/faculty/tamar.leroy/british-literature-ii/otto-dix-stormtroops-advancing-under-gas-1/image_preview Huppauf, B.-R. (1997). War, Violence and the modern condition. New York, NY: DeGruyter. Grosz, G. (1921).Das neue Gesich der herrschenden Klasse. Retrieved from htt p://payload10.cargocollective.com/1/2/88505/2516122/12-george-grosz-book-cover.jpg Lazzari, M. R. Schleiser, D. (2011). Exploring art: A global, thematic approach (4th  ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth. Tatar, M. (1997). Lustmord: Sexual murder in Weimar Germany. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Schools Competency Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Schools Competency - Essay Example It is a pervasive perception that test scores do indeed stand to be the viable indicators as to the quality of education and teaching in a school. However, in a pragmatic context, evaluating the competency of a school merely on the bases of test scores is not only a narrow approach towards gauging the quality of education in a school, but is also a belief that happens to be utterly counterproductive. Â  Tests tend to predict the academic performance of the students in a school under a standardized test environment and format. The thing that needs to be understood is that performing in a test happens to be a skill in itself and not all students happen to be good at evincing the right responses in a test, irrespective of the fact that many of them actually happen to be conversant with the academic discipline on which they are being evaluated (Corwin & Schneider, 2005). Tests are mostly conducted in an environment that happens to be loaded with stress and tension, and it is practical t o expect that not all students may be able to cope up with such a format. Hence test scores actually depict as to how good a school is at preparing its students to perform in a test, rather than reflecting on a school’s ability to impart knowledge. Â  The other thing is that tests tend to ascertain mainly the academic provenance of the students in a school and that too in a very narrow context. Tests do happen to ignore the varied salient aspects of education like imagination, creativity, proficiency in social skills, leadership ability.

A Strategic Challenge HMV Faces Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

A Strategic Challenge HMV Faces - Essay Example The researcher states that HMV Group Plc (HMV) was one amongst the world’s leading retailers of music, DVD/ video, pc games and books within the United Kingdom, North American country and Asia. A rise in the range of online purchase of CDs and DVDs, an increase in digital downloads associated stiffer competition from general supermarkets had an adverse impact on HMV’s revenue in 2005. Changes in musical tastes conjointly affected HMV’s sales adversely. HMV has to enhance its profit by initiating contemporary worth cuts and increasing its online product offerings. HMV is fraught from three sides. On one flank, there are competitive street retailers with similar business models. On the opposite flank, grocery chains, which are progressively entering into the HMV’s recreation product territory? Additionally, arising quickly from behind, are pure-play online retailers. Online pure-play retailers above all create an excellent threat, as they will operate at a v alue advantage ensuing from associate degree absence of physical stores and lowest staffing needs. Within the past decade, as online penetration has inflated and shopper familiarity with  online searching has expanded, pure-play online retailers like Play.com have emerged as important rivals to venerable chains of HMV. The diversion product mix furnished by HMV (CDs, DVDs, video games) is especially suited to on-line merchandising. Merchandise square measure extremely standardized and commoditized (a videodisk is a videodisk, in spite of the channel it is purchased from), simply transferable through the post, and promoted heavily by the show business (meaning customers can ‘pull’ merchandise through distribution channels).

