A critical analysis of the role of popular culture in creating and maintaining learning across British society

In the following study I will be examining the way that popular culture has affected British public in relation to learning. I will be first examining previous times and the ways in which popular culture has influenced people over time. I will be concentrating on the effects that music and advertising has had and shaped society over time, and the methods these mediums have used to achieve this. Throughout the last century British culture has been dramatically transformed through popular culture, the development of major corporations, the changing methods of the current governments of the time, and the development of methods that popular culture can reach the public, all contributing to an extreme alteration in the way society as a whole behaves. Before the industrial revolution, popular culture was based on the agricultural year and around religious festivals for example, harvest, plough Monday, Easter, Christmas etc.) There was no division of the classes. Everyone joined together in recreation and entertainment. In the nineteenth century however, there was a considerable change. A sharp rise in urbanisation meant people flocked to the cities away from the agricultural areas to the industrial centres. There was therefore a massive decline in the meaningfulness of the agricultural festivals. In the city there was a physical separation of the classes, the working classes living tightly together in houses built specifically to house workers. There were far fewer public holidays as the agricultural ones were regarded as obsolete. There were fears about the amount of control the rich had over the working classes, as there was in the church. The working classes saw how they were treated by the Church Of England in the city very different to what they were used to. Many theories arose about the church and how it was corrupt. A man called John Leicester believed the Church to be corrupt and began his own church. The Methodist church, derived from the Czech Maravian Church. Methodist churches have no icons, statues, or grand features such as stained glass. Many working class people became Methodist due to the supposed corruption of the Church of England and its discrimination against the poor. This caused worry among the upper classes that the working classes could rise up against them. At this time, Irish Catholics were brought over from island to dig the canals. With them they brought the Irish Catholic faith. The Irish were regarded as extreme underclass and were very poor, therefore Catholicism was regarded as a religion for the poor. Yet another new faith for the working classes. There was increased fear of revolution as the inventions of new non-conformist churches happened. More and more controls and legislation were applied to prevent the uprising of the working classes. The Age of Interference The worries that the upper classes had of a possible revolution caused them to impose many rules on popular pursuits such as cricket and football. There was also a move to open parks and museums and other recreational facilities to distract the working classes not only from drinking and riots, but political movements and uprise. There was also a bought of middle-class pursuits invented such as Thomas Cook Holidays. Advertising Advertising is very easily exposed to the public. Advertising is available in a large variety of mediums, television being a main outlet, radio, posters, billboards, signs, newspapers and more, a more recent method being the internet. All of these things we come into contact with everyday. A very effective medium for advertising is the radio. This reaches people while they are doing other things, like driving or working, unlike television, which people only see when they have specifically sat down to watch it. Roland Barthes (1950-1980) studied semiotics, which is the study of signs and how we interpret them. He said that we receive subliminal messages through adverts without knowing it, this in turn making us want to buy the product/service. Roland Barthes dismantled images, the most known example of this being a picture of a black French Cub Scout saluting, and used his three levels of deconstruction to find hidden meaning to the image. This can be applied to images and advertising we now see today. Phallic symbolism was and still is used today within advertising, especially on television and is found to be extremely effective. The Cadbury's Flake television commercial is a prime example. But of course, a few hundred years ago, television would not have been about and advertising would have been restricted to other mediums. Before the industrial revolution, posters or leaflets would have not worked because there was mass illiteracy at those times because of the lack of education facilities available to the general public. After the revolution though, there was more education available to both children and adults of the working classes. But what is ‘working class.'? Karl Marx was the founding father of communism and is referred back to consistently when definitions of social class are made. Born in Germany in 1818, Marx lived in France, Belgium and London. He was an associate of Engels, with whom he devised the Communist/Economic Determinist Theory. This stated that there are two types of people. The Proletariat (who by efforts produce wealth) and the Bourgeoisie (the owners of factories and profits who exploit the proletariat). In 1847 Marx attended a meeting in London, the groups aim being ‘the overthrow of the bourgeoisie and the domination of the proletariat.' In this, Marx was willing the working classes to rise up against the bourgeoisie. Marx had many followers, an important one being Gramsci. Gramsci was born in 1891. A believer in Marxism, joining the Communist party in 1921, he was an avid supporter of all of Marx's proposals, but he thought that his theories were too focused on economics and take into account the other factors enough, with culture being a crucial example. The Gramscian model was called the hegemony model. Through this, Gramsci said that the upper classes use a form of propaganda to suppress revolution of the working classes. He claimed the working classes would begin to resent how much power was had over them and revolt. At that point, the powerful people would stop the revolution by giving the rebels a little of what they demanded to curb them. For example, there was a move to encourage people to read more political literature. Communists used this to provoke revolution through leaflets and articles. The Government automatically put a large tax on all forms of literature, resulting in an underground illegal press. Within time though, the government lifted the tax and promoted the reading and publishing of cheap magazines, which distracted people from the political literature, therefore no one read the communists provocations. So, Marx's ideas had been supported and followed by many, but the revolution they all predicted and encouraged never happened. Why? The working classes never revolted because the industrial revolution meant increased prosperity to all. Marx expected more solidarity among the working classes than there actually was and this stratification meant that revolution was never fully supported. Education at this time was limited. Children would attend Sunday schools and learn to read. There were also ‘Bell Schools' in which educated pupils would teach each other. These children would then go home to their (probably illiterate) parents and read to them, thus the parents learning as well as the children. Better education meant new technology was being developed. The printing press was introduced in the late 1860s, this resulting in many forms of writing being freely available. Not only news, but entertaining stories like ‘Penny Dreadfuls' that became very popular among the working classes. The Education Act of 1870 meant that education was available to all people whatever their class all over the country. Mass literacy ensued and more and more reading materials were being produced to entertain and inform. Literacy has had a massive effect on the way we live and how we learn and the availability of education is so huge compared to those a hundred years ago. Although mass literacy was an extremely important development in our culture and its effects are colossal, there are other ways in which popular culture affects learning in societytoday. Advances in education meant more technology was being invented. Music was becoming more and more inventive as time went on because of the new ways of producing it and publicising it. The advent of music halls was a very important step in social development. Before the industrial revolution, the workers would often drink habitually throughout the days while working the land. When they moved to the cities and worked in the factories, obviously drinking was not tolerated. Urbanisation meant that all had more money to spend because of their pay in the cities, therefore more money to spend on alcohol. This meant that the workers would come home and drink the equal amount they would have over the day while on the farms, in one evening. Drinking created social decline, causing a large spread of violent drunken behaviour, rape, domestic abuse, child negligence etc, prompting the authorities to provide evening entertainment for the working classes, to prevent the boredom and the need to drink. Thus, the music halls were born. Music halls were popular all over Britain, and drew in both the working classes and the upper classes to shows involving many different types of people singing patriotic songs or amusing acts, often by women. A famous example of performer was Vesta Tilley. Tilley would often impersonate men, mainly ‘pencil pushers', the middle-class men who worked in offices and the like. Tilley would dress in drag, and impersonate and ridicule these type of people, much to the amusement of the working class people who often detested these type of people. Tilley's most famous song was ‘Burlington