Friday, January 31, 2020
New Media Implicated In The Globalization Of Culture Essay Example for Free
New Media Implicated In The Globalization Of Culture Essay The contemporary economics, culture and trade is becoming more and more global with each passing year. The diversity of services, goods and customs that could be spotted only a couple of decades ago in different countries, and even in different states have been becoming less and less noticeable during the last years. The same detergents, cat food, mobile phones etc can be found either on the shelves of the Canadian shops or on Russian and Indian markets. Some say that the process of globalization gave most of the worlds population the opportunity to use the qualitative and relatively inexpensive goods which were previously available only to the dwellers of the countries were they were produced, but the others presume that the process of globalization is destructive for the market, as due to the creation of corporations the smaller businesses go broke, and thus the competition, which leads to the improvement of quality of the goods produced, disappears. The influence of media on the contemporary culture is enormous. Media is what forms our tastes and preferences, it dictates us what to wear, to buy, and even how should be behave in different situations. It is the media that turned the American culture into the consumerist one, as nowadays it dictates that purchasing things is the most convenient and quick way to use the desired social status. Most of the media influences on people are performed through advertising, both direct and indirect one. Media is one of the main means of transferring information among people, and of forming their opinions that is why advertising is so powerful nowadays.            The specialists say it is media that makes the greatest impact on the globalization of culture and trade all over the world. It is through the media that the same goods are advertised all over the world, and, moreover, the same ideas are propagated. Media creates and sets the standards that are to be followed to be considered up-to date and fashionable.             Of course, different people have various opinions on why the effect of advertising on globalization is so powerful. For example, Berger, who wrote Ads, Fads, and Consumer Culture states advertising are a lottery, as it is still that nobody knows what advertisement will be effective and what will not. Berger adds that the advertisement executives believe that they waste half of money, spent on advertisements, but no one knows which half it is. (2000, p.2-3).            Nowadays media is one of the most powerful instruments of forming the opinions of its consumers. Most of the marketing strategies that exist nowadays are built on the influences of the media. It is the irreplaceable instrument for selling things, the process, on which the globalization is based. Decades ago people bough what they needed and their needs were dictated by their life conditions and financial status. It is nowadays that at first media creates the need in the specific product or group of products in people, and than they purchase the advertised thing. Thanks to the media people no longer buy things they need; they rather buy the attributes of the desired social status. Hirschman (2003) states that core societal values have an important role on advertising production and reception. Thus, to become fashionable, a product has to be promoted emphasizing its contribution to those societal values.            Today media dictates people not only what they should buy, but also how they should behave, and what should they long for, and those directions are actually the same all over the world. Lindner, the author of the study, which analyzes the images of women in general interest and fashion magazine advertisements, states that: advertisements often contain very subtle clues about gender roles and may operate as socializing agents on several levels. Because advertisements are publicly broadcast, the men and women portrayed are often perceived to represent the whole population, and men and women in the advertisements seem to accept these portrayed behaviors, thereby validating the stereotyped roles.            Media encourages contemporary people to build a career, and get decent education. It is emphasized in the most contemporary movies, TV shows, and books that to get a decent and well-paid position one has to have all the attributes of the successful person, like luxurious car, expensive costume, and the smallest mobile phone possible. And, as we can note those attributes of wealth and success are the same in the ads and movies that are produced worldwide. In the movies and TV shows all of those accessories seem to spring out of nowhere, they just indicate the status of the personage portrayed.            It is wonderful how the media succeeds in making various products fashionable. It creates the impression of the product being fashionable by attaching a set of characteristics to it that are evaluated positively in the society. Lets, for example, analyze the phenomenon of the popularity of the designers clothes. If we take a DG dress, worth 10,000$, we will see, it is not much different from one we can buy in the department store for 100$. The designer dress is so expensive because media have been popularizing this trademark for many decades. We can read or hear that this or that movie star was wearing an outfit created by DG, Prada, or Valentino on the Oscar award ceremony, which is broadcasted in most countries of the world, and thus conclude that clothes created by those trademarks are the attributes of rich and successful people, so that its high cost will be justified.            