Philosophy of Education Essay -- Philosophy of Teaching Statement

Philosophy of Education Ever since I was a little girl I had this dream of being a teacher. Whether it was making up â€Å"pretend† tests or having my younger brother sit through my instruction, I knew that I was a born teacher. And now that I have grown and matured into a responsible young woman, I feel that my place in this world is in the classroom. I feel that the children are our future and we should teach them everything we know to the best of our abilities. Every summer since the age of 13, I have been babysitting for local families in my small hometown of Pineville. In fact, 2 years ago I had been babysitting for a Optometrist and his wife and they were expecting their second child. As an honor, they asked if they could name their second daughter after me. Kara Nicole was born in June of 2001. As a matter of fact, I have found that my feelings on education often reflect the song The Greatest Love of All by Whitney Houston. She states in her song that she feels that the c hildren are our future and I must say that I agree completely with her sentiments on the education of our youth. When I came of age to enter college, there was no question in my mind as to what field I wanted to enter. Elementary education was the only option for me. One of my favorite quotes, although I do not know the author, says that â€Å"To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world† and I must say that this reflects my philosophy on education. To me, this quote reveals every compassionate thought I have on education alone. Teachers in some small way or another can be the sunshine in a child’s life. In my opinion, teachers, play many roles; mentors, confidants, sources of inspiration, and disciplin... ...Concord College. I wish to enter a masters program at some other institution of higher education. However, at this time, I am unsure where that institution may be. I know for sure, that I do plan on doing something with the Special Education department. Along with these added classes, I will always be open for Summer classes or workshops that teachers often attend to keep themselves updated on current trends. In my role as an educator, I feel that I should welcome each and every form of change that occurs during my time. Whether I agree with it or not, the point is that one must give it a chance. I feel that our state and local governments, as well as national governments, will continue to do the best for our educational system as possible. Reform, to me, is just a transition from old to new. You should welcome the change no matter how difficult it may be.

Essay on Film Genre

A true film genre relies on shared iconography, formalistic themes and similar narrative structures and content. ‘What genre does is recognize that the audience any one film within a context of other films, both those they have personally seen and those they have heard about or seen represented in other media outlets. †¦In general, the function of genre is to make films comprehensible and more or less familiar. (turner 97)’.Action/adventure, the Western, Gangster/Crime, Detective/Film Noir, Comedy, Science fiction/Fantasy, Horror/Monster, Suspense Thriller/Spy/Heist and many others groups are usually used for marketing in stores where films are being sold. The majority of viewers, film critics, and film producers talk about films in relation to the categories. These categories are generally called genres. ‘The word â€Å"genre† is originally French, and it simply means â€Å"kind† or â€Å"type†. It’s related to another word,  "genus†, which is used in the biological sciences to classify groups of plant and animals. A true film genre is a product of interaction between audience and the text. Therefore, all producers and audiences must have a quite good understanding and what is more important shared knowledge of genre’s characteristics. ’ For instance,’ westerns, at least the traditional ones, tend to share the same basic conflict and usually the same type of setting. All detective films share the same basic story: the uncovering of causes. Musicals share nothing more than frequent prominent interludes of music and perhaps dancing during a story. This shared knowledge, however, is not set in stone. Different people will have divergent understandings of genre. ’ According to this statement, audiences expand general ideas about any kind of genre based on going to the cinema, media coverage or advertisements and marketing. As a result of consequence, viewers have their own a nticipations about a particular genre and define films according to their expectations. ‘Genres are based on a tacit agreement among filmmakers, reviewers and audiences. What gives the films some common identity are shared genre conventions. Shared conventions are shared thematic, stylistic and narrative structures. Although not every single film demonstrate all of the conventions, at least some of them are shown in a film. This helps the film critics to define whether this film fall into a particular group of films – genre. Moreover, critical analysis of any film can take place only if conventions are considered. These conventions are also called â€Å"repertoire of elements†. In this document shared genre conventions in terms of horror will be discussed.The horror genre has become much more popular nowadays than ever before. ‘If its beginnings were rooted in literature – Mary Shelley’s â€Å"Frankenstein† (1818) and Bram Stokerâ€℠¢s â€Å"Dracula† (1897) are the titles that seem to spring to everyone’s mind – we also know that stories have always been told about ghosts, monsters, witches and the dark. ’ There are a lot of reasons why this genre is so popular today. However, it is still really