Bertie'. As WW11 began, music changed within society. Patriotic songs like ‘Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag' and ‘Jerusalem' were very popular as was all uplifting nationalist music at the time. The Frankfurt School This was a group set up in 1923 mainly made up of Jewish intellectuals threatened by the Nazis. With beliefs similar to Gramsci's they believed that the working classes had been ‘pacified' into accepting capitalism by ‘Commodity Fetishism' (the creation of false needs. The most famous three members of the Franfurt school were arguably Adorno (1903-1969), Max Horkheimer (1895-1973) and Herbert Marcuse (1898-1979). Adorno devised many theories concerning popular culture, many of which are still used today. In Dominic Strinati's work An Introduction To Theories Of Popular Culture, features a quote from Adorno giving his view on popular culture and the way in which it is used. ‘In all its branches, products which are tailored for the consumption by masses, and which to a great extent determine the nature of that consumption, are manufactured more or less according to plan†¦ This is made possible by contemporary technical capabilities as well as by economic and administrative concentration. The culture industry intentionally integrates its consumers from above. To the detriment of both it forces together the spheres of high and low art, separated for thousands of years. The seriousness of high art is destroyed in speculation about its efficacy; the seriousness of the lower perishes with the civilisational constraints imposed on the rebellious resistance inherent within it as long as social control was not yet total. Thus, although the culture industry undeniably speculates on the conscious and unconscious state of the millions towards which it is directed, the masses are not primary but secondary, they are an object of calculation, an appendage o f the machinery. The customer is not king, as the culture industry would have us believe, not its subject but its object'. (Adorno. Strinati D. 2004..) This indicates the belief that the authorities within the culture industry shape culture in Britain through the search for profit. Adorno believed that the power lay within the culture industry and its products encouraged compliance and consensus. Adorno was very interested in music. Classically trained, he used is knowledge in the field and compared it with the modern music of the time. Popular music was completely different to the classical style he had be taught. He said that in popular music, ‘the beginning of the chorus is replaceable by the beginning of the innumerable other choruses†¦.. every detail is substitutable; it serves its function only as a cog in a machine.' Adorno maintained that this is different to in classical music where the music provides ‘a musical sense from the totality of the piece and its place within that totality.' Adorno believed that popular music was in no way creative or intuitive, merely ‘to please the masses.' At the time of Adorno, dramatic changes in popular music were happening. The 1950s brought about the uprising of the ‘teenager'. Artists such as Buddy Holly were idolised, American music being a strong upcoming force at this time. Musicians used not only their music to sell their records, but their appearances and attitude also. The rapidly altering types of music were a big worry to the government of the time. Many complaints were filed against many album covers and performances. Elvis for example was filmed from the waist up so his rotating hips were not broadcast! There were calls to ban many songs and particular album covers, like the cover of the Mamas and Papas album ‘If You Can Believe Your Eyes And ears', in which the band are shown in a bath together fully dressed. Record companies were forced to sign less ‘controversial' bands like The Monkees. Music has developed dramatically since. Bands such as The Clash promoted rebellious attitudes towards authority, as did the Sex Pistols, whose song God Save The Queen was banned by Radio One upon its release. A recent band who follow this theme are Anti-Flag who's most famous song ‘Fuck Police Brutality', is a blatant attack at the authorities of the country. Bands such as these are now very popular, their songs and attitudes being imitated by its listeners. These attitudes have spawned a variety of fashions, often involving the wearing of black hoodies, piercings and coloured hair. This is seen as a statement against society, a rebellion against conformity. Artists such as Eminem have come under serious criticism, charged with endorsing drug use and bad language. Emiem alone has been blamed on numerous occasions for behavioural problems children have allegedly developed after to listening to his records. One child committed suicide in the early nineties, his death blamed on Eminem's music. An alternative fashion trend has been born from black music, specifically rap. This involves the wearing of tracksuits, trainers, large gold chains and caps. Although this is merely a way of dressing, this type of outfit is often perceived by the general public as disruptive, indicating the person is a troublemaker, often being turned away from particular institutions for example clubs on account of their dress. Snoop Dogg, an American rap artist at the Live8 concert recently swore repeatedly both during his songs and between them, all at about lunchtime in front of millions of people both at the gig and watching on television around the world. Criticised heavily for this, he received a massive fine from the organisers of the event and forced to publicly apologise. Some claim that music such as his is very damaging to children and should not be released, let alone promoted. The governments of today are more lenient when allowing records from such bands to be released, but parental advisory stickers are put on if there is but one expletive within the record, and this means the record can not be sold to persons under the age of fifteen. With the invention of music videos, there have been many complaints concerning the content. A lot of modern music, especially music of black origin like r'n'b releases videos involving sexual scenes. This has caused outrage and has forced many videos to be scrapped completely, edited or blurred when shown. For example, the punk band Blink 182's video for the song ‘I Miss You' released in 2001 involved scenes of lesbianism and voyeur. These scenes were edited out, then the video was eventually taken off the television because of the amounts of complaints received about it. A very famous and recent example of prohibition by the government involving music videos is the infamous ‘Crazy Frog' song by Axel F. The video showed an animation of a frog dancing. The frog was naked and, although no distinctive genitalia were present, the Advertising Standards Committee received thousands of complaints from parents stating it was too explicit to be shown before watershed. The video was then edited, the aforesaid area blurred and allowed to be broadcast only after watershed (9pm.) The actions of governments when looking at the way they manipulate the music industry can be clarified when looking at Gramsci's hegemony model. The definition of hegemony by Gramsci: ‘A cultural and ideological means whereby the dominant groups in society, including fundamentally but not exclusively the ruling class, maintain their dominance by securing the ‘spontaneous consent' of subordinate groups, including the working class. This is achieved by the negotiated construction of a political and ideological consensus which incorporates both dominant and dominated groups'. (Strinati, D 2004). This definition indicates to us that the authorities according to Gramsci, prohibit the uprising of the lower classes through bowdlerization, restrictions and censorship. This is apparent when looking at popular music, and the radio. Radio Caroline was a pirate radio station set up in the 1960s by a group of people who rebelling against the strict control the government had over the music broadcast on the radio. To stop prosecution, Radio Caroline was broadcast from the sea off the shores of Britain so as to avoid breaking the law. Radio Caroline broadcast rock'n'roll, and music genres that the younger audiences would appreciate, music which was censored and restricted by the government, receiving little airtime. The government retorted by making the listening to Radio Caroline illegal, but this was ineffective, so they produced a new radio station called Radio One. This was obviously still controlled by the government, but played the popular music that Radio Caroline did. This is a strong example of hegemony, showing how the government changes its policies to give the impression that the public have got what they wanted, but still having that underpinning control. I conclude that popular music has had and continues to have massive influence on society today. Music such as ‘Jerusalem' around the time of the world wars was uplifting and gave people hope in the terrible times they lived through while the war was happening. In the 1950s, music changed dramatically and brought about certain fashion trends, some seen as damaging, but overall just another cultural change. Nowadays, music is less regulated, but we are still prevented from listening to particular types of music at certain ages, indicating the continuation of censorship enforced by the government. Hegemony in music is very apparent, a prime example being the banning of Radio Caroline and the censorship involved in the music industry today. I feel society has developed through music, as new music is born; new technology to improve it follows and so on. Music brings joy and entertainment, a medium through which thoughts are expressed and ideas are publicised. I feel that the censorship of music is meaningless, because as we develop as people, we can learn to accept maybe aggressive lyrics or offensive videos and tolerate them as just another part of someone's culture. Through music we learn and to censor our music is to stifle our growth as human beings.