The advertisements published in the media create the feeling of identification. Jackie Stacey in Star Gazing; Hollywood Cinema and Female Spectatorship states that: †¦the female spectator is addressed as a consumer of images of feminine beauty, and thus as an observer of other women, but also of herself. (1994, p.5). The advertisements worldwide are built using the same principle: the potential buyer should be able to imagine himself or herself in the situation where the model that features the product that is promoted, is depicted in the advertisement. And it is obvious that this strategy is effective everywhere, where it is used.            William OBarr, an advertising specialist who wrote Culture and the Ad: Exploring Otherness in the World of Advertising, presumes that advertising communicates subliminal messages regarding the social and economic dominance of its target audience. In his opinion advertising agencies are not culturally sensitive (1994. p.111). By advertising campaign, the media creates an impression in the potential buyer that after purchasing the advertised product he or she will receive the social and economical status higher, than her present one. Media usually positions the advertised products as a compulsory attribute the members of customers present, or target social group possess.            In general all the advertising campaign pursue the goal of creating the ideal image of the person, who is a part of the target social group potential customers want to belong to. Thus the media portrays the person, using the advertised product in various situations and settings that the members of the customers target or present social group visit.            The instruments the contemporary media use to make the products attractive for the customers are much more complicated than they were several decades ago. All of the advertisements that appeared in the newspapers, magazines or on TV forty or fifty years ago displayed the product advertised, and people who used them. Nowadays the situation has changed. Angela Goddard says it is not compulsory for the image to feature people in order to say something about them (2002, p.81). The advertisements shouldnt feature a human all the time. They should rather picture the surroundings and the goals of the person, who is featured. This allows the consumers identification with the one, who uses the product advertised.                        The mechanism of group identification is one of the most effective instruments media uses in advertising, as people are used to the fact that every social group has its material attributes, and they often share the thought that it is enough to purchase those attributes to gain the membership in the target group. Media promotes this viewpoint by showing distinct differences between the representatives of different social groups. Lets recall how the personages are displayed in the movies and TV shows. After looking at the hero for few minutes we can recognize his/her social status without paying much effort. The differences between social group and classes are hyperbolized by the media, and the material attributes are what indicate those differences.            Social scientists presume that it is TV that makes one of the most powerful influences on the process of globalization worldwide. Almost every dweller of our country knows, that the TV appeared only several decades ago, and its only for forty or fifty years that almost every American family has a TV set at home. TV has become the greatest entertainment for the children and adults, an imaginary world we can drift to without even using the power of our imagination. The statistics says that television is on for almost 7 hours a day in an average American household.            No wonder that the appearance of television changed the world a lot, as the division of time in the global society has changed with the appearance of this talking hypnotizing box. Except for reading books, going out or simply talking with the friends and other family members millions of people worldwide just sit and watch TV. The stereotypes, ideals and goals that atr promoted by the TV programs worldwide, are almost the same, as the advertising techniques and goals are. As a result the life in different countries becomes more and more like the contemporary Western standard.            For now television has become a problem for the educators, parents, and employers. There is no statistics about the quantity of lessons and workdays missed because of the TV, but the numbers are surely, giant. Lets try to see what exactly attracts the American children, teenager and adults to the TV screen.            Jerzy Kosinski in his book Being There provided a great interpretation for the facts listed. In his book he described the emotions of the person who had seen the outside world only through the glass of the TV screen. By changing the channel he could change himself -the author notes. He could go through phases as garden plants went through phases, but he could change as rapidly, as he wished by twisting the dial backwards and forward. In some cases he could spread out into the screen without stopping. By turning the dial Chance could bring others inside his eyelids. Thus he cam to believe that it was he, Chance, who made himself be. (p.5-6)            As you can note, switching on the TV set for Chance gave him the sense of power he didnt have in his real life. Chance, like the millions of people worldwide identified himself with the moving figures on the screen, and he felt like he was capable to do something brave and smart, like the TV show and movie heroes did. There were times when people worked hard just for to feel themselves satisfied and valuable in any field they chose, but the TV screen brought an opportunity to get all the set of the positive emotions like love, affection, understanding and satisfaction for the price of one TV set.            The time that was spent before hand on working, studying, doing something for to provide positive emotions and the feeling of social realization is now spent in front of TV. The emotions, whether positive or negative brought by it became a drug for most of us, as we have unlearned to put the efforts for reaching those conditions and getting those emotions without the help of the blue screen.            