difficult to clarify why it is so engaging for a great number of people regardless of its unreality. The genre of ‘Horror’ has been around since the late 1800’s giving it decades to develop and change. ’ ‘From the 1930s to the 1970s, most horror films were considered very much the poor brethren of the film world. ’ The reason was that horror films were made on a low budget. Furthermore, the target audience was young people who went to the cinemas late nights to have fun and scream their way. The great example was ‘the film â€Å"Matinee† (directed by Joe Dante, 1993)’ which demonstrates that horror films were watched mostly by young people at that time.However, there were such films like â€Å"Psycho† (1960) and â€Å"The Birds† (1963) by Alfred Hitchcock which managed to change perspective of horror films in a better way. Since audiences appreciate thrill and excitement they experience during watching horror movies they expect new stories and plots. Consequently, film producers had to come up with new ideas and more challenging plots to meet the audience’s expectations and wishes. One of the genre conventions is iconography, which ‘derives from art history, where it only referred to visual signs. The context in which an object or sound is used is crucial in defining its meaning.For example, a crucifix is readily associated with the church as a symbol of Christ`s resurrection, and is not simply an example of horror iconography. ’ In terms of a horror film a symbol of Christ would represent not only the Christ but the weapon against the evil. Another example could be a knife whi ch is used to kill somebody rather than in comedy it is used for cutting things. In order to identify that the genre of a film is horror, such visual signs like red and black colors, blue filters in films are used. The use of blue filter is called digital color correction.It was hard and expensive to achieve this correction previously. However, since computer technologies have developed a lot, much more powerful and exciting effects can be achieved by simply editing a film sequence in different computer software nowadays. Moreover, the mise- enscene of horror films also show that this film is horror film with the help of using such things like knives, guns, axes and many others. Another use of iconography is the setting. In horror films the setting is usually abandoned, isolated from people, the houses generally hide scaring past.The majority of scenes are filmed in night time but the plot can be developed during daytime as well. There are some sub-genres of horror films. Therefore, the iconography can slightly vary. For instance, paranormal horror includes such symbols like unusual things happening or really dark scenes. â€Å"Slasher† horror shows masks, screaming victims. Another thing to consider is camera work in horror films. Generally, different and weird angles of camera are used. In order to frighten and express fear for the viewers extreme close ups and point of view shots take place during film.There are many other types of iconography like the use of tense sounds and music which are generally linked with a horror genre. Therefore, aural signs should be also discussed when talking about iconography of films. ‘â€Å"One should not tell stories as straight-line narratives. There are so many other possibilities, and film would only enrich them. † Peter Greenaway’. While researching horror films, another very important genre convention is narrative structure. ‘Narrative piece events together in a linear fashion that clea rly shows the audience the reasons for, and the consequences of character behavior.The logic of cause and effect ties together character traits, goals, obstacles, and actions. ’ . The main intention of narrative structure is to tell the story. Sometimes it is conceptual, sometimes real. For instance, the purpose of film can involve saving the world or finding a love. ‘Russian narrative theorist Tzvetlan Todorov argued that all narratives involve the disruption of a stable situation, which makes restoration of equilibrium an important goal. ’ First of all, with the help of disruption people can identify the genre of a film easily. For instance, f there is a drugs baron killing someone and trying to escape, perhaps the genre is gangster or thriller; some kind of dilemma in a family can be set in a film which genre is likely to be melodrama. Basically, the equilibrium Todorov was talking about is that generally characters come to this point of equilibrium only in th e end of film after some kind of disruption: be it reconsidering goals or dealing with challenges. The great examples of films showing equilibrium are â€Å"slasher† films. Another part of narrative structure focuses on character types. There are different types of them which are strongly associated with the genre.For example, the most expected character of horror films is monster. This character is extremely important in horror genre as to realize fear and revulsion. Since there are different types of horror films, monsters also vary. Sometimes, they represent ghosts which lead and frighten other characters. In some films, monsters are creatures that are half human half animal being. However, monster does not necessarily have to appear as a monster because it simply means phenomena or â€Å"bad thing† which is scaring. Almost every horror film has a Madonna as well. She is generally an attractive woman who is suffering because of a monster.Madonna represents an ideal woman while a whore is completely opposite character that represents the worst things of women. ‘A standard narrative convention of horror film is that the exposition portrays a character or small group of characters venturing into a strange and ultimately threatening setting. Jonathan