What are some of the problems of interpretation that face historians Essay

What are some of the problems of interpretation that face historians who wish to use visual sources like that of woodcuts and illustrations on pamphlets etc at the time of the reformation - Essay Example e would include the language used, the typefaces used, the quality of the printing, a lack of context and a failure to understand the ideas expressed because understanding of science and religion was rather different from what it is today. There may also be symbolism which is lost on a modern audience. There are such things as the way the meanings of some words have changed over time. Also some words have dropped out of use entirely. Spelling was not as fixed as it was later, so there may be occasions when, even if the writing can be clearly read, it is possible to misread a word. Calvin published his great work first in Latin in 1536, and later in his native French in 1541. We are no longer used to such a formal style, nor to sentences which may extend over eight lines at times, even if we are familiar with modern academic style. We can therefore find ourselves either skipping passages, or needing considerable time in order to unravel the argument , as well of course needing to know the context, which in this case was that many had been falsely accusing Calvin. Printing was still in its relative infancy. Books were expensive, and even the printing of leaflets would have been relatively more expensive than today. Much of this expense was in the initial setting up of the page, but paper would also have its own cost. It was therefore common to cram as much as possible onto a page, with writing being in a very small font. There is also the fact that Reformers and the papacy might interpret certain Biblical ideas in very different ways, and unless the source of the pamphlet or image is known it can be hard to know which ideas it is trying to put across. Is the image meant to show Rome as the seat of all evil for instance? Is this what the Reformers were really saying? Were they out to destroy the church or just to bring about necessary change? The language used. Often reformation documents were written in German or in Latin. As well as this there is the matter

Internet The Prevalence Of On Line Grooming Media Essay

Internet The Prevalence Of On Line Grooming Media Essay The purpose of this short, provocative piece is to purport to the reader that whilst the Internet presents itself as a rich source of information, it also has the propensity to produce various dangers due to the nature of communication and identity construction embedded within the World Wide Web. Following Kapousiss (2010) conception of violence as a tool (Kapousis, 2010), I posit that the Internet is also a tool which deviant individuals are able to exploit through the construction of multiple identities and personas in an attempt to satisfy deviant fantasies whilst retaining their anonymity. My illustrative example of such dangers is the recent proliferation of the sexual on-line grooming of children. THE INTERNET AND THE NETWORK SOCIETY Without question, the Internet is a social phenomenon. The advances in technological systems which have made its emergence possible are the result of social production, and social production is culturally informed (Castells, 2001a: p. 36). The Internet has, in recent years, become the fabric of our lives, (ibid, p. 1) for work, for personal connection, for social networking, for information, for entertainment, for public services, for politics, and for religion (Castells, 2010: p. 64); as a result, it is becoming an integral tool of commerce, communication, and popular culture (Brignall III and Van Valey, 2005). However, despite its universality, a body of literature has emerged criticising the Internet for the de-humanisation of social relationships (Slouka, 1995; Kraut et al., 1998), media reports have linked it with increasing levels of loneliness, depression, and social isolation (McKenna and Bargh, 2000), whilst technopessimists have suggested that the Internet is endowed with t he capability to end civilisations, cultures, interests, and ethics (Berson, 2003: p. 6). Some commentators, however, have adopted a more optimistic standpoint and have defended the Internet arguing that through the performance of roles and construction of on-line identities users create a feeling of community (Rheingold, 1993; Turkle, 1995; also see Young, 2008). For the purposes of this paper, I will present the Internet as neither negative nor positive, but rather, as inanimate, a tool which entails various uses (Brignall III and Van Valey, 2005; Shannon, 2008; see also Kapousis, 2010). This position also mirrors that taken by Castells (2010) who suggests that both consumers and producers utilise the Internet as a tool through producers providing content and shaping the web (op cit, p. 382). The Internet forms part of a much larger, significant social change which has occurred over the past three decades the emergence of the network society (Castells, 2001a, 2009, 2010; van Dijk, 2006 Hardt and Negri, 2000). It is beyond the scope of this short paper to provide a comprehensive, all-embracing analysis of the network society and all of its components, therefore the emphasis will be positioned upon the changes which have occurred in communicatory practices. The network society emphasises the form and organisation of information processing and exchange, in this sense, we may define the network society as a social formation with an infrastructure of social and media networks enabling its prime mode of organisation at all levels (individual, group/organisational and societal) (van Dijk, 2006: p. 20). It is important to note that in Western societies the individual is increasingly becoming the basic unit of the network society, whereas in Eastern societies the basic unit remai ns to be groups such as the family, community, or work team (ibid, 2006). Within this paradigm the Internet can be defined as an integrated network (Castells, 2010; van Dijk, 2006). It is an integration of both data communication and mass communication (van Dijk, 2006), particularly since the emergence of the World Wide Web, which through an explosion of web pages created by organisations, companies, institutions, and user-created content (i.e. blogs, forums, bulletin-board systems (BBS), and non-profit sites such as Wikipedia.org), which has resulted in the mass communicative character of the Internet becoming increasingly visible (ibid, 2006). Consequently, the Internet has become a medium through which communication is mediated on a daily basis. However, the Internet does