People have always had the archetypes inside their mind, on the subconscious levels, which had been dictating their view on the world and things and people that exist in it. With the appearance of the TV those archetypes had grown and enhanced, as we see a lot of examples of them there, much more than the average 19 century American would see during all of his life.            The same thing is with stereotyping. Lets recall the reasons for popularity of Chance, the protagonist of Being There. It was just the stereotype millions of Americans shared that the person who talks metaphors (and they took the Chances talking about his garden for metaphors) is clever, and hi/her words are worthy of being noticed. It is the phenomena we can see on the TV screen every day. People there are not very clever, not very attractive or intelligent, at least most of them, but we still take their words for granted they have the authority that makes us listen them and hear what they are saying. Today there are persons that are respected all over the world, and their words are able to change the lives of people in many countries. It became possible only with the development of the contemporary media, as without TV or the Web such a direct and unaffected spread of information would not have been possible.            The purpose of this paper is not only examining the advertising techniques the big companies use for to lure more customers to their products. It is rather examining the influences media makes on the globalization of culture and trade that is taking place worldwide. The advertising techniques and strategies employed by the media can be used not only for promoting some products, but also for promoting the specific political regime, the specific lifestyles etc. Media is a very powerful instrument. Nowadays it forms the tastes and opinions of its consumers concerning the clothes, gadgetry, or food they buy, but using it much more meaningful and dangerous things can be promoted. This is a valid reason to put little more attention to the notional filling of the media images and slogans instead of consuming them irrecusably.            There is no doubt that the new media have a very powerful influence on globalization nowadays. Thanks to the TV and the Web the life of people in different parts of the world becomes more and more alike with each passing year. People develop same ideals, principles and norms, guided by TV shows, movies and ads, while the Internet lets them forget about the thousands of kilometers that separate New-York, Paris, Moscow and Deli.            People worldwide become more and more alike in all the senses of this word. There is no univocal answer for the question whether it is good or bad, as there are both positive and negative aspects of globalization. Nevertheless, this process is continuing, and it is enhancing with thee development of media. Bibliography KOSINSKI, J. Being There. Grove Press, 1999 QUART, A. Branded: The Buying and Selling of Teenagers. Basic Books, 2004 GODDARD, A. The language of Advertising, London: Routledge, 1998 BERGER A.S.A. Ads, Fads and consumer culture: advertisings impact on American character and society, Oxford: Roman and Littlefield, 2004 STACEY, J. Star-Gazing: Hollywood Cinema and female Spectatorship. London: Routledge, 1993 OBARR, W. Culture and the ad: exploring otherness in the world of advertising. Oxford: Westview Press, 1994 LINDNER, K. Images of Women in General Interest and Fashion Magazine Advertisements from 1955 to 2002. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research. 2004, p.409 – 421
Thursday, January 23, 2020
Creating a Garden for the Blind :: Architecture Design Essays
Creating a Garden for the Blind In creating a garden for the blind, the senses of smell, hearing and touch take on prominence. Even without sight, a person can enjoy a garden simply by feeling the symmetry of leaves, touching the bark of different trees and feeling for buds at the start of spring. Even though a visually disabled person cannot enjoy the vibrant colors of a rose garden, they can enjoy the strong scent from such flowers. Because the sense of sight is taking aback seat in this garden, importance is also placed on maneuverability through the garden. A Braille board should be placed at the entrance to the garden, explaining the topography of the garden and how to maneuver through it without assistance. Another Braille board at the entrance should explain the garden. To facilitate easier movement, the garden could be designed after a clock. One should enter the garden at twelve o’clock and walk clockwise through the garden; at each point on the clock, one would encounter plants of various scents and textures. The path around the garden should be smooth and even in order to ensure easy independent movement. In contrast, small pebbles along the side of the path could indicate the presence of Braille boards that explain the plants. In addition, cobblestone or another stone variety could indicate the presence of benches. The flowerbeds could be raised about two feet from the ground. This would not only make it easier to touch and enjoy the featured plants but would also place flowers and plants at a perfect height for those guests with physical disabilities. Furthermore, these exhibits could include hanging pots with plants of special interest. The plants placed in such pots would be those with special textures or appeals. As the potted plants grows to large for the pot, it can be planted in the flower bed and replaced with another interesting plant or simply a smaller version of the original plant. As guests enter the garden, they should be greeted by the sounds of flowing water; a fountain or waterfall placed here would create a welcoming sound. Palm trees of various shapes and sizes placed around the water feature would provide an interesting texture for guests. Both the leaves and bark of these thriving plants would provide attractive textures.