Harker (Alexander Granach) goes into the Carpathian Mountains to make a business deal with the mysterios Count Orlock in â€Å"Nosferatu†. ’ Genres are usually associated with particular themes. For instance,’ the wilderness versus civilization opposition in Westerns, and the human: non- human opposition in SF’.In the beginning horror films were based on literature. â€Å"Dracula† was one of them. Since horror genre was developing during the time, new ideas such as aliens started to appear. During the 80’s the most popular idea in horror genre was â€Å"slashers† which was mentioned before in this document. The 80’s became some kind of new era for the horror genre as they started working closely on special effects to provide audience with more fear. †The thing† (1982) and â€Å"The thing† (2011) is an example that shows how special effects have changed since 1982. The first version is full of makeup effects and costumes.There is a big difference compared to the latest version in terms of using computer generated imagery for gaining special effects and digital animation. With this progression which influenced the viewers in terms of watching horror films the popularity of horror films increased a lot. ’ During the early 20th  century psychological thrillers were introduced into the horror genre and changed the genre completely, sparking new ideas, which have grown and developed into the main theme and idea we have today. ’ Therefore, horror films expand themes about religion or unnatural things nowadays.One of the examples of today’s horror films based on these themes is  "Paranormal activity†. ‘It seems likely that a genre never dies. It may pass out of fashion for a time, only to return in updated garb. A genre may change by mixing its conventions with those of another genre. ’ Therefore, sometimes it is difficult to identify what is the genre of a particular film. Film producers are forced to take such actions like mixing some genres in order to create a new so called â€Å"hybrid† genre. The reason for this is to renew a genre by adding some conventions from another genre so that to surprise the audience and to keep them interested. The horror story [†¦] is part of a long process by which people have tried to come to terms with and find adequate descriptions and symbols for deeply rooted, primitive and powerful forces, energies and fears which are related to death, afterlife, punishment, darkness, evil, violence and destruction. † – J. A. Cuddon. According to Cuddon words, the horror film is only a part of a process. However, I do not think so because if something is a process then it has to end at some point and horror genre will never die. I think that is because the majority of people are curious about the things that are scaring or forbidden.Curiosity has to be sated somehow and horror films help to sort it out. While watching horror films or reading horror books our mind experience feeling of being scared. Stephen King told once â€Å"We have to keep the ‘gators fed†. He meant that people would find another more dangerous way to sate their curiosity if horror genre would not exist. Consequently, this kind of genre will not die. Taking into account all above mentioned, I can come to the conclusion that every genre shares its own iconography, similar narrative structures and themes.The main reason for that is to make every genre identifying and understandable. Audience chooses films to watch normally for entertainment so genre could be vital factor in this as it he lps in choosing and understanding films. Bibliography Pramaggiore, Maria, and Wallis, Tom. Film: A Critical Introduction. Laurence King Publishing, 2005. Bordwell, David and Thompson, Kristin, Film Art: An Introduction. New York: McGraw Hill, 2010. Lacey, Nick, Introduction to Film. London: Palgrave, 2005. Dougherty, Rachel. â€Å"Genre & Narrative in Horror Film†¦Ã¢â‚¬  27 September 2012. 3 March 2013. http://racheldoughertyfilm. blogspot. co. uk/2012/09/genre-narrative-in-horror-film. html. Nelmes, Jill, An Introduction to Film Studies. Routledge, 2003. Rayner, Philip, Wall, Peter, and Kruger, Stephen. â€Å"AS Media Studies: The Essential Introduction†. Routledge, 2001. ——————————————– [ 2 ]. Wallis, T. , Pramaggiore, M. , (2005), Film: A Critical Introduction, p. 310 [ 3 ]. Bordwell, D. , Thompson, K. (2010), Film Art An Introduction, p. 328 [ 4 ]. Wallis, T. , Pramaggiore, M. , (2005), Film: A Critical Introduction, p. 310 [ 5 ].Lacey, N. (2005), Introduction To Film, p. 46 [ 6 ]. Bordwell, D. , Thompson, K. (2010), Film Art An Introduction, p. 330 [ 7 ]. Rayner, P, Wall, P. , Kruger, S. (2001), AS Media Studies: The Essential Introduction, p. 292 [ 8 ]. http://racheldoughertyfilm. blogspot. co. uk/2012/09/genre-narrative-in-horror-f ilm. html [ 9 ]. Rayner, P, Wall, P. , Kruger, S. (2001), AS Media Studies: The Essential Introduction, p. 296 [ 10 ]. Rayner, P, Wall, P. , Kruger, S. (2001), AS Media Studies: The Essential Introduction, p. 296 [ 11 ]. Lacey, N. (2005), Introduction To Film, p. 8 [ 12 ]. Wallis, T. , Pramaggiore, M. , (2005), Film: A Critical Introduction, p. 32 [ 13 ]. Wallis, T. , Pramaggiore, M. , (2005), Film: A Critical Introduction, p. 33 [ 14 ]. Wallis, T. , Pramaggiore, M. , (2005), Film: A Critical Introduction, p. 33 [ 15 ]. Wallis, T. , Pramaggiore, M. , (2005), Film: A Critical Introduction, p. 357 [ 16 ]. Lacey , N. (2005), Introduction To Film,, page 53 [ 17 ]. http://racheldoughertyfilm. blogspot. co. uk/2012/09/genre-narrative-in-horror-film. html [ 18 ]. Bordwell, D. , Thompson, K. (2010), Film Art An Introduction, page 335

Success in Life Does Not Need a Degree