not replace existing forms of communication but, rather, it supplements them. In this sense, the Internet adds new forms of social capital to traditional ones, these forms may include selecting and contacting complete strangers with particular characteristics, types of online conversat ion, and the initiative to act both on-line and offline (ibid, p. 169). This is evident in a study undertaken by Katz and Rice (2002) which found that more than a tenth of Americans had established on-line friendships. Similarly, they found that over ten per cent initiated offline contact of which a significant majority (85%) described positive experiences (Katz and Rice, 2002). IDENTITY ON THE INTERNET Let me now turn to the issue of identity, particularly identity which is mediated and constructed over the Internet. My suggestion here, is, that the Internet functions as a gateway through which social beings are increasingly enabled to present themselves as they desire (Heyboer, 2007). Thus, any dangers which may result from the construction of anonymous identities which currently exist on the Internet are dependent upon the individuals application of the technology, in this sense, the Internet is a tool (Brignall III and Van Valey, 2005; Shannon, 2008; Kapousis, 2010). The construction of multiple identities, however, is not a new phenomenon. Writing more than half a century ago, Erving Goffman (1990/1959) suggested that individuals create various faces or masks which are applied depending upon the specific social arrangement. The subsequent experiences which the individual encounters help shape their reality and thus forms who they are. As Goffman (1959) suggests: In a sense, and in so far as this mask represents the conception we have formed of ourselves the role we are striving to live up to-this mask is our truer self, the self we would like to be. In the end, our conception of our role becomes second nature and an integral part of our personality. We come into the world as individuals, achieve character, and become persons (p.19) Despite the time period in which Goffman (1959) was writing, and that the identity construction he was theorising primarily occurred in face-to-face interactions, his insights are of high importance in relation to identity construction on the Internet. Of course, a central objection to the notion of self-presentation on the Internet is the importance Goffman places upon the physical setting of interactions, here the setting involves furniture, dà ©cor, physical layout, and other background items which supply the scenery and stage props for the spate of human action played out before, within, or upon it (ibid, pp. 32 33). However, applying the example of social network sites (SNSs) such as Facebook and MySpace, we can posit, albeit hypothetically, that the furniture is replaced by buttons and applications, the dà ©cor replaced by profile pages with varying designs (particularly for MySpace), the physical layout replaced by (in Facebook), communities and so forth, and stage props ma y include the instant chat function or messaging system which are embedded within the wider virtual social environment created by SNSs. Thus, it is possible to suggest that the presentation of self has become virtualised. An example of such virtualisation is present in the about me sections constructed within peoples profile pages. In doing so, users are indulging in a presentation of self whereby they paint a succinct picture of their persona, their self, as they desire; however, it is important to note that such personas may be exaggerated or completely constructed. The following quote, extracted from an about me section on social networking site Vampire Freaks tailored for gothic and industrial culture -, provides an eloquent example of such actions: Im a fucking human bitch! Im an epic nerd. I have no life. Im awesome and Im just that arrogant to admit it. Im also a vegetarian because eating animals is rude, would you go into someones house and slaughter there family because youre hungry? I dont think so. I like cute scene guys who make me smile 🙂 I love to tease my hair and draw my makeup wild. dont like it? I suggest you get off my profile now. I like to get drunk and piss on people, then blame it on the booze 😉 (16-year-old girl from Vancouver) Here, a unique form of self-presentation is present. We learn that the person is vegetarian, heterosexual, and abides to arguably widespread teen culture through the consumption of drugs and alcohol without any form of engagement with the actual person, be it virtual, face-to-face, or otherwise. Two studies have demonstrated the prevalence, amongst children and teens, of identity construction on-line. The first, conducted in 2001, found that 24 per cent of teens (12 17 years-old) who have used IMs (instant messaging) and email or attended chat rooms have constructed a false identity when communicating on-line (Lenhart et al., 2001), this finding was replicated in the second study, undertaken in 2005, which found that 40 per cent of minors (6 17 years-old) indulged in identity play on-line (Livingstone and Bober, 2005). Importantly, a third of teens (33%) reported receiving emails and instant messages off somebody who provided fake information about themselves (Lenhart et al., 2001) and 31 per cent reported receiving unwanted sexual messages (Livingstone and Bober, 2005). The findings which have emerged from these studies suggest that at the core of children and other youths use of the Internet is the formation of a culture in which minors are functioning as active social agents and consciously constructing identities on the Internet. Such actions increase the risk of victimisation considerably, the following section will consider the consequences of identity construction in relation to the on-line grooming of children and minors. WANNA CYBER =P? THE INTERNET AND ONLINE GROOMING Over the past decade, as a result of significant social changes in communicatory practices and the growth in electronic media used to supplement traditional forms of interaction amongst young people, Internet use amongst children and teenagers has grown exponentially. Reports suggest that a considerable number of children and young people (9 17 years-old) now access the Internet (74% at home, 92% at school) on a regular basis (41% daily, 42% weekly) (Livingstone and Bober, 2005), with half of 7 16 year-olds in the United Kingdom having access in their bedrooms (ChildWise, 2010). Meanwhile, in the United States, the number of teens (12 17 years-old) going on-line has now reached 93 per cent (Lenhart et al., 2010). Due to this almost ubiquitous use and increased interaction with the