Personal experience at Real Estate Development and Investment Essay

It was either to be a blessing or cursing. I had just come from the university as a fresh graduate. Job insecurity is a thing that sends chills of tremor down the spine of each graduate. Thank goodness this never happened with me but a new challenge was ahead. The firm which I was operating was quite meticulous in its activities; was I to be their down fall as an omen of failure. No certainly I must work breath out of me to sustain or even improve if there was anything to improve. The workplace was the carrot to reward my personal and professional development or a cane to spank my etiquettes. This was what I was up to when I joined the Real Estate Development and Investment, in Chicago. In customer care office, there were new and old problems which were brought to our attention by the clients. This is when I recognized the question which was posed to me during the interview. The question was what I would do if the length of my tie varies interchangeably during the course of wearing it. Certainly here I was dealing with two anti-parallel problems brought forward by the clients. There were those who wanted new residential houses while there were those in pursuit of selling their houses. With time, I believed that my solid performance would improve. I remember the day a client came complaining we have delayed to find a potential buyer of her house. The lady was pugnant and cantankerous in her behavior. Not a single answer she would hear. I was perplexed because I was new and such an answer would only be averting from attending her problems. Certainly, customers are kings and should be attended to regardless on who first dealt with him/her. After all will s/he have to go home and wait till who attended him/her come? No this would be suicidal to the business. So here I was juxtaposed between a rock and a hard place. The information which I had acquainted myself with was the only arrow in the quiver. Now I had to give an answer for unfamiliar situations and conclusion on the problem raised by the client. To start with I answered that there was already a willing buyer but what he was offering was meager amount and thus we never saw the need to inform her. This was after realizing from her pass that the lady came from California. It was plausible that the house was in Chicago and not California and apparently the cheapest house was selling at $ 210,000. Therefore, by excusing the house was bargained at $ 110,000, the lady will accept that certainly this was cheap and not worth to inform her of such a buyer. Luckily, it turned that what I had said was the case although I had not dome an empirical enquiry on what had happened. Form this is learnt that it’s appropriate to give wrong information than no answer to the client as it would appear rude. Barely a week was not over and there was a crisis. The manager who assisted me to secure the placement at Real Estate Investment Development was linked to a corruption scandal in the organization. So bad for those were affiliated to him. The company decided to pay them prior to sacking them. I merely escaped the crack of whip which was lashing over the innocent and those assumed to be guilty. It was a hectic time trying to convince the management that I was not involved in the graft. Were it not for the quality work that I was delivering to the customers, I would have disappeared together with the rest. The customers complained bitterly of losing an agile and kindhearted official. Besides, everything I did was in accordance to the stipulated rules of the company. Other worker also considered me friendly and my latency was shown through teamwork. Jackson, whenever we meet considers that I came to replace him; therefore it was better not to have considered my request. However, we find ourselves laughing at the idea it was like a substitution reaction which we had earlier learnt in organic chemistry. The firm was behaving like alkanes; it functions by substituting what it previously had. The week days were exceptionally busy for me. I had to equip myself with the current changes in business trends. Changes that are inevitably setting in with advent of technologies were eyesore to the conservatives but an impetus to the radical. At lunch break, fifteen minutes I would spare to browse in the internet and peruse on books so as to keep abreast with changes taking place. My food I would take as if I was in a food eating competition. Two to three spoons were enough to summarize the heap of food lying before me. It was quite symbolical that for any firm to succeed must seize the opportunities as they come just as I was gulping at the food. In the afternoon long queues of people I would find awaiting me as if I was God and on mission to rescue them from Satan. In this case the Satan was financial issues. It was crystal clear that less time was required for each client and at the same time ensuring that a comprehensive and satisfactory answer is given. Most clients were eager to know the factors which they should put into consideration while investing in real estates. Though the factors appear to be obvious, I had to put them in a way they appear new to the client’s ear. To start with, I would give a preamble of what a good investment would include while enlisting the factors to consider. Through this short encounter with customers, there was what I would call ‘resonance transfer of information’. I would make sure the client and I resonate at the same frequency and phase. Anything beyond my scope I would simply seek the information over it for the customers. Real Estate Investment Development was like the components of the table salt how they complement each other. During the course of my internship, I was also experienced the leadership vacuum which arose after summary dismissal of my friend. Jackson even though he had a lot of wiles which led him to rub the management the wrong side; he had the potential to handle any difficulties which emerged. For example, there was no one who was directly responsible for the transactions of the business. The Real Investment Development was using other firms to do their advertisement and the profit leapt was divided according to the proportion of their contribution. The number of new customers dwindled since they feared joining a corporation where you don’t know who is really in control. Collective responsibility cannot fully be trusted since there vices such as sabotage still exist. Attempts to increase the number of directors only increased the cost of management and had little change if any. At Real Estate Investment Development, the number of ladies was more than the number of gentlemen. This though was not meant to be a problem turned out to be a problem. A competition arose among the ladies over men. The dressing code was the most affected. The skirts were shortened by quite a large number. Some were the length of a bow-tie and others were as transparent as a crystal. As if this was not the only problem, the shoes were irritating to the ears as they tried to attract the attention of the men. It was a wake up call of sort, trying to wake men from the cocoon of fleeing form ladies for lack of wooing words. The administration tried to address the problem of Lorita but this never changed the situation. Moreover, the number of absentees increased due to feministic issues which are inevitable. At first I thought the problem was not to affect me. My belief is that a seed needs decomposing materials to germinate. In this case, I was the germinating seed and the ladies the decomposing materials. In the office I was located at the corner at the desk and a lady was located opposite to my desk. This is where the drama started. The way she sat was embarrassing. Thighs ajar and a finger placidly put between the slit on her skimpy dress. This sometimes made my brain go blank as I found myself carried into nitty gritty of even knowing the weekly series of her knickers. This lass was quite provocative besides teasing her wanton eyes and leg theatrics as a seductress lady. At one time she made the boss to suspect there was a beef as she was mostly found reeling on my desk with her merely chest protruding forward. The last experience which I cannot forget was the amount of work. The work was quite exhausting. The number of clients attended to were quite many and the number of staff was a few. All days we were busy searching from the internet for information, replying some emails from clients or discussing with the clients in the office. Within a month my weigh had decreased by two kilograms the exact figure stipulated by physician for the AIDS sufferers. In fact I had to be examined to know my status.