Most of the statistics says that almost every person who succeeded in his life and became famous also well known was outliers, in science, invention or businesses. For example, Albert Einstein, the most famous mathematician ever, he dropped from school not college and became a role model also an idol. In the article as the author mentioned that being successful and rich doesn’t need us to go to college complete our studies and have a certificate in the field that we are passionate about, we just have to drop school and start working on our passion.She is kind of saying that college put down our hop, faith in our self and our potential, and obligating us to go in it to waste time while we can work freely on our own business. Truth to de said she did good researches and looked up for fantastic people such as, Bill Gates, Steven Jobs and Cameron Johnson that others consider them a role models and look up to them, yet she didn't investigate deeply in their personal life. For examp le, did she interview them? Did she ask them who they met to help them?Who founded them? Thought the author – Lauren Drell – mentioned some good details about their life and what have they been through to convince us to drop college in order to start working on our passion, I disagree with her because of many reasons. First important reason, these people are courageous, for example, when Cameron Johnson dropped out from college, although his parents disagreed with him, and being accepted in any college is not easy, he ignored them and listens to his mind.As parents they were afraid on their sun future because they know how the life is difficult without a certificate, failing and becoming unemployed is hard thing to live with. Disappointment, frustration and failing might lead to some serious issue could destroy your life Furthermore dropping college after getting in it won’t be as easy as it sounds, because preparation for it, meet the requirements and getting a certificate as an approval saying that we are versed and professional in the major that we like, is something better than succeeding in it without a certificate.But his guts and his insistence to achieve his goal drove him to that success. I think that he gain the latent and became courageous, was because of his parents. â€Å"Johnson credits his business skills to his parents â€Å"as the author mentioned in the article. Another reason, these people are passionate and serious about what they like. For example, when Tom Szaky worked throughout his spring break not just that but he was a freshmen, he was interested in making a medicine from a weed â€Å"yes that kind of weed† like the author stated.Which mean that it was dangerous to his health; he could have been get hurt while he is processing and making the medicine, yet he didn't care. Adding to that he was in his first year, so having fun and enjoying his time might been his main activity. But his passion, his commitme nt and his ambition were the things led him to accomplish what he was aiming to. I think that his intelligence as well as his geniality participated in his succession. Other example, when Jeri Ellsworth taught herself how to make chips without even studying and learning the skills.This kind of skills need the appropriate environment, equipment and professional tutor to explain the methods and gives the exact direction to make it correctly. And be able to use it in the future. Third reason is they never gave up on their dream and ambition. For example, when Ellsworth got rejected by many companies and refused to adopt her work. She might have been little disappointed, but she never stopped her work. Keep working and achieving her goal was the purpose, until a client toke the advantage of trying and examining her in invention.After that success and the client were pleased with her work, she became famous and that was her starting point to be known by others. †Ã¢â‚¬ I knew I had to keep networking, shaking hands and sharing my story at raid shows† Ellsworth stated – eventually one person took a risk on her† said Lauren Drell. And I am positive that the other milliners failed in some part of their path, but that didn’t stop them. Last reason, they had the desire to contribute in their societies.Helping your country and participating in the development something you will never forget it no matter how long you lived and it is a legacy and honoring achievement will be added to their career life. Such as, Bill Gates invented a program that most of the globe uses, in houses, schools and companies. The same happened with Steve jobs and his contribution in his society when he made ‘Apple’ products. These kinds of invention will put them in their countries best inventors list and not just there but on the world list since the invention reached the globe.Their intelligence also helped them in their success in programming electr onics. Because not everyone can do it that easily, it is not just a recipe and you with follow the significant amount of ingredients and it will work, but you have to have natural skills and independent thoughts to be able to create, adjust and develop computer program. To sum up normal people might not handle the pressure and the difficulty that they will face. Moreover normal people will usually have normal intelligence so that is another point we shouldn’t overlook.On the other hand all of these millionaires are somehow Lucy; they met some people in the right time right and place this is a point that the author missed. Also their intelligence with their social circumstances participated in their success. I agree that they are a good model and people should look up to them, but we mustn’t overlook that they are courageous, passionate, never gave up and their desire to contribute in the society gained them the power and the insistence to accomplish their dream. And I said earlier they are â€Å"outliers†.