Wednesday, January 15, 2020
How to Develop Self Confidence
How to Develop Self Confidence By andre7514, eHow Member boosting self confidence. User-Submitted Article Do you wanna develop more confidence? Do you wanna be comfortable with life and people? Read this article for great tips on how to be confident and become a pro at confidence. Difficulty: Moderately Easy Instructions Things You'll Need: †¢New Clothes †¢Haircut †¢Smile 1. 1 increasing self confidence everyday! Being able to become self confident can take you many places. Learn to fake a smile every time you are around people, even if you don't feel you need to. This will show people that you interested and a friendly person. . 2 wearing clothes. Keep yourself looking good, whether its making your hair look good, buying a new outfit, getting new shoes, or etc. 3. 3 build self confidence. Always, look straight ahead and do not look down, don't look around feeling self conscious of what everyone thinks. Think positive thoughts about yourself. 4. 4 confidence and self e steem. Pretend that you know the people that you meet. You can fake it until you make it! Give the impression that you are very social and love to meet people. Give the impression to people that you are a great person to be around, wherever you go.Get out there and show people how great and confident you are! www. lumosity. com Ads by Google Tips ; Warnings †¢Learn to fake a smile daily. †¢Always keep your image beautiful and updated. †¢Always look straight and think positive thoughts. Read more: How to Develop Self Confidence | eHow. com http://www. ehow. com/how_2254894_develop-self-confidence. html#ixzz16t1v2O14 How to Increase Self Confidence By cobrakai, eHow Member User-Submitted Article Self confidence is vital to be successful in a relationship, the workplace and really life in general.There's no exact way to measure self confidence, but there are proven ways to increase self confidence. Difficulty: Moderately Easy Instructions 1. 1 Change or remove the negati ve components that surround your life. Don't let others bog down your life and keep you from reaching the success you have in front of you. Recon negative environmental factors in your life that influence how you feel about yourself. Sometimes this will mean shedding bad friends from your life or even making a whole new change in your social circle. 2. 2 My next step or tool for you to become confident is to change â€Å"what you can. Looks are not as important to mature adults as many think, but what we do with our looks does matter. You may never have the celebrity looks, but you can make the best with what you were given. Go to the gym, or run, or do yoga. Anything that will make you feel better about yourself and your body. Don't complain that you have no boyfriend/girlfriend yet you're overweight or spend no time taking care of yourself. Don't do it for anyone else, do it for yourself. Self confidence will only go up if you can look in the mirror and know you're giving it your all. 3. 3 Quit procrastinating in your life.Well what does procrastination have to do with someone being becoming confident you might ask? You can't build a high state of confidence if you're stressed out because you waited to the last minute to do a college essay or pay the electric bill. There's so many examples I could point out, but the less you leave till the last minute, the more you have time for the fun stuff in life. Stress is a confidence killer. 4. 4 Buy something that makes you feel hot about yourself. You know that feeling you get when you have on a nice shirt, some nice jeans or ladies a really nice outfit that just makes you feel sexy about yourself?You wear that outfit to work, or school or with that special someone, you just feel and do better that day. That is easy self confidence. There's no need to go change your wardrobe and only buy really expensive clothes, but everyone should have one outfit that they can put on to give themselves a little extra pep in their step. 5. 5 Remember that you like yourself and you're always looking for ways to improve yourself. When I stumbled upon self compliments, I turned a new page in my quest to become a more confident person. Every day tell yourself that you like yourself or that you are a great person 10 times.EVERY DAY. It'll become habit after awhile and it'll become cemented in your sub-conscious and your self confidence will multiply by leaps and bounds. You have to like yourself first and foremost before you can care how anyone else feels about you. Just simply look at the amount of celebrities who have all the fame and money, but yet run their lives into the ground with drugs or alcohol because they dislike themselves. 6. 6 Forgive yourself and others. I had to let go of a lot of bad feelings I had about what I'd done/not done in my past and how others treated me in my past.You can't change the past and it'll only keep your progress limited if you keep harboring bad feelings. Forgive yourself an d others. Let yourself find peace and you'll make room for more self confidence in your life. Develop Confidencewww. instant-confidence. com 4 scientifically proven techniques to give you confidence and power How to Do Meditation? www. SilvaLifeSystem. com Easily Learn How to Meditate Download Free Meditation Audio Brain Testâ„ ¢www. lumosity. com Developed by Neuroscientists Improve Memory and Attention Communication Skillswww. 8ack. com Director & Executive Level – Presentation Skill Training – Dubai Ads by Google
Tuesday, January 7, 2020
Police Abuse And The Police - 1711 Words