Whie lies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Whie lies - Essay Example Where is the morality in lying? What if it is discovered later that that you lied to save a face? I remember an instance during my first grade when I had to lie to a teacher to prove that my best friend, suspected to have stolen a classmate’s book, was innocent. I wanted to save him from shame, but ended up bearing the whole burden of shame when the book was found in his backpack. Another incidence is when I tried covering for my brother, Jack, who had gotten drunk in the company of his friends. He had gone straight to bed for fear of being reprimanded by our father, who could never condone such a behavior. After telling dad that Jack was just feeling unwell, he went straight to our room to check on Jack and a minute later, I was called by him and what followed still has a permanent place in my mind. That slap still reminds me to date of my responsibility to be honest in my statements. Lying promotes immoral and irresponsible behavior. In order to live in a society with a culture of honesty, where moral principles direct people’s behavior, we must keep off lies, whether harmful or

Trying to be heard Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Trying to be heard - Assignment Example Consequent to this, the patient’s illness worsened, leading to her death. In my opinion, Joanna’s actions were not sufficient. Given that she sensed that Mrs. Kelly was seriously ill, when she was on night duty, she should have taken additional steps to ensure the best interest of the patient in the morning. The structure of the organization posed an institutional constraint in this case. It required a doctor to examine the patient, before any serious care could be given to a patient. The nurse on duty, hence reported the case to the resident doctor, who declined to examine the patient. The nurse did not have the ability to examine the patient further, thus exposing the patient to great pain. Following the biomedical definition of health, medical practitioners tend to concentrate on attending to a patient who depicts the corresponding symptoms of an illness. Patients who do not display any vital signs tend to be ignored. Therefore, when the nurse examined the patient, and found the vital signs to be within the normal range, the resident doctor assumed that the patient did not require urgent medical attention. Therefore, Mrs. Kelly’s health was threatened by the hidden symptoms, which were not diagnosed in time (Denny & Guido, 2012, pp. 801-802). Following her assessment, Joanna realized that Mrs. Kelly was seriously ill. Consequently, she should have ensured that patient saw a doctor urgently in the morning for an assessment. Instead of following up on the critical case, she delegated the issue to another nurse, who may have taken time to act, as well, leading to the demise of Mrs. Kelly. Following this incident, Joanna should ensure to follow up on cases with a high probability of harm to the patient in future, to promote the principle of beneficence. To avoid the occurrence of such an incidence in the future, nurses should be encouraged to take a pain management course. This

Writer's choice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 19

Writer's choice - Essay Example Dogs are also very loyal animals. They are always around you and never stray away unless absolutely compelled to do so. In some instances, dogs stay with their â€Å"masters† even in the face of mistreatment and poor conditions. A dog can go hunting outside and eat there but will still come back to its owner’s home; the only home it knows. Compared to other animals, dogs stay with you in the best and worst times. A dog will growl at a person who appears threatening to its owner, and attack an animal that wanders into its owner’s territory, even without prompt. A dog will share a bed with its owner and, in worse times, share the floor with its owner. I believe that this is not just a display of loyalty; it is also a major display of love. Any animal that loves someone that much deserves all my love. Dogs play many roles within the home. In fact, I think they are the greatest, multitasking, domesticated animals. Dogs play the role of security guards, alarm systems, friend, herders, hunters and even babysitters. People leave their children with dogs all the time and find them sleeping together peacefully (Erwitt 26). A dog will attack a cat for coming close to a baby; it seems to understand that whatever is its owner’s must be protected. Even in a million years, regardless of advancements in science, man would not be able to replace the package that comes with a dog. For me, that makes them worth loving and adoring. Dogs are also very emotional animals. I would go as far as saying that dogs are the only animals that seem to connect with man emotionally, better than other animals. For example, if I am angry and act in a way that displays my anger, my dog avoids me. On the other hand, when I act in a friendly and cordial way, my dog stays around me and reciprocates by producing sounds to show that it is comfortable. To be clear, cats rarely