Internet, children are now at a considerably greater risk of deviant individuals who hide behind the electronic cloak of deviance (Di Marco and Di Marco, 2003) the Internet provides through retaining the anonymity of an individuals identity. Such risks are evident in the increasing number of global sex crimes which are committed over the Internet, particularly against children and youths (Leander et al., 2008), with as many as three million crimes reportedly occurring in 2006 (Kierkegaard, 2007). Thus, the purpose of this section is to illuminate the sexual on-line grooming of children, an increasing phenomenon (Shannon, 2008), as an unintended consequence (Merton, 1968 [1938]) of the social changes in our communicatory practices and the influence which technology has imposed upon such changes. The sexual grooming of children is not a new phenomenon, neither is the conceptual use of the term grooming. The term has been in circulation for a considerable period of time, for the most part applied by psychologists in attempts to analyse patterns of deviant sexual behaviour (McAlinden, 2006). However, the area has suffered from a lack of academic inquiry and thus the term grooming has become increasingly ambiguous, particularly in its application (Craven et al., 2006). Nevertheless, the most reliable definition is provided by Gillespie (2002) who defines grooming as the process by which a child is befriended by a would-be abuser in an attempt to gain the childs confidence and trust, enabling them to get the child to acquiesce to abusive activity (Gillespie, 2002: p. 411). Through avoiding the use of the term paedophile, this definition provides a clarity concerning the rationale of grooming and the systematic stages such processes are most likely to take. Traditionally, the process of sexually grooming a child with the intent to abuse them would require assuming a position of trust (such as a teacher, caretaker, or lollypop man). From this, the individual would form a relationship with his/or her victim before attempting to engage in sexual activity Traditionally, the sexual grooming of children usually occurred when an adult would assume a position of trust (such as a teacher, caretaker, or lollypop man) and build a relationship with the intention to ultimately abuse the minor (Finkelhor, 1984). However, the Internet has now offered itself as an application through which like-minded individuals can far easily access such social spaces where children hang and convalesce, such as social network sites or chat rooms. As Shannon (2008) eloquently states, (the Internet) has created a new and for the most part completely unmonitored interface between children and adults (Shannon, 2008: p. 160). As has been noted, research in this area is quite limited (McAlinden, 2006; Shannon, 2008). Nevertheless, a comprehensive study conducted by Wolak et al., (2004) incorporating interviews and data from 2,574 law enforcement agencies and 129 minors (13 to 17 years-old) produced important results concerning the study of the on-line grooming of children. The authors found that whilst offenders were frequently deceptive on-line (52%), only a small proportion falsified their age by claiming to be over 18 (5%) (Wolak et al., 2004). The study also supported Livingstone and Bober (2005) and Lenhart et als (2001) findings with a considerable minority of minors (9%) claiming to be over 18 (ibid, 2004). The findings demonstrate the dangers which the Internet enables through the formation of a culture whereby children and other youths are, in some cases, presenting themselves as adults without the constraints of the physical world, it is also important to note that this may be due to the impositi on of a consumerist culture whereby children are sexualised, for example, through the provision of shirts with quotations such as pornstar, lingerie and padded bras (Hennessey, 2010). As David Cameron suggests, Girls are encouraged to dress like women, wear lingerie and worry about what they look like (Cameron, 2010 cited in ibid: unpaginated). Important findings also relate to the nature of on-line interactions, for example, in a majority of instances sexual topics were raised and discussed with the victim on-line (83%) and a considerable number engaged in cybersex (20%) (ibid, 2004). Furthermore, a majority of on-line interactions transcended into offline meetings (74%), of which a frightening proportion (93%) resulted in sexual activity between the victim and offender, it is important to note, however, that a majority of sexual activity (79%) was consensual (ibid, 2004). Wolak et als (2004) findings raise considerable concerns regarding the on-line interaction mediated by minors. It appears, on the basis of the evidence, that children, whilst technically proficient, are culturally unaware of the wide-reaching, unintended, consequences of their actions on-line through the construction of identities and interactions of a sexual nature with older adults. However, put another way, one might suggest that as half of the adult offenders were deceptive (to some extent) a considerable amount of on-line grooming was conducted through the formation of intimate relationships, a hallmark of grooming practices. Indeed, in the study, 50 per cent of victims reported feeling close or in love with their offenders (ibid, 2004). Such evidence leads one to ask the question Is the Internet dangerous, particularly for children? My response to this is that the application of the technology, by both children and adults, provides the risks of victimisation and dangers for chi ldren. Thus, it is both a social and a public policy issue that is at hand. We must educate our children about the dangers of on-line communication, ensuring that they are aware and take the appropriate steps necessary to avoid victimisation. In fact, lessons in using the Internet safely are to become a compulsory part of the curriculum for primary school children, in the United Kingdom, from September 2011 (Fildes, 2010). In conclusion, the Internet has, without doubt, fundamentally transformed the way human beings communicate on a global scale. As Castells (2010) notes the Internet has posted the fastest rate of penetration of any communication medium in history: in the United States, the radio took 30 years to reach 60 million people; TV reached this level of diffusion in 15 years; the Internet did it in just three years after the development of the World Wide Web (op cit, p. 382). It is important that whilst we view the overall changes as positive, we are also aware of the dangers that the Internet poses, especially for one of the most vulnerable cohorts of wider society our children.