Police brutality occurs when there is an abuse of authority and force by the police towards civilians. Police abuse is a topic that has been controversial because some argue that police should use their force while others argue the opposite. One thing that is certain is that police brutality does occur. Many wonder what leads to police abuse and a criminological theory that explains it is Edwin M. Lemerts labeling theory. According to Lemert labelling theory is a theory that argues that there are two types of deviance which are primary and secondary. These two types of deviance lead an officer to abuse of their power. A solution to stop police abuse is based on John Braithwaite’s reintegrative shaming theory. Labelling theory is the most†¦show more content†¦They start with low offenses towards citizens and since they don’t seem to be punished for their acts then they constantly do the same thing and in other cases they commit higher offenses as they go. They c an start with insulting people for no reason and escalate to police brutality since they never received a punishment to stop their behavior. â€Å"They want to deflect the focus of what’s going on. And they want to jam up the cop by making a complaint.†(Police Foundation) A survey done to police officers and those in higher ranks believe that citizens just file complaints against police officers as a way to be seen as a victim rather than an offender. If the authority believes this then complaints will not be taken seriously therefore police officers will abuse of their power because they have nothing to lose. They do not get punished and they do not get classified as a certain type of person. In addition, Lemert introduces secondary deviance by stating that it occurs when labelling starts happening and the individual or group starts to accept that label as their identity. (Lemert 1972:251) For instance, there are police officers who are involved with police brutality and it may have been going on for a long time but it was until very recent that it has become a serious and delicate issue. Now that almost everyone carries a camera around (cellphone cameras) it has been easier for citizens to record when an officer is brutally beating someone. A key factor in
Sunday, December 29, 2019
Is It Possible to Travel Into the Future or Past
Time travel is a favorite plot device in science fiction stories and movies. Perhaps the most famous recent series is Dr. Who, with its traveling Time Lords who whisk throughout time as if traveling by jet. In other stories, the time travel is due to unexplainable circumstances such as a too-close approach to a very massive object like a black hole. In Star Trek: The Voyage Home, the plot device was a trip around the Sun that hurled Kirk and Spock back to 20th century Earth. In the popular movie series Back to the Future, the characters traveled both backward and forward in time. However it is described in stories, traveling through time seems to pique peoples interest and ignite their imaginations. But, is such a thing possible? In Back to the Future a specially outfitted DeLorean was the vehicle that took the movies characters back and forth in time.  Getty Images/Charles Eshelman. The Nature of Time Its important to remember that we are always traveling into the future. Thats the nature of space-time. This is why we remember the past (instead of remembering the future). The future is largely unpredictable because it hasnt happened yet, but everyone is headed into it all the time. To speed up the process, to peer further into the future, to experience events more quickly than those around us, what would or could anyone do to make it happen? Its a good question without a definitive answer. Right now, no one has built a working time machine to travel temporally. Traveling into the Future While its not possible (yet) to travel to the future fast than the rate at which were doing it now, it is possible to speed up the passage of time. But, it only happens in small increments of time. And, it has only happened (so far) to very few people who have traveled off Earths surface. For them, time moves at an infinitesimally different rate. Could it happen over longer time spans? It might, theoretically. According to Einsteins theory of special relativity, the passage of time is relative to an objects speed. The more quickly an object moves through space, the more slowly time passes for it compared to an observer traveling at a slower pace. The classic example of traveling into the future is the twin paradox. It works like this: take a pair of twins, each 20 years old. They live on Earth. One takes off on a spaceship on a five-year journey traveling at nearly the speed of light. The traveling twin ages five years while on the journey and returns to Earth at the age of 25. However, the twin who stayed behind is 95 years old! The twin on the ship experienced only five years of time passing, but returns to an Earth that is much farther into the future. Using Gravity as a Means of Time Travel In much the same way that traveling at speeds close to the speed of light can slow down perceived time, intense gravitational fields can have the same effect. Gravity only affects the movement of space, but also the flow of time. Time passes more slowly for an observer inside a massive objects gravitational well. The stronger the gravity, the more it affects the flow of time. Astronauts on the International Space Station experience a combination of these effects, though on a much smaller scale. Since they are traveling quite quickly and orbiting around Earth (a massive body with significant gravity), time slows down for them compared to people on Earth. The difference is much less than a second over the course of their time in space. But, it is measurable. Could We Ever Travel into the Future? Until we can figure out a way to approach the speed of light (and warp drive doesnt count, not that we know how to do that at this point, either), or travel near black holes (or travel to black holes for that matter) without falling in, we wont be able to do time travel any significant way into the future. Travel into the Past Moving into the past is also impossible given our current technology. If it were possible, some peculiar effects could occur. These include the famous go back in time and kill your grandfather paradox. If you did do it, you couldnt do it, because you already killed him, so therefore you dont exist and cant go back in time to do the dastardly deed. Confusing, isnt it? Key Takeaways Time travel is a science fiction trope that may possibly be technically possible. But, no one has achieved it.We do travel into the future all our lives, at a second per second. To do it faster requires technology we dont have.Travel to the past is also impossible at the present time. Sources Is Time Travel Possible?| Explore, www.physics.org/article-questions.asp?id131.NASA, NASA, spaceplace.nasa.gov/review/dr-marc-space/time-travel.html.â€Å"Time Travel.† TV Tropes, tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TimeTravel. Edited by Carolyn Collins Petersen.