Code of the Street Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Code of the Street - Essay Example As a result, mainstream institutions such as the law, are experienced and interpreted through a different lens. This essay will critically analyse and reflect upon Anderson's code for the purposes of determining both its validity and viability. The code of the street is defined as "a set of prescriptions and proscriptions, or informal rules of behavior organized around a desperate search for respect that governs public social relations, especially violence" (Anderson, 1999: 9). Within the code people operate under a "threat of vengeance" which acts as a shield to violent encounters (Anderson, 1999: 10). The code is "a set of informal rules governing interpersonal public behavior, particularly violence" in inner-city neighborhoods (Anderson, 1999: 33). It is residents' form of "law" or their "street justice" (Anderson, 1999: 10). The code thus is an alternative system to the middle-class norm. While it may be difficult for outsiders to evaluate the validity of the state due to lack of lived experience with street life, one can safely assert that Anderson's analysis rings true insofar as it appears to stem from the very nature of social systems' rules and regulations. Any social setting is governed by a set of rules which mu st be strictly followed should one wish to negotiate his/her way through the system in question and interact with members therein. The street, according to Anderson, is no different. Proceeding from the above stated, it is necessary to point out that in any social setting, self-esteem is important, as is its preservation. The street is no different. In inner-city communities, respect is key to one's self-concept and as such, the code prescribes "the proper way to respond if challenged" (Anderson, 1999: 33). On the street, one's reputation is highly valued and important to his self-identity. To maintain reputation, there is a constant "threat of violence" against those who may attempt to trample another's standing in the community (Anderson, 1999: 15). Anderson argues that the code regulates violence on the street as it offers approved justifications for those desiring to aggress against another. Whether or not you engage in violence, you are aware of the penalty if there is a rule violation (Anderson, 1999). The code thus is one's defense on the street. The code "provides a framework for negotiating respect" and is a "practical" mechanism for surviving on the str eet (Anderson, 1999: 134). Respect is a powerful commodity on the streets of inner-city America and is "a form of social capital " Anderson (1999: 66) Respect is premised on "being treated right" and given deference (Anderson, 1999: 33). Respect is external and must be demonstrated and seen. On the street, young Black males must constantly prove themselves often using physical violence. Once you have established yourself, respect acts like shield of protection. To maintain respect, one must have a hardened image and appear unbreakable. While life off the street emphasises respect and self-esteem, it does not prescribe violence as a means of attaining and later preserving it. In other words, societal culture and street culture have different perceptions of the meaning of respect and its determinants, despite their both outlining and highlighting its importance. Just as is the case with society in general, street society is not homogenous but comprised of different groups, cultures and

Reflective writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Reflective writing - Essay Example In this paper, I have reflected upon my experience of participating in two group exercises with given situations and time frames; the cave rescue activity, and the recruitment exercise activity. I have also discussed how the activities helped me develop as a group member. Background of the report I was involved in two group exercises; in the first exercise that was a cave rescue exercise, there were six group members in total whereas in the second exercise, which was a recruitment exercise activity, there were seven group members. For both exercises, we were given certain characters and certain situations and the exercises were supposed to be executed in a limited time frame. The group members were given a chance to take notes after the completion of each exercise, using which, they would write the reflective accounts later. Theories John Burton’s Human Needs Model John Burton argues that denial of the fundamental needs of security, equal participation, identity, and recogniti on of an individual in a group makes the protracted conflict inevitable. Resolution of such conflicts necessitates the identification of the needs that are not being addressed and restructuring of the roles of the group members in such a way that needs of all are met (Dixit, 2004). Tuckman’s Teamwork Theory Tuckman proposed a model that recognizes the fact that groups are not functional or fully-formed when they form. The groups propagate through a set of defined stages namely forming, storming, norming, and performing, and gradually become task-focused. The following graph illustrates Tuckman’s teamwork theory by showing the link between task focus and group relationships. In any group activity, the optimal productivity is reached after development of the relationships among the group members. â€Å"The 4 Phases of Tuckman’s Teamwork Theory† (The Happy Manager, 2012a). STAR Team Model The STAR team model suggests that in order to optimize the groupâ€⠄¢s productivity, the group leader should place equal emphasis on the development of the group members’ strengths and the development of good relationships among them. The STAR team model provides content and substance to the situation, conditions, and stages of teamwork as shown in the figure below: STAR Team Model (The Happy Manager, 2012b). Analysis One thing that I learnt from the exercises was that there were more conflicts happening in the start than near the end of the exercises. The fundamental reason behind this was that the group members had started to understand one another’s personalities and behaviors and their adaptability had increased. â€Å"Research in human team performance suggests that experienced teams develop a shared understanding or shared mental model utilized to coordinate behaviors by anticipating and predicting each others needs and adapting to task demands† (Sycara and Sukthankar, 2006, p. 2). All models discussed in this paper inclu ding John Burton’s Human Needs Model, Tuckman’s Teamwork Theory, and the STAR Team Model commonly emphasize on the development of relationships among the group members as a pre-requisite of achieving optimal productivity in the group exercises, though the development of group members’ skills as well as their relationships requires time. â€Å"Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success† (Henry Ford cited in Zuck, 1997, p. 375). Teamwork helps people understand one another in the best way. By the team we were done with both the exercises, we had not only finished our tasks but had also known one another much better than we did before. A very useful learning that I gained in this exercise was how to resolve conflicts. I have learnt that it is primarily one’s preferences that determine the extent to which one would be able to execute

Coursework 1 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

1 - Coursework Example 3. Using the data from the Venn Diagram below, 7 movies on DVD had fights but not explosions or car crashes. ( U = {movies on DVD collection}, C = {movies with car crashes}, F = {movies with fights}, E = {movies with explosions}) 4. (a) Since we have 3 sets in discussion, the membership table that we shall be using requires 23=8 rows. Each of these rows represents a unique combination of possible membership values. (1 = the element is a member of the corresponding set, 0 = the element is not a member) To find out if the two sets A U (B ∠© C) and A ∠© (B U C) are equal, we look at their corresponding columns and see if corresponding rows have the same values. The membership table clearly shows that the 5th and 7th columns do not have the same entries in corresponding rows, thus the two sets are not equal. This example seems to contradict the previous conjecture that A U (B ∠© C) and A ∠© (B U C) are not equal. However, as we can see from the membership table, this example simply illustrates one of the cases when the two sets are