Methodism, the most astonishing eruption in the eighteenth century history of religion, was an anomaly

The eighteenth century is commonly viewed by historians as a period of decline for the Anglican establishment which suffered increasing losses in its authority over local parishes and failing to respond adequately to the changing society of the early industrial age and challenges over the nature of religion and its role in the lives of individuals. In the 1740s, Samuel Wesley and his sons began to preach outside the confines of the Church, advocating a more voluntary approach to religious devotion and encouraging increased involvement of laymen in the work of the parish. Methodism was effectively born out of societies set up to integrate the church into the community, but in carrying voluntarism to its logical conclusion, argues Gilbert, such a movement would naturally come into conflict with the establishment by offering an alternative to the prescribed methods of religious practise and undermining the ministerial authority and organising machinery of the Church. Although the Wesley family were conservative Tories and John Wesley, who was to become the leading Methodist figure, always expressed a keen desire to remain within Anglicanism, he told a inaugural conference in 1744 that Methodism would either leave the whole church or â€Å"be thrust out of it† Whether the Methodists were in essence a radical or conservative group was at the time, and remains a much debated topic. In an essay on Methodism, Dissent and Political Stability2, Gilbert argues that it was in fact both. Methodism was a means of taking a stand against prescribed religion and the status quo of social organisation through the withdrawal of status respect and assertion of freedom. Methodism was in effect a radical means of political and social protest in an era of new ideas and social instability, epitomised abroad by the violent revolutions in France, and yet the movement was unobtrusive in its politics and the moderate nature of this radicalism had a stabilising effect on society, acting as a â€Å"safety valve† that contained tension and helped avoid the polarisation of opinions. Looking at the religious history of other European nations, Methodism is quite the anomaly, a dissenting movement, cast out of the Anglican Church that eventually serves to prop up the traditional order. Weakness in the Anglican establishment dated back to the reformation, which had been a break away from authority from Rome, but had also meant an increase in secular authority over the ecclesiastical, through the judicial courts, some tithe taxes and rights of patronage. Though the clerical influence in national politics and in local parishes was still strong, it was no longer as an independent body, but in conjunction with secular authorities. Loss of influence in the upper echelons of power, with monarchs of differing faith on the throne and the abbots losing their majority in the Lords was coupled with strain on authority in the parishes through lack of adequate funding or dynamism. The demographic boom of the late eighteenth century and the breakdown of the traditional parish based organisation of ancien regime society with the increase in manufacturing towns left many outside the network of pastoral oversight, as Ward notes, this and toleration laws paved the way for eager dissenters to exert influence3. However, the first half of the century is more commonly characterised by a mood of religious apathy. Numbers attending Anglican services were declining, but Gilbert argues, Protestant dissent was also in a state of atrophy in 1740. Looking at statistics, this could be seen as a dramatic turning point in the history of religious dissent, but it must be remembered that after new toleration acts were passed it became necessary for all groups to register, nevertheless, this was a period when old dissenting movements were being surpassed by the new evangelicals, who could serve the community where the Anglican church could no longer cope. Naturally there was a certain discontinuity of dissent, with different traditions declining and growing in different patterns across the country. The chapel movement was one that responded to local needs, in some areas lay societies along evangelical lines were even encouraged by the local clergy, but the most prominent groups inevitably sprang up where the church was least effective and inevitably would become a source of conflict with the establishment. The evangelical revival of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries was above all a popular movement, and with no central driving force, it is difficult to define the limits of the movement. Dissenters within the orthodoxy of the Church had existed before, but a newfound zeal, enthusiastic conversion methods and a more coherent programme now developed into a single, if multiform, religious phenomenon. Although there were divisions between Methodists, Baptists, Congregationalists and Independents, they were not fundamental. All relied on lay preachers and the centrality of village communities to spread their message of voluntary piety, based around the family and spiritual equality, whereby all could receive salvation through faith and good works. Methodism can perhaps be characterised by its system of connexion networks that linked dissenting groups across the country. Wesley had hoped to unite his movement through the Anglican ministers and in 1764 had sent fifty letters appealing for a unity of purpose, but receiving only three replies, realised he would have to unite and organise his followers outside the clergy. The strength of the movement however, was not in a system of alliances, but its dynamism. Methodism was a movement that spread rapidly through expansionist missionary societies, and Wesley's followers breached the movement further away from the church by demanding that its preachers should be able to give communion. A 1793 conference voted that members of a society who were unanimous in their desire to receive the sacrament from their preacher might do so. Ward questions whether this was a case of the preachers following the flock, or the scheming of radical ministers to use the Methodist congregations to spread their radical political ideas. Samuel Bradburn was one such minister who introduced ideas of unbounded liberty and the Rights of Man into his sermons, but he shunned Kilham, an even more defiant political Methodist, casting doubt on any suggestion of a central political aim. In the 1790s, social tensions were reaching boiling point. Evangelical societies attracted dissenters at all social levels, even at court, where many independent politicians, clergymen and intellectuals deserted George III and headed a campaign as a Unitarian group for reforms to free