Saturday, December 21, 2019
The Parable Of The Unjust Judge And The Widow - 1197 Words
Luke 18:1-8 â€Å"Will he keep putting them off?†This is the parable of the unjust judge and the widow – so they met and JC is talking about prayers right now. JC told them to show his disciples they should always pray and not give up. In one town there was a judge who did not care about God – so this was a very extreme evil person – you could not get worse. But a widow comes and said grant me justice against my adversary – but would he listen? He doesn’t care about God and he looks down on man so of course he refused. But then what happened? So it is that even though I am this type of person, I will grant justice because this widow keeps bothering me. we have looked at this many times but I hope we can look at this again today – we must always look at God and wear Him out – these are the 2 things – wearing God out and bother Him – so this parable is really great. Even this unjust judge listened when she kept bothering him so how much more will God listen – If you ask for bread will he give you a rock – if you ask for a fish will he give a serpent. But how much do we bother God? We also must wear God out like this. So why was the widow complimented – what was in the widow that JC praised her about? Persistence right? So it is that this widow was persistent – we have to resemble this – how much are we not persistent and we are just like lambs – there should be lambs but we also need wolves in us – when they bite they never let go – When we work, outreach or pray we haveShow MoreRelatedChapter Analysis : The Will He Keep Putting Them Off? 1197 Words  | 5 Pagesing Luke 18:1-8 â€Å"Will he keep putting them off?†This is the parable of the unjust judge and the widow – so they met and JC is talking about prayers right now. JC told them to show his disciples they should always pray and not give up. In one town there was a judge who did not care about God – so this was a very extreme evil person – you could not get worse. But a widow comes and said grant me justice against my adversary – but would he listen? He doesn’t care about God and he looks down on manRead MoreThe Reward Of Persistence Of Prayer1839 Words  | 8 Pagesseeks shall find; and to him that knocked it shall be opened.†Luke 18:1-5 â€Å"And he spoke a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint. Jesus use this illustration through parables or storytelling. He tells of an unjust judge and a widow whom persistence payed off. There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither cared what people thought. There was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and pled, â€Å"Grant me justice against my adversary. AndRead MoreFaith And The Gospel Of Mark1514 Words  | 7 Pages(17:19); and the woman who people called a sinner in the city (7:37). Salvation is seen throughout Luke as well as faith (Edmond 5). The disciples ask Jesus to â€Å"Increase [their] faith†(17:5) but instead, Jesus tells â€Å"them a parable about a widow who pleaded with an unjust judge.†(Edmond 5). Jesus didn’t really have a complete answer, he just stated, â€Å"†¦when the Son of Man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?†(Luke 18:8). Faith is seen the last time in Luke during â€Å"the last supper, [when] JesusRead MoreProphet Isaiah6790 Words  | 28 Pagescorrupt condition of Jerusalem is described, for the ‘faithful’ city has become a ‘harlot’ (Isaiah 1:21). The city is full of murderers| |and rebellious princes who care not for the widows and fatherless, but only rewards and bribes (Isaiah 1:23). The Lord promises to purge | |the city of His enemies and restore good judges and counselors, that she might once again be the ‘faithful’ city. Those who repent will see| |Zion redeemed with justice and righteousness, but those who continue to forsake theRead MoreProphet Isaiah6780 Words  | 28 Pagescorrupt condition of Jerusalem is described, for the ‘faithful’ city has become a ‘harlot’ (Isaiah 1:21). The city is full of murderers| |and rebellious princes who care not for the widows and fatherless, but only rewards and bribes (Isaiah 1:23). The Lord promises to purge | |the city of His enemies and restore good judges and counselors, that she might once again be the ‘faithful’ city. Those who repent will see| |Zion redeemed with justice and righteousness, but those who continue to forsake theRead MoreThe Ethical Teachings of Jesus7860 Words  | 32 PagesJesus have often been taken for rules which were meant only as striking statements of a principle; for example, Whosoever smiteth thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. If any proof be needed that this was not meant as a rule, let us judge of the Saviours meaning from the course which he himself pursued, for he, as we have said before, is the one teacher whose example never fell short of his precepts. When one of the high priests officers struck him at the trial, we do not read thatRead MoreWe Must Obey Our Elders17194 Words  | 69 PagesFOOLS in the Darkness of Ignorance. (See: Is Ignorance Bliss) Therefore, we could say that they are Temporarily Blest with Material Wealth; but, certain Material Wealth is not necessarily the True Riches, which only come from God, who is the Just Judge and Rewarder, who will Repay us during Eternity: beCause he has all of Eternity to get his Justice. Therefore, â€Å"Many People who are First in this World will be the Last in the World to come, and the Last will be the First,†as Jesus Warned. (See MatthewRead MoreIgbo Dictionary129408 Words  | 518 Pagessometimes, more generally, any sacrifice offer joyless sacrifice to drive out evil spirits deposit joyless sacrifice roughly-woven basket containing joyless sacrifice Nile Perch, the largest fish in the area (Lates niloticus) smaller sized à jà widower; widow widow widower 12 à jà 2. à jà dà ¹ nkÃ… ï€ §lá » à jà n. à jà dà ¹ nwaà nyà ¬Ã¯â‚¬ ¬ à jà du nwokà ¨, Igbo Dictionary: KayWilliamson. Draft of Edition II ajá »â€¹ 1. à jà du nwokÄ“ n. ajá »â€¹ 2. ajà ¬Ã¯â‚¬ ¬ 1. ajà ¬Ã¯â‚¬ ¬ 2. -kpà cha ajá »â€¹ -kpà cha ajá »â€¹ anÃ… «Ã¯â‚¬ § n. ajá »â€¹ iyÄ « n. n. ajà ¬Ã¯â‚¬ ¬ enyÄ « ajiÄ «
Friday, December 13, 2019