Drug cartels and drug trafficking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Drug cartels and drug trafficking - Essay Example Prices of heroin and cocaine have decreased substantially in the past two decades, indicating greater availability (Lyman, 2010). The efficacy of international narcotics control policies remains a major issue. Millions of Americans purchase illegal drugs, spending roughly $60 billion yearly in multiple illegal markets (Barton, 2007, 18). These drugs are damaging to the user’s overall wellbeing, productivity, decision-making capacity, and health. Furthermore, the U.S. illegal drug market makes massive profits. These profits generate resources needed by global drug trafficking organizations to successfully dodge and fight with law enforcers, to break through legal economic sectors, and, in certain cases, to defy the power of the state (Erlen & Spillane, 2004). Computed in terms of dollar value, four-fifths of the total illegal drugs purchased in the U.S. come from foreign countries, as well as majority of the marijuana, heroin, and cocaine, as reported by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in 2002 (Barton, 2007, 19). According to Hinojosa (2007), the methamphetamine market, as stated by the DEA, is supplied mostly from Mexican and U.S. laboratories while majority of †˜designer’ drugs, unlawfully traded psychotherapeutic drugs, and hallucinogens comes from the U.S. The drug industry is highly profitable and a major source of international criminal operations. As stated in a 2002 report by the State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), more or less 930 tons of cocaine may have been manufactured in South America in 2001 (Barton, 2007, 19). A 2002 investigation by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime calculated the total profit of the illegal drug market in the Caribbean at $3.3 billion (Barton, 2007, 19). Not much is known about the circulation of profits from illegal drug trade, but foreign drug cartels hold substantial power over general

Short Story Essay Example for Free

Short Story Essay It is tonight, tell them all to meet after the guards have retreated to their quarters. Tell them to be swift, we do not have time to worry about the injured, Seeing Johans inquisitive gaze, the prisoner expressed a bitter scowl and added: the conceited or the cowardly. THE ESCAPE As soon as night fell, Johan set out into the lonely darkness. He knew they were not expecting him. Since the death of his father, Johans fellow prisoners thought of him as a ghost, refusing to acknowledge his presence whenever he entered a room, and treating him as if he were the cause of their sorry condition. He did not care anymore. He was nothing a nobody. Creeping silently through the black night that aided in disguising his feeble body, Johans mind was busy going over every last contingency that might arise and all sorts of new circumstances which could call for some sort of quick thinking and determination; sentiments which were all a blur to him now. After reaching the barbed fence at the far end of the camp, Johan disappeared behind a guards waste shed and waited. The icy wind stung his withered face and made it almost impossible for him to remain still. Johan was experiencing a mixture of nervous irritation and controlled calm that often besets a man whose long awaited moment has come. Steadily, one by one they started to appear. Once gathered, the fifteen or so members of the escape entourage exchanged brief glances of tense apprehension. Sensing a wave of unwanted scepticism, one prisoner murmured, Alright men, come on, lets get out of this hell hole. Immediately the group stirred into movement, forming a silent hive of motion as they hurriedly tunnelled themselves through a tiny hole in the ground. The prisoners began to leave as they had come: like bare windswept shadows. At that moment, from a short distance behind Johan, the booming voice of a German officer shouted. The words came from a faceless shape, approaching rapidly from the path that led to the guards quarters. COME OUT YOU BASTARDS! COME OUT NOW AND YOUR DEATH SHALL BE SWIFT! With not a second to lose, Johan had to make a decision. If he were to remain concealed, the six or so prisoners that hadnt yet escaped would undoubtedly be shot dead, if not cruelly tortured. The voice of reason in Johans conscience urged him to self-preservation, to forget about the prisoners who had only ever shown him disdainful contempt, to turn away. But the voice of compassion was louder and Johan did not heed reason instead he leapt to his feet and ran. GO! QUICK, GO NOW! Sprinting past the bewildered remaining prisoners and heading in the direction of the faceless voice, Johans whole body and manner had been suddenly transformed. He had adopted the air of an unquestioning attacker and had allowed the adrenalin that pulsated through his delicate veins to engulf his entire body. The whole world was gliding past him his lost hope, his charred past, his soon-to-be extinguished future. He ran as if he would never run again; straight into the face of death. Stopping himself in front of the prison officer, Johan struggled to catch his breath as he took a one last moment to gaze at the heavens. He inhaled a deep breath and smiled. Johan was whole again. The snow continued to fall in thick flakes over his corpse.