trade and end slavery, believing in free enquiry and social progress. Among the lower social orders there was a backlash against the increasing number of dissenters and riots broke out, prompted by food shortages but also calling for â€Å"Church and King† and were largely unhindered by the clergy and magistrates of the old order. It is important to remember that while the growth of evangelical movements was significant, it still only affected a small proportion of the population, with many remaining ambivalent towards new ideals of piety and man others choosing to remain firmly within the Anglican fold. For some, traditional means of expressing discontent were still favoured. Davidoff sees the Evangelical movement as a largely middle class phenomenon. This was a rapidly expanding social group that needed to form their identity. He argues that a sense of religious belonging was provided by the various evangelical movements became a part of middle class culture and the success of the movement can be credited to its ability to fill this need. Traditional church practise did not involve participation from the lay community, and while the middle classes were a group with little political power, there role was gradually becoming more like that of the traditional gentry, as Lords devolved their duties in a practise of stewardship. Dissenting evangelical groups formed a basis of a middle class community as well as a middle class culture. The religious focus is undeniably meritocratic in tone; that salvation was open to all through their own piety. Davidoff also believes that there was a notion that this piety could give individuals strength to bare hostility from others, as the new middle classes may well have faced in the years of hardship and social tension at the end of the eighteenth century. The central importance of the family crossed denominations, another middle class value. The ideal was of the home as a moral haven from the amoral world of the business market. This haven was created by women, who were viewed as naturally more pious than men. The concepts of masculine and feminine were being transposed into more distinct social roles, each with their own responsibilities. Men were the material providers of the family and women's role was to create a moral home for her husband and children, domestic seclusion was a moral ideal and some serious evangelicals even shunned the pleasures of sport and the theatre in favour of this domesticity. Women did have increased prominence in church life, in some denominations they could even be ministers, but overall, the new movements were still male dominated. In some areas women may even have lost influence, where before they could have performed duties of clerks where necessary, roles were now more often formalised into those that were acceptable for women and those that were not. The evangelical community gave the middle class a forum to profess their beliefs and help to form their own culture and community. Dissenting groups were most prominent in new manufacturing towns and much of their establishment can be seen as benefiting the middle classes. They set up church schools and welfare societies, seeing their community almost s an extension of their family that need to be provided for. Schools were central to the evangelical movement, supporting the middle class love of reading and reflection as alternative entertainments. Indeed it was often the case that the school came before the chapel, as was the case in Bollington, a manufacturing town in the Northwest. Although initially non-denominational, the school soon became dominated by the Methodists. But importantly, the erection of such public buildings was not decided on by the preachers, but went before an appeal to the town, in tune with democratic principals. The practise of the Sunday school was an important means of gaining support among the locals, as many sent their children to work in factories at an early age and this would still give them a chance to learn to read. The work of evangelicals within their communities through charity and education may have stunted working class resentment, but Davidoff asserts that they still tended to stay away from Church. Gilberts sees the evangelicals as targeting the lower echelons of society, corroding the image of the lower orders as simple minded and maybe thus giving cause for concern to the ruling classes, but it is probable that these are two differing views of what was essentially the same social group, seen as the lower orders by contemporaries, but viewed by some historians, in the pattern of social evolution, as the emerging middle classes. The end of the eighteenth and beginning of the nineteenth centuries saw a demographic boom, centred around new manufacturing towns. It was the early years of the industrial age and the changing structure of society had new needs that the state and church could not provide for. Looking abroad for a point of comparison, French society, with its firmly established monarchy and church was thrust into a violent revolution that was to remove both. In England, the less powerful position occupied by the monarchy and church could be seen as perhaps what saved them from a similar fate. Dissenting movements had been allowed to develop that were then to serve as a moderating force. There was much confusion in the late eighteenth century as to Methodists and their significance. The movement grew further and faster than other evangelical societies, and what Smyth called â€Å"Christian godliness without Christian organisation† in 1795 was attacked by others as having too much organisation and followers were subject to too much pastoral oversight, threatening the formation of a radical political force. 5 Indeed, Sidney Pollard and Robert Southerly were of the view that revolution was imminent. With hindsight, historians like Halevy have argued that there was nothing for the state to fear in the rise of Methodism, but contemporary powers would not have been able to see the larger picture of changing society and the development of a middle-class and so the movement may have been forced into its unobtrusive political stance where perhaps more radical beliefs were deep-seated. Jabez Bunting, a radical Methodist figure after the death of Wesley, saw the movement as wide, but not deep. He was relatively apolitical, but was keen to preserve the liberties that Methodism had benefited from in the face of conservative reaction to social tensions and revolution in Europe. But the evangelical revival, viewed with historical hindsight is indeed a political movement, the energies of the chapel communities were a force that resisted to reactionism and later advocated reforms, but after 1850 the dynamism of the movement had dwindled, as the social tensions of the age eased.