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down Free Essays
string(101) " that it needs to be taken care of by giving the person anticonvulsant drugs since there is no cure\." Final Paper: â€Å"The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down†By: Anne Fadiman Meghan Maloney 26 April 2013 To understand the struggles that the Hmong people face living in America it is important to understand where they come from and what they have gone through. The majority of the Hmong people originate from the mountainous country of Laos. The mountains created isolation from the neighboring cultures and cultivated a clan identity. We will write a custom essay sample on The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down or any similar topic only for you Order Now They were part of a society where everyone worked together and lived off the land. They also practiced oral tradition since they could not read or write any language. Unfortunately, in the 1960’s Laos became the battlefield for the Vietnam War. The land was destroyed and the Hmong were forced to move or fight. Many evacuated while many were trained and armed by the U. S. as a secret guerrilla army. During this time of war, the Hmong lost all self-sufficiency, and became dependent on the U. S. for food as well as survival. An exodus of Hmong from Laos to Thailand was the death of many. The Hmong were hunted and forced to leave everything behind. The clan identity was left behind as well for it was everyman for himself. Those that were lucky enough to make it to Thailand were faced with assimilation. The Hmong saw assimilation as an insult and a threat to their culture. In order to resist oppression, the Hmong took the United State’s promise of land and government support, and moved to America. Still resisting assimilation in the U. S. , the Hmong were faced with culture shock. One of the biggest differences between Hmong culture and American culture is the practice of medicine. Anne Fadiman in â€Å"The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down†tells this clash as the story of Lia Lee and her American doctors. Lia Lee is a Hmong child that was born in the U. S. n July 19, 1982, after her parents, Foua and Nao Kao Lee, moved to America. She was delivered at a hospital in Merced, California they way Americans think is normal-on a metal table, scissors to snip the placenta, washing the baby with soap, and putting the baby in a heated box. Normal childbirth for the Hmong would be the mother pulling the baby out herself in silence on the dirt floor of their hut and then bur ying the placenta under the house. The Hmong believe that when you die your soul will come back to get your placenta. When Lia was three months old, her sister, Yer, slammed the front door in her face. Moments later Lia’s eyes rolled up, her arms flailed over her head, and she fainted. Lia’s parents believe that the noise of the door had been so frightening that her soul fled her body and became lost. The resulting symptoms are recognized as Quag Dab Peg, â€Å"The spirit catches you and you fall down†. Having Quag Dab Peg gives the person the power to perceive things others cannot see, and is a prerequisite for the journey into the realm of the unseen. Quag Dab Peg is considered an honor and blessing in Hmong culture. It allows the person the opportunity of becoming a txiv neeb, or spirit healer. It also confers an enormous amount of social status in the community because the txiv neeb is seen as a person of high moral character since the spirit chose them. In Hmong culture, saving face is of high importance. Foua and Nao Kao Lee brought Lia to Merced Community Medical Center (MCMC) after she had 20 of what Americans call seizures. At times, the Lees believed that Lia’s epilepsy wasn’t as much of a medical problem as a gift. The Hmong believed in shamanistic animism, which asserts that malevolent spirits are constantly seeking human souls, especially those of vulnerable or unloved children. Their hope was that if the spirits decided to keep hold of Lia, that long-term she would become a tvix neeb, and if she did not become a tvix neeb, then their hope was that the sickness would be short-term. The American doctors in MCMC view the Hmong as problematic patients and were not empathetic with the traditional Hmong lifestyles. Because there are no interpreters, communication is always an issue, they bring lots of family members with them as well as animals, and they make loud noises. When Foua and Nao Kao arrived at MCMC Lia had stopped seizing and was coughing. The doctors were forced to as they put it â€Å"practice veterinary medicine†since they couldn’t talk with the Lees, and treated Lia for her cough. They diagnosed Lia with early bronchiopneumonia because she exhibited those symptoms. The doctors had no way of knowing that the bronchial congestion was caused by aspiration of saliva or vomit during her seizure without trying to communicate with the Lees. The doctors put a pen and paper in front of the Lees and had them scribble on it. The doctors assumed the Lees would be able to buy and administer the medications that the paper described in detail. In reality the Lees had no idea what they just signed and walked out. This same situation happened a few more times until one time the Lees brought Lia in when she was still seizing and Dr. Dan Murphy was on shift. Dr. Murphy had some knowledge of the Hmong and could certainly diagnose her with epilepsy. In Hmong-English dictionaries Quad Dab Peg translates to epilepsy. Lees parents and the American doctors both knew what disease she had but to different cultures it meant different things. As stated above, in Hmong culture it was a privilege and was caused by Lia losing her soul. In American culture, we believe epilepsy is caused by a sporadic malfunction of the brain due to a head injury, tumor, infection, etc. We view it as a disease and that it needs to be taken care of by giving the person anticonvulsant drugs since there is no cure. You read "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down" in category "Papers" This is just what Dr. Murphy did. Lia was discharged with specific instructions on