Modern Programming Tools And Techniques Computer Science Essay

Modern Programming Tools And Techniques Computer Science Essay Q:1 Define abstraction, encapsulation, modularity and hierarchy in your own terms. Ans:-AbstractionAbstraction denotes the essential characteristics of an Object that differ it from other objects, and thereby providing a boundary that is relative to the perspective of the viewer. Abstraction focuses on the outside-view of the Object, and helps separate its behavior from its implementation, Think of it this way, to you, your car is an utility that helps you commute, it has a steering wheel , brakes etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ but from an engineers point of view the very same car represents an entirely different view point, to the engineer the car is an entity that is composed of sub elements such and engine with a certain horse power, a certain cubic capacity, its power conversion ratio etc. It is the same car that we are talking about, but its behavior and properties have been encapsulated to the perspective of the viewer. This is what abstraction is. Encapsulation Encapsulation is breaking down the elements of an abstraction that constitute to its structure and behavior. Encapsulation serves as the interface between abstraction and its implementation. To understand encapsulation better, lets consider an animal such as a dog. We know that a dog barks, it is its behavior, a property that defines a dog, but what is hidden is , how it barks, its implementation, this is encapsulation. The hiding of the implementation details of a behavior that defines a property of an entity is Encapsulation. Modularity The art of partitioning a program into individual components so as to reduce its complexity to some degree can be termed as Modularity In addition to this, the division of the code into modules helps provide clear boundaries between different parts of the program, thereby allowing it to be better documented and defined. In other words Modularity is building abstraction into discrete units. The direct bearing of modularity in Java is the use of packages. Elements of Analysis and Design Hierarchy (Inheritance) Abstraction is good, but in most real world cases we find more abstractions than we can comprehend at one time, though Encapsulation will help us to hide the implementation, and modularity to crisply cluster logically related abstractions, at times, it just isnt enough. This is when Hierarchy comes into the picture, a set of Abstractions together form a Hierarchy, by identifying these hierarchies in our design; we greatly simplify our understanding of the problem. Single Inheritance Single Inheritance is the most important part of is a hierarchy. When a class shares thestructure of another class it is said to single inherit a base class. To understand the concept better, lets try this. Consider the base class Animal. To define a bear terms of and animal, we say a Bear is a kind of Animal. In simpler terms, the bear single inherits the structure of an animal. Multiple Inheritance Multiple Inheritance can be defined as a part of inheritance where the subclasses inherit the Behavior of more than one base type. Q:2 Sketch the object-oriented design or the Card game Black-Jack. What are the key objects? What are the properties and behaviours of these objects? How does the object interact Ans:-Blackjack Implementation It must write three new classes and link them with all of the previous classes in the project. The first class, DealerHand,implements the algorithm of playing Blackjack from the dealers perspective. The classcontains a field which keeps track of the current number of points in a hand, and a methodthat calls in a counter-controlled loop the method of the previous class GameDeck to deal cards one at a time from the top of the deck. As cards are being dealt, the current number of points in the hand is updated accordingly. Another method of GameDeck returns the value of the above field.The next class, PlayerHand, is a subclass of DealerHand. It overrides the method for dealing cards: the cards are still dealt in a loop, but the loop is sentinel- controlled this time, and the method incorporates interaction with the user. The third class, GameApp, contains the method main in which objects of DealerHand and PlayerHand are created. Methods for dealing cards are invoked on these objects. When these methods return, the winner of the game is determined according to the standard Blackjack algorithm. The specific details of the algorithms for calculating points in each hand and for determining the winner of the game are figured out by students with practically no assistance from the instructor. By this point in the course, the students are able to write this code independently, making use of the techniques, concepts, syntax and basic structures of the Java language that they have learned during the semester. While the application could be created using any development environment, Ibelieve that its success in my class is dependent upon the use of BlueJ. BlueJ enables this project in two ways: (1) as a very simple-to-use tool for writing and editing code, and (2) through the provided sample code that allows users to create images onscreen without any prior knowledge of Java graphics (e.g., the Swing API). Because BlueJ minimizes the hurdles associated with graphics programming, novice students are able to create an interesting and fun application, which helps them master the basics of the object-oriented approach in the earliest stages of their CS coursework.As an example, suppose you want to write a program that plays the card game,Blackjack.Youcan use the Card, Hand, and Deck classes developed. However, a hand in the game of Blackjack is a little different from a hand of cards in general, since it must be possible to compute the value of a Blackjack hand according to the rules of the game. The rules are as follows: The value of a hand is obtained by adding up the values of the cards in the hand. The value of a numeric card such as a three or a ten is its numerical value. The value of a Jack, Queen, or King is 10. The value of an Ace can be either 1 or 11. An Ace should be counted as 11 unless doing so would put the total value of the hand over 21. One way to handle this is to extend the existing Hand class by adding a method that computes the Blackjack value of the hand. Heres the definition of such a class: public class BlackjackHand extends Hand { public int getBlackjackValue() { // Returns the value of this hand for the // game of Blackjack. int val; // The value computed for the hand. boolean ace; // This will be set to true if the // hand contains an ace. int cards; // Number of cards in the hand. val = 0; ace = false; cards = getCardCount(); for ( int i = 0; i // Add the value of the i-th card in the hand. Card card; // The i-th card; int cardVal; // The blackjack value of the i-th card. card = getCard(i); cardVal = card.getValue(); // The normal value, 1 to 13. if (cardVal > 10) { cardVal = 10; // For a Jack, Queen, or King. } if (cardVal == 1) { ace = true; // There is at least one ace. } val = val + cardVal; } // Now, val is the value of the hand, counting any ace as 1. // If there is an ace, and if changing its value from 1 to // 11 would leave the score less than or equal to 21, // then do so by adding the extra 10 points to val. if ( ace == true val + 10 val = val + 10; return val; } // end getBlackjackValue() } // end class BlackjackHand Q:3 Sketch the object-oriented design of a system to control a Soda dispensing machine. What are the key objects? What are the properties and behaviours of these objects? How does the object interact? ANS:- The state machines interface is encapsulated in the wrapper class. The wrappee hierarchys interface mirrors the wrappers interface with the exception of one additional parameter. The extra parameter allows wrappee derived classes to call back to the wrapper class as necessary. Complexity that would otherwise drag down the wrapper class is neatly compartmented and encapsulated in a polymorphic hierarchy to which the wrapper object  delegates. Example The State pattern allows an object to change its behavior when its internal state changes. This pattern can be observed in a vending machine. Vending machines have states based on the inventory, amount of currency deposited, the ability to make change, the item selected, etc. When currency is deposited and a selection is made, a vending machine will either deliver a product and no change, deliver a product and change, deliver no product due to insufficient currency on deposit, or deliver no product due to inventory  depletion. Identify an existing class, or create a new class, that will serve as the state machine from the clients perspective. That class is the wrapper  class. Create a State base class that replicates the methods of the state machine interface. Each method takes one additional parameter: an instance of the wrapper class. The State base class specifies any useful default  behavior. Create a State derived class for each domain state. These derived classes only override the methods they need to  override. The wrapper class maintains a current State  object. All client requests to the wrapper class are simply delegated to