The Atomic Bomb Helpful or Harmful Essay -- essays papers

The Atomic Bomb Helpful or Harmful There used to be a time in America when the name â€Å"Atomic Bomb† seemed fictional to some, non existent to others,and seemed only a dream to those in the science world. That time is long gone.The day that changed all ideas and opinions about what war was and what is has evolved to be was August 6,1945. President Truman had decided to drop the Atomic bomb in order to end the war and save as many lives as possible. The United States had dropped the bomb on Hiroshima in order to end the war almost instantly and avoid bloody invasion, thereby saving both American and Japanese lives. Whether or not to drop the atomic bomb was president Truman’s decision, faced with this decision Truman researched and asked advisors to share their ideas about the bomb and then made the best decision for the American and Japanese people. â€Å" In an invasion of Japan,the fighting would have been more savage, and the number of lives lost on both sides would of been tragic.†(O’Neal 35) The Atomic bomb was essential in helping to put and en d to the war and saving lives. The decision to drop the atomic bomb was made by President Truman . In his decision he states, â€Å" The only thing that was the right thing to do for the American and Japanese people was to end the war through the use of the atomic bomb.† ( O’Neal 36) Why all the controversy over the bomb? Historians and people today continue to ask this question along with others. Were the Japanese seriously considering surrendering before the bomb was let off, and was the only way the war could of been ended ended was throughout the bomb? The atomic bomb saved lives on both sides and served it’s purpose of helping to end the war. The facts remain the Atomic Bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima killed many civilians, but if the war continued to go on it would of killed many more. When President Truman walked in to the White House he had problems and decisions lying ahead of him that he knew little about.In his first few days of briefing from advisors and committee he had said,†I have to decide Japanese strategy-shall we invade Japan proper or shall we bomb and blockade? That is my hardest decision to date .but I’ll make it when I have all the facts. â€Å"(Takaki 26) As you can see Truman had no intention of making uneducated decisions and he was by no means in a rush to bo... ...tomic bomb was being assembled at the time and it was to be let off on Tokyo, that bomb was never used. The 500,000 lives that were saved in bombing Hiroshima compared to the 100,000 that died in the bombing shows that Truman did in fact make the best decision when lives were at stake. Bibliography: Alperovitz, Gar. The Use of the Atomic Bomb. Chicago : D.C. Heath and Company, 1974. Blow, Michael. The History of the Atomic Bomb. New York ,New York:American Heritage Publishing and Company Inc., 1968. Feis, Herbert. The Atomic Bomb and the end of World War II. Chicago: Princeston University Press, 1866. Kurzman, Dan. Day of the Bomb. New York: McGraw- Hill Book Company, 1986. Nardo, Don. Modern Japan. California: Lucent Books, 1995. O’Neal, Michael. President Truman and the Atomic Bomb. San Diego,California Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1990. Takaki, Ronald. Hiroshima. Canada: Little Brown and Company Limited, 1995. Wheeler, Keith. World WarII Time Life Books. Virginia: Time Life Books Inc., 1983. Wyden, Peter. Day One Before Hiroshima and After. New York: Simon and Schustler, 1984.