A Review and Evaluation of Current Weight Control/Loss Interventions

There is much debate regarding the most effective method of treating obesity. Most of the research has been done on adults; however, research is increasingly being done on children and adolescents as the prevalence of obesity in this population increases.Treatment of obesity includes many different methods, including various dietary, exercise, and behavioral interventions, medication, and surgery. A study by Barlow, Trowbridge, Klish, and Dietz (2002) looked at various interventions recommended to overweight children and adolescents by different health care providers.The most common interventions recommended by health care providers included changes in eating patterns and limiting specific foods. Less frequently recommended interventions were low-fat diets and modest calorie restrictions.Very infrequently recommended interventions were very low-calorie diets and commercial diets. Several health care providers also listed â€Å"fruit and vegetables,† â€Å"portion control,â₠¬  â€Å"increase water,† â€Å"fiber,† and â€Å"learn to determine hunger and fullness levels† as other interventions that they recommended. In the adolescent population, the most frequently recommended dietary intervention by all types of health care providers questioned was â€Å"limiting specific foods.†All types of health care providers were also highly likely to recommend increasing physical activity and limiting sedentary behaviors as physical activity interventions. Very few health care providers recommended medication, appetite suppressants, herbal remedies, or weight loss surgery.The current consensus is that the most effective weight loss and maintenance treatment includes a combination of caloric restriction, increased physical activity, and behavioral therapy, with extended treatment contact, weight loss satisfaction, and social support contributing to positive long-term outcomes in both obese adults and children (Williamson & Stewart, 2005 ).Diets and Problems Associated with DietingThe increased pressure to alleviate the obesity epidemic led to a boom in the dieting industry. Twenty-five percent of men and 45% of women are currently trying to lose weight, equating to about 71 million Americans (Newstarget.com, 2005). In 1996, consumers spent $70 billion annually in health care costs, and an additional $33 billion per year, trying to lose weight or prevent the return of weight gain (Chatzky, 2002).In 2004, those values rose to $100 billion spent annually on health-care cost, and the US weight loss market value rose to $46.3 billion annually (Newstarget.com, 2005). Dieting products and services range from $1.29 for Slim-Fast bars up to $25,000 for gastric bypass (Chatzky, 2002) with the number of bariatric surgeries totaling about 140,000 procedures in 2003 (Newstarget.com, 2005).Sales of over-the-counter diet and herbal supplements totaled $16.8 billion in 2000 (Kane, 2001) and are expected to grow 11.5% to approximat ed $703 million by 2008 (NewsTarget.com, 2008).Diet drugs have been around for over 35 years but became generally accepted in the medical community by the early 1990’s. The FDA has approved several treatments as clinically safe (i.e. sibutramine and orlistat) for those individuals with a BMI >30 or BMI 27-29 with one or more obesity related co-morbidity (ADA, 1997). There are amphetamine-like derivates available for short-term use but weight gain often occurs once discontinued.The risks associated with obesity drugs are neurotoxicity, primary pulmonary hypertension, and becoming reliant on the medication as opposed to making desired healthy lifestyle changes (ADA, 2002). Many of the overthecounter products have no proven efficacy or short- or long-term weight loss (ADA, 2002).Many Americans have turned to various dieting methods as weight control measures, leading to the ‘yo-yo’ dieting affect, ultimately contributing to the ever-increasing obesity rates.Commerci al structured programs, such as Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig and LA Weight Loss, are common approaches followed due to their convenience and support system. It is estimated that 7.1 million American frequent these commercial weight loss centers and their revenues are expected to grow 11% to $2 billion annually by 2008 (Newstarget.com, 2008).Miller (1999) performed a study to examine the history and effectiveness of diet and exercise in obesity therapy and to determine the best approach for future interventions.He summarized the dieting trends throughout the years with the initial strategy of the late 1950s to early 1960s focused on total fasting, which brought about quick weight loss but also increased risk of death due to serious loss of lean muscle mass and electrolytes. By the late 1960s to early 1970s, the emergence of the high protein/low carbohydrate diets became popular.These involved a diet with 5-10% of energy calories from carbohydrate and a resultant high fat content (50- 70% of calories) which relied on the high protein foods to minimize muscle catabolism and the low carbohydrate level to maintain a state of ketosis to theoretically increase fat burning (Miller 1999).The side effects ranged from nausea, hyperuricemia, fatigue and refeeding edema. In the mid 1970s, the trend shifted towards very low calorie liquid diets (VLCD) with ~300-400 kcal/day, which caused obvious weight loss through muscle catabolism and water release.The FDA terminated the use of this diet since ventricular arrhythmias resulted in 58 deaths. In the 1980s, the VLCD made a revival but at the level of 450-500 kcal/day, with fat content of ~2-18% of total calories, and up to 800 kcal/day for those individuals who were more active. Gallbladder disease and cardiac problems surfaced as side effects of this diet (Miller 1999).The low calorie commercial franchised programs such as Jenny Craig and Nutri/Systems arose in the 1980s as well. Meals