the current State object, and the wrapper objects this pointer is  passed. The State methods change the current state in the wrapper object as  appropriate. . public class VendingMachine {               private double sales;               private int cans;               private int bottles;               public VendingMachine() {                           fillMachine();               }               public void fillMachine() {                           sales = 0;                           cans = 10;                        bottles = 5;               }            public int getCanCount() {return this.cans; }               public int getBottleCount() {return this.bottles; }               public double getSales() { return this.sales;}               public void vendCan() {                           if (this.cans==0) {                                       System.out.println(Sorry, out of cans.);                           } else {                                       this.cans -= 1;                                       this.sales += 0.6;                        }            }               public static void main(String[] argv) {                           VendingMachine machine = new VendingMachine();               }            } Part B Q:4 In an object oriented inheritance hierarchy, the objects at each level are more specialized than the objects at the higher levels. Give three real world examples of a hierarchy with this property. ANS:- Single Inheritance Java implements what is known as a single-inheritance model. A new class can subclass (extend, in Java terminology) only one other class. Ultimately, all classes eventually inherit from the Object class, forming a tree structure with Object as its root. This picture illustrates the class hierarchy of the classes in the Java utility package, java.util The HashTable class is a subclass of Dictionary, which in turn is a subclass of Object. Dictionary inherits all of Objects variables and methods (behavior), then adds new variables and behavior of its own. Similarly, HashTable inherits all of Objects variables and behavior, plus all of Dictionarys variables and behavior, and goes on to add its own variables and behavior. Then the Properties class subclasses HashTable in turn, inheriting all the variables and behavior of its class hierarchy. In a similar manner, Stack and ObserverList are subclasses of Vector, which in turn is a subclass of Object. The power of the object-oriented methodology is apparentnone of the subclasses needed to re-implement the basic functionality of their superclasses, but needed only add their own specialized behavior. However, the above diagram points out the minor weakness with the single-inheritance model. Notice that there are two different kinds of enumerator classes in the picture, both of which inherit from Object. An enumerator class implements behavior that iterates through a collection, obtaining the elements of that collection one by one. The enumerator classes define behavior that both HashTable and Vector find useful. Other, as yet undefined collection classes, such as list or queue, may also need the behavior of the enumeration classes. Unfortunately, they can inherit from only one superclass. A possible method to solve this problem would be to enhance some superclass in the hierarchy to add such useful behavior when it becomes apparent that many subclasses could use the behavior. Such an approach would lead to chaos and bloat. If every time some common useful behavior were required for all subsequent subclasses, a class such as Object would be undergoing constant modification, would grow to enormous size and complexity, and the specification of its behavior would be constantly changing. Such a solution is untenable. The elegant and workable solution to the problem is provided via Java interfaces, the subject of the next topic. Multiple inheritance Some object-oriented programming languages, such as C++, allow a class to extend two or more superclasses. This is called multiple inheritance. In the illustration below, for example, class E is shown as having both class A and class B as direct superclasses, while class F has three direct superclasses. Such multiple inheritance is not allowed in Java. The designers of Java wanted to keep the language reasonably simple, and felt that the benefits of multiple inheritance were not worth the cost in increased complexity. However, Java does have a feature that can be used to accomplish many of the same goals as multiple inheritance: interfaces. Class hierarchies Classes in Java form hierarchies. These hierarchies are similar in structure to many more familiar classification structures such as the organization of the biological world originally developed by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in the 18th century. Portions of this hierarchy are shown in the diagram . At the top of the chart is the universal category of all living things. That category is subdivided into several kingdoms, which are in turn broken down by phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species. At the bottom of the hierarchy is the type of creature that biologists name using the genus and species together. In this case, the bottom of the hierarchy is occupied by Iridomyrmex purpureus, which is a type of red ant. The individual red ants in the world correspond to the objects in a programming language. Thus, each of the individuals is an instance of the species purpureus. By virtue of the hierarchy, however, that individual is also an instance of the genus Iridomyrmex, the class Insecta, and the phylum Arthropoda. It is similarly, of course, both an animal and a living thing. Moreover, each red ant has the characteristics that pertain to each of its ancestor categories. For example, red ants have six legs, which is one of the defining characteristics of the class Insecta. Real example of hyrarchy Ques5 How do methods System.out.print() and System.out.println() differ? Define a java constant equal to 2.9979 X 108 that approximates the speed of light in meters per second. ANS:-1) public class Area{ public static void main(String[] args){ int length = 10; int width = 5; // calling the method or implementing it int theArea = calculateArea(); System.out.println(theArea); } // our declaration of the method public static int calculateArea(){ int methodArea = length * width; return methodArea; } } 2) public static void printHeader(){ System.out.println(Feral Production); System.out.println(For all your Forest Videos); System.out.println(427 Blackbutt Way); System.out.println(Chaelundi Forest); System.out.println(NSW 2473); System.out.println(Australia); } System.out.println(String argument) System.out.print(String argument) In the first case, the code fragment accesses the println() method of the object referred to by the class variable named out of the class named System. In the second case, the print() method is accessed instead of the println() method The difference between the two is that the println() method automatically inserts a newlineat the end of the string argument whereas the print() method leaves the display cursor at the end of the string argument Define a java constant equal to 2.9979 X 108 that approximates the speed of light in meters per second. Floating-point values can also be written in a special programmers style of scientific notation, in which the value is represented as a floating-point number multiplied by aintegral power of 10. To write a number using this style, you write a floating-point number in standard notation, followed immediately by the letter E and an integerexponent, optionally preceded by a + or sign. For example, the speed of light inmeters per second is approximately 2.9979 x 108 which can be written in Java as 2.9979E+8 where the E stands for the words times 10 to the power.Boolean constants and character constants also exist and are described in subsequent chapters along with their corresponding types. Q:6 Write a code segment that defines a Scanner variable stdin that is associated with System.in. The code segment should than define to int variables a and b, such that they are initialized with the next two input values from the standard input stream. Ans:- Import java.util.*; Public class mathfun { Public static void main(string[] args) { Scanner stdin=new scanner (system.in); System.out.print(enter a decimal number); Double x=stdin.nextdouble(); System.out.print(enter another decimalnumber); Double y=stdin.nextdouble(); Double squarerootx=math.sqrt(x); System.out.println(square root of +x+is+square rootx); } }   System.out.println(PersontHeighttShoe size);   System.out.println(=========================);   System.out.println(Hannaht51t7);   System.out.println(Jennat510t9);   System.out.println(JJt61t14);  Ã‚   Q:7 Separately identify the keywords, variables, classes, methods and parameters in the following definition: import java.util.*; public class test { public static void main(String[] args) { Scanner stdin = new Scanner(System.in); System.out.print(Number:); double n = stdin.nextDouble(); System.out.println(n + * + n + = + n * n); } } Ans:- public static void main(String[] args)-method double n = stdin.nextDouble();-variables public ,static, void ,-keywords stdin println-keyword test -class double-parameters