what medications to take, how much of each, and what time of day they were to be taken. Considering Hmong don’t have the same time keeping system as Americans, can’t read, don’t know how to measure medicine, and don’t believe in all this medication, Lia did not receive any medication. The Lees believed a txiv neeb could help Lia, so they had one come over and sacrificed a cow for her. It did not help and the American doctors continued to see Lia not getting better when her parents kept bringing her to MCMC. The American doctors thought that because Lia had no levels of medication in her blood her parents were guilty of child abuse. If they would have seen how much the Lees loved and cared for Lia at home they would have known this was not the case. Instead, they got the government involved and took Lia from the Lees and sent her to a foster home. The Lees welcomed Lia home after a year apart and lots of work with a social worker, Jeanine, whom was very interested in the Hmong and helped with administering the seizure medications. Hmong have many customs and folkways that are contradicted by those of the American mainstream and medical communities; for example, upon Lia’s arrival home her parents sacrificed a cow to propitiate ancestors and cure her illness. They performed traditional Hmong medial practices like coin rubbing, pinching Lia, gave her an herb necklace, and tried changing Lia’s name so that the spirit would leave her body and not be able to find her. On Nov. 25, 1986 not long after being home, Lia had another seizure episode. After ten minutes had passed, Foua and Nao Kao got in touch with their nephew who could speak enough English to get an ambulance. By calling for an ambulance Lia was given more attention upon arrival in the emergency room, but it delayed her treatment. Lia continued to seize for two hours and was barely breathing. A twenty-minute bout of status elipticus is considered life threatening. Lia was transferred to Fresno Intensive Care Unit for Pediatrics. Foua and Nao Kao thought that Lia was being transferred because the doctor at MCMC was going on vacation, but in fact it was because Fresno had a pediatric unit. At Fresno Lia was diagnosed with septic shock, the result of a bacterial invasion of the circulatory system that triggers the failure of one organ after another starting with the lungs and then moving to the brain. She also developed a condition in which her blood cannot clot. Lia’s EEG was flat. She had no brain activity left. The doctors decided to discontinue the anticonvulsants because she was dead to them. The doctors explained that her seizure medicines lowered her immune system responses, which allowed a bacterium to take over and stop brain activity. Foua and Nao Kao were somewhat right; the doctors were giving too much medicine and not enough neeb. It is most likely though that if the Lees were still in Laos, Lia would have died before she was out of her infancy, from a prolonged bout of untreated status epilepticus. Foua and Nao Kao finally got permission to bring their daughter home as they had been insisting the whole time. Lia went home on Dec. , 1986 as a quadriplegic, spastic, incontinent, incapable of purposeful movement, and in a persistent vegetative state. To Lia’s parents she went home as their little princess that they loved with all their heart. At home, Lia’s parents adored her and never left her side. They fed her teas from powdered roots and herbs, made several pig sacrifices, and bathed and dressed her multiple times a day. Because of the quality care Lia was receiving, she was stable and her medical check-ups decreased. Lia did not die but did not recover. Examination of this unfortunate story of a clash of two cultures has led to the discovery of what can be done to facilitate cooperation between cultures. Dr. Arthur Kleinman from Harvard Medical School designed a series of eight questions to elicit a patient’s explanatory model and enable the understanding of other cultures. The questions include: â€Å"What do you call the problem? Why do you think it started when it did? What kind of treatment do you think the patient should receive? What do you fear most about the sickness? If the doctors at MCMC had taken the time to find a translator and sit down with the Lees to ask these questions, Lia might not be in a vegetative state. Other suggestions that could have aided in cooperation between the doctors and patients are female doctors for female patients, involvement of the patient’s families in all decisions, the use of interpreters who are both bilingual and bicultural, and the practice of conjoint treatment. The doctor using Western allopathic medicine can cure the disease but the indigenous healer heals the illness. This strategy promotes trust between the cultures. One person’s worldviews should not dominate another’s because they feel it is right. We need to realize our view of reality is only a view, not reality itself. In the U. S. , the medical community rarely has ways to communicate with people of cultures so radically different from mainstream American culture; even a good translator will find it difficult interpreting concepts between the two different cultures’ world-concepts. Doctors need to be able to transcend culture and practice cultural responsiveness where they listen to patients and respond to them both as members of their cultures and as un-stereotyped individuals. A whole doctor-whole-patient approach is imperative: Ask not what disease the person has but rather what person the disease has. I am glad to hear that we have been moving in this direction as an American culture since 1995. Medicine in the U. S has been teaching students to separate emotions from the patient; dissociation is part of the job. In the last decade, efforts have been made to correct this way of thinking, and realize you are treating another human being not a universifiable body. Classes incorporating culture studies are being required as part of medical school and undergraduate school curriculum as well. How to cite The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Papers
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