were pre-packaged with ~1100-1200 kcal/d ay with the breakdown of energy approximately at 20% from protein, 20% from fat and 60% from carbohydrate.These programs found improved compliance compared to the VLCD, however a similar health risk was found to negatively impact the heart. Since the 1980s, numerous dieting books have hit the stores with many best sellers (i.e. Pritkins and Fit for Life).Despite the increased dieting trends, Miller (1999) noted that the NHANES determined the percentage of fat from kilocalories has dropped in the American diet but total energy has increased, particularly from refined or added sugars in the diet; in addition, obese individuals tend to consume less dietary fiber.Most people have attempted more than one diet method in their weight loss attempts with the average attempting a new method twice a year (FTC, 1997). Miller (1999) found that over the past 40 years, most dieting techniques cycle in and out of popularity and that many are actually hazardous to the health.Miller summarized that t he scientific community data indicated that a 15-week diet or diet plus exercise program led to a weight loss of about 11 kg in which 60-80% of the weight lost was kept off after one year, although most studies had limited long-term follow-up data and those available suggest that relapse to pre-diet weight typically occurred after 3-5 years. Many of the diets were difficult to assess due to their high dropout rates (some as high as 80%).Nutrition education and behavior modification programs, to include community education programs, worksite interventions, and home correspondence courses, typically resulted in ~10 kg weight loss with a 33% and 95% post-diet weight relapse at three and five years respectively.The commercial weight loss industry supplied little data over the last two decades, with much of it proclaimed scientifically inadequate due to small sample size, high dropout rates, poor study design and inadequate follow-up periods.Of the physician-directed programs, most did n ot result in a desired weight loss but better control of some of the co-morbidities associated with obesity (diabetes, CVD, etc.) (FTC, 1997).

Mechanism of Black Holes Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Mechanism of Black Holes - Research Paper Example the term â€Å"black hole† refers to a region of space-time from which the gravitational pull is so strong that it does not allow anything, including light, to escape (Begelman, 2003), which implies that black holes cannot be observed. This essay will explore the concept of black holes, that is, all that is currently known about this phenomenon, how they are formed, and what can be learnt from them; similarly, this essay will also highlight how black holes are detected and how they are made. The appearance of an event horizon, the boundary in space-time through which matter and light are attracted inwards towards the mass of the black hole becoming trapped permanently, is the most distinguishable feature of a black hole. As noted earlier, not even light can escape from a black hole since anything that draws nearer and crosses the event horizon boundary is trapped due to the strong gravitational pull that defines black holes (Kormendy, Bender & Cornell, 2011); an event horizon is thus called since if an event occurs within the boundary, this information is never known to an outside observer. Einstein’s theory of relativity argues that the presence of mass distorts spacetime thereby causing the paths taken by particles to bend towards the mass and given that this deformation is so strong at the event horizon, no paths can lead away from the black hole because all matter is trapped inside, including light (Hooft, 2009). Precisely, an object falling into a black hole appears to slow down as it draws nearer to the event horizon but never really reaches it, due to the gravitational time dilation effect (Nrumiano, n.d). Similarly, an outside observer will experience all processes on an object nearing the event horizon as slowed down, and the emitted light will appear dimmer and redder due to the gravitational redshift effect; as soon as the falling object reaches the event horizon, it becomes so dim that it can never be seen. Black holes often form at the ends of the

Seven brides of seven brothers Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Seven brides of seven brothers - Movie Review Example ies of the world by different names, such as, ‘Satte Pe Satta’ by the Indian film industry, which proves the worldwide success and reception of the film. 2. The history of westward expansion and settlement of the United States links with the theme of the play. In Oregon 1.3 km2 was allocated to each unmarried individual and 2.6 km2 was allocated to married couples during the time of settlement. It seems like every person living at that time had in mind that living in the form of a couple would be in huge benefit for them not only for fulfilling their sexual desires legally but also to get ownership of a large piece of land. 3. After watching the play, it seems like it is the world of men and women are supposed to live under the shadow of men either voluntarily or involuntarily. For example, in the play, the women first opposed their kidnapping but then they agreed to the circumstances and eventually fell in love with their new suitors. This shows that males dominate women and women have somewhat learned and agreed to this. 4. The production as staged at the Ellen Eccles Theatre is an attempt to perform the play the same way as it has been played in original. However, live musical can never match the filmed musical because filmed musicals are free of acting and production flaws. For instance, live musicals such as Seven Brides for Seven Brothers show staged at the Ellen Eccles Theatre gave some signs of coordination, direction, and music management flaws regardless of with how much attention the play was